Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio, Part 2

Author: Bert S. Bartlow, W. H. Todhunter, Stephen D. Cone, Joseph J. Pater, Frederick Schneider, and others
Publication date: 1905
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1149


USA > Ohio > Butler County > Centennial History of Butler County, Ohio > Part 2


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).


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. 616


Reid, Hon. Whitelaw 132


Reily


3524


Reily, John .. 46, 80, 87, 231, 881


Reformed Church of Millville 181 Religious Organizations oľ


Butler County.


.170, 270


Republican Publishing Com-


pany


268


Plan of Town of Hamilton. 229 Pleasant View United Pres- byterian Church. 336


Poasttown


352º


Poe, Adam


.3521


Political Campaign of 1840. 115 Population of Hamilton and Rossville 251


Pork and Grain Trade.


293


Port Union ..


3523


Postmasters of Hamilton .. 239


Postmasters of Middletown. 288


Postmasters of Rossville ...


240


Potter, Aaron.


965


Potter, Moses. 285


Potter, Dr. S. H. 975


Presbyterian Church.


270, 272, 273, 346, 349, 350, 351, 352 1, 352 ", 352", 3523, 5523, 3523 Presidential Campaign of


1884 131


Ryan, Col. M. C.


880


Sabin Robbins Paper Com- pany


Salem Methodist Episcopal


Church


.35214


Sample, David E.


358


Sanders, David B 965


Sargeant, George. 168


Sargent, Winthrop 57


Sawyer, Mary Alma 458


Sayre, Pierson.


890


Schenck, Aaron L


876


Sorg, Paul J.


.. . 138, 299, 308, 329, 334, 911


Spanish-American War


160


Spring Meeting House.


338


State Board of Equalization


143


550


984


INDEX.


Stroble, Charles A ..


144, 238, 815


Stroup, Charles W., M. D .. 532 Sturges, Robert C. 694


St. Aloysius Catholic


Church


35212


Tiffin, C. H., V. S.


411


St. Charles.


3525


Tobacco Industry.


298


St. Clair, Gen. Arthur. 937


St. Clair's Campaign.


52


47, 342


St. Clair Township ..


St. John's Catholic Church,


.


Middletown


189


St.


John's


Evangelical


Church, Middletown ...


170


St. Joseph's Catholic Church,


Hamilton


185


St. Mary's Catholic Church,


Hamilton


185


St. Mary's Catho .. c Church,


Oxford


.3522


St.


Paul's


Evangelical


Church, Middletown 179


St. Paul's German Evan-


gelical Church.


175


St. Peter's Catholic Church,


Hamilton


187


Rossville


233


St. Peter's Lutheran Church 343


St.


Peter's


Protestant


Church, Trenton.


180


324, 347, 350


United Presbyterian Church


.273, 325, 336, 35217. 352=


Universalist Church.


275, 3523 35223


Unzicker, John C ..


656


Urmston, Benton E.


519


Superintendents of Electric


Light Works


239


Vail, Linus P.


465


Williams, Israel.


955


Vail, Steven.


286, 290


Works


239


Valley


Chapel


Methodist


Superintendents of Hamil-


ton Public Schools.


270


Superintendents


of


Water


Works


239


Surveyors


152


Survivors of Mexican War .. 157


Sutherland, John.


939


Van De Griff. George A ...


433


Sutphen, John T., M. D.


552


Sutphin, Joseph.


334


Suttler, George


507


Symmes' Boundary Line. 41


Symmes, Capt. John Cleves 854


Symmes' Corner. 336


Symmes, Judge John Cleves


36.


88


Symmes. John M.


352+


Venice


545


Symmes' Purchase


36


- Symmes' Theory


856


Tabler, Henry


498


Telephones in Middletown ..


305


Thiem, Rudolph.


690


Thirty-fifth O. V. I.


158


Thobe. Harry S ..


420


Thomas, James K.


620


Thomas, Marcellus.


605


Thompson, Rev. William O. 214, 35231


Thomson, Peter G.


772


Tobey, Walter L. .


840


Todhunter, W. H.


. 170,


832


Topography of Butler County 6


Townships Laid Out.


