History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 78

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034

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dusky River, and paid regular visits to the natives. She was always welcomed, and the untutored children of the forest loved to listen to her voice, while she told the "story of the Cross." There were rumors that, when she was a child, her parents had been murdered by the Indians, and that, instead of cherishing vengeance, her heart had gone out in Chris- tian love for them, and she resolved to devote her life to their souls' salvation. She was kind, zealous, self-sacrificing, and was beloved by every one. Her heart was wrapped up in her work, and her labors were continued until the Indians left the neighborhood. She fol- lowed them westward, and what finally be- came of her is unknown to the people of the township. Under her teachings, the Indians began to attend the meetings at the cabins of the settlers, and to take great interest in the early camp-meetings. In 1831, one of these meetings was held on the French farm, and was largely attended. As many as sixty fam- ilies of settlers erected tents, and just without their encampment more than one hundred Indians established themselves in their wig- wams, and took an active part in the exercises. Many of these were converted, but they soon went back to their old way of living. Among the ministers in attendance were Elders Pren- tice, Bell, Palmer, Chase and Havens, the lat- ter being a man of great spirit and enthusi- asm. Lines of tents were erected so as to form a square, inclosing about half an acre, and, within this inclosure, rude seats and a rude rostrum made from clapboards or planks, were placed. Three exercises were held each day, one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the evening. The ministers took turns in presiding. Supplies of food were brought to the grounds, and the cooking was done in the tents. Horses were picketed in an adjoin- ing grove, and cows were kept on the grounds to furnish fresh milk. Tobacco, candies, fruits,

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

melons, etc., were sold at tents erected without the inclosure. When the services began, the Indians assembled and sat together, with faces upturned, listening soberly to the words of the "man of God." Occasionally some dusky face would light up with the fire of the occa- sion, and its owner would begin to manifest all the outward signs of sincere conversion. The most of them understood English suffi- ciently well to get an idea of what was being said. Large numbers of whites were con- verted, and the churches were greatly strength- ened by additions made thereto. The Indians were in the neighborhood only temporarily, and, when the camp-meeting closed, at the end of three weeks, they journeyed westward to more fruitful hunting and trapping grounds. The citizens in the township have always been temperate and moral.

It is likely that the first school in the towns- ship was taught during the winter of 1826-27, in a small round-log cabin, used as a dwelling, on the farm now owned by Alexander Smith, by Miss Jane Hogan, who afterward became Mrs. Smith. The cabin, though small, and having but one room, with a solitary window, through which a few shaded rays of light came, was divided off into two apartments, not in reality, but only in name. Into one of these, hastily and rudely improvised seats and desks were placed, and this was the pioneer schoolroom in San- dusky Township. The young lady teacher, who was handsome and quite well educated, taught three months, receiving a small subscription for her services in endeavoring to teach the few children under her charge from scarcely no books or slates or apparatus. Often when classes were called to the floor to read, one book was required to serve the whole class, each member taking it in turn and reading, while the others stared idly about, or mischievously snapped bits of wood across the room at some fellow-student. In early years, two or three

terms at such schools as the one just described were considered amply sufficient for any one not desiring a collegiate education, and the young men and women were graduated in accordance with the prevailing opinion. The children were not sent to school until they had attained the age of about fifteen years. Here was held the first spelling-school, and here the neighbors-men, women and children-came to see who could "spell the school down." But the "going home with the gals" was what afforded the most pleasure, and all the different degrees of courage were exhibited by the pio- neer boys, when it came to the "asking" point; and the long walk by moonlight through the forest paths, arm-in-arm, when the spell- ing had ended, was a memorable event, for " Here maidens were sighing, and fragrant their sigh,

As the flower of the Amra just oped by a bee ; And precious their tears as that rain from the sky Which turns into pearls as it falls in the sea. Oh! think what the kiss and the smile must be worth, When the sigh and the tear are so perfect in bliss, And own, if there be an Elysium on earth, It is this, it is this."

