USA > Ohio > Clark County > Springfield > Century history of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and representative citizens 20th > Part 11
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 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109
"When Mr. Paul, Sr., who was with this division, visited the valley in the vicinity of the forks of Honey Creek he was very much impressed with the fertil- ity of the soil and thereupon resolved to bring his family from Kentucky and set- tle at this point. Soon after the organi- zation of the Northwest Territory by the Ordinance of 1787, John Paul gathered his family into his wagon and they started northward from Cincinnati to find, if pos- sible, the place where he had visited in his skirmish with the Indians while with the Squirrel Hunters.
"The journey northward must have been fraught with many hardships, as many times it became necessary to use the axe to cut their way through the tangled forest. Mr. Paul and his fam- ily, on their lonely journey, followed the Miami River as far as Dayton, then took up the banks of Mad River and proceeded northward toward the point of the former battle. Many nights the Indians prowled about the little wagon, around which one member of the family always stood guard while the others slept lest they be taken by surprise and lose their lives during a night attack of the treacherous Redskins.
"After many days of such experiences, Mr. Paul and his family reached the place with which he had been so im- pressed during his former visit to Clark County.
" All members of the family at once set about to erect the cabin. Little did these folks think that right then and there they were building the first cabin in what is now Clark County. The cabin must have been a rude affair compared with our houses of the present, and there were none of those 'modern conveniences' so
100
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY
desired by the present-day tenant. There is evidence that the cabin was built · hastily, as Paul well knew that there were Indians in the vicinity and it was his desire to protect his family from their probable attacks.
"A stockade was constructed about the cabin, just at the base of a small hill which extends either way from the point where the cabin was built.
"The next thing in order was to clean a small patch of ground on which corn and some vegetables could be raised. The first winter was spent in clearing a plot of ground which lay immediately north of the cabin and between the forks of the creek. When spring came, every day saw Mr. Paul and his family earn- estly working in this truck patch to pro- vide supplies for the long winter that was to follow.
"One day in the summer of 1790, when the family was thus engaged in the patch north of their cabin, there was a sudden war hoop came piercing from the woods nearby and a small band of Indians could be seen hurrying from tree to tree making their way toward the cabin. Instantly the Paul family started for the cabin to make ready for defense, but no sooner had they started than a half-dozen of the screaming Indians in full war paint cut off their escape, all the time firing into the terror-stricken little family. In quick succession the father, mother and three of the children were pierced by the bullets of the Redmen and fell mortally wounded to the ground. The son, John, picked up his father and started to drag him to the cabin, but the father gasped to him, 'Save yourself, I am dying, you can't help me.'
"In the excitement of the moment and their haste to secure the scalps of the white settlers and get back into cover, the Indians did not notice John and his sis- ter, and they made their escape to the cabin. A moment later, however, there was a crash from one of the port-holes in the cabin from John's trusty musket and one of the Indians who was engaged in scalping the father and mother fell dead. Another flash, a whiff of smoke and the second Indian fell mortally wounded be- side the bodies of their slaughtered vic- tims. This so terrified the remainder of the Indians that they withdrew to the woods a short distance away, carrying the bodies of their dead members with them, but leaving the bodies of the Paul family, five in all, laying on the ground minus their scalps.
"For two long days following this at- tack, John and his sister remained at the port-holes in the cabin, rifles in hand, ready to pierce the heart of the first Red- skin who would dare to show his face from the neighboring woodland. On the third day, there having been no further signs of an attack, the sister and brother.ven- tured out where lay the bodies of the loved ones and buried them on the spot where they met death.
"John and his sister continued to live in the cabin, and oftentimes saw the In- dians skulking along the creek nearby, but they were never molested by an or- ganized band after this time. Mr. Sud- doth stated that it was no uncommon oc- currence for John Paul to be riding about his farm on horseback and to shoot an In- dian when he saw one, as Mr. Paul was regarded as one of the trustiest shots with a rifle with whom the Indians had
101
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
ever contended. It is said that Paul often came riding up to the door of his cabin with the body of an Indian thrown cross-wise on the saddle, his heart pierced by one of John's rifle bullets. 'There's another of them damn Redskins,' was the remark, it is said, he would make when bringing home his trophy.
