USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 64
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The first hewed log house in Anderson township was built near Newtown on the premises now occupied by Mr. E. J. Turpin, by Isaac and David Jones, immigrants from Hampshire county, Virginia.
A stone building was erected at Newtown in 1813 for the use of the Methodist Episcopal church. When a new meeting-house was put up on the same site in 1861, the stones used for this basement were taken from the old building. Rev. John Strange was the first circuit- rider to serve the Methodist charge here. The Revs. Philip and James Gatch, and other pioneers of Method- ism in the Miami valley, also often preached here. "Mother Jones" is remembered as the first Methodist woman in or near the place.
Newtown has also a Regular Baptist and a Universal- ist church, the latter which contains also an Odd Fellows' hall.
The fine school-house now occupied, was erected in 1860, and received an addition in 1880. It contains five school-rooms, three of which are occupied. The princi- pal of the school is Mr. J. C. Heywood, who has held his place with much acceptance for several years.
The first school-house in the place stood at no great distance from this one. One of the earliest teachers here was Eli Davis, a native of Salem, New Jersey, who removed to Hamilton county from Lexington, Kentucky, and taught school for several years with marked success, as he was thorough in discipline and scholarship. He won equal popularity as a justice of the peace, in which capacity he served for several years. In 1808 he married Ruth Long, and after a further residence of four years at Newtown, he removed to Union township, Clermont county, where his remaining years were spent.
At one of the early fourth of July celebrations in New- town, Colonel Clayton Webb was the reader of the Decla- ration of Independence, and Mr. William de Courcy, of Clough creek, was orator of the day.
Newtown has a population of four hundred and twen- ty-seven, by the census of 1880.
MOUNT WASHINGTON.
The advantages of this locality, as a suburban resi- dence for business men of Cincinnati, were early appa- rent. It occupies one of the highest tracts of land in the county, and at some points commands views stretching along the river valleys five miles in each direction. The highland reaches westward almost to the banks of the Little Miami. King's Pocket-book of Cincinnati says of this place :
It is noted for its beautiful rolling private grounds, perfect drainage, and consequent good health; also for its fine avenue of evergreens and deciduous trees, with probably the finest collection of magnolias in the
county. It has a town hall, a fine graded public school, young ladies' seminary, and three churches."
The original village of Mount Washington was laid off in 1838 by James C. Ludlow; but large additions have since been made to it. The municipality was incorpo- rated November 14, 1867, and it has since had a full vil- lage organization, with mayor, common council, board of health, etc. Captain Benneville Kline was mayor for several years, in the earlier day of its corporate existence.
About 1840 the post office of Mount Washington was established, that at Salem, or "Mears," a mile distant, upon which the inhabitants had chiefly depended for their mails, being vacated in favor of the new one. S. J. Sutton, the merchant of the place, was the first post- master, and his clerk and deputy, Mr. W. B. Dunham, then filled the post for twenty-five years, from 1852 to 1876, when he was succeeded by the present incumbent, Mr. John Roell.
Mr. Dunham was also one of the early school-teachers in this region, having taught in a country school-house upon the site of the present public school building, as long ago as 1836. While postmaster he did also a gen- eral merchandizing business, and is still living, retired from business, at his old home in Mount Washington. One of his sons, Mr. J. H. Dunham, perpetuates in a manner his services to education, by printing the Public School Journal, an educational monthly magazine edited in Cincinnati by Professor Wilson, of the public schools, and published by Messrs. Henley & Chadwick, of that city. Mr. Dunham's printing-office and the Mount Wash- ington Canning company, a large establishment previ- ously mentioned in these notes, now furnish the chief industries of the place.
The present school-house, upon a site occupied for fifty years for purposes of education, was erected under the auspices of the Odd Fellows' organization to some extent. The schools occupy four rooms under the charge of Mr. A. W. Williamson, principal.
A Methodist Protestant church was erected here in 1861, a small, plain, frame building, and was used more or less continuously, by this and the Baptist denomination, until about 1872, when it was abandoned. A Catholic congregation here, together with one each at Newtown, California, and Columbia, is served by the Rev. Father B. Engbers. The Methodist Episcopal church here is ministered to, at this writing, by the Rev. John H. Story.
