USA > Ohio > Jackson County > A history of Jackson County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 11
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on the rear of Samuel Stevenson's lot, a short distance north of the schoolhouse. After this portion of the present town had been cleared, it was enclosed with a worm fence, and was an old pasture field seventy years ago. This field was the place where the fighters usually went to settle their drunken quarrels. Judge Salter, of Portsmouth, worked at the licks when he was a boy, and he once told me that a day scarcely passed without one or more fights in this field, and that blood could be seen almost any time either on the battle ground or where the bugilists had crossed the low rail fence when retiring from the field of battle. Whisky and peach brandy were always in great demand about the licks. A man once came with a yoke of oxen and a small wagon, and a keg of whisky, which he desired to barter for salt. There happened to be no salt on hand at the time, but the inhabitants of Purgatory were bound to have some whisky. They proposed to barter anything they had, but the owner of the whisky wanted nothing but salt. They pro- posed among other things to trade him a calf, but he still refused and was preparing to leave early next morning. During the night they caught the calf, tied it and put it into the wagon, which was a covered one, and the owner drove off before daylight next morn- ing. After he had got some two miles from the licks, several men followed him and pretended they had a search warrant, and ac- cused him of stealing the calf. Of course he denied it, and told them to search his wagon. One of the party raised the cover, when sure enough there was the calf. The pretended officer then com- pelled the man to haul the calf back to Purgatory, and treat the crowd to all the whisky they desired before they would release him from the pretended prosecution. Even after the county was organized, drinking whisky and fighting continued to be the prin- cipal diversions of many of the settlers. All the criminal prose- cutions at the August and November terms of court in 1816 were for fighting. The men indicted plead guilty in nearly all cases, for such a plea established his record as a fighter. Many of the fights were fistic duels, both parties having agreed to fight at fisticuffs, but it not infrequently happened that a ruffian would seek to whip every man that came in his way, in order to win a
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reputation as a bully. At the April term, 1817, prosecutions for violations of the liquor law began. The first indictment was found against William Howe. It was charged that he did, on January 10, 1817, barter, sell, retail and deliver, for money, cer- tain spiritual liquors or strong drink, not cider or beer, by less quantity than one quart, to-wit: One-half pint of whisky to James Mail, without having first obtained a license therefor. He plead guilty, and was fined $2 and the costs. This kind of a conviction was then considered as not in the least reflecting upon the man convicted. Even the very best men in the community were occa- sionally indicted for such an offense, and they invariably plead guilty. A study of the Court Record almost convinces one that such convictions were regarded as good jokes, for even the court officers were indicted in turn. At the July term, 1817, Abraham Welch was indicted for three sales of half-pints of whisky, and one of the sales had been made to the foreman of the grand jury. Welch was always in trouble with the courts, although he was the sheriff. At the July term, 1817, he was indicted for assault- ing one Valentine Pancake on January 10, 1817. He plead guilty, of course, and was fined $30 and the costs. He was also required to give a peace bond in the sum of $250. A riot that occurred at the Jackson township spring election in 1817 furnished almost as much grist as that at the Bloomfield town house the year before. It began with a fistic duel between Robert Darling and Joseph Hartley. Hartley was so badly vanquished that his brother Philip went to his rescue, only to be pummeled in turn. Darling was indicted for both offenses, the wording in the latter case being as follows: "Robert Darling, unlawfully, riotously and routously, did beat and wound and illtreat, and other wounds, to the said Philip Hartley in Jackson township."
