History of Columbiana County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 42

Author: McCord, William B., b. 1844
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 912

USA > Ohio > Columbiana County > History of Columbiana County, Ohio and representative citizens > Part 42

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The Associate Reform congregation of West Beaver was organized about the year 1806, the congregation being in the jurisdiction of the Presbytery of Chartiers. In 1808 the presbytery appointed Rev. Mr. Pringle to preach at the West Beaver branch of the Lit- tle Beaver on the last Sabbath of November. In September, 1813, Rev. Joseph Scroggs was appointed to preach on the fourth Sabbath in November and the first Sabbath in September. In April, 1814, the presbytery granted a petition for supplies and the administering of the Lord's Supper at West Beaver. Among the supplies were Revs. Imbrie, Joseph Scroggs, Pringle, Blair, Douan, Douglass and E. N. Scroggs. The last named, who was the first pastor, began his labors in the congregation August 1, 1820. The following November he was ordained and installed pastor of the churches of West Beaver, Calcutta and Four Mile. Rev. Mr. Scroggs remained pastor until 1838, when he resigned

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and was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Harsha, who was installed in 1840. Rev. S. T. Herron fol- lowed the latter in 1846 and served the congre- gation until 1867, when some political dissen- sions in which he was involved were instru- mental in his retirement. Rev. J. H. Leiper succeeded him in 1868, and in 1877 Rev. H. H. Brownlee became pastor. Until 1821 public worship was held chiefly in a white oak grove, on John Guthrie's place, a half mile north of West Point. In that year, William Reed and Henry Benner having given two acres of land on section 18, a hewed-log church was built there, and there, too, the congregation laid out a burying-ground. which continued to be used in 1905. The church was replaced in 1851 by a substantial frame edifice. John Armstrong and Thomas Roseburg were the first elders. The name of the church was changed from As- sociate Reform to United Presbyterian early in the '50s.

The . Methodist Episcopal Church of Wil- liamsport was founded in 1820, when a class was organized at the house of William Craw- ford, in Madison township, under the leader- ship of Joseph Kernan. Services were held at Mr. Crawford's house for some years, occa- sional preaching being enjoyed. The first minister regularly in charge was Rev. Mr. Bronson, under whose ministrations the little band grew and prospered spiritually. The membership included people from townships other than Madison. In 1838, up to which time services had been held in Mr. Crawford's house, it was decided to build a house of worship at what was afterward Williamsport. At this time the membership numbered about 40. Rev. James M. Bray-who was still in the ministe- rial harness in the '8os-preached the sermon dedicating the new house. Afterwards Revs. Callender, M. Wickley, Henderson, Ansley, John Huston, Andrew Huston and Crouse were early pastors.

In 1871 it was decided to build a new church and to accommodate the members of the four townships the house was built at the in- tersection of Madison, Middleton, Elkrun and St. Clair townships. The first pastor after the new church was built was Rev. A. J. Lane,

who was succeeded in order by Revs. Leggett, John Huston, Bedall, James M. Bray and Culp.

About 1830 a Presbyterian church known as the "Middle Beaver Church," was organized and a frame house was built. Among those connected with the church were: H. Gaston, Sr., H. Gaston, Jr., Joseph Lyons, William McCammon, John McCammon, Matthias Schurts. James McCaskey, Joseph Fife and Robert Glenn. The organization was dissolved in 1838 or 1839, a portion of the members unit- ing with the church at Clarkson and others with the Madison church.

In the year 1838 William Brown and James McCaskey donated a piece of land on section 10 for the purpose of erecting a new church. The house was built the same year and dedi- cated December 27th. On the latter dlate the Madison Presbyterian congregation, with 21 members, organized by a committee appointed by the New Lisbon Presbytery. The first el- ders were George Livingstone, Samuel Mc- Devitt and Daniel Crawford. The first stated supply was Rev. J. B. Graham, who preached half time from 1838 to 1842. The first pastor installed was Rev. William McCarty. who served from 1843 to 1845. Revs. Thomas Mc- Gill and A. O. Patterson preached between 1845 and 1847. from which time Rev. Mervin Johnson supplied the pulpit until 1853. Rev. James Price followed him and later pastors were: David Robinson, William Laverty, Robert Hays (stated supply from 1886 to 1890), William Dickson, William Dalzell, David Hargest, C. L. McKee, J. L. Sheppard. J. F. Laufbaum, S. J. Wallace and W. H. Rhoades, who was pastor in 1905. The church building erected in 1838 was replaced in 1866 by the one still in use in 1905. In addition to the elders first chosen. subsequent members of the session were: John Croft. Peter Campbell, Edward Crawford. Robert Glenn. Philip March, John Queen. Peter Treffinger. John Travis. Daniel Crawford. George Robinson. Jesse Glenn and R. A. Blair. In 1905 the members of the session were: John Brown, William Blair, Joseph Crawford. G. B. Lowrie, J. B. Crofts and Joseph Lowrie.