We append a sketch of the Mount Washington Baptist church, kindly furnished by its pastor, the Rev. B. F. Harmon :
This church began its life in 1866 as a mission of the Columbia Bap- tist church, under the direction of its pastor, Rev. B. F. Harmon. Its meetings were held at first on Sunday afternoons in the Protestant Methodist church, which was hired for the purpose. The mission grew steadily in interest and numbers until 1869, when it was constituted into a separate church, and was recognized by a large council composed of the pastors and representatives of the city churches and others in the vicinity. Great interest and unanimity marked the sessions of the council. The church immediately called to its pastorate the Rev. B. F. Harmon, who has remained with it continuously to the present time. The same year was distinguished by the dedication of a new church building. It is a two-story brick edifice, and is accounted a model of taste and beauty. The church property is valued at ten thousand dol- lars, is free from debt, and an ornament to the beautiful village in
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
which it is located. Several extensive revivals have occurred in the his- tory of the church, and its growth has been steady and healthful.
One of the most notable citizens of Mount Washing- ton, in the present generation, was Dr. Leonard W. Bishop, a native of Cheviot, in Green township, but who removed to this locality in 1849, to practice medicine. It was a terrible cholera year, and he soon found abun- dant opportunity for professional activity. He was a thoroughly public-spirited man, and one of his projects was that of a fine academy in the place. During the war he was secretary of the Anderson township relief society, of which Captain Kline was president, and aided to keep the township clear of all drafts and to disburse large sums for the assistance of soldiers' families. After the battle of Pittsburgh Landing a large meeting of citi- zens of the township was held at Mount Washington, to consider the best means of sending relief to the two com- panies from the township that were in that hard-fought action. Dr. Bishop was unanimously deputed to go to the front with suitable supplies for the Anderson men, and to bring back their dead, sick and wounded. At Cincinnati he fell in with Dr. Comegys, of that city, who was about to leave for Pittsburgh Landing in an of- ficial capacity, and was by him appointed a surgeon on his staff, which gave him superior facilities of movement within the lines of the army. He found the Anderson companies, and promptly relieved their wants. Within two weeks he had fulfilled his mission, and returned with his precious charge of disabled and dead heroes. At another large meeting held after his return, he received a unanimous vote of thanks on behalf of the people of Anderson township, which was all the compensation he asked or received for his services. He was thereafter often summoned to Cincinnati to assist the army sur- geons in the work of the hospitals. After the war he removed to Mount Carmel, in Clermont county, where we believe he now resides.
The Rev. Francis McCormick, formerly a neighbor of Rev. Philip Gatch, on the East fork of the Miami, and, like him, one of the pioneer preachers of Methodism in the Northwest Territory, spent his last days near Mount Washington, whither he removed in 1806. He was an old Revolutionary soldier, who had served under Lafay- ette at Yorktown. At his cabin beyond the East fork, in 1797, it is said the first Methodist class organized in Ohio was formed.
The people of Mount Washington formerly reached the city principally by omnibus to the Little Miami rail- road at Plainville, and thence by rail; but since 1878 they have been more conveniently served by the Cincin- nati & Portsmouth narrow-gauge railroad, which has a station half a mile below the village. The place had three hundred and ninety-three inhabitants in the year 1880.
CALIFORNIA.
This place, sometimes erroneously called Caledonia in old documents, was laid out in 1849, by Joseph Guth- rie, John W. Brown, and Thomas J. Murdock, in the southwest part of the township, upon the Ohio river, about a mile below the mouth of the Little Miami, and
upon Bennett Tompkins' survey number three hundred and sixty-five, one of the first, as has been noted, to be settled in the township. The place is about eight miles from Fountain Square, in the city of Cincinnati, which furnishes it with a goodly share of its residents, and also the opportunity for some manufacturing to_ advantage. The first business of importance here was the Molders' Union foundry, which was established on the co-opera- tive plan while the town was stili new, by a number of striking stove-molders from Cincinnati. Mr. James C. C. Hollenshade, a prominent citizen connected with the business, had warmly espoused their cause, and was em- ployed to conduct their enterprise at California. They organized a regular corporation, of which he was made president and business agent. He opened the stock- books for the molders, subscriptions of stock to be paid in work, and Mr. Hollenshade relying upon his own credit to secure the means for building the foundry, pro- curing the necessary machinery and stock, and running it until money was in the treasury of the company for his repayment. This he successfully accomplished, and ran the establishment to satisfaction the first year, paying the full bill of prices as stipulated to all the workmen. He then resigned to go into the wrought-iron and hard- ware business in Cincinnati; and the enterprise in due time went the way of nearly all similar undertakings. The prospects of the place since, however, have at times looked up quite bravely; and in 1871 (May 1) the Cali- fornia Building and Savings Association, No. I, filed its certificate of incorporation in the secretary of State's office at Columbus, for operations at this point. The Richmond turnpike passes this place, as also the pro- jected line of the Ohio River & Virginia railway, and the Cincinnati & Portsmouth narrow-gauge has a station but a mile distant. St. Jerome's church (Catholic), supplied, as before noted, by the Rev. Father Engbers, is located here. The tenth census allows the village three hundred and seventy-six people.
