History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 45

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854

USA > Ohio > Coshocton County > History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881 > Part 45

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).

Scorpions and lizards abounded, and were not in high favor with the pioneers.

Insects of various kinds were numerous and troublesome. Spiders, particularly, were plenty and of large size. Gnats, hornets, yellow jackets, musquitoes and horseflies were in great abund- anee and exceedingly annoying to man and beast.

The wolf and the more venomous serpents were the most formidable and annoying enemies of the early settlers. Panthers were much dreaded, but fortunately were not numerous. The fox, mink and polecat frequently made raids on the hen roost.

Most of these animals, especially the more troublesome ones, have long since disappeared.

The distinct classes known in pioneer times as hunters and fishermen, have almost disappeared. People change and conform their lives to the times in which they live.

Some of the earliest settlers of Coshocton county came into it by the route taken by Brodhead's military expedition, and others by that taken by Bouquet's expedition-the former from Wheeling, and the latter from Pittsburg to the Tusearawas valley. The roads were of course Indian trails and bridle paths. Others of the pioneers used canoes or other water conveyances, floating or poling up or down, as the case might be, the riv- ers and creeks.

While yet a part of Muskingum county, the road through Coshocton from Marietta to Cleve- land had been made.

In 1812, the legislature provided for roads from Cambridge to Coshocton ; from the head of White Eyes plains to Cadiz, and from Coshocton west- wardly. Congress appropriated three per cent of moneys derived from the sale of land to the making of roads. For the making of State roads, or the principal ones, commissioners were desig- nated by the legislature. Many roads laid out in early times have in more recent years been some- what altered, but the chief ones are in alignment · wonderfully near the old Indian trails. An im- mense proportion of the time occupied in the sessions of the commissioners has been from the

beginning, even to this writing, taken up with road matters.

The first settlers were largely engaged in hunt- ing, trapping and fishing in the Muskingum and its beautiful tributaries.

As soon as half a dozen or more pioneers had settled in close proximity to each other, a hut was erected and used for all public meetings, and for school and religious purposes. They were a rough, hardy people, but believed in giving every body " fair-play," and whenever a preacher ap- peared among them he was invited to preach, and all the settlers, big, little, old and young came to hear him, paying little regard to relig- ious ereed.

The following description of one of the school houses, or places for public meetings, was clip- ped from the Coshocton Age, of February, 1881, and as it is a faithful picture, is worthy of pres- ervation :

The one I can more particularly describe was situated in the southwest quarter of White Eyes township. The house was built of round logs, not hewed on either side. The openings be- tween the logs were filled with chunks and daubed with mud. The floor was made of punch- eons, split out of a tree and partially hewed. The roof was made of clapboards, laid on poles, and poles laid on the boards to keep them on. The

loft was made of the same kind of material as the floor, and daubed along the joints with mud to keep the cold out. The door was made of rough boards, with a wooden lateh for a fastening, with a buek-skin latch string, the end of which hung through a hole in the door, to raise the latch. There was no stove in it, but it had a fire- place in one end of the building; a back-wall was built from the ground to the loft, about eight feet long, without jambs; the flue was started at the loft, built of mud and sticks, and run up through the roof, to let the smoke escape. In this fire-place the teacher would build a large wood fire around which the boys and girls would stand to warm themselves before the school hours in the morning. A substitute for windows was made by cutting out a log on each side, with paper pasted over the openings, and greased with lard or tallow, to admit the light: The paper used was the Coshocton Spy (now the Age). Around the walls were rough boards fixed on pins in the walls for desks; along these desks were long benches with four or five legs in each one, made by boring holes in a slab and insert- ing the legs in these holes. The desks and benches were occupied by those learning to

JACOB WOLFE.

GEORGE WOLFE.

