USA > Ohio > Delaware County > History of Delaware County and Ohio : containing a brief history of the state of Ohio biographical sketches etc. V. 2 > Part 24
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In most cases, the early settlers purchased their lands before they left their homes in the East, and without any personal knowledge of their character or value, moved their families on to them, and whether they were satisfied or not, they were com- pelled to submit to their lot. Many would have been glad to have returned to their old homes in the East, but their means would not permit it, and the " yoke was made easy that had to be worn."
The first settlement in Kingston was made some time about the year 1807, but just where cannot be definitely settled. It was made in the south- eastern part of the township, and on or near the Little Walnut Creek. As near as can be ascer- tained, John Phipps was the first settler, but of him little is known. Shortly after building his cabin and moving his family into it. he sold out and returned East to his old home. Mr. George Hess came into this township from Bucks County, in the State of Pennsylvania. in the same year. and settled near Phipps ; these first pioneers were probably from the same neighborhood, and old ac- quaintances. Hess cleared up his farm and lived on it until his death. which occurred in 1835. As his name would imply, he was a German either by birth or descent, and spoke the English language very imperfectly. Industrious and unobtrusive, he lived a quiet life and received the respect of his neighbors for his many virtues. While living, he had but few acquaintances, and they were his friends. He was married, but had no children. His wife survived him, but died many years ago. She, too, was of German extraction, and well suited to wear with her husband the marriage yoke. He is remembered as one of the pioneers who passed through the perils and dark days of the war of 1812. The old Hess farm, its quaint residence, Pennsylvanian barn, with its thatched roof, will long be remembered by the young, who knew nothing personally of its proprietor. In front of his barn, and at the side of the high- way, he placed a large trough, which was sup- plied with water from a spring near by, for the ac- commodation of the traveling community. The old farm is now owned by Ceptor Stark. In the same season, and but a few weeks subsequently, two brothers, Abraham and James Anway, also from Pennsylvania, built cabins and settled near Mr. Hess. These brothers were building their cabins when Hess moved on his farm. They raised large families, and encountered all the pri- vations and hardships of a frontier life. The first generation died long since, and their children and
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
descendants are scattered ; perhaps there are now none living in the township. Still later, in the year 1812, Peter Van Sickle came into the town- ship from the State of New Jersey, with a young family. He located in the wilderness on a farm or tract of land lying on the west side of Little Walnut Creek, and adjoining the south line of the township, nearly two miles in a southwesterly di- rection from those who preceded him-Mr. Hess and the two Anway brothers. His family con- sisted of two sons, William G. and Asa Van Sickle, and four daughters, all of whom lived to manhood and womanhood, and were married. The entire family are now dead, except Mrs. Lott. wife of Mr. R. J. Lott, the youngest daughter, and Elizabeth, who married Mr. James R. Stark, now deceased. The oldest daughter married an older brother of James R. Stark, the Hon. Almon Stark, an intelligent an industrious farmer, who was an Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court of Delaware County for several years. Both Judge Stark and his wife are now dead. Judge Stark settled, over fifty years ago, on a farm (in the southeast corner of the township) of about two hundred acres, improved it with fine buildings, which he sold not long before the war of the rebel- lion, and moved to Columbus, where he died. Peter Van Sickle was a very industrious man, helped his children pecuniarily in starting out in the world, and, at his death, left them quite a large estate. His old farm of 350 acres is now owned by the Hon. O. D. Hough, of Berkshire.
