A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio, Part 3

Author: Baughman, A. J. (Abraham J.), 1838-1913
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 836

USA > Ohio > Richland County > A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio > Part 3

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Although the Indians could not be civilized, many of them possessed ability. Take the great Pontiac, who was the chief of the mighty confederacy of the Ottawas, the Ojibwas and the Pottowattamies. The genius of this mighty chieftian had spread his fame and influence not only throughout what is now Michigan, which was geographically the center of his power, but over the greater part of the continent. His intellect was broad, powerful and far- seeing. In him were combined the qualities of a leader, a statesman and a warrior. A writer has said that the world is full of wasted genius; that great minds can seize opportunities, but cannot create them. That Cromwell without the English revolution, Washington without the Revolutionary war and Grant without the Rebellion, would never have risen to fame. Pontiac was not only great, but had great opportunities. The account of his colossal conspiracy reads like a tale of fiction. His eloquence was irresistible and he could both plan and execute. He was a Napoleon in war and a Chase in finance. As a war measure he issued notes drawn upon birch bark and signed with the figure of the otter, the totem to which he belonged. These notes were used as a circulating medium, as were our greenbacks during the war of the rebellion, and were faithfully redeemed.

With the advance of civilization from the east there was a recession of barbarism to the west until the red man was relegated toward the setting sun; but soon there will be no west and the Indian will disappear with his habitat.

To the student of history the process through which a nation passes is an interesting study, and especially is this true in America, where civilization started at the Atlantic seaboard and pressed onward across the continent until it reached the Golden Gate, verifying the oft repeated saying that "westward the star of empire takes its way."

To study each passing period, with its distinctive features, in the growth and development of our country, has always been to the writer an alluring theme, not only on account of family interest in the narrative, particularly in Richland county, but also from a point of speculative philosophy as to the

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correlative means by which the work was accomplished, and as to what the probable condition of America would be to-day had the foot of the white man never trodden our soil.

Call it destiny or Providence or what we may, the fiat had gone forth, and the course had been marked out and the white man had been sent here to work out a certain process, to accomplish certain results; for the days of the Indian had been numbered, his usefulness (if he ever had any) was gone and the time had arrived for the spear of the hunter to give way for the plow-share of the agriculturist.

It is not my purpose to narrate the dangers and hardships through which the pioneers passed, nor to speak of the character traits of the Indian further than to state that he generally repaid hospitality with treachery and forbearance with murder. But as a race he was doomed and the hills and valleys of the Buckeye state will know him no more forever. Writers who have made tribal races a study state as a corollary that if the Indians had been left to themselves their internecine strife of tribe against tribe would in time have resulted in the extermination of the race.

The pioneer seemed to have been inspired, and whatever place in the ranks of that grand army of progress he was called to fill he performed his duty with confidence and zeal. Whether in fighting the savages, in clear- ing the forests, in tilling the soil or in carrying the banner of the Cross, he filled his mission and aided in his way to attain the grand results of which we enjoy the benefits to-day.

And in this connection I want to speak of the priests and preachers who kept abreast of the march of civilization"and shared with the other pio- neers the hardships and privations of that period. With them no sacrifice was too great,-no enterprise too hazardous to deter them from doing the Master's work. They could not ride bicycles over paved streets to make pastoral calls, but went through forests infested with wild beasts to say prayers for the sick and to give absolution to the dying. From a secular standpoint the reward of these missionaries was but meager, but in a spiritual view how different! A gentleman of that period once spoke to a priest about the small returns that had accrued from such missionary work, to which the aged priest replied : "I this day rescued from the burning a dying child, to whom the mother allowed me to minister the sacred rites of baptism, and that alone rewards me for all my years of toil." To bring one soul within the pale of the Church was to him a better reward and more of a solace than would be all the earthly comforts that a munificent salary could buy. 2

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But to resume my county narrative : The first site for the new county- seat was soon abandoned for another location farther up the Rocky Fork, where General Hedges had entered land, where the city of Mansfield now stands, and where the town was laid out, June 11, 1808. The reason for the change of location was not given. Perhaps it was water supply, for the big springs of East Fourth street were much noted in the early times, and for many years they supplied water for the town. Cisterns, wells and waterworks are of later creation.

