USA > Ohio > Jackson County > A history of Jackson County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 9
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16
94
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
CAMP ROCK-In this connection mention should be made of the sandstone boulder standing by the roadside near the old Stin- son tavern on Salt creek, in Jackson township, which is known as the "camp rock." I visited this rock in 1895 and wrote the fol- lowing notes at the time:
This is an immense boulder that broke off from the hill some centuries ago and rolled down to the creek, lodging just on the rocky bank. It is now about fifty feet long, fifteen feet thick and twenty feet in height. It was longer until a year or two ago, when a blast was taken out of its east end to secure stone for the abut- ments of a bridge some half a mile above. The road passes between the rock and the hill and always has done so. It has received the name Camp Rock from the words cut deep in the surface facing the road. Most prominent is the following legend:
CAMP OP 1812.
General Tupper and his army are supposed to have camped one night near this rock. The creek is fordable here, and a spring used to bubble forth nearby. Old citizens claim that there were many names of soldiers carved in the rock, but they have now disap- peared.
CAPTAIN STRONG'S COMPANY-Another band of salt boilers marched into the Indian country in 1813, with the command of Major Ben Daniels. This expedition was for the relief of Fort Meigs, and the men served from July 29 to August 19. The salt boilers were organized as a company with the following roster: Captain Jared Strong, First Lieutenant John Gillaspie, Ensign William Howe, Sergeants William Given, John Lake, David Mitchell, Phillip Strother; Corporals Salmon Goodenough, Alexan- der Hill, Joseph Lake, William Higginbotham; Drummer Harris Penny, Fifer James Markey, Privates William Hewitt, Thomas M. Caretall, Jesse Watson, Joseph Robbins, William Ellerton, James Phillips, Samuel Aldridge, John Sergeant, Samuel Bunn, Stephen
95
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Bailey, Henry Rout, Joseph Clemens, Joseph Schellenger, John Ogg, James Higginbotham, William Black. Some of the most promi- nent men at the works were in this company. The captain was afterward the first representative of the county. Given will be spoken of at length later. Mitchell, Howe, Bunn, the Lakes and Schellenger have many descendants in the county. Hewitt was the noted hermit already spoken of.
JACKSON COUNTY ERECTED .- The organization of the Lick township government gave the inhabitants at the works a feel- ing of importance. Quite a village had sprung up on the slope facing Salt creek, east of the site of the court house, and it had exchanged the name of Purgatory for Poplar Row. The influx of settlers into the surrounding territory caused the inhabitants of Poplar Row to indulge the fond hope that its townhouse would ere long give way to a court house, the seat of justice of a new county. The matter was talked of as early as 1810. Settlers were now rapidly entering land in that part of Gallia county bordering on Lick town- ship. The first of whom there is record, was Lewis Adkins, who entered his land in 1810. Jeremiah Roach became his neighbor in 1811, and Hugh Poor settled farther north in what is now Bloom- field township in the same year. John Smith, Gabriel MeNeat, Benjamin, Amos and Nimrod Arthur, George Burris and perhaps others entered land in the country east or south of the licks in 1812. Samuel McClure entered land in 1813, and John Stephenson, Moses Hale and others followed in 1814. These settlers had a number of squatters for neighbors, whom they did not like, on account of their thieving propensities. Their peace was disturbed too frequently also by the lawless element among the salt boilers at the licks. This state of affairs led them to think favorably of the propositon to erect a new county, with a court house at the Salt works. This was what the leaders at the licks wished for, and the new county movement at once assumed respectable proportions. A delegation was sent to Chillicothe, the capital of the State, in the winter of 1815, to bring the matter before the legislature. The petition was placed in the hands of Senator Robert Lucas, and the following
96
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
entry appears in the senate journal for December 22, 1815: Robert Lucas, senator from Gallia and Scioto counties, presented a petition of certain inhabitants of Ross, Gallia, Scioto and Athens counties praying that a new county may be set off in such a manner that the seat of justice may be established at the Scioto Salt works. The petition was referred to a committee of three, of whom Lucas was made chairman, to report thereon by bill or otherwise. The committee saw its way clear to report favorably, and a bill to erect the county of Jackson was introduced by Senator Lucas on Tuesday, December 26, 1815, and read the first time. It was read the second time December 27, and passed the senate December 29. It was introduced in the house the same day, read the second time December 30, and passed January 10, 1816. It was signed up Jan- uary 12, 1816, and became a law. Following is a copy of it:
AN ACT TO ERECT THE COUNTY OF JACKSON.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the State of Ohio, That all that part of the counties of Scioto, Gallia, Athens and Ross, included within the following limits, to-wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of township number ten, range number seventeen, and running thence east to the northeast corner of said township; thence south to the southeast corner of township. number eight in said range; thence west to the southwest corner of section number thirty-five in said township; thence south to the southeast corner of section number thirty-four, in township number seven in said range; thence west to the southwest corner of said township; thence south to the southeast corner of township number five, in range number eighteen; thence west to the southwest corner of section number thirty-three in township number five, in range number nineteen; thence north to the northwest corner of section number four in said township; thence west to the southeast corner of Pike county; thence with Pike county line to the northeast corner of said county; thence north to the northwest corner of township number eight, in range number nineteen; thence east to the range line between the seventeenth and eighteenth ranges;
97
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
thence north with the same to the place of beginning, shall be a separate and distinet county by the name of Jackson.
