USA > Ohio > Guernsey County > History of Guernsey County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 31
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WOOL CARDING
will also be done by them, in the best manner, at 4c per pound, for all grades below half-blood merino or Saxony, for the higher grades 5c will be charged.
Their carding machines are in excellent order, those therefore, who favor them with their custom in this line, may confidently expect good rolls, pro- vided their wool is well cleansed from gum and other filth.
CLOTH DRESSING, attended to as usual.
Wool, and other approved country produce will be taken in payment in either of the above branches of business, or in exchange for goods of their manufacture.
Washington, May 8, 1846.
-From the Guernsey Times, July 24, 1846.
PIONEERS.
Matthew Doyle was a native of Ireland, born in 1765, and emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1790. He married and left Pennsylvania in 1814, moving to Wills township, this county, and there entered a quarter section of land. He lived on this land until his death, in 1835. His wife died in 1847.
John Frame and wife, both born in 1772, settled in Wills township in 1810, thus being among the first pioneers. He was born in Pennsylvania and his wife in Ireland. When they arrived in Wills township they found a deso- late region, but lived to see a goodly settlement spring up around them. He died in 1863, she having passed from earth's shining circle in 1848. They had seven children.
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George Cook was born in Ireland in 1778, came to Pennsylvania and married there when a young man. After a few years there they moved to Ohio, settling in Wills township, this county, where he died in 1836 and she in 1867. They reared nine children.
Elijah Lowry was a native of Maryland, born in 1802, came to Ohio when a young man with his parents and settled in Richland township. Guern- sey county. He married Mary Richey, who was born in 1810, and soon after their marriage they moved to Wills township, where Mrs. Lowry died in 1868. They had five children.
Col. William Cochran was born in Hickory, Pennsylvania, in 1793, and in 1797 the family moved to their new home in Wills township, this county. There the son William lived until married and in 1818 moved to a place two miles south of Middlebourne. In 1863 he moved to that hamlet. He died in 1878. having been twice married.
John La Rue, a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, born in 1801, ac- companied his parents to Richland township, Guernsey county, in 1808 and there the parents spent the remainder of their days. John married Rebecca Ballard, born in Guernsey county in 1811, and they selected a home in Wills township, where he died in 1877. They reared ten out of the twelve children born to them.
Thomas Law was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, January 18, 1793. and, with his parents, came to Wayne township. Noble county, Ohio. His marriage took place in 1822. He died on a farm near his father's in 1834. after which Mrs. Law moved to Wills township. They had six children, five of whom grew to maturity.
William D. Frame, born in 1790, married Susanna Frame and they settled on a farm in this township, where he died in 1872.
Rev. John Rea, D. D., was born in Ireland in 1773, went to Westmore- land county, Pennsylvania, where he married and in 1794 settled in what is now Harrison county, Ohio, where he died in 1856, his wife passing away a year prior. They had ten children, including a son Francis, born in 1808. who graduated from Miami College and practiced medicine. He settled in the village of Washington, Wills township, and reared a family.
John Baird, a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1789. remained with his parents after their removal to Wills township, this county. In 1815 he mar- ried Jane Frame and settled on a farm in Wills township, upon which they re- sided sixty years. He died in 1875 and she in 1874. They were blessed by twelve children. This family were devoted United Presbyterians in their religious faith.
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William Beveard, born in Ireland in 1756, came to Maryland, married, and in 1810 settled in Oxford township, this county. They had a son William in Wills township, with whom they spent their last days. Both died in 1856.
James L. Smith born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1807, married and settled in Cambridge, this county. He drove stage from Cambridge to Washington seven years, then returned to his native state. In 1846 he began to keep hotel at Washington, Guernsey county, and kept it more than a quarter of a century.
Archibald Wilkin, born in 1823, was left an orphan at an early age, re- mained in Pennsylvania until 1842, when he settled in Wills township. married Mercy Miller and located on a farm. They reared a good sized family.
John Cunningham, a native of Guernsey county, born in 1814, married Martha Todd in 1841 when she was but sixteen years of age. They located in Wills township, where he died in 1872. They reared a family of ten in- telligent, useful children.