"That this account of the massacre of the Paul family is the most authentic so far recorded cannot be doubted, as the details are more complete and compare very favorably with existing circum- stances in later years. The point where the cabin was erected and where the sub- sequent massacre took place is near the forks of Honey Creek, about one mile northwest of New Carlisle. A brick house has been erected on the spot and the farm is owned by Fissel Brothers, nurserymen, of this place. Near the cabin was a spring and today the spring still sends out its bubbling stream as it did years ago, though the ground round about it has become neglected and has the ap- pearance of a swamp. Mr. Carson, who lives on the farm, says he finds many In- dian arrows and other relics as he plows in the fields around the slope of the hill, serving as further evidence that this spot was no strange location to the Redmen who loved to fish and hunt along the stream.
"At the Centennial celebration in War- ren County a few years ago a contest was conducted and a prize offered for the best authentic account of the family that raised the first corn in the Miami valley. It was here shown that John Paul, the subject of this sketch, produced the first corn in the Miami valley as early as 1792.
"Mr. Paul, Jr., was also one of the
founders of the Honey Creek Presbyte- rian church. That he was a remarkable character and was the first pioneer set- tler of Clark County is beyond dispute. Mr. Suddoth, to whom the writer is in- débted for much of the information con- tained in this interesting sketch, was also regarded as a man of his word and the story he related is beyond question one of the important connecting links in the early history of Clark County."
JOHNNIE APPLESEED AND OTHER CHARACTERS.
Johnnie Appleseed, whose real name was Chapman, was an eccentric character who wandered over the midland counties of Ohio in the early part of the last cen- tury. He received his sobriquet from his peculiar calling, if I may term it as such. Even in the times in which he lived, his habits were such as to term him eccentric. He lived the roughest life, often sleeping in the woods. He was quick and restless in his motions and conversations. His beard and hair were long, his clothing was mostly old, given him generally in ex- change for his apple trees. Without any compensation other than that of being al- lowed to indulge his eccentricities, he went from place to place planting apple trees wherever his fancy might suggest. He planted nurseries in Licking County and Richmond County and in other places of which we now have no knowledge. That his wanderings sometimes took him through Clark County is more than prob- able. People bearing the same name -- and it is said in his biography that he had a large number of relatives in various parts of Ohio-resided near Tremont
102
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY
City where the creek flowing through that village is given his family name, and we are informed that his wanderings ex- tended as far as the state of Indiana.
Tradition has it that he planted an orchard at what was formerly known as Kreb's Station, which was located near the western end of where the second Big Four Bridge crosses Mad River south of Springfield. On these wanderings he either carried the apple shrubs or the seeds with him, planted or gave them away just as his fancy might dictate. A harmless character, whose peculiar but well resulting efforts, humble though they might have been, have left behind a kindly memory, and won for him a fame that people in more distinguished call- ings have often failed to win.
The famous renegade Simon Girty was probably at no time a resident of this county, otherwise than as a guest of some of the Indians at Piqua. A fairly good sketch of his life is given in the descrip- tion of the battle of Piqua, although ac- cording to the best authorities now, he was not at that battle.
Likewise the famous Indian fighter and scout, Daniel Boone, was at no length of time a resident of this county, although engaged in Indian excursions that took him through the Miami and Mad River Valley. He is credited with having been present at the battle of Piqua, but the better authority is that he was not there at the time the battle was fought, being in North Carolina with his people. Many others doubtless, who have been promi- nent in forming the history of this county, will fail to receive mention in any historical work. Each pioneer performed duties that were proper and necessary in
his day, and while all men have not shone with equal luster, nor have received the recognition that transmits their names and records to posterity on history's page, the fact remains that they were useful and necessary factors in the early history of this county.
