Century history of Delaware County, Ohio and representative citizens 20th, Part 69

Author: Lytle, James Robert, 1841- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 926

USA > Ohio > Delaware County > Century history of Delaware County, Ohio and representative citizens 20th > Part 69

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able knowledge of the law, and his native good sense and judgment enabled him to perform the duties of the office in a manner satisfactory to all.

Among the early and most numerous of the pioneer families, is that of John Budd, who emigrated from the Wyoming Valley in 1810, and settled upon a large tract of several hundred acres, situated in the west part of the township, on Duncan Run. This family by marriage was connected with all the early families of this township. When Mr. Budd came to Ohio, he was well advanced in years, and all his sons were young men grown Their names were Benjamin, Eli, John and William. We may not give their names in chronological order of birth. Benjamin Budd settled east of his father, cleared up a farm, but in a few years afterward he sold his farm and moved to Indiana with his family. His brother. Eli, settled on a farm farther east. cleared it up, and about the same time sold out and moved to Indiana. The elder Mr. Budd (lied on the old homestead he helped to im prove in the early days, and his son, William. by purchase and inheritance, became the owner of the old homestead property. His son. John, or Dr. John Budd, the cognomen by which he was known,' purchased from his fa- ther for $250. 100 acres of land situated north of the village of Buddtown, as it is called, where he settled and lived until his death in 1872. Soon after his father settled in Harlem, he married Mary Adams, sister of Elijah and John Adams. They had several children. He was a botanical physician. While he never went to college, he had prac- tical common sense, and never undertook to do in his profession anything beyond his skill. He was amiable, kind-hearted and a good citi- zen. William, who was better known as Colonel Budd. was something of a character. he had dash and enterprise, owned and ran a mill, kept store, carried on farming on a large scale, dealt in stock, and had a taste for mili- tary and political life. He was colonel of a regiment in the peace establishment, and had a great taste for litigation. Ile sometimes en- gaged in legal practice in the justice courts.

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY

His wife was a sister of Elijah Adams. They reared a large family. Colonel Budd left a large estate. Upon his death, his eldest son. James Budd, became the owner of the old homestead, consisting of several hundred acres, to which he made additions until he became the largest land owner in the township, and one of the largest in the county. James Budd was very much like his father, generous and kind-hearted. For many years he was exten- sively engaged in the stock business, and at the close of the Civil war, met with heavy pecuniary losses, sold his farm and moved West. The oldest daughter married Major Jesse C. Tull. He was a native of New York, and when a young man, came to Ohio and was employed as a school teacher in Harlem. Aiter his marriage, he was an active business man. dividing his time between agricultural and mercantile pursuits. Hle later moved to Co- lumbus and engaged in the hotel business. Another daughter became the wife of Judge B. C. Waters

Another early settler in this township was Benamin M. Fairchild, who emigrated from Bennington, Vermont, in 1808 or 1809. For many years he was employed by Benajah Cook to work on the farm. He was a mill- wright and mechanic, but being a natural genius, he was successful at any work he undertook. About the beginning of the War of 1812, he was married, and at this time sent for his brother Shuman and family to come from Vermont. He was able by industry and economy to purchase a 150-acre farm. He built several grist and saw-mills, and opened up several stone quarries on Duncan Run, which he had purchased from Coloned Byxbe. He gave the stone for the Central College. In 1878 he died at an advanced age. Shuman settled on a farm adjoining his brother's farm on the south. He died without heirs, and left his estate to his wife and relatives, except $1.500, which he donated to the church

George Fix was an early settler coming into the township a number of years later than those we have mentioned. About 1812 Con- rad Wickizer came from Berks County, Penn- sylvania, and settled in the southeastern part

of the township. The Mann family-Thomas, Eleazer, Abijah and Gordon Mann-were among the early settlers. Daniel Hunt was another. He came from Washington County, Pennsylvania, and settled on a farm about a mile east of Centerville, about 1835. He was an industrious and successful man, but his kindness in such matters as bail debts led him into financial straits. He was justice of the peace for several years and a member of the Disciples' Church.

