History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio, Part 52

Author: R. S. Dills
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1037

USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio > Part 52

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

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CEDARVILLE TOWNSHIP.

General Massie, who, long years before the first white man settled here, had driven the Indians, under the famous chief Tecumseh, across the cliffs a short distance below Cedarville village. The stream rises by two forks. The north fork enters the township at its northeastern part, and flows a generally southwestern course till it reaches the center of the township, where it is joined by its fellow, the south fork, which enters the eastern part of the town- ship and flows slightly to the northwest till it reaches the corpora- tion of Cedarville village, where the forks unite their waters to make the stream, proper. From here the stream assumes a some- what tortuous course through the remainder of the township, and finally enters into the Little Miami River, from the northwestern part of Xenia Township. From the point at which the forks meet till it reaches a point about two miles from Cedarville, the course of this stream presents a scene of picturesque beauty equalled by few, and perhaps excelled by none in our country east of the Rocky Mountains. During the countless ages in which it has followed its present bed, it has cut its way into the solid lime- stone in some places a depth of forty feet. At one place, called the Falls, the passage of the stream is choked by huge boulders, which appears to have been the terminal morain of a glacier; and a short distance below this an ever-living stream of pure water rushes from a solid rock, and presents a picture of aquatic beauty worthy an artist's study.

A quarter of a mile further down the stream, in an open field, stands the old mound, which is now about forty feet high and one hundred and fifty in circumference. It is perfectly oval in form, and has on its surface trees of a century's growth, denoting that the mound is very old. From its summit can be seen a distance of several miles in every direction. Undoubtedly this was thrown up by the ancient mound builders, to enable them to command a view of approaching enemies. To unravel the mystery of this earthen mound belongs to him who has made the study of pre-historic ages his life work. Discoveries already made, prove to us that a race of people lived and died in Cedarville Township before the advent of the white man and Indian, but what their manners or customs were are yet mysteries, and probably will never be made known to us.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

1850. Trustees, Thomas A. Reid, Hugh Watt, Samuel G. Bar- ber ; clerk, Samuel Thatcher; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet; constable, John M. Crain-173 votes cast.

1851. Trustees, Hugh Watt, Samuel Dallas, Samuel G. Barber; clerk, Samuel Thatcher; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet; constables, Wil- liam II. Walker and John M. Crain-287 votes cast.

1852. Trustees, Samuel Dallas, William Harbison, Thomas Gib- son ; clerk, John Gibney ; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet; constables, Wil- liam L. Kyle and John M. Crain-233 votes cast.

1853. Trustees, William Harbison, Robert Little, George Currie; clerk, John Gibney; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet ; constables, William L. Kyle and John M. Crain-165 votes cast.

1854. Trustees, William Harbison, D. T. Colvin, S. G. Barber ; clerk, John Gibney; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet; constables, James Orr and John M. Crain-184 votes cast.

1855. Trustees, Samuel G. Barker, D. M. Kyle, D. T. Colvin; clerk, John Gibney; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet; constables, H. M. Nis- bet and John M. Crain-201 votes cast.

1856. Trustees, S. G. Barber, D. M. Kyle, D. T. Colvin ; clerk, John Gibney; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet; constables, William Mc- Farland and John M. Crain-209 votes cast.

1857. Trustees, S. G. Barber, D. M. Kyle, D. T. Colvin ; clerk, A. W. Osborn ; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet ; constables, William Mc- Farland and John M. Crain-226 votes cast.

1858. Trustees, Thomas Kyle, D. T. Colvin, S. G. Barber; clerk, A. W. Osborn; treasurer, J. C. Nisbet; constables, J. C. MeFarland and John M. Crain-272 votes cast.

1859. Trustees, S. G. Barber, D. T. Colvin, Bobert Irwin ; clerk, I. Cresswell ; treasurer, I. A. Boghe; constables, II. Insley and John M. Crain-264 votes cast.

1860. Trustees, R. Irvine, William McFarland, John Gregg; clerk, J. F. McCaw ; treasurer, I. A. Boghe; constables, H. Insley and John M. Crain-286 votes cast.

1861. Trustees, D. T. Colvin, R. Irvine, Daniel Conard; clerk, John Orr; treasurer, James S. Boghe ; constables, H. Insley and John M. Crain-306 votes cast.

1862. Trustees, D. T. Colvin, R. Irvine, Daniel Conard; clerk,

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CEDARVILLE TOWNSHIP.

