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 67
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METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH.
White Oak Grove Methodist Protestant Church, was organized cotemporary with the formation of the denomination. Robert
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GREEN TOWNSHIP.
Dobbins, above mentioned, had long been a consistent member and pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, but became dissatisfied, and proceeded to organize a society under the new discipline of the new denomination. The organization met in school houses and private dwellings, till about the year 1835, when they erected a small frame, in the lower end of the cemetery, northeast of the present building. The latter was built in 1857, is forty-five feet long and thirty-five wide, and presents a neat and inviting appear- ance. The organization is rather weak at present, and holds ser- vices every three weeks ; Rev. Hinkle being the pastor.
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The Buena Vista Methodist Episcopal Church, was organized in 1830 or 1832, on Rattlesnake Creek, near the site of Buena Vista, in the school house where the settlers were in the habit of holding their elections. Their first building, a small frame, was put up in 1845, and some ten years later the present structure, also a one story frame, was erected.
The Olive Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church is the oldest or- ganization, and in all probability was formed by the pioneer preacher of the township, Rev. Dobbins. The society worshipped in a rude log cabin for a number of years. The present frame structure was erected about twenty years ago.
BUENA VISTA.
Buena Vista is the only village in the township, and is located on a part of survey 3987, near Rattlesnake Creek. It contains a population of about one hundred and twenty-five, and for its size does a considerable amount of business.
In the year 1832, John W. Simpson and Stephen Tudor came to the present site of the village to purchase ground. The former bought a lot of James Larkins, while the latter located on the lot now owned by Jeffrey Higgins. The main street was at that time a so-called township road, but was changed into a state road one year later. Simpson returned to Highland County, took unto him- self a wife, and with her came back to his new purchase, erected a
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
small cabin, and removed therein. This was the first married couple that settled within the present limits of Buena Vista.
Stephen Tudor was a carpenter by trade, and remained in the new settlement till 1835, when he sold his property to one Sloan, who lived there but a few months, and disposed of his home to Mr. Fox, who in turn sold the same to Lorenzo Vickers and Wil- liam Moon.
The first store was opened by John Simpson, who kept a small stock, and frequently refused to sell as much calico as his lady cus- tomers wished, because he did not wish to dispose of his entire stock.
Soon after, other stores were opened by Bell & Jenkins, of Wash- ington, Isaac Tracy, Moon, Vickers, and Silas Iron.
Thomas Dowden ran the first blacksmith shop, which stood near the present "town pump," on the lot now owned by Mrs. Mary Burnett. James McKinney also started a blacksmith shop.
William Blair started a shoe and "whisky" shop.
Daniel Mckinney was the first physician. It was his first prac- tice, and he met with a deserved success.
The settlement was originally called "Goatsville,", the name arising from the following circumstance: Simpson was a member of the German Baptist Society, which was usually known by the cognomen of "Dunkards." Preachers and members of this or ganization were in the habit of stopping at his house, and as they allowed their hair and beards to grow quite long, it was considered that they bore a striking resemblance to the animal after which the settlement was named.
TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.
From the fact that the early records of the township have been lost, it will be impossible to give the original township officers, but we subjoin a list of the present, which are as follows:
Trustees, William Durnell, Albert Bonecutter and I. N. Rowe; justices of the peace, G. W. Smith and B. N. Waln; constable, Henry Blair ; clerk, William Thomas ; treasurer, C. A. Kneedler; assessor, O. L. Kennedy.
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GREEN TOWNSHIP.
TOWNSHIP LEVIES FOR 1881.
General township fund, $400.00 ; for road purposes, $100.00, and in addition to this, one mill on the dollar. School tuition, $1,200- 00; contingent, $210.00. (In addition to this, $60.00 was levied on Fairfield Township, Highland County, for the support of sub-dis- trict No. 4, Green Township, which is partly made up from that township.) Also, $1,000.00 was levied for building school houses in the township.
DISTILLERIES, MILLS, THIEVES, INCIDENTS, ETC.
The first distillery in the township was started by Thomas Moon, on the site of his mill ; another was started, a number of years later, by Abraham Crispin.
Thrown, upon their own resources, the settlers either went bare- footed or wore moccasins, though in 1817, the first shoemaker es- tablished himself in the township. His name was David Bradshaw, and his work, though rude, was appreciated by his neighbors, who patronized him liberally.
Abram Bush is given as the first wagon-maker; a half-breed In- dian, who bore the name of Zimmerman, as the pioneer doctor.
