Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II, Part 13

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 916

USA > Ohio > Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II > Part 13

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).

By the treaty of September 29, 1817, at the foot of the Maumee Rapids, the Senecas and Shawnees had a reservation around Lewistown, in this county ; by a treaty, ratified April 6, 1832, the Indians vacated their lands and removed to the Far West. On this last occasion, James B. Gardiner was Commissioner, John McElvain, Agent, and David Robb, Sub-Agent.

The village of Lewistown derived its name from Captain John Lewis, a noted Shawnee chicf. When the county was first settled, there was living with him, to do his drudgery, an aged white woman named Polly Keyser. She was taken prisoner in early life, near Lexington, Ky., and adopted by the Indians. She had an Indian husband and two half-breed daughters. There were several other whites living in the county who had been adopted by the Indians. We give be-

Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846.

PUBLIC SQUARE, BELLEFONTAINE.

J. J. Millikin, Photo., Bellefontaine, 1887.

PUBLIC SQUARE, BELLEFONTAINE.

104

LOGAN COUNTY.

low sketches of two of them : the first is from N. Z. McCulloch, Esq., a grand- son of Isaac Zane-the last from Colonel John Johnston.

ISAAC ZANE was born about the year 1753, on the south branch of the Potomac, in Vir- ginia, and at the age of about 9 years was taken prisoner by the Wyandots, and carried to Detroit. He remained with his captors until the age of manhood, when, like most prisoners taken in youth, he refused to return to his home and friends. He married a Wy- andot woman from Canada, of half French blood, and took no part in the war of the

JAMES McPHERSON, or Squa-la-ka-ke, "the red-faced man," was a native of Car- lisle, Cumberland county, Pa. He was taken prisoner by the Indians on the Ohio, at or near the mouth of the Big Miami, in Lough- ry's defeat ; was for many years engaged in the British Indian Department, under Elliott and McKee, married a fellow-prisoner, came into our service after Wayne's treaty of 1795, and continued in charge of the Shawanese revolution. After the treaty of Greenville, . and Senecas of Lewistown until his removal in 1795, he bought a tract of 1,800 acres, on the site of Zanesfield, where he lived until his death in 1816.

from office, in 1830, since which he has died.

Logan county was first settled about the year 1806. The names of the early settlers recollected are Robert and William Moore, Benjamin and John Schnyler, Philip and Andrew Mathews, John Makimsom, John and Levi Garwood, Abisha Warner, Joshua Sharp and brother, Samuel, David and Robert Marmon ; Samuel and Thomas Newell, and Benjamin J. Cox. In the late war the settlements in this county were on the verge of civilization, and the troops destined for the Northwest passed through here. There were several block-house stations in the county, namely : Manary's, McPherson's, Vance's and Zane's. Manary's, built by Capt. James Manary, of Ross county, was three miles north of Bellefontaine, on the farm of John Laney ; McPherson's stood three-fourths of a mile northwest, and was built by Captain Maltby, of Green county ; Vance's, built by ex-Governor Vance, then captain of a rifle company, stood on a high bluff on the margin of a prairie, about a mile east of Logansville ; Zane's block-house was at Zanesfield. At the breaking out of the war many hundreds of friendly Indians were collected and stationed at Zane's and McPherson's block-houses, under the protection of the government, who for a short time kept a guard of soldiers over them. It was at first feared that they would take up arms against the Americans, but subsequent events dissinating these apprehensions, they were allowed to disperse.

Bellefontaine in 1846 .- Bellefontaine, the county-seat, is on the line of the Cin- cinnati & Sandusky City Railroad, fifty miles northwest of Columbus. It was laid out March 18, 1820, on the land of John Tulles and William Powell, and named from the fine springs abonnding in the vicinity. The first of the above lived at the time in a cabin on the town plot, yet standing in the south part of Bellefontaine. After the town was laid out Joseph Gordon built a cabin, now standing, on the corner opposite Slicer's Hotel. Anthony Ballard erected the first frame dwelling ; William Scott kept the first tavern, where J. C. Scarff's drug-store now is. Slicer's tavern was built for a temporary court-house. Joseph Gordon, Nathaniel Dodge, Anthony Ballard, William Gutridge, Thomas Haynes and John Rhodes were among the first settlers of the town, the last of whom was the first merchant. The Methodists built the first church, a brick structure, de- stroyed by fire, which stood on the site of their present church. Bellefontaine contains two Presbyterian, one Episcopal Methodist, and one Lutheran church ; one newspaper printing office, eleven dry-goods stores, and had, in October, 1846, 610 inhabitants .- Old Edition.

