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H ISTORY
OF
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO,


FROM THE DAYS OF THE
PIONEERS AND FIRST SETTLERS
TO THE
PRESENT TIME.
BY


BEN DOUGLASS.
WOOSTER, OHIO.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND.:
ROBERT DOUGLASS, PUBLISHER.
1878.




p —
4 -,I"


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year I874, by
BEN    DOUGLASS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.




TO
E. QUINBY, JR.,
THIS WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED,
BY
THE A UTHOR.








g  '. _..., ',,,-.- _  '.  _
PREFACE.
As its title-page indicates, this book is intended as a record of the leading
features and events of Wayne county from the period of its first settlement
to the present time. To every thinking mind, the necessity of such a work
must have been obvious, and it was but due to the intelligence of our citizens that it be produced at the earliest possible opportunity. Wayne county,
in view of her conspicuous prominence in the sisterhood of the State, demanded
that her traditions and her history be written. In the name of her pioneers
and that their memories be not lost; of her first white inhabitants of the forest
and stream, and to secure from oblivion a chronicle of the most important
events of her first settlers and first settlements, furnishing withal, a continuous
narrative of her wonderful strides from wilderness-life to the imposing spectacle
of her present position, the writer undertook the work. Her history is emphatically worthy to be written, and while it has involved immense labor and
research, he has never shrank from the task, difficult and uninspiring as, at
times, it has been. The toil of collecting and adjusting the material has occupied considerable time, but he is sanguine enough to believe he has produced
such a work as, under the circumstances, will commend itself with favor to the
reader.
While the relations of the different townships to the county-seat, or in fact
to each other, are as the members to the body, and while the annals of all are
interlaced, like the limbs of ancient wrestlers, the plan of the work is such that
each township will have its own separate and specific history. He indulges
not the hope that he has prepared a perfect history, or a complete one in all
particulars, but trusts he has presented the leading features of Wayne county,
and her past and present people, in such a way as to obtain the approval and
considerate appreciation of a generous public.




iI




INTRODUCTION.


A HISTORY of Wayne County, Ohio, in the more tangible form
of a bound volume has long been a desideratum of an intelligent
public-spirited class of our citizens.  To wrench from "dumb
forgetfulness" and recover from the dim and shadowy past the
story of the struggles and privations of the pioneers; of their trials,
hardships and suffering; of their bitter experiences and victories
of hope and faith; of their disappointments and triumphs, and
crystallize the same upon the printed page, is certainly worthy of
an honorable ambition.
With the single exception of cursory reference, no chronicle of
our county has been given, save that collected and published in
eighteen hundred and forty-eight, by Henry Howe, of Cincinnati,
in his " Historical Collections." Valuable and cheerful as is this
little sketch, it is but a "gleamy ray"-a glint of light falling
from an unsettled mirror,
"Too like the lightning, which doth cease to be,
Ere one can say it lightens."
In eighteen hundred and fifty-two, John Grable, of Paint
Township, an erratic, eruptionary genius, full of the vegetating
vigor of philosophy, attempted the enterprise, but for reasons unknown to the writer, it was not prosecuted to an issue. A portion
of his manuscript we obtained through the courtesy of G. W.
Fraze, of Paint Township, which we have appropriated as best
subserved our purpose.




6


INTROD UCTION.


Subsequently the project elicited the thought of John P. Jeffries, Esq., of the city of Wooster, who expended some time in
search for material for such a volume. We have no reason to assign for his abandonment of the work, unless the urgent and multiplying duties of the legal profession interfered with its completion.
Be that as it may, we do not hesitate to pronounce it a misfortune,
in view of the time in which he commenced the labor, and his
manifest competency and fitness for its performance, that he did
not prosecute it to a conclusion. More than to any other citizen
of the county are we indebted to him for the serviceable interest
he has shown in our undertaking, and it affords us no vain pleasure to here acknowledge his substantial and effective co-operation.
Later, and finally, the "truth-speaking Briton "-a wise growth
of the island where the House of Commons adjourns over the
"Derby Day"-*Thomas Woodland, Esq., in strains heroically
poetic, invoked the Muse of History to breathe upon the enterprise and cause it again to live.
Under the inspiration of Mr. Woodland, a society was organized in eighteen hundred and seventy for the distinctive purpose
of procuring for publication a history exclusively of the city of
Wooster. The scheme was indorsed by many of the best citizens
of the city; but a maturer thought suggested the propriety of
compassing within the proposed book a history of the county.
This proposition was heartily approved and seconded by Hon.
John Larwill, Hon. Martin Welker, E. Quinby, Jr., Leander
Firestone, M. D., Hon. John P. Jeffries, Hon. John K. McBride,
Hon. Benj. Eason, Hon. Joseph H. Downing, Ohio F. Jones,
Esq., Angus McDonald, Constant Lake, David Robison, Jr., James
C. Jacobs, John Zimmerman, Thomas Woodland, and many others
that might be enumerated. Thereupon an organization was effected
under the name of " The Wayne County Historical Society." Its
purpose and aim being enlarged, the organization was adjusted and
leveled to the new order of things. A Constitution and By-Laws
were adopted, officers under the provisions of the same were chosen
*Since dead.




INTRODUCTION.                     7
and elected, and a record of its sessions and general proceedings
ordered to be kept. It was first conceived that, by the appointment of committees in the city and various townships throughout
the county, the data for the history could more easily and most
effectually be procured, and thereby the publication of the same
would be largely facilitated. The plan was adopted, and the Secretary of the Society corresponded with the various committees
and instructed them in the respective duties they were severally
expected to perform.
Time-ample time-was afforded in which to report, but with
one or two notable exceptions, the reports were not forthcoming.
The labor of collecting, combining and erecting into form was consequently devolved upon the historian; whilst under the first arrangement, his province would simply have been to revise, adjust
and systematize for publication. This unexpected check to the
plan of the Society was everything but satisfactory. The writer
hesitated as to his line of action, but finally determined to go on.
His work now assumed more formidable proportions, and seemed
like the task of Sisyphus. As a result, time became a cardinal
ingredient of the enterprise, and of this he availed himself, as was
his privilege.
When all support failed us, we resolved to be our own master.
When we beheld the panther in our path, we determined to
approach him by the steps that suited us best. Though left alone
in a somewhat primeval garden, we endeavored to inhale what fragrance there was in the air; to turn over the sunken stones and
see what treasures they concealed; to dig around the decayed
trunks of the old trees to see if there were no sap or juices that
might be extracted.
A more than usual interest is attached to our territorial history,
concerning which the general reader, it is possible, may not be fully
informed. Reference is made to the grants of lands in the New
World, by James I. of England to the London and Plymouth
Companies, and to those of Henry IV. of France, as early as sixteen hundred and three, which comprised the lands between the




8


IN 7R OD UCTION.


fortieth and forty-sixth degrees of north latitude, and hence included what is now the State of Ohio.
A technically complete description of originally established
Wayne County is given, which forms a chapter in the book of incalculable value. Strange as it may appear, the Act creating Wayne
County affords no intelligible idea of its remarkable boundary.
The organization of the North-western Territory, under the
Ordinance of seventeen hundred and eighty-seven, is introduced
in full, and its line of civil administration accurately pursued until
the admission of Ohio into the Federal Union in eighteen hundred
and three.
The topography and geology of the county are carefully considered by John P. Jeffries, Esq., of Wooster, author of the " Natural Hstory of the Human Races," who possesses the qualifications
for the performance of such scientific labor.
Its archaeology is discussed at length, and forms a chapter
which can not fail of interest to the student of the pre-historic
period.
Indian ethnology, historical surveys of the Delawares, Wyandots, Shawanese, etc., who inhabited this section, together with
descriptions of the Great Trail leading from Fort Pitt to Fort Sandusky, and the massacre by Captain Fulkes of the red warriors on
the banks of Apple Creek, all are compassed in the range of the
work.
The passage of Crawford's army through Clinton township,
and of Beall's forces from Lisbon to Canton, Wooster, and on to
the Huron, and a portion of the same to Fort Meiggs, are defined
with reliable clearness, and viewed in the light of all the circumstances, are rich discoveries and recoveries from the margins of
rapidly fading history. The earliest settlements of the county,
and the characteristics of its first settlers are grouped succinctly in
separate departments. Pioneer life is portrayed, and the more
exciting scenes and situations, in which the magnificent metamorphosis appears of a brave people, moving from wilderness misrule
and chaos to lofty civilization and grand achievement. A sketch




INTR OD UCTION.                    g
of Johnny Appleseed is introduced, more elaborately written and
more pregnant in detail, than any biography yet furnished.
A survey of the present Wayne County is faithfully re-produced, and the manner, time and date of its subdivisions into
townships recorded. Its organization, the erection of its first courts,
and many particulars thereto relating, receive special prominence.
The laying out of Madison, and finally the establishing of Wooster
as the county seat, together with the vacation of the first named
place, is explained in the almost technical language of the courts.
Biographies of Generals Wayne and Wooster are presented,
and the names of the officers of the city, county, townships and
incorporated villages of the county, entrusted with their civil management, are set forth with the fidelity justified by the public records.
With the divergent theories of extinct races, or past peoples,
etc., having inhabited the soil, we institute inquiry, but have no
controversy. To have entered in extenso upon this question would
have been to have penetrated neither a vine-yard nor an olive-yard,
but an intricate jungle of thorns and briers, from which those who
lose themselves therein, may bring back many scratches but no
food. They "died and made no sign " beyond ancient tumuli and
circular erections, the very character of which might assign them
to almost any race which, after partially climbing the steep of civilization, had, from gradual decay, or sudden demolition, lapsed into
barbarism or wholly disappeared.
Who these people were, whence they came, and what their
destiny, investigation has not solved and pen has not yet positively written. They belong to that period to which the bygone
ages, incalculable in amount, with all their well-proportioned gradations of being, form the imposing vestibule. Whether the
true mound-builders or not, we feel as we contemplate them that
they were sentient, and possibly, superior beings, of whom nothing
remains but antique relics and fossiliferous vestiges; masses of
"inert and senseless matter never again to be animated by the
mysterious spirit of vitality-that spirit which, dissipated in the




IO


IN TR OD UCTION.


air or diffused in the ocean, can, like the sweet sounds and pleasant odors of the past, be neither gathered up nor recalled."
It should be inferred, however, that upon a topic so absorbing
and so vitalized with deep interest we would claim a hearing, but
as before indicated, no controversy has been indulged and no
special theories maintained.
The agricultural possibilities of the county are presented in a
strong light, and a "bird's-eye" view of its cereals, fruits, etc.,
taken at short and long range, composes an interesting chapter. A
complete history of the city of Wooster is given, with elaborate
sketches of its original proprietors, together with a full account of
the first surveys, names of first settlers, building of first houses, location of the same, and first architects, construction of first courthouse, jail and churches, with names and biographies of pioneer
judges, lawyers, physicians and clergymen.
The various townships have each a separate history, including
date of organization, where first elections were held, names of
judges of same, and first voters; where first school-houses and
churches were erected; embracing incidents of "backwoods"
life, with the experiences of the bear-hunter and the edge-man of
the roaring camp-meeting.
The biographical department can not fail to be interesting, for
history, we are told, "is the essence of innumerable biographies."
Seneca says, "Is it not a more glorious and profitable employment to write the history of a well ordered life, than to record the
usurpations of ambitious princes?"  Its object is the crystallizak   tion of the deeds and doings of the fathers; the transferring to the
printed page some of the worthy and good of their living sons.
We would save them from the obscurity, for which the arm is
stretched, to rescue the fathers. Very near unto us all is forgetfulness. In the wondrous, boundless jostle of things, our lives
and our deaths are soon lost sight of. The panorama is shifted,
and the life-bustle of to-day is the death-tableau of to-morrow.
"The Fate goes round, and strikes at last where it has a great
while passed by." The record of a humble but well-spent life is




INTROD UCTION.


II.


indeed worth the transient flourish of a pen. Posterity will not
be ungrateful for it, and it should be enlarged into a record for its
use. These sketches, in many instances, are sufficiently elaborate
to delineate the more prominent traits of individual character, and
are drawn together in open juxtaposition, irrespective of belief,
position or creed. Prior to the organization of the county, in
eighteen hundred and twelve, we have presented the most authoritative recollections of our oldest and most intelligent men who
have lived in the county. There is unavoidable discrepancy and
indefiniteness in the narration anterior to this date. Our researches covering this period, at times, were like a ramble for
light in the land of the Homeric Cimmerians.
We regret that the initial year-marks have been blurred -that
Time has blown the sand and dirt over the first foot-prints. Much
previous to the above date, however, has been rescued from
oblivion.  From eighteen hundred and twelve we start abreast
with the records, and are able, with few exceptions, to define the
historic past.  Our chief aim has been to seize hold of "first
things," for they "have a fascination, because they are first
things." It certainly should be the subject of a profound public
regret that the project of preparing such a book has been so long
postponed.  Had it been inaugurated in the days and times of
Joseph Larwill, John Sloane, Benjamin Jones, Alexander McBride,
Levi Cox, Edward Avery, Cyrus Spink, Smith Orr, Andrew McMonigal, etc., etc., we would have experienced little of the difficulty which we have met and with which we have been perplexed.
We have sought to discharge our duty with impartiality, fidelity
and discrimination, uniformly aiming to delineate, with scrupulous
truthfulness, the aspects and features of the subjects upon which we
have been called to pronounce. Nor have we allowed any portion
of the work to be freighted with unimportant details, vapid dissertations, or infested with recitations to gratify or pamper a perverted
or depraved curiosity. It is but due to ourself and to the reader
to say, that our work has been performed, at times, under serious




INTROD UC7 1ON..12


embarrassments, and that much of it has been accomplished during intervals of other employment.
More than this, we but add that our labors have been more
tedious and difficult than was at first imagined, and that our
resources of investigation have been more barren than we anticipated. If we have rescued from the chasm of the past-the vortex
of the dead untenanted years-anything that will interest the generations of the coming time; if we have saved from oblivion the
memory of a life that illustrated a single virtue, a moral principle,
or a religion in this mad Babylon of the world, then our labor will
be compensated. Whether we have achieved this purpose, others
will decide instead of us. We are less concerned in the verdict
than those who render it. The hush of death will have fallen upon
many ears when posterity shall arise and record its judgment.
BEN DOUGLASS.
Wooster, Ohio, June, 1875.




HISTORY
OF
WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
CHAPTER I.
HISTORY is the Letter of Instruction which the old generations write and posthumously transmit to the new.
All knowledge is but recorded experience and a product of history.-Carlyle.
WHILE it is indisputably true that the division of time known
as the present challenges the paramount thought of the human
mind, and that it is the prerogative of no man to solve the future,
it may safely be affirmed that no man desires to be wholly unconscious of the past, or deaf to the voice of its lingering memories.
That community which would not by "the art preservative'
perpetuate its traditions, register its experiences and chronicle its
events, would be anomalous in the natural world, and a sterile,
profitless and skeletonized theme for the pen that would seek to
trace or define its existence. The disposition, in some manner or
way, to embalm or rather transmit the past, to erect it into history,
organize it into tradition, or cause it to live in the embroiderings
of Fancy, has been and is a characteristic of all ages, classes and
races of men.
The natives of Ashango-land are fortified and grow garrulous
over the charm-working and superstitious myths of their black pro



14


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


genitors, and the savage Indian has his repertory of hoarded legendary story, and is as familiar with the traditionary annals of his
ancient tribes as was Herodotus with the Persian invasion, or Tac
itus with the Forum.
It can be maintained, then, not as a fact or an abstraction, but
as a principle entrenched in a sound and practical philosophy, that
nothing can more interest a people or a community than a history
of the times in which they have lived-a reproduction of the drama
in which their fathers were the actors.
The faithful transmission of worthy deeds is one of the ennobling
emanations of man's nature, and has been to some degree exhibited since the earliest dawn of his existence. Long anterior to
the time of the discovery of the art of printing, memorable events
were painted upon parchment and engraven upon stone, that they
might live otherwise than in traditionary story or the song of
bards. Many of the nations of antiquity adopted this method of
perpetuating important events, as the ruins of Thebes, Persepolis,
Nineveh, and other demolished cities of the Eastern world abundantly testify.
Cicero has well remarked that History is the truth of Philosophy. As to the truth of history, however, it is particularly reliable when it is written at the time the facts recorded are fresh in the
recollection of the people where they have occurred. Written in
any other way it becomes legendary, precarious and romantic,
without the proper indorsement of its authenticity.
With this view I have written a History of Wayne County,
Ohio, from a period long antedating its present organizationfrom its first settlement to the present time, and before its early
annals have become entirely a myth.




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


I5


CHAPTER II.
THE NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY.
AT the time Sebastian Cabot discovered North America, in
1498, the print of the foot of the white man was not upon its soil.
He had traversed wide, billowy and "hilly seas," and peopled
waste and desert places of the earth, but here, on the sun-down
side of the Western Hemisphere, he was not found. It was the
empire of the native American, barbaric hordes who roamed like
untamed beasts over its extensive domain and secreted themselves
in its shady groves and cloistered valleys, unrestrained and ungoverned by any of the rules which regulate civilized life.
Cabot's discovery paved the way, as also did that of Columbus,
for European immigration. Soon Spain, France and England vied
with each other for the ascendancy in the New World.
Spain had the honor of establishing the first colony in North
America, which was done at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565, and
is now the oldest city, by forty years, within the limits of the Republic. The French planted the second in 1604, at Port Royal, in
Acadia, the original name of Novia Scotia, and the English the
third, at Jamestown, in April, 1607, which was the first permanent
settlement of the English in America.
England, becoming alarmed at the encroachments of the French
in the northern part of the New World, divided that portion of the
country which lies between the thirty-fourth and forty-fifth degrees
of north latitude into two grand divisions, and then James I., by




I6


THE NOR TH- WESTERN TERRITOR Y.


grant, disposed of that portion of the country included between the
thirty-fourth and forty-first degrees to an association of merchants,
called the London Land Company, and to the Plymouth Company,
which subsequently settled New England, the territory between
the thirty-eighth and forty-fifth degrees. These grants crossing
over each other, to some extent, became a fertile source of trouble
to the Crown. The Cabots had visited Nova Scotia as early as
1498, though there was no European colony established until the
year above named, but Henry IV. of France, had, as early as I603,
granted Acadia to DeMonts, a Frenchman, and his followers, and
some Jesuits, who, for several years, endeavored to form settlements in Port Royal and St. Croix, but who were finally expelled
from the country by the English governor and colonists of Virginia, who claimed the country by right of the discovery of Sebastian Cabot. This grant to DeMonts comprised the lands between
the fortieth and forty-sixth degrees of north latitude, and hence included the lands at present composing the State of Ohio.
The grant of James I. of England to the London Company also
embraced Ohio, and the grant of the same monarch to the Plymouth Company compassed a portion of it. France, alive to the
importance of seizing and holding the sway over the much-coveted
Foundling of the western sun, equipped and sent out her boldest
adventurers to explore and possess the country, prominent among
whom appeared LaSalle, Champlain and Marquette. Forts were
erected by them on the lakes and on the Mississippi, Illinois and
Maumee rivers, and the whole North-western Territory was included by them in the province of Louisiana; in fact our entire
country, according to their geographers, was New France, except
that east of the great ranges of mountains, whose streams flow into
the Atlantic; and of this portion they even claimed the basin of
the Kennebec, and all of Maine to the east of that valley. As early
as 1750 they had strong and well-guarded fortifications erected
at the mouth of the Wabash river, and a line of communication
opened to Acadia, by way of this stream, the lakes and the St.
Lawrence. The English not only claimed the North-western Terri



HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


I7


tory by reason of discovery, and by grant of the King of England,
but by virtue of the purchase of the same, from the Indians by
treaty, at Lancaster, in I744.  By that treaty the Six Nations
ceded the lands or territory to the English, as they claimed. For
the purpose of formally possessing it and vieing with the French
in its settlement, a company denominated the Ohio Company was
organized in 1750, and obtained a grant in that year from the British Parliament for six hundred thousand acres of land on or near
the Ohio river; and in 1750 the English built and established a
trading-house at a place called Loramie's Store, on the Great
Miami river, and which was the first English establishment erected
in the North-west Territory, or the great valley of the Mississippi.
In the early part of 1752 the French demolished this trading-house,
and carried the inhabitants off to Canada. Its destruction involved
something of a conflict, and the Ottawas and Chippewas assisting
the French, fourteen of the red warriors were killed and several
wounded before it succumbed.
In 1762 the Moravian missionaries, Post and Heckwelder, had
established a station upon the Muskingum river.  In 1763 the
French ceded their possessions in the North-west, and, indeed, in
North America, to Great Britain, and from that time forward the
English had only the natives with whom to contend. After many
sanguinary conflicts, in which valuable lives were sacrificed, the
haughty Briton became master of the soil. In 1774, by act of Parliament of the English government, the whole of the North-west
Territory was annexed to, and made part of, the Province of Quebec.
July 4, I776, the colonists renounced further allegiance to
the British Crown, and each State or Colony then claimed jurisdiction over the soil embraced within its charter. The war of the
Revolution terminating favorably to the colonists, the King of England, September 3, 1783, ceded all claim to the North-west Territory to the United States.  By charter, Virginia claimed that
portion of the territory which was situate north-west of the River
2




i8


THE NOR TH- WESTERN TERRITOR Y.


Ohio, but in 1784 she ceded all claim to the territory to the
United States.
By virtue of this act or deed of cession the General Assembly
of Virginia did, through her delegates in Congress, March I, 1784,
" convey (in the name and for and on behalf of the said commonwealth), transfer, assign, and make over unto the United States in
Congress assembled, for the benefit of said States, Virginia inclusive, all right, title and claim, as well of soil as of jurisdiction, to
the territory of said State lying and being to the north-west of the
river of Ohio." The deed of cession being tendered by the delegates, Congress at once resolved "that it be accepted, and the
same be recorded and enrolled among the acts of the United
States in Congress assembled."
Title to the vast territory of the north-west having thus
been secured to the United States, at an early date the prudent
consideration of Congress was directed toward preliminary measures pointing to the permanent organization of civil government
in the same, it now being within the legitimate province of its legislation. July 13, 1787, that august body, after considerate investigation, deliberate thought, and cautious inquiry into the subject,
combined with tedious, dispassionate, and exhaustive analysis of
the vital issues involved, proclaimed the outgrowth of their
matured action to the civilized world in what they saw proper to
denominate, "An ordinance for the government of the territory of
the United States north-west of the River Ohio," which is popularly
known as "the Ordinance of '87."      This ordinance was the
supreme law of the territory, and upon it was engrafted and in
harmony with it, our entire territorial enactments, and all our subsequent State legislation. As we are greatly indebted to that document, the product of a sound, wise, and far-reaching statesmanship, for a large share of our greatness, prosperity and happiness,
we here reproduce it:
ORDINANCE OF 1787.
Be it Ordained by the United States in Cong'ess Assembled, That the said territory,
for the purpose of temporary government, be one district, subject, however, to be




HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


I9


divided into two districts, as future circumstances may, in the opinion of Congress,
make it expedient.
Be it ordained by the authorit, aforesaid, That the estates both of resident and
non-resident proprietors in the said territory, dying intestate, shall descend to and
be distributed among their children, and the descendants of a deceased child, in
equal parts; the descendants of a deceased child or grand-child to take the share
of their deceased parent in equal parts among them; and where there shall be no
children or descendants, then in equal parts to the next of kin, in equal degree;
and among collaterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate
shall have, in equal parts among them, their deceased parents' share; and there
shall, in no case, be a distinction between kindred of the whole and half blood;
saving in all cases to the widow of the intestate her third part of the real estate for
life, and one-third part of the personal estate; and this law, relative to descents
and dower, shall remain in full force until altered by the legislature of the district.
And until the governor and judges shall adopt laws, as hereinafter mentioned,
estates in the said territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills, in writing,
signed and sealed by him or her, in whom the estate may be (being of full age),
and attested by three witness; and real estate may be conveyed by lease and
release, or bargain and sale, signed, sealed, and delivered by the person, being of
full age, in whom the estate may be, and attested by two witnesses, provided such
wills be duly proved, and such conveyances be acknowledged, or the execution
thereof duly proved, and be recorded within one year after proper magistrates,
courts, and registers shall be appointed for that purpose; and personal property
may be transferred by delivery; saving, however, to the French and Canadian
inhabitants, and other settlers of the Kaskaskies, St. Vincents, and the neighboring
villages, who have heretofore professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws
and customs now in force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance of
property.
Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be appointed, from
time to time, by congress, a governor, whose commission shall continue in force
for the term of three years, unless sooner revoked by congress; he shall reside in
the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in one thousand acres of land,
while in the exercise of his office.
There shall be appointed, from time to time, by congress, a secretary, whose
commission shall continue in force for four years, unless sooner revoked; he shall
reside in the district, and have a freehold estate therein, in five hundred acres of
land, while in the exercise of his office; it shall be his duty to keep and preserve
the acts and laws passed by the legislature, and the public records of the district,
and the proceedings of the governor in his executive department; and transmit
authentic copies of such acts and proceedings, every six months, to the secretary
of congress. There shall also be appointed a court, to consist of three judges, any
two of whom to form a court, who shall have a common law jurisdiction, and reside




20


7 HE NOR TH- WESTERN TERRITORY.


in the district, and have each therein a freehold estate, in five hundred acres of
land, while in the exercise of their offices; and their commissions shall continue in
force during good behavior.
The governor and judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in
the district such laws of the original states, criminal and civil, as may be necessary
and best suited to the circumstances, and report them to congress, from time to
time; which laws shall be in force in the district until the organization of the
general assembly therein, unless disapproved of by congress; but afterward the legislature shall have authority to alter them as they shall think fit.
The governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint and commission all officers in the same, below the rank of general
officers; all general officers shall be appointed and commissioned by congress.
Previous to the organization of the general assembly, the governor shall appoint such magistrates and other civil officers, in each county or township, as he
shall find necessary for the preservation of the peace and good order in the same.
After the general assembly shall be organized, the powers and duties of magistrates
and other civil officers shall be regulated and defined by the said assembly; but all
magistrates and other civil officers, not herein otherwise directed, shall, during the
continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the governor.
For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall
have force in all parts of the district, and for the execution of process, criminal and
civil, tbe governor shall make proper divisions thereof; and he shall proceed, from
time to time, as circumstances may require, to lay out the parts of the district, in
which the Indian titles shall have been extinguished, into counties and townships,
subject, however, to such alterations as may thereafter be made by the legislature.
So soon as there shall be five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age, in
the district, upon giving proof thereof to the governor, they shall receive authority,
with time and place, to elect representatives from their counties, or townships, to
represent them in the general assembly: provided, that for every five hundred free
male inhabitants there shall be one representative, and so on, progressively, with
the number of free male inhabitants, shall the right of representation increase, until
the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five; after which the number
and proportion of representatives shall be regulated by the legislature: provided
that no person be eligible or qualified to act as a representative unless he shall have
been a citizen of one of the United States three years, and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district three years; and, in either case,
shall likewise hold in his own right, in fee simple, two hundred acres of land
within the same: provided, also, that a freehold in fifty acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of one of the states, and being resident in the district,
or the like freehold and two years' residence in the district, shall be necessary to
qualify a man as an elector of a representative.
The representatives thus elected shall serve for the term of two years; and, in




- -


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


21


case of the death of a representative, or removal from office, the governor shall
issue a writ to the county or township for which he was a member to elect another
in his stead, to serve for the residue of the term.
The general assembly, or legislature, shall consist of the governor, legislative
council, and a house of representatives. The legislative council shall consist of five
members, to continue in office five years, unless sooner removed by congress, any
three of whom to be a quorum, and the members of the council shall be nominated
and appointed in the following manner, to-wit: As soon as representatives shall
be elected the governor shall appoint a time and place for them to meet together,
and, when met, they shall nominate ten persons, residents in the district, and each
possessed of a freehold in five hundred acres of land, and return their names to congress, five of whom congress shall appoint and commission to serve as aforesaid;
and whenever a vacancy shall happen in the council, by death or removal from
office, the house of representatives shall nominate two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return their names to congress, one of whom congress
shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term. And every five years,
four months at least before the expiration of the time of service of the members of
council, the said house shall nominate ten persons, qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to congress, five of whom congress shall appoint and commission
to serve as members of the council five years, unless sooner removed. And the
governor, legislative council, and house of representatives shall have authority to
make laws, in all cases, for the good government of the district, not repugnant to
the principles and articles in this ordinance established and declared. And all bills,
having passed by a majority in the house, and by a majority in the council, shall be
referred to the governor for his assent; but no bill or legislative act whatever shall
be of any force without his assent. The governor shall have power to convene,
prorogue, and dissolve the general assembly when, in his opinion, it shall be expedient.
The governor, judges, legislative council, secretary, and such other officers as
congress shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity,
and of office; the governor before the president of congress, and all other officers
before the governor. As soon as a legislature shall be formed in the district, the
council and house assembled, in one room, shall have authority, by joint ballot, to
elect a delegate to congress, who shall have a seat in congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting, during this temporary government.
And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty,
which form the basis whereon these republics, their laws, and constitutions are
erected; to fix and establish those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions,
and governments, which forever hereafter shall be formed in the said territory; to
provide, also, for the establishment of states, and permanent government therein,
and for their admission to a share in the federal councils on an equal footing with
the original states, at as early periods as may be consistent with general interest;




THE NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY.


22


It is hereby ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid, That the following articles shall be considered as articles of compact between the original states and the
people and states in the said territory, and forever remain unalterable, unless by
common consent, to wit:
ARTICLE I. No person, demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner, shall ever be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments in the said territory.
ART. 2. The inhabitants of the said territory shall always be entitled to the
benefits of the writ of habeas corpus and of trial by jury; of a proportionate representation of the people in the legislature, and of judicial proceedings according to the
course of the common law. All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offenses,
where the proof shall be evident, or the presumption great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unusual punishments shall be inflicted. No man shall be
deprived of his liberty or property but by the judgment of his peers, or the law of
the land; and, should the public exigencies make it necessary, for the common
preservation, to take any person's property, or to demand his particular services,
full compensation shall be made for the same. And, in the just preservation of
rights and property, it is understood and declared that no law ought ever to be
made, or have force in the said territory, that shall, in any manner whatever, interfere with or affect private contracts or engagements, bona fide, and without fraud,
previously formed.
ART. 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the
Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their
consent; and in their property, rights, and liberty, they shall never be invaded or
disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by congress; but laws founded
in justice and humanity shall, from time to time, be made for preventing wrongs
being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.
ART. 4. The said territory, and the states which may be formed therein, shall
forever remain a part of this confederacy of the United States of America, subject
to the articles of confederation, and to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made, and to all the acts and ordinances of the United States in congress
assembled, conformable thereto. The inhabitants and settlers in the said territory
shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts, contracted or to be contracted,
and a proportional part of the expenses of government, to be apportioned on them
by congress, according to the same common rule and measure by which apportion'
ments thereof shall be made on the other states; and the taxes for paying their
proportion shall be laid and levied by the authority and direction of the legislatures
of the district or districts, or new states, as in the original states, within the time
agreed upon by the United States in congress assembled. The legislatures of those
districts, or new states, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


23


by the United States in congress assembled, nor with any regulations congress may
find necessary for securing the title in such soil to the bona fide purchasers. No
tax shall be imposed on lands the property of the United States; and in no case
shall non-resident proprietors be taxed higher than residents. The navigable
waters leading into the Mississippi and St. Lawrence, and the carrying places
between the same, shall be common highways, and forever free, as well to the
inhabitants of the said territory as to the citizens of the United States, and those of
any other states that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax,
impost, or duty therefor.
ART. 5. There shall be formed in the said territory not less than three nor
more than five states; and the boundaries of the states, as soon as Virginia shall
alter her act of cession, and consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to wit: The western state in the said territory shall be bounded
by the Mississippi, the Ohio, and Wabash rivers; a direct line drawn from the
Wabash and Port Vincents due north to the territorial line between the United
States and Canada; and by the said territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and
Mississippi. The middle state shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash
from Port Vincents to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north
from the mouth of the Great Miami to the said territorial line, and by the said territorial line. The eastern state shall be bounded by the last-mentioned direct line,
the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and the said territorial line: provided, however, and it is
fnrther understood and declared, that the boundaries of these three states shall be
subject so far to be altered that, if congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they
shall have authority to form one or two states in that part of the territory which
lies north of an east and west line drawn through the southerly bend or extreme of
Lake Michigan. And whenever any of the said states shall have sixty thousand
free inhabitants therein, such state shall be admitted, by its delegates, into the congress of the United States on an equal footing with the original states in all
respects whatever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and
state government: provided, the constitution and government so to be formed
shall be republican, and in conformity to the principles contained in these articles;
and so far as it can be consistent with the general interest of the confederacy, such
admission shall be allowed at an earlier period, and when their may be a less number of free inhabitants in the state than sixty thousand.
ART. 6. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said
territory otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have
been duly convicted: provided, always, that any person escaping into the same
from whom labor and service is lawfully claimed in any one of the original states,
such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed, and conveyed to the person claiming his
or her labor or service as aforesaid.




24


THE NOR TH- WESTERN TERRITOR Y.


PROBABLE POPULATION IN I787, AND CHARACTERISTICS OF.
It is estimated that at the date of the passage of the Ordinance
of '87 the entire and aggregate population of all the villages and
settlements of the territory did not exceed three thousand. These
settlements were chiefly located in the north-west and western portions of it. The paucity of the inhabitants may partially be
explained, that for the ends of peace, the government had by the
strength of its military arm forestalled and interdicted any disposition of the whites to possess or encroach upon lands occupied by
the aborigines. The French were the occupants of the villages
and environments, chief among which was Detroit, on the river of
that name; St. Vincents, on the Wabash; Cahokia, the site of the
giant tumuli, a few miles below St. Louis; St. Philip, forty-five
miles below St. Louis, on the Mississippi river; Kaskaskia, on
Kaskaskia river, six miles above its mouth, which empties into the
Mississippi seventy-five miles below St. Louis; Prairie-du-Rocher,
near Fort Chartres; and Fort Chartres fifteen, miles north-west
from Kaskaskia.
Concerning these original prairie-squatters and wilderness insinuators somebody writes as follows in regard to their peculiar
character:
"Their intercourse with the Indians, and their seclusion from the world, developed among them peculiar characteristics. They assimilated themselves with
the Indians, adopted their habits, and almost uniformly lived in harmony with
them. They were illiterate, careless, contented, but without much industry, energy or foresight.  Some were hunters, trappers and anglers, while others run
birch-bark canoes by way of carrying on a small internal trade, and still others cultivated the soil. The traders or voyageurs were men fond of adventures, and of a
wild, unrestrained, Indian sort of life, and would ascend many of the long riveis of
the West, almost to their sources, in their birch-bark canoes, and load them with
furs bought of the Indians. The canoes were light, and could be easily carried
across the portages between the streams."
There was attached to these French villages a "common
field " for the free use of the villagers, every family, in proportion
to the number of its members, being entitled to share in it. It was
a large enclosed tract for farming purposes. There was also at




HISTORY OF WAYNE COLNTY, OHIO.


25


each village a "common," or large inclosed tract, for pasturage
and feed purposes, and timber for building. If a head of a family
was sick, or by any casualty was unable to labor, his portion of
the "common field" was cultivated by his neighbors and the crop
gathered for the use of his family.
The author of the Western Annals says of the inhabitants:
They "were devout Catholics, who, under the guidance of
their priests, attended punctually upon all the holidays and festivals, and performed faithfully all the outward duties and ceremonies of the church. Aside from this, their religion was blended
with their social feelings. Sundays after mass, was their especial
occasion for their games and assemblies. The dance was the popular amusement with them, and all classes, ages, sexes, and conditions, united by a common love of enjoyment, met together to
participate in the exciting pleasure. They were indifferent about
the acquisition of property for themselves or their children. Living in a fruitful country, which, moreover, abounded in fish and
game, and where the necessaries of life could be procured with little
labor, they were content to live in unambitious peace and comfortable poverty. Their agriculture was rude, their houses were humble, and they cultivated grain, also fruits and flowers; but they
lived on, from generation to generation, without much change or
improvement. In some instances they intermarried with the surrounding Indian tribes."
These remote villages and settlements were usually protected
by military posts-Detroit especially, which, in 1763, when held
by the English, had resisted the assaults of the great Pontiacand had witnessed the "wrinkled front of grim-visaged war" a
century before the adoption of the Ordinance of I787.
ORGANIZATION OF THE OHIO LAND COMPANY.
Although our data was ample in this direction, we surrender
it to the fuller description of Hon. Isaac Smucker, of Newark,
Licking county, Ohio, as furnished to the Secretary of State, and




26


THE NOR TH-WESTERN TERRITORY.


published in statistics of 1876, whose researches in this field are
both thorough and exhaustive, which we here reproduce:
While Congress had under consideration the measure for the
organization of a territorial goverment north-west of the Ohio
river, the preliminary steps were taken in Massachusetts towards
the formation of the Ohio Land Company, for the purpose of making a purchase of a large tract of land in said territory, and settling upon it. Upon the passage of the ordinance by Congress,
the aforesaid land company perfected its organization, and by its
agents, Rev. Manasseh Cutler and Major Winthrop Sargent, made
application to the Board of Treasury July 27, I787, to become
purchasers, said board having been authorized four days before to
make sales. The purchase, which was perfected October 27, 1787,
embraced a tract of land containing about a million and a half
acres, situated within the present counties of Washington, Athens,
Meigs and Gallia, subject to the reservation of two townships of
land six miles square, for the endowment of a college, since known
as Ohio University, at Athens; also every sixteenth section, set
apart for the use of schools, as well as every twenty-ninth section,
dedicated to the support of religious institutions; also sections
eight, eleven and twenty-six, which were reserved for the United
States for future sale. After these deductions were made, and that
for donation lands, there remained only nine hundred and sixty-four
thousand, two hundred and eighty-five acres to be paid for by the
Ohio Land Company, and for which patents were issued.
At a meeting of the directors of the company, held November
23, I787, General Rufus Putnam was chosen superintendent of the
company, and he accepted the position. Early in December six
boat-builders and a number of other mechanics were sent forward
to Simrall's Ferry (now West Newton), on the Youghiogheny
river, under the command of Major Haffield White, where they
arrived in January, and at once proceeded to build a boat for the
use of the company. Colonel Ebenezer Sproat, of Rhode Island,
Anselm Tupper and John Matthews, of Massachusetts, and Colonel Return J. Meigs, of Connecticut, were appointed surveyors.




HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


27


Preliminary steps were also taken at this meeting to secure a
teacher and chaplain, which resulted in the appointment of Rev.
Daniel Story, who some time during the next year arrived at the
mouth of the Muskingum, in the capacity of the first missionary
and teacher from New England.
Early in the winter the remainder of the pioneers, with the
surveyors, left their New England homes and started on their
toilsome journey to the western wilderness. They passed on over
the Alleghenies, and reached the Youghiogheny about the middle
of February, where they rejoined their companions who had preceded them.
The boat, called the "Mayflower," that was to transport the
pioneers to their destination, was forty-five feet long, twelve feet
wide, and of fifty tons burden, and was placed under the command
of Captain Devol. " Her bows were raking, or curved like a galley, and strongly timbered; her sides were made bullet proof, and
she was covered with a deck roof," so as to afford better protection against the hostile savages while floating down towards their
western home, and during its occupancy there, before the completion of their cabins. All things being ready, they embarked at
Simrall's Ferry, April 2, 1788, and passed down the Youghiogheny
into the Monongahela, and thence into the Ohio, and down said
river to the mouth of the Muskingum, where they arrived April
7, and then and there made the first permanent settlement of civilized
men within the present limits of Ohio. These bold adventurers were
re-enforced by another company from Massachusetts, who, after
a nine weeks' journey, arrived early in July, 1788.
Many of these Yankee colonists had been officers and soldiers
in the Revolutionary army, and were, for the most part, men of
intelligence and character, and of sound judgment and ability.
In short, they were just the kind of men to found a State in the
wilderness. They possessed great energy of character, were
enterprising, fond of adventure and daring, and were not to be
intimidated by the formidable forests nor by the ferocious beasts
sheltered therein, nor by the still more to be dreaded savages, who




28


THE NOR TH-W ESTERN TERRITORY.


stealthily and with murderous intent roamed throughout their
length and breadth. Their army experience had taught them
what hardships and privations were, and they were quite willing
to encounter them. A better set of men could not have been
selected for pioneer settlers than were these New England colonists-those brave-hearted, courageous hero-emigrants to the
great north-west, who, having triumphantly passed the fiery ordeal
of the Revolution, volunteered to found a State and to establish
American laws, American institutions, and American civilization
in this the wilderness of the uncivilized West.
THE FIRST SETTLEMENT UNDER THE ORDINANCE OF I787.
Of course no time was lost by the colonists in erecting their
habitations, as well as in building a stockade fort, and in clearing
land for the production of vegetables and grain for their subsistence, fifty acres of corn having been planted the first year. Their
settlement was established upon the point of land between the
Ohio and Muskingum rivers, just opposite and across the Muskingum from Fort Harmar, built in 1786, and at this time garrisoned by a small military force under command of Major Doughty.
At a meeting held on the banks of the Muskingum, July 2, 1788,
it was voted that Marietta should be the name of their town, it being thus named in honor of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France.
SURVEYS AND GRANTS OF THE PUBLIC LANDS.
The first survey of the public lands north-west of the Ohio
river was the seven ranges of Congress lands, and was done pursuant to an act of Congress of May 20, I785. This tract of the
seven ranges is bounded by a line of forty-two miles in length, running due west from the point where the western boundary line of
Pennsylvania crosses the Ohio river; thence due south to the Ohio
river, at the south-east corner of Marietta township, in Washington county; thence up said river to the place of beginning. The
present counties of Jefferson, Columbiana, Carroll, Tuscarawas,




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


29


Harrison, Guernsey, Belmont, Noble, Monroe and Washington
are, in whole or in part, within the seven ranges.
The second survey was that of the Ohio Cominpany's purchase,
made in pursuance of an act of Congress of July 23, I785, though
the contract was not completed with the Ohio Company until October 27, I787. Mention of its extent, also the conditions, reservations, and circumstances attending the purchase, have already
been given.  One hundred thousand acres of this tract, called
donation lands, were reserved upon certain conditions as a free gift
to actual settlers. Portions of the counties of Washington, Athens
and Gallia are within this tract, also the entire county of Meigs.
The donation lands were in Washington county.
The next survey was the " Symmes purchase " and contiguous
lands, situated to the north and west of it, and was made soon
after the foregoing. The " Syzmmes purchase " embraced the entire
Ohio river front between the Big Miami and Little Miami rivers, a
distance of twenty-seven miles, and reaching northward a sufficient distance to include an area of one million of acres. The
contract with Judge Symmes, made in October, 1787, was subsequently modified by act of Congress bearing date of May 5, 1792,
and by an authorized act of the President of the United States, of
September 30, 1794, so as to amount to only 311,682 acres, exclusive of a reservation of 15 acres around Fort Washington, of a
square mile at the mouth of the Great Miami, of sections sixteen
and twenty-nine in each township, the former of which Congress
had reserved for educational and the latter for religious purposes,
exclusive also of a township dedicated to the interests of a college;
and sections eight, eleven and twenty-six, which Congress reserved
for future sale.
The tract of land situated between the Little Miami and Scioto
rivers, known as the Virginia military lands, was never regularly
surveyed into townships, but patents were issued by the President
of the United States to such persons (Virginians) as had rendered
service on the continental establishment in the army of the United
States (hence the name), and in the quantities to which they were




30           THE NORTH- WESTERN TERRITOR E.
entitled, according to the provisions of an act of Congress of August Io, I790. "It embraces a body of 6,570 square miles, or
4,204,800 acres of land. The following counties are situated in
this tract, namely: Adams, Brown, Clermont, Clinton, Fayette,
Highland, Madison and Union entirely; and greater or less portions of the following, to wit: Marion, Delaware, Franklin, Pickaway, Ross, Pike, Scioto, Warren, Greene, Clarke, Champaign,
Logan and Hardin."
Connecticut ceded all lands in the North-west to which she
claimed title to the United States (except the tract which has been
known as the " Western Reserve"), by deed of cession bearing date
September 14, 1786; and in May, I8oo, by act of the Legislature
of said State, renounced all jurisdictional claim to the "territory
called the Western Reserve of Connecticut."  That tract of land
was surveyed in 1796, and later into townships of five miles square,
and in the aggregate contained about 3,800,000 acres, being one
hundred and twenty miles long, and lying west of the Pennsylvania State line, all situated between forty-one degrees of north
latitude and forty-two degrees and two minutes. Half a million of
acres of the foregoing lands were set apart by the State of Connecticut, in 1792, as a donation to the sufferers by fire (during
the Revolutionary war) of the residents of Greenwich, New London, Norwalk, Fairfield, Danbury, New Haven, and other Connecticut villages whose property was burned by the British; hence
the name " Firelands" by which this tract taken from the western
portion of the Reserve has been known. It is situated chiefly in
Huron and Erie counties, a small portion only being in Ottawa
county. The entire Western Reserve embraces the present counties of Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Huron, Lake, Lorain,
Medina, Portage and Trumbull; also the greater portion of Mahoning and Summit, and very limited portions of Ashland and
Ottawa.
French grant is a tract of 24,000 acres of land bordering on the
Ohio river, within the present limits of Scioto county, granted by
Congress in March, I795, to certain French settlers of Gallipolis,






HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


31


who, through invalid titles, had lost their lands there. Twelve
hundred acres were added to this grant in 1798, making a total of
25,200 acres.
The United States military lands were surveyed under the provisions of an Act of Congress of June I, 1796, and contained
2, 560,ooo acres. This tract was set apart to satisfy certain claims
of the officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary war, hence the
title by which it is known. It is bounded by the seven ranges on
the east, by the Greenville treaty line on the north, by the Congress
and Refugee lands on the south, and by the Scioto river on the west,
including the county of Coshocton entire, and portions of the
counties of Tuscarawas, Guernsey, Muskingum, Licking, Franklin, Delaware, Marion, Morrow, Knox, and Holmes.
The l'Ioravian lands are three several tracts of 4,000 acres each,
situated respectively at Shoenbrun, Gnadenhutten, and Salem, all
on the Tuscarawas river, now in Tuscarawas county. These
lands were originally dedicated by an ordinance of Congress dated
September 3, I788, to the use of the Christianized Indians at
those points, and by act of Congress of June I, 1796, were surveyed and patents issued to the Society of the United Brethren,.
for the purposes above specified.
The Refugee tract is a body of land containing Ioo,ooo acres,
granted by Congress February I8, I80I, to persons who fled from
the British provinces during the Revolutionary war and took up
arms against the mother country and in behalf of the colonies, and
thereby lost their property by confiscation. This tract is four and
one-half miles wide, and extends forty-eight miles eastward from
the Scioto river, at Columbus, into Muskingum  county.  It
includes portions of the counties of Franklin, Fairfield, Perry,
Licking, and Muskingum.
Dohrnan's grant is a township of land six miles square, containing I3,040 acres, situated in the south-eastern part of Tuscarawas county. It was given to Arnold Henry Dohrman, a Portuguese merchant of Lisbon, by act of Congress of February 27,
I80I, "in consideration of his having, during the Revolutionary




32


THE NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY.


war, given shelter and aid to the American cruisers and vessels
of war."
The foregoing is a list of the principal land grants and surveys
during our territorial history, in that portion of the north-west
that now constitutes the State of Ohio. There were Canal land
grants, lauimee Road grants, and various others, but they belong
to our State, and not to our Territorial history.
TREATIES MADE WITH THE INDIANS.
By the terms of the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, concluded with the
Iroquois or Six Nations (Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas,
Tuscaroras, and Oneidas), October 22, 1784, the indefinite claim
of said confederacy to the greater part of the valley of the Ohio
was extinguished. The commissioners of Congress were Oliver
Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee. Cornplanter and Red
Jacket represented the Indians.
This was followed in January, I785, by the Treaty of Fort McIntosh, by which the Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas and Chippewas relinquished all claim to the Ohio Valley, and established the boundary line between them and the United States to be the Cuyahoga
river, and along the main branch of the Tuscarawas to the forks,of said river, near Fort Laurens, thence westwardly to the portage between the head waters of the Great Miami and the Maumee.or Miami of the Lakes, thence down said river to Lake Erie, and
along said lake to the mouth of the Cuyahoga river. This treaty
was negotiated by George Rogers Clark, Richard Butler and Arthur Lee, for the United States, and by the chiefs of the aforenamed tribes.
A similar relinquishment was effected by the Treaty of Fort
Finney (at the mouth of the Great Miami), concluded with the
Shawanese, January 31, 1786, the United States Commissioners being the same as the foregoing, except the substitution of Samuel
H. Parsons for Arthur Lee.
The Treaty of Fort Harmnar, held by General St. Clair January
'9, I789, was mainly confirmatory of the treaties previously made.




THE NOR TH- WESTERN TERRITORY.


33


So also was the Treaty of Greenville, of August 3, I795, made by
General Wayne, on the part of the United States, and the chiefs
of eleven of the most powerful tribes of the north-western Indians,
which re-established the Indian boundary line through the present
State of Ohio, and extended it from Loramie to Fort Recovery,
and from thence to the Ohio river, opposite the mouth of the Kentucky river.
The rights and titles acquired by the Indian tribes under the
foregoing treaties were extinguished by the General Government,
by purchase, in pursuance of treaties subsequently made. The
Western Reserve tract west of the Cuyahoga river was secured by
a treaty formed at Fort Industry, in 1805. The lands west of
Richland and Huron counties and north of the boundary line to
the western limits of Ohio were purchased by the United States
in I818. The last possession of the Delawares was purchased in
I829, and by a treaty made at Upper Sandusky, March I7, i842,
by Colonel John Johnston and the Wyandot chiefs, that last remnant of the Indian tribes in Ohio sold the last acre they owned
within the limits of our State to the General Government, and retired, the next year, to the Far West, settling at and near the
mouth of the Kansas river.
FIRST OFFICERS OF THE TERRITORY.
Congress, in October, 1787, appointed General Arthur St.
Clair, Governor; Major Winthrop Sargent, Secretary; and James
M. Varnum, Samuel H. Parsons and John Armstrong, Judges of
the Territory, the latter of whom, however, having declined the
appointment, John Cleves Symmes was appointed in his stead in
February, 1788. On the 9th of July, 1788, Governor St. Clair
arrived at Marietta, and finding the Secretary and a majority of
the judges present proceeded to organize the Territory. The Governor and judges (or a majority of them) were the sole legislative power during the existence of the first grade of territorial
government. Such laws as were in force in any of the States, and
3




34


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


were deemed applicable to the condition of the people of the Territory could be adopted by the Governor and judges, and, after
publication, became operative, unless disapproved of by Congress,
to which body certified copies of all laws thus adopted had to be
forwarded by the Secretary of the Territory.
The further duty of the judges, who were appointed to serve
during good behavior, was to hold court four times a year, whenever the business of the territory required it, but not more than
once a year in any one county.
THE SECOND GRADE OF TERRITORIAL GOVERNMENT.
After it shall have been ascertained that five thousand free
male inhabitants actually resided within the territory, the second
grade of territorial government could, of right, be established,
which provided for a Legislative Council, and also an elective
House of Representatives, the two composing the law-making
power of the territory, provided always that the Governor's assent
to their acts was had. He possessed the absolute veto power,
and no act of the two houses of the Legislature, even if passed
by a unanimous vote in each branch, could become a law without
his consent. The conditions that authorized the second grade of
territorial government, however, did not exist until 1798, and it
was not really put into operation until September, 1799, after the
first grade of government had existed for eleven years.
EARLY LAWS OF THE TERRITORY.
The first law was proclaimed July 25, 1788, and was entitled
"An act for regulating and establishing the militia." Two days
thereafter the Governor issued a proclamation establishing the
county of Washington, which included all of the territory east of
the Sciota river to which the Indian title had been extinguished,
reaching northward to Lake Erie, the Ohio river and the Pennsylvania line being its eastern boundary; Marietta, the seat of the
territorial government, also becoming the county seat of Washington county.




THE NORTH- WESTERN TERRI1 OR Y.


35


Quite a number of laws were necessarily adopted and published during 1788 and the following year. From I790 to I795
they published sixty-four, thirty-four of them having been adopted
at Cincinnati during the months of June, July, and August of the
last named year, by the Governor and Judges Symmes and Turner. They are known as the "Maxwell Code," from the name of
the publisher, and were intended, says the author of "Western
Annals," to form a pretty complete body of statutory provisions."
In 1798 eleven more were adopted. It was the published opinion
of the late Chief-Justice Chase, "that it may be doubted whether
any colony, at so early a period after its first establishment, ever
had so good a code of laws." Among them was that "which
provided that the common law of England, and all statutes in aid
thereof, made previous to the fourth year of James I., should be
in full force within the territory." Probably four-fifths of the
laws adopted were selected from those in force in Pennsylvania;
the others were mainly taken from the statutes of Virginia and
Massachusetts.
LOCAL COURTS AND COURT OFFICERS.
Among the earliest laws adopted was one which provided for
the institution of a county court of common pleas, to be composed
of not less than three nor more than five judges, commissioned by
the governor, who were to hold two sessions in each year. Pursuant to its provisions, the first session of said court was held in and
for Washington county, September 2, I788. The judges of the
court were General Rufus Putnam, General Benjamin Tupper and
Colonel Archibald Crary. Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs was
clerk, and Colonel Ebenezer Sproat was sheriff. Elaborate details
of the opening of this, the first court held in the North-west Territory, have come down to us, showing it to have been a stylish,
dignified proceeding. Briefly, "a procession was formed at the
Point (the junction of the Muskingum with the Ohio river) of the
inhabitants and the officers from Fort Harmar, who escorted the
judge of the court, the governor of the Territory and the terri



36


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUANTY, OHIO.


torial judges to the hall appropriated for that purpose, in the northwest block-house in " Campus Martius."  "The procession," says
Mitchener, "was headed by the sheriff, with drawn sword and
baton of office."  "After prayer by Rev. Manasseh Cutler, the
court was organized by reading the commissions of the judges,
clerk and sheriff; after which the sheriff proclaimed that the court
was open for the administration of even-handed justice to the poor
and the rich, to the guilty and the innocent, without respect of
persons; none to be punished without a trial by their peers, and
then in pursuance of the laws and evidence in the case."
On the 23d day of August, 1788, a law was promulgated for
establishing "general courts of quarter sessions of the peace."
This court was composed of not less than three nor more than
five justices of the peace, appointed by the governor, who were to
hold four sessions in each year. The first session of this court was
held at "Campus Martius," September 9, 1788. The commission
appointing the judges thereof was read. General Rufus Putnam
and General Benjamin Tupper, says Mitchener, constituted the
justices of the quorum, and Isaac Pearce, Thomas Lord and Return
Jonathan Meigs, Jr., the assistant justices; Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs, Sr., was clerk. Colonel Ebenezer Sproat was sheriff
of Washington county fourteen years. The first grand jury of the
North-west Territory was empanneled by this court, and consisted
of the following gentlemen: William Stacey (foreman), Nathaniel Cushing, Nathan Goodale, Charles Knowles, Anselm Tupper,
Jonathan Stone, Oliver Rice, Ezra Lunt, John Matthews, George
Ingersoll, Jonathan Devol, Jethro Putnam, Samuel Stebbins and
Jabez True.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES.
Washington county, embracing the eastern half of the present
State of Ohio, was the only organized county of the North-west
Territory until early in I790, when the governor proclaimed Hamilton county, which included all the territory between the Big and
Little Miami rivers, and extended north to the "Standing Stone
Forks," on the first named stream.




THE NOR TH- WESTERN TERRITOR Y.                                    37
The following is a list of all the Territorial counties organized;
also the date of organization, with their respective county seats:
COUNTIES.                    WHEN PROCLAIMED.                 COUNTY SEATS.
I. Washington................. July 27, 1788........................ Marietta.
2. Hamilton.................... January 2, I790..............  Cincinnati.
3. St. Clair..................... February, 1790................ Cahokia.
4.  K nox..........................  In  1790.................................  Vincennes.
5.  Randolph...................  In  1795.................................  K askaskia.
6. Wayne....................... August 15, I795...................... Detroit.
7. Adams........................ July 0I, I797..................... Manchester.
8. Jefferson....................  July 29, I797...................... Steubenville.
9. Ross........................... August 20, 1797.................. Chillicothe.
10.  Trumbull.....................  July  Io, I8oo..........................  W arren.
II. Clermont..................... December 6, I8oo................ Williamsburg.
12. Fairfield...................... December 9, 8oo.................... New  Lancaster.
13. Belmont...................... September 7, I8oI..................  St. Clairsville.


It will be observed that Hamilton was the second county
organized. There were situated within its limits, when organized,
several flourishing villages, that had had their origin during the
closing months of 1788 and early in 1789. Columbia, situated at
the mouth of the Little Miami, was the first of these laid out, its
early settlers being Colonel Benjamin Stites, of "Redstone Old
Fort" (proprietor); William Goforth, John S. Gano, John Smith
(a Baptist minister, who afterwards became one of Ohio's first
United States Senators), and others, numbering in all twenty-five
persons or more, though some of them arrived a little later.
Cincinnati was the next in order of time, having been laid out
early in 1789, by Colonel Robert Patterson, Matthias Denman,
and Israel Ludlow. Several not very successful attempts had also
been made at various points between Cincinnati and the mouth of
the Great Miami by Judge Symmes.
The early settlers of Hamilton county were principally from
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Kentucky.  Judges
Symmes and Burnet were representative men in the Miami Valley from New Jersey; Jeremiah Morrow and Judge Dunlavy from
Pennsylvania; Wm. H. Harrison and Wm. McMillan, from Virginia; and Colonel Robert Patterson and Rev. James Kemper,
from Kentucky.




38


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


The Scioto Valley, the next in order of time, was settled
chiefly by Virginians and Kentuckians, represented by Colonel
Thomas Worthington and General Nathaniel Massie, two of its
prominent settlers.
And the early settlements along Lake Erie, during the closing
years of the eighteenth century, whose representative men were
Governor Samuel Huntington and Hon. Benjamin Tappan, were
established by men not a whit inferior to those above named.
And the good that General Washington said of the New England
colony that settled Marietta could, with very slight modifications,
be said of most of the settlers and pioneers of the aforesaid
settlements.
EARLY TERRITORIAL VILLAGES AND TOWNS.
The following is a list of the principal villages and towns of the
North-west Territory, started and built up during Territorial rule,
with the time of the first survey of lots, together with the names
of their proprietors:
Marietta-laid out in 1788 by Rufus Putnam and the Ohio Land Company.
Columbia-laid out in I788 by Benjamin Stites, Major Gano, and others.
Cincinnati-laid out in 1789 by Robert Patterson, Matthias Denman, and
Israel Ludlow.
Gallipolis-laid out in 179I by the French settlers.
Manchester-laid out in 179I by Nathaniel Massie.
Hamilton-laid out in 1794 by Israel Ludlow.
Dayton-laid out in 1795 by Israel Ludlow and Generals Dayton and Wilkinson.
Franklin-laid out in 1795 by William C. Schenck and Daniel C. Cooper.
Chillicothe-laid out in 1796 by Nathaniel Massie.
Cleveland-laid out in 1796 by Job V. Styles.
Franklinton-laid out in 1797 by Lucas Sullivant.
Steubenville-laid out in 1798 by Bazaleel Wells and James Ross.
Williamsburg-laid out in I799.
Zanesville-laid out in 1799 by Jonathan Zane and John Mclntire.
New Lancaster-laid out in I8oo by Ebenezer Zane.
Warren-laid out in I8oi by Ephraim Quinby.
St. Clairsville-laid out in I8oI by David Newell.
Springfield-laid out in I8oi by James Demint.
Newark-laid out in I802 by Wm. C. Schenck, G. W. Burnet, and John N.
Cummings.




THE NOR TH- WESTERN TERRITORY.                      39
Cincinnati at the close of the territorial government was the
largest town in the territory, containing about one thousand
inhabitants. It was incorporated in 1802, with the following as
first officers:
President-David Zeigler.
Recorder-Jacob Burnet.
Trustees-Wm. Ramsay, David E. Wade, Charles Avery, Wm. Stanley, John
Reily, Samuel Dick, Wm. Ruffner.
Assessor-Joseph Prince.
Collector-Abram Cary.
Town Marshial-James Smith.
TERRITORIAL OFFICERS.
The following exhibit gives a full list of the officers of the territory, with the date of service, including the delegates to
Congress:
Governor-General Arthur St. Clair, served from 1788 to 1802.
Secretaries-Winthrop Sargent, served from 1788 to 1798; William H. Harrison, served from 1798 to 1799; Charles Willing Byrd, served from 1799 to I803.
The latter gentleman was also acting Governor during the
closing months of the territorial government, Governor St. Clair
having been removed from office, in I802, by President Jefferson.
Treasurer-John Armstrong, served from 1792 to 1803.
Territorial Delegates in Congress-William H. Harrison, served from 1799 to
x8oo; William McMillan, served from I8oo to I80o; Paul Fearing, served from
180I to 1803.
Territorial Judges.-James Mitchell Varnum, Samuel Holden
Parsons, and John Armstrong were appointed judges for the
North-west Territory, by Congress, in October, I787; the latter,
however, declined, and John Cleves Symmes was appointed to the
vacancy in February, 1788, and he accepted.
Judge Varnum died in January, 1789, and William Barton was
appointed his successor, but declined the appointment; George
Turner, however, in 1789, accepted it. On the Ioth of November, 1789, Judge Parsons was drowned in attempting to cross Big




40


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Beaver creek, and Rufus Putnam became his successor, March 31,
I790. In 1796 he resigned, and Joseph Gilman succeeded him.
The territorial court was composed of thre'e judges, two of whom
constituted a quorum for judicial purposes, and also for the exercise
of legislative functions, in co-operation with the Governor.


NAMES.             WHEN APPOINTED.      END OF SERVICE.


James M. Varnum..................  October, 1787......................  January, 1789.
Samuel H. Parsons................  October, 1787......................  November 1o, 1789
John  Armstrong...................  October, I787......................  Refused  to  serve.
John  C. Symmes....................  February, I788.....................
W illiam  Barton.....................   -,   789.....................  Refused  to  serve.
George Turner.......................  -  --, 1789.....................
Rufus  Putnam.......................  March  31, 1790...................  Served  until  1796.
Joseph  Gilman......................  -,  1796...................
Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr., was appointed (says Judge Burnet) after the first session of the Territorial Legislature, of which
he was a member, and probably continued in office to the close of
the territorial government, but I have not been able to verify said
conjecture.
HOSTILITY OF THE INDIAN TRIBES-MILITARY EXPEDITIONS.
From the time of the organization of the government of the
"North-west Territory," in      I788, until the ratification  of the
"treaty of Greenville," sometimes called "Wayne's treaty," in
1795, the attitude of many of the western Indian tribes towards
the white settlers in the North west Territory was that of extreme,
unrelenting   hostility.  The    military  organization  which   had
marched against them, before the establishment of civil government in the great North-west, had signally failed to subjugate
them, or secure a permanent cessation of hostilities. The disastrous expedition of General Braddock in 1755, of Major Wilkins
in 1763, of Colonel Bradstreet in 1764, of Colonel Lochry in I78I,
and of Colonel Crawford in I782, and the disgraceful and murderous expedition against the Moravian Indians on the Tuscarawas,
in the last named year, only tended to inflame the hostile Indian




THE NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY.             4a
tribes, and inspire them with greater courage in their hostile movements and aggressive reasures against the white settlers. The
fruitless, if not abortive campaigns of Colonel McDonald in 1774,
of General McIntosh in 1778, and of General Broadhead in I781,
of course led to no salutary results. Even the successful campaigns of Colonel Boquet in 1763-4, of Lord Dunmore and General Lewis in I774, and of General George Rogers Clark in 1788,
failed to secure a permanent peace with the western Indian tribes.
The inhabitants of the North-west Territory were, therefore, from
the 7th of April, 1788, when the first immigrants arrived at the
mouth of the Muskingum, until the treaty of Greenville was concluded in August, I795, constantly liable to the stealthy but
deadly attacks of the perfidious, merciless savage tribes of the
North-west. But they met their dastardly, cruel, relentless foes
in the spirit of genuine manhood-of true, determined, unflinching
heroism! They were men worthy of the heroic age of the West!
Bravely did they bear themselves during those seven years of toil
and privations, of dread and apprehension, of suffering and sorrow,
of blood and carnage.
To secure the speedy termination of those savage atrocities the
National Government early organized a number of military expeditions, the first of which being that of General Harmar, in I790,
who was then commander-in-chief of the military department of
the West. He had a few hundred regular troops under his command, stationed chiefly at Fort Harmar and at Fort Washington,
which served as the nucleus of his army. The great body of his
troops, however, numbering in all above fourteen hundred, were
Pennsylvania and Kentucky volunteers, the former being under
the immediate command of Colonel John Hardin, and the latter of
Colonel Trotter.  The expedition left Fort Washington and
marched to the junction of the St. Joseph and St. Mary's rivers
(now Fort Wayne, Indiana), where detachments of the army,
under command of Colonel Hardin, on the i9th and 22d days of
October, encountered the enemy and suffered mortifying defeats.




42


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Of course the campaign failed to give peace or relief from apprehended barbarities.
The next year General St. Clair, the Governor of the territory,
who had a Revolutionary record of patriotism and ability, organized an expedition, whose strength somewhat exceeded that of
General Harmar's. It met with a most disastrous defeat, November 4, I79I, near the head waters of the Wabash, now in Mercer
county, Ohio, the battle-field being known as Fort Recovery. Of
fifteen hundred men in the battle more than half of them were
either killed or wounded, and it was indeed a great calamity to the
disheartened and greatly harrassed pioneers of the North-west
Territory.
Immediately after the defeat of General St. Clair, the Federal
Government took the preliminary steps to raise a large army to
operate against the hostile tribes, for the purpose of finally and
permanently subjugating them. Military preparations, however,
progressed slowly, and the summer of I794 had nearly passed
before the confederated hostile Indian tribes were met in battle
array by General Wayne's army. The battle was fought at the
Maumee Rapids, near Perrysburg and Fort Meigs, in Wood
county, Ohio, and is known as the battle of " Fallen Timbers,"
though sometimes called the "Battle of the Maumee." Wayne's
army numbered more than three thousand men, well disciplined,
and ably officered, sixteen hundred of whom being mounted volunteer troops from Kentucky, commanded by General Charles
Scott, of said State, who was the second ranking officer in the
army, and who, as well as General Henry Lee (the "Light Horse
Harry" of the Revolution) and General William Darke, had been
favorably considered by President Washington in connection with
the chief command of the expedition. The choice, however, fell
upon General Wayne, the old companion in arms of the President,
and to him is justly ascribed the honor of defeating the Indian
tribes commanded by the celebrated Shawnee chief, Blue Jacket,
on the Maumee, August 20, 1794, and of permanently breaking
the power of a very formidable Indian confederacy. Cessation of




THE NOR TH. WESTERN TERRITOR Y.


43


hostilities followed this victory, and a peace, which the general
Government had vainly sought by friendly negotiation, was
secured-a peace which continued for many years, even until
after the North-west Territory had "ceased to be," and the
important incidents and events connected therewith had passed
'into history.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SECOND GRADE OF TERRITORIAL
GOVERNMENT.
The Governor having satisfactorily ascertained that the conditions existed entitling the Territory to the second grade of government, that is, that there were "five thousand free male inhabitants, of full age," within the Territory, he, on the 29th day of
October, I798, took the preliminary steps to effect that object, by
issuing his proclamation, directing the qualified voters to hold
elections for Territorial Representatives on the third Monday of
December, 1798. The election was held in pursuance of said
proclamation, which resulted in the following gentlemen being
chosen to constitute the popular branch of the Territorial Legislature for the ensuing two years:
MEMBERS OF TERRITORIAL LEGISLATURE OF 1799-I800.
Return Jonathan Meigs, Washington  John Edgar, Randolph county.
county.                       Solomon Sibley, Wayne  "
Paul Fearing, Washington county.  Jacob Visgar,  "  "c
William Goforth, LHamilton  "   Charles F. Chabert de Joncaire, Wayne
William McMillan,  "   "          county.
John Smith,      "     "        Joseph Darlinton, Adams county.
John Ludlow,     "     "        Nathaniel Massie,  "  "
Robert Benham,   "     "        James Pritchard, Jefferson  "
Aaron Caldwell,  "     "        Thomas Worthington, Ross "
Isaac Martin,    "     "        Elias Langham,     c  c
Shadrack Bond, St. Clair  "     Samuel Findlay,    "
John Small, Knox       "        Edward Tiffin,c "
The above named gentlemen met at Cincinnati on the 22d of
January, 1799, and nominated ten men, whose names they forwarded to the United States Congress, five of whom were to be
selected by that body to constitute the Legislative Council of the
Territory. They then adjourned to meet on the I6th of September, 1799.




44


HISTORY OF IAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


On the 22d of March, 1799, either the United States Senate,
the United States House of Representatives, or the President of
the United States (authorities are not agreed), chose from among
those whose names had been suggested to them the following gentlemen, to compose the first Legislative Council of the North-west
Territory, their term of office to continue five years, any three of
whom to form a quorum:
Jacob Burnet, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county.
Henry Vandenburg, of Vincennes, Knox county.
Robert Oliver, of Marietta, Washington county.
James Findlay, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county.
David Vance, of Vanceville, Jefferson county.
The Ordinance of I787 named Congress as the authority in
whom was vested the right to select five from the list of ten persons to constitute the Territorial Council.  But it will be borne in
mind that said Ordinance was passed by a Congress that legislated
in pursuance of the Articles of Confederation, while yet we had
neither President nor United States Senate, hence authority was
given to Congress to make the selection. But it is highly probable that the aforesaid authority was subsequently transferred to
the President, or to the Senate, or to them jointly,
FIRST COUNCIL AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Both the Council and House of Representatives met at Cincinnati, September I6, 1799, and effected a permanent organization.
The Council perfected its organization by the election of the following officers:
President-Henry Vandenbu rg.
Secretary-William C. Schenck.
Door-keeper-George Howard.
Sergeanl-at-Armts-Abraham Cary.
The House of Representatives completed its organization by
electing, as its officers, the following gentlemen:
Speaker sf the House-Edward Tiffin.
Clerk-John Riley.
Door-keeper-Joshua Rowland.
Sergeant-at-Arms-Abraham Cary.




THE NORTH-WESTERN TERRITORY.


45


Thirty bills were passed at the first session of the Territorial
Legislature, but the Governor vetoed eleven of them. They also
elected William H. Harrison, then Secretary of the Territory, a
delegate to Congress, by a vote of eleven to ten that were cast for
Arthur St. Clair, Jr., son of the Governor, then a promising young
lawyer of Cincinnati, and who then held the office of Attorney
General of the Territory. The first session of the Territorial Legislature was prorogued by the Governor, December 19, 1799, until
the first Monday of November, 1800, at which time they reassembled and held the second session at Chillicothe, which, by an act
of Congress of May 7, I8oo, was made the seat of the Territorial
Government until otherwise ordered by the Legislature. This,
the second session of the Territorial Legislature, was of short duration, continuing only until December 9, I8oo.
On May 9, i8oo, Congress passed an act establishing the Indiana Territory, with boundaries including the present States of
Indiana and Illinois, and William H. Harrison, having accepted
the office of Governor of said Territory, it devolved upon the Territorial Legislature, at its second session, not only to elect a delegate to fill the vacancy occasioned by his resignation, but also to
elect a delegate to serve during the succeeding Congress. William
McMillan, of Cincinnati, was elected to fill the vacancy, and Paul
Fearing, of Marietta, was elected to serve from the 4th of March,
I80I, to the 4th of March, I803. They were both reputed to be
men of ability.
By the organization of the Indiana Territory, the counties of
St. Clair, Knox and Randolph were taken out of the jurisdiction
of the North-west Territory, and with them, of course, Henry
Vandenburg, of Knox county, President of the Council; also,
Shadrack Bond, of St. Clair county; John Small, of Knox county,
and John Edgar, of Randolph county, members of the popular
branch of the Legislature.
On the 23d of November, I80o, the third session of the Territorial Legislature was commenced at Chillicothe, pursuant to adjournment. The time for which the members of the House of




46


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Representatives were elected, having expired, and an election having been held, quite a number of new members appeared. The
Council remained nearly as it was at the previous sessions, there
being not more than two changes, perhaps only one, that of Solomon Sibley, of Detroit, Wayne county, who took the place of
Henry Vandenburg; thrown into the new Territory. Robert Oliver, of Marietta, Washington county, was chosen President of the
Council, in place of Henry Vandenburg.
The House of Representatives, at the third session of the Territorial Legislature, was composed of the following gentlemen:
Ephraim Cutler, of Washington county.  Zenas Kimberly, of Jefferson county.
William Rufus Putnam,.4  4      John Milligan,    ("
Moses Miller, of Hamilton county.  Thomas McCune,    "      "
Francis Dunlavy,  "     "         Edward Tiffin, of Ross county.
Jeremiah Morrow,  "     "          Elias Langham,  "    "
John Ludlow,      "     "          Thomas Worthington, of Ross county.
John Smith,       "     "          Francois Joncaire Chabert, of Wayne
Jacob White,      "     "           county.
Daniel Reeder,    "     "         George McDougal, of Wayne county.
Joseph Darlington, of Adams county.  Jonathan Schieffelin,  "  "
Nathaniel Massie,   "     "        Edward Paine, of Trumbull county.
The officers of the House during the third session were as follows:
Speaker of the House-Edward Tiffin.
CZerk-John Reily.
Door-keeper-Edward Sherlock.
The third session of the Legislature continued from the 24th
of November, I8oI, until the 23d of January, I802, when it adjourned to meet at Cincinnati on the fourth Monday of November
following, but that fourth session was never held, for reasons made
obvious by subsequent events.
Congress, on the 30th of April, I802, had passed an "act to
enable the people of the eastern division of the Territory northwest of the River Ohio to form a constitution and State government, and for the admission of such State into the Union on an
equal footing with the original States, and for other purposes."
In pursuance of the aforesaid enactment, an election had been ordered and held throughout the eastern portion of the Territory,
and members of a Constitutional Convention chosen, who met at




THE NORTH- WESTERN TERRITORY.


47


Chillicothe on the first day of November, I802, to perform the
duty assigned them. When the time had arrived for commencing
the fourth session, of the Territorial Legislature, the aforesaid Constitutional Convention was in session, and had evidently nearly
completed its labors, as it adjourned on the 29th of said month.
The members of the Legislature (eight of whom being also members of the Convention), therefore, seeing that a speedy termination
of the Territorial government was inevitable, deemed it inexpedient
and unnecessary to hold the proposed session.
The Territorial government was ended by the organization of
the State government, March 3, I803, pursuant to the provisions
of a constitution formed at Chillicothe, November 29, I802, by
the following named gentlemen: Joseph Darlinton, Israel Donalson and Thomas Kirker, of Adams county; James Caldwell and
Elijah Woods, of Belmont county; Philip Gatch and James Sargent, of Clermont county; Henry Abrams and Emanuel Carpenter, of Fairfield county; John W. Browne, Charles Willing Byrd,
Francis Dunlavy, William Goforth, John Kitchel, Jeremiah Morrow, John Paul, John Reily, John Smith and John Wilson, of Hamilton county; Rudolph Bair, George Humphrey, John Milligan,
Nathan Updegraff and Bazaleel Wells, of Jefferson county; Michael
Baldwin, Edward Tiffin, James Grubb, Thomas Worthington and
Nathaniel Massie, of Ross county; David Abbot and Samuel
Huntington, of Trumbull county; Ephraim Cutler, Benjamin Ives
Gilman, Rufus Putnam and John Mclntire, of Washington county.
Joseph Darlinton, of Adams county; Francis Dunlavy, Jeremiah Morrow and John Smith, of Hamilton county; John Milligan, of Jefferson county; Edward Tiffin and Thomas Worthington, of Ross county, and Ephraim Cutler, of Washington county,
were the eight gentlemen of the last Territorial Legislature that
were also elected members of the Constitutional Convention.




48


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER III.
ORIGINAL AND PRESENT WAYNE COUNTY.
VARIOUS attempts have been made by public writers at defining the boundaries of the original Wayne county, but none of
them have achieved historic accuracy or supplied a sufficiently
definite description of its former vast territory. The difficulty
with which we were met in obtaining this description, the substratum, as it is, of all our work, can be more easily conjectured
than expressed. For a time its parallel was presented in the riddle
of the Sphinx. Our CEdipus, too, we suppose, had married his
mother, ran mad and died. The county records were of no more
use to us than that many slabs in the stables of the old Augean
King.  Their rich alluvial corners were explored, but without
compensating effect. The "oldest inhabitant," in this instance,
could not be utilized, and that pro-creative gentleman, made out
of the mud of the deluge, and who knew more about Wayne
county than any body else, including the Historical Society, made
a confession, acknowledged he was quite mistaken, and dropped
behind the curtain.
By patient search of the National and State records, generously
assisted by Hon. R. M. Stimson, the State Librarian, aided by the
former investigations, in this direction, of Hon. John P. Jeffries,
with the helpful co-operation of Hon. Benj. Eason, we have been
able to define the first, true, minute and only correct boundary of
Wayne county that has been produced since its existence was announced in August, 81 years ago.
Wayne county was established by proclamation of General
Arthur St. Clair, who, when the North-western Territory was cre



ORIGINAL AND PRESENT WAAYNE COUNTY.


49


ated into a government, was chosen its Governor. He was appointed in 1788. and continued to hold the office until Ohio was
admitted into the Union as a State, in 1803.
The proclamation of the Governor for that purpose bears date
August 15, I796, and may be found on page 2,096 of the 3d vol.
of Chase's Statutes.  It was the sixth county formed in the
North-western Territory, and the third in the territory composing
the State of Ohio, Washington county being the first, and Hamilton county the second, the former embracing all of the territory
east of the Scioto and Cuyahoga rivers, and the latter what is now
South-western Ohio, which includes all the territory between the
Big and Little Miami rivers, and extending north to what is known
as the "Standing Stone Forks," on the first designated stream.
In the early defined boundaries of counties established in the
North-western Territory the most accurate surveys were not made,
and clearly defined boundaries of counties did not even enter into
the laws. Our explorations of the records are sufficiently comprehensive and reliable to clearly define original Wayne county. For
that purpose we will commence at
THE MOUTH OF THE CUYAHOGA RIVER,
Where it empties into Lake Erie, at Cleveland, thence, following
up that river, to the "Old Portage,"* now known as Akron, in
Summit county, thence diverging from the Cuyahoga river in a
southerly direction, across the summit to a point on the Tuscarawas river, near New Portage, in the same county; thence following the Tuscarawas river through the county of Stark to the junction of the Big Sandy and Tuscarawas, at the north line of
Tuscarawas county, and there terminating the eastern original boundary of Wayne county; thence in a south-western direction on
*A carrying-place from which goods were transferred on that river, about five
miles across the country, to what is now known as "New Portage," in Coventry
township, in Summit county, on the Tuscarawas river.
4




50


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


THE OLD GREENVILLE TREATY LINE,
On the county line between Stark and Tuscarawas, to the east
line of Holmes county; thence across Holmes county to the
north-east corner of Knox county; thence on the line between
Knox and Ashland to the south-east corner of Richland county';
thence on the line between Richland and Knox counties to the
north-east corner of Pike township, Knox county; thence across
the townships of Pike, Berlin and Middlebury, in Knox county, to
the east line of Morrow county; thence across Morrow county on
the south line of the townships of Franklin, Gilead, and Cardington, in Morrow county, to the south-east corner of Marion county;
thence on the line between Morrow and Marion counties to the
north-east corner of Waldo township, in Marion county; thence
on the line between Waldo and Richland townships, to the southwest corner of Richland township; thence across the townships
of Waldo and Prospect, to the east line of Union county; thence
across Union county, on the south line of the townships of Jackson and Washington, to the east line of Logan county; thence
across Bokescreek and Rushcreek townships to the south-east
corner of McArthur township; thence on the line between McArthur, Lake and Harrison townships, and thence across Washington and Bloomfield townships, to the east line of Shelby county;
thence across Shelby county, between Jackson and Salem townships, and across the townships of Franklin, Turtle creek and
McLean, to the present site of old Fort Loramie, in McLean township, in Shelby county, this line terminating at the point of the
beginning of the old Greenville Treaty line; * thence in a northwestern direction from Fort Loramie, to the north-east corner of
*This treaty was consummated between General Wayne and the Indians
August 3, 1795. In this instance the innocent white man met " the poor savage,"
and by some pardonable folly of superior knowledge, introduced a valuable march on
the "scalp-lifter" by setting his compass, at the beginning of the survey, in the
month of June, to bear upon the rising sun for a due east line. This triumph of
engineering on the part of the pale face, made the line bear far north of a due east
and west line, which gave him a large tract of the finest lands in the State of
Ohio.




ORIGINAL AND PRESENT WAYNE COUNTY.


5I


Darke county; thence continuing on the same bearing across
section seven (7), of Jackson township, Auglaize county; thence
across the townships of Marion and Granville, to the southeast corner of Recovery township; thence on the south line
of Recovery township to Fort Recovery, in Mercer county;
thence north, bearing to the west through Recovery township, crossing the State line near the north-west corner of
section seven (7), entering the State of Indiana in the county
of Jay; thence continuing in the same direction through Adams county, to Fort Wayne, in Allen county; thence west,
bearing to the north, through the counties of Allen, Whitley, Kosciusko, Marshall, Stark, Porter, and Lake, in the State
of Indiana, to the most southern point of Lake Michigan;
thence around that lake northward through the counties of Cook
and Lake, in the State of Illinois, striking the summit of the highlands to the westward of the lake far enough to include the lands
upon the streams emptying into Lake Michigan, crossing the State
line between Illinois and Wisconsin, about twenty miles west
of the lake shore; thence in a northerly direction through
the counties of Kenosha, Racine, Waukesha and Ozoukee, near
the western shore of Lake Michigan; thence turning in a northwestern direction, following the summit of the highlands which
divides the waters flowing into the great lakes from those running
into the Mississippi, through the counties of Sheboygan and Fon
du Lac; thence in a western direction, crossing the south-east corner of Green Lake county, through the northern part of Columbia
county, near the site of old Fort Winnebago, to the south-east
corner of Adams county; thence in a northern direction, through
Adams county, the western part of Waushaka county, the southeast corner of Portage county, the western part of Waupaca
county, the western part of Shawanaw, along the western line of
Oconto, following the dividing ridge to the State line between
Wisconsin and Michigan; thence along the latter line to the
line between Canada and the United States; thence along that
boundary, through Lake Superior, Lake Huron, the River St.




52


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Clair, and Lake St. Clair, and Lake Erie, to the mouth of the
Cuyahoga river, the place of beginning.
It will be perceived from this original boundary, as proclaimed
by Governor St. Clair, that Wayne county embraced a large area
of the old North-western Territory.  It included about one-third
part of the present State of Ohio, one-eighth part of the State of
Indiana, the north-east corner of Illinois (including the site of the
present city of Chicago), the eastern and about the one-fifth part
of the present State of Wisconsin, the whole of the State of Michigan, embracing all of Lake Michigan, one-half of the areas of
Lakes Superior, Huron, St. Clair, and the north-western part of
Lake Erie, including the battle-ground on which Perry's victory *
was achieved.
The county seat of this vastly extended country, territorially
possessing an area of I33,000 square miles, and larger than England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, was established by the same
proclamation which announced its governmental life, at Old Fort
Detroit, now the present city of Detroit.t Thus remained the
boundaries and primitive organization of Wayne county for the
term of eight years, and until the second year after the State
Constitution had been adopted and the government of the State
of Ohio had been put in active operation.
The Connecticut Western Reserve, in the north-east part of the
State, is bounded on the south by the forty-first parallel of north
latitude; on the west by the present counties of Sandusky and
Seneca; on the north by Lake Erie; on the east by the State line
between Ohio and Pennsylvania. It had been granted to the Colony of Connecticut in I662, by Charles II., and reserved by the
State of Connecticut, after the American Revolution, in its deed of
cession to the government of the United States, with a view to
* September o1, I814, Commodore 0. H. Perry, in his flagship, Lawrence,
with a fleet of 9 vessels and 54 guns and 2 swivels, encountered Commodore Barclay, of the English navy, in his flagship, Detroit, with 6 vessels, 63 guns, 4 howitzers and 2 swivels, within hearing distance of Cleveland, on Lake Erie, and won
a decisive victory.
t Detroit, Michigan, still is in Wayne county, the name being retained.




ORIGINAL AND PRESENT WAYNE COUNTY.


53


compensate its Revolutionary soldiers for losses in that war, by
granting its warrant to such sufferers for portions of this reserved
territory.
In the year I803, by acts of the State Legislature, the counties
of Montgomery, Greene and Franklin were formed. These three
counties extended north to the State line.    It will be seen that
these three counties divided the original Wayne county, separating
all the territory east of Franklin-it being the furthest east of the
three named counties-south of the Connecticut Western Reserve
and north of the old Greenville Treaty line, from the balance of
Wayne county, leaving it without county organization, form, or
name, and afterwards known as "the New Purchase."
For five years this territory, called the   "New    Purchase,"
remained without civilization, other than a part of the unorganized territory of the State of Ohio. By Act of the General Assembly of Ohio, February 13, i808, the boundaries of the county of
Wayne were clearly defined in the third section of the Act to establish the county of Stark. We here give the section entire:
BOUNDARIES OF WAYNE COUNTY IN I 808.
"SEC. 3, Be it further enacted, That all that tract of country lying west of
the tenth range and east of the sixteenth range in the said New Purchase, and
south of the Connecticut Reserve, and north of the United States Military District,
shall be a separate and distinct county, by the name of Wayne, but with the county
of Stark attached to and made a part of Columbiana county, until the said county
of Stark shall be organized (Jan. I, 1809), and shall thereafter be and remain a
part of the county of Stark until otherwise directed by law."*
The first boundary of Wayne county, established by Legislative enactment, may be more specifically defined, as follows: On
the east by the present county line between Wayne and Stark; on
the south by the old Greenville Treaty line, including a strip of
Holmes county, as now organized, about two and a half miles
wide at the east end, and about seven miles wide at the west end,
which strip of territory compassed all of Washington and Ripley
*See 0. L., vol. 6, p. I55.




54


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


townships in that county, nearly all of Prairie, two-thirds of Saltcreek, half of Paint, and fractions of Knox and Monroe townships; on the west by the west line of Lake, Mohican, Perry and
Jackson townships, in Ashland county; and on the north by the
present county line between Medina and Wayne.
The change in this last description was by Act of the Legislature establishing Holmes county, January 20, I824, which took
from the south side of Wayne county the strip of territory above
referred to, lying between the old Greenville Treaty line and the
present southern boundary of Wayne county.
FORMATION OF ASHLAND COUNTY.
The formation of Ashland county by Act of the General Assembly of Ohio, February 24, 1846, took from Wayne to that
county its present townships of Jackson, Perry, Mohican and Lake,
except one tier of sections on the east side of those townships,
which by the same Act becameattached to the townships of Congress, Chester, Plain and Clinton, in Wayne county, which tier of
sections, among the inhabitants of those townships, is commonly
recognized as the "mile strip."
No other change in the boundaries of Wayne county has taken
place since the erection of Ashland county, and it is believed under
the present letter of our State Constitution, none will soon occur.
ORGANIZATION OF WAYNE COUNTY IN I812.
Wayne county was organized under an Act of the Legislature
of the State of Ohio, bearing date January 4, 1812, to take effect
on the Ist day of March thereafter. The Act provides, "That the
county of Wayne be and the same is hereby organized into a separate county." The same law provided that the people of the
county should elect county officers, on the first M/onday of April,
I812, to hold their offices until the next annual election. To the
year 18IO, Wayne county was one entire township, by the name
of Killbuck, called after the old Indian chief of that name.




ORIGINAL AND PRESENT WAYNE COUNTY.


55


ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS.
On the IIth of April, I812, the county was divided into four
townships, to wit: Sugarcreek, Wooster, Mohican and Prairie.
The present territory of Wayne county was surveyed into
ranges and townships by the government of the United States, in
the year I807.
The ranges were strips of territory, six miles wide, numbered from east to west, and extending from the old Greenville
Treaty line northward to the south line of the Connecticut Western Reserve-a distance averaging over thirty miles.
These ranges were again surveyed into sections of about one
mile square, or containing about 640 acres, and numbered from
one to thirty-six, beginning at the north-east corner, and each
thirty-six sections being designed for a township. These townships were again numbered from the south end of each range
northwardly.
Range No. I of the original government survey was the eastern and first range in the county, and in 1812 contained the originally surveyed townships, numbered 15, I6, 17, I8, and a small
fraction of 14.
Range No. 12 contained a small fraction of township 14, and
all of townships 15, I6, I7, i8.
Range No. 13 contained a small fraction of 13, and all of townships I4, I5, i6, 17.
Range No. I4 contained a fraction of 17, and all of townships
I8, 19, 20, 21.
Range No. I5 contained a fraction of 19, and all of townships
20, 21, 22, 23.
The order of the Commissioners of the county, bearing date
April ii, 1812, clearly defined each of the original townships as
follows:
Mohican township included all of range 15 in the county, and
the west half of range 14. For Prairie township, beginning at the
center of the 14th range, and at the corner of sections 3, 4, 9, 10,
in township 18, of range 14; thence east to the eastern boundary




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


of the county; thence south to the south-east corner of the county;
thence westwardly on the south boundary of the county (the old
Greenville treaty line), to the the center of the I4th range, and
thence north to the place of beginning.
Beginning for Wooster township at the center of range 14, at
the corners of sections 3, 4, 9 and Io, in township I8; thence
north to the northern boundary of the county; thence east to the
range line between ranges 12 and 13; thence south on said range
line to the corners of sections I, 6, 12 and 7, in township No. 14,
of range 13, and township No. 15, in range 12, and thence west
to the place of beginning.
Sugarcreek township contained all of the originally surveyed
townships I6, 17 and I8, and the northern tier of sections in
township 15, in range II, and all of originally surveyed townships
i6, 17 and I8, and the northern tier of sections in township 15, in
range 12.
By an order of the County Commissioners, on the 5th of September, 1814, East Union and Lake townships were formed, the
former embracing originally surveyed townships I6, 17 and I8,
and the northern tier of sections in township 15, in the I2th range;
the latter embracing the fraction of originally surveyed township
19, and all of township 20, in range 15, and the west half of originally surveyed township i8, and the west half of fractional township 17 in range 14.
On the 14th of September, 1814, four days after Perry's victory on Lake Erie, the County Commissioners entered an order of
record, changing the name of Mohican township to that of Perry.
On the 5th of June, 1815, the County Commissioners formed
the township of Springfield, as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of section 24, township 19, (now Plain), range 14;
thence west to the north-west corner of section 20; thence on the
section lines to the south-west corner of section 20, township I8,
(now Clinton); thence east to the south-east corner of section 24 -the range line-thence north on the range line to the place of
beginning.




ORIGINAL AND PRESENT WAYNE COUNTY.


57


By order of the County Commissioners of September 4, 1815,
Chippewa township was formed, beginning at the south-east corner of section 31, of township i8, of range II, original survey;
thence north, bearing to the west, to the north-west corner of
section 6; thence east to the north-east corner of the county;
thence south on the county line to the south-east corner of section
36; thence to the place of beginning.*
On the 5th of March, I816, the County Commissioners named
the originally surveyed township 17, of range I, Baughman
township.
At the last above date Saltcreek township was established, its
territory including all of the originally surveyed township I5, and
fractional township 14, of range 12.
Also, at the last above session of the Commissioners of the
county, originally surveyed townships 20 and 21, in range 14,
were named Chester township, and an order issued to the inhabitants to elect their officers.
Also at the last above named session of the County Commissioners, Paint township was formed of all of the originally surveyed township No. 15, and fractional part of township I4, in
range II.
Wayne township was formed, by order of the County Commissioners, October 12, i816, of the following territory: All of the
originally surveyed townships, Nos. I6 and 17, of range 13.
Greene township was formed, by order of the County Commissioners, February 5, 1817, of all of the 17 and I8 original townships of range 12.
Congress township was formed, by order of the County Commissioners, October 5, I818, of the originally surveyed township
No. 21, of range 14.
Milton township was formed of the originally surveyed township No. I8, of range 12, by order of the County Commissioners,
October 5, I8i8.
* The old record gives no reason for this peculiar western boundary of this
township.




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Jackson township was formed of the originally surveyed township 23, of range 15, by order of the County Commissioners, February I, 1819.
Canaan township was formed, May 5, I819, of the originally
surveyed township 17, of range 13, by order of the County Commissioners of that date.
Plain township* was formed as early as I817, and was composed of territory included in the original government surveyed
township No. Ig, of range 14. Its formation obliterated the north
half of Springfield township, formed on the 5th of June, I815.
Franklin township is composed of part of the originally surveyed townships 14 and 15, of range 13. The County Commissioners, by their order, dated June 7, 1820, formed the boundary
of this township as follows: Beginning at the north-east corner of
section 24, in township 15; thence south on the range line to the
south-east corner of section 13, in township 14; thence west on
the south side of sections 13, 14, 15, I6, 17 and I8 to the range
line on the west side of range 13; thence north on the range line
to the north-west corner of section 6, township 14; thence east to
the north-east corner of section 5; thence north to the north-west
corner of section 28, township 15; thence east to the north-east
corner of section 28; thence north to the north-west corner of section 22, township 15; thence east to the place of beginning.
On the 7th day of March, 1825, and after the formation of
Holmes county, in 1824, by order of the County Commissioners,
this township was enlarged by the attachment of the southern tier
of sections- I9, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24-since which time no change
has been made in its boundaries.
Pike township was formed in 1817, and was composed of the
exact territory which now constitutes Clinton township, and its
formation blotted out the south half and all the balance of Springfield left after the formation of Plain township. And thus, after a
brief existence of two years, Springfield township disappeared from
the records and map of Wayne county.


* Precise date of its formation does not appear on record,




ORIGINAL AND PRESENT WAYNE COUNTY.           59
On the 7th of June, 1825, Clinton township, the last of the
present sixteen townships of Wayne county, was formed, by an
order of the Commissioners of that date. Its boundaries then
were the same as now, and its formation struck from the map of
Wayne county the township of Pike.
Thus it will be seen how the settlement of the county, from
time to time, produced the organization of the various townships,
and established, as the necessities of the people required, their
local governments.




Ao


oHISTORY OF IVAY E COUNTY, 0111O.


CHAPTER IV.
WHY CALLED WAYNE COUNTY.
THE county of Wayne derived its name from the daring and
impetuous Major General Anthony Wayne, an ambitious officer
and ardent patriot of the American Revolution. He was a native.of Waynesborough, Chester county, Pa., where he was born January I, I745. The rolling hills, bleak mountains and rugged
scenery which furnished the romance of his boyhood, no doubt,
imparted to him that brusque, austere and apparently savage manner which achieved for him, from his followers, the sobriquet of
"Mad Anthony."
A glance at the ancestry of General Wayne makes the fact
prominent that he inherited his soldierly qualities, and that he was
but another link in a chain of warriors. His father was at the
head of a company of dragoons at the decisive battle of the Boyne,
fought July I, I690, between William III. and his father-in-law,
James II. His son Isaac, and father of Anthony, bore a heroic
and conspicuous part in the cruel conflicts with relentless and barbarous hordes of Indians, who brandished the slaughtering tomahawk where the genial sun first blessed with grateful light the
early home of his infant child.
Unlike Major General Wooster, he had not the opportunity,
nor had he availed himself of an academic nor collegiate course,
nor do the facts warrant us in believing that he was inhabited with
any very serious proclivity for books or study. The whole bent
and inclination of his mind seemed to have been in a military direction, though we believe he made his debut upon the theater of
public action as a surveyor. Bitter and irreconcilable collisions




WHY CALLED WAYNE COUNTY.


occurring between the Crown and the Colonies, and which ultimately precipitated the Revolution and secured our independence,
aroused his positive and passionate disposition and ingulfed him
in the controversy. His spontaneous and enthusiastic patriotism
soon acquired for him "the first wish of his heart"-a military
appointment. During the year 1775 he recruited a regiment of
volunteers and was made colonel of the same.
In 1776 the Continental Congress placed him in command of a
Pennsylvania regiment, when he joined the northern forces, receiving in the battle of Three Rivers a most painful wound. In
I777 he was commissioned a Brigadier General and directed to assume command of Ticonderoga, an important fort, situated two
miles below the present village of that name, on a point of land at
the entrance of the outlet of Lake George into Lake Champlain.
The aforesaid fort had been surprised and captured by Ethan Allen
on the 9th of May, I775. About the middle of September, 1777,
the battle of Brandywine was fought, upon the result of which
suspended the destiny, for the time, of the sedate city of William
Penn. Grand, indeed, was the prize for which the American and
English armies contended! Wayne bore the brunt of the fight
upon this occasion, but was compelled to endure the keen sting
and mortification of defeat; and not that alone, but the deep and
intense chagrin of witnessing, on the 26th of September, 1777, the
city of Philadelphia fall into the hands of Cornwallis-" the first
marquis, the second earl and the sixth baron of that name." His
reputation as a forager was sustained co-ordinately with his
fame as a soldier. If the country surrounding afforded subsistence
and was within the reach of camp, or marquee, he was vigorously
inclined to avail himself of it. In this role he distinguished himself, in the winter of 1777-78, when our army was lying at Valley Forge, on the banks of the Schuylkill. His irruption into
New Jersey resulted in the capture of herds of cattle and stores of
army provender.
A satirical ballad, or rather linked stanzas of slangy, clinking
doggerel, supposed to have been distilled from the adroit pen of




62


HISTORY OF WAYVNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the cultured Major Andre, and who, on the 2d of October, I780,
on the fatal gibbet, expiated his crime, was published and circulated, concerning that foraging expedition.
Here is one verse, as a specimen:
"But now I end my lyric strainI tremble as I show it,
Lest this same warrior-drover, Wayne,
Should ever catch the poet."
General Greene was president of the court-martial before which
Andre was tried, though it is understood Wayne received him
after his capture. At Stony Point, at the head of Haverstraw
Bay, on the Hudson, he was shot in the knee and fell, but rising
to his feet, he exclaimed, "Forward, my brave boys," when a
desperate assault wrenched the fort from the British, on the night
of July 15, I779. This presents itself as one of the most brilliant
exploits of the war. When in 178I, the Pennsylvania troops
revolted on account, as was alleged, of unliquidated arrearages
and a dispute respecting the terms of enlistment, General Wayne
energetically, but fruitlessly, attempted to restore harmony and
suppress discontent. In spite of his interposition, and all the officers, 1,300 men defied their authority, and under arms, marched
toward Philadelphia with the pronounced purpose of enforcing
acquiescence to their demands.  His soldiers loved and respected
him, however, and only sought what they imagined a reasonable
redress.
His field of operations was then transferred to Virginia, where
he campaigned with Washington, and "the good and great Lafayette," and here he had the grand satisfaction of beholding the
plumed and titled Cornwallis, " the lord of the bed-chamber," on
the g9th of October, I781, surrender his sword to the victorious
Washington.
We detect his next important movements on the frontier,
inaugurating a campaign against the now boastful and arrogant
Indian tribes of the West. To this service he addressed himself
with much of that peculiar zeal which was so typical of the man.




WHY CALLED WIA YNE COUNTY.


63


This time, and for this work, the right man had been chosen.
Knaves, fall back," was the luminous inscription upon his shield.
There was no kitey philosophizing about the transaction. It had
a blood-meaning against the wampum-belt and its perfidous
wearer.
St. Clair's unfortunate defeat on the Miami, where General
Butler and Major Ferguson fell, was well understood by the Indians. Unopposed by any forcible check, and unmolested by any
military movement since their recent success, true to the fiendish
propensity which triumph engenders in their barbaric natures,
they became insolent, exacting and imperious. They seriously
obstructed the tide of emigration to the West; looked upon the
white man as an intruder, and, emboldened by victory, induced
and courted conflict, seeming to prefer the death-revel, rather
than the calms of peace. It was evident that the code of force had
to receive its most rigid interpretation.  Bullet-logic was the only
alternative-the proper discipline and just corrective for these
ruthless recalcitrants the continent over. Necessary precaution
was observed. Military posts were fortified. Every suggestion
of prudence and foresight was adopted to prevent a second defeat.
An army was collected and the command settled upon the gallant
Pennsylvanian. A violent assault was made June 30, 1794, upon
Fort Recovery by the Indians, aided by some unhung Canadians,
or cut-throat English, which was repulsed. August,
— "rich arrayed
In garment, all of gold down to the ground,"
Witnessed the inception of the gory drama. The very heart of
Fiend-land was penetrated. The army moved with amazing rapidity. Their settlements on the Miami were pillaged. At the
junction of the Auglaize with this river Fort Defiance was constructed. Here General Wayne tendered "the olive branch,"
the pipe of peace, before he would awake the "slumbering sword
of war." They rejected his overtures, though it was apparent
there was distrust in their ranks.
One of the chiefs, Little Turtle, appeared to have a prevision




64


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


of their fate, "for," said he, "the Americans are now led by a
chief who never sleeps; the night and the day are alike to him."
They entertained a sort of inherent dread of Wayne, denominating him "the Black Snake;" but their animosity and pride were
too overwhelming to negotiate. So the boards were cleared, the
war-cotillion arranged, and the grim dancers put in position. The
American camp was posted in the midst of such extensive and
highly-cultivated fields as excited the admiration of the invaders.
For miles the country presented the appearance of a single village,
and rich corn fields spread on either side. The Indians had
retreated down the river from their settlement upon the advance
of the army, and had taken up a position in the immediate vicinity of a British fort, near the Miami rapids. This was one of
those posts retained by Great Britain in defiance of former treaties,
and constituted, as was generally believed, a depot where the
Indians could procure arms and counsel.
Somehow, our border history, all the way through, is blackened by the dastardly and unwarranted interference of British
scamps, red-jacketed bacon-thieves, and post-loungers.
On the 20th of August, 1794, General Wayne made an onslaught upon their chosen position. The smeared warriors fought
with courage.  Skilled in the use of fire-arms, and acquainted
with the maneuvers of battle, they were more formidable adversaries than in the covert of the thicket, the deeps of the dense
wood, or the sinuous ravine. Better had they accepted the olive
branch, than to have allowed the "summer flies" of success to
" have blown them full of maggot ostentation." The eagle of the
North was too daring and strong. They were destined to defeat
and slaughter; a vigorous and spirited bayonet charge routed the
merciless array.
At Fort Greenville, now known as Greenville, and county-seat
of Darke county, Ohio, eighty-one miles west by north of Columbus, on the 3d of August, I795, General Anthony Wayne met
the Indians in council, and, then and there, concluded a treaty of
peace.




WHY CALLED WAYNE COUNTY.                65
His life of terrible daring and terrible activity closed, in 1796,
in a cabin at Presque Isle. At his own request, he was buried
under the flag-staff of the fort; but, in I809, his son removed
him to Radnor cemetery, in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, where
a monument is erected to his honor.
5




66


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER V.
TOPOGRAPHY OF THE COUNTY.*
WAYNE COUNTY, located on the southern declivity of the dividing ridge intervening between the northern lakes and the Ohio
river, has been, in ages past, the theater of marked changes prior,
as well as subsequent, to the time of the elevation of the Alleghenies, and the formation of the northern lakes. The whole face of
the county very plainly shows the action of flowing water, and
that the entire surface many centuries ago was covered by a deep
sea, and wrought upon by its turbulent action, which is plainly
manifested upon the elevations in the valleys and the alluvial
plains.
The territory of this county is a part of that great topographical district reaching from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, and
from the Alleghenies to the Rocky Mountains. The northern limits of the county, extending within a few miles of the southern
rim of the Lake Erie basin, is the water-shed, or divide between the
St. Lawrence and the Mississippi; the spill, or summit level, being
at Summit Lake, near the city of Akron in Summit county, and
is 395 feet above Lake Erie, while the summit dividing the
* This chapter, and the two following ones, captioned, " A SYNOPSIS OF THE
GEOLOGY OF OHIO," and "GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF WAYNE COUNTY," were
prepared and written for us by Hon. John P. Jeffries, of the city of Wooster, whose
studious researches in these departments of science eminently qualified him for the
task. It is of rare occurrence that county histories embrace scientific disquisitions
upon these subjects, and it is a matter of congratulation that Mr. Jeffries has so
ably and learnedly performed this duty. A better topographical and geological
survey of Wayne county is thus afforded than has ever yet been presented, or could
possibly result from the generalizations applied to counties on these subjects by official State reports.




TOPOGRAPHY.


waters of the Black river and the Killbuck, north of Bridgeport,
near Lodi, in Medina county, is at an altitude of 382 feet above
the lake level. The highest land in the county is in the vicinity of
Doylestown, in Chippewa township, which is 450 feet above Lake
Erie, and I,042 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. North of Doylestown, however, at Wadsworth, in Medina county, five miles distant, the summit, where crossed by the Atlantic and Great Western
railroad, is 600 feet above the lake, and in that neighborhood the
highlands reach an altitude of 700 feet above Lake Erie.
In this range of elevations the Black River, Tuscarawas, Cuyahoga and Killbuck rivers have their sources. These elevations are
not the highest lands in the State, as in Tuscarawas county, Mount
Tabor reaches an altitude of 1, 365 feet above the sea, 977 feet above
the Ohio river, and 844 feet above Lake Erie. Westward of the axis
in Summit county, in the county of Richland, lands rise to an altitude of i,475 feet above the Atlantic, I,043 feet above the Ohio
river, and 9Io feet above Lake Erie; while in Logan county the
spur of the summit, which constitues the divide of the waters of
the Miami and those of the Scioto and the Sandusky, rises to an altitude of 1,540 feet above the Atlantic sea, I, Io8 feet above the
Ohio river, and 975 feet above Lake Erie.
These elevations, however, do not indicate the geological structure of the underlying rocks in this county, or in those portions of
the State mentioned as the wonderful drift phenomena of Ohio;
the entire State being covered with such deposits, conceal, as a
general rule, the rock formations which will be noticed in another
place.
The main portion of Wayne county is covered with drift, indeed, nearly every part of it, and the value and nature of the soil
is regulated by the character of the drift spread over the surface,
varying in depth from ten to seventy or eighty feet in vertical
thickness, the average drift deposit being about twenty-five feet.
The mass of the soil generally is composed of sand, gravel,
clay, and loam, though in some portions the clay predominates, as
in the beech district in the northern part of the county, but mixed




68


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


with these leading constituents in proper proportions are those
essentials which make the soil productive and produce the abundant crops for which the county is so noted, such as silica, lime,
magnesia, alumina, iron, phosphorus, and soda. The soil, as
some suppose, is not limited to a few inches of surface, but is as
deep as the drift itself, though properly speaking the soil, so called
by the farmers, is confined to a few inches in depth of surface.
The whole surface of the county contains 342,805 acres, the area
of the several townships' surface in acres being as follows: Paint,
I5,552; Sugarcreek, 22,985; Baughman, 22,659; Chippewa,
22,443; Greene, 22,456; Milton, 22,664; East Union, 22,44I;
Saltcreek, 14,871; Franklin, 23,005; Wooster, 14,591; Wayne,
23,084; Canaan, 23,I94; Congress, 23,007; Chester, 26,283;
Clinton, 17,211; Plain, 26,359.
The surface soil as a general rule is of friable character, except
in the beech and marshy districts, and which are by no means
extensive, the beech districts being confined to portions of Canaan,
Congress, and Milton townships. The marshes are confined to
Wooster, Plain, Franklin, Clinton, Sugarcreek and Baughman
townships.
The early settlers of the county found it densely wooded,
except the marshy districts, and the plain lands of Wooster, Chester, Plain, and Clinton townships. The Plains, then termed the
Glades upon the presumption, from their appearance, that they
were of the character of glade lands of Pennsylvania, poor and
worthless, turned out to be the most productive lands of the county. When first visited by white men, they were barrens, thickly
wooded with low, bushy oak, from three to four feet in hight, which
gave evidence of being the product of an impoverished soil, and
the early settlers being of this opinion, shunned these Glades,
preferring rather to clear away the heavy forest trees, and open up
their farms, instead of attempting their cultivation.
Thirty years prior to the emigration of the first settlers, as this
undergrowth would indicate, these plains were entirely destitute of




TOPOGRAPHY.


69


wood, except a few scattering large oaks, preserved, as if by design, for shades.
These plains were doubtless cultivated fields of a pre-historic
people, whose works of art are still manifest in and around themsuch as the mounds, fortifications, tumili, of Wooster, Plain, and
other townships in the county, noticed elsewhere.
The forest trees are all deciduous save a few perennials, such
as spruce, pine and cedar, which are found only on the cliffs above
the margin of the streams. The oaks are the leading forest trees,
though there is hickory, chestnut. sugar, maple, ash, linden, poplar
and beech in abundance, besides considerable sycamore, walnut,
butternut, cherry, gum, quaking asp, cucumber, mulberry, buckeye
and persimmon. The smaller grade of trees, such as dogwood,
plum, crab, thorn, willow, prickly ash, prickly locust, haw and
alder, in the early history of the county, were very abundant, and
at the present day the dogwood, during the month of May, ornaments every highland wood with its beautiful flowers; and the lower
woodlands still teem with the fragrance of the blossoms of the
thorn and crab.
The general features of the surface of this county are similar
to those of adjoining counties, the main portion of the land
being level and slightly rolling, though there are, nevertheless,
some high elevations other than the one near Doylestown, already
mentioned, especially along the main streams, where there are
also in some instances deep valleys, of which that of the Killbuck
is the largest.  The main streams are the Killbuck, Chippewa,
Mohican, Salt creek, Apple creek and Sugar creek, of which the
Killbuck is the largest, and makes the longest circuit through the
county, it having its source in Wayne and Canaan townships,
chiefly in the former, from near the center of which it flows in
three small streams north about a half mile beyond the center of
Canaan township, where the three small branches form a junction,
and the main stream flows on north to near the Medina county line,
then turning almost at right angles, it runs west into Congress
township, wherein for the distance of about a mile it flows in a




70


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


southerly course, then turning in a south-easterly direction along
the eastern side of the township, and into Chester, down to near
the south-east corner of that township, where it passes across
the corner of Wayne into Wooster township, through which it
extends in a meandering course about a mile west of the city of
Wooster, and in a southerly course passes through Franklin township in a zigzag course into Holmes county, at a point about two
miles east from the south-west corner of Franklin township.
The Chippewa, the next largest stream, has its source in Chippewa lake, in Medina county. It enters Wayne county near the
north-west corner of Milton township, and flows in a southerly
course to near the center of the township, where it makes a circular bend north-easterly to the Chippewa township line, from whence
it courses eastwardly to the east line of Wayne into Stark county,
at a point about a mile and a half from the south-east corner of
Chippewa township. This stream, also the Sugar creek and Newman's creek and their branches are tributaries of the Tuscarawas,
while the others above named, with their branches, are tributaries
of the Killbuck.
The Sugar creek's source is in East Union and Baughman townships, though it has several tributaries in Sugarcreek and Paint
townships, the chief of which is that known as Grable's Fork.
Apple creek has its rise in Wayne and Saltcreek townships.
The main branch flows out of Saltcreek, through East Union, into
Wooster township, and unites with the Killbuck about one-fourtlH
of a mile south-west of the city of Wooster. The northern branch
rises near the south line of Canaan township, and flows south into
Wooster township, uniting with the main stream near Stibbs' factory, about a mile east of the city of Wooster.
Salt creek has it source in East Union and Saltcreek townships.
The south branch rises near the south-east corner of Saltcreek
township, and winds in a south-westerly direction until it unites
with the north branch near the south-west corner of the township,
the main stream then passing in the same course into Holmes
county.




TOPOGRAPHY.


7I


Newman's creek consists of two main branches, one rising in
Sugarcreek, the other in Baughman township.     The main
stream rises near Dalton, flows north to near Fairview, where it
turns east, and after uniting with the northern branch, runs into
Stark county, forming a junction with the Tuscarawas, north of
Massillon.
The Muddy Fork of the Mohican makes a circuit through the
south-west corner of Chester into Plain, through which it extends
in a south-easterly direction to near the center of the township,
where it turns to the west and flows out of the county about two
miles north of the south-west corner of Plain township,
Little Killbuck, Clear creek, Spring Mills run, Crawford's run,
Cedar run, and Christmas run, are leading tributaries of the
Killbuck.
Little Killbuck rises principally in Chester township, extends into Wooster township and unites with the main stream
three miles north-west of the city of Wooster.
Clear creek and Christmas run rise in Wayne township and
flow south, the former joining with the Killbuck in Wooster township, two miles west of the city of Wooster, on the Eicher farm;
the latter joins the Killbuck in Wooster township, about a mile
south-west of the city. Reddick's Springs, one of the branches of
Christmas run, now furnish an ample supply of pure water to the
city of Wooster.
The Spring Mills run issues from springs in Plain township,
flows south through the village of Millbrook, and about one mile
farther south unites with the Killbuck.
The Crawford run, also known as Bahl's Mill run, has its source
in springs in Wooster and Plain townships, one branch issuing
from Bechtel's springs, near the Columbus road. Crawford's run
flows in a south-easterly direction, and joins the Killbuck about
three miles south west of Wooster. It also furnishes water power
for two saw mills and two grist mills, yet it is only a few miles in
length.
Cedar run, a small, pure stream, flowing in Cedar valley, issues




72


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


from springs in the highlands of Congress and Chester townships.
It unites with the Killbuck a short distance from where it
debouches from the Cedar valley.
The Little Sugar creek is a small stream of some note, as also
the north branch of Apple creek. It rises in Canaan and Wayne
townships, but chiefly in the former, flowing down through Wayne
and Greene, and across the north-east corner of East Union into
Sugar creek. It runs through the village of Smithville and a short
distance south of Orrville.
The north branch of Apple creek has its source in Wayne township near the north line, and flows south-west of Madisonburg into
Wooster township, uniting with the east branch near Stibbs' Factory, one mile east of Wooster.
The Little Chippewa creek rises in Canaan township, issuing
from several springs. The main branch, from its source, runs
north into section 13 to the south-west quarter, where it turns
north-easterly and extends into Milton township, and there unites
with the Chippewa, west of the village of Amwell.
Besides these streams there are many smaller ones, and, with
the numerous springs in every portion of the county, there is no
scarcity of water.
The source and course of the main streams very clearly indicate the highlands and valleys, as also the several divides by
which directions are given to the various water courses. They
show the highlands to be north of the county line, yet the
course of the Killbuck, from its source, shows the highlands to
be located in Wayne and Canaan townships, at least the flow of
the Killbuck would so prove, as it passes north almost to the Medina county line before meeting resistance. This is not remarkable, as not far distant is the divide between the Ohio river and
Lake Erie, and but slight excavation would turn the Killbuck into
the channel of the Black river. Observers have been free to state
that it is more than probable that at a remote era the Killbuck
poured its waters into Lake Erie. Upon this, however, we are




TOPOGRAPHY.                     73
not prepared to hazard an opinion, believing that at a later day
the waters from the lake flowed in the Killbuck Valley.
The highlands of Chippewa lie north of the divide between
the Killbuck and Tuscarawas, the main water-shed being west of
Chippewa creek, yet the bed of the Tuscarawas at Massillon is
about fifty feet higher than the Killbuck at Wooster.
Elevated bluffs, and often high hills, rise on either side from
the margins of the Killbuck, Chippewa, Salt creek, Apple creek,
Sugar creek, Clear creek, Mohican and Grable's Fork, and other
streams of note, all of which seem to have cut their channels down
through the various strata presented in the adjacent bluffs and
hills. In many places the precipitous rocks are visible with their
water-worn marks quite manifest, high above the streams.
THE SURFACE OF THE COUNTY.
The general appearance of the surface of the land of the county
is more rolling than otherwise, but this idea is not to be understood as conveying the impression that all of it is rolling, as very
much is sufficiently low and level to be well adapted to purposes
of farming, grazing and general agriculture.  The highlands in
Chippewa, and part of Milton, seem to be an elevated plateau
which apparently was at rest when marked changes were going on
in the valleys and plains of the interior and southern townships.
This opinion seems to be supported by the character and undisturbed condition of the strata as compared with that of other
localities.
The whole face of the county shows the action of water, from
the lowest and deepest valley to the summit of the highest elevation; but when it was acted upon, or in what condition it was
before it was wrought upon by water, is only a matter of conjecture. It has been surmised, however, by those learned in the
testimony of the rocks, that the submergence of this portion of
the State took place prior to the formation of the northern lakes
and the drainage of the upper regions of the Mississippi valley,
and during the first Glacial Era, while this portion of the continent




74


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


was covered by a deep sea. This theory is not without proof, as
the strata at Doylestown contain the evident marks of the glacial
period, which are seen upon the rocks and in the drift; and in the
valleys and less elevations the diluvial deposit is from ten to one
hundred and eighty feet thick.
It is quite apparent that this marked change of the surface of
the country took place before the carboniferous age, as upon
inspection the coal strata is deposited in basins, uniform in thickness of veins, and appearing to have been accumulated in ponds,
marshes and lakes, and after the accumulation of the coal matter,
the various formations now found overlying the coal precipitated
upon the coal matter.
The surface of the ground, with but little exception, is susceptible of cultivation, and, as a general rule, the soil is productive.
THE SOIL.
The soil is not uniform throughout the county, the greater
portion being composed of silica, alumina, lime, and what is vulgarly called "vegetable mould." The farmers generally are not
aware of the superior quality of the soil of their farms, nor are
they ready to admit that deep ploughing is equal to a coat of
manure. The wheat lands and those called "second bottom,"
have properly a limestone soil; yet limestone does not as a general rule seem to exist in a strata, but yet it is mixed with the
silica and alumina in such proportion as to make the richest and
most productive soil, keeping in view also that the other ingredients necessary to vegetation are always present, such as carbon,
magnesia and hydrogen. In the beech lands there is a lack of
silica and lime, hence the soil does not yield cereals to the same
extent as where the lime and silica are abundant.
By some unknown, mysterious process, the limestone once
existing somewhere has become pulverized and mingled with the
silica and alumina to such an extent as to become a great fertilizer
of the soil, causing it, with the silica and alumina, to yield to the
husbandman an abundant harvest.




TOPOGRAPHY.


Away from the bluffs and highlands, along the larger streams,
the surface is of the terrace order, wide extended plateaus, and in
many places along the banks of the smaller streams, the lands
assume what is termed the "second bottom," which are productive, especially for corn and grass.' Every township has more or
less of this kind of soil, besides also the terrace lands and plateaus.
What are known as the plain lands, in Wooster, Plain, Franklin
and Clinton townships, are especially of the terrace character, as
also is much of the lands of Milton, Chippewa, Baughman, Sugarcreek, East Union, Paint and Canaan townships. Indeed, nearly
all the elevated level lands in the wheat-producing districts of the
county are of this character.
THE PRAIRIES.
There are several-large bodies of lands in the county known by
the above title, and are located in Wooster, Plain, Canaan, Milton,
Clinton, Franklin, Baughman and Sugarcreek townships, the chief
of which are in Plain and Clinton. The origin of these peculiar
lands is not fully known, but they clearly indicate to have been at
first under water-probably lakes and marshes-and in the course
of time were encroached upon and overgrown by vegetation. At
least, this is probable, as in some of them there remain elevations,
as if once islands, sometimes covered with timber, and often large
and aged trees; some of them, such as Newman's creek swamp, as
it is termed, being covered with a thick underbrush, and others, as
those in the vicinity of Wooster, containing thrifty trees with wide
extended surface roots. In Canaan township, near Pike station,
during the construction of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway, the mysterious character of a small body of this class of
lands was fully tested. The surface, being covered with underbrush and thick sod, was appropriated by the company for the bed
of the road, but suddenly and wholly unexpectedly, and without
any previous indications, a large portion of the track disappeared,,
passing beneath into a hidden lake.
The existence of this subterranean lake is further evidenced by




76


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the flowing well on the farm of Edward F. Keeling, Esq., located
about two miles south-east of Pike station, in Milton township.
On sinking the well, the flow of water was reached at about eighty
feet from the surface, which immediately rushed up in the tube
several feet above the top of the well, in a volume five inches in
diameter, and has continued to flow ever since. The water is soft,
clear, cold and sparkling, showing that it comes from an undisturbed pure fountain. About fifty feet below the surface, the tube
passed through several feet of blue clay, having the appearance of
pulverized shale, mixed with streaks and thin layers of fire-clay,
showing the strata overlying the hidden lake to consist of drift.
The botany of the prairies is rich almost beyond description,
some of them, during the summer, being covered with the most
beautiful and fragrant flowers.
PHYSICAL ASPECT.
The physical features of the county, when considered in connection with its lakes, water courses, valleys, highlands, terraces,
plateaus, meadows and prairies, are picturesque and enchanting,
and viewed from the prominent elevations, can be seen, as far
as vision may extend, a grand panorama seldom witnessed. To
the observer is presented a great theater of farming industry, elegant houses, extensive barns, fields of waving grain, orchards of
the choicest fruits, preserved forests of native wood, and the pure
and never-failing streams flowing on and on in clear and sparkling waters.
The character of the lands throughout the county is most
singularly inviting.
If highlands, or lowlands, or broad fertile plains, or the deep
valleys with their rich productive soil, or extended lawns are preferred, all are here.
Killbuck valley is the most extensive of any in the county, and
doubtless was the location of a pre-glacial channel, though it is
only a few miles in width. The Killbuck stream at an early age
must have been of rapid current, as indicated by the deep chasms




TOPOGRAPHY.


77


it has worn in its course in the valley; but since, it has become a
very sluggish stream, its waters moving at the rate of about two
miles an hour, the waters of the Chippewa and Mohican flowing at
the same rate of speed. South of Wooster the lands of the Killbuck valley for halfa mile in width along the stream are low, and,
until cleared, were marshy and unproductive, but afterwards became very desirable for cultivated fields and beautiful meadows.
Away from the stream, and skirting the low bottom lands, are
bluffs that seem to be at first view high hills, but which are table
lands overlooking the valley.
In the immediate vicinity of Wooster the lower valley of the
Apple creek and that of the Killbuck unite and form an extensive
body of diluvial land, which is enriched each year by the overflowage of these streams, that spreads over the surface their sediment and vegetable mould, thus making the soil rich and productive, and the most valuable lowlands in the county.
The Killbuck is now confined to narrow limits when within its.
banks, which are low, except where it passes through gorges or
infringes upon the adjacent bluffs, but during floods its waters
cover the lowlands of the entire valley for a few days, then recede
within its banks. The waters of this stream seem to be running
upon higher ground than they did in earlier ages, and from the
character of the country through which they pass it is quite apparent that they occupy a borrowed channel. As regards the period
when the pre-glacial stream occupied the Killbuck valley, it can be
only conjectured, but doubtless it was before the waters of Lake
Erie and of the Ohio river ruptured their mounds-before the
Ohio river penetrated through the mound at Silver creek, or the
waters of Lake Erie had found an outlet by the way of the St.
Lawrence, as, until then, the tendency of the water from the lake
would be in this direction at least, and the waters of'the Ohio may
not then have set back up the Killbuck valley beyond the river's.
mouth, or may not even have reached north of Millersburg.
Lake Erie at that time must have been sufficiently elevated to discharge some of its waters over what is now the summit between




78           HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.
9.
Lodi and Bridgeport, and separating the waters of the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi rivers. This state of things having
existed, at least some of the physical features of this valley can be
accounted for, even subsequent to the carboniferous period, but
not the deposit of sand, gravel, clay and boulders now existing
and constituting a large portion of the deposits of the plateaus skirting the valley cliffs. However, one important fact clearly proved
is, that the streams of water and such agencies have largely contributed in the excavation of the valleys, elevating mounds and terraces, and in removing pre-existing surface and strata, such as
sandstone, shale, and limestone rocks.
The city of Wooster is located upon a terrace drift deposit.
Its site is within a mile of the Killbuck river, though its extended
corporate limits reach within half a mile of the stream. The drift
upon which the city is built is from forty to eighty feet in vertical
thickness, that underlying its central portion not being over
fifty feet in thickness, and the surface only being about twenty-five
feet above the Killbuck river. It is very evident that where the
city is located, if there ever was any of the coal measure, it must
have long since been removed, as no such strata now exists, though
small portions of coal and pulverized limestone appear in the drift.
Other agencies have also contributed to produce the present physcal features of this valley, as well, also, as the face of the country
throughout the county, which will be noticed in another place.
The valley of the Chippewa creek is very similar to that of the
Killbuck, though its physical features are more marked, and, in a
geological sense, much more important and interesting, as it extends through the most extensive coal fields of the county. The
Chippewa creek, the main stream of the valley, is overlooked by
high hills, its bed seeming to be in the channel of a pre-glacial
river, as it is quite evident the Chippewa creek never wrought out
its present bed, or cut its way through the numerous mounds in
its course.
The evident marks of the pre-glacial channel, as remarked by
Hon. M. C. Reed (geologist) in the geological survey of this




TOPOGRAPHY.                     79
county, as we learn from his manuscript report, by the kindness of
Professor Edward Orton and Mr. —   Bond, Superintendent of
Public Printing, are found in that locality, the course of which he
states as follows: "A deep pre-glacial channel enters the county
from the north, in the western part of Milton township, and extends southward, extending, as it approaches Orrville into a broad
swamp, the site of an ancient lake; from thence it passes eastward
into Stark county, a branch from Milton township extending directly east in the valley now occupied by Chippewa creek, and another southward through Canaan and Wayne townships, passing
east of Wooster and striking the line of the C., Mt. V. & C. R. R.,
near Apple creek.  Another channel from the north enters the
county near the east line of Congress township, and constitutes the
valley through which the Killbuck flows through the whole extent
of the county. A branch bearing southward from Wooster is followed substantially by the railroad until it unites with the ancient
channel from Ashland and Richland in the Valley of the Mohican."
These ancient channels at least tend to show the course of
drainage before the glacial era, and indicate that the water from
the north flowed in channels which cut their course in the underlying strata before the precipitation of the drift; and, from their
course, we can logically conclude that highlands existed then, as
now, between the streams, and, as now, overlooked these channels.
As a general rule the land in all the townships is high above the
main streams, and the present drainage of the county clearly indicates the character of the surface of the ground, pointing out its
highlands and lowlands, plains and water-sheds; the whole surface
of the highlands, plateaus and terraces being covered with clay,
sand and gravel, with bowlders scattered here and there; and on
some of the elevations in the coal measure districts, as in Saltcreek,
Paint, Chippewa and Franklin, large and small sand rocks are deposited.
THE LAKES.
There are at present several existing bodies of water of this
denomination, and numerous sites and remains of others formerly
existing in this county.




8o


HIISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Fox Lake,
Of Baughman township, is the largest of the existing group.  Its
location is in a marshy district, known as the "'Tamarack Swamp,"
in the south-east corner of section 2, the south-west corner of section I, the north-east corner of section  I, and the north-west corner of section 12, its larger portion being in section I, on the
lands of Mr. George Bigler, the greater portion of its western side
being on the lands of James B. Taylor, Esq., of Orrville, the
portion situated in sections I and 12 being upon the lands of T.
Little and S. C. Clapper. Its outward supply of water is from
two small streams, one flowing into it from the north-west, the
other from the south-east, the latter being the outlet stream from
Patton's lake. The outlet of Fox lake is from its north-western
side, the body of the lake lying north-east and south-west. The
outlet stream is known as Red run, one of the southern branches
of Newman's creek, of Chippewa township. It is supposed there
is an interior source of water supply to this lake, as the amount
discharged seems equal, if not, in fact, greater than that flowing in,
from the two small streams mentioned. The water of the lake is
clear, cold and pure, and of the character of spring water in the
interior. About one-third in from its northern shore there seems
to be a constant movement of the water, of the character of an
almost invisible whirlpool, the water of the surface for some distance moving very slowly in a small circle, in the center of which,
it is said, floating objects disappear, though the writer has never
witnessed this. It is claimed by some that this whirling of the
water is caused by the escapement of the water through a subterranean passage. This is only theory, the fact of its escape having
never been established; and, if it be so, then about an equal
supply must come into the lake from some quarter beneath its
surface, as the lake's level ever remains the same, except in cases
of extraordinary floods, when a slight increase of water appears.
Its actual depth in its deepest part has not been measured, though
several efforts have been made to sound it. Its depth, about onethird way in from the shore, was ascertained in the recovering of




TOPOGRAPHY.


8i


the body of Mr. McClellan, drowned there, and mentioned on another page. To reach the body, at the bottom of the lake, it
required three bed-cords, each averaging thirty-six feet in length,
tied together, which were carried down by a heavy grapple, the
body, by which means, was brought to the surface and rescued.
This lake, before the advent of the white settlers, was the resort
of Indians, who gathered there for the purpose of fishing, the lake
being then, as now, supplied with fishes of excellent quality, large
quantities of which are caught every year by the people of the
neighborhood. For many years, it has been a pleasure resort of
"fishing parties" from Wayne, Stark and Medina counties.
Patton's Lake.
This is a small body of clear, pure, cold water, of oblong shape,
about one-fourth as large as Fox lake, and situated only about onethird of a mile south-east of it, near the center of section 12, in
Baughman township, in the Tamarack Swamp. Three small
streams flow into this lake, one from the south, one from the
north-east, and one from the west. Its outlet is on its north-west
side, near its northern extremity, from where a small stream issues
and flows north-west and empties into Fox lake at its south-westerly end. This body of water rests in a basin, and is shallow compared with Fox lake, and also abounds in the different kinds of
fish. The crystal character of the water justifies the belief
that it contains an interior fountain, as some observers claim,
though none such has been proven to exist. Its outside supply
of water, however, issues from the springs of the highlands.
These lakes, though located in a swamp district and in what
would seem depressed ground, are, as well as the entire swamp,
in fact upon high lands, and with small expense compared with
the benefits to be derived from the undertaking, can be drained to
the north. The swamp lands, covering about two sections, to a
great extent retain their wild, native character, being literally covered with tamarack trees, whortleberry bushes (some of which
are eight feet in hight), underbrush, flags, and tall prairie grass.
6




82


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


In the marshes, cranberries grow in great abundance, and in no
other part of the county is there produced such quantities of
whortleberries as in this swamp.
In the early history of the country this swamp was noted as a
place of resort for bears, wolves, panthers, wild cats, which often
made night hideous with their screams, growls and howls. Deer
also took shelter in this almost impenetrable wilderness from the
pursuit of the hunter. Smaller animals, such as otters, beavers,
raccoons, opossums and minks also resorted here in search of food
and for shelter. This whole swamp, in many ages past, no doubt
was a lake, and is one of the evident land marks of a pre-glacial
channel. Some of the land owners have made encroachments
upon the outskirts of this swamp, cleared and converted the
ground into farming land, which has proven to be very productive.
Doner's Lake.
This lake is located in Chippewa township, in a depression in
what may be termed a champlain or terrace, and is of a circular
form, and seems to be supplied by an interior fountain, as no
stream flows into it, yet a constant stream issues from it.
Brown's Lake,
Situated in Clinton township, is similar in character to Doner's
lake, appearing to have an interior source and a constantly flowing outlet, and is on higher ground and much less depressed, the
lands upon its borders being but a few feet above the level of its
surface.
Manley's Lake.
This is a small body of clear and cool water, located on the
eastern side of the south-east quarter of section i6, in Clinton
township. Its supply of water issues from an interior fountain, it
having no other source. It is situated upon slightly elevated
ground. From its eastern side issues a small stream of pure,
sparkling water which constitutes one of the branches of the brook
flowing through the lowlands in the vicinity of Shreve.




TOPOGRAPHY.


83


Remains of Lakes.
Besides the remains of the lakes already described, located in
Baughman township, there are others in the county, some of
which are more extensive.
Newman's creek Swamp.
The lowlands in the valley of Newman's creek, extending from
the vicinity of Orrville eastward to beyond the east line of Baughman township, known as the Newman's creek Swamp when the
first settlement was made in the county, was the wildest, most
inaccessible and dismal district within its boundaries. At first it
was called the "Dismal Swamp" and "Shades of Death," and for
a long time none but the fearless backwoodsman in the pursuit of
game and fish, entered it. It was then literally covered with
trees, alder, willow, and low brushwood, but in places along the
stream were small, low marshy spots, where the choicest cranberries grew in great abundance. The stream itself was alive
with fishes of the most delicious quality. Wild potatoes grew
there in large quantities, sufficient to supply the settlers for miles
around who sought them for food.
Before the advent of the settlers of Baughman township, this
swamp was a place of safe retreat of wild animals from the
Indians, who made it a lurking place, and a fishing and hunting
resort. Even after the township was settled it was infested with
bears, panthers, wild cats and wolves, and elk and deer browsed
and took shelter within its protecting wilds. Beavers made this
swamp their home; otters frequented it for food; and raccoons
and foxes ever found it supplied with their choicest provisions;
cranes and fishhawks took their meals from the brook; and the
bald eagles and hawks made prey of the smaller birds that congregated there. Such was the condition of this swamp fifty years ago,
and, indeed, but forty-two years ago, when the writer visited it, its
condition had not been much improved. It was a wilderness and




84


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


dismal swamp then, the scream of the panther, the howl of the
wolf and the barking of the fox echoing within its borders.
The upper end of this swamp extended a short distance into
Greene township. At the west line of Baughman township it
reached north and south, over sections I8, 19 and 30, for the distance of about two and one-half miles. Then it extended eastwardly down the Newman's creek valley to the Stark county line,
through the following sections in Baughman township: It extended north and south in sections 20 and 29, north half way over
the former, and south about two-thirds over the latter; grew narrower in sections 2I and 28, but widened out in section 22, bending to the north into section 15, covering about one-fourth of the
south side of that section, and extending south near the south line
of section 22, being at this point originally over a mile in width.
It diminished in width nearly one-half at the east line of section
22, passing diagonally across section 23, covering about three-fifths
of this section, passing the section line on the east about the center of the section, its southern line crossing the south line of the
section and the north-east corner of section 26, and continuing in
a circular form one-third over the north side of section 25, and its
northern boundary line passing in an angular direction south-eastward over the south side of section 24, the north and south boundaries forming a junction a short distance east of the county line,
at the west line of sections 24 and 25, and eastward for about half
a mile in width; but from there it assumes a wedge shape, the
point being east of Baughman township.
A very marked change has taken place in this swamp district
within the last forty years. The woodman's ax has felled and
cleared away the trees, and the ditcher's spade has drained- and
reclaimed the lands. The husbandman's industry and skill have
garnished and beautified and converted the "dismal swamp " into
fruitful fields, yielding abundant harvests. There is here a complete metamorphosis, one of those exhibitions of which, in truth,
it may be said the "wilderness has been made to blossom as the
rose."




TOPOGRAPHY.


85


The soil of the lands is a black sandy loam, with sufficient clay
and pulverized lime interspersed, and the usual chemical ingredients to make it of the most productive quality.
No districts of lands in the county are more beautifully or advantageously located than those of the Newman's creek swamp. Smooth
and even of surface, as if a gentle river had flowed over them from
hill to hill throughout the extent of the valley, viewed from the
highlands on either side, it presents a prospect seldom witnessed.
For six miles is a landscape of unbroken plain, divided into cultivated fields, broad meadows, with here and there clumps of the
native wood, skirted by gentle elevations on either side, upon
which the early settlers erected their dwellings and opened up
their farms. And the prospect is equally inviting when observed
from the plain, and, as far as vision extends, are seen elevated farms
and gardens, large and convenient barns and elegant houses. It
seems almost a miracle that this once inhospitable "desert wild"
in so short a period has been changed into such a valuable farming
district.
This swamp, it is now conceded, is the remains of a pre-glacial
lake, and before the drift period was an open lake, perhaps
even wider than its present boundaries, and may have been a preglacial channel, conducting a large, deep stream from beyond the
summit, before the formation of the northern lakes. At all events,
in earlier ages a much larger stream flowed through this valley
than Newman's creek, after the carboniferous period.
KILLBUCK SWAMP.
This term may be properly applied to the low, marshy lands
lying between Wooster and Shreve, as, at the time the first settlers visited the county, a continuous swamp existed between these
two places, which is, doubtless, the remains of a pre-glacial lake in
the bed of the pre-glacial channel of the valley of the Killbuck.
The first visible remains of this ancient lake are the broad, low,
meadow lands south of Wooster, the northern edge of which
extends into the city. Fifty years ago nearly all the low lands




86


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


south and west of the city were covered by water the year round,
until boatmen saw proper to remove some of the upper driftwood
lodged in the Killbuck river. These lands were then valueless,
and shunned by the early settlers. Gradually, however, the river,
by the removal of the drift, receded within its banks, and soon the
formerly flooded meadows became covered with herbage; but it
was long before they became of value, even for grazing purposes,
on account of the surface ground seeming to be resting upon
water, as it could be shaken from almost any point for several rods
around. The whole surface rested upon a stratum of vegetable
mould, sand and mud, through which percolated small streams of
water.
The banks of the Killbuck are composed mostly of clay
brought from some other locality, and are generally higher than
the lands some distance away, which has been occasioned by the
river overflowing its banks. The Killbuck river is not in its native
bed, it, doubtless, having flowed much farther east, and formed a
junction with the Apple creek at or near the north end of Prairie
lane, if not even above the railroad bridge, as the land in that
locality shows clearly that a large body of water, in pre-historic
ages, flowed down the valley on the east side of the railroad. The
Apple creek may have passed in that direction, and joined the
Killbuck above the Beaver Dam. Many years ago, during a high
flood, the Apple creek flowed down Prairie lane, and formed for
itself a new channel; and at considerable cost to the township and
county it was kept in the old channel. Only by the construction
of the embankment and filling up the new channel was it kept
within its former boundaries.
The Killbuck was driven to its present location, not many centuries ago, by the Apple creek, which, by the vast amount of sediment and debris carried down into the plain, filled up the channel
of the sluggish Killbuck, somewhere in the "Big Meadow," as
this body of lowlands was termed, driving it westward to the base
of the hill, its present location. About forty years ago there was an
extraordinary flood which raised the water higher in the Apple




TOPOGRAPHY.


87


creek than ever known before, and seemed to sweep everything
before it. Near the center of section 9 it widened and deepened
its channel, filled up almost the entire width of the Killbuck, and
poured its flood south over the Columbus road, making deep gulleys through it, rendering it impassible.  The Big Meadow
(Sloan's) was soon submerged, and covered with sand and gravel.
The only way the mails could be got through to the Killbuck
bridge was by crossing the stream at the upper bridge, at Robison's mill, passing through the cemetery grounds, through Larwill's and Sloan's meadows, the water entering the coach and extending half way up the horses' sides. The writer, in company with
quite a number of persons, among whom were Colonel John Sloan
and William Larwill, after the water abated, visited the scenes of
the disaster. On examining the channel where it was widened and
deepened in section 9, it was discovered that several large logs
had been unearthed extending across the bed in a direction a little
east of south, two of which were near together, one above the
other, about three feet apart. The lower and smaller of the two
was bedded in the banks in a blue clay, which extended below it
to the bottom of the channel, the one above being imbedded in fine
sand and clay. At a short distance from the logs, up the stream,
an ancient channel, much wider than that of the present Killbuck
river, was discovered in the newly washed banks, the fresh channel having been cut down several feet in the blue clay, the evidences
being visible in both banks of the Apple creek, and in the direction of the logs. The depth of this channel was considerably below the bottom of the Killbuck, the upper log spoken of being
about on a level with it. The observations taken then very forcibly impressed the idea that this was an ancient course of the Killbuck. It was very manifest that this deep bed of the Apple creek
had not reached the bottom of the drift, or the pre-glacial channel,
and it seems to be conclusively proved that a large stream, wider
and deeper than the Killbuck river, flowed almost at right angles
across the present channel of the Apple creek. The surface of the
ground above this ancient bed gave no evidence of it whatever;




88


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


nor do the shiftings and changings of the Apple creek give any
surface signs. A striking illustration of this character was presented by this stream several years ago, at Robinson's mill dam,
near Wooster.  A rise in the stream changed its channel and
washed its right bank, by which five or six feet of earth were carried away, and the protruding trunks of two large trees, much decayed, were uncovered. These trees were buried in the ancient
channel of the stream about seven feet beneath the surface, and
were covered with sand, clay and gravel. On the top of the ground
under which they were buried grew large oak trees, one of which
having been felled, proved to be, from counting the rings of its
growth, many centuries old. No evidence, whatever, was visible
on the surface of the ancient channel.
The next evidence of remains of this lake is in the character
and topography of the ground along the line of the railroad south
of the Apple creek to and along both sides of the Wooster and
Franklin township ditch. One important feature is the open
swamp called the Beaver dam, which, fifty years ago, was a curiosity. This dam was in the midst of a pre-glacial channel, possibly from the valley of the Apple creek, as the one descending
that valley may have sent off a branch in this direction; at all
events such a channel existed here.
South of the Beaver dam, on the lands of W. N. Smith and
Edward Daniels, other important evidences of this ancient lake
appear in the marshes, highlands and islands which there appeared,
though since the construction of the ditch the swamp lands have
been converted into fruitful fields; and such to a very great extent
is the condition of the low marshes of the bed of this pre-glacial
lake nearly throughout, not by this ditch alone, but others which
have greatly reclaimed the land. The system of drainage is not
only conveying off the surplus water from the low swamp lands,
but converting the less depressed into elegant farms, with a surprisingly rich soil, inexhaustible in productiveness.
The contrast now compared with the condition of this portion
of the county seventy years ago, when the first settlers visited it




TOPOGRAPHY.


89


in I807, is remarkable. At that time from near Wooster to the
vicinity of Shreve, the whole plain from the base of the high lands
on either side was under water, except the ancient islands of the
lake, which stood prominent above the waves, as in the era when
the lake waters settled round them.  Much of the lowlands were
then an impenetrable swamp, always under water, in which grew
small brushwood whose widely extended roots seemed to hold
them upright with very little earth support. The other lowlands,
called "second bottom," were tolerably well wooded with soft
maple and elm. The islands and terraced portions of the plain
were heavily wooded with oak, sugar, hickory, ash and cherry,
that on the islands being of the same order as those on the highlands of the valley. There were then in several places quite extensive prairies in this ancient lake bed, among the prominent of
which was the one south and south-west of Wooster. The early
settlers so far as they were able to judge, concluded that one-half
of the plains constituting this lake bed was prairie, though this was
only a guess, as they were not then measured or counted by acres.
Some of them were wet, others dry, and some remain wet, especially south of Millbrook, which, to some extent, is owing to the embankment of the railroad which passes through the ancient lake
bed from Wooster to about a mile north of the village of Shreve.
On the east side of the lake basin below Moreland, was an extensive cranberry marsh on the farm of Samuel Moore, which, for
fifty years, supplied the Wooster market with this fruit.
The largest island of the series is the Blue Knob, then a prominent object in the lake basin, standing high above the water, its
large, stately trees making it an object of attraction. In times of
extraordinary floods, especially in the spring season, when the ice
became broken, it was a place of safety for wild animals, such as elks,
deer, bears, wolves, panthers, wildcats, foxes, raccoons, porcupines,
rabbits and squirrels. These, and such birds as wild turkeys, pheasants, quail and woodcock, were found here by the early settlers in
great numbers, as if seeming to be content in their place of shelter
without imposing upon one another, thus constituting a "happy




90


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


family." The Indians, during the winter season, lodged on the
large island north of the Blue Knob, on what is now the William
M. Orr farm, and ranged all over this lake basin, when it was
frozen over, in pursuit of game; and when the ice broke up they
feasted upon the animals which had congregated on the Blue
Knob and other islands. North of the Orr farm, on that portion
of the island known as the Gravel Pit, the Indians had a large
burying ground, and where many bodies were exhumed by men
in the employ of the railroad company while procuring gravel for
ballasting the road. The writer visited the scene, and secured a
portion of an Indian skull of large size, which is still hard and
solid, and a full quarter of an inch in thickness. This cranium
was above the ordinary size of the heads of the Delawares, whose
place of burial this was.
The Blue Knob, as have most of the islands of this ancient
lake, has been cleared and cultivated, as have also much of the low
swamp lands, second bottom and prairie lands been converted
into fruitful fields and broad meadows, rendering this lake basin
among the most productive districts of the county. In the lower
end of the basin, near Shreve, were several islands, which long
ago were converted into farming land, portions of the farms of
James W. Moore, the late America Funk and Hugh Morgan
being of them; and the low swamp lands formerly existing around
them are now cultivated fields and meadows. On the America
Funk tract was an extensive beaver dam, where these animals lingered until the white settlers and trappers became too numerous.
The site of this dam was near the road between Mr. Funk's late
residence and the chapel, south, no evidence of which now remains.
above the ground. Recently, however, on digging there, a cedar
log was found several feet below the surface, placed there centuries
before, as, when first discovered, the dam had the appearance of
being ancient. The cedar tree of which this log was a part was
brought from some other place, as no such wood is known to have
grown in the locality. Here seems to have terminated the southwestern edge of this pre-glacial lake, though it doubtless extended




TOPOGRAPHY.


91


far below the county line, as it can be traced all the way down
the valley of the Killbuck to the swamps north of Millersburg.
On Thomas Doty's farm in the vicinity of Savage Run, and on
other lands adjoining, are broad plains, containing elevations, the
remains of islands which occupied the lake. The whole distance
of this ancient sheet of water was from the vicinity of Stibbs' factory, a mile east of Wooster (as its waters, doubtless, set back
that far up the valley of the Apple creek), to near Shreve, in all
eleven miles; and down the Killbuck river, perhaps, to Millersburg, in Holmes county, from the vicinity of Shreve, a distance of
fifteen miles.
Passing north of Shreve, over the highlands, into Plain township, near Blachleysviile, are witnessed the remains of an ancient
lake in the pre-glacial channel of the valley of the Mohican, two of
the Mohican streams, the Muddy and Lake Forks, forming a junction about a mile west and south of the west line of Plain, in Mohican township. The remains of this lake, in the vicinity of Blachleysville, was long known as the " Big Meadows," extending fpom
Blachleysville, on the west side of Plain township, down into Clinton township, then into Lake township, in Ashland county, where
its open remains are seen in Odell's lake. The early settlers of
Plain and Clinton townships erected their dwellings and opened up
their farms on the margin of this ancient lake, which was then a
beautiful plain, covered with tall grass, flags and prairie flowers,.
except that it was studded with ancient islands, then thickly
wooded, which had the appearance of oases.
Blachleysville stands upon table land, virtually a terrace, overlooking the "Big Meadows," now known as the "Big Prairie,"
which extends north, west and south of the village. The soil
of the meadows is a black vegetable mould, from ten to thirty
feet in depth, resting upon blue clay, "hard pan," and which
burns slowly, though surely as a coal-pit, seldom producing a
blaze, but which consumes every vestige of the mould in course
of time, unless extinguished, which is no easy task after the fire
has become deep-seated. These prairie lands have undergone a




92


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


marked change since the settlement of the farmers upon their borders; the swamps have been drained, cleared and cultivated, and
this lake basin has become among the most productive farming
districts of the county. An arm of this ancient lake seems to have
extended eastward toward Shreve, as the remains of two small
lakes exist, one on the farm of the late James Keys, and the other
on the farm formerly occupied by Zepheniah Bell, these basins
being now cultivated fields. These ancient remains are in the vicinity of Brown's and Manley's lakes, already described.


4,




GEOLOG Y.


93


CHAPTER VI.
A SYNOPSIS OF THE GEOLOGY OF OHIO.
THE geology of Ohio, though not differing materially from that
of the adjoining States, has some very marked features not found
elsewhere in the Mississippi Valley, and as some of its peculiarities extend into Wayne county, it will be proper to briefly notice the geology of the State, in order that the reader may the
better understand that of the county.
The location of this State is peculiar; being in the upper end
of the Mississippi Valley, and bounded on the north by Lake Erie
and the ridges of Michigan, and on the south by the Ohio river,
it has ever been in a position to be wrought upon by water from
the north, as it has been in several eras.
One of the most peculiar features of the geology of this State
is the Cincinnati anticlinal, a description of which is furnished by
Professors Newberry and Orton,* the latter having made a complete and full survey and report of the same.
The existence of this uplift had been long known to geologists,
but its true character was wholly unknown until Professors Newberry and Orton made their report upon its structure and the
probable era of its elevation. Drs. Locke and Hildreth had given
opinions concerning the uplift, and Professor Spofford had shown
its existence in Tennessee.
The Cincinnati Arch consists of an uplift of the Lower Silurian,
with all imposed strata then existing, in the form of an arch, the
center and summit being east of Cincinnati. The arch is bent up
*Geological Survey of Ohio, vol. I, page 97.




94


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


in the shape of a bow, the southern end extending to the south
line of the State of Tennessee, and the northern end passing under
Lake Erie between Sandusky and Toledo. From the southern
line of Tennessee the anticlinal extends a little east of north
through Nashville, the Blue Grass regions of Kentucky, and
through Ohio to its terminus in Lake Erie. Professor Orton, by
actual survey, located the apex of the arch at Bethel, in Clermont
county, east of Cincinnati. The blue limestone about Cincinnati
represents the highest part of the arch in this State, and the blue
limestone of the Blue Grass regions of Kentucky represents its
highest part in that State. From the pivotal point, or apex, the
dip is south on the incline of the arch, and from the apex north on
the incline to the lake. On the eastern side the strata dips south
of east under the coal measure of the Alleghenies, and westward
the strata dips under the coal measures of Indiana and Illinois.
The line of uplift of the arch is parallel with the folds of the
rocks of the Alleghenies, and as observed by James A. Dana,
stretched south-westward into Kentucky and Tennessee, and dating "from the beginning of the upper Silurian, probably divided
the great interior marshes about the Upper Ohio regions from that
of the lower."*
The top of the arch has suffered much from erosion, the southern extension near the Ohio river much the greatest, yet the altitude is still greater there than at the lake or where exposed in its
vicinity.
From present indications, the upheaval of the arch at first constituted a low mountain, and perhaps divided the waters of the
Mississippi until the whole valley was elevated. The highest part
of the arch, at Bethel, is Ioo feet above the rock surface at Cincinnati. Before the uplift of the arch, all the Cincinnati group rested
upon it, showing that the entire lower Silurian strata had been constructed and in place before the upheaval. The strata on either
side of the central line of the arch, from the apex to the lake, very
clearly shows the position of the arch where the various beds of


*Dana's Manual of Geology, page 391.




GEOLOGY.


95


strata accumulated, as the strike on the east side is nearly north
and south from the lake to the Ohio river; but on the western
side it is nearly north-east and south-west. The continuation of
these lines, in the direction they bear, would bring them in conjunction near the north shore of Lake Erie.
Professor Orton has given a number of measurements of altitude of the Cincinnati group of rocks, connected with the anticlinal, which tend to show the original condition of the arch in the
regions of its apex and the dip of its strata. He reports the highest point of contact between the Cincinnati and the Clinton groups
near Lebanon, at 441 feet above Lake Erie, from which point the
dip for the distance of thirty-five miles northerly is at the rate of
about four feet to the mile. At the northern part of the State the
rocks of the Cincinnati group are not exposed, and hence the level
of the surface has not been ascertained in that locality, nor the dip
of the strata composing the arch. But at the mouth of the Vermillion river, at Sandusky, Toledo, Striker and White House,
borings have been made at points from 20 to 30 miles'from the
summit of the arch at the north, by which the blue limestone
strata has been shown to be about 800 feet below the level of Lake
Erie. The Niagara and Helderberg rocks overlie the Cincinnati
group, and are exposed along the line of the anticlinal, by which
Professor Orton was enabled to ascertain the northern slope of the
crest.*  He found the highest exposure of the Niagara strata
between the waters of the Little Miami and the Scioto rivers, the
surface being 557 feet above Lake Erie. The east and west dip
of the rocks forming the arch is much more rapid than to the
north, and at the rate of the dip, if the lines were extended, would
form an arch a thousand feet in hight.
The dip of the rocks which flank the arch on the east is more
rapid than on the west. This fact has been ascertained by the
position of the strata, especially the Huron shale, which shows a
a dip of 35 feet to the mile, according to Professor Orton; and
Dr. Locke reported the dip of the blue limestone at 37 feet 4
* I Vol. Geological Survey of Ohio, page 98.




96


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


inches per mile. At Bellefontaine, Logan county, the base of the
Huron shale is only 65 feet above Lake Erie, making a dip of 605
feet, being 12 feet to the mile. The dip eastward from Bellefontaine to Delaware, on an air line 36 miles east, is 402 feet, which
is about I I feet to the mile.
Comparing the elevation of the surface of the Cincinnati group,
in the south-western part of the State, with the level of the same
geological horizon at Columbus, the following result is shown: At
Lebanon the surface of the blue limestone is 441 feet above Lake
Erie; at Columbus the surface is 721 feet below the lake level,
thus showing a dip in a north-east direction of I, I67 feet in a distance of about seventy miles, being about I6.6 feet to the mile.*
The elevation of the Cincinnati arch was slow and gradual, the
strata of which, not being materially affected, except elevated in
the form of an arch, was simply a gentle flexure (as remarked by
Professor Orton) of the earth's crust. It was, doubtless, one of
the earliest of the great system of folds or wrinkles so wonderfully
manifested in the Appalachian mountain system.  No definite
date can be fixed showing the age when the first upward movement of this arch took place, or when it was left at rest. But it
was certainly elevated in Southern Ohio, "above the sea at the
end of the Blue Limestone period, early in the Clinton epoch. t
The exposed rocks of the Silurian system found in the Cincinnati arch are the Cincinnati group, the equivalents of the Hudson
and Utica shale, of New York, which are also exposed in the valley of the Ohio at Cincinnati, where about 800 feet in vertical
thickness appear in cliffs.
From the survey of the arch, and observations made by Professor Orton, it is quite manifest that the Lebanon beds, the topmost portion of the Cincinnati group, once stretched over its entire
breadth, and that the entire system was formed and rested in a
horizontal position before the first oscillation or upward movement
of the arch commenced.
* Geological Survey of Ohio, vol. I, p. Ioo.
t Geological Survey of Ohio, vol. I, p. 417.




GEOLOGY.                       97
The rocks covering the arch, when it was elevated to its present position, to some extent have disappeared by erosion. As far
north as Dayton the whole crown of the arch is occupied by the
outcrop of the Cincinnati group, and so deeply eroded as to form
the valleys of the two Miamis. Around the margin of the blue
limestone extends a broad belt of the Clinton and Niagara groups.
"In Clark, Champaign, Darke, Shelby and Mercer counties the
Niagara is its surface rock over the entire breadth of the anticlinal."* The corniferous limestone flanks the side of the arch from
Pickaway county to Sandusky, and from Sylvania up the Maumee
to Paulding. The deposition of the strata flanking and overlying
the arch, proves very clearly its elevation took place between the
eras of the formation of the lower and upper Silurian systems,
long prior to the elevation of the Appalachian system; and that
the arch stood forth as an island long before the submergence of
the Appalachian chain, is more than probable.
On the eastern side of the arch the dip of the strata composing
it is not always regular, its uniformity being interrupted by subordinate folds, though the dip, by successive steps, passes beneath
the trough of the Allegheny coal field, the axis of which is beyond
the eastern border of this State. At the east line of the State the
strata of the eastern declivity of the arch is buried 2,000 feet
beneath the surface. East of the State line the strata, the lowest
exposed in Ohio, as well as those systems underlying them, crop
out on the flanks and summits of the Alleghenies.
The dip of the strata north and south along the arch is now a
subject of much interest, since the true character of the anticlinal
has been made known by Professors Newberry and Orton in their
geological survey of this State. The dip northward from the Ohio
river to the lake is about I,ooo feet, and while the surface of the
Cincinnati group in Highland county is 500 feet above Lake Erie,
on the lake shore it is 400 feet below the lake level.
In the eastern half of the State the dip north and south is
equally interesting. At Little Mountain, Lake county, the carbon* Geological Survey of Ohio, vol. I, p. 102.
7




98


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


iferous conglomerate is 600 feet above Lake Erie, while at Marietta
it is over 600 feet below the lake level, showing a southward dip
of over 12,000 feet. This difference in the north and south dip of
the eastern and western portions of the State is owing, in great
extent, to the fact that the Cincinnati arch falls off rapidly toward
the north, terminating in the low country north of Lake Erie. If
the eroded portion of the arch at its axis could now be measured,
the dip from theOhio to the lake would far exceed I,000 feet.
The eroded surface of the Cincinnati arch in the blue limestone
regions of Kentucky is I30 miles, where much of the crown has
been swept away; northward, in Ohio, it is much narrowed, not
being over go miles wide on a straight line east and west.
The surface of the country does not, as a general rule, give
evidence of the thickness, nor, indeed, of the system, of the underlying strata. Deep boring is the only sure method to measure
the thickness and learn the kinds of strata beneath the surface,
and by means of which much light has been reflected as regards
the geological structure of Ohio. In the well bored at Toledo,
the red shale was reached at the depth of 800 feet. This well
passed through oo00 feet of drift, through the upper Silurian limestone, water lime, Niagara and Clinton rocks.
The crown of the arch is at Genoa, Elmore and Washington,
15 and 20 miles in a south-easterly direction from Toledo. It is
there covered by the Niagara, which is about 50 feet above the
lake level.
The deep boring at the State House well at Columbus shows
the character of the strata in that part of Ohio for the depth of
2,570 feet. The first stratum passed through was clay, sand and
gravel, 123 feet thick; the next stratum was black shale, 15 feet
thick; the next a gray limestone rock, with chert 138 feet thick.
Water was struck in this strata, at I50 feet from the surface, which
washed away the borings to the depth of 242 feet. Sulphur water
was found at I80 feet. Immediately below this formation was a
very gritty rock, two feet thick, which occupied two days' drilling
to pass through. Water from this point rose in the tube five feet.
Below this rock, and upon which it rested, was a limestone strata




/z r_/I r /I vo ~


Lr1 J ' L'  T X.              99
486 feet in thickness. The limestone was of light color and sandy
above, but darker and argillaceous below. Salt water was reached
in this strata at 675 feet. The next strata below was red, brown
and gray shales and marls, 162 feet thick, the borings of which
were impregnated with salt. Underlying the red, brown and gray
shales and marls were blue and greenish calcareous shales I,o58
feet in thickness, the borings impregnated with salt. The next
strata below was a light colored magnesian limestone 475 feet in
thickness; water in the tube of saline character. Below this strata
was a whitish calcareous sandstone 316 feet thick. The next
strata below, at the bottom of the well, was a sand rock. The
total depth of the well was 2,775 feet, 4 inches, but no register
was kept of the borings below 2,570 feet, they having been swept
away by water.
In Vol. I, page II4, of the Geological Survey of Ohio, Professor J. S. Newberry has in a very clear manner given the character and kind of strata through which the auger passed at the State
House well in a geological section, a copy of which is here given:
No. THICK- CHARACTER OF ROCKS. THEIR PROBABLE GEOLOGICAL
NESS.                           EQUIVALENTS.


Alluvial and drift deposits in old
I    I23 Clay, sand and gravel.
valley of the Scioto.
2      5 Black Shale.              Huron shale (Portage and Genesee shales) base only.
Gray limestone, with bands Corniferus Limestone.
3   138   of chert.
4      2 Very gritty rock.         Oriskany sandstone.
Limestone, light colored and Helderberg, Niagara and Clinton
5    486    sandy above, dark and ar- limestone.
gillaceous below.
6    162 Red, brown and gray shales Clinton, Medina and upper part
and marls.               Cincinnati group.
-Blue ad g   n           Cincinnati. group, with perhaps
7     58 Blue and green calcareous   Black river birds-eye andChazy
shales and limestones    limestones.
m _     n  Calciferous sandrock of NewYork,
4    Light drab, sandy magne8          sian limestone. y       magnesian limestone group of
sian limestone.          Missouri.


tzi
-.4
0
ci
Cn
to
r_
P
0


9


316


White sandrock, calcareous. Potsdam sandstone.






100


1HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Fig. I.
Fig. i is a vertical section of the rocks of Ohio, copied from Vol. I. Geological
Survey of Ohio, page 89.




GEOLOGY.


IO0


LOWER SILURIAN.
This system of rocks rests upon those of the Eozoic period,
the lower member, Potsdam sandstone, resting upon the broken
and upturned edges of the Laurentian, as represented in section
Fig. I.
The rocks composing the lower Silurian in this State are the
Potsdam sandstone, Calcifereous sand rock, Chazy limestone, Trenton group, and Hudson group.
Potsdam Sandstone.
This rock is a white, calcareous sandstone, and though not visible in any outcrop in Ohio, was reached by the auger in the deep
boring of the State House well, at Columbus.
Calciferous Sand Rock.
This system of strata, when in place, rests immediately upon
the Potsdam rock. In Ohio it was passed through in the sinking
of the State House well.  It is the Magnesian limestone of
Missouri.
Trenton Group.
Resting on the calciferous sand rock are the Trenton series,
consisting of the Trenton limestone, Black river and Chazy limestone. Upon the Trenton repose the Hudson group, consisting
of the Hudson and Utica shales. The Hudson group in this State
is a mixture of calcareous and argillaceous sediments.  This
formation, with the Utica shale, and a portion at least of the Trenton limestone, are the lowest exposed rocks in the State, and the
Cincinnati limestone, and the well known blue limestone, which
are usually considered as the equivalents of the Hudson and
Utica shales, but containing so many of the Trenton fossils, must,
according to Prof. Newberry,* in part at least, be considered of
the Trenton group. These ancient rocks were brought to the surface by the upheaval of the Cincinnati arch; and by the wearing
* I Vol. Geological Survey of Ohio, page 60.




I02


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


down of the valley of the Ohio by the river, 800 feet in vertical
thickness are exposed to view in the cliffs. About 1,200 feet of
the Cincinnati group were passed through in boring the artesian
well at the State House. This group of strata, it has been
claimed, contains a large amount of bituminous matter, and is the
first and lowest system of rocks containing petroleum, or carbon
oil.
UPPER SILURIAN.
This system of strata has been very clearly defined by the New
York geologists. The strata there consists of the Oneida conglomerate, Medina sandstone, the Clinton, Niagara, Salina, and
Helderberg groups.
Oneida Conglomerate.
This is the lowest member of the upper Silurian system, and
rests upon the Hudson formation in the State of New York, where
it attains a thickness of about one hundred feet. It passes from
there in a narrow belt through Pennsylvania and Virginia, attaining a thickness in the Alleghenies of from 500 to 700 feet. It is
composed of very coarse materials and sand. Thus far this formation has not been found in Ohio, except where it runs into and
forms a part of the
Medina Sandstone.
This formation, in the State of New York, attains a thickness
of from 300 to 400 feet. It is composed of sandstones and shales,
the prevailing color of which is red. It thins out toward the west
and is found in Northern Ohio in boring for oil, but no well defined outcrop has been as yet discovered in the State.
Clinton Group.
This formation consists of shales and sandstones, in which is a
stratum of iron ore from 2 to Io feet in thickness, called " fossil
ore," a granular red hematite, which is traced through from Dodge




GEOLOGY.


I03


county, Wisconsin, to the State of New York, from thence southward through Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. This group is represented in Ohio by a limestone formation, from 15 to 50 feet in thickness, the outcrop of which "follows
the sinuous line of junction of the Lower and Upper Silurian,
in the country about Cincinnati." Credit is due Professor Orton
for the discovery of the fossil iron ore in this stratum in Adams
county.
Niagara Group.
Overlying the Clinton formation is the Niagara group, which
includes the celebrated limestone rock, over which the Niagara
river pours its floods at the cataract. It consists of two sections,
one of limestone, the other of shale, of about equal proportions,
each at the falls being about 80 feet in vertical thickness. It is an
extensive formation, and conspicuous in most of the Western
States.  It underlies Chicago, extends into Michigan, Canada,
New York and Tennessee, and it is a prominent formation of Ohio,
especially so in connection with the Cincinnati anticlinal.
Salina Group.
This formation derives the name Salina from the salt found in
it, so extensively manufactured at Syracuse, New York. It is not
so universal as the Niagara, upon which it reposes.  It is composed of marls and shales, with some impure limestone and gypsum. In Northern Ohio it rests immediately on the Niagara, and
contains the gypsum of Sandusky.*
Helderberg Group.
This group is so named on account of its forming a considerable portion of the Helderberg mountain south of Albany, New
York, where it attains a thickness of 200 feet. It is chiefly made
up of earthy limestones, though in several distinct strata. Its


*Geological Survey of Ohio, vol. I, page 63.




104


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNrTY, OHIO.


lower member is celebrated as being a water-line formation, and
which is quite extensive in Ohio, where it is a surface rock, and
has beeome a source of much profit to those engaged in its commerce, especially in Sandusky county, where it is extensively
worked and attains a thickness of Ioo feet. This is the strata
from whence comes the hydraulic cement, so largely used. The
water-line group does not outcrop in Eastern Ohio, but seems to
be confined to the western and southern portions of the State.
This formation extends from New York into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, where it is said to attain a thickness
of 300 feet, on the Potomac river. It continues westward from
Ohio into Indiana and comes out to view in the State of Illinois.
DEVONIAN SYSTEM.
The rocks of this system are composed of quartzose sandstones, marls and conglomerates; and in the countries of Europe
where heavily charged with iron, or, rather, peroxide of iron, it
imparts to them a dull red color, and hence are called "old red
sandstone," which Hugh Miller has made famous by the discovery
of fossil fishes in them. The name is derived from that of Devonshire, England, where this strata is very extensive. The formation
is exposed in South Wales, England and Scotland, where they
have long been known as the "old red sandstone," In Devonshire and Cornwall the rocks are slates and limestone.*
The Devonian formations of North America are of vast extent,
estimated at I5,000 feet in vertical thickness. The rocks of the
Devonian age underlie a large part of New York, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, New England, Maine, West Virginia and Ohio, and are
extensive in Canada, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and have
been recently discovered in Utah and Nevada.
The Oriskany Sandstone.
This formation, formerly considered as belonging to the upper
* I Vol., Wonders of Geology, page 204.




GEOLOGY.


I05


Silurian, is now classed with the Devonian series. It is not well
defined in this State, though its equivalent is considered to be
existing in a number of localities. It is represented in Sandusky
county, also at West Liberty, in Logan county, on the peninsula
west of Marblehead, in Ottawa, and at Sylvania, in Lucas county,
and in many other localities, ranging from three to ten feet in
thickness. The rock is soft and white, and capable of being used
in the manufacture of glass. Considerable quantities of this stone
have been taken from the Sylvania bed, transported to Pittsburg,
and successfully used in the manufacture of glass.
Corniferous Limestone.
The corniferous limestone is separated into the upper and
lower, and is exposed in the quarries at Bellevue and in other
places. The upper is buff colored, coarse grained magnesian limestone, and containing beds of chert.  The lower is a bluish
gray, crystalline hard stone, usually fossiliferous-strikingly so in
some instances. The outcrops of this formation form two separate
belts, one on each side of the Cincinnati axis. The eastern belt
crosses the State from the lake to the Ohio river. It also extends
to Columbus, where it is extensively quarried, and of which the
State House is constructed.
Hamilton Group.
This group consists of the Marcellus shale, the Hamilton
proper and the Genesee shale, with the Moscow shale, the Tully
and encrinal limestones, and in New York State attains the thickness of more than I,ooo feet, but greatly diminishes to the west.
In Central Ohio the bed overlying the corniferous, and corresponding with those above mentioned, is the Huron shale, a bituminous
mass about 300 feet in thickness. Resting upon this formation is
the Waverly group, consisting of fine-grained sandstones and
shales 500 feet in thickness; and upon the Waverly reposes the
carboniferous conglomerate.




Io6


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Portage and Chemung Group.
This series of formations consist of sedimentary rocks named
from localities where they exist. They are composed of shales
and sandstone in the State of New York, and are 2,000 feet in
thickness. The upper and coarser portions of these rocks have a
thickness in Western New York and Pennsylvania from I,ooo to
1,500 feet. In Ohio the Portage and Chemung rocks form the
lake shore as far west as the mouth of the Vermillion river, and
are called in this State the Erie shale. The lower portion of the
strata is called the Huron shale, and extends in a belt of outcrop
from the mouth of the Huron river to the mouth of the Scioto,
and there attains a thickness of about 330 feet. The Huron shale
is known as the Black shale, and is well exposed in the banks of
the Scioto and the Ohio near Portsmouth, on the Big Walnut east
of Columbus, Worthington, and on the banks of the Huron. It is
of a bituminous character, and doubtless the source of the oil and
gases in Ohio, and supposed to supply all the oil to the wells on
Oil creek, in Pennsylvania. It is noted for the fossil fishes it contains, some of them being the largest discovered.
Erie Shale.
This formation in this State is greenish and bluish argillaceous shales, and from the Pennsylvania line to Avon, the strata
thins out rapidly to the west, and disappears south and west of the
Vermillion river. The strata is well exposed in the cliff on the
lake shore in the vicinity of Cleveland, and consists of gray and
blue shale, very soft and fine, and containing veins of silvery sandstone, and masses of argillaceous iron ore.
West of Cleveland the Erie shale consists of two groups of
strata, the upper being nearly o00 feet in thickness, consisting of
the above described shales with thin bands of sandstone, which
are used for flagging. The lower portion consists of blue and
green shale, with a thin strata of iron ore. The two are seen in
the cliffs on the lake shore between the Rock river and the
Cuyahoga.




GEOLOGY.


1o7


CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM.
This series of strata rests upon the Devonian system, and
owing to the valuable minerals it contains, is the most noted formation in Ohio. It is the highest order of strata in ascent of the
geological scale, which is owing to the missing section of strata in
the State.
This system consists of three subdivisions-the coal measure
above, the conglomerate in the middle, and the lower carboniferous, sub-carboniferous Waverly group below.
The lowest member of the system is the Cleveland shale, a
black bituminous strata of about 54 feet in thickness at the mouth
of the Cuyahoga river, but on the Vermillion river from 60 to 80
feet of the strata is exposed. At Bedford, in the gorge, it has
been cut through by the stream to the depth of 21 feet. It is the
lowest member of the Waverly group, and contains from 15 to 20
per cent. of bituminous matter, and is supposed to be the source
of the petroleum found in Trumbull, Lorain and Medina counties.
This group consists of this shale, Bedford shale, Berea grit
and Cuyahoga shale, the series being about 500 feet in thickness,
though on the Ohio river it is more massive, the sandstone there
being 640 feet in thickness.*
The Bedford Shale.
This shale rests upon the Cleveland, and immediately underlies
the Berea grit. It is of a red color, and about 75 feet thick. It is
well exposed at Elyria, in Lorain county, on the Black river, also
at Amherst.
The Berea Grit.
This rock is an important member of the Waverly group. It
is in two sections (the upper and lower), the former being thin
layers, used for flagging; the latter being massive, and extensively
quarried and used for building purposes and for grindstones, the
*Dana's Manual of Geology, p. 295.




Io8


HISTORY OF WIAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


celebrated Berea grindstones so popular in Wayne county being
taken from these quarries. The aggregate of the layers of the upper strata is about 20 feet, and of the lower about 30 feet. This
formation extends from Lake Erie south through Ohio, and underlies a large portion of the State.
It is the rock penetrated by the oil wells at Grafton, Liverpool
and Mecca, and extends into the oil regions of Pennsylvania,
though there it is less massive.
The Cuyahoga Shale.
This formation is the upper member of the Waverly group,
and reposes on the Berea grit. It is from 150 to 250 feet in thickness, and consists of a gray argillaceous shale, with thin flag and
sandstone, its outcrop defining a belt extending from Berea through
to the valley of the Cuyahoga, and constituting the banks of that
river southward as far as the Falls, which it forms.
Resting on the Cuyahoga shale is the lower carboniferous limestone, known as the Chester limestone, about 20 feet in thickness.
Overlying this strata is the conglomerate formation, of o00 feet
in thickness, composed of pebbles, coarse sand and gravel. It is
of irregular character, and follows the coal measure throughout
the State.
The Coal Measure.
The coal measure is the next series of formations, and is 1,200
feet in thickness, and contains the various coal strata of the State.
It is confined to the eastern portion of the State, extending from
Lake Erie, east of Cleveland, down the valleys of Tuscarawas,
Killbuck and Muskingum to the Ohio river, being largely developed in counties west of the Muskingum. It is a part, or an extension of the Allegheny coal fields, but owing to the uplift of the
Cincinnati arch, it is confined within the limits described. With
the exception of the drift, the coal measure is the highest member
of the geological series of Ohio, and constitutes the upper division




GEOLOGY.                      o09
of the carboniferous system. It rests on the easterly slope of the
anticlinal axis, and dips toward the south-east. This measure, as
regards depth of strata, is on an inclined plane from Lake Erie to
the Ohio river, where it is 1,200 feet thick, but crops out at Lake
Erie. The structure of the coal basin is by no means of systematic order, nor is the dip uniform -the coal in many instances
resting in troughs in a general way parallel with the axis of the
main basin, and not unfrequently resting in small basins, as if the
coal matter had been deposited in ponds and lakes. This is peculiarly so in Western Pennsylvania and in Eastern Ohio. The irregularity of the coal basin very clearly indicates that it has been
disturbed by some internal force before the deposition of the coal
matter, if not, in fact, the whole carboniferous series. The disturbance, no doubt, was that which produced the elevation of the
Blue Ridge, and when the parallelism of the coal seams was destroyed, and which was, doubtless, before the Alleghenies were
elevated, as it is a well known geological fact that the Alleghenies
proper were beneath the sea until after the close of the carbonif
erous age.
The coal strata is but a minor part of the mass of material forming the coal measure, the other elements of the carboniferous system being sandstone, shale, limestone, clay, fire-clay and iron ore.
In geological order, the coal strata overlie the conglomerate
and the fire-clay, and almost universally fire-clay is found immediately under the coal; but in some instances patches of conglomerate have been found above the coal. It is noteworthy, however,
that the conglomerate is, to a measurable extent, irregular, and
frequently absent, in the coal measure; but when present its
proper location is beneath the coal, and when wanting the coal
rests upon the fire-clay and the Waverly formation.
In Ohio there are from six to eight workable seams of coal
above the Waverly, interstratified with sandstone, shales, fire-clay
and iron ore, forming a mass in vertical thickness of about 400
feet; the coal seams in the lower coal measure being numbered




IO0         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
from one to seven, commencing with the lowest, and corresponding with the lower coal measure of Pennsylvania.
QUATERNARY SYSTEM.
Crowning the coal measure are the deposits of the drift period,
consisting of sand, gravel, clay and bowlders, the productions of
the glacial eras, all of which have been transported from their
original localities, and which, as a mass, constitute the surface of
the greater portion of the State.




GEOLOGY.


II


CHAPTER VII.
GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF THE COUNTY.
THE geological structure of Wayne county is similar to that oft
those adjoining; yet it differs materially in some of its features, especially in regard to glacial action upon its surface, and the peculiarcharacter of the coal measure within its limits. The surface of the soil
by no means indicates the situation of strata underlying the drift,.
which, with few exceptions, is spread out over the entire surface,
and consists of clays, sands, gravels, pebbles, quartz and bowlders,
some of the latter being very massive, weighing many tons. The
great mass of the bowlders are of igneous character, mostly granites, and have been transported to this locality from beyond the
northern lakes. The whole surface of the county plainly shows
that the drift and bowlders were deposited by the agency of water,
and it is generally understood that the deposition was made during
the Glacial Era, or the Age of Ice.
One peculiarity about the geological structure of this county,
and indeed of the State, is the missing chapter in its history,* in
consequence of which the drift rests immediately upon the carboniferous system.
CARBONIFEROUS SYSTEM.
The coal measure of this county is confined chiefly to the eastern portion of it, extending over parts of Canaan and Milton,
and larger portions of Chippewa, Baughman, East Union and Salt
creek, all of Sugar creek and Paint, and small portions of Greene,


* Geological Survey of Ohio, Vol. I, page 79.




112


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Franklin and Clinton townships. Underlying its western outcrop,
when existing, is the sub-carboniferous conglomerate, which rests
upon the Waverly formation. The conglomerate, however, is
irregular and frequently wanting, in which case the coal strata
rests upon the Waverly. Westward of the coal measure the surface rock is, as a usual thing, of the Waverly formation.
The coal strata, like the conglomerate, is also sometimes irregular, and seems to have been formed in detached bodies, and
often found in troughs and basins, sand rocks often intervening,
cutting out the coal formation. This is peculiarly the case in
Chippewa and Baughman Townships, where mines, considered to
be very valuable at first, were soon exhausted and abandoned.
The general dip of the coal formation is to the south-east, though
it differs in consequence of the greatness or the smallness of the
body of coal.
THE STRATA OF THE COAL MEASURE
Is not uniform in the several coal fields of the county. This is
fully shown by Professor M. C. Reed in his Geological Report of
the county, in the following instances:. P. Burton's Bank, Fairview.
Earth and gravel.....      13 feet.
Black shale.....40            "
Sandstone......
Black shale.....    3 to 4 inches.
Coal.....    4 to 7 feet.
On Section 26, Chippewa Township.
Earth....                          9 feet.
Sand rock.....         56"
Gray shale......      3
Black shale......
Coal....                   A I




GEOLOGY.


113


John Adams' farm, one mile south-east from Doylestown.
Earth......        14 feet.
Brown shale......     8 feet.
Coarse white sandstone.                            22   "
Coal.......     3
Conglomerate..                                     5   "
Coal.                                          5 ft. i inch.
Black shale....              6 inches.
Fire-clay.....                  2 feet.


Shaft at Chtipewa Mine.


Clay and shale
Sandstone
Clay shale
Iron ore
Clay shale
Sandstone
Gray sandstone
Shale
Bony coal
Good coal


332 feet.
30   cc
8   c


I
II
I5
4
2
Ii
4


((
((
((C
((
I C


Drill hole on Hurtz's farm, Chippewa Township (shaft since sunk.)
Earth...          ft. 6 inches.
Quicksand.....    6 " 6     "


Sandstone
Shale
Calcareous iron ore.
Black shale
Coal


3 feet.
14    "
I   't
22 ft. 6 in.
5 feet.


Silver Creek Mining and Railroad Company's Property.


Earth
Gray sandstone
White sandstone.
8


19 feet.
6   (
9   (


e/




114


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Shale.....                  3 feet.
White sandstone.....         5  "
Shale......   8 ft. 6 in.
Coal......      4  ft. 6 in.
These instances of the want of uniformity can only be accounted for upon the hypothesis that oscillations were in progress
at intervals, while the carboniferous materials were being accumulated in the coal basin. The depositions of yellow and blue clays,
sand and gravel mounds, which frequently intervene in the coal
fields, plainly demonstrate that they were produced by a turbulent
tide.
There are in the county many other operated mines besides
those mentioned by Professor M. C. Reed, yielding valuable coal,
which differ more or less in their geological structure from those
above mentioned, although their general uniformity is substantially
the same, of which the following are located in Chippewa township:
Chippewa Township Coal Mines.
That of Jacob Wegandt, being a stratum of coal of excellent
quality, five feet thick, underlying a body of shale, sandstone and
drift. Adjoining this bank is the Frase mine, operated by the
Crawfords, the vein being the continuation of that of the Wygandt
mine.
The Peter Frase coal bank near to the one in section 26, above
referred to, is of the same order of that mine but the coal is more
readily reached by drift.
That of the Holm mine is a seam of coal about four and a half
feet thick, of good quality, underlying black shale, sand rock and
a heavy body of drift.
The Boak bank consists of a vein of very superior hard coal,
about four feet thick, underlying a high hill, and overlaid by about
fifty feet of earth, sand rock and shale. It is located on the east
side of Silver creek, about three and a half miles south-east of




GEOLOGY.


15


Doylestown, on lands now owned by Hon. W. R. Wilson, and
operated by John Smith.
The California coal mine, one and one-half miles south of
Doylestown, and operated by Cline, Siberling & Co., has a vein
of good quality coal four and one-half feet thick. The top of the
coal is from 80 to o00 feet below the surface of the Main street of
Doylestown. The overlying strata consists of drift, sand, clay,
sandstone and shale. The coal is reached by drift from the west
side of the ridge under which it lies.
In the same ridge, one mile east of the California mine, is the
Baysinger coal bank, also entered by drift in the west side of the
ridge. The vein of this bank is four and one-half feet thick, of
soft coal, which is well suited for grate and steam purposes. The
overlying strata is of the same order as at the California bank.
The Franks coal mine, operated by Mr. Galehouse, is situated
three miles south of Doylestown. The vein of this bank is four
and one-half feet, of good quality coal, and is reached by drift in
the west side of the hill. The strata above the coal consists of
earth, sandstone and black shale.
Wood's coal mine is located two miles south-east of Doylestown, and operated by the Silver Creek Mining Company. Its
vein is 41 feet thick, and of good quality coal. This mine was
opened by drift about forty years ago, and it underlies a ridge I20
feet high, of a mountainous character, which, like other hills along
Silver creek, is literally covered with rocks, some of them massive.
Prof. M. C. Reed, in his description of this Company's mines, substantially gives the character of the strata overlying this coal bank,
as well also of those of the other mines of this Company in the
township. The Silver Creek Mining Company conducts the coal
mining business quite extensively.
Simmons' shaft, one of the Silver Creek Mining Company's
banks, is 75 feet deep, and located three miles south-east of Doylestown. Its vein is between 4 and 5 feet thick, but is pretty well
exhausted. The shaft is on the west side of the hill.
Muter's bank, just opened, has a vein of good quality coal




lI6


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


nearly 5 feet thick, which is reached by a shaft 70 feet deep.
This bank belongs to the Silver Creek Mining Company, and is
situated on George Lance's farm, under a level surface, about two
miles north-east of Doylestown, and is a part of a large body of
coal underlying about I50 acres of good, smooth farm land, owned
by George Lance, Jacob Hammer and Widow Muter.
The coal of this township is located in its northern, eastern and
central parts north of the Chippewa creek, and in sections 35 and
36, and parts of sections 25 and 26, south of this stream, so far as
at present actually known; but there are evidently large bodies of
coal in the Chippewa coal fields yet undiscovered-the want of discovery being caused by the deceptive character of the surface of
the territory overlying it-the coal north of the Chippewa, as a
general rule, only being looked for under the rocky ridges.
Recently, however, as in the case of the above farms, it was found
underlying smooth lands several miles distant from the Chippewa
ridges, where it was formerly least expected. In other instances,
where the surface indicated coal deposits, it was found to be
absent, the drill coming in contact with hard sand rock, "horseback," which so frequently divide the coal basins, and often displace the coal. The Chippewa coal is bituminous, of the best
quality, and of the same vein as that of Briar Hill, in Mahoning
county.
Milton Township Coal Measure.
The coal measure of this township is confined to all of sections
1, 2, 3, o1, II and 12 of its northern part, which is an extension
of a small basin of coal in Medina county, and about one-half of
section 36 of its south-east corner, on the line of the Atlantic and
Great Western railroad, and west of the northern extension of the
coal measure of Chippewa township, although the space of a mile
intervenes between these two basins.
Greene Township Coal Measure.


The coal measure of Greene township is very limited, extend



GEOLOGY.


117


ing over the south-east quarter of section 25, and about two-thirds
of the north-east quarter of section 36; also a small portion of the
southern part of sections 33 and 34.
Coal Mines of Baughman Township.
In this township are the following coal mines:  The Burton
bank, located on the land owned by J. P. Burton, of Massillon, is
situated near the Pittsburg. Ft. Wayne and Chicago railway track,
on the north-east quarter of section 28, about one-half mile southwest of Fairview. The operator, Mr. Jerome B. Zerby, has abandoned the shaft near the quarter section line dividing Jacob E.
Wenger's land from Mr. Burton's farm, on account of the flooding
of the mine, and has entered the mine by drift, about one-eighth
of a mile north-west from the shaft. Here the vein is 5} feet
thick, of good quality bituminous coal, which is reached at the
depth of 35 feet from the surface, the overlying strata in the descent being about as follows:
Earth and gravel.....     I8 feet.
Hard gray shaly sandstone..                2  "
Lopse sandstone, sand and gravel                     3  "
Black shaly sandstone.....   1
Black shale....I foot.
Coal......         5 feet.
This opening, or mine, is located about one-eighth of a mile
north-west of the Burton shaft, minutely described by Professor
M. C. Reed.
About one-fourth of a mile south-east of the Burton drift
bank is the shaft coal mine of Jacob E. Wenger, located on the
south-east quarter of section 28, and about three-fourths of a mile
south-west from Fairview. The coal seam is 41 feet thick, of good
quality of bituminous, and underlies a large area of land, and is
reached at the depth of about 38 feet from the surface in the descent, in the following order of strata:


~Earth and gravel


20 feet.




II8


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Hard gray shaly sandstone....2 feet.
Hard black sand rock..                  5  ".
Black shale...... I foot.
Coal.......     41 feet.
Underlying the coal is one and one-half feet of black shale,
which overlies hard black sand rock.
The John Spindler mine, which was opened by him about
twenty-five years ago, and which is the oldest bank of that vicinity,
is located in the south part of the north-west quarter of section 27,
about one-half mile south-east of Fairview, on the farm of Mr.
John Spindler. The vein is four feet thick, of first quality of bituminous coal, and is reached by drift, 200 feet from the entrance,
on the east side of the hill. The overlying strata in the descent
from the surface to the coal is earth and gravel, gray shaly sandstone three and one-half feet thick, hard black sand rock and black
sandy shale. This mine is operated by John Spindler and C.
Keffer.
These mines are located in the highlands south of Newman's
creek swamp and the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad.
Across this swamp, one-half mile north-west from Fairview,
is the Todd coal mine, operated about twenty-five years ago by
Hon. David Todd, ex-Governor of the State, and opened by
him about the same time Mr. Spindler opened the bank on his
farm previously described. The Todd mine is sometimes called
the Becker coal mine, it being on the land now owned by D.
Becker. The coal vein is four feet thick, and is reached by drift
in the south side of the hill. The overlying strata is of the same
character as that of the Spindler bank. This mine is about worked
out.
The Neiswanger coal mine is located one-half mile north of
Fairview, on the farm of Emanuel Neiswanger, deceased, and is
entered by drift on the south side of the ridge. The coal vein
was about four feet thick, the overlying strata being the same as
that of the Todd bank. This mine was opened nearly twenty-five




GEOLOGY.                      119
years ago, and was operated at one time by Hon. David Todd.
It is now exhausted.
One-half mile north of Fairview, in the same ridge with the
Todd and Neiswanger mines, is the Carroll mine, entered by drift
from the south. The coal seam is four feet thick, and underlies
the same character of strata as that of the Spindler bank.
South of Fairview half a mile is the coal mine operated by
McElhenie & Stuck. This bank is owned by a company.    The
vein is about four feet thick, and underlies in descent from the
surface earth, gray sandstone, black sand rock and black shale.
The coal rests on black, hard sand rock, and is of the bituminous
order, of good quality, and harder than that of the Burton or
Wenger mines.
These constitute the number of mines in Baughman township,
though it is evident that coal underlies other lands than those
mentioned.
The coal measure of this township includes its entire territory
except the south-west half of section I8, all of section I9, the
south-west three-fourths of section 20, the south two-thirds of section 21 and all of the Newman's creek swamp, the outcrop of the
coal appearing in the highlands on the north and south sides of
the swamp, where it is readily reached by drift. The coal is deposited in basins, and in several instances has been worked out;
and mines have been abandoned by the seam diminishing to the
south-east. This diminishment, or "thinning out," often is deception, as the sand rock known as "horsebacks" frequently divides
the coal strata.
East Union Township Coal Measure.
The coal measure of East Union township covers its entire
area, except all of section 6, the west five-eighths of section 7, the
north-west one-half of section 5, all of section i8, the south-west
one-fifth of section 17, the north two-thirds of section 19 and about
the west half of section 20. Little attention has been paid to this
large coal basin from the fact that the thinness of the discovered




120


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


coal strata would not justify the opening or the operation of the
mines. However, on the Barnhart farm, in the north-west quarter
of section 27, east of Applecreek Station, deep boring for oil revealed a stratum of coal, 7 feet in thickness, 70 feet below the
surface. This coal vein evidently was without cover, as the drill
passed down to the depth of 1I2 feet without encountering rock,
though rock of considerable thickness exists in that vicinity. From
the character of the strata overlying this coal, it seems that-the
drilling was made near the margin, if not, in fact, in a pre-glacial
channel where the coal had been washed away and mingled with
the materials which filled up the channel. Drilling in the highlands on the margin of this channel, it is believed, will reach a
stratum of coal such as is found in the Ream and Finley mines
three miles south-west from Applecreek Station, in Saltcreek township. In section 2, on the farm formerly owned by Mr. Jonah
Crites, in the north-east quarter, boring was made to the depth of
I Io feet without reaching rock or water, the strata passed through
being sand, gravel, yellow and blue clay, the latter of the greatest
thickness and of the consistency of mud, and was penetrated
only 50 feet. In the south-east quarter of this section John Long,
at the depth of three feet, struck a hard sand rock, from which a
fountain of pure water flowed, at a depth of 50 feet, at the rate of
ten gallons per minute. Mr. Long drilled into this rock to the
depth of 137 feet. David Carr, on his farm in section 12, which
joins Mr. Long's farm, has a constant flow of water from a drilling
of 50 feet into this rock, the fountain being as strong as the other.
Mr. Carr drilled to the depth of I50 feet and did not pass through
the rock.
In section 12, on the lands owned by David Carr, Jacob Husselman and Isaac Martin, are outcrops of coal of fair quality.
Veins of good fire-clay are found on the Martin and Husselman
farms; on the McClure and Martin farms is also iron ore of good
quality.
On the farm of Daniel W. Bair, in the north part of the south



GEOLOG Y.


121


west quarter of section 5, is an outcrop of bituminous coal, which
underlies a carboniferous sandstone rock.
On the east half of the south-east quarter of section 5, on Henry
Shellenbarger's farm, at the depth of go feet, a strata of coal one
foot thick was reached by boring in the same ridge in which is the
outcrop of coal in the Bair tract.
There is every indication of a body of coal on the farm of Mr.
Bair. The ridge is the summit between Wooster and Massillon,
it being 221 feet above Wooster, and I71 feet higher than Massillon, and of an altitude of 563 feet above Lake Erie.
Coal Mines of Paint Township.
The coal mines of this township are as follows:
The mine of Charles Brown, located about one mile west of
Mt. Eaton, on the Chestnut ridge, has a vein three feet thick of fair
quality of cannel coal, which immediately underlies a strata of
gray limestone of about five feet in thickness. This coal is successfully used for steam purposes at the Maysville steam flouring
mill, and proves to be a good fuel for domestic use.
About three-quarters of a mile south-west of Mt. Eaton is the
Hunsinger coal bank. The coal is bituminous, the vein about 3}
feet thick, and underlies gray limestone.
George Mathiot's mine is one-half mile north-east of Mt. Eaton.
The coal is No. 6 of bituminous quality, the vein about two feet
three inches thick, immediately underlying black shale two feet
thick, above which is a sandy shale underlying earth. This coal
is of good quality.
Near the north line of the township, and about one-fourth of a
mile north from Mathiot's mine, is the coal bank of Dr. Roth of
Mt. Eaton. The coal is bituminous, of good quality, the vein
about 21 feet thick, and strata of the same character as that of
Mathiot's mine overlies it.
About two miles south-east of Mt. Eaton is the mine of Peter
Graber, located in section 24, in a ridge where coal and limestone




122


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


are found in considerable quantity. The coal is bituminous and
of good quality.
The Flory coal mine is located 21 miles east of Mt. Eaton, in
the base of a high hill, covered with sandstones, which give it a
mountainous appearance. The coal vein is three feet thick, and
of good grate coal. The roof of the mine is black shale, underlying sand rock, on which rests a heavy body of earth.
The Mt. Eaton coal mine is located in the village of Mt.
Eaton, in the hill on the south side of the New Philadelphia road.
The vein is two feet thick, and is an outcrop of coal No. 7, without cover except earth, and is reached by drifting in the north
side of the hill. This mine is not now operated, owing to its
thin seam, and because coal has been found more readily reached
in the neighborhood. This seems to be the only mine of No. 7
coal existing in the county, unless it be in the highlands of the
Foster farm, about I miles east of Mt. Eaton, on the New Philadelphia road. Coal 20 inches thick in connection with fire-clay i8
inches in thickness, crop out near the top of the hill on this farm;
the coal underlying a limestone rock four feet thick. Taking into
account the south-easterly dip of the coal of the Mt. Eaton mine,
the Foster coal would be in the locality of No. 7; but the general
understanding is that it is No. 6, though its quality corresponds
to No. 7.
It has been already noticed that the coal measure extends over
the entire township, and from observation it is quite manifest that
there are very extensive bodies of good quality coal underlying
the greater portion of its surface; and when the mines are opened,
and facilities afforded for transporting it to market, this will be one
of the most valuable coal districts of the State.
Coal Mines of Sugar Creek Township.
The first coal mine in this township was opened by drift on the
west side of the hill, on the farm of Mr. Gochenour, one mile west
of Dalton, about forty-five years ago. The strata was one and




GEOLOGY.                       123
one-half feet thick, and, after yielding considerable coal, the mine
was abandoned on account of a defective roof,
One-eighth of a mile west of Dalton, on the Peter Buchanan
farm, a mine having a thin vein of good quality coal was opened
several years ago. It is not now operated, owing to the clay roof
of the mine rendering the taking out of the coal difficult and expensive.
In section 25, about three miles south-east of Dalton, on the
old Mock farm, now owned by R. C. Bashford, is located the
Bashford coal mine. The strata is about three feet thick, and
near the surface of the level ground on the south-east side of
Chestnut ridge. The coal is good quality bituminous, and the
mine has been operated about twelve years.
About one-half mile north of Dalton, on the farm of David
Rudy, is an outcrop of coal, but the extent of the coal has not
been ascertained.
On the Horst farm, one-half mile south of Dalton, is a vein of
tolerably good quality coal about two and one-half feet thick.
A few years ago, in the sinking of a well on the farm now
owned by John Heigerly, the north-west quarter of section
27, a vein of hard bituminous coal, about two feet thick, was
passed through; but no effort has been made since then to ascertain the extent of the coal, though it was reached at 30 feet from
the surface.
The coal measure of this township contains extensive bodies of
valuable fire-clay, considerable limestone, iron ore, and some mineral paint, such as red and yellow ochre, in connection with the
ore, though the economic value of these minerals has not, as yet,
been satisfactorily ascertained. A specimen of the red ochre rock
examined is of the consistency of red keil, and traces as well.
This township being literally covered by the coal measure, as
reported by Professor M. C. Reed, and containing all the evidences of coal, there are, doubtless, large basins of it yet undiscovered within its boundaries. Its location between the Chippewa,
Paint and Salt creek coal fields warrants this belief. Deep boring,




124


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, H010.


no doubt, will yet be made, and bring to light valuable veins of
coal, where it has been heretofore unsought, as in Chippewa and
Saltcreek.
Coal Mlines of Saltcreek Township.
The Finley mine is located on the farm of Mrs. Delano Jeffries,
in the south-east quarter of section 4, and was opened about three
years ago by Frank Becker, who now operates it. The coal
is in or near the base of a high, rocky ridge, and is reached, by,drifting in the south-west side, about o00 feet from the entrance.
The following section shows the various strata overlying the lower
coal seam from the surface to the depth of 88 feet, to the top of
the coal:
Clay, sand and gravel, -   -      -     -      -   50 feet.
Fire-clay,  -     -      -                          3
Shale,  -      -     -      -     -      -       5 inches.
Sand rock,  -                                      30 feet.
Blue limestone,      -     -      -     -      -   3
Bone coal,  -     -     -      -     -      -      2
Soapstone,     -     -     -      -     -      -    I foot.
Coal,       -     -                               32 feet.
Clay shale,   -      -     -      -     -      -
Coal total,  -    -     -                        5    "
Immediately underlying the coal is a hard sand rock 7 feet
thick. The above section is taken from  the register kept by
Frank Becker in sinking the shaft at IOO feet from the entrance to
the mine, near the south-western rim of the coal basin. The coal
dips a little south of east at the rate of 4 inches per yard. The
coal of this mine is of good quality, and is supposed to cover
about 60 acres of the farm. The mine is extensively worked by
Mr. Becker, the coal being drawn out by steam power.
The Daniel Ream mine is in the south-west quarter of section
4, a full description of which has been given by Professor M. C.
Reed, in his Geological Survey of Ohio, a copy of which is set
forth on a preceding page.




GEOLOGY.


125


These two mines are located in separate basins, a space of
about three-quarters of a mile being between, in which is a ravine.
There is, as will be observed, a difference in the strata above the
coal in these two banks, and the coal of each is superior quality of
No. 3.
Coal No. 6 crops out in the northern part of this township,
and attains a thickness of 3' feet, underlying a coarse brown
sandstone.
The E. Stutz coal mine is located in section 23. The vein is
about 3  feet thick, and the coal is of a fair quality.
The Henning mine is located on Adam Henning's farm, in
the north-east corner of the south-east quarter of section I. The
vein is about 5 feet thick, and the coal of fair quality for domestic
purposes, for which it is used.
There is considerable iron ore in this township, but not in such
condition as to be worked profitably-the vein being thin, and frequently at considerable depth below the surface.
The coal measure extends over the entire area of this township,
and it is reasonable to infer that there is much undiscovered coal
within its limits. Its outcrop, at least, in connection with the
present mines, goes far to show that this coal measure is by no
means a barren one.
The Coal Mines of Franklin Township.
The most important mine of this township is that of William
Harrison, located on the farm formerly owned by Jacob Mandeville, one and a half miles south-west of Fredericksburg. The
vein is 3 feet thick, of fair quality coal. The roof of the mine is a
yellow sandstone. Under the coal is a thin stratum of fire-clay.
The coal lies at the depth of 80 feet from the surface. The mine is
operated by Joseph Bunn.
The Stephen Harrison coal mine is located one and a half miles
west of Fredericksburg, in section 23. The coal is of fair quality,
and the strata 3 feet in thickness. The roof is gray limestone,




126         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
and the floor of the mine fire-clay, and the coal taken out by
drift. The coal lies fifty feet below the surface of the ground.
The James Finley coal mine is in section 22, two and a half
miles west of Fredericksburg, and is operated by Asaph Rumbaugh. The coal vein is two and a half feet thick, and of tolerably good quality. The roof of the mine is gray limestone. Under
the coal is a layer of fire-clay, and beneath that is sand rock. The
depth from the surface of the ground to the top of the coal is 75
feet. The coal is reached by drifting into the hill.
Charles Story's coal mine is located two and a half miles west
of Fredericksburg. The coal vein is three feet thick, and immediately underlies a gray limestone rock of about five feet in thickness.
Under the coal is a thin layer of fire-clay, which rests upon a sand
rock. The coal is of fair quality, mined by drift. The depth to
the top of the coal from the surface of the ground is 75 feet. This
mine is operated by Cosper Barrett.
Coal has been found on the Miller farm in section 34, but the
vein is too thin to justify the working of the mine.
There is a thin vein of coal on the Jacob and Israel Franks
farm, in section 35, in connection with a stratum of fire-clay of
about five feet in thickness. The coal has no covering but earth,
and the vein is too thin to be worked. The fire-clay is of excellent quality and extensively used. Samuel Routson & Bro. use
this fire-clay exclusively at their extensive pottery in Wooster. It
is entirely free from iron, the pottery made being of a light yellow color. A number of years ago fire-clay brick were made of
this clay.
The coal measure of this township covers parts of sections 2,
3, 4, 33, I2, 8, 9, I7 and 2I, and all of sections o1, II, 13, 14, 15,
I6, 22, 23 and 24. The prospecting for coal in this township has
been limited, no deep borings having as yet been made. The coal
is below the gray limestone, and where that is absent it is without
roof, except a thin strata of black shale and earth.
Thin veins of iron ore are found in many localities in this town



GEOLOGY.


127


ship. One and a half miles west of Fredericksburg, on James
Dobbins' farm, the ore vein is four feet thick.
Clinton, Canaan and Wooster Townships Coal Measure.
The coal measure of Clinton and Canaan townships is limited,
and chiefly consists of extensions of the carboniferous sand rock
usually overlying the coal strata-continuations of which are also
found in the eastern and southern portions of Wooster and the
north-east corner of Congress townships, resting upon the Waverly.
Though the coal measure extends into Wooster township, coal
is entirely absent, the coal measure sand rock only appearing in
the highlands east and south of Wooster, resting upon the Waverly.
Coal does not seem to exist in this county west of Wooster, except
an outcrop of a thin vein of impure bituminous coal in section 14,
Plain township, where many years ago it was, to a limited extent,
taken out of the side of a ravine on the David Dodd and Nathan
Smith farms. The coal was near the surface and covered with earth.
The absence of coal in Wooster and the western townships of
Wayne county is readily accounted for when the character of the
coal basin and dip of the coal measure is properly considered. A
western extension of the coal strata of the eastern coal mines of
this county would rise high above the highlands west of Wooster.
Taking the coal measure sand rock east and south of Wooster as a
guide, it will readily appear that coal need not be looked for west
of Wooster.
THE ROCKS.
The rocks of this county consist of several grades of sand
stones, shales, and two orders of limestone. Prof. M. C. Reed,
in his geological report of this county, gives a section, showing the
various strata from coal No. 7 at Mt. Eaton, including the
Waverly, to the bed of Salt creek, at Fredericksburg, a copy of
which is here produced as Fig. 2. This section gives a general
idea not only of the coal measure, but of the rock structure of the
county. The location of this section is well selected, as in it is




128


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


I.


25
3-5
22
to
75
40
0-3
10


-- — 
- -- --- -~- ---- - -~
--- ---- --
---- ---- -- -- -- -- -
- -- -- -
-- --- --- --- -- -
- -` —
--- - ---- - ---
- -- - ------- —  — 
--
---
I ~ — ---- ---
- -- -- - — --
--  — -- -
-- -- — 1 — -— _. __. —:- _
--— ~ —~ --- -- -- - - --
- - -- --- - - -` --- - -
- -- - -- - - - -
-- -- -- --- --
_ r
--
-- -~I ---- --
--
--- -1__=1I i I
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- -
-
II I; II 'I II II
Ii ii I! II I; II Ir
----
-- --
--- - --- - --
r ---
-- -- ----- --
-- -- ~ --- ~ --- --
-- ---- -- --
--- --- - - - - - -- -
-- --- - ---
--- -- - - ---
- -- I
I I I I ---
--- --- - -- -----
~ --- -- --
----- - -- --
-- --- ---
_ __ __ _- _-_,, --
- ---
- -- - --- -- -
- -
-- I I
r I I r -- ---
-- -- -- -- -
-- ---
- --- -- - ----------
-- -- -- -- --- ~-------- --- ~ —
-- ~ -- - -- - - --- -- - ~
____ _ --- -1 ___;
---------- --
- --  —
"___')_", a
 — --- — -----— r-I
---- -
- -- - - --- --- -~
_n          -'I
------- --- ----------------
II~ I II ~ ii
--
II II II ii II II II ii I
I I
I I
----— 
I ' I
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I I
I I
~ —~c7CC;i --- -- -— 
L -- -_ _~O 3 L)OTrC)
GC Oc uao ---- - -
O.qlO
C
-— L
I \
I '


Coal No. 7.
Coal No. 6.
Gray limestone.
Coal, local.
Blue limestone.
Coal.
Sandstone.
Impure limestone.
Shale with iron ore.
Coal with conglomerate.
Waverly to bed of stream.


-


I50


Fzg. 2.


included the highest and lowest coal veins. Coal No. I is shown
resting upon the conglomerate, which overlies the Waverly.
A sort distance north of the limits of the city of Wooster, at
the Reddick stone quarry, about 25 feet of vertical thickness of
the Waverly sandstone is exposed. It is here, as well as in many
other places in the county, the surface rock, especially in the
townships west of Wooster. As a general rule it is a sandy shale
of a gray color, and not well adapted to building purposes,
owing to its shaly character. It is exposed in the banks of the




GEOLOGY.


I29


main streams, and crops out in the highway south of Wooster, on
Robinson Hill, where a patch of conglomerate intervenes between
the Waverly and the coal measure sandstone.
The Waverly exists in all the hills east of the city of Wooster,
to the summit ridge between Wooster and Massillon. It is exposed
along the line of the railroad, the Alfred J. Thomas farm and the
Smithville Summit; and in the hills east of Apple creek to the
base of the summit ridge, near the Daniel W. Bair tract. In this
summit ridge is a thin outcrop of conglomerate underlying the
supposed coal on the Bair farm. Under the conglomerate is the
Waverly sandstone. Above the conglomerate and coal seam is
the coal sand rock, which is fine-grained, and an excellent building stone. West of Wooster, on the John A. Lawrence farm, the
Waverly comes to the surface in the highway. North of this, on
the Warner farm, it appears in the cliffs skirting the small stream,
in considerable mass. It is exposed in the banks of the Clear
creek, Christmas run, Little Killbuck, and in the Big Killbuck,
from the Eicher farm, west of Wooster, at the crossing, to Burbank. At the latter place it is more sandy and massive, and has
been used for building purposes with some success.
The rocks underlying the exposed Waverly on the Eicher farm,
have been well ascertained by the deep boring for oil by the
Wooster Oil Company, to the depth of 509 feet, as is shown by
section Fig. 3, which is a copy of the register kept by William
Mclntire, who superintended the drilling. The strata of this
section seems to vary from the general order of structure, the
Berea grit sandrock being separated by a coarse gray sand and
shaly rock, and the shale, underlying the Berea grit rock, is in two
sections.
Coal Measure Sandstone.
This formation, known as the carboniferous sand rock of the
coal measure, is, in many instances, massive, and frequently found
occupying the place of the coal strata in mass, and in horseback
protrusions. It is co-extensive with the coal measure of Wayne
9




130


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


~ ~


Thickness in feet.
Drift.      8
I2
20
I04
20    _
35
'5    _


Stratum.


Kind of Stratum,
Clay.
Gravel.
Sand.


_;

Fine grain sand rock.
Dark gray fine grain sand rock.


Gray sand shale rock-gas issue..


Hard gray shale, strong of gas.




Fine grain sandstone.. I   _


__.                                                                                                                 - I


I
I         I                                  I,         I
I          I,.,.,,..          I          I          I
I          I         I                                         -


-I


Light gray hard sand rock-grit.




i8       I I I      I      Light gray sandstone-Berea grit.
i6                         Shaly sandstone, one layer flinty hard.
I          i l  i  l


25
x4
28
I57
25
46


a       I        I        f        I       I       I
I      - V _     I        I       I        I
I          I     I       I        I         I
I..       I..      I


Coarse gray sandstone-Oil rock.




Gray sand rock-Berea grit..


Light black shale.


' --- —


Black shale. Salt water and oil at depth of 45 feet.


-


III II
I  I  IIII II
II II I
III II

Coarse gray sandstone-Oil rock... _


Brown slate. Forty-six feet drill in this strata did
not pass drill through it. Whole depth, 50 feet.


__


Fig. 3.    Section of Oil Well Strata.




GEOLOGY.


I3I


county, its outcrop extending westward of the coal strata into
Canaan, Wayne, Clinton, Plain, Chester, and Congress townships.
The building stone of the Kauke, Coe and Wallace quarries east
of the city of Wooster, are of this formation, which varies in thickness, very materially thinning out to the westward in the hills east
of Wooster. In Chippewa township it is 56 feet thick; in East
Union even more massive; also in Baughman, near Marshallville;
while at the Burton mine, near Fairview, it is only ten feet in
thickness.
Shales.
The shales of the coal measure of this county are not uniform,
in many instances very thin, and frequently entirely absent. In
sections Figs. 2 and 3 the respective positions of the shales are
shown. Coal No. I is overlaid by a stratum of black shale, which
varies from a few inches to 15 feet in thickness. In some instances a thin vein of iron ore intervenes between it and the sandstone.
Coal No. 2 is limited in this county, and of no economic value
when present, the seam being only a few inches in thickness, the
sandstone generally cutting it out. A striking example of this is
witnessed in the massive sand rock near Massillon, which ranges in
thickness from 40 to Ioo feet, and is noted as a superior building
stone throughout the county. Shales usually accompany all the
coal seams, though coal No. 3 is often found overlaid by the blue
limestone. Coal No. 6 is roofed by black shale, and coal No. 7 is
covered by a thin layer of shale, but which is of no consequence
as a roof support.
Limestones.
The limestones of this county are confined to Sugarcreek, East
Union, Paint, Saltcreek, Franklin and Plain townships. There
are three orders of limestone: The impure sandy shale rock,
found above coal No. I, underlying the coal sand rock; the blue,
above coal No. 3; and the gray, below coal No. 6, and also above
it, as at Charles Brown's mine, where the coal is directly overlaid
by the gray limestone.




F


132         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUANTY, OHIO.
The gray limestone comes to the surface in numerous places in
Sugarcreek, Paint, Saltcreek and Franklin townships; and it also,
to a limited extent. exists as a surface rock in Plain township, on
the Espy farm. It makes a good quick-lime when burnt, and is
burnt in all the townships where located, except in Plain. It
proves valuable for building purposes and for enriching the soil.
Sandstone Rocks.
There is, in several localities of the county, a very valuable
building sandstone, found in the ridges of Chippewa, Sugarcreek,
Paint and Saltcreek townships, of which that of Paint is the most
noted. About two miles east of Mt. Eaton are high ridges literally covered with rocks of fine-grained white sand, some of which
are very massive, especially those on Popolat ridge, so named on
account of an Indian having fixed his habitation there under one
of the rocks, before the advent of the white settlers. Some of
these rocks are most singularly located, and appear as if dropped
on the side of the ridge, where they rest upon the surface. Others are buried in sand of the same character of which they are
composed. The larger rocks have marked evidences of the action
of water. Some seem to have been moved since they were deposited, and now remain ini a tilted position, retaining their angles
well preserved, whilst others are much water-worn. They present
the appearance of an upheaved broken strata, yet the sand rock in
the base of the ridge is unbroken and in a horizontal position.
This base rock is a compact gray sandstone, and is successfully
used for building purposes, and considered on equality with the
Massillon sandstone. It is quarried extensively on the Foster
farm.  In this quarry, several years ago, the workmen, at the
depth of about 15 feet from the surface of the rock, came upon
what had been the trunk of the Lepidodendron tree, of about four
feet in diameter, which was solid rock, with the impressions of the
surface of the tree very distinctly visible. About seven feet of this
rock tree was taken out of the quarry and preserved, about two




GEOLOGY.


I33


feet of which being presented to John P. Jeffries, Esq., of Wooster, by Mr. Frank Foster, of near Mt. Eaton, is represented in
section Fig. 4.
The rock from which this fossil tree was taken is located about
60 feet from the surface of the ground, and about Ioo feet above
the coal strata of the Flory mine.


Fig. 4.


The same character of rocks literally cover the ridge under
which the coal vein of the Flory mine is located, the north-east
side having a mountainous appearance.
Similar rocky ridges exist in Chippewa township, and the same
order of stone exists there also; and especially in the ridge upon
which Doylestown is situated the white sandstone crops, and which
is quarried for building purposes, it being well adapted to that use.
The ridge in which is located the Finley coal mine of Saltcreek
township, is chiefly covered with sandstone rocks, and is crowned
by a thick strata of fine-grained sandstone, equal, and in some re



134


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


spects superior, to the celebrated Massillon sandstone, and is susceptible of a smooth finish.
At the Kirkendall quarry similar stone are taken out. Saltcreek township is noted for its fine building stone. About forty
years ago the stone for the construction of the Wayne county jail
was supplied from one of the Saltcreek quarries.  Sugarcreek
contains the same character of stone. In East Union the same
kind of sand rock exists, though of coarser grain and of darker
color; at least such is the case as regards the quarry on the J. E.
Breneman farm. The stone of the Daniel Goodyear farm, in Milton township, is of the same character.
In Plain township, on the farm of Benjamin Wallace, are sandstone as white as marble and nearly as compact. Pulverized, it
makes a beautiful white finish, for which purpose it is used by
plasterers. This same class of rock exists in Chester and Clinton
townships to some extent.
There are no other rock strata of any note existing in the
county. The slate and shaly sandstone, and soap-stone, not being
independent formations, belong to the Waverly series, with an occasional exception as to the soap-stone, which, in some instances, is
found in the coal measure in connection with iron ore and fire clay
but only to a limited extent.




ARCHEOLOG Y.


I35


CHAPTER VIII.
ARCHAEOLOGY-DEFENSIVE AND SACRED ENCLOSURES.
THE MOUND-BUILDERS.
THE antiquities themselves present two classifications: Earthworks and Implements, including Ornaments.
IMPLEMENTS.
The simple weapons of bone and stone which are found in
America bear sharp analogy to those found in other countries.
The axes, blue, gray and black arrow heads, flakes, hatchets and
general bone implements, are closely identified with those which occur in the Swiss lakes, differing only, in some instances, in point
of material. These simple and more general forms and specimens
appear with others quite complicated. We find perforated axes,
and it is believed by European archaeologists they represent the
Metallic Age.
With the bare exception of a tribe near the mouth of the La
Plata, it is affirmed that iron was positively unknown to the North
American aborigines upon the discovery of the New World. This
tribe pointed their arrows with this metal, which we inferentially
believe, was procured from the native iron. While the more polished nations of Central America were in the Age of Bronze, the
North Americans were in a state concerning which, we find, in
Europe, but meagre outline-the Age of Copper.
Although found in but small quantities, silver is the only metal
found in the ancient tumuli. Some of the copper deposits of Lake
Superior are veined with this metal, though it never seems to have




I36


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


been smelted. Yet, on the other hand, copper is determined in
the tumuli both wrought and unwrought. The axes very much
resemble the simple axes of Europe which embody the minimum
per cent. of tin; and some of the Mexican paintings supply us with
gratifying evidence as to the way in which they were employed.
However, these were of bronze, and had, therefore, been smelted
or fused; but the Indian axes, which are of pure copper, appear in
all cases to have been worked in a cold state, which is the more remarkable, because" the fires upon the altar were sufficiently intense
to melt down the copper implements and ornaments deposited
upon them." The hint thus afforded does not seem to have been
seized upon.
This surprises us less than we at first imagined, as around
Lake Superior, and other even more northern localities, copper in
large quantities is found native, and the Indians had nothing to do
but to break off pieces and hammer them to the bent and purpose of
their barbarian wishes. Hearne's celebrated journey to the mouth
of the Coppermine river was undertaken in order to examine the
locality whence the natives of the district obtained the metal. In
this instance it appeared in lumps upon the surface, the Indians
picking these up, but making no pretensions to, or having no
knowledge of, mining. The case is different about Lake Superior.
A brief account of the ancient copper mines is given by Messrs.
Squier and Davis, the works having been first discovered in 1847,
by the agent of the Minnesota Mining Company.
"Following up the indications of a continuous depression in
the soil, he came at length to a cavern where he found several
porcupines had fixed their quarters for hybernation; but detecting
evidences of artificial excavation he proceeded to clear out the
accumulated soil, and not only exposed to view a vein of copper,
but found in the rubbish numerous stone mauls and hammers of
the ancient workmen. Subsequent observations brought to light
ancient excavations of great extent, frequently from 25 to 30 feet
deep, and scattered over an area of several miles. The rubbish
taken from these is piled up in mounds alongside, while the




ARCH-EOLOG Y.


I37


trenches have been gradually refilled with the soil and decaying
vegetable matter, gathered through the long centuries since their
desertion; and over all, the giants of the forests have grown, and
withered, and fallen to decay. Mr. Knapp, the agent of the Minnesota Mining Company, counted 395 annular rings in a hemlock
tree, which grew on one of the mounds of earth thrown out of an
ancient mine. Mr. Foster also notes the great size and age of a
pine stump, which must have grown, flourished and died since the
works were deserted; and Mr. C. Whittlesey not only refers to
living trees now flourishing in the gathered soil of the abandoned
trenches upwards of 300 years old, 'but,' he adds, 'on the same
spot there are the decayed trunks of a preceding generation, or
generations of trees that have arrived at maturity and fallen down
from old age.' "
A detachment of native copper, weighing nearly six tons, was
found in another excavation. Tools of the same metal and a
variety of implements were found in it. Hammers and stone
mauls did "most abound," one place alone producing its quota of
ten cart loads. With the above implements were also found
"stone axes, of large size, made of green stone, and shaped to
receive the withe-handles; some large, round, green stone masses
that had apparently been used for sledges, were also found. They
had round holes bored in them to a depth of several inches, which
seemed to have been designed for wooden plugs, to which withehandles might be attached, so that several men could swing them
with sufficient force to break the rock and the projecting masses
of copper."
POTTERY.
Antecedent to the period of metals, or the subserviency of
metallic vessels, the art of the potter attained to conspicuous preeminence. As a consequence, the sites of ancient habitations are
indicated by fragments of pottery; and this is equally true of the
ancient Indian settlements as well as of the Celtic towns of England or the lake villages of Switzerland. These fragments would




138


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


generally be those of rude household vessels; and it is principally
from the tumuli that we obtain those better made urns and cups
from which the state of the art may fairly be inferred.
Squier and Davis say: " Among the North American moundbuilders the art of pottery attained to a considerable degree of perfection." Some of the vases are said to rival, " in elegance of model,
delicacy and finish," the rarest Peruvian specimens. The material
used is a fine clay; in the more delicate specimens, pure; in the
coarser ones, mixed with pounded quartz. The art of glazing and
the use of the potter's wheel seem to not have been known,
though that "simple approximation to a potter's wheel may have
existed which comprises" a stick of wood grasped in the hand by
the middle, and turned around inside a wall of clay, formed by the
other hand, or by another workman.
As specimens of ancient pottery, none, perhaps, are more characteristic than the pipes. Many of these are rude and simple
bowls, not unlike our common pipes, but usually without stems,
the mouth, probably, being applied to the bowl. Others are grotesquely ornamented, and some are animated representations of
monsters or animals, such as the beaver, otter, wildcat, elk, bear,
wolf, panther, raccoon, opossum, squirrel, manatee, eagle, hawk,
heron, owl, buzzard, raven, swallow, paroquet, duck, grouse, etc.
ORNAMENTS.
Shells, necklaces, pendants, plates of mica, bracelets, gorgets,
etc., have been found in the mounds, and which include the ornaments. The number of beads is sometimes quite astonishing.
The celebrated Grave Creek mound contained between three and
four thousand shell-beads, besides about two hundred and fifty
ornaments of mica, several bracelets of copper, and numerous
articles carved in stone. The beads are most generally manufactured of shell, but are sometimes made of bone and teeth. The
necklaces are formed of shells and beads, and sometimes of teeth.
The ornaments of mica are thin plates of various forms, each of
which contains a small hole. The bracelets are of copper, and




ARCHEOLOG Y.


I39


generally encircle the arms of the skeletons, besides being frequent
on the " altars." They are simple rings, hammered out with more
or less skill, and so bent that the ends approach, or lap over each
other. The so-called "gorgets" are but thin plates of copper,
always with two holes, and very likely, therefore, worn as marks
of authority.
EARTHWORKS.
Defensive Enclosures.-These  "usually occupy strong natural positions."  What is known as the Bourneville enclosure, in Ross county, Ohio, is a very fair specimen.  This
work   "occupies  the  summit of   a  lofty, detached  hill,
twelve miles westward from the city of Chillicothe, near the
village of Bourneville. The hill is not far from four hundred feet
in perpendicular hight; and is remarkable, even among the steep
hills of the west, for the general abruptness of its sides, which, at
some points, are absolutely inaccessible."  *  *  *
"The defenses consist of a wall of stone, which is carried
round the hill, a little below the brow; but at some places it rises
so as to cut off the narrow spurs, and extends across the neck that
connects the hill with the range beyond." Nothing, however, like
a perfect wall exists at present, the aspect being rather what might
have been "expected from the falling outwards of a wall of stones,
placed, as this was, upon the declivity of a hill."  Where it is
most distinct, it is from 15 to 20 feet wide, by 3 or 4 in hight.
The area thus enclosed is about I40 acres, and the wall is 2g
miles in length, and has possibly been 7 or 8 feet high, with a corresponding base. Trees of large size are growing upon it.
In Highland county, Ohio, on a similar work, known as "Fort
Hill," Messrs. Squier and Davis found a chestnut tree which they
supposed to have been 600 years old.  "If," say they, "to this
we add the probable period intervening from the time of the building of this work, to its abandonment, and the subsequent period
up to its invasion by the forest, we are irresistibly led to the conclusion that it has an antiquity of at least I,ooo years. But when




140


HISTORY OF WV4AYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


we notice all around us the crumbling trunks of trees, half hidden
in the accumulating soil, we are enabled to fix upon an antiquity
even more remote."
The enclosure known as Clark's work, in Ross county, Ohio, is
one of the largest and most attractive, and, according to our authority, consists of a parallelogram 2,800 by I,800 feet, and enclosing
about I I acres. To the right of this, the principal work is a perfect square, containing an area of about 16 acres. Each side is
850 feet in length, and in the middle of each is a gateway 30 feet
wide, and covered by a small mound. Within the area of the
great work are several smaller mounds and enclosures, and it is
estimated that not less than 3,000,000 of cubic feet of earth were
used in this great undertaking.
Sacred and Miscellaneous Enclosures.-These are to be found
"on the broad and level river bottoms, seldom occurring
upon the table lands, or where the surface of the ground
is undulating or broken." In this respect they differ from
the defensive earthworks, which occupy hilltops and other favorable points of resistance. They, too, are usually square or circular in form, a circle being combined with one or two squares.
"Occasionally we find them isolated, but more frequently in
groups. The greater number of the circles are of small size, with
a nearly uniform diameter of 250 or 300 feet, and invariably have
the ditch interior to the wall." Some of the circles, however, are
much larger, enclosing 50 acres or more. These squares and other
rectangular works never have a ditch, and the earth of which they
are composed appears to have been taken up evenly from the surface, or from large pits in the neighborhood. They vary much in
size; five or six of them, however, are "exact squares, each side
measuring j,080 feet-a coincidence which could not possibly be
accidental, and which must possess some significance." The circles also, in spite of their great size, are perfectly round, so that
the American archaeologists consider themselves justified in concluding that the mound-builders must have had some standard of
measurement and some means of determining angles.




ARCHI-OLOG Y.


I4I


The most remarkable group is that near Newark, in the Scioto
valley, which covers an area of about four square miles. It consists of an octagon, with an area of fifty, a square occupying
twenty acres, two large circles occupying, respectively, thirty
and twenty acres. From the octagon, an avenue formed of parallel walls, extends southwards for two miles and a half. There
are two other avenues which are rather more than a mile in length,
one of them connecting the octagon with the square.
There are other embankments and small circles in addition to
these, the majority of which are about 80 feet in diameter, but
some are larger. The walls of these small circles, as well as those
of the avenues and of the regular portions of the work generally,
are very slight, and for the most part about four feet in hight.
The other embankments are much more considerable; the walls
of the large circle are twelve feet high, with a base of fifty feet,
and an interior ditch seven feet deep and thirty-five in width. At
the gateway they are still more imposing, the walls being sixteen
feet high, and the ditch thirteen feet deep. The whole area is
covered with gigantic, primitive trees, and, according to Squier and
Davis, in " entering the ancient avenue for the first time the visitor does not fail to experience a sensation of awe, such as he
might feel in passing the portals of an Egyptian temple, or in gazing upon the silent ruins of Petra of the desert."
The city of Circleville takes its name from one of these embankments. It consists of a square and a circle touching one another,
the sides of the square being about goo feet in length, and the
circle a little more than I,ooo feet in diameter. The square had
eight doorways, one at each angle, and one in the middle of each
side, every doorway being covered by a mound. This work, like
many others throughout the country, and some few of the simpler
earth-circles of our own county, have succumbed to the vandalism
of the plow, and the rash demolitions of man.
Both as being the only example of an enclosure yet observed
in Wisconsin, and also as having in many respects a great resemblance to a fortified town, the ruins of Aztalan have attracted great




I42


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


attention. They are situated on the west branch of Rock river,
and were discovered by N. F. Hyer, Esq., in 1836. The name
"Aztalan" was given to this place by Mr. Hyer because the
Aztecs had a tradition that they originally came from a country to
the north, which they called Aztalan, which phrase is said to be
derived from two Mexican words Atl, water, and An, near.  "The
main feature of these works is an enclosure of earth (not brick as
has been erroneously stated) extending around three sides of an
irregular parallelogram, the river forming the fourth side on the
east." The space thus enclosed is seventeen acres and two-thirds.
The corners are not rectangular, and the embankment, or ridge,
is not straight. The ridge forming the enclosure is 630 feet long
at the north end; 1,419 feet long on the west side; and 700 feet on
the south side; making a total length of wall of 2,750 feet. The
ridge or wall is about 22 feet wide, and from one foot to five in
hight. The wall of earth is enlarged on the outside, at nearly regular distances, by mounds of the same material. They are called
buttresses, or bastions, and vary from 69 to 95 feet apart, the
mean distance being 82 feet.
Frequently the earth forming the walls appears to have been
burnt. " Irregular masses of hard, reddish clay, full of cavities,
bear distinct impressions of straw, or wild hay, with which they
have been mixed before burning. This is the only foundation for
calling these 'brick walls.' The 'bricks' were never made into
any regular form, and it is even doubtful if the burning did not
take place in the wall, after it was built."
Some of the mounds, or buttresses, were, though forming part of
an enclosure, also used for sepulchral purposes, as has been proven
by their containing skeletons in sitting posture, with fragments of
pottery. The highest point inside this enclosure is " occupied by
a square truncated mound, which presents the appearance of a pyramid, rising by successive steps, like the gigantic structures of
Mexico." Inside this enclosure is another "rectangular, truncated
pyramidal elevation of 65 feet level area at the top, with remains




ARCHiEOLOG Y.


