USA > Ohio > Ross County > A Standard History of Ross County, Ohio > Part 49
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The Salt Creek Valley Mill, of which the Bone brothers, J. G. and A. S., are proprietors, is one of the historic spots of Ross County. The original mill was built by Joseph Dixon, in 1803, and has continued in usefulness up to the present time, a period of about 113 years. Joseph Dixon was born in Pratt County, North Carolina, and in 1802 moved to Ross County, Ohio, in the following year erecting the mill and in- stalling the buhr system. The buhrs for this early enterprise were quar- ried at McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio, and were hauled by team to Salt Creek, it being necessary to cut the road through from Allensville to the destination, as there were no roads over which they might be taken at that early day.
From the outset the business was a profitable one, and Mr. Dixon was forced to work the mill day and night in order to care for the cus- tom that flocked to him. At the time of his death the business passed to his two sons, Joseph, Jr., and Abel Dixon, who continued to operate the business with equal success for upwards of forty years, and who kept it equipped with up-to-the-minute machinery. It was the regular
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custom of these brothers in the early days, whenever they got a good stock ahead, to load the product on a raft and float it down the Ohio River, and thence to New Orleans via the Mississippi River, where they found a good market. They would then return to Salt Creek overland, on foot, and once more resume business, repeating the process when a new stock accumulated.
After the death of the Dixon brothers, this old mill went into the hands of Brown and Hoover, who, in 1891, tore up the old buhr system and installed a roller system, manufactured and put in by the Case Manufacturing Company, of Columbus, Ohio. They, in turn, sold out to J. M. Slone, who operated it until his death, in 1904, when the site and mill were purchased by Bone and Stevens, who put in a sifter sys- tem in order to keep it up to date. In 1907, Bone brothers bought out Mr. Stevens, and the mill has since been operated under their manage- ment, J. G. Bone being manager, and A. S. Bone, head miller. The pro- duct of the mill, "Valley Patent" and "Gilt Edge" brands of flour, have a wide sale throughout the Central West and are noted for their purity and general excellence.
BOYTON G. JONES. The farming men of Ross County have played an important part in the fortunes of that section, and among them should be mentioned Boyton G. Jones, one of the younger and very progressive agriculturists of Liberty Township. Diversified farming is his plan, and he is making a notable success of his endeavors.
His home is the farm of 260 acres in Liberty Township, owned by his father, T. C. Jones. He also owns eighty acres in Liberty Township. His home place is on Rural Route No 3, out of Gillespieville.
Boyton G. Jones was born in Liberty Township, February 14, 1879, a son of T. C. and Martha J. (Rittenhour) Jones. His father was also born in Liberty Township, and members of the Jones family located here in the very early pioneer epoch. The great-grandfather, William Jones, was the founder of the family in this section of Ohio. The grandfather was Mason Jones, who when T. C. Jones was a boy of four years, moved to Pike County, Ohio, and lived there until he and his wife died. T. C. Jones grew to manhood in Pike County, was married there, and soon afterwards returned to Liberty Township and bought the farm of 287 acres of land, which he made the nucleus of his farming enterprise for many years. His success as a farmer is indicated by the fact that he now owns 770 acres in Liberty Township. His has been an active career, and business has not claimed altogether his attention. He is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a loyal republican and has been honored by his fellow citizens with the office of township trus- tee four years, township treasurer and membership on the school board. T. C. Jones and wife have three sons: Boyton G., Arsene J., and R. Everett.
Boyton G. Jones grew up on the old homestead in Liberty Township, and besides such advantages as were given by the district schools spent two terms in Wilmington College in Clinton County, Ohio. After re-
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turning home, he found a place on his father's farm, and worked indus- triously there until his marriage. March 1, 1900, he married Sophia Jane Calver, daughter of Marvin Calver and wife whose maiden name was Stratton.
During the first year after marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Jones lived at Vigo, employed by his father, and then moved to the place where he still resides. He and his wife are the parents of three sons: Lauris C., who was born, January 16, 1901, and is now in high school; Leslie M., born June 6, 1906, and a student in the public schools; Lloyd M., born April 9, 1910, and recently started to school. Politically, Mr. Jones is a republican. He has served on the township school board two years, and is now filling with much credit and ability the office of district assessor for the years 1916-17.
