History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 100

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 818

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has everything about him arranged in methodical order, and devotes much of his time to reading. Ho married a daughter of Mr. Gray, now deceased, who lived on an adjoining farm. He has raised two children, both of whom are married daughters, and have interesting families. He relates with great interest, amusing incidents connected with his frontier life. He and his wife are now in the decline of life, but they enjoy good health, as well as the respect of all who know them. S. A. Ram- sey, Esq., immigrated from the State of New Jersey about the year 1844, and purchased land and located on what is called the " Irish section," being Section 4 of Porter Township. At this time, this part of the township was very new. This was the last section brought into market for actual settlers. The titles, up to 1838, were in he hands of speculators. Mr. Ramsey settled upon a tract of about two hundred acres, located in the woods, near the center of the section. By his energy and industry, in a few years he put his farm in a good state of cultivation. His build- ings, fences and orchards are all in the very best condition, and Mr. Ramsey now, after many years of hard work, finds himself surrounded by the com- forts of life, and able, if he chooses to do so, to live, and live well, without labor. He has raised a large family, and is much respected by his fellow- citizens, who have frequently honored him with their confidence by electing him Justice of the Peace, and to other township offices ; and in the discharge of his public duties he has been faithful, and is regarded as an honest man. He is a relative of ex-Governor Ramsey, of Minnesota, who is now a member of President Hayes' Cabinet as Secretary of War. James B. Sturdevant, who is a farmer by occupa- tion, and lives one mile east of Olive Green, is one of the oldest residents now living in Porter Town- ship. His father, when James was a small lad, settled in this township nearly sixty years ago .. Mr. Sturdevant is a hard-working and honest man, and has cleared up and owns a good farm. His younger brother, Chauncey H. Sturdevant, is also a farmer, and owns the farm where he now lives, and has lived for nearly forty years. He has done his full share of hard work, in clearing up his home in the woods of Porter Township. Mr. Charles Patrick, son of Joseph Patrick, Esq., of Berkshire, scttled on the Porter section in 1830, and has cleared up his land and has a well-improved farm of about three hundred acres. Mr. H. Blackledge settled upon a farm, which he has highly improved, many years

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

ago. His farm is well adapted to the raising of stock, and, for many years, Mr. Blackledge took great pains to improve the quality of stock in his part of the county, and has raised the best stock of any farmer in Porter Township.

One of the most active and prominent business men of Porter Township, and not to be overlooked in this history, is Mr. George Blainey, a native of old Virginia. He immigrated to Ohio in 1873, and engaged in mercantile pursuits in Kingston Township, at Stark's Corners, for several years. He was three times married, and twice married in Virginia. His first wife was Miss Mary Sutton, and after her death he married Miss Mary Kemp- ton, who was his wife when he came to Ohio, but she died a few months after his arrival, and in 1838, he married Miss Elizabeth Van Sickle, the oldest daughter of Mr. John Van Sickle. In 1840, Mr. Blainey removed from the Corners to East Liberty, in Porter, and immediately built there a large frame building for a hotel and store, and for years he kept a hotel and a store of goods, and at the same time engaged in farming. Mr. Blainey was widely known and greatly respected for his well-known ability and honesty. He was a consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, and possessed much more than ordinary ability. He died deeply lamented in the year 1869, leaving a wife and several children. A few years after the death of Mr. Blainey, Mrs. Blainey married Mr. Richard Harbottle, a farmer who had purchased the farm already spoken of and known as the " Henry Davey Farm." Mr. Harbottle was a native of England, and born a subject to the crown of Great Britain, but he did not believe in a moo- archical system of government, and, when quite a young man, immigrated to America. With a wife and family, on his arrival, he had nothing to begin life with but his hands and head. Mr. Harbottle has been very prosperous in the home of his choice, and is now known as one of the most enterpris- ing and thrifty farmers in this township. In 1865, the oil speculation in Ohio reached fever heat, and like an epidemic spread over the State. In this year, the Delaware & Hocking Oil Com- pany was organized hy Judge Isaac Ramsey, Mr. David Coban, Dr. H. Bessee, Mr. Huston and others, with Charles H. McElroy, Esq., Secretary. The Company, after making a careful and minute examination, discovered what they regarded as marked and unmistakable surface indications of oil. The Company prepared themselves with the necessary machinery, and proceeded to bore for

oil on the Big Walnut, not far from East Liberty. The excitement grew from day to day, the stock advanced and sold rapidly to those who were more hopeful than wise, and expected in a few days to become rich. They sunk the drill to the depth of 900 feet, through the Waverly sand- stone, blue clay and clay shale. They were com- pelled to pronounce the work impracticable, and abandoned the enterprise.

