USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio > Part 18
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made of green wood and would not burn to suit them, carried the contents of the whole large fireplace in the middle of the street, and there piled it up, declaring they would make a fire to suit themselves. He added in this connection that when William Kendall was building the old brick court house, some of the boarders at this tavern used to steal the wood that he had prepared for the brick kiln, carry it to the tavern and burn it for pure mischief.
In February. 1813, Mr. Gordon was married to Miss Agnes MeDaniel, who was three years his junior, and who had come from Cumberland county. Pennsylvania. with her parents and settled in Warren county, within a few miles of where Mr. Gordon and his parents then lived. In March of the same year the newly married couple came to Greene county, and settled in the woods in Sugarcreek township, about three miles west of Springvalley on the Cen- terville pike. Along the line of this road Mr. Gordon and a few others interested tried to have a county road established in 1814. but failed to succeed. Upon arriving at this place he constructed a rude log hut and with his wife continued for several years to fol- low the usual avocations and endure the hardships of pioneer life.
While living there they attended the .Is- sociate church in Xenia, of which they were members until the union, when they united with the second church, of which Mrs. Gordon was a member until her death. which occurred May 11, 1860, and to which Mr. Gordon was a member until his death, which occurred December 10, 1879, at the ripe oll age of ninety-three years.
We were informed by Mr. Gordon that the small brick building standing on the
northeast corner of his place, facing east on Detroit street, and for many years past used as a residence, was the first Associate church ever built in Xenia. The congrega- tion was organized in 1810 by Rev. John Steele, who preached occasionally for them, and afterward became their settled pastor. Not long after the congregation was or- ganized the church was built, Rev. Adam Rankin conducting the first communion service in the summer of 1814. Rev. Por- ter. then of Preble county, was one of the supplies of this congregation, and here the well known Dr. Pressley, who was licensed to preach and was married before he was twenty-one years of age, preached some of his first sermons. The reporter must have misunderstood Mr. Gordon when he calls it
the Associate church. What he has said would apply to the Associate Reform church, of which the Rev. John Steele was pastor, and which is now known as the First United Presbyterian church. Mr. John B. Gowdy. yet living ( 1899), says in regard to the building, that the brick of which the house was built were made and burnt where the building now stands in 1817, and the house was erected soon after. There was a log church stood near by previous to this one.
.After a few years earnest toil, clearing and improving the farm which he had set- tled in Sugarcreek township Mr. Gordon was able to possess a good horse team, and finding that he could make more money in that than in any other way he followed teaming to and from Cincinnati for some years, getting as high as one dollar and twenty-five cents per hundred pounds haul- ing goods from Cincinnati to Nenia.
In 1831 Mr. Gordon purchased a farm
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on Massies crcek lately owned by Mr. James, and now the property of Henry Conklin, to which he removed with his fam- ily in the same year, and soon after erected new buildings on the place. Having in 1851 purchased the ground between North De- troit and King streets, where he died, he raised two large crops of potatoes on it in 1851 and 1852. In the fall of 1852, Austin McDowel, whom he had employed to do the work, began the crection of his present resi- dence, and finished it in the spring of 1853. Mr. Gordon removed from his farm on Mas- sies creek to this residence in that year. Mrs. Gordon died in May, 1800, in the sev- enty-first year of her age. Mr. Gordon at the time of his death left behind him to mourn the loss of a kind and indulgent fa- ther three sons, George R., William 1. and Andrew A., of Holton. Kansas, and one daughter, the wife of the Rev. D. Melill.
REV. MOSES TRADER.