John Orr; treasurer, James S. Boghe; constables, H. Insley and John M. Crain-248 votes cast.

1863. Trustees, D. M. Marshall, R. Irvine, William McFarland ; clerk, John Orr; treasurer, James S. Boghe; constables, John Gibney and E. W. Van Horn-259 votes cast.

1864. Trustees, D. II. Marshall, William McFarland, R. Irvine; clerk, H. M. Nisbet; treasurer, James S. Boghe ; constables, Wil- liam McFarland and H. D. Cline-255 votes cast.

1865. Trustees, D. T. Colvin, B. F. Reid, II. M. Boyd; clerk, H. M. Nisbet; treasurer, James S. Boghe, constables, George R. Lovett and James W. Henry-197 votes cast.

1866. Trustees, D. T. Colvin, B. F. Reid, H. M. Boyd; clerk, H. M. Nisbet; treasurer, A. S. Frazier; constables, E. W. Van Horn and B. Bird-295 votes cast.

1867. Trustees, R. Irvine, B. F. Reid, H. M. Boyd; clerk, F. G. Barber; treasurer, A. G. Barber; constables, William L. Kyle and Alexander Lafferty-312 votes cast.

1868. Trustees, J. R. Crain, R. Irvine, B. F. Reid; clerk, F. G. Barber; treasurer, A. G. Barber; constables, Alexander Lafferty and J. S. Owens-320 votes cast.

1869. Trustees, B. F. Reid, James Kyle, R. Irvine ; clerk, J. D. Caskey ; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, William L. Kyle and H. Cross-385 votes cast.

1870. Trustees, R. Irvine, James Kyle, B. F. Reid; clerk, J. D. Caskey ; treasurer, A. G. Miller; constables, William L. Kyle and H. Cross-407 votes cast.

1871. Trustees, B. F. Reid, James Kyle, George Currie; clerk, J. D. Caskey ; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, William L. Kyle and H. Cross-444 votes cast.

1872. Trustees, R. Irvine, B. F. Reid, George Currie; clerk, J. D. Caskey; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, William L. Kyle, H. Cross-399 votes cast.

1873. Trustees, R. Irvine, George Currie, D. I. McMillen; clerk, A. W. Osborn; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, H. Cross, Hen- ry Johnson-452 votes cast.

1874. Trustees, R. Irvine, D. I. McMillen, James Kyle; clerk, J. M. Bromigen ; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, Ed. Thoma- son, H. Cross-354 votes cast.

1875. Trustees, R. Irvine, Daniel McMillen, James Kyle; clerk, John A. Nisbet; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, Green Mil- burn, H. Cross-358 votes cast.

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

1876. Trustees, R. Irvine, D. C. McMillen, James Kyle ; clerk, John A. Nisbet; treasurer, J. F. Frazier ; constables, H. Cross, John M. Crain-425 votes cast.

1877. Trustees, R. Irvine, D. J. McMillen, James Kyle; clerk, John A. Nisbet ; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, HI. Cross, John M. Crain-400 votes cast.

1878. Trustees, R. Irvine, D. J. McMillen, John Stevenson ; clerk, John A. Nisbet; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, W. H. Iliff, HI. Cross-420 votes cast.

1879. Trustees, R. Irvine, D. J. McMillen, John Stevenson; clerk, John A. Nisbet; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, J. M. Ford, S. A. Barr-508 votes cast.

1880. Trustees, John Stevenson, D. J. McMillen, T. C. Gibson; clerk, John A. Nisbet; treasurer, J. F. Frazier; constables, John Harris, J. M. Ford-527 votes cast.

OLD SETTLERS.

The first persons who made homes for themselves and families in this township were principally from Kentucky and South Carolina, from which states they emigrated on account of their antipathy to slavery. They were mainly decendants of the Covenanters, who came to the United States from Scotland in the early days of our republic's life.

