USA > Ohio > Champaign County > History of Champaign County, Ohio, Its People, Industries and Institutions, Volume I > Part 15
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Owens, Elijah Bell, Peter Runkle, Isaac Smith, Joseph S. Reynolds, George Glaspie, Thomas Parish, Frederick Ambrose, Silas Johnson, William Gear- hart, Thomas Lansdale, Nancy Adamson, William Chapman, Jacob Fleming, John Thomas, Daniel McMillen, Joseph Sims, Daniel Snyder, Basil West, Christian Stevens, Gabriel Trier, Elijah Weaver, John Haller, John Wiant, William Harbor, Archibald McGrew, Christopher Weaver, Louis Pence, Sampson Talbott, Thomas Pierce, Felix Rock.
FIRST ELECTION IN TOWNSHIP.
It must be remembered that the Mad River township of 1805 covered as extensive a territory as that of the entire county of Champaign today. It included the western half of the present county and in addition substantial portions of both the present counties of Logan and Clark. It even included a part of the present city of Urbana, the boundary line between Mad River and Salem townships in 1805 being the line dividing sections 24 and 30 within the present city limits.
The first election in the township was held on May 3, 1805, at the house of Thomas Kenton, a nephew of Simon Kenton, a native of Virginia, and a resident of the future Mad River township since 1801. The election resulted as follows: Trustees, Peter Boone, David Broyles and Nathan Darnell ; clerk, James Reynolds ; treasurer, Ezekiel Arrowsmith ; lister and house appraisers, James Burns and William Ross, Jr. ; constables, Archibald Mckinley, James Mitchel and Job Gard. If there were justices of the peace elected this first township record fails to speak of them. Each of the officers elected on that date were required to give bond in the amount of four hundred dollars, payable to Ezekiel Arrowsmith, the treasurer, and in case of non-performance of duties or malfeasance in office the bonds were declared forfeited.
Within less than a year from the time of this first election there was a change in the official family of the township. The record tells the story : "Mad River township, Champaign county, January 31, 1806, The Trustees mit and oppointed Joseph Hill, constable, instid of Henry Ceen, Isaac Ander- son, Caleb Carter." This Anderson left his name on a creek in his township and this seems to be about all he did leave posterity. Efficiency was an unknown word in his vocabulary and if he worked more than was absolutely necessary history and tradition are alike silent on the point. Apropos of his energy it is said that at one time when the rain was pouring down one night through his roof, his faithful wife awoke to find the water rising in the room and threatening to rise still higher. She wakened her husband and called his
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attention to the fact that they were in imminent danger of being washed out of bed. The shiftless Ike stuck his hand out beside the bed, decided the water would not reach it, yawned, turned over and went to sleep.
ELECTION OF OCTOBER 8, 1811.
There has been preserved the poll book of the election held in Mad River township on October 8, 1811, and since the township had been very mater- ially decreased in size since 1805, it is not surprising that there were only fifty-seven voters.
Poll Book of the election held In the township of Mad River, In the county of Cham- pilgn, on the eighth day of October. A. D., one thousand eight hundred and eleven : David Bayles, Nathan Daruall, and Peter Bruner, Judges, and James Montgomery and William Nicholson, Clerks of the election, were severally sworn as the law directs, pre- vious to their entering on the duties of their respective offices.
NAMES OF ELECTORS.
William Weaver, Sr., John Kain. Archibald McKinley, Elijah Standiford, William West. Thomas Grafton, Levi Rouze. Peter Bruner, Nathan Daruall. Isaac Lansdale. Sampson Kelly. Isaac Myers, James Grafton, James Montgomery, William Nicholson. John Beaty, Gershom Gard, Jacob Conklin, Elijah Ross, William Ross. S., John Brown. John Rouze, William Baggs, John Baggs, James Baggs. William Weaver. Jr., George Glass, Boswell Darnall, Henry Steinberger. Owen Ellis, Ezekiel Boswell, Daniel Davis. Heury Boswell, Heury Pence, Jobu Steinberger, Hiram Cotteral, Jobu Logan, Jr .. George Wickum. George Wilson. David Jones, Andrew Davis, Sr .. John Taylor, Anderson Davis, Jr., John Bayles, John Pence. Peter Smith, David Beaty, Shadrach D. Northentt, John S. Berry. Reuben MeSherry. Alexander Brown. Joseph Dilts. Miller Gillespy, Abraham Shockey, Samuel Pence. David Bayles.