A cabin was put up and its first occupant was Samuel Martin, from New Lisbon, but he occupied it only a short time, for, being accused of selling liquor to the Indians, he soon left the place. The next tenant was Captain Cunningham.

Mansfield grew slowly for a number of years, and when war was declared in 1812 not over a dozen families resided in the village. But in time the town advanced as people came west to seek homes in the new country. During the war there were two block-houses in Mansfield, both built by troops, one by Captain Shaeffer's company from Fairfield county, the other by a company, from Coshocton, of Colonel William's command, and were garrisoned until after the battle of the Thames. One of the block-houses afterward was somewhat altered and changed to a court-house and it served that purpose until 1816, when a larger one was built, as a cost of $1,990. It was of hewed logs and may be called the second court-house, although it was the first one built for that purpose.

As the county increased in population and wealth, in time it was deemed proper to have a more modern temple of justice, and in 1827 the erection of a brick court-house was commenced. This building cost $3,000, and Thomas Watt. of Newville, was the contractor, and William Stoutt the brick-mason. This building was considered a grand thing in its day, but after twenty- four years it was thought to be too plain, and in 1851 $15,000 were expended upon it, largely in the way of ornamentation.

The present court house was dedicated January 22, 1873, and cost $177,000. William Stoutt, the mason who did the brick work for the first brick court-house, came here in 1826 from Hagerstown, Maryland, to build a two-story brick building for John Wiler, which afterward became a part of the imposing structure known as the Wiler House.

EARLY-DAY MUSTERS.

Richland county history contains no more interesting feature than the narration of the military musters under the old laws of Ohio requiring the

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militia to meet and train at stated periods. At such times the militia compan- ies met, usually in Mansfield, where they were formed into a battalion, and, after being marched through the principal streets, were taken to the "com- mons," where they were drilled in the tactics of war. Muster-days were great occasions, where old friends met, where new acquaintances were formed and the questions of the day discussed.

There were martial bands then as now. The patriotic, inspiring and soul-stirring music of the fife and drum is a feature of the past that all the innovating spirit of ages has not been able to turn down. ' Other musical instruments may come and go, but the fife and drum will abide with us.

There were then a number of noted martial bands in the county, one of which was in Plymouth township and was composed of Charles and Jesse Bodley, tenor drummers ; William Dean, bass drummer, and Theason Richard- son and Robert Bigler, fifers. This band was in great demand on muster days and at Fourth of July celebrations and other public occasions. The prominent fifers in the southern part of the county were Jacob Baughman and Philip Berry.

Militia musters were so attractive that they inspired even small boys to "muster" also. Such amateur training was aptly described in verse in one of McGuffey's readers. The first two lines ran-

"Oh! were you ne'er a schoolboy, And did you never train?"

An encounter the militia boys had during one of their musters is thus described :

"We charged upon a flock of geese And put them all to flight, Except a sturdy gander, Which thought to show us fight. But, ah! we knew a thing or two; Our captain wheeled the van; We routed him, we scouted him, Nor lost a single man."

Many of the boys who participated in such trainings and mimic frays afterward became real soldiers, heroically met the stern realities of war and helped to defend and maintain the old flag.

While Mansfield was headquarters for general musters, company drills were frequently held at other places. The taverns along the state road, north of Mansfield, were noted places of local rendezvous for the militia of Franklin

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and adjacent townships. These "trainings" were both calisthenic and patri- otic in their tendencies.

