A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record, Part 94

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans
Number of Pages: 1612

USA > Ohio > Scioto County > A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record > Part 94

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).

"He cared for the poor and needy, sending coal and provisions often to their homes when they knew not from whence they came." Dr. Pratt also said of him that if every one who had received a spe- cial favor of him, were to bring a spray of evergreen and throw in his grave, he believed it would fill it to the top. He was one of the most upright and conscientious men in the community. To show his pe- culiarities of conscience .- one of his business associates had employed a young lawyer to collect a bill for about one-half what his services were worth. Mr. Gaylord ascertained the circumstances and sent the lawyer a check for $50 more to make his fee what it should have been. At another time, he bought a lot of pig-iron of an agent for the fur- nace. The bill called for one hundred tons, and on re-weighing

704

HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

the iron, it was found to weigh one hundred and sixteen tons. Mr. Gaylord settled for the sixteen tons extra, although it was billed to him at one hundred tons. He bought at one time a lot of miscel- laneous bar iron from the old rolling mill of Means, Hall & Company. They asked $2,500 for it, but he offered them $2,000, and they ac- cepted that sum. He sold it in St. Louis better than he expected to, and on his return, he paid Means Hall & Company $500 additional.

In 1873, he was a candidate for State Senator on the Republican ticket, but was defeated by Hon. James W. Newman. In 1862, he was a member of the Board of Military affairs of the city and on the Military Committee of the county.

Mr. Gaylord was for many years a ruling elder in the First Presbyterian Church of Portsmouth, Ohio. He had a family of six children, only three of whom survive; Martha B., Helen and Ben- jamin H. After his death on September 1, 1880, his family removed to Riverside, California, where they now reside. The employes of the Gaylord rolling mill attended his funeral in a body, and no man was ever more deeply mourned than he.

David Gharky

was one of the most interesting characters who ever took part in public affairs in Portsmouth. To begin with, he was one of the first nine City Fathers of Portsmouth, Ohio, and he continued to be a Councilman of the town of Portsmouth from March 15, 1815, until March, 1823. He was Town Treasurer of Portsmouth, Ohio, from March 15, 1815, until April 1, 1822, when he was removed by a unanimous vote for squandering the circulating medium of the town.

The town at that ime had a currency of its own, and the Town Councilmen of 1822 could not understand David Gharky's method of keeping accounts, and so they removed him. The town never sued him, nor does it appear he was brought to book on account of the circulating medium; nor did the charge seem to affect his health or spirits ; nor did it have any effect to modify his peculiar charac- teristics. For a plain Dutchman, Mr. Gharky could give the Vir- ginians lessons in office-holding. Here is an inventory of the various offices held by him.

1815 to 1823. Town Councilman.

1815 to 1822, Town Treasurer.

1808 to 1811, County Commissioner.

1815 to 1816, Trustee of Wayne Township.

1821 to 1829, County Auditor.

1834 to 1836, County Treasurer.

He was the first City Treasurer, and the second County Auditor. In 1840 he was Town Councilman, and in 1827 elected Health Officer of the Town, but declined to serve.

DAVID GHARKY.

PIONEER OF ALEXANDRIA, FIRST COUNCILMAN OF PORTSMOUTH, FIRST TOWN TREASURER, COUNTY COMMISSIONER, AUDITOR AND TREASURER, BORN 1775, DIED 1850.

705

PIONEER SKETCHES.

He was born February 13, 1775, in Stargard, Prussia, a sub- ject of Frederick the Great. His father was a brewer and distiller ; kept an Inn, and was a man of consequence. David received a good education for his time. His mother died when he was but seven years of age, and his father soon married again. His step-mother was of the traditional kind-largely emphasized. His father was imbued with King Solomon's ideas as to the use of the rod, and car- ried them into practice on his son. He was kept in school and sent to church regularly. His father wanted him to be a Lutheran minister, but the son was determined otherwise, and learned the car- penter's trade in an apprenticeship of three years. He then traveled about and worked at his trade. He visited many towns and cities, and ran up against gamblers and sharpers. After five years' wan- dering he returned to his father's home, but he soon quarreled with his father about a matrimonial venture his father wished him to make, and left home. He then determined to emigrate to America, and landed in Philadelphia in the fall of 1796. He was disgusted and about to return home, but missed his vessel. Then he started for Pittsburg. At one place he stopped with a Dutch farmer of the name of Knappenberger. He had an attractive daughter, and David Gharky, who never did anything by halves, fell in love with her. When her father found out the state of facts he sent young Gharky away, not approving his proposition for the position of son-in-law.