Rev. Moses Trader died April 9, 1854. age seventy years, in Lynn county, Mis- souri. At the time of his birth, his father. who had been a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and one of Morgan's celebrated rifle regiment, resided in Cumberland county, Virginia, sixteen miles southeast of Union- town, Pennsylvania. He emigrated to the Northwest territory in 1792, and landed it the mouth of the Little Miami river on the 19th day of December. . \ settlement having been there commenced by Major Stitts in 1789, three years previous, and only four years from the first settlement of Ohio at Marietta. His parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal church. There were no members of that church nor any regular Methodist preaching until the Rev. John Kobler came, who was the first Methodist
Episcopal preacher that crossed the Ohio in preach the gospel to the few hardy pioneers who had pitched their camps in the wilder- ness. But this did not occur until the death ( Th's father. Hostilities were kept up with the savages from the time of their landing at Columbia until the Indians were defeated by General Wayne August 20, 1794. the war being finally ended by treaty at Greenville the year following. The spirit stirring scenes and dangers through which he had passed in his youth seemed to have inspired him with a fondness for en- terprise and adventure. He hunted with the Shawnee Indians, understood their manners and customs, and spoke their language ilu- ently. He was an unerring marksman and a good hunter, to which was united un. flinching courage and ability to endure fa- tigue. Such qualifications made him a great favorite with the Indians.
It is not known when he first came to Greene county. It must have been at an early period, as he cleared the first field on made at Caesar's creek. A settlement had been made at Caersarsville (near the pres- ent home of Pad Peterson) in 1800, so he 111st have been here previous to that. He was married to Elizabeth, daughter of Isaac MeDonald, on the 2nd day of September. 1804. by the Rev. Bennet Maxey. It is said that being at one of those social gath- ering commonly called quiltings, he was de- sirons of getting up a dance: suddenly a flash of conviction darted through his mind. his levity left him, and gave place to serious thoughtfulness, and from that time to the end of his earthly existence his life and man- ners were entirely changed. He attached himself to the Methodist Episcopal church. and was a zealous member from the first. His education had been so neglected that in
9
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attempting to lead at prayer-meetings he could scarcely give out a hymn without spell- ing some of the words. But from that time on his progress in the path of knowledge was to be a matter of astonishment to all who knew him. Books were scarce in those days, and cost much money. He had an in- creasing family to provide for by his own daily labors ; yet such was his midnight in- dustry ( reading from light furnished by the scaly bark from hickory trees) and by the activity of his intellectual faculties that he soon mastered whatever he undertook. His mind seemed to grasp a situation as by in- tuition. He joined the Ohio conference in 1812 and continued until 1817, when bad health compelled him to relocate,
Such were his attainments at that time that he ranked as one of the most intelligent and profound members of the Ohio confer- ence. He had made himself well acquainted with history, theology, and was deeply versed in Biblical lore, to which he soon after added knowledge of the Hebrew language. His grammar of that language was copied by his own hand, and was a curiosity for neatness and penmanship. In 1816 he re- moved to Chillicothe, where his popularity as a preacher was soon established. He was also prospering in business when he met with a stroke of adversity which swept away all that industry and economy had enabled him to acquire. \ traveler stopped at Chilli- cothe and found one of his slaves that had run away some years previous. The negro, Tom, in the meantime had married, and had a wife and two children. His master had him arrested, and was going to tear him away from his family and return him to bondage. In this deplorable condition Tom appealed to Mr. Trader and others to pur-
chase his freedom, promising that he would refund the amount of purchase money if he had to work night and day. It was finally agreed that one John English and Mr. Trader should join in giving their note for the required sum ( eight hundred dollars, it is believed). In due time the payment of the note was demanded, when it appeared En- glish had signed the note not as a principal. as had been agreed upon, but as security. He refused to pay any portion of the amount. The negro had been informed that a promise made by a slave was not binding. and he had the ingratitude to refuse to re- fund any part of the sum. The whole debt fell on Mr. Trader, which, together with an expensive law suit, cost him fifteen or twenty hundred dollars.
In 1819 Mr. Trader moved back to Greene county, and the same year he con- tracted with the government to furnish tim- ber to build the barracks at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 1820 he descended the river and went to the lower Mississippi. From this time he continued on the river for nine- teen years. In 1827 he commenced the mer- cantile business in Xenia. In 1839 he emi- grated to Missouri, settling in Lynn county and commenced farming. In a letter writ- ten in 1845 he says: I have one hundred and ninety acres of good land with sixty acres under fence. In 1849 the Methodist Episcopal church organized a conference in that state, which he joined. . At the time of his death he was presiding elder of Grand River district. On March 5. 1854, he preached his last sermon in Davis county, Missouri, seventy miles from home.
WILLIAM TRAMIMEL STARK.
