USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 105
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Some of the early settlers near Montgomery-as the Crists, Tallman, Durkey, and Lackey-organized a church in their neighborhood very early, which was known as the old Sycamore Presbyterian church until 1803, when it changed its designation to the Hopewell church.
MONTGOMERY.
It is thought by some that inroads were made upon the forest and improvements begun by white men upon the present site of Montgomery as early as the fall of 1794; but the earliest trustworthy date is fixed one year from that time, when a colony of six families came in from Ulster county, New York. They were headed, re- spectively, by three brothers Felter -- Jacob, Irominius, and David-Cornelius Snyder, Nathaniel Terwilliger, and Jacob Rosa. All were Felter families, indeed, in this, that the three brothers sired one-half of them, and their three sisters- Mesdames Snyder, Terwilliger, and Rosa-were mothers to the other three. It is seldom that a pioneer colony is thus uniquely made up. Snyder bought of Thomas Espy, June 27, 1796, the whole of section four, for one thousand four hundred and forty dollars. Here the first improvements were made by the party. August 1st of the same year Terwilliger bought of Judge Symmes the southwest quarter of section three, upon which section Montgomery is situated, and began the clearing of that tract shortly after. Nearly five years afterwards-May 5, 1801-he also bought the north half of the section, and upon it laid out the town of Mont- gomery. It was surveyed in 1802 ; but the recorded plat of this bears date the ninth of August, 1805. It is situ- ated on the Montgomery pike, two and one-half miles from the south line of the township, and one and a half miles from Montgomery station, in Symmes township,
on the Marietta & Cincinnati railroad. The old State road from Columbiato Chillicothe formerly passed through it. When the Montgomery turnpike was established the State road was straightened, leaving Main street, upon which are the oldest houses in the village, out of its line, and creating State street upon its new line.
The following interesting passages are taken from Mr. Richard Nelson's work on Suburban Homes. Mr. Nel- son was formerly a resident at Montgomery:
Like most towns of its size Montgomery has no written history. Sit- uated on a leading road, it became a resting place for teamsters and travellers, and so grew up from a single tavern to what it now is, a town of five hundred inhabitans. A log cabin formed the first tavern of the place. This was situated on the southeast corner of Main and Mechanic streets, on what is now known as the Station road, and kept by John Osborn. A man named Yost opened another tavern on the diagonel corner. Some idea of the extent of travel, or the drinking habits of the people of that time (1809), may be formed when we state that a fifty-barrel supply of whiskey for the year failed to meet the de- mand upon Yost's bar.
In 1806-7 a number of citizens from Montgomery, Orange county, New York, came by the way of Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh), and Columbia, and settled around this point, as a good place for trade and farining. Among these were Jacob and Cranmer Felton, Cornelius Snider, grand- father of James Snider; John Z. Weller, Nathaniel Terwilliger, Joseph Taulman, H. Crist, Jacob Roosa, and others. Coming from Mont- gomery, they naturally named the new place in honor of their old home. In 1810 a company of these men was organized for the purpose of erecting and running a grist-mill. Some of the names were Elliott, Crist, Snider, and Sears-the latter was the millwright. Soon after commencing business in the mill they opened a store on the corner now occupied by Mr. R. Parrott.
In 1816 additions to the town were made by Joseph Taulman and Lodwick Weller, and subsequently two more by Daniel Hayden and Eli Dusky.
As early as 1807 a rifle company was formed, and Montgomery soon became a place for battalion muster. Quite a military spirit was excited, which was maintained for many years afterward.
Schools were not neglected in the early history of the place, though the buildings were as primitive in design as in finish. Within one hun- dred yards of the writer's residence was the first school-house built in Montgomery. This was so constructed that openings were left in the logs to serve as windows. In summer these were left without sash; in the winter sized newspapers subserved the double purpose of sash and window-glass. A mode of punishment, equally primitive, called for another opening of six inches in the rude floor. Into this offenders were required to thrust a bare foot and keep it there until released by the teacher. As snakes were numerous in summer and the ground under the house open, the discipline proved effective.
In the course of some years the Montgomery academy was organ- ized. This was a classical school, and was under good management. Professors Hayden, Locke, ar.d Moore were some of the teachers. It was in this academy that Dr. William Jones had his education before entering upon the study of medicine. James Snider was also a scholar of this as well as of the more primitive school, where he acquired some prominence during a "barring ont" adventure.
