History of Columbiana County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 72

Author: D. W. Ensign & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 541

USA > Ohio > Columbiana County > History of Columbiana County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 72

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).

which, until 1866, the house of Mrs. Oliver Thearman was the place where services were held, about once a month. Besides Rev. Mr. Conlon, above mentioned, preaching was provided in the carly days by Revs. Stoker, Kennedy, Tighe, and others.

SCHOOLS.

The first school in the township was taught in 1800 by Richard Boyce in a log school-house built by William Wells, Robert Dobbins, and Edward Devore, the latter a colored man and one of the early settlers of Liverpool township. Mr. Wells agreed to contribute the pay for five pupils, and Devore agreed to send four pupils and pay for them. This was the start given to the school, which, be it noted, was located upon Robert Dobbins' farm, and for some years Richard Boyce and his brother Timothy taught it with considerable success.

William Mash, a Welshman, was the next to teach in that school-house, and during his time he achieved a famous reputation as a learned pedagogue and a strict disciplinarian.

After Mash's reign a log school-house was built near the river, and one on the farm owned by Henry Aten, where Alexander Brown was an early teacher. Richard Boyce taught in a school-house on William Foulke's farm, and in 1815 taught a school on the place now owned by John McDonald.

Mention has already been made of one Andrew Smith, a justice of the peace in the Scotch settlement, who taught school on Little Yellow Creek. The school-house stood on Smith's farm, now owned by Kerr.

The union school now located in Wellsville was built in 1850, and was one of the first erected in the State after the passage of the union school law. It is a brick struc- ture containing seven rooms, with a capacity to accommo- date 550 scholars, and cost $7000. At a popular election in May, 1879, it was decided that the town should have a new union school building, to cost $40,000, and to be com- pleted early in 1880.

According to the report of the township board of educa- tion for the year 1878, the township raised in that year $2617.60 for school purposes, owned $4000 worth of school property, and provided instruction for a daily average attendance of 125 scholars.

NEWSPAPERS.

In the autumn of 1835, Lewis Caton, who had been publishing the Snow Hill Messenger, in Worcester County, Md., was persuaded by James L. Vallandigham, through Dr. John F. Patterson, to transfer his office to Wellsville, where, in the year named, he began to publish the Wells- ville Commercial Advertiser, the pioneer newspaper of the town. Mr. Caton's office of publication was in a little brick building, still standing on Broadway, and known as the "Gibbons brick." He was accompanied from Mary- land by Wm. L. Clarke, who had served him there, and Mr. Clarke enjoyed the distinction of setting the first stick of type for the Advertiser, and of pulling, from an old Ramage press, the first sheet of the first issue of the Advertiser, printed in October, 1835.

The name of the new paper was suggested by the fact that at that time Wellsville was an important shipping-

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TOWNSHIP OF YELLOW CREEK.

point for the interior and occupied a place of considerable commercial prominence. After conducting the Advertiser until 1838, Caton disposed of the paper to Joshua Hart, and removed to Wheeling. Hart sold out in 1840 to McCartney & McBane, and, in 1841, McBane, purchasing McCartney's interest, changed the name of the paper to the American Patriot.

In 1842, Wm. L. Clarke, who had been briefly engaged elsewhere, returned to Wellsville and bought out McBune. He called the paper the Wellsville Patriot, and published it successfully for a period of twenty-four years, or until 1866, when he discontinued it and removed to Maryland, where he published a paper until 1873, and then returned to Wellsville, where he now resides in retirement.

Early in 1866, Geo. W. Foster came up from Steuben- ville and started the Wellsville Union, which in 1872 he sold to W. B. MoCord, who in turn disposed of it in Sep- tember, 1878, to Wiggins & McKillip, then largely engaged in the publication of Ohio directories.

Meanwhile, in 1870, D. B. Martin began the publication of the Wellsville Local, which he continued until 1871, when he started the East Liverpool Gazette.