THE FIRST CONVICT-The first person sent from this county to the penitentiary was Burgess Squires, convicted at the May term, 1817, of issuing counterfeit money. There was a great scarcity of the circulating medium at the licks at all times, and this led some adventurous souls to increase the circulation by
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issuing counterfeit bank money to a considerable amount. There was no bank here, and no persons handling money in sufficient quantities to become familiar with the currency of the country. This made the passing of counterfeit money that much the easier, for the victimized merchant, tavernkeeper or official would not learn of the imposition that had been practiced upon him, until he tried to pass the money at Chillicothe or elsewhere. But ex- perience is a dear school, and the business men of Jackson began to be on the lookout for bad money. Andrew Donnally, the tavern- keeper, was the first person to cause an arrest. It seems that one Nimrod Kirk gave him six notes, signed by I. Ross and N. Mercer, and each payable for 50 cents in specie or bank currency at Browns- ville. He received these notes March 1, 1817, and a few days later he learned that they were forged. When the grand jury met at the July term he laid the case before them, and Kirk was indicted. He plead not guilty, and the case came on for trial. Kirk was ably defended and was acquitted July 23, 1817. The next day the trial of Burgess Squires began. The indictment charged that Burgess Squires, on March 10, 1817, did unlawfully utter and publish as true and genuine a false, forged and counter- feit bank note, purporting to be drawn and payable for $10 by the Bank of Pennsylvania; also one false, forged and counterfeit bank note payable for $1 by the Bank of New Lisbon. It appears that he had paid these notes to Abraham Welch, the sheriff of the county, who, together with Dr. N. W. Andrews, Francis Hol- land and Levi Mercer, was a witness against him. Burgess was represented by Hon. N. K. Clough, of Chillicothe, while Hon. Joseph Sill, of the same place, acted as prosecutor. Burgess plead not guilty, and a jury was empaneled. The jurors were Cornelius Culp, Anthony Howard, James Dempsey, William Reed, Joseph Armstrong, Jared Strong, Moses Gillespie, Alexander Poor, Peter Williams, William Grove, Daniel Harris and Reuben Long. Some prominent men were on this jury. Armstrong was direc- tor of the town of Jackson and Strong was the representative in the Ohio Legislature. The jury returned the verdict "guilty." All of Clough's efforts to save his client were unavailing, and Squires
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was sentenced to five years in the penitentiary, twenty-four hours of that time to be in a solitary cell. The conviction of Squires led to some very ugly talk about others, even Welch, the prosecuting witness against him, and another county officer, still more prom- inent. Welch was finally indicted for counterfeiting, and gave bond in the sum of $500, with J. W. Ross, Francis Holland and John Graham as securities. At the next term of court Welch's case was called, but he did not appear, and his bond was declared forfeited, but it was respited one more term. On Monday, March 23, 1818, the case was called the last time, but no Welch appeared, and the bond was forfeited. Welch had left the county and never returned here. The conviction of Squires and the departure of Welch put an end to the circulation of counterfeit money in Jackson.
THE COUNTY SEAT-The organization of a new county in- volved the establishment of a county seat. The largest village in the county was Poplar Row, and its central location made it suitable for the seat of justice. But the land on which it stood belonged to the National Government, and all that the Legisla- ture could do at the time of the organization of the county was to establish the house of Judge William Givens as the temporary seat of justice. The matter of securing the consent of the General Government to lay out a town in the Scioto Sale Reserve, and to sell lots to raise funds to erect county buildings was pushed at once after the erection of the new county, and Congress passed a law April 16, 1816, which authorized the state to sell one section of the reserve for that purpose. But while these matters were in progress a county building was a necessity at each term of court and at each session of the commissioners. The house of William Givens was used by the courts during 1816, but the commissioners met at other houses to snit their convenience. At the April term, 1817, court was held at the house of Dr. N. W. Andrews, the clerk. No reason is known for the removal from Givens' house. At the July and October terms court was held at the house of Andrew Donnally, the tavernkeeper. It happened once or twice that broils
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would occur in the barroom while court was in session in the parlor, and the offenders were brought before the court red-handed. These interruptions drove the court from Donnally's house, and after that it held its sessions at the houses of Joseph W. Ross, Charles O'Neil, the Widow Richmond and perhaps others, until the new court house was ready for occupancy, which did not occur for several years. When the Legislature met in the winter of 1816-1817 Representative Jared Strong worked hard to get the General Assembly to take action in accordance with the law passed by Congress, authorizing the sale of a section of the Re- serve, and on January 14, 1817, the following law was passed:
Whereas, It is provided by an act of Congress approved April 16, 1816, that the Legislature of the State of Ohio is authorized and empowered to cause to be selected and sold in such manner and on such terms and conditions as they may by law direct, any one section not exceeding the quantity of six hundred and forty acres, of the tract of land of six miles square reserved for the benefit of this state, at the Scioto salt springs, in said county of Jackson; provided, that the section so selected shall not include the said salt springs, and that the money accruing from the sale of the aforesaid section shall be applied to the erection of a court house or other public buildings thereon, for the use of the county of Jackson, in this state; and whenever the selection and sale of the said section of land shall have been made, and the same shall be duly certified to the commissioner of the general land office, a patent shall be granted by the President of the United States for the said section in trust to such person or persons as the Legisla- ture shall appoint and authorize to sell and execute titles to the purchasers of the land aforesaid; therefore,
Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That commissioners shall be appointed to fix the seat of justice in the county of Jackson as is pointed out in the- act entitled, "An act establishing seats of justice," passed the 28th day of March, 1803, and the said commissioners, when met in the county of Jackson for the purpose of fixing the seat of justice
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for said county, shall select any one section, not exceeding the quantity of six hundred and forty acres, of the six miles square reserved by congress for the use of this state at the Scioto salt springs; which section shall not include the said salt springs, and shall not be on either boundary of said township or tract of land, and when selected it shall be the duty of the commissioners to point out thereon such spot as in their opinion will be most eligible for the seat of justice in said county, and shall make report thereof to the next Court of Common Pleas, to be held in said county agreeably to the provisions of the before recited act.
