USA > Ohio > Jackson County > A history of Jackson County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 6
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felt very thankful for their providential escape, for had their pur- suers reached the river a few minutes sooner, while all hands were engaged in getting the boat into the water, they would in all probability have fallen a sacrifice to the Indians. At the treaty two years after, an Indian who was with the pursuing party, told Colonel Lewis, of Kanawha, that the whites had been discovered while at the creek boiling salt by two Indians, who were then on a hunt, and had seen the smoke of their fire. They were too weak to attack so large a party and hastened back to their town for assistance. Twenty Indians immediately went in pursuit, but greatly to their disappointment, did not overtake them until they had left the shore and were out of danger. They reached the gar- rison unmolested and relieved the fears of their families and friends, as to their safety, it having been in fact a very dangerous enterprise.
So desirable a discovery was considered to be very valuable, and Esquire Green, in a visit he made to Philadelphia soon after, sold the right of his discovery for the benefit of himself and part- ners, to John Nicholson, a merchant of that city, for $1,500, who was to come into possession of the spring by purchasing the land on which it was situated as soon as it was surveyed by the United States and offered for sale.
THE JAMES FORAY-In the month of February, 1795, Jonas Davis, one of the Ohio company's settlers, was killed by Indians near the mouth of Crooked creek. Major John James and three friends determined that they would avenge the murder, and started in pursuit. Following is an account of their experience as written by Hildreth: "The day after the death of Davis, a party of four young men, headed by John James, one of the most active and resolute of the borderers, proceeded down the Ohio in a canoe in pursuit of the murderers of Davis. The rangers at Gallipolis had ascertained that a party of Indians were hunting on the head of Symmes creek, and from the direction pursued by the war party in their retreat, they were led to think they belonged to the band. With all diligence they hastened on to the mouth of the Big
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Kanawha, in expectation of being joined there by volunteers from the garrison; but none turned out, declining to do so on account of the armistice made with the Indians after their defeat by Gen- eral Wayne. Proceeding on to Gallipolis and making known the object of their pursuit, four men volunteered their aid and joined them. From this place they hastened onward to Raccoon creek, and ranged up that stream one day, without making any discovery of the Indians. Here one of their men fell sick and turned back, while another had to accompany him, leaving only six to continue on the pursuit. The following day they reached the heads of Symmes creek, where is a large pond, about a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, a famous place for trapping beaver. They soon fell upon signs of the Indians and on a bush by the edge of the pond found an Indian's cap made of beaver skin, which he had left to mark the spot where his trap was set. Mr. James took this into his own keeping. As it was near sunset, the party secreted themselves behind a large fallen tree, waiting for night, when they intended to attack the Indians in their camp, make one fire, and rush on with their tomahawks, not thinking the hunting party could number more than eight or ten men, but they subsequently found they amounted to near forty, divided into two camps, one on each side of the pond. They had lain concealed but a short time when an Indian who had been out hunting came in sight, and was closely examining the trail made by the whites, knowing that it was that of strangers. When he came within forty or fifty yards, one of the party, Joseph Miller, fired, and the Indian fell. As Mr. James rushed up with his tomahawk, he raised the war cry, and was instantly answered by his comrades from their camp, distant not more than two or three hundred yards, for they directly came rushing up in force, before James could accomplish his purpose, and with his party he was obliged rapidly to retreat, as the Indians far outnumbered them. Seeing the whites likely to escape they set their dogs on their trail, who came yelping and barking at. ยท their heels, like hounds in pursuit of a fox. Fortunately, it soon came so dark that their enemies could not see their trail, and fol- lowed only by the barking of the dogs. For a day or two preceding,
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it had rained heavily and when they reached the east fork of the creek, it was too high for fording. They hastily made a raft of dry logs, but it became entangled in the bushes in the creek bottom, which was all overflowed, so that they had to abandon it. Their escape this way being cut off, they were forced to return to the ridge between the two branches, and travel up until they could cross by fording. A little before morning they halted and rested themselves until daylight, the dogs for some time having ceased to pursue them, or by barking to give notice of their position. Soon after this, they found a fordable place in the creek and crossed over. Here they lay an hour or two, waiting for the Indians, expecting them to pursue the trail with daylight, and intending to fire upon them in the water; but they did not come, having probably crossed higher up the stream. When they reached Raccoon creek, that was also full, and had to be crossed on a raft. The party reached Galli- polis the next day at evening. Colonel Robert Safford, of Gallipolis, then acting as a ranger, went out the next morning and found the trail of the Indians pursuing the whites to within a short distance of the town. The pond of Symmes creek is distant about one hun- dred miles from Belpre, and shows this to have been one of the most hazardous, daring and long continued pursuits after a depre- dating band of Indians which occurred during the war; reflecting great credit on the spirited men who conducted it. It was the last warfare with the savages from this part of the territory. The pond referred to above was located on the Black Fork of Symmes creek.
