USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches > Part 1
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PREBLE COUNTY COURT HOUSE> EATON, O.
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1798.
HISTORY 11
OF
PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO,
WITH
ILLUSTRATIONS AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
H. Z. WILLIAMS & BRO., . PUBLISHERS,
1881.
FROM PRINTING HOUSE OF W. W. WILLIAMS, CLEVELAND, OHIO.
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PREFATORY NOTE.
In laying before our patrons the history of Preble county, the publishers wish not only to return thanks to all who have given them encouragement in their under- taking and assistance in carrying out their plans, but to make especial acknowledgment of services afforded, and courtesies extended by many citizens of Eaton and of the various townships of the county. Some measure of assistance in collecting and compiling the materials which compose this volume, it is safe to say, has been received from, at least, a thousand persons. Fully that number of people have been interviewed by our historians and note-collectors. While we wish all to feel themselves the recipients of our gratitude, we desire also to address our thanks personally to a few individuals who have been qualified and enabled, through the possession of, or ability to secure information upon, certain single topics, to lend the members of our writing corps invaluable aid. To the clergy generally, the editors of the several news- papers and the always painstaking and obliging county officials we extend our sincerest thanks for many favors received. Among individuals we feel it our duty even at the risk of being invidious, to mention gratefully as those from whom important assistance has been secured, Thomas J. Larsh, esq., Judge John V. Campbell, Levin T. McCabe, Judge Curry, S. H. Hubbell, R. G. D. Mc- Kemy, Jacob Chambers, Alfred Demy, C. W. Moore, Frank Mitchell, Dr. F. M. Michael and Robert W. Quinn, esq., all of Eaton, as well as Col. George D. Hendricks and Joseph D. Tracey, late of the same place, and that old-time and always esteemed citizen of Eaton, now and for many years a resident of Indianapolis-Mr. George Bruce. To the late Dr. W. H. H. B. Minor, whose death has occurred since the inception of this work, we have been largely indebted for facts in connec- tion with the history of Eaton.
We also tender expression of our obligation to Messrs David Barnett, Clinton Chadwick, George Jones, John H. Ross, J. A. Huffman and O. P. Brown, of Somers township; to Abraham Halderman, the Rev. H. M. Her_ man, Mrs. Abraham Black, James Campbell and Oscar Sheppard, of Lanier; to John Rape and Nathaniel Ben- jamin, of Twin; to Richard Morrow, sr., and Ebenezer Pad- dock, of Jackson; to James Elliott, Jesse Simonson, James B. Gentle and A. R. Conger, of Dixon; to James Ireland and S. W. Richey, of Jefferson; to John Ramsey, of Israel; to John Chrisman, Jesse Stubbs, Christian Say- ler and John Maddock, of Gratis; to Henry Shidler, of Gasper; Abdiel Etzler, Henry Surface, Benjamin Aikman and Dr. Miller, of Harrison; Esquire Shurley, Peter Disher, John Juday and William G. Smith, of Monroe.
Credit is given to the following published works which have largely been made use of: Henry Howe's "Histor- ical Collections of Ohio;" Judge Dillon's "History of Indiana;" Drake's "Indian Biography;" James R. Al- bach's "Annals of the West;" Squier and Davis' "An- cient Monuments of the Mississippi Valley;" the "Cen- tennial Address" by the late Judge Abner Haines; the "Ohio Geological Report;" "Ohio Railway Commission- ers Report for 1874;" the reports of the several secretaries of State; Gazetteers of Ohio; United States census; the "Biographical Cyclopedia of Ohio" and the files of the Eaton Register and Democrat.
The publishers feel, in placing this work before the public, that they have faithfully fulfilled all pledges which they made at the outset, and that they have produced a history of Preble county which will be found both valua- ble and reliable. Certainly no pains have been spared to make it all that it should be. We believe that it pre- serves from oblivion, in appropriate form, the essential facts in the history of the territory of which it treats.