Richard J. Clark, born in Maryland in 1818, accompanied his parents to Cambridge in 1826. There he married Anna M. Beymer in 1843 and they moved to Washington. Wills township, where he embarked in the merchandis- ing business. They reared five children.
TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF THE TOWNSHIP.
Within Wills township there are the following business points: Wash- ington, an incorporated town, and Elizabethtown.
Elizabethtown, on the National pike, platted by Jacob Weller on March 7, 1832. This never grew to be a place of much note and is a mere hamlet to- day, with a few scattering houses.
Washington is the place around which clusters many a fond memory of historic days along the pike, when it was the great thoroughfare for travelers going westward. It was platted by George and Henry Beymer, September 28, 1805, at a time when this county was yet a part of old Muskingum county, and a year before Cambridge was platted. It is the second town plat in Guernsey county. It is near the west line of the township and twelve miles from Cambridge. It was started for the purpose of making it the county- seat town and a good fight was put up by its proprietors to secure the prize.
This is an incorporated place and has a city hall on Main street. While there is no regular organized fire department, the village is comparatively secure from fires by the protection afforded by the hand pumping apparatus and the villagers' volunteer company. The place is nicely illuminated by
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means of natural gas, piped in from a gas well about a mile and a half out, located on the farms of H. C. Beemer and J. J. Griffith. This company is styled the Central Guernsey Company, all the stockholders being residents of Washington township and vicinity. The gas well has been in operation since the spring of 1910 and the gas is soon to be piped to Lore City.
The present officers of the municipality are: L. L. Young, mayor ; D. A. Watson, clerk; John H. Taylor, treasurer ; Jess Lunsford, marshal.
The present population of Washington is carefully estimated at four hundred and fifty. There has been a postoffice here from an early date and it is now located in the store of John H. Taylor, the present postmaster. No rural routes are as yet established from Washington. Mail comes by stage, daily. The postmasters have included the following: Mrs. Harriet McKis- son, D. E. Patterson, Mrs. Mary A. Craig, J. F. St. Clair, W. O. Moore and John H. Taylor.
The religious element is not wanting here. There are three churches. the Methodist, Presbyterian and United Presbyterian.
The general business of the place may be summed up in October, 1910. as being in the hands of the following persons: Dr. J. M. Thompson, prac- ticing physician; the Washington Roller Mills (steam) ; a planing mill, with cider works attached in season, also feed grinding, all operated by L. L. Young ; agricultural implements, R. M. Laughman ; general stores, by John H. Taylor, R. C. McCrearen and C. C. Law ; hardware, R. S. Frame; shoe store, S. B. Lawrence ; drugs, J. A. Warfield ; grocery, D. E. Patterson ; hotels, Washington House, by R. M. Laughman ; millinery, Miss Mattie Crawford; meat market, W. J. Chapman.
An account of Washington in early times was written in a collection of historic sketches by a local writer in 1882 which reads as follows and throws much light on the pioneer village of this county :
"The pike runs through the village from east to west and the structures on either hand are the most ordinary, rude cabins, the only notable exceptions being the residences of the Lawrences and Doctor Rea, which loom up in strange contrast with their surroundings. The residence of the late William Lawrence is beyond question greatly superior to any ever constructed in this county. In the rear of Mr. Lawrence's mansion and a few rods to the left is the neat little cemetery where the early fathers of the hamlet sleep. On the pike, some four hundred rods east of town, are the county fair grounds In the village are two large dry goods stores kept by ladies, a large and handsome shoe store known as Lawrence's, a first-class implement house and hardware store, of which Roland S. Frame is proprietor, several hotels and
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churches, and the usual number of business places of various kinds which are found in a town of this size. There are, however, no industrial establish- ments.