Section 2. Be it further enacted, That all suits or actions, whether of a civil or criminal nature, which shall be pending, and all crimes which shall have been committed within said counties of Scioto, Gallia, Athens and Ross, previous to the organization of the said county of Jackson, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution within the counties in which such suits shall be pending, or such crimes shall have been committed, in the same manner they would have been, if no division had taken place; and the sheriff, coroner and constables of the counties of Scioto, Gallia, Athens and Ross shall execute, within such parts of the county of Jackson, as belonged to their respective counties previous to the taking effect of this act, such process as shall be necessary to carry in effect such suits, prosecutions and judgments; and the collectors of taxes for the counties of Scioto, Gallia, Athens and Ross shall collect all such taxes as shall have been levied and imposed within such parts of the county of Jackson as belonged to their respective counties previous to the taking effect of this act.
Section 3. Be it further enacted, That all justices of the peace and constables, within those parts of the counties of Seito, Gallia, Athens and Ross, which by this act are erected into a new county, shall continue to exercise the duties of their offices until their term of service expires in the same manner as if no division of said counties had taken place.
Section 4. Be it further enacted, That on the first Monday in April next, the legal voters residing within said county of Jack- son, shall assemble in their respective townships at the usual place of holding township elections, and elect their several county officers, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election; provided that where any township shall be divided in consequence of establishing the county of Jackson, in such manner that the place of holding township elections, shall fall within the counties of Scioto, Gallia, Athens or Ross, then and in that case, the electors
98
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
of such fractional townships shall elect in the next adjoining town- ship or townships in said county of Jackson.
Section 5. And be it further enacted, That the courts of said county of Jackson, shall be holden at the house of William Givens, within the reserved township, at the Scioto Salt works, until the permanent seat of justice for said county shall be established. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after the first day of March next.
FIRST COMMISSIONERS-The legislature appointed Eman- uel Traxler, John Stephenson and John Brown as Commissioners to organize the new county. Traxler was a German by descent and a Pennsylvanian by birth. When he arrived at manhood's estate he came west. Ilis first stop was on the bank of the Ohio at the mouth of the Scioto. There he determined to make his home, and his cabin was the first erected by white men on the site of Ports- mouth. This was in the early part of the year 1796. Other settlers came, but Traxler continued to be the leading citizen in the com- munity, and in 1798 Governor St. Clair appointed him as the first justice of the peace in the settlement. Traxler neglected one im- portant matter, however, and had to pay the penalty. In the year 1801, he discovered that Henry Massie had secured the patent from the government for the land on which his cabin and improvements stood, and he was dispossessed. He moved inland, and there built the first watermill in Scioto county. In 1813 he came to the Scioto salt works, and sunk a salt well, but it proved a duster. Later he settled on a farm in Franklin township, on Fourmile, and in 1816 he built the first watermill on that creek. John Stephenson was a native of South Carolina. After his marriage he moved to Cabell county, Virginia, and in 1814 he entered land in what is now Bloomfield township, in this county. He was the father of a large family, and his descendants in the county are more numerous than any other family. His son James became Sheriff of the county a few years after its organization, and Associate Judge in 1827. His son Jolin held a number of offices of honor and trust, and died
99
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
while Recorder of the county. His grandson, John S. Stephenson, held the office of Commissioner for several terms. The son of the latter, and his great grandson, was Commissioner of Pike county, while another great grandson, Hiram Stephenson, was Treasurer of Jackson county for four years. The act erecting the county went into effect March 1, 1816, and on that day these three Commissioners met at the house of William Givens, the temporary seat of justice, to organize the new county. The object of the meeting was to call an election for the purpose of choosing county officers to serve until the fall election. For convenience at this election, they divided the county into five townships, named as follows: Bloomfield, Franklin, Lick, Madison and Milton. They also appointed judges and clerks for each voting precinct. The record of this meeting is not on file at the Court House, and it has been either destroyed, or purloined by some relic hunter of the early days.
