USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio, containing a collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc., relating to its general and local history : with descriptions of its counties, principal towns, and villages > Part 10
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65
BELMONT COUNTY.
the family while the trees were being cut. The ash beyond the house crossed the scarf and fell on the cabin, but without damage.
The monotony of the time for several of the first years was broken and enlivened by the howl of wild beasts. The wolves howling around us seemed to moan their inability to drive us from their long and undisputed domain. The bears, panthers and deers seemingly got miffed at our approach or the partiality of the hunters, and but seldom troubled us. One bag of meal would make a whole family rejoicingly happy and thankful then, when a loaded East Indiaman will fail to do it now, and is passed off as a common business transaction without ever once thinking of the Giver, so independent have we become in the short space of forty years! Having got out of the wilderness in less time than the children of Israel, we seem to be even more forgetful and unthankful than they. When spring was fully come and our little patch of corn, three acres, put in among the beech roots, which at every step contended with the shovel-plough for the right of soil, and held it too, we enlarged our stock of conveniences. As soon as bark would run, (peel off,) we could make ropes and bark boxes. These we stood in great need of, as such things as bureaus, stands, wardrobes, or even barrels, were not to be had. The manner of making ropes of linn bark, was to cut the bark in strips of convenient length, and water-rot it in the same manner as rotting flax or hemp. When this was done, the inside bark would peel off and split up so fine as to make a pretty considerably rough and good-for-but-little kind of a rope. Of this, however, we were very glad, and let no ship owner with his grass ropes laugh at us. We made two kinds of boxes for furniture. One kind was of hickory bark with the outside shaved off. This we would take off all around the tree, the size of which would determine the calibre of our box. Into one end we would place a flat piece of bark or puncheon cut round to fit in the bark, which stood on end the same as when on the tree. There was little need of hooping, as the strength of the bark would keep that all right enough. Its shrinkage would make the top unsightly in a parlor now-a-days, but then they were considered quite an addition to the furniture. A much finer article was made of slippery-elm bark, shaved smooth and with the inside out, bent round and sewed together where the ends of the hoop or main bark lapped over. The length of the bark was around the box, and inside out. A bottom was made of a piece of the same bark dried flat, and a lid like that of a common band box, made in the same way. This was the finest furniture in a lady's dressing room, and then, as now, with the finest furniture, the lapped or sewed side was turned to the wall and the prettiest part to the spectator. They were usually made oval, and while the bark was green were easily ornamented with draw- ings of birds, trees, &c., agreeably to the taste and skill of the fair manufacturer. As we belonged to the Society of Friends, it may be fairly presumed that our band boxes were not thus ornamented.
We settled on beech land, which took much labor to clear. We could do no better than clear out the smaller stuff and burn the brush, &c., around the beeches which, in spite of the girdling and burning we could do to them, would leaf out the first year, and often a little the second. The land, however, was very rich, and would bring better corn than might be expected. We had to tend it principally with the hoe, that is, to chop down the nettles, the water-weed, and the touch-me-not. Grass, careless, lambs-quarter, and Spanish nee- dles were reserved to pester the better prepared farmer. We cleared a small turnip patch, which we got in about the 10th of August. We sowed in timothy seed, which took well, and next year we had a little hay besides. The tops and blades of the corn were also carefully saved for our horse, cow, and the two sheep. The turnips were sweet and good, and in the fall we took care to gather walnuts and hickory nuts, which were very abun- dant. These, with the turnips which we scraped, supplied the place of fruit. I have al- ways been partial to scraped turnips, and could now beat any three dandies at scraping them. Johnny-cake, also, when we had meal to make it of, helped to make up our eve- ning's repast. The Sunday morning biscuit had all evaporated, but the loss was partially supplied by the nuts and turnips. Our regular supper was mush and milk, and by the time we had shelled our corn, stemmed tobacco, and plaited straw to make hats, &c., &c., the mush and milk had seemingly decamped from the neighborhood of our ribs. To re- lieve this difficulty, my brother and I would bake a thin johnny-cake, part of which we would eat, and leave the rest till morning. At daylight we would eat the balance as we walked from the house to work.