Some of the early industries of Montgomery, besides those mention- ed, were the manufacture of wagons for the southern market, pork- packing, and cabinet-making. Henry Snider conducted the wagon- making business, and built his own boats to carry his freight. The gunwales of these boats consisted of logs fifty or sixty feet in length, and were hewed in the village. To get them to the river they were placed upon wheels and, being hard to manage, required a steersman as well as a teamster. To steer this caravan, a pole was inserted in the centre of the hind axle and made to project backwards; this was the tiller, and the man on foot behind the logs was the steersman.
One of the oldest citizens of Montgomery is Abraham Roosa, who is seventy-nine years of age. His father, Jacob Roosa, and family, came out from New York in 1799. With him came also a man named Ayres, who was one of the builders of the first ocean vessel, a brig, built at Columbia. In Abraham's boyhood wolves had not been ex- terminated; and as cattle were allowed to run at large it was necessary to have them brought home in the evenings and securely penned. As . soon as Abraham was able to handle a gun this duty devolved upon
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
him. Provided with musket, ammunition, and a faithful dog, he would track the objects of his search by the sound of the bells, and before the shades of evening set in have them secure.
Montgomery has contributed her quota of public men. For the early militia she furnished a general of note-Cornelius Snider. John Snider she sent to the legislature many years ago, and Dr. Alexander Duncan to Congress. California is indebted to her for a governor-Weller was a Montgomery boy; and the legislative halls of the State were reinforc- ed by Dr. William Jones, on more than one occasion, and by George Crist, of the firm of Creighton & Co., at another time. In the Presby- terian church the Rev. Daniel Hayden served with distinction, and in the Universalist church the Rev. A. Lawrie, who was ordained in the Montgomery church, was a distinguished advocate of the doctrines of his denomination. Thirty-eight years of practice of medicine in the vicinity entitles Dr. Naylor's name to a place here.
Of Dr. Duncan's history and habits we learned something from Dr. Jones, and had the pleasure of examining his portrait, made by a young artist named Sweet, who carried it across the Atlantic and over Europe as a specimen of his skill in painting. The doctor's history is an inter- esting one. He was a lover of public life, and an ardent advocate of Democratic measures. He was also attached to outdoor pleasures, driving and fishing, and when in company with a friend, would often not exchange words for miles of travel, and when he did break silence it would be by the utterance of some remarkable statement, or by pro -. pounding some difficult problem. It was the doctor's custom, when about to engage in a fishing expedition, to catch his minnows in Syca- more creek; but some said that he was often fishing for votes when he was supposed to be engaged in legitimate piscatorial pursuits. Ac- - cordingly the knowing ones would account for his absence from home by saying he was "catching minneys in the Sycamore."
A remarkable man, of very different stamp, was Eli Dusky, whose "mark" may be seen in the records of the county. Eli was noted alike for industry, simplicity of character, and the limited amount of intelli- gence, with which he managed to transact the business of life. In politics, religion, and business, he was guided rather by instinct than knowledge or reason. He believed in ghosts and hobgoblins, if not in a future state; and fairies were the great facts, as well as mysteries, of his creed. This was known to the neighbors-to the men who were boys in those days, and to the boys who were men; and the latter were not slow in taking advantage of such notions, nor the former in encour- aging the fun. On a certain occasion, Eli had a prosperous sugar- camp in the rear of where Mr. Smith's house now stands. His blazing fire was rapidly converting the sugar-water into delicious syrup, and his barrels were waiting for their first installment, when, the shades of evening approaching, he slackened his fire, prepared his camp for the night, and went to his home, ruminating over his probable good luck in securing a big crop of molasses. Supper disposed off, Eli retired to his quiet couch, but had scarcely experienced his first nocturnal vision (for he was a great dreamer), when he was aroused by the barking of his fathful dog. Quickly dressing, he sallied forth, and soon was in plain sight of his factory, where, to his consternation he beheld, flitting about in the dim light of the subdued fire, the figures of full-grown elfs to the number of half a dozen. Spectres they were, sure enough- full-fledged fairies! Eli did not hesitate long in selecting a line of re- treat. The house reached, the door was soon opened and again securely fastened, and Eli Dusky was safe from entrusion. That night the fairies enjoyed a rick feast, and got home in time for a sound nap before daylight-larger boys might have fared worse.