The first marriage took place January 7, 1801; the contracting parties being David Moon and Mary Ellis. The ceremony was performed by Ralph Stout, the first justice of the peace. The squire also officiated at the marriage of Jesse McCoy and Martha Sander, during January, 1811, and Uriah Jackson and Ann Allen, March 7, 1812.
The memory of the old settlers is at fault as to the first births and deaths, hence we are unable to give them.
Green Township was not exempted from the frequent visits of thieves and robbers, who infested this country in the olden time. A majority of the old settlers were from Virginia and adjoining states, and to their credit be it said, scorned to do anything dishon- est. There was a certain element, however, whose nativity cannot be traced to any particular locality, which lived the life of an idler and gained a subsistance by robbing the poor pioneer of his hard
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
earned property. Horses, cattle and swine, were stolen when op- portunity offered, and the honest farmer was compelled to fasten his doors with padlocks-something unusual in those days. Wil- liam Johnson was in the habit of fastening his doors every night, and on a certain evening requested his son, Thomas, to close up the stables. The young man proceeded to the barn as directed, but upon approaching, was surprised to discover a strange horse tied near the door. He advanced cautiously, was just about to en- ter, when a man emerged from the inside, mounted the horse, and was off' like a flash. It was surmised that the stranger had arrang- ed to steal the horses and fly with them under cover of darkness ; luckily his plan was frustated at the last moment.
This and future generations will point with pride to the noble efforts of our forefathers, to earn a home for themselves and pos- terity. They encountered innumerable hardships on their journey hither; upon their arrival saw nothing before them save a dense and almost endless forest, inhabited by wild game, and usually had no means by which to provide for their families except their robust frames and iron wills.
It was their first duty, after erecting a humble cabin to shield them from storm and the midnight attack of wolves, to free from timber a small tract of land, and plant it in life necessaries. When the harvest came, there was rejoicing in more than one household over the plentiful crops raised the first year.
But soon another obstacle presented itself. The harvest was gathered, but how were they to convert the corn and wheat into flour! The steam mill was utterly unknown, water.mills were few and far between, and as a last resort recourse was had to the " horse mill." Presumably there was no tread mill in this township, though there were several in the adjoining township of Wayne, where the inhabitants were wont to go. The process of grinding in one of these primitive affairs was very tedious, and frequently two days were consumed in going, grinding, and returning. Others went to Springfield, where there was a good water mill. When the canal was dug via Chillicothe, it was considered a great blessing to our pioneers, as they had then but thirty miles to go to mill. The erec- tion of the Moon mills proved to be a great boon, and as the flour gave good satisfaction, the proprietor discovered by a liberal patron- age that his efforts were highly appreciated.
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GREEN TOWNSHIP.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
ISAAC F. BARGER.
The Bargers were originally from Germany. Phillip Barger and his wife, the grandparents of this subject, were born in Vir- ginia, and coming to Ohio about the year 1800, settled on a tract of four hundred acres of land on Lee's Creek. The land is now owned by his grandson, Isaac. Their bodies were buried on the farm. Their children were Polly, Phillip, John, and Lewis.
John, the father of this subject, married Elizabeth Pavey, July 4, 1832. She was the daughter of Isaac Pavey, one of the early settlers of Highland County, Ohio. They were the parents of two sons and three daughters : Polly (1833), Ann Maria (1835), Phillip (1837), Isaac F. (1840), Nancy Elizabeth (1842). These all died in early life, except the subject of this sketch.
Isaac F. Pavey was born September 18, 1840. He married, October 25, 1864, Isabel A., daughter of Samuel Pavey, of High- land County. Mrs. Pavey was born January 2, 1846. Five chil- dren have been born to this union, three only of whom are living : John Willard, born March 6, 1868; Harry Quincy, born December 18, 1871; Leroy Taylor, born June 7, 1880. . Two other sons died in infancy.
Mr. Barger is an extensive farmer, being the largest producer of grain in Green Township. He raises and deals largely in cattle and hogs. He owns nearly one thousand acres of land in Fayette and Highland counties, all of which gives evidence of careful till- age and excellent supervision. Mr. Barger and his wife have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1874.
The father of our subject was killed by an accident, May 28, 1877; the mother died March 16, 1879. They were both Methodists.
