History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 83

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 83

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The first postmaster was James Le Retilley. He received the appointment about the time Jackson township was organized. Mr. Retilley was succeeded by Arnold Medderry, and since then quite a number of changes have been made in this office. The present incumbent is Mrs. R. Hooker.

Lodges of the Masonic order and of the Sons of Temperance have been established here, but both have been defunet for these many years. The former was organized about 1848, and dis- banded in 1865, uniting at that time with the Coshocton lodge. The latter was organized about 1846, and survived for the brief space of three years.

A very neat little township hall, twenty-six by forty-five feet in size, was built in the fall of 1880, at a cost of $1,550.

Besides the buildings already mentioned, there are here at present a foundry, a tannery, a brew- ery, a leather shop, and various other small in- dustrial establishments.

There is one other postoffice in Jackson town- ship. It is called Tyrone, and belongs in the southwestern part of the township. Joseph D. Smith has been postmaster for about twelve years. The office was established about 1850, and the former postmasters have been James Waddle,

Dr. M. Johnson, the only resident practitioner now in the village, has perhaps been longer in a continuous practice than any other physician now in the county. He settled here in 1833, and has been in constant practice ever since. He | Aaron Reed, Catherine McCoy, Hiram Riden-

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

baugh and John H. Forrester. It has been re- cently discontinued.

Pleasantville was laid out at an early day by Elijah Graves, in the southeast quarter of section 24, but it never came to anything.

About 1825, a noted Fourth of July dinner was served at what is known as Falling Off Rock, one and a half miles west of Roscoe. The rock rises perpendicularly about thirty feet, and down this declivity a little rivulet dashes only after a storm. Beneath is a cave extending back about forty feet, and from it a fine spring of water issues. James Calder and several others, deeming it a pleasant spot for celebrating in a quiet way the national birth day, issued a general invitation and prepared the cave for the reception of the public. A large crowd, for those times, gathered at the place, from Coshocton, Caldersburg and elewhere at the appointed time and partook of the bounteous provision there spread before them. Lewis Demoss was the only participator in this affair who is now known to survive.

The Roscoe Methodist Episcopal church is the only religious society now in active operation in this village. From 1820 to 1826, there had oc- casionally been a sermon preached in Roscoe (then Caldersburg) in the dining-room of the tavern kept by William Barcus; but in 1826 two Methodist ministers were appointed by the annual couference to the circuit in which Roscoe was embraced, and in the spring of that year the first class was formed by those ministers (their names were Abner Gough and H. O. Sheldon). The persons forming the class were Theophilus Phil- lips, Mrs. Samuel Brown, James Le Retilley and wife, Mrs. William Bareus, Rachel Le Retilley and Joseph Shoemaker and wife. Meetings con- tinued to be held in the same tavern until about 1828, about which time Samuel Brown joined, and the meetings after that were held at his house until 1831, in which year they built a neat little brick church, twenty-four by forty feet, in the lower part of the village on the brow of the hill.

A little incident in regard to Samuel Brown : He was, by his own account, a very wicked man then. There was to be a love feast hekt on Sun- day morning, and he went along with his wife to carry the child, not intending to stay in; but

when they got there it was about time to close the door, as it was the custom in those days. So, when he stepped in to hand the chikl to his wife, they closed the door and drew a bench against it, so that he could not get out, and was compelled very reluctantly to remain, and during the exer- cises he became powerfully convicted, and then and there joined the church.

In 1853, the old church being too small, they concluded to build a larger one. The old one was torn down, and one crected forty by sixty feet on the site of the present church; and in March, 1874, it was burned and rebuilt the same year at a cost of $8,000, exclusive of materials out of the old building. It is a handsome brick of the same size as the old one, with brick tower and a fine bell The windows are of stained glass, and the pulpit and pews are very neat. It was dedicated December 27, 1875. The present membership is one hundred and twenty.

The Sunday-school is an attractive and import- ant auxiliary of the church. It was organized in 1830 in the village school-house by the election of the following officers: James Le Retilley, Sr., superintendent; Thomas Colelazer, secretary ; John Brown, librarian. A library was formed directly after the organization but comprised a class of books much better adapted for mature minds than juvenile readers, consisting almost exclusively of weighty doctrinal works, books of sermons, etc. The school has enjoyed a prosper- ous existence of more than fifty years and now has an average attendance of about one hundred and twenty. During the winter the meetings are held in the afternoon at two and a half o'clock; in summer at nine o'clock in the morning. John W. Barkhurst now has charge of the school.

