Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 87

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006

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550

DELAWARE COUNTY.

charging his gun, rushed towards the camp yelling Indians ! Indians! with all his might.

The sentinels, supposing the alarm to pro- ceed from one of their number, joined in the cry and ran to quarters ; the men sprang to their feet in complete confusion, and the courageous attempted to form on the ground designated the night before in case of attack ; but the first lieutenant, thinking there was more safety in depending upon legs than arms, took to his heels and dashed into the woods. Seeing the consternation and im- pending disgrace of his company, the captain quickly proclaimed the hoax and ordered a halt, but the lieutenant's frightened imagina- tion converted every sound into Indian yells and the sanguinary war-whoop, and the londer the captain shouted, the faster he ran, till the sounds sank away in the distance and he supposed the captain and his adherents had succumbed to the tomahawk and the scalping-knife. Supposing he had been asleep a few minutes only, he took the moon for his guide and flew for home, but having had time to gain the western horizon she led him in the wrong direction, and after break- ing down saplings and running through brush some ten miles through the woods, he reached Radnor settlement just at daybreak, bare- headed and with his garments flowing in a thousand streams. The people, roused hur- riedly from their slumber and horrified with his report that the whole company was mas- sacred but him who alone had escaped, began a general and rapid flight.

Each conveyed the tidings to his neighbor, and just after sunrise they came rushing through Delaware, mostly on horse-back, many in wagons, and some on foot, present- ing all those grotesque appearances that frontier settlers naturally would, supposing the Indians close in their rear. Many anec- dotes are told, amusing now to us who can- not realize their feelings, that exhibit the varied hues of courage and trepidation char- acterizing different persons, and also show that there is no difference between real and supposed danger, and yet those actuated by the latter seldom receive the sympathy of their fellows.

One family, named Penry, drove so fast that they bounced a little boy, two or three years old, out of the wagon, near Delaware, and did not miss him till they had gone five or six miles on their way to Worthington, and then upon consultation concluded it was too late to recover him amid such imminent danger, and so yielded him up as a painful sacrifice ! But the little fellow found protec- tion from others, and is now living in the western part of the county. One woman, in the confusion of hurrying off, forgot her babe till after starting, and ran back to get. it, but being peculiarly absent-minded she caught up a stick of wood from the chimney corner and hastened off, leaving her child again quietly sleeping in the cradle ! A large portion of the people fled to Worthington and Franklinton, and some kept on to Chilli- cothe.

In Delaware the men who could be spared from conveying away their families, or who had none, rallied for defence and sent scouts to Norton to reconnoitre, where they found the people quietly engaged in their or- dinary avocations, having received a message from the captain ; but it was too late to save the other settlements from a precipitate flight. Upon the whole, it was quite an in- jury to the county, as a large amount of produce was lost from the intrusion of cattle and the want of hands to harvest it; many of the people being slow in returning and some never did. Capt. Drake, with his company, marched on to Sandusky to execute the duty assigned him without knowing the effect produced in his rear. He has since been associate judge and filled several other offices in the county, and is still living, re- spected by his neighbors and characterized by hospitality and good humor and his strong penchant for anecdote and fun.

Early Customs .- During the early period of the county the people were in a condition of complete social equality ; no aristocratic distinctions were thought of in society, and the first line of demarkation drawn was to separate the very bad from the general mass. Their parties were for raisings and log-roll- ings, and the labor being finished, their sports usually were shooting and gymnastic exercises with the men, and convivial amuse- ments among the women; no punctilious formality, nor ignoble aping the fashions of licentious Paris, marred their assemblies, but all were happy and enjoyed themselves in see- ing others so. The rich and the poor dressed alike; the men generally wearing hunting- shirts and buckskin pants, and the women attired in coarse fabrics produced by their own hands. Such was their common and holiday dress, and if a fair damsel wished a superb dress for her bridal day, her highest aspiration was to obtain a common American cotton check. The latter, which now sells for a shilling a yard, then cost one dollar, and five yards was deemed an ample pattern. Silks, satins and fancy goods, that now inflate our vanity and deplete our purses, were not then even dreamed of.