Miss Hogan also taught the following sum- mer in the same cabin, but her school was thinly attended. During the winter of 1827- 28, Mr. Dewey taught a term of three months in his own cabin. His cabin was twenty by thirty feet, and was sufficiently large to accom- modate between fifteen and twenty children, who came to him for instruction. The inte- rior of his cabin was arranged similarly to the one described above, though it was lighted in a much more satisfactory manner. There were three windows, each containing four panes of glass, and these, in connection with the ruddy light of the great fire-place, afforded what was considered abundant light to enable the children to read, write and cipher without fatiguing the eyes. Mr. Dewey was a well- educated man, and he has the reputation of having taught an unusually successful school.

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

He continued to teach in his cabin until the first schoolhouse was erected, in which he afterward taught many terms. Miss Mary Ann Higby taught a : hort term in Dewey's cabin during the summer of 1828. She after- ward taught many terms in Sandusky and adjoining townships. Several of the old set- tlers think that school was taught in the township two or three years before 1826, but they are unable to give the date, the name of the first teacher, or any incidents or circum- stances connected with such schools. In the absence of any definite evidence, those early schools, if such there were, must remain in doubt as to their existence. Several of the earliest settlers were men of fine culture, who could appreciate the blessings and advantages of education. They had large families of children, in whose rapid intellectual and moral progress they were deeply interested. This would seem to imply that schools were taught

as early as accords with the opinions of the early settlers. It was not until 1830, that a hewed-log schoolhouse was built, on the cor- ner of Isaac Henry's farm. Who the first teachers were, and the incidents connected with the first sessions of school, are items no longer remembered. This building was used about fifteen years, when a frame one was built to take its place. The second schoolhouse was built south of the river, in 1838. The whole neighborhood turned out, as was the custom in those days, and the building was designed and erected in one day. This house was used many years, and it has only been comparatively late that another was built to take its place. Another schoolhouse was built in about 1842, in the northern extremity of the township. Average wages have been paid teachers, and the school system has been in- ferior to that of no other country township in the county.

CHAPTER XVIII.

WHETSTONE TOWNSHIP-SANDUSKY PLAINS-EARLY SETTLEMENT AND INCIDENTS -PIONEER IMPROVEMENTS-GROWTH OF VILLAGES-CHURCHI AND SCHOOL HISTORY.

T THE human mind delights in novelty and variety, and the whole being demands a change of pursuits. Nature's countless designs are never frustrated. Harmony and logical se- quence are found everywhere pervading the laws of nature by both theologian and atheist. The appetite, cloyed with continual sweets, loves the relief afforded by bitterness. The traveler becomes weary with the sight of un- ending plains or a continuous range of eleva- tions, and loves to see small vales encircled with hills and cloud-capped mountains. Weary with the long journey through the tiresome forests of Ohio, the early settler was attracted to the Sandusky Plains, in Whetstone Town- ship. In early years, they were the most no-

ticeable feature in the township ; but, since the surrounding woods have been partly cleared away and the Plains in many places have be- come covered with forest trees, it requires care- ful scrutiny to detect prairie from woodland. The Plains originally comprised fully the west- ern half of the township, extending far down the Scioto Valley, and, on the boundary lines, were irregular, sending off long spurs into the woods, and being pierced in turn by long, knifelike projections of forest land. Some portions of considerable extent are free from trees, though generally the surface is dotted here and there with "lone trees" or small groups varying in size from half a dozen to several hundred. The plains extend largely

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

over Bucyrus and Dallas Townships and far down into Marion County, covering quite an extensive tract of land. In Whetstone Town- ship they are generally flat, though the monot- ony is relieved by knobs of clay and gravel, deposited with the drift formations. Many of these knobs were originally covered with trees. It is observable that all the trees growing on the plains are comparatively small, having an approximate age of forty or fifty years. This seems to indicate that before the advent of the white settlers the plains were swept over by fires, which kept down the growths of forest trees. But. after the land was purchased by the pioneer and the Indian had disappeared, the destructive fires were avoided and the trees began to grow. The plains were early covered with tall, rank grass and weeds, that furnished an excellent hiding-place for wild animals. When the grass was dry and the wind blew heavily, the Indians were in the habit of set- ting out fires on the windward side, and then posting themselves to leeward, shot down the game that fled before the burning grass. The earliest white settlers did the same ; but it was soon necessary to avoid the fires, as the cabins and grain were in danger of being burned. Many years after the first settlers arrived, while the Wyandots were still on their reserva- tion, they were in the habit of establishing their camps outside their own lands, wherever the hunting or trapping was good, and where they did not give too much offense to the set- tlers. They were cunning, and adopted this course to save the game in their reservation. Whenever they approached a settlement, they were accustomed to give the whip to their ponies and come in on the gallop, with " whoop and halloo," as some of them said, " to scare white man." They were notorious beggars, rivaling the modern " tramp" in skill and ex- pediency. When the settlers failed to respond liberally, strategy was adopted. A cabin was watched until the husband and father had