5


Transportation


293


Treasurers


149


Trenton


352"


Trinity Episcopal Church .. 276


Trowbridge, George W


360


Tubbs, Napoleon B ..... 161, 502


Tylersville


35235


Union


of Hamilton


and


West Chester


35232


Western College for Women


.3522


United Brethren Church ... West Liberty 3,52º


Westminster


Presbyterian


Church


272


Wharton, Walter W


428


White, George W.


921


Whitehead, Frank I ..


663


Wikoff, Mrs. Phoebe J.


593


801 Wilkens, Rev. Ignatius M. Wilkinson, General 89


Williams, Evert E.


359


Williamson, John R.


671


Wilson & McCallay


334


Wilson, Arthur T. 520


Wilson, Pollock


886


Wilson, Thomas. 334


Wingate, Gen. John 897 Wolverton, George 625


Woods, John .. 111. 137, 263. 899


Woodsdale


3523


Woodside Cemetery


333


Vanderveer, Dr. Peter


967


Woods' Station.


3525


VanHise, Albert J.


647


Woodruff, Robert S.


146, 608


VanHook, William B


984


Wren, George L.


334


Wright, J. E.


831


Wunder, Conrad.


452


Yager, John


468


Yerigan, Charles I


688


Venus


345


Yingling. Noah B.


764


Volunteer


261


Young, Samuel


949


Voorhees, Daniel W.


.338, 926


Zellner, George J


579


Ziegler, Rev. Gotthilf


782


Wade, Nehemiah


145, 912


Wagonfield, Gottlieb.


530


Walburg, Harry


627


Walker Chapel


Methodist


Episcopal Church.


3523


Wallace, Henry H.


913


Thompson, Edward P.


446


Wallace, William B.


675


War, Mexican.


157


Warndorf, A. J.


512


War of the Rebellion


157


War of 1812.


154


Warren County Canal.


296


Washington Methodist Epis-


copal Church.


352ª


Wasson, Clarence C., M. D. 200, 388


Water Works of Hamilton ..


240


Water Works Trustees.


239


Wayne's Campaign


77


Wayne, Gen. Anthony. 77, 79,


91


Wayne Township.


48, 348


W. B. Oglesby Paper Com-


pany


301


'Tytus, Francis J.


.333, 721


Weaver, Henry


889


Webster, Daniel, Visit of ...


115


Union Church


3523


Webster, Taylor .... 138, 262, 936


Wehr, John.


805


Union Church of Jackson-


burg


349


Weller, John B.


914


Welsh, Patrick E.


619


St. Stephen's Catholic Par-


ish, Hamilton.


183


St.


Veronica's


Catholic


Church, East Hamilton .. 188


Subscription Paper for Pub-


lic Buildings.


97


Sullivan, Ralph C. 694


Superintendents


of


Gas


Episcopal Church ..


336


Vallandigham's Return from


Exile


127


Vance, Elijah .. 137, 141, 144, 879


Van Cleve's Account of St.


Clair's Defeat


55


Woodmansee, James.


962


Vanderveer, Ferdinand.


144, 158, 873


Van Horn Mill, The. 347


Vanness, Garrett. 287


Veidt, Edward. 701


Venice Presbyterian Church 346


Zion's Evangelical Lutheran


Church


171


Zion


Methodist


Episcopal


Church


352.


Google


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Union Mass Meeting.


127


Union Township.


.50, 352-


ILLUSTRATIONS.


Alumnae Hall, Western College for Women, Oxford.


Facing 352ª


An Historic Spot, Middletown. 289


Approach to Main Building, Miami University .. 35221


Barnitz, George C. ..


304


Barratt, Joseph


837


Bartlow, Bert S.


Facing 352"


Birdseye View of Middletown


289


Brate, David C.


457


Brate, Mrs. David C.


456


Broadway Methodist Episcopal Church, Middletown. 320


Butler County Infirmary. Facing 112


Butler County's First Court House 97


Butler County's Second Court House 97 =


Campbell, James E.


848


Central School Building, Middletown


Church Street, Oxford.


Facing 352"


..


572


Cone, Stephen D.


424


East School Building, Middletown. 314


First Baptist Church, Middletown 321


322


First School House, Middletown 313


Fort Hamilton. . Facing 88


Habig, Henry.