Among the early school teachers in the

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"Scotch Settlement" was John McBane, who taught in a log schoolhouse on Devore's Run. McBane was a student in Jefferson College, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, and taught in Mad- ison township during vacations. He afterward became a physician and practiced in Cadiz. Andrew Smith was an early pedagogue, who lived in Madison township, but taught in Yel- low Creek. John Grant taught several years on the place afterward owned by Samuel Mick. John Elliott and Daniel Smith were also among the early teachers in the settlement. Educa- tional advantages in those days were of course limited as compared with those of a later day. Three months schooling out of the year was about all that the most fortunate could expect. The log schoolhouses were of the most primi- tive construction, with slabs for desks and benches and greased paper for window lights.

MIDDLETON TOWNSHIP

Is known in the government survey as township 7, in range I. It lies south of Unity, east of Elkrun and north of St. Clair, borders on the east on the Pennsylvania State line, and contains 36 full sections. The surface is consid- erably broken; indeed, for the most part it is quite hilly. The soil is quite variable, and is adapted to a great variety of products, includ- ing fruits. The principal stream is the north fork of Beaver Creek, which enters the town- ship from the east, south of the center of sec- tion 12, and. after flowing southwest a mile and a half and receiving the waters of Bull Creek, assumes a generally southerly course. Bull Creek flows from the northwest, taking in its course through Middleton the waters of Little Bull Creek and Leslie's Run. The other streams of the township are Brush Run, Rough Run, and Middle Beaver. The last named makes a small bend into the township in the southeastern part of section 31. The natural drainage of the township makes it one of the healthiest in the county.

Many of the early settlers were "squatters," who came over from Pennsylvania and located, under the impression that they could, as at that time in Pennsylvania, locate and hold their

land by right of simple possession. As a rule they were not of the most thrifty class of peo- ple. Some of these settlers were Benjamin Wright, John Wilson, Jacob Welker, Andrew Wiseley, Stephen Pearce, Joseph Watson, Ben- jamin Craige and John Hackathorn. The set- tlements were first made along the streams. John Leslie, who located in the northern part soon after 1800, was probably what might be styled the first settler, although never promi- nently identified with the interests of the town- ship. A few years later Aaron Brooks settled on section 14, and in 1805 Baltzer. Young located on the same section with his family. He had sons named Jacob, John, Peter and Samuel, and three daughters,-Mary, Elizabeth and Margaret. About 1802 Job Russell set- tled on section 13, where-he reared three sons, -Thomas, Caleb and Job. On the same sec- tion were Abraham Z., Joel, Levi and John Rogers and John Briggs. On section 12 the pioneers were John Richardson and his sons,- Samuel, John and Joseph. The last named removed to New Lisbon, and was among the first settlers of that place. On the same sec- tion lived John Booth, Alexander Huston and Edward Earle as early as 1804. The first named had sons named John, Isaac. Jeremiah, Hiram, William, Jacob and Ephraim (the family evidently having a fancy for Bible names, as had many others of their day). On section 23 the settlers of that period were Levi Jennings, Francis Andrews and John Eakin, and on section i the settlers were John and George Grate and Thomas Barton. After- ward some of the Hustons and Burts settled there. Rev. John Burt, who came in 1812, had 13 children. The same year Hugh Eaton set- tled on this section. On section 10 the early settlers were Bernard Feazle and Robert Bil- lingsley. It is said that the latter crossed the Alleghanies in a wagon which had wooden tires. He reared sons named Charles, George, John W., Jefferson, Newton and Amos S. Among the pioneers on section 3 were Thomas Rogers, who came in 1806; George Brown, who came in 1804, and Samuel Gorby and Henry Garrett. Pioneers on sections 4 and 9 were Benjamin Scott, Ambrose and Robert