gone, when the Indians presented themselves with scowling faces, exhibiting an array of weapons that were an "open sesame" to the woman's lavish generosity. A small encamp- ment was located one fall near the center of the township, on Whetstone Creek. An old Indian, named " Crum," was among them with his squaw and a "new " papoose. Several young women in the neighborhood went one day to view the little stranger, that lay wrapped in blankets and furs, swinging in its cradle of deer thongs strapped to trees. The young women went forward and began raising the garments to see the face of the little one, but they were interrupted by a burst of laugh- ter from Mr. and Mrs. Crum, who pointed to the other extremity of the bundle, signifying that the face could be found there. The young women, though confused at first by their mis- take and the laughter of the Indians, soon recovered sufficiently to join in the merriment at their own expense. The young women's descendants are yet laughing at the mistake of their grandmothers.

The date of the creation of Whetstone Town- ship is uncertain, though the old settlers say that it was very probably in 1824. The land was surveyed in 1821 or 1822, and the township then received its appropriate range and num- ber. It took its name from the principal stream draining it, and its name was the one suggested by the settlers when they petitioned for the creation of the township. The township, as originally created, was six miles square ; but, in 1835, when Sandusky and Jackson Town- ships were altered, the eastern tier of fractional sections became a part of the latter township. But. some time previous to this event, these sections had been annexed to Sandusky Town- ship, as can be seen by reading the extraet taken from the report of the commissioners in 1835, and given in the history of Sandusky Township, which appears in this work. After 1835 and until 1845, the township of Whetstone was five

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

miles square ; but, at the latter date, when Wy- andot County was created, and nearly all the townships in Crawford County were altered, the fractional tier of sections mentioned above, was re-annexed to Whetstone Township, of which it has since formed part. There were also added to this township twelve sections-two tiers- from Marion County, thus making Whetstone the largest township in the county. At present, it comprises forty full sections and eight fractional ones, and has an area of almost 28,000 acres. There is no existing account of the names of the first officers. The township is favorably situated, none of its territory being farther than eight miles from either Bucyrus or Galion. This gives the citizens the boon of a choice of markets, which they greatly prize.

Much of the soil of the township, especially on the flat prairie land, is deep and black, and is largely composed of decaying vegetable mat- ter. Numerous banks of drift clay and gravel are found along the course of the shallow Olen- tangy. The water of the creek is turbid, pre- senting a faint, milky appearance, evidently caused by many small sulphur springs that feed it. As has been said, the Olentangy is the principal stream. It flows from Polk Town- ship, entering Section 13, thence flowing across Sections 35, 26, 27, 22, 28, 33, 5 and 4 on the lower extremity, and leaving the township from Section 8. It and its branch, Mud Run, drain about two-thirds of the surface. The latter stream has its source in Section 17, and flows across Sections 20, 19, 30, 31, and enters Bucy- rus Township. Most of the surface north of the Galion road is drained by small branches of Sandusky River. This river flows across the extreme northwestern corner of Section 6. The beautiful Scioto River has its source in the western part of the township. This division of the county is thus situated on the Ohio water- shed, as part of its water reaches Lake Erie, and part the Ohio River. It has a few flat portions poorly drained, but generally the town-

ship has excellent drainage, and the soil is kept in fine working condition.