..


744


Hall of Residence, Western College for Women, Oxford


352ª


High Street, Oxford.


..


352"


Holy Trinity Catholic Church, Middletown


324


Howald, Charles


James Grimes' Log Cabin, Middletown


319


Krebs, George. 392


Kyle, J. W. Facing 808


..


296


Leibee Block, Middletown.


Main Hall, Western College for Women, Oxford. 352>


Main Street, Middletown.


288


..


Digitized by


Google


315


Cone, John


First Presbyterian Church, Middletown


Facing 680


ILLUSTRATIONS.


Facing 112


Mercy Hospital, Hamilton


352ª


Miami University, Oxford.


.. 297


New Oglesby & Barnitz Building, Middletown


315


North School Building, Middletown.


896


Old Oglesby & Barnitz Bank Building, Middletown


..


96


Old Powder Magazine, from Fort Hamilton


768


Overpeck, Lucian C. 712 ..


Pater, Joseph J. Frontispiece


Present Court House


.Facing 616


Reed, R. C. S.


844


Schneider, Frederick


776


Schumacher, Aug


824


Sinkey, W. A. 584


Smith, Tom A.


328


Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers' Monument, Middletown


..


160


Soldiers, Sailors and Pioneers' Monument, Hamilton


..


329


Sorg Residence, Middletown.


329


South Main Street, Middletown


314


South School Building, Middletown


. Facing


552


Sutphen, John T.


288


Third Street, Middletown.


832


Todhunter, W. H.


104


Torrence Tavern, Hamilton


Trowbridge, G. W.


360


View in Greenwood Cemetery, Hamilton. 240


352


Views on the Tallawanda, near Oxford.


520


Wilson, A. T.


Winter Views on Campus, Miami University


352ª


-


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Oglesby, William. B. Facing


297


CHAPTER I


EARLY CONDITIONS.


More than a hundred years elapsed after Christopher Columbus had discovered the Western continent before any permanent settlement was made in North America. The first was the colony of Virginia in 1607, by the English, and in the following year the French founded their first colony in Canada. For a number of years the English confined their settlements along the Atlantic coast, and gradually the French extended theirs up the St. Lawrence river and the lakes.


No man ever explored the western coun- try until 1673, when Marquette, a French missionary, went from Mackinaw, at which place his countrymen had established a post, two years previous. He explored the coun- try by the way of the Arkansas river to the Mississippi. Being satisfied that the last- named river discharged itself into the gulf of Mexico, he thought it imprudent to pro- ceed further, but returned to Lake Michigan, where he resided among the Indians until his death, in 1675.


In 1680 La Salle, who commanded a fort at the foot of Lake Ontario, built a vessel upon Lake Erie which he named the "Grif-


fin," and having sailed over half way along its south coast, disembarked, sending back the vessel, which was never heard of after- ward. By marches southward, his party struck the headwaters of the Great Miami river, passing down this stream to the Ohio river; thence to the Mississippi, which he descended to the gulf of Mexico, and from there took passage to France. Subsequently he returned, and while ascending the Mis- sissippi river, he was murdered by one of his own party. Father Hennepin, a missionary, accompanied La Salle in his voyage. The French made several settlements on the Mis- sissippi, above the mouth of the Ohio. In 1735 one was made at Vincennes, on the Wabash.


Subsequently, in the same year, a num- ber of persons of note in Virginia, Mary- land, and also in England, formed. an as- sociation and obtained a grant from the crown of England for six hundred thousand acres of land on the Ohio, together with very extended privileges as a trading company, which assured them an almost entire monopoly of the traf- fic with the Indians. This company soon


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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF


commenced operations, by sending out sur- veyors and traders, by some of whom a post was established on one of the branches of the Great Miami river, the first known establishment made by white men within the present bounds of the state of Ohio. This fort was taken. in 1752, by the French, who carried the traders prisoners to Presque Isle, now Erie, in Pennsylvania, at which place they had, shortly before that time, built a fort.


In this same year the governor general of Canada sent a party to deposit medals at the mouths of rivers, and other important places in the disputed territory, asserting the right of the king of France to all the . country watered by the river Ohio and its branches.


