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 84
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Mr. West owns a farm of six hundred and eighty-two acres of good land on the Columbus road, near Madison Mills. He located here in 1870, giving his time since then to the improvement of his farm, and to legitimate trading and farming. He gives much at- tention to thoroughbred cattle. His herd of thoroughbreds is the best in the township.
WILLIAM D. WOOD.
William Doddridge Wood is the oldest child of Daniel and Ta- bitha (Leach) Wood, and was born in this county on the 27th of February, 1841. The genealogy of the Wood family appears in connection with the biography of Daniel Wood.
Our subject was fairly educated in the common schools of his neighborhood, and acquired studious habits, which he still retains. He gave the years of his minority to hard work on his father's farm. He was married, February 27, 1866, to Mary Parker, sec-
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
ond daughter of Elder Joseph Parker, of Warren County, Ohio. She bore one son, John F., born January 19, 1867 ; died April 27, 1875. Mrs. Wood was born, May 17, 1843, and died July 15, 1871.
Mr. Wood married his present wife, May 2, 1872. She is the fifth child of Thomas and Rebecca (Lefever) Swope, of Fairfield County, Ohio. Her father came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, in 1801, when Thomas was one year old. Mrs. Wood was born, August 31, 1834. They have two sons: Thomas A., born March 23, 1874, and Arly R., born November 13, 1879. Mrs. Wood's un- cles and aunts, on the father's side, were : Lawrence, John, David, Rachel, Ann, Mary, and Louisa.
Mr. Wood has a fine record as a soldier. He enlisted in Com- pany A, of the fifty-fourth Ohio Infantry, in September 1861, and served faithfully until August, 1865. The fifty-fourth marched dur- ing its term of service a distance of three thousand, six hundred and eighty-two miles, participated in four sieges, nine severe skir- mishes, fifteen general engagements, and sustained a loss of five hundred and six men killed, wounded and missing.
Mr. Wood gives his attention to farming, and in this pursuit is successful. He owns a well improved farm in Madison Township, and carries on a tile factory near by. He is a member of the Old School Predestinarian Baptist Church, and has in his possession a copy of the Bible, printed in 1599.
DANIEL WOOD.
The Wood family are of English descent, but nothing definite is known as to the date of their immigration to America. Grand- father Isaac Wood, and Rachel, his wife, are the oldest of the name of whom anything is known. They were, perhaps, natives of Pen- dleton County, Virginia. He was born December 25, 1729, and died April 21, 1803; his wife was born March 1, 1747, and died August 29, 1822. Their children were James, Elizabeth, Susanna, John, Daniel, Ann, Joel, William, Isaac, and Jacob. Some of the family became residents of the western states. Joel, Jacob, Wil- liam, and their mother, ended their days in Ohio.
Jacob Wood, the father of Daniel, was born in Virginia, and at the age of fifteen, went to Kentucky on a visit, where he was mar- ried, about the year 1808, to Rachel, daughter of Daniel Ramey. They had two children born to them in Kentucky, and in Decem-
,
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MADISON TOWNSHIP.
ber, 1811, they immigrated to Ohio, on pack-horses, bringing a few household goods, and located in Union Township, this county. In 1833, he bought a farm on Rattlesnake, in Jasper Township. Here his wife died. He married his second wife about 1844, by whom he had no children. He died at the age of seventy-nine, and is buried at Waterloo.
Daniel Wood, the subject of this sketch, was the second child, and first son, of his father's family, and was born in Kentucky, August 10, 1811, coming to Ohio with his parents at four months of age. He was married, September 10, 1838, to Tabitha, second daughter of Walter and Elizabeth (Francis) Leach, of Brown County. She died, July 12, 1878, aged seventy-two years. To them were born three sons and one daughter: William D., born February 27, 1841; Cordelia A., born June 25, 1843; Roma F., born May 1, 1845, died September 27, 1849; Marcellus T., born November 2, 1846, enlisted as a soldier, and died at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, May 7, 1865, aged eighteen years.
William married for his first wife, Mary Parker, February 27 1866, she dying; for his second wife, he married Rebecca Swoup,' May 2, 1872. Cordelia married General Stephen B. Yeoman, in 1865, and lives in Washington.
Our subject was married to his second wife, Mrs. Susan Adkins, widow of William Adkins, February 4, 1880. She is the third daughter of John and Frances (Randall) Yocom, of Pickaway County. By her first marriage, she had two sons: James Vincent, and William H., both of whom reside with their mother and step- father.