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

write, and those studying arithmetic. There were three other benches, shorter in the legs, placed in front of the fire. for smaller children to occupy. The benches were all without backs. The teacher made all the pens for his scholars of goose quills, with a small knife. The paper used to write on then was not ruled like the paper now; the scholars had rulers, to rule their paper with, and peneils made of lead, hammered out in the shape of a horse-shoe nail, and would rule their paper with this. The text books used at that time, were the United States Spelling-book, English Reader, New Testament and Western Caleulator. No English Grammar or Geography were taught. Those reading in the English Reader would all stand up in a elass, in some unoccupied space in the house ; the whole class would bow to the teacher. The one standing at the head of the class would then read a para- graph, the one next to him the same, and so on till all had read. Those reading in the Testament the same. All the teacher done during the reading was, when the scholars eame to a word they could not pronounce, the teacher would pronounce it for him or her. After the class had read two paragraphs each, they would return to their seats, without any further instructions on the subject of reading. Then the teacher would call up the smaller seholars, one or two at a time, and point to the letter or word to be spelled, with his penknife; in a general way the scholar repeating the lesson after the teacher. Those who had studied arithmetic solved the ex- amples at their seats, except when they come to one they could not in any way solve; they would then go to the teacher, he would solve it on the slate and pass it back to the scholar. There was no blackboard, consequently there was very little instruction in the matter. These were the days of corporal punishment, and in a conven- inent place to the teacher stood one or two hickory gads, large enough to drive a yoke of oxen. School continued from between eight and nine o'clock in the morning to four o'clock P. M., except one hour at noon ; no recess. Young folks, compare your advantages and comforts with those of forty-five years ago.

Closely following the pioneer hunter and trap- per came the pioneer merehant and trader. To get goods into and produce out of this county was easy as compared with counties further west and those away from the larger streams. The Muskingum river formed a very good outlet, and was for many years the highway for the tran- portation of goods both out of and into Coshocton county, and other counties north and west. The pioneers of Knox, Richland and Ashland counties

did a great deal of boating on the Muskingum. After a few years, when roads were constructed, came the great freight wagons. The National road especially became a great outlet for the pro- duce of this and other counties of the State. Great covered freight wagons, with tires seven or eight inches broad and an inch thick, drawn by six horses or mules, made regular trips from Baltimore and Philadelphia over the National road to Zanesville, to which place much of the produce of this county was taken to be shipped by these wagons, and from which place goods were received by the merchants of Coshoeton. The wagons left the National road at various points and traveled over the " mud " road to dis- tant settlements and villages for the convenience of the settlers. They not only carried goods and produce, but carried the mail also, and did the express business in parts of the country not touched by .the stages. Many of the teamsters were men of high character, standing and credit, and, in transacting their business, would require persons who shipped goods by their wagons to make out three bills of lading, all properly signed with as much regularity as a ship at sea or the freight trains of to-day; one bill to accompany the goods, one to be retained by the shipper, and one to go by mail to the consignee. One of those teams and wagons would to-day be a greater curiosity than a steamer or a train of cars. They are yet to be found on the great prairies of the west, transporting freight to points not yet reached by the iron-horse. These wagons did the larger part of the carrying trade of the country for many years. The merchant who wished to pur- chase goods in the eastern citics sent his order and received his goods by these wagons, and, in order to pay for the goods, often intrusted large sums of money to the teamsters.

The products of the country recived by the merchants in exchange for goods, consisting mostly of wheat, whisky, furs, etc., were also shipped by these wagons, being taken by boat to Zanesville, then loaded into the wagons and either taken east or north to the lakes ; often, how- ever, it was taken on down the Ohio and Mississ- ippi rivers to New Orleans. Often months would elapse before the merchant could receive his re- turns for produce thus disposed of.

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

The water courses were, in very early days, untrammeled by mills or bridges, and by reason of the swampy condition of the country, and the abundance of water, a number of the smaller streams were navigable for small boats to points which would seem incredible at this time. Flat- boats were built carrying from twenty to fifty tons, these were loaded with pork, flour, whisky, and the products of the chase, and taken to New Orleans, where the boat and cargo were disposed of for Spanish gold, and the pioneer with his money in his pocket would often set out for home on foot, walking, perhaps, the entire distance, or may be purchasing a mule or horse by the way or taking the stage occasionally for short distances.