Section 2. Be it further enacted, That there shall be a town laid off on such section, to be known by the name of Jackson, and a director appointed by joint resolution of both houses of the Gen- eral Assembly and commissioned by the Governor, who shall hold his office until the duties required by this act shall be performed, if so long he behaves well, and previous to entering on the duties of his office he shall take an oath or affirmation faithfully to dis- charge the duty assigned to him by this act, and also shall enter into bond, with one or more securities in such sum as the Court of Common Pleas in said county may direct, made payable to the Treasurer of Jackson county and his successors in office, condi- tioned for the faithful paying over and accounting for all moneys that may come into his hands by virtue of his office as director.
Section 3. Be it further enacted, That it shall be the duty of the director, on being duly notified by the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas of Jackson county, that the commissioners have selected a section and pointed out thereon the seat of justice, to proceed to lay off one-half of said section into a suitable number of in and out lots at the places selected by said commissioners, of such a size as he may think most advantageous, no one of which shall exceed ten acres, and make out an accurate plat of the same, and cause it to be recorded in the Recorder's office of Jack- son county, and shall proceed to sell the said town lots at public sale, giving at least thirty days' notice of the time of such sale in the newspaper printed at Gallipolis and one of the papers.
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printed at Chillicothe, which sale when commenced shall continue from day to day until all the lots are sold, which shall be on the following conditions: One-fourth part of the purchase money to be paid at the time of sale, one-fourth part in twelve months, and the balance in two annual payments, the purchaser or purchasers giving his or their bond with good and sufficient security to the director thereof, and if not punctually paid at the time the money shall become due, to bear interest from the time of sale; the director shall give each purchaser of a lot or lots a certificate of purchase, specifying therein the number of the lots by him pur- chased, and that a conveyance will be made when the last install- ment shall be paid, and when the lots are all sold the director shall deposit in the office of the Secretary of State an accurate plat of said town, designating the section on which the same is laid off, accompanied with a list of the sale, which shall be filed in said office, and the Governor thereupon shall certify the same to the commissioner of the general land office of the United States, and procure a patent for such section in the name of the director, and his successors in office, in trust, who shall make conveyances to the purchasers of lots on their complying with the terms of sale.
Section 4. Be it further enacted, That the half of the sec- tion of land so, as aforesaid, selected, as shall not be laid off into town lots, agreeably to the provisions of the third section of this act, shall be and remain under the direction of the Court of Com- mon Pleas of said county of Jackson, and the director of said town shall make sale thereof at such time and under such regula- tions as said court may direct.
Section 5. Be it further enacted, That the director shall be entitled to receive $2 per day for each day he may be necessarily employed in the discharge of his duty as director, to be allowed by the commissioners of Jackson county, and to be paid out of the county treasury.
Section 6. Be it further enacted, That all moneys for the sale of lots in said town shall be collected by the director and paid
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into the county treasury of the county of Jackson; and the com- missioners of said county, after defraying the expense incurred by the director and his fees, shall apply the balance to erecting a court house and other public buildings for the said county, and for no other purpose.