Mr. Wood became a member of the Baptist Church, at nineteen years of age, since which time his life has been that of a consistent Christian. He has cheerfully borne the burdens incident to the support of the ministry, and the building of houses of worship. In politics he is a decided Republican. By close attention to farm- ing, and legitimate business, he has gained a competency.
WARFORD YOUNG.
Warford Young, farmer, was born in Highland County, Ohio, December 12, 1820, and is the third child and second son of Job and Elizabeth (Creviston) Young. His grandfather, Jacob Young, was a native of Virginia. Job and Elizabeth Young were parents 65
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
of Lucinda, John, Warford, Fannie, and James, all of whom are yet alive. John Creviston, the grandfather of this subject, was a soldier in the war of 1812.
Mr. Young's parents died when this son was but a small boy, and at the age of thirteen, he learned the trade of a tailor with Moses Stitt, of Bloomingburg. He practiced his trade for some years, and was regarded as a good workman.
He was married, May 1, 1846, to Elizabeth, daughter of Shrieve and Cynthia Gaskill, of Waterloo. Five children have been born to them : Balco G., Cynthia, Walter H. (died September 8, 1872, aged twenty-two years), Irvin C., and Charles V.
During the early years of his married life, Mr. Young was en- gaged in selling goods and farming, alternately, but in 1877 he bought the farm on which he now lives, three miles south of Mt. Sterling, and twelve miles from Washington. He is not what is known as a hard-working man, but has always planned carefully to attend to his own business, and in so doing, has won the esteem of a large circle of acquaintances throughout the county, and else- where. Having been sparingly educated in his youth, he has given much of his later years to books, and is well informed on matters of history. He is a sturdy Republican in his politics.
PAINT TOWNSHIP.
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Paint Township, which takes its name from the creek that forms its eastern boundary, was organized cotemporary with the forma- tion of the county. Its soil is rich, and cannot be exhausted, being fertilized by the various tributaries of Paint Creek. It is bounded on the north by Madison County, on the east by Madison and Ma- rion townships, and on the south and west by Union and Jefferson townships, respectively.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The first settler was George Coil, a man of enterprise, who came in the younger days of this century, and built a cabin immediately after his arrival, and began clearing up a corn patch. The writer has been unable to obtain the data for an extended biography of this man, consequently the mere mention of his name must suffice.
William Hays emigrated from Kentucky to this state, in 1803, and settled on Big Walnut, where he remained till 1805, when he re- moved to this township and settled on part of survey 1063, on the bank of Paint Creek, with his father, James, and the family, con- sisting of David, John, James, jr., Rankin, Benjamin, Jane, Mary, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Sarah.
William and John served as privates in Captain McElwain's mil- itia company, belonging to Colonel Harper's command, which was ordered out to Fort Sandusky, where they assembled and built the fort. At the close of the war, they returned home and worked on the farm.
Solomon Salmon, a native of Delaware, removed to this state with his wife and one child-a boy-at a very early day. In the year 1805, he came to Paint Township, and settled on a portion of the land now owned by his son, Perry, and across the creek to the rear of the latter's residence.
Perry Salmon has in his possession, the military patent for four
971
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
hundred acres, granted to Solomon Salmon, assignee of John Mc- Clain, assignee of Benjamin Parker, assignee of William Johnston, assignee of Samuel Kercheval, assignce of Thomas Jenkins, only living representative of Joshua Jenkins, a sergeant in the revolu- tionary war. The date of the survey of said tract, was many years prior to the signing of the instrument by James Monroe, March 26, 1819-a number of years after possession was taken by Salmon. Perry, a relative of Solomon Salmon, accompanied him, and settled on land now owned by Gideon Vezay. The old cabin in which he lived still stands, but at present is unoccupied.
In and after 1805, there was a constant tide of immigration to this township, some of the most prominent being the following : Solomon Sowers, who built the first mill in Paint Township; Sam- uel Robbins, a pioneer school teacher and justice of the peace; Jacob Pursely, the first blacksmith; John Oliver, the first carpen- ter; Joseph Parris, a participant in the war of 1812, and also in the revolutionary war; Leonard Parris, who was in the war of 1812, and was by occupation a hunter, farmer, and stock raiser ; Jeremiah Smith, another brave soldier in the war of 1812, and a host of others, whose names are not ascertainable.