The methods of eating mush and milk were various. Some would sit around the pot, and every one take therefrom for himself. Some would set a table and each have his tin cup of milk, and with a pewter spoon take just as much mush from the dish or the pot, if it was on the table, as he thought would fill his mouth or throat, then lowering it into the milk, would take some to wash it down. This method kept the milk cool, and by
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66
BROWN COUNTY.
frequent repetitions the pioneer would contract a faculty of correctly estimating the proper amount of each. Others would mix mush and milk together.
To get grinding done was often a great difficulty, by reason of the scarcity of mills, the freezes in winter, and droughts in summer. We had often to manufacture meal (when we had corn) in any way we could get the corn to pieces. We soaked and pounded it, we shaved it, we planed it, and, at the proper season, grated it. When one of our neighbors got a hand-mill, it was thought quite an acquisition to the neighborhood. In after years, when in time of freezing or drought, we could get grinding by waiting for our turn no more than one day and a night at a horse mill, we thought ourselves happy. To save meal we often made pumpkin bread, in which when meal was scarce, the pumpkin would so predominate as to render it next to impossible to tell our bread from that article, either by taste, looks, or the amount of nutriment it contained. Salt was five dollars per bushel, and we used none in our corn bread, which we soon liked as well without it. Often has sweat ran into my mouth, which tasted as fresh and flat as distilled water. What meat we had at first was fresh, and but little of that, for had we been hunters we had no time to practice it.
We had no candles, and cared but little about them except for summer use. In Carolina we had the real fat light-wood, not merely pine knots, but the fat straight pine. This, from the brilliancy of our parlor, of winter evenings, might be supposed to put, not only can- dles, lamps, camphine, Greenough's chemical oil, but even gas itself, to the blush. In the West we had not this, but my business was to ramble the woods every evening for sea- soned sticks, or the bark of the shelly hickory, for light. "Tis true that our light was not as good as even candles, but we got along without fretting, for we depended more upon the goodness of our eyes than we did upon the brilliancy of the light.
Barnesville, 18 miles wsw. of St. Clairsville, is a large and flour- ishing town, containing 2 churches, 1 male academy, 1 masonic hall, and a population of about 750. Martinsville, 2 miles Nw. of Wheel- ing city, on the Ohio river, contains 3 churches, 3 stores, and a population of 400. Morristown, 10 miles w. of St. Clairsville, on the National road, has 5 stores, 2 churches, and 350 people. Flush- ing, 10 miles Nw. of St. Clairsville, has 3 stores and 250 people. Bellaire, Belmont, Hendrysburg, Jacobsburg, Somerton, Uniontown, West Wheeling, Burlington, Centreville, Farmington, Loydsville, Shepperdstown, and Steinersvile, are also small villages.
BROWN.
BROWN was formed from Adams and Clermont, March 1, 1817, and named from Gen. Jacob Brown, an officer of the war of 1812. Excepting the Ohio river hills, the surface is level or undulating, and the soil generally fertile : the northern part, more especially, is adapted to grazing, and the southern to grain. The staples are wheat, corn, rye, oats and pork. The following are the names of its townships in 1840, with their population.
Byrd,
2422
Huntington, 1957
Pleasant, 1485
Clark,
1290
Jackson, 1253
Scott,
1101
Eagle, 888
Lewis,
2044
Sterling, 608
Franklin, 1199
Perry,
1869
Union, 2071
Green,
358
Pike,
792
Washington, 848
Population of Brown county, in 1820, 13,367; in 1830, 17,866 ; in 1840, 22,715, or 44 inhabitants to a square mile.
A short time previous to the settlement of this county, a severe
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BROWN COUNTY.
battle was fought at a locality, called " the salt lick," in Perry town- ship, in the northern part of the county, between a party of Ken- tuckians and some Indians, under Tecumseh. The circumstances are here given from Drake's life of that celebrated Indian chief.