Montgomery was not so unimportant a settlement as to be over- looked by the showmen of the day. As early as 1812 the leader of a troupe and proprietor of a menagerie, with Barnum's enterprise and Robinson's pluck, entered the great town of two taverns, procured a stable and provender for his menagerie, and board and lodging for his troupe. Next day he advertised his great show, and the news was blazed abroad throughout the entire settlement; and the wagons and horses, men and women, boys and girls, came to the number of fifty. The exposition was a complete success. Exposition Hall was crowded to the hay-mows, and the mulatto man, with his docile elephant, were the finest troupe that had ever acted, and the greatest show that had ever been exhibited in the town of Montgomery.
This village was founded in 1805. Its growth was slow for many years. It had but two hundred and seventy inhabitants by the census of 1830. About 1872, however, its prospects improved by the advent of city people looking about for eligible sites for suburban resi-
dences; older citizens began to improve their property, and some to build. The demand for building material led to the establishment of several new saw-mills, and in due time a new and more nearly straight road to Mont- gomery station was made. Since then a number of sub- urban homes have been made at the village. Its popu- lation, by the census of 1880, was two hundred and ninety-eight.
The Presbyterian church at Montgomery was organ- ized in 1819. Rev. Daniel Hayden was the first pastor. His successors were, in order, the Rev. Messrs. L. G. Gains, C. Harrison, David McDonald, Jonathan Ed- wards, D.D., G. M. Hair, J. Stewart, J. H. Gill, Mckinney, and T. F. Cortelym, who held the pastorate for many years after 1862.
The Methodist Episcopal society here was organized very early. It occupies a good frame meeting-house, to which a bell of half a ton's weight was added in 1873.
The Universalist church was organized in 1837, and built a church edifice soon after. The first regular preacher was the Rev. Mr. Pingley. The Rev. J. H. Henley was among his successors.
The Masonic and Odd Fellows' orders are well repre- sented in Montgomery. A lodge of the former was or- ganized here in 1828, with S. W. Robinson, W. M .; James G. Cross, S. W .; and Abraham Crist, J. W. The Odd Fellows' lodge was constituted in 1865.
The first notice of this place in literature probably oc- curs in Thomas' Travels Through the Western Country, a record of journeyings in 1816. He says in this:
At Montgomery, a village of a dozen houses, twelve miles from Cin- cinnati, we stopped to see a carding-machine which was turned by the treading of a horse on a wheel. A circular floor is attached to the up- right shaft, which is so much inclined as constantly to present to him a small ascent. He is blindfold, and his traces ale fastened to a beam. On stepping the wheel moves towards him.
Near this place peaches and apples load the trees, especially those on the hills; and this pleasing appearance continued.
About ten years after this the village was visited by an august wayfarer, in the person of his highness Bernhard, duke of Saxe-Weimar Eisenach, who deigned to give the hopeful hamlet a call and a notice in his book. His readable volume of Travels Through North America During 1825 and 1826, contains the following paragraph. His august highness, however, probably bunching his recollections together, has located Governor Jeremiah Morrow at Montgomery; when, as a matter of fact, he never lived there, but outside of the county, in Warren county, but eight miles above Montgomery and four miles from Loveland, at Foster's Crossing, near the old State road. He lies buried, however, in this county, at the old Sycamore church in Symmes township:
Fourteen miles from Cincinnati we reached a little country town- Montgomery-of very good appearance, surrounded with handsome fields. A few years past there was nothing but woods here, as the roots which still exist bear testimony. They cultivate Indian corn and wheat, which is said to succeed better here than in the State of In- diana. The dwelling of the governor consists of a plain frame house, situated on a little elevation not far from the shore of the Little Miami, and is entirely surrounded by fields. The business of the State calls him once a month to Columbus, the seat of government, and the re- mainder of his time he passes at his country seat, occupied with farm- ing, a faithful copy of an ancient Cincinnatus. He was engaged, on our arrival, in cutting a wagon-pole, but he immediately stopped his
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
work to give us a hearty welcome. He appeared to be about fifty years of age; is not tall, but thin and strong, and has an expressive physiognomy, with dark and animated eyes. He is a native of Penn- sylvania, and was one of the first settlers in the State of Ohio. He offered us a night's lodging at his house, which invitation we received very thankfully. When seated around the chimney-fire in the evening, he related to us a great many of the dangers and difficulties the first settlers had to contend with.