A Presbyterian church, formerly located here, has become extinct. It was organized April 25, 1847. Rev. H. Calhoun supplied it for eleven years, and it received a part of the time of Revs. Henderson, Wallace, and other pastors of the Second church of Coshocton. At its organization there were fifteen members, among whom were George Bagnall, James Hill, Wilson McClintick, Mrs. Phoebe Medberry, Mrs. Charlotte Ransom and Peter Thurgood. Under the care of Mr. Calhoun and also, at a later day, under the labors

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

of Rev. C. W. Wallace, Rev. S. P. Hildreth and Rev. H. C. McBride, considerable accessions were received to the church. A good frame buikling was erected in 1853, chiefly through the spirited exertions of Mrs. P. W. Medberry. The elders have been James Hill, George Bagnall, T. Carna- han, S. Sayre. The church membership became greatly reduced through removals and deaths, and, about 1873, services were discontinued. A flourishing Sunday-school was long kept up un- der the superintendeney of John Carhart, Sr.

The Warner Methodist Episcopal church, lo- cated near the center of section 21, about three miles northwest from Roscoe, was so named in honor of the late Dr. Warner, of the North Ohio conference. It was organized in the year 1870 by Rev. S. R. Surie. During the same year a neat frame building was erected at a cost of $2,000. The principal members were William Biggs, John B. Markley, John Peoples, Richard Eckels, Joseph Stubbs, William Austin, James Davis, William Shearn, Christopher Hall and E. D. Wolford. The present membership is sixty-six. A Sabbath-school was organized in 1870, and has now a membership of fifty-six.

The Branch Methodist Episcopal church was formed at the residence of Eli Smith, January 3, 1839, by Revs. Martin P. Kellogg and Joseph S. Brown, then the preachers on the Roscoe circuit of the Ohio conference. The class, as organized, consisted of the following members: Ebenezer Taylor and Margaret, his wife, Benjamin Taylor, Nancy Taylor, Joseph Smith and Elizabeth, his wife, Julia Ann Ogle, Eli Smith and Katherine, his wife, Mindwell Roberts, Jonathan Thomas and Mary, his wife, and Maria Holbrook. Di- rectly afterwards steps were taken to erect a house of worship. Joseph Smith, David Middle- ton, Robert Ransom, Ebenezer Taylor and Thom- as Mclain were appointed trustees, and a frame building, twenty-eight by thirty-two feet was erected. The present church edifice was built in 1872. It is located in the southwestern part of the township, within a mile of the township cor- ner. It is a large frame structure, forty by fifty feet, which will comfortably seat a congregation of 500. The cost of this building was $2,300; it was dedicated February 10, 1873. The present

membership is forty-two. Rev. J. Williams is pastor. The church has always been connected with the Roscoe circuit. The Sunday-school, held only during the summer, last year had an average attendance of sixty-eight.

Pleasant Hill Regular Baptist church, located on William McCoy's land, about five miles west of Roscoe on the gravel road, was organized as a branch of Mill Creek church, about 1845, with a membership of perhaps forty, and called Crooked Run church. Among its principal carly mem- bers were David Tracy, Samuel C. Heney, Abra- ham Randles, John Tracy and Aaron Loder. The earliest meetings were held in private houses, and in a vacated cabin which was rudely and tempora- rily furnished for this purpose. Services were continued here but a short time, however, for a meeting-house was built on Aaron Loder's farm soon after the society was organized. The society advanced steadily for a few years, then declined, and in about fifteen years became virtually ex- tinct. In 1862, they were organized, and the church re-named Rock Hill. Some progress was made, and in 1868 a comfortable frame house of wor- ship was built-the one now in use-and named Pleasant Hill. The first pastor was probably William Mears. Other ministers who have since served the congregation are Revs. L. L. Root, H. Sampson, J. G. Whitaker, R. R. Whitaker, W. S. Barnes, A. W. Odor, S. W. Frederick, E. B. Senter and J. C. Skinner. Rev. A. W. Odor was recalled, succeeding Rev. Skinner, and filled the pulpit during the last year. At present there is no reg- ular pastor, but the congregation is still served occasionally by Rev. Odor. The present mem- bership is ninety-four. Allen Marshall, Joseph Askren and Aaron Loder are the deacons. A Sunday-school is conducted during the summer. Its membership last year was seventy-three.