143


of its graded way, or sloping ascent, at the south-west corner, leading, also, to a ridge that extends in the direction of the river."
Almost the entire portion of the enclosure not occupied by
mounds is a series of excavations and ridges, which might suggest
the vestiges of ruined and demolished houses. A skeleton was
found in one of these mounds, folded, apparently, in cloth of open
texture, "like the coarsest linen fabric," the threads of which were
so rotted as to render it impossible to determine the material of its
composition.
It is unnecessary to add that the last Indian occupants of that
historic locality had neither knowledge nor tradition of these mysterious earthworks.
There does not appear to be any corresponding earthworks to
these so-styled sacred enclosures among the northern tribes of existing Indians.
No sooner, however, do we pass to the southward and arrive
among the Creeks, Natchez and affiliated Floridian tribes, than we
discover traces of structures, which, if they do not entirely correspond with the regular earthworks of the West, nevertheless
seem to be quite analogous to them.
Sepulchral Mounds.-To say that they are innumerable, in the
ordinary sense of the term, would be no exaggeration. They may
be numbered by thousands and tens of thousands. They vary
from six to eight feet in hight; generally stand outside the enclosures; are often isolated, but often, also, in groups; they are usually
round, but sometimes elliptical or pear shaped. They cover, generally, a single skeleton, which is often burnt. Occasionally there is a
stone cist; but urn burial also prevailed to a considerable extent, especially in southern States. The contracted position of the corpse seems
to be, as usual, as in the more ancient burials of Europe. Implements both of stone and metal occur frequently; but, while personal ornaments, such as bracelets, perforated plates of copper,
beads of bone, shell or metal, and similar objects, are very common,
weapons are but rarely found; a fact which, in the opinion of Dr.




144


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Wilson, ' indicates a totally different condition of society and mode
of thought," from that of the present Indian.
What, then, is the idea implied in these gigantic tumuli-this
disposition of the inertia-smitten, soul-divorced body? The above
quoted authority seems to recognize the tumulus as a simple development of that little heap of earth "displaced by interment which
still, to thousands, suffices as the most touching memorial of the
dead." Rather would we coincide with Professor Nillson, the
Swedish antiquary, "that the grave was but an adaptation, a
copy, or a development of a dwelling place. Unable to imagine a
future altogether different from the present, or a world quite unlike
our own, primitive nations seem always to have buried with their
dead those things which in life they valued most-with ladies their
ornaments, with chiefs their weapons, and sometimes, also, their
wives. They burned the house with its owner; the grave was
literally the dwelling of the dead. According to Professor Nillson,
when a great man died he was placed in his favorite seat, food and
drink were arranged before him, his weapons were placed at hand,
and his house was closed, sometimes forever, sometimes to be
opened once more when his wife or his children had joined him in
the spirit land. The ancient tumuli of Northern Europe consist,
usually, of a passage leading into a central vault, in which the
dead "sit." The graves of the Tartars are said to resemble their
dwellings. In some of the far-off islands of the East it is the
custom to desert the house in which a great man dies; and Captain Cook pleases to have us understand that he observed at Mooa
certain houses erected on mounds, in which, he was told, "the
dead had been buried."
Bone-pits.-Some of these tumuli are crowded with human remains, in conjunction with which may be mentioned the so-called
"bone-pits" described by Mr. Squier. " One of these pits, discovered some years ago in the town of Cambria, Niagara county, was
estimated to contain the bones of several thousand individuals. Another one which he visited in the town of Clarence, Erie county,
contained not less than 400 skeletons." And Thomas Jefferson,




ARCHEOLOG Y.


I45


in his "Notes on Virginia," describes a tumulus that was estimated to contain the skeletons of I,ooo individuals.  These
"bone-pits" are explained by descriptions given of the old and
solemn " Festival of the dead,"  It seems that about every decade
the Indians met at some place previously designated; that they
dug up their dead, collected the bones together, and laid them in
one common burial place, depositing with them valuable articles.
Sacrzficial Mounds.-A class of ancient monuments peculiar to
the New World has been honored with the above title, and which
are strikingly illustrative of the ceremonies and customs of these
ancient races of the mounds.
Says Dr. Wilson: "This remarkable class of mounds has
been very carefully explored, and their most noticeable characteristics are, their almost invariable occurrence within enclosures;
their regular construction in uniform layers of gravel, earth and
sand, disposed alternately in strata conformable to the shape of the
mound; and their covering a symmetrical altar of burnt clay or
stone, on which are deposited numerous relics, in all instances exhibiting traces, more or less abundant, of their having been exposed
to the action of fire."
This so-called "altar " is a basin, or table of burnt clay, carefully formed into a symmetrical figure, but varying much, both in
shape and size. Some are round, some elliptical, and others
squares or parallelograms, while in size they vary from two feet to
fifty feet, by twelve or fifteen. They are pretty generally found
within sacred enclosures. The "altar" is always on a level with
the natural soil, and bears traces of long-continued heat. Traces
of timber have been discovered even above the altar. In one of
the twenty-six tumuli forming the "Mound City," on the Scioto
river, were found a number of pieces of timber, four or five feet
long and six or eight inches thick.  "These pieces had been of
nearly uniform length; and this circumstance, joined to the position in which they occurred in respect to each other, would almost
justify the inference that they had supported some funeral or sacrificial pile. Great diversity manifests itself in the contents of
IO0




146


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


these mounds. This one on the Scioto river embraced a quantity
of pottery and implements of stone and copper, all of which had
been subjected to a powerful heat. The pottery may have formed
a dozen vessels of moderate size. The copper articles consisted of
numerous thin strips and chisels. From fifty to one hundred stone
arrow-heads and a few carved pipes completed the catalogue of this
interesting tumulus."
Temple Mounds. -These have been designated by Messrs.
Squier and Davis, and are described by them as " pyramidal structures, truncated, and generally having graded avenues to their
tops. In some instances they are terraced, or have successive
stages. But whatever their form, whether round, oval, octangular, square, or oblong, they have invariably flat or level tops, of
greater or less area." These mounds are said to resemble the
Teocallis of Mexico, and had probably a similar origin. They are
rare in the north, though examples occur even as far as Lake Superior, but become more and more numerous as we pass down the
Mississippi, and especially on approaching the Gulf, where they
constitute the most numerous and important portion of the ancient
remains. Some of the largest, be it remembered, are located in
the north. One of the most remarkable of these is at Cahokia,
Illinois, and is stated to be 700 feet long, 500 feet wide at the base,
and go feet in hight, with solid contents roughly estimated at
12,000,000 of cubic feet.
Animal Mounds.-Among our American antiquities these possess no small share of interest. They are found principally in Wisconsin, though not exclusively there. In this region, it is said,
" thousands of examples occur of gigantic basso-relievos of men,
beasts, birds and reptiles, all wrought with persevering labor on
the surface of the soil," while enclosures and works of defense
are entirely wanting, the "ancient city of Aztalan " being, as is
supposed, the only example of the former class.
The animal mounds were first observed by I. A. Lapham,
in 1836, and have been surveyed and described by him in the work
entitled "The Antiquities of Wisconsin." They seem to be most




AR CHEOLOG Y.


I47


numerous in the southern counties of that State, and extend from
the Mississippi to Lake Michigan, following generally the courses
of the river, and being especially numerous along the great Indian
trail, or war path, from Lake Michigan, near Milwaukee, to the
Mississippi, above Prairie du Chien.
The mounds themselves not only represent animals, such as
men, buffaloes, elks, bears, otters, wolves, raccoons, birds, serpents, lizards, turtles and frogs, but also some inanimate objects,
if, at least, the American archaeologists are right in regarding some
of them as crosses, tobacco pipes, etc. Many of the representations are spirited and correct, but others, probably through the
action of time, are less definite. Their hight varies from one to
four feet, sometimes, however, rising to six feet.
One remarkable group, in Dale county, consists of a man with
extended arms, seven more or less elongated mounds, one tumulus,
and six quadrupeds. The length of the human figure is 125 feet,
and it is I40 feet from the extremity of one arm to that of the
other. The quadrupeds vary from go to 126 feet in length.
At Waukesha are a variety of mounds, tumuli and animals,
including several lizards, a very fine bird, and a magnificent turtle.
"This, when first observed, was a very fine specimen of the art of
mound-building, with its graceful curves, the feet projecting back
and forward, and the tail, with its gradual slope, so accurately
pointed that it was impossible to ascertain precisely where it terminated." This group of mounds is now, alas, covered with
buildings, and it is said a dwelling-house stands upon the body of
the turtle, and a Catholic church is built upon the tail.
The rare and few animal mounds which have been discovered out of Wisconsin differ from the ordinary type in many respects. On a high spur of land near Granville, Ohio, is an earthwork known in the neighborhood as the "Alligator." It has a
head and body, four sprawling legs and a curled tail. The total
length is 250 feet, the breadth of the body 40 feet, and the length
of the legs 36 feet. The average hight is four feet; at the shoulders, six. But even more remarkable is the great serpent in




148


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Adams county, Ohio. It is situated on a tall spur of land, which
rises 150 feet above Brush creek.  "Conforming to the curve of
the hill, and occupying its very summit, is the serpent, its head
resting near the point, and its body winding back for 700 feet in
graceful undulations, terminating in a triple coil at the tail. The
entire length, if extended, would be not less than I,ooo feet.
*    *   The neck of the serpent is stretched out, and slightly
curved, and its mouth is opened wide, as if in the act of swallowing
or ejecting an oval figure which rests partially within the distended
jaws. This oval is formed of an embankment of earth, without
any perceptible opening, four feet in hight, and is perfectly regular
in outline, its transverse and conjugate diameters being I60 and 80
feet, respectively."
By whom, or why, or when, these mysterious works were
erected we know not, and may not wholly know. The explored
recesses of these mounds send us back no explanation; and the
Indians themselves, though they contemplate them with stupid
reverence, are unable to furnish any aid in their solution. Time
and science may, in the long, coming future, lift the mystery enveloping these hoary monuments of the Pre-historic Man.
TUMULI OF WAYNE COUNTY.
We have thus with persistent effort introduced the more prominent classifications of these mysterious works of the Mississippi
valley, which can not fail to be interesting to the general reader; but
intended to be particularly so, as presenting an interpretation of the
passing consideration we shall bestow upon the little known, but
not less remarkable, pre-historic tumuli of our own county.
The order of tumuli observable in Wayne county, Ohio, is of
the character of defensive enclosures and sepulchral mounds, and
comes under the classification of earthworks. The exact number
that may have been within its limits at the first settlement we are
not able to define, as the traces of many of them have been entirely
blotted out. Civilization, it would appear, sometimes uncivilizes
man; for in his highest estate of it he will mutilate pyramids,




ARCHEL O G Y.


I49


destroy palaces and level monuments. These monuments of our
pre-historic age should be preserved by the owners of the soil.
The voice within them, that the centuries have throttled, may yet
speak.
Of those that still exist there is an indefinite number. Concerning others the places that mark them are now known only by
the oldest people. Others are found in a partially obliterated condition, while a.few may be observed with shape and contour of
first construction, abraded and worn by the friction of centuries,
and but faintly exhibit their original outlines. The one in Canaan
township, a merely circular embankment, near the Killbuck, and
in the earlier days quite sharply defined, has been sacrilegiously
obliterated.
In the eastern portion of the county, those in Sugarcreek
township, present some quite prominent features and possess keen
interest. The one south-west of Dalton has a diameter of about
three hundred feet east and west, and north and south a diameter of about two hundred and twenty-five feet. It is bisected
or cut in two by a road, and that part of the circle south of the
road is included in a field of John Swartz, which is cultivated, and
where there no longer remains a vestige of embankment or ditch.
The other segment is on the farm of Joseph McElhenie, and as
yet remains in forest. There is also in this township on the lands
of      Graber, in a dense and elevated wood, what we have
chosen to style a sepulchral mound, four or five feet in hight, and
with the other average dimensions of this class of tumuli. Many
of those of East Union, Clinton, Wooster, Plain, etc., with their
faded outlines, have their history, but we see them best in the
glamour of tradition.
Concerning some of those in Wooster township, Mr. Jeffries in
his late work says:
"Two mounds of this class are upon the author's premises
within the limits of the city of Wooster, Ohio. They are situated
upon an eminence, and constructed of fine gravel and sand, and
not of the same material of the surrounding country. The gravel




150


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


and sand composing these tumuli were brought from some other
locality. On opening one of the mounds fifteen years ago, and
reaching a point on a level with the surrounding plain, the workmen came upon a deposit of black loam, in which were found two
stone axes, one of which was granite, the other flint. The granite had a deep groove, or crevice, extending around the main body
of the axe, near the pole, evidently designed to sustain the handle.
The pole was flat, with edges rounded; the other end shaped like
a common axe, and sharp, as much so as stone could be made.
The other instrument had a pointed pole and sharp ax-bit, the
whole surface being smooth. It was originally, when discovered,
about six inches long, the axe end being about two and a half
inches wide. Both of these instruments were of symmetrical proportions. Several arrow-heads of flint were also found in the
mound. The aborigines occupying this valley when the whites
first settled here, had no knowledge, by tradition or otherwise, as
regards the builders of these mounds. Their constructors had
passed away long before the Shawanese, Delawares, and other
Indian tribes had entered the country.
" On the highlands overlooking the city of Wooster, at the
south, is an ancient fortification enclosing several acres of land.
Only part of it now remains unobliterated, the main portion being
in cultivated fields. That part uncultivated, lying in the woodland,
is still visible, though the embankment is greatly worn down and
the trench nearly filled up. Thirty years ago the whole enclosure
was easily traced, even through the plowed fields and across the
public road, which was cut through the banks of the enclosure.
The fort was not fully circular, that portion of it overlooking the
Killbuck river to the west being an obtuse angle."
Fort Hill, Wayne Township.-In Wayne township, on the farm
of Hugh Culbertson, Esq., 3 miles north-west of Wooster, is situated a most remarkable work. It consists of an enclosure and two
mounds on a beautifully elevated bluff or ridge, the Chester township line taking off a very small portion of the western slope of
the bluff. In the neighborhood, and with persons acquainted with




ARCHAEOLOG Y.


I51


it, it is familiarly known as "Fort Hill." From the point on its
western slope traversed by the Chester township line north and
south, it is six hundred feet in length to its eastern termini; its
greatest width being about one hundred and fifty feet. The bluff
is oblong with a slight curvature on its north side, its western point
bearing faintly north of west, and its eastern extremity inclining
north of east. A small ravine on its north side separates it from
the bolder inclines of the Killbuck valley banks, the ravine defining its western slope and extending eastward its whole length to
the Cedar Valley road. The road, penetrating the valley of Little
Killbuck to the eastward on its northern side, approaches the
ravine on the north at a mixed angle, forming, with the ravine, its
south-west and north-west boundaries, and then, bearing in a more
southerly direction, constitutes its southern boundary. On the extreme east passes the Cedar Valley road. The bluff faces to the
south on the Little Killbuck Valley road, and has a perpendicular
hight of about 35 feet above the road and the valley below. The
circle is west of the center of the bluff, and is about II2 feet east
and west by 82 feet north and south, it being apparently broken
now on the south by the falling away of the bank. About 65 feet
from the enclosure, and a little north of west, and about IOO feet
from the same, north of east, are two mounds 30 feet in circumference, with elliptical elevations of 3 feet above the surrounding
surface. Out of these mounds human teeth and bones have been
taken, and on the south side of the bluff, midway to its summit, a
party of hunters, several years ago in digging after a ground hog,
came in contact with and excavated human bones. These mounds
on Fort Hill bear indisputable resemblance to those sepulchral ones
already described. The bluff is a semi-isolated elevation, and its superficies are studded with stately trees and others of lesser growth.
Other Earthworks in the County.-Opposite to this point, across
the Killbuck valley, due east one mile, on the farm of Rose Ann
Eicher, in Wayne township, is another of these lines of circumvallation, consisting of an inner moat or trench and parapet. This
work is emphatically a defensive enclosure, and as a simple fortifi



152


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


cation possesses great natural strength, and in its selection and
arrangement indicates war-cunning and masterly ideas of defense.
From trench to trench, east and west, its greatest length is 300
feet, and similarly measured, its greatest width, from north to
south, is 195 feet. It is situated in the woods, and covered with a
stout and ancient growth of timber.  On its north side, in the
trench, is growing a gum tree, over two feet in diameter, and on
the south-east side, in the trench, stands a sturdy soft maple,
27 inches in diameter at the time it was measured. Other and
larger trees occupy this enclosure. This extensive and formidable
work is situated on the western declivity of the hills, east of the
Killbuck valley, and is most acutely defined. The trench is several feet wide, and from its bottom to the top of the embankment
or parapet, the distance is probably over four feet. Its extreme
western boundary extends to the banks of the Killbuck stream,
which affords water protection in front. On its north and south
sides are ravines breaking the surface beyond the farther east
line of the work, flanking each side of the enclosure, very close to
the same, and to the stream. These ravines are abrupt and deep,
and, before the waste and deposition of the ages, were difficult of
passage.
Fort Tyler, Plain Township.-On the western border of the
county, and on the "mile strip," about two miles south-west of
Blachleysville, is situated the most complete, interesting and perfectly outlined tumulus of the county. Since the memory of the
oldest man runneth it has been known as " Fort Tyler."  In point
of grandeur of location, determinate configuration and perfection
of physical outline, we may well doubt if any in the range of the
State surpass it. The site of the mound, with its regularly expressed elliptical circle, is on an imposing eminence, variously estimated from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet above the
surrounding levels and bottoms at its base. This vast elevation is
coniform in character, with steep, but gradually descending sides,
and on its vertex, in primitive woodland seclusion, and under the
friendly shelter of a nascent forest, is to be seen this mute but elo



AR CHEOLOG Y.


I53


quent monument of the faded, Conjectural Man. The view from
the summit, were it not obstructed by the young growth of trees,
dotted all over the great cone, would be picturesque and charming. To the north-east, north and west, and forming a portion of
its base, lie the rich alluvial levels of the Muddy Fork and Mohican valleys, while on the east and south-east repose the deep bottoms of the Big Prairie, stretching far to the south-a beautiful
scroll of nature, pinned, on either side, to the skirts of the upland
and hill.
This tumulus is 1,200 feet in circumference in the trench, 300
feet across east and west, and 500 feet north and south. The
trench, at this time, is two feet deep, and sufficiently wide to
drive two horses abreast in it. What its depth and width was at
the period of its construction is left to hypothesis. The embankment retains very marked proportions. Within this enclosure is
a mound, five feet high, with a base circumference of over one
hundred feet, and a summit, or top diameter, of twenty feet, and
is situated west and north of the center of the circle. The timbergrowth covering this elevation is of the character of that which we
find growing in what is recognized as the " Plains" of the county,
the largest being a wild cherry, fourteen inches in diameter,
though the different oaks, of approximate size, flourish abundantly.
When John Collier, Major Tyler, John Tryon, etc., settled in that
neighborhood over sixty years ago, this growth of saplings, as
they may now be denominated, were but sprouts and shoots,
through and over which the fleet deer could be seen springing,
and which furnished browse for cattle in the winter.
Skeleton Exhumed.-Thomas Bushnell, Esq., of Hayesville,
Ashland county, Ohio, an archaeologist of local repute, having for
half a century had knowledge of this tumulus, and believing that
the interests of archaeological science might be promoted by exploring it, resolved to penetrate it, and see if within its depths
there was not an answer to its own dark mystery. On the I7th
of June, 1877, calling to his aid George C. Blanford and John Andrews, he introduced the work of excavation. They commenced




I54


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


digging about the center of the mound, and, after descending to
the depth of about six feet, discovered a human skeleton, some of
the bones of which were entirely gone, others much wasted, and
others, again, in a fair state of preservation.
So far as inference is valuable, the judgment of the excavators
was, that from the time of interment the body had been undisturbed. Its position was face upward, indicating a civilized burial,
head lying to the south, and represented a human being six feet
in length. Drs. Kindig and Armstrong, of Hayesville, examined
it, and pronounced it the skeleton of a male, the "structural intention" and contour being rather massive and heavy. The thigh
bones, femur heads and sockets were large. The skull was in
pieces, with the exception of the upper part and frontal section,
and directly underneath where it lay, was a deposit resembling fine
sifted dirt. The forehead was low, but the general cranial development was full. Ten sections of the vertebrae were found in a
fair state of preservation. The nasal bone was readily identified,
though the teeth and jaw-bones were missing. The shoulder
blades and ribs were present. The arm, hand and finger bones
were in an exceptionally well-conditioned state, and seemed to be
near the center of the chest region of the skeleton-a proof that
the arms were folded in death. The bones lower than the ankle
joints were entirely gone.
Mr. Bushnell says, that, notwithstanding he exercised the most
watchful scrutiny, he was wholly unable to detect the slightest
vestiges of a coffin, either in the discoloration of the earth or other
manifestations. In the clay he observed two flint scales, and near
the body, about a half-bushel of ashes in a sunken hole and some
charcoal. A bowlder, weighing two hundred pounds or more,
was encountered, lying in the abdominal or pelvic region of the
skeleton.
Alexander Finley settled on the farm on which Tylertown is
located, in Wayne county then, but in Mohican township, Ashland county now, as early as April, I809, and Thomas Eagle, in
the month of May, of the same year, and they, during their lives,




ARCHIEOLOGY.                     155
had no knowledge of any burial in that mound; and Mr. Bushnell says he has repeatedly visited it during the last fifty years,
and there has been no interment there.
Sarah Collier, wife of John Collier, the first white settler in
Plain township, is buried directly north of this mound a short distance.  A weather-blurred head-stone, sadly leaning over the remains of the buried mother, dimly reads:
"Sarah Collier died, 1830, Aged, 38." *
Some pitying, church-yard-haunting Old Mortality, straying
hither, might employ his chisel and renew the fading words of
death upon this mossy stone.
THE MOUND-BUILDERS.
Various opinions are entertained by our most profound archaeologists as to the character, origin and pursuits of this pre-historic
race. The various tumuli, so frequently found, considered in the
light of their contents and other surroundings, induce some writers
to denominate them as a people whose occupation was chiefly
that of war. Others again claim they were devoted to the arts of
peace. While there is evidence that they possessed weapons and
had a knowledge of the use of them, understood modes and
methods of defense, and were likely endued with the instinct of
blood, there is reason, on the other hand, to presume that they
were inclined to the pursuits of peace. The fact of their remains
and traces being found along streams and in the rich and fertile
valleys of the great rivers of the continent, where cultivation of
the lands was attended with less labor and more profit, would
seem to justify the rational conclusion that they were an agricultural people and inclined to pastoral living and habits.
No positive proof of a knowledge of letters, no trace of a burnt
brick, have yet been discovered, and, so far as we may judge from


* The age may be 88 instead of 38, as the stone is much defaced. It is also
said two or three of the children of Samuel Miller are buried there, and a lady,
probably Sarah Tyler.




I56


HISTORY OF WAYNVE COUNTY, OHIO.


their arms, ornaments and pottery, the mound-builders resembled
at least some of the more recent Indian tribes; and the earthworks
have similarity of form, if they differ in magnitude from those still,
or until lately, in use. Yet this very magnitude is sufficient to show,
that, at some early period, the great river valleys of the United
States must have been very much more densely populated than
they were when first discovered by Europeans.
The immense number of small earthworks, and the mounds,
which may be counted by thousands and tens of thousands, might,
indeed, be supposed to indicate either a long time or a great population; but in other cases we have no such alternative. The
Newark constructions; the mound near Florence, Alabama, which
is 45 feet in hight by 440 feet in circumference at the base, with a
level area at the summit of I50 feet in circumference; the still
greater mound on Etowah river, also in Alabama, which has a
hight of more than 75 feet, with a circumference of 1,200 feet at
the base and 140 at the summit; the embankments at the mouth
of the Scioto river, which are estimated to be 20 miles in length;
the great mound at Selsertown, Mississippi, which covers six acres
of ground; and the truncated pyramid at Cahokia, to which we
have already referred-these works, and others which might have
been quoted, indicate a population large and stationary, for which
hunting can not have supplied food enough, and which must,
therefore, have relied in a great measure upon agriculture for its
support.
"There is not," say Messrs. Squier and Davis, " and there was
not in the sixteenth century, a single tribe of Indians (north of the
semi-civilized nations) between the Atlantic and the Pacific which
had means of subsistence sufficient to enable them to apply for
such purposes the unproductive labor necessary for the work; nor
was there any in such a social state as to compel the labor of the
people to be thus applied." We have some assurances that many
of the Indian tribes cultivated the soil to a limited extent; we feel
inclined, however, with our knowledge of the matter, to credit the
cycles of their industrial activity to the more remote periods.




AR CH-EOLOG Y.


I57


Ingenious arguments have been introduced by Lapham and
others sustaining the opinion that the forests of Wisconsin were, at
no very distant day, very much less general than now. In the first
place, the largest trees are probably not more than 500 years old;
and large tracts are at present covered with "young trees where
there are no traces of antecedent growth."
Again, every year many trees are blown down, and frequent
storms pass through the forest, sweeping almost everything in their
course. Mr. Lapham furnishes some facts relative to one of these
wind-falls in a single district. They are very conspicuous, says he,
first, because the trees, having a certain amount of earth entangled
among their roots, continue to vegetate for several years; and,
secondly, because, even when the trees themselves have died and
rotted away, the earth so torn up forms little mounds, which are
often mistaken, by the inexperienced, for Indian graves. " From
the paucity of these little tree mounds," it is inferred that "no great
antiquity can be assigned to the dense forests of Wisconsin, for
during a long period of time with no material change of climate
we would expect to find great numbers of these little monuments
of ancient storms scattered every where over the ground."
We give another and additional evidence of ancient agriculture.
In many localities the surface is covered with small mammillary
elevations commonly known as Indian corn-hills. " They are without order of arrangement, being scattered over the ground with
the greatest irregularity. That these hillocks were formed in the
manner indicated by their name, is inferred from the present custom of the Indians. The corn is planted in the same spot each successive year, and the soil is gradually brought up to the size of a
little hill by the annual additions." But Mr. Lapham has also found
traces of an earlier and more systematic cultivation. These consist "of low parallel ridges, as if corn had been planted in drills.
They average 4 feet in width, 25 of them having been counted in
the space of a hundred feet, and the depth of the walk between is
about 6 inches." These manifestations which are here denominated "ancient garden-beds," indicate an earlier and more perfect




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


system of cultivation than that which now prevails, as the present
Indians are destitute of those conceptions of order and taste necessary to such harmonious work.
In the ancient monuments of the Mississippi valley it is stated
that no earthwork has ever been found on the first or lowest terrace of any of the great rivers, and that this observation is confirmed by all who have given attention to the subject. If true,
this would indeed have indicated a great antiquity, but in a subsequent work Mr. Squier informs us that "they occur indiscriminately upon the first and upon the superior terraces, as also upon
the islands of the lakes and rivers." Messrs. Squier and Davis
are of opinion that the decayed state of the skeletons found in the
mounds may enable us to form "some approximate estimate of
their remote antiquity," particularly when we consider that the
earth around them is exceedingly solid and dry and that the conditions for their preservation are exceedingly auspicious. " In the
barrows of the ancient Britons," they add, "entire, well-preserved
skeletons are found, although possessing an undoubted antiquity of
at least I,800 years."
Dr. Wilson also attributes much importance to this argument,
which, in his opinion, "furnishes a stronger evidence of their
great antiquity than any of the proofs that have been derived from
the age of a subsequent forest growth, or the changes wrought on
the river terraces where they most abound."  This argument, if it
be worth anything, certainly requires a much longer time than
I,8oo years, and carries us back, therefore, far beyond any antiquity indicated by the forests. Near the Ontonagon river, and at
a depth of twenty-five feet, have been observed stone mauls and
other implements, in contact with a vein of copper. Above these
was the fallen trunk of a large cedar, and "over all grew a hemlock tree, the roots of which spread entirely above the fallen
tree,"  *  *  *   *  indicating a probable growth of not less
than three centuries, to which must be added, the age of the cedar,
which indicates a still "longer succession of centuries subsequent




ARCHAEOLOG Y.


I59


to that protracted period, during which the deserted trench was
slowly filled up with accumulations of many winters."
In an address to the Historical Society of Ohio, the late President Harrison said, touching upon this subject:  "The process
by which nature restores the forest to its original state, after being
once cleared, is extremely slow. The rich lands of the west are,
indeed, soon covered again, but the character of the growth is
entirely different, and continues so for a long period. In several
places upon the Ohio, and upon the farm which I occupy, clearings were made in the first settlement of the country, and subsequently abandoned and suffered to grow up. Some of these new
forests are now sure of fifty years growth, but they have made so
little progress towards attaining the appearance of the immediately
contiguous forest as to induce any man of reflection to determine
that at least ten times fifty years must elapse before their complete
assimilation can be effected. We find in the ancient works all that
variety of trees which give such unrivaled beauty to our forests in
natural proportions. The first growth on the same kind of land,
once cleared and then abandoned to nature, on the contrary, is
nearly homogeneous, often stinted to one or two, at most to three
kinds of timber. If the ground has been cultivated, the yellow
locust will thickly spring up; if not cultivated, the black and
white walnut will be the prevailing growth. Of what age, then,
must be the works so often referred to, covered, as they are, by at
least the second growth, after the primitive forest state was regained?"
But we have still another "sign " of antiquity in the aforementioned garden-beds. This system of cultivation has long been
replaced by the simple and irregular "corn-hills," yet the authorities are, that the garden-beds are much more recent than the
mounds, across which they extend in the same manner as over the
adjoining grounds.  If, therefore, these mounds belong to the
same era as those which are covered with wood, we get the indications of three periods: the first, that of the mounds themselves;




I6o


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the second, that of the garden-beds; and the third, that of the
forest.
American agriculture, let it be remembered, was not imported
from abroad. It resulted from American semi-civilization, and
reciprocally made possible its gradual and majestic development.
The grains of the Old World were absent in the New, and American
agriculture was founded on the maize, an American plant.
We seem, therefore, to have indications of the following four
long periods:
I. That in which, from an original barbarism, the American
tribes developed a knowledge of agriculture and a power of combination.
2. That in which the mounds were erected, and other great
works undertaken.
3. The age of the "garden beds," which occupy some, at
least, of the mounds. Hence, it is evident that this cultivation
was not until after the mounds had lost their sacred character in
the eyes of the occupants of the soil; for it can hardly be supposed
that works executed with so much care would be thus desecrated
by their builders.
4. The period in which man relapsed into barbarism, and the
spots which had been first forest, then (perhaps) sacred monuments, and, thirdly, cultivated ground, relapsed into forest once
more.
Ascribing to these changes all the importance which has ever
been claimed for them, they will not require an antiquity of
more than 3,000 years. It is not denied, of course, that the period
may have been very much greater or very much less.




INDIAN HISTOR Y.


i6i


CHAPTER IX.
INDIAN HISTORY AND ETHNOLOGY.
"A plundering race, still eager to invade,
On spoils they live, and make of murder trade."
THE Indian annals of Wayne county wear but dim crimson
upon their borders and are not blighted by any very bloody antiquity. We have vainly explored for treaties, intrigues, armistices,
surrenders, sieges or battle fields. With a rare but fragrant exception of one handsomely conceived and exquisitely executed
massacre, and that upon a small scale, we find nothing of any importance. Happily for us, it was reserved to other localities for the
red fields of Pontiac, Tecumseh and the Prophet, to. steam with
blood and be scented with slaughter. Fortunate beyond measure
was it to the early settlers that the brawn warriors were beyond
their borders, and that their swoops and forays fell upon other
communities.
In this respect the western and south-western part of Ohio is
historic, furnishing inspiration for the heroic muse, startling incidents for the historian, and an enchanting, fairy field for the delectations of romance. Instead of being the theater of blood-curdling
military excitements, such as cause the heart to shudder at the recital of, its early settlement was one of peace and comparative security to the pioneer.
The Delawares, Wyandots, Shawanese, etc., etc., were the
chief tribes, or rather fragments of these tribes, it was that occupied this section upon the advent of the pioneers.
II




i62


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


THE DELAWARES.
According to the Moravian, Heckwelder, the Delawares, from
a tradition of their tribe, possessed the western portion of the
continent-the Lenni Lenape supposed to be residing there-but in
the distant, receding ages, traveled eastward to the Mississippi,
where they encountered the warlike Iroquois, with whom they
formed a league against certain other tribes.  Successful in their
conflicts, they arrogated to themselves all the territories east of the
Mississippi, whereupon a division of the same was made, the Delawares extending themselves to the Potomac, Susquehanna, Hudson and Delaware rivers. They subsequently became divided into
different tribes, a result quite possible, of the distribution of their
lands.
In I650 the Five Nations subjugated them, when they were
again reduced to vassalage by their old confederates, the Iroquois.
A westward movement was afterward initiated by the larger portion of them, when they crossed the Alleghenies, and finally,
about I768, made their principal settlements in Ohio. In the war
of the Revolution they stood cheek by jowl with the British.
They grew riotous, rampant and furious over the defeat of St.
Clair. They danced, shouted, yelled, and got drunker than King
Bacchus, or his savage lordship, Brute Uncas himself.
In 1795 the United States got possession of their lands on the
Muskingum, when they removed to the Wabash country, Indiana,
where they remained until I819, when they followed the going
down of the sun west of the Mississippi. Some of the branchtribes did not follow the main body, but for a while remained east,
hovering around Pittsburg, but ultimately journeyed west. The
Wolf tribe was one of the branches, of which Captain Pipe was a
notable chief, and who experienced much savage, delirious joy in
the roasting of poor Crawford. Of this kith and quality were the
Delawares, who roamed Wayne county in the early times.




INDIAN HISTOR Y.


I63


THE WYANDOTS,
Who were likewise here, were a fragmentary batch of the Tobacco
nation of Hurons.
* " In the dispersion of the Hurons, after halting for a time at
Michilimackinac, being there attacked by the Iroquois, they removed to the islands at the mouth of Green Bay, where they fortified themselves on the main land. Here they were pursued by
the Iroquois, and for safety went southward to the domains of the
Illinois, from thence westward to the Mississippi and country of
the Sioux, where their stay was short, as the Sioux soon drove
them beyond their lines. Their next place of residence was at
the southern extremity of Lake Superior, which they abandoned
in 1671, and emigrated to Michilimackinac. They did not locate
upon the island, but settled in the northern part of Michigan.
Subsequently the great mass of them made a settlement near Detroit, Michigan, and on the Sandusky river, in Ohio, where, under
the name of the Wyandots, they wielded great influence over the
neighboring tribes.
"Their tradition traces them no further than the first landing of
the French at Quebec and Montreal in 1535. At that time their
ancestors occupied the northern side of the St. Lawrence as
far down as Coon Lake, and westward to the Huron. The Senecas then were settled on the southern side of the St. Lawrence.
These were kindred nations, yet long and bloody wars had been
waged between them, in which the Hurons were the greatest sufferers. Seeing their numbers daily decreasing, and that their extermination was sought by the Senecas, they left their ancient lands
and took up their residence at Green Bay. Thither they were
pursued by the Senecas, who fell upon one of their villages and
killed quite a number of the inhabitants. After the French had
supplied the Senecas with guns, powder and lead, they made
another attack upon the Hurons at Green Bay, and at first were
entirely successful, but by the strategem of the Hurons all the
* Jeffiies.




I64


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Senecas were cut off, not one of the war party remaining alive to
tell the sad tale of blood.
"The Wyandots, thereafter, also being furnished with arms and
munitions of war, resolved to return to their own country in the
vicinity of Detroit. On the way thither they encountered the Senecas on the lake, in the vicinity of Long Point, where a desperate
battle was fought upon the water, in which the Wyandots were
the victors. Not a single Seneca escaped, and the Wyandot loss
was very heavy. This was the last battle between the Wyandots
and Senecas. The former took an active part on behalf of the
French in the war which resulted in the reduction of Canada by
the English, and were a potent power against the English in
Pontiac's war.
"By the'treaty of September 29, 1817, between the Wyandots
and the Federal Government, there was granted to the former a
body of land twelve miles square, the center of which was the
fort, now the site of Upper Sandusky, the county seat of Wyandot
county, Ohio. Also, at the same time, was granted them a tract
of a mile square on Broken Sword creek. They occupied these
lands until July, 1843, when they emigrated to their present place
of residence west of the Mississippi, having disposed of their lands
by treaty in 1842. At the time of their emigration they numbered about seven hundred."
THE SHAWANESE.
The Shawanese were denominated "the Bedouins" of the
American wilderness, and were a savage, blood-thirsty, and warlike tribe. Their veins leaped with the hot blood of the South,
whence they came.   From  Georgia they were driven to Kentucky by other and more powerful tribes, and from Kentucky
they came North, some of them settling near Chillicothe, on the
Scioto river, and others centering near Pittsburg, Pa. Their territory extended to Sandusky and westwardly toward the great
Miami. They were incessantly at war. The great warrior chief,
Tecumseh, belonged to this tribe, as did his brother, the Prophet,




INDIAN HISTOR Y.


I65


who fought the battle of Tippecanoe, November 7, I8I, against
General Harrison.
"For forty years," says Taylor, in his History of Ohio, "the
Shawanese were in an almost perpetual state of war with America,
either as British colonies or as independent States. They were
among the most active allies of the French during the seven years'
war; and, after the conquest of Canada, continued, in concert with
the Delawares, hostilities which were only terminated after the
successful campaign of General Boquet.
"The first permanent settlements of the Americans, beyond
the Allegheny mountains, in the vicinity of the Ohio, were commenced in the year I769, and were soon followed by a war with
the Shawanese, which ended in I774, after they had been repulsed
in a severe engagement at the mouth of the Kanhawa, and the
Virginians had penetrated into their country. They took a most
active part against America, both during the war of Independence
and the Indian war which followed and which was terminated in
I795, at Greenville. They lost by that treaty nearly the whole
territory which they held from the Wyandots; and a part of them,
under the guidance of Tecumseh, again joined the British standard
during the war of 1812."
It will thus be readily perceived that these three nations of Indians, to wit, the Delawares, Wyandots and Shawanese-the first
occupying the valley of the Muskingum and thence to Lake Erie
and the Ohio river, asserting possession over nearly one-half of the
State; the second and third, the territory already described-were
distinguished for bloodthirstiness, stubborn antagonism to the
Americans and the cause of national independence, and were,
moreover, particeps crizinis to many of the atrocities that blacken
the pages of our border history. Their fiendish cavorts, warring
and plundering raids included vast areas, and to this hour fading,
but unfaded, drops of human blood mark the line of their accursed
marauds.
INDIANS OF WAYNE COUNTY.


The Indians that inhabited Wayne county when the first settle



I66


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ments were made, seemed to exist by an implied precarious tenure. A dread of the whites, akin to fear, apparently possessed
them. Something like a haunting memory of the crimes of their
race was ever upon them. No mutual, not even tribal relations
appear to have existed among them, and their pacific dispositions
to the early settlers presented but another distinctive characteristic
of the Indian-the cunning caution and self-interest begotten of
fear. They roamed in pairs, or squads of half a dozen, though in
some of their villages and settlements they would collect together
to the number of two, three and four hundred. In Clinton. East
Union, Franklin and Chippewa townships they congregated in
largest numbers. Their sudden disappearance from the county
was most remarkable, occurring, as it were, in a single niazht, and
that, too, soon after the war of I812 had been announced. They
scented the bad breath of the coming carnival, we suppose, and
hastened westward to deepen the blood-stain of their hands.
INDIAN TRAILS.
The pioneers throughout the county locate these with more
assurance than certainty. Nearly every old, trodden woods-path
is characterized as a trail, and the farm or section through which it
passes or passed is presumed to have some sort of peculiar historic
significance. These brigands and vagrants, no doubt, like other
birds of passage, had their chosen and well understood courses of
travel, but to assume to trace or define them would be playing
spendthrift with time, and a culpable distortion of the legitimate
bent of investigation. Nor is it important to indulge, what must
be bald fancy and gratuitous speculation, on a matter so sterile of
historical uses and so profitless to the public.
In an appendix to Hutchins' History, of Boquet's expedition
against the western tribes, made in 1764, in which this English
officer marched an army of 1,500 men into and through what is
Tuscarawas county to the forks of Muskingum, now Coshocton,
'he refers to five different routes from Fort Pitt through the Ohio




INDIAN HISTORY.


I67


wilderness. The one that most interests us, and comes nearest to
our purpose, is the following:
"Second route, west north-west, was 25 miles to the mouth of
Big Beaver, 91 miles to Tuscaroras (the junction of Sandy and
Tuscaroras creeks, at the south line of Stark county), 50 to Mohican John's Town (Mohican township, near Jeromeville, or Mohicanville, on the east line of Ashland county), 46 to Junandat, or
Wyandot Town (Castalia, or the source of Cold creek, in Erie
county), 4 to Fort Sandusky (at mouth of Cold creek, near Venice,
on Sandusky bay), 24 to Junqueindundeh (now Fremont, on Sandusky river, and in Sandusky county). The distance from Fort
Pitt to Fort Sandusky was 216 miles; to Sandusky river 240
miles."
This trail penetrated the county in section 12, Paint township;
thence in a north-westerly direction, crossing over sections 32, 31
and 30 in Sugarcreek township; thence entering East Union township on section 25, bearing northerly to section 24; thence more
directly west, passing about a mile north of Edinburgh; thence to
Wooster township, entering it from the east, in section 13, and
thence to the Indian settlement * south of Wooster and on the site
of the old Baptist burial-ground; thence in a north-west direction,
cutting zigzag through the south and western part of what is now
the city of Wooster, crossing the Henry Myers farm, passing the
old "Salt lick;" thence traversing the old Dullehan farm, now
owned by Joseph Eicher, and crossing Killbuck a few rods north
of the bridge on the Ashland road; thence west across the Hugh
Culbertson farm-the old David Lilley farm, now owned by Mr.
Culbertson; thence for some considerable distance along the line
of the Ashland road, through the lands of John and Daniel Silver,
Mrs. George Hinish, Peter Spangler, William Miller; thence bearing in a nearly western direction to Reedsburgh, in Plain township; thence to Mohican John's Town, and thence on to Fort
Sandusky.
* It was named Beaver Hat, from an Indian chief of that name who resided
there, with a few others. His Indian name was Paupelenan, and his camp or residence was called by him Apple chauquecake, i. e., Apple Orchard.




i68


HIOSTORY OF [WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


A SURPRISE AND MASSACRE-CAPTAIN FULKES DISPOSES OF SIXTEEN RED BUTCHERS.
As we have said, our early settlements were made pretty generally in peace, and that, therefore, we are barren of any thrilling
and startling incidents of border strife. One hostile demonstration, however, occurred, which we propose to narrate, within the
present corporate limits of the city of Wooster, with the circumstances and details of which but very few of the surviving pioneers
of Wayne county have any knowledge or recollection.
The incident itself so little resembles a fierce Indian struggle,
the heroes of which sensational and resolute narrators too frequently seek to invest with apotheosis, that only, in its more liberal
interpretation, can it be embraced in the catalogue of great border
exploits. It is the only violent collision that we have to chronicle
transpiring within the present limits of the county, between the
Pale and the Copper Face.
A gang of Indians, intent upon a foraging expedition, started
from the region of Sandusky, in an easterly direction, and in the
course of their hunting and predatory peregrinations succeeded in
reaching the white settlements on the banks of the Ohio and near
Raccoon creek, some distance from Pittsburg, Pa. Their sole object being plunder and theft, without regard to the sacrifice of human life, they crossed the river in bark canoes, and for a while
mingled with the whites, in apparent friendship, who had established
quite a colony there. When opportunity, "foul abettor," furnished
a safe occasion for it, these remorseless devils and incarnate fiends,
with their ineradicable antipathy and ancient hatred of the pale
face, pounced upon them, murdering five of their number, and
burning to the ground seven dwellings, together with the families
they sheltered. This act of diabolism, and most malign and hellish
slaughter very naturally aroused the community. Blood called for
blood. The insulted silence of the air broke into echoes of revenge. Nemesis needed no invocation.
A company of thirty men, fearless of flints and fate, was




INDIAN HISTOR Y.


immediately organized for the purpose of pursuit and punishment.
The command was taken by Capt. George Fulkes, the peer of
Brady in courage and adroitness with the Indians. Better indeed
than Brady did he know their character, for at the age of three
years he had been stolen by the Indians from his father, then living upon Raccoon creek, they retaining charge of him until he was
a man, when his father bought him from them, and restored him
to his family. Hence the selection of Captain Fulkes to command the company was a wise one, as after his release from captivity he became a successful Indian fighter, and reduced the scalping business to a basis whereby his trophies in this respect became
painfully numerous to his foes. After crossing the river with
their plunder, and apprehensive that they might be followed, they
observed the crafty precaution of cutting the bottoms out of their
canoes, and made great haste to retrace their steps in the direction
whence they came. Could they reach Sandusky with their stolen
goods they were safe enough.
Keenly alive to the necessity of immediate pursuit, and determined to run down and exterminate the murderers, no time was
lost in the outset. The river was dashed over. The track of the
fleeing assassins was soon scented. Indications eventually pointed
to the fact that they were in proximity to the fugitives, but
whether the Indians knew this or not, we are not apprised. Late
one evening Captain Fulkes and his men, from what is now known
as Robison's Hill, a short distance south of Wooster, discovered
the camp-fires of the enemy on what is now the point, or flat-iron,
at the intersection of South Beaver street and Madison avenue, in
the presents limits of the city of Wooster. Avoiding all rashness,
and adopting the policy of caution, he concluded to make no
attack that evening. So, to elude detection, they crossed over to
Rice's hollow, remaining there for the night, or until the moon
arose, when preparations were made for the assault. The arrangements completed, an advance was made, and the Indian camp surrounded. At a given signal they fired upon them, killing fifteen,
or all of the party, with the exception of one who had gone to the




170


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


bottoms to look after the traps. Hearing the noise of the musketry he rushed in the direction of the camp, and calling to
Captain Fulkes, who understood some dialect, asked, "What's
the matter?"  "Come on," shouted Fulkes, "nothing's the matter! " The Indian advanced towards Fulkes, but when within a
few paces of him, an unruly lad in the company perforated his carcass with a bullet.
A shallow grave was scooped upon the point before described,
and here the sixteen Indians were rolled together and earthed
over, their spirits having been unceremoniously delivered to the
keeper of the happy hunting grounds, where the visionary Marraton beheld his departed Yaratilda and two children, and where all
seems as it is not, and which is shadow and apparition.
Of Captain Fulkes * we know but little, aside from his reputation as a bold borderer and Indian fighter. He was a native of
Pennsylvania, removing to Columbiana county, Ohio, and thence
to Richland county, Ohio, where, we believe, he died.
POWDER EXPLOSION CAUSED BY INDIANS.
A singular incident is recorded by Howe, in his "Collections," as having occurred in a small building, an appurtenance of
the mill of Joseph Stibbs, built in 1809, and then owned by him.
It had been erected and fitted up for a store, in which was
kept a variety of goods, such as would be in requisition by the
Indians and first settlers, and was managed by Michael Switzer,
who was sent hither by Mr. Stibbs. Describing the incident, Mr.
Howe says: "In the store was William Smith, Hugh Moore,
Jesse Richards, J. H. Larwill, and five or six Indians. Switzer
was in the act of weighing out some powder from an eighteenpound keg, while the Indians were quietly smoking their pipes,
filled with a mixture of tobacco, sumach leaves and kinnikinnick,


* James Crawford, father of Hon. Michael Totten's first wife, was with Capt.
Fulkes on this raid, and from Mr. Totten we have principally gathered our facts
concerning it.




INDIAN HISTOR Y.


I7I


or yellow willow bark, when a puff of wind coming in at the window, blew a spark from one of their pipes into the powder. A
terrific explosion ensued. The roof of the building was blown into
four parts and carried some distance, the sides fell out, the joists
came to the floor, and the floor and chimney alone were left of the
structure.  Switzer died in a few minutes; Smith was blown
through the partition into the mill and badly injured; Richards
and the Indians were also hurt and all somewhat burned. Larwill,
who happened to be standing against the chimney, escaped with
very little harm, except having, like the rest, his face well blackened, and being knocked down by the shock.
"The Indians, fearful that they might be accused of doing it
intentionally, some days after called a council of citizens for an
investigation, which was held on the bottom, on Christmas run,
west of the town."
A predatory, languid, wandering, lazy race, they have bequeathed no evidences of inventive genius, productive energy,
enterprise or thrift. A houseless, habitationless, self-barbarizing
people, the Bedouins and vagabonds of the waste wilderness,
careering from the Kennebec to the sand-pillars of the Great Deserts and beyond the bald scalps of the Sierras, they made us devisees of bloody lands, uncultivated and unimproved.  Vestiges of
their presence or former existence in the county are well nigh obliterated. Their axes, hatchets, mauls and wampum belts are seldom seen, unless in the public cabinet or on the secluded shelf of
the antiquary. Even the old flint, or "Indian dart," as it is
called, that was annually thrown to the surface by the plow of the
farmer, has become a sort of novelty in discovery. The fortifications, earthworks and mounds that we find distributed throughout
the country, some of which are found in Wayne county, are no
longer regarded as products of the Indian, constructed for purposes of war, or intended as cenotaphs of departed valor.
The proof that the Indian tribes of North America, which we
have been used to consider the aboriginal race, were the successors




I72


HISTORY OF WA Y.VE COUNTY, OHIO.


of a pre-historic people far in advance of them in civilization is
unquestioned, unmistakable and plenary. This more civilized
race has left a system of earthworks, designed for defense, worship
and sepulture, intricate, extended and manifold.* What has been
the destiny of this people, who have vanished from
"The smoke and stir of this dim spot
Which men call earth,"
is submitted to conjecture.  History, "mournful traveler in the
track of man," is silent concerning them, and in the remotest caverns of hoariest tradition there burn no lights by which to
read their story.
"This much we know, that they long since separated into two
great classes-that of the 'elect angels,' and of angels that kept
not their first estate." t
ORIGIN OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN.
Of the origin of the Indian, which, by our hypothesis, is the
successor of this pre-historic, forgotten and unannaled race, scientists and ethnologists may predicate and theorize; but the subject is
hard and rebellious, and refuses to succumb to investigation, be it
ever so acute, incisive and philosophical. The knot of the mighty
secret remains untied, and, like the one in the harness of the
Phrygian King, who opens it shall be greater than a master in
Asia.  " The question, like that satellite ever attendant upon our
planet, which presents both its sides to the sun, but invariably the
same side to the earth, hides one of its faces from man, and turns
it but to the eye from which all light emanates."
Hon. John P. Jeffries, of Wooster, Ohio, who has thoughtfully
and ably explored this subject, and who has written, collected and
condensed much valuable history concerning the North American
Indians, says in his recent work:
*See chapter on Archaeology.
t Hugh Miller.




INDIAN E THNOL O G Y.


I73


"The Indianst themselves have only a vague idea of their origin
or from whence they came. Some of the tribes say they are descendants of ancestors who came from the north; others say from
the north-west; others again say their ancestors came from the
east; and others again claim theirs came from the regions of the
air. They have no annals except among the Mexicans, and no
reliable traditions. All they seem to know is of the present generation, except that some nations have preserved some important
event in characters recorded upon skins, but they are altogether
unreliable as records, and give no light as regards the origin of
the race, or its advent upon the American continent.
"They are considered by some ethnologists to be the descendants of the Magogites, the ancestors of the Scythians; and the
Scythians the ancestors of the Tartars, Mongols and Siberians. It
is worthy of note that nearly all the northern regions of Asia were
colonized by the Scythians, from which a basis, at least, was laid,
upon which to predicate a conjecture that they or their descendants, the Mongols, passed the straits of Behring to America.
Strong evidence exists in favor of this theory by the nations of this
type of people being found inhabiting regions along the route they
would naturally travel, and on either side of the Straits.
" Some authors have gone to a vast amount of trouble to prove
that the American Indians are the descendants of the Hebrews,
and directly from the lost tribes of Israel. The proof for such
theory is so meagre as to make it wholly improbable. No one as
yet has been able to discover any relationship between the Jews
and American Indians. But to the proof of the theory. The ten
lost tribes, it is claimed, emigrated to Scythia, and there, by amalalgamation, became part of that great family. There was, in point
of fact, but little difference between the Jews and Scythians; their
complexion being about the same, as also their general features.
"The Israelites, who were carried away by Salmanasar to the
tThe term Indian was first applied to the aborigines of America by Americus
Vespucius under the mistaken idea that he had landed on the southern coast of
India.




i74


HISTORY OF WAYN.E COUNTY, OHIO.


land of Assyria, went in a northerly direction to the land of Arsarath, as is evident from the book of Esdras. The author of that
record was not apprised of the existence of the western continent,
and hence would not undertake its description. The Arsarath of
Esdras, it may safely be affirmed, was not America. The Israelites left Syria about one hundred years after they were carried
thither, and were a year and a half in their journey to Arsarath.
The route they must have taken, had the point of destination been
this continent, would have been over high mountains, deep rivers,
through a cold, dreary wilderness region, the distance of over six
thousand miles to the straits of Behring, and in addition, their way
must have been blocked by impenetrable snows.
"The Arsarath of Esdras was, in all probability, Norway. It is
described as a 'land where no man can dwell.' Norway was as
little known to the ancients as America.
"The ten tribes were not lost as has been generally supposed;
their descendants are found at the present day in Persia, Media,
Iran, Touran, Hindoostan and China.
"Had they come to America, the arts and sciences would have
been preserved, as they were advanced in refined civilization when
they left Assyria, and in all the above countries where they have
been scattered, as supposed, the arts and sciences have been
preserved.  Not so with the aborigines of America.   They
were, with few exceptions, savages when it was first visited by
Europeans. "
Notwithstanding the manifold and irreconcilable theories and
views of the most distinguished ethnologists, Mr. Jeffries is of opinion that "the customs of some of the eastern peoples of Asia and
the adjacent islands, are so similar to those of some of the tribes of
the American Indians as to induce the belief that they are of the
same family of mankind."  His deductions demand gravity of
belief, as they are the result of years of diligent inquiry, and are
corroborated by McIntosh, Pickering, Volney, Pouchet, Drake,
Schoolcraft, Carl Newman, etc.
It must be admitted that, however subtle and erudite the spec



INDIAN ETHNOLOG.                 175
ulations are, and the conclusions attained, the origin of the North
American Indians is still clouded with extreme uncertainty. Nor
is our indefinite and unsatisfactory knowledge relative to them
any more astonishing or extraordinary than the almost absolute
absence of knowledge concerning them in the Old World.




176


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER X.
THE FIRST FOUR SETTLEMENTS IN THE COUNTY.
First Settlement.-The first white man of whom we have knowledge that came to what is known as Wayne county now for the
purpose of permanent settlement was William Larwill, a native of
Kent, England, whose advent in the wilderness dates as far back
as I8o6. He was a brother of Joseph and John Larwill, who came
out the ensuing year (1807), the former in the employment of
John Bever, United States Surveyor, who was then engaged in
running off the county in sections for the United States government. And here, on the present site of Wooster, was made the
first settlement of the county.
Second Settlement.-James Morgan, a native of old Virginia,
but of Welsh ancestry, settled in Franklin township early in the
spring of I808. He removed to Ohio, and squatted on the Mohican, in I806, but removed to Franklin township in the year just
mentioned, entering the lands composing the farm owned at this
time by Thomas Doty. Thomas Butler, born in the Old Dominion, also, emigrated to this township in I8o8, and married
Rebecca, daughter of James Morgan, April 12, I809.
Third Settlement.-James Goudy, father of John Goudy, at
present living in Dalton, Sugarcreek township, removed from Jefferson county, Ohio, and settled two miles south-west of Dalton,
in the fall of I809. James Goudy was in St. Clair's defeat, November 4, 1791, was wounded in the thigh with a bullet, which
for many years he carried in his body, and which ultimately caused
his death.




FIRST SETTLEMENTS.                   177
Fourth Settlement.-Oliver Day,* in I809-Io, removed to East
Union township, not far from " Cross Keys," and settled on the
farm now owned by Jonas Huntsberger. He was a native of the
State of Vermont, as were his companions, Ezekiel Wells, M. D.,
old Jonathan Mansfield and Vestey Frary, who accompanied him.t
"'Squire Day," as he was called, was keeping a place of entertainment at what was long afterwads known as "Carr's tavern" when
General Beall's army passed; and the first transfer of real estate on
the public records of the Recorder's office of Wayne county was
made by Oliver Day.
* Hon. John Larwill was of the opinion that the Day colony came in 1809.
f First introduction of New England element.
12




I78


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XI.
EARLY      SETTLERS.
Broad-shouldered, strong and lithe of limb;
Keen-eyed and swift of heart and hand,
Full-bearded, tawny-faced and grim
With watch and toil in hostile land.
But light of heart and quick to fling
The thoughts of hardship to the breeze;
Whose hopes, like eagles on the wing,
Dipped never lower than the trees.
-Kate M. Sherwood.
Where late the savage, hid in ambush, lay,
Or roamed the uncultured valleys for his prey,
Her hardy gifts rough industry extends,
The groves bow down, the lofty forest bends;
And see the spires of towns and cities rise,
And domes and cities swell unto the skies.
-Meigs.
THE earliest inhabitants of the county were from Pennsylvania,
Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and a light component from the
New England States.      The predominant element was composed
of emigrants from Pennsylvania in the first occupancy of the territory embraced within the present limits of the county, which element, combined with the foreign Dutch, constitutes three-fourths
of its population to-day.
The first settlers were men of intelligence, enlightened judgments, iron nerve and indomitable perseverance. They had severed themselves from the attachments of home, kindred and
friends, and dared to invade the wilderness, with its perils of storm,




EARL Y SETTLERS.


I79


of flood, of savage Indian and ambuscade, of possible starvation,
sickness and death.
Undaunted and unyielding before these obstacles, the hardy,
stalwart pioneer, buoyant with expectation and exalted hopes of
the future, stripped for the stupendous conflict between the powers of the will and arm and the Titan children of the woods.
With the benediction of God upon him, and a complete consecration to his self-imposed adventure, he stood, with ax in hand, in
the midst of his wilderness home, prepared to level to the earth
the stout monarchs of the forests, and open up an abode for his
future comfort and happiness, and thereby establish upon a new
and virgin soil the securities and blessings of a civilization from
which he had been voluntarily divorced. With him the enterprise had not been without its anxieties and fears. He estimated
the hardships of the adventure, and the many perils that awaited
him in the great "arsenal of chance." But when the web of his
experience was unraveling, he discovered how inadequate had
been his conceptions of the hazards of his adventure.  Turn
whither he would, privation and suffering attended him. On this,
it was Scylla, on the other side, it was Charybdis. There was no
escape from either.
But the pioneer of that day was not of that pliant plastic composition that surrendered to disaster, or trembled before uncalculated misfortune. His manhood was brought to the test, but it
withstood it. His adversities but made him strong, as the tree
that wrestles with the gale is the stronger for it.
"Who hath not known ill-fortune, never knew
Himself or his own virtue."
When memory caused the eye to weep, when almost driven
"to censure Fate and pious Hope forego "-when the flood interposed-when the ravine stayed his progress-when the bluff
and mountain overshadowed him-then it was that the pioneer forgot father, mother, home, childhood and all that is vivid and loved
in retrospection; then it was that his moral stature developed into




i8o


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


giant outline, and his soul swelled into an ecstacy of delight with
the sublime prospect of what he had resolved to attain. His ax
was his trusty claymore; his devoted wife his assurance of triumph and well-poised personal confidence-these constituted his
oriflamme to encourage him in the heat of battle; and his cause
was the cause of religion, civilization and man. Intent on such a
purpose, invested with such an armor, with a belief in himself, and
a sound faith in the God whose "unambiguous footsteps " he traced
in the silent galleries of the woods, he had to but endure and wait,
and press forward to the sure reward. With such equipments of
warfare and panoplied in such a manner, did the brave frontiersman grapple with the stubborn oak and towering beech till they
were overcome, and waving fields of yellow grain, like rills of cooling water in the desert's waste, repaid his toil and cheered his heart
with the smiles of a plentiful prosperity.
How persistently he struggled, how heroically he suffered, how
faithfully he toiled, we who succeed him and who have "lived to
see what he foresaw," and whose privilege it is to honor and venerate him, most tenderly remember and sensitively know. We
advance no precarious proposition when we assert that the pioneers
and first settlers, not simply of this county, but of all eastern and
south-eastern Ohio, were as noble, chivalrous, patriotic, intelligent
and Christian a body of men and women as ever reflected lustre upon civilization, or under its standard threaded the confines of an unknown wilderness. They had unshaken religious faith in their mission and the benign and comprehensive results that were to flow
from it.
Washington might well say of the colony that was settled upon
the Muskingum: "None in America were occupied under such
favorable auspices. Information, property and strength will be its
characteristics. I know many of the settlers personally, and there
never were better men calculated to promote the welfare of such a
community."
It was not their sole motive to establish government, but to
make it the protector and hand-maid of religion; for, said they:




EARL Y SETTLERS.


I8I


"Religion and government commenced in those parts of the
globe where the sun first rose in his effulgent majesty. They have
followed after him in his brilliant course; nor will they cease till
they shall have accomplished in this Western World the consummation of all things."
So may it be recorded of our pioneers. While it may be partly
true that many of them were actuated by a desire to improve their
situation, to augment their riches and possess innumerable acres,
they were inhabited by a nobler ambition, and had loftier incitements than
"The dread Omnipotence of Gold."
In their pursuit of lands and wealth and happiness, they sought
protection in the establishment of good government-government
which should guarantee liberty to all alike in civic affairs, and uniformity of rights in matters of religion, upon the logical premise
that the general equality of sects is found to abate religious animosity without relaxing zeal. While they were seeking to promote their own welfare and discharge their duties to themselves
and their government, they were not forgetful of their higher
Christian duties. In many instances, with the smoke that curled
in currents from the chimneys of their cabins ascended the incense
of prayer. The rude, primeval hut, instead of being the abode of
the little family cluster alone, became a temple of worship, and
the gray old woods resounded with the simple but pathetic and
eloquent expostulations of pious men.
Manfully they faced "the sombre necessity of living;" valorously they held the field, and came off more than conquerors.
Their dazzling visions have been realized, their bright dreams have
been fulfilled, and their fields and fruited trees have become our
golden prophecies. Their parts were performed well, and nature,
who has transmitted the promise to us, was kind and gracious to
them. Many, indeed, never realized their hopes; others of them
lived to witness the consummation of their hopes, and testify their
gratitude; to see cities and villages rise upon the ashes of their
battle-grounds, and observe a mighty billow of intellectual and




I82


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


physical activity roll over the scene of their first exploits to enrich,
ornament and populate the almost limitless domain of their triumphs. Verily unto them has the old Greek fable of Pallas Ethena
been verified in these latter days, by the sudden rise of a county
from the empire of silence and chaos to a population of 40,000.
What a contrast is presented, what a picture is that of seventy
years ago, and what a picture is this of 1878! We pause to contemplate the ruin Time hath wrought! But then,
"It will leave no more
Of the things to come than the things before."
Seventy years! The three score and ten allotted by the Psalmist as the life of man! But what more of the pioneers of all these
years ago? They were emphatically the lone dwellers of the
forest. Their daily and ever-recurring necessities and wants were
as numerous and multiplied as the inhabitants of older communities. Necessarily they were so situated as to make it impossible
for all of them to be gratified. Schools, or school edifices, or
churches there were none. The intellectual as well as the moral
training of their children devolved upon themselves to a great
extent. The child was the pupil, while the parents were the educators. If they were fortunate enough to have a minister among
their number, all the better; if not, their spiritual recreations consisted in the prayer meeting and the private, but equally orthodox
method of interchange of Christian views and religious experiences.
Streams were unbridged, roads were uncut, cabins were to be
built, but the saw mill lived only in imagination, and the professional tradesman was missing, unless, peradventure, he was an
integral of the company. A market would have been superfluous,
as there was little either for sale or exchange.
With the exception of mere patches by the larger streams, or
on the lowlands, the surface was overgrown, or tree-covered.
The bear, wolf, catamount and deer held sway, with no one heretofore to contest their rule. Even that vile product of blithe and
innocent Eden-the first tempter-the successful and slimy strategist, in whose firm coils was woven the historic Eve-the inevi



EARL Y SETTLERS.


I83


table and fatal serpent, shared arrogantly in the dominion of the
soil.
There was labor sufficient for all to do, but the avenues were
yet unopened through which were to flow the conveniences of life
and the assurance of their enjoyment. They could consume what
other soils had produced, but could not, for the time, produce what
they consumed. And the hardships they endured upon their
arrival were not the total of their sufferings.
The passage from their homes to the wilderness was attended
with discomfort, privation, sacrifice and peril. Their journeyings
and pilgrimages were sorrowful and painfully tedious. They were
not made then in the Pullman palace car. A footman was no
prodigy of the road in those plain, tough days. To bestride the
horse, mount the wagon, or help draw the cart, was no disgrace
then to male or female, as it would be considered by the polished
parlor inanities of to-day. They were true men and women, who
had made covenant in a common cause. Weeks and months were
occupied in their journeyings westward, which were completed
without the luxuries of the modern hotel, their lowly bed being
laid in the wagon or spread beneath a tent. Here husband, wife
and babe sank to rest, serenaded by the wild winds, watched by
the moon, and under the approval of the liberal stars.
Here the unfailing flint-lock and the faithful dog were in readiness to repel invasion-the chief resources of safety and protection
to the gallant pioneer. The scarcity of money and the absence of
all bases of supply compelled every exercise of genius and device
of economy.
They were not an association of coach trimmers, gilders, carvers, peruke-makers and friseurs, but a thrifty, iron-armed, metalfisted legion of laborers; a brain-born, irresistible army of thinkers
and workers; a sweeping, slashing myriad of forest-breakers and
cord-wood artisans, modeling out of the rude elements the thousand-aisled temple of civilization, consecrating its pillars to industry and beautifying its domes and spires with the best creations of
the inventive and ingenious mind. By sheer compulsion they




184


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


became a community of manufacturers and creators. They made
their own farm utensils, and the apparel they wore. Wild turkeys
and deer were in abundance, so that they were supplied with
meats; and, in the absence of oolong and hyson, they imbibed
the sassafras and spice-wood.
And we doubt not that in those rough, unpretending cabins
there was to be found "the moral harmony of life;" that domestic
joy was enthroned and happiness was a constant guest. Contentment was there, and if not accompanied with riches, was not
cursed with a desire of them.
We can fancy the little family grouped about the cheerfully
blazing fire, the father spinning tales for the little ones, and the
merry mother plying the reel and singing,
"0, leeze me on my spinning wheel,
0, leeze me on the rock and reel;
Frae tap to tae that deeds me bien,
And haps me fiel and warm at e'en!
I'll set me down and sing and spin,
While laigh descends the simmer sun,
Blest wi' content, and milk and meal0, leeze me on my spinning wheel."
And what shall be said of the Pioneer Mothers? Heaven's blessing be upon them! How comforting to believe that in that procession of beatified and redeemed souls which forever circle around
and are closest to the Throne, the Mothers are there!
If it be so endearing in Heaven as it is on earth, angels will
whisper it, and the name of Mother will be next in sweetness to
"Our Father, which art in Heaven."
The grandeur of their heroism, the simplicity and the sublimity
of their lives scarcely finds its parallel in what the Fathers endured.
" 'For better or for worse,' said they,
Low bending at the altar, then
Arose and calmly rode away
The earnest wives of earnest men."


There was no hardship they were not willing to endure, no




EARL Y SETTLERS.


I85


sacrifice they were not ready to incur. They met the snows of
winter in their cabins, endured hardship, toil and peril. Oftentimes
they were exposed to the savage Indian who prowled about their
doors; to the bear and wolf that encroached their domain, and
spent the long and cheerless nights in their rude dwellings as watch,
guardian and protector of their little families alone. Their faith
and courage seemed almost divine, but like true women,
" They held it good to follow where
Their love and faith went on before,
Who held it were a shame to spare
Themselves the toil their husbands bore."
An expansive benevolence of feeling and an unaffected hospitality were distinctive traits of the pioneers. The sojourner and
stranger never failed to receive a cordial and hearty welcome at
their hands. Did he ask for bread, it was given; for lodging, it
was not refused. If the fare was homely, it was ungrudgingly bestowed.
And in their social relations and intercourse we find much, indeed, to admire. It was the sincere fellowship of ardent and mutual friends, and not the odious caricatures and specious sentimentalism of the later day. There was a warmth and meaning
in the common shake of the hand, unaccompanied with the sinister leer and fraud-crusted smile of modern salutation. Women
were not painted puppets, varnished inanities, enameled statuary,
stuffed skeletons, dainty toys and sickly butterflies; they were,
simply, women. Men were not artificial figures, brainless swells,
votaries of every gewgaw and bauble of fashion, or folly; but were,
simply, men, The home-life was a lyric of sweetness and simplicity.
"In days of yore friends and neighbors could meet together to
enjoy themselves, and with hearty good will enter into the spirit
of social amusements. The old and young could then spend evening after evening around the fireside, with pleasure and profit.
There was a geniality of manners then, and corresponding depth
of soul, to which modern society is unaccustomed. Parties were




I86


HISTORY OF VWAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


not so fashionable then as now, but the old-fashioned social reunions were vastly better than the more gaudy and soulless assemblies of the present day. Our ancestors did not make a special
invitation the only pass to their dwellings, and they entertained
those who called upon them with a hospitality which has nearly
become obsolete.
"They did not feel inclined to spend a thousand dollars for an
evening's entertainment, for fear they might be outdone by their
neighbors. Guests did not assemble then to criticise the decorations, furniture, manner and table of those who invited them.
They were sensible people, and visited each other to enjoy themselves and promote the enjoyment of those around them. Perhaps
it may be said that our ancestors were not refined, like their descendants of the present day. If they had been, in the sense in
which the word is now understood, this generation would have
been more hollow and heartless than it now is. They had clear
heads and warm hearts; they believed in the earnestness of life,
and in the power of human sympathies. They would have tolerated in their descendants, with an ill-grace, the utter disregard of the duties of life which now prevails, and the so-called
accomplishments which are designed to cover up the faults and
follies of modern society would have received no favor at their
hands.  They taught their children to be useful, and always
insisted that the useful should be a foundation for the ornamental."
But we leap the chasm of seventy years-span the distance
between the historic Then and the eventful Now.
The old cabins and huts in which they lived have sunk to
decay, and their occupants, with remarkable exceptions, have
been dismissed from toil, and entered upon the repose of the
grave. But has their influence not been felt in our midst, have
they not engraven themselves upon our characters, and are not
many of our lives but reproductions of theirs? Were they not
strong in their power of intellect, and are not their descendants
so? In the vigor, robustness and massiveness of physical development were they not more than our peers? Were they not cour



EARL Y SETTLERS.


ageous and patriotic? Inspect the annals of border warfare, and
the conflicts of the country with foreign powers, and you are stunned with the thundering reply. Have these virtues not been decisively and emphatically illustrated by their descendants?
The fiery cross, borne by the swift-footed Walise as the signal
for the marshalling of the Scottish clans, did not arouse a deeper
or more intense anxiety and devotion to' their country than when
its sacred banner was assailed.
How different the picture of 1878! The very "type and
shadows" of the pioneers have been obliterated.  Since their
advance into the wilderness customs have changed, nations have
been convulsed, constitutions have been formed, empires wrecked
and societies revolutionized. In this period two generations have
been swept from the face of the earth, and three wars have devastated the country. During this time steamship navigation has
been perfected, the sewing machine invented, and the electromagnetic telegraph, "the greatest wonder and the greatest benefit of the age," been advanced to the acme of scientific perfection.
Energetic toil and audacious enterprises characterize their
descendants; productive fields, responsive to the touch of industry,
yield their opulence of grain; broad orchards and bright gardens
are beautiful surroundings of nearly every farm house; princely
mansions supplant the primeval dwellings; the mill and forge are
at our very doors; costly and capacious school houses are at hand
churches are in abundance, whose tall domes and spires catch the
last kisses of the dying daylight; cities and villages rise like the
hosts of Cadmus, as from the very earth; the old stage and
post coach are too slow for this palpitating, dashing, utilitarian
age; the canal has become a drowsy Python, on whose lazy breast
is laid but little merchandise; the bark canoe has succumbed to the
raft, the raft to the schooner, the schooner to the sailship, and this.
to the ocean steamer; and the rivers swagger under their weight
of sea-bound argosies. The energies of steam have been utilized,
and the unwearying fire-steed plunges across the continent like aL
demon of flame.




i88


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


The changed and changing conditions of the times demanded
and projected these improvements. Man, in his own domain of
intellectual development, must of necessity follow the same course
of evolution which Nature herself has followed in the production
of the, at present, diversified variety of her organized beings.
The departure has been great, indeed, from the ways and
doings of the fathers, and the aspect of things has been amazingly
transformed. New systems of tillage and new devisements of
agriculture have been introduced, a thorough metamorphosis having overtaken the farmer and the utensils of the farm. Inventive
mechanical genius has inundated the country with valuable and
practical machinery so that one man performs the labor of three,
and elevating the boy in the scale of possible labor to the proportion of a man. The human savage and the savage beast have alike
disappeared, their places being occupied by the more docile, tractable and useful tenantry of the cultivated farm. The linsey and
other home-made garments are contemplated as remnants and raiments of a faded people, and the matron of to-day rustles in silks,
ambles in satin and struts in jewels.
Society and the social routine have likewise suffered change.
Caste has insinuated itself into the social fabric, and gold is the
medallion on which respectability is embossed. The dogmatist
and the iamist are quite as common as they are contemptible.
Moral values are subject to alarming interpretations. The hospitality of the pioneer is alien to the prevailing modern idea. Dash,
glitter, show, sham, brass, pretense, speciousness and canting
hypocrisy are too distinguishing characteristics of the new-fangled
man. Friendships are wanting in genuineness, and mercenary
motives too thickly underlie the transactions of common life. The
false head sits on the pedestal, Man, and the masqueraders whirl
down the lines, until we weary of the scene,
"Where strangers walk as friends, and friends as strangers;
Where whispers overheard betray false hearts;
And through the mazes of the crowd we chase
Some form of loveliness, that smiles, and beckons,




EARL Y SETTLERS.


I89


And cheats us with fair words, only to leave us
A mockery and a jest-maddened, confused,
Not knowing friend from foe."
The chatting, mirth-making sewing party is superseded by the
sewing machine. Instead of the reel we have the easy-chair; in
the place of the distaff and wheel we have the ever melodious
piano and the sweet guitar; instead of the cheery blaze of the
glowing pine we have the dazzling chandelier; in place of the
puncheon floor, the gorgeous textures of Antwerp and Brussels.
The fashionable modern party, unlike the primitive reunions, may
have an ancestry or pedigree, but it bears no patent from the fathers. It has become a studied, abnormal demonstration of pride,
conceit, and other vicious family taints. Weeks are spent in its
projection, in arranging its detail, and in disciplinary preparations
for its execution. The Russians would capture the Dannewerk, or
whip the Mussulman again while the plans were being unfolded.
After all it is but a display of vanity, a heartless and hollow exhibition, which, it is true, after considerable expense, may serve as
an introduction to some new and coveted circle, and place somebody else under an obligation to return a similar compliment,
which may be done in the same selfish and calculating manner.
In our honor's name, however, let it be recorded that we are
not an ungrateful posterity. If our churches are larger, more
numerous and more beautiful, we assume not that our religion is.
more inspiring, or our Christian lives any purer than was the
fathers. In the midst of a powerful devotion to wealth, it is gratifying to note that the attention to loftier aims and higher objects
has not been overlooked by the people of this generation. While
the central and pivotal idea is wealth, they have not ignored its
cardinal postulate, the general diffusion of education.  For it vast
expenditures are incurred. Without it the physical power of a
community is like the strength of the sightless Cyclop struggling
in the dark. Their labors of charity and works of benevolence
are worthy of any race or age. They have constructed railroads,
erected asylums, built infirmaries, populated cities, established




19o


HISTORY OF IA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


manufactories, promoted industries, organized agricultural colleges,
erected seminaries, secured salutary laws, determined the question
of self government, encouraged science, fostered mechanical and
inventive genius, stimulated Bible societies, incorporated and endowed universities, and raised temples for the worship of the living God.
From the primal gloom of a wilderness they have made our
county a garden of sunshine and delights.
"0, County, rich in sturdy toil,
In all that makes a people great,
We hail thee, queen of Buckeye soil,
And fling our challenge to the State!
We hail thee, queen, whose beauty won
Our fathers in their golden years!
A shout for greater days begun!
A sigh for sleeping pioneers!"
May the memories of our ancestors long be cherished, and
their names be held in admiring esteem and reverence. Precious
and fragrant as the breath of the summer flowers be the names of
those who have laid down their burdens by the wayside, and may
no ungrateful thought be entertained, or unkind, rude word be
spoken to the few who survive and patiently wait for the white
wave to lift them free. The shore, the palm, the victory -the
rest is but yonder.
"Another land more bright than this,
To their dim sight appears,
And on their way to it they'll soon
Again be pioneers! "




EARL Y AGRICULTURE.


I9I


CHAPTER XII.
EARLY AGRICULTURE-REFUSE LANDS-MARKETS.
"Nature here wanton'd as in her prime."
WITH very rare exceptions, the first settlements throughout the
county were made along the larger streams, the bottoms and lowlands. A variety of reasons may be assigned for this action and
choice of the pioneers. It was dictated by a sound judgment and
a clear comprehension of the exigencies of the situation. The
bottoms and lands adjoining the streams presented a richer quality
of soil than was perceivable upon the uplands; the underbrush,
such as the mulberry, willow, alders, crab, haw, wild plum
and thorn, and other scrub growths of timber, could be more
speedily, and with greater ease, removed than the huge forests
that occupied the hillier and more elevated portions of the county.
A few acres of the valley lands could with surprising facility be
prepared for either the fall or spring crop of the first settlers. In
some instances there were considerable areas in these valleys which
were wholly destitute of any timber growth, and all that was
needed was to break their surface to make their future cultivation
desirable and profitable.
These bottom ranges furnished a delicious native pasturage,
which was a most valuable consideration to the emigrant from a
remote corner of a distant State who had driven a single cow over
the long, weary miles he had traveled, to be a part of the expectant support of his wife and little ones in his new home in the wild,
strange places he had chosen as his own. In the summer they
could be mowed, and when the grass was properly dried it made




192


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


a sweet and esculent feed for cattle. Numerous cool fresh water
springs, bright, bubbling and healthful, issued from the hillsides,
and were the faithful little feeders of the streams; and hence the
question of water contributed no embarrassing ingredient to the
situation. With him, well-digging and well-diggers were myths.
Nature had generously provided for him, and at her invigorating
fountains he drank, and was strong.
The pioneer, by virtue of his condition was, and had to be,
self-dependent. If he did not originally possess the qualities, the
circumstances developed foresight and penetrative sagacity in him.
His chosen proximity to the streams had an immense meaning.
His wheat would ripen, his corn mature, and mills had to be
erected to grind his meal and flour. Here in his midst, flowing
by the very door of his cabin, nature had put her forces to play,
and in cheerful dalliance she was waiting to have her energies
utilized.
"On these streams," said the pioneer, "mills will be built to
grind our grains; here is the natural force by which to propel
them!"
Moreover, the uplands of the county and the heavy timbered
table levels and wooded ridges were conceived by the early settlers to be sterile and unprofitable regions. They were occasionally denominated "barrens," and theories of their successful tillage were flouted and disbelieved. "This idea of the barrenness of
the upland soil is supposed to have originated in the fact that the
substance of its surface had been for a considerable period annually exhausted by fire. These fires, for obvious reasons, rarely
swept over the lower plains, and hence their fertility continued
unimpaired. The practice of devastating by fire the upland forests, and thus defeating the operations of nature, doubtless had its
origin with white hunters from the tramontane regions, who had
introduced this with other more flagrant vices of civilization among
the aborigines, after the latter had become instructed in the use of
fire-arms and the practice of white hunters. The effect of the fires
was to change the natural qualities of the soil-to incrust the sur



EARL Y AGRICUL TURE.                193
face of the earth with a material similar to a vast sheet of brick,
and where anything like pulverized earth made its appearance it
bore the semblance of white brickdust. Notwithstanding this
periodical exhaustion, the natural vigor of the soil during each
spring following the autumnal burning, would become so far recuperated as to produce a very rank growth of vegetation, known as
sedge grass, pea vines, etc. This vegetation afforded excellent
pasture from early spring until about August. The sedge grass
when cut in July, or earlier, afforded very nutritious and palatable
food for domestic stock during the winter months.
" In the lapse of time it became a matter of necessity with the
cultivators of the soil upon the bottom and valley lands, to fight
and subdue these autumnal fires for the protection of their own
fences, cabins, granaries, and,other property; and, after a few
years of rest from the exhausting process, the uplands very soon
resumed their natural fertility; a radical chemical change became
apparent all over the surface of the soil, and efforts at cultivation
demonstrated the fact that those rejected acres are now among the
most fertile of any in Ohio for the production of the staple which
is the chief source of our agricultural wealth." *
The early agricultural experiments of the pioneers were not of
such a character as to produce in their minds the greatest encouragement. The first ticklings of the soil did not so promptly
respond to the laughter of harvest. The united testimony of the
old settlers is, that, for several years, they realized but little from
their crops.
One old pioneer said to us:  "Why, even our garden stuffs
did but little good; our potatoes did not mature, and the acreage
of our corn and wheat was scant." They were but poorly compensated for their first labors; they labored hard, and were often
disappointed.
The old wooden mould-board that many of the pioneers transported in their carts and wagons from the Eastern States, and the
horses with which they usually conveyed them, were not of the
* Knapp's Ashland County.
13




194


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


kind to break through the webs of green, tough roots they found
upon their partially cleared fields. Their plows were not adapted
to the work, and their horses too often unsuited to the heavy and
oppressive task. The soil could be but imperfectly tilled, and the
seeds deposited in the ground could scarcely find moisture enough
in the loosened soil to germinate. Whether this was the cause of
it or not, the farmers complained of "sick" wheat and soft corn
and watery potatoes.
There was but little incentive to cultivate the soil in those days,
only to produce what the family consumed and what would support the stock and pay the taxes-the latter, the farmer very frequently not being able to realize enough of money from his crops,
to do. There was no market at home, no foreign demand, and if
there had been, it would have been been beyond their reach. One
of the early and oldest of the living pioneers in the county assured us that, upon one occasion, he hauled a load of wheat to
Wooster, and, after doing his utmost to sell it, failed, and was
compelled to exchange it for other commodities.  In this exchange he wanted some tobacco, which was refused him by the
merchant, unless he could pay money for it, as it was a cash article. Having no money, he had to go home without tobacco.
A countryman on one occasion asked Hon. John Larwill what
he was paying for wheat, to which he jocularly replied, "I will
give you twenty-five cents per bushel if you will bring enough to
make a walk across this muddy street."
The root of the wild ginseng which grew quite abundantly in
the forests, was about the only product that commanded a cash
value. It has a pointed, fleshy root, of the size of the human finger, and when dry is of a yellowish white color, with a slight odor
and an agreeably bitter taste, and is supposed to be a tonic and
stimulant. In the spring of the year many persons made a practice of gathering it. It was a cash article to those who had it to
sell, and was worth twenty-five cents per pound. It is now worth
one dollar per pound, and, we believe, is no longer found in the
county.




~1


EARL Y A GRICUL TURE.               195
As we have elsewhere remarked, the opening of the Ohio canal
in 1827 was the first god-send to the early settlers of the county,
and after that the completion of the P., Ft. W. & C. R. R. imparted value to every product of the farm, and insured prosperity
to every phase of agricultural labor and largely enhanced the prices
of real estate.




196


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XIII.
JOHNNY APPLESEED.
JONATHAN CHAPMAN, better known as "Johnny Appleseed," according to such authorities as we have concerning him, was born
in Boston, Massachusetts, about the year 1775. Relative to his
boyhood, and, in fact, his earlier manhood and the period preceding his advent into the wild wastes of the West, there is but void
and silence.
Hon. John H. James, of Urbana, Ohio, who addressed, many
years since, a series of communications to the Cincinnati Horticultural Society on early gardening in the West, to one of which
communications he refers in a letter of June I I, 1862, says of him:
"I first saw him in 1826, and have since learned something of
his history. He came to my office in Urbana bearing a letter
from the late Alexander Kimmont. The letter spoke of him as a
man generally known by the name of Johnny Appleseed, and that
he might desire some counsel about a nursery he had in Champaign county. His case was this: Some years before he had
planted a nursery on the land of a person who gave him leave to
do so, and he was told that the land had been sold, and was now
in other hands, and that the present owner might not recognize
his right to the trees. He did not seem to be very anxious about
it, and continued walking to and fro as he talked, and at the same
time continued eating nuts. Having advised him to go and see
the person, and that, on stating his case, he might have no difficulty, the conversation turned. I asked him about his nursery,
and whether the trees were grafted. He answered 'No' rather




JOHNNY APPLESEED.


I97


decidedly, and said that the proper and natural mode was to raise
fruit trees from the seed.
"In I80o he came into the Territory with a horse load of
apple seeds, gathered from the cider presses in Western Pennsylvania. The seeds were contained in leathern bags, which were
better suited to his journey than linen sacks; and, besides, linen
could not be spared for such a purpose. He came first to Licking county, Ohio, where he planted his seeds. I am able to say
that it was on the farm of Isaac Stadden. In this instance, as in
others afterward, he would clear a spot for his purpose, and make
some slight enclosure about his plantation; only a slight one was
needed for there were no cattle roaming about to disturb it. He
would then return for more seeds, and select other sites for new
nurseries. When the trees were ready for sale, he left them in
charge of some one to sell for him, at a low price, which was seldom or never paid in money, for that was a thing u.Z settlers rarely
possessed. If people were too poor to purchase trees, they got
them without pay. He was at little expense, for he was ever welcome at the settlers' houses.
"Nearly all the early orchards in Licking county were planted
from his nursery. He had also nurseries in Knox, in Richland
and in Wayne counties."
The fact that he made his appearance in Licking county and
other sections at so early a period as I80I, seems to be quite well
authenticated. For the succeeding five years, though doubtless
" plying his vocation," we are unable to reliably trace him.
In I806, equipped with a craft in harmony with his eccentric
imagination, this bold, strange, riddle of a man, with an antique,
fantastic cargo, slowly descended the waters of the Ohio. He was
conveying a load of apple seeds to the Western territory with the
avowed purpose of planting the germs of orchards yet to be on the
extremest borders of the white settlements. His craft, constructed
of two canoes bound together, followed the current of the Ohio to
Marietta, where he entered the Muskingum, ascending the stream
of that river until he reached the mouth of the Walhonding, or




I98


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


White Woman, and still onward, up the Mohican, into the Black
Fork, to the head of navigation, in the region now known as Ashland and Richland counties. These are the initial and best authenticated facts in the history of this "enthusiast of the woods."
His choice of situations, or localities for planting his seeds,
exhibited taste, judgment and discretion.  Many of his sites are
known and remembered by the early settlers at the present time.
They were generally open places on the loamy lands and on the
margin of the streams.
In what was Wayne county originally and prior to the formation of Ashland county, February 24, I846, and now known as
Mohican township, our adventurous hero owned a small tract of
land and planted his seeds. H. S. Knapp, in his history of Ashland county, records the following:
"Alexander Finley, in his lifetime, sold to Jonathan Chapman
what is estimated to be three acres, in the south-east corner of the
south-west quarter of section 26, being in the quarter originally
entered by said Finley, and which is now owned by A. J. Young,
and forms part of the little town of Lake Fork. This land was
deeded to Chapman by Finley, but the deed was lost, though recorded, and the tract never transferred on the Auditor's books.
The taxes have regularly been paid by Finley's heirs, when in their
possession, and by the present owner, Mr. Young, since the farm
came into his ownership. Recently, other parties, after fruitless
efforts to buy of the heirs of Finley, have taken possession of the
disputed tract and assumed ownership by virtue of such possession. Chapman had made slight improvements, and started a nursery."
It is claimed that on the remote western border of Chester and
Congress townships he scattered his seeds, and that some of the
earliest orchards of that settlement were products of his nurseries.
One thing is certain, however, that his nurseries in Wayne county,
prior to the establishment of the county of Ashland, supplied the
pioneers of that and adjacent localities with the settings of their
future orchards.




JOHNNY APPLESEED.


199


In East Union township there appears to be no doubt but that
this fanatical wanderer located one of his nurseries. On Little
Sugar creek, near the residence of David Carr, he selected the
site which, seventy years ago, in the primal silence of its wild
environments, must have been poetically picturesque.
In personal appearance he is described as being a small, wiry
man, with thin lips and dilated nostrils, possessed of restless activity, with long dark hair, an unshaven face and sharp, black eyes.
His life was rough and hard, and yet we suppose fascinating
enough to him, who seemed to prefer such a life. To him it was
enjoyment,
"To sit on rocks, to muse o'er flood and fell,
To slowly trace the forest's shady scene.
Where things that own not Man's dominion dwell,
And mortal foot hath ne'er, or rarely been."
He frequently slept in the woods with the leaves and mosses for
his pillow and bed, apparently choosing these interviews with nature and her "visible forms."
His clothing was singular, odd, fantastical, dilapidated. Only
for convenience, and as evidence that he felt the stain and pain
of the First Offense, did he wear dress at all. His apparel consisted chiefly of second-hand, refuse garments, which he had taken
in exchange for apple trees. This, to his peculiar notion, in later
years seemed to encroach upon extravagance, when his chief garment would be made from a coffee sack, in which were made holes
for his arms and head to pass through. This he would pronounce
"A very serviceable cloak, and as good clothing as any man need
wear."  On one occasion a pair of shoes was given him, which in
a few days thereafter he presented to a barefooted family going
west which, as he said, needed them worse than he. A tin pan or
vessel of some kind was first used by him for a hat, and in this
he cooked his mush. This he abandoned, and manufactured his
head covers of pasteboard, the rim on one side wider than the
other to shield his features from the glare of the sun.
Clad thus in the quasi-nudeness and rudeness of aboriginal cos



200


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


tume, he penetrated forests, swamps and streams, and made sudden appearances in the settlements of the whites and Indian villages. It is plainly evident that there must have been some rare
force of gentle goodness dwelling in his looks and breathing in his
words, for it is the testimony of all who knew him, that, notwithstanding his grotesque dress, he was always treated with the greatest respect by the rudest frontiersman, and, what is a better test,
the boys of the settlements forbore to jeer at him. With grownup people and boys he was generally reticent, but manifested great
affection for little girls, always having pieces of ribbon and gay
calico to give to his little favorites. And what is still more anomalous, the Indians not only treated him kindly, but with a sort
of superstitious feeling. No people in the world are more susceptible of supernatural influence or power than the Red man. Invest
an Indian with the belief that you can interpret omens or decipher
dreams, and he will suffer almost death rather than molest you.
These Indians regarded Johnny Appleseed as a " great medicine
man" because of his fantastic dress, strange manner, eccentric conduct, and the wonderful calmness with which he endured pain.
During the war of 1812, when the settlers upon our frontiers
were harrassed and butchered by the Indians, then the allies of
Great Britain, he pursued the " even tenor of his way" undisturbed
by the brutal and murderous savages. In his wanderings among
them, he frequently obtained information in regard to their intentions, and was often able to sound the "note of warning " to the
white settlers, thereby enabling them to fly to their block-houses
and other places of protection. When the news of Hull's surrender came upon the frontier, large bodies of Indians and British
were laying waste everything before them and slaughtering de.
fenseless women and children. At this juncture, Jonathan Chapman traveled night and day, heralding the disaster and admonishing the people to prepare for danger. He visited the cabins of the
settlers, delivering this message:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and he hath anointed
me to blow the trumpet in the wilderness, and sound an alarm in




JOHNNY APPLESEED.


201


the forest; for, behold, the tribes of the heathen are round about
your doors, and a devouring flame followeth after them."
As illustrating his self-imposed sacrifices and the self-abnegagation to which he subjected himself in this single instance, he persistently refused all tenders of food, and, not taking a moment's
rest, he traversed the border by day and by night until he had
warned every settler of the impending danger.
If he was not a stoic like Zeno, he at times acted as though he
professed faith in that sect. An Indian warrior to him was the
concavity and convexity of mortal courage. He assumed to bear
pain with stolid indifference. To him there was great glory in
great suffering. He certainly had less acuteness of nervous sensibility than people generally have, or a vast endowment of fortitude. If he bruised or wounded his foot among stones or thorns,
his first remedial application was red-hot iron to the afflicted part,
by which it was seared. The logic of all this was to convert the
wound into a burn, and then heal the burn. He would thrust
needles and pins into his flesh without flinch or quiver.
His diet was thin, and his motto possibly was,
"Man wants but little here below."
Some even incline to the belief that he subsisted on vegetables
entirely. In his eyes, to take the life of animals for food was a.
sin, and that out of the soil sprung all that was necessary for human sustentation. No economy was too rigid for him to practice.
With him all waste of food was criminal. Whilst visiting a cabin
on one occasion, he discovered some fragments of bread floating
on a bucket of slops that was intended for the pigs. To the great
surprise of the housewife, she noticed him gathering the floating
pieces, but measure her astonishment as, reprovingly, he remarked
that "it was a violation of the gifts of a merciful God to permit
the smallest quantity of anything that was designed to supply the
wants of mankind to be diverted from its purpose."
Throughout his whole life, but more particularly in this instance, his peculiar religious ideas were set forth. He believed in




202


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the doctrines and heresies of Emanuel Swedenborg, the fundamental idea of whose system is communication with the spirit world.
He assumed to have conversations with angels and spirits; two of
the latter, of the feminine order, he asserted had disclosed to him
the secret that if he abstained from conjugal combinations on earth
they were to be his wives in the future state. He did not appear
to entertain any serious fear of death, regarding it merely as a
natural stage in the progress of human beings, which terminates
their probationary state, and separates the soul from its material
companion. Wherever he wandered he sought to make known
his religious views. In his eagerness to circulate the opinions and
doctrines of Swedenborg he tore his books into pieces, leaving a
fragment at one cabin, one at another, and so on, as if he were
distributing a serial. His feeling toward the great spiritualist (for
such he was) was that of reverence, akin to superstition. Once
he was interrogated as to the fact of his not being afraid of being
bitten by poisonous reptiles in his journeying through the woods.
Replying smilingly, he drew his book from his bosom with the
words, "This book is an infallible protection against all danger
here and hereafter." He was usually welcomed at the humble
board of the hospitable pioneer. On such occasions, after a tiresome journey, it was his custom to lie down on the rude puncheon
floor, and, after inquiring if his auditors would hear "some news
right fresh from heaven," would produce his few ragged books,
among which would be a New Testament, and read and expound
until the scene would become one of intense excitement and confusion.
Miss Rosella Rice, who knew him, speaks in the following
terms of one of these readings:
"We can hear him read now just as he did that summer day
when we were busy quilting up stairs, and he lay near the door,
his voice rising denunciatory and thrilling, strong and loud as the
roar of waves and winds, then soft and soothing as the balmy airs
that stirred and quivered the morning-glory leaves about his gray
head.




JOHNNY APPLESEED.


203


"His was a strange, deep eloquence at times. His language was
good and well chosen, and he was undoubtedly a man of genius."
What a scene is presented to our imagination! The interior of
a primitive cabin, the wide, open fire place, where a few sticks are
burning beneath the iron pot, in which the evening meal is cooking; around the fire-place the attentive groups, composed of the
sturdy pioneer and his wife and children, listening with reverential awe to the "news right fresh from heaven;" and reclining on
the floor, clad in rags, but with his gray hairs glorified by the
beams of the setting sun that flood through the open door, and
the unchinked logs of the humble building, this poor wanderer,
with the gift of genius and eloquence, who believes with the faith
of apostles and martyrs that God has appointed him a mission in
the wilderness to preach the gospel of love, and plant apple seeds
that shall produce orchards for the benefit of men and women, and
little children whom he has never seen. If there be a sublimer
faith, or a more genuine eloquence in richly decorated cathedrals,
and under brocade vestments, it would be worth a long journey to
find it.
Next to his religious mania was his apple tree enthusiasm.
With him there was but one way to cultivate the apple, and that
was from the seed. In his advocacy of this system he would again
climb to spurs of eloquence. Miss Rice says of him:
"Sometimes, in speaking of fruit, his eyes would sparkle, and
his countenance grow animated and really beautiful, and if he was
at table his knife and fork would be forgotten. In describing
apples we could see them just as he, the word-painter, pictured
them-large, lush, creamy-tinted ones, or rich, fragrant, and yellow, with a peachy tint on the sunshiny side, or crimson red,
with the cool juice ready to burst through the tender rind."
Bergh appears late in the day in his advocacy of a more
humane treatment of animals, for Johnny Appleseed preceded him
half a century, and with a more self-sacrificing zeal in the cause. If
Johnny saw an animal maltreated, or heard of it, he would buy it
and give it to some more humane settler, with the condition that




204


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


he should kindly treat it. In consequence of the long journey
into the wilderness it oftened happened that the emigrants became
encumbered with lame and used-up horses, that were turned out to
die, or forage for themselves. Before the advent of winter he
would collect together these rejected and cast-off animals, bargain
for their care and protection until the coming spring, when he
would seek pasture for them for the season.
If they recovered so as to be able to perform work, he would
lend them or give them away, exacting conditions for their kind
usage. He would not sell them. His convictions relative to the
positive sin of visiting pain or death upon any creature was not confined to the higher manifestations of animal life, but everything
that had being was to him, in the fact of its life, endowed with so
much of the divine essence that to wound or destroy it was to inflict an injury upon some atom of Divinity. No Brahmin could
be more concerned for the preservation of insect life, and the only
occasion on which he destroyed a venomous reptile was a source of
long regret, to which he could never refer without a feeling of sorrow.
In describing the circumstances under which he had been bitten by a rattlesnake, he sighed heavily and said: " Poor fellow,
he only just touched me, when I, in the heat of my ungodly passion, put the heel of my scythe in him and went away. Some
time afterward I went back, and there lay the poor fellow dead."
On one occasion, as he usually preferred to "camp out," he
had kindled a fire near where he intended to spend the night,
when he perceived that the blaze attracted toward it large numbers
of mosquitoes, many of which got too close to the fire and were
burned. He procured water without delay and extinguished the
fire, saying: "God forbid that I should build a fire for my comfort which should be the means of destroying any of his creatures. "
He removed the fire, at another time, that he had started near
a hollow log, and spent the night on the snow, as he discovered




JOHNNY APPLESEED.


205


that within the log was a bear and cubs, whose " balmy sleep " he
would not molest.
Mr. Knapp, in his History of Ashland County, furnishes this
characteristic paragraph:
"Johnny, from more respect to his sense of right than law,
would join parties who were employed in work upon the public
roads.  On one occasion, while thus engaged near the Jones
prairie, in Green township, a yellow-jackets' nest became disturbed,
and one of the insects found its way under his pants; and although
it inflicted repeated stings, he gently and quietly forced it downwards by pressing his pants above it.  His comrades, much
amused at his gentleness under such circumstances, inquired why
he did not kill it; to which he replied, that 'it would not be right
to take the life of the poor thing, as it was, only obeying the instict of its nature, and did not intend to hurt him.'"
His expenses for sustenance and dress were most trivial, and
he sometimes had more cash in his pockets than he wanted, which
was often given to some needy family that had succumbed to ague
or that had been reduced to extremity by the accidents of border
life. His purchase of the three acres of land from Alexander Finley, already noted, is the single and isolated instance in which he
invested his surplus capital in real estate.
He did not seek to shun society or intercourse with the settlers,
yet he seemed to covet solitude, and next to his religious books,
enjoyed the companionship of the stately forests and the running
streams. Perhaps he thought, with Byron, that
"Society is but one polished horde,
Formed of two mighty tribes, the Bores and Bored."
But this man's life, so replete with trial, self-sacrifice and suffering, was not, by any means, a sad or melancholy one. Possessed
of the conviction that his life was patterned after, and but a photograph of the primitive Christians, he was a serenely happy man.
Combined with other native gifts of mind was found also a keen
deposit of humor.




206


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


An itinerant preacher was whipping the air on the public square
of Mansfield, and in a tedious and periphrastical discourse, dealt
some "Apostolic knocks" at the sin of extravagance, which had
already manifested itself among the pioneers by divers indulgences
at sundry times, in the carnal excesses of calico and "store tea."
With a supercilious pharisaical air, the preacher asked, "Where
now is there a man who, like the primitive Christians, is traveling
to heaven bare-footed and clad in coarse raiment? " The interrogation being frequently repeated, Johnny, who was resting on his
back on some timber, taking the question in its literal sense, raised
his bare feet in the air, and pointing to his coffee-sack outfit of
dress, vociferated, " Here's your primitive Christian! "
He seems to have inclined to peculiar notions regarding the
supposed anti-malarial virtues of the offensive weed known as dogfennel, and adjusting the act to the idea, obtained some seeds of
the plant in Pennsylvania and sowed them in the vicinity of every
cabin compassed in his peregrinations. Like other troublesome
weeds, it had a rapid growth, and with the recurring years extended its invasions over the whole country until it became as pestilent as the maladies it was intended to counteract. The farmers
of Ohio to-day can uncover their heads, and in silent gratitude
pronounce benisons on rare old Johnny Appleseed for their heritage of dog-fennel.
In 1838 he took his departure for the wilds of Western Ohio
and Indiana. An industrious, frugal, self-sustaining, money-getting
population had possessed the region he had first visited over a
third of a century before. "Flourishing peopled towns" and pretentious churches were being built; the old and "unfrequented
woods" were tumbling to the fiat of the stalwart woodman's ax;
even the echoes of the stage-driver's unmelodious horn pealed
down the invaded forest's aisles, and he felt that though he had
labored long and hard, in this region his work was done. After
visiting many families with words of parting and counsel he left
them. For nine more years he pursued his old ways with his characteristic singularity in Indiana and the western portion of Ohio.




JOHNNY APPLESEED.


207


His labors bore fruit over a hundred thousand square miles of territory.
He died in Allen county, Indiana, in the summer of I847,
aged 72 years, 46 of which had been consecrated to his selfimposed, self-sacrificing mission. His death, calm and peaceful,
occurred among strangers, yet he was kindly cared for-his last
illness being quite free from great suffering.
Aye, gone with the rest, one of the memorable men of pioneer
times! who never willingly inflicted a pain or knew an enemy-a
man of strange words and incomprehensible habits, in whom existed a fathomless love that included the lowest manifestations of
life as well as the loving Father of all.
Unsheltered, homeless, ragged and almost raimentless, he
walked the thorny lands with sore and bleeding feet; but the story
of his life, however imperfectly introduced, will be indisputable,
and "perpetual proof that true heroism, pure benevolence, noble
virtues and deeds that deserve immortality, may be found under
meanest apparel, and far from gilded halls and towering spires."




208


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XIV.
CRAWFORD'S CAMPAIGN THROUGH WAYNE COUNTY.
IT was not an unauthorized expedition, a sudden and wild
maraud; but was set on foot by the proper authority, and carefully
and considerately planned; and instead of unfurling the black flag,
and marching with an intention to massacre inoffensive Indians, as
has been so frequently charged, it moved under the banner of the
United States, and for the sole purpose of destroying enemies, not
*only of the western frontier, but of our common country, thereby
to give ease and security to the border. *
Mr. Butterfield, in his recent valuable work, entitled, "Crawford's Campaign Against Sandusky," has, we believe, cleared up all
mystery as far as may be within the compass of human possibility,
touching upon the Crawford campaign, which, as the author intimates, "has heretofore found but little space upon the page of
American history."  He has not only made another solid addition
to our border history, but has supplied a comprehensive solution
of the true motives and purposes which inspired this expedition.
As a matter of history, startling and interesting to us all, and to
expel uncertainty, and dispel falsely conceived impressions concerning the occupancy of Wayne county by soldiery, prior to and
during the early settlement of it, we, therefore, introduce this brief
chapter. We must necessarily summarize, as this section was not
the theater of any signal exploits, but simply on the line of transit
to the subsequent tragic field. Our explorations were instigated in
a measure, by the fact, that in conversation with many of our people


* Butterfield.




CRA WFORD'S CAMPAIGN.               209
we found them to have associated this important, but disastrous
campaign, with the war of I8 I2. We have frequently in our search
for material for our volume had pointed to us a score of exact spots
where Crawford encamped, the precise place where he crossed
Killbuck, the Indian trail that he followed, or the road that he had
cut through the woods, etc. All of which opinions are honestly
entertained, but altogether incorrect. These illusory impressions,
and this confusion will be readily removed by the subjoined succinct narrative of this fatal military adventure. Heckwelder,
Loskiel, Doddridge and scores of others, have denounced and defamed the organization as bandits, a troop of murderers, intent on
slaughtering the rest of the Christian Indians, and repeating the
massacre of Gnadenhutten, with which the brave Williamson
was identified. To place Crawford and the purpose of his
campaign fairly before the public, it is only necessary to allude to the instructions of General William Irvine, commander of the Western department, located at Fort Pitt, addressed
to the officer that might be appointed to command the expedition
against the Indian town at, or in proximity to, Sandusky:
"The object of your command is to destroy with fire and
sword (if practicable) the Indian town and settlement at Sandusky,
by which we hope to give ease and safety to the inhabitants of
this country; but if impracticable, then you will doubtless perform
such other services in your power, as will, in their consequences,
have a tendency to answer this great end.
*      *       *      *      *      *      *
"And it is indispensably necessary that subordination and discipline should be kept up. The whole ought to understand that,
notwithstanding they are volunteers, yet by this tour they are to
get credit for it in their tours of militia duty; and that for this
and other good reasons, they must, while out on this duty, consider
themselves, to all intents, subject to the military laws and regulations for the government of the militia when in active service.
*      *      *      *     *      *      *
"I need scarcely mention to so virtuous and disinterested
14




210


HISTORY OF WAYVWE COUNTY, OHIO.


a set of men as you will have the honor to command, that,
though the main object, at present, is for the purpose above
set forth, viz: the protection of this country; yet you are to
consider yourselves as acting in behalf and for the United States.
That, of course, it will be incumbent on you especially who
will have the command, and on every individual, to act, in every
instance, in such a manner as will reflect honor on, and add
reputation to, the American arms-always having in view the
laws of arms, of nations, or independent States."
The volunteers constituting the force, enumerating about 480
men, were principally Pennsylvanians, in the vigor and bloom of
active life, from the region of the Youghiogheny, Uniontown,
Brownsville, etc. Butterfield asserts that two-thirds of them were
from Washington county, Pennsylvania. In a manuscript letter,
written November o1, I799, General Irvine says:  The troops
were volunteer militia, part Pennsylvanians and part Virginians,
and a few Continental officers whom I sent."
By the 25th of May, 1782, the river had been crossed and the
men mustered at the old Mingo towns west of the Ohio. Immediately an election was held for officers, William Crawford being
chosen Colonel, by five of a majority, over David Williamson, his
competitor, who had many persistent friends.
The dauntless commander of this ill-starred expedition was of
Scotch-Irish parentage, but a native of Orange county, Virginia,
where he was born in 1732.  He was a man of stalwart physical
proportions, a companion and associate of Washington, with whom
he acquired a knowledge of surveying, in which profession he engaged in his earlier years. At the age of twenty-three (I755)
the Governor of Virginia commissioned him as an ensign, when
he became a member of a body of riflemen that were to join Braddock, who had set out for the reduction and capture of Fort du
Quesne. He participated in the engagement of July 9, and for his
courage was promoted to a lieutenancy, and subsequently served
as a captain in Forbes' expedition which captured Pittsburg. None
were bolder than he in their advocacy of the liberties and inde



CRA WFORD'S CAMPAIGN.


211


pendence of the Colonies, and the battle echoes of Lexington had
scarcely died upon the air when he offered his services to his
country.
In January, I776, as a Lieutenant Colonel of the 5th Virginia
Regiment, he joined the Revolutionary forces, in October of the
same year gaining promotion to the Colonelcy of the 7th Regiment of the Virginia batallions. He crossed the Delaware with
Washington on Christmas of this year, and rejoiced with him in
the Trenton triumph of the next day. After much valuable service to the country, in the fall of 1781 he was placed upon the
retired list, being then nearly fifty years of age. The surrender
of Cornwallis being compelled on the g9th of October, 178I, this
faithful officer, possessed of the plausible conviction of the complete liberation of his country, determined upon a life of retirement, an evening of rest, of
"Leisure, silence, and mind released
From anxious thoughts."
Crowned with honors, and conscious of a faithful and zealous discharge of public duties,
"Escaped from office and its constant cares,
What charms he sees in freedom's smiles expressed!"
A scheme, however, was soon discussed, in view of the turbulences of the time and the threatening aspect of the border, having for its object more energetic measures with the Indians, who
were becoming more aggressive and menacing in their attitude to
the settlers- especially the tribes in the vicinity of Sandusky.
Crawford's avowed and previously promulgated opinions relative
to the propriety of such an expedition naturally enough made him
a conspicuous figure in the contemplated project, and as a consequence, his counsel was eagerly solicited and his judgment diligently consulted. Against his fixed resolution to remain in retirement was arrayed the public exigency, his powerful impulse
of patriotism, and the importunities of warm friends, including
General Irvine himself. With severe reluctance he accepted the




212


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


command, to which, on the 24th of May, he had been elected, for
none better than he knew the hellish craft and diabolism of the
subtle and malignant adversary he had to encounter.
So the sunlight of Saturday morning, May 25, 1782, witnessed
the small but determined army, under the command of Colonel
William Crawford, then in his fiftieth year, in four columns and
gallantly officered, inaugurate its march from Mingo Bottom for
Sandusky, its objective point, a distance of one hundred and fifty
miles. We now abandon our own descriptive narrative, and interpolate the very accurate and fuller one of Mr. Butterfield:
"The route lay through what is now the counties of Jefferson,
Harrison, Tuscarawas, Holmes, Ashland, Richland and Crawford,
nearly to the center of Wyandot county, Ohio. A direct course
would have led near the present towns of New Philadelphia, Millersburg, Loudonville and Galion, but, as will hereafter be seen,
this straight line was not followed. The whole distance, except
about thirty miles at the end of the route, was through an unbroken forest.
*      *      *      *      *     *      *
"The principal impediments to a rapid march were the hills,
swamps and tangled growth of the forests. The Muskingum, Killbuck, forks of the Mohican and Sandusky, were the streams to be
crossed, all of which, at this season of the year, and especially in
the spring of 1782, were not fordable without difficulty. * * *
As the cavalcade moved up over the bluff, an almost due west
course was taken, striking at once into the wilderness, now deepening and darkening around it. The army progressed rapidly at
first, moving along the north side of Cross creek, which had
already received the name it still bears. After leaving what is
now Steubenville township, it passed through the present townships of Crosscreek and Wayne, to the western boundary of Jefferson county, as at present defined; crossing thence into what is
now Harrison county, in German township; thence across the
summit to the spot where the town of Jefferson now stands.
" From this point a straight course would have led them, at no




CRA WFORD'S CAMPAIGN.


213


great distance, into what is now Carroll county. But their horses
had tired under their heavy loads in the hills and swamps. This
obliged them to incline to the southward, toward the wasted Moravian towns, into a more level country, though more frequented by
hunters and warriors. This alternative was accepted by Crawford
with great reluctance, as his policy was to avoid trails and the region infested by the enemy, relying for success, as already stated,
upon effecting a surprise. Otherwise he would have followed Williamson's trail from Mingo Bottom to the Muskingum, which led
along a considerable distance south, near where Smithfield, in
Jefferson, and Cadiz, in Harrison county, now stand, through a
region not so difficult to be traversed, but on the line of Indian
traces between that river and the Ohio."
From the moment of starting, every precaution was taken
against surprises, or ambuscades, and this, too, although, as yet,
not an Indian had been seen. The wily nature of the savage was too well understood by the commander of the expedition,
to allow of any confidence of security, because no foe had been
discovered. * * * * Nothing worthy of note transpired until Monday night, the 27th, while at their third encampment.
Here a few of the men lost their horses, which were hunted for
the next morning, without success. It was thought best by Crawford that these men should return home, as their continuing with
the army, unable, as they would be, to carry little besides their
arms, would only prove a source of embarrassment. Reluctantly,
therefore, they retraced their steps to Mingo Bottom.
Sixty miles had been made in four days' march, when the fourth
encampment was made upon the charred remains of New Schonbrunn. "During the evening," continues the same author,
" Major Brinton and Captain Bean went some distance from camp
to reconnoiter. When but a quarter of a mile away they espied
two savages, upon whom they immediately fired, but without effect. These were the first hostile shots fired at the foe. It was
supposed, by Crawford, that the army had not before been discovered by the enemy. Fallacious belief! Secrecy now being out of




214         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
the question, as the two Indians had made their escape, it only remained for Crawford to press forward, with all practicable dispatch,
to afford the enemy as little time as possible for defensive preparations. The march was continued, therefore, on the morning of the
29th, rapidly, but with greater precaution than had previously
been observed. The guides, taking a north-west course through
the wilderness from the Muskingum, brought the army to the Killbuck, some distance above the present town of Millersburg, county seat of Holmes county. 'Thence,' says Dunlevy, 'we marched
up the Killbuck.' At not a great distance the army reached a large
spring, known at the present time as Butler's or Jones' spring, near
the line of Wayne county, ten miles south of Wooster, where, on
the evening of May 30, the volunteers encamped.
"At this spring one of the men died, and was buried. His
name was cut on the bark of a tree close by his grave."
"From this point the army moved westward along the north
side of what is known as Odell's Lake, passing between two small
lakes, where they found the heads of two large fish, freshly caught,
lying on the ground, which awakened suspicions. that Indians were
near. Thence they passed near the spot where was afterward the
village of Greentown, in what is now Ashland county. From this
point they struck across to the Rocky Fork of the Mohican, up
which stream they traveled until a spring was reached, near where
the city of Mansfield now stands, in Richland county; thence a
little north of west, to a fine spring five miles farther on, in what
is now Springfield township-a place now known as Spring Mills,
on the line of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad,
eight miles east of the town of Crestline, in Crawford county
-where, on the evening of the Ist of June, the army halted and
encamped for the night."
It forcibly pressed forward into what is now Crawford
county, to a point on the Sandusky river, a short distance west of Crestline, where a brief halt was ordered and enjoyed.  Although on the enemy's threshold, being then but
twenty-five miles from the contemplated point, there was not visi



CRA WFORD'S CAMPAIGN.


215


ble the face of a solitary red devil. The march was vigorously
conducted, leaving Bucyrus about three miles to the north, when
a rest was taken near the present village of Wyandot. After extraordinary caution, and the most circumspect care, on the morning of the 4th of June, the expedition-then but ten miles from
its destination-opened march. This was executed with considerable celerity, and the Wyandot town was soon in possession of
Crawford and his men. But the artful and wary Copper-Cheeks
were not there! The cunning of the wily savages was demonstrated and the surprise strategy forestalled and outwitted!
The abandoned Indian village was occupied but a brief hour
by the somewhat disappointed but indomitable commandant and
his troops. He resolved upon pursuit, which was commenced.
But before much progress in this respect had been made, and for
prudential and grave reasons, he checked the advance of his force
and convened his subordinates for purposes of consultation. The
substance of their deliberations was to not much longer continue
in the pursuit, as the absence of an Indian force on the Plain lands
induced the sober conjecture that they were concentrating their
hordes for bloody and stubborn opposition. For such is the
antithesis of the Indian character, such its fecundity of plot and design, such its fertility in original conception, that to circumvent it is
no easy task; and with this vast central fact was Crawford familiar.
As a consequence a body of light-horse was utilized as scouts.
Their reconnoiterings soon developed the locality and position of
the tawny warriors, of which fact Crawford was immediately apprized. The advance of the savages was slow but determined.
Crawford prepared for battle and ordered a forward movement.
Sharp volleys from his ranks soon caused them to withdraw from a
grove which they had selected, a most favorable position. Captain
Pipe, or The Pipe, commanded the Delawares, the van of the assailants; and with him, were Girty and Wingenund. Soon the
Delawares were reinforced by the Wyandots, the whole force being
under the command of the infamous Elliott, a white demon, who
ordered a flank movement, which for awhile, tasted mightily like




216


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


disaster to the brave boys who mustered on Mingo Bottom. But
the American position, in spite of the craft of the enemy, was
valorously maintained. From four o'clock, when the gauntlet of
battle was accepted, until the shadows of the night were descending, the conflict was carried on, and very frequently with ambiguous success to our arms. However, as night approached, the firing perceptibly diminished, and by day-break it had substantially
subsided.
"At dark," says Butterfield, "the victory was clearly with the
Americans."  And, "although Crawford was left in full possession
of the battle field, yet the Indians were far from being dispirited.
They well knew that reinforcements were hastening to their relief;
that these would certainly reach them on the morrow."
On the next day, 5th of June, irregular and random interchanges of musketry were indulged without any serious " hurt or
inconvenience" to either side. Meanwhile plans had been consummated for a desperate and decisive assault.
"Alas! how hope is born but to expire."
This project was dashed in its inception, crushed in embryo.
Mounted Assyrians from a British camp made their appearance in
the interest of the barbaric wretches whom they were inciting to
cruelty and revenge. Here was an element of resistance on which
Crawford had not calculated, and which had not excited the remotest suspicion. That night a council of war resolved that "prudence dictated a retreat," when orders were issued to that effect,
the same to take place at 9 P. M. Suspecting a retreat and general backward movement, the Indians began a sharp fire, which
produced some temporary confusion and consternation, but which
was unaccompanied with any stirring results. This was but a
slight impediment to the retreat, as it was soon undertaken, with
Crawford at the front. The Delawares and Shawanese interposed
prompt and stout resistance. Flank and rear of the army were
sorely harrassed. A portion of it had become considerably demoralized. For the first time it was now discovered that Colonel




CRA WFORD'S CAMPAIGN.               217
Crawford was missing, as was also Dr. Knight, the surgeon of the
command.
David Williamson, on whom devolved the control of the force,
displayed great activity and zeal in restoring order and dispelling
confusion. Nor was the jewel of good luck to be awarded him
either, for, on the 6th of the month, he was " brought up standing" by his devoted pursuers. Yet he delivered heroic battle,
and although "attacked on the front, left flank and rear," his
assailants soon inclined to withdraw. As the retreat continued,
at intervals the enemy would pour a destructive fire into our ranks,
but through the chivalrous efforts of Williamson and Lieutenant
Rose, any rout or stampede was avoided.
After the final shots were exchanged the boys who had escaped
the torment and the tormentors were permitted to return to the
Ohio as best they could through the wilderness, without any serious molestation or fear.
We deem it needless, in view of our object in this somewhat
discursive sketch, to descant at any further great length upon this
fated military enterprise, unless to merely indicate the harrowing
and lacerating catastrophe which befel its bold leader.
Crawford's capture resulted from the confusion incident to the
retreat, and the solicitude he had for his son John, his son-in-law,
and nephew, from whom he became separated. He was ambuscaded by a gang of Delawares, about twenty-eight miles east of
the battlefield, and borne to the Indian camp where, besides the
Colonel and Dr. Knight, were nine other prisoners. On the Ioth
of June the prisoners were marched to Sandusky, over thirty miles
distant, accompanied by seventeen Delawares, who carried the
scalps of four white men. The next day, The Pipe and Wingenund
visited them, Pipe painting the face of all the prisoners black.
They were then marched to Wyandot, a distance of eight miles,
and thence to Tymochtee creek, where it was distressingly evident
their doom was sealed. Here an Indian took possession of Knight,
who was to escort him to the Shawanese towns, distant, as the
Indian said, forty miles. The doctor became somewhat social




2I8


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


with his red companion, and as it was the I2th of June, the mosquitoes were rather pestilent, so they concluded to build a fire to
banish, if possible, these insectile tormentors. Thel doctor in
poking up the fire, managed to secure a good dogwood club, and
vigilant of an opportunity, delivered a staggering blow upon the
head of his custodian, precipitating him to the ground. Recovering from the blow, he sprang to his feet and scampered away,
yelling in true Indian fashion. This was Knight's moment of
escape, and gloriously did he embrace it. Narrow indeed was his
escape from the fagot and the tormentor's wasting flame!
He* reached Fort Pitt, July 4th, just twenty-two days after
his escape.
But no such story is to be told concerning poor Crawford.
We insert a recital of the incidents of his death, by Butterfield:
" Crawford was stripped naked and ordered to sit down. * *
The Indians now beat him with sticks and their fists. * * The
fatal stake-a post about fifteen feet high-had been set firmly in
the ground. Crawford's hands were bound behind his back, and a
rope fastened-one end to the foot of the post and the other to
the ligature between his wrists. The rope was long enough for
him to sit down or walk around the post once or twice, and return
the same way. Crawford then called to Girty and asked if they
intended to burn him. Girty answered "yes.". He then replied
he would take it all patiently. Upon this Captain Pipe made a
speech to the Indians, who, at its conclusion, yelled a hideous and
hearty assent to what had been said.
"The spot where Crawford was now to be immolated to satisfy
the revengeful thirst of the Delawares for the blood of the borderers, was in what is now Crawford township, Wyandot countya short distance north-east from the present town of Crawfordsville.
*  * About four o'clock in the afternoon of Tuesday, June II,
1782, the torture began. The Indian men took up their guns and
shot powder into Crawford's naked body, from his feet as far up as


*Dr. Knight, after his escape, and on his return, passed through Wayne
county.




CRA WFORD'S CAMPAIGN.              219
his neck. It was the opinion of Knight that not less than seventy
loads were discharged upon him! They then crowded about him,
and, to the best of Knight's observation, cut off both of his ears;
for, when the throng dispersed, he saw blood running from both
sides of his head!
"The fire was about six or seven yards from the post to which
Crawford was tied. It was made of small hickory poles, burnt
quite through in the middle, each end of the poles remaining about
six feet in length. Three or four Indians, by turns, would take
up, individually, one of these burning pieces of wood and apply it
to his naked body, already burnt black with powder.
" These tormentors presented themselves on every side of him,
so that whichever way he ran round the post, they met him with
the burning fagots. Some of the squaws took broad boards, upon
which they would carry a quantity of burning coals and hot embers, and throw on him, so that, in a short time, he had nothing
but coals of fire and hot ashes to walk on.
"In the midst of these extreme tortures, Crawford called to
Girty, and begged of him to shoot him.  *  *  *  Girty, by
way of derision, told him he had no gun.  *  *  * Crawford,
at this period of his suffering, besought the Almighty to have
mercy on his soul, spoke very low, and bore his torments with the
most manly fortitude. He continued in all the extremities of pain
for an hour and three-quarters or two hours longer, as near as
Knight could judge, when at last, being almost spent, he lay down
upon his stomach.
" The savages then scalped him, and repeatedly threw the scalp
into the face of Knight, telling him that was his 'great Captain.'
An old squaw, whose appearance, thought Knight, every way answered the ideas people entertain of the devil, got a board, took a
parcel of coals and ashes and laid them on his back and head. He
then raised himself upon his feet and began to walk around the
post. She next put burning sticks to him, but he seemed more
insensible of pain than before. Knight was now taken away from
the dreadful scene."




220


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


A tradition has it that Crawford's life only went out with the
setting of the sun.
The next morning, in passing the spot, Knight witnessed the
bones of his old commander, lying among the debris of the
wasted flames of the day before.
Who that admires valor in the human breast can fail to appreciate, aye, even love, the God-like fortitude of this man? To be
shot in battle, to be stabbed to the heart by an assassin, to drink
the caput mortuum of the cup of poison would be a glorious release
from the bondage of a life compared with this damnable and diabolical process of dispossessing the startled soul of its raiment of
flesh!
Great heaven! in the sight of Thy impartial eye was the patriotism of Crawford so horrid a crime that his death should be as
terrible as that of Ravillac!
And who that despises robbery, rapine, blood-thirstiness, lawlessness, cruelty, theft and murder, can fail to register his hatred
of these forest-outlaws, bandits of the plain, fiends of the gorge
and bluff, highwaymen of the desert, and assassins of the lava bed.
We record our antipathy to the Indian, a creation, no doubt, illustrative of the possible satire of the Deity, and announce our desire, in advance, for the advent of the day when the trees of the
hill and the valley shall become gibbets, when every rock under
the shadow of which they shall take refuge shall become a scaffold,
and when a thousand of their captors shall struggle to be the executioner of the last son of the tribes.
Innocence swathed in blood, trampled law, throttled justice and
outraged humanity, demand it, and demand it in the name of the
American life they have betrayed, crucified and slain.
We have thus, after protracted research, been enabled to define
with gratifying accuracy the passage of this army, with the belief
that in future it will be dis-associated with any subsequent
military expedition that penetrated the county. We had long
been persuaded that Crawford's line of march touched our county,




CRA WFORD'S CAMPAIGN.               22
and that of Ashland, although Knapp, in his history of the latter county, expresses his doubt in reference to its transit through
the same. All our investigations pointed in this direction.
Independent of such information as we had been able to obtain
from close inspection of the authorities, we were strengthened in our
convictions in the premises by intelligent observations made to us
by Hon. L. D. Odell, of Clinton township. We attached great
significance and weight to the statements of Mr. Odell, on account
of his soundness of memory, and his extraordinary accuracy in the
relation of facts.
While it is true that the Indians did not follow the retreating
army as a body, further than the eastern line of Crawford county,
some of the stragglers were pursued much further. A party of six
was overtaken in this county by some Shawanese scouts, and two
of them murdered. Their names, it seems, are not known.
The story of Philip Smith, who was shot in the arm, and who
became separated from the command, is one of interest. He was
but a young man, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1761. He was
likewise one of the pioneers of Ohio, and came to Wayne county
in I8I. He was the father of Nathan W. Smith, of Wooster
township.
Isaac Newkirk, of Washington county, Pa., grandfather of John
W. Newkirk, of Clinton township, and Nercissa L., wife of Ben.
Douglass, was a volunteer in this expedition, and we were informed
by his son, the late Reuben Newkirk, of Clinton township, that it
was during their encampment near Odell's Lake that he discovered what is widely known as the Newkirk Spring. With it he
was so delighted, and the beautiful surrounding prairies and
wooded uplands, that he subsequently entered a section of these
lands.
It may be proper for us to say in this connection, that we had
expended considerable research upon the line of passage of this
army, and had a chapter written for the history a year prior to our
knowledge of the existence of Mr. Butterfield's "Campaign against
Sandusky." In that article we had defined his march through




222         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Clinton township, and so intended to proclaim it, whether confirmed or not in our position, by any author or any man.
Nor do we readily forget the opposition we met in declaring
our purpose. Our province, however, as we construed it, was not
to accommodate individuals, or be governed by any cherished
opinions of neighbors or friends, however sacredly embraced, but
to record what the evidence assured us was truthful and reliable.
In other words, to register the real as against the suppositional.
We desire no better vindication of our original position than the
volume of Mr. Butterfield. After it came to our notice we carefully perused it, abandoned portions of our manuscript, re-wrote
our article, quoting freely from his work, which we unhesitatingly
pronounce as conclusive, reliable and exhaustive, and a monument
to the energy, ability and genius of its author.




BEALL'S CAMPAIGN.                  223
CHAPTER XV.
BEALL'S CAMPAIGN - I812.
IN our endeavor to obtain an accurate, or even satisfactory,
account of this military campaign, we were met, at the very outstart, with stubborn and insurmountable difficulties. No history
of the war of 1812, that we have had access to, contributes any
certain clue to its organization or plan of operations. What was,
and is, known as "Beall's Army," consisted of a regiment of raw,
undisciplined Ohio militia, with, perhaps, an ingredient of similar
material from some of the western counties of Pennsylvania. If
documents, public or otherwise, have existence, either in the
drawers of surviving friends, or the closets of societies of history,
they have certainly not been available to us. We have given no
portion of our history more attention, with conspicuously correspondingly small compensation for our efforts.
Prior to the war of 1812, General Beall, who had served in the
regular army, and who had removed to Columbiana county, Ohio,
in 1803, was made Colonel of the militia of said county, and subsequently a Brigadier General. After the surrender of Hull, August 16, 1812, a terrible consternation seized upon the whole community, whereupon a detachment of the militia was organized
under Beall, and turned in the direction of the western frontier.
He marched his detachment to Canton, Stark county, Ohio, where
additions were made to it from Stark and Jefferson counties, etc.,
enlarging its rank and file to the dimensions, probably, of a full
regiment. No time was lost in organizing the new militia companies, when a regular frontier campaign was inaugurated. Reach



224


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ing the Wayne county line, they passed through Sugarcreek and
Paint townships, thence on to Wooster, where they made brief
encampments; thence to the north-west, crossing the Big Killbuck
a few rods north of the old salt works, on the line of the Indian
trail; thence west and south to the farms of John A. Lawrence,
Esq., and Joshua Warner, Sen., about two miles west of Wooster;
thence due west, near the line of the State road, passing through
or near the present sites of Jefferson and Reedsburg, in Plain township; thence on to Jeromeville, and going to the north of Haysville, in Ashland county; thence to the Huron, Sandusky and
Fort Meigs.    Throughout this march General Beall accompanied the army to Camp Huron, where he joined the troops of
the Western Reserve, under General Elijah Wadsworth* and General Simon Perkins. t  Here they were personally visited by the
Commander-in-Chief, General Harrison, who organized all the
troops into a single brigade, devolving the command upon General
Perkins.
From this point General Beall returned home.
The subsequent operations of the army, under General Perkins,
are not of a character to call for any special or enlarged comment.
A detachment of 300 of his men, under a Major Cotgreve, were, at
one time, ordered to the relief of General Winchester, but hearing
of the disaster that had befallen that officer, they retreated to the
Rapids, where General Harrison was stationed, and who retired to
Carrying river, for the purpose of forming a junction with the
troops in the rear, and favoring the convoy of artillery and
stores then  coming   from  Upper Sandusky.     What proportion of the army of General Beall was at the siege of Fort
Meigs we are unable to note-possibly all of them. His army
*General Wadsworth, born in Hartford, Conn., November 14, 1747; died in
Canfield, Mahoning county, Ohio, December 30, 1817. He was a descendant of
Captain Joseph Wadsworth, who hid the Charter of Connecticut in the oak tree,
on the 9th of May, I68o.
tGeneral Perkins was born in Lisbon, Conn., September I7, 177I, and removed to Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, in I804. He descended from one of the
oldest Puritan families who crossed the sea with Roger Williams, in the good ship
Lion, I631.




BEALL'S CAMPAIGN.


225


was an eager, patriotic band, composed largely of farmers and
their sons, though their march was seemingly an irregular and confused one, at times widely scattered and without the order of military discipline, but their patriotism was none the less ardent. As
far as Camp Huron it presented but few obstacles, and was characterized by sudden alarms, scouts, scares and scrimmages. Beyond that, its part in the drama is only seen by dim lights, and
almost disappears in the excitements of the actors in the heavier
scenes.
There can be no doubt, however, that the transit of this army
through the county was a source of terror to the Indians, and that
its very presence was a great protection to the early settlers against
their murderous invasions.
Thomas Eagle,who settled in Mohican township, then Wayne,
but now Ashland county, in May, I809, piloted Beall's army
from Wooster to Jeromeville, and on farther west; and it was by
the direction of this officer that the old fort at Jeromeville was
built. He also took the Jerometown Indians prisoners, and Baptiste Jerome's wife and daughter, who shortly after died, an act for
which the General was criticised.
General Beall, during the earlier stages of the war, caused the
arrest of Jerome on the grounds of disloyalty and had him incarcerated in Fort Stidger for a short period.
REMINISCENCES OF ONE OF BEALL'S SOLDIERS.
Thomas Pittinger, who was in Fort Meigs during the siege,
now living in Chester township, says:
I was one of the " Harrison Boys " under General Beall, and a volunteer soldier
in the war of 1812; helped to build Fort Meigs; was in the siege and was discharged in the Fort. At the time I enlisted I was living twelve miles from Steubenville, in Jefferson county, Ohio. I went out as a volunteer private soldier in a
rifle company, with James Alexander as captain, Henry Byles as first lieutenant
and John Myers as ensign. The company was a full one. We first rendezvoused
at Steubenville and from there we marched across the country to Canton, Stark
county, Ohio, where we staid a few days. General Beall accompanied us from
I5




226


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Steubenville to Canton. We then started westward with the other soldiers along
with us and General Beall in command. The biggest part of the troops came
through Sugarcreek township after leaving Stark county. We came in a pretty
straight line to Wooster and camped one night on the west side of the town near
the Christmas run. We then went to the blockhouse* and staid there several days.
Benjamin Emmons had a field of corn close to the blockhouse. Our uniforms were
an "aleneda" yellow hunting shirt and any such other underclothes as we had or
could get. The members of my company were all armed with rifles. When the
company was being armed, rifles were seized wherever they could be found and
taken whether their owners were willing or not. I carried mine all through the
campaign, and after my discharge and arrival home returned it to the neighbor
from whom it was taken. It was what I call a " pressed " rifle. We crossed the
Killbuck near the old salt works, stopped a short time close to old Yankee Azariah
Smith's, then came to the John Lawrence farm, where we camped several days close
to a fine spring, and then followed the line of the State road to Jeromeville, etc.,
on to the mouth of the river Huron.  Here we butchered hogs for the army. We
then proceeded to Fort Meigs, in the siege of which I was, as before stated.
Mr. Pittinger says their march involved but little hardship,
and that, although they were sometimes pinched in their rations,
they had plenty to eat; that they had some grumbles, but they
amounted to nothing. He remarked that he "thought a good
deal of General Beall," and seems to regret that they were in no
pitched battles. He says they had several scares and false alarms.
Mr. Pittinger will soon be 87 years old and we found his recollection good. A sketch of him appears elsewhere.
BATTLE OF THE Cow PENS. t
In the summer of I8I2 General Beall passed through Ashland county with
the army, composed mostly of militia and mounted volunteers, on their
way to Fort Meigs. They encamped for two weeks upon what is now
known as the Griffin farm, about one mile and a half north-east of the
present village of Haysville. While there one dark and rainy night, when the
army were wrapped in slumber, and not dreaming of war, when nothing was heard
but the patter of the rain, and the sentinel's cry of " all's well! " there came,
borne upon the damp night air, the sharp, shrill crack of a rifle. The sentinels
rushed in and reported the enemy upon them! The drums beat to arms, horses


* Fort Stidger.
t Knapp's Ashland County-the same line of facts having been furnished us by
Thomas Pittinger, of Chester township, who was with the army.




BEALL'S CAMPAIGN.                          227
neighed, bugles sounded. The ground trembled with the dull tread of squadrons
tramping. The order was given to "fire," and never before or since was such a
noise and din heard in Vermillion, as there was on that eventful night. The cavalry charged in the direction of the supposed enemy, but finding no person or thing,
they returned from the charge and reported that the foe had retreated; but when
the first gray of morning appeared, the outsposts discovered that they had been
firing upon a herd of cattle belonging to the settlers, which had been
roaming through the woods, and had slaughtered seventeen. This was afterward
known among the soldiers as "The battle of the Cow Pens," and was the only engagement in which many of them were employed, although others gave vent to the
patriotism that filled their bosoms, and yielded up their lives upon the bloody
ramparts of Fort Meigs.




228


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XVI.
INDIAN CHIEF KILLBUCK.
A CALIFORNIA '49-er, undertaking inquiries concerning our hero,
would climb his genealogic tree armed with a shot-gun. Our purpose being less hostile and in the interest of peace, we approach
him with kindliest intentions, but we admit with more gravity than
reverence.
Who his fore-fathers were and his fore-mothers who, we presume not to forecast. They may have been Assyrians or belonged
to "the lost tribes," or "the missing link," or the Anthropophagi,
or the Hamaxobii. The daily press, the ubiquitous reporter, even
the local miscellanarian, had not yet come to the front, else we
might chronicle the spasm of his birth.  His grandfather may have
built play-houses for his children of human bones extracted from
his victims, or, defending his wigwam, fallen  "like a little
man" before the blood-surge of the Iroquois as they "walked over
the track" of war to the west. Like Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John, Killbuck had neither prefix nor suffix to his name. True,
he had an alias, Gelelemend, but this name vexes us and we regret
the alias.
Our border books refer to a chief Killbuck who is denominated
a wise and great chief, a great captain and a great conjurer.  He
appears as a warrior with Shingiss, Blackhoof, etc., and is not
pleased with the operations of Braddock's army. In a war council
he fiercely and vehemently fulminates as follows:
"' We know well what the English want. Your own traders say that you intend to take all our lands and destroy us. It is you who have begun the war.
Why do you come here to fight? How have you treated the Delawares? You




INDIAN CHIEF AKILBUCK.


229


know how the Iroquois deceived us into acting as peace mediators; how they
shamed us, and took our arms; put petticoats on us; called us women, and made
us move three times away from our homes. And, why? Because the English paid
them a few beads, and blankets, and paint, and when their senses were stolen away
with fire-water they sold our lands; but we tell you this must cease. We are no
longer women, but "-striking his breast-" men-men who can strike, and kill,
and ""Yes!" hissed out old Shingiss, springing to his feet, rising to his full stature,
his wicked little eyes flashing a venomous fire. " We are men, and no longer women! We have thrown off the petticoat of the squaw, and have seized the keen
tomahawk of the 'brave.' I speak," stamping his foot, "as one standing on his
own ground. Why do you come to fight on our land? Keep away! both French
and English. The English are poor and stingy. They give us nothing but a few
beads, some bad rum, and old worn-out guns, which kick back and break to pieces;
and their traders cheat us and fool our squaws and maidens. But I tell you we
won't suffer it longer."
It will be seen that the speech undertaken by Killbuck was
completed by Mr. Shingiss.
This Chief Killbuck belonged to the Delaware tribe, and is probably the same personage that nearly half a century afterwards
figured conspicuously in Tuscarawas county. The Iroquois, of all
the savage tribes in America, stood foremost in eloquence, in war,
in primitive virtues, and the arts of policy. They were termed
by DeWitt Clinton, "the Romans of America," and were the
subjugators of a vast area of country, including even Canada itself,
and it was through actual, or alleged purchase from them, that the
English asserted title to all the land west of the Allegheny mountains, the French claiming the same magnificent domain, by right
of discovery and prior possession. They consisted originally of
five nations: The Mohawks, the Oneidas, the Onondagas, the
Cayugas, and the Senecas, to whom a sixth, the Tuscaroras, from
the south, were admitted. The Delawares suffered much at their
hands. In Ohio the Delawares were the ancestral tribe, and their
biography contains an extraordinary number of remarkable personages, though none of so distinguished career or character, as
to be known to the present generation.
Netawatwees was head chief of the Delawares, and died in




230


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


1776, and White Eyes was the first captain among them. White
Eyes died in 1778, of small-pox, when Gelelemend or Killbuck,
was installed as temporary chief during the minority of the heir
of Netawatwees. Killbuck died in Goshen, an Indian village in
Tuscarawas county, in the year I8 o, aged 80 years. Captain White
Eyes and Killbuck were advocates of the American cause, though
that is more than can be said of Shingiss, and other of the Delaware chiefs.
Taylor, in his History of Ohio, published 1854, infers from
Hutchins' Map of 1763, and Pownall's Map of 1776, "that there
were five Delaware villages, within a few miles from each other,
on the Muskingum -one on Will's creek, where Cambridge, in
Guernsey county, stands; one near the source of the Scioto, and
in the present county of Delaware; one on the Killbuck, a tributary of the Mohican, or White Woman, and apparently near the
present Millersburg, in Holmes county, besides the settlement at
the Tuscarawas forks of the Muskingum."
The stream known as Killbuck, traversing the county, was
named after this chief. We have it upon the authority of Howe,
in his Historical Collections of the State, page 485, that two of his
sons assumed the name of Henry, out of respect to the celebrated
Patrick Henry, of Virginia, and were taken to Princeton, to be
educated.
In 1798 the United States Government granted to the Society
of United Brethren, I2,000 acres of land, for propagating the Gospel among the heathen. On the 4th of August, 1823, Lewis Cass,
on the part of the United States, entered into an agreement or
treaty with a representative of said Society for the retrocession
of those lands to the Government. The agreement could not be
legal without the written consent of the Indians, for whose benefit
the lands had been donated. These embraced the remainder of
the Christian Indians, formerly settled on the land, "including
Killbuck and his descendants, and the nephews and descendants
of the late Captain White Eyes, Delaware chiefs."
Said agreement was consummated and signed as follows: Lewis




BOA TING ON KILLBUCK.


231


Cass, Commissioner, on the part of the United States; and Zacharias, or Kootalees, John Henry, or Killbuck, Charles Henry, or
Killbuck, Francis Henry, or Killbuck, John Peter, Tobias, John
Jacob, and Matthias, or Koolotshatshees, being the descendants
and representatives of the Christian Indians, who were formerly
settled upon three tracts of land, lying on both sides of the Muskingum river, containing four thousand acres each, etc.
After sowing his wild oats, and various border experiences, it
will be seen, he 'drifted further west and ceased to be a portent.
He ceased swoops and forays; he yelped war no more. The Moravian missionaries drew     him  under their "sweet influences;"
he professed; he confessed; he said he believed, and died saturated in whisky, but observing the external and more muscular
forms of the United Brethren church.
BOATING ON KILLBUCK.
The following was written by Frederick Leyda, of Winsted,
Minn., one of the pioneers of Wayne county, and published in
the Wooster Republican in 1872:
Great things transpired during the year I816. Killbuck, the beautiful, that
flows so rapidly west of Wooster and winds its way so majestically south, until it
mingles its waters with the great Father of Waters, was this year declared navigable, and it was not thought improbable that the day would come when the "' Mohi.
cans" would be conveyed to the Killbuck bridge, and Wooster become the head of
slackwater navigation. Owing to the great immigration to this part, grain became scarce and the demand increased. A benevolent spirit entered the heart of
John Wilson to seek food for man and beast, and it was on this wise: He laid the
matter before one William Totten, who had been a man of renown among the
watermen on the Ohio in days of yore. William thought it good to go, and chose
some of the valiant men to accompany him. It occurred to him that in the
White Woman country there was much corn and to spare, and the captain of this
boat led the way to that land where the corn grew, and he procured a craft called
a "keel boat." The dimensions of this boat were as follows, viz: The length
thereof was 15 feet, the width Io feet, depth 6 feet, with a cabin thereon. All
things now ready, the captain went forth among the inhabitants of this land of
corn, and laid bare the wants of his brethren that dwelt north, even toward the
lakes, and after they had hearkened unto the voice of the captain their hearts soft



232


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUN TY, OHIO.


ened toward their kinsman, and they said unto him, "Thou hast come unto thy
brethren of the south to get provender for man and beast, and thou shalt not surely
go empty away, for we have here an abundance and to spare." The captain
answered and said, "We have not come here, my brethren, to ask alms, for we
have the coin to satisfy thee. What wilt thou tax us for the provender?  How
much per bushel?" Then the brethren of the south answered and said, " Truly, we
are in need of the coin, for we have not seen the like before in this land. Ye shall
surely have it for 15 cents per bushel." So it was agreed the boat should be filled,
and it was even so. The captain called forth his men and said unto them, "Up,
we will haste to our brethren with the corn, that they faint not." The craft was
pushed up the stream in this way: On each side of the cabin there was a footway
with slats nailed on from bow to stern crosswise. Men on each side with poles
commenced at the bow, placed one end of the pole to their shoulder, the other end
in the stream, back up stream, then pushed, and as the boat ran ahead they kept
stepping until they reached the stern, then wheeled, walked back and did the
same-one man at the helm to steer. They succeeded, but with much difficulty,
having to cut drift-wood and trees that fell across and in the stream; often only
one or two miles were made per day. They finally landed the boat above the Killbuck bridge, south. It was then noised abroad that the effort was a success, and
great was the rejoicing. The occasion was celebrated in the partaking of the
"ardent."  The writer of this was considered competent to take charge of said
boat and contents during the night, and as the shades of the evening drew near
there came forth from their hiding places a numerous quantity of " mosquitoes "the number no mortal man could tell-and if ever anybody did suffer from these
little Killbuck imps, it was me. Having nothing to make a smoke with, I was
completely at their mercy. The corn was hauled to town and disposed of at $I.50
per bushel.
Joseph McGugan bought the boat, ran it down and was about to load it, when
the rains descended, the floods came and that boat, with the men on board, broke
its moorings and was carried off. The men got hold of limbs, climbed up the trees
and were there thirty-six hours before they were rescued. Thus ended the corn
speculation'.
During the next season a load of salt arrived from the Ohio river, which was
disposed of at $I2.oo per barrel, and Killbuck was declared a navigable stream.
I was somewhat acquainted with the old chief after whom this stream was
named. He then lived on the Tuscarawas, and occasionally visited Wooster,
always accompanied with his daughter, quite an interesting girl. He was a beautiful specimen of the red man as taught and trained by the white man-a perfect
bloat-and as homely as the devil, lacking the cloven foot.
Killbuck, you are not responsible for being named after the old chief! Nor
yet for your sluggishness, nor for your slopping over occasionally to afford a good
" skating park" for Young Wooster! Thou wast here, winding thy unrippled way




THE OLD SALT WORKS ON THE KILLBUCK.


233


carrying off the noxious effluvia and draining the low rich lands along thy borders
for the husbandmen that are to cultivate that "Nile" as yet untouched by man.
The god of waters assigned thee thy course and bade thee perform the great office
designed for the good of man. Proud mortals may stand on thy banks and cast a
reproach or an epithet on thy appearance, and say, Why was it not thus and so?
Ah! has man filled the great object of his existence? Nay, verily! but thou hast.
NAVIGATING THE KILLBUCK AND SALT CREEK.
The following reminiscences were contributed by Nathan W.
Smith, of Wooster township:
In 1812 Philip Smith despatched a boat load of goods up these streams from the
Ohio river, with his sons, George and Philip, and James McIntire in charge. The
boat was a " dug-out," 68 feet long by 3Y feet wide, carved out of a solid log. It
was made several miles up Cross creek, in Ohio, where it was launched and passed
down the river to within three miles of Wellsville. Here the cargo was placed on
board, consisting of 4 four-horse wagon loads of goods, and on March 20th, 1812,
they embarked on the trip for the then distant Wayne county. They moved down
the Ohio to the mouth of the Muskingum, and up that river and its tributaries to
the mouth of the Killbuck; thence up that stream to the mouth of Salt creek, near
Holmesville; thence to a point above Holmesville, where the goods were unloaded,
at Morgan's residence, at the Big Spring.
About one month was occupied in making this passage. This was the first
craft that had navigated the Killbuck, which passage was accomplished with great
difficulty, as they frequently had to cut their way through drift-wood.
THE OLD SALT WORKS ON THE KILLBUCK.
One of the very distressing annoyances and privations to which
the pioneers were subjected, and one of the necessities for which
they were sometimes compelled to pay the most exorbitant rates,
was that of salt. But necessity often compels opportunity, and
pluck, then as now, was the father of luck. Prices for this article,
we have been told by some of the old settlers, ran as high as $I6
and $20 per barrel. Rather than be subjected to the annoyance
and expense of transporting it from Pittsburg, or from points on
the Ohio, to Coshocton, at the head of the Muskingum, thence to
the Walhonding, and tugging it up Killbuck in dug-outs and pi



234


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


rogues, as did Benjamin Jones and the triple-nerved William Tot
ten, they concluded they would bore for it.
So the solution of the salt problem was inaugurated on the 5th
of March, I8I5, by Joseph Eichar. It was a somewhat hazardous
financial venture, at that time, it is true, but Mr. Eichar was inspired by the prospect, and hoped to be able to procure for the
market at home this great desideratum, receiving the encouragement of enterprising business men throughout Ohio and other of
he States.
The well was sunk 465 feet, by means of a chisel from one to
two inches on the edge. Salt water was obtained and salt made,
which met with a ravenous demand and commanded an exorbitant
price. The water not being sufficiently impregnated, its manufacture was soon abandoned.
We extract from a descriptive letter, furnished us by Mrs. Joseph Lake, of New York, daughter of Joseph Eichar:
One of the greatest obstacles they met with in boring, was the striking a strong
vein of oil, a spontaneous outburst, which shot up high as the tops of the highest
trees! One of the workmen dropped a coal of fire into it, and, in less than a minute, everything was in a roaring blaze! The men became terribly frightened; and
Jim McClarran struck a bee-line through the woods for Wooster, without hat, or
coat, for, said he, " We have struck through to the lower regions, and it looks as
if we had set the world on fire."
The scene was one of intense excitement and wonder.       It
seemed, verily, as if hell's hot cauldron had been punctured and
was spitting whole buckets of fire-broth, A Mr. McKinley's coat
tail took fire, when he went through all manner of Dervish-like
contortions, gyrating and fumbling his pendent garment worse
than an Asiatic fingering his cymbals before the image of the devil.
Of this he is said to have cherished as lively a recollection as did
Andrew Poe over the ponderous "hug " of the formidable Big
Foot.   Mr. Eichar precipitately rushed to the theater of excitement, and the letter says that, upon his arrival, he found " a frightful fire." Means were immediately employed to extinguish the




THE OLD SALT WORKS ON THE KILLBUCK.        235
conflagration, which was accomplished by the use of blankets, bedclothes, etc., which were stuffed in and around the cavity.
A bottle of the oil was taken to Wooster, and exhibited by
Mr. Eichar to Dr. Townsend, who, upon analysis, pronounced it
"a wonderful phenomena." It must have flowed abundantly, for
Mrs. Lake closes her reference to it by saying, "the whole surface of Killbuck was covered with oil."
But salt was what they wanted, for oil they could do without.
At great expense and trouble the well was tubed, but the saline
liquid not presenting itself in paying quantity, and the efflux of oil
making its procuration almost, if not wholly impossible, even if
the water had been of the most powerful salt character, the enterprise was ultimately abandoned, after thousands of dollars had
been expended thereon.




236


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XVII.
ST. CLAIR'S DEFEAT, NOVEMBER 4, I79I.*
"Fought eye to eye, and hand to hand,
Alas! 'twas but to die!
In vain the rifle's deadly flash
Scorched eagle plume and wampum sashThe hatchet hissed on high;
And down they fell in crimson heaps
Like the ripe corn the sickle reaps."
Major General Arthur St. Clair was born in Edinburg, Scotland, in 1734, and came to America with Admiral Boscawen, in
I775. He served as a Lieutenant under Wolfe during the old
French War. He was made a Colonel in the army, and, in 1776,
was ordered to raise a regiment for the Canada service. During
this year he was advanced to a Brigadiership, and supported General Washington in his retreat through New Jersey.   He took
part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. In February, I777,
he was made Major General, and ordered to Ticonderoga, which
post, in less than 30 days, he evacuated, and for which he was
censured and suspended from his command. He did not quit the
army, however, and stood side by side with Washington in the
fight of Brandywine, September II, I777.
A court-martial was held in his case, and he was honorably
acquitted, Congress acquiescing in the verdict. Never, for a moment, did Washington withdraw confidence from him. He was
with the army of the South, before Yorktown, a few days prior to
* This brief chapter of military campaigns is introduced here as an explanation
to references made in other pages of this work.




ST. CLAIR'S DEFEA T.


237


the surrender of Cornwallis, October 19, I781. He was next ordered to South Carolina, to join General Greene, which he succeeded in doing, remaining with that officer during the short remnant of the war.
Peace concluded, he lived in Pennsylvania, and, in 1786, was
elected to Congress, and was presiding officer of that body.
When the North-western Territory was erected into a government
he was chosen its Governor. He was appointed in 1788 and held
the office until Ohio was admitted into the Union as a State.
In 179I, in the autumn, with more than two thousand men, he
marched from Fort Washington into the Indian territory, arriving
on the I2th of October, without material loss, at Fort Jefferson,
Darke county, Ohio. Having established and garrisoned two forts
on his route, he encamped fifteen miles from the Indian towns, on
the Miami, on the 3d day of November. The movements of the
army had been slow, and the confederated tribes of the WestHurons, Potawatomies, Ottawas, Chippewas, Miamis, Delawares,
Shawanese, Iroquois, and others-under the guidance of Michickinaqua (Little Turtle), and, as is supposed, of Joseph Brandt, had
full opportunity to collect their warriors and form their plans for
defense.
Says one authority:
Before the rising of the sun on the following day (Nov 4) the savages fell upon
the camp of the whites. Never was a more decisive victory obtained. In vain did
the American General and his officers exert themselves to maintain order and to
rally the bewildered troops. The Indians, firing from covert, thinned the ranks
and picked off the officers by a continuous and murderous discharge. A disorderly
retreat was the result; artillery, baggage, and no small portion of the arms of the
militia fell into the hands of the exultant pursuers. Fort Jefferson was nearly 30
miles distant, and thither the defeated army directed its flight. The Jndians followed close upon the fugitives, cutting down and destroying at will, until, as is reported, one of their chiefs called out to them " to stop, as they had killed enough."
The temptation offered by the plunder to be obtained at the camp, induced the
Indians to return, and the remnant of the invading army reached Fort Jefferson
about sunset. The loss in this battle, on the part of the whites, was no less than
894 in killed, wounded and missing; 38 officers and 593 non-commissioned officers
and privates were slain or missing. The Indian loss did not exceed fifty or sixty.




238


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


HULL'S SURRENDER, AUGUST I6, I812.
The formal declaration of war by President Madison against
Great Britain was issued June 18, 1812. The causes alleged were:
British excesses in violating the American flag on the great
highway of nations; the impressment of American seamen;
harassing American vessels as they were entering their own harbors, or departing from them; and wantonly spilling the blood of
the citizens of America within the limits of her territorial jurisdiction; issuing orders by which the ports of the enemies of Great
Britain were blockaded, and not supporting these blockades by the
adequate application of fleets to render them legal, and enforcing
them from the date of their proclamation; in consequence of
which American commerce had been plundered on every sea, and
her products cut off from their legitimate markets; employing
secret agents to subvert the Government and dismember the Union;
and finally, inciting the Indian tribes to hostility.
Upon the organization of the new army the chief command
was bestowed upon General Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, an
officer of the Revolution. At the South, Thomas Pinckney, of
South Carolina, was created Major-General, and invested with the
chief command in that quarter. The first attention of the Government was directed to an expedition into Canada, where it was
believed the disaffection of the inhabitants toward Great Britain
would render it easy to obtain a foothold. A force of nearly 2,000
men, under Brigadier-General Hull, a Captain during the Revolution, and then Governor of the Territory of Michigan, entered
Canada West on the I2th of July, crossing over from Detroit to
Sandwich.
The 3ritish fort at Malden was the first object of assault; which
was in proximity to the debouchement of Detroit river, the strait,
or ligature of connection between Lakes St. Clair and Erie. As a
result of procrastination, on the part of Hull, opportunity was afforded for strengthening the garrisons at this place.
During this inertness and inactivity of the army near the middle




HULL'S SURRENDER.


239


of July, the American fort at Michilimackinac fell into the hands
of the enemy, and, shortly thereafter communication by the land
route with Ohio was entirely severed by a party of redskins under
the redoubtable Tecumseh. Hull, therefore, re-crossed the river
with his entire force, and occupied Detroit. General Proctor, the
British officer in command at Malden, was enabled to co-operate
with his Indian confederates, and renewed attempts on the part of
the Americans to force a passage of the road only resulted in disaster.
By the middle of August General Brock, one of the most
energetic and valiant of the English commanders in Canada, and
Governor of then Lower Canada, had advanced to the scene of
action, and on the 15th of August he sent a flag, bearing a summons to the American General to surrender, in which he says, "It
is far from my intention to join in a war of extermination, but you
must be aware that the numerous body of Indians, who have attached themselves to my troops, will be beyond my control the
moment the contest commences." To this General Hull answered,
" I have no other reply to make than that I am prepared to meet
any force which may be at your disposal." Upon receipt of this
answer of Hull's, Brock immediately opened his batteries upon the
town and fort, but the Americans occupying a defensible position,
entertained little fears of being able to sustain themselves.
On the morning of the i6th of August, the British crossed the
river three miles below Detroit, and immediately marched towards
the fort.
Hull was perplexed and agitated. He believed that resistance
would be vain and ultimately lead to the barbarities of an Indian
massacre. He was wavering and indecisive in his operations. At
first his troops were drawn up in order of battle, without the fort,
his artillery was advantageously planted, and his army awaited the
approach of the enemy, full of the confidence of victory. The
British were within 500 yards of their lines, when suddenly Hull
gave the order to retire immediately to the fort. The indignation
of the army broke forth, and all subordination ended. They




240


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


crowded in, and without any order from the General, stacked their
arms, some dashing them with violence upon the ground.
Many of the soldiers wept. Even the spirit of the women was indignant, and they declared, in impotent wrath, that the fort should
not be surrendered. Hull, perceiving that he had no longer any
authority, and believing that the Indians were ready to fall upon
the inhabitants, was anxious to put the place under the protection
of the British. A white flag was hung out upon the walls of the
fort. Two British officers rode up, and a capitulation was concluded by Hull with the most unbecoming haste.
All the regulars and volunteers in the American army became
prisoners of war, the militia being paroled, and the whole territory
of Michigan fell into the hands of the British. His officers were
not even consulted. He made no provision for the security of his
Canadian allies and all the public property was rashly turned over.
In his official report Hull estimated his force at 800 effective men,
while Brock's command numbered about I300, 700 of whom were
Indians.
It may be imagined that so severe a loss and so disgraceful a
reverse could not be patiently endured. Put upon trial by a court
martial at Albany long afterwards, of which General Dearborn was
president, he was sentenced to death for un-officer-like behavior
and cowardice, but acquitted of treason. Although under condemnation of death he was never imprisoned, and was sent unguarded to his home, in the vicinity of Boston, to abide the decision of the President of the United States, who remitted the death
punishment but dispossessed him of all military command. It
might not be inappropriate to remark of the unfortunate and evilfated Hull that to-day his military character is relieved of much of
the passionate aspersion flung at him in the hissing white heat of
the temporary humiliation which followed his untimely surrender,
and that his failings-chiefly excessive caution and a terrible absence of that promptness and energy so necessary in the military
leader-are looked upon with greater leniency.




GENERAL WINCHESTER.


241


GENERAL WINCHESTER-FORT MEIGS-THE SIEGE.
The army of the West, at the opening of the campaign of I813,
under Harrison, was stationed near the head of Lake Erie. His
head-quarters, at this time, were at Franklinton, Ohio, and aggressive movements toward Canada were still the object of the American armies. General Winchester, holding the advance of the
army, and hearing that a party of the British were camped near
Frenchtown, attacked and scattered them. On the morning of the
22d of January he was surprised by the combined force of British
and Indians, under the command of the infamous Proctor, aided
by the Indian chiefs Roundhead and Splitlogs. In this instance
he was taken prisoner, and a sad, awful fate was reserved for the
men of his command. The protection offered them by Proctor
was not given. The merciless savages set fire to the town, dragged the wounded from the houses, scalped them in the streets,
and left their mangled bodies in the highway.
In this most melancholy engagement the Americans lost five
hundred men; and thirty-five officers and four hundred and fifty
non-commissioned officers and men still remained after fighting
six hours against artillery, surrounded by the yells of a thousand
savages. They were chiefly volunteers from the best families of
Kentucky, and the horrors and barbarities of that day put the
whole State in mourning. It riveted forever the crime of murder
upon Proctor and discriminates him as the foremost Bazouk of his
time.
General Harrison now changed his head-quarters from Franklinton to the Rapids of the Maumee, where he built Fort Meigs,
named in honor of Return Jonathan Meigs, who was first elected
Governor of Ohio, in I8IO. The fort was situated upon a rising
ground, at the distance, says Brackenridge, "of a few hundred
yards from the river, the country on each side of which is chiefly
natural meadows." The garrison was well furnished with means
of defense, and Harrison, with severe energy, labored night and
day to strengthen it for the siege. The soldiers in the fort,
amounting to about twelve hundred, were principally volunteers,




242          HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
in the best of spirits and resolute in determination to defend themselves.
On May I, 1813, Proctor, with a force of I,000 regulars and
militia, and 1,200 Indians, besieged the fort. For the first five days
a considerable suspense clouded the inmates of the fort, but an
officer arriving with the intelligence that General Clay, with 1,200
Kentuckians, was descending the Miami, and but a few miles distant then, dispelled all foreboding and gloom.
Acting on the hypothesis that the British army was within his
grasp, Harrison sent orders to land one-half of the advancing
troops on the side of the river opposite to the fort, to co-operate
with him in forcing the British batteries. Colonel Dudley, with a
party of 800, was charged with this duty; and he discharged it
with so much vim and energy that, in a few minutes, he was in
possession of the batteries of Proctor, and had captured several
prisoners; but his troops, in the flush of excitement, continued
pursuit too far, and were ambuscaded by the crafty Tecumseh.
Dudley struggled vainly to rescue his troops. Though fatally
wounded, he still remained on the field and killed an Indian warrior before he fell. Of the 8oo men who constituted his command
only I50 escaped; the balance were either killed or captured.
Many of the prisoners the Indians claimed and carried off with
them to their towns, to treat them there as they pleased.
Before and during the siege both officers and men distinguished
themselves for great coolness and bravery. The loss of Dudley
was regarded as a calamity. Few men in Kentucky were more
generally esteemed. His body was found unburied, after great
search, and horribly mangled. The Kentuckians fought like tigers.
The soldiers in the garrison often beguiled the hours in singing
patriotic songs. A verse from one of them will show their general character:
Freemen! no longer bear such slaughter,
Avenge your country's cruel woe;
Arouse and save your wives and daughters,
Arouse, expel the faithless foe.
Chorus-Scalps are bought at stated prices,
Malden pays the price in gold.




SIEGE OF FORT MEIGS.


243


Majors Ball, Todd, Johnson, Stoddard, etc., were all honorably mentioned in general orders for efficiency during the
siege. The loss of the Americans in the fort was 81 killed and
189 wounded.
The garrison suffered considerably from scarcity of water, their
well not having been completed, and it was attended with great
risk to obtain their supply during the night from the river. The
constant alertness necessary to be observed in guarding against a
surprise required them to be continually on their arms, and as a
result rendered their duties exceedingly fatiguing.  After a suspension of hostilities for several consecutive days, and the passage
of flags between the besiegers and the besieged, arrangements
were negotiated for exchange of prisoners. Tecumseh stipulated
to release his claim to the persons taken by the Indians, provided
some Wyandots to the number of forty were delivered up, and
Proctor promised to furnish a list of the killed, wounded and
prisoners.
On the 9th of May, 1813, at Io o'clock, A. M., the siege of Fort
Meigs * was raised. The second siege occurred soon thereafter,
but was of slight consequence.
Proctor, with his insatiable Desire to give his allies further opportunity to gratify their thirst for blood, collected together 500
Indians and besieged Fort Stevenson July 20th, but in this instance
only to be foiled and gallantly repulsed by Major Croghan.


*A diagram of this fort is furnished in Howe's Ohio, page 528, from a survey
by Joseph H. Larwill, of Wooster, made between the two sieges, who was a Lieutenant at that time in the military service.




244


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XVIII.
WAYNE COUNTY-ITS ORGANIZATION-ELECTIONS, INSTITUTIONS,
ETC.
WAYNE county was organized by Act of the Legislature, January 4th, I812, to take effect on the ISt day of March thereafter.
The same Act provided that the people of the county should elect
county officers on the Ist Monday of April, 1812, to hold the
same until the next annual election.


MEMBERS OF CONGRESS


Who have represented districts of which Wayne county formed


a part:
Reasin Beall...................
David     Clendenen...........
Peter Hitchcock..............
John    Sloane..................
John    Sloane...................
John    Sloane...................
John    Sloane...................
John    Sloane.................
John    Thompson..............
John    Thompson..............
Benjamin Jones...............
Benjamin Jones...............
Matthias     Shepler............
David A. Starkweather....
Ezra Dean.....................
Ezra Dean.....................


Served From
1813 to 1815
I815 to 81I7
i817 to 1819
1819 to 1821
I82I to I723
1823 to 1825
1825 to 1827
1827 to 1829
1829 to I831
I831 to 1833
1833 to 1835
1835 to 1837
1837 to I839
I839 to I84I
I84I to 1843
I843 to 1845


David A. Starkweather....
Samuel Lahm...............
David    K. Carter.............
David    K. Carter.............
Harvey H. Johnson.........
Philemon Bliss................
Philemon Bliss................
Harrison G. Blake..........
Harrison G. Blake...........
George Bliss...................
Martin Welker...............
Martin Welker...............
Martin Welker...............
James Monroe................
James Monroe................
James Monroe................


Served From
1845 to 1847
1847 to 1849
1849 to I85I
I851 to 1853
1853 to 1855
I855 to 1857
1857 to 1859
1859 to I86I
1861 to 1863
1863 to 1865
I865 to 1867
1867 to 1869
1869 to 1871
1871 to 1873
1873 to 1875
1875 to 1877


OUR STATE SENATORS.
Columbiana, Stark and Wayne-Lewis Kinney and Joseph Richardson, from
December 7, I812, to December 5, 1814; John Thompson from      December 5,




PUBLIC OFFICERS.


245


1814, to December 2, I816; John G. Young, from December 4, 1815, to December I, I817.
Stark and Wayne-John Myers, from December 2, 18i6, to December 7, 1818;
Thomas G. Jones, from December 7, 1818, to December 4, 1820.
Wayne-Thomas McMillan, from December 4th, 1820, to December 6th, 1824,
2 terms, having been re-elected in 1822; Edward Avery, from December 6, 1824, to
December 4, 1826.
Wayne and Holmes-Joseph H. Larwill, from December 4, 1826, to December 7,
I829, having been re-elected in I828, and having resigned in 1829.
Wayne-Benjamin Jones, from December 7, 1829, to December 3, 1832, having
been re-elected in 1830; Thomas Robison, from December 3, 1832, to December
5, 1836, having been re-elected in 1834; George Wellhouse, from December 5, 1836,
to December 3, 1838; Jacob Ihrig, from December 3, 1838, to December 7, 1840;
John H. Harris, from December 7, I840, to December 5, 1842; Charles Wolcott,
from December 5, I842, to December 2, 1844; Levi Cox, from December 2, 1844,
to December 7, 1846; Joseph Willford, from December 7, 1846, to December 6,
I847,'having resigned in the middle of his term; Andrew H. Byers, from December
6, 1847, to December 2, 1850, having been re-elected in 1848 for a full term.
Wayne and Ashland-George W. Bull, from December 2, 1850, to January 5,
1852.
Wayne and Holnes-George Rex, from January 5, 1852, to January 2, I854;
James Hockinberry, from January 2, 1854, to January 7, 1856; Joseph Willford,
from January 7, 1856, to January 4, 1858; D. J. Perkey, from January 4, I858, to
January 2, 1860; Benjamin Eason, from January 2, I860, to January 6, i862.
Wayne, Holmes, Knox and Morrow-Davis Miles, from January 6, 1862, to January 4, 1864; Joseph C. Devin, from January 4, I864, to January I, 1866; Frank
H. Hurd, from January I, I866, to January 6, 1868; and Lyman R. Critchfield,
from January I, 1866, to January 2, 1867-having resigned after the session of I866;
Robert Justice, from January 2, 1867, to January 6, I868-filling the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Mr. Critchfield; George Rex and C. H. Scribner, from
January 6, 1868, to January 3, 1870; Hinchman S. Prophet, from January 3, 1870,
to January I, 1872; Henry D. McDowell, from January I, 1872, to January, 1874;
Daniel Paul, from January I, 1874, to January, I876; John Ault, from January I,
1876, to January, 1878.
MEMBERS OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Stark and Wayne-Samuel Coulter, from December 6, 1813, to December 5,
I814; William Henry, from December 5, I814, to December 4, 1815; John Harris,
from December 4, I815, to December 2, 18i6.
From 1816 until I848, Wayne county alone formed a Representative District.




246


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Wayne.-Thomas McMillan, from December 2, x816, to December 4, 1820 -having been re-elected in 1817, I818 and I8I9; Jacob Barker, from December 4,
1820, to De-ember 3, I821; Benjamin Jones, from December 3, I821, to December
2, 1822; Cyrus Spink, from December 2, 1822, to December I, 1823; Robert McClarran, from December I, 1823, to December 6, 1824; James Robison, from December 6, 1824, to December 5, 1825; and Jacob Frederick, from December 6, 1824,
to December 4, I826-having been re-elected in 1825; David McConahay, from
December 4, 1826, to December 7, I829-having been re-elected in 1827 and 1828;
and John Lorah, from December I, I828, to December 7, 1829; James Robison,
from December 7, 1829, to December 5, 183I-having been re-elected in 1830;
Jacob Ihrig, from December 6, 1830, to December 7, I835-having been re-elected
in 183I, 1832, 1833 and 1834; and again re-elected in 1836, with his term closing on
December 4, 1837; Jacob Miller, from December 7, 1835, to December 5, 1836;
William Peppard, from December 4, 1837 to December 2, I839-having been reelected in 1838; Elzey Wilson, from December 2, 1839, to December 7, 1840; and
Thomas Shreve, from December 2, 1839, to December 6, 1841-having been reelected in 1840; Charles Wolcott, from December 6, 1841, to December 5, 1842;
John Larwill and Joseph Willford, from December 5, 1842, to December 4, 1843;
Peter Willoz, from December 4, 1843, to December 2, 1844; John Brown, from
December 2, 1844, to December I, 1845; Michael Totten and Joseph Willford,
from December I, 1845, to December 7, 1846; George Emery, from December 7,
1846, to December 6, 1847; Michael Totten, from December 6, I847, to December
4, 1848.
[Wayne and Ashland-Abraham Franks, Jr., and Jacob Miller, from December
4, 1848, to December 3, 1849; Abraham Franks, Jr., and George W. Bull, from
December 3, 1849, to December 2, 1850; Charles R. Deming and Clinton Wilson,
from December 2, 1850, to January 5, 1852.
Wayne-Clinton Wilson and Josiah H. Hitchcock, from January 5, 1852, to
January 2, i854; Ezra V. Dean and Joseph H. Downing, from January 2, 1854, to
January 7, 1856; John W. Baughman and Lorenzo D. Odell, from January 7, I856,
to January 4, 1858; Lorenzo D. Odell, from January 4, 1858, to January 2, i86o;
William C. Moore, from January 2, i86o, to January 6, 1862; John Ault, from
January 6, 1862, to January 4, 1864; John Brinkerhoff, from January 4, 1864, to
January I, i866; John Ault, from January I, I866, to January 6, I868; William
R. Wilson, from January 6, I868, to January I, I872-having been re-elected in
i869; Thomas W. Peckinpaugh, from January 3, 1870, to January, I874-having
been re-elected in 1871; E. B. Eshleman, from January 5, I874, to January, 1876;
Thomas A. McCoy, from January, I876, to January, I878.
MEMBERS OF CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS.
John Larwill and Leander Firestone, M. D..................................... 851-1852
John K. McBride, in Convention of................................................ x873-I874




PUBLIC OFFICERS.


247


PRESIDENT JUDGES OF COMMON PLEAS COURT.


Benjamin Ruggles.....Aug'st term,
William Wilson.........April term,
George Todd............May  term,
Alexander Harper.....April term,
Ezra Dean...............March term,
Jacob Parker............March term,
Levi Cox.................May  term,
Ass(
Christian Smith.........Aug'st term,
David Kimpton........Aug'st term,
John Cisna..............Aug'st term,
David McConahay.....May     term,
Thomas Townsend-':...May    term,
John Nimmon...........May  term,
John Patton.............Jan'y term,
William Goodfellow... March term,
Hezekiah Bissell........March term,
Jacob Frederick........March term,


I812
1816
I816
1822
1834
1841
1848


Martin Welker.........March term, 1852
William Sample.........Feb'y term, 1857
William Given.........March term, 1859
William Reed............March term, I867
Charles C. Parsons.....March term, 1877
Carolus F. Voorhes elected October
9th, 1877.


3CIATE JUDGES.


1812
I812
1812
I8I9
1819
1819
1821
1824
1826
1826


James Robison.........Febr'y term,
Hugh Culbertson......March term,
Stephen F. Day.........March term,
George Wellhouse.....April term,
Samuel N. Bissell......March term,
Smith Orr................Febr'y term,
Neal McCoy.............Febr'y term,
tThomas Robison......Aug'st term,
James Swart........... May   term,


1831
1833
i833
1838
1845
1847
1847
1848
1849


By the Constitution of 1852 Associate Judges were abolished
and Probate Judges substituted.


PROBATE JUDGES.
Served From
Samuel L. Lorah............ 1852 to 1855  John K. McBride...........
Henry Buckmaster......... 855 to 1858  John K. McBride...........
Thomas Johnson............ 1858 to I86I  Joseph H. Dowing.........
Thomas Johnson............ 861 to 1864  Aquila Wiley.................
Henry J. Lehman.......... 1864 to 1867
SHERIFFS.


Served From
1867 to 1870
1870 to 1873
1873 to 1876
1876


Josiah Crawford..............
Robert Orr.....................
John    Updegraff...............
Joseph    Barkdull..............
John    Smith....................
Thomas Robison.............
Matthias Johnston...........
Daniel Yarnall...............
M. C.     Shamp.................
Samuel Kermickel...........


Served From
1812 to 1814
1814 to 1818
1818 to I820
1820 to 1824
1824 to 1828
1828 to 1832
1832 to 1836
1836 to 1838
1838 to 1842
I842 to 1846


Samuel Cutter................
George W. Lorah............
John Bechtel..................
Neal McCoy...................
W. A. Eaken..................
Joshua    Wilson...............
John B. France...............
George Steele.................
Jacob R. Bowman...........
William   Coulter.............


Served From
I846 to 1848
1848 to 1852
1852 to 1856
I856 to 1858
1858 to I860
I860 to 1864
1864 to 1868
I868 to 1872
1872 to 1876
1876 to 1878


*Thomas Townsend resigning, Thomas G. Jones became his successor at the
April term, I820.                                           I
t Filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Samuel N. Bissell.




248


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CLERKS OF COMMON PLEAS COURT.
Served From                            Served From
*William Larwill........... 182 to 1826 | Thomas Cox................... 1826 to 1828
From I828 to 1852, William Larwill, John Sloane and Samuel L. Lorah
conducted the office, though here the record is unsatisfactory.
Benjamin Eason.............. 1852 to 1858  John W. Baughman........ 868 to 1874
William Weikert............ 1858 to i86I George Power................. 1874 to 1877
C. C. Parsons, Sen........... 862 to I868  George Power................. 877
COUNTY TREASURERS.
William Smith was appointed first County Treasurer in 1812.
The first executed Treasurer's bond on record in the Auditor's
office, is that of Francis H. Foltz, dated I819, the office to be held
by him until the first Monday of the following June.
In 1820 we find a similar bond executed by Mr. Foltz.
In 1822 Samuel Quinby was appointed to the office, holding it
until 1830, when he was duly elected, filling the position for eight
more years.
James Finley was elected in 1837, and held the office twelve
years.
Elected In                            Elected In
Neal  Power..............................  I849  M. W.  Pinkerton.......................  865
Neal  Power..............................  I85I  Jacob  B. Koch..........................  867
David  Carlin............................  1853  Jacob  B. Koch..........................  I869
David  Carlin.............................  1855  John  R.  Helman......................  1871
John  Zimmerman....................... 1857  John  R. Helman....................... 1873
John Zimmerman...................... i859  Lewis P. Ohliger..................... 875
M. W.  Pinkerton.....................  I86I  Lewis P.  Ohliger.......................  1877
Anthony Wright....................... 863
COUNTY AUDITORS.
From I81o to 1820 the County Commissioners appointed their
Clerks, who did the duties now discharged by the County Audi* Mr. Larwill was appointed Clerk of this court by the Supreme Judges of the
state of Ohio, for 7 years, the length of a term.
t Mr. Weiker was re-elected to the office, but for incompetency, was compelled to resign, when C. C. Parsons, Senior, was appointed March 3, I862.
t Benjamin Eason, appointed February 9, 1875, vice Helman, and serving until Mr. Ohliger's assumption of the office.




PUBLIC OFFICERS.


249


tors. In 1820 the office of Clerk of Commissioners was abolished,
and that of County Auditor created.


Cyrus Spink..................
Cyrus Spink...................
Samuel Knapp...............
Samuel Knapp.............
Samuel Knapp...............
Samuel Knapp...............
John    Smith*..................
Michael Totten...............
A. H. Byers.................
Lucian      Upham...............
J. P. Coulter..................
C. C. Parsons, Sen...........


Served from
1820 to I821
I821 to 1822
1822 to 1823
1823 to 1824
1824 to 1826
1826 to I828
1828 to 1834
1836 to 1840
1840 to I844
1844 to 1846
1846 to 1848
1848 to 1852


Served from
Thomas A. Adair..............852 to 1854
Frederick Fluke.............. 1854 to 1856
Thomas A. Adair............ 856 to 1858
Frederick Fluke.............. 1858 to i860
T. W. Peckinpaugh......... 1860 to 1864
David Kling.................. 864 to I868
W. W. Hamilton............ 868 to 1870
George W. Henshaw....... 871 to 1873
W. W. Hamilton t......... 1873
T. J. McElhenie............. 874 to 1876
T. J. McElhenie, re-elected 1876


COUNTY SURVEYORS.


Joseph    H. Larwill...........
Cyrus Spink.................
Samuel Knapp...............
James L. Spink...............
Cyrus Spink...................
James L. Spink...............
C. W. Christmas.............
George Emery...............


Served from
1814 to 1815
I8I5 to 1817
1817 to 1818
I8I8 to 1819
1819 to 1820
I820 to 1821
1821 to 1832.
1832 to 1837


C. W. Christmas.............
John A. Lawrence...........
John Brinkerhoff.............
Lorenzo D. Odell............
John Brinkerhoff............
Jonathan H. Lee............
John Brinkerhoff............
Albert Mackey, elected f...


Served from
1837 to 1838
1838 to I844
1844 to 1847
1847 to I850
1850 to 1863
1863 to I872
1872 to 1875
I875


COUNTY RECORDERS.


Wm. Larwill..................
Levi Cox......................
Joseph     Clingan..............
J. Thompson...............
J. W. Crawford...............
H. J. Conner..................


Served From
1813 to 1819
1819 to 1833
1833 to 1836
1836 to 1842
1842 to 1848
1848 to 1854


H. J. Kauffman..............
Emanuel Schuckers.........
Gideon B. Somers...........
Charles E. Graeter..........
James F. Methven..........
Jacob Stark....................


Served From
1854 to I858
1858 to 1864
1864 to 1867
1867 to 1873
1873 to 1876
1876 to 1879


* Smith died, and John H. Harris filed his bond and entered upon the duties
of the office, June 6, 1835.
t Died 1874, when Colonel J. H. Carr was appointed until next election.
fThis gentleman declining to serve, the Commissioners appointed Jonathan
H. Lee, who soon thereafter died, when E. D. Shreve was appointed, and then
elected in 1877.




250


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
Roswell M. Mason.................... 1812  George W. Wasson................... 1846
Nathaniel Mather................... 1814  George Rex.............................. 1848
J. W. Halleck.......................... 1815  John  McSweeney.......................  I852
Alexander Harper..................  816  John P. Jeffries........................ 1856
W. B. Raymond.................... 1817  George  Rex..............................  I860
H. Curtis................................  i8 8  Hamilton  Richeson....................  1864
E.  Avery.................................  18I9  Thomas  Y. McCray...................  I868
Levi  Cox.................................  1825  M artin  L.  Smyser......................  1872
Wm. McMahon.................. I840  EdwardS. Dowell...................... 1874
Eugene Pardee.................. 1842  Edward S. Dowell..................... 1876
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
8II —James Morgan, John Carr and Jacob Foulkes.
1812-James Morgan, Jacob Foulkes and John Carr.
I813-Oliver Jones, Jonathan Butler and Benjamin Miller.
I814-Oliver Jones and Samuel Mitchel.
18I5-Oliver Jones, Samuel Mitchel and Robert McClarran.
I816-Sam Mitchel, Geo. Bair and Aaron Baird.
1817-Geo. Bair, John Lawrence and Thomas Taylor.
I818-I9-John Lawrence, James Robison and Benj. Jones.
1820-John Lawrence, Matthew Johnson and James Robison.
182I-Matthew Johnson, Charles Hoy and Jos. H. Larwill.
1822-Charles Hoy, Matthew Johnson and Basil H. Warfield.
1823-B. H. Warfield, Wm. McFall and Charles Hoy.
1824-B. H. Warfield, Wm. McFall and James Hindman.
I825-Wm. McFall, James Hindman and Stephen Coe.
1826-James Hindman, Stephen Coe and Abram Ecker.
1827-28-Stephen Coe, Abram Ecker and Jacob Ihrig.
1829-Jacob Ihrig, Stephen Coe and Geo. Wellhouse.
1830-Stephen Coe, Geo. Wellhouse and John P. Coulter.
1831-32-John P. Coulter, Samuel Wilford and Geo. Wellhouse.
1833-Samuel Wilford, Geo. Wellhouse and James McFadden.
1834-Geo. Wellhouse, James McFadden and Peter Emery.
1835-36-James McFadden, Peter Emery and Andrew Ault.
1837-38-James McFadden, Andrew Ault and Wm. Burgan.
I839-Andrew Ault, Wm. Burgan and James Cameron.
1840-Andrew Ault, James Cameron and John Hess.
184I-John Hess, James Y. Pinkerton and James Cameron.
1842-James Y. Pinkerton, Henry Swart and Josh Kelley.
1843-44-James Y. Pinkerton, Henry Swart and John Walters.




PUBLIC OFFICERS.


251


I845-James Y. Pinkerton, John Walters and Clinton Wilson.
I846-James Y. Pinkerton, Clinton Wilson and Moses Foltz.
1847-48-Clinton Wilson, Moses Foltz and John Rice.
1849-Clinton Wilson, John Rice and Henry Kramer.
1850-5I-Henry Kramer, James M. Blackburn and Conrad Franks.
I852-53-James M. Blackburn, Conrad Franks and John Hough.
1854-James M. Blackburn, J. B. Gregor and J. Hough.
I855-J. B. Gregor, J. M. Blackburn and Alex Ramsey.
1856-Benj. Norton, J. B. Gregor and Alex Ramsey.
1857-Alex Ramsey, Wm. Barton and Benj. Norton.
I858-Benj. Norton, Wm. Barton and John Sickman.
1859-6 —Wm. Barton, John Sickman and Henry Shreve.
I861-62-Henry Shreve, Wm. Barton and V. W. Ault.
1863-64-Henry Shreve, V. W. Ault and Jos. Firestone.
I865-V. W. Ault, S. M. Henry and Jos. Firestone.
I866-V. W. Ault, S. M. Henry and A. Dawson.
I867-S. M. Henry, A. Dawson and John McGill.
I868-S. M. Henry, I. Schriber and A. Dawson.
1869-7 —S. M. Henry, I. Schriber and A. Adair.
I871-I. Schriber, A. Adair and John W. Newkirk.
1872-I. Schriber, J. W. Newkirk and F. N. Haskins.
1873-John W. Newkirk, F. N. Haskins and Benj. Weygandt.
I874-Benj. Weygandt, F. N. Haskins and Peter Stair.
1875-76-Benj. Weygandt, Peter Stair and Henry Goudy.
INFIRMARY DIRECTORS.
First Infirmary Directors were Casper T. Richey, John Brinkerhoff and Thomas
McKee. Jacob Huffman was elected in 1852, and served four years. I. N. Jones
was appointed to fill a vacancy, occasioned by the resignation of Jacob Huffman,
and was elected in 1855 and served for a continued term of ten years. John
Hindman was elected in 1856, and served a term of six years. Thomas Elliott was
elected in 1857, and served a term of six years. Aaron Franks was elected in I86I,
and served a term of six years. Benjamin Norton was elected in 1863, and served
a term of three years. Andrew Moore was elected in I865, and served a term of
six years. Jacob Kramer was elected in i866, and served a term of six years.
Jacob Halfhill was elected in 1867, served two months, and died. Charles Gasche
was elected in 1868, and served a term of eight years. Joseph Holtzer was elected
in I872, and served a term of six years. Adam Eyman was elected in I873. John
Alexander was elected in 1876. James McClarran was elected in I877. The three
last mentioned compose the present Board of Directors.




252


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNtT Y, OHIO.


WAYNE COUNTY JUDICIARY.
The following is a copy of the proceedings had at the first term
of the Court of Common Pleas in Wayne County, Ohio, as the
same appears on pages I, 2 and 3 of Journal No. I:
At a Court of Common Pleas, held in the town of Wooster in and for the
county of Wayne, on Thursday, the sixth day of August, I812, present  the  Honorables  Benjamin   Ruggles, Esq., President, and Christian
Smith, David   Kimpton    and  John   Cisna,  Esquires,  Associate  Judges
of said County.   The Grand Jury being called, came, to-wit: George Poe,
John Lawrence, James Cisna, James Morgan, Jonathan Butler, David Smith, Oliver
Jones, Philip B. Griffith, John L. Dawson, Jacob Foulks, John Kinney, Nathan
Warner, William Clark, John Foreman and Andrew Lucky, who being sworn, were
charged by the Court and sent out. Roswell M. Mason, Esq., was appointed
Prosecutor for the State for the present term. Upon application, license was
granted unto William Nailer, Josiah Crawford and Benjamin Miller to keep public
houses of entertainment for one year in the town of Wooster. Ordered, that
Thomas G. Jones & Co. have license to sell foreign merchandise in the town of
Wooster for the term of one year. On application of Thomas Caulfield, and the
Court being made satisfied that he has been a resident of the United States a suffieient length of time, the oath of allegiance was administered to him in open court.
The Grand Jury returned into Court and made the following presentments, to
wit: The State of Ohio vs. Jacob Matthew, larceny-a true bill. The State of
Ohio vs. Jacob Matthew, assault and battery-a true bill. On motion, the Court
appointed James Morgan administrator of the estate of James Bever, deceased, and
John Cisna, John L. Dawson and Jonathan Butler were appointed appraisers.
Joseph H. Larwill and William Larwill were accepted by the Court as securities of
the said James Morgan. William Larwill presented a certificate from the Hons.
Thomas Scott and William W. Irvine, Esqs., two of the Supreme Judges of this
State, certifying his being duly qualified to execute the duties of Clerk to this
Court; whereupon the Court appointed him Clerk of this Court for the term of
seven years-Joseph H. Larwill, James Morgan and Jonathan Butler were accepted
as his security. The Court appointed Joseph H. Larwill as Surveyor of this county;
William Smith and Robert McClarran were accepted as security. And the Court
adjourned without day.                           BENJ. RUGGLES, Pres't.
EXTRACTS FROM OFFICIAL RECORDS.
STATE OF OHIO    1  Indictment for larceny, returned at the November term,
vs.
JACOB MATTHEW.     1812, as a true bill. And now of May term, I813, a jury
being called, came, to wit: David Noggle, James Dorland, Abraham Oakley,




FIRST PLACE OF HOLDING COUR T.


253


Thomas Butler, Westell Ridgely, John Mullen, John Smith, Henry Burns, James
Goudy, Jonah Crawford, Robert Orr and Philip B. Griffith, good and lawful men,
who were empaneled and sworn, and after hearing the evidence adduced and the
allegations of the parties, upon their oaths do say, that the defendant is not guilty
of the charge in the manner and form as he stands indicted. Whereupon it is considered by the Court that the said Jacob Matthew go thereof without day.
December 24th, 1812.-The Court appointed William Larwill as Master Commissioner in Chancery of this county, agreeably to the provisions of the first section of
an act entitled, "An act supplementary to an act directing the mode of procedure
in chancery."
May xith, 18s3.-Jeremiah H. Halleck was admitted to practice at this Court,
as an attorney and counselor.
Nathaniel Mather was appointed Prosecuting Attorney for the term of Court
held on the 26th day of September, I814.
FIRST EXECUTION ISSUED ON RECORD.
OCTOBER TERM, I813.


JAMES CAMPBELL   }
vs.
WILLIAM NAILER. J


Fi. Fa. debt...............................................$                 I  2
Attorney....................................................                5  oo
Clerk.......................................................               3   I6
Sheriff Crawford........................................                        51
Sheriff Smith.............................................                       I6
Justice........................................................I 02
Constable..................................................                    Io
Fi. Fa....................................................              35
ulla Bonna.                                                                $11 50o


Sheriff's return, N1


FIRST LAWYERS IN ATTENDANCE AT THE WOOSTER COURTS.


Roswell M. Mason,,C. R. Sherman,
J. W. Lathrop,


Nathaniel Mather,
John M. Goodenow,
John C. Wright.


William B. Raymond,
Elderling Potter,


FIRST PLACE OF HOLDING COURT.
Court was first held on the old "Fin." Weed livery stable
grounds on East Liberty street, in an old log shanty built
by John Bever. The March term of 1813 was held at the house
of Josiah Crawford.
In I814 the Baptist church was built, a frame structure, in the




254


HISTORY OF IVAYNE COUNT Y, OHIO.


rear of the lot where the Reformed church at present stands, and
in this building, for a time, court was held, theology and law
for once in harmony. The county paid fifty dollars per year rent
for the church.
THE FIRST COURT HOUSE.
The first court house was built by the proprietors of the town,
Messrs. Larwill, Bever and Henry, in I819. It was one of the
conditions with which they agreed to comply when the countyseat was removed from Madison. It was a three story building
with a gallery, built of brick, a part of which was occupied by the
county officers and the Free Masons.
It was located where the present court house stands on the
public square. It was burned down in 1828 during a term of
court, and some of the papers and public records of the court and
county were lost. In June, 1823, the bell was put on the court
house, John Bever having donated it to the county.
THE SECOND COURT HOUSE.
The old court house standing at present on the north-west corner of the public square, was built in 1831 and I832.  We make a
brief extract concerning it from a clipping which appeared in Tze
Advocate, a newspaper published in Wooster, by Joseph Clingan,
and dated September 2I, 1833:
" The court house is a noble edifice, only finished this spring, and cost $7,200. It
is doubtless the handsomest in the State, if not in the United States, and confers
much credit on the enterprising architect, Mr. McCurdy. It is covered with lead,
and from the cupola may be had an agreeable variegated view of the village and
surrounding country."
John Babb, of Wooster, made the two balls on the spire. They
are copper and were gilded and bronzed by David Barr. The large
ball, Mr. Babb says, holds 24 gallons and 3 quarts, and the small
one a gallon and a half. McCurdy paid him sixteen dollars for
making them.




PUBLIC BUILDINGS.


255


THIRD COURT HOUSE PROJECTED.
The second court house having become dilapidated, and considered dangerous from rotted timbers and defective walls, the
City Council of Wooster, condemned it in the summer of I877,
as being unsafe for public use, which official action was confirmed
by the County Commissioners after full investigation of the condition of the building. The place of holding court was then transferred to France's Hall, on West Liberty street, where its sessions
have been held from that time to the present.
On February I6 and 18, t878, meetings of the Wayne county
bar, and other citizens, were held in Wooster to take action, by
which the matter of the erection of a new court house, as a necessity to the county, should be put in motion.
Hon. John McSweeney was Chairman, and Isaac Johnson,
Esq., Secretary of the first meeting. At the second meeting Hon.
John P. Jeffries was Chairman, and Colonel Benjamin Eason and
Captain A. S. McClure, Secretaries.
The following committee was appointed to prepare a memorial
to the Legislature, setting forth the need of a new court house,
and also to draft a bill to be submitted to the Legislature for its
approval, authorizing the County Commissioners to issue bonds in
amount (on motion of E. Quinby, Jr.,) not exceeding $75,000, with
which to build a new court house in Wooster:
Hon. George Rex,    Hon. M. Welker,      Hon. John McSweeney,
John H. Kauke, Esq..  Hon. Aquila Wiley,  Ohio F. Jones, Esq.,
Judge J. H. Downing,  Hon. John Brinkerhoff,  Hon. C. C. Parsons,
Hon. Ben. Eason,    E. Quinby, Jr., Esq.,  M. C. Rouch, Esq.,
D. D. Miller, Esq.,  Hon. John P. Jeffries,  G. P. Emrich, Esq.,
Captain A. S. McClure, Hon. E. B. Eshleman,  Prof. L. Firestone,
Colonel E. P. Bates,  A. J. Thomas, Esq.,  Hon. J. W. Baughman,
Hon. J. K. McBride,  John Zimmerman, Esq.
The memorial and bill were duly forwarded, and the matter was
pending when this History was issued.




256


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


THE FIRST JAIL.
The first jail bult in Wayne county was erected on lot No. 57,
and was purchased by the Commissioners of John Bever, for $200.
The contract for its building was sold July 13, I816, to the lowest
bidder, and was struck off to Benjamin Jones at $I,3II.    He executed the requisite bond, and complied with the following terms:
The building to be so far completed as to have room No. 2. east of the entrance and hall, finished in every respect on or before the Ist day of January 1817,
and to give the Commissioners, Oliver Jones, Samuel Mitchel and Robert McClaran,
possession of said room by that day; the balance of the building to be completed
before the Ist day of May, 18I7. One-third of the amount to be paid on the execution of the contractor's bond; one-third to be paid when room No. 2 is completed. and the remaining installment three months after the completion of the
job.
At a meeting of the Commissioners, August 7, 1817, George
Bair, Samuel Mitchel and Aaron Baird, present, we find the following:
The Commissioners do hereby agree to accept of the jail erected by Benjamin
Jones in the town of Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio, as being agreeable to his
agreement with them.
The building was chiefly constructed of timber taken from the
old  block-house, called     ' Fort Stidger," erected   by General
Stidger, of Canton.
The dimensions of the first jail were 26 feet outside of the
walls each way, and it was set 40 feet from the north-west corner of
the lot. Its foundations were of "good stone, laid in good lime
and sand mortar;" the floor was of oak timber, laid on sleepers of
sufficient size and number; it was one story high, and 1 I feet between floor and ceiling, the walls being of hewed timber and not
less than 8 inches square, and notched together at the corners "so
as to be strong and close." In some of the rooms the logs were
doubled. There was a floor laid over the entire inside of the
house, at the hight of the story, of 8-inch square hewn logs. The
eaves were boxed with plain boxing, the gable ends weather



PUBLIC BUILDINGS.                 257
boarded, and it was covered with a shingle roof. It had 4 doorframes, of good and sufficient size to make it secure, " fitted to the
end of the end logs that were cut off,' and was "well spiked with
at least 4 good and sufficient spikes, of not less size than threequarters of an inch square, etc." It had "4 good and sufficient
doors, planed and plowed, of 2-inch stuff, or of such stuff as
would make the doors 4 inches thick." The boards were put
across each other, and made with "at least 4 good and sufficient
iron straps to run lengthways of the door, and at the base 4 straps
of the same kind." The doors were hung with "3 good and sufficient iron straps, and hooks to each, of sufficient strength to make
it secure." Each door had "a good, strong lock on the inside
and outside," the doors to the entry having "a double set of iron
bars." The building contained a hall and 3 rooms, distinctively
marked I, 2, 3. The lower floor of the "house" was laid "with
oak plank, planed and grooved, well nailed down." The rooms
were lined on each side and overhead "with good, dry 2-inch oak
plank."  Rooms 2 and 3 were "well covered" with "a good coat
of coarse sand and small gravel well beat in, so as to fill each
crevice between the logs, and then had " a good coat of lime and
sand mortar plastered over it."
FIRST JAIL-BIRD IN THE COUNTY.
Thomas Porter, "a prisoner who had escaped from jail and other
service," as he was advertised by Joseph Barkdull, was confined in
the new jail as early as I8I8, and was likely its first inmate. The
house adjoining the jail, known as the "jailor's house," was built
by David Losier in 1824.
THE SECOND, OR STONE JAIL,
Was built in I839 by 0. Boughton. It was a solid, dungeon-like
structure, which caged many of the wild birds of Wooster and the
county.
It was burned December I8, I863, Sheriff Wilson, the then
I7




258


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


official incumbent, occupying it. At the time of the conflagration
there were confined in it a boy (John Bowers), and Isaac Wiler for
attempting to kill his wife.
THE THIRD JAIL,
Built but a few years ago, is located on the corner of North Walnut and North streets, and is one of the finest edifices of its kind
in the State, and is constructed of brick, stone and iron, at great
cost and a view to solidity, permanence and security.
OLD COUNTY BUILDINGS.
On Friday, March 27, I829, a special session of the Commissioners was held, composed of Stephen Coe, Jacob Ihrig and
Abram Ecker, for the purpose of making arrangements for the
erection of public buildings. It was resolved by the Board "to
erect on the north-west corner of the Public Square, in the town
of Wooster, four substantial fire-proof offices of such dimensions as
may hereafter be adopted and agreed upon." The Auditor of the
county was authorized to "give notice by advertisement in the
Republican Advocote" and by "getting hand-bills struck and circulated."
On the j24th of April, of the same year, the Commissioners
met in the Public Square of Wooster, between the hours of 10 A.
M. and 4 P. M., and offered the contract at public auction, Daniel
Miller appearing as the lowest bidder; but the Commissioners,
upon consultation, concluded he was not a suitable person to undertake the work, and adjourned. On the next morning they repeated the experiment of public outcry, when the contract was
awarded to Calvin Hobart.  The buildings were of brick and
stone; were 7231 feet in length, with walls 82 feet high between
the foundation and the commencement of the arches. Hobart
obligated himself to complete the job by the Ist of December,
1829. He took the contract at $989.99. The brick from the




PUBLIC BUILDINGS.


259


walls of the old Court House, burned the year before (1828), were
appropriated in these public buildings.
NEW COUNTY BUILDINGS.
The new county buildings, erected at the close of the war, are
situated on the north-west corner of the Public Square. They are
constructed of stone, brick and iron, are solidly and massively built
and amply capacious for the purposes contemplated in their projection. On the first floor are the offices of the County Treasurer,
Auditor, Recorder, Surveyor and County Commissioners; and on
the upper floor those of the Probate Judge, Clerk and Sheriff.
The laying of the corner-stone of these buildings was an occasion of excitement, at which Hon. George Bliss made a speech
and read some interesting reminiscences of Wooster, which are in
the possession of George Core, of Applecreek, a numismatist, who
has many remarkable and antique coins.
COUNTY INFIRMARY.
The Wayne County Infirmary, located two miles east of
Wooster, was built after the passage of the new Constitution,
and the first session of the Board of Directors, as appears from
the record, met July 24, 1852. Simon Christine was the original
builder. Dr. S. Pixley, of Wooster, was the first physician in
in charge. Cyrus Segner was the first Superintendent, and continued until I858, when Mr. A. R. Sweeney was appointed, and,
with the exception of seven months and ten days, when J. P. Harris officiated, he has served up to the present time most acceptably
in that capacity.
The official report for the year ending March 31, 1876, showed
the admission of 49 paupers during that year, and 97 paupers
otherwise supported by the county, at a total cost of $8,043, or
a cost per day of 17 cents per head. The Infirmary farm consists
of 280 acres. The building is three stories high, the basement of
stone, the balance brick, and including cellars, bath rooms, etc.,




260


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


contains IOO rooms, and is heated by hot air. Under the
management of Mr. and Mrs. Sweeney everything is in capital
running order. System, neatness, good taste and cleanliness characterize the entire management, and its apartments and general
business are conducted with the method and good order of a first
class hotel. In this institution the benevolent spirit of the county
finds its noblest expression, and in Mr. and Mrs. Sweeney the
county has most faithful servants. Superintendent A. R. Sweeney
is a native of East Union township, where he was born, March
15, 1829, and was married, September I8, 1851, to Sarah Humbert,
the present matron of the institution.
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
The Society was organized in 1849. Its first President was
Robert Reed, of Dalton, Sugarcreek township. The first address delivered to it was by William Turner, then a resident of
Wooster, but now of Cleveland. The first fair was held in the
grove near the present residence of D. Q. Liggett, where the exhibitions were continued until I854.
On the 24th of January, 1859, the Society contracted with E.
Quinby, Jr., for eight acres of land on North Market street, where,
until 1869, its exhibitions were held. These grounds, for various
reasons, were sold, whereupon the board of managers proceeded
to make another selection, After due activity, with a view to
procuring the same, they purchased of Henry Myers, twenty-four
acres of land, a short distance west of the city of Wooster.
The grounds are pleasantly located, gracefully studded with
young shade trees, and enclosed by a tight fence, seven feet in
hight. The buildings in the enclosure are permanent and capacious, and the track for a "half-mile-go," one of the best in the
state.
The present officers of the Society are: Captain G. P. Emrich,
President; W. A. Wilson, Vice President; Thomas Kinney, E.
B. Connelly, Philip Troutman and Isaac Daniels, Managers.




OHIO CANAL.


261


OLD TURNPIKE ROAD.
At a session of the Ohio Legislature, in 1824, an act was
passed, February 2, of that year, for the incorporating of a company for the purpose of making a turnpike road from Wooster to
Cleveland, Ohio. In the April numbers of the Wooster Spectator
notice is given "that books will be opened at the house of Gaius
Boughton, in Cleveland; at the house of John Hickcox, in Medina;
and at the house of John Hemperly, in Wooster, for the purpose
of receiving subscriptions of stock" for the same. Rufus Ferris
was President of the Board of Commissioners, and John Freese
was Secretary.
In a short time thereafter the "Pike " was completed. Hon.
Benjamin Jones was one of the Directors.
OHIO CANAL,
Running from Cleveland to Portsmouth, on the Ohio river, a distance of 307 miles, was begun in 1825, and completed in I832, at
a cost of $5,00o,000. On the 4th of July, 1825, the ceremony of
breaking ground on the National Road, west of the Ohio, was celebrated. On the same day ground was broken at Licking Summit, for the construction of the Ohio Canal. The immortal De
Witt Clinton, of New York, whose colossal mind projected "the
great Erie Canal," threw out "the first shovelful of earth " on this
occasion.
Surveys were made by General Alfred Kelly and M. T. Williams, the Canal Commissioners, through Wayne county, as early
as 1823, from the head of Killbuck, and on south through the
county, to Millersburg.
A sale of town lots was offered in May, 1824, in Millersburg,
which read:
The situation is high, pleasant and healthy; on the navigable water, and on
the Killbuck line of the Ohio Canal.
It is said the route through Wayne county was defeated by a
a single vote.




262


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


A TRANSITION PERIOD.
One thing is indisputably certain, that the Ohio Canal furnished
the farmers the old Fulton and Massillon markets-gave them cask
for their produce, and the date of its completion defines the transition
period in the early history of Wayne county.
WAYNE COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY.
This religious society was organized May 14, I821, in the
Court House, Wooster. At a meeting called to take into consideration the project of a Bible Society for Wayne county, A.
Hanna, an elder of the Presbyterian church, was chosen to act as
Chairman, and E. O. Jones, Baptist, to act as Secretary.
A constitution was then adopted. The object and spirit of the
meeting was presented as follows:
We, the subscribers, inhabitants of Wayne county, Ohio, deeply impressed
with a sense of the great importance of a general circulation of the Holy Scriptures,
as the grand means of promoting both the present and the future welfare of men;
convinced, also, that in our vicinity there are many individuals and families destitute of the inestimable treasure, and, comparatively, but few families so well supplied as they ought. In order that this deficiency may be supplied to the extent of
our means and influence we do hereby form ourselves into a society, etc.
The following persons were chosen Directors: Rev. Joseph
Harper, Presbyterian, Rev. H. Sonnedecker, German Reformed,
Rev. James Adams, Presbyterian, Rev. T. J. Jones, Baptist, William Goodfellow, Matthew Johnson and Alex. Hanna.
The first meeting of the Directors was held June 9, 1821, at
the house of Thomas Robison. The second meeting was held
July I6, 182I, at the Baptist meeting house, where it was resolved
that $300 worth of books be ordered, and that twenty-five Bibles
of one class and thirty-five Bibles of another class be ordered.  It
was likewise resolved to present a copy of the Union Type Bible
to the editor of the Spectator for services rendered to the Society,
and one to the Sheriff of the county for the use of prisoners.
From the beginning the history of the Society was one of har



MARRIAGE STATISTICS.


263


mony, prosperity and uniform development. In its earlier stages
it annually dispensed about 450 bibles.
Rev. Samuel Irvine served as President from its inception to
1830; Joseph Stibbs, from I830 to 1840; Rev. Orin Miller, from
1841 to his removal from the county; David Robison, Sen., from
1844 to I849; William Henry, from I849 to 1852; David Robison, from 1852 to I857; John Cunningham, from 1857 to 1863;
John McClelland, from 1863 to I865; J. H. Downing, from i865
to i866; John Brinkerhoff, from October 27, 1867, to April 9,
1873; George B. Smith, from 1873 to 1876; J. H. Downing was
elected June I, I877.
"How GREAT A MATTER A SPARK KINDLETH."
Less than twenty-five years ago the three daughters of Leander Smith, now deceased, gave Rev. C. S. Martindale three dollars, with the request that it be used to send Bibles to India. He
sent it to New York with these directions. The society to which
it was forwarded sent it to Dr. Scudder, missionary at Calcutta.
Dr. Scudder purchased with these three dollars six Mahratta
Bibles, and sent them up to the foot of the Koord mountains.
This was the beginning, the nucleus, which in six years after resulted in the establishment of a Union Station, which in 1870 had
six out-stations and one hundred and fifty communicants.
MARRIAGE STATISTICS.
The first marriage that occurred in Wayne county was that of
Thomas Butler to Rebecca Morgan, April 12, I809, both inhabitants of Franklin township, Robert McClarran, a justice of the
peace in Wooster, performing the ceremony. The entire population of the county was present at this wedding.
The first marriage on record in the Probate office is that of
Daniel Noggle to Lydia Warner, both of Wayne county, November 5, 1812, and was solemnized by Esquire Vatchel Metcalf.
The second marriage on record is that of Thomas Oram and




264


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Elizabeth Logue, September 6, 1813, the ceremony being performed by Robert McClarran, J. P.
The fourth marriage on record is that of Robert Davidson and
Olivia Priest, June 17, 1813, by Nathan G. Odell, J. P.
From the 5th of November, I812, to the I3th of December,
1813, there are six marriages recorded.
From March I, 1875, to March I, 1876, there were 313 marriages in the county.
PITTSBURG, FT. WAYNE & CHICAGO RAILROAD.
The first railroad agitation of any importance manifesting itself
in Wayne county, was with reference to the Cleveland & Columbus
line, in the year 1845. A meeting was called on Thursday, October I6th, of this year, agreeably to previous notice published by
John P. Jeffries, Esq., and others, to take into consideration
prompt and energetic measures for the securing of this most vital
link of communication.
This meeting was presided over by the Hon. Cyrus Spink, E.
Quinby, Jr., acting as Secretary. It was resolved and determined
upon this occasion to convene a county meeting on the first day of
the then approaching November.
This call was promptly obeyed, and measures were immediately inaugurated to raise sufficient funds for a thorough and complete survey of the road. This survey was made, but excitement
and considerable interest arose in regard to a proposed route from
Pittsburg, Pa., to Chicago, Ill., which augmented and intensified,
and which ultimately culminated in the construction of said chain
of railway.
Hon. John Larwill, Dr. S. F. Day, John McSweeney, Esq., David Robison, Sr., J. P. Jeffries, Jesse R. Straughan, E. Quinby, Jr.,
Eugene Pardee, Esq., etc., immediately went to work, making
speeches, canvassing town and county, and making every conceivable endeavor to procure the indorsements and subscriptions. Everybody went to work, and, shoulder to shoulder, the enterprise




PITTSBURG, FT. WAYNE & CHICAGO RAILROAD.


265


was pressed forward, until the great project was grandly and successfully consummated.
The Republican and Democrat were jealous of each other's arguments in its behalf, and every week their columns were ladened
with details and statistics of the advantages of the railroad system,
while every other consideration, through this medium, was presented to induce its speedy construction.
A series of forcible, practical and statistical articles are found
in old files of the county papers, upon railroads, and especially
upon the advantages of the one then in contemplation. Some of
these letters, it appears, came from the industrious pen of J. P.
Jeffries, Esq., of this city, from one of which we quote:
That the stock will be profitable, there is not the possibility of a doubt-that
it will net to the stockholders over ten per cent. per annum, is in our opinion just
as certain.              *   Nearly every man in the county is able to take
one share, and this he should do, particularly the owner of real estate, because he
will be benefited just in proportion to his business, be it great or small. Should
every man in the county who subscribes a share of $50 lose it entirely, he will still
be the gainer, from the fact that the value of his land, his labor, and the price of
his produce will be greatly enhanced; and the business of the merchant and mechanic will increase in proportion to that of the farmer, and thus the benefit of
the road will be reaped.
This railroad project was the cardinal, capital and emphatic enterprise of the citizens of Wayne county. The solution and consummation of it is witnessed in the continuous and majestic line of
iron threads, known as the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad.
It must be recorded, to the enduring credit and honor of Hon.
John Larwill, that he was chiefly instrumental in procuring its
charter, to which systematically and powerfully organized opposition was made by the friends of the Cleveland and Pittsburg, and
the Steubenville and Indianapolis Railroads. The charter being
obtained, it was necessary for somebody to follow up the work of
soliciting subscriptions, completing the organization, and conducting its affairs to a successful issue.
Except what was doing at Salem, in Columbiana county, no




266


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


general convention was had in behalf of the road until June,
I848, when a meeting convened in Canton, and Directors were
elected, consisting of Messrs. Robinson and Bakewell, of Pittsburg; Pinney, of Beaver; Street, of Salem; Wellman, of Massilon; J. Larwill, of Wooster; and C. T. Sherman, of Mansfield.
At this stage the possibility of making the ascent from the Ohio
river up to the table lands in Columbiana county was doubted by
the friends, and stoutly denied by the enemies of the route.
Nothing was done but to order surveys and explorations in that
region, and provide the means to pay for them.
The first chain ever stretched upon the line of the present
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad was at Bowls'
Point, at the mouth of Big Beaver, July 4, I848, by Jesse R.
Straughan, engineer, in pursuance of the orders of this board.
By the winter, lines had been run by all the possible routes from
the mouth of Big Beaver, and that of the Little Beaver, and from
the mouth of Yellow creek, and from all this extended and exhaustive data the selection of the route was submitted to the
decision of Colonel W. Roberts, Chief Engineer, of Philadelphia,
who was endorsed and recommended by the officers of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad, as possessing the confidence of themselves and of the eastern capitalists. Amid all the criticisms from
persons living within the wide range influenced by this road, there
were none to dispute the wisdom of the Board as to the selection
of their Chief Engineer.
As the friends of other routes considered that only one road
westward from Pittsburg could ever be expected, their efforts were
proportionally vigorous and unceasing.
We are furnished with a pamphlet entitled, "A letter to Thomas
Bakewell, President of the Board of Trade of Pittsburg," dated
October, 1848, and signed, among others, by the distinguished
Edwin M. Stanton, containing the following, as one of the arguments against the route selected by Colonel Roberts:
OBSTRUCTIONS OF SNOW.-This is a consideration which you can not overlook.
The point fixed in their charter, which they must reach before they assume their




'PIT7SBURG, FT. WAYNE & CHICAGO RAILROAD.


267


westward course, is North Georgetown, in Columbiana county.  '  *  *
This point is but a few miles south of the south boundary of the Western Reserve. And no one who has paid the least attention to the subject, will estimate
the average duration of snow, one year with another, at a depth of from six inches
to two feet, at less than thirty days longer in each year than you have at Pittsburg,
or we at Steubenville.             *   It traverses the State on very nearly
the same parallel of latitude.  *       '* It was with an air of triumph
that Colonel Roberts exclaimed, "and to Mansfield, 158 miles, without the obstruction of the Ohio!" but may we not add, 158 miles, through frequent snowdrifts. What traveler on the route in the winter time would not exclaim, with
Horatius Flaccus, of old,
"Jam sails nivIs
Grandinisgue dirae."
But upon this line the road was built, the snow-drifts and Horatius Flaccus to the contrary notwithstanding, and this pamphlet in
the hands of Mr. Larwill was made to assist in arousing the people to realize the value of a road so anxiously desired by the people along other proposed routes.
As a basis upon which to establish sufficient credit to warrant
the beginning of the work, five thousand dollars per mile was to
be subscribed in each of the counties in Ohio, and $600,000 in
Pittsburg and Allegheny.
This from Wayne county was allotted to Mr. Larwill, who had
the untiring assistance of James Jacobs, Dr. S. F. Day, Samuel
Knepper, John K. McBride, Smith Orr, John P. Jeffries, and the
occasional assistance of J. R. Straughan and many others, but it required meetings, speeches and private effort in every school district within the county. The whole of the winter of 1848 —49 was
thus occupied, for the gross sum of $I50,000 looked as large then
as $500,000 at this day, and the last few thousand exhausted the
patience and the hopes of the most sanguine. Logic, entreaty,
persuasion, the argumentum ad crumenam, everything, was employed, and finally with success.
Great as was the labor and consumption of time required in
Ohio to secure this subscription, it was accomplished before that
in Pittsburg and Allegheny had been begun. They were waiting




268


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


a more propitious time, and listening to the snow-drift arguments
of enemies. And certainly there were danger and doubt as to this
subscription which could not be concealed from the masses.
Friends wore anxious faces, enemies and croakers again came forth
exultant, with their opposition.
The Board was called to meet at Pittsburg, April 23, I849,
which was attended by the Ohio members with the avowed determination to have those cities come up to their subscriptions now,
or to return home, and give up all further effort. To some of the
Pittsburg people this seemed like a rash determination, but the
circumstances demanded it, while the result vindicated the wisdom
of it.
But vast enterprises like this have their tempests and cyclones,
and that meeting soon showed signs of storm. The Pittsburg
directors argued the inauspicious time, the collapse of the city
scrip, the dull trade from down the river, etc., and many of the
prominent citizens were induced to confirm their arguments,
they finally refusing their co-operations in an effort so useless, in
their judgment.
It was the fate of this company to have many narrow escapes
from destruction. On either side Scylla and Charybdis were ever
appearing, and the period now referred to was the first, and in
every way, the most important escape. Men like General Moorehead, Joshua Hanna and others, who were not friendly to Colonel
Robinson, President of the company, becoming acquainted, through
Mr. Larwill, with the views of Ohio members and the opposition
of Robinson and his friends, warmly seconded Ohio and offered to
assist in canvassing the city for stock, thus securing a large and
influential addition to the friends of the road.
At an informal meeting in the parlors of Mr. Hanna, with
Moorehead to represent Pittsburg, and only John Larwill and
Jessie R. Straughan from Ohio, this plan of operations was devised:
To get the City Council of Pittsburgh to vote $200,000, provided Allegheny City would subscribe a like amount.




PITTSBURG, FT. WAYNE & CHICAGO RAILROAD.


269


Then get the latter city to subscribe $200,000, provided the
citizens would subscribe $200,000.
To the first of these arose the united opposition from Steubenville and the Cleveland and Pittsburg lines, both before the Board
of Trade and the two Chambers of the Council; but the efforts of
Mr. Larwill and his newly found allies-Moorehead and othersnot only surprised but defeated their well-drilled forces; the subscription carried. In Allegheny it also carried, the proviso helping it much, as many voted for it thinking, as well as hoping, that
the $200,000 individual subscriptions was impossible. The most
doubtful part and the most laborious was yet to come-that from
individuals.
The Ohio delegation had returned home, leaving only Mr. Larwill and Mr. Straughan to remain, in fulfillment of the promiseor threat-not to return home until Pittsburg had made up its
subscription. This was conducted as it had been in Ohio. The
Pittsburg Chronicle, of April 26, I849, announced a meeting of
the citizens of Pittsburg, on the evening previous, in the rooms
of the Board of Trade, to hear the reports of a number of gentlemen from Ohio, as to the progress of the undertaking. Among
the honorable gentlemen present on this occasion was the distinguished Senator from Missouri-Colonel Thomas H. Bentonwho delivered, as the above paper says, "a beautiful address."
Among the Ohio members Mr. Larwill conspicuously took the
lead. He said:
They had already got subscriptions and stock sufficient taken to justify them in
going immediately to work. They of Ohio did not wish Pennsylvania to subscribe
their money for the purpose of building the road in Ohio-all they asked them to
do was to build that which passed through their own State, and that being done,
Ohio was ready to complete the whole of her share. Unless this was done, Ohio
would be under the necessity of seeking some other outlet for her products and
investments for her capital. In Wayne county alone they had got an individual
subscription of over $Ioo,ooo, and with these facts they were anxious to return
home and tell their stockholders and subscribers that Pittsburg was ready. In
Ohio the people were perfectly convinced, not only of the feasibility of this route,
but also of its superior advantages over all other roads of conveyance, as well as its
profitableness as an investment of capital. It was for Pittsburg to look to her




270


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


own interests now. Ohio must move in one way or other, and if Pittsburg did
not meet them, they would in all probability join with the Baltimore and Ohio line.
Committees now began to canvass every ward in both cities
and worked industriously for several days, reporting at headquarters every evening. The $200,000 was reached, but the canvassing was continued until $235,000 was obtained. This news was
telegraphed to all points in Ohio, and general joy prevailed.
It was the birth-day of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago
Railway. In both city and country the meed of praise was
awarded Mr. Larwill. Colonel Sloane, Samuel Hemphill, Thomas
Robinson, Doctor Day, James Jacobs, David Robison, Judge Orr,
and many others energetically identified with this stupendous project, have died-mounted the narrow stairway of the grave, which
leads from the illusions of life to the presence'of the "Assayer of
souls, who proves men." Their united efforts in behalf of the
great enterprise, however, will not soon be forgotten, but will appear as fit pictures in the frame-work of their lives.
The arrival of the first passenger train in Wooster, Tuesday
afternoon, August Io, 1852, was an event not soon to be forgotten, and in the future will be reverted to as such, not merely for the
satisfaction a knowledge of the date will afford, but as a circumstance and occasion by which other occurrences and incidents may
be identified. On that day Wooster was in a paroxysm of bustle
and excitement. A national salute was fired at sunrise. Four P.
M. was the hour announced for the arrival of the train. At 2 P.
M. the surging multitude began to gather at the depot, and by 3
o'clock it was estimated that from I5,000 to 20,000 persons were
on the grounds. At 3 P. M. a dispatch was received from Masillon assuring us that two trains were coming with 600 passengers,
500 of whom were invited guests from Pittsburg and Allegheny.
At ten minutes past 4 P. M. the train arrived. The scene was magnificent; the people shouted, cannons boomed thunderingly, whirlwinds of gladness swept over acres of clapping hands, and on faces
young and aged, a "grand Homeric jubilation was radiant." It
was the Pentecost of gayety. The fire companies never looked or




PITTSBURG, FT. WAYNE & CHICAGO RAILROAD.


27I


behaved better; the martial music was inspiring and heroic, and
the guests were happy and hilarious, both by choice and compulsion. It seemed, indeed, to many, like " Curiosity's Benefit Day."
Processions were formed under direction of Colonel R. K. Porter and J. H. Kauke, Marshals of the day, and proceeded to the
grove north-east of the depot, where a table had been spread by
H. Howard, Esq., of the American House. The festal arrangement exhibited the uniqueness and taste of perfection. The guests
being seated, Judge Dean called for order, when they were welcomed by him, in an appropriate speech.  General Robinson,
President of the.road, delivered an address, when the company sat
down to a sumptuous dinner.
The guests being entertained and supplied, the cloth was removed, and S. Hemphill, Esq., read a series of toasts, to which
responses were made.
4th TOAST-Hon. John Larwill, resident director of the Ohio and Pennsylvania
Railroad. The celebration to-day, and the repeated election to his present post, as
director, are the best tributes that can be offered to his merits as an officer and a
man.
Mr. Larwill returned his thanks for the flattering expression
of approbation by his fellow-townsmen and the gentlemen present.
The opening of the road was to him a most gratifying event. He
had known Wooster from the time the first stick of timber was cut
to the present moment. No other improvement had ever so much
enlisted his feelings and anxieties. This had been to him a proud
day and he was most happy to enjoy it, and to have the privilege
of returning his thanks for the honor done him.
Various toasts were responded to, and speeches made by E.
Pardee, Esq., and others.
At night the fire companies made a splendid parade, the engines drawn by matched horses, caparisoned with flowers, plumes
and floating banners. During the evening there was a gorgeous
display of fire-works. George W. Kauffman sent up a balloon,
and the firemen of Pittsburg were the invited guests of the Woos



272


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ter companies at an elegant repast, served in their honor at the
United States Hall.
Three other roads have penetrated Wayne county, but to the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad we owe the rapid
growth, development and material prosperity of the county.
We have thus drawn and gathered currente calamo a synoptical statement of the origin, progress and completion of this
road, and the part Wayne county enacted. It was, and is,
the colossal and gigantic enterprise of her citizens. Boldly conceived, vigorously executed and gloriously completed, it will stand
an honorable monument to its projectors, a measureless convenience and blessing to the citizens, forming another solid link in
the duplex chain that is to bind the people and the States in
"The immortal league of love."
OTHER RAILROADS.
Since the construction of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, the Columbus, Mount Vernon and Cleveland Railroad, the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, and the Tuscarawas Valley Railroad, have been built, and run through portions
of the county.
REVOLUTIONARY PENSIONERS IN WAYNE COUNTY IN 1840.
Perry Township-Barnett Hagerman, aged 80.
Plain Township-Augustus Case, aged 87.
Jackson Township-Ezra Tryon, aged 80.
Canaan Township-Rufus Freeman, aged 78.
Wayne Township-John Davidson, aged 84.
Chippewa Township-Christina Franks, aged 73; Isaac Underwood, aged 74.
Milton Township-Benjamin Foster, aged 86; Benjamin Cotton, aged 83.
Greene Township-Conrad Metsker, aged 82.
East Union Township-Jesse Richardson, aged 84; Simon Goodspeed, aged 76.
Wooster-Robert Cain, aged 77.




NAMES OF HEADS OF FAMILIES.


273


Age.
Robert Hamilton..........................                80
Burgan       Covert............................. 80
Richard      Davis, Jr......................... 93
Ezekiel      Irvin............................... 80
Leonard        Peckinpaugh................    82
Abraham          Storm........................... 85
Thomas Arnett............................ 82
Peter     Kesling.............................. go
John     E. Klnney........................... 78
W   m.    Marts................................ 76
B. Clark...................................... 84
Sherebiah Fletcher........................ 78
Barnabas Otis............................... 83
W   m. Ellis................................... 9I


A


Nancy      Mitchell...........................
Jno.    Burlingame........................
Eleanor W       right............................
WVm. W       oodward...........................
Ephraim       Ellis..............................
Ignatius      W   aterman.......................
Nathan       Rice................................
Aaron      Inman...............................
John     Payne................................
Elias H. W        olcott.........................
Daniel Dunbar.............................
Thomas        Perry.............................
Benajah       Hays..............................


age.
78
87
91
86
76
82
79
77
79
84
97
84
79


POPULATION.BY DECADES.


Population of
1c


W   ayne      County      in...............................................
cc           cc.............................................
c........................................................................................... it.......................................
~            *....o..................... ~....... -*......


I8Io was   332
1820 was II,993
1830 was 23,327
1840 was 36,015
1850 was 32,681
I860 was 32,438
1870 was 35,116


NAMES OF HEADS OF FAMILIES
In Wayne County as returned by the Census taken in I8Io:


Alexander Finly,
David Smith,
Richard Healey,
Josiah Crawford,
William Laylin,
Joseph Hughes,
Benjamin Bunn,
Robert Meeks,
Baptiste Jerome,
Hugh Moore,
Jacob Foulks,
Jacob Amman,
Conrad Bowers,
Valentine Smith, Jr.,
Daniel Doty,


Isariah Smith,
William Metcalf,
Samuel Martin,
James Beam,
John L. Dawson,
David Kimpton, t
James S. Priest,
John Newell,
John Smith,
Andrew Alexander,
Westel Ridgley,
Stephen Morgan,
Andrew Luckey,
Vatchel Metcalf,
Michael Switzer,
William Kelley.


Amos Norris,
Jesse Cornelius,
Jonathan Grant,
Christian Smith,
John Smith,
Ebenezer Warner,
Thomas Eagle,
Benjamin Miller, *
Philip Smith,
William Nixon,
John Driskel,
Samuel Henderson,
Valentine Smi h, Sr.,
Philip Griffith,
Jesse Richards,


*Joseph H. Larwill enumerated in Benjamin Miller's family.
t William Larwill enumerated in David Kimpton's family.
i8




274              HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
VALUATION OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY.
The following statement gives the aggregate valuation of all
the real and personal property placed upon the duplicate for taxation in each township, village and city, and separate school districts in the county, and the rates levied upon such property,
stated in mills and decimals, upon each dollar, for 1875 and I876.
The number of mills, therefore, will indicate the amount of tax in
dollars upon each thousand dollars of valuation:
I875.                1876.
TOWNSHIPS, CORPORATIONS, ETC.
Valuation on.  Rate.  aluation.      e.
MlIills.             Mills.
Baughman.................................... $,295,353  8.5  $I,305,584  8.85
Orrville Corporation.......................  I78,650  14.2  I81,450   17.85
"    School District...................  32,825  I0.25    32,390   13.25
Marshallville Corporation...........  1 I23,033  11.7      120,206    12.45
" School District............      97,850    10.2       95,780   10.35
Chippewa...................................  II85,902  8.7  I,149,057  7.7
Doylestown Corporation.................  241,842  15.6   287,130    I5.65
"      School District...........  117,596    5.9       83,865     6.o
Marshallville Corporation...........    22,660   II.7       25,215    12.45
"       School District........      9,850     0.0        9,65     9.9
M ilton..........................................  1,406,814  10.2  1,378,789  1-55
Milton.1,406,814                           I0.2    1,378,789    10.55
Greene.........................................  I,802,493  9.2  1,777,362  8.95
Orrville Corporation........................  436,616  14.2  452,863    17.85
East Union....................................  1,325,149  I2.35  1,292,651  11.2
Salt Creek....................................  597,324  10.25  616,854  13.25
Fredericksburg Corporation............  133,562    6.6       39,085    I7.0
School District.........          62,040     4.75      59,371   15.25
Franklin.......................................,080,938  8.7  1,073,087  7.9
Fredericksburg School District.........   3,543   I455        3,645    I45
W ooster........................................  I,I02,403  I.5  I,104,437  7.9
W ayne..........................................  1,347,333  8.45  1,356,598  7-7
Canaan......................................... 1,200,497  9.5  1,168,452  8.9
Burbank Corporation.......................  64,658  8.6       75,110     9.35
"     School District..................  1,695   7.35       1,795    8.6
Congress......................................  1,236,040  9.25  1,193,373  0o.o
West Salem Corporation............   335,398   I9.6      296,908    I8.25
"       School District..........    61,679    I7.1       6I,o66   14.5
Congress Corporation.....................  63,065  15.1       55.242    16.25
"     School District..................  30,746  4.1      30,858    14.5
Burbank Corporation.......................  14,965  8.6       14,345    9.35
Chester...................................... 1,273,417  9.4  I,253,685  9.15
Plain...........................................  1,331,482  8.7  1,333,5Io  9.65
Clinton.........................................  919,879  II.15  967,987  12.45
Shreve Corporation........................  240,265  I8.I   267,615    I5.55
Wooster............................ 2,606,207  22.05  2,556,247  22.25
"    School District....................  00,282  15.35   97,344   15.25




THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.