The cabins were furnished in the same style of simplicity ; the bedstead was home- made, and often consisted of forked sticks driven into the ground with cross poles to support the clapboards or the cord. One pot, kettle, and frying-pan were the only articles considered indispensable, though some included the tea-kettle; a few plates and dishes upon the shelf in one corner was as satisfactory as is now a cupboard full of china, and their food relished well from a puncheon table. Some of the weathiest families had a few split-bottom chairs, but, as a general thing, stools and benches answered the place of lounges and sofas, and at first the green sward or smoothly levelled carth served the double purpose of floor and carpet. Whisky toddy was considered luxury enough for any party-the woods furnished abundance of venison, and corn pone supplied the place of

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DELAWARE COUNTY.

every variety of pastry. Flour could not for some time be obtained nearer than Chillicothe or Zanesville ; goods were very high, and none but the most common kinds were brought here, and had to be packed on horses or mules from Detroit, or wagoned from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, thence down the Ohio river in flat boats to the mouth of the Scioto, and then packed or hauled up. The freight was enormous, costing often $4 per ton. Tea retailed at from two to three dollars a pound, coffee 75 cents, salt $5 to $6 per bushel (50lbs.). The coarsest calicoes were $1 per yard, whisky from $1 to $2 per gallon, and as much of the latter was sold as of all other articles, for several years after Delaware was laid ont; but it must be remembered that this then was the border town, and had considerable trade with the Indians.

It was the common practice to set a bottle on each end of the counter for customers to help themselves gratuitously to enable them to purchase advantageously ! Many people suffered hardships and endured privations that now would seem insupportable. In the fall of 1803 Henry Perry, after getting up his cabin near Delhi, left his two sons and re- turned to Philadelphia for the remainder of his family, but finding his wife sick, and after- wards being sick himself, could not get back till the next June. These two little boys, Levi and Pepper, only eleven and nine years old, remained there alone eight months, fifteen miles from any white family, and surrounded by Indians, with no food but the rabbits they could catch in the hollow logs ; the remains of one deer that the wolves killed near them, and a little corn meal that they occasionally obtained of Thomas Cellar by following down the "Indian trace." The winter was a severe one, and their cabin was open, having neither daubing, fire-place; nor chim- ney ; they had no gun, and were wholly unaccustomed to forest life, being fresh from Wales, and yet these little fellows not only struggled through but actually made a con- siderable clearing 1 Jacob Foust, at an early day, when his wife was sick and could obtain nothing to eat that she relished, procured a bushel of wheat, and throwing it upon his shoulders carried it to Zanesville to get it ground, a distance of more than seventy-five miles, by the tortuous path he had to traverse, and then shouldering his flour re- traced his steps home, fording the streams and camping out nights.

BIOGRAPHY .- Col. Moses Byxbe was for several years the most prominent man in the county, being the owner of some 8,000 acres of valuable land in Berkshire and Berlin, and joint owner with Judge Baldwin of about thirty thousand acres more, the sale of which he had the entire control. These were mili- tary lands which he sold on credit, at prices varying from two and a half to ten dollars an acre. He possessed a complete knowledge of human nature, and was an energetic and prompt business man. Upon the organiza- tion of the county he was elected one of the associate judges, and continued to hold the

office till 1822. He was afflicted with partial insanity before he died, which occurred in 1827 at the age of 67.

Solomon Smith, Esq., was born in New Salem, N. H., and came here with Col. Byxbe in 1804. He was the first sheriff in the county, and was the first justice of the peace in the township, which office he held, by re- peated elections, more than twenty years. He was also the first postmaster, and con- tinued many years in that capacity. The responsible offices of county treasurer and' county auditor he also filled for many years, and discharged the duties of all these stations with an accuracy seldom excelled, and a fidelity never questioned. In him was ex- hibited an instance of a constant office-holder and an honest man, and for a long time he possessed more personal popularity than any other man in the county. He died of con- gestive fever, at Sandusky City, on his return from New York, July 10, 1845, in his 58th year, and his remains were brought here for interment.