OTHER POST OFFICES.
The post offices of the township, not already indicated, are Cedar Point, Fruit Hill, Cherry Grove, Pleasant Val- ley, and Sweet Wine. The first-named of these is of very recent establishment, and has Mr. R. A. Shannon for postmaster. It was formerly Taylor's Corners at the junction of the road from Mount Washington to the Ohio turnpike, and takes its present name from the fine cedar trees at the point of junction. These were planted by Mr. Taylor, an Englishman who settled there about 1845, and put up a large frame building for a grocery store and residence. This locality became celebrated far and wide, especially for its beautiful garden and grounds, and was long maintained by its proprietor, who finally sold it and removed to the west. Sweet Wine takes its unique name from one of the chief products of the colony of Germans in the southeast of the township, who are mainly its patrons.
POPULATION.
The population of Anderson township, by the census of 1880, was four thousand, one hundred and forty-one,
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
against four thousand and seventy-seven ten years before. A comparative statement of the number of its inhabit- ants, during the several years in which the federal census
has been taken, will be found, as in the case of other townships of Hamilton county, at the close of chapter X, in the first part of this work.
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
THE TURPIN FAMILY.
Three brothers came from Yorkshire, England, prob- ably in the seventeenth century, and settled in Chester- field county, Virginia. One of them was Philip, father of Thomas Turpin, who married Obedience, daughter of Martha (Goode), a branch of the famous Goode family, in the Old Dominion. He was father of Thomas, jr., who was wedded to Mary Jefferson, a lady reported to have been of the blood of the great Monticello statesman. They were parents of a family of ten children, among whom were two Philips. The first died young ; the second survived to manhood, married Caroline Rose, became a physician in and near Richmond, Virginia, and the "Dr. Turpin" whose name is identified with the early settle- ment of Anderson township. He never was a proprietor here, and never visited the Miami country; but was as- signee of an extensive "army right," or land-warrant (No. 1007) granted to John Crittenden, a lieutenant "in the Virginia Line on Continental Establishment,"-that is, in the Revolutionary war-in consideration of military services. The following, the original of which is in the possession of E. J. Turpin, esq., is the primal document in the case:
On February 7, 1785.
I hereby acknowledge having sold unto Doctor Phillips Turpen my military right, consisting of two thousand six hundred sixty-six and two-third acres, meaning the warrant, the expenses of which he is to defray, and which I hereby oblige myself, my heirs, exers and admin- itrs. to make a right so soon as such right can be made.
I also acknowledge the receipt of seventy-three pounds for the same out of the sum of one hundred pounds, which is the sum agreed on. Given under my hand.
JOHN CRITTENDEN.
Test
FRANCIS HARRIS.
Among the children of Dr. Turpin was Philip Turpin, his only son, he having two daughters besides. To him, at about the time he attained his majority, the father presented, by assignment, the right to one thousand acres in the Virginia military district, under the Crittenden warrant. Young Philip made several trips on horseback, near the close of the century, to and from the Miami valley, sometimes visiting Lieutenant Crittenden at Lexington (this was the father of John J. Crittenden, the celebrated lawyer and statesman); and finally, it is believed in the year 1797, he set his pioneer stakes down upon the rich tract below Newtown subsequently patented to him, and began improvement on it. After a few years he removed to the Kentucky shore for a more healthful location, and resided on the hills opposite the mouth of the Little Miami. In 1799, October 9, his patent to the Survey No. 416, upon which he had located, for one thousand acres, was granted and signed by John Adams, President of the United States and Timothy Pickering, Secretary of State. Mr. Turpin was married in 1807, to Miss Mary Smith, of a family that had just immigrated to Kentucky from New York. His father was a slave-holder at the old home, and shortly after his marriage sent out to him a young colored girl named
Gracie, as a house-servant. This woman, now Mrs. Wat- kins, is still living in the family of E. J. Turpin, and is supposed to be eighty-eight to ninety years old. She was at the time of her arrival the only colored person in the neighborhood, and was naturally a great curiosity.