Three years subsequently, a family by the same name, and distant relatives of Peter Van Sickle, settled in the eastern part of the township, about one mile and a half north of George Hess' farm. This family, too, emigrated from the State of New Jersey. Mr. John Van Sickle, like his cousin, Peter, came well prepared with goods and money to encounter the hardships of life in a new country, and at this time the two families of Peter and John Van Sickle were the wealthiest people in the part of the county in which they lived, and they were a great help to their less fortunate neighbors. John Van Sickle was an enterprising and intelligent farmer, and an exemplary Chris- tian. He was born in Sussex County, in the . State of New Jersey, in the year 1791, and in the year 1814, he was married to Miss Susannah Wieker, a native of the same county, and born in the year 1796. Mr. Van Sickle died about the year 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Van Sickle raised eight children, all of whom were
married and raised families. David, the old- est son, is a farmer, and lives in Kingston, his native township, about two miles northwest from the old homestead. Peter, who settled on a farm in Porter Township, adjoining, died several years ago. William W. lives in Delaware. Elizabeth, who was married to George Blaney, lives in Porter. Mary married Charles Wilcox, and lived and died in Porter. Esther married a Mr. Knox, and lived and died in Trenton Township. Drusilla married Dr. H. Besse, and lives in Delaware. Jane married Mr. Lewis Buck, and now lives in Morrow County. Mr. Van Sickle owned a large farm of several hundred acres of valuable land, and carried on farming on a large scale. On ar- riving at maturity, he gave to each of his chidren 100 acres of land, and at his death, he left a good estate to be divided among his heirs. When the county was quite new, and the country wild, his public spirit and enterprise led him to employ hands and build a dam and a grist and saw mill on Big Walnut Creek, near Sunbury. The mill- ing business he carried on in connection with his farming, for many years. The history of this mill will be found in the history of Trenton Township. From early life, he was a devout Christian and an exemplary member of the Pres- byterian Church, and his lifelong enterprise in building-up and sustaining the church of his early choice was equal to his enterprise in the business affairs of life. For many years, he was the main stay and support for what was then and still is known as the old Blue Church. But, when the great question of slavery became a dividing prin - ciple in this denomination, he, with the late Charles M. Fowler, and a few others, verified their Christian principles by leaving the Old School Presbyterians and forming a New School Pres- byterian Church; and they erected a house for worship at East Liberty, in Porter Township. Here he continued his connection until the time of his death. When the weight of years and hard work had enfeebled his once strong consti- tution, he sold his land and moved to the village of East Liberty, where he had built himself a comfortable home. Here he passed the remain- der of his days, reverenced by all who knew him, for his strong will, earnest Christian char- acter, and his unswerving integrity. He gave liberally to the church while living, and, at his death, he left an endowment for the church, and his home for a parsonage so long as it remained a Presbyterian Church. The year before Mr. Van
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
Sickle settled in this township, and being early in the year 1814, two brothers of the name of Rich- ard and Charles Hodgden emigrated to Dela- ware County from the State of Connecticut and settled in Kingston Township. Both' were unmar- ried. They built themselves a log cabin, lived by themselves, did their own cooking and washing for some time, cleared up their lands and estab- lished for themselves comfortable homes. Both became profoundly impressed with the divine sentiment " that it was not good for man to be alone," and they married wives. Richard married a Miss Place; Charles married a Miss Blackman, and, after her death, married for his second wife a Miss Brockover. Richard died on his old homestead, a few years ago, and Charles afterward moved to Union County, where he died.
In 1815, Benjamin Benedict immigrated to Kingston Township from the same State as the Hodgdens, and located on Little Walnut Creek, about one mile south of the center of the town- ship, where he cleared up a farm of 150 acres. Upon this farm he lived to the great age of eighty- eight years, and died in the year 1877. He was an upright and industrious man, lived in peace with his neighbors, and was greatly respected by all who knew him. Soon after he came to Kings- ton, he married a Miss White, who had an ex- tensive family connection, among the early pio- neers. She is still living. The fruit of this union were two sons, the older of whom, Nelson, was twenty years the senior of the younger brother, and died several years ago. The younger son, whose name is Sturgis, is living upon the old home- stead. Mr. Benedict had a younger brother by the name of Kirby, who subsequently made his home with him and taught school, studied law, immigrated to the State of Illinois, and established himself in the practice of his profession in Deca- tur. He was successful in business, and repre- sented his county in the State Legislature several years. During the administration of Franklin Pierce in 185-4, he was offered and accepted the appointment of Territorial Judge for New Mexico. He subsequently was appointed Chief Justice of New Mexico, by President Lincoln, who was an early personal friend. Judge Benedict had been a Democrat, but he was patriotic, and a strong Union man, and, during the war, gave Mr. Lin- coln's administration an earnest support. He was a good lawyer, scholarly and made a good Judge. His wife was a Miss Curtis, whose father was one of the early pioneers of the township. She sur-
vives her husband and is now living in Decatur, Ill. A younger sister of Mr. Benedict married James P. Crawford, of Berkshire, by whom she raised a family; they are both now dead. Their oldest daughter is married to Mr. William Frost, of Berkshire Township.
