USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, together with historic notes on the northwest and the state of Ohio > Part 72
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Peter Huffman, a native of Hardy County, Virginia, immigrated to this township with his family of six children, about 1805, and purchased one hundred and twenty-eight acres of land, all, at that time, being heavily timbered. Being a man of energy and deter- mination, he applied himself vigorously to the work of clearing and bringing his farm under a paying condition, and the excellent crops he raised amply reimbursed him for his labor. After living many years in his log hut-with no mode of ingress or egress, but by an opening in the logs over which a large cloth hung for a door; he decided to build a more comfortable home, and in 1825, put up the first hewed log house in this part of the township. It was considered an elegant structure in those days, and is at the present time occupied as a residence.
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William Harpole emigrated from Virginia, to Ross County, Ohio, in a very early day, and coming to this county, located in Ross Township, about 1806. IIe was father of a large family, and upon his arrival here, purchased about two thousand acres of land, part of which was in Madison County. He built his little cabin, as had the others before him, and lived in it many years; but this house has long since moulded away, and not a log now remains to point out the spot on which it stood.
Joseph Butcher from Virginia, immigrated to this township, about 1806, with a family of three children. He at once purchased one hundred and eight acres of land, all of which was heavily timbered, upon which he erected a cabin, furnished as they usually were, with puncheon floor and split-slat-door, and in this house the family lived contentedly many years. Mr. Butcher resided here till his death, after which the farm fell into the hands of his son who con- tinnes to reside there.
David Larkin from Maryland, settled in the northern part of this township, in about 1806. IIe married a daughter of John Harper, and became, before his death, the owner of a fine farm in this locality, which is now under an excellent state of cultivation, being as productive, according to its size, as any farm in the township. The first brick house in the township, was probably built by Mr. Larkin, who erected a brick structure in 1827.
Josephus Atkinson, a native of York County, Pennsylvania, with his wife, a native of Tennessee, and two children, came to Clinton County, this state, in 1811. After remaining there four years, they removed to Cæsar's Creek Township, this county, where they re- mained till 1822, when he moved to this township, and located per- manently on three hundred acres of land, which at that date cost him about three dollars per acre. . This land was what was then known as the Barrens, of which about one hundred acres was prairie, the remainder heavily timbered. Quite a number of log huts had been erected upon this land, by temporary dwellers therein, and into one of these Mr. Atkinson moved, and resided till after the birth of several children, of which he was the father of eleven. His farm at that date, was very wet, and the grass grew seven or eight feet high. Eight or ten acres was considered a big crop of corn, and even then, those who had a superfluity of this article found it difficult to dispose of it at any price. Mr. Atkinson dealt a good deal in stock, and frequently drove cattle and hogs,
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through to Philadelphia and Baltimore; it requiring some six or seven hands to watch the stock, and about seventy days to make the round trip. Levi Atkinson, son of Josephus, also, in later years made several of these trips, and is now, doubtless, the only person in the township, who, from personal experience, knows the hardships to be encountered, and overcome by all those who at- tempted these journeys through the wilderness that existed along the route, between this place and a market, more that fifty years ago. These trips, however, proved highly remunerative to Mr. Atkinson, who, in time, became the largest landholder in the town- ship, as he possessed last spring some one thousand two hundred and forty-eight acres, part of which he has since deeded to his sons. The eight hundred acres that he still retains in his own name, makes Levi Atkinson the owner of more land than any other one man in Ross Township.
Probably the first permanent settler near the central part of the township, was Robinson Fletcher, who came from Virginia to this township, in about 1808, with a family of six children. He pur- chased three hundred acres of land, on what was known as the " Monroe Survey," all of which was densely wooded; however, by the assistance of his sons, he cleared a goodly portion of it and re- mained here till 1855, when he disposed of the old farm to Cyrus Little, who, in turn, sold it to the present proprietor, Daniel Little, about sixteen years ago.