Mr. Turpin spent five to six years upon the Kentucky hills, where his first children, Philip and Ebenezer, were born, and he then removed to his Anderson farm. In 1824 he erected the well known Turpin mill, a large flouring establishment, upon the site of the old mill of the Holleys at that point, about a quarter of a mile below the present Union bridge, probably at the same place where the floating mill of Wickerham was anchored in the pioneer days. He conducted this mill, as well as farming operations. In the mill he was in partnership for the first five years with his brother-in-law, Aaron Foulk, who was a practical millwright and miller, and had superintended the construction and starting of the mill. Mr. Turpin also, about 1826 or 1827, built a small distillery on Clough creek, one mile from the mill, which he carried on for three or four years, and then left it to the management of his sons. He remained in the mill- ยท ing business, however, until the time of his death, in 1834. He built the original family mansion at Union bridge, of which the present mansion, occupied by the younger Philip Turpin, is an enlargement. The mother died in August, 1851. They left children as follows:
Philip Parmell, born November 18, 1804; died June 24, 1818.
Ebenezer Smith, born May 30, 1808; married Amanda Melvina, daughter of Major John Armstrong, of Plain- ville, January 19, 1831 ; died September 15, 1879.
Caroline Matilda Rozenia, born May 13, 1810; over- turned with several others in a skiff crossing the Little Miami at Round Bottom ford, July 3, 1822, and drowned.
Edward Johnson, born at the old home in Anderson township May 6, 1814; further noticed below.
Mary Margaret, born May 20, 1816; died September 8, 1816.
Philip Parmell, born August 5, 1818; married Nancy Campbell Johnston September 24, 1846; died Septem- ber 29, 1848.
Robert Carmichael, born September 3, 1820; married Frances Mary Stewart September 23, 1846; died of con- sumption, while travelling in the south for his health, on board the steamship Galveston, near the Balize, Decem- ber 22, 1847.
Mary Caroline, born November 6, 1822; died while at school in Augusta, Kentucky, July 19, 1839.
Aaron Foulk, born June 24, 1827; died September 16, 1851.
Edward J. Turpin, born at the time and place above noticed, spent his early years at home, receiving his educa- tion in the schools of that neighborhood, except during a few months' attendance, shortly after his father's death, at Woodward college, Cincinnati, when the Rev. Dr. B. P. Ayzelott was president and Dr. Joseph Ray was pro- fessor of mathematics. Returning to the farm, he en- gaged in its labors, and after his father's death leased the interest of his brothers in the mill and managed it for
HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
three or four years, also conducting the distillery for some time before he took the mill, but relinquishing it before his connection with the mill ceased. In the spring of 1 844 he left the mill altogether and bought the fine place he now occupies half a mile south of Newtown, upon which he erected the spacious mansion in which he dwells, somewhat remodelled of later years. Here he has lived the tranquil life of a successful and independent farmer, unvexed by public affairs or party squabbles. He has, however, been a staunch Republican since the party sprang into being, and was a Free Soiler from the time of the Van Buren campaign, and takes a cordial interest in the success of his party when elections are pending. He is unconnected with any religious, secret, or benevo- lent society, except the Newtown Grange of Patrons of Husbandry.
Mr. Turpin was married May 29, 1839, to Miss Chris- tina, daughter of Mathias Kugler, of the pioneer family that settled early in the century near Camp Denison, and of Elizabeth (Waldsmith) Kugler, daughter of the famous miller and land-owner of that settlement. She is still living. They have had eight children, all of whom survive save one.