David Gharky went to Pittsburg, and from there down the river in a flat boat, with a view to going to Chillicothe, Ohio. He landed at Alexandria and viewed the town site. He went on to Chil- licothe and found everybody sick with the fever and ague. He could obtain no work, and he returned to Alexandria. He was about to start down the river when Philip Moore gave him some work and he remained. When it was known that he was a carpenter and joiner, he obtained all the work he could do. He bought lots and built him a home, and in the spring he went back to Pennsylvania and married Elizabeth Knappenberger. He bought in-lots and out- lots. In 1803 he was elected an Assessor of Union township, when it extended east from Carey's run to Little Scioto, and north to the present Pike county line.

In 1803 Henry Massie tried to induce him to abandon Alexan- dria and move to Portsmouth, but, with his usual obstinacy, he de- clined, and remained in Alexandria till 1814, and then only left be- cause the floods compelled him. He was a Justice of the Peace in Union township in 1810.

When Mr. Gharky was compelled to move to Portsmouth, in 1814, he bought four lots on Scioto street, where Vincent Brodbeck kept his store so many years, and established a ferry, which was conducted by him and his sons. He built a large shop on the lot and

706

HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

carried on the business of cabinet-making. Up till 1817 the Courts were sometimes held in his shop.

In 1818 he started a carding machine. It was run by horse power and carried on by Captain Edward Cranston, who was a prac- tical machinist. They ran it several years when it was purchased by the Youngs of Wheelersburg and removed there. However, Mr. Gharky kept the wool-carding business going on several years after that.

While he was auditor of Scioto County he conducted the busi- ness at his cabinet shop. From 1830 to 1834, he was in Muncie, Indiana. In the latter year he returned to Portsmouth and became a candidate for County Treasurer and was elected by a plurality of nine votes.

In 1836, he went to Muncie and was there for some time. He returned to Portsmouth in 18440, and was in the Council. He went away to Muncie after that, but returned in 1850, took sick and died at Robert Montgomery's hotel in the 75th year of his age. He was buried in the Alexandria graveyard on the shelf of the hill over- looking Carey's Run.

In 1831, it was claimed that Mr. Gharky, while Auditor, in making up the tax duplicate of 1826 to 1829 had overcharged for the work. Suit for the overcharges was filed July 2, 1831, in tres- pass in the case, but the declaration read like one in debt. The narration called for $1.000, but the real amount claimed was $232.90. with interest. At the March term, 1832, it was tried in the Com- mon Pleas by a jury and there was a verdict for plaintiff for $278.47. Mr. Gharky took a Bill of Exceptions and appealed to the Supreme Court on the Circuit and the verdict was for the defendant. Samuel M. Tracy represented the Commissioners, and William V. Peck the defendant. It is reported that the jury verdict in the Supreme court turned on the charge of the court, that if the jury found there had been a settlement between the parties for the work, the county could not open it up.

The anecdotes in regard to Mr. Gharky's peculiarities are nu- merous. Many of them are probably apocryphal. Mr. Gharky was a good subject to fasten a story to and was probably used for that purpose by the illustrators.

In June, 1835, while Treasurer, he was in the habit of endors- ing orders "not paid for want of funds," and thus putting them on interest. This was carried so far that the Commissioners in a body called on Mr. Gharky and demanded to examine his books. The Commissioners entered the transaction on their journal and stated that Mr. Gharky became so disorderly that nothing could be done. The Commissioners ordered suit on his bond and he then agreed to pay the orders.

707

PIONEER SKETCHES.

George A. Waller told this anecdote: Mr. Gharky, the Treas- urer, would refuse orders, stating there were no funds and send the holders to Jacob Clingman, the banker, who would buy their orders. If the person receiving the order were a particular friend of Gharky's, he would place a circle with an "X" over in the left hand corner and then Clingman would pay it without question. Once Gharky gave his best friend in the County an order to take to Clingman, but forgot to put the circle and "X" on it. Clingman examined the order and said he had no money to pay, but would discount. The friend brought the order back to Gharky very indignant at being refused payment.

Gharky then said: "Did old Jake Clingman refuse to pay that order ?" His friend answered "yes." Then Gharky said: "Let me see that order." His friend handed it over and Gharky saw at once that the circle and "X" were not in the lower left hand corner. Gharky placed them there and returned the order to his best friend, saying : "You take that back to old Jake Clingman and show him the mark and he will pay you." Gharky's friend took the order back and gave it to Mr. Clingman without pointing out Gharky's circle and cross. On being shown the mark, he apologized, saying : "I did not see that before," and at once paid the order.