Nathaniel Tway, was born in Clermont County, this state, and his father, John Tway, was a native of New Jersey. The former served three years and six months, having volunteered. At the battle of Brandywine, a ball from the enemy's ranks was lodged in the heel of his foot, but otherwise he was unhurt.
He came to this county in 1810, and worked for various farmers by the day. Two years later his father came, accompanied by the family, and located in this township, near the Madison County line, on the present Simeon Wisler farm-on leased land. Nathaniel afterwards purchased land of the Funks, the title to which not being clear, however, he never came into possession.
William Squire was born in New Jersey, within eighteen miles of New York City, in August, 1756. During the war of the Rev- olution, when but eighteen years old, he enlisted as a private in his uncle's company, and served with credit. He married Miss Sarah Caldwell, and with her removed to Pennsylvania. In 1816, the family, which had been increased, by the birth of four children, immigrated to Ohio, remained in Ross County six weeks, then came to this county, and located on David Allen's place, where they re- mained a short time, then purchased two hundred and fifty acres
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PAINT TOWNSHIP.
of land of Col. Stewart, at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and removed there. The farm is at present in the possession of Na- thaniel Squire, and consisted originally of prairie land in part.
East of them a settlement had been made by Henry Kile, on a farm now owned by Jackson Hays. In the same neighborhood lived Oliver Kile, James Allen, William Devilin, who lived on the site of the new school house, and on the Martin Judy farm lived Isaac Dunham.
There were several settlements on the road leading through Bloomingburg; one Lambert lived on the site of the village grave- yard, and Isaac Boner on the lot now occupied by J. M. Edwards. Col Stewart owned about seven hundred acres of land in the neigh- borhood of Bloomingburg.
An extended biography of Col. James Stewart will be found in the outlined history of the county, but, inasmuch as he was an early and prominent resident of this township, and because a num- ber of his relatives yet survive him, the following facts are deemed worthy of publication. His parents resided in Philadelphia during the war of the Revolution, moved to the interior of the state soon after its close, and thence to Washington County, Maryland.
He was born near Hagerstown, September 29, 1786, where he re- mained until 1804, when, under a keen sense of the sinful and de- moralizing influence of human bondage, his parents determined to move from Maryland, and therefore purchased a tract of land, of eight hundred acres, known as the Lucas survey, on which was lo- cated the town of old Chillicothe, now Frankfort, with a view to an early settlement upon it.
In December, 1807, at the age of twenty-one years, James came to Ohio to reside, and was followed, February 1809, by his father and the rest of the family. Soon after, he purchased the two hundred acres of land, then in Ross County, which subsequently was cut off to form a part of Fayette, the home of his early man- hood, on which he resided until his death.
The commissioners of the new county held their first meeting in his cabin, in the spring of 1810, then an isolated place, before any settlement was made in Bloomingburg, or a county seat established.
In 1812, he was elected colonel of the Fayette County regiment, in the third brigade of the Ohio militia, a time when all must be united for the protection of their homes
He was married, in 1811, to Jane, daughter of William Robin-
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
son, of Ross County, one of the pioneers of the state. He soon af- ter united with the Presbyterian Church, at South Salem, took an active partin the organization of the Presbyterian Church, at Wash- ington, and was an original and lifelong member of the Bloom- ingburg Presbyterian Church. He was not surpassed in the com- munity, in his administrative abilities, high Christian character, energy, and liberality. On all questions of public interest, his convictions were formed by careful study, firm and unyielding in- tegrity, but always supported with magnanimity and generosity. He left two thousand dollars which was the germ of the Academy, and like his other benefactions, was made with a view to future growth. He devoted much of his time in surveying, and assisted in locating the original boundaries of the township. He died, May 30, 1862. His wife died, February 8, 1865.
The union was blessed with ten children : Hugh, K., born No- vember 10, 1812, died September 23, 1834; William R. born March 2, 1815, died August 26, 1821; Jane C., born June 8, 1817, mar- ried to Rev. C. A. Hoyt, November 15, 1838, died at Jacksonville, Florida, in the fall of 1873; George, born December 19, 1819, mar- ried Jane Gillespie, November 6, 1839, and is living on a portion of the old homestead, near Bloomingburg; Margaret, born De- cember 23, 1821, died June 12,1824 ; James S., born March 2, 1825, died March 13, 1843; Mary E., born July 2, 1827, died in infancy ; Robert, born July 12, 1829, died August 1, 1829; Archibald, born April 3, 1831, died March 16, 1833; Nathan L., born August 8, 1833, is now living in Texas.
