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 76

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 76
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 76

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).

Drawn by F. R. Robjohns. 1879.

ILLUSTRATIONS FOR GEOLOGICAL ESSAY. I.

Sphenophyllum angustifolium.(Germ)

Fig.9

Asterophyllites, fructified. (Brgt.)

Fig. 11

Fig. 1 Original Quartz Crystal

Original. Fig. 2 Calc Spar

Fig. 5

Fig.7

Lepidodendron scutatum. (Lesqx)

Stigmaria ficoides. (Bt.)

00 00

0.0

215

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

simply this : The limestone has been decomposed into two sepa- rate elements, one of which, an invisible gas, has been driven off by the heat to mingle with the atmosphere, while the other, a solid quicklime, remains. These two elements are so impor- tant in geology that it is necessary to speak of cach somewhat in detail. Carbonic dioxide is the name by which the invisible gas which is driven off from burning lime is now known. It is the well-known gas formerly called by chemists, carbonic acid. It is composed of two equivalents of oxygen combined with one of carbon. In its natural state it is a colorless gas, about one and a half times the weight of air. Being thus heavier than the atmosphere, it does not rise like the lighter gases, but seeks the lower levels; and consequently it may be handled by the expert chemist in much the same manner as water. Though perfectly invisible, it may be dipped or poured from one vessel to another, may be bottled up, and may be experimented with in various ways which would be impossible in the case of the lighter gases. If a living animal, as a mnouse, be placed in a vessel of pure car- bonic dioxide, it will quickly become insensible and die. In the same way men often lose their lives by descending into wells or caves where this gas, which they call dead.air or damp, has collected. It is produced in large quantities by the burning of wood and coal, and by the decaying of animal and vegeta- ble matter everywhere ; consequently there is a greater or less amount of it in the atmosphere at all times. It is usually ob- tained for experiments by the action of sulphuric or nitric acid, or even strong vinegar, upon powdered limestone, marble, chalk, or animal shells. It is obtained in this manner in large quantities for the purpose of charging the beverage misnamed "soda-water."

Although it is a gas under ordinary circumstances, carbonic dioxide inay, like most other gases, be reduced to a liquid, and even to a solid. An English chemist, Prof. Faraday, found that this gas under powerful pressure sinks into a clear, limpid liquid. Thilorier, a French chemist, repeated Faraday's experiments, and found that the condensed gas, subjected to a pressure of six hundred pounds to the square inch, turns to beautiful snowy crystals. It has since been reduced to a clear crystaline solid like ice, by freezing, the temperature required being some- thing like one hundred degrees below zero.

The other element of limestone, quicklime, is so well known that it needs little description. It is composed of the common gas oxygen united with a metal called calcium. This metal is never found native. It is so rare in its pure state that few peo- ple ever have an opportunity of seeing a specimen. Its affinity for oxygen is so strong that it has to be kept in a carbon oil to protect it from the air and moisture. It is so difficult to obtain, and so hard to keep when obtained, as to render it quite expen- sive. In appearance it is a beautiful silvery metal, so soft that it can easily be cut with a knife. When freshly cut it has a bright silvery lustre, like a piece of lead ore, or the face of a piece of freshly cut lead; but its lustre begins to tarnish as soon as it is exposed to the atmosphere. The only nat- ural and permanent form in which this metal exists is in com- position with other elements : generaly united with oxygen and carbonic dioxide in the form of limestone, or with oxygen and phosphoric acid in the form of phosphate of lime, the substance of which the bones of animals are chiefly composed. Thus it will be seen that lime plays an important part in the animal world : its carbonate forming the solid parts (shells) of the lower order of animals, and its phosphate forming the solid parts (skeletons) of the higher orders.

How The Lower Orders of Animals Form Their Shells .- To make the history of limestone complete, it will be necessary to show the manner in which the lower animals form their shells of carbonate of lime. Limestone (carbonate of lime) cannot be dissolved in water; but when it takes on another part of car- bonie dioxide it becomes the bicarbonate of lime, a substance which cold water easily dissolves. Water containing bicar- bonate of lime in solution is called "hard water"-an element too well known, even in our sandstone regions, to require any description. When hard water is heated, one equivalent of car- bonic dioxide is driven off, leaving the insoluble carbonate of lime, which settles to the bottom of the vessel. As most waters in their natural state contain more or less carbonic dioxide the wa- ters of those regions where there are nothing but limestone forma- tions, are usually bard. In many regions there is no other kind than hard water-springs, wells, ereeks, rivers, all heavily charged with bicarbonate of lime. Naturally, the tendency of all calcareous matter is to exist in the forin of limestone, or of bi- carbonate of lime dissolved in water. From this dissolved bi-

carbonate the soft-bodied sea-animals form their shells, by tak- ing it into the system and eliminating or throwing off the su- perfluous part of carbonic dioxide.

