USA > Ohio > Fayette County > History of Fayette County : together with historic notes on the Northwest, and the State of Ohio, gleaned from early authors, old maps and manuscripts, private and official correspondence, and all other authentic sources > Part 58
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Edward Popejoy opened the first store, on the lot lately occupied by the hardware and provision store of C. W. Gray & Bro., with Calvin Woodruff as clerk.
Reuben and Jesse Carr engaged in the selling of dry goods.
Later, a store was opened by Judge Bereman and Daniel Daugh- erty.
Hiram Duff was the first blacksmith, Joseph Garnes the first tanner, and Dr. Boarer the first physician.
Jacob Creamer, now living at Mechanicsburg, in Champaign County, was millwright, carpenter, and surveyor.
In the month of February, 1840, Mr. Howard removed to the village from Washington. At that time there were seventeen buildings, the most of which were log, and altogether the little set- tlement presented an isolated appearance.
Edward Popejoy kept a store and blacksmithi shop. Gilbert Terrell was also engaged in the mercantile business. William Rob- inson, now living in Washington, had a saddle and harness shop in a small log, 14x16 feet. E. H. Crow was the only tailor.
H. H. Pearson came to the village in about the year 1843, and opened a grocery and liquor store. He did a good business, and rapidly accumulated a fortune; but finally went to Defiance, Ohio, where he lost most of his wealth. He is now a resident of Oak- land Valley, Franklin County, Iowa.
662
HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
CORPORATION.
From the official records now in possession of the village mayor, we copy the following act to incorporate the town of Jefferson- ville, in the county of Fayette :
SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, that so much of the township of Jefferson, in the county of Fayette, as is comprised within the limits of the town plat of the town of Jeffersonville, together with all such additions as may hereafter be recorded thereto, be and the same is hereby created a town corporate, and shall hereafter be known as the town of Jef- fersonville.
SEC. 2. That it shall be lawful for the white male inhabitants of said town, having the qualifications of electors of the General As- sembly, to meet on the second Monday of April next, and on the second Monday of April annually thereafter, and elect, by ballot, one mayor, one recorder, and five trustees, who shall be house hold- ers, and shall hold their offices one year, and until their successors are elected and qualified; and they shall constitute the town council.
SEC. 3. That at the first election under this act, they shall choose, viva voce, two judges and a clerk, who shall each take an oath, or affirmation, faithfully to discharge the duties assigned them, and at all elections thereafter, the trustees, or any two of them, shall be judges, and the recorder, clerk; and at all such elec- tions the polls shall be open between the hours of ten and eleven a. m., and close at three o'clock p. m. of said day ; and at the close of the polls, the votes shall be counted and proclaimed, and the clerk shall deliver to each person elected, or leave at his usual place of abode, within three days thereafter, a written notice of his elec- tion, and the person so notified, shall, within ten days of the time of receiving such notification, take an oath, or affirmative, to sup- port the constitution of the United States, and of this State, and also take an oath of office.
SEC. 4. The mayor, recorder, and trustees, shall be a body cor- porate and politic, with perpetual succession by the name of the "Town of Jeffersonville;" shall be capable of acquiring and hold- real and personal property ; may sell and convey the same; may have a common seal, and may alter the same; may sue and be
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JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
sued ; plead and be impleaded ; answer and be answered unto; in any court of equity, in this state or elsewhere ; and when any suit is commenced against the corporation, the first process shall be a summons, an attested copy of which shall be left with the recorder at least ten days before the term thereof.
SEC. 5. That the mayor, recorder, and majority of trustees, shall have the power to make such by-laws, ordinances and regulations for the health and convenience of said town, as they deem advis- able; provided, the same be not inconsistent with the constitution of the United States and of this State ; and they shall have power to fill all vacancies caused by death, removal or otherwise ; to ap- point a treasurer, town marshal, and such other town officers as they may deem necessary ; to prescribe their general duties, and to require such security as they may deem necessary to secure the faithful performance of those duties; to remove at pleasure ; to fix and establish the fees of officers not established by this act.
SEC. 6. ' The mayor shall be a conservator of the peace within the limits of said corporation, and shall have the jurisdiction of justice of the peace, in criminal and civil cases, and shall have the same fees as justices of the peace are entitled to for similar ser- vices ; he shall give bond and security, as is required of justices of the peace, and an appeal may be taken from the decision of the mayorto the court of common pleas, in the same manner as appeals are taken from the decision of justices of the peace.