INCIDENTS, ETC.
Prior to, and for some time after, the organization of the county, the unbroken forests of Paint were inhabited by the untutored sons of the forests and plains. They were generally inclined to be peaceable, unless offended by some real or imaginary cause, when their savage nature became fully aroused. A white man, named Wolf, shot and killed an Indian at Chillicothe, which maddened his dusky companions, and caused great consternation among the whites. Because of the threatening attitude assumed by the sava- ges in this locality, the white inhabitants became alarmed, and
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PAINT TOWNSHIP.
hastened to Chillicothe for protection. Solomon Salmon, however, refused to fly, but upon the approach of the enemy, simply retired to the adjoining woods. The Indians prowled about the house for some time, then disappeared, and Salmon returned to his cabin, congratulating himself on his narrow escape.
The wife of Judge Joseph Gillespie, brought with her the first colored woman ever seen in this county. She came from the State of New York, by wagon, in 1817, and was called Ruth Platt, and is still living with the family of William Ustick, of Washington.
It is said that one of the most outrageous deeds performed by the notorious Funks, was the capturing of a wolf, removing his hide, and allowing him to run at large.
Mr. J. M. Edwards, a prominent resident of Bloomingburg, has in his possession an old Bible which is printed in small pica type, and inherited from his mother's family. The book is eighteen inches long, eleven inches wide, and four inches thick. It is known as the " Brown Bible," published in England. On each page are valuable commentaries, printed in small type. It contains a family register, is copiously illustrated, and has been in the hands of Mr. Edwards and his ancestry for more than one hundred years.
It need scarcely be stated that whisky was an indispensible arti- cle in every pioneer household, and a single incident will illustrate its health-restoring qualities : Perry Salmon accompanied his brother-in-law to Springfield, to have some grain converted into meal. People had flocked thither from far and near, on a similar errand, thus compelling our friends to wait for their turn for sev- eral days. The brother-in-law became sick because he was com- pelled to subsist without the use of coffee as a beverage, and Perry, in the meantime, in order to change a five-dollar bill, purchased twelve and one-half cent's worth of whisky, which he gave to his sick companion, who, strange as it may appear, recovered instantly.
EDUCATIONAL.
The pioneer, in attempting to furnish his children with even an ordinary education, realized that he had a herculean task before him. The common school system was then utterly unknown ;
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
good teachers were difficult to obtain, hence the educational facili- ties were very few.
Not until some years after the county was organized, were there any established schools. Samuel Robbins is mentioned as the first teacher, but aside from the fact that he was a very useful man of that day, little is remembered of him.
On the Midway and Bloomingburg road, east of the present school house, a small log cabin was erected, in about 1815, for school purposes, the first instructor being one Greenley.
In about 1820, Thomas Fullerton, father of George S. Fullerton, taught in an antiquated building on the Sultzer farm.
In about 1817, those living in the vicinity, hewed the necessary logs, and erected a neat log cabin on the corner of Abraham Kir- by's land, and a school was commenced immediately thereafter. One Terwilliger was the first pedagogue, the wife of Nathaniel Squier being one of the scholars. Robert Burnet was the next teacher, who, like his predecessor, received a compensation of two dollars per scholar, and " boarded round." The cabin was removed to another part of the neighborhood. Some of the logs are yet pointed out to the passer-by.
In the year 1853, the township was divided into eight districts, while the board of education was composed of the following named persons : District No. 1, Samuel Myers; No. 2, James Larrimore; No. 3, Perry Salmon; No. 4, John Tway; No: 5, A. F. Parrott; No. 6, John Flood; No. 7, John Carle; No. 8, Hamilton Green.
On the 14th of May, of the same year, the board met, and re- solved, by a unanimous vote, to purchase sites, and build school houses for each and every district, and to levy for the purpose a sum not less than three thousand eight hundred, nor more than four thousand dollars. It was also resolved, without a dissenting vote, to levy a tax of four hundred dollars, over and above the state school fund, for the purpose of sustaining the schools seven months within the year. The local directors of the various districts were authorized to dispose of the old buildings to the best advant- age. At a subsequent session, it was determined to pay each dis- trict five hundred dollars, for building purposes.