The Wellsville Union, a thirty-six-column paper with a circulation of about 800, is still published by J. B. Wig- gins, whose partner, McKillip, died in 1878. In connec- tion with the paper, Mr. Wiggins also continues the direc- tory business of Wiggins & McKillip, and issues annually a half-score or more of directories.

POST-OFFICE.

The Wellsville post-office was established about 1816, and its first incumbent was John J. Feehan, after whom the office was occupied by Win. D. Peters, Robert Moore, John M. Jenkins, Wm. S. McIntosh, James McQueen, Oliver P. Shearman, Mahalah Crane (who served as post- mistress for sixteen years), and N. K. Mckenzie, the pres- ent incumbent.

The money-order business at this office for 1879 was nearly double that of 1878, the average receipts for money- orders per month being $2200.

The receipts for money-orders largely exceed the amount paid out on orders, the actual excess of receipts over pay- ments for nine months ending April 1, 1879, being $2031.76.

The post-office building is not at all commensurate with the requirements of the business, while it is far from what Wellsville ought to have, as an architectural effect. It has served for a decade the purpose which it serves now, and long enough to have earned retirement in favor of something better.

RAILWAYS.

For some time previous to 1844,-perhaps three years, -Wellsville agitated and discussed the necessity of a con- venient highway for travel and transportation between the town and Cleveland. A turnpike was originally canvassed for; but, as the project developed, a desire for the better facilities of a railway began to show itself, and in the year named-1844-it was determined that efforts would be made to build the railway. The public meetings at which the matter had been actively and frequently discussed were

held in the basement of the Methodist Protestant church, and for every one of the meetings Mr. Joseph Wells (now residing in Wellsville), who took a deep interest in promo- ting the enterprise, rang the church-bell.

When, in 1844, it was resolved to have a railway, a con- mittee, composed of A. G. Cattell, D. T. Lawson, Jas. Stewart, and Henry Cope, was appointed to visit Cleveland and work for the co-operation of capitalists there. They left Wellsville, Dec. 26, 1844, and on December 30th a public meeting was held in Cleveland, and as a quick result was followed by the construction of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad from Cleveland to Wellsville.

Wellsville did yeoman service on behalf of the road, and, as has been seen, was the originator of the project. Upwards of $50,000 were raised by the town in carrying the matter as far as the organization of the company, and the whole of the amount was expended in the mere pre- liminaries. The first through train between Cleveland and Wellsville was put on in 1852, and shortly after that the river-road from Wellsville to Wheeling was finished.

Mr. James Stewart, the first president of the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad Company, was a resident of Wells- ville, and the official now at the head of the company, J. N. Mccullough, was a native and long a citizen of the town. It was not until 1856 that the line was completed between Wellsville and Pittsburgh, and meanwhile Wellsville was a point of transhipment to points above on the river.

Although eagerly desired and welcomed, the completion of the railway deprived Wellsville of a vast amount of business which it had for years transacted, it being a place where large quantities of goods were received from the in- terior for shipment by river, and where river freight for interior points was handled.

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

An important manufacturing industry at Wellsville is the foundry of Stephenson & Co., where a force of about twenty men is employed in the production of stationary engines, sewer pipe, machinists' supplies, iron castings, etc.

This foundry was originated in 1836 by Bottenburg & Geisse, when it was a small concern, employing six men. Shortly thereafter P. F. Geisse purchased his partner's in- terest, materially enlarged the works, and carried them on very successfully until 1870, when he sold out to S. & T. B. Stephenson, who, in 1872, were joined by Alexander Den- ham.