Now, supposing water and carbonic dioxide to have been suf- ficiently plentiful, there might have been a time, before the seas were "gathered together into one place," when almost all calca- reous substances existed in the form of bicarbonate of lime in solution. Such a period, we have a right to believe, would have been a good time for sea-animals having shells. That there was a time when such animals did exist, and that the seas of that period swarmed with animal life just such as we would expect, a glance at some of the older rocks of our globe is sufficient to convince any unprejudiced mind. Some of the older rock-for- mations are literally made up of such shells. The rocks which form the hills around Cincinnati are splendid illustrations of this point.

Cement Limestone .- The subject of cement, or hydraulic lime- stone demands some attention here, since there are important beds of this substance in Belmont county. Some have insisted that it is carbonate of magnesia which gives to cement its peculiar properties ; while others have claimed the honor variously for oxide of iron, oxide of' manganese and soda. The absurdity of some of these views is obvious from the fact that the best cement rocks of Belmont county contain neither soda nor oxide of manganese, and only slight traces of iron. (See table of analysis below). The carlier opinions upon the subject were mostly drawn from an analysis of the cement rock of the Island of Sheppey, England, from which cement was first made for the English market, by a Mr. Parker, who patented it under the name of " Roman Cement." A table of the analysis of this rock is given below, together with an analysis of the famous ce- ment rock of Kingston, N. Y., and analyses of some of those of Belmont county. In each case 100 parts are supposed to be taken, so that the figures represent percentages of the whole amount. No, 1 is an analysis, made by Dr. E. S. Wayne, of Cincinnati, of rock from the cement works of Messrs. T. C. Parker & Son., near Barnesville. No. 2 is from the lowest strat- um of cement rock at Bellaire, analyzed by Prof. Wormley, chemist of the Ohio Geological Survey.

ANALYSES OF CEMENT ROCKS.

Belmont Cou'ty.

Eng'h.

N. Y'k.

No. 1.|

No. 2

Carbonate of lime ..

69.00

59.70|

72.10

42.70

Carbonate of Magnesia.

.20

12.35

11.15

25.50

Oxide of iron

3.70

2.35

3.10

Oxide of Manganese.

1.20

Silica

18.00

15.87

8.47

19.50

Alumina

6.60

9.13

4.85

11.60

Water, loss, &c

1.30!

1.10

.33

.70

100.00

100.00!

100.00

From this table it is evident that the adhesive property of cement is due to the presence of either magnesia, silica, or alumina. The best opinion seems to be that it is due to silicate of alumina (clay), and it is stated "as a general rule" that "lime- stone must contain from 25 to 35 per cent. of clay, in order to yield a good, quick-setting cement, though 10 to 12 per cent. will suffice to give it hydraulic properties." (New American Encyclopædia, Art. " Cement.")

COAL.

Few facts of science are better established than that coal is derived from vegetation. "The vegetable origin of coal," says Prof. Dana, "is beyond all reasonable doubt."" When we think of the nature of coal, of the mere probabilities of such a method of formation, and of the improbabilities of any other method, we are led to strongly suspect that coal must have originated from some organic source ; and we would undoubtedly accept this as conclusive, provided we could conceive of such conditions ever having existed as would admit of our broad, continuous coal-beds being so formed, and reconcile this conclusion with the fact of their various depths, covered as they are with thick beds of solid rock. But when we find wood and coal, of nearly the same composition, in all stages of the change; when we find trees turned to coal, having preserved their original shapes and markings ; and, above all, when we find leaves imbedded in the coal-bearing rocks, showing their veins, and fruits showing their attachments, we are forced to conclude that Nature has not left

216

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

herself without a record. But when we find all the surrounding facts pointing to the former existence of conditions favorable to such formation, what at first seemed impossible appears not only probable, but clear, positive, and conclusive,

To trace, then, the history of coal; to show its nature as al- lied to that of wood; to show the process by which it is derived from vegetation : to determine the kinds of trees and plants from which our coals have been derived, and how they grew - these subjects, with other matters closely related to them, will ocenpy this division of our sketch.