The poll book contains the following statement at the bottom of the page containing the voters :
It is certified that the number of the electors at this election amounts to fifty-seven. „Attest :
W. NICHOLSON. JAMES MONTGOMERY. Clerks.
I'ETFR BRUNER. NATHAN DARNALI .. DAVID BAYLES. Judges of Election.
STORY OF THE OLD STOCKADE.
The early history of this township, like that of all other townships in the county, was filled with the struggles of the early pioneers in their efforts to clear the soil and wrest a living from its stumpy surface. Until the close of the War of 1812 there was always the fear of an Indian uprising and it was not until after peace had been declared in 1815 that the minds of the people were set at rest. History must record that this fear of the Indians on the
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part of the pioneers of Mad River township was responsible for the erection of a fort, or palisade of some sort, in the immediate vicinity of Westville. The ancient fortification has been graphically described by M. Arrowsmith, a resident of the township at a time when the fort was still standing. His description of the old fort follows:
To the best of my recollection It was in 1807 that the settlers in the valley on the north of the township, from their exposed condition to the savages, erected a fort by enclosing one-fourth of an acre with pickets and buildings. It was erected at the resi- dence of Thomas Kenton on the southwest corner of section 12. township 4, rauge 11. 1t was quadrangular in form. His two cabins stood about ten feet apart. The space between was to be used as an julet for any needed purpose, and protected with a swing- Ing gate of split timber. The pickets were made of split logs planted in the ground and reaching ten to twelve feet high. These flat sides ( for they were doubled) were placed together, thus shutting the joints completely, and formed the north side. The east and west sides were made with log buildings, the roofs slanting inwards and high enough on the inside for a doorway Into them. On the outside, about the height of the Inner euve, was a projection sufficient to prevent the enemy from climbing up, and a space of a few inches was left between the lower wall and jut that could be used for portholes in case the Indians were to come to set fire to the building or any like purpose. There was one building about the center of the south side, and the other spaces were closed with pickets. There was a well of water In the Inclosure. Fortunately. they never had need to use it for the purpose for which it was erected.
PRESENCE OF INDIANS A CONSTANT MENACE.
While the Indians never molested the whites, yet their presence was a constant menace to the quietude of the people of the county. On the whole, however, the whites and Indians were on friendly terms and it was not until the Indian became drunk that he became offensive, if not dangerous. A num- ber of traditions have been handed down concerning the relations of the Indians and the early settlers. These stories are largely from the reminis- cences of M. Arrowsmith and appear in the "History of Logan and Cham- paign Counties" (1872).
Thomas Kenton had a fine horse which was very much desired by an Indian. The redskin came to Kenton's house one day to negotiate for the horse and, even though he was offered other horses at a lower price, still he insisted on having this one particular horse. The price asked was eighty dol- lars, but the Indian wanted to give only seventy dollars. The dicker pro- ceeded, the red and white man matching their wits, and the Indian as anxious to get the horse as cheaply as possible. finally held up both hands seven times and one hand once. The trade was made on the basis of seven hands and a half which, being interpreted, meant seventy-five dollars. The Indian
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found, however, he only had seventy-four dollars in cash and after paying this amount he promised to be back at a stipulated time with the extra dollar. He was honest ; he came back.
Prior to 1820 it was customary for the Lewiston Indians to come to the valley of the Mad river in the summer and spend a few weeks. They made their camps along the banks of the river or its tributaries, rearing their wig- wams of skin and bark, and leaving their squaws and papooses to while away their time at the camps, the braves would hunt and fish in the neighborhood. The squaws made baskets and peddled them among the settlers and in this way picked up a little money, clothing or food. One of these Indians who responded to the name of Coldwater, went on one occasion to the home of one of the settlers to get some bacon on credit, promising to pay for it in specie, saying that he had specie at home. U'pon this representation the Indian got his bacon-but he never returned with the specie. All of which goes to show that the Indian was no more honest than his white brother.
CELEBRATED BEAR-INDIAN-HOG SCARE.
