USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio > Part 25
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his labors were confined to Massiescreek congregation until the 9th of January, 1821, ten months before his decease.
Andrew Fulton and his congregation a few years before his death also moved to the free state of Indiana. Mr. Armstrong was a man of very low stature, but had naturally a strong constitution. During the early part of his ministry his labors were severe, and he had often to dispense the Supper three and four times a year without assistance. He had upwards of one hundred miles to go to the presbytery and between six hundred and seven hundred to the synod, both of which he attended punctually with few exceptions.
In compliance with calls to supply va- cancies and organize churches he had often to go journeys from fifty to two hundred miles through the wilderness, which afford- ed no other comforts of hospitality than that which his saddlebag and the root of a tree furnished. In the pulpit he had an air of authority which impressed his audience with a feeling of respect and confidence in his judgment, while his talents, though not of the brilliant kind, were above what usually fall to the lot of men. The Rev. Pringle, of Perth, Scotland, speaking of the two mis- sionaries in a letter to a friend in this coun- try said : "Some are perhaps endowed with more talents, but their qualifications are of the solid, permanent and useful kind ; though they don't flash so much at first, they improve on acquaintance." Mr. Arın- strong had an aversion to controversy, both in pulpit and out of it, and it was his prac- tice to refute error as an error of the heart, which persons might be under the influence. of whatever their profession. And he fre- quently guarded his people against suppos- ing themselves religious, because they could
condemn much in the practice or principles of others. "Beware." was his admonition, "lest these very people rise in judgment against you at last." So strong was his aversion to railing at others that even the memorable tempest of religious fanaticism which in 1802 burst forth in Kentucky with such fury, threatening to extend its sweep over the whole country and to carry before it the firmest pillars of the church, did not draw from him in his pulpit exercises a condemnatory epithet. The means he ell- ployed to counteract its influence were in- (lirect. He took up those points of the word assailed by the delusion and these best cal- culated to counteract its temper and en- forced them. That faith is the product of mere human power, was the fundamental error of the "new lights." His people will remember the earnestness with which he in- sisted, at the time, three days successively on the text. "Do ye now believe?" The clearness and force -with which he opened up the nature, origin and effects of faith, as he posed the consciences with an answer to the interrogatory. He was a firm friend to the principles of the Reformation, and fully approved of the principles of the so- ciety to which he belonged, on the subject of separation of corrupt churches. In his adherence to these principles he was firm but not obstinate. On terms of communion. questions about church order. or other points, when his Bible did not clearly de- cide, he was not rigid.
In private life he was a social, cheerful and instructive companion. He was self- denied. humble and patient, not from a disposition naturally unambitious, meek and placid, but from a sense of duty and the power of the gospel over his mind.
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In conversation he was particularly fond ot anecdotes which contained some useful moral, and of these he had a large fund. From a conviction that religion often suf- fers both neglect and scandal from men's imprudence in the management of their worldly concerns he frequently took occa- sion in his familiar intercourse to deal much in maxims of good sense respecting these. It was known to a few that he was rather partial to the civil institutions of his native land, but he never meddled with politics. When the news of General Hull's surrender was received, which was on a Sabbath day in the interval between discourses, he inn- mediately convened the congregation, and after a short admonitory address adapted to the occasion, dismissed them to make prep- arations for marching the next day, and went part of the day's ride with them. From the day of his arrival among his people in Kentucky till the last period of his ministry in this place, his congregation continued to increase and flourish under his care, until the last year of his life peace, harmony and mutual good will prevailed between him and his flock. At that period, however, and in an evil hour, when men slept. an enemy sowed tares, which sprung up and had like to have choked the wheat. This began by an alarm of fire, and some mischief was xlone and threatened to be done about the house. An old cabin was burned, and at- tempts made to set the barn on fire, suspicion arose, and the question was asked, who could do the mischief? The family sus- pected some persons in the neighborhood and others suspected some person in or about the house. No one knew and mutual jealousies and criminations arose, and the brand of discord and contention kindled into a flame, and in this state of things and
under very uneasy feelings, he began to sus- pect that his usefulness in the congregation was at an end; that his labors would be no longer acceptable. This impression gained strength and on occasion of a congrega- tional meeting he sent in his resignation. The congregation were unwilling to part with him, but he continued firm in his reso- lution, and the presbytery granted the prayer of his petition. He brought no charge against the congregation.
