Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II, Part 47

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

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[From the Cardington Independent.]

Daniel McCartney died on the 15th of November, 1887, in Muscatine, Iowa, being a little over seventy years old. In view of the claims of Mr. McCartney and his friends as to his ability to remember the occurrences of each day since he was a boy of ten years, I feel that something more than a passing notice is required. He removed with his father and mother, Robert and Lydia McCart- ney, when he was sixteen years old, from Washington county, Pa., and settled in Washington township, Morrow county, Ohio.

After living here two years the family went to live in Cardington, the same county, where the father, Robert McCartney, died soon after, leaving his son Daniel to be supported by his relatives, who lived in various parts of the county.

His inability to support himself was caused by his defective vision, and although his sight became so much improved as to enable him to learn to read when he was about forty- two years old, yet it was with such great difficulty that his acquisitions can be said in no way to be due to his reading.

I will give a few extracts from the Journal of Speculative Philosophy, written by our State Superintendent, in which he speaks of three several examinations he gave Mr.

McCartney. In the first he gave him twenty- four dates belonging to nineteen different years. He gave the days of the week cor- rectly in an average of four seconds, with a description of the weather with the associat- ing circumstances. In the second examina- tion he was given thirty-one dates in twenty- nine different years, for which he gave the days of the week, the weather and associating circumstances. The average time for giving the day of the week was five seconds. In the third examination he repeated the fifty- five dates previously given, to which he gave the same days of the week, the same descrip- tion of the weather and the same associat- ing circumstances, in some cases adding others.

That the reader may more clearly under- stand what has just been written, I will give Mr. McCartney's answer to a question of my own : " Wife and I were married on the 28th day of January, 1836 ; give the day of the weck, the kind of weather, etc. ? " He gave answer in a few seconds. "You were mar- ried on Thursday, there was snow on the ground, good sleighing and not very cold ; father and I were hauling hay; a sole came off the sled, we had to throw the hay off, put a new sole on the sled and load up again before we could go."

Meeting Mr. McCartney perhaps a dozen of years afterwards, I said to him, you told me the kind of a day I was married on. I looked him in the eye, which was the same as saying, "If your memory is as good as you claim you can repeat what you said on the former occasion." He replied instantly, " Yes, it was on the 28th day of January, 1836," and repeated the same story of his father and himself hanling hay, etc. My wife asked, "What kind of a day was the 16th of February, 1837?" He instantly threw up his hands and exclaimed, "Oh, how it snowed !" which we knew to be true. At the same time I read (perhaps half a dozen) passages from the Bible, taken at random." Their exact location, book, chap- ter and verse were immediately given.

I then gave him a number of mathemati- cal problems, such as to multiply 786 by 392 ; what is the cube root of 357911, etc. ; to all of which he gave answers obtained mentally, and all were correctly given. I will give a few extracts from a committee's report of the result of an examination held in Colum- bus, March 29th, 1871, which was sufficient to shake the scepticism as to the correctness of all Mr. McCartney's claims. The Hon. E. E. White conducted the arithmetical ex- aminations, Rev. Phillips the Biblical exami- nation, and T. C. Mendenhall, of the Colum- bus high school, attested the accuracy of answers as to the days of the weeks.

One of the arithmetical questions asked was : " What is the cube root of 4, 741, 625 ?" to which a correct mental answer was given

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MORROW COUNTY.

in a few seconds. Another problem was, "increase 89 to the sixth power ;" he gave the answer obtained mentally in ten minutes, 496,984,290,961. The committee concluded their report in these words : "Mr. McCart- ney's experiences seem to be ready to appear before him at his bidding in all their original distinctness, which shows clearly that among the prodigices of memory recorded in history in the front rank must be placed Daniel McCartney."

From the Cleveland Leader of April 19, 1871, I give the following extract : "The exhibition was a most full and unanswerable argument in support of the claim that Daniel McCartney has no peer ; his peculiar gifts are more varied and wonderful than any other." I knew of several attempts to exhibit Mr. McCartney to the public, all of which proved to be failures as far as money-making was concerned. The last attempt I knew of was made by a prominent citizen of our own county in the year 1871. When my opinion as to the success of the enterprise was asked, I told the agent that it would be a failure, not from any defects of McCartney in heart or mind, but because the capital he intended to invest was intellectual (the powers of soul)

and not physical. I said, if you were show- ing the double-headed baby the public would be charmed at the sight. No one would be so poor as not to be willing to give his fifty cents. But his prominent traits were those of the mind, which soared so far above the majority of the public as to be lost to their view.