The first persons who established themselves and families per- manently in this township were two brothers, John and Thomas Townsley, who emigrated from Kentucky, and came here in 1801. The former was the father of eight children, and the latter of five. Upon arriving here, they located upon the banks of Massie's Creek, and purchased about one thousand acres of land, where they had chosen to build themselves homes. They built small, round log cabins, and, quickly as it could be done, cleared a small spot of ground which the families tended in partnership, and from which in the summer of 1801 they harvested the first crop of corn that had been raised by a white man in Cedarville Township. These were stal- wart men, of unflagging energy, just such as were necessary to con- tend with the opposing elements of an unsettled country : and by their ceaseless activity, united with an indomitable will, they suc- ceeded before their deaths in laying the foundations of a settlement, the rapidity of whose progress has not been excelled, or, considering

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the circumstances, even equalled by that of any other township in Greene County. These men and their children are now all dead; but the grandchildren of the old stock are still in the vicinity of their father's early homes, grown old and gray in a community they may well be proud of, as having been established on the ever pros- perous basis of morality, by their revered forefathers. Thomas vacated his round log cabin, with its ground floor, in 1805, when he moved into the hewed log house he had just completed, and which was the first of that kind in the township, and was considered an elegant structure.

Win. McClelland came, with his family, to this township from Kentucky, in 1802, and settled about one mile from the present village of Cedarville, on the borders of Massie's Creek, where he · became the owner of one hundred and fifty acres of heavily tim- bered land. He arrived here early in the spring, and immediately went to work to build his cabin, which he soon had ready for oc- cupation, after which he turned his attention to the work of pre- paring a piece of ground for corn, that he might have food for his family during the coming winter. IIe cleared a small spot, and planted his corn in June, from which time on he was obliged to keep the squirrels from it till it had become nearly two feet high. In the fall, however, he harvested enough corn to supply all his wants till the next year.

Alexander McCoy had a family of nine children, and came with them to this township, from Kentucky, in 1802. He located west of where Cedarville now is, and purchased six hundred acres of land, heavily timbered, and full of bears, wolves, deer, and nearly all kinds of small game, together with a tribe of Indians who had a camp upon the place. These latter, however, were peaceable, and the first settlers never received at their hands anything but the kindest, and most humane treatment. Mr. McCoy put up a little log hut, into which he moved, and remained several years. He cleared the land up as rapidly as possible, and in a few years had it in what was in that day considered a good condition. Jacob Miller, the present owner of this farm, bought it for $7.00 per acre. It would now probably sell for $100.00 per acre.

David Mitchel emigrated from Pennsylvania, and went to the blue grass regions in Kentucky, in about 1779, where he remained till he brought his family of four children to this township, in 1802. He had owned one thousand acres of land in the most fertile sec-

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

tion in Kentucky, but his hatred to slavery, and all its concomitant evils, induced him to dispose of his fruitful plantation in that de- lightful locality and come here, where whatever might be the dis- advantages of the country, the clanking of the slave's galling chains would at least be unheard. He purchased about one hundred and sixty acres of land on Clarke's Run, three miles northwest of Ced- arville, and built his cabin in the woods, and applied himself vigor- ously to the work of clearing his farm, and making his sur- roundings in this neighborhood as comfortable as possible. He remained upon the old place till his death.

David Laughhead was a native of Pennsylvania, from which state he emigrated prior to the beginning the present century, and set- tled in Kentucky, where he remained till he came here in 1802, and located on Clark's Run, where he bought five hundred acres of land . at about $1.75 per acre, all of which was a pathless wilderness, in which ranged at will multitudes of all kinds of wild animals native to our state. Not discouraged by the gloomy aspect of things in this vicinity, Mr. Laughhead went cheerfully to work, and in a few weeks after his arrival here, had succeeded in completing a tem- porary dwelling place, after which he began the laborious work of removing the forest, and in a few years had what was in those days considered a large number of acres under cultivation. The country was wild, comforts were scarce, and neighbors miles apart; but notwithstanding all these disadvantages, our state was a land of freedom, where the sinful laws of slave-holding were not tolerated, and these noble old Covenanters were willing to endure the hard- ships and privations of a new and unsettled country providing they enjoyed the satisfaction arising from a free conscience, together with the knowledge that one of the greatest evils ever tolerated in any country would never be introduced into their midst.

Captain Herrod, from Kentucky, settled in the eastern part of this township, about five miles from where Cedarville is now, shortly after the Townsley brothers settled in another part of the township. He probably came here in the fall of 1801. He had a family of sons and daughters, and purchased a large tract of land, which he continued to improve and cultivate till his death, many years ago.