On Saturday morning, September II,
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1858, the whole town was startled with the information that William T. Stark, Esq., one of our oldest and most gen- erally known and respected citizens, had that morning departed this life. He had attended to his business the day pre- vious in good health, and to a friend observing that he felt as well as he bad for years. On Saturday morning he rose at five o'clock to attend market. and while dressing he complained of a pain in the region of the heart, which induced him to refrain from going out, and a plaster was applied to his chest when he laid down, and in a very few moments without any evidence of pain he breathed his last. So unexpected was this event that his family was not aware of his condition, and his quiet appearance leading his widow, who was in the room with him, to believe he was sleeping.
Mr. Stark at the time of his death had been a resident of Xenia forty-two years, having settled here on the 22d of July. 1810. He was a descendant of General Stark, of the Revolution, and was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, on the 13th of April, 1790. In 1799 his father moved to Maysville, Kentucky, and in 1800 to Lex- ington, Kentucky. Mr. Stark was a volun- teer of the treaty of Greenville in 1813. In June, 1829, he received the appointment of postmaster for Xenia from General Andrew Jackson, and he held that office until 1841. fle was a member of the Masonic order for forty years, and for about twenty-five years was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. On the Sabbath following his death his remains were consigned to the tomb, in Woodland cemetery, Nenia, by his brother Masons, and the procession that formed the escort was the largest that was ever seen
in the town. He was known by all. respected by the whole community for his many vir- tues, and the entire community sympathized with the family in their sorrow.
CAPTAIN JOHN HIVLING.
Colonel Hivling was among the last of the carly settlers of Greene county. Ile was born near Chambersburg. Pennsylvania. on the 14th of July. 1779. and from that place he moved to Washington county, Maryland. and in the fall of 1800 removed to Greene county, Ohio. His first purchase was what was known as the "Paul Mill." now Tre- beins, near Pinkney Pond, where he re- mained about two years. Hle then bought of Captain W. A. Beatty, in 1811, the lot on the corner of Main and Detroit streets, now occupied by the Xenia National Bank, down to the south side of the old Hivling house. Upon this lot there was then stand- ing a log building occupying the ground now occupied by the Leaman block. and there he kept a hotel for two or three years. He then purchased a thousand-acre tract of land from John Paul, lying north and west of the town and including the land now owned by the Manor heirs, Lewis H. Beall, Sam- uel Galloway, heirs, and others. Upon this tract he resided in a house that stood near the residence of the late Andrew Baughman until 1815. when he purchase l from a Mr. Davis his lot and building and a stock of goods and commenced his long and success- ful career as a merchant. This lot was the one known as the "Forsman," Main street. In 1812 he succeeded the late James Collier as sheriff of Greene county, and held that office the constitutional term of four years.
On the 30th of October, 1812, as the rec-
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ords indicate, he, in pursuance of the order of court, whipped the last man upon the sentence of whipping was pronounced in this court. Whatever might have been the facts in the case, in this instance the de- grading punishment was well deserved, as the crime of which the rascal had been con- victed was of the vilest order, and we have heard an old settler, now quietly sleeping after a life well spent, and who saw the op- cration, say that the Colonel fairly carried out the sentence of the court in spirit and letter as the scamp hugged a small sugar tree on the public square. The office of sheriff is the only one that the Colonel ever filled.
Upon the organization of the old Xenia Bank he was elected as president of that in- stitution, which position he held until 1840. when the old State Bank of Ohio was estab- lished and the Xenia Bank became one of the branches. He was elected one of the members of the State Board of Control, and served that body from 1845 until 1851. When the subject of building a railroad from Cincinnati to Springfield was agitated, and others were hesitating and doubting the feasibility of the undertaking, Colonel Hiv- ling was among the first to give it a favor- able consideration, and upon the organiza- tion of the Little Miami Company he was selected as one of the board of directors, which position he held until 1840, and, hav- ing temporarily removed to a farm which he had purchased east of Cedarvile, he declined further re-election. In this brief sketch it is impossible to glance at all the business relations with which he was connected, and all the facts of a business and social career. nor is it necessary for us to do so in this case.
