USA > Ohio > Washington County > Belpre > A history of Belpre, Washington County, Ohio > Part 10
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Lumber was much more abundant here than at New Orleans, and, owing to the difficulty of pushing the boats against the current, they were usually sold there. At that time flat boats carried flour, corn, butter, cheese, apples, lumber, and peach brandy which was then considered by most of the people as legitimate an article of traffic as the peaches from which it was made.
In Dr. S. P. Hildreths history given in previous chap- ters we find mention of the scarcity of salt during the early years and also an account of the discovery of a salt spring in the Scioto valley by a company of Belpre men. During a considerable number of years most of the salt used in this part of the State was made from the water of that and neighboring springs.
An article appeared in a local paper in 1819 by a person under the name "Fair Play" in which it was stated that certain persons had purchased the complete output of the Kanawha Mills and raised the price of salt to two dollars per bushel" and the writer asks the "General As-
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sembly of the State to interfere and protect the public against there "pests of society." From this statement we learn that the selfish greed of monopolists was known here almost a century ago and not inappropriately named by that writer.
It is also interesting to be able to record that the dis- covery of another spring in the Muskingum valley about that time, and the establishment of a mill there prevented these "pests of society" from enjoying their monopoly for any considerable time.
STOCK RAISING
Quite early in the history of Belpre some of the farm- ers turned their attention to the raising of stock. Sheep, as already stated were raised for their wool, and horned cattle for market. Some were butchered and the meat sold to river boats, and others were taken on the boats to towns farther down the river. During the first four decades of the nineteenth century many cattle were taken in droves through Virginia and over the mountains to eastern Mary- land and Pennsylvania.
As a result of our excellent railroad systems, fat cattle can be loaded on cars at Belpre and within forty-eight hours be offered in the markets of Washington, Baltimore, and Philadelphia, as prime beef. In the early years before the era of Railroads, four or five weeks were required to take a drove of cattle to these eastern markets including many vicissitudes and dangers of loss, and when they ar- rived at their destination several weeks of refattening were necessary before they would produce "prime beef." During the journey cattle must be fed each day, some time on farms at considerable expense, at other times they could feed on unoccupied land or brouse in the forest, but then they were liable to eat poison plants which would cause sickness and some times death. A few extracts from the Diary kept by Judge Ephraim Cutler on such a journey will reveal to us the experiences of those days.
Tuesday July 25, 1809-Started with eighty-six head of cattle and crossed the Ohio six miles from Marietta, and drove on to Charles Ferrys place.
July .5-Drove to Hushers, twenty-six miles.
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July 27-Lost twenty head of cattle in the woods. Drive the remainder to Websters where my drove joins that of Browning and Dana (two Belpre men) and goes on. Buy two steers of Husher for thirty two dollars. Re- turn after the lost cattle find eighteen head and get them to Websters.
July 28-Still hunt but without success, for the two missing steers; then go on to Nathan Davis, with the eighteen head.
July 29-Drive to within three miles of Clarksburg. Find on the way a steer which Charles, who went on with the drove had lost.
July 30-One of my oxen very sick from eating laurel, leave him and start on. Soon another very sick, and leave him at Copelands. A little beyond Simpsons Creek I lose again the whole of my cattle (in the underbrush) and hunt for them till sunset when I find sixteen and soon after the other one. Stay all night at Devols. A merry old fellow.
July 31-At Plummer's, find another sick steer and leave him at Johnsons. Go on to Gauleys where I overtake the drove.
Aug 1-Drive to Thomas, on Cheat river, and leave a sick steer.
Aug. 2 .- Drive to Johnson's on Big Yough.
Aug. 3 .- Another steer sick. Divide our cattle (from Brownings and Dana's) and drive to the Glades, near Hamils.
Aug. 4-Discharge two hands. After salting the cattle leave them in pasture in Charles' care and go on to West- ernport and stay all night at Davis. The drove continued their way with similar experiences and reached Hagars- town, Maryland, Aug. 20th and York Pennsylvania Sept. 1st.