Nature of Coal as allied to Wood .- It is only through the aid of chemistry that the true character of any substance can be ac- curately determined. We may know the properties of any form of matter from a mere acquaintance with it in mass, but the question, What is it? only chemistry can answer. That science penetrates to the inner character of the minutest par- ticle of matter, tracking the secret of Nature back to its last recess. and unlooses the silver cord of affinities by which she binds her few simple elements into the infinite variety of strength and beauty around us. Through chemistry science un- ravels the finest texture of Dame Nature's weaving, as well as the coarsest ; untwists the warp and woof, and reveals the sim- ple plan and plain materials with which that cunning artist builds the giant mountain or shapes the petal of a flower. Through chemistry we learn that out of sixty-five simple ele- ments is formed all this endless variety : the pebble, the plant and the planet ; the simple life-cell and the complex organism ; the enduring mountain and the vanishing summer-cloud. Through chemistry we learn, also, the nature of each of these clements : how, like human beings, they manifest their affini- ties and change their conduct with their company. Some of these principles may be gleaned from what has already been said of oxygen, carbon, and others of these simple ele- ments, in the articles on sandstone and limestone. Of all these the most important is the gas oxygen. It is the most abundant clement in nature. "It is of universal distribution through our atmosphere, forming one-fifth part of the air we breathe. The total quantity contained in the atmosphere has been computed to be about 1,178,158,000,000,000 tons, which, if forming a separate layer of uniform density upon the earth's surface, would be one mile deep. It constitutes eight-ninths of water by weight, besides being a constituent of nearly all the rocks of the globe; and entering largely into the organized structure of plants and animals .-- (Youmans.) Carbon, a solid element, is perhaps the next most important in this discussion. The well known compound of carbon and oxygen, carbonic diox- ide, has been spoken of at sufficient length. Hydrogen, a gas at ordinary temperatures, is principally known as one of the cle- ments of water, of which it constitutes about one ninth by weight. Iron and sulphur are sufficiently well known. If other elements are required to be mentioned in the discussion of coal, the connection will sufficiently indicate their nature.

Dry wood is composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, Lig- nite, a substance which occupies an intermediate position be- tween wood and coal, having many of the properties of each, and the appearance of woody fiber in its transition into coal, is also composed of the same elements, but having a larger propor- tion of carbon. Coal itself consists of the same three elements, with the proportion of carbon still increased. The following table (Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol. VII, p. 4) shows the consti- tution of these substances-the amount of oxygen and hydrogen in each to the 100 parts of carbon, uo account being taken of the ash.

Carbon.

Oxygen.

Hydrogen.

Wood

100

83.07

12.18

Lignite.

100

42.42

8.37

Coal (English)

100

21.23

6.12

Coal (American Anthracite).

100

1.74

4.75

It will be noticed from this table, that a little more than half of wood is carbon, the proportion being 100 parts of carbon to 95.25 of both the other elements; and that the proportion of carbon increases-or, rather, the proportion of oxygen and hy- drogen diminishes-till in anthracite we find 100 parts of car- bon to 6.49 parts of the other two elements : that is to say, in anthracite coal there are more than fifteen times as much car- bon as of the other elements combined. It is clear, therefore, that the chemical change of wood to lignite, and thence to coal, consists in the loss of oxygen and hydrogen, leaving a larger proportion of carbon in each new substance than in the one from which it is derived. Let us see if we can account for this change.