Hon. Ezekiel Brown was born in Orange county, N. Y., in 1760, and moved to North- umberland county, Pa., when about ten years old. In 1776 he volunteered and marched to join Washington's army, which he reached just after the battle of Trenton. Ile partici- pated in four different engagements, and in 1778 joined a company of rangers called out against the Indians. On the 24th of May, when out scouting with two others, they same across a party of fifteen Indians watch- ing a house, and were themselves discovered at the same moment. The Indians fired and killed one man, and Brown and his comrade instantly returned the fire, wounding an In- dian, and then fled. The other escaped, but he was not fleet enough, and was captured. They were Delawares and Cayugas, and first took him to Chemung, an Indian town on Tioga river, where he had to run the gaunt- let, being badly beaten, and received a severe wound on his head from a tomahawk, but he succeeded in reaching the council-house with- out being knocked down.

After a few days they resumed their march to the north, and met Colonel Butler with a large body of British, tories and Indians on their way to attack Wyoming, and he was compelled to run the gauntlet again to gratify thesavages. This time he did not get through, being felled by a war-club and awfully man- gled. He recovered and proceeded on to the main town of the Cayugas, where Scipio, N. Y., now stands, and having again passed the gauntlet ordeal successfully he was adopted by a family, in the place of a son killed at Fort Stanwix. Afterwards he was taken to Canada, and kept to the close of the war in 1783, when he received a passport from the British general, M'Clure, and returned, after an absence of five years, to his friends in Pennsylvania. In 1800 he moved to Ohio, and in 1808 he settled near Sunbury, and was immediately elected one of the first county commissioners. Afterwards he was elected associate judge, and served in several minor

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DELAWARE COUNTY.

offices, and died about five years ago, leaving the reputation of an upright man.

Capt. John Minter, from Kentucky, one of the early settlers in Radnor, and brother- in-law of Col. Crawford, who was burnt by the Indians, was, in his younger days, a great hunter, and became famous for a terrible bear fight, in which he came very near losing his life. When hunting alone one day he came across a very large bear and fired at him. The bear fell, and reloading his gun Minter advanced, supposing him dead, and touched his nose with the muzzle of the gun, when he instantly reared upon his hind legs to seize him. Minter fired again, which increased his rage, only inflicting a flesh wound, and then threw his hatchet at him ; and as the bear sprang forward to grasp him he struck him with the rifle on the head with all his might, producing no other effect than shivering the gun to pieces. Too late then to escape he drew his big knife from his sheath and made a plunge at his heart, but old Bruin, by a stroke of his paw, whirled the knife into the air, and enfolding its weaponless owner with his huge arms both rolled to the ground.

A fearful struggle then ensued between the combatants : one ruled by unvarying in- stinct, and the other guided by the dictates of reason. The former depended wholly upon hugging his adversary to death, while the latter aimed at presenting his body in such positions as would best enable him to withstand the vice-like squeeze till he could loosen the grasp. He was about six feet in height, possessing large bones and well-de- veloped muscles, and being properly propor- tioned was very athletic. The woods were open and clear of underbrush, and in their struggles they rolled in every direction. Sev- eral times he thought the severity of the hug would finish him ; but by choking the bear he would compel him to release his hold to knock off his hands, when he would recover his breath and gain a better position. After maintaining the contest in this way several hours they, happily for him, rolled back near where his knife lay, which inspired him with buoyant hope, but he had to make many in- effectual efforts before he could tumble the bear within reach of it. Having finally re- covered it he stabbed him at every chance till be at last bled to death, only relaxing his hold when life became extinet.

He attempted to get up, but was too much exhausted, and crawling to a log, against which he leaned, his heart sickened as . he contemplated the scene. Not a rag was left on him, and over his back, arms and legs his flesh was lacerated to the bones by the claws of the bear. By crawling and walking he reached home after night with no other cov- ering than a gore of blood from head to foot. His friends, who went out next morning to survey the ground and bring in the trophy, said the surface was torn up by them over a space of at least half an acre. After several weeks he recovered, but he carried with him the cicatrices and welts, some of which were more than a quarter of an inch thick, till he

died, which occurred about fifteen years ago. He never desired another bear hug, but gave up hunting, and turning his attention to agriculture left his children a comfortable patrimony and a good name.