Peter Woodring settled here, in 1808, on three acres of land, which he purchased of Fletcher, who was acting as agent to Mon- roe, who owned all the land in this vicinity. Mr. Woodring erected a little cabin, and remaining there till his family all died, when he removed to the southern part of the township, and purchased about one hundred acres of good land, which he lived upon and contin- ned to improve till his death, which occurred about 1860.
Richard Beeson, immigrated here from Virginia, about 1808, and purchased fifty acres of land of Fletcher, for which he paid him at the rate of fifty cents per acre. Mr. Beeson built a small cabin, . and did a little clearing upon the place where he remained till 1817, when he disposed of his farm and left the community.
Mitchell Insley, a native of Maryland, came to this township with his mother, in 1815, and took a lease of land from Fletcher. Ile was a bachelor, and never became a landholder, but after re- maining on Fletcher's land a number of years, he removed to another
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place, and continued to move-verifying the old adage that "a roll- ing stone gathers no moss"-till his death, which occurred some twenty years ago.
, Allen Rickstraw, from Maryland, came to this township, about 1816, and also leased land of Fletcher, who continned to act as Monroe's agent in this locality. Mr. Rickstraw, built a small cabin in the woods, and went cheerfully to work, to hew his way into the wilderness of forest that surrounded him on every hand, and in a short time had caused the aspect of things to change so materially that the original woods near him were hardly recognizable. In a few years, he lost his wife and two sons, and becoming discourged, and having nothing to keep him longer upon the spot which served to remind him daily of his misery, he abandoned the home where he had once hoped. to pass his days, and removed to another township, where he died years ago.
The next settler in this part of the township, was Jacob Little, a native of Frederick County, Virginia, who immigrated here with his family, in 1817, and purchased fifty acres of land from Richard Beeson, at less than one dollar per acre. A few years later, he in- creased his farm by three hundred additional acres, which he pur- chased of Fletcher at the nominal price of one dollar and thirty- seven cents per acre. When Mr. Little moved upon the place, there was a little spot of the ground cleared, and the outlook for making a home, the least desirable in this locality was gloomy indeed ; how- ever, he determined to give up. the prospect, only when he had tested and found it impracticable; so when he moved into the round log cabin with a single room, and that a small one, it was with the set- tled purpose of establishing himself permanently, and bettering his surroundings as rapidly as possible. At this date, deer, wild tur- keys, and wolves were abundant in the neighborhood. The fond- ness of these latter animals for mutton, made it almost impossible to raise sheep; it could be done, indeed, only by the closest watch- ing through the day, and by enclosing the flock with a high fence during the night. Squirrels were innumerable, and the deprada- tions committed by them upon the growing corn was enough to test the morals of the most patient. It is said that these animals would destroy the corn, even after it was eighteen inches high, unless means were adopted to keep them frightened from the fields.
Mr. Little put out an orchard shortly after moving upon his place, and in a few years had an abundant supply of what was then
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first-class fruit. Part of the trees are still prolific. In 1825, he also erected a hewed log house, which was then considered the most pretentious residence within a radius of two miles. This house has long since been torn down, but some of the puncheons are still to be found, and have been utilized by his son, Daniel, in building a corn-crib. . The old farm is now the property of this son, who is a prominent man in the neighborhood, and noted for the uprightness of his daily life, and the willingness with which he at all times takes in the poor wayfarer, and metes out to him of this world's goods, after the good old-fashioned manner so preva- lent during the days of our forefathers. Mr. Little is also the largest land-owner in the township, and has an excellent farm of more than six hundred acres in a fine state of cultivation.
David Little, with his family of eight children, came from Vir- ginia to this township, in 1820, and when he reached his destina- tion, the head of the family found himself possessed of just twelve and one half cents; nothing daunted by the low ebb of his finances, he immediately bought of Jacob Little, one hundred acres of land at the rate of two dollars per acre, and for the first payment gave Jacob Little his two horses and wagon, and paid for the remainder of his farm by working for his creditor by the day. Besides pay- ing for his farm, he also cleared it to a considerable extent during his life-time, and erected buildings which, whatever may be said against them, were at least as comfortable as those of any farmer in the neighborhood.