SEC. 7. It shall be the duty of the recorder to keep a true . rec- ord of the proceedings of the town council, which record shall at all times be open for the inspection of the electors of said town, and the recorder shall preside at all meetings of the corporation, in the absence of the mayor, and shall perform such other duties as may be required of him by the by-laws and ordinances of said corporation.
SEC. 8. The town council shall have power to levy annually a tax for corporation purposes on the property within the limits of said town, returned on the grand levy made subject to taxation by the laws of this state; provided, that tax shall not exceed in any one year three mills on the dollar; and the recorder shall make a duplicate thereof, charging each individual an amount of tax in proportion to his property as assessed in the grand levy of taxa- tion, which said duplicate shall be certified and signed by the mayor and recorder, and delivered to the marshal, who shall proceed to
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
collect the same in the same manner and under the same regula- tions as county treasurers are required by law to collect county and state taxes ; and said marshal shall, as soon as such tax is collected, pay the same over to the treasurer of the corporation.
SEC. 9. That said town council may appropriate any money in the treasury for the improvement of the streets and side walks, or other improvements, and may have the use of tlfe jail of the coun- ty for the imprisonment of persons liable to imprisonment ; and all persons so imprisoned shall be under the care of the sheriff, as in other cases.
SEC. 10. That the mayor and common council to require by or- dinance every able bodied male person above the age of twenty- one years, resident within said town, to perform labor on the streets and alleys of the same not exceeding two days in any one year, and which shall be in lieu of two days labor required under the present laws regulating roads and highways ; and upon refusal to perform such work under the proper supervision, the delinquent shall be liable to the same penalties as are provided by law against persons refusing to perform the two days labor required in said law ; they shall also have the exclusive right of forming the road dis- tricts, within the limits of said corporation, and the appointment of suitable supervisors for such district when formed, who shall be governed in the performance of their duties by the by-laws of said corporation ; and all road taxes charged on the county duplicate on property within the limits of said town, shall be worked out under the direction of the proper supervisors, within said town, as the said town authorities may, by resolution, designate and point out ; and all taxes charged for road purposes aforesaid, on property within the limits of said town, and collected by the county treas- urer, shall be paid into the hands of the town treasurer aforesaid, to be specially appropriated by the mayor and common council to road purposes within said town.
C. ANTHONY, Speaker of the House of Representatives. GEORGE J. SMITH, Speaker of the Senate.
March 17, 1838.
I, Jacob Creamer, recorder of the corporation of the town of Jeffersonville, Fayette County, Ohio, do certify the foregoing to be a true copy of the charter of said town.
Given under my hand this 16th day of April, A. D. 1845.
JACOB CREAMER, Town Recorder.
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JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
EARLY ORDINANCES.
We give extracts of some of the ordinances by the village coun- cil. It appears that the ordinances were copied into the record some years after their passage, and not in their regular order. Thus the first ordinance (recorded page 5) was passed April 14, 1845, while an ordinance recorded on page 6 was passed April 26, 1838 :
April 26, 1838. That if any person or persons shall run a horse or horses in any of the streets or alleys within the limits of said town, they shall, on conviction, be fined in any sum not more than five dollars nor less than one dollar, at the discretion of the mayor.
June 15, 1838, it was ordained that the council shall meet on the first Monday of March, annually, to settle with the different officers of the corporation, for which they shall receive .an order on the treasurer, attested by the recorder, for the amount allowed by the council; to be paid out of any moneys in the treasury except road funds.
June 15, 1838. The council passed an ordinance creating the of- fice of supervisor, and defining his duties.
September 3, 1838. That every person wishing to exhibit a show, shall pay a license not less than fifty cents nor more than ten dollars. Any person exhibiting a show without complying with the above act shall be fined in a sum not less than two nor more than twenty dollars.
April 17, 1839. That the marshal shall be entitled, as constable and for collecting any tax that may be levied by the council, the same fees as county treasurers are allowed for similar services. The supervisor shall be entitled to the same fees as township sup- ervisors ; this applies also to town treasurer. The mayor, recorder, and trustees, shall be entitled to seventy-five cents per day necessa- rily employed in all business enjoined on them by the act incor- porating said town, not otherwise provided for.