HUSTON T. ROBINS. A well-known and successful attorney of Chilli- cothe, Huston T. Robins was born December 3, 1866, in Bainbridge, Ross County, where his father, Charles Robins, settled as a young man. His paternal grandparents, Martin and Elizabeth (Crites) Robins, were life-long residents of Pennsylvania, and there reared their six children, Charles, Mary, Samuel, Jonathan, William and Martin. Born May 13, 1820, in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Charles Robins acquired a good education in his native town, and in 1839, ere attaining his majority, he migrated to Ohio and for four years after his location in Pickaway County taught school at Tarlton. Moving to Bainbridge, he first conducted a drug store, then engaged in the mercantile business during the Civil war, and afterwards resumed the drug business with which he was subsequently associated in that town during the remainder of his active life. He served as postmaster and mayor, and in other official positions at Bainbridge. At the time of his death, February 9, 1906, he was residing with his son in Chillicothe.
The mother of Huston T. Robins was Elizabeth (Taylor) Robins, a daughter of Price and Catherine (Smith) Taylor, who died when he was not quite ten years old. She was born in Paxton Township, Ross County, on the Taylor farm which was also the birthplace of her father. Her grandfather, Joseph Taylor, a son of William Taylor, came from Kentucky to Ross County, Ohio, in 1801, and located near Bainbridge where he cleared and improved from its original wild state the farm on which he spent his remaining days. Price Taylor came into possession of the parental homestead on which he was born, resided there until his death in 1883, and reared six of nine children born to him, one of whom, William Taylor, continued a life-long resident of Ross County until his death in 1911, having been prominent as a teacher in the Chilli- cothe schools in the early part of his mature manhood, and later a well- known and influential citizen and farmer at Bourneville, in Twin Town- ship, where he died. The other five children were Sarah, Theophillus, Catherine, Penelope and Elizabeth.
Huston T. Robins began his studies in the public schools of Bain- bridge and subsequently completed the course of instruction at the
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Huston J. Robins
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academy at South Salem, from which time-honored institution he was graduated in 1887. He then taught a district school near Bourneville for one school year, after which he taught in the public schools in South Salem three consecutive years. Resigning this position he accepted a position on the reportorial staff of the Chillicothe Leader in 1891, and continued in the newspaper work for four years during which time he assisted in launching the Daily Gazette. During his career as teacher and newspaper reporter he read law and for a time was a student in the law office of Judge Wm. Edgar Evans. He was graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in 1895, since which time he has been engaged in the practice of his profession, excepting the six years (1900-1905) he served as judge of the Probate Court to which official position he was elected in 1899, and re-elected in 1902. He was also elected as Ross County's representative to the State Legislature in 1916.
His wife was Miss Inez M. Roach to whom he was married June 2, 1897, and who was born in Madison County, Ohio, a daughter of Reuben W. Roach, and a granddaughter of Simeon and Phoebe (Koontz) Roach who moved from Virginia, their native state, to Gallia-County, Ohio, in pioneer times. Her mother, Mary (Workman) Roach, was a daughter of Lewis and Narcissus ( Worley) Workman, natives of Belmont County, Ohio.
Politically, Judge Robins is a republican, and true to the religious belief of his parents and grandparents he is a staunch Presbyterian. He and his wife are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Chilli- cothe, and he has served as a member of the board of trustees of that church. He has also served as a member of the board of trustees of the Chillicothe Public Library, is a member of the board of directors of The Fidelity Building and Loan Company, and the attorney for that organization.
GEORGE A. MURRAY. While George A. Murray has spent his most productive years as a farmer in Concord Township, his family name is one that is especially identified with that historic old locality of Ross County known as Buckskin Township.
It was in Buckskin Township that George A. Murray was born, August 24, 1856. He is of Scotch-Irish ancestry, and his great-grand- father, Thomas Murray, was a native of Pennsylvania, two of whose brothers served as soldiers in the revolution and two of the brothers are said to have gone south and settled in North Carolina. Thomas Murray, himself, spent his life in Pennsylvania and his body is now at rest in the Paxton Cemetery, near Harrisburg.