About five miles northeast of Bellefontaine, on the head waters of Mad river, is the grave of General Simon Kenton. He resided for the last few years of his life in the small log-house shown on the right of the engraving, where he breathed his last. He was buried on a small grassy knoll, beside the grave of a Mr. Solo- mon Praetor, shown on the left. Around his grave is a rude and now dilapidated picketing, and over it a small slab bearing the following inscription ;

LOGAN COUNTY.

In Memory of GENERAL SIMON KENTON,

Who was born April 3, 1755, in Culpepper county, Va., and died April 29, 1836, aged 81 years and 26 days. His fellow-citizens of the West will long remember him as the skillful pioneer of early times, the brave soldier and the honest man.

The above is from the old edition. The remains of General Kenton, many years after my visit, were removed to Oakdale Cemetery, Urbana, where now stands an elegant monument, erected at the expense of the State. For full par-

GRAVE OF SIMON KENTON-Drawn by Henry Howe in 1846.

ticulars, with a sketch of Kenton, see Vol. I., page 377, etc. For the particulars of my making the above sketch, now forty-four years gone, and our first entrance into Bellefontaine, and its appearance then, see page 236.

BELLEFONTAINE, county-seat of Logan, seventy-seven miles northwest of Co- lumbus, 112 miles north of Cincinnati, at the crossing of the C. C. C. & I. and I. B. & W. Railroads, is situated in a fine agricultural district, the principal pro- ducts being live-stock, wool and grain. Bellefontaine is near Hogue's Hill, the highest known point in the State; the elevation is 1,540 feet above tide-water. County Officers, 1888 : Auditor, Christie Williams ; Clerk, Sol. A. McCulloch ; Commissioners, James M. Putnam, Edward Higgins, Alonzo C. McClure ; Coro- ner, John Q. A. Bennett ; Infirmary Directors, Joseph M. Porter, Layman Dow, Abiel Horn ; Probate Judge, Thomas Miltenberger ; Prosecuting Attorney, Walter S. Plum ; Recorder, Benjamin Underwood ; Sheriff, Wallner W. Roach ; Sur- veyor, James C. Wonders ; Treasurer, John D. Inskeep. City Officers, 1888 : J. A. Odor, Mayor ; R. B. Johnson, Clerk ; W. W. Roach, Marshal ; J. M. Nelson, Treasurer ; J. D. Mclaughlin, Solicitor ; Joseph Stover, Street Commissioner. Newspapers : Republican, Republican, J. Q. A. Campbell, editor and publisher ; Examiner, Democratic, E. O. Hubbard, editor and publisher ; Logan County Index, Republican, Roebuck & Brand, editors and publishers. Churchies : one Methodist Episcopal, one African Methodist Episcopal, one Catholic, one Re- formed Presbyterian, one Baptist, one Colored Baptist, one Presbyterian, one United Presbyterian, one Reformed Presbyterian, one Christian, one Lutheran. Banks : Bellefontaine National, William Lawrence, president, James Leis- ter, cashier ; People's National, Abner Riddle, president, Robert Lamb, cashier.

106

LOGAN COUNTY.

Manufactures and Employees .- Miller Carriage Co .; Mack, Dickinson & Co., chair stock, etc., 64 hands; Chichester & Haviland, chairs, 37; Bellefontaine Carriage Body Co., carriage bodies, etc., 25 ; A. J. Miller & Co., carriage wood- work, 12; Colton Bros., flour, etc., 16; Miller & Kiplinger, carriages, etc. ; Williamson & Lesourd, doors, sash, etc .; Miller Carriage Co., carriage bodies, 33; David C. Green, lumber .- State Report, 1888. Population in 1880, 3,998. School census, 1888, 1,127 ; Henry Whitworth, school superintendent. Capital invested in industrial establishments, $178,200. Value of annual product, $723,500 .- Ohio Labor Statistics, 1887. Census, 1890, 4,238.