As soon as he took the treasurer's office in 1834, he announced that he would pay out the money in the Treasury raised by taxa- tion to pay for a new jail on County current orders and would not deposit it in the Commercial Bank as ordered by the Commissioners. This created quite a commotion and made much trouble.

Mr. Gharky reared quite a family of sons and daughters. He made and published a small book for the benefit of his family. He preserved all the early newspapers of Portsmouth and they are now in the state library.

Mr. Gharky was a man of the most decided opinions and was obstinate in the superlative degree. He loved to be in opposition and was the happiest when he was.

In 1822, he entered his solemn protest in Council against fenc- ing the graveyard then on the old site of the Burgess Mill. He protested because the proposed fence left some graves out and he continued to protest until the occupants of those graves were disin- terred and reinterred inside the new fence.

Mr. Gharky was a very industrious and useful citizen, but dread- fully abrupt and eccentric. His son, John, was in many respects like him, as well as his son George H., but neither of them were as self- willed and obstinate as he. With his peculiarities, it is strange he was able to be elected to public office as often as he was. As a modern politician he would have been much out of place. He was not a member of any church, but he and Dr. Burr were always good friends in spite of Mr. Gharky's quarrelsome disposition.

708

HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

George Henry Gharky

was born in Alexandria, Scioto County, Ohio, May 17, 1813, the son of David Gharky, who has a separate sketch herein. His father moved to Portsmouth, Ohio, from Alexandria, in 1814. The first eighteen years of his life were spent in the town of Portsmouth. At the age of 18, he went to Cincinnati and spent six months learning the carpenter's trade. He returned to Portsmouth and worked at that for four years. His father was a cabinet maker and carpenter and George worked with him. In November, 1833, at the age of twenty, he built a box house on a flat-boat, loaded it with goods and went to Cincinnati. He made four trips down and three back, pushing and pulling the boat along the shore and tying up at night. The boat was eleven tons burden, and on the last trip he sold her for $75 or twice what she cost him. Captain William Ripley was chief engi- neer, cook, bottle washer and mud clerk. The dry goods which Mr. Gharky handled in this venture were shipped from New York to Cleveland, and thence to Portsmouth by canal.

In 1834, he built a canal boat and was its captain for one year. He named the boat "William Shakespeare."

In 1840, he was wharfmaster at Portsmouth, Ohio.

In 1843, he purchased the canal boat "Laurel" and had in opera- tion three boats making weekly trips between Columbus and Ports- mouth. He continued in this business for five years. He learned the business of river pilot and followed that for several years.

In 1847, he bought the steamboat, "America" and took her up the Scioto River as far as the State Dam, six miles below Chillico- the. This was considered quite a feat and the citizens of Chillicothe came down in great numbers to see the boat. It is tradition that they took Captain Gharky to Chillicothe and initiated him into the Ground Hog Club. On the return of the boat to Piketon, it gave the people of that village an excursion to Richmonddale.

He was married September 26, 1852, to Miss Martha Oldfield, daughter of Judge Oldfield. Immediately after this, he was in the shoe business with Thomas G. Lloyd for a short time.

He was elected Auditor of Scioto County in 1854 over John Wal- ler. He served two years from March 1. 1855.

In 1857, he became Deputy Auditor and remained such until 1860. In 1863, he was Deputy Treasurer for one year. He be- came book-keeper for the First National bank in 1864 and served until 1868.

On June 6, 1873, B. P. Holmes resigned as City Clerk and he was appointed in his place. He was elected by the Council for one year from April 17, 1874.

From 1875 to 1879, he was a member of the City Board of Equalization.

His children are George H., who died in 1875 at the age of 22

709

PIONEER SKETCHES.

years; Miss Jennie L. who died in 1879 at the age of 39 years; Sarah Elizabeth, who died at the age of 3 years; Marinette, the wife of Samuel Rice and William D., who is engaged in business in Phil- adelphia.

Mr. Gharky was a Whig during the time that party existed. He afterwards became a Republican. He was very fond of reminis- cence and of conversing about the early history of Portsmouth. He liked a good story and could laugh with as much zest as any one who ever resided in Portsmouth. He was very much given to telling peo- ple what he thought of them and his extreme candor rendered him unsuitable for a candidate before the people. All his duties as a pub- lic officer were performed with the greatest exactness and care. He was an excellent citizen, but as arbitrary as Bismarck. His way was always the best way and the only way.