In 1753 George Washington was sent by Governor Dinwiddie, with a letter to the French commandant. remonstrating against their proceedings, as an infringement of the rights of the king of Great Britain. The French disregarded the remonstrance, and in 1754 built Fort Du Quesne, at the con- fluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, where Pittsburg now stands. The war between France and England then en- sued; the French evacuated Fort Du Quesne in 1758: and in 1763, at the conclusion of peace, France surrendered Canada and re- nounced all her claims to any part of the country east of the Mississippi.


different colonies and in consequence of the different views of the subject taken by con- gress, and by the government of Virginia, the legislature of that state passed a law to prevent settlements on the northwest side of the Ohio river, in order to obviate any diffi- culties or jealousies that might arise before the question was finally determined.


In 1785 and 1786 Virginia and the other colonies relinquished their claims to the ter- ritory north of the Ohio river to the con- gress of the United States, and by the adop- tion of the ordinance of 1787 the Northwest territory was organized, and then began in earnest the settling of the territory. At Marietta a settlement was made on April 7, 1788, and a fort was built for the protec- tion of the settlers. General Arthur St. Clair was appointed governor in September, 1788. About this time Judge Symmes established a settlement at North Bend, and in Decem- ber of that year Cincinnati was settled. The Indians were now becoming restive under the apparent determination of the whites to make large and permanent settlements in the territory, and it devolved upon the national government to extinguish the Indian title and protect the inhabitants from a merciless warfare. Forts were erected and attempts were made, first by treaty and afterward by military expedition, to secure peace. All proved unsuccessful until General Wayne's victory over the combined forces of the In- dians at the battle of Fallen Timbers, in August, 1794. On August 3, 1795, he con- cluded a treaty of peace at Greenville and thereby opened up the territory to the bless- ings of civilization.


Between the peace of 1763 and the com- mencement of the American Revolution the settlements were extended across the moun- tains, into the western parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia, but none were made north of Ohio. Soon after the commencement of the The first printed notice of the country watered by the Miami rivers will be found war, questions were started with regard to the unappropriated lands belonging to the in the explorations made by Captain


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BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO.


Thomas Hutchins, of the British army, be- tween 1764 and 1775, and published in Lon- don in 1788. Captain Hutchins says that "The Little Miami is too small to navigate with bateaux; its high banks and gentle cur- rent prevent its much overflowing the sur- rounding lands in freshets. But the Great Miami river, or Rocky river, has a very strong channel. a swift stream, but no falls. It has several large branches, and is navi- gable with boats a great way up."


It is difficult to determine who was the first white male settler hereabouts. In a graveyard on the farm of Peter W. Shep- herd. of Liberty township, there are two stones bearing these inscriptions :


DAVID GREGORY, Died July 9, 1802, AGED 34 YEARS. Here lies the man never known to falter, When sickness and death drew on the halter. But, like the Samaritan by the Divine, He poured in the balsam, the oil and the wine.


MARGARET, Wife of . David Gregory. Died August 12, 1821, AGED 66 YEARS. Here lies the woman, the first save one, Who settled on the Miami above Fort Hamilton. Her table was spread and that of the best, And Anthony Wayne was often her guest.


Here the intimation is plain enough that there was but one white woman in this val- ley before Mrs. Gregory. The late Ben- jamin Sweet, of Liberty township, whose parents brought him to Butler county in the year 1813, stated that he remembered that there was a Mrs. Potter, who was in the early days acknowledged as the first white woman. Whether her husband was the first white man is not certain. Probably Mr. Gregory was not the first, for by a com-


parison of the ages of himself and wife it will appear that she was thirteen years his senior. Had he lived until the time of her death in 1821 he would have been but fifty- three years old while she was then sixty-six.