How very few people there are who can realize the powers of a mind that can solve an arithmetical problemi in the cube root men- tally in a few seconds. Or how tew are there who could realize the powers of memory by which Mr. McCartney eould summon every prominent act of his life into his presence with all their original distinctness ; or how very few there are who could tell whether the statements made by him were true or false. No one could tell unless he had kept a record of the occurrences of days and dates for the last fifty or sixty years. Such a record has been kept by many of our citizens, to whom the majority must look for a knowledge of the facts. In early life Mr. McCartney made a profession of religion by uniting with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and remained a worthy, consistent member to the close of his life.

Morrow claims the honor of being the birthplace of two eminent men, ALBERT P. MOREHOUSE, born in Peru township, and governor of Missouri in 1888, and CALVIN S. BRICE, born in Canaan township. In one sense this is not true, for neither of them were born in the county. Peru, at the time of the birth of the first, was in Delaware county, and Canaan, the birthplace of Mr. Brice, in Marion county. Morrow county came into existence later than either, and clasped both in her arms as her production.

The father of Mr. Morehouse was at one time county sheriff, and Albert passed his young days at Mount Gilead, in company with Andrew Jackson Calhoun Foye, now one of the leading and most enthusiastic spirits of the Ohio Society in New York, and they as "boys together had good times."

Mr. Briee was born in Denmark, Ohio, September 17, 1845. His father was Rev. William K. Briee, a Presbyterian minister, who came from Maryland in 1840, and settled in the village of Denmark, Canaan township. His mother, whose maiden name was Eliza- beth Stewart, was from Carroll county, Ohio.

Calvin attended the public schools until September, 1858, when, at the age of thir- teen, he entered the preparatory depart- ment of Miami University, at Oxford, Ohio.

At fifteen years of age he enlisted in Capt. Dodd's University company, which, in re- sponse to President Lincoln's call in 1861, offered its serviees for the suppression of the rebellion. The company was sent to Camp Jackson, Columbus, where he took his first lesson in military discipline. In April, 1862, he was enrolled in the 86th O. V. I., and

served, with his regiment, during the summer of that year in West Virginia.

Returning to the university, he completed his course and graduated in June, 1863 ; then taught school for a brief space at Lima; in the fall of 1864 recruited Company E of the 180th O. V. I. regiment, and as its captain, on the close of the war he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel for meritorious service, he being then just of age. In 1866 he graduated at the law school of Ann Arbor University, Michigan, practised law in Ohio until 1870, when he embarked in great rail- road enterprises, by which he secured, as is popularly believed, correspondingly large means. Politics also interested him. In 1876 he was one of the Tilden electors for Ohio, and in 1880 one of the Cleveland elec- tors, and had the high honor of being unani- mously chosen chairman of the Democratic National Executive Committee, and still higher in 1890 as being elected as Ohio's sueeessor in the United States Senate to Hon. Ilenry B. Payne. Mr. Brice stands high as a man of large capacity in affairs, generous in disposition, of singular mental alertness, and electric in action.

CALVIN S. BRICE, U. S. Senate.

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MORROW COUNTY.

IBERIA is nine miles north of Mount Gilead. It has 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, and 1 United Presbyterian church and about fifty dwellings.

Before the wai Ohio Central College was established here, and its president, Rev. George Gordon, arrested and imprisoned for the violation of the fugitive slave law, as related. The old college building is now used for the " Working Home for the Blind." This was opened June 20, 1887, with G. C.

Tressel, of Cleveland, superintendent, with his wife and daughters as assistants. The State supplied the building, shop, and equip- ments, and it was the hope that it would be self-sustaining without further State aid. It has but few inmates, and the institution is as yet experimental.

CARDINGTON is five miles southwest of Mount Gilead, on the Olentangy, a branch of the Scioto, and on the C. C. C. & I. R. R., forty-one miles north of Columbus.

City officers, 1888 : O. P. Russell, Mayor; G. H. Rulilman, Clerk ; Frank Shaw, Treasurer ; I. C. Miller, Marshal ; Robert Bendle, Street Commissioner. Newspaper : Morrow County Independent, Republican, E. E. Neal, editor. Churches : one Methodist Episcopal, one Methodist Protestant, one Presbyterian, one Catholic, and one Lutheran. Banks : Cardington Banking Co., Thos. E. Duncan, presi- dent ; W. G. Beatty, cashier. First National, F. P. Hills, president, E. J. Vaughn, cashier.

