History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 182

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728

USA > Ohio > Jefferson County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 182
USA > Ohio > Belmont County > History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley > Part 182

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).

THE TOWNSHIP AT PRESENT,

As bounded by the river Ohio, affords somewhat the outline of a distorted letter B. On the cast it is bounded by the river wind- ing in snake form, while on the west the line of Cross Creek boundary gives it a straight back, Island creek on the north and Wells on the south only partially cutting it off from the river. Steubenville township, outside of the city, contains an area in

the neighborhood of 6,500 acres, and in the city about 600 acres. It is for the most part hilly, well watered, excellent woodlands, and abounds with coal and mineral strata, very easily worked, while the lands for agricultural purposes are unsurpassed. The main creek, and really only one that runs through it, is Cross creek, which enters a little east of "Gonld's Station," on the P., C. & St. L. R. R., and empties at Mingo, though George's Run passes through the south end of the township, and there are several lesser streams, such as Fisher's or Permar's Run, flow in various directions. The Wheeling extension of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh railroad runs north and south along the west shore of the river, and the P., C. & St. L. line crosses the Ohio on approaching the city of Steubenville, runs south to Mingo and thence up the waters of Cross Creek, until it leaves the county three miles east of Cadiz junction. Among its earliest settlers, after Bazaleel Wells, were the Johnsons, Brickerstaffs, Abrahams, Permars, Powell, Lockard, Hodbert, Myers, England, Potters, Rickeys, Adams', Hills, &c., and these noble old pioneers certainly gave the original township an excellent start. Most of the old residents still living will have a lively recollection of that good old man, Augustine Brickerstaff, more familiarly known as "Teen," who has left numerous descendants in the township, among whom is one son, William Bickerstaff, still · living here, at the age of 75-6 years, and a daughter, now Mrs. Johnson, better recognized as "Polly Johnson," the latter being also hale and hearty, with an excellent memory and spirits, at the age of 92. To the latter venerable old dame are we indebt- ed for the substance of the following interview, which will be read with much interest :

INTERESTING RECOLLECTIONS OF NINETY YEARS AGO.

Hearing that Mrs. Johnson, nee Mary Bickerstaff, was on a visit to Steubenville, we were fortunate enough to secure a series of interviews with the venerable old lady, who has seen nearly ninety summers up to this date. We found her scated very happily rocking on each occasion of our visit, and were always welcomed to a seat beside her, as the old lady remarked-"My sight and hearing are not what they were fifty years ago." Ac- quainting her with our mission, she smiled a good-natured as- sent, and taking us by the arm said: "That's right; I'd like well for the world to know how we used to get along wben I was a girl. Well, I was born in Pennsylvania, Nov. 14th, 1790, and when eight years old, came here to Steubenville with my parents, who secured a number of acres of land from Bazaleel Wells, located a mile and a half west of Steubenville. It was on the bill where the cemetery fence now crosses. Our wagons were bauled up by oxen, and I will tell you

WHAT OUR LOG CABIN WAS LIKE.

Father lost no time in piling together the logs, and with an admixture of mud and wood ashes we soon plastered the rude cot, which had a root and doors constructed of clapboards. We improvised wooden hinges, and our door latches consisted of strings cut out of groundhog skins that we tanned ourselves. The floors were laid of split loga, the flat side up, and the same were used for joists ; while at night, to keep out the wild animals -for there were heaps around-we used to pile a big 'back-log' against the door, which, together with a few kindlings formed our fuel for the day, burnt in a large open fire-place, or vacant space left where it would burn safely. I tell you there was a beap of comfort in it as compared with your damask curtained houses of to-day." Without questioning the old lady's opinion, we suggested what was

THE LOT OF LADIES IN THOSE DAYS.

"Don't say 'ladies', my friend," said Mrs. J .; "we had no ladies in those days-we sought only to be women, and were proud of being called WOMEN. And, mind you, we never dreamed of disfiguring our bodies and deforming ourselves with 'Grecian bends', 'Roman falls', 'pull-backs', and long trains dragging in the mud. Finery was unknown to us-we cardcd, spun and wore our clothing. There was no running to the store for every- thing you wanted. Our shawls consisted of good, home-made flannel, sometimes colored to our fancy; and our heads knew nothing better than band-made sun bonnets for summer and warm wool hoods in winter. Our feet were covered with our own make of moccasins or shoe-packs, for which we tanned the _ leather ourselves. I tell you they were a heap better than your high-heeled, tight fitting fancy boots of to-day. We had no corns in those days, except such as were grown on the ear in the field. But I must tell you about our

525

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

OLD TIME HUSKING MEETINGS.