If a piece of wood be burned in the open air, the oxygen and hydrogen, united in the form of water, are driven off as vapor;

and the solid element, carbon, unites with the oxygen of the air to form the gas carbonic dioxide. If the wood be left to decay, which is nothing more than a process of slow burning, the same changes will occur. But if the wood be burned in a retort, or in any other method which will prevent the air from reaching it. there will be an entirely different result: the oxygen and hydrogen of the wood will unite, as before, to form vapor of water; but, as the air is excluded, there is no oxygen to unite with the carbon, and that substance is left pure in the form of light, porous charcoal. Suppose, then, the slow burning or dc- composition of a large mass of wood to take place under water, so that the air would be excluded: most of the oxygen and hy- drogen would be driven off, leaving a black-looking mass, mostly carbon, chemically the same as coal. Suppose, next, this mass to become covered over by hundreds of feet thickness of rock - material, and to lay for centuries under the enormous pressure : the vegetable traces would be pressed ont, and the mass would shrink into a compact bed of carbonaceous mineral-in, other words, coal. It is probable, however, that the chemical changes here assumed are not quite those which actually take place in coal-making. The wood certainly loses most of its gaseous ele- ments; but the mass being covered and permeated with water, it is hardly likely that those elements also turn to water. The substances which are formed are carburetted hydrogen, a gas, and bitumen, or " mineral tar." This bitumen is composed of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen, in the proportion of 20 of the first to 6 of the second and 16 of the last. It is the tarry-looking sub- stance we often see distilling ont at the cracks of burning coals. No one can fail to have noticed the escaping of the gas which forms within this bitumen, This is the carburetted hydrogen spoken of above. It is composed, as its name implies, of carbon and hydrogen. That this gas is one of the products of coal - making seems probable from the fact that vast reservoirs of it are sometimes found in the earth, The village of Fredonia, N. Y., is lighted by light carburetted hydrogen gas which comes from one of these underground reservoirs. They are often struck in boring oil wells and salt wells, and the gas frequently rises in such quantities that it is used for driving the pumping- engines.

Impurities .- So far, we have spoken of wood and coal as pure. In fact neither is ever free from other substances than those spoken of, as is shown by the ash lett after burning. The ash of wood consists of silica and potash. The potash dissolves in the pro- cess of coal-making, but the silica appears in the ash of coal. If there are no other impurities than this, the ash of coal is fine and white; but there are almost always more or less slate and iron pyrites. Most coal beds have thin slate partings between the layers of coal. The slate composing these partings, consist- ing of silica and alumina, colored by bitumen, are usually broken up and mingled with the coal, and consequently appear in the ash, whitened by the burning out of the bitumen. But the most

troublesome of the impurities in coal is iron pyrites. This is the hard substance which strikes fire from the miners' picks and emits a sulphury smell. When heated it sometimes bursts with a loud noise, and pieces fly in all directions, Its color, copper- ish to golden, has given it, in some localities, the absurd name of "copperas;" in other localities it is less absurdly called " fool's gold." Chemically it is called sulphuret of iron, to indicate that it is composed of sulphur and iron. We have seen that most geological formations contain iron, When we consider with this the fact that traces of sulphur occur in all vegetable mat- ter, the presence of iron pyrites in coal is easily explained. When coal containing pyrites is burned the surplus is driven off, leaving the iron in the form of "cinders" or " clinkers."

KINDS OF PLANTS WHICH HAVE ENTERED INTO THE FORMATION OF COAL.

Enough is known of the vegetation from which our coal-beds have been formed to enable us to say that they consisted of both land and fresh water species. The highest order of plants in the coal flora were cone-bearing trees allied to the pine tribe of the present day. Strictly speaking, these belong to the divi- sion of flowering plants. Of the flowerless plants there were three classes, Lycopods, Equiseta, and Ferns.

Lycopods .- Of the Lycopods, or ground-pine family, the most important form is called the Lepidodendron, from two Greek words, meaning "scale-tree," because the trunks of these trees are found with the bark, turned to coal, arranged in scales. Each scale represents the attachment of a leaf showing that the leaves were attached directly to the trunk. These trees some- times ran up to the height of eighty feet, or more, and bristled with long slender leaves, like those of the pine or spruce, except

217

HISTORY OF BELMONT AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES.

that they were often more than a foot long. Fig. 4 represents the extremity of a branch of Lepidodendron, These trees are known only through the remains found in coal-bearing rocks, Fig. 5, taken from Prof. Lesquereux's new Coal Flora Atlas (plate LXIII) represents a new species named and described by the author of that important contribution to science. It is called Lepidodendron, scutatum,* from its shield-shaped scales, the lat- ter. or specific name, being a Latin word signifying "armed with a shield." Specimens of Lepidodendron have been found in the rocks of Belmont county ; but none so well preserved as that given.