Manufactures and employees : Cardington Independent, printing, 4 hands ; C. Koppe, whiskey, 2 ; Gray Brothers & Co., machine repairing, 10; Dawson & Wherry, flour and feed, 6 ; R. T. Mills, flour and feed, 2; N. W. Hartman, feed mills, etc., 10; Hercules Manufacturing Co., wheat scourers, 6 ; J. S. Peck, furni- ture, 12 .- State Reports. Population, 1880, 1365. School census, 1888, 366 ; A. L. Banker, superintendent of schools. Capital invested in manufacturing establishments, $18,000. Value of annual product, $21,000 .- Ohio Labor Sta- tistics, 1888.

CENTERVILLE is eight miles southeast of Mt. Gilead. Population, 1880, 266. School census, 1888, 78.

EDISON is two miles west of Mt. Gilead, at the junction of the C. C. C. & I. and T. & O. C. Railroads. It has two churches-one Methodist Episcopal and one Baptist. School census, 1888, 152.

SPARTA is thirteen miles southeast of Mt. Gilead. Population, 1880, 235. School census, 1888, 100.

MARENGO is ten miles south of Mt. Gilead, on Big Walnut Creek and T. & O. C. R. R. It has one Methodist Episcopal Church. School census, 1888, 102.

JOHNSVILLE (P. O. Schauck's) is ten miles northeast of Mt. Gilead. School census, 1888, 98.

324

MUSKINGUM COUNTY

MUSKINGUM.

MUSKINGUM COUNTY was formed March 1, 1804, from Washington and Fair- field. The word Muskingum, said Kilbourn's Gazetteer, " is said to signify in the old Indian language an elk's eye, or the glare of an elk's eye." Col. John Johnston stated that " Muskingum is a Delaware word and means a town on the river side. The Shawanese call it Wa-ka-tamo sepe, which has the same signification." The surface is rolling or hilly, and clay the predominating soil. The ancient works are numerous. It is a rich and thickly settled county.

Area about 650 square miles. In 1887 the acres cultivated were 101,104; in pasture, 184,065 ; woodland, 61,850; lying waste, 3,428 ; produced in wheat, 301,744 bushels ; rye, 5,807; buckwheat, 492; oats, 225,726; barley, 3,205; corn, 1,029,912 ; broom corn, 523 lbs. brush; meadow hay, 43,616 tons; clover hay, 2,971; potatoes, 81,149 bushels; tobacco, 300 lbs .; butter, 867,128 ; sorghum, 4,070 gallons ; maple syrup, 1,733; honey, 5,662 lbs .; eggs, 91,200 dozen ; grapes, 43,782 lbs .; wine, 794 gallons; sweet potatoes, 5,361 bushels ; apples, 9,525 ; peaches, 9,474; pears, 2,832; wool, 746,478 lbs .; milch cows owned, 8,590. Ohio mining statistics, 1888 : Coal, 211,861 tons, employing 400 miners and 56 outside employees; fire-clay, 80 tons; limestone, 4,001 tons burned for lime; 23,634 tons burned for fluxing ; 2,120 cubic feet of dimension stone ; 2,021 cubic yards of building stone; 1,620 square feet of paving ; 9,248 lineal feet of curbing. School census, 1888, 15,637; teachers, 348. Miles of railroad track, 156.

TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.

1840.

1880.

TOWNSHIPS AND CENSUS.

1840.

1880.

Adams,

988

785

Monroe,

918

980

Blue Rock,

1,074

1,188

Muskingum,

1,252

1,018

Brush Creek,

1,765

1,210

Newton,

2,707

2,250

Cass,

962

Perry,

1,061

1,050

Clay,

887

Rich Hill,

1,426

1,404

Falls,

2,002

1,733

Salem,

1,002

874

Harrison,

1,426

1,245

Salt Creek,

1,252

1,131

Highland,

884

953

Springfield,

2,334

1,280

Hopewell,

1,807

1,674

Union,

1,625

1,793

Jackson,

1,123

1,500

Washington,

1,486

1,305

Jefferson,

2,128

1,230

Wayne,

1,276

1,605

Licking,

1,322

948

Zanesville

Madison,

1,070

1,128

(City & Twp.),

5,141

18,113

Meigs,

1,333

1,528

Population of Muskingum in 1820 was 17,824; 1830, 29,335; 1840, 38,746 ; 1860, 44,416 ; 1880, 49,774, of whom 40,798 were born in Ohio; 1,996, Pennsylvania; 1,575, Virginia; 339, New York; 154, Indiana ; 90, Kentucky; 1,508, German Empire; 840, Ireland ; 430, England and Wales ; 113, France; 42, Scotland ; 37, British America ; and 5, Sweden and Norway. Census of 1890, 51,210.