275


SCHOOL STATISTICS OF THE COUNTY.
For the year ending August 31, 1876, by the report of the
State Commissioner of Common Schools, Wayne county received
the following amount of money for school purposes:
Of State tax, $21,545.60; of irreducible school funds, $4,919.86;
of local tax for school and school house purposes, $84,084.54; on
sale of bonds, $350; from fines, licenses, tuition of non-resident
pupils, and other sources, $2,551.72, or a total of $I77,427.40,
which includes a balance on hand, September I, 1875, of $63,975.68.
Amount paid teachers in High School and Primaries, $52,797.78; amount for other expenditures, including the foregoing
sum, making a total of $I2I, IOI.63.
There were in the county, between the ages of six and twentyone, 13,473 white children and 9 colored; of this number there
were 3,253 between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one; there
were of this number 6,828 boys and 6,645 girls, and 5 male and 4
female colored.
There were in the county 138 sub-divisions, ii separate districts and I I sub-districts included in separate districts. The total
value of school property in the several townships and separate
districts, $343,562.
There were employed during the year in the schools within the
county a total of 320 teachers, and o0,064 pupils were enrolled;
of this number there were I,029 between the ages of sixteen and
twenty-one. The average attendance was 6,333.
THE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM.
We trust we will not be considered as dealing in extravagant
assertion, when we say that the cause of Education in Wayne
county is perhaps as far advanced as in any other county in the
State, and that in its progress and development it can challenge
comparison with the foremost in Ohio.
The first settlers did not neglect or overlook its vital claims,




276


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


and the subscription school was early encouraged and put to practical working, and answered a noble and sublime purpose in those
dim by-gone days. The short-term schools of a later period encountered prompt and commendable patronage and support, and
were a part of the progressive and civilizing agencies of the times.
It was, however, reserved for the era inaugurated by the adoption of the New Constitution of the State of Ohio, to communicate
the powerful stimulant and add the tremendous impulse which at
this time so signally discriminates and marks the practical operations of the Free School System throughout the great State of
Ohio.
The enactment of the first general law upon this subject, April
14, 1853, imparted a giant impulse and momentum to the cause
and progress of education in Wayne county.
This law was prepared by a Senate Committee, consisting of
the following members: Hon. Harvey Rice, of Cuyahoga county;
Hon. George Rex, of Wayne county; and Hon. Alonzo Cushing,
of Gallia county. Its provisions were grand, glorious and beneficent, and for the first time in the history of education in the State
of Ohio, enacted an entirely new and enlarged Free School System.
On the taking effect of the law, the people of Wayne county
seemed to grasp its advantages without delay. Among the first
townships to move under the law was Plain, and the first schoolhouse built under the new law was what is known as " People's
College," in Sub-district No. 7. And, as is customary with new
enterprises, this met with severe and decided opposition; but, under
the direction and management of Hon. Benj. Eason, Jacob Welty
and Robert C. Beard, the local Directors, the sub-district completed its building, which served as a model for years for other
sub-districts of the county.
Various amendments to the law have, from time to time, been
enacted; but in all subsequent legislation upon the subject, the
salient features of the original law have been retained; and to-day
the same system of free education to all the youth of the State




THE PRIMITIVE SCHOOL HOUSE AND SCHOOLS.


277


remains as a monument to the wisdom, intelligence, justice and
genius of the framers of the original law.
THE PRIMITIVE SCHOOL HOUSE AND PRIMITVE SCHOOLS.
The primitive school house, as described to us, was eighteen
feet square, built of logs, round or. hewn, as the caprice of the
builders suggested. It had a floor of split-logs called puncheons;
it was roofed with clap-boards, with ridge-poles to hold them to
their places and keep the wind from blowing them away. At the
one end was a fire-place, in fact the whole end of the cabin sometimes was the fire-place, and herein were rolled and tumbled immense
back-logs. At the other end was a door with a string and latch,
and a window was formed by sawing out a section of a log, inserting therein a light frame and stretching over the same some white
paper which was oiled.
In the center of the room were slabs which were used for
benches, without backs, and these were set on feet, or sticks set
perpendicularly at each end. Boards arranged at a slope were
fixed for the "on scholars," on which to put their copy books
and slates.
The schools were gotten up by subscription, that is, a parent
subscribed so much for each member of his family; if he sent one,
so much; if more, that much more. These subscriptions were
usually for a quarter, and the school commonly began in November. Though it was a short term it was sometimes long for the
teacher. The teacher was most 'anybody they could pick up;
sometimes an intelligent neighbor, sometimes the peripatetic gentleman "from York State." In those days the teacher was held
in great esteem-aye, reverence. He was a master, and was sup.
posed to know everything. He could solve puzzles, do sums,
make capital letters, sometimes he drank nothing but milk, and his
last and most unfortunate gift was, that he could-sing. He always
kept " order" in the school-room, his weapons to make the scholars "behave," consisting of a rule and a quiver of "gads."




278


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


When he trounced somebody's son he employed his whole intellect. If he thumped him he did it boldly; if he struck his
knuckles with his club, he did it with refined courage; if he pulled
his ears, why this was-government, and the scholar's father
thought his child was being instructed. He pretty nearly always
boarded with the scholars, and of nights he would call around him
the little, trembling urchins, with black marks on their tender
backs which resulted from his cruel hammering during the day,
and pat them on their heads and cheeks and tell their parents how
apt and smart they were; that this was a Cincinnatus, and that a
Cicero. The father would "take it in," and reflectively remark to
his wife of the fame that was to come upon them. Sometimes the
scholars would "bar" him out on Christmas or New Year's, and
then His Satanic Highness was to pay with a depleted exchequer.
He would probably break in the door, or crawl through a window,
or jump down the chimney; or, if there were any big scholars in
attendance, he would " cave in " and promise to " set things up"
the next day. The " treat" he would furnish would be composed
of candies, cakes, gimcracks, and sometimes that adjunct of sterling pioneer civilization, a jug of whisky.  On the last day of
school the heads of families would come in, and the master would
cough up some endearing terms of parting to his children.
The subjects taught were the three celebrated R's-" Readin',
'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic "-to the Rule of Three. If the teacher said
he could go this far he was hired. Parsing then was unborn, and
grammar fit only for barbarians. If a pupil could "bound" the
United States he was a classic, and fit to preach or practice law.
Spelling was a big thing, for the masters were always spellers
themselves, and in addition " worked out the hard sums " of the
neighborhood. The children sometimes had a great distance to
travel to where the school was taught, and in such cases their
parents made furrows with their plows through the woods, or
"blazed trees" as guides for them. Here they would gather,
boys and girls, the omnipresent "big brother" likewise putting in
his appearance. The boys in those days, too, kept an eye to fun,




THE PRIMITIVE SCHOOL HOUSE AND SCHOOLS.


279


and they took occasionally their dogs, Jew's-harps, jackknives, and
frequently a pistol, along with them.
They all voted for long recesses and short recitations. But
under all these circumstances they managed to make some acquirements, and proved to be highly useful members of the new
country, and to them are we largely indebted for the legacy of the
fine farms and enlightened prosperity we possess.
But in connection with these primitive schools, and the opportunities they offered for obtaining an education, other means of
instruction and of intellectual discipline were presented, in the debating clubs and other societies of mutual improvement.
Moreover, and let it be emphasized, there were good, pious
fathers and mothers in those days, who had their pleasing stories,
fairy tales, instructive legends to relate, which amused, interested and kept open the leaden eyelids of the little urchins as
they tired of their "flaring, idle toys." The mother putting away
the spinning wheel, the father through with the moils of the day,
and
"The cheerfu' supper done, wi' serious face,
They, round the ingle, form a circle wide;
The sire turns o'er, wi' patriarchal grace,
The big Ha' Bible, ance his father's pride;
His bonnet rev'rently is laid aside,
His lyart haffets wearing thin an' bare;
Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide,
He wales a portion with judicious care,
And ' Let us worship God!' he says, with solemn air.
They chant their artless notes in simple guise,
They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim:
Perhaps Dundee's wild-warbling measures rise,
Or plaintive Martyrs, worthy of the name.
*         *          -*        *         X
The priest-like father reads the sacred page,
How Abram was the friend of God on high;
Or Moses bade eternal warfare wage
With Amalek's ungracious progeny.
*         -*         *         *         *
Perhaps the Christian volume is the theme,
How guiltless blood for guilty man was shed;




280            HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OH O.
How He, who bore in Heaven the second name,
Had not on earth whereon to lay his head.
Then kneeling down to Heaven's eternal king,
The saint, the father and the husband prays;
Hope ' springs exulting on triumphant wing,'
That thus they all shall meet in future days;
There ever bask in uncreated rays,
No more to sigh, or shed the bitter tear,
Together hymning their Creator's praise,
In such society, yet still more dear;
While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere.




SKETCH OF GENERAL WIOOS7ER.


28i


CHAPTER XIX.
WOOSTER.
THE seat of justice of Wayne county was laid out in the fall of
I808 by the proprietors, John Bever, William Henry and Joseph
H. Larwill, and is 377 feet above Lake Erie, and was made the
seat of justice for the county May 30, I8II.
It was so named by Hon. Joseph H. Larwill, in honor of the
celebrated Major General David Wooster of Revolutionary renown,
and a member of the old and distinguished family bearing that
name.
SKETCH OF GENERAL WOOSTER.
David Wooster was born at Stratford, in Connecticut, March 2,
in the year of our Lord, 17IO. The strictest scrutiny of his earlier
record furnishes but a meager detail of his boyhood. He was a
man of prepossessing personal appearance, of rare intellectual culture and accomplished education. His collegiate course was exact
and scientific, answering the punctilious curriculum of Yale in
1738.
When the colony constructed what was then called "the
guard-a-costa," to be employed defensively in case of assault by
Spanish cruisers in I739, he was designated as second in command, and shortly was appointed Captain. At the close of this
service he married a daughter of President Clapp, of Yale College,
a lady said to have been admirably suited to encounter the dangerous scenes which were already flinging their dark and ominous
shadows upon the future. Valiant women always make braver,
courageous men; and Mrs. Wooster had firmness, power and res



282


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


olution of mind combined with exquisite refinement of manners,
which aided him immensely in the subsequent experience of his
life.
In I745, when Colonel Burr raised a regiment in Connecticut
to join the troops destined to act against Louisburg-a seaport
village on the eastern coast of the Island of Cape Breton, an insular colony of British North America-Captain Wooster was appointed to the command of a company in that regiment, and occupied an active place in the reduction of that considerable fortification. After its capitulation, he was ordered to take charge of the
cartel which was sent to France for exchange of prisoners. He
was not at that time permitted to land in France, but hastened to
Great Britian, where he was received by aristocrats, the dwellers
of the Court, and velvet-sandaled Royalty itself. He even became
a favorite of King George, who presented him with a Captain's
baton in a regiment of Sir William Pepperell, with half pay for
life.
After one of the Aix-la-Chapelle treaties, and the recession to
France of the fortress mentioned, Captain Wooster retired to the
serenities of home and the sanctities of private life. For awhile
he lived in tranquil seclusion in New Haven, when the sky lowered again, and the mutterings of the Titans of war were heard
in the distance. In I750 he was made Colonel of a regiment, but
was not fated to remain there long, as he was soon advanced to a
Brigadiership, which office he held until the peace of I763, when
once more he withdrew to the pensive shades of retirement.
We find him next in New Haven, an enterprising, public spirited man, engaged in commercial pursuits. We believe, at one
time, he was appointed Collector of Customs of the port of New
Haven. And now beams, in faint but terrible lines upon the horizon, the test-hour to men of place and power. The cloud, not
larger than a man's hand, grew rapidly, and men had to decide.
General Wooster named his position from the beginning, and when
the bloody logic of Concord and Lexington was sought to be
taught in the school of despotism, although courts had received




SKETCH OF GENERAL WOOSTER.


283


him, kings had honored him - honored him with office - and although he held the king's seal, he renounced everything, and
poured out "the tinkling crimson tide that plays upon the heart's
red brink " for freedom from oppression and the independence of
his country. And with the forethought and prescience of a wise
man, he comprehended the necessity of the hour, and while Ethan
Allen and Arnold executed the drama of the capture of Ticonderoga, we must award to General Wooster a full share of the
honor of the conception of the plot of that hazardous and momentous enterprise. He even went to Canada with Montgomery, and
for awhile after that gallant soldier fell had supreme command.
In I775, after a successful vote for the creation of an army,
Congress appointed him third in rank among the Brigadiers upon
that occasion. In 1776, the epochal period of the national life,
he saw much bitter service, though as it was in the inception of
the Revolutionary contest, few substantial laurels were achieved,
the contest raging long afterward. In the same year he was appointed Major General of the militia of Connecticut, with a supervisory control of the military stores, which were kept near Danbury. The British had a jealous eye upon these provisions, and
with a force of two thousand men under Tryon, sought their capture, and succeeded. General Wooster, with seven hundred raw
recruits, attacked them April 27, 1776, but, forced to retreat, received a fatal wound. He had, however, the comfort of dying in
the sacred circle of his family, on the 2d of May, I777. His last
words were, "I am dying, but with the strong hope and persuasion that my country will gain her independence."
His remains were ensepulchered at Danbury, Connecticut.
On June 17, I777, Congress voted that a suitable monument
should be erected to his memory, but measures never were inaugurated to execute the resolution. His grave was not identified
until 1854, when, by an Act of the Legislature of that State, the
corner-stone of a monument was laid. No wonder our independence was achieved when such intrepid spirits leagued and fell for
it! What a priceless boon they have bequeathed to us  What a




284


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


debt of love, what a flame of praise we should kindle at the altar
of their remembered names!
We discover, then, that illustrious and patriotic memories surrounded the baptism of Wooster. It started in its infancy with
the inspiration of the Revolutionary spirit. May it, in the sublime and noble aspirations of a riper and maturer life, glorify the
magnificent achievements that spirit prompted!
Wooster, it may here be remarked, was not the first countyseat. The place designated by the first Commissioners was on the
eminence east of south of the city, on lands then owned by Bazaleel Wells & Co., and was called Madison. Dissatisfaction accrued
from this selection, whereupon the Legislature appointed new
Commissioners, when the present Wooster was chosen as the
county-seat. But a single cabin was erected in Madison.
VACATION OF TOWN OF MADISON.
Bazaleel Wells, John Shorb and Joseph Dorsey, proprietors of
the town of Madison, in the county of Wayne, having, according
to the conditions of the sale of lots in said town, returned the sums
of money heretofore received of the purchasers of said lots, and
taken up their respective certificates therefor, whereby they are
the sole proprietors and owners of said town, and the lots therein,
by John Goodenow, their attorney, applied to the Court, then in
session, February 21, 1814, to vacate the same, according to the
provisions of the statute in such cases made and provided.
Whereupon the Court, at its April session, 1814, ordered that
the town plat of the town of Madison, in the county of Wayne, be
vacated.
The first settlers in Wooster, and in Wayne county, were the
three Larwill brothers, to-wit: William, Joseph and John.
The first house erected in the town or county was a "log-temple," on East Liberty street, directly west of what was subsequently known as the William Larwill property. The principal
tools employed in its construction were a broad-ax and drawing



WOOSTER.


285


knife. It was raised at the time that the town was being laid out,
and its first occupants were William Larwill and a young man
named Abraham Miller. Benjamin Miller, the father of this
young man, removed, in the spring of I809, from Stark county
with his wife and family and opened a house of entertainment.
Benjamin Miller was the first married man who settled in the
town or county.
He kept the first tavern in the town or county, on the spot
where J. B. Power has his dry goods store.
He was the father of the first white child born in the town or
county. It was a girl, and was christened Tillie Miller, the honor
of naming her being awarded to Hon. John Bever. She grew to>
womanhood, married a son of John Lawrance, father-in-law of the
pioneer editor, Joseph Clingan, by which union there resulted
seven children, one of whom (Harrison) distinguished himself as
a Disciple minister.
The first store started in Wooster was by Wm. Larwill.
In I8Io, the first brick house built in the town or county was,
erected by John Bever, on the corner now occupied by J. S. Bissell
& Bro., dry goods merchants.
In I808, the road from Massillon to Wooster was cut, the first
road opened in the county.
The first State road running through the county, from Canton
to Wooster, was laid out by the Commissioners in I8Io.
In I809, Joseph Stibbs, then of Canton, built the first grist mill,
in the vicinity of Wooster.
In 181 I Hon. Benjamin Jones, leaving Youngstown, Trumbull
county, passed through Wooster and on to Mansfield, in search of
a location, in the interest of Priest Jones. He selected Wooster
and reported so to the "Priest."  During the following year (18 2)
Priest Jones and his family, Benjamin Jones and Betty Scott, arrived at the county-seat. They bought goods and started a store,
Constant Lake, father of Constant Lake, of Wooster, hauling a
load for them. They opened up in a rough, wooden building,
erected by Robert McClarran, father of Rosswell and Clinton Mc



286


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Clarran, located on the premises now occupied in business by Samuel Geitgey, the second store in the town and county.
Robert McClarran, the carpenter in this instance, was the first
Justice of the Peace of the town or county.
The first white man who died in Wooster was Alexander Crawford, in I808.
The first resident lawyer, who died in Wooster, was a Mr.
Raymond.
The first physician * of Wooster was Thomas Townsend, here
as early as I813.
The first minister was Thomas Griffith (Priest) Jones, arriving
in 1812 (Baptist), and this denomination built the first church in
1814.
The first school teacher was Carlos Mather, a young lawyer of
New Haven, Conn., who taught in 1814.
The first Postmaster of Wooster was " Priest" Jones.
The first school house, a brick, was built on the site of the third
ward school building.
The first 4th of July celebration held in Wooster, or the county, was west of town on Christmas's run, the water for cooking purposes being procured from a spring at the base of the hill, on the
premises now owned by Judge Downing. The dinner was under
the supervision of Wm. Hughes; the Declaration of Independence
was read by James Hindman, and "Priest" Jones made the oration.
Renssellaer Curtis carried the first mail to Wooster from New
Lisbon to Mansfield.
The first will on record in the Recorder's office at Wooster was
made by Frederick Brown, of East Union township.
The first transfer of real estate on record in the Recorder's
office in Wooster, is from Oliver Day to Elam Day, of East Union
township.
The first Court of Common Pleas held in Wooster was in 1812.
The first election held in Wooster was on the first Monday in
April, I8Io. The following is the list of electors:
* Ezekiel Wells, of East Union, was the first physician in the county.




WOOSTER.


287


Josiah Crawford, Jesse Cornelius, Jacob Matthews, William
Larwill, Paddy Chest, Robert Carn, Benjamin Miller, Jacob Wetzel (relative of Lewis Wetzel, the renowned Indian hunter of
Western Virginia), Luke Miller, Samuel Martin, Matthew Riley,
John Driskel, William Smith, John Rodgers, John Wright, Christian Smith, Joseph Hughes and William Riter.
The first fire company was established in 1827, though as early
as 1825 a committee, consisting of Gen. Cyrus Spink and Thomas
L. Grilling, was appointed to either go to Philadelphia, or correspond with parties there, in regard to the purchase of an engine.
In I827 Thomas Wilson was appointed a committee to contract
for, and superintend, the sinking of a reservoir or well on the public ground, in the angle of Liberty and Market streets, on the
north-west corner of the south-east quarter of said public ground,
two pumps to be placed in said well or reservoir.
In 1829, Frederick Kauke and Joseph Bergen were appointed
watchmen of the town at a salary of $II per month.
Howe says:  " When Wooster was first settled there were no
white inhabitants between it and the lake; on the west, none short
of the Maumee, Fort Wayne and Vincennes; on the south, none
until within a few miles of Coshocton, and those on the Tuscarawas were the nearest on the east." The city is located 86 miles
north-east of Columbus, and 52 miles south of Cleveland, upon the
line of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway. It lies
at an altitude of 50 feet above the Killbuck valley, and is surrounded by a highly cultivated, beautiful and fertile country.
It was incorporated October 13, 1817; advanced to a city of
the 2d class September 9, I868, and divided into 4 wards February
24, I869, and has a population of over 7,000 souls. It is distinguished for its healthy and excellent location, and during the
business days of the week it presents a fine picture of commercial
activity. The country surrounding it is replete with rich and
diversified scenery, and is under the highest conditions of successful and remunerative tillage. The city government is vested in a
Mayor and Common Council.




288


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


The plan of the city is principally in squares. It contains
numerous well-built churches, of different denominations. Many
of its private dwelling are expensive, tasteful and elegant, and its
public edifices are costly and substantial. It has the best system
of natural water works in Ohio. Its fire department is divided
into hose companies, although two first-class steamers are retained,
the latter seldom being called into operation, as any single hydrant,
with hose attached, is equivalent to an engine.
The city is illuminated with gas; an ordinance has passed for
the establishment of a complete system of sewerage, and the chief
business streets are soon to be macadamized.  Manufacturing,
though in its infancy, is carried on to considerable extent, and of
the ordinary mechanic trades there is a fair representation.  Its
police arrangements are excellent at present, and the cleanliness
and general good order of the place are remarkable. The " Independent Order of Mechanics" have a library and reading-room in
the city, and a membership of leading mechanics of all the trades.
This is one of the most worthy orders of the city, and is noted for
the intelligence, zeal and good character of its composition. A
fair quantum of the secret or mystical societies are represented.
The public press of the city consists of two weekly newspapers, the Democrat and Republican. It may safely lay claim to one
of the best opera houses in the State. Its Missionary and Bible
Societies are worthy institutions, sustained by earnest men and
women.
The public schools of the city are well managed and efficiently
sustained. The buildings are of brick; that of the High School,
on North Market street, being a gem of architectural art, and an
ornament to any city. The course of instruction is graduated,
and when the pupils are sufficiently advanced, they are promoted
to the High School, where they [are instructed in natural science and in the classics. But the University, a history of which, by
President A. A. E. Taylor, appears elsewhere, is the crowning
glory of Wooster. It ornaments an imposing eminence-the site
being donated by E. Quinby, Jr., of Wooster-north of the city,




WOOSTER.


289


with a commanding prospect in every direction, and environments
embracing splendid drives and gorgeous distances, leaving the city
below like a nestling infant, in the midst of gentle slopes and a
blooming valley. Its construction was an enterprise of which the
citizens of Wooster and Wayne county may be proud, and future
generations will point to it as a monument of the wisdom and
sagacity of the men who projected it and bore it on to successful
completion.
Coeval with the laying of the corner stone of the great Republic was laid the solid foundation of literary and religious truth.
Our fathers were not forgetful of this primal duty. There
was great need for such an institution as this in Ohio. A college
established in a State or community multiplies the number that
would seek a liberal education, and imparts to that State or community its general features and nobler aspects of character. Its
influence creates an atmosphere around it, and stirs the aspirations,
as by an irresistible agency, of'those who seem destined to high
positions.  Princeton made New Jersey; Harvard, Boston; not
Boston Harvard; and Germany, in its moral aspects, is but the
product of what her renowned universities have made her.
Not the least remarkable of all the noble features of this institution is the co-education of the sexes, and the disposition and determination to advance the standard of female culture. The man,
who, in this age of the world, antagonizes the complete and thorough education of woman, should have no ancestry short of the
darker eons of mankind. Man now pursues science in her expanded
and expanding sphere, and woman must progress and attain her
possible elevations. She must and will, if opportunity is afforded,
seek and achieve them, and
"Set herself to man
Like perfect music unto noble words."
INCORPORATION OF WOOSTER.
Wooster was incorporated as a town, October 13, I817, and
I9




290


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


advancing in population was chartered as a city of the second class,
and divided into four wards, February 9, I869.
FIRST ELECTION AFTER INCORPORATION.
On the first Saturday in March, 1818, an election was held at
the house of Joseph McGugen, in Wooster, for the purpose of
electing, according to law, a President, Recorder and five Trustees
for the incorporation of the town, with this result: Isaiah Jones
was elected President, John Patton, Recorder, T. G. Jones, Thomas Taylor, Joseph Eichar, Thomas Robison and Benjamin Jones,
Trustees. On the I2th of March of this year the above officers
met at the house of John Patton, and after having produced their
certificates of election from the clerk, and taken an oath to support
the Constitution of the United States and the State of Ohio, as
also an oath of office, adjourned.
At their next meeting, in the month of March, the President
having taken his chair, the Board proceeded to the choice of a
Marshal, Treasurer and Collector, when Daniel Hoyt was elected
Marshal, Thomas R. McKnight Treasurer, and Henry St. John
Collector. The first step taken was to appoint a committee to
draft By-Laws for the government of the Board, which committee
designated T. G. Jones and Benjamin Jones. A committee composed of Thomas Taylor, Joseph Eichar and John Patton was next
appointed to prepare and bring in a bill for the abatement of nuisances, and another composed of Benjamin Jones and Thomas Robison was appointed to bring in a bill to prevent horse-racing and
shooting.
On Friday, April 3, 1818, the Board met, and on motion it was
resolved that a committee of two be appointed to prepare and
bring in a bill for the prevention of immoral practices.
At a meeting of the Board, Thursday, April 9, 1818, a bill for
the abatement of nuisances, by John Patton, with some amendments, became a law, and as such, is the first on record.




WOOSTER.


29I


THE SECOND ELECTION
Was held on the first Saturday of March, 1820, at the house of
Joseph McGugen, for the purpose of electing corporation officers,
William Nailer and Thomas Robison acting as judges, and John
Patton as clerk of election, there being thirty-nine votes polled.
The names of electors are as follows:
Francis H. Foltz, John Hague, Elijah Tillotson, Daniel 0. Hoyt, Thomas R.
McKnight, Philip Griffith, John Wilson, John M. McClelland, Robert Orr, Reasin
Beall, Jacob Matthews, Wm. B. Smith, Andrew Mackey, David Losher, Thomas
Townsend, M. D., Nicholas Mason, Fred Foltz, James Nailer, David Griffith,
Joseph McGugen, Trueman Beecher, Henry St. John, John Larwill, Moses Owens,
Calvin Hubbard, Charles Connelly, Thomas Robison, John S. Headley, Benjamin
F. Coleman, Hugh 0. Harrow, William Nailer, John Patton, George Lisor, John
Stewart, Edward Jones, Joseph H. Larwill, Robert McClarran, John Yergin.
A LIST OF CANDIDATES AT AN ELECTION HELD IN WOOSTER,
MARCH    29, I824.
President-Samuel Quinby, Edward Avery, Thomas Robison.
Recorder-Cyrus Spink, John Patton, Wm. Larwill.
Trustees-Edward Jones, David McConahay, Francis H. Foltz, Matthew Johns.
ton, Wm. McFall, Joseph H. Larwill, John Christmas, John Patton, Wm. McComb, Moses Culbertson, Cyrus Spink, Calvin Hobert, David Robison, Thomas
Robison, Thomas Townsend, Horace Howard, William Nailer, Samuel H. Hand,
Edward Avery, Benjamin Jones, Col. John Hemperly.
We do certify that Samuel Quinby had 53 votes for President, and William
Larwill had 30 votes for Recorder, and Edward Avery had 52 votes for Trustee,
Thomas Robison had 37 votes for Trustee, William McComb had 30 votes for
Trustee, William Nailer had 20 votes for Trustee, and Thomas Townsend and John
Patton had each I9 votes for Trustee.
(Signed)          MATTHEW JOHNSTON,
WILLIAM MCFALL,
Attest: JOHN LARWILL, Clerk of Election.                  Judges.
EXTRACTS FROM PUBLIC RECORDS.
Ordered, That Joseph Alexander be allowed $25.00 for services rendered by
digging up stumps in the Public Square, in July, I8I6.
Ordered, That Cyrus Spink be allowed two dollars for attending on David
Wolgamot, a State's prisoner, as a guard, in July, I8i6.




292


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Ordered, That Joseph H. Larwill be allowed the sum of $5.20 for digging a
drain to the Court House, October, I817.
Ordered, That Thomas Robison be allowed $12.50 for making six pool-boxes
for the use of the county, in I817.
Ordered, That Joseph Alexander be allowed $2.00 for waiting on grand jury,
at October term, I8I6.
Ordered, December 20, I817, that Benjamin Franks be allowed $2.00 for blazing a road from Paintville in a north direction.
Ordered, That Nathan Warner be allowed to spend $200.00 of the three per
cent. fund allotted to this county, on the State road, west of Wooster, for which he
shall receive $8.00.
Ordered, That Benjamin Thompson and Ezekiel Kelly, Trustees of the Baptist
Church at Wooster, be allowed $50.00 for use of same, to hold court and transact
other public business in, for the term of two years, ending in June, 1831.
Ordered, That David Woolley, Deputy Assessor, be allowed $24.75 for assessing the townships of Sugarcreek, Baughman and Chippewa. June, 1830.
A contract will be sold at the Auditor's Office, November I7, 1830, to the lowest bidder, for the safe keeping and providing for of an idiot called " Crazy Sam."
OFFICERS OF THE TOWN OF WOOSTER.
I8I8-Isaiah Jones, President; John Patton, Recorder; Thomas G. Jones,
Thomas Taylor, Joseph Eichar, Thomas Robison, Benj. Jones, Trustees.
182o-William Nayler, President; John Patton, Recorder; John Sloane,
Thomas Townsend, William McComb, Thomas Robison, Thomas McKnight,
Trustees.
I822-Samuel Quinby, President; Willlam Larwill, Recorder; John Christmas, William Nayler, Cyrus Spink, Joseph Barkdull, Thomas Townsend, Trustees.
I825-Thomas Wilson, President; John Larwill, Recorder; Samuel Quinby,
William Nayler, Benjamin Jones, John Smith, Cyrus Spink, Trustees.
I826-John Smith, President; Ben. Church, Recorder; David Robison, Benj
Jones, Wm. McFall, John Barr, Joseph S. Lake, Trustees.
I827-Thomas Wilson, President; Ben. Church, Recorder; Sam'l Quinby,
David Robison, David McConnahay, Cyrus Spink, Trustees.
I828-J. M. Cooper, President; Wm. Larwill, Recorder; David McConnahay,
David Robison, Benj. Jones, Samuel Quinby, Cyrus Spink, Trustees.
I829-Benj. Jones, President; Benj. Bentley, Recorder; Ed. Avery, Ezra
Dean, John Larwill, Sam. Irvine, Thomas Robison, Trustees.
183I-Thomas Wilson, President; J. M. Cooper, Recorder; John Larwill,
John P. Coulter, Sam. H. Hand, Levi Cox, Trustees.
1832-Thomas Wilson, President; John H. Harris, Recorder; J. P. Coulter,
Ben. Church, Ed. Avery, Sam'l Quinby, Wm. McCurdy, Trustees.




WOOSTER.


293


I833-Matthew Johnston, President; E. Quinby, Jr., Recorder; Christian Eyster, Wm. J. Sprague, John Swain, Sam'l Cutter, Wm. Goodwin, Trustees.
I834- *Ed. Avery, President; Ben. Church, Recorder; David McConnahay,
John P. Coulter, John Larwill, Wm. McComb, Sam'l Quinby, Trustees.
I835-John Larwill, President; Benjamin Church, Recorder; John Jones, Cyrus
Spink, Thomas Robison, Levi Cox, Trustees.
I836-Lindoll Sprague, President; J. M. Eberman, Recorder; John Crall, C.
H. Eckart, William Taggart, Joseph Hogan, J. J. Fox, Trustees.
I837-Lindoll Sprague, President; James Thompson, Recorder; William Taggart, J. J. Fox, John Crall, William Spencer, J. P. Coulter, Trustees.
I838-H. Lehman, President; Benjamin Church, Recorder; John Crall, Christian Eyster, Joseph Hogan, William Childs, William Nailer, Trustees.
1839-J. W. Schuckers, President; Benj. Church, Recorder; Kimball Porter,
Jonas Nachtreib, Wm. Childs, Sam'l N. Bissell, Samuel Coulter, Trustees.
1840-John H. Harris, President; Jonah Crites, Recorder; Thomas Williams,
Wm. Stitt, Wm. Spear, Henry Hoke, Jacob Winebrener, Trustees.
N. B. 334 votes polled.
1841-E. Eyster, President; Jonah Crites, Recorder; Thomas Williams, Wm.
Spear, Chas. Howard, Jonas Nachtreib, Wm. Stitt, Trustees.
I842-Kimball Porter, President; D. M. Crall, Recorder; Joseph Hogan, Henry
Hoke, Wm. Taggart, Jacob Immel, John Fisher, Trustees.
1843-Christian Eyster, President; Jas. A. Grant, Recorder; Thomas Williams, Horace Howard, E. Pardee, P. Vannest, Cyrus Spink, Trustees.
i844-Charles E. Graeter, President; Campbell Beall, Recorder; Rich P. Reddick, Jacob Kauffman, Lewis Gibson, Moses Shaffer, Trustees.
I845-Henry Lehman, President; John P. Jeffries, Recorder; John Wilhelm,
Harvey Howard, Wm. Spear, Evans Parker, Samuel R. Curtis, Trustees.
1846-Evans Parker, President; Samuel Woods, Recorder; David Foglesong,
Jacob Immel, Lewis Gibson, Philo S. Vanhouten, J. P. Coulter, Trustees.
1847-Thomas Williams, President; John P. Jeffries, Recorder; Thomas Robison, Peter Vannest, Henry Hoke, Kimball Porter, William, Trustees.
I848-Samuel L. Lorah, President; George Rex, Recorder; William Slemmons,
John Geitgey, Samuel Christine, Abraham Fox, H. L. Wolford, Trustees.
1849-Everett Howard, President; John McSweeney, Recorder; Michael Miller,
I. N. Jones, A. McDonald, Gottlieb Gasche, Henry Hoke, Trustees.
185ot-A. McDonald, President; O. F. Jones, Recorder; William McCurdy,
John Geitgey, Charles Casche, Samuel Mentzer, Emanuel Schuckers, Trustees.
* Mr. Avery, declining to serve, Mr. McConnahay was appointed for the ensuing year.
t At this election the vote was taken for or against what was then called the
Akron School Law, in pursuance of a law passed by the legislature of Ohio, on the
I9th day of March, A. D. 1850, which resulted in 194 votes for the law, and 252
against the law.




294


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY. OHIO.


i85 —Christian Eyster, President; Thomas S. Johnson, Recorder; Levi Miller,
John Geitgey, Charles Gasche, Philo S. Vanhouten, James M. Blackburn,
Trustees.
1852-Jacob Vanhouten, President; Henry C. Johnson, Recorder; Levi Miller,,
William Stitt, Henry Lehman, E. Quinby, Jr., Henry Hoke, Trustees.
1853-S. R. Bonewitz, Mayor; Henry C. Johnson, Recorder; Chas. Gasche,
Wm. Stitt, E. Quinby, Jr., Kimball Porter, J. H. Kauke, Trustees.
1854-S. R. Bonewitz, Mayor; Henry C. Johnson, Recorder; Chas. Gasche,
John Crall, Wm. Howard, Michael Miller, J. S. Duden, Trustees.
I855-Wm. Childs, Mayor; Henry C. Johnson, Recorder; Philo S. Vanhouten, Treasurer; Jacob Chapman, Marshal; Wm. Stitt, Jacob S. Duden, James
Madden, Wm. Howard, James Curry, Trustees.
1856-I. N. Jones, Mayor; John E. Irvin, Recorder; Philo S, Vanhouten,
Treasurer; Stephen Dice, Marshal; Gotleib Gasche, Angus McDonald, John Crall,
Wm. Spear, David Carlin, Trustees.
1857-Neal McCoy, Mayor; Jacob Shultz, Recorder; Alexander Laughlin,
Jacob Kauffman, R. R. Donnelly, J. H. Baumgardner, J. E. Irvin, Trustees;
Arthur Craig, Marshal.
I858-Neal McCoy, Mayor; J. E. Irvin, Recorder; R. R. Donnely, Jacob
Kauffman, A. Laughlin, John Crall, J. H. Kauke, Trustees; P. S. Vanhouten,
Treasurer; Jos. Plummer, Marshal.
I859-A. Saybolt, Mayor; H. C. Johnson, Recorder; R. R. Donnelly, Treasurer; J. H. Kauke, J. D. Robison, Harvey Howard, E. Quinby, Jr., D. Robison,
Jr., Trustees; S. J. Kermickle, Marshal.
I86 —J. H. Kauke, Mayor; Eugene Pardee, Recorder; H. M. Curtiss, E.
Quinby, Jr., J. D. Robison, A. Saybolt, D. Robison, Jr., Trustees.
I86I-J. H. Kauke, Mayor; Ben Douglass, Recorder; A. Wright, A. Saybolt,
James Hallowell, E. Quinby, Jr., John McClelland, Trustees.
x862-Geo. Rex, Mayor; Ben Douglass, Recorder; L. Firestone, J. S. Duden,
A. Wright, A. R. Chapman, Wm. J. Craighead, Trustees.
I863-R. R. Donnelly, Mayor; Henry Lehman, Recorder; Anthony Wright,
W. J. Craighead, James Curry, J. S. Duden, E. Quinby, Jr., Trustees.
I864-J. H. Downing, Recorder; Angus McDonald, John McClelland, C. M.
Amsden, John Brinkerhoff, S. K. Funk, Trustees.
x865-G. W. Henshaw, Mayor; J. H. Downing, Recorder; John Brinkerhoff,
James Curry, T. P. Baumgardner, P. S. Vanhouten, G. B. Somers, Trustees.
I866-James Curry, Mayor; George Rex, Recorder; G. B. Somers, John Wilhelm, G. B. Seigenthaler, Neal Power, Thomas Woodland, Trustees.
1867-A. Wright, Mayor; A. S. McClure, Recorder; E. Quinby, Jr., Sylvester
Gray, David Clark, G. B. Somers, Phineas Weed, Trustees.
I868-R. B. Spink, Mayor; T. S. Johnson, Recorder; A. McDonald, I. S.
Gray, A. Johnson, I. N. Jones, George Bartol, Trustees.




WOOSTER.


295


CITY OF WOOSTER OFFICERS.
I869-Charles S. Frost, Mayor; Aquila Wiley, Solicitor; Hugh McAnnanny,
Marshal; A. J. Dewitt, Clerk; J. H. Lee, Civil Engineer; James Johnson, Street
Commissioner; Jesse Smith, John McMahon, Councilmen IstWard; B. Barrett,
P. T. Baumgardner, Councilmen 2d Ward; A. McDonald, James Shamp, Councilmen 3d Ward; L. P. Ohliger, W. A. Underwood, Councilmen 4th Ward; Thomas
A. Adair, Assessor 1st Ward; John Crall, Assessor 2d Ward; John S. Caskey, Assessor 3d Ward; Chas. Laubaugh, Assessor 4th Ward.
I87o-L. P. Ohliger, Treasurer; I. S. Gray, Councilman 1st Ward; Joshua
Wilson, Assessor Ist Ward; Zac Potter, Wm. Stitt, Councilmen 2d Ward; Sam.
Rhodes, Assessor 2d Ward; S. R. Bonewitz, Councilman 3d Ward; D. Hamilton,
Assessor 3d Ward; Adam Foss, Councilman 4th Ward; W. S. Rogers, Assessor
4th Ward.
I87I-Jos. C. Plumer, Mayor; Zach. Potter, Marshal; Isaac Barnet, City
Commissioner; Aquila Wiley, Solicitor; Jno. Zimmerman, Councilman Ist Ward;
D. C. Curry, Councilman 2d Ward; G. W. Henshaw, Councilman 3d Ward; Robert Redinger, Councilman 4th Ward; E. Schuckers, Assessor Ist Ward; Jacob R.
Bowman, Assessor 2d Ward; David Hamilton, Assessor 3d Ward; R. B. Laubaugh, Assessor 4th Ward.
I872-Mortimer Munn, Councilman Ist Ward; Joshua Wilson, Assessor Ist
Ward; Enos Foreman, Councilman 2d Ward; J. R. Bowman, Assessor 2d Ward;
A. McDonald, Councilman 3d Ward;, Assessor 3d Ward; R. B.
Spink, Councilman 4th Ward; John Applebaugh, Assessor.
873 —Jas. Henry, Mayor; J. H. Carr, Solicitor; Z. Potter, Marshal; Wm.
Mann, City Commisssoner; Jacob Stark, Councilman Ist Ward; Joshua Wilson,
Assessor ist Ward; D. C. Curry, Councilman 2d Ward; A. J. Coover, Assessor 2d
Ward; D. W. Immel, Councilman 3d Ward; Martin Gross, Assessor 3d Ward;
Perry Miller, Councilman 4th Ward; Jno. E. Applebaugh, Assessor 4th Ward.
I874-John Stevenson, Councilman Ist Ward; Joshua Wilson, Assessor Ist
Ward; J. H. Kauke, Councilman 2d Ward; S. J. Kirkwood, Councilman 2d
Ward; Chas. Laubaugh, Assessor 2d Ward; A. McDonald, Councilman 3d Ward;
Andrew Reed, Assessor 3d Ward; Robert J. Cunningham, Councilman 4th Ward;
Isaac Mowrer, Assessor 4th Ward.
I875-Owen A. Wilhelm, Mayor; Cyrus Reider, Solicitor; Chas. Shiffer, Marshal; Wm. Miller, Street Commissioner; Jacob Stark, Councilman ist Ward; Philip
J. Spreng, Councilman 2d Ward; John K. McBride, Councilman 3d Ward; Michael Miller, Councilman 4th Ward; Joshua Wilson, Assessor Ist Ward; Chas.
Laubaugh, Assessor 2d Ward; Andrew Reed, Assessor 3d Ward; John E. Applebaugh, Assessor 4th Ward.
I876-Mortimer Munn, Councilman Ist Ward; J. H. Kauke, Bethuel Barrett,
Councilmen 2d Ward; Dan. Dull, Councilman 3d Ward; R. J. Cunningham, Coun



296


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHO1.


cilman 4th Ward; Josh. Wilson, Assessor 1st Ward; Robert Coffey, Assessor 2d
Ward; Wm. Mann, Assessor 3d Ward; Jac. Somers, Assessor 4th Ward.
1877-H. B. Swartz, Mayor; C. A. Reider, City Solicitor; A. H. Dice, Marshal; G. B. Somers, Street Commissioner; D. W. Immel, Water-works Trustee,
three years; Wm. Nold, Water-works Trustee, two years; Wm. H. Banker, Waterworks Trustee, one year; B. J. Jones, Councilman Ist Ward; Bethuel Barrett,
Councilman 2d Ward; D. D. Miller, Councilman 3d Ward; W. A. Underwood,
Councilman 4th Ward; Josh. Wilson, Assessor Ist IWard; J. S. Duden, Assessor
2d Ward; Jacob B. Koch, Assessor 3d Ward; Jacob Sommers, Assessor 4th Ward.
I877-George B. Miller, Harry H. Huber, present Police.
WOOSTER POSTMASTERS.
List of postmasters, and the date of their appointment, at
Wooster.
Office established, and Thomas G. Jones appointed Postmaster, December 8,
1812; John Patton, November 20, 18i8; Ezra Dean, April 14, 1829; Bezaleel L.
Crawford, March 26, 1841; Jacob M. Cooper, July 22, 1845; Thomas T. Eckert,
April 36, I849; George W. Allison, November 24, 1852; Jacob A. Marchand, November 17, 1853-re-appointed April 2, 1856; James Johnson, January o1, 1860;
Enos Foreman, April 17, I861-re-appointed March 17, 1865; Reason B. Spink,
November 13, 1866; Addison S. McClure, April I9, I867-re-appointed March 28,
187I, and March 10, 1875.
FIRST FIRE COMPANY OF WOOSTER.
[Extracts from Minutes of Company.]
At a meeting of the Wooster Fire Company, No. I, convened at the house of
William Nailer, Esq., on Saturday, the 20th day of January, I827, Captain John
Smith called the company to order, and Samuel Quinby was appointed Secretary.
On motion, it was resolved, That said Company appoint two persons to act as
engineers; six persons to act as ladder-men; two persons to act as pikemen, and two
persons to act as ax-men for said company.
Thereupon Wm. Goodin and D. O. Hoyt were elected engineers; Samuel
Barkdull, David Lozier, James Nailer, John McKracken, Calvin Hobart and Benjamin Jones were appointed ladder-men; Wm. H. Sloane and C. H. Streby were
appointed ax-men, and I. E. Harriott and  -   were appointed pikemen.
On motion, Samuel Quinby, Moses Culbertson and William Goodin were appointed a committee to draft by-laws for the regulation of said company, and report the same at the next meeting of said company. On motion, resolved, That
this meeting adjourn, and that said company meet at the house of Wm. Nailer, on
Friday next, at I o'clock P. M.




WOOSTER.


297


Friday, January 26, i827: Agreeable to adjournment, the members of the
Wooster Fire Company, No. I, met at the house of Wm. Nailer, and adjourned to
the Court House. Captain John Smith was called to the chair, and Samuel
Quinby was appointed clerk of the meeting. The committee appointed at the last
meeting to draft by-laws for the government of said company, made report to the
meeting, and, after the clerk had read the by-laws, as reported by the committee,
they were amended and adopted. On motion, Joseph S. Lake was appointed
Clerk, and John Miller Treasurer of said company, and the meeting adjourned.
THE FIRST WHITE MAN WHO DIED IN WAYNE COUNTY.
The first white man who died in Wayne county was Alexander
Crawford, brother of Josiah Crawford, the owner then of what is
now known as Bahl's mill. Shortly after his arrival in Wooster,
his horse was stolen from him by the Indians. He immediately
started in pursuit of the savage thieves, going on foot, which was
at that time the popular method of travel. He persevered in his
search as far as Upper Sandusky, but failing to overtake or capture them, he abandoned the pursuit. On his return he could obtain no water to drink, save what lay in pools in the woods and by
the roots of fallen trees, and being very dry, was compelled to
slake his thirst with this green-scummed and poisoned water.
This was in 1808, and his pathway was amid the solitudes and
stolid glooms of dense and dreary woods. On his return to
Wooster, he was burning with a violent fever, when he found a
stopping place, and to him a dying place, under the protecting roof
of William Larwill.
He was sick but a few days, and died in the small office of Mr.
Larwill's store, which was situated on the grounds known now as
the drug store of Harvey Howard, No. 4 Emporium Block. Mr.
Larwill describes his sufferings as being terrible. He had no
medical aid:  For him "there was no balm     in Gilead, there was
no physician there."
How, and Where Buried.-Near the present First M. E. church
the proprietors of Wooster, William Henry, John Bever and
Joseph H. Larwill, had laid out and donated to the town what was
called the "Public Graveyard."   Here his remains were interred.




298


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


John Larwill, Benjamin Miller, William Larwill, Abraham Miller,
and one or two others dug the grave and buried him. His coffin
was made of rough boards by Benjamin Miller and his son Abraham, and he was carried to his final repose upon spikes of wood
on which the coffin rested. His grave no one can identify. The
sombre years have swept over it, and it casts no shadow unless
upon some stricken heart. The death-ground holds him, and his
sleep is as sweet as if under the granite shaft.
JOHN BEVER.
John Bever, * one of the original proprietors of Wooster, was
a native of Ireland, and emigrated to America when quite young.
His two brothers, William and Sampson Bever, and his sister Jane,
also, emigrated from Ireland, but whether in company with the
subject of this sketch, we do not know, and settled in Beaver
county, Pa. John Bever settled in Georgetown, in Beaver county,
Pa., along about the year I788. He got into employment of the
Government, and furnished supplies for the block-houses kept for
the security of the adventurous settlers, on the southern side of the
Ohio river, from the invasions of the Indians.
After the State of Ohio was organized, he was employed as a
surveyor by the Government of the United States. He surveyed
Columbiana, Stark, Wayne, and other counties in the State, and
was likewise one of the parties that laid out the county-seats of
Columbiana, Stark and Wayne.
With these opportunities presented to him, he secured considerable property in the different localities, that in time became very
valuable, and, at his death, his wealth was estimated at a quarter
of a million dollars in money and lands.
*John Bever, William Henry and J. H. Larwill each owned a quarter section of land, on which was originally laid out the town of Wooster, and are
referred to as the original proprietors of the city. We are able to produce brief
sketches of Messrs. Bever and Henry, the latter prepared by Hon. Robert H. Folger, of Massillon, Ohio. No biography of J. H. Larwill appears in this work, and
for reasons entirely too frivolous to be mentioned.




WO OSTER-SIE TCHES.


299


His first marriage was to Miss Nancy Dawson, of Georgetown,
about I790, by which union there resulted five children. One
daughter grew to womanhood, and married James L. Bowman, of
Brownsville, Fayette county, Pa. Both she and her husband are
dead.   His first wife died about I818, and in the fall of 1820 he
was married a second time, to Lydia Vaughan, who bore him one
child, Henry V. Bever, who now lives in Paris, Edgar county, Ill.
She died September 22, 1849, in her 69th year. He built, in
connection with Thomas Moore, the first merchant's flouring mill
west of the mountains, on Little Beaver creek, and the first paper
mill in Ohio; and the second west of the Alleghenies was erected
1805-6, on the same stream. Its proprietors were John Bever
and John Coulter.
John Bever* died May 26, 1836, near the State line, in Columbiana county, Ohio, on what he called his " Springford " farm, and
in the house which he had built shortly before his death. He was
about 80 years old when he died, and was buried on his farm,
which was his expressed wish, about forty rods from his residence.
In the year 1855 a land-slide occurred on the face of the hill where
he was buried, which badly wrecked the brick wall enclosing his
grave, when his son, Henry V. Bever, removed his remains to the
burial place of his second wife, on her farm, one mile east of
Oneida, Carroll county, Ohio. He was a member of the Episcopal church, and had been many years prior to his death.
The following extract is copied from the American Pioneer,
published by John S. Williams, Chillicothe, Ohio, 1842:
When orders were given by the Government to the Surveyor-General of the
North-western Territory to have a portion of the public lands therein surveyed and
subdivided into sections, many applications were made by persons for situations as
deputies. Among the number was a young man from the extreme western part of
Pennsylvania, who had, without pecuniary means or the facility of instruction, but
* John Bever's father was a German by birth, and our best information is, that
his mother was Irish. John spoke the German language fluently. It is claimed
that religious troubles caused his father to remove from Germany to Ireland. The
Irish invariably spell the name Beaver, and the Germans Bever, pronouncing the E
as in ever.




300


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


by his own application and industry during the recess from labor, acquired a knowledge of surveying.
Clad in a hunting shirt and moccasins, the usual habiliments of the backwoodsman of the day, he presented himself personally to General Putnam, at Marietta,
0., and made known his desire to have a district to run out. The General replied
that there were so many applications he was afraid he could not gratify him, and
that he could give no decisive answer for some time. "Sir," said the applicant,
" I have come a considerable distance, and am dependent altogether upon my own
exertions for my support. Have you any work for me to do by which I can get a
support until you can give me an answer?"  "Yes," answered the General, "I
have some wood to cut."  "Sir," answered the young man, "I can swing an ax
as well as set a compass! " and doffing his hunting shirt, went at it with full vigor,
the General occasionally looking out to see how he progressed. The job was completed. "Sir," again said the applicant, "have you any drafting or platting in
your office that I can assist you with? "  "Yes," said the General, " I can give you
some of that to do." In due time the plat was completed and handed to the General, who examined it carefully, and with apparent surprise, alternately looking at
the plat and the applicant, thus responded: "Young man, you may go home;
you shall have the district you desire, and so soon as the necessary instructions are
made out I will forward them," which was complied with, and so satisfactorily
executed to the department by the young surveyor that at subsequent progression
of surveys three districts were awarded to him by General Mansfield, the successor
of Putnam. The young man thus represented as presenting himself was the late
John Bever, Esq., formerly of Georgetown, Beaver county, Pa., and who has stated
to the writer of this article that that incident was probably the foundation of the
ample fortune acquired in after life and possessed at the time of his death, in 1836.
WILLIAM HENRY.
Among the pioneer settlers of the counties of Wayne and Stark,
no one is entitled to more honorable mention than the late Judge
William Henry.
When the "New        Purchase" came into the market, after the
treaty of Fort Industry, on the 4th day of July, i805, the first
surveying party, on the lands now included in the tenth range and
extending to the sixteenth range, inclusive, was composed in part
of the late Hon. Messrs. Joseph H. Larwill, John Larwill, John
Harris and William Henry, then young men who had come to the
frontier, as the West was then called, to find a fortune. They
have all passed away, leaving the memory of a good name.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.                 301
The "New Purchase" included the lands west of the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum river, those east having been
included in the treaty of Fort McIntosh, made on the 2Ist of January, I785. A glance at the county maps shows the territory surveyed by the young men above named, all west of the tenth
range being in the now county of Wayne; the tenth range, in
Stark county, including the western portions of the township of
Franklin, now in Summit, and Lawrence, Perry and Bethlehem,
in Stark, and the whole of Tuscarawas and Sugarcreek.
In addition to being one of the original proprietors of the city
of Wooster, it so happened that Judge Henry, when the lands
west of the Tuscarawas river, in the now township of Perry, in
Stark county, came into market, entered fractional section six,
upon the south end of which is now built portions of the second
and third wards of the city of Massillon.
The older citizens of Massillon who were acquainted with Judge
Henry from the time of his coming to Ohio, having passed away,
but little can be traced of his early history beyond the fact that he
was a native of Beaver county, Pennsylvania, and that his appearance in the district now embraced in the counties of Wayne and
Stark was with the surveying party, already referred to, in I807,
from which period to 1814, during which both counties were
erected by acts of the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, he
resided in the Tuscarawas Valley, in a log cabin, which is well remembered by the writer, as standing where now is erected the station buildings of the Cleveland, Tuscarawas Valley and Wheeling
Railway Company, in the third ward of the city of Massillon;
and also in the toll house of the toll bridge, which crossed the
Tuscarawas river at the present crossing of Cherry street. Judge
Henry was largely interested in the toll bridge company as a stockholder, the bridge being erected on the great territorial road running west from Pittsburg.
In 1814 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives, in the State Legislature, for the counties of Stark and
Wayne, and served his constituency most acceptably, ever after



302


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ward declining a re-election and mingling little in politics-the
offices he held always sought him, instead of his seeking the
office.
The acquaintance of the writer with Judge Henry commenced
in I8i8, and continued until his death. After his term of service
in the Legislature, he was elected Associate Judge for Stark
county, and as such was highly esteemed for his uprightness and
integrity of character. At the period above named, I818, he was
a successful merchant in Kendal, now the fourth ward of Massillon, where he continued for many years, removing from there to
the brick building erected by himself, near what is now the west
end of Cherry street bridge, remaining there until he sold out his
possessions in the Tuscarawas Valley, and removed to Brookfield,
in Tuscarawas township, where he engaged largely in the mercantile business and in the merchant milling. On closing out his interest there, which passed into the hands of his son-inlaw, C. B.
Cummins, Esq., he removed to Wooster, where he continued to
reside until his death.
Judge Henry was closely identified with the growth and prosperity of that portion of the Tuscarawas Valley in Stark county
for more than thirty years. He may be said to be one of the
founders of the Methodist Episcopal church in that locality, and
of which he was life-long an active and worthy member. He was
a man of strong will, rarely surrendering his judgment, when once
his mind was made up, to that of any other person. Being a man
of an order of talents and education far above mediocrity, he was so
recognized and respected in all business and social circles. As a
merchant no man's integrity stood higher. In the city of Massillon he was one of the first to embark in merchandizing in I827,
while yet the ground plat of which was covered with the leafy
honors of the forest, as a member of the firm of A. McCully & Co.,
and a few years later in the well known firm of J. Robinson & Co.,
at Fulton, in both of which firms his name was a tower of strength,
and a synonym for the commercial integrity which marked the
history of his entire life, and in both of which firms he was emi



WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


303


nently successful. At his death he left no surviving family, except his second wife, his first wife and all his children having gone
before.
Of Judge Henry it may be well said he was a representative
man, a representative of the class of men who, in the early settlement of Stark and Wayne counties, endured the hardships of
forming new settlements and communities; but of that class it
must be said that they laid the foundationsof civil and religious
liberty, and succeeding generations are reaping the benefit of their
labors.
JOHN LARWILL.*
John Larwill was born in Deptford, County of Kent, a Parliamentary borough and naval port of England on the Thames, three
miles south of London Bridge, in what is London now, on the 27th
of September, A. D. I792.
He descends from sterling old English stock, both on the
paternal and maternal side. His parents immigrated to America in
the year I793, when the subject of this sketch was but a year old.
They embarked in a sail vessel, and after a tedious passage of ten
weeks, in which they were shaken by tempests and adverse gales,
landed at Chester, ten miles below Philadelphia, where unfortunately they were quarantined for several weeks, on account of yellow fever, which so disastrously prevailed that year as well as in
I798.
The family, on their arrival, consisted of three boys, Joseph,
William and John, and two daughters, Julia R. and Mary B. Larwill. After landing at Chester they proceeded to Philadelphia,
where they remained three or four years, removing from there to
Pittsburg in 1798. A somewhat patriotic incident was related to
the writer by Mr. Larwill, which transpired soon after their arrival at the latter place, which we here introduce:
In the month of December 1799, a novel but rather impressive
ceremony occurred in the city of Pittsburg. All the school chil

* Died since this was written.




304


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


dren of the city, and among them Mr. Larwill, then a youth of
seven years, were organized into a column and marched to the
Court House, to attend a sham funeral of General George Washington, who had died on the 14th of the same month. Mr. Larwill remembers it as being an exciting and affecting demonstration, and as having for its object the solemnization of the great
event upon the juvenile mind.
The family remained in Pittsburg until the year I802, when
they removed to Columbiana county, Ohio, settling at Beaver
Bridge, one mile from the mouth of the Little Beaver, near the
State line, but in the spring of 1804 going to what was then called
Fawcettstown, now known as Liverpool, in the aforesaid county.
His father, W. C. Larwill, was appointed first Postmaster in
Fawcettstown, retaining the office for ten years, or until 1814,
when he removed to Wooster.   Though his residence was in
Wooster, he died in Wheeling, Virginia, with his daughter, Mrs.
Julia R. Fawcett, wife of our former townsman, John Fawcett.
His death occurred November 12, 1832, having attained the age of
eighty-five. He had been admitted to the bar in 1803, in New
Lisbon, General Beall being clerk of the court ordering his examination.
Mr. John Larwill came to Wayne county as early as 1807, and
while his father was yet living in Fawcettstown. He packed provisions on horse-back to his brother, Joseph H. Larwill, and his
assistants, who had preceded him, and who, under the management of John Bever, were then running the county off in sections,
for the United States Government. Whilst making one of these
trips, John Harris, subsequently of Canton, Ohio, overtook Mr.
Larwill in the Sandy Valley, now in Stark county, and desiring
work, was permitted to take the place of John Taggart, a member
of the company who grew frightened and panicky concerning the
Indians. To illustrate the difficulty of making it, a boy not fifteen
years old then, had to cut a tree across one of the streams to carry his burden over, and was compelled to swim his horse. After
delivering his cargo he remained but a week with his brother, then




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


305


in camp on what was called Madison Hill, for a few months the
seat of justice. After Joseph Larwill had completed his survey,
in the early part of I808, he returned to Stark county, William
remaining here. In the following year, or 1809, John Larwill returned again, bringing with him a cow and two calves, and assisted
in clearing the grounds at the angle of the streets where he now
lives, and putting it in corn, the first planted in Wayne county.
The grass for his cattle he cut on the meadows now owned by
Hugh Culbertson, the first grass mown in Wayne county.
Rattlesnakes, copperheads and other varieties of venomous reptiles, were thick as Bible frogs, or leaves in Vallambrosa. The use
of the primitive " leggins " was the only guaranty of protection.
Bears and wolves were plentiful, and turkeys and deer were seen
by hundreds. A Mr. Benjamin Miller, father of the first white
child born in the county, and hotel-keeper, frequently visited the
"lick" in front of the residence of Henry Myers, and killing a
deer, would have venison served at breakfast for his guests. His
tavern was located on the spot where Thomas Power has his dry
goods store, and that building is now used for a rear appendage to
John Hanna's present residence. And this was the first frame
dwelling-house ever built in Wooster, with the exception of one
made with a broad-ax and drawing-knife principally, erected probably a little while before this, by William Larwill, in which he kept
a few articles, chiefly to trade with the Indians, such as powder,
lead, tobacco, blankets, etc.
In I809, John Larwill returned to Fawcettstown, and engaged
as an apprentice in a paper mill, near the mouth of Little Beaver,
Columbiana county, Ohio. In this capacity he served three years
and a half, when he returned to Wayne county, in 1813, since
which time he has resided here.
In I814, Mr. Larwill went to clerk for "Parson" Jones, in the
dry goods business, staying with him six months. He then engaged with his uncle, Edward Jones, of Pittsburg, received a supply of goods, and opened a store at the grocery corner now
owned by Daniel Black; and so muddy and swampy were the
20




306


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


streets that log walks had to be laid to some distance east of where
the Public Square now is, for the accommodation of the people.
Remaining about a year with his uncle, the business was closed
out. In 1814, Joseph and John Larwill brought on a load of goods
from Philadelphia, for the transportation of which they paid $14.00'
per oo00 pounds, and sold out the same in what afterwards was the
parlor of William Larwill's house. In I8i8, they and Thomas
Watson and Thomas L. Girling, of Philadelphia, formed a partnership under the business style of Larwill, Girling & Co., their
rooms being on the corner where Mr. Larwill lived thirty years,
and now owned by Benjamin Bowers. This partnership existed
for a space of five years, when it was dissolved, Girling taking the
goods and John Larwill the outstanding accounts. At the end of
three years, spent chiefly in collecting, Mr. Larwill, in 1826, entered the dry goods business, in the frame building adjoining his
then brick residence, where he continued till I862.
We subjoin a schedule of prices of the earlier time as recollected by Mr. Larwill, in I818:
Coffee  per  pound...............................................................................  62
Tea  per  pound...............................................................................   $3  00
Common  keg  tobacco, per  pound.........................................................  50
Coarse muslin, per yard...........................................................  50
Calico, per yard.........................................50 to  95
N ails,  per  pound........................................................................I8  to  20
Iron, per pound...............................................................  I6
Salt,  per  bushel.................................................................................  4  oo
Indigo,  per  ounce.............................................................................   I  00
Pow der,  per  pound............................................................................  I  oo
Other things in proportion.     Transportation was $Io.oo per
hundred from Philadelphia, and $3.50 from Pittsburg, brought in
wagons. It took thirty-five days to make the trip from Wooster
to Philadelphia. The teamster obtained one-half of his pay for the
trip before he left here and the remainder at the city. To the city
he carried the furs and skins of bears, beavers, otters, coons, deer,.
together with dried venison-hams, and such other commodities as




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


307


were staples of exchange, and then brought back with him goods
and wares for the dealers.
At that time a saddle of mutton could be purchased from the
Indians for a quarter of a pound of powder.
While Mr. Larwill never sought politics as a means of self-promotion, or personal agrandizement, he, nevertheless, was tempted,
at times, to mingle in its turbulent waters, but with the steady
purpose, at all times, of subordinating the politician to the man.
He abhorred the petty strifes, nasty jealousies and sinister tactics
of political wars. He was a puppet in the hands of no man or
men, and when promoted to honors, did not permit himself to be
carried passively around the circles of public policy without the
exercise of an independent presiding will.
In I820 he was elected Justice of the Peace for Wooster township, holding said office a period of six years. At the end of his
term, the docket was cleared, all collections closed up, constables
all paid off, an appeal from judgment having been taken but in one
instance. During his official career he married sixty-two couples.
In 1824, he attended the first Democratic Convention ever held in
the State of Ohio, at Columbus, in the month of July, William
McFall and Hon. Benjamin Jones being the other two delegates.
The convention was composed of seventeen delegates, who formed
the electoral ticket for Jackson, all of whom are dead but Mr. Larwill. On motion of Mr. Larwill, Benjamin Jones was nominated
as elector of this Congressional district. In 1832, he was chosen
as elector to Baltimore, when General Lewis Cass was a candidate
for the Presidency. He was elected to the Legislature in the autumn of I84I, during the great currency excitement, but was defeated for re-election by a Mr. Willoz, because he was opposed to
a re-chartering of the bank of Wooster. He was elected member
of the Constitutional Convention in I850, from Wayne county,
engaging in the animating discussions of that session and serving
acceptably, both his constituents and the State.
The active, prominent and forward movement taken by Mr.
Larwill, in the location and construction of the Pittsburg, Fort




308


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUArTY, OHIO.


Wayne & Chicago railroad to the city of Wooster, is fresh in the
memory of the people. His intimate relation to that colossal
scheme; the commotions that threatened it and shook it; the opposition he encountered and the ultimate victory that he achieved,
are all fully set forth in another chapter of this work. In public
life Mr. Larwill adopted the independent course; in fact it would
have been difficult for him to have done anything else, in view of
his strong convictions, positiveness of character, and native dislike
of all speciousness and pretention.  He is a ready talker, and his
public speeches are characterized by sterling common sense, pointedness of expression, and impressive energy.  He never addresses
himself to expectation, and has that other facility, so rare among
men, "dares to displease."  His conversation is agreeable and instructive, interspersed often with flashes of humor, and again with
whole salvos of sarcasm. When aroused, his denunciations are
"' caustic as frozen mercury." When he assails an adversary, it is
not with a penknife, but with a sword. His intellect is clear, incisive and quick.
A severe dignity and rigid decorum characterize the man.  He
despises the glitter which invests the summits of society, detests
nonsense, sensationalism, all vaporing, pretense and sham. Domesticity, and a warm, fraternal feeling toward his family, are
exemplified in him. His page of life, now nearly written to the
edge, enshrines many a worthy and virtuous deed. Although advanced to his eighty-second year, he possesses considerable muscular energy, and retains to a remarkable degree his mental
strength.
He was married January 31, I826, to Miss Ann Straughan, of
Salem, Columbiana county, Ohio, by "Parson Jones," who rode
horse-back from Wooster to perform the ceremony. He is the
father of seven children, three boys and four girls, one of the former dying in infancy, and another in his third year. John S., his
only surviving son, is located in Fort Wayne, Ind., and is a partner in the Perkins Engine Works of that city. He is an accomplished business man, a fine scholar, and graduate of Brown
University, Providence, Rhode Island.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


309


Mr. Larwill is living in tranquil retirement, in the city of
Wooster-his permanent home for over sixty years-with his aged
wife, and three daughters, in the enjoyment of
"All that should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience."
ROBERT MCCLARRAN.
Robert McClarran was born in Lancaster county, Pa., and removed from Westmoreland county to Wooster, Ohio, in i8ii.
He was then a young man, energetic and industrious, and was a
carpenter by trade. Many of the first houses in the town of
Wooster were built by him, some of which are still standing, and
are solid, substantial dwellings.
In I812 he was married to Grace Cook, of Columbiana county,
Ohio, who accompanied him to his new home, to share with him
the privations as well as the romance of life in the wilderness.
He was a soldier in the war of I812, and after its close he purchased a large tract of land adjoining Wooster on the south, on
which he moved, built a saw-mill and made improvements.
He was the first Justice of the Peace elected in Wooster or
Wayne county, and as such married the first couple ever married
in Wayne county, and solemnized the majority of the first marriages. He was elected to the Ohio Legislature December I,
serving therein from December I, 1823, to December 6, 1824.
He held various positions of public trust, the duties of which he
discharged with ability and to the satisfaction of the entire community.   He was the father of Roswell and Clinton McClarran,
the former of the city of Wooster, the latter of Wayne township.
He died March 7, 1831.
Many are the stories handed down of the fun and frolic the settlers had in McClarran's days. The following is an instance: At the north of town stood the old
block-house, in which lived an old lady the men had nicknamed " Widow Blockhouse." Suddenly she surprised the little community by announcing that she had
concluded to doff her mourning and take to herself another husband in the person
of an old fellow who had neither money nor home. This was fun for the "boys "




31o


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OIIG.


of that period, and they made Widow Blockhouse's marriage an extra event that
passes into history. All the jovial spirits of the settlement were present on the
evening of the wedding. It was a lively occasion; 'Squire McClarran, an inveterate joker, performing the ceremony with the greatest humorous solemnity. In the
beginning, after a few remarks on matrimony in general and this case in particular, he asked if there was any one present who had objections to this lovely couple
"renewing their hearts" in marriage; whereupon a gentleman impressively arose,
and in a complimentary speech withdrew all his claims upon the affections of the
bride. Then another arose, and another, until every man present had made remarks and given his consent to the marriage, it being made very evident from their
words that they felt they had a sort of personal claim upon the affections of the
charming widow, but felt forced to give way to a more favored suitor. The ceremony concluded, the 'Squire ordered every man in the company to kiss the bride.
This was complied with by all, until it came to the turn of the last, a gentleman
who is yet a citizen of Wooster, who emphatically refused, saying he "would be
- if that was not asking too much! "
ANDREW MCMONIGAL AND FAMILY.
Amongst the earliest settlers in Wayne county was Andrew
McMonigal, who visited this section with his father, in I807, following the Indian trail from the Ohio river, prospecting for land.
He, however, after a short stay, returned to Pennsylvania, where,
in Carlisle, on April 21, 1814, he married Miss Sarah Glendenning.
In May, the following year, I815, Mr. and Mrs. McMonigal
emigrated to Wayne county, coming in a four-horse wagon, via
Pittsburg, and settled two miles west of Wooster, on what is now
known as the Lawrence farm, which land McMonigal entered from
the Government.
They lived there, farming, for three years, then moved into the
Wooster settlement, and kept a" general store," Mrs. McMonigal
waiting on customers jointly with her husband. Their business
place was where John Taylor's brick grocery store building now
stands, on West Liberty street, and their residence was on South
Buckeye street, opposite Farnham's present livery stable, and was
the only house at that time erected on the street.
In I821 they quit merchandising and again resumed farming,




WO OS7 ER -SKETCHES.


311


removing two miles south-west of town, where he had entered a
tract of land. On this place, called the "Old Homestead," which
they wrested from the wilderness and wild prairie, and which
property still remains in the family, they lived and reared their
children until 1839, in which year they moved back to Wooster,
where Mr. McMonigal died May 9, I846, aged fifty-five years,
leaving a large estate. His remains were interred in the Seceder
church-yard, on Buckeye street, but were afterwards removed to
Wooster Cemetery. Mrs. McMonigal is still living, and in possession of excellent health for one of her years.
Andrew McMonigal was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1791. His father was born in County Derry, Ireland; his mother American born; her maiden name, Nancy
Mahattan. Mrs. McMonigal was born near the town of Fintona,
in County Tyrone, Ireland, November I I, 1793, and emigrated to
America in I80i.
Their children were nine -Nancy, who married John Black;
James, married to Sarah E. Hall; Jane, married to John P. Jeffries; Sarah, married first to John R. Wilson, and second to John
Copland; Martha, married to Henry G. Saunders; Mary, married
to William C. Rice; Eliza, married to Elias Cosper; William, married to Kate Carr; and Andrew, married to Mary Hess.   Of
these, Nancy died in 1835; Mary, 1843; Sarah's first husband,
1853; James, 1865; Martha, I868; Andrew's wife, 1872. The
rest are still living.
Andrew McMonigal was an active business man, and ever
recognized as of the strictest integrity. He was one of the founders of the Seceder Church in Wooster, of which he was an exemplary member for many years and until his death.
JOHN MCCLELLAN, SEN.
John McClellan, Sen., was born in Westmoreland county, Pa.,
March 3, I785, his father being a native of Ireland. Nancy Elder,
his wife, was born in Franklin county, same State, December 4,




312


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


I787. They were married in Beaver county, Pa., September 22,
80o6, by Rev. D. Emery, at which time they there resided.
In I813 Mr. McClellan and wife emigrated to Wooster,
Wayne county, with their two children, John and Rebecca. He
remained in Wooster, making it his home until I824, when he removed to a farm five miles south of Wooster, where he lived until
1831, then removing to Greene county, near Xenia, where he died
March I, I867.
Besides John and Rebecca, already named, Mr. McClellan
had six children born in Wayne county, to wit: James, Jane,
Clark Beveridge, William E., Mary Ann and Harvey Robert.
He was one of the pioneers of Wayne county, and one of the
earliest members of the old Seceder church.
John McClellan, his oldest son, was born June 2, I8IO, near
Greensburg, Beaver county, Pa., and came to Wooster with his
father when a child. His first entrance upon business was at the
age of eighteen years, when he commenced clerking in the dry
goods store of Hon. Benjamin Jones, with whom he served for one
year. He next engaged with J. P. Coulter, M. D., who was then
in the drug business, with whom he acted in the capacity of clerk
until 1831, when he negotiated partnership relations with him.
In 1842 he began the sale of goods on his own account in Fredericksburg, where he continued until I853, when he removed to his
farm, four miles south of Wooster, remaining there four years.
He was married November I4, 1837, by the Rev. Samuel Irvine, of the Seceder church, to Maria M. Mitchell, daughter of
Samuel Mitchell, of Franklin township, one of the pioneers of that
section.
He has a family of five children, three girls and two boys.
His eldest daughter married J. B. Moderwell, a druggist of Geneseo, Illinois.
JOSEPH STIBBS.
Joseph Stibbs was born in Washington county, Pa., November,
2, I779, and both on the paternal and maternal side, descends




V


WOOSTER-SKETCHES.                  313
from old English stock. His father was a merchant tailor in London, and at an early period immigrated to America, and settled in
Washington county, Pa., where he died about 1786.
Joseph Stibbs, the subject of this notice, left Pennsylvania
about the year 1803 and went to New Lisbon, Columbiana county,
Ohio, where he went into business with William Hogg, of Brownsville, Mr. Stibbs, however, remaining in Lisbon. He continued
the partnership with this gentleman in the dry goods business until the spring of 1813, when he removed to Wayne county, settling
across the race and west of what is now called Naftzger's mill, having been out in 1809 and built the grist mill * and a cabin.
He now took possession of the mill which he had constructed
four years before, superintending it personally, and as it was the
only one then in the county its patronage came from all quarters.
Soon after his arrival, and in about I816, he added a carding machine to his mill property, having made the necessary arrangements
for this addition. This was the first carding machine constructed
in the county.
James Miles was the first carder, and frequently would facetiously offer Mr. Stibbs six and a quarter cents to pick packages
of wild thorns to pin up the rolls.
He next erected a woolen factory on the site of the one which
was burned, and which was subsequently re-built by his son,
Thomas Stibbs.
After the building of the woolen factory he built an oil mill for
the manufacture of linseed oil. A grist mill was also run in connection with the oil mill, and he had an interest in the old Plank
grist mill.
He was married September 21, 1809, to Elizabeth, daughter of
Reasin and Rebecca Beall. He died, August I9, I841, after a
brief illness. At the time of his death he owned 1,200 acres of
land on Apple Creek, the principal part of which was in Wooster
township. Mr. Stibbs was an active, enterprising and useful citi

" This is the mill at which the powder explosion occurred, killing Michael
Switzer, etc.




314         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
zen, and his various public improvements were of incalculable
value to the early settlers. He lived a consistent Christian life,
and died in the faith of the Presbyterian church, of which he had
long been a member.
His sons, Reasin, Joseph and Thomas, are dead. Reasin B.
Stibbs was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, September 12, I8I2,
and was married to Miss Sprague, sister of Lindoll Sprague, of
Wooster. He led an active business life, engaged in numerous
public enterprises, and had various banking connections. He was
a moral, earnest working man of most agreeable and fascinating
manner, a member of the Presbyterian church, whose life was
exemplary, and whose death was the occasion of a general sorrow.
JOSEPH S. LAKE.
Mr. Lake was a native of the State of New Jersey, and was
born at Salem, on the 30th day of June, I8oo. His parents, Constant and Ann Lake, both being consistent members of the Baptist
church in that place, then under the pastoral care of the Rev. Horatio G. Jones, a great and good man. Hence it may be inferred
that their son Joseph had, from his earliest years, the example of
right living set before him.
In the spring of I815 Mr. Constant Lake, with his family, took
up his residence in Wooster, Ohio, where the subject of this
sketch began his active business life. By close application and
persevering industry, he became prosperous and acquired an honorable reputation as a merchnnt. One of the old and well known
energetic firms in Wooster was that of Jones & Lake. It was a
step in the right direction for Joseph S. Lake, in the beginning of
his business career, that he became associated with Mr. Benjamin
Jones, a man of good judgment, and correct principles, kind and
liberal. His generosity was not often seen in the highways; but
his helping hand was opened and help bestowed where worthily
needed, unknown and unseen by the public.
Mr. Lake was married the I8th day of April, 1822, to Eleanor




aAa'.oF








WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


3 I 5


Eichar, daughter of Joseph Eichar. His wife and five of his children still survive him, three of his children preceding him to the
"Spirit land."
During his long residence in Ohio, Mr. Lake was frequently
called on to fill positions of trust and responsibility.  He was appointed by President Jackson Register of the land office at Wooster, which office he held until the land belonging to the Government
was nearly all sold, and the office at Wooster closed.
Subsequently he was chosen one of the Fund Commissioners
for the State of Ohio, General McCracken, of Lancaster, and Kilgore, of Cadiz, being his colleagues. During his term of office he
was distinguished for his activity, integrity and efficiency as a business man. He was among the foremost workers in establishing
the Bank of Wooster, and nearly succeeded in carrying it through
the most perilous times for banking in Ohio that ever tried men's
souls.
In the year 1841, Mr. Lake removed with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, and in 1845 he removed to the city of New York,
commencing the banking business in Wall street, and in 1846 became a member of the New York Stock Exchange Board, and
remained a member thereof until his death.  During his connection with the Board he experienced both prosperity and reverses.
It might truly be said of him, that he made two or three fortunes
in Wall street, if he could have known the right time to retire.
He was ever conscientious in regard to keeping within the legitimate bounds of business. One who knew him well from the beginning to the close of his business in Wall street, said of him at
his departure, "Mr. Lake was transparent as glass, yet solid as
marble."
But he is gone! and the places that once knew him will know
him no more, forever.
He died suddenly, on Tuesday evening, March 26, 1867, of
paralysis, at his residence, No. 38 East 29th street, in the 67th
year of his age.
Such was the announcement of the daily morning papers.
Allow me yet to make a quotation from the Cleveland Herald:




3T6


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


" We hear that Mr. Joseph S. Lake died suddenly, on last Tuesday, of apoplexy, in New York city. Mr. Lake, some years since,
was a political and financial power in the State of Ohio. Belonging, in those days, to the Democratic party, Mr. Lake was, perhaps, the most influential politician in Ohio.  He was not an
office-seeking politician, but he wielded an influence over the politics and legislation of the State of Ohio that was well nigh omnipotent in the party to which he belonged.  He was largely interested in the banking business at Wooster twenty-five or thirty
years ago, and no man's name in the State was more prominent in
financial circles than his. Since he left Cleveland he has been residing in the city of New York, more retired from public notice.
He was a man of great energy of character-having a remarkable
character for controlling men; his personal sympathies were warm,
he was genial, and his generous hospitality was proverbial. His
death will be a severe blow to his family, and deeply regretted by
large numbers who formerly knew him, when in the hight of his
prosperity and power."
In the winter of 1854, Mr. Lake being in Galveston, Texas,
he became interested in "the one thing needful," and gave his
heart to his Savior, and was immersed in the Gulf of Mexico by
the Rev. James Huchins, pastor of the First Baptist church in
Galveston. He lived and died a consistent member of the Baptist
faith, a pious believer in Christ, and when the call came he was
ready. The chariot had come, and he went up without a farewell! while his wife and son stood, as it were, stunned beside him.
* *
REMINISCENCES OF WOOSTER, BY MRS. JOSEPH LAKE, OF NEW
YORK CITY.
We arrived at Wooster, April I5, I814. Levi Cox and Carlos Von Julius
Hickox were the editors of the Ohio Spectator, the first newspaper published in
Wooster. It never wanted contributors to its columns, and called out a great
amount of talent, so that, by general consent, it was conceded that Wooster was
the "Athens" of Northern Ohio.
Joseph Christmas was perhaps the most distinguished of the poets, who com



WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


317


posed a very interesting poem, entitled, "The Artist," in which many of the old
masters had honorable mention. I remember but these four lines:
"Rembrandt, to whom the rules of art were vain,
Too proud to mingle in the imitating train,
Like some bright meteor of the northern skies,
To amaze the vulgar and confound the wise," etc.
Then Mr. William Robison (no relative of Mr. David Robison) was considered a very gifted poet. He wrote some pleasant little verses on Mr. Joseph Stibbs',mill, the first one in the county, only one verse of which I can recall:
"God's blessing on Joe Stibbs' mill,
The hopper and the stones,
For it puts meat upon our backs,
And marrow in our bones."
Mr. Robison was a tanner by trade, his tannery being near the residence of
Mr. Quinby. Upon one occasion he put a dunning notice in the paper, the following lines of which I remember:
"Come, you that owe, and pay what 's due,
Or give your notes, or we will sue,
Or something else that's equal-still
Bring slaughtered hides to our bark-millStill buy of us in usual manner,
But mind to pay the needy tanner."
Mr. William Larwill, father of the then young men, Joseph H., William and
John, was a good writer in both prose and poetry. Upon two occasions-1817 and
18i8-he wrote the Carrier's Address for the Ohio Spectator. I can well remember
several other contributions, and one or two Fourth of July orations, of which
Wooster might be proud to-day.
Dr. Thomas Townsend was also a writer in prose and poetry, and some of the
best political articles in the paper were from his pen.
Ithamar Spink was a splendid poetical genius, gifted by nature and education.
Occasionally he stirred the whole town, especially when he wrote on politics, or the
suffering Greeks. On this subject we all believed he wrote about as well as John
Randolph of Roanoke.
Permit me here to give an invitation to a thanksgiving dinner more than fifty
years ago, in Wooster, about the time when Turkey was oppressing Greece:
"Dear Mr. and Mrs. A
" Much sympathy is felt for the struggling Greeks, while little has been done
by any part of the civilized world. We have concluded to make an expedition
against Turkey, on next Thursday. General B- is expected to make an attack on




3i8


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the main body, at one o'clock; the right wing is assigned to your wife, the left to
mine. Gravy, a well-known ally of Grease, will be with us, from whose presence
the most sanguine expectations may be anticipated. Come! Come!
" ----         B."
This is a very small part of what should be recorded of the early times of Wooster; and yet, it is enough to carry you down the stream of time to Greece-and to
Rome, also. The school girls, when they spoke of the junior editor of the Ohio.
Spectator, always called him Carlos Von Julius Caesar Augustus Pompey Hickox.
About this time there was living in Wooster, Xenophon Christmas, who was
a charming little boy, and when we wished to speak to him in honeyed words, we
called him " Xennie Lycurgus Eichar," but he seemed too good for earth, and was
called to the spirit land in I821.
Solon Spink was a lovely child, who died in early life, and after the death of
these two children, Mrs. Nailor, a very intelligent and pious woman, was heard to
remark to a friend, "that this looked to her like a judgment upon the parents of
these dear children for giving them heathen names."
Ithamar Spink wrote some humorous rhymes, of which I remember but the following:
"Wooster! Wooster! come assemble in your might,
Like honest, bold Republicans,
Each in his native right,
To choose the States a President
Of wisdom and of fame,
As Steubenville of late has done,
And tell the world his name.
And soon the hall was circled round
With townsmen shy and keen,
And many a daring combatant,
Amid the crowd was seen.
First up rose Major Do Do, proud,
With cheeks, like cherries, plump,
A man of width, but not of lengthFaint emblem of a stump.
A long and learned eulogium
He offered to the chair,
Which sounded high the shell-bark name,
And did his deeds declare."
COLONEL JOHN SLOANE.
Pre-eminent, conspicuous and foremost among the brilliant pioneers of Wayne county, distinguished for his superior intellect




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


3r9


and abilities, and the recognition of them by his contemporaries
and the Government of the United States, was Hon. John Sloane.
He was a native of York county, Pa., but at a very early period
emigrated, with his father's family, to Washington county, in the
same State. From there he removed to Jefferson county, Ohio,
before the admission of Ohio into the Union, and afterwards
changed his residence to Columbiana county.
Upon the admission of Ohio into the Federal Union, Colonel
Sloane, though a young man, attracted public attention, and soon
achieved the reputation of a gentleman of decided talent and intelligence. In 1804, he was elected a member of the lower house
of the General Assembly, and was re-elected in the fall of I805-6.
In the winter of 80o7-8, while still a member of the Legislature,
President Jefferson appointed him Receiver of Public Moneys
of the new land office, soon to be opened at Canton, and which
was probably opened in May of that year. From about this period, in charge of the Receiver's office, he made Canton his residence until April I, I816, when he, in conjunction with General
Beall, under instructions from the Government, removed the land
office to Wooster, where Colonel Sloane continued to reside, unless
when absent upon public business.
He remained in the Receiver's office until March 4, I819, when
he resigned, having the fall preceding been elected to Congress.
During the ten or twelve years he held the office of Receiver he
became extensively known throughout the State. By his public
spirit and enterprise among the settlers of a new country, his
faithful attention to his office and his urbane manners to persons
doing business with him, he acquired a universal and deserved popularity, which manifested itself in his election to Congress in the
fall of 1818, from a district embracing a large territory, over a.
prominent and talented competitor then holding the seat in the
National Assembly. For ten years in that body he was a popular
and influential member, maintaining and vindicating the interests
of his district and the country with signal power and ability. Tn
I825 he supported Mr. Adams for the Presidency in preference to




320


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


General Jackson, and notwithstanding the cyclone of excitement
that grew out of Mr. Adams' election, such was the powerful grasp
which Colonel Sloane had upon the affections of the people
of his district that he was elected for a fifth time to Congress in
the fall of 1826, and although the excitement alluded to continued
to gather strength for the succeeding two years, yet such was Mr.
Sloane's popularity that, in the Congressional race of 1828, he
was only beaten by a very meager majority.
After his term expired in Congress, in I829, he was appointed
Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, of Wayne county, on the 5th
of March, 1831, which place he held for seven years. The Legislature in 1841 appointed him Secretary of State for three years,
for which period he performed the duties of the office.
The last office which he held was that of Treasurer of the
United States, by appointment of President Fillmore. During the
war of 18I2, he was a Colonel of militia, and an ardent and patriotic supporter of the war, even advancing his own private funds to
feed and clothe the soldiers who were in need. In all his official
relations he discharged his duties with strict, scrupulous fidelity.and distinguished ability.
After his return from Washington, in 1853, he sought retirement from public life, and repose of mind.
" Even those whom Fame has lent her fairest ray,
The most renowned of worthy wights of yore,
From a base world at last have stol'n away.
So Scipio, to the soft Cumsean shore
Retiring, tasted joy he never knew before."
He died May i5th, I856, at his residence in Wooster, after a
short illness, aged 77 years.
The life of Colonel Sloane remains to be written. We have
not space upon these pages to devote to it.  He is a part, not of
ours, but of the State's and Nation's history. The public confided
in him, and showered upon him a pentecost of honors. The government which he so ably served was not ungrateful to him, and
we can not repress a feeling of pride as we record the appointment




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.                  32
of a life-long citizen of Wayne county to the exalted position of
Treasurer of the United States.
JOHN PATTON.
John Patton was born October 15, I790, in Pleasant Valley,
Huntington county, Pa.
In the month of June, I808, he removed to Canton, Ohio, and
there for a season pursued the occupation of a carpenter. From
there, in I809, he went to Wooster in company with a friend, who
was engaged to build a small frame house for John Bever, on a lot
adjoining the public square. On the arrival of Mr. Patton at
Wooster, "the only white men," says he, "that we found were
Benjamin Miller and his son, Abraham, who were engaged in a
trafficking business with the Indians, and Matthew Reily and Jack
Whitzel who were employed in excavating a mill site on Apple
Creek, near Wooster, for Joseph Stibbs. Miller and another man,
whose name I do not recollect, were building a log house. We
all messed together in an Indian camp, enclosed with bark peeled
from green trees, until Miller finished his house."
After the completion of Mr. Bever's house, Mr. Patton returned to Canton. The Secretary of the United States Treasury
having directed the land office at Canton to be removed to Wooster, Mr. Patton was sent to the latter place, April 9, I8I5, in
charge of the office, in consequence of Colonel Sloane, the Receiver, being detained by sickness. In the fall of I818 he was appointed postmaster of Wooster in place of Rev. Thomas G. Jones,
which office he retained about i years. He was one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas with John Nimmons and William Goodfellow, the latter receiving his commission
from Governor Jeremiah Morrow, in 1827.
From Wooster he went to Massillon and engaged in business
with Hiram and Michael Wellman; thence to Bolivar and Navarre,
where his wife died about I844. From Navarre he went to one of
the Western States, where he lived with his daughter, Mrs. Winchester. He died but recently.
21




322


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Mr. Patton was a man of intelligence, and in his earlier years
was a sharp, ready political writer. He had good business habits,
but was unfortunate in some of his transactions. He was a generous and benevolent man.
GENERAL REASIN BEALL.
General Reasin Beall was born in Montgomery county, Maryland, on the 3d of December, 1769. In a few years thereafter he
accompanied his parents to Washington county, Pa., where they
made a permanent settlement. This was probably in 1782, for in
that year his father, Major Zephaniah Beall, was an officer in the
unfortunate campaign made by a body of volunteer militia from
Western Pennsylvania, under the command of Colonel Crawford,
against the Indians of Upper Sandusky.
At the age of fourteen Mr. Beall entered the office of Hon. Thos.
Scott, at one time a member of Congress, a gentleman of considerable note in the public affairs of Pennsylvania, and then Prothonotary of Washington county. With that gentleman he remained until he was 21 years of age, and on quitting his employ
received the most flattering testimonials of good conduct. The
privations which were experienced by the hardy and intrepid
pioneers who first undertook to tame the forest west of the Allegheny mountains has no parallel in anything of the kind that has
ever existed. Favored with no government aid or protection;
without roads other than such as they opened by their individual
efforts; having to scale a rugged mountain wilderness of more
than an hundred miles in extent, on their arrival on the western
borders for a long time they had to subsist mainly by the chase.
But this was not all. The treaty of peace which acknowledged
American independence brought no peace to them. The Indian
nations, who espoused the cause of the British during the war,
were not content to desist from their depredations upon the Western settlements; and such was the inefficiency of the government,
under the confederation, that it was not until the new organization, under the present Constitution, that measures were taken to




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


323


repel their incursions. In 1790 an expedition was fitted out and
marched against the Indians on the heads of the two Miamis.
The command of this corps was given to General Harmar.
Mr. Beall served in this expedition as an officer in the Quartermaster's Department, and was with the army when a severe action
was fought between a detachment under Colonel Hardin and the
Indians near Fort Wayne in 1791. That expedition having failed
of its object, the troops returned to the Ohio river, near where
the city of Cincinnati now stands, and Mr. Beall returned to his
friends in Pennsylvania.  Subsequent to this General St. Clair
marched a second force on the same route, and, unfortunately, met
with an entire defeat. These repeated disasters determined the
government to put forth all its energies in order to secure peace
by the chastisement of the savages.
On General Wayne's being appointed to the command of the
North-western Army, Mr. Beall received a commission as ensign,
and after some time spent in the recruiting service, repaired to
head-quarters, then at Legionville, on the north bank of the Ohio,
near the site of the present town of Economy, in Beaver county,
Pa. It was in the campaign which succeeded that Mr. Beall became
acquainted with General, then Captain, Harrison, and subsequently
President of the United States.  Mr. Beall remained with the
army until some time in the year 1793, when he resigned and
again returned to his friends in Pennsylvania to consummate a matrimonial engagement of long standing. Soon after his return he
married his late wife, then Miss Rebecca Johnston, with whom he
lived till her death, in 1840. Like many enterprising men of his
age, Mr. Beall fell in with the current of emigration, which has
constantly set to the West, and consequently several times changed
the place of his residence. In I80o he removed to Steubenville,
from which he emigrated in the fall of 1803 to New Lisbon, where
he remained till 1815, in which year he removed to Wooster.
On his settlement at New Lisbon, he received the appointment
of Clerk of the Supreme and Common Pleas Courts, which offices
he held nearly the whole time he remained in the county. Al



324         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
though Mr. Beall had served but a few years in the regular army,
it was sufficient to give his mind a military bias. Previous to the
war of 1812, he took much pains to infuse into the militia of his
county a military spirit, confidently anticipating that the difficulties
then existing between this country and England would ultimately
end in war. Soon after his settlement at New Lisbon, he was chosen Colonel of a regiment (being at that time the entire militia of
the county), and in a few years thereafter a Brigadier General.
The war of 1812 found him in that capacity. On the surrender of
General Hull at Detroit, a general panic seized upon the people,
many of them fleeing from their homes and seeking places of
safety. In this state of things much confidence and expectation
was centered in General Beall. He immediately organized a detachment, and in a few days put himself at the head of several
hundred men, and marched to the support of the frontier inhabitants of Wayne and Richland counties, and ultimately continued
his route to camp Huron, where he joined the troops from the Western Reserve, under Generals Wadsworth and Perkins. At that
place they were visited by General Harrison, the Commander-inChief, who attended in person to the re-organization of the corps;
and as the whole was not more than sufficient for a brigade, the
command devolved on General Perkins as the senior officer. After
this General Beall returned home.
In the spring of 1813 President Madison issued his proclamation for a special session of Congress, and the seat for the northern district being vacant by reason of the death of Mr. Edwards,
the member elect, General Beall was at a special election chosen
to fill the vacancy. He served in Congress during that and the
succeeding session, assisting, to the full extent of his abilities, in
providing ways and means for a vigorous prosecution of the war,
then rendered extremely difficult by the prevalence of a reckless
party spirit in various portions of the country. But his domestic
inclinations being strong, the Congressional life did not suit him.
The office of Register of the land office for the Wooster land




WOOSTER- FIRST SCOOHLS.


325


district becoming vacant in 1814, General Beall was appointed,
and resigned his seat in Congress.
The office of Register he resigned in 1824, when he retired
from all public employment. At the great Whig Mass Convention at Columbus on the 22d of February, 1840, he was chosen to
preside over its deliberations, and was afterward chosen one of the
electors of President and Vice-President, and had the honor, as
well as the pleasure, of casting his vote in that capacity, for his
old friend and military associate, General Harrison. This was
one of the pleasantest incidents of his life, and was the last public
trust he discharged for his fellow citizens, his death occurring on
the 20th of February, I843.
In disposition General Beall was peaceful and unobstrusive.
His watchword was uprightness anf1 fairness, for if there was any
offense he condemned and hesitated to forgive it was that of dishonesty.
He was munificent in his contributions to all objects of general
interest, especially such as tended to the advancement of morality
and religion.
General Beall was for many years a member of the Presbyterian church, and died in the full and calm conviction of its truth,
reality and genuineness, together with an unshaken and moveless
confidence, that he was a subject of that salvation which was purchased through the atonement of the Author and Founder of our
most holy religion.
HISTORY OF THE FIRST SCHOOLS OF WOOSTER.*
About the first of June, 1814, the Rev. Thomas G. Jones and
Joseph Eichar, Sr., went around among the people of the settlement to ascertain who would be willing to send their children to
school. They found that all in the place, both boys and girls,
would only make up a small school.
It was commenced in the block-house, on the site where the
* Written by Mrs. Joseph S. Lake.




326


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Wooster Female Seminary now stands. A little before this time
a young lawyer, by the name of Carlos Mather, came from New
Haven, Conn., intending to open a law office in the enterprising
town of Wooster. But la! there was no law business to do there.
In those early times we had no need of locks or bolts; everybody
was honest then. This Mr. Mather had been educated at Yale;
was said to have been a finished scholar, a promising, industrious,
good young man, wanting to be doing something to make our
town a little better for his having lived in it, and possibly wishing
to be doing a little something for himself. He was offered the
situation, which he accepted, of the first schoolmaster. The first
morning the school was opened the children first at their post were
Enoch and Lucretia Jones (children of Rev. T. G. Jones), Eleanor
and Nancy Eichar (daughters of Joseph Eichar); next came Wm.
Nailor (Mrs. Judge Dean's brother), John Griffith (son of the
church clerk), John Smith, Nancy Crawford, Josiah Crawford,
Polly Welch, and besides these there came, also, the children of
the very earliest settlers-almost semi-Indians. I can name only
a few of them-the Driskels, Poes, Meeks and Feazles, etc.  Allow me to illustrate what I want to say of them by repeating a
little anecdote we heard: Just a few days ago, at a school anniversary, to show how susceptible children were to the power of
kind words, the speaker told of three boys, picked up in the purlieus of this city, who were taken to the Industrial School. The
teacher, in a kind, gentle voice, asked the first, "What is your
name?"   He roughly roared out, "Dan!" The teacher said, in
kind, silvery tones, "You should have said Daniel." To the second, "What is your name?"    He answered, "Sam!"    "You
should have said," added the teacher, "Samuel! " To the third,
"What is your name?" who gently replied, " Jim-uel! "
Our school was opened by reading a chapter from the New
Testament. All who could read were arranged into a class. Our
second lesson was from the introduction to the English Reader,
which was our common reading book.
Mr. Mather was very popular in the town generally, and every



WOOSTER-FIRST SCHOOLS.


327


body entertained a high respect for him. We school children
believed Mr. Mather knew everything. He would not permit us
to say the "master," neither would he allow the children to call
names for short, such as "Bill," "Pete," "Bob," etc.  After
about a year and a half, our good, kind teacher began to talk of
leaving Wooster. We all returned home with heavy hearts, after
hearing this, and told the sad news to our parents. While we
were talking, Priest Jones dropped in, and father told him that Mr.
Mather was going to leave, and how sorry his children were to
lose their good, kind teacher, and he was afraid that it would be
no easy matter to fill his place. Mr. Jones said his children were
much attached to Mr. Mather, and, besides, he had the faculty of
making them feel pleased with themselves and all the world. The
whole school believed Mr. Mather knew everything.
He said it reminded him of a little place up in the country, not
far from Philadelphia. The settlers were greatly annoyed by some
kind of a wild animal coming at night and carrying off their chickens. They finally resolved to go out en masse and try to capture
it, whatever it might be. They did so, and caught a fox. They
brought it in alive, when everybody was asleep, and put it under a
hogshead, raising it a very little from the ground, to give it air.
In the morning they soon had a crowd around it, trying to guess
what was under the hogshead. After a little while one cried out,
"The schoolmaster knows everything. If only he was here he
could tell." He was brought there, and, taking off his hat, walked
round the hogshead and knowingly said, " Well, and so the old fox
is caught at last!"  Then the whole crowd raised a tremendous
shout. The boys, one and all, threw up their hats, and with one
voice, roared out, " I knew the master could tell, for he knows everything."
Mr. Mather returned to New Haven, Connecticut, but he left
the impress of his kindly, genial nature upon the children who
attended his school at Wooster.
The next stirring event was, when Colonel Sloane came to
Wooster, and bought the land, including the site on which the




328


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


block-house stood, which, with its stockade, was taken down, all
its heavy timbers removed, every vestige of this noted land-mark
taken away. It was almost a sacred spot; in time of danger it had
sheltered defenseless families from an attack of hostile Indians; in
it Priest Jones had prayed like a prophet; the first church
was constituted in it, while a few armed men stood guard
to protect them from the scalping knife of the Indians; and
lastly, in I812 the first school was organized in it. Why! 0, why!
had it to be torn down? Colonel Sloane wanted that beautiful location on which to build his family residence, and which, after
about three years he did erect. It looked like a very grand mansion to us in those days, and there Colonel and Mrs. Sloane dispensed a very generous and whole-souled hospitality.
From the year 1815 to 1817, several prominent families moved
into Wooster, to-wit: Mr. William Larwill, General Reasin Beall,
Colonel John Sloane, Judge Coulter, Mr. Matthew Johnston, Mr.
Constant Lake, Sen., and Mr. John Wilson, and many others, too
numerous to mention here. But as events shadowed forth, the
most important arrival to us was a young man from the east, Mr.
Cyrus Spink, a gentlemanly man, and very prepossessing in his
personal appearance. While he was looking around, he was offered, and accepted the situation of teacher in our school. The
block-house was gone, and our school under our second teacher
Mr. Cyrus Spink, was opened in the Baptist meeting-house, a small
wooden building, near the spring on the extreme north border of
the town. Mr. Spink was an excellent teacher, and took great
pains to improve our reading. The first thing in the morning was
always the reading of a chapter from the New Testament. He
promoted us from the Introduction to the English Reader, which
was then our reading book.
Occasionally "Priest Jones," and sometimes Doctor Townsend
and Mr. Larwill and others, would step in to hear us read.
These visits contributed not a little to inspire us with confidence
and self-respect. I well remember once, when Mr. David Robison, Senior, and Mr. Edward O. Jones called in, Mr. Spink called




WOOSTER-FIRST SCHOOLS.


329


up the class in the English Grammar to read the Apostle Paul's
noble defense before Festus and Agrippa. We all did our best,
and after they had left our teacher complimented us, and took the
book and read a few sentences himself, to show where there was
room for improvement, and then remarked that "this was one of
the most powerful speeches that we have in the English language."
He then told us the next one would be the speech of Adherbal to
the Roman Senate, imploring their protection against Jugurtha.
When the time came, we read this great speech so well that Mr.
Spink said he was "proud of us."  Not long after this we were
promoted to the Sequel to the English Reader. About this time
Mr. Spink gave up his school, for which there was grievous
mourning. He had received the appointment of surveyor, or a
position in the land office, I don't remember which.  Business
men spoke of him as a rising young man.
Our next, and third teacher, was Mr. Samuel Whitehead. He
was considered a scholar of the first order, and quite a distinguished linguist; his object was to prepare boys and young men
for college.
Enoch Jones, Edward and James Thompson, Joseph S. Lake,
Elisha Garrett, of Garrettsville, Jabez Larwill, Thomas Jefferson
Bull, of Kendal, and many other honored names, too numerous
to mention in this brief history, attended this school. By this
time the citizens had built a brick school-house for Mr. Whitehead,
and so many educated men, so much culture and moral worth,
took up their residence at Wooster, that it was considered the
Athens of the West.
Our next and fourth teacher was the Rev. Thomas Hand, who
came to Wooster from London, England, bringing with him his
wife, a very accomplished lady, and his brother Samuel H. Hand,
afterward of Jeromeville, Ashland county. Soon after his arrival,
I think, in the autumn of 18I7, the citizens of Wooster engaged
him to take charge, as Principal, of the Wooster Female Seminary,
that was to be, and which was.  It was commenced on South
Market street, in a house nearly opposite to where E. Quinby, Jr.,




330


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


now resides, and was opened under very encouraging prospects.
The three English readers-the Introduction, the English Reader,
and the Sequel to the English Reader-were now laid aside, for
which we were very sorry. The series of school reading books by
Lindley Murray were the best I have ever seen in any school.
Geography and history were our principal studies; in ancient history, especially, we made great proficiency.  It was said of
these young misses, by those who were supposed to know, that
they were the most industrious and persevering students in the
State of Ohio.
And now I have a kind of weird spell on me to embrace this
opportunity of transmitting their names, or some of them, to posterity. Allow me to do so, viz: Hannah and Mary Sloane,
daughters of Colonel John Sloane; Jane Thomson, sister of Bishop
Thomson; Nancy and Harriet Beall, daughters of General Reasin Beall; Eleanor and Nancy Eichar, daughters of Joseph Eichar;
Emily C. Bull, of Kendal, Stark county; Ella Wilson, and other
names equally deserving mention.
Near the beginning of the year I819, the Rev. Thomas Hand,
Principal of the Wooster Female Seminary, received a unanimous
call to the pastorate of the Franklin Street Baptist church, in New
York city, which call he accepted, and bade farewell to this model
school. For the time being a part of the younger of the ladies
were sent to Mr. Whitehead's school, but, alas! for the older ones,
that was the last of their school days in Wooster.
Following upon these events several schools were organized in
the town of Wooster and in the vicinity. Mr. Alexander McBride's school-house was a well-known preaching place; a short distance south of town, and a little further on was Dunbar's schoolhouse, and east of town Mr. Joseph Stibbs had a school near his
mill.
In the summer of I868 I stood upon the spot where the old
block-house stood in Wooster over half a century ago! But the
friends of my youth were gone. I could have groaned aloud;




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


331


" Where are they? "  The distant hills might have given back the
wail, and echo answered, " Where?"
( Where are the friends that erst we knew,
In youth's unclouded, sportive time,
When rapturous moments swiftly flew
Upon the wings of Time,
And brows were yet untouched by care?
Where are they? Echo answers, ' Where?'"
DR. JOHN CUNNINGHAM.
John Cunningham, M. D., was born in Washington county,
Pa., February I9, I792, his father emigrating to America from
Londonderry, Ireland, in 1783, marrying soon after his arrival
Miss Elizabeth Scott, daughter of Hon. Thomas Scott, the first
representative of that district in Congress, during the administration of General Washington. His death took place May 12, 1804,
aged fifty eight years. Dr. Cunningham graduated at Washington
College, Pa., under the Presidency of the elder Dr. Brown, and
began the study of medicine in the office of S. Murdock, M. D.,
where he remained three years, with the exception of the time
engaged in attending the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia,
from which institution he graduated.
He came to Wooster, July 5, I827, making the trip hither on
horseback, his horse dying in five days after his arrival. Here he
practiced his profession for several months, when he went to Jeromeville, and where he married Miss Maria Stibbs Beall, March
20, 1830.  He continued practice for some time thereafter in
Jeromeville, when he returned to Washington county, Pa., where
he devoted himself to professional pursuits until 1848, when his
determination again impelled him to Wooster, where he re-established himself in practice. His wife died June 20, 1846, of typhoid fever,
and is buried in Washington county, Pa. His family consists of
four children, all of whom are living. He became a member of
Dr. Brown's church at an early age, and joined the Presbyterian
congregation at Wooster on his arrival, then under the pastoral




332


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


care of Dr. Barr. Drs. H. Bissell, Hoyt, Day, and probably Shaffer, were his professional competitors when he came to Wooster.
Judges Edward Avery, Levi Cox and Ezra Dean were the principal if not the only lawyers. The area of Wooster was then quite
diminutive, as contrasted with now, as the doctor says there was but
one house built at that time east of the present residence of Samuel
Woods, Esq. It was a boarding-house (since burnt down), kept
by Mrs. John Wilson and a Mrs. McMillen, where Messrs. Avery,
Cox, Bissell, the Hacketts, etc., were handsomely entertained.
Dr. Cunningham is an affable, worthy, intelligent citizen, a
good and exemplary Christian, of excellent qualities of mind and
disposition. Near three-score years of his life have been consecrated to the service of his Master,
Who guides below and rules above,
The great Disposer and the mighty King."
GENERAL CYRUS SPINK.
General Cyrus Spink was born in Berkshire county, Mass.,
March 24, I793. Both on his father's and mother's side he came
of Revolutionary stock. His father, Shibuah Spink, served
through a large part of the Revolutionary war, and was at the
bloody struggle known as the Battle of Long Island, and passed
through the memorable scenes of suffering, privation and patriotism of the winter encampment at Valley Forge, I777-8. His
mother, Delight Spink, had a brother in the American army at
Valley Forge, and he died during that terrible winter. The
parents of General Spink were of the Quaker denomination, and
his father was one of the few of that belief who took up arms in
defense of the rights of his country. One of General Spink's sisters ultimately became a preacher among the Quakers. Shibuah
Spink and family removed from Berkshire county, Mass., to
Chautauque county, New York, somewhere about I800. From
thence General Spink set out to seek his fortune in Ohio in the
spring of I815. He made some excursions through the State, but
for the time being engaged in teaching school at Kendal, in Stark
county, he then being 22 years of age. Hon. Joseph H. Larwill,
who was County Surveyor of Wayne county, in the fall of 1815
came across General Spink at Kendal, and without any acquaintance, other than perhaps a kindly word from Judge Wm. Henry,






opr








WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


333


subsequently an honored citizen of Wooster, at once appointed
him Deputy County Surveyor. The appointment and oath of
office bear date October I8, I815, and he continued to act as
Deputy Surveyor under Mr. Larwill until December, I816. All
the recorded surveys during that period, or nearly all of them, are
in his hand, and were made by him.
In December I816 he was appointed County Surveyor, and
continued to fill that post until December, 1821. During a part of
this latter period he was also District Surveyor.- In the meantime, from September 26, 1820, to October 15, 182I, he performed
the duties of County Auditor for more than a year, and for such
service received pay for 72 days' labor at $I.75 per day, or $I26
for the whole period. The contrast between the expense of the
Auditor's office then and now is very suggestive. He was married
to his surviving companion, then Nancy Campbell Beall, daughter
of General Reasin Beall, February I9, 18I9, fifty-nine years ago.
In the fall of 1821 he was elected a member of the House of
Representatives of the Ohio Legislature, and faithfully served in
that capacity during the winter of 1821-2. During a portion of
the time from I816 to 1822 General Spink was clerk in the Land
Office, then located at Wooster, either under Colonel Sloane, in
the Receiver's office, or General Beall, in the Register's office.
From 1822 to 1824 he was with General Beall in the Register's
office, and on the resignation of General Beall, in 1824, he was
appointed his successor. His first commission as Register was
issued by President James Monroe, and bears date January 14, 1824.
He was reappointed by President J. Q. Adams for four years,
by commission dated January 28, 1828. He was removed by
President Jackson in I829. He was one of the Presidential Elec —
tors for Ohio in I844, and met with the College of Electors to cast
the vote of Ohio for Henry Clay.
He was a member of the State Board of Equalization for this
Senatorial District in I846, and attended the sessions of the Board
at Columbus in the fall of that year. He was a delegate to the
Baltimore Whig Convention of 1852, which nominated General
Scott for the Presidency, though he never endorsed the platform of
that Convention. In 1856 he was appointed by Governor Chase
one of the directors of the Ohio penitentiary, but resigned his office in
the summer of I858. In the fall of 1858 he was nominated at Lodi in Medina county for Congress, and triumphantly elected. For
a period of 44 years he was intimately connected with the interests,




334


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


progress and the prosperity of Wayne county. He came to
when a young man, and spent the fire of youth, as well as Wooster
the years of manhood there. He faithfully performed every duty
imposed upon him, and from early manhood to the day of his
death he secured the confidence and respect of his fellow citizens.
He shared the toils of the early settlers, slept with them in their
cabins, and camped with them in the dim old woods. From 1815
to I821 he traversed the county more and become more intimately
acquainted with the settlers than, perhaps, any other man of his
time. There are a few survivors yet whose memories recall most
vividly the wilderness camp-fire and the night bivouac with General
Spink in the solemn woods. But they are fast passing away.
He was a man of fixed principles and settled convictions, and
through his whole life sought to do no violence to them. He
read extensively, thought much and had an exceedingly retentive memory.   Opposed to change he tended to conservaism, but when convinced that wrong would be perpetrated
or extended by conservatism, he was a radical. He was slow in
forming attachments, but true as steel to them when once formed.
He was a devout believer in the Christian religion, and for twenty
years of his life he was an exemplary and honored member of the
Baptist church. Few men possessed as extensive and correct
stores of information on political matters as did General Spink.
He was an acute observer, and for the last thirty years of his life
he preserved, in some shape, a record of what transpired of importance in the political world. General Spink died in Wooster on
the 3Ist day of May, I859, in the 67th year of his age. He was
the father of six children.  Lieutenant Reasin B. Spink, who
served gallantly in the war of the rebellion, to whom we are indebted for the data of this sketch, was his youngest son.
Although elected he was never permitted to take his seat in
the council of the nation, for in the sound maturity of advanced
manhood and enriched intellect, he was summoned to the high assemblage of purified spirits, and that loftier Congress constituted
and chosen of God.
His death was announced in Congress by Mr. Blake, his successor from this district, when the following resolutions were
adopted:


Resolved, That the members of this house, from a sincere desire of showing
every mark of respect due to the memory of Hon. Cyrus Spink, deceased, late a




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES:


335


Representative from the State of Ohio, will go into mourning by wearing crape on
the left arm for 30 days.
Resolved, That the proceedings in relation to the death of Hon. Cyrus Spink,
be forwarded by the Clerk of this House to the widow of the deceased.
Resolved, That as a further mark of respect for the memory of the deceased
this House do now adjourn.
Resolved, That the Clerk communicate a copy of the foregoing proceedings to
the Senate.
Hon. John Sherman, of Ohio, said:
I have known General Spink from my boyhood. His manly form is now before me, as distinct in my memory as you, sir, or any of our associates around me,
is distinct to my view. He was not a great man in the sense in which that term is
used. The flashes of genius did not disturb his judgment, nor the fierce energy of
ambition consume his strength, or consign his name to the adulation of friends, or
the hate of foes.  *   *   *    *'   Trained in the early days of Ohio, when
the life of a pioneer was a continual war with uncultivated nature, he lived to see
the forest give way before the labor of a hardy race; the rude log hut superseded
by the comfortable mansion, and scattered settlements, commenced in a wilderness,
rising into cities, towns and villages. In this contest of civilization he was not an
idle spectator; he performed a part. If he did not conquer a land flowing with
milk and honey, he, and those like him, made one. His conversation was a local
history. Added to the information he acquired by his intercourse with men, he
had read much and communicated his information with a genial humor that always
made him a favorite, especially with young men.  *   *    *    If he had
lived to add the personal acquaintance of his fellow members to the testimony of
his friends, the death of but few of our number would have caused more personal
grief. He would have been true to his party associates, and yet kind and forbearing to all. He commenced his political career as a supporter of President Monroe;
was attached to the Whig party during its existence, and at his death was an earnest Republican.   *    *    *    But he has been called to that mysterious
realm, through whose darkening gloom reason can not guide us; but he has left to
his colleagues and friends an example of rectitude and Christian purity, demanding
our respect and worthy of our emulation.
THOMAS TOWNSEND, M. D.
Thomas Townsend, the pioneer physician of Wooster, was of
Quaker parentage, and a native of Pennsylvania. He removed to
Wooster in I8Io-I I, remained there about thirty years, when he
went to Wheeling, West Virginia, where he died. He owned the
property now in possession, and built what is now the frame portion, of Mr. Sprague's residence, in which he lived and had his
office. Dr. Townsend was a man of marked ability in his profession, and performed a conspicuous part in the civil organization of
the town and county. He held different positions of official re



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HISTORY OF WAYNVE COUNTY, OHIO.


sponsibility, prominent among which was an Associate Judgeship
in I8I9.
DANIEL MCPHAIL, M. D.
Daniel McPhail was one of the pioneer physicians of Wooster,
settling there as early as I818. He was born and educated in
Scotland; was a man of unusual acquirements, and a splendid chemist. He practiced his profession in Wooster eleven or twelve
years, but prejudice rose against him and he was sued for malpractice. Judge Charles Sherman, father of General Sherman,
defended him, and Judge Edward Avery conducted the prosecution. In the trial Dr. McPhail vanquished his persecutors and was
triumphantly vindicated. Desiring to avoid other hostile combinations, he removed to Tennessee and thence to New Orleans.
He subsequently returned to Tennessee, where he acquired a vast
practice, and where he died, having achieved great reputation.
THOMAS ROBISON.
April 8, I79I, Thomas Robison, father of Dr. J. D. Robison,
was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, within six miles of
Chambersburg, near Rocky Springs. His father came from York
county to Franklin, where he died. Thomas left Franklin county
in I806, removing to Columbiana county, Ohio, and remained
there until the spring of I807, when he went to Zanesville, and
remained there until the following December. He then went back
to his native county in Pennsylvania, and learned the cabinetmaking trade in Chambersburg, working as an apprentice for three
years. He then returned west, and landed in Wooster, November
15, I813, in company with his brother, David Robison, Sen. On
their arrival, David and Thomas bought a tan-yard from a man
named John Smith, who subsequently, in 1824, became Sheriff of
Wayne county. The tannery is the one located on North Buckeye street, and now owned by George Seigenthaler. Thomas, at
the same time, started a cabinet-shop on North Buckeye street,
where Shively's barn now is, he running that branch of business
and David the tannery. In a few years the brothers dissolved
partnership.
In the fall of I8i6 he went to Westmoreland county, Pa., where
he was married, on the I2th of November, to Jemima Dickey, at




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337


the residence of Alexander Robison, returning with his bride to
Wooster, December 20, i8i6.
He sold out his cabinet establishment along about 1830, when
he joined in mercantile pursuits with Moses Culbertson, on the
north-east corner of the Public Square, now occupied by J. S. Bissell & Brother. After being a while in trade they sold their store
to Jacob Eberman. Several years afterward, say in I839, Mr.
Robison again engaged in merchandizing with Wm. Jacobs,
brother of James Jacobs, and after a successful career retired from
commercial pursuits.
He was one of the most popular men in the community. Soon
after marriage he was elected Justice of the Peace, and thereafter
was the choice of the people for several offices. He was Sheriff
of the county from 1828 to 1832; member of the State Senate
from December 3, 1832, to December 5, 1836, having been reelected in 1834; was chosen one of the Associate Judges of Common Pleas Court in 1848, besides filling several other less important offices, such as Director and Superintendent of the Wooster
and Cleveland Turnpike, etc. In religion he was a Presbyterian,
and was Moderator of one of the earliest Presbyteries held in
Wooster, proving himself by success to be one of the most zealous members in efforts to procure subscriptions and money to build
the old brick Presbyterian church on West Liberty street.
He died suddenly in Wooster of neuralgia of the heart, on the
14th of September, 1857, his wife surviving him until March Io,
1869.
Thomas Robison was an exceedingly popular and enterprising
citizen, and held in universal esteem by all who knew him. He
was full of good humor, and was kind, benevolent and cordial. In
his positions of public trust he sustained a reputation for honesty,
fairness, fidelity and integrity.
He was conscientious and sincere in purpose; of magnanimous and indulgent disposition; an unassuming, buoyant-minded,
hopeful, earnest, Christian gentleman.
BISHOP EDWARD THOMSON.
Edward Thomson, son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Maria Thomson, was born on the I2th of October, I8IO, at Portsea, England,
being a remote relative of James Thomson, the author of "The
Seasons." In the year I818 the family removed to America, and
22




338


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUANTY OHIO.


after tarrying briefly in New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburg,
they located early in 1820 in Wooster, Ohio. The family being
in easy circumstances, Edward had good opportunities, as times
then were, for education, which he improved with the avidity of a
susceptible and eager nature. His father being a druggist, he was
early inclined to the study of medicine, and having attended lectures in the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania,
he received his medical diploma when nineteen years old. He
practiced in Jeromeville and in Wooster. Medical study, and perhaps youthful associations, developed in him a bias toward skepticism. A labored effort which he made to disprove Christianity,
revealed to him the weakness of his cause, and he surrendered to
the authority of truth. After his admission of the truth of Christianity sometime elapsed before he accepted its saving power in his
heart. His first public acknowledgement of the reality of Christianity was made at a class meeting at C. Eyster's, of Wooster. In
less than one week, at a prayer meeting in Wooster, he gave his
hand to Rev. H. O. Sheldon, his counselor, and his name to the
church. When he consecrated himself to the church he said,
"They are a people who make a business of religion."
His parents were Baptists, and his father consented with reluctance to his becoming a Methodist. He was baptized on the 29th
of April, 1832, and was licensed to exhort the next day. On the
Ist of July, 1832, he was licensed to preach, and the conference at
Dayton, Ohio, September 19, 1832, admitted him on trial. He
preached his first sermon in Dalton. 1844-46, he was editor of the
Ladies' Repository; 1846-60, President of the Ohio Wesleyan University; I86o-64, editor of the Wiestern Christian Advocate andJournal; 1864-70, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
He soon displayed intense zeal in the cause, and from the inception of his ministry, his labors were blessed with the most gratifying and abundant success. At a two days' meeting, soon after
his assumption of the sacerdotal office, and following his sermon,
sixty-five penitents appeared at the altar, of whom forty-six united
with the church in probationary membership. In Detroit his services gave evidences of a rare gift of eloquence, accompanied with
a power purely spiritual to a degree seldom realized in the labors
of the ablest divines. During his pastorate in Detroit he was
married, July 4, 1837, in Mansfield, Ohio, by Rev. Adam Poe, to
Miss M. L. Bartley, daughter of Hon. Mordecai Bartley. Her




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


339


death occurred December 31, 1863, in New York. Perhaps the
highest achievements of Dr. Thomson were in the department of
education. Here he seemed a prince in his native domain. He
ruled by the charms of personal goodness and by the magic spell of
an inimitable character. He taught with facility and made every
topic luminous by fertility and aptness of illustration.
Many of the men who have given character to the N. O. Conference were educated partly or wholly at the Norwalk Seminary
during his principate. The names of Ward, Cooper, Goodfellow,
and others, which are either in our presence, or our memories, are
all of them monumental honors to the Bishop. While yet at the
head of Norwalk Seminary he was invited to the Presidency of
the nascent Ohio Wesleyan University.
That University was chartered by the Legislature of Ohio in
March, 1842. The Board of Trustees was organized at Hamilton,
the then seat of the Ohio Conference, on the first day of October,
I842. Dr. Thomson was then elected President, to be called into
service by the Board at a later date. The University classes were
preparing under the charge of Rev. Dr. Howard, now President of
the Ohio University. This arrangement continued until I844,
when Thomson was, by the General Conference, elected editor of
the Ladies' Repository. The Trustees of the University met that
year in Delaware, Ohio, 25th of September, and Dr. Thomson
sent in his resignation of the Presidency. This was accepted, and
he was immediately re-elected President.  At a meeting of the
Trustees in Cincinnati, 5th of September, 1845, Dr. Thomson said,
that if the Ohio and North Ohio Conferences would advise him to
leave the Repository for the University he would do it. Each of
those Conferences did pass a resolution, not advising the course
suggested, but expressing their gratification if he should see fit to
take such a course. He resigned his editorial chair and assumed
the duties of the Presidency about the first of June, I86o.
In July following he delivered his first baccalaureate, and the
same day his inaugural address. He was married a second time
May 9, I866, to Miss Annie E. Howe, well known for her piety
and eminent poetic genius.
Bishop Thomson died of pneumonia on the 22d of March,
1870, Io:30 A. M., in the city of Wheeling, West Virginia, and was
buried in Delaware, Ohio, 26th of March.
His record as President of the University is known to the
world. His success as editor of the Christian Advocate and Journal




340


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


is admitted. His faithful labors as Bishop endeared him to the
church. Though exalted to the Episcopate, he never forgot his
friends and associates.
" PRIEST JONES."
The following is extracted from a biography of this early Baptist divine, published in the Wayne County Democrat, 1873:
Thomas, son of Griffith Jones by Annie, his wife, baptized May 3, 1778.Parish Register, South Wales, county of Rednor.
So is it recorded. On earth, they simply said that a man child was born, but
in Heaven, in the great Book of Life, the angel noted, in letters of light, the creation of an immortal soul.
Of his early life we know little, save his two births; the first, as we have
noted; the second, his spiritual birth at the age of seventeen. With the thoughtfulness characteristic of strong natures, he thus early became absorbed in the great
mystery and the great truths of life. At that time religion, theoretically, was at
high tide, practically, at its lowest ebb. In England, intolerance, with sword in
hand, mocked at that religion which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to
be entreated; whilst in France the Reign of Terror was at its hight, the Christian
religion suppressed, the Sabbath abolished, and, by the passing of a decree, the
only French deities from henceforth were declared to be Liberty, Equality and Reason. A mind vigorous and expansive and thirsting for knowledge could not fail to be
absorbed with these momentous subjects of controversy. The strong defense of
the Christians on the one side, going boldly to the root of the whole matter, maintaining their position with arguments trenchant as steel, and sharper than any twoedged sword; on the other side, the scoffs and sneers of the atheists, with the still
more dangerous, because more subtle, influence of this keen, cold philosophy.
Not content to be swayed by the opinion of others, he determined to know for
himself this truth which maketh free from all doubt and all fear, thus searched the
Scriptures, quaffing deeply of the fountain of life. The plan of salvation to him
was lucid and complete; with characteristic decision he accepted it joyously, gladly,
and the church books tell us that, like the church of old, "he straightway went
down into the water and was baptized," becoming a member of the Baptist church
at Dolan, in his native county, Rednor. This was one of the ancient churches of
the principality of Wales. It had passed through a series of bitter persecutions.
Surrounded and beset by the cruel enormities of religious intolerance which
marked the reign of Charles I., it could at first boast no place of worship, saving
such as nature provided. The green concealment of the woods, with the widespreading, intervening branches of the trees, forming the Gothic roof of their temple; their only choir nature's grand orchestra of birds, they not daring to praise
their God in song, lest it should discover them to their enemies. But these very
persecutions served to develop the strong Christian character which, even at the
present day, marks the Welsh Baptist.
In such a school as this, Thomas Grffith Jones learned the great lesson of life,
solved the problem of existence, and deduced his own conclusion. His desire to
become a minister of the gospel becoming known to the church, they encouraged
him to use his gifts on various occasions, until becoming satisfied that it was the




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


341


will of God, he received their approbation to go " into all the world," and tell this
"wondrous story of the Cross," which he did, with all that pleading earnestness
which constitutes the thrilling eloquence for which the Welsh are justly noted.
We learn through the written testimony of one who was a cotemporary member
of the church at Dolan, that "Thomas Griffith Jones was regarded by the church
and his friends generally, at that time, as a young man whose youth was full of
great promise, possessing gifts and talents which, with God's grace, would make
him eminently distinguished."
He made vigorous efforts to acquire the literary and theological qualifications
so essential to the ministry, and at this time studied with a clergyman of the Church
of England.
During these years the spirit of emigration was running wild. The glories of
the land beyond the sea were on every tongue, until America, looming up above
the mists and spray of the ocean, in all its western splendor and wealth of natural
endowments, seemed to the care-worn denizens of the old world an Arcadia of love
and promise; a Canaan, flowing with milk and honey; an Elysium of peace and
rest; a Paradise, having its tree of life without its serpent. His impressible mind,
eager for progress and enlargement, became impregnated with the pervading enthusiasm, and thinking to find broader, richer fields in which to gather grain "white
already to the harvest" of his Lord, he took a last farewell of the land of his nativity and sailed to the United States in I800. He brought with him testimonials of
his high Christian bearing, and ministerial character.
His first location was in New Jersey. He spent his first season in America
with Dr. David Jones, a Baptist minister of wide reputation, and a chaplain in the
Revolutionary army. With his efficient aid he prosecuted his studies together with
Dr. Jones' son, the Rev. Horatio G. Jones, who was also at that time preparing for
the ministry under the instruction of his father.
Even while a young man, Thomas G. Jones viewed mankind from a standpoint of cool, keen judgment, and generally set the right value on men. Broadcloth and beaver, velvet and jewels, did not constitute the gentry in his clear, unbiased eyes, but innate refinement and education of heart, before brain.
His life was consistent with his avowed opinions. The poorest of his parishioners was greeted with as hearty respect as the wealthiest. The golden calf received no worship from him, such as in this idolatrous day, when even the clergy
condescend to bend the knee. Perhaps the homage is rendered conscientiously,
hoping thereby to advance the interest of the church by an influx of wealth, but
even receiving it through such a charitable medium one can not but be convinced
that it detracts from the minister's influence. Within a year one heard his minister boast that "his church was made up of wealthy men." The poor are crowded
out of our elegant churches, with their rented pews. It is "doing evil that good
may come." Thomas G. Jones held such policy in infinite scorn.
His second season was spent in the companionship and under the tuition of
Dr. Stoughton, an eminently successful minister, justly celebrated for his eloquence,
profound scholarship and universal philanthrophy.
In I8oI, Thomas Griffith Jones took to wife Susan Jones, daughter of Mr.
Enoch Jones, who resided on what is generally known as the Welsh tract in Delaware. She was the niece of Dr. David Jones, and cousin to his first American
friend, the Rev. H. G. Jones. She was a woman of unusual beauty and high mental and moral culture, and it has been said by cotemporaries, that " seldom was a
handsomer couple seen than the young Welsh minister and his bride."
About two years after his marriage, he was ordained by a council convened for




342


HISTORY OF VA YNE COUNVTY, OHIO.


that purpose. After this, he preached in various places with marked success. He
supplied one church in Cumberland county, New Jersey, for about two years.
In the summer of 1804, is recorded his first visit to the West. So we read,
that in 1804, he went out West and preached at Warren and Garrettsville, Ohio,
and Sharon, Pa. On the third of September, in the same year, the Baptist church
at Sharon gave him a call to become their pastor. He was then living in Shiloh,
Cumberland county, Pa. In the following spring the church at Sharon sent a
brother "to bring him over the mountains to the West," it is quaintly recorded.
He arrived at Sharon the 20th of April, and on the 22d of June following he
united with said church. On the same day the membership renewed the call; he,
however, suspended the acceptance, under a year; providing, that if, at the expiration of that time, they were mutually satisfied, to remain. During the trial year,
pastor and people became greatly attached; and at its termination, he was fully
recognized as pastor. This relation he sustained to that church, and to the Baptist
church in Warren, until I812, laboring alternately in each, and residing part of the
time within the bounds of one and part in the other.
Nine years after he had been in America, he laid aside his allegiance as an English subject. Long before he came to the United States, he had entertained the
most ardent admiration for our Republican form of Government; that grand independence by which men determined to govern themselves, struck an answering
chord in his proud Welsh spirit. The tyrannous rigor of British rule he had felt
before he left his native place. Being subject to conscription during the war between England and France, he obtained a substitute, who was shot dead upon the
battle field. Thus one life was sacrified for another.
In i809, having been nine years an alien, he was naturalized; the crisp, yellow
bit of parchment, with its ancient look, which we hold in our hand, bearing testimony thereto, having the following on its folded side: " Admission of Thomas G.
Jones as a citizen of the United States of America."
Two years after this, we find him raising his voice in making the laws of his
State. In his legislative capacity, he was ardent and faithful; socially as well as
publicly, he wielded a mighty influence; he had rare conversational ability, and an
inexhaustible fund of anecdote.
He was among the early abolitionists, and was often heard to say, that,
"Slavery was a blot on our National escutcheon." The cause of the oppressed always met the quick impulse of redress in his great kind heart.
In I8i2 he went to Wo-ster, at that time a small western village, with a mere
handful of inhabitants. He found a few Baptists among them; they organized a
church, meeting for that purpose in the Block-House, whilst a body of men, armed
with guns, stood guard about the building to give warning and protect them in case
of an attack from the Indians. They gave the church the expressive appellation,
" Bethany " (house of obedience). He became its pastor, and sustained that relation until i839, a period of twenty-seven years. During this time, however, he was
absent one or two years, laboring as a missionary. The church was blessed under
this ministry.
He was not really popular as the minister, but beloved as the pastor. He was
kind, earnest and sympathetic-generous, too, and hospitable. The stranger was
always welcome to a seat at his board. It might be said of him as of Sir Walter
Scott, " He entertained half Scotland."
He was charitable and benevolent, and threw all the energy and force of his
strong nature into whatever work he undertook. He was one of the earliest friends




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


343


of education in the State of Ohio. He took a very prominent part in the formation
of the O. B. Education Society, organized at Youngstown, in I816.
He was one of the first agents of Granville College. He visited most of the
churches of Northern Ohio to present its claims, and solicit aid on its behalf.
In addition to the important trusts which we have already mentioned, Thomas
G. Jones held, for a short period, the office of Associate Judge of Wayne county,
and was, also, for some time President of the Wooster Bank.  He was also, for
some years a part of the time quite extensively engaged in the mercantile business.
We have said he was pastor of the church at Wooster twenty-seven years. He
resigned the charge in I839, being at that time sixty-one years of age. His portrait,
at about this period of life, done in crayon, is before us. He is clad in clerical
black; the vest buttoned closely up to the chin, a white tie knotted carelessly at the
throat. The figure large and fleshy, the face still the face of his youth unchanged,
save where time and trouble had left their traces; the brown hair a silver grey;
the eyes kind and earnest, but with a certain tinge of sadness in them, rendered
the more marked by tense lines across the grave smooth brow; the mouth showing
the increased strength of character, which the years had developed, but yet retaining its curves of humor, which his oft repeated chin, when he laughed, intensified;
whilst about all rest a certain grandeur of bearing, and dignity of thoughtfulness,
that causes one, all unconsciously, to repeat to one's self, " Kings and Priests unto
God "-and again, "A royal priesthood."
After his resignation, he by no means ceased working in his Savior's cause.
He continued to preach constantly in the surrounding country. We have looked
over some of his sermons. They are mere diagrams of thought, to be filled extemporaneously. The Savior's love was the burden of his theme. That story of the
Cross, so old, yet ever new, he portrayed with most touching pathos, and most
thrilling eloquence.
He was a great historian; his sermons were graphic in historical allusions and
illustrations which made them valuable, both for the practical lessons they imparted
and the rare gems of historic lore they contained.
He was a great admirer of Bunyan's " Pilgrim's Progress," that book. so grand
in its earnest simplicity, and often drew on its infinite resources in delineating the
Christian's journey heavenward.
In disposition he was kind, and though oftentimes quick, was ready to acknowledge his faults, both to God and man. As a friend he was faithful. He was honest and frank in his likes and dislikes, hating dissimulation, and discarding conventional hypocrisy.
The first Sabbath in May, I845, he administered the Lord's Supper, and
preached in his old church-taking for his text:
"Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and
bath made us Kings and Priests unto God and the Father, to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen."
At its close, his appeal to the unconverted was touching and pathetic. He
said"This I feel will be the last tmne that I may address you in such a meeting.
0 be entreated to lay down the weapons of your rebellion, that you may become
Kings and Priests unto God."
On the last Sabbath in the June following, Priest Jones, accompanied by his
youngest daughter, went to visit the Baptist church at Fredericksburg. Here he
preached for the last time. On their way home they were overtaken by a heavy




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HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


shower. Then death, that true marksman, bent his bow. A few days after he
reached home the wound from the fatal arrow was palpable. He faced the great
enemy of mankind without agitation.  He knew  "in whom he had trusted."
Christ had never forsaken him; he did not now. A little before he died he called
his wife to him and said, "My dear, I have not a splendid fortune to leave you;
but trust in the Lord, keep close to the Lord." Soon after a neighbor present
asked him-" Do you feel willing to put your confidence in that God you have just
recommended to Mrs. Jones?"  He replied-"O yes, to me He is all in all."
Just as he was dying a friend said, referring to his favorite-" Pilgrim's Progress "-" Brother Jones, you are now passing over that river you have so often described to your people-do you feel the support so needful to you at this time?"
He answered, as he stepped uhfearingly into the dark cold stream, now light with
effulgence emanating from Deity"'0 yes! I am passing over; bless the Lord, my feet are on the Rock." A
few minutes after he died. Can we doubt he reached the hither side and " entered
into the joy of his Lord?"  Thus ended his earthly career-July Io, 1845, being
sixty-seven years of age.
SAMUEL QUINBY.
Samuel Quinby was born in Washington county, Pa., in I794,
and died February 4, I874, at Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio.
His father, Judge Ephraim Quinby, removed with his family to the
site of Warren as early as I798, two years before the county of
Trumbull was organized, and five years before the State was admitted into the Union. Upon his arrival, or soon thereafter, in
Trumbull county, he bought 400 acres of land, lying on both
sides of the Mahoning river. After his emigration, and for several years, he lived on the tract lying on the east side of the river, and
during his residence there, and in I80o, he laid out the town of Warren, and named it in honor of Moses Warren, of Lyme. Here he engaged in mercantile business, his store-room being located upon
the banks of the river.    In I808-9 he removed to the west side,
although he had as early as 1807-8, erected a grist mill and carding machine on the west side, directly opposite to the present
town of Warren. In 1812 he also built a grist mill and carding
machine, on the Mahoning, in Liberty township, 12 miles south
of Warren. Carding machines in those days were concomitants
of grist mills.
Howe, in his Historical Collections of Ohio, says:
The plat of Warren, in September, I8oo, contained but two log cabins, one of
which was occupied by Capt. Ephraim Quinby, who was proprietor of the town,
and afterwards Judge of the court. He built his cabin in 1799. The other was
occupied by Wm. Fenton, who built his in 1798. On the 27th of this month Cor







I




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


345


nelius Feather and Davison Fenton arrived from Washington county, Pa. At this
time, Quinby's cabin consisted of three apartments, a kitchen, bed-room and jail,
although but one prisoner was ever confined in it, viz: Perger Shehigh, for threatening the life of Judge Young, of Youngstown.
He was a member of the first Legislature of the State of Ohio
in I803, and was afterwards chosen Associate Judge, which position he ably filled for ten years. He was one of the prominent,
enterprising and influential citizens of his county, and one of the
founders of the Baptist Church in Warren. The Indians of that
section entertained for him a great regard, and treated him as a
friend.  He inclined    to cover the fierce nature, savage habits
and untutored ways of the Red Man with the broad mantle of a
generous and sympathetic charity.
He was Captain of a military company, and in his history of
Ohio John S. C. Abbott speaks of him: " There was at Warren
an excellent man, mild and judicious, by the name of Captain
Quinby. He was familiarly acquainted with the Indians, for they
had often stopped at his house, which was a great resort. His
honorable treatment of them had won their confidence and affection."
But if he was distinguished for his genial, glowing hospitality,
he was equally conspicuous for his placid determination and calm
but unquailing courage. We may be allowed to introduce a single
incident recorded by Howe to illustrate this, a serious difficulty
having occurred with the Indians in the summer of I800, and
which cast a shadow over the peaceful prospects of the new and
scattered settlements of the whites:
Joseph McMahon, who lived near the Indian settlement at the Salt Springs,
and whose family had suffered considerable abuse at different times from the Indians
in his absence, was at work with one Richard Story on an old Indian plantation
near Warren. On Friday of this week, during his absence, the Indians coming
down the creek to have a drunken frolic, called in at McMahon's and abused the
family, and finally Captain George, their chief, struck one of the children a severe
blow with the tomahawk, and the Indians threatened to kill the whole family. Mrs.
McMahon, although alarmed, was unable to get word to her husband before noon
the next day.
McMahon and Story at first resolved to go immediately to the Indian camp
and kill the whole tribe, but, on a little reflection, they desisted from this rash purpose, and concluded to go to Warren, and consult with Captain Ephraim Quinby,
as he was a mild, judicious man.
By the advice of Quinby, all the persons capable of bearing arms were mustered on Sunday morning, consisting of fourteen men and two boys, under the command of Lieutenant John Lane, who proceeded towards the Indian camp, determined to make war or peace, as circumstances dictated.




346


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


When within half a mile of the camp, Quinby proposed a halt, and as he was
well acquainted with most of the Indians, they having dealt frequently with him,
it was resolved that he should proceed alone to the camp, and inquire into the
cause of their outrageous conduct, and ascertain whether they were for peace or
war. Quinby started alone, leaving the rest behind, and giving direction to Lane
that if he did not return in half an hour, he might expect that the savages had
killed him, and that he should then march his company and engage in battle.
Quinby not returning at the appointed time, they rapidly marched to camp. On
emerging from the woods, they discovered Quinby in close conversation with Captain George. He informed his party that they had threatened to kill McMahon
and his family, and Story and his family, for it seems the latter had inflicted chastisement on the Indians for stealing his liquor, particularly on one ugly-looking, illtempered fellow, named Spotted John, from having his face spotted all over with
hair moles. Captain George had also declared, if the whites had come the Indians
were ready to fight them.
The whites marched directly up to the camp, McMahon first and Story next to
him. The chief, Captain George, snatched his tomahawk, which was sticking in a
tree, and flourishing it in the air, walked up to McMahon, saying: " If you kill
me, Iwill lie here-if I killyou, you shall lie there! " and then ordered his men to
prime and tree. Instantly, as the tomahawk was about to give the deadly blow,
McMahon sprang back, raised his gun, already cocked, pulled the trigger, and Captain George fell dead. Story took for his mark the ugly savage, Spotted John, who
was at that moment placing his family behind a tree, and shot him dead, the same
ball passing through his squaw's neck, and the shoulders of his oldest papoose, a
girl of about thirteen.
Hereupon the Indians fled, with horrid yells; the whites hotly pursued for
some distance, firing as fast as possible, yet without effect, while the women and
children screamed and screeched piteously. The party then gave up the pursuit,
returned and buried the dead Indians, and proceeded to Warren to consult for their
safety.
Judge Quinby died in June, 1850.
Samuel Quinby, son of Judge Quinby, throughout a long, active
and honorable public career, continued to maintain the enviable
name and reputation established by his father. He was, at an
early age, appointed Assistant Postmaster at Warren, by General
Simon Perkins, the first Postmaster of the territory. He was clerk
in his father's store from I8t4 to 1817, aud during the last named
year he became one of the proprietors of the           Western  Reserve
Chronicle, one of the oldest journals on the Reserve, and which position he held till I819.
Upon the election of the late John Sloane to Congress from
the Sixth District of Ohio, he was appointed, by President Monroe, to succeed Mr. Sloane in the office of Receiver of Public
Moneys of the United States Land Office, for the district of lands
subject to sale at Wooster, Ohio, removing hither in May, I8I9.
During his residence in Wooster he was nominated by the Whig




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


347


party for Congress, and although it was a hopeless contest, he
ran far in advance of his ticket. He held the office of Receiver of
Public Moneys until the year 1835, and that of Treasurer of Wayne
county from the year 1822 to I838.
In 1840 he returned to Warren, where he lived until his death.
During most of his life political discussions were unusually stormy
and turbulent. In the election of 1828 he supported John Quincy
Adams for President, and when the political tempest which overwhelmed his administration for its alleged extravagance and corruption broke upon the country and defeated his re-election, and
elected General Jackson in his stead, the triumphant party did not
succeed in displacing Mr. Quinby, as was the case generally of
others, though great efforts were made for that purpose. During
the administration of General Jackson he continued to hold the
office of Receiver of Public Moneys at Wooster, his ability, integrity and purity of character, and the high esteem in which he was
held as a faithful public officer, at home and at Washington, having
insured him against removal from office. His well known hostility
to slavery transferred his allegiance from the Whig to the Republican party, of which he continued an esteemed and influential
member to the close of his life. He was twice elected to the
Senate from Trumbull county, serving full terms-the first in I844
and the second in 186I. He was for many years a director of the
Western Reserve Bank, and the associate of Perkins, Parsons,
Freeman, and others, who gave the institution its good name and
reputation.
The twenty years, principally of official life, spent by Samuel
Quinby in Wayne county defines an era in its history. Having
but few predecessors, he inaugurated the Augustan age of public
and private virtue, He left an example of official purity and personal integrity worthy of emulation for all time. He was not a
politician, according to the construction of that term in these days
of corruption, misrule and mal-administration. When elevated to
positions of honor and public trust he was chosen because of his
signal fitness for the place, and he discharged its duties with punctilious fidelity and scrupulous regard to his conscientious as well as
his official obligations. No temptation or illicit motive swayed
or swerved the inflexible bent and purpose of his aim. His official reputation is without a stain. His public records are models
of methodical system, aptness and exactness. His penmanship is
in the perfection of the art, each word a lithograph, and as sym



348


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


metrical as the scrivener's of old, who, after a long life of devotion to his art, died with the King's syllables upon his pen. A
promise with him was equivalent to its fulfillment. Honesty was
inscribed upon his shield; it was the rule of his life, and the assurance of that possession by the humblest citizen entitled him to
Mr. Quinby's consideration.
The surviving pioneers of the county bring united testimony
to his noble impulses and generous disposition. He appeared at a
crisis in their midst when they sorely needed a counselor and when
substantial assistance became one of the unforgotten boons. As
Treasurer of the county for many years he had opportunity of
knowing the financial distresses of the toiling, moneyless settlers.
They had entered, or purchased their lands, had brought on their
families and were bravely fighting the battle of life amid untold
hardship and suffering.  They could produce corn and wheat, oats,
&c., it is true, but they brought little or no money. The home
market was a fable; its moral was disappointment. The inevitable
tax-day came around, and many a struggling, industrious, frugal
land-owner was found penniless. Some could sell the one or two
hogs they had fattened for the winter's meat; some, more fortunate, could meet the collector's demand; others could send to friends
in the East and procure the scant remittance, and others again
beheld the grim tax-gatherer coming with sick and aching hearts.
With this latter class is where Mr. Quinby rose to the dignity
of the pioneer's true friend. We have it from the lips of old men
yet living in Wayne county that upon a candid and truthful representation of their financial condition, he voluntarily paid their taxes
for years, never exacting a cent of interest, and only asking back
what he paid, and affording any reasonable time to pay it in. To
those who spoke regretfully of leaving comfortable homes in other
States, and talked of selling out and returning, he addressed words
of encouragement, saying, "This is a great country, let us make it
ours and our children's." A decided affirmative answer to the
question, "Will you stay with us and help fight our battles?" relieved the heavy heart of many a penniless tax-payer.
His name is to-day laden with a fragrance in the memory of
the pioneers, and they revert to his manifold kindnesses with sighs
and sadness.
Such a man, in such times of trial rises to the majesty of a benefactor, and such a life leaves more than a transient impression
upon the age and period where its activities are displayed.




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


349


He was a prominent and respected member of the Baptist
church in Warren, and in his daily life and conversation illustrated
the virtues of the Christian gentleman. He was twice marriedfirst, to Lucy Potter, daughter of Rev. Lyman Potter, of Steubenville, Ohio, who died in I833. He was married a second time, in
1847, to Mrs. Emma Brown, of Hartford, Trumbull county, Ohio,
who survived him.
Of the six children by the first marriage, two only, and of the
five by the second, one only, survived him. He was an older
brother of Ephraim Quinby, Jr., a biographical sketch of whom
appears in this work.
It is emphatically evident that the Quinby family was an enviably prominent one. In their successful operations for the development of the resources of the country, they have demonstrated a
high order of business ability and commercial integrity. Their
personal example and laudable endeavors to elevate the moral and
religious tone of the communities in which they moved, celebrate
their virtues and the excellencies of their lives. The unstained
and unimpeachable characters they maintained in the various positions of responsibility and honor entrusted to them by the people
constitute an enduring monument.
LEVI Cox.
Judge Cox, as he was familiarly known for a quarter of a century, removed from the State of Pennsylvania to Wayne county
as early as 1815, and may with propriety be classed with the
pioneer attorneys of Wooster.
He was widely known as one of the most upright and distinguished members of the Ohio bar, and to the citizens of Wayne
and adjacent counties as "an honest lawyer," in the completest
acceptance of the term.
From the time of his emigration to the town he signalized himself as a man of ability and enterprise, employing his energies
constantly toward advancing the general welfare and promoting the
best interests of the new community in which he had anchored his
fortunes. The usefulness of a man like Judge Cox, at such a
time and under such circumstances, can not be over-estimated.
That he was a man of public spirit, and had genius and brains, and
was unselfish, all will admit. The very best elements of human




350


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


character were blended in him, and his very presence in society
gave it gravity, dignity and tone.
The introduction of the newspaper press in Wooster is due to
his intelligence and enterprise.  He established in 1817 the Ohio
Spectator, the first newspaper ever published in the county, thereby
depositing the seed which germinated and grew, and now in 1878
blossoms in the Republican and Democrat-two of the most vigorous and ably conducted weekly papers in Northern Ohio.
All honor to Judge Levi Cox for this most praiseworthy of his
achievements! At the close of a long life of active toil he left
behind him no wealth, no statues of bronze, no home intrenchments of brick or stone for a monument; no brown fronts or granite hotels, no college legacies, no flaunting portraits of himselfsimply and only a name.
His neighbor testifies to his goodness; the business man asserts
his integrity; the lawyer vouches for his honesty; the moralist endorses his private life; the philanthropist asks, "Who is this
man?" and receives from his minister the answer of, "Christian
gentleman."  He is not a robber of his neighbor's goods; he is
not a swindler in his dealings with his fellow man; he is not an
extortioner in his profession, sucking blood from his clients and
stabbing with the spear of his cupidity the unfortunate patrons of
his office. A believer in human nature, and holding on with a
death grasp to the original elements of his soul, he meets the
world with a bold face and deals with his fellow man as with a
brother.
He had faith in an independent press, and amidst doubts, dangers and difficulties, he planted it in the new town of his choice.
He believed in the editorial age-the age of intellect. It is an
old, worm-eaten Gothic dogma of the world, thought he, to suppose that publicity given to every event by the press is fatal to the
interests of mankind. He had faith in the jury for the trial of
criminals, and to him the press was the living jury of the nation.
He served as County Recorder for fourteen years, was in
the Ohio Senate, and for five years he was Presiding Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas, under the old Constitution, besides holding other important and responsible positions. He discharged the
duties of these various trusts with the strictest regard to honesty,
and a desire to deal justly with all men. An immense philanthropy possessed him, and with his means he was liberal to a fault.
With those who had professional contact with him he dealt most




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


35


kindly. His charities were only compassed by his ability to bestow them. His nature glowed with the heat and sunshine of summer. His moods were always pleasant and genial.
"All his tickets from nature were stamped with a smile."
For several years previous to his death he was a member of the
Episcopal church.
He died at his residence in Wooster on the 3ist of December, I862.
DAVID MCCONAHAY.
David McConahay emigrated from the neighborhood of Lewistown, Pa., to Wayne county as early as I8I6, when he entered
a farm south-west of Smithville about a mile, and began improvements thereon. Being single when he first came out, in the course
of a year or so he went back to Pennsylvania and married Lydia
Dunn, a native of that State, when he returned to Wayne county
and settled upon his farm in Greene township.
In 1822-23 he removed to Wooster and started a tannery, occupying the two lots just south of the present residence of E.
Quinby, Jr., following this pursuit until about 1837, when the business passed into the hands of J. E. McConahay, a nephew of his.
He had two children, Jane E. and Catharine.McConahay. His
death occurred Dec. 6, 1841, his wife surviving him until May
5, 1862, both of whom were members of the Presbyterian
church.
He was twice elected to the General Assembly of the State
of Ohio, and was one of the early Associate Judges of the Common Pleas Court of Wayne county, serving at the May term in
I8I9.
LINDOL SPRAGUE.
Lindol Sprague, a native of Cooperstown, Otsego county,
New York, was born October 12, 1798. His father was a Rhode
Islander, a tradesman and farmer, and removed to the Empire
State in I794, and with whom his son remained until I8I5.
Mr. Sprague first commenced public life by clerking in a store
in Hartwick village, a few miles from where he was born, kept by
Dr. John Seymour, with whom he read medicine three years.




352


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Before going west, he taught school one term of three months, for
which he received in round numbers $36.o0, having boarded with
the scholars. His capital consisted of $33.00 when he departed
from home, arriving at Columbus, Ohio, May 24, I8i8, a distance
of seven hundred miles, which he made on foot.
From Columbus he immediately pushed to the country, eight
miles distant, where he began teaching school, teaching five consecutive terms.
He next went to Columbus to acquire a fuller knowledge of his
trade, that of jeweler, working under instructions from William A.
Platt one year. On the gth of November, I820, he came to Wooster, since which time he has resided here. He formed a partnership
under the firm name of Lindol & Hezekiah S. Sprague; which continued until I829, when Hezekiah removed to Newark, Ohio.
He was married December 23, 1828, to Margaret Lippincott,
of Belmont county, Ohio. In 1838 he built the brick house which
he now occupies on the corner of Walnut and West Liberty streets.
When Mr. Sprague came to Wooster, in 1820, Cox and Avery
were the only lawyers, and McPhail and Daniel O. Hoyt the only
doctors here, and stores were kept by Benjamin Jones, William
McComb, Bentley and the Larwills.
Mr. Sprague has been a member of the Presbyterian church for
Torty years, and is a worthy and respected citizen.
JOHN CHRISTMAS.
John Christmas was born in Manchester, England, and emigrated to America when he was eighteen years of age. He lived for
a time in Washington county, Pa., across the Monongahela river
from Brownsville, and from there removed to Georgetown, at the
mouth of the Little Beaver, opposite Smith's Ferry.
Here he followed merchandising until 1818, when he came to
Wooster, and engaged in mercantile pursuits.  His wife was of
the Beall-Stibbs family. His son, Joseph Christmas, became a
Presbyterian minister, and preached the first sermon ever delivered
in the old brick Presbyterian church. He was an artist and poet
of ability, and died in New York city, at the age of 27.
Charles Christmas, his oldest son, was born in Washington
county, Pa., November 20, I796, and removed with his father to
Wooster, in 18i8. In February, 1821, he was appointed Surveyor
of Wayne county, by Judge Parker, serving three consecutive




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


353


terms, by appointment. In 1829 he surveyed public lands on the
Elkhart Plains; in 1830-31 he surveyed in Michigan, and in 1832
on the Seneca Reservation.
In 1850 he left Wooster, and arrived at the Falls of St. Anthony
in July of that year. He helped to organize Hennepin county,
Minn., in 1852, had the first appointment as Surveyor of the county, and helped to establish Minneapolis, the county seat. He was
married to Mary A. Rogers, in December, 1820, and had fifteen
children. He is now, if living, 8i years old, and the only survivor of the family bearing the name. He surveyed a great deal of
the present site of Wouster, and is the author of what is known as
"the old Christmas map " of Wayne county. His father built the
brick house now occupied and owned by Samuel Johnson, Esq.,
and the stream known as "Christmas Run" was named for him.
EDWARD AVERY.
Edward Avery was born, we believe, in the State of Connecticut, and, according to our information, was a graduate of Yale College.
He settled in Wooster in 1817, and was married December 28,
1823, to Jane, daughter of John Galbraith, of Steubenville. With
Judge Levi Cox, he was one of the pioneer lawyers at the Wooster
bar.
He was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne county in
I819, and held the office until 1825. He was a member of the
Senate of the State of Ohio, serving from December, 1824, to December 4, I826.
He served in the capacity of Judge of the Supreme Court of
the State of Ohio prior to the adoption of the New Constitution.
He died June 27, I866. On the 28th of June a bar meeting
was held at the office of Rex & Jones, at which George Rex, William Given and John McSweeney were appointed a committee to
draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting.
Judge Avery was a distinguished jurist, possessing many public
and private virtues, his life long, honorable and useful to the community and State. In all ways he was an enlightened, patriotic
citizen, an accomplished, honorable man, and a consistent member
of the Presbyterian church.
23




354


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


JAMES JACOBS, SR.
James Jacobs was born in Mifflin county, Pa., September I8,
1799, and moved to Ohio in February, 1826.
Ambitious in his disposition, resolute in his determination to
accomplish something for himself, he directed his steps to the
West.
Being of graceful deportment and having quick business qualifications, and withal a courteous and affable gentleman, he soon
found employment as clerk in the office of Hon. Wm. Larwill, at
that time Register of the Land Office, of Wooster. This relation was
sustained during that summer, and in fact into the autumn, when,
desiring to be released from the restraints of an employe, and
with the bolder purpose of conducting and controlling his own
personal affairs, he concluded to surround himself with the perils
as well as the profits of business. In pursuance of this resolution, in the fall of I826, he entered into commercial transactions
with Mr. J. S. Lake, making a specialty of no particular branch, but
conducting a general dry goods, hardware, queensware, &c. business. This partnership existed for about four years, when a dissolution both desirable and mutual in its character took place, when
Mr. Jacobs proceeded to conduct affairs on his own account.
From this time forward, and until his retiracy from the active
concerns of a life of assiduous business toils, he was the same enterprising, persevering citizen which so distinctly characterized him
from the hour of his entrance upon business life.
He was married May 14, 1830, to Miss Elizabeth W. Eichar,
the nuptials being solemnized by Rev. Samuel Irvine, one of the
eminent pioneer ministers of the county.
His death, a sudden one, occurred June 30, I863, in his sixtyfourth year. His wife, Elizabeth, with whom he lived over a quarter of a century, was first to enter the Valley of the Shadow, having died November 23, 1858, in her fifty-first year.
"For years they climbed life's hill togetherThey sleep together at its foot."
James Jacobs can not properly be identified with the pioneers
of the county, but his embarkation hither was at that opportune
moment when that element of our population so surely needed the
infusion of his public spiritedness, the zeal of his character and the
momentum of his enterprise.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


355


He was a patron of the common school and a co-operator in
the cause of education, not because he had sons and daughters to
educate, but because he believed it a companion that no enemy
could alienate, no clime destroy, or no despotism enslave. He
was a staunch adherent of the church, and a believer in the ultimate triumph of all truth. Hence he gave of his means for the
promulgation of Bible truth, for he was of opinion that the principles of Christianity had projected themselves into the civilization
of the age with the fixedness with which a continent thrusts itself
into the sea. He was one of the earnest advocates of railroad
communication with our city, and, with Dr. Day, the Larwills, and
others, contributed largely to the location and completion of the
Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, that has proven so
incalculable a benefit to the whole community.
In his business relations he was unswervingly affable and polite; so in his private walks was he cheery, agreeable and intelligent.
He was modest, calm and self-possessed under almost any emergency.
He was a Presbyterian of the rigid order, ardently attached
to the Sunday-school, ever present at the prayer meeting. There
was no looseness in his views of theology. The screws had to be
tight on every bolt. He could have said:
" I have never known the winter's blast,
Or the quick lightning, or the pestilence,
Make nice distinctions when let slip
From God's right hand."
For he believed there was a special providence in the fall of a
sparrow. He was a lover of all that was beautiful in the world.
To him a beautiful church was a sermon in stone; its spire, a finger pointing to the Throne. A lady, speaking to us of Mr. Jacobs,
remarked that he was a handsome man. Such he was, and of elegant grace, genial disposition and serene dignity. He was a gentleman by birth and culture. The emerald was in his composition,
and one ray of it constantly streamed upon his soul.
He was kind, gracious and indulgent, not only in the circle of
home, but in his relations with every one. He had a pleasant
word for all, and a special fondness for children. The little boys
on the street, "these young princes of God," knew him, and he
had a smile for them, which was a benefaction. His kindness to




356


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the poor was proverbial, and his feelings were easily aroused,
either with pity for suffering, or indignation at injustice or wrong.
He loved home, friends, kindred, the good that is in the world,
that was, and will be. His heart was set to the music of friendship, as the stars are to the melodies of Heaven. He had the
Christian's love for his fellow-man, and if at times its disc was
clouded by a resentment or a doubt, they soon vanished in the
warm sunshine of his nature, as the ice-jewels of an autumn morning disappear before the radiance of the sun.
This, and no more than this, must we say:
"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die."
NEWSPAPER PRESS.
"The newspaper has become the log-book of the age."-Anon.
"I consider the newspaper to be the grand agency by which the Gospel is to be
preached, ignorance cast out, oppression dethroned, Heaven rejoiced and God
glorified. In the clanking of the printing press, as the sheets fly out, I hear the
voice of the Lord Almighty, proclaiming to all the dead nations of the earth,
'Lazarus, come forth!' and to the retreating surges of darkness, 'Let there be
light!' "- Taladge.
To the late Judge Levi Cox is justly due the credit of supplying the people of the county with the first newspaper press. In
the earlier portion of the year 1817 he imported from the East the
materials of a journal office, and about the same time issued proposals for the publication of a weekly paper to be entitled the
Ohio Spectator, in the village of Wooster.  Having after a short
time realized, as he supposed, an adequate support, he took into
partnership a young man from Wilkesbarre, Pa., named Samuel
Baldwin, he being a practical printer, Mr. Cox not being familiar
with  "small caps," "nonpareil," etc.     Having called in their
subscription lists they went to work, and after a brief time the
Ohio Spectator appeared, under the imprint of Cox & Baldwin.
This was the midsummer of I8I7.
The size of the paper was a medium. The materials being all
new and the workmanship good, the paper though small, made a
respectable appearance. The character of the paper was neutral
with regard to party politics. Its aim was to promote the general
welfare, comprising within the same wide field the interests and
prosperity of the town and country. The subscription patronage




WOOSTER-NEWSPAPER PRESS.


357


was a little over three hundred, the advertising maintaining an
average of two dollars per week. The partnership of Cox & Baldwin closed at the end of the first year, Mr. Cox withdrawing, and
a Mr. Asa W. W. Hickox, of the Western Reserve, taking his
place. The latter left at the end of the year, when Mr. Baldwin
continued it alone; but being bodily quite infirm, he soon fell a victim to that terrible scourge, consumption.
Dr. Thomas Townsend, a relative of the deceased, assumed
control of the paper and closed out the remainder of Mr. Baldwin's
year. He managed the business of the office, edited the paper,
and Mr. Joseph Clingan executed the printing of it. At the end
of the year the paper became defunct, and the county was without
an organ for a time, excepting a temporary sheet, published occasionally, termed the Electioneerer, established exclusively to
advance personal claims to office in the pending election of I820.
Mr. Cox having a lien upon the office, resumed the possession of
it, and soon thereafter issued proposals for a renewal of the Spectator. The offer not being sufficiently patronized, Mr. Cox concluded on relinquishing the enterprise and sold out his property in
the press to Mr. Benjamin Bentley, of Wooster, who had conceived
the idea of instituting a paper there. Being in no sense a practical printer, he proposed a partnership to Mr. Clingan in the contemplated sheet, to which he readily assented.
Subscription papers were soon issued and returned, and on the
13th of January, 1820, the Wooster Spectator breathed the breath of
life. It was published for two years jointly by Mr. Clingan and
Benj. Bentley, when the latter withdrew, Mr. Clingan purchasing
Mr. Bentley's interest in the press and conducting for five years
longer the paper himself.
In the spring of I826 Col. John Barr, of Hagerstown, Md.,
bought the office, preparing and issuing from it a paper entitled
the Ohio Oracle, devoted to the support of General Jackson for
President. This pretentious journal, in name at least, had a career
of about four years. It is probable it had no prototype and will
have no successor. Col. Barr sold his office to Mr. David Sloane,
of Wooster, who issued therefrom a paper denominated the
Wooster Journal and Democratic Times. He ran the issue four
years and then transferred it to his brother-in-law, Mr. J. W.
Schuckers, who published it for a like period. Both papers were
well gotten up, and the "man of the quill " was understood to be




358


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Col. John Sloane, one of the most bitter, vituperative, incisive and
powerful writers of the day. A Mr. Wharton was the printer.
Mr. Schuckers disposed of the concern to Daniel Sprague, who
took charge of it June 23, 1836, conducting it under the caption
of the Wooster Journal and Democratic Times. September i6,
1840, he changed the title of the paper to the Wooster Democrat.
Having ably conducted the paper for over I6 years, he sold out,
his successors, H. C. Johnson and Enos Foreman, assuming control of it August 5, 1852. For a time we believe Mr. O. H.
Booth, a practical printer, and at the present time the efficient
telegraph superintendent at Mansfield, had an interest in the concern.
May 12, 1853, its managers resolved to change the name of
the paper, and thereafter the winged messenger appeared in the
baptismal freshness of the Wooster Republican. August 12, 1858,
H. C. Johnson retired from the management and office, removing to Sandusky City, Mr. Foreman issuing the journal himself,
being both proprietor and editor. Mr. Johnson was a pleasing and
fertile writer and a man of fair ability and excellent private character. We regret that we can not record the date of his death.
July 25, I86i, Mr. Foreman issued a daily from the Republican
office, which was continued, without intermission, until November
30, of the same year. This was the first daily in the county and
was devoted to war news. Mr. Foreman disposing of the office
August 4, 1870, Captain A. S. McClure and Joseph G. Sanborn assumed the proprietorship and publication of the Republican.
We have thus concisely and as sententiously as possible endeavored to indicate the origin of one of the lines of the press, and
to sharply pursue that course down to the present time. Another
remains to be treated in like manner, and to this end we turn.
Some time in the summer of I826 Mr. Joseph Clingan prepared
for the publication of another paper in Wooster.  In the same
year, we may here announce, that a Mr. John Sala, from Canton,
Ohio, established in Wooster a German paper, entitled the Wooster
Correspondent, which had an extremely meager circulation, and died
in the very agonies of its birth. Mr. Clingan having consummated
his arrangements, as above set forth, in September of the year
1826 sent out, booming with force and freshness, the Republican
Advocate. Its partial object was the advancement of the claims of
General Jackson to the Presidency.  It was liberally encouraged
and supported, and was continued twelve years under its originator,




WOOSTER-NEWSPAPER PRESS.


359


when he sold out to a Mr. Samuel Littell, who purchased the
Western Telegraph, established by Mr. Martin Barr.
Mr. Littell merged the two papers, their politics being identical,
and then issued a sheet entitled the Democratic Republican. This
journal had a life of three years, when it was transferred by lease
to James G. Miller and a Mr. Carpenter, a practical printer, they
publishing it for a year and then abandoning it. Mr. Isaac N. Hill
then leased the office and issued the Democrat from it for a few
years. After this Mr. Littell sold the office to Messrs. Carny and
Means, who published until the death of Mr. Means.
Hon. John Larwill obtaining proprietorship of the paper after
the death of Mr. Means, sold the office to Jacob A. Marchand,
who owned the Democrat up to the time of his death, which occurred August 28, 1862. On the 1st of April, prior to his death, Mr.
Marchand rented the office to Messrs. Franklin Harry and John
H. Oberly, for the term of one year. His decease necessitated
the sale of the Democrat, when it was purchased by John H.
Oberly, in 1863, who for a year conducted it with vigorous and
signal ability. In 1864 Mr. Oberly sold to Colonel Benjamin Eason, who, on the Ist of November, mounted the editorial tripod.
In i866 Mr. Eason sold the office to Hon. John P. Jeffries,
under whose auspices it was managed for a year, with his son, Linnaeus Q. Jeffries, as publisher, when he sold it to Benjamin Eason
and Asa G. Dimmock, the former doing some of the writing, but
especially invested with the managerial interests of the paper, as
Mr. Dimmock was at that time Prosecuting Attorney of Coshocton county. In May, 1867, Mr. Eason sold his interest to Mr.
Dimmock, who took Lemuel Jeffries into partnership, under the
firm name of Dimmock & Jeffries. Subsequently they sold the
Democrat to James A. Estill, of the Millersburg Farmer, who took
charge of it April 30, I868. Mr. Estill retired February 25, I869,
Hon. E. B. Eshelman, of the Columbus Statesman, purchasing his
interest, the paper being conducted by Messrs. Eshelman, Franklin Harry and John J. Lemon. On the 23d of October, 1872, Mr.
Lemon sold his interest to John H. Boyd, who, on August 2, 1876,
transferred his share to Thomas E. Peckinpaugh, the Democrat now
({878) being owned and published by E. B. Eshelman, Franklin
Harry and T. E. Peckinpaugh, under the firm name of E. B. Eshelman & Co.
Cotemporary with these two series of papers, there were a few
others, but disconnected with them, and which had but short tar



360


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ryings on "the gay island existence." Born in the day-light, they
absorbed and reflected little of its lustre. Darkness encompassed,
them for a while, but like the fire-fly, which "lights, if not to warm,
the gloom," they revealed a "gleaming wing," then fell from
sight forever.
One of these was by R. V. Kennedy, christened the Wayne
County Standard, which "rose to explain" in I844. It was a
large sized paper, mechanically well executed, and edited with
considerable ability. But with all these deserving commendations
it did not survive beyond its first year. In politics it was Democratic.  Another of these isolated issues was the "American
Eagle," which was established about I855, by a young man and a
native of the county, named Howard Coe. It was to be feathered
anew, under the auspices of the then office-holders of the town, who
had promised the owner of the bird crumbs of comfort, rare tid-bits
and much fat and singular picking. But, says Mr. Clingan, to
whom we are indebted for much of the above data: " Alas! for the
too confiding wight, they scarcely doled him a pitiful morsel, in
consequence of which the poor fowl dropped from its lofty roost to
earth, greatly to the damage of its center of gravity, and like to
the fall of Lucifer, it never rose again." And says he, "It was
certainly deserving of a better fate, for it was a neatly plumed bird,
and during its brief period of six months it behaved itself in the
sight of male and female with commendable propriety and decency
of deportment."
HORACE HOWARD.
Horace Howard was born in Swansey, New Hampshire, I787,
the family being of English descent. His father was a farmer,
with whom Horace remained until he was twenty-one years of age,
when he engaged in the carpentering business. In 18 I he married Lydia White, of Winchester, and removed to Wooster in the
winter of I8I8. On his arrival he visited the families of Calvin
and Cyrus Baird, of Plain township, they being Eastern people.
He purchased a quarter of land soon thereafter in what is now
Ashland county, two miles east of Jeromeville, on the State road.
He then returned to New Hampshire for his wife and the other
two children, Harriet and Everett-Charles and Harvey, who had
come out with him, having been left with Calvin Baird-bringing
them hither in the spring of I819.




WO OSTER-SiE TCHES.


36i


He remained on the farm a year, when he removed with his
family to Wooster and engaged in the manufacture of patent water
wheels, with Mr. Elisha Hale. About 1825 he purchased two lots,
120 feet frontage, now known as the residence of John Crall and
Widow Seigenthaler, where, on the corner of the east lot, he built
a one-story frame building 24x60, and here he conducted the
manufacture of carding machines, and here the Hackett boys commenced their apprenticeship with him.
In 1827 he removed to Norwalk, Ohio, and there engaged in
hotel keeping. In 1830 he went to Cincinnati and became overseer and manager of the cotton factory owned by Wm. Tift & Co.
Whilst in that city, I83I, his wife died. By this marriage, in addition to those named, was born Alfred and William Howard. In
Cincinnati he remained several years, when he returned to Wooster, staying about a year and marrying Mrs. Abigail Weed, when
Mr. Tift sent for him to return to the Queen City and once more
assume control of his factory.
In 1838-39 he removed to Detroit, Mich., thence to Jackson,
Canaan township, Wayne county, and thence to Wooster, taking
charge of the " White Swan," a hotel situated upon the site of the
old "Exchange," now Zimmerman's Exchange Block. He afterwards removed to Loudonville, and then to Wooster, taking charge
of the " American House," in the spring of I847, remaining there
fifteen years, after which time he retired from active business,
dying August 4, 1870, aged 82 years.
George (deceased) and Lewis Howard, of Wooster, were his.
sons by the second marriage.
Horace Howard was a natural genius and a first-class mechanic.
He was a man of great decision and independence of character.
He was dignified, courteous and social, fond of bright society and
mirthful conversation. He possessed a wonderful memory, and
was much inclined to poetical recitations. He could for hours and
days quote from the Old and New Testaments, from Byron and
Burns, and was familiar with the newspaper literature of the day.
JOSEPH CLINGAN.
Joseph Clingan, one of the pioneer printers of Wayne county,
was born near Greensburg, Westmoreland county, Pa., February
29, 1789. At an early age he served an apprenticeship at the
printing business, and in I818 he journeyed to Wheeling, West




362


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Virginia, and established a newspaper, which not proving to be
a successful or profitable enterprise, in the latter part of I8I9 he
removed to Wooster, Ohio.
On his arrival he took charge of a newspaper-for Benjamin
Bentley, called the Wooster Spectator, which he conducted for a
year, when he returned to Pennsylvania. Mr. Bentley being a merchant and having no practical knowledge of the office, did not succeed in the management of his publication, and after Mr. Clingan's
departure wrote for him to come back and assume editorial supervision of the Spectator, offering him a partnership interest in the
profits of the same.
This arrangement being satisfactory and promising to be advantageous to Mr. Clingan, he again took charge of the paper, the
subscription list soon being enlarged from three hundred to five
hundred subscribers, payment usually being made in coon skins,
hickory-wood and corn meal, with occasionally a little "wild-cat"
money. Some of the leading merchants would patronize the office
to the amount of five dollars a year by way of advertising. Flushed
with the importance and influence of his position, Mr. Bentley,
against the expressed wish of his partner, inaugurated a series of
personal attacks through the columns of his paper against some
leading aspirants for political favor, prominent among whom was
Mr., a candidate for the Ohio Senate. This nameless gentleman instituted an action against the publishers of the Spectator
for libel, when a trial was had, resulting in a verdict of six and onefourth cents damages. But the libelant was too plucky to submit
to such an award, and, obtaining a second hearing, he obtained a
judgment of six hundred dollars. This was a terrible blow to
young Clingan's prospects, a very " slice of the day of judgment,"
and he was compelled "to step down and out," as all his surplus
capital was absorbed in payment of his share of the "blood
money," and in defraying the costs of suit and their lawyer, who
was none else than Hon. Thomas Ewing.
In consequence of this prosecution he was obliged to dispose
of his interest in the Wooster Spectator. About this time the Presidential difficulty between John Quincy Adams and General Jackson was assuming political significance, when Mr. Clingan proposed
establishing an organ in the interest of the Jackson party. In this
project he was warmly seconded and encouraged, and, with some
additional aid, in 1826 the Republican Advocate was established.
This movement was entirely successful; the Jackson party at the




WOOS7ER-SKETCHES.


363


next election was overwhelmingly victorious, and the Republican
Advocate became the leading oracle of the day.
He continued its publication until 1837, when failing health
obliged him -to relinquish the editorial calling. He rented the
office to Mr. Samuel Littell, and finally disposed of it to this gentleman. After having undergone a succession of changes, it was
ultimately merged into the Wayne County Democrat, so deservedly
popular under the editorial management of Hon. E. B. Eshelman.
In 1840, Mr. Clingan sought retirement in the country, and
died in Knox county, Ohio, in 1873, at the advanced age of eightyfour years.
He was slender in build, always delicate, never weighing over
one hundred and thirty pounds, straight as an arrow, and to the
time of his death was quick and active. His life was exceedingly
temperate and abstemious, he never using tobacco, either by chewing or smoking, and never indulging in spiritous liquors of any
kind whatever. He was a man of fair abilities, a nervous, forcible
writer, always expressing himself with great clearness, and employing the fewest possible words to convey his meaning. He was an
incessant reader, had an excellent library, and included among his
volumes many valuable and precious publications. He had a thirst
for old books, and reveled in the researches of antiquated authors.
With the politics of his generation he was remarkably familiar, and
took a prominent part in their discussion. He was a close student
and reader of modern literature, prose and poetical, and was intimate with the best passages of the best authors. He was elected
to the office of Recorder of Wayne county in I833.
He was married in 1824, to Clarissa, daughter of John Lawrance, who resided near Wooster then, on what is now known as
the ",Thomas farm."
E. G. Clingan, of Wooster, his son, makes frequent excursions
to Parnassus, and we here introduce one of his poems, published
in Bennett's Magazine some years ago:
BELL McLAIN.
BY E. G. CLINGAN.
Ever with the rolling year,
Summer comes; then do I hear
A voice again
From memory dearBell McLain!




364


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Now my summers long have fled,
But the hallowed joys they shed
Will remain
A lingering thread,
Bell McLain!
Like the songs of summer birds,
Sinless were your thoughts and words;
But again
I hear from lips unstirred,
Bell McLain!
Brief were your unclouded days,
Kind and gentle all your ways;
But in vain
Is earthly praise,
Bell McLain!
Life and beauty sometimes meet,
And sever with the winding sheet;
But oh the pain
When life was sweet,
Bell McLain!
Some have thought it for the best
Now that you will ever rest.
Green the plain
Above your breast,
Bell McLain!
REMINISCENCES BY REV. M. E. STRIEBY.
My father, C. H. Strieby, came to Wooster, July 7, 1822. His trade was that
of a clock maker, and I presume that many of his clocks are yet to be found among
the Germans and others, in various parts of the county. He removed from Wooster to Mount Vernon, Ohio, in )I847, thence, in 1856, to Syracuse, N. Y., and
thence, in I869, to Maple Wood, N. J., where he died June 28, 1872, aged 84. My
mother still survives him, and resides in my family. She is now in her 8ist year.
I was seven years old when we came to Wooster, where I enjoyed the school
advantages of the place, and also spent a year or two as clerk in the stores of J. W.
Schuckers, and of John Larwill. At the age of sixteen I determined to go to college, and few things mark the progress of Wooster in educational advantages
more than the fact, that then it had nothing of higher grade than the common
school, and I went to Hudson College on the Western Reserve, while now near the
place where we boys gathered hazelnuts, there stands a college that rivals the one
at Hudson. A year or two after I went to Hudson an Academy was started in the
Court House in Wooster, which I attended for a time, but afterwards I went to
Oberlin College, where, in I838, I graduated. After my graduation I studied theology, and in 1842 became the pastor of the Free Presbyterian church in Mount
Vernon, Ohio. It afterwards became a Congregational church. In its early his —




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


365


tory it was frequently mobbed on account of its anti-slavery sympathies, one of
these mobs occurring soon after I went there.
In 1852 I left Mount Vernon and went to Syracuse, N. Y., where I organized
the Plymouth Congregational church, and remained its pastor nearly twelve years.
In I864 I was appointed one of the Corresponding Secretaries of the American
Misssonary Association, and that position I still occupy.
EZRA DEAN.
Concerning the life, incidents thereof, public services and death
of Hon. Ezra Dean, we make the following extracts from the Ironton Semi-weekly Journal:
He was born in the town of Hillsdale, Columbia county, New York, April 9,
1795, and was descended from an ancient family which settled in Massachusetts in
the year I630, as shown by a register found among his papers. Among them is Silas
Dean, who took an active part in the Revolution, who, in September, 1776, was chosen
by the Continental Congress one of the embassadors, in connection with Dr. Franklin and Thomas Paine, to conduct the negotiations between the Confederate Colonies and France, which resulted in the treaty of alliance signed at Paris, February
6, I778. Others of the family, less conspicuous, were doing duty in the ranks of
the army of the Revolution.
It is said of Judge Dean that he attained to the maturity of manhood at an
early age. When in his seventeenth year, on the I7th of April, I814, he was appointed, by the Secretary of War, an ensign in the Eleventh Regiment of United
States Infantry, then doing duty against the English on the northern frontier.
The 20th of February, 1815, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant by
President Madison, to take rank from October I, 1814, for meritorious conduct in
the sortie of Fort Erie, the I7th of September, 1814. He was in the battles of
Bridgewater and Chippewa. His regiment held the advance in the storming of
'Queenstown Hights, in September, 1814.
At the close of the war he was placed in command of a revenue cutter on Lake
Champlain, before he had attained the age of twenty, in which capacity he rendered effective service against that ever-daring class engaged in smuggling. After
about two years in guarding the trade of the northern frontier, he resigned that
position, and was next assigned a place in the corps of Government engineers that
ran the north-east boundary line between the State of Maine and New Brunswick.
He was engaged in that service about one year. He then resolved to enter upon a
more independent mode of life than that of public service under Government, when
he went to Burlington, Vt., and was initiated a student of law with Governor D.
P. Van Ness, under whose instructions he remained about two years, when he went
to Plattsburg, N. Y., and completed his preparatory course of study. The 1st of
October, I823, he was admitted by the Supreme Court of Appeals of the State of
New York, a member of the bar of that State.
In the year 1824, when Ohio was among the young and thinly peopled Western
States, he emigrated to Wooster, and entered into the practice of law in Wayne
and the surrounding counties. In 1825 he married Miss Eliza Nailor, who survives
him. *
* Since dead.




366


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


In the year 1832 he was chosen by the General Assembly to the President
Judgeship of the Court of Common Pleas, his circuit being composed of the counties of Wayne, Knox, Holmes, Richland, Medina and Lorain. He served in that
capacity the full constitutional term of seven years.
In the campaign of 1840, Mr. Dean was elected to Congress from Ohio, and
took his seat in that body on the 4th of March, I841. He was re-elected in 1842.
Such was the sense entertained of his merits as a public man, that he lacked but
one vote of being the choice of his Democratic friends in the Legislature for United
States Senator, when Benjamin Tappan was chosen. Upon his retirement from
Congress he resumed the practice of his profession in Wooster, and in the year I852
took into partnership his son, and only child, Ezra V. Dean, whom he trained for
the bar. This relation continued until I865, when the son moved with his family
to Ironton, Ohio, and engaged in an active practice there. The father could not
endure a separation from his son and grandchildren. He at once resolved to set
his affairs in order, and to spend the evening of his life with them, on the banks of
the Ohio; he accordingly moved to Ironton, in the year 1867, where he made his
home and found his grave.
Judge Dean possessed a healthy and upright intellect, stored with various
knowledge. Few men were better read in ancient and modern history, and especially the history of England and his own country. His convictions were deep
and settled in whatever he believed to be right, and he adhered to them with a
firmness and uttered them with a boldness which neither the roar of the tumult
could drown nor the clamor of opposition modify or subdue. It was the force of
these convictions which sometimes gave him the appearance of dogmatism in conversation; yet he was most tolerant of what he believed to be errors of opinion in
others.
From the great diversity of life which he experienced in the vicissitudes of a
soldier's camp, the deck of a revenue cutter, or tracing a boundary line between the
possessions of his own country and those of Great Britain, the practice of the law
and its administration among a pioneer people, to that of a legislator in the Federal Congress, he had garnered up in the well-arranged storehouse of an unfailing
memory a variety of knowledge, interwoven with the history of his country and of
his adopted State, curious and interesting. Besides the diffusion of thought and
sentiment which animated his discourse, it was enlivened by ingenious illustrations,
pointed sentences, and always seasoned by a vein of good humor which, among all,
the old and the young, the learned and the ignorant, recommended him to favor and
attention.
In stature he was above the middle size, manly, athletic and well proportioned;
his countenance was marked in visible characteristics of deep tfought and inflexible resolution, yet bearing an air of serenity and satisfaction, the natural result of
a vigorous intellect and conscious integrity.
The habits of intellectual and physical activity which he had practiced through
a long life, continued until within four days of his death.
On Sunday evening, the 2Ist of January, he complained of being unwell, and
continued to decline until Thursday evening, the 25th of January, 1872, when all
that was mortal of Ezra Dean perished without a struggle or a groan. He was
fully conscious to the last, when he took affectionate leave of those most dear to him,
and with filial confidence resigned his spirit to the common Father in full trust that
those he had loved here would each in their appointed time re-unite with him in
the future life.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


367


On receipt of the startling intelligence in Wooster of the death
of Judge Ezra Dean, a meeting of the members of the bar of the
city was called and a committee of three appointed to frame a
memorial and draft resolutions expressive of their sorrow and suitable to the character and memory of the deceased. At an adjourned meeting of the bar of Wooster, at the office of Rex &
Jones, on Saturday evening, March 9, I872, Hon. John P. Jeffries in the Chair, and Benj. Eason Secretary, the committee, appointed at a former meeting for that purpose, composed of Hon.
George Rex, Hon. Martin Welker and Hon. C. C. Parsons, Sr., presented their report, which, on the first day of the ensuing term of
the Court of Common Pleas, was ordered to be placed on record.
Mr. Jeffries, after the presentation of the resolutions in Court, indulged in a brief but touching and eloquent speech, testifying his
high esteem and reverence to the moral worth, intellect and ability
of the deceased. John McSweeney, Esq., then pronounced an eloquent eulogy, and other members of the bar spoke befitting words,
STEPHEN F. DAY, M. D.
Stephen F. Day, M. D., was a formidable man in the profession of medicine, and wore the baton of a field marshal in the empire of physic. The annals of medical practice may supply a
more illustrious name, but we doubt if, as a practitioner in his
chosen sphere and field, he had either many equals or superiors.
He entered the lists, not for the purpose of eliciting applause, starving competitors, or of being a subaltern. His was a higher aimthat of acquiring a transcendent skill; of mastering the abstrusities of the books; of penetrating the mysterious origins of disease; of exploring the ingeniously contrived, most complicated
and most wonderfully constructed Temple of Life; of ennobling
the ministry of pain, and exalting and glorifying his profession.
His pronounced motto was,
"To guard is better than to heal,
The shield is nobler than the spear."
He despised that Goth and Vandal herd of mountebanks and
quack professors-professional Assyrians, who swoop upon a community, devastate human habitations, augment the total of human
misery, and who, in the solemn flight from death, allow not a
single straggler to get home.




368


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


He ever insisted that infinite mischief was occasioned by this
piebald army of dog killers, insect hunters, weed pickers, spider
catchers, cockle-shell-mongers, and brass-faced, unlettered charlatans that too often infest communities and levy their pretentious
and ruinous services upon unsuspecting and luckless victims.
Like the British army in Caesar's time, they slay in chariots and
they slay on foot.
This most remarkable man was a native of Morris county, New
Jersey, where he was born September 4, 1798. At the tender age of
seven years he accompanied his father to Washington county, Pa.,
where his time was spent upon a farm, and where he remained
until he was sixteen years of age. He now, with iron resolution,
determined to make a forward movement in the interest of himself,
and calling on the powers with which God and nature had endowed
him, advanced to deliver battle to the world.
Home, its wedded light and shade, its opulence of boyish fancies, and all of its endearments, were forsaken, and, on horseback,
attired in home-spun clothes, and with twenty-five cents in his
pocket, he quitted the family mansion to blend in the great fretting
sea of human life, where so many are stranded, and where too
often a lone sail points to the voyagers beneath. Ample opportunity was afforded him to exercise those faculties of industry and
economy always so characteristic of him. As a basis of the contemplated professional life upon which he was about to enter, some
judicious disciplinary preparation was essential, and how well he
succeeded in this respect his subsequent and distinguished career
quite clearly demonstrates.  His elementary studies of medicine
were with Dr. Leatherman, of Canonsburg, Pa., his course concluding with a diploma from the Medical College of Philadelphia.
He immediately entered upon practice at Florence, Pa.,
equipped with the redoubtable pill, the nauseating jalap, the savage knife and the blades that shine, prepared to make or heal a
scar.
In the spring of 1827 he came to Wooster, Wayne county,
Ohio, the arena of a life of patient, laborious, exhaustive toil, and
the theater of his subsequent professional exploits. Here he continued in practice until I86I, when approaching bodily infirmities
admonished him to surrender the field and fortress he had so long
and valiantly maintained, and that competitors and antagonists had
assaulted in vain. He was married in the year 1833, to Miss Eliza
E. Straughan, of Salem, Columbiana county, Ohio. In March,




WOOSTER-SE TCHES.


369


i.863, he was attacked by paralysis, from the effects of which he
never fully recovered, but was confined to his bed until the 25th
of November, I869, when a second attack suddenly precipitated
him from time to eternity.
And thus closed the earthly career of one of our most estimable and conspicuous citizens, and to the period of his death the
most capable, most skillful and accomplished physician and surgeon
that ever settled in Wayne county. It is safe to assert that no
practitioner ever located in our midst who held such a supreme
monopoly of his profession, and who had bound to him, by the
ties of friendship and confidence, the hearts and affections of so
many people. His circuit of visitation was not confined to his own
county, but extended far beyond its limits. In surgery especially
did he excel, although he made a specialty of no particular branch
of the profession. Was there a fracture to be replaced, a dislocation to be readjusted, an adventitious tumor to be incised, an excrescence to be slashed, or a limb to be amputated, Dr. Day was
summoned and the work was done. By some it has been charged,
and the belief entertained, that he was too violent in his operations-that they were even cruel and barbarous. Not so. The
work of the surgeon is his own work. All responsibility is with
him, and all consequences. His dispensations to act emanate from
himself.  Once entrusted with the case, he must be his own master, and for the time recognize no superior. There must be no
flinching or quailing; to falter is to fail. His position is a grave
and decided one-the middle-ground of Life and Death. The
heart may bleed in sympathy with the victim, but for the time it
must be stone and steel; the eye may witness, but be blind; the
ear hear, but, as the adder, must it be deaf. There must be no
delicacy, no mauvaise honte when Life's fountains are being gashed.
Be he a skillful operator and does his work well, the harder, deeper
and faster he cuts the better. If he rushes through that he may
know the end, no one is gladder than the sufferer. There can be
no refinement when the edge of steel pierces the trembling flesh.
Call it cruelty, barbarism, or what you will, he is the true phy-,sician, who by the quickest, best and most skillful process, rescues
the greatest number of sufferers from the tents of death. He shall
be crowned the Autocrat of his Art, and the incense of grateful
and remembering hearts shall pervade the air that inspheres his
mausoleum. No surgeon ever wielded a knife in whose breast
24




370


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUAT Y OHIO.


throbbed a tenderer heart than in that of Dr. Stephen F. Day.
There is abundant testimony to this fact by those yet living who
have witnessed his operations and are competent judges. Even in
the less difficult and complex operations his deep pity was aroused
and he was moved to tears. Moreover, it must be remembered
that in those days surgery was performed under embarrassing conditions, entirely or almost unknown to the operator of the present
day. This is the era of anaesthetics-of chloroform, of ether, of
devilish gases and subtle fluids. Is there a leg to be taken off, a
skull to be trepanned, a contusion to be manipulated, or what not,
the anaesthetic is called in, and the operation is performed without
consciousness on the part of the patient, who may be out-dreaming
John Bunyan, and happier than the soul of a Scandinavian hero in
Valhallah.
In his time, anaesthetics had not been popularized, or brought
into general use. Their properties were not so well defined, and
their administration was supposed to be accompanied with more or
less peril. Surgery was performed when the patient was in a state
of entire consciousness. He knew he had to suffer, what it was
to suffer, and that he had to endure it. Frequently the strong
man had to be pinioned, or put in chains. The situation became
essentially an embarrassing one to the surgeon, and a distressing
one to the subject. The scalpel could have no velvet edge, the
saw no cushioned tooth. No wonder the sufferer writhed, and
that the operation was performed in the midst of agonizing screams.
But, despite all these embarrassments, Dr. Day rose to the altitude of superior and distinguished surgical eminence.
He was a man of clear judgment, positive opinions, and was
extremely cautious of his conclusions at the bed of sickness.
When his position was taken, it was upon tenable grounds, and
none could with more delicate, acute and ringing eloquence, defend
it better than he. He was free from all acrimony and resentments
toward his professional brethren, and when assailed by them, had
little but regrets to indulge that such things should occur.  He
was a man of most affable and pleasing manner; of great politeness, and could read human nature as though it were a printed
book-hence resulted his characteristic tact of dealing with men,
of influencing masses of men, and of ingratiating himself with so
many people and so many families. In point of character he was
emphatically independent, and confronted the world with a manly
countenance. The time-server and the timid shuffler, who only




WO OSTER- CHUR CHES.


37I


dare to look up at life through blinkers, and who only have an
opinion to advance when there is a crowd to back it, he despised.
As a public speaker he was graceful, fluent and forcible, and the
active part he took in inducing subscriptions for the construction
of the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad will not soon
be forgotten.  In aid of that enterprise he was one of the effective
canvassers, and one of its most eloquent advocates. Not only was
he a pleasing and convincing speaker, but he excelled in conversation. There was a richness, copiousness, versatility and enthusiasm in it, which, though it sometimes bordered upon art, nevertheless fascinated and regaled.  He was an expert in controversial
argumentation. Every word was as smooth as if dropped in oil.
Personally he was a man of imposing appearance, stood over
six feet high, and erect as a column, and, in his more youthful
days, was a model of physical development and muscular perfection. In later life he became exceedingly corpulent. He was an
incessant and indefatigable worker until he retired from the profession of his choice - one which had rewarded him with honors,
competence and wealth.
Many young men of talent took their rudimentary course in
his office, two of the most prominent of these being Dr. Edward
Thomson, the renowned Methodist Bishop, who died in Wheeling, West Virginia, March 22, 1870, and Dr. Leander Firestone,
the eminent surgeon of Wooster. The former was in the office of
Dr. Day from 1833 to I836, the latter from I839 to 1842.
There was a simplicity and unostentatious evenness of way, an
intellectual equipoise, healthy frugality, persistent industry, steady
integrity and sense of honor characteristic of Dr. Day, worthy of
imitation. His life enshrines many a practical and noble precept.
With him, we may hope, death was "but transition." He had
been a devout and consistent member of the Presbyterian church
from early manhood, and died in the full faith of the immortality
of the soul, and its reunion with the Father of Spirit and all Life.
THE WOOSTER CHURCHES.
[NOTE.-In giving the history of the churches of Wooster we regret exceedingly to be compelled to go to press without a notice of the United Presbyterian
church. At an early stage of our work Rev. R. H. Pollock, D. D., volunteered to
prepare the desired sketch. Prior to his leaving to take charge of his new ministerial field at Mt. Vernon, O., he informed us that, with the exception of a very few
items, he had it completed, and to others he made a similar statement. We did not
see him immediately preceding his departure, and hence did not procure his MSS.




372


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Since his death M. C. Rouch, Esq., of Wooster, has corresponded with Mrs. Pollock in regard to the matter, but no such paper can be found. We do not doubt
but that Dr. Pollock prepared the article, and that it is either lost or mislaid. The
intelligence that it could not be procured came too late for us, either to obtain or
examine the records.]
Baptist Church.
The following is extracted from Rev. J. B. T. Patterson's historical sermon, December Io, I876:
The history of the Baptist church, called Bethany, at Wooster,
Ohio, dates from the settlement of this portion of the State.  Although the church was not organized until I812, some of its constituent members were among the first settlers.  In 1812 a blockhouse, for the protection of the people from the Indians, who had
allied themselves with the English, in the war then begun, was
built on the premises of Colonel John Sloane. In the same year,
in this block-house, the Baptist church was constituted, and has
continued its organization unchanged to the present.  From  the
church records I find that the first Baptists who moved to Wooster
were David and Lydia Kimpton and Philip B. Griffith, who settled
here in I8IO.  In I8II Ezekial Jones and family, a number of
whom were Baptists, setted in the same township. To this handful of the faithful in the wilderness Elder Kimpton preached, without, however, forming them into a church. On July 25, I812, a
meeting was held in the house of Brother Kimpton, "to take into
consideration the propriety of organizing a church in this new
country."  The following named persons were present:   David
and Lydia Kimpton, Ezekial and Hannah Jones, Oliver Jones,
Wm. Robison, John Robison, Ann Robison, Catherine Kirkendall, Thomas G. Jones and Philip B. Griffith. The record simply
states that "several of the brethren prayed."  It was voted that
the organization take place on the first Lord's Day in August, and
that Elder T. G. Jones should write the constitution and present it
at the next meeting, on Friday before the first Lord's Day in August.  On July 31, 1812, the constitution was adopted, John Robison appointed clerk, and church meeting for business appointed to
be held on the Saturday before the first Lord's Day in each month,
alternately in Wooster'and at Brother Kimpton's settlement.
Brother Kimpton was appointed Moderator of the Church.
On August 2, being the Lord's Day, the brethren convened in
the block-house, and whilst "a body of men, armed with guns,
stood guard about the building, to give warning and protect them




WOOSTER- CHURCHES.


373


in case of an attack from the Indians," the church constitution and
the covenant, known as the "Philadelphia Confession of Faith,"
was formally and solemnly ratified, and the church constituted.
Up to April 17, 1813, the records are kept in due form, and
then a break in the minutes occurs, which is thus accounted for:
There is seen a vacum in the minutes which was occasioned by the war of 1812,
between the United States and Great Britian, as many were afraid of the Indian
allies of Great Britian, by Reason of which some fled, and the church became lukewarm, by Reason of the war, as that was almost the universal Topick, and the event
of it was of much importance to this country.
At first the brethren, as in the primitive days of the primitive
churches, held their meetings in private houses, but in 1814 a
frame building was erected in the rear of the lot on which the
Reformed church now stands. It was situated within convenient
distance of the block-house, which overlooked it.  I read that the
worshippers sometimes carried their guns with them to the meeting-house, though it does not appear that the settlement was ever
disturbed by the Indians.
This house, being the only church building in the settlement,
was generally used by visiting ministers of other denominations,
and at times, also, as a school-house.  I could not ascertain the
cost of the house, but find in the Trustee's book an account previous to I8I9 of "cash paid for meeting-house" of $125.86.  This
does not include the frame-work, weather-boarding, roofing nor
chimney, but mentions the flooring, and among other items, hair
and hickory broorps. The house was afterward sold, and removed
to the east side of Buckeye street, turned end for end, the doors
and windows altered, and converted into the "Wooster City Tannery," where it now stands thus labeled.
Bro. Kimpton, though moderator, or overseer, was never pastor of the church. The first pastor was Elder Thomas G. Jones.
The church, however, had in its membership several preachers,
who, in connection with the pastor, not only preached to the
church, but also engaged in missionary tours to the surrounding
settlements.
The church was very careful in the reception of members,
holding firmly to the N. T. principle, that the churches of Jesus
Christ are to be composed only of converted persons.
On July I, I815, is the following minute: "Motion by Brother
Thomas G. Jones, that members absent from church meeting,




374


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHI0.


should not enjoy the privilege of the next communion, except they
render satisfactory reasons for such absence, to the church or deacons."
The annual growth in membership during the earlier days of
the church, can not easily be determined, because the clerk failed
to mention the date of baptism in the church roll. The first list
of members is appended to the minutes, and dated November 4,
I815. Among the constituted members there recorded, I find the
name of Naomi Youngs, which was omitted in the list of those
who met to form the church. She was at the first meeting in the
block-house, but not at the previous meeting in the house of
Brother Kimpton. This would make the number of constituent
members twelve, instead of eleven.  The whole list gives the
names of one hundred and fifteen persons, who had been added by
baptism and letter, to the original twelve constituted members.
The list of names then continued without dates of reception. On
this list I find the names of Charles and Susan Morton. Brother
Morton became pastor of the church in November, 1839, Brother
Jones having resigned the pastorate in May, 1839. Counting
backward from the name of C. Morton to the first list, I find that
during the pastorate of Elder Jones, one hundred and twenty-one
members were received, of whom ninety-three were received by
baptism. The record shows that the growth of the church, after
the first three years, was slow, but solid.
At the church meeting, October 15, I816, a number of brethren living at Mohican made application for the church to send
their minister and other brethren to constitute them into a church,
and ordain as their minister, Brother Alpheus French. The church
endorsed the application, and sent as their representatives, D.
Kimpton, T. G. Jones, Oliver Jones and John Robison, and on the
I3th of October, I8I6, a church at Mohican was duly constituted.
This, I understand, to be the first Mohican church.
The land on which the first church was built was donated by
William Robison. October 4, 1817, the church resolved to have
a weekly prayer meeting.
"In I8I9 all the Baptist churches in Pennsylvania, west of the
Allegheny river, and all the churches in Ohio, east of Wooster,
and as far north as the Lake, were included in the Beaver Association." This Association was organized in 1809, by twenty-five
delegates, representing ten churches. Five of the delegates were
ministers. In I819, the Mohican Association was formed from




WO OSTER- CHURCHES.


375


the Beaver Association. The Wooster church assisted in forming
that body, and remained a member of it until 1840. In I818, the
Beaver Association held its meeting with the Wooster church.
Brother Hand was pastor of the church two years, 1818-I9,
during which time Elder Jones was engaged in general missionary
work. Brother William W. Hickox, whose name afterwards appears as a minister, was licensed by this church in 1819.
From  1821 to I830, there is an unaccountable gap in the
records. In the minutes of the Wooster Association for 1842, I
find the following, in a historical sketch of the churches in the Asciation, which may, in part, account for it: "From the time of
its constitution until 1827, the church enjoyed almost uninterrupted
prosperity, although her increase in numbers was comparatively
moderate. *  * * In 1827, a schism was produced in the body
by the introduction of the sentiments of Alexander Campbell, at
which time some seventeen or eighteen members seceded, and
went over to the ' Disciples.' It was several years before the
church fully recovered from the shock."
Returning to the church records, I find, in 1831, that a hand
was employed by the church "to work for Elder Jones, that he
might be able to devote more time to preaching" among them.
On March 5, 1831, it was resolved to build a new meeting-house.
The church seems to have had great difficulty in raising the amount
necessary to complete the building.  It was not finished until
1839, immediately after Mr. Morton succeeded to the pastorate.
The house was floored and plastered through the efforts of the sisters, one of whom informs me that she promised forty dollars (a
sum much more valuable then than now), not knowing how she
could raise it, but "believing that God would help her, and it was
all paid."  She still lives and worships with us-Sister Cynthia
Van Ostern.
The house has been altered since then. At first there was a
gallery extending around the sides and end of the building. These
were removed, and the house remodeled in I865. Mention is
made of Mr. Thomas Fisher, who, for a while, preached to the
church. He subsequently moved to Kentucky, where he was murdered.
During the pastorate of Brother Jones, the Wooster Association was formed in 1837. It was composed of the Massillon, East
Union, Warren, Wooster, Salt Creek, Sugar Creek, Sandyville or
Magnolia, Ist Mohican, Canal Dover, Greene Township and Clark




376


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Township churches, eleven in all, with eleven ordained ministers,
one licentiate, and 453 members. Some of these churches were
afterwards known by other names.
On January I, I839, after serving the church twenty-seven
years, twenty-four of which he was with the church, Elder Jones
resigned.
Brother Charles Morton, after first supplying the church, was
called to the pastorate February 29, 1840.
On April 6, 1844, Brother John Croll, was elected deacon;
and after 32 years of service, still discharges the duties of that
office. On June 30, of this year, Brother Page was invited to
supply the church for six months, and on the 4th of January, 1845,
was elected pastor. The church reports to the Association this
year 248 members, some having been dismissed by letter, others
excluded; two added by baptism, and twelve by letter. The pastorate of Brother Page ceased in April, 1850. Brother Page, during his term of service baptized twenty-six; received by letter
forty-one; dismissed by letter forty; excluded twenty-six.
December 4, I845, the subject of instrumental music was
brought up for discussion, and the matter indefinitely postponed.
October, 1846, a resolution "to continue the choir" was passed.
January 16, I847, a special meeting in regard to instrumental music was held, and the following resolution adopted; "Resolved,
that instrumental music be prohibited from coming into this church
henceforth."  December, 1847, a motion was passed, "that members at evening service be allowed to conduct the singing as suited
themselves." I record these facts to show the opinion of the
brethren of that day on this most perplexing subject of church
music, and also to show that the church controlled the matter of
public praise.
Brother Page was succeeded by Elder E. T. Brown, who was
called to the care of the church in May, 1850, and soon after took
charge. As before stated the membership was then 200. Brother
Brown served the church until I856. In 185I I find that the
church reports 248 members. In the minutes of 1852 the report
is only 60 members, but this is evidently a mistake of the printer,
as the minutes of 1853 report a total of 242. In 1854 the total
was 213. In I855 a still further diminution is reported, the total
being 208. In 1856 only 175 members are reported. The total
gain during this pastorate was, by baptism, 6I; by letter, expe



WOOSTER-CHURCHES.


377


rience and restoration, 23. The total loss was, by death and
exclusion, Io; by letter, 89. Net gain, 84; net loss, 99.
In March, 1853, a committee was appointed for building a vestry and baptistry. On July I, I854, Brother Joseph H. Larwill
proposed to donate a number of lots, held by the Wooster Cemetery, to the Baptist church, " on condition the church inclose the
same with a suitable fence," and on the 2d of September presented
the church with the deed for the same.
In March, I855, a number of persons were dismissed by letter
to form a church at Millbrook. This accounts in part for the great
number of dismissions under Brother Brown, but there were many
removals about that time farther west.
Brother Brown was succeeded by T. J. Penny the same year,
i856, who served the church as pastor till I860. Brother Penny
was followed by Elder John Bolton in I86I. The year following
the church reports I2I members. Brother Bolton having resigned
in 1862, Elder P. M. Weddell was called to the pastorate in 1863.
The total net gain during this pastorate was 54 members; 21 of
these were converts in the Sunday-school. In 1865 the church
building was remodeled.
In I868 there was no pastor. Church reports 206 members.
In I866, no report in the minutes. In this year Rev. G. M. Preston became the pastor. The following year the church reports.
I96 members and 153 in the Sunday-school. In 1871, 195 members reported; no pastor. In I872, 20I members reported.
In this year the church secured the services of Rev. Alexander
McFarlane, who had just emigrated from Scotland. In 1873, 207
members reported. The baptisms this year were 9, and additions
by letter, 2; whilst the diminutions are, by letter, 2; death, II.
This would make 199, instead of 207, which is the number reported the following year, 1874. In 1874, Brother McFarlane
resigned the pastorate, and accepted a call from the Baptist church
at Port Huron, Mich. He was succeeded by Rev. Hugh A. Marshall, June 2I, who resigned the pastorate the June following. In
1875, the church reported to the Association a loss of eleven members by death, among whom were some of the oldest and most efficient members.
In August, I875, the Wooster Association met with this
church. On the afternoon of the Sunday closing the meeting, a
Sunday-school meeting was held, and some manifestation of interest on the subject of religion being made by some of the scholars,


It




378


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Rev. J. B. T. Patterson, a visitor from Virginia, was requested to
remain and preach during the week. On the following Lord's
Day he baptized three persons in the creek near the city. In October following, he settled with the church as pastor. In the fall
of this year the new lecture room was completed. This building
was erected by a legacy left for the purpose, by Sister Mary B.
Larwill, who died a few years previous. The baptistry was also
deepened and remodeled, and a heater connected with it, the funds
for this purpose being donated by Sister Joseph H. Larwill.
LIST OF PASTORS, DEACONS, CLERKS AND TRUSTEES.


Pastors and Preachers.
i8io-David Kimpton. (Overseer.)
1812-Thomas Griffith Jones, pastor
till I839; Brother Kimpton, moderator.
1819-Thomas Hand, supplied as pastor.
I832-Frederick   Freeman,   Thomas
Fisher, Rev. J. B. Swaine.
I839-Charles Morton.
1845-S. B. Page.
I850-E. T. Brown.
1856-T. J. Penny.
I86I-John Bolton.
1862-P. M. Weddell.
I868-No Pastor.
I869-G. M. Preston..I87I-No pastor.
I873-Alex. McFarlane.
1874-Hugh A. Marshall.
1875-J. B. T. Patterson.


Deacons.
1812-Oliver Jones.
I814-John Robison.
1835-Peter Ambrose, Jonathan Smith.
I839-Thomas Rees.
I840-John Zeigler.
I844-John Croll.
I850-John McCully, J. M. Choate.
I854-Evans Parker, J. B. Trimble,
John Myers.
Cler-ks.
I812-John Robison.
I836-William Punches.
I839-Jefferson Alexander.
I840-Thomas Woodland.
I842-J. W. McMillan.
I843-Jonathan B. Diebell.
I844-Thomas Woodland.
I847-W. H. Taylor.
1850-Emanuel Schuckers.
1855-Thomas Woodland.
i868-H. D. Durkee.


Trustees-Asfar as Could be Ascertained.
I816-Philip B. Griffith, Wm. Jewel, Oliver Jones, John Lawrence, Wi. C
Larwill.
I83 —John Smith, Samuel Quinby, Benjamin Bentley.
1835-Hugh Morton, Peter Ambrose, John Smith, T. L. Punches.
I837-Hugh Morton, John Larwill, Alfred G. Glass.
1840-John Larwill, Samuel Quinby, John Ziegler.
I841-John B. Larwill, Jacob M. Eberman, Samuel Quinby.
1875-S. Routson, John Myers, James Taggart.
1876-S. Routson, John Myers, H. B. Swartz.




WO OSTER- CUR CHES.


379


First Presbyterian Church.
The appended historical survey of the First Presbyterian church
we extract from a Centennial sermon delivered by Rev. T. A.
McCurdy, D. D., its eloquent and popular pastor, to a large and intelligent congregation, July 2, 1876. It is a concise and pictorial
presentation of the rise and progress of the church from 1815 to
the present time. We greatly regret that our space will not justify
the re-production of the entire sermon:
In passing at once to the history of this congregation, I share
with you in the general regret that no accurate records of the organization of this church exist.  Much uncertainty therefore
hangs over the birth-hour of this congregation-an uncertainty
that is painful, and yet not without its salutary lessons. It must
be remembered that the organization of this church dates back to the
hour when all this region round about was peopled with the wild,
untutored savage-when this was all a wilderness, whose grim solitude was unbroken save by the sound of the pioneer ax responded
to by the war-whoop of the treacherous Indian. In the dangers to
which the early fathers were exposed, in the hardships to which
they were subjected, in their anxiety for the comfort and maintenance of themselves and families, they seem to have been content
with the privilege of religious worship without giving attention to a
minute history of the circumstances incident to such a privilege in
"the wild wilderness of pioneer life." Our regret is no reflection
on the real or apparent neglect of the first settlers. They entered
the wild-wood, following the path of the Red Man, with no security
of life other than their trust in the providence of God, to convert
the wilderness into a garden, to extend civilization, to make conquest in God's name for civil and religious liberty; and wherever
they went they took with them the ark of God and worshiped
around its sacred shrine. As the wilderness resounded with the
woodman's ax, so from the altar of God and from the altar of
their hearts, grateful praise and prayer arose to heaven.
It is somewhat remarkable that in nearly all the first settlements of Maryland, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio,
there was an element of Scotch Irish Presbyterianism, and wherever
it located it found a place for the worship of God. It is true that
this element had a limited representation in the early settlement of
this region, but large enough to sow the seed of Presbyterian faith
and polity. They had in them the ring of the true metal and blue




380


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, O10O.


was their color. Their circumstances were such as to lead them
to cast all their care on Him who had watched over their fathers in
the dark days of the persecution amidst the glens and highlands
of Scotland. Their fathers had, in spite of persecution, found
places for worship in the rocks and caves of the earth. Their blood
shed in defense of the faith had become the seed of living truth,
which sprung up to bloom and bear fruit in all lands, and nowhere
did it so rapidly 'germinate as in American soil. Among other
fruits of righteousness from this goodly seed is the First Presbyterian church of Wooster, Ohio.
The earliest record of this church is found in a book, dingy and
yellow with age, quaint in style, and wonderfully humorous in
many of its suggestions. Its date is October 30, 1821, and bears
this inscription: " Presented to the First Presbyterian Church of
Wooster, by Reasin Beall." The first record of the constitution
of the church indicates that the organization was anterior to the
date of this record. It shows that "the members of the First
Presbyterian congregation of the town of Wooster, in the State of
Ohio, convened in their congregational capacity on October 30,
I82I," for a two-fold purpose: First, to provide ways and means,
whereby they might relieve their minister from worldly cares and
avocations; and, second, to provide a comfortable house for religious worship. Outside this record we have no information as to
the precise date of the organization of this church, but a combination of circumstances point unmistakably to an organization much
earlier than I82I. The very first sentence of the first record
assures us of this. It expresses the longing of pious hearts for a
comfortable house in which to worship God, and an earnest desire
to relieve the pastor from worldly cares and avocations, that he
might devote the whole of his time to their spiritual necessities,
implying, evidently, that hindrances in these regards had obtained
in consequence, as we may well suppose, of pecuniary inability to
meet these wants at an earlier hour.
Other circumstances point to Presbyterian worship in the year
I815. In a little house on West Liberty street, nearly opposite
the present residence of Mr. Bonewitz, some ten or twelve of the
Presbyterian faith assembled, prior to 1815, for the worship of
God. In that place this church had, as all the circumstances indicate, its birth.
Who dispensed the Word of Life, and who all the worshipers
were, are not known. Would that we could have their names




WO OSTER-CHUR CHES.


38r,carved on some marble tablet to hand down to succeeding generations. The fathers and mothers were few in number and have
long since gone to their rest, but their sons and daughters are numerous, in the enjoyment of a rich legacy bequeathed by the first
worshipers at a cost of self-denial of which we can have no real
appreciation.
In the manuscript of the history of Wayne county, by Mr. Ben
Douglass, I find the following oral testimony touching the organization of this church: From this manuscript it appears that Mr.
Alexander McBride told Mr. John McClellan that this church was
organized with fifteen (I5) members, in the year 8I5, by Rev. William Mathews, by the order of the Presbytery of Richland, at
which time Mr. Alex. McBride and Mr. Walter Buchanan were,chosen ruling elders. At the time Mr. McClellan received this information Mr. McBride was the only person living that was pres-.ent at the organization of the church.
Any anxious desire to know whether Mr. McBride and Mr.
Buchanan were two of the ten or twelve persons who worshiped
in the little house nearly opposite the present residence of Mr.
Bonewitz, and whether the church was organized then, by Rev.
Wm. Mathews in 1815, must rest satisfied with the probabilities in
the case. For one year only after this organization, with Mr. McBride and Mr. Buchanan as ruling elders, the Rev. Mr. Mathews
continued a stated supply.
We must now leave the infant church for a period of five
years, knowing nothing of it except the occasional preaching the
congregation received from different clergymen.
What prosperous or adverse winds blew over it, what for
peace or dissension obtained in that struggling flock, we know not,
except from an inference that in the year 1821 it comes to the surface again strong for duty and manly in purpose.
Meanwhile the tides of emigration came rolling in and furnished reinforcements to the struggling band, while a merciful God,
with an eye ever watchful of His people's seemingly most trivial
interests, had guided their efforts, enlarged their hearts and smiled
on them benignantly. At this juncture they seemed well prepared
to make aggressive efforts for the cause of Christ. Under the
leadership of a wise, faithful, energetic and godly pastor, they began to lengthen their cords and to strengthen their stakes. The
records of the old Presbytery of Mansfield show that Rev. Thos.
Barr accepted, April 4, I820, the call of this congregation for one



382


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


half of his time, and that on May 24, I820, he was installed pastor over the united charge of Wooster and Apple Creek. Rev.
Mr. Barr, the pastor, was chairman of the meeting of the congregation, in the Baptist church, October 30, 1821, at which the
present constitution and articles were adopted. In pursuance of
the adoption of the constitution one of its provisions was complied with, in the immediate election of Messrs. A. Hanna, Thos.
Robison and Alex. McBride, trustees of the congregation.
The Trustees, by virtue of authority given them in the Constitution, elected Mr. Reasin Beall Clerk of the Board of Trustees.
As thus constituted, they entered immediately on the duties pertaining to their office, and have transmitted through their successors in office to this time, all their proceedings, which, as ratified by
the congregation, have put the present organization into possession
of all the rights of property and estate originally acquired by the
organization. At this same congregational meeting, Mr. John
Christmas, of Wooster, offered a certain lot of ground on West
Liberty street, for the purpose of erecting thereon a house of worship, and requested the board to accept the same as a donation for
the benefit of the congregation and for no other use whatever."
The donation was accepted, and at a meeting of the Trustees, held
at the house of Reasin Beall, November 2, I821, Mr. Beall, as
Clerk of the Board, presented " a deed of conveyance from John
Christmas and Elizabeth, his wife, to the Board in trust for the
congregation, which deed was approved, and ordered to be recorded in the Recorder's office of Wayne county."
The deed, as prepared, was received for record November 3,
1821, and recorded November 7, I82I, in Book B, page 407, 8
and 9, of the Records of Wayne county, by L. Cox, Esq., County
Recorder.
The lot thus donated is the same as that on which the residence
of the late Dr. S. Wilson now stands. The ground having been
secured, the Trustees, under direction of the congregation, made
arrangements for the erection of their new house of worship. For
this purpose the congregation, evidently large in territory, was
divided into five districts, and a collector appointed to each, with
instructions to take subscriptions, "payable in money, grain, or
such produce as is usually taken in stores, in two equal installments,
viz: The first to be paid on the Ist day of March next; the second to be paid on the Ist of December following." The part subscribed in money to be paid to the Treasurer, Mr. John Christmas,




WO OSTER- CHUR CES.


383


the part subscribed in grain to be delivered at Mr. Stibbs' or Mr.
Plank's mills, and the part subscribed in produce to be delivered
by the subscribers at the store of Mr. William McComb, in Wooster." The miller's receipt for the grain, and the storekeeper's
recept for the produce, to be delivered by the subscriber to the
Treasurer, and in all cases of payment by a subscriber, the receipt
was to be delivered through the Treasurer to the Clerk of the
Board of Trustees.
It would be impossible to give minutely the successive steps
taken by the congregation in the erection of their first house of
worship. I pass rapidly to this difficult and perplexing task. The
records show evidence of embarrassment, disappointment, and yet,
withal, a determination, coupled with moral and religious heroism,
which must be admired. At last a sufficient amount was subscribed to justify the Trustees to make contracts for the speedy
erection of the house. The first contract was on May Io, 1822,
with Mr. Thomas Carroll and Dr. Daniel McPhail, for fifty thousand bricks, for which they were to receive in payment, on the
day of delivery, $37.50 in cash, and $75 in equal proportions of
wheat, at 622 cents per bushel, delivered at Mr. Stibb's and Mr.
Plank's mills.  This was one-half the cost of the fifty thousand
bricks, the other half to be paid in June, on terms equal to the
first.
The first subscription was taken November 3, I82I, and then
after the congregation had held two meetings, one in the German
church, June 3, 1823, and the other in the Court House, June Io,.
1823, a second subscription was taken August 25, 1823, and a
third, June 21, I825, ere a sufficient amount had been subscribed
for the completion of the house. The specifications describing the
inside character of work are certainly curiosities. As an illustration of this, I quote as follows: "Four outside doors to be made
of good, sound and well-seasoned pine or white walnut boards,.
similar to the front door in Reasin Beall's dwelling-house." The
thirteen windows, washboards, posts and gallery floor, lathing
and plastering stairs to the gallery, and its front, the pulpit, the
seats and the railings, are each and all as quaintly and as minutely
specified. At what time the congregation entered their new house
of worship does not appear, since no record is made of the first
service held in the new house. The presumption is that it was
about November 25, 1825, as on the 20th of this month the seats.
were sold to the highest bidder for the following purposes, viz: To'




3,84


HIISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


raise funds for the completion of the house, and to accommodate
all with seats of their own choice, as to location and price.    Each
purchaser was to give his note to the Trustees for the purchase,
payable in part in three months, the remainder in nine months;
one-half of the purchase in money and the remaining half in
wheat, rye and corn at the market price. The following quaint
receipt corroborates the presumption that the congregation entered
their new house of worship in 1825:
I have received from R. Beall and others, twelve dollars in full, for making
fires, lighting candles, and sweeping the meeting-house, for the year 1827, commencing November 30, 1826, and ending December 31, I827.
JACOB MASON.
The different subscriptions show that the cost of the building
was as follows:
$508.75 in cash, $34 in work, $20 in bricks, 2000 bricks, $i6 in wheat, 200
bushels wheat, $IO5 in sawed stuf, $42 in flooring, $47 in hauling, 258 bushels corn,
$IO in digging stumps and foundation, 175 lights of sash, $IO in poplar boards, II4
bushels rye, IO joists at 4 cents per foot, $12 in leather, $78 in cloth, 5 yards in
linen, 5 yards in tow-linen, 20 lbs. flax, $9.372 in coarse shoes, $20 in silver work,
$IO in teaspoons, $5 in tailoring, $6 in "blacksmithing," $2 in cabinet work,
$I3.50 in hats, $8 in saddlery, $30 in nails, I spinning wheel, and 42 gallons of
whiskey.
[Mr. McCurdy very irreverently neglected to furnish the names of the church
members who made these contributions, especially Mr.  and the other donor
of the "whisky!"]
In such an age as this, we can scarcely reconcile such a subscription, either with religion or common sense. Neither can we
appreciate the times in which the founders of this church lived.
All these articles were as truly money as the currency of this age
is to us.   In money, as they regarded their subscriptions, the
house cost the congregation, according to the final report, January
I,  1829, $2,737.83i.      The   whole   subscription  amounted    to
$I,568.58.   The amount realized by the sale of seats was $I,136.40.
The amount of delinquent subscriptions was $I84.71.         On January I, I829, an indebtedness of $2I7.56 rested on the congregation,
which was speedily provided for. On September 7, I829, the
Rev. Thomas Barr having asked, the congregation consented to
the dissolution of the pastoral relation, he having served this congregation for nine years and four months; a period which was evidently the most trying in the history of the congregation.       It is
not too much to say, that this congregation owes, under God,
whatever of success it has attained to this godly servant of Christ,




WO OSTER- CHUR CHES.


385


and those noble laymen, who, with him, struggled hard and long,
to establish this congregation and church on a basis firm and solid.
The fidelity with which the first Trustees served the congregation
may be inferred from their continuance in office long after the
pastoral relation between Mr. Barr and the congregation was dissolved. The pastor's salary was raised annually by collectors,
appointed to each of the five districts, into which the congregation
was divided. As a relic of this fact, one of the old subscription
lists still exists, and is worthy of the greatest care, in its transmission to future generations. At the time Mr. Barr ceased to be the
pastor of this congregation, Alexander Hanna, Alexander McBride,
Robert Patterson and Thomas Cox were ruling elders, though no
notice of the election of either of them appears on record, save that
of Alexander McBride. It is a source of profound regret that no
mention is made of the increase of membership to this church during the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Barr. That which will be given
subsequently is both conjectural, and traditional. From this point
onward the history is more easily traced. I have been particular
to give all the available circumstances, presumptions, and probabilities, connected with the early history of this church; only for the
reason that so little data is given in the records, which, however,
with the oral testimony that is fresh in the memory of many, furnish what is believed to be an accurate history of the congregation
in its first years.
On January 8, 1830, the session were authorized by the congregation to make application for the ministerial services of Rev.
William Cox. Mr. Cox served this congregation as stated supply
for one year, at the expiration of which he declined an invitation
to serve the congregation longer, and accepted an agency in the
interest of the American Sunday-school Union.
Mr. Adley Hemphill and John Cunningham were added to the
members of the session on the I8th of April, 1831, after several
unsuccessful attempts to dissolve the union between Wooster and
Apple Creek congregations.
It was finally accomplished September 13, 1831, at which time
Wooster congregation adjudged itself able to employ a pastor for
the whole of the time, and acting upon this decision, a call was
made out on this date for the ministerial services of Rev. William
Wiley. On August 3, 1832, a call was made out for the ministerial labors of the Rev. George W. Warner. At what time he
25




386


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


entered upon the pastoral oversight of this congregation is not
known, but the fact of his dismissal from the pastorate is recorded
as having taken place April 4, I836. On March 4, 1833, a meeting of the congregation was called for the purpose of adopting
measures looking toward the purchase of a place for the burial of
the dead. A committee, consisting of Messrs. A. Hanna, Reasin
Beall, Joseph Stibbs and Adley Hemphill, were appointed to make
the purchase of a lot lying south of the house of worship on West
Liberty street.  Said committee reported to the congregation
April I, 1833, the purchase of the lot aforesaid, from Mr. John
Christmas, for $88.50, together with a deed of the same, which
was accepted, and recorded in Book I, pages 189-90, in the records of Wayne county, by L. Cox, Esq., County Recorder.
From the dissolution of the pastoral relation between Rev. Mr.
Warner and this congregation, until December 31, 1838, there was
a vacancy in pastoral labors, during which the Rev. Woodruff
acted as stated supply.
The successor of the Rev. Mr. Warner was Mr. William McCandlish,a licentiate, who was ordained and installed pastor in
June, 1839, and continued the pastor of this church until May I,
I849. The good name of this honored servant of Christ is fragrant with rich memories of a faithful, earnest and most untiring
labor. The Lord richly blessed him in his labors here, and by
means of him brought many to Christ. During this pastorate the
following historical facts appear: Ist. Almost cotemporaneous
with the settlement of Mr. McCandlish as pastor, a movement was
made looking towards the improvement of the church building,
which was one of those peculiar notions of congregations, which,
as in this case, usually developed into a new house of worship.
The proposed improvements resulted in temporary repairs to the
foundation of the church edifice, and the erection of a board fence
around the lot on which it stood. 2d. The first change in the
Board of Trustees was January 6, 1840, in the election of Mr.
William McComb, in the place of Mr. Alexander Hanna, whose
term of office had expired. 3d. On September 20, 1841, Messrs.
Samuel Coulter, John Jacobs, David Schamp, William Jacobs and
William McComb were duly elected to the office of Ruling Elder;
and to the same office, October I6, 1848, Isaac Johnson, Leander
Smith, Joseph E. McConahay, Stephen F. Day and William Slemmons were elected. 4th. On the 24th of March, 1845, a meeting
of the congregation was held, at which Mr. McCandlish presented




WOOSTER-CHURCHES.


387


his request for a dissolution of the pastoral relation, with reasons
therefor; thereupon the congregation adjudged his reasons insufficient and very kindly invited Mr. McCandlish not to "grow weary
in well doing." It was on Monday, January 24, 1840, that a committee was appointed by the congregation to examine the church
building and report favorably or otherwise in the matter of a new
house of worship. The enterprise of a new church building was
now fairly inaugurated; all agreeing on the necessity, but disagreeing as to the time when such an enterprise should be undertaken.
Along with this movement there was introduced into the congregation an element of restlessness, and there being no favorable
evidence for harmonious action in this regard, and while the subject of a new house of worship was still being agitated, Rev. Mr. McCandlish, on April 9, I849, tendered to the congregation his resignation as pastor. The congregation agreed to acquiesce in Mr.
McCandlish's request, and by consent of pastor and people, Presbytery dissolved the relation, to take effect in the month of May
following.
The congregation was now vacant for about orie year, wheno n
April I, 1850, a call was ordered to be presented before the Presbytery of Steubenville for the ministerial labors of the Rev. Joseph
H. Chambers. He took charge of this congregation on the last
Sabbath of the month of May following. His work in this congregation was brief.  He became pastor on the last Sabbath of
May, I850, and to this congregation he preached his last sermon
on the last Sabbath of August of the same year. On the first
Sabbath of September, although very much indisposed, he assisted
Rev. Dr. John Robinson, of Ashland, at a communion service, and
afterwards returned home with an attack of typhus fever, from
which he died September 13, I850. His precious dust lies undisturbed in a cemetery near Pittsburg, Pa. In this same year (1850)
the project of a new church was vigorously undertaken. It appears
from the records that a subscription had been taken with a view to
rebuild on the old site on West Liberty street. The change in
location, however, was effected by the endeavors of the ladies of
the congregation, as is seen by the following resolution of the
congregation, on April I, 1850, viz:
WHEREAS, A portion of the ladies of this congregation propose to donate to the
congregation, in fee simple, a lot of ground on the corner of North and Walnut
streets, being 90 feet on North street and 180 feet on Walnut street, and in addition




388


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


to the same obligate themselves to procure not less than $300 additional subscription for the erection of a new church edifice on said lot; therefore,
Resolved, That the subscribers to the paper for building on the old site accept
the above proposition, and apply their subscriptions for building on the "old site"
to the erection of a new church edifice on the lot proposed to be donated.
The resolution was adopted with the amendment that a committee be appointed to solicit the concurrence of the subscribers to
the proposed change. On April 13, 1850, the committee reported
to the congregation that they had obtained the concurrence of the
subscribers to the proposed change of location for the new church
edifice, and at the same meeting the ladies presented their subscription, amounting to $5 I5, coupled with the assurance that they
were prepared forthwith to obtain the title to the lot donated,
whereupon the congregation resolved that the church be located
on the present lot. A building committee of five persons, viz:
J. P. Coulter, James Jacobs, Ephraim Quinby, Isaac Johnson and
David Robison, were appointed. A call for the ministerial labors
of Rev. J. N. Shepherd was ordered November I6, I850, who,
instead of becoming pastor, acted as stated supply until March,
1851, at which time the call of the congregation was reissued, but
finally declined by Mr. Shepherd the following October. On the
8th of December following a call was made for the Rev. James H.
Baird, who accepted the same and entered upon the duties of this
relation during the year 185. During this pastorate, on November 24, 1852, David Robison, John Cunningham, H. F. Ewalt and
George Brinkerhoff were elected ruling elders. To this office, on
the same day, the previous election of Judge Avery was reaffirmed.
Of these, George Brinkerhoff and Harris Ewalt accepted, and
were duly ordained and installed January i6, I853. Meanwhile
the erection of the new church was pushed rapidly by the Trustees.
The cost of this structure was between five and six thousand dollars.
The congregation held its first meeting in the new house January 2, 1854, at which time E. Quinby, Jr., was elected Trustee for
the unexpired term of John M. Robison, who had recently moved
away. Mr. Quinby served subsequently as Treasurer for a number of years.
In April, of 1854, the Rev. J. H. Baird gave notice that at the
ensuing meeting of Presbytery he would ask for a dissolution of
the pastoral relation, to which request the congregation assented.
Following this vacancy, the congregation seems to have been




WO OSTER- CHUR CHES.