Cattle were sold a few at a time in the various towns as they passed. In some cases the sick steers left behind recovered and were found on the drivers return, in other cases they died or disappeared. Such trips were not very lucrative but a small profit usually remained and the avails
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were expended in another drove, and the farmers were en- couraged to improve and increase their herds.
The Little Hocking river, or creek, is only a small stream but in its wanderings in the north west part of Belpre township a considerable number of bridges are necessary in order to render efficient our system of high- ways.
The crossing near the mouth of the stream is a diffi- cult one to maintain because so much affected by the con- ditions of the Ohio river. The following account of this crossing is found in Williams History of Washington Coun- ty :
"During the early years the Little Hocking was forded near its mouth. This was very inconvenient and danger- ous, and impossible in high water. In 1804 the citizens of Belpre appointed Dr. Leonard Jewett, Truman Guthrie, and Benjamin Miles a committee to petition the County Commissioners for a grant of $300 to assist in building a bridge. The money was granted and the bridge built, but the timbers used were too heavy and the strength was im- paired to such an extent that it became unsafe. There was a commonly received story that the last crossing was made by a drove of cattle on the run." Mrs. Laura Curtis Pres- ton in her history of Newbury says: "After the abandon- ment of the bridge a ferry was operated for many years by Reuben Allen. Still later a toll bridge was built and used for a number of years. This was wrecked by the flood of 1884. After this the present iron bridge was built, located higher up the stream than the old bridge. Some of the timbers of the old bridge rested on the large stone to which George Washington referred in his journal of a journey down the Ohio. The places cut in the stone for the timbers are still visible. One pier of the toll bridge also rested on this stone which should be called Washington's Rock."
The moving of a large building was an important episode in the monotonous life of a rural community in early days, and an account of it is worthy of a place in this history.
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THE MOVING OF CAPTAIN STONE'S HOUSE.
The large frame house on the Stone farm just west of the village was built in 1799 and is the oldest house now standing in Belpre. This and the Putnam house built one year later (1800) are good examples of the better farm houses of New England at the time of the Revolution. The dimensions of the house are 30 x 40 feet it is two stories high with eight large rooms and two spacious halls. At the time it was built there were no machines to furnish lumber ready dressed, with frames, doors and sash, pre- nared to put in place. The frame consisted of heavy tim- bers hewed, framed, and mortised by hand and held togeth- er by strong wooden pins. The siding was hand planed, the shingles hand shaved, and nails hand made. Origin- ally there were large fire places, one large enough to hold a log eight feet long. These have been superseded by other appliances for heating but the old sash are retained and the Jicht still shines through panes of glass eight bv ten inches. The old brick oven is no longer used but is still in place. This house was built on the river bank near the site of the old fort, but on account of the liberties the Ohio River sometimes took of entering uninvited and extending the calls beyond courteous limits, Col. Jack (John) Stone (son of Jonathan) though it wise to place the house on higher ground. and this was accomplished bv what was known as a "moving bee' one of the ways in which neighbors mani- fested their mutual helpfulness. The method employed is not very much in use at the present time but was the best then available in a country town. Two or three long tim- bers were secured, hewed on top but on the bottom left in the natural state these were securely fastened under the sills and extended a few feet beyond the building. To the end of each of these runners was attached a long row of oxen fastened to the house and to each other : rollers were usually placed under the runners to facilitate the movement. In this case about fifty yokes of oxen were used brought together from Washington County, Wood County, Virgin- ia, and a few from Morgan County, Ohio. This event oc- curred in June, 1825 and was a gala day long remembered in Belpre the wives of the farmers came with their hus- bands and furnished a bountiful picnic dinner. This work was all accomplished in one day, the house was moved about
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four hundred yards, and reached the place prepared for it about sunset. When the work was accomplished such a shout arose as is seldom heard. The old house still stands and is occupied by descendants of the builder.
From experience at similar movings the writer would venture the opinion that several blacksmiths in the vicinity had applications to mend log chains soon after this event.