James Murray, grandfather of George A., was born in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, and in 1812 he married Mary Mitchell, a native of that state also. Immediately after their marriage they set out for their new home in the western wilderness. With a wagon and team they enjoyed the comforts and hardships of a honeymoon journey such as few bridal couples of modern times could experience. Arriving in Ross County, James Murray bought a tract of timbered land in Buckskin
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Township. Building a log cabin, he began at once the heavy task of subduing the wilderness, and for years he lived isolated from railroads and canals or convenient markets, and when there was very little money in circulation and most of the meat for the table was supplied by the wild game then so plentiful. He cleared up quite a tract of land and lived on the old home until his death, which occurred about 1840. His widow survived him several years. Their children were named Mary, Ellen, Mitchell, Samuel, Thomas, James, and John.
Thomas Murray, father of George A., was born in Buckskin Town- ship of Ross County, September 2, 1819. He finally bought the interests of the other heirs in the old homestead, continued its improvement and clearing, and after living for many years in a log house he erected, in 1854, a substantial frame building. In 1865, he sold the homestead and bought another farm about a mile northeast of the first place. That was his home when he died, November 26, 1896. Thomas Murray was a man of more than ordinary influence in his community, served several terms as a member of the township board of trustees, and was active in the First Presbyterian Church of Greenfield, and he and his wife reared their children in that faith. Thomas Murray married Margaret Parrett. She was born in Buckskin Township, a daughter of George and Mrs. (Wilkins) Parrett, who were among the early settlers of Buck- skin Township. Mrs. Thomas Murray is still living and occupies the old homestead. Her five children were named George A., Anna, Arthur, Charles and Frank. In addition to the advantages of the district schools, George A. Murray attended the noted South Salem Academy. When not in school he helped on the farm, and that early training proved valuable to him when he made farming his regular vocation. In 1898, Mr. Murray settled on the place he now owns and occupies, in Concord Township, about a mile north of Austin. Without any ques- tion, this is one of the best farms in point of improvement and productiv- ity in the county. It contains 185 acres, and in every detail it gives testimony to the proficient husbandry of Mr. Murray. Mr. Murray is also interested in everything that concerns his home locality.
In 1898, he married Carrie Peterson, who is a member of one of the very oldest families of this part of Ohio. She was born in Concord Township, a daughter of Albert C. Peterson, who was born in Concord Township, December 14, 1836, and died, December 15, 1895. Her grandfather was Martin Peterson, who was born in Hardy County, Vir- ginia, May 19, 1795. He was a colonel of militia in the War of 1812. The great-grandfather was John Peterson, son of John Martin Peterson, and he came from the State of Virginia to Ohio and identified himself with the very early settlement of this state. It is said that he first located in the wilderness where the city of Columbus now stands. That was a very unhealthy region, and on that account he moved to Ross County, and lived several years in Concord Township. Finally he moved to Indiana and spent his last years there. Mrs. Murray's great- great-great-grandfather, John Jacob Peterson (Hans Yacob Bidert), Bidert being incorrectly translated Peterson, was born January 7, 1706,
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in Barenville, County of Langdenburg, Switzerland. He married Sarah Mohlerin, February 15, 1728, and had nine children, the four oldest born in Switzerland. He sailed for America, July 23, 1736. His pass- port read as follows :
"The Burgomaster and Council of the City of Basil testify, herewith, that in our city and region of country there is no contagious disease, but by the grace of God we enjoy a pure air, free from all infection, and we therefore manfully request that our former citizen, Hans Yacob Bidert, who, together with his wife and four children, intend to travel first by water to Rotterdam and thence per ship to the Island of Pennsyl- vania, be permitted to pass and repass at all places, safely and without hinderance. Such favors we are ready, promptly to return according to our government custom.
"Given under the printed and smaller seal of our city, this twenty- third day of April, 1736."
The family record, written by the pastor in "Old High German," tells of the marriage of Hans Yacob Bidert and Sara Mohlerin, also of the names and dates of baptism of their children, with names of wit- nesses.
"These dates are given under the hand and seal of the pastor of the Reformed Church, John Frederick Weston."
The following certificate and address was given by the same minister to Hans Yacob or John Jacob, on his leaving Switzerland. It is still preserved in the original.