389


quite popular with the ministers. Perhaps the attraction was the
new house. They seem to have been quite eager to settle a pastor, as may be inferred from the fact that they actually made out a
call for a dead man. It happened in this wise: On July 20, 1854,
at a congregational meeting for the purpose of electing a pastor,
four ministers were put in nomination, viz: Rev. Dr. McClarran
and Rev. Messrs. Burrough, Harris and Fulton; the names of
Rev. Dr. McClarran and Rev. Mr. Burrough were withdrawn, and
the choice of the congregation was for Rev. Mr. Harris, by a vote
of thirty-nine to eight. The call to Mr. Harris was made unanimous and forwarded to him at Louisville, Ky., only to receive a
reply from Mr. George Smith, of that city, that Mr. Harris had
died July 17, three days before the call was made out for him.
Rev. J. B. Stewart, at present of Milwaukee, Wis., was unanimously called to the pastorate on November 2, 1854. Mr. Stewart entered immediately on his duties as pastor, but on account of
ill-health, tendered his resignation September I, I855. He was
not released, however, until April, I856, but was granted absence
for a time with a view to his restoration to health, the congregation
meantime supplying the pulpit.
The remaining history of the congregation is quickly told. On
March 12, 1856, Rev. Alexander Swaney, of the Steubenville
Presbytery, was called to this pastoral charge, and on the Ioth of
April following notified the session by letter that he declined the
call. On the ISt of July, i856, a unanimous call was ordered for
the Rev. R. Colmery, who, having accepted, was duly installed,
and continued the pastor of this charge until the pastoral relation
was dissolved by the Presbytery of Wooster, April 17, i860.
During this pastorate, on October o1, 1856, Messrs. Edward
Avery, Joseph Caldwell and John McClellan were elected Elders.
Messrs. Avery and McClellan refused to serve.
The first movement of the congregation looking towards the
erection of a parsonage was on January II, I859. To further this
project a committee, viz: John H. Kauke, John McClellan, E.
Quinby and R. B. Stibbs, were appointed to ascertain what amount
of money could be secured for this purpose, and also, for the erection of a lecture-room for the church. The lot on which the present parsonage stands was purchased of E. Quinby, Jr., for $750,
and the parsonage was erected thereon at a cost of about $2,500.
The erection of a lecture room, as was proposed, failed through
inability to raise sufficient funds. On May 28, I860, Rev. J. H.




390


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Reed was called to the pastoral oversight of this church, and soon
after entered upon his duties as such, and continued the pastor
until November 5, I867, at which time the. relation was dissolved.
To the eldership were added John McClellan and John H. Kauke,
on April 6, I86I; George H. Clark and Anderson Adair, on
April 27, I86I. No notice of their ordination and installation
appears, but the first mention of their presence as elders is at a
meeting of the, session held July 6, I86i. Messrs. Caldwell and
Clark removed from the congregation, and returned again, and on
June 28, I868, they, and William Osborn, and Dr. J. M. Weaver,
were by a large vote of the congregation called to this office, all
of whom were duly ordained and installed September 29, i868.
The Rev. S. W. Miller commenced his labors on the first Sabbath of May, i868. A call was made out for him January  I,
1869, which he accepted and was installed pastor on the third
Tuesday of May, I869, and continued in this relation until April
28, 1874, when the relation was dissolved. He did not cease his
labors, however, until the second Sabbath of May following. The
first mention we have of deacons in this congregation is on January 3, 1870, at which time D. Robison, Jr., G. Troutman,
James Numbers and Thomas B. Cunningham, were elected to this
office. One year later, Mr. S. A. Wells was elected deacon in
place of Mr. T. B. Cunningham, who had removed out of the congregation. During his ministry 299 persons were added to the
membership of the church. The project of enlarging the present
house of worship, initiated during the pastorate of Mr. Miller, was
not executed until after his resignation of this charge.
Almost cotemporaneous with his resignation, the Westminster
church was organized, in connection with the Wooster University,
which church and University are the legitimate children of this
congregation, the University being the older. Not a little of the
unwritten history of this congregation enters into the existence of
the University. If the mother is proud of this child, much more
has the child reason to be proud of its mother. The first membership of the Westminister congregation was from this congregation,
who, out of a sense of duty merely, for the encouragement of students attending the University, consented to enter this organization. The remodeling of the present house of worship was undertaken April 28, I874. The addition of wings on the east and west,
and the arrangements for prayer meeting and Sabbath-school in
the lecture-room, together with the neatness of finish in the inte



WO OSTER CHUR CHES.


391


rior, were at a cost of about $14,000. The present pastor was
called to labor in this field March I6, 1875. He accepted the call
and preached the first sermon in this house after the present addition to it was made, on May 9, I875, from Haggai, chapter ii, and
verse 9: "The glory of this latter house shall be greater than the
former, saith the Lord of Hosts, and in this place will I give peace,
saith the Lord of Hosts." On Saturday, May I5, the present
pastor was installed, in which service the Rev. John M. Hastings
preached the sermon. President Taylor presided, proposed the
constitutional questions and gave the charge to the people, and
the Rev. T. K. Davis gave the charge to the pastor.
On Sabbath, May I6, the house of worship was formally rededicated to the worship of Almighty God. Rev. A. A. E. Taylor, President of Wooster University, preached the sermon from
I Kings, vi. 7. Following the sermon, Dr. Taylor succeeded in
raising about $4,000 from the congregation, to liquidate the debt
at that time resting upon it, after which the pastors concluded the
dedicatory services. On the 22d of June, 1875, according to previous notice, the congregation assembled for the purpose of electing Ruling Elders. As the rotary plan in the election of Euling
Elders had, by action of the General Assembly, become the law of
the church, the Session, in ordering this meeting, agreed to submit to the congregation the opportunity to determine whether
they would elect, as heretofore, on the life plan or on the
rotary plan.  They accepted the latter, whereupon the existing Session, consisting of Messrs. John McClellan, John H.
Kauke, George Binkerhoff and Joseph Caldwell, tendered their
resignations as Elders of this church. Their resignations were
accepted by the congregation, and in the election that immediately
followed, these brethren were re-called to serve this congregation
as Ruling cElders, on the rotary plan, and along with these George
Troutman, George Liggett, M. D., Peter Foust and L. J. Barker,
were elected to the same office. At the same time D. W. Immel,
N. W. Laubach and Jacob Geiselman were elected Deacons.
The official constitution of the church at present is as follows:
T. A. McCurdy, Pastor; John McClellan, John H. Kauke, George Brinkerhoff,
George Liggett, M. D., Joseph Caldwell, George Troutman, Peter Foust and L. J.
Barker, Ruling Elders; David Robison, Jr., D. W. Immel, James Numbers,
S. A. Wells, N. W. Laubach and Jacob Geiselman, Deacons; J. H. Kauke, James
Numbers and John Hindman, Trustees.




392


HISTORY OF WAYNAE COUNTY, OHIO.


The Sabbath-school constitutes no little part of the history of
this congregation; and yet we find no mention of it, except at a congregational meeting held not many years since. Mr. David Robison, Jr., proposed that the congregation raise $200 for its use.
Oral testimony places the organization of the Sabbath-school in
the year 1825.
Record of Membership. -The church was organized with 15
members. When the Rev. Thomas Barr was installed as pastor,
the membership was 33. When this pastoral relation was dissolved,
the membership was I07. During his pastorate there were admitted to its membership 146 persons. The next enrollment I find
extends from January I, I846, to February 27, I853, and shows an
aggregate membership of 570. The enrollment during the pastorate of Mr. Miller is as follows: April, 1870, 281; 1871, 382;
1872, 336; 1873, 344; 1874, 397; I875, 324. The present enrollment of actual members, after deducting all that have died and
removed elsewhere, is 416.
The Wooster Reformed Church.
The history of the (German) Reformed church at Wooster,
Wayne county, Ohio, dates back to I819. Some families of the
Reformed faith settled at and about Wooster even before this. In
the summer of 1819, the Rev. Henry Sonnedecker, residing in
Washington county, Pa., made a missionary tour through the
counties of Jefferson, Tuscarawas, Wayne and Richland, in Ohio,
and, according to appointment, preached in a brick school-house
at Wooster, on the Ist day of August. This was the first sermon
ever preached here by a minister of the Reformed church, and the
occasion was one of interest and encouragement. At the close of
services he was strongly entreated to settle in this community and
organize a Reformed congregation. On the 4th of January, 1820,
he, with his family, settled at Wooster, and on the 23d of that
month, preached his introductory sermon to an attentive congregation in a school-house. As the Lutherans had united in the organization (being one portion of the old-fashioned "Union church "),
and as yet had no pastor of their own, they mutually contributed
to the support of Rev. Henry Sonnedecker, who served both interests. He continued pastor of the united, congregation for seven
years, when the Lutherans called Rev. G. H. Weygandt, who




WO OSTER- CHUR CHES.


393


preached his introductory sermon May 27, 1827, and continued his
pastorate for a period of thirteen years. The first communion of
the Lord's Supper under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Sonnedecker
here, was celebrated on the i6th of July, 1820, when twenty-five
persons communed, of whom ten had been received by confirmation on the previous day.
At first, preaching or public worship was held in a schoolhouse, or at private dwellings, but during the summer and fall of
1820 a one-story frame house of worship was erected, conjointly
by the Reformed church and Lutherans, and dedicated in the fall
of the same year, under the name, "Die Friedens' Kirche."
Rev. H. Sonnedecker closed his pastorate on the 3d of April,
1831. During his ministry here he baptized 246 children and received 50 members into communion with the church. He was
much beloved by his congregation, and the day on which he
preached his farewell sermon was a solemn and memorable one.
The congregation, after being vacant for nearly two years, called
the Rev. Charles Zwisler in the early part of 1833, who served it
for nearly seven years, closing his ministry here in the latter part
of I839. During his pastorate movements were started looking
toward the erection of a new church. With this end in view, in
1833, George Bender and George Reiner purchased outlot No. 23,
in the town of Wooster, for $155. This lot contained nearly 2,
acres. September 28, 1833, a graveyard was laid out. On the
I7th of December, 1833, the united congregation was incorporated, by a charter obtained from the Ohio Legislature, under the
name of "The German Lutheran and Reformed Church in Wooster and its Vicinity." On the 8th of August, 1834, the lot was
purchased by the Trustees for the use of the united congregation.
The building of a new brick church on the lot was set in motion in the spring of 1836. The Trustees elected to carry into effect the wishes of the congregation, in this respect, were William
Reiter, Jacob Solt and Jacob Albright. The erection of the
church commenced in early summer, and the corner stone was
laid in the beginning of September, 1836. The sermons preached
upon the occasion were by Rev. Peter Herbruck (Reformed), and
Rev. Emanuel Greenwald (Lutheran).
In 1837-38 the church building was completed. The total cost
of the house was $4,131.74. The church was dedicated during
the annual meeting of the Reformed Synod of Ohio, on Saturday,
June I6, 1838. About 30 ministers, besides a large congregation,




394


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


were present. The sermons on the occasion were preached by
Rev. D. Krantz (Lutheran), in German, from Mark xi. 17, and by
Rev. Abraham Keller (Reformed), in English, from Psalm xxciv.
In the spring of 1840, the Rev. Charles Zwisler was succeeded in the pastorate by the Rev. Augustus W. Begeman, who
served the Reformed congregation for a period of three years.
February, 1843, the Union Sunday-school was organized, with
Isaac H. Reiter as Superintendent, and the school went into practical operation, April 2, I843, with about I00 scholars.
The successor of Rev. Begeman was the Rev. John Peter Mahuenschmidt, who having been elected by the congregation as pastor, September 2, preached his introductory sermon, October I,
I843. After a ministry of one year he resigned.
He was succeeded by Rev. David Kammerer, who was elected
by the congregation as pastor, November 30, 1844, and preached
his first sermon, January I9, 1845. He commenced his ministry
under rather adverse circumstances, but soon secured the confidence of the whole congregation and succeeded well in his labors
of love. In 1847 an organ was donated to the united congregation by the Germans of Wooster, which was dedicated August 22
of that year. Believing that it would be conducive to the growth
and harmony of the church, on the i6th of May, 1853, at a meeting of the membership, the original organization of the conjoint
congregation was reciprocally sundered, and at the same time the
(German) Reformed congregation organized itself into a separate
congregation, according to the constitution of the church, under
the name of the German Reformed church, of Wooster and vicinity, and elected John Moyer, John Freeman and J. Bechtel, Trustees; Samuel Rhodes, Treasurer, and G. K. Wilhelm, Clerk.
As up to this time the Reformed congregation had been served
only with German preaching, the Rev. Hiram Shall was called, in
August, to preach in the English language, in connection with
Rev. Kammerer in German. His first sermon was delivered September 4, I853, but he did not remain long with the society. Mr.
Kammerer continued in charge of the congregation until April,
I864.
During his ministry, running through a period of nineteen
years, the congregation became harmonious and prosperous, and
numerous, indeed, were the accessions made thereto. Worn out,
enfeebled, and exhausted, by unremittent labor, and English service being necessary, he concluded his duties were too manifold




WOOSTER-CHURCHES.                  395
and oppressive, and resigned the pastorate of the church. His
parishioners were deeply attached to him, and hesitatingly excused
him from his charge. Before leaving, however, they devolved
upon him the responsibility of procuring them a minister. After
careful inquiry and observation he concluded to recommend Rev.
Joshua H. Derr, of Allentown, Pa., who assumed the pulpit,
April I, 1864. Mr. Derr abandoned the Wooster congregation in
July, 1869. Rev. Kammerer, returning to Pittsburg with a hope
of restoring his health, and finding no realization of that hope, returned to Wooster in I866.
He found the church in not a very flourishing condition, and
as he says, began to "tighten the screws" on it.  For four
years he performed a sort of missionary labor, visiting the various
charges, trying to infuse life into the "dry bones," vigor into the
sleeping souls, and re-produce the unity and brotherhood of the
congregation. But here a somber cloud swept the horizon of the
Union church. A disposition to separation existed among the
members, and the court was petitioned for partition and sale of
the building and premises, which occurred at public outcry in the
early part of 1869.
Then they were left without Bible, pulpit, place of worship, or
organization.  Mr. Kammerer now resolved to make a strong
effort to collect together the lost sheep of the fold, the watchmen
that were guarding the Hill of Zion. He preached first in the
Court House, then in France's building, then in Zimmerman's
room. A congregational meeting, after the third sermon of a series in the Court House, was held, and a resolution was passed to
buy grounds on which to erect a church. In a few days $2,400
was raised, and the lot was purchased for that amount, on the corner of North and Buckeye streets, where the new building stands.
On the 6th of July, 1871, they began this building, C. C. Baker
being architect and carpenter, D. Brown and William Roberts doing the cutting and stone work, and Joseph Haettinger contractor
on brick work. The corner-stone was laid August 12, 1871, amid
impressive ceremonies.  The dedication occurred December 31,
1871, when sermons were delivered by Rev. H. E. Herbruck, of
Canton (this was the dedicatory one); Rev. A. F. Zartman, licentiate, of Tiffin; Dr. G. W. Willard, President of Heidelburg College, Tiffin. The dedication services were conducted by Dr. Willard, Rev. Miller, Rev. Herbruck and Rev. Kammerer, resident
pastor. The cost of the edifice, gas and carpets inclusive, reached




396


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIG.


$I2,400.  Its membership attains I30. A flourishing Sundayschool organization, with William M. France as Superintendent,
exists, with an average attendance of Ioo children.
Rev. D. Kammerer was born in Northampton county, Pa.,
near Easton, in I802. His father was a native of Hoboken, N. J.,
and was the father of seven children. His father died at the advanced age of eighty-four years, and his funeral was the first one
in the family. Rev. Kammerer belongs to a long-lived and vigorous ancestry, traced to Zweibrecken, Germany, and the members
of his father's family all living, with one exception. He was educated in the State of Pennsylvania, and received private biblical
instruction from C. Baker, D. D., an eloquent and eminent German theologian. He is now seventy-six years old, but in good
health, and hopeful of a protracted and useful life.
Evangelical Lutheran Christ Church.
Rev. D. Henkel, a missionary, preached the doctrines of this
church in Wooster as early as I815. Rev. John Stauck succeeded
him in I816, and for the first time administered the Lord's Supper, when Mrs. McIntyre, Mrs. Anspach and Mrs. Ihrig were received into the church by the rite of confirmation. In I820 the
German Reformed denomination united with this church, and
erected a house of worship. This was a small frame building,
which, converted into a dwelling, still stands on the original lot,
immediately adjacent to and north of School-house No. 4.
Union churches in those days were, it seems, quite popular
amongst the early settlers, not specially because of affinity in the
faiths between the opposites-Lutheranism and Zwinglo-Calvinism-but because of personal preference and attachments between
neighbors of like nationality, language and like need of mutual assistance.
Rev. H. Sonnedecker was among the early Reformed preachers. This unionistic latitudinarianism relation, as one minister
designated it to us, lasted seven years. In 1827 Rev. G. H. Weygandt, of Washington county, Pa., became pastor, and a second
church (joint also) was erected-a brick structure, which still
stands on outlot No. 23, and was dedicated June i6, 1838, Rev.
E. Greenwald preaching in the Lutheran interest. The graveyard, meantime, had been laid in 1833 on a part of the church






WO OSTER- CHURCHES.


397


ground, the first person buried in it being Elizabeth Weiser, stepdaughter of George Reiner. Rev. Weygandt remained pastor till
1840, preaching only in German.   Rev. S. S. Kline was
his successor, and alternated every two weeks in preaching German and English, the Reformed occupying the church on the intermediate Sunday.
Nativism, however, soon made itself felt. The European Germans who, during the pastorate of Rev. Weygandt, had settled in
Wooster, felt themselves slighted, and withdrew, organizing a distinctive church on North Buckeye street, with a Rev. Konradi as
preacher, occupying a room on that street in which religious services were held. This organization lasted but two years, when
the members returned to the old church, bringing with them a pipe
organ with four stops. Rev. Kline was succeeded by Rev. Benjamin Pope, who labored in both languages, but owing to declining health resigned the charge in 1856-57. The congregation was
now without a pastor until I86r, when Rev. J. C. Schulze received
and accepted a call. In May, 1853, a distinctively Lutheran constitution had been adopted by the congregation.
In the spring of 1867 Rev. Schulze took leave of the congregation, and Rev. D. Martens became his successor in July of that
year, and during the period of his ministerial service the dissolution of partnership between the two congregations in the joint possession of the church occurred. In September, I869, Rev. Martens resigned, and on April I, 1870, Rev. E. Cronenwett assumed
charge of this field of labor.
Rev. George Dillman is the present pastor, and is a young man
of ability and popularity, and an excellent German and English
scholar.
FIRST M. E. CHURCH.
Ministers representing this religious denomination held service
in Wooster and vicinity as early as I817-I8. The date of the organization of the church is involved in doubt to the extent that we
will not undertake to fix it. At a quarterly meeting conference,
held in Wooster, December 15, 1832, for this circuit and district,
William P. Christie appeared as Presiding Elder. We have also
the following: Shadrach Ruark, and L. D. Bevins, C. P.; Samuel
Montgomery and William Spencer, Local Deacons; E. McGinley,
A. Briggs, C. Howser, S. Chacey, Jesse Warner, John Floyd and
Samuel Oldfield, Exhorters; A. Stewart, A. Warner, J. Sampson,




398


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


D. Chacey, C. Yordy, George Snider, H. Kizer, D. Black, M.
Warner and William Spear, Leaders.
At this conference four circuit stewards were appointed, towit: William Spear, E. McGinley, C. Howser and Andrew Laird.
The Sunday-school was organized about I832, and in I835 the
Wooster class enumerated II2 scholars.  Tn April, I836, William
Spear, Christian Eyster and David Fairfield, were appointed a
committee to estimate the cost of building a church.  In I837 a
proposition was made to divide the circuit, embracing all the appointments north of Wooster and the State road, leading to Mansfield, which was agreed to. In 1834 Adam Poe was Presiding
Elder, and in 1838 J. H. Power.
June 27, I840, the Trustees of the Methodist church made the
following report:
First, the meeting-house has been pulled down and lies even with the ground.
Second, they have determined to build a new house, of the following dimensions;
75x50, a portico 8x3o, with columns in front, etc. They have contracted for building the same for $2,700, and $2,503 having been subscribed, the building is now in
a state of fowardness, and they expect to have the basement story ready for use by
the first of September next, and the house finished some time during the summer.
Signed, J. J. Armstrong, Jacob Immel, William Spear, D. P. Hartman, M. E.
Shamp, D. Black, C. Yordy, Thomas Williams, Trustees.
October [7, 1840, E. Yocum     appears as Presiding Elder.
October 14, 1843, at a quarterly meeting the question arose
whether it was best to divide the circuit and make Wooster a station, which, upon a vote, was affirmatively decided, whereupon it
was moved and seconded that Bodine and Smithville appointments
be attached to Wooster, which was carried.
The circuit was now divided as before decided by the conference, and Wooster was constituted a station.
September 21, I844, E. Raymond appears as Presiding Elder,
and D. Black, William Stitt, D. M. Crall as Stewards. May 31,
1845, Charles Hartley and M. K. Hard, were recommended to the
conference as suitable persons to enter the traveling connection.
November 29, I845, Hiram Shaffer appears as Presiding Elder,
and September i8, I847, Daniel Lambert as Presiding Elder.
May 6, I849, the Trustees reported the church entirely out of
debt, but suggested some repairs and improvements to the building. September 13, 1851, Thomas Barkdull appears as Presiding
Elder. November 29, 1852, C. Eyster, William Henry, Philo S.
Vanhouten, J. Anderson, J. Boucher, G. Bartol and E. Oldroyd,




WO OSTER-CHUR CHES.


399


were appointed Trustees of the parsonage, the grounds for which
were donated by William Henry. September 23, 1854, J. F. Kellum appears as Presiding Elder. March 27, 1858, J. Hinton offered the following preamble and resolution:
WHEREAS, The putting on of gold is a plain violation of Scripture precept,
as well as the rules of our church, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the members of this M. E. Conference prohibit the use of it in
their own families, and discountenance the use of it by the members of the church.
After discussion, Rev. J. Durbin presented the following as a
substitute, which was accepted by Mr. Hinton, and passed by the
Conference:
Resolved, That we hereby request our pastor to preach a discourse, at his own
convenience, on the subject of dress; and that we will sustain him in the execution
of the General Rules of our discipline, without exception.
October 9, I858, Joseph H. Kennedy appears as Presiding
Elder. September 28, 1863, H. G. Dubois appears as Presiding
Elder, and after him C. H. Owen, and in 1868 the immortal
Joseph Matlock. Chaplain Collier is the present Presiding Elder.
LIST OF STATION PREACHERS SINCE I843.


George W. Howe..............   I843
E. R. Jewett........................ 1844
Cyrus Sawyer........................ 1845-46
H. E. Pitcher........................ 1847
Henry Whiteman..............   I848-49
Leonard G. Gurley................ I850-51
S. L. Yourte........................ 1852
Jesse Durbin........................ 1853-54
Horatio     Bradley..............    I855
J. S. Kalb*..........................


W. H. Seeley................. 1857-58
H. C. Dubois................. 1859-60
Lorenzo Warner...............  86i
M. K. Hard.................. 1862
C. L. Foote.................. 1863-64
A. Palmer............................  865-66
Joseph Matlock............ I867-68
George Mather............... I869-70
George Pepper...................... 1871-73
G. A. Hughes............Present Minister


ZION'S EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH.
This religious body was organized September 18, I840, by the
Rev. Solomon Ritz. The following is a list of officers and members of the church at the time of its constitution:
George Reiner, J. A. Lawrence, Elders; Henry D. Miller, Israel Windel, Deacons; Members-George Reiner, John A. Lawrence, H. D. Miller, Israel Windel
Isaac Notestine, Abraham Fox, Conrad Oiler, Benj. Lehman, M. A. Fox, Mary


* Succeded Bradley in September, 1855.




400


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Johnson, Catharine A. Miller, Fred Hoke, Fanny Lehman, Mary Windel, Elizabeth Ritz.
At the end of two years and six months, Rev. Ritz resigned
the Wooster church, having served it from its organization. The
pulpit was vacant for seven months then, though supplied occasionally by Rev. A. H. Myers and a Rev. Mr. Dixon. November I, I843, Rev. George Leiter commenced his labors as pastor
of the church. August 17, I844, it was determined to add two
more Deacons to the church council, and at a selection of officers
on the above date, the choice was as follows: George Reiner,
Abraham Fox, Elders; Wm. Bacher, Israel Windel, John Beall,
J. A. Lawrence, Deacons.
At the expiration of a year, Rev. Leiter resigned, the resignation dating November I, I844. January I, 1845, Rev. W. J.
Sloan assumed the pastorate of the congregation. In the winter
of 1846-47, twenty persons united with the church. In I849, January 8, the old Elders were re-elected, and the following persons
were chosen Deacons: J. A. Lawrence, Conrad Oiler, David Bissel, Alex. Bivens.
April I, I851, Rev. W. J. Sloan severed his ministerial connection with the church. After this, and during an interval of six
months, Rev. J. Hamilton favored the congregation with supplies.
November I, I851, W. A. G. Emerson became its pastor, resigning after a service of one year. Up to this time eighty-nine members had been added to the original sixteen.
June I, 1853, Rev. J. B. Baltzly was installed as pastor. The
office of deaconship having been vacated by removals, the vacancies thus created were filled, to wit: Abraham Fox and J. A.
Lawrence, Elders; Alexander Bivens and Martin Smith, Deacons.
October 17, 1853, Simpson S. Goodspeed was excommunicated
from this church for theft. A number of excommunications appear
for intemperance and other immoralities. The Incorporation Act
requiring three Trustees, and there being but two, Martin B. Weaver was chosen to constitute the third, or legal number.
Having disposed of their old church edifice and lot on Alley
Square, directly east of in-lot No. I07, on North Market street, to
Albert McFadden, and having no place of worship during the erection of the new church, the German Lutheran congregation kindly
offered the use of their house, which offer was thankfully accepted.
September 13, I855, the corner-stone of the new church edifice was laid on North Market street. This ceremony was con



WOOSTER- CHURCHES.


401


uducted by Rev. John Crouse, and the following ministers were also
present at the dedicatory services: Rev. Ruthraff, of Canton;
Rev. S. Feeman, of Mansfield; Rev. J. S. Lawson, of Pittsburg,
Pa.; and Rev. Benjamin Pope, of Wooster.
June i, 1856, services were first held in the lecture-room of the
new church, where Rev. J. B. Baltzly was ordained. Rev. W. C.
Weaver delivered the first sermon in it. September 24 to 30, I857,
the East Ohio Synod held its Twenty-second Annual Convention
in the church. July 3, I859, service was first held in the new
church, Rev. Baltzly preaching from Genesis xxxv, I I. On the
ioth of July it was dedicated, the sermon being preached by Rev.
F. W. Conrad, of Dayton, Ohio, assisted by Rev. Baltzly and
Rev. Feeman.
In I86o the following officers were elected: J. H, Keslar,
George Plumer and M. Funk, Elders; A. Bechtel, J. Bechtel and
G. W. Althouse, Deacons; George Plumer, William McClelland
and Henry Rockey, Trustees; Thomas F. Wildes, Secretary;
R. Bechtel, Treasurer.
February i, I860, the Wooster congregation and the Trinity
Evangelical Lutheran church of Franklin township, agreed, by
preamble and resolution, to constitute themselves as one body, to
be called the Wooster Charge, assenting and subscribing to various regulations and conditions. October Io, i860, the East Ohio
Synod confirmed the act of union, at its session at Manchester,
Ohio, by a unanimous vote.*
April 10, I864, it was resolved to dissolve the union between
Zion's Evangelical Lutheran church, of Wooster, and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran church, of Franklin township, subject to the ratification of the Synod, and to make way for the formation of a new
charge-the Wooster Charge-by a union of the Wooster and St.
Paul's church, of Smithville.
April 12, 1864, the union was consummated, and October I8
it was ratified by the Synod, in session in Ashland.
During the year ending April I, I866, there were admitted
into the church 40 members. April I, I867, the union between
the Wooster and Smithville charges was dissolved, when Wooster
was constituted a separate one. June 7, I868, Rev. Baltzly tendered his resignation on account of declining health, to take effect
on the Ist of July, after a prosperous ministry of many years.
*In October, i86I, Margaret Mowry, a member, was 103 years old.
26




402


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


August 29, I868, the council, authorized by a vote pf the church,
presented a call to Rev. Ira C. Billman, to become pastor of the
congregation. Said call was accepted, and Rev. Billmnn was duly
installed. The council for I870 was:
J. A. Lawrence, Philip Wiler, Q. A. Kieffer, Elders; D. W.
Matz, Z. L. Numbers, J. Ottman, Deacons; H. Rockey, William
Bentz, L. G. Hays, Trustees; Lewis Wenger, Treasurer.
June 12, 1870, Rev. Billman tendered his resignation, "to take
effect immediately upon settlement."    April 23, 1871, Rev. H. L.
Wiles, D. D., was chosen pastor by a unanimous vote of the
church, and still continues in charge.    He is a zealous minister, a
faithful worker and a brilliant divine.
Present officers-Elders, Albert McFadden and Joseph Snyder;
Deacons, S. R. Roller, Jacob Frick,; Trustees, Henry
Rockey, Jesse Smith and Isaac Bechtel.
Church of Christ.
The Church of Christ, meeting in Wooster, was organized July
26, i835. The following statements are taken from the records
of the church:
At a meeting on Lord's Day, July 26, 1835, the persons whose names appear
below extended to each other the hand of Christian fellowship, and organized themselves into a worshiping assembly, under the following pledge:
We, the Disciples of Jesus Christ, living in and near the town of Wooster, being
desirous of attending to all the ordinances of the Lord's House, do unite ourselves
together in a congregated capacity, taking for our guide or discipline the New Testament of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And we propose, as soon as practicable, to appoint Bishops and Deacons, whose duty it shall be to take charge of
the temporal and spiritual interests of the congregation, according to the Holy
Scriptures. And in order to protect ourselves from imposition, we further agree not
to receive any person claiming to be a Christian who is not known by us, or who
does not present a letter of commendation from some congregation. To the above
we have authorized our several names to be affixed:
Wm. F. Pool; Peter Willis and Elizabeth, his wife; Frederick Kauke and
Elizabeth, his wife; John Miller and wife; Jacob Wachtel and Elizabeth, his wife;
Samuel Zimmerman and Mary, his wife; George K. Zimmerman, Griffith L. Jones,
Elizabeth Scott, Eleanor Jones, Mary McCurdy, Elizabeth Hickman, Rebecca
Hull, Sophia Zimmerman, Kimball Porter and Susannah, his wife.
From the time of this initiatory movement until May, 1847,
there is no record of the proceedings of the church.       But from
some of the older members we learn that the little band continued
to meet from    week to week to "break the loaf" and to join in




WO OSTER- CHUR CHES.


403


social exercises, whenever preaching could not be obtained. As
an evidence of the zeal which characterized the members, we mention the fact that during their interval of twelve years the little
company of twenty-one had increased to nearly one hundred.
There is no record to be found of the election and ordination
of officers until 1850. On Saturday, December 7, in that year
the church met and unanimously selected the following persons as
its officers: Elders, Kimball Porter, William Grim and Constant
Lake; Deacons, George K. Zimmerman, Michael Miller and
Martin Rowe.
The following sisters were chosen as Deaconesses: Almira
Grim, Mary Bartol, Barbary Hickman, Eleanor Lake, Mary
Porter, Rebecca White, Arta Porter, Harriet Harbaugh and Hester Snook. On the next day, Lord's Day, December 8, at 2
o'clock P. M., the church met to attend to the ordination of these
officers. Elder J. H. Jones was the officiating minister on this
occasion.
For several years the church had no house of worship. And
indeed, it had no regular place of meeting. Part of the time it
occupied the old Court House, where it had been organized.
Sometimes it assembled in a brick school house in the south part
of town, located on what is now known as South Market street.
Another place of meeting was the residence of Frederick Kauke.
And occasionally it worshiped in the dwelling houses of other
members. For a time it occupied a cooper shop, situated on what,
at present, is called Grant street. Then again, in a large room in
J. S. Lake's building on West Liberty street. Finally, in the
year 1847, the church completed a house of its own on the corner
of Walnut and South streets, which house it has continued to occupy until the present time.
The first regular pastor was J. H. Jones, who began his labors
for the congregation in the year I845. He remained in this position until 1857, and was succeeded in the pastoral work by the following persons in the order named: John W. Errett, Samuel R.
Jones, Robert Moffett, N. A. Walker, J. H. Bauserman, J. N.
Lowe, D. J. White and H. D. Carlton.
In addition to its regular preaching, this church has frequently
enjoyed the pulpit ministrations of eminent Evangelists. Prominent among them may be mentioned Alexander Campbell, Wm.
Hayden, A. S. Hayden, John Henry, Wm. Pool, A. B. Green,
James Porter, John Rigdon, John Secrist, Wesley Lamphere, C. E.




404


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Van Voorhes, Adamson Bently, John Whitacre, D. S. Burnett,
Jasper Moss, M. Wilcox, Walter Scott, Isaac Erritt, W. K. Pendleton, C. L. Loos and Benjamin Franklin.
It may be mentioned, as a matter of interest, that during the
time that has elapsed since its organization about seven hundred
persons have been members of the church; but the growth in
numbers has been largely counteracted by removals. Many have
been removed by letters to other congregations; some have died,
and some have been excluded. The following persons are at present the officers of the church: Elders-Constant Lake, James W.
Hughes, Silas H. Sharp, H. D. Carlton; Deacons-Alex. Garing,
Wm. H. Smith, Henry Myers, Jehu L. Grafton; DeaconessesElizabeth Sharp, Mary Bartol, Hannah Miller, Elizabeth Yarnall,
Anna P. Lake.                                   H. D. C.
The Clzurch of God.
The founder of this church was Rev. John Winebrenner, a German Reformed minister, who, some half a century ago, preached
in Harrisburg, Pa. He is represented as a forcible, logical and
effective debater and orator, whose eloquence introduced what is
denominated "revivals" among his different congregations, a feature of boisterous excitement and reciprocal relzgious heat, which
heretofore was not specifically characteristic of the Germanic
church in America. The result of this unusual and explosive
demonstration of the spirit was that of interminable, irreconcilable
and wrathful schisms and oppositions to the propriety of these
measures, and the insinuation of such novelties into the church.
So violent and demonstrative became these controversial tilts
that Rev. Winebrenner withdrew from the Reformed organization
and its so-called "hypocrites and false professors." This separation occurred about 1825. His views undergoing some material
changes, he united with others in I830, and formed an association
composed of six preachers and some elders, and this assembly
they called the First Eldership.  He accepted what he called the
apostolic plan, and established free and independent churches,
"consisting of Christians only, without any human name or creed
or laws! " and was at variance with authoritative constitutions, rituals, catechisms, discipline manuals, church standards, adopting
the Bible alone as the only test and text book acceptable to the
great Head of the Church.




WO OSTER-CHUR CHES.


405


The membership are supposed to exemplify the morality they
inculcate, and the Eldershzi wage incessant, headlong and persistent battle against wars, national conflicts, slavery, the fiends of intemperance and the ogres who traffic in liquor.
This church was organized in Wooster, Ohio, in the month of
May, 1848, by Elder A. Megrew, it then consisting of but I6
members. The officers chosen were Charles Hoff, Elder, and J.
P. Winebrenner, Deacon.
The ministers appointed to the Wooster circuit for the ensuing
year were Thomas H. Deshiri and H. Soule. In the autumn of
I849, Rev. Soule abandoned the circuit, going to Pennsylvania,
when the Eldership released Rev. Deshiri, Mr. Megrew serving
the year in their stead. On the 2d of January, I850, Lewis H.
Selby was elected as Elder, and William Tawney as Deacon. In
the year I850 Elder A. Megrew was stationed at Wooster to dispense the Gospel there and at Moreland, John Huff and S. P.
Stuller, serving as Elders, and S. Keely and A. Hummer as Deacons.
June 27, 1850, the lot and Bethel were purchased of J. P.
Winebrenner. On the 5th of July, 1850, five Trustees were appointed. Rev. G. U. Harn commenced his pastoral labors April
I, 1851, preaching his first sermon Sabbath morning, April 20,
1851. Rev. Deshiri ministered to the congregation in 1852 and in
1853, in the latter year dividing his services with the Moreland
and Dalton churches. In the succession, Elder John Heickernell
appears next, and began his labors, April I, I854. After his appointment to the Wooster charge conjointly with Rev. Ham,
Elder L. B. Hartman on April I, I860, relinquished the same.
Agreeably to his appointment, Elder Martin Beck assumed the
pastoral office, April 7, I86I, the following year preaching in
Wooster and Smithville, and the one still following, in Wooster,
resigning his labors, April I, I864. Simultaneously with the retirement of Rev. Beck, Elder A. H. Long assumed the ministerial
function, remaining with the congregation for two years. On the
24th day of January, I866, they rented their house to the United
Presbyterian church, till they could erect a building of their own.
April first, of the before mentioned year, Elder J. B. Soule commenced his ministerial work, continuing in active service for several years. On the 30th of May, I866, the officers of the church
convened at the residence of William Shives and organized a church
vestry. The Eldership of East Pennsylvania, on the 23d of Feb



4.06


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHI0.


ruary, 1869, appointed O. H. Betts to the Wooster Station, arriving on the 2d of April, 1869, and at the expiration of less than a
year he returned East again. The Vermillion chapel, of Ashland
county, Ohio, appointed Elder M. Beck to assume charge of the
church forthwith. His successor was G.W.Wilson, who preached
his first sermon, October I6, 1870, resigning December 25, of the
same year.
John A. Ploughman was next presented, assuming pastoral
responsibilities, December 22, 1871. The present pastor (1878)
is Rev. Little.
Their first church property was purchased for the sum of $69.50,
by J. P. Winebrenner, from Lindol Sprague and John Hanna,
administrators of the estate of James Clendennen. It was the old
building, to the east of the present Bethel, where, in the pristine
days, stood the old carding factory. It was repaired and fitted up
for a church, and sold for that purpose for $530.
The new building was commenced in 1854, and finished in 1855,
by David Atkins, contractor and builder, at an expense of $4,730.
Its dimensions are about 45 by 65 feet, with a vestibule and basement above ground. The Sabbath-school and lecture-room are in
the front part of the basement.  The wood-work is tastefully
grained with an oil finish, in imitation of English oak. The dedication rites occurred August 5, I855, before a large audience, the
services conducted by Elder J. Winebrenner and Elder A. Swartz.
On the morning of the 7th of August, 1854, a serious accident
occurred to the workmen employed on the structure. About ten
o'clock the girders and rafters of about half of the building, with
the men, quite suddenly fell-some the distance of nineteen feetto the first floor, two passing between the joists of the first floor to
the ground, a distance of twenty-eight feet. The citizens soon
flocked to the theater of the disaster.  The voices of pain, the
mangled bodies, gashes and bruises presented a saddening spectacle. Physicians soon arrived, and all were speedily cared for. The
following is a list of casualties: Mr. -   Henderson, of Milbrook,
killed; John Cope, of Massillon, wounded; Henry Miller, hurt;
Joseph Kimber, hurt; David Atkins, collar-bone broken; Henry
Harris, badly bruised; Charles Pond, bone broken and bruised;
John Hamicar, Charles Hickman, John Vanmeter, D. Baker, A.
Hummer and a Mr. Smith, hurt.




WOOSTER- CHURCHES.


407


St. Mary's Church (Catholic).
St. Mary's church was built in I847. The corner-stone was
laid in September of this year, Archbishop Purcell performing the
ceremonies.
The first priest in charge was Father Campion, succeeded by
Fathers Brennan, Haley, O'Neal, Arnold, Gallaher and Ankly,
the latter taking control of the church October 27, 1865. When
the building was erected there were but fifteen families in attendance, there being now over one hundred church-goers and practical members.
In connection with the church there is a Sunday-school, with an
average attendance at this time of I6o.  In I864 a schoolhouse was erected, under the auspices of Rev. J. F. Gallaher, and
the school opened in the spring of 1865 with an attendance of go
pupils. The routine of study is about the same as in the other
schools of the city, with the exception that they introduce the
catechism, which is an epitome, or abridgement, of their religion,
inculcating a spiritual as well as a secular education.
The old burial-ground was south of the church and near to it,
and was so occupied until January, 1871, when, on the tenth of
that month, the first lot was sold in the new cemetery to Joseph
Holland. In I869 Father Ankly purchased these grounds from
David Robison, Jr., paying therefor $200 per acre for ten acres.
The church is a two-story building of brick, twenty feet in the
clear to the ceiling, the nave 34x65 inside, the sanctuary I8x26.
A gallery extends the width of the building on the east end, where
is situated the organ, put there in December, 1867, and played the
first time by Gordon French, December 29, 1867. It was bought
in Westfield, Mass., and cost $I,ooo. The bell was purchased in
St. Louis, in 1866, weighing, with appendages, 3,500 pounds, and
costing $I,400. It was consecrated on the I5th of July, I866,
and elevated to the tower on the following day. Bishop Rappe,
of Cleveland, consecrated it, and Rev. S. Bauer, of Fremont, delivered a festive oration.
St. James Episcopal Church.
The parish of St. James church, Wooster, was organized in
December, 1840, by Hon. Levi Cox, J. W. Schuckers, Henry Lehman, James Johnson, J. C. James, David Sloane, George James,




4o8


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


John A. Holland, R. H. Catherwood and other associates, of
Wooster and vicinity, who adopted the constitution and canons
of the Protestant Episcopal church in the United States of America. The parish was incorporated by an act of the Legislature of
the State of Ohio in February, I84I.
On the Ist day of February, 1841, the following persons were
duly elected as Wardens and Vestrymen of said church: R. H.
Catherwood, Senior, and J. W. Schuckers, Junior Wardens; and
Henry Lehman, James Johnson and William Childs, Vestrymen
David Sloane, Treasurer; and John A. Holland, Secretary.
April 26, 1841, the Rev. Ervin Miller, was called to the rectorship of the parish, and entered upon the duties of his office on
Whit-Sunday, of that year, holding service in the Court House
until the 25th of December, 1841, when services were held for the
first time in the new church edifice, on West South street, erected
by said parish, on a lot donated by James L. Bowman and wife.
Services continued to be held in said church until May, I860,
when the building was regarded as unsafe, and was abandoned and
sold by the parish, and services held temporarily in the basement
of the English Lutheran church, and subsequently in "Arcadome
Hall," until November 15, I86o, when their present church edifice, on the corner of Market and North streets, was completed,.
and services were held therein.
The first church edifice was consecrated in May, 1842, by
Bishop Mcllvaine, and the new Gothic in 1867, by assistant Bishop
Bedell. The Rev. Orrin Miller resigned the charge of the parish
in May, 1842, and Rev. J. Carpenter'Smith was called to succeed
him, and entered upon his official duties October, 1842, Rev. William.
Fagg temporarily supplying the parish for several months previous
thereto. The Rev. J. Carpenter Smith remained in charge until
March II, I844.
March 29, I844, Rev. T. B. Fairchild accepted the charge, and
officiated until October 20, 1845, when he resigned and was succeeded by Rev. George Thompson, September 19, 1846, who officiated until September 23, 1847, when he resigned and was succeeded by Rev. J. M. Waite, January 15, I849, who remained in
charge, and officiated one year, and was succeeded by Rev. J. J.
McElhenney in May, 1850, who remained in charge until May,
1852; the parish was then temporarily supplied by Rev. J. E. Pattison until April, 1854, when Rev. R. K. Nash accepted the charge
and officiated therein until Easter, I857.




WOOSTER- CHURCHES.


409


The church then remained without a Rector until February 28,
1858, when the Rev. James Trimble was called and accepted the
charge, and officiated until March, 1864, when he resigned and
was succeeded by Rev. J. McElrey, who remained in charge until
April, I866.
The church was then without regular services until October,
1867, when Rev. L. L. Holden was called and accepted the Rectorship of the church, and continued until March, 1869, when he
resigned and was succeeded by Rev. James Moore.
In 1869 and '70 the parish erected a two story frame building
as a Rectory.
Rev. W. B. French is the present Rector of the church.
Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church.
This church was organized November 23, I872, with a membership of thirty-five. The St. James Episcopal church was rented
for the use of the society, and the Rev. John Tonner, of Canton,
was appointed first pastor. The first Official Board of the church
was as follows: Stewards-Daniel Black, Henry C. Harris, C. M.
Amsden, J. C. Koble, F. L. Parsons, John Van Meter, W. S. Leyburn; Trustees-D. Q. Liggett, B. Barrett, John H. Silvers, J.
H. Carr, M. W. Pinkerton, J. B. Power, T. Y. McCray, M. K.
Hard, C. V. Hard.
In the fall of 1873 Rev. John Whisler was appointed pastor,
to succeed Rev. Tonner. During the next year it was determined
to erect a new church edifice, and about the middle of June, 1874,
work was inaugurated on the lot on the corner of North Market
and Larwill streets, where a new and handsome church structure
rapidly rose to completion. Its dimensions are 92 by 58 feet.
The main audience-room has a seating capacity of 400, while the
Sunday-school rooms in the rear can be added, so as to supply
space for 200 more. The church was dedicated January 24, 1875.
The Rev. D. S. Gregory, D. D., of Wooster University,
preached the first sermon in the new church, on the evening of
January 23, and on the next day (Sabbath) the Dedicatory Sernon
was preached by Rev. W. X. Ninde, D. D., of the North-western
University, Evanston, Ill.  The three years pastorate of Rev.
John Whisler ended in the fall of 1876, and on the I8th of September of the same year, Rev. W. G. Ward was appointed pastor.




4io


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


The church is in a prosperous condition, with a membership of
nearly 200. The officers of the church are the same as those
named, with the addition of J. C. France, S. S. Shilling and J. A.
Gann, M. D., to the Board of Stewards.
THOMAS WOODLAND. *
The earnest men are so few in the world that their very earnestness becomes at
once the badge of their nobility.-Dzuight.
It is not the men most opulently endowed by nature
with brilliant intellects, or the genius of oratory, that in the
rounded space of a human life achieve the greatest good. The
history of the world from the beginning to the present time has
emblazoned upon its roll of honor the deeds and doings of an
illustrious army of plodding, faithful toilers and zealous men, with
whom nature was not especially prodigal of her gifts, and who
never sought the martyrdom of fame.
Life to them was not a passing dream, startled by apparitions
of disappointment, and broken by spectres of gloom, but a settled
and serious reality, accompanied with ever-recurring duties, which
required for their performance a sturdy earnestness and unrelaxing
zeal.
Conscious of their mission in the world, and with confidence
in the brotherhood of man, their work became their delight, their
labors their reward. The employment of their energies consisted
not in an exclusive devotion to themselves, but to humanity, religion, truth; and noble enterprises challenging the friction of
their natures, their objects were largely and steadily advanced.
They had no motive but duty, no ambition but its earnest fulfillment, and the fragrance of their quiet, useful lives breathes upon
us through the summer violets upon their graves.
They achieved, and were better deserving the world's applause,
and fame's sweet echo, than the brazen orators of the forum, the
fulsome haranguers of the Senate, who ignore humanity and neglect mankind.
But history has saved for our delight and recollection the names
of many of these earnest, silent toilers. With this class of enthusiastic men, seeking the useful, advancing the right, tenderly
contemplating the past, and sanguine of the future and the ultimate adjustment of all things to a universal standard of right, we
* Died since this was written.




WO OS7 ER-SKE TCHES.


4II


take leave to associate Thomas Woodland, a native of Chatham,
County Kent, England, who was born May I5, I803. Of a family
of seven children, he is the only one remaining. A temperament
such as his, a disposition so self-reliant, a mind so independent and
so tenacious of its opinions-we were almost going to say, bordering upon prejudice-with aspirations for a broader freedom and a
vaster domain of thought and action, could not long submit to a
policy of government that withheld a public right or restricted a
personal privilege. It is but natural, therefore, that an individual,
the subject of a government against which there existed such
mental negations, should separate himself therefrom and turn to
another, whose boon and promise is the utmost freedom to all.
Impelled by such considerations, the love of adventure, the
desire to obtain a home, and to gratify his cherished and pre-conceived convictions of the grandeur of the great Republic, in the
fall of 1832, at the age of twenty-nine, with his wife and two children, he made his exodus to the New World. On his arrival in
New York he immediately sought employment, which he procured. Here he tarried I8 months, during which time he connected himself with the Baptist church of the city of Brooklyn,
then under the pastorate of a Welshman named Jacob Price, who
had just arrived from Wales. And it was during this time that he
made his first contribution to a public institution in America, viz:
one dollar to Granville University.
In the summer of I834, Mr. Woodland and his family, in company with Bishop Mcllvaine, formerly Rector of St. Ann's church,
Brooklyn, arrived at Gambier, Knox county, Ohio, the Bishop
coming to assume the Presidency of that college. At the close of
a few years residence in Gambier, he concluded upon a change,
when a visit to Wooster was made, which resulted in the permanent settlement in our midst of him and his.family, in June, 1838.
Priest Jones was the minister of the Baptist church at that time,
with which he immediately became identified, retaining his membership to the present hour. He first found employment with
Joseph Larwill, after his arrival in Wooster.
For many years he has been an extensive manufacturer of brick,
for which he always found a ready market, but being now far advanced on the declivitous slope of life, has partially abandoned the
eager and active pursuits of the world. He was married to Martha Woodward, of London, in November, 1824.
Mr. Woodland has many deserving and salient points of char



412


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


acter. He has long been an advocate of the present school system, and a champion of popular education and reform. In his
more vigorous days he bore a conspicuous part in the public lyceum, and was a fair and honorable antagonist in the debating club.
He has been a member of the church for over forty years, has
strong religious convictions, a firm faith in the Bible and the great
promise it embodies to the enlightened and believing soul. The
external testimony and practice of religion will avail little, when
"Wisdom shall be justified of her children," and when human nature must appear cleansed, unsullied and purified. Sincerity and
plainness, a generous integrity of purpose and honesty of disposition, are the-components of the man.
To him are we indebted for the inception and organization of the Wayne County Historical Society, and Dr. Firestone has appropiately named him, "the Father of the Society." He first agitated the movement through the papers,
talked it up on the streets, urged it in the public offices, and finally succeeded in getting an organization. When members grew
disheartened at the prospect, and prognosticated failures and delays, he clung to his fancied project, with rare old English pluck;
and when the work was in progress, when the battle was being
fought, he did not hide in his tent until it was over, or shrink at
the call of the muster roll, but performed his part like a hero.
SAMUEL NORTON BISSELL, M. D.
Samuel N. Bissell was born, January 22, I809, in the village of
Vernon, Oneida county, State of New York. He was a nephew
of Hezekiah Bissell, M. D., and a son of Eliphaz Bissell, a native
of the old English borough of Torringford, Litchfield county,
twenty-five miles north-west of Hartford, Connecticut, who subsequently removed to Oneida county, New York, where he became an excellent medical practitioner, and where in the discharge
of professional duties he unfortunately met death by drowning.
The subject of this sketch, Dr. Samuel Norton Bissell, was
named after his grandfather, Samuel Norton, an old citizen of
Goshen, Connecticut, with whom he spent a considerable portion
of his early life. Under the careful guidance and management of
his father and grandfather, and withal being a bright, promising,
intellectual young man, ever ready to embrace opportunities of
mental culture and development, and appropriate them to the best




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


413


possible uses, he succeeded in procuring a more than ordinarily
fair education. To this emphatic mental achievement of S. N.
Bissell is due, not simply the liberal interposition of parental concern, but the quick, energetic seizure of opportunity which too
many allow to escape, but which, in his case, was perseveringly utilized. He was a student and investigator from the beginning, and
herein consisted the basis of his future, unfolding life. The idea
sought to be advanced is not that he was precocious, although he
was brilliant, but that he seemed to possess, in a remarkable degree, a responsible consciousness, even when a young man, of his
relations to the world, and of what the world in after years would
exact from him.
With this vivid realization of things was it possible for him to
do anything else than to fortify himself for a conflict with men and
the forces which men set up against each other?
Happy is he who, at the earliest moment, discovers this mighty
secret, for, in the end, the discovery will be made, and then too
often with disappointment, vexation and disaster. For, conceal
it as you will, the whole path of life is beset with foes who compass
your downfall and oppose your elevation.
He, too, found that there were other
" Serpents in the world
Than those which slide along the grassy sod,
And sting the luckless foot that presses them."
Of this Samuel N. Bissell had early foresight, and wisely prepared
for the approaching struggle. While his grandfather, with true
New England shrewdness, endeavored to impress him with the
necessity of education, he found an apt and appreciating pupil in
his nephew. So that, we affirm, Samuel N. Bissell embarked upon
life a good scholar and signally qualified to explore the domain of
physic. Feeling that the wide universe was his, and that "no
pent up Utica confines our powers," he adopted the rational and
intelligent conception of "going West," which determination,
pushed to an issue, introduced him in Wooster, the field and scene
of his future professional labor.
Arriving hither, he at once entered the office of his uncle,
Hezekiah Bissell, then a successful practicing physician of the village. With him he remained, pressing his studies with indefatigable courage, "scorning delights and living laborious days." Here
he remained until he had completed his elementary and college




414


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


course, when he entered upon the active duties of his profession,
flinging out the banner of the healing art.
He was married September 25, I832, to Eliza, daughter of
Hon. John Sloane. He pursued the practice of medicine in Wooster, until his death, which occurred June 13, I848. The circumstances and occasion of his death are both painful and affecting.
His youngest sister, Mrs. Eunice C., wife of Harvey Howard, then
residing in Tiffin, Ohio, was seriously sick. A courier was dispatched to Dr. Bissell, summoning him immediately to her bedside. With characteristic promptness he obeyed the request.
There being no railroad direct to the point, he had to cross the
country, from which exposure he was prostrated with pneumonia,
from the effects of which, absent from his own home, and in the
house of his suffering sister, he suddenly died. Verily, indeed,
was he a martyr to his friends, his profession, to which he was devoted, and the behests of duty. While he had rescued many a
sufferer from the darkness of the camps of death, his arm was
powerless, as was that of his friends, to save himself. He consecrated himself to a glorious work, but in the mingling splendors of
a growing fame he fell beside the altar he had built.
His remains were conveyed to Wooster, and deposited in the
old Presbyterian graveyard, but were subsequently transferred to
the Wooster cemetery. By his marriage with Eliza Sloane, there
resulted two sons, J. S. and H. H. Bissell, both of whom are living. His wife survived him until June 14, 1871. She was a faithful member of the Presbyterian church, and a pious, exemplary
woman. The unexpected and sudden death of Dr. Samuel N.
Bissell, to the people of Wooster and Wayne county, fell like a
thunder-burst from a clear sky. All remembered him that knew
him, as a hale, vigorous and robust man, with an undoubted lease
of three score and ten upon his life. His hight was not imposing, but he was a fine specimen of physical manhood, built up
squarely and firmly as granite rock, and weighing about two
hundred pounds.
Our rapid and hasty review of Dr. Bissell presents him as a
man of marked character and distinctive cast of mind. He qualified himself for his profession before he entered upon it. There
was no superficial learning or pedantry about him. In the ways
of conceit or audacious assumption he was poorly gifted; for in
his temper and disposition vanity and self-confidence had no place
whatever. He was not, we dare say, unconscious of his power,




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


415


but naturally modest and retiring, and altogether devoid of popular art, he could not advance himself by practices which, when
adroitly played, seldom fail to promote the fortune of inferior
minds. He did not, however, have to wait long for the public to
appreciate or patronize him, but soon established his reputation by
the united and irreversible judgment of his compeers.
In our worldly affairs it sometimes pleases Fortune to lend a
capricious smile where neither true merit, nor wisdom, nor industry entitle an unworthy object to the grateful concession. But
less fickle in her gifts and good will than the sportive goddess is
famed to be, that poetic deity seldom fails to add her grace and
blessing wherever virtue, constancy and qualification unite to aid
the good man in a heroic struggle for honest promotion. The
truth of this reflection was powerfully and handsomely illustrated
in the career and progress of Dr. Bissell. His armor consisted of
courage and fairness, integrity and intelligence.
Great, indeed, was his triumph-not greater than the measure
of his high and indisputable claims do justly challenge. He was
practical and observant from the very outstart of his studies. He
did not contemplate the human frame from the vital standpoint,
but simply as a grand mechanism; a complex structure, whose
builder must have been none less than God. Hence to understand
this mechanism-its essential and perfect action-the harmonious
unison and melody of all its parts, or to be able to detect its discords, or to adjust its derangements, was, with him, the objective
purpose of his investigations.
The mystery and origin of life were not comprised in his motive; simply the perfection and healthy, symmetrical preservation
of that life. It matters not to Blind Tom who makes his musical
instruments; his mission is to elicit its harmonies, correct its discords, and make it perform a perfect work. With this interpretation of his duties, Dr. Bissell practiced medicine, and in the various walks of his profession distinguished himself as one of the
most popular and scientific physicians and surgeons of Northern
Ohio. He was a man of strong attachments and of amiable and
benevolent disposition; of kind heart and strong brain.
In politics he was a Whig, and had he taken to it would have
made a skillful manager. He served in the capacity of Associate
Judge of Common Pleas Court in I845. In his general manner
and bearing he was quiet and unobtrusive. While he was practical
and business-like, those who knew him best testify to his warm




416


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


feelings, his generous and noble disposition, and to the happy and
interesting fervor which, in a circle of cherished and confiding
friends, oftentimes turned his natural gravity into echoes of joyous
mirth, or accents of animated and excited hilarity.
Such is the short history of the subject of this memoir; such his
virtues and his skill and learning; such the traits of his attractive, unblemished character. Some may equal-all should emulate, but
few will rival or excel his sterling worth, either as a citizen or a
professional man.
John Sloane Bissell, his oldest son, named in memory of his
worthy and illustrious grandfather, Colonel Sloane, reproduces
some of the characteristics of his father, and gives promise of
demonstrating the possibilities to be attained by devotion to business, and the promotion to be achieved by adhesion to a single
pursuit. He was born in the city of Wooster, and is a Buckeye to the
manner born. When but a lad of tender years he was dispossessed
of the paternal guardianship, and had for his guide and counselor
only the kind and gentle admonitions of his mother. With her he
remained during the years of his minority, and in fact until her
death, a constant witness of her dutiful and exemplary life, daily
receiving the benefits of her instruction and the inspiration of her
affectionate attentions. Opportunity was furnished him early of
going to the village schools, and subsequently the Academy of
Professor Hill, all of which he cordially embraced, so that by the
time he was ready to engage in business he was quite proficient in
his studies.
His first introduction to business was in the capacity of clerk,
in the house of Plumer & King, in which relation he continuously served until his embarkation in business enterprises upon his
own account. It will be observed from what is written that Mr.
Bissell has deviated from the traditional tendency of his father
and uncle toward the profession of medicine, and has seen
proper to launch his life-vessel upon the waters of mercantile
speculation. In this respect he has been the arbiter of his own
occupation.
He is now at the head of one of the largest, best appointed
and most judiciously arranged mercantile establishments in the
city, of which himself and brother are proprietors.
In his commercial transactions he has, as far as possible,
adopted the cash basis-the true principle underlying all business,
whereby the purchaser receives a greater equivalent for his money




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


417


and the seller a more rapid realization of his profits. He buys his
goods himself; pays little attention to valise-bummers, sample
men and commercial tramps, who subsist by recognized frauds,
and who fizzle or fatten, as the case may be, by duplicity and misrepresentation.
He is his own accountant and book-keeper; foots up the columns and knows they are right without further inquiry, and works
behind the counter when there is a rush. In short, Mr. Bissell is
an enterprising, accommodating business man.
He has keen perceptions, is a quick thinker and a vigorous
worker. After sleeping six or eight hours his eyes are open the
remainder of the twenty-four. If he makes a bad bargain to-day,
it will teach him a lesson, and he will make none to-morrow. To
sum it all up, he understands the mental arithmetic of calico, muslin and silk. His experiences, all of them, whether good or bad,
are a decided advantage to him. He is a man of nerve and force,
somewhat excitable, but with confidence enough in himself to be
his own master. He is kind hearted and liberal where he is justified in it. He knows how to appear free and open without danger
of intrusion, and to be cautious without seeming reserved; is a
warm and generous friend; an honest man, and an incorruptible
citizen.
SAMUEL HEMPHILL.
The citizens of Wooster were shocked on Thursday morning,
March 3, 1853, on the reception of a letter announcing the death
of Samuel Hemphill, Esq., a distinguished member of the Wooster
bar, which took place in Hart county, Kentucky, on the 22d day
of February, I853. On the I5th of March, and soon after the intelligence of his sad fate, the members of the bar convened at the
office of McSweeney & Jones, Hon. Edward Avery being appointed
to the Chair, and J. H. Harris Secretary, to draft resolutions expressive of the sense of the meeting upon the sudden and melancholy death of their brother.  Levi Cox, Ezra Dean, William
Given, John McSweeney and Enos Foreman were appointed the
committee, with the further authority to adopt suitable measures
in reference to attending his funeral. This committee reported on
Thursday evening, March 17, from which we extract a single
resolution:
Resolved, I. That in this unexpected death of Mr. Hemphill, we have lost
27




4


418          HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
an intelligent, talented and honorable member of the legal profession, and that we
deeply regret and deplore the loss of his society, individually and professionally, of
which, by this melancholy dispensation, we have been so early and suddenly
deprived.
On Monday, March 28, I853, Hon. Levi Cox moved the Court,
Hon. Martin Walker on the bench, to order the proceedings and
resolutions of the Wooster bar concerning the death of Mr. Hemphill, to be entered upon the journal of the Court.
Mr. Hemphill was born in Bedford county, Pa., on the 26th of
April, I817. When about ten years old-in I827-he removed
with his father to Wayne county, Ohio. At about seventeen years
of age he was sent to college at Athens, Ohio, where he entered
the Sophomore class.  He spent two years at college, and then
commenced reading law with Hon. Levi Cox, of Wooster, with
whom he was associated as partner after his admission to the bar.
He was about nineteen years old when he commenced the study
of law, reading two years prior to his admission.
On the 5th of November, 1844, he was united in marriage, by
Rev. William McCandlish, to Miss Mary S. Bentley, daughter of
Benjamin Bentley, Esq. He died in the thirty-sixth year of his
age. His remains reached the family residence in Wooster on
the Ioth of March, and on the I3th they were committed to the
grave in the old Seceder church burial-ground, by the Masonic
Order, brethren of the bar, and a vast concourse of the citizens.
In November, 1858, he was removed from this place of rest, and
buried in the Masonic lot in the cemetery, the second person
buried there.
Had Mr. Iemphill lived, he would have greatly distinguished
himself as a lawyer. He was a man of noble personal mien; had
a grand, generous nature, an original and superior order of genius,
great tenacity of purpose, and was a brilliant and magnetic orator.
With general and universal lamentation he was prematurely consigned to the grave.  "There let his majestic, noble form and
nature repose in peace, far beyond the reach of the ills and
storms of this life, until he shall be called away to a higher, better
and happier home.   He has gone from us forever; his tongue is
motionless in death, and that voice which so much pleased and
delighted -men with its powerful argumentation and elocution is
now mute and hushed in the silence of the tomb. It will no more
respond to the calls of another earthly court. It will no more
resound in anecdote or joke, social converse, bleeding satire or




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


419


forensic strifes, but respond in joy to the calls of the peaceful, glorious heavenly courts on high."
WOOSTER CEMETERY.
The patriarchal language of four thousand years ago remains
unchanged.   We are "strangers and sojourners" here, in need of
"a possession of a burying-place, that we may bury our dead out
of sight."
It is the duty of the living thus to provide for the dead. It is
not a mere office of pious regard for others; but it comes home to
our own bosoms, as those who are soon to enter upon the common
inheritance.  " If there are any feelings of our nature not bounded
by earth, and yet stopping short of the skies, which are more strong
and more universal than all others, they will be found in our solicitude as to the time and place and manner of our death; in the desire to die in the arms of friends; to have the last sad offices to
our remains performed by their affection; to repose in the land of
our nativity; to be gathered to the sepulchres of our fathers."
Gray, in his Elegy-the most incomparably beautiful of all human
poems-enforced this solemn truth when he wrote"For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey,
This pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned,
Left the warm precincts of the cheerful clay,
Nor cast one longing, ling'ring look behind?
On some fond breast the parting soul relies;
Some pious drops the closing eye requires;
E'en from the tomb the voice of nature cries;
E'en in our ashes live their wonted fires."
That we are dust, and shall to dust return, does not suggest
indifference to the place of burial of the dead, or that it matters
not where the lifeless body is deposited. The dead have not been
without their preferences, and the living must know where their
kindred are laid away, "that the spot where they shall lie will be
remembered with a fond and soothing reverence; that their children may visit it in the midst of their sorrows, and their kindred
in remote generations feel that a local inspiration hovers around it."
Said the patriarch Jacob, "Bury me not, I pray thee, bury me
not in Egypt: but I will lie with my fathers. And thou shalt




-420


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


carry me out of Egypt; and bury me in their burying-place.
There they buried Abraham and Sarah, his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebecca, his wife; and there I buried Leah."
Prior to I852 the dead of the village of Wooster and its vicinity
were promiscuously buried in the different church-yards of the town,
and here the " fathers of the hamlet sleep."  On the 12th of July,
1852, a number of the citizens of Wooster, prominent among
whom were Hon. Levi Cox, John Larwill, Cyrus Spink, E. Quinby,
Jr., Constant Lake, R. B. Stibbs, K. Porter, James Johnson, Harvey
Howard, and others, agreed to form themselves into a cemetery
association, to be known by the name of "The Wooster Cemetery
Association," and for that purpose signed and published a notice.
In pursuance of the publication of the notice, and at the time
specified therein, a majority of the members of the Association convened at the Court House, and there resolved to elect, by ballot,
from their number five persons to serve as Trustees and one as
Clerk of the Association, and otherwise consummate the organization
as provided by law. The Trustees chosen were Henry Lehman,
James Johnson, Constant Lake, R. B. Stibbs and E. Quinby, Jr.
The original grounds, thirty-two acres, were purchased of
Joseph H. Larwill, the price to be paid being $Ioo per acre.
Five promissory notes were executed to Mr. Larwill, and in the
event of a sufficient number of lots not being sold to indemnify
the executors of the five promissory notes, the following persons
agreed to assume their respective proportions of the notes the
same as if they had been original signers to them:
Samuel Woods,     Samuel L. Lorah,    J. S. Spink,
John H. Harris,    Thomas Stibbs,    J. H. Kauke,
J. M. Robison,     William Spear,     William Belnap,
E. Avery,          William Henry,     Benj. Eason,
J. A. Anderson,    John P. Jeffries,  Enos Foreman,
E. Quinby, Jr.,    J. N. Jones,       E. Dean,
John McSweeney.
The first meeting of the Trustees of the Association, after its
formation, occurred November 6, 1852.  Superintendents being
appointed, the grounds were surveyed and graded. November 13,
1853, it was ordered that a public sale of lots be had in the cemetery on the 25th of said month, commencing at ten o'clock. The
officers of the Association consist of a board of five Trustees, a
Clerk and Treasurer.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


42I


R. R. DONNELLY. *
R. R. Donnelly was born in Northumberland county, Pa.,
October 29, I820. His parents soon afterwards removed to the
neighborhood of Wooster, Wayne county, in which city, and on
the same corner of the public square, the greater part of his life
was spent in the vigorous prosecution of business pursuits.  He
died February 20, 1874, of cancer of the head, from which he had,
suffered for many years.
ISAAC NEWTON JONES.
Isaac Newton Jones, second son of Benjamin Jones, was born
in Wooster, December 7, I818. Having regularly attended the
Wooster schools, and being an apt and eager learner, at the age of
twelve years he first entered upon business life by accepting a
clerkship from William Childs, in a dry goods store in the village.
His father engaging in mercantile business with a Mr. Hatch, at
Old Hickory, Canaan township, the subject of this sketch was
transferred thither, but in a short time removed to Petersburg,
Ashland county, where his father had made a similar investment,
and in the prosecution of which he desired his son to take part.
In I836 Benjamin Jones having withdrawn his commercial interests, removed to his farm, two miles west of Wooster (yet
known as the old Jones homestead), taking with him his whole
family. The farm, however, was not Newton's field of activity,
and probably no one better knew this than his father. The bent
of his mind was emphatically in a mercantile direction. In the
same year (1836) he returned to Wooster and entered the store of
Joseph S. and Constant Lake, in the capacity of clerk. In this
relation he served until I840, when he and Theodore Loomis purchased the goods of the firm and for a period conducted the business. Several changes occurred in the management up to I860,
when Constant Lake again entered into partnership with Mr. Jones.
But from 1836 to 1870 Mr. jones, with the exception of four
years, was a member of the firm.
For thirty-four years-a period longer than the average life of
man-he met the whirl and bustle of business in the same town
* We had a full sketch of Mr. Donnelly prepared for publication, but his present wife objecting to any notice of him, we insert only the above lines.




422


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


and on the precise spot, until the old corner took the aspect of one
of the eternities of trade. Here he toiled, tugged, and served for
nearly half a century, wearing off the fire and finish of his manly
years, a true friend of the deserving world. and securing a friendship parallel with his vast acquaintance.
Beyond the circle of his commercial life, however, Mr. Jones
was a valuable and active factor in the community. There was no
public enterprise of the utility of which- he was convinced but
with which he identified himself. In the composition of his nature
there were no negative qualities or quantities. That lithe, athletic
body of his enshrined a magnet. Whatever he touched grew vital.
Enterprises floated in his enthusiasm. He had faith in railroads,
and the people of Wayne county know how, with other enterprising citizens, he advocated their construction; how he exerted himself as solicitor, how earnestly and zealously he spoke in their
behalf.
The cause of education had no more earnest defender. With
him men were imperfect organisms without it. In the building of
the old Ward School-houses he took an active part, and in locating the.grounds for the present High School building, all
remember the prominent part he enacted.
During the rebellion Mr. Jones was a war Democrat, and the
cause of the Union felt the impression of his positive nature.
In public life, to the honors of which he did not aspire, he compassed the welfare of the whole community. Whether as Mayor
of the city of Wooster, as member of the City Council, or Infirmary Director, he was ever the same faithful servant. In the capacity of Infirmary Director he served for nine years, a position
whose compensation was paltry, but which, nevertheless, involved much labor. So faithfully and with so much attentive industry, however, did he perform his duties, that it became fashionable
among the lawyers of Wooster to refer all legal matters touching
that institution to Mr. Jones; and hence, he became known as the
" Infirmary Lawyer."
Mr. Jones was married May 23, 1843, at Bethany, West Virginia, by Alexander Campbell, the distinguished divine, to Miss
Susan Gillespie, of Wooster, a lady of marked qualities, who survives him. By this union there resulted six children, four only of
whom are living. He died of apoplexy, at his residence, in the
city of Wooster, January I, 1878.
As a citizen he was devoted to the common good; as a man his




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


423


relations to his fellow men were pleasant, co-operative and cordial;
as a neighbor he was the very soul of accommodation; as a husband and father he was devoted and indulgent, the home circle
being hedged by a mutual confidence and affection. His nature
was decidedly social and genial, and by a sort of unconscious influence he won many friends. He was a man of ripe judgment and
excellent native sense. Like his father, he dispensed a generous
hospitality. For the poor, as well as the rich man, he had recognition and smiles. With the young men he was an especial favorite,
and the country boys knew him because he knew their fathers or
had performed some kindness toward them. If a neighbor or
friend was sick he was first in attendance, and at the house of death
last to abandon it. It is said of him that he attended more funerals than any man in the county. Here is a private ministry, uncommissioned of creeds or priests, and the virtues which it illustrates shine all the brighter, because, like the sun, they involuntarily shine. Here is an entire gospel full of "on earth peace and
good will to men " such as was announced when the New Era began, and when He was born of whom the prophesies had said.
JOHN K. MCBRIDE.
John K. McBride, son of Alexander McBride, deceased, was
born in Westmoreland county, Pa., on the 8th of December, I8I,
and immigrated to Ohio with his father early in the spring of I814.
From the period at which he was able to perform physical
labor until he was seventeen years old, he toiled industriously and
indefatigably upon the farm with his father. He distinctly recollects conveying oats to Wooster in sacks, on horseback, and
selling them at eight and ten cents per bushel, and hauling ashes
on an old-fashioned sled to the asheries of the town and disposing
of them at five cents per bushel.
He endured the usual hardships and privations of the farm until the year above designated, when he went to learn a trade-the
wheelwright and chair-making business-with Moses Culbertson,
with whom he remained four years. He then went to Millersburg,
in debt about one hundred dollars, and embarked in business upon
his own responsibility.
His brother James, then a clerk for Benjamin Bentley, and having some experience in the dry goods business, proceeded to




424


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Millersburg, where he and John purchased the dry goods store of
Benjamin Jones and Edmund Hatch.
This business they conducted for three years, when they sold
out.  Mr. McBride then repaired to Canaan Centre, Wayne
county, working at his trade one year, when he removed to Jackson, on the pike, for a similar length of time pursuing his trade,
when he "shut up shop," sold out his tools, and invested the earnings of his persistent toil in a store.
Here he handled goods and merchandise until 1842, when he
came to Wooster, continuing in business till I850. He then proceeded to New York city, engaging largely in the wholesale trade
of groceries, which line of speculative enterprise he prosecuted for
I I years, returning to Wooster in I86I, his present and permanent
residence. His next investments were in real estate, buying several farms, which, although living in the city, he visited daily, and
over which he exercised personal supervision.
In I863 he was nominated for the Probate Judgeship of the
county, but was defeated at the election by the soldiers' vote. In
I866 he was a candidate for the same office, and was elected, and
in I869 was re-nominated, and re-elected. His term of six years in
that honorable office expired in February, I873.
He was twice married, on the Ist of May, 1844, to his
second wife, the eldest daughter of Thomas Robison.   He
had three children, Harry, James and Thomas McBride.
Harry is a merchant in New York. James entered the army in
I86I, volunteering in the three months service, subsequently enlisting in the i6th 0. V. I. for three years, and serving out the
whole period.
He received a wound in his head in the battle of Vicksburg,
and contracted disease in the service, which culminated in his
death in the fall of I868. Thomas A. McBride, M. D., his
youngest son, a graduate of Kenyon College, studied his profession
with Dr. Firestone of Wooster, attended four courses of lectures
in New York, and graduated with credit and honor at the Physician's College of that city. For some years he has been practicing
his profession in Bellevue Hospital, New York. He is a skilled
physician and destined to distinguish himself.
Hon. John K. McBride, though he has attained his three score
years, is still in the vigor of ripe manhood and promises fair to
attain a very advanced old age. His intellectual power is just at
its zenith, and a long career of activity and usefulness is still be



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


425


fore him. Being a man of remarkably regular and temperate habits, his physical constitution is robust and unimpaired. As Judge
of the Probate Court none dare to gainsay his impartiality, probity, fairness and sound judgment. In the discharge of his duties
no stain fell upon the ermine of his judicial character. By his indomitable will and inflexible energy and industry; by his straightforwardness in the line of duty and the exercise of a mature judgment, he has acquired a competence of this world's goods, and has
left an example not only to his friends, but the community generally of what.in the absence of fortune, or a paternal inheritance, can
be accomplished by a brave perseverance and a dauntless spirit.
MICHAEL TOTTEN.
John Totten, the father of Michael Totten, was born in County
Derry, north of Ireland, in the year I749, and in I765, emigrated
to America. The war between Great Britain and the Colonies
breaking out, he immediately joined the Colonial army, in which,
under Generals Washington and Wayne, he served seven years.
After the close of hostilities, he removed to Kishacoquillas valley, in Pennsylvania, where he married Nancy McNair. He next
went to Virginia, thence to Raccoon creek, Pa., and thence to Columbiana county, Ohio. He and Johnny Gaddis, a Scotchman,
and Charles Hoy built the three first cabins that were built in Columbiana county, near Liverpool.
But prior to his removing to Ohio, he joined General Wayne's
army, operating in the west, and remained with him a year,
until the treaty of Greenville, in Darke county, Ohio, August 3,
I795. He removed to Stark, now Carroll county, Ohio, in 1805,
five miles south-east of Osnaburg, on the Little Sandy, settling
on what was long known as the Baum farm.
In 1809 he removed, with his family, four miles west of Massillon, and in May, 1812, at the age of sixty-three years, he died.
He was a massive, muscular man, who performed gallant service
for his country in two of its wars, always enjoying good health
and never confined to a bed of sickness until prostrated by the
disease that ended his life. On one occasion he was shot in a
fight with Indians, and had his thigh broken.
Hon. Michael Totten was born May Ii, I8oo, and had five
brothers and four sisters, all of his brothers and two of his sisters
being dead. After his father's death, in February, 1813, Michael
removed to Wooster, in company with his mother and the rest of




426


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the family. They remained in Wooster during 1813-14, Michael
occasionally hauling logs for his brother-in-law, Isaac Poe, then
owner of the Henry Myers farm, for the purpose of building a
cabin, which was afterwards known as the "haunted house." The
house was built in I814, Jacob Matthews doing the hewing, assisted by Archibald Totten, the Driskels being present at the raising of it.
From Wooster Mr. Totten's family removed to, and located
one-half mile east of the village of Congress, the entire country
then being a perfect wilderness; and in February, I815, and with
no assistance but George Poe, Henry Totten and John Meeks, he
erected his cabin in the woods. After they had left Wooster, and
prior to their removal to Congress township, they lived in a double
log shanty, which they erected where the old brick kiln stood, on
the Mansfield road, on the Myers farm, and close to their door
were three Indian graves.
Mr. Totten lived in Congress township seventeen years, and in
1832 removed to Chester township, where he purchased lands, and
for many years devoted himself to agricultural pursuits. A number of years ago he removed to Wooster, where, with his family
he has since continued to reside. Mr. Totten has been twice married; first to Louisa Crawford, of Congress township, by which
marriage there resulted two children, Matilda and Henry, the former marrying James Freeman and dying in Illinois; the latter,
Henry, being joined in marriage to Jane Ramsey, and living in
Chicago; second, November I6, 1830,to Mrs. Susanna Ramsey, of
Washington county, Pennsylvania, daughter of William Ewing,
deceased, of Canaan township, and wife of Samuel Ramsey, of the
aforenamed county, who died in November, 1824. By her first
marriage, with Mr. Ramsey, she had four children, George,William,
Jane and Samuel, the latter a retired physician in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, and a man of wealth, culture and education. By this second marriage of Mr. Totten there resulted the following issue:
Nancy, Susan, John, Enoch, Hiram E. and Melissa A.*
*John and Hiram are dead. Hiram was a Lieutenant in the I20th Regiment,
and in the battle of Jackson, Miss., after the surrender of Vicksburg, was struck
with a shell from the effects of which he died with his parents, in Wooster, in about
twelve weeks. He was a young man of decided mental endowments and was fitting
himself for practice at the bar when he enlisted. He was a brave soldier-bore his
sufferings like a martyr and marched into the Great Presence as consciously and
heroically as though he had picketed the spaces of eternity and measured the depth
of the Infinite.




WOOSTER-SEETCHES.


427


Mr. Totten has been a citizen of Wayne county for 65 years,
and can be properly classed with the oldest of the living pioneers,
there being but few indeed who have lived so long as he within
the limits of the county. His settlement in it dates back to the
year immediately succeeding the organization of the county.
Wooster then was but a dim spot in the wilderness, and Wayne
county, much larger than it now is, contained but four townships.
He has witnessed its advance from disorder to order; from darkness to light; from license and confusion to prudent restraints
and remarkable civilization.
His life has been an extremely active and eventful one, replete with hazardous adventures, many hardships and exciting
situations. He was a man well suited to the times in which his
activities were exerted. His courage no man dared to question,
and, the associate of the Poes and other brave spirits of the early
days, he learned daring in the shadow of danger, and neither wild
beast, Indian nor tomahawk possessed terror to him. He entered
Congress township when it was in the wilderness of the centuries
preceding it, and many are the acres of forest that fell before his
strong arms, and the fields that he cleared, that now blossom and
ripen with bountiful harvests.
In his more vigorous days he bore a conspicuous part in the
progressive enterprises and measures of the community, and was
an aggressive, public spirited citizen and man. As early as 1829
he served with Michael Funk and John Vanosdall as one of the
Trustees of Congress township, and in all his local positions of
public trust sustained a reputation for zeal in the fulfillment of his
duties. In 1836 he was elected to the office of Auditor of Wayne
county, and re-elected in 1838. He served in the Ohio Legislature
from December I, 1845, to December 7, 1846, and from December 6,
1847, to December 4, 1848, in all of which capacities he acquitted himself with credit and honor.
Since Mr. Totten's residence in Wooster and retirement from
the public his life has been spent in quiet and rest in the circle of
his family. His wife came to Wayne county with her father, William Ewing, in 1812. She is an exemplary, Christian woman, and
though but a few days since passing her eightieth birthday, her
cheeks wear the rosy freshness of youth, and she is in the enjoyment of fine health, and cheery as a maiden of sixteen. Fifty
years ago Mr. Totten was one of the best specimens of the heroic
backwoodsman; a stout, athletic, daring adventurer, and a hunter




428


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


whose delight was in the thickets and ravines of the woods. He
encountered the Indians in contests for game, met them in their
camps and settlements, slept in their bark huts, well knowing their
treachery, but too brave a man to fear them. He frequently met
old Captain Lyon and Tom        Jelloway; knew     Baptiste Jerome,*
after whom Jeromeville, in Ashland county, was named, and
threshed wheat at his house.
Identified as Mr. Totten has been with the first settlement Of
the county and its heroic period, and with his vivid and unfailing
recollection of events of half a century ago, he has proven a most
valuable auxiliary to us, and we are largely indebted to him for
much of the incident that appears in the history.        His recollection of the Fulke massacre; his knowledge of the Driskels, and
his association with and relationship to the Poes, being a brotherin-law to Isaac, son of Adam Poe, divest our narratives and descriptions of all romance and semblance of fiction.
MICHAEL TOTTEN CHAILENGED BY A BEAR.
When his mother and the family were living in the cabin which stood on the
old brick kiln site, he went up on the hill, about half a mile from the house, to
look after the cows, and while sitting on a log, listening for the cow bell, a big black
bear passed close by him, pausing a moment and looking at him, and then going
on. He ran at the top of his speed back to the house and gave the alarm, whereupon Archibald Clark, John, George, Elijah and William Glasgow started in pursuit
of bruin with dogs and guns, Mr. Totten also accompanying the party. The dogs
tracked it some distance, and treed it about half a mile west of where John McKee,
Esq., lives-a mile north of the University. All that had guns fired at it, and,
after receiving thirteen bullets, it tumbled to the ground. This was in August, 1814.
A TERRIBLE NIGHT IN THE WOODS.
While Mr. Totten was living in Congress township, and soon after his removal
there, Isaac Poe, who then lived on the Henry Myers farm, had been up in Congress
township, where he afterward moved, and on his return home he found that his
horses had strayed away, and were for two weeks lost, as he supposed. Mr. Totten,
then but fifteen years of age, being in the woods in search of the cattle, came in
contact with Mr. Poe's horses, and knowing that they were his, concluded to take
them home. He got elm-bark and made halters for them, and started toward
*Jerome was a Canadian Frenchman, and, says Knapp, "was a man of positive character, impulsive, generous and brave, devoted in his friendships, and bitter in his enmities. His natural gifts of mind were good. He could converse
fluently in French and Indian, and so as to be understood in English. To the early
settlers he was of great service in furnishing them with provisions, some having
expressed the opinion that they would have incurred the hazard of starvation, had
it not been for the aid afforded by him."




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


429


Wooster on the line of blazed trees. A storm came up and darkness overwhelmed
him. In his wanderings he got into the Killbuck bottoms, to the rear of the residence of the late Samuel Funk, and could go no further. Here, through the rain
and wind and lightning of the storm, he remained during the night, holding on toc
the horses and reaching his brother-in-law's in the morning.
PACKING SALT ON HORSEBACK.
Michael Totten's brother William, and James Gaff, of Stark county, bored for
salt on Killbuck-went down 440 feet and broke the augur. They procured salt
water, but could not manufacture over a half bushel of salt per day. Michael
packed it from the well up to the farm in Congress township, on horseback. Salt
was then worth four dollars per bushel and wet at that.
In 1813 he was water-boy to the harvest hands cutting wheat on the Avery farm,
then owned by George and Isaac Poe. The crop consisted of about ten acres, and
it was principally "sick wheat."  He has no explanation of the cause of this sick
wheat. On the Byers farm, then owned by a Scotchman, named Billy Clark, a harvest was cut that year.
A LOST BOY IN THE OLDEN TIME.
As an incident of the year 1820, Michael Totten relates the excitement created
by the search for a lost boy, named James Durfee, eight years old, whose parents
lived near Perrysburg, seven miles north-west of Congress, then in Wayne county,
butnow in Jackson township, Ashland county. It appears that the child accompanied his uncle, David Souls, in search of some hogs in the woods. Becoming tired,
his uncle told him to remain at a gap until he returned from more extended search.
When the uncle at length came back, the boy was gone, and it having snowed heavily in the meantime, no trace of " Little Jim " could be seen. He made a wide
search for him, hallooed, but without result, then gave alarm to the family and
neighbors. Everybody turned out, Mr. Totten among the number, and for three
days the hunt was vigorously prosecuted, but finally had to be abandoned as hopeless.
Weeks afterwards, in March, two miles from where he was lost, the body of
the little fellow was found in the woods, near a brook, into which it is supposed he
had fallen, and, getting out, had frozen to death, covered by snow. His eyes had
been picked out by ravens, and locks of his hair were afterwards found strewn over
the snow, by Mr. Totten, when out coon hunting.
During the search for the boy Mr. Totten entered a "Yankee slash," and
there shot a huge buck.
SAVES A BOY'S LIFE.
In 1815 he saved John Mowry from drowning, who was then a lad of I6, in
Little Killbuck. He had sunk in the water when Mr. Totten sprang in after him
and, assisted by John Shinneman, succeeded in getting him out of the water.
When taken out he was speechless, but recovered.
Michael Totten's mother was the second white person who died in Congress
township (1821), Amasa Warner's wife being the first, dying on the farm now owned
by Royce Summerton, his mother being buried in the Rumbaugh graveyard.
His earliest neighbors in Congress township were Isaac and George Poe, James
Carlin, Matthew Brewer, Peter Warner, John Nead, John Jeffers, Walter Elgin, etc.




430


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


He helped to build the first Presbyterian church in Congress township, on the
corner of section 27. His brother, John Totten, taught the first school in the
township, in the cabin in which his mother lived, the Brewers, Ewings, etc., sending their children to the school. After him a Mr. Beatty taught, Elmer Yocum,
Sally Totten, etc., etc.
GENERAL WILLIAM GIVEN.
O! why has worth so short a date?
While villains ripen gray with time,
Must thou, the noble, gen'rous, great,
Fall in bold manhood's hardy prime!
-Burns.
In our off-hand ink-Takings of the various individuals whom we
have drawn together and seated at random in this volume, we
have at times been embarrassed almost to the verge of despair. The
vagueness or incompleteness of all knowledge concerning the
substance of the shadow left us; the absence of essential data
which would serve to illustrate mental traits, or be indicative of
disposition, or character, has too often rendered our pen-portraiture and sketch-work not only a difficult, but an irksome and unenviable toil.
We have even lamented the misfortune of our years, and regretted that we had not lived in the days when intimacy would have
been possible with many who have been blotted from the breathing
roll. In regard to that worthy assembly of pioneers with whom
"life's fitful fever is over," we have had too often to rely upon
others for information, whereas the Takings should be a mirror of
the man, and such a one as should reflect the broader outlines of
character, which are perceivable by all, and draw out those peculiarities visible only to a few.
In some instances we have been relieved of this embarrassment
by our personal knowledge of the dead, but we are free to admit
that in a majority of instances we have been destitute of that
knowledge, so powerful in giving effect and strength to characterization.
With General William Given the writer of this memoir had
some personal acquaintance, and concerning him entertains some
pleasing and undying recollections. He remembers him in the
healthy, vigorous flush and activity of his physical manhood; in
the full possession of his bright, sparkling intellect; in his natural
adjustment to all charities; his generous, benevolent, royal na



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


43I


ture; his compass and vastness of soul; but, better than all, for
the tender, sympathetic heart that pulsated in his genial, glowing
bosom.
He was born on the 4th day of September, ISI9, in the town
of Newville, Cumberland county, Pa. His father and mother
came from County Tyrone, Ireland, although they were of Scotch
extraction, belonging to the Clendenning clan of the Camerons,
who were a religious sect which separated from the Presbyterians
and continued to hold their religious meetings in the open air.
They were resolute maintainers of the unblemished purity and
rights of the Reformed church. They had hovered for many years
about the mountainous regions of the parish of Kirkmahoe, in
Dumfrieshire; and as they began to confide in the kindness of their
less rigid brethren they commenced descending, step by step, from
a large hill to a less, till they finally swarmed on a small, sterile
mount, with a broomy glen at its foot, beside a little village,
which, it seems, one of their number named " Graceless Quarrelwood."  This settlement was chosen with some skill, and, in the
period of the persecution, might have done honor to the military
tactics of John Balfour, of Burley. It is a long, straggling village,
built in open hostility to regular lines or the graceful curves of
imaginary beauty. The cottages which compose it are scattered,
as if some wizard had dropped them down at random; and through
the whole a streamlet winds, and a kind of road, infinitely more
crooked than the stream. They were a sect of religious enthusiasts who entertained peculiar views, and were distinguished by an
intense and overflowing devotion, which appeared to be the result
of the consciousness of direct communication with Divine Powers.
They were rigid, conventional and austere-made few converts,
as few people are fond of inflicting on themselves willingly the
penance of controversial prayers and interminable sermons.
When but a child the parents of Judge Given removed from
Newville, to Westmoreland county, Pa., and settled at the village
of Murryville. His father being a blacksmith, the deceased, when
he was only a lad, commenced to learn his father's trade, and so
determined was he to do so that his father had to erect a platform
by the side of the anvil in order to give the youthful genius an opportunity to display his skill. He was so expert and apt in learning that, at a very early age, he was considered a good workman
and prepared to perform the different labors of the village blacksmith.




432


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


His early education was limited, it being acquired while he was
learning his trade. He attended the village school during the day
and "blew the bellows " in the shop at night. In paper cap and
leather apron, by the blaze of the forge, he read his books and
first gave discipline to his mind. So far as the benefits of a regular education are concerned, it was, to a great degree, neglected.
By persevering energy and diligent industry, he had, by the time
he came to Ohio, qualified himself to take charge of a common
school. In 1836 he left Murryville and went to Pittsburg, to try
the experiment of living, where he followed his trade in an extensive machine shop until I838, when he emigrated, with his father,
to Holmes county, Ohio, and settled on a farm, then in the woods,
three miles west of Millersburg.  Here a smithy was at once
erected, and here Judge Given successfully blowed and struck for
two years.  From here he removed to Petersburg, in Ashland
county, where he swung the noisy hammer for another year. In
I84I he returned to Holmes county, and began investigating
Chitty, and unlocking the secrets of Blackstone. During the summer he pursued the study of the law; during the winter taught
school.
He was admitted to the bar at the July term of the Supreme
Court, 1843, at Sandusky, Ohio. November 23 of the same year he
was married to Miss Susan Croco, of Holmesville, Holmes county,
Ohio. During the autumn of his admission to practice he was
elected Prosecuting Attorney of Holmes county before he had a
single case in the court, to which office he was re-elected. At the
termination of his prosecutorship he stood at the forefront of the
Millersburg bar, having proven not only the peer, but the superior
of Hoagland, Tannyhill and Sapp. In 1849 he was elected to the
House of Representatives from Holmes county, and served in that
body for one term with marked distinction.
In I850, in the month of November, he came to Wooster,
forming a partnership with John P. Jeffries in the legal practice,
which continued till the spring of 1855. Subsequently he became
associated in the law with John McSweeney, remaining with him
until I858, when he was elected Judge of the Common Pleas Court,
of the Sixth Judicial District of Ohio, his commission bearing date
of January Io, I859. He remained on the bench until 1862, when
he resigned, and on the [8th of August, 1862, was commissioned
Colonel of the Io2d O. V. I., serving in the army for nearly
three years. March 13, 1865, he was commissioned Brigadier




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


433


General by brevet, for his gallant defense of Decatur, Alabama,
and was mustered out of service June 13 of the same year.
On returning from the army he again began the practice of his
chosen profession, in which he was engaged when the voice of the
grim escort said to him, "Tarry no longer; come with me."
He died Sabbath morning, October I, I866, at Wooster, in
the 47th year of his age.
As is apparent from what is above written, Judge William
Given was, in the highest sense, a self-made man. Like his linguistic prototype, the Worcester blacksmith, he was the founder,
builder and maker of himself. The university and the academy
were unknown to him, and showered upon him no honors. What
he possessed he gathered by "the process of accretion, which
builds the ant-heap, particle by particle, thought by thought, fact
by fact."
Did we not know his ancestry, we would nationalize him as a
true son of Erin. His character supplied many of the conventional
characteristics of the Irishman. He was sensitively tender and
warm-hearted, generous and impulsive, ever ready to impart of
his substance to a friend, to perform a charity or do a kindness to
the lowliest and humblest of his fellow-men. His heart-goodness
was exercised in behalf of no class or grade of the community-it
extended to all, but the devoted sphere for its exercise was in the
sacred circle of home and family. Here he was priest and king
by the ministrations of perennial kindnesses and that sweeter authority which is conceded and justified of affection. We have heard
him say, whilst in the army, that, though it was a needful and noble service, the thought of home and loved ones there nearly overwhelmed him, and that his "heart ached with its desolation."
Socially he was one of the most agreeable of men. He had
extraordinary qualities of conversation, possessed the keenest perception of a jest or anecdote, and withal, had a streaming, luminous wit which floated everything he looked upon. He had the
piquant, scorching repartee of Foote, and the bonhommie and exuberant humor of Maginn. We might almost infer that, somewhere
in his early wanderings, he had found old Ponce de Leon's fountain
of youth and drank of its waters, for hezenjoyed a remarkable juvenescence of feeling, freshness and elasticity of temperament. His
mind, however, at times, was of the self-contemplating, introspective order; he had vivid impressions of the vanity, hollowness and
shortness of life, and it is possible that melancholy may have stolen
28




434


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


upon him in those seasons when he turned his mind back upon
itself, and wheeled his thoughts around to inspect his soul. This
was a part of the higher consciousness of which we know William
Given was capable, and which forms a portion of the suffering experiences of every contemplative mind.
He was well versed in English and American literature, and
especially in the poetry of the two countries.. Poesy had given to
him her finer ear. Burns, to him, was a bread-tree in a garden of
roses. He believed in the genius and inspiration of him who had
— "left his land her sweetest song,
And earth her saddest story."
His psalms had the fragrance of Israel's singer, and to him
"Mary in Heaven" was true Love's collar of jewels. His poetic
fancy was scintillant, intense and real, and under culture would
have burst in song.
In the department of law was manifested his vitalized force and
power. He was not a Judas to his client, like the professional
thieves and confederated scalpers that go unhemped at nearly
every bar, but he was an honorable lawyer. He did not belong
to that class of licensed book-whackers-"men that hire out their
words and anger; that are more or less passionate, according as
they are paid for it, and allow their client a quantity of wrath proportionable to the fee which they receive from him." His manhood
was the bond of fidelity betwixt him and his client, and he allowed
no profanation of it by the unclean vulgar hands that sell the most
sacred rights of their neighbors. In the arena of the law he allowed
no man to beat him down. More than that, he was the equal, in
many respects, of any man that ever confronted him at the
Wooster bar. As Judge Dean said in his eulogy of him in court,
November 20, I866:
As an advocate he had few superiors in the State. He was a master in forensic
skill. He sometimes appeared as forcible as Curran,
"Whose words had such a melting flow,
And spoke of truth so sweetly well,
They dropped like the serenest snow,
And all was brightness where they fell."
His excellency and the various elements of strength which
constituted him a good lawyer were not confined to a single department of practice, or any special branch of the profession.  He




WOOS TER-SE TCHES.


435


was an accomplished and able lawyer in every walk of it. In eliciting evidence he was fair and manly. In cross-examination he was
thorough, searching and exhaustive. There was no harshness indulged toward the witness, unless he proved refractory or impudent, or took to prevarication or falsehood, and then woe to the
man or woman against whom was directed the fury of his glance
and the caustic of his tongue. A keen anatomiser of character
and subtle penetrator of the springs of human motive, he seldom
allowed the rogue to escape conviction. His wit was wonderfully
wise and detective; it flashed upon a knave and lighted up a
rascal like a policeman's lantern.
In the dissection of testimony he was adroit, crafty and dextrous. To the Court he was uniformly gentlemanly and dignified;
to opposing counsel respectful and courteous. The rights of his
client were maintained at all hazards. Incivilities and indecorums
he heartily abhorred.   He gave no insults; he took none.       His
motto was,
" Beware
Of entrance to a quarrel; but, being in,
Bear it, that the opposer may beware of thee."
When aroused there was heat and gallantry in his onsets.
"His dynamic brain hurled off his words as the revolving stone
hurls off scraps of grit." In his arguments there was force, centrality, cogency and massive structural expression. He never was
surprised and was powerful in sudden efforts. His word-facility
was unusual, and his diction animated and fluent. When he employed sarcasm he did not use the pen-knife, but the falchion and
the rapier.  Bombs of wit flashed from his batteries of speech like
sparks from hot Vesuvius. He was the Hudibras of the Wooster Bar.
Says Mr. Dean in his eulogy:
As a jurist, he was highly eminent. Though naturally impetuous at the bar,
he presided upon the bench with remarkable coolness, never yielding to the impulse of the moment in the most exciting cases. His well-balanced mind held his
tongue in check until his deliberate judgment spoke the words of truth and justice.
His mind appeared to be perfectly fitted.for the duties of Judge, and he appeared
to delight in the dispensation of justice; was never at a loss in the determination
of a case. Even in pronouncing the sentence of the law upon criminals, his words
were so tender and kind as to greatly relieve the culprit's punishment. He presided with dignity, yet with a stern kindness remarkable.
"His look drew audience still as night,
Or summer's noon-tide air. "




436


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Though several times elevated to places of public confidence and
positions of decided honor, in nothing but a remote meaning of
the word was he a politician. He contemned the oozy, mucky
lowlands, in whose noxious atmosphere breathed this ungrateful
brood.  His patrician nature shrank from its festering airs. To
such a man as William Given the descent was too steep from his
plane of manhood to the stagnant lagoon-levels of the politician.
In remembrance of his virtues, and not unconscious of his
frailties, we have woven this chaplet of memory with the only
privilege left us, of laying it upon his grave. He may have had
faults. In church, or camp, or state, who has not? We would not
hide them in a cloud of periphrasis. He was of our house of
flesh, of the tenement of a common blood, and we write rememberingly and lovingly of him in the name of the brotherhood of
all. He has realized the sorrows of living, and the pains and bliss
of dying.
"Breathe for his wandering soul one passing sigh,
0, happy Christian, while thine eye grows dim;
In all the mansions of the house on high,
Say not that Mercy has not one for him."
It can be said of Judge Given that when he departed he "took
a man's life along with him."  As Thackeray wrote of Dick
Steele:
" Peace be with him! Let us think gently of one who was so gentle; let us
speak kindly of one whose own breast exuberated with human kindness."
CONSTANT LAKE, SR.
Constant Lake is a scion of the Buckeye State, being born in
Brookfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, August 30, I812. His father
at that time was in the military service, having a contract to furnish supplies to the army then resisting the encroachments of
Great Britain. When but o1 years of age he was so unfortunate
as to lose his mother, which resulted in a temporary disbanding of
the family, when Mr. Lake went to his sister, Mrs. Mary Black, then
living in Vermillion township, in what is now Ashland county, where
he had his home until 1826. He then removed to Wooster,
taking his residence with his brother, J. S. Lake, then engaged in
mercantile pursuits. Constant, then a youth of 14 years, entered
the store situated on what is now George Brauneck's corner, but




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


437


subsequently removed to the lot now occupied by D. D. Miller,
hardware merchant. Serving in the relation of a clerk until 1832,
a partnership was formed between him and Joseph, under the style
of J. S. & Constant Lake.  This partnership lasted to 1838,
when Joseph withdrew from the firm, three years thereafter removing to Cleveland, Constant prosecuting the business, and
afterward receiving as a partner Isaac N. Jones.
Mr. Lake's life has been spent in commercial pursuits, entering
upon the same in boyhood and continuing therein until the spring
of 1870, having conducted at times an extensive business, and been
largely interested in branch establishments in Toledo, Loudonville, Hayesville and Shreve. He was married May 25, I836, to
Eleanor Jones, only daughter of Hon. Benjamin Jones, by whom
he had ten children, and whose death is recorded June 20, 1852.
He was re-married August I8, 1853, to Anna P. McDonald, of
Philadelphia, Pa., by which union he has 6 children. Of his
rather numerous family but 7 remain-5 boys and 2 girls. Three
of the first marriage are living, Benjamin, Constant and Mary, the
latter marrying William D. Banning, of Mt. Vernon, Ohio. Of
the second marriage there are living one daughter and three sons.
Joseph, the second son of the first marriage, was among the first
of the volunteers from Wayne county in the three months service, and at the expiration of which, in Camp Dennison, endeavored to re-enlist in Company E, Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
for the three years' term, but was declined and rejected upon the
grounds of corpulency.
Determined, however, to be a participant in the war, he was
permitted to join the artillery service, enlisting in Hickenlooper's
Fourth Ohio Battery. His ambition was soon gratified. At the
battle of Pittsburg Landing his battery was called into action, and
though he had been sick in hospital the three previous days, when
the fire opened he hastened to his position, remaining by his gun
until he was observed to fall, and was carried to the rear. He
wandered to the river bank, where his condition was frequently
remarked, when by some means he got on board a boat and was
carried to St. Louis, where in the hospital he died.
Benjamin Lake received a commission of Captain in what was
popularly known as the McLaughlin squadron, organized at Mansfield, recruited a company in Wayne county, and was in General
Garfield's engagement at Prestonburg, Ky., where he encountered
Humphrey Marshall, yclept "the greasy knight," sadly and em



438


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


phatically to his discomfiture. As an appreciation of his services,
General Garfield made him one of his Aids, holding said position
one year and a half, when, on account of ill-health, he resigned,
separating from the command in Eastern Tennessee.
Mr. Lake still lives in our midst, and is esteemed as a generous,
polite, benevolent and Christian gentleman. If, as Alexander
Smith says, "Time gives for what he takes," Mr. Lake has little
occasion to be dissatisfied or regretful over the exchange. If he
has aimed a blow at the elasticity of the body, in its place he has
given him a tranquil cheerfulness and spirit buoyancy, the mild
autumnal weather of the soul. Non-emotional and seldom yielding to excitements or perturbations, he is nevertheless sympathetic
and full of charities. His hospitalities in his own home are recognized and conceded by all, friend and stranger uniformly finding a
welcome there. He has been a member of the Church of Christ
for over thirty years and an Elder for more than twenty-five.
THE WOOSTER GAS LIGHT COMPANY.
June 18, 1856, the Council of the incorporated village of
Wooster passed an ordinance "To provide for lighting the incorporated village of Wooster with gas," by which it was provided
that William Stephenson, of the city of Cleveland, and his associates, their successors, and asignees, should use the streets, lanes,
alleys, and other public grounds of said village, for the purpose of
laying down and maintaining therein pipes for the conveyance of
gas in and through the same for the use of said village and the
inhabitants thereof. This ordinance also gave Messrs. Stephenson &
Co. the exclusive use of the streets for gas pipes for the period of
IO years, and restricted the company to three dollars per thousand
cubic feet for gas to citizens, and two dollars per thousand for
city, except lamp-posts, three dollars whilst the company owns the
posts and lights and extinguishes them.
On the 20th of June, 1856, J. H. Kauke, J. H. Baumgardner,
Isaac N. Jones, D. Robison, Jr., H. R. Harrison, John P. Jeffries
and C. C. Parsons, Sr., duly incorporated, under the laws of Ohio,
the Wooster Gas Light Company, with a perpetual charter, and
said company was duly organized January 14, 1857, by electing
J. H. Kauke, Daniel Black, J. H. Baumgardner, I. N. Jones and J. P.
Winebrenner Directors, and by-laws were enacted for its government. The capital stock of the company was $20, 000, divided into




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


439


800 shares of $25 each. The gas works were erected in 1856 and
I857, and the village of Wooster was lighted with gas in February, I857, there being then I05 consumers and twenty street
lamps. In I859 the capital stock was increased to $23,700. The
demand for the elastic fluid so greatly increased that in 1864 the
company pulled down the old arches or ovens and erected larger
ones, and greatly increased the gas-producing capacity of the
concern.
In 1867 they extended the pipes and increased the capital to
$30,000.  In 1871 the old works, having become entirely too
small to supply the demand, the Directors resolved to erect new
works. They purchased the old oil well lot on East Henry street,
from the heirs of William Henry, deceased, and four lots adjoining from E. Quinby, Jr., giving them a frontage on Henry street
of 3Io feet, on which they have erected new works with all
modern improvements, and which are of sufficient capacity to
supply a city of I5,ooo inhabitants.
JACOB FRICK.
Jacob Frick was born four miles east of West Newton, Westmoreland, county, Pa., on the I7th of December, I834. His parents were of German ancestry, his father being in limited circumstances, and pursued the vocation of a blacksmith during the entire
period of his life. Jacob was among the younger members of the
family. At the early age of eighteen he was cast upon his own
resources, it being his first advent upon the great ocean of life.
Not having acquired a knowledge of his father's trade, and unaccustomed to any other mechanical pursuit, there was no alternative but hard work. To this he set himself, and equipped both
nerve and spirit.  He first hired himself out upon a farm for
two years at low wages, but made it a maxim to economize his
earnings from the start. He adopted the Ben Franklin idea of
saving the pennies and letting the dollars take care of themselves.
He argued that if his wages were but a pittance, the greater necessity for a wise economy.
After the expiration of the stipulated two years, and in the
year I855, he removed with his father to Hancock county, Ohio.,During this year his father died. But little time elapsed after his
coming to the Buckeye State until he was again engaged. He
now hired himself to drive a team, in and about the village of Van



440


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Buren, in said county, for six dollars per month, which employment he followed for twelve months. -He next entered a produce
and dry goods establishment, as a clerk and general subaltern, being detailed principally as lard-receiver, egg-packer, etc., etc.
Here he continued about a year, during which time the proprietor
died.
Adopting the very practical, but somewhat hazardous commercial maxim of, "nothing ventured nothing won," he resolved to
engage in business for himself. In pursuance of this determination
he opened a provision store of his own, and in a year thereafter
connected with him in business his brother, when they enlarged
their sphere of business and embraced within its circle a dry goods
department.
This condition of things existed about three years, during which
period he was married to Elizabeth Shelly. Having resolved upon
a change of territory for the advancement of his commercial and
speculative aims, he came to Wayne county in April, I859, locating in Smithville, and embarking without delay in the dry goods
trade. In this enterprise he persisted for a year, when he relinquished all other pursuits to embrace the favorite project of his
life-that of grain merchant. He first began the purchase of grain
at what is known as the "Summit," north-east of Wooster,
but desiring a point where conveniences would be more ample and
facilities more inviting he removed to Wooster in the spring of
1865, where, for the last twelve years he has been engaged in the
grain and milling business.
WILLIAM STITT.
William Stitt is a Buckeye by birth, first seeing the light in
Jefferson county, Ohio, and settled in Wooster, in May, 1832.
November 13, I839, he was married, by "Priest " Jones, to Miss
Margaret Bartol, a native of Pennsylvania. He engaged in the
manufacture of saddle-trees, harness, etc., on his arrival here, and
has successfully and profitably prosecuted that vocation to the
present time.  He is a prominent and zealous member of the
Methodist church; a man of scrupulous integrity; unobtrusive but
firm and radical in his opinions; an earnest advocate of truth, and
distinguished for a rigid morality and an upright life.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


44I


MARKET-HOUSE DESTROYED BY A "MOB."
In 1833 a market-house, the first and last that Wooster ever
had, was erected on the south-west side of the Public Square, under
direction of the Town Council, whereof Thomas Wilson was President, and J. H. Harris Recorder. Andrew Bostater, Joseph Fox
and John Swain were contractors for its construction, the painting
by David Barr. The structure was about 75x40 feet, one story
high, paved with brick, with ceilings arched and plastered. It was
supported by fourteen columns of brick, about two feet square,
twelve feet high, firmly set on stone corners, eight or ten feet apart,
between which were the stalls, each numbered.
In a few years, however, the citizens doing business around the
Public Square pronounced a market-house located in such a prominent position a nuisance that ought to be abated; but the town
authorities refused to remove it. As a result it narrowly escaped
"purification by fire " at the hands of an incendiary. Finally, on
Monday night, August 9, I847, a number of men disguised beyond
recognition, and said to be among the "first citizens," assembled
at the market-house armed with axes, hooks, rope and tackle, and
a horse of strong pulling qualities, with which they assailed it on
all sides with destructive energy, so that when morning came the
"garish blaze of day" rose upon its prostrate columns,
i" Its broken arch, its ruined wall,"
and the "market-house," as such, was known no more forever.
This nocturnal act created considerable excitement, and much declamatory discussion about "mobs." The Mayor offered a reward
for the apprehension of the mysterious vandals who had so sacrilegiously profaned this Temple of Mutton and Soup Bones, but without resulting in anybody being arrested, although, of course, the
perpetrators were known to many, but whose crime was condoned
by the "public improvement" it was considered they made in demolishing the market-house. A number of those who had a hand
in this escapade are now living in Wooster, and will take pleasure
in telling you, as they have us, how the thing was done.
THE FULLER SISTERS.
It may not be inappropriate to here introduce briefly the names
of Francis and Metta Fuller. They were sisters, between whom




442


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


a devoted attachment existed, and whose poetical creations were
first collected in the same volume. Francis, the older of the two,
was born at Rome, New York, and Metta, the third child of the
family, was born in Erie, Pa., March 2, 1831.  In I839 the family
removed to Wooster, Ohio, where, under the influence of good
schools and interesting social relations, Francis made gratifying
literary acquisitions, and at the tender age of fourteen she was
supplying the press with acceptable rhythmic gems and prose
contributions. She rose rapidly to popularity, and soon established
a reputation in the belles lettres literature of the land.
Willis and Morris, of the Home Journal, once the court paper
of New York city, the columns of which teemed with the sweet
lyrics of Francis and the gracious melodies of Metta, pronounced
her as amongst the most brilliant of our female writers. Edgar
Allen Poe, leering from the soul-chaos and spirit charnel which
begat the "Raven," classed her with the most imaginative of our
poets. Her poems are characterized by a marvelous individuality
and great strength of diction, as well as a signal originality of
thought and uniqueness of versification.
In 1853 she was married to Jackson Barrett, of Pontiac, Michigan, to which State she had removed the previous year; thence
a few years later she went to the sunset side of the Father of
Floods, and is now on the western slope, "where rolls the Oregon." She has written much prose, some beautiful poetry, and a
tragedy entitled "Azlea," instinct with the fire of the drama.
Here is a stanza-a rare gem indeed-which we extract from
"The Post Boy's Song:"
" Like a shuttle thrown by the hand of fate,
Forward and back I go;
Bearing a thread for the desolate
To darken their web of woe;
And a brighter thread to the glad of heart,
And a mingled one to all;
But the dark and the light I can not part,
Nor alter their hues at all."
Francis obtained a divorce from Mr. Barrett, and is married a
second time to a Mr. Victor, brother to the husband of Metta.. Luxuriating in the soft, grateful climate of the Pacific Coast, breathing
its thrilling, invigorating mountain air, inspired by its weird and
wondrous scenery, the snow-turbaned Sierras, the enchanting
Dalles and the impetuous Columbia-the Canyon Wizard of the




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


443


North-her muse will quaff the foaming Parnassian wines, and
strange, indeed, will it be if poesy is not enriched, and prose enthroned, as upon some Shasta summit, by the exquisite sorcery of
her pen.
Metta, like her sister, was a precocious child, and attended
with her the Wooster schools. At fifteen she composed a romance, founded upon the supposed history of the dead cities of
Yucatan, entitling it "The'Last Days of Tul."    Jointly eulogizing
the sisters, N. P. Willis writes concerning them:
" We suppose ourselves to be throwing no shade of disparagement upon any
one in declaring that in ' Singing Sybil,' her not less gifted sister, we discern more
unquestionable marks of true genius, and a greater portion of the unmistakable
inspiration of true poetic art than in any of the lady minstrels-delightful and
splendid as some of them have been-that we have heretofore ushered to the applause of the public. One in spirit and equal in genius, these most interesting and
brilliant ladies-both still in the earliest youth-are undoubtedly destined to occupy
a very distinguished and permanent place among the native authors of this land."
Metta's norm de plume was the " Singing Sybil."     A glance at
her numerous productious, prose and poetical, humorous and satirical, presents a striking record of faithful and unremitted labor.
She is surely a woman of singular endowments, and her career has
been a most remarkable one.      "The Senator's Son; A Plea for
the Maine Law," produced at the age of twenty, shared an unprecedented success, and thousands of copies were acknowledged by
foreign publishers.
In July, I856, she was married to 0. J. Victor, removing the
following year to New York City, since which time she has been
devoted to miscellaneous literary labor and authorship.
Wooster may well cherish a consistent pride over the recollection that these two stars of song received most of their education at our public schools.    The world is better for their rich
thoughts, vivid creations and jeweled fancies.    We confess to a
pleasing fascination in the perusal of their song, or in following the
silent glidings of their trusty shallops over the deep blue lakes
that sit like coronals in dim and haunted waters. Many of our
citizens remember them.    "Body and Soul," by Metta, is a divine
communion. The annexed excerpta will illustrate:
"A living soul came into the worldWhence came it? Who can tell?
Of where that soul went forth again,
When it bade the earth farewell?




444


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


A body it had this spirit knew,
And the body was given a name.
*   -*  -Y  -*   *   *.   a';
Whether the name would suit the soul
The giver never knew,
Names are alike, but never soul,
So body and spirit grew
Till time enlarged their narrow sphere
Into the realms of life,
Into this strange and double world,
Whose elements are strife.
JOSEPH H. DOWNING.
Joseph H. Downing, a native of Belmont county, Ohio,
removed with his parents to Wayne county in the autumn of I826.
The following season the family settled upon a farm in Wayne
township, three miles north-east of Wooster, where the subject of
this sketch remained with his parents until their deaths, in 1838
and I839.
His earlier years were spent in the severe labors of the farm,
and with all the rough and hard experiences of felling forests,
swinging the woodman's ax, cutting cord-wood, rolling logs, etc.,
he soon experienced memorable participation. After the death of
his parents, instead of obtaining a release from work, or having
his labors mitigated, they but multiplied and became more oppressive. A mere lad in his teens, three members of the family
younger than he and dependent, with the conflict for a living to be
met, the alternative of toil had to be confronted. With a comprehension of the situation remarkable for a youth of his years he
resolutely faced the responsibility, believing with Franklin that
"Diligence is the mother of good luck, and that God giveth all
things to industry."
For several years he was a day-laborer, a hireling by the month,
in his neighborhood, and until he was twenty-one years of age did
not average over three months of schooling per year. His surplus
moneys and earnings were judiciously invested in such books as,
in his judgment, would most materially aid him in attaining a useful and practical education. His appreciation of the value of time
and the necessity of improving it, early manifested itself, and in his
boyhood, his leisure, and the intervals between hard labor, were
sedulously employed in reading and study. By this process of industry, aided by the limited opportunities afforded him by the public schools, he succeeded in acquiring a good English education.




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WO OSTER- CHUR CHES.


445


In 1843 he entered the Canaan Academy, where he profitably
devoted two years to the study of Latin, philosophy, mathemetics,
etc., his determination to take the full collegiate course only being
thwarted by a general failure of health.
In the year 1848 he commenced the study of law, under the
care and direction of Hon. Ezra Dean, of Wooster. In 1853 he
was elected to the Ohio Legislature, and was a member of the
House of Representatives during the session of I854-there being
but one session during his term. From the spring of 1854 to I860
he was engaged in teaching school, and during the latter year he
was admitted to the practice of law, by the Supreme Court of the
State. In May of that year he opened an office in Wooster and
began practice, forming a partnership with Ben Douglass.
In August, 1862, he was appointed Captain by the Governor of
the State, and commissioned to recruit a company under one of the
startling calls, for "300,000 more." In seven days precisely from
the date of his commission, his company was full and subject to
orders. On the 29th of August, 1862, he took his company to
"Camp Mansfield," Ohio, and on the I4th of October he was mustered into the United States service, as Captain of Company "A,"
I20th O. V. I.  He bore his part firmly and with unflinching
fidelity; shared the perils and privations of his men-in-arms; participated in all the battles of Chickasaw Bayou and at Arkansas
Post, saw open and close, "the bloody testament of war." As a
consequence of exposure and subjection to the malarial influences
which decimated regiments, brigades and divisions of the army in
that locality during the winter of 862 —63, he became prostrated
and so seriously diseased as to render him wholly unfit for military
duty, whereupon, in the spring of 1863 he was honorably discharged from the service. He returned home, wasted and emaciated; a mental and physical wreck; a living, breathing skeleton;
with an imperfect recognition of his own family and friends, and
by physicians and all who saw him, pronounced a hopelessly prostrated and doomed man. By most careful medical attention; by
constant vigilance of family and friends; by the exercise of an heroic patience and fortitude on his part, and after nearly a year's
suffering and confinement, he sufficiently recovered to again enter
upon his profession. It may be remarked of Judge Downing that
he never has been fully restored to health, and that the fang of
the malarial monster of the Mississippi has never relaxed its hold
on him.




446


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


In a few years after he had resumed the practice, and in the
fall of I866, quite unexpectedly on his part, he was appointed, by
Governor J. D. Cox, of Ohio, Judge of the Court of Common
Pleas for the third subdivision of the Sixth Judicial District of the
State of Ohio, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hon.
Wm. Sample. After the expiration of his Judgeship he returned
to the legal practice, continuing therein until I872, when he was
elected Judge of the Probate Court of Wayne county. At the
termination of his official duties, in 1876, he engaged in his old
professional pursuits, forming a partnership with Charles M. Yocum, Esq.
He was married to Elizabeth C. Douglass, daughter of James
Douglass, of Plain township, October I4, 1850, by which marriage
he has three living children, to wit: Mary A., wife of William
Liddell, and Edward and William Downing.
Judge Downing is now in the full vigor of his manly years, his
intellectual faculties susceptible of their highest play and most vigorous exertion. He stands six feet and one inch in hight, is well
proportioned, has a reflective forehead, a meditative and expressive face, overgrown with a massive and luxuriant crop of hair.
He is, by every rule of construction, emphatically "a self-made
man." His life is an exposition of what work, industry and resolute purpose can and may accomplish, and presents some features
worthy of thoughtful consideration by all men, especially young
men.   He began life friendless, penniless. His education he
obtained himself; he toiled for it, struggled for it. There was, as
his biography exhibits, a force in him, and a terrible one it is
when properly directed; it is the will-power, the motor of action.
He determined to do and be, and he succeeded. Why this success? He had an exalted aim; he pursued it with close, persistent application; he allowed no man to impeach his integrity; his
character was as sensitive to suspicion as the tenderest flower to
the touch of a profane hand. He inclined to plod and study, which
he did incessantly, nor was he ashamed to work. To the assurance of success he furnishes more of the testimony of labor.
" Honor and shame from no condition rise,
Act well your part, there all the honor lies."
As a school-teacher he has left his impression upon the county,
and not a few men, who, to-day, occupy enviable positions in community, ascribe to him the inspiration of their aims and destiny.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


447


As a representative in the Ohio Legislature, he was a working,
vigilant member. A logical, matter-of-fact speaker and debater,
when he arose to a question, he spoke to the point and with
clearness. He discharged his duties with a steadiness, ability and
firmness always equal to the occasion, never allowing himself to
be seduced into chicanery or duplicity by the hopes of ulterior
ends.
His career as Judge of the Common Pleas, though short, was
one, nevertheless, to which he can refer with satisfaction. In this
character he manifested a rare combination of urbanity, inflexibility, courtesy and independence; an admirable self-control; a patient spirit of endurance; a sharp, instinctive repugnance to what
was wrong, balanced by a superior conception of right. His dispassionate, discerning reason; his sober judgment; his fearless
inclination in the direction of the right, were acknowledged by his
compeers, and elicited the applause of the bar.
As Judge of the Probate Court, he was accessible, dignified
and just, performing his duties to the entire satisfaction of his
constituents and the public.
As a lawyer, in the trial of causes he wins the confidence of
the jury, the esteem of adverse counsel, and commands the respect and attention of the court. His professional integrity is not
called into question. In the defense of a knave or rascal he never
compromises his character by an undue or inordinate desire for his
acquittal. His legal opinions are characterized by clearness and
accuracy. His speeches are groupings and condensations of law
and fundamental principles, and in his efforts at the bar he never
descends to blackguardism. Law to him is a supreme philosophy,
which he studies with delight, and, animated by an exalted sense
of the dignity and grandeur of his profession, he addresses himself to the higher feelings and principles of human nature. He relies more upon investigation than genius. His mathematical brain
makes him a calculator, and he is strong in concentrations and
analyzations. He conducts his excavations at the roots of a legal
proposition with the calm assurance of a woodsman digging out a
tree. He bores through a labyrinth of reports and judicial decisions with the patience of the engineers tunneling through the
Sierras. Tie him to a pyramid of figures, and he will burst the
tether and climb to the top of it. There is no cant or sentimentalism about him.  He has no fancy for the fanciful, and
the birds of his imagination were caged when they left the nest.




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Poetry, tropes, figures of rhetoric, similes and metaphors concern
him but little. He deals in facts and the principles of the legal
science. Thought always predominates over expression. He is a
lawyer of matured intellect and ripe judgment, and, by industry,
energy and perseverance, has achieved an honorable distinction at
the bar.
As a man and citizen Judge Downing is universally respected.
He is noted for his uniform courtesy toward his fellow-men; his
personal integrity; his generous and sympathetic nature; his consistent and temperate life; his zeal in the cause of education; his
private charities and benefactions. In morals and religion he is
fixed and firm. With him there is a right and a wrong. Between
the affirmative and the negative there is no border-land with him.
You can not hover with him upon the confines of truth, or wander
in the maze of a probable argument. He always keeps the path.
You can not make excursions with him, for he sets you right. His
taste never fluctuates. His morality never abates.
He has been a member of the United Presbyterian church of
Wooster for thirty-five years, and an elder since I850.
JOHN BRINKERHOFF.
The common ancestor of the Brinkerhoff family in America emigrated from Holland and settled in what is now New York City in
1638. The island of Manhattan, which is now entirely occupied
by the great city, was discovered September 3, I609, by Hendrik
Hudson.
The settlement of New Amsterdam was commenced in I613;
in 1621 the Dutch West India Company commenced operations,
and it is claimed in 1626 the whole island was purchased for $24.00;
in 1652 New Amsterdam was incorporated, and the government
passed from the West India Company into the hands of two Burgomasters and five assistants called Schepens, and one Schout or
Sheriff; in 1664 the English took the province, and the name was
changed to New York.
It will thus be seen that the common ancestor above referred to,
of the Brinkerhoff family, came to America before the title of
New York had been conferred upon the great seaboard city of the
Western World; fifty years before James II. had abolished the representative system; seventy years before the slave market was
established in Wall street; eighty-seven years before the New York




WO OSTER-SKETCHES.


449


Gazette was published, and I37 years before the farmers of Concord
raised the war shout of the Revolution.
His name was Derickson Brinckerhoff, and his wife's maiden
name was Susanna Dubbles.
The ancestor of the Wayne county, Ohio, branch of the family
was born in the city of Philadelphia, and there married a ScotchIrish woman named Campbell. He had three sons, George,
Daniel and William, all of whom are deceased, thejlatter dying at
the advanced age of ninety-one years.
Daniel, the second of these three brothers, had three sons,
John, James and William, the latter for many years one of the
distinguished educators of the State, and now Principal of the
McNealy Normal school. James is a resident of the, county, an
industrious and prosperous farmer and an excellent citizen.
John Brinkerhoff, the oldest of the three sons, was born June 9,
1813, and was educated near Dillsburg, York county, Pa., at a private institution. Two of his instructors were men of marked and
decided ability, and for whom their pupil has ever entertained
agreeable memories and a high regard. He began his career as a
teacher at the early age of eighteen, near Mechanicsburg, Cumberland county, Pa., where he remained one year, when he removed
with his father to Wayne county. Upon his arrival in Wayne
county he very naturally inclined to the occupation for which he
had best qualified himself and began teaching in Canaan township,
where the village of Golden Corners now stands.
He was married November I8, 1833, to Rebecca Sommers, the
issue of which union being three sons, George S., Daniel 0. and
Joseph William Brinkerhoff. The two oldest served in the Union
army, George in the 47th Indiana regiment, Daniel in the 4th
Ohio, who after a service of nine months became prostrated with
fever, was brought home and died. Joseph W. Brinkerhoff, the
youngest, is practicing medicine in Burbank, Wayne county.
After a married life of I8 years nearly his wife Rebecca died,
and he was united in marriage a second time, November 17, 1852,
to Miss Mary Robison, daughter of William Robison of Wooster
township. Mr. Brinkerhoff is a resident of Wooster and is one of
the intelligent, enlightened, upright, honorable and substantial
men of the city.
We do not know the number of terms of school he has taught
in Wooster and the community since his advent to the county,
but he has been, if not exclusively devoting his time to it, identi29




450


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


fled with some educational enterprise of the people, either as
County Examiner, Superintendent, teacher, Trustee or committeeman.
The genius of the public schools has pursued him and haunted
him until there was scarcely any escape from its influence or blandishments. The vigor of his manhood has been spent in the schoolroom, and the skill of his drilled brain has, through long and toilsome years, been employed in endeavor to educate the youth submitted to his care and inspire them with lofty and laudable ambitions. He has performed his duty and can not fail to know it.
In the sphere of teacher he possessed singular fitness, and to all its
situations he readily addressed himself.
He must be written down as one of the successful teachers of
Wayne county. He seems to have enjoyed the natural as well as
the acquired qualifications of the teacher. He had a just, wellbalanced confidence in himself and in his ability. His moral nature was sufficiently enlightened to impart to him a keen conception of his duty, and his conscience forbade him shrinking from it.
He was also, by his very composition, a very determined man, and
this determination communicated force and momentum to all his
actions; hence, with his strong moral convictions, his clear sense
of duty, and his resolute nature, he established government, erected
order and asserted the manhood of the teacher.  His name is
permanently associated with the High, Graded and other schools
of the city of Wooster. With the teachers of Wayne county he
possesses a remarkable influence, and especially with the younger
class, who dwell upon his words and highly value his counsel. As
County School Examiner he was deservedly popular.
His mind being essentially calculative, the range of its exercise
could not easily be confined to the mathematics of the school
room. With an excellent comprehension of arithmetic, algebra,
geometry, trigonometry, the calculus, etc., he practicalized his attainments in the domain of surveyor and civil engineer.
He was elected Surveyor of Wayne county in I844, and has
served officially in that capacity at differeat times nineteen years
since then. His labors in this respect continue whether in or out
of office, and his lines, angles and corners are trusty land-marks.
He is as familiar with the science of quantities, mixed, pure or
speculative, as he is with the sections or topography of the county. His valuable services rendered as engineer in the construction
of the Wooster water works, and his remarkable fertility and




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.                 451
exactness in the delineation of plans, contributed largely to the
consummation of that splendid enterprise of the citizens of
Wooster.
While it is probable that the atmosphere of politics may not be
cogenial to the olfactories of Mr. Brinkerhoff he has, nevertheless,
upon several occasions been compelled to breathe it, and with, we
believe, invigorating effect upon the body politic.
He was elected to the House of Representatives of the State of
Ohio, serving from January 4, 1864, to January I, I866.  He
proved himself to be a working, vigilant member, promptly at the
post of duty, and keenly alive to the interests of his constituents
and the welfare of the public.
It will be seen by this narrative that Mr. Brinkerhoff has passed
his sixty-fourth year, an age to which but a decimal of the human
race attain. By a life of strictest sobriety and temperance, of
great evenness, moderation and method, not yielding to mental
or physical excitements, unsapped by excesses, unvisited by the
assaults of destructive passions, he is to-day in the very prime of
manhood, the possessor of "a sound mind in a healthy body,"
with every faculty susceptible of its strongest tension and activity. He is a man of powerful convictions, and when assured
that he is right he will not be swerved from his opinion. He is
a tangible, certain man. There are no fungus growths in his
character. He is of a placid and hopeful temperament and indulgent and magnanimous disposition. He believes the world
is better than moralists would have us admit; has faith in
the destiny of man, withholding judgment against a brother rather
than pronouncing it. He has a hearty amen for every good work,
and in most cases leans to a verdict of "not proven." He belongs
to the United Presbyterian church, of which he has been a lifelong
and prominent member.
JOHN P. JEFFRIES.
John Parsons Jeffries, of Wooster, Ohio, the author of the
"Natural History of the Human Races, " is a lawyer by profession.
He was born in Huntington county, Pa., July 19, I815. His
parents, Mark and Rebecca Parsons Jeffries, were both of old
English stock, Quaker on the maternal side, whose genealogy can
be traced for over two centuries, their immediate ancestors for several generations residing in Chester county, Pa.




452


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


His early opportunities for education were only such as were
attainable at that time, and this was procured at the select school,
as the system of instruction was then not so diffusive and liberal as
at this later day.  However, by the exercise of indomitable
energy and a determined will, he became a ripe scholar, profound
lawyer and a man of means, and may properly and emphatically be
ranked with our self-made men.
In April, 1836, Mr. Jeffries left his native place and settled at
Wooster, May 14, of the same year, where he has ever since continued to reside. He was married in 1838 to Miss Jane McMonigal, second daughter of Andrew McMonigal, one of the early
pioneers of Wayne county, the union resulting in five sons and two
daughters, viz: Lemuel, Sarah Matilda, Linnaeus Quinby, Joseph
Oello, Delano, Viola Rebecca and Julian Parsons, all of whom are
living, except Matilda, who married Samuel J. Price and died in
Harrisonburg, Rockingham county, Virginia, in I865.
His inclinations in early life were for mechanical pursuits, and
for several years he followed the occupation of mill-wright, in
which he was eminently successful. Possessed of strong native
powers of intellect, that field became too narrow for him, when he
turned his attention to the law, which opened up to his eager mind
a larger range of study and thought. To the student, no profession presents so vast a field for intellectual activity as the law. In
its study and practice, philosophy, the arts and sciences are all
brought into requisition.
In 1842 he was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of
the State of Ohio. His abilities, industry and fidelity to his clients, immediately introduced him into active practice, and soon
placed him in the front rank of his profession. At that time the
Wooster bar was conspicuous for its ability throughout the State.
Judges Willis, Silliman, Dean, Avery, Cox and Carter were its
leading members, although other distinguished lawyers were also
in practice then, prominent among whom were Samuel Hemphill,
James C. Miller, William McMahan and General Samuel R. Curtis.
All of these, save Carter, are dead.
From the beginning Mr. Jeffries enjoyed a large and lucrative
practice, not only in Wayne county, but throughout the State.
His integrity and purity of character; his power of research, investigation and combination; his varied and accurate general knowledge; his untiring energy and perseverance, have given him a
wide and worthy reputation, both as a man and lawyer. Few




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


453


men in the practice of the legal profession have accomplished more
in winning causes in the exciting collisions of the forum, or in establishing reputation for legal acumen and a profound and comprehensive knowledge of the law, than Mr. Jeffries. During his long
and successful practice he has had associated with him as partners
in his profession, the following prominent lawyers: Judge C. C.
Parsons, Sen. (now on the bench), Judge William Given (deceased),
Judge William Sample (deceased), and Judge Martin Walker, all
eminent jurists, the latter at the present time being District Judge
of the United States for the Northern District of the State of Ohio.
These were his only partners until 1877, when he associated with
him in practice his son, L. Q. Jeffries.
One professional characteristic of Mr. Jeffries is his uniform
disposition to treat with the most marked lenity and courtesy the
younger members of the bar. This is quite commonly remarked of
him, and is a noble and manly expression of the higher and finer
qualities of human nature. The reverse of this is of frequent occurrence with the older lawyers, but is a mean and detestable habit.
For many years, and until recently, Mr. Jeffries took an active
part in politics.  He served four years as State's Attorney of
Wayne county, and, as an evidence of his accuracy and sagacity
as a pleader, it said that not a single one of his legal papers was
held defective.
In 1858 the Democracy of the Fourteenth Congressional District, composed then of the counties of Wayne, Ashland, Medina
and Lorain, in Convention, gave him a unanimous nomination as
their candidate for Congress. He was not successful in the canvass, however, Gen. Cyrus Spink, his opponent, being elected;
but, notwithstanding it was a strong Republican District, Mr. Jeffries' large vote was quite flattering to his personal popularity.
In I860 he was a delegate to the National Democratic Conventions at Charleston and Baltimore, from the Fourteenth District
above named, and instructed to vote for Stephen A. Douglas,
which he did, taking a prominent part in both Conventions, and in
the spirited campaign that followed. As an event of those days
it may be stated that on the 24th of September of that year, Herschel V. Johnson, the candidate for Vice President, visited Wooster. The coming of this distinguished gentleman was obtained
through the personal influence of Mr. Jeffries. He met Mr. Johnson in Harrisburg, Pa., made a speech with him at Altoona, and
by filling some of his appointments elsewhere in that State, and




454


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


accompanying him to Pittsburg, prevailed upon him to proceed on
to Wooster, where he addressed an immense assemblage to the
highest admiration of the Democracy.
He received, in I86o, a majority of the popular vote of the
Wooster district for Common Pleas Judge, but not desiring the
position he'withdrew his name upon the eve of nomination, which
secured the nomination to Wm. Sample, of Coshocton county.
In I862 he was elected by the people of Wayne county a member of the State Legislature by the home vote, the soldiers' vote
giving his antagonist a small majority, and not desiring the position he did not contest his seat.
Mr. Jeffries, in 1844, commenced collecting facts concerning
the primitive peoples of this continent, and continued his research
until I868, when he produced his volume entitled the "Natural
History of the Human Races," which was published in New York
in I869.
His first aim was to write a History of the American Indians,
and, in order to do so, visited many of the tribes and examined the
antiquities of the country supposed to be of Indian origin; but
their history unfolded to him a much wider and more comprehensive field than he at first conceived, whereupon he extended his inquiry to the whole human family, and has given to the world the
above-named accurately written and most valuable work.
Upon the production of this compendium of the origin of the
races, wherein the boldness and tenability of his propositions are
so maturely and scientifically elaborated, Mr. Jeffries may securely
rest his reputation as a philosophical and candid expounder of
ethnological truth, and to which may be referred the basis and certainty of a lasting and enviable renown. His dissertation upon
the origin of the American type of the human family, or the
American Indians, supplies a necessity in ethnological history
heretofore most culpably neglected by the most erudite writers
upon this intricate but most interesting science. There can be no
room for conjecture as to the correctness of his propositions concerning their origin, and the means and methods by which they
obtained possession of the continent; and his classification and
localization of the different tribes is at once comprehensive, lucid
and conclusive.  To the American student of ethnological history is it especially attractive, as it solves many of the mysteries
relating to these nomadic tribes, who have been grievously desti



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


455


tute of proper annals and without an exponent of their manners,
habits and character.
Mr. Jeffries has, we believe, never made any personal effort to
introduce his book to the public beyond the first edition, yet it has
found its way into many of the largest libraries, not only of this
country but of Europe. A few years ago, in an official document,
bearing the seal of the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, he
received most complimentary mention of his work, with intelligence that it was numbered upon the shelves of its library as a
valuable contribution to ethnological science.       It is quoted from
in the leading magazines of both countries as corroborative of similar theories sought to be advanced by distinguished scientists in
the same field of investigation.
The press highly commends the work. The following extracts
from a few of the notices indicate the prevailing sentiment:
From the New York World.
This contribution to ethnology is a carefully prepared summary of the knowledge possessed on the subject. Mr. Jeffries discusses the question of the antiquity
of man, his distribution, his physical nature and natural history. He examines the
peculiarities of the various types, devoting a large space to the American and
African races. In general, he accepts the theory of the unity of the human family,
but considers that theories in reference to human equality should be considered in
the light cast on these questions by a knowledge of the respective endowments,
physical, mental and moral, of the various races.
From the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The when, the where, and the how of man's origin has been the subject of interesting and perplexing inquiry for ages. * * * Then comes that other perplexing inquiry as to the cause of the different types or races of mankind. Are
they the offspring of a single pair, or are they separate and distinct creations? The
work before us takes the ground that each type or race is a distinct creation of Almighty power, formed for their respective zones, and unfitted for perfect development
out of them. The author scouts the idea that the diversity of race is accidental, or as being inconsistent with man's natural history and the changeless
laws of nature. No one ever knew of an instance where a negro was accidentally
born of Caucasian parents, nor a case where the white man was accidentally born
of negro parents; nor does history show an instance of the typical complexion of a
race being changed by climate. No agency can perform such a change but amalgamation, and that inevitably leads to deterioration and death.
Our author has entered fully into all these matters, presented candidly the various theories and the grounds upon which they are based.
Two facts are particularly prominent in the work, but not more so than they
are in the history of the races, which are, that the whites embody the active intellectual force of the world which has imparted to Christian civilization its prominence and its triumphs; that the negro is the great representative of moral and intellectual stagnation. What the negro is now, he was over four thousand years ago,
and will be four thousand years hence.  Natures so dissimilar require different




456


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


management, and to attempt to make them co-equals with the whites in the same
government is a crime, which no humanitarianism can hide or wipe out.
From the Scientific American.
This book contains a great deal of rare and valuable information concerning
the history of our race, and in respect to which the mass of mankind know but
very little.
From the Phrenological Journal.
The author advocates the theory of the original diversity of the human creation, that is, that there were the following five great types of the human family:
Caucasian, Mongolian, Malay, African and American. His book gives evidence
that, notwithstanding his legal practice of a quarter of a century's duration, he has
found leisure for extended research in ethnology, and presents its results in this
work in an entertaining and understandable manner.
We commend the book to the attention of all who are interested in the study
of ethnology and kindred subjects.
From the New York Express.
The author gives an elaborate and learned investigation of the subject; bringing to the aid of his theory that there was an original diversity of the human creation, of which there were five distinct types: the Caucasian, Mongolian, Malayan,
American and African. This mooted question has been ably argued by opposing
scientists, and the present work will find many earnest readers who take interest in
the discussion. We recommend the book, for the candid and lucid manner the
author treats the subject, and can with justice afford him the commendation that
he presents an array of interesting ethnological facts that are valuable to the inquirers into this deeply interesting problem. The work is profusely illustrated by
valuable specimens of types of the different races, and the mechanical execution of
the volume is unexceptionable.
There is a versatility about the attainments of Mr. Jeffries that
is somewhat remarkable.      That he should, at hours of leisure, or
at intervals apart from his legal studies, have produced a work
upon the distinct peoples of the earth, is almost incredible. Lawyers as a rule only bridge the chasms, tunnel the mountains, and
ascend the peaks of the law. There are distinguished exceptions
to this rule, of course, yet the proposition is true applied to them
as a class. That they should become politicians is quite natural,
as their oratorical powers are ever in requisition, but that they
should incline to and consummate scientific and philosophical expositions in conjunction with local politics and law, is most notable.
The geologic chapters of this work, as intimated elsewhere, are
from his pen, and while they, more properly speaking, are but abbreviations from his notes, we call attention to them as an epitome
of systematized, compact, concrete, scientific thought.
To his acquisitions in the domain of scientific exploration we
may add the other equally distinguished ones of the lawyer. The




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


457


legal service, though it is in many respects, as the great Wirt
asserted, "dry, dark, cold and revolting," an old feudal castle in
perfect preservation, yet a legal architect, like Mr. Jeffries, who
aspires to the honors of the profession, takes great delight in exploring it.
His arguments at the bar are replete with legal knowledge,
logical acumen, fullness of vocabulary, and he is felicitous in his
analysis and application of evidence to law. He is one of the
world's toilers, who believes there is no excellence without great
labor. He is patient in all things, and maintains that wisely
directed effort which secures all needful results. The lightnings of
God are terrible, but the mattock sinks deeper holes in the earth
than it. He is an indefatigable and discriminating reader, and draws
the virtue out of the best books as hot water draws the strength
of tea leaves.  His mind is of the strictly ratiocinative order; from the parts of things, by rational presumptions and
comparisons, he is apt to arrive at just, logical and reliable conclusions.
Mr. Jeffries is a genuine American citizen, though he inherits
the English temperament, and is brave, cordial and hearty. He
is a thorough gentleman, plain and unaffected, singularly affable
and courteous, but opposed to all ultra refinement. Upon acquaintance he instantly impresses you with his social inclinations,
his manner being polite and accessible.
Though the revolving years have sifted snow upon his hair, he
retains his vivacity and vigor, and possesses an erect and well-developed figure. He is grave, sedate and dignified in his deportment and easy and polite in his action. He is frank, open and
manly in expression, firm and resolute, fighting hard for the sly
hare, success, and catching her; is careful and temperate in all his
habits-except that he will work too hard, which he had
better quit.  His domestic attachments are strong, and in the
circle of home he is the luminous center.
C. C. PARSONS.
Hon. C. C. Parsons was born near Ithaca, Tompkins county,
State of New York, 135 miles west of Albany, September 25,
18I9. His father, Jabez Parsons, was a native of New Hampshire,
and was married to Miss Petronella Cutler, of the State of Vermont.   His grandfather, named Jabez, was a soldier in the




458


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


War of the Revolution, one of the secretaries of Major General
Israel Putnam, and among other of his achievements, it may be
mentioned that he was by the side of Generals Washington and
Lee in the memorable conflict of Monmouth, June 28, 1778, which
resulted disastrously to the British forces under Clinton. For services rendered in the war of American Independence he became
one of the worthy pensioners of the Government.
The father of Judge C. C. Parsons began life as a shoemaker,
though he subsequently embarked in mercantile business, and, we
believe, likewise pursued the ocupation of a farmer. He emigrated
to Medina county, Ohio, in I833. Hon. C. C. Parsons, his son,
removed with his father to Medina county, when he was but fourteen years of age. His early education consisted in attendance
upon the common schools of the State of New York, prior to his
coming to Ohio, and three years patronage of McGregor's Academy after his arrival.
At the age of sixteen he first presented himself in the role of
teacher, taking charge of a school near "Johnston's Corners,"
in Summit county. His next school was taught in Sharon, Medina
county, Ohio. For eight years he devoted himself to teaching and
going to school. In 1839 he removed to Sugarcreek township,
Wayne county, where, in the village of Dalton, he continued his
profession as teacher, successfully serving in that capacity for three
or four years. Having resolved upon the study of the law during
this period, he commenced his elementary course of reading with
Charles Wolcott, Esq., and after two years of close and attentive
study, was admitted to practice in 1841, at the Circuit Court in
Wooster.
He was twice married. First, March i, I84I, to Miss Eliza
Cahill, of Dalton, by which marriage there are six living children;
second to Aurelia A. Foote, September Io, 1858, and has two
children. In March, I84I, he commenced the legal practice in
Dalton, and soon established himself as a sound counselor and
good lawyer. Identifying himself with the old Democratic party,
he soon achieved prominence and popularity with that organization,
and in 1848 was elected Auditor of the county by a majority of
eight or nine hundred; he was re-elected in 1850.
From 1851 to 1855 he practiced law with Eugene Pardee; from
1855 to 1862, he was in partnership with Hon. John P. Jeffries.
In 1862 he was appointed Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, to
fill a vacancy occasioned by the incompetency and resignation of




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


459


William M. Weiker. To this position he was elected in the fall
of I862, and re-elected in the fall of 1865. In I863 he entered
into partnership with Hon. John McSweeney, which continued
until October, 1876, when he was elected Judge of the third subdivision of the Sixth Judicial District of Ohio, assuming his official
responsibility on the second Wednesday of February, I877.
The career of Judge C. C. Parsons, from the time he entered
upon professional and official life, has been a busy, honorable and
successful one. Like many of the eminent lawyers, jurists, and
other professional men who, by dint of solid energy, have risen to
prominence, his origin was an obscure one, possessing neither
wealth nor influence to recommend him to popular favor.
From the time, at the age of sixteen, when he first hit "the
buffer of life" as an humble school teacher, to the date of his ascension to the Judgeship, his experience has been one of toil and
study. Possessed of a good English education, with vigor of intellect, logical symmetry, a mind self-drilled and trained to rigid
modes of thought, he advanced to his personal conflicts with advantages not enjoyed by more cultivated and brilliant scholars.
His habits of hard, original, exhaustive thought made him selfreliant, tenacious and independent, and imparted, not only a
logical, but an inflexible character to his conclusions.
A teacher for many years of others, the inference is admissible that he did not fail to be instructed, and in the school-room, by
the very nature of his mental organization, he would establish rule
and system, and his pupils would acquire and develop by simply
unfolding himself. He could not fail to make plain subject matter.
During his ten years of official life he discharged his public
duties with scrupulous fidelity and a punctilious regard for every
public obligation. Taking charge of the Clerk's office after the
malfeasance and general neglect of William Weiker, he reduced
chaos to order and confusion to method. He has surrounded his
various honorable political promotions with an atmosphere of integrity and probity at once creditable to himself and worthy of
imitation by his successors.
As an attorney, he attained enviable prominence at the Wooster
bar. Combined with the qualities of a sound lawyer, he introduced the technical brevities and exactitudes of the business man.
If a client had legal transactions with which he entrusted him he
was ready and prepared to take hold of them, and no superfluous
words were needed to urge him to vigilance. On trial day he was




460


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ready for trial. His self-possession never deserted him, and at the
right time and place his self-assertion re-enforced him and made him
strong. He was a first-class pleader, where the lawyer must be
"a master in logic-fence; " a sound, incisive analyst; a critical expert, and at times a torturing cross-examiner, full of bitterness,
withering rebuke and rankling sarcasm.
To the jury he talked pithily, plainly, pointedly, seldom amplifying, and always aiming to convince by the cogency and
validity of argument and a copious, methodical and sagacious
presentation of facts. The law with him was the spear of Ajax,
with which to stab an adversary, and the facts the club of Hercules with which to pommel him. When once entrenched in the
authorities he delivered spirited and courageous battle.
To the bench Judge Parsons has borne his legal learning, his
acute, discriminating reason, his calm, sober judgment and an unswerving sense of right-those most important pre-requisites in a
Judge-and we doubt not, in this new and dignified province of
jurisprudence he will fully sustain his past reputation as a lawyer
and add other honors to his name.
In his Court criminals will not go unwhipt, and offense, though
it wear a "gilded hand," will not "shove by Justice."
KIMBALL PORTER.
Colonel Porter was born in Lee, Massachusetts, on the 4th of
July, I803. He resided in Wooster from I831 to 1856, and was
marked as being one of its most prominent citizens in all respects.
A man of unusual business enterprise, he was especially identified
with the successful management of the stage coach line, of which,
for many years, he was Superintendent.  On the advent of the
railroad Shrough this part of Ohio he went West to assume a similar position there, and died in Iowa City, Iowa, June 27, I863.
His body was brought to Wayne county for interment in the
Wooster Cemetery. Few men were more deservedly popular for
noble, personal characteristics than Kimball Porter, and many
cherish his memory with tenderest emotions. He was a member
of the Disciple church, and died as he had lived, a zealous and
consistent Christian.
HON. GEORGE REX.


George Rex was born in Canton, Stark county, Ohio, July 25,




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


46i


1817. He is a son of Jacob and Catharine Rex, who emigrated
from Carlisle, Cumberland county, Pa., and settled in Canton in
May, I815. His parents were members of the Methodist church
for thirty years and their lives were exemplary, pious and pure.
His mother died April, 1867, and his father April 27, 1876, at the
residence of his son-in-law, Hon. John McSweeney of Wooster.
George Rex spent his earlier years in Canton under the guidance and care of his parents and under the shadow of the family
circle, where germinate and grow, under the fostering care of
father and mother, those great clusters of human virtues which in
the coming years ornament so many lives, and illustrate the goodness and beneficence of parental teaching. He attended school at
the Lutheran Seminary at Canton, for one year and a half, when
that institution was removed to Columbus and incorporated as the
Capital University, after which he continued as a student for two
years, devoting himself to mathematics, the higher branches of
scientific and philosophical study, as well as to the German language and literature and the classics.
After his return to Canton at the Christmas vacation, in the
winter of 1833-34, he was employed for three years during the
winter season to teach the public schools of that city. He commenced reading law in the fall of 1839 with Hon. John Harris, for
many years a leader of the bar of Stark county, and on the Ioth of
October, 1842, was admitted to practice, by the Supreme Court of
the State of Ohio.
He removed to Wooster February 9, 1843, and engaged in the
practice of the legal profession, where he has since continued to
live, and where, with the exception of time devoted to official
duties, he has zealously and assiduously applied himself to the
solution of the technicalities and riddles of the legal science. He
was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Wayne county in the fall of
1847, and re-elected in Obtober, 1849. In October, I85I, he was
chosen to the Senate of the State of Ohio from the District of
Wayne and Holmes, where he served with distinguished
ability; was elected by that body President pro tern., and in that
capacity very soon achieved the distinction of being a superior
presiding officer, and one of the best parliamentarians in the State.
In October, 1859, he was again elected to the office of Prosecuting
Attorney of Wayne county, and in the fall of I86I re-elected to
the same office. At the August term of I864 he was appointed
by the Court-Judge Sample upon the bench-Prosecutor of the




462


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


county, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of the
incumbent elect. At the October election in 1867 he was chosen
a second time to the Senatorship of Ohio, representing the counties of Wayne, Holmes, Knox and Morrow, serving through the
regular session of 1868, and the adjourned session of I869.
On the IIth of September, 1874, he was appointed and commissioned by Governor William Allen as Judge of the Supreme
Court of the State of Ohio, to fill a vacancy occasioned by the
resignation of Hon. Walter F. Stone, and was elected by the people of the State to the same office the ensuing October.
He served upon the Supreme Bench of the State until February
9, I877, at which time his term expired, meantime persistently
declining a nomination for the same honor on the State ticket in
the fall of 1876.
At an early period in the life of Judge Rex, he became a member of the Ancient Order of Freemasonry. In April, 1846, he
became a member of Ebenezer Lodge, No. 33, at Wooster, and
soon arose to the office of Master of the Lodge, which he held for
more than twelve years; also holding the office of High Priest for
a long number of years in Wooster Chapter, No. 27, and of the
Council, No. 13. He arose rapidly in the Order in the State, having served as Deputy Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the
State of Ohio, and was also elected and served as Grand High
Priest of the Grand Chapter of the State of Ohio.
He was married May 24, 1853, to Ella J. McCurdy, a daughter
of William McCurdy, a long resident and prominent citizen of
Wooster.
Since his retirement from the judicial responsibilities of the
bench of Ohio, Judge Rex has resumed the practice of law in the
city of Wooster.
The data concerning Mr. Rex we did not receive until after our
arrival in Indianapolis with our manuscript for publication, and
we can now but regret that our material is so meager in detail.
Knowing him as we do, with his certain indisposition to be tampered with, either by paragraphist or journalist, we may probably
leap our province in doing more than simply erecting upon a page
the line of facts within our possession. But as we propose to have
respect for the last decisions of the Court, so we are inclined to
obey the mandate of our last judgment, and upon our own responsibility throw the rein upon the neck of our pen.
Judge George Rex is a marked man, well poised, possessing




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


463


mental and physical equilibriums, and seldom susceptible of agitation. He is self-constructed, self-disciplined and self-governed.
Nature endowed him with a strong, compact brain, with possibilities of expansive development, the texture of which is fine,
fibrous and solid. He depends upon himself, and between his
brain and his right hand there can be no misunderstanding. He
was a student from the period when he entered college, and resolute in his determination to achieve proficiency and high standards
in his studies. The disposition to acquire was manifest, and when
this ingredient of the mind is present, the ability is usually in
attendence.
After his abandonment of college he commenced teaching, a
vocation for which nature had especially qualified him. In college
he would be a worker by the very force and iron in him, and out
of it identical dispositions would control him, for our dispositions
are only that many wheels set within us, upon which we are driven
about by that adroit and daring horseman, the Will. He would
labor constantly and perseveringly, striking when the iron was hot,
or making it hot by striking. Into the school-room he would convey all his energy and application. By every law of necessity, by
every principle of philosophy, such a man, in such a profession,
must meet with success.
He is a lawyer of wide, thorough and varied attainments. If
it be true that law is but common sense systematized, George Rex
entered the profession with superior natural qualifications. Primarily, his mind had a legal cast, and by years of training and fielddiscipline, it weighs a legal principle with the delicate accuracy of
an apothecary's scale. If Blackstone had not lived, and Kent and
Story had not ached and written, he could nevertheless have been
a lawyer, and his counsel would have been safe and just. His legal opinions would have been good, unsupported by authority or
precedent. A society or community would be well governed that
would submit to codes and manuals that would originate exclusively in his own mind.
As a counselor he is a sure guide, never misleading his client,
or luring him by groundless hopes of success in ambiguous situations. His pleadings are the best evidence of the method and
logical compactness of his brain, as they seldom admit of assaults
from opposing counsel. In his sphere as an advocate he brings
the entire enginery of logic to bear upon the court and jury. He
reasons accurately, closely, keenly, fairly, and will not violate a




464


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


logical rule, if its legitimate result should be against him. Afford
him the tangible premise, and the conclusion that determines,
comes. He aims not to hoodwink or deceive a jury, but to convince it, and if circumstances are favorable, he is apt to do it.
Truth is gold, but when presented by some minds it has greater
brightness; when it is his offering there is unction in it, for his lips
are accustomed to the use of it. His client must have fair play,
and the benefit of the "reasonable doubt."  He will defend a criminal with the same earnest and acute vigor with which he would
prosecute him, and for the very brave reason that he believes it
to be right, and because it is right.
On the Supreme Bench of Ohio he added to an already established reputation as a lawyer the luster of the jurist.
In all his official relations, whether as Prosecutor, Senator, or
Supreme Judge of the State of Ohio, he bore a spotless name.
He was one of the committee, after the adoption of the New
Constitution, that drafted the wise and beneficent school law of
the State. His life has been a decidedly public and useful one.
His official career has been one to which his friends can advert
with assuring recollections, and which he, in the sober decline of a
strong-aimed life, can contemplate with pleasure and satisfaction.
It were well if more men like him were in every community. He
is bold, fearless, outspoken, of decided opinions, independent
views, sound judgment and firm convictions. When he arrives at
a conclusion he is apt to remain with it, and for the excellent reason that he has thoroughly investigated the matter in issue before
he attained it. Hence with him there is little occasion for changing it or reviewing the proof. He is versed in the Latin classics, is
an excellent English and German scholar, is a reader, a student
and a thinker-thinks because he can not help it. He is a mathematician like Brinkerhoff, full of known and unknown quantities,
and his business habits are arithmetic, algebraic, geometric and
trigonometric. He does nothing by halves, or quarters, but finishes all he undertakes, and undertakes no more than he can execute. His word is followed by the act-is quick, ready, prompt,
and would discharge a private secretary in a minute if he were
laggard a second time. In a word, he is punctual, and "punctuality is the politeness of kings."
He is a good controversialist-at times, we imagine, enjoys
opposition, as such friction is needed to sharpen and polish highlytempered natures. He is agreeable and fluent in conversation,




I




.doJ


79 (uzI'?




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


465


stands on the edge of his topic, and talks from the rim to the center. Tortuous syllables, lumbering words and Alexandrine sentences are abominations.  He believes, with Dr. Holmes, that the
smaller the caliber of mind the greater the love of a perpetually
open mouth.
Politically Mr. Rex is a Democrat, and is a vigorous and uncompromising exponent of the principles of his party.
There are some innate traits in his social physiognomy that
may be misunderstood. Though sometimes seemingly self-assertive, he is as free from dogmatism as he is from cant. He has the
keenest appreciation of a joke, and on occasion can laugh as loud
as Firestone at a good one well told. Though sedate and firm, at
times his fancy is sportive and his genius playful. The aesthetic
taste is largely developed in him, and if he does not admire flowers and works of art, bright lawns and garden spots, and all that is
beautiful in the world, he has consciously repressed some of the
instinctive qualities of his nature.
E. QUINBY, JR.
There is more or less difficulty in writing a sketch of such a
man as Ephraim Quinby, Jr., pressing on, as he does, steadily and
quietly through the mazes of human life like a placid, even stream.
We fancy that Bierstadt, in the Pacific canyons, or Frankenstein
at the Great Cataract, found ampler range for the artistic faculty
than they would in the serene landscape touched and made beautiful alone by silent sunshine and perpetual verdure. And yet the
picture of such a landsape would be sublime and exquisitely interesting.
In a life in which we find no brilliant passages of public polity
or scientific conquest, of either diplomacy or war, there is
but a glint of light and shadow to present to the world for
its admiration or applause; for the world is a tardy, jealous jpry,
and appears stupid and obtuse to the appreciation of any rare
merit or silent, solid worth.
It is a fact, probably pretty well understood, but we desire to
emphasize it, that but very few of our prominent citizens have acquired either their wealth or influence by inheritance. Those who
have made their mark in commerce, speculation, finance, or in
law, like McSweeney, have chiefly commenced life's duties with
30




466


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


only the capital of energy and industry to guarantee them success
in the sharp and stubborn contest for happiness, independence and
fortune.  It is no credit to the hereditary prince, or the scion of a
millionaire, to roll in luxury, to possess landed estates, or the ability, if he have the inclination, to endow universities, manipulate
railroads or sway legislatures; but to the young man whose capital
is vested in his native energies, who flings himself against the shores
of the great world, and who, against adverse situations, says to the
storms, "I will meet you," and to the world, " I am yet to be one
in your sharp conflicts"-to him, we affirm, are due phrases of
eulogy and ascriptions of praise.
A possessor of qualities which, measured by their practical
exercise and application have resulted in extraordinary success,
Mr. Quinby* at an early period ventured upon life, prosecuting to
the present time, its varied routine of duties with earnest, undemonstrable, steadfast aim.
Ephraim Quinby, Jr., was born in Warren, Trumbull county,
Ohio, and is a son of the late Judge Ephraim Quinby, the founder
and proprietor of Warren, and brother of Samuel Quinby, deceased, a memoir of whom elsewhere appears. About the year
1823-24 he separated from the paternal mansion, then being in his
tenth year, and removed to Wayne county, making his home with
his brother, Samuel Quinby, then a resident of Wooster, holding
the office of Receiver of Public Moneys for the United States Land
Office for the District of Wooster, and simultaneously the office
of Treasurer of Wayne county.
He remained with his brother until July, 1828, assisting him in
his office as occasion permitted and attending the village schools
respectively taught by J. C. Spink, N. Luccock, I. Spink and William Warne.
During this year he entered upon the duties of clerk in the
* It may here be appropriate to remark, that the data we have obtained concerning Mr. Quinby's life, has been procured under difficulties which, to some extent, will form an apology for the meagerness of our narrative. This is partly to be
attributed to the constant pressure of his business engagements, but we believe, is
more particularly due to his modesty and indisposition to be subjected to the judgment and criticism of the public. He was one of the earliest advocates of the project of the County History, assuming it to be a duty, as well as a responsibility, to
extend his co-operative aid to the enterprise. With the limited facts personally
obtained from him, and without resources from which matters of fact and detail
could be extracted, we very greatly regret our inability to supply anything but an
approximate biography of him.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


467


store of the late John Larwill at a salary of one hundred dollars
per year and boarded (modern clerks would feel insulted to be
offered such salaries), saving one-third of his wages.
In July, I829, Mr. Joseph H. Larwill having received from
President Jackson the appointment of Receiver of Public Moneys
for the Tiffin, Ohio, United States Land District, Mr. Quinby accepted the position of clerk in his office, remaining there about one
year, when he returned to Wooster and entered the office of his
brother Samuel, with whom he continued until the fall of 1834,
and during this time, in addition to his other duties, he made the
monthly deposits of the goverment moneys, received from sales
of public lands, for the Wooster and Bucyrus (formerly Tiffin)
United States Land Offices, in the Branch Bank of the United
States at Pittsburg.
This service or duty, as may be imagined, was one of great
responsibility and extremely hazardous, the country then being
sparsely settled, and the protection afforded by society and the
laws not being so surely established. The usual method of conveying the moneys to Pittsburg was in a two-horse Dearborn
wagon, strongly built, although sometimes this would not answer
the purpose and a heavier vehicle had to be substituted. This was
made particularly necessary in the instance of the deposit after the
public sale of the Seneca Indian Reserve, as the amount of the
moneys for that month exceeded one hundred thousand dollars,
about twenty-five thousand of which was in silver coin. The conveyance for transporting this deposit was a two-horse wagon and
team procured of the late Colonel Rowse, of Bucyrus, he driving
the team and consuming seven days and a half in making the
passage from Bucyrus to Pittsburg. On arriving at New Lisbon,
it being in the month of December, the roads bad and the country
hilly, an additional span of horses had to be attached to the wagon.
In making these deposits it was always necessary to exercise
great prudence, and frequently the most extreme and circumspect
caution, so as to elude detection. In these cases, to deceive observation and not permit the contents of the loaded wagon to be
known, was oftentimes a difficult matter, especially when an unusual amount of silver coin was being conveyed, and when the
roads were bad and frequent stops had to be made at places where
was seldom seen more money than they received from their customers for a night's lodging and other accommodations.
In cases like these, Mr Quinby-then but twenty years old



468


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


would drive his team pretty close to the tavern door and request
that it might remain there until morning. Having, generally, a
friend along with him-often his old companion, a boy, then, as
well as himself, the Rev. M. E. Strieby-they would arrange to
have a bed spread on the floor of the tavern sitting-room, vigilantly keeping an eye on the wagon containing the coin-the banknotes being kept about his person. After supper, and when other
travelers and the family had retired, Mr. Quinby and his friend
would quickly remove the boxes, each containing from twelve to
fifteen hundred dollars, from the wagon to the sitting-room, and
closing the doors securely, they would sleep, turn about, until quite
early in the morning and before there was any stir upon the
premises, when they would stealthily replace the boxes containing
the coin in the wagon. After breakfast they would renew their
journey, not even the landlord or any one else about the premises
knowing the value of their cargo or the amount of money they
controlled, such a state of profound ignorance, no doubt, being a
source of comfort to Mr. Quinby. These special precautions, it is
true, were only practiced in suspicious localities and strange places,
yet precaution, prudence and watchfulness was the rule at all times
and under all circumstances. And, strange as it may appear, he
never, in all these perilous adventures, carried weapons of defense,
though often, indeed, apprehensive of molestation and robbery.
When just a boy, and when he first came to live with his brother
at Wooster, he often accompanied him in making the deposits of
the Land Office at the branch banks of the United States at Chillicothe and Cincinnati. During most of the year 1834 Mr. Quinby
spent his time in charge of the office of Hon. Joseph H. Larwill,
Receiver of Public Moneys for the Bucyrus Land Office District.
In the fall of the same year he embarked in the mercantile business in Wooster, in the store room of General Cyrus Spink,
opposite to the American Hotel, afterwards removing his business
to a building then standing on a lot owned by William Gooding,
and in the fall of 1835 disposed of his stock of goods to Messrs.
Miller and Gallagher, who removed the same to Millersburg,
Ohio.
In I836 he leased for a term of five years, of General
R. Beall, the premises situated on the south-west front of the Public Square, in Wooster, and again commenced the mercantile business, in company with James A. Grant.
The first purchase of goods for the firm, or perhaps the prin



WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


469


cipal part thereof only, were lost on Lake Erie in a storm, by the
sinking of a vessel containing the goods, which were shipped from
Buffalo, N. Y.  The vessel being subsequently raised, and the
damaged goods recovered, they were brought to the store and sold
at auction on the Public Square, at a loss of about two thousand
five hundred dollars, there being no insurance. Mr. Quinby immediately repaired to New York, by no means disheartened by
the catastrophe, and enjoying the confidence of the eastern merchants, purchased a new stock of goods, and having a prosperous
trade for three or four years, retrieved the entire loss.
During his mercantile career, October 12, 1837, he was united
in marriage to Miss Catharine E. McConahay, daughter of Judge
D. McConahay, who died October I8, 1871.
From 1836 to 1842 he turned his attention toward speculations
in real estate, though still retaining and continuing his commercial
interests.
In 1837 he purchased of John Bever and D. Williams about
fourteen acres of land south of Liberty street and east of Bever
street, and run it off into town lots, which were rapidly sold and
buildings erected thereon, Mr. Quinby improving some of the lots
himself. As an illustration indicative of the change, or rather the
advance in the value of property in Wooster since that time, we
add, that in 1837 Mr. Quinby sold lots fronting the south side of
Liberty street, east of Bever, at an average of two hundred and
fifty dollars per lot, sixty feet front by one hundred and eighty
deep.
In 1841, after the expiration of his lease of the premises west
of the Public Square-sixty feet front on Liberty street, by one
hundred and eighty on Public Square-he purchased the same from
General Beall for six thousand dollars. At that time aone and
a half story store-room stood on the corner, and a frame dwelling,
one and a half story, stood where the Wayne County National
Bank now stands, then occupied as a residence by Mr. Quinby.
The lot purchased of General Beall on the Public Square was intended originally to be occupied by him for mercantile uses and a
residence. Having changed his mind, however, and while he was
preparing to build him a house, and have erected a ware-room and
stable, an incendiary fire, in I842, was kindled, which destroyed
the ware-house and several other smaller buildings that were constructed upon the Public Square, and much of the adjoining
property.




470


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUATY, OHIO.


This circumstance disheartened Mr. Quinby, and changed his
plans; and from the material prepared for a residence he built the
two story block for business purposes, now standing on the lot on
the south-west corner of the Public Square. He then divided the
balance of the lot into fronts of twenty feet, and disposed of most
of the ground at a profitable increase upon its cost. This was the
first lot in Wooster that had been subdivided for business purposes. In
the same manner he next subdivided the lots, or business blocks,
known as the Merchants' Emporium, situated on the north-east
corner of Public Square.
In the year 1844 he disposed of his stock of dry-goods to his
brother, George Quinby and B. Grant, who removed them to Bucyrus, Ohio, and leased his store-room to David Robison, Sen., to
whom he afterwards sold the grounds and building, which grounds,
and all the balance of the original lot previously sold, have been
repurchased, and are at present owned by him, and about twenty
feet front on the west, and except fifteen feet front on the Public
Square and twenty feet front on Liberty street, owning at this date,
in addition, over two hundred feet frontage on the Public Square,
covered with solid and substantial brick buildings.
Mr. Quinby also owns a large number of improved and unimproved lots in different parts of the city of Wooster, besides holding in fee over one hundred and fifty acres of valuable lands within
the corporate limits.
From 1844 to 1848 he devoted himself exclusively to transactions in real estate and making improvements thereon, a business
which he seems to relish, for which he has peculiar adaptations,
and in the prosecution of which his good judgment and sagacious,
discriminating foresight have made him remarkably successful.
In 1848 the Wayne county branch of the State Bank of Ohio.
was organized, when he became a stockholder, and was chosen its
Cashier, which position he held until the expiration of the charter
in 1865. During the existence of this bank it ranked with the
best managed banks of the State, its stability unquestioned and
conceded, closing its business without loss to its shareholders and
paying satisfactory dividends during its existence and a premium
on the refunded stock to shareholders.
The principal parties holding the stock of this bank at the various periods of its existence, were D. Robison, Sr., R. Taggart,
S. F. Day, K. Porter, R. B. Stibbs, James Robison, Joseph McComb, H. Armstrong, S. Jennings, J. Steese, J. A. Saxton, E,




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.                 471
Quinby, Jr., George Dewalt, William Henry, H. V. Bever, J. R.
Hunter, Samuel Quinby, Benjamin Wallace and James M. Brown,
with more than half of whom "life's fitful fever is over."
Upon the expiration of the charter of the Wayne county
branch of the State Bank of Ohio, the remaining shareholders organized, under the United States National Bank Act in 1865, the
Wayne County National Bank of Wooster, when Mr. Quinby was
selected as its Cashier, and which position he at present
holds.  It is hardly necessary to remark that the responsible
standing of the Branch Bank's reputation is continued and illustrated in that of the National Bank. The universal confidence and
absolute trust reposed in it by the public and the business community is the most powerful recommendation and endorsement of its
high and substantial character.
During the years between 1848 and I876, in addition to the
duties of Cashier of the Branch and National Banks, Mr. Quinby
devoted his moments of leisure to purchasing, selling and improving real estate, many of his enterprises having contributed to advance, grace and beautify the city.
The University of Wooster being projected in I866, and an
enterprise being inaugurated to locate it in any suitable town or
city, by the Presbyterian Synods of Ohio, wherever a reliable subscription of one hundred thousand dollars should be procured and
placed at their disposal, a subscription was at once put in circulation in Wooster and throughout the county to raise the stipulated
sum, one condition of which was a site for the College building,
which was to be accepted as a portion of the one hundred thousand dollars to be raised. The subscription was headed by Mr.
Quinby at ten thousand dollars, which was followed by subscriptions of three thousand dollars and on down to five. The final effort having been accomplished, after a thorough canvass of the
county and city, it was exhibited that the amount raised fell thirtytwo thousand dollars short of the sum required, and the prospect
of the location of the University in Wooster looked gloomy, indeed, and its abandonment seemed probable.
At this juncture, however, the Presbyterian Synod of Ohio,
being in session at Wooster, appointed a committee, after viewing
the site proposed by E. Quinby, Jr., for the University, to confer with a committee of the citizens of Wooster, and offered to accept the twenty acres of land as a donation from Mr. Quinby at
$25,000, and in addition $75,ooo of cash subscriptions, which




472


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


proposition was agreed to and accepted. There having been, however, but about $58,ooo of cash subscriptions reached, or that
were reliable, the synodical committee agreed to accept a guaranty
of E. Quinby, Jr., and other citizens of Wooster for $I7,000,
which would complete the $75,000 subscription required. The
money was subscribed by the citizens of the city and county and
the guarantors released from their obligations; and thus the location of the Wooster University was made fixed and final.
Since its construction and its having been opened for students,
Mr. Quinby has increased his donations to the institution by endowing a chair, learnedly and honorably presided over by Rev.
James Black, D. D., Professor of Greek Language and Literature.
Including other subscriptions not mentioned, he has swelled the
volume of his donations to this institution to a sum already exceeding fifty-five thousand dollars.
He has made liberal donations of real estate to churches, individuals and enterprises of public utility, concerning which it might
be objectionable to Mr. Quinby to particularize.
He has been, and now is, a large owner and dealer in real estate, and, exclusive of his vast possessions in and about Wooster,
is also the proprietor of costly estates in Cleveland and other localities.
The foregoing are the facts, as we have been able to collect
them from different sources, which go to form the sketch of Mr.
Quinby. That we have not been able to produce a fuller and better one is no fault of ours, and lies not in our disposition. We
appreciate his modesty, but are sorry that its intervention precludes
a more faithful and comprehensive portraiture of him.
The public who know him may learn more of him in the
condensed outline given of his brother, the late Samuel Quinby,
who for twenty years intertwined and interlaced himself with our
local history. A long business career-from the time he was ten
years of age-has not been destitute of interesting associations,
important incidents and solid achievements. Were we permitted
to enter into an analysis of his life and deduce from it logical conclusions, it would supply many a valuable precept and furnish many
a lesson to the aspirant for success.
Whether as "office-boy " for his brother, clerking for Mr. Larwill, or conveying the moneys of the Government, or having
charge of the Receiver's office, or as merchant, or dealer in real
estate, or as banker, he has discharged his duties with applica



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


473


tion, accuracy, prudence, punctuality, honesty and fidelity to
every trust. These traits of character were developed in him in
boyhood and secured him the confidence of reliable and valuable
friends. His businesss associations in his youth were with sound,
discreet men. His mind took the bias and caught the contagion
of their example.  From his outset in life he took the business
view of it. He began well, and herein has been his advantage. A
right beginning is the pledge and promise of prosperous days.
He possessed character, and his employers accepted this as that
much capital. In this respect they recognized him as a partner,
though they did not share with him the dividends.
Dr. Chalmers once said that "the implicit trust with which
merchants are accustomed to confide in distant agents, separated
from them, perhaps, by half the globe-often consigning vast
wealth to men recommended only by their character, whom, perhaps, they never saw-is probably the finest act of homage of one
human being to another."
The trust confided in Mr. Quinby, by the agents of the United
States Government, to take charge of and convey its moneys to
its more central places of deposit, when he was but twenty years
of age, is a better panegyric and a higher homage than we dare
assume to bestow.
He first established a reputation for industry, honesty, integrity, prudence and a temperate evenness of habit. He possessed
energy, resolution, determination, and adopted for his motto the
one engraven upon the crest of the pickax, "I will find a way, or
make one." He enjoyed sound native sense, cautious judgment,
keen foresight, and accurate powers of observation. With these
endowments he was prepared for the training processes of life, and
it is safe to infer that he was an apt pupil, as unquestionably he
was an attentive one.
That his career has been highly successful is generally known.
He has accumulated wealth simply as a result of the growth and
exercise of these qualities. We do not presume that he loves
money better than other men who make it and handle it. There
is living no man who says he is grasping, penurious, or avaricious.
He hates a miser as he hates a meanness.
In his younger years he worked on a salary, like other young
men-got no more wages than they did, but probably saved
more.
In the mercantile business he met with disaster by storm at




474


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the very threshold-took all the chances that his rivals did; had
a profit-and-loss book; and if he made money he made it out of
the opportunities presented to his competitors.
As a banker his name has ever given character to the institution that carried it; and if the public confidence sustained and
gathered around it, it must be borne in mind that he made and
constructed that name himself. Others, besides him, have had
these opportunities.
As a dealer in real estate he could see only the eagle and the
goddess on the other side; which was to be uppermost when he put
down his money, he did not know. He has achieved nothing by
chance or brilliant accidents.
Opportunity never especially favored him, although his good
judgment at times has enabled him to seize her.  "For opportunity has hair in front, behind she is bald; if you seize her by the
forelock you may hold her, but if suffered to escape, not Jupiter
himself can catch her again."
Only by employing the means and bringing to bear the qualities
necessary to the accomplishment of it, has he acquired what he
possesses. There are no splendid financial passages in his life,
no bold and hazardous speculations.  He has self-trust, self-command and relies on his individuality, on his cool caution, his placid,
calculating mind, his considerate, discriminating judgment, his farstriking thought and foresight, which peers through situations and
inspects results.
There are no cascades, whirling eddies or shallows on his
stream; it has an even, deep and steady flow. He moves right
along, observing the maxim of Amos Lawrence, "Do what you
do thoroughly, and be faithful in all accepted trusts," and forever
keeping the current of his endeavor in continual motion, his
various faculties employed, pushing steadily his various enterprises,
until"As many lines close in the Dial's centre,
So many a thousand actions, once afoot,
End in one purpose."
He always has a fixed end and aim in view. Weathercock
men are Nature's failures. There is nothing vascillating about
him, and when he acts he acts quietly, but with decision. He has
sufficient motive power to execute his projects, which is a great tonic,
and communicates a certain momentum to all human action. He
wills strongly and positively. There is no ostentation or show




WOOSTER- SKETCHES.


475


about him, preferring retiracy and the superintendence of his
thoughts and secrets. He is is neither rash nor excitable, and in
all his enterprises he "hastens slowly." In short, his life is illustrated by " patience and work," and this Sir Isaac Newton is said
to have defined as genius.
His business life is unexceptionable, and his practices germinate in his principles. He is a man of principle, and a principal
man.
His private character is without a stain, and his name carries no
blemish. Ordinarily he is reticent, preferring silence and allowing
others to step to the front. When he does speak, he has premeditated his words, and speaks to the point. He goes about his work
noiselessly, and if he performs a charity it is not blazoned on the
corners, that every lip may gather it and run. A gift is a
curse where the giver parades it. He is a plain, agreeable, unvarying man in his social relations, contemning flattery, pretense
and deceit, and despising the pretender and hypocrite, who spreads
palm leaves in the path of Jesus when he is popular in Jerusalem,
and denies him after he is nailed to the cross.
His name is indissolubly associated with the University of
Wooster, for to him, more than to any other man, are we indebted
for that institution, which has become the nucleus of professional
men like Drs. Taylor, Gregory, Black and Stoddard-gentlemen
distinguished in scholarship, in the ministry, in authorship, and in
the higher realm of science.
While that structure endures, and generations after Mr. Quinby
shall have passed to "the appointed place of rendezvous where all
the travelers on life's journey meet," it will continue as his monument, and unborn sons of unborn sires will gather under its
shadow and breathe blessings upon its benefactor and friend.
JOHN MCSWEENEY.*
"Genius: like a star, it dwells alone."
A lawyer of marked ability must possess a first-class native intellect. In the arena of the law men are brought face to face.
Their controversies are open, protracted, and sometimes violent.
Almost every variety and description of human transactions are
* It is due to Mr. McSweeney to say that this sketch was written without his
knowledge or consent.




476


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


embraced within the compass of their investigations. The ignoramus and the mountebank are, in the hand-to-hand conflicts of the
bar, instantly discovered, unmasked and overthrown.  It is no
exaggeration to assert, that there is no department of human
effort, no field of human ambition, in which such varied mental
endowments are so essential to success as in the profession of the
law.  No pretense of erudition, no assumption of surpassing
knowledge, no pompous arrogance of superiority will achieve victories in its formidable and fiery collisions.
The great advocate must be, every inch, a great man. He
may be brilliant, but if he is an eccentric genius, with the superadditions of excellent scholarship, he will but dimly see the laurels
grasped by others. He must possess a commanding intellectual
appearance to win the first nod of attention; great physical endurance and elasticity of constitution to undergo the laborious toil and
protracted exertion his profession so frequently imposes.  He
must be a clear, cogent, compact, incisive reasoner, susceptible of
subtle analyzations, and capable of elucidating and expounding the
most abstruse and complex propositions of law, of engaging in
subtle deductions, of reasoning from cause to effect and from effect
to cause. He must possess a capacious and retentive memory to
seize, digest and compile any body of facts, however vast; a sound
judgment to analyze and amalgamate them; patient, plodding
industry to prosecute tedious researches among the fundamental
principles and technicalities of the legal science; a quick perception to grasp and utilize a good opportunity; coolness, self-possession, caution and fecundity of invention to anticipate and guard
against surprises and ambuscades. He must have the edge of appetite whetted for combat; must possess an imagination whose
creations succeed each other like fruits in Armida's enchanted garden-" one scarce is gathered ere another grows;" wit to blaze
and flame and burst into luminous coruscations; fluency of speech
to express any conceivable emotion; courage, self-reliance, selfassertion, and resolution of will to press to the end all professional
ventures; reticence to keep the holy secrets committed to him
under the sanctities of his office; multifarious knowledge, eloquence, versatility, voice, gesture, action.
During the last century and a half many of the brightest intellects in the foremost civilized countries have been found in the legal profession, and much of the civil and political liberty enjoyed




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


477


by the human family is due to the enterprise, brain and genius of
a long succession of cultured and distinguished lawyers.
The subject of this sketch, John McSweeney, Esq., is an able
lawyer and brilliant orator. Nature fitted him for the bar. He
has pre-empted the right to sway and swing juries, and we do not
hesitate to pronounce him, without any exception, the best lawyer
in Ohio.
His parents were from Ireland-sweet Innisfallen-where much
of the genius of this world is secreted. At the time when Mr.
McSweeney* was born, in 1824, they were living at or near Rochester, State of New York.  From there they removed to Ohio and
died, we believe, in Stark county, when he was but a child. They
were in humble circumstances, his father being a shoemaker, and an
industrious, intelligent man. Physically he was even larger than his
son, and a man of most impressive and commanding aspect. He
had accumulated a small amount of money, which after his death
was carefully and judiciously applied to the best advantage of the
parentless boy. John Harris, Esq., of Canton, was appointed his
guardian, and a Mrs. Grimes of that city, a pious and estimable
Catholic lady, raised him. He concluded his education at the
Western Reserve College and at Cincinnati, attaining reputation as
a scholar and great proficiency in the Latin classics.
He studied law with John Harris, Esq., of Canton, his guardian, and removed to Wooster in April, 1845, entering the office of
Judge Ezra Dean, then one of the leading lawyers of Wayne
county. He subsequently engaged in partnerships with Ohio F.
Jones, Esq., Judge William Given, Hon. George Bliss and Hon.
C. C. Parsons, Sen. He was joined in marriage, in 1851, with
Catharine Rex, a sister of the Hon. George Rex of Wooster, a
woman of strong mental endowments and marked character.
On coming to Wooster, in 1845, Mr. McSweeney almost immediately rose to the first rank at the Wooster bar, which position
he has held without a rival ever since. In his practice at the
Wooster bar he has been brought into competition with many of
the distinguished lawyers of the State; with Judges Dean, Avery,
Given and Cox, Hon. John P. Jeffries, Hon. Lyman Critchfield,
Samuel Hemphill, Judges Rufus P. Ranney and Spaulding, Hon.
Thomas Bartley, Hon. Thomas Corwin, Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of the National-Treasury, and Hon. D. K. Carter, now


*We regret our inability to furnish more particulars in regard to Mr. McSweeney's early years.




478


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Chief Justice of the District of Columbia. In the many hard
fought battles and severe, bitter, desperate, forensic encounters he
has had with the strongest lawyers of the State, he proved "a foeman worthy of their steel," and if he did not come off victorious
his adversaries were generally satisfied with a drawn battle; nor
was he any the less distinguished in defeat. There will be no violation of the literal truth in affirming that Mr. McSweeney during
his practice at the Wooster bar, no matter how dry the subject or
uninteresting the theme, invariably made spirited, animated and
exciting speeches.  He never fell even to a level of mediocrity.
In discussing the most vapid, tedious questions of fact, or the most
calloused technicalities of the law, he never failed to win the public
favor and captivate the popular fancy by freshness of ideas, flashes
of wit, perspicacity of reason, richness of vocabulary and grace of
elocution.
About I865, his reputation both as a civil and criminal lawyer
having been safely established, his practice began to extend to
neighboring counties, and at the present time it is only bounded by
Chicago and New York.   During the last ten years he has been
employed in nearly all the important criminal trials in Northern
Ohio, chiefly on the side of the defense.
The orator should be tall of stature that the infection of his
form may win the crowd. A massive and graceful physical outline, and a resonant, powerful voice, are valuable adjuncts to the
advocate. Mr. McSweeney possesses these qualifications. He is
over six feet high, straight as the nation's flag-staff powerful and
well proportioned, with an expressive, manly face, which kindles
with every emotion of the soul, and an eye which is a language
and possession of itself. Sober in pathos, furious in repartee, jolly
in humor, terrific in invectives, he is always attractive, but never
repulsive. His voice is rich, sonorous, melodious, exceedingly
well modulated, never striking the ear harshly, and capable of the
widest compass of exertion, from the stirring tones of impassioned
declamation to the softest accents of adroit and bland persuasion.
His gestures are frequent, forcible and appropriate.  His action is
vigorous, sometimes dramatic, never ungainly, and seldom overstrained. In the physical essentials of the orator nature has been
affluent and prodigal in her gifts to him.
A good lawyer must be a sound thinker. Logic is the ironclad, the Krupp gun, the breech loader, the bayonet of the lawyer.
Knotted, laminated, irrefragable logic is the most potent weapon




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


479


in his arsenal. The assertion will hardly be challenged that all
profound lawyers are profound logicians. There may be eloquence,
fine wit, humor, pathos, fluency, imagination, but if the cardinal
ingredient, logic, is wanting, distinguished eminence at the bar is
not attainable. It is scarcely necessary to speak of Mr. McSweeney as a sound reasoner, when we are ready to concede that his
very sentences are "logic on fire."  He can utilize it from
the narrowest basis when dealing with nice technicalities, and with
signal amplification when grappling with fundamental principles.
He is, perhaps, immoderately addicted to amplifying, elaborating and re-enforcing his propositions with analogous matter in
grappling with logical problems of the law. In the soil of his imagination comparisons, illustrations and analogies flourish with the
rank and rapid growth of vegetation in a northern summer. The
abundance and versatility of his logical resources enable him to
draw the most subtle conclusions. In the use of this weapon he
is dexterous, dangerous and audacious, and that he is skillful and
competent in the use of it is evidenced by the fact that his pleadings are seldom, if ever, demurable, or susceptible of a motion to
strike out surplus matter, or make the allegations more specific.
His imagination is truly opulent. A lawyer without imagination
may be fitted to expound legal principles to the Court, but a jury
will go to sleep on his hands and snore him out of countenance as.a punishment for his prolixity. Legal investigation so frequently
deals with interminable questions of dry fact, which, if not embellished by ideal conceits and creations, becomes painful and heavy
to the jury. In this respect Mr. McSweeney is fortunately endowed.
His imagination is lively and luxuriant, indulging in lofty
flights, brilliant idealisms, thrilling comparisons, decorating dull
fields of fact with flowery freshness.
No jury ever went to sleep upon his words, for he comprehends the force and genius of well-chosen words. If he employs
sophistry he flounces and girdles her in the virginal costume of
truth; if he denounces her she is stript, her mask riven and
dashed to pieces. When excited his arguments seem to be fused
in a fire of eloquence; his sentences fly like grape and canister,
and he bounds like a race-horse, out posting Benn Pitman and his
herd of reporters. His are not "chippings, pairings and shreds,"
but rounded, full-grown thoughts that boom and bounce and roll
like mighty powder-driven bombs. He is a director in the world's




480


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


corporation of thought. Arouse him, and the air steams with
sulphur and saltpeter. He believes Moses was a great law-giver,
but, if need be, he would smite the Commandments with the iron
of his tongue. He is his own mechanic when he puts the polish
upon a rascal.  " He can hew out a Colossus from a rock, or carve
heads on cherry stones." His speeches are vivid with sparkling
poetry, poignant wit, caustic satire and burning rhetoric.  "He is
not a glancing stream, fettered with ice half the year, but a magnificent and mighty river flowing South," and as he sweeps on and
surges forward he absorbs quotations, figures, excerpts from the
Testaments and Shakspeare, and Milton and Homer, Addison,
Byron, Burns, Moore, Scott, Don Quixote, Hume, Gibbon, Robertson, still rolling on" Like to the Poutic sea,
Whose icy current and compulsive course
Ne'er feels retiring ebb, but keeps due on
To the Propontic and the Hellespont."
When he addresses a jury or popular assembly, like Choate, he
brings to his aid the entire anatomy of his frame, lips, eyes, arms,
legs-the very garments which he wears. A gladiator in retort,
prompt to resent an affront or repel an insinuation, the opposing
advocate who rashly provokes his hostility retires from the contest
wounded and satisfied not to repeat the experiment. In the many
rough hand-to-hand controversies at the bar where professional
swordsmen meet, and where recriminations are so frequently indulged, the adverse combatant always encountered an equal in him,
and freqently a master. Like Webster, he can " heap Pellion upon
Ossa," until his antagonist is crushed and beaten. His possibilities
in this direction are exhaustless. He can soar with Junius to the
higher heavens of invective, or descend with Swift to the muck and
ooze of billingsgate.
It is a source of regret that these personal rencounters are so
frequent in forensic warfare, and it is noticeable that Mr. McSweeney, as his practice extends and the currents of his body cool,
is inclined to avoid asperities and to treat his opponents with that
marked civility for which, at times, he is distinguished, when they
are ready to reciprocate the same. He never hesitates for a word
and uses words with precision. He is an expert in the use of the
language of the law, which, in its purity, is highly musical. It
abounds in words derived from Latin roots, and when spoken with




WOOSTER-SIE TCHES.


48I


precision by an advocate who possesses a melodious voice it strikes
the ear with delightful effect.
A successful jury lawyer must be able to deal with facts. In
this department of legal investigation Mr. McSweeney is unrivaled.  He has a genius for narration, great dexterity in descanting upon probabilities, sharp ingenuity in grouping the vital facts
upon his own side in logical sequence and in presenting them to
the jury with telling effect. Quick to discover and bold to assail
the vulnerable points in the opposing suitor's case, and marvelously keen in anatomising lies, he levels at his antagonist whole
batteries of sarcasm, wit and ridicule. He fights for his client like
the Old Guard for the First Napoleon and he despises a lawyer
who will not. His claymore is ever at his side, and no man ever
caught him napping at his post.
The art of cross-examination requires the highest skill and circumspection of the lawyer. It is one of the most effective weapons known to the law in eliciting truth. Few, if any, lawyers
in the State are so skillful with this weapon as he. His cross-examinations are never undertaken without a distinct object in view.
In these reconnoiterings of the witness he is not tethered by inflexible rules. His intuitions of human nature border on the marvelous; hence he enters the arena thrice armed. Lie to this alchemist
of all your particles, you shuffling witness, zf you dare! His dissections of human nature are too consistent with flesh and blood
to be anything but natural. With the timid witness he is persuasive, with the willing he is courteous, with the prevaricator he is
artful, with the brazen-cheek he is bold, with the insolent he is
insolent, with the mendacious he is terrible. To-day he will storm
a crest by pugnacious savagery; to-morrow he will repeat the exploit by wholly different tactics. He sometimes creeps upon his
victim by stealth, and sometimes routs him by the audacity of the
assault. Again he will smite the crafty liar as with a thunderbolt,
or scalp him in some unsuspected lava-bed. While he is an adept
in the art of cross-examination-indeed the champion cross-examiner of Ohio-he possesses the faculty of extracting from his own
witnesses every circumstance favorable to his client.
It is seldom that the speeches of lawyers are reproduced in the
columns of the press. Occasionally when some great trial is progressing in the city which excites public attention and inflames
public curiosity, the speeches of the lawyers are published in the
metropolitan papers. This, however, rarely occurs. The practice
31




482


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OiiO.


of extemporaneous speech, which prevails to a wide extent at the
bar, is calculated to produce a slovenly diction, and thus to mar the
literary excellence of forensic efforts.  The lawyer speaks to persuade the jury or convince the Court, and he is, therefore, more
careful of the substance than the diction of his discourse. Few of
Mr. McSweeney's legal performances have been reported.
For years he has charmed and delighted crowded audiences in
the old Court House with brilliant declamation, startling eloquence,
caustic invective, sorties of wit, flights of imagination and singular powers of seductive narration. We believe it to be no extravagance to affirm, that there has fallen from his lips in the old Court
House eloquence as splendid as Erskine's description of the Indian
chieftain in his defense of John Stockdale:
I have heard them in my youth from a naked savage, in the indignant character of a prince surrounded by his subjects, addressing the Governor of a British
colony, holding a bundle of sticks in his hands as the notes of his unlettered eloquence: "Who is it," said the jealous ruler over the desert, encroached by the
restless foot of the English adventurer, 'Who is it that causes its river to rise in
the high mountains and empty itself into the ocean? Who is it that causes to blow
the loud winds of winter, and that calms them again in summer? Who is it that
rears up the shade of these lofty forests, and blasts them with the quick lightning at
his pleasure? The same Being who gave to you a country on the other side of the
waters and gave ours to us; and by this title we will defend it," said the warrior,
throwing down the tomahawk on the ground and raising the war sound of his nation. Here are the feelings of subjugated man all round the globe; and depend
upon it, nothing but fear will control when it is vain to look for affection.
When exasperated, he has hurled passages as vigorous and vindictive as Burke when he said of Dundas:
With six great chopping bastards*, and each as lusty as an infant Hercules,
this delicate creature blushes at the sight of his new bridegroom, assumes a virgin
delicacy, or, to use a more fit, as well as a more poetical comparison, the person so
squeamish, so timid, so trembling, lest the winds of heaven should visit too roughly,
if expanded to broad sunshine, exposed like the sow of imperial augury, lying in
the mud with all the prodigies of her fertility about her as evidence of her delicate
amour.
He has often scorched the perjurer and villain as remorselessly
as did Curran when he said of O'Brien to the jury:
Did you not see him coiling himself in the scaly circles of his perjury, making anticipated battle against the attack that he knew would be made, and spitting
his venom against the man that might have given evidence of his infamous character if he dared appear?
*Reports of Secret Committee.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


483


In his impetuous charges upon the violator of the marriage
contract he has ascended to the majesty of mirthful eloquence, as
did Phillips, in the Court House at Galway, when he said of *Blake:
It has been left me to defend my unfortunate old client from the double battery of Love and Law, which, at the age of sixty-five, has so unexpectedly opened
on her. Oh, gentlemen, how vain-glorious is the boast of beauty! How misapprehended have been the charms of youth, if years and wrinkles can thus despoil
their conquests, and depopulate the navy of its prowess, and beguile the bar of its
eloquence! How mistaken were all the amatory bards, from Anacreon downwards,
who preferred the bloom of the rose and the trill of the nightingale to the saffron
hide and dulcet treble of sixty-five! *  *  *   *    *   What a loss the
navy had of him, and what a loss he had of the navy! Alas, gentlemen, he could
not resist his affection for a female he never saw! Almighty love eclipsed the glories of ambition! Trafalgar and St. Vincent flitted from his memory! Hegave up
all for woman, as Mark Antony did before him; and, like the Cupid in Hudibras,
heTook his stand
Upon a widow's jointure land;
His tender sigh and trickling tear
Longed for five hundred pounds a year;
And languishing desires were found
Of Statute, Mortgage, Bill and Bond.
Oh, gentlemen, only imagine him on the lakes of North America! Alike to
him the varieties of season and the vicissitudes of warfare. One sovereign image
monopolizes his sensibilities. Does the storm rage? the Widow Wilkins outsighs
the whirlwind. Is the ocean calm? its mirror shows him the Widow Wilkins. Is
the battle won? he thins his laurels that the Widow Wilkins may interweave her
myrtles. Does the broadside thunder? he invokes the Widow Wilkins.
A sweet little cherub, she sits up aloft
To keep watch for the life of poor Peter.
In politics Mr. McSweeney has always been and is a steadfast
Democrat of the old school.     He adhered to the party throughout
its long years of adversity and vicissitude with unflinching fidelity.
But he is not a politician or an office-seeker. Had he been either,
while he might have compromised his professional aspirations, he
would unquestionably have commanded the highest office within
the gift of the Democracy of Ohio. His political services are in
great demand, but it rarely occurs that he can be induced to attend
a convention or make a political speech. In I860 or '6I he astonished the Democracy of Allegheny City, Pa., with a powerful and
luminous speech, and in 1863 he electrified the convention which


*Blake was an officer in the English navy, and brought suit against Widow
Wilkins, sixty-five years old, for a breach of the marriage contract and damages
thereby sustained.




484


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


nominated Clement L. Vallandigham. For a number of years he
has been in the habit of making a rousing rallying speech to the
Democracy of Wooster on the Monday night before the election,
when a park of Gattling guns let fly their whizzing contents to hiss
and burn through the ranks of the enemy.
He has, however, chosen the law as his field, and he has not
mistaken his employment.
His great Irish prototype, O'Connell, desired to be King of Ireland; McSweeney aspires to sovereignity in the empire of law.
BENJAMIN EASON.
Benjamin Eason was born May 5, I822, in Wooster township,
Wayne county, Ohio, in a log cabin, standing then where is located
the present residence of Jeremiah R. Naftzger, a few rods to the
north of the old Stibbs mill, and just across Pittsburg avenue. His
father being a mill-wright, at this time was pursuing his profession, and it may be remarked a highly needful one at that period,
he having assisted in building the Stibbs carding mill. At the age
of two years his father moved to Perry township, now in Ashland
county, but then in Wayne, where he remained until 1832, when
he removed to Plain township, and purchased the farm now owned
by the subject of this sketch, at Springville, in Plain township.
The boyhood and earlier years of Mr. Eason were spent with
his father upon the farm, where he participated in the unpoetic
activities of rural life, and where hard physical toil brought brawn
to his hands, and where the harvest sun smote his cheek and
printed thereon its swarthy bloom. He now had advanced to his
twenty-first year, but although pursuing the healthful routine of
the farm, he had not been neglectful of books, mental discipline
and study. Having availed himself of such educational advantages as the times afforded, and by processes of self-tutelage such as
are known only to the instructor of himself, he next entered upon
the worthy career of teacher of the district school. Hope told him
a flattering tale, and whispered, "Persevere, be faithful, true to
friends, steadfast in principle, unbending in integrity, and success
will crown your efforts."
The record proves that hope held out no treacherous beacon.
For a period of five years continuously he prosecuted the vocation
of teacher, achieving local reputation as an adept in that profession. These five years of experience as public instructor were




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


485


appreciated by the parents of the youth whose culture and expansion he sought, but they were none the less years of training and
developmentto him. Five years in the school-room has its equivalent only in two years in the university. If he was the educator
of the children, he was likewise his own pupil. Here was opportunity for unfolding his own faculties.  During these years he
applied himself assiduously to history, English literature, etc.,
selecting such authors as Rollin, Dick, Gibbon, Hume, Josephus,
Hazlitt, Talfourd, Shakspeare, Massinger, etc. Surveying also
claimed a portion of his leisure moments, as he designed, at some
future time, to more fully explore that department of mathematical
science. His immediate aim and ambition was, by this course, to
acquire the qualifications of a first-class teacher, not allowing his
knowledge to be circumscribed by the mere text-books or incidental volumes of the school library.
Moreover, he occasionally looked in upon the pages of Blackstone, contemplating them as so many crucibles in which were
assayed golden grains of law, and with the ultimate anticipation of
one day being able to sift these grains. He taught his first
school in what was called the Branstetter district, and though but
nineteen years of age, commanding as good a salary as his older
competitors. It was in this way that he acquired his first capital
and made his first money. At the age of twenty-six he was
elected Justice of the Peace for Plain township, serving in this
capacity until the spring of 1850, when he was seized with "gold
fever," and resolved on a passage to the sun-down side of the, continent. With his brother, Alexander Eason, he joined the Dennison company, composed of about forty men, all from Wayne
county, and on the I Ith of March of said year they left
Wooster for California. The trip was made overland with muleteams, Mr. Eason appearing in the role of one of the drivers, the
party arriving at Placerville, fifty-five miles east of Sacramento, on
the Fourth of July, I850. Salt Lake City was embraced in the
passage, where, much to their amusement, they tarried for four or
five days. In the Golden State he remained until the following
winter, mining, trading, speculating, etc., when he returned home
by steamer plethoric with the imbibitions and experiences of frontier life-expansive with the blood-freezing narratives of the
"'49-ers," and with eyes still ablaze with scenes of border bloodshed and lawless cruelty.
Subsequent to his arrival home, and in I85I, he was a candi



486


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


date for Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Wayne county,
and was elected over his competitor, Henry Lehman; again being
a candidate for re-election in 1854, with a similar successful result.
In his official capacity he vindicated his conceded practical abilities, fulfilling his duties with fidelity and promptitude, achieving
the reputation of an efficient officer, whose whole course was distinguished by extreme cleverness, pliant urbanity and marked
appreciation of the public confidence.
After this, and in I858, he returned to his farm, but, as the
sequel exhibits, was not allowed to long remain there, for in the
ensuing autumn he was su mmoned from the farm to be the candidate of the Democracy for the State Senate, in the then 28th Senatorial District, composed of Wayne and Holmes counties, encountering Robert Gailey as his opponent, over whom he was
handsomely successful.
In that body he was an active, working member, invariably in
his seat and shirking no responsibility. In the discharge of his
Senatorial functions, while keeping in view the interests of his immediate constituents, he never forgot that he was sent there to deliberate on the interests of the people of the whole State, as well
as of his own district, and hence he persistently opposed unwise
and improvident legislation, going upon the principle that we are
too much governed by expediency. He served in two sessions
during the term. At the expiration of his Senatorial term he once
more returned to his farm"To study culture, and with artful toil
To meliorate and tame the stubborn soil;
To give dissimilar, yet fruitful lands,
The grain, or herb, or plant that each demands;
To cherish virtue in an humble state,
And share the joys his bounty might create."
This rural seclusion was of short duration. In I862, when the
formidable requisition for 600,000 additional troops was ordered,
he at once proceeded to adjust his business that he might be enabled to enter the military service. He was commissioned Captain
of Company E, I20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and authorized to
immediately begin the work of recruiting. To this purpose he
vigorously addressed himself, and in a short time his company was
organized and accompanied the regiment to Camp Mansfield, where
they rendezvoused for several weeks. The regiment first went to
Covington, Ky., was next ordered down the river to Memphis,




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


487


Tenn., where they bivouacked several weeks, and thence to Vicksburg, Miss., that Golgotha of Union soldiers on the mighty inland
river. Here the I20th, as well as the I6th, participated in the disastrous battle of Chickasaw Bluffs, on the 28th and 29th of December, 1862.
An incident occurred during this engagement which needs no
comment from us and which we here introduce:
The 5th Iowa battery was engaging the enemy with but little
apparent effect. Capt. Eason's quick mathematical eye discovered
the inefficiency of the firing and immediately communicated the
fact to Colonels French and Spiegel, when it was resolved to so
inform the artillery officers. Capt. Eason at much peril sought
the officers of the battery, made the suggestion, when the guns
were so adjusted as to have the most deadly effect. From Vicksburg they went to Napoleon, thence up the Arkansas to Arkansas
Post, where a brief but bitter engagement resulted, the issue of
which was the surrender and capture of the place. Captain Eason's
company alone supported a section-two pieces of Foster's battery-through the entire engagement, the I20th being the first to
plant the flag on the ramparts of the enemy. This battle was
fought on Sunday, February ii, 1863.  The regiment next returned to Vicksburg. Here in the marshes and morasses of the
Mississippi, disease invaded its ranks, and many a gallant life went
out and many a gallant heart went down.
In the spring of 1863, on account of seriously impaired, health,
Captain Eason resigned his commission, abandoning his command
at that point. Arriving home, he remained upon the farm for a
period, assisting nature in her recuperating efforts, and struggling to restore his health. Not sufficiently recovered to engage
in the severities of farm-labor, but desiring employment, in November, 1864, he purchased the Wayne County Democrat office,
conducting it as editor and proprietor. His connection with this
journal is fully set forth in the history of the newspaper press of
Wooster. After his relinquishment of journalism he repaired to
his country residence once more, where he remained until April,
I870, when he came to Wooster, and with his son, Samuel B,
whom he took into partnership with him, entered upon the practice of law; also associating, two years thereafter, his son, B. F.
Eason, in said partnership.
He was married May 25, 1843, to Miss Susan Branstetter, of
Plain township, who, after a lingering illness, died August 6, 1872.




488


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


He has four children, S. B., B. F. and Robert Eason and Miss
Beulah Eason, who entered upon the University course the first
year of its existence.
Mr. Eason, though barely having attained the meridian of life,
it will be observed is one of the old citizens of Wayne county.
He has lived in our midst, grown up with us, and witnessed our
growth, so that we contemplate him as a past reflex of us-a type
of the earlier, as well as of our more modern civilization. He has
been over fifty years a citizen. He is interlaced, intertwisted and
intertwined with our people and our institutions. When he was a
boy there were few school-houses and scant facilities for education.
There were no railroads, no telegraphs-electricity was as yet in the
Franklin bottle-couriers conveyed the intelligence of the daysteam-boats were clumsy swimmers, and steam but an unruly
mechanical factor-stage-coaches were the order, and the man on
horseback the avant-courier of a Presidential pronunciamento.
Is it a wonder that he espouses the cause of education-that he
exclaims, "More school-houses, better teachers and better ventilation!"-that he wants railroads, endorses an Associated Press, and
subscribes for the morning papers! Education has no more liberal
and earnest patron than this man. He has erected a monument in
Plain township to this cause. He aided in getting up the first
school-house in Wayne county under the new school law of I852.
People's College is a product of his will. It has probably sent out
more school teachers than any other district school in the county,
nearly twenty of its pupils now being graduates of colleges and
universities. The object of education, he believes, is to unfold and
develop; it should be specific and practical; it should not be an
accumulation of facts, but a development of capacities.
A backward glance at these lines reveals the fact that Mr.
Eason is decidedly self-made. His helps have all been from himself. He made himself and has not been made by others-that is,
brought his powers up to the work which he saw them adapted to;
they grew from the center and organized as they grew, and hence
all the efforts of his life went out on the lines of the relations of
their individuality to the world and its affairs. He was not collegebred, and, as a consequence, his life is real and not borrowed. His
life shows him to be a believer in work; he believes in universities,
too, but does not assume that a college is a mill that will take in
every dunce and grind a genius out of him.
He is too practical to swallow that. He is of opinion that men




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


489


develop and make themselves to a great degree. He is sure that
the best book-keepers are those that are manufactured in the counting-room. He affirms that there is no theory about cutting cordwood, only to go to the woods and work it out. So he wisely
concludes that every man's powers have relations to some kinds of
work, and whenever he finds that kind of work which he can do
best, he finds that which will give him the best development, and
that by which he can best build up or make his manhood. The
world to him is a working world-a serious, earnest, hard-working
world. He likes to see men with aprons on and sleeves rolled up.
He is a man of decided and pronounced opinions, has personality
and is not afraid to assert it at the proper time, but then is not
obtrusive. He has the faculty of not "supposing" and "inclining to think," but of knowing and believing; his disposition is not
to live by hearsay, but by clear vision. While others hover and
swim along in the grand Vanity Fair of the world, blinded by the
mere "show of things," he tries to see things themselves. He
never throws overboard anything that will be of use to him. He
is not noisy or turbulent, but does his own thinking, and makes no
fuss about it.
His experience has made him cunning, and he avoids traps
that older people fall into.  There is foresight about him, and
plenty of secretiveness. He thinks he can manage a secret better
himself than by calling in neighbors to assist him. He is charitable
to the poor and a liberal giver to deserving enterprises. Socially
he is affable and genial. His heart never freezes over in the
coldest weather. He is fond of anecdote, and will fling a joke at
you with as sure an aim as a Mexican will his stiletto. On the
stump he is a matter-of-fact speaker and logical debater. He is a
mathematician, a financial scholar, a thorough accountant, and in
business punctiliously accurate.
He is about six feet high, well built, has a methodizing, comprehensive eye, an ingenuous expression of countenance, is wholesouled, big-hearted, not effervescent or exhaustible-in sooth, a
fair type of American manhood.
All in all, we pronounce him a man of far-reaching thought,
of shrewdness, of calculation and stability of execution; of scrupulous business habit, with perspicacity and forecast of results,
having enough of faith in himself to obey the authority of his
own judgment.




490


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


DAVID ROBISON, JR.
David Robison, Jr., fourth son of David and Elizabeth Robison,
on January 22, 1830, first visited the planet on which so many
millions fight, sin, agonize and die. Having availed himself of
the educational privileges of the select schools of those days, at
the age of fifteen he entered the dry goods firm of his father and
his brother John, who were then partners in the mercantile business,
as clerk, or rather as a general errand boy. With them he remained
several years, diligently applying himself to business and preparing for the sterner duties of advancing life. Not content, however,
with the mental discipline and meager attainments of the village
school, he resolved on giving wider scope to his intellectual faculties, and in the spring of I849 he registered himself a student at
the Western Reserve College, located at Hudson, Ohio. Here he
remained for two years, when he returned to Wooster and embarked in mercantile pursuits for himself.
In July, 1851, a partnership was formed with his brothers John
and James, constituting the firm of Robison & Co., in the dry
goods trade; at the same time another was entered into with James
in the milling business at the Wooster Mills, under the style of J.
N. & D. Robison, Jr. In 1854 he purchased the interests of the
two brothers in the store and sold to James his share in the mill.
He was one of the incorporators of the Wooster Gas Company in
I856, and materially aided in the construction of the works. For
a number of years he has been identified with the banking interests of the community; was associated with the private bank of
Bonewitz, Emrich & Co. in 1867, and which was re-organized in
I868 and changed to the Commercial Bank of Wooster. He was
one of the principal organizers of the National Bank of Wooster,
commencing business January i, 1872, and was its first President.
He was one of the incorporators of the Wooster University, a
member of its Executive Committee; was active and assiduous in
raising funds for the construction of the buildings and for its endowment; took a promnient part in organizing its Faculty and was
one of its liberal and ready benefactors.
He was married September I, 1853, to Miss Ann E. Jacobs of
Wooster, eldest daughter of James and Elizabeth W. Jacobs, by
which union they have two sons, both of whom are living, namely,
James Jacobs and Willard Field Robison. He became a member
of the Presbyterian church of Wooster, in April, I858, his wife




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


491


uniting with this denomination seven years prior to this, while attending school at Steubenville, Ohio. Mr. Robison is still engaged
in mercantile speculation in Wooster* at the old stand where he
embarked in business in 1845. His corner is about as well advertised and known, we were going to say, as Nasby's Confederate
Cross Roads, and between the management of it and the Presidency of the Bank, he is restrained from indulging in any lingering
whims of mischievous boyhood. As the narrative shows, he is a
public-spirited, enterprising, projective man. By virtue of his very
mental organization he is a progressionist. He has plenty of independence of character and many good reasons for it.
Had the metalic creeds of Westminster been burned upon his
brain with a rod of iron he would not have carried the whole of the
impression to his grave. He has faith enough, but then he thinks
a great deal more than he believes. If he is not much over fortyfive, he has arrived at a good many conclusions. He believes, for
instance, that a man may carry a gold-headed cane and wear a
wooden head. He is of the opinion that a man who is willing to
pay will do so sooner than one that has the means to do it. He
considers greenbacks in the vault more desirable than a note of 60
days, at io per cent., secured by mortgage, where the maker fails
to meet it promptly at maturity. This is his, and a very wise conception of business.
He is a Wayne countian, and as indigenous to the soil as the
massive elms in his door-yard; but he has heard a fair share of the
roaring of the outside multitude. He was not wholly educated at
Hudson, but has learned much from the light of the conflicting flints
of the world. The rifleman, before he enters upon the hunt and
chase, puts up his target, which, for the time, is the object of his
skill. He set up a motive, pinned up a purpose before he marched
out against life, and now, in its exciting pursuits, it is constantly
before him. He gave to life an aim, and no sooner was it done
than the brain-children began unfolding it, as the rays of the morning's light unfolds the convolvulus.
He consecrates himself to an idea-that idea is his business.
He is equally at home at the bank as well as at the counter. He
would have been correspondingly efficient in any chosen sphere of
activity and labor. His judgment is sound, his propositions usually supportable by facts and argument, with both of which weap

*Removed to Toledo since this was written.




492


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ons he can adroitly and forcibly maintain himself against an adversary. What reasons may have influenced him against entering
upon the legal profession we do not pretend to solve, but he would
have made a lawyer, just as sure as you are born, and a good one,
too.
His opinions are characterized by commendable catholicity, yet
there is unction and earnestness in his convictions. But, most of
all, his business is his charmed circle. It is here where he manifests his power. He binds his energies in the quiver of his will,
and hurls them with the precision of Indian arrows. His executive ability is of a fine order. What he undertakes he proposes to
finish. He strikes his irons only when they are at white heat;
then every blow counts one. He wants gas in the city because it
brings light; banks, because they are the light of commerce; a
university, because it bears a shining torch in its hand.
He has great elasticity of constitution, a superabundance of
good feeling, and a sunshiny gaiety of imagination. He is a
warm friend, a cool and dignified enemy. In conversation he is
original and animated. When aroused his tongue vitriolizes his
speech, though he inclines to give his opponents a wide berth.
His correct and upright business habits, his probity and integrity,
have anchored him safely in the confidence of the public.
ANGUS MCDONALD. *
Angus McDonald was born February 7, I818, at Woodside, in
Aberdeenshire, then two miles from the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, but now a portion of said city, and the birth-place of the
father of Patrick Henry, the celebrated Revolutionary patriot.
His father, a Highland Scotchman, still living, was born it I798, in
Fort Augustus, Invernes-shire, a large maratime county of Scotland, extending across the island from sea to sea, and traversed its
whole length from south-west to north-east by the Caledonian
Canal. He is now living in Aberdeen. The genealogical tree is
strictly and emphatically Highland Scotch. They descend from a
rugged, stalwart and powerful ancestral line, the family being a
branch of the McDonald clan of the Highlanders, who bore for
their motto a Bloody Hand with a triple cross, and the armorial
inscription, "per mare, per terras"-through sea and land.


* Written in I874.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


493


The name is as familiar in the annals of Scotland as that of
Kenneth, Gregory, Malcolm, Macbeth, Duncan or Montieth. The
father of A. McDonald, as might be expected, was a soldier. He
inherited the martial spirit from a line of warriors, and the very
force and bent of his inclinations would drive him to the soldier's
tent. At the age of seventeen he entered the British army, joining
the 42d, under Colonel Macara, Scot's Royals-" the Black
Watch"-which was brigaded with the 92d and 44th regiments,
and which was commanded by General Picton at the battle of
Waterloo.
On the first day of the fighting at Quatre Bras, June 16, 1815,
his brigade suffered most severely. They were stationed near the
farm house of Quatre Bras, and were the object of a most destructive fire, as the French had the advantage of the rising ground,
while they were covered to the shoulders among tall rye, so that
they could not return the volleys with precision. A desperate
charge of French cavalry succeeded, which was resisted by each of
these regiments separately, each one throwing itself into a solid
square. The approach of the enemy being partly concealed by
the nature of the ground, the 42d was unable to form a square in
the necessary time. Two companies were, therefore, instantly
swept off and cut to pieces. Some of the men stood back to back
and maintained an unyielding conflict with the horsemen until they
were cut down. Here the veteran Colonel Macara, of the 42d, and
the Duke of Brunswick fell. Here, also, Mr. McDonald was
wounded, having been shot in the head with a musket ball. He
was subsequently discharged, on this account, from the military
service, and receives until this day a pension from the British Government. After the battle his family, hearing no tidings of him,
and not having been reported at the hospital, came to the conclusion that he was killed, and for six months went in mourning for
him. It was a terrible and overwhelming surprise to them, after
the lapse of that time, to see their soldier son, then a young man
of 17 years, make his appearance at the family door. After his
retirement from the army he became manager of a cotton factory
at Printfield, where he sojourned for 30 years, when he removed
to Aberdeen, and engaged in business with his son David, who
visited A. McDonald in the summer of I870. He was married to
Margaret Monro, of Rosshire, a Highland Scotch lady, by which
marriage he had 8 children. In July, 1843, Mr. Ronald McDonald
came to America to see the country and visit his son, then living




494


HISTORY OF AAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


at Massillon, Ohio, where he remained until May, I844. Having
contracted the ague, he left the country in disgust, saying, "I
would not live here if you would give me all the country between
Zoar and Massillon. You feed mercury to your people, sir; don't
I know what mercury is? "
Angus McDonald, the subject of this sketch, is the eldest son
and the eldest child of the family. In his earliest boyhood he first
made the experiment of labor and tasted of the fruits of toil.
When but seven years old he entered the cotton factory at Printfield, and here he remained until he was fourteen, when his business
was somewhat changed, as he was put into the Grand Holm foundry,
at Woodside, where an opportunity was offered and where he acquired a knowledge of his trade of moulder. In 1838, he went to
London, but in that boisterous maelstrom, that cyclone of contending human forces, he found little enjoyment. Being then but twenty
years of age, he abandoned the thronged metropolis of the world,
when he set out for Liverpool and commenced work in what was
then called Berry's foundry, and while engaged in this establishment he first conceived the intention of coming to America. After
pursuing his work for some time in Liverpool he returned to his
home, at Aberdeen, on a visit, when he was married to Kate Dinwiddie, of his native Woodside.
In February, 1840, he set sail for the United States for the purpose of making observations of the country, and with the design
of returning to Scotland should he not be favorably impressed with
the country, and calculating to remain if it suited him. After
thirty-five days passage he planted his feet upon the soil of the
New World, and hearing of Massillon, repaired thither with but
little delay, finding employment immediately with Messrs. McMillen & Partridge, as foreman in their foundry. With these gentlemen he remained one year, at the end of which time they were
unwilling that he should leave them and he, being satisfied with
the country and its remunerations of labor, resolved to stay, whereupon he sent for his wife and child, who arrived in Massillon in the
spring of 1842. In that foundry he served in the capacity of foreman for seven years, but on account of his wife's illness, and the
malaria so prevalent there at that time, he concluded to come to
Wooster, where he arrived February 12, 1847.
Of the eleven children born to Mr. McDonald but seven remain. His four sons, William, Angus, David and Harper, are
severally in his employ, and assist in conducting his business.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


495


Mr. McDonald is now sixty years old, and considering the fact
that his more vigorous years were spent in the severe and nervetesting discipline of the moulder's room, he is nevertheless wellpreserved and well conditioned, hearty in body and healthy in
mind. We pronounce him a good specimen of the Highland
Scotchman-all he wants is the costume to sustain the character.
He is a grain of good Scotch seed that has fallen upon a responsive
soil; or perhaps we had better say, he is a graft upon our New
Worldtree which, under the influence of genial suns and rains,
produces our choicest fruit. Upon his tongue there is perceptible
the Scottish accent. And for all this, we can say, Amen; for as
the local expounder of Robert Burns, he can the better interpret
him to us and draw us nearer to the soul and spirit of his poems
by lending a truer understanding of their charms and beauties.
He hails from a country that has been and is the nucleus of human
intellect. A closer analysis of him would discover that, not only
his tongue but his thought, his conduct and character, are accentuated with the Scotch. Thackeray says, "to have your name
mentioned by Gibbon is like having it written on the dome of St.
Peter's." To have been born on the soil that produced a Scott, a
Burns, a Thomas Erskine, a Haddington, or John Brown, is in itself
a kind of renown.
He is five feet ten and a half inches high, of corpulent, but
athletic frame, and weighs over 200 pounds. He has a broad,
square, intellectual face, lighted up by a pair of keen, blue eyes,
and a heavy burgherly chin, indicative of will-force, and the energetic, affirmative man. His brow is arched, and presents traces of
the pencilings with which Nature adorns her best works; his
cheeks are full, fleshy and ruddy as the blossoms of the June
clover. There is a sedate dignity and complacency in his countenance that is seldom ruffled, which, under all circumstances, is the
best expression of the human soul. In him is seen the" Lord-Burleigh look, serene and serious;
A something of imposing and mysterious."
If excited, he has considerable facility in concealing it. A
machinist himself, he allows but little jar or friction among either
his physical or mental cogs and wheels. Simplicity and plainness
characterize his dress. A solid, but unostentatious gold chain,
and a gold watch-an heir-loom of generations in the family-constitute his jewel ornaments.  He sustains the port of a well-bred




496


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


gentleman; is urbane, decorous and polite. He is free, flexible,
and fluent in conversation; is well familiarized with the history and
literature of England, Scotland and America. He has been at the
Hustings, passed up Grub street, and can talk for hours and days
upon the Mermaid and Literary London.
Scotland, Scottish ballads, rare, old unfathered fragments,
queer and quaint legends, form an interesting chapter in his antique
acquisitions. In addition to his large stock of general knowledge
he has made many scientific acquirements. In the field of geology
he has spent hours of profitable leisure and delight. On his shelves
lie the books of his great countryman, "the representative man
of Scotland," as Tom Brown chooses to call him, "the stonemason of Cromarty," the immortal Hugh Miller. In these.volumes of the Great Interpreter of the Rocks, he discovers prolific
sources of thought and study.
Mr. McDonald is a practical, well-balanced, firm-purposed man.
He seldom loses his self-possession, has much force of character,
sagacity, decision, logical acuteness and great alertness of faculty.
What he has accomplished he can put down to his own credit. In
the mountains of 'his Highland home he found no buried gold.
When he slept Fortune filled not his pillows with her treasures.
He lived to toil and toiled to live. He has forged and beat out
his life by the blows of his arm. He conducts the largest, most
intricate and most ramified business in the county. There is true
sandstone grit in him. In his reapers and mowers are not found
all of the steel; his blood has steel in it. He is the personation
of uniformity. He is clean-shaved to-day, was yesterday, and will
be to-morrow. The sun in his comings is not more regular than
his habits, nor does the moon pay her quarterage with greater precision. With him it is always twelve o'clock at noon. His watch
must say this, or he will get one that will. His steam-whistle is
Shrewsbury clock and Greenwich time in all the city. His machine shops are models of method. It is an army of captains
and subalterns, governed by West Point discipline. When "time"
is called the work begins, the loungers are left out.
Mr. McDonald is a Democrat, but in no sense a politician.
Had he sought promotion in this field, he likely would have
achieved it, for he has the elements of popularity, as well as
strength of self-assertion. During the rebellion he was a staunch
supporter of the Government-was what was called "a War Democrat." He was appointed by Gov. David Tod a member of the




WOOSTER-WATER WORKS.