About eighty years ago John Hanover and family came into the township from Ohio County, West Virginia. And about the same time Elam Blain, a Pennsylvanian, settled on a new farm on Spruce Run. He was an in- telligent but unassuming man. He was jus- tice of the peace for fifteen years, and held other township offices. He raised a large family. Another settler of this period and in this neighborhood was John Miller. He was one of the pioneers who helped to clear up the township. He died in 1880 past eighty years of age, leaving numerous descendants. Jonathan Bateson, a brother-in-law of Daniel Hunt, came here about the same time as Hunt. He also for several years was a justice of the peace. He and Hunt married sisters by the name of McClelland. In 1839 Nathan Paul settled on a farm of about 400 acres about half a mile east of Centerville. He was intelligent, enterprising and thrifty. He mar- ried a Miss Bell and had two sons and a daugh- ter. He died in 1850 at the age of forty-one. leaving a large estate. Among other promi- nent settlers who have many descendants in the township at the present time were Thomas. Joseph, David and John Gorsuch, and a glance at the list of township officers will show that this is a prominent name. We have given all the data regarding the early set- tlement of the township that we have been able to secure at this late date, and of course, it is beyond the scope of a work of this kind to at- tempt to go into details of the present popula- tion, which alone would make a large volume.

The township contains two villages. Cen- terville, situated at the center of the township. was laid out by Edward Hartrain and Ben

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Roberts in 1848. The following year Harlem Village was laid out by Amos Washburn and James Budd.

The Township officials for 1908, as re- ported to the county auditor, are: Samuel Gorsuch and J. W. Pace, justice of the peace ; W. F. Hill, Seth Gorsuch and Ross Gorsuch, trustees; H. M. Cockrell. clerk: Dr. N. Gor- such, treasurer: I. D. Williams, assessor; A. A. Grove and G. E. Gorsuch, constables.

KINGSTON TOWNSHIP.

This township was set off June 8. 1813. and is designated as No. 5 in the original survey. It is five miles square, and contains 16.000 acres of land. It is bounded on the north by Morrow County ; on the east by Por- ter Township; on the south by Berkshire Township, and on the west by Brown. The surface of the land is generally quite level, though in the southern and eastern portions it is more undulating. As in other parts of the county, the most fertile lands are those which border the streams. While the grain crops do well in this township, the general character of the soil makes it better adapted for grass and grazing than for growing crops. Originally the land was heavily wooded with all the varie- ties of hardwoods that grow in this part of the State. The rich bottom lands were covered with spice bush, black haws and paw-paw underbrush; wild plums, grapes and crab ap- ples also grew spontaneously and in great abundance. These constituted all the luxuries of the early pioneers and in most cases were all he desired. These fruits, besides being used fresh in various ways, were also dried for use in the winter season, or preserved in maple sugar. this and wild honey being the only sweetening they had. Young horses and cattle were often wintered in these swails, and man- aged somehow to come through without grain or dry feed. The hogs were allowed to run at large, at first without brands or ear-marks, and these fed and fattened on acorn and beech-nut mast. In a few years these animals had increased so rapidly that they came to be regarded as public property, and anyone feel-

ing in need of pork was at liberty to help him- self.

Kingston is amply supplied with springs and streams of pure water, sufficient for home use and for stock. Alum Creek is the largest stream and runs across the northwestern cor- ner of the township. Little Walnut Creek is the next stream in size. It enters the township on the north about a mile and a half west of the north-east corner. It runs in a southerly direction, dividing the township into two nearly equal parts. It has numerous small tributaries, which are helpful in draining the township. Other streams are Butler Run, west of and nearly parallel with Little Walnut , Indigo Run is in the northeastern part of the township, and Taylor Run flows in the south- eastern portion. Butler Swamp, the source of the run of that name, took its name from a man named Butler, who settled near it in 1807. It was supposed that this land would never be fit for farming, but clearing up and drainage has demonstrated the fact that it is not only tillable, but very fertile.