Our subject has been a member of Leesburg Lodge No. 78, F. & A. M., since 1878. He is a man of rare business activity, and has been prominently identified with the affairs of his township for years past. He occupies a fine residence, built in the year 1880, at a cost of $8,000.
Mrs. Barger's father met with a violent death, May 3, 1879.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
G. W. PATTON.
G. W. Patton, farmer, is a son of Arthur and Elizabeth (Wood) Patton, and was born on the farm, where he now lives, January 7, 1840. His parents, who were natives of Virginia, came to this state in the spring of 1832.
Mr. Patton's wife, Mary D., daughter of Hezekiah Rowe, to whom he was married October 24, 1861, was born in this township March 3, 1845. He has five children : Elmer E., Minnie A., Net- tie J., Zella V. and Ollie M., all living.
Mr. Patton is one of the solid farmers of this county, and has a farm of two hundred and fifty acres, which is one of the best in the township.
ISAAC NEWTON ROWE.
Isaac Newton Rowe, farmer, is a son of Martin and Sophia (Johnson) Rowe, and was born in Concord Township, this county, March 30, 1843. His early years were spent on the farm with his parents.
September 17, 1861, he enlisted in the 54th O. V. I., Company C, and remained in Camp Dennison until February, 1862, when they joined Sherman at Paducah. Their first engagement was at Pitts- burg Landing, where their loss in killed, wounded and missing, was more than half the number engaged.
In the campaign following the battle of Pittsburg Landing, Sher- man's old division, of which the 54th constituted a part, was en- gaged at Corinth, Yazoo Bottoms, Arkansas Post, Champion Hills, and the siege of Vicksburg, and after the surrender of Vicksburg, marched to the assistance of the Army of the Cumberland at Chattanooga. They arrived in time to witness Hooker's battle above the clouds on Lookout Mountains, and to take a part in the storming of Missionary Ridge. From Chattanooga they marched to the relief of Burnside, at Knoxville, and compelled the enemy to raise the siege. January 4, 1864, the 54th O. V. I., became by reason of re-enlistment the 54th O. V. V. I., and were granted a furlough of thirty days. When his leave of absence had expired, Mr. Rowe joined his command at Larkinsville, Alabama, and was with his regiment during the Atlanta Campaign until captured by
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GREEN TOWNSHIP.
the enemy, in front of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. While in the hands of the enemy, he was confined in the prison-pens at Andersonville, Charleston, and Florence. March 4, 1865, he was paroled, and re- ceived his final discharge June 8th.
After returning to civil life, he attended school for two years, and then engaged in mercantile pursuits for ten years, and is at present tilling the soil. He has served the people of this township as clerk and treasurer, and is now the candidate of his party (Re- publican) for county treasurer. His wife, Sarah J., daughter of T. J. Craig, to whom he was married December 28, 1870, was born September 19, 1849. Three children have been the result of this union ; two of whom survive: the eldest, Alva O., born November 6, 1871, died August 5, 1872; Maiza J., born September 18, 1875 ; and Will, born January 23, 1878.
HUGH SWIFT.
Hugh Swift, farmer, was born in the north of Ireland, in 1808, and emigrated to America in 1820. He settled in York County, Pennsylvania, where he remained until 1836, when he removed to Wayne County, Ohio, and from thence, in the following year, to his present location in this township.
In 1856 he married Mary Jane Griffith, of Highland County, Ohio, who has borne him four children: John G., born January 16, 1857; Harriet A., born October 22, 1858; William, born Sep- tember 24, 1860; Benjamin F., born October 22, 1867.
Mr. Swift has a well improved farm of about two hundred and twenty-five acres, a part of which is in Highland County.
PERRY TOWNSHIP.
Perry Township was composed of portions of Green and Wayne in 1845, a full account of which is given in another part of this work. The settlement of this territory, however, extends into the past perhaps as far as any part of the county, reaching back to 1804.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
In 1796, Jonathan Wright, no doubt the first settler in Perry Township, emigrated from Kentucky to Chillicothe, where he re- mained till 1804, squatting then on land within the present limits of Perry, which belonged to a Mr. C. Monroe, of Virginia, who owned a military claim (No. 658), consisting of two thousand acres, granted for services as an officer in the Revolutionary War. Wright remained on this land till the following year, when he re- moved to Wayne Township, and shortly afterward died.
In 1805, John Buck, of Virginia, bought a part of the Monroe claim, on which he moved in the same year, occupying the same farm till his death, which occurred in 1830.