TREATY OF GREENVILLE-General Wayne remained in the Indian country until he had accomplished all that he had been sent to do. It was not enough to subdue the Indians. They could not be exterminated nor removed from the territory, but it was necessary that they be induced to bury the tomahawk. He worked "to secure a treaty that all the tribes would recognize. After much conciliatory work the Great Council assembled at Greenville on June 10, 1795. During its sessions the chiefs were won over one by one, and on August 3, 1795, the treaty of Greenville was signed
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by General Wayne and ninety chiefs and delegates of twelve tribes. By this treaty all the territory south of the Greenville line was ceded by the Indians to the whites, for a consideration. The ceded territory included what is now Jackson county, and the date above saw the Indian dominion over it ended forever.
THE FIRST SALT BOILER-The time had now come for a permanent settlement at the Scioto licks. Their location was com- mon property and only fear of the Indians had kept out squatters. The honor of being the first salt boiler to settle at the licks be- longs to Joseph Conklin. When the Great Council at Greenville was in session, he was living in Mason county, Kentucky. He had his thoughts on the rich licks in the woods, however, and when the news of the treaty reached him, he at once gathered together his effects, and taking his family with him, he set out into the wilder- ness. A companion or two joined him. They crossed the Ohio and took the Guyan trace. One evening they reached the sulphur spring that wells out at the foot of Broadway. There they rested and camped for the night, and the history of Poplar Row began. Conklin at once set to work to build a cabin. Its location is not known, but judging from the circumstances and the condition of the surface surrounding the licks, it is believed that he built near the sulphur spring already mentioned. This done, the work of making salt was hastily undertaken to secure a supply before the fall rains set in. He used the salt water basins that the Indians had cut in the sandstone at the riffle just below the mouth of Givens' run and built his first furnace on the bank near by. This furnace was a very simple affair, being little more than a kettle or two, something like a molasses camp. All hands worked hard at salt making. It was not long until a few persons came in from the Ohio company's lands to make some salt before winter. There also came other visitors, not as desirable, viz, the Indians. After the treaty of Greenville, several bands came to the licks, little thinking that the white man was already there. They were peace- able, however, and soon discovered that the white man was a convenience after all. The Indian warriors disliked the drudgery
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of salt making, and they were well pleased when they found that Conklin, and his companions were willing and anxious to barter salt for game and other necessaries. Thus commenced a trade with the Indians that continued for several years, some of them visiting the salt works even after the organization of the county. Among them were Shawanese, Senecas, Delawares and represen- tatives of many other tribes.
Conklin prospered at the licks, but he was only a squatter, and he foresaw that conditions would change before many years had passed. In 1801 he had a fine furnace and one of the richest wells, and when William Givens proposed to buy them, he sold out and moved away, settling near Wheeler's Mills, in Scioto county.