THE FIRST ELECTION-Jackson county held its first elec- tion Monday, April 1, 1816, for the purpose of electing a Sheriff, Coroner and three Commissioners. The names of all the men that voted at this election have been deemed worthy of preservation for the benefit of posterity. The old poll books, which had been supposed lost for eighty years, were found by the writer in going through old papers in the Court House attic. The names are given by townships.
BLOOMFIELD-The election in this township was held at the house of Judge Hugh Poor, which stood in a central location. The officers were Samuel McClure, Moses Gillespie and Theophilus Blake, Judges, and Robert G. Hanna and AAllen Rice, Clerks. Thirty-seven electors cast their ballots, the name of Reuben Long being the first registered. The others were: Theophilus Blake, Henry Humphreys, John Hale, James Hale, William Keeton, Morris Humphreys, Ellis Long, Benjamin Long, Azariah Jenkins, Joshua Stephenson, Thomas Barton, John R. Corn, John Scurlock, John Dickerson, Sharp Barton, George Campbell, Hugh Poor, Hugli
100
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Scurlock, Moses Hale, Arthur Callison, Christopher Long, Ben- jamin Hale, Robert Irwin, Moses Gillespie, David Stoker, Nimrod Arthur, Allen Rice, Michael Stoker, James Lackey, Martin Poor, John Stephenson, Sr., Samuel McClure, Andrew Donnally, John Stephenson, Jr., Robert G. Hanna and Alexander Poor. There was considerable excitement at this voting place, occasioned by a num- ber of free fights, growing out of a feud between members of the Long and Hale families. The origin of the trouble is unknown, but at some time in the day Joel Long and John Hale started the ball rolling by agreeing to "box and fight each other at fisticuffs." The well known code of the backwoods was no doubt followed to the let- ter in this fistic duel, but the result did not give satisfaction. Blood was up, and some words led Christopher Long to assault Moses Hale, and, according to the indictment, did "strike, beat, wound and illtreat, to the great damage of the said Moses Hale." John R. Corn interferred in behalf of the latter, and Long promptly gave him a dose of the same medicine. At this point James Lackey got mixed up in the affair, and Benjamin Long then took a hand and assaulted him. These contests furnished some of the grist for the first term of court in the following August, John Hale and Joel Long being fined $12 each, and Christopher Long $6 under each indictment. Benjamin Long's affair with Lackey was not adjusted until the November term, when Long plead guilty and was fined $10 and the costs.
FRANKLIN-The officers in this township were Judges John Rook, John Farney and Abraham Baker, and Clerks Isaac Baker and William Stephenson. Teter Null was the first of the sixty-one electors to cast his vote. The others were: Jacob Wishon, Peter McCain, Basil Johnson, John Wallace, Lewis Howard, John Clem- mons, Isaiah Sheward, Jesse Martin, Peter Seel, Samuel Stephen- son, Isaac Kilcoderic, Hugh Malin, Nathan Kirby, John Graham, John Peters, William Lyons, Eli Dixon, Thomas Crabtree, James Graham, James Higginbotham, Jonathan R. Nelson, John Dixon, Abraham Dixon, Thomas Craig, Ralph Nelson, James Johnson, John Martin, John Duncan, Ross Nelson, Emanuel Traxler, Richard
101
1
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Johnson, William Martin, Hugh Gilliland, John Burnsides, Alex- ander Wilson, Alexander Anderson, Nathan Dixon, John George, William Holland, Francis Holland, Nottingham Mercer, Samuel Craig, Levi Mercer, John Traxler, Benjamin Ellison, Samuel Trax ler, Jonathan Traxler, Nathan Sheward, Thomas Scott, John Far ney, John Rook, Abraham Baker, John Webb, James Martin, Wil- liam Stephenson, Isaac Baker, Joseph Graham, Isaac Hartley, James Pennelton, Henry Dixon. An election to choose Justices was held the same day, but by a different set of officers. They were Teter Null, Samuel Traxler and Hugh Gilliland, Judges, and John Martin and Francis Holland, Clerks. Sixty votes were cast, of which John George had 32, Thomas Scott 29, Isaac Baker 28, Nottingham Mercer 26; George and Scott were winners.