Well, the men and women, old and young, would meet on each farm in the season at sundown, and about fifty or sixty of them would go to work in real carnest. Two sides were chosen, and a rail was laid across where the middle of the pile of corn would fall, and each man would place a man at the ends of the rail, when they were through husking, the side that had husked the most would have their man picked up and carried around, amid loud hurrahs, as the captain, Then, while the men were penning up the husks in the field, the women would go to the house, cook turkeys, chicken, pumpkin pies, &c., and we'd have a rous- ing good supper. In those times we drank out of gourds and had only pewter plates and dishes -no crockery or glass. After supper, though it was late, we returned to the field and there enjoyed a good hearty game ; we would all take hold hands, with a young man set in the middle of the ring, and we ran round singing :

"Sister Phœbe, how merry were we The night we sat under the juniper-tree ? Take this hat on your head, 'twill keep you warm ; Take a sweet kiss, 'twill do you no harm."

And in this way would frisk about like kittens till all the young men had a moonlight kiss, and we would finish up by singing :

"Mamma, who's been here since I've been gone ? A pretty young girl with a josey on."

A "josey" signifying a jacket. They were rare good times, I tell you ; lots of good, solid harmless fun. No rye drinking, no beer or hard cider, though we did sometimes take a little "mafig- elum," consisting of sugar, water and hops, which I'll tell you how to mix directly."

We asked, by way of a change, "from the ridiculous to the sub- lime," if she would tell us

HOW THEY INDULGED SPIRITUAL CONSOLATION.

"Oh ! we were not short of that," said the old lady, "but it was good solid religion in those days; not meetings gotten up to show off our clothes and to gossip. We had what we called 'riding preachers' come round; a minister on horseback, who held a service at one of our houses every other week, and every second week we had prayer meetings. Ah! and we put our whole souls into the worship. We did not quarrel and wrangle over all sorts of notions and isms, but united heart and voice in the common plain worship of God. And that reminds me of my dear old father. But, remember, he was no particular exception to the general rule in those days. He never took food, even to the extent of a piece, without asking Divine blessing, that he might feel thankful for it. Ah! I think I see his dear white head; and his long, white beard, as he joined regularly in family prayer, and never in my life did I ever know him to retire with- out committing us all to God's tender care and mercy. My friend, those were days when the heart was lifted to God in earnestness, and we all felt prayer was our common duty to our Maker, but nowadays people seem to fancy they are condescend- ing to approach God, and worse luck, there are not over many young folks that favor Him that much. I tell you, in religion things have mightily changed." We asked her for information on

THE FIRST PUBLIC PREACHING IN STEUBENVILLE,

When the old lady said that she never remembered preaching here " until 1799 or 1800, when one Lorenzo Dow visited this (then) scattered little hamlet, on foot, for he would not ride from place to place, on his mission for the Lord. A report had gained circulation that a great divine was coming, whom some were not slow to claim a second Christ, which led to 200 or 300 persons gathering here under a large tree that then stood at the end of the market square. . Beneath this tree was a bench upon which butchers cut up their meat, and there was also an ' upping block.' When Dow arrived he looked exceedingly seedy and worn out by travel, so much so that he somewhat staggered, which led our informant's mother to inquire of her good hus- band if he did not think the man drunk. The venerable old man simply replied, " Thee'll see directly." The zealous ambassador of Christ mounted the " upping block " and, Mrs. Johnson states, addressed the people from the following words, which have never since ceased to ring in her ears :

"Sent by my Lord, on you I call -- The invitation is to all; Come all the world-come sinner, thou ; All things in Christ are ready now."

The sermon was one of unsurpassed eloquence and impres- siveness, and the delighted audience voluntarily took up a hat collection, handing the receipts to the preacher, who though in dilapidated habiliments himself, sought out the most humbly at- tired man in the audience, and handing it to him bade him God speed in its use. Mr. and Mrs. Bickerstaff, parents of our in- formant, entreated Mr. Dow to visit their house and eat and rest with them, but he declined in the words, " I have not the time, my Lord's work must be done and I must go." We next asked for.

A FEW OLD TIME RECIPES.

