History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 82

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 82

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Theophilus Phillips was from the state of New Jersey. He lived in Zanesville several years, and in 1815 entered and settled upon the farm now best known as the Dr. Robert's farm, in the west- ern part of the township. In 1816 he sold this, and built a cabin in what is now Roseoe, and having lived in that a few years, he built, in 1821, the first brick house in the vicinity, using it for a tavern for a number of years. He moved to Indiana about 1845, and there died in 1868, being seventy-four years old.

Abel Cain was another early settler, coming from the State of Pennsylvania about 1816. Af- ter the township. was organized, he, and a Mr. Payne were elected fence viewers for a long se- ries of years. Mr. Cain was a very tall, power- fully built man-a splendid specimen of the pioneer type of mankind, while Mr. Payne was exceedingly diminutive in size. It was the stand- ing joke that Mr. Cain was to inspect the top of the fenees and see that they were properly kept up, while Payne was to look after the "hog holes " underneath. Mr. Cain died here, and his child- ren removed to Illinois.

Jonathan Butler entered the northeast quarter of section 1. The most of this farm lies in the Walhonding valley, and it was among the first to be entered. Mr. Butler came to the township at a very early day, just how early it is impossible to say. He afterwards moved to Schuyler county, Illinois.

James Huffman, in 1817, settled in the western part of section 24. He was a blacksmith by trade, and, after the country became somewhat settled, he pursued this calling, in his backwoods home, in connection with farming. Mr. Huff- man remained in the township all his life; after his death, his two children moved away. A brother, Joseph, accompanied James here. He was at the time unmarried, and lived with his

brother James for a number of years, then set- tled in section 17.

The Fosters were among the first settlers in the western part of the township. There were six brothers: Samuel, Moses, William, David, Benjamin and Andrew. Their father,- John Foster, entered eighty acres apiece for them, most of it in section 6. The family was origin- ally from Virginia, but had lived a number of years in Harrison county, prior to their emi- gration here. Samuel and Moses came out first, in 1816, the others following soon after. Andrew moved West, stopping for a time in Indiana, then continuing onward in the same direction. The others remained citizens of the township till they died. William was the last survivor. He died about two years ago.

Abraham Randles, from Loudon county, Vir- ginia, had settled in Harrison county, prior to the war of 1812, where he remained till he re- moved to Jackson township, in 1817. Three younger brothers, Enoch, Isaac and John, and their father, James, came with him. Abraham and his father, together, entered the northeast quarter of section 5. Abraham afterwards re- moved to the Killbuck, in the northern part of the county, where he died. His son, John Ran- dles, now lives in Roscoe, and is one of the oldest men in the township.

John Demoss, his wife and son Lewis, Thomas Ramphey and family, and Crispin Tredaway, his wife and son Thomas, crossed the Allegheny Mountains in wagons from Harford county, Maryland, in the fall of 1817, and settled in this township. Tredaway remained a few years, then moved across into Jefferson township, where the son Thomas still lives. Mr. Demoss first settled in the western part of the township, on Simmons' run. There he remained five years, then moved to a traet of land about a half mile west of Ros- coe. He had been a sergeant in the war of 1812, participating in the engagement at Baltimore. He died in this township, March 4, 1840. His son Lewis is still engaged in active business in the township, at the Empire mills.

Thomas Smith, an Irishman, came about 1816. and located the southeast quarter of section 17. He died about 1825, and his family sold out and moved away. Matthew Stephens came a little

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later. He owned a portion of the northeast quarter of section 15.

Philo Potter was among the earliest to locate here, but did not become a property owner. He was quite an old man when he arrived here from the East. Was a hearty, good-natured, slow-going creature, and spent the balance of his declining years in the township.

John Loder came April, 1820, from Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, and entered the northeast quarter of section 14. His son, Aaron Loder, is one of the oldest citizens now in Jackson town- ship. William Dunshee came from the same county, but remained here only a few years. Benedict Dunfee, an Indian ranger, who had been in the United States service at Wheeling, Virginia, came a little later. James Hardin, from New Jersey, came out with John Knoff, about 1820, lived in Caldersburg a while, then moved to the Solomon farm.

Abraham and Jacob Courtright, two brothers from New Jersey, were here as early as 1815. Joshua Boring was another early settler. At a later day he moved to Keene township.