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PREFATORY NOTE.
The task of collecting, from a thousand sources, the his- tory of a county like old Preble is always an onerous one, and has here been increased by the fact that only a mod- icum of the annals of early years has been handed down through the medium of the types by those who were best qualified to do that service for posterity and the his- torian. But on this account additional care has been taken, not only to harvest, but to glean the field; and that it has been done, despite the difficulty, carefully, conscientiously and with due regard for the dignity of the work, we have no hesitancy in saying. That a work which chronicles ten thousand facts and contains twice
ten thousand names should be absolutely free from error no one has a right to expect; and we do not claim for the History of Preble County the attainment of such per- fection; but that it is free from serious error of statement we have reason to know.
The publishers, in addition to the history proper, have given a valuable history of the State of Ohio, embracing over one hundred pages of the book. They believe the purchaser of this volume will appreciate this act, which was done without promise to a single subscriber.
The volume is placed before the public in the confi- dent belief that it will stand the test of candid criticims.
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CONTENTS.
HISTORICAL,
GENERAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER.
PAGE.
CHAPTER.
PAGE.
XVIII .- Railroads
94
I .- Physical Features 9
II .- The Pre-Historic Race 12
III .- Indian Occupation 17
19
V .- Wayne's War-Fall of Lowery
22
Dixon 161
Gasper 174
Gratis . 185
VII .- A Picture of the Pioneers
27
VIII .- Land Title
31
Israel .
219
IX .- County Erection
32 Jackson 243
Jefferson
255
XI .- The Civil Roster of Preble
37
XII .- Vote of Preble County from 1808 to 1880 39
Somers
298
Twin
314
XV .- Preble County Agricultural Society 55
XVI .- The Press
63
XVII .- The Preble County Bar
65
History of Ohio, embracing one hundred and six pages, at close of volume.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
PAGE.
Acton, John P.
155
Huggins, R. D.
-
329
Albright, William F.
154
Kesler, Colonel Samuel
217
Benjamin, Nathaniel
329
Larsh, Colonel Paul 172
Brooke, Charles F.
151
Larsh, Lewis 174
Bruce, William
140
Lohrer, Felix 173
Bulla, William 254
218
McQuiston Family 239
240
Charles, John P.
154
242
Chrisman, Daniel
159
Meharry, Rev. Alexander
153
Chrisman, John .
200
65 to 94
Curry, Judge William
147
Morton, William
184
Deem Family
153
Morton, Hezekiah
241
Du Sang, Joseph A.
152
217
Finley, Rev. James B.
150 Quinn Family
156
Fudge, Franklin N.
286
Reynolds, Andrew Jackson
156
Gould, L. G.
155
183
Haldeman, A. F.
333
201
Hawkins, Colonel Samuel
145
331
Hendricks, David E.
141
Tizzard, Judge Samuel
146
Hendricks, Colonel George D.
143
Tizzard, William B. 146
Heistand, Henry C.
152
Van Ausdal, Cornelius 144
Herman, Rev. H. M.
287
Vance, Jacob
330
Heywood, Nathan
287
Williams, Colonel Robert, jr.
159
Harrison
202
X .- Civil History-County Seat-Public Buildings-Town- ship Organization
33
Lanier
273
Monroe
288
XIII .- Preble in the War of 1812 40
XIV .- Preble in the War of the Rebellion 41
McCabe, Levin T. 148
Bunger, Samuel, sr.
McQuiston, Samuel B.
Campbell, John V.
148
McCristie, John
Members of Preble County Bar
Ott Family
Sayler Family Sayler, Christian, M.D.
Tillson, Dr. Oliver E.
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XIX .- Statistics 96
TOWNSHIPS.
IV .- St. Clair's Campaign
Washington 98
VI .- Advent of the White Man in Southern Ohio, and Set- tlement of Preble County 25
PAGE.