Shortly before his' decease he went to Black Rock, Indiana, with a view to the removal of his family to that place, but when he returned, which was on the 27th day of September, he took sick that night, and ou the Sabbath following sent for Rev. Thom . as Beveridge, who visited him on Monday in company with Mr. Bain. He looked forward to dying without fear. When speaking of his family he was overcome by his feelings; he felt for them whose only object had been to make him happy. He had no unbelief respecting them, but could commit them to Him who is the judge of the widow and the fatherless. He had al- ways valued the Gospel, but more now than ever from the support it gave him in his trying hour. To Mr. Adams, a young minister, he said on his death-bed review of the doctrines he had embraced and taught, he found nothing to fault ; they were the ground of his hopes for eternity. For years he had no doubt of his interest in the atoning blood of Christ, and his faith did not fail him now, and on Sabbath morning, 14th of October, 1821, between the hours of twelve and one o'clock, he died. After his decease on the backs of letters or stray slips of paper. it is said, were found notes of the ground work of some of his best ef- forts.
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ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.
WILLIAM COOLEY'S RECOLLECTIONS.
The first settler in the northern central part of the county of whom we have any record or well authenticated account was James Galloway, Sr., who emigrated to thi; place from Bourbon county, Kentucky, early in the spring of 1798, now very nearly eighty-three years since. About twenty years previous, towit, November 23. 1778. he married Miss Rebecca Junkin, in Cum- berland county, Pennsylvania. How long he sojourned in Kentucky we have not been able to determine. Mr. Galloway possessed many of the traits of Daniel Boone. He was in the service of the United States eighteen months during the Revolutionary war, in the capacity of hunter, to procure game for the army. He was engaged in several con- fliets with the Indians, and on one occasion was brought face to face with Simon Girty, who, perceiving that Galloway was un- armed, accosted him thus: "Now. Gallo- way. d-n you, I have got you." and in- stantly fired. Galloway received a danger- ous wound, and was supposed by Girty to have been killed. Hle, however, wheeled his horse and made for camp, a mile distant, which he reached in safety, but in a fainting condition. The ball passed through his shoulder and lodged some place near the back of the neck. After carrying this bullet many years, it was extracted, some say by a cobbler, others by Dr. Joshua Martin. However this may have been it was a source of considerable annoyance, and the wound was effected very much by the state of the weather, and served as a barometer. On occasions, when something important was to be done, requiring fine weather, young Hugh would be dispatched to Mr. Gallo- way to learn the condition of the barometer.
Mr. Galloway's family on coming to this county consisted of himself, wife, his sons, James, Samuel, William, Andrew, and one daughter, Rebecca. His family was after- ward enlarged by a son and daughter, An- theny and Ann. James Galloway ( black- smith ) and .Adam Mc Pherson acompanied Mr. Galloway from Kentucky and settled in different neighborhoods. The same year Thomas Townsley settled near the falls of Massies creek. These were the first settlers of this portion of Greene county, so far as we have been able to discover.
How Mr. Galloway succeeded in erect- ing his first cabin we are left to conjecture, as his boys were mere children, the eldest being a lad of sixteen : but as necessity is the mother of invention, we can have no doubt. therefore, but Mr. Galloway soon had a place of habitation for himself and family. The matter of subsistence was a serious question for a man of so large a fam- ily, as he would not be able to bring any considerable amount of provisions. in his journey through an unbroken wil- derness, and it must necessarily have * been several months before he could de- rive any benefits from the fruits of the soil. Fortunately game was abundant, and Mr. Galloway, with his unerring mus- ket was able to supply his family with all the delicacies of the season; yet there was not the means for the enjoyment of that luxurious living of the present day.
In the year 1799 or 1800 George Gallo- way, Esq., located on the farm now owned by Andrew Holland, lying on the Yellow Springs pike, immediately north and west of the river. The tract located by James Galloway, consisting of one hundred and sixty-one acres, lay still farther north to- ward Yellow Springs. Subsequently Mr.