Colonel Troilus Jura Graham

always signed his name T. J. Graham and every one assumed that these initials stood for Thomas Jefferson and that his father was an admirer of the great Apostle of Democracy, but on the contrary, the "T. J." stood for the name above given. Like most of our dis- tinguished citizens, he was born in Virginia. His birth was on Jan- uary 22, 1810, near Snickers' Gap, in Loudon County. He attend- ed school at Bloomfield Academy and at Rockbridge College. In 1827, his father removed to Muskingum County, Ohio, on a farm where our subject worked until he was nineteen years of age. He taught school two terms. He then went to Zanesville and clerked in the dry goods store of Robert and James Golden two years.

On October 21, 1831, he went to Chillicothe, Ohio, and put up at Watson's Hotel. He first taught a select school of from eighty to one hundred pupils and then went into the clothing store of White and Douglas. After a time he became a partner in the business. On October 30, 1836, he was married to Miss Harriet Scott, daugh- ter of Judge Thomas Scott. He was quite a society young man in Chillicothe and occupied a prominent position. He commanded a fancy military company in the city, and was afterwards made Colonel of the County Militia in Ross County, hence his title.

He came to Portsmouth as Colonel Graham, and so remained all his life. In 1837 and 1838, he attended the legislature, as a lobby- ist, and procured the passage of a new militia law of which he was the author, and many features of which are retained to this day.

While visiting in Columbus he became acquainted with Dr. John Glover, in December, 1839. The latter thought he would make a good hotel keeper and induced him to come to Portsmouth and take the Watson House, as Watson, who was then conducting the hotel, wished to return to Chillicothe. He landed in Portsmouth Febru- ary 20, 1839. The steamboats, the canal and the stage line were all doing a big business and Portsmouth was on a boom Colonel Gra-

710

HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

ham remained in charge of the hotel eighteen years and four months, when he sold out to John Row & Son. The Colonel was a model landlord and the hotel business was better paying in the time he conducted it than it ever was before or has been since. In 1842, he charged two dollars per week for meals and board; but that was when wheat was thirty to forty cents per bushel, corn ten cents per bushel, and fresh beef three cents per pound. Our subject was active and public spirited and was into everything which went on. His was the best hotel in the place and he entertained all the distinguished men who visited Portsmouth. Henry Clay, John J. Crittenden, Wil- liam Allen and Allen W. Thurman were among his guests. Amin Bey was a guest, as was John Quincy Adams.

His wife died while he was in the hotel and on March 16, 1855. he married Miss Eliza Tobin. They took their wedding trip to Wheeling. Directly after his wedding Governor Chase appointed him canal collector and inspector and he gave up the hotel.

During the war he was again remembered by his old friend, Sal- mon P. Chase, and was made a treasury agent in the south. He took a cotton plantation and planted a crop, but lost it by the cotton worm. He left Vicksburg on the 24th of January, 1866, on Captain Jesse Hurd's illy-fated steamboat, the "Missouri." She exploded her boilers in the night of January 30, near Smithland, Kentucky, and killed and wounded many people. Colonel Graham was in his state-room at the time and was thrown between the wheel-houses. He was badly and permanently hurt and never recovered from the in- juries thus received. On June 13, 1866, he took the agency of the National Express Company at Portsmouth and held it until the con- pany quit business.

On May 25, 1869, he was elected a Justice of the Peace in Ports- mouth, but resigned on the third of June, following. In 1874, he took charge of St. James Hotel in Cincinnati and conducted it for over a year. In 1876 he returned to Portsmouth for good. In the same year the City Council made him Infirmary Director and he held that office by successive annual appointments, until his death on January 20, 1898. He had been a resident of Portsmouth for al- most forty-nine years. In his political views, he was first a Whig and afterwards a Republican, with the "know-nothings" switched il! between. In 1866, after recovering from his dreadful accident, he was confirmed in All Saints church. He was a citizen held in general esteem.

Jean Gabriel Gervais.

In the spring of 1790, five hundred French families land- ed at Alexandria, Virginia, induced to emigrate to this country by the Scioto Land Company, on promises of lands which that Company was unable to fulfill. Some of them returned to France at once,

711

PIONEER SKETCHES.