Morley & Co. began, in November, 1878, the erection of a fine brick pottery, upon grounds covering nearly an acre, and in May, 1879, were so advanced with the work that July 1st was the date fixed upon as the time when active manufacture would be commenced. The build- ings are two stories in height, measure in length four hundred feet, and are supplied with new and improved machinery, including a steam-engine of twenty-four-horse power. The pottery has two kilns of the capacity of three ordinary kilns, will manufacture what is known as iron- stone china, and will employ sixty people. Mr. George H. Morley, the senior partner, was engaged in potting at East Liverpool, as a member of the firm of Morley, Godwin & Flentke, from 1857 to 1878.

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HISTORY OF COLUMBIANA COUNTY, OHIO.

Hugh Alexander is engaged at Wellsville in the manu- facture of plows, coal-car wheels and axles, iron amalgam (bronzed) bells, etc. He commenced the business at this point in 1865, and for some years thereafter pursued it extensively ; but latterly the importance of his works has somewhat declined, owing simply to the increase of similar manufactories.

George W. Menough has a well-appointed foundry near the Wellsville car-shops, and drives a brisk business in the manufacture of castings and general railway supplies, the majority of which are furnished for the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad Company. Twelve men are employed, and the industry may be noted as one whose operations add not a little to the prosperous growth of the thriving hamlet which surrounds the car-shops.

THE WELLSVILLE TERRA-COTTA WORKS OF GEORGE JONES

were established in 1867, and have since pursued a profit- able business in the manufacture of sewer-pipe, hot-air flues, stove-pipe, parlor vases, lawn vases, smoke-flue linings, chimney-tops, drain-tile, window-caps, and every description of terra-cotta work. From six to twelve hands are em- ployed.

The works are located on Third Street, near the clay- banks whence all the crude material used in the manufac- tory is drawn.

J. A. Riddlo started a tannery in Wellsville in 1831, and operated it uninterruptedly until May 20, 1879, when it was destroyed by fire.

THE WELLSVILLE CAR-SHOPS. .

The Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad car-shops, lo- cated in the village about a mile below the railroad-station, represent an important element in Wellsville's industries, and furnish employment for upwards of 100 men, all of whom live near the shops, and a number of whom occupy tenements owned by the railroad company at that point.

The first shops were built in 1857, and included a round- house, car-house, car-shop, machine- and blacksmith-shops.

In the years 1865 and 1870 important additions and enlargements of buildings were made, and now upon the extensive grounds there owned by the company are two car-shops for the building and repair of cars, water-tank, the old round-house (used as a storehouse), the new round- house (circular in form, and capable of accommodating thirty-one locomotives), machine-shops, blacksmith-shops, paint-shops, etc.

A vast deal of repairing upon locomotives and cars is done at the works, while. iron bridges and many new cars are annually built, and, occasionally, a new locomotive. The appointments are convenient and complete, and the system of management excellent.

Mr. Philip White, the assistant master-mechanic of the road, is in charge, assisted by John Menough, assistant general foretnan, and J. B. Gough, in charge of car-shops.

THE WELLSVILLE ROLLING-MILLS,

A collection of large frame structures near the line of the railway, just above Wellsville, is pointed out to the

traveler as what was known by the name of the Wellsville Rolling-Mills, which were set in motion with considerable éclat that promised great things in the way of increased business for the town, and which, passing through a brief and chequered existence to eventual abandonment, have stood idle for about two years,-a grim monument to an unfortunate enterprise.

In 1874 a company of Pittsburgh mechanica, of whom a Mr. Morgan was the representative, proposed to the town of Wellsville to set up within her limits a tin-plate manu- factory, conditioned upon the town offering . certain aid. The town entered eagerly into the compact, and donated in land and money the sum of $16,000 to a co-operative asso- ciation, styled the American Tin Plate Company, of which Mr. Morgan, and afterwards A. Marchand, of Alliance, were the presidents.

The company erected the necessary buildings, stocked them with valuable machinery, and, with a represented capital of $80,000, invested in buildings, machinery, and stock, began, with a force of about fifty men, to manufacture tin plate,-the inaugural enterprise, it is claimed, of the kind in the United States.