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Galloway sold to Rev. Robert Armstrong three hundred and one acres, which is now mainly comprised in the farms owned by James 11. Dickey. John H. and Henry B. Jacoby. About this time, or at all events prior to 1803, Matthew Quinn settled on the farm now occupied by Mr. Mathias Rout- zong. Others coming in from time to time, the country gradually became settled. Mills were a necessity. Owen Davis had built one on Beaver creek in 1799, which was pat- ronized by the inhabitants for forty miles around. Whisky, though perhaps not so essential a- bread, was nevertheless used to a considerable extent as a medicine as well as a beverage. The country was new, chills and fever prevailed, and the system needed bracing. At all events supply and demand to a considerable extent regulated trade. To supply this seeming necessity, Mr. Galloway erected a distillery on the small stream that crosses the Yellow Springs pike near the old stone house previously de- scribed. What was its capacity we know not, but presume it was sufficient to meet the wants of the neighborhood in the sur- rounding community. Although we have been assured that the early settlers in this community generally partook of their whis- ky in moderation, and never to excess, yet at this time, and for many years afterward, it was the custom on all occasions to pass around the bottle.
That there was at this period more of a community of interest and social equality among the people than at the present day, does not admit of a doubt. Log-rollings, raisings, wood-choppings, etc., brought the people frequently together from many miles around. There were no drones in the com- munity, and on these occasions things went lively. At a raising the hands would di-
vide, putting their best men on the corners to do the notching, and then a strife arose as to who would be first to get their log in place. And thus they would continue till the square part of the building was com- pleted; and then beveled logs thrown up at the ends, and poles thrown across length- wise, at intervals of from three to four feet, completed the loft part of the structure. For a covering, clapboards, of an inch in thick- ness and about six in breadth, and in length corresponding with the distances between the poles, were placed up and down in such a manner as to make a close roof. The weight poles are then placed in position, and the roof is complete.
About the beginning of the century Mr. Solomon McCully settled on the north of the river, on the Fairfield pike, at present occupied by Owen Swadner. Further on Arthur Forbes, on the farm occupied by Robert A. Mitchell; John James and David Anderson on what used to be called the Kershner farm, situated on the Yellow Springs and Dayton pike : Ezekiel Hopping, on the tract now owned by William Confer and George Taylor, still further north. We cannot give the exact dates of the settlement of these parties, but they were at an early day. James Andrew settled on the farni immediately west of Mr. Armstrong, and now occupied by W. Cooley. His eldest daughter, Nancy, was the wife of Mr. Arm- strong. His family consisted of Jane, Wil !- iam, James, Rebecca, John. Hugh, George, Ebenezer and Elizabeth. Mr. Andrew was a handicraftsman, as well as farmer. He made spinning wheels, little and big. He also stocked plows with wooden mold- boards. If we go back to the days of our grandmothers, we shall find abundant ma- terial for reflection. Every article of cloth-
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ing for the body or the house was made at home. Toil, toil. incessant toil, from one year's end to another, to procure the sim- plest comforts of life. Now. we get a hat or a coat, and don't know how it was made or whence it came. We have time to read, to think, to meditate how to make life en- joyable. Let us be thankful, and when dis. posed to murmur at our hard lot, think of our grandfathers and grandmothers.
Mr. Andrew, having served his genera- tion. fell asleep in the year 1822, aged seventy-two years. Of his ten children, but two remain, Mr. Hugh Andrew of Xenia. and Ebenezer Andrew. of Sugarcreek township. James. Hugh and George car- ried on farming operations quite success- fully for many years on the old homestead and lands adjoining, each owning fine farms of two or three hundred acres. Two of James' sons. William and Harvey, are in the ministry of the United Presbyterian church : H. M .. living in Xenia: and Sam- nel, George's so11, near Frost's Station. Others are scattered through the west, and not a single one living within five miles of the old homestead. Such radical changes does time make, that the place that knows us now will soon know us no more for- ever.
Mr. Andrew, of whom we formerly spoke. for years continued his occupation of wheelwright and stocking plows. Mr. George Junkins had established a blacksmith shop near the Fairfield pike. south of R. A. Mitchell's present residence. A culprit had stolen a set of plow irons of John Ellis (grandfather of Samuel Ellis, who lives near the railroad crossing on the Clifton pike), and taken them to Junkins' shop to be relayed. The irons were taken thence to Mr. Andrews to be stocked with wooden
mold-boards, etc. The irons were stamped, and it was the design of the thief to have the marks obliterated in order to avoid de- tection : but in this he failed, which fact led to his arrest and punishment. At this time there was a sugar tree on the public square, Xenia, which served as a whipping post. His sentence was to receive eight lashes on his bare back. This occurred on the 8th of October, 1808, and is said to have been the last public whipping for a crime in Greene county.