* *
The town was originally named Beymerstown, and its founder changed its name when the town was incorporated. It is in the center of the county. On the present site of the Ark stood a tavern, which was kept first by Mr. Frazey, then by John Murphy, Mrs. McCreary and her son James, and after- wards by E. D. Withers. This property was then sold, the east lot to Joshua Martin and the west lot to John Lawrence. Martin demolished the old rickety buildings standing on the lot he bought, erecting in their stead a large brick building, now known as the "Ark." Mr. Lawrence used the old tavern build- ing for various purposes for some years, and sold the premises to the Old- School Presbyterians, and they erected a fine church thereon. Just west of the old tavern was the tan-yard of Jacob Saltsgaver. On a portion of this tan-yard now stands the mansion of Doctor Rea, who settled in the place in 1852. Andrew McCleary, a carpenter, came early and lived in a two-story hewed log house, which stood where James McDowell's shop later stood. He was sexton of the old Associate Reform church for many years. West of McCleary's was the old tavern square, and on the east corner a blacksmith's shop, occupied by William Haines. Next to his shop was a great gate for wagons to drive through to the back of the yard. On the lot west of this stood the old tavern, the first part of which was erected by Henry Beymer, in early times. It was later kept by John A. Roe, and during his administra- tion an animal show tent was spread in the rear of the tavern. Afterwards the tavern was run by John and David Miskimmons, and then Frazey took it.
At the east end of the town is what is known as Robb's addition, on which lived David Robb. He moved to Zanesville, and his landed estate on the south side of the National road was then sold to John Barton, and all on the north side to Alexander Frew and son-in-law, William Anderson. Mr. Withrow was a blacksmith who came to the place in 1842 and after about twenty years his wife and eldest daughter were instantly killed by lightning. William Englehart came here before 1812 and is still ( 1882) here, aged ninety years. He is the oldest person in the village, and is a Presbyterian in re- ligion, a Democrat in politics and by trade a carpenter. At first, he was a clerk in the only dry goods store here, kept by Thomas Hanna. 'Squire Peter Omstot, the owner and occupant of the two lots west of Mr. Barton, was an honest Dutchman, who was almost the first justice of the peace and post- master here, and held both offices for thirty years. He used to make wooden
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plows. His office was located about where the "Ark" was later built. 'Squire Omstot caused the expulsion of the famous "Leatherwood God" from this county. He closed his earthly career at his favorite amusement. The old gentleman had just finished singing "Auld Lang Syne," accompanied by R. J. Clark on the clarionet, in the store of the late John Craig, when he took off his spectacles, put them in his pocket, and, turning to go, fell dead on the floor.
FRANKFORT.
There was, however, an older village than all of these named and one that had the distinction of being the pioneer place of Guernsey. This was known as Frankfort. This plat was made in 1804, when this was still Guern- sey county. It was located on lands later owned by John Doyle. It had been the property of the McNutts and the Moores. The town was laid out by Joseph Smith, and grew until it had a population of about two hundred souls. It had two stores, a mill and a distillery. At that date there were but about thirty families in this county. When Washington, Cambridge and the National road were established, Frankfort began to decline and finally was abandoned. The last old tavern was torn down about 1867 and in the founda- tion stones were found several gold sovereigns of the time of Queen Anne.
VILLAGE OF DERWENT.
Derwent postoffice, which was established about 1898, is a fourth-class office, and was first kept in the railroad depot. The only two having served as postmasters are, first, M. L. Spaid and the present postmaster, J. L. Davis. An attempt was made in 1909 to rob this office, but the thieves failed to se- cure anything of value. Four mails go and come from Derwent daily now.
Derwent was platted on a part of section 4, township 8, range 9, by Eliza Dickerson, August 10, 1898.
The Imperial coal mine has been in operation since about 1892, but it is supposed that the coal supply at that particular place will hold out but about two years longer. The Puritan mine, farther down, has been running two years and, being comparatively new. will doubtless last many years yet.
There is but one church at Derwent, the Methodist Episcopal. The business of the village is carried on by the following persons : A planing mill by C. J. Spaid; two general stores, Secrest & Turner and C. J. Spaid; a grocery and lunch-room, by J. L. Davis ; stock dealer, Justice Laughlin.
About the time of the Civil war there were large amounts of tobacco produced in this township. It was cured and many tons of it shipped to
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Baltimore and other cities, but of late years but little is raised. It was hard on the soil and was not considered as profitable as in the sixties and seventies, hence was abandoned as a farm crop, save in few instances where it is still cultivated for smoking tobacco.
The township was also famous for its sheep at one date. As high as twenty-five thousand were kept in 1880, but now not more than fifteen hun- dred can be found in the township.