READING.
This, by far the largest village in Sycamore, containing nearly one-third of its entire population, is situated just east of Lockland, on the east side of the East fork of Mill creek, and upon the Dayton Short Line rail- road and the Lebanon turnpike, about one and a half miles from the south. It is one of the oldest villages in the county, having been laid out February 2, 1804, by Abram Voorhees, one of the very earliest settlers in this part of the township. It is said, indeed, that lots or small tracts of ground for residence, was offered for sale here as early as 1798 and '99. The village has been more fortunate than other old villages in the Mill Creek valley, having risen to be the most populous village in the county. In 1830 it had a population of but two hundred, but in 1860 had one thousand two hundred and thirty-five, in 1870, one thousand five hundred and seventy-five, and in 1880, one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three. No other village in the county exhib- its such a growth.
The great industry in Reading is the manufacture of ready made clothing, for which there are eleven shops here, employing more than a hundred hands, with a large weekly pay roll. Their product is disposed of mainly in Cincinnati, which is the greatest clothing mart in the world. There are also marble works, stone yards, and quarries, a cigar factory (formerly two such factories), several carriage and car manufactories, a planing mill and lumber yard, and other industries. From the founder the place took in early times the name of Vooheesetown.
In 1809 a teacher from Newport, Kentucky, subscrib -. ing himself "Robert Stubbs Philom," who was, or be- came the editor of Browne's Cincinnati Almanac, took a tour through parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the notes whereof were published in the almanacs for the next two years. As he neared Cincinnati on his return he passed through Reading, to which he gives the fol- lowing notice :
From Lebaum I passed to Reading, a town laid out on the North fork of Mill creek by Mr. Abraham Voorheese; on which account it is well known by the name of Voorheese-town. Here are two or three taverns, and about twenty houses. The adjacent country is very thick- ly settled. Mill creek is a fine stream, on which are several mills ; and the bottoms through which it flows are of a very rich soil.
The following named gentlemen have been numbered among the mayors of Reading : 1866-8, 1870-4-C. H. Helmkamp. 1869-Louis Melinda.
The Catholic church of Saints Peter and Paul, in charge of the Rev. Fathers J. Brunnan and E. Fisher, is located in Reading. Its present church edifice was built in 1860, at a cost of nine thousand dollars, upon the site of an old one, which was then torn down. A handsome pastoral residence is also owned by the church. The.
school-house belonging to the church, was built in 1863, and cost over three thousand dollars. It is occupied by a large parochial school, with four departments, and an attendance of about three hundred. The confraterni- ties of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and of the Rosary, also the Sodality of the Blessed Virgin Mary, are con- nected with the church. The Mount Notre Dame Young Ladies' Boarding School, and the Catholic Insti- tution, is situated near Reading.
The German Lutherans are also numerous in Read- ing. They have St. Paul's church, under the pastorate of the Rev. L. Buchold, and St. John's, ministered to by Rev. A. J. Spangenberg.
The pioneer church here, however, was the Presbyte- rian, which long since took its departure "beyond the Rhine," or to the west side of the canal, at Lockland, in connection with which its later history has been related. Its earlier annals, drawn from the same source, the his- torical discourse of Rev. W. A. Hutchison, are briefly as follows :
The Rev. Daniel Hayden, from 1817 to 1820, and possibly later it is thought, preached once or twice a month in a little brick school-house (sixteen by twenty- four), on the hillside in the eastern part of Reading, near or upon thepresent school lot. He resided a mile east of Read- ing. Rev. L. G. Gaines, of Montgomery, preached about as often from 1820 until the Presbyterian church of Read- ing was organized Friday, August 29, 1823, with Jehiel and Margaret Day, John and Elizabeth Robertson, Rob- ert Boal, jr., and Rebekah Bates as members, and Jehiel Day and Robert Boal, jr., as ruling elders. John Gam- bril was the first member received on profession; Ann and Jane Brecount were the second and third so re- ceived. A brick church was put up in 1825-6; the Rev. Benjamin Graves called as pastor March 25, 1827; a notable "grove meeting," held sometime after, which re- sulted in the admission of fifty-seven members at a single service, and eighteen more within the next month ; another in a grove at Sharon in 1831, where seventy-five were converted ; a colony sent off to form a church at Sharon, July 2, 1836, to which the Reading pastor also ministered; and admission into Old School and New School wings sustained in January, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, both, however, under amicable, written agreement, continued to occupy the same build- ing, and each experiencing some growth. Each, in due time, had its own meeting-house, located not far apart.