The name of the first settler is lost in the ob- scurity of the past. The settlers began to ap- pear before the land became marketable ; and, so great was the rush after 1820, and before 1827, that as many as thirty families liad set- tled in the northern part. There were but few Germans at first, though many of those genial and hospitable people known as " Pennsylvania Dutch " came with the New Englanders, who composed the majority of the earliest settlers. Looking from the present, it would appear wise for the first settlers to select the prairie land, which could be cultivated almost immediately ; but this they did not do, partly because there was no market for grain, and partly because the settlers imagined that within thirty or forty years the timber would be largely destroyed, which led them to select farms covered with heavy groves of black walnut or oak, and to leave the prairie land for subsequent settlers, using it in the meantime to supply themselves with hay and with pasture for the few horses, cattle and sheep that had been brought in from the East. The ambition of the early settler was to live well, and to secure as much as possible of the land that was being taken up so rapidly around him. He raised a small crop of corn and potatoes, pulverizing the former in mortars made from an oak block, and roasting the lat- ter in the ashes of the capacious fire-place. Joseph Stewart, now an old man of fourscore years, remembers of going to bed many a night with no supper except roasted potatoes and milk. The corn-meal prepared with the mortar and pestle was coarse ; but, when eaten under the stimulus of long fasts (a common occurrence for the early settler), was greatly relished. The cows of the settlers furnished them with milk- that all-important factor in domestic economy. Horses and cattle suffered severely from mos- quitoes, that came in clouds from the surround- ing marshes. This harassing annoyance, and

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

an insufficient quantity of grain, swept off the horses of the settlers, though the tough little Indian ponies lived on and enjoyed life as well as Indian ponies could. Deer, prairie chiekens, ducks, squirrels and swine furnished abundant meats. In a few years, swine in large num- bers ran wild in the woods, and fed upon "mast"-beech and hickory nuts and acorns- that covered the ground in the fall of the year. They were often quite fat, some of them weigh- ing 200 pounds, though usually they turned the scales at from seventy-five to one hundred and fifty pounds. These " hazel-splitters " bore but little personal resemblance to the well-bred and shapely Berkshire and Poland-China swine of to-day. Their legs were long and strong, and their snouts were abundantly ample for all prac- tical purposes. Some of the tusks on the male gender attained a length of five or six inches, and were formidable weapons in the hands (or rather the snout) of an enraged sus scrofa. Unless they had some distinguishing ear-mark, the swine were considered the property of those who could capture them. There was quite a demand for pork, as early as 1823. Judge Merriman, then doing a general mercantile business in Bueyrus, bought live or dressed hogs on com- mission for men living in Sandusky City. He was authorized to pay cash, or to give goods in exchange, for pork, paying about $2.50 per hun- dred for dressed hogs, and about $2 per hundred live weight. This was considered a good price, as the rearing and fattening of the swine cost nothing, not even in the winter. The result was that during the fall of the year, when hogs were fattest, the settlers turned out with dogs and horses to drive them in from the woods. Several of the settlers made considerable money by driving droves of thirty or forty to Sandusky City.

The northern half of the township was settled eight or ten years before the southern half. This was because a location near Bucyrus was desirable, though, in a few years, the settlers

began to build their cabins near Whetstone Creek, where springs of pure, living water were found. As near as can be ascertained, the set- tlers came into the township as follows : In 1820, John Kent, Seth Holmes, Joseph Young, Noble Mckinstry, Ralph Bacon and a Mr. Wil- louby ; in 1821, John King, Philander and Eli Odell, Samuel Parcher, Asa Howard, Załmon Rowse, George Hancock and a few others ; in 1822, Hugh Stewart and his five sons, William, John, James, Hugh and Joseph, all over twenty- one and all unmarried, Phillip Clinger, Samuel Van Voorhis, John Stien, Henry Harringer, John Beckwith, Benjamin, George, John and Lyman Parcher, brothers of Samuel, who had come out the year before, Christopher Bear, Heman and Abner Rowse, William Hamilton. Archibald Clark, John Campbell and several others ; in 1823, IIugh Trimble, George Poe, Cornwallis Reese, Daniel Jones, James Faloon, James Armstrong and others ; in 1824, Robert Reed, Charles Chambers, James Henderson, Isaac and Casper Eichelberger and others ; in 1825, Adam Keifer, John Lininger and Robert Walker ; in 1826-27, many came in ; in 1828, David Savage, John Heinlen, John Brehman, Isaac Boyer, Robert Walker, Oliver Jones and others. Many more came in during the years that have been mentioned, but their names are forgotten. The majority of . these settlers were from New England or the Middle States, and, with but few exceptions, located on the three tiers of sections on the north. Among the most prominent of the carly settlers was the family of Hugh Stewart. This man had come from Ireland, and had lived many years in Cumberland County, Penn. In 1821. he left Pennsylvania, and traveled twenty- four days with his family in a wagon drawn by four horses, arriving at Mansfield, Ohio, where his family remained, while he went to Whet- stone Township, Crawford County, Ohio, to select a farm. Favorable reports were in cir- culation at Mansfield as to the fertile land and