When a young man, the late Dr. William Bushnell was a militia colonel, and made a fine-appearing officer. His uniform was of the best broadcloth and his epaulets glittered in the sunlight. Upon the occasion of his first regi- mental muster, when his regiment was forming on the public square, fifes and drums were heard upon the Main street hill, coming from the south. Upon inquiry the colonel learned it was Captain James Cunningham's company coming from the southern part of the county. When the company reached the "North American" corner the Doctor noticed the proud step and military bearing of the captain, which so pleased him that he thereupon gave orders that Captain Cunningham's company be given the place of honor in the regi- ment. After the officers had exchanged salutes, the adjutant sang out: "The colonel orders that Captain Cunningham place his company at the head of the battalion!" In after years the Doctor often narrated this incident. "I shall never forget," said the Doctor, "the proud look of thanks the captain gave me as he marched his company to the place I had assigned to him. The captain had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and deserved the recognition for the services he had rendered his country, as well as for his fine military bearing." This was the beginning of the acquaintance that ripened into a life-long friendship.

Dr. Bushnell's fine perceptive instinct, with his business tact and execu- tive ability made him one of the most capable and efficient officers of his day.

Friendship may exist between individuals and families; or, taking a more comprehensive scope, may bind a whole neighborhood together in com- mon interests, as was the case with the pioneers, and muster-days were grand reunions, blending friendship with the performance of a patriotic duty re- quired by the state.

The early settlers, as a class were poor, comparatively. But poverty is not only the mother of invention but the promoter of industry and enterprise. Poverty does some of the greatest and most beautiful things that are done in the world. It cultivates the fields and operates the shops and factories and carries the commerce of nations upon the high seas. It sees the day break and it catches the sun's first smile. It inspires the orator and the essayist and gives pathos to the poet's song.

But while poverty places people upon a certain level, perfect equality is impossible. There never has existed a nation without gradation in society, and it is evident that without grades the business of life could not be carried on. There could be neither leader nor follower, commander nor soldiers,

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director nor operator. The idea that there should be no gradation in position in life is about as absurd as to expect that all hills should be of the same height. Providence created an infinite variety, as diversity seems to exist naturally among men.

There has always been an aristocracy in the world. . A century ago it was the aristocracy of birth. Then came the aristocracy of wealth. Now there is a trend toward an aristocracy of brains, and the. leaven of the "new social strata" has even made itself felt at Oxford and Cambridge.

PIONEER GATHERINGS.

It is interesting to recall some of the industrial, social and religious gatherings of the pioneers of Ohio. In the early settlement of the country there were cabin and barn raisings, log-rollings, wood-choppings, corn- huskings, and sewing and quilting parties, and at such gatherings utility and amusements were usually blended. Rich and poor then met upon lines of social equality and the old and the young mingled together in those old-time gatherings. The pioneers were helpful to each other, not only in "raisings" and "rollings," requiring a force of men, but also in other ways. If a settler was incapacitated from work by sickness or other cause, his neighbors set a day and gathered in force and plowed his corn, harvested his grain, or cut his wood for the winter, as the season or occasion required. And when a pig, or a calf or a sheep was killed, a piece of the same was sent to the several families in the neighborhood, each of whom reciprocated in kind, and in this neighborly way all had fresh meats the greater part of the summer.

Corn-husking were great occasions. Sometimes the corn ears were stripped from the stalks and hauled to a favorable place and put in parallel or semi-circular winnows, convenient for the huskers. Moonlight nights were usually chosen for husking-bees, and sometimes bonfire lights were improvised. After the company gathered, captains were selected who chose the men off into two squads or plattoons which competed in the work, each trying to finish its row first. The captain of the winning squad would then be carried around on the shoulders of his men, amid their triumphal cheers, and then the bottle would be passed.

Women also attended these pioneer gatherings and sometimes assisted at the husking, but more frequently were engaged in the early evening in quilting or sewing, or in helping to prepare the great supper-feast that was served after the work was done.

There was a rule that a young man could kiss a girl for each red ear of

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corn found at a husking, and it goes without saying that all the girls were kissed, some of them several times, for it was surprising how many red-ears were found-so many that the number was prima-facie evidence that some of the boys went to the huskings with their pockets full of red corn ears!

Nearly all the pioneer gatherings wound up after supper with dancing, in which the old joined as well as the young, and, when a fiddler could not be obtained, music for the occasion was furnished by some one blowing on a leaf, or by whistling "dancing" tunes. The dancing then was more vigor- ous than artistic, perhaps, for the people were vigorous in those days- effeminacy not becoming fashionable until later years.