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Martin and Nathan, Joshua and John Craw- ford. Parley Bowen was a pioneer on section 5, and north, on the farm later occupied by J. M. Rudibaugh, was Joseph Thompson as early as 1804. His son, Joseph, became promi- nent in State and county politics. James Mc- Arter early settled on section 6, and on section 7 Aaron Boram and Stephen Cooper made the first improvements. On section 18 the first' settlers were the Siddalls, and later Israel Cope, who died about 1875, aged 92 years. Aden Morlan settled on section 8 in 1805, taking a tract of land which had been somewhat im- proved by a "squatter" named Gibbony. Jon- athan Marsh settled on the same section in 1816, as did also James Marsh and James Crawford. On section 17 Jacob and Jonathan Heacock and Thomas McMillan were early set- tlers. Benjamin Pyle and his sons, Aaron, Henry and Ellwood; and John Edmundson, with his sons John, Jonathan, Eli, Amos, Wil- liam, Nathan, Franklin and Hiram, settled early on sections 19 and 20. In 1808 Alexander Underwood settled on section 21, where he lived until his death. He had two sons,- Jesse and Alexander. Among the settlers who came after 1810 was Richard Fitz Randolph, who located on section 13, buying a tannery which had been established by Archibald Scott and William Hamilton. He reared seven sons named Bailey, Reuben, Kersey, Jonathan, Rich- ard, Eli and Joseph. These were some of the most enterprising citizens of that portion of the county. In 1812 James Fitzsimmons entered the west half of section 25. In 1814 John Vale and his son Eli settled in the southwestern part of the township. He died in 1879, aged almost 90 years-at the time the oldest man in the township. In this part of Middleton, among the early families were the Saints, Hustons, Guys, Ashfords, Shirtzes, Lyons, Tennisses, Hannas, Stephens and others equally well known in the early history of the township. In 1828 there were more than 200 voters in the township.

The soil of the township is well adapted to the raising of orchard fruits and berries, espe- cially in the northwestern portions, for many years fruit growing being really the principal industry of the people.

An attempt was made in 1806 to found a village on the northwestern quarter of section 18. . In November of that year William Heald and Isaac Siddall laid out 14 lots and gave the name of Waterford to the hamlet that was to be; but the attempt was a signal failure, not a single house being built there at the time or for many years afterward. Near the same place- was many years later started the small hamlet of East Carmel, where a post office was estab- lished in 1871. The Valley of Achor was the name given by Abraham Z. Rogers to a town which he platted about 1806. The location of the State road over the ridge about a mile south of the place left it to languish. John W. White, Samuel Jackson and Richard Randolph kept stores during the early years. At the mills, which gave the locality some notoriety, was established a post office. Jacob Young was the: first postmaster.

Clarkson was for many years the only vil- lage in the township. It was located on sections 29 and 30, being platted February 19, 1816, for Robert Hanna by William Heald. The. Clarkson post office was established about 1839, Richard Stock being the first postmaster. Other. early postmasters were Isaac Warrick, Samuel. Casebeer, Moses Louthan and A. Campbell. As early as 1840 the village contained three stores, two churches, two taverns and 25 or 30 dwell- ing houses. In 1905 Clarkson was a thriv- ing country village, but having neither rail- road nor trolley line was seriously handi- capped.

The village of Rogers was laid out in 1883 -shortly after the building of the P., L. & W. R. R .- on the west half of section 7. The original plat was made for T. G. Rogers, but several additions have been made. The village was incorporated in 1895. In 1905 O. D. Mc- Arter was mayor and W. M. Green, clerk, and the population was then about 500. In the matter of securing manufactories Rogers has not been remarkably successful. In 1895 John Gould, H. A. Wise and N. J. Baker were given a bonus of $5,000, raised by the people, on con- dition of building a pottery. A 4-kiln pottery was built and started, but after being operated two or three years it was shut down and was

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idle for about three years. Then, the Bradshaw Brothers from East Liverpool having secured the pottery, an additional bonus of $1,100 was given them on condition that they should bind themselves to run the plant at least one year. This they did, but at the end of the year, to a day, there was a mysterious fire at the pottery, which burned to the ground and was a total loss. However, the Bradshaws had placed $17,000 insurance upon the plant; and while the State fire marshal investigated the matter, no incendiarism could be proven, the insurance was collected and the Bradshaws left for past- ures newv. They, a little later, secured a large bonus at Niles, formed a stock company and built a pottery there. Meanwhile the brothers tore down the kilns and gathered up the brick from them and from the walls of the ruins, and took away, as it was expressed by a Rogers cit- zen afterwards, "everything but the holes in the ground where the kilns had stood." The entire transaction gave the little town a "black eye". from which it had not entirely recovered in 1905. Late in the century brick works were started by John W. Hall, of East Liverpool, under the style of the Furnace Brick Company, which have been quite successful. The mines of the Beaver Coal Company, owned bv New York men, were successfully operated for a number of years but were not running in 1905. The town in 1905 was supplied with two hotels (the Central and the Pioneer), a half dozen good stores but not a single saloon. Both the town and township had been "dry" from the incorporation of the village. Rogers special school district has a good school building of two rooms and three churches. The first church to be established in Rogers was the Christian Church-about the beginning of 1889, of which Rev. G. W. Woodbury was minister in charge; the second in point of time was the Methodist Episcopal Church, only a little later than the Christian organization- Rev. P. A. Bright being pastor-and about 1898, the Presbyterian Church-with Rev. Samuel Forbes in charge in 1905. These all had good and comfortable houses of worship.