" Just so," the old lady observed, " I said I would tell you how we made 'Mafigelum,' Well, we boiled down forty to fifty gal- lons of sugar water to half its original quantity. Then boiled down a quarter of a pound of hops and added. Into this we poured a bowl of yeast, closed it up and let it work itself clear; and you'd better believe it was good." We then inquired as to their method of home tanning. "Why," said she, " we took a deer skin and strewed green wood ashes on it, with a little moisture, and let it stand until the hair came off. Then we would put it on a shave horse, and with the back of a knife scraped it clean. After this we stretched it well on a board and rubbed the ani- mal's brains into it thoroughly, until the skin presented a smooth, glossy surface, and then we dried it and it was tanned. One deer skin would make two pair of moccasins, and afford the "wangs" or strings, to tie them. Ground hogs were also very plenty-and fine ones, too. We used to take and soak their skins for a day in hot water and green wood ashes, and when all the hair had come off we boiled white oak bark for three or four hours, with which we rubbed the skins till they became dry. A good ground hog's skin would make two pair of ' shoe-packs,' and I tell you, we used to feel rare and proud when the men brought home a deer skin with only one shot hole in it." And how did you get on, in the absence of coal oil, for lights ? "Oh ! good ; we had lots of nice home-made dips. But you know we used to believe in the good old saying, 'early to bed and early to rise,' so we really did not want so much artificial light as they do now-a-days. We had plenty of good lard oil, tallow and bears' greese, while good candles we often made out of bees wax mainly. You must know wild bees were plenty in the woods those days. We often took gallons and gallons of honey and any amount of wax out of one hollow tree. And let me say right here, bears, wolves, foxes, coons, polecats, groundhogs and wild turkeys were then as common as cats and dogs now. I often have seen bears from 300 to 500 pounds weight. But let me tell you about the

LOVELY PICTURES THAT HUNG ROUND OUR HUTS.

Pictures ! we remarked-why, had you pictures? "Yes, in- deed," said the old lady, as she smiled somewhat wickedly. "And I tell you we had just the nicest kind of pictures. Every- body liked them, and when we tired of admiring them, we eat them. They consisted of fine dried turkies, jerk, side meats, hams, pumpkins and other good things, hanging as thick as ou- ions, all round the house-what finer pictures could we have de- sired ?" Conceding the philosophy in her opinions, we asked

HOW THEY MANAGED WITHOUT DOCTORS ?

" Doctors !" exclaimed Mrs. J., " why a heap better than with them. We wanted none of them. What for?" she asked-and then continued, " you would be a heap better off if you followed our old style, in that respect, to-day. For a spring of the year medicine we used sassafras and spicewood. To prevent sleepless nights, the best thing in the world is a catnip blossom poultice placed on the back of the neck. Hops, bread, horse-radish and flax seed make fine poultices To produce a sweat we used penny-royal tea. For vomiting-I mean to prevent it-and for sick stomach the finest thing in the world is simply to scrape a little horse-radish and mix in cold water, and take a drink. For light head from fever, bake a poke root, as you would a potato, bathe your foot and place it to the sole as a poultice, and relief is yours in half an hour. Tar water cured most ordinary coughs, and for consumption and gravel we always found spike- nard had no equal; that herb is one of the most valuable for many things. To stop bleeding produced by cuts we used fresh soot from wood ashes, or puff balls, and applied pounded elm bark as a salve." The old lady then went on to deliver us a most convincing lecture on the merits of "butter-nut pills" as infallible for billiousness, or as a general corrective of the sys-

526

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

tem, beside naming numerous other valuable home-made medi- cines. But the foregoing will be ample to convey an idea of "ye olden style of doctoring.

HISTORICAL AND OTHERWISE.

Our conversation subsequently took a general turn, from which we gleaned the following : " When we first came to Steu- benville it was a perfect thicket, with only a few lots scattered here and there. With our family came six others, named Mor- ris West, Gabe Holland, Nathan Casebier, John Johnson, Adam Modowell, and old Josiah Hitchcock. We found a ferryman named Hanlin at the river, who brought us across. I was sub- sequently married to Nehemiah, son of John Johnson, as already spoken of. There was hardly a soul to be found in what is the suburbs of Steubenville of to-day, except John Parker, who was a trapper on Wells' Run. Bazaleel Wells was quite a young man, and resided at that time with his father, Alexander Wells, where Mr. Browning now resides. Father paid Bazalcel Wells, who was a real good, noble man, only in corn, sugar, molasses and other produce for our farm, as also for two other pieces of land that he afterwards purchased and gave to my brothers. When we first came, father and others used to fetch salt in packs on horseback, over the mountains, until Hans Wilson opened a store, when we paid fifteen cents per quart for it, and it was at that store I first beheld calicos and cotton goods offered over the counter for sale. I did not go to school for three or four years after we came here, and then 'attended a little log but school about a mile from our house, near the state road-but only in the winter, as we all had to work bard through the summer, The schoolmaster who taught through the winter, was called Madcap, but a clever man from Baltimore, named McCulley, used to teach during the summer.