The introduction of this important industry at this point was hailed as a cheering and hopeful incident, and general expectation pointed to valuable local results as likely to flow therefrom in the future. Unfortunately, however, for these bright anticipations, the company failed within a year, and the works were closed.

They remained idle until 1877, when Black, Daker & Co., of Pittsburgh, bought them at sheriff's sale for $10,000, improved them to the extent of $5000 more, and revived them for the manufacture of steel, the works then being known as the Eureka Steel- and Iron-Works. Unhappily, this venture failed after an existence of lees than a twelvemonth, and, as before noted, the works have since then luin idle. There was, in the summer of 1879, some talk of their renewal, with a moderate show of sue- ce88.

EARLY INDUSTRIES.

Potting was, in a small way, introduced among the man- ufacturing interests of Wellsville as early as 1826, when Mr. Joseph Wells made red and stone ware in a little shop attached to his residence, and continued the business for thirty years, or until 1856.

The manufacture of Rockingham- and yellow-ware was attempted before 1850 and later, but, after several efforts without satisfactory results, the various ventures in that direction were abandoned for the alleged reason that the clay obtainable in the vicinity was not well adapted for the purpose. That opinion is, however, not held by potters of to-day, who think that the clay found near Wellsville will make excellent yellow-ware.

In 1850 the firm of Finch & Harvey organized the Wellsville Manufacturing Company, for the manufacture of stove-castings, etc., but the enterprise was discontinued after a somewhat unprofitable existence of eight years. Fisher & Dascom then purchased the machinery of the above company, and started a barrel-factory, which, however, was soon closed.

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TOWNSHIP OF YELLOW CREEK.

COAL AND SALT.

In common with adjacent townships, Yellow Creek pos- sesses a soil which yields a considerable supply of bituminous coal, and coal-mines more than sufficient for the supply of home wants thickly abound. Veins have been found eight fect in thickness, but such instances are exceptions, the average thickness being from two to three feet.

Salt has likewise been found, but the yield was never great, and for some time past little or no effort has been made to pursue the business of salt-making, chiefly because other points near at hand offer too strong a competition.

Oil-wells have been sunk, but not to much profit, although oil has been obtained in small quantities, and still flows from one or two wells.

Natural gas has been found in some of the salt-wells, but no encouragement has yet been presented to show that it exists in the township to much extent.

BANKS.

The first bank organized in Wellsville was the private bank of D. & D. McDonald, who, in connection therewith, kept also a store in 1848 and 1849.

Hoffstart & Co. opened a private banking-house in 1850, which they continued until 1852, soon after which McIntosh & Co. began to do a banking business, and still later MeIn- tosh & Mccullough, and Mccullough & Co., operated suc- cessfully for four years.

In 1863, the Wellsville Savings-Bank was organized, with directors as follows : E. S. Taylor, Alex. Smith, Alex. Denham, J. A. Riddle, Alex. Wells, Geo. Wells, Wm. Blakely, Donald Davidson, Laughlin McLean. The bank carried a deposited account of about $80,000, and closing its business in 1865, its stockholders organized the First. National Bank of Wellsville, May 1st of that year, with a capital of $100,000, which, in 1877, was reduced to $50,000.

Mr. James Henderson is the cashier of this bank, which position he has filled since 1865; he has also been cashier of Wellsville Savings-Bank.

The directors of the First National Bank now are J. W. Riley, President; John McCarrell, Vice-President; Wm. M. Hamilton, A. P. Howard, D. McBane, Heury Aten, D. K. Frazer, J. W. Hammond, J. C. Smith, J. M. Stewart, Robert George, S. S. Cope. The bank's loans and discounts aggregate $114,000, and its deposit account $128,000.

RAILWAY READING-ROOM.

The Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad Reading-Room Association was organized Jan. 22, 1867, by the employees of the Cleveland und Pittsburgh Railroad, for the purpose of providing a library and reading-room for the benefit of the railway attaches. The first president was J. H. Dever- eaux ; Secretary, S. B. Swaine; and the first board of direc- tors, John Thomas, Thomas Dickson, and B. Rand. Funds were raised by subscription, a library purchased, and a well- appointed reading-room opened in the second story of the railroad-station building at Wellsville. The charge for membership is the nominal one of one dollar yearly, for which members have the privileges of the reading-room and of drawing books. The membership numbers at pres- ent about 200, and is restricted to railway employees. The

library has been increased from time to time by donations and purchases, and embraces now 1175 volumes. John Thomas (superintendent of the road ) is President; P. Bruner is Secretary and Treasurer ; and R. T. Smith, Librarian.

THE VALLEY GAS COMPANY.

In 1872, Conley, Naylor & Co., of Pittsburgh, constructed gas-works at Wellsville, and in that year they were sold to the newly-organized corporation of the Valley Gas Company, to which end, indeed, the enterprise of Conley, Naylor & Co. was originally directed.

The company was chartered with a capital of $50,000, and had as its first board of directors J. H. Conley, Wm. Bleakley, Samuel Pollock, W. G. Wells, J. H. Martin, and M. Naylor,-J. H. Conley being the first president. In 1873, James H. Riggs was chosen president, and as such has since remained.

The directors for 1879 were James H. Riggs, John Mc- Carroll, Win. H. Soheets, Wm. M. Hamilton.

Gas was first supplied to the town in the summer of 1873, and since that date public thoroughfares and private dwellings have enjoyed the privilege of a cheap and bright illumination. The coal used by the company in the manu- facture of gas is obtained entirely from the hills adjacent to Wellsville.

WATER-WORKS.

Wellsville is likely to be supplied within a short time with a much-needed water-works. The people have already indorsed the project, and the completion of the works awaits but the arrangement of preliminary details. About $40,000 will be expended in conducting water from the river to an elevation back of the town, to a reservoir, and thence to the town for general distribution.

SECRET SOCIETIES.

WELLSVILLE LODGE, NO. 180, F. AND A. M.,

was organized Oct. 15, 1848, with 8 charter-members and the following officers : J. A. Riddle, W. M .; James S. Connell, S. W .; Wm. Moore, J. W .; B. Smith, S. D .; R. Leslie, J. D .; Thos. Campbell, Sec .; J. Clark, Treas. ; Wm. Furmer, Tyler.

The present membership is 85, and the officers are R. B. Williamson, W. M .; F. P. Conn, S. W .; C. W. Paisley, J. W .; C. Prosser, S. D .; Miles Furniss, J. D .; Mat. Gordon, Sec .; John R. Martin, Treas. ; H. Bright, Tyler.

WELLSVILLE CHAPTER, NO. 55,

was organized Aug. 18, 1852, with 8 members and the following officers : J. A. Riddle, H. P .; R. Leslie, 1st K. and C .; Thomas Campbell, 1st S. The present member- ship is 50, and the officers are J. F. Riddle, H. P .; D. Mannist, 1st K. and Comp .; I. Denslow, Ist S.

WELLSVILLE COUNCIL, NO. 37,

was organized Jan. 19, 1864, with 8 members and these officers : C. R. Boyce, 1st T. I. G. M .; F. R. Vantyne, 1st D. I. G. M. and Comp .; C. A. Wells, 1st P. C. O. W. The members now number 40, and the officers are J. A. Riddle, 1st T. I. G. M .; H. Michaels, D. I. G. M. and Comp .; D. Mannist, Ist P. C. O. W.

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HISTORY OF COLUMBIANA COUNTY, OHIO.

IRIS LODGE, NO. 125, I. O. O. T.

This lodge was organized July 22, 1848, with the fol- lowing charter-members : W. P. Carpenter, Jas. Aten, Thos. D. Hamilton, D. F. Davis, Geo. W. Jones, Chas. W. Atwell, Horace T. Jones, Sam'l W. Warrington.