CONGRESS ACTS-John Nicholson never came into posses- sion of the springs. Their discovery and location soon became known to the General Government, and they were set aside for the use of the whole people. This action was taken May 18, 1796, when an act of Congress was approved, providing for the sale of lands in the territory northwest of the Ohio. The reference to the licks is found in the third section of that act, which is as follows:
Section 3. Be it further enacted, That a salt spring lying upon a creek which empties in the Scioto river, on the east side, together with as many contiguous sections as shall be equal to one township, and every other salt spring which may be discov- ered, together with the section of one mile square, which includes it, also four sections at the center of every township, containing each one mile square, shall be reserved for the future disposal of the United States; but there shall be no reservations except for salt springs, in fractional townships, where the fraction is less than three fourths of a township.
THE SECOND SALT BOILER-John Martin, who came to the Scioto licks in 1796, was the second salt boiler of whom there is record, and the first to remain in the neighborhood. He thus became the founder of the oldest family in the county. The first
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ancestor of whom there is record was James Martin, who was born in Ireland in the early part of the last century. Like many another young Irishman, he emigrated, and settled in Pennsyl- vania. He found his wife there. In a few years he went south to Maryland. Little is known of their family. A son was born to them in 1772, whom they named John. Two other sons were named Hugh and James, but our story concerns John only. His youth covered the stormy years of the Revolution, when he could enjoy only few advantages, but he developed that sturdy manhood which made America free. Nothing is known of his Maryland life except that he acted as teamster for a time and hauled flour from the Ellicott mills to Baltimore.
When the news came of the successful issue of the Indian war in Ohio, Martin was one of many whose thoughts turned toward the west. In 1796 he started through the wilderness for the new born Buckeye state, and did not stop until he reached the Scioto Salt Works, now known as Jackson. Here he found employment at the salt works, which occupation he followed for many years. He worked for the firm of Ross & Nelson, and afterward for John Johnson and others. Other members of his family came here, including his father. The latter left in later years and went to Tennessee, where he died in 1816, after marrying a second time. The manufacture of salt became less profitable with the discovery of stronger brine in other parts of the state, and John Martin then turned his thoughts to farming. He entered a large tract of land in what is now Franklin township, and removed there to live, where he spent the rest of his life until 1856, when he returned to this city to live with his son Courtney. He died December 15, 1858, aged 86 years, 11 months and 6 days. He had been a member of the M. E. Church here for 45 years. His remains were interred in the old cemetery, but were removed to Fairmount in 1900. His wife survived him and lived with her son Court- ney until her death, which occurred December 26, 1866. She was born in Maryland December 25, 1786, her maiden name being Margaret Shoup. Her family came to the salt works at an early day, where she was married to JJohn Martin in 1805. Another
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sister, Mrs. Sylvester, lived here until recent years. Both united with the M. E. Church in 1801, and Mrs. Martin was a member for 65 years. The Methodist meetings were held for many years at her home on Poplar Row, long before Jackson was laid out.
John and Hugh Martin joined the Tupper expedition to San- dusky in the War of 1812. Hugh was taken ill on the way and was left behind, but John served throughout the campaign, which was short but severe.
John and Margaret Martin had a family of five children, who grew to maturity. They were Courtney M., John M., Elizabeth, Nancy and Eliza.
Courtney MeIntyre Martin was born in Liek township, in this county, September 14, 1806. Nancy Stephenson was born in Tacy's Valley, Cabell county, Virginia, August 22, 1806. They were married October 16, 1831, Rev. Truit officiating. Both died July 2, 1894. Their funeral was held July 4, at 9 a. m., and both were buried in the same grave side by side. Born within 23 days of each other, dying the same day, and buried in the same grave, their lot may be said to have been peculiarly happy.
The second son, John M., was born in Franklin township in 1808. He came to Jackson and went into business at an early period. He was elected Treasurer of the county in 1834, and served until 1841. He was elected Recorder in 1861 and served until 1867. He was afterward postmaster of Jackson. He died January 20, 1884, aged 75 years.
Elizabeth was married to Harmon Lowry. They removed to Vinton county in the fifties, and she died at McArthur several years ago from the effects of burns.
Nancy was born January 29, 1820. She was married to Daniel Stewart and became the mother of eight children. She died August 4, 1892, aged 72 years, 6 months and 5 days.