After a lodgment had been made in the neighborhood of Cincinnati, the attention of the pioneers was turned in this direction. This was due to two causes. First, the qual- ity of the land and the beauty of the coun- try. Second, that the region between the Ohio and Big Miami was a comparatively quiet one as regarded Indian depredations or warlike sallies. Kentucky was too near, and the Indians on this side were too close to the adventurous fighters like Boone and Kenton on the south side of the river. They preferred to get farther back from the line, and there meet their enemies, as is evident from the locations of Harmar's, St. Clair's and Wayne's battlefields. The first settle- ment of the Miami region was by Major Benjamin Stites, of New Jersey, just above Cincinnati, in 1778; the second was in De- cember of the same year; and the third in 1790 by Judge John Cleves Symmes. The headquarters of the last settlement was at North Bend, which it was intended should be the principal city of the Miami purchase. Every school boy knows how this plan was changed, through the commandant at North Bend becoming smitten by a fair dame at Fort Washington, in consequence of which the North Bend military post was aban- doned.


There was at that time a blockhouse near where Carthage is now. John Reily, who had taught school at Fort Washington, and who was the first schoolmaster in the terri- tory, started with a companion to come to Hamilton. When near Carthage they were


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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF


fired upon by Indians in ambush. Reily's comrade was killed, and he barely escaped with his life. This is thought to have been the last white slain by the Indians in this vicinity.


Between Harmar's defeat in 1790 and Wayne's success in 1793, the Miami valley was not regarded as desirable ground for settlement. No Indian incursions of mo- ment occurred; but St. Clair's defeat had created apprehension, and settlers were slow in coming hither. After Wayne's victory, and the treaty of Greenville, which broke the Indian power, emigrants came in large numbers, and the valley began to put on the tokens of civilization. Many who had gone to Kentucky moved here, of whom one was the late William Shafor, of Middle- town. Some of the soldiers who received discharges remained here, and married, and the increase through such unions helped rapidly populate the valley. The class of emigrants who came from the eastern states was of excellent stock, industrious of habit and moral of tone, as the times went, so that society quickly assumed a favorable condi- tion. The change from a state of alarm and uncertainty to one of security and order was rapid and thorough.


Qn April 30, 1802, congress passed a law enabling the formation of the state of Ohio, and by an act of February 19, 1803, the state was formally recognized by con- gress. The first legislature of Ohio, which met on the 3d day of March, 1803, enacted such laws as seemed most needed by the people. They organized, by a special act, eight new counties on March 24, 1803, as follows: Butler, Columbiana, Franklin, Gallia, Greene, Montgomery, Scioto and Warren. The state previous to this date


had suffered much for the want of organiza- tion into counties. Governor St. Clair had on every occasion arbitrarily refused the creation of these new counties, and he had the power to prevent it. In 1804 Highland and Muskingum counties were organized. These new counties were all well populated at the date of this creation, considering the great distance from the older states; mills were built, bridges erected, and roads cut through dense forests.


A few general remarks on the manners and customs of the people at this period seem appropriate. The presiding judge and the lawyers traveled their circuits. When they arrived at the shiretown, the judges and lawyers were generally thrown together in one room in a log tavern, and slept under the same roof, and some of them very near it. Their food was generally prepared out doors: and frequently the court house was a log cabin in the woods, without a floor. It was not uncommon to see a constable with a grand jury sitting under a tree, ward- ing off the spectators, so as to prevent them from hearing the testimony of witnesses; another constable was guarding a petit jury under some other tree, while they were de- liberating upon their verdict. The people were happy and contented with their lot; the farmer kept many dogs to guard his sheep. hogs and fowls. Hogs became numerous in the woods, many of whom became wild and rapidly multiplied. When the war of 1812 broke out the hogs were killed and sold to the government for its soldiers. Horses and cattle increased rapidly, then the people began to drive them over the mountains to the western markets.


The settlers lived in log houses, raised corn for bread and domestic fowls for the


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BUTLER COUNTY, OHIO.


table; they wore moccasins and shoes made of deer skins, which material was also used for hunting shirts and pantaloons. Dressed in this fashion and equipped with a rifle and large knife, the men pursued their daily vo- cations.


Butler county comprises about four hun- dred and eighty square miles and contains thirteen townships. By the following de- crees of court five townships were laid out.


At a Court of Quarter Sessions holden at Ham- ilton, in the County of Butler, on Tuesday, the tenth day of May, 1803, before James Dunn, John Greer, and John Kitchel, esquires, Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the county aforesaid, pursuant to the statute entitled 'an act to regulate the election of Justices of the Peace and for other purposes,' ordered that the following townships be laid out: Fairfield township, Lib- erty township, Lemon township, St. Clair town- ship, Ross township.