GONTENTS.
ILLUSTRATIONS,
PAGE.
PAGE.
Preble County Court House Map of Preble County
facing I
Residence of John Chrisman
between 200, 201
Portrait (with biography) of George Brower
between 208, 209
Portrait of Nathaniel Benjamin
facing 56
.. " Allen C. Cassel
between 208, 209
=
of Hugh McQuiston
facing 239
:
" Mrs. Hugh McQuiston
facing 239
" John Ott .
facing 56
" Samuel McQuiston
facing 239
" Samuel Bunger, sr.
facing 56
" John McQuiston
facing 239
" Thomas J. Larsh .
facing 90
:
" Mrs. Maggie Stephenson facing 239
=
" Mrs. Eliza Pinkerton
facing 239
Residence of James Deem
facing 153
Portrait of John P. Acton
facing 155
Residence of Felix Lohrer
facing 173
Portraits (with biography) of Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Campbell . between 248, 249
.. ' Silas Dooley sr. .
between 176, 177 between 176, 177
Portrait (with biography) of Catharine McManus between 248, 249 Residence of William Bulla facing 254
Portraits of the Sayler Family
(with biography) of William Morton
facing 184
Portrait ..
" Stephen Allbaugh, sr.
facing 180
=
" Mrs. Susan Gregg
between 276, 277
Portraits
' Mr. and Mrs. D. G.
Portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Fudge .
between 280, 281
Prugh .
between 188, 189
Portrait of Rev. James McNeal
between 280, 281
Portraits (with biography) of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Gifford
between 188, 189
Portrait (with biography) of Jacob Trout
Portraits "
" Mr. and Mrs. George Kimmel facing 288
Portraits (with biography) of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Stubbs .
between 192, 193
Public School Building, West Alexandria
facing 328
Portraits (with biography) of Mr. and Mrs. Elijah Cooper
between 192, 193
facing 330
Portrait of Mrs. Elizabeth Cooper
between 192, 193
" O. E. Tillson, M. D.
facing 331
" (steel) of John Chrisman
facing 200
(steel) of A. F. Haldeman
facing 333
1. 10%
..
" Jacob Vance
facing 56
" Christian Sayler
facing 56
" John V. Campbell
facing 148
Residence, with Portraits of S. B. McQuiston .. .. " Hezekiah Morton
facing 241
Residence of Abraham Sayler
between 182 and 183
between 180 and 183
Portrait (with biography) of Samuel Smith facing 264 facing 273
" Edward S. Stotler
" D. C. Stubbs
facing 185 Residence of Mrs. Susan Gregg
between 276, 277
Residence (with portraits) of F. N. Fudge between 284, 285 facing 286
facing 329
Portrait of R. D. Huggins, M. D. .. " Matthias Disher
-
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facing 240
Portrait (with biography) of H. W. Dooley
facing 9
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DARK E
GROUNTY
NCHESTER
ELDORADO
HAGERSTOWN
VERONA
BRINLEY STA.
DAYTON & HAMBURG
WESTERN R. R.
SONORA
JEFFERSON
MONROE
HARRISON
JNEW PARIS
EUPHEMIAS
GETTYSBURG
LEWISBURG
ORANGBURG
. NEW WESTVILLE
INDIANA
NEW HOPE
FLORENCESTA.
AUWASHINGTON
CRAWFORDSVILLE
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JACKSON HAMILTON
EATON&
EATON
WEST ALEXANDRIA
OF
RICHMOND R. R.
AN YER
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GAS PER
STATE
FAIR HAVEN
CAMDEN
ISR
AEL
SOMERS
GRATIS
GREENBUSH
MORNING SUN
WEST ELKTON
COLLEGE CORNER
BUTLER
COUNTY
OUTLIN
MAP Of
PREBLE COUNTY
OHIO.
Scale 3 Miles to 1 Inch.
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MONTGOMERY
BARNET ISTA.