497


Military Committee, and served with an emphasis of patriotic zeal
in every position the appointment conferred. In those dark days,*
when the great manufactures of the country languished, he confronted financial depressions and revulsions with Spartan resolution. Prostrations and oppositions were met with manly vigor,
and Samson-like, he carried off the gates that were swinging to
imprison him. Looking only to the main chance, he fought to
the front.
Though he stands now on the Pisgah hights of three-score
years, he has, as we may infer, much of life and the first enjoyments of its decline before him.
To the blue skies of his native Scotland he has often turned the
wishful eye, but, since his departure from it, has never visited the
scenes of his childhood. In a strange land and among strangers
he took up his abode, and here he has dwelt with us, building himself up with the ideas of the great Republic, interlacing himself
with its giant industries and imbibing the inspirations of its institutions. Under their influences he has raised a family, which are
entwined with the affectionate and benevolent goodness of his
heart, and here he has constructed a name that will not soon vanish from the eye or the memory of man. His instinctive generosity-for "he downa see a poor man want "-and enterprising
spirit will live and be cherished when he shall have passed the portal and the river.
As Burns said of Gavin Hamilton"May health and peace, with mutual rays,
Shine on the evening of his days."
WOOSTER WATER WORKS.
The first water works established in Wooster were constructed
under a contract negotiated between the original proprietors of the
town and the County Commissioners, bearing date May 13, i8II.
The conditions of the contract were that the county-seat should be
permanently located at Wooster, and, among other specifications,
it was agreed that the proprietors were to bring " the water of the
run, which at present runs through the town in pipes of sound
white oak timber of a proper size, well bored and laid, and raise
the water ten feet above the surface at the center of the town."
* I874, when this was written.
32




498


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


This contract was complied with by the proprietors, and water
was delivered to the town of Wooster conducted through these
pipes from 18I5 to 829. When the authorities of the town undertook to repair the pipes conveying the water one of the lotowners through whose premises the pipes were laid prohibited
them from so doing by an injunction of the court, and from that
time no further attention or effort was made to sustain the enterprise.
More recently the subject of supplying the city with water from
the springs of Mr. Reddick to the north of the city became a matter of grave and earnest consideration. May 14, 1874, G. Gow
and John Brinkerhoff, civil engineers, gauged the stream and found
it sufficient to protect the city against fire. The work being inaugurated the reservoir was constructed under the supervision of G.
Gow during the summer of 1875, by throwing a dam across the
ravine immediately below the springs, thus raising the water to the
depth of I8 feet. No further labor was performed until the spring
of 1876, when the present works were commenced and conducted
through the summer of 1876, under the immediate and energetic
supervision of John Brinkerhoff, civil engineer.
In the construction of the system the pipe used was 3,989 feet
of twelve inch, 4,988 feet of ten inch, 6,432 feet of eight inch,
26,024 feet of six inch and 4,844 feet of four inch pipe, in all
46,277 feet, or over 8 miles of pipe.
The total cost of pipe and special castings was $36,390, the entire cost of the works being $76,256.27. Improvements have since
been made, making an additional cost of about $Io,ooo. The surface of the water at the reservoir is 128 feet above the public square.
The water from 88 fire-plugs, located on the lines of the streets,
can be projected to various hights, ranging from 40 to Ioo feet
above the surface by the force of gravity alone. Gravity being
the agent acting in the propulsion of the water, the expense of
running the works is merely nominal. The supply of water is sufficient for all the wants of the city, and under improvements introduced by M. M. Smith, Superintendent, during the summer of
1877, the water delivered in the city is pure spring water.
The works are now the most popular of any enterprise in
which Wooster has engaged. Many citizens were at first, however,
very hostile to their construction, to the extent of presenting written remonstrances to the City Council, condemning the project
generally, predicting its failure to supply water to the city. But,




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


499


notwithstanding such serious resistance, the Council proceeded energetically with the work, ending in success greater than the most
sanguine anticipated. The active Councilmen in this were Angus
McDonald, Jacob Stark, R. J. Cunningham, B. Barrett, J. K. McBride, J. J. Stevenson, Mortimer Munn, D. W. Immel.
O. F. JONES.
Ohio F. Jones was born in Wooster, November 28, 1822.
His earlier years were spent with his father in the village and
upon the farm, during which time he had advantage of the educational opportunities that were afforded at that period. At the age of
eighteen he went to Fredericksburg, attending the institution there,
then under the supervision of Edward Geary, brother of Ex-Governor Geary, of Pennsylvania. He afterwards went to McGregor's
Academy at Wadsworth, Medina county, Ohio, and thence to
Brown county, Ohio, where he entered upon the study of law with
General Thomas L. Hamar, of Georgetown, a gentleman of extraordinary abilities as orator, advocate and lawyer, a soldier of the
Mexican war, who at the battle of Monterey distinguished himself
for coolness and courage, and when Major General Butler was
wounded, succeeded him in the command.
He was admitted to practice in May, 1846, and the same year
entered into partnership with Judge Ezra Dean, establishing a
joint or branch office at Ashland. This partnership terminated
the ensuing spring, when he removed to Wooster and formed a
partnership with John McSweeney, which continued for eight
years. In the spring of 1855 he engaged in professional relations
with Hon. George Rex, which ran through a period of eighteen
years, and until the elevation of Mr. Rex to the Judicial honors of
the State.
After the lapse of several years, in 1877 he received J. R.
Woodsworth into partnership with him in practice, which professional relationship still exists. Mr. Jones' entire time and energies
since his attainment to manhood have been devoted to the study
and prosecution of the law. At a suitable age he was placed in
the office of General Hamar, one of the most brilliant men of his
time, and an intimate friend and associate of his father, who had
served cotemporaneously with him in Congress. It is therefore
evident that his opportunities when a student were of the most




500


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


favorable character, and it is inferable that his mind, to a degree,
caught the bias of his great preceptor.
His first partnership with Judge Dean was of brief duration,
but between him and the old patrician gentleman there existed the
most cordial mutual relations. During the eight years of professional relationship with Mr. McSweeney is when the latter rose to
be the central light along the headlands of the law.
Combined with his legal acquirements and conceded acumen
in the trial of causes, he is a practical business man, with a projective, mechanical mind, full of expediencies, fertile of contrivances
and capable of taking a broad angled view of things. He is a
good interpreter of human motive, and deduces from given circumstances and situations certain results, which the strongest direct
testimony sometimes fails to disprove. The forces, both mental
and physical, which propel him are strong and well-defined. He
is aggressive, and when he follows the beck of his resolution he is
impetuous and belligerent. He is enterprising and zealous, associating himself, at all times, with the best interests of his town and
the community. He is social, genial and possessed of an inexhaustible revenue of spirit and humor. His friendships are firm
and lasting when once made, though with him they are not ' plants
of hasty growth," but need the test and culture of good responsive
soils. He exhibits the warmest adhesion towards his kindred-a
distinct trait of the Jones family. He is independent in action,
mind and thought, and maintains a "prudent empire o'er himself. "
He was married December 24, 1854, to Anna D. Barkdull,
this union resulting in three children, Eleanor, Flora and Florence.
W. C. MOORE, M. D.
W. C. Moore, M. D., was born in Columbiana county, Ohio,
June I, 1822. His parents removed to Wayne county, and settled
in Chester township, on the farm now owned by Robert Christie,
in the year 1832.  He remained with his father until he was
twenty years of age, and at the expiration of this time, and in
I842, he began the study of medicine with Dr. Leander Firestone,
then practicing in Congress village, Congress township. With
Dr. Firestone he continued as a student of medicine for three
years, engaging in school teaching in the winter seasons. After
concluding his elementary readings, and having graduated, he be



WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


501


gan practice with his preceptor in 1845, continuing there a year,
at the end of which time he removed to Rowsburg, where he
remained another year, the partnership continuing, when he returned to Congress village and remained with Dr. Firestone for ten
years.
Dr. Moore, though not a politician, is especially popular with
his party throughout the county, and in I859 was elected by the
Democracy to the Legislature of the State of Ohio, serving from
January 2, I860 to January 6, 1862. By his ability, genial manner and many qualifications as a member of that body, he acquired
popularity both as a speaker and as a business representative.
In I862 he removed to Wooster, since which time he has resided there. He was married to Louisa A. Hamilton, of Ashland
county, Ohio, having but one child, Ernest Eugene Moore.
In his profession his skill is acknowledged, his good judgment
being recognized by his competitors, as well as his kind care and
sympathetic attention at the bed of sickness. His mind is bright,
analytical, dissective, and he arrives at conclusions, or rather they
are suggested and forced, not simply as a result of his logical
premises, but by his actual and comparative knowledge. He is
well acquainted with the philosophies of practice, as well as the
principles of the medical science, and possesses all the elements
of a good physician, which he is conceded to be.
His social developments are of high order, and his heart and
soul are not hidden under ice, but lie near a warm, tropical surface, where they expand into sunshine and burst into flowers.
Dr. Moore is a man of refined and cultivated literary tastes,
and inclines at times to float in Pierian waters. He believes, with
Coleridge, that "poetry is the blossom and the fragrance of all
human knowledge, human thoughts, human passions, emotions,
language."
We select the following as a specimen of good Saxon song:
MOTHER.
[Thoughts suggested on visiting her grave in Wooster Cemetery, 1870.]
Mother, as here I breathe thy name my tears unbidden start,
And memories bright as rays of heaven come clustering 'round my heart;
'Twas thee that taught my lips to lisp a little infant prayer,
And pointing upward to the skies, informed me heaven was there;
And Scripture stories you'd repeat-tell how the good and wise,
If faithful here, would live again immortal in the skiesUntil enraptured by your themes, for hours I've gazed at even,
Expecting through some parting clouds to catch a glimpse of heaven.




502


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Tell me, my sainted mother dear, I now may ask of thee,
Thou hast outstript me in the race, and art from bondage free,
Oh! tell me whence that smile of heaven, that made thy face so fair?
It early won my infant heart, and still is imaged there;
Dear mother, whence the radiant light that kindled in thine eye?
Was it of earth, or lustre lent from some fair realm on high?
And, mother, when that last sweet calm had mantled on thy brow,
Was faith in full fruition then? for thou canst tell me now.
Speak, mother-for full well I know thou never didst deceive!
You've told me of immortal joys, and shall I still believe?
Is the soul, indeed, unquenched by death? unharmed by circling time?
Has man a higher destiny? his home a brighter clime?
Then, mother, was the kindling ray that lit thy dying eye
Occasioned by a glimpse beyond of that celestial sky?
Oh! mother, dost thou sweep the lyre within that realm so fair?
What of the harpings of that clime? for doubtless thou art there.
Dear mother, tell me of that realm. Is it a starless sphere?
No ivied urn, no ruined arch nor broken column there?
Does spring eternal clothe its plains in robes of liveliest green?
Amid those ever vernal vales what brightening beauty's seen?
Does glittering glory gild the day? celestial zephyrs blow?
And purer crystal streamlets there in living lustre flow?
Oh! tell me, is all light and love within that realm on high?
Does peace unfurl her banner there, the rainbow of that sky?
Hath Jesus there a banquet spread with fruit from life's fair tree?
Does man partake with nobler guests? Oh! was it spread for me?
Do angel bands there strike their harps to new unearthly strains?
And wandering pluck the amaranths upon those shining plains?
One question more, dear mother! Is our little Willie there?
You'll know him by his angel smile and by his shining hair;
Oh! search each winding, flow'ry vale where wandering angels strayHe'll surely be among the first to cull his bright bouquet.
Thy lips are sealed, thy silent tongue is eloquent no more;
I plead in vain for tidings from that far, far-gleaming shore;
No mortal eye hath ever scanned that radiant realm so fairNo mortal ear hath ever heard the hallowed harpings there;
Faith's eye alone hath scaled the mount on whose bright top appears
Heaven's citadel, high lifted up above this vale of tears.
Amid life's wreck a childlike faith in inspiration given,
Will light the tomb and open wide the jeweled gates of heaven.
S. R. BONEWITZ.
S. R. Bonewitz was born November 28, I820, in Wayne township, Wayne county, Ohio.         His parents were of Virginia and
Pennsylvania ancestry, and removed to Wayne county as early as




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


503


1815, settling on a farm of I90 acres, all in timber, purchased of
Joseph Eichar and owned by Christian Stoll, deceased. At the
age of twenty-one Mr. Bonewitz engaged as a clerk for his father,
who had purchased an interest in a dry goods store at what was
then known as Naftzger's Mill, a mile west of Bridgeport.
In this business relation he continued for some time, and while
thus employed, October 14, 1841, he was joined in marriage to
Louisa Booth.  He then entered into business for himself in the
village of Mechanicsburg, where he staid until I843. Having concluded to make Wooster his home he removed there in March,
1844, and at the end of one year (having studied law a year prior
to his removal) was admitted to the bar in St. Clairsville, Ohio,
whither and back he went on horseback. He read law with William McMahan, Esq., of Wooster, then occupying the office in
which he has held forth for over thirty years.
In 1853 Mr. Bonewitz was elected Mayor of Wooster, and has
served as Justice of the Peace and in various other capacities with
credit and ability. He was the first insurance agent that ever
transacted business in Wooster and the first representative of the
well-known AEtna Company.
Mr. Bonewitz is devoting himself exclusively to his professional
duties. He was never disposed to indulge in the fierce warfare of
the advocate, the strong bent of his mind inclining him more particularly to the preparation of pleadings and a strictly office business. Personally, he is a genial man, full of life and sociability.
ALF. HOWARD, THE AMERICAN "OLE BULL."
Alf. Howard, son of Horace Howard, and brother to Harvey,
Charles and William, of this city, died at Prophetstown, Whitsides
county, Illinois, on Sunday, February 23, 1873, of congestion of the
lungs. Mr. Howard was born in Wooster, January 25, 1824, and
was consequently entering upon his fiftieth year at the time of his
death. He was a man-a phenomenal genius-that acquired a
continent-wide celebrity by his extraordinary musical power.
He developed in his earlier and more tender years a peculiar
talent and fondness for instrumental music, at the age of ten challenging the sweetness and magic of the fife and other instruments
of that character.
At the age of fifteen he went to Detroit, Michigan, and engaged as a clerk in the dry goods store of Charles Bissell, brother




504


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


of the wife of Harvey Howard, Esq., of this city. After a brief
service with Mr. Bissell he proceeded to Niles, Berrien county,
Michigan, on a visit to his old friend, Mr. Carrollton Hoyt, where
he remained for a short time. Here, in fact, he conceived and inaugurated his programme of musical peregrinations, to which his
entire subsequent life was devoted. At Niles he organized a
troupe of musicians and made his debut before the public, entertaining enthusiastic audiences in the Western States, penetrating
the vast regions on the sunset side of the Father of Floods.
In 1842 he appeared with the celebrated circus combination of
June, Turner & Co., with which he traveled for the season, and
with which he returned to Wooster. Here he proceeded to the
organization of a minstrel company, and once more embarked for
the far West. After the fulfillment of this engagement he suddenly appeared in Philadelphia, bursting into that city with the
blaze of a meteor, and here he obtained the flattering sobriquet of
the American Ole Bull. This was in 1844. Next he was the
focus of attraction at Barnum's, New York, where, with the articulate speech of his violin, he delighted expectant houses.
The succeeding canto in the great song of his life was a visit to
the Old World, where a number of years were spent, and where he
enjoyed an agreeable popularity. The remaining portion of his
career, after his return from Europe, was occupied exclusively in
travel, he having made the tour of every State in our great Federal Union.
Mr. Howard was a remarkable, and in some respects, probably,
an eccentric man. His object in his profession was surpassing excellence and superiority. While his attainments with the violin
were incomparable and inimitably great, and while money poured
into his hands, money was not the motive of his indefatigable aim.
He played for reputation, sought for Fame, wooed the fickle
Queen, and won her.
THE UNIVERSITY OF WOOSTER.
BY REV. A. A. E. TAYLOR, D. D., PRESIDENT.
Among the earliest settlers of the West were many of Scotch
and Scotch-Irish descent, who had been trained in Presbyterian
principles from their youth. Such persons brought with them to
the new territory, not only a zeal for their special forms of faith,
but likewise a love of learning in general, and a determination to
secure educational facilities for their children as soon as possible.




WOOSTER-THE UNIVERSITY.               505
The first Home Missionaries who followed in the track of this
emigration, and sought to gather and organize its religious element
into churches, were mostly graduates of some college, or men
whose careful training had taught them the inestimable value of a
collegiate education. Their impression, and that of the people
influenced by them, may be seen most prominently in the early
history of those college enterprises that were undertaken by the
State, and in many other efforts of a kindred nature, some of
which have been failures, while others proved partially successful.
One of their favorite ideas was that of combining religious with
intellectual culture, for mutual education of head and heart, holding that all mental training should be purified and strengthened by
the development of man's spiritual life in connection therewith,
to secure complete manhood. This conviction they strenuously
sought to impress upon the early State institutions where they
obtained controlling influence. With these young colleges, where
in some cases they long held the chief management, they were
content to cast in their lot, while as yet their own church membership and finances were feeble.
But other denominations, as they grew up to power, began to
found institutions devoted especially to the instruction of their own
youth, and to the education of candidates for their ministry from
their own ranks. It also became apparent that, in so far as the State
was concerned, little could be hoped from the colleges then directly
under its control, and espceially nothing of mentionable benefit to
the Presbyterian church, which was greatly in need of an educated
ministry.
The colleges founded upon the plan of union between the Congregationalists and Presbyterians had been among the most efficient
and successful in the State; but still, as a historical fact, had not
drawn largely upon the sympathy and co-operation of the ScotchIrish element of Presbyterianism, which was by far its most numerous and influential element in Ohio. There was thus no institution in the State to which they were heartily disposed to send
their sons or to contribute of their means; and a large majority directed their patronage to the Presbyterian colleges in Pennsylvania
and New Jersey, which were thus filled with crowded classes for
many years, and from which the Presbyterian ministry in the West
was mainly replenished.
However, the subject of a College, situated within the bounds
of Ohio, to be directly under the control of their own people, but




506


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


for the benefit of the public as well, was steadily agitated year
after year by the leading Presbyterian ministers and elders of the
State, among whom it will not be invidious to name one who long
ministered at the State capital, and from that position exercised
an important power over the whole State, the late Rev. James
Hoge, D. D.
The necessity of such an institution was annually canvassed in
Synods and Presbyteries, and as early as 1847 began to take formal shape in committees, and positive efforts at location and the
securing of endowment. The older and wiser fathers among both
the clergy and laity grew more and more interested in these enterprises, and sorely lamented the failure to unite upon any feasible
plan. Attempts at combining the three Synods into which the
church in Ohio was then districted were repeatedly made, but no
Synodical College was founded, and many of the people seemed
disheartened at the prospect. At length in I866, after nearly 25
years of agitation and earnest effort, the object was consummated
in the establishment by these three Synods of the then old school
Presbyterian church,-the Synods of Ohio, Sandusky and Cincinnati-of the University located at Wooster.
After severally agreeing to undertake the task, a joint committee
had been appointed by the Synods to arrange the plans. Offers
of grounds and means for the erection of suitable buildings were
received from several localities, which places the committee visited
in person, comparing the relative value of the propositions and the
suitableness of location. Ephraim Quinby, Jr., Esq., a wealthy and
liberal citizen of Wooster, generously offered a handsome site adjoining that town, upon a gently elevated knoll, containing 21
acres of oak forest, from which is afforded a commanding view of
an exceedingly fertile and beautiful valley extending for miles,
surrounded by wooded hills and fruitful fields, which together compose an outlook of rare variety and attractiveness. The citizens
of this county, with great enthusiasm and without regard to denominational lines, uniting their efforts with noble liberality, raised a
subscription of over $ioo,ooo, which they offered for the erection
of a building upon the Quinby grounds. After deliberate consideration the Synodical Committee decided upon this location for the
new College as the most desirable and valuable in all respects.
The Synods having appointed Trustees, according to requirements of the State law, proceeded, in December, I866, to secure
a charter for the University, under the act of April, 1852, and




WOOSTER-THE UNIVERSITY.


507


amendments* authorizing such incorporation.         The following persons were incorporated as original Trustees: Rev. John Robinson,
D. D., t Rev. W. R. Marshall, D. D., Rev. H. M. Hervey, Rev.
J. H. Pratt, H. A. True, M. D., J. H. Kauke, David Robison, Jr., Ephraim Quinby, Jr.,} John McClellan, R. B. Stibbs,
Leander Firestone, M. D., Rev. J. A. Reed, Rev. J. B. Stewart,
Rev. W. W. Colmery, Rev. H. W. Taylor, Rev. J. M. Cross,
Rev. E. B. Raffensperger, Edward Taylor, M. D. ~
In the charter the object of said corporation was declared to be
"the promotion of sound learning and education under religious
influences, such as is usually contemplated in colleges and universities."  The succession of Trustees was appointed as follows:
The Synod of Ohio to appoint at least five Trustees from resident
freeholders of Wayne county (to conform to the law authorizing
such corporations), and one from each of the Presbyteries under
its care. The Synods of Cincinnati and Sandusky were each
authorized to elect a number of Trustees equal to the number of their Presbyteries, these Trustees to hold office for three
years, and until their successors are elected. The University was
declared to be under the care of said three Synods, and such other
50O vol. Stat. Ohio, p. I28-amended March 12, 1853; 51 vol. Stat. Ohio, pp.
393, 403.
t Dr. Robinson, so long pastor at Ashland, was"one of the early projectors and
advocates of the Synodical College, and from the start has been one of its most
faithful friends and President of its Board of Trustees. The institution owes much
to his wisdom and zeal.
t Mr. Quinby, in addition to the grounds, contributed about $30,000 to the
funds of the institution, as did also Captain J. H. Kauke in an equivalent sum.
And to the deep interest and great personal activity of these gentlemen, together
with the untiring aid of all the other resident members of the Board in Wooster,
and especially to the zealous and efficient help of the Treasurer, John McClellan,
Esq., is owing the establishment of this institution on a liberal, broad and permanent basis.
~ Dr. Taylor was early a prominent member of one of the committees of conference upon a Synodical College from the Synod of Cincinnati, when a Ruling
Elder in the Central Presbyterian church of Cincinnati. Removing to Cleveland, as an Elder in the Westminster church, he continued to be deeply interested in the movement, and subscribed liberally towards the endowment. He was
elected one of the first Trustees by the Synod of Sandusky, and was one of the committee who came to Wooster, examined the site and agreed upon the location of the
University at this point. He died in Cleveland, February, i868. At a later date,
his only son was elected second President of the University, to succeed Dr. Willis
Lord.




508


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Synods as might thereafter unite with them in the enterprise.
Provision was also made for the union of any Presbyterian Synod
of any other ecclesiastical connection in this control, upon concurrent assent of the original Synod. No part in the control was
given to State officials, or any one outside of the election of the
Synods.
Immediately after incorporation the Board appointed a fiscal
agent and canvassing agents,* and issued an appeal to the pastors
of the churches in the Synods interested. In this appeal was contained several resolutions, declarative of the object of the University, which were passed at the first meeting of the Board, as
follows:
WHEREAS, We are deeply convinced that education is a real blessing only
when imbued with the spirit of Christianity, and that any enterprise may hope for
success only as it enjoys the Divine blessing and is devoted to the promotion of the
Divine glory; therefore,
Resolved, That we enter upon the work of establishing the University of
Wooster with the single purpose of glorifying God, in promoting sanctified education, and thus furthering the interests of the church, and its extension over the
whole earth.
Resolved, That we will in every way possible strive to imbue all our operations
with the spirit of Christianity, and bring religious influence and instruction to
bear earnestly upon all who may be connected with the institution.
Resolved, That in addition to a thorough literary and scientific course of study,
we will aim to endow a chair for instruction in the evidences of Christianity, and
the relation of science to religion;t and also a chair for instruction in the languages,
religions and literature of the modern Pagan nations, with special reference to the
preparation of young men for the Foreign Missionary field.
These resolutions display the broad, catholic spirit of Christianity upon which it was the design of its founders to place the
institution, rather than upon any narrow, sectarian and sole, ecclesiastical basis. An executive committee, consisting of the President of the Board and the resident members in Wooster, having
been appointed, urged on the work of securing endowment from
the churches, and matured plans for the erection of the building.
Work, however, was not begun on the building until the opening
of the spring of i868, and the corner-stone was laid June 30, i868,
with appropriate services.
At this time Rev. George P. Hays, of Baltimore, was elected


* Rev. John W. Scott, D. D., General Fiscal Agent; Rev. T. K. Davis and
Rev. S. G. Dunlap, Canvassing Agents.
t This chair afterwards endowed by legacy of B. J. Mercer, Esq., of Mansfield,
Ohio, in $25,000.




WOOSTER- THE UNIVERSITY.


509


General Fiscal Secretary, and the Board fixed the amount of endowment to be raised at $500,000. In the autumn of this year the
Synods concerned severally endorsed the work, urging its continuance and promising support. Later in the year an effort was made
to secure from the State Legislature the location of the contemplated State Agricultural College at Wooster, to be connected with
the University, which effort proved ineffectual. At the meetings
of the Synods in October, I869, the executive committee reported
that subscriptions to the endowment fund to the amount of $25I,614* had been secured, and that the main building, exclusive of
the projected wings, was nearly finished. Subscriptions had been
made payable, conditioned upon the securing of $250,000 by the
ist of October, which condition the Board formally declared to
have been fulfilled.
As the income from this fund would not accrue until the following year, it was deemed advisable not to open the institution
for instruction until that time. The friends of the University were
greatly elated at the success of the movement, which was largely
due to the Fiscal Secretary and Financial Agents, and to the earnest
co-operation of the pastors and churches of the Synods of Ohio
and Sandusky. In December, I869, the Board accepted the resignation of the Fiscal Secretary, and Rev. W. R. Marshall, D. D.,
was elected his successor.
During the year I869 the reunion of the old and new school
branches of the Presbyterian church had been consummated, and
in the spring of 1870 the Synods of the two bodies had been
consolidated and their territories reconstructed. By this act the
Synods of Columbus, Toledo and Cincinnati had been made the
legal successors of the Synods formerly united in the control of the
University, and by the terms of said act had become "entitled to
the possession and enjoyment of all the rights and franchises, and
liable to the performance of all the duties " of those Synods. The
members of the Board of Trustees, therefore, placed their resignations in the hands of the new Synod, when their successors were
immediately elected. Resolutions accepting the trust of the University were adopted by these Synods, and the University passed
into the hands and under the control of the reunited church. But
in the re-allotment of Synods in the State, a new Synod, that of
*In the raising of this fund the system of single and cheap scholarships was
avoided, and the amount was secured mainly from members of Presbyterian congregations.




5Io


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Cleveland, covering a considerable portion of the territory of the
former Synods, had been erected. An equal share of ownership
and control in the institution having been tendered by the Trustees
to this new Synod, was by it respectfully declined, with the adoption, however, of resolutions commending it to the "confidence,
sympathy, prayers and patronage" of the Presbyteries comprising
that Synod.
In the spring of 1870 the Board completed its arrangements for
a course of instruction, for the election of a Faculty, and the formal opening of the Collegiate Department in the fall of that year.
The admission of students of either sex to the classes had already
been agreed upon, as well as the reception of students to partial or
special courses, according to their preparation therefor. Rev. H.
M. Robertson was also elected an additional Fiscal Secretary.
According to these arrangements, at a meeting of the Board September 7, 1870, the University was formally dedicated and opened,
when a historical address was made by Rev. John Robinson, D.
D., President of the Board, and Hon. John Sherman, United States
Senator, delivered an additional address. Rev. Willis Lord, D. D.,
was inaugurated President of the University and delivered an inaugural address*. On the following day the institution was formally
opened for instruction, with the following Faculty:
Rev. Willis Lord, D. D., President, and Professor of Biblical Instruction.
0. N. Stoddard, LL. D.; Professor of the Natural Sciences.
Rev. W. H. Jeffers, A. M., Professor of Greek Language and Literature.
Rev. A. T. Fullerton, A. M., Professor of English Language and Literature
and Rhetoric.
S. J. Kirkwood, A. M., Professor of Mathematics.
R. C. Dalzell, A. M., Instructor in Modern Languages.
Leander Firestone, M. D., Lecturer in Anatomy and Physiology.
A circular containing the Faculty-elect and the proposed plan
of study had been previously issued during the summer. Both a
classical and scientific course had been arranged and made to run
parallel through the four years. Tie basis of the former was
mainly that of Princeton College, New Jersey, and the standard of
study was fixed upon a level with that in the catalogue of the lat*These addresses were subsequently published, together with the annual report
of the Board of Trustees for this year, in a pamphlet. The following persons also
took part in the proceedings: Rev. David Hall, of Mansfield, Rev. J. A. Reid, of
Wooster, and Rev. A. A. E. Taylor, of Cincinnati. The reports of the Board for
the two preceding years had also been published in pamphlet form.




WOOSTER-THE UNIVERSITY.


5I


ter institution.  It was determined that this standard should be
strictly maintained, as ranking with first-class colleges of the East.
When the first classes were organized, at the opening of the
institution, it was found that applicants were present for each class,
many students, particularly of Presbyterian proclivities, and of the
immediate vicinity, who had been scattered in other institutions,
having rallied at once around the new enterprise. During the
course of the year the classes grew to the following numbers:
Seniors, 6; Juniors, I4; Sophomores, I9; Freshmen, 22; total,
6I. Among these 14 were partial students (all but two of them
young women), while but one young woman was admitted to the
regular course, entering the Freshman class. But very few entered the Scientific course. After a prosperous year, the Senior
class, numbering six, was graduated at the first Commencement,
in June of the following year, all receiving the Classical degree.
During this year valuable apparatus had been secured, at a cost
of $5,000; a liberal subscription of the same amount from C. S.
Bragg, Esq., of Cleveland, as a Library Fund, laid a foundation
for the Library, which was increased by other generous donors;
and a good beginning was made towards a cabinet of mineralogical
and geological specimens. The tuition and fees had been fixed at
a low rate, and it was found that boarding could be secured in private families at from three to four dollars per week.
In the second year of the institution the number of students
was slightly increased, and the Faculty was enlarged by the election of Rev. D. S. Gregory to the Chair of Intellectual and Moral
Philosophy. Eight young men were graduated, all inrthe Classical
course. At the end of this year Professor Fullerton resigned, because of ill-health, having proved very successful in his position.
The opening of the third year, however, showed a very decided
increase in students, the catalogue for that year registering about
I40, including an increased number of young women. A Preparatory course running through two years was also opened, with 35
students, under the direction of Rev. J. A. I. Lowes. Valuable
additions continued to be made to the Library, Apparatus, Cabinet, and other departments; the classes became more thoroughly
organized and the work better systematized. At the close of this
college year thirteen young men were graduated, twelve in the
Classical and one in the Scientific course. President Lord finding
the work too severe for his physical strength, and desiring to prepare the results of his former labors in the Chair of Theology in the




512


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Presbyterian Theological Seminary of the North-west for publication, felt constrained to offer his resignation, which was accepted
at the end of the third year of the University and of his Presidency. His administration had proved most successful, especially in
the matter of organization and in his management of the students,
and the institution owes him a lasting debt of gratitude for his efficient labors and wise counsel in its behalf. As a mark of their appreciation the Trustees conferred upon him the honorary degree
of LL. D.* The Trustees immediately elected as his successor,
Rev. A. A. E. Taylor, D. D., of Cincinnati, who had been a Trustee from the opening of the institution. The new President entered at once upon his work, and was duly inaugurated at the
opening of the fall term in September, I873. During the four succeeding years the University has steadily increased in popular favor and added to the number of its students about thirty annually,
until the present year, when there are enrolled in the Collegiate
and in the Preparatory about 300 students.
The following changes have since been made in the Faculty:
In 1873 Professor L. Firestone, M. D., LL. D., was elected full
Professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene.
In 1874 J. Adolph Schmitz, A. M., was elected Professor of
Modern Languages and Literature, and J. O. Notestine, A. M.,
Adjunct Professor of Latin Language and Literature.
In January, 1875, Professor Jeffers received a call to the Euclid
Street church, of Cleveland, and proffered his resignation as Professor of Greek. He, however, continued his labors during the
year.
Professor James Black, D. D., President of Pennsylvania Female College, was elected his successor, and entered upon the duties of his chair at the beginning of the sixth University year, September, I875.
In 1875 W. W. Wallace, A. M., was elected Adjunct Professor of Mathematics, and Mr. James Wallace, A. M., Adjunct Professor of Greek.
Rev. J. M. Layman, A. M., was in I877 appointed Instructor
in Hebrew.
Subscriptions were continually made to the funds of the Uni

*The proceedings of the inauguration of President Taylor were published in
pamphlet form, and consisted of Farewell address by President Lord; address of Induction by Rev. John Robinson, D. D., President of the Board of Trustees, and
Inaugural address by President Taylor.




WOOSTER-THE UNIVERSITY.


513


versity through the agency of Rev. T. K. Davis, Financial Secretary, who served with great efficiency during these years; and in
I875, W. D. Johnson, of Clifton, Ohio, in his will, donated $25,ooo for the endowment of an additional chair. Four chairs have
been thus endowed in the sum of $25,000 each by the following
persons: Mr. J. H. Kauke, of Wooster; E. Quinby, Jr., Esq., of
Wooster; B. J. Mercer, of Mansfield, in his will; and W. D.
Johnson, as above. Funds were added for the increase of the
Library, until it has reached about 4,000 well-selected volumes.
Large additions have been made to the Museum, and the collection of Indian remains is already one of the finest in the State,
comprising nearly eight hundred specimens.
In the summer of 1874 Professor Stoddard, with about twenty
students, organized an expedition to the Rocky Mountains, to be
absent about two months. As the result a cabinet of minerals and
fossils of great value was added to a rich collection previously obtained from Professor Hayden, of the United States Exploring
Expedition, through the agency of Rush Taggart, Esq. By courses
of lectures delivered during several winters by the Professors, a
fund of about one thousand dollars was raised with which a very
handsome telescope was obtained from the celebrated manufacturers, Cooke & Sons, Liverpool, England, and was imported free of
duty. Largely through the influence of Professor Kirkwood, and
by aid of the Faculty and classes of the institution, members of
the Synod and citizens of the town, a handsome Observatory has
been erected on the University grounds in which the telescope is
elegantly mounted for the use of the students. In view of the increase of the Library a Reading Hall was established, open during
eight hours each day, in the Library Room, and furnished with the
leading reviews, magazines and newspapers of the day. Rev. T.
K. Davis was, in I877, appointed Librarian and, with his assistants,
keeps the Library constantly open for the issuing of books to the
students and for consultation concerning subjects upon which the
Library gives information. A large number of dictionaries and
other books of reference have been secured for this purpose.
Founded in the midst of one of the richest agricultural regions
in the State, and among a generous and hospitable people, it has
been found, by experiment, that expenses may be as economically
managed by those who desire to obtain an education upon small
outlay, as in any other college of the land, and at a far less rate
than in other schools where the advantages are not nearly so great,
33




514


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


and especially far cheaper than in Eastern colleges. About $I5,000
are paid out annually by the Trustees to secure Professors and
Teachers of the highest grade, and of wide-spread reputation for
ability and efficiency. The student is charged less than half the
actual expense of his tuition, not counting the investments in
grounds and buildings, and students find, upon experience, that the
worst way to economize in seeking an education is in cheap
teachers. The high standing of the institution, equal to that of the
best American colleges, has been faithfully maintained by securing, at high cost, the best instructors to be found, and the character of the graduates passing out from their hands is such as to
satisfy the friends of the University of its great excellence and
efficiency. It has proved a wonderful advantage to the community, to have drawn to it educated families from abroad who desire
to give their children a first-class education, and the University
pours annually into the currency of the community no less than
$70,000, drawn from over fifty counties of the State, and from
twelve other States, whence students now come. This is so much
fresh blood poured into the money veins of the community, year
after year a steady stream reaching the humblest tradesman, and
making itself felt in the whole region around the institution.
Already it is estimated that the money paid out by the citizens to
secure the University in their midst has been repaid to them in
threefold measure, and as the years roll on, this will prove to be
an investment of the best character, producing a large and constant
interest.  Added to this is the fortunate opportunity afforded to
the county to secure the superior education of its sons and
daughters near at home.
During the eight years of its establishment, considerably over
800 students have been in attendance, and the graduates for this
period number about I6o, an average of 20 per annum -a result
unequaled by any institution ever established in the West, and
scarcely ever, if at all, in the whole country. The objection to
this institution because of its newness has been removed by the
employment of life-long teachers in the Faculty, whose combined
experience is fully equal to that of any Faculty in a college of equal
size in the land, thus securing the effect of long experience and age
for the University itself. The Ancient and Modern Languages,
Natural and Mental Philosophy, Mathematics, English Literature,
Rhetoric, and all the branches needful to secure a complete colle



WOOSTER- THE UNIVERSITY.


515


giate education, are made the subject of especial attention and thorough study throughout the whole course.
At its annual Commencements, held usually on the third
Wednesday of June, eloquent and distinguished speakers from
abroad address crowded audiences; while the other exercises, in
which the students themselves take part, especially those of the
graduating class on Commencement Day, in the grove, attract audiences that number several thousand, drawn from over the whole
county. This is a constant excitement to the educational spirit,
and awakens the minds of the community to the superiority and
power of an educated brain.
One peculiar feature of the institution, the admission of young
women to all the classes, has fully established the mental power
of the sex in competition with young men. Young women of the
more thoughtful and studious class are drawn to an institution
where they can secure instruction in studies that develop the faculty of thought from superior teachers, such as the schools they
usually attend have not the means to employ. They are prepared
for teachers, or for an adequate appreciation of literature, science
and life in general, and- are enabled to reason for themselves and
act with superior judgment, moving without embarrassment in the
most cultivated society and fitted to adorn the highest walks in social life. Among the small number who have already graduated,
are those of whom any institution might well be proud. Under
careful management the evils that have been so often imagined
and exaggerated are wholly avoided. Good conduct and good
health have been constantly secured for a time sufficiently long to
make the experiment a decided success, and the number of young
women in attendance has increased steadily until it mounts above
sixty.
The general character of the students is of the highest order;
and by a well devised system of entrusting them largely with duty
under careful supervision, and with sufficient study to give them
full employment, they are thrown upon a sense of their manhood
at an early age, and feel the pressure of their personal responsibility in conducting themselves as gentlemen, thus avoiding the dangers that imperil thoughtless youth. The usual police system of
schools for older students simply incites them to attempt their
worst, while a generous and helpful confidence excites them to do
their best.
The central part, only, of the projected building has been com



516


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


pleted, but, as it stands, it is sufficient for all the wants of five hundred students. The finest building in the county, it is built of
brick, trimmed with sandstone; eighty feet front by one hundred
in depth; rising five stories in hight above the basement, that
stands eight feet above ground.
In the basement of the building room is temporarily found for
an ample laboratory for the analytical practice of chemistry, where
separate tables are provided for the students. The other floors
contain eight recitation rooms, each about thirty-two feet square,
with ceilings fourteen feet in hight, and lighted by five large windows, that render the rooms cheerful and healthful. The Library
and Museum now occupy two of these rooms. Four additional
recitation rooms, twenty-three by twenty-five feet in size, are situated upon the first floor, one of which is devoted as a reception
room exclusively to the use of the young ladies, who have, also,
constant access to the reading room. The whole rear of the
building, from the second to the fourth stories, is occupied by
Kauke Chapel, named for Captain J. H. Kauke. This chapel is a
room fifty-two by fifty-six feet in size, with a light and graceful
gallery running around three sides of it, on a level with the third
story of the building.
It is seated in circular form as an amphitheatre, furnished with
wainscoting and seats of native wood, handsomely frescoed and
furnished comfortably, accommodating eight hundred persons.
Over the chapel two rooms, each fifty-two by twenty-eight feet large,
are fitted up for the use of the Literary Societies. The fifth floor
remains unoccupied. A broad, central hall, through which ascends an ample staircase, with wide transverse halls, renders all
departments readily accessible. This building, finished throughout in native oak and walnut, furnished with heating apparatus
and lighted by gas, the whole surmounted with a handsome Mansard roof and tower, is surpassed in convenience, spaciousness and
practical utility by few educational edifices in the West.
To the Preparatory department particular attention has been
paid during the last five years. The object of the Faculty in this
matter has been twofold. On the one hand, they desire to secure
to those persons who may not intend to pursue a full college
course a thorough, practical and advantageous training in elementary English branches, beginning with the lower studies and carrying the student up to an excellent knowledge of English, together
with an elementary training in such branches as may enable them




WOOSTER- THE UNIVERSITY.


5I7


to fill a teacher's place with acceptance and honor in the district
school and other schools of like grades. All the purposes of a
superior normal school are thus obtained under the care of experienced teachers, and many pass out thence yearly to fields of
usefulness.
On the other hand, a necessity was felt for an efficient preparatory training for the college courses, including elementary work in
Greek, Latin, German, Algebra, History and Drawing. Only by
securing faithful and sufficient work in the beginning of these studies, could the student become ready for the full benefit of the
higher classes in the University proper. To this end, selection
has been made from among the best teachers, and particularly
from the graduates of the College. Two of these alumni, especially Professors J. O. Notestine, A. M., and James Wallace, A.
M., natives of the county, and standing at the head of their classes
at graduation, with Professor William W. Wallace, A. M., long a
successful teacher in another institution, have devoted themselves,
with great zeal and untiring labor, to set this department on a level
with the noted academies of New England. For thoroughness
and accuracy, the acquisition of exact knowledge of the first principles of the studies that lie at the foundation of the college course
their work is nowhere excelled, since it is performed with the utmost care and in a conscientious sense of duty to the pupils. The
young women who have entered these classes have also found
great benefit therein, and have proved themselves able to rival
their brothers for high standing and the possession of the prizes.
The theory of this institution is, that the secret of success in
college lies in a preparation that shall make the student fully and
familiarly acquainted with those elementary principles that, starting at the root, still pervade every subsequent stage of progress in
any study. And to accomplish this end and produce scholars of a
high grade, the Preparatory department is made the subject of
constant attention and diligent care. This department has met
with great favor, has grown constantly from the start, both in size
and in excellence, and is annually sending up to the college classes
students capable of maintaining the highest standing, and of graduating with honor to themselves and to the University.
The citizens of Wayne county need no longer send their sons
beyond its limits to secure for them a classical, scientific, normal
or academical education equal to any that can be obtained in any
part of the land.




5 I 8


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY} OHIO.


The Medical Department was established at the beginning. At
the time of the organization of the University, Charity Hospital
Medical College, in Cleveland, was received into connection with
the University under the charter of the latter, and was formally
reorganized as its Medical Department. Having been previously
conducted for five years under the direction of such able and distinguished Professors as Drs. G. C. E. Weber and Leander Firestone, with their coadjutors, it had already gained a high position.
This alliance thus obtained gave increasing character and influence
to the University, and the Medical Department has continued to increase, until now its Faculty numbers thirteen and its students aggregate about one hundred, with above thirty graduates annually.
Being situated in Cleveland, because of the superior advantages of
proximity to hospitals and a larger range of disease, its friends, and
especially its devoted Faculty, have secured for it a handsome and
well furnished building, in which its classes meet and are trained
for their future profession. This department is rapidly making its
mark among Medical Colleges, and its fame is extending to the
East as well as in the West. Its graduates already number three
hundred and sixty, and have gained for themselves a fine reputation wherever they have located.
Thus this University of our county, turning out, from its two
main departments, sixty alumni annually, is rapidly winning a
reputation beyond the limits of its own State, and within these
bounds has already taken a recognized stand in the first rank. In
1877, the seventh year of its existence, it graduated from its Collegiate department the largest number of classical alumni of any
college in Ohio, thus taking the lead of its older companions.
With the confidence and support of the citizens of this county, in
whose midst it is set as a shining light, and who should take a
patriotic pride in its success, and aid it by every means in their
power to tower above every other institution of the kind in the
State, it will in return give to the county and to the city of Wooster, the county-seat, whose name it bears, a reputation and a fame
for literary culture that shall be national and enduring-a fame
which, in the future, may rival the names of Princeton, Cambridge
and New Haven, the great educational centers of America.
As a matter of historical interest for the future, we append the
names of its present Faculty and officers of collegiate and preparatory instructors:






WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


5I9


Rev. A. A. E. Taylor, D. D., President, and Mercer Professor of Biblical Instruction and Apologetics.
O. N. Stoddard, LL.D., Kauke Professor of the Natural Sciences.
S. J. Kirkwood, Ph. D., LL.D., Johnson Professor of Mathematics and Astronomy.
Rev. D. S. Gregory, D. D., Professor of Mental Sciences and English Literature.
L. Firestone, M. D., LL.D., Professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Hygiene.
Rev. James Black, D. D., Quinby Professor of Greek Language and Literature.
J. Adolph Schmitz, A. M., Professor of Modern Languages and Literature.
J. O. Notestine, A. M., Adjunct Professor of Latin Language and Literature.
W. W. Wallace, A. M., Adjunct Professor of Mathematics.
James Wallace, A. M., Adjunct Professor of Greek Language and Literature.
Rev. J. M. Layman, A. M., Instructor in Hebrew.
Rev. W. H. Jeffers, D. D., Lecturer on Ancient Philosophy.
Hon. Martin Welker, LL.D., Lecturer on International and Constitutional
Law.
Rev. Thomas K. Davis, A. M., Librarian.
William R. Crabbs, A. B., Instructor in Latin and English Branches.
Louise W. Stoddard, Instructor in Natural Sciences and Drawing.
Amanda M. Flattery, Instructor in German.
David R. Boyd, Assistant Librarian.
Andrew Reed, Janitor.
TABLE OF STUDENTS IN ATTENDANCE ANNUALLY.
YEARS.     SENIORS.  JUNIORS.  SOPHOMORES.  FRESHMEN.  PREPARATORY.  TOTAL.
1870-71       7        14         20         20            o           6i
1871-72      Io        19        20          28            o           77
1872-73      i6        31.     35          57           35          174
1873-74      31        37        55          47           53          223
1874-75      26        36        42          50           79          233
I875-76      26        41        45          54          IOI          267
1876-77      35        38        43          49          121          286
x877-78"     34        42        34          75          130          3I'5
REV. A. A. E. TAYLOR, D. D.t
President Taylor was born in Springfield, Clarke county, Ohio,
in I834.    His father, Dr. Edward Taylor, of Cleveland, Ohio, was
also  born in this State.     His grandfather and      great-grandfather
came together from New Jersey to Ohio in the year of Wayne's
Treaty with the Indians, and settled in Ross county, naming the
town in which they located Bainbridge, in honor of Commodore
"'Estimated in part.
tSelected.




520


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Bainbridge, a brother-in-law of the latter. His remoter ancestors
came from England in I692, and settled in Garret's Hill, Monmouth county, New Jersey, where many of their descendants still
reside.
His great-grandfather upon the mother's side was Colonel
James Gordon, of Virginia, a part of whose diary is published in
Dr. Foote's Sketches of Virginia. Colonel Gordon was a Scotchman, and an elder in the Presbyterian church of which Rev. Samuel Davies was pastor; and Rev. James Waddell, D. D., the "blind
preacher," whose eloquence was celebrated by William Wirt,
married Colonel Gordon's daughter, the sister of Dr. Taylor's
grandfather. The eldest daughter of Dr. Waddell, who was first
cousin to Dr. Taylor's mother, was married to Rev. Archibald
Alexander, D. D., the distinguished Princeton Professor for whom
Dr. Taylor was named. Drs. J. W. and J. A. Alexander were
therefore second cousins to Dr. Taylor.
Dr. Taylor was a student from early life, and graduated at
Princeton College at the age of nineteen, 1854. He studied theology at Princeton Theological Seminary, and was licensed to preach
the Gospel by the Presbytery of Cincinnati in I857. He was
shortly afterward ordained, and settled as pastor over the Presbyterian church of Portland, Kentucky, where he remained two years.
Thence he was called to the charge of the First Presbyterian
church of Dubuque, Iowa, in which he labored successfully for six
years. During this period he became a regular correspondent of
the Presbytetian, of Philadelphia, over the signature of "Hawkeye,"
the familiar sobriquet of the people of Iowa. At the close of the
war, in I865, he was called to the Bridge Street Presbyterian
church of Georgetown, D. C.
From this field he was called in I869 to the pastorate of the
Mt. Auburn Presbyterian church of Cincinnati, Ohio, a new and
promising organization.  After a four years' pastorate, during
which the membership of the church increased to over 200, Dr.
Taylor was unanimously elected, in June, 1873, by the Board of
Trustees, as successor to Rev. Willis Lord, D. D., as President of the
Synodical University of Wooster. Having been a member of that
Board for several years, and greatly interested in the success of
this young University, after having contributed freely for the purpose of putting the endowment in a good condition, he accepted
this position and entered upon its onerous duties in September,
1873.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


521


Dr. Taylor has been a member of the Boards of Education and
of Church Extension of the General Assembly. He has also been
a member of the Boards of Directors of the North western Theological Seminary, at Chicago, Ill., and of the Western Theological
Seminary, of Allegheny, Pa. He was a member of the General
Assembly at which the reunion of the two branches of the Presbyterian church was consummated in I869. The 'degree of D. D.
was conferred upon him by the Wooster University in I872.
Dr. Taylor is a man of medium size and kindly aspect, of fine
talent and impressive address, of unusually genial temperament,
and well adapted to win the affections of students, and interest all
with whom he meets in the University, to the building up of which
he has devoted himself with all his energies. The first year of his
incumbency, though the position was new and very difficult to fill,
was crowned with great success in securing the entire confidence
of all connected with the institution, in the increasing number of
students, and in the enjoyment of a powerful work of grace by
which a large proportion of the inmates of the College were hopefully converted. Some of these have already turned their faces
toward the Gospel ministry.
LEANDER FIRESTONE, M. D.
The uttered part of a man's life, let us always repeat, bears to the unuttered,
unconscious part a small, unknown proportion; he himself never knows it, much
less do others.
There are certain proprieties which, in obedience to a code of
necessity, are uniform, will prevail and have prevailed for all time.
It is proper that we should have astronomers to keep track of the
planets and discover new ones; philosophers to dogmatize upon
truth and discuss "the science of realities;" geologists to rake
the ashes of the past, creep into the fissures of rocks, exhume
mummies, ransack catacombs and announce the infancy of time;
masters in the realm of ethics; discoverers in the empire of mechanics and mind, to aid muscular energy, economize time, produce
wealth, reconcile fact with principle, earth with sky, creation with
Creator, and elevate and ameliorate the moral and physical condition of the world.
And since all men can not be discoverers, philosophers, inventors, etc., it is refreshing to know that the world has produced a




522


HISTORY OF ~AYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


few. The trees of the forest attain not to the same hight, yet
the smaller ones and the undergrowth have each their specific use
and sphere. Nature was conscious of her eternal policies when
she pronounced or decreed her discriminations with mankind. To
each was assigned his weight of talent; to each his sphere of exercise and employment. To this primal arrangement of things she
has set her fixed and endless adaptations. Every life, when properly lived out, is supposed to have filled the measure of its possible
and prescribed activities, and every trade and profession has its
several departments requiring separate and peculiar talents. One
man may excel in a given branch of a profession and be wholly
inefficient in another.
In medicine there are but few men who combine all the traits
indispensable to the true physician. This fact seems to be much
better understood with Europeans than in America, where the various branches of medicine are divided into separate and distinct
professions. A man may practice skillfully in the materia medica
and be but an indifferent surgeon, or he may excel in the science
of compounding and be ill-suited to preside over the education of
others. Moreover every profession has its literature and morale,
and he may wield a pen with elegance, power and point who would
prove but a blunderer in the dissecting-room.
Dr. Firestone has not only vindicated his claim to an exalted
rank in surgery, but in every department of the occult mysteries of
medicine.  He wields a strong and trenchant pen, talks with
the freedom of the gushing brook, and presides over the studies
of others with eminent success, and to the fame he has achieved
with the scalpel he adds the luster of the teacher.
He was born in Saltcreek township, Wayne county, Ohio, in
the year I8I9. After he attained his fourteenth year his time was
spent in performing such service, during the summer, as a boy of
that age was competent of doing upon the farm, while during the
winter he had the occasional opportunity of attending the country
school. He now went to Columbiana county, near Salem, where
he had some sprightly jostling with the world, and where he obtained some scant instruction in a district school from a Mr. Kingsbury and a Mr. Mills. From there he went to Portage county,
Ohio, where for three months he indulged in the health-inspiring,
muscle-expanding, chest-enlarging, lung-invigorating occupation
of chopping cord-wood, and that for three shillings per cord, and
hard beech at that.




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


523


Whether the Doctor was so successful as to acquire distinction as
a cord-wood carpenter and champion of the wedge and maul, we
are not at liberty to tell, but fancy, however, that with all his preconceived conceits of the dignity of labor that he did not desire to
extend his knowledge of his occupation beyond an exact rudimentary limit.
Adopting the Westonic method of locomotion, he then proceeded to Chester township, Wayne county, making his home
with his uncle, John Firestone, two miles north of New Pittsburg,
with whom he remained until he was eighteen years of age. On
the farm of his uncle he found "ample room and verge enough"
for his developing and powerful muscular forces-felling grand old
trees, rolling and tumbling logs, plowing among stumps and stubborn roots, an occupation sufficient indeed to test the patience and
manly fortitude, not only of the youthful Firestone, but of the
sternest Calvinist of the faith of Brown or good old Ebenezer
Erskine. In the fields and woods the summer was spent; in the
dingy school-room the winter.
He taught his first term in what is now Perry township, Ashland county, then in Wayne county, in what was called the Helman district, receiving for his services twelve dollars per month,
and boarding himself. By appropriating the intervals between
labor and sleep to hard study, he obtained his education, and laid.
the marble on which is built the superstructure of his professional
name.
If he did not, like Pope, teach himself to write by copying
printed books, he managed to acquire the art by other equally
novel methods. He wrung the secrets from Kirkham and the
Calculator by the blaze of burning brush-heaps. During this time
he made weekly recitations to Rev. Thomas Beer. In addition to
such studies that directly qualified him for teaching, he devoted
himself to botany, philosophy, chemistry and other branches of
natural science. He had no collegiate education. The farm was his
academia and university; the teeming fields and valleys, the trees
and brooks his tutors. Life was his school, where "the clink of
mind against mind" strikes out those brighter intellectual sparks
which shine forever, and reflect light in endless irradiations. He
studied hard, and had a clear understanding of what he read.
Industry and perseverance are stout levers when fulcrumed
upon a resolute will. Possunt quia posse videntur is a maxim full of
pith as in any time past. There is a marvel in earnest study. He




524


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


adopted the idea of Bacon: "Read to weigh and consider"-not
too many books but all good ones well.  For "some books,"
adds he, "are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and
some few are to be chewed and digested." Under difficult and
adverse conditions he studied and struggled, "unfolding himself
out of nothing into something." Or as Carlyle would say, he drew
continually toward himself in continual succession and variation
the materials of his structure, nay his very plan of it, from the
whole realm of accident, you may say, from the whole realm of
free-will building his life together, a guess and a problem as yet
not to others only but to himself.
On the 26th of August, 1838, he was married to Susan Firestone, and the next year, then but 20 years old, began the study
of medicine with Dr. S. F. Day, an eminent practicing physician
of the county at that time, and for whose great and consummate
skill as a practitioner, to this day, he entertains a profound regard.
With him he remained for nearly three years, during which time
he took a course of lectures at the Medical College of Philadelphia.
On the 28th of March, I84I, he located at Congress village,
Congress township, where he began his first floatings on the abysmal sea of professional life.
His residence and office were in the first house north of the hotel, then kept by James Huston and known as the Homer Stanley
property. Here he continued for 13 years, where he had an extensive and lucrative practice and acquired a signal local reputation
during which more than a decade, he graduated from the medical
department of the Western Reserve College, then located at Cleveland, Ohio. We have said he had now attained to a local celebrity.
More than that. He had not only impressed the community that
embraced his circumference of visitation of his superior ability and
where he had been saving
" Some wrecks of life from aches and ails,"
But the noise of his skill and the echo of his professional exploits had reached the ear of the broader and more scientific public. The college, from which he had but recently graduated,
was in need of an occupant for one of its professional chairs, and
in its survey for a suitable man to fill it, the abilities of Dr. Firestone were recognized, and in 1847 he was made Demonstrator
of Anatomy in that institution. This position he held until 1853,
where his reputation as an anatomist and dissecting-room instruc



IWOOSTER-SKETCHES.


525


tor was established, and when it became evident that honorable distinction awaited him.
He next was appointed Superintendent of the Northern Ohio
Lunatic Asylum, located at Newburg, which position he filled with
conspicuous fitness until August 6, 1856, when he removed to
Wooster, where he has lived ever since, and engaged in a successful and sweeping practice. In 1858 he was elected President of
the State Medical Society, then holding its sessions at Columbus.
In the winter of I864 he was made Professor of Obstetrics and
the Diseases of Women in Charity Hospital Medical College at
Cleveland, which position he has continuously held ever since, excepting two years, during which he occupied the Chair of Surgery
in the same college. In the summer of 1870 this institution was
constituted the Medical Department of Wooster University, in
which he continues Professor of Obstetrics and the Medical and
Surgical Diseases of Women, and Class Lecturer on Anatomy,
Physiology and Hygiene to the University students at Wooster.
The title of LL.D. was conferred upon Dr. Firestone by the
University of Ohio, at Athens, June 24, 1874. This honor was bestowed, not simply in appreciation of his brilliant attainments in
the medical profession, but for his distinguished and pre-eminent
achievements in the departments of science and literature, and the
literature of science.
He has had eight children-three girls and five boys-all of
whom are dead, save his two sons, W. W. Firestone, M. D., and
M. O. Firestone, M. D.
Dr. L. Firestone is now at the very zenith of his powersstanding on the mainlands of professional eminence. Being yet in
the prime, the noon of his years, and considering his past progressive elevations, we have not the courage to forecast his future. We
see what he has, but know not what he might have accomplished.
He stands over six feet high, is massively built and solid as a forest oak. He is fleshy, but not corpulent, stout-limbed, broadchested, and altogether well proportioned. His face is classic, his
forehead is symmetrical, oval and dome-like. Causality, comparison, ideality, are as perceptible as the snow-summits of the Sierras. His countenance is expressive of thought, benignity, reflection, repose. Time has made reprisals upon his hair and what has
not been pludered is slightly brushed with gray. He is accessible,
sociable and communicative, yet he has the secret of secretiveness.
He does nothing by proxy, not even his own thinking; has faith




526


HISTORY OF WAYNVE COUNTY, OHIO.


in himself, in his ability to decide for himself. All men do not
know his thoughts; he cages them like canaries, and when he lets
them out, like carrier pigeons, they perform an errand. He understands himself, and is a skillful tactician. He has perfect control of
himself and never does anything in haste. Hurry, rush and run are
not in his dictionary.  He is cool, imperturbable, self-poised and
stands solid on his feet. With him there is time enough for all
things. He will amputate your arm in less time than a barber
will shave you, and do it with as little concern. He has an exuberance of animal spirits and may well feel discouraged over the
prospect of dying of hypochondria.  He is as full of mirth as a
spring rivulet is of water, and his sense of the ludicrous is as keen
as Halliburton's. He can tell a story with the same ease that Tallyrand could turn a coffee-mill or a kingdom. He believes with
Sterrre that "laughter, like true Shandeeism, think what you will
against it, opens the heart and lungs." He is fond of music and
will never die with all of it in him.  " He has a strong hand at one
end of his arm and a strong head at the other."
He is a mechanic in his profession as he would have been out
of it. He would have made a better lawyer than nineteen-twentieths of those already at the bar. In the pulpit he would have been
a fire-kindler and segregator of sin, preaching from inspiration, and
as all ministers should, without manuscript. His voice is susceptible
of immense slides and modulations-is smooth enough for the
evening party, strong and bellowing enough for anniversary pageant. He has many friends who are warmly attached to him.
His enemies we imagine are few and he will get the best of them in
the end. As a public lecturer he is popular. His addresses are
eloquent and masterly productions, replete with pathos and sentiment, and chaste and sublime in imagery. His descriptive power
is terse and brilliant; his analyzations methodical and thorough;
the feeling, of the higher key and reflective. In this field he excels-shines, for the same reason that the sun gives light. As a
professional instructor few aspire even to be his equal.
He is indeed a born surgeon, enjoying peculiar adaptation to
this branch of his profession.  He possesses firmness and dexterity of hand, a calm, cool brain, a quick perceiving eye, a stout
nerve, physical endurance and tenacity of will. In his operations
he is resolute and decided, and in case of unforeseen complications
he is ever guarded against surprises. Like Dr. Mott, his motto is,
"Recognize the advance of science with the growth of the world,"




WO OSTER-SKETCHES.


327


and hence Dr. Firestone welcomes all valuable discoveries in
medicine and surgery.
We may imagine, with his strong and composite elements of
character and hardy vigor of intellect, how he has attained to professional distinction and honor. Every power and faculty of mind
and brain were subjected and made tributary to his ambition and
will. He willed to succeed, and success crowned him. Laborious
toil and indefatigable industry are the Doric and Corinthian pillars
of the edifice he has built. Day was a host, a besetting legion, in
the splendor of his manhood, but on his pupil of 30 years ago has
fallen, not only his mantle, but a wider name and a richer munificence of honors.
W. W. FIRESTONE, M. D.
W. W. Firestone, M. D., was born in Congress village, Congress township, Wayne county, Ohio, February 25, 1842. A
member of the family of Dr. Leander Firestone and wife, it would
be superfluous to add that the home-culture and government to
which he was subjected would be -of the kind and character both
to develop and discipline the boy.
The education that underlies and is the sub-stratum of human
character, upon which its possessor builds in after life, and which
is the brightest spot in the long, green fields of memory, is that
which is imparted by those two natural and God-commissioned instructors of the youthful mind-the father and mother! In this
respect we are justified in the inference that W. W. Firestone received-assiduous and requisite attention.
His other opportunities of education were promptly supplied by
an open passage to the public schools of the city of Wooster, and
to select and graduated teachers, under whose tutelage he completed his desired course of study. He attended the Mt. Union
College for three years.
In the year I86I he began reading medicine with his father,
Dr. Leander Firestone, when a term of four years was spent in
study, in professional assistance of his father, and attendance on
lecture courses, at the expiration of which period he had graduated from Charity Hospital Medical College, Cleveland, Ohio, now
the Medical department of the University of Wooster.
Since 1865 he has devoted himself wholly to the profession of
his selection, and soon found himself partner in the office of L.
Firestone, M. D.




528


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


He was married, July 6, 1862, to Miss Sarah A. H. Webster,
daughter of W. C. Webster, a musical artist and accomplished
lady, by which marriage they had five children, three of whom are
living, W. L., Alice M. and F. Sylvia Firestone.
W. W. Firestone, though one among the younger of the medical practitioners in our midst, has rapidly risen to success and
popularity in his profession. Having barely attained the meridian
of life, he has a future of great assurance and promise before him.
As a physician he has secured the confidence of the people,
and if the standard of professional eminence is to be measured by
success, he has fought his way to the summit, and is justly entitled
to the colors he has won. Constant, watchful, sympathetic, and
possessed of good judgment and quick insight and comprehension,
he possesses the normal elements of successful practice.
Society, jealous and critical though it may be of its members,
may worthily include him and his family in its better circles.
As a man and citizen he is genial, hospitable and generous,
alive to enterprise and ready to perform an honorable part in the
promotion of the common good. Honesty and integrity constitute the parallels between which he moves. With him, all the domestic " nerve-centers " are concentrated in home. In this
"charmed circle" are to be found his attachments, for surely
here all the sweet atmospheres of this world are breathed.
MARTIN WELKER.
Martin Welker was born in Knox county, Ohio, April 21,
i8I8. His father, who was of German descent, was an early settler in Ohio, and having but little means to educate a large family,
the subject of this sketch was obliged to rely almost exclusively
upon his own resources, which did not consist of money, influence
or friends. His educational advantages in youth were necessarily
limited to a few years winter instruction in the log cabin schoolhouses of the West.
This primeval educational structure-this old-time, antiquated
and vanished predecessor of the modern university-we will not
more faithfully or succinctly undertake to describe than Mr. Welker has himself, in a speech delivered by him at the dedication of
the Wooster High School, October, I870. From this speech we
extract the following:




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


529


We may well be proud of our Common School System. Now no youth of scholastic age need be deprived of the benefit of public instruction in the endowments
of education at public expense, so that, poor or rich, all are equally provided for
within the borders of our State.
The scene before me to-day recalls to me days of other years, far back in the
history of common schools of our State. I shall never forget the first school in
which I entered and the house in which it was held. On a cold December morning I walked through a heavy snow, three miles, to the school-house, on the banks,
of Owl creek, in Knox county. I there found a little log cabin, sixteen feet square,
with puncheon floor, clap-board door and roof, greased paper in the windows, the
whole end of the house one wide fire-place, with a chimney made of clay and sticks,
built on the outside, and a blazing log fire in the ample fire-place. The benches or
seats were split logs, with the flat side uppermost, with round sticks for legs, on
which we sat, with our feet dangling above the rude floor. The " Master," as the
teacher was then called, had the only desk, and that was a flat board, with four
legs, standing in one corner. The "writing-tables" consisted of wide split slabs
along one side of the room, supported by pins driven in the logs of the house. In
this public building-and it is a fair representative of its day-we were provided a
school for three months in the year, the winter season only.
It was under such circumstances and possessed of such meager
facilities of education, that Martin Welker was to receive the mental training that was to prepare him for the discharge of duties that
an active public life was to impose. At an early age he developed
a powerful inclination for books and the acquisition of knowledge,
and such was his assiduity and habit of application that he very
soon achieved familiarity with the English branches taught at that
time in the schools.
At the age of thirteen he abandoned his father's farm, and obtained a situation as clerk in a store in a neighboring village,
where he remained five years, in the meantime appropriating much
of his leisure time to the investigation of the higher branches of an
English education.
When a clerk in the store an event occurred which, no doubt,
largely influenced, and, to an eminent degree, imparted purpose
and determination to his career in life. He was called as a witness before a grand jury at Mt. Vernon. He had heard of Courts
and Judges, but this was his first opportunity of witnessing either.
The Hon. Ezra Dean was then the Presiding Judge, and a man of
commanding appearance and dignified deportment and manner.
This single but extraordinary circumstance so wonderfully impressed the then plastic mind of the young witness, for the first
time in court, that he then and there resolved to be a lawyer, and
if possible to be worthy, and to attain to that higher and nobler
34




530


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


distinction of the Judge-the position so well and admirably
being filled by Dean. This resolution ripened into a firm and
settled purpose. His boyhood associates heard his declaration,
and many of them lived to see it verified.
He never lost sight of this young ambition, and how earnestly,
zealously and indefatigably he has labored to accomplish and vindicate it, his remarkable Judicial record most eloquently explains. At
the end of twenty years' hard and unremittent labor, and of
many changes of fortune, he was elected Judge of the District
over the same Judge Dean, who was his competitor, and actually
occupied the same chair in the same old Court House at Mt.
Vernon. This was the position he had declared to an associate
that he would aspire to attain, and on its attainment his youthful
friend, but now an eminent physician, warmly congratulated him
upon the fulfillment of his boyish dream, the realization of his early
and most laudable ambition.
At the age of eighteen, having made considerable progress in a
general education he entered a lawyer's office and commenced the
study of a profession, in the multitudinous and complex intricacies
of which he has acquired a national reputation. While engaged
in the study of the law he occupied a portion of the time in
probing the roots and exploring the beauties of the Latin
tongue. Nor did he omit to carefully peruse the pages of ancient
and modern history, and thus lay deep the foundation for the superstructure of his future eminence. In the literary societies with
which he was identified he soon acquired reputation as a cogent
reasoner, an apt and skillful debater, as well as an accomplished
and vigorous writer.
In the political campaign of 1840 he took a very active part for
one so young and inexperienced. The editorial department of the
paper published in the county in which he resided received many
keen and valuable contributions from his pen.
In 1846 he was appointed Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas
of Holmes county, for a term of seven years, serving but five, when
he resigned and resumed the practice of law.
At the age of twenty-one he was admitted to the bar, and rapidly rose in distinction as a jurist and advocate. Since then we
might almost say of him, as Phillips said of Bonaparte, his path
has been " a plane of continued elevations." After he had been
practicing ten years he was nominated and elected District Judge
of the Sixth District of Ohio, which then included Wayne county,




WOOSTER-SKE TCHES.


531


and served the constitutional term of five years. At the close of
this period he was unanimously re-nominated, but on account of
much political excitement at the time, growing out of the Presidential contest of 1856, and being a Whig in politics, and the district largely Democratic, he lost a re-election, though running
largely ahead of his ticket.
In the fall of 1857 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
at the same time that Chief Justice S. P. Chase was made Governor.
In this position he served one term, but declined a re-election. At
the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion he was appointed a
Major on the staff of General J. D. Cox, afterwards Governor of
Ohio and Secretary of the Interior, and served out the term for
which the first soldiers were enlisted. He was then appointed
Aid-de camp to the Governor, and assigned to the duties of Judge
Advocate General of the State, and acted as such until the expiration of the term of office of Governor Dennison. His business
qualifications in this position contributed valuable service in calling
out and organizing the Ohio troops.
In 1862 he was appointed Assistant Adjutant General of the
State of Ohio, and was the State Superintendent of the draft for
that year. While in discharge of that duty he was nominated for
Congress by the Republican party of the Fourteenth Ohio District,
but was defeated, as were many others in that disastrous campaign, by a majority of only thirty-six.
In 1864 he was again nominated, and was elected to the 39th
Congress by a large majority. In I866 he was re-elected to the
40th Congress, serving on the Joint Committee on Retrenchment
and on the Committee for the District of Columbia. In I868 he
was elected again to the 4Ist Congress, where he served as Chairman
of the Committee on Retrenchment of the House, on the Committee of the District of Columbia, and the Committee on Private
Land Claims, of which latter he was the acting Chairman during
the last session of that Congress.
In the summer of I869 the Congressional Retrenchment Committee crossed the continent to California, with a view of visiting
and investigating the Custom  House of San Francisco.  Mr.
Welker was Chairman of the House Committee, and Patterson, of
New Jersey, Chairman of the Senate Committee. Whilst on the
Pacific coast they were most hospitably received, and were the recipients of much attention and many favors by the citizens. They




532


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNrTY, OHIO.


visited the Geysers, Yosemite and the Cliff House; crossed the
beautiful bay, and were saluted by cannon from Alcatraz.
In December, 1873, he was appointed by President Grant, vice
Charles Sherman, resigned, District Judge of the United States for
the Northern District of the State of Ohio, and was immediately
confirmed by the Senate. This is a life appointment, and is the
key-stone in the handsome and enviable arch which so symmetrically crowns the reputation of Martin Welker. He brings to
the performance of its duties the mature products of a life of toil,
the solid experiences of professional manhood, an enlightened and
discriminating mind in the highest condition of culture, a sound
judgment and keen and lucid comprehension of the law. The
office honors him no more than he honors it.
Judge Martin Welker was married on the 4th of March, on the
day of President Harrison's inauguration, to Miss Maria Armor,
of Millersburg, Holmes county, Ohio, sister of Professor S. G. Armor, of Brooklyn Medical College. She is a lady of great refinement, sweetness of disposition and excellent culture, and was
highly esteemed by her many friends and acquaintances in Washington City. At the close of his term of Judgeship of the Court
of Common Pleas, and in the spring of 1859 he removed to Wooster, where he has permanently resided ever since, though his judicial duties demand his presence in Cleveland and Toledo. In
recognition of his abilities, the University of Wooster has conferred upon him the title of LL. D.
He has been, in the loftiest sense and most comprehensive
meaning of the term, a public man, and among a galaxy of distinguished citizens of Ohio, has exerted a great influence in the
development of his native State, and in his quiet, unobtrusive, but
effective way, has contributed largely in shaping her political destiny.
JAMES D. ROBISON, M. D.
James D. Robison was born April 23, 1820, on the corner of
Buckeye and North streets, Wooster, Wayne county, Ohio. His
early years were spent with his father, Thomas Robison, Esq.,
during which time he attended the village schools, procuring such
education as the limited opportunities of that day admitted. At
the age of seventeen he hired as a clerk to Robison & McCune,
where he remained until he was twenty, at which time, and in accordance with an intention previously resolved upon, he com



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


533


menced the study of medicine. He entered the office of Dr.
Samuel Norton Bissell, in February, 1840, continuing with him
until October, 1841, when, during the fall, he proceeded to Philadelphia, that winter availing himself of a course of lectures at the
Jefferson Medical College of that city, soon thereafter taking advantage of a course of clinical instruction at the Brooklyn Hospital.
The summer of 1842 he spent in Cincinnati, in pursuit of his
professional work, in the office of Dr. William Wood, simultaneously attending lectures at the Medical College of Ohio and a
clinical course at the Commercial Hospital of Cincinnati.
In the fall of I842 he returned to Philadelphia, where he graduated, and received his diploma in March, I843. He returned to
Wooster and remained there during the summer, the same autumn, however, removing to the Queen City, locating there and
actively engaging in the practice of his chosen profession. Here
he met with signal success in his profession, and here he continued until the 3d of July, 1846, and until the breaking out of the
Mexican war.
At the solicitation of S. R. Curtis, Colonel of the 3d 0. V. I.,
he was made Surgeon of said regiment, leaving Cincinnati that
day (July 3) for Mexico. Arriving at New Orleans on the 9th, he
spent a day or two in the city, when he proceeded to Brazos de
Santiago, at the mouth of the Rio Grande, arriving August 6 at
"Camp Curtis," opposite the old city of Matamoras.
On the 9th of December he was assigned by General Patterson
as Surgeon to the 3d Illinois regiment, commanded by Ferris
Foreman, which being ordered by General Zachary Taylor to
Victoria, arrived there January 4, 1847. January 15 Patterson's
Division, of which his (Robison's) regiment was a part, was
ordered to join General Winfield Scott at Tampico, and on March
8 they were ordered to sail for Vera Cruz, whither they arrived on
the 15th, the Mexican forces surrendering seventeen days thereafter, the United States soldiers taking possession of the city.
On the Ioth of April, 1847, on account of sickness, Dr. Robison
resigned his commission and returned to Wooster, and in October
of the same year formed a partnership with J. P. Coulter, M. D., for
the practice of medicine, which continued to the fall of I853.
Here he intermitted his professional labors for about a year, meantime going to New York and visiting the hospitals and medical institutions there with a view to keeping abreast with the progress
and discoveries of the profession. He again returned to Wooster




534


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


in the autumn of 1854, opening an office and engaging in the practice until I86I, when the war of the Rebellion was inaugurated.
He immediately offered his professional services to the government,
which were as promptly accepted, being assigned to the I6th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, with which he was identified throughout the
three months' service. He was in the battle of Phillippi, one of
the earliest collisions of the Rebellion, and had the honor of amputating the first leg of the war, that of a Confederate soldier. He
was promoted to the rank of Brigade Surgeon in July, I86I, and
assigned to the command of General Rosecranz. After the battle
of Carnifex Ferry he was ordered to locate and organize hospitals
along the Kanawha, and assume charge of the one situated at Galipolis. He was with General Lander at Paw-paw Tunnel, who died
the second day after his arrival.
He accompanied the army of General James Shields down the
Valley of the Shenandoah and participated in the first battle of
Winchester, Virginia, March 23, 1862, which resulted in the discomfiture of the forces of Longstreet and Stonewall Jackson. He
next assumed supervision of hospitals, and continued to act in that
capacity until General N. P. Banks was driven from the Valley.
He was afterwards sent to the Peninsula with the forces under General
G. B. McClellan, being attached to the 6th army corps, commanded
by General Franklin, as an inspecting surgeon, retaining said position until after the battle of Antietam, September I7, I862.
He was next ordered to Washington City to take charge of the
Patent Office Hospital, where he remained until he was compelled
to resign on account of the illness of his wife. On his return home
he was appointed Surgeon of the Board of Enrollment for this district, which position he held during the war. Since then he has
been engaged in practice.
Dr. J. D. Robison has been twice married.
A retrospect of the life of Dr. Robison shows it to have been
an intensely active, zealous and positive one. From the very outset in I840 it has been a vigorous battle, not a long skirmish line,
with here and there a faculty employed, but a compact and concentrated movement against the opposing forces of the world.
Diligence and speculative research were characteristic of him in his
rudimentary professional years. He was practical and observant
from the very outstart of his studies.
He is one of the able and popular physicians in the county,
and is seen every day with the harness on.  He is not an idler,




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


535 '


and even if he were so inclined, his professional duties would give
him no time for recreation. There has always been a fascination
in his chosen science.  He toils in it because it delights him. Its
duties may be depressing and discouraging at times, but then
they have their rewards. It may be the ministry of pain, but it is
likewise the ministry of blessing and love.  At the bed of sickness he is non-excitable, candid and undeceiving, full of encouragement and expectation.
He is naturally of a cheery, spring-like and hopeful disposition.
He believes, with one of the old poets, that we should hope for
everything that is good, because there is nothing which may not
be hoped for, and nothing but what the gods are able to give us.
Surely it is a cardinal and robust virtue in man. It imparts
habitual serenity and good-humor. It is a kind of vital heat in the
soul that cheers and gladdens it. It makes pain easy and labor
pleasant.
As a skillful practitioner he takes high rank, having an experience possessed by few of his rivals-active professional service
during two wars. As a patriot all that can be said of Dr. Robison
must be expressed in the language of eulogy. In the Mexican
campaign he was one of the most popular of the surgeons and won
a reputation as an eminent and successful practitioner. In politics
he is a Republican, but has made it a life-rule to avoid its tumults
and strifes. Had he ventured upon this field he could not well
have been kept out of Congress. In this direction he had special
qualifications. He prefers to look at the sunlight to the twilight side
of human nature. He is a man of marked mental and physical equilibrium-calm  and self-possessed.  He is genteel, plain and
unaffected.  In the social circle  he is at home and causes
all to feel the same way.  He is a fluent talker, the gravity
of his conversation at times being often enlivened with wit and
humor. In fact, he is such a man and his demeanor such as to be
equally distant from constraint and negligence, and he will command your respect while he lays seige to your heart. The Doctor, though slightly past his fiftieth year is yet hale and stout, having the prospect of years of usefulness and enjoyment.
He still sparkles with his youthful vivacity; is as full of fun as
a spring rivulet is of water. If his hair is snowy, it covers a warm
head, for "where the snow-flakes fall thickest there's nothing can
freeze. "




536


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF WOOSTER.
The people of Wooster, intelligent themselves, have always
taken an interest and pride in making their children intelligent.
In the years 1853 and 1854, each of the four wards of the city
built a school-house of its own, and for a few years thereafter each
had a school conducted independently of the others. They were
finally united under one management, and Mr. John Brinkerhoff
was appointed general Superintendent, a position he held until
I870.
The school accommodations becoming insufficient, in I867 the
citizens voluntarily taxed themselves to build the best school-house
in the State. It was completed in I870, the building, with
grounds, furniture, etc., having cost $II3,000. It is located on
West Bowman street. While its great size renders it the most
conspicuous building in the city, its architectural beauty fascinates
the eye of every beholder. Beauty in architecture is a great educator of popular taste. The Greeks and Romans were better
aware of this fact than many of our money-getting generation.
On each floor of the High School building there is one large
study room, having a seating capacity for two hundred and forty
pupils. Four recitation rooms are attached to each of these. The
Principal gives her undivided attention to discipline and the supervision of the studying, while the Assistants hear all the recitations.
This plan secures a highly advantageous division of labor.
All the rooms are tastefully finished and ornamented to some
extent with pictures, plants, etc., to give them a pleasant, homelike air. IHigh commendation is due to those who have not overlooked the fact that children have an aesthetic nature that should
be gratified and cultivated. It would be a cruel economy that
would place refined teachers and impressible children in dingy,
unattractive rooms. A keen sense of beauty, harmony and order
are as essential to happiness and usefulness in life as a knowledge
of arithmetic and grammar.  Moreover, pleasant surroundings
make dispositions pleasant, and thereby render discipline easy.
There is a library of three hundred volumes, a geological cabinet and eight hundred dollars worth of philosophical and chemical
apparatus. These aid greatly in the work of instruction.
The school is divided into three departments, viz: Primary,
Grammar, High School. There are four grades in each department, all the pupils of a grade having the same studies. It requires




WOOSTER-PUBLIC SCHOOLS.


537


one year to complete the work of a grade, and promotions are made
regularly from one to another every June.
In 1874, vocal music was introduced as a regular branch of
study in all the grades. The results obtained have exceeded the
fondest expectations of its most ardent advocates.  In September,
1877, drawing was given a place in the course of study, and a special teacher was appointed for that branch. These are indications
of progress in the right direction. Since education is the due and
harmonious development of all the powers of man, educate the
heart and the hand as well as the head.
The Superintendent holds a meeting for all the teachers once a
month. After his suggestions and instructions have been given,
one or two of the teachers present carefully written papers on subjects relating to their work in the school-room. The thoughts presented are then discussed by the teachers.  In the intervals, frequent grade meetings are held for special instruction in the methods of conducting the work of each particular grade. That the present Superintendent and teachers are zealous and progressive is
indicated by the fact that they have, at their own expense, furnished a reading-room and supplied it with the best educational
and scientific periodicals.
The public schools of Wooster now rank among the best in the
State. The course of study is thorough and complete; the best
methods of instruction and discipline are in use; and a competent
corps of teachers is employed. A large number of non-resident
pupils are now in attendance, which shows that the schools are
popular.
The School Trustees are performing their duties zealously and
intelligently. The following is the present organization of the
schools:
BOARD OF EDUCATION.
John Zimmerman, Jacob Frick and J. W. Baughman.
SUPERINTENDENT OF INSTRUCTION.
W. S. Eversole, A. M.
BOARD OF EXAMINERS.
Superintendent, W. S. Eversole; Professor S. J. Kirkwood and Colonel Ben.
Eason.
TEACHERS.
High School.-Principal, Jennie A. Boyd; Assistants, Mary E. Parsons and
Susan Given.
A and B Grammar School.-Principal, William L. Brothers; Assistants, Ada
Given, Maria E. Abbott and Carrie V. Kramer.




538


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


C and D Grammar School.-Principal, Flora Miller; Assistants, Mila Barrett,
Ella J. Milligan, Loretta S. McMonigal and Mary E. Gordon.
First Ward.-Principal, Ettie E. Jackson; Assistants, Ella J. Eckenroth and
Eunice Clark.
Second Ward.-Principal, Kate L. Barnes; Assistants, Frankie J. Clark and
Nettie M. Gasche.
Third Ward.-Principal, Emma E. Weirich; Assistants, Emma Flattery and
Ella F. Mark.
Fourth Ward.-Principal, Amelia Kemmerlein; Assistant, Ella D. Shively.
Teacher of Music, N. L. Glover.
Teacher of Drawing, S. G. Steele.
JOHN ZIMMERMAN.
John Zimmerman immigrated to America in the year I845,
having been born in Richen, Grand Duchy of Baden, now under
the Prussian Government, April II, 1829. His father, Paul Zimmerman, was a farmer, in moderate circumstances, a representative
of the middle class, with whom the possession of large farms or
estates was a very unusual affair. He had ten children-nine boys
and one girl-his son John being the youngest of the family. His
mother died when he was seven years old.
Having an older brother living near Canal Dover, and having
heard of the rare opportunities of money-getting in the United
States, he resolved to make them a visit, which he did, reaching
New York, June 25, I845. His steps were immediately directed
to Canal Dover, where he found his brother living on a small tract
of land about a mile from said village. His name was Frederick
Zimmerman, and now lives in Bloomville, Seneca county, Ohio.
With Frederick he remained six weeks, when he proceeded to
Canton, Ohio, going into the drug store of C. C. A. Wittings as a
clerk, with whom he remained two years, employed chiefly in the
laboratory and experimenting with chemicals.
In 1847 he went to Massillon, was employed two years as clerk
in a drug and'book concern, returning to Canton in I849, and entering the drug store of Dr. R. H. McCall. In I850 the doctor
went to California, leaving Mr. Zimmerman in charge of his business, during which year he was married to Miss Barbara Held, of
Massillon, Ohio. Dr. McCall returned from California in 1852,
Mr. Zimmerman still in possession of the store. Forming a partnership now, on the 5th of July of this year, he came to Wooster
and rented a room in the east end of the old Exchange Hotel,
where he engaged in the sale of drugs, books, etc. This part



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


539


nership continued until the fall of 1855, when Mr. Zimmerman
purchased the interest of his partner. Continuing business here
for three years, he next rented the room now occupied by Messrs.
Roller & Wilson, where he conducted trade for ten years.
In Febuary, 1867, he bought 42XI80 feet of the Exchange
Block, removed the old building immediately, and proceeded at
once to erect a new one, which was completed about the middle of
March, I868. That spring he assumed possession of it, taking
into partnership with him for a term of five years Lewis P. Ohliger,
an active and reliable young man who had been in his employ for
over ten years.
His building is a superb brick, three stories high, fronting on
West Liberty street, with a depth of 175 feet. His business occupies the whole length of it, the wholesale department being to
the rear. A commodious cellar underlies the whole building. On
the second floor are the rooms of the Wayne County Democrat
office, besides two of the best public offices in the city. On the
third floor is a fine hall, 58x26.
Mr. Zimmerman has been frequently promoted to offices of
public trust since he came into the county, having been elected
County Treasurer in I857 and re-elected in I859, besides holding
several of the most important municipal offices of Wooster. He
is a special champion of education, subscribing liberally to the
University, and particularly devoting his energies to the advancement of the public schools of the city, he being at the present
time President of the Board of Education. In every respect
Mr. Zimmerman has shown himself to be a very valuable citizen,
having the welfare of the city and county at heart, as is manifest
at all times by his zeal in every department of public enterprise.
REV. BENJAMIN POPE.
Rev. Benjamin Pope was born near Lancaster, Fairfield county,
Ohio, May 6, 1815, and was the youngest of seven children. He
was educated at the Seminary of the Joint Synod of Ohio, under
the charge of Professor Schmidt, of Columbus, now called Capital
University. After entering upon the ministry he located near
Steubenville, Jefferson county, Ohio, continuing in the service of
the profession until enfeebled and incapacitated by affliction. He
died June, 8, 1864.
Elizabeth M. Hippee, to whom Rev. Pope was married Sep



540


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


tember 14, I843, is a native of Canton, Stark county, Ohio, where
she was born September I4, I823. Having qualified herself for
the duties of teaching, at an early age she engaged in the profession, teaching at Delaware, Ohio, for two years, and until her
health seemed to be failing.
In the spring of I849 she became the successor of Mrs.
McKee-wife of the Seceder minister of the long-gone-by-she
transferring to Mrs. Pope her pupils, numbering five or six, whom
she instructed about two months. In October she opened the
session, assisted by Miss Sarah Hippee, with between thirty and
forty pupils upon the roll. This term was taught in the house
now owned and occupied by O. F. Jones, Esq.
In the spring of 1853 she took possession of the old Academy
building, and continued her labors as Principal of the institution
until I865, establishing for herself and her school a reputation that
made the name of "Mrs. Pope's Seminary at Wooster" popular
throughout Wayne and neighboring counties.
CAPTAIN GEORGE U. HARN.
"Whether on the scaffold high,
Or in the battle's van,
The noblest place for man to die,
Is when he dies for man."
George Upton Harn was born in the city of Baltimore, July 30,
1820. He was the son of John and Charlotte Harn, and was the
oldest of a family of fourteen children. In his journal he says, " I
have but little to say about my parentage, for I am unapprized of
anything worthy of notice except it be, that my genealogy on both
father's and mother's side could not be impeached with anything
short of common honesty, so far as I am acquainted."
His great-great-grandfather was the first of the name in America, and he came from London, and was of Cymbro or Welsh descent.
He spent the first two years of his life in Baltimore with his mother,
while his father was in Frederick county working at his trade,
which was that of house-joiner. After this the family moved to
this county and purchased a plantation. When he was ten years
old his father took him to Baltimore to attend school, and placed
him in charge of his grandmother. He remained in the city but a
few months, when he returned home.
After this he was sent to a subscription school in the neighbor



WO OSTER-SKETCHES.


54I


hood, and it was here and at the debating society where he first
acquired a taste for study and his disposition for public speaking
first manifested itself. In the year 1838, being then eighteen years
of age, he made a profession of religion. In August, 1839, he was
immersed, and on the same Sunday announced that on the following Sunday he would preach. His father declared his opposition
to this movement, but notwithstanding this, on the appointed day
he delivered his first sermon, taking for his text portions of the
first chapter of James.
He obtained permission of his father to attend a camp-meeting
at Big Pipe creek, near Tawnytown, about sixteen miles from his
home, which was to commence on the 4th of September, but when
the time came his father refused to let him go. Mr. Harn remonstrated and said he had promised to go and that he must go, when
he was met with the answer that if he did he should never enter
the family mansion again. The next morning was Sunday, and he
again asked leave to go, and was once more refused. There being
now no chance of getting a horse to ride he started afoot through
a storm of rain. He left home at 9 A. M. and arrived at his destination at 3 P. M., making the distance of sixteen miles in this time,
traveling bare-footed occasionally to save his shoes that he was fearful might give out before he got there. Arriving at the camp-meeting he found himself in the midst of entire strangers, but soon
found plenty of friends, afterwards returning home, notwithstanding the uttered prohibition of his father.
In I84I the Pennsylvania Eldership of the churches assembled
at Mt. Joy, Lancaster county, licensed him as a regular minister,
and immediately appointed him to a circuit. When he was twentyfour years old he turned his attention to Greek, not, however, being assisted by an instructor. Combined with his good English
education, he attained proficiency as a German, Latin, Greek and
Hebrew scholar, having made considerable progress in the study of
French.
In 1846 he published a small work entitled " A Sermon on the
Ordinance of Feet Washing," which was issued from the Church
Advocate office, the organ of the Church of God in the United
States. This book elicited a sarcastic review from a contributor of
the Methodist Protestant, published in Baltimore. The article, however, was firmly met with a caustic reply, by Rev. Harn, as might
well be expected, for the lion of his nature could howl through his
pen.




542
5flT


HISTORY OF WVAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


In the summer of 1847, becoming restless, he made an exodus
for the then far west, going down the Ohio and up the Mississippi,
above St. Louis, when he left the river, and traveled on foot,
preaching along the road wherever he could find suitable places,
and in his course visiting Mt. Carroll, Freeport, Dixon, Galena, etc.,
in Illinois. During the winter of 1847-48 he taught school and
preached in Mt. Carroll and neighboring places.
In the spring of 1848 he returned east, by the way of Chicago,
and by Lake Erie, to Cleveland, and thence by stage to Wooster.
Here he was hospitably entertained by Rev. Archibald Megrew,
who was then pastor in charge of the Church of God in Wooster,
and here, on the 30th of April, 1848, he preached his first sermon
in Wooster. His stay in Wooster, this time, was brief, it being
only a visit, and on the I Ith of this month he started eastward.
In the latter part of 1848 he began preaching in Philadelphia,
and in June, I850, he followed "the course of Empire" west again,
accompanied by Elder John Winebrenner, and arrived in Wooster
on the 8th of this month, the same evening preaching in the Baptist church. This trip was continued on to Iowa, when he returned to Pennsylvania, and thence back to Wooster, where he
arrived about April I2, 185I, this time to take charge of the church,
where he remained but a year, having been appointed to the pastorate of the church at Lancaster, Pa., in May, 1852, where he
remained two years. He next took charge of the church at Shippensburg, in that State, where he remained until April, 1855, when
he once more retraced his steps to Wooster, becoming pastor of
the church for several years.
During 1854-55 he took an active part in the temperance reform movement in Pennsylvania. In 1856 he took an active part
in local and national politics, and established the reputation of
being a powerful orator and debater. From April I, I857, to
April i, 1858, he traveled over 5,000 miles, 3,000 of which by
private conveyance, and spoke over 200 times, principally upon
temperance, slavery and Hebrew  servitude.  On the I2th of
July, in company with General Spink, Hon. William M. Orr,
Hon. Eugene Pardee and Hon. Martin Welker, he attended the
State convention, as a delegate from Wayne county. In 1858 he
was a candidate for Congress before the nominating convention,
where he demonstrated great strength and popularity. In I860
he was a delegate to the Chicago convention, which nominated A.
Lincoln. During all these years he was a constant correspondent




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


543


of the Church Advocate, many of his contributions being masterly
and heroic assaults upon slavery. He wrote upon a great variety
of topics, such as Baptism by Immersion, Infant Baptism, etc.,
and in the possession of his family are valuable MSS. upon these and
other subjects intended for publication.
He was married March 27, 185I, to Mary A. Bricker, of Cumberland county, Pennsylvania. His oldest son, George U. Harn,
is at the present time one of the editors and proprietors of the
Mansfield, Ohio, Herald.
He was an acute, logical and profound thinker, a fluent and
powerful debater, fearless of antagonists, and carrying his challenge in his hand. He had the pluck of Murat, the courage of
Turenne.  Fear to him was a meaningless term. If he resolved to go forward he would do so "though hell should gape
and bid him hold his peace." He faced danger with the courage
of conscience and intellect. The man who dared to utter such a
sentiment-" Not that I seek death, but if such a sacrfice must be
offered, let me be one who shall do his duty in the decisive hour, " and
who, when the decisive hour came, did die like a hero, has made an
appeal for earthly immortality.
WOODHULL AND CLAFLIN.
The higher liberty of the soul! At "the other end of the
avenue," freedom from all restraint!  Free love is libertinism,
libertinism is tragedy. Vary the key-note; introduce the charming variations; make use of the minor, or the major scale, the
strain finally modulates into the melancholy finale, tragedy.
Helen elopes from her husband to be mistress of Priam's son.
Troy in ashes.
Mark Antony dallied in amorous liaison with Cleopatra; upon
his own sword, that "quartered the world," he fell, while the poison of a deadly asp froze her blood.
Before Lucretia Borgia her admirers bowed in adoration, and
promiscuously enjoyed her charms. What fates awaited them!
Notorious in history is the royal libertine of all the Russias;
and who can tell the dark doom that fell upon the favorites of
Catherine? But the quarries of history need not be explored for
illustration to make sure our proposition.
A pale girl in the corridor of the Treasury building at Washington City, with fiery eyes, presents herself with outstretched




544


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


hand, and in it a loaded pistol; a puff of smoke is seen, and a bullet tears through a young man's heart; free love, with its license
of libertinism, closes in tragedy.
A pocket handkerchief flaunts in the air; a wild crowd jams
the street-the revolver has done its work; a mangled body bleeds
upon the curb-stone, and this is General Sickles' protest against
free-loveism, and this is tragedy.
The Sheridan of dashing journalists allows the strange fatalism
to possess him; it insinuates with its delightful exterior the social
circle, and in its firm and silky folds is caught a brilliant summer
fly, ready to abjure most sacred vows; another pistol shot, a deathbed marriage, a bride of an hour.
A briber of Legislatures seeking to make lawlessness law, and
judges pronounce injustice just, who sneered at prisons and penalties, at promises and pledges, at honesty and honor, whose immense commercial genius exhausted itself in thefts and frauds and
cheats, who rioted and feasted and fattened upon stolen substance,
who enjoyed beyond men, the higher liberty of the soul, and
pranced wildly in the enchanting pastures of license, whose life
was an amour and for whom Fate wove her webs from the eyebeams and voluptuous charms of a lovely woman, suddenly closes
a rapid, wonderful life. On the stairway of a fashionable metropolitan hotel, the condemning bullet avenges the libertinism of
free love. The end is tragedy.
These are but prominent illustrations. How many suicides,
the causes of which are mysterious, might be but the discordant
strains in this doleful finale, of which the introduction and theme
are the voluptuous melodies of free love! If free-lovism prevails
will not the tragedy be universal?
"Though the mills of God grind slowly, yet they grind exceeding small;
Though with patience He stands waiting, with exactness grinds he all."
A question arising whether these transcendentalists ever lived
in Wooster we took the liberty of writing the following letter:
WOOSTER, OHIO, February 20, 1874.
VICTORIA WOODHULL, New York-Madam: With parties interested in the
matter, there is now suspended in the chancery of opinion a question as to the fact
of you and your sister Tennie C. Claflin having, at any time, been residents of our
city. I will be gratified to have your statement relative to the subject in dispute.
If it be true that you formerly lived in Wooster, when was it, and how long? You
will greatly oblige me by answering this letter.
Permit me to subscribe myself, very cordially,  BEN DOUGLASS.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


545


The following was received in reply:
BEN DOUGLASS, ESQ.-Dear Sir: Both Tennie and I lived in Wooster, Ohio,
during my tenth and eleventh years. A Dr. -, if still living, can tell
you something of us. Yours, etc.,   VICTORIA C. WOODHULL.
We entertain no feeling or sentiment of pride in presenting to
our readers the fact that these two grossest and subtlest of all
the advocates of the monstrous social crime of the age once lived
in our county, but it fell under the range of our work and we
sought the information. They have a continent-wide fame as the
exponents of their peculiar views, by which, if the civil, domestic
and religious world were governed, there would be presented a
disorganized mass that ultimately would bring on the age of unbridled license and its natural consequence, universal anarchy and
uproar.
MAJOR ENOCH TOTTEN.
Enoch Totten, son of Michael and Susan Totten, of Wooster,
was born in Wayne county, March 23, 1836.
He was educated at Franklin College, Harrison county, Ohio,
and afterwards removing to Wisconsin, began reading law with
Judge Joseph Hawkins, of Waukesha. After the conclusion of his
elementary studies, he began practice in the city of Milwaukee, in
that State, where he continued until the breaking out of the war
in 1861.
He enlisted in the Fifth Wisconsin Regiment of Infantry, April
23, I86I, and in May was commissioned First Lieutenant. He
entered the Peninsular campaign as a Captain, and was in the battles of Williamsburg, Garnet Hill, Malvern Hill, the "Seven Days'
Battle " before Richmond, the second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Rappahannock, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, etc.
In the Wilderness, on the 5th of May, 1864, he was wounded
in the foot and had his horse shot, and at Spottsylvania, May Io,
1864, he was struck four times, a minie-ball passing through his
right hand.
He was at the head of his regiment, and while waving his
sword and leading his men in a charge upon the enemy's third line
-of earth-works, in the darkness of the night; the unerring bullet:struck his sword, wrenched it from his grasp, and tore violently
35




546


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


through the hand that bravely held it. The wound being a most
painful one and totally disqualifying him for further present service, he retired from the field and returned to Wooster, where he
remained for a period with his parents, having served from the
time of his enlistment three years and seventeen days.
Concerning Mr. Totten's courage and skill as an officer, we
quote:
On Thursday, May 5, 1864, Major Totten was ordered by General Russell, in the
middle of the forenoon, to take command of the third company of his regiment, and
repel an assault of the enemy on the right of our line. Major Totten fought his
men. with the utmost gallantry and skill during the greater part of the day,
though with himself and horse severely wounded at the opening of the fight, capturing a stand of colors and 266 prisoners. The prisoners outnumbered the effective
strength of the whole of the Fifth Wisconsin Regiment. Major Totten refused to
leave his post, and distinguished himself in the fighting on each of the subsequent
days, until, in an assault upon the enemy's breast-works, he was wounded and forever disabled. He had won a Brigadiership."
Major General Upton, of the United States Army, urged his
promotion, assuring General Schofield of his cool courage and
gallantry, and calling attention to the fact "that Major Totten's
services have not as yet been properly rewarded."
He is now located in Washington City, D. C., engaged in the
practice of his chosen profession.   He was married October 4,
1867, to Mary E. Howe, daughter of United States Senator Howe,
of the State of Wisconsin.
Major Totten is another Wayne county boy that has made his
mark.   He spent his earlier years upon the farm, acquired a thorough education at Franklin College, gravitated West, entered the
legal profession, and soon rose to eminence at the bar.
After Sumpter was fired he went into the military service of the
Government, and at its close removed to Washington City, D. C.,
and resumed the legal practice. In the army he served for over
three years, and until he was disabled by wounds from any further
duty. His record as a soldier is certainly eventful and brilliant.
By referring to the battles which we have enumerated, and many
equally prominent are not mentioned, it will be noticed that he
actively participated in the bloodiest engagements of the war.
How he should have escaped annihilation is beyond speculation or
conjecture, for he was ever at the head of his regiment, and a better or braver body of fighting men never went into the service of
the nation than the 5th Wisconsin. Though not Colonel of the




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


547


regiment he commanded it in all of its dashing and dangerous engagements, and was uniformly conceded to be the most efficient
officer in its ranks. Its corps d' esprit is entirely and exclusively
attributable to him. He should have been the Colonel of the
regiment, and alluding to his tact and bravery in a single instance,
Major General Upton declared he had won a Brigadiership.
At Gettysburg, where bronzed orators of war, with iron elocution, plead as they had never done before; amid the deafening
thunders of Antietam; and in the Wilderness, that dripping altar
of sacrifice over which the aching clouds took pity and sobbed in
showers-in these, and other of the desperate and decisive collisions of the mighty struggle, he bore a heroic and conspicuous
part, and vindicated his claim to a patriotic remembrance.
Major Totten was a true soldier, and
"A braver gentleman
More active, valiant, or more valiant-young,
More daring, or more bold,"
Never faced the dangers from which our natures shrink but which
the brave man dares.
He is permanently located in the Capital city of the nation and
deeply absorbed in the duties of his profession, in the range of
which is embraced Government business and special practice in the
United States Courts.
JAMES C. JACOBS.
James C. Jacobs was born in Wooster, April 4, 1832, and is
the only surviving son of the family. He is a Buckeye, every inch
of him, and, if he could have had the choosing of his place of
birth, could not have well hit upon a better State.
He is a monarch in his business, a pontiff in the hardware
trade.* If he aspires to no power to command or compel obedience, it is not a waiver of his privilege; but it must be known,
once and for all, that he is the center and circumference of his own
house. It is said of him, by himself, that he is in no sense a
classic scholar, carries no university parchment, and is in no possible way master of Latin or skilled in Greek. He did, however,
tunnel through the labyrinthine windings and mazes of E. Mor

*1874.




548


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


gan Parrott's prescribed curriculum, and at the age of fifteen
anchored in full honors on the thither side of the academic course.
He then entered the hardware establishment of Captain J. H.
Kauke, through the extended and varied gradations of which he
has circulated, from cellar to attic. Henry Kirk White had immortalized himself in the poetic literature of the world and passed
to his reward in a shorter life than the time which Mr. Jacobs has
devoted to his business.
In his chosen field he made success the central idea, and he has
achieved it. As a business man he has few superiors. With him
there is no artifice in trade. His price of goods is the sale-mark.
His business is the largest in his line in the county, and his rooms
are, in their adaptation and appointments, among the best in
Ohio. With him all is system, arithmetical precision and order.
He is full of physical force, and has enough of intellect to vitalize
it. There is a sort of George Law-ish energy and masculinity
about him which signally characterizes him.  A determination
with him is more than half of its accomplishment. He possesses
a good understanding and has strong personality. The world's idea
is to judge an individual by what he has accomplished by his hands
or brain, or with both. Every man brings into the world with
him a certain amount of pith and force, and to that pith or force
his amount of accomplishment is exactly proportioned. The employment and utilization of these agencies have made Mr. Jacob's
life a success. Success may come by accident, or overtake a man,
but the millionth man is neither lucky nor caught. It is a sleek
fox, hard to run down, and will slip through your hands if not
held tight.
The observation of fixed maxims of business, in his case,
worked its own solution. He has ever kept an eye upon his business. He knows more about his stock on hand than all his clerks
put together. It is no pleasure for him to be idle, for when he
wants amusement he goes to work; hence, when he is not in the
counting-room he is at the counter. Moreover, he believes that
" a pot that is stirred by another is ill-stirred and worse boiled."
He is master of his business; knows exactly what he wants, and
has the money to pay for it. He is an off-handed man, and makes
a bargain while some men would be picking their teeth after a
meal. He inclines to the cash system; is his own counselor, though
not insensible to kindly suggestions from without. He is never
victimized by that bi-pedal visitant, the "runner," nor does he al



WOOSTER-SKETCTHES.


549


low such daws to peck at him long.  He says yes or no, and means
to a dot which one he says. After this all talk is superfluous.
While he is strictly courteous he is immovably firm. He likes a
huge, thundering no, about as well as anything else. He hates
a yes, yes, man by the very positiveness of his nature and the steel
that is in him. He could not well be a pretender, for there is too
much grit in him. He would stand at the head of his profession,
if he were selling sand-pellets. If he could have had his way he
would have set all Cuba a-burning for the shooting of Captain Fry.
He has little reverence for old land-marks, and believes every
generation should put up new mile-stones. His mind is a kind of
log-book, and he knows how far he goes every day. He is enterprising, but scrupulously cautious. He conducts business alone,
and is, therefore, his own keeper, and carries his own keys. What
he don't tell his neighbors could not be crowded into a pamphlet.
If you think he don't know what is going on, just ask him. If
you imagine he don't think, state your hypothesis again, and correct your mistake. He has laughed at "Uncle Toby" as well as
the rest of us, and peeped through the " Man Who Laughs." He
has got the nerve to read Reenan if he do not like him. He has
glanced through the coffee-houses of the English wits, and taken a
look at Tom Jones and Humphrey Clinker.
He is not a politician. One reason is, it is a race of the rascals; another, he has not time. He is plain in conversation, generally self-possessed, and occasionally excitable. When aroused
he does not run to his dictionary to select the best words or consult a lexicon for elegant phrases by which to express himself;
what is uppermost comes first, and like a stone from the fire-wall
of a building, falls straight to the spot. There is no circumlocution about him; the nearest way to a point is the shortest way. If
he were a surgeon, he would amputate the arm and then prove
that he did the right thing. Were he to write a book, he would
have neither preface nor introduction, not even an index, to it.
To his friends he is true as his best steel. He will tolerate a folly
in a friend, but will make little apology for it. His personal intimacies are few, as all close relations are full of perils, nor does
he dull his
"Palm with entertainment
Of each unhatched, unfledged comrade."
His attachments to his kindred are generous and impulsively warm.
His principles are as sound as his values, and his integrity as un



550


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTIY OHIO.


bending as the crudest iron. He despises humbug, yet he might
be induced to go to Barnum's to whet his sense of it. He is goaheadative, progressive, and likes to see the wheel on dry ground.
If he can not draw the chariot himself, he will do his share of pushing. He believes in all charitable and educational enterprises,
contributes his share, and makes no parade of it. Like Bonner
and Barnum, he believes in advertising.
Singularly enough, he is unmarried, but he arranges a home
for the sake and sanctity of it. His assured prosperity entrenches
itself in brick, which is at once an expression of his solidity and
character. Although but a little over forty years of age, he has
filled the work-measure of an ordinary life. He began at the
bottom, stood upon the rim, and from the crescent guessed the
sphere. The guess he has seen realized, and none better than he
is entitled to enjoy it, and none more than his friends are willing
that he should.
COLONEL JOSEPH H. CARR.
Joseph H. Carr was born in East Union township, Wayne
county, March 12, 1842, but removed to Wooster when two
years of age. During the period from 1847 to 1859 he attended
public and select schools almost constantly, and in 1859 commenced studying law.
On April I6, I86I, when the first call for volunteers was made,
at the age of nineteen he enlisted as a private in the first company
(E) organized in Wayne county for the 4th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. From corporal in Company E, he was promoted
to the sergeant-majorship of the regiment, and at the age of twenty
was appointed aid-de-camp on the staff of General S. S. Carroll,
of General Hancock's famous second corps of the Army of the
Potomac. He served on staff duty with that corps during the
campaigns and battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and in the suppression of the New York riots. He received
special mention in general orders for distinguished bravery at
the battle of Gettysburg.
In 1864 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the I69th Ohio
Regiment, and owing to the disability of the Colonel before leaving the State, the command of the regiment devolved upon him
during its entire service. Its superior discipline is commended by
Whitlaw Reid in his " Ohio in the War."




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


55


From the private ranks as a soldier Colonel Carr rapidly rose
to promotion, and attained the reputation of being a splendid drill
and field officer. His efficiency upon the staff of Generals Mason
and Carroll was freely recognized, and he possessed the confidence
of them invariably, and who at all times relied upon his activity,
zeal, patriotism and ability to execute any trust, however hazardous, which was devolved upon him.
With all the officers he sustained himself well, uniformly developing splendid courage as a soldier and superior qualifications as a
gentleman. His comrades-in-arms are ever willing and ready with
assurances of his manly and heroic character, and the esteem in
which he is held by them since "wild war's deadly blast" is over,
is a sure attestation of his popularity when in the military service.
After the close of the contest and "gentle peace returning,"
he laid aside the sword and donned the civilian uniform. The Colonel, though a gallant soldier of the Republic, enduring forced
marches, sieges, battles, etc., always escaped capture, but on his
arrival home we may not be allowed to speak so approvingly of
his valor. A line of circumvallation encompassed him, he found
himself encircled in the coils of the deadliest of all enemies; he
could no longer resist the siege of a woman's eyes, and acting
upon the principle that the truest heroism is oftentimes most flexible, surrendered the hand that amid the smoke of battle had borne
aloft the sword.
He was united in marriage in January, i865, to Alice Hard, of
the city of Wooster, and has re-enforced the legions of the Republic by two sons, one of whom he names after his old commander,
Carroll. In 1864 he was admitted to the bar, in the practice of
which profession he is at present engaged.
Colonel Carr is a young man of ability, promise, and excellent
business qualifications, whose public life is characterized by earnestness, industry and integrity. In his official positions since the
close of the war, whether in the employment of the United States
Government, or as City Solicitor, or as Auditor of the county, he
has fulfilled his various duties with ability and fidelity. He is an
affable, genial companion, a courteous gentleman, with strong
social and domestic attachments-a good citizen and a good
lawyer.
CAPT. A. S. MCCLURE.


A. S. McClure was born October Io, I839, in the city of Woos



552


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ter, Wayne county, and has ever since resided there. His earlier
years were spent with his father, during which time, and after having attained to sufficient years, he attended the then village schools,
availing himself of the facilities which were afforded for educational culture, and manifesting an eager and earnest disposition for
books and study.
At the early age of fifteen his accomplishments and proficiency
in this direction justified a determination to enter upon a higher
plane of intellectual labor and a broader basis of development. In
conformity to this resolution, in the autumn of the year above mentioned, he entered Jefferson College, Washington county, Pa.,
where for five years, or until the fall of 1859, he continued in pursuit of his studies, although he did not graduate.
At college he distinguished himself for sharp application to his
books; achieved prominence for his linguistic attainments, especially for his proficiency in the Latin language, and the critical
study of his own, which is singularly accurate and discriminating.
In the literary societies of the college he took active interest, soon
becoming conspicuous as an extemporaneous speaker, a fluent and
logical debater, bearing away the honors of oration in the annual
contest between the Philo and Franklin Literary Societies in February, 1856. On his relinquishment of college pursuits he soon
determined, for temporary employment and as a means of a more
varied discipline as well as recreation, to make some experiments
in teaching. Insomuch, thought he, as for five years I have been
a sort of consignee of the intellectual wares of other men, I will
reverse the order, and assume the attitude of consignor of my own
goods.
In pursuance of this resolve he directed his steps toward the
"sunny South," and in the winter of 1859-60 opened a school on
the plantation of Alfred J. Rowan, east of Natchez, State of Mississippi. In April, I860, he returned home filled with the ambition of his youth, and entered at once upon the study of the law,
Selecting as his preceptors Hon. Levi Cox and Hon. Martin
Welker, he began to unravel the complex problems of Blackstone
and Kent. Here he applied himself with indefatigable energy to
the grand principles of the law, in the writings of its profoundest
and deepest expounders.
He was admitted to the bar in the spring of I86I, that spring
so terrible to the nation, it being the initial year of the great Rebellion. An Executive proclamation for soldiers for its suppression




WO OSTER-SKETCHES.


553.


being issued, Mr. McClure was among the first from Wayne
county to respond to that call. He at once enlisted as a privatein Company E, 4th Ohio Infantry, in the latter part of April,.
I861, subsequently, on the 4th of June, re-enlisting for three years,
at Camp Dennison, in the same company and regiment. Thereafter he was promoted to a Captaincy, and transferred to the I6thl
Ohio Infantry in October, I86I. He was captured at the charge
on Chickasaw Bluffs, Vicksburg, Mississippi, December 29, 1862,
and held as a prisoner of war until the 20th of May, 1863, when;
he was exchanged at Harrison's Landing, James river, Virginia.
He was discharged on account of expiration of term of enlistment, in Louisiana, in August, 1864, when he returned homeand commenced the practice of law.
He was elected Recorder of Wooster, in April, 1867; was appointed Postmaster of Wooster, in May, 1867; re-appointed inMarch, 187I, and re-appointed in March, I875. He was a member of the National Republican Convention, held at Chicago, in
1868, that nominated General U. S. Grant for the Presidency; has
been a member of the Republican State Committee at different
times, and for eight years Chairman of the Republican Central
Committee of Wayne county. In August, 1870, he became one:
of the editors of the Wooster Republican, which position he occur
pies at the present time.
He was married on the 26th of September, 1866, to Miss Mary
E. Brigham, of Vienna, Michigan, a lady of refined culture, and
of most estimable qualities.
Though comparatively a young man, it will be discovered by a
hasty retrospect of the preceding thread of narrative that the career of Captain McClure has been somewhat active, remarkable
and brilliant. His first desire and characteristic tendency was for
books and systematic intellectual discipline. He was a scholar at
fifteen, when he entered upon his college course. When a boy he
was conspicuous at the debating club, and wielded the cudgel of
argument with marked ability against older and more experienced
antagonists. There was always a fascination to him, from boyhood, in open and public discussion. He believed, from the outset, that both sides of all topics admitted of logical presentation.
From this summit of opinion it mattered little to him which side
of the question elicited his thought. All disputation to him was
development, and grains of truth lay promiscuously about him.
There were great cardinal principles, germinant truths that all




554


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


conceded, but then there were theories that needed sifting, dogmas to be exploded, and vast accumulations of doubts that would
recede before the glancing eye of analysis and rational dissection. His comprehensive and receptive mind, with his assimilating and reflective habits of thought, became necessarily crowded
with its own creations; hence it became essential for him to seek
and enjoy disputation, and, by a rule of practice, to acquire finish
and grace in oratory. At college, he not only sustained himself
in the various branches of the curriculum, but was esteemed as
one of the popular, eloquent and graceful orators of the institution.
His patriotism was of the intense and aggressive order, and
as a soldier, his courage was of that kind that made no provision
for a retreat. In the illuminations of bursting shells he could see
the sweet dawnings of peace. Hundred pound cannon balls proclaimed victory. He had faith in bayonets and the stout arms
that pointed them forward. Trenches well filled with dead men
showed the conflict to not have been in vain. The simple words,
" Charge, boys!" embodied the whole gospel of a nation's deliverance. He shrank from no duty, however perilous-went where he
told others to go. Personally brave, calculating and cool, there
was inspiration in his valor. In the civilian domain of life, he is
active, zealous, imperturbable and free from imperialism.
As a lawyer his acquisitions are varied and accurate. In the
preparation of cases he is careful, critical, and with witnesses is
polite, seeking only the unfolding of fact and truth. To the court
he is circumspect and dignified, and in addressing the jury is convincing and argumentative. He has capacity of concentration, and
power of amplification. His delivery is calm and attractive, and
his style infused with nerve. Terseness and appropriateness of
diction, combined with an elastic vigor of illustration, are the consuls and ministers of his thoughts.
In politics he is a Republican, of the zealous and pronounced
type. He is an American, every inch of him, in all his views and
principles-the very atmosphere of his soul is nationality.  Of
late, he has largely devoted his time to politics, is well versed in
the principles of the Constitution and the various functions of its
intricate and beautiful mechanism. He has studied the system in
the writings of its august founders. As a political manager he has
forecast, sagacity and directness. As a political speaker he has
popularized himself throughout Ohio, having actively participated




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.                   555
in the State campaigns since I864. He is familiar with the political traditions and history of the whole country-understands the
machinations of partizan leaders, and is in no wise tender in regard
to exposing them. On the stump he displays alertness in comprehending his subject, patience and labor in investigating it, and voluble and ready eloquence in enforcing his deliberate and wellweighed conclusions.
He has a voice exceedingly well modulated, of extraordinary
volume and flexibility. His action is vigorous and emphatic, his
analysis discriminating and acute, his conclusions enforcing his
propositions with the certainty and boldness of a demonstration.
He has remarkable intimacy with language and immense facility in
expressing himself. He is not compelled to accept the first word
that offers itself, but out of the multitudinous variety of the whole
he chooses those that suit him best. Hence his orations are elegant and beautiful fabrics, constructed out of the smoothest and
most compact material. They need no hewing or dressing, veneer
or stucco work, for they are adroitly shaped and formed by the
symmetrical masonry of the workmen of his brain. In all his
public efforts he is exquisite and happy. Moreover, there is earnestness about him that emphasizes all his utterances. He can hold
an audience for two hours as easily as an athlete could Tom
Thumb or Commodore Nutt, riveting their attention with the triphammer of argument or delighting them with startling rhetoric.
His career as editor has been somewhat brief, but in the discharge of his journalistic duties he has hinted at surpassingly
greater possibilities than he has already achieved.  His recent
articles upon the national finances have been widely copied throughout the country, and exhibit historical research and mature reflection. He writes with a practised hand, a graphic eye, and his
editorials are vivid pictures of the times. He speaks out bold
and bluff, and sticks to what he says. He is independent and
progressive in his views, and will not suffer his opinions to be
measured by any Procrustean rule or standard. He will go barefoot rather than walk in iron shoes. It may be said of him, as of
Diderot, "he writes good pages."  Clearness and comprehensibility are emphasized in all his written productions. Vivacity,
far-darting brilliancy, keenness of theoretic vision, gaiety, touches
of humor, sallies of invective, coupled with depths of practical
insight-all are characteristics of his pen.
Captain McClure is involved in pursuits sufficiently arduous and




556


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


responsible to employ all his time and faculties. He is now so situated as to realize the eminent advantage of early habits of study,
mental labor, and the general knowledge acquired by systematic
education. Outside of his legal and other official duties he still
finds leisure for historical research and other branches of study.
While his temperament is more practical than poetical, more real
than romantic, and while he may not have the poet's appreciation
of his brother singer, he finds a richer mental pabulum in Macaulay, Hallam, Buckle and the scrutinizing Hume.
He is one of the best historical scholars in the county, the
shelves of his library bristling with the classic, literary and scientific authors of the present and past ages. As a conversationalist
Mr. McClure is fluent, and in this province is always capable of
rendering his meaning irresistibly clear.
Socially he is of a frank, unrestrained and hopeful character.
He is affable in the circle of his friends, and always accessible to
strangers. He is not one of those who believe that virtue, honor,
and the good that was born into the world have disappeared, or become corrupted, but has implicit faith in the higher and nobler civilization of the race.
The American is to be the one civilization, the English the
universal language, and pure Saxon blood is destined yet to
stimulate and feed the brain of the world.
COLONEL E. P. BATES.
Edward Payson Bates, a chip cut from the southern side of the
Buckeye tree, was born in Trumbull county, Ohio, May 5, 1838.
He spent the earlier portion of his minority upon the home premises with his father, who was a model farmer, and who was scrupulous in all matters of taste, and supremely methodical in all his
work. No man in his neighborhood surpassed him in the conditions and appointments of the farm. He managed a fine dairy and
thorough-bred, blooded cattle constituted no insignificant portion
of the tenantry of his fields.
"No more golden butter or better bread and pies," says Col.
Bates, "ever burdened a table than his good wife could make."
But while the father of Colonel Bates bestowed all needful attention upon the farm, he was not forgetful of the more vital and
vastly more important demands of the moral and intellectual constitution of his children. Here was a responsibility which he care



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


557


fully weighed, and from the gravity of which he sought no evasion.
Selecting one of the best methods of mental improvement, of stimulating inquiry, and of establishing in the sanctuary of home the
basis of moral culture and the higher mental conditions, he kept
constantly before his family a variety of choice and excellent books,
which, when the intellect cloyed with these, could be alternated
with a half dozen of the best weekly and monthly periodicals of the
country. Thus it will be seen that the earlier intellectual training
of the family of Mr. Daniel Bates was not neglected.
In 1856 Mr. E. P. Bates, then a lad of eighteen years, entered
Kingsville Academy, Ashtabula county, Ohio, remaining there a
period of about three years. From this institution he went to
Hillsdale College, Michigan, but before consummating a college
course Sumpter was fired, the rebellion inaugurated, old cohesions
rent asunder, and society north and south was drifting to the
atomic and chaotic state.
This was too much for the impetuous and patriotic nature of
Colonel Bates, so in April, I86I, he enlisted as a private soldier,
serving three months in the i9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry in West
Virginia, in Rosecranz's brigade.
September 20, 1862, he received a Captain's commission,
when he at once proceeded to recruit a company for the I25th
Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, under Colonel Emerson Opdycke. His services were continual in the Army of the Cumberland; was with General Sherman until the capture of Atlanta, remaining with General David S. Stanley's corps, under General
Thomas, which was intended to confront and destroy Hood's army.
In consequence of Colonel Opdycke being summoned to command a brigade, and in the absence of other field officers, the command of the regiment devolved upon Colonel Bates, which command he retained from and after the battle of Chickamauga to the
spring of 1864, during which time it distinguished itself in the
battle of Mission Ridge and in East Tennessee.
He commanded the regiment at the battle of Franklin, one of
the most desperate and destructive of the war, considering the
number of men engaged, and for courageous conduct in that
sanguinary conflict was honored with the rank of Colonel of Volunteers by the War Department, upon the recommendation of
Major-General Thomas. There being no vacancy in the regiment
to be filled by the State, he was subsequently commissioned as
Major and Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, not, however, mus



558


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


tering as either, but following the fortunes of the regiment and
the 4th corps (General Stanley's) to Texas, where, November I3,
1865, he was mustered out of service.
After a brief respite thereafter he embarked in life insurance
in a general way with his brother, ultimately contracting with the
North-western Mutual Life of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to superintend the work in Ohio, with the accession, afterward, of West Virginia to their field of management. Determined on making the
business a permanent life-work, they concluded to make Wooster
their focus of operations, whither they came in October, I866.
It is apparent at a glance that the record made by Colonel Bates
during the war is a signal and enviable one, and of the character
to arrest attention and compel admiration. He may regard his
reputation safe, as a soldier, since he wore the insignia of a Colonel
upon the recommendation of the old war-horse, Thomas, the
Charles Martel of the war, for heroic and meritorious conduct.
It might logically be presumed from the record and executive nature of the man, that Colonel Bates is equally efficient and capable
in plying the arts of peace as those of war. As a practical business
man we doubt if he has many superiors. Alertness, penetration,
rapidity of perception, combined with sound judgment, accuracy of
detail and scholarly attainments, render him a successful operator and
a formidable competitor. If the war-cloud of the South tossed its
lurid shadow between him and a college diploma, we doubt not
but he graduated in a school of harder lessons and sterner tutors.
He learned the elocution of cannon, the arithmetic of bullets, the
geometry of curving, cavorting shells, and the language of the
bursting bomb, less fascinating, perhaps, in its interpretation than
the Greek or Latin. To say this much, he has entered upon life
with a sound body, a stout heart, a strong arm and brain.
"The wild deer lives within his blood,
The falcon in his eye."
He has personality, force of character, names by which we
choose to designate original and vigorous manhood; these nature
endowed him with, and they are her best gifts. A man had better
have his face on the sole of his boots than to have no individuality.
He is a vigorous man, and'he makes his blows tell. There is no
trouble in getting fire, if you know how to hit the flint.
Colonel Bates has pith and force, and place him where you
may, they must tell. He is possessed of deep sagacity, a thorough




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.                  559g
and clear comprehension of causes, readily discovering effects. He
enjoys life to a remarkable degree, and will adhere to it tenaciously.
His temperament is sanguine, and he has no desire to pass from
under his barber till he is both bald and gray. He enjoys an anecdote as well as Dick Steele, and will spear an opponent with a jest
in a minute. The social element in him is strong. He loves his
friends and grows merry in their society, for to him there is no
happiness in the world in which love and mutual confidence do.
not enter. Nor will he soon forget the parental roof or voice.
Good humor and congeniality have each a throne in his heart.
He has faith in the world, notwithstanding Adam's mischief-confidence in man though the curse be upon him-for overlay human
nature as you please, here and there some bit of rock or mound of
aboriginal soil will crop out with the wild flowers growing upon it,
sweetening the air.
One little episode occurred in the life of Colonel Bates about
twelve years ago that we neglected to record in its chronological
order. The merest allusion to this event will indicate that he has,
not been entirely impervious to the attractions of the gentler sex.
But in this respect he is only human. For there are moments,
most assuredly, when the citadel of the heart is not so strongly
fortified as others. At any rate, who that has arrived at years of
maturity can say he has never been subject to the sway of woman.
Is it not curious how Cupid will wedge himself into the recesses of
the human heart. As his arrow penetrates that fortress the stern
warrior becomes docile as a child and is disarmed of his prowess.
Bonaparte seized empires, but Josephine captured hearts. Thestatesman on whose words hang the destiny of nations becomes
the humble suppliant. The orator who holds entranced the multitude, is struck dumb. The poet who luxuriates in the ideal; the
practical man who scorns the theorist, and laughs at the dreams
of the poet-all, each in turn, succumb to the summons of the little
despot.
The lady to whom the heart of the Colonel surrendered was
Miss Mary A. Powers, of Youngstown, Ohio, to whom he was
joined in marriage, March 7, I866.
Colonel Bates is yet a young man, having barely put on his
regalia for the world's parade and life's great show. What he may
yet, with his possibilities of business, be able to accomplish before
he touches his zenith or the dimming of his star, is not for us to
say. His powers and energies are now directed in the great work




56o


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


*of Life Insurance. This is the focal point of his thought and labor,
and to this one object he has converged all the lines of his life.
IRA H. BATES,
Second son of Daniel Bates, was born in Oneida county, New
York, September I8, 1833, being the senior of the Bates Bros.,
now located at Wooster. He remained with his father, who was a
farmer, until he reached twenty-one years, when he concluded he
would open up another field for the exercise of his faculties.
He was willing that his experience on the farm should now condclude, and so he determined. It may have required more effort on
the part of Mr. Bates than we imagine to sever his relations with
the farm, as he was greatly attached to the sports and pastimes of
rural life. He seems to have had the fondness of the Englishman
for his gun and dog, and, we are told, sometimes exhibited this
fondness to an extent that would well-nigh indicate a lingering aversion to work that sometimes had a tendency to engender grave and
even formidable suspicions in the paternal mind.
He probably believed, with the Arabs, that the days spent in
the chase are not counted in the length of life, or with Henri
-Quatre, that manly exercises are the foundations of that elevation
of mind which give one nature ascendancy over another.
He finally determined upon an education, and soon every
energy of body and mind were bent in that direction. The help
that he obtained in this project was summoned from his own resources. It was the man inside shouting bravo to the man outside; the jewel addressing the casket, the letter talking to the envelope.
After a protracted course of study, punctuated with intermis-sions and paragraphed with delays, he graduated with honor at
Hillsdale College in 1862, being a member of the first class that
took a full course at that institution.
The societies of the institution were reduced to organization
during his term, and for his devotion to their interests, his labors
for their welfare and personal sacrifices, his name is kindly cherished in their annals.
Like many other earnest students, after his withdrawal from,college he entered upon the profession of teacher, in which occupation there was to him pleasure and delight, and to which he,seemed to be wedded. Conscious of his ability to communicate,




O OSTER-SKETCHES.


56I


instruct, explain and analyze, he had the power to command attention, the quick ingenuity to hold it, and consequently impressions were transferred from his to the pupil's mind as readily as the
color to the canvas from the artist's brush.
He first began the vocation of teacher, after graduation, in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where the fine public schools of that city
attest his efficiency and worth, and to whom they are to this day
indebted.
Protracted years of hard study, and two years of confinement
and labor as a teacher, debilitated and prostrated him in health so
that he well-nigh exchanged his life for his devotion. It was now
deemed necessary to abandon the school-room, and acting upon
the advice of friends, and especially his brother, E. P. Bates, he
wisely resolved to forever relinguish it with its dark airs and its
dense, noxious atmosphere.
Accordingly, in the spring of I866, with his brother, E. P.
Bates, he entered upon the work of Life Insurance, which has been
developed upon an enduring basis, and which to-day employs the
best genius and commands the strongest talent of the civilized
world.
Mr. I. H. Bates was married to Carrie M. Allen, of Winnebago
county, Wisconsin, March 6, I866, by which union they have two
children-son and daughter.
Mr. Bates is in his life's prime, and his powers and capacities
for business are barely matured, so that he can look forward hopefully and confidently to many months and years of labor and usefulness.
While he was emin6ntly qualified to have entered upon any of
the public professions, he mapped out for himself a different path,
in which he has few if any equals.
He is a masterly scholar, a student of history and a learner, as
when at the college or academy, for he is not of that class who believe that all knowledge is acquired in the school-room, and that
after that all is perpetual vacation and repose. He is not a politician, but is decidedly well-informed upon the history of American
politics and the issues that to-day divide the parties and distract
the country.
His is emphatically of the reflective order of mind, and he arrives
at conclusions only after careful thought. He has enough of secretiveness to hold the world at fair advantage, and with him the
remainder of judgment is seldom expressed.
36




562


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUArTY, OHIO.


He forms few friendships, but lasting ones. His motto is, "The
friends thou hast and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy
soul with hooks of steel." To his personal friends he is warmly,
if not passionately attached, and the link betwixt him and his kindred and family is of solid gold. He is the center of a pleasing
group of domestic virtues. His intelligence, courtesy and affability
have won him many friends in this community. He is a finished,
straight-out, decisive, practical man, having faith in the prevalence
of right, the triumph of truth, and is as full of honor as an April
brook of water. His motto is,
"Fact shall be fact for me, and truth the truth forever."
QUINBY OPERA HOUSE.
This handsome structure is located on the corner of North
Buckeye and Larwill streets. It was finished and formally opened
and dedicated to the public, for all purposes, on Thursday night,
February I, I877, by Miss Effie E. Ellsler, with the full dramatic
company from John Ellsler's Euclid Avenue Opera House, Cleveland, in Shakspeare's beautiful comedy, "As you Like it."
This building was the enterprise of the " Quinby Opera House
Association," composed of the following gentlemen: E. Quinby,
Jr., President; E. P. Bates, Secretary; J. H. Kauke, D. Q. Liggett, Ira H. Bates and D. C. Curry. They have presented Wooster with a splendid place for public resort, unequaled out of a city
of the first-class.
The dimensions of the Opera House are 70 by I04 feet; the
auditorium 60 by 70 feet, encircled on three sides by roomy balconies, the whole having a capacity for I,ooo persons. D. C. Curry
& Bros. were contractors for the erection of the building, and
C. M. Amsden the architect. D. Graham, theatrical architect, of
Chicago, designed the stage. Charles Gasche, artist, was the contractor for all the decorative painting, in the work of which he was
assisted by Messrs. Busch, Pinney and Diehl. The opera chairs
were cast by B. Barrett & Son, and upholstered by John L. Smith;
the furnaces, water and plumbing by A. Saybolt; gas fitting by
W. S. Leyburn; plastering by William Carnes; tinning by Aaron
Lehman.
It was named in honor of Mr. Quinby by popular demand and
against his protest, and over his veto.




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


563


ARCADOME HALL-THE BAUMGARDNERS.
The building of Arcadome Hall,* a product of the chainless
mind of Joseph H. Baumgardner, formed a period in the history
of Wooster. It was the first public hall of any consequence given
to the city.
The ceremony of its dedication occurred December I8, 1857, of
which its proprietors, Messrs. Baumgardner and Samuel Woods,
gave due notice.    Colonel Benjamin Eason was president of the
occasion, and Dr. L. Firestone orator. Numerous toasts were
offered, and responses made by Revs. Durbin and McFarland, William M. Orr, Esq., Eugene Pardee, Esq., John Irvine, Esq., Dr.
W. S. Battles, and others. The following sentiment was offered to
Dr. Firestone:
Our Orator-Whether at driving out a fever with jalap, or a fit of blues with
a joke; tuning up a bass fiddle or a broken constitution, he is always equal to the
emergency; and like a true flint, as his Dutch name indicates, strikes fire every
time the steel touches him.
The title "Arcadome," by which it was popularly known, was
coined in the poetic fancy of E. G. Clingan. We here subjoin
Mr. Clingan's dedicatory poem:
Now behold the march of genius,
Here the mighty secret lies,
In the building of a nation,
In her worth and enterprise;
With the arm of resolution
Carves she out herself a page,
On the roll and grand achievements
Of a fast, progressive age.
Here the architect and builder
Counts his value, sees his worth,
In the massive works of grandeur,
Rising skyward from the earth;
Beholds his monuments of glory,
Lasting monuments sublime,
From the ages dark and hoary,
Towering from the gulf of time.
Onward, still, the march of genius,
Crowned in triumph she appears,
Looming from the mists of ages,
In the wilderness of years;
And now to energy and labor,
Honoring, thus, our native home,
We this hall do dedicate,
Builders of the Arcadome.
*It was destroyed by fire, March 23, I874.




564


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Lee Baumgardner was born in East Union township, February
o1, 1832. His parents removed to Wooster township about I835,
his father dying soon thereafter.  At the age of ten years Lee left
home and became a bound boy upon a farm, serving as such until
he was sixteen years old, when, until he arrived at maturity, his
rural recreations were under the management and discipline of
James Findley, the old County Treasurer. Attaining the age of
legal emancipation from the restraints of guardian, dictator and
overseer, he removed to Wooster and went into business with J.
H. and T. P. Baumgardner, under the firm name of J. H. Baumgardner & Co. About 1855 they bought out Phineas Weed, and
organized under the style of Lee & Co., Mr. Baumgardner himself in charge. In 1857 they built Arcadome, when the stocks of
both concerns were merged and the stores consolidated. In 1865
Mr. Baumgardner sold out his interest to his brother Joseph. In
I862 he built a fine residence on Beall avenue and sold it in I864.
In I864 he bought a farm at Cuyahoga Falls, selling it in the fall
of I865, and removing to Toledo in the spring of I866, entering
into business, and since residing there.
Joseph H. Baumgardner died in Wooster a few years since.
He married Miss Eckert, a sister of Thomas T. Eckert, who was
appointed postmaster of Wooster in I849, and in connection therewith was operator of the first telegraph line, introduced into
Wooster about that time. The office then was in the building now occupied by J. H. Reid's harness shop, north-east corner of Public Square. Mr. Eckert in time became an expert
operator, and developed excellent business management in telegraph enterprise, by which he won his way to high positions.
During the war he was Superintendent of Telegraph for the Army
of the Potomac, with the rank of Brigadier General, and at the
present time is President of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph
Company, his residence in New York City, where Mrs. Baumgardner and her daughter Alice have also taken up their abode.
T. P. Baumgardner still remains in Wooster, and is one of
its best citizens, a man of means, taste and standing. He is a dealer
in musical instruments, and personally a musician of highest culture, as are all the members of his family. His oldest son, Joseph,
is United States Route Agent on the P., Ft. W. & C. Railway,
from Pittsburg to Crestline, and is one of the most capable officials
and courteous gentlemen on the line.




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


565


JOHN F. BARRETT.
John F. Barrett was born March 6, 1836, in Wayne county,
Ohio. He volunteered in the Fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry,
Colonel Lorin Andrews, April 16, i861, in Company E, Captain
James McMillen, and was among the first men in the county (Jacob
Shultz being the first) to put down his name. He went with the
regiment to Camp Dennison, followed it to West Virginia, and
along with the boys, smelled the breath of battle at Rich Mountain.
The way in which Mr. Barrett was wounded was as follows:
The Eighth Ohio Volunteer Infantry had been attacked at New
Creek, whereupon they sent to Fort Pendleton for reinforcements.
The Fourth proceeded to their relief, marching thirty-five miles to
New Creek, assaulting Romney at I:30 P. M., fighting the enemy
that night, and capturing the town next morning. Company E
of the regiment having been sent to the east end of the town to
protect a gun about to be charged by the enemy, between the
hours of I and 2 o'clock P. M., Mr. Barrett was wounded, receiving a desperate bullet shot from a sharp-shooter. For two years
he had to walk on crutches. Surgical science has exerted itself in
vain to extricate the bullet, and Mr. Barrett is doomed to carry
the enemy's lead in his body to his grave.
Mr. Barrett was married September I8, 1863, to Laura Nimonons, of Wooster, by Rev. Jesse Durbin, of the Methodist church,
of which he has been a member since 1856. We make mention
of the wounding of Mr. Barrett, not because he was braver than
his fellow-soldiers, or more patriotic than his comrades in arms,
but because he was the first soldier from Wayne county shot in
the war of the Rebellion. He was a gallant boy and it is a record
of which he may well feel proud. Mr. Barrett is an honorable business man and a worthy, upright citizen.
MATTHEW JOHNSTON, SR.
This gentleman was a soldier in the war of 1812, serving in the
capacity of a Captain, and settled in Wayne county at a very early
date. In passing through this section with the army he was highly
pleased with it and determined, when peace was restored, to return
and make it his home.
He was married to Sarah Smurr, of Alexandria, Va., in I806,
where she was born May 20, I787. Mrs. Johnston was one among




566


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


the first members of the old Seceder church of Wooster, which
was organized in I816. She was a woman of great amiableness of
manner and excellency of Christian character. She died on February 5, I877, at the residence of her son-in-law, Thomas Power,
Esq., of the city of Wooster, her husband's death having occurred
many years prior to this.
Her brother, Elias Smurr, bore the rank of Captain in the military service of I812; was wounded in an action in Western New
York, and died of his wound within ten days, and is buried at Buffalo, where a monument is erected to his memory. The children
of Matthew and Sarah Johnston were:
Mr. John S. Johnston, living in Chicago.
The late MatthewJohnston, Jr., United States Marshal of the Northern District of Ohio, who died in Cleveland in I86I. He had been a vestryman in Toledo,
and was always actively interested in church affairs. His widow, Mrs. Rebecca
Johnston, is now a member of the parish at Marietta.
Mr. James Johnston, who, with his wife, Mrs. Maria Johnston, was the founder
of St. James Parish, Wooster. He served for many years as a warden and vestryman of this parish.
Mrs. Belinda Power, who, with her husband and son, is a member of the same
parish; Mr. Perry J. Power, her son, being a vestryman.
Mr. Elias S. Johnston, who died in Toledo, and whose family are now members
of St. James', Wooster.
Mr. W. S. Johnston, living in San Diego, California,
And Mr. Perry Johnston, who died at the age of twenty-four, leaving a widow
and child, who became Episcopalians, but also died within a few years.
Reasin Beall Johnston, who died when a child.
Mrs. Johnston had also in her family, as a daughter, an orphaned niece, Miss
Nancy Smurr, who continues to live with Mrs. Power.
A CATHOLIC BISHOP DIES IN WOOSTER.
Bishop Edward Fenwick, then living in Kentucky, visited this
section in priestly character as early as 18 [6.  He would travel on
horseback to Cincinnati, thence to Somerset, Perry county, thence
to Knox county, thence to Canton, thence to some Catholic families in the eastern portion of Wayne county, and to the Gallagher
settlement near Wooster, thence to Mansfield, and thence home to
Kentucky. He was made Bishop in 1821, of Ohio, Indiana and
and the Western Territories, and was the first Bishop who traveled
in the West. On his way from Canton to Wooster he took sick,
and arriving at the latter place he stopped at Coulter's tavern,
where he died suddenly in 1832. Drs. Day and Bissell waited




WO OSTER-SKE TCHES.


567


upon him, and pronounced his disease cholera. He was buried
the same evening, but during the following winter his remains
were disinterred and transplanted at Cincinnati.
WILLIAM SPEAR.
William Spear was born in Cumberland county, Pa., on the
I7th of December, I803. With a man named Myers he emigrated
to Ohio and located in Wooster, where Myers and he, in 1830,
went into the cabinet business in an old shed on the lot now occupied by S. F. Day's tin store on West Liberty street.
Myers remained with him a year and a half, when they dissolved partnership, divided their effects, neither one being able to
purchase from the other. Myers removed to Dalton, Mr. Spear
continuing the business at the old stand in Wooster for two years,
when he in connection with Robert Ewing, who afterwards went
to Terre Haute, Indiana, built a shop on the corner where his furniture store now stands. It was a frame building one story and a
half high, I8x4o feet, and then considered a mammoth structure.
The building yet stands on the same lot, to the west of its old position a few feet, and is now owned and occupied as a residence by
Lewis Keller.
He then formed a partnership with John Beistle and was associated with him in the manufacture of furniture for about eighteen years, during which time they purchased I8x6o feet of ground
on the north-east side of the Public Square, from E. Quinby, Jr.,
agent of the Bowman estate, for the sum of $675, and erected
thereon a three story brick building. This they used, while Mr.
Beistle was in the firm, for saleroom and warehouse, and was continued to be used as such by Mr. Spear until the spring of I871,
when he sold the property to the Jackson Brothers.
After Mr. Beistle withdrew, Mr. Spear gave his two sons, Wesley W. and Fletcher W., an interest in the business, each having
learned a respective branch of the trade, and at maturity were experts in their departments. Since that time "William Spear &
Sons " has been the character and style of the firm, conducting one
of the largest establishments of the kind in Wayne county.
Their fine ware-room is situated on the spot where he first located, on West Liberty street. For work-shops they purchased
the old Episcopal church, on South street, and were doing extensive manufacturing there when, on August 13, I866, it burned




568


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


down, involving a loss of $Io,ooo, upon which there was no insurance. Notwithstanding this severe misfortune, he almost immediately purchased two acres of ground at the terminus of South Walnut street, from J. H. Kauke, for $2,ooo, and there erected a large
new shop, three stories high, forty feet wide and eighty-eight feet
in length, filling it with all kinds of the latest styles of machinery,
and running it by steam-power. In addition to the main building
are dry-houses and store-houses, with lumber-yard, the whole establishment employing twenty to twenty-five hands.
JOHN WILHELM.
This prominent carriage manufacturer immigrated to Wooster
on the 9th of July, 1836, coming from Northampton county,
Pennsylvania, where he was born, June 14, I8IO. On his arrival
in Wooster, with his wife and two children, he immediately embarked in the business of carriage-making. His first shop was
located on North Walnut street, where, besides other work, he
kept in repair six or seven lines of stage coaches. He built the
first carriage ever constructed in Wooster or Wayne county, there
being no other maker nearer than George Hine, of Massillon.
This carriage was built for Michael Mowry, the father of Michael
Mowry, of Chester township, at a cost of $165. Before Mowry
left the shop some one remarked that, in advance of the carriage
being removed, it would have to be "wet," to which he consented; and calling on the hands in the shop, sixteen in number,
with James Jacobs, Michael Bucher, Henry Koller and Mr. Wilhelm, they all went to Koller's tavern and got "a stiff cocktail."
for, as Mr. Wilhelm remarked in narrating the circumstance, they
"drank nothing stronger than whisky and brandy then."
After doing business on the west side for about three years
Mr. Wilhelm bought lots on East Liberty street, and built the
structure now owned and occupied by Frederick Schuch and Mr.
Saal. He remained there for twelve or thirteen years, or until
1852, when he took possession of the new brick shops he had
erected across the street, and was prepared to carry on business
co-extensive with his increased capacities. In 1860 he built a fine
residence on the corner of Beall avenue and Bowman street.
Mr. Wilhelm has been an industrious man all his life, is identified with our public improvements, and has contributed his share
to the general advancement of the town. He contributed freely




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


569


to the University, and was one of the number who signed the
$I7,ooo bond. For 46 years he has been connected with the Reformed church of Wooster. Three of.his sons were in the Federal army, one of whom, Owen A., was afterwards, from I875 to
i877, Mayor of the city.
JAMES CURRY.
The subject of this sketch, one of the most energetic business
men of Wooster, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, October 17, I816. His father's name was David, whose
occupation was that of carpenter and builder, in which pursuit
he brought up his son James.  When he had completed his
trade, at eighteen years, Mr. Curry left home and worked as a
jour for two years, then came to Ohio, locating in Washington
township, Holmes county. Here he began house and barn building, with headquarters at Nashville, successfully following his
trade until removing to Wooster, in the spring of I853.
This was just after the railroad had been opened to Wooster,
and when the citizens generally, for a time, were stimulated to enterprise, especially in building up their town. Mr. Curry at once
entered vigorously into business, establishing a lumber yard where
the Snow Flake Mills now stand, remaining there but one year,
however, on account of a freshet submerging his lumber, though
not causing any financial damage. He then purchased of E. Quinby, Jr., the several lots of higher ground now occupied by his
stores, shops and lumber yard, on the corner of East Liberty street
and Beall avenue. He first put up the old shop, now moved to
the rear to give place to the main building he erected in 1857. In
1854 he placed in use the first planing mill brought into Wayne
county, and at different times introduced other new labor-saving
machines never operated before, and in some instances, not heard
of, in Wooster, until his shops were filled with all kinds of machinery required in the skillful manufacture of doors, sash, blinds,
mouldings, brackets, etc., for all kinds of buildings.
As time went on his shops and yard became an extensive establishment, his custom extending not only throughout
Wayne, but into the neighboring counties, until, from doing a
business of disposing of Ioo,ooo feet of lumber, as in 1854, trade
increased to 2,000,000 or 3,000,000 feet per year in later times.
He was the first large dealer in pine lumber in Wooster, where it




570


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


was comparatively little used before he established his shops and
imported building material, first from Cleveland, and then wholesale from the pineries of Michigan and walnut woods of Indiana.
The average price of pine lumber since Mr. Curry has been in
Wooster would be from $25 to $30 per thousand feet, though in
the war times the best lumber was as high as $65. When he
started his yard, in 1853, lumber rated at from $Io to $25 per
thousand.
His sons, who grew up in the business, became valuable assistants to him. As they came to manhood's years he gave each an
interest, until " The Currys" became noted as the "lumber family." In the fall of i867 Mr. Curry and his three oldest sons,
John, David and Wel., purchased the Stibbs & Co. yard and
planing mill, on North street, and very successfully carried on
business there under the firm name of James Curry & Sons, but
in 1874 this co-partnership was dissolved, the sons retaining the
new yard on North street under the style of D. C. Curry & Co.,
which they still retain, while James Curry resumed sole charge of
the old shops on East Liberty street. In the meantime he had
erected a fine three story brick block adjoining the shops, and in
connection with lumber and house building, established a furniture
manufactory, which he still continues to carry on there to a very
large extent in all branches, including undertaking.
The lumber and building business he has, in great measure,
given up and transferred to other management, he having in May,
1877, taken into active partnership his fourth son, James Willard
Curry, and Robert Cameron, the firm doing business under name
of Curry, Cameron & Co. They do a large trade as builders and
manufacturers, putting up buildings of all kinds by contract, from
the foundation, besides selling great quantities of material to
other contractors and builders. The junior members are enterprising young men. J. M. Curry was born in Holmes county, Ohio,
August 27, I849, and is trained to the lumber business by long
experience under his father; while Mr. Cameron is a fine architect and skilled workman in house-building. He was born March
5, 1842, in Scotland, within two miles of the city of Glasgow,
learning his trade there, and in 1867 came direct from Scotland to
Wooster, where he has since lived, and won the esteem of the
community.




WOOSTER-BANKS.


57I


OLD GERMAN BANK.
The old German Bank of Wooster was organized in I8I6, with
T. J. Jones as President and W. Larwill as Cashier. Its existence
was of brief duration, and for a while it was conducted without a
charter. In 1834 the Bank of Wooster was established with J. S.
Lake as President and Benjamin Bentley as Cashier, and exploded
in March, 1848.
WAYNE COUNTY BRANCH OF THE STATE BANK OF OHIO.
The Wayne County Branch of the State Bank of Ohio was organized February, 1848. D. Robison, Sr., was President until
January, 1858, and Isaac Steese from 1858 to the expiration of its
charter in I865; E. Quinby, Jr., being Cashier from the organization to its close, in I865.
THE WAYNE COUNTY NATIONAL BANK.
The Wayne County National Bank was organized in January,
1865; R. R. Donnelly, President, and E. Quinby, Jr., Cashier.
January, 1874, Harrison Armstrong was made President and so
continued until his death, in 1876; E. Quinby, Jr., serving as Cashier. The officers at this date (1878) are, E. M. Quinby, President,
and E. Quinby, Jr., Cashier. Original capital, $75,ooo, with the
privilege of augmenting it to $250,000.
EXCHANGE BANK.
In April, 1854, this bank began business under the style of
Sturges, Stibbs & Co., as a private banking institution, and in 1863
it was changed to Stibbs, Hanna & Co. At present the style of
the bank is J. H. Kauke & C. S. Frost.
NATIONAL BANK OF WOOSTER.
The private banking company of Bonewitz, Emrich & Co.
was organized in the spring of 1865 by S. R. Bonewitz, T. S.
Johnson, M. W. Pinkerton, G. P. Emrich, John Bechtel and C.
H. Brown, with capital of $25,000. April I5, I865, it opened up
for business. In 1868 it was reorganized as the Commercial Bank




572


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


of Wooster, with a capital of $75,000. Its officers then were:
President, T. S. Johnson; Cashier, S. R. Bonewitz; Teller, C. V.
Hard; Directors, T. S. Johnson, S. R. Bonewitz, G. P. Emrich,
D. Robison, Jr., M. W. Pinkerton. Johnson resigned April Io,
I868, and Mr. Emrich was chosen, and continued President until
the bank ceased to exist. July 22, I869, Mr. Bonewitz, Cashier,
resigned, and C. V. Hard was appointed Assistant Cashier, retaining that position during the life of the bank. In November,
1871, the shareholders of the Commercial Bank were granted a
charter for the National Bank of Wooster, with a capital of $Ioo,ooo. November 29 the books were opened for subscriptions, and
the same day the amount of the capital stock was taken. G. P.
Emrich, D. Robison, Jr., M. Welker, J. Zimmerman, G. B.
Smith, J. S. Hallowell and W. Barton were chosen Directors, to
serve from January 2, I872, the day the bank began business.
The officers were: President, David Robison, Jr.; Vice-President, G. P. Emrich; Cashier, C. V. Hard; Teller, T. E. Peckinpaugh. The present (1878) officers are: President, G. P. Emrich; Vice-President, J. Zimmerman; Cashier, C. V. Hard; Teller, Will Emrich, a position vacated in I876 by T. E. Peckinpaugh, to become one of the proprietors of the Wayne County
Democrat.
JOHNSON'S BANK.
September 2, I868, T. S. Johnson "started a bank, too," which
the same was of discount and deposit, with a capital of $20,000,
and in I875 it, when there was a wailing among depositors to
the amount of $IO, ooo.
SAMUEL ROUTSON.
Samuel Routson, the founder of the first and only pottery located at the county-seat, was born in Slankerville (Easton), Chippewa township, and has always lived in Wayne county. On both
sides of the house his parents were of good old pioneer stock, his
mother belonging to the great Franks family. He organized his
present business in Doylestown in 1841, where he engaged in the
manufacture of stone-ware until 1846. Then he embarked in mercantile trade there, to which he gave his attention until 1856, when
with his family he removed to Wooster, locating on Pittsburg av



WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


573


enue, east of the railroad depot. Here he at once built a residence, and buildings for carrying on the manufacture of pottery.
From that time to the present, in connection with his brother,
Quincy A. Routson, he has with industry and care successfully
conducted the business in all branches, including drain tile, chimney tops, flower pots, vases, etc., his goods finding sale all along
the line of railroad from Pittsburg to Chicago. The works are run
by hot-air power engine, the only one in Wooster, and very serviceable for the business. He obtains his clay in Franklin township, on farms of Daniel Snyder, Andrew Miller and Jacob and
Israel Franks, buying many tons from them in the course of a
year. His crockery ware is among the very best in the market,
and his drain tile in demand, of which, in one year, he has sold as
high as 35,000 feet, or nearly seven miles, mainly to farmers, and
used always with success.
Mr. Routson is a man of the most upright character; as a
neighbor he is kind, accommodating and sympathizing; socially,
no one can be more pleasant and cordial; his house is a home
to all that come, and he enjoys company always; and in all his relations to the community he is held in esteem as one possessing
those qualities that make a good citizen. He is a consistent Christian man, for many years a member of the Baptist church, of which
he is now one of the Trustees.
D. C. CURRY & Co.
The superior processes introduced into modern mechanic industry by the knowledge of machinery have led to the establishment
of various branches of manufacture, and made them of the most
vital importance. Its application to the immense lumbering districts of the Penobscot river, in Maine, of Michigan and Wisconsin,
on the headwaters of the Hudson, the Susquehanna, Delaware and
Allegheny rivers and the Cascade and Coast ranges of mountains
in Oregon, is one of the triumphs of mechanic and industrial skill,
and demonstrates more clearly than ever that the employment of
steam-power is not only a mighty factor in civilization, but is one
of the agents by which science succeeds in mitigating the oppressiveness of labor, and by which the possibilities of human energy
are multiplied beyond all moderate calculation.
The planing-mill and concomitant dressing apparatus forms an
interesting and most useful feature in all our well-appointed




574


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


lumber establishments, and is a source of positive benefit, not only
to mechanics and architects, but to the whole community, the city
builder and the farmer alike, as well as a means of profit, as it certainly should be, to its conductor and proprietor.
The lumbering establishment of D. C. Curry & Co., embracing
some of the bolder features of the huge mills of the pineries, has,
in a brief struggle of a few years, anchored itself in our midst as
one of the successes and permanences of the city of Wooster. It
has survived hard times, the panic, and a destructive fire on February 3, I875, and at present moves along in the line of business and
prosperity. The firm was constituted in January, I868, having
purchased the machinery, grounds, areas, etc., from Stibbs, Spink
& Co., with James Curry then as a member of it. It was conducted under this arrangement until October, 1874, when he retired from the partnership, although the style of the firm-D. C.
Curry & Co.-underwent no change. The following, the sons of
James Curry, are the members of the firm in the order of seniority: John Curry, born in Holmes county, February I8, I839,
and married Miss Elizabeth Laubach; D. C. Curry, born September 25, I841, in Holmes county, Ohio, and married December
24, I868, to Miss Jennie J. Yergin; Wellington Curry, born in
Holmes county, May 27, 1845, and married January 9, i866, to
Miss May E. Vanhouten-all coming to Wayne county, with their
father, in 1853.
The initial member of the firm, it will be seen, was twelve years
old when he came to Wooster, and received his rudimentary, in
fact all of his education, in the schools of the city, serving an apprenticeship of nearly four years as a compositor in the Republican
office, under the proprietorship of Enos Foreman, Esq.
When Sumpter was fired, in the spring of 186I, he was among
the first to respond to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 men, and
was enrolled on the 23d of April, of said year, as a member of the
Sixteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in the three months service.
Upon the re-organization of that regiment, he enlisted for three
years, on the 5th of October, I86I, in Company H, commanded
by Captain A. S. McClure, and was discharged October 31, 1864,
having served his country faithfully for a period of forty-one months
and sixteen days. On the i9th of April he was wounded by the
fragment of a shell in the left arm and stomach, in the first assault
in the rear of the besieged and doomed city that so gracefully
capitulated to General Grant on the 3d of July, 1863. He was




WOOSTER-SKETCHES.


575


twice elected to the City Council from the Second Ward, but resigned his position before the close of the second term.
He is a stockholder in the Quinby Opera House of Wooster;
was the contractor for said structure, employing the mechanics for
its construction.
The firm is the largest of the kind in the city or county, disposing of, annually, from three to four million feet of lumber and
constituting a source of supply to all the surrrounding counties.
They retain in their employment a first-class architect, and furnish
steady work, on a daily average, for twenty-five hands. They
make a specialty in the manufacture of church furniture, such as
pews, pulpits, etc., for which they find an easy market in other
States as well as Ohio.
The members of the firm, as will be discovered, are comparatively young men, but a glance at the foregoing indicates very
clearly what pluck, energy, activity and perseverance can accomplish. Hard work, getting down to business and sticking to it
always did achieve wonders, and the rules of successful business,
whether defined by Ricardo or Amos Lawrence, are inflexible and
admit of no modifications.
JACOB EBERHARDT.
The first marble shop opened in Wooster was by D. A. Griffith, of Boston, in the spring of t848. Jacob Eberhardt accompanied him from Massachusetts, and did the first work performed.
The shop was located one door south of the present office of
Connelly's Washington House. In July, 1852, Mr. Eberhardt
and his father-in-law, Daniel Yarnell, an ex-Sheriff of Wayne
county, bought out Griffith, and run the business together for six
years, having their shops opposite Banker & Hanna's carriage
works, on South street. In 1858 Mr. Yarnell retired, and Eberhardt carried on the business himself for seven years, when he
formed a partnership with Sylvester Gray, June I, 1865. The energy of the establishment, redoubled by the enterprise and activity
of Mr. Gray, soon acquired new dimensions. Although Mr. Gray
had no money in the business, they undertook, in the spring of
1871, the erection of the splendid structure of brick, stone and
iron on the corner of South and Buckeye streets, finishing it during the year, at a cost of $Io,ooo, and it is no doubt one of the
finest buildings for marble purposes in Ohio.




576


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Mr. Eberhardt died a few years later, and Mr. Gray assumed
control of the     business for a time.      Two    years ago    Samuel
Rhoads entered into partnership with him, the firm styled Gray &
Rhoads, who are now successfully carrying on the marble works.
SECRET SOCIETIES.
In a Symbol there is concealment and yet revelation.
Bees will not work except in darkness; thought will not work except in silence;
neither will virtue work except in secresy. Let not thy right hand know what thy
left hand doeth.
Virtue will not grow unless its root be hidden.
Carlyle on Symbols.
Masonic.
Ebenezer Lodge No. 33, Free and Accepted Masons.-Date of Charter, December
13, I819, to date from January 4, i8i6.
Charter Members-Thomas G. Jones, Thomas McMillen, William K. Stewart,
Abner Eddy, William Larwill, Thomas Thorp, Constant Lake, Plumb Sutliff,
Joseph H. Larwill.
Officers, January, 1878-Eli D. Pocock, M. D., Worshipful Master; John S.
Bissell, Senior Warden; Jacob A. Kister, Junior Warden; Lewis P. Ohliger, Treasurer; T. Tickner, Secretary; Philo S. VanHouten, Senior Deacon; Harvey H.
Bissell, Junior Deacon; William W. Hanna, Tyler.
Trustees-George Rex, Philo S. VanHouten, Lewis P. Ohliger. Committee
on Grievances-Curtis V. Hard, Alexander Laughlin, George Rex.
102 Members January I, I878. Regular day of meeting, Wednesday on or
before full moon.
Wooster Chapter No. 27, Royal Arch Masons.-Date of Charter, October 23,
1843.
Charter Members-William Larwill, Horace Howard, William Warren, Jacob
Van Houten, Kimbal Porter, Philo Welton, Nathaniel High, John P. Coulter,
John A. Holland.
Officers, January I878-Leander Firestone, High Priest; Lewis P. Ohliger,
King; Levi R. Kramer, Scribe; Philo S. Van Houten, Captain of the Host;
Edward P. Bates, Principal Sojourner; George W. Reid, Royal Arch Captain;
Curtis V. Hard, Grand Master Third Vail; Benjamin Eason, Grand Master Second
Vail; William C. Moore, Grand Master First Vail; Eugene Chatelain, Treasurer;
John S. Bissell, Secretary; William W. Hanna, Guard.
75 members January I, 1878. Regular communication on Thursday after full
moon.
Wooster Council No. I3, Royal and Select Masters.-Chartered October I, 1846.
Charter Members-Kimbal Porter, S. Buckius, George D. Hine, Horace Howard, George H. Stewart, N. Haskell, A. Bartol, J. W. Crawford, L. L. Klein, Peter
Van West.
Officers, January I, I878-Edward P. Bates, Thrice Illustrious Master; Levi
R. Kramer, Deputy Illustrious Master; Philo I. Van Houten, Principal Conductor
of the Work; Finley L. Parsons, Captain of the Guard; William C. Moore, Cap




WOOSTER-SECRET SOCIETIES.


577


tain of the Council; Benjamin Eason, Treasurer; Lewis P. Ohliger,. Recorder; T.
Tickner, Grand Steward; William W. Hanna, Sentinel.
Stated day of convocation-First Tuesday in each month. Thirty-five members January I, 1878.
I. 0. O. F.
Wooster Lodge No. 42.-Date of charter, June 2I, 1845.
Charter Members-R. J. Eberman, William S. Johnson, George Brauneck, J.
S. Ward, R. A. Kinney.
Officers, January, 1878-Albert Gray, Noble Grand; Henry Ebey, Vice Grand;
Anthony Wright, Financial Secretary; Charles Simon, Recording Secretary;
Joseph R. Naylor, Warden; Melvin Warner, Guide; John Simon, Inside Guardian;
Thomas Hetherington, Outside Guardian.
Trustees-Charles S. Frost, Joseph R. Naylor, Joseph C. Plumer.
One hundred and fifty-two members January I, 1878.
Killbuck Encampment Aro. 17.-Date of charter September 5, 1846.
Charter Members-William S. Johnson, R. J. Eberman, John Beistle, P. P.
Eckfeld, William W. Hanna, Jacob C. Chapman, John M. Naylor, Solomon R.
Bonewitz, Samuel Mentzer, Samuel Christine, J. W. Schuckers, Isaac N. Jones.
Officers, January I, I878-Anthony Wright, High Priest; Elmer Funk, Chief
Patriarch; Albert Gray, Senior Warden; John Wiler, Junior Warden; Levi R.
Kramer, Scribe; Henry J. Kaufman, Treasurer; John Simon, Inside Guardian;
Thomas Hetherington, Outside Guardian.
Trustees-Joseph C. Plumer, Anthony Wright, Samuel S. Shilling.
Eighty members June I, 1878.
Knights of Pythias (English).
Rising Star Lodge No. 22, K. of P.-Instituted April I, 1870. Date of charter,
February, 1871.
Charter Members-Joseph H. Carr, Albert Brauneck, Henry J. Kaufman,
Samuel Routson, John M. Ely, Michael S. Goodman, Arnold Richenbach, Augustus E. Gasche, Char'es S. Frost, John S. Caskey, John K. McBride, Leander
Firestone.
Officers, January I, I878-Henry J. Kaufman, Chancellor Commander; James
M. Lusk, Vice Chancellor; Anthony Wright, Venerable Patriarch; George Brauneck, Keeper of Records and Seals; Levi R. Kramer, Master of Finance; William
H. Banker, Banker; James E. Wescott, Master of Arms; William Beresford, Inside
Sentinel; Thomas Hetherington, Outside Sentinel.
Forty-two members January I, 1878.
Knights of Pythias (German).
Morning Star Lodge ANo. 41, K. of. —Instituted December 29, 1871. Date of
charter, February 15, I872.
Charter Members-William Nold, John J. Bringger, Jacob Stark, Frederick
Schuch, Gotleib Gasche, Jacob Diehl, Hermann Wutke, Jacob Gross, Eberhardt
Bideker, Emil Podlich, Leonard Saal, George Faber, William Gasche, Jacob Schopf,
37




578            HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Emil Faber, William Kanzler, Peter Kanzler, Franz Gerlach, Heinrich Kinkier,
Martin F. Limb.
Officers, January, I878-John Diehl, Chancellor Commander; Joseph Schuch,
Vice Chancellor; William Nold, Venerable Patriarch; John J. Bringger, Keeper
of Records and Seals; Charles Gasche, Master of Finance; Leonard Saal, Banker;
Philip Young, Master of Arms; George Schuch, Inside Sentinel; Frederick
Kostenbader, Outside Sentinel.
Trustees-Jacob Stark, Andrew Busch, Frederick Schuch.
Seventy-two members, January 1, I878.
Improved Order of Red Men.
Uncas Tribe, No. 57.-A beneficiary organization. Instituted May 20, 1871.
Charter Members-Albert Brauneck, Thomas S. Johnson, Jesse E. Goodyear,
John S. Caskey, George Brauneck, G. W. Doty, James E. Wescott, J. T. Maxwell,
T. Tickner, W. H. Baumgardner, Samuel Routson, D. E. Warner, Speers McClarran, Henry J. Kaufman, Lewis P. Ohliger, Charles S. Frost, Perry Miller, David
W. Matz, Harry McClarran, John K. McBride, Abraham Saybolt, Jr., David
McDonald, Allen Clark, D. W. Immel, Edward P. Bates, Henry J. Huber, Jacob
R. Bowman, T. E. Peckinpaugh, C. C. Parsons, Jr.
Seventy-eight members in January, 1878.
Officers, January, I878-Prophet, Abraham Saybolt, Jr.; Worthy Sachem,
James A. Ogden; Senior Sagamore, Enos Pierson; Junior Sagamore, William H.
Banker; Chief of Records, Henry J. Kaufman; Keeper of Wampum, J. R. Naylor; Guard of Wigwam, Andrew Rieman; Guard of Forest, George Brauneck;
Trustees, D. W. Immel, E. S. Dowell, William H. Banker.
The Royal Arcanum.
Wayne Council No. i3.-A secret beneficiary and life insurance order (similar to
the Knights of Honor), instituted in Wooster, September 5, 1877.
Charter Members-Daniel Funck, Joseph C. Plumer, Lewis P. Ohliger, John
Van Nostran, Jehiel Clark, J. S. Bissell, George Plumer, Edward S. Dowell, David
W. Matz, T. J. McElheine, T. E. Peckinpaugh, A. Saybolt, Jr., William H.
Harry, Dr. James D. Robison, H. H. Bissell, Martin Funck, J. D. McAfee, M. A.
Miller, Silas W. Ogden, William F. Woods.
Number of members January, 1878, forty-five.
Officers, January, 1878-Past Regents, Daniel Funck and Jehiel Clark; Regent,
Thomas E. Peckinpaugh; Vice Regent, Joseph P. Van Nest; Orator, David W.
Matz; Chaplain, Joseph C. Plumer; Secretary, John Van Nostran; Collector,
George Plumer; Treasurer, Lewis P. Ohliger; Guide, Henry W. Peters; Warden,
Henry P. Shives; Sentry, Martin Funck.
Trustees-T. J. McElhenie, Daniel Funck, William M. Wisner.
Temperance Societies.
Temple of Honor No. 27 was organized on the I th of November, 1847, with
thirty charter members. The first officers were David Parrett, W. C. T.; D. H.
Holiday, W. V. T.;  - McKean, W. R.
Evergreen Social Temple No. 3 was organized in I853.




PAVIT TOWNSHIP.                         579
CHAPTER XX.
PAINT    TOWNSHIP.
[NOTE.-It will readily be suggested to the reader that the physical, scientific, descriptive and general history of the different townships is supplied in the
first two or three hundred pages of the work, and, hence, the necessity does not
exist for repeating it in the various townships. We have chosen this method, believing it to be more in concert with a continuous and systematic history of the county.
The general character of the several townships is thus exhibited in the first chapters
of the volume. As a result the history of the townships is properly and conveniently abridged, and embraces specially and only material pertaining to them. The
agricultural features of the entire county are presented in Chapter 25.]
PAINT TOWNSHIP was organized March 5, I816, and was named
so because there was a spring in existence where the village is now
located, the waters of which resembled red paint, and imparted its
peculiar color to the earth and other objects it touched. The population in I870 was 1,418.
THE FIRST SETTLER.
The first man that settled in this township was Michael Waxler, who emigrated from Harrison county in I8IO. He was emphatically a backwoodsman of the highest development of type,
dressed in buckskin breeches, hunting-shirt and moccasins, and
usually armed with his scalping-knife, tomahawk and rifle. As the
brave man is proverbially generous, even so was our hero, and
many persons shared his hospitality. He frequently hunted with
old Lyon and Bill Harrison, the former an ubiquitous character
throughout the county, and pseudo-chief of a nameless tribe of
Indians. It is related of Mr. Waxler that he encamped one night
where Winesburg now is situated, and barely escaped destruction
from a gang of wolves which attacked him, and to which he offered
stout resistance until morning, having, meantime, killed several
and, in true Indian style, scalped them.
The next earliest settlers at this time were, James Sullivan,
John Sprague, David Endsley, Nathan Peticord, James Galbraith,




580


HISTORY OF YWAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


William Vaughn, Elijah Carr, Samuel Shull, Frederick Shull and
Jacob Beals. Among others who came in at an early date, were
William Beals, Isaac Goodin, Philip Bysel, Philip Zigler, John
Caven, Solomon Fisher, Daniel Zook, Reuben Phouts and Archibald Hanna.
The first election was held in I816, and Frederick Shull and
Jacob Beals were the candidates for Justice of the Peace for the
township. There were not many votes cast, and the result was a
tie, whereupon the aspirants cast lots, and Beals was the winner,
and was the first Justice of the Peace in Paint township, holding
the office for twelve years. Gabriel Barnhill was the second Justice.*
OFFICERS OF PAINT TOWNSHIP, I877.
Trustees-George Beam, Nicholas Ruegsegger and David Graber; Clerk-J. J.
Adams; Treasurer-J. J. Schlafly; Assessor-Isaiah Tasker; Constables-Alfred
Stauffer and Jacob Brobst.
The following is a list of the Justices of the Peace for Paint
township, with date of commission, since 1830:
March I, i833, Daniel Zook; April I8, 1835, Cunningham Huston; January
12, 1836, Daniel Zook; January 22, 1837, Jacob Beals; April 30, 1838, Cunningham Huston; July 15, I839, Jacob Beam; April 16, 1840, Fred Bysell; April 13,
1842, James Y. Pinkerton; April 13, I843, Fred. Bysell; April I6, 1845, James Y.
Pinkerton; April 21, 1846, Fred. Bysell; April 12, 1848, Robert A. Henderson;
April 12, I849, Christopher Wise; April I9, I85I, Robert A. Henderson; April
21, I852, James Y. Pinkerton; May 8, 1852, Fred. Bysell; April 17, I855, Jacob
Iudson; April I4, I858, Jacob Hudson; April 14, 1858, Fred. Bysell; May I8,
I86I, Fred. Bysell; May i8, 186I, Jacob Hudson; April i8, 1864, Jacob Hudson;
April I8, 1864, Samuel Snyder; April 8, 1867, Jacob Hudson; April 8, 1867, Samuel Snyder; April 12, I870, Jacob Hudson; April 12, 1870, Samuel Snyder; April
15, I873, John J. Adams; April 14, 1873, Samuel Snyder; April 13, i876, J. J.
Adams; June 3, 1876, Samuel Snyder.
THE MARTYRED LOVERS OF THE FOREST.
We will mention James Galbraith's legend of the Popolat Rocks in this connection. These rocks took their name from a young Indian-Prince Oppopolat, or
Turkey Gobbler-who was banished from east of the Blue Ridge, in Virginia, by
his tribe, before the discovery of America, with Fisfisalee, or Pheasant Tail, with
whom he had fallen in love, both of whom lived in their banishment one winter at
the Popolat Rocks in Paint township. Oppopolat suffered death from his own tribe
for daring to make a wife of Fisfisalee, a beautiful member of a tribe with whom
*There is some dispute as to the matter of the first Justice, some claiming that
Barnhill was first.




PAINT TO WNSHIP.


58I


they were at war. It was here that he was seized and carried home to meet his
unwelcome doom, whilst Fisfisalee accompanied him to the Ohio and threw herself
into the river.
THE MOST SINGULAR MAN.
One of the most singular men that ever graced Mt. Eaton was Mr. George
Phouts, who got up a political music band in I840. He was upbraided for his unwarrantable pretensions to piety, when he asserted it was nothing for him, as he
had once been a Brigade Inspector, a Representative, a Master Mason, an antiMason, a temperance and anti-temperance man, an advocate of universal as well
as partial salvation, a persecuted Christian and an abused infidel, a thrice-broken
merchant, sometimes an honest man and sometimes a rascal, and that when he was
a lawyer he played aristocrat and democrat at different times. He preferred, like
Cesar, to be the first man in the village than the second in the empire;
hence wanted Mt. Eaton incorporated, so he could be its Mayor. He was an ambitious fellow, a phrenological puzzle, and withal a clever fellow, of high talents
and varied learning. He quit Mt. Eaton in disgust in I853, went to Missouri and
died there.
SOLOMON FISHER.
Solomon Fisher, father of Hiram Fisher, of Paint township, was
born in Virginia, in the year 1765, and removed to Westinoreland
county, Penn., in I771. In 1792-93 he attended a meeting to
consider the Excise Law, then held in Pittsburg, Penn., presided
over by Albert Gallatin, who was born in Geneva, Switzerland,
just four years before Mr. Fisher was born in Virginia. Daniel
Bradford was Secretary of the meeting, at which a committee was
appointed to draft resolutions expressive of their feelings, and present to Congress an address stating their objections and grievances
of the law, and praying for its repeal.  He then removed to Jefferson county, Ohio, near Steubenville, where he lived some ten or
twelve years, when he emigrated to Paint township, Wayne county,
in 1814, and settled on the farm now owned by his son Hiram,
where he died May 25, I849. He voted for George Washington
when he was elected to the Presidency of the United States the
first time in 1788.
He had fourteen children, and was twice married, six of whom
are living. His son, George Fisher, was one of the first teachers
in the township. He was a farmer by occupation, an industrious,
prosperous man, and at his death was possessed of considerable
wealth. He took an active interest in local politics and was highly
esteemed and respected by all who knew him. In 1794 he was in
the Whisky Insurrection which broke out in the western part of




582


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Pennsylvania, involving four or five counties, which at first threatened serious consequences, but which by a union of firmness and
lenity on the part of President Washington was soon quelled. His
life was a long and checkered one, full of public and private experiences and bitter trials. He lived to see his anticipations gratified
and a government established by the great Washington, whom by
his own vote he aided in elevating to the highest honors of the
new-born Republic.
Hiram, son of Solomon Fisher, was born in Paint township,
September 12, 1829, and is a farmer and man of business. He is
alert, active, full of push-ahead-a-tiveness and allows no grass to
grow under his feet.  He executes his enterprises with resolution
and determination; is a man of integrity, truth and unblemished
character.  He abounds in vitality and good humor, and is as full
of genial good nature and hospitality as a June meadow is of
flowers. He was married in January, 1856, to Mary E. Fleming,
of Richland county, and has ten children.
DAVID HOUMARD.
David Houmard was born in Canton Berne, Switzerland,
April 29, 1802, and removed    to America in 1825, reaching
New York, after a voyage of forty-four days, July 28, of this year.
He was married, prior to his emigration from Switzerland, to Mary
Ann Rosalie, April 15, 1825, sailing June 14, 1825, in search of a
new home in the Western world.
Arriving at the great sea-board city he took passage up the
Hudson river to Albany, thence taking the Erie Canal* as far as
Lockport,t when, on account of the unfinished condition of the
locks, they had to go six miles by land; thence by canal
again to within three miles of Buffalo, which distance they were
compelled to walk to the city, and thence to Cleveland via the
lake. Reaching the latter city, then composed of forty or fifty
houses, and making observations there for several days, he took
his departure for Sugarcreek township, where he arrived September 2, 1825.
*Mr. Houmard says they were the first European emigrants that passed the
great Erie Canal.
tHere Mr. Houmard narrowly escaped death. Parties were blasting rock, and
they called to him to run, as a fuse was being lighted, but not understanding a
word of English, disregarded them, when he was thrown down and wonderfully
stunned.




PAINT TO WNSHIP.


583


From the time he left home in Switzerland till he attained his
destination in Sonneberg, seventeen weeks and one day were consumed-now it takes thirteen days.    His father and mother accompanied him, and their total outfit of baggage, including a
wagon, footed in round numbers, 1,765 pounds. Before leaving
Cleveland Mr. Houmard purchased a yoke of oxen, paying therefor $36, which they hitched to the wagon, and in that way they
journeyed to Sugarcreek. He remained but a month in Sonneberg,
when he removed to where Abraham Houmard now lives, continuing there till the Ioth of May, I826, when he settled in Paint township, where he has since resided. Here they purchased I60 acres
of land, for which they paid $675. The first winter they lived in a
rude log house, but in the following spring they began to build on
the farm where he now lives. The object of the Houmard family
when they abandoned their old country was to settle in Kentucky,
about which they heard a great deal, but stopping to see Swiss
friends in the Sonneberg settlement they concluded they liked the
place, and dismissed their original project.
Mr. Houmard is a cutler by trade, and gave his attention to repairing guns, sharpening edge-tools and manufacturing them. He
carries a pocket-knife which he made in Europe fifty-three years
ago, which on one occasion he covered when putting on a roof,
and which, twenty years afterward, he found upon removing the
same. In this old shop are many antique and quaint tools, many
of his own manufacture. There are grindstones, from the size of
a Scotch cake to the nether mill-stone, and a huge wheel to turn
them, and work-benches, various and comic, and bearing the print
of antiquity.
We will briefly describe the house, built by Mr. Houmard in
1826:
The original dimensions of it were 20x30 feet, and it was constructed of logs,
not hewed until after the house was erected. It was composed of two rooms, the
second one on the east side being nearly square, and without being filled or mudded. Here his family, consisting of wife and child, passed the winter of 1826.
The cabin was without a floor, the fire-place was in the center of the room, and,
as companions of his family, the cow and calf were wintered in the same room, the
cabin being house and stable both. The milk was kept in white walnut troughs,
strained through old garments and clothes, and the churn was made of a hollow
cherry tree, with a board nailed on at the bottom.
Combining his fine memory with his long-kept diary, he makes
a very agreeable sort of a French lexicon. An evening spent




584


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


with him, if for no other purpose than pour passer le temps, is quite
enjoyable. He has acquired a partial knowledge of the English
tongue, and intelligibly addresses himself to conversation. He
practices the courtesies so characteristic of his people, is buoyant,
vivacious and full of the gaiete de cceur of the true Frenchman.
He is a relic-hunter and keeper, and possesses specimens that
would adorn the shelves of the antiquary. He has a sword made
in 1414; a coin bearing the image of Louis XVI., who was beheaded, the neck of the image bearing a cross-scar, and the crown
on the reverse side all cut and hacked, as with knives. He lives
in quiet seclusion upon his farm, a respected citizen, a kind and
accommodating neighbor, devoted to his family and strongly attached to his kindred.
First French Settlers in Paint Township. - David Houmard and
family were the first French settlers in Paint township, coming in
1825.  Joseph Perrott was the second, in 1829, and Emanuel
Nicolet, in 1830. In 1834 the immigration became rapid, and
many families arrived in the township.
Elzjah Tasker was born in Fairfax, Virginia, 1787; removed to
Ohio in 1820, settling in Paint township, where he lived, and died
July 4, 1835. He was married September 7, I815, to Nancy Jenkins, of Romney, Hampshire county, Va., where she was born
December I8, 1797. When he removed to Wayne county, Reasin Franks, brother of Peter Franks, of Saltcreek township, assisted
him in his passage. Hooking two of his horses into Tasker's
wagon, and he furnishing two, the journey was entered upon and
successfully accomplished. Mr. Tasker engaged in farming until
his death. Like other of the pioneers, he and his family felt the
pressure of hard times and were witnesses to the hardships and
trials of those dark days. He had four children-three sons and
one daughter-the latter becoming the wife of William Rogers, of
Wooster, and who died August 30, I876. His three sons, James,
William and Isaiah, all live in Wayne county.
January 9, 1844, the wife of Elijah Tasker was again joined in
marriage to Thomas Marshall, a native of Beaver county, Pa.,. and
who removed to Wayne county and settled in Mt. Eaton, in March,
1842.
MT. EATON.
Mt. Eaton, formerly known as Paintville, was laid out as early
as 1813 by William Vaughn and James Galbraith. Elijah Carr is




PAINT TO WNSHIP.


585


said to have built the first cabin in the village, and Samuel Shull
kept the first tavern. The first preacher in the village was Archibald Hanna (Presbyterian), who conducted religious services for
several years in a tent in the woods.
In 1829, through the concerted action of Jacob Beam and James
Galbraith, the name of the village was changed from Paintville to
Mt. Eaton. The first election held in Mt. Eaton, under the order
of incorporation for special purposes, was on April 4, 1870, three
Trustees being elected, and which resulted as follows: J. B.
Westcott, John Schlafly and James Huston, forty-two votes being
polled. At a meeting of the Trustees April 5, I870, order being
called, on motion of J. B. Westcott, James Huston was nominated
as Chairman and Secretary.
The first order of business was the election of officers, which
was determined by lot, the term of service of each Trustee being
as follows: John Schlafly for three years, J. B. Westcott for two
years, and James Huston for one year. On motion of J. B. Westcott, James Huston was elected Clerk and Treasurer, and Charles
Contris, Marshal and Supervisor.  Present Trustees are John
Schlafly, J. B. Westcott and Florian Schafter.
In I86I Mt. Eaton Fire Company No. i was organized.
In 1823 James Morrow ran a carding machine by horse-power
in Paintville. In I827 Messrs. Weed & Jones, of Paintville, had
an iron foundry in operation. In I827-8 Joseph H. White published the anti-Masonic Mirror, a weekly newspaper, in Paintville,
which soon expired for want of patronage. In I828 Mrs. Waxler
was killed by lightning, the electric fluid descending the chimney.
In 1831 Colonel William Goudy built the first steam grist-mill, at
Mt. Eaton, which was burned down in I836, rebuilt in I838, and
destroyed in I839 by the explosion of her boilers. The result of
this catastrophe was the sudden killing of John Murphy, the scalding and mangling of John McDonnel, and the scalding of James
Bradly and Jeremiah Nelson, who survived but a day or two.
Joseph Austin was seriously injured but recovered. One of the
boilers was flung fifty yards up a hill, splitting a saw-log in its
course, and gashing the frozen earth.
In 1833 the cholera made its appearance in Mt. Eaton, the
contagion having been brought there by Benedict Beaverstine, a
Frenchman, who, with his family, were emigrants, and who had a
dead child-a cholera victim-with them when they arrived. The
contagion assumed a malignant form at once. David Boyd, an




586


HISTORY OF IA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


intoxicated man, with courage engendered of "benzine," strutted
up to the wagon to see how a cholera victim would look, was soon
attacked and died that evening. In four weeks twenty-six persons
fell victims to the devastating scourge. It made its appearance
about the middle of August. Drs. Hall and Barber did all they
could to stay its ravages, yet the fatality stood as one to ten of the
entire population. James Galbraith was the last victim. During
the prevalence of the epidemic the citizens fled from the village.
In I835-6 Madison H. White published the People's Advocate,
a weekly issue, in Mt. Eaton, which, like the Mirror, died for want
of support.
The Dutch War. -In I844 a riot occurred in Mt. Eaton, at
Stinebruner's grocery, where a French and Dutch dance was in progress. The English, it seems, were the aggressors in this so-called
Dutch war. Windows were smashed in and knocked out, teeth
were violently jarred from unwilling jaws, many were badly bruised
and wounded, and some shooting was done. The civil authorities
were invoked, and order was restored without loss of life.
Postmasters. -The following is a list of Postmasters of Mt.
Eaton, from 1822:
*James Galbraith, from 1822 to I836; Jacob Beam, from 1836 to 1841; George
Phouts, from 1841 to 1842; A. Henderson, from 1842 to 1843; Anthony Knoble,
from 1843 to I850; John Pinkerton, from I850 to I851; Joseph Wickidall, from
I851 to 1862; L. A. Desvoignes, from I862 to 1868; James Huston,-August Desvoignes,-Frederick Ruch, from 1875.
James D. Westcott, M. D., was born in Trumbull county, Ohio,
January 6, I817. His father was a ship carpenter, whom the son
assisted in various ways, and with whom he remained until he was
seventeen years old. He read medicine with Dr. J. Welsh, of
Waynesburg, Stark county, Ohio, with whom he staid five years,
and then went to the Ohio Medical College-old school-under
Dr. John Mussey.
He entered upon practice at Magnolia, Stark county, where he
remained a year, removing in March, 1837, to Mt. Eaton, where
he has continued to the present time. He was married March 12,
1845, to Amanda Lash, of Stark county, and has had eight
children.


* During the incumbency of James Galbraith, and about 1829, the name of the
office was changed from Paintville to Mt. Eaton.




PAINT TO WNSHIP.


587


Charles C. Roth, M. D., was born in the kingdom of.Wertemberg, October 6, 1827, and emigrated to America in i853, landing at New York after a voyage of forty-five days. He remained
in the city in one of the hospitals for eighteen months, upon a small
salary, when he removed to Winesburg, Holmes county, Ohio, and
began practice with Dr. Peters. He removed to Mt. Eaton in 1856,
which has since been his home.
Dr. Roth studied his profession in Tiibingen, in Wertemberg,
and Heidelburg, in Baden, graduating at Tiibingen. He was in
the naval academy at this latter place; was in the SchleswigHolstein war of 1847, and the Revolution of 1848, and has in
his possession a medal awarded him for bravery at Baden, by the
Duke of Baden. He was married May 7, 1857, to Magdalene
Miller, of Louisville, Stark county, and has had six children. The
Doctor is a member of the Reformed church of Mt. Eaton.
William Lucas, a native of Northamptonshire, England, immigrated to America in 1832, the same year settling in Mt. Eaton.
Three years thereafter he married Ruth Geiger, who was the first
woman he saw in Paint township; had six children, two sons and
four daughters. He began keeping hotel in 1836 in Mt. Eaton,
and, with the exception of nine years similarly spent at other
places, he has been in the hotel business in this village. His wife,
so well and favorably known as "Mother Lucas," died in January,
I873. Robert A. Lucas and wife have charge of the hotel.
George Mathoit, a native of South France, removed to Paint
township and settled in Mt. Eaton in 1837. He was married to
Cecelia Dodez, of Paint township, and died April 20, 1872. He
engaged in the furniture business after his arrival, and continued
therein until his death. A. C. Mathoit, his son, was born September 23, 1842, and, with David Ketterer, conduct and are proprietors of the steam furniture works of Mt. Eaton.
Gustave Schaffter was born in Berne, Switzerland, June I0,
1837, and came to America in I858, his brother, Florian Schaffter,
accompanying him. They removed to Mt. Eaton in 1864, and
became partners in the manufacture of wagons and buggies.
James Y. Pinkerton was born in Somerset county, Pa., April I,
1802. He removed to Wayne county and settled near Mt. Eaton
in 1823, and ever after lived an honored, worthy and esteemed




588


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


citizen of Wayne county.  He was well and popularly known
throughout his township and the county; was elected at different
times Justice of the Peace of his township and served in the capacity of County Commissioner to the satisfaction and approval of
the public. He was married to Lydia Beam, with whom he lived
for nearly 44 years, and had been an active, ardent and faithful
member of the Methodist church for nearly 43 years preceding his
death. Whether as Justice of the Peace, as Surveyor or Commissioner, he endeavored to perform the trusts committed to him with
impartiality, fairness and fidelity. He was identified with the improvements and local interests of his neighborhood all his life. He
died at his residence, near Mt. Eaton, September 22, I875. His
son, Van Buren Pinkerton, occupies the old homestead and is an
honorable and influential citizen of the township.
Matthew Pinkerton was born in Somerset county, Pa., May 30,
1817, and removed with his father to Wayne county April 17, 1823.
His father died in September, i860, aged 86 years. His occupation was that of farmer and stock-dealer, living on the farm for 44
years. He has held nearly all the offices attainable in Paint township. He was six years a merchant in Mt. Eaton, has held the
office of County Treasurer for two terms, was a stockholder in the
old Commercial Bank of Wooster, to which city he removed in
March, 1867. He issued the currency known as the "Pinkerton
Checks" during the war.
George Kimmel was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania,
January 27, I8II. His father was a farmer, and immigrated to
Stark county, Ohio, in i815, settling on the Steubenville road, two
miles east of Waynesburg. The subject of this notice spent his
early years with his father, laboring on the farm, going to Canton
afterward and learning the trade of tailoring.
He was married in November, 1832, to Miss Eliza Beals, of
Paint township, the same year having removed to Mt. Eaton. He
has had seven children, one son and six daughters, all save two of
the daughters dead. Josephine, wife of David McQuillet, lives
with her husband in St. Louis, and Lucy Ann, wife of Samuel
Yates, with her husband, resides in Sedalia, Missouri. When Mr.
Kimmel came to Mt. Eaton there were but four Frenchmen in the
village, to wit: Emanuel Nicolet, Isaac Banly, Louis Dodez and
a Mr. Perrott. Its population then consisted of Pennsylvanians and




PAINT TO WNSHIP.


589


a few Virginians. Mr. Kimmel is a farmer, a good citizen, a member of the Methodist church of Mt. Eaton, joining the same in I834.
Conrad Haverstock, a native of Switzerland, came to America
with his parents, who settled in the State of New York, subsequently removing to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1812, and to
Paint township in 1817, settling on the farm now owned by Daniel
Haverstock, where he lived and died in his 75th year, I830. He
entered the farm from the Government. He was married to Margaret Richard, of Bedford county, Pa., and had ten children, all of
whom are dead but Daniel, who now lives upon and owns the old
farm. He was a member of the Lutheran church, and is buried
in Mt. Eaton. Daniel Haverstock, only remaining son of Conrad,
was born in Bedford county, Pa., August 27, i806; came to Paint
township, with his father, and has pursued the vocation of farmer
all his life. He was married to Rebecca Kiser, of Paint township,
and has had ten children, three of whom are dead. His wife died
May 13, I868.
Henry Lash was born in New Jersey, February ii, I801, in
Sussex county, near Newton, the county-seat. His father was a
farmer, and of German descent, with whom he remained till the
attainment of his majority, when he married Miss Nancy Craven,
of Pennsylvania. He continued with his father, working upon the
farm, for about three years after his marriage, when he accepted
Greeley's advice and went West, settling first in the woods in
Paint township, about two and a half miles from Mt. Eaton, bringing with him his wife and two small children.
His father, David Lash, had purchased the quarter section,
prior to Henry's removal, from Mr. Miller, who had entered it.
In the spring of 1825 it was that Mr. Lash arrived at his home in
in the woods, destitute of every evidence of civilization, save a log
shanty, which he had partly built the fall before. Before his wife
and children could get into it, he had to cut out a door, the windows even not being opened. The cabin was I8xI8 feet, of round
logs, clap-board roof, puncheon or split log floor, one window and
one door. Fortunately he had a sash for the window, which he
had brought along from New Jersey.
His father " moved " him, in a one-horse wagon, all the way
from old Sussex, transporting for the youthful pioneer a bureau,
bed, etc., and driving two cows. When his father left him, his son




59~


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


counted in his private exchequer five dollars. Mr. Lash now went
to work to open up daylight around his cabin, and the first season
cleared up ten acres of land, although for two or three years he
made little or no money.     The first year he could not raise two dollars and a half to pay his taxes, and had to send home to his father
for the money.
He has had seven children, all, save one, of whom are living,
and all having left the paternal mansion. Mr. Lash, though past
seventy-seven years, is yet in good health, and says that notwithstanding their exposure and the abuses they suffered sixty years
ago in the wilderness, they had good health and enjoyed themselves. He is a member of the Presbyterian church at Mt. Eaton,
in charge of Rev. Milton Brown, uniting within Rev. Hanna's
pastorate, of which organization he has been a member for fifty-five
years.
When he removed to Paint township there were no French
inhabitants in Mt. Eaton, the county being settled by Pennsylvanians, etc., etc. His neighbors were the three Dobbins families,
Isaac Peppard, Leonard Craven, and chiefly Presbyterians. His
first wife dying, he was married again to Lucinda Dorland, September 25, I872.
CHURCHES.
Presbyterian Church.-The church of Paintville-now Mt. Eaton-was organzed June 20, I8J8, with thirteen members. The Rev. James Adams officiated at
the organization. To date of June 20, 1872, the church has had five pastors
and nineteen ruling elders. The membership at present numbers seventy-eight.
The entire number of members received into the church of Mt. Eaton, from its organization to July 4, 1876, is as follows: On examination, 243; on certificate, 166;
a total of 409.
Ministers-Archibald Hanna, from May 25, 1820, to 1832; Nathaniel Cobb,
from 1837 to 1840; Philo M. Semple, from 1844 to 1858; Jeremiah Gillem, from
i860 to I868; Milton W. Brown, from 1871 to the present time.
Ruling Elders-William Hunter, June 20, 1818; William Kilgore, June 20,
i8I8; Rowland Armstrong, June 20, i8i8; Alexander Culbertson, June 3, 1824;
William D. Pennel, June 3, I824; Isaac Peppard, June 3, 1824; Matthew Derlim,
William Johnson, no date; Christopher Harrold, November 2, 1837; John Edgar,
November 2, 1837; Jeremiah Rockwell, no date; David Lash, November 2, 1837;
Joseph Teeple, 1840; David Kilgore; Alexander Thompson, March i, i855; Henry S. Lash, March ii, 1855; Jacob Hudson, November, x868; George Beam, November, i868; William M. Johnston, i868.
The names of the first thirteen organizing members are as follows: James
Kilgore, Margaret Kilgore, Jane McKinney, William Kilgore, Isabella Kilgore,
William Hunter, Mary Hunter, Rowland Armstrong, Jane Armstrong, John Anderson, Agnes Anderson, James Galbraith and Sarah Galbraith.




PAINT TO WNSHIP.


591


The first church was a log structure, situated in the present cemetery grounds,
and was built about I820.
Milton W. Brown, the present pastor of the Mt. Eaton Presbyterian church,
was born in East Union township, May 20, I82I, and is a son of John J. Brown.
His father was a farmer, with whom he remained laboring and going to school until
he was twenty-five years of age, when he entered Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pa.,
where he graduated. He attended the Theological Seminary at Allegheny City,
and was licensed to preach in the spring of 185I. His first congregations were at
Hopewell and Nashville, Holmes county, coming to Mt. Eaton in 1871. He was
married December 23, 1851, to Sarah Finney, of Hopewell.
Evangelical Lutheran Church.-The first record of this congregation goes back
to I832, the church being built, however, many years prior to this date, a log
house, its site near where the present St. Paul's church now stands. The members (about twelve families) were mostly Pennsylvania Germans. Rev. E. Greenewald took charge in 1832. In May, 1836, he was succeeded by Rev. J. B. Reck,
who was in turn relieved in the summer of 1843 by Rev. Edwin Melsheimer, continuing pastor until October, 1846, when Rev. William B. Rally, pastor of St.
Paul's church, Mt. Eaton, supplied the church pro tempore. Here the record of the
church closes.
St. Paul's Church.-This congregation of the Reformed Lutheran church originally attended the Evangelical Lutheran. In the summer of 1842 the new church
was built, the pastor, Rev. A. L. W. Begemann, and Rev. David Kammerer
officiating at laying its corner-stone. It was finished in 1846. In March, i845,
Rev. Robert Kochler became minister of St. Paul's, serving one year. Rev. W.
B. Rally was his successor, continuing until 1851. The congregation separated
into two, a German and French, the former electing Rev. Johann Ackeret for its
pastor, while the latter recalled Rev. Kochler. The congregations retained their t
common property, creed and name. Rev. Ackeret served the German congregation until i868. Rev. Philip Decker was his successor. He resigned in 1876, and
was succeeded by the present pastor, Rev. H. Nau.
Jacob Fraze was born in New Jersey 1772, and was a millwright by trade. From New Jersey he removed to Westmoreland
county, Pa., thence to Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and thence to
Paint township, Wayne county, I822, to where his son George
now lives. He had visited the county prior to this, however, and
in 1821 had built what was known as Grable's grist and saw mill,
for which he received o05 acres of land, and on which he settled
April I, 1822. When he took possession of the farm its whole
improvement consisted of an unchunked, undaubed, unfinished
cabin, scarcely a tree felled, and not a root or grub taken out. On
this farm, Mr. Fraze remained, cultivating it, and by turns working
at his trade, until his death, in February, I833. He was a capital
mill-wright and master of his craft, and was known far and wide,
and was often known to hide when persons would call at his house
to get him to repair their mills. He was of German origin, and




592


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


an excellent German as well as English scholar. He was married in I827 to Rachael Willard, of Tuscarawas county, Ohio, and
had three children.
George Fraze, the only son of Jacob Fraze, was born April I,
1821, at Putnam's Mill, Stark county, Ohio, and came to Paint
township with his father, where, with the exception of three years,
which he spent in acquiring the trade of wheelwright and chairmaking, he has since resided. He was married March 4, I846, to
Sarah Adams, of Paint township, and has had eleven children, nine
of whom are living. His son John is a graduate of Mt. Union,
and of the Law College at Ann Arbor, and is practicing law at
Akron, Ohio. Mr. Fraze is one of the most intelligent men of
his township, progressive and enlightened in his opinions, and
characterized by his ready co-operation in useful and important enterprises. He possesses a cool, calculating mind, is stern in his
convictions, and has the ability to fortify and defend them.
Eli Brown was born on Brandywine creek, Lancaster county,
Pa., and was of Quaker, Dutch and Irish parentage. He emigrated to Sugarcreek township, Wayne county, in I8TO. He was
a school teacher and surveyor, and for ten or twelve years gave
t attention to surveying, meantime entering six quarter sections of
land in Paint township. So, preferring the farm to the compass,
he settled on the premises now owned by Mrs. Sarah Brown,
mother of Charles H. Brown. He died April 28, I839, having had
six children, two sons and four daughters.
Charles H. Brown was born April 22, 1825, and was early introduced to the monotony and drudgery of the farm life.  He
went to school to his father, and after his death the principal oversight of the farm devolved upon him. He remained with his
mother until I850, having the entire disposition and management
of the place upon him, when, on the 22d of October of this year,
he was joined in wedlock, by Rev. Archibald Hanna, to Nercissa
Galbraith.  Mr. Brown has three children - one son and two
daughters. He is a stirring, wide-awake business man, full of activity, and in the prime of life. He is a farmer, stock-dealer, speculator, according to circumstances, a man of honor, character and
reputation.




PAINT TO WNSHIP.


593


WEST LEBANON.
West Lebanon is a small village, three miles north-east of Mt.
Eaton, and was laid out in 1833 by Philip Groff and Rev. William
S. Butt. Frederick Bysell, it is claimed, built the first house and
kept the first tavern and post-office. Mr. Joseph Harry, who
came to Paint township in 1824, and who now lives in West Lebanon, is of opinion that Isaac Stine built the first cabin, on lot 32,
in the village, and that the first Postmaster was Adam Zaring.
The office was established, he says, in 1835. Philip Groff, one of
the founders of the village, was a native of West Lebanon, Lebanon county, Pa., and hence, in memory of his native town, called
it West Lebanon. John Hoke is the present Postmaster, and was
appointed January I, I868. James Kilgore was the first Postmaster in what was called East Lebanon, in Sugarcreek township, in
I833. Michael Hawn, a Revolutionary soldier, born I741, and
died 1844, aged Io3 years, is buried in the Lutheran graveyard at
West Lebanon.
Evangelical Lutheran Church.-The first church was built in I83I, and prior to
this there existed no organization.  It was erected under the auspices of the
Lutheran and Reformed bodies. The first minister was John Reck; first members,
Matthias Siler, Philip Reihnole, Peter Shilling, Phillip Sidle, etc. Rev. Bordner is
the present minister, dispensing the English service. Membership between thirty
and forty.
Church of God.-The Church of God in West Lebanon was organized in 1857
by John Oberlin, John Grameling, Moses Grow and others. Rev. John S. McKee
was here at the time of the organization, assisted by Rev. Martin Beck. The services of this body were first held in the Lutheran church, and afterwards in the
village school-house until the new church was erected in 1865. Rev. M. Beck, a
gentleman of great liberality, and remarkable intellectual ability, donated the
ground for the church edifice, and not only that, he actually assumed the role of
carpenter and builder, for which service and labor he received but a partial
allowance. Rev. Beck became the successor of McKee, and continued in the pastorate for three years. Rev. Lewis H. Silvy succeeded Mr. Beck; then came Rev.
Alexander Wiley, Rev. Simeon Lilly, Rev. Henry Linn and Rev. A. Long, the
present minister.
A. M. McMillen, M. D., was born in Jefferson county, Ohio,
near Steubenville, in I816. His father was a mill-wright and
farmer, with whom the subject of this sketch remained during his
earlier years.   After preparing himself for the school-room       he
began teaching, and for eight years devoted himself to this employment. He read medicine in Canal Fulton with Dr. Howard,
and graduated at the old Medical College of Cleveland. He began
38




594


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


practice at West Lebanon, in 1849, continuing there until his
death, which occurred May 4, 1874. He was married in the
spring of 1849 to Rebecca Neeper, of Lancaster county, Pa., by
which union there were eight children. He was a member of the
Presbyterian church of Mt. Eaton.
D. H. McMillen, M. D., a nephew of Dr. A. M. McMillen,
was born in Stark county, Ohio, near Greenville, October 13,
1848; read medicine with his uncle and graduated from the Cincinnati College of Medical Surgery in June, 1874. He began
practice with his uncle in July, 1874, and continues the same in
West Lebanon. He was married January 6, 1876, to Miss J. A.
Braden, of Sugarcreek township.
Abraham Bales, father of Jacob Bales and grandfather of Solomon, Philip and Daniel Bales, came to Wayne county in.the fall
of 1811 on horseback, and then seventy-five years old, from Lebanon
county, Pa., and entered all the land between Solomon Bales'
and West Lebanon-993 acres; buying in addition to this a quarter section in Stark county. He died with his son, Caleb Bales,
in Wayne county, at the age of eighty-eight. These 993 acres
were divided among nine children, Jacob receiving the 145 acres
where Daniel Bales now lives.
Jacob Bales was born in Lebanon county, Pa., 1787, and
removed to Wayne county in 1812, locating on the farm now
owned by his son Daniel. He was married October 5, I812, to
Sada Bowers, of Lebanon county, Pa., and died March 11, 1871,
having had born to him nine children, three sons and six daughters. He had seven brothers and one sister, all of whom are dead.
Caleb was his youngest brother, and died in Surgarcreek township
during the summer of 1876. Jacob lived fifty-nine years upon the
old homestead, and during that time not a death occurred among
the members of his family, which was composed of nine children,
although three have died since his death. His wife died June 2,
1874, and at the time of his death he had eighty-six grandchildren.
He was Justice of the Peace of Paint township for a great
many years, was an old time Whig and an active politician. He
had many a spirited contest in the local elections of Paint, notably
with' James Pinkerton, whom he successively defeated until the
"labeled bottles" entered the canvass. He was a member of the
Methodist church for over twenty years, subsequently uniting with




PAINT TOWNSHIP.                   595
the United Brethren congregation of West Lebanon. When Mr.
Bales came to the country he found it a bleak and dreary waste,
infested with Indians, bears and wolves. For several years he
lived without meat, and as coffee commanded an exhorbitant price
it was a delicacy seldom relished and only indulged, as Daniel
Bales says, "when there was a birth in the family." Mt. Eaton
had no existence when he penetrated the wild woods; Massillon
was barely dreamed of then, and Canton but a cluster of cabins.
He took his first wheat to New Philadelphia, and traveled twentythree miles to get his flour.
He was a whole-souled, generous man, lived a sincere and
pious life, his house being recognized as " the preacher's home,"
having entertained fifty-six ministers while living there.




596


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XXI.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, named in honor of Benjamin Franklin,
was organized for civil purposes June 7, 1820. The population in
1870 was 1,302. The following is the list of the officers of the
township, as appears upon the official records:
Justices of the Peace-Samuel Mitchel, commissioned July 6, 1820; Jacob
Nixon, July 29, 1820; Jacob Nixon, May 5, 1823; Samuel Mitchel, July 5, 1823;
Jacob Nixon, April 22, 1826; Samuel Mitchel, April 22, 1826; Jacob Nixon, May
12, 1829; James Taylor, May 26, 1829; John Alexander, April 27, 1832; John
Hughes, April 27, 1832; John Hughes, April i8, 1835; John Alexander, April
x8, 1835; Nicholas Smith, April 30, 1838; John Alexander, April 30, 1838; John
Hughes, July 23, 1838; William Boles, April I6, 1841; John Hughes, October 21,
1842; James Swarts, April 25, I844; John Hughes, October 23, 1845; James
Swarts, April 14, 1847; David Gabriel, October 21, 1848; John Kimber, April
12, 1849; Robert Stitt, October 20, 1849; Joshua Wilson, April ii, I850; David
Gabriel, November 3, 1851; Joshua Wilson, April 19, 1853; Hugh Truesdall,
October 21, 1854; Stephen Henry, November i6, I855; Joshua Wilson, April 28,
1856; James Swart, October I8, 1858; Joshua Wilson, April 19, 1859; S. M.
Henry, November 20, 1860; James Swarts, October 22, i86i; S. M. Henry, October 22, 1863; Cornelius Smith, October 15, 1864; Andrew Moore, October 15,
1866; Cornelius Smith, October 15, 1867; Andrew Moore, October 20, 1869; Cornelius Smith, October i8, 1870; John R. McKinney, October 12, 1872; Cyreneus
Geiselman, October 22, 1873; John Butler, April 12, 1875; R. A. Schmuck, April
13, I876.
At first election held in Franklin township, April 28, 1820, David Mitchell
and Daniel Kirkpatrick were Judges, and John Boyd and John Brown were
clerks.
1820. Trustees-David Mitchell, Samuel Vanemman, Isaiah Jones; ClerkMichael Kanny; Treasurer-Jacob Burgan; Listers-Samuel S. Moore, William
Thomas; Constables-Andrew Alexander, John Floyd; Overseers of Poor-John
Boles, Robert Buckley; Fence Viewer-James Finley; Supervisor-Nicholas
Jones.
The above Trustees were sworn by Benjamin Jones, April 29, 1820.
1821. Trustees-John Hughes, S. S. Vanemman, John Miller; Clerk-Michael
Kanny; Treasurer-Jacob Burgan; Lister-Picket Doughte.
1822. Trustees-John Hughes, S. S. Vanemman, John Miller; Clerk-Michael
Kanny; Treasurer-Samuel Mitchel; Lister-George Wilson.




FRANKLIN TO WNSHIP.


597


1823, Trustees-Jonathan Peppard, John Boyd, Samuel Vanemman; ClerkJohn McClellan; Treasurer-David Mitchel; Lister-S. S. Vanemman.
1824. Trustees-James Hindman, Jacob Nixon, Samuel Mitchel; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-Jacob Burgan; Lister-John Hughes.
1825. Trustees-Jacob Nixon, J. J. Brown, Thomas Patrick; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-Jacob Burgan; Lister-John Smith.
1826. Trustees-J. J. Brown, Nicholas Smith, Thomas Patrick; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-Jacob Burgan; Lister-James Bolin.
I827. Trustees-John Hughes, Isaiah Jones, Jonathan Peppard; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Jacob Burgan.
1828. Trustees —John Boyd, Valentine Geiselman, Jacob Nixon; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Jacob Burgan.
1829. Trustees-Ephraim Cutter, Valentine Geiselman, Alexander Sanderson;
Clerk —John Alexander; Treasurer —Jacob Burgan.
1830. Trustees-James Hindman, William Boles, James Taylor; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-William Norton.
I831. Trustees-James Hindman, William Boles, William Patterson; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-William Norton.
1832. Trustees-William Patterson, Samuel Mitchel, Jacob Nixon; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Franks.
1833. Trustees-William Patterson, Samuel Mitchel; Clerk-John Alexander;
Treasurer-Aaron Franks.
I834. Trustees —James Hindman, Alexander Sanderson, John Hughes;
Clerk-John Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Franks.
1835. Trustees-John Hughes, Benjamin Lawrence, Jacob Nixon; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Franks.
1836. Trustees-William Boles, Valentine Geiselman, John Brenizer; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Franks.
1837. Trustees-John Hughes, John Brenizer, John Boles; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Franks.
1838. Trustees-William Boles, John Brenizer, Henry Munson; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-Jacob Nixon.
1839. Trustees-James Hindman, Henry Munson, Aaron Franks; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Benjamin Lawrence.
1840. Trustees-Aaron Franks, Henry Munson, James Hindman; ClerkSamuel Scott; Treasurer-Benjamin Lawrence.
1841. Trustees-Henry Munson, Jacob Harmon, Aaron Franks; ClerkSamuel Scott; Treasurer-Benjamin Lawrence.
1842. Trustees-Samuel Mitchel, Jacob Harmon, Aaron Franks; Clerk-Samuel Scott; Treasurer-Benjamin Lawrence.
1843. Trustees-William  Noland, Samuel Mitchel, Jacob Harmon; ClerkSamuel Scott; Treasurer-Benjamin Lawrence.
I844. Trustees-Jacob Nixon, James Hindman, Aaron Franks; Clerk-David
Gabriel; Treasurer-John Ernsperger.
1845. Trustees-Jacob Nixon, William Boles, Moses Lockhart; Clerk-David
Gabriel; Treasurer-George Ernsperger.
1846. Trustees-Jacob Harmon, Andrew Brothers, George Gardner; ClerkDavid Gabriel; Treasurer-William Boles; Assessor-Aaron Franks.
1847. Trustees-Jacob Harmon, George Gardner, James Boyd; Clerk-Daniel
Gabriel; Treasurer-Valentine Geiselman.




598             HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
1848. Trustees-James Boyd, Jacob Harmon, Henry Munson; Clerk-A. A.
Bainbridge; Treasurer-Valentine Geiselman.
1849. Trustees-James Boyd, James Knox, Peter Weiker; Clerk-Jacob Castel; Treasurer-Valentine Geiselman; Assessor-Jacob Reaser.
I850. Trustees-Samuel Metzler, Harvey Messmore, George Gardner; ClerkJ. G. Castel; Treasurer-Valentine Geiselman; Assessor-Levi Snure.
I85I. Trustees-Morgan Butler, James Gabriel, Jaqob Harmon; Clerk-John
Noland; Treasurer-Valentine Geiselman; Assessor-Levi Snure.
i852. Trustees-Peter Weiker, Morgan Butler, Robert Barnes; Clerk-J. G.
Castel; Treasurer-Valentine Geiselman; Assessor-John Hughes.
I853. Trustees-Peter Weiker, James Boyd, Cornelius Mclntire; Clerk-William Weiker; Treasurer-Adam Hensil; Assessor-John Hughes.
I854. Trustees-James Sanderson, Aaron    Franks, Peter Weiker; ClerkJames Hoy; Treasurer-Adam Hensil; Assessor-Levi Snure.
1855. Trustees-Robert Stitt, John Firestone, Peter Weiker; Clerk-James
Hoy; Treasurer-Adam Hensil; Assessor-Aaron Franks.
1856. Trustees-John Firestone, Aaron Franks, Mark Taylor; Clerk-James
Hoy; Treasurer-Adam Hensil; Assessor-Cyrus Hughes.
I857. Trustees-John Firestone, Aaron Franks, Mark Taylor; Clerk-James
Hoy; Treasurer-Adam Hensil; Assessor-Cyrus Hughes.
I86I. Trustees-Robert Barnes, A. J. Moore, Samuel Weiker; Clerk-Andrew
Butler; Treasurer-Adam Hensil; Asseesor-Robert Reed.
1862. Trustees-Robert Barnes, A. J. Moore, Samuel Weiker; Clerk-Andrew
Butler; Treasurer-Adam Hensil.
1863. Trustees-Cornelius Smith, C. Geiselman, S. Weiker; Clerk-S. M.
Henry; Treasurer-A. J. Moore; Assessor-Seth Smith.
I864. Trustees-Mark Taylor, Michael Moore, R. Vangilder; Clerk-Andrew
Butler; Treasurer-Jacob Halfhill; Assessor-Seth Smith.
1865. Trustees-Mark Taylor, Michael Moore, Thomas Metzler; Clerk-A.
G. Barnes; Treasurer-Jacob Half hill; Assessor-Finley Franks.
i866. Trustees-D. A. Lawrence, Peter Weiker, Thomas Metzler; Clerk-A.
G. Barnes; Treasurer-J. Halfhill; Assessor-Finley Franks.
1867. Trustees-D. Lawrence, Peter Weiker, Finley Franks; Clerk-A. G.
Barnes; Treasurer-J. Halfhill; Assessor-C. Geiselman.
I868. Trustees-Finley Franks, John Firestone, Adam    Eyman; Clerk-A.
G. Barnes; Treasurer-Thomas Metzler; Assessor-C. Geiselman.
i869. Trustees-John Firestone, Adam Eyman, A. Rumbaugh; Clerk-Sa;muel Morr; Treasurer-Thomas Metzler; Assessor-Andrew Butler.
I870. Trustees-A. Rumbaugh, Levi Miller, Israel Franks; Clerk-Samuel
Morr, Jr.; Treasurer-C. Geiselman; Assessor-Andrew Butler.
I871. Trustees-Levi Miller, Israel Franks, Thomas Taylor; Clerk-Samuel
Morr, Jr.; Treasurer-C. Geiselman; Assessor-William H. Miller.
I872. Trustees-Thomas Taylor, Lewis Walter, J. B. Franks; Clerk-Samuel
Morr, Jr.; Treasurer-J. C. Walter; Assessor —W. H. Miller.
I873. Trustees-Lewis Walter, Jacob Franks, Robert Scott; Clerk-Samuel
Morr, Jr.; Treasurer-Mark Taylor; Assessor-C. Smith.
1874. Trustees-Robert Scott, David Herman, R. A. Schmuck; Clerk-Samuel Morr, Jr.; Treasurer-Mark Taylor; Assessor-C. Smith.
1875. Trustees-R. A. Schmuck, David Herman, Peter Lowe; Clerk-Samuel Morr, Jr.; Treasurer-Mark Taylor; Assessor-Seth Smith.




FRANKLIN TO WNSHIP.


599


1876. Trustees-Peter Lowe, David Geitgey, Henry Munson; Clerk-Samuel
Morr, Jr.; Treasurer-Mark Taylor; Assessor-Seth Smith.
1877. Trustees-Henry Munson, David Geitgey, Rollin V. Bowers; ClerkW. A. Crow; Treasurer-James B. White; Assessor-David Herman; Constables
-Israel Franks, Ira A. Swat.
MORELAND.
This is the only village in Franklin township. It was laid out
by Jonathan Butler and George Morr, January 17, I829, on the
farm of George Morr, plat and certificate recorded January i9,
I829; record found on page 95, volume 7, County Recorder's
office. The first building in the place was erected by a man named
Loux, for a blacksmith shop.
FIRST SETTLEMENTS AND SETTLERS.
The first settlement made, outside of Wooster, in Wayne
county, was in this township, and upon the farm now owned by
Thomas Dowty. James Morgan and Thomas Butler were the two
first white settlers, removing there in 1808. Soon thereafter came
John Boyd, Robert Buckley, John and James Cisna, Tommy Lock,
Samuel Mitchell, Jacob Nixon, William Nolan, Jacob Miller,
Moses Lockhart and John Hughes.
James Morgan entered the first land in the township.
Samuel Mitchel was the first Justice of the Peace.
One of the early school-houses that we have mention of was
built on the farm of Daniel Daringer (now Stephen Harrison's),
who donated half an acre of land for a site, and is known as the
Polecat school-house. Old William Hughes was one of the first
teachers.
Old Johnny Boyd had the first distillery, and it was on the
farm now owned by Mark Taylor. He sold it in quantities"Yes, sir; just as little as you want, sir."
The first grist-mill was built by a brother of David Mitchel, on
the farm now owned by Andrew Bucher, and was the only one
ever in the township.
James Morgan was of Welsh descent though a native of Virginia, and his wife was an English lady named Cox. They removed to Ohio in I806, and settled in Franklin township in the
spring of I808, raising a crop of corn that year. He had a family
of ten children, to wit: Jesse, Isaac, John, James, Joseph, William, Jonathan, Sarah, Rebecca and Hannah, not one of whom is




6o0


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


living in Wayne county. He died of dropsy in 1822, and is buried
in the graveyard on the Jacob Bucher farm. In the early days
"Priest" Jones used to preach at Morgan's. Jesse, his oldest
son, perished in a snow-storm near the present site of Indianapolis; he was on horseback, the drifts overwhelmed him, he got into
a swamp, became lost and died.
Thomas Butler was born in Monongahela county, Virginia,
but in what is now Preston county, West Virginia, August Io,
1783, and came to Franklin township in I808, settling on the farm
now owned by John and Elizabeth Butler and Isaac Munson. He
entered I60 acres of land, the second land entered in the township,
and being a single man boarded with James Morgan, and on April
12, I809, married Rebecca, daughter of Mr. Morgan (first marriage
in the county). He built a cabin and moved therein, but which
was fired and destroyed when he was at Mr. Morgan's, by the
Indians. Mr. Morgan had eight children, to wit: Sarah, Jane,
Elizabeth, Morgan, Jonathan, Isaac, John and Andrew. Truly
indeed was the county a wilderness when Butler and Morgan
entered it. The bottoms of the Killbuck then abounded in plum
thickets, cherry and sycamore trees and considerable walnut. For
years Mr. Butler kept his wheat in the trunks of sycamore trees.
Bears were plentiful and wolves numerous, Mr. Butler on one
occasion killing one within half a mile of his house. Mr. Butler
was a great talker, a pioneer of the true type, and performed a
brave part in the early settlement of the county.
Jonathan Butler, his brother, was a native of Virginia, and
emigrated to Holmes then, but Wayne county now, as early as
I8I8, and was the builder of the famous Butler mill. He died in
Indiana. His father, Thomas Butler, Sr., an early settler likewise,
died at Jonathan's.
Samuel Mitchel was born near Chambersburg, Franklin county,
Pa., June 5, I776. His father was a farmer, and with him Samuel
remained until he was twenty-one years of age, the family having
removed to Washington county, Pa., where the subject of this
sketch remained a few years with his parents. In the spring of
1812 Samuel Mitchel emigrated to Wayne county, settling in
Franklin township, on the farm now owned by his son, Samuel
Mitchel. On his arrival he entered i60 acres of land, and soon




FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.


6oi


thereafter purchased a quarter section more.  He immediately put
up a cabin in which to find shelter, and set himself to the task of
clearing spaces for cultivation. In this rough diminutive cabin, built
in haste and true primitive rudeness, the family lived for eight
years, when he erected a more comfortable frame dwelling, in
which they resided for twenty years, when in the same yard he
built a still more commodious brick.
He was married January 6, I8o8, in Washington county, Pa.,
to Mary McGugen, by which marriage he had four children, Jesse,
Ann, Maria M. and Samuel. Jesse was a merchant in Fredericksburg, where he died February 7, I839. Ann, the oldest daughter,
died at the age of nine years, September 3, I818. Maria M., the
second daughter, married John McClellan, and lives in Wooster.
He died on his farm in Franklin township, March I8, I864.
Mr. Mitchel was identified with the interests of Franklin township
for over half a century, and saw its transformation from a howling
waste to pleasing and productive fields. He and Jacob Nixon
were the two first Justices elected after the organization of the
township, June 7, 1820. He was elected Commissioner of Wayne
county, in 1814, or two years after he came to the county. He
was drafted in the war of I812, but hired a substitute in the person
of Caleb Bundy, whom he paid $Ioo. Few of the backwoodsmen
had more varied experience than he, but whether dealing with the
treacherous Indians or fighting the bears and wolves that carried
away his pigs and lambs, he ever managed to escape without serious harm.
His home was in the deep and solitary woods; there were no
roads or avenues of travel; no near neighbors to come in case of
danger; no markets and no money, Wooster existing but in name,
with its few and scattered houses.  It required the soldier's courage to encounter the situation.  Among the desperate inhabitants
of the forest whom he met was Simon Girty,* "the white savage,"
"Whose vengeance shamed the Indian's thirst for blood;
Whose hellish arts surpassed the Red Man's far;
Whose hate enkindled many a border war."
On one occasion he came to Mr. Mitchel's house and made


*Girty was the son of an Irishman, and for twenty years was the Raw-headand-bloody-bones of the border, produced when nature was in hell and disciplining
herself to her worst mischief. He was a besotted human devil, a grog-burnt fiend,
whose wife could no longer endure him, and who was killed by his paramour.




602


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


inquiry for horses, which was the source of indescribable dread and
terror to the family. Mr. Mitchel was originally a Presbyterian,
but when he came to Wayne county he united with the old Seceder
church at Wooster, then under the pastorate of Rev. Samuel Irvine. He subsequently united with the Associate Reformed body,
under Rev. James Peacock, and when, in after years, the two
churches united and consolidated into what is now known as the
United Presbyterian church, he became a member of it.
Samuel Mitchel, his youngest child, was born in Franklin township, September 28, 1820. His occupation until within several
years has been that of a farmer. He remained with his father on
the old homestead, which he now owns, until his death, continuing
thereafter upon it until 1868, when he removed to Wooster. He
was married May 24, I849, to Mary A. McClellan, sister of John
McClellan. He has been a hard-working, industrious, frugal man,
and by the exercise of economy and care has accquired a competency which enables him to live in comfort and retirement. He
is a quiet, unassuming, upright citizen and honest man.  He
united with the Presbyterian church in I859, since which time he
has been a member.
John Hugheswas born in Fayette county, Pa., March 13, 1785,
where he lived with his father and followed the occupation of a
farmer. He married Jane Fleniken, of Greene county, Pa., from
which marriage resulted the following children: Minerva, James F.,
William, John, Cephas, Robert, Cyrus, Alford, Jane and Helen.
His wife died July 23, 1835, and he was married again in June, 1836,
to Jane Boyd, of Greene county, Pa. The following were the
children of his second marriage: Samuel B., Mary Ann, Sarah
A., Nancy, Lucretta, Josephus and Ellen.
Mr. Hughes was among the first settlers. He came to Wayne
county in the fall of 1816, and entered two quarters of land, the
same now owned by his son Alford Hughes, in Franklin township.
He also bought a quarter second-handed, the one now owned
by his heirs, and now occupied by his son Samuel. In that year
did some clearing and built his cabin, I8x25 feet, then returned to
Jefferson county, Pa., and in April of 1817 he brought his family
to Franklin township, where he continued to reside until his death,
April I8, I86I. Mr. Hughes was in many respects a more than
ordinarily valuable citizen, and was possessed of considerable enter



FRANKLIN TO WNSHIP.


603


prise. He was one of the early settlers of Franklin township,
serving as Justice of the Peace for many years.
Hugh Morgan, Sr., was born on Cheat River, Va., January I,
I759, his wife, Mercy Ayers, being born December I5, I763.
He immigrated to Wayne county 1814-15, settling on the farm
now owned by John Brown, on the west side of the township.
Here he lived and died in 1844, his wife surviving him three years.
He had ten children, viz: Stephen, Dorcas, Phoebe, Mary, Jane,
Margaret, Elizabeth, Priscilla, Rebecca and Temperance. All
were girls save one, all were born in Virginia, all grew to womanhood, all lived in Wayne county at one time, and all are dead.
Hugh Morgan, son of Stephen Morgan, and grandson of Hugh
Morgan, was born January 26, 1821, in Clinton township, and lives
within I00 rods of where he was born, although in Franklin
township. He pursues the occupation of farmer, though he followed teaching regularly in the winter, and occasionally in the
summer, from 1843 to 1857, since which time he has been devoted
to agriculture, and more recently giving some attention to the
nursery business.  He was married, May 28, I857, to Sarah
Weiker, of Franklin township, and has seven children, to wit:
Florence, Floraette, Almada, Mary E., Linnet, Sarah E. and Rhoda
J. Morgan.
Mr. Morgan is a gentleman of culture and education; was a
successful teacher; is a believer in books, libraries and the general
diffusion of intelligence among the masses.
Moses Lockhart, Sr., was born near Romney, Hampshire county,
Virginia, in 1788. He was married in Virginia to Phoebe Morgan, daughter of Hugh Morgan, of Wayne county, in 1812. He
came to Ohio in 1813, settling in Franklin township, on the farm
where his son Moses now lives, where he entered 400 acres of
land, all in woods and prairie bottoms of Killbuck. The cabin
was built near the site of the present house, the latter built in
1820. Here Moses Lockhart lived until his death in March, I839.
He had sik children, four of whom survived him-three daughters and Moses Lockhart, Jr., the bachelor, now residing on the
old farm. Elizabeth, the wife of James Moore, of Clinton township, is one of the surviving daughters. Moses Lockhart, Jr., was
born April 14, 1821. His grandfather, William Lockhart, was
a soldier in the Revolutionary war, participated in the battle of
Brandywine, etc., and died in Warren county, Ohio,




604


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OtIO.


The Munson Family. -Isaac Munson, Sr.,removed with his family from Connecticut to New York, where his wife Eleanor Andrews
Munson died in August, 1815. Soon after her death he, with his son
Henry, started for the west, passing the winter of I8I5 in Holmes
county. In the spring of 1816 they came to Wayne county, settling
on the farm now owned by Henry Munson, buying the farm of I60
acres second-hand. Here Isaac Munson continued to live until death,
July Io, 1830. He was a soldier under Washington in the Revolutionary War, entering the service as a volunteer at the age of
fifteen, for which he drew a pension, getting it paid at Chillicothe.
Until 1821 Isaac Munson and his son Henry kept bachelor
hall, when Henry, on November 15, married Mary Cutler, of
Holmes county now, but Wayne county then. From the time
Henry came to this farm he lived on it until I86I, when he removed to Shreve, remaining there five years, then returned to the
old homestead, where he made his home with his son Henry until
the period of his death, which occurred December I, 1867. His
wife died May 4, 1872. They had seven children, four sons and
three daughters, viz: Ezra, Isaac, Samuel, Eleanor, Mary, Elizabeth and Henry. All the daughters are dead.
Isaac Munson was born September I9, 1823, and was married
to Eliza A. Lowe, from which union there were three children,
Mary, Phoebe and Jacob. His wife dying, he re-married in the fall
of 1856 to Miss Susan Thomas, and by this marriage has a son,
Charles. Henry Munson, Jr., was born in Franklin township, February I2, I837. He was married to Miss Rebecca Jones, daughter
of John Jones and granddaughter of Isaiah Jones, February 15,
I86I, and by this marriage had five children, viz: John Henry, E.
N., James K., William B., and one that died in infancy. His wife
Rebecca died September 28, 1874, and on November 30, 1876, he
was re-married to Martha McCartney. Eleanor, the oldest daughter of Henry Munson, Sr., married Jared Barker, of Summit
county, and died September 9, 1856. Mary married Isaiah Jones,
of Holmes county, and died in 1862. Elizabeth died, unmarried,
October I2, I856. Samuel C. Munson, son of Henry Munson,
lives in Medina county, and is married to Jane Hughes, daughter
of John Hughes, of Franklin township. Ezra Munson resides in
Caldwell county, Missouri, and was married to Ann Eliza Wycoff,
of Franklin township.
The Munson family are noted throughout for their sterling




FRANKLIN TO WNSHIP.                          60
character, their industry, hospitality, courtesy and general good
qualities as neighbors and citizens.
Henry Munson, Sr., in I816 or 1817, opened up and burned the first lime, and
had the first kiln in Wayne county, burning the first lime in a log heap to test its
quality. People for fifty miles around came to him for it. He furnished the
lime used in building the old Wiler House, in Mansfield, hauling it there by oxen
at about fifty cents per bushel, at nights sleeping under the wagon, and turning the
oxen out to graze.
CHURCHES OF FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
Jacob's Lutheran Church was built in i844 on lands donated by Jacob Herman,
and was named Jacob's church by Jacob Snider. Rev. Kline was the first preacher.
George Moore, Jacob Snider, Michael Schaff, Philip Moore, Adam Geitgey and his
sons Adam and George Geitgey, George Reinard, and others, with their families,
were the first that belonged to this church. Before it was built they went to Wooster and listened to Father Sonnedecker and Rev. Weygandt.
The Church of God.-This was built at Moreland in 1843, Adam Weiker, Isaac
Tate and Samuel Metzler being the principal movers in the religious enterprise.
Messrs. Weiker and Tate designed the building and superintended its construction.
The first preachers after the church was built were Archibald Megrew and Jonathan West. Present ministers-Revs. Martin Beck and Samuel Deckerhoff, with a
membership of about thirty. William Metzler furnished these facts.
M. E. Church.-The first Methodist Episcopal church was built in Moreland about I830-a one-story frame building, 30x30, located on Robert Buckley's
lands, donated by him for that purpose. The names of the first Methodists in the
vicinity were John Floyd, wife and daughter; William Force and Sarah, his wife;
Peter Kiser and wife; Jacob Kiser and wife; Hannah Force and Abraham Force;
Michael Kinney and wife, and Robert Buckley and wife. For fifteen years before
this church was built Methodist service was held at the private house of William
P. Force. The first preachers were Rev. Evans, Rev. James Wilson, Rev. Abner
Goff, Rev. Harry 0. Sheldon, and Rev. Russel Bigelow, who was the first Presiding Elder. The second Methodist church was built in the summer of 1863.
Present minister-Rev. McCartney, with a congregation of about ninety and a prosperous Sunday-school.
Trinity English Lutheran Church.-The church of this congregation was built
in I86I, on land donated by David Lawrence. Individual members furnished the
material, cut the timber, hauled the logs. etc. David Geitgey was the principal
carpenter, D. J. Snider and David Lawrence his assistants. The existence of this
church is due to a discussion and difference between the members of the old Jacob's
church, as to whether there should be German and English preaching. The first
members of the Trinity came from Jacob's church, and were Jonathan Snider and
his sons, John, D. J., Joseph and Jonathan, and Jacob and William Patton and
their families. Rev. J. B. Baltzley, was their first preacher, and organized the
church with eighteen members. Then came Rev. W. W. Lang, who remained pastor for seven years, who was succeeded by Rev. E. B. Crouse; then Father Sloane,
of Wooster, as a supply for a year; then Rev. Fryberger. There is now a membership of about fifty. An excellent Sunday-school, with one hundred pupils, is connected with the church. Superintendent of the Sunday-school, Jacob H. Snider;
officers, Israel Franks, Henry Kauffman, S. P. Chase, D. J. Snider.