The Company suffered a heavy pecuniary loss besides the mortification of failure. Thus ended the visionary speculation of the Delaware & Hock- ing Oil Company in Delaware County.

The church history in this township is quite brief. The New School Presbyterians organized a society soon after the division of the church, which was occasioned by the slavery agitation ; and in 1840, in East Liberty, they built a large frame church edifice. The principal parties in the building of this church were Mr. John Van Sickle, Charles M. Fowler, William Guston, Isaac Finch, Jesse Finch, Charles Wilcox, George Blainey and others. Their Pastor was the Rev. Dr. Chapman. They at once organized a Sabbath school in connection with the church, which for several years prospered, and was productive of great good. Mr. Ried M. Cutcheon was the archi- tect and builder of the church edifice. In the year 1864, the same parties who built this place of worship laid out and established a cemetery just east of the church and town of East Liberty, in which the remains of many of those most con- spicuous and enterprising in the construction of the church and the Sabbath school now sleep.

As.near as can be ascertained, the first marriage in this township was that of Reuben Place to Miss Rachel Meeker, at a very early date, but there is neither a public nor private record to be found which contains its date. The first birth is in- volved in the same uncertainty, but it is believed the first child born in this township was Miss Eliza Allen Mendenhall Pint, and the first death was Polly Place. Joel Z. Mendenhall, Esq., was the first Justice of the Peace elected in this town- ship after its organization, and, as already stated, he was repeatedly re-elected, and made an efficient and competent officer.

The first schoolhouse built in this township was near where Mr. Day now lives, and was called the " Block Schoolhouse," and was built in about the year 1825. Mr. William Wolfe taught the first school, and took his pay in dried apples, at least in part for his wages. There was no market

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

587

nearer than the town of Delaware for his goods, and he had no team. The only way or means he had to convey bis fruit to market was to carry it on his back and on foot. He had two loads and was compelled to make two trips. The distance he had to go was about fifteen miles, and it took him two days to make a trip. The first day, about the hour of high twelve, he felt the necessity of calling off for rest and refreshment. He had now reached a more densely settled community. He came up to a small cabin and went in, and asked the privilege of taking rest, and called for refreshment, all of which was granted. The only occupant of the house, although unknown to him at the time, proved to be a charming widow. In a short time, the dinner was prepared, and he ate heartily of what was set before him, and when he had finished his dinner, he offered to pay . his hostess for her hospitality, but she refused to accept any pay. On his return the following day, he was again fatigued, and called for rest and re- freshments, and he was again hospitably received and treated. Before leaving her house, he told his hostess he would be back in a few days on his way to Delaware with more marketing, and that unless she gave him her consent to become his wife, he would regard his life as a miserable fail-

ure, and that he must have a positive answer on his return. When he made his next trip, she told him she couldn't say no. This ended the court- ship, and they were soon married. Whether this story is truth or romance, the writer does not vouch, but he relates it as it was related to him. This schoolhouse has multiplied in number over the township, and now in every neighborhood, there is, at convenient distances, a comfortable schoolhouse, where a school at the public expense is kept up on average more than six months in the year, and taught by a competent teacher. The thirty years previous to the year 1880 witnessed a great change in the character, habit and customs, as well as in the fortunes, of the people of Porter Township. An agricultural people, they are en- terprising, intelligent and industrious, and free from every manner of vice and immorality. Grog-shops and houses of ill-fame are not to be found in the township, and the citizens generally, if not universally, are well fed and well clothed, and are prosperous and happy. If the "Taways," who lived in the township a half-century ago, were to return to Porter with their long beards and buckskin apparel, they would produce as much sensation among the present inhabitants as a menagerie of wild animals.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

TRENTON TOWNSHIP-ORIGIN OF THE NAME-TOPOGRAPHICAL-SETTLEMENT-BIRTHS, DEATHS, ETC .- SCHOOLS-MILLS AND QUARRIES-CHURCHES.