Hon. Ebenezer S. Turpin was identified with the growth of Hamilton county for more than half a century. He was born, as noted above, May 30, 1808, and died at his home in Anderson township, half a mile north of Newtown, September 15, 1879. In his early life. he at- tended Wing's academy in Cincinnati, upon the present site of the Gazette office, and in due time was associated with his father and his brother Edward in the mill below Union Bridge, the two brothers continu- ing in the business together after the decease of the eld- er Turpin. This was abandoned, however, in 1868, when the mill was demolished, the back-water from the Ohio having destroyed the power. He had previously carried on for a number of years a distillery near New- town, and engaged in other business, most of which was successful and realized him a handsome fortune. He settled on a valuable farm in the vicinity adjoining that of his brother Edward, upon which he erected a hand- some dwelling, and resided there at the time of his death. In 1855, at the earnest personal solicitation of Judge Long and the Hon. William Corry, he became a candidate for the legislature on the Democratic ticket, and was elected, serving for one term. He made a faith- ful and successful member, but steadfastly refused to enter public life thereafter. He was a Democrat, how- ever, to the end of his days. The Cincinnati Daily En- quirer, in an obituary notice of Mr. Turpin, said:
His personal character was in the highest degree honorable, He was a kind husband and father, a good neighbor and faithful citizen. His benevolence was only equaled by his honesty and probity in busi- ness matters, and many young men received their start in life from him. He had a kind word for everybody, was unostentatious in his manners, and a kind master and friend.
About two years ago Mr. Turpin received a stroke of paralysis, which made him an invalid ever since. The cause of his death, however, was a pulmonary affection.
The children of Ebenezer S. and Amanda (Arm- strong) Turpin numbered eleven, three sons and eight daughters. Among them, still surviving, are Estus K.,
the subject of a notice below; Philip T., who resides at the old homestead, near the Union Bridge; Margaret, now wife of Hon. James S. Gordon, of the Washington Republic (formerly of the Post), and a prominent journal- ist of the capital; Lella, the oldest daughter, who married Dr. W. P. Elston, a physician of Columbia, Hamilton county, both now dead; Lizzie, married Major Wil- liam E. Jones, of Cincinnati, and deceased three weeks after marriage; Theresa, wife of E. E. Hulderson, esq., formerly prosecuting attorney, and himself now deceased, and Luella, wife of Charles B. Russell, treasurer of the Cincinnati gas company.
Estus K. Turpin was born in the paternal residence, which he now owns and occupies, July 18, 1840. He was trained in the public schools of Cincinnati and in the private academy kept by Professor Andrew J. Rickoff. Returning to the farm at the age of twenty-one, he un- dertook the management of it, in consequence of his father's failing health, and has remained a farmer upon this place ever since, as manager or owner. In April, 1875, he was elected a member of the county board of control upon the Democratic ticket, and re-elected three years afterwards, running several hundred votes ahead of his ticket, which was at that time generally in the minor- ity. Although a public officer, he does not take any more time for politics than is the business of a good citi- zen, and is by no means a professional office-seeker. He is.still unmarried, devoting himself so far to the care of his aged mother and the management of his estate.
WILLIAM EDWARDS, SR.
The Edwards family is of Welsh ancestry. Samuel Edwards was the first to emigrate from the old world home, not far from the middle of the last century. He was somewhat of a roving disposition, and made his way alone to America, where he settled in New Jersey, prob- ably as a farmer, as his son, Isaac, the father of the sub- ject of this sketch, was after him. His other son, John, went to New York city and engaged in business there until the fatal period of the prevalence of yellow fever, which swept him and his entire family into the grave. These were the only children except one daughter, Eliz- abeth, who became Mrs. Seth Ray, of Milford, Cler- mont county, Ohio. Their mother was Mrs. Rose, of New Jersey, who had Mr. Edwards for her second hus- band. He died in New Jersey, and his wife long after, at the pioneer home in Anderson township, about 1810, aged more than eighty years. She was then residing with her son Isaac, who had come from New Jersey to the Miami country in 1805, landing - first in Cincinnati, but going without unnecessary delay to a tract he had purchased upon and near the present site of Newberry, Clermont county. He found the land unsuited to his purposes and only stayed upon it two years, removing then to the southward upon the farm now occupied by his son Edward, adjoining the homestead of William Edwards. Here the remainder of his life was spent in the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, during twenty years,
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