The town owns its own water- and gas-works, has about six miles of Berea flag- ging sidewalks, and its streets are nicely graded and shaded. The bar is one of the strongest in the State, embracing Judges Lawrence, West, Price and Gen. Kennedy.

GEN. ROBERT P. KENNEDY.

Bellefontaine has supplied three Lieuten- ant-Governors for Ohio.

Ist. BENJAMIN STANTON, born of Quaker parentage on Short creek, Belmont county, Ohio, March 4, 1809. Was bred a tailor, which appears to have been a favorite trade for young Friends, probably from its human- itarian aspects-"clothing the naked." Stud- ied law and was admitted to the bar at Steu- benville in 1833; came to Bellefontaine in 1834 ; then was successively prosecuting attor- ney, State Senator, member of the Ohio Con- stitutional Convention in 1851 ; served several terms as member of Congress and in 1861 was elected Lieutenant-Governor of Ohio, and on the same ticket with Governor David Tod; in 1866 removed to West Virginia, prac- tised law there and died a few years since.

2d. ROBERT P. KENNEDY was born in Bellefontaine, January 23, 1840. Entered the Union army in 1861, came out Brevet Brig .- General in 1865; studied and practised the law ; was Collector of Internal Revenue 1878 to 1883; elected to the 50th Congress, re- elected to the 51st Congress; was elected Lieutenant-Governor on the ticket with J. B.

JUDGE WILLIAM H. WEST, The Blind Man Eloquent.

Foraker in 1885 and resigned in 1887. In the stormy session of 1886, as President of the Senate, his rulings in regard to the seating of the Hamilton county Democratic Senators, their election being contested, gave him prominence.

3d. WM. VANCE MARQUIS was elected Lieutenant-Governor in 1889, on the ticket with Mr. Jas. E. Campbell. He is of Scotch- Irish Presbyterian ancestry ; was born in Mt. Vernon in 1828; came here when a boy of five years; was bred to merchandising, his present vocation.

A house is pointed out in Bellefontaine where was born, November 21, 1850, CHARLES JULIUS CHAMBERS, anthor and journalist, now managing editor of the N. Y. Herald.

Logan county is rich to excess in names of men known to the nation as possessed of rare intellect, wide attainments and great force of character. High on this list stands unques- tioned that of WILLIAM H. WEST. He comes from a class once known to our country that is now extinct. W. refer to the hard-handed, knotty-headed sons of small farmers, who from early boyhood worked in the summer

107

LOGAN COUNTY.

for a schooling in the winter, and then taught school half the year to sustain themselves while securing a profession. This class has a brilliant constellation in history to carry its glory into after generations. We have only to mention the names of Clay, Webster, Cor- win, Lincoln, Benton, Ewing and a host of others to make good our assertion, and to this roll of honor we add the name of William H. West.

William was born at Millsborough, Wash- ington county, Pa. His father removed to Knox county, Ohio, in 1830. He graduated at Jefferson College, Penn., in 1846, dividing the honors with Gen. A. B. Sharpe. He taught school in Kentucky until 1848, when he accepted a tutorship of Jefferson College, and a year later was chosen adjunct professor at Hampden-Sidney College, Va. In 1850 he entered as student the law office of Judge William Lawrence, Bellefontaine, Ohio, with whom he formed a partnership on his admis- sion to the bar. He was recognized from the start as an able attorney, and so worked his way to the head of his profession.