The Muskingum country was principally occupied by the Wyandots, Dela- wares and a few Senecas and Shawanese. An Indian town once stood, years before the settlement of the country, in the vicinity of Duncan Falls, from which circumstance the place was often called "Old Town." . Near Dresden was a large Shawanese town called Wakatomaca. The grave-yard was extensive, and when the whites first settled there the remains of cabins were still visible. It was in this vicinity that the venerable Major Cass, the father of Hon. Lewis Cass,

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MUSKINGUM COUNTY.

lived and died. He drew 4,000 acres for his military services, and the location embraced within its limits the ancient town plot of the natives.

THE WAKATOMACA CAMPAIGN.

The annexed narrative of an expedition against Wakatomaca is from Dodd- ridge's Notes.

Under the command of Colonel Angus McDonald, four hundred men were collected from the western part of Virginia by the order of the Earl of Dunmore, the then Governor of Virginia. The place of rendez- vous was Wheeling, some time in the month of June, 1774. They went down the river in boats and canoes to the mouth of the Cap- tina, from thence by the shortest route to the Wakatomaca town, about sixteen miles below the present Coshocton. The pilots were Jonathan Zane, Thomas Nicholson and Tady Kelly. About six miles from the town the army were met by a party of Indians to the number of forty or fifty, who gave a skirmish by the way of ambuscade, in which two of our men were killed and eight or nine wounded. One Indian was killed and several wounded. It was supposed that several more of them were killed but they were carried off. When the army came to the town it was found evacuated ; the Indians had retreated to the opposite shore of the river where they had formed an ambuscade, supposing the party would cross the river from the town. This was immediately discovered. The com- manding officer then sent sentinels up and down the river to give notice in case the Indians should attempt to cross above or below the town. A private in the company of Captain Cressap, of the name of John Hargus, one of the sentinels below the town, displayed the skill of a backwoods sharp- shooter. Seeing an Indian behind a blind across the river raising up his head at times to look over the river, Hargus charged his rifle with a second ball and taking deliberate aim passed both balls through the neck of the Indian. The Indians dragged off the body and buried it with the honors of war.

It was found the next morning and scalped by Hargus.

Soon after the town was taken the Indians from the opposite shore sued for peace. The commander offered them peace on condition of their sending over their chiefs as hostages. Five of them came over the river and were pnt under guard as hostages. In the morning they were marched in front of the army over the river. When the party had reached the western bank of the Muskingum the Indians represented that they could not make peace without the presence of the chiefs of the other towns. On which one of the chiefs was released to bring in the others. He did not return in the appointed time. Another chief was permitted to go on the same errand, who in like manner did not return. The party then moved up the river to the next town, which was about a mile above the first and on the opposite shore. Here we had a slight skirmish with the Indians, in which one of them was killed and one of our men wounded. It was then discovered that during all the time spent in negotiation the Indians were employed in removing their women and children, old people and effects, from the upper towns. The towns were burned and the corn cut up. The party then returned to the place from which they set out, bringing with them the three remaining chiefs, who were sent to Williamsburgh. They were released at the peace the succeeding fall.

The army were out of provisions before they left the towns and had to subsist on weeds, one ear of corn each day, with a very scanty supply of game. The corn was obtained at one of the Indian towns .- Doddridge's Notes.

Additional to the above we give the Reminiscences of Abraham Thomas, pub- lished in the Troy Times, about 1839. He was on this expedition, and, later, among the early settlers of Miami county.

The collected force consisted of four hun- dred men. I was often at their encamp- ment ; and against the positive injunctions of my parents, could not resist my inclination to join them. At this time I was eighteen years of age, owned my own rifle and accoutre- ments, and had long been familiar with the use of them. Escaping, I made the best possible provision I could from my own re- sources and hastened to enter as a volunteer under old Mike, then Captain Cressap.