6o6


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Jacob Harmon was born in Montgomery county, Pa., December 3I, I79I. His father, Conrad, was a shoemaker, with whom
Jacob worked for many years, never having but two months English schooling in his life. He came to Wooster township in the
spring of 18i8, then a single man. He was married to Catharine
Hoff, October Io, I820, and has had ten children. She died April
27, 1872. When he came to the county, he says, there were Indians to be seen, and he remembers seeing Simon Rice, accompanied by his brother William, spear and kill a bear near the farm
of ex-Judge John K. McBride. He is now eighty-seven years of
age, and is a member of the Lutheran church.
Stephen M. Henry, son of John and grandson of Stephen
Henry, was born in Wayne county, September 8, 1825. He has
been twice married; first, March 7, 1850, to Delilah Burnett, and
second, to Catharine Burnett, half-sister of his first wife, and has
lived in Franklin township since April I, 1858. Mr. Henry is an
energetic man, with positive and pronounced opinions, and a Democrat of the old Jacksonian type. He is a public-spirited, influential citizen, has served nine years as Justice of the Peace, and six
years as Commissioner of Wayne county, in all of which positions
he acquitted himself with honor.
Thomas Dowty, the father of Thomas Dowty, was a South
Carolinian, born about I785. His grandfather, David Dowty, was
a farmer and dealer in blooded horses, and removed to Kentucky,
and thence to Athens county, Ohio, where he died. His son,
Thomas Dowty, emigrated to Wayne county in i8I, settling on
a farm east of Wooster, on the State road.  Here he entered
eighty acres of land and remained a few years, when he went to
Franklin township in 1814, where he entered I60 acres of land,
now owned by the heirs of Adam Weiker. He settled in the
woods, built a cabin, lived in it without a floor, etc., and staid to
1830, when he removed to the farm now owned by his son, Thomas
Dowty, and here his death occurred in 1842. He was married to
Rosa Sowards, a Kentucky lady, and raised six children. He was
re-married to Hannah Young, of Holmes county. Thomas Dowty,
his son, was born November 27, I806, in Athens county, Ohio,
and was married October 20, I836, to Sarah Ann Cavenee, of
Columbia county, Pennsylvania. David Dowty, we were informed
by Thomas, who was his cousin, was the first white boy born in




FRANKLIN TO WNSHIP.


607


Wayne county, that event transpiring in Wooster, his father's
name being Daniel Dowty.
The farm upon which Thomas Dowty now lives is said to be
the first one entered in Franklin township, and by old James Morgan.* Upon his premises, and near his house, in I874, he constructed a beautiful fish-pond, supplied from a strong spring, in
which are many varieties of fish. He is a generous and warmhearted man, characterized by a true Southern hospitality, sociableness and friendliness of feeling.
John McIntire, the father of Cornelius, was born in County
Derry, Ireland, in 1755, and immigrated to America in 1782,
settling in York, Pa., as a farmer. He remained there fifteen
years, then removed to near Steubenville, on the old Mingo Bottoms, Jefferson county, Ohio, and in 1820 came to Franklin township, Wayne county.    He had eight children-John, James,
Smith, William, Archibald, Cornelius, Sarah and Catherine, none
of whom survive, except Cornelius.
Cornelius Mclntire was born in Fayette county, Pa., July 20,
I8oo, and came to Wayne county with his father in 1820. He
immediately went to clearing land, and the same season had four
acres in wheat. January 24, 1828, he was married to Nancy
Rayl, who was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, in I8I, and
moved in 18I9 to Franklin township, the marriage resulting in
thirteen children, to wit: Mary Jane, George (dead), Reasin,
Hannah, Sarah A. (dead), Sophronia (dead), Cornelius, William,
Ezra, Elizabeth, Susan, John W. (dead) and Jacob (dead). The
family at this time is considerably scattered. The old folks celebrated their golden wedding, the fiftieth anniversary of their married life, on January 24, 1878, by a grand dinner, to which relatives and neighbors were gathered, and all had a happy time in
talking of old times and eating off a table that Mr. and Mrs.
McIntire had had ever since their marriage.
He is a solid, substantial and industrious citizen.  His son,
William McIntire, born February o0, 1843, is married to Sarah
King, of Franklin township, and has two sons, Warren and Jacob.
Killing a Bear.-Shortly after coming to Franklin township, Cornelius McIntire killed a bear that weighed four hundred pounds. In relating the incident, he


*Mr. Dowty says John Larwill so informed him.




6o8


HISTORY OF IWA YVE COUNTY ^,OHIO.


says that a neighbor boy discovered the bear's track and told him about it, and he
was soon after bruin with his gun and dogs. The bear took to a swamp, from
where the dogs drove it finally, Cornelius giving it a shot, but not killing it. He
pursued it to Little Salt creek, and then his brother James joined him, and they
followed the bear to Newman's creek swamp, where they killed it, sold the meat to
neighbors around there, carrying some home, together with the bear's hide, which
they kept as a trophy of the chase.
Ephraim Cutter, a native of New Jersey, was born in 1789, and
came to Holmes county as early as I816, removing to Wayne
county in 1827, settling north of Moreland one half mile, on the
farm now owned by Solomon Tate. He eventually removed to
Huntington county, Indiana, where he died twenty years ago.
He was married to Sarah Edgar, of Columbia county, Pa., and
had eleven children.
John Cutter was born in Northampton county, Pa., January 8,
I793; came to Holmes county in I818, and removed to Wayne
county in 183I, settling on the farm where he now lives.  He was
married in Holmes county, April 20, 1824, to Hannah Peterman,
of Columbia county, Pa., and has had seven children - Charity,
Mary and Elizabeth, James, John, Ephraim and A. B. Cutter.
Ephraim  is in Australia, whither he went in I852.     A. B.
lives in Holmes county; James in Franklin township; and John
W. Cutter riarried M. A. Sellers, of Holmes county, and lives
with his father. His wife died October 9, I868. Ephraim and
he were both soldiers in the war of i812.   Mr. Cutter is distinguished for his kind and generous nature and his many good
and noble qualities of head and heart.
Samuel Cutter was born in Columbia county, Pa., in I803, and
removed to Holmes county, Ohio, with his father in I820. In
1822 he went to Wooster and was married to Deborah Sprague,
of that city. He was a blacksmith, learning his trade with Mason
& McMillen, of Wooster. He was elected Sheriff of Wayne
county in 1846, afterwards removing to Wayne township and thence
to Medina county, where he now lives.
Aaron Franks, a native of Fayette county, Pa., where he was
born in I80o, emigrated to Wayne county in 1827, landing April
It at his brother Jacob's, then living in East Union township,
with whom he staid for nearly a year, when he removed to
Franklin township, settling upon the farm where he now lives.




FRA NKLIN TO WNSHIP.


609


Philip Smith was the first owner of this farm, Mr. Franks being
the fourth, he having erected upon it all the present improvements. He has been twice married; first to Rebecca Sulifend,
October I8, 1823, of Fayette county, Pa., and by this marriage
had nine children; second to Angeline, daughter of Peter Zaring,
Esq., of Jefferson, Plain township, August 31, I875. His first wife
died February 1, I868.
Mr. Franks is a good business man, and, in his younger days,
a public spirited, active citizen. He is a man of intelligence,
worth and reliability; has accumulated a competence, and, in his
older years, has every comfort of life surrounding him. He is
social, communicative, and will probe you with a joke, and in conversation will trap you or set you on the brink of a pitfall, without previous admonition. His relations to the public have always
been beneficial, and his career as Coroner of Wayne county was
marked by ability, shrewdness and economy.
John Harrison was born August I, I796, in Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, seven miles south-west of Uniontown. His father's
name was Peter Harrison, a farmer, who was raised in Maryland,
but removed from there to Fayette county, and from thence to
Columbiana county, Ohio, and again to Harrison county, where he
died. Peter Harrison had fifteen children, all of whom but the
oldest and youngest lived to be men and women.
John and Elisha Harrison are the only two of that family who
came to Wayne county to live. John came in May, I816, having
been married April 30, preceding, to Margaret Dysert, of Virginia. He and his young wife came to Wayne county on horseback, packing I50 pounds of flour in his wife's bed, seventy miles,
from Harrison county, Ohio, and settled down in the woods, within
a mile of their present residence in Franklin township. They were
the parents of eleven children, six of whom (three sons and three
daughters) are living.  Mr. Harrison is one of the best citizens of
Franklin township. William Harrison, his uncle, came to Franklin township as early as 1813, and settled on the farm now owned
by the widow of James Finley.
Recollections of John Harrison.-Salt was worth six cents per pound when I came
here. Bought a two-horse wagon from old Billy Poulson, about 1826, and paid for
it in salt; went to Cleveland for it; obtained one barrel there and one barrel ten
miles out of the city. These two barrels of salt paid for the wagon-price, thirty
dollars. A bushel of wheat would pay for a pound of coffee, the former being of
39




6Io


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


little cash account until the canal was opened. There were some Indians aboutplenty of them on Martin's creek. Old chief Dan. Lyon remained after the other
Indians left; he would make wooden ladles and exchange them for bacon; had
smart children.
Old Jonathan Grant lived on the Holmes county side of the line, but in Wayne
county then. He was a sort of spy, and an agent to look after the interests of first
settlers. The Government had him employed, and donated him one hundred and
sixty acres of land where he lived. He lived in true aboriginal style-in an open
shanty, between the logs of which dogs could jump; had no floor, and was covered with bark; was a great hunter; bear and deer-skins covered his shanty;
prayed and swore in the same breath. The Larwills waited on him in his last sickness; died of cancer, over fifty years ago.
Thomas L. Smith was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., May
I7, i8II, and is a son of Thomas Smith, whose occupation was
that of farmer. Mr. Smith emigrated to Wayne county in 1842,
arriving at Fredericksburg in August of that year. He was married in July, 1845, to Mary A. Powers, of Allegheny City, Pa.,
and has seven children. He was a member of the old Seceder
church, united with this organization under the ministry of Rev.
Samuel Irvine at Fredericksburg, upon his arrival, and at present
is a United Presbyterian. Mr. Smith is an intelligent, industrious
farmer, distinguished for his earnestness in all good work, and for
his purity of life and integrity of conduct.
William P. Force, a citizen of New Jersey, removed to
Pennsylvania, thence to Wayne county, Ohio, in I82I, settling
south of Moreland, on the farm now owned by Adam Weiker.
Here he lived until his death in 1830, and was the first person
buried in the Moreland graveyard. He had ten children. He was
a member of the Methodist church, an excellent and pious man,
whose house was open to every one and whose liberality was great.
William Force, his son, was born January 3, 1804, in Columbia
county, Pa., and came to this county with his father in I82I and
was married September I, 1825, to Lucinda Sowards of the State
of Kentucky, who was born February 4, I808. Mr. Force, like
his father, is a member of the Methodist church, has been a classleader for 25 years, and an exhorter for twenty years in that
church. He is a farmer, an upright, high-minded man of enlightened views and independent judgment.
Moses McCammon was born in County Down, Ireland, and immigrated to America in I819, landing at Boston. In the New
England States he remained three years teaching school, when he




FRANIKLIN TO WNSHIP.


6II


removed to Cadiz, Ohio. From there he went to Kendall (Massillon), and worked in a cloth factory for a Mr. Thomas Roach,
and soon removed to Wayne county, where he found employment
in Stibbs' woolen factory, and where he worked six years. He
then removed to a farm east of Moreland, where he lived
thirty years; but selling it, he went to Moreland and resided there
three years, when he removed to Ripley township, Holmes county,
and purchased a small tract of land, his wife dying September I6,
I863.  After her death Mr. McCammon returned to Franklin
township, and spent the remainder of his days with his daughter
Mary, wife of Jonathan Saunders, where he died August 30, I868,
aged 86 years. He was married in Ireland to Sarah Brown, of
County Down, and had nine children.
Mr. MtCammon was, in many respects, a remarkable man, and
possessed a wonderful fund of intelligence. He enjoyed a remarkable familiarity with the old English, Scotch and Irish poets. He
believed that he, too, was a poet, and has written enough verse to
make considerable of a volume. Some of it does not rise above
the level of galloping doggerel; much of it possesses sterling
poetic merit and will bear comparison with the better products of
our accepted and popular writers.  He seems to have been a
rhymer by nature, and his lines jingle like sleigh-bells on a winter
morning. Burns has been his especial favorite, and why should he
not have been?
He has imitated The Twa Dogs, his Lines to a Mouse, his
epistles, epitaphs; has been humorous, pathetic, contemplative,
splenetic, saturnine and sentimental.  He has sung of Venus,
Mars and Momus. He is mirthful, hilarious, and at times his
pen is a fountain, out of which gushes and bubbles merriment
and laughter. He passed up and down the aisles of the world
singing, obscurely, it is true, sometimes, but nevertheless in the
moods and with the gifts of song.
He was a genial, social, rare old Irish gentleman; lived a good
and quiet life, blameless in his ways before men; and if Fame did
not press her trump to her fickle lips and blow him to the world,
he died with the solace that he was not a stranger to books-that
he had held soul-relations with dead but mighty thinkers. He
had but limited education, and believed more in the "spark o' Nature's fire" than
"A' your jargon o' your schools,
Your Latin names for horns and stools,
If honest Nature made you fools."




6I2


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


We regret that our space forbids the publication of the pathetic
Scotch poem in our possession, but will introduce the following:
CONTEMPLATION.
Come, Contemplation, lonely Power,
That loveth the still and solemn hour,
Come gaze upon those orbs that roll
In silence round the glowing pole;
The sparkling planet's borrowed beam,
The fixed stars less refulgent stream,
And meteors that with lurid glare,
Shoot sudden through the parting air,
And robed in transitory fire
Ere thought can reach their course, expire.
Fancy expand thy wings of light,
And speed thro' heaven my lofty flight;
I see ten thousand systems rise,
And other orbs gild other skiesAnd quicker than the solar ray,
I shoot along the Milky Way,
And various unknown world's explore,
And wander all their beauties o'er.
Thence as I gaze with curious eye,
Far o'er the regions of the sky,
Earth seems to float in ether bright,
A trembling spark of moving light;
In silent course around her twines
The silver moon, and fainter shines;
The sun himself, now viewed afar,
Seems but a more refulgent star.
O! could I run my airy race
Amid the boundless realms of spaceTill all these systems glittering here,
In distance lost would disappearEven then, before my wondering eyes,
New globes would glow, new stars arise,
New suns with radiant glory stream,
New planets glitter in their beam;
And by resistless impulse hurled,
New comets blaze from world to world.
EPITAPH-Here, underneath, lies honest Chubb
Who drove his wheels thro' many a dub;
Him sober saints no more shall snub
Or zealots jeer him;
Their hearts they'd need to cleanse and scrub
Ere they get near him.




FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.                          613
REMINISCENCES OF JOHN BUTLER, A JUSTICE OF THE PEACE OF FRANKLIN
TOWNSHIP.
The Indians Burn Thomas Butlers Cabin.-Mr. Butler being absent at his
father-in-law's, the Indians burned his cabin. The cause was presumed to be as follows: Butler had raised considerable corn in the bottoms, and had a good many
hogs. A gang of Indians passed one day, and shot one of them. Mr. Butler followed after and found them encamped in the region of the present site of Shreve.
He went to the Chief and told him the circumstance, and that he must pay him;
the Chief going to the thief and telling him he must pay for the hog. He asked
him what he killed the hog for, whereupon the Indian replied, " I wanted grease."
The Chief made him pay for the animal, Mr. Butler receiving in pay therefor two
deer skins, which the Indian indignantly kicked toward him. It was soon after
this that Mr. Butler's cabin was burned, and he claimed that gang of Indians did
it. He now erected the hewed log house that stands exactly on the spot of the
early conflagration. Here Mr. Butler lived, raised his family, and died March
17, 1837.
The Morgan Block House.-This Fort stood on the Thomas Dowty farm, and
but a few rods from his house, and was quite a large structure, and a source of protection to the pioneers. During the summer of Hull's Surrender a company of
soldiers was stationed here from Tuscarawas county. A would-be brave soldier of
this company was ever boasting of his courage, and ached for an opportunity to
have a fight with the Indians. The boys concluded they would accommodate him.
They caused to be painted and decked in true Indian costume one of their number,
and had him secrete himself in a swamp close by. The company proceeded on one
of its scouts and passed by this swamp, when the mythical Indian sprang out,
yelling, and pointing his gun, took after this Sir Valiant soldier, who rushed at the
top of his speed and concealed himself in a marsh. The company and the painted
gentleman rapidly returned to the Block House. Soon thereafter the would-be
Indian-fighter, who had lost his shoes in the swamp, returned. Some of the boys
went in search of his shoes and brought them to camp.*
Old Chief Lyon Delivers his " Checks."-Alexander Bell, of Holmesville, informed 'Squire Butler that when he was a boy he went to old Lyon's camp, near
the mouth of the Butler Spring run, and found him in a sick condition in his hut.
Lyon asked Bell to take his camp-kettle and bring him some fresh water, which he
did, when Lyon asked him to look at his tongue. Bell told him how it looked,
when the old Chief said, "Me dead Indian."  Bell said, "I will go and tell Jess
Morgan, if you wish me to," to which old Lyon consented. Jess came, accompanied by Bell, and found the old Chief very sick, whereupon he repaired to Sandusky and communicated the facts to his Indian friends, when several of them
came along back with Jess. They took the old Indian upon one of their ponies,
but in a few days the news was received of his death.
Throughout the entire county we have heard vague recollections expressed concerning this old chief. The early settlers all
knew him, as he visited their cabins, and frequently was a source
of terror to women and children.
*For further particulars inquire of John Butler, Esq.




6I4


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XXII.
EAST UNION TOWNSHIP
WAS formed September 5, 1814. According to the best information it was named by Simon Chaffin, Sr., who was a native of
Union, Maine.      The population      of this township in     1870 was
1,865. We append the official record from I846: *
1846. Trustees-Bethuel Munn, John L. Cheyney, Josiah Milbourn; Clerk
-Henry Bevington; Treasurer-Alexander Ramsey; Assessor-William      Black.
wood.
1847. Trustees-Conrad Franks, John L. Cheyney, Joshua Kelley; ClerkHenry Bevington; Treasurer-Alexander Ramsey; Assessor-H. Bevington.
I848. Trustees-Conrad Franks, Joshua Kelley, Joseph Hunter; ClerkHenry Bevington; Treasurer-Alexander Ramsey; Assessor-Henry Bevington.
I849. Trustees-Joshua Kelley, Josiah Milbourn, George Hackett; ClerkH. Bevington; Treasurer-James McClure; Assessor-Henry Bevington.
185o. Trustees-Jacob Knight, Robert Sweeney, G. S. Franks; Clerk-H.
Bevington; Treasurer-John Hindman; Assessor-John J. Brown.
185I. Trustees-Jacob Knight, Joseph Hunter, Robert Sweeney; ClerkHenry Bevington; Treasurer-John Hindman; Assessor-H. Bevington.
1852. Trustees-Alexander Ramsey, Joseph Hunter, Leonard Langell; ClerkH. Bevington; Treasurer-John Hindman; Assessor-H. Bevington.
1853. Trustees-Alexander Ramsey, Joseph Hunter, Henry Hoover; ClerkH. Bevington; Treasurer,-John Hindman; Assessor-Joshua Kelly.
1854. Trustees-Alexander Ramsey, Henry Hoover, Andrew Milbourn;
Clerk-H. Bevington; Treasurer-John Hindman; Assessor-A. H. Bevington.
1855. Trustees-J. H. Hitchcock, George Hacket, George T. Hughes;
Clerk-A. H. Bevington; Treasurer-David Clark; Assessor-H. Bevington.
1856. Trustees-Joseph Hunter, George J. Barnhart, Samuel Jewell; ClerkLevi Reiter; Treasurer-John Hindman; Assessor-J. W. Crumly.
I857. Trustees-George Steel, G. T. Hughes, J. S. Eshelman; Clerk-H.
Bevington; Treasurer-John Hindman; Assessor-J. W. Crumly.
I858. Trustees-Robert Cook, G. J. Barnhart, Andrew Moore, Jr.; ClerkLevi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-George Steel.


*Record lost prior to this time, and a similar deficiency occurs in a majority
of the townships. Record of Justices throughout the county entirely missing prior
to I830. The names of first Justices given in some instances were obtained from
personal recollection of old settlers.




EAST UNION TO WNSHIP.


615


1859. Trustees-Robert Cook, Andrew Moore, William Blackwood; ClerkLevi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-George Steel.
1860. Trustees-James McClure, Andrew Moore, Joseph Hunter; ClerkLevi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-Abijah Munn.
i86I. Trustees-Joseph   Hunter, William    Blackwood, Samuel Smedley;
Clerk-J. C. Kurtz; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-Abijah Munn.
1862. Trustees-Joseph Hunter, Samuel Smedley, Jonas Huntsbarger; ClerkLevi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-Abijah Munn.
1863. Trustees-William Blackwood, James Huntsbarger, George Barnhart;
Clerk-Levi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-Abijah Munn.
1864. Trustees-G. J. Barnhart, James Huntsbarger, William Blackwood;
Clerk-Levi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-Andrew Moore.
I865. Trustees-G. J. Barnhart, William Blackwood, Robert Cook; ClerkLevi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-Andrew Moore.
I866. Trustees-Alexander Ramsey, Robert Cook, Joseph Martin; ClerkLevi Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-John Ramsey.
1867. Trustees-Alexander Ramsey, E. B. Franks, John Koch; Clerk-Levi
Reiter; Treasurer-Amos Brown; Assessor-John Ramsey.
I868. Trustees-Alexander Ramsey, Andrew Milbourn, E. B. Franks;
Clerk-J. B. Koch; Treasurer-J. J. Dill; Assessor-J. Anderson.
1869. Trustees-Andrew Milbourn, Alexander Ramsey, Joseph Hunter;
Clerk-J. H. Koch; Treasurer-J. J. Dill; Assessor-Aaron Franks.
I870. Trustees-Jonas Huntsbarger, Simon Brown, D. C. Cook; Clerk-D.
Langell; Treasurer-J. J. Dill; Assessor-Aaron Franks.
1871. Trustees-Simon Brown, J. H. Hitchcock, D. C. Cook; Clerk-D.
Langell; Treasurer-J. J. Dill; Assessor —William Scotland.
1872. Trustees-Elias Langell, J. H. Hitchcock, William D. McCullough;
Clerk-James Ramsey; Treasurer-Enos Brown; Assessor-William C. Orr.
I873. Trustees-Elias Langell, William D. McCullough, Benjamin Saurer;
Clerk-Levi Reiter; Treasurer-D. Langell; Assessor-William C. Orr.
I874. Trustees-Charles Langell, James Ramsey, D. C. Cook; Clerk-L. C.
Reichenback; Treasurer-D. Langell; Assessor-William Huntsbarger.
I875. Trustees-James Ramsey, D. C. Cook, Andrew Moore; Clerk-L. H.
Martz; Treasurer-D. Langell; Assessor-John Swinehart.
1876. Trustees-Andrew Moore, Samuel Smedley, Cyrus Mackey; ClerkEnos Brown; Treasurer-James Ramsey; Assessor-Aaron Franks.
1877. Trustees-Elias Langell, L. C. Smedley, J. W. Sweeney; Clerk-Enos
Brown; Treasurer-James Ramsey; Assessor-Aaron Franks.
Justices of the Peace-J. J. Brown, April 23, 1831; Samuel Orr, April 27,
1832; J. J. Brown, May 6, 1834; Samuel Orr, April 18, 1835; J. J. Brown, April
28, 1837; Samuel Orr, October 25, 1838; William Salsbury, April I6, 1840; Josiah
H. Hitchcock, October 27, 1841; William Salsbury, April 13, 1843; Josiah H.
Hitchcock, October I6, 1844; William Salsbury, April 21, 1846; Samuel Orr, April
14, 1847; George Hacket, October 20, 1849; Samuel Orr, April ii, i850; Crooks
Hindman, November 5, 1852; Josiah H. Hitchcock, April I9, 1853; James Trusdall, April 28, I856; John E. Brown, April 28, I856; John E. Brown, April 19,
1859; James Trusdall, April I9, 1859; John E. Brown, April 21, I862; James
Trusdall, April 21, 1862; John E. Brown, April 12, I865; James Trusdall, April
12, I865; Isaiah Byall, April 8, 1867; James Trusdall, April ii, 1868; George J.
Barnhart, October 20, 1869; Isaiah Byall, October I8, 1870; George J. Barnhart,
October 12, 1872; Amos Walter, October 22, 1873; I. K. Jameson, January 6,
1875; Amos Walter, October I8, I876.




616


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


TOWNS IN EAST UNION TOWNSHIP.
Edinburg was laid out by William Thomas and John L. Cheyney, and surveyed August 16, 1832, by George Emery. Plat and
certificate recorded August 22, I822; record to be found on page
438, vol. 9, County Recorder's office.     Ira Pratt started the first
store, and was the first Postmaster in Edinburg, and was followed
as Postmaster in turn by Theophilus Philips, John L. Cheyney, John
Hindman, Shuman Kiester, Jacob Reaser, George Messmore, Cornelius Smith, David Clark, Elisha Numbers, Allen Clark. Prior to
the appointment of Cornelius Smith the postoffice was at the old
town, and after that at Applecreek Station.
Applecreek Station.-This village is of more recent date, being
a growth of the C. Mt. V. & C. railroad. Andrew Woodruff, a
blacksmith, put up the first house in Applecreek after it was laid
out as a village. John Hindman and Elisha Numbers built the
next houses. John Hindman owned the land upon which Applecreek is built. George Core opened the first hotel, on the Driesbach corner. David Clark, now of Wooster, opened the first dry
goods store. The new school building was erected in I874, the
first three teachers, Mr. Eberly, Mr. Holcomb and Mr. Caldwell.
The first settlers of this township located in the northern portion
of it, in I80o9-I. Oliver Day, Jonathan Mansfield and Vesta
Frary were the first settlers, and were natives of the State of
Vermont. Andrew Lucky was also one of the first.
Recollections of Simon Chaffin, Jr.-The first white man that died in East Union
township was Vesta Frary, and is buried on John Ramsey's farm, where thirty or
forty others are buried. He helped to lay him out and dig his grave. Oliver
Day's wife is buried there, and he on the farm where he lived and died. William
Buckley had a child die, and was buried in the woods. Thirty years ago he cut
musket balls out of trees shot there by members of Beall's army. On Amos
Walters' farm was built one of the first churches-called the Ebenezer church.
The Methodists, after his father arrived, held services at the houses of Samuel
Bodine, Michael Thomas, Oliver Day, and at his father's. The Presiding Elder
on the circuit was Rev. Harry O. Sheldon, a stout, muscular man, who could
carry a barrel of salt or cider with ease. Two drunken men on one occasion disturbed a camp-meeting when he was present, and he choked them into silence. It
was held on Peter Maurer's farm, now owned by Joseph Hoover. On the farm now
owned by John Long the Indians had a sugar camp, and two huts stood there.
John lived too late for the ways that were dark! On the farm owned by Henry
Brenneman was situated what was known as "Punch's Glade," so named for Oldc
Punch, an Indian who secreted himself in the thickets. The first school-house was
upon land then owned by Anson Stillson, and latterly owned by Benjamin Brenne



EAST UNION TOWNSHIP.


6I7


man, and was built in I814. The teacher was a Mr. Pratt, and spelled door, dore.
Soon after this a second one was built on Daniel Fairchild's place, now owned by
Samuel Swinehart, and where in the early days old Colonel Swann taught school.
There was no Massillon then, simply Kendal, and then there were but thirteen
houses between Kendal and Wooster. His neighbors were Oliver Day and family,
Samuel Wilford, Cyrus Stouffer, and a Mr. Rine and Rasher. The first Justice of
the Peace was Andrew Lucky, who kept a tavern.
Simon Chaffin, Sr., was a native of Lincoln county, Maine,
where he was born, I765. He removed to Ohio in the fall of I8I I,
coming in a four-horse wagon, traveling a distance of I,050 miles,
which occupied fifty-seven days, never unloading the wagon until
he arrived at Poland, Trumbull county, Ohio. He remained in
Poland until the winter of 1812-13 when he removed to the farm
in East Union township where his son now lives. He brought
with him his wife and six children, and Obadiah Luce, his brotherin-law. The lands that he entered he took off the hands of Isaac
Poe and John Nangle. He lived upon his farm, though his regular trade was that of scythe and hoe maker. He was married to
Mercy Saunders, of the State of Maine, he dying August 8, I837,
and she January 13, 1854.      They were both members of the
Methodist church.
Among his old papers appears the following:
Union, State of Maine, September IS, i8II. This may certify, whom it may
concern, that Mr. Simon Chaffin has lived in this town for eight or ten years past,
during which time he has, so far as ever came to our knowledge, sustained the character of an upright, fair dealer, and of a good moral character, and very industrious
and good blacksmith.      (Signed)            NATHAN ROBBINS,
JOEL ADAMS,
Selectmen of Union.
Simon Chaffin, Jr., a native of Maine, was born in the same
county and State of his father, March I, 80o8, with whom he came
to East Union township. He was married November 12, 1835,
to Catharine Maurer and has had eleven children and is a member
of the East Union Evangelical Lutheran church, which was built
about I836, and among whose early preachers was Solomon Ritz.
Mr. Chaffin is an esteemed citizen and worthy gentleman, with
sound mind and memory, and we are especially indebted to him
for valuable kindness and aid.
Frederick Brown was a native of Pennsylvania, and removed
with his family to Wayne county in the spring of 1814. He had,




6i8


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


however, with his son John J., been here previously, in 1812, and
considerably improved a portion of the twelve hundred acres of
land he had entered from the Government. He was the first of
the name of Brown to settle in Wayne county; married Christina
Smith, by whom he had two sons, John J. and George, and six
daughters, who married at maturity, viz: Mrs. Hannah Alexander,
Mrs. Elizabeth Worley, Mrs. Abigail Thompson, Mrs. Ruth Applegate, Mrs. Mary Bergen and Mrs. Anna McKee. He died in
August, I816, aged sixty years. His will is the first on record in
Wayne county; is dated August 23, I816, attested by Samuel
Hindman and Daniel Kirkpatrick, and was admitted to probate
October I, I8I6.
John J. Brown, oldest son of Frederick, was a lad when he
first accompanied his father to Wayne county, but was able to be
of service to him in clearing the land. In April, 1820, he married
Miss Sarah Mercer, and settled down the same year in East Union
township. He had two sons, Milton and Levi, and six daughters,
who married and became Mrs. Matilda Hindman, Mrs. Mary J.
Anderson, Mrs. Lucinda Johnston, Mrs. Hannah Liggett, Mrs.
Melinda Jones and Mrs. Ella Lysle. He gave each of his children
a good education, graduating his oldest son, Milton, at Jefferson
College, now a minister in charge of the Presbyterian church at
Mt. Eaton. For many years he was a Justice of the Peace in East
Union township, and in all ways was a very prominent citizen,
himself and family held in highest respect. He was a Presbyterian
and served as an Elder in that church for some time previous to
his death, which occurred in the sixty-seventh year of his age.
In connection with the Brown family, and to show the uneasy and excited
state of the public mind for some time subsequent to Hull's Surrender, we relate an
incident that occurred in what was called Smith's settlement, near the site of the
present County Infirmary. One afternoon two of the Smith women heard what
they supposed to be guns firing in the direction of Wooster, "at the rate of five
hundred in a minute." The neighborhood was soon assembled, numbering between
thirty and forty persons, men, women and children. There were but eight guns in
the party, one of which belonged to John J. Brown, then a boy and small for his
age. After consultation, it was decided that James Mclntire should approach
Wooster cautiously to ascertain the exact state of affairs there, and that the balance
of the company should at once set out for Steubenville, by way of the Indian trail,
the women and children on horseback, the men on foot, with their guns. Young
Brown's gun was transferred to an older man, and two children committed to his
care-Waits Smith, a small boy, whom he carried behind him on a very spirited
horse, and Jonathan, a younger brother of Waits, who was placed in his arms.




EAST UNION TOWNSHIP.


6Ig


The party traveled in silence during the entire night, not a child giving the
least sign of fretfulness. In the morning they were overtaken by McIntire, who
brought the welcome news that Wooster was resting in quietude, and that the
noise that had frightened the two women was the sound made by men cutting straw
with axes in a trough for feed. At this intelligence the main part of the fugitives
returned, hungry and weary, to their cabin homes in the forest. A few, however,
continued on their flight to the old settlements in Pennsylvania.
Nevertheless, this stampede of the settlers was not without thrilling incident.
When the party in its flight was crossing the Big Sugar creek, they discovered a
camp fire close to the trail-the Indian dogs barked, and immediately Indians raised
the whoop. At this the company took shelter in the brushwood as best they could.
All became quiet in a short time, when those with guns began to scout around in
order to ascertain the character of the Indians in the camp. They proved to be
Chief Johnnycake and his tribe. The story the whites told alarmed them, and they
said they would also flee the country, as they were, as friendly Indians, equally in
danger from the hostile tribes, but that they must have their supper first off the
deer that was then roasting at the fire. Afterwards Mclntire passed their encampment blowing a large tin horn and riding at full gallop to overtake the flying settlers and apprise them of their groundless apprehension of danger, at which Johnnycake and his braves evidently fled supperless, as the returning settlers next day
found the camp entirely deserted, and the deer, burned to a crisp, still suspended
over' the smouldering embers. Johnnycake and his people were never seen again
by the whites in that settlement, although they had heretofore been inconveniently familiar.
Josiah Milbourn was born in Loudon county, Virginia, March
3, I799. He removed to Wayne county with his mother, and
settled on the east half of the north-west quarter of section three
in East Union township. He was married December 28, I8I9, by
Oliver Day, to Eunice Pratt. In 1827 he settled on the farm where
he now lives. Mr. Milbourn, though nearly ninety years of age,
is hale and hearty, and one of the best preserved men in the county.
He is a good citizen, and can, in his old days, revert to a life of
usefulness and honor. He is a man of integrity, excellent character, held in high esteem by all who know him.
David Hunter located in East Union township in 1813-14.        He
was born in Washington county, Pa., about I770. At the age of
thirty he married Jane Wilson, of Beaver county, Pa. He had
ten children, to wit: Mary, Esther, John, Joseph, Nancy, Wilson, David, J. H., Daniel and Jane. He lived on the farm upon
which he settled, until his death, in March, I848. His wife died
in 1864. Joseph married Elizabeth Keister, September 2, 1834,
and has had seven children.
Rodney Carr's Family.-Rodney Carr, son of David Carr, Sr.,
was born April 2, I790, in Grafton county, N. H., where he was




620


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


married November 17, 1817, to Miss Nancy B. Swann. He visited Wayne county in 1824, and in the spring of 1825 brought out
his wife and three children. His brother Hubbard had preceded
him to Wayne county, but had died, and Rodney bought his farm
at administrator's sale, and continued on keeping hotel, or " Carr's
Tavern," at the same place his brother had commenced that business several years before. It was for many years a great resort for
travelers and wagoners, from the solitary horseman to the six-horse
team. Rodney's children were:  Rodney, Charles and David
(twins), Horace, Caroline, Lucius, Hubbard, Edward.
David Carr now occupies the old homestead, and has made it
one of the best in the county. February 24, 1857, he married
Miss Sarah E. Boydston, sister of Charles Boydston, and has two
boys and two girls, as fruits of the union.
George Firestone was born near Frederick City, Maryland, April
22, I784. His wife, Rebecca Carroll, was born at Elizabethtown,
Pa., August 6, 1786. They were married in June, 1812. IHe
came to Wayne county in 1812, on a prospecting tour, and entered
the south-west quarter of section 33, in East Union township. He
then went home for his family, and returned July 6, 1813. He
died April 22, 185I, his wife dying November 24, I869.
John Moore was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., and was
married in Beaver county, to Hannah Bevard. They emigrated to
Wayne county, in 1814-15, bringing with them their daughter
Jane. They settled in East Union township on a farm which Andrew Moore, father of John, several years previously had entered.
Charles Boydston was born October 25, I816, in Greene township. He was raised on the farm with his father, and remained
with him until he was 21 years of age. He made a trip to Missouri, remaining there about 15 months, when he returned, and,
October 8, 1840, married Sarah Milbourn, of East Union township. In 1852 he removed to the farm on which he now lives.
He has had nine children. Orrilla, his third daughter, is married
to J. E. Barrett, M. D., a thoroughly educated and scientific
physician of Wooster. Mr. Boydston is a conscientious, earnest
man, whose integrity is unimpeached and whose life and example
are worthy of imitation.


Emanuel Brown immigrated to East Union township from




EAST UNION TO WNSHIP.


621


Fayette county, Pennsylvania, reaching his destination October
14, 1814, settling on the farm now owned and occupied by Smith
Orr.   The farm   consisted of I60 acres, which he purchased of
William Thomas. He had previously visited the county and entered 320 acres of land.    He was married to Elizabeth Baker, of
Fayette county, and had five children, all of whom were born in
Fayette county-John E., Abraham, Noah and Eliza Ann. He
was a farmer, and built the first saw-mill in the township, his
neighbors, when he removed to Wayne county, being William
Thomas, Robert Marcus, John Cheyney, Conrad Franks, Hugh
Orr, George Firestone, David Clark, Robert Armstrong, Isaac and
John Burnett, Abner Pratt, Daniel Fairchild, and others. Noah
Brown, son of Emanuel Brown, was born in Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, March 27, 1807, and removed to Ohio with his
father in 1814. He was married July 16, 1829, to Anna Stinger,
of Columbia County, Pennsylvania. He removed to his present
residence about 1862, where he and his wife live. He has had
nine children. Levi and Amanda, two small children, were burned
to death, October 21, 1845.
Reminiscences of Noah Brown.-The first election was held in Section 16, at
Smith Orr's house. Andrew Lucky was the first Justice. The first school-house
that he recollects of was built on Section 21, although a log house built previously
for the Presbyterians to hold service in was used for a school-house. The earliest
teachers were George Hackett and George McConnell. The first burial was upon
John Ramsey's farm, and two are buried on the Smith Orr place, a Mr. Miller, and
a child that was scalded to death. The places of burial were much scattered. He
thinks a Mr. Bigham, an elder in the Presbyterian church, and a Mr. Dunlap were
the first buried in that graveyard. Old Aaron Rambo had the first grist mill in the
township, near the residence of David Carr, and turned the bolt by hand. After
Rambo, Garrett Albertson erected another, and here he got grinding done.
South of Cross Keys at a spring a Mr. Pratt had the first distillery. There was an
Indian camp at the head of little Apple creek. He has a grindstone in his possession that his father bought in Canton when he came west, and he says the whole
neighborhood for miles came to grind on it.
CHURCHES.
Applecreek Presbyterian Church.-This church was formally organized in the fall
of I815, by Rev. Thomas Hughes and Rev. James Adams. There were thirty
members. Four of them, Messrs. James Bigham, Daniel Kilpatrick, Jonathan Peppard and Moses Dunham, were elected Ruling Elders. In 1817 the congregation
built a church edifice. The church had occasional supplies until 1819, when Rev.
Harper became stated supply.
In February, 1820, Rev. Thomas Barr settled as pastor of Wooster and Apple
creek churches, and continued in charge until I829. Early in his ministry a Sab



622


HISTOR Y OF WAYNIE COUNTY, OHIO.


bath-school was organized. In 1829 a larger and more commodious house of
worship was erected. Early in 1830 Rev. William Cox became stated supply for
the two churches, but in 1832 gave his whole time to the Apple creek congregation,
remaining with it until succeeded, in 1837, by Rev. William Hutchison, who continued pastor of the Apple creek church eighteen months. In April, 1840, Rev.
Richard Graham became its pastor, continuing about a year. He was succeeded, in
1841, by Rev. Joseph S. Wylie, who held the pastorate until the winter of I849.
During his ministry the present church edifice was built. In the summer of 1850
Rev. T. E. Carson became pastor, and remained until the spring of 1859, succeeded
in January, 1860, by Rev. Andrew Virtue, who took charge of the church, retaining the pastorate until the spring of I868. In January, 1869, Rev. A. E. Thompson began his labors, serving until 1874. Rev. W. Eagleson was his successor,
taking charge of the Apple creek congregation in January, I875, and continuing
until May, I876. The present pastor of the church is Rev. S. C. Ferris.
Reformed Church.-Wooster and neighboring churches of this denomination
were included in one charge, and in 1864 had Rev. J. H. Derr for pastor. In that
year he began services in Apple creek, in what was then called Gashat's Hall. This
place proved inconvenient, and the project of building a church was started, and a
building committee was appointed, consisting of Rev. J. H. Derr, George Phillips
and G. W. Barnhart. The matter successfully progressed, and on the loth of May,
1867, the corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies. There was some delay in raising means to complete the building, so that it was not until October Io,
1870, that the church was finished and dedicated. It is of brick, Gothic in architecture, slate roof, and very nearly as fine a church as there is in the county. The
committee that pushed matters to a successful issue were Louis Reichenbach,
Henry Bott and Benjamin Sauers. The ministers present at the dedication were
Rev. Kammerer, D. D., G. W. Williard, D. D., President of Heidelberg College,
Revs. F. K. Levan, J. B. Shoemaker, Philip Becker and Spreng. Dr. Williard
preached the dedicatory sermon in the English language, and Rev. Levan in the
German. Rev. Philip Becker was the first regular pastor. In 1871 Dr. Kammerer officiated. In 1872 Rev. Zartman commenced supplying the pulpit each
alternate Sabbath in the English language, all services having been in German prior
to that time. In 1875 Rev. Edmund Erb, the present pastor, gave his services in
English, Dr. Kammerer conducting German services from the establishment of the
church until 1876, when he discontinued his labors, and Rev. Erb officiated in both
languages. The congregation numbers ninety members.
Leonard Langell was born in Berks county, Pa., in          1799, his
father Casper Langell emigrating to Ohio in 1802, and thence to
East Union township, settling where Edinburg now is in [814-15.
He purchased lands from John Rider and gave the west quarter to
Leonard, who at the age of eighteen built the grist mill in 1817, now
known as the old factory. Casper built a brick house in Edinburg
in I816, which was the first hotel between Wooster and New
Philadelphia. He had seven children, two of whom were sons,
named Leonard and Daniel. Leonard came to Wayne county with
his father who was a farmer, and was married to Catherine Rhinehart, of Jefferson county, about 1823, and had five children, to




EAST UNION TO WNSHIP.


623


wit: John C., Susanna, Elias, Daniel and Henry. Susanna, the
wife of Daniel Snyder, died March 24, I868. John C. Langell
lives on the old farm and is married to Delilah Smith; Elias was
married to Eliza Weber and lives near Apple creek; Henry married Ann Seacrist and lives in Franklin township. He died on the
morning after the June 4th frost, I859. His sister Mary married
Henry Swart, of Blackleyville, Plain township.
Daniel Langell, Sr., son of Casper and brother of Leonard,
came to Wayne county with his father, and was the youngest of
the family. Here he remained until 1824, when after some changes,
he removed to Williams county, Ohio, where he was elected Sheriff, and while serving in this capacity superintended the hanging of
old Tyler, a fortune-teller, for murdering a boy. He died in that
county.
Daniel Langell, discoverer of the celebrated Asthma and Catarrh Remedy, was born in East Union township July 9, 1832.
He was raised on a farm until he was eighteen years of age, when
he went to Wooster and learned the chair-making business with
Spear & Beistle. He returned to the farm again and was prostrated by asthma, from which for nine years he was a constant
sufferer. He spent all his money and his farm in doctoring it, with
little or no relief; and finally by a series of experiments discovered
a remedy that cured him, and that since has become a boon to
thousands and attained to an almost world-wide celebrity. Doctor
Langell was married December 3, 1857, to Margaret Sloan of Saltcreek township, and has five children. He is a member of the
Presbyterian church, and is distinguished for the simplicity of his
life and his scrupulous honesty, industry and integrity.
Herr Driesbach, the Lion-Tamer. -This man, greatly distinguished in his profession, lived and died in Wayne county. He
was born in Sharon, Schoharie county, New York, November 2,
1807, his grandparents from Germany. When he was eleven years
of age his father died, and the boy in a few years drifted to New
York city, where he obtained work in the Zoological Gardens, and
soon, youth as he was, made a reputation for control of wild
beasts, being the first person ever to make a performing animal of
the leopard. In 1830 he connected himself with the traveling
menagerie of Raymond & Co., and soon thereafter went to Europe




624


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


with Raymond, meeting with unprecedented success. He traveled through England, Scotland and Ireland, then France, Germany, Holland, Russia, etc., exhibiting before all the crowned
heads and nobles of Europe, and receiving many marks of their
personal favor. He returned to the United States about 1840,
having established a world-wide reputation and become the foremost man in his profession. From that time he made annual
tours of the States of the Union until I854, when he united in
marriage with Miss Sarah Walter, daughter of John Walter, of
Wooster township, and settled down to the peaceful pursuits of
rural life. In 1875 he began hotel-keeping at Applecreek Station. Here, after two days' sickness, on December 5, I877, he
died, leaving a widow and one son. Herr Driesbach was a very
remarkable man, and well won the renown he obtained. His life
was full of perilous incident, adventure and romance, and inasmuch as the history of his life will soon be published, we forbear
any presentation of detail of his eventful career.
Joshua Jameson was born in Kent county, Delaware, March 2,
1771. He was a farmer in the State of his birth, and a slavedriver for three months, which period of experience forever satisfied him. From Delaware he removed to Fayette county, Pa.,
and there he married Rebecca Mackey, and there all of his children
were born, save one that died in infancy. He removed to Wayne
county in the spring of 1818, and for a time occupied a vacant
house on the old Emanuel Brown farm, until he could build a
house on his farm-the south half of section 31, in Sugarcreek
township. The cabin he built was 20x28, and into it he moved in
September, and here he resided until his death, March Io, 1826,
his wife dying October 17, I860. He had eleven children, viz:
Sarah, Mary, Stephen M., John, Alexander H., Joshua M., Rebecca S., Elizabeth, Joseph, Isaac K., and an infant unnamed.
Isaac K. Jameson, son of Joshua, was born in Fayette county,
Pa., December 3, I818, and removed to Wayne county with his
father. He worked on the farm until he was about eighteen years
of age. He shortly began teaching school, and followed that profession and going to school until he was twenty-seven years of age.
He was married November 13, I86o, to Susan Smith, of Smith's
Ferry, Beaver county, Pa., and has three children.


John Cheyney was born in Chester county, Pa., three miles east




EAST UNION TO WNSHIP.


625


of Brandywine battlefield, June 21, 1765.       His father, Thomas
Cheyney immortalized himself in the Revolutionary war, and occupies a glorious page in American history. It was he that communicated the intelligence to General Washington of the perilous condition of his army at Chad's Ford, near Brandywine, and this simple fact, historians agree, saved the army of Washington from
destruction. J. T. Headley, in his Life of Washington, p. 250,
says:
'Squire Cheyney reconnoitering, on his own responsibility, the movements of
the enemy suddenly came upon the advance as he was ascending the hill. He immediately wheeled his horse, a fleet, high spirited animal, and dashed away toward
head-quarters. Shots were fired at him, but he escaped and reached the American
army in safety. To his startling declaration that the main body of the army was
on his own side of the stream and coming rapidly down upon him, Washington replied that it was impossible, for he had just received contrary information. " You
are mistaken, General; my life for it you are mistaken," exclaimed Cheyney, and
carried away by the great peril that threatened the Americans, added: " By h-lI
it is so. Puit me undter guard until you find my story true," and stooping down he
drew a rough draft of the road in the sand. In a few moments a hurried note from
General Sullivan confirmed the disastrous tidings. The army was only two miles
from Birmingham Meeting-House, which was but three miles from Chad's Ford.
Washington saw at once the fatal error into which he had been beguiled by the
false information of Sullivan, and saw, too, that in all human probability the day
was lost.
Prior to John Cheyney's emigration to Wayne county he
worked at the mill-wright business at old Carlisle, Pa.; he then
went to Fayette county, Pa., and was married at Uniontown to
Miss Tracy Graves. He there remained for a number of years,
following his trade, and living on the river. A freshet occurred
and swept away all of his property. He then determined to seek
his fortunes in the West, and came to Wayne county with his wife
and eight children in I814, settling upon the present site of Edinburg. He purchased I60 acres of land from John Miller, and
about one year after another quarter east of the first one, from
Thomas Mullen, and upon this quarter the Presbyterian church
now stands. He had the following family: Mary, Jesse, Thomas,
John, Richard, Nancy, John, Elizabeth, William and Hannah
(twins), and Hibben.
Richard Cheyney, son of John, was born in Fayette county,
Pa., October 6, I803, and came to Wayne county with his father,
in I814. He was married in East Union township, November 13,
i823, by Rev. Barr, to Elizabeth Stinger, of Columbia county,
40




626.


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Pa., and had eleven children. He began at the age of fourteen
working at the mill-wright business with his father, at which occupation he continued until he was nineteen years of age.
Mr. Cheyney, although he has passed his three-score years, is
still in the vigor of health, with constitution sound and unimpaired.
He is a man of great kindness and warmth of feeling and disposition. He is intelligent, hospitable, and is noted for his simplicity
and evenness of way. His integrity is beyond challenge, and his
private life worthy of imitation. Levi, son of Richard Cheyney,
was born July 8, I836, and though dying in almost boyhood,
wrote poems of great beauty and indicative of surpassing genius.
Hibben Cheyney, youngest son of John, was born in East Union
township, October 29, I8i6, and has been twice married, first to
Salomia Shutt, and second, March 14, I87I, to Mrs. Delia Lemmon, of Attica, Seneca county, Ohio. By the first marriage there
resulted the following children: Mary E., Julius C., Lucy, Cyrus
H., Linnaeus and Berzelius; by the second, Ida May and Anson.
He now resides in Indiana. Hibben Cheyney is a man of thought,
culture and brains. He is self-made, independent, electric, and
acts and thinks like lightning, and has a brilliant intellect. Julius
C. Cheyney, one of his sons, is a first-class school-teacher, a man
of honor, integrity and promise. Linnaeus, another son, is a student of medicine, and, if he is not careful, will soon have an M. D.
to his name.
It will be seen that the Cheyney family descends from a gallant
old Revolutionary stock, and can boast of an ancestry equal, if not
superior, to any other family in Wayne county. Old 'Squire, the
father of the subject of this notice, has passed into American history. John Cheyney was a most useful man in the early settlement of the county. He built the first mill in East Union township, and in a space of thirteen years built six grist-mills and nine
saw-mills in Wayne county, and was past fifty years of age when
this work was done. His early neighbors were John Knight,
Jacob Tracey, George Basil, and others, and he occasionally received visits from old Johnny Appleseed, whom Richard Cheyney
frequently saw. He donated an acre of land for church and school
purposes forever, at Edinburg, and in the graveyard of this church
is buried a child of Jesse Cheyney, the first interment. His remains lie in the old Edinburg graveyard.




MIL TON TOWNiSHIP.


627


CHAPTER XXIII.
MILTON TOWNSHIP.
THIS township was organized by order of the County Commissioners, October 5, 1818. Jacob Kiefer, one of the earliest of the
pioneers of this township, went to Wooster to see about having it
named, and suggested to the Board, then in session, to have it
styled "Center Swamp Township," from the fact that there was
a large swamp il the center of it. Commissioner George Bair
objected to this name, saying it would induce odium upon the
township, whereupon, at the suggestion of Mr. Bair, it was called
Milton township. The population in 1870 was 1,524. The following is the list of township officers from the records:
Justices of the Peace-Michael Kiefer, April 23, 1831; Stephen Oviatt, August 15, 1832; Michael Kiefer, September II, 1834; Michael Dague, July 4, 1836;
Wiseman Cotton, April 30, I838; Michael Dague, April 13, 1839; Wiseman Cotton, April I6, 1841; Michael Dague, April 13, 1842; Wiseman Cotton, April 25,
1844; Michael Dague, April I6, 1845; Wiseman Cotton, April 14, 1847; Michael
Dague, April 12, 1848; Wiseman Cotton, April ii, I850; Michael Dague, April
19, I85I; Wiseman Cotton, April I9, 1853; Michael Dague, April 13, 1854; Wiseman Cotton, April 28, 1856; Michael Dague, April 22, 1857; Wiseman Cotton,
April 19, I859; Michael Dague, April 17, I860; Jacob Knupp, April 21, 1862;
Michael Dague, April 17, 1863, Jacob Knupp, April 12, 1865; Michael Dague,
April 13, I866; Edward F. Keeling, April ii, I868; George Mellinger, April 13,
I869; Edward F. Keeling, April Io, I87I; George Mellinger, April 9, I872; J. S.
Hann, April 14, I874; George Mellinger, April 12, 1875; H. S. Elliott, April 12,
1877.
I833. Trustees-Stephen Oviatt, Samuel McCrory, George Hoff; TreasurerSamuel Slemmons; Constables-Daniel McCrory, John Kleckner; Clerk-John
Miller.
1834. Trustees-Samuel McCrory, Thomas Dawson, Christian Knupp;
Clerk-John Miller; Treasurer-Samuel Slemmons; Constable-Uriah Dewese.
1835. Trustees-Thomas Dawson, C. Welch, C. Knupp; Clerk-John Miller;
Treasurer-Samuel Slemmons; Constables-James Medsker, Henry Hyde.
I836. Trustees-Thomas Dawson, C. Knupp, D. Flickinger; Clerk-W. Cotton; Treasurer-Samuel Slemmons; Constables-Henry Hyde, John Dudgeon.
I837. Trustees-Thomas Dawson, C. Knupp, D. Flickinger; Clerk-W. Cotton; Treasurer-Samuel Slemmons Constable-A. Peckinpaugh.




628


HISTORY OF WA YAE COUNTY, OHIO.


1838. Trustees-Thomas Elliot, Isaac Bessey, M. Dague; Clerk-John Scoby;
Treasurer-George Hoff; Constables-A. Peckinpaugh, S. Watkins.
I839. Trustees-Thomas Elliot, Isaac Bessey; Clerk-C. Knupp; TreasurerGeorge Huff; Constables-D. Johnston, M. Dague.
1840. Trustees-Thomas Dawson, William Lance, A. Bratten; Clerk-John
Wagoner; Treasurer-George Huff; Constables-M. H. Clark, M. Dague.
1841. Trustees-Thomas Dawson, William   Lance, A. Bratten; Clerk-W.
Cotton; Treasurer-George Huff; Constables-M. Clark, James Smith.
1842. Trustees-D. Flickinger, John Watkins, James Lance; Clerk-W.
Cotton; Treasurer-Samuel Slemmons; Constables-G. Hay, James Smith.
1843. Trustees-John Watkins, John Kleckner, Dan Kindig; Clerk-W.
Cotton; Treasurer-Samuel Slemmons; Constables-John Templeton, J. Cotton.
I844. Trustees-J. Cotton, Thomas Dawson, John Kleckner; Clerk-W. Cotton; Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-John Templeton; Constables-J. Templeton, C. Stokey.
1845. Trustees-J. Cotton, Thomas Dawson, J. Swagler; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-John Templeton.
1846. Trustees-J. Cotton, J. Swagler, Thomas Elliot; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-John Templeton.
1847. Trustees-J. Swagler, J. Cotton, T. Elliot; Clerk-W. Cotton; Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
1848. Trustees-J. Cotton, J. Swagler, George Huff; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
I849. Trustees-J. Cotton, George Hoff, D. Flickinger; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
I850. Trustees-J. Cotton, George Hoff, D. Flickinger; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
I85I. Trustees-J. Cotton, George Hoff, D. Flickinger; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-C. Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
i852. Trustees-D. Flickinger, George Hoff, Thomas Elliot; Clerk-W. Cotton; Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
I853. Trustees-D. Flickinger, George Hoff, Thomas Elliot; Clerk-W. Cotton; Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
1854. Trustees-D. Flickinger, George Hoff, Thomas Elliot; Clerk-W. Cotton; Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
1855. Trustees-Thomas Eliott, I. Bessey, George Stern; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-Jacob Knupp.
1856. Trustees-Thomas Elliot, I. Bessey, J. Swagler; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-Jacob Knupp.
I857. Trustees-J. Swagler, A. Dawson, A. McCormell; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-Jacob Knupp.
I858. Trustees-J. Swagler, A. Dawson, A. McCormell; Clerk-W. Cotton;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-Jacob Knupp.
1859. Trustees-A. Dawson, J. Swagler, I. Kilmore; Clerk-A. McCormell;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-John McDowell.
i860. Trustees-A. Dawson, J. Swagler, I. Kilmore; Clerk-A. McCormell;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-John McDowell.
i86i. Trustees-A. Dawson, J. Swagler, John Slemmons; Clerk-A. McCormell; Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-Jacob Knupp.
1862. Trustees-J. Swagler, W. Cotton, John Slemmons; Clerk-A. McConnell; Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-W. Cotton.




AIIL TON TO WNSHIP.


629


1863. Trustees-WV. Cotton, James Bratton, John Slemmons; Clerk-A.
McConnell; Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
1864. Trustees-W. Cotton, James Bratton, E. Keeling; Clerk-N. Yoder;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
1865. Trustees-W. Cotton, J. Swagler, John Hammer; Clerk-H. Elliot;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
I866. Trustees-W. Cotton, J. Swagler, John Hammer; Clerk-H. Elliot;
Treasurer —Jacob Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
1867. Trustees-W. Cotton, J. Swagler, F. Amstuts; Clerk-H. Elliot;
Treasurer-J. Knupp; Assessor-M. Dague.
I868. Trustees-J. Swagler, S. M. Slemmons, S. Johnson; Clerk-H. S. Elliot; Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; AssessorI869. Trustees-S. Johnson, S. Swarts, D. S. Spear; Clerk-D. Slemmons;
Treasurer-Jacob Knupp; Assessor-J. Slemmons.
1870. Trustees-John Stone, P. S. Steiner, D. M. Yoder; Clerk-D. J. Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-George Mellinger.
187I. Trustees-John Stone, P. S. Steiner, D. M. Yoder; Clerk-D. J. Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-George Mellinger.
1872. Trustees-H. Elliot, S. M. Slemmons, D. Yoder; Clerk-D. J. Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-Sol. Johnson.
I873. Trustees-H. Elliot, S. M. Slemmons, D. Yoder; Clerk-D. J. Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-Sol. Johnson.
I875. Trustees-J. Swagler, W. Cotton, S. M. Slemmons; Clerk-D. J. Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-J. E. Stone.
1875. Trustees-S. M. Slemmons, P. Mougey, W. Cotton; Clerk-D. J. Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-J. E. Stone.
1876. Trustees-S. M. Slemmons, E. P. Wilford, Riley Kindig; Clerk-D. J.
Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-Sol. Johnson.
I877. Trustees-A. Kindig, S. M. Slemmons, E. P. Wilford; Clerk-D. J.
Slemmons; Treasurer-John Slemmons; Assessor-Sol. Johnson.
FIRST SETTLERS AND FIRST THINGS.
The first settler in the township was Isaac De Courcey, perceptibly possessed of Indian blood, who, with his wife and two children,
was living on the Knupp farm as early as I813.       In seven or eight
years he removed to Allen county. He devoted much of his time
to hunting and fishing.
The first deaths in the township were Sarah Fritz and her little
boy Adam. They were buried in what is now the Knupp graveyard. They died in I817. David Trump was the third person
who died. The first school teacher in Milton township was William Doyle, who taught in a log shanty where the Knupp church
stands, in the year 1817. The school-house was 20x24, built of
round logs, scutched inside. Mr. Fritz, who attended the school,
says:   "In the winter it was so cold that the ink would freeze in
the bottles while they were writing." To this school went the
children of John Coleman, David Trump, John Lance, Jerry John



630


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


son, James Carnahan, William Chambers, James Law, Mr. Riggleman and the widow Johnson. It was a subscription school.
The old Baptist church at Lancetown was the first built in Milton township, and Elder Freeman and James Newton were the
pioneer preachers. Elder Freeman was a Revolutionary soldier,
and a sort of missionary, conducting his ministry at private houses.
Rev. Newton was the first regular minister, however, in the township. The first saw- and grist-mills were built by Thomas Huffstetter, on the Little Chippewa. Philip Fritz built the second gristmill on River Styx. Huffstetter also built the first saw-mill on
the Little Chippewa. The first Doctor was a Mr. Donahue, a catwhipper at tailoring, as well as a medicine man. The first Squire
in Milton township was William Doyle, founder of Doylestown;
and the second was John Dawson, the commission of both bearing
date April 27, I819. Hartshorn, Gilmore and John Lance had the
first distilleries. The first postoffice in Milton township was at
Christian Knupp's, and was called New Prospect.
The first election was held at William Doyle's, and after that
at Samuel Slemmons' for twenty years; then at the Oak Grove
school-house until the town-house at the Center was built. At the
first election held in the township old man Trump had to be carried to the polls to make the necessary amount of votes to hold
the election.
Martin Fritz was born in Alsace in 1757 and immigrated
to America in I771. On his arrival at New York, not having had
the necessary funds to pay his passage he was sold, according to
an old custom, to a Mr. Ray, for whom he worked three years,
the pro quid exacted for the transit money. At the close of this
period of servitude and soon thereafter, the ball of the Revolution
was put in motion, and Mr. Fritz enlisted under Washington for
five years, being engaged in several battles, prominent among
which was Brandywine. After serving out the full term of his enlistment he removed to Pennsylvania, and in Cumberland county
married Catherine Wilt. He next went to Venango county and
then removed to Milton township in June, I814, there being but
one settler in what now constitutes that township-the quarterbreed, De Courcey. He had twelve children, John, Jacob, Martin, Peter, Samuel, Philip, Jeremiah, Betsey, Catherine, Sarah,
Anna and Susan, but six of whom are living at this time. He died




MIL TON TO WNSHIP.


63I


in 185, aged ninety-four years, his wife dying twelve years thereafter. He was a member of the Methodist church.
Phillip Friiz, his son, is a native of Venango county, Pa., where
he first saw light, June 29, 1804, and with his father came to Milton. He was married July 27, 1831, to Mary A. Long, of Pennsylvania, having had six children, Catharine, Jacob, John, Michael,
Elmore and Margaret Jane Fritz.       His occupation has been that
of miller and farmer, and he has lived longer in this township than
any man in it now.
Reminiscences of Phillip Fritz.-When my father removed to Milton township,
in i814, he had to cut out the road to where I now live. Bears, wolves, wildcats,
porcupines, wild hogs, deer and turkey were plenty. We often shot the wild hogs,
as they made good meat. Porcupines were numerous; the dogs would attack them
and we would pull out their quills with bullet moulds. We made sugar by the
barrel in our camps, took it to Canton and sold it. The wolves on one occasion
chased us all out of the camps. Times looked pretty blue when we came here. We
had to go fourteen miles, to Rex's mill, in Coventry, to get our grinding done. I
helped to grub out and clear up the Knupp graveyard, and build the schoolhouse, in 1817, where the Knupp church now stands. In the early days I hunted
a good deal, and often with the Indians. They would come to our house and get
corn, and bring venison to exchange for it. They weighed it themselves, the corn
in one hand and the venison in the other.
Samuel and John Fritz, Isaac De Courcey, John Huffman and myself went up to
Chippewa lake to hunt, and took our provisions with us. I was left in charge of
the eatables, and the balance went to the woods to hunt. While I was watching
the provisions eight Indians approached me, and I was terribly frightened. They
at once commenced laying off their knives, guns and tomahawks, and advancing to
where I had a large fire built, one of them, who could speak English, said, "White
man foolish; makes big fire and sits away off; Indian makes little fire and sits up
close." They then went to the edge of the lake and began jumping on the muskrat houses, and just as fast as the inmate popped out they popped him, and so they
kept on until out of one of these largest mud-houses sprang a beaver, which was
instantly killed, and then they whooped and danced and drank. Its hide was worth
$16. When our hunting party came in the Indians wanted to buy their dogs. An
Indian squaw went into a marsh in Canaan township to pick cranberries. She had
her papoose along with her, and tying it to a board set it down. While she was in
the marsh a large hog came along and killed it. She lamented and yelled fearfully.
When we came here there were a good many Indians about-called themselves
Delawares, Shawanese and Wyandots. They had quite a town on the south side of
Chippewa lake, probably thirty families. I used to go to the settlement often, saw
the little Indian boys roasting gammons of meat and gnaw at them; saw them shoot
pieces of silver out of split sticks, with bows and arrows, and never miss. They
captured a good deal of wild honey and carried it in deer-skins turned inside out.
They would cut down a tree, carve out the stump, crush their corn in it, and then
put it in pots and boil it, and then put in the meat. An Indian never uses salt.
Within about ten rods of where River Styx-the north branch of the Chippewa



632


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


empties into Big Chippewa, an Indian was found in the drift, shot through the
waisf, and it seems about this time the Indians got scared and very suddenly disappeared.
Christopher Lance, it is supposed, was a native of Germany.
After making the passage to America, he located in New Jersey,
where he married Sarah Johns, and where for many years he continued to live and raised a family of eleven children-six boys and
five girls. He settled in Ohio as early as 1795, buying, on his arrival, sixty acres of land, five miles from Steubenville. After his
removal to Ohio, he came to Wayne county, and lived on the farm
of James Lance, in a house he caused to be built for him, but becoming dissatisfied, he returned to Jefferson county, where his
death took place November 2, 1824. His wife died with her
daughter, Sarah Lee, March 10, I833.
John Lance was born in New Jersey, August I8, 1782, and remroved to Jefferson county, Ohio, with his father, and there married Sarah Johnson, August 15, 1809, raising there a family of four
boys and two girls.  He arrived in Milton township, Wayne
county, April 5, I820, with his brother James, and settled on the
farm which he owned until his death, March I6, 1852. His wife,
a native of Jefferson county, Ohio, survived until August 28, I870,
aged eighty-one years.
William Lance was born in New Jersey, February 5, 1788,
and removed to Milton township in 1818-19 with his brother
Henry. He was married in Jefferson county to Clara Johnson,
and raised a family of eleven children-eight girls and three boys.
Henry Lance, also a native of New Jersey, where he was born,
February 4, 1791, moved with his parents to Jefferson county,
and there was married to Lucinda Lee, a native of Virginia. He
remained there until 1817, when he visited Milton township, in
company with his brother James, to enter land, then went back to
Jefferson county, returning in the spring with his family, his
brother William coming with him. He brought with him three
children, two daughters and his son Christopher, who is still
living. He was twice married, the second time to Betsey Hoostoden, in,December, 1834, and by both marriages had ten children. His first wife died October I6, 183I; the second still survives him, and lives in Medina county.
~*




MIL TOAT TO WNSHIP.


633


Henry Lance was born in New Jersey in 1780, and was married
in I80I-2 in Jefferson county. He removed to Chippewa township in 182I, settling upon a farm, which he improved, and where
he died, January 25, I86o, aged 80 years. He was twice married,
and was the father of ten children.
James Lance, the youngest of six brothers, was born in the
State of New Jersey, January 28, I794, and with his parents removed to jefferson county in 1795. He was married to Fanny
Holmes, September 5, i815, a lady of Scotch descent, born July
3, I797.
He came to Wayne to make search for lands, his brother
Henry with him, and entered the two quarter sections joining
on the west and north-west, on what is called the Chestnut Ridge.
He then returned and offered the brothers their choice, and they
took the lands on each side of him, leaving him in the middle.
James then returned to Wayne county, in the fall of I819, and put
up a log cabin, and in the latter part of March, 1820, removed to
Milton township with his wife and son, three years old. James
Lance had three children born in Milton township by his first wife,
one son and two daughters, all of whom are living. His first wife
died August 5, I827. He was again married October 20, 1828, to
Mary Johnson, of Jefferson county, born October o1, I8Io. By
this union there resulted thirteen children, ten boys and three
girls. He died May 19, I866, in his 73d year, his second wife
surviving him until May 17, I875, dying in her 65th year.
TOWNS IN MILTON TOWNSHIP.
Johnson's Corners, called Amwell, was named after Abner Johnson, who made the first improvements in it. John Scoby, of Truxton, N. Y., was the first doctor in the place, and Goodsill Foster
was the first postmaster. Where Isaac Bessey lives stood a log
house in which Oliver Houghton sold groceries-the first store
of the kind in Amwell. Adna Bessey named it Amwell.
Russell was- named after the Russells of Massillon, who purchased the property there and gave it name. Here the postoffice
is located, though the name of the office is Amwell.
Milton Station.-In I869 the first house was erected at this
place by David Shook. In July, 1870, C. M. Murdock started the




634


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUArTY, OHIO.


first business, and in the same year the postoffice was removed
here from Shinersburg (New Prospect). First postmaster was Solomon Hann; the present incumbent is C. M. Murdock, appointed
March 26, I872.
Shinersburg.-This village got its name in this way: Michael
Hatfield bought the first lot in what is now Shinersburg, from
Philip Fritz, and built a house on it, starting a grocery, selling
drugs, beer, whisky, etc. One day Michael, Noah-like, got drunk,
and in one of his more ecstatic moods was heard exclaiming,
"When I get to heaven I will shine as bright as anybody;" hence
Shine-rsburg. Lancetown, called after the Lances, exists only as a
memory.
Andrew Waggoner was born in Reading, Berks county, Pennsylvania, in 1793, and came to Wayne county in I818, settling in
Milton township. He settled in section 33, one-half mile south of
where his son, John Waggoner, now lives, entering a quarter section of land. He made the passage from Pennsylvania to Wayne
county in a wagon, bringing with him his wife and six children,
and landing on his premises May 2, I818. He built a cabin,
cleared up some land, and planted some potatoes, turnips, etc.
Forks driven into the ground, with green poles crossed, constituted
the bedsteads. He was married to Susannah Feightner, of Pennsylvania, and died January 3, 1851, his wife dying in February,
I854. He had nine children, John, Elizabeth, Mathias, Catharine,
Sarah, Andrew, Jacob, Anna and Rebecca.
Thomas Dawson, a native of Virginia, was born in Monongahela county, May 22, 1790, where he was married to Miss Jemima
Barress. His ancestry was Irish on his father's side and English
on his mother's. He immigrated to Wayne county in 1814, with
his wife and three children, John, Bridget and Mary. He first
settled in Greene township, about two and one-half miles east of
Smithville, upon a farm which he had entered. Here he lived four
years, when he removed to Milton township, February 2, I819,
having entered the farm upon which he settled in i818, and which
is now occupied by his son, Eugenius B. Dawson, and where he
died October 14, i865. His wife died April 30, 1869. He was
the father of the following children: John W., Bridget, Mary,
Archibald, Castilla, George B., Sarah, Emily, Thomas, Jemima,
Eugenius B. and Hiram Dawson. All of them grew to manhood




MILTON TO WNSHIP.


635


and womanhood, and eight of the family are still living.  George,
Bridget, Mary and Emily are dead. Of the eight surviving members but four reside in the county.
Abner Johnson, a native of Southwick, Hampden county, Mass.,
emigrated to Wayne county in I826 and located in Milton township. Johnson's Corners, now known as Amwell, is situated upon
the farm upon which he settled and which he entered from the
government. He was first married to Elizabeth Gates, of Hartford, Mass., by which marriage he had six children, all of whom are
dead save Daniel Johnson. He was married a second time to Jerusha Nelson, of Connecticut formerly, but at the time of the union
a resident of Seville. Mr. Johnson sold off the two first lots, in
what is Amwell now, to Benjamin Ellsworth and a man named
Hartshorn, who built upon them. Hartshorn started a distillery
upon his lot, and here was the nucleus of this village in Milton
township. Adam Peckinpaugh was Mr. Johnson's nearest neighbor.
Fatal Boiler Explosion.-Friday afternoon, March 11, 1870, the steam boiler
in the saw-mill of Knupp & Co., near Shinersburg, Milton township, exploded,
killing seven men. On the day of the accident the mill was run by Jacob Knupp,
John Fritz, Lewis Hoover and his brother David. Robert McConnell and his son
Frank, and David Shook, were at work on a house as carpenters a few rods west of
the mill, and a rain coming on they sought shelter in the mill. In less than ten
minutes afterwards the explosion took place, and all were instantly killed, except
David Hoover, who lingered a few hours.
Samuel Slemmons was born in Washington county, Pa., September 21, 1790, and in May, I819, emigrated from there to
Wayne county. Prior to his removal he was, on March 18, I819,
married to Miss Ann McKee, by whom he had the following children: Thomas, Elizabeth, Samuel M., Mary Ann, Jane, Margaret,
William, John, Martha and David. He died September 8, I877,
aged 87 years, preceded to the grave by his wife on August 12,
1874, aged 80. They lived all their lives on the farm in Milton
township, where they first settled in I819. He was an excellent
man and reared a fine family.
[By Rev. J. C. Elliott, of Milton Township.]
The Elliotts were pioneers in this neighborhood, and were sons
of "Honest Tommy Elliott," of Jefferson county, Ohio.  After his
death his heirs exchanged a small farm in Jefferson county for




636


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


three adjoining quarter sections of wild land in Milton, which became the property of John, William and Andrew.
About 1827 John began improvements upon the portion he
had selected, but was taken sick and died. About two years later
Andrew married and settled on his portion, and there remained all
his life. There were five boys and two girls in this family. One
died in infancy. Thomas and Elizabeth removed to Hardin
county, Ohio, and died. Jonas Denton entered the army in 1862.
Henry S. has always remained on the old farm, is grain dealer
at Milton station, and Justice of the Peace. Lee is an attorney in
Akron, and Alice lives with her mother in Seville. The quarter
section belonging to William was transferred to his brother
Thomas in 1829, for $35o. The village of Milton Station is platted
upon the corner of this quarter.
Thomas settled upon his claim in 1832, and remained upon it
all his life. In this family were four boys and one girl. William
Warren was killed at school by a club which slipped from the hand
of a large boy who was trying to knock a snag from a log they
were rolling down hill. Simon and Mary both died when just
entering upon life.
Austin W. and John C. entered the ministry of the Presbyterian church; the former is now in Marshfield, Mo., and the
latter is living upon the old homestead and preaching each Sabbath
to the Presbyterian church of Seville. The quarter section owned
by John Elliott was sold tto William  McConnell, who improved it
and lived upon it till his death. The farm was then bought of
the heirs by Thomas, and again sold to his nephew, so that, singular enough, after forty years it again was owned by a member of
the Elliott family.
CHURCHES.
German Reformed Church.-This church is situated in the south part of the
township, and was built about I851. Rev. Vermley was among the first preachers.
The church edifice was constructed by Dennis Somers, and the grounds on which
it was located were donated by Joseph Feightner. Philip and John Hoff and John
Young were the contractors in behalf of the church.
Union Chutch.-This is a frame building south of Amwell. The lands were
donated for the church by Amos Bessey, and, when not so used, go to the donor.
The contract for the building of it was let, according to the statement of 'Squire
Keeling, September I5, 187I. The church is now occupied by the Baptists and
the United Brethren, services alternating every Sunday. Rev. Dunn, of Seville,
supplies, at present, the Baptist appointments.




IL TOrN TO WNSHIP.                      637
Other Churches.-The Catholic church was built in 1858, the corner-stone having been laid July 26, I858. The first Menonite church was erected in 1855,
though the congregation was organized as early as I825. Another, named the
New Baptist Menonites, has been established. Of this neophytic organization
Rev. Christian Stiner thus said to the writer: "About twenty years ago some
eighteen members dropped from the original church and joined with the New Baptists, and about two years ago built a church. They have a membership of 40 or
50. Daniel and David Stiner are the preachers. These people think they are the
only people that are converted, and nobody is saved but them. They run the
Christian machine themselves, own the engine, etc., and claim it is impossible to
sin after conversion." The Shinersburg church, free to all, was built by different
denominations in 1862, the first preacher being Rev. Excel.
Benjamin Colton, grandfather of Wiseman Cotton, was an Englishman and a relative of the distinguished divine, John Cotton, who died in I652. His son, Benjamin Cotton, was born in
Boston, Mass., May I4, I758. When but two years of age his
parents died, when he was bound out, but from which bondage,
when the war between the Colonies and Great Britain commenced
he sought the opportunity of escape.      He immediately entered
the military service as a soldier of the United States, in which capacity he served for nine years.   He participated in the battle of
Bunker Hill, and was in the fight when Burgoyne was captured.
His rank was that of Sergeant-Major. Once he was shot through
the neck by an Indian, another time through the leg. On one occasion he was left, with a companion, both of whom had the smallpox, to die in the woods. To the terrible malady his comrade
succumbed, Mr. Cotton barely escaping death from the disease and
starvation.  He emigrated to Milton township in 1836, and died
July 13, 1846. He was married to Dolly Smith in Wentworth,
New Hampshire, in I785. His wife died in March 1852. His
family consisted of fourteen children: Hannah, Benjamin, Solomon, Dolly, Lydia, Abigail, Jonathan, George, David, Theodore,
Wiseman, Elizabeth, Joseph and William, four of whom, Jonathan,
David, William and George Cotton, removed to Wayne county.
Isaac Bessey, son of John Bessey, is a native of Bucks county,
Pa., where he was born May 3, I8io.    He accompanied his father
to Wayne county in I834, since which time he has resided here.
His occupation has been that of a farmer, and at present he resides
in Amwell. He was married May 3, 1837, to Barbara Hoover, of
Milton township, and has four children, Amos, S. A., C. and C. A.
Bessey.




638


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


William Keeling was born in Potton, Bedfordshire, England, in
I787, July 28. He was married in I811, on Holy Thursday, in
the land of his nativity, to Miss Lucy Fullard, of Huntingtonshire. In October, 1833, he came to America, bringing with him
his wife and only child, Edward. After landing at New York he
remained there a week, then went to Poughkeepsie, tarrying there
till the spring of 1834; when emigration opened up, he took the
canal to Buffalo, thence, to Cleveland, and old Portage, on the
Ohio canal. He soon purchased a farm and continued to cultivate
his lands until i857, when, growing old and tired of work, abandoned it to his son. Mr. Keeling is now past ninety, and we
believe is claimed to be the oldest man in the township. His wife
died October 3, 1864. He is yet in possession of his faculties,
and is an excellent specimen of the old English gentleman, and
lives a blameless Christian life. During his residence in Bedford
he lived in sight of Bunyan's prison, and sat in the chair of the
allegorical dreamer.
Edward F. Keeling, Esq., only son of William Keeling, was
born in Woodhurst, Huntingtonshire, England, and came to
America with his father in 1833, following his fortunes until he
reached Wayne county, since which time, with slight exception,
he has lived there. He was married April 5, 1843, to Miss Mary M.
Johnson. He is a farmer, and a prominent citizen of Milton town,
ship; has served six years in the capacity of Justice of the
Peace, holds a Notarial commission, and transacts considerable
legal business; is a contributor to the public press, a man of
thought and action, whose accessible and generous nature, combined with his literary and historical attainments, make him a most
interesting companion. He introduced the first sewing machine
into his own family that was ever bought or owned in the township, and built the first saw-mill on the Big Chippewa, in Wayne
county. September 28, 1877, he began boring for water at the
bottom of a well forty feet deep, and at the depth of fifty-two additional feet the auger sank, the water gushing to the top of the
well, and the result is he has the finest artesian well in the county,
or perhaps the State.




PLAIN TO WNSHIP.


639


CHAPTER XXIV.
PLAIN TOWNSHIP.
PLAIN TOWNSHIP was organized in 1817, and was so named
from the plains, or glades, which, to a large extent, constituted its
timber growths at the time of its first settlement, and which cover
large areas of its surface at the present time.        Its population in
1870 was 1,837. The list of officers of the township appears on
the records as follows:
Justices of the Peace-George McCauley, July 12, 1832; William Kean, April
I9, I833; Benjamin Rogers, May 30, 1835; William Kean, January 20, 1837;
Clinton Wilson, January 30, 1837; James A. IHill, June 4, 1838; C. Wilson, January 13, 1840; H. Edwards, January 13, I840; Jonas May, January 13, 1840; H.
Edwards, December 17, 1842; L. H. Upham, December 17, 1842; M. Kauffman,
December 24, 1842; M. Kauffman, December 20, 1845; Eli Jones, December 20,
1845; C. Wilson, April 12, I848; M. Kauffman, December I6, 1848; Benjamin
Eason, December i6, 1848; James Henry, April II, 1850; George Young, October
I9, I850; J. H. Downing, November 5, 1852; James Henry, April I9, I853; D.
C. Martin, December I, I853; James Henry, April 28, 1856; B. F. Zercher, November 12, 1856; G. W. Horn, April 22, 1857; Abram Soliday, April 19, 1859;
B. F. Zercher, October 20, 1859; A. Funk, April 17, I860; J. K. Forbes, April
I3, I86I; James Henry, April 21, I862; A. Funk, April I7, 1863; D. C. Kean,
April 15, I864; James Henry, April 12, 1865; H. W. Walton, April II, I868;.
Samuel B. Kelley, October 20, 1869; H. W. Walton, April 10, 1871; S. B. Kelley,
October 12, 1872; Abram Soliday, April I5, I873; H. W. Walton, April 14, I874;
William Mellinger, April 12, I875; Abram Soliday, April 13, I876.
1817. Trustees-William M. McKinley, Alexander Culbertson, John McBride;
Clerk-Thomas McMillen; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constable-James King.
i818. Trustees-Alexander Culbertson, William  McKinley, David Myers;
Clerk-Thomas McMillen; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-Samuel Larrabee, Thomas Culbertson.
I8I9. Trustees-Alexander Culbertson, William McKinley, David Myers;
Clerk-Thomas McMillen; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-Aaron Ball,
Isaac Shinneman.
182I. Trustees-Alexander Culbertson, Thomas Wilson, Absalom Runyon;
Clerk-Thomas McMillen; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-James Robison,
Philip Yarnell.
1822. Trustees-Absalom Runyon, William Goodfellow, John Tryon; Clerk



540


HISTOR Y OF WVA YNE COU1V TI  OHI0.


Thomas McMillen; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-Philip Yarnell, Isaac
Shinneman.
1823. Trustees-John McBride, William Goodfellow, Aaron Bell; ClerkAmariah Wilson; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-Peter Hines, James
King.
1824. Trustees-William Goodfellow, John H. Pile, William Meeks; ClerkJohn Tauner; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-Francis McHall, Jeremiah
Rogers.
1825. Trustees-William Goodfellow, John H. Pile, William Meeks; ClerkJohn Tauner; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-A. Cochran, William Smith.
1826. Trustees-Thomas Wilson, William Meeks, John Felger; Clerk-John
Tarr; Treasurer-John Nimmon; Constables-John McFall, Aaron Bell.
1827. Trustees —John Tyler, John Lykes, Philip Arnold; Clerk-John Tarr;
Treasurer-Joseph Runyon; Constables-John Kennedy, Stephen Williams.
1828. Trustees-John McBride, William Meeks, Abraham Runyon; ClerkJohn Tarr; Treasurer-Joseph Runyon; Constables-John McFall, Stephen Williams.
I829. Trustees-Abraham Runyon, John McBride, Dennis Driskel; ClerkWilliam Kean; Treasurer-Joseph Runyon; Constables-Alexander Culbertson,
Jacob Troxel.
I830. Trustees-William Lovett, Dennis Driskel, Amariah Wilson; ClerkWilliam Kean; Treasurer-Absalom Runyon, Constables-John Rouch, Frederick
Fishburn.
I83I. Trustees-Green Yarnell, Elijah Yocum, Stephen Williams; ClerkWilliam Kean; Treasurer-Absalom Runyon; Constables-John Munhall, Thomas
Beaman.
1832. Trustees-Green Yarnell, Thomas Culbertson; James Whitcomb; Clerk
-William  Kean; Treasurer-Absalom Runyon; Constables-Thomas Beaman,
Frederick Fishburn.
I833. Trustees-William Sidle, Benjamin Rogers, Jacob Wachtel; ClerkJohn Tryon; Treasurer-Absalom  Runyon; Constables-John Munhall, Samuel
McKinley.
I834. Trustees-William McKinley, Job Yarnell, Clint Wilson; Clerk-William Kean; Treasurer-Absalom Runyon; Constables-Thomas McCauly, Samuel
McKinley.
1835. Trustees-Clint Wilson, Nathan Warner, William Goodfellowv; ClerkWilliam Kean; Treasurer-Clint Wilson; Constables-Brook Lytle, John Leighty.
1836. Trustees-William McKinley, Peter Troxel, Job Yarnell; Clerk-William Kean; Treasurer-Clint Wilson; Constables-Thomas McCully, William
Wagner.
I837. Trustees-David Phillips, Henry Swartz, Jacob Wachtel; Clerk-F. H.
Foltz; Treasurer-Alexander Culbertson; Constables-Thomas McCully, Alexander Freeman.
I838. Trustees-Robert Moorhead, Henry Swartz, Daniel Black; Clerk-F.
H. Foltz; Treasurer-William  Kean; Constables-Alexander McCully, William
Mason.
I839. Trustees-Robert Moorhead, Samuel Zimmerman, Jacob Soliday;
Clerk-Homer Edwards; Treasurer-Henry Swartz; Constables-Alexander McCully, Jacob Nye.
I840. Trustees-Robert Moorhead, Jacob Soliday, Daniel Black; Clerk-Lucius H. Upham; Treasurer-William Kean; Constables-Alexander McCully, E.
R. Fox.




PLAIN TO VWNSHIP.


641


1841. Trustees —Jacob Rouch, Jacob Soliday, William Reed; Clerk-J. K.
Forbes; Treasurer-William   Kean; Constables-Alexander McCully, Mathias
Heath.
1842. Trustees-Jacob Rouch, Alexander Culbertson, Robert Eason; ClerkJ. K. Forbes; Treasurer-Robert Moorhead; Constables-J. R. McBride, John
Grimes.
1843. Trustees-Alexander Culbertson, Willam Kean, Robert Eason; ClerkJ. K. Forbes; Treasurer-Robert Moorhead; Constables-J. R. McBride, Benjamin Grimes.
I844. Trustees-William  Kean, D. W. Langdon, John Mellinger; ClerkJ. K. Forbes; Treasurer-Jacob Soliday; Constables-M. Heath, Eli Jones.
1845. Trustees-D. W. Langdon, John Mellinger, James Henry; Clerk-M.
C. Shamp; Treasurer-Jacob Soliday; Constable-M. Heath.
1846. Trustees-James Henry, Hugh Funk, John Sidle; Clerk-Michael
Kauffman; Treasurer-Jacob Soliday; Constables-William McMillen, William
Lytle.
I847. Trustees-Hugh Funk, John Sidle, Robert Baird; Clerk-M. Kauffman; Treasurer-Samuel Montgomery; Constable-William McMillen.
1848. Trustees-R. C. Baird, Cyrus Baird, Joseph Overholtzer; Clerk-M.
Kauffman; Treasurer-John Sidle; Constable-William Lytle.
I849. Trustees-R. C. Baird, Cyrus Baird, John Mellinger; Clerk-John H.
Philips; Treasurer-John Sidle; Constables-Ephraim Miller, H. W. Donaldson.
I85o. Trustees-Jacob Soliday, David Horn, George Young; Clerk-H. H.
Hostler; Treasurer-John Sidle; Constable-J. B. flileman.
I85I. Trustees-Jacob Soliday, David Horn, William B. Anderson; ClerkBenjamin Eason; Treasurer-David Frease; Constable-Samuel Wile.
1852. Trustees-J. HI. Alexander, John Moon, John McKee; Clerk-H. H.
Hostler; Treasurer-David Frease; Constable-Samuel Wile.
1853. Trustees-John Sidle, John Moon, Andrew Romich; Clerk-Jesse Crull;
Treasurer-David Frease; Constable-Samuel Wile.
I854. Trustees-R. C. Baird, J. M. Miller, C. Mellinger; Clerk-Jesse Crull;
Treasurer-David Frease; Constable-D. A. Moon.
I855. Trustees-J. A. Lawrence, E. Smyser, Jonathan Montgomery; ClerkM. H. Dodd; Treasurer-Jacob Rouch; Constable-John H. Wise.
1856. Trustees-Jonathan Montgomery, A Soliday, C. Mellinger, ClerkBenjamin Zercher; Treasurer-David Frease; Constable-John Shamp.
I857. Trustees-A. Soliday, John Crumlick, C. Mellinger; Clerk-P. S. Baker; Treasurer-David Frease; Constable-George Mullen.
1858. Trustees-D. C. Kean, Joseph Yocum, David Hagerman; ClerkP.S. Baker; Treasurer-John Sidle; Constable-Henry Walton.
1859. Trustees-D. C. Kean, Joseph Yocum, D. Hagerman; Clerk-P. S.
Baker; Treasurer-John Sidle; Constable-Henry Walton.
I860. Trustees-Jacob Smyser, J. A. Lawrence, Jefferson Sellers; Clerk-P.
S. Baker; Treasurer-John Sidle; Constable-Henry Walton.
186I. Trustees-John Gruey, A. Soliday, Aaron Baird; Clerk-J. B. Myers;
Treasurer-J. H. Alexander; Constable —Samuel Anderson.
1862. Trustees-Mark Wilson, D. W. Lilley, J. A. Raudebaugh; Clerk-H.
Hostler; Treasurer-N. W. Smith; Constable-H. W. Walton.
1863. Trustees-Robert Wallace, J. G. Yocum, Mark Wilson; Clerk-H. H.
Hostler; Treasurer-N. W. Smith; Constable —G. W. Grindel.
41




642


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


1864. Trustees-A. Raudebaugh, Robert Wallace, Mark Wilson; Clerk-H.
H. Hostler; Treasurer-N. W. Smith; Constable-H. W. Walton.
1865. Trustees-A. Soliday, Joseph Hare, William Miller; Clerk-J. B.
Myers; Treasurer-David Frease; Constable-Peter Starn.
i866. Trustees-Robert Wallace, A. B. Ebright, Jacob Smyser; ClerkAugustus Kean; Treasurer-Christain Fair; Constable-Peter Starn.
1867. Trustees-Robert Wallace, A. B. Ebright, George Strock; Clerk-Augustus Kean; Treasurer-Christian Fair; Constable-H. W. Walton.
I868. Trustees-Peter Spangler, S. S. Aylesworth, George Strock; Clerk-A.
B. Ebright; Treasurer-Jacob Rouch; Constable-T. W. Kendall.
i869. Trustees-Peter Spangler, S. S. Aylesworth, George Strock; Clerk-A.
B. Ebright; Treasurer-Jacob Rouch; Constable-T. W. Kendall.
1870. Trustees-C. H. Palmer, Daniel Webster, J. P. Henderson; ClerkEli Zaring; Treasurer-N. W. Smith; Constable-George Arnold.
I87I. Trustees-C. H. Palmer, Joab Scruby, J. P. Henderson; Clerk-Eli
Zaring; Treasurer-N. W. Smith; Constable-Samuel Fishburn; Assessor-Robert Wallace.
i872. Trustees-C. H. Palmer, Jacob Smyser, Christian Fair; Clerk-S. B.
Kelley; Treasurer-Thomas McKee; Assessor-Eli Zaring; Constable-Peter
Starn.
I873. Trustees-Jacob Smyser, John Soliday, Philip Rouch; Clerk-S. B.
Kelley; Treasurer-Thomas McKee; Assessor-Eli Zaring; Constable-Peter
Starn.
I874. Trustees-Philip Rouch, Benjamin Low, William M. Gill; Clerk-S.
B. Kelley; Treasurer-Peter Spangler; Assessor-Robert Wallace; ConstablePeter Starn.
I875. Trustees-Benjamin Low, John Sparr, Andrew Raudebaugh; ClerkS. G. Gill; Treasurer-John Shelly; Assessor-W. H. Sidle; Constable-D. R.
Houser.
I876. Trustees-John Sparr, Joseph Martin, Daniel Acker; Clerk-D. C.
Kean; Treasurer-Thomas McKee; Assessor-Peter Sparr, Jr.; Constable-H. W.
Walters.
I877. Trustees-Daniel Acker, N. W. Smith, J. H. Willour; Clerk-D. C.
Kean; Treasurer-Thomas McKee; Assessor-Peter Sparr, Jr.; Constable-H. W.
Walters.
FIRST SETTLERS.
John Collier is supposed to have been the first white settler in
what is now Plain township, locating on the James Childs farm.
William Meeks, a native of Virginia, was the second, and settled
on the farm now owned by John Sidle. Cyrus Baird was the first
Justice of the Peace. George and David Lozier settled upon the
prairies in I814, south of Blachleyville. They owned farms, and
came from    Pennsylvania.     Benjamin    White, a shoemaker and
preacher, who settled where George Felger lives, and old Dan. Miller, who occupied the farm now owned by William Nirods, and
built a saw-mill as early as 1815, were among the early settlers.
He built the first house in Blachleyville, where Swain's hotel




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643


stands, kept tavern, sold whisky, went to Indiana and began practicing medicine. Augustus Case came in as early as 1814. John
Cassiday was the first school-teacher in that settlement. Elder
French (Baptist) was the first minister.
William B. Blachley, M. D., was born in New Jersey, from
which State he removed to Washington county, Pa., where he
remained twenty years, when he emigrated to Plain township in
i8i6. He was twice married, and was the father of nineteen children. He practiced medicine in Blachleyville nineteen years,
when he removed Valparaiso, Indiana, where he died at the age of
seventy-four years. He was a graduate of Princeton, and a member of the Baptist church. The village of Blachleyville was
named after this family. His son, William Blachley, M. D., was
born in Washington county, Pa., November 27, 1799, and came to
Plain township with his father, with whom he read medicine and
began practice. He was married in his twenty-fourth year, to Abigail Wells, a native of New England, and had twelve children, ten
of whom are dead-two daughters only remaining. The eldest
daughter, Abigail, is married to Dr. Hunt, of Shreve, and the
youngest to Captain Benjamin, son of Constant Lake, of Wooster.
Philip Arnold was born in Lehigh county, Pa. He removed to
Plain township in 1812, and settled upon what was known as the
Gillis farm. After his arrival he purchased 320 acres of land from
the Eagles, who had entered it. He had eleven children. For
months they had no bread in the house, and were compelled to
live on venison, honey and potatoes. His son, Thomas Arnold, a
native of the same county, was born in 1802, and came West with
his father. He was married in his twenty-fifth year to Sarah Hines.
He cast his first vote in what was called " Blue school-house."
William Sidle, a native of Pennsylvania, was born in Cumberland county, 1789, and removed to the residence of his son, John
Sidle, in I828. He was married to Mary Brandt. He went to
California in the spring of 1849 by the overland route, taking a
company of twelve men with him, seventeen yoke of cattle, three
wagons, one horse and two cows. He left home April 5, and
reached his destination in August. He died on the Yuba river in
the spring of I850. He was a man of indomitable energy and
courage. John Sidle, his son, was born August I, I 86, in York
county, Pa., and removed to Plain township in 1828. He was




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


married March 30, I843, to Joanna Carson, of Plain township, and
has seven children living, to wit: Mary E., William Henry,
James, Lucinda, Lucertus, Clara and John C. Mr. Sidle is a
farmer and stock-raiser, one of the largest real estate owners of
the county, and a popular and excellent citizen.
William Goodfellow was born in the county of Caven, Ireland,
and at the age of ten years he immigrated to America with his
parents, two sisters and two brothers; and the family settled in
Center county, Pennsylvania. Thence he removed in I816 to
Wayne county, Ohio, and opened a farm in Plain township, where
he resided for nearly fifty years. He served as Associate Judge of
the Court of Common Pleas from 1824 for a term of seven
years, receiving his commission from Governor Jeremiah Morrow.
His house, situated on the Ashland road, was widely known for
its hospitality. In politics and on moral reforms Judge Goodfellow had the fortitude or the fortune generally to work with minorities, as he became early an old line Whig, and was from the first
a radical anti-slavery and anti-liquor man. He had the honor of
organizing and being President of the first temperance society in
Wayne county, and lived to see all of his long debated principles
inaugurated in State or National administration or enactments.
For more than half a century he was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, most of the time filling various of its laical
offices, and in its communion he died in 1864. Miss Jane Allison, three years his junior, became his wife in February, I809,
and survived him two years. She was a beautiful character, a sincere Christian, an unobtrusive, discreet and saintly woman. Their
children were: Matthew Allison, married Drusilla Culbertson in
1833; Jane, married Rev. Jesse Warner 1830, died 1843; Louisa
Catherine, married Andrew Glenn 1835, died I836; Narcissa, married James W. Boyd, 1841; Amelia, married William Anderson
1840, died 1844; William, married Mary E. Dempster 1851;
Juliette, married Rev. L. Dorland, 1846; Isaiah R., married Susan
A. Deming 1854; Maria Louisa, married C. W. Beer, I868, Mr.
Beer dying at Sandusky, October 4, I871.
Benedict Mellinger, Sr., was born in Germany, over one hundred
years ago, and removed to America when but two years of age,
landing at Baltimore. His mother died on the ocean, his father
immediately removing to Lancaster county, Pa., where he followed




PLAIN TO WNSHIP.


645


the occupation of a weaver. After marriage he worked at weaving twelve years, and removed to Plain township, Wayne county,
Ohio, in I816, locating where Christian Mellinger now lives. He
had eleven children-seven daughters and four sons-the names of
the latter being David, John, Benedict and Christian. He died
twenty years ago, at the age of eighty. David Mellinger was born
in Lancaster county, Pa., and married Mary Felger, of Wayne
county, Ohio. He died in December, I862, in Plain township.
His wife survives him. John Mellinger was born in Columbiana
county, Ohio, and married Hannah Casebeer. He died in Plain
township, in October, 1872. Benedict Mellinger was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, and married Sallie Casebeer, of Wayne
county. They have four children living. Christian Mellinger was
born where he now lives, in Plain township, and married Elizabeth
Showalter. They have four children, viz: William, Daniel, Belinda and Franklin. William Mellinger married Samantha Buckwalter, of Paint township, October 26, I869. He is at present one
of the Justices of Plain township, and a capable and popular
teacher. His father is a first-class citizen and an old Jacksonian
Democrat.
Aaron Baird was born in Massachusetts in I767, and was of
old English parentage. He came to Ohio in I813, and purchased
property in Plain township where the late Cyrus Baird lived.
The next spring he brought his family and continued his residence
there until his death, August 7, 1826. He was married to Eunice
Murdock, a native of Massachusetts, and had seven children, four
boys, named Kendal, Cyrus, Josiah and Alfred. He was the first
Justice of the Peace in Mohican township, then in Wayne county,
holding the office nearly nine years.
Cyrus Baird, his son, was born March 2, i804, and at the age
of ten removed to Wayne county with his father, with whom he
remained till his death, and had ten children. Aaron, Cyrus and
Morgan are his sons. He was an enterprising, shrewd business
man, and a good specimen of the New England gentleman. Aaron
Baird, his son, lives in Plain township, and is a successful farmer
and stock dealer. He is noted for his hospitality and geniality,
which qualities characterize his wife, and hence his house is a home
to friends and visitors, where all are pleasantly entertained. Cyrus is a citizen of Wooster.


A




646


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


John Tryon was born in Oswego county, N. Y., March 8, 1794,
near Milford, from which he departed in 1815. His father, Ezra
Tryon, was born in Connecticut and was a soldier in the Revolution
for three years, drawing a pension for twenty-five years. He was a
scout in Virginia, and was present at the surrender of Cornwallis.
He removed to Wayne county in I816, and died in I847, and his
wife in i818. He was married to Lydia Saddler, January 12,
1817.  His death occurred a few years since.
Robert Eason was born in Lycoming county, Pa., December Io, 1795, of Irish and English parents. He immigrated to
Chester township, Wayne county, Ohio, April I4, 18i6, and in a
year thereafter married Beulah Sooy. He commenced his first
housekeeping near Stibbs' mill, east of Wooster, and lived there
six years, when he removed to Perry township, Ashland county,
then Wayne, with his wife and three children, Samuel, Joseph and
Benjamin. Here they lived eight years, and on January I9, 1832,
he removed to the farm in Plain township, now (I878) owned by
his son, Hon. Benjamin Eason, where he succeeded Dennis Driskel in the business of milling, which he continued until his death,
April 14, 1864. Before coming to Wayne county he took an active part in the war of 1812, serving a regular term of enlistment
in a Pennsylvania regiment at Fort Erie. His wife, on March 12,
1850, was crushed to death by machinery in the mill in Plain
township.
John Folgate, probably the oldest man that ever lived in Wayne
county, died at the age of IIi years, September 15, I870, in
Jefferson. He was drafted in the war of 1812, and was discharged
on account of old age.
William and Henry Rouch, natives of Pennsylvania, came to
Plain township in I815. William Rouch, son of the former of the
two brothers, was born December I, 1820, and was married April
I8, I856, to Susannah Bowers, and has five living children, viz:
Sarah A. T. S., William P. and Elizabeth. Mr. Rouch is one of the
hard-working, honest, plain speaking citizens of the township, who
knows his own business exactly, and proposes while he lives to
superintend it. He is a gentleman whose integrity is unquestioned. Philip Rouch, another brother, emigrated to Plain town



PLAIN TO WNSHIP.


647


ship in I818. Jacob Rouch, his son, who died February 12, 1870,
was a very remarkable man. Although he never had an opportunity to educate himself he was, nevertheless, one of the best informed men on general subjects in the county. He was'a natural
talker and disputant, and a speaker of great ease and fluency.
TOWNS IN PLAIN TOWNSHIP.
Millbrook received its title from General Thomas McMillan, who
named it and surveyed it. It was laid out by Elijah Yocum, August IO, I829, the plat and certificate recorded next day, and found
in County Records, p. 315, vol. 7. The carding-mill to the east
was originally a grist-mill, built by McMillen, in 1816, for John
Nimmon.
Blachleyville was laid out by William B., and William Blachley, December 16, 1833, after whom it was named. It was surveyed by George Emery, the plat and certificate recorded March
12, 1834, and found on page 2Io, vol. I, County Records.
Jefferson was laid out June 30, 1829, by Stephen Williams and
Alexander Hutchinson and was surveyed by Peter Emery, the plat
and certificate recorded July 2, I829, which can be found on page
276, Book G. It is favorably situated, four miles west of Wooster,
and does considerable business. It had from an early period fine
mail facilities, the coach line extending from Wooster to Ashland.
This line having been vacated, it was restored two years ago,
Charles Lessiter conducting it for one year, when it passed into the
hands of Joshua Warner. George Waggoner is the Postmaster.
Reedsburg was laid out by William Reed, after whom it was
named, December 23, 1835, and surveyed by George Emery, the
plat and certificate being recorded January 4, 1836, and found on
page 527, vol. I3. The first settlers of that neighborhood were,
Matthias Starn, Joseph Mowery, John Peters, William Hagerman,
and others.
Spring-ville was laid out by David Brown and surveyed by John
A. Lawrence, December I6, 1844, plat and certificate recorded
December 4, 1845, the record being on page 33, vol. 28. It was
formerly called Buffalo, or Heath's Corners.


Remains of Buffaloes and Cedar Trees.-Between Springville and Millbrook the
land-owners in plowing, but more especially in ditching, come in contact with the




648


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


remains of cedar trees. IHalf a century ago immense logs were taken out, three
feet from the surface, that had lain there for ages, and were sawed into boards..
Trees were found three and four feet in diameter. More recently, in ditching in
the low lands directly south of Millbrook, have been found more of these cedar
relics. What is mysterious about this is the fact that there are no cedar forests in
that section, nor have we any knowledge of them from any source whatever.
South and east of the village on the old Culbertson farm, and the one where James
Bruce lives, were found buffalo skulls and horns, and remains of human bodies of
immense size. Here is a field for the naturalist, antiquarian, archaeologist, ethnologist, the man with the encyclopedia, and sweet Gonzales, ever smiling James.
Jacob Kister was born in York county, Pa., and removed to
Wayne county in 1834, landing with his wife and family on the
I6th of May, near Cross Keys. In August of the same year he
bought a farm of I70 acres, including the carding mill and new
grist mill, lying near Millbrook, purchasing the same from
Rev. Elijah Yocum.     He had    three children born in Wayne
county; his wife, Catherine Shuman, of York county, had
seven children at three births.  David Kister, brother of Jacob,
accompanied him to Wayne county, bringing his wife and family.
He bought land in East Union township, lived there a number of
years, then moved to Noble county, Indiana, where he now resides. Adam Kister, another brother, came out ten or twelve
years before Jacob or David. He died near Edinburg. He was
the father of Shuman Kister.     Andrew Kister was married to
Roxanna, daughter of Brigadier General Thomas McMlillen.
Joseph G. Yocum was born in Cumberland county, Pa., October
I7, 1816, and was married April 25, I839, to Margaret D. Funk,
of Chester township. His father's name was Charles, a native of
Pennsylvania, and was raised in Juniata county, but removed to
Wayne county in June, 1828, bringing with him his wife and
three children, Joseph G., Elmer and James. When he came to
Plain township he settled near the carding-mill in West Millbrook,.
on some lands owned by him and John, his brother, who made
the improvements on William Liddell's farm. He, unfortunately,.
met with an accident in the carding mill, from the effects of which
he died November 2, 1828. Joseph G. Yocum, then but twelve
years old, went to Congress township, to live with his grandfather,
with whom and with his uncle he worked. At the age of twenty
he rented the farm he now lives on from the guardians of his three
brothers. At the end of two years he married, and this year he
purchased the farm from the heirs. There was a tannery upon the




PLAIN TO WNSHIP.


649


place, the first in the township, built by Andrew Yocum in 1825.
Mr. Yocum has two children, Lucian S. and Charles M., the former married to Miss Lucy Weaver, the latter to Miss Bell Ross, of
Sugarcreek township. He is a member of the church, a man of
sterling character and unbending integrity.
Jacob Smyser was born in York county, Pa., June 27, I8Io, and
is married to Sarah Diehl. He came to Wayne county in 1832,
and has had seven children. His father, Jacob Smyser, was a native of York county, Pa., and died September I4, 1840. He was
a farmer, and of German ancestry. The subject of this notice has
been a citizen of Wayne county for over forty years, and is one of
the popular and trustworthy men of Plain township. He is a man
of correct life, a member of the Lutheran church, noted for his
adhesion to principle and unswerving rectitude of purpose and action.
A. B. Ebrzilht was born March 27, I8I8, in Perry county, Pa.,
and emigrated to Ohio with his father, George Ebright, and with
whom he subsequently lived until his death. He was drafted in
the war of I8I2, but procured a substitute. He was married in
April, I84I, to Miss Tamar Freese, of Plain township, and has
four children living.  His daughter, Artie D., married David
Sloane, of Ashland, and lived but eighteen months after marriage.
His sons are as follows: E. F., M. C., George J. and John B.
Mr. Ebright is a man of more than ordinary intelligence, of great
sagacity and independent mind and will. He is and has long been
a member of the Methodist church.
Dewitt C. Kean, son of William Kean, was born in Plain
township, April 14, 1832, on the farm where he now lives. He
attended the township schools, and in 1854 went to Delaware College, Dr. Thompson, President, after which he began teaching,
having altogether taught twelve terms in Plain township and one
in Clinton. May 9, I855, he was married to Miss Mary E. Brubaker, of Lake township, Ashland county, and has seven children,
to wit: William F., George P., Olin L., Gertrude P., Orange
Judd, Laura B. and Estella. The three oldest have been attending Wooster University. He is one of the intelligent men in the
township and his character without a flaw; is heartily identified
with every enterprise that looks to progress, and one whose excel



650


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


lent qualities make him a man highly regarded. For nine years
he was Justice of the Peace, and, with his wife, is a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church.
CHURCHES OF PLAIN TOWNSHIP.
Reformed Church of Reedsburg was founded by Adam Stump, a pioneer minister
of the West, who labored here in 1840 and organized the congregation. Rev. J.
Schlosser was next, and then Rev. Jesse Hines, who yet lives in Reedsburg. Rev.
J. J. Excel came after him, and during his ministry the church edifice was erected.
The congregation is at present in a prosperous condition.
Lutheran Church.-The first services held by persons of this faith were in 1836,
at the residences of Jacob Smyser, Sen., and M. Starn, and an old log school-house
east of the village. The family of Mr. Smnyser is the only Lutheran one now known
to have lived in this community at that time.
In 1842 a German Reformed and Lutheran Church was built east of the village.
The building committee was Jonas Spangler, Washington Cassiday and Jacob
Smyser, Jr. No regular organization occurred till 1848, when a constitution was
drafted and signed by the following membership: Daniel Smyser and wife, Martin
Smyser and wife, Jacob Smyser and wife, Emanuel Smyser and wife, Samuel Baley
and wife, George Lawrence, David and Henry Horn, Hanna Kelley and Isaac Peterman. In I859 it was determined to build a church of their own in the village,
and in 1873 it was extensively repaired, and now is a beautiful edifice. The present membership is ninety-seven. The line of ministers is as follows: Andrew
Kuhn, W. J. Sloan, George Wolf, G. W. Shaffer, C. C. Guenther, George Leiter.
A. M. Smith, D. Smith, Jacob Fry, Adam Helwig, A. Z. Thomas, and S. P.
Kiefer.
Baptist Church of Millbrook.-The Baptists of this settlement for many
years attended service at Wooster, and afterwards they built what was known as the
Dunbar church. In about 1854 they erected a church building of their own in
Millbrook, though it stands across the line in Clinton township. The early Baptists
were Elijah Pocock, Mrs. Irvine Keys, Mrs. William, mother of the late Dr. Baker,
of Wooster, John Reider and wife, and Mrs. Elizabeth Knox. The early Baptist
members of the Dunbar neighborhood were David and William Kimpton, John
Robison and wife and oldest daughter, Jacob Singer and wife, the daughters of
Thomas Culbertson, and Robert Dunbar, who settled in Wooster township in 1829.
Becoming an independent church, they grew in numbers and influence. The following is the probable line of ministers: Rev. A. W. Hall, Rev. A. J. Buell, Rev.
John Burke, Rev. T. J. Penny, Rev. A. E. Anderson, Rev. Nelson Crandal, Rev.
J. K. Porter, Rev. G. W. Taylor, and Rev. James Samis, present pastor.
Mlzaple Grove Church.-The original edifice was a log building, raised in 1835,
on the precise grounds occupied by the new one. It was a rude structure, with slab
seats without backs, etc., and was called the Case Meeting House. Prior, however,
to this church, the society held religious services in a house one-half mile south of
the church and now owned by James Weltmer. The members attending that church
were Jean, wife of Samuel Case, Oresimus Case and Sarah his wife, Joshua Case,
Gashim Woods and wife and daughter. Their new church edifice is one of the best
in the township, and the church is in a prosperous condition.




PLAIN; TO WNSHIP.


65I


Plain Church (Lutheran).-The lot on which this church stands was deeded to
the members of the German Reformed and Lutheran churches by George Karns, in
I834. The church was built in 1834 —35. A permanent organization took place
November 5, I843, with the following officers and members: Elder, Jacob Soliday;
Deacons, John Miles and John Soliday; Members, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth
and Sarah Smith, Mary Keister, Morgan Doyl, Charlotte Dysert, Mary Welty,
Catharine Byers, John G. and Jacob Welty, Mary and Elizabeth Shelly, Louvina
Jones, George Muttersbaugh, Lydia Miles, Catharine and Elizabeth Soliday, Sarah
C. Smith, Elizabeth Knox and Mariah Lawrence. In 1853 the present church
structure was erected. The present membership is sixty-two, and the line of ministry is the same as that of Reedsburg.
Evangelical Church.-The original members were C. Felger, John Raudebaugh,
M. Rittenhouse, Phillip Kettering, John Weltmer. The first house of worship was
built in i856. The present edifice was erected in 1876, under the ministry of Rev.
Joseph Felger, and was dedicated by Rev. Joseph Bartzler. The building committee consisted of George Felger, Harrison Swickart, George Nave, Christian
Fair. Its present officers are George Nave, class-leader, and Cylas Fickes, exhorter.
It is now known as the Grand View church.
Disczile Church, in Blachleyville, was built in I866.  Hugh Funk and family, Peter Baker and his father's family, Casper Swart, and others, were among the
earliest of this denomination in this locality. Rev. Harrison Jones was the first
preacher.
Christ's Lutheran Church, in Blachleyville, was built in 1875, Rev. George
Dillman ministering to the congregation.
Oak Chapel, Methodist.-The old log edifice was erected in 1827, and was dedicated by Rev. Russel Bigelow. The new church was constructed in 186i, and dedicated by Rev. Adam Poe; the circuit preachers then being Revs. Starr and Spofford. It has recently been repaired-a cupola added, wherein a bell is introduced.
This church is in a prosperous condition, with a Sunday-school in conjunction with
it, of which David Bitner is superintendent, and near to this church, in I818, the
first camp-meeting was held in Plain township.
Iathan   Warner, son of Nathan Warner, was born in Northampton county, Pa., October 12, I790. He was the second son and
third member of a family of nine. His ancestry was of English
origin on the paternal and Welsh on the maternal side.* He remained with his father till he was twenty-four years of age, when
he was married, May 4, 1815, to Mary Rathbun, of Cayuga county,
N. Y. He then removed to Plain township, settling on a piece of
land which he purchased, north of the residence of Rev. Jesse
Warner, deceased.      Here he lived seven years, when he removed
to the present residence of Daniel Thomas, east of Jefferson, where
he lived from August, 1826, to May, I843, when he removed to
the premises now owned by his son, Rev. Joshua Warner, south


* See Warners, Wooster Township.




652


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


of Jefferson, and where he continued to live till his death, September 12, [870. He had nine children, and had been a member of
the Methodist church for sixty-two years.
Mr. Warner was a man characterized by many noble and remarkable qualities. He was a born mechanic, and in this direction
there was scarcely any limit to the range of his genius. He could
make anything he undertook, from a leather boot-jack to a threshing-machine. He manufactured the first fanning-mill for winnowing wheat that was ever made or used in Wayne county. In making
it he observed no pattern; it was a conception of his own, and
though made over half a century ago, it is still in use and better
than many of the more improved mills of the present day. He
was always a busy man, and did not rust from idleness. His son
has a powder-horn over a foot long, on the heavy end of which is
horizontally cut with his pocket-knife, "N. Warner- I809," and
perpendicularly on it, "Nathan Warner's powder-horn." He has
a pouch also, made of a 'coon-skin, with the hair all worn off; a
finely silver-mounted rifle, with which he killed deer and bears,
and a coat with but few rents, and on it a row (nine) of silver-gilt
buttons, the property of his great grandfather, and descending to
him, he being the third custodian of it by the name of Nathan.
He was a conspicuous man in the early history of his township and county. He was one of the earliest of its tax collectors; the receiver of public funds to make material improvements;
one of the trustees of his township in 1835; on the first grand
jury ever impaneled in Wayne county, his name being identified
with the early history of the county, as the record exhibits, in its
most notable and vital enterprises. After the surrender of Hull,
August i6, I812, and the massacre on the Black Fork, a rumor
was circulated that the Indians were about to move on the settlements at Wooster. Isaac, son of Adam Poe, was going from
Wooster to Mansfield on horseback, and hearing this news, retreated rapidly toward the former place to give the alarm and obtain aid from Beall's army, then at Wooster. His horse gave out
when he reached Killbuck, when Mr. Warner instantly supplied him
with a fresh one to continue his journey, when sixty soldiers were
at once detached and sent to the relief of the inhabitants. He
knew what it was to endure the hardships of pioneer life. We
may draw upon our pen and the resources of our imagination, but
can never produce the perfect picture.  His life was a varied
and eventful one, and who will say that the world is not made




PLAIN TO WNSHIP.


653


better by the lives of such men? His good wife and he toiled
and struggled and lived to see the dawning and the light.
They shunned not labor when 'twas due,
They wrought with right good will;
And for the homes they won for them
Their children bless them still."
Rev. Joshua Warner, son of Nathan, was born July 22, 1827,
on the Daniel Thomas farm, east of Jefferson, and was married
November 30, I848, to Miss Jane Baker. He is a farmer by occupation, although for the last ten years he has been licensed to
preach, never, however, having traveled on circuit, except one
year as a stated supply.  Mr. Warner is one of the best citizens of
Wayne county, a man of genius and ability, an eloquent and convincing speaker, and in every respect an honorable and highminded gentleman.
Eli Zaring made his appearance upon this planet January I6,
1836, in Plain township. He had the advantages of an early education under instructors like Hon. J. H. Downing, General Thomas
F. Wildes, and others, and soon prepared himself for teaching.
He attended Vermillion Institute in Hayesville, in 1856, and has
taught three terms of school. He was married to Mary A. Stevick
August 20, I857. Mr. Zaring has frequently held township offices,
holds a notarial commission, does considerable conveyancing and
is an accurate and careful business man.
General Thomas McMillen.-In 1778, in Adams county, Pa.,
was born the subject of this sketch. When three years old he
emigrated to the neighborhood of Pittsburg. In the year I79I,
an act of Congress imposing duties upon domestic distilled spirits
gave rise to what was called the "Whisky Insurrection," which
was only quelled by the display of a large military force after two
ineffectual proclamations by the President.  Pittsburg being the
headquarters of the insurgents, General McMillen was an eye witness to the scenes which transpired upon that memorable occasion.
At the age of twenty-six he enlisted as a soldier in his country's
defense, then at war with Great Britain, and was honored with the
command of a company. He, with his company, were stationed
at Erie during the winter of 18 I2 —I3, while Commodore Perry was
fitting up his fleet, with which in the following September he




654


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


gained so signal a victory over the British squadron under command of Commodore Barclay.
In the spring of I814 he emigrated to the State of Ohio, and in
i8i6 was elected in Wayne county a Representative in the Legislature of that State-was afterwards elected Senator, and served
eight years successively in one or the other capacity. When first
sent to the Legislature the seat of Government was only accessible
on horseback from his residence in Wayne county, there being
most of the way merely a path through the wild forest.
In 1840 he emigrated to Iowa, and located at Mt. Pleasant,
and in 1842 was chosen from Henry county a Representative in
the Territorial Legislature, where he rendered most important service in getting up a revised Code of Laws.
He died at his residence near Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, January,
I852. When he came to Wayne county he settled near Millbrook,
and entered the farm now owned and occupied by George Strock,
Esq., one of the popular and standard men of Plain township.
John Nimmon, one of the Associate Judges of Wayne county,
came in at a very early day and lived on the farm now owned by
Dr. Battles, of Shreve, it including at that time the present site of
Millbrook.
JAMES DOUGLASS.
James Douglass, although a native of Pennsylvania, was of
Scotch-Irish parentage, and belonged.to a family which was characterized by robust manhood, great physical power and extreme
longevity. His earlier years were spent in Tuscarora valley, Pa.,
on whose rugged hillsides he toiled, and where he acquired those
habits of industry and diligence which distinguished his whole
career.
He was married to Miss Elizabeth Wallace, of Juniata county,
Pa., April 27, 1827, being then thirty-six years'of age. She was
born near Cookstown, in County Tyrone, Ireland, December 25,
1802, and, with her father's family, emigrated to America in I8Io.
Their voyage to the New World was tedious and tempestuous,
and performed at a crisis of extreme public peril, as a war was in
progress between France and England, the latter not hesitating to
board all vessels at sea, and cause impressments into its naval and
military service. They landed at Baltimore, and immediately directed themselves to Juniata county, Pa., where her parents lived
and died.




PLAIN TO WNSHIP.


655


Soon after their marriage she embarked with her husband to
the then far and fabled West, to taste its privations and promises,
locating on the spot where faded the bloom of her mature life, and
where was triumphantly unfolded the sublime lesson of a death
whose terrors were defeated.  Here she encountered the stern
trials and hardships which uniformly beset the first settlers of all
new communities, but performed her part with unfaltering fortitude, never despairing, never surrendering, but hopefully and
buoyantly looking forward to the beautiful to-morrow of better
days. She was a woman of much intelligence, sweet and composed disposition, tender sensibilities, ardent attachments and
many social and domestic virtues. Though passionately devoted
to her friends and family, she was wont to withdraw from them
when sacred volumes would be read, and when she would question
her soul and call for the strength that is the answer of the ascended prayer.
A woman of great native strength of mind, of extreme force of
character, of fervent Christian impulses, her counsels were always
sought; and thus her life became a perpetual example, and her
death a peaceful vindication of that holy religion which adorned
and embellished all her days. She was an ardent lover of sacred
poetry, a faithful student of sacred history, and enjoyed a perfect
familiarity with the Scriptures, which were her study and delightful theme. She was an earnest member of the United Presbyterian
church, to which she belonged for nearly fifty years. Her death
occurred Wednesday morning, October I6, 1872, having attained
the Psalmist's limit of three score years and ten.
After his arrival in the new county the subject of this sketch
settled in Plain township, about four miles west of Wooster, where
he lived over forty years. He found his new home a solitude of
stately trees, which were soon felled by his strong arms, when
fields of waving corn and acres of nodding grain rapidly rewarded
him for his toil and secured to him an independence. In his dealings with men he was scrupulously honest, and as true to promise
as the needle to the pole.
Few men possessed good health to such an extraordinary degree as he. His physical frame was a model of muscular perfection, and his constitution, until a short time prior to his death, was
unimpaired by disease. There appeared to be no limit to his energies, no exhaustion to his vital forces. Proverbially industrious,




656


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


he taught economy and practiced it. Though sometimes seemingly austere, and even punctilious with men, no one who knew
him doubted but under that brusque exterior there throbbed a
warm heart and blossomed the kindliest of the domestic virtues
-as in the regions of the North, under Polar snows, flourish flowers and plants of surpassing beauty. With his wife he had long
been in communion with the United Presbyterian church.
He died on Saturday afternoon, November 16, 1872, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. With him perished the last of
the old family stock. On the I8th of October, he followed his
wife to the quiet keeping of the tomb, and in just thirty days he
was borne to his place of rest,
" To slumber while the world grows old."
By his marriage James Douglass had six children, viz: Elizabeth C., Robert, publisher of this history, James W., Mary A.,
Ben and William W. James W. Douglass, his second son, died
July 3, I877. He was a successful farmer, a man of imposing appearance, standing six feet two inches in hight, possessed of a fine
intellect, discriminating judgment and rare social qualities, which
secured to him the warmest friendship of all who knew him. He
was a man of strict integrity, firmness and decision of character,
and held a commission from the United States government in the
Revenue service for several years, discharging his duties with fidelity and conceded ability. He was an earnest and zealous member
of the Methodist church. His remaining family consists of his
wife, Sarah A., and one child, Mary Elizabeth.




~L




I




A GRICUL TURAL SURVEY.


657


CHAPTER XXV.
BIRD'S-EYE AGRICULTURAL SURVEY OF WAYNE COUNTY.
Occupation of the People. -Agiculture.-The rural inhabitants
of Wayne county are emphatically an agricultural population, the
term agricultural having reference to husbandry, tillage or culture
of the earth. Of Agriculture Rollin speaks:
It may be said to be as ancient as the world, having taken birth in the terrestrial paradise itself, when Adam, newly come forth from the hands of his Creator,
still possessed the precious but frail treasure of his innocence; God having placed
him in the garden of delights, commanded him to cultivate it; ut operareturillium
to dress and keep it. Genesis ii., 15. That culture was not painful and laborious,
but easy and agreeable; it was to serve him for his amusment, and to make him
contemplate in the productions of the earth the wisdom and liberality of his
Master.
The sin of Adam having overthrown this order, and drawn upon him the
mournful decree which condemned him to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow;
God changed his delight into chastisement, and subjected him to hard labor and
toil, which he had never known had he continued ignorant of evil. The earth became stubborn and rebellious to his order s, to punish his revolt against God, and
brought forth thorns and thistles. Violent means were necessary to compel it to
pay man the tribute of which his ingratitude had rendered him unworthy, and to
force it by labor to supply him every year with the nourishment which before was
given him freely and without trouble.
From hence, therefore, we are to trace the origin of Agriculture, which, from
the punishment it was at first, is become, by the singular goodness of God, in a
manner the mother and nurse of the human race. It is in effect, the source of solid
wealth and treasures of real value, which do not depend upon the opinion of men
-which suffice at once to necessity and enjoyment, by which a nation is in no want
of its neighbors, and often necessary to them-which make the principal revenue
of a State and supply the defect of all others when they happen to fail. Though
mines of gold and silver should be exhausted, and the moneys made of them lostthough pearls and diamonds should remain hid in the womb of the earth and sea
-though commerce with strangers should be prohibited-though all arts, which
have no other object than embellishment and splendor, should be abolished, the
fertility of the earth alone would afford an abundant supply for the occasions of the
public, and furnish subsistence both for the people and armies to defend it.
42




HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


It was the noblest of the Roman pursuits in the days of Roman
prosperity. It was diffused everywhere they went and followed
in the train of their victories.   Princes and ministers supported
and encouraged it. The descendants of Numa, next to the ador*ation of the gods and reverence for religion, recommended nothing so much to the people as the cultivation of lands and the
propagation of cattle. Books were written and precepts on agriculture were given by kings to posterity. Pliny says:
The earth, glorious in seeing herself cultivated by the hands of triumphant heroes, seemed to make new efforts, and to produce her fruits with greater abundance;
that is, no doubt, because those great men, equally, capable of handling the plough
and their arms, of sowing and conquering lands, applied themselves with more attention to their labor, and were of course more successful in it.
Consuls, dictators, even the great Cincinnatus,       "in whose
breast the destinies of a nation lay dormant," were taken from the
plow. The rustic Cato applied himself with industrious ardor to
his farm. His neighbor, Valerius Flaccus, one of the most powerful men of Rome, would go to the cities in the morning to plead
the causes of those who employed him, and then would retire to
the fields, where in dingy clothes he would toil with his servants,
sit down with them at the table, eat of their bread and drink of
their wine. A Roman Senator once said to Appius Claudius, by
way of contrasting the farm upon which they then stood with the
magnificence of his country houses:
Here (said he) we see neither painting, statues, carving, nor Mosaic work;
but to make such amends, we have all that is necessary to the cultivation of lands,
the dressing of vines, and the feeding of cattle. In your house everything shines
with gold, silver and marble; but there is no sign of arable lands or vineyards.
We find there neither ox, nor cow, nor sheep. There is neither hay in the cocks,
vintage in the cellars, nor harvest in the barn. Can this be called a farm? In
what does it resemble that of your grandfather and great-grandfather?
Cicero asserted "that the country life came nearest to that of
the wise man; that is, it was a kind of practical philosophy."
In exalted strains, in his Georgics, Virgil celebrates its
pleasures:
Ah! the too happy swains, did they but know their own bliss! to whom, at a
distance from discordant arms, earth, of herself most liberal, pours from her bosom
their easy sustenance. If the palace, high raised with proud gates, vomits not forth
from all its apartments a vast tide of morning vigilants; and they gape not at porticos variegated with beauteous tortoise-shell, and on tapestries tricked with gold,
and on Corinthian brass; and if the white wool is not stained with the Assyrian




AGRICULTURAL SUR VEY.


659


drug, nor the use of the pure oil corrupted with Cassia's aromatic bark; yet there
is peace secure, and a life ignorant of guile, rich in various opulence; yet theirs are
peaceful retreats in ample fields, grottos and living lakes; yet to them cool vales,
the lowings of kine, and soft slumbers under a tree are not wanting. There are
woodlands and haunts, for beasts of chase and youth patient of toil and inured to
thrift; the worship of the gods, and fathers held in veneration; Justice, when she
left the world, took her last steps among them.
We thus perceive that with the ancients it was catalogued with
the most honorable and dignified of human employments. That
it should constitute the employment of more modern people is but
natural; and especially so when we consider that the fertile regions
of the New World embrace the new Egyptian corn-fields and
wheat ranges of Mesopotamia.    But to preserve the vitality and
insure the fecundity of the soil the care and wisdom of the Romans must be observed. Soils are not depleted of their fertility
by changeable seasons, intemperate airs, or transformations of their
constituent parts, or even a continuous and excessive tillage. Their
weakness and exhaustion is the result of our own neglect, and is
brought about by a reckless cultivation, an absence of necessary
stimuli, and too frequently by passing the lands to careless and
injudicious tenants.  Hence we offer a word on
Fertilizers.-We presume there is no farmer in the county but
makes more or less use of them. In reference to guano as a fertilizer, the great difficulty is the expense of procuring it, the
principal sources of supply being the Peruvian Islands and British
West Indies. During the decade ending June 30, 1870, there was
imported into the United States 387,585 tons, valued at $5,992,325,
or at a cost of over $I5 per ton at the port of shipment. Many
years will doubtless elapse before it will be accepted by the farming
community. In some of the States bone meal is substituted, and
it has many eulogizers as an effective and profitable stimulant of the
soil. But its production is accompanied with a large expense, as
mills are to be built, the bones crushed by iron teeth or prongs
arranged as in a bark-mill, and again run through a finer set of
teeth.  Leached ashes are excellent fertilizers for clover, and render more mellow    and friable all heavy clay lands.    Statistics
demonstrate that when applied to wheat, at the rate of 200 to 300
bushels to the acre, they increased the yield Ioo per cent.  Marl,
which is simply an earth containing more or less carbonate of
lime, is highly recommended, large quantities of which are found
throughout the State of Mississippi. Germany supports by Gov



660


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ernment the manufacture of artificial fertilizers, and Chicago for
the last few years has been producing them and shipping East and
South annually, from 6,000 to 8,000 tons. They are mainly prepared from material supplied from the slaughter-houses of the
city. Swamp-muck is used in many localities, and with very gratifying and compensatory results. When spread upon grass lands in
the fall it induces an early and more vigorous growth in the spring,
and materially augments the crops. Plaster is likely the cheapest of
the fertilizers. It will even redeem lands that are so impoverished
as to hardly produce any crops-to the extent, at least that the
clover plant will take root, it being the great restorative of enfeebled soils. It is no longer a debatable question that clover, as
a soil-stimulant, is indispensable to every system of rational husbandry. It has achieved the enviable reputation of being, not
only an eminent fertilizer, but a consummate restorative to exhausted soils, and capable of resisting the storms and frosts of a
Borean winter. It occupies an equality with the richest composts
and strongest manures of the barnyard. It leaves the soil in a
loose and loamy condition, and divests it of many foreign and extraneous growths.
Nothing is more appropriate, or better grounded in good sense,
than the practice of plowing down a clover crop preparatory to the
growing of wheat. For it is asserted, that the growing of clover
is equal to deep plowing, as its long roots penetrate deeply in
search of food for the stems and leaves, which, if plowed into the
land, will undergo decomposition and leave near the surface elements taken from the subsoil. Its leaves take carbonic acid from
the atmosphere, and the plowing in of the crop augments the carbon of a soil very materially, which changes the color and gives it
greater capacity to absorb solar heat, and to retain moisture, manures and ammonia, whether resulting from their decomposition,
or absorbed from the atmosphere.
Aside from the clover-plant, our farmers rely chiefly upon the
products of the stable and barn-yard for their fertilizers. These,
if properly managed, would be far more valuable and available than
they are. In many cases, they are not saved with that measure of
care that their value demands; nor is that amount or quality of
manure made from the straw and other debris of the barn-yard that
could be from a more skillful management. Its value is deteriorated by rains falling on it and washing out its soluble fertilizing
constituents. By analysis it is established, that this crude water



AGRICULTURAL SUR VEY.


66i


soaked material possesses less than one-half the money value and
vitalizing power of the sheltered accumulations of the stable and
barn. It is gratifying to note that our farmers are devoting needful attention to it, and realize the importance of this subject. It is
an axiom that they are beginning to understond, that constant abstraction, without the pro quid quo, or putting back an equivalent
to what is taken from the soil, must ultimately deplete and enfeeble it.
Primitive Plows and Plowing. —The plow is doubtless the creature of a very hoary antiquity. It was sometimes formed of the
limb of a tree, and sometimes of the body and tough root of a
sapling, the lower end being hewed to a wedge. The plowman
occasionally worked the implement himself, but was oftener assisted by a team composed of a grown daughter and her mother,
attached to the plow by rawhide or hempen thongs. The Egyptians, it is supposed, first made use of it. The plow of the ancient
Britons was a rude and uningenious contrivance. When in use it
was fastened to the tails of oxen and horses, and in this wise the
the poor beast was compelled to drag it through the ground. An
act of the Irish Legislature was passed in 1634, entitled, " An act
against plowing by the tails," which forbade the barbarous custom,
but it was still practiced in some parts of the island as late as the
present century. The draft-pole was lashed to the tail of the animal, and as no harness was employed, two men were necessaryone to guide and press upon the plow, the other to direct the animal, which he did by walking backwards in front of the miserable
creature, beating him on the head on either side, according to the
direction required.
Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, was
among the first to suggest improvements upon the plow in this
country, and in a paper addressed to the French Institute, attempted the solution of the problem of the true surface of the
mould-board and the establishment of rational and practical rules
for its structure and form. In 1793 he made practical experiments
upon his theories, and had several plows made in pursuance of
them, and put them into use on his estates in Albemarle and Bedford counties, Va., with most satisfactory results.
In 1837, Daniel Webster invented a plow for work twelve and
fourteen inches deep, cutting a furrow twenty-four inches wide,
which is still in existence and was at the Centennial Exposition at




662


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Philadelphia. It is twelve feet long, with a landside four feet long.
The mould-board is of wood, plated with thin iron straps, the beam
being twenty-eight inches from the ground. It was intended for
his farm at Marshfield, and required six or eight men, besides himself, to manage it. He spoke of it in this way:
When I have hold of the handles of my big plow in such a field, with four
pairs of cattle to pull it through, and hear the roots crack, and see the stumps all
go under the furrow out of sight, and observe the clean, mellowed surface of the
plowed land, I feel more enthusiasm over my achievements than comes from my encounters in public life at Washington.
The results of modern invention have put such a variety
of them in the market, and such is the degree of perfection and
skill attained in their manufacture, that there is but little hardship
associated with their application to lands. The ordinary cast-iron
plow, with a span of horses, is usually sufficient for the purpose
unless when the ground is baked and dry. In many places sheetsteel is substituted for cast-iron, with patent advantages in certain
respects, as the weight of the plow can be reduced without much
impairment of strength, but then they lack durability and become
necessarily expensive to farmers. The cast-steel plow is also introduced, and its friends clamor for its ease of draft, durability,
and its many valuable and economic points. The old barshare
has become a fossiliferous relic of a past period. Sub-soiling has
its champions, whose theories concerning this method of soilprocedure seem  tenable, if not strictly practical.  It is asserted
that where the sub-soil plow has been used for four or five years
following, the land is very perceptibly improved, and is more mellow, and holds moisture better.  Investigation on this question,
we imagine, has not been pushed to the extent that the magnitude
of it demands, nor will it likely be until the State shall do its
duty by establishing an Agricultural College and Experimental
Farm. The kind of plow, time of plowing, depth of same, etc.,
are conducted by our farmers, with but little regard to rule or system, as each one inclines to champion his own views, and be governed by his own experience.
Rotation in Crops.-As we have before stated, along the lowlands of the streams of the county, and especially the bottoms that
are subject to occasional overflow, the same crops can be produced
for an indefinite number of years without serious mischief to the
soil. On the farm of the late Lewis Thomas, west of Woos



AGRICULTURAL SUR VEY.


663


ter, corn was produced on a tract of meadow for over twenty years
without any sensible diminution of yield. Our farmers, however,
pretty generally adopt the wiser plan of a judicious rotation, or
alternation of crops. There is in this, not only common sense but
much obvious philosophy, if pursued to its consequences, but
which is beyond the scope and purpose of our work.
Architecture and Building.-The first mention of edifices that
we have is found in Genesis, where Cain is represented as having
"builded a city and called the name of the city after the name of
his son, Enoch." It was built after the Lord had pronounced upon
him the curse for the murder of his brother, and likely when he
was a dweller in "Nod, on the east of Eden." Architecture, it
may be said, is as old as the history of man, and the progeny of
Cain, to whom the Bible refers the mention of most of the arts,
carried this, undoubtedly, to a state of great perfection. Protection from cold, heat, rain, winds and storms were primal necessities of the human race. The first buildings were but small huts,
composed of branches of trees and imperfectly covered. The cottage of Romulus was thatched with straw. Afterward structures
of wood were erected which suggested the idea of columns and
architraves.  Then came stone and brick for foundations and
walls, and boards and tiles for roofs.  The workmen became
skilled, their tastes became educated, and they began to comprehend the rules of proportion and the beauties of symmetry.
Health, durability, convenience were chiefly consulted at first;
then ornamentation and order, on a reasonable basis, and finally,
pomp, grandeur, magnificence, highly laudable on many occasions,
but soon strangely abused by luxury.
The architecture and the buildings of the county, while they
compare favorably with the other counties of the State that are
not older in organization, are not what they should be, when we
consider the comfortable situations and wealth of the owners of
the soil. It is true the log cabins have sunk to decay; that the
wing-less, bay-window-less, piazza-less habitations of an intermediate period are disappearing, but they are far from being succeeded
by models of refined taste, good design, or any manifest expression of art. Many of our barns are as good, commodious and
constructed with as much breadth of plan and convenience as
could be desired, but there is great room for improvement here.
They are better than our houses. The architecture, with a few




664


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUANTIY OHIO.


exceptions, in Wooster and the villages of the county is no better.
The furniture of the dwelling is often in contrast with the dwelling
itself-frequently superior in value to it. Our churches, as a rule,
are intended for our best edifices, but they are too generally combinations of copied beauties and borrowed styles, which become
mere incongruities in the midst of their surroundings. Emerson
says of the English that "Their architecture still glows with faith
in immortality."
Our School-houses.-Our school-houses, and they are as good,
probably, as can be found in any county in Ohio, are built to convenience, but are almost invariably destitute of taste. Outside,
they have a sort of dock-yard, heavy, warehouse-like look, while
the inside is uninviting and cheerless.  Badly indeed are they calculated to inspire any idea of design or impression of beauty, or
gratify the slightest desire for art; and yet in these very schoolhouses the eyes which are to drink of nature's beauties, and the
tender minds which are to receive the inspiration of a future life,
are expected to obtain their earliest impressions and most fervent
impulsions. A fair share of this culpability attaches to architects
and artists themselves. They must go to France and England,
visit Rome, and pace all Italy, spurred by an ambition that most of
them are incompetent to gratify. Hence art at home is neglected,
for in a country where architecture is slighted, painting and sculpture will have but a slender footing. The cultivation of art must
begin with our own buildings, and first of all with our dwellinghouses and school edifices. If they are small, let them be of good
design, tasteful and picturesque; if large and imposing, let the
same care, thought and painstaking prevail. Every stone, brick,
panel, niche and column may be made a delight. Money is well
spent when moderately used to beautify a home, for it is said that
the character of a man can be told by seeing the house he lives in.
A nation defines its individuality by its architecture.
We do not want bigger houses, but their plans and appointments should be in higher consonance with art. We want ventilation, warmth and more light. "Let there be more light" is the
first recorded fiat of God. In the dark gorges of the Swiss valleys,
where direct sunlight never reaches, the awful presence of idiocy
appalls the traveler. We want more sunshine in the dwelling,
more lighted houses and fewer dungeons.


Number of Acres in the County-Size of Farms, etc. —In Wayne




A GRICUL TURAL SUR VE Y.


665


county there are 346,491 acres of land, valued, by the Board of
Equalization, at $I I,106, 514, at its session of I870-7I in Columbus, Ohio, with an average value per acre of $32.06. The buildings of the county were estimated at $I,205,552, making an aggregate value of lands and buildings, $I2,312,066, which would increase the average value of lands, buildings inclusive, per acre,
to $35.53.
There were then 219,770 acres of arable or plow lands in the
county; 31,788 acres of meadow or pasture land, and 94,933 acres
of uncultivated or wood-land. The aggregate value of all lots,
lands and buildings in the county, as equalized by the State Board,
was $14,652,256.
In 1872 there were in Wayne county 3, 53 farms of all sizes,
which, by division into the number of acres in the county, would
make an average size of farms to be a trifle over o09 each. But
the distribution of the lands is not so uniform or generous. In the
great ocean we have the seasoning anchovy as well as "the seashouldering whale;" on the great earth we have the elephant as
well as the plowing mole. The statistics of the year 1872 exhibit
120 farms of 3 and less than 10 acres; I80 of IO and under 20;
554 of 20 and under 50; 1,320 of 50 and under Ioo; 978 of Ioo
and under 500 acres. In the county, including the city of Wooster,
is $774,746 worth of real estate exempt from taxation. By the
census of 1870 the assessed valuation of real and personal estate
was $I7,269,399, and its true value $28,213,234. Well improved
lands, under good cultivation, are worth from $75 to $I25 per acre.
Quality, location and improvements govern prices.
Fences and Timber.-A great investment in this county and an
expensive production of human industry is the common fences
which separate the fields and divide them from the highways a'nd
roads. No man has any correct idea of their costliness-not even
the remotest dream-unless he has investigated the subject. The
wealth of our villages and cities is scarcely to be compared with it.
It was asserted by a practical writer of Baltimore, some years ago,
that the fences of this country have cost more than twenty times
the specie there is in it; and that in some of the counties of the
Northern States the fences have actually cost more than the farms
and fences are worth. It constitutes a burden to the farmer, and
interferes, to some extent, with the agricultural interest of the
country. In the north of Europe, with a worse climate and an in



666


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, Oi0G.


different system of cultivation, they are able to undersell us in the
English markets, and there fences are almost unknown. The fields
and flocks are under the care of herdsmen, and thus an untold expense is economized, aside from the loss of land which the fences
occupy. A farmer has eighty acres of land, 8oxi6o rods. To enclose that simply requires 480 rods, or I X miles of what we call
"worm fence." To make that the customary hight, including
riders, requires I6 rails to the rod, and each rod requires 4 stakes,
which are nearly equivalent to rails, and which we will call such,
making 20 rails to the rod. It will thus require 20 times 480, or
9, 600 rails simply to enclose his 80 acres. We will leave him with
20 acres of timber land enclosed, but with the remaining 60 acres
divided in 6 fields of io acres each. These will require 360 rods
of additional fence, or 7,200 more rails, making a total for enclosing his 80 acres of I6,8oo rails, which are worth, at the lowest estimate, $20.00 per thousand. At this rate the rails for 80 acres are
worth $336.oo. He has 840 rods of fence, which would employ
one man 20 days to build, at an additional expense of $20.00,
making a total of over $350.00 to simply fence his farm. To similarly improve a section would cost $2,8o00.0, and therefore a like
distribution of fences throughout the country would swell the sum
to over $I,500,000.
And this old time, old-fashioned " wiring in and wiring out"
Virginia rail fence has the supremacy throughout the county.
Post and rail and board fences are used in the suburbs of villages,
around private dwellings in the county, and frequently along the public roads, but have not fallen into any general use. There are some
hedge-rows in the county, but the question of their growth or
adaptability to this region is question for future experiment.
Originally the county was well-timbered. The uplands that produced it most luxuriantly are denominated by J. H. Caldwell in
his Atlas of Wayne County, in a wholesale plagiarism from Knapp's
History of Ashland County, "the refused lands" of the county.
Hickory, walnut, beech, oak, chestnut, ash, elm, maple, butternut,
poplar, sycamore, linn, wild cherry, locust, buckeye, ironwood,
dog-wood, constitute the chief varieties. As in the last few years
many portable saw-mills have occasioned severe assaults upon the
forests, it is probable that but a little more than one-fourth of the
area of the county can be classed with the wood or uncultivated
lands.




AGRICULTURAL SURVE Y.                      667
Our Forests. -If the rate of destruction which for the last two
decades has been practiced is continued upon our forests, it will
interfere with our material prosperity.   A certain proportion between the timbered and cleared lands must be maintained in order
to preserve a good degree of productiveness in the soil. If some
of our farmers had observed this fact, or had removed the forests
with more judicious regard to a protection of the spaces cleared,
their lands would have been more fertile and their sources of profit
greatly multiplied. It is, moreover, the injunction of a sound
wisdom for farmers to husband well their forests. There is no
greater necessity than wood, not simply for fuel or as a means of
warmth, but as a source of employment and industry.
This makes it both the duty of patriotism and the promptings of self-interest
to promote the production of timber. This is the opportune time for the undertaking. It is none too soon to make a beginning; it is not too late if the work is
commenced in earnest. The decrease of consumption of wood for fuel in all our
cities and towns, and on our railroads and steamboats, will aid not a little in the
preservation of our forests. It is important that trees which are under size for
making lumber should be suffered to grow on. There is now less temptation to cut
down forests promiscuously than formerly, when wood for fuel was so much in demand. Where the best trees have been cut out for sawing into lumber, and the
growth is thinned, something should be done to replace those trees which have been
removed.
Planting of trees is recommended and practiced in many places.
It is a niggard, contemptible and selfish argument that runs, "It
takes too long for them to mature; I will be dead before they are
trees."
Washington planted a Republic upon the virgin soil of a new
continent with no hope of beholding its consummation. Posterity
has a claim upon all true men that can not be ignored.    "Stick in
a tree now and then, Jack," said the Scotch laird, "it will be growing while ye are sleeping." The author of Waverly, when ridiculed for his supposed weakness in this regard, replied, "No matter, posterity will thank me for it." An old legend has it that
"Abraham planted a cyprus and pine, and a cedar; and that these
three incorporated into one tree, which was cut down for the building of the temple of Solomon." The necessary consumption of
the trees will speedily enough produce scarcity, and then they are
subject to the devastating commotions of the elements, which frequently disfigure and destroy great numbers of them. Worms
riot upon them, frosts scorch them, fires coil around them, storms
ride them down, ice crushes them, nor are they even spared of




668


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OH10.


Jove. The destruction occasioned to forests in January, 1874, by
the ice amounted to tens of thousands of dollars to the land owners of Wayne county alone. The 6th and 7th of January, 1874,
will be as memorable as the frost morning of June 5, 1859.
Protect the groves-they were "God's first temples"-spare
the tree; God breathes upon it and it grows; from its acorn cups
will spring the masts of admirals, the ribs of navies and mighty
ships. Plant the oak, and then the tulip, the cedar and walnut,
and then the rose and lily. Plant them in the church-yard, by the
school-house, in the open fields, and in the cemetery; and with
the evergreens of your mansion lawn; one for your birth, and one
for your bridal.
GRAINS.
Wheat.-This grain, once stigmatized by the inhabitants of
India as barbarian food, is the most important cereal of the county,
and, for all that, of the continent, both as a basis of prosperity
and an element of commerce. We have no very positive knowledge
of its origin, or where it was first cultivated, or its chronological
order in the history of grains. That it was produced extensively
and in immense quantities in Egypt at an early period we have
assuring and convincing proofs. But a few years prior to the
birth of Christ, when Augustus had reduced the country to a Roman province, Rollin asserts that there came regularly from Egypt
every year twenty million bushels of wheat. The wheat-bearing
regions of Mesopotamia, an ancient name of the country between
the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, are eulogized by Herodotus, and
their yield of the grain is extravagant, if not fabulous. No other
cereal has been discovered possessing so many qualities combined
to render it suitable and salubrious for food. The spring and
winter wheats are nothing less than different conditions of the same
species, producing each by proper treatment in the times of sowing; and varieties indicated by the color of the chaff or of the
seeds are traceable to contrasts of soil, or, perhaps, to circumstances of a chemical nature, like the distinctions of color in the
husks and grains of our Indian corn. The soil best suited to
wheat seems to be one of an argillaceous nature, but not too stiff
and rich in alkalies and salts. Light, spongy and porous soils,
whether silicious or calcareous, are the least suitable, and those
representing a variety of constituents are, perhaps, the more preferable. It has been the principal crop of the county since its first




AGRICULTURAL SURVEY.


669


settlement, and one of its most reliable sources of revenue.  The
pioneers found it ready to grow and produce on their half-cleared,
half-plowed enclosures, though fields of what was called "sick
wheat" was no uncommon occurrence. Of late years farmers find
it necessary to more carefully guard its cultivation and adopt more
systematic principles in its production.  Different varieties are annually tested, but the Mediterranean wheat, for the last twenty
years, has proven in the end to be the most profitable.  It yields a
white, excellent flour, is a hardy cereal, and resists the assaults of
fly, weevil and other insidious foes, combining withal the desirable
vitality to endure our bitter winters. The methods of preparing
the soil for its reception are as numerous as the caprices of the
farmers themselves, and since modern agriculture has taken on
tone, each prince of the manor is his own authority. In I875
Wayne county was the second wheat-yielding county in Ohio, producing from 44,043 acres 682,445 bushels of wheat, or an average
of less than sixteen bushels to the acre.
Corn. —" Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard!
Heap high the golden corn;
No richer gift hath Autumn poured
From out her lavish horn." — Wzittier.
In 1621 the Pilgrims, at Plymouth, found this grain flourishing
as the field-vegetable of the Indian tribes, and raised by them for
food.  It has a remarkable inclination to adapt itself to circumstances of climate, in that it produces great and distinct varieties;
and therefore it is a most valuable and priceless agricultural plant.
It has the stately aristocratic port of tropical vegetation and is one
of the tallest of our growing annuals.  Its foliage is large, leaves
dark green, with clean bright stems and joints well-defined. We
are not certain but that this grain takes precedence over the other
cereals in point of value and general utility. With the farmers
the failure of this crop is regarded as a calamity. A cornless or
half-filled crib suggests an imperative economy, short rations to
the stock and general curtailment to the tenantry of the farm.
Not only the grain but the bladed stems constitute a most valuable
feed for cattle. In case of a failure of the wheat it is a most important substitute, when its multifold value is appreciated.
"Then richer than the fabled gift,
Apollo showered of old,
Fair hands the broken grains shall sift,
And knead its meal of gold."




670


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


It requires a rich, stimulating soil, and one that will only laugh
to the tickle of the plow when the conditions of its own nature are
complied with. Corn planters, corn cultivators, and various other
devisements are employed by the farmers in the production of it,
all of which are useful or otherwise, according to the preparation
of the soil. The nutritive qualities of the diversified varieties of
this grain are quite similar, as chemical analysis has determined.
There was raised, in the year 1875, in Wayne county, from 33,398
acres, 1,466,553 bushels of the cereal, or less than 44 bushels to
the acre.
Oats.-Mesopotamia is probably the native country of oats.
It grows in incongenial localities and where other grains do not.
It flourishes best in the colder latitudes and degenerates in the
warm. Oatmeal formed of this grain is a very valuable food for
man.   In Scotland, Ireland, Sweden and Norway it is a great
source of maintenance.  It is a desirable staple in agriculture; can
be drilled or sown broad-cast to equal advantage, and is dependent
wholly upon the season for its prosperity. Wayne county in I875,
from 26,317 acres, produced 95 1,464 bushels, averaging over thirtysix bushels to the acre.
Rye.-The native region of this agricultural cereal is undetermined. At a very remote period it was cultivated in Britain, and
the practice obtained of sowing it mixed with the wheat. In sections of Europe it is exalted in domestic economy and by the
peasantry.  "Rye bread " occupies pre-eminence as a promoter of
strength and physical soundness. Its culture is much neglected,
and when sown it is given to second-rate lands late in the season.
It is frequently sown in mid-summer for winter and early pasture
in the spring, when calves and sheep can be seen "Comin' through
the rye." In 1875 the acreage was 758 in the county, and the
yield I2,503 bushels, an average of less than seventeen bushels to
the acre.
Barley.-This cereal grows wild in Sicily and Asia, but its original country is unknown. Pliny speaks of it as "the first grain
cultivated for nourishment." It flourishes in hot as well as cold
climates. It makes a coarse, heavy bread, and is excellent food for
cattle. In the materia medica it is presented as possessing emollient, diluent and expectorant qualities, and since the time of Hippocrates and Galen it has been in good repute in febrile and inflammatory complaints. It requires the best land, shortly depleting it,




AGRICULTURAL SUR VEY.


67I


and hence not a popular grain with land owners. But 340 acres
were cultivated in I875, yielding 7,917 bushels.
Buckwheat is supposed to be indigenous to Asia. The Moors
introduced it into Spain. It is emphatically a flowering plant,
and it blooms a long time. Its growth is destructive to weeds
and other pestiferous intruders of the farm. Its flowers secrete
honey, and until they fade are swarming with bees intent on improving "each shining hour." In some localities it is cultivated
exclusively for bee-food. The flour of the grain furnishes a
bread highly valued, and a breakfast cake of continental popularity.
Its culture has grown into comparative disuse, as the cutting and
threshing of it is disagreeable and unpleasant.  Two hundred
and one acres were sown in 1875, yielding 2,508 bushels.
Flax is claimed to be a native of Egypt, or possibly the elevated plains of Central Asia. It seems to be most prosperous in
the warm latitudes. Its fibre is said to obtain its best firmness in
the temperate regions. In te United States in I853 there were
produced 8,ooo,ooo pounds. At an exceedingly early date it was
raised in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. Belgium and Holland produce it extensively.  The filaments or threads taken from the
fibrous casing of its hollow stems have been used from the remotest periods in the manufacture of linen thread. Its fibers may be
so separated as to be spun into threads as fine as silk. Cambric,
lawn and lace are made from them. The coverings of the ancient
mummies witness that the linen mentioned by the ancient writers
was produced from the fibres of the flax plant. Its seed furnishes
linseed-oil, and the residue, after its expression, is made into the
oil-cake, so healthful for feeding and so valuable for fattening cattle. On account of its mucilaginous character, physicians use it
for its soothing effects in certain inflammations. Good land is required to produce it, and it greatly debilitates and exhausts the
soil. The acreage in Wayne county in 1875 was 654; bushels,
6,800; pounds of fibre, 295,900.
Meadow and Clover Lands.-In 1875 there were 31,759 acres
of meadow in Wayne county, yielding 36,334 tons of hay, 1,954
acres of clover, producing 2,098 tons of hay and I,6oI bushels of
seed.
Timothy.-This is a hay-plant much in use in New England,
where it is known as Herd's grass, so named from a Mr. Herd,
who, it is claimed, found it in a swamp near Piscataqua.




672


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Authorities, however, conflict in regard to its origin, some asserting it to be an American, and others a European growth.  In
old England it is called the meadow's cat's tail. Among horseraisers and turf-men it is esteemed the most valuable fodder.
Many of our best farmers cultivate it.
Hungarian grass and millet have each their random votaries in
the county.
FRUITS.
No portion of Ohio produces superior fruit to that of Wayne
county. Every farmer has his orchard of fine, select trees, so that
an absolute failure of the fruit crop is almost an impossibility.
The productions of the Ohio orchards have achieved deserved
popularity in the Eastern markets.
The Apple.-The origin of the apple is not definitely known.
Insomuch as mention is made of it in the Scriptures, it may have
been a native of Palestine. If the ancestral tree was the one
which stood "in the midst of the garden," and which "the woman" believed " was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise," then we are justified in defining its origin
in "regretted Eden." Pomologists, however, incline to the belief
that the wild crab tree of Europe is the parent of all our apples.
Pliny mentions it as "a wilding, which had many a foul and
shrewd curse given it," on account of its sourness. We have not
the space in this survey to enumerate the many varieties produced
in this county, but nearly every species known to fruit-growers is
found in the orchards of the county, which cover about 7,000
acres of the surface.
The Peach.-This delicious fruit originated in Persia. It was
cultivated in Britain in I550, but not in this country till I680. It
flourishes best under cultivation between latitudes 30 and 40, but
attains a rich maturity farther north in the United States. The
first fruit raised in Wayne county was peaches, and it is the most
easily propagated of all our domestic varieties and well adapted to
our soil. Our orchards embrace nearly every species worth cultivating.
The Pear.-A native of Europe, it is traced from Sweden to
the Mediterranean, and as far east in Asia as China and Japan. It
is the favorite fruit of modern times. The Greeks, Syrians, Romans and Egyptians cultivated it, but its juicy, aromatic deliciousness was not developed until the seventeenth century. In Cali



AGRICULTURAL SURVEY.


673


fornia it attains the highest perfection.  In some localities the tree
grows to an enormous size and is remarkable, in some instances,
for its longevity, reaching the great age of four hundred years.
One of these trees, still growing in England, is said to cover a
quarter of an acre of ground. Another is growing in Illinois, ten
miles north of Vincennes, that measures ten feet around the trunk,
its branches extending over an area of sixty nine feet in diameter.
The Stuyvesant pear tree, planted by the doughty Governor of the
Dutch Colony of New York, over two centuries and a half ago, in
the city of New York, is still thrifty and vigorous and bearing
fruit. The cultivation of the pear is receiving more attention
throughout the county than formerly, and standard trees are almost
exclusively planted.
The Quince is claimed to be a native of Crete, although it grows
spontaneously in the south of France and on the banks of the Danube. The ancients held it in veneration and regarded it as emblematic of happiness and love. Rabbinical writers invested it
with numerous myths, some even having thought it might have
been "the forbidden fruit." It is a popular fruit, does moderately
well, yet its culture is neglected.
Plums, Apricots and Nectarines are nearly stung out of existence
by the curculio, and as yet no successful resistance has been made
to its insidious invasions. The delicious wild plum, ever growing
in such abundance at the time of the first settlement of the county,
has substantially disappeared.
Cherries.-This fruit we have in great abundance, and all the
varieties congenial to this climate are cultivated; and currants,
gooseberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries, in indescribable varieties are the precious gods of every house-keeper and
command their legion of worshipers.
The Grape.-This fruit, produced from a well-known tree-like
vine, is a native of Greece, Asia Minor and Persia, and is cultivated in endless varieties for the table and for the manufacture of
wine. The discovery of the process of manufacturing this beverage is attributed to Noah*, and according to the Bible testimony
the old Ark-builder got drunk, had to go to bed, and either permitted himself to be "uncovered," or lay "uncovered within his
tent," and shamefully exposed himself. His youngest boy, Ham,
made fun of him for getting intoxicated, whereupon the old Agri*Smith's Dictionary of the Bible.
43




674


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


culturalist, Noah, became violently exasperated and declared that
a curse should rest upon the sons of Ham." It should be regretted
that an old settler like Noah, a leading and influential citizen before the Flood, divinely commissioned to navigate the waters of
the Deluge, and who did save eight souls and considerable live
stock from destruction, should have thus indulged in excessive
vinous imbibitions to the extent of gross inebriety and recklessly
and disgracefully exposing his body.
Says Smith: "The vines of Palestine were celebrated both
for luxuriant growth and for the immense clusters of grapes
which they produced." To illustrate the size of these clusters,
it is recorded, Numbers xiii, 23, that when the spies were sent
out to view the promised land:
They came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch
with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff.
The treading of the wine-press was a great occasion, and we
are told that "they encouraged one another by shouts," and that
"their legs and garments were red with the juice." The process
of expressing the wines by treading of the feet by women and
girls, has long been practised in Oriental, as well as in some European countries. Macaulay in his "Lays of Ancient Rome," and
his poem, Horatius, has the following stanza:
"The harvests of Arretium
This year old men shall reap;
This year young boys in Umbro
Shall plunge the struggling sheep;
And in the vats of Luna,
This year, the must shall foam
Round the white feet of laughing girls
Whose sires have marched to Rome."
From Anacreon to Thomas Moore and Dr. Holmes, of Boston,
the juice of the grape and the treading of the press have been the
theme of song.
Holmes, in addressing the contents of the wine cup, says;
"It filled the purple grapes that lay
And drank the splendors of the sun,
Where the long summer's cloudless day
Is mirrored in the broad Garonne;
It pictures still the bacchant shapes
That saw their hoarded sunlight shedThe maidens dancing on the grapesTheir milk-white ankles splashed with red."




AGRICULTURAL SURVEY.


675


The Isabella is said to have originated in South Carolina, and
is a universal favorite in the North, and the Catawba is a product
of Maryland. The grape delights in strong, rich soils, is a swift
and rapid grower, and in the woods climbs to the top of the tallest
trees. The wines of California take rank with the best products
of the vineyards of Europe. The successful culture of the vine in
Wayne county has been demonstrated, the condititions of our
climate and soil being well adapted to its cultivation. No physical obstacle interposes to its production, and upon the sunny
slopes of our hills, why should it not be grown, and wines manufactured of the richness and smoothness of the Rhine?
Butter, Cheese, Sorghum, Maple Sugar.-The Auditor's books of
Wayne county for the year 1875 show that there was produced
946, 64 pounds butter, 47,621 pounds cheese, 298 pounds sorghum,
1,5o0 gallons syrup, 13,742 pounds maple sugar, and 5,330 gallons syrup.
Cultivated, Pasture, Wood and Waste Lands.-By the Auditor's Report of 1876 there were within the county I65,052 acres of
cultivated land, 50,006 acres of pasture land, 67,622 acres of
wood land and 7,214 acres of "other lands lying waste."
Potatoes and Tobacco.-Our modern potato is said to have been
carried to England by Sir Walter Raleigh from Virginia in 1586.
With the laboring classes of Ireland it is the principal diet, though
partial failures of the crop are of frequent occurrence upon the
island. Its failure in 1847 produced the famine of that year with
its terrible horrors. There are over fifty varieties, all having particular merit. When planted on new ground, or lands fertilized
by vegetable substances, they are more healthy than when raised
from soils invigorated from the exuvia of the barn-yard-the latter
being liable to produce rot and disease. A great many different
varieties are cultivated in the county, but the commercial idea too
often enters the head of the farmer; hence quantity instead of
quality governs him. In Wayne county, in I875, from 2,361
acres planted there was produced 287,874 bushels. The sweet
potato is a creeper with angular and variably-shaped leaves, is difficult of production, not particularly congenial to our soil, and generally can be purchased cheaper than raised. The yam that resembles it most is anything else than a sweet potato.
Tobacco.-This plant was unknown to Europeans until the discovery of the American continent, it first being discovered on the




676         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
island of Cuba. It requires a deep, rich, mellow soil, or sandy
loam. By the Auditor's books of Wayne county, in 1875, from
42 acres was produced 49,885 pounds.
Domestic Animals.-In 1876 there were listed for taxation in
Wayne county, by reference to the Auditor's books, 12,OI4 head
of horses, valued at $709,303; 29,772 head of cattle, valued at
$44I,699; 2II head of mules, valued at $I5,713; 40,224 head of
sheep, valued at $90,629; 24,339 head of hogs, valued at $I07,690.
In 1875 there were produced in the county 159,719 pounds of wool;
there were 2,453 dogs in the county; 281 sheep killed by dogs,
worth $926; 149 sheep injured, the estimate of the injury being
$268, or a total injury by dogs to sheep of $i, 194.
Poultry has no place in the county statistics, yet a poultry breeding association exists in Wooster, and considerable attention is
given to the cultivation and propagation of the better species.




GREENE TO WNSHIP.


677


CHAPTER XXVI.
GREENE TOWNSHIP.
GREENE township was organized February 5, 1817, and took its
name from Major-General Nathaniel Greene, a revolutionary soldier, and a native of Warwick, Rhode Island. The population in
1870 was 2,7I5. The following is the official record of the township since its organization:
Justices of the Peace.-I817-David McConahay, George Boydston; I820-Thos.
Smith, George Boydston; 1823-Benjamin Sanford, Thomas Smith; I826-Jesse
McKinly, Thomas Smith; I829-Jacob Bowman, Thomas Smith; I833-Jacob
Bowman, Joseph Wilford; I836-John Musser, Joseph Wilford; I839-Simon Ruble, Thomas Washburn; I842-Simon Ruble, Thomas Darrough; I845-William
Taggart, David Kling; I848-Simon Ruble, Thomas Darrough; I85I-David
Kling, John Zimmerman; I854-David Kling, John Zimmerman; I857-Smith
Orr, John Zimmerman; I86o-Peter Walters, John Zimmerman; I864-D. L.
Keiffer, Smith Orr; I867-D; L. Keiffer, A. E. Clark; I87o-Thomas Fankle, A.
E. Clark; 1873-Henry Schriber, O. K. Griffith; r876-Henry Schriber, James
Bodine.
1817. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, George Boydston, Thomas Hayse; Treasurer-Thomas Dawson; Clerk-David Boydston.
I8I8. Trustees-David McConahay, David Boydston, Thomas Hayse; Treasurer-John Wade; Clerk-Benjamin Boydston.
I8I9. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, William Ruffcorn, Jonathan Casebier;
Treasurer-Samuel Wilford; Clerk-Benjamin Boydston.
1820. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, William Ruffcorn, Thomas Smith; Treas
urer-Samuel Wilford; Clerk-Jacob Breakbail.
1821. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, William Ruffcorn, George Smith; Treasurer
-Samuel Wilford: Clerk-Benjamin Boydston.
1822. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, William Ruffcorn, Adam Peckinpaugh;
Treasurer-Samuel Wilford; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1823. Trustees-John Wade, John Winkler, Joseph Wilford; TreasurerSamuel Wilford; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1824. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, William Ruffcorn, Adam  Peckinpaugh;
Treasurer-George Carson; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1825. Trustees-Abram Feightner, James Long, Jacob Breakbail; TreasurerThomas Hayse; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1826. Trustees-Abraham Feightner, James Long, Samuel Furgason; Treasurer-Thomas Hayse; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1827. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, Jacob Bowman, Thomas Smith; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.




678             HISTOR Y OF     VA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.
1828. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, Jacob Bowman, Benjamin Erb; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1829. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, Jacob Bowman, Benjamin Erb; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1830. Trustees-John Winkler, George Leasure, Samuel Furgason; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1831. Trustees-John Winkler, George Leasure, Samuel Furgason; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1832. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, Jacob Hess, Jacob Erb; Treasurer-Peter
Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1833. Trustees-Peter Flickinger, Jacob Hess, Jacob Erb; Treasurer-Peter
Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1834. Trustees-John Winkler, John Musser, Jacob Erb; Treasurer-Peter
Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
I835. Trustees-John Musser, John Winkler, Jacob Erb; Treasurer-Peter
Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1836. Trustees-John Winkler, John Capp, David Brenizer; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
I837. Trustees-John Winkler, Thomas Darrough, Evans Burgin; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
I838. Trustees-John Winkler, Thomas Darrough, Simon Bowman; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
I839. Trustees-John Winkler, Thomas Darrough, Simon Bowman; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1840. Trustees-John Winkler, Thomas Darrough, Simon Bowman; Treasurer-Peter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
I841. Trustees-John Winkler, Jacob Erb, Jacob Hess; Treasurer-Peter
Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1842. Trustees-John Winkler, John Hoover, Joseph Weiler; TreasurerPeter Flickinger; Clerk-Adam Kieffer.
1843. Trustees-John Winkler, John Hoover, Joseph Weiler; TreasurerPeter Flickinger; Clerk-Jacob Erb.
I844. Trustees-John Winkler, John Hoover, Joseph Weiler; TreasurerPeter Flickinger; Clerk-Jacob Erb.
1845. Trustees-John Winkler, Jacob Hess, Peter Walters; Treasurer-Peter
Flickinger; Clerk —John Myers.
1846. Trustees-John Winkler, John Capp, Joseph Klepper; TreasurerPeter Flickinger; Clerk-John Myers.
I847. Trustees-John Winkler, Adam   Kieffer, Daniel Schriber; TreasurerPeter Flickinger; Clerk-John Myers.
1848. Trustees-John Winkler, Adam Kieffer, Daniel Schriber; TreasurerJoseph Klepper; Clerk-John Myers.
I849. Trustees-John Winkler, Daniel Schriber, John Zimmerman; Treasurer-Joseph Klepper; Clerk-Peter Walters.
I85o. Trustees-John Winkler, David Kling, John Zimmerman; TreasurerJoseph Klepper; Clerk-Peter Walters.
I85I. Trustees-Daniel Lightfoot, Daniel Schriber, John Zimmerman; Treasurer-David Kling; Clerk-Peter Walters.
1852. Trustees-John Winkler, Daniel Lightfoot, Christian Brenneman;
Treasurer-David Kling; Clerk-Peter Walters.
I853. Trustees-John Winkler, Christian Brenneman, Henry Hoover; Treasurer-David Kling; Clerk-Peter Walters.




GREENE TO WNSHIP.


679


I854. Trustees-Christian Brennaman, Henry Hoover, Jacob Hess; Treasur-er-David Kling; Clerk-Peter Walters.
I856. Trustees-Henry Hoover, David Arick, H. H. Webb; TreasurerDavid Kling; Clerk-Peter Walters.
I857. Trustees-John Erb, George Hurding, Jacob Gardner; TreasurerJacob Hess; Clerk-John Myers.
1858. Trustees-Robert Hutchinson, Jacob Gardner, John Myers; Treasurer
— Jacob Hess; Clerk-C. N. Storrs.
1859. Trustees-Emanuel Schriber, J. W. Watters, Jacob Baughman; Treasurer-Jacob Hess; Clerk-C. N. Storrs.
i860. Trustees-Emanuel Schriber, Samuel Brenizer, Robert Hutchinson;
Treasurer-Jacob Hess; Clerk-C. N. Storrs.
I86I. Trustees-Christian Brenneman, Emanuel Schriber, Samuel Brenizer;
Treasurer-J. W. Winkler; Clerk-Jacob Reaser.
1862. Trustees-Andrew   Ault, Daniel Holser, George Starn; TreasurerJames Gray; Clerk-Moses Morrett.
1863. Trustees-Andrew   Ault, Daniel Holser, Peter Zell; Treasurer-James
Gray; Clerk-Frederick Seas.
1864. Trustees-Christian Brenneman, James Bodine, Abraham Huffman;
Treasurer-James Gray; Clerk-Frederick Seas.
1865. Trustees-Jacob Gardner, James Bodine, Josiah Foutch; TreasurerJames Gray; Clerk-Frederick Seas.
I866. Trustees-James Bodine, Jacob Gardner, Isaac Winger; TreasurerJacob Reaser; Clerk-C. T. Clark.
I867. Trustees-James Bodine, Jacob Gardner, Isaac Winger; TreasurerJacob Reaser; Clerk-C. T. Clark.
i868. Trustees-James Bodine, Jacob Gardner, Isaac Winger; TreasurerJacob Reaser; Clerk-C. T. Clark.
I869. Trustees-James Bodine, Christian Brenneman, William Myers; Treasurer-Jacob Reaser; Clerk-C. T. Clark.
1870. Trustees-J. M. Flickinger, L. S. Taggart, William Myers; Treasurer
-Jacob Reaser; Clerk-O. Lademore.
I871. Trustees-J. M. Flickinger, E. H. Milton, William Myers; TreasurerJohn Myers; Clerk-Jeremiah Stutzman.
1872. Trustees-J. M. Flickinger, E. H. Milhon, J. J. Weiler; TreasurerJohn Myers; Clerk-Jeremiah Stutzman.
I873. Trustees-J. M. Flickinger, E. H. Milhon, J. J. Weiler TreasurerJohn Myers; Clerk-Jeremiah Stutzman.
I874. Trustees-Frederick Seas, William Pontius, Joseph Bricker; Treasurer
John Myers; Clerk-H. J. Smith.
I875. Trustees-Frederick Seas, William Pontius, Peter Zell; TreasurerIsaac Schriber; Clerk-O. Ladimore.
FIRST SETTLERS AND FIRST THINGS.
The early inhabitants of this township observed one peculiarity
in the first occupancy of it. It was a wilderness, overgrown with
timber, with the exception of about twelve acres on the south-west
quarter of section three, which was clear of trees, stumps, and even
roots, and was called by the early settlers " the Indian's Field."




68o


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


A tradition runs, that, as early as I802, a party of four young men, who had'
passed from Pennsylvania to Cleveland, and leaving the latter place for " Tuscarawa," now Coshocton, were attacked by the Indians and one of their number
killed, when the remaining three retreated by the line of trees they had blazed.
The bullet that killed the young man entered a small oak tree, which the Indians
notched high above the ground. A few years thereafter two of these young men,
accompanied by others, returned to the spot of the murder, discovered the notched
tree, but saw no remains of the dead comrade. This would be the first death in
the township.
The first settlement made within its present limits was in I8 I,
by Michael Thomas with his wife and seven children. He emigrated from Washington county, Pa., and settled upon the southwest quarter of section 33, now known as the Bechtel farm; and
was followed by Thomas Boydston and his wife, who came from
Pennsylvania, and who settled on the north-west quarter of the
same section.   For three years these were the only settlers in
Greene township.    In I814 Lorenzo Winkler and family came
from Virginia, and settled on section 22. The emigration was
meager until 1815.   Among other of the early settlers of the
neighborhood, were, George Boydston, David McConahay, David
Boydston, Thomas Hayes, David Antles, Thomas Dawson, John
Wade, George Smith, Benjamin Boydston, Thomas Smith, Jacob
Breakfield, John Harris, Douglas Wilford, Barter Harris, James
Sparks, John Hobbs, Francis Shackler, Isaac Robbins, Phineas
Burrwell, Thomas Johnston, John Bigham, Robert Calvins, Jacob
Cook, Charles Kelley, Will Ruffcorn, George Carson, Jacob Breakbail and Thomas Alison.
In 1817 the population was 147, of which 26 were legal voters,
and on application the township was formed. April, 1817, the
electors convened at the residence of William Barnett, on the northeast quarter of section 21 to choose their local officers.  David
Boydston, Thomas Hayes, David McConahay and Thomas Dawson were appointed Judges, and Thomas Boydston and Jacob
Breakfield, Clerks.
Martha, daughter of Michael Thomas, was born September 25,
1812, the first birth in the township; the second, that of Richard
Antles, February 3, 1813. The first marriage was that of Liverton Thomas to Anna Wade, by "Priest" Jones, in 1815. In I8I9.
the first saw-mill was put up, and built by Thomas Smith, on the
site of the present grist-mill, at Smithville. The first frame building was erected in 1822, on the present farm of Cyrus Hoover. In
the fall of 1815 John Wade built a hand-mill to crush corn for fam



GREENE TO WNSHIP.


68m


ily use, which was situated upon the farm now owned by D. L.
Kieffer.
On section 21 were visible remains of an Indian village as late
as I8I9. The first State's warrant was issued April 5, I8i8, by
George Boydston, for the arrest of John Treasure, for assault and
battery, upon complaint of Cephas Clark. Treasure was a "fortune teller," and Clark had his fortune told " on tick; " the " teller"'
proved to be a liar, and Clark " bucked" and wouldn't pay, whereupon Treasure got him " in chancery" and drafted "sirloins" on
his "frontispiece." Both were citizens of East Union township.
In 1812 the first sermon was preached in the township by Rev.
Gray, at the house of Mr. Thomas. In I818 the first school was
taught by Peter Kane, a student of Oxford, England, and the first
school-house was built upon the north-west quarter of section 23 -a log cabin I8x22. The second was taught by George Boydston,
on the farm now owned by George Freeman; and the third was
taught by Adam Kieffer, in I824.
The first death in Greene township, after its settlement, was
December 27, 1817. It occurred at a raising on the old Ruble
farm, now owned by G. A. H. Myers, the victim being Christian
Partshie, a stick of timber falling upon him.
Smithiville took its name from Thomas Smith, who, in i818,
erected the first house in the neighborhood, a cabin, located on
the north-west side of the Portage road, in the vicinity of which he
afterward, in I831, laid out a village. But on account of low
grounds the site was vacated; and on May 25, I836, David Birney, Sr., Joseph Musser, John Shroll and Luther Carey laid out a
new village of forty-one lots, survey and plat made by Campbell
Bell, being the central part of the present town of Smithville.
David Brenizer, who is still living in Smithville, put up the first
building, on the corner now occupied by John Willaman's brick
store; the second was built by Jacob Musser, near the present
residence of Jacob Stutz, and the third was " Widow Johnson's
tavern." The first store in the original settlement was opened in
I818, by Reasin Beall, in one end of Thomas Smith's cabin. The
first Postmaster was Thomas Smith, under the first administration
of Andrew Jackson. The first store in the present village was
opened by Judge Smith Orr and Jonathan Casebier, in the spring
of 1837.




682


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHURCHES OF GREENE TOWNSHIP.
There are nine different church organizations in this township, to wit; Metho
dists, Amish, German Baptists (Dunkards), Presbyterians, Winebrenarians, Lutherans, River Brethren, Brethren in Christ and the United Brethren. The first was
organized in 1814, by the Methodists; the second in I8I6, by the Amish; the third
in 1826, by the German Baptists; the fourth in 1830, by the Presbyterians; the
fifth in 1839, by the Winebrenarians; the sixth in 1843, by the Brethren in Christ;
the seventh in 1844, by the Evangelical Lutherans; the eighth in 1845, by the
United Brethren; and the ninth in 1867.
Jacob S. Paul, a native of Cumberland county, Pa., was born
May 22, 1820. The self-reliant and resolute disposition of Mr.
Paul developed itself quite prematurely, as at the age of twelve
years he entered upon a clerkship in the store of Robert Sturgeon,
of Churchtown, in his native county.  With him he remained for
seven years, when a change of firm took place, Mr. Paul, however,
remaining a similar period under the new management, meantime
obtaining an interest in the same. At the end of two years he
disposed of his share in the establishment, and sought a wider
sphere for the exercise of his commercial genius. Having some
acquaintances in Smithville, in 1848 he removed there, soon thereafter embarking in business with John Zimmerman, remaining with
him three years, when for three years he gave his attention to
farming. For a period, he was variously engaged, but in 1862,
resumed his mercantile pursuits in Smithville, where he continues
in business.
Mr. Paul has imparted to Smithville its reputation as a vital
business center. By fair dealing he has won the respect and confidence, and hence the patronage of the surrounding country. In
I873 the business of his firm amounted to an excess of $I 5,000.
In 1873 he established a branch house at Shreve, under the style
of Paul, Bricker & Co., which suddenly sprang into a deserved
popularity. His education was limited, receiving most of it from
Jacob, son of Joseph Ritner, at one time Governor of Pennsylvania. He is an earnest, wide-awake man, possessed of sagacity,
shrewdness of calculation, business fidelity and stubborn adhesion
to business honor. He is of retiring disposition and covets no undue notoriety. Thrown upon the world at an early age, he acquired habits of industry and self-dependence, which invariably
insure success. He has remarkable organizing and executive ability, and this, combined with his discretion and sound judgment




GREENE TO WNSHIP.


683


makes him a successful business man. He was married December
26, I846, to Amanda C. Bricker, of Cumberland, Pa.
Thomas Boydston settled in Greene township as early as the
spring of I8II.   He was born in Green county, Pa., in December,
1786, and married Emily Burress, of Monongalia county, Virginia, the following children resulting from this first marriage: Boaz,
Mary, Charles, Belinda, Presley and Enoch. His wife Emily dying May 24, 1824, in East Union township, he was married a
second time to Mary Brakefield, of Greene township, who died
without issue. A third time he was married to Elizabeth Steel, of
East Union township, of which union the following children are
living: Solon, Sarah, Emily, Minerva, Eunice. He died in Orrville,
August 22, 1863, his wife still surviving him.
John Winkler, the oldest living pioneer in Greene township, and
first son of Lawrence Winkler, was born April 22, 1799, in Burke
county, North Carolina, and came with his father to Greene township, Wayne county, Ohio, in the spring of 1814, to prepare the
way for the rest of the family, who came in the fall. In 1820 he
married Miss Dorcas Wade, who died July 17, 1826, leaving one
child. November 22, 1827, he married Miss Margaret Wilford.
Thomas Smith, after whom     Smithville was named, was born
May 14, 1788, in Washington county, Pa., and on January 9, 1815,
was married to Miss Jane Wiley, of the same county. In the
spring of 1818, with his wife and two children, he immigrated to
Greene township, and settled on the east half of the south-west
quarter of section I8.
Smithville High School.-This excellent educational institution was established
in Smithville in August, 1865. Professor J. B. Eberly was the first teacher, and now
is the popular Principal. The school first commenced in the old Presbyterian
church, better known as the Synagogue. About two years afterwards money was
subscribed by the citizens of Smithville and vicinity to the amount of $5,000, to
build a suitable building, which was erected, and, with the grounds, is valued at
$Io,ooo, and the boarding halls about the same, making a capital of about $20,000.
The average yearly attendance has been about 275 students of both sexes. A large
majority of the present teachers of Wayne county have been educated here, and
many from other counties, especially Stark. The school has no endowment, nor
'has it received any gift at any time, except as above mentioned.
Officers of the School.-President-Rev. D. Kosht, of Smithville; Secretary-B.
Musser; Treasurer-Rev. James Baldwin; Board of Trustees-Benjamin Herschey,
of Canton; D. B. Hotchkiss, of Limaville; David Shisler, of North Lawrence;




584


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUN TY, OHIO.


Rev. John Excell, of Linalville; David Ecker, of Burbank; John Willaman, of
Smithville.
Instructors.-J. B. Eberly, M. A., Principal, and Professor of Normal Department; Leonard Huber, M. A., a graduate of Munich University, Germany, Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages; Benjamin Musser, Principal of Mercantile Department; Mrs. Eugene G. Grenamyer, Principal Instrumental Music
Mrs. Sarah Isiphine Eberly, Assistant Teacher Instrumental Music; Joseph Corbett, Teacher of Vocal Music; Julius E. Henderson, Assistant Teacher Scientific
Department.
John Jacob Kieffer, among the first emigrants to Milton township,
was born October I6, 1759, in the Provisdiction of Zweibricken,
Europe. His great-great-grandfather, De Wald Kieffer, was a
native of Paris, and of wealthy and noble ancestry.  He was the
fifth child and oldest son of Michael Kieffer, and left Europe with
his parents on April I5, I773. They first settled in Bedford
county, Pa., and lived there for about eight years, then crossed
the Allegheny mountains and settled in Somerset county.   Here,
on September 2, I787, he was married to Anna Eva Fritz, by
whom he had nine children, viz: Michael, Margaret, Elizabeth,
Adam, Mary, Jacob, Susanna, Joseph and Eva, who were all born
in Somerset county, Pa.  In the spring of I8 I5 he, with his family,
immigrated to Wayne county, Ohio, and settled upon the northeast quarter of section 35 of Milton township, there being but few
settlers in advance of him.  He died there February 23, I828.
His wife died September 29, I843, aged 75 years.
D. L. Kieffer, second child and oldest son of Adam Kieffer,
who was one of the earliest pioneers, was born in Greene township, Wayne county, Ohio, May 12, 1829. In the summer of
1854 he was married to Miss Rebecca Spangler, of Wayne township, by whom he has one son, George, a promising lad of twelve
years. From his youth up Squire Kieffer showed an ardent desire
for mental culture. After going through the common-schools he
attended Canaan Academy, under Professor Notestine; also Prof.
Foster's school of Seville, and the College at Edinburg, under
Prof. Hill. He is an architect of ability, a noted master of civil
engineering, a man of considerable literary acquirements, and we
are indebted to him for the material facts in relation to Greene
township.
John B. Eberly, son of Peter and Sarah Eberly, yet living in
the vicinity of Smithville, was born in Cumberland county, Pa.,
February 5, 1837. With his father he removed to Wayne county




GREENE TO WNSHIP.


685


in 1840, and remained with him until the age of 19, when he resolved, come what would, to devote himself to the first ambition
of his life-to be a scholar and a teacher. For three years he attended the Fredericksburg school, under Prof. B. C. Smith. In
1862 he entered Mt. Union College, remaining there three more
years, from which, in June, 1865, he graduated with honor in the
classical course. In August of the same year he organized the
Smithville High School, since which over 4,000 students have attended it.
Mr. Eberly was married October 28, I869, to Miss Isiphine
Moore, of Applecreek, Miss Isi E. Eberly being their only child.
The Smithville High School is a creation of Prof. Eberly,
although it may be said to have sprung from the wants of the community; hence there was correspondence in the popular demand
and his comprehension of it. Its very life and its boldest features
are original with him, and the powerful and stimulating effect it
has had upon the young men and women who have patronized it
has largely shaped the educational character of the entire community.
Professor Eberly is opposed to an education that crams with
theories, languages and words, and does not unfold faculties or develop forces. The ancient languages are to be perused rather as a
means than an end; either for the knowledge that is locked up in
them, or the discipline which their study affords the mind, or for
the entire mastery which the acquisition of a foreign language compelsus to obtain of the whole compass of our own. For these
purposes he yields to no man in his esteem for the ancient languages. His advice to the students is that of Horace to the Pisos:
" Let classic authors be your chief delight,
Read them by day-read them again by night."
He recognizes the central and seminal fact, that the county asks
for scholars, not scholastics; practical men, not perambulating abstractions; men whose minds have been strengthened, not overwhelmed by learning. He has an agile, quick, mechanical mind;
loves order because he was born to love it, and out of the harmonious play of his faculties springs the government of the schoolroom. His mind is intuitive, grasping, productive, re-productive;
he sees an idea, comprehends it, then pounces on it like a falcon,
when he forever holds it. He has, morever, the capacity of not
simply understanding things, but of making others understand




686


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


them. He is a thinker and worker. There is no emotion or
gush about him. His mind moves in a region of realities, facts,
figures and objects. In conversation he is fluent, elastic and sarcastic. As a public speaker he ascends to the regions of thought,
divesting himself of all badinage and the gallantry of declamation.
He is one of the foremost educators of Wayne county.
Orrville, a creation and product of the railroad, and the inevitable genius which surrounds and pursues such corporations, is fast
approaching the proportions of cityhood. Concerning her enterprise, sagacity, foresight and quick identity with what best promotes her welfare, we need distill no pen-praise or eulogy. She
has two railroads - one more than Wooster - and has petitioners
for other ones, and as petitioners always should, she "will ever
pray." Her people are wide-awake, gritty, self reliant, and full of
life. Despoil her of her energy, if you please, and her situation
renders her existence and success compulsory. A junction, crossway and point of distribution of railways, she must thtize. With
communication direct to Cleveland, and her proximity to the coal
regions, both east and south, she combines the elements that insure her permanence and stability and impart to her the qualities
of a rival.
Surrounded by excellent farms, carefully cultivated by the most
frugal and industrious farmers in Wayne county, she is girt with a
zone of wealth, the central figure of which she is to stand.
Her commercial population is progressive, alert and enterprising. Her massive and beautiful business blocks will challenge
comparison with any town of its age and size in the State. Her
churches are solid and substantial structures, and some of them,
in point of design are architectural beauties. Her hotels are commodious and in their appointments surpass those of older villages.
Her school building is a capacious and costly edifice, and with the
additions and improvements recently made, and which are largely
due to the action of Hon. William M. Orr, it has become in its
appointments and accommodations the equal of any in the county.
In general manufactures she has taken the lead of Wooster, and in
the course of twenty-five years, estimating from her past rapid
growth, she will rival the county-seat in population and in trade.
Orrville is situated partly in Greene and partly in Baughman
township, the dividing line of which runs through, but east of,
its center, and was named in honor of Hon. Smith Orr. The




ORR VILLE.


687


lands on which the town was located in 1852 belonged to Robert
Taggart, C. Brenneman and C. Horst. Mr. Orr, then living a
mile south, got the railroad company to establish a water-tank,
and prevailed on Robert Taggart to lay off ten acres into town
lots. He then bought out C. Horst, David Rudy and Peter Perrine. Jesse Straughan made the first plat of the town, and named
it Orrville, in honor of Judge Orr. The first house built in the
village was jointly by William M. Orr and William Gailey, and
which was intended for a saw-mill, and to do work for the railroad
company.     William   Bowman was the mill-wright.        The lots on
the Taggart ten acres were principally the first upon which buildings were constructed; they lay north of the railroad, east of
Main street, and were all located in Baughman township. Meantime some houses were being built across the line in Greene township. Judge Orr purchasing some land south of West Market
street from Christian Brenneman, and some north of West Market
street from C. Horst and William Vankirk, laid out a number of
lots. Her population at this time borders closely upon 2,000.
Its incorporation was granted by the Commissioners of the
county May 9, I864, and the first election held was at the office of
William M. Gailey, February 22, I865. The following are the
officers since that date:
1865. Mayor-William M. Gailey; Recorder-D. G. Horst; Trustees-A. S.
Moncrief, J. W. Steele, J. F. Seas, John McGill, James Evans, Sr.
I866. Mayor-William M. Gailey; Recorder-D. G. Horst; Trustees-John
McGill, James Buttermore, D. W. Steele, A. S. Moncrief, J. F. Seas; TreasurerT. D. McFarland.
1867. Mayor-William M. Orr; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Trustees-D. G.
Horst, William M. Gailey, John McGill, S. D. Tanner, James Buttermore; Treasurer-T. D. McFarland.
I868. Mayor-A. S. Moncrief; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Trustees-James
Buttermore, J. B. Taylor, Abe Gift; Treasurer-T. D. McFarland.
I869. Mayor-A. S. Moncrief; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Treasurer-T. D.
McFarland; Trustees-D. G. Horst, D. L. Trout, J. F. Seas, Kirk Johnson, L. S.
Piper.
1870. Mayor-A. C. Miller; Recorder-W. S. Evans; Treasurer-T. D. McFarland; Councilmen-D. G. Horst, R. G. McElhenie, D. L. Moncrief, M. C.
Rouch, Benjamin Steele, Hiram Chaffin.
I87I. Councilmen-C. L. Hoils, David Frick, John Snavely.
1872. Mayor-M. C. Rouch; Clerk-John A. Wolbach; Treasurer-S. T.
Gailey; Councilmen-Isaac Schriber, W. M. Coup, I. C Grabill.
I873. Councilmen-A. C. Miller, Jacob Brenneman, James Snavely.
I874. Mayor-William M. Gailey; Clerk-John A. Wolbach; Treasurer-S..
T. Gailey; Councilmen-Isaac Schriber, W. M. Coup, J. F. Seas.




688


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


1875. Councilmen-H. H. Strauss, Daniel Grady, Joseph Snavely, D. G.
Moncrief.
1876. Mayor-J. F. Seas; Clerk-A. J. Heller; Treasurer-John A. Wolbach; Councilmen-Solon Boydston, J. B. Heffelman, J. Snavely.
I877. Councilmen-Joseph Snavely, Isaac Schriber, F. Dysle, D. L. Mon-crief.
Judge Smith Orr was born in Tallord, near Strahan, in County
Tyrone, Ireland, on the 23d of November, I797, and was the
youngest child of Samuel and Sarah Orr. He had five brothers
and two sisters, all of whom are dead. His mother died on the
day of his birth, and his father landed, with the other members of
his family at New Castle, Delaware, in the month of August, I80I.
After a residence of a few years in the East, they removed to
Applecreek, East Union township, Wayne county, in the spring
of 1812.
There Mr. Orr continued to live until the death of his father,
in 1818. He theIl had but the choice of meeting the world for
himself without means, assistance or friends. From  that time
until about the age of twenty-five he labored at grubbing and railsplitting for others, when, having accumulated a small sum, he
married Maria, youngest daughter of David Foreman, a soldier
of the Revolution, who settled in Wayne county at a very early
period, and who died there.
After their marriage they purchased and settled on a halfquarter of land in the woods on Apple creek, where they lived
about three years, and then bought and removed to within one-half
mile south of Orrville, and there resided over four years, and then
purchased and removed to the tract of land known as the "Home
Farm," one mile south of Orrville, and owned by him at his death.
There he continued his residence until 1850, when the Pittsburg,
Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad being located, he purchased land
in and around where the village of Orrville is situated, and whither
he immediately removed and continued to reside until his death,
which occurred April 23, 1865.
His wife, Maria Orr, was born in Ligonier Valley, Pa., March
10, I799, and when a small girl immigrated with her father, David
Foreman, grandfather of Enos Foreman, former editor of the
Wooster Republcan, to the neighborhood of Economy, on the
*Ohio river, from which place she came with her father to what is
now known as Baughman township. Her mother having died a very
short time before their immigration to the country, she assumed
*entire household management of her father's house in the thirteenth




ORR VILLE.


689


year of her age. On the Ist of February, 1821, she became the
wife of the subject of this memoir, residing with her husband from
that time in East Union, Baughman, and from the spring of I85I
until her death in the village of Orrville, Greene township. During
her married life, in addition to her own son, Hon. William M. Orr,
she became the foster-mother of ten orphan children, four boys
and six girls. She was plain in her manners, kind and affable, and
but little disposed to visit or leave home; her greatest enjoyment
consisting in receiving and entertaining friends and neighbors at
her own house, where she was almost constantly to be found. It
may be said of her, as Logan said of himself, " Who ever entered
her cabin hungry and she gave him not meat?"
In the fifteenth year of her age, she embraced religion and
united with the Methodist Episcopal church, of which she remained
a member until about one year after her marriage, when she united
with the Presbyterian church, at Applecreek, of which her husband was a member. From that congregation they were transferred by certificate to the Presbyterian church at Dalton. She died
as she had lived, a believer in revealed religion, expressing a firm
and unfaltering hope and confidence in Jesus, her Savior.
Our pen has neither the cunning nor the ability to describe or
analyze the parts which entered into the mental and physical composition of Judge Orr. Entering the county, then a dense wilderness, when he was but fifteen years of age, he became, like the oaks
surrounding him, a very child of the woods.
The spirit of poesy, which is said to hover over the forests,
awoke no inspirations in his breast. If, as Byron says,
"There is society, where none intrudes,"
Then he could love "nature more," if "not man the less."  The
approach of the bear, the howl of the wolf, the alarm signal of the
rattlesnake, the yell of the wild Indian, constituted the sources
of his early fears. Nature, however, may have tried to delight
and instruct him, and if the barn was not built for the swallow and
the hedge-row not set for the thrush, the wild singers of the woods
serenaded him with music. He could watch the lithe deer bounding through the thickets, catch design and beauty in the woodland
blossoms, and take lessons in philosophy, as nature, blending storm
and sunshine, drew God's promise on the cloud.
We can imagine that the life of Judge Orr, at that time, was
characterized by more fact than fancy, and that, instead of having
44




690


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, 0HIO.


margins of poetry, it was filled out to the rim in solid and serious
prose.  There were no school laws in Ohio then, and schoolhouses and school-teachers but faintly glimmered in dream-land.
He may have learned the alphabet in the old family Bible, and
studied his arithmetic leaning over his knees at the cabin-fire.
Under the circumstances which did exist he acquired an education,
not such as is'attainable at the college or university; but his heart,
feelings, soul, mind, brain, susceptibilities, all were disciplined in
the school of self-denial and experience. It drilled and fitted him
for a useful life, made him a benefit and blessing to his fellow-men,
who turned to him in adversity for help, and who also sought his
counsel and advice when " the winds down the river were fair."
Such a man as Judge Orr could not well have grown up in any
country but his own. He was made what he was under divine
guidance, solely by his own irresistible will and the inexorable circumstances surrounding a pioneer. He was an original, modeled
himself after no pattern, imitated no man's manners, but with strong
practical common sense convictions of what a high-minded Christian gentleman should be and do, he struggled perseveringly with
fearless, unquailing, mighty will and arm and a warm, heroic heart
and faith to be it and to do it. With an ear ever inclined to hear
a tale of sickness, suffering or misfortune, and a hand and head
ever ready with aid and counsel in need, his purpose was to do
everything well that he undertook, however humble the task.
He was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace at an early
day, and repeatedly re-elected, through all party malignities and
asperities, holding the position for over a quarter of a century.
He was elected in the year 1846 by the General Assembly of
Ohio as one of the Associate Judges of the Common Pleas Court,
which place he honorably and with signal ability filled until the
adoption of the new Constitution in 1853, which abolished the
office. Besides many other public positions which he occupied
with credit, it may be mentioned that he was many times chosen
by his political party-the Clay Whigs-as a candidate for election
to responsible public positions, when the party in his locality was
in the minority.
He was a member of the Union Convention which met in Baltimore in 1864 and renominated Mr. Lincoln for the Presidency,
casting his first vote for him, and upon the vote for Vice-President
in the convention Judge Orr and the Hon. Harrison G. Blake, by
their votes, decided the vote of the Ohio delegation in favor of




ORR VILLE.


69i


Andrew Johnson as the candidate, and the vote of Ohio nominated Governor Johnson over Governor Hicks, now deceased.
He was Land Surveyor for forty years, and throughout the entire eastern part of the county his services in this respect were of
incalculable value to the citizens. During the war of the rebellion he held no middle ground, but was decided, outspoken and
pronounced in his sympathy and support of the Government.
When Cincinnati was threatened by the Confederate forces he
placed himself at the head of a company (being then sixty-six
years of age) of Squirrel Hinters, and succeeded in reaching the
city, an achievement of which a majority of the companies could
not boast.
His patriotism was intense, ardent and glowing. Convince
Judge Orr that he was right, and legions of armed men could not
prevent an effort to perform it. Stir up the lion in the old man's
breast, and the hot blood which he imported from the rarest island
of the seas rose to its ebb, and if it was to smite a wrong he
would dash forward, regardless of opposition. What he undertook to do he did with all his might.
His motto was"Act-act in the living present;
Heart within and God o'erhead!"
Yesterday is past, to-day we will be wiser, and if to-morrow
comes, better. He had an indomitable perseverance and will,
and believed, with Richelieu, that( In youth's bright Lexicon there's no such word as fail."
He was possessed of a wide benevolence, a clear and comprehensive understanding, and an unflinching persistency and tenacity
of aim. He was a thoughtful and discriminating student, an excellent historian, and with the political literature and transactions
of the country, enjoyed the utmost familiarity. He was a fluent
and convincing speaker, indulging in fact, detail and narration, seldom ornamental and never speculative.
He was a Presbyterian of the old school and faith, and belonged
to the class of which Rev. T. A. McCurdy speaks in his history
of the Wooster (Pres.) church, who "had in them the ring of the true
metal, and blue was their color. " Aside from his public duties and
labors Judge Orr, by his own unaided individual energy and skill,
out of nothing acquired, built up and managed an estate sufficiently large to gratify any ordinary and reasonable ambition.




692


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, O0IG.


But that which     he acquired in his life, above all things to be
admired and emulated, was the good name he left among men.
To merit this in a sincere, earnest and Christian-like way was,
whilst he lived upon earth, his chiefest ambition.
He died in the full faith of the resurrection and the eternal
morning after the night of the grave, "sustained and soothed by
an unfaltering trust " in Him whose death was not only the world's
example, but its sacrifice and life. Of his own issue surviving him
are one son and three grandchildren.
ORRVILLE MANUFACTORIES AND ENTERPRISES.
Orrville contains quite a number of industrial establishments and other enterprises, of which we note a few of the most prominent. Askins' Glass Coffin Company-This is a joint stock company, with a capital of $2o0,000, engaged in the
manufacture of Askins' glass coffins, a new and superior article, patented January
22, I877. Fifty operatives are employed. Directors: C. Brenneman, William M.
Orr, Joseph Snavely, Joseph Askins, James Buttermore, James A. Taggart. Officers: President, William M. Orr; Treasurer, D. G. Horst; Superintendent, Jacob
L. Askins; Secretary, A. Taylor...... Orrville Planing,- Mill was organized
in 1867 by a joint stock company, with a capital of $20,000, and aftet passing
through different hands, is now owned and run by Joseph Snavely.....
Champion Thresher and Agricultural Implement Shops.-Work in these shops was
commenced in Orrville in the spring of I875, by W. M. Koppes & Co., employing
from ten to fifteen hands, and were not able to fill half their orders for the thresher
last year...... Hand Rake and Fork Mfanufactory, Boydston & Ramsey, proprietors, was founded in January, 1871, manufacturing hundreds of these implements annually...... Orrville Pottery was estabiished in 1862, by Amos
Hall and Robert R. Cochran, Peter Eckert and Jacob Flickinger purchased the
pottery in 1877, and manufacture an extensive variety of crocks, jugs, fruit jars,
etc...... Orrville Tannery, established in 1864, by Ludwick Pontius, and was
the first tannery in the place. Now owned by F. Dysle & Bro.......  Marble
Works, established four years ago, C. Banhoff, proprietor.
The Central Ohio Fair, held annually at Orrville since I867, is the best in some
respects of any in all the surrounding counties. The grounds contain forty acres.
Thousands attend it every year, until the " Orrville Fair " has become a popular institution with the masses. Present officers: President, Hon. John Ault; Vice
President, Daniel Holzer; Treasurer, Joseph Snavely; Secretary, H. M. Wilson;
General Manager, Joseph Snavely...... Company E, Ninth Ohio National Guards,
was organized in Orrville, on June 5, 1876, and is a fine military company of forty.
five members. Officers: Captain, A. H. Postlewait; First Lieutenant, T. B. Myers; Second Lieutenant, Thomas Carney; Orderly Sergeant, John A. Wolbach..... The First Fire Company was organized in 1873, with a hand engine called
"Dot," and in 1874 this company merged into a new organization of sixty-four
members, with another engine called " Monitor; " Foreman, E. Fogle.
Exchange Bank.-This monetary institution was organized in 1868, by Jacob
Brenneman and David G. Horst, the former retiring from it in April, 1877, since
which time Samuel and Levi Brenneman have taken interests, the style of the bank
being Brenneman & Horst.




ORR VILLE.


693


SECRET SOCIETIES.. 0. 0. F -Orrville Lodge, No. 490, was instituted July 26, 187I. Charter
members: iH. P. Hugus, A. W. Bombarger, A. E. Clark, Isaac H. Krieble, Harrison Bowman, John Dunn, J. C. St. John. Present officers: R. Chaffin, N. G.;
A. Arich, V. G.; Jacob Holzer, R. S.; A. Gift, P. S.; John Miller, Treasurer; J.
H. Krieble, P. G.
Orr Lodge Knigihts of Honor was instituted July 9, I875. Officers: Rev. J. C.
Kauffman, Dictator; William M. Orr, Past Dictator; S. N. Coe, Vice Dictator; S.
I). D. Tanner, Assistant Dictator; J. S. Evans, Guide; A. J. Heller, Reporter; J.
G. Hartman, Financial Reporter; John Coffey, Treasurer; Rev. J. M. Jenkins,
Chaplain; Guardian, George Ream; Sentinel, Solon Boydston.
D. L. Moncrief, A. D.-The grandfather of the subject of this
sketch was born in Scotland, his father in Carlisle, Pa., from where
he removed to near Cannonsburg, Washington county.          Here
the Doctor was born, September 23, 1823, and lived on the farm
until fifteen years of age.  He attended Jefferson College, and at
twenty-two began the study of medicine with Dr. Israel Moore,
of Cannonsburg, with whom he remained three years a student,
and then removed to Western Ohio. In 1853 he concluded his
medical course at Cincinnati. From Mercer county, Ohio, he
came to Orrville in March, I857, at once entering upon a successful practice of his profession, residing there until the present time.
He was thrice married, the last time on March 20, 1876, to Miss
Marian Morton, an English lady, who accompanied Dr. A. C.
Miller on his return from England. He is a member of the
Wayne County Medical Society, and was made Postmaster of
Orrville in 1860 by Abraham Lincoln, serving eight years. He is
a member of the United Presbyterian church at Dalton.
Dr. Moncrief is a scholar in his profession, and the best type
of a refined and cultivated gentleman.  Truthfulness, energy, tenacity and firmness in conviction of right are special traits of his
character. A man of enlightened mind, he appreciates the value
of education, and as a consequence encourages and aids its general promotion. He is ever identified with the best interests of
his town. He has carved out his own destiny; acquired competence and wealth, and by his worth, stability and courtesy, has
won the deserved confidence and respect of all good men.
Hon. William M. Orr.-William M. Orr, only child of Judge
Smith Orr, deceased, was born in Baughman township, January
7, I826.  He was raised on the farm, and with his father remained
until he was sixteen years of age, when he commenced teaching




694


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


school. He attended the Dalton and Wadsworth Academies, and
in the year 1846 entered the junior class at Washington and Jefferson College, from which he graduated in 1847.
In this class were John LeMoine, now member of Congress
from Chicago; W. S. Moore, late member of Congress from
Washington, Pa.; James G. Blaine, member of Congress for many
years, late Speaker of the House of Representatives, and present
United States Senator from the State of Maine, and other men of
mark.
At the annual contest of 1846, between the literary societies of
the College, he took the highest honor in debate and was valedictorian of the class of I847.
He commenced reading law with Hon. T. M. T. McKennon, of
Washington, Pa., once Secretary of the Interior of the United
States, concluding his elementary studies with Hon. R. P. Spaulding, of Cleveland, Ohio.
He was admitted to practice by Judge Peter Hitchcock, and
opened an office in Wooster in 1849, where he remained until 1865,
when he removed to Orrville, his present residence.
He was married on the 4th of July, I849, to Charlotte McFarland, of Baughman township, a niece of Major McFarland, who
distinguished himself at Lundy's Lane. Mr. Orr has had four
children, Smith, John, William and Maria. William Orr, his third
son, died August 3, I877.     His oldest son is practicing medicine
in Lasalle county, Ill.
CHURCHES OF ORRVILLE.
A Methodist Society was organized in the district in which Orrville was embraced
as early as I853, by Rev. Joseph Hayes, and services were held in a school-room
in the western part of the village. Among its first members were, David Huston,
leader, Mrs. Joanna Hayes, Daniel Hoover and wife, Mrs. William Vankirk, Mrs.
Joseph Vankirk, Father Wilford, a local preacher, Mary Walters, and Mr. and Mrs.
William Skelton. They completed their church edifice in I868-69. Rev. Alfred
Wheeler dedicated it and preached the sermon. The succession of pastors since
1869 has been as follows: Rev Chilton Craven, N. J. Close, A. E. Thomas, Philip
Kelser, J. L. Sanford, J. T. McCartney, W. Reese and J. F. Brant, present pastor.
English Lutheran Mission Church was organized January 6, I877, with ten
members, and was incorporated January 31, i876, with the following trustees:
Jesse Good, A. W. Bombarger, Otho Miller, G. G. Wear and A. McGriffin.
March 28 A. C. Miller, M. D., of Cleveland, and J. H. Stoll, M. D., and wife, in
April, deeded grounds to the Trustees, thus securing to the church the entire
block lying on the south-east corner of Vine and Water streets, for a consideration
of $i,9oo. July x8, 1876, on these premises the society began the erection of a
church. The corner-stone was laid September 3, Rev. H. L. Wiles, D. D.,




ORR VILLE.


695


preaching the sermon. By October 13, I877, the house was ready for occupancy.
The church membership now numbers twenty, and with a flourishing Sabbathschool recently organized the work in the new church begins under favorable
auspices. Rev. J. C. Kauffman is present pastor.
Presbyterian Church.-Prior to the organization of the Presbyterian church at
Orrville services were held occasionally.  Rev. Archibald Hanna preached
the first sermon in the interest of Presbyterianism in 1852, in an old school-house,
now the home of Mr. H. M. Wilson and family. No further record of any services until July 9, 1854, by Rev. John E. Carson, held in the Union church. Here
they henceforth worshiped until the basemement of their own house was fit for
occupation. Services were held by the following named persons; Rev. Carson,
Rev. J. W. Hanna, son of Archibald Hanna, Rev. Marshall, Rev. Barr, Rev.
Semple. During the close of Rev. Semple's ministration in this place, the church
was organized July 25, 1865. The committee appointed by the Presbytery of
Wooster for the work consisted of Rev. Philo M. Semple, John E. Carson,
Andrew Virtue, ministers; Elders James McClure and Joseph Potter. The original
anembership consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Gailey, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Reaser, Mr.
and Mrs. Kirk Johnston, James A. Taggart, Sarah J. Taggart, Margaret F. Crites,
Rebecca Wilson, Lydia Wilson, Mary L. Wilson, Mary J. Ewing, Delilah McFarland, Sarah A. Orr, Rebecca M. Storrs, Catharine Schriber, Sarah J. Taggart.
Soon after the organization of the church, Mr. Semple held a communion here,
the first ever held in Orrville. His labor ceased September I6, I866. October 21
witnessed the advent of Rev. M. L. Anderson, who continued as stated supply of
the church, in connection with Holmesville, to March 21, 1869. Rev. Dunlap began his services June 6, 1869, but his ministry was short. He died October 3, 1870.
The church was dedicated February I9, I871, when a sermon was delivered by Dr.
Lord, of the University of Wooster. Rev. A. Dilworth began his services August
27, i871, and was installed November 10, thus securing the title of first regular
pastor of this church. Rev. J. M. Jenkins preached his first sermon April 26, 1874,
and was installed, September 24, by a committee of Presbytery, consisting of Rev.
A. S. Mulholland and Dr. Taylor, of Wooster. D. G. Horst, H. H. Strauss and J.
H. Stoll, M. D., were elected Elders at a meeting held May I9, 1876. A summary
of the work of the church from its organization shows that ninety have united with
it from other churches. Total number ever connected with it, 257; present membership, I70.
David G. Horst was born in Lancaster county, Pa., June 26,
I831, and came to Wayne county, Ohio, with his father, with
whom    he remained until t860, when he settled in Orrville, and
engaged in the dry goods and general merchandising business, in
which he continued for eight years, when he went into the banking business. He was married February i6, 1853, to Elizabeth
Martin, of Baughman township. He is a member of the Presbyterian church; is a man of sound, solid sense, a benevolent, liberal,
upright, and a consistent Christian gentleman.
J. H. Stoll, M. D., was born in Chippewa township, May 2,
I849. He remained with his father, Christian Stoll, who was a




696


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


successful and wealthy farmer, until he was sixteen, when he attended the Smithville Academy, and thence went to Savannah,
Ashland county, where he remained two years. At the age of
twenty he began reading medicine with L. Firestone, M. D., LL.
D., of Wooster. After successive courses at the best medical colleges of the United States, he graduated in 1871, and immediately
entered upon practice at Marshallville, where he remained eighteen
months, when he went to London, England, and received lectures
at Kings College, but on account of sickness was compelled to return home, when he located in Orrville. He was married June 26,
1871, to Belle A. Jeffreys, of Savannah.  He is surgeon of the C.
Mt. & C. R. R. and the Ninth Ohio National Guards.
Adam Brenneman, a native of Pennsylvania, immigrated to Ohio
in 1831, located in Sugarcreek township, two miles south of Orrville, where he died February o1, I869. His son, Jacob Brenneman, was born in Lancaster county, Pa., February 28, I822, removed to Wayne county with his father, where he remained until
he was twenty-six years of age. He then began selling goods one
mile south-east of the present site of Orrville, where in I859 he
removed and continued' his mercantile business, with D. G. Horst
as partner. In 1867 he relinquished commercial pursuits and went
into the banking business. In 1872 he completed the splendid
brick building on Market street, Ioox50 feet, three stories high,
and at a cost of $I2,000. It fronts on the street, with five ample
and capacious rooms, an ornament to the town and an honor to
the genius and enterprise of Mr. Brenneman, than whom there are
no better citizens in the county.
The Graded Schools of Orville, organized in 1872, are among
the very best conducted in the county, having a fine school building, and using all the improved methods of instruction, and are a
highly creditable institution to the growing little railroad city.
The present instructors are: Superintendent and Principal of the
High School, J. W. Dougherty; Teachers: Grammar School, Sarah McWilliams; Intermediate, Martha J. Gailey and Ida Clark;
A Primary, Rettie Weirich; B Primary, Lois Steel.
The Orrville Crescent.-This newspaper was established in January, 1870, by John A. Wolbach. The paper is a five-column
quarto, 26x40. The office has three job presses, two of which are




ORR VILLE.


697


steam presses, and employs four hands. The Crescent is well
managed, has a good advertising patronage, and is settled on a
solid foundation. John A. Wolbach, the editor and publisher,
was born in Greene township, April 6, 1849, and learned the
printing business in the office of the Wooster Republican. In
1867 he worked on the Medina Republican, and after a short experience there went on the Akron Beacon, where he remained two
years, until he established the Crescent. He was married September II, 1869, to Miss Sarah J. Homer, of Medina county.
Evening at Home and TVords of Cheer are the titles of two
worthy journals published in Orrville by H. A. Mumaw since the
spring of I875. They are very readable family papers, conducted
with good literary ability, and are publications of the highest
moral character.
Daniel Schriber, a native of Pennsylvania, and for seventeen
years a citizen of Wayne county, died February 2, 1852. His
son, Henry, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, September 4, 1831, and with his father's family, in 1833, removed to
Wayne county, his father soon purchasing a tract of land in
Greene township. Henry worked on the farm till he was nineteen years old, when he learned a trade, to which he applied himself for seven years, when he went to school at Fredericksburg and
prepared himself for teaching, which vocation for a number of
years he pursued. In 1859 he embarked in mercantile business in
Orrville, where he has since continued. He has been twice married; first, to Elizabeth Gailey, who died September 27, 1872;
second, to Sophronia Orr, January 15, I875. He is the present
Postmaster of the town, and has been for a number of years;
was elected Justice of the Peace of Greene township in 1872, and
re-elected in I875. He is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Isaac Schriber, son of Daniel, was born in Greene township,
June 29, I834. He was married to Catharine Zollars, and is an
active, enterprising man. He was appointed Commissioner of
Wayne county, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of John
McGill, and was elected and re-elected thereafter to the same
office. Under his administration occurred the completion of the
county buildings, and the improvements and additions made to the
County Infirmary. He has held various minor offices.




698


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


BAUGHMAN TOWNSHIP.
This township was named after John Baughman, grandfather of
John W., of Wooster, who was the first white settler in the township. It was organized March 5, 1816. Its population in I870
was 2,067. The list of township officers on the record is as follows:
Justices of the Peace.-John  Baughman,': May iI, 1816; John Foreman,
June o0, I817; William Moore, April 6, 1818; William Forbes, May 15,
I8i8; John Baughman, March 6, I820; John Baughman, 1822; David Anderson, 1825; John Baughman, June 26, 1825; Andrew Ault, Aug. 9, 1828;
David Anderson, June, I829;    David Anderson, April 27, 1830;     Andrew
Ault, April 23, 1831; Smith Orr, April I9, 1833; A. Ault, April 24, 1834;
Smith Orr, April I6, 1836; A. Ault, April 28, I837; Smith Orr, April
13, I839; A. Ault, April I6, 1840; Smith Orr, April I3, 1842; A. Ault, April 13,
1843; Smith Orr, April i6, 1845; Jacob Baughman, April 21, 1846; Wm. Huston,
April I4, 1847; A. Ault, October 26, 1847; William Jones, October 20, 1849; A.
Ault, October 19, I850; I. Vangilder, November 5, 1852; A. Ault, October 27,
5853; Hays Clark, November, 2, 1854; Henry Winger, October 25, 1856; William
M. Gailey, April 22, 1857; Henry Winger, October 20, 1859; W. M. Gailey, April
17, 1860; James Robison, October 22, 1861; Wm. Gailey, April 17, 1863; James
Robison, October 15, 1864; Henry Winger, October I9, 1865; Wm. Gailey, April
13, i866; James Robison, October 15, 1867; Ed. Bedell, October 9, I868; John
Campbell, October I9, I868; Wm. Gailey, April 13, 1869; Joseph Ault, April 12,
1870; John Campbell, October 18, I87I; Wm. Gailey, April 9, 1872; Joseph
Ault, April 14, 1873; Levi Neiswanger, October 20, 1874; Wm. Gailey, April 12,
1875; Joseph Ault, April 13, 1876.
1816. Trustees-Warren Harris, William Edgar, William Campbell; Treasurer-Joseph Walker.
I8I7. Trustees-Abraham Young, Charles McFadden, John Henry; ClerkThomas Caulfield; Treasurer-Conrad Weygandt.
1818. Trustees-William Galaway, Frederick Ault, William Vanimmon;
Clerk-Thomas Caulfield; Treasurer-James E. Wilkins.
i8I9. Trustees-William Gallaway, Frederick Ault, Richard Porter; ClerkThomas Caulfield; Treasurer-William Montgomery.
I820. Trustees-Richard Porter, Samuel Davis, Anthony Kamp; Clerk-Rob-,ert Moore; Treasurer-William Montgomery.
1821. Trustees-Benjamin Cary, James Marshall, John Baughman; ClerkJames Ayres; Treasurer-John Maxler.
1822. Trustees-Aaron Smith, Anthony Kamp, Samuel Taggart; Clerk-Benjamin Futhy; Treasurer-William Vanimmon.
1823. Trustees-Daniel Hoy, William Edgar, William Moore; Clerk-Rob-;ert Moore.
1824. Trustees-William Edgar, William Moore, William Forbes; ClerkRobert Moore (hung himself); Treasurer-William Forbes.
1825. Trustees-Aaron Smith, James E. Wilkins, William Montgomery;
Clerk and Treasurer-Ebenezer Coe.
*At this first election there were but eleven votes polled.




BA UGHMAN TO WNSHIP.


699


1826. Trustees-Anthony Kamp, Frederick Ault, Peter Yohe; Clerk-Jacob
Holm; Treasurer-Moses Coe.
1827. Trustees-Andrew Ault, John Sickman, William Forbes; Clerk-Jacob
Holm; Treasurer-Samuel Davis.
1828. Trustees-John Sickman, Smith Orr, Benjamin Harsh; Clerk-Peter
Yohe; Treasurer-Fred. Ault.
1829. Trustees-David Anderson, John Sickman, Lewis McKean; ClerkMoses Coe; Treasurer-Frederick Ault.
I830. Trustees-James Marshall, John Baughman, David Anderson; ClerkWilliam Forbes; Treasurer-William Campbell.
I83I. Trustees-James Marshall, William Moore, Robert Johnson; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Smith.
I832. Trustees-Robert Johnson, James S. Foster, Valentine Ault; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Smith.
I833. Trustees-Dan Hoy, James S. Foster, Richard Porter; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-Aaron Smith.
I834. Trustees-Dan Hoy, Richard Porter, Benjamin Cunningham; ClerkJohn Alexander; Treasurer-Henry Ault.
I835. Trustees-Anthony Kamp, Andrew Ault, Samuel Wilkins; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-Jos. Cunningham.
1836. Trustees-Andrew   Ault, Samuel Wilkins, Dan Hoy; Clerk-Henry;- Treasurer-John Sickman.
I837. Trustees-Dan Hoy, David Medsker, Lewis McKean; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-John Sickman.
1838. Trustees-Lewis McKean, John Wilson, David Medsker; Clerk-John
Alexander; Treasurer-John Sickman.
1839. Trustees-Lewis McKean, John Wilson, William Lee; Clerk-William
Wilson; Treasurer-John Sickman.
1840. Trustees-John Wilson, William Lee, Jonathan Weygandt; Clerk-D.
Franklin S. Griffin; Treasurer-John Sickman.
1841. Trustees-Smith Orr, Jonathan Weygandt, Andrew Ault; Clerk-William Wilson; Treasurer-John Sickman.
1842. Trustees-Andrew Ault, Robert Noble, John Wilson; Clerk-William
Wilson; Treasurer-John Sickman.
I843. Trustees-Robert Noble, John Wilson, Benjamin Harsh; Clerk-William Wilson; Treasurer-John Sickman; Assessor-William Walker.
I844. Trustees-Andrew   Ault, William Young, John McFarland; ClerkJacob Geisinger; Treasurer-John Sickman; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
1845. Trustees-Andrew   Ault, William Young, John McFarland; ClerkJacob Geisinger; Treasurer-John Sickman; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
1846. Trustees-Andrew Ault, John McFarland, Joseph Gindlesperger;
Clerk-Jacob Geisinger; Treasurer-John Sickman; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
I847. Trustees-David Anderson, Nathaniel Ervin, Joseph Gindlesperger;
Clerk-Jacob Geisinger; Treasurer-John Sickman; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
I848. Trustees-Nathaniel Ervin, David Anderson, Joseph Gindlesperger;
Clerk-Jacob Geisinger; Treasurer-John Sickman; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
I849. Trustees-Nathaniel Ervin, H. J. Ault, Jonathan Pontius; Clerk-Jacob Geisinger; Treasurer-John Sickman; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
I850. Trustees-H. J. Ault, Jonathan Pontius, Thaddeus McFarland;
Clerk-Jacob Geisinger; Treasurer-William Knight; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
I85I. Trustees-Thaddeus McFarland, Jacob Bowman, Benjamin Lichte;
Clerk-Jacob Gelsinger; Treasurer-William Knight; Assessor —Enoch Moffit.




700             IISTOR Y OF IW4A YAE COUANTj, OHIO.
1852. Trustees-John Sickman, Martin Weimer, Abraham \Varfle; ClerkJacob Geisinger; Treasurer-William Knight; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
I853. Trustees-Thaddeus McFarland, John Ault, Martin Weimer; ClerkJacob Geisinger; Treasurer-William Knight; Assessor-Enoch Moffit.
I854. Trustees-Thaddeus McFarland, John Ault, Benjamin Hlarshey; ClerkD. McCalmon; Treasurer-William Knight; Assessor-Andrew Ault.
I855. Trustees-T. D. McFarland, D. Gensener, William    Gailey; ClerkD. McCalmon; Treasurer-William Knight; Assessor-John Ault, Jr.
I856. Trustees-William  Gailey, Benjamin Cunningham, John Douglas;
Clerk-John Lytle; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-David Huston.
1857. Trustees-John Douglas, Benjamin Cunningham, Thomas Wilson;
Clerk-John Lytle; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Joseph Gindelsberger.
I858. Trustees-Benjamin Cunningham, Thomas Wilson, Isaac Goon; ClerkDavid McCalmon; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Daniel Grady.
I859. Trustees-T. D. McFarland, Benjamin Weygandt, James Bodine;
Clerk-A. S. Cunningham; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
I860. Trustees-Andrew Bair, Matthew Taggart, Benjamin Rohrer; ClerkJoseph Ault; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-James Gindelsberger.
I86I. Trustees-Matthew Taggart, Benjamin Rohrer, Andrew Bair; ClerkJoseph Ault; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
1862. Trustees-Benjamin Weygandt, Henry E. Ault, Joseph Musser; ClerkRobert Robinson; Treasurer-Mart. Weimer; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
1863. Trustees-Joseph Gindelsberger, Nathaniel Erwin, Jacob Buckwalter;
Clerk-Isaac Ault; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
I864. Trustees-Nathaniel Erwin, James Douglas, George Reinoehl; ClerkIsaac Ault; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Benjamin Rohrer.
I865. Trustees-George Reinoehl, D. G. Horst, James Douglas; ClerkIsaac Ault; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
I866. Trustees-D. G. Horst, George Reinoehl, James Douglas; Clerk-John
W. Robinson; Assessor-Joseph Gindelsberger.
I867. Trustees-George Reinoehl, James Evans, James )ouglas; Clerk-J.
W. Robinson; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Isaac Ault.
I868. Trustees-M. M. Taggart, James Douglas, John Shaffer; Clerk-Joseph
Ault; Treasurer-James Robinson; Assessor-Levi Neiswanger.
1869. Trustees-D. G. Horst, Solon Boydston, David Arick; Clerk-J. K.
Weygandt; Treasurer-John Weimar; Assessor-Benjamin Weygandt.
I870. Trustees-James Douglas, James Evans, Hiram Clapper; Clerk-William Bowman; Treasurer-William M. Gaily; Assessor-Levi Neiswanger.
1871. Trustees-John Campbell, Hiram Clapper, C. G. Gehres; Clerk-Levi
Neiswanger; Treasurer-William M. Gaily; Assessor-Levi Neiswanger.
I872. Trustees-John Campbell, Hiram Clapper, C. G. Gehres; Clerk-Levi
Neiswanger; Assessor-Frederick Ault; Treasurer-P. A. Koontz.
I873. Trustees-John Campbell, Hiram Clapper, C. G. Gehres; Clerk-Levi
Neiswanger; Treasurer-P. A. Koontz; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
I874. Trustees-Joseph Ault, Emanuel Schriber, Daniel Nitterraurer; Clerk
-G. D. McIntyre; Treasurer-John Weimer; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
1875. Trustees-Daniel Nitterraurer, Emanuel Schriber, Joseph Ault; Clerk
-G. D. McIntyre; Treasurer-John Weimer; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
1876. Trustees-Daniel Nitterraurer, David Trout, William Wehe; ClerkPeter Ecker; Treasurer-Henry Correll; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.
1877. Trustees-Jacob Hunsburger, J. B. Heffleman, C. I. Gehres; ClerkJ. R. Roebuck; Treasurer-Henry Correll; Assessor-Isaac Anderson.




BA UGIHMAN TO WNSHIP.


70o


Reminiscences Concerning John Baughman, by his Son Solomon, of Dalton.-My
father was born on Ten Mile, Washington county, Pa. His father, whose name
was John also, removed to what is Baughman township now, with his wife and
family, in i8io. He settled on the east side of the township, on the farm known
as Baughman Hill. My father, by way of explanation, once said to me, "When
you buy a farm be sure to get one that has sugar trees and a spring on it." We
had, however, been out before the family was brought, and built a cabin I2xI2,
but which had no chimney, and a roof made of chestnut bark. We came on horseback, bringing some clothes, tools, etc., though father walked most of the way.
The second time they came out they hired a pair of horses and wagon to bring the
family, riding and packing their own ponies. Father entered the land, I60 acres, in
connection with John Weygandt, father subsequently owning all of it. His farm
was an excellent one, and it had thirty-seven springs on it, and apples when there
were none anywhere else. We lived in the two cabins for about eight years, when
we erected a house twenty or thirty rods north of them. Here father lived and
died. Times were pretty hard then, and the country wild, but not as wild as now,
I believe; there were fewer fusses then, and less "stagger juice" consumed. For
years he was a member of the Presbyterian church, but latterly joined the United
Brethren. He had ten children, seven sons and three daughters, but three of
whom are living. Indians, bears and wolves were plenty when we came out. Some
of the Indians could talk English, and told us that a big war was coming, and a
part of the family, out of fear of the Indians, went toward Canton. We had a good
many Indian scares, but managed to get through without personal harm. When
the Indians got drunk they were dangerous. Whisky was sometimes carried in
deer skins.
Reminiscences of Andrew Ault.-I was born in York county, Pennsylvania, August 8, 1797; was the son of Valentine Ault. When three years old I was taken
to Washington county, Pennsylvania; worked on a farm till I was 18 years of age,
when, with my uncle, Frederick Ault, I came to Wayne county to see the country.
The first night I grew alarmed at the presence of wolves, and " left the world and
climbed a tree "-actually climbed a saplingand stayed on itall night. I went back to
Pennsylvania, but returned in March, partly on a sled and partly not. I made
sugar a while, and went back to Pennsylvania and remained a few years-long
enough to get married, in I822, to Elizabeth Weaver. I returned to Wayne
county in I823 with a bran new wife; took three days to make the trip; located
finally on the north-east quarter of section 8, in Baughman township, and purchased land from Malachi Fiester. I had trouble getting the girl I wanted when I
was married, but was bound to have her; had a child in twelve months to a minute from the day I was married-kept strict count. I have held all the township
offices; first office was Justice of the Peace, in I835; wanted to resign, but didn't
know how; visited my old friend, Jacob Ihrig, and asked advice; he said, "You
must not do it," but I said, "I can't attend to it, can't read and don't know
enough;" " But," said Ihrig, "your wife can read and help you through."  I concluded to stick, and held the office 29 years. Though a Democrat, in a Republican township, I never was defeated. I have settled up more estates than any man
in the township; but three appeals were taken from my docket; one was settled,
judgment in one was confirmed, and the third dismissed. I served twice as Commissioner of Wayne county. Frederick Ault's wife was the first white person who
died in the township, and Peter Walters the first born, I think. John Baughman
was the first Justice.