"In the month of March, 1792, some horses were stolen by the Indians, from the settlements in Mason county, Kentucky. A party of whites, to the number of thirty-six, was immediately raised for the purpose of pursuing them. It embraced Kenton, Whiteman, M'Intyre, Downing, Washburn, Calvin and several other expe- rienced woodsmen. The first named, Simon Kenton, a distinguished Indian fighter, was placed in command. The trail of the Indians being taken, it was found they had crossed the Ohio, just below the mouth of Lee's creek, which was reached by the pursuing party towards evening. Having prepared rafts, they crossed the Ohio that night, and encamped. Early next morning the trail was again taken and pursued, on a north course, all day, the weather being bad and the ground wet. On the ensuing morning, twelve of the men were unable to continue the pursuit, and were permitted to return. The remainder followed the trail until eleven o'clock, A. M., when a bell was heard, which they supposed indicated their approach to the Indian camp. A halt was called, and all useless baggage and clothing laid aside. Whiteman and two others were sent ahead as spies, in different directions, each being followed by a detachment of the party. After moving forward some distance, it was found that the bell was approaching them. They halted, and soon per- ceived a solitary Indian riding towards them. When within one hundred and fifty yards, he was fired at and killed. Kenton directed the spies to proceed, being now satisfied that the camp of the In- dians was near at hand. They pushed on rapidly, and after going about four miles, found the Indians encamped on the south-east side of the east fork of the Little Miami, a few miles above the place where the town of Williamsburg has since been built. The indications of a considerable body of Indians were so strong, that the expediency of an attack at that hour of the day was doubted by Kenton. A hurried council was held, in which it was determined to retire, if it could be done without discovery, and lie concealed until night, and then assault the camp. This plan was carried into execution. Two of the spies were left to watch the Indians, and ascertain whether the pursuing party had been discovered. The others retreated for some distance, and took a commanding position on a ridge. The spies watched until night, and then reported to their commander, that they had not been discovered by the enemy. The men being wet and cold, they were now marched down into a hollow, where they kindled fires, dried their clothes, and put their rifles in order. The party was then divided into three detachments,-Kenton com- manding the right, M'Intyre the centre, and Downing the left. By agreement, the three divisions were to move towards the camp, simultaneously, and when they had approached as near as possible, without giving an alarm, were to be guided in the commencement
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BROWN COUNTY.
of the attack, by the fire from Kenton's party. When Downing and his detachment had approached close to the camp, an Indian rose upon his feet, and began to stir up the fire, which was but dimly burning. Fearing a discovery, Downing's party instantly shot him down. This was followed by a general fire from the three detach- ments, upon the Indians who were sleeping under some marquees and bark tents, close upon the margin of the stream. But un- fortunately, as it proved in the sequel, Kenton's party had taken "Boone," as their watch-word. This name happening to be as familiar to the enemy as themselves, led to some confusion in the course of the engagement. When fired upon, the Indians, instead of retreating across the stream, as had been anticipated, boldly stood to their arms, returned the fire of the assailants, and rushed upon them. They were reinforced, moreover, from a camp on the oppo- site side of the river, which, until then, had been unperceived by the whites. In a few minutes, the Indians and the Kentuckians were blended with each other, and the cry of "Boone," and " Che Boone," arose simultaneously from each party.
"It was after midnight when the attack was made, and there being no moon, it was very dark. Kenton, perceiving that his men were likely to be overpowered, ordered a retreat, after the attack had lasted for a few minutes ; this was continued through the remainder of the night and part of the next day, the Indians pursuing them, but without killing more than one of the retreating party. The Kentuckians lost but two men, Alexander M'Intyre and John Barr. The loss of the Indians was much greater, according to the state- ments of some prisoners, who, after the peace of 1795, were re- leased and returned to Kentucky. They related, that fourteen In- dians were killed, and seventeen wounded. They stated further, that there were in the camp about one hundred warriors, among them several chiefs of note, including Tecumseh, Battise, Black Snake, Wolf and Chinskau; and that the party had been formed for the purpose of annoying the settlements in Kentucky, and attacking boats descending the Ohio river. Kenton and his party were three days in reaching Limestone, during two of which they were without food, and destitute of sufficient clothing to protect them from the cold winds and rains of March. The foregoing particulars of this expedition are taken from the manuscript narrative of Gen. Benja- min Whiteman, one of the early and gallant pioneers to Kentucky, now a resident of Green county, Ohio.