In all his business connections, in bank- ing, in railroad management and in mer- cantile matters, he was noted for his clear, practical good sense. In private life no man in the community possessed more fully and perfectly the confidence of his fellow citi- zens. At the time of his death he was just eighty-one years. three months and twenty days old and had been a resident of Xenia and vicinity for fifty-one years. He was Lorne to his last resting place by his Masonic brothers, being a prominent member of the order from the organization of the lodge in Xenia. Hle died November 4. 1851, and his body lies buried in Woodland cemetery. Xenia, Ohio. In the war of 1812 he served a tour of duty as a soldier.
WILLIAM ELLSBERRY.
In 1859 a local writer thus speaks of William Ellsberry : "He resides here at Xenia, in a ripe old age, the venerable Will- iam Ellsberry, the honored patriot of the legal profession. now within two years of being an octogenarian. Ile settled in Xenia in 1811. and his pioneer life and history are replete with romantic interest and instruc- tion. It was a repast, rich and greatly relished, to hear him in his primitive, yet comfortable, mansion, built by himself in 1815, rehearse the reminiscences of the days of the pioneers, fifty years ago. He had mingled in the stirring and adventurous scenes of the dark and bloody ground of Kentucky. He had personal interviews with the chief of the pioneers, Daniel Boone. and with great animation and accuracy nar- rated many eventful incidents of Indian war- fare and of the early settlers of this coun- try, paying an elegant tribute to the integ-
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rity, simplicity and worth of Simon Kenton, whose pioncer exploits and homely and noble virtues are recognized in the archives of western annals. Mr. Ellsberry himself has borne a distinguished part in the history and progress of Ohio, and contributed largely to the character and prosperity of Xenia, which he has seen grow from the rude forest vil- lage to be quite a city, filled with an intelli- gent and cultured people and all the arts and elegancies of a refined civilization.
"He has been a prominent legislator and a leading lawyer of the place, and is greatly Bonored and esteemed by his fellow citizens and his brothers of the bar. . As a tribute of affection they had completed by Mr. Mc- Clurg, an accomplished artist of Pennsyl- vania, when spent two years in the studies of the masters of the art in Italy, a beautiful and perfect portrait of their venerable friend and legal brother, which is to adorn the court room where he displayed his legal learning and wit, and where in after ages it will speak of one who first in the county and place unfolded the mysteries and intri- cacies of the legal profession. That genial, life-like portrait will be a speaking memorial of pioneer days, and exert, we trust. a silent influence in mellowing the asperities coinci- dent with the conflicts of litigation.
"This patriot bids fair to linger years yet among the general generation grown up around him, and to unite in the scenes of actual life. Hle is now a live young old man. full of the sap and joyousness of youth, and ready to meet his competitors in the forum of Justice. He still prosecutes his profes- sion with all the ardor and energy of early manhood, and is genial and happy in his home and social circle. His erect form, elastic step. rapid movements, unimpaired
intellect, sparkling vivacity and youthful en- ergy are remarkable for one of his age. How beautiful and grand is age, found with intelligence, graced with virtue and cheer- fulness, beautified with a luster of piety. Their memories, like visions of enchantment and beauty, ever linger around our path- way." He died March 23, 1863. aged eighty years, and was buried in Woodland ceme- tery. Xenia, Ohio.
EBENEZER STEELE.
Mr. Steele was one of the early settlers of Greene county. He was born in Bartley county, Virginia, on the 18th of December, 1781, and in 1815 he emigrated to Ohio, settling first on the land owned by Mr. Tre- bine, where his mill is located on the Little Miami river, upon which he resided five years, when he removed to the farm of E. Steele, Jr., where he resided forty-six years. During his long life in this county he en- joyed the respect of his neighbors and fel- low citizens, who showed their confidence in him by conferring upon him various offices of local nature and by electing him in 1836 to the office of county commissioner.
One who knew him long and well writes us: Ebenezer Steele was always a man of strict integrity and obliging manners. He was not only father, faithful and true, to a large family of children, but was a friend and neighbor to all who proved themselves worthy. He was a member of the German Reform church, and a consistent Christian. He died at Alpha, Ohio, on the 17th of Feb- ruary, 1862, at the age of eighty-two years.
THE HAMILLS OF GREENE COUNTY.