One of the early institutions of Jackson town- ship was a brush dam built across the Walhond- ing by the Millers, at the site occupied later by the dam of the Ohio canal, which was swept away in a freshet several years ago. It was a very crude affair, being built of logs, brush and straw, and had to be repaired incessantly.

About 1829 Joseph Huffman constructed a lit- tle horse mill in the southwestern part of the township, which served the pioneers in the vicin- ity for five or six years. The buhrs used at first were very small, perhaps a foot in diameter. They were set on edge, one being stationery, the other set in motion by means of a spindle. The capacity of the mill was but about ten bushels of meal per day. After some little time, Mr. Hoff- man bought a larger pair of buhrs, which had been used in grinding the plaster for the cement used in building the canal locks.

Charles Williams erected a little mill on the run just below Roscoe, at a very early day.

John Carhart, as early as 1824, was running a tannery on the Haight farm, north of Roscoe. About 1840 he removed it to Roscoe. John A. L. Houston had owned it before Carhart. Wil-

liam Starkey, who came from Virginia in the spring of 1815, worked for a time in Carhart's tannery.

The village of Roscoe lics just across the Mus- king river from Coshocton, partly in the narrow valley that here skirts the river and partly on the steep bluff that rises just beyond. From this bluff a commanding prospect of the surrounding country is presented. A fine bird's-eye view of Coshocton is obtained and the Muskingum, Tus- carawas and Walhonding rivers which meet al- most at the foot of the hill, may be traced for miles through broad and level . valleys fringed with wooded hillsides. In point of poulation, Ros- coe ranks second in the county. The school dis- trict to which it belongs contains six hundred and eighty souls, but the village proper perhaps not more than six hundred. Previous to the con- struction of the Ohio canal it was an ordinary little village with a tavern or two, a dry goods store and the few little industrial shops common to every collection of houses; but with the open- ing of this highway of commerce and the water power facilities it afforded, an impulse was given to commerce, merchandizing and manufacturing which placed the village as a business center in the front rank in Coshocton county. When the railroad was built through Coshocton it drew to a great extent the business to that place, and the luster of Roscoe's name suffered in consequence. Though it is still a live business place, and con- tains several of the largest industrial establish- ments in the county, its business transactions are unequal to those of thirty or forty years ago.

Caldersburg, the former name of this village, was laid out in January, 1816, by James Calder. The original plat consists of sixty-seven lots, lying in what is now the lower part of town. In 1831, a large addition was made by Ransom & Swayne; in 1844, another by Ransom, Swayne & Medberry. In 1849, Samuel Hutchinson and John Frew cach made an addition; the former is known as Hutchinson's, the latter as the cen- tral addition. Mr. Colder, the founder of the village, was a Yankee, who had come to Coshoe- ton about 1811, and there engaged in business and failed. A tract of land lying west of the Muskingum river was saved from the wreck of

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his fortunes, and he moved across and laid out the town. It is said that he brought with him a remnant of goods, which he closed out at his new home. The cabin he occupied, probably the first in the village, was built on lot S, Main street, was owned by Philip Hoop. No vestage of it now remains. Calder afterward moved to the Rick- ett's farm, two miles west of Roscoe, on the New- ark road, where his Yankee ingenuity was dis- played in the making of shingles, etc.

The second building was a large log tavern, perhaps twenty-four by fifty feet in size, one and a half stories high, erected on lot 20, at the northwest corner of Main and White Woman streets. William Barcus was the proprietor of this primal Jackson township hotel. He came here from near Cadiz, and remained in possession of the tavern up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1829 or 1830. The travel through Caldersburg must have been considerable, for Mr. Bareus soon had opposition. In 1821 a brick tavern was built by Theophilus Phillips, who had previously settled in the township, just across Main street from its rival. This was the first brick structure in the township.