A war between the United States and Mexico com- menced in 1846, under the administration of James K. Polk, and continued nearly two years. This war was caus- ed by events that occurred in connection with the annexa- tion of Texas as a part of the United States and its en- rollment as our thirty-first state. The contest between the North and South on the subject of slavery was even then becoming bitter, and Southern politicians desired Texas as an additional slave state, and also to increase their power by securing additional territory from Mexico. The resist- ance by Mexico to these efforts led to the war. This was opposed by most of the people in the northern states and only a comparatively small number of soldiers enlisted from these states. We have found little evidence of interest in this war by the Belpre people. One young man, Andrew Colville, enlisted, and perhaps some others. Colonel Charles H. Brough, a brother of Ohio's celebrated war Governor, born in Belpre, was in command of the Fourth U. S. Regi- ment during the war. By a comparison of dates we find that the Kidnapping case described in the following chap- ter occurred while the questions which led to this war were under discussion throughout the country. This will help explain why the war did not receive a hearty support in Belpre. The "Irrepressible Conflict" had already commenc- ed and thoughtful men already were beginning to see that a "country could not very long continue part free and part slave."
The frames of nearly all buildings erected during this period were made of heavy hewn timbers, and the raisings of these frames were occasions for the gathering of a large number of men for a "raising bee." When a "bent" of timbers at one end of the building had been raised to its place and temporarily secured, one or two sprightly and level headed young men mounted it and fastened the tim- bers between this and the next bent with strong wooden
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pins. This process was continued until all the bents were securely fastened together. Then the young men mounted the ridge pole and pinned to it the rafters. There were usually only a few young men with nerves sufficiently steady to do this part of the work. On such occasions "refresh- ments" were usually served often quite freely, and if these were passed too early in the day it was sometime difficult to get the last part of the work done properly.
THE TEMPERANCE REFORM.
In the early years of the nineteenth century the use of intoxicating liquors in some form was very common among all classes of people in our country. In the descrip- tion of social gatherings at that time the mention of re- freshments usually included alcoholic beverages. We have learned that the settlers in Belpre were characterized by "religion and morality" and these characteristics were per- petuated by their descendants. Dr. Benjamin Rush pub- lished his "Enquiry into the Effects of Ardent Spirits upon the Human System" in 1785. This may be called the be- ginning of the modern temperance movement.
During the next forty years the work was mostly spor- adic and individual. In 1825 "The American Society for the Promotion of Temperance" was organized and about that time the attention of good people in Belpre was called to the subject. Though in earlier years Peach Brandy had been distilled here some of the people were ready to consider and adopt this movement. We are informed by Mrs. Laura Curtis Preston, in her "History of Newbury" that "Mr. Erastus Guthrie was the first man in Washington County to refuse to furnish Whisky in the harvest field ; his neighbors thought him presumptuous, and that he could not secure men to work without it, but he had enough of his mothers Huguenot blood to persist in what he thought was right and to carry out his determined policy." We find also the names of the following gentlemen who adopted a similar practice about the same time. Daniel Goss, Perley and William P. Howe, George Dana, Sen and O. R. Loring, and there is reason to conclude that others were equally prompt in this work. What is known in this country as the "Wasingtonian Temperance Movement" commenced about 1840 and resulted in much good, but the people of Belpre
HOWE HOME
DANA HOME, BUILT 1819
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were in the work even earlier than that. It was the custom in earlier years when neighbors gathered for a "Raising Bee" to lubricate them freely with Whisky, but the senti- ment of the Christian men in Belpre was so far advanced that when the frame of the Methodist Meeting House in Rockland was raised in 1832 no ardent spirits were provid- ed. This is said to have been the first frame so raised in Washington County but the work was well done and has remained to the present time and during all these years the worshippers in that building have been among the most zealous and active advocates of total abstinance from all intoxicating liquors.
In Feb. 1837 under the pastoral leadership of Dr. Addi- son Kingsbury the Congregational church appointed a com- mittee to consider the propriety of making total abstinance from all intoxicating beverages a requisition for church membership. November 23 of the same year the church passed the following: "Resolved, That while this church deems it inexpedient to require total abstinance from ardent spirits as a condition of membership we express our deep conviction of the duty of every member to abstain entirely from the use of all such liquors as a beverage.