" How dear to this heart are the scenes of my child- hood,

When fond recollection presents them to view." - Woodworth.

M ANY of our elderly readers will readily re- member the time when a large portion of the east half of the county was known as Sun- bury Township. It was the third township cre- ated after the organization of the county, and dates back to June 16, 1808, and was originally bounded as follows : Beginning at the northeast corner of Section 2, Township 5 and Range 17, of the United States Military Survey, thence south with said line to the south line of the county, thence east with said county line to the east line of said county, thence north with said county line to the Indian boundary line, thence west by said

boundary line to the east boundary of Marl- borough Township, thence south with said line to the southeast corner of said township, thence west to the place of beginning ; containing the present townships of Harlem, Trenton, Porter, and half of Berkshire and Genoa, in Delaware County, while the following townships, now in Morrow County, were also included in the original Sunbury Town- ship, viz., Peru, Bennington, Lincoln and Har- mony. Township after township was erected from this large scope of territory. Harlem was set off from Sunbury September 11, 1810, and Kingston June 8, 1813. In June, 1816, Genoa was set off from Harlem, and one-half of the new township was from the original Sunbury. Thus it was whittled off, until it was reduced, as we have been informed, to what is now Trenton Township, and

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so remained until somewhere between 1830 and 1835, when the name was changed to Trenton, and Sunbury was blotted out of existence like

-- " the very stars, Yon bright and burning blazonry of God, Glitter awhile in their eternal depths, And, like the Pleiad, loveliest of their train, Shoot from the glorious spheres, and pass away, To darkle in the trackless void."

The prevailing tradition concerning this change of name is, that somewhere about the time desig- nated above, Messrs. Van Dorn, Leak and Condit, all early settlers and prominent men of the town- ship, were sitting on a log one day talking over general business matters. Finally, the conversa- tion turned upon the question of the village of Sunbury being in Berkshire Township, while their own township bore the name of Sunbury. It was suggested that the name of the latter be changed in order to avoid confusion, a suggestion that was unanimously agreed to. Mr. Leak proposed the name of Chester-his native town; Mr. Con- dit wanted it called Orange, but there was an Orange Township in the county already. So Mr. Van Dorn suggested Trenton, for the capital of his native State-New Jersey. The name was agreed to among themselves, and sent into the County Commissioners, by whom it was adopted. Thus Sunbury Township became a thing of the past, while its place was filled on the map of Del- aware County by Trenton.

The surface of Trenton Township, while it is not wholly level, can scarcely be called hilly or broken. Along the water-courses, it is a little rough and uneven, while back from the streams it is somewhat rolling, until striking the table-land, when it becomes rather level. Van's Valley, as it is called, is somewhat low, as well as the west cen- tral part, while the western and northern portions rise to quite an elevation, and incline to an almost rolling surface. The township is admirably drained by the water-courses, so that but little artificial drainage is found necessary. The principal stream is the Big Walnut Creek, which enters near the north- west corner, and, running in almost a southern direc- tion, passes out on the west line. The next stream in importance to Big Walnut is Rattlesnake Run, so called from the great numbers of that reptile that were found in the cliffs and rocks bordering it. The North Fork enters the township near the center of the east line, and forms a junction with the South Fork in the south central part of the township, runs in a westerly course, and empties into the Big

Walnut near the center of the west line of the township. There are a few other small streams, such as Culver's Run in the northern part, which runs west and flows into Big Walnut Creek. It was named in honor of a family who settled near it in the early times. Perfect's Creek, named for one of the first settlers of the township, is a little south of Culver's Run, and also runs west and empties into the Big Walnut. Dry Run is a small stream which has its source in the township and empties into Perfect's Creek. Mink Run is similar, except that it flows into Rattlesnake, a little above its junction with the Big Walnut.