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CHAPTER XXXVII.
VALLEY TOWNSHIP.
Valley township is on the southern line of the county and contains about twenty-one sections of land. It is of an L shape and is the territory where rise the first waters of Wills creek. The territory is traversed from north- east to southwest by the Cumberland branch of the Baltimore & Ohio rail- road. This township was organized by the board of county commissioners, March 25, 1815. Not being among the original townships, it comprises ter- ritory formerly embraced within other subdivisions of Guernsey county. It is within a rich mineral country and today the chief wealth comes from the coal mining and kindred industries. There are numerous small towns and hamlets, all of which are mentioned in detail in this chapter. Some of the first settlements in the county were effected by the pioneers who came in from various eastern states at a very early day and endured the hardships coincident with early settlement life. Their sons and daughters are now old men and women and their grandchildren by no means in the days of their youth, and these are now reaping the reward for the toils and sacrifices made by earlier generations.
Among the first to come to the limits of this township may be named Peter D. Robins, son of John and Mary Robins, who were natives of the isle of Guernsey, France. The father came to this country in 1807, lived in Wheeling for a time, then moved to Coshocton, Ohio, where he engaged in salt making. 'He settled in Valley township in 1810.
William Spaid was born in Hampshire county. Virginia, and emigrated to this county in 1819, with his parents, George and Margaret (Cail) Spaid.
John Heaume, son of Peter Heaume, was of French descent ; his father was born in the beautiful isle of Guernsey in 1788 and came to Ohio in 1832, first settling in Muskingum and then Stark county, Ohio. In 1850 he re- moved to Guernsey county and died there in Valley township in 1865.
Stephen Secrest, son of Nathan Secrest, a native of Virginia, was among the number who helped to develop Valley township. His parents had ten children. The father was born in 1807 and died in 1850.
Others whose names should not be left out of a record of pioneers were,
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Andrew C. Lawrence, George Salliday, Noah Turner, Christena Dyson, Ezekiel A. Robbins, John Robbins, Henry Trenner and many more whose names are not now familiar to the present day people of the county.
The churches and schools are mentioned in detail under their respective headings in the general chapters of this work.
There are three towns within this township, Pleasant City, Hartford (Buffalo) and Derwent, the history of which is here appended.
PLEASANT CITY.
Pleasant City (originally known as Point Pleasant) was platted in 1829 by Benjamin Wilson. It has come to be a fine business point and its early history and founding by a pioneer band is best given in an authentic article published in way of a Christmas souvenir in 1904, by Abe T. Secrest, who spent some time in acquiring the facts. It reads as follows :
"The early history of Pleasant City, like the early history of America, is involved in obscurity. Save for a few fragmentary sketches, its history has never been written. Nor does this purport to be a history even though digni- fied by that title; it is only a reminiscent brief helped out by a few traditions and legends handed down orally from father to son from that pioneer day when 'the rank thistle nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole un- scared.'
"But this very obscurity that shrouds the histories of ancient peoples and gives them heroes and demi-gods has given us full liberty to draw on our imaginations and, if we must forego the demi-gods, we can at least have our heroes and endow them with virtues and fortitude all but fabulous.
"It would be a mere guess to say what family actually settled here first. But from land patents and other legal documents we can reconstruct the local neighborhood as it existed about 1820, for few families were then here that are not represented in the community now.
"As nearly as can be ascertained the Jackson family, living just south of town (though now in Noble county), and the James Albin family, who lived just north of town, were the pioneers of this place. These soon had for neighbors the following families: Robins, Fishel, Clark, Frye, Cale, Trenner. John Secrest, Henry Secrest, William Spaid, Michael Spaid and Joseph Dyson, the latter owning the land on which this prosperous town is now lo- cated. Nearly all the above families were related by the ties of consanguinity even before they emigrated from Virginia, e. g., Henry Secrest's wife was a Spaid and the wives of Fishel, Trenner and William Spaid were Secrest women.