some settled in seaboard cities, and about one half resolved to cross the mountains and settle in the wilderness. They went across the country to the Monongahela river, at Old Redstone Fort. Here they took boats and floated down to below the mouth of the Great Kanaw- ha, where the Scioto Company's lands were said to be, but they lo- cated in the Ohio Company's purchase at Gallipolis. It is said that eighty cabins had been erected for them on the site of Gallipolis, and the Scioto Land Company supplied them with provisions for a while. When they found that they were in the Ohio Company's purchase, many of them left. Those who remained employed Jean Gabriel Gervais to procure them lands from Congress. He was a gentleman of means, and had a great sympathy for his suffering countrymen. He was well bred, of fine education and polished manners. He

went to Philadelphia and employed Peter Stephen Duponceau, a Phil- adelphia lawyer to assist him. It is apparent that Gervais made the best selection of an attorney to put his scheme through. Duponceau was born on the Isle of Rhe on the coast of France, in 1760. He came to the United States in 1777 with Baron Steuben, whom he served as secretary and aide-de-camp. He quit the army in 1780, on account of ill health, and studied law, and became an eminent lawyer in Philadelphia. He was a voluminous writer of essays on various subjects. He wrote a book on the "Jurisdiction of the Courts," pub- lished in 1834. He received a prize from the French Institute for an essay on the "Indian Languages of North America." He was for some years President of the American Philosophic Society. He died in Philadelphia in 1844.

The French inhabitants of Gallipolis had agreed to give Ger- vais 4,000 acres of the grant for his services in securing the neces- sary legislation. Gervais employed Duponceau and "An act to au- thorize a grant of lands to the French inhabitants of Gallipolis and for other purposes therein mentioned" was passed March 3, 1795, and is found in Volume 2, page 503, of the United States Statutes at large. Under this act, 24,000 acres of land now constituting Green Township in Scioto County, was surveyed into a tract of 4,000 acres, and 92 lots of 217 acres each. Each inhabitant was to draw a lot, and have it patented to him. The act and Gervais' patent required him to settle on the tract within three years from the date of the patent, and to live on the land three years after, and in default of so doing the land was to revert to the United States. Each of the other French settlers was to locate on his lot within five years from the date of his patent, and reside on it for five years, and in default of so doing, the lot was to revert to the United States. However, on February 21, 1806, Congress repealed the conditions of the act of March 3, 1795. On June 25, 1798. (3rd United States General Statutes) Congress made the additional French Grant of 1,200 acres lying just west of the first grant, and fronting on the Ohio river 640

712

HISTORY OF SCIOTO COUNTY.

rods, and extending back to include the quantity. There were eight persons included in this grant. It does not appear that Gervais was concerned in obtaining this grant. The patent to Gervais was dated December 28, 1800, and is recorded in Volume A. B. C., page 84, Record of Deeds of Scioto County. Gervais deeded 200 acres of the 4,000 acre tract on the Ohio river to Peter Stephen Duponceau, the Philadelphia lawyer whom he had employed. The consideration named was $600.00. The deed was dated April 3, 1802. In the deed, Gervais is recited as "Gentleman" of Upper Township, Scioto County, Ohio. The deed to Duponceau is presumed to have been for his services to Gervais. It is found in Volume A. B. C., page 2, and in 1855 was owned by Boynton and Lacroix. On May 6, 1806, Gervais conveyed the remaining 3,800 acres to Samuel Hunt, of Charlestown, Sullivan County, New Hampshire. The consideration stated was $7,600. The deed was executed May 26, 1806, and is found in Volume A. B. C., page 85. Hunt gave a mortgage to se- cure $5.600 of the purchase money payable May 6, 1808. He did not pay the money and the land was sold on foreclosure, December 22, 1809, to Earl Sproat to whom Gervais had sold the mortgage. Roswell Hunt obtained it of Sproat and sold it to Asa Boynton for $9,000. Roswell Hunt was of Charlestown, New Hampshire, "Gen- tleman," afid Asa Boynton is recited to be of Piermont, Grafton Coun- ty, New Hampshire, "yeoman." The deed is recorded in Volume A. B. C., page 303, and was dated Jan. 15, 1810. Duponceau held on to his 200 acres until February 20, 1830, when he sold them to Thayer D. White for $1,000 silver money. Keyes says that of the 100 French who drew lots, only about twenty settled on them. That the others remained in Gallipolis, or went elsewhere. Gervais laid out a town on his land and called it Burrsburg. There were never more than five or six cabins on it. It is said he had estates in France and had moved in the best society in Paris ; that he was a fine dancer, and fond of all kinds of amusements. Frontier life palled on him even if he did have a two story double log house in Burrsburg. He came to the United States in 1790 and in 1806, he sold out to Samuel Hunt, and the land went to a colony from New Hampshire of which Asa Boynton seemed to be the head.

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.

A history of Scioto County, Ohio, together with a pioneer record, Part 94

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913 Publication date: 1903 Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans Number of Pages: 1612

Author: Evans, Nelson W. (Nelson Wiley), 1842-1913
Publication date: 1903
Publisher: Portsmouth, O. N. W. Evans
Number of Pages: 1612