In these primitive ways the pioneers of Coshoc- ton county communicated with the outside world. About half a century elapsed from the time of the first settlement of the county, before these were superceded by the railroad,

The products of the county, for want of trans- portation and a market, brought very low prices at home; the price of wheat being generally from twenty-five to fifty cents per bushel; oats, twelve cents per bushel; corn, twenty cents per bushel; whisky, fifteen cents per gallon; pork, one dollar and fifty cents per hundred weight; cows, eight to ten dollars each, and horses from thirty to forty dollars each. Coffee brought from seventy-five cents to one dollar per pound; salt, from four to six dollars per barrel; calicoes from fifty cents to one dollar per yard. Money was the exception, traffic and trade the rule.

In trading with the Indians it was customary for the pioneer merchant to place a bottle of whisky on each end of the counter that the pur- chasers might help themselves gratuitously, and thus facilitate business. These cabins for the purposes of trade and traffic sprang up all along the new roads, and were occupied by some hardy pioneer family, who procured a living partly by hunting, partly by trading whisky, tobacco, blank- ets, knives, tomahawks and trinkets with the In- dians and settlers; and, as travel on the roads in- creased, by keeping travelers over night, finally converting his cabin into a " tavern," by swinging on creaking iron hinges the great painted sign- the most conspicuous and important thing about the premises. Frequently these taverns were the

means of starting a town, which grew and pros- pered, or became extinct, according to circum- stances. Establishing a town was like investing in a lottery ticket, which might draw a prize or a blank. Nothing now remains to mark the site of many early towns platted on the soil of Coshoc- ton county ; others are marked by small clusters of partially deserted houses.

The early settlers were generally a rough, hardy set, and their social gatherings were often marred by ring-fights, much whisky drinking and ca- rousal. They seldom or never visited each other simply for the purpose of a social call as is the practice of to-day, but the women took with them their knitting and sewing, or went with the ex- pectation of quilting or cutting apples, or in some way helping a neighbor through the great mass of work, and at the same time cultivate social and friendly relations; and the social parties on the masculine side of the house, were cabin-raisings, corn-huskings, log-rollings, various gymnastic exercises, such as jumping, wrestling, shooting at a mark, etc. Thus but little time was lost in so- ciability.

If they were always ready for a fight, they were also always ready to help each other or a stranger on any and all occasions, and for this purpose would put themselves to great inconven- ience and travel great distances. Did one of them want a cabin raised he had only to let his neigh- bors know (and all were considered neighbors within a circle of five or ten miles) and they would be there promptly, the only compensation expected being a generous supply of whisky.

Log-rollings were a weekly occurrence; every settler would have one or more of these gather- ings every year until his lands were well cleared. Settlers for miles around would come with their axes, oxen and hand spikes; the logs were cut,. hauled together and piled in great heaps to be set on fire after drying. The younger members of the community, girls and boys, piled the brush and smaller sticks in immense heaps; and boys not yet old can remember when these heaps were set on fire at night, and how all the young peo- ple for miles around gathered and played "goal" and "round-town" by the light of the crackling brush.

Corn-huskings are even yet occasionally in-

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dulged in by the farming community, though rarely, and will soon be entirely unknown. A night was selected for the corn-husking when the moon was full. Sometimes the corn was husked as it stood in the field, and large fiells were thus cleared of corn in a single evening. At other times the owner of a corn-field would go through it a day or two before the husking was to take place, jerk the ears from the stalk and haul them to some dry spot in the meadow, where they were piled in a huge circle. About this circle, on the outside, the men would gather in the evening, and amid the rattle of husks and the general hi- larity the yellow ears would flow toward the cen- ter of the circle in a continual stream, while the huskers buried themselves deeper and deeper in the husks, until they emerged and stood upon the inner line of the circle, with a great pile of corn in front and a pile of husks in the rear.

Occasionally the corn was as nearly as possible divided into two heaps; captains or leaders were chosen by the men, who in turn choosing their men arranged themselves in opposition. Each of the opposing parties endeavored to get through first, the bottle being passed frequently, each one helping himself to as much of the con- tents as he desired. The successful captain was elevated upon the shoulders of his men and car- ried around the pile amid prolonged cheers. Sometimes the beaten party was aggravated un- til knock-downs ensued, after which all would repair to the house of the host and partake of the good things prepared for the occasion.