"Langenburg, April 21, 1736. This is to certify that Jacob Peter- son has been an acceptable member of our church, and a citizen of Langenburg. He with his beloved wife and family of four children are moving from this place. After he may have found a pleasant home to dwell in, we pray that the Lord will be merciful to him through our Lord Jesus Christ. May he always rely on the strong arm of the Lord, then it will be well with him and his children, and may all his future conduct be such that whenever his friends in Langenburg shall hear from him, they may have the comforting assurance that the Christian life and character, which he bore while among them, shall still continue to control his life and character in the New World, where by the will of the Lord, he hopes soon to make his future home, and where he shall bid adieu to friends most dear and to his native land, and he with his dear companion and little children shall embark on the mighty ocean, we pray the Lord to grant them a safe voyage to the land they hope soon to dwell in. May the Lord, in His infinite goodness and mercy, lead them in paths of righteousness, so that when life's voyage is past, they, with us, shall land on the shore of a blessed immortality, is the prayer of your pastor, John Frederick Weston."
John Jacob Peterson landed in Philadelphia, and then went to Augusta County, Virginia, where he spent the remainder of his life.
John Martin, second son of John Jacob Peterson, was baptized, Octo- ber 20, A. D. 1730. He was a famous hunter and frontiersman. He and his three younger step-sisters were captured by Indians. He was a prison-
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er six months when he made his escape. He served as a private in various organizations of Virginia troops in service during the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Murray's grandfather, Martin Peterson, bought a tract of choice land on the north side of Paint Creek in Concord Township. He was somewhat of a genius and a man of original enterprise. On his land he established a factory for the making of farm implements and wagons, and while conducting the factory he also superintended the clearing of a large tract of land. For many years he and his family lived in a log house, but in 1832 he erected a substantial brick building which with some enlargement and modifications is still standing. Martin Peterson lived there surrounded with the various activities which he had encour- aged and created until his death. He married Elizabeth Coyner, who was born in Augusta County, Virginia, July 2, 1796. Her mother's maiden name was Hannah Lawwell. After the death of Martin Peter- son the old homestead descended to the ownership of his son Albert C. Peterson, Mrs. Murray's father. The latter spent all his life there. He married Phebe Hopkins, who was born, September 20, 1841, in Wayne Township, Fayette County, a daughter of Jeremiah Hopkins, who was born in Concord Township, June 15, 1805, and spent the greater part of his life on a farm near Fairview Church, Fayette County. He died, May 3, 1875, at his home in Washington Court House, Fayette County, where he had lived a number of years. On December 15, 1827, Jeremiah Hopkins married Nancy Claypool, who was born May 17, 1807, and died July 31, 1891.
Mr. and Mrs. Murray have a daughter Anna Margaret. The family are active members of the Presbyterian Church at Frankfort.
HON. LEWIS G. DILL. Applying the tests of ability, fitness and ex- perience, no better choice for the responsible position of judge of the Court of Common Pleas, in Pike County, could have been made than when Hon. Lewis G. Dill was elevated to the bench in 1914. For many years an able lawyer, and for several terms judge of the Probate Court, he had already an established reputation, and to this he has continually added by his wise, impartial and dignified course in his present high office.
Lewis G. Dill was born May 26, 1863, at Dill's Station, in Paxton Township, Ross County, Ohio. His parents were William and Mary (Kelly) Dill, who reared a family of eight children: Elisha, who is a resident of Columbus, Ohio; Frank, who is deceased; William B., who is a resident of Jeffersonville, Ohio; Robert, who resides near Jefferson- ville; Edward, who resides at Bainbridge, Ohio; Maggie, who resides at Bainbridge; and Ella (Dill) Poston, who is a resident of Crawfordsville, Indiana.
In boyhood, Lewis G. Dill attended the public schools at Bainbridge and later had academic advantages at South Salem, Ohio. He became superintendent of his father's farm after his school days were over and continued as such until 1890, when he purchased a farm situated in the celebrated blue grass region near Cynthiana, Pike County, and there en-
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gaged in farming and raising fine stock until 1896. He had become some- what interested in politics and his friends in the republican party deter- mined to show their appreciation of his sterling character and the unani- mous nomination for judge of the Probate Court was tendered him. Although the county was largely democratic, Mr. Dill was elected by a majority of 141 votes, this being rather remarkable for he was the first republican ever elected to that position in the county. In 1899, he was re-elected and by a majority more than double his former one.