There were two qualities that rendered Judge West eminent. One of these was his capacity to assimilate the law he studied to his remarkable intellectual'qualities, and the other a strange facility and felicity of utter- ance. When to these we add a delicate or- ganization, that seemed to vibrate to the touch of passion, we have the powerful advocate who in court convinced the judge and won jury, and was so great before a crowd that he won a national reputation under the name of "the Blind Man Eloquent." Small wonder that Judge West has been the marvel of the legal fraternity at the West. He has a wide reputation as authority on civil and corporate law, equalled by few and surpassed by none. While on the Supreme Bench of Ohio, he was so unfortunate as to lose his sight- but with it came no loss of power. His well- trained mind and powerful memory enabled him to dispense with his eyes, and it has been for years one of the most interesting spec- tacles to the bar to hear Judge West condnet a case in court. Without assistance from any one, he handles facts and law with the greatest accuracy and power. There is no pause, not the slightest hesitation, as he calls up and un- ravels facts and quotes the law applicable to their case.

Judge West entered politics at an early day, and soon assumed a leadership that was his by force of intellect and character. He made one of the few prominent men who formed the Republican party. It was in 1854 that he joined in an appeal to all parties after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, that brought out a convention at Columbus, Ohio, when West was one of the most prominent speakers, and Joseph R. Swan was nominated as a candidate for Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and through the aid of another newly formed political organization called the "Know Nothing" was elected by a majority of more than 75,000.

In 1857 and in 1861 Judge West was a

member of the State Legislature, serving in the House, and in 1863 he was returned to the Senate. Afterward his party in the Logan Congressional district sent him as their dele- gate to the Chicago Convention, when he took part in the nomination of Abraham Lincoln. In 1865 and 1867 he was chosen Attorney- General of Ohio, and in 1869 tendered the po- sition of Consul to Rio Janeiro, but declined. In 1871 he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio, and was making his mark as an able jurist, when his failing sight forced him to resign.

The marked event of his political life oc- curred in 1877, when he was nominated by his party, in State convention assembled, its candidate for Governor. The great railroad strikes, that arrested the wheels of nearly all the locomotives of 150,000 miles of operating railroads, was on hand, and the newly named candidate for Governor had to meet the issue involved in the strife. It was one Judge West had studied and mastered. He knew what Capital and Labor meant, and he felt keenly all that it signified. He saw then what has developed since, that it was fated to be the great issue of civilization, and had to be faced and solved before the wheels of progress could continue to revolve. To the amazement and horror of his political asso- ciates, in his first utterance after nomination, he took the side of toil against the corpora- tions. Of course he was defeated. He lost the proud privilege of appointing notaries pub- lie and pardoning criminals, but he carried back to private life the honor that comes of a courageous defence of principle.

Judge West twice married, is the father of an interesting family, and for the sake of his two sons, who inherit much of the father' abil- ity, he continues, at Bellefontaine, the practice of his profession, although in feeble health. There, loved by his friends and family and universally respected and admired, "the blind man eloquent " passes to his honored age.

EDWARD HENRY KNIGHT was born in Lon don, England, June 1, 1824, and died in Belle- fontaine, Jannary 22, 1883, where he had had legal residence the last twenty-five years of his life, although absent a large part of the time in Washington, Paris, and England. He was ed. ucated in England, where he learned the art of steel-engraving and took a course in surgery. In 1846 settled in Cincinnati as a patent attorney.

In 1864 he was employed in the Patent Office at Washington, where he originated the pres- ent system of classification. In 1873 he issued his most important work, the "American Me- chanical Dictionary." He was a member of the International Juries at the World's Fairs in Philadelphia, in 1876, and Paris, in 1878 ; was U. S. Commissioner at the latter, receiv- ing the appointment of Chevalier of the Le- gion of Honor from the French government, in recognition of his services. He was a mem- ber of many scientific societies, both American and European. In 1876 he received the degree of LL. D. from Iowa Wesleyan University.

He compiled what is known as Bryant's "Library of Poetry and Song;" was the

108

LOGAN COUNTY.

author of a number of valuable scientific and other works, and one of the most useful men in research and literature that America has produced.