John Phipps was the first settler in this township. He came about 1807. and located in the southeastern part of the township, on or near Little Walnut. Little is known of him because he remained here only a short time before he returned East with his family. The same year, two brothers, Abraham and James Anway, came from Pennsylvania and set- tled in the same part of the township where Phipps had been. They raised large families. Soon after these men came George Hess from the same State, and located in the same neigh- borhood. He lived on the farm which he cleared until his death in 1835. He was mar- ried but had no children. The property after- wards was owned by Ceptor Stark. In 1809 came James Stark, John Rosecrans and his four sons, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and John ; Dr. Daniel Rosecrans and his four sons, Na- thaniel. Jacob, Purlemas and Crandall, and Jo- seph Patrick and wife. James Stark selected a farm of about 200 acres in the eastern part of the township. For many years he enter- tained travelers at his house, which was the only hotel or tavern ever kept in the town-

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY

ship. The Sunbury and Mansfield roads crossed on his farm, and the locality came to have the name of Stark's Corners. He mar- ried a Miss Wilcox before coming here, whose family connection was very numerous, and he. having the confidence of a very wide acquaint- ance, was able to induce many settlers to come into the county. By a former marriage he had three daughters. One married a Mr. Perfect. of Trenton Township; one married Dr. Bige- low, of Galena, and the third married Benja- min Carpenter of the same town. They all had large families. By his second marriage he had one son, James N. Stark, who at one time owned two thousand acres of farm lands in Kingston and Porter Townships. Joseph Patrick was a remarkable man, having unusual intellectual ability, but he was afflicted with an impediment in his speech. He was well versed in history, and was successful as a busi- ness man. He accumulated a large fortune for his day, and by honest methods. Among the positions of trust with which he was hon- ored was that of county treasurer. Hle re- moved to Berkshire Township at an early day. He married Sarah Taylor, daughter of Daniel Taylor, who emigrated from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, and settled in the southeastern part of the township on the run which later was called by his name.

Dr. Daniel Rosecrans first located on Lit- tle Walnut Creek. Later he sold this and bought a farm on Taylor's Run. He was the first justice of the peace in the township. His son Crandall married Jemima Hopkins, who was related to Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. They had three sons, the eldest of whom was Major- General William Stark Rosecrans, who won fame as a general in the war for the Union. A sketch of him will be found in the chapter devoted to the military history of the county. Sylvester, another of the sons, also became distinguished, but in a different sphere. After graduating from West Point, he joined the Roman Catholic Church, went to Rome for his theological training, became a bishop and was placed in charge of the Diocese of Columbus. He was noted for his great execu-

tive ability, his scholarship and his eloquence in the pulpit.

Previous to our second struggle with England. Solomon Steward, who had served in the Revolution, came here from the Green Mountain State. In 1815 he married Nancy White, a sister of Mrs. Benjamin Benedict, and soon aiter settled in Porter Township. In 1812 Peter Van Sickle came with his young family from New Jersey. Ile located on land in the southernmost part of the township west of Little Walnut. He had two sons, William G. and Asa, and four daughters. The oldest daughter married Hon. Almon Stark, who for years was an associate judge of our Common Pleas Court. The youngest daughter became the wife of R. J. Lott. At his death Peter Van Sickle left quite an estate, besides giving his children much financial help as they started out in life. In 1814 two brothers, Richard and Charles Hodgden, emigrated from Con- necticut and settled in this township. They "bached" it for a while together. Finally Richard married a Miss Place and Charles married a Miss Blackman, and after she died he married a Miss Brockover and moved to Union County. John White, from West Vir- ginia, also came here in 1814. He purchased 1,000 acres of land, the northeast quarter of Section 1. He had a large family, some of whom had reached maturity, and these soon married and settled in the neighborhood. Mr. White immediately became prominent and in- fluential in the township. John Van Sickle a cousin of Peter Van Sickle came into the township about 1815. Both these men brough: sufficient means with them to enable them to have such comforts and conveniences as were possible under pioneer conditions. John Van Sickle married Susannah Wicker, who was a native of the same county in New Jersey. They had eight children, all of whom were married and reared families. David was a farmer in Kingston: Peter had a farm in Por- ter Township; William W. resided in Dela- ware: Elizabeth married George Blaney, of Porter Township: Mary married Charles Wil - cox, of Porter; Esther married a Mr. Knox, and spent her life in Trenton Township; Dru