April 14, 1845. Be it ordained, etc., that all ordinances, resolu- tions and by-laws of said town be: "Be it ordained, or Be it re- solved by the council of the town of Jeffersonville."
An ordinance passed on the same date, provided that all ordi- nances, etc., passed by said council be posted up in some public place in said town by the recorder, within ten days after passage.
April 14, 1845. That the sidewalks on the streets shall be nine
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
feet wide, and the ditches four inches from the edge of the side- walks on a gradual descent from the sidewalk, thence on a grad- nal ascent to the center of the street.
April 14, 1845. That if any person owning or having the charge of any living property, and it dies within the town limits, or any other nuisance so as to cause an odious smell, shall remove the same outside the city limits of said town. Failing to remove after being notified by any citizen; he shall be liable to the marshal for all expenses incurred by such removal, and pay a fine of not less than twelve and a half cents nor more than one dollar, at the dis- cretion of the mayor.
April 14, 1845. That any person setting up any grocery for the purpose of retailing spirituous liquors, or any person selling by the dram or less quantity than one quart (except for medicinal pur- poses) shall be fined in any sum not more than five dollars nor less than one dollar for each offense.
Ordinances were passed April 14, 1845, creating the office and defining the duties of the town marshal, regulating the duties of the mayor, providing for the better preservation of the streets, alleys and sidewalks of the town; for the better regulation of hogs.
On the 28th of August, 1852, ordinances took effect to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors within the town limits ; to prevent certain immoral conduct ; to prohibit places of significant or hab- itual resort for tippling and intemperance ; prescribing certain du- ties and powers of the marshal.
The council ordained, 1852, that there shall be levied for corpor- ation purposes for the year 1852, two mills on the dollar for every dollar of the valuation of taxable property within the corporation limits. The same year it was ordained that the council shall have power to appoint some suitable person to keep and sell spirituous liquors for medicinal and mechanical purposes.
December 13, 1864. Passed an ordinance requiring owners on Main Street to construct sidewalks, to provide for street and alley crossings.
An ordinance regulating the sale of goods and merchandise at auction, was passed August 13, 1870.
November 8, 1879. That hereafter all places where intoxicating liquors are sold shall be closed at nine p. m. of each day and re- main closed until six a. m. Any persou failing to comply with the provisions of this ordinance shall be fined in any sum not less than ten dollars, nor more than fifty dollars.
667
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
The corporation limits were enlarged April 9, 1880, by the an- nexation of the following described territory. Beginning at a tack in the center of the bridge over Sugar Creek, on the Jeffersonville and Charleston Pike, N. 36° W., 137 feet from a point in the old corporation line in the centre of said pike (now street,) thence N. 48º 34' E., crossing the line between Clansing and Howard at 504 feet, 823 feet to a tack in the top of the middle cap of the Springfield Southern railroad bridge over Sugar Creek. Thence 63º 23' E., 728 feet to a stake in the east side of the Midway pike. Thence N: 82° 45' E., 9863 feet to a stake on the lands of said Howard and a corner to Howard's addition to Jeffersonville. Thence S. 7º 15' W., 785} feet to a stake in the line between Howard and Fent and Creamer. Thence S. 88° 47' E., 710 feet to a stake in a line of said Howard, and a corner to said Fent and Creamer and L. Janes, known as the Linn corner. Thence S. 2º W., 1570 feet to a stake in the center of the State road and a corner to said Janes and Fent and Creamer. Thence N. 89º 5' W., 410 feet to a stake in the een- ter of said State road at its intersection with the Plymouth road. Thenee with the center of said Plymouth road S. 48° W., 394 feet, to a stake in the center of said road. Thence N. 89º 58' West, through the lands of George Janes, crossing Sugar Creek at 1191 feet the center of the C., J. & Mt. Sterling railroad, at 1573 feet, the line between Janes and Mrs. E. W. Terrell, at 1591 feet, the corner to Mrs. Terrell and the school house lot at 2256 feet, 2531 feet to a stone, corner to George Jones and the school house lot. Thence N. 6° 47' W., crossing the center of the Jamestown Pike at 429 feet the line between Dr. L. A. Elster and William Bruce at 609 feet, 1524 feet to a stake on the lands of said Bruce. Thence N. 46° E., crossing the line between said Bruce and P. Thompson at 70 feet, 549 feet to the beginning.
The foregoing ordinances are taken from the "Ordinance Book" of the town council. Many of the early measures have been re- pealed by the passage of similar acts.