Martin Little, came here from Virginia, in 1821, and John Little from the same state, in 1823. The former purchased two hundred acres of land, and the latter four hundred. Both farms were heav- ily timbered, and the trees ent to build cabins for these men and their families, were the first ones missing in the surrounding forest, save one here and there which had been felled by hunters in their quest for "coons," which abounded here at that date.
John Towel, with his wife and two children, came to this town- ship from Frederick County, Virginia, several years prior to 1820. Mr. Towel, had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and in this ca- pacity was noted for his bravery and the fearlessness of all his move- ments. The journey of this family from their native state here, was made on horse back and afoot. The backs of two faithful horses carried all they possessed of this world's goods, which con- sisted, principally, of two feather beds, which were packed, one, in
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each end of an empty, tick, which also contained all their super- fluous clothing. Their cooking utensils, consisting of a skillet and a few pans, were also taken with them. The journey here was long and tedious, and one of their horses becoming disabled by tearing off its hoof in its efforts to extricate its leg from the logs of an old barn, where it had got entangled during the night, they were com- pelled to remain upon the spot six weeks, till the faithful animal had so far recovered as to be able to travel again; however, they succeeded finally in reaching their destination in time to put out a small crop of corn, and build a rude cabin the same spring. Mr. Towel is described as having been a man of excellent parts, and just such a one as was needed to direct the chaotic state of affairs that then prevailed, into the channel which led to the present pros- perity enjoyed by all persons in the community, who were so for- tunate as to come within the circle of his goodly influence.
Among the oldest and most influential of the early settlers must be mentioned David Paulin, who immigrated to this township prior to 1810; and purchased a large scope of land, a portion of which is now owned by his son James. Mr. Paulin was the father of a large family, six of whom were sons, so that in the work of clearing he was not single-handed, and soon had a goodly portion of land in a suitable condition to be farmed, in which business he engaged, on what was then considered an extensive scale. Several of Mr. Paulin's sons are residents of the neighborhood in which their father settled, and are among the most prominent and influ- ential men in the township. One of the sons, Enos, is the fourth largest land holder in the township. His farm contains about six hundred acres, in a fine state of cultivation.
Francis Brock immigrated to this township from North Carolina, about 1810, and purchasing a small farm of Mr. Insley, moved into a round log hut, which had been built some time before his arrival; he lived here some time, and built a hewed log house, in which he resided until he built the brick, which was the first in this part of the township, in 1839. At one time Mr. Brock owned about two thousand acres of land, only about half of which was in this town- ship. He remained upon the old homestead till his death in 1857. Mr. Brock was a prominent man in the community, and a leading member of the old Bethel Methodist Church, which he liberally supported till his death.
Zara Insley, one of the first settlers in the township, came, with a
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large family, from Maryland, about 1804, and purchased one hun- dred acres of land, now owned by John Little. Mr. Insley was married twice, and had a family of twelve children, none of whom reside in the neighborhood of their old home.
In the southern part of the township John Campbell purchased sixty-five acres of land, about 1805, but did not move upon it; after passing through several hands, it was bought by Isaac Taylor, the present owner, in 1827, when he came to this township from Rock- bridge County, Virginia, with his wife and one child. Mr. Tay- lor's family was afterwards increased by eight more children. He built the brick home in which he now resides, in 1840, which makes it the fourth briek residence in the township, the third having been built by Jacob Paulin, a short time before. It is said the first brick chimney in the county was built in this neighborhood by Ephriam Simpson, who immigrated here from Pennsylvania as early as 1803, which, if true, would make him the first settler in this township.
Lyman Ballard was a native of Pennsylvania, from which state he came to Ohio previous to 1800, and located in Adams County, where he subsequently married. He came with his family to Ross Township in 1823, and bought land of William Frazier, who had purchased it years before. Mr. Ballard was the first man in the township who had a wagon and four-horse team, and he used to go to Clifton to mill with a load of grain for himself, and neighbors who had no conveyance, about two days being the usual time re- quired to make the trip. He was one of the leading men in the township, and frequently preached in the old Bethel Church, of which he was one of the most prominent members. Ilis son, Jackson Ballard, resides upon the old place, and is one of the model farmers, having himself cultivated this year a field of corn con- taining thirteen acres, which is said to be the best in Greene County.