The settlers exercised a good deal of ingenuity in making traps to secure the wild animals of the forest. This was one of the principal occupations and sources of pleasure for the boys. In certain localities it seemed almost impossible for the pioneers to raise sheep or hogs on account of the depredations of wolves and bears ; the latter inva- riably preferred pork to mutton, but the wolves always attacked the sheep in preference. The State offered six dollars each for wolf scalps; this and other considerations stimulatid the efforts of the settlers to destroy them. Many of the young men devoted their time almost exclusively to this business. For the purpose of catching them, a wolf pen was constructed of small logs, six feet long, four feet wide and three feet high. It was

formed like a large box, with puncheon floor, the lid was made of heavy puncheons, and was re- moved by an axle at one end made of a small round stick. The trap was set by the ordinary figure 4 combination, and baited with any kind of meat except wolf meat, the animal preferring any other to his own. Upon gnawing the meat the lid fell, enclosing the unwary native for the bene- fit of the trapper.

Steel traps were generally used for the mink and muskrat, but for the coon the figure 4 ar- rangement was often used. The habits of this animal (as well as of all others) were taken into consideration. It is well known that the coon frequents swails, swamps and stagnant pools in search of frogs, of which he is very fond, and upon which he subsists largely when roasting- ears are not at hand. In his search for frogs he will traverse the logs that are always to be found in the swamp. The trapper understands this, and places his trap upon the log upon which the unwary animal must enter the swamp or make his exit therefrom. The trap is simply a small log, placed lengthwise of the log which the coon must walk, and held up by the figure 4, to the treadle of which three or more strings are at- tached and stretched along between the two logs in such a way that the coon must come in con- tact with them in his passage, and thus spring the trap, letting the small log fall upon him. This small log must be made sufficiently heavy by weights to crush him.

Wild pigeons were once very numerous, and were caught in large numbers in traps. During the season when the mast was ripe and plenty, millions of these birds frequented the country. The flocks were so great that they would some- times be hours in passing over a given spot, and it is said that they would occasionally obscure the sunlight, and bring on twilight in midday by their immense numbers. For the last twenty years these birds have been gradually disappear- ing until at present only small flocks are occa- sionally seen. Probably the clearing up of the country and the gradual disappearance of the mast-bearing trees has caused them to seek other feeding grounds. They were here slaughtered in great numbers, both by gun and trap, and were considered a great table delicacy.

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

CHAPTER XXVI.

JOHN CHAPMAN.

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power : Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall ; Who sows a field, or trains a flower, Or plants a tree, is more than all. -WHITTIER.

A HISTORY of Ohio, and especially of Coshoc- ton county, would be incomplete without some account of this very eccentric individual, well known among the pioneers of Ohio as Johnny Appleseed, from the fact that he was the pioneer nurseryman.

He seems to deserve a place in history among the heroes and martyrs, for he was both in his peculiar calling. His whole life was devoted to what he believed the public good, without regard to personal feeling or hope of pecuniary reward. Not once in a century is such a life of self-sacri- fice for the good of others known. There has been but one Johnny Appleseed, and he lived a life so peculiar, so isolated, and withal so worthy, that his name should be perpetuated.

He was a native of Massachusetts. His father, Nathaniel Chapman, emigrated from the vicinity of Springfield, Massachusetts, to Marietta, Ohio, in very early times, probably about the beginning of the present century. He had a large family, and they all came with him except John. His children were John, Nathaniel, Perley, Abner, Jonathan, Davis, Lucy, Patty, Persis, Mary and Sally. The family once published a book, con- taining their genealogy, which, although rare, may yet be found among the descendants of the family, who are scattered over Ohio and Indiana.