The Valley Presbyterian church was organized on the road from Coshocton to Newark, six miles west of Coshocton, in 1847, and a squared-log church built. Rev. P. H. Jacobs, of Coshocton, and Rev. C. C. Bamberger supplied it from 1847 to 1860. The neighborhood had at first a few . Presbyterian families, including those of John Smith, John McCullough, John Graham, Thomas

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

Smith and William Crooks, but death and re- moval to the west soon effaced these, and, as the territory was occupied from the start by other denominations, this retired from the field. In 1863, the old organization having become extinct, a second effort was made, kut with no better suc- cess than before. To this second congregation Rev. John Moore, D. D., while settled in Jefferson church, ministered. The church never numbered a score of members, and soon perished a second time. Rev. Akey was the last minister in charge.

The Disciples, for a number of years, had a society in the southwestern part of the township. A frame church, about thirty feet square, was built in 1845, or shortly before, in which services were held for perhaps fifteen years. Then the society became too weak to maintain its organi- zation and perished. Werley Graves, Zachariah Ogle, William Richards, Samuel Wellman, Joseph and Uriah Huffman were the principal members. The last named subsequently became a minister of this denomination.

Blooming Grove Methodist Episcopal church is located in the northwestern corner of the township. In 1849 Rev. W. C. Huestis, of Roscoe circuit, preached occasionally in this neighbor- hood. He was followed by Rev. T. H. Wilson, who succeeded in organizing a society February, 1850. It first met in Antioch church, a house close by, belonging to a sister denomination, but in the year 1851, under the pastoral administra- tion of T. H. Wilson, the church was erected and dedicated by him in August of the same year. Moses Finley was the architect and buildler. At the close of Rev. Wilson's two years labors, the membership amounted to ninety-nine. Of the first members may be mentioned Simon Murray, Ruth Murray, Thomas James, Sarah A. James, Nathan Price, Nancy Price, Joshua Fry, Mary Fry, Samuel Neldon, Jane Neldon, Jantes Shaw, Sr., Sarah Shaw, Ephraim Deviney and Dorintha Deviney. S. Murry was the first steward and Nathan Price and Samuel Neldon the first class- leaders. Of the first mentioned ninety-nine members there are but about seven in fellowship with the church at the present time. The mem- bership now numbers 102; the present pastor is Rev. J. Williams. A Sunday school was organ-

ized by Rev. T. H. Wilson, in May, 1850. This branch of christian work has been continued to the present time. The last reports show a mem- bership of seventy, with John Demoss as super- intendent.

An old church building, known as the Antioch church formerly, stood on the north line of the township, very near to the extreme northwest corner. It was built many years ago by a fceble and short-lived christian society, and was after- ward occupied for a brief period by the All- brights and the Methodist Protestants.

CHAPTER LVI.

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.

Primative Race-Flint Mining-Other Remains-Topography -Organization-Early Settlers-Whisky-Mills-Schools - Coal Oil Speculations-Warsaw-Mohawk Village-Postof- fices-Churches.

W ITHIN the limits of Jefferson town- ship are evidences that clearly point to the existence here, in ages past, of a race of people concerning which little is now definately known; evidence not only of their mere inhabitancy herc, but of extensive mining operations, as well, for the material from which their rough weapons were fashioned; evi- dences that the vein of flint-rock which lies en- bedded in the geological strata underlying the township was mined by these pre-historic people from most of the many hills that cover the farms of Cononel Pren Metham, R. B. Whitaker and Mrs. Criss, located in the southern central part of the township. The veins of flint are in width from four to six feet; sometimes located close to the top of the hill; at other times near the base. Opposite the seam where the flint has been mined the ground is thrown back forming a kind of ridge or embankment, which has lead some, who have noticed them, to believe them to have been fortifications; but a careful examination by Col- onel Metham and others produced convincing testimony that the mining of the flint, concealed in the heart of the hills, was the cause of the dis- turbed condition in the natural slope of the hill-

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

side, for wherever these apparent embankments or ridges have been examined, as most of them have, the flint bed is invariably present; more than that, in the cave-like openings from which the flint has been taken, ashes and charcoal are always found ; also large, hard river rocks, greatly scarred and dinged. The flint vein is a consid- erable distance above the drift formation and the presence of these bowlder rocks here can be ac- counted for only by supposing them to have been brought here by human ageney. Moreover their much battered up appearance indicates usage for some purpose.

