USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > History of Hamilton County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches > Part 79
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The township is, however, abundantly watered in the southwest corner by the headwater of Lick run; along the southern tiers of townships and in the southwest by Cow run and its main stream, Muddy creek, the upper tributaries of which rise in the central sections of the township; in the west and northwest by Taylor's creek, and the south fork of Taylor's creek, with their numerous tributaries, some of which extend more than half way across the northern part of the township and some dis- tance into Colerain township; and along the eastern slopes by several petty streams which send their waters to Mill creek.
By far the larger part of Green township, being in the interior and somewhat remote from any large stream, is elevated to the general level of the Hamilton county an- cient plateau. That part, the northwestern, which ap- proaches the Great Miami, is low and very fertile, and otherwise shares the characteristics of the Miami valley.
Toward the opposite corner of the township, on the south, as the Ohio is neared, in the valley of Muddy creek, as at some other points in the township, the hills become abrupt, and command many fine views. The numerous valleys created by the water-courses render the scenery exceedingly picturesque; and many attractive building sites have been occupied in the Lick run and other valleys. Much of the territory of Green is deemed specially suited for suburban residence. Over three and a half sections in the southeastern part of the town- ship, mostly near the line of the narrow-guage railroad, has been laid off for the suburb of Westwood; and the eastern half of sections five and six, in the northeastern corner, has been appropriated by the suburb of Mount Airy, the remainder of which lies in Mill Creek township. There is an unusual number of villages in the township -as Cheviot, Dent, Bridgetown, Weisenburgh, St. Ja- cob's, Sheartown, Covedale, Five Corners, Dry Ridge, and others.
Some of the most interesting and attractive drives in the county are through this township, upon the Cleves and Harrison turnpike, the Colerain pike, a mile of whose course lies through the northeastern corner, and other important roads, some of which lie, as in the newer States settled upon Congress lands, on the section lines. The Cincinnati & Westwood narrow-gauge railway lies mostly in Green township, and is at present the only iron road within its limits. Starting at Ernst Station, on the Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroad, in the city, it comes up the valley of Lick run, from which it soon di- verges to reach the higher ground, across which it runs for more than three miles in a general northwesterly di- rection, stopping for the present at Robb's, near Bridge- town. The projected Cincinnati & Venice railway, if built upon the surveyed line, will enter the township from the north at St. Jacob's, proceed nearly due south four miles, and intersect this road just south of Cheviot.
THE EARLY HISTORY
of this township is somewhat peculiar. It was originally the tract reserved by Judge Symmes for himself as the nearest entire township to the peninsula between the Great Miami and the Ohio rivers. He withheld it from sale for a number of years, but seems to have made, March 12, 1788, a contract with Dr. Elias Bondinot, of New Jersey, one of his partners, for the transfer of half of it to him. Symmes afterwards resisted the perform- ance of the contract, having in view the apportionment of this as the college township in the Purchase; but he was unable to secure the acceptance of it, and specific performance of the contract with Bondinot was decreed
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
by the United States court for the District of Pennsyl- vania, at the May term, 1802, compelling him to execute and deliver a deed in fee simple for an undivided moiety of the township. The pendency of this litigation some years before had formed one of the reasons for the re- fusal of the various authorities to whom it was offered to accept it as a college township. It was, indeed, accord- ing to the judge's own statement, in one of his letters making the offer, agreed to change the arrangement by which he reserved it for himself, and parcel it out among twenty-four proprietors, among whom Bondinot was prominent, upon each paying one-twenty-fourth of the purchase money to Congress-an arrangement which does not seem to have been ultimately carried out. But, says the judge, "for this cause [the township] lay unre- served and unsurveyed until the passage of the act of the fifth of May, 1792, giving one entire township for the use of an academy." It was at that date the only one which had not been broken by sales; and perhaps to this fact, and the lateness of its survey, it owes the beautiful regularity of its territorial lines, surpassing that of any other part of the Purchase, although not here entirely perfect in places. It is, as is well known, the only even square, thirty-six section township (municipality) in the Purchase.
The contract with Bondinot may be seen by the curi- ous in a copy engrossed in the records of Hamilton county, Book B, pp. 107-9.
The following is the extract from Judge Symmes' pam- phlet, Terms of Sale and Settlement of Miami Lands, published in Trenton in 1788, in which he makes the reservation of this and other townships in this part of the county :
The subscriber hopes that the respectable public will not think it un- reasonable in him, when he informs them that the only privilege which he reserves for himself, as a small reward for his trouble in this busi- ness, is the exclusive right of electing or locating that entire township which will be lowest down in the point of land formed by the Ohio and Great Miami rivers, and those three fractional parts of townships which may lie north, west, and south, between such entire township and the waters of the Ohio and Great Miami. This point of land the sub- scriber intends paying for himself, and thereon to lay out a handsome town plat, with eligible streets, etc., etc.
THE "COLLEGE TOWNSHIP."
An impression quite general prevails, even among well- informed local historians, that Green was the "College township" in the Miami Purchase; and we have been misled by the common statement in our history of the Purchase, in the first division of this work. But it could not have been at any time the College township. That, as originally set apart by Symmes, and so marked on his map of the Purchase, to be given in perpetuity for the purposes of an academy or college, was that complete township, in the words of his Terms of Sale and Settle- ment, "as nearly opposite the mouth of the Licking river as an entire township may be found eligible in point of soil and situation." We have been unable to identify this township. It could hardly have been the old Mill Creek township, since that was not cntire, being cut by the Ohio river at the southeastern corner. It was obviously, however, somewhere in this tier of townships, since the original boundaries of Colerain township, defined in 1794,
prescribed its eastern limit as the meridian on the west- ern line of the College township, which is the western boundary of Mill Creek, Springfield, and the tier of town- ships to which they belong.