Just previous to the war of 1812, Solomon Steward immigrated to Delaware County from the Green Mountains of Vermont. His father, William Steward, was a soldier in the Revolution- ary war. In 1815, he was married to Miss Nancy White, sister of Mrs. Benjamin Benedict, and soon after their marriage, they settled in Porter. Both are now dead.
In 1809, James Stark, John Rosecrans and his four sons, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and John, Daniel Rosecrans and his four sons, Nathaniel, Jacob, Purlemas and Crandall, and Joseph Pat- rick and his wife Sarah (who was a Miss Taylor), and her father, Daniel Taylor, immigrated to Kingston from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsyl- vania, and settled in different parts of the township. James Stark settled on the east part, on a farm of about two hundred acres, which he improved with good buildings, and for many years kept a house of entertainment for travelers, which was the only hotel ever kept in the township. The north and south road, called the Sunbury road, and the Mansfield road, cross on this farm, thus forming Stark's Corners. Mr. Stark's wife was a Miss Wilcox, whose family connection was very numer- ous, and he, having a very wide acquaintance, with the confidence of all who knew him, exer- cised great influence in an early day among the pioneers. His letters to his old acquaintances in Pennsylvania induced a large immigration to Delaware County. By a former marriage, Mr. Stark had three daughters, all of whom were married and raised families. One married a Mr. Perfect, a farmer of Trenton ; ouc, Dr. Bigelow, of Galena; and one, Mr. Benjamin Carpenter, also of Galena. They and their husbands are now all deceased. By his second wife he had one son, James N. Stark, now owner of the old home- stead, but he does not occupy it. . For many years, the son was extensively engaged in farming and mercantile pursuits. At one time he owned about two thousand acres of farming land in Kingston and Porter Township, but losses and shrinkage in values compelled him to part with a large portion of his landed property, and to greatly contract his commercial pursuits. The senior James Stark, who died many years ago, was a
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
good example of an old-school country gentleman. Oliver Stark, nephew of James Stark, was a native of Luzerne County, Penn., where he was born in 1801. He came to Kingston in 1825, settled on a good farm adjoining his uncle's on the south, cleared it up, and put it in a fine state of cultiva- tion, with excellent buildings. In 1829, he mar- ried Miss Eliza Patrick, daughter of Joseph Pat- rick, and the first white child born in Kingston. Mr. Stark was a thrifty farmer ; was a Justice of the Peace for twenty-one years, and a County Commissioner from 1846 to 1849. He died sev- eral years ago, leaving several children, and a large estate to his heirs. Cepter Stark, the largest landholder in the township, is his oldest son. Almon Stark, to whom reference has already been made, was a relative. Both Oliver Stark and his uncle James were exemplary members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and did much to promote the cause of religion. Joseph Patrick, one of the immigrant party of 1809, was a very remarkable man. His intellectual endowments were of a high order. He was unfortunate in having an impediment in his speech. His histor- ical reading was as extensive as his memory was
remarkable. He was a good business man, accum- ulated a large fortune for his day and generation, held many positions of trust, was County Treas- urer, and an honest man. He removed from Kingston to Berkshire at an early day, and, some years ago, at an advanced age, died, leaving a large family of children and grandchildren, many of whom are living in the eastern part of the county. Mr. Daniel Taylor, the father of Mr. Joseph Patrick, and grandfather of Mrs. Stark, settled in the southeast part of the township, on Taylor's Run. The "run" took its name from Mr. Taylor. He was an unobtrusive man, and died many years ago. Some of his children, and their descendants, are living in Kingston.