Trenton Township is well timbered, and maple, walnut, oak, ash, beech, elm and other species are common in this region. At present, the township is bounded on the north by Porter Township, on the east by Licking County, on the south by Harlem Township, and on the west by Berkshire. It lies on the east line of the county, and is a full township, being five miles square, and contain- ing 16,000 acres of land.

In the early settlement of this county, it is not strange that the mighty tide of emigration flowing toward the West should not pass the fertile valleys of the Miami and Scioto. Here everything to be expected in a new country-not even excepting the ague and " milk sick "-was found in profu- sion. Land good and cheap, magnificent forests and a delightful climate. During the early part of the present century, this tide of emigration reached Delaware County, and toward the close of the first decade, white people began to occupy the division to which this chapter is devoted. They came chiefly from New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, with a family or two from Kentucky. From the latter State came the first settlers of the township, of whom we have any account. These were William Perfect and Mordecai Thomas and their families, and their arrival is recorded in the spring of 1807. One Pearson Spinning owned 1,000 acres of military land, and from him Thomas and Perfect each bought 100 acres, upon which they settled, and at once commenced to improve. Many of their descendants are still living in the county, and from a sketch written by Middleton Perfect for the County Atlas, published in 1875, we extract considerable of the history of this town- ship. Perfect and Thomas made their settlements near the mouth of Perfect's Creek, which took its name from Mr. Perfect. The latter gentleman died in 1812, and was the first death to occur in the township. Bartholomew Anderson came also

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 589

from Kentucky, and settled in 1810 east of Per- fect's. These are supposed to have been the first settlements made within the limits of the present township of Trenton. Says Mr. Perfect in the sketch already alluded to: "Trenton is justly proud of its pioneers. New Jersey furnished skilled tavern-keepers ; the northern part of the township was settled by industrious people from the little blue State. A colony from Ithaca, N. Y., settled in the south part, and another from Pennsylvania in the west part. One of the early settlers kept two 'asheries,' and supplied Delaware with salt and window glass for twelve years." We might conclude that these useful articles were manu- factured from the asheries, but that Mr. Perfect adds the information that they " were wagoned " (the salt and window glass, not the asheries) " from Zanesville."

The first settlement made north of Culver's Creek was by John Culver and Michael Ely. They are noticed among the arrivals of 1809. Not long after them came John Williamson, and bought land from Ely. He was a bachelor when he came to the settlement, but, sometime during the year 1810, he married Ely's daughter, Rosanna. Their son, Madison Williamson, is re- ported as the first birth in the township. John Ginn, William Ridgway and a man named Pres- sing, came to the township in 1811. They were from the State of Delaware, but not much was learned of them. Ginn died in 1819, and the others some time afterward. They settled near each other, and came originally from the same neighborhood. James and Owen Hough came from Luzerne County, Penn., and are reckoned among the early settlers. The former settled on what is called the Johnson road, and died in 1834. His son, Bartlett Hough, now lives on the old homestead. The other, Owen Hough, left his native place in 1815, when but sixteen years old, with his father's family, and when they reached Pittsburgh, Owen stopped and engaged to work at the garrison there. He remained there about a year and then started and came through to Zanesville, reaching it on Christmas Day. He worked in Zanesville two years, and, in 1818, came to this township and settled on a farm where he now lives.

Another of the pioneers of this township was Gilbert Van Dorn, from the State of New Jersey, in 1817. When he settled in Tren- ton .there were but two families living on the road between the Licking County line and Sun-