FARMERS AND EXTENSIVE LAND OWNERS IN STEUBENVILLE TOWNSHIP TO-DAY.

Since the early settlement of this section the land has of course been divided and subdivided so that few traces of old landmarks are left. Manufacture is no longer confined to the city limits of the county seat, nor does it stop at Mingo, but bere, there and everywhere may traces of it be found, so that the lands owned now by the following parties, outside of Steubenville corporation, though chiefly applied to agriculture, are not exclusively so. The leading farmers and land owners to-day are J. H. Adams, Adam Peeler, G. W. Adams, Joshua Wells' heirs, J. Scott, Henry Adams, Joseph Johnson, Daniel Farmers' heirs, the Potter heirs, and the Means' hcirs, J. W. Parr, Speakers' heirs, J. & A. Bustard, W. D. Mclaughlin, the Beatty heirs, W. Brady's heirs, Thos. More- land, the Union Cemetery Company, the Dunbar heirs, A. Walker, Frank Wells, John H. W. Miller, W. Connell's heirs, W. H. Rowe, Hon Thos. B. Scott, the Moore heirs, Jno. V. Tarr, W. A. Tarr, -- Duff (of Pittsburgh), Jno. Martin, Matthew Nicholson, the Wilson's heirs, J. P. Draper, James Hill, James Erwin's heirs, Jos. W. Hill's beirs, N. Risden's heirs, &c. Prob- ably the largest and finest farms are cultivated by the Adams', the Hills, Means, and Farmers' heirs, the Potter beirs, Adam Peeler's farm, and the Brady farm, all of which are under a very high state of cultivation, and rapidly increasing in value, as also several others that might be mentioned.

THE PRESENT TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

The trustees are: Richard Archdeacon, John McMurray, and Edward F. Bond; treasurer, H. H. Ferres; clerk, Geo. Ficks (who has efficiently filled the same office for over eighteen years) ; constables, Douglas Cahill and Joseph Conley ; supervisors, Ed- ward Mulholland and J. Vankirk ; justices of the peace, Geo. G. Wright and Henry J. Spence; assessor, Geo. R. Kneff.

THE PRINCIPAL TOWN IN THE TOWNSHIP,

As also in the county, is the city of Steubenville, located in the north casterly part of the district, as we have already stated, occupying about 600 acres. As we give the city an entire chap- ter elsewhere, we will pass it on for the second town in the town- ship, which though small at present, is growing with a bright future before it, while it may justly claim a distinction in the county's history second to no other spot located in the state, as will be gleaned from the following :

THE ANCIENT MINGO TOWN.

The history of this ancient Indian village creates no little in- terest throughout this region. It was a village of the once noted and powerful Senecas, located on the west bank of the Obio, a

little above the mouth of Cross creek, in what is now Steuben- ville township, Jefferson county, about two and a half miles be- low Steubenville.

The earliest historical mention we have of the place is in Geo. Crohan's journal of his transactions with the Indians at Fort Pitt in the spring of 1765. No mention is made of the place in the journal and map of the French expedition down the Ohio under De Celoron in 1749, though general care is said to have been taken to note the tribes and villages along the river. (See chapter on that expedition and accompanying map, in another part of this volume.)

In Croghan's journal of the 14th of April, 1765, we find the following: " About eighty Seneca Indians (Mingo) came here from their town at the Two Creeks. (Cross Creeks, ) and brought with them a quantity of skins and furs, expecting to trade."

Mention is again made of the place by Croghan in his journal of his tour down the Ohio, shortly afterward, on his way to visit the western Indians. He started from Fort Pitt on the 16th of May, 1765, and on the 17th he says :

" At six o'clock in the morning we embarked, and were de- lighted with the prospect of a fine open country on each side of the river as we passed down. We came to a place called the Two Creeks, about fifteen miles from Yellow creek, where we put to shore. Here the Senecas have a village on a bigh bank on the north side of the river. The chief of this village offered me bis service to go with me to the Illinois, which I could not re- fuse for fear of giving him offence. although I had a sufficient number of deputies with me already. From thence we proceed- ed down the river, passing many large, rich and fine bottoms, the highlands being at a considerable distance from the river banks, till we came to the Buffalo creek, being about ten miles below the Seneca, village."

Gordon, in his history of Pennsylvania, made date of 1766, speaks of the Mingo town, saying its distance is "seventy-one miles below Fort Pitt."