William Moreland immigrated to this township from Kentucky, in the spring of 1805, and located on something more than two hundred acres of land, about three miles east of Cedarville, being the second person who located in this part of the township. He

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CEDARVILLE TOWNSHIP.

built a house, dug a well, and cleared a small spot of ground, the first year of his residence here. He was a man noted for his hon- esty and uprightness, and was a prominent person in the communi- ty during his lifetime.

James Small, emigrating from Kentucky, came to this township, and purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land just north of Cedarville, upon which he located permanently in 1805. He also bought a quarter section of land in Miami Township, but did not reside there. He had a family of ten children, two of whom yet live in the township, a son and daughter. The former, born in 1810, is probably the oldest native of the township who resides in its lim- its at present, and his sister, who was about twelve years old when the family came here, is the oldest resident in the township. Neither of these persons was ever married, and prove a living ex- ception to the general belief that unmarried persons are short lived. There was about ten acres cleared land upon Mr. Small's place when he came here, and upon this he raised his first crop of corn in the summer of 1805. The country at that date presented a very wild appearance, and Mr. Small never became fully reconciled to his surroundings. This, however, did not deter him from exerting himself to the utmost to better his condition, and he was ever fore- most among those who were interested in the advancement and well-being of the neighborhood in which he lived. He remained upon this farm till he died, at a good old age, regretted by all who knew him.

Samuel Kyle, a brother-in-law to James Small, immigrated to this township from Kentucky in 1805. He was the father of twenty- one children (?). Upon arriving here he entered a large tract of land on Massie's Creek, west of Cedarville, and built a log cabin, which would to-day be considered a limited concern to hold com- fortably his numerous progeny. However, in those days a little crowding was not objectionable, and served to keep out the cold in winter, and this family thrived well in their narrow quarters, and the boys grew to be powerful men in physical strength, and prom- inent men in the community. Samuel Kyle was among the first associate judges in the county, which position he accepted in 1810, and creditably filled till 1845. He was a man of ability, and his descendants in the township are influential and highly respectable people.

William McFarland, Esq., emigrated from Kentucky, and came

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HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY.

with his family to this township about 1804, and purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land on Massie's Creek, a short distance from where Cedarville now stands. There was no trading point then nearer than Xenia, and that was a small affair. Salt was hauled from Chillicothe, and could not be had nearer. Mr. McFar- land soon became a prominent man in the sparsely settled neigh- borhood, and served as foreman on the first grand jury in the county, in 1804.

Joseph McFarland came here from Kentucky in 1814, with a family of thirteen grown children, and settled on land now owned by Mr. Stewart. The Indians had nearly all left the county at that date, but wild animals were plenty, and many families fed on veni- son during the entire year. Priscilla, a daughter of Joseph MeFar- land, instituted the first Sunday-school in this township, in the old log Baptist Church, in 1835. She was one among the earliest school-teachers in the township. She is now the wife of James Currie, who resides in Cedarville, and is the oldest shoemaker in the township.

Thomas Paris, a native of Virginia, immigrated to Cedarville Township about 1809, and bought about five hundred acres of land on Massie's Creek, where he put up his cabin and set out an orchard the same year. The first orchard in the township had been planted by the Townsley brothers, in 1803. Quite a number of orchards had been put up prior to 1810.

The Rev. Armstrong came from Kentucky, with his people, in the capacity of pastor, in 1803 or 1804, and entered the land now owned by the Widow Corey, upon which he built a house and lived till his death.

James Bull, a native of Virginia, came to this township, with his family, in 1803, and located upon the farm now owned by his son, where he resided during the remainder of his life. The cabin into which he moved at first, was without doors or windows, and the floor was of the roughest plank. He only resided here, however, a short time, when he put up a hewed log house, which, next to Townsley's, was the best in the township at that date.

James Reid, a native of Ireland, immigrated to this township from Kentucky in 1805. He became the owner of a good farm in this township, which he improved, and upon which he resided till his death, in 1822. He was the father of a large family of chil- dren, one of whom, Robert Charlton Reid, married Marion White-

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CEDARVILLE TOWNSHIP.

law Ronald in 1826, and to them was born a son, Whitelaw Reid, who can justly claim to be the most illustrious man ever produced by Cedarville Township. Mrs. Reid still continues to reside upon the old farm, where her young days were spent, happy in the con- sciousness of being the mother of one of America's most distin- guished and successful journalists.