bury, a little village in Berkshire Township. He bought 1,000 acres of laod in a beautiful valley which took his name, or a part of it, aod is still known as " Van's Valley." The place where he originally settled is now occupied by Mrs. John Armstrong. The next year after he settled here, he opened a tavern, the first place of public enter- tainment, it is said, in the township, and flung out a sign upon which was painted a gilt sun, and be- neath it the mystical legend, "Center Inn." At first, this pioneer tavern was a rude log structure, but as the amount of travel became greater, and Mr. Van Dorn's reputation as a host increased, another cabin was added to the first, and then an- other and another, until four log cabins, all con- nected, were required to accommodate his extensive patronage. For eleven years he kept this " cabin hotel," and then put up the present brick (now occupied by Mrs. Armstrong), which he also kept as a hotel for a number of years. The sign of the " gilt sun " was knowu far and wide, and ap- peared as welcome to the wayworn traveler as the "shadow of a great rock in a weary land." The same old sign that hung in front of the log cabin inn, pointing the traveler to a place of rest, did the same service at the brick tavern for years. This was long a place of resort where the neigh- bors met to talk of the common business affairs of the time. The brick tavern was built in 1829, and the brick of which it was composed was burned just across the road from where the house stands. The stone used for the foundations was taken from the quarry now owned by Mr. Will- iams. It was the first brick house built in the township. Van Dorn also kept a kind of grocery store, where the settlers procured some of the necessaries ; but it did not not amount to much in the way of a store. He kept it at his tavern stand from the time when he opened the tavern until 1854. Mr. Van Dorn had eight children, and was a leading man in the community in which he lived. John Leak also came from New Jer- sey. He bought land from Van Dorn and settled just east of the inn. There was a strong rivalry between him and Van Dorn as to who should open the first tavern, but Van Dorn succeeded in getting the start of him. Silas Ogden came in 1820, and, like Van Dorn and Leak, was from New Jersey. He settled oo what was known as the State road, and kept the first tan-yard in the towoship.

In 1823, a man named Oliver Gratax came to the township. Of him, Mr. Perfect said : " He

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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY.

wore leather breeches, full of stitches, a fawnskin vest and a coonskin cap." He was a bachelor when he came, but recognizing the divine order of things, that " it is not good for man to be alone," even in the wilderness, he soon took unto himself a wife in the person of a Miss Rosecrans. Ira Pierson came from New Jersey in 1838, and set- tled near where Condit Post Office is located. He came by team and was twenty-nine days on the road ; he died at the age of eighty-five years. Jonathan, Alvin P. and Smith Condit came also from New Jersey in 1832-33. The former settled on Walnut Creek, where his son, E. J. Condit, now lives, and his descendants are scattered over the eastern part of the township, and are among the prominent men of the community. Alvin settled near by, and cleared up a farm ; Smith died in one month after coming to the settlement. Lyman Hendricks came from Rutland, Vt., and located first in Berkshire in 1812, but some time after came to this township. William Hendricks, a brother, was a soldier in the war of 1812. A man named Roberts was the first permanent set- tler on Rattlesnake Run, where he lived for many years.

After the close of the war of 1812, emigration rapidly increased, and this division of the county soon settled. Farms were opened, forests felled and the lands cleared up. To the sturdy husband- men is due the transforming of the great forests of Trenton into the fine flourishing fields and farms now to be seen in this section.

" Let not ambition mock their useful toil Their homely joys and destiny obscure,"

for it is to the hardy " sons of toil " we are in- debted for the general prosperity of the country. In other words, they are " the power behind the throne, that is greater than the throne itself," and to stop the wheels of the " agricultural machine " would soon affect every other branch of business enterprise.

Beyond the settlement of the township, and a sketch of its pioneers, with a glance at its stock- raising and agricultural resources, there is little history of particular interest connected with Tren- ton. No villages or towns dot its landscapes ; no manufactories other than a mill or two and a few quarries ; no stores are kept ; even the old taverns of the pioneer days have passed away, and, as we have said, there is but little history beyond that of its settlement. It is a fine agricultural region, and considerable attention is likewise devoted to

stock-raising, many of the farmers making it a specialty. The Cleveland, Columbus & Mount Vernon Railroad . passes through the township, and has aided materially in developing its hidden resources. Through this channel, its excellent timber finds a market, as well as the stone from its numerous quarries, which are becoming quite an extensive business since the building of this rail- road. In a word, the citizens of Trenton are a moral and upright law-abiding people, attend strictly to their own business and leave other people to do the same. In writing its history, we acknowledge our indebtedness to Mr. Harry Vaile, of Delaware, for the principal facts, and to,a com- munication of Mr. Perfect's, which is said to be substantially correct

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History of Delaware County and Ohio, Part 100

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co. Number of Pages: 818

Author: O. L. Baskin & Co; Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago, O.L. Baskin & Co.
Number of Pages: 818