His knowledge of books, men and things is said to have been marvellous. After death his brain was found to weigh sixty-four ounces, being the heaviest on record, except- ing that of Cuvier. The average weight of the brain of Europeans is 49} ounces (av.) Among the large brains on record are those of Agassiz, 53.4; Lord Campbell, 53.5; Daniel Webster, 53.5; Abercrombie, 63 ; Knight, 64 ; Cuvier, 64.5.

JUDGE WILLIAM LAWRENCE was born in Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1819 ; graduated at Franklin College, Ohio, in 1838; was educated for the law; from 1856-1861 was Judge of Common Pleas ; Colonel of the 84th Ohio in the war ; served in Congress, 1865, to December, 1871 ; from 1880 to 1885 was Ist Comptroller of the U. S. Treasury, and the only one whose decisions were regu- larly published. He has published quite a number of law books :. one, "The Law of Religious Societies and Church Corpora- tions."

While acting as judge his circuit included Marion county. The author of the County History thus writes of him : "He was always pleasant and affable. At the opening of a court in May, 1861, when the people were excited about the war, he ordered the sheriff to raise the national flag over the cupola of the Court-house in Marion, which order the sheriff refused to obey. The latter was, therefore, brought into court and fined for contempt. He then hoisted the flag accord- ing to the original order. In 1862 the Judge went to the front with a regiment, of which he was Colonel. While in the service his salary as Judge continued, which he drew and distributed to the school districts through- out his circuit, for the benefit of the families of the soldiers."

The author speaks of the Judge as though he had passed away, but he remains very much of a live gentleman. When we last saw him, in June, 1889, he seemed the embodiment of manly vigor and cheerfulness, full in figure, full-chested, remarkably neat in apparel, and wearing a button-hole bouquet on the lapel of his coat-in all respects, morally and physically, a fragrant presence ; and what we believe has helped to make him such has been his life-practice of the principle illus- trated in the name he gave to a daughter- Mary Temperance Lawrence.

His law arguments would make several volumes. An able writer, familiar with these and referring to a voluminous opinion he gave as to property rights growing out of the schism in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, in 1889, said :

"Judge Lawrence is one of the most eminent of living American lawyers. His opinion must be regarded as entirely impar- tial, and it is maintained with marked ability and forcible argument from beginning to end.

"Judge Lawrence's reports and speeches while in the Ohio Legislature and in Congress would make volumes, many of them on Con- stitutional Law and on all the great questions in Congress during the period of twelve years following the rebellion. His report in Con- gress, February, 1869, on the New York election frauds, led to important legislation there and in Congress to preserve the purity of elections. He first urged in Congress the law establishing the ' Department of Justice,' and is author of most of its provisions con- verting the 'office' of Attorney-General into a 'Department.' He is the author of the law giving to each soldier as a homestead 160 acres of the 'alternate reserved sections' in the railroad land grants, under which so many homes have been secured to these deserving citizens.

"He was the first in Congress to urge, in

MOSS ENCONY

JUDGE WILLIAM LAWRENCE.

the interest of securing the public lands to actual settlers, that Indian treaty sales of these lands should be prohibited, as they were by act of March 3, 1871; thus breaking up one of the most gigantic agencies for squan- dering the public lands and creating monopo- lies. On the 7th of July, 1876, he carried through the House a bill, called the ‘ Law- rence Bill,' requiring the Pacific railroad com- panies to indemnify the government against liability and loss on account of the govern- ment loan of credit to the companies, as esti- mated, of $150,000,000. The railroad com- panies resisted this, employing Hon. Lyman Trumbull, of Illinois, and Hon. Wm. M. Evarts, of New York, and others, whose elaborate arguments before the Judiciary Committee were met by a voluminous report and speech by Judge Lawrence, answering every opposing argument."- Biog. Cyc. Ohio.

LOGAN COUNTY.

COL. JACOB PIATT, of the American Revolution.

JUDGE BENJ. M. PLATT, Pioneer of Logan, at 80 Years.