Among the carly settlers of this township, may be mentioned Levi Haines, from Kentucky, who came here about 1807, and bought one hundred acres of land. He was a carpenter by trade, and was killed by falling from a barn which he was building.
Jonathan Flood, from Virginia, settled here in about 1805, when he purchased sixty acres of land from Mr. Trader, who had entered a large tract here for grazing purposes. Mr. Flood was a radical Methodist preacher, and was also one of the early justices of the peace in this township.
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Joel Dolbey, another Methodist preacher, came here from Vir- ginia, with his large family, about 1808. and purchased sixty acres of land. He died years ago, and the members of his family hare all left this township, and now reside in the west.
John Shiegley brought his family here from Virginia, in 1808, and purchased eighty acres of land, upon which he built a cabin, where he lived till 1828, when he disposed of his property here and removed to Indiana, where his descendants now reside.
James Johnson, William Miers, Charles Mahen, and George Junkins were also early settlers in this part of the township.
MANUFACTORIES.
The first thing in Ross Township that can be reckoned in this connection, was the blacksmith shop of Jacob Little, which he built on the farm where his son Daniel now resides, immediately upon his settlement there in 1817. The demand for horse-shoeing was not then so extensive as at present, but this being the only shop within a radius of several miles, Mr. Little scarcely ever felt the want of something to do. Some of the plow-shovels made by him are still extant in the neighborhood, having been used, at intervals, for more than fifty years, and from appearances, will stand the wear and tear of another half century before becoming wholly untit for service. The second smithy in this township was on Lyman Bal- lard's place, and was built by Olivet Mahen, about 1840, who worked here several years. After him, James McCord and James Glass worked at their trade here till about 1850, when the shop was vacated. In an early day George Junkins and Peter Shiegley also run shops of this kind here, but they have long since been va- cated, and now the only one in the township is in Grape Grove, the proprietor of which is said to do a thriving business.
The first saw mill in the township was built by George Junkins, about 1820, who did an extensive business till 1830, when he dis- posed of the property to a Mr. West, who continued to operate it some four or five years, when he gave up the business, since which time the mill has not been run; the old frame, however still stands upon the north fork of Massie's Creek, a rapidly decaying monu- ment of days long gone by.
The second and only remaining mill in the township, was built on Mr. Gordin's place about 1830, by Jerry Dowler and Samuel
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Leffle. This mill was operated here for some time, water having to be hauled some distance for that purpose. In 1835 the mill was moved to Robinson Fletcher's land, where it was purchased by William Lewis and Andrew Fogg, who began grinding corn, and run it successfully for some time. The old building stands at the Grove, but is not used. It is now the property of John Towell.
The only manufacturing industry in the township now in opera- tion is the tile factory, which has recently been established in the northern part of the township, by Messrs. Strause and. Reiber. They employ three hands, and make four different sizes of tiling, which, owing to the excellent quality of the clay in this locality, is a first-class article.
SCHOOLS.
The first school house in the township, of which any account can be obtained, was at what was called "Paddy's Crossing," on Mr. Harper's land, and was built in 1815. It was a round log house, with plank door on wooden hinges; the floor was of roughly-split puncheon, and the light came in through a greased paper, which, pasted over a crack left in the wall, answered for a window. The first teacher here was Jerry O'Leary, a native of the Emerald Isle, who was also one of the first preachers in the township, and used to preach from house to house. Frank Crisman, Josiah Ballard, and Harmon Browder were among the earliest teachers here, and were pronounced good pedagogues, but very strict.
The first hewed log school house was built on David Paulin's land, about 1822. The ceiling was of puncheon, and seats of split logs. Pupils came here to school a distance of four miles. Josiah Ballard was also the first teacher here, and for his services he re- ceived about five dollars per month. A few years later a hewed log house was built on Jacob Little's farm, and soon there were quite a number of these primitive educational establishments scat- tered through the woods.