The date of John Chapman's birth is not cer- tainly known at present. Mr. C. S. Coffinberry, of Constantine, Michigan, who was wellacquainted with him, writes that "as early as 1780, he was seen in the autumn, for two or three successive years, along the banks of the Potomac, in eastern Virginia." He must have been quite a young man at that time, and was no doubt following the same calling that so distinguished him in after life. He did not accompany his father when he came West, but had, without doubt. preceded him, and was then planting apple seeds in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio.

Why he left his native State, and devoted his life to the planting of apple seeds in the West, is known only to himself. People have been inelined to consider him insane, and he may have been so to a certain degree. He was cer- tainly eccentric, as many people are who are not considered insane ; it is hard to trace eccentricity to the point where insanity begins. He was cer- tainly smart enough to keep his own counsel. Without doubt his was a very affectionate nature ; every act of his life reveals this prominent char- acteristic. From this fact alone writers have reasoned, and with good ground, that he was crossed in love in his native State, and thus they account for his eccentricity. This is only sup- position, however, as he was very reticent on the subject of his early life.

He was conscientious in every act and thought, and a man of deep religious convictions ; being a rigid Swedenborgian, and maintaining the doc- trine that spiritual intercourse could be held with departed spirits; indeed, was in frequent intercourse himself with two of these spirits of the female gender, who consoled him with the news that they were to be his wives in the future state, should he keep himself from all entangling alliances in this.

So kind and simple was his heart that he was equally welcome with the Indians or pioneers, 'and even the wild animals of the woods seemed to have an understanding with Johnny, and never molested him. He has been variously described, but all agree that he was rather below the medium height, wiry, quick in action and conversation, nervous and restless in his motions; eyes dark and sparkling; hair and beard generally long, but occasionally cut short; dress scanty, and gen- erally ragged and patched; generally barefooted and bareheaded, occasionally, however, wearing some old shoes, sandals, or moccasins in very cold weather, and an old hat some one had cast off. It is said he was occasionally seen with a tin pan or pot on his head, that served the double purpose of hat and mush-pot; at other times with a cap, made by himself, of pasteboard, with a very broad visor to protect his eyes from the sun.

His diet was very simple, consisting of milk when he could get it, of which he was very fond;

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

potatoes and other vegetables, fruits and meats; but no veal, as he said this should be a land flow- ing with milk and honey, and the ealves should

He thought himself a messenger sent into the wilderness to prepare the way for the people, as John the Baptist was sent to prepare the way for

JOHNNY APPLESEED.

be spared. He would not touch tea, coffee, or ; the coming of the Savior. hence he made it a part tobacco, as he felt that these wore luxuries in which it was wicked and injurious to indulge. He was averse to taking the life of any animal or inscet, and never indulged in hunting with a gun.

of his duty to keep in advance of civilization. Ile gathered his apple seeds little by little from the cider-presses of Western Pennsylvania, and putting them carefully in leathern bags, he trans- ported them, sometimes on his baek, and some-

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

times on the back of a broken-down horse or mule, to the Ohio river, where he usually secured a boat, and brought them to the mouth of the Muskingum, and up that river, planting them in wild, secluded spots all along its numerous tribu- taries. Later in life he continued his operations further west. When his trees were ready for sale he usually left them in charge of some pioneer to sell for him. The price was low-a " fippeny-bit " apiece, rarely paid in money, and if people were too poor to purchase, the trees were given them.

One or two of his nurseries were located in the Walhonding valley, and many of his orchards were scattered over Coshocton, Knox, Richland, Ashland, and other counties further cast. One of his nurseries was located in what was known as " Indian Field," on the north bank of Owl creek, in Knox county. Some of his trees are yet standing and bearing fruit. His residence in this vicinity covered the period of the war of 1812, and several years prior to it. He would occasionally make trips further west, and return after an absence of two or three months. On these occasions he probably visited his sister Persis, who married a man named Broom, or Brown, and lived in Indiana. Persis lived in Richland county before she moved to Indiana, and Johnny must have made his home with her, as he was considered a resident of that county by the pioneers, so far as they looked upon him as a resident of any particular spot.

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History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 45

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 854

Author: Hill, Norman Newell, jr., [from old catalog] comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A. A., & co., Newark, O., pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Newark, Ohio, A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 854