The plan of the expedition was for every man to cross the Ohio with seven days' provi- sion in his pack. The object was to attack the

Indians in their villages at Wakatomaca. Some were on the waters of the Muskingum. On the first or second day's march after crossing the Ohio we were overtaken by a Colonel McDonald, a British officer, who highly incensed the troops by ordering a halt for three days, during which we were consum- ing our provisions. While lying here a violent storm through the night had wet our arms and McDonald ordered the men to dis- charge them in a hollow log to deaden the report. My rifle would not go off and I took the barrel out to unbreech it. In doing this I made some noise in beating it with my

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MUSKINGUM COUNTY.

tomahawk, on which McDonald came towards me swearing, with an uplifted cane, threaten- ing to strike. I instantly rose on my feet with the rifle barrel iu my hand and stood in an attitude of defence. We looked each other in the eye for some time ; at last he dropped his cane and walked off, while the whole troop set up a laugh, crying, "The boy has scared the colonel." Cressap heard what was going on and approached to defend me, but seeing how well I could defend myself stood by, smiling at the fracas. The colonel having no reputation as an Indian fighter was very naturally disliked as a leader by Cressap and the men.

The Attack .- From this encampment we proceeded towards the Indian villages with the intention of surprising them ; but late in the afternoon before we reached them we encountered the Indians lying in ambush on the top of a second bottom. We had just crossed a branch, and were marching along its first bottom with a view of finding some place to cross a swamp that lay between us and the upper bottom. The men were march- ing in three parallel, Indian-file columns, some distance apart. On espying a trace across the swamp, the heads of the columns, in passing it, were thrown together, and as soon as they had gained the bank, unexpect- edly received the fire of the enemy. The troops immediately deployed to the right and left, under the bank, and commenced ascend- ing it, when the skirmish became general and noisy for about thirty minutes. The Indians then gave way in every direction. In this fight we had four or five killed and many wounded ; it was supposed the Indians suf- fered much more.

During the engagement, while I was as- cending the point of a bank formed by a ravine from the second bottom, in company with two men, Martin and Fox, all aiming to gain the cover of some large oak trees on the top, they both fell. The first was killed, the last wounded in the breast, the ball having entered the bone, but was drawn out with the clothes. Those men were walking in a line with each other, and an Indian chief, concealed behind the tree for which I was aiming, shot them both with one ball. I took no notice whence the ball came, and hastened to the tree. Just as I had gained it the chief fell dead from the other side and rolled at my feet. It seems a neighbor, who had seen him fire at Martin and Fox, and dodge behind the tree, stood ready to give him a shot whenever he should again make his appearance. The Indian had got his ball half down and peeped out to look at me, when Wilson shot him in the head.

Cowardice of McDonald .- The Indians retreated towards Wakatomaca, flanked by two companies in hot pursuit. We followed in the rear, and as the last Indian was step- ping out of the water, Capt. Teabangh, a great soldier and a good marksman, brought him to the ground. I was at the time stand- ing near Teabaugh, and shall never forget the thrilling emotion produced by this incident.

During this battle one of the men, Jacob Newbold, saw the colonel lying snug behind a fallen tree, sufficiently remote from danger, had there been no defence. It was imme- diately noised among the men, who were in high glee at the joke. One would cry out, " Who got behind the log?" when an hun- dred voices would reply, "The colonel ! the colonel !" At this McDonald became out- rageous. I heard him inquire for the man who had raised the report, and threatened to punish him. I went round and told Newbold what the colonel had said. "That's your sort," said he. Raising on his feet and going towards the colonel, he declared he did see him slink behind the log during the battle. He gave his rifle to a man standing by, cut some hickories and stood on the defence, at which the whole company roared with laugh- ter and the colonel took himself off to another part of the line. Night was now at hand, and the division was ordered by the colonel to encamp in an oak woods, in sight of the Indian villages, Cressap's party lying by themselves. This evening Jack Hayes was spying down the creek, saw an Indian looking at us through the forks of a low tree. He levelled his rifle and shot him directly between the eyes, and brought him into camp.

Flight of the Indians .- Just after nightfall Col. MeDonald was hailed from over the creek by an Indian, who implored peace in behalf of his tribe. He was invited over by the colonel, who held a parley with him, but declined entering into terms until more In- dians were present. It was then proposed that if two white men would go with the In- dians, they would send over two more of their number to us : but none being willing to undertake the visit, two came over and stayed all night in the colonel's tent. But their only object was to watch the troops and gain time to remove their families and effects from the town. Capt. Cressap was up the whole night among his men, going the rounds and cautioning them to keep their arms in condition for a morning attack, which he con- fidently expected. About two hours before daybreak he silently formed his men, exam- ined each rifle, and led them across the creek into the villages, leaving McDonald, with the other troops, in the encampment. At this time the Indians who had passed the night in the camp escaped. The village was directly surrounded, and the savages fled from it into the adjoining thicket in the utmost conster- nation. In this attack none were killed on either side but one Indian by Capt. Cressap.

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Historical collections of Ohio in two volumes, an encyclopedia of the state, Volume II, Part 47

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