The pioneers were industrious people. The situation required that the men must chop and grub and clear the land ere they could plow and sow and reap. And the women had to card and spin and knit and weave and make garments for their families, in addition to their household work. A pioneer minister's wife, in telling about her work upon a certain occasion, said: "I've made a pair of pants and bed-tick, and washed and baked and ironed six pies to-day."

Wool had to be carded into rolls by hand, and after the rolls had been spun into yarn and the yarn woven into flannel, the products of the loom had to be "fulled" into thicker cloth for men's wear. As this was a hand, or rather a foot, process, it necessitated "fulling" or "kicking" parties. Upon such occasions the web was stretched out loosely on the puncheon floor and held at each end, while men with bared feet sat in rows at the sides and kicked the cloth, while the women poured on warm soap-suds, and the white foam of the suds would often be thrown over both the kickers and the attendants. Carding and woolen mills and spinning and weaving factories came later, served their purposes and time, but are no more, and now people go to stores and get "hand-me-down" suits without either asking or caring where or how they were made.

While there were social amusements in pioneer times, religious services were not neglected. As there were but few church buildings then, camp- meetings were frequently held during the summer season. Camp-meeting trips were enjoyable outings. The roads to camp-grounds often ran by sequestered farm homes and through shady woodlands, where the rays of the sun shimmered charmingly through leafy tree-tops, and the fragrance of the wayside flowers deliciously perfumed the summer air. At the camp, white tents in a semi-circle partly surrounded an amphitheater of seats in front of a pulpit canopied by trees. The Creator of heaven and earth reared the columns of those camp cathedrals, along whose bough-spanned dome soft

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winds whispered and in whose leafy fretwork birds sang. From the mossy floor flowers sent up their perfume like altar incense, and in accord with place and surroundings the congregation was wont to sing :

"There seems a voice in every gale, A tongue in every flower, Which tells, O Lord, the wondrous tale Of Thy Almighty power."

At the camp visitors were received with cordial greetings, for the campers had the warmth of friendship in their hearts and of Christian zeal in their souls, and their frank manner and winsome ways were favorable preludes to the services that followed.

At these camp-meetings, some of the worshipers would become quite demonstrative at times, for the personal manifestations of joy or devotion differ as much as our natures differ. No two persons give expression in the same way to any human emotion. Religion can come to you only in accordance with your nature, and you can respond to it only in the same way.

Singing was a prominent feature of camp-meeting services. It was the old-fashioned singing, without instrumental accompaniment. Singing, such as our dear old mothers sang, and although faulty, perhaps, in note, came from the heart and went to the heart. The singing of to-day may be more artistically rendered, but it is the old-time songs that comfort us in sorrow and sustain us in our trials as they come back to us in the hallowed remem- brance from the years that are past.

THE HEROES OF '76.

Richland county contains the graves of several Revolutionary soldiers. While the list in the possession of the Historical Society is not complete, the following may be noted :

Henry Nail, Sr., is buried on lot 1218, Mansfield cemetery. He was born in Germany in 1757; came to America in 1777, and some time later enlisted in the Continental army and served until the close of the war. He came to Richland county in 1816 and remained here until his death. He was the grandfather of our A. F. Nail, who was soldier in the war of 1861-5, and is the son as well as the grandson of a soldier.

John Jacobs, another soldier of the war of the Revolution, is buried

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in the Mansfield Roman Catholic cemetery. Jacobs died about seventy years ago and was first buried in the old cemetery, but the remains were later removed to the present burial-ground.

On the Memorial Day list is the name of Jacob Uhlich as having been a Revolutionary soldier. The name should be George Ulilich, a soldier of the war of 1812.

James McDermot, a Revolutionary soldier buried in the Koogle ceme- tery, east of Mansfield, was a native of Pennsylvania and served two years at Fort DuQuesne, then marched over the Alleghany mountains and joined Washington's army at Valley Forge. He was at Princeton and other battles. He died in Mifflin township, this county, June 25, 1859, aged over one hun- dred years.