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silla married Dr. H. Bessee, and Jane married Lewis Buck, of Morrow County. John Van Sickle carried on farming on a large scale. Upon arriving at age, each of the children re- ceived from him 100 acres of land. He built a dam and a grist- and saw-mill near Sunbury, and carried this on along with his farming. He was a consistent and active member of the Presbyterian Church, and with Dr. Fowler's father was one of the founders and main-stays of the Old Blue Church at East Liberty. He spent his declining years in that village. Ben- jamin Benedict settled on a 150-acre farm about one mile below the center of the town, on Little Walnut in 1815. He married a daughter of John White. They had two sons. Nelson and Sturgis. Benjamin Benedict died in 1877, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years. He was higlily esteemed by his neigh- bors for his industrious and honorable life. In 1816 a man named Waldron also came into the township. He was from New York. His four sons were George, who lived in Brown Township; Richard, William and Jonas. The next year Joseph Lott came from Luzerne county. Pennsylvania, and settled on the East Branch of Little Walnut Creek. He reared two sons and two daughters. Riley T. and Josiah were farmers in Kingston. His oldest daughter became Mrs. William G. Van Sickle. and Eliza. the youngest daughter, married Ezekiel Longwell. In 1817, also, John Hall located on a wild tract of 100 acres on the Little Walnut. He married one of the daugh- ters of John White, from whom he had pur- chased his farm. They had four children. Mrs. John J. Wilcox was their only daughter. William, their oldest son, went to Iowa where lie practiced law. George W. also went West. where he engaged in farming. and John W. made liis home in Delaware. Hiram Cuyken- dall. a veteran of both wars with England. settled on a farm in this township in 1820. He died nearly seventy years ago at a great age. Thomas and James Carney, two broth- ers, came from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Thomas in 1820 and James in 1823. They were both hard workers and set about clear- ing farms. Thomas married one of the Lott

girls, and James brought his wife, who was Jane Ostrander before her marriage, with him to the township. Both brothers raised fami- lies. Moses Decker came from New Jersey to Kingston in 1820. Ile settled in the eastern part of the township, near his brother-in-law. Isaac Finch, who had preceded him from the same State. Mr. Decker was a soldier in the War of 1812, was the first postmaster of Kingston, a justice of the peace for a number of years, and prominent and well known throughout the county. He married a daugh- ter of Hiram Cuykendall. Moses Decker was a carpenter and millwright, and built many of the early mills in the county. The first frame barn in the township was built by Elder Wig- ton on his farm. It was framed, raised and completed by Mr. Decker. It was a never- failing custom in those days to serve liquor of some kind, usually whiskey, at all raisings. On this occasion Mr. Decker forbade that any liquor be brought on the ground. It was thought that failure to provide this energizer would result in the people staying away, but help enough came, and the first attempt at raising the barn was successful. This was in 1827, and while the structure that was erected on that occasion has long since crumbled into dust, Mr. Decker's influence for temperance is still at work, and Kingston still holds the reputation it long ago earned for the temper- ance and sobriety of its inhabitants. Mr. Decker lived to be upwards of ninety, and left numerous descendants in the county. Oliver Stark came from Pennsylvania to Kingston in 1825. being then twenty-four years of age. Four years later he married the first white child born in Kingston Township, Eliza Pat- rick, the daughter of Joseph Patrick. Oliver Stark was successful and prominent in his day. He was justice of the peace for twenty- one years, and served as county commissioner for three years from 1846-49. He left a large estate when he died, which was shared by a number of descendants.

Other early settlers were Gilbert Potter and family who came from West Virginia in 1817, and purchased John Hall's first farm from him. A few years later, William Gas-

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY

ton, his brother-in-law, came from the same county and settled near by. He was followed within a few years by his brother John Gaston. The district where they settled came to be known as the "Virginia District." Daniel Maxwell, who by his first marriage with one of the Farris sisters, was a brother-in-law of the Gastons and Potter, settled on a farm near the center of the township. He married for his second wife, a Miss Haslett. He was a typical Virginia gentleman, intelligent, a con- sistent member of the Presbyterian Church, who was held in high esteem. For twenty years before his death he filled the office of justice of the peace, in which office he was succeeded by his son, William H. Maxwell. James Gaston, a native of the Emerald Isle and a relative of the Gastons we have men- tioned, also settled in the "Virginia District." Elder Thomas Wigton came here from Penn- sylvania in 1814, and settled on a hundred acres near the center of the township. He was a local preacher in the Baptist Church, but being broad-minded and tolerant of the views of others, he was popular with members of other churches than his own, for whom he often preached. In 1834 John Haslett came to Kingston from Augusta County, Virginia. He purchased 150 acres from Isaac Rosecrans in the east part of the township. He was a local preacher in the Methodist Church. Of good mental ability, kindly disposition, noted foi his southern hospitality, he was an enthusias- tic and effective preacher. In 1834 Henry Sheets with his large and grown-up family settled in the woods in the northwestern part of the township. He had seven sons, the youngest of whom, Jacob Sheets, was for many years a justice of the peace. In 1824 Daniel Terrill immigrated to Kingston Town- ship and settled on a farm in the southwest quarter-section. He was from Essex County, New Jersey.