WINCHESTER
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SUGAR VALLEY .
ENTERPRISE
COUNTY
BRENNERSVILLES
WESTVILLE STA.
National Road
NEW LEXINGTON
WEST FLORENCE
CLAYS BURG
GEORGETOWN
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
CHAPTER I. PHYSICAL FEATURES.
PREBLE county, if it has no scenery which realizes the grand or approaches the massively sublime, certainly presents to the eye a rare combination of those gentler elements of nature's beauty, which atones for the absence of the ruggedly picturesque. Nature everywhere wears an appearance which indicates her favor to man and adaptability to his good. The landscape everywhere is of that nature which most harmonizingly holds and sur- rounds the scenes of harvest and the husbandman's home. The rural residences and the tangible evidences of thrift and plenty which cluster around them seem appropriately placed in the pictures which a ride through Preble county discloses to the eye. They are the natural outcome-the crystallizations of the richness of the soil-and, although reared by the industry of man, they have not been wrought with such stress of force, such slow and difficult toil, as in some less favored re- gions. Not stubbornly or grudgingly has nature yielded here to man, but gladly and with glorious generosity of harvest from the largest of her riches. A benison of beauty seems to rest upon the land and to have as its counterpart and complement the blessing of plenty.
With salubrious climate, fertile soil, capable of bear- ing as full a variety of crops as any tract of country in its latitude, bountiful and constant water supply, undu- lating but not rough surface, insuring good drainage, and yet having no lands that are untilable, Preble county lacks no elements which the farmer needs. It has more than these-an inexhaustible supply of limestone of great economic value, and a greater available abundance of good timber than any other section of the State equal in area.
In this chapter we present a description of the sur- face features and geology of the county, taken principally from the State geological report.
TOPOGRAPHY.
Preble county is bounded on the north by Darke, on the east by Montgomery, on the south by Butler, and on the west by the State of Indiana. The drainage of the county is mainly by four streams, Twin creek, Seven Mile creck, Four Mile creek, and Elk creek, all of which flow into the Great Miami. Some small areas upon the
west side of the county are drained by tributaries of the White river. The surface is generally gently rolling, and there is but a small part of the county which lies flat. Parts of Washington and Jackson townships are quite level, but there are only very small areas from which the water flows sluggishly, and even in these no swamps are found. The highest land of the county is to be found on the ridge between the drainage basins, the water-shed which extends through Israel, Dixon, Jackson, Jefferson, and Monroe townships. The southern portion of the county presents the most attractive appearance. It is beautifully diversified in surface, and, besides being very pleasing to the eye, it constiutes a very rich agricultural district. A geological and a topographical map of Preble county would be found, if compared, to have many points in common. In a general way the altitudes and depressions are connected directly with the geological formation. 'The northern portion of the county may be said to consist of the Upper Silurian formation, and the southern of the Blue limestone. The former lies higher than the latter and projects into it a promontory which extends below the county line. The Niagara limestone may be said, in a general way, to have an altitude of more than five hundred feet, and the Blue limestone of less than five hundred feet above low water mark at Cincinnati. The following are the altitudes of a few points in the county :
FEET.
Eaton (site of court house) 612
Camden (general level of town). 407
County line in section thirty-two, Somers township 601
Northwest corner of Ismel township 656
Summit of Blue limestone at Halderman's mill .. 515
South line of county in section thirty-three, Gratis township
586
Winchester . 425
West Alexandria (valley of Twin creek)
427
Lewisburgh . 495
Sonora (railroad grade) . 544
Extreme southeast corner of Lanier township, valley of Twin 350
Valley of Seven Mile creek, on county line. 325
Ridge passing through Monroe, Jackson, etc. 675
The vertical range of the county is about three hun- dred and fifty feet, and the geological, as far as the bed- ded rocks are concerned, is considerably less.
GEOLOGICAL SERIES.