Section 7. And be it further enacted, That if any person or persons having heretofore settled on said section of land so as aforesaid selected by the commissioners to be sold under the law of the United States, for the purposes aforesaid, having leased the lot or lots upon which they may reside of this state, and whose lease will expire on the 1st day of March, 1817, if on the sale of the aforesaid lots by the director of said town the lesees do not become the purchasers, then in that case the purchasers of such lots shall pay to such lessee of such lot the price of the buildings erected on said lot, to be valued by the commissioners of said county, or any two of them.
COMMISSIONERS AND DIRECTOR APPOINTED-The selection of the commissioners to fix the seat of justice under this act, and of the director, was made by joint resolutions, which are. as follows:
Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Samuel Reed of Pike county, Lewis Newsom of Gallia county and Henry Bartlett of Athens county be, and they are, hereby ap- pointed to fix the seat of justice in the county of Jackson.
January 24, 1817.
Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That Joseph Armstrong of Jackson county be, and he is, hereby ap- pointed director of the town of Jackson, in said county.
January 27, 1817.
SELECTING THE SITE-The commissioners had a notice posted at the Salt Reserve February 9, 1817, announcing that they
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would attend March 18, 1817, for the selection of a town site. On the appointed day a large assemblage of salt boilers, planters, hunters and trappers greeted them at Donnally's tavern. They found their duty a very simple affair. Nature had long before prepared a most beautiful town site, and all that it needed was the official sanction of Ohio's agents. The report of the com- missioners was laid before Judge John Thompson on Monday, April 7, 1817, the opening day of the April term of Court of Com- mon Pleas, and was as follows:
The commissioners appointed by joint resolution of the Legis- lature of Ohio for fixing the seat of justice in the county of Jackson, after being notified of their appointment, and the inhab- itants having due notice of the time and place of their meeting, entered on the duty assigned them by the Legislature, and after examining different sections of land in the six miles square re- served by Congress for the use of this state, do report that they are unanimously of opinion that section numbered 29 is the section they have chosen for the use of said county of Jackson, and that they are unanimously of opinion that the north end of said section, south from Salt creek and immediately back of the houses occu- pied by N. W. Andrews, Mr. George and Mr. A. Welsh, upon the highland, is the most eligible place for the seat of justice in said county of Jackson. All of which is respectfully submitted. Given under our hands at Poplar Row, Lick township, the 18th day of March, 1817.
HENRY BARTLETT, SAMUEL REED, LEWIS NEWSOM, Commissioners.
NEW TOWN LAID OUT-This report was approved by the court and ordered filed. The clerk was then directed to notify the director to give bond and qualify. Joseph Armstrong came into court April 8, 1817, presented his bond in the sum of $10,000 with John Stephenson, Emanuel Traxler, Robert G. Hanna and Andrew Boggs as securities, which was approved, and he was
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thereupon authorized to proceed to the execution of his duties as director. His first duty was to lay out the new town. Surveyor McNeal did not care to undertake the work, and the services of Judge Joseph Fletcher of Gallipolis were secured. He was assisted by N. W. Andrews and David Radcliff. Joseph W. Ross, Francis Ory and George Riley acted as chain carriers, and the stakes were made by James Chapman and a son of Sheriff Welch. The stone for the corners of the public square were furnished by Major John James. The public square was surveyed first, and was laid out with reference to the houses designated by the state commis- sioners. The house of John George stood on the lot facing the Ruf tannery, and that of A. Welch on the site of the residence of Jacob W. Beyron. The sides of the square determined the bearing of the streets. The remainder of the half section was divided into 137 inlots, 36 outlots, a common and the necessary streets and alleys. The survey occupied eight days, during which the survey- ing party was boarded with John George, whose account was $19.62 1-2. Judge Fletcher was paid $60 for his services.