Another curious tribe of the Lycopods is called Sigillaria, from a Latin word meaning "seal," on account of the leaf-scars on the trunk, which resemble impressions made by a seal. Like the Lepidodendrons, these trees are known only through their fossil remains found in the coal-bearing strata. They grew up as single trunks without leaves or branches, to the height of thir- ty or forty, and often as much as sixty feet. In Fig. 17 the tree in the centre, with a tuft of leaves at the top, represents a Si- gillaria. Fig. 6 is from a specimen found in Wheeling township, of this county, in a slate formation lying just below the Pitts- burgh coal. This species is quite common, both in this country and in the Old World. It was first described by the great French naturalist, Brongniart, in the early part of the present century, The specimen represented by Fig. 6 shows portions of the bark, turned to coal, still adhering to the trunk.

Another common form of coal-plant is the Stigmaria, a speci- men of which is represented in Fig. 7, taken from Lesquereux's Coal Flora Atlas, (Plate LXXIV). The name Stigmaria is from the Latin stigma, a dot, and was given to these plants on account of the dotted appearance of the stems. These may have been, as some regard them, the roots of Sigillariae ; but Prof. Lesquereux, who is our best authority on the subject of coal-plants, main- tains that they are sometimes stems, and not roots.

Equiseta-The most common form of the Equiseta, or "horse- tail" family, is the tribe known as Calamites (Greek Kalamos, a reed). "The stems were fluted, hollow, and jointed, with leaves in whorls, growing from the joints."-(Andrews.) They often grow to the height of twenty feet, and were sometimes as much as a foot in diameter. Calamites are found in great numbers in some of the shales over our coals, and the impressions of the stems are sometimes preserved in sandstones of fine texture. Some well defined stems of these plants have been found by M.r. Oliver Dowdell, of Goshen township, in a sandstone formation lying fifteen or twenty feet above the Badgersburg flagstone hor- izon. Fig. 8 represents a speeimen of calamite ; and Figs 9 and 14 represent other equiseta formed in the rocks of Belmont county. The specimen represented in Fig. 9, with fruit attached, taken from Lesquereux's Coal Flora Atlas, was found in Wheel- ing township, in the slate formation before mentioned. Fig. 10 (Lesqx., C. F. Atlas, Plate III.) is from a specimen found in Colerain township in the same formation,

Ferns-The last family of coal plants is the Ferns-a family with which all are more or less familiar through our modern varie- ties. The modern species, however, differ very greatly from those of the coal age. Some of the ferns which grew in the coal forests were tree ferns, but most of them were herbaccons. Some fronds (leaves) of these were six to eight feet in length. A great many specimens of fossil ferns have been found in Bel- mont county, representing thirty or more different species. Only a few of these can be noticed here. Fig. 4 represents a new species discovered in Wheeling township. This species was named by Prof. Lesquereux, and is described by him in his Coal Flora of the United States, and figured in the Coal Flora Atlas-both of which works are published as parts of the Report of the Second Geological Survey of Pennsylvania. Fig. 12 rep- resents a specimen found on the farm of Mr. Wilkins, about half a mile from St. Clairsville, in a soapstone formation lying a few feet below Coal No. 12. This is a very common species, how- ever, and may be found iu almost all our coal-bearing forma- tions. It was discovered by Lesquereux and described by him in the Geological Survey of Illinois. Fossil remains of fruits which grew on the trees of the coal forest are often found.

Fig. 13 (Andrews) represents a species first described by Dr. Newberry, of which specimens have been found in Belmont county. It is not. known certainly on what trees these nutlets grew ; but they are supposed to belong to the Cordaites, a tree allied to the conifers or "cone-bearers." The rocks of Belmont county are peculiarly rich in fossil plants. In the shales over and beneath the various coal-seams, and in other formations of texture sufficiently fine to preserve the impressions, there are doubtless hundreds of species. But these formations have not as yet been well studied. The work in this line, the results of which are here outlined, is the mere pastime of a period less than two years. Except a few scattering investigations in the horizons of Coals No. 12 and No. 13, nothing has been done to develop the fossil flora of the Upper Coal Measures of Belmont county ; and the species of our Lower Measures so far identified are known through specimens obtained by Dr. G. A. Close, of St. Clairsville, and the writer of this sketch, from excavations made along the line of the C., T. V. & W. Railroad.

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 76

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