Rev. Joseph S. Hughes, from Washington, Pa., came to Delaware in 1810, and organized the first Presbyterian church here, and also those in Liberty and Radnor. For a short time, he was chaplain in the army, and was with Hull when he surrendered, at which time he returned. The societies being unable to pay much salary, he sought his support mainly from other sources. serving several years as clerk of the court, and afterwards in the capacity of editor. He possessed a liberal education, superadded to oratorical powers of a superior order by nature. As an orator he is described as being graceful, mellifluous, persuasive and convincing, and he has left the reputation among many of the old settlers of being the most effective speaker that they have ever heard. In the social circle, too, he excelled, but unfortunately he had an in- domitable penchant for festivity and sport. Many anecdotes are related detracting from his clerical character, and when dwelt upon, we must not forget to associate the habits and customs of the times in which they oc- curred.

For instance, it is said that one time, on the occasion of a wedding at Capt. Minter's, after the ceremonies had been solemnized and the luxuries duly honored, he started off about dusk to go to a place some five miles through the woods, but after dark returned somewhat scratched by the bushes, and reported having been lost, and concluded to stay till morning. According to the general custom on such oc- casions, all the young folks in the settlement had assembled for a frolic, and they charged him with having returned to participate with them, and as he was a good musician, and their "knight of the bow " had disappointed them, they insisted upon his playing the fiddle for them to dance, which he did all night, with an occasional intermission for re- freshment or to romp! Some of the old citizens say also that he was a good hand at pitching quoits, and as it was common to choose sides and pitch for the "grog," he seldom even then backed out !

For these and other charges he was ar- raigned before the presbytery, where, declin- ing all assistance, and relying on his own ingenuity and eloquence, he made a successful defence. He continued to preach as " stated supply " until he was suddenly cut off by an epidemic fever in the fall of 1823, and was interred in the old burying-ground, but no tombstone points out the place where his mouldering remains lie. He was succeeded in 1824 by Rev. Henry Vandeman, the first installed pastor, and who has retained his charge ever since, a fact that is mentioned, because in the west preachers seldom retain a pastoral charge so long, and in this presbytery there is no similar instance, excepting that of Dr. Hodge, of Columbus.

Antiquities .- The remains of ancient forti-

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fications are found in three places in the county, the most remarkable of which is in the lower part of Liberty, about eleven miles below Delaware, on the east bank of the Olentangy.

Indian Villages .- There were formerly two villages belonging to the Delawares, mostly within the limits of the present town of Delaware. One occupied the ground around the east end of William street, and the other was at the west end, extending from near the sawmill to the hill-side. Upon the ground now occupied by the town, they cultivated a corn-field of about 400 acres. The Mingoes had a small village half a mile above town, on " horse-shoe bottom," where they also raised corn.

Many of the old pioneers entertained tow- ards the Indians an inveterate hatred, and did not consider it really criminal even to murder them. One time, after the last war, a dead Indian was seen floating down the Scioto on two logs, iashed together, having his gun and all his accoutrements with him. He had been shot, and the people believed the murderer was George Shanon, who had been in service considerably during the war, and one time when ont, not far from Lower Sandusky, with a small company, fell in with a party of warriors and had to retreat. He lingered behind till he got a shot, and killed one. As soon as he fired, several Indians sprang forward to catch him alive, but being swift on foot, he could easily keep ahead, when he suddenly came to an open field, across which he had to run or be cut off. The Indians gained the first side just as he

was leaping the fence on the other and fired at him, one ball entering his hip. He staunched the blood by stuffing the hole with a portion of his shirt, that they might not track him, and crawled into the brush ; but they gave up the chase, thinking they had not hit him, and being convinced of his su- perior fleetness. Shanon got into camp and was conveyed home, but he was always lame afterwards, and fostered an unrelenting desire for vengeance towards the whole race, not excepting the innocent and harmless.