Eliza was the youngest and she survives.
SQUATTER SOVEREIGNTY-The growth of the settlement at the licks was very slow until after Ohio was admitted into the Union. The cause is not far to seek. As already mentioned,
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Congress by the Act of 1796 reserved a township of land sur- rounding the lieks for the use of the Government. This made it an impossibility for any one to enter land in the township. At the same time Congress neglected to make any arrangements for leasing the salt wells, and this left them at the mercy of the squatters. The period of Squatter Soverignty lasted from 1795 till the spring of 1803. Little of the history of this period has survived. The squatters did not feel justified in making improve- ments, for only the common law of the camp would secure their title, and that did not hold if they absented themselves from the licks. The majority of the salt boilers of this period were thus forced to be transients. They came here in the summer, made salt for a few months, and when the waters rose in the fall, flood- ing the bottoms, they returned to their homes, in the territory of the Ohio Company, Virginia or Kentucky, as the case might be. A very large proportion of the early settlers of Southern Ohio visited the licks during this period. Felix Renick, Joseph Har- ness and Leonard Stump of Virginia were among the visitors in 1798, and Colonel Return J. Meigs and Paul Fearing of Marietta passed through in 1799, when on their way to Cincinnati. Joseph Vance, afterward Governor of Ohio, worked here as a salt boiler, and William Salter, afterward a citizen of Portsmouth, spent a few years here. The pioneers came from all parts of the state to get salt. Judge Silvanus Ames of Athens county came here in 1802 by way of Chillicothe. Many others might be mentioned.
GEORGE L. CROOKHAM-Occasionally young men would secure employment here and remain permanently. Of the num- ber were John Kight and George L. Crookham, who came to the licks in 1799. The latter became one of the leading men of the settlement and lived in the county until his death. He was born at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, November 18, 1779. He had a taste for learning and soon qualified himself to teach. When only twenty years of age he came to the licks and went to work at a salt furnace. But he kept up his studies. Even at night, while watch- ing the kettles, he pursued his studies, and John Farney is an-
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thority for the statement that he included astronomy among them. Mathematics engaged his attention the oftenest, but he was a student of Nature and her works, even down to insects. In 1812 he volunteered for the war, and rendered his country valuable service, for which he received in later years a land warrant. He was a great lover of freedom, and when the slavery question began to attract attention in 1836 he became an Abolitionist. This made him very obnoxious to many of his neighbors, and that led to an act of incendiarism, which disgraced the county and lost to posterity a very valuable book. He had a school house on his farm, two miles west of Jackson, where he taught the children of the neighborhood. In this little house he kept his library, his collection of curiosities and relics, and a manuscript history of the salt works from the earliest days. One night the building was fired by some pro-slavery people, and it was destroyed with all its contents. Mr. Crookham was the father of sixteen children, four- teen of whom survived him. He died February 28, 1857, at the home of his son-in-law, J. W. Hanna, east of Jackson, the most learned man in the county, and respected by all. The bells of the town were tolled on the day of his funeral.