Stark Rosecrans, whose great name and fame will be transmitted throughout the endless circles of time. He will be remembered in history as one of the most successful and skillful Generals in the Union army in the war of the great rebell- ion. Gen. Rosecrans was born on Taylor Run in Kingston on the 6th day of September, 1819. Soon after his birth, his father moved to Homer, Licking Co., where he engaged in the occupation of farming, and keeping hotel. In the year 1838, he obtained a cadetship for his son William at the military school at West Point. His attainments as a scholar were at this time of a high order, and he readily passed the necessary examination, and four years afterward he giadu- ated, and was a professor at the school where he graduated (for some years), of civil engineering, with distinction, but he resigned his commission in the army, and engaged in private pursuits. He volunteered his services to his country at the com- mencement of the rebellion, and was appointed by Gov. Dennison Colonel of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was soon afterward made Brigadier General of volunteers, and a little later Major General. He was couspicuous in the cam- paign in West Virginia, early in the first year of the war, and at the battle of Cheat Mountain ; the bloody fields of Stone River, Iuka, Corinth and Chickamauga, furnish ample proof of his skill as military commander, and his courage and patriot- ism have never been questioned. After the close of of the war, he was made a Brigadier General in the regular army, but he resigned his commission soon afterward. In 1869, the Democratic State Convention at Columbus nominated him for Gov- ernor of Ohio, an honor he declined to accept. Gen. McClellan, when Commander-in- Chief of the army, pronounced Gen. Rosecrans the best scholar in the American army. Indeed, old Kingston has reason to feel proud of her distinguished son and great General. Another son of Crandall Rose- crans, Sylvester, was scarcely less distinguished than his brother. He was eight years younger than the General, and born in Lieking County. Through the influence of the General, a military warrant was obtained for him to a cadetship at West Point, and, after a regular course. he gradu- ated at that institution. He joined the Roman Catholic Church, aud commenced a regular course of theological studies. He was sent to Rome and educated at the Vatican under the Holy Father, Pio Nono, or Pius IX, for the priesthood. About
Dr. Daniel Rosecrans first settled on Little Walnut Creek, and was the first Justice of the Peace in the township. The farm on which he settled about the year 1813, he sold to John | Brown, and it is now owned by John W. Hall and Mr. Frank Owens. Dr. Rosecrans purchased lands further south on Taylor Run, now owned by the heirs of John Rosecrans. The doctor died many years ago. His son, Crandall, married Miss Jemima Hopkins, who was of the family of Stephen Hop- kins, one of the signers of the Declaration of In- dependence. There were three sons boru of this union, the oldest of whom was Maj. Gen. William : twenty years ago, he was commissioned a Bishop
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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
in the Roman Catholic Church, and was placed in charge of the diocese of Columbus. He was noted for his great executive ability, as well as his great learning and talents as a speaker. In the summer of 1879, Bishop Rosecrans, just after the comple- tion of the St. Joseph Cathedral at Columbus, the great work of his life, suddenly died, without seemingly a moment's warning, at the early age of fifty-one years. His untimely death was lamented alike by Protestants and Catholics. His funeral procession was thronged by citizens, without regard to party or sect. Wesley, another son of Mr. Rosecrans, lives somewhere in the State of Iowa, and is a farmer by occupation. Crandall Rose- crans was an intelligent and enterprising citizen, and greatly beloved for his amiable qualities. He died some years before the war. The descendants of the family of Rosecrans, who settled in Kings- ton before the war of 1812, are numerous, and some of them are still living in the county. But many of them moved away and are scattered over the Western country.
While Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsyl- vania were contributing their sons and daughters to the settlement of Kingston, West Virginia, in imitation of their example, did the same. In 1814, John White, of Ohio County, W. Va., pur- chased of the patentee 1,000 acres of land in Section 1, being the northeast quarter, and, in the fall of that year, built a log house on his land and moved his family into it. He had a large family of sons and daughters, some of whom were grown, and soon married and settled about him. John Brown, to whom reference has been made, was an immigrant from Ohio County, in West Virginia. He had married a daughter of Mr. White before he came to Kingston in 1812. In the spring of 1815, John Hall, also from West Virginia, came to Kingston, and the same year was married to a daughter of Mr. White. He purchased from his father-in-law 100 acres of land near by, and built a house and settled upon it, and cleared up a part of it. In 1817, Gilbert Potter, from the same county in West Virginia, purchased of Mr. Hall this farm and settled on it with his family, and Mr. Hall purchased another farm about two miles further south on the Little Walnut Creek. Mr. Potter, be- fore he left Virginia, had married a Miss Farris. A few years later, perhaps in 1820, but the precise time is not known, a Mr. William Gaston, who had married a Miss Farris, and sister of Mrs. Pot- ter, came with his family from the same county in Virginia, purchased land and settled on the
same quarter-township, near Mr. Potter, and a few years later a brother of William, John Gaston, with his family, which was large and grown, pur- chased lands in the same neighborhood. Joseph Potter, brother of Gilbert, married a Mrs. Taylor, and settled on a large farm in the same school dis- trict, which, on account of the origin of the first settlers, who were noted for their morality, indus- try and their intelligence, was, and still is, called the " Virginia District." The influence of Mr. White was felt in his township immediately on his arrival. He was at the head of a large and rapidly increas- ing offspring, and he was soon, by all around him, looked upon in the light of a patriarch, His chil- dren were ever found following in the footsteps of their worthy father, who had taught them in their early youth the precepts of sobriety and honesty. This remarkable father in Israel and his aged wife, after many years of usefulness in the church and in society, died about the same time and of the same age, not far from their old homestead in Kingston, while living with their son-in-law, Mr. Benjamin Benedict, at about the age of seventy- six years. Their twelve children. four sons and eight daughters, all lived to manhood and woman- hood, were married and raised families, with the exception of Mrs. Benedict and Mrs. Garner Wil- cox. They are all dead, and with the "rude fore- fathers of the hamlet sleep."
Mr. John Hall, Mr. White's son-in-law. settled in 1817 on the Little Walnut Creek, upon a tract of 100 acres of land, which he cleared up and improved with good buildings. for that day, and died in 1840, at the age of forty-six years. His wife died in the year 1854, at the age of fifty-six years. They had four children, three sons and one daughter. They are all living, except the daughter. She married John J. Wilcox, and died about twenty years ago. The oldest son, William, is now living in the State of Iowa, and is a lawyer by profession. George W., a farmer, moved West. John W. Hall, the second son, lives in Delaware, and still owns the old homestead farm, to which he has added several other farms. In a worldly sense, he is a thrifty man. He married a Miss Susan A. Deninuck, a daughter of an early pio- neer of this county, by whom he has raised a fam- ily of four children, three daughters and a son. all of whom are living except the daughter. Lenora, who married a Mr. William R. Carpenter, and is now deceased. Mr. Hall. although not a church member, has been liberal in his contributions to the different churches in Kingston, and is a moral
HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.
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and upright citizen. His brother-in-law, John Brown, whose farm joined his own on the north, was a person much respected for his exemplary and Christian character. He was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and raised a large and highly respected family. Mr. Brown and his wife are dead, and none of his family are now living in Kingston. If any are living, they are in the West. Gilbert Potter died on the old homestead farm. He raised a large family, but they and their numerous offspring are scattered. His brother, Joseph Potter, a very enterprising and intelligent farmer, and his wife, are both dead. They left several children, and some are still living in Kingston, and the old homestead farm is still owned by the family. Daniel Maxwell, also a native of Ohio County, W. Va., settled upon a farm near the center of the township. His first wife was a Miss Farris, and a sister of Mrs. Gilbert Potter. His second wife was a Miss Haslett, niece of John Haslett, a native of Augusta County, Va. Squire Maxwell was a very intelligent and honest man. He, too, was a Presbyterian, and a good example of a Vir- ginia gentleman of the old school. He was a Justice of the Peace of Kingston Township for near twenty years previous to his death. His son, William H. Maxwell, lives in the township, and is his father's successor in the office of Justice of the Peace. He left, other children, some of whom still live in Kingston.
Among the early settlers in what is called the " Virginia School District," was James Gaston. He was familiarly called "Irish Jimmy," and settled in the north part of the township. He married Miss Jones, and raised a large family, was a native of Ireland, and a relative of the two brothers, John and William. They were all Scotch-Irish Presbyterians. The first generation of this numerous family are all dead, and their children and grandchildren greatly scattered. Two sons of John Carney, a native of Holland, immigrated to Kingston from Luzerne County, Penn., in the years 1820 and 1823. They were Thomas and James Carney. Their father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. They bought farms and went to work in good earnest. Thomas was born .in the year 1795, and married a Miss Lott. He came a few years before James, and had made some improvements on his farm when the latter came. The farm is now owned by. L. S. Owens. He died on the old homestead at the age of sixty-five years, and left a large family.
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