"The statements of Anthony Shane and of Stephen Ruddell, touch- ing this action, vary in some particulars from that which has been given above, and also from the narrative in McDonald's Sketches. The principal difference relates to the number of Indians in the engagement, and the loss sustained by them. They report but two killed, and that the Indian force was less than that of the whites. Ruddell states, that at the commencement of the attack, Tecumseh was lying by the fire, outside of the tents. When the first gun was heard, he sprang to his feet, and calling upon Sinnamatha to follow
69
BROWN COUNTY.
his example, and charge, he rushed forward and killed one of the whites [John Barr] with his war-club. The other Indians, raising the war-whoop, seized their arms, and rushing upon Kenton and his party, compelled them, after a severe contest of a few minutes, to retreat. One of the Indians, in the midst of the engagement, fell into the river, and in the effort to get out of the water, made so much noise, that it created a belief on the minds of the whites, that a reinforcement was crossing the stream to aid Tecumseh. This is supposed to have hastened the order from Kenton, for his men to retreat. The afternoon prior to the battle, one of Kenton's men, by the name of M'Intyre, succeeded in catching an Indian horse, which he tied in the rear of the camp ; and, when a retreat was ordered, he mounted and rode off. Early in the morning, Tecumseh and four of his men set off in pursuit of the retreating party. Having fallen upon the trail of M'Intyre, they pursued it for some distance, and at length overtook him. He had struck a fire, and was cooking some
meat. When M'Intyre discovered his pursuers, he instantly fled at full speed. Tecumseh and two others followed, and were fast gain- ing on him, when he turned and raised his gun. Two of the In- dians, who happened to be in advance of Tecumseh, sprung behind trees, but he rushed upon M'Intyre and made him prisoner. He was tied and taken back to the battle ground. Upon reaching it, Tecumseh deemed it prudent to draw off his men, lest the whites should rally and renew the attack. He requested some of the In- dians to catch the horses, but they, hesitating, he undertook to do it himself, assisted by one of the party. When he returned to camp with the horses, he found that his men had killed M'Intyre. At this act of cruelty to a prisoner, he was exceedingly indignant ; declar- ing that it was a cowardly act to kill a man when tied, and a pris- oner. The conduct of Tecumseh, in this engagement, and in the events of the following morning, is creditable alike to his courage and humanity. Resolutely brave in battle, his arm was never up- lifted against a prisoner, nor did he suffer violence to be inflicted upon a captive, without promptly rebuking it."
McDonald, in speaking of this action, says :
" The celebrated Tecumseh commanded the Indians. His cau- tious and fearless intrepidity made him a host wherever he went. In military tactics, night attacks are not allowable, except in cases like this, when the assailing party are far inferior in numbers. Sometimes, in night attacks, panics and confusion are created in the attacked party, which may render them a prey to inferior numbers. Kenton trusted to something like this on the present occasion, but was disappointed ; for when Tecumseh was present, his influence over the minds of his followers infused that confidence in his tact and intrepidity, that they could only be defeated by force of num- bers."
Georgetown, the county seat, is 107 miles from Columbus, 30 from Hillsboro, 46 from Wilmington, 21 from Batavia and West Union. It was laid off in the year 1819, and its original propietors
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BROWN COUNTY.
were Allen Woods and Henry Newkirk. It is a smart business town, containing 1 Presbyterian, 1 Baptist, 1 Christian Disciples, and 1 Methodist church, a newspaper printing office, and about 800 inhabitants. The view shows the public square, with the old court
Public Square, Georgetown.
house on the left, and on the right, in the distance, a new and elegant Methodist church. It is contemplated to erect, shortly, a new court house, in good architectural taste. Georgetown was the residence of the late Gen. THOMAS L. HAMER, who died in Mexico.
He commenced the practice of the law in Georgetown, in the year 1820, which he continued until June, 1846, at which time he volunteered in the Mexican war. He was elected Major of the 1st Reg. Ohio Volunteers, and received the appointment of Brig. Gen. from the President, before his departure for the seat of war. In that station, he acquitted himself with great ability up to the period of his death. He was in the battle at Monterey, and on Maj. Gen. Butler's being wounded, succeeded him in the command. He dis- tinguished himself on this occasion, by his coolness and courage.
Gen. Hamer was endowed with most extraordinary abilities as an orator, advocate and lawyer. He represented the district in which he resided, six years in congress, and distinguished himself as an able and sagacious statesman ; and at the time of his death, was a member elect to congress.