The process of obtaining the flint that seems most probable from these facts, is the one sug- gested by Colonel Metham. Large fires were built in these underground excavations, close to the solid wall of flint, until the latter became thoroughly heated, when the expansion would produce fissures or cracks in the wall; or perhaps these were produced by sudden contraction caused by casting water against the heated sur- face. The large, scratched bowklers were then used by the pre-historic miners in lieu of ham- mers, to break off fragments from the cracked wall, by hurling them against it. The pieces thus obtained, were then carried elsewhere to be worked into arrow points, spear-heads, etc. At the summits of many of the hills are found large beds of these flint fragments, where per- haps they were broken into smaller pieces from which the darts were fashioned at the "arrow- makers." That these shops were abundant in this vicinity is made manifest by the numerous piles of spawls or flint chips, togother with large quantities of the arrow-heads, some in a finished, others in an unfinished state, which are found very plentiful, usually near a rock-bed. Small, hard stones, generally granitic, much worn and nicked, are found also among the chips. They were probably used in chipping off the flints. In quarrying a bed of sandstone rock near his house, Colonel Methan discovered in a crevice a large "nest" of these flints, a portion of them beauti- fully finished, others rude and incomplete.

The extent of this mining was prodigious. Colonel Castell, who was engineer of the Dresden branch of the Cleveland, Mt. Vernon & Dela- ware railroad, examined the remains and esti-

mated that the amount of work indicated by these, if performed at present, would require an expen- diture of not less than $1,000,000.

" Here the ancient arrow-maker Made his arrow-heads of quarts rock- Arrow-heads of chalcedony- Arrow-heads of chert and jasper- Smoothed and sharpened at the edges, Hard and polished, keen and costly."

About six years ago, a considerable amount of capital was expended by Mr. Swaim, of Tusca- rawas county, and others, in prospecting for mineral wealth among these hills. None was found. Close to the spring, situated about forty rods south of Colonel Metham's residence, is found a bed of broken-up river and sand-stone, none of the pieces larger than a man's fist. Traces of several fluke-like channels through the bed were discernable, in which were streaks of ashes, charcoal and soot. A careful analysis of the soot was made, with the hope of finding mineral depsoits of some kind, but none were re- vealed. About the only "find" in the vicinity was a small fragment of ancient pottery. The conjecture that this may have been a pottery furnace is scarcely warrantable; for, if so, re- mains of pottery should exist in greater abund- ance. Similar beds are found in several other localities, one on the same farm, one on Wash- ington Darling's farm, north of the river, and another on Joshua Clark's place, in New Castle township, all adjacent to a spring of water.

On the peak of the hill which rises east of Colonel Metham's residence is a stone mound, about eighteen feet in diameter and five in depth. Several ineffectual attempts were made to ex- plore it, before 1855, at which time Rev. Boggs and Colonel Metham made a thorough investi- gation of it. It was found be a sepulchral mound, containing the mortal remains of one of the de- parted great. The mound was a solid piece of masonry, composed of horizontal layers of sand- stone, the erevices in which were filled with pounded-up sandstone. Near the base of the mound, a stone sepulchre was found. The bot- tom of it consisted of a large, flat sandstone ; slabs of the same material, placed upright upon their edges, constituted the sides and ends. Aeross the top were other flat stones. Encased in this

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HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

enclosure, was found a portion of a human skeleton, consisting of pieces of the skull, the thigh bone, teeth, and a few other fragmentary bones. From a careful examination of the thigh bone, the length of the skeleton was esti- mated to be over seven feet. The entire set of teeth were molars, there being no incisors among them-a characteristic, it is said, of the Aztec race. Another particularity was, that the length of the upper and lower jaw was the same, A few flint darts and stone "shuttles" were also found in the coffin.