It was during his second term on the Probate bench that Judge Dill refiled all the pleadings and papers in this office from the time of the organization of this court in 1852, completing the same until the close of his official term. The law authorizing this work required only an index to files, but Judge Dill, with care and accuracy made the index include journals, dockets and all records, this being a work of inestimable value to Pike County. At the expiration of his second term on the Probate bench, the democrats as well as the republicans urged him to stand for a third term but this honor he declined. In the mean- while he had been pursuing the study of law, under the direction of Hon. F. E. Dougherty, of Waverly, Ohio, and had taken the bar examin- ation and was commissioned by the Supreme Court to practice in any of the courts of the state. He opened an office and continued in the active practice of his profession until 1914, when the republicans selected him at the primaries for judge of the Court of Common Pleas, to which position he was elected and in which he has since served with the highest efficiency. In his entire public career, Judge Dill has proved a painstak- ing official and he has ever shown an earnest intention to perform his duties in such a manner as to insure justice to all who come within his jurisdiction. He has given time and attention to educational matters and has served as president of the board of education at Waverly, Ohio.
Judge Dill was married, October 8, 1890, to Miss Nannie P. Seymour, of Champaign County, Illinois, and they have three children: Mary Catherine, who resides at home; Seymour G., who is a senior in the law department of the Ohio State University; and Lewis W., who is a student in the high school at Waverly. Judge Dill is fraternally identi- fied with the Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Modern Wood- men of America. He is a member of the Huntington Valley branch of the Swedenborgian Church.
Judge Dill is the author of the interesting article in this volume, en- titled, "The Horse Shoe Bend of Paint Creek."
HORSE SHOE BEND OF PAINT. CREEK
The Horse Shoe Bend of Paint Creek is located two miles east of Bainbridge, in Paxton Township, Ross County, Ohio, and commences at a point where the Seymour Bridge on the Chillicothe and Milford turn- pike crosses the same, thence running south for more than a mile where it strikes the little Copperas mountain, which turns the stream east in a slight curve for more than a mile where it strikes the large Copperas
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mountain, which turns it north for more than a mile to the Chillicothe and Milford pike, forming a horse shoe with the calks of the shoe at the pike, this bend in the creek contains about 1,200 acres of as fertile farm land as there is in Paxton Township. Before the settlement of this land it was heavily timbered with large black walnut, yellow poplar, white oak and other valuable timber and abounded in wild game such as bear, wolves, deer and wild turkeys and other lesser game, and was a favorite hunting ground of the Indian, as is evidenced by a number of Indian mounds found in this bend of the creek; the Copperas mountain contains a red keel in its formation and the Indians made frequent trips to the place to secure this red keel or paint to decorate themselves with, and from which red paint found here and along the banks of the creek the stream gets its name of Paint Creek. The early settlement and history of the Horse Shoe Bend of Paint Creek is so identified with the life of Robert Dill and his brother, Thomas Dill, that a history of the life of Robert Dill, Sr., and his family is the history of this section of Paxton Township. Robert Dill, Sr., was of Irish descent. The writer has no knowledge of him prior to his emigrating to Paxton Township, Ross County, Ohio, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which he did in the year 1800, taking up all the land embraced in the horse shoe bend of Paint Creek. This land purchased by him was that located under the warrant of Valentine Peyton. After this purchase, Mr. Dill went on horseback to the State of Pennsylvania to obtain the money to make the first payment on his land of wilderness. He started on his homeward ride with $1,500.00 in gold in his saddle bags, when by some mischance his horse escaped and made off through the woods. After a hard chase, the horse was captured and the money recovered. After erecting a cabin, which was one among the first erected in this vicinity, he com- menced the arduous task of clearing and improving this land, to enable him to raise a crop of corn and wheat, which was so much needed by the pioneers of Paint Creek Valley at that time. Returning to Pennsyl- vania, he married Anna Gregory, a Scotch lady, a native of the Keystone State, whom he brought back with him. To this union were born ten children, seven sons and three daughters, Robert, Jr., Walter, William, Richard, James, John, Armstrong, Jane, Margaret, and Nancy Dill, who all grew to manhood and womanhood.
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