Among the earliest teachers, David Burley, Samuel Harvey, Sam- uel MeIlatten, Isaac Taylor, and Thomas Loomis may be mentioned as men of considerable ability in their vocations. A teacher in those days who could take his pupils to the rule of three, and who clearly understood, and had the happy faculty of being able to ex- plain the mystery of common and decimal fractions, was considered
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a finished scholar, and his ability to fathom all questions requiring mathematical demonstrations was considered unlimited.
The report of the township clerk for the year ending August 31, 1879, shows a balance in the treasury of $1,884.13. The number of school houses now in the township is eight, the whole amount of school property being valued at six thousand dollars. The schools continue in session thirty-one weeks in the year, and re- quire the services of eight competent teachers, of which the average wages is thirty-nine dollars for men and twenty-seven dol- lars for women teachers per month. The total number of pupils enrolled this year was 274; of these forty-nine were between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one.
CHURCHES.
The first denomination of any kind in this township was the Protestant Methodists, who had preaching at different houses in the neighborhood prior to 1820. These meetings were frequently held in the little log cabin of Berah Orcutt, which contained only one room, and here the settlers would gather on preaching days, bare-footed and in their shirt-sleeves. Robert Dobbins was one of the first ministers who preached here, and while he expounded the scriptures, Mrs. Orcutt, in the same room, watched the boiling of the old iron kettle, which hung in the fire-place, and the baking of the corn-pone, with which the congregation were to be refreshed when the services were concluded. Rev. Z. Brown was also an itinerant preacher, who frequently stopped at Orcutt's and held meetings. The congregation built themselves a frame church, about 1830, called the Bethel Church, and meetings were held here many years : but the members finally became scattered, the old church was sold, and is now used for a barn.
The Wesleyan Methodists built the second church in the town- ship, on Daniel Little's farm, about 1850, and had services here till during the war, when the church ceased to exist as a separate congregation. The house passed into the hands of the Disciples, who held services in it till they built their present church edifice, in Grape Grove, in 1870. It is a neat frame building, and worth, together with the lot, about $1,200. At the present time they have no regular pastor, but expect to secure the services of one soon. They have a membership of eighty; and a Sunday-school, of
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which Asa Little is superintendent, with an average attendance of about fifty.
At the present time the Methodists have a church in the southern part of the township. The house has been built some years, and is worth abont $1,200. They have a good congregation for a country church, and during the summer months sustain a good Sunday-school.
CEMETERIES.
The first regular grave-yard was established on Jacob Little's farm, before 1820, and here quite a number of the old settlers are buried. But this spot of ground has not been used for such pur- poses for years; and although the little lot is full of graves, but few head-stones are there to tell the name and date of the death of those who lie beneath.
The second cemetery was also established on Mr. Little's farm, east of Grape Grove, about 1825, and this is still in use: and here many old settlers have been resting many years. Among others, good old Mr. Orcutt and wife, Jacob Little and wife, J. HI. Patten and wife, and also the wife of Joseph Thomas, the famous " White Pilgrim," are, with the Insley's, remembered as being among the earliest pioneers of the township.
The Bethel grave-yard is still in use, and was established about 1830. Perhaps more old settlers are buried here than in any other place in the township. Members of the families of Gordins, Walk- ers, Insleys, Tarkins, Millers, Ballards, Shigleys, Frasiers, Snod- grasses, and a host of others, are familiar to all persons in the township as having been influential persons in the community in which each resided. Requiescat in pace.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
Levi Atkinson, farmer, Selma, is a native of this county ; was born December 5, 1818. July 27, 1848, he was married to Mary B. Phillips, by whom he has had six children: John O., Ann M., Laura, Charles F., Seth M., and Gwenn, all of whom are living, save Charles T., who died May 11, 1861, aged five years. Mr. At- kinson has been farming since 1848. Twelve years preceding that date, he was engaged in buying cattle in the western states, and
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