The first of the name. as shown by the
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records of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, are associated with Licking Creek and Fort Ligonier. John Hamill and wife came from Ireland before the Revolution. They were the parents of the following sons: Robert. John. Hugh and Nathaniel, and all, with their father, were soldiers in that war. Hugh Hamill enlisted at Fairfield in .Au- gust, 1776, and served until May, 1777. as a private in Capt. Samuel Miller's company. Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment. commanded by Colonel McCoy. He participated in the battles which resulted in the surrender of General Burgoyne, and passed the winter at Valley Forge, and received an honorable discharge. Nathaniel Hamill was a private soldier in Capt. Henry Dodge's company. His service during the time of the war was in New York mostly, and he was mustered out December 12, 1781. Robert Hamill en- listed in December, 1776, as a private in Captain Pomroy's company, and served, off and on, two years of the war. He was born November 25. 1759, and was seventeen years old when he entered the army. In 1785 with his parents he moved to Bedford county, where he remained until some time in December, same year, when he returned to Fort Ligonier on business for his father. John Hamill received pay for his services in the Pennsylvania Militia from January 1. 1781.
Robert Hamill was born in 1732. and died in Pennsylvania. April 8. 1799. His wife, Jeannette, came with her sons. Hugh. Robert and Joseph, to Ohio in 1806. Hugh and his mother first settled in Preble county. while Robert and Joseph came to Xenia in 1805. In 1810 flugh and his mother came and settled in Nenia, the mother living until
the year 1822, when she died and was buried in Woodland cemetery, Nenia.
WILLIAM OWENS, SK.
William Owens, the founder of the fam- ily in Greene county, was a settler in Vir- ginia in colonial days. He was born in 17+1, and emigrated from Brunswick coun- ty, Virginia, with his family in 1811, set- tling in what is known as the Union neigh- borhood south of Xenia, where he continued to live until March 11, 1827, when the "Free Press," a paper published in Nenia at that date, makes the announcement of his death. at the age of eighty-six years, and from one of his friends the statement that his body had been laid to rest in the orchard of Philip Davis near what is known to-day ( 1900) as the Union church, two miles south of Xenia. "He is spoken of as one of the most exem- plary saints that age afforded. He lived and died without a known enemy. Notwith- standing his extreme age and debility, he re- tained his rational powers to the last." He was seventy years of age when he first came to Greene county in 1811 with the colony that left Virginia at that time. Although coming from different parts of Virginia they were related to each other, and consisted of Henry Hypes and family, Samuel Wright { father of Thomas Coke Wright ) and fam- ily. William Owens. Sr., and family. Among the latter was William Owens, Jr .. who was born in Brunswick county, Vir- ginia, March 9. 1779, who previous to leav- ing Virginia was a farmer. He had mar- ried Lucy Wright, who was born in the same county June 19. 1773 : she was aunt to Thomas Coke Wright. Their children were
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Samuel Thomas and George B. William Owens after coming to Greene county cleared up a farm of fifty acres, two and one-half miles south of Xenia. Here he re- mained until his death. which occurred in his eighty-fourth year, December 20, 1862, at the residence of his son. Capt. Samuel T. Owens, of Xenia, Ohio, and was buried at Woodland cemetery. Xenia. He was a typical pioneer, a man of high character. and a member of the M. E. church, in which faith he brought up his sons. In politics he was in early life an old-line Whig, and later a Republican. Capt. Samuel T. Owens was born November 7. 1807. in Brunswick coun- ty, Virginia. He served the public in Greene county fourteen years as county sur- veyor, and auditor four years. He was cap- tain of Company C. Seventy-fourth Regi- ment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the late Civil war, and was also a local preacher in the M. E. church. In 1828 he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy Ledbetter. Fif teen children were born to them. He died in Nenia, January 1. 1867. Rev. George B. Owens was born July 14. 1809. in Bruns- wick county, Virginia. He was a farmer and school teacher for many years, and later became a preacher in the M. E. church. He died November 28, 1862, at the home of his son Ira, near Xenia. He was buried in Woodland cemetery.
GEORGE WRIGHT, SR., A SOLDIER OF THE REVOLUTION.
George Wright. the subject of this sketch, was born February 4. 1756. and grew to manhood in Brunswick county. Vir- ginia. He married Sophia, the daughter of William and Mary Owens, and emigrated
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