In Imlay's " Topographical Description of the Western Ter- ritory of North America," 1766. the Mingo town is described as being " seventy-five miles below Fort Pitt, and containing sixty families."

On the 27th of March, 1768, a deputation of eight Indians from the Mingo town, held a conference at Red Stone (Browas- ville) Pennsylvania, with Rev. Charles Steel and others, acting as agents of Gov. John Penn, on the enforcement of a law en- acted by the provincial assembly of Pennsylvania, on the 3d of February, 1768, entitled " an act to remove the persons now settled, and to prevent others from settling on any lands in this province not purchased of the Indians." Mr. Steel makes a re- port of the conference to Gov. Penn, and subjoins the names of the Indians from the Mingo town. He says : "they came, and, after sermon, delivered a speech, with a string of wampum to be transmitted to your honor. Their speech was :

"Ye are come, sent by your great men, to tell these people to go away from the land which ye say is ours. And we are sent by our great men, and we are glad we have met here this day. We tell you the white people must stop, and we stop them, till the treaty. And when George Croghan and our great men will talk together, we will tell what to do."

The names of the Indians subjoined were : Captains Haven, Hornets, Mygog-Wigo, Nogowach, Strikebelt, Pouch, Gilly, Slewbells.

WASHINGTON AT THE MINGO TOWN IN THE FALL OF 1770.

In the fall of 1770, George Washington made a tour down the Ohio, "for the purpose of viewing lands to be apportioned among the officers and soldiers who had served in the French war." He was accompanied by Dr. Craik, Captain William Crawford (afterward commander of the expedition against San- dusky), Joseph Nicholson, Robert Bell, William Harrison, Charles Morgan, David Reddon (a boy of Captain Crawford's), and two Indians. The party embarked in canoes and started from Fort Pitt on the 20th of October. Washington kept a journal of his tour. On the 22d day of October the journal records the arrival of the party at Yellow creek, eight miles be- low the encampment of the previous night, and then at Big Stony creek, after which it proceeds :

"About seven miles from the last mentioned creek, twenty- eight from our last encampment, and about seventy-five from Pittsburgh, we came to the Mingo town, situate on the west side of the river, a little above the Cross creeks. This place con- tains abont twenty cabins and seventy inhabitants of the Six Nations. * Upon our arrival at the Mingo town

527

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

we received the disagrecable news of two traders being killed at a town called the Grape Vine town, thirty-eight miles below this, which caused us to hesitate whether we should proceed or wait for further intelligence."

Washington and his party encamped, or lodged at Mingo town on the right of the 22d, and remained there until two o'clock of the afternoon of the 23d. His journal of that day continues :

" Several imperfect accounts coming in, agreeing that only one person was killed, and the Indians not supposing it to be done by their people, we resolved to pursue our passage, till we could get a more distinct account of this transaction. Accord- ingly, about two o'clock, we set out with the two Indians, who Were to accompany us in our canoc, and after about four miles came to the mouth of a creek on the cast side. The Cross ereeks, as they are called, are not large; that on the west side is biggest. At the Mingo town we found and left more than sixty warriors of the Six Nations, going to the Cherokee coun- try to proceed to war against the Catawbas."

Little did the father of his country dream that he was tarry- ing on the eastern shore of what was to be such a mighty state within the brief period of a century-the dwelling place of mil- lions of thriving, prosperous and happy people-the centre of a great and enlightened civilization - a radiating point, from which emits the light of science and mental elevation, with its unrivalled advancement and improvement in all that pertains to the welfare of mankind.

The Mingo town is mentioned in the journal of the Rev. David Jones, a minister of the gospel residing at Freehold, New Jer- sey, who made a tour to the western Indians in the summer of 1772, already referred to in another part of this work. On Tues- day, June 9th, he says : "Left Fort Pitt in company with Mr. George Rogers Clark, and several others, who were disposed to make a tour through this new world. We traveled by water in a canoe, and as I labored none, had an opportunity of observing the courses of the river. It would be too tedious to give a par- ticular account ; it may suffice to be more general, and refer the curious reader to a map expected soon to be published by Messrs. Hutchins & Hooper. * *

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.

History of Belmont and Jefferson Counties, Ohio, and incidentially historical collection pertaining to border warfare and the early settlement of the adjacent portion of the Ohio Valley, Part 182

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 728

Author: Caldwell, J. A. (John Alexander) 1n; Newton, J. H., ed; Ohio Genealogical Society. 1n
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Wheeling, W. Va. : Historical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 728