The lands west of the Little Miami river were congress lands, and were dis- posed of very differently from those on the other side of the river, and in the following manner : "James Madison, president of the United States of America. To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Know ye, that James Andrew. of Greene county, having deposited in the treasury a certificate of the register of the land office, at Cincin- nati, whereby it appears that he has made full payment for the northeast quarter of section 35, of township, number 4. in range number 7, of the land lying between the Great Miami river and the Virginia Reser- vation, etc., etc. Dated Washington. Feb- ruary 12, 1810. Signed by James Madi- son. president of the United States. and R. Smith, secretary of State." A similar pat- ent was issued for the southeast quarter of section 36. to the same. in the year 1816. They were printed and written on parch- ment. and are unique in appearance.
In 1802 or 1803 James Galloway. Sr., and James Galloway. Jr., started to Louis- ville, to see Colonel Anderson in regard to the appointment of a surveyor, and on their way stopped several days with Samuel Gal- lo way, then living on McConnell's Run, in Kentucky. where Robert Armstrong
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preached. While there they became ac- urgently solicited to remain as permanent quainted with him, and joined in the com- pastor. This he neither agreed nor refused to do, but stated that he was dissatisfied with Kentucky on account of slavery. He also stated that if he could persuade his congregation to emigrate with him, he would come, provided he received a call. A petition was straightway presented to the Associate Presbytery of Kentucky, by James Galloway, Jr., which was granted, and Rev. Andrew Fulton was appointed moderator in the call. Shortly after his appointment he preached in James Gallo- way's barn, and baptized his son Anthony and daughter Ann, the first baptism by this church in the county, date September 1, 1804. munion of the Lord's Supper, after which resuming their journey, they reached Louis- ville, and through the influence of his fa- ther and his uncle, George Pomroy, James Galloway Jr., received the appointment. On their return they again tarried with Samuel Galloway, and meeting Mr. Armstrong. they urgently invited him to come to Ohio and preach ; to which he agreed, on condi- tion that it was the desire of the people there. When they reached home, they con- sulted the people, and the desire being unanimous, James Galloway, Jr., was sent to Kentucky to bring him here. Writing t; his brother George to meet him in Dayton and pilet him to the settlements, he started. in company with Mr. Armstrong, and trai- eled along the road cut by General Wayne from Cincinnati, arrived here in safety and soon began his labors preaching at the house of James Galloway, Sr., to the following families : Matthew Quinn. AAlexander Forbes, William Jenkins, Elias Bromagen. Widow Criswell ( who had united with his church in Kentucky and came to Ohio in 1801), Alexander McCoy and sons, John and James Stevenson, Thomas and John Townsley, George and James Galloway, and perhaps a few others. He also preached at Sugarcreek, at the house of James Clancy, on the present site of Bellbrook. Among his congregation were John and Jo- seph C. McKnight, Joseph Vance ( father of Governor Vance) and his brother, Captain Lamb, William) Tanner, the Snodgrasses, two Snowdens. Van Eaton and several others. A few of these were members of the Associate Reformed and Presbyterian churches, but all were glad to listen to Mr. Armstrong. During his stay here he was
In August, 1803. Colonel James Mor- row, with quite a number of others, mem- bers of Mr. Armstrong's congregation in Kentucky, came to this county to locate land. They made their camp and passed the Sabbath near a spring on the edge of the prairie at Old Town. There seems to have been a mutual feeling of discontent on the part of Mr. Armstrong and his people, in reference to the workings of the slave sys- tem. The encroachments and domineering spirit of slavery and slaveholders were al- ready being felt. Ohio, the first born of the ordinance of 1787, was a free state. The movement of the people here, seconded by the people there, mutually contributed to the accomplishment of the same end. Col- onel Morrow and his associates succeeded in locating lands in the fertile region of Massie's creek and Sugar creek, and, with others, moved to them in the spring of 180.4. The call for Mr. Armstrong was made in due form, and John McKnight, of Sugar- creek, and James Galloway, Sr., were ap- pointed commissioners by the congregation