LICK-The officers were James Weeks, John Ogg and Asa Lake, Judges, and Joseph W. Ross and George L. Crookham, Clerks. The first of the fifty-nine voters was Major John James, grandfather of ex-Warden C. C. James. The others were: Abraham Dehaven, William White, Horam Denny, John W. Sargeant, Joseph Clemmens, Philip Stother, Samnel Bunn, John Gillaspie, Asa Lake, James Weeks, George Bowen, Jacob Culp, Matthew Rider, Absa- lom Wells, Hugh Sharp, Valentine Pancake, William Givens, John Stockham, Joseph Armstrong, JJames Adams, John Brander, George L. Crookham, David Mitchell, Jacob Schellenger, William Brown, Salmon Goodenough, John Crago, John Armstrong, John Ogg, John O. Kelly, John Higginbotham, Charles Higginbotham, David Watson, Samuel A. Hall, John Henry Grant, Peter Mar- shall, Daniel Comber, Jolin Praether, John Stewart, Henry Routt, Joseph W. Ross, Francis O'Ray, John Lake, John McGhee, Jared Strong, Daniel Harris, Daniel Clark, Samuel Aldridge, A. J. Hig- gins, Isaac Newell, Jesse Watson, Alexander Hill, Abraham Welch, Elk Bramlett, William Higginbotham, William Howe, John Allen, William Hewitt.
It will be noticed that Franklin had two more electors than Lick. Lick at that time included a tract of six miles square, belonging to the State Government, and all its inhabitants were
102
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
lessees. Many of them had purchased lands in Franklin in order to be freeholders, and claimed their residence there. This is the only explanation that can be offered for the action of so many Lick men voting in Franklin.
MADISON-The election of this township was held at the house of Jacob Moler, which stood near the site of Madison Fur- nace. The officers were: Judges, Jacob Moler, William H. C. Jen- kins and John Atkinson and Clerks, John Horton and Jeremiah Callahan.
Twenty-one electors participated, Samuel Radabaugh being. the first to vote. The others were: George Radabaugh, John Cal- lahan, Sr., Henry Radabaugh, William Comer, Robert Taylor, Ben- jamin Arthur, Lewis Adkins, Sr., Joel Arthur, Amos Arthur, John Horton, Jacob Moler, John, Atkinson, William H. C. Jenkins, Elijah Delano, John Shoemaker, Joseph Pauley, Jeremiah Callahan, Jere- miah Roach, Lewis Adkins, Jr., Jesse Radabaugh.
The returns were taken to Jackson by Jacob Moler. This gentleman was for years the leading citizen of Madison, and the family of Aaron Mclaughlin are connected with him. William H. C. Jenkins was another of the leading men. Cyrus Jenkins of Bloomfield is one of his sons. The Radabaughs are all gone from Madison, but William, of that name, is living in the old Arthur schoolhouse, which stands on ground formerly a part of Madison. Some of the descendants of Jeremiah Roach still live in the town- ship, and a namesake lives in Wellston. John Horton's descend- ants are numerous in Jefferson.
. MILTON -. The officers were George Martin, John Baccus and George Burris, Judges, and Joshua Scurlock and John Crouch, Clerks. There were forty-two votes cast, the first by Austin Palmer, The others were cast by Andrew Frasure, Peleg Potter, Charles Ratcliff, Joseph Crouch, John Phillips, Thomas Phillips, William Crow, John Baccus, George Martin, George Burris, Patrick Shearer, Joshua Scurlock; John Crouch, James Stephenson, William Burris, Reuben Rickabaugh, Drury Bondurant, William Delay, William
103
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Bass, Jonathan Delay, William Craig, Cuthbert Vinson, John Snuke, Robert Howard, James Dempsey, Joshua Rhodes, John Kite, Robert Ward, Jeremiah Brown, Zephaniah Brown, David Paine, Charles Robbins, Adam Althar, Daniel Hollinshead, John Hollinshead, John Delay, Joseph Howard, Jacob Delay, Joseph Crouch, Jr., John Brown and Nathan Brown. The majority, if not all of these men had been citizens of Athens county. Several of them have descendants living in the township and in other parts of this county. Rev. Jacob Delay was perhaps the most widely known The peculiar spelling throughout is that of the poll book.
COUNTING THE VOTES-The returns were all taken to Poplar Row and placed in charge of Judge William Givens. Hugh Poor, David Paine and William Givens had been commissioned by Governor Thomas Worthington, who, it will be remembered, was one of the men that had surveyed Jackson county, as Associate Judges for the new county. Their first meeting, of which there is record, was held at Givens' house on April 6, 1816, to open the election returns and declare the result. The house of Givens stood a little west of the site of Fulton Furnace. This has been disputed, but I make the statement on the authority of James H. Darling and A. F. McCarley. The house was built of logs, but was better than the ordinary log house of the early days, in that it had two stories. This accounts for its selection as the temporary seat of justice. The lower floor consisted of two rooms, while the upper story consisted of one large room, unceiled. All the Judges being present, the votes were counted. Following is the official abstract:
Sheriff-Abraham Welch 119, John Lake 93, Samuel Traxler 1; Welch declared elected.