Isaac Todhunter, a member of the Society of Friends, sharing the proverbial hatred of his sect to the institution of slavery, in order to remove his family from its baneful influences, emigrated from Lost Creek, Tennessee, in December, 1804, stopping with his sons, Isaac and Richard, who had preceded him the spring previous, and squatted on a small prairie, the site of Leesburg, Highland County, where they had raised a patch of corn to support the fam- ily the first year. Here they remained till the spring of 1805, when Mr. Todhunter purchased twelve hundred acres of land of Natha- niel Massie (Survey No. 2620), on Walnut Creek, in the southwest- ern part of the township, to which he immediately removed his family, selling in the meantime six hundred acres to Thomas and Mordecai Ellis, also of Tennessee, who at once settled on their pos- sessions.
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PERRY TOWNSHIP.
This little community of Friends, was soon after joined by David Dutton from the same neighborhood.
Isaac Todhunter, married Rachel Jury, of Chester County, Pennsylvania, by whom he had six children : Richard, John, Isaac, Jury, Abner and Jacob. He remained on this land till his death, in 1821; his wife surviving him ten years.
The following thrilling incident was related by Amos Todhunter, relative to the early experiences of his father, Abner, in the early days of Perry :
About the year 1806, when the sight of an Indian presaged bloodshed and horrid torture, Abner, a youth of fifteen, was sit- ting in his father's cabin with several younger children, the father and mother being absent on a visit, when he observed six painted savages approaching on horseback. Though accustomed to dan- ger, he felt his hair begin to raise as the warriors dismounted and entered the house. With that presence of mind, however, produc- ed by long exposure to danger and sudden alarms, he received them calmly, and remembering the characteristic gratitude of the Indian, he invited them to sit down, and placed before them the best the larder contained, and then retired while they enjoyed the repast. When they had finished, one of the band arose and ap- proached him, which a second time almost paralysed him with fear, and caused his hair again to assume the perpendicular. Giv- ing himself up for lost, he tremblingly awaited the issue; but instead of cleaving his head with the tomahawk, or circling his bloody knife around his scalp, he allayed his fears by kindly patting him on the head, exclaiming " white man heap good, feed Indian " and mounting their horses they rode off, much to the relief of the fright- ened youth.
Samuel and Warnel Tracy were among the early pioneers of Perry, coming from Maryland as early as 1807, and settling on land now in possession of T. G. Cockerill and Joseph Tracy.
In about 1808, Robert Adams came from Sherman's Valley, Pennsylvania, and settled on five hundred acres of land, which he purchased in Ball's survey, probably from Ball's agents; the Vir- ginia Legislature having, in 1805, at Ball's death, appointed two agents, or commissioners, to settle his estates in this state, from whose transactions vexatious law suits resulted in after years.
Barnabas Cochran, was born at Cape May, New Jersey, in 1773, and came to Perry Township, in 1806, and settled on land bought
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
of Seth Smith, now in possession of T. G. Cockerill. He married Charlotte Stites, in New Jersey, in 1799, and seven children follow- ed this union: Sallie, Deborah, Charlotte, James, William, Silvitha and Mary Ann. He early indentified himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was the founder of Methodism at Cochran Chapel.
John Hutton, a Quaker, in 1810, emigrated from near Brise- land's Cross-roads, Beaver County, Pennsylvania, and settled on land now owned by Calvin Beatty, to whom he sold out his interest, in 1822, and removed to near South Charleston, Clarke County.
John Daster, was born in Frederick County, Virginia, and emi- grated to Chillicothe, in 1810, where he remained three months, when he bought land in the McKee survey, of Seth Smith, Mc- Kee's agent, now in possession of Henry Lymes, to which he soon removed. He was married before leaving Virginia; his wife's maiden name being Lydia McNace; five children from this mar- riage grew to maturity : Lewis, Henry, Rebecca, Maria and John. He died in 1840, some years after the death of his wife.
Henry Snider was a native of Virginia, and immigrated to this county, from that state, in 1810, settling on land which he pur- chased of Samuel Waddle. He reared a family of seven children, four boys and three girls.
The Conner and Voltenburg families, in 1813, squatted in Perry Township, the former on land now in possession of Anderson Irion, and the latter on land now owned by T. G. Cockerill. Con- ner run a small distillery on the banks of Paint Creek. Both families left in 1825.