Robert C. Reid was, by trade, a carpenter, and in 1817 he built the first frame house in this township for James McCoy, who re- sided in it till his death. This building is still standing, and is occupied as a residence by John Gibson. The first brick house in the township was owned by Colonel Duncan, who had it built in 1818. This structure is still in a good state of preservation, and is occupied by a colored family.

Jacob Miller is the second oldest resident of Cedarville Township. He came here from Pennsylvania, with his mother, who was a widow with seven children, in 1806. In journeying hither, this family boated down the Ohio River as far as a place called " boats run," where they were driven ashore by a severe storm; all nar- rowly escaped being drowned. From there they journeyed to this township, along an Indian trail through the woods, carrying all their household goods. They could not have been encumbered much, however, as a camp-kettle and skillet, with a few pans and a little provisions, constituted all their worldly possessions at that time. After a journey of several weeks through the woods, they finally reached their destination in this township, and moved in a cabin with John Stephens, a brother of Mrs. Miller, who had come here from Pennsylvania, a short time before, and built a cabin on land entered by his father, Benjamin Stephens, but now owned by Jacob Miller. The woods at that time were thronged with Indians, bears, wolves, and deer; and it seems almost impossible to the timid women of to-day, that so few years since one of their own sex should have braved the perils of the wilderness, and traveled alone with her infant family for weeks through a trackless forest. Yet such instances of heroic endurance are by no means rare; nor are they confined to any one locality in our country; but in almost any township in our state can be heard the story, telling how some woman came into the country when the foot-prints of civilization were very few indeed, and by her bravery and indomitable will succeeded with her husband in procuring homes for themselves and children. The pages of history never grow weary repeating

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the heroic deeds of the Grecian women who lived when old Athens and Sparta were struggling for supremacy; but the work accom- lished by them, as compared with that done by our American mothers, was small indeed. It is a fact, then, worth remembering, that among the American women who did so much toward estab- lishing the foundation of our present greatness, are to be found some who located in Cedarville Township, and whose descendants remain there to this day, the most prosperous and influential citi- zens in the township.

Elah Bromigen, a native of Prussia, moved with his large fam- ily of sons and daughters, into this township about 1805, and located on land about one mile from where Cedarville now stands, and which is at present owned by Jacob Miller. Mr. Bromigen reached this township in the spring of the year, when the ground was beginning to thaw out; and the country round about at that season of the year looked more like a forest in the midst of the sea than a place where man might build a comfortable home. Mr. Bromigen, however, went earnestly to work, and in a few weeks the camp in which they had lived while the cabin was building, was vacated, and the family moved into their new home, which seemed almost luxurious after so long a time passed in camp- ing out, and undergoing all the hardships and privations conse- quent upon such a mode of living. He also succeeded in clearing a small patch of ground, which became dry enough to plant in corn about the middle of .June, and by a good deal of care was able in the fall to harvest his first crop in the United States, which provided his family with bread till the following year. Farmers in this neighborhood went to mill at Clifton, where a mill had been established a short time before; but for salt they were all obliged to go to Chillicothe, from which place they would carry the salt in bags on the backs of pack-horses. No person in the township at that time owned a wagon; neither could this mode of conveyance have been used if they had been numerous, as there were no roads in the township, and all transportation from place to place was done by pack-horses, which wound in single file through the woods along the Indian paths. Mr. Bromigen frequently made these trips for the purpose of purchasing this important condiment. In a few years he had his farm in a good state of cultivation, and continued to improve it till his death, which occurred many years ago.

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CEDARVILLE TOWNSHIP.

James White, from Kentucky, was another pioneer settler in this part of the township. He was the father of two sons and three daughters, and upon arriving here in 1806 purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining Bromigen's, upon which he built the first house of round logs the same year. He was a man of great industry, and with the assistance of his sons soon caused the aspect of things to change in his immediate neighborhood. IIis wife was a noted spinner, and her success in coloring was the won- der of the neighborhood. With calico at seventy-five cents per yard, it was among the impossibilities to possess a dress of that material in those days, when real money was almost a curiosity among the settlers. Hence the ladies taxed their ingenuity to dis- cover the most tasty and most effective mode of striping their dress goods; and young ladies would often walk miles to obtain Mrs. White's recipe for coloring, which being willingly given with full instructions, in a few weeks the country belles made their debut in a dress of linsey-woolsey, the brilliancy of which probably far exceeded Joseph's many-colored coat.

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History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio, Part 52

Author: R. S. Dills Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1037

Author: R. S. Dills
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1037