In 1825 the first regular store was opened by James Le Retilley and William Wood. The former was born in the Isle of Guernsey, in 178S. He came to this country in 1806, settling in Guernsey county, where there was a settlement of people from his native island. Removing to Muskingum county, at a point about ten miles below Coshocton, he engaged in the manufacture of salt, along with George Bagnall, who was from Nova Scotia. They made about six bushels a day, selling it for three dollars a bushels, or ex- changing a bushel for twelve bushels of wheat. Their salt was carried to remote points, some of it by canoes and pirogues up the Killbuek almost to Wooster. In 1825, the Kanawha and lower Muskingum salt coming into market, rendered the business of Retilley & Bagnall unprofitable, and it was abandoned. The same year Mr. Retil- ley moved to Caldersburg, his partner following him a year or two afterwards. Mr. Retilley was one of the associate judges of the county and an active adherent of the Methodist church in Roseoe. He died in December, 1850, aged sixty-two years. His deseendants are still well known in this

vicinity. Mr. Woods had also lived in Muskingum near Mr. Retilley's residence. He was a single man when he came to Caldersburg, but shortly after married and went west. George Bagnall purchased his interest in the store, and the firm did a flourishing business here for an extended period of years. The store was located for several years in a little log cabin which stood just west of the brick tavern; it was then removed to the old Bareus tavern stand. The goods were brought by team from Pittsburgh. The teamsters, in going for the goods, conveyed large quantities of veni- son to the east, which had been received at the store by way of trade. Deer were then quite numerous in the forests, and the farmer, in wend- ing his way to town through the bridle path, was reasonably sure of shooting a deer upon the way. This he would eut up, hang the forequarters upon some overhanging bough beyond the reach of wild animals, to take home on his return, and bring the remaining "saddle" of venison with him to town, receiving for it, at the store, fifty cents. After the canal was built, this firm erected a warehouse and became the first dealers in grain, shipping heavily to Cleveland.

Prosperity for Caldersburg, as it was still ealled, began to dawn with the construction of the Ohio canal. A canal at that time brought the same ad- vantages to a town situated on its route that a railroad does now, and a place fortunate enough to secure a canal through its borders was univer- sally conceded to be on the highway to eommer- cial success. Coshocton expected the canal, but it seems that less expense attended its building west of the Muskingum, and it accordingly passed through Caldersburg. Leander Ransom, an en- gineer in the construction of the eanal, recog- nized the advantageous site for a thriving town, and with Noah H. Swayne, the late United States Justice, then a lawyer in Coshocton, purchased a tract north of the village and laid out, in 1831, an extensive addition to the old town, changing the name to Roscoe, in honor of a then famous Eng- lish author, William Roscoe. When the Wal- honding canal was projected a few years later, the outlook for the town was still brighter. Added to this, its water power was unsurpassed. Steam had not yet come into general use as a motor of machinery, and those towns that af-

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forded an excellent water power had hitherto been the ones to achieve eminence as manufac- turing points. The canals bring together in Ros- coe the whole water power of the Tuscarawas and Walhonding. The water of the latter, standing in the canal at this place thirty feet above the level of the Muskingum, furnishes a power capa- ble of performing almost anything desired. No less sagacious personage than Charles M. Gid- dings, at that time one of the most prominent business men of Cleveland, predicted that in a few years the place would contain 10,000 or 15,000 inhabitants. He and one or two others pur- chased more than 100 acres of land in the vicin- ity, with the expectation of speedily disposing of it in town lots at a handsome profit. That this glowing outlook was never realized was due to the decline of canal transportation. They were unable to compete with their newly-arisen com- petitor, the iron horse. A revolution in the trans- portation of freight was inaugurated just as the village was blooming into a rich promise under the old regime.

For a time it grew rapidly. In commercial operations and business importance it was un- doubtedly first in the county. It became a great wheat depot, and in point of shipment and trans- shipment ranked fourth or fifth among the towns along the entire route of the Ohio canal, from Portsmouth to Cleveland. Its population in 1840 was 468, while that of Coshocton was 625 During that year, as perhaps a little later, there were in Roscoe five dry goods stores, two grocer- ies, two forwarding houses, one fulling, two saw, and two flouring mills; while Coshocton at the same time contained six mercantile stores, one woolen factory and one flouring mill.

An industrial enterprise closely allied to the canal, was a boat yard, owned and run for a few years by J. Blaisdall, a ship carpenter, now living east of Cleveland. A number of substantial canal boats were built here. The "Renfrew," one of the earliest water-crafts on the canal, was built in Roscoe by Thomas B. Lewis.

An extensive distillery business was begun in 1831-2 by William Renfrew and Robert Hay. The firm soon after became Love & Hay. A large structure was reared upon a heavy, stone foundation, situated on the canal a short distance

below Adams & Gleason's saw mill. After it had bean in operation about ten years, the building with its contents was destroyed by fire, the loss amounting to $30,000 or $40,000. It was then re- moved to Coshocton and for years was one of the leading industries of the county seat.