702         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
David Foreman emigrated fromI reland, and settled on a farm
near Philadelphia, Pa., about the year 1745, where he resided until
I8o8, when the family moved to Baughman township, Wayne
county, Ohio, in I8i. His death, and that of his wife, took
place prior to the year I820. They were Protestants in religious
faith. The family consisted of the father and mother; three
daughters, Sarah, Margaret and Maria; and three sons, John, Alexander and Hugh. Sarah married John Henry, who lived in
Baughman township many years, then moved to Beaver, Pa.,
where descendants of the family still reside. Margaret married
William Montgomery, living in Baughman many years, and died
without children. Maria was married to the late Judge Smith Orr,
and resided until her death in the same neighborhood. Hugh,
the youngest of the sons, never married. Having learned the
trade of a cabinet maker, with Thomas Robison, of Wooster, he
spent most of his life traveling in foreign lands, visiting almost
every country on the globe. When last heard from by his relatives, in I830, he was in South America. Alexander married
Martha Gardner, and resided for many years near the old Foreman homestead, when he moved with his family to Hancock
county, Ohio, where some of his descendants still reside.
John Foreman, the eldest of the family, owned and improved
the farm known in later years as the "Vankirk farm," where he
resided until I829, when he moved with his family to Nottawa, St.
Joseph county, Mich., where he died in I846. He was a man of
more than ordinary energy, industry and enterprise, took a leading part in all measures for the welfare and prosperity of the early
settlers. He commanded a company of militia, and was always
among the first in defense of the safety and peace of the neighborhood and county. Of an ingenious turn of mind, his mechanical
skill made him very useful, at that early day, to his neighbors, and
often to others in distant parts of the country. A member of the
Seceder church, of strong convictions, he read much, and was ready
in debate and conversation. His first wife, a sister of the late
Judge Orr, died soon after their marriage, leaving no children.
His second wife was a daughter of John Glasgo. She died
within two years after their marriage, leaving one child, Enos
Foreman. The third wife was a daughter of William Johnston,
an early settler, living in Sugarcreek township. Eight children
survived the last wife, two of whom have since died, the others
being residents in several different Western States.




BAUGHMAN TOWNSHIP.                  703
Enos Foreman, son of John Foreman, and grandson of David
Foreman, was born August 9, i820, in Baughman township, on
the place known now as the "Vankirk farm." When nine years
old he had enjoyed the usual advantages of education then furnished in country district-schools. With his father's family he
went to Nottawa, Michigan, in I829, where he worked on a farm,
going to school in the winter months, until I838, then entered
White Pigeon (now Michigan State) University, and pursued the
usual classical course until December I840, when he returned to
Wadsworth, Ohio, and spent the next four years under the instruction of John McGregor, a highly educated Scotchman, a graduate
of Edinburg University, and a most successful teacher. He went
to Mt. Vernon, Ohio, in 1844, and read law three years with the
late Judge Hurd, teaching school winters in Fredericktown to
defray expenses. He was admitted to the bar in May, I847, and
settled in Wooster, occupying the office and having the use of the
library of the late Judge Avery, who was then a Judge of the
Supreme Court of Ohio. In I852, with H. C. Johnson as partner,
he purchased the Wooster Republican, and continued its publication until July, 1870, when he sold out to McClure & Sanborn,
and removed to Cleveland where he has since resided.
Hugh Harkins.-The parents of this honored pioneer were natives of Ireland, where the family, by a record kept since 1693,
is shown to have been cloth-weavers and possessors of real estate.
His father's name was William Harkins, who, in 1791, married his
cousin, Margaret Harkins. In 1793 they emigrated to America,
accompanied by nearly all the connections -his mother, brothers
and sisters, and his brother-in-law, Patrick Porter and his family.
The little colony landed at Newark, New Jersey, being deterred
from disembarking at Philadelphia on account of yellow fever then
prevailing there. They made their way to Lancaster county, Pa.,
but in four years afterwards removed to Westmoreland county,
Pa., where the subject of this sketch was born in I805. After living in Allegheny county five years, his father and Patrick Porter
and his sons Richard and John, with their families, removed to
Ohio, settling in the then untamed wilderness of Wayne county,
on April I9, I814. There were but few settlers ahead of them,
one being John Baughman, after whom the township was subsequently named. Here they lived and prospered the remainder of
their lives, his mother dying in 1843, aged seventy-five years, and




704


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


his father on November 19, 1845, at the age of eighty-five. Patrick Porter died in July, 1825; his wife in 1837. Hugh Harkins
was married November 2, I826, and from the date of settlement
lived on the same farm until the day of his death, January 15,
I874.
Robert Taggart was born 1796, in Washington county, Pa., and
came to Baughman township in 1817, and located where John Taggart now lives. He died July 27, 1873, his wife surviving him.
He had ten children. Upon the one hundred and sixty acres of
land which he entered a part of Orrville is built. He was a member of the Presbyterian church at Dalton. His son John was born
October 6, 1825, in Baughman township, and is married to Sarah
J. Carlile. He is an industrious man, devoted to agricultural pursuits.
Samuel Taggart was born December 17, 1790, and died April
24, I853. He was married to Catharine Morrow, February i6,
I815, who died July 2, I86I. He came to Wayne county, April
9, I8I5, and settled on the quarter section of land now owned by
James and Morrow Taggart. He had twelve children. His father,
James, was a native of Antrim, Ireland, and came to America
prior to the Revolution. James A. Taggart, one of his sons, owns
a splendid farm near Orrville.
Lewis McKean, Sr., was born in Center county, Pennsylvania,
October I, 1797, and January 6, I825, he was married to Margaret
W. McCalmon, of the same county. The spring of that year
they moved to Wayne county, where he had been the year before
and put up a cabin on the farm now owned by Joseph Amstutz.
He died there May ii, I86I; his wife dying May ii, I867.
They had five children-Sylvester, William, Thomas, James and
Lewis.
John Campbell was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, October 29, I8IO, and came to Wayne county with his father, George
Campbell, in 1822. His father dying three years thereafter, John
virtually became the head of the family, and worked on the farm
until the youngest child was twenty-one years of age. January
21, 1842, he was married to Matilda Ervine, of Baughman township. His only son, John H. Campbell, is a lawyer, in practice in
Akron, and is married to Carrie Oswalt, of Wayne county.




BA UGHMAN TO WNSHIP.


705


Valentine W. Ault, son of Andrew, was born in Baughman
township, one-fourth mile from the old Andrew Ault farm, on March
I, I828, and was married on April 12, 1851, to Mary Ann Anderson, by whom he had eight children, three of whom are dead.
He devotes his attention to farming and milling. He is a straight
Democrat, and by his party was elected Commissioner of Wayne
county two terms, serving six years. His life has been a busy
and useful one, and his career characterized by intelligence and
strictest probity, and he enjoys, to a broad extent, the respect and
esteem of all who know him.
John Sickman was a native of Washington county, Pa., where
he was born March 23, I8oo. He came to Wayne county in 1820,
and settled in 1822 on land his father, Barnhart Sickman, had entered from the Government some years prior to that date. On
this farm, now owned by his son, W. K. Sickman, he lived until
his death, March 4, 1872.
John Wilson, father of Arthur M. Wilson, of Baughman township, was born February 22, I790, in Allegheny county, Pa., and
emigrated to Wayne county in the fall of 1827. His father, William, a Revolutionary soldier, had entered three quarter-sectionstwo in Baughman and one in Sugarcreek township-and John
squatted on the quarter now owned by his sons, Arthur and William. He was married October 29, 1812, to Catharine Morrow, of
Allegheny county, Pa., by whom he had seven children. He died
on Arthur's place, July 21, 1874.
Benjamin Westheffer was born in Lancaster county, Pa., January
6, 1825, and when five years old came with his father, William
Westheffer., an itinerant preacher, to Wayne county, settling on
the place where he died, January 5, I877. He was married July
27, 1849, to Susanna Wenger.
Benjamin [Weygandt was born February Io, 1826, on the old
homestead in Baughman township.   His father, Conrad Weygandt, was a native of Northampton county, Pa., his ancestry emigrating to America, from the German Rhine provinces, about one
hundred and sixty years ago. He came to Baughman township
in the spring of 1815, accompanied by his wife (Sarah Barkhammer) and one child, Jonathan, and settled on the farm now occu45




706


6HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


pied and owned by his son Benjamin. The subject of this sketch
was twice married, first to Sarah A. Ault, on June 14, I849, and
who died April 13, 1854, leaving two children; second, to Catharine Cunningham, June 24, 1858, by which union there are five
children. Mr. Weygandt was elected County Commissioner in
1873, re-elected in 1876. He is a member, with his wife, of St.
Michael's church. He is a successful farmer, and in the office of
County Commissioner is the right man in the right place. He is
a man of sterling integrity, exemplary life, firm and decided character, and held in high esteem by all who know him.
John Douglas was born in Scotland in 1790, immigrated to America, and settled near Fairfax Court-House, Va., where he worked
a short time, and married Miss Mary Early, a native of County
Tyrone, Ireland. From Virginia he came to Baughman township
in 1825. He died here November 27, 1844, his wife still surviving
him, as do also four children, James, John, Sarah and Wilson.
Marshallville was laid out by James Marshall, surveyed February 7, 1817, plat and certificate recorded February 27, I817, record to be found on page I84, vol. I, and is, we believe, the first
town laid out in the county after Wooster. Mr. Marshall is represented as being an excellent citizen, and a member of the old
Seceder church of Dalton. The town was surveyed by and for
Mr. Marshall, and named Marshallville (not Bristol). In 1834,
when Martin Weimer came to the village, there were but ten houses
there, occupied by Elijah Dancer, Calvin Brewster, James and Joseph
Hogan, Enoch Moffit, James Marshall, John Rech and a Mr. Ellingham and a Mr. Scotton-the two latter shoemakers. A Doctor Comstock was the first physician. Marshallville was incorporated February Io, I866. The following is the list of town officers since I867:
1867. Mayor-Charles Schlutt; Recorder-C. L. Gehres; Councilmen-Mar.
tin Weimer, George Reinoehl, Benjamin Carrel, John Pfunder, William Pinkley.
I868. Mayor-Charles Schlutt; Recorder-C. L. Gehres; Councilmen-Martin Weimer, John Pfunder, Jacob M. Keiffer, J. R. Eby, George Reinoehl; Treasurer-John Weimer.
I869. Mayor-Charles Schlutt; Recorder-C. L. Gehres; Councilmen-Martin Weimer, J. R. Eby, George Reinoehl, John Pfunder, Lewis Hartel; Treasurer
-John Weimer; Commissioner-C. Harris.
I870. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-C. L. Gehres; Councilmen-William
N. Buckley, John Weimer, Joseph Ault, J. C. Etling, C. Schlutt; Treasurer-John
Weimer; Commissioner-John Pfunder.




BA UGHMAN TO WNSHIP.


707


I87I. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-C. L. Gehres; Councilmen-Martin
Weimer, M. Donnemiller, J. C. Etling, George Reinoehl, John Pfunder, E. Vankirk; Treasurer-John Weimer; Street Commissioner-Henry Kraft.
1872. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-C. L. Gehres; Councilmen-L. W.
McKean, C. Schlutt, E. Vankirk, M. Weimer, M. Donnemiller, J. C. Etling;
Treasurer-John Weimer; Street Commissioner-Henry Kraft.
I873. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-C. L. Gehres; Councilmen-Martin
Weimer, H. S. Slough, J. C. Elting, L. W. McKean, C. Schlutt, E. Vankirk;
Treasurer-John Weimer; Street Commissioner-W. N. Buckley.
I874. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-G. D. McIntyre; Councilmen-C. L.
Gehres, John Pfunder, A. Halter, H. S. Slough, J. C. Etting, L. W. McKean;
Treasurer-John Weiner; Commissioner-W. N. Buckley.
I875. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-G. D. Mclntire; Councilman-Charles
Schlutt, S. S. Strayer, William Wehe, Martin Weimer, H. S. Slough, J. C. Etting;
Treasurer-John Weimer; Commissioner-Lewis Ertel.
I876. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-Henry Winger; Councilmen-Wm.
Wehe, Charles Schlutt, C. L. Gehres, A. Halter, D. Keck, S. S. Strayer; Treasurer-John Weimer; Commissioner-Lewis Ertel.
I877. Mayor-Joseph Ault; Recorder-Henry Winger, Councilmen-Wm.
Wehe, H. H. Hemmiger, Frederick Willenms, C. L. Gehres, D. Keck, A. Halter;
Treasurer-John Funder; Commissioner-Charles Gehres.
Postmasters at Marshallville since I837-Jacob Schilling, Joseph Wilford,
Tobias Gindelsperger, Gilbert Miller, William Schlott, John Ott, Henry Winger,
N. Steinmetz, Charles L. Gehres (app. I86I).
A. A. Mclntyre, a native of Edinburg, Scotland, and who immigrated to Canada in 1826, and to the United States in I829, was
the first ticket agent at Marshallville for the C., Mt. & C. R. R.,
then known as the C., Z. & C. R. R. He came to Marshallville
in 1854, when he was appointed to the road, then completed as far
as Millersburg. His son, G. D. McIntyre, is ticket agent at present, and is a popular and enterprising young man.
W. B. Hyatt, M. D., first got aboard the globe, March 29,
I829-studied    medicine, practiced in Marshallville-was in the
army two and one-half years-had his face mashed with a shell,
receiving other bodily injuries which produced atrophy of the muscles and anchylosis of the left shoulder joint.
Wehe &' Co.'s Carriage Manufactory was burned down August 11, 1877, commencing about three o'clock, A. M. Loss $8,000; insurance $1,700. The misfortune, however, did not exhaust the industrious and enterprising members of the firm,
for they are now erecting new buildings, and expect soon to conduct carriage manufacturing in all its branches on a larger scale than ever.
John Ault, brother of Andrew Ault, and son of Valentine, was
born in Washington county, Pa., in 1804, and removed to Baugh



708


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


man township in 1821, settling on the farm now owned by Valentine Ault. About 1847 he purchased a farm and gave his attention to tilling the soil until I868, when he removed to his present
residence near Marshallville. June 17, I830, he was married to
M. C. Yohe-had three children.  His son Joseph is one of the
Justices of Baughman township.
David Gensener, father of the Gensener Brothers, dry goods
merchants of Marshallville, was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, January 5, 1813. He was a hatter by trade, and after
working at this occupation for several years came to New Berlin,
Stark county, where he established a shop and lived about three
years, there marrying Esther Ann Feather, February 28, I837.
In the spring of 1838 he removed to Marshallville, where he has
since continued to reside, where he has been successful in business
pursuits. He has six children-two sons and four daughters-all
born and all living in Marshallville.
Henry Winger was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania,
June I2, 1824, and came with his parents to Greene township in
1837, removed to Baughman township in 1847, and two years
tlereafter into Marshallville. In December, I846, he married
Nancy Hawk, of East Union township, and has had five children.
He is a good business man, and has been Justice of the Peace
four terms,
John Weimer, a native of Alsace, where he was born April 3,
1813, immigrated to America in I833, landing at New York after
a thirty days' passage, coming to Greene township immediately,
and stopping near Smithville with Martin Shoemaker, where he remained a year, when he removed to Marshallville, then called Bristol. Mr. Weimer was married in 1836 to Susanna Holser, of
Baughman township, but a native of Westmoreland county, Pa.,
and has had seven children, Susanna, Martin L., John, Jacob,
Eliza and Ida, four only of whom are living. Mr. Weimer and
wife are members of the Reformed church. His occupation has
been chiefly that of cabinet maker and joiner. He has made his
life a success and is an earnest Christian man. His sons John
Weimer and Jacob Weimer are in business in Marshallville and are
fair dealing, upright and honorable men.


S. S. Strayer, M. D., was born in Lancaster county, Pa.,




BA UGHMAN TO WNSHIP.


709


March 7, 1846, and began reading medicine with Dr. Firestone,
in 1868, and graduated at the Medical Department of the Northwestern University at Chicago. He was married April 20, 1871,
to Miss Martha Crosier, of Napierville, Ill. Dr. Strayer is a young
man of skill and education, and destined to make a mark in his
profession.
Fairview  was surveyed by John        Brinkerhoff, December I4,
1850; plat recorded January 28, 1851, and found on page i8, volume I. A tradition has it that an old lady named Gailey conferred
upon it the title of Fairview. The name of the postoffice is Burton
City, it previously being called Baughman.
Burton City Flouring Mills.-These mills were built in I858, by Benjamin Coe,
and have a capacity of forty barrels per day. Does a large home trade, and ships
surplus to Philadelphia, Pa. G. W. Herschey is the present proprietor. He is the
second son of Benjamin Herschey, of Chippewa township, and March 28, I874, was
married to Mary Westheffer, of Baughman township..... Burton City Woolen
JMills. —Established by Isaac Vanguilder, and since 1862 owned by J. J. Eichenberger. Manufactures cloths, cassimeres, blankets, jeans, satinets, stocking yarn, a
large variety of flannels, etc.
June 9, 1874, the steam grist-mill of C. G. Binkley was blown up, killing suddenly George W. Henshaw, of Wooster, and causing the death of Mr. Binkley in
a few hours.
CHURCHES OF BAUGHMAN TOWNSHIP.
The Marshallville Presbyterian Church was organized January I9, 1843, by Rev.
A. Hanna, with a membership of fifty-seven, as follows: John Richey, George
Miller, Mary Miller, William Metzker, Nancy Metzker, Margaret Metzker, Thomas
Richey, Margaret Richey, Jane Lytle, Margaret Lytle, Thomas Lytle, Jane Lytle,
Samuel Davis, Aaron Smith, Mary Smith, John Miller, Lydia Miller, Gilbert Miller,
Isabella Walker, William M. Cunningham, Isabella Hogan, Benjamin Cunningham,
Margaret Cunningham, S. D. Cunningham, Samuel Wilkins, Ann Wilkins, Robert
Noble, Mary Ann Noble, Margary Miller, George Richey, Martha Richey, Mary
Richey, Jane Richey, Margaret Richey, Eliza Hogan, Joseph Cunningham, Tabitha
Cunningham, Sarah Baughman, Elanor Brown, Mary Coulter.
Rev. John Andrews was the first preacher, in i843; he was followed by Rev.
R. M. Finley; then came H. H. Hennigh; then John E. Carson, C. G. Gould and
Rev. Gillem, the present minister.
St. Michae's (Catholic) Church was built by Ambrose Halter, 1849, and the first
priest was P. Morat, Rev. Wattman, of Canal Fulton, being the present minister.
Evangelical Association.-The first church of this denomination was built about
1848, and was dedicated by Bishop Seibert, with a membership of 40. In 1839,
when Daniel Gensener came to Marshallville, there were but three families members of this church, to wit: Simon Smith, wife and family, Michael Strayer, wife
and family, and John Stroh, wife and family. Revs. Samuel Baumgardner and
Long were preachers. The new church was built in i874.




7Io


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Reformed Church of Marshallville was built in I874, under the management of a
building committee, composed of Martin Weimer, John Ault and William Etling,
at a cost of $7,000. Rev. F. Strassner' was the first minister. The one prior to
this was erected in I836, on joint property across the street, and east of the new
one. The first German Reformed families in the neighborhood were Jonathan Pontius, Mr. Holmes and his family, Tobias Gindlesperger, Martin Weimer and his
brother-in-law, Joseph Musser. Revs. Sonnedecker, Monosmith and Swissler were
among its earliest ministers, and after them, Rev. Lewis Edmonds, Cyrus H. Reiter, H. B. Sandal, T. J. Seipel. The membership is I112. The joint service was
abandoned, because the Reformed desired a church in the village, as it was more
central.  The New Lower Church was built in 1875, solely for the Lutherans, and is
not joint property.
John Ault was born in Baughman township, Wayne county,
September 8, I825. He remained with his father on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, and was married October 29,
1846, to Catharine Young, of his own township. He began life as
a farmer and still adheres to his first occupation. Whatever is
profitable in the management of his farm Mr. Ault devotes himself
to, whether it be producing corn and wheat, or raising hogs, sheep
or cattle.  His father was a farmer and business man before him,
and instilled into his son those inclinations of industry and aptitudes of speculative enterprise so characteristic of the man.        He
is energetic and impulsive, and whatever he turns his attention
to he proceeds to perform, and will not ordinarily allow himself to be thwarted by impediments or baffled by opposition.
Adroit and shrewd, he takes a square view of things, believing
that through the advancement of the agricultural, mechanic and
industrial arts the best civilization of the world can be achieved.
The farmer is the rightful lord and monarch of the soil, and the
mechanic his co-partner, co-adjutor, and needful counterpart. He
* Rev. F. Strassner is the present pastor of the Reformed Church at Orrville, a
notice of which was inadvertently omitted in its proper place. This congregation
was organized and incorporated January 20, I869, the following being the incorporators: J. Wert, J. Frey, M. Gruger, P. Krick, A. Wirth, J. Speicher, J. Hurni,
G. Yeakley, Benjamin Eyman, Z. K. Long, F. Piens, and C. Albright. The present pastor, Rev. F. Strassner, began his ministry April I, I872. The services from
the beginning of the pastorate was one service in the English language each Sabbath, either in the morning or evening, and every alternate Sabbath morning
service in the German. He conducted the exercises in the church at Marshallville
during his pastorate, until October I, I877. Rev. Strassner is a native of Bremen,
Germany, where he was born, February 22, I831, and came to America in 1848.
He entered the ministry in 1859, his first charge being in Wilkesbarre, Pa. He was
married to Mary G. Gleim, of Lebanon county, Pa., March 28, I86I, and has had
six children. He is an eloquent speaker and a learned divine.




BA UGHMAN TO WNSHIP.


7II


is a friend of the educational movements of the age and a zealous
supporter of the common schools.
In politics Mr. Ault is a sound Democrat, and exceedingly
popular with his party, to the extent that when he is in the canvass he is the winning man. He was a member of the Ohio Legislature from January I, I866, to January 6, 1868, and served in the
Senate of the State of Ohio from January I, I876, to January, 1878.
In his official capacity he advocated reforms of all beneficial character, and a return to the thrifty and prosperous days of the Republic. His official career is one of which he may well feel proud.
As a citizen he is devoted to agriculture, the propagation of and
traffic in fine breeds of cattle, always and strenuously insisting upon
public improvements, more railroads, fixed values, steadier prices
and cheaper transportation.
While he is much abstracted in business, his private walk is
signalized by the strongest social and domestic attachments. He
is kind-hearted, charitable, companionable and liberal to a fault.
He owns one of the finest and best improved farms in Wayne
county, and attends to the management and supervision of it himself. We regard him as a representative man in his sphere of life.
His punctuality, straight-forwardness and unimpeachable private
deportment have won him hosts of friends and lasting friendships.




712


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OH10.


CHAPTER XXVII.
WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
WAYNE TOWNSHIP, named in honor of General Anthony Wayne,
was organized October 12, I816, and in 1870 had a population of
1,714. We annex its civil officers from the records.
Justices of the Peace.-Dan Whonsetler, April 19, 1833; James Hill, April 19,
1833; John Hough, April I6, 1836; John Lehman, April I6, 1836; Dan Whonsetler, October 25, 1838; D. W. Laughton, April I3, I839; Leonard Allaman, April
I6, 1840; Jacob Ihrig, October 27, I84I; Leonard Allaman, April 13, 1843; Jacob
Ihrig, October I6, 1844, Leonard Allaman, April 21, 1846, Seth Hollinger, October I9, 1847; T. A. Shaver, April 12, 1849; Jacob Ihrig, October I9, I850; T. A.
Shaver, April 21, 1852; Moses Foltz, October 27, 1853; John Kintner, October 21,
1854; G. P. Emrich, April 4, 1856; Jacob Stair, October 25, I856; G. P. Emrich,
April I9, 1859: Jacob Stair, October 20, 1859; William M. France, April 21, 1862;
Jacob Stair, October 25, 1862; William M. France, April 12, 1865; Jacob Stair,
October 19, 1865; Daniel Stout, April 8, I867; Jacob Stair, October 19, i868;
Adam Fike, April I3, 1869: Jacob Stair, October I8, 1871; Adam Fike, April 9,
1872; Jacob Stair, October 20, 1874; J. H. Hunter, April 12, 1875.
I818. Trustees-Jacob McEnterfer, Moses Thompson, Alexander Hanna;
Clerk-George Bair.
1819. Trustees-Mordecai Boon, Matthew Ryley, William Pancoast.
1820. Trustees-Jacob Ihrig, James Glass, Abraham Vanmeter.
1821. Trustees-John Hardgrave, James Glass, Thomas Beall.
1822. Trustees-Joseph Wasson, Thomas Barton, James Glass.
1823. Trustees-James Glass, Thomas Barton, T. Wasson.
1824. Trustees-Thomas Barton, Joseph Wasson, Mordecai Boon.
1825. Trustees-Mordecai Boon, Thomas Barton, Joseph Wasson.
1826. Trustees-Mordecai Boon, Thomas Barton, Joseph Wasson.
1827. Trustees-Hugh Culbertson, Jacob Plank, Sr., John Plank.
1828. Trustees-Hugh Culbertson, Jacob McEnterfer, Mordecai Boon.
1829. Trustees-Mordecai Boon, Thomas Barton, Alexander Hanna; Clerk
John Lehman; Treasurer-Isaac Cahill.
1830. Trustees-Mordecai Boon, Alexander Hanna, John Wanbaugh; Clerk
-John Lehman; Treasurer-Isaac Cahill.
1831. Trustees-Mordecai Boon, Alexander Hanna, John Wanbaugh; Clerk
-John Lehman; Treasurer-Isaac Cahill.
1832. Trustees-Thomas Barton, John Wanbaugh, Henry Bucher; ClerkJohn Lehman; Treasurer-Isaac Cahill.




WA YNE TO WNSHIP.                          713
1833. Trustees-Thomas Barton, Jacob Stair, Joseph Emrich; Clerk-John
Lehman; Treasurer-Peter Ihrig.
1834. Trustees-Joseph Emrich, Jacob Stair, John Sonnedecker; Clerk-John
Lehman; Treasurer-David Sommers.
1835. Trustees-Henry Bucher, Hugh Norton, John Sonnedecker; ClerkJohn Lehman; Treasurer-David Sommers.
I836. Trustees-Henry Bucher, Hugh Norton, D. Whonsetler; Clerk-Neal
McCoy; Treasurer-James McCoy.
I837. Trustees-D. Whonsetler, Jacob Stair, Leonard Alleman; Clerk-Neal
McCoy; Treasurer-James McCoy.
1838. Trustees-Jacob Stair, Leonard Alleman, D. Whonsetler; Clerk-Neal
McCoy; Treasurer-John Mohler.
I839. Trustees-Leonard Alleman, John Sonnedecker, Peter Ihrig; ClerkSeth Hollinger; Treasurer-John McCoy.
1840. Trustees-Peter Ihrig, Thomas Bracken, Robert Eagans; Clerk-Seth
Hollinger; Treasurer-John Lehman.
I841. Trustees-Robert Eagans, Jacob Ihrig, John Stouffer; Clerk-Moses
Foltz; Treasurer-Thomas A. Shaver.
1842. Trustees-John Stouffer, John Kintner, Fred France; Clerk-Moses
Foltz; Treasurer-Thomas A. Shaver.
I843. Trustees —Fred France, John Kintner, Henry Kramer; Clerk-Moses
Foltz; Treasurer-Thomas A. Shaver; Assessor-William France.
I844. Trustees-Henry Kramer, John Gaut, Robert Lusk; Clerk-Moses
Foltz; Treasurer-T. A. Shaver; Assessor-Moses Foltz.
1845. Trustees-Robert Lusk, John Bonewitz, J. G. Troutman; ClerkMoses Foltz; Treasurer-John Lehman; Assessor-Charles White.
1846. Trustees-John Bonewitz, David Lehman, Josiah Barton; Clerk-Moses
Foltz; Treasurer-John Lehman; Assessor-Moses Foltz.
1847. Trustees-Josiah Barton, Seth Hollinger, Samuel Sommers; ClerkGeorge Stinebring; Treasurer-John Lehman; Assessor-John Lehman.
1848. Trustees-Samuel Sommers, Michael Bucher, David Spiker; ClerkGeorge Stinebring; Treasurer-J. G. Troutman; Assessor-John Kintner.
I849. Trustees-Henry Kramer, Samuel Sommers, John Sonnedecker;
Clerk-George Stinebring; Treasurer-J. G. Troutman; Assessor-Benjamin Norton.
I85o. Trustees-Samuel Sommers, John Sonnedecker, Fred France; ClerkJ. G. Troutman; Treasurer-Moses Foltz; Assessor-George Stinebring.
1851. Trustees-John Sonnedecker, Fred France, John Lehman; Clerk-Joseph Gaut; Treasurer-Moses Foltz; Assessor-George Stinebring.
1852. Trustees-John  Lehman, John Sonnedecker, George     Stinebring;
Clerk-Joseph Gaut; Treasurer-Moses Foltz; Assessor-Levi Stair.
1853. Trustees-George Stinebring, John Kintner, Andrew Kramer; ClerkJoseph Gaut; Treasurer-Moses Foltz; Assessor-Moses Foltz.
1854. Trustees-John Kintner, Isaac Johnson, Henry Bucher; Clerk-Joseph
Gaut; Treasurer-Moses Foltz; Assessor-Jacob Stair.
I855. Trustees-Henry Bucher, Isaac Johnson, William McCoy; Clerk-G.
P. Emrich; Treasurer-Moses Foltz; Assessor-Jacob Stair.
1856. Trustees-Jacob Ihrig, Jacob Dague, Michael Bucher; Clerk-William
Carmony; Treasurer-David Lehman; Assessor-Josiah Barton.
I857. Trustees-Jacob Ihrig, Jacob Dague, John Wilson; Clerk-William
Carmony; Treasurer-David Lehman; Assessor-Josiah Barton.




714


HISTOR 1Y OF W4AYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


i858. Trustees-John Wilson, Thomas A. McCoy, Josiah Mowry; Clerk
Charles E. Graeter; Treasurer-David Lehman; Assessor-Daniel Stair.
I859. Trustees-William McCoy, Thomas A. McCoy, C. K. Yoder; ClerkCharles E. Graeter; Treasurer-Josiah Yoder; Assessor-John Peters.
i860. Trustees-Andrew Kintner, William Carmony, Moses Cherry; ClerkCharles E. Graeter; Treasurer-Daniel Stair; Assessor-John Peters.
I86I. Trustees-Andrew Kintner, William Carmony, Moses Cherry; ClerkCharles E. Graeter; Treasurer-Daniel Stair; Assessor-William M. France.
1862. Trustees-Ephraim Lehman, John Stout, John Zinn; Clerk-Charles
E. Graeter; Treasurer-A. Sonnedecker; Assessor-Wm. Carmony.
1863. Trustees-Ephraim Lehman, John Stout, John Sommers; Clerk-Chas.
E. Graeter; Treasurer-A. Sonnedecker; Assessor-Wm. Carmony.
1864. Trustees-John Sommers, Ephraim Lehman, Alexander Campbell;
Clerk-J. D. Zook; Treasurer-A. Sonnedecker; Assessor-Jacob Stair, Jr.
1865. Trustees-C. Stoll, George Dague, E. Lehman; Clerk-C. E. Graeter;
Treasurer-A Sonnedecker; Assessor-Jacob Stair.
I866. Trustees-George Dague, C. Stoll, J. G. Troutman; Clerk-Charles E.
Graeter; Treasurer-A. Sonnedecker; Assessor-Jacob Stair, Jr.
1867. Trustees-George Dague, William   France, William  Barton; ClerkGeorge E. Paul; Treasurer-Fredolin Bucholtz: Assessor-Jacob Stair, Jr.
1868. Trustees-George Dague, William France, William Barton; Clerk-N.
Yoder; Treasurer-Fredolin Bucholtz; Assessor-Jacob Stair.
I869. Trustees-George Dague, William Barton, E. Lehman; Clerk-N.
Yoder; Treasurer-A. Sonnedecker; Assessor-Jacob Stair.
I870. Trustees-George Dague, E. Lehman, J. C. Brown; Clerk-N. Yoder;
Treasurer-Joseph McCoy; Assessor-J. D. Zook.
187I. Trustees-E. Lehman, Albert Miller, Daniel Byall; Clerk-T. F. Stair;
Treasurer-George Dague; Assessor-Joseph Taggart.
I872. Trustees-Eph. Lehman, Albert Miller, J. C. Brown; Clerk-Noah
Yoder; Treasurer-George Dague; Assessor-J. D. Zook.
I873. Trustees-T. A. McCoy, Albert Miller, Eli Snyder; Clerk-T. F. Stair;
Treasurer-George Dague; Assessor-J. D. Zook.
i874. Trustees-Elias Snyder, L. A. McCoy, J. B. Kintner; Clerk-T. F.
Stair; Treasurer-George Dague; Assessor-Jos. Taggart.
I875. Trustees-Samuel D. Bucher, Elias Snyder, Henry Collins; Clerk-P.
S. Ihrig; Treasurer-Joseph Troutman; Assessor-J. D. Zook.
1876. Trustees-John F. McKee, Ephraim Lehman, Henry Collins; ClerkT. C. McCoy; Treasurer-J. W. Troutman; Assessor-J. D. Zook.
1877. Trustees-Ephraim Lehman, John F. McKee, John Billman; ClerkT. C. McCoy; Treasurer-J. W. Troutman; Assessor-Simon Lehman.
First Settlers.-The settlers in this township, when it was organized, were: James Glass, the Roses, the Feazles, the Clarks, the
Meeks, the Turners, Thomas Armstrong, Moses Thompson,
Thomas Pomeroy, Henry Perrine, George Gibson, Ralph Cherry,
John and Peter Vanostran, Fred. Garver, Armstrong Davison,
John Richey, John and Peter Bacher, Thomas Beall, Peter Anspaugh, Jacob Menterfer, Peter Eiker, George Bair, Henry Snider,
Peter and Jacob Ihrig, William Elgin, Mordecai Boon, Peter Ev



WAYNE TOWNSHIP.                   7I S
erly, John Bonewitz, Jacob Seifred, Benjamin Miller, Abraham
Vanmeter, William Burgan, Mr. Sowey, Alexander Hanna and
the Driskels. George Bair and Thomas Armstrong were the first
Justices of the Peace in the township, and were succeeded by A.
Hanna, in 1818; Peter Everly in i820; George Gibson and Alexander Hanna; George Gibson and Jacob Ihrig in 1824; Jacob
Ihrig and Mr. Cahill in 1827; and Jacob Whonsetler and James
Hill in I830.
The first saw-mill was built by Fred Garver, in 1814, and by
him the first grist-mill in I815, on Little Apple creek.
Jacob Ihrig was born February 25, I792, in Washington county,
Pa. He claimed to have some recollection of seeing the army sent
out to subdue the Whisky Insurrection, and was a contractor in
the war of 1812, to supply provisions to the western army. He
emigrated to Wayne county in 1815, settling in what is now
Wayne township, and in I816 aided in organizing the township.
In 1816 he was elected Captain of a militia company, and in 1824
Major of the regiment, and in the same year was elected Justice of
the Peace, serving until 185I.  October, 1827, he was elected
County Commissioner. During his term the court house was destroyed and the first county offices and the second court house
was built.
He served in the Ohio Legislature from December 6, 1830, to
December 4, 1837; and in the State Senate from December 3,
1838, to December 7, 1840. In 1852 he was made District Assessor, and in 1853 he was elected a member of the Board of Equalization. He was married August o1, 1815, to Elizabeth Eberly,
of Pennsylvania.
In his young manhood he became a member of the Evangelical
Lutheran church and remained a faithful and consistent member of
the same until death, in 1877. He was one of the founders of
Salem's Lutheran congregation, near Madisonburg, and has always
been regarded as the honored leader of the same. In his death the
congregation has, indeed, lost one of its pillars. He died in peace
with God and man, and in the blessed hope of a resurrection to
eternal life. His mortal remains were followed to their last resting
place, near Madisonburg, by one thousand people.
James Glass was born June 22, 1772, in Washington county,
Pennsylvania. In early youth he was placed among strangers, in




7i6


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


consequence of the death of his mother, and some years later his
father departed this life, leaving his family to the tender regard of
strangers. James found a home with a farmer, and when he was
twenty years of age he enlisted in General Wayne's army, and
served in his campaigns on the western frontier from I792 to I795.
In 1796 he married, and moved to Columbiana county, Ohio,where,
for a time, he kept a tavern on the north branch of Yellow creek. In
1814 he came to Wayne county, entering and purchasing a large
tract of land in Wayne and Canaan townships, settling in Wayne,
seven miles north of Wooster. Here he lived and prospered, and
after I830 took his ease until death closed his useful and eventful
life, April 6, I855. His wife, Elizabeth Edgar, of Irish parentage, was born July 13, 1776, in Carlisle, Pa. The mother of
twelve children, she had many cares and labors, and her joys were
at home. Her husband and five sons preceded her in death, she
passing away May 31, 1856. Both were zealous members of the
Presbyterian church. The names of their sons and daughters who
grew to maturity are: Nancy, born December I6, 1797; Alfred,
born April 23, I799; Elizabeth, born July 27, I80o; Obediah, born
1803; Margaret, 1812; Jane, born 1814; James, born May, I816;
Samuel, born April, 1818; Reasin B., and Fulton. Alfred Glass,
when sixteen years of age, came with his parents to Wayne county,
and at once entered into the pursuits of the first settlers. January
25, 1821, he married Miss Jane Ewing, and built a house on land
near his father. After a time he quit clearing land and engaged in
the carpenter business, putting up several buildings in Wooster,
and others in different places. He united with the Baptist church
of Wooster in early life and remained a prominent member of the
same during life. He died August 22, 1850. Samuel Glass received a fair education and taught school several terms, after which
he read medicine with Dr. Armstrong, of Hayesville, and finished
his course at Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. He became
an eminent physician. He represented his (Ashland) district in
the Ohio Senate, and died in Ashland, Ohio, February, 1872.
CHURCHES.
Salem's Church.-As early as I827 Rev. G. H. Weygandt preached in this neighborhood, and with him as pastor the Lutherans and a few German Reformed settlers laid the corner-stone of a church in 1828, on joint ground procured for church
and graveyard purposes, from the land of John Lehman. This union building was
dedicated in I830. The present church was built in I87I, and was dedicated October I, of the same year.




WA YNE TO WNSHIP.


7I7


Geyer's Chapel was completed in 1876, though as early as 1862 the project of
building a church was agitated. It was dedicated January 27, 1863, by Bishop
Markwood, and the first class organized in the spring of I863, with a membership.
of seven, which is now augmented to forty-two, with a flourishing Sunday-school of
seventy-five pupils.
Wayne Presbyterian Church, organized August 22, 1833, with thirteen members,
by Rev. William Cox. Since its organization it has had 223 members taken in by
the following ministers: Rev. Thomas Beer, in six years, 33; Rev. T. H. Barr, in,
nine years, 66; Rev. R. M. Finly, in two years, 7; Rev. V. Noyes, in two years,.
12; Rev. J. R. Cunningham, in one year, II; Rev. E. Barr, in one year, 22; Rev.
G. R. Scott, in one year, 4; Rev. J. A. Reed, on one occasion, 5; Rev. C. C..
Gould, in three years, 9; Rev. J. S. Atkinson, in eight years, 41; Rev. F. Eddy,
in two years, 13. The names of original members were: James McCoy and Sarah
his wife, Robert Eakin and Elizabeth his wife, Moses Foltz and Sarah his wife,
Margaret Beer, Abigail Johnston, Nancy Orr, John Rose and Mary his wife, Mary
Lawrence and Maria McClarran.
Joseph Wasson, Sr., was born in Lancaster county, Pa., March
29, I775, and was married near Lewistown to Jane, sister of Judge
McConahay, July Io, I800, she being born September 6, I773.
He removed to Wayne county about I8I9, first settling in Greene
township, the same summer purchasing the Armstrong Davison,
farm, now owned by his son, David Wasson.         He died September i6, 1826; his wife September ii, 1858. The family was as,
follows: John M., Joseph W., David, Henry, Joseph, Harriet,
George W. and William Wasson.
Joseph Wasson, son of John M. Wasson, was born June 30,,
1839, two miles east of Congress Village, and until the age of I8
remained upon the farm, when he first began ventures upon'
the world. He has spent much of his life upon the Pacific coast,
where he has achieved reputation as a writer. He has been a
newspaper man for many years, acting as editor, proprietor andl
manager. He attended the Vienna Exposition as special correspondent of Forney's Press, writing a series of brilliant letters under the pseudonym of "Josef."      On his return he was despatched.
to New Orleans by the Press and New York Times as correspondent.  He was one of the early contributors to the Overland Monthly.
He was in the campaign and within twelve miles of Custer when:
he was destroyed by the Indians, a correspondent of Eastern pa —
pers and furnishing the news of that region to the Associated
Press.   He is a brilliant writer and popular journalist, located at
present in San Francisco.


William Elliott was born in Pennsylvania, January 24, 1780,.




7i8


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


and was married to Elizabeth Hays, who was born April I, 1792.
He removed to Wayne county in 1827, first living one year in
Wooster, then purchased of General Spink, for $800, the farm north
of Wooster on which John Elliott now lives. Here he farmed and
"kept tavern" until his death, January 31, I855. His wife died
May I, 1859. They had eight children, six of whom are living.
Thomas A. Kenney, of Canaan township, married their daughter,
Catharine Elliott. John Elliott, the son who occupies the homestead farm, was born May 15, 1831, and was married August 4,
1859, to Elizabeth Condry, by whom he has four children.
Thomas Barton, Sr:, was born in Northumberland county, Pa.,
and came to Wayne county in I819, with his wife (Jane Crawford)
and six children-Priscilla, Sarah, Clark, William, Rachel and Josiah; and after they settled, were born in Wayne county, Elisha,
Jackson, Mary, Jane and Thomas.
William Barton was born in Northumberland county, Pa., in
I815, and came to Wayne county with his father's family in 1819.
He married Lydia Sommers, daughter of Abraham Sommers, who
owned the farm where John McKee now lives, and where William
Barton died in March, 187I. His children are John C., Mary E.
and Effie. John McKee, a popular and enterprising citizen, was
married to Mary E. Barton, July 4, 186o, and has three childrenPeoria, Anna and Finley. Effie Barton was married to Zeno Kenney, son of Thomas Kenney.  William Barton was an able County
Commissioner, serving from 1857 to 1862.
Josiah Barton was born in Northumberland county, Pa., October i8, I818, and removed to Wayne county, with his father,
Thomas, remaining at home on the farm until twenty-six years of
age. October 13, 1842, he married Eleanor Van Ostran, and lived in
Wayne township until i858, when he removed to Plain township,
where he now resides. He is a successful farmer, the head of an
intelligent family, a firm Democrat of the Jefferson stamp, and a
man generally held in high esteem. He has the following sons
and daughters: Nancy Jane, Priscilla, Francis Marion, Belinda
E., Sanford V., Ida Irene, John Leslie, Ella G., Joanna.
George Troutman was born September 20, 1816, in Berks
county, Pa., and came to Wayne county with his father, Michael
Troutman, in the fall of 1829, from Berkley county, Virginia.
March 2, I841, he was married to Caroline Fryberger, the union




WA YNE TO WNSHIP.


719


resulting in eleven children, to wit: Sarah J., Mary, John, Michael A., Joseph, Elizabeth, Franklin, Emma, Alice, Clara and
Harriet. He is a thorough country gentleman, a scientific farmer,
and gives special attention to the improvement of good breeds of
stock.
James McCoy was born in Tuscarora valley, Juniata county,
Pa., July 4, 1786. His wife, Sarah McCoy (no blood relation),
was born March 28, 1791. They immigrated to Wayne county
in the spring of I826, and settled on the farm now owned and occupied by their son, Thomas A. McCoy. Here he died, May 30,
I86I, his wife following him June I, 187I. The following are the
names of their sons and daughters, all of whom were born in
Pennsylvania, except the last two: Neal, John S., M. B., Joseph,
Eleanor, Thomas A., William, Stewart, James P. and Isabella.
Neal McCoy, James' oldest son, was born August 28, 1809, and
married Julia Ann, sister of William and Calvin Armstrong, and
by this marriage had two children, a son, --, and a daughter that died in infancy. He was married a second time, to Sarah
A. Hardy, and had five children. Mr. McCoy was an excellent
citizen, and during his life a prominent and popular man in the
county. He was one of the Associate Judges of Wayne county
as early as 1846, and was elected to the office of Sheriff in 1856,
serving one term. In the positions of public trust to which he
was promoted he uniformly acquitted himself with honor. He was
a genial, cheery companion, characterized by great kindness of
disposition and goodness of heart.
Thomas A. McCoy was born April 5, 1821, and married Priscilla Stair, of Wayne township, May 13, i845, by which union
there were the following children: Neal, Elizabeth, Jacob A.,
Anna, Augusta, Sarah J., Mary A., Emmet, Emma E., Dora
M. Mr. McCoy is a farmer, and a hard-working, honest, industrious, economical man. He was the Democratic candidate in
1875 for the Legislature of the State of Ohio, to which position he
was elected, being re-elected to the same office in 1877 by a very
large majority.
John Lehman was born August 14, 1790, in Berks county, Pa.
His father, Martin Lehman, and mother, Christina Speck, were immigrants from Germany, and were sold out to service by the captain




720


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


of the vessel until their passage was paid, as the custom then was.
In the spring of 1812 John married Miss C. Smith, by whom he
had five children. He removed to Wayne township in the spring
of 1823, settling four miles north of Wooster, where, on July I3,
of same year, his wife died. In the spring of 1824 he married
Miss N. Bair, who died August 23, 1867, aged sixty-five years.
By his first wife there are two children living, and by the second
nine. Mr. Lehman now lives with two of his daughters, and is a
hale old man, whose strong mental faculties are not impaired by
age, and who can look back on a long life well spent.
Captain George P. Emrich, a native of Berks county, Pa., was
born September 15, 1821. His father, Joseph Emrich, was likewise a native of Berks, his occupation being that of tradesman and
farmer.  He removed to Wayne township in May, I83I, when the
subject of this sketch was in his tenth year, and settled on the
farm four miles north of Wooster now owned by his son, where
he purchased a half section of land from William Elgin and Mordecai Boon, the government title for these lands being yet in possession of Captain Emrich, and signed by President Madison. He
was married to Elizabeth Kiser, of Berks county, Pa., by which
marriage there were three daughters and one son, George P. He
died August 31, I863, in his seventieth year, his wife dying in
December of the same year, aged sixty-five.
G. P. Emrich remained with his father upon the farm until he
was twenty-one years of age, with the exception of about eighteen
months spent with J. P. Coulter & Co., in the drug store, and
with Robison & Jacobs, in the dry goods business in Wooster.
He has been twice married-first, May 9, 1843, to Sarah Fryberger, of East Greenville, Stark county, Ohio, who died April 15,
I863; second, August 24, I865, to Kate Garver, of Chester township. By the two marriages he has six children-four by the former * and two by the latter.  After leaving Wooster he returned
to the country, and for three years cultivated his father's farm
upon the shares, when he moved upon the west quarter of the
original half section, having bought the same from his father.
Here he labored eight years, and by that time paid for the farm,
* Will. Emrich, Teller in the Wooster National Bank, is his son by the first
marriage. He is a former student of the University of Wooster, and was a member
of the scientific corps that visited the parks and canyons of Colorado under the direction of Dr. Stoddard, of the University.




WA YNE TO WNSHIP.


721


when he went to the old homestead, where he at present lives.
By his energy and tact in matters in which he participated he was
usually amply rewarded, and in a short time he owned a half interest in the old homestead.
Farming, speculating in stock, exchanging, buying and selling
horses, until the breaking out of the war, constituted his chief employment. After the Rebellion opened he was commissioned, August 15, 1862, as Captain of Company D, I20th Ohio Volunteer
Infantry. During his military service he was subjected to all the
bitter experiences of his regiment. He withstood the malaria of
the Mississippi swamps and the disaster of Chickasaw, where his
company was without Lieutenant or Orderly, all being sick or detailed. He was at Arkansas Post; in fact participated in the vicissitudes of the army until the spring of I863, when, on account of
illness and disability, he was discharged, after which, for several
years, he was in delicate health. Since I866 he has been continuously in the banking business, and is at present President of the
National Bank of Wooster. In 1856 he was elected Justice of the
Peace of Wayne township, re-elected in I859, being the first Republican elected to that office in Wayne township, and having no
successor. Moreover, he is one of our progressive, public-spirited
men. He has not only subjected his land to the highest cultivation and in other ways improved and adorned it, but he has constructed on North Market street, in Wooster, one of the finest and
best-appointed private residences in the city. But he prefers the
sober sweets of the rural life to the din and dust and confinements
of the city, believing with Cowper, "that God made the country,
but man made the town."
If there is a political meeting to get up he is on hand; if there
is a railroad project before the people he takes hold of it. What
he undertakes to do he does with all his might. He is as full of
energy as his best horses are of mettle. He is proverbially courteous and polite in his intercourse with society; has a warm friendship for his friends, to whom the well-known hospitality of his
house is ever open.
He has ever been a strong advocate of our present system of
common schools, and believes in the universal diffusion of knowledge by every means of education, from the common school to
the university. Probably no man in the county took a bolder and
more decided stand for the Wooster University when its building
was first agitated than Captain Emrich. He not only subscribed
46




722


HISTORY OF WVAYNVE COUNTY, OHIO.


and paid $500 to the institution, but contributed liberally of his
time and influence to procure funds for the same.          He attended
meetings, made speeches and aided in obtaining $65,ooo toward its
subscriptions.
He is a worker wherever you place him. He has sought to do
his duty to the world and the world has not cheated him. He is
of that temperament which inclines always to accept situations.
He can exclaim with the great Goethe:
"What I don't see don't trouble me;
And what I see might trouble me,
Did I not know that it must be so."
THE    DRISKELS AND          BRAWDYS.
Halt! villains, halt! nor dare to flee
The swift law's stern command;
Here in this wood thy Tyburn see,
Now strikes the vengeful hand.      -Massinger.
The Driskels were settlers of Wayne county prior to 1812, but how much earier than this they came to Wooster and its vicinity we are unable to state. John
Driskel was one of the first Supervisors of Wooster that we find on record, and was
acting in that capacity during the above-named year. He had three brothers,
Dennis, William and Phenix, and a sister, Sally, who married Bill Gibson. His
family consisted of four children, Bill, Pearce, Dave and Reasin. They emigrated
from Columbiana to Wayne county, and for a time after their arrival lived upon
Apple creek, near the old Stibbs mill.
For a number of years after their settlement in Wayne county old John Driskel was regarded as an honest and honorable man, though much addicted to intemperance, and inclined, when drunk, to be quarrelsome.
Dennis, his brother, was a respectable, industrious, enterprising man, and bore
that reputation wherever he was known in Wayne county. He was one of the
Trustees of Plain township, in company with John McBride and Abraham Runyon, in I829, and owned and conducted the old grist-mill at Springville, in Plain
township, which he sold in I832. For some years after his coming to the vicinity
of Wooster John Driskel owned farms and made exchanges in real estate.
The first suspicion of crookedness upon him occurred when Horace Howard
was keeping the hotel called the Eagle House, on West Liberty street. A party
had gathered in the bar-room of Mr. Howard's hotel one evening, among whom
was John Driskel, and the excitement becoming too boisterous, the proprietor
ejected the inmates from the premises. As Driskel went out of the bar-room he
picked up a candlestick and carried it outdoors with him, but, it seems, immediately threw it over into Mr. Howard's garden, who, not knowing this, caused
Driskel to be arrested the next morning. Michael Totten* was one of the jurors in
the case. The evidence was not of that character to exhibit intent to steal on the
*We are indebted to Michael Totten, Esq., for these facts, he having personal
knowledge of the Driskel family.




THE DRISKELS AND BRA WD YS.                      723
part of Driskel, and he was acquitted. This was ten or eleven years after Driskel
came to Wayne county, and this was the first suspicion upon him, and the first arrest.
Steve Brawdy, a brother-in-law of William, a brother of John Driskel, was
sent to the penitentiary from Wooster for stealing a heifer from Jacob Shellabarger,
at Naftzger's mill, near Burbank. The warrant for his apprehension was issued by
Squire Bristow, and Jacob Crawford, Constable of Congress township, assisted by
Michael Totten and Moses Loudon, arrested him. Brawdy was a strong, powerful
man, and in the melee he plunged a knife into Loudon's thigh the full length of its
blade, but which only made Loudon the more determined, and Mr. Totten and the
constable more resolute. He was taken before Squire Bristow, had a hearing, was
bound over, received his trial at Wooster, and was sentenced to three years confinement in the Ohio penitentiary. The fact of Brawdy's relationship to the Driskels,
induced many suspicions, and the vigilance of the citizens and the officers soon led
to the discovery of a gang, in which John Driskel was the central actor.
About this time General Beall had a yoke of oxen stolen and taken to Cleveland and sold. A young man named Ben Worthington, was arrested, and tried for
this offense, and sent to the penitentiary. The revelations of this trial established
the complicity of Driskel and Brawdy with the Worthington theft.
John Driskel was finally arrested for stealing horses in Columbiana county, Ohio,
and brought back from Beaver county, Pa., where he was caught, tried, found
guilty and sentenced to the penitentiary from New Lisbon. This was about 1829-30.
He, however, managed soon to make his escape, the particulars of the same being
as follows: Convicts were at that time permitted to labor, under guard, on the
public works at Columbus. Driskel, with a chain and a fifty-six weight fastened
to his leg, had charge of a wheelbarrow, and was conveying dirt upon the Ohio
canal. He concluded he would make an effort to escape, and picking up the ball
in his hands, started to run, and was immediately fired upon by six guards, who unfortunately missed him. He had shrewdly selected a period well on toward night
for his dangerous attempt. Arriving at a farm residence, he sought the wood-pile,
and there finding an ax, severed the ball from the chain. Having dispensed with
this impediment to travel, he leisurely made his way back to Wayne county, to
where his family lived, near Burbank, where he filed the clasp of the chain from
his leg.
Mr. Totten says he heard him frequently relate his escape-the cutting off of
the iron ball by the farmer's ax, and the filing of the chain, etc. Driskel would
tell it and laugh over it until he could be heard for half a mile.
The authorities hearing of his appearance in Wayne county, an effort was made
to re-capture him, when, to elude his pursuers, he led, for a time, a roving life,
stealing horses and concealing them in thickets, burning barns, houses, etc., finally
leaving the county. Shortly afterward he was captured in Mohican township, Ashland county, and committed to the charge of two men named Patterson to take him
back to the Columbus penitentiary to serve out his sentence, but when stopping
over night at Sunbury, Delaware county, the old man, by shrewdness and force,
effected his escape and never again appeared in Ohio. He was next heard of in the
West, where his family and confederates joined him and continued their criminal
pursuits for some years. In time the Regulators of Northern Illinois rose upon
them, capturing old John, his son William, and others of the gang. These were
immediately shot, and his youngest son, David, was soon afterward caught and
hanged to a tree by Judge Lynch.
It is the opinion of Mr. Totten that this gang of outlaws, composed of the




724


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Driskels, Brawdys and others, originated in Wayne county, and this is likewise corroborated by the statement of Hon. L. D. Odell, of Clinton township, one of the
most intelligent of the early settlers of the county. They had no long or settled
residence at any point in the county, living, at different periods, in Wooster, Wayne,
Chester, Congress and Plain townships.
They were a gang of bad, bold, dangerous and daring men and desperadoes, a
terror to peaceful, law-abiding citizens, whom even-handed Justice pursued slowly,
but finally visited with most fearful retribution. They were men of invincible
courage, of powerful physical strength, and enjoyed nothing so well as a carouse
and a knock-down. Their leading villainies consisted in burglaries, incendiarism
and horse-stealing. They concealed their stolen horses in the dense thickets of the
woods, stole corn from the farmers to feed them, and at a suitable opportunity,
conducted them out of the county.
Old John Driskel was a blustering, swaggering, bullying Drawcan-sir, and when
drunk was constantly provoking disturbances and putting society into a ferment of
alarm and apprehension. Few men whom he encountered were his equals in the
brutal conflicts which he induced.
On the occasion of a public muster in Lisbon, Columbiana county, he became
terribly boisterous and flung his banter to the assembled crowd. Like Caleb Quotem, in the Wags of Windsor, he was bound to have a place at the reviews. Timid
men feared him, and stouter ones desired to avoid collisions with him. Driskel's
rule was, if he could not provoke a quarrel by general boasting, blowing and
threats, to select a large, muscular-looking man and challenge him to a fight, and
if he refused to accept, to hit him at the time or watch an opportunity and deliver
a blow.
On this occasion he selected Isaac Pew, a large, bony specimen of a man, and
after offering him sundry indignities and without any warning, hit him a terrible
blow, springing instantly upon him and biting off Pew's ear. This occurred at the
tavern in Lisbon, then kept by Christian Smith, at one time a resident of Wayne
county, and one of the Associate Judges of the Common Pleas Court of Wayne
county.
Pew was a man who kept his own secrets, and felt amply able to defend himself against Driskel or anybody else, if he had a fair showing. When next general
muster came around Driskel was present, as was also Pew, the latter having remarked, "He has my ear, now I'll have his nose." Seeing Driskel he approached
him, but suspecting his intentions, he retreated, Pew following him closely, who
was interrupted by Bill Driskel, John's brother; but rushing past Bill, and John,
seeing he was about to be caught, turned about, when Pew instantly sprang at old
John and bit his nose off.
On a certain occasion old John was parading the streets of Wooster talking boisterously, and shouting that he weighed 208 pounds, and no man could whip him. Smith
Mclntire,* who was clearing off some land on the Robison farm, south of Wooster,
came to town in his shirt sleeves to procure tobacco. Being a very muscular looking man, General Spink and Mr. McComb approached him and asked him if he
*Smith Mclntire was born in Fayette county, 1789, and married Catherine
Larkins, of Harrison county, Ohio. He removed to Wayne county in 1819, remaining until about 1847, when he went to Seneca county and died. He was a
good and quiet citizen, industrious, honest and honorable. He induced no quarrels, but woe to the man who provoked his anger, for he possessed a giant's
strength, and when he employed it against an adversary his manly fist cracked with
certain doom.




THE DRISKELS AND BRA WD YS.                      725
thought he could whip that man-pointing toward Driskel. McIntire said, "I
can whip anybody, but I don't know that man, and I am a stranger here, and
more than that, I am a peaceful man," whereupon he started back to his work,
when Spink and McComb called to him to return. He obeyed their summons, and
after some entreaty consented to whip Driskel, upon the consideration of preserving
quiet and establishing order. Spink remarked to Driskel that here was a man
(pointing to Mclntire) that he had not yet whipped, when Driskel rapidly advanced
toward him and said, "Do you think you can handle me?" to which Mclntire responded, "I do." Driskel said, "Well, let us take a drink, and then to business."
Mclntire responded, "I want nothing to drink." Driskel took his drink and
faced Mclntire, and when the word " ready" was given Mclntire hit him one blow
that knocked him insensible, and so serious was the result that Dr. Bissell had to
be called, and it was several hours before he rallied from the prostration.
Not satisfied with this encounter, in a short time afterwards he challenged
Mclntire to a second test, which he accepted, having General Spink and Colonel
James Hindman for his seconds, Driskel choosing for his backers one of his sons
and his son-in-law, Brawdy. The contestants met, and with a similar result.
Mclntire, after his adversary was on the floor, picked him up like a toy and started
with him toward the fire-place exclaiming, "I will make a burnt offering of him,"
but which rash purpose was prevented. This fight occurred in the bar-room of
Nailor's tavern.




726


HISTORY OF WA YiNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XXVIII.
WOOSTER TOWNSHIP.
WOOSTER TOWNSHIP, named after General David Wooster, was
organized April II, 18I2, simultaneously with Sugarcreek, Mohican and Prairie townships. Its population in 1870 was 1,I45.
Its civil record appears as follows from its date of organization:
1812. Trustees-Joseph Hughes, Dennis Driskel; Clerk-Robert McClarran;
Supervisors-Christian Smith, John Driskel.
1813. Trustees-William Larwill, Dennis Driskel, William Robison; ClerkRobert McClarran.
1814. Trustees-Robert McClarran, Jacob Foulks, John Robison; ClerkWilliam  Robison; Treasurer-Francis H. Foltz; Overseers of Poor-Benjamin
Jones, George Hull; Fence Viewers-William Totten, Joseph Hughes; Appraisers
of Property-John Lawrence,:Jacob Matthews; Supervisors-John   Lawrence,
Daniel Jones, David Mitchel, Josiah Crawford, Isaac Burnet; Constables-Amasa
Warner, John Clark, Joseph Hughes.
1815. Trustees-Aaron Bell, John Lawrence, George Bair; Clerk-Philip P.
Griffith; Tax Collector-Robert Orr; Supervisors-Noah Sooy, Nathan Warner,
Isaac Burnet, Richard Powers.
I8I6. Trustees-William Naylor, Philip B. Griffith, Francis H. Foltz; Clerk
-William C. Larwill; Treasurer-Joseph McGugen; Overseers of Poor-Nathan
Warner, Isaac Burnet; Listers and Appraisers-Francis H. Foltz, Jacob Parker;
Fence Viewers-Mordecai Boon, Isaiah Jones; Constables-Benjamin Miller, Joseph
Alexander, Robert Orr; Supervisoris-George Hull, James Glass, Ralph Cherry,
David Smith, John Lawrence, Benjamin Jones, Valentine Smith, David Mitchel.
1817. Trustees-William Naylor, P. B. Griffith, F. H. Foltz; Clerk-William
C. Larwill; Treasurer-Joseph McGugen; Supervisors-Andrew McMonigal, George
Hull, Isaac Correl, Joseph Stibbs, Isaac Burnet, William Robison, Thomas Robison; Appraisers and Listers-David Robison, John Updegraff; Overseers of Poor
-William Kelley, Henry Megrew; Fence Viewers-John Wilson, Robert McClarran; Constables-John Updegraff, Joseph Ervine.
1818. Trustees-T. G. Jones, Benjamin Jones, John Sloane; Clerk-Henry St.
John; Treasurer-Thomas Taylor; Overseers of Poor-William Robison, Matthew
Johnston; Appraisers-Thomas Robison, D. O. Hoyt; Supervisors-Reasin Beall,
Andrew McMonigal, Nicholas Smith, J. Patton, S. Mitchel; Constables-D. O.
Hoyt, J. Barkdull, Jacob Robison; Fence Viewers-J. Eichar, Edward Gallaher.
I8I9. Trustees-Matthew    Johnston, Thomas Robison, Samuel Mitchel;
Clerk-Thomas R. McKnight; Treasurer —Andrew McMonigal; Supervisors-John




WOOSTER TO VWN'SHIP.


727


Lawrence, Robert McClarran, George Harman, J. Eichar, John Mullen; Overseers
of Poor —John McClellan, James E. Harriott; Fence Viewers —John Wilson,
Joseph McGugen; Appraisers and Listers-Francis H. Foltz, George V. Robinson; Constables-George V. Robinson, John Iague, Andrew Alexander; Trustees
of Section I6-Reasin Beall, William McComb, John Larwill; Treasurer of Section
16-David Robison.
I820. Trustees-John Patton, Thomas Robison, Matthew Johnston; ClerkThomas R. McKnight; Supervisors-Nathan Warner, Neil Power, George Wilson,
Joseph Barkdull, D. O. Hoyt and Elisha Henry, George Harman; Treasurer-Thomas
Townsend; Constables-John Hague, Moses Owens; Appraisers and Listers-James
L. Spink, J. Eichar; Overseers of Poor-Benjamin Jones, Asa W. W. Hickox;
Fence Viewers-John Wilson, John McClellan.
1821. Trustees-William McComb, John Larwill, Cyrus Spink; Clerk-Samuel Knapp; Treasurer-David Robison; Appraisers and Listers-Joel Harry, Moses Owen; Justices of Peace-Francis H. Foltz, Samuel Quinby.
1822. Trustees- William McComb, William McFall, Martin McMillen;
Clerk-Samuel Knapp; Treasurer-David Robison; Appraisers and Listers-Joseph
Barkdull, Cyrus Spink.
1823. Trustees-Matthew   Johnston, Francis H. Foltz, John Christmas;
Clerk-Samuel Knapp; Treasurer-David Robison; Appraiser and Lister-William B. Smith, Moses Culbertson; Justice of the Peace-Alexander McBride.
1824. Trustees-John Larwill, Daniel Yarnell, Moses Culbertson; ClerkSamuel Knapp; Treasurer-William    Naylor; Appraiser and Lister —Benjamin
Church, Benjamin Jones.
1825. Trustees-Benjamin Jones, Neal Power, John Larwill; Clerk-Samue
Knapp; Treasurer-William Naylor; Appraiser and Lister-Charles Connelly.
1826. Trustees-George Pomeroy, Benjamin Jones, Reasin Beall; ClerkSamuel Knapp; Treasurer-William Naylor.
1827. Trustees-Benjamin Jones, George Pomeroy, Reasin Beall; Clerk —
Samuel Knapp; Treasurer-William Naylor.
1828. Trustees-Benjamin Jones, George Pomeroy, Reasin Beall; ClerkJohn Larwill; Treasurer-William Naylor; Justice of the Peace-Thomas Robison.
1829. Trustees -William Kimpton, John Smith, Alexander McMonigal;
Clerk-C. H. Streby; Treasurer-John Miller.
1830. Trustees-Samuel Quinby, M. C. Shamp, Samuel Power; Clerk-John
J. Robison; Treasurer-A. McMonigal; Supervisors-David Cook, George Lisor,
John Hess, Richard Power, James Naylor; Overseers of Poor-Samuel Irvin, Reasin Beall; Fence Viewers-Neal Power, David McConahay; Constables-Daniel
Yarnell, John Eyster.
i83I. Trustees-Samuel Quinby, M. C. Shamp, Samuel Power; ClerkEphraim Quinby, Jr.; Treasurer-A. McMonigal.
1832. Trustees-Thomas Wilson, H. C. Shamp, George Pomeroy; ClerkLindoll Sprague; Treasurer-John McClellan.
I833. Trustees-John Hess, George Pomeroy, William  McCurdy; Clerk-D.
W. Jones; Treasurer-Ephraim Quinby, Jr.
1834. Trustees-John Hess, William McCurdy, Samuel Power; Clerk-J. W.
Schuckers; Treasurer-E. Quinby, Jr.
I835. Trustees-Samuel Power, John Hess, William McComb; Clerk-J. W.
Schuckers; Treasurer-E. Quinby, Jr.
1836. Trustees-John   Hess, Samuel Power, John Jones; Clerk-J. W.
Schuckers; Treasurer-E. Quinby, Jr.




728


IHISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


I837. Trustees-John P. Coulter, Richard Power, Joseph Stibbs; ClerkBazaleel Crawford; Treasurer-E. Quinby, Jr.; School Examiners-Edward Avery,
Levi Cox, John H. Harris.
1838. Trustees-Richard Power, Elisha Henry, William McCurdy; ClerkJohn C. Taylor; Treasurer-Joseph Clingen.
I839. Trustees-J. H. Harris, William McCurdy, Elisha Henry; Clerk-John
C. Taylor; Treasurer-Thomas Power.
1840. Trustees-Samuel White, John Hess, John Hare; Clerk-John C. Taylor; Treasurer-Thomas Power.
I841. Trustees-John Hare, John Walter, Samuel White; Clerk-M- A.
Goodfellow; Treasurer-Thomas Power.
1842. Trustees-John Walter, Samuel White, Patrick Adair; Clerk-M. A.
Goodfellow; Treasurer-Thomas Power.
1843. Trustees-James Finly, Simon Rice, James M. Blackburn; ClerkIsaac H. Reiter; Treasurer-Thomas Power.
I844. Trustees-James Finley, James M. Blackburn, Reasin B. Stibbs; Clerk
-Isaac H. Reiter; Treasurer-Thomas Power; Assessor-John Crall.
1845. Trustees-R. B. Stibbs, William Stitt, Charles McClure; Clerk-John
P. Jeffries; Treasurer-David M. Crall; Assessor-John Crall.
1846. Trustees-William   Stitt, Joseph Emrich, William  Robison; ClerkJames Irwin; Treasurer-D. M. Crall; Assessor-John Crall.
I847. Trustees-William   Robison, Joseph Emrich, David Peffer; ClerkEdwin Oldroyd; Treasurer-David M. Crall; Assessor-John Crall.
I848. Trustees-Samuel White, Samuel Mentzler, David Peffer; Clerk-John
C. Taylor; Treasurer-Samuel Knepper; Assessor-Daniel McCracken.
1849. Trustees-Samuel White, Samuel Mentzler, David Peffer; Clerk-John
C. Taylor; Treasurer-Samuel Knepper; Assessor-Daniel McCracken.
I850. Trustees-Samuel White, Samuel L. Lorah, Jacob Kramer; ClerkJohn McSweeney; Treasurer-Samuel Knepper; Assessor-Thomas A. Adair.
1851. Trustees-Samuel L. Lorah, Jacob Kramer, Michael Miller; Clerk-G.
W. Donnelly; Treasurer-Samuel Knepper; Assessor-Thomas A. Adair.
1852. Trustees-Samuel L. Lorah, Michael Miller, John Rider; Clerk-Ezra
V. Dean; Treasurer-Samuel Knepper; Assessor-Thomas A. Adair.
1853. Trustees-William Reiter, John Loughbaum, John H. Harris; ClerkE. V. Dean; Treasurer-H. J. Conner; Assessor-William McCurdy.
1854. Trustees-John Brinkerhoff, John Loughbaum, William Reiter; ClerkReuben J. Eberman; Treasurer-Levi Miller; Assessor-Michael Dice.
I855. Trustees-R. B. Stibbs, Jacob Kramer, Jeremiah Maize; Clerk-George
Plumer; Treasurer-Joseph Baumgardner; Assessor-John Crall.
I856. Trustees-R. B. Stibbs, Neal McCoy, James McMillen; Clerk-H. J.
Kauffman; Treasurer-J. H. Baumgardner; Assessor-C. F. Leopold.
I857. Trustees-J. A. Rahm, Samuel Funk, P. S. Vanhouten; Clerk-H.J.
Kaufman; Treasurer-J. H. Baumgardner; Assessor-S. S. Golsbury.
I858. Trustees-James S. Hallowell, Robert Jackson, John Bartol; ClerkH. J. Kaufman; Treasurer-J. H. Baumgardner; Assessor-Daniel W. Ogden.
I859. Trustees-James Hallowell, William Spear, James McMillen; ClerkH. J. Kaufman; Treasurer-J. H. Baumgardner; Assessor-W. A. Eaken.
i86o. Trustees-J. S. Hallowell, William Spear, Charles McClure; Clerk-H.
J. Kaufman; Treasurer-J. H. Baumgardner; Assessor-Gideon B. Sommers.
I86I. Trustees-William Spear, Charles McClure, William Stitt; Clerk-H.
J. Kauffman; Treasurer-J. H. Baumgardner; Assessor-G. B. Sommers.




WOOSTER TO WNSHIP.


729


1862. Trustees-H. M. Culbertson, Jacob Kramer, John Zimmerman; ClerkH. J. Kauffman; Treasurer-I. N. Jones; Assessor-Thomas A. Adair.
1863. Trustees-John Zimmerman, Jacob Kramer, H. M. Culbertson; ClerkE. Schuckers; Treasurer-I. N. Jones; Assessor-Anderson Adair.
1864. Trustees-R. B. Spink, J. H. Kauke, William      Stitt; Clerk-H. J.
Kauffman; Treasurer-D. W. Lilley; Assessor-D. N. Sprague.
1865. Trustees-J. H. Kauke, William     Stitt, R. B. Spink; Clerk-H. J.
Kauffman; Treasurer-D. W. Lilley; Assessor-G. W. Althouse.
I866. Trustees-I. N. Jones, William Nold, D. D. Miller; Clerk-ThomasA.
Adair; Treasurer-K. E. Harris; Assessor-Joshua Wilson.
1867. Trustees-James Curry, William Spear, S. K. Funk; Clerk-J. H.
Carr; Treasurer-T. B. Rayl; Assessor-Joshua Wilson.
1868. Trustees-Gotleib Gasche, Michael Totten, G. W. Henshaw; ClerkJacob O. Stout; Treasurer-Kite E. Harris; Assessor-Joshua Wilson.
1869. Trustees-G. W. Henshaw, H. M. Culbertson, Michael Totten; ClerkF. L. Imgard; Treasurer-K. E. Harris; Assessor-James Taggart.
1870. Trustees-John Ely, Jacob Frick, James McClarran; Clerk-F. L. Imgard; Treasurer-John S. Caskey; Assessor-W. R. Taggart.
I871. Trustees-James McClarran, Michael Miller, D. W. Immel; ClerkF. L. Imgard; Treasurer-John S. Caskey; Assessor-W. R. Taggart.
1872. Trustees-D. W. Immel, Robert Jackson, J. L. Grafton; Clerk-Chas.
Sprague; Treasurer-Harry McClarran; Assessor-W. R. Taggart.
1873. Trustees-D. D. Miller, Samuel Rice, R. R. Jackson; Clerk-David
McDonald; Treasurer-O. M. Albright; Assessor-Andrew Branstetter.
I874. Trustees-Samuel Rice, H. M. Culbertson, James McClarran; ClerkThomas E. Peckinpaugh; Treasurer-Harry McClarran; Assessor-Andrew Branstetter.
I875. Trustees-H. M. Culbertson, James McClarran, James Eagan; ClerkJehiel Clark; Treasurer-Thomas E. Peckinpaugh; Assessor-James Taggart.
1876.  Trustees-H. M. Culbertson, James McClarran, James Eagan; ClerkJehiel Clark; Treasurer-Thomas E. Peckinpaugh; Assessor-James Taggart.
1877. Trustees-H. M. Culbertson, James Eagan, James McClarran; ClerkJehiel Clark; Treasurer-Thomas E. Peckinpaugh; Assessor-James Taggart.
Justices of the Peace-Robert McClarran, commission dated June 13, 1812;
Jacob Schuckers, December 24, 1832; John Larwill, April 2, 1833; Jacob Schuckers,
January 4, 1836; Samuel Coulter, April I6, 1836; William Reiter, April 16, 1836;
Samuel Quinby, October 25, 1838; William Reiter, April 13, 1839; William
McCurdy, April I3, 1842; John Beistle, April I3, 1842; Alexander B. Fleming,
October 21, 1842; J. H. Harris, May 24, 1843; William McCurdy, April 16, I845;
Henry Lehman, April 16, 1845; Thomas Williams, April 21, 1846; J. H. Harris,
April 12, 1848; Henry Lehman, April 12, 1848; William Reiter, April 12, 1849;
J. H. Harris, April 19, 1851; Henry Lehman, April 19, 1851; William Reiter,
April 21, 1852; George Brauneck, April 13, 1854; J. H. Harris, April 13, 1854;
D. H. Holiday, October 21, 1854: J. M. Madden, April 22, 1857; D. H. Holiday,
October 30, 1857; C. C. Parsons, April 14, 1858; H. C. Johnson, October 20, 1859;
Eugene Pardee, October 25, I860; J. H. Downing, October 25, 1860; Henry Lehman, October 13, I86I; J. H. Downing, October 22, 1863; A. C. McMillen, April
15, 1864; George Brauneck, October I5, I866; H. Smith, October 15, 1866; W.
W. Humilton, October 15, I866; James T. Henry, April 13, 1869; S. R. Bonewitz,
October 20, 1869; James T. Henry, April 9, 1872; S. R. Bonewitz, October 12,
1872; Mahlon C. Rouch, April 12, I875-re-elected April I, 1878; John R. McKinny, October 20, 1875.


f




730


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


David Robison, Sr., was born July I2, 1793, near Chambersburg, Franklin county, Pa., and descended from old ScotchIrish parentage. In boyhood he was so unfortunate as to lose his
father, and when but entering upon his teens he removed with his
widowed mother to Columbiana county, Ohio, at so early a period
as I806. Here he tarried for a short time with her, and then spent
a few years at a place called New Lancaster, Fairfield county,
where, and during which time, he learned the trade of tanner and
currier. On the termination of his period of service as apprentice
he made the experiment of living which forms a part of the usually unwritten history of every young man. A year or two was
thus occupied in Zanesville and Newark.
The country was now embroiled with Great Britain in its second defensive war. Many of the ports of the Atlantic seaboard
were possessed by the enemy. They were making destructive
incursions into the interior of the country. Our cities were endangered or actually occupied by the enemy. The northern frontier
was menaced by marshaling armies of the enemy, and the lines on
the west and north-west were threatened by mongrel hordes of
Red coats and Indians. Men were needed and called for to check
the encompassing legions of British power.
The voice of duty and the demands of patriotism could no
longer be stifled or ignored, and so our young hero, then but
nineteen years of age, volunteered in the ranks of the United
States army. Without a commission or hope of promotion, with
a musket on his shoulder, he encountered the dangers and vicissitudes of the north-western frontier, the Black swamp perils, serving faithfully the period of his enlistment, and being honorably
discharged at the expiration of his term. He then returned to
Zanesville, where he had volunteered. Here he did not long remain, for in the autumn of 1813, in company with his brother
Thomas, sallied forth on horseback to discover, if possible, a suitable location for business. Visiting Wooster, and being favorably
impressed with it, and satisfied with its promising advantages, they
jointly purchased property with an eye to permanent settlement.
Their first investment was in a block of lots on the north-west corner of Buckeye and North streets, establishing there what was long
and popularly known as Robison's tannery. Here, and in active
application to his trade, he continued until the year 1837, when,
with his family, he removed to what was formerly known as Madison Hill, the original seat of justice of the county.




I




t.l


6




WOOSTER TO WNSHIP.


73I


In I832 he built what for a quarter of a century was known as
Robison's mill, now Wooster mill, which, considering cost and capacity, at that time was considered an enterprise of magnitude.
He was largely interested in merchandising from the time he removed to his farm in 1837 to 1848, not only in Wooster, but in
Fredericksburg, Jeromeville, Rowsburg and Ashland.  He was
identified with the early banking interests of the county, and was
one of the incorporators of the Wayne county branch of the State
Bank of Ohio, acting as its President for a period of fifteen years,
and until he had made disposition of his interests in the same.
He was married June 5, 1821, to Miss Elizabeth McConnell, a
native of the same county and State of that of her husband, where
she was born May 8, I797. To this marriage union of over half a
century, were brought six sons, William H., John M., James
N., David, Joseph and Lyman. James N. died in Wooster June
23, 1867, and Joseph in Dubuque, Iowa, April 6, I863. William
H. and John M. now live in the city of Dubuque. Iowa, David and
Lyman in Toledo, Ohio.
He united with the Presbyterian church in 1842. He could
not well have been inclined to membership in any less orthodox
religious body than the Presbyterian church, for his early spiritual
tutelage was in the laminated faith of the Scotch Seceders; and,
moreover, it was in grateful consonance with the inclinations and
convictions of the faithful partner of his lengthened years, who in
early life espoused this church, and who to-day is a worthy and exemplary member. He compassed in his enterprises the interests
of the community; had enlarged views of business; was clearheaded, penetrative and emphatically practical in all his enterprises and transactions. His deliberations proceeded from a sound
and reliable judgment; he took no steps in the dark, for his sharp
perception of situations was "a light to his feet." He had the
ability to analyze things, and feel forward and lay his hand upon
the hem of results. Hence his investments were made with great
care, and, as a consequence, they were accompanied with gratifying and substantial realizations.  His life illustrated many solid
virtues. It was a scene of activity and unostentatious, energetic
enterprise, rounded in its decline with comforts and crowned with
worldly competence. He died March I, I870.
Benjamin Jones was born in Winchester, Frederick county, Va.,
April 13, I787. He had eight brothers and one sister, John, SamAI




732


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


uel, Elias, Isaiah, Erasmus, Nathan, William, Thomas and Sarah.
From Frederick county the family removed to Washington
county, Pa., when the subject of this sketch was but seven years
of age. They lived about a mile from the village of Washington,
where his mother died and was buried in the Baptist churchyard
there, his father dying when he was between seven and twelve
years old.
At an early age he was, by the terms of an indenture, put to
the trade of cabinet-maker, in Washington, for seven years, which
time he faithfully and diligently served. Many, indeed, were the
privations and cruel, stinging hardships he endured during those
seven years of worse than Hebrew bondage. His personal wants
were sadly supplied, frequently not getting enough to eat, and he
was fourteen years of age before he ever wore a new shoe upon his
feet. After his release from the indenture he worked journeyman's
work in the village for some time, when he removed to Sharon,
Ohio, and built a shop and engaged in business for himself. A
misfortune, however, soon visited him in the shape of a, to him,
disastrous fire, which completely used him up, and by which he
lost all his tools and effects. He was consequently compelled to
renew journeyman's work, when he abandoned Sharon and went to
Yankee Run, in Trumbull county. After a short period, an opportunity was afforded him to enter into commercial business with
Thomas G. Jones (Priest Jones), which he embraced, and which
they prosecuted until just prior to the war of I812.
In 181 I he was dispatched by the " Priest " on a tour of observation, with a view to the selection of a place to locate. He went
as far west as and beyond Mansfield, on horseback, through a dense
forest, inhabited by Indians, over unbridged and swollen streams,
with perils to right of him and perils to left. On this equestrian
scout he first saw Wooster, was favorably impressed with the
country, and resolved to locate there. On his return to Yankee
Run, he spoke so flatteringly of the place, that Priest Jones and
family, a Mr. Young and family, Betty Scott and himself, all emigrated hither without delay.
They brought goods to Wooster and started a store, Constant
Lake, father of Constant Lake, of Wooster, hauling a load for
them. This was in the winter of 1812-13, and was the first store
of importance in Wooster. It was opened in a wooden building
erected by Robert McClarran, near, or where Samuel Geitgey now
conducts business.




WOOSTER TO WNSHIP.


733


After establishing himself in his new quarters he returned to
Brookfield, Trumbull county, Ohio, where he married Hannah
Vanemmon, April I, 1813, the ceremony of marriage being performed by Rev. A. Bentley, Baptist minister, and brother of Benjamin Bentley. Mrs. Jones was a native of New Jersey, where
she was born on Christmas day, I794. Her mother died when she
was three years old, and her father when she was eight, when she
was adopted into the family of Constant Lake, Sr., with whom she
removed to Trumbull county, and in whose family she continued a
member until her marriage in I813.
After their marriage in April his wife went to New Lisbon
and he returned to Wooster, soon thereafter going to Pittsburg to
purchase goods, which trips he made on horseback. He made
two of these excursions after he was married, going and coming,
passing New Lisbon, where his wife was, without stopping, until,
on his return from the third trip, he stopped for her, and was
accompanied by George Hull and his family and Francis Foltz and
his family, arriving at Wooster on the 4th of July, I813.
The house that Mr. Jones and wife moved into was occupied
by seven families, and besides contained a doctor's office-that of
Dr. Thomas Townsend. It was a two-story brick, built in I8IO
by John Bever, on the Bissell corner, and the first brick house
built in the county.  "Priest" Jones and family, Joseph Barkdull
and family, a Mr. Richardson, a tailor, and others, besides Dr.
Townsend and Benjamin Jones and his wife, who had two rooms
up stairs, and where they lived two years, were the occupants.
Mr. Jones soon afterwards built what was called the "Stump
House," so called because they sawed off trees and erected the
building upon the stumps. It stood on the site of the old Arcadome, and the surrounding country was a forest, there being then
less than a dozen houses in the town. In this stump house D. K.
Jones, of Shreve, the oldest son of Benjamin Jones, was born, and
who, as his mother informed us, "was the smallest child ever
born, that lived, in Wayne county." Here, also, Eleanor Jones
was born.
In 1817 Mr. Jones removed to the lot on Beaver street, between East Liberty and South streets, known in later years as the
McKeal property. There he lived until 1824, and there Isaac N.
and Ohio F. Jones were born. In 1824 he removed to the property that was known, and will be recollected as the Wooster Hotel,
remaining in charge of the same until the fall of I828, and here


/




734


HISTORY OF WVAYNE COUN'TY, OHIO.


Charles Carroll, Joseph R. and Quinby Jones were born.         In the
autumn of 1828 he removed to a frame building that stood on the
grounds of what is now known as the Metropolitan Boarding House,
remaining there until the spring of I829. when he re-occupied the
property on Beaver street, where B. J Jones was born, April 4,
1834. March 17, I836, he removed to his farm, where he lived
until his death, which occurred from disease of the heart, after a
short illness, April 24, I86I.   His fine brick residence upon the
old homestead, was built by Henry ILozier, in 1840.
A glance at the records of Wayne county forcibly asserts the
value of the life and public services of Benjamin Jones. With its
solid and material improvements his name is closely identified.
There was neither flash, dash, brilliancy nor poetry in his composition. His mind was practical, and when he came into the new
country, he addressed himself to substantial enterprises.    He comprehended the wants and necessities of the pioneers and their inconvenient situations, and early directed his energies toward relieving and promoting their best interests. There were no roads
opened up with the exception of the one running from Canton, the
streams were unbridged, society had not yet thrown around it the
restraints and protection of law, and the question of sustenance
was even a problem with the people.
He Navigates Killbuck.-In 1814 he went on horseback to Coshocton, accompanied by William Totten, brother of Michael Totten, of Wooster, to buy flour,
bacon, salt, dried fruits, etc., for the early settlement, which he placed on a pirogue,
and with the assistance of a few stout men paddled the rude boat to the waters of
the Killbuck, and up through the drift of that sluggish stream to the mouth of
Apple creek, and thence up that stream to where the covered bridge now stands,
near the old Robison mill, in the corporation of Wooster. This exploit of inland
navigation was heralded with acclamation by the inhabitants of Wooster, who rushed
to the boat to obtain their supplies.
He built the first bridge that was ever laid across the Muddy Fork,and constructed
the road extending from Reedsburg across the trembling quagmire to what, in past
days, was known as " the French Miller" property. He had sixteen men employed
on the contract, and at night one-half the number guarded the other half while
they slept. During this work one of his laborers, named Jones, was killed and
literally mangled by the Indians. There were at this time but three houses between Wooster and Jeromeville. Several weeks were employed upon this contract,
Mr. Jones doing the cooking for his men in the woods, and performing his culinary
duties with true aboriginal skill.
He constructed the first bridge across Killbuck on what is known as the Colum
bus avenue road. He aided in procuring the charter for the turnpike running from
Wooster to Cleveland, and was a director and stockholder in it. He exerted himself both in the Legislature and out of it in behalf of the choice of the Killbuck
route for the Ohio canal.




WIOOSTER TO WNSHIP.


735


In I816-I7 he built the first jail of the county, constructing it chiefly of the
old logs of the Block-house erected by Captain George Stidger, in I812.
On the 4th of July, 1824, Mr. Jones and wife, then keeping the " Wooster Hotel," roasted an ox and prepared a grand dinner for the occasion, Mr. Samuel Vanemmon, brother of Mrs. Jones, superintending the roast. The tickets to the banquet
were fifty cents apiece, and over three hundred were sold. The ox was roasted
among the elders and brush, to the rear of Lindol Sprague's residence. On this
occasion Congressman John Sloane, Brigadier General Reasin Beall, Judge Ezra
Dean, and many other prominent citizens, were present. John Hemperly carved
the ox. Twelve pigs were also roasted. After the dinner was over and the ceremonies concluded, Mr. Jones invited the children of the town to a free entertainment.
He is Chased by Wolves.-He went to " Morgan's," on one occasion, down Killbuck about eight miles, for provisions, and among other things, Mrs. Morgan gave
him some fresh meat, which she put in a large gourd, of the capacity of half a bushel.
The wolves, scenting the meat, pursued him with fierceness and angry demonstrations, when several times he thought he would have to throw everything away and
try to save himself.
He Caiptures three Bears.-While traveling on horseback, up the Killbuck bottom, south of Wooster, he captured three cub black bears, and put them in a
sack over the saddle. They proved, however, to be heavier than he had calculated,
and hearing the mother of the cubs approaching, he considered it wisdom's better
part to throw one of them out of the sack, which he did. The remaining two he
kept awhile, finally giving one away and selling the other.
He carried the mail from Canton to Mansfield on horseback.
He aided actively in organizing the Agricultural Society, and a
colt in his possession took a premium at the first fair.  In I815 he
was elected Justice of the Peace of Wooster township, and subsequently filled the office of Trustee of the township. In II88 he
was elected Commissioner of Wayne county, and served in that
capacity for three years.   In 1821 he was elected a Representative
for the county of Wayne in the General Assembly of the State of
Ohio. In 1824 he was placed on the Jackson electoral ticket as
one of the District electors. He was always an ardent admirer
and warm supporter of the gallant old hero of New Orleans, with
whom he enjoyed most friendly personal relations.
He represented Wayne county in the Ohio Senate from December 7, I829, to December 3, 1832, having been re-elected in
I830. In I832 he was elected a member of Congress, and reelected in I834.   He was President of the first Jacksonian meeting
held in Wooster, and publicly discussed national topics with General Spink in 1840. There was a genial goodness, sunshiny
humor, playful, but caustic wit, and broad hospitality about him
that attracted and fascinated.   He entertained the first Methodist




736


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


preacher that visited Wooster, and his house was proverbial for
the generosities it dispensed.
His honesty of purpose and rectitude of conduct in the discharge of his official duties in all the various offices he filled,
gained him the esteem and approbation of his constituents. He
was a patriot, and warmly attached to the civil and political institutions of our country. So ardent were his feelings for the happiness, prosperity and glory of his native land, that in a conversation
with his family a few days before his decease, in remarking upon
the situation of our country, he observed that he had lived to see
the adoption of the Constitution, which bound the States in union
with each other-and under the influence of its sacred provisions
this nation had become great and prosperous, and had protected the
rights and secured civil and religious liberty to all her subjects;
and that before he should be called to witness a dissolution of the
Union, he hoped that God in his providence would dissolve his
existence.
Joseph Eichar.-Among the early pioneer settlers in Ohio was
Joseph Eichar, the second son of Peter and Nancy Eichar, who
was born and raised at Greensburg, Pa. In the year I809 he immigrated with his family to Ohio, when he bought a farm near
Canton, Stark county, where they remained five years, and then
removed to Wooster, arriving there on the I4th day of April, 1814.
Soon after Mr. Eichar came to Wooster to live the " Madison
Tract," or first county seat, was offered for sale, and he bought it.
The year after the heads of three families by the name of Rice,
from near Greensburg, Pa., bought of him the three farms of
which the Madison tract consisted. The price they paid made Mr.
Eichar what was considered rich in those days. He then bought
the quarter section joining the north side of Wooster, on a part of
which the University now stands, and another quarter section,
with the famous Salt Spring on it, two and a half miles west of
Wooster; also a half section, in Cedar valley, and a half section on Little Killbuck, together with several quarter sections entered at the Government Land Office, and several lots in the town
of Wooster. March 5, 1815, he commenced boring for salt, in
which enterprise he invested and sank thousands of dollars.
He next engaged in the produce trade from Pittsburg down the
Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which, also, proved disastrous.
Again he turned westward, and removed with his family to San



WOOSTER TO WNSIP.                 737
dusky, September 17, 1821, with many hopeful anticipations.
But scarcely had they settled in their new home, when Mr. Eichar
was taken with typhoid fever and died on the I7th of October,
I82I, aged 47 years. Joseph Eichar, who now resides on the
Killbuck farm, west of Wooster, is his son.
Hugh Culbertson was born in Franklin county, Pa. His father
removed to Westmoreland county, in that State, when Hugh was
but four years of age, and settled on a farm. In the fall of I809,
in company with Major Wilson and his uncle William Culbertson, he made a trip on horseback to Ohio. They first went to
Trumbull county, and thence to Canton, then having but a few
houses. Here they procured the services of a man named Newman to pilot them further west, starting out with provisions to last
them a week. Before returning they respectively selected a quarter-section of land. Mr. Culbertson chose a quarter immediately
south of the present site of Wooster, Major Wilson selecting
the quarter-section that Mr. Culbertson subsequently settled on,
and now owned by his son, Hugh Culbertson.
Prior to his permanent removal to Wayne county, Mr. Culbertson made it many visits. In the war of 1812 he was drafted,
and received the appointment of Quartermaster of the regiment.
The detachment was organized to operate under Harrison in the
West, but Mr. Culbertson was soon thereafter taken sick and compelled to return home. In the winter of 1822-3 he resolved to move
to Ohio, and on the ist day of April abandoned the old homestead
in Westmoreland, Pa. On the 23d of April he landed on the
banks of Killbuck. During that summer they lived in a little log
cabin at the foot of the hill, where the road crossed the Killbuck,
on the land then of the widow of Joseph Eichar, Sr. In the fall
they erected a house upon their own farm. In 1824 Mr. Culbertson bought of Peter Lanterman what was known as the "old
Yankee Smith " place, a David Smith having settled on it in I8IoII; and to guard against disaster from any Smith claimant, or
title-holding Smith, had all the Smiths in the county sign the
deed. His farm being of a character best suited to that purpose,
Mr. Culbertson at once devoted himself to the production of corn,
and cattle and hog-raising.
In politics Mr. Culbertson was a Jackson Democrat. He was
elected Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Wayne
47




738


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


county in 1833, a position which he creditably and honorably
filled.
Judge Culbertson was married about 1802, to Miss Jane Welch,
of Lancaster county, Pa., by which marriage there resulted twelve
children-six sons and six daughters. She had long been a member of the Presbyterian church, to which her husband also belonged, and was an estimable Christian woman. Her death occurred in June, I850. For the ten years preceding his death, Judge
Culbertson made his home with his son Hugh, and died there December 20, I860, aged eighty-one years.
His son, Hugh Culbertson, of Wooster township, was born
August 14, I818, in Westmoreland county, Pa. He accompanied
his father to Wayne county in the spring of 1823. He was raised
on the farm, and under the direction and management of his
father acquired business habits which insured success in his daily
transactions.
Stephen Henry, Sr., was born in Cecil county, Md., November
23, 176I. His ancestors came from the north of Ireland, and were
second cousins of Patrick Henry, of Virginia.* From Maryland
he removed to Westmoreland county, Pa., in a two-wheel cart,
where he remained some years, when, with his wife and eight
children, he turned his attention westward, and reached Wayne
county in the spring of 1815-16, settling east of Wooster about a
mile, and just east of Mr. Rich's brewery. There he lived until
1831, when he sold out to David Hess, and removed two miles
farther east, to the location of the Henry mill, previously erected.
After some other changes in his residence, he died on the mill
property, August 24, 1850, his wife dying September 25, 1836.
He had eight children-Stephen, Joseph, Ann, Stephen, Johnson,
Mary, Elisha and Elizabeth. None of this family are living, and
all who came to Wayne county are buried in the graveyard east of
the mill, except Elisha, who died in California, October 28, I862.
His sons Joseph, Stephen and Johnson Henry, were the projectors
and builders, in 1833, of what was long known as the "Henry
mill," and was situated on the main Apple creek and on the State
road leading from Wooster to Canton. James Smith, one of the
pioneers of Wayne county, settled near the mill in I8Io, and built
the old grist-mill half a mile south.


* Stephen M. Henry, of Franklin township, imparted this fact.




WOOSTER TO WNSHIP.


739


Jacob B. Espy was born in Bucks county, Pa., December 4,
I790. His father was a Lutheran minister and physician, and received his education in Germany. He was the surgeon of an Ohio
regiment in the war of 1812, joining the regiment at New Philadelphia, Tuscarawas county, Ohio, Colonel Robert Bay, of Washington county, Pa., commanding the regiment. The subject of
this sketch accompanied his father as surgeon's mate. He was at
Sandusky, Maiden and Detroit, at which latter place he was discharged. Mr. Espy removed from Tuscarawas to Wayne county in
I819, and has since resided here. He lives at present about
two miles west of the extreme south portion of Wooster, and
is one of the worthy pensioners of I812. He has been a member
of the Lutheran church for sixty years. He was married October
Io, I816, to Catharine Tarr, who died November 17, 1872, and
had six children, four boys and two girls, and all except one are
living. Isaac Tarr, living in the family of Mr. Espy, was born
March 3, I80o, and immigrated to Wayne county in I8I8.
Christian Lawrence was born in Lancaster county, Pa., January
25, 1778, and came to Wooster township, Wayne county, May 24,
1823, settling two miles west of the city on the State road, which
farm was entered by Andrew McMonigal from the Government.
He was married March 8, I80I, to Magdalena Ettela, of Dauphin
county, Pa., where she was born February 22, 1781. By this marriage there resulted the following children: Peter, Catharine, John,
Philip, Elizabeth, Jacob, George, Samuel and Daniel. John, George,
Philip and Daniel are at present residents of Wayne county. After
a residence of forty-three years in Wooster township the subject of
this sketch died on the farm where he first located, October 3,
I866, his wife dying July 27, I858.
John A. Lawrence, son of Christian Lawrence, was born in
Middletown, Pa., January 18, I808, and when but fifteen years
of age removed to Wayne county with his father, where in Plain
and Wooster townships he has since continued to live. He was
married to Sarah Rouch September 20, I827, the issue of which
union is here recorded:
Mary A.,married William Mowry, and lives in Indiana; George
W., married E. Ann Mowry, and lives in Indiana; Malinda, married Samuel Rouch, died in Indiana, March 31, 1874; Sarah E.,
married Joseph D. Wagner, and lives in Wooster township; Margaret, married James E. Kelley, and lives in Wisconsin; Priscilla,




740


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


married Austin McMannis, and lives in Michigan; John F., married Eliza J. Penland, and lives in Indiana; Henry H., married
Eunice Maurer, and lives in Indiana; Lehanna, married Elmer
McMannis, and lives in Plain township; Isaiah, married Corinda
Casner, and lives in Columbia City, Indiana; Levi A., married
Mary C. Biers, and lives in Indiana.
Mr. Lawrence has a very extensive and thorough acquaintance
with the people of Wayne county, and is widely and generally
known as a good and useful citizen. In Plain township, where he
lived for a great many years, he established the reputation of a
practical business man, pursuing the occupation of surveyer, in
conjunction with the management of the farm. In 1855 he was
elected as one of the Trustees of the township, and in I86I was reelected.
In 1838 he was chosen by the popular majority of his party to
the office of Surveyor of Wayne county, which office he filled for
six consecutive years in a manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to the community. He is a man of solid, natural sense, of
well-sustained judgment, who, notwithstanding his professional
and agricultural pursuits, has not omitted intellectual cultivation
and attention to books. In this respect Mr. Lawrence, perhaps,
differs from more notable readers, in that he has an excellent
memory, and the faculty, as well as facility, of remembering,
digesting and utilizing what he reads. He is industrious and frugal, and possessed of most remarkable energy and fortitude of
purpose. His vital powers are yet strong, although he has passed
his three-score and ten. He has labored hard, and has been rewarded. His life has been an active one, and by practicing some
of his knowledge of the philosophy of living, he has attained his
present age, and has years of activity, comfort and usefulness before him.  He is a born mechanic, and, if he could have interpreted the voice of nature, he would have been a physician.  He
has devoted many years to the study and anatomy of the diseases
of domestic animals, and is one of the pioneer veterinarians of
Wayne county.
Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence celebrated their "golden wedding" September 20,
1877, on which occasion there were present ten children, seventeen of their thirtytwo grandchildren, one great-grandchild and a large number of friends, who assembled at the old home to extend to the aged couple their congratulations, after
fifty years of married life. Through Rev. H. L. Wiles, D. D., the sons presented
their father with a very costly gold-headed cane, inscribed with, "Presented to




WOOSTER TOWNSHIP.


74I


John A. Lawrence by his sons, George W, John F., Henry H., Isaiah E. and
Levi B., at his 'golden wedding,' near Wooster Ohio, September 20, I877." The
daughters likewise gave their mother a pair of elegant gold spectacles, the same
being presented by Rev. W. J. Sloan. After the presentation speeches Mr. Lawrence responded in some very touching remarks, replete with wholesome advice and
affectionate gratitude to his children.
He is a prominent member of the Evangelical Lutheran church
of the city of Wooster.
William Taggart removed to Wayne county, and was married
to Lydia Reiter, daughter of William Reiter, of Wooster township,
and died in December, I862.    He had nine children, seven of
whom are living, to wit: James, William R., Samuel, Joseph,
Amos, Emmet, Isaac, John, Catharine, and one unnamed, that died
in infancy. James Taggart, William Taggart and Joseph Taggart
are farmers in Wayne county and are excellent citizens-men of
honor, industry and integrity.  Emmet Taggart is a produce
dealer in Akron, Ohio, and a shrewd, wide-awake business man.
Isaac Taggart resides in Stark county, and is Superintendent of the
Schools in Canal Fulton.
The subject of this notice was possessed of strong natural qualities of mind, was an intelligent, energetic, enterprising and prosperous farmer, identifying himself with all public improvements,
and especially devoted to the advancement of the claims of agriculture. He was President of the Wayne County Agricultural
Society for a number of years, and acted as Delegate to the State
Agricultural Convention several times. He was a man of intellect,
well informed in history and politics, was an ardent supporter of
the war measures of the Government, a good talker and a fluent
debater, and, all-in-all, possessed of rare natural abilities. He was
for many years a member of the Baptist church, was a useful member of community, and was widely known throughout the State.
Johzn Walter.-This well-known citizen was born in Pennsylvania in I785, and soon thereafter settled in Virginia.  His wife was
also a native of Pennsylvania.  They were married March 22,
1821, at Martinsburg, Berkley county, Va. Five years thereafter
they removed to Wayne county, where they permanantly resided until their death, a period of about fifty years. Shortly
after their appearance in Wooster they occupied the building on
the corner where at present stands the splendid business block of
John Zimmerman, Esq.     Here for eight years they kept hotel,




742


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


known by the name of " Sign of the Swan." Then they quit business in the town and removed to a farm two miles south-east of
Wooster, where they lived until old age and death. Mr. Walter's
family consists of two sons and four daughters. The eldest daughter, and oldest born of the family, married Anthony Wright, of
Wooster; the second daughter, Sarah, in 1854, married the renowned Herr Driesbach, now deceased; the third daughter, Hannah, married Dr. Benjamin J. Jones of Wooster; the youngest of
the family is Miss Belle, unmarried.
Philip Troutman, son of Michael Troutman, deceased, of Wayne
township, was born January I, 1824, and was married January 3,
I854, to Pleasant Ann Johnson, a sister of Isaac Johnson, Esq., of
the city of Wooster. He removed from Wayne township to the
south-west corner of Wooster township in 1853, and has since resided there. He is a born farmer and stock-raiser, owns a beautiful farm in a high state of cultivation, to the careful supervision of
which he devotes himself.
John Reider was born in Lancaster county, Pa., October 6, I8oo.
His father's name was John, and he was a farmer and miller. He
subsequently removed to Dauphin county, Pa., and purchased a
mill property, and here young John had full play for his muscle in
teaming, and such other work as was to be performed.
He removed to Wooster township, Wayne county, in I827, and
settled upon the farm now owned by Thomas Carson, purchasing
it-one hundred and seventy-six acres-from Oliver Jones, one of
the pioneers of I812. On his arrival and settlement in Wooster
township, his nearest neighbors were David Kimpton, William
Kimpton, John Robison, George Pomeroy, John Sturgeon, Robert Hall, Thomas Culbertson, James Wilson, James Hunter, Thos.
Pomeroy, Jacob Loop, Neal Richard and Joseph Power.
Mr. Reider has been twice married, first to Elizabeth Weltner,
of Lebanon county, Pa., who died October 2, I862, and by which
marriage he had eight children; and second to Anna Champ, wife
of Henry Bair, deceased, December 31, I863. Mr. Reider is a
member of the Baptist church, of Millbrook.
Alexander McBride was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., on
the 4th of August, I785. He was of Scotch-Irish parentageScotch on the paternal and Irish on the maternal side. On the




WOOSTER TO WNSHIP.


743


ioth of February, I809, he was joined in wedlock to Ann Julia
Kelly, of Fayette county, of the State of his nativity.
In the autumn of 1813 he arrived in Wayne county, and entered
a quarter-section of land two and one-half miles south-west of Wooster. In the vastness and silence of the woods he set to work clearing and cutting the timber from about six acres of land, sowing it
in wheat, and erecting a cabin of rude logs for a habitation. He
then returned to his home in Westmoreland county, and remained
with his family during the winter, and on the ist day of April,
1814, with all his effects in a two-horse wagon, Alexander McBride
bent his energies toward the wild and wooded home of his choice.
His family then consisted of his wife, his two sons,James M. and John,
and his daughter Martha. His faithful and chivalrous wife drove
the team, he on foot "keeping watch and ward" of three cows,
and on the I8th of April they arrived at their forest destiny, on
the west bank of the Killbuck.
Mr. McBride promptly "seized opportunity by the hair," and
sought to make the log cabin as comfortable as possible. On one
side a space was cut for a door, timber was split and laid down for a
floor; a huge white oak tree standing in front of the hut was leveled, its parts disposed and erected into a shed for culinary uses,
one section of the tree constituting the back wall. In this frontier,
aboriginal style, they lived during the summer. During the month
of November, he made mortar of clay and cut-straw and daubed
the chinks between the logs on the outside of the house, cut a
square hole on one of its sides for a window, and the ingress of
light; constructed an uncouth sash on which was pasted heavy
paper, well lubricated with tallow to render it the more impervious
to the elements, and admit more light, built a stick and mud chimney on the outside of the cabin, made a door of rough boards
which was hung upon wooden hinges and fastened with a wooden
latch, made bedsteads out of round poles, and in this style Mr.
McBride and family lived for over five years.
At this time corn was one of the absent, but much coveted
cereals. The wheat that had been produced the previous year had
all been hoarded away for the seed of the ensuing year. Provision
of all kinds was scant, and the question of subsistence was a problem. About the middle of June a keel-boat laden with corn, from
Chillicothe, arrived and anchored to a tree a few rods above where
the covered bridge on the Perrysville road spans the Killbuck.
The news spread through the country like wild-fire, and in a few




9


744            HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
days the owner of the cargo disposed of his Indian treasure at two
dollars per bushel, though half of it was mouldered and unfit
for use.
The Stibbs mill at that time was a boon and blessing. Indians
and wolves prowled thickly, and in one instance they audaciously
approached Mr. McBride, in bloody pursuit of a pet-lamb that
fled to him and cowered at his feet for protection.      Bears infested
his premises, and a calf enclosed in a rail pen was devoured by
bruin within a mile of the house. And here, in these lonely labyrinths of primitive woods, the rattlesnake infused his deadly poison
into the foot of the rash intruders of his ancient domain.
We now pass from the adventurer to the adventurer's wife, and
introduce several incidents to illustrate the heroic daring of Mrs.
McBride.
One night when the family were in deep slumber in their little cabin, Mrs.
McBride had occasion to cough and spit at the back of the bed, when she discovered a hissing, rattling sound, whereupon she speedily aroused her husband, when
search was instituted for the venomous visitor, aided by an iron lamp, which had
been lighted. His hissing highness, however, was not just then detected. The
noise soon being repeated, a similar investigation was commenced, and with a quite
different sequel. At this juncture Mr. McBride raised one of the floor-puncheons
and detected the reptile. This he held up, when his wife grasped an iron shovel,
with which she caught and held the snake till Mr. McBride cut off its head with
a hoe.
On another occasion when Mr. McBride was out in the surrounding woods in
quest of his horses, an enormous black dog, the property of the family, came into
the house and lay down on the floor at the foot of the bed. His daughter Martha,
then about one year old, was lying on the bed. The dog instantly sprang up,
frothing at the mouth, and caught and began shaking the bed-clothes. This necessarily alarmed Mrs. McBride, who suddenly threw out the children and rushed out
herself, closing the door after her. She now resolved to kill the dog, and was immediately possessed of a woman's presence of mind. Grasping an ax, she opened
the door slightly, called the dog, to which response was made in thrusting his
head out of the door, when she delivered him such a terrific blow that his head
was completely severed from his body.
It was under such circumstances that Mrs. McBride could rise
even above her sex in active courage, and display in defense of
her offspring such examples of self-possession and personal bravery as clothe her in a new robe of moral grandeur.
Husband and wife and long companions in this lower world,
they lived to a ripe old age.       Mr. McBride survived his wife a few
years and met his untimely death August 20, I869. He was the
father of fourteen children, ten of whom grew to maturity. James,




IOOSTER TO WNSHIP.


745


John, Henry, Alexander, Martha, Maria, Parthenia, Julia Ann,
Margaret and Louisa constituted this latter number.
In the decease of Alexander McBride his family lost a wise
counselor and devoted father, whilst society mourns the absence of
one of its intelligent and most exemplary members. He was one
of the very first men to move in the organization of the Presbyterian church, that dates its history from the year 1815, he and
Walter Buchanan having been chosen the Ruling Elders. He was
a man of stainless integrity and the very soul of honor.
Nathan Warner, Sr., was one of the early settlers of Wayne
county. He was a native of the State of New York, where he was
born October 31, I765. He had removed to Ohio as early as I799,
and located at the Moravian. Mission (Gnadinhutten) on the Tuscarawas river, when the nearest mill was seventy-five miles distant.
Here he learned to use the hominy block, and by it and the wild
meat he procured by hunting, or from the Indians, his family was
kept from starving. In the fall of i8i he established himself
three miles west of Wooster, on lands which he had entered in
I8IO, and upon which he had built a cabin and made some improvements.
The spring after he settled in the wilderness war was inaugurated between England and America. When the news of Hull's
Surrender came he packed his goods and gathered together his
family and started for his old settlement at Tuscarawas, but, stopping in Wooster, sleeping in the block house there, and consulting
with parties, concluded to return to his cabin and meet the situation. His cabin being built of hewed logs and a pretty solid structure, he proceeded to convert it into a fort or block-house. He cut
post holes, split heavy puncheons for the door and window shutters, and gathered in all the implements of the farm for weapons, including a large quantity of stones which were taken up
stairs to be used in case of attack. There were but nine guns in
the neighborhood, four of which belonged to Mr. Warner and his
sons.  His family was considerably alarmed one night by the
rapid firing of musketry in Wooster, supposing the town had been
attacked by Indians, but a young man named John Logue soon arrived and informed him of the cause of the firing. A company of
soldiers was lying at Wooster, and having received orders to move  V
to the front, discharged several vollies before their departure. Not
long after this Beall's army camped on his farm and upon that of
J. A. Lawrence. At that time he had twelve acres in corn close




746


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


to the encampment, just in roasting-ear time, Mr. Warner proposing to them to help themselves. The officers told him if he extended that privilege they would take it all, whereupon the corn
was guarded, and what they wanted they purchased of him at six
cents per dozen.
He died May 12, 1844. Mr. Warner embraced religion in
early life, joining the Moravian church, but after his arrival in
Wayne county he united with the Methodists. For twenty years
his house was a preaching place, where the first society in that
section was formed, and was kept up until the old log church was
built, to which place services were removed, and when another
small society united with them, which had been raised at Peter
Warner's, a short distance west of Jefferson. Among the earliest
settlers in his neighborhood were John Lawrence, David and
Azariah Smith, Ebenezer Warner and a Mr. Loag. The first
school was built by John Lawrence, on the Thomas farm, just
north of the garden and in the orchard. It was a double cabin,
in one end of which Lawrence lived, and in the other school was
taught; the first teacher was William Whitmore, specimens of
whose drawings and penmanship are yet in the neighborhood.
Joshua Warner, son of Nathan, was born in Northampton Co.,
Pa., July 29, I798. When but two years of age he removed with his
father to Tuscarawas, and thence to Wayne county in I811. He
remained with his father on the farm until his death. His father
and boys cut out the State road the length of their land, the Killbuck bottom being almost impossible to cross, they fording the
stream slightly north of the bridge at Joseph Eichar's. The famnily helped to build the present road across the bottom, which is
almost wholly underlaid with logs. Bears, panthers, wolves, deer
and rattlesnakes were in abundance. A portion of Beall's troops
encamped at the spring at his late residence. He distinctly remembered Captain Anderson and Captain Blackburn. Blackburn
was a splendid man, and staid with his men on his premises for two
weeks. A portion of the soldiers encamped upon the residence
of Benjamin Mycrantz, husband of Sophia Silvers. Mr. Warner
was of opinion that an artillery company moved in conjunction
with Beall's army, and that it passed south of Wooster, crossing
the farms occupied by William Wallace and James Lusk, etc. A
soldier named Ezekiel Bascomb died at his house, and in his last
hours was waited on by a Mr. Coon. He was buried upon a knoll
at the forks of the road, south of Hugh Culbertson's. The block



1W


WOOSTER TOWNSHIP.                        747
house in which for two week the neighbors gathered at night and
slept, was 24x30; it still remains, and is occupied by the family of
the deceased, though it has been handsomely repaired and converted into a comfortable residence.
The first school-house built in Plain township was south of the
house of the late Daniel Silvers, at the curve of, and north of the
road, on an open lot, and the first teacher was Judge William
Goodfellow. The Methodists organized a society at his father's
house as early as 1812, and in 1814 Rev. John Chord and William
Odell were circuit preachers, and it was likewise the first Methodist organization in Wayne county. Quarterly meetings were also
held there by distinguished divines like Adam Poe, Bigelow, Christie, Finley, and others.  His house was the nucleus of ministers
and pious men; he entertained everybody that came; hung the
big kettles on the crane; cooked for all of them, and when the
beds were full, spread coverings on the floor for his guests.
Amasa Warner was married to Miss L. Foreman, and she and her
child were the first persons buried in the Warner graveyard. The
father of Joshua Warner deeded these grounds for interment, first
for the family burial, but subsequently for the public. Ebenezer
Warner and his son Nathan are buried in the old graveyard on the
old Benjamin Jones farm; the son, but fifteen years of age, was
killed by skids falling upon him  at the Jones barn.   Sacrilegious
vandals for the last several years have been growing wheat and
corn over the bones of these honored pioneers.
Mr. Warner was twice married-first, to Margaret Smith, April
24, 1828, who died about six years thereafter; second, to Roseanna Edmonds, April 12, 1842. He left nine children and three
grandchildren.   His family are all members of the Methodist
church. After a lingering and painful sickness, he died Tuesday
morning, December i8, 1877, in his eightieth year.
The life of Joshua Warner* was a sermon of itself, uttered in
* David E. Warner, of Wooster, a relative, has a family Bible printed in London, MDCCXII. Ichabod Warner, the ancestor of the great Warner family, immigrated to America with two brothers, in I690, but of them and their descendents,
nothing is known. A family record holds the dates, birth and members of Ichabod's children. He was married about I7II, his first child being born December
10, I712. He would be the great-great-grandfather of David E. Warner, to whom
this relic descends. It descended to his father, Samuel E. Warner; to his father,
Ezra Warner, born 1762; to his father, Daniel, born I7I4. David E. has presented
over two hundred curiosities to the University of Wooster, such as a black bear,
from the Cascade mountains, Oregon, a large seal, from the Columbia river, one
of the revolvers found upon Captain Jack, when captured, Chinese guitar, etc.




748         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIU.
simplicity and truth. It was characterized by lowliness of spiri
and purity of heart and way, devoid of all pretense and distinctly
pious and pure. In early life he became a Christian-not a professor-and fastening on to the truths and promises of the Scriptures was carried on to the final triumph. His religious convictions
were powerful and solemn; and the thought of life and its deceiving
joys, of death and its unseen but sure realities, were ever present
with him. He realized the absolute dependency of the soul upon
its Giver. He lived in an atmosphere of prayer-" the soul's sincere desire." With him what was right was eternally right. He
took no backward steps in the cause and work of the Great Teacher,
but daily advanced in the better life, until when spoken to by his
Master he passed to the reward. He was a man of great evenness
of way; of signal earnestness in all things, and most kind and gentle disposition.




SOLDIERS IN    THE CIVIL WAR.                   749
CHAPTER XXIX.
WAYNE COUNTY SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR.
"They never fall who die
In a great cause. The block may soak their gore;
Their heads may sodden in the sun; their limbs
Be strung to city gates or castle walls;
But still their spirits walk abroad, though years
Elapse, and others share as dark a doom.
They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts
Which overspread all others, and conduct
The world at last to Freedom."
To produce a history of the patriotism, courage, discipline and service of the
soldiers of Wayne county we have not space, data or ability. Owing to the great
variety of topics demanding our attention, any attempt in that direction would result in failure. All we can hope to do is to briefly outline the principal events in
their military service.
The part enacted by Wayne county was prompt and conspicuous, having furnished, from I86I to 1865, over 3,200 volunteers, not including a considerable conscript force. The volunteers were distributed among the various regiments, as follows: One company to the 4th Regiment; one to the I6th, in the three months,
and five in the three years' service; one to the 41st; five to the I20th; three to the
0I2d; one to the Io7th; three to the I69th National Guards, and a detachment of
30 men to the 85th Ohio. These were all infantry organizations. Wayne county
also furnished one company to McLaughlin's Squadron Ohio Cavalry, one company to the 9th Ohio Cavalry, small detachments for several artillery companies,
besides many fragmentary enlistments in different infantry organizations.
Fort Sumpter was fired upon April 12, i86I, and that hostile demonstration
precipitated civil war. Wooster shared in the patriotic excitement, and recruiting
commenced instanter.
The first public meeting of the citizens was held in the Court House, on the
evening of April I6, when a wildly patriotic crowd assembled. Hon. William
Given was chosen Chairman and James McMillen, Secretary. Patriotic speeches
were made by Judge Given, Eugene Pardee, William M. Orr, and others. Recruiting, however, had been going on previously, and fifty men had been enlisted by
James McMillen, Jacob Shultz and R. B. Spink, the company-the pioneer one of
Wayne county-being filled out that evening at the meeting. The following, as
published at that date, are




750


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


THE NAMES OF THE FIRST


Jacob Shultz,
R. B. Spink,
John F. Barrett,
A. S. McClure,
J. H. Carr,
W. H. McClure,
J. W. McClarran,
Lemuel Jeffries,
James Black,
William Lawrence,
John Jahla,
Marion France,
John Fitch,
J. B. Sanford,
Clifford Lewis,
George Hite,
Samuel Gordon,
W. W. Sands,
James McMillen,
Thomas Dice,
W. M. Lightcap,
L. S. Lehman,
George Mutscheler,
Joseph D. Pratt,
William McGlennen,
Corodon Fogleson,
Robert McElhenie,
Charles W. Long,
H. W. Arnold,
S. Reamer,
Frank Miller,
William Cline,
Joseph D. Bodine,
David S. Pollinger,
D. Mohn,
Orlando Dyarmon,
George Musser,
They immediately


L. H. Scoby,
Henry Headrich,
John Springer,
J. S. Swearingen,
David Flack,
John C. Pritchard,
Joseph Egbert,
Robert Kennedy,
Anthony A. Black,
Henry Swickey,
Evan Everly,
George Armstrong,
David Best,
I. U. Patterson,
George C. Francis,
J. C. Brandt,
George Stewart,
Thomas McClarran,
George W. Carey,
C. W. McClure,
D. S. Cassiday,
Joseph J. Lake,
Ezra N. Hoag,
James Moffitt,
John Wain,
Harmon Held,
George Patterson,
Sylvester Heffelfinger,
Thomas Cole,
Alfred Chapman,
Edwin Smedley,
John Groff,
Peter O. Vanata,
George Cline,
D. Y. Black,
L. Graybill,
George Sowers,


VOLUNTEERS:
John Hoke,
D. O. Brinkerhoff,
Frank Keehn,
Henry Cutter,
Robert Segner,
H. O. McClarran,
Howard Fishburn,
William Eberly,
Alexander Gray,
Cyrus Gray,
John F. Lyon,
Aaron Kope,
William H. Hanson,
Benjamin Kramer,
Matt M. Smith,
James Kope,
John W. Duck,
Francis M. Anderson,
William Brighton,
John Armstrong,
Jacob Wilson,
John H. Johnson,
Hiempsel Shreve,
H. H. Cook,
A. H. Dice,
William Singer,
William G. Eberman,
William H. Baumgardner,
William H. Ulrich,
Harmon Smyser,
Hubbard Brown,
William Urban,
W. H. Bucher,
T. C. Warner,
Nathan Dyherman,
Edward McKelvey,
Levi Arnold.


organized by electing James McMillen, Captain; Jacob


Shultz, First Lieutenant; and R. B. Spink, Second Lieutenant.


THE 4TH OHIO.
On Monday, April 2I, I86I, this first company left Wooster for Columbus.
The excitement ran high; flags floated from nearly every building, and upward of
ten thousand people from town and country lined the streets from the Court House
to the railroad station. At the depot speeches were made on behalf of the citizens,
by Judge Given, Dr. Firestone, William M. Orr, Eugene Pardee, Benjamin Eason,
and others, and on the part of the volunteers by Captain James McMillen, A. S.
McClure and Levi Graybill.




SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR.


75I


The company departed for the State Capital amid the tears and acclamations of
the multitude.
Arriving in Columbus, they were, on April 25, incorporated with the 4th Ohio
Infantry, becoming Company E. The field officers of the regiment were: Colonel,
Lorin Andrews (the well-known and highly-honored President of Kenyon College,
who had volunteered as a private in a Mt. Vernon company); Lieutenant-Colonel,
James Cantwell; Major, James H. Godman. The ranks were filled by two companies from Marion, two from Delaware, two from Mt. Vernon, two from Kenton,
one from Canton, and one from Wooster.
April 29, the regiment moved to Camp Dennison, and on May 4 was mustered
into the three months' service by Captain Gordon Granger, U. S. A. A few days
thereafter, President Lincoln's call for three years' men was made public, whereupon the majority of Company E and the regiment re-enlisted for that period, and
were rmustered in for three years, dating from the 5th of June, i86I.
The regiment left Camp Dennison on the 20th of June, I86I, for West Virginia,
where it participated in the campaign against Rich Mountain, under General George
B. McClellan. It was then ordered to New Creek, Md., remaining there several
days. On the 9th of August it marched to Camp Pendleton, on the summit of the
Alleghenies, where they encamped and fortified.
In the middle of September Lieutenant-Colonel Cantwell, with six companies
of the regiment, among which was company E, made an attack on the Confederates
at Romney, Va., driving them from the town in great disorder, and with severe
loss. They were, however, reinforced in a few hours, and the 4th, in considerable
hurry, compelled to evacuate the place and retreat to Fort Pendleton. John F.
Barrett, of Wooster, a member of company E, was severely wounded in this engagement, being the first WVayne county soldier shot in the war; William Cline, of Wooster,
was also wounded at the same time.
One month thereafter, October 26, the 4th, with other troops under command
of General Kelley, again advanced on Romney, took the town after a short engagement, with a loss of 14 killed and wounded, the Confederates suffering a number
killed, and all his baggage, two pieces of artillery, and a number of prisoners
captured.
Romney was evacuated on the Ioth of January, and the regiment transferred
to Patterson's creek, on the north branch of the Potomac, and thence, on February
9, to Paw-Paw Tunnel on the B. & 0. railroad-here, under General Lander, participating in the capture of Bloomery Gap, with a large number of Confederate
prisoners and stores. Lander shortly after dying at Paw-Paw, General James
Shields took command of the division, and marched on Martinsburg, which the
Confederates evacuated, after destroying a large amount of railroad and other property. On March i i, Shield's division moved on Winchester, and on the 23d
and 24th engaged Stonewall Jackson in his retreat up the Shenandoah valley, proceeding on to Strasburg, Edinburg, New Market and Harrisonburg.
On the 12th of May the 4th regiment marched via Luray, Front Royal, Chester
Gap, Warrenton, Catlett's Station, etc., to join McDowell's corps, at Fredericksburg, arriving there on the 22d. The next day the regiment, with others of Shield's
division, was ordered back to the Valley, via Manassas Junction. It reached Front
Royal on the 3oth, drove the enemy from that place, released a regiment of Union
troops they had taken, captured a large quantity of ammunition and supplies and
a number of prisoners. On the 3d of June it moved toward Luray, and on the
7th a forced march was made by the brigade to Port Republic, reaching there in
time to check the enemy and cover the retreat of a portion of Shield's division,
under General Carroll.




752


HIISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


After marching and counter-marching in the Valley, the 4th was ordered to
Alexandria, where it embarked to join McClellan's army, then operating against
Richmond. It arrived on the last of the Seven-days' Battle, and was immediately
under fire, losing several men. On the evacuation of the Peninsula by the National
forces, August 16, 1862, the regiment returned to Alexandria. Captain James
McMillen was accidentally drowned at Alexandria during the embarkation of the
regiment for the Peninsula.
Its next important service was at the battle of Fredericksburg, December 13,
1862, where the regiment, as well as Company E, suffered heavily. Lieutenant
William Brighton of the company was killed in this engagement. May 3, the regiment participated in the battle of Chancellorsville, again suffering heavy loss.
Its next great battle was Gettysburg, on the Ist, 2d and 3d of July, I863, where
its losses were also large. The 4th was one of the three regiments that drove the
Confederates from Cemetery Hill, after they had driven a part of the Eleventh
Corps from the field and gained possession of two of our batteries. Generals Hancock, Howard, Gibbon, and other prominent Generals witnessed this charge, and
gave it their highest praise.
Shortly after this battle the regiment was ordered to New York City to assist
in quelling a spirit of insubordination which had manifested itself in that metropolis. From New York the 4th was ordered to Alexandria. After arduous campaigning in Virginia, the regiment went into winter quarters at Stevensburg, on the Ist
of December, I863. It then participated in Grant's campaign against Richmond,
in the battles of the Wilderness, of Spottsylvania Court House, Coal Harbor, etc.
Company E accompanied the regiment in all these campaigns and battles.
Toward the close of the war, with ranks thinned by the bullets of the enemy and by
disease, the company was mustered out of service, having traveled in its campaigns
an aggregate of four thousand two hundred and fifty-four miles, and at all times
maintained the highest reputation for discipline, soldierly behavior, and good conduct on the battlefield.
THE I6TH OHIO.
The second company from Wayne county was organized in Wooster in the latter part of April, I86I. Recruiting for it commenced on the 20th of April, and by
the 25th the company was full, when the following officers were elected: Captain,
George W. Bailey; First Lieutenant, Aquila Wiley; Second Lieutenant, Cusham
Cunningham. April 28, the company was ordered to Columbus, where it was
joined to the I6th Ohio Infantry.
After remaining in Camp Jackson, near Columbus, several weeks for equipment and drill, it was sent to West Virginia, and took part in the battle of Phillippi, one of the first engagements of the war. The Wooster company, under the
command of Captain Wiley (Captain Bailey having been promoted to be Major of
the regiment), was stationed at Grafton, West Virginia, and at Oakland, Mary.
land, during the residue of the three months' service. On the expiration of its
term of enlistment the company was mustered out and returned home.
The x6th Ohio, for three years' service, was organized at Camp Tiffin, near
Wooster, on the 2d of October, I86I. The regimental camp was located in Quinby
Grove, a short distance north-west of the present site of the University. Five
companies were recruited in Wayne county, commanded by Eli W. Botsford, Hamilton Richeson, Samuel Smith, George U. Harn and A. S. McClure. The field
officers were: Colonel, John F. DeCourcey; Lieutenant-Colonel, George W. Bailey; Major, Philip Keshner.




SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR.


753


The regiment moved to Camp Dennison, November 27, I86I. It remained
there until December I9, when it was ordered to Lexington, Ky. From Lexington it proceeded to join General Thomas' forces, then operating against Zollicoffer's
command in Southern Kentucky. After toilsome marches through mud and rain
the regiment arrived at Somerset, just in time to miss the battle of Mill Springs.
The regiment remained near Somerset until the 3ist of January, 1862, when it was
directed to Cumberland Ford, reaching there on the I2th of February. Troops
were assembling at the Ford, under the command of General George W. Morgan,
to dislodge the Confederate forces occupying Cumberland Gap, a few miles distant. In March and April several reconnoisances were made in the vicinity of the
Gap, during which sharp skirmishing took place with the enemy. The I6th lost
several men in killed and wounded during the desultory actions. In June, Morgan's forces, composed of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee troops, succeeded in crossing the Cumberland mountains by Powell's Gap, thus effecting a
lodgement in rear of Cumberland Gap, and necessitating its evacuation by the
Confederates. The enemy retreated to Knoxville, Tennessee, and the Union forces
occupied the abandoned stronghold without further resistance.
On the 6th of August the I6th was ordered to Tazewell, Tenn., to relieve the
I4th Kentucky. After reaching this place and relieving the I4th, the regiment encountered the advance of Kirby Smith's army, in motion to invade Kentucky.
A sharp engagement ensued, in which the I6th was overwhelmed by numbers and
forced to retreat to the Gap, with a severe loss in killed, wounded and captured.
The situation of the Union troops in Cumberland Gap was now extremely perilous.
They were surrounded on all sides and their supplies cut off. General Morgan determined to abandon the Gap and retreat to the Ohio river. After a toilsome
march of sixteen days through the mountainous region of Kentucky the command
reached the Ohio at Greenupsburg, Ky., on the 3d of October, I862.
After recuperating at Portland, Ohio, the I6th was ordered to Charleston,
West Virginia, and from thence to Memphis, Tennessee, to join General
Sherman's command, then organizing for the capture of Vicksburg.     In
December Sherman's forces moved down the Mississippi on transports, arriving at the mouth of the Yazoo on Christmas.    The troops proceeded up
the Yazoo several miles, where they were disembarked, and prepared to assault
Vicksburg on the Chickasaw Bluffs side. On the 28th of December the enemy was
driven out of his line of rifle-pits in front of the Bluffs, and on the 29th Morgan's
division was ordered to assault them. The position of the Confederates was impregnable, and the assault was very disastrous. The I6th lost very heavily in this en.
gagement. Captain G. U. Harn was killed; Captain Van Dorn wounded and
captured; Captain Ross wounded; Captain McClure wounded and captured; Lieutenant P. M. Smith wounded and captured; Lieutenant Heckert wounded and captured; Lieutenant Colonel Kershner wounded and captured; Lieutenant Voorhees
wounded and captured; Captains Mills and Cunningham, and Lieutenant Buchanan
captured. The regiment lost in this engagement 311 officers and men killed,
wounded and captured.
The next service of the regiment was at Arkansas Post, in which assault it lost
several men. It then returned to Young's Point, on the Mississippi river, and from
there it moved to Milliken's Bend, where it encamped until April 6, I863. The
regiment then participated in Grant's Campaign against Vicksburg, in the battle
of Champion Hills, Thompson's Hill, Black River Bridge, and in the assaults on
48




754


HISTORY OF W[AYNE COUNTY, OI1.


the entrenchments of Vicksburg, on the I9th and 22d of May, 1863, losing severely
in each of these engagements.
After the capture of Vicksburg, on the 4th of July, the regiment joined the
forces of General Sherman in his expedition against Jackson, Miss. In the assault
on this place Captain Richeson was wounded and several of the Wayne county boys
killed. Returning to Vicksburg the regiment went into camp, but was soon sent
to New Orleans to join General Banks' expedition, then fitting out for operations in
Western Louisiana. After a short campaign up the valley of the Teche to Opelousa
the regiment returned to New Orleans to join General Washburn's expedition to
Texas. The regiment disembarked at De Crows Point, Matagorda Peninsula, and
moved from thence to Indianola, returning to New Orleans April 12, 1864. From
New Orleans it was ordered to Alexandria, on the Red river, to re-inforce Banks'
command, which was retreating before the forces of Dick Taylor. On arriving at
Alexandria the I6th was immediately placed at the front, and participated in several light engagements. Returning to Alexandria it was detached to help construct
a dam in Red river to facilitate the escape of the iron-clad fleet. From here Banks
retreated to Morganza Bend, on the Mississippi, the I6th forming a part of the rear
guard in this disorderly retreat.
On reaching Morganza Bend the regiment went into camp, from where it was
ordered to Columbus, Ohio, for muster out, returning there, and was discharged
October 31, 1864.
The I6th was one of the best disciplined regiments in the service. Its Colonel,
John F. De Courcy, was a professional soldier, having served many years in the
British army. The regiment was noted throughout for its fine military bearing.
THE 4IST OHIO.
Company C of the 4Ist Ohio was recruited in Wayne county, in August and
September, 1861. Its officers were Aquila Wiley, Captain; F. E. Pancoast, Ist
Lieutenant, and Rufus B. Hardy, 2d Lieutenant. In the early part of September
the company was ordered to Cleveland, where it was mustered into the 4Ist, on the
g9th of September. The field officers of the regiment were: Colonel, William B.
Hazen; Lieutenant-Colonel, John J. Wizeman; Major, George S. Mygatt. On the
6th of November the regiment was ordered to Camp Dennison, and from thence to
Gallipolis, and from there it was ordered to Louisville, where it became a part of
the Army of the Ohio, under command of General Buell.
During the winter the regiment was encamped at Camp Wickliffe. In April,
1862, it participated in the battle of Shiloh, where it lost in the first day's action,
141 officers and men killed and wounded. Captain Aquila Wiley was severely
wounded in this battle; also Lieutenant Pancoast, who subsequently died from the
effects of his wound.
After a good deal of arduous campaigning in Alabama and Tennessee during
the summer of 1862, the regiment joined in the retreat of Buell to Louisville, and
shortly after reaching there engaged in the battle of Perryville, fought October 2,
1862. Its next important service was at the battle of Murfreesboro, where it lost
112 men killed and wounded.
In January, I863, the regiment moved to Readyville, about twelve miles from
Murfreesboro, where it remained until the 24th of June. During the months of
July and August the 4Ist was kept in constant motion, and on September I9, I863,
participated in the battle of Chickamauga, in which engagement it greatly distinguished itself.




SOLDIERS IN THE CIVIL WAR.


755


The next important battle in which it participated was Mission Ridge, fought
November 23 and 25. Here 115 men of the 4Ist fell. Colonel Wiley lost a leg
while gallantly leading the charge. General Thomas, on the field, complimented
the regiment highly for its splendid conduct.
After this battle they marched to Knoxville, and there re-enlisted as veterans;
and, when the men had enjoyed the veteran furlough, the regiment, with 100 recruits, rejoined its division in East Tennessee, placed in a battalion with the Ist
Ohio, Lieutenant-Colonel Kimberly commanding.
The regiment then participated in nearly all the battles of Sherman in his
campaign against Atlanta-Rocky Face Ridge, Dallas, Piney Top Mountain,
Peach Tree Creek, etc. Its loss during this campaign was 158 men, the regiment
dwindling to a mere skeleton of only 99 men.
On the occupation of Atlanta by the national forces the 4Ist was sent in pursuit of Hood, and participated in Thomas' victory over that Confederate General
in front of Nashville.
In June, I865, the regiment was ordered to Texas, where it was stationed near
San Antonio until November, and then ordered mustered out. It reached Columbus, Ohio, about the middle of the month, and was finally discharged on the 26th
of November, 1865, after four years and one month's service.
Company C, 4ISt Ohio, was a splendid company, of first reputation in all respects, and saw more real hard service than, perhaps, any other company raised in
Wayne county.
THE I20TH OHIO.
Four companies, and a large part of a fifth company, in the 120th Regiment
were raised in Wayne county. Joseph H. Downing, George P. Emrich, Benjamin
Eason and William G. Myers were elected Captains of their respective companies.
The field officers were: Colonel, Daniel French; Lieutenant-Colonel, Marcus M.
Spiegel; Major, John W. Beekman. The five Wayne county companies were recruited in August, 1862, and rendezvoused at Camp Mansfield on the 29th of August. On the 17th of October it was mustered into service, and on the 25th of the
same month moved to Covington, Ky., from which point it departed, November
24, for Memphis, Tenn., reaching there December 7. Here the regiment was assigned to Colonel Sheldon's brigade, of Morgan's division, being a part of the
Army of the Tennessee, under command of General Sherman, and destined to
operate against Vicksburg.
On the 20th of December the regiment moved on transports down the Mississippi river, then up the Yazoo, where it disembarked at Johnson's Landing, and
participated in the assault against Vicksburg. After the repulse of the national
forces from Vicksburg, the regiment embarked on transports, and accompanied the
expedition against Arkansas Post, which resulted successfully. The 120th charged
splendidly on the enemy's works in this engagement.
From Arkansas Post the regiment returned to Young's Point, and went into
camp. Here it was decimated by disease, measles, typhus and malarial fever working sad havoc in its ranks. At one time over half the regiment was reported on
the sick list. The officers became discouraged and resigned in large numbers, which
contributed to the despondency of the men.
In April, the 120th took part in Grant's campaign against Vicksburg, engaging
in the battles of Champion Hill, Thompson's Hill, the Black River, and in the




756            HISTORY OF VWAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
charges on Vicksburg, on the 22d of May. It behaved gallantly in all of these actions. After the fall of Vicksburg the regiment joined Sherman's expedition against
Jackson, holding the right of this column in its advance. In the operations against
Jackson, Lieutenant Totten was mortally wounded, and Colonel Spiegel and Lieutenent Spear were severely wounded.
The regiment returned to Vicksburg on the 20th of July, I863, and on the 8th
of August embarked for New Orleans to join Banks' expedition in Western Louisiana. It participated in the campaign in the valley of the Teche, and was then
sent to Plaquemine, a small town on the Mississippi river, where it remained until
March, I864, being then ordered to Baton Rouge.
On the Ist of May, the 120th was ordered to join Banks, then operating in the
direction of Shreveport. The regiment embarked on the transport City Belle, for
Alexandria, and when passing up Red river it was ambuscaded at Snaggy Point, by
5,000 of the Confederates concealed behind the levee. A murderous artillery and
infantry fire was opened on the crowded boat, and the deck was soon slippery with
blood. After a short but ineffectual struggle against overwhelming odds, the 120th
was compelled to display the white flag. During the conflict the City Belle drifted
to the opposite side of the river, where quite a number of the I20th escaped. Colonel Spiegel, Surgeon Stanton, Assistant-Surgeon Gill, Captains J. R. Rummel,
Miller, Fraunfelder and Jones, Lieutenants Applegate, Baer and Rouch, and two
hundred men, fell into the hands of the Confederates, besides the bodies of the
killed. Colonel Spiegel was mortally wounded, and died next day. He was one of
the noblest of men, and "bravest of the brave." The prisoners were at once
marched off to Camp Ford, near Tyler, Texas, where they were confined until the
close of the war.
After this disaster the remnant of the regiment retreated with Banks' forces to
Morganza, La., where it was consolidated with the II4th Ohio Infantry. On the
consolidation the following officers of the 120th were honorably discharged: Lieutenant-Colonel Slocum, Captains Au, Harvey, Taylor and Jones, and Lieutenants
Van Ostern and Hughes.
This ended the career of the I20th as a regimental organization. It was a good
regiment, but was overwhelmed with a series of disasters.
THE I02D OHIO.
The Io2d regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized under the President's call of July I, I862, for 300,000 men for three years. Three companies were
enlisted in Wayne county, by Captain John W. Stout, Jonas D. Elliott and James
E. Robison. The field officers of the regiment were: Colonel, William Given;
Lieutenant-Colonel, Abraham Baker; Major, George H. Topping; William H.
McMonigal was Adjutant. Recruitiug commenced in July, I862, and in August
the Wayne county companies moved to Camp Mansfield. On the 4th of September the regiment left for Kentucky, crossing the Ohio river at Cincinnati on the
morning of the 5th.
It was mustered into service the next day at Covington. On September 22d it
was transported in boats to Louisville, and was present at the battle of Perryville,
but not engaged. From there it was sent to Crab Orchard, and from thence to
Bowling Green, Kentucky, arriving on the 30th of October. On the I9th of De



SOLDIERS IN    THE CIVIL WAR.                    757
cember the regiment moved to Russelville, and from there to Clarksville, Tennessee,
reaching that point on Christmas night, where it remained nine months.
On the 30th of October, 1863, the regiment went into winter quarters at Nashville, Tennessee, where it remained six months, doing duty in the city. From
Nashville it was transferred to Tullahoma, Tennessee, where it was occupied guarding a railroad from Normandy to Dechera.  On the 6th of June the regiment
marched across the Cumberland mountains to Belfonte, Alabama, the left wing of
the regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Elliott, stationed at Dodsonville. The regiment was now engaged in defending the line of the Tennessee
river from Stevenson to the foot of Seven-Mile Island, a distance of fifty miles. As
security against attack, twelve block-houses were erected along this line. In defense of the line the regiment performed invaluable service, and had frequent
encounters with the enemy. Having been relieved from this duty, the Io2d was
engaged in patrolling the Tennessee and Alabama railroad, from Decatur to Columbia. September 15th the regiment went into camp at Decatur.
Colonel Given, commandant of the post, on September 23d, was directed to
send a detachment of four hundred men to re-inforce the fort at Athens. The detachment was composed of soldiers from the I8th Michigan and Io2d Ohio, under
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Elliott, of the latter regiment.  This command
encountered the Confederate General Forrest near Athens, where it was surrounded
and overwhelmed by the superior force of the enemy. After a gallant fight the detachment was forced to surrender. Lieutenant-Colonel Elliott received a mortal
wound in this action. The officers were taken to Selma, and the men to Cahaba,
Alabama. The men were finally parolled and placed on board the Sultana, at
Vicksburg. During the passage up the river the boat was blown up, April 28, I865,
and, as nearly as can be ascertained, eighty-one of the Io2d Regiment lost their
lives by the disaster.
The regiment was in Decatur at the time of its siege by Hood, and was highly
complimented for its behavior.
On the 30th day of June, I865, the regiment was mustered out of service at
Nashville, Tennessee. It proceeded to Columbus, Ohio, and was there discharged
July 8, 1865.
The Io2d was made up of excellent men, and displayed great bravery and skill
whenever it was called upon to engage the enemy.
THE I07TH OHIO.
Captain Gustave Buecking's company of the Io7th Ohio Infanty was raised
chiefly in Wooster, from the patriotic Germans of the city. Recruiting for it commenced the latter part of July, 1862, and the company was soon filled to its maximum. In August it was ordered to Cleveland, where it was incorporated with the
107th, whose field officers were: Colonel, Seraphim Meyer; Lieutenant-Colonel,
Charles Mueller; Major, George Arnold.
Soon after organization the regiment was ordered to join the Army of the Potomac. Its first important battle was Chancellorsville. The oy7th belonged to
Howard's Eleventh Corps, which was so terribly handled by Stonewall Jackson,
and lost 220 men killed, wounded and captured in this battle. Its next general engagement was Gettysburg, where the regiment was almost annihilated, losing over




758


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


four hundred men in killed, wounded and prisoners, out of 550 that entered the
battle.
August I, I863, the Io7th sailed in transports to Folly Island, South Carolina,
and performed picket duty there until January, 1864. After the resignation of
Colonel Seraphim Meyer the discipline of the regiment steadily improved. From
Folly Island the regimeit was taken to Jacksonville, Florida, where it had several
skirmishes with the Confederates. It returned to South Carolina on the 23d of
March, 1865, and met a detachment of the enemy, defeating him, capturing three
pieces of artillery, six horses and fifteen prisoners.
The regiment did provost duty in Charleston, South Carolina, during the balance of its service until July Io, 1865, when it was mustered out and sent home to
Cleveland, where it was discharged.
The Io7th was made up of Germans. It was a fine regiment, its members displaying their earnest patriotism and heroic valor on many occasions.
Wayne county also furnished a detachment of recruits, nearly one hundred in
number, under Captain William Henderson, for the 9th Ohio Cavalry. They were
enlisted in December, 1863, and January, 1864, and served with Sherman on the
march to the sea, being under Kilpatrick's command. The company was with that
General when his camp was raided by Humphrey's cavalry. They were at the
battle of Averysboro and Bentonville, North Carolina. At the close of the war
they were mustered out and returned home.
A detachment of Cavalry was recruited in Wayne county, in October, 1861, by
Lieutenant Benjamin Lake, for McLaughlin's Squadron, joining the Squadron at
Mansfield, in the latter part of the month. In November it left for Eastern Kentucky, where it engaged in desultory campaigning for nearly two years, taking part
in the battles of Middle Creek, Pikeville and Pound Gap. In August, 1863, the
Squadron left Eastern Kentucky and joined the Twenty-third Army Corps, under
General Hartsuff, marching to Knoxville, where it remained until January Io, I864,
then re-enlisting as veterans. After recruiting up to its maximum, it joined General Stoneman's command in the raid to Macon. It suffered severely in this raid.
It then operated on Sherman's flank in the movement against Atlanta; and afterwards was placed under Kilpatrick's command, going with Sherman on his march
to Savannah; thence it went with the national forces through South and North
Carolina. It was mustered out of service at Camp Chase, Ohio, November 17,
1865.
A detachment of thirty men was enlisted by Lieutenant Joseph C. Plummer,
for three months' service, in the 85th Ohio, which guarded the prisoners at Camp
Chase, near Columbus, Ohio.
Three companies of the Ohio National Guards, under Captains Harry C. Shirk,
William K. Boone and Abraham Gift, were raised in Wayne county, for one hundred days' service, and joined the 169th Regiment National Guards, of which J. H.
Carr was Lieutenant-Colonel. The regiment was organized at Cleveland, May 19,
1864, and was immediately ordered to Washington, where it participated in the defeat of Early's army, and performed garrison duty in Fort Ethan Allen. So proficient did the regiment become in tactics under Colonel Carr, that General DeRussy
declared it equal in that respect to any three years' regiment in his command.
During its four months' service the regiment suffered severely from sickness, nearly




MEXICAN WAR SOLDIERS.


759


two hundred men dying or becoming permanently disabled by disease. It was
mustered out September 4, 1874.
Wayne county has reason to be proud of its record in the civil war. Her soldiers participated in every great battle, and her dead lie in every Southern State.
MEXICAN WAR SOLDIERS FROM WAYNE COUNTY.
May 12, 1846, a bill passed both Houses of Congress of the United States, declaring that war with Mexico already existed, by act of that power, and authorizing
50,000 volunteers, and an appropriation toward carrying on the war of $I0,000,000.
On the following day, May 13, 1846, President Jamas K. Polk formally declared
war against Mexico, owing to the disturbed relations existing between the two
countries, and the measures and policies of peace being exhausted. On September
21 —23 the battle of Monterey was fought, the first in importance after the proclamation of war. In pursuance of the call for 50,000 men the Nation responded.
On Tuesday, May 26, 1846, the 4th Brigade, 9th Division Ohio Militia, was
hastily mustered in Wooster, for the purpose of encouraging volunteering. Over
thirty that day signcd the rolls. Captain Peter Burkett, of the Bristol Light
Artillery, and David Moore, of the "Wooster Guards," were present with orders
to enlist a company. The officers at the head of the appended list were chosen to
command the company, which consisted of eighty-five men, and on Tuesday morning, June 9, i846, they started for Massillon.
On the morning of their departure General Coulter, on behalf of the Wooster
Cadets, presented them a handsome flag, making an appropriate speech, which was
responded to by Captain Moore. Before leaving they were mustered on the northeast corner of the Public Square, where the members of the company were presented with Testaments by the ladies of Wooster. The company left Massillon on
'Thursday evening, June II, on board two canal-boats, en route for Camp Washington, near Cincinnati. They broke camp at the aforesaid place early in the morning
of the 3d day of July, and that day left Cincinnati on the New Era and Tuscaloosa
for New Orleans. They encamped for some time not far from that city, on the old
Jackson battle ground.
James D. Robison, M. D., of Wooster, was the first surgeon of the regiment,
leaving Cincinnati July 3, for Mexico. They served in the 3d Ohio Regiment,
commanded by Colonel Samuel Curtis, a graduate of West Point, and for several
years a lawyer in Wooster, and with George W. McCook as Lieutenant-Colonel.
The treaty of peace was ratified at Queretaro, May 30, I848.
The following is the Wayne county list of volunteers for the Mexican war:
AGE.                     AGE.                     AGE.
D. Moore, Captain...... 28 Jacob Fleckinger......... 24 Amos Chafee.............. 30
P. Burkett, Ist Lieut... 38 Henry Geyer.............. 19 Nathaniel Case........... 19
J. McMillen, 2d Lieut. 23 Robert Thompson....... 26 Uriah Fritts............... 21
Eli Botsford, S. Major..... Wilson M. Stanley...... 18 Charles B. Wood......... 22
F. M. Cooper............. 22 George Richard......... 24 Duayane W. Rouse...... 20
R. D. Emerson........... 22 Isaac Carpenter........... 18 John F. Brainard........ 29
John Lloyd............... 23  Thomas Taylor........... i8  John  Merrit............... 19
John  Craig................ 30  James A. Freeman...... 27  Jiles Shelden.............. 19
Daniel Wickey............ 26 Eli B. Culbertson........ 23 Terry Harris.............. I8
Jacob  Ryan...............  21  Jacob  Stall................. 22  Daniel Duck............... I9
J. B. Rambaugh......... 24 John Yergen.............. 36 William Strunk........... I9




76o


HISTOR Y OF IA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


AGE.                         AGE. I                        AGE.
George Jenkins.......... I9!Jesse Hess................ 21 |Almon H. Powers.......22
William   H. Stouffer..... I9 IJ. E. Tweeig.............. 25 I W. V. Vannostren...... 22
Joseph Marsh............. 22 Abraham Bowers......... 24 William Deviney......... 24
J. C. Plumer.............. 23 John Honn............... 22 James A. Lowry......... 20
James Armstrong........ 22 Jacob M. Crouse........ 26 M. H. Ifemperly.........32
Frederick Rice............ 20 William C. Atkinson... 23 John Leach..............23
Barney Galvin............ 23 Charles Barrett........... 20 William   Grow............ 33
Howard Fishburn........ 22 Josiah F. Coy............ 21 George Wachtel......... 20
Wilson Bower............ 20 L. C. Atkins.............. 23 James R. Dye........... I8
Michael H. Hawk....... 25 William Moses........... I8 Abram Stavig............ I
John 0. Flanagan....... 22 John Sample..............19 Albin Blakely............ 20
Homer Stanley........... 28 Alexander Corretson.... 24 Oswald Sheeters......... 21
Jacob Bair................. 23 Samuel Fritts............. 22 George Fritzinger........ 2
James Crawford.......... 20 Elijah Beach.............. 26 Cyrus J. McCollum...... 20
George Reighley, Jr.... 30 Robert B. Lowry........ 33 Abraham Joliff............ 25
William Boyd............ 35 Andrew Goliff............   8 A. C. Edmonds..........
Robert Craven............ 36 Michael Snyder.......... 29 David F. Baits........... 21


SOLDIERS OF I8 2.
The following is the list of the pensioners of the war of I812 living in Wayne
county, Ohio, as appears on the record at Columbus:
John Achenbach, Moreland.           John Crummel, Apple Creek.
Jacob B. Espy, Wooster.              Henry Fike, Smithville.
William Johnson, Wooster.            Sylvanus Jones, Wooster.
Simon Kenney, Canaan.               John Ludwig, Reedsburg.
George Messmore, Apple Creek.       James McFadden, Cedar Valley.
Benjamin Potter, Millbrook.          Thomas Pittinger, Lattasburg.
Daniel Rieder, Koch's.               Henry Starner, Wooster.
Rachel Bulger (widow), Fredericksburg.  Catharine First (widow), Apple Creek.
DESCRIPTION OF A BLOCK-HOUSE.
From the time of the first settlement of the county until the establishment of
peace after the war of 1812, the inhabitants were compelled to erect block-houses
and stockades for their protection. They became especially apprehensive of attacks from the Indians after Hull's Surrender, as it very much emboldened them in
their bloody raids. These forts, or block-houses, were built in various places
throughout the county.
Upon the site of the residence of Mrs. B. Pope, of Wooster, was erected one,
and probably the largest one in the county. It was called Fort Stidger, built by
General George Stidger, of Canton, in i812, and was a double building, covered
by one roof, and with a separating hall or passage. Here the different families of
the town and vicinity would assemble when the danger seemed most imminent, and
remain during the night.
Another one was built across Killbuck, about three miles west of Wooster, on
the farm of the late Joshua Warner. This block-house stands to-day as it was
originally built, Mr. Warner having only weather-boarded and plastered it, and for
over sixty-five years he occupied it (his family now living in it) as a part of his
family residence.
Another stood six miles east of Wooster, near what was called King's Tavern,
and farther on was still another, near the old Andrew Lucky Tavern. South of
Fredericksburg but a short distance, and also on the farm now owned by Thomas




DESCRIPTION OF A BLOCK HO USE.                      761
Dowty, in Franklin township, similar defensive structures were erected. A company
of soldiers at one time was quartered at the* old Morgan Fort. And still others,
less important than these, perhaps, were to be found at different places. These
block-houses were usually located with reference to the convenience of the settlers,
where they could most readily flee in case of alarm and peril. Elevations and eminences were chosen, from which the surrounding country could be inspected and
all precautions against surprises be observed.
In many respects they resembled the simple primitive cabin. They were built of
logs laid one over the other, and tightly fitted, with little holes notched between
them, and these they called port-holes. Through these the inmates could point their
rifles and fire, at the same time being protected against the discharges of an enemy.
With the exception of a door, there were no other modes of egress or ingress. It
was made of solid timber, firmly and securely fastened inside, and like the rest of the
building, sufficiently firm to resist any volley of bullets. They were generally two
stories high; that portion of the building from the ground to a hight of eight feet,
was formed of shorter logs than the one above it, which, being constructed of
longer logs, formed a projection over the lower story, which gave the occupants the
chance of shooting down on their assailants, or otherwise punishing them with axes
or pikes, should they attempt to climb and enter it, or apply the torch.
The note of many a false alarm was sounded, and many a panic-smitten family
rushed for protection to those old wooden walls.




762


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUrNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XXX.
SALTCREEK         TOWNSHIP
WAS organized       March   5, I816.     Its population in     1870 was
I,593.    The following is the list of officers of the township as
appears upon the official record:
I847. Trustees-James Dorland, John Scott, John S. Brown; Clerk-S. B.
Johnson; Treasurer-James Creswill.
1848. Trustees-J. S. Brown, John Scott, John Firestone; Clerk-S. B. Johnston; Treasurer-James Creswill; Assessor-Peter Franks.
I849. Trustees-J. S. Brown, John Firestone, Jacob Halfhill; Clerk-Isaiah
McDonald; Treasurer-John S. Smith; Assessor-S. B. Johnston.
I850. Trustees-Jacob Halfhill, Moses Kelley, James Crosby; Clerk-A. B.
Cosper; Treasurer-John S. Smith; Assessor-S. B. Johnston.
I851. Trustees-James Crosby, Jacob Halfhill, James Hutchison, Clerk-S.
B. Johnston; Treasurer-Moses Kelley; Assessor-J. S. Brown.
1852. Trustees-Jimsey Hutchison, James Crosby, Jacob Halfhill; Clerk-A.
B. Robison; Treasurer-Moses Kelley; Assessor-John S. Brown.
1853. Trustees-Jimsey Hutchison, John S. Brown, Andrew Knox; ClerkA. B. Robison; Treasurer-Moses Kelley; Assessor-David Thompson.
1854. Trustees-Thomas McCaughey, Andrew Knox, John Crosby; ClerkB. C. McClellan; Treasurer-John Lindsey; Assessor-Adam Reaser.
I855. Trustees-J. B. Crosby, Thomas H. McCaughey, C. R. Strauss; ClerkWilliam Clark; Treasurer-Andrew Knox: Assessor-Adam Reaser.
1856. Trustees-C. R. Strauss, John B. Crosby, William Johnston; ClerkHenry C. Ober; Treasurer-Andrew Knox; Assessor-Thomas McCaughey.
I857. Trustees-William W. Johnston, John B. Crosby, A. B. Cosper; Clerk
-H. C. Ober; Treasurer-Andrew Knox; Assessor-John Smedley.
i858. Trustees-Robert Hacket, A. B. Cosper, Jones Thompson; Clerk-H.
C. Ober; Treasurer-Andrew Knox; Assessor-Hugh Truesdale.
i859; Trustees-Robert Hacket, John Rogers, Isaiah Rayl; Clerk-John H.
Gregor; Treasurer-Samuel Searight; Assessor-Hugh Truesdale.
186o. Trustees-John Rogers, Robert Cunningham, T. R. Goodin; ClerkWilliam Guthrie; Treasurer-Samuel Searight; Assessor-Andrew Watson.
I86i. Trustees-Robert Cunningham, Thomas Dunham, David Truesdale;
Clerk-William Guthrie; Treasurer-Samuel Searight; Assessor-John H. Foultz.
1862. Trustees-T. R. Goodin, Thomas Dunham, D. P. Truesdale; ClerkJ. H. Gregor; Treasurer-Samuel Searight; Assessor-John H. Fouts.
1863. Trustees-D. P. Truesdale, John Stauffer, James Spencer; Clerk-J. B.
Koch; Treasurer-John Wilson; Assessor-A. J. Reider.




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763


1864. Trustees-John Stauffer, Eugene Grossjean, William Moore; ClerkJ. B. Koch; Treasurer-John Wilson; Assessor-JohnsonBrown.
I865. Trustees-Eugene Groesjean, Michael Steel, Albert Sweeney; ClerkJ. B. Koch; Treasurer-William Coulter; Assessor-Peter Franks.
I866. Trustees-M. H. Steel, Eugene Groesjean, Alfred Sweeney; Clerk-J.
B. Koch; Treasurer-Wm. Coulter; Assessor-John H. Fouts.
1867. Trustees-M. H. Steel, Frederick Brown, William Scott; Clerk-J. B.
Koch; Treasurer-T. C. Franks; Assessor-John Stauffer, Jr.
I868. Trustees-William Scott, George Moore, John Orr; Clerk-M. H.
Steel; Treasurer-T. C. Franks; Assessor-John Stauffer.
1869. Trustees-George Moore, John Orr, James Criswell; Clerk-P. F.
Gerard; Treasurer-S. C. Franks; Assessor-William B. Johnson.
1870. Trustees-George Moore, John Orr, James Criswell; Clerk-P. F.
Gerard; Treasurer-Eugene Grosjean; Assessor-Eugene Wisard.
I871. Trustees-George Moore, James Criswell, John Orr; Clerk-Peter
Gerard; Treasurer-Eugene Grosjean; Assessor-C. A. Reider.
1872. Trustees-George Moore, James Criswell, Eli S. Barnes; Clerk-Peter
Gerard; Treasurer-Eugene Grosjean; Assessor-John Fouts.
I873. Trustees-George Moore, William Coulter, John Flory; Clerk-Peter
Gerard; Treasurer-Eugene Grosjean; Assessor-John Fouts.
I874. Trustees-William Coulter, John Flory,        Brown; Clerk-Peter
Gerard; Treasurer-Eugene Grosjean; Assessor-John Fouts.
I875. Trustees-William  B. Moore, Johnson Brown, John Flory; ClerkPeter Gerard; Treasurer-Henry Goudy; Assessor-John H. Fouts.
1876. Trustees-William Moore, Johnson Brown, George Shambard; ClerkPeter Gerard; Treasurer-David Simon; Assessor-Eugene Grosjean.
I877. Trustees-John B. Armstrong, J. B. Crosby, J. W. Johnson; ClerkEdward Amiet; Treasurer-David Simon; Assessor-C. A. Scott.
Justices of the Peace.-Samuel L. Lorah, October 26, 1833; James McFadden,
October 26, 1833; James McFadden, December 31, 1836; Jesse B. Ramsey, November 17, 1837; James McFadden, October 24, 1839; J. B. Ramsey, November
23, 1840; B. F. Barns, December Io, 1841; James Hoge, October 21, I842; B. F.
Barns, November 19, I844; James Hoge, October 23, I845; Thomas Moor, November 13, 1847; Adam Reaser, October 21, 1848; William Peppard, October I9,
1850; Adam Reaser, December 9, 1851; Anthony B. Robison, October 27, 1853;
D. Thompson, October 21, 1854; S. Johnson, November 12, 1856; R. R. Gailey,
April 22, 1857; S. Johnson, October 20, 1859; Robert Hacket, April 17, I86o;
S. D. Miller, April 17, 1863; Daniel Reider, April 17, 1863; David Thompson,
November 17, 1864; H. C. Ober, October 15, i867; John Brownfield, April 13,
1869; Daniel Reider, April I3, 1869; John Ruch, April 9, 1872; John Brownfield,
April 9, I872; John Stauffer, October 22, 1873; Ezra Dunham, October 20, 1874;
William Coulter, April 12, 1875; Arthur Anderson, April 12, 1877.
William   Searight was born October I7, I779, in Cumberland
county, Pa. His father was a native of Ireland, immigrated to
America about I760, settling in Carlisle, Pa., and served seven
years in the Revolutionary war. William married Jane Johnson,
of Shippensburg, Pa., July 3, 1787, and in the spring of I8II
immigrated to Wayne county with his wife and two children, Ann




764


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


and Jane, coming by way of Pittsburg, Marietta, the Muskingum,
and then to Coshocton, and then on to his own place, which he had
selected the year before (I8IO), building his cabin on the banks of
Salt creek, facing the " Pine Hill." He was then the only man
and his the only family in Saltcreek township, and was truly
"monarch of all he surveyed."    Here he had entered 460 acres of
land. His nearest neighbors lived in what is now Prairie township, Holmes county, and were John Martin, Hugh McCollough,
John Castor and his sons. Henry Barnes, father of Peter Barnes,
was the first settler to join him in Saltcreek township, and he came
just after the war of I812. After the news of Hull's Surrender,
Mr. Searight and family fled for safety to the block-house, four
and a half miles distant, built in Prairie township, Holmes county,
on the farm now owned. by Benjamin Dawson, where, assembled
for a time, the Castors, Martins, McColloughs and Dawsons. The
Indians were friendly. Old Chief Lyon, about this time, visited
the Searights, and told Mrs. Searight that he had cut out the
tongues of ninety-nine women, and wanted hers to make the even
one hundred. William Searight died July 16, I846, and his wife
followed him in February, I848. They had ten children, as follows: Ann, Francis G., Elizabeth, Jane, Ezzelar, Samuel, Gilbert, Elizabeth G., George W. and H. S.
Fredericksburg was laid out by Jacob Frederick, November 27,
1824, the plat and certificate recorded two days thereafter, and found
on page 450, volume 3, County Recorder's office. It was named
in honor of its founder, who served as one of the Associate Judges
of Wayne county as early as 1826.
Recollections of Joseph Miller.-William Searight built the first saw-mill erected
on Salt creek, four rods above the residence of Gilbert Searight, in I813. Judge
Frederick built the next one in I816-17. The Searight mill burned down, and
John Cheyney and Samuel Miller rebuilt another in 1820 for saw-mill uses. Frederick's second mill was built in 1836, and had a capacity of 200 barrels per day.
Joseph Firestone, John Miller and Jacob Frederick ran it in its more prosperous
days. It was destroyed by fire in 1876. James Russell, a blacksmith, built the
first house in the town where the stone corner now stands. The first house kept
for a'hotel was built by Samuel Miller, and stood on the north half of the ~Etna
property, it being conducted by Samuel, the father of Joseph Miller. Cornelius
Dorling and Mr. Frederick kept the first store in the old still-house. The first
school-house built in Saltcreek township was on Jacob Beerbower's farm, now
owned by John Grossjean, and Aaron Thompson was among the first teachers.
The first school-house built in Fredericksburg was in 1828, where Andrew Knox's
blacksmith shop stands, and the first teacher was John C. Taylor, although C. P.




SAL TCREEK TO WArSHIP.


765


Tennant had taught select school twelve years prior to this. The Presbyterians
built the first church. Frederick had the first distillery, and, it is said, at the time
of the building of the Ohio Canal, there were eight distilleries within two miles of
the village. The first doctor was James Clarkson, of Washington county, Pa., who
came in 1827, and died in 1846. James Taylor was the first lawyer. The first
Postmaster was Samuel Miller, appointed in 1827, holding it II years; he was succeeded by J. J. Deitrich, W. C. Ream, James Hoag, Amos Cosper and Daniel
Cosper, the present incumbent. On George Brown's place parties bored for salt to
the depth of 350 feet, but it did not pay. Samuel Goodwin, who lived on the
farm where William Moore now lives, said that buffalo, elk and deer would haunt
these salt licks. John Harrison and Miss Miller were the first couple married in
Fredericksburg, and by Rev. A. Hanna. My father, Samuel Miller, was born in
Westmoreland county, Pa., in 1787, and removed to Waynecounty in I819, settling
in Franklin, but in 1826 removing to Saltcreek. He died December I8, 1862, his
wife dying February 3, 1876. He was a tradesman and hotel-keeper.
W. T. Barnes, M. D., was born November Io, I843, and worked
on the farm till he was seventeen, when he entered the army, enlisting as a private in the 5Ist Ohio Regiment, Stanley Matthews,
Colonel. After his return from the army he attended school at
Lexington, Richland county, Ohio, and in I866 began studying
medicine with John Russell, M. D., of Mt. Vernon, graduating
from Charity Hospital Medical College, Cleveland, Ohio, in the
spring of I869, and in 1870 began the practice in Fredericksburg,
where he is at present located. He was married to Almeda Greer,
of Knox county, Ohio, August 24, I869.
Daniel Rieder, Jr., was born October 24, 1815, in York county, Pa. He is a son of Daniel Rieder, of the same State and
county, who immigrated to Wayne county in I816, settling first in
Paint township, and in about 1833 removing to Saltcreek. His
son, Daniel, was married to Sarah A. Mowrey, and has had sixteen children, ten of whom are living. He has served as Justice
of the Peace of Saltcreek township nine years, and with John
Mackey laid out the town of Maysville. J. B. Koch, of Wooster,
had started a store there before the village was laid out.  His son,
Cyrus Rieder, is practicing law in Wooster.
Thomas Armstrong, was born in county Cavan, Ireland, in the
province of Ulster, and immigrated to America, landing at New
York May 17, 1804. He removed to Saltcreek township April 5,
I816, the same year being married to Nancy Dunlevy, of Washington county, Pa., and had thirteen children. He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in October, I824. He was




766


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


twice elected Justice of the Peace-in 1826 and I830. Mr. Armstrong was educated in Ireland. John D. Armstrong, at our request, kindly furnished us with these facts.
John Mackey was born in Saltcreek township, in 1824. He
was raised on the farm with his father, who came to the township
in I8I6; was married to Elizabeth Cunningham in 1845. He had
three children, to wit: Albert, Mary J. and John. He met death
by accident in a saw-mill, at Maysville, being hurt October It,
I850, and dying six days thereafter. His son, Albert Mackey,
was elected Justice in I876, of Saltcreek township, and in I874
was chosen Surveyor of Wayne county, but declined to serve. He
spent over a year in the employ of the Government, under General
J. S. Ingalls, aiding in the survey of Oregon and California lands.
Parmenas Appleman was born in Washington county, Pa., December 20, 1804, and came to Wayne county with his father, Jacob,
in 1819, who was a native of New Jersey, and married to a sister
of Hon. John Harris, of Canton. He removed to Saltcreek township in the spring of 1827, and settled half a mile south of Maysville. He was married April 5, 1827, to Mary Rodgers, and has
had the following children: William, John, James, Parmenas,
Thomas, Harris, Samuel, Nancy, Jane, Eliza. His wife died in I847,
and he was again married in I854, to Martha Kilgore, Miss Eliza
E. Appleman being the only child of this marriage. Both as
farmer and merchant Mr. Appleman has made his life a success.
He is a member of the Presbyterian church.
Rev. Samuel Irvine, D. D., was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, June 25, I787, his parents immigrating to America June 25,
1788, two years thereafter settling in Huntington county, Pa. He
labored on the farm until I8Io, when he entered college. In 1815
he attended the theological seminary at Servia, Pa., where he was
licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Philadelphia, in 18I9. In
1820 he came to Wooster, and received a call from the congregations of Saltcreek, Wooster, Newman's creek and Mohican, which
he accepted, and was ordained at the Court House, in Wooster,
March, 1821. He finally relinquished the two latter charges, retaining Wooster and Saltcreek until 1835, when he resigned the
former and went to Millersburg, retaining his relation with the
Saltcreek church until his death, April 28, I861. He was married
January 22, 1822, to Maria Glasgow, of Beaver, county, Pa., who,




SAL TCREEr TO WNSHIP.


767


with three sons and four daughters, survived him. His second
son, S. P. Irvine, became a minister. His first Elder in Wooster
was John McClellan, Sr.; in Mohican, Nathaniel Paxton; in Newman's Creek, Colonel McDowell; in Saltcreek, William Trusdale.
He had charge of the first select school ever opened in Wooster,
and taught upon the premises where E. Quinby, Jr., resides.
United Presbyterian Church of Fredericksburg.-This congregation, prior to 1858,
was called the Associate Presbyterian, or Seceder. Some of the first Associate
families were John Sorrel and George Miller, who settled in the neighborhood in
1812 or I813; William Truesdale, John Lytle and Henry Caldwell in i815, and
James Truesdale in I817, and Samuel Miller, David Knox and George Boon.
Some of the first ministers who supplied these people with preaching were Revs.
John Walker, W. M. Wilson and James Ramsey, D. D.
The congregation was organized by Rev. William Wilson in I818, with Messrs.
John Sorrel, George Miller and William Truesdale as Elders. The organization
was effected and the Elders elected in the house of Mr. Robert Knox. The first
house of worship was built of logs, commonly called a log house, and stood near
the old Associate burying-ground on the hill, south of where Mr. Smith Peppard
now lives. This was commenced soon after the organization of the congregation.
In I820 Rev. Samuel Irvine, D. D., was called to take charge of the congregation, and in March, 1821, he was ordained and installed pastor of this and three
other congregations. For quite a number of years he ministered to this, in connection with other congregations in the neighborhood. But the last few years of
his life were devoted to this congregation exclusively. By his death the congregation was left without a pastor in the spring of I86i, and continued so, being ministered to by a large number of men until I866. In I866 Rev. T. J. Kennedy was
called from Jamestown, Pa., and took charge of the congregation; continued in
charge until the fall of I869, when he was released. In July, I870, a call was
made for R. R. Atchison, who entered upon his duties as pastor the following January, and still continues in charge. The congregation now worship in a brick
church in the south-western part of the town, which was built in 1838. Present
officers: Elders-Messrs. Thomas Smith, Joseph McElroy, Francis B. Lytle,
James Kerr, Thomas McCaughey, Arthur Anderson and Samuel McCoy.
The first Methodist church in Fredericksburg was built in 1830, and stood
south of town, where William Barnes now lives, and the first minister was Rev. H. O.
Sheldon. The second edifice was built in i860. Some of the earlier of the members of this church were John Miller and family, David Griffith and family, Samuel
Brown and family, Robert Armstrong, Sr., Robert Armstrong, Jr., J. R. Armstrong,
Jacob Kiser (the singing shoemaker), Stinson McWilliams, Nancy Sefton and
family, C. P. Tennant and family, R. S. McEwen and family.
[The sketch of the Presbyteriau Church was unfortunately lost.]
B. C. Smith was born in Paint township.        His parents, Moses
and Keziah Smith, were natives of Fayette county, Pa., his mother
coming to Wayne county when a child with her parents, Bazaleel
and Mary Tracy, in 1814, and his father in 1822, at the age of 24,
and soon thereafter settled on the north-west quarter of Paint
township. Here the subject of this sketch was born, and his




768


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


early life passed.   After quitting district school he entered the
Academy at Edinburg; then studied in Vermillion Institute at
Haysville, and after being a short time at Oberlin College, he
established the Fredericksburg High School. In 1859 he was appointed a member of the County Board of School Examiners, a
position he has continued to fill, with but little intermission, to the
present time.
Fredericksburg High School.-This was established in 1852, by Prof. B. C. Smith,
commencing with forty pupils, and in a few years thereafter had won a wide and
enviable reputation as an educational institution. The rolls show an attendance of from 150 to 175 for years. The martial excitement at the opening of the
civil war had a depressing effect upon institutions of learning everywhere, and
Prof. Smith chose to close his school for a time. In the fall of I862 he re-opened
the institution with 25 pupils, and although the war was fiercely raging, and terrifying
drafts impending, in the years 1863 and 1864 the number of students increased to
60 and 80. But in the summer of 1866 Prof. Smith's health failed, and he was
compelled to abandon his labors as teacher, since which time the Fredericksburg
High School has been known more in name than in fact. His assistant, from 1856
to 1859, was Rev. S. McAnderson, of the Presbyterian church, who assumed the
Professorship of Language and Moral Science. Prof. Smith's assistant teachers
afterwards were young men who had been educated within the walls of the institution, and among these may be mentioned J. M. Huchison, S. D. Miller and P. F.
Graham, all now clergymen, the first a Presbyterian, the others Methodist.
Peter Franks, a native of Fayette county, Pa., was born May
21, 1797, and came to Wayne county August 7, 1820, although
he had visited the county in 1816, and that year helped to raise a
barn at Robert Hackett's. He remembers the names of those
present at that raising, to wit: James and George Hackett,
Basil and George Tracey, John Beerbower, Isaac Sowers, George,
Solomon and Daniel Firestone, Thomas, William and James Johnson, John and George Brown, James Numbers, David Clark, George
and Philip First, Job Lee, Dan Merriman, John S. and Robert
Brown, Abner Geddis, Leonard Langell, John and Andrew Moore,
and Peter Franks.    Besides Mr. Franks, all are dead save Andrew
Moore, George Hackett and Robert Brown.            Mr. Franks was
married September 5, 1819, in Fayette county, Pa., to Julia
Fletcher, who died May 6, 187I.        She was a member of the
Methodist church.      He has had nine children, viz:      William,
Sarah, Naomi, Jacob, Manoah, Thomas, Samantha, Solomon and
Lemuel.


The Fredericksburg Cemetery Association was organized November 16, 1872, as
follows: Original members-John Richards, Andrew J. Knox, John Dobbins,




SAL TCREEK TOW NSHIP.


769


Noah Brown, William T. Barnes, James Martin, John S. -, S. C. Franks,
W. S. Peppard, Joshua Brother, George Gardner and Rev. W. J. Park. First Trustees-George Gardner, John Richards, Noah Brown, Wm. T. Barnes, W. S. Peppard; S. C. Franks, Clerk; W. S. Peppard, Treasurer; James Martin, President.
It embraces fifteen acres of land, on the hill east of town, purchased of V. Menuez.
Margaret Cramer was the first person buried therein.
Fredericksburg Lodge No. 39I, I. 0. O. F.-Date of dispensation, July Io,
1867. Charter members: N. J. Close, John Rechert, M. H. Steel, G. J. Rhodes,
J. H. Vananda, E. H. Millhon. Present officers: C. N. Gastill, N. G.; 0. J. Sea
right, V. G.; S. S. Rutter, R. S.; A. C. Bayless, Permanent Secretary; D. Swinehart, Treasurer. Whole number initiated since organization, 78; present membership, 28.
James Martin, M. D., was born October 20, 1824, on Martin's
creek, on the old Edward Martin homestead. The subject of this
notice remained upon the farm until he was twenty-two years of
age.   He attended the public schools about three months in the
winter, until he was eighteen years of age, then the select schools
at Fredericksburg for several years, when he began teaching school.
He read medicine with T. B. Abbott, of Massillon, and during
this time availed himself of a course of lectures then being given
by William Bowen, of Akron, Ohio, subsequently graduating at
the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia. He began the
practice at East Rochester, Columbiana county, in August, 1850,
remained there three years, when he removed to Fredericksburg
in 1854, where he has since resided in the active pursuit of his profession.  He was married Nov. 13, 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Craig,
of Columbiana county, Ohio, and by this union had seven children,
only five of whom are living-O. E., Jessie F., Frank H., Mary
J. and James S. Dr. Martin, wife and all his family are members
of the Presbyterian church.
Dr. Martin descends from an old and most worthy pioneer family of Ohio. He is a thorough gentleman, and one of the most
popular and best educated physicians in the county. His abilities
and skill have achieved for him an enlarged reputation and associated him with the foremost practitioners in his section of the country. He is a courteous, affable and estimable gentleman, and has
reared an intelligent and worthy family, several of whom have attended the Wooster University, to which Dr. Martin largely contributed.
Sinclair Johnson, son of James Johnson, was born February,
1824. Having obtained a good degree of common school educa49




770


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, ONIO.


tion, he commenced the work of life by teaching school when sevteen years of age. By studying during recesses of teaching, he
completed his academical studies in 1849, at the Edinburg Academy, and entered the Junior Class at Jefferson College, Pa., where
he graduated with marked honor in August, 1851. From that
time he followed teaching until I871, when he retired from that
pursuit, and is now living at the old homestead, overseeing the
work of the farm.
William Peppard was born in New Jersey, and removed with
his father, Jonathan Peppard, to Beaver county, Pa. He was married to Nancy Gaston, of Finleyville, Washington county, Pa.
In 1823 he removed to Wayne county, Ohio, settling, upon his
arrival, in Saltcreek township, two and one-half miles north of
Fredericksburg, and in 1836 settling in the village. Here he remained until 1864, when, his wife dying in 1863, he made his
home with his son, William S. Peppard. He had eight children,
to wit: Samuel G., Elizabeth, Francis W., Hiram H., Margaret,
William S., Mary and Amanda. Mr. Peppard was elected Justice
of Saltcreek township several terms, and served in the Ohio
Legislature from December 4, 1837, to December 2, 1839, having
been re-elected in 1838.
William S. Peppard, his son, was born in Saltcreek township
March 24, 1829. His earlier years were spent in going to school
and teaching, having attended the High School, under Rev. Edward Geary, brother of Governor Geary, of Pennsylvania. He
has taught school for thirteen terms, and established a reputation
for efficiency in the school-room and scholarship. He is now actively engaged in the practice of the law. His mind is of the
cool, calculating and reticent order, and he is not inclined to unfold his purposes or meaning until the occasion suits him. He
has an independent mind, a methodical brain, and transacts business carefully and cautiously. He was married July 23, I86I, to
Miss Mary A. Giauque, a classmate at Vermillion Institute of
the writer, a lady of culture and refinement, and an excellent
scholar in both the French and English languages. They have
five children, viz: Arbor V., Florena M., Maggie E., Evangeline and Florian G.
Henry Barnes, a native of Maryland, immigrated to Wayne
county in I8I1, settling on the farm now owned by Gilbert Sea



SAL TCREEK TO WNSHIP.


771


right. He died March I9, 1848. He had the following children:
Peter, Catharine, Robert, Hugh, Boston F., Jesse, William, Lucinda and William H., five of whom are living.
Reminiscences of his Son, Peter Barnes.-I was born February 8, 1805, in Beaver
county, Pa., and came to Wayne county with my father in i8ii. I have been a
farmer and school-teacher-taught my first school in I826-had a good English
education. I was married January 6, 1831, to Margaret Guthrie, and had seven
children, viz: Joseph M., Henry C., Mary J., Eli S., Catharine, William G., and
Maggie E. I am a member of the Presbyterian church. My impression is that
James Sorrels, a native of Pennsylvania, was the first Justice of Saltcreek township,
and that Richard Buckmaster was the second. The Buckmasters, Joseph, Wilson,
Joshua, Richard and John, came to Saltcreek township in the fall of I813. It was
necessary in those days for some people to be whipped, and the Buckmasters could
do it. Henry Buckmaster, M. D., was born in Saltcreek township, read medicine
in Millersburg, became Probate Judge of Wayne county, went to Missouri and died
there. William Truesdale came to the township in I8I5. Mary, Hugh, James W.,
Mary, Jane, Phoebe, Elizabeth, John and David were his children. Caleb Brown,
the Dunhams, Hatfields, Traceys, Johnstons, Thompsons, Hutchisons, Lytles, Caldwells, were early settlers. Eliza Searight was the first person who died in the present limits of Saltcreek township; Sarah Willowby the first person who was buried
in the Presbyterian graveyard, and John Hamilton and Margaret Castor the first
couple married.




772


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XXXI.
CANAAN TOWNSHIP
WAS organized May 5, 1819, and was named by Dr. Isaac Barnes.
Its population in I870 was 1,997. The following is the list of officers of the township as appears upon the official record:
Justices of the Peace-Jason Jones, April 23, 1831; John Miles, November 17,
1834; Jason Jones, April I8, 1835; John Blocher, April 28, 1837; Joln Paul, September 6, 1837; John Blocher, April I6, 1840; George N. Cady, August 31, 1840;
John Blocher, April 13, 1843; Ed. Burns, September 28, 1843; John Blocher,
April 21, 1846; George Cady, September 14, 1846; John Blocher, April 12, 1849;
Wm. Barton, October 20, I849; Wm. Stratton, April II, 1850; Wm. Shoemaker,
April 21, 1852; John Hough, October 27, 1853; John Hough, October 25, 1856;
Ahi Zuver, October I8, 1858; John Hough, October 20, I859; Ahi Zuver, October
22, I861; John Hough, October 25, 1862; Dan Stratton, April 15, 1864; Ahi Zuver, October 15, 1864; J. B. Halloway, April 8, 1867; J. B. Halloway, April 12,
1870; Jos. McGlennen, April 14, 1873; Demas Summers, October 22, 1873; Jos.
McGlenen, April 13, 1876.
I866. Trustees-J. R. Naftzger, A. Parmenter, F. N. Haskins; Clerk-F.
Glime; Treasurer-Jonas Heckert; Assessor-G. W. Byers.
1867. Trustees-F. N. Haskins, C. R. Kenney, A. Parmenter; Clerk-F.
Glime; Treasurer-Jonas Heckert; Assessor-J. A. Penoyer.
I868. Trustees-F. N. Haskins, C. R. Kenney, James Norton; Clerk-F.
Glime; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-John Wells.
1869. Trustees-F. N. Haskins, James Norton, Wiram Hoisington; Clerk —
C. Ewing; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-J. A. Penoyer.
I870. Trustees-F. N. Haskins, James Norton, Wiram  Hoisington; ClerkC. Ewing; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-J. A. Penoyer.
1871. Trustees-William Stebbins, Wiram Hoisington, Jacob Gearhart; Clerk
-C. Ewing: Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-F. N. Haskins.
1872. Trustees-William Stebbins, Jacob Gearhart, C. R. Kenney; ClerkSamuel Merryman; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-Elmer St. John.
I873. Trustees-S. F. Kearns, George Matthias, Daniel Stratton; Clerk-J.
McIntire; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-Philip Whonsettler.
1874. Trustees-George Mathias, Andrew Ramich, S. Kearns; Clerk-John
Snell; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-James Norton.
I875. Trustees-George Mathias, Andrew Romich, S. F. Kearns; Clerk-John
Snell; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-Elmer St. John.
1876. Trustees-S. F. Kearns, Thomas Armstrong, F. A. Johnson; ClerkJohn Snell; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-Elmer St. John.




CANAAN TO WNlSHIP.


773


1877. Trustees-Thomas Armstrong, John M. Glennen, William Burns; Clerk
-James McGarvey; Treasurer-Eli Snell; Assessor-Demas Sommers.
Reminiscences of Isaac Notestine.-By whom or when the first entries of land
were made in this township is not known; but perhaps the first were in 1808. The
first settlement was made and a cabin built in I8I2 by William Ewing, Sr., on the
farm now owned by his son Simon. About the same time James Rose, a Scotchman, and Thomas Armstrong settled in the township. Joseph Stratton settled in
1817 on the farm owned by his son Daniel, and about this period the Weed
brothers, Joshua and William, and Thomas Thrapp came in; then Daniel Blocher
and Swartz and Nathan Hall. Quite a number of families were now located.
In the fall ot I8I9 the first election was held in an ashery, that stood nearly a
mile south of the present village of Windsor. The electors, as given from the
memory of George Sommers, a citizen, but not a voter then, were William Ewing,
Sr., William Ewing, Jr., Thomas Armstrong, Joseph and Daniel Stratton, Eleizer
Perago, Nathan Hall, David Plumer, Dr. Barnes, Chapman, Daniel Blocher,
Swartz, John Templeton, James Rose, Jones, B. F. Miller, James Buchanan,
Joshua and William Reed, Thomas Thrapp and one Adams, all of whom are dead.
The officers elected were: Justices-Dr. Barnes and Joseph Stratton; TrusteesDr. Barnes, Joseph Stratton, Thomas Thrapp; Clerk-Nathan Hall, who held the
office afterwards some twelve years; other officers not remembered.
Immigration now became more rapid, so that in ten years from the organization
of the township at least one-half of the quarter sections that could be farmed had on
them one or more cabins. In the year of the organization George Sommers settled
in the township, the only resident of that time still living who was not a minor.
About the same time John Mcllvaine and James Smith moved in, settling near each
other, a mile west of Jackson. Soon after Daniel Oller, Henry Kopp, Simon Kenney,
James and William Haskins and Enoch Gilbert, and a number of others from the
New England States and New York, came in.
Charles, son of James Rose, was the first white child born in the township.
Simon, son of William Ewing, Sr., was the second, and still lives on the homestead,
the oldest native Canaanite. Susan, daughter of William Ewing, Sr., now the wife
of Michael Totten, of Wooster, is supposed to have been the first person married in
the township to her first husband, Ramsey, who was killed at a mill-raising, near
Wooster. The first school-house was on James Rose's land, in which James Buchanan, a Scotchman, taught the first school.
Almost every family, men and women, wore "home-spun" at home and abroad.
The only difference between the dress to go to "meetin' " and that of the field or
the clearing was in being fresh washed for the former. The diet, too, was of the
plainest kind, quite limited in variety, and frequently also in quantity. Corn, in its
various forms, whole or ground, with buckwheat, potatoes, beans, pork, venison,
and other wild meats, were the chief articles of food. Game abounded, and many
families depended upon getting their meat from the forest. Though the pioneers
could get but little for the wheat they sold, the articles they bought cost much more
than at present. As late as 1825 salt sold for eleven dollars per barrel, and before
this cost still more. William Ewing used to pack it from Canton on horseback,
traveling all the way through the woods.
If the times of settlements were recorded by decades from the first coming of
William Ewing in I812, the first, up to 1822, would find from twenty-five to thirty
families in the township; and this may be regarded as the true pioneer decade;
whilst the next, until 1832, would be of immigration, which during this time poured
in, in streams, so that by 1832, of lands suitable for occupation not more than




774


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


twenty-five quarters were unoccupied. During this second decade came many of
the most substantial and useful citizens, among them mechanics and men of capital.
Some of those who came during this period, as now remembered, were: John and
Justin Miles, Smith and David Hoisington, Simon Kenney and the Shanklins, Jonas
Notestine, Henry Shuffling, John D. Heckert, David Wiles, John, Henry and Daniel Frank, Jason and Sylvanus Jones, Zenas Z. Crane, Joseph, Henry and Jacob
Zarer, the Wells, and many others equally prominent, whose names do not now
come to mind. At the close of the second decade, as near as can be remembered,
the last entry of land was made in the township. Among these settlers last mentioned was John Kearns, a man of sterling worth, industrious, skillful, and of considerable ability for business. He settled a mile north of the Center, on the farm
now owned by Henry Smith. He was an ardent supporter of the church in general,
and of his own, the Methodist Episcopal, in particular. At his death, in 1839, he
was one of the wealthiest men in the township.
Wooster was the nearest point of trade, but it was a poor place to sell produce
of any kind. Wheat and flour were often hauled to Cleveland, and hogs were
driven there as the nearest market.
There are five villages in the township: Burbank, Golden Corners, Windsor
(or Canaan Center), Jackson and Pike.
George Sommers was born November 23, 1795, in Rockingham
county, Virginia, and moved with his parents to Pennsylvania
when six years old. In 1816 he came to Canaan, entered land
and made some improvements and settled there permanently in
December, I8I9, on the south-west quarter of section 32. By industry and economy he soon got a comfortable home for himself
and family, and at present is the oldest living of the pioneers.
He had the following children: Demas, Joseph, Abraham, Levi,
Philip, Jonas, Rebecca and Mary. He read and spoke the German and English languages, always a good citizen, an active member in building up and maintaining the church, and served for several years as township Trustee.
John Hough was born February 26, 1805, in Pennsylvania, and
immigrated to Wayne township in 1822. In 1839 he removed to
Canaan township. April 28, 1828, he was married to Magdalena
Feightner, by whom he had six children. For a number of years
he taught school, teaching both English and German. He served
as Justice of the Peace for thirteen years. Esteemed by all who
knew him, he died April 24, 1877.
John D. Heckert, born in Virginia, of German origin, settled in
the western part of Canaan township about the year 1828 with
his wife and family. He died in 1844, having, by untiring labor
and prudent management, acquired a competency and won the




CANAAN TO WNSHIP.


775


reputation of being a public-spirited, enterprising, benevolent and
honorable man.
Joseph Stratton was born in Sussex county, New Jersey, May
I6, 1788, and in December, 1817, immigrated to Canaan township
with his wife and five children, settling on the southwest quarter
of section 17. Few men were ever more implicitly trusted and esteemed by his neighbors than "Uncle Joseph," as he was familiarly called. At the first election in I819, he was elected Justice
of the Peace, and twice afterwards elected to the same office, holding, also, other offices. He was an active friend of schools, and a
zealous member of the M. E. Church. His death took place December 20, 1836. He was the father of eleven children, five of
whom are living, Daniel residing on the old homestead, and two
others near by.
Simon Kenney was born in East Hartford, Connecticut, September 29, I790, but lived in New York state when he removed
to Ohio, in the fall of 1822, first settling on the Killbuck, ten
miles north-west of Coshocton, where he had entered land. After
remaining there a year he removed to Wayne county, settling on
the place where he and his son Champion now live, where he entered
i6o acres and purchased more, until at one time he possessed
420 acres. He was twice married, first to Polly Daniels, who died
in seven years, leaving two children, who also died; second, to
Sarah Shanklin, a native of Oswego county, New York, by which
marriage he had three sons and two daughters, as follows: Sarah,
Thomas, John, Champion and Urilla. Simon Kenney was a soldier in the war of 1812, and is a Government pensioner for that
service.
Canaan Academy.-This was one of the first institutions of learning in Wayne
county, located in Windsor. The building, a two-story frame, 36x48, was erected
in 1842 by a stock company. The Academy was controlled by a Board of Directors, the first Board consisting of John Paul, M. D., Jonas Notestine, Justin Mills,
Harvey Rice and Alfred Hotchkiss. The school was opened December 3, 1843,
with forty-seven pupils, under the instruction of Prof. C. C. Bomberger, A. B.,
who taught three years. Revs. Barr and Barker had charge during the summer of
1847; succeeded in the winters of 1847 and 1848 by Prof. Isaac Notestine, who,
with short intervals, remained in charge until 1863. After that year the school was
taught by a number of Professors until 1875, when it was, perhaps, permanently
closed, Professor J. W. Cummings then having charge. While Professor Notestine
was teaching,' in the winter of I851, the house was burned down, and the present
brick building erected. It is conceded that the Canaan Academy has been an im
portant factor in the educational work of this and adjoining counties.




776


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHURCHES.
The first church organized in Canaan township was by the Presbyterians, in
Jackson, May 25, 1827, with sixteen members, who were Nathan Hall and Parmelia, his wife, Betsey Jones, William and Mary Maloney, Mary Gibbon, Keziah
Smith, Trophina White, Elizabeth Hosington, Benjamin Hays, David Hosington,
Sylvanus Jones, Thomas and Eleanor Hays and Samuel Slemmons. Nathan Hall
and Thomas Hays were chosen Ruling Elders. In 1838 the congregation called
its first and last regular pastor, the late Thomas H. Barr, who served it nearly
forty years. The Elders in this church, since the first two already named, have
been Samuel Coulter, Samuel Slemmons, Zenas Z. Crane, Andrew Elliott, Edmund Barnes, Thomas Elliott, John Cunningham, John Snell, Isaac Notestine, Cyrus Ewing and John Stine. The second house of worship was built in I837, and
the present one in I854. Present membership, I55.
Bend Church.-A house of worship bearing this name was erected in 1831-32,
though Dr. Barnes, a minister of that denomination, had preached there as early as
x815. The earliest attendants upon this church were the Weeds, Plumers, Strattons, and others; and after them the Karnes, Thrapps, Bowmans, Zuvers, Hills.
The church became extinct some twenty years ago, yet the "Bend Methodists"
left their impression upon the community.
The Canaan or Popp's meeting-house was built in 1830, by the German Reformed and Lutheran denominations, the first German Reformed minister being
Charles Zwisler, and the first Lutherans being Rev. A. Kuhn, H. H. Hoffman,
Schuh and Weygandt. In 1870 these congregations dissolved. Among the early
members of these churches were the Sommers, Kopps, Lehrs, Reiters, Bowersocks,
Kochenhours, Ollers, Whonsettlers, Hewitts and Hendricks.
The Bethel Church was built by the English Lutherans in 1844, the congregations being organized by Rev. S. Ritz, in 1841. Among its members were the
Notestines, Heckerts, Barnards, Ridenhours, Rickets,  Iotchkiss, Snavelys. It
was finally sold to the Lutheran congregation, formerly worshipping with the Reformed in the Kopp house. The present church was built in 1870.
The Reformed Church, after their separation from the Lutherans, in 1870, erected
a house in 1872, their ministers since then being Rev. E. G. Miller, J. F. Sponsler
and Joseph Schaltz.
The Methodist Episcopal Church erected a church edifice in Windsor in 1850-51,
which they continued to occupy until 1874, when they constructed the present one.
Among its members are the Strattons, Notestines, Wiles, Van Doorens, Haskins,
Stephensons, Haws, and others.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canaan was built in 1870, and has a membership of 71. Present paster is Rev. G. Weber; Elders, J. Snell, Michael Miller.
Rev. Thomas Barr, a native of Derry, Westmoreland county,
Pa., was born April 2, I775. When about three years old his father,
Colonel Alexander Barr, was called to serve in the Revolutionary
war, and took his family to his wife's father's, near Fort Loudon,
Franklin county, Pa. Here Mr. Barr was sent to school. At the
close of the war Colonel Barr returned with his family again to




CANAAN TO WNSHIP.


777


Westmoreland county, Pa., but in 1785 going on an expedition
down the Ohio, with others, to negotiate, if possible, with some
hostile Indians, he was lost. The only intelligence ever received
of him came from the Indians, who afterward sold what wasjudged to be his scalp. It was Colonel Barr's request, expressed
before his departure, that should he never return, his oldest son,
Thomas, might be sent to college to receive a classical education.
Although he left means sufficient to accomplish this purpose, it
was defeated by the fears of a considerate guardian as to the demoralizing influences of colleges in those days. The substitutefixed upon for a collegiate education was an apprenticeship of five
and one-half years to learn the carpenter and joiner trade.
He was married in the spring of 1797 to Susannah Welch, andt
the following spring removed to Youngstown on the Reserve, and
soon thereafter, through the pious influences of a Christian wife,
he made a profession of religion. Having determined to enter
the ministry, he removed to Greensburg, Beaver county, Pa.,
where was a small Academy, under the superintendence of Rev.
T. E. Hughes, designed especially for the benefit of those having
the ministry in view. After spending three years in preparatory
study, he was licensed to preach by the Hartford Presbytery in
Brookfield, Trumbull county, September, 1809. He received a
call and settled in Euclid, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, where he removed in June, I8Io. Half of his time was given to his work,
and the balance was devoted to missionary labor, under the patronage of the Connecticut Missionary Society. On October 9, I8I2,
his wife died, leaving an infant son seven days old,
In I816 he was married again to A. E. Baldwin, who survived
him, and died in Fairfield, Iowa, October 9, I854. Being now
released from his charge in Euclid, Mr. Barr removed, in February,.
1820, to Wooster, taking charge of the churches of Wooster and
Applecreek, over which he was installed by the Presbytery of
Richland, May 24, 1820, and where he remained for nine years,
when the pastoral relation was dissolved upon his own suggestion.
March 6, 1832, he was dismissed by the Presbytery of Richland, to that of Cincinnati, and moved to Butler county with
his family that spring. Here he remained but a little over a
year, when he removed to Rushville, Indiana, where he labored for
about eighteen months, when he died, August 28, I835.


Rev. Thomas H. Barr, D. D., son of Rev. Thomas Barr, was,




778


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


born in Beaver county, Pa., November, I9, 1807, and twelve years
thereafter his father and family settled near Wooster. At the age
of fourteen he was placed at work in Stibbs' woollen factory, and
afterwards taught school for several terms. In 1828 he entered
the preparatory class of Western Reserve College, and in 1835
graduated with the first honors; then went to Princeton College,
New Jersey, where he studied for three years. He was licensed
by the Presbytery of New Brunswiclf, in 1838, and in the same
year came to Canaan township, settling in the village of Jackson,
where he took charge of the Jackson, Greene and Wayne Presbyterian churches. He was ordained in I842, and moved to Canaan
Center in I844. He preached one year at Greene, when he left
that church, and for six years devoted his whole time to the Jackson and Wayne churches, when the former, requiring all his labors,
the latter was dropped and he remained pastor of the Jackson congregation up to the time of his death, November 29, I877, a period
of about forty years. In September, 1839, he was married to Miss
Caroline M. Metcalf, daughter of Dr. Metcalf, of Hudson, Ohio,
by which union were the following children: Emily M. (wife of
Lieutenant B. F. Heckert), Augusta H. (a teacher in Cleveland),
Joseph H. (dead), Mary E. (now a missionary in China), and
Ida L.
In a sketch published in the Presbyterian, December 15, I877,
President Taylor, of the Wooster University, thus speaks:
The cause of religion in this region has just met with a severe loss in the removal of a good and great man, the Rev. Thomas Hughes Barr, D. D., of this
county, being seventy years of age. It is not only from sincere respect for this bebeloved father that his memory is here commemorated; but also because we find
herein represented a peculiar type of the ministry, that is everywhere to be exalted
and honored. For more than forty years, and during his whole ministry, Dr. Barr
has labored in one field. Here he laid down his life in the Presbytery by which he
was ordained, never having been separated from it. He was buried from one of
the churches over which he was installed at his ordination. Being frequently
tempted to more prominent fields, with offers of twice or thrice his salary, he invariably resisted all importunity, remarking that God had sent him to his country
charge, and he could not remove.
Dr. Barr was distinguished for the combination of deep wisdom with an almost unmatched modesty. So retiring and humble he seemed, that he might have
been judged of little worth, until some intricate question or delicate situation drew
forth an expression of penetrating discernment and keen comprehension of truth
and duty. Yet to the simplicity of a child he added very unusual intellectual
strength. He was noted for the wonderful lucidity with which his views were expressed. He penetrated the depths of theology and its philosophical relations, and
was a master of all the systems, seeming to have them at his tongue's end.




CANAAN TO WNSHIP.


779


Dr. Barr was little known outside of the county, perhaps, except to appreciative ministerial brethren, and to those who emigrated from his charge. Yet over
the whole county, for more than a third of a century, his name has stood as an argument for pure and sincere religion, and his voice has uttered clearly the gospel
truth that has impressed multitudes of hearts. Is not this better than frequent
change, with its loss of powers and labor to build up influence anew in a new community? May our church, in her future, find a more goodly number of her ministry abiding faithful to their tasks, even unto three-score years and ten, and falling
in the end in the very tracks in which they stood when they began to preach.
John Naftzger, father of J. R. Naftzger, of Wooster, was born
March 8, 1780, in Lebanon county, Pa., and in I804 was married
to Elizabeth Rider. In 1811 or 1812 he removed to Chester township, and built a grist-mill on the farm now owned by Mr. Mowery.  In   8I 8 he moved into the north-east part of Congress township, and built a grist-and saw-mill on Killbuck; and in I827
another saw-mill, and in I828 a fourth grist-mill. His was the first
mill on Killbuck. He was twice married, and the father of twelve
children. He died in August, I866.
Daniel Blocher was born in Lancaster county, Pa., married
Susan Wagner in I80o, and immigrated to Wayne county in i816,
first locating in Greene township, from there removing to Canaan
township, where he died in September, I865. He had two sons
and six daughters.
Thomas Armstrong was born in Northumberland county, Pa.,
August 22, 1776, and married Jane Cook, about I80I, in Columbiana county, Ohio, and lived there until the breaking out of the
war of I812. After Hull's surrender he volunteered and was commissioned Captain, and came to Wooster under General Beall.
After the excitement subsided, he returned to Columbiana county,
and in the spring of 1815 removed to Wayne county with his wife
and children, settling first on Clear creek, but afterwards removed
to Canaan, on the farm now owned by his grandson, Thomas, son
of William Armstrong, which farm he had entered from the Government in 181I, and where he lived until his death, March 2,
1842, his wife following him April I4, I856. They had six sons
and four daughters, viz: William, John, Thomas, Harrison, Eliza,
Juliana, Hannah, David, Jane and Calvin.
Jonas Notestine immigrated to Wayne county from Jefferson
county, Ohio, although he was born in Pennsylvania June 3, 1787,
and lived in Virginia until eighteen years of age. September 27,




780


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


1814, he was married in Washington county, Pa., to Miss Elizabeth Sommers, then removed to Jefferson county, where he followed blacksmithing until 1825, in the spring of which year he
came to Wayne county, and settled on a quarter of section 20, entered by his father-in-law, Abraham Sommers. On this farm he
lived until his death, October 23, I869, his wife still surviving him.
He had six children, as follows: Mary, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac,.
Elizabeth, Jacob L. He was an honorable, public-spirited and
Christian man, a zealous member of the English Lutheran church,
of which his wife is also a member.
William Ewing was born in Sherman's Valley, Pa., November
7, 1775, his wife Agnes being born December 8, of the same year.
By this marriage they had a family of eleven children, to wit:
William Ewing, born January I6, I796; Susannah Ewing, born
February 14, 1798; James Ewing, born May 13, 801; Jane Ewing, born June 28, I803; Samuel Ewing, born May II, 1805;.
John Ewing, born May 29, 1807; Alexander Ewing, born August
24, 1809; Joseph Ewing, born February 4, 1812; Mary Ewing,
born May 3, I814; Simon Ewing, born May 19, 1816; Hiram
Ewing, born May 7, I819.
William Ewing and his son William and daughter Susannah
(wife of Hon. Michael Totten) removed from Stark to Wayne
county in I812, and upon his arrival entered eight or ten quarters
of land in Canaan and Congress townships. His daughter, then
but fourteen years of age, accompanied him, to cook for him and
her older brother. He settled on the farm now owned by his son,
Simon Ewing, who was the second white child born in Canaan township. Shortly after their settlement in the new county, the news
of Hull's surrender swept over the country, creating panic and
alarm wherever it was conveyed. Mr. Ewing, being a fearless and
resolute man, gave little heed to the intelligence, or probably he
may not have heard it, as George Clark, of Wooster, knowing of
his presence in the woods, north of the town, rushed to inform
him of the surrender and the imminent danger that menaced the
settlers upon the border, assuring him "that the British and Indians were coming,"
Considering " discretion the better part of valor," he abandoned
his cabin and returned to Stark county, where he remained a year,
coming back to Wayne county the following season, and living for
a year on the old Thomas Cox farm, near Stibbs' woolen factory,




CANAAN TO WNSHIP.


78I


which was afterward known as the Christopher Bair property. In
the spring of 1814 he returned to Canaan township, where he
lived until his death, which occurred in June, I856, his wife dying
twelve years prior to this time. Three of his sons-Samuel, Alexander and Simon-and his three daughters, are yet living.
He was a man of great moral and physical courage in all his
relations, characterized by plain, undeviating, straight-forward honesty and rigid adherence to the right.  Like many of the old and
bold pioneers, he inclined much to the hunt and chase, and it is
said of him that among his trophies he could count more deerhorns than any of his cotemporaries. At an early date he entered
his lands at Canton, coming through the wilderness on horseback,
tying the legs of his animals together with straps during the night
as he slept in the recesses of the woods.
He was an excellent type of the backwoodsman, and in his costume, habits and ways, illustrated the simplicity and commonness
of life. He was one of the first Elders in the Seceder church, of
Wooster, of which we have failed to procure a history, observing
its forms, practicing its precepts, complying faithfully with its
many and rigorous faiths and beliefs.
Isaac Notestine was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, March 24,
I822, and removed to Wayne county, where he remained until he
was twenty-two years of age. At the age of eighteen years he
went to Edinburg Academy, then under the management of Rev.
Andrews. He continued going to school and teaching during the
winter seasons, attending the first session of the Canaan Academy,
commencing in December, 1843, C. C. Bombarger being the first
Principal.
In 1847 Mr. Notestine assumed charge of this academy, retaining its management and control until 1862, with the exception
of probably one year of time. He has taught 36 academy terms,
one term of select and six terms of district school. Since 1862,
with a single exception, he has abandoned the school-room, during
which year he removed to the farm.
He was married June I, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth Frank, a
highly intelligent and refined lady, and has five children, all of
whom are living.
Mr. Notestine has had a remarkable experience in the schoolroom, and we deem it appropriate to classify him with such veterans in the service as Brinkerhoff and Downing. He is an excel



782:HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OH10.


lent scholar, a man of strong natural qualities of brain, possessed
of a methodical and mathematical mind, and of sterling and decided character.
Burbank was incorporated in I868, when the name was changed from Bridgeport. It contains three churches-the Methodist Episcopal, United Brethren and
Evangelical. The first was organized in the beginning of the village, and the sec.
ond about the same time, and the third in I860. The Burbank Academy was organized in i873, the present Principal being Professor Rosseter. The following are the village officers since the date of its incorporation:
1869. Councilmen for one year-Amos Idleman, David Ecker, Fred Shreffler,
A. Hall, Henry Kerns; Mayor-John Reed; Clerk-G. W. Holloway; TreasurerDavid Ecker; Marshal-J. A. McBride.
1870. Councilmen-H. Kerns, George Spangler, E. A. Palmer, A. H. Idleman, D. Ecker, A. Hall; Mayor-John Reed; Clerk-G. H. Holloway; Treasurer-David Ecker; Marshal-John Aukerman.
1871. Councilmen-A. H. Idleman, C. A. Slater, John Reed; Mayor-David
Ecker.
i872. Councilmen-David Ecker, E. A. Palmer, C. W. Wesier; MayorDaniel Pickard; Clerk-G. W. Holloway; Treasurer-N. Miller.
i873. Councilmen-John Reed, A. H. Idleman, Reuben Reed.
I874. Councilmen-David Ecker, E. P. Frarey, B. D. Over; Mayor-Daniel
Pickard; Clerk-G. W. Holloway; Treasurer-N. Miller; Marshal-S. C. Frary.
1876. Councilmen-G. N. Shoup, D. Whealand, N. Lewis; Mayor-E. A.
Palmer; Clerk-M. H. Dodd; Treasurer-N. Miller; Marshal-M. S. Reed.
1877. Councilmen-John Reed, Joshua Biddle, Cyrus Young; Mayor-Samuel Glass.




CLINTON TOWNSHIP.


783


CHAPTER XXXII.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP.
THIS township was named in honor of Governor De Witt Clinton, and was organized June 7, 1825.         Its population in 1870 was
I,502. The following is the list of officers of the township, as
appears upon the official record:
I841. Trustees-H. Beall, N. Chase, R. Newkirk; Clerk-Thomas F. Jones;
Treasurer-Tobias M. Gibbon.
1842. Trustees-Samuel Powers, James Aylesworth, Thomas Battles; ClerkJames Keys; Treasurer-Tobias Gibbon.
1843. Trustees-Thomas Shreve, Thomas F. Jones, Robert Pocock; ClerkJames Keys; Treasurer-Tobias M. Gibbon.
I844. Trustees-Thomas Shreve, Thomas F. Jones, Robert Pocock; Clerk —
James Keys; Treasurer-Tobias M. Gibbon.
1845. Trustees-Thomas Shreve, William Beall, James Newkirk; Clerk-A.
G. Beall; Treasurer-Tobias M. Gibbon.
1846. Trustees-Thomas Shreve, William Beall, Robert Pocock; Clerk-W.
H. Keys; Treasurer-L. J. Jones.
1847 and I848. Trustees-Thomas Shreve, James Aylesworth, William Beall;
Clerk-W. H. Keys; Treasurer-L. J. Jones.
I849. Trustees-Samuel Powers, John Robinson, William Aber; ClerkHenry Shreve; Treasurer-L. J. Jones.
I850. Trustees-W. W. Brown, John Robinson, Thomas Shreve; ClerkHenry Shreve; Treasurer-L. J. Jones.
185I. Trustees-James Aylesworth, Timothy Baker, W. W. Brown; ClerkJ. H. Lee; Treasurer-Henry Shreve.
1852. Trustees-John Shearer, James Moore, John Rainey; Clerk-L. D..
Odell; Treasurer-Henry Shreve.
1853. Trustees-John   Rainey, John Harper, John Coble; Clerk-L. D.
Odell; Treasurer-Benjamin Lyda.
1854. Trustees-Robert Filby, John Harper, Aaron Lehr; Clerk-James Rainey; Treasurer-Benjamin Lyda.
I855. Trustees-William   Beall, Silas Funk, J. W. Newkirk; Clerk-J. E.
Yocum; Treasurer-T. M. Gibbon.
1856. Trustees-Silas Funk, W. D. Fouch, J. W. Newkirk; Clerk-P. Newkirk; Treasurer-J. H. Lee.
i857. Trustees-Silas Funk, W. H. Keys, J. W. Newkirk; Clerk-P. Newkirk; Treasurer-J. H. Lee.




784


HISTORY OF WYA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


1858. Trustees-T. M. Gibbon, W. H. Keys, Moses Lockhart; Clerk-J. E.
Yocum; Treasurer-Irvin Keys.
I859. Trustees-T. M. Gibbon, Emmet Eddy, Moses Lockhart; Clerk-J. E.
Yocum; Treasurer-Irvin Keys.
I86o. Trustees-H. H. Reinhart, Phil Troutman, George Fike; Clerk-W.
J. Bertolett; Treasurer-Robert Manly.
i86i. Trustees-W. W. Brown, A. Keister, George Strock; Clerk-A. Tidball; Treasurer-W. H. Keys.
1862. Trustees-John Rainey, George Carl, Z. Lovett; Clerk-Isaiah Jones;
Treasurer-Robert Manly.
1863. Trustees-John Rainey, George Carl, Z. Lovett; Clerk-T. G. Odell;
Treasurer-Robert Manly.
1864. Trustees-W. W. Brown, H. Hinkle, John Shearer; Clerk-J. E.
Yocum; Treasurer-W. H. Keys.
1865. Trustees-W. W. Brown, H. Hinkle, John Shearer; Clerk-Henry
Shreve; Treasurer-D. K. Jones.
i866. Trustees-John Rainey, John Jones, J. Moore; Clerk-Henry Shreve;
Treasurer-D. K. Jones.
1867. Trustees-John Rainey, J. W. Newkirk, W. W. Brown; Clerk-W. M.
Knox; Treasurer-Henry Hinkle.
i868. Trustees-John Aylesworth, William Aber, J. W. Moore; Clerk-J. B.
Odell; Treasurer-Robert Mauly.
1869. Trustees-J. W. Newkirk, John Aylesworth, Warren Aylesworth;
Clerk-J. H. Hunter; Treasurer-Robert Manly.
1870. Trustees-Robert Pocock, W. H. Keys, Warren Aylesworth; ClerkThomas Hall; Treasurer-S. B. Prowell.
1871. Trustees-J. W. Moore, Henry Snyder, John Rainey; Clerk-William
W. Wise; Treasurer-Z. Lovett.
1872. Trustees-S. B. Prowell, J. W. Moore, A. K. Eddy; Clerk-Thomas
Hall; Treasurer-W. J. Bertolett.
I873. Trustees-James W- Moore, Abner Eddy, Isaac Brown; Clerk-Thomas
Hall; Treasurer-W. J. Bertolett; Assessor-John Hughes.
1874. Trustees-Isaac Brown, Henry Snyder, Alexander Carl; Clerk-Thomas
Hall; Treasurer-John Jones; Assessor-Joseph Tribbey.
1875. Trustees-Henry Snyder, Alexander Carl, John Aylesworth; ClerkSamuel Pomeroy; Treasurer-John Jones; Assessor-Joseph Tribbey.
1876. Trustees-A. W. Shearer, P. W. Moulter, David Foltz; Clerk-Samuel
Pomeroy; Treasurer-C. V. Vaniman; Assessor-Alexander Carl.
I877. Trustees-A. W. Shearer, P. W. Moulter, F. M. Barton; Clerk-C. M.
Lovett; Treasurer-C. V. Vaniman; Assessor-R. S. Newkirk.
Justices of the Peace-C. Spafford, April 23, 1831; Aaron Lytle, June I4,
1832; C. Spafford, May 6, 1834; William Jewell, May 30, I835; Chester Spafford,
October 20, 1836; L. D. Odell, April 28, 1837; Thomas McConkey, July 3, 1839;
L. D. Odell, April i6, 1840; Thomas McConkey, July i6, 1842; L. D. Odell,
April 13, 1843; W. W. Brown, July 23, 1845; T. M. Gibbon, April 21, 1846; W.
W. Brown, April 12, 1848; T. M. Gibbon, April 12, 1849; W. W. Brown, October
29, I85I; James Aylesworth, April 21, I852: W. W. Brown, October 21, I854;
James Aylesworth, April 17, I855; W. W. Brown, October 30, 1857; James Aylesworth, April 14, I858; James Taylor, October 25, I860; James Aylesworth, April
13, I86I; James Aylesworth, April I5, I864; John Robison, April 13, I866; James
Aylesworth, April 8, 1867; E. G. Oldroyd, April 13, 1869; James Aylesworth,




CLIANTON TOWNSHIP.                           785
April 12, 1870; E. G. Oldroyd, April 9, 1872; James Aylesworth, April 15, 1873;
E. G. Oldroyd, April 12, 1875; John B. Odell, April 13, I876.
Reminiscences of Hon. Lorenzo D. Odell.-My father, Nathan G. Odell, was
born in Queen Anne county, Maryland, November 4, 1772. He was a farmer and
miller, and had nine children. His ancestors were Irish, but had removed to
England, from whence they immigrated to America. For a number of years he
lived in Virginia, and was married in Berkeley county. In I8oo he removed with
his family to Adams county, Ohio, and thence to Wayne county, April i6, I8II,
remaining there until the fall of 1830.
When he arrived, there was not a white inhabitant living in what is now Clinton township, his nearest neighbor living on the Perrysville road, near the residence of the late John Pile, in Plain township. The Finleys, Hellars, Eagles and
Burns were living near Tylertown. He first entered the south half of section 19,
and afterwards half of section 29, now in Holmes county, and his land was the first
entered in the township. His improvements were the first made in the township, and
they were erected in I8Io by him, the year prior to his removal. He cut wild hay the
year after he came, and kept his stock on this dried wild grass. The site of this cabin
was about 20 rods south of the house of the late Isaac Newkirk. He found what
is known as the Big Prairie covered with wild, and sedge grass, some of which
would grow to the hight of ten feet, and was most difficult to suppress and conquer; the timber was scarce and principally oak and hickory. Father soon began
the construction of a grist-mill, which was located about four rods north-west and
close to the bridge spanning the stream near the late Isaac Newkirk's barn, and on
the road from Big Prairie to Lakeville. This mill was 25x25, two stories high,
hewed logs, shingled roof, breast-wheel, puncheon floor. The burrs were made
from nigger-heads, gathered upon section I8, in Clinton township, on the farm
owned by Ira H. Aylesworth. The hopper was made of split cherry. There was
not a sawed board or sawed stick of timber in the mill, and was built by A. Trux,
of Richland county, Ohio. It was originally intended for grinding corn, but a
small bolt was added for the manufacture of flour, which was turned by hand.
This mill stood until 1822, and was called "the old corn-cracker." In 1825 he
built the mill near the residence of the late Joseph Newkirk; but prior to this, and
as early as 1814, the first mill was erected here, some Indians helping to raise it.
These red scalpers were quite numerous, and a block-house was constructed on a
slight eminence north of the late Isaac Newkirk's barn. Here the people would
assemble at night and sleep. A small stockade stood also where John Rainey now
lives. Father removed to St. Joseph, Michigan, and died October 25, I835.
The first settlers of Clinton township: Nathan G. Odell, John Newkirk, Joshua
and Thomas Oram, Mr. Brewer, Thomas Odell, Abner Lake, Sen., Jacob Funk,
Abner Eddy, Thomas McConkey, John Jones, Stephen Morgan, Asa Griffith, Jacob
Kunmere and his father, Christian and John Smith, William and J. Wells, Reuben
Newkirk, John B. Brown, Henry Newkirk, Thomas Gorsuch, Joseph Newkirk, Ira
and Philip Aylesworth, Shadrach Benham, Noah Whitford, Lorenzo D. Odell.
After them came the Leydas, Pococks, Shreves, Keys, Bealls, Metcalfs, etc. Mr.
Brewer built a cabin on the east bank of the Newkirk spring, about twenty feet
from its source, which Henry Newkirk subsequently occupied for general shop purposes, a few shanties being built on Mr. Rainey's place, and on a knoll west of
where John Aylesworth now lives, and where there are yet some apple trees standing. These were the first houses built after my father's.
The first election was held in the cabin of John Jones, where Thomas A.
Brown resides. Nathan G. Odell was chosen first Justice, but refused to serve,
50




786


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


when James Priest was elected and served during his life. John Smith was the
first Clerk of the township. The first public road opened was the one running from
Wooster to Loudonville. An Indian trail extended from the head of Odell's Lake
to Millersburg, and another trail from the same point diverged to Jeromeville.
This Indian town was located on the north side of the lake, and contained about
three hundred inhabitants under Mohican John.
What is known as the Big Prairie, was at first looked upon as impassable
swamp; it was soggy, wet, full of ponds, dangerous to cattle. In Brown's Lake a
son of Samuel Shreve, aged seventeen years, was drowned.
A man named Thompson, was the first man who died in the township. He
was an emigrant who took sick while stopping with John Newkirk, where Mr. Rainey
lives, and died there and was buried to the rear of the house. Dr. Henry Peters
was the first physician in the township, and was located at the intersection of the
roads, at the Newkirk graveyard. Thomas Oram's wife was the first white person
who died in the township. In 1814 Reuben Newkirk and Thomas Odell, two
young men, went to Wooster to procure a coffin, carrying it home on the backs of
the horses. Each bore one end of it, though at times the ends would strike the
trees, when they would singly, time about, have to carry it on their shoulders.
The first resident of the township married was Thomas, son of Nathan G. Odell,
who was joined in wedlock to Nancy Drake, of Holmes county, in I8I3.
Some of Harrison's men encamped a little north of east of father's house, and
he sold them meat and other provisions.
The first school-house built in the township was called the Newkirk schoolhouse, and was situated on Henry Newkirk's land, near the stream issuing from
the Big Spring, and where the road crosses it. It was a small log affair, the neighbors having met together, cut them and erected the house. It was covered with
shingles, and contained three long benches for the children, and a fire-place running
the whole length of it. The first teacher was a lady named Theory Parker, of
Holmes county, who received seventy-five cents per week for her services.
The first church was built by the Disciples, about one and one-half miles northeast of Shreve, on the farm of James Moore. Revs. John Chester, Lewis Comar,
Jewell Mitchell, etc., were the pioneer ministers of this denomination.
The Methodist church, near the Newkirk spring, was the first of that persuasion in the township, and erected in about 1843. David H., son of Henry and
Jane Newkirk, was the first person buried in this graveyard. The pioneer ministers in this denomination were Revs. John Lane, James Goff, James Mclntire,
Joseph Foster, Frederick Ruark, (Ruark was a half-nigger, and married a beautiful
white woman on the representation that his complexion resulted only from " the
burnished livery of the sun"). Henry Ditmers built this church, and its first minister's name was Samuel Whiteman. Jacob Lee, Nathan G. Odell, William Greenlee, Joshua Oram and Benjamin Bauer were the pioneer members of this church,
and after them came Joseph and Henry Newkirk, James Leyda, etc.
The Baptist church was organized in I8i6, by Priest Jones and David Kimpton, and its earlier members were James, Jonathan and William Wells, John and
Stephen Lamert, Charles Isbell, Alpheus French.  Its first minister was Rev.
Alpheus French, who was licensed the year the church was constructed. The
present Baptist church was built in I855, by Samuel Bennington. In this township in the early days were the following distilleries, owned by Almond Ayles.
worth, Henry Shreve, Thomas McConkey, Thomas A. Brown, Mahaley McConkey,
one on the land formerly owned by Samuel Power, and another near the mill of
Joseph Newkirk, conducted by John Comer. -*   *  Cornelius Quick built the




CLINTON TO0 WNSHIP.


787


rst mill, at the outlet of the lake, I825; his dam back-watered the region, and
raised the lake about eighteen inches. Nathan G. Odell sold the land, as he did
not desire litigation, to John Comer at a reduced price. Comer bore a law-suit and
soon "whaled" it to Quick. It remained in court a number of years, and, as protracted and malicious litigations do, well-nigh broke up both parties.
Abner Eddy, Sen., was born in Salsbury, Conn., April 4, '773.
His father was a native of Rhode Island, and his grandfather was
an Englishman. He remained with his father, who was a tanner
and leather dealer, until he was twenty-five years of age, when he
was married to Martha Chapman, of Litchfield, Conn., in I798,
when he removed to Birmingham, and thence to Luzerne county,
Pa., thence to Madison county, New York, and thence to Erie
county, same state, having been in the neighborhood of Buffalo
when it was sacked and burned.
From Erie county he removed to what is now Clinton township,
in I8I5,settling on the place now occupied by Asa Eddy. Though
Mr. Eddy can not be classed with the first grade of pioneers, he nevertheless entered the county at a period when there were but few
white settlers, and when the surrounding country was a wilderness. On his arrival he built a log-cabin, in which he lived for
thirteen years, when he erected a brick house upon the foundation
of the original one, and upon its completion, in January, 1830, he
opened a place of public entertainment, called "Eddy's Inn," in
which he continued until the opening up of the railroad, in 1852.
Judge Eddy's house was headquarters for stage-men, public
officials and speculators, who traversed the old coach-line for nearly
a quarter of a century.   This coach-line was owned by Neal,
Moore & Co., of Columbus, and superintended by K. R. Porter,
of Wooster, who also had stock in the route. This route extended from Cleveland to Cincinnati, and the travel upon it was
simply immense. Mr. Eddy was appointed Postmaster in 1822,
the first appointment, probably, in the township, and retained the
office for many years. He was elected Justice of the Peace about
1822, the first record in the journal bearing date of May 13, 1822,
and the first case he issued upon was that of Albert White against
Abner Lake, in a civil transaction.  From  the appearance of
Judge Eddy's docket, and his old files of papers, he must have
done a thriving business, for he had them nearly all brought before
him, "dead or alive," from John Driskel up to the Baptist minstrel or the Methodist class-leader. He slammed even justice into
the face of the professional Christians the same as into the professional thief. The Driskels, the Jewells, the Rowans, the Conner




788


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


and Lytles, and the notorious Nathan Nichols and Jones, all were
at times brought under his jurisdiction. One party he sent to the
Wooster jail for thirty days for stealing a hog.
When Judge Eddy* settled on his place 63 years ago he encountered many obstacles, before which men of less determination
would have succumbed. In going to Wooster, for the first five
years he had to go by the way of Newkirk's, for the reason that
he could not cross the prairies east of him. Near his house were
distinct remains of beaver dams, and rattlesnakes and blacksnakes.
Deer roamed the county in abundance, and a fact notably observable was that they remained in that section ten years longer than
elsewhere in the county.  Cranberries grew north of him in
abundance, and so plenty were they that his son, Asa Eddy, remarked to us that "he could pick a bushel in an hour." They
were finally destroyed by drainage and general pasturage. He
had eleven children, eight boys and three girls. His death occurred June 22, I861, in his 89th year.
Judge Eddy was a useful, valuable and intelligent citizen, and
performed a heroic part in the early settlement of the county.
Emmet Eddy, his son, was born in Madison county, N. Y., February 25, 1807, and removed to Wayne county with his father in
I815, and Asa Eddy, another son, lives on the homestead farm entered by his father on his arrival in the county. They are men of
business and intelligence, and scrupulously honest in their relations to the world. They are men of independent minds, energetic workers, devoted to agriculture, stock-raising, and are honorable, hard-working, prosperous and wealthy farmers.
Thomas McConkey, was born in Washington county, Pa., in
1781, and removed to Ohio about the beginning of the war of
1812. He first stopped a short time in Wooster, purchased a farm
near Millbrook, remained there a year, and then removed to the
farm a short distance east of Shreve, where he lived until his death,
Feburary 29, I869, having in the meantime accumulated seven
hundred acres of land. He was married to Elizabeth Hague, and
had two sons and seven daughters. He was a member of the
Disciple church, and served three years as Justice.
William H. Brown, was born March 23, 1815, in Pike, or


* When living ih Erie, New York, the Governor of that State appointed him
one of the Associate Judges of the Court.




CLINfTON TO WNSHIP.


789


what is now Clinton township. His father, John B. Brown, was a
native of Loudon county, Virginia, and immigrated to Wayne
county with the Funks, in I8I3. April 6, 1837, he married
Phoebe Lee, the union resulting in the following children: Elias,
James, Hugh, Caroline, William W., Mary M., Millard Fillmore,
David, Stephen, Phcebe E. He was elected Justice of the Peace
in 1845, and held that office fifteen years consecutively, and served
as township Trustee and School Director for the last thirty-five
years. He is an excellent citizen and successful farmer.
Thomas Shreve was a native of Westmoreland county, Pa.,
where he was born July 28, I787. He visited Wayne county in
1817, and April 21, I821, settled in Clinton township with his
father, his wife (Mary Wigle) and five children, five more being
born to him in Ohio. He was a miller by occupation, and immediately bought the mill now owned by George W. England, and
cleared land, farmed and run the mill. In time he became highly
prosperous, owning at one time 1,400 acres of land in Wayne and
Holmes counties. He held many public offices-was Justice of
the Peace; member of the Legislature in 1839-40; in 1841 was
a candidate for State Senate, but beaten by Charles Wolcott, of
Wooster; was delegate frequently to State conventions; held
nearly all the township offices; and was President of the convention held in Wooster to take action on the construction of the P.,
Ft. W. & C. Railway through the county. He died July 4, 1858.
Henry Shreve, the eighth child and fourth son of Thomas
Shreve, was born near Shreve, March 5, 1826, and has always been
a citizen of Clinton township, and a man of prominence in the
county. He is a steadfast Democrat, and has held all the township
offices. He was elected County Commissioner in I859 over Benj.
Norton, and re-elected over James Aylesworth in 1862. He has
had seven children, one of whom, a daughter, is dead. His son,
Ezra D. Shreve, of Wooster, is the present County Surveyor.
Ira H. Aylesworth, Sr., was born in Vermont, and was married to Esther Gray, a native of Massachusetts, by whom he had
six children, four of whom are living. He emigrated from the
State of New York to Wayne county in October, I8I6, and settled in Clinton township, near where the brick house now stands,
and directly south of the late residence of W. P. Aylesworth.