April 16, 1855. On petition from fifty-five young ladies, praying for the exclusion of tobacco from the school rooms of the township, it was ordered that the use of tobacco be, on all occasions, excluded from all the school houses of the township.
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PAINT TOWNSHIP.
From a report of the enumerator, we learn that there were,"in 1855, 439 white youth-225 males, 214 females-between the ages of five and twenty-one; colored youth, 9 males, 1 female; grand total, 449.
CHURCHES.
. PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Inasmuch as the Bloomingburg Presbyterian Church is, with a single exception, the pioneer Presbyterian Church of the county, it is deemed essential that a very extended history of the same be given. In this connection, it is proper to .state that most of the data were gleaned from a centennial sermon, delivered to the con- gregation by Rev. Edward Cooper, D. D., the third pastor.
The church was organized on the 22d of November, 1817, being constituted with twenty-six members, and four ruling elders, all since deceased. The first public services were held in the small barns and cabins throughout the neighborhood, one of the itiner- ant preachers, who sometimes labored here, being Rev. Dyer Bur- gess. In a letter to Rev. Cooper, in the fall of 1867, he says:
"I distinctly remember my visits to Bloomingburg, and the pleas- ant meetings, largely attended, in Colonel Stewart's barn. In Jan- uary, 1817, they had invited Rev. William Dickey to preach for them, when I was in the habit of making missionary tours to that settlement; and afterward I visited Bloomingburg frequently, enjoying the Christian fellowship of Brother Dickey, and the mem- bers of the congregation."
The first session consisted of William Dickey, moderator, Colonel James Stewart, Judge James Menary, Robert Robinson, and Elijah Allen, all earnest men, of high natural endowments.
The first sacramental meeting ever held in this neighborhood, was in the barn of Colonel Stewart, which stood nearly opposite the academy.
Rev. William Dickey, widely and affectionately remembered as "Father Dickey," was called to the united pastorate of the church at Washington C. H. and the newly organized church here, and preached his first sermon on the 22d of November, 1817, when con-
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
stituting the church, from the words: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
In the following December, he brought his family from Kentucky to Washington C. H., where he resided three years; then, having decided to remove to Bloomingburg, a sufficient force of men and teams were sent for him, bringing, also, the log cabin in which he resided, which was placed about half a mile southwest from the present church, surrounded by a dense hazel thicket.
A log church was built soon after, on ground now included in the cemetery. It was no small enterprise to build such a structure at that period. The sum of sixty dollars was obtained from friends at Bloomingburg, New York, and vicinity, through the personal solicitation of the late Matthew Gillespie, who visited his ancestral home for this purpose.
The session was enlarged, in 1821, by the ordination, as ruling elders, of J. S. Gillespie, John McCormick, Isaac Templin, and William Claybaugh.
Among the accessions of 1823, was one called to the ministry- Rev. H. S. Fullerton-whose labors are well known, and gratefully remembered. He was born February 6,1805, at Greencastle, Penn- sylvania, being the second son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Stewart) Fullerton, and was licensed by the Presbytery of Chillicothe, April 8, 1830. In October, of the same year, he was married to Miss Dorothy B., daughter of Rev. William Bois, and in 1831 was in- stalled in his first charge. He was called to the First Church at Chillicothe, where he labored till 1839, then became pastor of the church at South Salem. His appointments extended over a wide range of country, keeping up meetings in farm houses, barns, school houses, and groves, occupying more than seventy places. He con- tinued for thirty years, and at his death left two sons in the ministry.
In 1824, Mr. Dickey severed his connection with the church at Washington, and was installed in this pastorate exclusively, though devoting one-fourth of his time to missionary labors in destitute regions, often visiting the Indian settlements as an evangelist.
In 1830, one hundred and four were added to the church, of which two became ministers. The only female missionary from this church, was among these conversions, Miss Martha Fullerton, who labored among the Iowa and Sac Indians, in northern Kansas, then the Territory of Nebraska.
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PAINT TOWNSHIP.
In the following year, forty-two were added to the church, and Moses Stitt and William A. Ustick were chosen elders.
In 1831-'32, a Presbyterian camp-meeting was held near the northern line of this county, at which Rev. Daniel Baker preached very successfully.
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