Commissioner-John Stephenson 114, Emanuel Traxler 108, John Brown 100, Samuel McClure 94, Francis Holland 36, Reuben Long 84, Jesse Watson 21, John Delay 46; Stephenson, Traxler and Brown were the winners.
Coroner- John Gillaspie 84, William Howe 54, Samuel A. Hall 39, David Mitchell 4, Jacob Delay 2; Gillaspie won.
The vote by townships was as follows: Bloomfield 37, Frank-
104
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
lin 61, Lick 59, Madison 21, Milton 42; total 220. It is probable that almost the entire vote in the county was cast at this election. The total vote cast at the presidential election in 1896, eighty. years afterward, amounted to 8,362. This shows a healthy growth.
The record of this meeting of the Associate Judges has been lost, but it is evident that the new officials appeared before the court, gave bond and took the oath of office. The Commissioners appointed by the Legislature were elected by the people for the short term until the Fall election. Welch, the Sheriff-elect, had been at the salt works for some eight years. He was a tavern keeper, and his acquaintances were so numerous that he won his election easily over a popular opponent. Welch's record was not what it might have been, however, and certain passages in it will be referred to later.
And now a word about Judge Givens, the wealthiest and most influential man in the county at that time. The following sketch was written after the death of his son, of the same name, and may contain a few repetitions :
A NOTED SALT BOILER-The following special, which ap- peared in a Cincinnati paper Sunday morning, was sent from Buena Vista, in Scioto county, July 30, 1898: "William Givens, a pioneer farmer of Southern Ohio, died on his farm near here this morning. He would have been 87 years old tomorrow, and had lived all his life on the farm on which he died." The death of Mr. Givens deserves more than a passing notice, for he was the oldest son of Judge William Givens, the most noted salt boiler in the early history of Jackson county. He was really 87 years old on the day of his death, for he was born July 31, 1811, at Poplar Row, the village of the salt boilers. William Givens, Sr., was born in Pennsylvania in 1782. After his father's death his mother removed with her family to Kentucky. William was then ten years old. In early manhood he came to Ohio and settled in Scioto county. Later he came to the Scioto salt works, then located in Ross county, but now included within the limits of Jackson. He was married October 23, 1810, to Rachel, daughter of William and Susan (Paine)
105
HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY.
Stockham, and went to housekeeping on Poplar Row. There Wil- liam, the oldest of eleven children, was born as stated. Mr. Givens prospered at the salt works, and to maintain his standing in the community he erected a two-story log mansion, which was for years the finest residence in all Jackson county. This house stood near the site of Fulton Furnace. When Jackson county was erected in 1816, this house was designated as the first seat of justice in Jack- son county, Section 5 of the law reading as follows: That the courts of said county of Jackson shall be holden at the house of William Givens, within the reserved township, at the Scioto salt works, until the permanent seat of justice for said county shall be established- A large oak tree stood in front of the house, and an interesting and authenticated tradition is connected therewith. The first term of court for Jackson county convened August 12, 1816. The entire male population of the county, salt boilers, planters, hunters, trappers, hermits and squatters, were in attend- ance. The house was too small to hold the crowd. The weather being warm, Judge John Thompson ordered Sheriff Abraham Welch to open court under the spreading branches of this primeval white oak, and the sessions of the first day were held there. When the grand jury was organized, the Court Constables led it away some distance to another tree, where it carried on its deliberations, the crowd being kept out of hearing by the Constables. It was a memorable day in the history of the new county. Under the old Constitution, three Associate Judges sat on the bench with the Presiding Judge, and William Givens, whose activity, energy and influence had been largely instrumental in securing the organiza- tion of Jackson county, was elected by the Ohio Legislature on February 24, 1816, as one of the first three Associate Judges of this county. The others were Hon. David Paine, father-in-law in later years of Hon. H. S. Bundy and Hon. Hugh Poore, founder of the Poore family in this county. Givens was thus head and judge in his own house, much like the Patriarchs of old. In 1818 he was honored by his fellow-citizens with an election to the Legislature, but he served only one term. In 1823 he was again elected Asso- ciate Judge, and served until 1826, when he left the county, and
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.