Samuel Edwards came from Ross in 1812, and purchased a farm, a part of which is now in the hands of Manuel Pernell, the remain- der being owned by W. A. King, except fourteen acres, reserved for the two maiden daughters, Elizabeth and Tabitha, on which they reside, the eldest, being seventy-one years of age. Mr. Ed- wards married Mary A. Roberts before leaving Ross, by whom he had twelve children, seven boys and five girls.
Robert Irion was a native of South Carolina. At the age of twenty, he emigrated to western Virginia, where he for seven years followed his profession of surveyor, locating claims for soldiers of the Revolutionary, War. He first, after leaving western Virginia, located in Brown" County, Ohio. From Brown he went to Picka- way, and settled in Fayette, in 1814, on land purchased from Thomas
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PERRY TOWNSHIP.
Hine, of Chillicothe, which is located on the banks of Sugar Creek, in Perry Township, and which he sold to William Snyder, in 1848. He married Nancy Balentine in western Virginia, in 1796, by whom he had sixteen children, four of whom died in infancy. Twelve grew to maturity : John, William, Francis, Achilles, Anslem, Nancy, Anderson, Harrison, Silas, Milton, and Mary. He was married four times, and resided in different parts of the state until his death, which took place at his daughter's, Mrs. Howard Mooney, in High- land County, three miles below Greenfield, in 1848.
John Orr, sen., was born in Virginia, and removed first to Ken- tucky, thence to Fayette County, in 1817, or 1818, settling on land in Wayne Township, now in the possession of a Mr. Templar. IIe bought land of William Bush, on Sugar Creek, at the crossing of the Martinsburg pike, in Perry Township, to which he removed in the spring of 1819. This land is now owned by his son John. Mr. Orr married Rachel Vance, in Harrison County, Kentucky, in 1805, and six children were born to this union : Samuel, Eleanor' Ann, John, William V., Elizabeth, and Anderson J. He died in May, 1856.
John Beard was here prior to 1818, and owned land now in the possession of Isaac Johnson. His wife died in 1819, he surviving her only till 1821.
Robert Anderson was one of the prominent farmers and pioneers of Perry, who was born in Goochland County, Virginia, on the James River, in 1795. He accompanied his father and family to Louisa County, Virginia, in 1805, and in 1816 he immigrated to Buckskin Township, Ross County, where he remained till 1819, when he came to Perry, in the same year marrying Sarah Rowe, daughter of Jesse Rowe, sen., who gave the young couple one hun- dred acres of land at their marriage. He was a man of prudence, industry, and economy, and before his death had accumulated one thousand acres of land, a considerable portion of which was in a high state of cultivation and improvement. Previous to his death, however, he had disposed of a part of his land, and in 1876 made an equal distribution of his moneys and landed estates among his three surviving children, Isaac, Matthew, and Jane-John, the youngest, having died some years previous, at the age of twenty- two-each receiving eleven thousand dollars. By this division, Mat- thew came into possession of the original home farm, which he still owns. It is situated on the Little Wabash, in the northern part of
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Perry, perhaps the most fertile and healthy portion of the township, if not of the county. He was a most excellent citizen, and did much for the cause of religion, being, perhaps, one of the original members of the Methodist Episcopal society at Rowe's Chapel, if not of the society prior to the building of the church. He served also in the war of 1812. His death, occurred at the home farm, in 1878.
Robert Scott settled on land located on the Little Wabash, now owned by Rev. William A. King. He was a native of Pennsyl- vania, and came to Perry in 1820.
William S. Cockerill was born in Louden County, Virginia, in December, 1790, and immigrated to Ohio in 1812, settling first on the Ohio River, just above its junction with the Hocking, where he resided till 1821, when he came to Perry, and purchased land of John Rowe, son of Jesse Rowe, sen., on which he remained one year. He afterward bought land of Mr. Conner, on the Little Wabash, now owned by his son, Thomas G. Cockerill and sons.
Mr. Cockerill was married four times, and was the father of eighteen children, nine by each of his first two wives. His first wife was Anna Ledmon, whom he married in Virginia, in 1809, and who died in 1821, shortly after his arrival in Perry. In the following year he married Phoebe Mooney, daughter of Judge Mooney ; but she dying in 1855, he afterward married her sister Eliza. He was a man of literary tastes, and considerable intellect- ual abilities, and for several years followed the profession of teach- ing in connection with his farming. At his death he owned four hundred acres of excellent land, most of which is at present in the hands of his son-in-law, T. G. Cockerill, and his grandsons, the heirs of Mr. Cockerill.
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