As late as 1820 two Indians were murdered on Fulton's creek. A party came down there to hunt, as was customary with them every fall, and Henry Swartz ordered them off. They replied, "No ! the land belongs to the white man-the game to the Indian," and insisted that they were friends and ought not to be disturbed. A few days after, two of their number were missing, and they hunted the entire country over without finding them, and at last found evidence of human bones where there had been a fire, and immediately charged Swartz with killing and burning them. They threatened vengeance on him, and for several years after he had to be con- stantly on his guard to prevent being waylaid. It was never legally investigated, but the neighbors all believed that Swartz, aided probably by Ned Williams, murdered and disposed of them in the manner the Indians suspected, and at one time talked of driving them out of the settlement. They were con- sidered bad men, and never prospered after- wards.

DELAWARE IN 1846 .- Delaware, the county-seat, is pleasantly situated on rolling ground upon the western bank of the Olentangy river, twenty-four miles north from Columbus. The engraving shows the public buildings on one of the principal streets of this neat and thriving town. The churches which appear are respectively, commencing on the right, the First Presbyterian, the Episcopal, and the Second Presbyterian ; between the first two the Methodist church, a substan- tial stone structure, is partially shown in the distance. The large building seen beyond the Second Presbyterian church is the " Hinton House," one of the largest and best constructed hotels in Ohio. The town contains the Ohio Wesleyan University, 4 taverns (one, the Hinton House, being among the largest in Ohio, having over 100 rooms), 8 dry-goods stores, 3 drug stores, 1 shoe store, 1 con- fectionery and variety store, and 2 small groceries; 2 divisions of the Sons of Temperance, 1 Odd Fellows' lodge, 1 Masonic society, 2 printing offices, from which issue weekly the Olentangy Gazette (Whig), by Abel Thomson, and the Loco Foco (Dem.), by George F. Stayman. The latter commenced in 1845; the former in 1821, by Hon. E. Griswold, then called the Delaware Patron and Franklin Chronicle. The first paper in town was published in 1818 by Rev. J. Drake and Joseph S. Hughs. Delaware also contains 2 saw mills, 1 flouring mill, 1 oil mill, and the woollen factory of Messrs. Howard & Sharp, carrying on quite an extensive business ; 8 lawyers, 7 physicians, a full quota of mechanics, 275 dwellings, and about 2,000 inhabitants, including South Delaware, which properly belongs to it, though not included in the corporation. The Delaware bank, with a capital of $100,000, is a branch of the State bank. A bank was opened in 1812, but failing to get a charter the next winter it wound up, redeem- ing all its notes; and during the same year a swindling concern, called the

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"Scioto Exporting Company," was started by a posse of counterfeiters, who drew in some others, but it was destroyed by the citizens before they could get a large amount of paper afloat. The population of Delaware in 1840 was 898.

Delaware was laid out in 1808 by Col. Moses Byxbe and Hon. Henry Baldwin, of Pittsburg, who had purchased a large tract of land for that purpose. They sold the lots at private sale, at the uniform price of $30, the purchaser taking his choice. Joseph Barber put up the first cabin in the fall of 1807. It stood close to the spring, and was made of poles, Indian fashion, fifteen feet square, in which he kept tavern. The principal settlers were Messrs. Byxbe, William Little, Dr. Lamb, Solomon Smith, Elder Jacob Drake (Baptist preacher), Thomas Butler, and Ira Carpenter. In the spring of 1808 Moses Byxbe built the first frame house, on William street, lot 70, and the first brick house was erected the ensuing fall by Elder Drake, on Winter street, where Thomas Pettibone's mansion now stands ; being unable to get but one mason, his wife laid all the brick of the inside walls. The court-house was built in 1815, the year in which the town was incorporated. The Methodists commenced the first meeting-house in 1823 (now the schoolhouse), but it was not finished for several years. The old churches of the First Presby- terians and the Episcopalians were built in 1825, upon the sites on which the present beautiful edifices were erected in 1845. The Second Presbyterian church was erected in 1844, the new Methodist church in 1846, and the Lutheran church in 1835 .- Old Edition.

The Ohio Wesleyan University has been recently established at Delaware, with fine prospects of success-the Rev. Edward Thomson, D. D., president. The college edifice stands on a pleasant elevation in the southern part of the village, and embraces within its grounds ten acres of land, including the sulphur spring.

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Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume I, Part 87

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio Number of Pages: 1006

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 1006