790


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


He bought the land of William Larwill, paying therefor $5 per
acre. About two years after locating here he returned to New
York on business, and made the trip on foot, a distance of 500
miles, and returned in the same manner. He was a man of business energy; was Justice of the Peace, Trustee, and held various
other offices, and accumulated considerable property. He died in
May, I86i, death resulting from an accident caused by his horses
running away.
James Aylesworth, oldest son and child of Ira H., was born
in Otsego county, New York, September I, I812, and came with
his parents to Wayne county in i816, where he resided until his
death. He had all his life been devoted successfully to agriculture and stock-raising, and was a useful man and first class citizen.
He held every office within the gift of the township; was in favor of all public improvements; canvassed for the Wooster University, and gave liberally to it of his means. In 1852 he was
elected Justice of the Peace, and held that office uninterruptedly a
period of twenty-five years. He had seven children.
Philip Aylesworth, was born in Otsego county, New York, in
1793, his father being a farmer. He was married in Otsego county,
to Miss Mary Gray, in I812, and removed to Wayne county in the
spring of 1815, bringing his wife and son John, then two years old.
He settled a short distance north-west of Dogtown, on eighty
acres he entered from the Government, and the family had to
camp out until he put up a cabin, I6xI8 feet, with stick and mud
chimney and puncheon floor. He remained on this place six years,
then sold it, and moved to the farm where Mr. Carl now lives,
which he bought of Elder French, paying $500 for fifty acres.
Here he lived until about 1830, in the meantime buying the balance of the quarter, one hundred and ten acres, all of which he
then sold and moved to where John Aylesworth now lives, where
he died in June, i856, his wife surviving him until March 3, I877.
He had eight children, namely: John, Elvira, Ira, Aurilla, Elliott,
Eli, Electa, Eunice. Ira married Jane Bealer, of Holmes county,
and removed to Porter county, Indiana, and died in 1875; Elliott
married Caroline Priest, of Holmes county, and died there in October, 1857; Eli died unmarried, in his twenty-first year; Electa
married Washington Porter, and died in Holmes county, in 1864;




CLINTON TOWNSHIP.


791


Alvira married James Sawyer, of New York, and lives in Porter
county, Ind.; Aurilla, married Richard Jones, and lives in Valparaiso, Ind.; Eunice married John Au, and lives in Mansfield,
Ohio.
John Aylesworth, son of Philip, was born in Otsego county, New
York, March I, I813, and when two years of age removed with
his father to Wayne county. He worked with his father until
twenty, and then started peddling clocks in Medina, Lorain,
Holmes, Coshocton and Knox counties, following that pursuit for
two years. Then he went to Kentucky and sold wind-mills, disposing of $3,000 worth in four months. After he quit peddling
he bought a farm one and one-half miles from Goudy's mill, Ashland county, I60 acres for $625; kept it a year and sold it for
$1,400-then removed to where his son, Peter Aylesworth, now
lives, and continued adding to the farm until he had 400 acres.
September 20, 1833, he was married to Miss Sallie Jones, daughter
of Richard Jones, of Fayette county, Pa., the union resulting in
the following children: Elias, married to Julia Beebe in 1858,
and died in January, I874; Sylvanus, married to Martha Rose in
I86I; Peter B., married to Ella Munson in 1870; William J.,
married to Catharine Zaring in I866; Nancy 0., married to John
W. Myers in I865; Mary N., married to Alexander Carl in I869;
M. J., married to Harvey Ross in 1874; Neal N., married to
Martha Smith in 1874.
John Aylesworth is a respectable and industrious farmer, who,
by his energy and frugality, has acquired much and valuable real
estate. His sons are hard-working and prosperous young men,
and own some of the best farms in the township.
Joseph W. Kean, a native of Pennsylvania, but whose father
came from Ireland, removed to Wayne county in the spring of
1821, bringing his family, consisting of his wife and nine children,
first settling about a mile west of Wooster on a farm owned by
William Kelley, a brother-in-law of Alexander McBride. Here
Mr. Kean lived until spring, when he removed to East Union
township, north of King's Tavern about a mile, and lived here a
year on a farm rented from Hubbard Carr. He then removed to
Plain township, where DeWitt Kean now lives, where he entered
80 acres of land, plain lands chiefly, but also some growths of
good timber, on which he built a cabin 2Ix21 feet of round logs.




792


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


At the raising of this cabin he got severely hurt by one of the
logs falling on him, and he had to be carried to Jacob Weltmer's,
where he lay some time before he was well enough to be taken
home. He died September 5, I826. from the effects of that hurt.
He was married in Mifflin county, Pa., to Miss Sophia Kearns,
May 25, i8oi, and had nine children, as follows: Elizabeth, William, Catharine, Thomas, John S., Sophie, Joseph A., Mary and
Hezekiah.
William Kean, son of Joseph W., was born January 12, 1805,
in Mifflin county, Pa., six miles east of Lewistown. His father
left Mifflin county in 1815, and staid in Beaver and Allegheny
counties, Pa., for six years, and then removed to Wayne county.
He was nearly 21 years of age when his father died, and after his
death remained eleven years working on the farm to help support
his mother and the family. After her death, in i836, he went
west to look up a home, but became discouraged, and returned and
bought the old homestead. He was married January 13, 1831, to
Elizabeth Case, daughter of Augustus Case, of New Jersey, who
settled in Plain township, on the plains, in the spring of 1815. He
had six children, viz: D. C., Sophie, Anner, Augustus C., John,
Tamer, all of whom are living, except John, a member of Captain
J. H. Downing's company, I20th Regiment, who died at Vicksburg, March 12, I863. Mr. Kean, with his wife, has been a member of the Methodist church nearly forty years. He served as
Justice of the Peace two terms, and has held every township office
but Constable. Mr. Kean is one of the intelligent and reliable
men in his township whose public and private lives are without reproach or blemish.
The Leyda Family.-Jacob Leyda, the oldest of three brothers,
was born in Washington county, Pa., and removed to Wayne
county prior to I8i9. He married Elizabeth Wolf, of Lake township, Ashland county. He died about I836; his wife is also dead.
James Leyda was born in Washington county, Pa., July 17, I8oi,
and removed to Holmes county, Ohio, in March, 1826, and from
thence to Wayne county in I833, settling where he now lives,
although he had visited the county in I819. He was twice married-first to Susannah Harman, of Washington county, Pa., who
died in January, 1831, leaving two children; second, in the fall of
i831, to Huldah Sanford, of Wayne county, by whom he has had




I




9149C
Ca e




CLINTON TO WNSHIP.


793


nine children. Benjamin Leyda was born in Washington county,
Pa., September 29, 1806, and settled in Clinton township in 1825,
where he married Elizabeth Newkirk, daughter of John Newkirk,
who was born June 3, 1812, and died December 9, I845. She
was the mother of the following children: Reuben N., Cyrus,
Louisa, Christena, Elmira, Newton, John N., of whom Louisa,
Christena and Elmira are dead. Mr. Leyda was married a second
time to Elizabeth Betz, of Holmes county, but a native of Germany,
and by this marriage had six children, viz: Henry A., George
W., Frank P., Flora E., Clinton C., and Mary J. George W.
Leyda was born October 3, i850, in Clinton township, and on
October 25, 1873, was married to Miss Ella C. Eberly, sister of
Professor J. B. Eberly, of Smithville Academy. In 1871, with his
brother Newton, he engaged in mercantile business in Big Prairie;
was burned out August 6, 1876, and erected his present building
in 1877. He is the present postmaster of Big Prairie, and railroad
agent at that station.
Elzjah Pocock, was born in Hartford county, Maryland, December 29, I770. At an early age he was apprenticed to a blacksmith, with whom, after five years service, he arrived at the age of
manhood and maturity. He immediately began the duties of his
trade, of which he had acquired a superior knowledge and mastery,
and in the course of a few years of persevering industry, unremitting labor and rigid economy, he accumulated a handsome
amount of money-in fact, a little fortune.
A man of resolute purpose, of firm, unbending will, and with
a determination of placing himself in a situation where no man
could be his master or dictator, he concluded on a trip west of the
mountains. He was married in the summer of i815 to Catharine
Hughes, and in the summer of that year he immigrated to Wayne
county, where he purchased from the Government and at private
sale over 2,000 acres of land, 1,760 acres in Clinton township,
Wayne county, and 640 in Ashland county. He then returned to
Maryland, where he remained till I820, when he removed his family to Ohio and settled upon his land. He now devoted himself
wholly to his farm, abandoning his trade altogether.  An
unfortunate occurrence transpired soon after his arrival, in the
death of his wife, who had borne him five children, all of whom
are dead. He was married a second time, to Grace Smith, by
whom he had ten children. Jabez, the oldest of the boys, married




794


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Hester Dull, of Plain township, and lives in Montgomery county,
Illinois, and is a farmer-a high-minded gentleman, whose life has
been successful and prosperous. Cornelius is unmarried, and lives
in Iowa. Robert was married to Keziah White, lived in Clinton
township, dying July 12, 1865. Elias H. lives in Walnut, Indiana,
and is a practicing physician. He had one daughter, Eleanor C.
Pocock, who married Hiram Whitney, and who died in Mansfield,
Ohio, May I6, I86I, leaving one son, Harvey W., who now resides
in Nokomis, Montgomery county, Illinois, and is a teacher. John
is a citizen of Shreve, and is married to Alice, daughter of John
Moore. Eli D. Pocock, M. D., was born June 13, I845, read
medicine with Dr. J. H. Todd, and graduated at Bellevue Hospital in February, 1870, began practice in Mansfield, staid there
three years, and came to Shreve in I873. He was married October I8, I870, to Luilla B. Foltz, of Shreve.
Elijah Pocock, the apprenticed blacksmith, the owner of over
2,000 acres of land in the primal days of the county, was indeed
and emphatically a forest nobleman. He started upon life in poverty, and by the blows struck upon the anvil, carved out the means
with which he laid the basis of his fortune. He was a man distinguished for his prudence and sterling honesty. He detested and
despised the indolent man, and his disposition was most liberal,
charitable and benevolent. He believed that God helped the man
who helped himself, and he was ever ready to bestow assistance
and benefactions upon all worthy objects. We pronounce him the
best type of the pioneers who settled in the county-a man of remarkable life and signal achievements.
John Newkirk was born in Washington county, Pa., and removed to Clinton township in I814. He was among the earliest
of the settlers, and upon his arrival purchased from Joshua Oram
the farm now owned and occupied by John Rainey. He was married to Christena Clouse, and had seven children, to wit: Elizabeth, Milton, Newton, Ursula, Cyrus, George W. and Rhoda.
Her death occurred September 17, 1827, and his, October 2, 1827,
he being but forty-one years of age. He was better known as
Captain John Newkirk, and in the early days kept a stage-office,
running from his place to Wooster. He was among the first
Justices of the township, and taught the first school in Lake township. His name is of frequent occurrence in the county records,
and he was a brilliant, keen, public-spirited man.




CLINTON TO WNSHIP.


795


Henry Newkirk, a native of Washington county, Pa., emigrated
to Clinton township, Wayne county, as early as I814. He settled
upon a farm, which his father, Isaac Newkirk, a soldier under General Crawford, had entered, and immediately addressed himself to
its improvement. As early as 1815 he had erected upon his own
farm, near the Big Spring, a frame dwelling for himself.
He returned to Pennsylvania thereafter and married Jane Hart,
of Washington county, when he returned with his wife to his new
home on the hillside of the most beautiful valley of the whole
county. Here the wedded pair toiled and struggled, and here the
problem of life was finally solved.
In 1827 Mr. Newkirk, in conjunction with General Thomas
McMillen, constructed the carding factory, the first one ever
erected in the township. Mr. Newkirk devoted his attention more
exclusively to the farming interests, in which he was highly prosperous and successful, eventually acquiring competence and
wealth. His family consisted of David H., Sarah, Isaac, Rhoda
Maria, Paxton, Emily J. and Nercissa L. Newkirk. David H.
died July 3, 1826, aged fourteen months; Sarah married George
Bell, and died in the West; Rhoda Maria married A. P. Hopkins,
Esq., of Washington county, Pa., and has two children, Henry
and Mary; Isaac married, and is dead; Paxton married Ellen Pocock, and died May 3, I861; Emily, a graduate of Washington.
Seminary, Pennsylvania, married W. N. Paxton, a prominent lawyer of Pittsburg, Pa., and who served through the Rebellion as a
Captain; Nercissa L., a graduate of Urbana Seminary, Ohio, married Ben Douglass, the author of this history, June 20, I86I, having two children, Misses J. Mabel and Anna D. Douglass. The
father of this family died August 21, 1847, aged 57 years, Io
months and 27 days, his wife, Jane, dying February 21, I854.
He was a man of great uprightness of life and purity of character, and his wife was a most gentle, amiable and prepossessing
woman, of rare intellectual culture and refinement, whom death
relentlessly separated from her family when many of them needed
the guidance and counsel of both father and mother. The mysterious influence which the Christian life of the parent imparts, in
this instance left its impression, and all of the children, those dead
as well as living, became members of the church.
In early life he and his wife united with the Methodist church,
and deeded the grounds on which the church edifice now stands;
likewise deeding the present beautiful cemetery grounds to the




796


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


public and neighborhood, as a free, open place of interment, and
which is now incorporated and bearing the Newkirk name.          The
lives of Henry and Jane Newkirk illustrated the excellency of the
Christian character, and they sleep together in the sacred enclosure
which was the gift of their hearts, waiting the resurrection and the
ultimate re-union of the scattered but golden links of the riven
household.
Isaac Newkirk, son of Henry, was born June 5, 1821, in Clinton township, and was married to Sarah O. Gibbon, March 27,
1847, and united with the Methodist church in the winter of 1856.
He was suddenly seized with violent illness while attending the
grand jury in Wooster, and died December 22, 1870. The following is an extract from an obituary written at his death:
The large concourse which followed his remains to the grave, was a beautiful
tribute to the might of simple goodness. Riches, rank, fortune, intellect, all have
commanded their homage before; but only that rare and beautiful combination of
all that is lovely and of good report, which was found in our friend, could have
called forth that spontaneous homage from all hearts. Mr. Newkirk was known
and beloved by his neighbors, for his lofty spirit of honor, spotless integrity, delicacy of conscience, kindness of heart, and promptness of decision. In all the varied
relations of Sunday-school Superintendent, Steward and Class-leader, he gave fine
satisfaction to the church. During most of his illness he was favored with peace
and tranquility; and when coffined and hearsed, the uniform testimony borne to his
life was, "' He sleeps well." He was greatly respected and beloved by a large and
numerous circle of friends, especially by the society at Newkirks, of which he was a
member.
Newkirk Cemetery Association, of Big Prairie, organized and incorporated April
7, I877. John W. Newkirk was elected Trustee for three years, Asahel W. Shearer
Trustee for two years, and Henry M. Newkirk for a term of one year; A. W.
Shearer, President; J. B. Odell, Clerk and Treasurer. Members-L. D. Odell, J.
W. Newkirk, A. W. Shearer, O. W. Lake, John Pocock, James J. Stewart, John
Rainey, Edmund A. Lehr, Allen Metcalf, James Rainey, James Leyda, H. M.
Newkirk, T. G. Odell.
Lorenzo D. Odell was born in Adams county, Ohio, October 29,
i8Io. His father removing to Wayne county the ensuing year, he
became a citizen of the county at a very early date. The earlier
years of his life were spent upon the farm and assisting his father
in the mill. His opportunities for procuring an education were of
a limited character, and consisted chiefly in the endeavor he made
to procure it himself.
When quite a boy, and before he began teaching, he visited
Michigan and became associated with a corps of surveyors, who




CLINTON TO WNSHIP.


797


were running off Government lands, with which body of men
he remained for a period of six months.  After his return,
and in the fall of 1829, he began teaching, and continued in this
pursuit until 1832, when the next year he purchased a portion of
his father's farm, when he devoted himself to agriculture and surveying.
He was elected Justice of the Peace in I836, holding that position for twelve years, being elected the two last terms without
opposition. He acted in the capacity of County Surveyor from
1847 to 1850, and was elected to the Legislature of the State of
Ohio from Wayne county, serving in that honorable body two
terms-from January 7, I856, to January 2, i86o.
He took an active part in the construction of the Pittsburg,
Ft. Wayne & Chicago Railroad, and was instrumental in procuring
the station at Big Prairie.
He was married July 12, 1832, to Annie Gibbon, of Lycoming
county, Pa. Mr. Odell has been a member of the Baptist church
since I841. Thomas Odell, who settled in Wayne county in I8Io,
soon began preaching, and continued his ministry until 1829, when
he removed West, dying in Kansas, July 23, I86i.
Lorenzo D. Odell, in his more active years, was a man of
prominence and influence in Wayne county, of which he has been
a citizen for nearly sixty-seven years. On his arrival there was not
a township organized in the county, and the city of Wooster had
but a paper existence. He has witnessed its growth, its sudden
transition from wilderness misrule and darkness to unprecedented prosperity and enlightened civilization. Few men in the
county have had such an experience, and few indeed possess the
recollection of its scenes and its early history, with the certainty
and vividness of Mr. Odell. He is a man of strong and self-poised
intellect, of extraordinary memory, of sound and solid judgment,
and matured, disciplined and cultivated mind. He is an excellent
judge of human character, and his perceptive powers are remarkably acute and brilliant. He is possessed of calm reflection,
arrives at his conclusions cautiously, and reasons and deduces
from the tangible premise to the logical conclusion. When entrenched in his opinions he knows how to defend them. He discriminates keenly, and while he believes there is purity in the
world, he has looked at it long enough through the spectrum of
the observing man to detect its flaws, shams and frauds. He is
secretive, reserving his thoughts and forces, only putting them i




798


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


motion as occasion requires; hence he is a reliable adviser, a trustworthy counselor, whose suggestions compel attention and gravity
of consideration.
His official life is unclouded by errors of heart or action. As
County Surveyor he ably sustained his already achieved reputation, and in the Legislature of the State he established a record
'such as his successors may worthily imitate. He is a life-long
Democrat of the original school; has ever maintained in his course
a true consistency, and in this respect he has punctuated his record
with its jewels.
Reuben Newkirk, a native of Washington county, Pa., removed
with his brothers, John and Henry, to Wayne county, settling in
*Clinton township in 1814, and, with his brother Henry, was an unmarried man. He and John set to work and built a saw-mill, the
first one erected in the township. That season he returned to
Pennsylvania, and whilst there married Miss Margaret Leyda, of
Washington county, returning with his wife to the scene of his
former labors in I8I5. They made the passage in wagons, crossing the Killbuck near what was known as Sharp's Bridge, the water
being so high that the horses had to swim across the stream. They
then fastened grape-vines to the wagons, and, hitching the horses
to these, drew the wagons over. The year before this Reuben,
assisted by his brother Henry, had constructed a house. Mr. Newkirk immediately proceeded to clearing up and improving his
farm, and in the course of time made it both attractive and beautiful. He was a man of great energy and determination, and in
the end his labors were largely compensated. Physically he was a
fine specimen of manhood. He was a man of strictest integrity,
rigid morality and unimpeachable private character. He died September 14, 1863, and in his 72d year. His son John occupies and
owns the old homestead, and 0. S. Newkirk, another son, lives in
Ashland, Ohio. He is a land-owner, and is comfortably fixed,
having retired from the farm possessed of a competence of
this world's goods. He is a first-class citizen, and has raised a fine,
intelligent family.
John W. Newkirk, son of Reuben, and a native of Clinton
'township, was born on the spot where he lives, July 4, 1826, and
therefore is as indigenous to the soil as the trees upon his farm.
His boyhood life was spent with his father upon the farm and in the




CLINTON TO WNSHIP.


799


mill. He availed himself of the advantages of such an education
as the district school presented, and soon acquired a business bent
of mind, which has subsequently characterized his whole career.
He was married March I, 1849, to Rebecca Wells, daughter
of William Wells, of Holmes county.   He is a professional
farmer, and an active, enterprising, wide-awake citizen. His inclination at times induces him to indulge in politics, in which sphere
he is a strong opponent and shrewd manager. He has served
pretty nearly through the whole scale of township promotions,
and in 1871 was elected Commissioner of Wayne county, and his
three years of service in that capacity marks an epoch in its history.  He is a man of decided views, resolute determination,
strong moral courage and stern and independent convictions.
John Rainey was born November 5, 1799, in Washington
county, Pa., and was married in November, 1824, to Luzerba Newkirk, of the same county with himself, by which marriage there
resulted eight children. His wife dying September 16, 1864, he
was married a second time to Elizabeth Wells, May I8, I868.
He is a farmer by occupation, and the owner of a large tract* of
real estate, which may be ranked with the superior lands of the
township. He is a citizen of sterling worth, strictest integrity,
and great kindness and simplicity of character. He has long been
a member of the Presbyterian church, of which he is a zealous
and devoted member.
Isaac Lake, or, as he is sometimes denominated, "the Jerusalem
Pilgrim," immigrated to Wayne county in I814, from the State
of New York in company with his father, who was a farmer, and
with whom the subject of this notice, we believe, spent his earlier
life.
The disposition to "orate" vociferously and promiscuously,
on multitudinous and incomprehensible themes, together with a
stalwart proclivity to travel, in more mature years violently exhibited itself. He precociously developed an instinct for "isms,"
notably so of those pertaining to the church. The Universal idea
at once prevailed in his mind; at another time he danced to the


''Near to, and perhaps partly upon his farm, Isaac Newkirk, father of John,
Henry and Reuben, laid out a town, called Perriopolis, September 26, 18I6, the
plat of which was recorded the same day, and is found on pages 168-9, Vol. I, Recorder's office. No lots were sold and no buildings erected.




800


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


music of Alexander Campbell; again he tumbled to the dogmas
and tenets of the immortal Wesley; and again hoisted the " Bull's
eye" motto of Brigham Young, the fibritudinous father, the
multiferous husband, the king and priest, the blinger and byzalcuum of the Valley of the Saints.
Notably, latterly, and lastly, he started on a solemn pilgrimage
to Jerusalem on horseback, with one hundred dollars in his pocket,
to set the remaining pawn-brokers of that village right on the subject of religion. He had a lively time getting there, and on his
arrival found a queer people, with a strange language with which
he was unacquainted, though he was heard to speak in an unknown
tongue himself during the Mormon excitement. He found the
Jerusalemites sound on his doctrines, and after an absence of
about two years he returned with maps, charts, etc., footing it
from Philadelphia to his home without money. He is a man of
intelligence, of good morals, a farmer, and always a busy man.
He is now far advanced in life.
Shreve, named after Thomas Shreve, was originally called Clinton Station. It had its beginning and date of existence with the
completion of the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago railway, and is
one of the most enterprising villages in Wayne county. The north
part was laid out by D. Foltz and George Stewart, and the south by
Thomas McConkey and D. K. Jones-ten acres on each side-but
now has far extended beyond these limits. The first sale of lots
took place in March and April, I853, at private sale, and some disposed of at public sale in May, the same year. The first lots bought
and sold in the village were by D. K. Jones, on which he built a
store-room and residence, the same being at present owned and
occupied by him. The first house built in Shreve was a two-story
frame, erected by Neal Power in 1853. D. K. Jones was the first
postmaster, and opened the first dry goods store. Christian Roth,
now living in Wooster, built the first hotel. Dr. W. Battles was
the first physician, locating in I855. James Number's child was
the first one born in Shreve, and the first woman that died was
Miss Barbara Muterspaugh.
It was incorporated as a village December 26, I859, the citizens
most instrumental in this enterprise being Albert Richardson, V.
D. Manson, D. K. Jones, John Robison, Joseph Dyarman and
William Batdorf. The first election of village officers was held at
the hotel of Captain W. H. McMonigal, on March io, I860, and




CLINTON TO WNSHIP.


80o


resulted: Mayor-V. D. Manson; Recorder-William               M. Knox;
Trustees-D. K. Jones, John Robison, Joseph Dyarman, James
Taylor, William     Johnson.     The    officers since   have been    as
follows:
Mayors. I86I-Abraham Tidball; I862-Henry Everly; I863-William J.
Bertolett, M. D.; I864-Zephaniah Lovett; I865-V. D. Manson; I866-V. D.
Manson.
1867. Mayor-Elmer Oldroyd; Councilmen-Albert Richardson, Daniel Gillis, William M. Knox, Z. B. Campbell, J. H. Hunter; Recorder-J. H. Todd;
Treasurer-A. Seeberger.
I868. Mayor-John Pomeroy; Councilmen-A. Richardson, A. E. Becker,
E. H. Montgomery, W. J. Bertolett, John Robison; Recorder-W. M. Knox;
Treasurer-S. D. Adams.
I869. Mayor-J. H. Hunter; Councilmen-D. S. Smith, T. F. Bedford, G.
W. England, Obed Smetzer; Recorder-C. M. Kenton; Treasurer-S. D. Adams.
i870. Mayor-W. J. Bertolett; Councilmen-P. H. Ebright, H. Everly, John
Thomas, V. D. Manson, Wm. M. Knox, J. B. Pomeroy; Recorder-J. H. Todd;
Treasurer-Z. Lovett.
187I. Mayor-C. M. Kenton; Councilmen-John C. Thomas, John B. Pomeroy, S. D. Adams; Recorder-J. H. Todd; Treasurer-Z. Lovett.
I872. Mayor-John Robison; Councilmen-Isaac Brown, David Smith, B.
F. Mohn; Recorder-John H. Boyd; Treasurer-B. F. Mohn.
I873. Mayor-John Robison; Councilmen-J. C. Thomas, A. Tidball, Obed
Smetzer, Isaac Brown, David Smith, B. F. Mohn; Recorder-E. G. Oldroyd;
Treasurer-John M. Robison.
I874. Mayor-John Williams; Councilmen-John Jones, Jacob Eberhart,
Lenry Lefever, J. C. Thomas, A. Tidball, Obed Smetzer; Recorder-E. G. Oldroyd; Treasurer-John M. Robison.
I875. Mayor-John Williams; Councilmen-John Thomas, Benj. H. Palmer,
John B. Pomeroy, John Jones, Jacob Eberhart, Henry Lefever; Recorder-William
W. Wise; Treasurer-John M. Robison.
1876. Mayor-Daniel Barcus; Councilmen-W. H. Grossjean, Lemuel Wilent,
Jacob Weiker, John Thomas, Benj. H. Palmer, John B. Pomeroy: RecorderWilliam W. Wise; Treasurer-John M. Robison.
I877. Mayor-J. D. Barcus; Councilmen-John Jones, B. H. Palmer, Jacob
Eberhart, W. H. Grossjean, Lemuel Wilent, Jacob Weiker; Recorder-William
W. Wise; Treasurer-D. B. Pocock.
Shreve School.-In 1868 the corporation limit of the village of Shreve was constituted a school district, separately and by itself. An election was held on the Ist
of May, at the instance of the Board of Education, authorizing them to select
grounds and adopt measures to procure funds to construct a school-house. It was
resolved that a house be built, and that it be of brick. Bids were received, and on
motion of Henry Everly the contract was let to John P. Wise, June 13, at his offer
of $788. Edwin Oldroyd was the first teacher occupying the new house. In May,
1867, it was resolved to build a new school-house. After due deliberation contracts
were let, and a committee, consisting of A. Richardson, A. Seebarger and John
Jones, appointed to superintend its construction. The first members of Board of
Education in Shreve were John Robison, W. S. Battles, Henry Everly, Albert
51




802


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Richardson, Daniel Bertolet and W. G. Crossman. John Robison was appointed
President, W. S. Battles, Clerk, and A. Richardson, Treasurer. They were elected
April i6, I86o. and organized with President, Clerk and Treasurer, same day.
Shreve Journal.-Charles M. Kenton first established a newspaper in Shreve in
the spring of I868. It was issued monthly, and called The Home Mirror. Its name
was subsequently changed to The Shreve City Mirwor, and it was published weekly.
In May, 1874, Mr. Kenton removed to Marysville, Ohio, and Dr. J. C. Dalton and
James N. Brady introduced the ShreveJournal. In January, 1876, Dr. Dalton disposed of his interest in the Journal to Mr. Brady, who is the present proprietor.
The Journal is a finely printed eight-page paper, and under the influence of its
present conductor has attained considerable notoriety.
D. K. Jones, eldest son of Hon. Benjamin Jones, was born in
Wooster, July 21, 1815, and on February 3, I842, married Elizabeth Rayl, of Franklin township. They had six children, viz:
Benjamin T., Lake F., Hannah E., Ella, Susan C. (dead), and
Delilah K. Since 1836 Mr. Jones has engaged in commercial pursuits, commencing in the dry goods trade in Wooster, with A. H.
Trimble, and during late years successfully following that business
in Shreve, where he is an enterprising and prominent citizen.
William S. Battles, M. D., was born at White Hall Station, at
that time one of the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pa., May 12, A. D.,
1827. His ancestry being somewhat illustrious in its bearings, we
shall briefly advert to it.  On the paternal side he is half Scotch,
his father being a descendant of an old Pittsfield family, of Berkshire county, Mass. On the maternal line the old English blood
is strongly infused, so that he presents a felicitous ancestral combination of two of the most intellectual and cultured civilizations
of Europe.
His mother's name was Susan Snowden, a native of Philadelphia, all of whose ancestors were Quakers for 200 years. Her
mother's name was West, a not distant relative of the celebrated
Quaker painter, Benjamin West, of Chester county, Pa. Her
grandfather, a Quaker, was excommunicated by the brotherhood
in the war of the Revolution for joining a Colonial regiment and
performing soldier-service.
Thus it will be seen that the ancestral origin of Dr. Battles is
eminently significant and noteworthy, yet in a country like ours,
neither birth, titles nor distinguished family connections enter into
the composition of American manhood, nor are they steppingstones by which their possessors climb to greatness or renown.
The mold of the American society is so uniform, and so equal



4/l




.. %I




CLINTON TO WNSHIP.


803


ized are its various classes, that in the competition for honors the
solid merit alone of the competitors is called in question.
Thomas S., the father of Dr. Battles, removed from Philadelphia to Cumberland county, Pa., where he sojourned for less than
two years, thence directing his steps to what was then called the
farther west, located in September, 1833, one and one-half miles
north of what is now known as the village of Shreve. His father
being a farmer, young Battles had an agreeable future, such as we
record of Firestone, plying the arts of husbandry and the tillage
of the soil. Here he discovered the true alchemy of transforming
a clod into a loaf of bread; and as he uprooted saplings with his
mattock, and leveled the golden grain with his old-time cradle, we
fancy that whatever was ideal in his nature became grossly realistic. There can be no doubt, however, but that the Doctor exalted the province of agriculture; and he absolutely claims that
whatever honor attaches to the profession of a rail-splitter he is entitled to a share of it, as well as Hanks, or Abe Lincoln. At the age
of nineteen a change came over the spirit of his dream; he resolved
to abandon the farm. His first adventure in academic fields was
at Hayesville, Ashland county, where in the skirmish of research
and the battle of books, he concluded his course at the end of seventeen weeks. At the age of twenty he taught his first school.
On the 6th of August, 1847, he entered the office of Dr. T. H.
Baker, of Millbrook, with whom he remained for a term of four
years, teaching school during all this time, with the exception of
six months, both winter and summer.
He attended his first course of lectures at Starling Medical College during the winter of i850-5 I, in the spring of the latter year
beginning practice with his preceptor, the winter following completing his course at Columbus, graduating February 22, 1852.
On his return he resumed practice with Dr. Baker, continuing
with him till the winter of I853, which he spent in Cleveland,
Philadelphia and New York, in attendance upon the hospitals of
those cities, at the termination of which time he once more renewed his professional labors with his old preceptor. In the spring
of I855 he went to Edinburg, in East Union township, where he
staid seven months, during which time he became a member of
the American Medical Association.
On the 20th of November, I855, he was married to Miss Mahala Kister, of Millbrook, daughter of J. A. Kister, Esq. In
December of the same year he proceeded to the village of Shreve,




804


HISTORY OF IWAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


where he practiced till the spring of I865, when, owing to pulmonary hemorrhage, from which he had been suffering for a series
of years, he abandoned practice and indulged in travel for a year.
In I866 he was one of four gentlemen who organized the Citizens'
Bank of Ashland, his residence at this time, and for one year, being
there. Thoroughly dissatisfied with a strictly commercial life, he
dissolved his connection with the concern. His health being restored, he again returned to Shreve, re-commencing professional
work, in which field he has labored with great assiduity and signal
success ever since.
Dr. Battles is devoted, body and soul, to his profession, and,
notwithstanding its drudgeries and annoyances, has endeavored to
shed pleasure upon its labors. He is philosopher enough to know
that it is the very wantonness of folly for a man to search out the
frets and cares of his profession and give his mind every day to
the consideration of them, for there is no vocation or calling that,
in all its aspects, is wholly agreeable.
Moreover, he has great faith in medical societies and associations, where a presentation and interchange of professional opinions become of the utmost importance. While a student, in I85 I,
he joined the Wayne County Medical Society, and as before stated,
in I856 became a member of the American Medical Association,
representing the home society at its meeting in Philadelphia, in
1856; again at Chicago in 1863, and at St. Louis in I873. In
1858 he connected himself with the State Medical Society, of Ohio,
and in 1873 united with the Union Medical Association, of northeastern Ohio, of which he has been Vice President.
Dr. Battles is not a specialist, but has been, and is successful
in the different branches of his profession. In it he has attained
respectful and eminent rank, and by application and punctuality has
secured the confidence and patronage of the people.
Thus far we have chiefly spoken of him from the professional
standpoint. Viewed under the mirror of the social microscope,
he is a most entertaining companion. In his society the portable
quality of his good humor seasons all the parts and occurences we
meet with in such a manner that there are no moments lost when
with him. His courtesies are manifested alike toward friends and
strangers; he has fine sensibilities and exhibits admirable gayety
and earnestness of sentiment. If he is familiar with the mysteries of
anatomy, he is equally acquainted with the elegancies of conversation. With a disquisition on the former he can readily accommo



CLINT'ON TO WNSHIP.


805


date you, and in the social circle, if you are not careful, where he
sits will be the head of the table. He is frank, cheery, ever-hoping and enduring-the thorn might be in his foot a long time
before he would tell you. He has intellect and imagination, and
lives deeply in the inward nature.
He is ambitious and has moral courage. He is self-made, selfinvestigating, and believes that in every nature, as in Australia,
there is an unexplored territory-green, well-watered regions, and
sandy deserts, and into that territory experience should make progress day by day.
He aspires to excellence, and has strong convictions, and will
maintain them vigorously, until convinced that they are untenable.
He rejects what is specious and simply plausible, on the hypothesis that truth is the supreme reality.  He does not assent until
fully persuaded, and believes that even the logical side of things
should be made lucid and available.
If he has fluency and flexibility of conversation he has force
and facility of compsoition. He is a correspondent of some of
the standard medical magazines, and his productions are pretty
sure to arouse discussion. He writes good poetry, and can spear
you with a prose jest, or bore you through with an epigrammatic
javelin. He loves poetry, not because he has been upon Parnassus,
but because he has a natural affinity with the gods of Parnassus.
His sentimental and emotional nature have put him in harmony
with nature, with whose heart his own must be in tune; hence he
not only loves her, but revels in her; plunges into her infinite
bosom and fills himself with intoxication with her charms. He is
now in the vigor of manhood, and has many years of activity and
usefulness before him. He is a member of the Methodist church,
and in his private life is blameless and exemplary. He is a valuable citizen in the community-contributed to Wooster University,
aided in the project of the Shreve schools, and is a friend to all popular education. In him the aesthetic faculty is largely developed.
Hence he adorns, ornaments, plants trees, flowers, etc. He has
faith in man, for God made him; faith in the true religion, for it
is intended to save man. Like Tennyson, he looks forward to
the Golden Year"When wealth no more shall rest in mounded heaps,
But smit with freer light shall slowly melt
In many streams to fatten lower lands,
And light shall spread, and man be liker man
Thro' all the season of the golden year."




8o6


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OH10.


Dr. Battles, having frequently visited the courts of the muses,
we append the following:
"LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF."
BY DR. W. S. BATTLES.
We love Thee, Lord, we've long professed,
But do we love our brother?
We love ourselves we fear too much,
O help us love each other.
We serve Thee, Lord, in wordy prayer,
We praise in lengthy song,
But quite forget that we were made
To help the weak along.
We give our goods to build Thine house,
We give Thy word to spread;
And then forget Thy starving poor
Should share our daily bread.
We whisper in Thine ear of love,
And tell how kind Thou art;
Then turn with bitter words and wound
A brother's tender heart.
Help us, O Lord, to love Thee more,
Thy goodness more proclaim;
But in this service not forget
Our fellow's kindred claim.
Help us to wipe from sorrow's cheek
The scalding tears of care,
And make these humble charities
The incense of our prayer.
Fill us, O Lord, with love divine,
Thy blessed Gospel plan,
That links with perfect love for God,
Our love for fellow man.
J. H. Todd, M. D., was born in Franklin township, February
4, 1838. On the paternal side he inherits the Celtic blood,
although his father, James Todd, is a native of York county, Pa.;
but tracing the genealogic tree another generation, we find that he
descends from a line of mariners, his grandfather being a sea-captain and the owner of ocean ships plying the waters between
American ports and the farther Indies, addicted not only to the
daring adventures of the foaming main, but a speculator and importer of blooded horses from Arabia-a friend to the amusements




CLINTON TO WNSHIP.


807


of the turf and field, and who sought to render life one glad, prolonged enjoyment.
The subject of this notice spent his earlier years upon the
farm and attending the public schools at Jeromeville, Wooster and
Haysville. He began the study of medicine in the spring of I86I
in the office of Battles & Bertolett, of Shreve, where he remained
till I863. After the battle of Gettysburg was fought, Dr. Todd
obeyed the call of the nation for help, and on July Ioth hastened to
the scene of that carnival of blood. There and at Harrisburg he
continued during the summer and until the lecture term commenced at Bellevue Hospital, New York, where he remained
during the winter of 1863-64. He next placed himself under the
private instruction of Austin Flint, Sr., of New York, receiving
special instruction in the branches of percussion and auscultation
of the lungs, or pulmonary disease, continuing with him during
the winter term, at the end of which he received a flattering certificate of qualification. Simultaneously he was taking lessons in
the principles of surgery from Professor Smith, of Bellevue.
In the spring of 1865 he received his diploma and settled in
Shreve. In the summer of I869 he was commissioned as delegate
by the Medical Society of Wayne county, to the National Medical
Society, of New Orleans, to which signal honor he responded, returning after an absence of six weeks. In 1870 he re-visited New
York, putting himself under the special care of Austin Flint, Jun.,
as second assistant in the department of physiology. During this
time he also applied himself to microscopy, under Delafield, and
in this case, as under Professor Flint, he never went into the lecture room, but enjoyed all the advantages of strictly private instruction.  His facilities for private instruction under Professor
Hamilton in surgery at Bellevue were equally favorable, and fortified with this more than ordinary practical experience, he returned
to Shreve and entered again upon practice.
He was married October I, 1872, to Miss Ophelia Campbell, of
Dixon, Ill., their issue being one son.
When Dr. Todd entered upon his studies his aim was to be an
educated, practical man. Turgid dissertations, florid compositions,
plumed didactics and lecture-room prolusions, are not the sole aliment of practical men. Opportunity has been gracious to him, of
which he availed himself, and by unremittent effort he has made
great achievements. He has made a specialty in the domain of
surgery, and takes rank with the best operators of Ohio. The
flesh-separating knife, and bone-shattering saw move to the govern



808


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ment of his eye and the machinations of his hand, with which he
is as familiar as Gildersleeve with his rifle, or Bogardus with the
science of the wing-circle.
If he did not, like Torricelli, invent the microscope, he is nevertheless wedded to the myriad microcosms that, in the twinkling
of an eye, may be developed by its mirrors. In this most vital
branch of his profession, which reduces the diagnosis of most diseases to a certainty there are none in the county to aspire to rivalry.
Dr. Todd has an excellent professional, historical and miscellaneous literary library, and his passion for the accumulation of
books is tantamount to a mania. His books-and his library is
one of the best in the county-have been selected with extreme
care, the professional department embracing many volumes which
are not to be found in modern libraries, and which, in fact, can not
be procured, only by sales of private collections. On entering
either his office or dwelling you are at once impressed with his
museum of curiosities and cabinet specimens. Archaeologist,
antiquarian, naturalist-all are suggested. Animals, fossiliferous
remains, petrifactions, botanical, mineralogical, zoological and
geological specimens, stalactites from the Mammoth Cave, gold
quartz from Colorado, Peru and Mexico, splintered rock from El
Capitan, fishes and alligators from the Gulf, boas, anacondas, elk,
bison, lichens and mosses from Alaska; in short, everything,
almost, from a buffalo to the ancient lyre of the tortoise-shell.
He is largely interested in the advancement of the claims of
medical science, especially those departments which embrace the
higher walks and loftier altitudes of the profession. To understand man and his anatomy, the marvel and mystery of him, is the
first table of the law. His hospitality is best known to those who
have partaken of it. His is an intense life, and calls for enjoyment.
His social nature is of a high order, and he believes, with Carlyle,
that "man has joined himself with man, and that soul acts and reacts on soul."
David Yarnell was born in Uniontown, Fayette county, Pa.,
March I9, I8i8, and, with his father, immigrated to Wooster at an
early day in its history.  He has lived in Clinton township since
1844, having purchased a farm formerly owned by Elijah Pocock.
He was married in I839 to Mary Warner, daughter of Nathan
Warner, and had six children-four boys and two girls. His wife
dying in 1855, he afterward married Miss Laura Henderson.




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


809


CHAPTER XXXIII.
CONGRESS        TowNSHIP.
THIS township was organized October 5, 1818.          By the census
of I870 its population was 2,581. The following is the list of
officers of the township, as appears upon the township records:
I822. Trustees-H. Totten, David Garver, Andrew Moore; Clerk-N. W.
Perrine.
1823. Trustees-George Poe, Henry Totten, Jacob Shellenberger; ClerkJames Boyd; Treasurer-George W. Howey.
1824. Trustees-Henry Hall, Hector Burns, James Patterson; Clerk-James
Boyd; Treasurer-David Garver.
I825. Trustees-James Boyd, N. N. Perrine, G. W. Howey; Clerk-Squier
Pettit; Treasurer-David Garver.
I826. Trustees-John Jeffrey, iSamuel Sheets, Henry Totten; TreasurerHector Burns.
1827. Trustees-John Park, James Carlin, Abram Yocum; Clerk-Michael
Debolt; Treasurer-John Nead.
1828. Trustees-John Rickel, David Brown, James Carlin; Clerk-David
Perky; Treasurer-Solomon Bonewitz.
I829. Trustees-Michael Totten, Michael Funk, John Vanosdoll; ClerkSquier Pettit; Treasurer-Solomon Bonewitz.
1830. Trustees-Solomon Bonewitz, James Carlin, Thomas McKee; ClerkJohn Vanosdoll; Treasurer-Thomas McKee.
I83I. Trustees —James Shallenberger, Walter Elgin, George W. Howey;
Clerk-John Shafer; Treasurer-Squier Pettit.
1832. Trustees-James Carlin, Thomas McCoy, Charles Hoffstetter: ClerkDavid Perky; Treasurer-Squier Pettit.
i833. Trustees-Joel Fisk, John Jeffrey, Charles Hoffstetter; Clerk-J. Carlin; Treasurer-Solomon Bonewitz.
I834. Trustees-Henry Hare, Thomas McKee, John Vanosdoll; Clerk-M.
T. Brewer; Treasurer-David Garver.
I835. Trustees-Hector Burns, David Weaver, Pemberton Pancost; ClerkM. Anderson; Treasurer-David Garver.
1836. Trustees-James Patterson, George W. Howey, John Jeffrey; ClerkFrank A. Warring; Treasurer-David Garver.
I837. Trustees-John Vanosdoll, Thomas McKee, William Carlin; ClerkJohn S. Lee; Treasurer-David Garver.
I838. Trustees-Robert Mahan, Sol. Bonewitz, William Gibson; ClerkDavid Carlin; Treasurer-William Carlin.




8io


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


1839. Trustees-Jacob Secrist, John Trauger, H. Burns; Clerk-D. Carlin;
Treasurer-William Carlin,
1840. Trustees-Leonard Crawford, John Dulin, Michael Clouse; Clerk-Neal
McCoy; Treasurer-William Carlin.
1841. Trustees-Hector Burns, Thomas McKee, Sol. Bonewitz; Clerk-Mat
thew Brewer; Treasurer-David Garver.
I842. Trustees-James Reed, J. Brinkerhoff, H. Henderson; Clerk-John
Vanosdoll; Treasurer-D. Garver.
1843. Trustees-John Brinkerhoff, Christian Garver, Samuel Kline; ClerkSaul Littell; Treasurer-D. Garver; Assessor-Moses Baxter.
I844. Trustees-John Brinkerhoff, Samuel Kline, C. Garver; Clerk-W. C.
Moore; Treasurer-David Garver; Assessor-David Carlin.
1845. Trustees-John Brinkerhoff, Samuel Kline, Christian Garver; ClerkDavid Carlin; Treasurer-David Garver; Assessor-Moses Baxter.
1846. Trustees-Christian Garver, Samuel Kline, JohnVanosdoll: Clerk-H.
A. Powell; Treasurer-David Garver; Assessor-Walter Elgin.
1847. Trustees-John Vanosdoll, Josiah Clinker, Robert Shaver; Clerk-J.
W. Zuver; Treasurer-David Garver; Assessor-David Carlin.
1848. Trustees-Robert Shaver, Sol. Bonewitz, Thomas Beall; Clerk-Isaac
Crane; Treasurer-David B. McCoy; Assessor-Matthew Brewer.
I849. Trustees-Thomas Beall, Solomon Bonewitz, Mahlon Myers; ClerkJ. L. Crane; Treasurer-D. B. McCoy; Assessor-M. F. Brewer.
I850. Trustees-Mahlon Myers, John Keeler, William Burns; Clerk-Samuel
Vancleve; Treasurer-D. B. McCoy; Assessor-Matthew T. Brewer.
I85I. Trustees-John Keeler, Jacob Leatherman, Peter R. Heney; Clerk —
J. W. Johnson; Treasurer-D. B. McCoy; Assessor-M. T. Brewer.
1852. Trustees-John Keeler, Jacob Leatherman, Peter Eicher; Clerk-D.
K. France; Treasurer-D. B. McCoy; Assessor-M. T. Brewer.
1853. Trustees-John Keeler, Jacob Leatherman, Henry Herr; Clerk-J. S.
Firestone; Treasurer-David Carlin; Assessor-William Lusk.
J854. Trustees-Henry Herr, William    Smith, John Dulin; Clerk-D. C.
Dinsmore; Treasurer-Peter Eicher; Assessor-William Lusk.
1855. Trustees-D. Gindlesperger, J. Leatherman, Samuel Herr; Clerk-D.
K. France; Treasurer-Peter Eicher; Assessor-William Hoegner.
I856. Trustees-D. Gindlesperger, J. Leatherman, D. McCauley; Clerk-D.
K. France; Treasurer-Peter Eicher; Assessor-J. W. Hoegner.
1857. Trustees-D. McCauley, John Meyers, A. J. Burns; Assessor-J. W.
Hoegner; Treasurer-P. Eicher; Clerk-J. Breneman.
i858. Trustees-D. S. McCauley, Robert Shaver, A. J. Burns; Assessor-J.
W. Hoegner; Clerk-M. H. Dodd; Treasurer-Peter Eicher.
1863. Trustees-J. W. McVicker, Thomas Howey, Daniel Barnhart; Treasurer-Jacob Leatherman; Assessor-Daniel Gindlesperger; Clerk-D. K. France.
1865. Trustee-Samuel Ewing, William Smith, Enoch Moore; TreasurerPeter Eicher; Clerk-William A. Bonewitz; Assessor-J. W. Hoegner.
i866. Trustees-P. R. Henney, W. W. Reid, J. B. Snyder; Assessor-James
A. MCoy; Clerk-G. A. Whitmore; Treasurer-Daniel Gable.
1867. Trustees-P. R. Henney, W. W. Reid, J. B. Snyder; Assessor-James
A. McCoy; Clerk-G. A. Whitmore; Treasurer-Daniel Gable.
i868. Trustees-P. R. Henney, W. W. Reid, A. G. Rittenhouse; AssessorThomas Ferguson; Treasurer-John Moyers; Clerk-G. A. Whitmore.
1869. Trustees-W. W. Reid, A. G. Rittenhouse, Daniel Gable; AssessorThomas Ferguson; Treasurer-John Myers; Clerk-G. A. Whitmore.




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


8II


1870. Trustees-Daniel Gable, David Mitchel, James Campbell; AssessorEzra Jacobs; Treasurer-John Myers; Clerk-Paoli Sheppard.
1871. Trustees-Dan Holtzberg, E. Bonewitz, C. Aukerman; AssessorSamuel Ewing; Treasurer-John Helman; Clerk-D. Mitchel.
1872. Trustees-William Reid, A. G. Rittenhouse, Peter Funnalman; Assessor-Samuel Ewing; Treasurer-Allen Greely; Clerk-David Mitchel.
I873. Trustees-Peter Funnalman, William Reid, David Vanorr; AssessorJ. T. Hazzard; Treasurer-Allen Greely; Clerk-William H. Barch.
I874. Trustees-William Reid, John Zehner, J. B. Snyder; Assessor-James
T. Hazzard; Treasurer-W. R. McClellan; Clerk-David Mitchel.
1876. Trustees-David Holtzberg, William Addleman, M. M. Patterson;
Assessor-David Baker; Clerk-Allen Greely; Treasurer-W. R. McClellan.
I877. Trustees-William McKee, Dan. Gable, J. K. Saltsman; AssessorDavid Mitchel; Clerk-John Hosler; Treasurer-John Zehner.
Justices of the Peace-Nicholas Perrine, 1822; George Poe, 1822; N. N. Perrine, 1825; Henry Hull, 1825; Michael Funk, June 21, 1831; David Park, January
31, I833; Michael Funk, June o0, 1834; Hector Burns, January 20, 1836; William
Carlin, June 2, 1837; John Jeffrey, January 22, 1839; William Carln. April 16,
i840; Hector Burns, February I, I841; William Carlin, April 10, 1843; D. Gindlesbarger, January 13, i845; David Carlin, March 24, I846; D. Gindlesbarger,
January I, 1848; David Carlin, March 24, i849; D. Gindlesbarger, December I7,
i850; David Carlin, February 21, I852; Solomon Bonewitz, May 8, 1852; Philip
Mattison, April I3, I854; David F. Young, January 25, I856; G. P. Emrick, April
4, I856; D. Gindlesbarger, January 8, 1857; Peter Ruff, April 22, i857; John G.
Ford, January 13, I859; David Carlin, January 9, I86o; Jacob McGlenen, January
2I, I862; David Carlin, January 3, I863; Dan Barnhart, January 20, 1865; David
Carlin, January I, i866; R. Summerton, April 13, I866; Dan Barnhart, April ii,
1868; R. Summerton, April 13, I869; J. R. Henney, April 13, I869; Dan Barnhart, April 10, 1871; Jacob Leatherman, April 9, I872; J. R. Henney, April 9,
1872; J. K. Andrews, April 14, I874; Henry Herr, April 12, x875; Enoch Morr,
J. F. Simon, April i877.
Reminiscences of Congress Township by Hon. Michael Totten and James Carlin.In 1815 the first families moved into what is now Congress township. Some time
during the first week in February Michael and Henry Totten accompanied George
and Isaac Poe, and cut a trail from Wooster to where the village of Congress
stands, which at that time was all forest, the lands having not been entered. We
encamped with George Poe, about one-half mile from the village, until we could
erect a cabin, which we built on section 27, on the lands owned by John Garver.
When we got our cabin completed, some time during the month of February, 1815,
Henry and myself went to Wooster and moved our mother and our sister Catharine
the first two white women in the township) and all the household furniture on a
sled from Wooster to our cabin.
On the first of April following George and Isaac Poe and other families came
into the township and settled upon the same section. The same spring Peter War.
ner, with his family, moved into the south-west corner of the township. In I816
Matthew Brewer and James Carlin, with their families, moved to the same farms
upon which they lived till their deaths.
The next to come were George Aukerman and John Nead, with their families.
After this period emigrants came in so fast and settled in such widely different parts
of the township that it would be impossible to trace them, or where they located.
The first white person who died was Mrs. Amasa Warner, and the second my




812


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


mother. The first school ever taught was by John Totten in the first cabin built.
George Poe was the first Justice of the township. The first school-house was built
in I819, on the south-west quarter of section 37. The first year after moving into
the township my brother Henry and I cleared five acres and planted it in corn,
which we cut off in the fall and put down in wheat, and which was the first corn
and wheat raised in the township. Game was very plenty, and for some time after
our arrival it was our chief article of food. We could not raise hogs or sheep after
our settlement, as they would be devoured by wolves. One winter we had twelve
sheep enclosed in the same lot in which the house stood, thinking they were safe,
and that the dogs would guard them, but a herd of wolves, during the night, assailed them and destroyed eleven; the remaining and last one escaped, and running into the house, awoke the family, but the hungry scavengers of the woods had
fled. The next day, there being snow on the ground, I pursued them as far as the
Harrisville Swamp, in Medina county, but got no opportunity of shooting at them.
Near this swamp were encamped about 30 or 40 Indians. Among other early settlers of the township were John Jeffrey, Walter Elgin, David Gardner, Jacob
Holmes, Jacob Shellebarger, Peter and Samuel Chasey, G. W. Howey, David Nelson, the father of James Grimes, James Boyd, Hector Burns, Samuel Sheets, N. N.
Perrine, A. Yocum, John Vanasdoll, Rev. John Hazard and family, Isaac Matthews,
and others.
James Carlin says: The first couple married in Congress township was Jesse
Matteson and Eleanor Carlin, the ceremony by Judge James Robison, and that the
first sermon preached was by a Presbyterian minister, Matthews, who spoke with a
sword girded to his body. The first grist-mill was built by Naftzger, where a man
named Buchanan was killed, waiting for a grist. George Howey was the first
blacksmith, and Michael Funk the first merchant. The first physician was a Mr.
Mills, and the first carpenter and joiner was Jacob Matthews.
Daniel Chasey was a native of Saratoga county, N. Y., and with
his wife immigrated to Wayne county as early as I814-I 5, settling
a mile north-west of Lattasburg, on old Appletree Moyer's place.
He died at his son Samuel's, west of Congress village, about 1867.
He married Miss Elizabeth Allen. Samuel Chasey was born in
Saratoga county, N. Y., October 21, 1802, and immigrated to
Ohio with his father. He was married to Selona Warner July 26,
1826, and had twelve children, as follows: Abner G., Andrew,
Ithamer, Daniel, Martha Ann, Mary E., Cyrus, Amanda, Samuel
H., Jeremiah, Obadiah and Margaret. His wife died May 2.,
1873, he surviving her until July 15, I876.
Thomas McKee was born in Northampton county, Pa., June
22, 1796, but came from Westmoreland when he removed to
Wayne county, Ohio, in 1818.       He at once commenced milling for
Joseph Stibbs,with whom he remained ten years, during which time,
in I824, he married Anna Brown, daughter of Frederick Brown.
In 1830 he removed to Congress township, on a farm he had purchased there eight years previously, and where he now resides,




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


8I3


but which in later years was largely added to by other lands. His
wife died January 25, 185 I, aged 46 years. They had ten children,
as follows: Joseph, Mary, Thomas, Margaret, Ephraim, William,
John, George B., A. E. and Sindalena. By industry and good
management he has succeeded in surrounding himself with the
wealth and comforts of life, and now, in his old age, enjoys the
proceeds of a remarkably well-spent life. He is the firmest of
Democrats, and popular with his fellow citizens, having been elected
Trustee and to other township offices, and was honored with being
made one of the first County Infirmary Directors under the new
constitution.
Jacob Leatherman came to Congress township March 26, 1842,
settling on a farm two miles south west of the village of Congress,
land which his father, Peter Leatherman, in early days had entered
from the Government, Jacob afterwards purchasing the same from
him. He was married January I6, I841, to Miss Urith Sherrod.
In 1857 he quit farming and removed to Congress village, there
engaging in the dry goods business, and in April, 1864, went to
West Salem, where he continued in the mercantile trade until
I869, and where he at present resides, at the same time owning
and managing his farm near Congress village. His life has been
an earnest one, and his business career characterized by the strictest probity. For years he has been one of the most enterprising
and leading business men of the township, closely identified with
all its projects for improvement, and by dint of unflagging industry
and perseverance, aided by good common sense and clear judgment, has secured a competency. He is courteous in manner and
of kindly disposition-will go all lengths to befriend a friend, but,
on the other hand, will exert himself just as much to punish a person who has done him an injury. He is an uncompromising Democrat, taking a prominent part in local and state politics; and as a
man, to a great extent, commands the respect and esteem of the
community at large.
John Dulin was born near Wellsburg, West Virginia, and with
his wife came to Wayne county in 1834, settling upon the farm
now partly owned by Abraham Billhammer, where he died May
21, 1845, at the advanced age of eighty-five years. Mr. Dulin
served one year in the Revolutionary war and drew a pension until
the time of his death. He was married to Miss Sarah Sharp, of




814         HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
Virginia. His son, John Dulin, came to Wayne county about a
year prior to his father and settled on a farm about three miles
south-west of Congress, in Congress township. He was married
to Miss Mary Cope, of the city of Dublin, Ireland, and had eleven
children. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and died February 2, I86I. His wife died September 26, 1864. To his daughter, Margaret J.,who married C. H. Weltmer, we are indebted for
these facts.
John Keeler was born within four miles of Philadelphia, Pa.,
August 20, I8I9. His father came to Wayne county at an early
date, bringing his family, and worked for a period on the Samuel
Funk farm in Chester township. He then removed to Gallon,
Ohio. John, however, remained in Wayne county, and was married to Hannah Matthews, of Wooster, whose mother was Catherine Poe, sister of Mrs. Kuffel, and daughter of old Adam Poe, the
Indian fighter. After marriage they removed to Congress village,
and lived there until Mr. Keeler's death, February 14, I875. They
had four children, two of whom are dead, one dying when a child.
William, a son, was a soldier in Company F, Io2d Regiment, and
was killed by the explosion of the steamer Sultana, on the Mississippi river, April 28, I875.  Sarah C. is the wife of Joseph
McVicker. Thomas B., married to Ida J. Weltmer, is a lawyer in
practice in West Salem.
Congress.-This village, originally called Waynesburg, was laid
out March 6, 1827, by Philip Gates and David Newcomer, and
surveyed by Peter Emery; plat and certificate recorded March 27,
1827, and can be found in vol. 6, page 24, County Records.
Robert Lowry, a gallant soldier of the Mexican war and the
last conflict between the North and South, informs us that Michael
Funk and Elmer Yocum built the first house in the village of Congress, and that it was situated upon the site of the present Methodist church; that Jacob Hare was the first postmaster, the office
being kept on lot No. 5, in the village; that Dr. Mills was the
first permanent physician; that George Wicks kept the first hotel,
and that David W. Poe established the first tannery in the village.
An Indian died in the house now occupied by the Beard family,
and was buried in the old Congress graveyard. The old Indian
and his wife were on a tramp, and stopped at Griffith's Tavern,
where they got tight and abusive, and the landlord's wife threw a
pot of boiling water on him, and he died.




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


We here reproduce the line of officers of the incorporated village since 1838:
1838. Mayor-John Tarr; Recorder-William      Rogers; Councilmen-Joe
Fish, John Zuver, P. Pancost, R. Summerton, John Potts.
I839. Mayor-William Rogers; Recorder-John Tarr; Councilmen-John
Rogers, Samuel N., John Stickle, A. Warring, G. K. Hickok.
1840. Mayor-R. Summerton; Recorder-A. Warring; Councilmen-M.
Funk, John Stickle, John Tarr, William Rogers, G. Boydston.
1842. Mayor-David Carlin; Recorder-L. Firestone; Councilmen-David
Moore, P. D. Campbell, W. W. Hunter, G. H. Helfer, G. Boydston.
I844. Mayor-George Fresh; Recorder-L. Firestone; Councilmen-P. P.
Pancost, John Stickel, Eli Wagner, John Keeler, A. Kline.
1846. Mayor-David Moore; Recorder-L. Firestone; Councilmen-D. B.
McCoy, G. W. Helfer, P. Ross, John Keeler, A. Kline.
1848. Mayor-D. B. McCoy; Recorder-D. B. Littell; Councilmen-George
Dulin, J. F. Crane, J. Stickle, A. Kline, P. Wagner.
I850. Mayor-William Lusk; Recorder-William C. Moore; CouncilmenD. B. McCoy, L. Firestone, D. Carlin, G. S. Dulin, J. Stickle.
I851. Mayor-G. K. Hickok; Recorder-L. Firestone; Councilmen-John
Keeler, John McCoy, John Stickle, Jacob Fresh, Dan. Helfer.
I853. Mayor-G. K. Hickox; Recorder-John Tarr; Councilmen-A. Wieler,
G. Seacrist, G. Fresh, I. Fresh, D. K. France.
I855. Mayor-R. Summerton; Recorder-W. C. Moore; Councilmen-P.
Pancost, J. P. Dorland, J. Brenneman, Dan. Helfer, J. T. Shepperd; Marshal-E.
Brubaker.
I857. Mayor-P. Pancost; Recorder-I. S. Tarr; Councilmen-J. Leatherman, J. Warner, John Keeler, W. C. Moore, G. H. Helfer; Marshal-J. Lemon.
I86I. Mayor-John Eliott; Recorder-R. B. Lowry; Councilmen-John
Thornby, John Dorland, John Galaher, John S. Tarr, George Fresh; TreasurerA. Weiler.
1869. Mayor-G. M. Michael; Treasurer-G. Galloway; Recorder-J. H.
Breneman; Marshal-W. C. Berry; Councilmen-P. J. Brown, Joseph Garver, Joel
Good, G. Leiter, H. L. Shepherd.
1871. Mayor-G. A. Whitmore; Recorder-George Michael; TreasurerGeorge Fresh; Marshal-R. Sardam; Councilmen-P. J. Brown, John Shepherd,
J. P. Patterson, W. A. Bonewitz, B. S. Burgan.
1872. Mayor-G. A. Whitmore; Recorder-G. W. Galloway; TreasurerGeorge Fresh; Marshal-W. S. Brown; Councilmen-W. A. Bonewitz, B. S. Burgen, P. J. Brown, H. L. Shepherd, J. P. Patterson, R. S. Dulin.
I874. Mayor-G. A. Whitmore; Recorder-S. B. Stecher; Treasurer-George
Fresh; Marshal-W. A. Bonewitz; Councilmen-P. J. Brown, J. H. Breneman, B.
S. Burgan, H. L. Shepherd, A. Weiler, R. C. Dulin.
I876. Mayor-Philip Madison; Recorder-R. Summerton; Treasurer-Geo.
Fresh; Marshal-R. H. Sardam; Councilmen-J. K. Andrews, J. Breneman, J.
Lawrence, William Rice, R. C. Dulin, P. J. Brown.
i877. Mayor-Philip Madison; Recorder-William H. Carlin; TreasurerGeorge Fresh; Marshal-John Ward; Councilmen-J. K. Andrews, J. Lawrence,
J. Breneman, R. C. Dulin, W. Brown, N. Patterson.




8I6


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


David Carlin, son of James Carlin, who emigrated from Ireland
to America about I798, was born in Columbiana county, this
State, in I8II.   We extract the following from     an obituary, published in the Wayne county Democrat:
He was, in infancy, brought by his parents to Wayne county. They settled in
Congress township in 1814, which was then an almost unbroken wilderness.
Although in early life he never had the facilities and advantages of a modern
education; yet, from his own native strength of mind and love of mental improvement, he acquired, under one of the severest afflictions incident to childhood,
which made him a suffering cripple for life, that cultivation of mind which prepared
him for life's stern duties, and which enabled him to fill well his place in the world
as an active, energetic and highly useful man.
His neighbors and immediate friends around him, for a long series of years,
can attest his worth as a ready helper in their business affairs. Their confidence in
him, as all know, was almost unlimited. Trusts of importance were given him.
Official positions of every description in his township were thrust upon him. His
county placed in his hands the highest and most important trust, that of Treasurer,
it had within its gift. Through all of these, as everyone knows who knew him, he
walked the upright citizen, the pure and honest man. In all his worldly transactions his integrity and honesty were never questioned or doubted. His death occurred several years ago.
Reminiscences of Royce Summerton.-Phineas Summerton, my father, was raised
near Boston, and was a native of Massachusetts. His father, for many years, was
a sea-going man, engaging in whale-hunting and other pursuits of that jolly old
comrade, the sea. Abandoning that occupation, he removed to the then western
wilds of Cayuga county, New York, settling about sixteen miles from Auburn,
where he purchased 600 acres of land, and there he died.
His children were Phineas, Thomas, Kitura and Phoebe. Father was born in
Cayuga county, State of New York, where he married Rhoda Royce. After the
expiration of twenty years after his marriage he immigrated to Kendal, Stark
county, where he stopped with a Quaker family named Clay. Leaving his family
with Mr. Clay, he came to Wayne county and entered the north-east quarter of
section I, in Perry township, then in Wayne county, and now in Chester township,
and owned by Mr. Jacobs. He then removed his family from Kendal, and staid
with Isaac Matthews, on the farm now owned by Samuel Shoemaker, west of Lattasburg. With Matthews the family remained until Mr. Summerton could build a
cabin, which was I8x24, with clap-board roof, clay floor, chimney in the end of it,
cupboard in notches in the logs, and blankets for a door, as he was too busy with
his crops to make one. Indians frequently came into the house. Once they came
when he was away, and seeing bottles upon a shelf, asked for them, thinking they
contained whisky. He had six children, to-wit: Hannah, Amanda, John, Taber,
Royce and Thomas. Of this family only Taber, Royce and Thomas survive.
Father, aided by his sons, cleared up his lands, and soon thereafter bought another
quarter in Chester township, and continued accumulating until he acquired six
quarter sections.
But prior to his removal to Wayne county, he had purchased a farm, and his
father had given him one. Selling the one that had been presented to him, he
formed a partnership with a Mr. Hungerford, in the saw-mill business in the pine
country, in connection with which they built a carding machine and cloth-dressing




CONGRESS TO WNSRIP.


817


factory. When they were about ready to begin operations, a cloud-burst occurred,
and the water of the two streams on which their mills were located, rose to the
hight of eighteen feet, sweeping mills and everything in its course. Father and
Hungerford, and a hired man, were in one of the mills at the time, and barely escaped. This accident likely induced him to remove west, where they started in a
two-horse wagon, crossing to Buffalo, and then up the lake shore, over roads so bad
that, at times, they had to remove the children from the wagon. He was a hard
working, quiet, industrious man, a member, with his wife, of the Baptist church in
New York, but after his arrival in Wayne county he united with the Methodists.
He and the father of President Fillmore were neighbors, and at this time Millard
began the study of law.
Royce Summerton, son of Phineas, was born October 14, 81 I,
and removed to Wayne county with his father. He was married
June I9, 1834, to Martha A. Helfer, of Ashland county, by which
marriage he had two children, viz: Maria A. and Mary J. Summerton. The former became the wife of A. M. Beebe, then residing at Cleveland, she dying March 6, 1864. Mary J. married W.
Pancoast, and died January Io, I86I, and was re-married to G. A.
Whitmore, November 14, 1864.
Mr. Summerton remained on the farm until April I, 1832,
when he was hired as a clerk in the store of William Spencer,
where he remained to September, 1833, when his father rented a
store-room in Congress village and gave him $I,ooo, and when he
went to New York City, gave him $I,Ioo more.       This latter sum,
Mr. Summerton says, in three years cost him $3,600. His father was
first a partner with him for three and one-half years, and after that
his brother Thomas for twenty-two months. He went out of the
mercantile business in 1838, lay idle two years, then resumed it,
and continued in it until March, 1852, when failing health compelled him to abandon it entirely. He now invested his money in
real estate, owning between 700 and 800 acres of land.
Mr. Summerton is one of the most enlightened and intelligent
of the pioneers of Congress township. He is probably the wealthiest man in it, and has made his money by the reduction to
practical application the irreversible and incontrovertible maxims of
business. He is a man of strictest and most unrelaxing integrity,
of irreproachable life, who for forty-five years, with his wife, has
been a member of the Methodist church.
Taber Summerton, son of Phineas, was born in Cuyahoga county, and removed to Wayne county with his father. He was
married in May, I831, to Elizabeth Kuffel.   After owning and ex52




8I8


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


changing various estates he finally removed to his present residence
-the farm     originally opened up and owned by Samuel Thorley.
He has been devoted to the pursuits of the farm all his life, and
has been prosperous and successful in his labors. He has a family
of ten children, and has been a member of the church, with his
wife, for forty-eight years.
Other Reminiscences of Royce Summerton.-When father and his family moved
into the county there were but five neighbors within a radius of several miles.
Isaac Matthews came in as early as I8I4, and the Poes were here and Peter Chasey
and his son Samuel. On one occasion, when father and I were coming from
Naftzger's mill, with two 6xen in the wagon and one horse in front and I mounted
on the horse, the wolves gathered in large numbers around us, and I got terribly
scared, but father just laughed and said there was no danger. After butchering
day the wolves were troublesome, and on one occasion a large hog was missing for
three days, when it returned mangled and fly-blown, having been, as was supposed,
attacked by a bear.
In the early days the woods were infested with pea-vines, which crept over the
ground and would climb small shrubs and trees to the hight of two and three feet,
and in the fall the cattle would eat it and fatten on it, and many of them died, and,
it was believed, from the effect of this vine.
In the first log church (Methodist) in Congress Harry 0. Sheldon was preaching at a quarterly meeting, and there being a large crowd present, it was difficult
for all to be seated. Joseph Ewing stood up defiantly in the center of the church.
Mr. Sheldon came back to him and asked lim to be seated, which he refused, when
Sheldon caught him violently on his hip, carried him out and forced him to kneel
down while he prayed with him.
Charles J. Warner, M. D., was born in Wayne township, Wayne
county,Ohio, January I, 1836. His father, Peter Warner, was a
farmer and a native of Sunbury, Northumberland county, Pa., with
whom the subject of this sketch remained until he was eighteen years
of age. The farm life, we are quite ready to believe, harmonized
with the developing manhood of Dr. Warner, and enables us to
describe him as a splendid specimen of physical and muscular outline. While thus engaged, he utilized every opportunity and employed his leisure hours in study and in the perusal of such books
as he could make accessible, and which would most benefit him in
establishing a foundation for future acquisitions and fields of usefulness.
He availed himself of such advantages as the common schools
afforded, and was diligent and vigilant in his exertions to qualify
himself for some honorable and worthy sphere of labor. Iike
most of our self-made professional men, he made his first debut to
the public in the role of teacher, in his nineteenth year, his servi







It




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


8I9


ces being first rendered in the Rumbaugh district, for which he obtained eighteen dollars per month and boarded himself. In the
summer he would attend school, and in the winter teach, and in
this line of employment as preceptor and pupil, he assiduously applied himself for five years. During this time he became a proficient English scholar, and acquired a valuable knowledge of the
Latin language.
It seems that the Doctor, from an early age had conceived the
idea of the Divinity, as Dr. Holmes would say, of the Healing Art,
and that if Day and Firestone had
"Hurled a few score mortals from the world,"
They had
"Made amends by bringing others into it;"
And why should not he enter this most honorable profession, and
"hurl" and "bring" like them-and like them carve a name,
and bare a
"Snow-white arm to wield
The sad, stern ministry of pain."
In pursuance of his contemplated purpose, in March, 1857,
he entered the office of W. C. Moore, M. D., then a practicing
physician in Congress village, with whom he remained four years,
three as a student, and one in partnership with him.
He then removed to Homerville, Medina county, Ohio, where
he staid two years, and during this time attended a course of study
at the Cleveland Medical College, where he graduated in 1862.
In the spring of this year he returned to Congress, since which
time he has resided there.  His tireless and unremittent efforts to
prepare and fortify himself for the responsible duties of his profession have been rewarded by a profitable and lucrative practice, and
though but a little past forty years of age, he has attained a deserved popularity, and compasses within his professional jurisdiction as wide a circuit as any rival in the county. He was married
September 15, I859, to Mary E. Pancoast, of Congress village, and
has had two children, A. C. and Ellsworth, the latter dying September 7, 1863. After a happy marriage relation of a little over
seven years, his wife died, December 8, I866.
Of Charles J. Warner it can literally and truthfully be said,
that he is in the meridian of his years. His sun has barely climbed
to its zenith; it burns with clear and steadfast ray upon his path,
without the remotest sign of dipping toward the western sky.




820


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


He stands solid six feet high, weighs two hundred and seventeen pounds, is built of substantial material, has a bright, intellectual face, is a man of pleasing manner and affable disposition, of
fair complexion, firm and erect carriage.
He is emphatically a self-made and self-taught man, and one of
the most pronounced and enthusiastic advocates of a popular and
more diffusive education in the community. Realizing the obstacles that lie too often in the path of the ambitious youth who aspires to the loftier levels of intellectual culture, and the measureless
advantages that accrue from a more general diffusion of knowledge,
he places himself to the fore-front of the vast army of educators,
and his voice is heard ringing along the line, and mingling with
the echo, of "more schools, more and better teachers, and wider
diffusion of knowledge, and a greater enlightenment of the
masses!"
Dr. Warner believes with Froude, that
We ought not to set before a boy the chance of becoming President of the Republic, or President of anything; we should teach him just to be a good man, and
next to do his work, whatever it be, as well as it can possibly be done. It is
better that a boy should learn to make a shoe excellently than to write bad exercises
in half a dozen languages.
He believes that all men should be educated, not simply those
who contemplate an entrance into the professions, but those as well
who are to exert their activities on the lower planes of life. We
extract from one of his published addresses the following, touching
upon this point:
The idea of educating our youths to fill some humble station is entirely ignored, and every boy and girl that has a memory sufficient to contain so much
poetry is almost constantly repeating the stanza written by Longfellow:
"Lives of great men all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time."
This sounds very finely, but it is " only a musical cheat." It sounds like truth,
but it is a falsehood. The lives of great men all remind us that they have made
their own memories sublime, but they do not assure us at all that we can leave footprints like theirs behind us. If you do not believe it, go with me to the cemetery
yonder. There they lie-ten thousand upturned faces-ten thousand breathless
bosoms. Dreams of fame and power once haunted those hollow skulls. Those
little piles of bones, that once were feet, ran swiftly and determinedly through the
forty, fifty, sixty, seventy years of life; but where are the prints they left? He
lived-he died-he was buried-is all that the headstone tells. We move among




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


821


the monuments, we see the sculpture, but no voice comes to us to say that the
sleepers are remembered for anything they ever did. Natural affection pays its
tribute to its departed object, a generation passes by, the stone grows gray, and the
man has ceased to be, and is to the world as if he had never lived. Why is it that
no more have left a name behind them? Simply because they were not endowed
by their Maker with power to do it, and because the offices of life are mainly
humble, requiring only humble powers for their fulfillment. The cemeteries of one
hundred years hence will be like those of to-day. Of all those now in the schools
of this country, dreaming of fame, not one in twenty thousand will be heard ofnot one in twenty thousand will have left a footprint behind him.
My idea of correct teaching is this: that the pupils be taught that all useful
and legitimate callings in life are honorable, though ever so humble; that they can
not all attain to "high places," and that many will be compelled to fill some station
in the "lower walks of life;" that the laborer is worthy of respect; that a man can
be as truly great following the plow, wielding the hammer, or shoving the plane,
as in any of the public positions in life. In teaching, one of the principal objects
should be to educe the entire "character and disposition of the pupils;" and when
any individual is found to be incapable to fill some important and responsible station, he should be persuaded to select another calling less difficult and responsible.
They should not be taught any less than they now are; but should be taught more
practical knowledge and less of the ornamental. No difference how humble the
station we occupy may be, we can not know too much to fill it honorably and successfully.
Education, considered in its proper light, is not designed merely to fit men " to
read and write, to peruse newspapers and keep accounts," but aims to make an individual thoughtful, reflective and intelligent; to render the mind vigorous and constant in purpose, and prepare it to conduct business skillfully, intelligently and successfully. There is not a calling in life that is not made much less laborious and
more efficient by the laborer understanding his own powers, and the qualities of the
objects with which he deals; and it will make life much more pleasant and cheerful
to know that he is an intelligent being, and that he is filling the station in life that
God intended him to occupy. Education, then, rightly understood, makes labor
honorable and the laborer happy, and clothes it with dignity, as well as the higher
professions of life.
It will be well to remember that only one in every thousand is needed for public life, and only one in that number really fitted for the place. This teaching all
scholars to aspire to the highest stations in life, without reference to mental capacities, is certainly a great curse to the prosperity of our country. It creates a morbid desire for distinction, engenders an unnatural thirst for public life, and brings
out many candidates for office, men utterly unfitted to fill the place to which they
aspire; and the result is that many of our public offices are occupied by men of
small mental capacities and inferior business qualifications.
Thousands seek to be "somebodies" through the avenues of professional life;
and so professional life is full of "nobodies."  The pulpit is crowded with
goodish "nobodies"-men who      have no power, no unction, no mission.
They strain their brains to write common-places, and wear themselves out repeating the rant of their sect and the cant of their schools. The bar is cursed
with "nobodies" as much as the pulpit. The lawyers are few; the pettifoggers
are many. The bar, more than any other medium, is that through which the ambitious youths of our country seek to attain political eminence. Thousands go into
the study of law, not so much for the sake of the profession, as for the sake of the




822


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


advantages it is supposed to give them for political preferment. Multitudes of lawyers are a disgrace to their profession, and a curse to their country. They lack the
brains necessary to make them respectable and the morals requisite for good
neighborhod. They live on quarrels, and breed them that they may live. They
have spoiled themselves for private life, and they spoil the private life around them.
As for the medical profession, I tremble when I think how many enter it because they have neither piety enough for preaching, nor brains enough to practice
law. It is truly lamentable to see the number of inferior men that yearly enter the
medical profession, being a disgrace to their calling, and a curse to all who repose
confidence in them.
It is the duty of every parent and teacher to ascertain by close and constant
observation to what particular calling each individual scholar is by natural qualifications best adapted, and educate them, so far as it is possible, to fill that station
with honor, profit and success. Teach them that it will be much more honorable
to be a good blacksmith than an inferior minister of the gospel-an accomplished
shoemaker than a pettifogger-an honest boot-black than a quack doctor; and that
in pursuing some humble occupation successfully, they will contribute incalculable
good to their fellow man; while on the contrary, were they to pursue some public
or professional calling, and not be qualified for it either by nature or education,
they will only be doing evil, and that continually. And should we be convinced
that we are not adapted by nature or education to occupy any of the "high places"
in life, it will be consoling to know while pursuing our humble calling, that God
condescended to do little work before man had an existence. He made the pebble,
as well as the mountain; the smallest insect, as well as the largest quadruped; the
tiny plant, as well as the giant oak; and painted the wings of the butterfly, as well
as the transcendantly beautiful drapery of the setting sun. It requires just as much
skill and ingenuity to construct a watch as it does an engine; it is just as difficult
to do a "small thing well as a large thing, and the difficulty of accomplishing a
deed is the gauge of the power and ingenuity required for its doing." And let us
bear in mind that "when we go down, we are going just as directly toward infinity
as when we go up, and that every one who works God-ward, works in honor."
As a co-worker in the cause of education, Dr. Warner has distinguished himself for his activity, earnestness and zeal.       He has
delivered twenty different addresses upon the subject in Wayne
and adjoining counties, which have been published and received
the most favorable indorsement of the press.
His style is aggressive, vigorous and fresh, his suggestions valuable, solid, practical and felicitous, his reasoning cogent and conclusive, his subject matter thoroughly digested and ingeniously
arranged.
To the duties of his profession he addresses himself with the
strictest attention and devotion.    With him to restore order to deranged constitutions is the consummation of professional wisdom
and skill. Life, which " the scratch of a bare bodkin," or "the
sputter of a pistol-shot" will rend assunder, is a sacred trust with
which to be invested.     He is not an experimentalist, a theorizer, a
system-maker, or a builder of logical card-castles.




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


823


He has made the pilgrimage of the best authors of the school,
and practicalized their thoughts and methods in the dispositions
and treatment of disease. He has been, and is a student, and
a scholar in his profession. He possesses in an eminent degree the
mainsprings of prosperity and success-rigid integrity, economy
and industry. With his splendid personal appearance, facility of
acquaintance, ease and grace of manner, fine scholarship, modesty
and refinement of culture, it is not difficult to interpret the secret
of his popularity and influence.
He is a man of many social and domestic virtues, and is a hospitable, courteous and considerate gentleman. He is not only
self-taught, but self-poised and self-dependent, flatters no patron,
foments no professional disputes, and pierces no victim. He aims
to take care of himself, adheres to and performs the right, and
cares not if the question is asked, " Who did it?"
Solomon Warner was born December 6, 1807, in Tuscarawas
county, Ohio, and removed to Wayne county with his father, Peter
Warner, in I816, who died November 14, I824. Peter had seven
children, to wit: Peter, Mary, Jonathan, Martha, David, Salome
and Solomon. Of this family, but Jonathan, Martha, wife of
James Reed, deceased, Mary, who lives with Jonathan, and Solomon, are alive. Jonathan Warner was born August 27, I798, in
Northampton county, Pa., and was married to Lorainne Pettit, of
Washington county, Pa., and has ten children, all of whom are
living.
Solomon Warner is unmarried, and lives in Congress village.
He was a soldier in Company F, I6th Ohio Volunteer Infantry;
was in the charge of Chickasaw; captured September 29, 1862;
held a prisoner 75 days, exchanged, sent to Camp Chase, and then
ordered to New Orleans and discharged, February 2, 1864. Mr.
Warner is possessed of great accuracy of memory, and is an observant, worthy and intelligent man.
Philip J. Brown was born in Somerset county, Pa., October 14,
1827. Being left an orphan in early childhood, he was obliged to
live among strangers, and at the age of fourteen he was "bound
out," in accordance with the custom of the times, for seven years
as an indentured apprentice to a blacksmith, of which time, however, he only served five years. From Pennsylvania he made his
way to Virginia, where he followed his trade several years, noted
as a skillful mechanic. January 14, I850, he was married to




824


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Miss Margaret, daughter of John King, of Preston county,
West Virginia.' A few years later he adopted the dental profession, which he has successfully pursued for a quarter of a century.
In the spring of 1864, with his wife and two sons, he removed to
Wayne county and settled in Congress village, where he still resides. Dr. Brown speaks several languages with fluency, and
being, also, a minister of the Gospel in the German Baptist church,
he has formed a wide acquaintance, and his superior intelligence,
cordiality and upright character have gained him the friendship
and confidence of a large portion of the citizens of Wayne and adjoining counties.
West Salem was laid out by Peter and John Rickel, June I4,
1834, and surveyed by George Emery. Plat and certificate recorded June 17, 1834, Vol. 2, page 443, County Recorder's office.
The following is the line of officers since its incorporation, and
from   868:
i868. Mayor-D. H. Ambrose; Trustees-D. Eshleman, D. Gable, J. Georget, J. J. Shank, W. R. Huber; Recorder-E. Fritzinger; Treasurer-John
Zehner.
1869. Mayor-David Mitchel; Trustees-John Myers, Ed. Elgin, Dan.
Eshleman, O. G. Franks, John Shellhart; Recorder-Edward Fritzinger; Treasurer
-John Zehner.
1870. Mayor-E. McFadden; Councilmen-John Myers, Dan. Gable, J. W.
Read, E. Elgin, D. Baker, P. Bahl; Treasurer-John Zehner; Clerk-E. Fritzinger; Marshal-G. W. Saltsman.
1871. Mayor-John Shank; Councilmen-W. D. Humiston, David Jacobs,
John Hosler.
I873. Mayor-John Shank; Councilmen-C. C. Stouffer, J. P. Bush, Henry
W. Morr; Clerk-Allen Greely.
I874. Mayor-John W. Read; Clerk-Daniel Eckerman; Treasurer-William
R. McClellan; Marshal-William  E. Straight; Councilmen-James Cronemiller,
A. Hoff, John Shellhart.
I875. Mayor-John W. Read; Clerk-Allen Greely; Councilmen-A. J.
Gerhart, David Herr, Henry Berry; To fill vacancies-John Barret.
1876. Mayor-James Jeffry; Clerk-Alien Greely; Treasurer-John Zehner;
Marshal-Joel Berry; Councilmen-John Hosler, G. W. Burns, E. Northrop,
Henry Belry, A. J. Gerhart.
Reminiscences of Mrs. Peter Rickel.-It was fifty-five years ago yesterday (October Io, 1877), when Peter and I landed here with our two children, coming from
Bedford county, Pa., where he was a farmer. We settled in the woods near where
I now live, built a cabin with puncheon floor and stick chimney. My first neighbors were Rev. John Hazzard, Mr. Ford and Charles Crile. Peter, however, had
been out here two years before we moved, and entered a quarter of land, on which
West Salem is now largely built. There were no roads then around here, and we




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


825


had a hard time getting the two-horse wagon through. Peter was born in Virginia
January 30, 1794, and died October 7, 1865. My maiden name was Nancy Rickel,
and I was born in old Lancaster, Pa., May I, 1803. We had seven boys and two
girls, by name, Sophia, Joseph, Michael, Levi, Matthias, George Wesley, Catharine, William and Alexander. I used to work in the fields, and fainted in the field
once while husking corn. Folks had to work then indeed, and I used to help haul
logs, and such things, and now would like to live again in the woods instead of in
town, for then I could hear the wild birds sing as in the old days. John Rickel,
who, with Peter, laid out West Salem, was a brother of mine. He was a native of
old Lancaster, Pa., and came to Wayne county three years before we did, and some
of the town is built upon lands he settled on at that time. John was an Albright
preacher, and was married to Rebecca Swaysgood. He had nine children, and
died in February, i860.
Joseph Harbaugh put up the first house in West Salem after it was laid out,
building it on the spot where McVicker's tavern now stands. It was an old-fashioned frame, and he paid ten or fifteen dollars for the lot. Jacob Hyatt first rented
it, and died in it three months after he moved in. James Houston kept tavern in
the house afterwards, and his was the first tavern in Salem. John Reasor put up
the second house, building it where Zehner's store now is. Cass and Emerson were
among the first doctors. William Cass started the first store, without any counter
save a bench. He bought eggs, butter, etc. Rev. Beer was an early preacher.
Orrin G. Franks, the oldest son and child of Abraham Franks,
was born in Chippewa township, April 8, 1826, and worked on the
farm until sixteen, when he went into the dry goods store of A.
& A. Franks, in Doylestown, where he continued until the dissolution of the partnership in 1849, at which time he became a partner of his father, and continued as such until 186I.      He then removed to a farm.     In the spring of I868 he came to West Salem
and entered into the dry goods business, continuing there for two
years, after which he went into the stock trade, and then engaged
in the boot and shoe business for two years. He next purchased
a half interest in his present business-Bush &      Franks, wholesale
dealers in butter, eggs, dried fruit, etc., at the same time having an
interest in the flax mill. He was married May 31, 1855, to Anna
C. Musser, of Norton, Summit county, and has five sons and four
daughters.    Mr. Franks is a representative business man of the
county, always on the alert and full of go-ahead energy. He is a
prominent Democrat, and held several offices in his native township, where all the great Franks family rank high for capacity and
worth.
Mahlon Moyers is a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., where
he was born April I8, 1807.     He immigrated with his father, John
Moyers, to Wayne county in April, I819, settling in Plain township, south of Reedsburg, and lived with him until twenty-one,




826


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


when he branched out for himself, and purchased a farm about one
mile south-west of West Salem, Congress township, where he has
since continued to live.    He has been twice married, and is the
father of fourteen children, ten of whom are living. His father,
who died in 1847, introduced the nursery business, and was the
first person in Wayne county to grow grafted fruit, a business
Mahlon successfully followed until within the last four years.
The West Salem Press. —The first printing press introduced in West Salem was
by Dr. Justin Georget, in December, I866, who issued a monthly paper called the
West Salem Review, devoted to science, literature and local news. It was published
about a year, then changed to Medical Review, which was continued another year,
when, owing to his professional engagements, the Doctor suspended it. The next
paper was the West Salem Journal, in I868, a weekly, neutral in politics, and devoted to general news, edited by John Wicks, of Medina county, the publication of
which was continued two years. He was succeeded by J. P. Hutton and S. B.
McCain, who carried on the paper for two or three months, when the office was sold
to John A. Wolbach, who removed the material to Orrville.
In I869 F. G. McCauley commenced the publication of a weekly paper named
The True Citizen, which he suspended after three months. On January I, 1871,
Mr. McCauley re-appeared with another paper under the title of the Agricultural
Commonzealth.  This was conducted a year, when the name was changed to
Buckeye Farmer, an exclusively agricultural paper, which was afterwards changed to
the West Salem Monitor, devoted to general and local news, neutral in politics. In
June, 1875, Mr. McCauley sold the Monitor tot Messrs. Brenizer & Atkinson, who
ran it until June 25, 1877, at which date Mr. McCauley bought it back, and is now
publishing the paper with good success.
Mr. McCauley has made considerable reputation as a young man of ability.
He was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., January I8, 1846, and came to Ohio
with his father, David McCauley, in 1854. October 7, I868, he was married to
Miss Adeline Sherrod, of Congress township, and has three children.
Reminiscences by J. R. Henney.-Adam Henney was born in Center county,
Pa., in 1776, and immigrated to Ohio about I8Io, and was the third settler in the
"mile strip," in what was then known as Jackson township, located on the Muddy
Fork, about two miles north of Salem with his brother Peter, and on this place he
lived until his death, which occurred February 9, I862. In 1853 Peter went to
Henry county, Illinois, where he purchased land and settled his children. In the
winter of 1872 he came back on a visit to his daughter, Mrs. Christena Hines, where
he suddenly died, at the advanced age of seventy-six. Adam and Peter were both
members of the Evangelical Association from their boyhood-the former for ten or
fifteen years filling the position of circuit preacher.
The small creek that puts into Muddy Fork near where Myers' mill now stands,
was named after Captain Wolf, an Indian who frequently visited the house of Mr.
Henney. Near the creek on the north side of Wolf run, on the north line of Peter
Henney's farm, now known as Naftzger's, a child of Captain Wolf is buried.
J. R. Henney, son of Adam Henney, was born in Congress
township, Wayne county, Ohio, August 19, 1826, and remained
with his father until he was 21 years old. The first few years of




CONGRESS TO WNSHIIP.


827


his life after arriving at manhood were devoted to teaching school,
after which he went to the western part of the State and took a
position in the dry goods store of R. W. Shawhan, of Tiffin.
Here he remained two years, when, on the 27th of May, 1852, he
was married to Miss Lucy A. Clay, and in the spring of 1853,
with his wife, immigrated to Henry county, Illinois, where he remained about one year, when he returned to West Salem, and
where, after various experiences in mercantile pursuits, he was, on
the completion of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad, appointed ticket agent at that place, serving in this position about
five years. In I869 he was appointed postmaster, and has held the
position ever since. Has served several terms as Justice of the
Peace. Mr. Henney has in his possession two German Biblesone printed at Basel in the year 1736, formerly the property of
Abraham Bechtel. The other was published by Christopher Froshoer, in the city of Zurich, in 1556-321 years old.
Abraham Plank, of the great family of millers, was born in
Mifflin county, Pa., March 28, I807. His father, Jacob Plank,
came to Wayne county with his wife and eleven children in the
spring of 1821, settling in Wayne township at the mill property
built by Jacob Garver in I815, from whom, with the mill, which
was a small affair, only 30x40 feet, he purchased two hundred and
forty acres of land. Old Jacob and his wife died at his son-inlaw's, John Kurtz, two miles west of where he settled when he
first came into the county. The following are the names of their
children: John, Christian, Jacob, David, Jeptha, Abraham, Barbara, Mary, Fannie, Rebecca and Sarah, of whom only Christian,
John, Abraham, Mary and Fannie are living.
Abraham, the subject of this sketch, is a miller by trade, and
began milling at the time his father came to Wayne county, and
followed that pursuit with great success for forty-five years.  He
married Nancy King, of Half-Moon Valley, Pa., and had fourteen
children, ten of whom are living: Benjamin, Samuel, Hiram, David, Albert, Jemima, Melissa, Ellen, Abraham and Levi. The
sons are all millers except David, who is a blacksmith, in Bryan,
Ohio.
The Planks are a remarkable family, more identified with the
milling, interests and running more mills in Wayne county than
any other. Among the earliest in that pursuit, they have handed
it down from generation to generation, the business born and bred




828


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


in them, until "Plank's mills" are household words, and their
brand of flour always commands the highest figures in the
market.
Silver Lodge Knights of Honor, No. 123, was organized June I9, 1875, the following being the charter members: E. Fritzinger, John Zehner, C. C. Stouffer, M.
D., J. S. Cole, M. D., Uriah Clouse, Z. B. Allee, W. R. McClellan, R. L. Lashels,
L. H. Plank, George Musser, A. J. Gearhart, A. Plank, Jr., H. E. Lind, F. M.
Atterholt, Robert McKibbens, H. N. Neal, J. K. Saltsman, Ben Meyers, J. A. Case,
J. N. McHose-41 members. The following are its present officers: R. L. Lashels, Dictator; J. T. Hazzard, Vice Dictator; F. M. Atterholt, Past Dictator; A. P.
Neal, Assisstant Dictator; Allen Greeley, Treasurer; A. F. Dunlap, Financial Reporter; J. S. Cole, M. D., Reporter; D. Mitchell, Chaplain; Uriah Clouse, Guide;
O. Chacey, Guardian; Robert McKibbens, Sentinel.
West Salem iAlasonic Lodge, No. 398.-This Lodge was organized under a dispensation granted petitioners, November 21, I866. Its charter members were, H.
P. Sage, Edwin Fritzinger, C. C. Clay, M. H. Dodd, David Ambrose, J. B.
Houk, D. F. Young, Enoch Moore, S. W. Signs, Jacob McGlenen, Josiah Buffett,
J. H. Morrison, Isaac Harbaugh, Israel Moyer and James Lowe. Its first officers
were H. P. Sage, W. M.; J. H. Morrison, Treasurer; M. H. Dodd, Secretary; J.
Buffett, S. D.; S. Signs, J. D.; Jacob McGlenen, Tyler. Present membership, 73.
West Salem Lodge No. 442, I... F.-This Lodge was instituted June o0,
1870, with the following as charter members: John S. Addleman, M. H. Huffman,
W. H. Fishack, J. S. Carmack, W. C. Baker, John Keeler and Neal Patterson.
Its first officers were, J. S. Addleman, N. G.; M. H. Huffman, V. G.; W. C.
Baker, Sec., and W. H. Fishack, Treas. The present officers are: S. A. Aikens,
N. G.; J. R. Drushal, V. G.; Amos Best, Sec.; A. P. Meal, Treas., and T. A.
Linn, Chaplain.
Agricultural Society of West Salem.-This organization was effected in 1867,
when forms and by-laws for its government were adopted and first officers elected,
as follows: William Buchanan, President; John Wicks, Secretary; D. Eshleman,
Treasurer, and John Zehner, Peter Stair, and Captain Mitchell, Directors. Its
present officers are H. M. Huffman, President; B. Yoxheimer, Vice-President; J.
R. Henney, Secretary; John Zehner, Treasurer; John Berry, Marshal; D. Jacobs,
Chief Police.
Rev. John Hazzard.-This pioneer Methodist divine was born
in Connecticut, June 29, 1778. When fourteen years of age his
parents removed to near Albany, New York, where he acquired a
good common school education, and in early manhood was converted and began to preach. He came to Wayne county in 1818,
and first lived in Plain township, in a little log school-house near
the residence of the late Daniel Silvers, four miles west of Wooster.
In March following he removed to his own cabin in Congress
township, and soon became known throughout the county as
preacher, school teacher, farmer and best of men. As a Christian
he was distinguished for his faith, and his transparent character




CONGRESS TO WNSHIP.


829


and guileless life made him a model. As a preacher he was both
scriptural and logical.   He traveled far and near, and was ever a
welcome visitor and friend. He died near West Salem January 7,
I869, aged ninety years. Death to him was without dread, and
among his last exhortations in West Salem he used the words:
"I am soon to leave earth, and am glad of it; all of my early associates have passed on before, but, thank God, I am hard after
them!"      His wife was an amiable woman, possessed of rare intelligence, teaching school in the early days, and there are yet living
in Wayne and Ashland counties old men and women who received
their education from her. Her piety was of the quality of her
husband's, and her life a genuine Christian's life. They reared an
interesting family, who have proved useful members of society.
West Salem School Building.-This was completed in i877, at a cost of $35,000,
and is decidedly the finest school building in Wayne county, outside of Wooster.
The structure is brick and stone, 102 feet long, by 75 wide, and 40 feet high, with
additional steep roof and tower. It contains eleven rooms, which for convenience
and beauty of arrangement can not be excelled, all filled with modern school-furniture and desk-seats for 350 pupils; also a large hall having capacity for 700 persons;
a library, founded in 1874, containing four hundred choice volumes. The building
is situated on an eminence in the eastern part of town, in a lot containing four
acres, which is tastefully adorned with many varieties of evergreen and forest
trees.
Prof. F. W. Atterholt, who for the last four years has had charge of the above
schools, is a native of Columbiana county, where he was born December I9, 1848.
He graduated at Mt. Union College, in the summer of 1870, and that fall was made
Superintendent of the Columbiana schools, where he served for three years. In
the autumn of 1871 he was one of the proprietors and the editor of the Independent
Register, of Columbiana, Ohio.
He was married December 31, 1872, to Miss Mary E. Beard, of Columbiana, a
lady of culture, refinement and education, and at that time a teacher in the public
schools of that place. He taught one year in the Medina Normal school, when he
was chosen Superintendent of the West Salem public schools, which, under his
management, have made marked progress, and now rank with the best in the
county. Mr. Atterholt is a ripe scholar, a man of fine personal appearance, and a
polished gentleman.
Justin Georget, M. D., was born in Mountusaine, in the north of
France, June 23, 1830, and with his father, in 1840, immigrated to
America, and then removed to Canton, Ohio, where he died.
After various peregrinations he entered the United States army,
remaining one year at Governor's Island, when he was transferred
to West Point Military Academy, where he continued four years.
He read medicine with J. P. Bairick, of Massillon, graduated,
and, after a series of removals, came to Congress village, and




830


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OIOG.


thence to West Salem, in the winter of I866, where he is now engaged in practice. Dr. Georget is a man of thorough education,
both in and out of his profession, a man of intellect, and emphatically a man of ability, force and originality.
J. S. Cole, M. D., is a native of Allegheny City, Pa., born
February 19, 1836, and attended Vermillion Institute, at Haysville,
Ashland county, Ohio; afterward read medicine with Dr. Glass,
and graduated from Cleveland Medical College. He began practice in Reedsburg, Ashland county, and moved to West Salem in
I873. He is married to Ruth A. Smith, daughter of James B.
Smith, of Ashland. Dr. Cole is an efficient man in his profession,
and is a skillful and successful practitioner.
ADAM POE, THE INDIAN FIGHTER.
"The dusk and swarthy foeman felt the terror of his might."
" The forest aisles are full of story."
Adam Poe, whose name is familiar the world over with every reader of American border warfare, was born in Washington county, Pa., in the year 1745, and died
September 23, I838, in Stark county, four miles west of Massillon, at the residence
of his son, Andrew Poe. He was twice married, and by the first union had but
one child, a daughter, named Barbara, who married a Mr. Cochrane, of Pennsylvania. His second marriage was to Betsey Matthews, a widow lady, and a native
of Ireland, who came to America when but twelve years of age. She had a brother
named William Matthews who was a Presbyterian preacher. They were married
in a fort in Western Pennsylvania. His second wife died December 27, 1844. By
this second marriage Adam and Betsey Poe had ten children, to wit: George, Andrew, Thomas, Isaac, John, Barney, Adam, David, Catharine and Sarah.
George Poe, eldest son of Adam Poe, came to Wayne county in 1812, bringing
with him his wife and children. He lived in Wooster three years and removed to
Congress township in I815, locating one-half mile south of the present village of
Congress. Prior to his removal there he had entered a half section of land, which
he improved and cultivated several years, but sold it to John Yocum, father of Rev.
Elmer Yocum. He was the first Justice of the Peace in Congress township. He then
went to Crawford county, Ohio, near Bucyrus, where his wife died, her maiden
name being Betsey Roberts. There he was married a second time to Letta Campbell,
a former acquaintance in Columbiana county, Ohio, after which he removed to
Michigan and died.
Isaac Poe came to Wayne county in the spring of 1812, with his brother
George, stopping in Wooster for a few years, and removing to Congress township
April I, 1815. He had previously entered a quarter section of land, upon which a
portion of the village of Congress now stands, where he lived three years, and then
sold his farm to David Garver and Lawrence Rix. He then bought the John Lawrence farm, in Plain township, from Hon. Benjamin Jones, lived there a year, and
sold it back to Mr. Jones, who sold it to Christian, father of John Lawrence, Esq.,
of Wooster township. From the Lawrence place he emigrated to Kentucky, thence




ADAM POE, THE INDIAN FIGHTER.


83I


to near St. Louis, on the American Bottom, in Illinois, where he died. He was
married in I804, to Jane Totten, sister of Hon. Michael Totten, of Wooster, at
Adam Poe's house, on the west fork of the Beaver, in Columbiana county, Ohio.
They had five children.
David Williamson Poe came to Wayne county with his father, Adam Poe, when
a boy, and with him removed to Congress township. He started the first tannery
ever established in Congress, which occupation he followed for several years, when
he purchased a small farm not far from Cleveland. He afterwards, in company
with one of his sons, went to Kansas to look at land, and by means of exposure, or
accident, both were frozen to death. Hon. Joseph Poe, member of the Ohio Legislature, from Cleveland, is his son. Thomas Poe resided for a time four miles north
of Congress Village, in Wayne county, but returned to Pennsylvania. His sons
live in Georgetown, Beaver county, Pa., and are said to be owners of vessels plying
the Ohio river, and very wealthy. Catharine Poe was married to Jacob Matthews, of
Wooster, a partner of Robert McClarran, oneof the first carpenters, and the first
Justice of the Peace of the county. She died in Congress, and is buried in the
graveyard there.
Sarah Poe, wife of Adam Kuffel, the youngest of the ten children of Adam Poe,
is the only survivor of the family, and lives in Congress village, Congress township,
Wayne county. She was born July 15, 179I, in Washington county, Pa., and was
married in Columbiana county, Ohio, at her father's house, to Adam Kuffel, a native of Washington county, Pa., in i809. He was born April 15, 1788, and died
March 14, I868. They removed to Congress township in 1825, and settled on the
farm now owned by John Howey. The following are the names of their children:
Elizabeth, Catharine, Sarah, Diantha, David, Nancy, Adam, Mary Ann, Isaac,
Matilda, Samantha and Wesley. Taber Summerton, of Congress township, is married to the eldest daughter.
After leaving Pennsylvania 'Adam Poe removed to the west fork of Little Beaver, in Wayne township, Columbiana county, where he entered several quarters of
land. From Columbiana he removed to Wayne county in I8I3, bringing with him
his wife and youngest son, David, and his daughter Catharine. He first settled in
Wooster, his family living on North Market street, and he following the business
of shoemaking for three years, on the corner where Dr. Robison has his office,
being then nearly seventy years old. He was a tanner by trade, and an excellent
shoemaker. He then removed to Congress township, and purchased sixty acres of
land from his son, George Poe, and there he lived for nearly twelve years, when,
growing old and infirm, he removed to Stark county, where, with his son Andrew,
he died, as above stated. He was a member of the old Lutheran church.
Mrs. Kuffel relates the following as the circumstances of his death: A great
and enthusiastic political meeting was being held in Massillon. The crowd hearing
that Adam Poe, who had killed the celebrated Indian, Bigfoot, lived but a few
miles distant, dispatched a delegation after him. When he appeared upon the
ground he was wonderfully lionized and made the hero of the day. He was caught
and carried through the crowd on the shoulders of the excited multitude. "It
was a big day," says his daughter, and old as he was, being past ninety, "he
had as much pluck as any of the boys."
That day of excitement, however, sounded the death-knell of the mighty borderer, the iron-nerved heroic Adam Poe. He returned from the political meeting
prostrated, enfeebled and sick, and soon thereafter died. A son of Andrew Poe, at
whose house Adam died, hurried to the residence of Mrs. Kuffel, at Congress, to
inform her of the dangerous illness of her father. She received the news about




832


HISTORY OF VWAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


nine o'clock, and being then forty-seven years of age, mounted a horse and rode
through the darkness and over uncertain roads, reaching her father's in time only
to see him, to whom this world had no terrors, succumb to the King of Terrors
and the Terror of Kings.
The terrible encounter of the Poe brothers —Andrew and Adam-with the
stalwart chief Bigfoot, occupies a conspicuous page in the annals of our border
strifes. It should contribute a most interesting feature to the history of Wayne
county, that we are able to furnish with extraordinary accuracy the brief sketch of
the brother, Adam, who for over twelve years was a citizen of our county. His
sons were among the earliest of the pioneers in Congress township, and made the
first improvements in that section, and he was a pioneer of 1813 in the town of
Wooster.
The critical reader of our State and border history will perceive in the exploits
of the brothers Poe with Bigfoot, the most palpable contradictions, incongruities
and transpositions. Even as good an authority as McClung, in his " Western Adventures," published in 1837, substitutes the name of Adam for Andrew, and that
prince of brilliant historical muddlers, John S. C. Abbott, in his recent History of
Ohio, contradicts himself in the most inexcusable manner on the pages where he
seeks to describe the contest.
Royce Summerton and Michael Totten, whose sister was married to Isaac, son
of Adam Poe, confirm the statements of Mrs. Kuffel. These gentlemen deride and
flout the idea of this use of Adam for Andrew. Adam Poe himself wondered
that narrators of the occurrence could be led into such mistakes, and he was often
heard to say, " Why, Andrew was wounded in the hand, struck with the little Indian's hatchet, but you see no wound or scar on mine."
The statement, as furnished by Mrs. Kuffel,* and the corresponding testimony
of his neighbors, who intimately knew him, and held daily and weekly intercourse
and conversation with him, is sufficient, in our judgment, to settle for all time the
question upon which historians have been divided.
-Mrs. KuffePs Statemnent of Adam and Andrew Poe's Celebrated Fight with Bigfoot.
-A body of seven Wyandots made a raid upon a white settlement on the Ohio river
near Fort Pitt, and finding an old man in a cabin, killed him, stole all they could
and withdrew. The news of the murder spread rapidly, and my father, Adam Poe,
and my uncle, Andrew, together with half a dozen neighbors, began pursuit of them,
determined to visit sudden death upon them. They followed the Indians all night,
but not until morning did they get closely upon them, when they discovered a path,
or trail, leading to the river.
My uncle Andrew, who, like father, was a strong man and always on the
lookout, did not directly advance to the river, but left his comrades and stealthily
crept through the thicket to avoid any ruse of the Indians, and, if possible, surprise
them. He at once detected evidences of their presence at the river, but not seeing
them, he quietly crept down to its bank with his gun fixed to fire. He had not far
descended when he spied Bigfoot and a little Indian with him, both of whom had
guns, and stood watching along the river in the direction whence the remainder of
the party were. He (Andrew) now concluded to shoot Bigfoot, and fired at
him, but his gun did not discharge its contents. The situation instantly became
terrific.
*Mrs. Kuffel is in full possession of her faculties, lives by herself, does her own
work, and delights to dwell upon the exploits of her father and uncle. She wonders how the names have got mixed, for, says she, " It was Andrew that wrestled.
with Bigfoot, and went into the water, but it was father (Adam) who shot him."




ADAM POE, THE INDIAN FIGHTER.


833


The snapping of the gun alarmed the Indians, who, looking around, discovered Andrew. It was too late for him to run, and I doubt if he would have retreated if he could, for he was a great wrestler, and coveted conflict with the Indians. So he dropped his gun, and bounding from where he stood, caught both
the Indians and thrust them upon the ground. Though he fell uppermost in the
struggle he found the grip of Bigfoot to be of iron, and, as a consequence, the
little Indian soon extricated himself, and instantly seized his tomahawk and advanced with fatal purpose toward Andrew. To better assist and aid the little Indian, who had the tomahawk aimed at the head of Andrew, Bigfoot hugged and held
him with a giant's grasp, but Andrew, when he struck at him, threw up his foot
and kicked the tomahawk out of the little Indian's hand. This made Bigfoot indignant at the little savage, who soon repeated his experiment with the tomahawk,
indulging in numerous feints before he delivered the main blow, which Andrew
parried from his head and received upon his wrist.
Andrew now, by a desperate endeavor, wrenched himself from the clutches of
Bigfoot, and seizing the gun of one of the savages shot the little Indian. Bigfoot,
regaining his perpendicularity, got Andrew in his grasp and hurled him down upon
the bank, but he instantly arose, when a second collision occurred, the issue of
which threw them both into the water, and the struggle now was for the one to
drown the other. Andrew finally caught Bigfoot by the hair, and plunged him in
the water, holding him there until he imagined he was drowned, a conclusion in
which he was sadly mistaken. Bigfoot was only playing off and soon recovered his
position and was prepared for a second encounter. The current of the river had by
this time borne them into deep water, when it became necessary to disengage
themselves and seek to escape immediate destruction.
A mutual effort was at once made to reach the shore and get possession of a
gun and close the struggle with powder and lead. Bigfoot was a glib swimmer,
and was the first to reach the bank. In this contingency Andrew wheeled about
and swam further out into the river to avoid, if possible, being shot, by diving
strategies. The big chief, lucklessly to him, seized the unloaded gun with which
Andrew had shot the little Indian. Meantime, Adam Poe, having missed his
brother and hearing a gun-shot, inferred he was either killed or in a fight with the
Indians, and hastened toward him. Adam now being discovered by Andrew, the
latter called to the former to shoot Bigfoot. Unfortunately Adam's gun was empty
as was the big Indian's. The strife now was between the two as to which could
load quickest, but Bigfoot in his haste drew his ramrod too violently from the gun.
thimbles, when it escaped from his hand and was thrown some distance, but which
he rapidly recovered, which accident gave Adam the advantage, when he shot
Bigfoot as he was in the act of drawing his gun upon him.
Having disposed of Bigfoot, and seeing his brother, who was wounded, floating in the river, he instantly sprang into the water to assist him, but Andrew,
desiring the scalp of the great chief, called to Adam to scalp him, that he could
save himself and reach the shore. Adam's anxiety for the safety of his brother
was too intense to obey the mandate, and Bigfoot, determined to not let his scalp be
counted amongst the trophies of his antagonist, in the horrid pangs of death,
rolled into the river, and his carcass was swept from the eye of man forever. Andrew, however, when in the stream, made another narrow escape from death, as
just as Adam arrived at the bank for his protection, one of the number who came
after him mistook Andrew in the water for an Indian, and shot at him, the bullet
striking him in the shoulder, causing a severe wound, from which he, in course
of time, recovered.
53




834


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


So that it was my uncle Andrew that had the wrestle on the bank with Bigfoot,
and the struggle with him in the river, and it was my father, Adam Poe, who shot
Bigfoot when he came to shore. The wound that my father received, he got in the
fight with the body of six Indians who were overtaken, five of whom were killed,
with a loss of three of their pursuers and the hurt done to my father.
The locality on the Ohio river where the struggle occurred is in Virginia, almost
opposite to the mouth of Little Yellow creek.
He has a Terrible Fight with Five Indians and Whips them*.-While living on this
side of the Ohio two Indians crossed the river, both of whom were intoxicated, and
came to Adam Poe's house. After various noisy and menacing demonstrations, but
without doing any one harm, they retired a short distance, and under the shade of
a tree sat down and finally went to sleep. In the course of two hours, and after
they awoke from their drunken slumber, they discovered that their rifles were missing, when they immediately returned to Poe's house, and after inquiring for their
guns and being told they knew nothing about them, they boldly accused him of
stealing them and insolently demanded them. Poe was apprehensive of trouble,
and turning his eyes in the direction whence they came, discovered three more
Indians approaching.
Without manifesting any symptoms of surprise or alarm, he coolly withdrew to
the house, and saying to his wife, "There is a fight and more fun ahead," told her
to hasten slyly to the cornfield near by with the children, and there hide. This being accomplished he seized his gun and confronted the five Indians, who were then
in the yard surrounding the house, and trying to force open the door. He at once
discovered that the two Indians who came first had not yet found their guns and
that the other three were unarmed. So he dropped his gun, as he did not want to
kill any of them unless the exigency required it, and attacked them with his fist,
and after a terrific hand to hand encounter of ten minutes, crushed them to the
earth in one promiscuous heap, and having thus vanquished and subdued them,
seized them one at a time and threw them over the fence and out of the yard.


*This adventure has never been given to the public before, and comes from his
daughter.




CHESTER TO WNSHIP.


835


CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHESTER         TOWNSHIP
WAS organized March 5, I816. It is claimed before it was organized that it was
known as Chestnut township, or the chestnut region, on account of its great growth
of that kind of trees. Its population in 1870 was 1,921. The following is the list
of officers of the township, as appears upon the official records:
Justices of the Peace.-John Wilson, August II, I831; James Stanley, May 8,
1833; J. M. Hamilton, September II, 1834; John Wilson, September ii, 1834;
William Walker, August 19, I837; John Craig, August I9, 1837; William Walker,
July 6, 1840; John Craig, July 6, 1840; George Emery, June 13, 1843; John
Craig, June 13, 1843; George Emery, June 4, I846; Neal McCoy, June 4, 1846;
William Anderson, April Io, 1847; George Emery, June 2, 1849; John Craig, May
4, I850; John Beal, April 21, 1852; J. H. Coder, April I9, 1853; John Beal,
April 17, 1855; J. H. Coder, April 28, I856; John Beal, April 14, I858; J. H.
Coder, April I9, 1859; Simon Smith, April I3, I861; William Piper, April 21,
1862; Samuel Myers, October 25, 1862; John McKee, April 15, I864; Ingham
Wiley, April I2, 1865; William Piper, April 13, I866; J. A. Raudebaugh, April
8, I867; William Piper, April I3, 1869; W. Spangler, April 12, I870; Simon W.
Ebert, April 9, I872; Wesley Spangler, April 14, 1873; Solomon Firestone, April
12, 1875; Wesley Spangler, April 13, 1876.
1858. Trustees-Isaac Wile, Ross McClarran, George McVicker; Clerk-Dan
McFadden; Treasurer-Samuel Bridenstien; Assessor-William Mowry.
1859. Trustees-Isaac Wile, Ross McClarran, George McVicker; Clerk-Dan
McFadden; Treasurer-Joseph A. Funk; Assessor-William Mowry.
1860. Trustees-John Garver, John Myers, John Gill; Clerk-Dan McFadden; Treasurer-Joseph A. Funk; Assessor-Emanuel Smyser.
1861. Trustees-John Garver, John Myers, John Gill; Clerk-D. J. Miller.
Treasurer-Joseph A. Funk; Assessor-Emanuel Smyser.
1862. Trustees-Levi Stair, Ross McClarran, J. A. Ogden; Clerk-Dan McFadden: Treasurer-J. A. Funk; Assessor-Isaac Wile.
1863. Trustees-John Hine, Robert Ewing, W. G. McEwen; Clerk-Dan.
McFadden; Treasurer-S. K. Beale; Assessor-John H. Shamp.
1864. Trustees-Robert Ewing, W. G. McEwen, William Rumbaugh; ClerkDan McFadden; Treasurer-S. H. Beale; Assessor-J. H. Shamp.
I865. Trustees-W. H. Rumbaugh, Ross McClarran, Peter Stair; Clerk-Dan
McFadden; Treasurer-Samuel K. Beale; Assessor-John Myers.
1866. Trustees-W. H. Rumbaugh, Peter Stair, Isaac Miller; Clerk-Dan.
McFadden; Treasurer-S. K. Beale; Assessor-John Myers.
I867. Trustees-Peter Stair, Isaac Miller, William  Fahr; Clerk-Dan. McFadden; Treasurer-Amos L. Garver; Assessor-Benjamin Norton.




836


HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.


i868. Trustees-William Fahr, Isaac Miller, Philip Pfeiffer; Clerk-Dan McFadden; Treasurer-A. L. Garver; Assessor-Peter Stair.
1869. Trustees-I. Miller, William Fahr, Philip Pfeiffer; Clerk-D. McFadden; Treasurer-A. L. Garver; Assessor-A. Smyser.
1870. Trustees-William Fahr, Samuel Fetters, J. A. Ogden; Clerk-H. W.
Peters; Treasurer-S. K. Beale; Assessor-Albert Smyser.
187I. Trustees —Samuel Fetters, Henry G. Rutt, Amos McConnell; ClerkDan McFadden; Treasurer-S. K. Beale; Assessor-James Hill.
I872. Trustees-H. G. Rutt, Samuel Fetters, E. Cunningham; Clerk-W. C.
Baker; Treasurer-J. A. Funk; Assessor-Frank Snyder.
I873. Trustees-H. G. Rutt, J. C. Zimmerman, E. H. Cunningham; ClerkW. C. Baker; Treasurer-J. A. Funk; Assessor-Frank Snyder.
I874. Trustees-IH. G. Rutt, E. H. Cunningham, Henry Haas; Clerk-W.
C. Baker; Treasurer-Samuel Reichard; Assessor-Isaac Miller.
I875. Trustees-E. H. Cunningham, H. F. Zimmerman, Ad. Houser; Clerk
-William C. Baker; Treasurer-Jonas Berkey; Assessor-      -
1876. Trustees-E. H. Cunningham, Samuel Reichard, Ad. Houser; ClerkWilliam C. Baker; Treasurer-Jonas Berkey; Assessor-Frank Snyder.
I877. Trustees-Samuel Reichard, George H. Wagner, W. W. Garver; Clerk
-S. S. Firestone; Treasurer-Amos McConnell; Assessor-Frank Snyder.
The earliest settlers in this township were Judge James Robison, Samuel Funk,
Phineas Summerton, John Moyers, the Hillis boys and their mother, John Emery,
John Lowry, the Cunninghams, Joseph Aikens, James Fulton, Jacob Worst, Adam
Rumbaugh, John, Abram and Isaac Myers, Samuel Vanosdall, Phineas Davis,
William Stanley, James and Benjamin Wintermarx, Christian Rice, John Piper,
Anthony Camp, Michael Mowrey, Phillip Hefflefinger, Daniel and John Pittinger,
Nathaniel Paxton, William and Hugh Adams, Benjamin Emmons, Cornelius and
Garret Dorland, Abraham Ecker, Thomas Osborne, John Campbell, Thomas Johnston, John A. Kelley, John and David Smith, Jacob Miller, Isaac White, Henry
Sapp, John Hern, John Helman, etc.*
Chester township has within its limits two villages and a post-office station at
Cedar Valley. New Pittsburg was laid out by George H. Howey, March 6, 1829,
and surveyed by George Emery, the plat of which is found on page 197 of book G,
at the County Recorder's office, and was recorded May 8 of that year. Jacob Piper
assures us that when his father settled in the township there was but one man, a
Mr. Loper, living where this village now stands, his cabin being near the creek on
the west side. John Hall built the first house and kept the first hotel north of Joseph Findley's. West Union or Lattasburg was surveyed by J. W. Hoegner for Jacob
Grose, February 27, i85I, the plat recorded January 26, 1854, and found on page
33 of record of town plats. In 1855 the name was changed from West Union to
Lattasburg, named after Ephraim Latta. John Fasig built the first house, a log
structure on the north-east corner of the Public Square, for a residence and shop.
Latta bought out Fasig and began the manufacture of hand sickles. The post-office
was established here May I4, I867, when W. C. Baker received his first appointment, and has since continued. Samuel Bridenstein started the first dry-goods
store, and the first settled doctor was Henry Allspaugh. The first person who died
in this township is claimed to have been a woman, who is buried in the middle of
the road between Lattasburg and the German Baptist Church.
Thomas Pzttinger was born in Brooks county, Virginia, July II, 1791, and removed with his father, Henry, to Ohio in I814, settling east of Rowsburg. In
*A number of these would be in Ashland county now.




CHESTER TO WNSHIP.                          837
I8I6 he was married to Kate Smith, who died September I,, 1858. He had by this
marriage eleven children, five of whom are living, viz: Alexander, John S., Daniel, William D. and Eliza Jane.
Mr. Pittinger is one of the survivors of the war of 1812, and the only volunteer soldier of that war who carried a musket through Wayne county. He has
distinct and vivid recollections of the campaign, and his reminiscences are inserted
in another chapter of this book. Times were rough and hard, he says, when they
came to the county. Fighting, drinking and quarreling were every-day affairs. A
good knock-down adjusted difficulties, and the whole was sealed with a dram.
John Smith and Lydia Pittinger were the first couple married in his neighborhood.
A child of old Mr. Chasey was the first buried in the Lucas graveyard. His
brother Daniel on one occasion whipped John Meeks.
Mr. Pittinger knew the Driskels, old Johnnycake, Baptiste Jerome and Isaac
Pew, who bit off Driskel's nose. He drilled in the militia in the olden days at
Blacleyville, Reedsburg, etc. Though bordering on to ninety years, he is erect
as a column, and when he discusses the scenes and events of I812 his bright eyes
flash, his step quickens, and the old man is a boy again. He joined the Presby.
terian church under the ministry of Rev. Beer, at Mt. Hope, in I834. His son
Daniel, with whom he lives, was born November 3, 1825, and was married September 6, 1848, to Lydia Shutt. He is a farmer, an honorable man, and a member of
the Methodist church at Lafayette, Ashland county, Ohio.
Matthias Camp was born in Westmoreland county, March I8, 1794.   He
removed to Wayne county in the spring of I8I5, first stopping with his brother,
Anthony Camp, in Baughman township, where he took jobs of clearing, and did
rough carpenter work. He thus continued until the fall of 1821, when, November I,
I82I, he was married to Sarah Evans, sister of James Evans, of Orrville, she dying
October 24, I868. In 1823 he settled in Chester, then Perry township, on section
I, north-west quarter, and now owned by his son John. Mr. Camp has had the
following children: Silas, James, John, Anthony, Mary, Evans, Wesley, Margaret, Sarah, Agnes and Matthias. Anthony and Matthias were both soldiers in the
4Ist Ohio, and both dead; the former shot at Lookout Mountain, November 25,
1863, the latter dying of disease at Louisville, Ky., February I6, 1862. Silas was
in the same regiment, and received a woand in the same charge. F. W. Eckerman,
a son-in-law of Mr. Camp, was in the" same charge, but escaped, though subsequently wounded at Dallas, Georgia, and dying July 4, 1864. Mr. Camp is six feet
high, weighs one hundred and eighty pounds, and is in his eighty-fifth year, and is
the noblest specimen of pioneer physical manhood in the county. In his younger
years he must have had a Titan's strength. He has been a farmer all his life, and
his labors have been well rewarded. He is a sincere, honest, generous hearted man,
and for fifty years has been a member of the Methodist church at Pleasant Grove.
John Camp, son of Matthias, was born June I2, 1826, on the old homestead
farm, where, with his father, he remained until he was twenty one years of age.
He then followed carpentering for twenty-three years, building bridges, barns,
houses, school-houses and churches, having erected forty-six barns, six churches,
ten school-houses, and thirty-five private dwellings. He is now devoting his attention and time to agriculture, owning a large amount of real estate. He is a most
industrious and resolute man, of fine muscular development, like his father, and of
remarkable intelligence and memory. He has recently crossed the line into Ashland county, and with him his father lives. He was married to Miss Ellen, daughter of Arthur Campbell, of Ashland county, and has had eleven children, three of
whom are dead. He is a member of the Methodist church at Lafayette.




838


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Adam Rumbaugh was born April 22, 1793, in Northampton county, Pa., and
was married March i6, 1815, to Elizabeth Lauffer, of that county. He died August 7, I870. His grandfather served in the Revolutionary war. In March, 1819,
he removed to Chester township, settling on the farm now owned by his son Jacob,
where he died. He immigrated to the county in a three-horse wagon, bringing his
wife and two children, Isaac and John, also harrow-teeth, plows, bedding, etc.
The only house between him and Wooster stood on Albert Smyser's place, owned
by John Emery, which a man named John Lowry once owned and sold to Michael
Mowry for I,Ioo gallons of whisky. The following are the members of his family:
Isaac, John, Maria, Henry, David, Solomon, William, Sarah, Hannah, Jacob and
Elizabeth. Jacob, his youngest son, was born October 22, 1835, in Chester township, and owns a splendid farm. He was married June 9, 1859, to Mary A.,
daughter of Michael Mowry, and has three children, and is a member of the German Reformed church. Solomon Rumbaugh was born December I7, I826, on the
old place, where he worked until he was 29 years of age, and was married August
21, 1855, to Mary, daughter of Abraham Miller, and has six children. Isaac Rumbaugh was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Ohio with his father when three
years of age. He has twice married-first, in 1838, to Mary Rumbaugh, of Greene
township; second, in I854, to Catharine Pfaeifer. He is a farmer, and member of
the Lutheran church. Adam Rumbaugh deeded the grounds for what is known as
the "Rumbaugh Graveyard," and John Rumbaugh was the first child buried
there, having been drowned in a spring, and being but eighteen months old.
Henry Rumbaugh was born February 24, I822, in Chester township, and was married to Mary, daughter of Christian Rice, May 7, 1844, subsequently removing to
Crawford county. In the spring of I865 he enlisted in the 197th Ohio Regiment,
and April 13 of that year he died of erysipelas, at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio.
Mr. Rumbaugh was an esteemed and worthy man, and left behind him a moral,
virtuous and influential family, noted for their industry.
Phillip Hefflenger was born in Cumberland county, Pa., September 28, 1787.
He wast first married to Isabella McCormick of the same county, who lived less
than a year, having one child that died in 187I. He was remarried January I2,
i818, to Elizabeth Mowrey, and by this union had eight children. In the spring of
18i8 he came West, arriving in Wayne county June 5, and for a while lived in a
school house near the residence of the late Daniel Silvers. Two years prior to this
he had been out and bought the farm for $700, on which he lived and died. His
second wife died March 7, I871, aged 70 years. She was a member of the Presbyterian church, he having, for 25 years before his death, in I877, been united with
the Methodists. He was an honest, pure-minded, sincerely pious man, living to a
ripe old age. In his later years he was under the kind care of his daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Captain Reed.
Robert Rathbun, one of the earliest pioneers, was born in Rhode Island, Sep.
tember 17, 177I, and removed to Wayne county in November, 1814, settling on the
farm on which his son Samuel now resides, which land he entered. He was married to Anna Allen, and had the following children: Mary, married to Nathan
Warner; Robert, married to Hannah Warner; Samuel, married to Elizabeth Edmonds; Caleb A., married to Mary Edmonds, and Anna, married to Thomas McCully. He died April 2, 1822, his wife following him to the grave April I8, I834.
Samuel Rathbun, son of Robert, was born in Cayuga county, New York, March
i5, I800, and came to Wayne county with his father, and by marriage with Elizabeth Edmonds had the following children: Rosannah, married to Andrew Byers,




CHESTER TO WNSHIP.


839


now residing in Indiana; Manilla, married to Allen Bodine; Robert, Anna, George,
Mary; Samuel, who became a soldier in the I6th Regiment and died in the fall of
1863; Peter; and William A., who still lives with his father. Mrs. Rathbun died
May 29, 1873.
Peter Stair was born in Cumberland county, Pa., November 28, I819, and came
with his father, Jacob Stair, to Wayne county in 1828, and has lived in Chester
township twenty-five years. September I, I842, he was married to Sarah Houser.
In 1875 he was elected County Commissioner, and re-elected to the same office in
I877. He is a solid, popular, active and substantial citizen, devoted to the interests of his county.
John Piper was born in Chester county, Pa., November 6, 1786, and was married to Mary Wisehaupt March I, I8Io, her death occurring October 2, 1869, at the
residence of her son William. His father was a farmer, with whom John remained
until he was twenty years of age. Prior to his marriage he learned weaving, purchasing a loom when he was twenty-four years old, which he followed for eleven
years, when he concluded to go West, emigrating to Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1821,
and bringing with him his wife and five children. At the end of eight years employed in farming, and weaving in the winter, he removed to Chester township,
settling on the farm which his son William owns, and with whom he lives. This
farm (leased land) he purchased at Mansfield at a "Congress sale" of lands, there
being but a few acres cleared, and upon it no improvements except a small cabin.
He has had eleven children, viz: Mary, Elizabeth, Catharine, Jacob, John, Valentine, Nancy, David, William, Henry and George. The subject of this notice was
a soldier in the war of I812.
Jacob Piper was married November 15, 1838, to Catharine Thomas, and has
had eight children, five of whom are dead. He owns several splendid farms and
has recently erected one of the best houses in the township.
William Pzier, son of John, was born October 22, 1827, and was married to
Elizabeth Thomas, April 21, 1853, and has had five children, two of whom are
dead; the names of those living being Mary T., Harvey L. and Ida F. Piper. He
is a farmer, devoting himself exclusively to its pursuits, though for four years he
was engaged in the dry goods and produce business in Reedsburg with David
Thomas. He has held various offices of public trust in his township, and his popularity was tested a few years ago, in a county canvass, when his ticket (Republican)
was in a hopeless minority, by his running nearly one hundred ahead of it in his
own township. He is a man of marked character, of enlightened and advanced
opinions, a member of the Methodist church, and a modest and courteous gentleman.
John Moyers, a native of Westmoreland county, Pa., immigrated to Wayne
county about 1825, soon thereafter purchasing the Chasey farm, near Lattasburg,
and which he sold to Christian Berkey, now owned by his son, Jonas Berkey.
Here he engaged in farming and the nursery business, all the surrounding orchards for miles having been supplied by him.    He went into the silk-worm
business as early as 1835, and raised the material to feed them.  He first
planted the white mulberry, but its leaves were too small to feed them. He
then planted the Moses Multicollis, a tree which bears no fruit but has a larger
leaf. He built a silk-house to feed the worms, but the enterprise proved financially disastrous to him, and he abandoned it.  He spun some thread and had
some silk handkerchiefs made, that were of the finest character. He was a mem



840


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


ber of the German Baptist church, and was an enterprising, good and useful man.
His wife was known throughout the neighborhood as a pious and noble woman,
everybody's friend, and charitable to the poor. Mr. Moyers is said to have first
introduced the Mediterranean wheat into Wayne county.
Benjamin Norton was born in Franklin county, Pa., March 5, I813, and removed to Wayne county, Ohio, on his arrival at the age of manhood. In 1850
he removed to Chester township, and purchased what was known as the Adam
Shinneman farm, on which he lived until his death, September 8, 1867. He was
married to Catharine Emrich, September 6, 1836, and had ten children. His sonMartin H., enlisted as a private in Captain Botsford's company soon after the breaking out of the war, but was soon appointed Sergeant, then Wagon-master, then
Second Lieutenant, and then Quartermaster of the Regiment. He died at Vicksburg, August 13, 1863.
Benjamin Norton was a noble-hearted, generous and chivalric man, public spirited, and identified with the material interests of the county. He served through
the different grades of township offices, and was elected County Commissioner, acting from 1856 to I859, his period of service characterizing an era in the management
and disposition of the finances of the county. He was an upright, liberal and honorable man, of decided principles and consistent life.
David Thomas was born in Perry township, Ashland county, November 27, 1827.
He has been a successful school teacher, speculator and merchant. He was married
June 30, I857, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Benjamin Norton, and has three
children. He now owns the Norton homestead of over 200 acres, and has so improved and beautified it as to make it one of the most attractive homes of the
county. He has served in various official capacities in his township, but has
steadily declined invitation to wider fields of politics. He is a member of the
Lutheran church, an honorable, influential man, and no township in the county can
boast a better citizen.
Jacob Garver was born near Hagerstown, Maryland, June I6, 800oo. His father
was a farmer, and removed from Maryland to Fayette county, Pa., in 1802, and
died there in 1829. Jacob followed farming, and married Mary Lucas, August 4,
I822. In I827 he immigrated to Wayne county, and settled on the place where he
now lives, in Chester township. An earnest Christian all his life, he became a
German Baptist (Dunkard) minister, beginning to preach when forty-four years of
age. He had the following children: Eliza, Anna, Samuel, Mary, David, George,
Margaret, Lydia, Sarah, Amos, Catharine, Jesse, Melvina, Samantha, Elmina and
John. His son Amos Garver married Elizabeth Walkie, of Ashland county, and
became a merchant in New Pittsburg, afterwards removing to Wooster. He is now
a commission merchant in Philadelphia, dealing largely in butter, eggs, etc., his
brother-in-law, Captain G. P. Emrich, of Wooster, being a partner. He is a
thorough business man and a very clever gentleman.
W. C. Baker, a native of Stark county, was born February I, I826, and removed to Wayne county with his father, John Baker, in I838, settling a mile east
of New Pittsburg, where his father now lives. He was married May 6, I847, to
Harriet Zigler, of Bucyrus, Ohio, and has two living children, David N. and Chas.
W., the former married to Delilah Biddle, in 1870.
Mr. Baker conducts a large dry goods business, giving attention to the purchase
of butter and eggs, and is one of the heaviest wool buyers in the county. He is a
member of the Church of God, and a man of business honor, and excellent name
and character.




CHESTER TO WNSHIP.                          84
k
Henry Allspaugh, M. D., was born in Franklin county, Pa., January 3, I8I7,
and, with his father, settled one mile north-east of New Pittsburg, where he remained until he was 24 years of age. He then entered the Academy at Ashland,
attending a number of sessions, after which he read medicine with Dr. Pixley, of
New Pittsburg, where he began practice, and after two years removed to Lattasburg. He was married in November, I866, to Miss Sidney Bringman, of Rockland
county, Ohio.
James Robison, brother of Thomas and David, of Wooster, was born February
17, 1787, in Franklin county, Pa., and in 1813 immigrated to Wayne county, temporarily stopping in Wooster, the same year building the saw-mill on Little Killbuck, in the south-east corner of Chester township.
In 1815 he married Margaret Wilson, of Newark, Licking county, Ohio, immediately thereafter removing with his new wife on horseback, a distance of sixtyfive miles, to his forest farm in Chester township. The finger-boards at the forks
of the roads stand at the south-east corner of where his first cabin was situated.
Here in the woods, peopled by savage, untutored men and wild beasts, with but
scarcely a neighbor nearer than Wooster, they staked their destiny, and here Mr.
Robison for over forty years, and his wife for over fifty years, remained and unraveled the skein of the rapid years.
He was, we are nearly justified in affirming, the first white settler in Chester
township, having become a citizen of it three years before it was organized, and
before local civil government was established within its borders. A saw-mill in
those days was next in importance to the grist-mill, and hence the name of Robison's Mill became generally and popularly known throughout the western part of
the county, and to this day, though the builder of it has been in his grave for
nearly a quarter of a century, and the mill itself has sunk to decay, it carries its
old name well, and is latitude and longitude in the neighborhood yet. Mr. Robison, aided by a single individual, spent three months in digging the race for the
old saw-mill. The woollen factory, though not so primitive an institution as the
mill, ranked amongst the best of its kind in the county, and was built at a very
early period. During his presence at Columbus, in the discharge of his duties as
member of the Ohio Legislature, it was destroyed by fire, the result of a defective
flue-Thomas and Benjamin Neal having the management of it in his absence.
The saw-mill was also swept away by the flames. On his return, without indulging any accusations or censure, he quietly went to work and rebuilt both the
factory and the mill, putting therein new and improved machinery. Prior to the
fire he simply carded, spun and pulled, but after the rebuilding he made other additions, and introduced the manufacture of yarns, blankets, cloths, etc.
Here was the water-power and Mr. Robison had the enterprise and intelligence
to utilize it, and it became not only a benefit but a benefaction to the whole community. He was not a visionary man, nor inclined to build air-castles; he was
practical, and devoted himself to material enterprises. The interest he manifested
in the substantial advancement of the county, and his efforts to introduce the better things of the coming time were perceived and appreciated and won him many
friends and widened the sphere of his popularity.
Disinclined as he usually was to actively participate in politics, he was nevertheless highly and honorably promoted. He served his township as Justice of the
Peace, and from December 6, 1824, to December 5, 1825, he was a member of the
Ohio Legislature, having been re-elected in 1830, and serving to 1831, December 5.
He was Associate Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in I831, and performed




842


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNrTY, OHIO.


his duties in this position, as well as in the various others to which he has been elevated by his fellow citizens, with ability, and with credit to himself and those who
honored him in the promotion. He was a member of the Presbyterian church, in
the faith of which he died. He was an agreeable, sociable and intelligent man,
characterized by great benevolence, whose hospitality was conspicuous, and whose
charities were ever extended to the poor and friendless. He was a soldier in the
war of 1812 and aided in supplying provisions to the army of General Harrison at
Fort Meigs, his wagon on one occasion standing in the woods, loaded with flour,
on what is now known as the Robison Hill, on the south of the Little Killbuck.
Mr. Robison had the following children: William, Mary, David, Ann, Margaret, James, Margery, John and William Robison. Margaret, James, John and
William are the only survivors. James Robison married Catharine Weaver, was a
Captain in the late war, and is now residing in Bellefontaine, Ohio. John Robison
was married to M. C. Silvers, of Plain township, February I, 1857; is a farmer,
a man of means, solid and reliable, a first-class citizen, a kind, clever and accommodating neighbor.
Frederick Rice, his grandfather bearing the same name, was born in Pennsylvania, 1760, and served under General Washington, at Valley Forge, Trenton, etc.,
having been in the army five years. He was married to a Miss Lauffer, of Westmoreland county, and had ten children, all of whom are dead. He removed to
Wayne county in I812, and settled upon the farm where David Firestone lives, near
the old Robison farm, south of Wooster, where he lived until his death, in 1850.
Christian Rice, his son, was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, in 1793,
and immigrated to Wayne county about a year after his father, and was married to
Charlotte Hine, of his native county. On his arrival he settled near Tylertown, on a
farm which had been entered by his father, subsequently, and in I819, buying the
farm on which his son Frederick lives, for $600. His death occurred January 17, 1852,
his wife dying February I6, 1859. He had ten children, was a good citizen, and
long a member of the Lutheran church. His son Frederick, and grandson of Frederick, whose name he bears, was born March 14, 1815, and removed to this county
with his father. He is now the owner of several of the most beautiful farms in
Wayne county, and is an industrious, worthy, influential and valuable citizen. He
was married March 5, 1840, to Diantha Firestone, and has had twelve children.




SUGAR CREEK TO WNASHIP.


843


CHAPTER XXXV.
SUGARCREEK           TOWNSHIP
WAS organized April II, 1812. Its population, by the census of 1870, was 2,006.
The following is the list of officers of the township, as appears upon the official
records:
Justices of the Peace-Benjamin Griffith, April 27, I832; Richard Cahill, April
19, I832; Benjamin Griffith, April i8, 1835; Richard Cahill, April i6, 1836; Benjamin Griffith, April 30, 1838; Richard Cahill, April 13, 1839; Samuel Brice, April
i6, 1841; Richard Cahill, April 13, 1842; Samuel Fickes, April 25, 1844; John
Rotz, April I6, 1845; Peter Group, October 24, 1846; John Gallatin, April 14,
1847; Charles C. Parsons, April 12, 1848; Fred Fluke, April 12, 1849; John Gallatin, April II, 1850; Fred Fluke, April 21, 1852; Joseph McClelland, April 21,
1852; Simon P. Snyder, April 17, 1855; Joseph McClelland, April 14, I855; Fred
Fluke, April I4, I858; Joseph McClelland, April 14, 1858; Samuel Zook, April I9,
I859; Jacob Dague, April I7, 1860; John W. Baughman, April I7, 1860; Isaac
Goudy, April 17, 1863; John W. Baughman, April 17, I863; John W. Baughman,
April I3, I866; Isaac Goudy, April 13, 1866; E. D. Otis, April I3, 1869; John
Brownfield, April 13, 1869; Jacob Fritz, April I3, 1869; Jesse Cook, April 12,
1870; E. D. Otis, April 9, 1872; Jesse Cook, October 22, 1873; E. D. Otis, April
12, 1875; Anthony Arnold, October i8, 1876; J. B. Douglass, I877.
1838. Trustees-Eli Brown, William McCully, James Keeley; Clerk-James
Cunningham; Treasurer-Solomon Baughman.
I839. Trustees-H. A. Smurr, S. Fickes, P. Remiald; Clerk-I. Adams;
Treasurer-S. Baughman.
I840.   Trustees-William Filson, James Byall, Thomas Sturgis; Clerk-C.
H. Vanniman; Treasurer-S. Baughman.
I841. Trustees-John Goudy, David Myers, James Byall; Clerk —C. C. Parsons; Treasurer-Henry Foltz.
I842- Trustees-David Myers, Samuel Fickes, Zack Greenfield; Clerk-C.
C. Parsons; Treasurer-Henry Foltz.
1843 Trustees-David Myers, Zack Greenfield, James Byall; Clerk-C. C.
Parsons; Treasurer-John B. Hall.
I844. Trustees-S. Baughman, James McClellan, Zack Greenfield; ClerkJames Adams; Treasurer-Jesse Weirick.
1845. Trustees-Robert McElhinney, Samuel Cook, Sr,, Joseph McClelland;
Clerk-James Adams; Treasurer-Jesse Weirick.
1846  Trustees-James Byall, John Goudy, Joseph McClelland; Clerk-C. C.
Parsons; Treasurer-Jesse Weirick.
I847. Trustees-Samuel Cook, Sr., Robert McElhinney, David Fletcher;
Clerk-John W. Laird; Treasurer-Jesse Weirick.




844             HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
1848. Trustees-James Byall, Robert McElhinney, Asa Cook, Sr.; Clerk-J.
I. Albright; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1849  Trustees-Asa Cook, Thomas Sturgis, John Murry; Clerk-C. N. Damison; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1850. Trustees-Asa Cook, Thomas Sturgis, John Murry; Clerk-Samuel
Fluke; Treasurer-Nathan Greenfield.
1851. Trustees-Asa Cook, Thomas Sturgis, John Murry; Clerk-Samuel
Fluke; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1852. Trustees-Asa Cook, John Goudy, John Braden; Clerk-Samuel
Fluke; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
I853. Trustees-Asa Cook, Richard Cahill, James Byall; Clerk-Samuel
Fluke; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
I854. Trustees-Asa Cook, James      Byall,  Fred  Leininger;  Clerk-N.
Greenfield; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1855. Trustees-William Yergin, John Murry, Jesse Otis; Clerk-John Davison; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1856. Trustees-William   Yergin, John Murry, Josiah Cook; Clerk-John
Davison; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
i857. Trustees-HenryZartman, Ed. Otis, Fred Leininger; Clerk-J. Bailey;
Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1858. Trustees-D. G. Horst, S. Cook, S. Baughman; Clerk-F. Fluke;
Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1859. Trustees-Asa Cook, Ed. Otis, D. G. Horst; Clerk-E. D. Otis;
Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
1860. Trustees-Henry Zartman, Ed. Otis, Asa Cook; Clerk —E. D. Otis;
Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
I86I. Trustees-Samuel C. Noltz, Isaac Goudy, J. W. Baughman; Clerk-E.
D. Otis; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
i862. Trustees-Samuel C. Nult, Robert Bashford, Anthony Arnold; ClerkE. D. Otis; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
I863. Trustees-Anthony Arnold, R. C. Bashford, W. H. McFadden;
Clerk-J. R. Sturgis; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
i864. Trustees-John Neiswanger, John Cully, W. H. McFadden; Clerk-J.
R. Sturgis; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
I865. Trustees-John Neiswanger, John Culley, E. D. Otis; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis; Treasurer-B. L. McCarty.
I866. Trustees-John Cully, William Bevard, George Goudy; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis; Treasurer-E. D. Otis.
i867. Trustees-John Braden, William Bevard, George Goudy; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis; Treasurer-Fred Dysle.
i868. Trustees-Robert Bashford, Jacob Fritz, John Baird; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis; Treasurer-F. Dysle.
1869. Trustees-Jesse Shank, Jacob Dague, John Baird; Clerk-J. R. Sturgls;
Treasurer-William Bevard.
1870. Trustees-Peter Eckard, Jacob Dague, Jesse Shank; Clerk-J. R. Sturgis; Treasurer-William Bevard.
I87I. Trustees-Peter Eckard, Asa Cook, Jacob Dague; Clerk-J. R. Sturgis,
Treasurer-William Bevard.
1872. Trustees-Asa Cook, Peter Eckard, John Cully; Clerk-J. R. Sturgis;
Treasurer-William Bevard.
I873. Trustees-John Cully, Peter Eckard, Anthony Arnold; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis; Treasurer-William Bevard.




SUGARCREEK TO WNSHIP.                         845
I874. Trustees-Anthony Arnold, William Bevard, John Cully; Clerk-R. J.
Sturgis; Treasurer-Jacob Flickinger.
I875. Trustees-Anthony Arnold, William Bevard, John Cully; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis; Treasurer-William Bevard.
1876. Trustees-John Swisher, John Cully, William Bevard; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis.
I877. Trustees-John Swisher, William Bevard, John Baird; Clerk-J. R.
Sturgis; Treasurer-E. D. Otis.
John Goudy was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in I803. His father, James
Goudy, came to what is Sugarcreek township as early as i809, and settled near
Dalton,on the quarter of land now owned by John Eckard, the land having been
entered by his brother John, from whom James purchased it at about four dollars per
acre. His brother John had been in the township prior to this even. William and
Thomas came in at a very early date, and built a mill, which they sold to a Mr.
Karstetter. James Goudy, the father of John, was in St. Clair's defeat, November 4, 179I, where he was wounded in the right groin, which, but for the thickness
of his clothes, would have killed him. After being shot he traveled eighteen miles.
when he paused by the wayside and ate the flesh of a dead horse, which he afterwards declared was the best meat he had ever eaten. He carried the bullet in his
body for a great many years, but finally died from the effects of the wound. He
was a member of the Presbyterian church (Dr. Hanna's). The subject of this
notice remained with his father until he was twenty-one years of age, and throughout a protracted life has displayed great industry, business foresight, culminating in
the acquisition of moneys and lands. He has been twice married. First to Christina Cook, and second to Eliza A. Bailey. He attended the school of Samuel
Cook. Mr. Goudy is a member of the Presbyterian church of Dalton.
Reminiscences of Jacob Cox.-John Kenney and John Goudy were the first settlers in Sugarcreek township, and John and James Goudy were the next, and after
them came my father, Peter Cox, and then Samuel Cook, William Homan, and
Rev. James Adams, who was the first preacher in the locality. William Homan
was the first Justice of the Peace, elected about I826. At an early day an election
was held where Sugarcreek, East Union, Baughman and Greene, corner, and every
man who attended it went home with two offices. The first school-house built was
on the farm where I live, and Samuel Cook was the first man to teach school in
Sugarcreek township. It was a subscription school, and the rates were fifty cents
per capita per month to the pupil, and in the absence of money most anything else
received for pay. The first school-house erected in Dalton stood upon the site of
the present cemetery, the first teacher being Peter Vorrhes. The first church (Presbyterian) was built near the south-west corner of the quarter now owned by S.
Snavely, Samuel Arnold owning the land at that time, Rev. James Adams being
the first minister. This was the first church built in the town or township. William Goudy built the first grist-mill, on lands now owned by John Cully, three
miles south-west of Dalton. It was constructed of logs, had one run of burrs,
made of niggerheads, the neighbors helping to dig the race. It was built in 1823 -24. William Goudy and Sarah Bates were probably the first couple married in the
township-in I815. John Kenney's wife was the first woman buried in the Presbyterian graveyard west of Dalton.
Jacob Cox was born in Fayette county, Pa., August 29, i80o. His father, Peter Cox, was a farmer, and a native of Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna river, and
was born in 1775. His grandfather emigrated at an early date from Hamburg, Ger



846            HISTORY OF WA YNE COUNTY, OHIO.
many, and after his arrival, as was the usage, was sold, his period of servitude being seven years, during which time he made three unsuccessful efforts to escape.
When he crossed the Allegheny mountains to settle in Fayette county, Pa., he had
six children, two of whom, Peter, the father of Jacob, and a sister, were packed in
wallets, one in one end and one in the other, and placed on horseback.
Peter and his family, on their removal to Ohio, temporarily located in Stark
county in 1814, and in October of the same year they removed to Wayne county,
although he had been to the premises before harvest and erected a cabin on the
farm-one hundred and sixty acres which his father had previously entered. Peter
died in 1841.
Jacob Cox was married to Jane Denman, of Ten-Mile, Washington county,
Pa., December 4, I823, and had nine children, eight of whom are living. Their
fiftieth bridal was celebrated December 4, 1873, at which their eight children, with
their families, were present. His wife died April I8, I874. For his years, Mr.
Cox is quite a remarkable man, never having had a fever, never having taken but
two portions of medicine, and never in bed sick only when he had the measles.
Samuel Cook was born in Westmoreland county, Pa., January 4, 1781, and immigrated to Wayne county in I8I6, the following year removing to the farm where
his son, Jesse Cook, now lives, and which he purchased from James Goudy, who
had entered it. In the summer of I8i6 he taught the Jirst school ever taught in Sugarcreek township. He was married prior to his coming here to Elizabeth McWilliams,
of Westmoreland county, and had the following children: Sylvanus, born February 28, 1802; Robert, born December 3, I803; Asa, born December 23, 80o5;
James, born March 9, i808; Christena, born June i6, I8Io; Mary, born October
26, 1812; Samuel, born August 29, 1815; Jemima, born April 3, 18i8; John, born
April 30, I820; Jesse, born May 26, 1822; Josiah, born July 20, 1824. The first
seven were born in Pennsylvania, and all are living save Sylvanus and Samuel, the
latter dying unmarried in East Union township, the former in Noble county, Indiana, in 1833.
Samuel Cook was in many respects a remarkable man, and viewed from any
standpoint, in his day was a man of influence and great usefulness. He was a member
of the Presbyterian church of Dalton, and one of the earliest of the public educators
of the county. He raised a large, respectable and intelligent family, and his
grandchildren, of whom there are many, are worthy of their pioneer ancestor, and
an honor to the community in which they live.
Rev. Archibald Hanna was born in Washington county, Pa., February I2, 1790.
In 1802 his father removed to Harrison county, Ohio, and here his son commenced
his studies, under Rev. Rea and Rev. McMillan. He entered Jefferson College in
I8Io, and in I8II he united with the church at Chartiers, under the pastorate of
Rev. John McMillan, D. D. He concluded his college course in I815 and entered
upon the study of Hebrew, under Rev. John Walker, afterwards studying theology
under Rev. John Rea, D. D., there being then but three theological seminaries in
the United States. April 4, I816, he was married to Mary Ramage, of Belmont
county, Ohio, and in I818 he was licensed by the Presbytery, and transferred to
that of Steubenville, and in I8I9 removed to Wayne county and began work at
Mt. Eaton, Pigeon Run and Fredericksburg. From 1824 he devoted his entire
time to the churches of Mt. Eaton and Fredericksburg, and in 183I resigned the
pastoral care of Mt. Eaton, devoting all his time to Fredericksburg. In 1838 he
accepted calls from Dalton and Pigeon Run. From 1845 to 1851 he gave his whole
time to the Dalton church, where he resigned his pastoral work, being then in his




SUGARCREEK TOWNSHIP.


847


68th year, and during which time he received into the communion of the Presbyterian church 557, administering baptism 538 times. His wife dying April 23,
1859, he was again married in March, I860, to Mrs. Sarah Galbraith. He was the
father of twelve children. This faithful and eloquent divine departed to his reward several years ago, after a long life of usefulness and religious labor.
Dalton.-Rev. James Adams had the town of Dover surveyed OctoberfI6, 1817,
by A. Porter, and embraced 46 lots, as originally laid out. Sharon was surveyed
March 29, 1828, by C. W. Christmas, and contained 30 lots. Middletown was laid
out by Jacob Switzer and John Jameson, and was surveyed December 27, 1828, by
William Henderson, and embraced 54 in-, and I out-lots. The entity of these three
towns ceasing to exist, we have the village of Dalton, which was incorporated
August 14, I856, and September 27th an election was held. We here subjoin a list of
officers since then: Mayor, William Yergin; Recorder, J. T. Albright; Trustees,
John Wright, John Fletcher, John Goudy, Frederick'Lininger and C. S. Fenton.
Mayors since then: E. Whitney, 1857; Fred Fluke, I858; D. Groff, 1859; Adam
Tanner, 1860; Thomas Marshall, i86I; Valentine Moffatt, 1862; Peter Foust, 1863;
E. D. Otis, 1864; Robert Slusser, 1865; John Horn.n, 1866 (Homan resigned and
L. G. Harley, M. D., was appointed); Peter Fous., 1867 (Foust resigned and R.
Slusser was appointed); C. S. Wertz, I868; F. F. H. Pope, M. D., I859 (Pope resigned and R. T. Myler was appointed); R. T. Myler, i870; W. C. Cook, I871; W.
C. Cook, I1872; W. C. Cook, 1873; W. C. Cook, 1874; W. C. Cook, I876. In 1821
Dalton contained but one house, and a man named Freeman kept the first tavern,
where the Eagle House now stands. The first physician was Dr. Watson, now of
Massillon, and the first store was kept by Mr. Johnson, and the first church organization was by the Presbyterians.
Moscow was laid out by Joseph H. Larwill, Josiah Crawford and John Larwill,
April I6, I815, and was surrounded in the primal days with "great expectations,"
which were never realized.
Postmasters at Dalton. —The Dalton postoffice was established in 1825, and the
Postmasters have been as follows; Benjamin Nowee, one year; Luther Pratt, until
I829; John Goudy; Richard Cahill; John Goudy, re-appointed in 1841; Frederick
Fluke, 1849; E. W. Cahill, I853; Isaac Bailey, I856; E. D. Otis, I859, succeeded
in I86I by E. A. Freet, the present incumbent.
Presbyterian Church.-As early as 1814 this body of professing Christians had
services under Rev. James Adams, and in I8i6 the church was organized with 23
members. Mr. Adams remained with this church from I814 to I823, receiving in
this time 84 members. His successors were Revs. James Snodgrass, A. Hanna,
Philo M. Semple, E. W. Schwefel and V. G. Sheeley, the present pastor, who assumed the ministerial functions March I, 1871; present membership i8o. Names
of original members: Mrs. M. Adams, Benjamin Cary and wife, Warren Harris
and wife, John Kenney and wife, John Goudy and wife, William Montgomery and
wife, William Forbes and wife, Mary Munn, Elizabeth Tremane, James Goudy and
wife, William Goudy and wife, Nathaniel McDowell and wife, Phoebe Tilton
(Campbell) Deborah Tilton (Kilgore), of whom only Phoebe Tilton (Campbell) survives. The first house was of hewn logs, two miles west of Dalton, on lands now
owned by Samuel Snavely; the second on the site where the third was built,
I853-54.
M. E. Church of Dalton was organized about I827, and in 1832 Rev. W. B.
Christy was Presiding Elder, and Rev. W. Swazer and George Elliott ministers in
charge. Bishop Thomson preached one of his first sermons at a private house in
Dalton, and Bishop Harris received license to exhort at the Dalton quarterly conference. The present membership is about Ioo, the present church being built in




848


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OH10.


1852, which, under the pastorate of Rev. Struggles, was greatly enlarged and
beautified.
The United Presbyterian Congregation, of Dalton, was organized by the Associate Presbytery, of Chartiers, in the latter part of 1820, at the house of John
McDowell.   The first Elders were John Mcl)owe!l, George Gardiner and Mr.
McCaughey, and the first members were the McDowells, Gardiners, McCaugheys,
Stinsons, Bells, Robisons, McElheneys, Douglasses. Rev. Samuel Irvine was the
first stated supply, and Rev. Joseph McKee the first pastor, from about 1836 to
1842. Services were first conducted in private houses and in a tent erected on the
farm now owned by James Douglass. In I828 a log church was built on the farm of
William Galloway, where they continued service until 1838-39, when a new frame
building was erected in Dalton. In I871 the present house was built. The following is the succession of pastors: Rev. J. R. Doig until March, 1848; Rev. D. W.
Collins, D. D., from 1850 to I852; Rev. J. Y. Ashenhurst from I854 to 1856; Rev.
A. McCartney from I858 to 1860; Rev. W. M. Gibson from I863 to I867; Rev. J. '
G. Madge, present pastor, prdained and installed August 9, I870. Present membership, 80. Session: Rev. J. G. Madge, Moderator; Samuel M. Anderson, Andrew Cameron, David Stinson; Trustees: IH. M. Rudy, Peter Buchanan, John
Anderson.
Jesse Otis was born in Vermont, August II, 1793, of New England ancestry, of
the James Otis stock, and a tradesman by occupation. April 17, I817, he was married to Miss Charlotta Davey, of Frederick, Maryland, and immediately after marriage, in the spring of 1817, removed to Sugarcreek township, where he entered one
hundred and sixty acres, about the middle of the township, the same farm now occupied and owned by his son, Henry W. Otis. Himself and wife were members of the
Baptist church for forty years; and he held various township offices, being a trustee
for twenty years. His death took place May I, I856. He had seven sons and three
daughters, viz: John D., Merrill, Anna, William, Jane, Edward, Nathaniel, E. D.,
Mary and Henry W.
E. D. Otis, son of Jesse, was born in Sugarcreek township, on the old farm,
three miles south of Dalton, September 20, I832, and worked on the farm until
twenty-five years of age, when, in I856, he came to Dalton as a clerk in Isaac
Bailey's drug store. In i857 he purchased the store, and since that time has conducted the business. Mr. Otis is a remarkably good citizen, full of energy, and
identified in all enterprises of his town and township, and in all respects an honorable man. For nine years he has been a Justice of the Peace, a position he at
present holds. He has four children, and is a member of the Presbyterian church.
T. M. Taggart, M. D., son of Samuel Taggart, was born in Baughman township, September 22, I822. He began the study of medicine with Dr. Bowen,'of
Massillon, afterwards graduating at the Cleveland Medical College. In I848 he
began the practice of his profession in Dalton. He was married in i849 to Miss
Henrietta Slusser, of York county, Pa., and had seven children, one of whom,
Hiram D. Taggart, is a physician in Akron. He died May 23, 1867, and had been
a zealous member of the Methodist church for seventeen years.
Dalton Gazette.-In April, I874, W. C. Scott established a job printing office in
Dalton; in August, i875, began issuing the Dalton Banner, and in October following changed the name to the Gazette, the publication of which he continues at the
present time. The paper is issued weekly, independent in politics, devoted to local
news, and has a circulation of about 500 in Wayne and Stark counties. Mr. Scott
was born in Dalton, November 17, I849, and has made a success in conducting one
of the neatest and spiciest papers in the county.
William HAoman came from Fayette county, Pa., and in I814 settled in Sugar



SUGARCREEK TO WNSHIP.


849


creek township, entering one hundred and sixty acres of land. He removed from
the farm to Dalton in 1823, where he died, September 26, I834. He was a member, with his wife, of the Methodist church. He was the first Justice in the township, and a soldier in the war of I812. He was Captain of the first militia company
of the township, and being a gunsmith made his own sword. He had twelve children. Emanuel Homan, his son, was born November 24, 18II, and has lived in the
county sixty-four years.
L. G. Harley, M. D., was born in Chester county, Pa., in 18II. His father
was a farmer, and removed to Ohio in 1830. In I833 the subject of this notice
commenced reading medicine with Dr. Haddock; attended the course in Philadelphia, and graduated there in the spring of I837. He then located in Dalton, where
* he soon obtained an extensive practice. In the fall of I839 he was married to Miss
Mary M. Fluke, of Dalton, the union resulting in several highly intelligent sons and
daughters. His daughter, Virginia, is a member of the medical profession, a graduate of. the medical department of the University of Michigan. She practiced in
Wooster a short time with her father, exhibiting professional skill and ability, with
fair prospects of liberal encouragement, when she married and removed to New
York city. Dr. Harley continued in Dalton for thirty-one years, and in i868 removed to Wooster, where he has since resided, successfully practicing his profession.
Sonneberg, so called from a settlement of similar name in Switzerland, its population being composed chiefly of Swiss from Canton Berne. They enumerate ninetyeight families, and 258 members. This sect was founded by Menno, surnamed
Simonis, in I536, who commenced life as a Roman Catholic. The modern Mennonite, as a rule, does not pretend to know what his peculiar tenets are. Several of
their ministers, upon whom we called, were certainly ignorant of their history, and
had no intelligent idea of their faith. They are sure that they are opposed to war,
will not aid in protecting the government, but demand its protection. They are
mostly farmers, and very industrious; are good horse-traders, and revel in the
effluvia of decomposed cheese. The older ones robustly oppose the introduction of
books, incline to antagonize education, and indulge habits wholly un-American.
They introduced the painting of dog-houses and the manufacture of applejack in
Sugarcreek township. The first of this stock, all from Berne, to come into Wayne
county, were Isaac Somer, Uhlrick and Peter Lehman and David Killhover, the
latter bringing the regular John Rogers family. Their first place of rendezvous
was in a school-house four miles east of Wooster, when they removed to " Switzerland No. 2," and in 1820 organized a church. It may be recorded of some of the
younger class that they are breaking away from the worm-eaten creeds and bigotries
of their fathers, and are enrolling themselves in the ranks of the modern civilization. We regret that space compels us to John Audley their history.
Christian Wahle was born in Berne, Switzerland, April 22, 1782, and came with
his wife to America in 1824, and settled in Sugarcreek township. He is now
ninety-six years of age, weighs 116 pounds, and has been a member of the Mennonite church for eighty years.


54




850


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHIPPEWA TOWNSHIP
WAS organized September 4, 1815. This is the great coal township of the county,
and its principal history appears in the body of the work. Its population in 1870
was 2,5IO. The following is the list of officers, as appears upon the official records:
i866. Trustees-William R. Wilson, Peter Buehl, Elias Frase; Assessor-L.
W. Wilson; Clerk-A. H. Pursell; Treasurer-Isaac Slanker.
1867. Trustees-William R. Wilson, Elias Frase, Lyman Franks; Assessor-L. W. Wilson; Clerk-Riley Franks; Treasurer-Isaac Slanker.
I868. Trustees-William R. Wilson, William Etling, Jacob Shaffer; Assessor-L. W. Wilson; Clerk-J. B. Weaver; Treasurer-Morgan Franks.
I869. Trustees-T. J. McElhenie, Peter Frase, Jacob Hammer; Assessor-L.
W. Wilson; Clerk-A. H. Pursell; Treasurer-Morgan Franks; Constables-Reuben Tate, Solomon Baughman, William N. Reis.
I870. Trustees-T. J. McElhenie, Peter Frase, Jacob Hammer; AssessorNichols Steinmetz; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; Constables-John B. Wertz, Solomon Baughman, William N. Reis.         -,
I87I. Trustees-T. J. McElhenie, J. J. Hammer, Peter Frase; Assessor-N. Steinmetz; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; Constables-John B. Wertz, Solomon Baughman, William N. Reis.
I872. Trustees-William   R. Wilson, Samuel Frase, Christian Whitman;
Assessor-Frank Stottler; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; Constable-John C. Rasor.
1873. Trustees-William R. Wilson, Samuel Frase, William Etling; Assessor
-Frank Stottler; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; ConstablesJohn B. Wertz, John Cameron, David Baughman.
1874. Trustees-Joseph Collins, Ephraim Hatfield, Samuel Frase; AssessorFrank Stottler; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; ConstablesJohn Raser, John Cameron, Thomas Adams.
I875. Trustees-Peter Frase, Samuel Frase, Joseph Collins; Assessor-Riley
Franks; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; Constables-John B.
Wertz, John Cameron, Thomas Adams.
1876. Trustees-Peter Frase, George Shank, William Etling; Assessor-Riley
Franks; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; Constables-John Snider, John Cameron, Thomas Adams.
x877. Trustees-Peter Frase, George Shank, William Etling; Assessor-Riley
Franks; Clerk-Henry Marshall; Treasurer-Jacob Shafer; Constables-John B.
Wertz, John Cameron, Thomas Adams.
Justices of the Peace-Stephen Fisher, April 23, 1831; George Wellhouse, March
I, 1833; John Comstock, April 24, 1834; George Wellhouse, May I, I834; John




CHIPPEWA TO WNSHIP.


85i


Brown, May 6, 1834; Thomas McElhenie, June 18, 1836; George Wellhouse, April
i6, 1836; John Brown, April 28, 1837; Samuel Blair, April 30, I838; Thomas
McElhenie, April 13, 1839; John Brown, April i6, 1840; Samuel Blair, April I6,
I841; Thomas McElhenie, April 13, 1842; John Brown, April 13, I843; Abraham
Franks, April 25, 1844; Thomas McElhenie, April i6, 1845; A. Heffleman, April
21, I846; A. Franks, April 14, 1847; John Reighley, April I2, i848; John Brown,
April 12, I848; Thomas McElhenie, April, I2, I849; John Brown, April x9, I851;
John Reighley, April I9, I85I; Thomas McElhenie, April 21, I852; John Brown,
April 13, 1854; T. W. Peckinpaugh, April 13, 1854; Jacob Huffman, April 17,
1855; John Brown, April 22, 1857; T. W. Peckinpaugh, April 22, 1857; Reuben
Dressier, April 14, 1858; T. W. Peckinpaugh, April I7, I860; Peter Frase, April I7,
I86o; Andrew Shafer, April 13, 1861; Peter Frase, April 17, 1863; Henry Cooper, October 22, 1863; Peter Frase, April 13, I866; Henry Cooper, October 15, i866; T. J.
McElhenie, October I9, I868; Peter Frase, April 13, 1869; Joseph B. Weaver, October 20, I869; T. J. McElhenie, October 18, 1871; Peter Frase, April 9, I872;
Henry Soliday, October 12, 1872; Joseph B. Weaver, April 14, i874; J. T. Haines,
October 20, I874; Peter Frase, April 12, 1875; James Bratton, April 12, I875; G.
W. Evarts, April 12, I877.
The First Settlers in Chippewa township were Nicholas and Adam Helmick,
old Henry Franks, Uriah, Henry and John Franks, Thomas Frederick, Henry
Houts, Michael Brouse, Paul Baughman, Jacob Hatfield, William Hatfield, John
Reichildifer, Stephen Fisher, old Mr. McConkey, Joseph Springer, John Adams,
William Doyle, Frederick Galehouse, Isaac Montgomery, David Galehouse, Michael
Basinger (came to Chippewa township in 1815), father of Jacob Basinger, Daniel
Huffman, father of Daniel and James, Adam Shatto, Michael Brouse, Rev. George
Weygandt, Mr. Reed, George, Christian, Jacob, Joseph, Michael and Andrew
Whitman, Malachi Feister, Samuel Pierrepont, M. D., John Routson, James Boak,
Jacob and John Franks, Stephen Fisher, John Miller, John Newhouse, Andrew
Bowen, Robert Meek, John Bowman, George Wellhouse, Benjamin Hershey,
George Halloway, Henry Shook, David Johns, Jacob Eberhard, John Wise, John
Porter, Peter Waltz, " Major" South, James Hutchinson, Peter Bradenbaugh, Isarel Baughman, Jacob Heffelman, etc.
Mr. Hatfield says Rogue's Hollow was named by a Dr. Crosby, who owned the
ground and had it laid out. Daniel Slanker, he thinks, built the first grist- and sawmill west of Doylestown. Mike Greenoe had the first, Fred. Galehouse the second,
and after them George Wellhouse and Michael Brouse had distilleries. He is of the
opinion that the first election was held where Nicholas.Helmick lived. The first
graveyard was at Easton, and Lucinda Heckerthorn the first person buried, for he
helped to dig her grave-a child of John Routson was the second. Jonathan Coleman, of Canton, a married man, was drowned in Doner's Lake in I830.
Henry Franks was born in Fayette county, Pa., and came to Chippewa township in 1816-17, settling a short distance south of Doylestown, on a farm he entered from the Government, which he subsequently sold to his son John, when he
purchased twenty-five acres east of this, and died May 5, 1836. He was married
to Christina Mason, of his native county, and had five sons and six daughters, to
wit: John, Michael, Henry, Abraham and Uriah; Elizabeth (her husband, Samuel Higgins, a soldier in the war of I812, and died in Huron county, Ohio), Sarah
(wife of John Routson), Abigail, Christina, Catharine and Phoebe, the latter the
only two surviving daughters, the sons all being dead but Henry and Uriah.
Henry is now eighty-two years of age, and has had seven children, and is a member of the Methodist church. His wife, Susanna Routson Franks, died in Spencer,




852


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


Ohio. Uriah lives in Noble county, Indiana, was married to Betsey Watt, and had
ten children, eight of whom are living. He is a farmer, but has retired from work,
and is an excellent man. John Franks was one of the earliest of the settlers, locating two miles south-west of Doylestown, now owned by a Mr. Morganwood, but
formerly known as "the Hugle farm."
Henry Franks, known as "Old Henry," with some others, was taken prisoner
on the Ohio river by the Indians when he was a young man, and held in captivity
by them. He was tall, straight, and a large, powerful man, and his captors immediately fancied him, and by ceremonies introduced him to Indian citizenship. Its
first condition being to run the gauntlet, he was compelled to comply with it, and
at the end of the race he was, to save his own life, forced to strike an Indian
with his hatchet, whom he nearly killed. This successful act of daring on his
part ingratiated him with his captors, who exclaimed, "He make good Indian."
Mr. Franks, receiving a wound in this test of mighty manhood, the Indians instantly took charge of him, nursing and treating him kindly until he thoroughly
recovered. After the capture of Crawford in Ohio, and during the excitement of
his horrible death, all of which Mr. Franks witnessed, he made an effort to escape,
in which he was successful. He fled to the lake shore, boarded a British vessel,
went by water as far as Montreal, crossed to the American side, and thence on foot
to Philadelphia, Pittsburg, and to his home in Fayette county, Pa., after a captivity
of five years. The life of this man supplies a field for the pen of romance and the
narrator of border exploits.
George F. Wellhouse was born in Germany, April 17, 1789, and immigrated to America when quite young. He was raised in Washington county, Maryland, and removed
to Wayne county at an early period. He was married November I9, 1820, to Elizabeth Neiswanger, and had the following children: Abraham, Susannah, William,
Elizabeth, David, Mary, Carolina, Hannah and George F. He served as Justice of
the Peace of his township at an early date. He was elected to the office of county
commissioner in 1829, and served six years; he served in the State Senate from
December 5, 1836, to December 3, 1838, and in 1838 he was elected by the Legislature as one of the Associate Judges of Wayne county. He died August 9, I86o,
his wife surviving him until March 22, 1862.
Benjamin Herschey was born in Lebanon county, Pa., October 15, I820, and removed with his parents to Baughman township when he was twelve years old. He
was married to Susanna Wellhouse, February 25, 1841, by which marriage there
resulted ten children, seven of whom are living. He died at his late residence in
Chippewa township, January 10, I875. He was an inoffensive man, characterized
by great industry and integrity. His honesty gained him the esteem and confidence
of all who knew him, and he was looked upon as a good, exemplary citizen who,
during his life, had endeared himself to his family and neighbors. He was a member of the United Brethren church at Easton.
Frederick Galehouse* was born in Baden, Germany, in I781, emigrated to
America in 1786, and went to Cumberland county, Pa., from thence came to New
Lisbon, Ohio, in 1807, and from there to Chippewa township in 1823, settling on
the Chippewa creek. Here he lived thirty years, then removed to Doylestown, and
died September 22, 1865. He was married to Miss Elizabeth Wilt, of Cumberland
*John W. Galehouse, oldest son of Frederick, was a native of New Lisbon,
and came to Wayne county with his father. He was brutally murdered by a Canadian villain, named Amos Clark. He was struck down with a poker, lingered a
few hours, and died January 29, 1840.




?


CHIPPEWA TO WNSHIP.                          853
county, Pa., and had four sons and four daughters, of whom Elias is the only surviving son. The daughters living are: Maria, wife of Abraham Miller; Elizabeth,
wife of John Gates; and Sarah, wife of James Porter. He had a contract from the
Government to superintend the construction of a public road from New Lisbon to
Lake Erie, for the use of artillery, and when the news of Hull's surrender came, he
told all to scatter, which they did. He was a member of the Lutheran church.
John Elliott was born in Steubenville, Ohio, February 17, I823, and the same
year removed with his father to Chippewa township, and now lives on the farm
where they settled at that time. October 2, 1851, he was married to Catharine A.
Wilkins, of Baughman township, but has no children, though they have raised four
by adoption. Mr. Elliott and wife are Presbyterians. He is a farmer, and
has one of the princely manors of the county. He and wife are distinguished for
their hospitality and social qualities, their house being the home of strangers,
kindred and friends, and where all are most generously and gracefully entertained.
William R. Wilson was born on the Chesapeake shore, Maryland, October 13,
1809. In I834 he removed from Maryland to Chippewa township, where, on November 17, 1835, he married Miss Margaret Franks. Farming then became his
occupation, and he has followed that pursuit successfully to the accumulation of a
liberal competence. He has had seven children, of whom three are dead. His
son Wesley is an able Methodist minister, located in Holmes county. Mr. Wilson
was a member of the Ohio Legislature from Wayne county from I868 to 1871,
elected by the Democracy, and served with credit to his intelligence and with
benefit to the county.
Doylestown.-This prosperous village was laid out by William Doyle, after
whom it was named, on December 9, 1827, and was surveyed by Charles Christmas
the same day. Plat and certificate recorded December 25, 1827; record to be found
on page 267, Vol. 6, County Recorder's office. It was incorporated August 6, 1867.
The first house erected in the village was on a vacant lot standing between Mrs.
Diebl's and Mr. Shondal's grocery, and now owned by the latter. It was a log
structure, built by William Doyle, the carpenter's work having been done by John
Montgomery. Doyle occupied it for a tavern, sold whisky, and permitted "fantastic toe" excitements. The first doctor was a Mr. Pierrepont, who, when on a visit
East, stole a horse, and being caught, was sent to the penitentiary. The first election was held December 8, 1866. We annex a list of officers of the town from the
official record:
I866. Mayor-A. H. Pursell; Recorder-William  Reed; Treasurer-Samuel
H. Miller; Councilmen-Elias Galehouse, James H. Seiberling, Henry A. Soliday,
Jacob Shaffer, R. B. Wasson.
1867. Mayor-A. H. Pursell; Recorder-William Reed; Treasurer-Samuel
H. Miller; Councilmen-Jacob Shaffer, Elias Galehouse, James H. Seiberling, H.
A. Soliday, Charles McCormich.
1868. Mayor-A. H. Pursell; Recorder-S. J. Hochstetler; Treasurer-S. H.
Miller; Councilmen-Jacob Schaffer, H. A. Soliday, Elias Galehouse, Jacob Heffelman, J. D. Ross.
I869. Mayor-Moses Bugher; Recorder-J. B. Weaver; Treasurer-M.
Franks; Councilmen-George W. Wellhouse, Riley Franks, Abram Franks, H. B.
Kellinger, John Snyder, Charles McCormish.
1870. Mayor-J. B. Weaver; Recorder-Moses Bugher; Treasurer-James
H. Seiberling; Councilmen-William Johnston, Peter Kliife, James Jackson, John
Sneider, Charles McCormish, James Hile.




854             HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
1871. Mayor-J. B. Weaver; Recorder-Moses Bugher; Treasurer-James
H. Seiberling; Councilmen-W. G. Biglow, James Hile, S. J. Hochstetler, William
Johnston, Peter Kline, James Jackson.
1872. Mayor-A. H. Pursell; Recorder-Moses Bugher; Treasurer-S. iI.
Miller; Councilmen-William G. Biglow, James Hile, S. J. Hochstetler, John Snyder, Samuel Collier, David Bunn.
1873. Mayor-A. H. Pursell; Recorder-Moses Bugher; Treasurer-S. H.
Miller; Councilmen-E. R. Spencer, W. G. Biglow, S. J. Hochstetler, John Snyder, Samuel Collier, David Bunn.
I874. Mayor-W. G. Biglow; Recorder-M. Bugher; Treasurer-S. H. Miller; Councilmen-Jacob Shaffer, James Jackson, John Gates, E. R. Spencer, S. J.
Hochstetler. N. Steinmetz.
1875. Mayor-W. G. Biglow; Recorder-M. Bugher; Treasurer-S. H. Miller; Councilmen-R. B. Wasson, Martin Ries, B. Billman, Jacob Shaffer, James
Jackson, John Gates.
1876, Mayor-W. G. Biglow; Recorder-M. Bugher; Treasurer-W. A.
Huffman; Councilmen-B. Billman, Jacob Shaffer, John Gates, R. B. Wasson,
Martin Reis, N. Steinmetz.
1877. Mayor-W. G. Biglow; Recorder-M. Bugher; Treasurer-W. A.
Huffman; Councilmen-Nicholas Steinmetz, Henry Galehouse, Eli Fritz, B. Billman, Jacob Shaffer; Street Commissioner-George Point.
Doylestown Piess.-George W. Everts embarked in journalism in Doylestown in
1874, issuing the first number of the Doylestown Journal on the I th of July, and
continues to conduct the paper with considerable success. It is a weekly, 24x34 in
size, independent in politics, devoted to local news, and has a circulation of about
five hundred. Mr. Everts was born in Richland county, Ohio, and was married
December 24, I86I, to Miss Emma Bell, of Bellville.
Doylestown Beacon Lodge No. 258, 1 0. O..F.-This lodge was instituted August
I7, 1854. Charter Members-William H. Redinger, Samuel Routson, Washington
M. Heffelman, Uriah Franks, Jr., and William Spangler. First Officers-William
H. Redinger, N. G.; Samuel Routson, V. G.; W. M. Heffelman, Secretary; Uriah
Franks, Jr., Treasurer. Present Officers-Henry C. Hotchkiss, N. G.; William
Williams, V. G.; Ely Fretz, Treasurer; Joshua Hughes, Rec. Sec'y; S. H. Miller,
Permanent Sec'y. Present membership, 107.
Postmasters at Doylestown.-William G. Foster, from 1828 to I847; Angus McIntire, from 1848 to I852; Samuel Routson, from 1853 to 1856; Orrin G. Franks,
from 1857 to 1859; Samuel Blocker, from I860 to 1867; H. A. Soliday, from I868
to 1872; Harry S. Deisem, from 1873 to present time. The postoffice, called Chippewa, was first established at the cross-roads, one mile south of Doylestown, Joseph
Springer being the postmaster, and was changed in 1874 to Doylestown. Richard
DePuy, a lawyer, succeeded Angus McIntire as postmaster, but in a short time was
dismissed for forgery and embezzlement.
Thomas Frederick was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, December I, 1778,
and was married May 2, 1804, to Elizabeth Shank, who was born March 8, I785.
He removed to Chippewa township in 1813, settling on the farm where his son
Henry lives, where he died, aged ninety-three years. He was a soldier in the war
of 1812. He planted the first cherry-tree in the township, which grew'to the hight
of one hundred feet, and is now living. He had the following children: Jacob,
Harriet, Margaret, Sophia, 'Reasin, Dolly, Rachael, Matthew E., William F.,




X     A.-   I   t/ "


CHIPPEWA TO WNSHP..55
Henry, Catharine A., Sarah A., Elizabeth, Mary A. Of the surviving ten, all save
two, live in Chippewa township. He was a famous pedestrian, and equally famous
hunter, killing bears, wolves, deer, in immense numbers. He was a member of the
Lutheran church and a worthy citizen and Christian man.
William Hatfield was born in Fayette county, Pa., October 9, I8oo, and came
to Wayne county with his father, Jacob Hatfield, August 5, 1817. His father was
a native of New Jersey, where he was born July 27, 1767, and settled in Chippewa
township one-half mile north of where his son William now lives. He had the following children: Charlotte, Sallie, George, William, Michael, Jacob, Isaiah.
William and Isaiah are the only two living, the latter in Gratiot county, Michigan.
William Hatfield was married October 6, 1825, in Chippewa township, to Susannah
Miller, who died October I8, I855. He has had the following children: Ephraim,
Catharine, Elizabeth, Sarah, John, Jacob, Naomi, Salina, Lydia and Hannah, an
adopted daughter, all of whom are living save Elizabeth and Salina. Mr. Hatfield
lives near the old place, and his youngest son farms it. He is the last of the original pioneers of Chippewa township, and is in the enjoyment of good health and
excellent memory.
Abraham Franks, nephew of Henry Franks, was born in Fayette county, Penn-.
sylvania, October 29, 1809, and removed to Doylestown in April, I837. He was
married September 7, 1848, to Amanda Franks, daughter of Abraham Franks, and
and grandaughter of Henry Franks, a first settler, by whom he had two children,
a daughter, Mrs. J. W. Lowe, of Shreve, and a son, L. K. He merchandized in
Doylestown for twelve years after his arrival, then farmed ten years, and again resumed commercial business in Doylestown, in which he continued until the spring
of 1877. He was Justice of the Peace three terms, and served two terms in the
State Legislature, representing Wayne and Ashland counties from December 4,
1848, to December 3, 1849, and by re-election from December 3, 1849, to December 2, 1850. James and Phineas Franks, brothers of Abraham, came to Chippewa
five years after he did; James died there five years ago, aged 66, and two of his
family are living in the township. Phineas lived there but eight years.
Abraham Franks, fourth son of Henry Franks, was born in Fayette county,
Pennsylvania, February 9, 1798, and came to Chippewa township with his father.
May 18, 1825, he was united in marriage to Miss Lydia Blocker, which marriage
resulted in four sons and four daughters, seven of whom are living, a daughter
being dead. Mr. Franks may safely be classed with the ruling spirits of the early
settlers. He was a man of great muscular power and endurance, full of industry
and energy, and was prominent as a farmer, leading stock dealer, merchant and
business man generally. He brought the first sheep into Chippewa township. In
186i he retired from business, dividing a handsome estate among his children, retaining a competency for himself until his death, which took place February 24,
1865, his wife surviving him. During all his life he could never be induced to accept office, though always taking an active interest in public affairs, always voting
the Democratic ticket.
Elias Galehouse, son of Frederick, was born in New Lisbon, Ohio, in 1815, and
came with his father to Chippewa township, with whom he remained, working on
the farm until twenty.seven years of age. He then established a hotel in Doylestown, in which he continued eight years, then entered into the dry goods and grocery
business; built a foundry, in company with John Gates, and made stoves, plows,
etc., for five years, running a carriage manufactory at the same time; then went




856


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


into the coal business, opening mines; then built a grist- and saw-mill in Doylestown; farmed awhile, and then again resumed the mercantile business. He was
married June I9, I837, to Miss Elizabeth Bender, of Chippewa township, and has
three sons and five daughters.
Christian Shondal was born in Shirrhoffen, Canton Bischwiller, Elsass, December
22, I793, and came to Canton, Ohio, in I830, and from thence to Chippewa township, where he died August 22, I875, in his eighty-second year. He was a soldier under Napoleon I.; participated in the battle of Borodino; was in the Moscow campaign,
and had his feet frozen in the disastrous retreat from that burned Russian city, and
was at Waterloo, where the eagles of the great Emperor went down before the combined powers of Europe. The Shondals of Chippewa are of good stock, thrifty
and intelligent men and women. N. Steinmetz, also a native of Bischwiller,
Alsace, was married August 24, 1858, to Fannie Shondal, third daughter of Christian, and is one of the prominent men of the township..Slanker Family.-Jacob Slanker was born in Berks county, Pa., November 25,
I771, and was married to Esther Klose. With his family he came to Chippewa
township April 5, 1836, and bought a quarter of section 17 of Sebastian Zimmerman, on which he laid out, in 1843, the town of Slankerville. Afterwards he removed to Medina county, and died there August 25, 1849. He had seventeen
children$ three of whom are living. His son, B. F. Slanker, first married Mary
Dressier, and now has his fourth wife. Jacob Slanker, son of Jacob, married Lydia
Fisher, May 26, 1822, and had a family of twelve children, eight surviving, of
which number Isaac and Daniel Slanker still reside in Chippewa township, and are
most worthy citizens.
Chippewa.-This village was surveyed for Stephen Ford by Daniel L. McClure,
in May, 18i6; plat recorded May 15, I816, to be found on page 283, vol. I, County
Records. The first house in the place was built by Captain John Routson, of the
Chippewa Rangers, father of Samuel Routson, of Wooster. He was born in Adams
county, Pa., in 1790, and in I816 married Sarah Franks, daughter of Henry
Franks.
Slankerville was laid out by Jacob Slanker, Reuben Dressler and John Gartner,
and surveyed by John A. Lawrence, February 24, I843. Plat and certificate recorded April 26, x843, and record found on page 587, volume 24. Since the completion of the railroad it has been known by the name of Easton.
Thomas W. Peckinpaugh was born in the State of Pennsylvania, November I7,
x817. On his father's side he is of German extraction, on the mother's English.
In 182I his parents emigrated to Greene township when the subject of this sketch
was but four years of age. His father was a farmer, and with him his son remained
until he was twenty-one. Like many other of the young men of his time, who at
an early age were cast upon their own resources, and who have made a mark upon
community, Mr. Peckinpaugh's first exploits consisted in energetic efforts to secure
an education, and in preparation to teach the common school. His exertions in
this direction proving successful he entered upon the career of teacher in winter
and academy pupil in the summer. In I840 he entered the Wadsworth institution,
where he concluded his studies, and from which he emerged to deliver battle to the
world. Having an inclination from boyhood to enter the legal profession, he now
had the opportunity offered to reward his ambition. With resolution pitched to
the key of future success, he commenced the study of Blackstone, selecting for his




CHIPPE WA TO WNSHIP.


857


preceptor Hon. Edward Avery, of Wooster. He was now living in Milton township,
and in I848 he was admitted to the practice of law.
He was married October I8, 1848, to Miss Jane E. Cotton, of Milton township,
when he proceeded to Chippewa township, where he entered upon practice, teaching for two winters in conjunction with his legal duties, when he devoted his entire
time and attention to the law. In 1854 he was elected Justice of the Peace for
Chippewa township, which office he filled for six consecutive years. In 1860 he
was elected Auditor of Wayne county, and was re-elected to the same office, the
duties of which he performed with conspicuous fidelity and satisfaction to the public. He next purchased a farm in Milton township, where, for a period of three
years, he lived, when he removed to West Salem and resumed his profession.
He was elected to the Legislature from Wayne county in I869, and re-elected
in the hot conflict of I871, having served with distinction and credit to his cunstituents and the State. His eldest son, Thomas E., is an accomplished business
scholar, a young man of unchallenged honor, until recently Teller in the National
Bank of Wooster, and at present one of the proprietors of the Wayne County Democrat. Mr. Peckinpaugh is yet in the blaze and vigor of manhood, and as attentive to
business as when thirty years ago he began the upward struggle toward wealth and
honor. He is of commanding personal appearance, fully six feet in hight, and weighs
over two hundred pounds. His political affiliations are wholly with the Democracy,
where he has ever maintained uniformity and consistency in the advocacy of its
principles.
As a lawyer his integrity and prompt attention to business, combined with the
faithfulness with which he labors for his client, have secured for him a liberal share
of practice.
In public or private life there is neither harshness nor rashness about him.
There is a degree of self-control and self-balance about him characteristic of the
man; heard upon the stump, or before the Court, or in the halls of legislation, he
is never thrown off his guard. His life affords an instructive lesson to those laboring against adversity, and furnishes an example of what industry, punctuality and
determination can do to conquer difficulties, and to secure the confidence and respect of the communities in which their lot may be cast. United with his public
virtues, he is a man of unsullied private character.
James Adams was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, in the year i8oo. At
the age of i8 he learned blacksmithing, and in i820 he removed to Chippewa
township. He owns a valuable coal farm near Doylestown,'and is comfortably and
independently situated. He is familiar with the annals of his township.. He informs us that " Rogues' Hollow " was a resort in the early days for some fellows who
made pewter money there and "shoved the queer."  Old George Zealy frequented
the "hollow; " he was a preacher, and was sent to the penitentiary from Wooster,.
but was soon released. Mr. Adams is a hale, hearty and lively man, a wide-awake,
get-up-and-get citizen, stout, athletic, with a " right " and a " left" ever at his service. He is a genial gentleman and a social, clever man.
Cline, Seiberling &' Co., Doylestown, Ohio.-In I86I Peter Cline, John F. Seiberling and John H. Hower formed a partnership, under the firm name of Cline,
Seiberling & Hower, to manufacture the Excelsior Dropping Reaper and Mower, of
which John F. Seiberling was the inventor. In i865, the works having been annually enlarged, J. H. Seiberling, Jacob J. Hower and Samuel Miller were received
into the partnership, when the firm name was changed to Cline, Seiberling & Co.
J. F. Seiberling and John H. Hower then removed to Akron, Ohio, to more exten



858


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


sively engage in the manufacture of their machines. From 1865 to 1875 the firm
continued the same, each year building from six hundred to one thousand machines.
October 22, I875, John H. Hower sold his interest to the remaining members, and
October 3, i876, Jacob J. Hower sold his, the firm name, however, remaining the
same. Since I875 they have also built the Empire Reaper and Mower, another
conception of the fertile brain of John F. Seiberling, which he has thoroughly perfected, and which is an exquisite gem of mechanical beauty. The two machines,
the Excelsior and the Empire Reaping and Mowing Machines, are built by Mr. Seiberling in Akron and by Cline, Seiberling & Co. at Doylestown.
This firm at Doylestown is the most solid and reliable manufacturing institution
in Wayne county, or in Northern Ohio.  It has thus far weathered financial
cyclones, monetary upheavals and panic simooms, its reputation unquestioned and
its credit above challenge or suspicion. It employs on an average from sixty-five to
seventy-five men.
John F. Seiberling is a native of Summit county, Ohio, his father originally emigrating from Lehigh county, Pa., to this county, when he settled in Norton
township. He was a farmer, with whom John worked occasionally, doing some,work upon a saw-mill, which his father had erected, and it was here where he first
manifested his inventive genius. In trying to repair one of the John P. Manny
machines, which his father had purchased, he conceived the idea of the dropper,
whereupon he went to work and constructed an entirely new machine called " The
Excelsior," to which the dropper was subsequently attached. To this he has annually made improvements. By persevering, patient labor and plodding on he has
established success and triumphantly vindicated his claims as a man of genius, and
one of the world's benefactors. He lived in Doylestown from I86I to 1865, when he
removed to Akron, where he at present resides.
James Seiberling, brother of John, is likewise a member of the firm, and like
him, is endowed with considerable inventive ingenuity. He was married to Elizabeth Baughman, of Summit county, and has had six children, two of whom are
dead. He is a member of the Lutheran church, a man of earnest life, honor and
integrity.
Peter Cline was born in Prussia, October 4, 1823. His father was a farmer,
and immigrated to America when Peter was fourteen years old, bringing nine children with him over the sea. The family arrived at New York in I836, and soon
found their way to Masillon, soon leaving there, and going to Huron county, Ohio.
Peter, however, remained and found employment in a furnace, where he staid two
years, when Hart & Brown opened up in the foundry business, when he hired with
them and continued for six years. From there he went to Fulton, and thence to
Doylestown, working with Galehouse & Gates, who started the Doylestown foundry, and where he has since remained in business.
He was married to Margaret Sites, of Canal Fulton, in I847, whose death
occurred April 15, I877. He has had six children, three of whom are dead. He is
a kind-hearted, honest, industrious man, and has accumulated through years of toil
and economy both property and means. He has been a member of the old Lutheran church since early manhood.
Samuel H. liller was born in Northampton county, Pa., May 28, 1839. His
father, John Miller, was a farmer in Pennsylvania, and removed to Ohio in 1843,
settling in Norton township, Summit county, where he purchased a farm, Samuel
remaining with him until I85I, when he began clerking in a dry goods store in




ADDITIONAL SKETCHES.


859


Akron, where he remained to December 8, 1857. December 15, x863, he came to
Doylestown, and engaged in bookkeeping for the firm until September I, I865,
when he became a partner, and from that time to the present has been Secretary
and Treasurer of the institution.
He was married August 29, 1867, to Miss Ella L. Schneider, of Summit
county, Ohio, and has six children. Mr. Miller, though a comparatively young
man, has established a business and financial reputation that is seldom achieved by
older men. He is a courteous, affable and cultivated gentleman, wedded to his
business, forever invigorating and stimulating it with the energy of his vigorous
and aggressive nature. He has achieved a deserved popularity, while his star has
not wandered to its zenith.
ADDITIONAL SKETCHES.
"Old Probabilities. "-In 1.816 the pioneers gathered their wheat crop in July,
the weather being exceedingly cold.
I817. A frost visited Ohio on the 1st of June of this year, completely destroying the fruit and killing the verdure of the orchards and forest trees.
1825. May i8th the terriffic " Burlington storm " swept over Delaware, Licking, Knox and Coshocton counties, the most violent tornado that ever visited
Ohio.
I833. November I3th of this year, we are told, " the stars fell." It was a
copious shower, and meteoric tramps tumbled through the heavens and popped
earthward in prodigal confusion.
I834. A frost occurred on the iith day of May, materially injuring the
wheat crop.
I835. Heavy rains fell during the summer, submerging the bottoms and rendering tillage impracticable. JIay crop seriously damaged, and cattle died from
eating it. Comet this year.
I841. An unusually violent snow storm May 2.
I843. July 2ist, severe frost.
1845. Frosts appeared May 7th and 25th, destroying the wheat crop of that
year.
1854 —55. The winters of these years will long be remembered. Snow covered
the ground thirteen weeks in succession. The month of May, 1855, was remarkably dry, but from the ioth to the 17th, the June of this year will not be forgotten
for its remarkable floods.
I855. On the 24th of December it began to snow, and from this date until
the last of the month of March, the sleighing remained excellent, the snow covering the earth till about the 20th of April. Forest and fruit trees were killed, and
since the first settlement of the country no winter presented so grim and wrinkled
a front.
1859. What is known as the "June Frost" of this year was a sad visitation
upon Northern Ohio. June 5, 1859, on Sunday morning, the face of the earth
looked as though a sheet of living flame had smitten the vegetation that covered
its hills and valleys.
1873-74. The winter of these years is worthy of special mention. On the 6th
and 7th of January, I874, occurred the great "Ice Storm," which must be distinguished for its destructive effects upon the forests of the country.
1877. Up to Christmas of this year the season was most remarkable. On the
Friday previous to Christmas the thermometer marked 90~ in the sun; on the Satur




860            HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, 01G10.
day previous 80~, and on the Sunday before Christmas the mercury rose to 00oo in
the sun. The days were delightful and balmy, while the nights were beautiful,
dewy and frostless.
c Old John Baker" came to Wayne county in I815 from Somerset county,
Pennsylvania, but was born in York county, that State. He was a farmer, a resident of Wayne township, and a member of the Methodist church. He died in
I86-, aged eighty-three years, leaving a family of nine children. His son John now
lives on the old homestead in Wayne township.
His Bear Fights.-There are many hunting incidents of the old days, when the
largest animals haunted the forest and stream of this region, especially of "Old
John Baker," who was a famous hunter and trapper in those times. One day, over
fifty years ago, he was out hunting deer, several of which he saw feeding on the
hills beyond the valley. He started for the deer to get a shot at them, and when
half way up the slope where they were browsing he came to a large tree that was
blown out of root. Here he stopped to reconnoiter his game, and while doing so
was startled by a noise close behind him. Turning, he saw a bear emerging from
a hole under the roots of the tree, and coming at him, reared up for attack. He
instantly put gun to shoulder and fired, but unfortunately missed the bear, which
cunningly had dropped on all fours the moment the rifle flashed. The bear at once
threw himself on Baker with all the ferocity of his savage nature, crushing the hunter to the ground, there biting him, then picking him up and "hugging" him in
deadly embrace. It was a desperate fight, and Baker soon got the worst of the encounter. He was bitten in the face, the flesh of his leg torn to the bone, and body
lacerated by claws, while he had somewhat wounded the bear with stabs of his
butcher knife, but which finally broke off by striking against a bone in the throat
of the bear. Being now defenseless from loss of his knife, and helpless from bleeding wounds, he "played 'possum " on bruin, by lying quite still, as if dead. The bear
ceased his attack, but at the least movement of the hunter he would bite and paw
him. At last the animal left him, and Baker got up, but was so badly hurt that he
dropped down; then crawled around and found his gun off a couple of rods away,
and using it for a staff, he managed to reach a road, and call to a woman at a cabin
half a mile distant, who came to his assistance. After binding up his twenty-two
wounds made by the bear, the woman and her husband hauled him to his home on
a hand-sled.
Another Encounter with Bruin.-On another occasion Baker had a similar fight
with a bear. He tracked a large one into Sugarcreek Swamp, where he brought
the bear to bay. He fired at him, but only inflicted a wound severe enough to infuriate the animal. It turned upon him, and a fierce struggle ensued, in which
Baker nearly lost his life. The bear seized him, got him to the ground, and with
teeth and claws bit and tore his body and limbs in a fearful manner; but at last,
after desperate efforts, Baker got his butcher-knife out of its sheath, plunged it repeatedly into the bear, and finally pierced the heart of the shaggy monster, the
bear dying upon him, lying there almost dead himself from bleeding wounds.
Further Hunting Incidents.-Forty-five years ago he shot a bear in Wooster
township, 2) miles north-east of the city, on lands of Joseph Stibbs, shooting it
on a tree.
When at Chippewa lake one time he heard a hog squealing, the noise coming
from the direction of the swamp. He at once proceeded there, discovered tracks
of a bear and followed them into the swamp, where he found the animal tugging
away at a hog that was squealing most lustily. On his near approach the bear did




ADDITIONAL SKETCHES.


86r


not let go his hold of the captive porker, and Baker put the muzzle of his gun close
to bruin's body, pulled the trigger, but the rifle missed fire. Then the bear
dropped the hog, which scampered away almost unhurt, and made for Baker, who
met him with his knife, with which he soon dispatched the beast.
He made a practice of hunting four weeks every fall, which he kept up until
old age. He was regarded as one of the most intrepid hunters of bear and deer,
an expert trapper of otter, mink, coon and foxes in this region, several of the
surrounding counties being full of incidents of his exploits.
Christian Silvers* was born near Martinsburg, old Virginia, August 8, I8oi.
He was early possessed of a desire to remove West, and in pursuance of this inclination he started, reaching Wooster May 5, I831, soon thereafter settling in Plain
township, where, until his death, August 17, 1876, he continued to live, an honored and respected citizen.                                                X
To the relatives, friends and neighbors of Mr. Silvers, who so well knew
him, it would be superfluous to indulge in phrases of eulogy. As a citizen he was
industrious and frugal, placing a proper value upon time, and realizing the certainty of its rapid flight. As a man he was straightforward, and if in some cases
he hesitated for counsel, or was indecisive in action, when he did act he did so
with great strength of resolution. He was not easily excited, but he had the courage for the worst contingencies. He was a kind and considerate father, free from
rashness and outbursts of wrathful violence, thus presenting an example of forbearance and patience worthy of imitation. He was neither a bigot nor an enthusiast, yet he maintained his opinions upon secular and religious subjects with
singular clearness, and without semblance of prejudice. He was married to Elizabeth Cook and had ten children, three of whom are dead. The following are the
names of the surviving members of the family: Mary, Eliza, John, Harriet, Barbara, George and Lucy. His wife died in September, i864.
John H. Silvers, of Wooster, a son of Christian, is a native of Plain township, and
was raised on the farm with his father. After the breaking out of the war, August
II, i862, he enlisted in Company I, Captain James Robison, Io2d 0. V. I. With
this regiment he served during his three years of enlistment, participating in its
defeats and triumphs as well as its pleasures and privations. He was married September I4, I87I, to Miss Mary Black, of Wooster. For a number of years he has
been chief clerk in the office of Bates Bros., agents of the Northwestern Mutual
Life Insurance Company for the States of Ohio and West Virginia, and is distinguished for the steadiness and accuracy of his business habits, no less than his
private virtues, liberal disposition and general manly qualities. With him the post
of duty is the post of honor, his more conspicuous traits being a firm integrity and
a rigid sense of social and moral responsibility. He makes few friends, but warm
and lasting friendships.
General David Moore was born in Columbiana county, Ohio, July 3, i817, and
with his father removed to Chester township in i830, with whom he remained till
he was about 18 years of age, learning the joiner and carpentering business. At
the outbreak of the Mexican War he raised a company for the service known as the
"Wooster Guards," and was chosen its Captain, and in the order of organization
was classed as Company E, 3d Regiment of Ohio Volunteers. He followed the fortunes and perils of his company and regiment, and after its close, in 185I, he re*This sketch belongs to Plain township, but, inadvertently, was omitted in its
proper place.
*   i




862


HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.


moved to Missouri and engaged in farming and merchandising in Clark county, in
which he continued until the war broke out, when, in the spring of I86I, he organized the 2Ist Missouri Regiment and on the 5th of August, I86I, with this regiment he defeated General Martin Green, brother of the late Senator Green, who
commanded the rebel forces of North-eastern Missouri. Green had 1,500 men,
armed with shot-guns and long knives.
The battle commenced at sunrise and lasted about two hours. It was fought
in and around the town of Athens, Missouri, about twenty miles above Keokuk,
Iowa, on the Des Moines river. General Moore formed his line of battle on the
main street of the town, the enemy surrounding the town with his right resting on
the river below the village and his left resting on the river above the town. The
rebels fought with great courage, but their shot-guns proved unequal to the imWroved muskets with which the Union soldiers were armed. After two hours of
severe fighting, Moore ordered his men to fix bayonets, when they charged upon
the enemy's center, capturing his artillery and five hundred cavalry horses, with
saddles, blankets, camp and garrison equipage, completely routing the rebels, who
precipitately fled from the field, leaving many killed and wounded, and a number
of prisoners in possession of the victors.
The battle of Athens, so gallantly and skillfully conducted by General Moore,
was the first Federal victory won in the State of Missouri. His regiment opened
the fight at Shiloh, and in this battle he was twice wounded and lost a leg, which
incapacitated him for a period, but on his recovery commanded a brigade, under
Rosecrans, at Corinth, where he had two horses killed under him. His services
were highly active until the close of the war, and of eminent value to the country.
General Moore is a brother of W. C. Moore, M. D., of Wooster. His career
in the military service of his country was one of great activity and efficiency. A
gallant soldier in one of the nation's foreign wars and a valiant leader in the unhappy collisions of the North and South, he has enrolled himself as one of the nation's defenders, and achieved a military eminence such only as the soldier, steelfronted and of iron blood, achieves. After the close of the war he was elected to
the State Senate of Missouri for four years, on the Liberal ticket, in 1869.
He is a firm advocate of the cause of education; has faith in the common
schools, the colleges and universities of the country. Popular education with him
is not a vagary or new theory, but a vigorous and life-strengthened conviction.
Major-General David Sloane Stanley is a native of Chester township, Wayne
county, Ohio, where he was born June I, i8z8, three miles south of the village of
Congress, Congress township. Being a bright and promising lad, at the age of
eleven years Dr. Leander Firestone, of Wooster, then practicing medicine at Con.
gress village, received him into his family, taking complete charge of him and
affording him all the advantages of education within his power at that time. He
enjoyed the facilities of the village school during his earlier boyhood, and attended
the Canaan Academy, then under the management of Christopher C. Bombarger, and
was the classmate of Hon. Joseph H. Downing, of Wooster, Isaac Notestine, of
Canaan, William Brinkerhoff, and others.
He remained under the attention of Dr. Firestone until I848, when he obtained, through him and the influence of Hon. Samuel Lahm, member of Congress,
admission into West Point Academy. In I852 he graduated, with a standing sufficiently high to warrant his assignment as Second-Lieutenant to the Second Dragoons, now the Second Cavalry. The next year he was employed as assistant on
the survey of the Pacific Railroad, under General Whipple, and in I855 was transferred to the First Cavalry. Sumner was Colonel, Joe Johnston Lieutenant-Colo



~


ADDITIONAL SKETCHES.                           863
nel and Sedgewick Major. In 1857 he was with Colonel Sumner in a campaign
against the Cheyenne Indians. In 1858 he was in the Utah expedition, and the'
same year crossed the plains to Texas, where, for services, he was complimented by
General Scott.
At the opening of the Rebellion he was stationed at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and
in I86i was appointed Captain in the 4th United States Cavalry. He joined General Lyon at Grand River, and was engaged in the capture of Forsythe. He was
appointed Brigadier-General of Volunteers in November, I86I. March, 1862, he
moved with Pope's army down the Mississippi, and commanded the Second Division at New Madrid and Island No. io. He took part in the Fort Pillow expedition, and April 22 he joined Halleck's army before Corinth. In the battle of Iuka.
he commanded one of Rosecrans' two divisions, and was specially commended in
the official report, and at the battle of Corinth, October 4, his Division suffering sadly
in officers and men. In October he joined the Army of the Tennessee, under General Grant, but in November he was ordered to report to Rosecrans, commanding
the Army of the Cumberland, who assigned him to the charge of the cavalry of that
army.
On November 21 he was made a Major-General of Volunteers. He commanded
the cavalry in the fight of Stone River, and for nine days the saddles were not removed from his horses, unless to have them groomed. He made an expedition into
Georgia, crossing the Tennessee river with all the cavalry, where he had brisk skirmishing. After the battle of Chickamauga he was assigned to the command of the
First Division 4th Army Corps. He accompanied General Sherman on the Atlanta
campaign and commanded the 4th Corps, by appointment of the President, from
July, 1864, to the close of the war; and during Hood's raid upon General Sherman's
communications, in October, he commanded two corps of the Army of the Cumberland. On the 27th of October he separated from Sherman's Army and camped in
Coosa Valley, Alabama. He marched the 4th Corps to Chattanooga, and thence to
Pulaski, confronting Hood's Army, which was then threatening Nashville and Middle Tennessee. He fell back through Columbia, and at Spring Hill was engaged
with two Corps of Hood's Army.
At the battle of Franklin, General Stanley came upon the field just as a portion
of the National line was captured by the Rebels. His timely arrival averted disas.
ter, and placing himself at the head of a brigade, he led a charge which re-established the line. The soldiers followed him with enthusiasm, calling out, "Come
on, men; we can go wherever the General can." Just after retaking the line, and
while passing toward the left, the General's horse was killed; and no sooner did he
regain his feet, than he was struck by a musket ball in the back of the neck,
which hurled him to the ground, but, rallying again, he rushed to the advance
of his men, and exclaimed, "The lines are breaking! let us die here! follow
me!" and it is said of him, and the declaration is given to history, that.he rallied his faltering troops and repelled seven successive charges. No voice from the
rear shouted, "On, Stanley, on!" but fired with an immortal courage, he led the
charge and asked his boys to follow him. Of such metal is our Stanley made; of
such Roman virtue is he coined, that
"P lucks success
E'en from the spear-proof crest of rugged danger."
After this engagement, which resulted in the discomfiture of Hood, and his
wound seriously incapacitating him, he was forced to abstain from active duty for a
period, when he came to Wooster and made his home with Dr. Firestone and wife,




864             HISTORY OF WAYNE COUNTY, OHIO.
where, under the careful treatment of the former, and the kind attentions of Mrs.
Firestone, he rapidly and permanently recovered. He was then placed on duty in
East Tennessee, January 24, 1865. In July he moved with the Fourth Corps to
Texas, which he commanded, and the middle district of Texas, until mustered out,
February I, i866.
General Stanley enjoyed to the fullest extent the confidence of his superior
officers, and General Thomas-" the noblest Roman of them all "-in recommending him for promotion, says: "A more cool and brave commander would be a
difficult task to find, and though he has been a participant in many of the most
sanguinary engagements of the war, his conduct has, on all occasions, been so gallant and marked, that it would almost be an injustice to him to refer to any isolated
battle-field. I refer, therefore, only to the battle of Franklin, Tennessee, November 30, 1864, because it is the more recent, and one in which his gallantry was so
marked as to merit the admiration of all who saw him. It was here that his personal bravery was more decidedly brought out, perhaps, than on any other field, and,the terrific destruction and defeat which disheartened and checked the fierce
assaults of the enemy, is due more to his heroism and gallantry than to that of any
other officer on the field." Generals Grant and Sherman indorsed Thomas's recom-.mendation, and General Sheridan also adds his testimony in favor of General.Stanley. The authorities at Washington acted upon these testimonials, and rewarded General Stanley's gallantry with the Colonelcy of the 22d United States
Infantry, and a Brevet Major-Generalship in the United States Army.
Few men, indeed, in the military employment of the United States acquired so
sudden and deserving a fame as General Stanley, and he justly merits the bold
prominence of being associated and included in that galaxy of young, dashing and
brilliant officers of the late war whose valor and genius were developed on its many
and sanguinary fields. And it is but due to him to say that he achieved the distinctive honor of giving efficiency, force and elan to the cavalry arm of the na-.tional service in the West.
Of the genius, skill, gallantry and ability of General Stanley, who henceforward is the property of fame, none have a better right to speak, and none more,than the people of Wayne county the right to be proud, for he is her product, and
of her soil. He rose from obscurity to eminence, from darkness to brightness.
Reputation fell not on him as the dews or as the snows fall; he toiled for it, bled for
it, the pathway to the goal exacting its price and the payment. He has been the
architect of his own life, the builder of the edifice of his name. For without interference of political friends, or the aid of those whose positions commanded certain influence, he has gained a splendid renown, and ascended the acclivitous path
of military glory to honorable hights of enviable fame.
He was married April 2, I857, at Carlisle Barracks, to Anna M. Wright, daughAer of Surgeon J. B. Wright, of the United States Army.




IN DEX.


Acres in Townships..... 68
Agricultural Survey.....657
Adams, James............857
Agricultural Society.....260
Amwell.....................633
Allspaugh, Henry.......841
Appleseed, Johnny......I96
Applecreek Station......616
Appleman, Parmenas... 766
Armstrong, Thomas.....765
Armstrong, Thomas.....779
Arnold, Philip............643
Ault, John.................710
Ault, John.................707
Ault, Andrew............701
Ault, V. W................705
Avery, Edward...........353
Aylesworth Family......789
Archaeology...............135
Pottery..................137
Ornaments.............. 138
Earthworks............. 39
Sacred and Miscellaneous Enclosures... 140
Sepulchral Mounds... 143
Sacrificial Mounds... 45
Temple Mounds......146
Animal Mounds.......46
Tumuli of Wayne Co. 148
Fort  Hill................150
Fort Tyler..............152
Other Earthworks....I5
Skeleton Exhumed... I53
Bone  Pits............... 44
Baird, Aaron.............645
Baird, Cyrus..............645
Bales, Abraham.......... 594
Bales, Jacob..............594
Baumgardners...........563
Baker, W. C..............840
Baker, John, the BearFighter...............860
Battles, Wm. S..........802
Barton Family...........718
Barnes, W. T.............765
Barnes, Henry............770
Barnes, Peter'........... 771
Reminiscences......... 77I


Barr, Thomas............776
Barr, Thomas H..........777
Barrett, John F...........565
Bates, E. P...............556
Bates, Ira H...............560
Baughman Township...698
Churches................709
Coal Mines............117
Baughman, John.........70
Reminiscences........701
Beall, Reasin.............322
Beall's Campaign........223
Bever, John...............298
Bessey, Isaac.............637
Bible Society..............262
Bissell, Samuel N.......412
Block House, Description of.................760
Blocher, Daniel.........779
Blachley, Wm. B........643
Blachleyville..............647
Boiler Explosion........635
Bonewitz, S. R...........502
Boydston, Charles......620
Boydston, Thomas......683
Brenneman, Adam......696
Brinkerhoff, John.......448
Brown, Wm. H..........788
Brown, Philip J..........823
Brown, Eli................592
Brown, Charles H.......592
Brown, Frederick.......617
Brown, John J..........618
Brown, Emanuel.........620
Reminiscences.........620
Butler, John...............6I3
Reminiscences..........613
Butler, Thomas..........6op
Butler, Jonathan.........600
Burbank...................782
Carr, Joseph H...........550
Carr, Rodney & family..6 9
Campbell, John..........704
Camp Family.............837
Canaan Township.......772
Reminiscences.........773
Academy...............775
Churches..............776


Carlin, David............ 86
Catholic Bishop, death 566
Chief Johnnycake.......69
Chasey, Daniel..........812
Christmas, John.........352
Chaffin, Simon, Sr......617
Chaffin, Simon, Jr.......617
Reminiscences.........617
Cheyney, John...........6e4
Cheyney, Richard......625
Cheyney, Hibben........626
Chester Township.......835
First Settlers...........836
Chippewa Township...850
First Settlers...........85i
Coal Mines.............I 14
Chippewa Village.......856
Cook, Samuel............846
Cox, Jacob................845
Cox, Levi..................349
Cotton, Benjamin........637
Congress Township.....809
Reminiscences........8 r
Congress Village.........814
County Buildings........ 259
Court Houses.............254
Cole, J. S.................830
County Officers...........244
Cline, Seiberling & Co..857
Cline, Peter...............858
Clinton Township.......783
Reminiscences........785
Crawford's Campaign..208
Creeks.....................  69
Clingan, Joseph.........36I
Clingan, E. G...........363
Cunningham, John......331
Curry, James..............569
Curry, D. C. & Bros....573
Cutter, Ephraim.........608
Cutter, John..............608
Cutter, Samuel........... 608
Culbertson, Hugh......737
Dalton...................... 847
Day, Stephen F..........367
Dawson, Thomas.......634
Dean, Ezra................365
Douglass, James.........654




INDEX.


ss, John...........706
_ning, Joseph H.....444
Innelly, R. R..........42I
owty, Thomas.........606
Driesbach, Herr.........623
Driskels & Brawdys....722
Dulin, John...............831
Doylestown..............853


Early Settlers.............I78
Early Agriculture........ 9
East Union Township..614
Churches...............621
'Coal Mines..............I 9
Eason, Benjamin........ 484
Eason, Robert............646
Eberhardt, Jacob........575
Ebright, A. B.............649
Eberly, John B...........684
Eckert, T. T..............564
Eddy, Abner, Sr.........787
Edinburg...................6i6
Eichar, Joseph............736
Elliott, William..........717
Elliott Family............635
Elliott, John..............853
Emrich, G. P..............720
Espy, Jacob B............739
Ewing, William..........780
Fairview....................709
First County Seat........284
Firestone, Leander......52I
Firestone, George.......620
Firestone, W. W.........527
Fisher, Solomon........ 581
Fritz, Martin..............630
Fritz, Phillip............631
Reminiscences........63I
First Four Settlements. 176
Force, William    P........6Io
Fouts, George...........58
Folgate, John............646
Foreman, David.........702
Foreman, Enos........703
Fort Meigs, Siege of....24I
Fredericksburg.......... 764
Reminiscences.........764
Churches.................767
Franklin Township......596
First Settlers.......... 599
Churches................605
Coal Mines.............125
Franks, Aaron...........608
Franks, Orrin G.........852
Franks, Abraham.......855
Franks, Henry............851
Franks, Abraham........855
Frederick, Thomas......854
Frick, Jacob...............439
Fraze, Jacob...............591
Fraze, George............592
Fruits...................672
Fuller Sisters............441


Galehouse, Elias.........855
Galehouse, Frederick...852
Garver, Jacob............840
Geology of State......... 93
Geological structure of
county...............III
Georget, Justin...........829
Gensener, David.........708
Given, William...........430
Glass, James.............715
Goodfellow, William...644
Goudy, John.............845
Grains.......................668
Greene Township........677
First Settlers...........679
Churches..............682
Greenville Treaty Line 50
Harkins and Porter.....703
Harrison, John...........609
Reminiscences.........609
Harn, George U........540
Hanna, Archibald......846
Hazzard, John...........828
Hatfield, William........855
Harley, L. G.............849
Haverstock, Conrad...589
Heads of Families in
i8Io................  273
Henry, William.........300
Henry, Stephen M.....626
Henry, Stephen, Sr.....738
Henry, J. R..............826
Herschey, Benjamin....
Hefflefinger, Philip......838
Hemphill, Samuel.....4I7
Heckert, John D........774
Herman, Jacob..........606
Howard, Horace.........360
Howard, Alfred.........503
Houmard, David........582
Homan, William........848
Horst, David G..........695
Hough, John...........774
Hughes, John............602
Hunter, David...........619
Hull's Surrender.........238
Hyatt, W. B.............707
Introduction...............  5
Indian Treaties........... 32
Indian Hostility........ 40
Indian History.......... 6I
Delaware s..............162
Wyandots..............163
Shawanese..............164
Of Wayne County...I65
Indian Trails............ 166
Indian Massacre........ 168
Indian Origin............. 72
Infirmary..................259
Ihrig, J acob...............715
Irvine, Samuel...........766
Ice   Storm,................859


Jails..........................256
Jameson, Joshua.........624
Jameson, Isaac K........624
Jacobs, James............354
Jacobs, James C.........547
Jefferson...................647
Jeffries, John P...........451
Jones, Benjamin.........731
Jones, D. K...............802
Jones, Isaac N............421
Jones, 0. F...............499
Jones, "Priest"........ 350
Johnston, Matthew......565
Johnson, Abner.........635
Johnson, Sinclair........769
June Frost,...............859
Kean, Dewitt C..........649
Kean, Joseph W.........79I
Kean, Wm................792
Keeling, Wm.............638
Keeling, Edward F......638
Keeler, John..............814
Kenney, Simon.........775
Kieffer, John J..........684
Kieffer, D. L..............684
Kister, Jacob.............648
Killbuck,Indian Chief. 228
Killbuck, Boating on...23I
Killbuck Swamp......... 85
Kimmell, George........588
Lakes........................  79
Larwill, John.............303
Lake, Joseph S............314
Lake, Mrs. J. S..........316
Reminiscences.........316
Lake, Constant...........436
Lake, Isaac...............799
Lattasburg................. 836
Lash, Henry..............589
Lawrence, Christian....739
Lawrence, John A......739
Lance Family............632
Langell Family...........622
Lehman, John............719
Leatherman, Jacob......813
Leyda Family............792
Lockhart, Moses....... 603
Lucas, Wm............... 587
Marriage Statistics......263
Marshallville..............706
Mackey, John............766
Martin, James...........769
Madison, vacation of...284
Mathoit, George.........587
McClarran, Robert..3...309
Reminiscences.........309
McClellan, John Sr.....3..
McConahay, David.....351
McClure, A. S............55
McCammon, Moses....,6Io
McConkey, Thomas...788




INDEX.


McCoy, James............719
McCoy, Neal.............719
McCoy, Thomas A..... 719
McBride, Alexander.... 742
McBride, John K.......423
McDonald, Angus......492
Mclntire, John..........607
Mclntire, Cornelius....607
Mclntire, A. A..........707
Mclntire, Smith.........724
McKee, Thomas.........812
McKean, Lewis.........704
McMonigal Family......31
McMillen, A. M......... 593
McMillen, D. H.........594
McMillen, Thomas......653
McSweeney, John......475
McPhail, Daniel.........336
Mellinger, Benedict.....644
Mitchel, Samuel.........600
Mitchel, Samuel.........602
Milbourn, Josiah........6I9
Millbrook............... 647
Miller, Samuel H.......858
Miller, Joseph............ 764
Recollections of...... 764
Milton Township.......627
First Settlers..........629
Reminiscences........631
Churches...............636
Milton Station............ 633
M t. Eaton.................584
Moore, John.............620
Moore, W. C.............500
Moore, Gen David......86I
Mound Builders..........I55
Moreland.................599
Morgan, James..........599
Morgan, Hugh, Sr......603
Morgan, Hugh...........603
Moyers, Mahlon.........825
Moyers, John............839
Moncrief, D. L..........693
Moscow...................847
Munson Family..........604
Naftzger, John...........779
Newkirk, John...........794
Newkirk, Henry.........795
Newkirk, Isaac..........796
Newkirk, Reuben.......798
Newkirk, John W.......798
New Pittsburg............836
Nimmon, John...........654
Northwest'n Territory.. 15
Ohio Land Co......... 25
First Settlement....... 28
Surveys..................  28
French Grant......... 30
Military Lands........ 3
Gov't and Laws....... 34
Courts....................  35
Organization of
Counties............. 36


Early Villages........ 38
Officers................... 39
Population in 1787... 24
Legislature in 1799... 43
Ohio Land Company 25
Organization of Counties.................... 36
Ordinance of I787....   8
Notestine, Jonas.......... 779
Notestine, Isaac.........781
Norton, Benjamin........840
Odell, Lorenzo D........790
Oil Well Strata...........130
Ohio Canal...............261
Old Probabilities.........859
Orr, Smith................688
Orr, William M..........693
Orrville.....................686
Churches................694
Public Schools.........696
Newspaper Press......696
Secret Societies........693
Otis, Jesse.................848
Otis, E. D.................848
Patton, John..............321
Parsons, C. C............457
Paul, Jacob S..............682
Paint Township..........57
First Settlers...........579
The Most Singular
M an....................58
Churches................ 590
Coal Mines..............121
Peckinpaugh, T. W....856
Plain Township..........639
First Settlers...........642
Churches................650
Powder Explosion.......170
Population by Decades.273
Porter, Kimball.......... 460
Pope, Benjamin..........539
Pocock, Elijah...........793
Poe, Adam, the Indian
Fighter.................830
Pioneer Mothers.........I84
Pinkerton, James Y.....587
Peppard, William........770
Pinkerton, Matthew.....588
Peppard, William S.....770
Pittinger, Thomas.......836
Piper Family..............839
Plank Family..............827
Physical Aspect.......... 76
Prairies..................  75
Property, Real and Personal, Valuation of...274
Quinby, Samuel.........344
Quinby, E., Jr............465
Railroads.................264
Rathbun, Robert.........838


867
Rainey, John............. 799
Real Estate, Value of...274
Rex, George............... 460
Remains of Buffaloes...647
Reedsburg................647
Rice, Frederick..........842
Rider, John...............742
Rieder, Daniel Jr........ 765
Revolutionary Pensioners.....................272
Robison, David...........730
Robison, David, Jr......490
Robison, Thomas.......336
Robison, James D......532
Robison, James..........841
Robison, John...........842
iRoutson, Samuel.........572
Routson, John............856
Roth, Chas. C............587
Rouch, Wm...............646
Rouch, Henry............646
Rouch, Jacob.............647
Rocks, Sandstone and
Limestone............127
Rumbaugh, Adam......838
Russel......................633
Saltcreek Township.....762
Churches...............767
Coal Mines............124
Saltworks on Killbuck..233
Schaffter, Gustave......587
Schools, Primitive......277
School System............275
School-houses............664
School Statistics.........275
Schriber, Daniel.........697
Searight, William.......763
Seiberling, John F......858
Seiberling, James.......858
Shondal, Christian......856
Shreve, Thomas..........789
Shreve, Henry...........789
Shreve Village............800
School...................80
Journal.................802
Shinersburg...............634
Silvers, Christian........86i
Silvers, John.............86i
Sickman. John...........705
Sidle, William............643
Sloane, John.............318
Slemmons, Samuel......635
Slanker Family..........856
Slankerville or Easton..856
Smithville.................68I
High School...........683
Smith, Thomas...........683
Smith, B. C...............767
Smith, Thomas L.......6io
Smyser, Jacob............649
Soldiers of Civil War...749
Mexican War..........759
War of 1812............760




868


INDEX.


Spink, Cyrus.............332
Sprague, Lindol.........351
Spear, William...........567
Springville...............647
Strassner, Rev. S........7I
Stair, Peter...............839
Stanley, Gen. David S.862
Stampede of Settlers...618
Strieby, M. E............364
Reminiscences.........364
St. Clair's Defeat.........236
Stibbs, Joseph............312
Stitt, William............440
Stoll, J. H................695
Strayer, S. S............... 708
Stratton, Joseph.........775
Sommers, George.......774
Soil of County............ 73
Sonneberg.................849
Surface of County....... 73
Summerton, Royce..... 817
Summerton, Taber......817
Sugarcreek Township..843
First Settlers...........845
Churches...............847
Coal Mines.............122
Taggart, Robert.........704
Taggart, Samuel.........704
Taggart, Wm............741
Taggart, T. M............848
Taylor, A. A. E.........59
Tasker, Elijah............584
Thomas, David..........840
Thomson, Edward......337
Townshend, Thos........335
Totten, Michael.........425
Reminiscences.........428
Totten, Enoch...........544


Todd, J. H................806
Topography............... 66
Townships Formed...... 55
Troutman, George......718
Troutman, Philip.......742
Tryon, John..............646
Turnpike Road...........26I
University of Wooster..504
Wayne, Original Co.... 48
Wayne County Organized..................  54
First Court.............253
Wayne, Why Called.... 60
Wayne, Gen. Anthony. 60
Wayne Township........712
First Settlers............714
Churches.............. 716
Wahle, Christian........849
Wagner, Andrew........634
Warner, Joshua, Sr.....746
Warner, Nathan........65I
Warner, Nathan, Sr....745
Warner, Joshua..........653
Warner, Charles J......88
Warner, Solomon.......823
Warner, David E.......747
Wasson, Joseph, Sr.....7I7
Wasson, Joseph.........717
Walter, John.............74I
Welker, Martin..........528
Wellhouse, Geo. F......852
West Lebanon............593
West Salem...............824
Press.................826
Societies............828
Schools and Building.829
Westheffer, Benjamin... 705
Westcott, James D......586


Weygandt, Benjamin... 705
Weimer, John.............708
Wilson, William R......853
Wilhelm, John............568
Winger, Henry...........708
Winkler, John............683
Wilson, John..............705
Winchester, General....241
Woodland, Thomas.....410o
Woodhull & Claflin......543
Wooster, Gen. David...281
Wooster Township......726
Wooster City..............281
First 'Settlers  and
First Things.........284
Incorporation of.......289
First Election..........290
Official Record.........299
Postmasters.............296
Newspaper Press.....356
First Fire Company..296
First Death.............297
First Schools...........325
Churches................37I
Cemetery..............419
Gas Company..........438
Water Works..........497
Public Schools.........536
Opera House...........562
Arcadome Hall........563
Banks...................57I
Secret Societies........576
Market House........44I
Yarnell, David............808
Yocum, Joseph G........648
Zaring, Eli.................653
Zimmerman, John.......538




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THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
DATE DUE
DEC O   1t ad
OCTr 3Qmm




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