Another Indian story. During the days of Indians in the county the bears attacked a drove of hogs which were feeding on Chapman's creek in the southwestern part of the township. The hogs, true to porcine character, immediately began to raise a clamor and the clamor became so loud that it reached the ears of some settlers living in the neighborhood. They imme- diately concluded that the hogs were being attacked by the Indians and reas- oned that after the Indians had feasted on pork they would attack the settle- ment. So certain were they that the Indians were on the warpath that the settlers spread the alarm and within a few hours the settlers within a radius of several miles had congregated at the Kizer fort near the present village of Tremont in Clark county, about a mile south of the Champaign-Clark line. Some settlers fled to McBeth fort which stood in Urbana township. On the morning following the bear-Indian-hog scare, Kizer, the commander-in-chief of the fort bearing his name. deployed his men on the parade ground in front of the fort and commanded them to fire by platoons. Some distance away, out of vision but within the sound of musketry, stood Ft. McBeth. The assembled multitude in the latter fort, hearing the firing at Ft. Kizer, nat- urally concluded that the Indians were at last trying to carry the fort by assault. Fear reigned supreme. What was to be done? There was no question but that once the Indians had taken the other fort they would at once direct their savage attention to Ft. McBeth. The commander-in-chief
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of Ft. McBeth ordered the portholes manned and placed the women and chil- dren in places of safety within the stockade. Everything was made ready for the expected assault. They waited-and waited -- and still not an Indian appeared ; not another shot was heard: the suspense was awful; hours passed and finally it began to dawn on the occupants of Ft. McBeth that there was a possibility that it was all a false alarm. A reconnaissance was ordered; the other fort was cautiously approached, only to find everything calm and peace- ful-no Indians, no white men and everything as quiet as a summer's eve. And another Indian uprising had been quelled.
DIFFICULTIES CONFRONTING THE PIONEERS.
The first land entered was usually along the river and creek courses and it is safe to say that the great majority of the early homes were located pri- marily with the view to their proximity to a watercourse or spring. For the reason that malaria and ague were so prevalent in the low ground, the early settlers avoided as much as possible building their houses on the low ground. The land was cheap and many of the first settlers were hardly more than "squatters." locating here for a short time and then packing up and going on West. The labor of clearing the heavily timbered land was enough to weaken the courage of all but the most hardy settlers, and thus those who were left behind, those who actually did stay in the county, were the most thrifty and proved to be good citizens.
The first pioneer of the county has been briefly sketched. If it were possible to draw a pen picture of the one hundred odd pioneers who were in the township in 1805 it would make an interesting picture. But as a matter of fact, the story of one typical pioneer, with his struggles, his privations, and his efforts to make a home for himself and family, is the story of every one of these forefathers of ours. True it is that there are some who, because of peculiarities, eccentricities or idiosyncracies are better remembered than others. but their lives were strikingly similar in most respects. Fortunately, there has been preserved a few facts concerning some of the men who lived in this township in its early history. These facts have been preserved in the local newspapers, magazines and various historical articles which have appeared from time to time. A few of these old pioneers and some facts concerning their connection with Mad River township are given in the succeeding para- graphs.
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PREDOMINANCE OF VIRGINIANS.
Practically all of the first settlers of Mad River township came from either Virginia or Kentucky and those who came from the latter state had in most instances come originally from Virginia. There does not seem to have been any other settlers in the township than Owen before 1801. In that year Charles Rector and his brother-in-law, Christopher Weaver. located at the mouth of Storms creek, in what is now Clark county. Both these men came here from Kentucky. They were good citizens, industrious and honest, and were types of the best class of settlers. Conway Rector, the son of Charles Rector, later lived in section 12 in the southern part of Mad River township. William Ross, another prominent settler in the immediate vicinity with Rector and Weaver, was a man of unusual physical prowess and was noted for his feats of strength.
THE PROWESS OF ABRAM SHOCKEY.