Representatives of nearly all the nationali- ties that helped to establish the original thir- teen colonies were to be found among the pio- neers of Kingston Township: Puritans from New England, Dutch from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, English from the latter State and

from Virginia, and Scotch-Irish from Pennsyl- vania and West Virginia. Their common dan- gers and common necessities tended to sup- press the controversies that would naturally arise among people so radically different in racial characteristics, religion, temperament, habits of thought, manners and customs. They dwelt in harmony, their children intermarried, and today we have in the citizenship of Kings- ton Township, a race of men and women that for physical, mental or moral excellence are the peers of any other community.

The present ( 1908) township officials are : J. J. Stark and Bert White, justices of the peace : E. C. Owen, F. P. McVey, and R. M. Van Sickle, trustees; L. S. Owen, treasurer ; S. T. Hutchisson, assessor ; Harry Benedict and O. S. Wilcox, constables.

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP.

Liberty is one of the three townships into which Delaware County was originally di- vided when it was set off from Franklin County. At that time it composed about half of what are now Orange, Berlin, Delaware and Scioto. Townships, and the territory now embraced in Concord Township. Delaware Township was set off from Liberty at the first meeting of the county commissioners. Not- withstanding the loss of territory sustained when the townships above named were formed, Liberty Township is still from four to five miles wide and about eight miles from north to south. It is bounded on the north by Dela- ware Township; on the east, by Berlin and Orange: on the south by Franklin County. and on the west by Concord Township. The Olentangy River enters the township at a point a little east of the center of the northern boundary, and courses a little east of south to the Franklin County line, where it is the boundary between Liberty and Orange Town- ships. The township is drained by a num- ber of small tributaries of the Olentangy, among which we may mention McKinnie's, Wild Cat, Big Wolf and Lick Runs. There are many fine springs of pure and mineral waters here as elsewhere in the county. For

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a distance of two or three miles, the Scioto River forms the southwestern boundary of Liberty Township. In early times this portion of the township was a favorite camping ground for the Indians, a fine spring of very cold and pure water on the Stanberry farm be- ing, perhaps, not the least among the attrac- tions of the spot. The land is rolling, and for fertility is not surpassed by that in any other part of the county. Originally it was heavily timbered with the varieties of trees common to this section. The land in the river bottoms is especially rich and yields large grain crops.

Who were the original inhabitants of this part of the county will never be known. The evidence of their presence and their labor is here, but they faded into the mysteries of the past leaving no record of their advent, civili- zation or exit. The subject of the Mound Builders is treated in another chapter, so we shall not dwell upon it here.

The claim has been made that the first white settlers in Delaware County located here, and this is doubtless true as regards permanent settlement. In an old issue of the Delaware Gasette we find an excellent histori- cal sketch of the settlement by Captain Nathan Carpenter, which was written by one of his descendants, A. E. Goodrich, from which we quote the following paragraphs :

"Captain Nathan Carpenter was born at Rehoboth, Massachusetts, in 1757. and grew to manhood amid the excitement preparatory to the Revolution. a zealous patriot. He was among the first to respond to the call of his country when the great colonial struggle came on, though scarcely more than a boy in age. He fought bravely at the battle of Bunker Hill. at which place his brother was killed and himself wounded. Afterward he participated in several battles, among them, the pursuit and capture of Burgoyne at Saratoga. After the close of the war. Mr. Carpenter lived in Connecticut until 1795. when he removed to New York and purchased a large estate on the Unadilla River. It was while residing here that the excitement over the Ohio terri- tory rose to a height exceeded only by that perhaps over California in later years. Pub-

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Century history of Delaware County, Ohio and representative citizens 20th, Part 69

Author: Lytle, James Robert, 1841- [from old catalog] ed Publication date: 1908 Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing company Number of Pages: 926

Author: Lytle, James Robert, 1841- [from old catalog] ed
Publication date: 1908
Publisher: Chicago, Biographical publishing company
Number of Pages: 926