SALE OF LOTS-Next came the lot sale. It began June 2, 1817, and continued ten days. J. W. Ross was auctioneer, and N. W. Andrews and Richard Johnson served as clerks. A large num- ber of land speculators from Ross, Pike, Scioto and Gallia counties were in attendance, and the bidding on desirable lots was lively. Inlot 1, the southeast corner of Main and Portsmouth streets, was bid in by Elisha Fitch of Ross county, who also secured the Commercial bank corner, paying $107 for the first, and $79 for the other. The four lots facing the public square brought $390. Inlot 5, the Martin corner, was bought by Robert Lucas for $100. Daniel Hoffman bid in the Gibson corner, paying $141 for inlot 52, and $102 for inlot 51 adjoining. Inlot 35, the Isham corner, was run up to $145, and fell to Reason Darby. The liveliest bidding was on the improved lots on Poplar Row, but the majority of them fell to the lessees. Inlot 110, the McKitterick corner, was bought by Major John James for $140. John George paid $120 for the lot facing the tannery. Daniel Hoffman bid $165 for inlot 116, the
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Methodist corner, on Portsmouth and Water streets. The south- west corner on the same street was run up by speculators to $200, in order to secure the tavern standing upon it. Andrew Donnally was the winner. Abraham Welch was forced to pay $102 for the Beyron lot, where his house then stood. The highest bidding was on inlot 120, the northeast corner of Portsmouth and Water streets. Benjamin Kiger finally offered $225 and became the purchaser. Outlot 1 was bought by Samuel W. Blagg, who bid $200. Eleven inlots and one outlot failed to sell. The sum realized from the sale of lots was $7,196.75. Whisky was free during the sale, and was furnished for the county by Andrew Donnally. His bill amounted to $25.75. The expense account of the survey and sale amounted to $349.95. The balance was to be devoted to the erec- tion of public buildings for the use of the county. And now a word about Joseph Armstrong:
JACKSON'S FIRST DIRECTOR-The most noted personage buried in Mt. Zion cemetery was Joseph Armstrong, who died Feb- ruary 4, 1857, aged 77 years and 4 days. He came to the Scioto salt works when a young man, and was at once recognized as a leading spirit. In 1817 he was honored by being appointed the first director of the town of Jackson. Under his supervision, the new town was surveyed and the lots sold, as already related. In 1819 he had the south half of the town laid off and the lots sold. He then secured a patent from the General Government for the whole section, No. 29, which was issued February 16, 1820, and signed by James Monroe. Armstrong and the Commissioners had a difference about certain affairs connected with his office, and he resigned July 3, 1822. Daniel Hoffman was appointed in his place, and he served until November 22, 1826, when he resigned, and Alexander Miller was appointed. When Armstrong resigned the directorship, he did not go out of office. In the fall of 1816 he had been a prominent candidate for sheriff, and was beaten by Abra- ham Welch by a few votes only. The latter got into trouble soon after and left the county, and in the fall of 1817 Armstrong was elected sheriff over a number of opponents. He was re-elected
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and served until 1823. He was elected again in 1828
and served two terms. John Duncan, a friend, was elected next, but after his incumbency Armstrong was elected for a third period. Altogether he served more years as sheriff than any of his successors. When out of office. he was frequently deputy, so that he may be said to have been in virtual charge of the sheriff's office for about twenty years. He served as tax col- lector many years, and as road commissioner more than once. He was the executive head of the county during the years of its organization, and knew, and was known to all the citizens of the connty. He had three sons, Stephen. James and JJoseph, but none of his descendants live in the county now.
THE FIRST JAIL-The Commissioners were in session dur- ing the first week of the sale, and when they found the lots selling lively, they determined to make arrangements for building a jail. Accordingly, they ordered, on June 4, 1817, that notices be posted, "advertising the letting of the building of a jail for this county, on the 4th day of July next." Other business occupied the time of the Commissioners on the glorious Fourth, and the matter was deferred to July 5. Joseph W. Ross was appointed to ery the sale. There was only one bid, and the contract was let for $3,000. John George was the nominal bidder, but the jail was built by Ashley Gibbs, who, together with Jared Strong and Levi Mercer, became security for George. The work was pushed rapidly, and the com- pleted jail was received by the commissioners February 7, 1818. It was a log building, "thirty feet front and twenty feet deep." It was two stories high, with four rooms and a hall on each floor. The walls of the prison part consisted of two tiers of oak logs, each a foot square. The walls were painted white, the roof and shutters Spanish brown, and the casings lead color. No prisoner ever escaped from it. The Associate Judges, at a special court held February 25, 1818, ordered that "the jail bounds for this county extend four hundred yards each way from the jail of said county." The completion of the jail relieved the county of the heavy ex- pense of guarding prisoners. Up to that time all prisoners had
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