Resolved, Further, that the above resolution together with the rules in practice be read in our church meetings once in six months." At a meeting Feb. 12, 1845 the church discussed the question of using only unfermented grape juice at the sacrament of the Lords Supper. We have not found when this decision was made by vote, but only un- fermented wine has been used for many years. We have reason to think the members of the Universalist and Metho- dist churches were as advanced in practice as their Congre- gational brethren. This is more noticeable because that was before the days of prohibition laws or constitutional amendments. At that time there were many intelligent and influential citizens who advocated a temperate use of alcohol instead of total abstinance, and many eminent di- vines were not willing to substitute grape juice for wine at the Sacrament.
In 1842 Dyar Burgess, at the time preaching in the Congregational church wrote.
"But what is more characteristic of Belpre is that they
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carry forward the temperance enterprise under the convic- tion that temperance is the "fruit of the Spirit" and that it is to their honor to come up to "the help of the Lord against the mighty" accordingly their labors are yet unremitted and God smiles upon their endeavors."
In a letter written by Mary W. Dana to her sister in 1840 we find the following: "Father is going out to Mr. Goss to help him raise a temperance pole. Don't you think that is doing pretty well. The people are beginning to be aroused in the cause of temperance, and I consider that I have made a pretty good beginning, for next Monday com- pletes my months abstinance from tea and coffee." This would indicate that this young lady and probably others with her had abstained from tea and coffee to aid the temperance cause.
A few months later the same lady wrote "The people of Belpre are considerably engaged in the cause of tem- perance and hold monthly meetings; father (George Dana, Sen.) speaks more than any body else, and I tell you he makes the house ring with his voice. There is a County Temperance Society which will hold a meeting in April. Father is president of the Society."
Major F. H. Loring told the writer that at a meeting in the old brick meeting house when a boy he heard Mr. George Dana say of that early movement: "The people of Belpre took hold of the temperance work with an iron grasp." -
The following is a copy of a pledge circulated in 1840 by Mary W. Dana and Miss C. Browning.
"TEETOTAL TEMPERANCE PLEDGE" (For those ten or more years of age)
We, the undersigned do hereby pledge ourselves to use no intoxicating drinks whatever. Believing it to be a source of much misery and ruinous to all who make use of it we therefore consider it a deadly poison and are de- termined to abandon the use of all intoxicating liquors here- after and forever. We cordially invite all the young per- sons of this neighborhood to sign this pledge and strictly live up to all things herein inserted.
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SIGNERS
Ladies Column
Gentlemens Column
Mary W. Dana
Charles G. Sargeant
C. Browning
H. Browning
Sarah Sherman
D. B. Linn David Campbell
L. Stone
M. Winchester
John Dana
Jane Barcley
Hosea Jobley
O. M. Russell
William Hutchinson
R. Rouse
Elizabeth Russell
E. Rathbone Susan Miles
I. Putnam
S. C. Gilbert
E. Ellenwood A. C. Ames
S. Ball C. Ball
Great credit is due to those who so ably carried for- ward their work during those early years. These efforts had an abiding effect for good, not only on the young people then living, but from that time to the present Bel- pre, both in township and village, has been one of the lead- ing temperance communities in the State. There has not been a saloon within the limits of the township for a quar- ter of a century and in all votes on the subject the "Drys" have been about two-thirds of the whole.
CHAPTER XII
SLAVERY AND THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD
A FRICAN Slavery was introduced into Virginia in 1620. The same year that the first settlement was made in New England, at Plymouth, Mass. Slavery then existed in England and as a con- sequence it was recognized as a legitimate institution in all the American Colonies. In the northern colonies the farms were generally small and were worked by the owners themselves so there was little use for slaves. In Virginia, and the colonies farther south, the settlers often took up plantations of considerable size where they could advan- tageously use slaves. As a result slavery soon disappeared from the Northern Colonies but found a congenial soil in the South where the labor of slaves was profitable to the planters. At the time of the Revolutionary War leading citizens both north and south considered that slavery was morally wrong and therefore should be abolished.