The village of Wegley also owes its exist- ence largely to the building of the P., L. & W.

R. R. It was laid out along the railroad, occu- pying parts of sections II and 12 in the eastern part of Middleton township-being platted by T. J. Richardson about 1883. Additions were also laid out by J. T. Chamberlin and Samuel Richardson. In 1905 it had a population of about 400, but no village government. Its principal industries. were clay and coal mines. It boasted of four good general stores, a good school building of three rooms and one church, the Methodist Episcopal, of which Rev. S. V. Boyle was the pastor (the congregation was organized in 1892).

Mount Hope College, Rogers, was estab- lished in 1883 by Prof. A. Y. Taylor. It has had a somewhat checkered career, but is beauti- fully located, and the high educational and moral standing of the people of the town and township being greatly in its favor, its best days are undoubtedly in the future. In 1894 the college building was burned, and it was rebuilt in 1894. The name was changed, that of Lincoln College being adopted. In 1905 the college organization had lapsed, but a summer normal school was held that year by Professor Crooks, of Lisbon.

The Achor Valley Baptist Church was the first religious organization in Middleton town- ship. It was organized in August, 1804, with 14 members. In 1806 a meeting house was erected of round logs, and had a clapboard roof and ground floor. It had no doors or windows, and the seats were made of split logs. The attractive frame house in use in 1905 is the third one built by the congregation.

The Carmel Meeting of Orthodox Friends was organized about 1810. Jacob Heacock do- nated a site upon which a log meeting house was built. A new house was built in 1835, which was partially destroyed by fire in 1845, and a frame addition was built to it in 1846.

About the year 1812 a class of Methodists was formed in the Stevens neighborhood in Middleton township, and in the course of a few years a church organization was formed, which was afterward known as Zion Hill Methodist Episcopal Church. The first meeting house, built about 1828, was replaced in 1865 with a beautiful church edifice at a cost of $2,500.

FIRST METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH, WELLSVILLE

CHRISTIAN CHURCH, LISBON

ST. STEPHEN'S PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH, EAST LIVERPOOL

ST. ALOYSIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH, EAST LIVERPOOL

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The Fairview Methodist Episcopal Church was built, on section 31, in 1869, by a society which had been organized in Madison township, and prior to the foregoing date known as the Williamsport charge.

Largely through the instrumentality of John Burt, a Methodist local preacher, a society was formed, about 1822, which some years later built a meeting house on section 1, the congre- gation being afterward known as the Burt Methodist Episcopal Church. The organiza- tion was disbanded in 1867, members taking their certificates to. East Palestine.

The Hazelville society of the United Breth- ren in Christ was a small organization which, in 1850, erected a meeting house in the north- eastern part of section 5.

The United Brethren in the central part of the township formed a class in 1864, meetings being held in the district schoolhouse. In 1871 a neat frame church building was erected. In later years the congregation was quite a flour- ishing one.

The Presbyterian Church of Clarkson was organized in the spring of 1839. A frame meeting house was built that year. on a site a little south of Clarkson. The lot was given by Thomas Ashton and George Feazle for a church site and graveyard. A new building was erected in 1877. Rev. William O. Stratton was the first pastor. In 1904 the church had three elders and a total of 146 members.

The United Presbyterian Church of Clark- son was organized in the summer of 1862. A house of worship was built the following year. Until 1868 the pulpit was supplied by Revs. S. W. Clark, Martin and Melvin. Rev. A. T. Huston was the first regularly installed pastor. The congregation was dissolved in the early '70's.

ST. CLAIR TOWNSHIP

Is township 6, in range I, having an area of about 29 square miles, being rectangular in shape, five and three-quarter miles long and five miles wide. The southern sections, as the township was originally constituted, were cut off to form Liverpool township. The land lies