Christian Riblett enlisted in the Continental army in Pennsylvania in 1779, at the age of eighteen years, and served to the close of the war. He died April 6, 1844, and is buried at the east line of Sandusky township, on the road leading from Mansfield to Galion. Daniel Riblett, a son of this Con- tinental soldier, represented Richland county in the legislature (senate) in 1854.

"William Gillespie was a major in the Revolutionary war and is buried at Bellville, and a headstone marks his grave, which is yearly decorated with flowers by the comrades of Miller Moody Post, G. A. R. Major Gillespie died February 17, 1841, aged one hundred and four years.

Samuel Poppleton was one of the Green Mountain boys who fought under Colonel Ethan Allen, and as color sergeant planted the American flag upon the walls of Fort Ticonderoga at its surrender and heard the his- toric words, "In the name of the great Jehovah and the Continental con- gress." Major Poppleton died in 1842, aged ninety-nine years, and is buried in the Evart graveyard, a mile south of Bellville. The inscription on his headstone has been somewhat effaced by the frosts and storms of time. The Major was the grandfather of the late Hon. E. F. Poppleton.

Adam Wolfe, another Revolutionary soldier, is buried at Newville. He was born in Beaver county, Pennsylvania, December 10, 1760, and came to Richland county, Ohio, in 1816, and entered the southeast quarter of section 26 in Monroe township. He died April 24, 1845.

The Memorial list also gives the name of Jacob Cook as a Revolutionary soldier buried in the Mansfield cemetery. This statement is also incorrect. On the Cook monument are several cenotaph inscriptions,-those of Jacob and Jabez Cook. Jacob Cook was the great-grandfather of the late J. H. Cook, and died in 1796, aged eighty-four years, and was buried in Washing-

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ton county, Pennsylvania. Noah Cook, a son of Jacob Cook, served several terms of enlistment in the Revolutionary war, and at one time was the chaplain of the Fifth Regiment of Continental troops in General Sullivan's brigade. He came to Lexington, Richland county, in 1814, and died in December, 1834, and is buried at Lexington, but has a cenotaph inscription on the monument of his grandson, the late James Hervey Cook.

While the victories and achievements of our recent wars take the attention of the people of to-day, the soldiers of other American con- flicts, especially the war of the Revolution, must not be forgotten, for to that struggle we owe our existence as a free and independent nation. And in no other period of the world's history were events more deeply fraught with interest or more full of moral and political moment than in the era in which American independence was achieved.

It is said that the noblest work of the pen of history is to state facts, describe conditions and narrate events which illustrate the progress of the human mind ; that in the coming age the history of wars, even when presented in the fascinating garb of brilliant achievements, will be read more with sorrow and regret than with satisfaction and delight. But who would obliter- ate from Roman history the record of the heroism of those who drove the Persian hordes into the sea at Marathon? No Englishman desires to take from the history of his country the deeds of her Wellington or her Nelson. The French point with pride to the man whose frown terrified the glance his magnificence attracted. What patriot would rob American history of the record of the victories of our army and navy in the several wars in which our nation has been engaged, and deprive the people of the benefits and results of those grand achievements.

Memorial Day is a tribute to patriotism, a tribute of utility to gratitude, a confession that war is at times necessary, that life has nobler things in it than mere business pursuits, and that men sometimes rise to those sublime heights when life is looked upon as of secondary consideration, and that honor and liberty and law are the only things for which the heart beats in pulsat- ing flow. The people of to-day are far removed from the events of the war of the Revolution, but the principles for which the patriots fought underlie our political superstructure and permeate every department of the govern- ment, and the heroism of the Continental soldiers shines with effulgent glory through the mists of a century.

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A centennial biographical history of Richland county, Ohio, Part 3

Author: Baughman, A. J. (Abraham J.), 1838-1913 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 836

Author: Baughman, A. J. (Abraham J.), 1838-1913
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Chicago : The Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 836