The estimation in which he was held by his professional brethren, may be feebly, gathered from the proceedings of the members of the bar of his county, the proceedings of which meeting were pre- sented to the Supreme Court of Ohio, for Brown county, on the 23d of April, and the court requested to have the same entered upon their journals ; whereupon, Judge Read expressed the views of the court, as follows :
'" It is with pleasure that the court direct the proceedings of the bar to be entered of record, as the customary tribute to distinguished worth. It is proper to add, that the court sympathize deeply with
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BROWN COUNTY.
the family of Gen. Hamer, and the bar, and the community, in the loss we have sustained. Gen. Hamer was an ornament to the bar, and had distinguished himself in the counsels of the nation, and won to himself renown upon her battle fields. It is proper that one should cherish his memory, and keep his virtues and example before us. We, therefore, direct the clerk to enter these proceedings of record, as a testimonial of the high estimation entertained for the deceased by the court and the bar, and as a slight expression of the deep regret felt for his loss."
In the county, there are two large settlements of colored persons, numbering. about 500 each. One of these is 3 miles north of George- town ; the other is in the NE. part of the county, about 16 miles distant. They emigrated from Virginia, in the year 1818, and were originally the slaves of Samuel Gist, who manumitted and settled them here, upon two large surveys of land. Their situation, unfor- tunately, is not prosperous.
Ripley, from the Kentucky side of the Ohio.
Ripley is upon the Ohio, 10 miles from Georgetown, 9 below Maysville, and 50 above Cincinnati. The town was laid out about the period of the war of 1812, by Col. James Poage, a native of Virginia, and first named Staunton, from Staunton, Va .; it was afterwards changed to Ripley, from Gen. Ripley, an officer of dis- tinction in the war. When the county was first formed, the courts were directed to be held at the house of Alex. Campbell, in this town, until a permanent seat of justice should be established. For a time, it was supposed that this would be the county seat ; a court house was begun, but before it was finished, the county seat was permanently established at Georgetown. The courts were, for a time, held in the 1st Presbyterian church, which was the first public
72
BUTLER COUNTY.
house of worship erected. Ripley is the largest and most business place in the county, and one of the most flourishing villages on the Ohio river, within the limits of the state. The view shows the central part of the town only ; it extends about a mile on the river. Ripley contains 2 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, 1 Associate Reformed, 1 New Light, and 1 Catholic church, 20 stores, 1 newspaper print- ing office, 1 iron foundery, 1 carding machine, 3 flouring mills, and had, in 1840, 1245 inhabitants ; since, it has considerably increased. The Ripley female seminary, under the charge of Wm. C. Bissell and lady, has about forty pupils. The "Ripley College" was char- tered by the state, but not endowed : it is now a high school, under the care of the Rev. John Rankin, and an assistant, and has about forty pupils, of both sexes. This institution admits colored children within its walls; and there are quite a number of people, in this region, who hold to the doctrine of equal rights, politically and so- cially, to all, irrespective of color.
Aberdeen, opposite Maysville, Ky., was founded by Nathan Ellis, who was either from Scotland or of Scotch extraction. It contains several stores and churches, and had, in 1840, 405 inhabitants. Hig- ginsport, on the river, 7 miles from Georgetown, is a considerable village, and has 3 churches, 4 stores, and, in 1840, had 393 inhab- itants. Russelville is also a village of note, 7 miles E. of George- town, and is famous for its churches, of which it has seven, together with as many stores, and about 350 inhabitants. In the Perry town- ship, in the extreme north part of the county, are many Catholics. They have a cathedral of much splendor, and a nunnery. Decatur, Hamersville, Arnheim, Sardinia, Fincastle, Carlisle, New Hope, Fayetteville and Greenbush are small villages in the county.
BUTLER.
BUTLER was formed in 1803, from Hamilton, and named in honor of Gen. Richard Butler, a distinguished officer of the revolution, who fell in St. Clair's defeat. The surface is level. It is all within the blue limestone formation, and is one of the richest agricultural tracts in Ohio. Its staples are corn, wheat, oats and pork. It pro- duces more corn than any county of the state, the annual crop being over two millions of bushels ! A large proportion of its population are of German descent. The following are the names of its town- ships, in 1840, with their population.
Fairfield, 3580 Milford, 1868
Ross, 1524
Hanover, 1680 Morgan, 1726 St. Clair, 2307
Lemon, 3065
Oxford, 3422
Union, 2118
Liberty, 1479
Reily,
1758
Wayne, 1562
Madison, 2208
In 1820, its population was 21,755; in 1830, 27,143; in 1840 28,207, or 59 inhabitants to a square mile.
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