Thus it will be seen that there were but five townships in Butler county in 1803, and so they remained until December 2, 1805. Fairfield, as it now is, embraced the second, third and fourth wards of Hamilton ; Lemon embraced Madison: Liberty embraced Union : St. Clair embraced Wayne, Milford, Reily, Hanover and Oxford. and Ross em- braced Morgan.


Wayne and Milford were made town- ships December 2, 1805, and their territory was taken from St. Clair; Reily was created from St. Clair, December 8, 1807, and named for John Reily ; Madison was erected from Lemon. May 7, 1810; Morgan was taken from Ross, March 4, 1811; Oxford from Milford, August 5, 1811; Hanover from Reily and St. Clair, December 2, 1811 ; and last, Union was taken from Liberty in 1823.


The duplicate embraces twelve pages of foolscap, bound in paper back and carefully stitched together. The duplicate of 1805 was the first duplicate ever made in the county. It was prepared by John Reily, whose bold, old-fashioned clerical characters, traced in honest black ink, are today, after a lapse of nearly one hundred years of exposure, clearer and more distinct than many of the county records not one-third so old. Mr. Reily had a partiality for only the best qual- ity of paper for his records, and a strong de- testation for any but the purest and most enduring writing fluids. The result is that the records of John Reily,-in the clerk's office, auditor's office and commis- sioners' minutes .- from 1804 to his retire- ment. are as clear and readable today as when first written.


The duplicate for the year heretofore re- ferred to is arranged in alphabetical order and not by townships. The reason for this is that the township boundaries were not clearly divided; and another, that the list of land owners was not large. On the back of the duplicate. in the bold handwriting of John Reily. is this endorsement : "A Dupli- cate of Taxes on Land for the Year 1805. Amounting to Dolls. $871.64.2." The du- plicate was divided into two parts, the first part containing the registry of non-resident land owners, and the second part the registry of those who were in possession. Of land owners the duplicate shows: Non-residents, 64, owning 29.727 acres; residents, 310, owning 87,398 acres; total. 374, owning 117,125 acres.


Among the largest non-resident land- owners were Elias Boudinot, after whom


The first tax levy was made for Butler . Boudinot street. now called Park ave- county in 1804. and was collected in 1805. nue. in the first ward of Hamilton,


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CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF


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was named, who held 1,994 acres in sections 13, 14, 20, 21 and 25, in Lemon township; Elijah Brush, 1,065 acres in sections 8, 9, 16 and 17, Lemon township; John N. Cummins, 1,240 acres in Fairfield; William H. Harrison, afterward President of the United States, 640 acres, all of section 33, Union township; Henry Ray, 1,895 acres in St. Clair township; Ben- jamin Scudder, who held 640 acres in sec- tions 27 and 33 in Liberty township, which is still held in great part by his heirs; John Cleve Symmes, 640 acres in Fairfield; Jona- than Dayton, 2,130 acres in Liberty and Fairfield.


Of resident land owners, David Beatty held 885 acres in Fairfield and Hanover; Daniel Doty, 295 in Lemon ; Samuel Dickey, of Prairie, 400 acres, and Samuel Dickey, of Elk Creek, 370 acres; Ralph W. Hunt, of Lemon, held 2,600 acres in Lemon; Mat- thew Hueston, father-in-law of Robert Harper, held 1,543 acres in Fairfield; Thomas Kyle held section 28, Lemon town- ship; Solomon Line held 834 acres in Fair- field ; Enos Potter held 640 acres in sections 23 and 27, Lemon; Celadon Symmes held 4,631 acres in Fairfield, and Joel Williams held 2,505 acres in St. Clair and Ross.


Land at that time was divided for taxa- tion into three grades. What was called first quality was taxed one dollar per one hundred acres; second quality, seventy-five cents per one hundred acres, and third qual- ity, fifty cents per one hundred acres. There was of the first quality, 21,914 acres; second quality, 78,709 acres; third quality, 16,502 acres; total, 117,125 acres, and the total taxes assessed on this land amounted to the enormous sum of $871.64.2.




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