THE OUTLOOK.
The outlook for the future of the now thriving little city is flat- tering. Aside from the already completed railroad, there is a fair prospect for the construction of another road from Columbus, Ohio, to Maysville, Kentucky, erossing the Springfield Southern at this
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
point. The town has verily awakened from her lethargy, and to- day she can lay claim to superior shipping facilities. We see no reason why Jeffersonville should not continue to thrive. In the fall, the handling of grain alone, at the elevator and mill, will bring lively times. The following is the result of a research for the va- rious kinds of traffic carried on :
Three dry-goods stores, five groceries, one shoe store, one gro- cery and general hardware store, two barber shops, two blacksmith shops, two drug stores, four saloons, one harness shop, one meat and provision store, two hotels, one furniture store and undertaker, one carriage and wagon shop, one lawyer, three physicians, one gunsmith, two grain dealers, one coal dealer, one bakery, two mil- liners, three carpenters and builders, one grist and saw-mill, one steam grain elevator, one livery stable, one tin shop, one printing office, one plasterer, one painter, one bricklayer, two shoe shops, two tailors, one Masonic and one Odd-fellows lodge, one township house, three churches, and a good school house.
PLEASANT VIEW.
Pleasant View, a little hamlet containing about fifty houses, is located on the Jamestown and Jeffersonville Pike, about four miles from the village.
In December, 1875, James Flax conceived the idea of establish- ing a trading point for the benefit of the surrounding country, opened a store, and kept a general country stock. About two years ago a steam saw-mill was erected, and proved successful from the start. A number of new houses have since been erected, and the settlement bids fair to increase steadily.
BUSINESS INTERESTS.
The business interest is represented as follows : General store, S. Ryan; blacksmith shop, Thomas Scott; physician, Dr. Jesse Limes; saw-mill, S. C. Jeffries; attorney-at-law and justice of the peace, James Flax.
A grocery and dry-goods store was destroyed by fire recently, and has not been rebuilt.
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JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
Spiritual instruction is offered through the medium of two hand- some church edifices.
The youth are instructed in the common branches in a substan- tial, one-story brick school house.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
ABEL ARMSTRONG.
Abel Armstrong, farmer, is a son of John and Elizabeth Arm- strong, natives of Virginia. He came to Ohio in 1814; she when a little girl. They had a family of twelve children, nine of whom reached maturity. Our subject, the eighth, was born March 11, 1830. The parents died in this county; the father, February 9, 1865, aged nearly seventy-five years, and the mother August 10, 1842.
Our subject was married to Miss Emily Creamer, daughter of J. B. Creamer, whose biography appears in this work. They had a fam- ily of seven children : Nancy J., Joseph B., George A., Rhoda E., Iva M., Almeda, and Charlie E. Nancy J., Rhoda E., and Almeda, are deceased.
Mr. Armstrong has a farm of one hundred and forty-four acres, well improved, situated three miles south of Jeffersonville. Mrs. Armstrong has fifty-eight and three-quarter acres two miles south- east of Jeffersonville. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity of Jeffersonville. Is also a member of the Methodist Episcopal, and his wife of the Methodist Protestant Church. They are good citizens, and respected neighbors. Mrs. Armstrong's grandfather, Parot, served in the revolutionary war, and also that of 1812.
ELIZABETH BEATTY.
Elizabeth (Hurless) Beatty, daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Geller) Hurless, who were married in October, 1825, in this county, and reared a family of four children. He was previously married to Barbara Coil, who bore him one child, and died December 16, 1820. Mr. Hurless died May 31, 1871. His second wife died Sep- tember 9, 1858.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Our subject was married to William Beatty, March 7, 1861, who . died at Nashville, Tennessee, June 29, 1863, while in the service of the Union army. He was a member of Company C, 90th O. V. I. They had but one child, William S., who is at home with his mother. She has a home of ten acres, well improved, situated one mile southwest of Jeffersonville, on which they live. She and her son are highly respected people, and good citizens.
WILLIAM BLESSING.
William Blessing, farmer, is a son of Abram and Phæbe (Mock) Blessing; was born in Greene County, March 26, 1827, and came with his parents to this county, in 1847, where he married Miss Mary J. Costello, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, March 23, 1853, who bore him four children : Electa V., Lucy J., Alice P., and Rachel H. Electa died at the age of seven years.