The geological series of Preble county comprises three main elements, one of which belongs to Lower
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IO
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
Silurian time, while the other two are of Upper Silurian age. The Niagara group has an average thickness of seventy-five feet; the Clinton limestone a thickness of fifteen feet, and the Cincinnati group attains a thickness of two hundred and twenty-five feet. The Blue lime- stone or Cincinnati group is principally shown in the valleys. The valley of Twin creek is the deepest and widest, but is so much obscured with drift that it does not furnish as satisfactory exposures of the rocky floor as many of the shallower valleys do. Seven Mile creek gives, on the whole, the best exhibition of this series. From Camden to Halderman's mill, the stream runs much of the way upon the rock, and excellent opportu- nities are offered for studying the structure and collect- ing fossils of the formation. The Blue limestone yields a large quantity of building stone, of fair quality for local use. It was years ago much used for lime, but the advantages of the Cliff limestone for this purpose led to its general adoption as a substitute.
The Clinton limestone comes next in order (ascend- ing,) after the Blue limestone. The line of junction be- tween the Lower and Upper Silurian is very distinct in Preble county. A series of springs, and a very product- ive belt of country, mark this geological boundary. The shales with which the Blue limestone is terminated are impervious, and as the Clinton limestone that covers them is porous, and is also traversed with lines of frac- ture, springs must necessarily occur along the line of the two formations. Springs flowing over the margin of shales will do something toward imparting to them fer- tility, and this particular series of shales possesses the elements of fertility in large measure in their natural constitution. Many of the finest farms in the county belong to this horizon. The condition of the county in the Morning Star neighborhood of Lanier township very clearly exemplifies the facts here made mention of.
The Clinton limestone is everywhere uneven in its bedding. The contrast between it and the overlying Dayton stone, or the even courses of the Cincinnati group beneath is very striking. A layer of the Clinton stone can rarely be followed a rod. The stone itself, in many instances, seems solid, but it lies in very flat, lintic- ular pieces rather than in a regular wall. It is on this account that it is very little valued for building purposes where either of the other formations heretofore named is accessible. Parts of it are sandy in texture, and ren- der the local name of sandstone applied to it appropri- ate. Throughout the exposure of this series in Preble and several adjoining counties beds are everywhere found that acquire the name of firestone. They are sought for chimney backs and for all similar uses to which ordinary limestone cannot be applied The chemical composi- tion of the stone does not explain this peculiarity. They consist of eighty-four per cent. of carbonate of lime and about twelve per cent. of carbonate of magnesia. They can be burned into a fair article of lime, but endure with- out crumbling in all ordinary exposure to heat. The Clinton limestoneis in all of its outcrops throughout the county rich in its characteristic fossils. Favosite corals, chain corals, bulls-horn corals, and many forms of bryo-
zoans are very abundant, and are beautifully preserved. PETROLEUM PRODUCTION GEOLOGICALLY COSIDERED.
In close connection with this fact, viz., that the form- ation is made up of organic remains, it is to be added that petroleum abounds through many of the exposures of the county. Geologists are generally agreed that pe- troleum, when occurring in a limestone rock, is derived from the animal remains of the rock, but no explanation can be given of the fact that the product occurs at one point and is wanting in another. When the excitement caused by the discoveries on oil creek was at its height the show of oil along the outcrop of this formation did not fail to attract attention, and rights to explore and de- velope the territory were bought up through several counties of Ohio and Indiana. Companies were formed and wells sunk at several points in southwestern Ohio. The deepest of these was at Eaton, where the boring was carried eleven hundred and seventy feet below the surface .. There was, however, no geological promise in these undertakings. The Clinton limestone, it is true, is rich in petroleum in many localities, but its thickness does not exceed a dozen feet, and there have been no disturbances in its stratification, by means of which res- ervoirs for the oil have been prepared. When the Clin- ton limestone was passed in the boring the long series of the Cincinnati shales and limestones was not enough to exhaust the limestone series of the State. A considera- ble fragment of the rock was brought up from a depth of eleven hundred and thirty feet which proved to be a silicious limestone, quite after the pattern of the older limestones of the continent in their more northern lat- itudes. During the boring various alterations of disap- pointment and hope were realized by the projectors. The. boring was begun in the Niagara limestone and when the Clinton limestone was reached the show of pe- troleum was sufficient to kindle a blaze of excitement. The telegraph was used to announce to distant stock- holders the success of the enterprise, and the boring was temporarily suspended until a tank could be pro- vided, that there might not be a "sinful waste of oil." There are several points in the county which still yield a fine show of petroleum, the springs that issue from the base of the Clinton limestone being often thickly coated with it.