Probably the most interesting stories concerning early pioneers of Mad River township cluster about the name and fame of Abram Shockey. He was nothing if not unique and his engaging peculiarities made him welcome wherever he went. Born in Kentucky, he came to this section of the then Territory of Ohio and settled along Nettle creek in what is now Mad River township shortly after 1800. He combined farming with the operation of a sawmill near the mouth of Nettle creek and between the two occupations made a comfortable living. Physically he was a man of goodly proportions, weigh- ing about one hundred and seventy-five pounds, of a sandy complexion, and of tireless energy. He was the original "Weston," the champion pedestrian of the county and probably of the state, and many are the stories told of his feats of pedestrianism. The Rev. William Haller often told in later years of seeing Shockey start with a pair of good trotting horses and actually keep ahead of them mile after mile.
The best example of Shockey's remarkable ability to walk is concerned with his effort to enter a tract of land before a neighbor of his could do the same thing. A few miles from his sawmill there was a fine tract of timbered land which was still in the hands of the government, and Shockey was wont to send his teams over there to get timber. It happened that one evening as he was coming from Uncle Sam's tract with a log. Judge Runkle observed him and remarked: "You cannot haul any more logs from that land, for I have
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sent Joe Sims to Cincinnati this morning to enter it." Here was where Shockey had a chance to show his ability as a walker. Realizing that he would have to get to the land office at Cincinnati before Sims, or he would lose the land, he hurriedly drove to the mill, unloaded his log, put his team away, borrowed the necessary money from one of his neighbors and within a few hours from the time the Judge had told him that he had sent a man that morn- ing to enter the land, Pedestrian Shockey was on his way to the land office.
Sims had more than twelve hours the start of him and besides was mounted on a good horse, but Shockey was willing to match his good legs with any horse. All night long Shockey walked and when the land office opened at nine o'clock the next morning, he was there on the doorstep waiting for it to open. He made the entry, paid his money and started on his return home rejoicing. While swinging along at a good rate of speed on his way back he spied in the distance his neighbor, Sims, riding into town with his horse flecked with foam. When the men met, Sims inquired as to the purpose of Shockey's trip to Cincinnati and Shockey informed him that he had taken a notion the night before to enter a tract of land near his farm and that he had just walked down to enter it. Only this, and nothing more. It is not on record what Sims thought, or said, or what Judge Runkle said when his emissary returned with the news that Shockey had entered the land before he reached the city.
If any pedestrian of today wishes to emulate this pioneer walker he would have to make the trip to Cincinnati between sunup and sundown. Shockey was always willing to wager that he could walk at any time from U'rbana to Cincinnati in a day, and he did it on more than one occasion. Not only did he do this, but on one occasion he ran a race with a stage coach from U'rbana to Xenia-and beat it.
OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS IN NEIGHBORHOOD.
The Weaver family were important factors in the carly history of the township. The first poll book showed the names of four members of the fam- ily, Philip, William, Christopher and Elijah. William and Christopher were brothers, natives of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, participants in the Revolu- tionary War, and had settled in Kentucky as early as 1792. They came to Ohio in 1802, and in 1807 located on section 24 in what is now Mad River township. William Weaver married Mary Kiger, a native of Maryland, about 1783, and this worthy couple became the parents of fifteen children. Nelson, the youngest of this large family, was born on December 22, 1817.
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In the same neighborhood, in the vicinity of Terre Haute, where the Weaver settlement was, there also located Henry Storms and it seems that he probably was the first to settle along the stream to which his name is still applied. In the same neighborhood Thomas Redmond located prior to 1805. but he returned to Kentucky, his native state, in 1811.
The most numerous family in the early history of the township was the Pence family, and no fewer than fifteen members of the family located in the township and county. The 1805 poll record gives the names of the following P'ence voters: John. Abram. Philip, Henry, Daniel, David and Louis. Of this number, John, Louis and Abram settled in Mad River township, John in section 9, Abram in sections 4 and 10, and Louis in section 9. John Pence bought his quarter section from one Tarman, but when his brother Louis came from Virginia in 1811, he sold out to him and went on farther West. Abram Pence was an official scout during the Indian troubles and for a time was stationed in what is now Logan county. He was a deacon in the Baptist church for many years prior to his death in 1838. David Loudenback, another of the prominent early citizens of the township, married a daughter of Abram Pence.
THE NETTLE CREEK SETTLEMENT.