Mr. Blessing invented the first successful corn-planter of Ohio, and is a genius who can make anything with tools. He has a farm of three hundred acres, well improved, situated two miles north of Jeffersonville, on the Harrold pike, where he lives. His father was born in Virginia, in 1801; came to Ohio in 1808; lived in Greene County until he.came here, and was married there. Mrs. Blessing was born in Greene County, in 1802. There were nine children of the family, our subject being the second. The parents are exem- plary members of the Methodist Protestant Church.
HENRY BLESSING.
Henry Blessing, farmer, is a son of Abram Blessing, and was born in Greene County, June 8, 1836. He came to this county with his parents, in 1847, and still lives on a part of the large tract of land his father bought on coming here. He was married, June 28, 1829, to Miss Mary Huffman, daughter of Samuel Huffman. Four children are the result of this union: Horace M., Abram G., Georgiana, and Samuel H. All are living, and none married.
Mr. Blessing has a farm of three hundred and sixty-five acres, well improved, on which he lives; also forty-seven acres in Ross Township, Greene County, and farms to grain and stock. He for- merly made a specialty of hogs. He has been successful, regard- less of losing a great many hogs by cholera, and the loss of seven-
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JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
teen thousand and ninety dollars by the failure of J. B. McVey & Co., bankers, in Philadelphia, in 1872.
The Blessing family is wholly Republican, with the exception of one member. . When a young man, our subject, after attaining a common school education, taught two years, then went to Antioch College two years, and then returned to the farm.
ABRAHAM BOOCO.
Abraham Booco, farmer, is a native of Virginia, and came with his parents, when about two years of age, to Ohio. The parents afterward went to Indiana, where the mother died, and where the father still lives, at the age of ninety years. Our subject's grand- father, Abram, came to the United States from Germany during the Revolutionary War, fought through the war, and died in Ross County, Ohio.
Our subject was born September 6, 1822, and was married Feb- ruary 27, 1848, to Miss Angeline Garinger, who bore him four chil- dren : Ira D., Isaac S., Albert B., and Cyrena-all living, and all married, save Ira, who is at home.
When about seventeen years of age, Mr. Booco left his father's house, and settled in Wayne Township, this county, without a cent, and began working by the month on a farm, and during the winter seasons would drive stock to Virginia. He was married at twenty- six years of age, and his father-in-law gave him one hundred and twenty-one acres of land in the woods, which was his start. He has since made money rapidly, and had about one thousand acres of land in this county before he divided among his children. He has yet one hundred and seventy-one and a half acres, well im- proved, situated three miles southwest of Jeffersonville. Ira has two hundred and seventy-seven and a half acres of land adjoining him on the east. In 1875 he began business for himself on a capi- tal of ten thousand dollars, and is now worth at least twenty thou- sand. He makes his money invested in land, stock, etc., yield him ten per cent. He deals largely in cattle, and has a tile factory of a capacity of three thousand dollars annually, yet owing to other busi- ness, does only about eight hundred dollars. He began the tile business in 1865, with his father, on Paint Creek, where they built the third tile factory of this county.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
JOSEPH BROWNING.
Joseph Browning is a native of Sheffield, England. He was born May 25, 1828, and came with his parents, Benjamin Band and Mary (Stubbing) Browning, to America in 1836, located in New York, remained a few weeks, then came to Clarke County, Ohio, where the father bought a farm near Platsburg, which is yet known as the Browning farm, where the parents died. August 8th, 1867, he was missed in his church and community, as he was a noble man whose house was always open to the needy. He lived an exemplary life, and died triumphantly in the faith of the Baptist Church.
Mr. Browning was twice married; first, to our subject's mother, who bore him eight children, and died triumphantly and happy, November 14th, 1865. She was a kind and tender-hearted moth- er, and a beloved sister in the church.
Our subject was twice married. First, to Miss Susan Hagler, daughter of Isaac Hagler, December 22, 1853, and who died Feb- ruary 15, 1872, aged about forty-three years. He then married Mrs. Elizabeth (Collette) McCoy, February 19, 1874. Two chil- dren are the result of this union : Fannie S., born June 11, 1865; and John N., born February 17, 1878. Mrs. Browning's first mar- riage was celebrated with John McCoy, March 26, 1868; who died August 1, 1872, aged forty-three years. They had one child, Charles C., born December 20, 1869.
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