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HISTORY OF CRAWFORD COUNTY.

valuable forests in the New Purchase, and the reports, reaching the East, induced thousands of intelligent and wealthy farmers to go to the West, where the price of a load of wood to- day would purchase an acre of land, covered with heavy walnut or oak forests. The reports were so favorable that Mr. Stewart went to Whetstone Township and selected 240 acres, which he entered at Delaware for $300. This land was on Section 8. The family remained near Mansfield until the next spring, renting, in in the meantime, a small portion of land owned by James Hedges, and putting in a small crop of corn and potatoes on shares. While the family remained at Mansfield, the father and sons went to Whetsone and built a round-log cabin, twenty feet square, having one room, one door and one window. The logs on the inside of the cabin were roughly hewed off, the door was hung on wooden hinges, and the family were proud of the distinction of having a window which contained four panes of glass. In this rude cabin, they began life in the back- woods. Mrs. Stewart was in feeble health, and the family had brought with them a widowed lady, named Betsey Anderson, upon whose shoulders fell much of the household duties. A few calves and sheep were driven from Pennsylvania, and these were carefully guarded and fed. The calves, when four years old, were driven to Sandusky City and sold for $10 per head; but the sheep did not thrive so well. They all died, except two, from eating some poisonous weed growing in the woods or on the plain. One of these two was so badly poisoned that it swelled up to twice its natural size, but was saved by a lavish dose of whisky. The family brought with them a small copper still, which was sold soon after their arrival. The sons in after years occupied many positions of honor in the township and county. James Stewart served as one of the three Associate Judges of the county in about 1830, and, at one time, was Mayor of Bucyrus. Himself

and other sons of the family served frequently as Justices of the Peace. William, the eldest son, went to Kentucky, and what became of him is unknown to his relatives now living in the county. John, James and Hugh are dead, and Joseph is the only child of Hugh Stewart, Sr., left living to tell the tale of hardships and privation of his long and eventful life. The mother died a few years after reaching the county, and her death was one of the first in Whetstone Township.

The Parcher family, in carly times, was among the most prominent. Samuel came to this division of the county in 1820, with the family of Ralph Bacon. He had been employed by Bacon to drive an ox team from Painesville, Ohio, to Whetstone Township. Bacon entered 240 acres of land, partly in each of the two townships, Whetstone and Liberty, and his cabin was erected in Liberty. Immediately after their arrival, Bacon employed Parcher to maul 10,000 rails. for which he was to receive $50. The next year. Samuel's four brothers, named above, came on, and the brothers to- gether entered considerable land on Section 3, and began improving it. . Benjamin was the only married one of the brothers, and one large cabin served as home for all. Samuel was em- ployed by Judge Merriman to haul the first . stock of goods to Bucyrus. This was in 1821 or 1822. After the goods had arrived, the re- port became current that the stock consisted of nothing but a half-dozen handkerchiefs and a few pounds of powder ; but the reader is as- sured that this report was probably erroncons. In about 1828, the Parcher brothers built a saw-mill on their farm. It was a small affair, with an "up-and-down " saw, and was run by horse power. At the same time, they began the distillation of whisky, and ground their grain on a small horse-mill, with the usual " nigger-head " stones. Neither of the mills nor the distillery proved profitable, and, after running two or three years, the three were dis-

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History of Crawford County and Ohio, Part 78

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1034

Author: Perrin, William Henry, [from old catalog] comp; Battle, J. H., [from old catalog] comp; Goodspeed, Weston Arthur, 1852- [from old catalog] comp; Baskin & Battey, Chicago, pub. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1034