high although fertile; and the township is rich in natural beauty and contains a large scope of wild and romantic scenery. Little Beaver ·Creek flows through the township in a ·serpen- tine course, along or near the eastern border, and, emerging at the southeast corner, passes across the northeast corner of Liverpool town- ship, and thence across the corner of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, into the Ohio River. The middle fork of Beaver Creek flows in a zig- zag manner across the northern portion, and, being joined at Fredericktown, by the north fork, the two form thence to the Ohio what is known as the Little Beaver. The old Sandy and Beaver Canal passed through St. Clair township along the course of the Little Beaver. "Hunter" John Quinn settled in St. Clair township in 1792 or 1793, and is supposed to have been the first white man to locate in the township. He built a log cabin about a mile and a half east of where Thomas Huston after- ward lived. In 1796 Seth Thomas located upon the northeast quarter of section 26, after- ward owned and occupied by John Montgom- ery. Enos Thomas, his son, was a justice of the peace, and in 1803 was a member of the board of commissioners that organized Columbiana County. James and John Mc- Laughlin, brothers, and John Coburn crossed the Alleghanies in wagons to Fort Pitt, where they transferred their families and household effects to a flatboat and floated down the Ohio. to Georgetown, Pennsylvania, James Mc- Laughlin and Coburn coming almost imme- diately into Ohio and settling in what was later St. Clair township, the former on the northeast quarter of section 21,' where B. D. Fisher afterward lived, and the latter on sec- tion 22, where later was the Seth Rauch farm. In 1797 John Totten settled in what is now Liverpool township, where also in the same year Isaac Matson located, on section 32. Closely following them, James Caruthers set- tled upon section 28, where James McCoy after- ward had a farm, and John George, with his two sons, William and Thomas, settled on what was later known as "Buck Flats." They later located on the northwestern quarter of section 29, later owned and occupied by Lachlin Ross.

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In 1797 John Gaddis settled in what was after- ward Liverpool township, and in the same year Thomas Moore located on section 23, Robert Davis on section 22, and, in 1798, Samuel Hus- ton on section 21. In 1798 James McLaughlin, Jr., settled on section 15, William White on sec- tion 12 in 1800, Moses Bair on section II, Cornelius Sheehan on section 9, Lewis Cannon on section 8, William Sheehan also on section 9, and Perry Burke on section 12. James Huston, who lived near Calcutta until past 90 years of age, with his father Samuel, in 1800, moved from Virginia to St. Clair township, where they settled on the place in later years occupied by Thomas Huston. Other settlers in that neighborhood about that time were Samuel and John Coburn, near where Calcutta now is; John Quinn, a mile and a half east of Huston's place; James and John Mclaughlin, Samuel Hull and James Caruthers. Most of these came from Pennsylvania. Soon after, James Montgomery, also from Pennsylvania, located south of where later the Calcutta schoolhouse stood; and near the same place Charles Hoy, a Pennsylvanian, took up a farm. John Kelly, James Gonzales and Thomas George settled near Montgomery on the State road. Miss Rebecca Quigley was in 1879 still living, at the age of 80, in Calcutta. She related that she, with her father, had settled in Calcutta in 1813, when the village contained but six log cabins. Her father, Samuel Quigley, opened the first store in a log cabin in Calcutta. Soon after that date, John Hambel, a carpenter, built a one-story frame shop in the village. Miss Quigley's brother, Samuel, in 1822 settled in Calcutta as a practicing physician. Moses Curry and Gustavus Allen had prior to that time been practicing physicians in the neighborhood, but neither remained long. Dr. Quigley con- tinued to practice medicine in St. Clair town- ship for 50 years. He died in 1872. Enos Thomas, justice of the peace of St. Clair town- ship, performed, on May 17, 1803, the first marriage ceremony in the county, the parties being Jesse Smith and Susanna Shaw. Accord- ing to the records. 'Squire Thomas also married Isabella Sheehan to Samuel Dougherty, Au- gust 18, 1803; Ann Hoy to Andrew Poe, Sep-

tember 8, 1803; and Sisson Stevens to Adam Hays, October 6, 1803.

"Many of the early settlers," says Ensign's "History of Columbiana County,", "failed to attend promptly to the necessary feature of entering their lands, and the consequence was to more than one an unfortunate omission. There were sharp-eyed speculators in those days, and they busied themselves in keeping a watch for the careless settlers who improved their lands before entering them. While the toiling pioneers, therefore, were creating farms, and while they looked with. satisfaction upon the fruits of their industry, and began to think of visiting the Steubenville land office, some sharper stepped in before them, and, under cover of the law, appropriated the unhappy pio- neer's farm and enjoyed the profit of the other's exhaustive labors. It was a distressing hard- ship, but legal redress there was none. For- tunately, however. the game played by the ruth- less speculators put new-comers on their guard after a while, and, after the first few lessons, the business of entering lands before improv- ing them was not neglected."

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History of Columbiana County, Ohio and representative citizens, Part 42

Author: McCord, William B., b. 1844 Publication date: 1905 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 912

Author: McCord, William B., b. 1844
Publication date: 1905
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 912