OTHER PIONEERS-Little is known of John Kight, and nothing is known of Shoup, except his name, and the date of his arrival, viz: 1800. Daniel F. Dean came here before the end of the eighteenth century, and was the first man to lose his life at the licks by accident. He met his death at a rolling, a heavy log crushing him to the earth. His grave may be found on McKit- terick's Hill, and a stone marked the place when I came to Jackson in 1889. Davis Mackley, who became editor of The Standard before the pioneers had all passed away, published a number of notes, from which the following extracts are quoted: I had frequent con- versations during their life time with John Farney, John Kight, John Martin, Vincent Southard and Mother Sylvester. John Kight informed me that he came to the salt licks in 1799, and there were then a few persons settled around the salt wells. These salt wells were located around the western outcrop of the conglomerate, or
-
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salt rock, and the salt water to this day comes to the surface. The western edge of the salt rock comes up in the bed of Salt creek, near Diamond Furnace, and the water dashing over it has cut quite a hole below the rock and causes a fall of nearly four feet. The water was drawn from the salt wells in wooden buckets with a balance pole, or sweep pole, as it was called. The water was boiled in the common sugar kettles. The first white man who made salt here as a regular business was Mr. Conklin. His fur- nace was in the bottom, nearly north of where Globe Furnace is now located. The different wells and furnaces received such names as were suggested by the character of the persons by which they were surrounded. There was a well and furnace near the railroad bridge, between Star Furnace and town, which was one of the most extensive establishments. The persons operating this establishment lived in cabins on the high bluff, where is now the residence of James Chesnut, and where the Presbyterian Church stands. This was called Purgatory. The wells and fur- naces near the Infirmary were called Paradise, and the next group, beyond the residence of II. C. Bunn, were named New Jerusalem. The salt water or brine was weak, and it took several hundred gallons of it to make a bushel of salt. It was boiled down with wood, which was eut from the surrounding hills. When the wood became scarce near the furnaces and wells, other furnaces were erected nearer the timber, and the water was taken from the wells to the timber in logs, bored through and spliced together. It was sometimes taken nearly a mile from the wells to these furnaces. The salt boilers were utterly ignorant of the nature and use of stone coal, and although these salt wells were located in the vicinity of the best coal in the world, yet they never used a bushel of it. There is a tradition that an owner of a salt well who needed stone to erect a furnace, used blocks of coal, which soon burned down and dropped his kettles to the ground. (This was up near Petrea .- Ed.) The pioneers related many anecdotes about the licks: The story about being shot with a packsaddle at the licks has gone into history. Some of the men above named were pres- ent and told me how it occurred. But I must first tell what a pack-
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saddle is. It was made by taking two pieces of wood, so crooked that they would fit on a horse's back. On the under side was fast- ened on each side boards some eighteen inches long. These boards were fastened to the crooked pieces with wooden pins, and the under side was padded with linen, and between the padding and the boards it was stuffed with straw, chaff or hair. On these pack- saddles our fathers transported salt as far as Pomeroy, and West Columbia, West Virginia. I must go back to the shooting with a packsaddle. One of the kettle tenders at a salt furnace out of pure "cussedness" threw a packsaddle into the furnace. It belonged to a man who had come some distance for salt. The owner said but little and went home. He procured another packsaddle, and put a quantity of gunpowder in the pad, and returned to the same furnace. Some time in the night this was also thrown into the furnace. The furnace was destroyed, but fortunately no one was hurt.
VETERANS OF THE REVOLUTION-Many of the first set- tlers were veterans of the Revolutionary War, but no complete list of them is in existence. A few old pension papers are on file at the Court House, and the declarations in them are given a place here:
George Whaley declared Jan. 27, 1821, that he was enlisted for one year at Lewisburg, Greenbrier county, Virginia, on or about the 15th day of November, 1776, and served in the company of Captain Matthew Arbuckle of the Twelfth regiment of Virginia, and that he continued to serve in said company in the service of the United States, in the Continental army, against the common enemy until about the 15th day of November, 1777. He was again enlisted at Lewisburg in state and county aforesaid, in the com- pany of Captain Matthew Arbuckle of the Twelfth regiment of Virginia, commanded by Colonel John Newel of General Hand's brigade; that he continued to serve in said corps, or in the service of the United States, in the Continental army, against the common enemy, until about the 15th day of November, 1779, when he was honorably discharged at Fort Randall, at the mouth of Big Kan- awha. and that he was in service three years in the whole time. Was at Fort Randall when attacked by the Indians in 1778.
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Henry Hughes declared June 26, 1821, that he enlisted in the year 1779 for eighteen months, in a company commanded by Cap- tain John Andrews, which said company belonged to a regiment commanded by Colonel Hawes of the North Carolina line, on the Continental establishment; was in the battles of Guilford Court House, Camden, Eutaw Springs, and in several other skirmishes; was wounded at the battle of Camden, and that he was discharged from the service in the year 1781, by Major Snead, at Salisbury, North Carolina. A grandson of this man now lives in Frank- lin township.
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