It is said upon good authority that when Gen. McPherson fell in front of At- lanta, the surprise was so great that for a few moments he was deserted by all but a single private, who staid to attend him. History has searched in vain for that pri- vate's name in citing the incident. So in our county histories while many of the incidents will be cited and remembered, the names of the individuals may never be known. The roster of county officials will give the names of a large number of per- sons who in various ways participated in the up-building of our county, and so in the descriptions of various trades and callings there will appear the names of those most prominent in such respective fields of industry. Sketches of members of the bar and of the legal profession will also give publicity to the names of some who were or have been prominent in local history, and others, again, may be found in the biographical sketches published in the latter part of this volume.
SIMON KENTON.
A monument stands on the right side of the State House at Columbus. Upon its pedestals stand the bronze statues of eight of Ohio's sons-of Grant, Sheridan, Sherman, McPherson, Hayes, Garfield, Stanton and Chase. This monument with its heroic figures stood in front of the Ohio building at the Columbian Cen- tennial.
-
103
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
" 'These are my jewels,' was Ohio's challenge ; did any state answer? Not one. Yet these men only represented one epi- sode in her history, one brief period of four years out of her full century. Mark you; we could put another monument with eight other of her sons, who would repre- sent all the different periods of her career. I suggest that Rufus Putnam, the revolu- tionary hero who led the first of emi- grants who settled on her soil, should have the first place. Next I would place by his side a statue of Ohio's typical pio- neer, Simon Kenton; then I would place our first president, William Henry Har- rison, the hero of Tippecanoe. For the next pedestal I would suggest Thomas Ewing, a great lawyer and statesman, and a cabinet minister under several admin- istrations; then Thomas Corwin, gov- ernor, senator and inspired orator. Then should come another of our presidents, McKinley, the well-beloved, who repre- sented American manhood in the turning- point of our history."
GEN. ANDERSON'S ADDRESS AT OHIO CENTENNIAL.
If Simon Kenton is entitled to such a distinguished honor as the quotation above gives him it certainly would not be inappropriate considering his pioneer residence in this county, in a work of this kind, to give a brief sketch of his life.
Simon Kenton was born in Culpeper County, Va., on the 3d day of April, 1755, and died near Zanesfield, Logan county, Ohio, on the head waters of Mad River, on April 29, 1836, aged eighty-one years. A great many biographies give Fauquier County, Virginia, as the county of his birth, but Culpeper County is given as the proper county on his monument. We know little of his parentage or his early life, otherwise than his parents were poor
and that he was never taught to read and write. At an early age, some say sixteen years, he became the suitor for the affec- tions of a young lady of his neighborhood. In this he had a rival and chivalric-like, whether by agreement or by way of ban- ter, a contest was agreed upon between the rivals, in John L. Sullivan style, to deter- mine who should be the favorite one. From Kenton's fiery and fighting quali- ties, it may be well conjectured that he would not fail to accept such an offer, al- though he might have realized that his strength was not equal to that of his ad- versary, and so it turned out, for Kenton was the vanquished one. He was not a man to accept defeat without some thought of revenge, so he awaited his ap- pointed time, and when he became a man the rivals again met. This was about the year 1771. It can be conjectured that, having suffered the thoughts of his defeat to rankle in his bosom for so long a time, Kenton engaged in this battle with the full strength of his manhood and deter- mined to wreak vengeance at all hazards. It seems that his adversary's hair was long, and after they had clinched and rolled around upon the ground Kenton managed to bring his opponent's head close to a sapling and by a quick turn locked his hair around the branches. Then having him at his mercy, he pom- meled him to his heart's content; and he kept up this punishment so long that when he left his victim he thought he was dead. With this fear in his mind, suspicion, and prompted also by his love of adventure, he came westward to where there was a clustering settlement near Harrods, or Boone's Station, in Kentucky. It may be presumed from what we afterwards
104
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY
learned, that he possessed the common idea prevailing among the people of his class, that to steal from an Indian was no wrong, for in 1778, about the first of Sep- tember, he and two others set off for the express purpose of obtaining horses from the Indians. They crossed the Ohio and proceeded cautiously until they had come to what is now Chillicothe, without any adventure. In the night they fell in with a drove of horses that were feeding on the prairies. They were prepared with salt and halters, and at length succeeded in catching seven. With these they trav- eled as speedily as possible towards the Ohio River, reaching the ford at Eagle Creek, now in Brown County. There they found the waves of the river so high that they could not force the horses across. The Indians at daybreak had dis- covered the loss of their property and im- mediately commenced pursuit. One of Kenton's companions was killed and the other made his escape, Kenton himself being captured. The next morning the Indians prepared to return to their In- dian village. When ready they got one of their wildest horses and tied Gen. Ken- ton on its back. The horse lunged and plunged in various ways, but finally be- coming satisfied that he could not get rid of his rider, quietly submitted and fol- lowed the Indians. In about three days they reached Old Chillicothe. Here he was made to run the gauntlet. Having been informed by one who knew the cus- toms of the Indians, that if he could break through the Indian lines and arrive at the Council House before he was over-taken. they would not force him to run the gauntlet the second time, he attempted the feat and would have succeeded, had
he not met a fresh Indian near the Coun- cil House. This Indian saw him coming and threw him down and held him until his captors came. The next thing that the Indians did was to decide his method of punishment. After consultation they decided that he should be punished with death, which in the Indian method, meant burning at the stake; and it was further decided that his place of execution should be at Wapatomika, now near Zanesfield, Logan County, and which, as it turned out afterwards singularly enough, was the place where he finally died a peaceful death. I am not sure that the Chillicothe first spoken of was the Chillicothe in Ross County or the old Chillicothe situ- ated three miles above Xenia. Anyway, on their route they were to pass through what was then the Indian village of Piqua in Clark County, and thence up the valley through the other villages along Mad River. At these various villages Kenton was required to run the gauntlet. At one of these places he made an attempt to escape and got about two miles from the town when he accidentally met some In- dians on horse back and was by them re- captured. It was after this recapture that he met with the famous Simon Girty. It seems that previously Kenton and Girty were quite warm friends. When Kenton went to Kentucky he had assumed the name of Butler. Having had his face blackened, which among the Indians was a sign that the death sentence had been passed, he was not at once recognized. After Girty recognized him he did all in his power to have the death sentence an- nulled, but in this he was unsuccessful, and Kenton was a second time sentenced, when the great Mingo chief, Logan, took
105
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
an interest in his welfare and it was finally decided to send him to Upper San- dusky. There after some more proceed- ings had been gone through, he was ran- somed and finally was enabled to secure his freedom. After this thrilling experi- ence he revisited his old home and was probably not with General Clark in the battle of Piqua. The first that we know of him again was about 1784 when he came with Captain Logan in the raid that he made against Mac-i-chesk and other Indian villages along Mad River. He then served in various Indian wars and was a major in the army of General Wayne, whose conquest of the Indians re- sulted in the treaty of Greenville. Of his life in Kentucky we know little, other than that that section seemed to be a place of his abode when not engaged in Indian Excursions.
In 1799 he with six other families em- igrated to Clark County, first settling near where the National Road crosses Buck Creek west of the city. Afterwards he and his brother-in-law, Philip Jarbo, no doubt following the old Indian trail to Sandusky, moved up to what is known as the Hunt farm in Moorefield Township, Kenton's cabin being a short distance west of the present Hunt residence close to the Urbana Pike and Philip Jarbo's about a mile east along the little stream.
Some biographies say that in 1802 he moved to Urbana, but this I think is a mistake. Where he resided in Moorefield Township was then or was a short time afterwards considered Champaign Coun- ty, and from this fact probably comes the other statement that he lived in Urbana. If he did live in Urbana it was but for a very short time, for in the year 1806 he
moved to what were then the rapids of Buck Creek, and where the village of La- gonda now stands. Here he built a grist- mill and attached thereto a carding ma- chine which for want of perfect machinery did not prove a success. He also built the first saw-mill upon the same site, the first in the county. His love of adventure, patriotism and military spirit led him to abandon or leave this mill property in 1812, to join the army of this country in the second war with Great Britain. In this war he was a brigadier general of militia, serving under General Wm. H. Harrison. In the year 1820 he moved to his final earthly home, situate near Zanesfield in Logan County, Ohio. That he was a resident of this county in 1818, or at least that he was supposed to be, would appear from the fact that at the June term of Court of Common Pleas of this county, process was issued for him. At his place near Zanesfield he erected a small house and resided there until his death, which occurred as heretofore stated. Through the efforts of one of hi's life-long friends of Urbana, in 1865, his remains were removed to Oakdale Ceme- tery at that place, where a monument was erected to his memory, which bears this inscription on the north side-"Erected by the State of Ohio 1884," on the south side "1775-1836." On the north side is a wolf's head, on the south side an Indian, on the west side a bear's head, and on the east side a panther.