THE NIAGARA GROUP
is shown to best advantage in section in the bed and banks of Seven Mile creek at Eaton. There are nearly fifty feet exposed within a mile or two of the village. The ascending order of occurrence is as follows: (1) Dayton limestone, (2) Niagara shale, (3) West Union limestone, (4) Springfield limestone, (5) Cedarville or Guelph limestone. The three lowermost are, in this county, somewhat obscure, and the third has, in fact, not been positively identified. The Eaton building stone belongs in number four of this series. It constitutes the main resource ot the northern part of the county. The same courses, together with the overlying Cedarville or Guelph beds, are also struck at New Paris. The upper beds are here burned extensively for lime, which this
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HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
horizon everywhere furnishes in central and southern Ohio. The stone agrees in its composition with the Cedarville beds, except that portions of it are highly fossiliferous. An annalysis of the limestone of the Eaton quarries shows 49.75 per cent. of carbonate of lime; 35.87 carbonate of magnesia; 4.46 of alumina and iron, and 9.40 of silicious matter. Among the fossils found in great abundance at Eaton is the well known shell-Pentamerus oblongus, and also the more common of the Niagara trilobites. Some of these fossils appear here in greater abundance than in any other locality known, and in great perfection.
On Banta's fork, three miles from Eaton, excellent quarries are worked in the lower beds of the Niagara, and a fine article of flagging stone is secured. Similar courses are worked on the banks of Twin creek, two miles above Euphemia. The most extensively worked quarries of the county are located at New Paris. The upper numbers of the Niagara series are well developed and easily reached. The building stone courses are also accessible. The main interest, however, is the burning of lime, which is distributed mainly to the west- ward by railroads leading out of Richmond, Indiana. Patent kilns are in use, and the production amounts to three hundred bushels per day for eight months in the year. At the quarries on the east side of Twin creek, opposite Lewisburg, lime has been burned for thirty years.
A fine section is furnished in the bed and banks of Sellers run, of the upper rocks of the county. Begin- ning with a fine show of the Clinton limestone rich in its characteristic fossils, which is shown near Turner's distillery, the succeeding beds of the Niagara series to the Cedarville inclusive, are traversed and disclosed within the course of a mile.
DRIFT DEPOSITS.
. The drift beds of the county cover nearly its entire area, and in general character they agree with the same order of deposits in adjacent regions. The boul- der clay, or immodified drift is reached in the digging of many wells. In the northern half of the county this deposit is uniformly deep-so deep as never to be reached in ordinary excavations. Its surface is often covered with the sand, gravel and stratified clay which compose the modified drift of this region, and when so covered it constitutes the water bearer for the area which it occupies. When the boulder clay itself makes the surface, the water supply is found at easily accessible depths within it in some of the seams of sand and gravel that are scattered at irregular intervals through its substance. In the central regions of the county the boulder clay rests directly upon the polished surface of the Niagara limestone, and in the southern it is not seen as distinctly or often, its best exposures being in the deeper valleys. There is every indication that the boulder clay was formed under the great glacial sheet, which, it has been demonstrated, covered the western portions of the continent in the period preceding the present. It is filled with scratched and polished frag-
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