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"Those were strenuous times and though everyone bore a part in sub- duing the wilderness, life with them was not all colorless. They had their recreations, their pleasures and though the amusements of to-day were en- tirely unknown to them, who will say that this system of relaxation was not as good and their pleasures as genuine as any devised or enjoyed by their descendants? House and barn raisings were neighborhood events to which invitations were general and good cheer particular. On these occasions, after the serious work was done, the old folks passed along the latest word from 'back yonder in Virginia' and the young people either engaged in feats of strength and skill, like wrestling, shooting at a mark, etc., or entered into the more serious business of courting. Usually these country-side gatherings afforded the triple purpose of work, pleasure and love making. Needless to add that the phantom of race suicide that now proves so disquieting to our beloved President, was unheard of then, for nearly every family was composed of from ten to fifteen members.
"One of the first cares of the pioneers was to provide schools for the education of their children. The first cabin devoted to that purpose in this immediate locality was located near the Hopewell cemetery about one mile north of town. Later a cabin school house was built at the forks of the road where Mrs. Lucinda Spaid now lives and here two or three generations of our forbears had knowledge imparted by use of the master's ferule-the most approved method of imparting knowledge at that ancient time.
"As nearly as we can determine at present, the first lots were surveyed along Main street ( which was only a county road straightened and widened) about 1830. The lots were made four rods wide by ten rods deep and the numbering was begun where Fred W. Shafer now lives, his lot being num- ber one. For many years lots were very cheap, there being little demand for them, and no public works to draw citizens to the little berg.
"Squire Dyson who was the first storekeeper, postmaster, justice of the peace, etc., named the village Point Pleasant, presumably, because of the abrupt way his hill (now Jackson's hill) obtruded its shoulder into the valley and he doubtless thought it a pleasant community to live in, and despite a few drawbacks, quite a number of people will agree with him even now.
"As was before stated, Squire Joseph Dyson was the first merchant in town, his store being on the lot in the rear of the house lately occupied by his daughter-in-law, Christena Dyson. The building faced the mill and his goods were brought overland from Baltimore, Maryland. Squire Dyson died about 1840, but the business was continued by his oldest son Thomas, who soon after erected the store room now occupied by Flanagan's and the Balti-
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more & Ohio railroad having been built it was necessary to haul goods from Cambridge only.
"One of the early industries of the village was a tan yard, located on the square now occupied by Mrs. J. O. Ryan and the Secrest opera house block. The nearby oak forests furnished bark in abundance for tanning, and raw hides were skillfully and quickly converted into leather of the most approved sort.
"Possibly the first industry of Pleasant City and certainly the one most appreciated by the pioneers was an old-fashioned mill run by water power. Here their grain was ground on the old mill stones and the convenience of having a mill so near home was fully appreciated by the farmers. At an early date an arrangement was made whereby the mill enjoyed dual power- steam and water-so that in summer when the creek run low steam power was substituted for water and the wheels run on their ceaseless grind. About this time a woolen mill was erected alongside the flour mill and this new enter- prise proved almost invaluable to the town. People came for miles and miles, bringing their wool to be spun into yarn or woven into cloth or blankets. As a matter of course this cloth and these blankets were like all other home-made articles-twice as good as any made elsewhere.
"About fifty years ago Harrison Secrest came to make his home in Point Pleasant and up to date the village cannot boast of a more energetic or enter- prising citizen. He was ever a builder. He burned a brick kiln and built the only brick building the village could boast till the bank building was erected this season. He built the first frame school house the village could boast on the site now occupied by the Masonic hall. An over-conservative building committee decided on a one-room house, but Secrest could not see it that way and erected a two-story building, defraying the extra cost himself. Though over-crowded much of the time, these two rooms proved adequate for school until the present structure was erected in the autumn of 1891. Some of the most notable teachers of this regime were the following: M. L. Spaid, John Wesley Spaid, Alfred Weedon and J. B. Garber. Of the teachers at the old log school house the names heard oftenest are Preacher Gilbreath, John Robins, Joseph Dyson, William Secrest, Wash, Bird and William Hawkins. Wash Glass was more or less successful in teaching three distinct generations to sing buckwheat-notes and all.
"The spiritual wants of this pioneer people were looked after by the old time circuit rider. The greatest of all these both in the magnitude of his work and the far-reaching influence of his life, was the late Rev. William Keil, a minister of the Lutheran persuasion who came into this section from Vir-
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