At the time of his death he was draw- ing a pension of $20.00 a month and was a member of the Methodist Church.
He was described as being of fair com- plexion, six feet one inch in height. He stood and walked very erect, and, in the
106
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY
prime of life, weighed about 190 pounds. He never was inclined to be corpulent, although of sufficient fullness to form a graceful person. He had a soft, tremu- lous voice, very pleasing to the hearer. He had laughing gray eyes, which ap- peared to fascinate the beholder. He was a pleasant, good-humored, and obliging companion. When excited or provoked to anger (which was seldom the case) the fiery glance of his eye would almost curdle the blood of those with whom he came in contact. His rage, when aroused, was a tornado. In his dealing he was per- fectly honest; his confidence in man and his credulity were such that the same man might cheat him twenty times, and if he professed friendship he might cheat him still.
Another who knew General Kenton at Zanesfield describes him as follows:
"General Kenton, in the prime of life, according to his own statement, was red haired and his face was badly freckled. He walked with a slight limp, because of a cut inflicted in his left foot caused by an Indian tomahawk. Although nearly seventy years old when he took up his abode near Zanesfield, his hair was not entirely whitened, and here and there, until the day of his death, were evidences of its former ruddy color. He was over six feet tall and in younger days weighed about one hundred and ninety pounds. His eyes were changeable, now gray, but when he was roused to anger they as- sumed a greenish hue. As his years fled, displays of temper became infrequent."
The following very interesting sketch appears in the sketches of Springfield by R. C. Woodward:
"My first visit to Springfield and the
Mad River Country was in October, 1832. I took lodging with Colonel Warden, then keeper of the National, for the night. When I entered the two-horse hack in the morning, I found seated therein a very elderly and dignified gentleman, who at the first glance commanded my respect. By his side sat a lady, much younger in appearance than himself. We three formed the load. The lady and myself soon fell into a running conversation, and I found her to be a very agreeable and companionable traveler. Among other facts, she told me that Springfield was so named at her suggestion, on account of the many delightful and valuable springs within and around the plat lo- cated for the town. While we chatted, the old gentleman sat in silence, and, as his grave appearance was not of a charac- ter to invite conversation, with a young and bashful man, I had to be content, for the while, with looking at him, and won- dering who he was! At length, however, . when we came into the neighborhood of Major William Hunt's, I ventured to ask him if he were 'going far north.' He said, 'No.' The lady then said they were going to their home near Zanesfield, Lo- gan County. This question happened to break the ice a little, and the gentleman became somewhat talkative-in a slow way. He told me he had been to New- port, Ky., to attend a meeting of pioneers appointed fifty years before, but that the cholera had thwarted the meeting. He pointed out along the verge of the road, nearly opposite the Half-Way House (now the residence of L. L. Young), the path along which the Indians had once escorted him, a prisoner, on the way to Zanesfield, to make him run the gauntlet,
107
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
and gave me sundry snatches of detail as to his early hardships in the backwoods, and adventures with the Indians, so that by the time we came to Urbana, we had all become quite free talkers. All the time, I did not take any hint as to who he was, though I tried hard to study him out, and thought I had been familiar with his history from my boyhood. When we landed at Urbana, at the house kept by Daniel Harr, Esq., the people collected pretty freely around the hack, all anxious to see and speak to him whom, as I soon learned, I had been traveling with, and whom I had, till then, known only in his- tory-the celebrated pioneer, SIMON KENTON, and his excellent lady."
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.