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to lay it before the presbytery of Kentucky, and urge its acceptance. The call was pre- sented and accepted, and Mr. Armstrong immediately set about making preparations for his new field of labor. He had been married two years previously to Miss Nancy Andrew. He and his wife set out on horse- back to visit her father's people, who lived near Nasinville, Tennessee. In October they again started for their old home in Kentucky and their new one in Ohio. It was arranged to take Mrs. Armstrong's brother Hugh, with them, then a lad of some ten years of age. A small saddle was made and placed on the horse, behind Mr. Armstrong, on which young Hugh rode to Kentucky. On their arrival at Mr. Arm- strong's home in Kentucky, they were met by William Gowdy, who lived near Alpha, who had been delegated with a four-horse team to bring Mr. Armstrong's household goods, books, etc. Mr. Armstrong and his wife made the journey on horseback, while young Hugh was assigned to the wagon with Gowdy. We may as well state right here, that the young Hugh spoken of is the same Hugh we have with us, and who is perhaps with a single exception the oldest citizen of the county, and to whom we are indebted for information that otherwise would be inaccessible. Mr. Armstrong and wife reached their destination sev- eral days in advance of the wagon. They stopped at Mr. James Galloway, Sr.'s, and were his guests through the winter. On the arrival of the wagon. young Hugh, not exactly liking the looks of things, asked and obtained leave to return with Mr. Gowdy to his residence. Mr. Gowdy was a young married man at this time, while his father's family lived near. In his father's family were two
daughters. Nancy and Ann. To the latter a young man by the name of James Bull had been for some time paying his respects, and the happy couple were about to unite their destinies in the bonds of matrimony. Great preparations were made for the important event. Says Mr. Andrew, everybody was there, from Den to Beersheba, and he sup- poses that there were at least one hundred guests. Mr. Armstrong performed the ceremony, which is supposed to have been the first marriage in the county. As the result of this marriage we have Mr. Will- iam and John Bull: Mrs. Susanna, wife of Mr. James Turnbull: Mrs. Margaret, wife of James Hopping. Esq. : James Law, Rob- ert Scott. Amos and Rankin Bull. The oldest is about seventy-two years of age. while the youngest is fifty-two. Rev. Jamies Law Bull is a United Presbyterian minister in the west. The rest, except John, are, and always have been, citizens of the county. All early in life made a public profession of religion and united with the Associate Presbyterian congregation of Massies- creek. and all are now members of the United Presbyterian church except John. who passed from earth in 1834.
Mr. Bull was a quiet and good citizen, a member of the Presbyterian church, and in the vanguard of reform in his day and generation. As early as 1820 he re- solved to discontinue the use of whisky in his harvest field. In this he was joined by his neighbor, George Townsley, Esq. This put them to some inconvenience, as men would come and go again as soon as they found they were not to get any whisky. Harvesting in that day was a slow process, as the grain was all eut with a hand-sickle. One-half acre, reaped and bound, was a day's work, though some experts put up an
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acre. Afterward cradles came into use, and now everybody knows how grain is cut. Mr. Bull was born in 1776, and died in 1872, lacking only four years of being a centenarian. His wife died in 1836.
In the spring of 1805, Mr. Armstrong. having completed his log cabin, with stone chimney, on the tract of land purchased of Mr. Galloway (as before stated), located in his new home. His duties were mani- fold and arduous. In addition to his regu- lar labors as pastor of a congregation, in preparing two sermons for each Sabbath, necessarily much time would have to be de- voted to secular matters. A new farm was to be opened up and improved : family visi- tation and catechistical instructions must not be neglected; meetings of presbytery and synod must be attended, although often several hundred miles away-long and tedious journeys to be made on horseback. All this would seem to require a pretty act- ive life. With all his manifold labors, we have never heard that there was any com- plaint of dereliction in duty, but, on the con- trary, that his sermons were well prepared and forcibly delivered, and that his congre- gations, possessing more than ordinary in- telligence, were edified and instructed. Mr. Armstrong had two places of preaching, one on Massie's creek and the other on Caesar's creek. Massies creek. the nearest place of preaching, was some three or four miles from his residence, which he usually walked. But as the river was between his home and place of preaching, high water sometimes presented an obstacle not so easily overcome. But in this, as in other mhtters, he was enabled to devise an ex- pedient which answered every purpose, ex- cept in extremely high water. He had a pair of stilts on which he used to cross, it
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