In 1836 a large flouring mill was built by Ar- nold Medberry, Leander Ransom and John Smeltzer. In 1853, being then under the con- trol of Mr. Medberry, it was burned. In 1840 the Union mill was built in lower Roscoe by the Union Mill company, consisting of R. M. Lamb, Dr. S. Lee and John Frew, of Coshocton ; Wil- liam and John Carhart, James LeRetilley and James Bagnall, of Roscoe, and Peter Marquand, of Wills creek. Becoming embarrassed, the company sold this mill to D. N. Barney & Com- pany, of Cleveland, and it was by them sold to Arnold Medberry. It was burned in the spring of 1853. These two mills had two run of buhrs each, and were considered in their day among the first mills in Ohio. Their capacity together was five hundred barrels per day.

The Empire mill, now doing business here, is one of the largest and finest in the State. It was built in 1858, by Arnold Medberry, who died in the summer of 1861. The mill was then pur- chased by Samuel Lamberson and Lewis Demoss, who subsequently sold a one-fourth interest to F. E. Barney, and a like share to D. L. Triplett, since which time business has been transacted under the firm name of Barney, Demoss & Co. The mill stands at the junction of the Walhond- ing with the Ohio canal, and its water power can not be excelled. The building is a six-story frame of imposing dimensions, contains seven run of buhrs, and has a capacity of eighty thousand barrels per year. It is fitted up with the most recent improvements in milling machinery and fixtures-$12,000 having been expended for this purpose alone during the last year-and produces flour equal to any made in the State. This may be believed when it is known that the flour is sent to all parts of the world. Just preceding this writing, an extensive shipment was made to Glasgow and London No custom work is now donc. Employment is given to thirty persons.

The Star mills, built in 1880 by James F. Wil- liams, is situated on the Ohio canal. The main

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

building is thirty by forty feet, contains three run of buhrs and is doing a fine business both by way of custom work and exportation of flour.

A carding mill was started in 1833 in upper Roscoe by Samuel Moffat. After a few years it was burned down and another built by C: S. Mil- Ier and S. Moffat. Miller died in 1848 and in 1855 the property passed from the hands of his wid- ow to Thomas Wilson. With this enterprise Wilson MeClintiek, afterward removing to But- ler, Missouri, was for some years identified. The building was a frame one, stood a little above the planing mill and was burned down in 1867. Wil- son proceeded promptly after the fire to build the large brick mill, thirty by forty feet in size, now operated by him upon a site a little west of the old one, drawing water from the Walhonding ca- nal instead of the Ohio canal.

The saw mill, now run by Adams and Gleason, was erceted in 1832. It was probably built by Arnold Medberry or if not came into his posses- sion very shortly after. A planing mill was at- tached by James W. Beebe about 1871, since when both saw and planing mills have been op- erated conjointly. An immense business is done here, covering all kinds of lumber, by far the greatest in the country.

Madberry, Ransom & Co , about 1831, built a large hotel in which J. H. Board was installed first proprietor. He was succeeded by H. V. Horton and by Mrs. Rebecca Johnson and others. The building was remodeled, almost entirely re- built, by Matthew Stewart about 1840, and several years later it burned to the ground. Mr. Med- berry replaced it with a new briek, still in use, with which Charles Simmons and others have siuce been connected. Mrs. Hutchins is the pres- ens hostess. Several other hotels have flourished here but they have now passed away.

Roscoe has been peculiarly unfortunate in her fire losses. The little town seems to have been a special object for the fury of the fire fiend, for nearly every building of any note that has had an existence here, has been long reduced to ashes. The long list includes two large flouring mills, two carding mills, one large distillery, one church, two hotels, one school-house and one dry- goods store, besides many other smaller buildings.