The membership is now 90, and the officers are C. W. Paisley, N. G .; O. P. Bowers, V. G .; R. C. Anderson, P. S .; M. Bowers, Treas .; Wm .. Wooster, R. S .; W. P. King, W .; W. D. Pacey, Host.

The lodge meets in a finely-appointed hall corner of Third and Water Streets.

THE ENGINEERS' BROTHERHOOD.

Wellsville Division, No. 170, of the Brotherhood of Lo- comotive Engineers, was organized in 1873, when Robert Galvin was Chief Engineer and Abraham McDonald Secre- tary.

The Division has now 28 members, and has as chief offi- cers Wm. Patterson, C. E., and Chas. Klasgye, Sec'y.

BANDS.

The first musical band in Wellsville was organized, in 1848, by J. W. Reilly (now Gen. Reilly), who was the leader. It was called the Wellsville Band, and was quite a famous organization.

The present band-Wellsville Excelsior Cornet Band, M. Elliott leader-is the one organized by C. C. Van Nostrand, in 1875, with 28 pieces, as the Wellsville Cor- net Band, after a division in the ranks of the Wellsville Silver Cornet Band, organized by Billy Davidson.

CEMETERIES.

The first grave-yard laid out in Wellsville was the Wells burying-ground on Main street, which was donated by William Wells. In it lie buried William Wells and many of the early settlers of Wellsville,-the graves within its inclosure numbering now nearly three hundred. The first burial there took place in 1800, when a little child was laid to rest within the consecrated ground. No headstone

ever marked that grave; indeed, headstones for graves were not common in those days, nor can the name of the child now be called to mind. In 1842, Mr. Wells caused the ground to be surrounded with a high stone wall, and upon a tablet let into the wall may now be seen the inscription, " Erected by William Wells in 1842, at a cost of $750." In his will Mr. Wells provided that the ground should be used only as a burial-place for his blood-relations or descend- ants, and that it should be a burial-ground forever.

No new graves have, however, been made within its walls for many years, and it has been permitted to lie neglected.

In 1825, Mr. Wells donated to the town an acre of ground, near where the car-shops are, to be used as a bury- ing-ground forever, and that spot was, until 1865, the village cemetery. In the last-named year, the town having purchased a tract of land overlooking Wellsville, dedicated it with appropriate ceremonies as Spring Hill Cemetery, and it has since then been the resting-place for Wellsville's dead.

It is a picturesque spot, and from the eminence upon which it rests the eye may view a lovely natural prospect, in which the far-reaching and verdure-clad hills of Virginia and the silently-flowing Ohio, together with the distant and expansive landscape, combine to present a picture of rare attraction. Nature and art have made this "city of the dead" a place to be admired, and it is properly esteemed by the inhabitants as one of the handsomest cemeteries in the county.

FIRE COMPANY.

Wellsville has never had a fire department, nor bas it even a fire company now. Some years ago the town bought a fire-engine, and there was some talk of organizing a com- pany, but the engine turning out to be worthless, it was sold, and since then, as before, the citizens' "bucket brigade" has done valiant duty at times of conflagrations, which luckily have never been frequent. When the town completes the proposed water-works, a fire company will probably follow as a consequence.

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Henry Aten

(Taken on the day he was one hundred years old.)

Henry Aten

Elisa A Aten

HENRY ATEN.

This gentleman was a descendant of an old German family who emigrated to this country prior to the Revolution, and settled in what is now the State of Maryland, where our subject was born, Sept. 23, 1773. On account of the unsettled state of affairs at that time, he had no opportunity of receiving a good education ; in fact, spending only three days in actual study.

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History of Columbiana County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 72

Author: D. W. Ensign & Co. Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Number of Pages: 541

Author: D. W. Ensign & Co.
Publication date: 1879
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 541