Across the river from these remains, on Robert Darling's farm, are other traces of this unknown people. Along the crest of the ridge that over- looks the river are piled large, irregular masses of sandstones. Upon the highest of these, which rises perpendicularly twenty feet from the side that faces the river, but which from the other side can be reached by a less abrupt ascent by clam- bering up over rough masses of sandstone, are the remains of a semi-circular wall. It is three or four feet in width, about the same in height, and consists of large, irregularly-shaped, flat stones. The diameter of the circle is perhaps thirty feet. The wall faces the side from which the summit may be reached. Whether this was a stronghold of the Mound Builders, where they made a last but unavailing stand against hordes of barbarous northern invaders, or whether it was a place for offering up human sacrifices or performing religious rites, will probably never be known.

The view from this point is wild and imposing. The ridge is still covered with the forest, and be- tween the trees along the summit of the ridge, and in many places upon the hill-side, nature has lavishly scattered large masses of time-worn sand- stone rocks, some in places jutting out badly from the crest or side of the ridge, others again in a slanting position, seemingly about to fall with terrific crash to the base below. The peaceful bosom of the romantic Walhonding lies several hundred feet beneath and beyond it. A level stretch of valley recedes till it reaches the bluffs that rise on the opposite side.

The Walhonding river, flowing eastward from New Castle township, cutting its channel through the Waverly sandstone, divides the township into !

two nearly equal parts. Two runs, Darling and Beaver, are its tributaries from the north; it has also two from the south, Mohawk and Simmons', Another small stream, called Flint run, enters Simmons' run about a mile from its mouth.

The roughest land in the township is that which skirts the river valley. On either side it rises abruptly, forming steep, high ridges. These continue northward undiminished in size, mak- ing the land in this part of the township very hilly. To the south, however, the roughness wears away as the land recedes from the river, and the surface becams rolling in character.

The valley of the Walhonding, from a half mile to a mile in width, is one of the richest in the State. By those who are acquainted with both it is said to fully equal in productiveness the noted valley of the Miami. The soil in the main is a black, sandy loam, with gravelly sand in spots, here and there. Along the base of the bluffs is a narrow strip, subsoiled with blue clay. The soil on the south of the river, between Mohawk run and Simmons' run, is as rich as can be found anywhere on steep lands. The outcroppings are fossiliferous limestone, flint and cannel coal, the best possible combination to enrich a soil. Sand- stone is the principal outeroping north of the valley, and the soil there is not so good.

Most of the hill tops north of the river were devoid of timber when the first settlers arrived, being covered only with small bushes, in some places not even these, Beds of wild strawberries grew in rich profusion and huckle berries also were abundant in places. South of the river the surface was timbered, and it is a remarkable fact that in early days there was no underbrush worth speaking of here. The forests seemed like im- mense groves, so that game could be seen at a great distance. Since then, however, an almost impenetrable thicket has sprung up on the land that has not yet been cleared.

A greater diversity of timber than usually pre- vails on steep lands in one locality was found on these southern hills, embracing nearly every va- riety that flourishes in this region except cotton- wood and sycamour. Along the edge of the val- ley is found the black oak, swamp oak and swamp ash and closer to the river burr oak, black walnut, I sycamore, cottonwood, hickory and other varieties.

513

HISTORY OF COSHOCTON COUNTY.

Jefferson township was organized in 1826. The northern half consists of congress land which was surveyed in 1803 by Silas Bent, Jr. The southern half comprises two military sections. Of these, the eastern was located by Colonel Wil- liam Simmons in 1800, and settled by him years after.

The western is known as the Bell section. The patent for it was granted April 2, 1800, to Cairnon Wedwell, of Philadelphia, who conveyed it the same year to John Duncan, a broker of Philadel- phia. The following year he sold to John Bell, a resident of the same city, all of the section except the one-twelfth part off the western side, which had been deeded to Martin Baum. It remained in Bell's possession about thirty-five years, during which time, however, he sold a considerable part of it to different parties, through his agent, Pren Metham, who moved to the township in 1823. In 1837, the residue, consisting of over 2,200 acres, came into the possession of a Scotch-Irish colony of settlers, consisting of James and John Moore, James and William Given, James and William Thompson, and Mrs. Anderson, all related to each other, who emigrated from Tyrone county, Ireland, to Marshall county, Virginia, in 1836, and soon after to this township. They were an intelligent, energetic and industrious people, who cleared off this large tract and paid for it since their arrival here. It is still owned by their de- seendants.

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History of Coshocton County, Ohio, its past and present, 1740-1881, Part 83

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