The number of merchants, who have been act-

ively identified with the interests of Roscoe, has been a large one, including the names of John Smeltzer, Robert L. Lamb, Joseph Johnson, Hickox & Wallace, John Frew, Burns & Moffat, Seth McClain, McClain & Brown, A. Medberry & Co., Samuel Burrell and others. None were more prominent than Mr. Medberry. The fol- lowing sketeh of him is taken from Hunt's His- torical Collections :

Arnold Medberry was born in New Berlin, Chenango county, New York, March 24, 1806. He came to Roscoe in the fall of 1832, and re- mained a citizen of that place until his death, August 12, 1861. During this time he was one of the most prominent business men of the region. His farming, milling, merchandising and eonnec- tion with the public works, were features of the locality where carried on. Indomitable energy and ceaseless activity were his characteristics. He was undaunted before that which would have made many quail. He thought nothing of taking his buggy, riding thirty miles to Mount Vernon, and there taking the cars, thus reaching Cleveland in a few hours. Losing two flour-mills by fire, he, within a few hours, had matters all arranged for building yet a third. A zealous politician, he yet had little desire for office. He was, however, postmaster of Roscoe for many years, and was also county commissioner. When the public works of the State, with which from the first he had been thoroughly acquainted, were offered for lease, he was one of the principal lessees, and continued in that relation until his death. A single anecdote illustrates his keen discernment and disposition to have the best in every line at-

tainable. A wagonmaker, having built him a wagon, ealled for his inspection and acceptance of it. He discovered, by close examintion, a few places stopped up and made to appear smooth and good by putty. The wagonmaker protested that there was no real defeet, that in faet the parts where the putty was were as strong as any, and would do just as good work. "Very good, then," said Medberry, with his accustomed twinkle of the eye, "just you keep this wagon, and make me another all out of putty, and we will then see whether putty is as strong as.oak." Severe requirement was the rule with him in his relations to his employes, and what he thus de- manded he was ready to yield to those having rightful claims. His personal appearance was fine, his manner calm and stately, but, withal, kind. His wife, who had been Miss Phobe Den- man, survived him several years, dying at the home of her daughter, in Kansas. His two sons (lied in each case as they were approaching man- hood. Two of his daughters are living in Kansas, the other in Columbus.

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

The mercantile business is at this time repre- sented as follows: Moore & Caton, dry goods; Wright, Biggs & McCabe, dry goods; Martin Hack & Co., dry goods; Leander Miller, gro- ceries; J. R. Stanford, groceries; Abram Rose, groceries; Le Retilley & Ferguson, drugs; Mrs. R. Hooker, drugs; Harrison & Johnson, hardware and tinware; Rekla Lockhart, millnery.

The earliest school in Roscoe of which any- thing is known, probably the first, was held in the upper story of the Calder builling, where John Smelzer afterwards kept store. It was started about 1826, and held in this room only two winters. During the first winter it was taught by John B. Turner. He was a plasterer, by trade; moved here from Zanesville; soon after became county treasurer, and subsequently moved to Indiana, where he took a prominent po- sition in the administration of public affairs. Henry Colelazer taught the second winter. He was from Georgetown, D. C., and was a very well informed man for those times. He subsequently became a Methodist Episcopal minister and, when last heard from, was living in Detroit, Michigan. A little cabin, standing on the hill, became the next fount of learning for Roscoe's youth. It had previously been used as a dwell- ing house and, after it had subserved its pur- poses as a school building, was converted into a tannery and used as such until very recently. Basheba Lightener was the school mistress in this building for two winters. William Mc- Gowen next taught, in a little brick, which stood near Dr. Johnson's present residence. Next, Mr. Brown's house, then the Methodist church, were each temporarily utilized for school pur- poses. A brick school-house was erected about 1835, and school held in it till transferred to the present brick structure, erected about 1850. The school at present contains three departments. During the past year, the teachers in charge have been, Messrs. L. W. Martin and George Hill and Miss Anna Waddle, The school enrollment, at the opening of the year, was 132.

came as the successor of Dr. William Emerson, who died of pneumonia, June, 1833. He was the son of Timothy Emerson, of Keene township; had read medicine with Dr. Samuel Lee, of Co- shocton, and, after attending lectures in Cincin- nati, opened an office in Roscoe about 1828, Ile was probably the first physician in the place. From that time to the present quite a number of physicians have had a residence here ; generally a brief one. Among them was Dr. Edward Cone, now residing in Washington township, who has changed his occupation several times since. He has been a Methodist preacher, far- mer, and recently reports himself a "grower of peaches and apples on sheep lands," Josiah Har- ris, still practicing in Coshocton, was here from 1837-40. Dr. Barger, the father of G. H. Barger, Esq., of Coshocton, from 1835-37. Drs. J. W. Brady, McBride, O. Farquhar, an Uriscopian; Peck, and others, have also resided here.

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History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 82

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