THE PIATTS OF LOGAN. [Originally published in the Urbana Daily Citizen. ]

The PIATT FAMILY is of French origin and Huguenot blood. Of course two centuries of births on this continent and a liberal admixture of Dutch and Irish blood have modified the original conditions that forced the French Puritans from their homes to a life in the wilderness. It is a fact, however, that where any trace of the Huguenot is found, it is marked by the old quality that turned a class into a race of strong, solid, persistent men. In the persecutions that fol- lowed the revocation of the edict of Nantes, the family fled from the Province of Dauphine to Holland, where JOHN PIATT married a Van Vliet, and from thence John and his wife emigrated to Cuba, and from there to New York, find- ing a home at last in New Jersey.

From this ancestry came COL. JACOB PIATT, grandfather of A. Sanders and Donn Piatt. He was born May 17, 1747. When the war of the Revolution came on he was elected captain of a military company, com- posed of ninety young farmers. Not long afterwards he was commissioned captain in the regular service, and from that on served through the entire war, taking part in all the great battles, and was promoted to the rank of colonel to serve on the staff of General Washington. He was wont to tell how, at the battle of Brandywine, his command was on the extreme left as it lay entrenched on the banks of the Brandywine creek.

Before the battle, as they stood in line, looking at the English, Washington rode down, and stopping near Captain Jacob Piatt, observed : "Do you see those gentle- men over there?" pointing at the red coats. "We do," was answered. He then continued, " If they come nearer give them a knock and send them back again. This will be a glorious day for America." At the battle of Mon- mouth, Major Piatt was under Lee, who had been ordered to advance, while Washington brought the reserve. History tells us that Lee disobeyed orders and was in full retreat when Washington met him. The meeting

happened in the presence of Major Piatt, who, seated on a pile of rails, was binding up a wound in his leg. The two generals swore at each other in the most furious manner. The old Calvinistic Huguenot approved of his general's profanity on the ground that it was deserved.

COLONEL JACOB PIATT was in the first expedition against Quebec, and in the im- portant battles of Germantown, Brandywine, Short Hills, and Monmouth. At the last mentioned engagement he was wounded, as we have said, and, although seriously, clung to the service, never even for a day off duty. He enjoyed the confidence of his great com- mander. After the war he married and settled on the Ohio, in Boone county, Ken- tucky. He was an extremely austere man, as pious as he was patriotic, giving all of his pension to the support of a clergyman of his own faith. He lies buried on the farm, under a quaint old tombstone, that had engraved upon it the simple yet poetic inscription :

JACOB PIATT. Born May 17, 1747 ; died August 14, 1834. A Soldier of the Revolution and A Soldier of the Cross.

110

LOGAN COUNTY.

BENJAMIN M. PIATT, eldest son of Colonel Jacob Piatt, and long and lovingly known to the people of Logan county, was born in New Jersey, December 26, 1779; died at Mac-o-chee, April 28, 1863.

Judge Benjamin M. Piatt is well remem- bered by his surviving friends and neighbors of Logan county, as a man of marked attributes and of reticent but amiable tem- perament. Something of a student he pos- sessed a thoughtful turn of mind that made him more of a philosopher than a man of active life. He had his share of adventure, however, as he began his business career boating produce from Kentucky to New Orleans before the day of steam-boating, when the flat boat and broad horn were floated down in continuous peril from floods and foes, to be broken up and sold at New Orleans, when these primitive merchants returned on horseback with their compensa- tion in gold about their persons. In that unsettled condition of a sparsely settled country, one carried his coin and life in per- petual danger. Many were the adventures of the two brothers, Benjamin M. and John H. Piatt, that chilled the blood of listeners in after life. At the earnest solicitation of his wife, Benjamin M. Piatt abandoned this hazardous but lucrative life of river merchant, and, studying law, was admitted to the bar. Not long after he was appointed district attorney for the southern district of Illinois. This was an arduous position and as it required his continuous presence in that State he decided to move his family also. He selected as a residence Kaskaskia, a settle- ment on the Mississippi, at the mouth of the Kaskaskia river.

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.

Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II, Part 13

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893 Publication date: 1907 Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio Number of Pages: 916

Author: Howe, Henry, 1816-1893
Publication date: 1907
Publisher: Cincinnati : Published by the state of Ohio
Number of Pages: 916