Nettle Creek was the Mecca for a group of the earliest settlers. To this neighborhood there came a group of Virginians from the Shenandoah Valley, the Kites, Wiants, Loudenbacks, Runkles and others. John Wiant became the neighborhood tanner (near the present Myrtle Tree church ) and William Runkle also operated a tannery. The tanyard of the latter was located three miles south of Westville. Adam Kite located here in 1807 on two hundred acres of land, which he entered at Cincinnati while on the way from his native state to this county. He spent the rest of his life on that farm, his death occurring in 1842. Strange as it may seem, most of these early settlers along Nettle creek, and along other creeks, usually selected the higher ground for entry, prefering it to the lowland because they were under the impression that the heavily-timbered lowland would not raise good grain. Daniel, David and Reuben Loudenback were the progenitors of a numerous family of the name, and all of them became influential and substantial citizens.
FIRST GRIST-MILL IN TOWNSHIP.
John Norman is credited with building the first grist-mill in the township. It stood in the southeastern corner of section 30, in the northern part of the
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township, near where B. Wiant later had a mill. Norman threw a small diver- sion dam across the creek and in some sort of a crude way set a wheel in the dam in such a way as to get sufficient power to turn a small pair of buhrs. This mill was primitive in the extreme. He would fill the hopper in the morning with grain, turn the water on and go about his work in the fields until noon and then would return to the mill to see how much grain he had ground. If it was all ground he would fill the hopper again and return in the evening to get the afternoon's grinding. It is not on record how much he could grind in a day, but it is fair to presume that his mill was kept in con- stant operation while there was sufficient water to run it.
John Kain was in the township as early as 1808, but two years later he sold to a man by the name of Hill and left for the West. Other early settlers along the western side of the township were Jessie Goddard, William Hen- dricks, John Rouse, Elijah Standerford and Henry Ritter. Jacob Arney, of North Carolina, located near Terre Haute, as did a prominent family by the name of Dibert.
THE WESTVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD.
The most thickly settled community was the one surrounding Westville. Basil West located on the site of the town in 1805, a poor man, but an honest and hard working pioneer. It is recorded that he and his family would not have been able to survive without the cow which the father of the family pur- chased on time when he came to the township. The Taylors were another important family in the Westville neighborhood. John Taylor settled west of the village. He had four sons, Lemuel, James, Benjamin and John. John Taylor, Jr., was the first Democrat in the county with sufficient courage to start a party organ, his Western Dominion, which appeared in 1844 in Urbana, being the first Democratic paper in the county. He was the father of James Taylor, one of the prominent lawyers of the county seat. John Taylor, Jr., was also honored with the title of "judge," although not a lawyer. It was his boast that he shook hands with every governor of the state from the time of its organization until his death.
Joseph Diltz, a native of Kentucky, located in Warren county, Ohio, in 1803, and in Mad River township, of Champaign county, in 1808. It is a question whether he or William Ross is entitled to the honor of being the strongest man in the township. The physical strength of Ross has already been noted. Diltz is said to have been able to straighten out an ordinary iron horseshoe, and then straighten it back again, using no other means than his
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hands and knees. With all his strength, it might be imagined that he was a bully and inclined to exhibit his prowess on all possible occasions. The con- trary is true. He was a peaceful, quiet man, but when once aroused-woe to the man who crossed his path!
INTRUDER EJECTED WITH FORCE.
A well-remembered incident has been handed down concerning Diltz's ability to demonstrate his strength when the occasion demanded it. A corn- husking was in progress at his house in 1812 and during the evening's gaiety one James Scott came on the scene. Scott apparently had imbibed more freely of corn in the liquid form than was compatible with the peace and quiet of such a gathering. It was very evident that he was drunk, and upon coming into the room where the crowd was busy husking he grabbed one of the Diltz boys by the hair of the head and jerked him off the floor and out of the circle of workers.
The senior Diltz said not a word, but quietly walked over to the obstrep- erous intruder and, without a word to him, firmly hit him on the jaw with so much violence that he had to spit out several teeth to keep from swallowing them, and, incidentally, when his feet hit the ground again, he found himself outside the house and in the general direction of the front gate. He did not return. Shortly after the War of 1812 Diltz moved to Union township, where he acquired nearly one thousand acres of land before his death in 1818. He was the first of the large family of this name in Union township.
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