One of the serious charges made against Great Britain at that time was that she had introduced slavery into the Colonies. It was then supposed that slavery must soon disappear and perhaps for this reason this word does not appear in our Constitution, though there is an evident allu- sion to it in Article I, Section (9) which is as follows:
"The immigration or importation of such persons as any of the States think proper to admit shall not be pro- hibited by Congress prior to one thousand eight hundred and eight, but a tax or duty may be imposed on such im- portations not exceeding ten dollars for each person." This was the prevailing sentiment at that time among the people as well as in the minds of the members of the Con- stitutional Convention. And the importation of slaves was prohibited by law after 1808. Slavery soon disappeared from all the States north of what became known as "Mason and Dixons Line," which was the South boundary of Penn- sylvania and the Ohio River. The invention of the cotton gin and the introduction of industries in the Southern States which increased the profit of slave labor strengthen-
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ed the institution of slavery. It is a very common char- acteristic of human nature to find, if possible, some moral justification for a practice which is pecuniarily profitable. As years passed the people in the Southern States made moral as well as commercial apologies for the continuation of slavery, for example: "Negroes are not capable of car- ing for themselves," "They are in a much better condition as slaves here than in a wild state in Africa." "They will be Christianized in this country."
Scripture was also quoted in justification of slavery. It was claimed that slavery existed in New Testament times as well as Old. It was not condemned by Christ and justified by Paul when he sent the fugitive Onesimus back to his Master Philemon, and, strange as it may now seem, there were a few quite eminent clergymen in Puritan New England who took a "South Side view of Slavery."
The Ordinance of 1787 prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, but recognized the right of the Slave- holder to recover his run away slave from the free States, and a fugitive slave law was enacted by Congress in 1793 to aid the slave owner in recovering his slave who had used his legs in leaving a Slave State. A half century later the Anti-Slavery sentiment had so far increased in the free States that Congress enacted another law in 1850, increas- ing the power of the slave owner in securing his escaping property. This law really increased the anti-slavery senti- ment in the North and made the return of fugitives more difficult. There is in the human soul an innate love of liberty, although the slaves were kept in ignorance they had a consciousness that they had a right to themselves. This was increased during the early years of the nine- teenth century by the fact that unscrupulous specula- tors some times kidnapped free negroes in the border states and, hastening with them into Slave States, sold them as slaves. Although not allowed to learn to read, the slaves became more intelligent from year to year through their association with white people, and a desire for freedom was aroused in the minds of many. Some fled to swamps and forests where they lived in caves or rude huts and sub- sisted by hunting, fishing, and such help as they could se- cure from friends in night visits to plantations.
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In later years, and especially after the abolition of slavery in all British provinces it became known that there were many in the free States who would befriend escap- ing fugitives and assist them in gaining their freedom. During the half century preceeding our Civil war many thousands of slaves left the plantations of the South and started on a pilgrimage with the North Star as their guide. Some of these were run down by slave hunters who re- ceived a reward for returning them to their masters, many found homes in the Northern States, sometimes under assumed names, while many others reached Canada where they were legally free.
The process of escaping from Slavery in those days came to be known as "The Underground Railroad." Those who aided the fugitives were denominated conductors and the homes where fugitives were fed and concealed were the stations. The origin of this name has been given as fol- lows.t "A certain negro escaped from a plantation in Kentucky and was closely pursued by his master. At the Ohio River the master was hindered for a short time in securing a skiff but he found this in time to keep the fugi- tive in sight as he swam the river and landed on the Ohio side. Landing only a few minutes later than the fugitive the master utterly failed to find any trace of him, and re- marked "that nigger must have gone off on an underground road." This name was so appropriate that it came into quite general use in describing the escape of fugitives.
As the slaves became more intelligent and began to understand the real meaning of slavery and the hopeless- ness of a betterment of conditions, either for themselves or their children, they began to regard the privilege of owning themselves as worth a strenuous effort. This is illustrated by an incident given by Prof. W. H. Siebert.t
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