In April, 1850, the Lockland Presbyterian church was organized, as a colony from the New School society in Reading; and the main growth of that branch in the two villages being here, the two New School societies were united October 14, 1870, Rev. Dr. J. G. Montfort, with Revs. T. F. Cortelym and James F. Gill, officiating at the union. Its history has since been that of the Reading and Lockland Presbyterian church, related in the history of Springfield township. Its property in Reading was deeded to the cemetery authorities, and the receiving vault in that "God's acre" is built of brick from the old church building.
The Rev. Mr. Graves, pastor before mentioned, served
50
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
this church from the time of his call, in 1827, until 1853, with the exception of an interval 1842 -- 6, when the Revs. J. C. Lockwood and J. Wilkinson severally minis- tered unto it. Soon after his pastorate closed, the church ceased to hold services in Reading.
Meanwhile the Old School branch had successfully maintained its separate existence. It was formed Janu- ary 3, 1839, under the auspices of the Rev. L. G. Gaines, of seven members-James G. and Margaret Mount, John and Margaret McGrew, David McFarland, Maria Robertson and Agnes Gormond. Mount and McFar- land, with David Lee and John R. Dick-two of a band of eleven who joined a few days afterwards, were the first ruling elders. After ceasing to occupy the brick church jointly with their New School brethren, they met for a time in a neighboring and vacant log cabin, then in a brick dwelling owned by David Lee on Main street, and continued to meet there until 1843, when their own church building, still standing in Reading, near the site of the older Presbyterian edifice, was completed. For some years the society was united with that at Pleasant Ridge, and for three years from 1855 with the Mont- gomery Presbyterians. The church grew in numbers and influence for many years, and had not fallen seriously into decline when, following the union of the Old and New School wings at the general assemblies of 1869, the church at Reading was united with the New School branch at Lockland, October 14, 1870, under the union name of the Lockland and Reading Presbyterian church. Among the clergymen who ministered to the society dur- ing the generation of 1839 -- 70, Mr. Hutchison enumer- ates the Rev. Messrs. Adrian Aten, S. J. Miller, H. R. Naylor, Samuel Cleland, Edward Wright, Samuel Hair, C. P. Jennings, John Stewart, John McRae, L. D. and S. S. Potter, W. H. Moore and James McGill. The last named of these was in the pastorate at the time of the union, and ministered for several months to the united congregation. He had been in charge of the Reading church as long before as 1853, but resigned to enter the service of the board of missions, and did not resume his pastorate until January, 1866. Since his retirement in 1871, the pastors of the church have been but two-the Revs. W. A. Hutchinson and S. C. Palmer. The rest of the story has been told in the history of Springfield township.
SHARONVILLE
is situated on the Short Line railway, at the point where it crosses the East fork of Mill creek, two miles distant from the north and west lines of the township, respect- ively, at the southeast corner of section thirty. It is also an ancient village, having been laid out May 30, 1818, by Messrs. Josephus Myers, Simon Hagerman, Philemon Mills and Abijah Johns. It had ninety-five inhabitants in 1830, and by the last census, taken half a century, had a population of four hundred and sixty-nine. The post office, anciently Sharonville, was discontinued some time before 1840, but has since been restored under the same name. The Sharon Improvement company was formed about 1875, for the improvement and sale of a subdivision of a tract of about four hundred acres ad-
joining this place, the property of Mrs. Catharine S. Anderson. It has not yet manifested much activity, however.
THE CENSUS
of 1830 showed up a population of two thousand seven hundred and seventy-nine in Sycamore township. Fifty years later, in June, 1880, it made a footing of six thou- sand three hundred and seventy-one, against six thou- sand five hundred and eighty-four in 1870.
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