Green, however, was the College township in the inten- tion of Judge Symmes, for he made very strenuous efforts to have it accepted as such by the Territorial, State, or Federal authorities. As a matter of fact, there never was a College township in the Purchase. The following ex- tract from Judge Burnet's Notes on the Settlement of the Northwestern Territory will make this clear:
As the facts relating to the College township, mentioned in the origi- nal proposition of Judge Symmes to Congress, are not generally known or understood, it may be proper here to state them concisely.
The ordinance under which the early sales of the public domain were made did not authorize a grant of college lands to purchasers of a less quantity than two millions of acres. The original proposition of Mr. Symmes, being for that quantity, would have entitled him to the benefit of the grant, had it been carried into effect. It was therefore stated in his pamphlet containing the terms of sale and settlement, that a College township had been given, and located as nearly opposite the mouth of Licking river, as an entire township could be found, eligible in point of soil and situation. The selection of that township was made in good faith on one of the best tracts in the Purchase, and was marked on his map as the College township. It was situated opposite the mouth of Licking, and was reserved from sale for the purpose intended until it was ascertained that the agents appointed to close the contract with the Government, under the powers given in the letter of attorney, had relinquished one-half of the quantity proposed to be purchased by Mr. Symmes; and, as a matter of course, had relinquished also his claim to a College township. After that relinquishment, he erased the entry made on that township on his map, as he had a right to do, and offered it for sale. As it was one of the best in the Purchase, it was soon entirely disposed of. The matter remained in that situation till 1792, when the judge applied to Congress, as is stated above, to change the boundaries of his Purchase, and grant him a patent for as much land as he was then able to pay for. When the bill for that purpose was before Congress, General Dayton, the agent of Mr. Symmes, and then a very influential member of the House, introduced a section authorizing the President to convey to Mr. Symmes and his associates one entire township, in trust, for the purpose of establishing an acad- emy and other schools of learning, conformably to the ordinance of Congress of second of October, 1787, to be located, with the approba- tion of the governor for the time being, of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, within the term of five years, as nearly as may be, in the centre of the tract of land granted by the patent.
The fact was that, under that ordinance, the right to the township had been lost, by relinquishing half the quantity of his proposed pur- chase; yet from some cause, either from a want of correct information or a disposition to be generous, the provision was retained and became a part of the law. At that time there was not an entire township in the Purchase undisposed of; portions of each and all of them had been sold by Mr. Symmes, after his right to college lands had been lost, and before the laws of 1792 had renewed the claim. It was not, therefore, in his power to make the appropriation required.
The matter remained in that situation till the first territorial legisla- ture was elected in 1799. Mr. Symmes, then feeling the embarrassment of his situation, and aware that the subject would be taken up by that body, made a written proposition to the governor of the territory, offer- ing the second township of the second fractional range [Green township] for the purpose of a college. The governor, on examination, found that Mr. Symmes had sold an undivided moiety of that township for a valuable consideration, in 1788, four years before the right to a College township existed; that the purchaser had filed a bill in the circuit court of the United States for the district of Pennsylvania, to obtain a specific performance of his contract; and that the judge had also sold small portions of the same township to other persons, who then held written contracts for the same in the form of deeds. As a matter of course, the township was rejected by the governor.
Soon after that occurrence, the subject was brought before the territo- rial legislature at the instance of Mr. Symmes, who repeated the offer to them. They also refused to receive it, for the same reasons which had been assigned by the governor, as appeared from the journal of that body. A similar refusal, for the same reasons, was subsequently
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
made by the State legislature, to whom it was again offered by the judge. Not satisfied with these repeated refusals, in 1802-3 he offered the same township to Congress for the same purpose. His proposition was referred to a committee of that body, who, after hearing his own ex parte statement of the facts relating to the township, were fully satis- fied that it could not be held for the purpose for which it was offered; and, therefore, they refused to receive it.
It was affirmed in the written communication of Judge Symmes to Congress, very correctly, the Miami Purchase did not obtain a right to college lands till the law of 1792 was passed; that, prior to that time, he had sold large portions of every township in the Purchase, as he had a right to do; that the township he then offered had not been reserved for a college, but to be sold and disposed of, for his own personal bene- fit; and that he had sold large portions of it as early as 1788, but that those sales, in his opinion, were void.
Some persons had the charity to believe that, when he first proposed that township for the use of a college, it was his intention to purchase out the claimants, which he probably might have done, at the time the law passed making the grant, on fair and reasonable terms; but he omitted to do so till that arrangement became impracticable, and until his embarrassements rendered it impossible for him to make any re- muneration to Congress or the people of the Miami Purchase.
The remainder of Judge Burnet's account of the Col- lege township has no relation to the subject of this chap- ter. It merely outlines the legislation and appointment of commissioners, whereby a selection of thirty-six sec- tions, or the equivalent of a township, was made for the foundation of a university, but necessarily outside of the Miami Purchase, on the Congress lands west of the Great Miami; the establishment of Miami university at first at Lebanon, Warren county, in the Symmes Purchase, as directed by State law; and its final establishment un- der another law, with the endowment of lands aforesaid, outside the limits of the Purchase, upon such of the college lands as lay where now is Oxford, Butler county, and where a mere shadow of the university is still main- tained.
THE FORMATION
of Green township is not clearly settled, as to date and circumstances. It is held, however, to have been set off in 1809, with its regular boundaries as now, correspond- ing with those of the surveyed township.
TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.
The justices of the peace, during some of the years of the history of Green township, were as follows: Wil- liam Benson, William J. Carson, 1819, Mahlon Brown, Adam Moore, John Martin, 1829; James Eppley, John Gaines, Thomas Wills, 1865-6; John Eppley, Thomas Wills, E. L. Agin, 1867-9; James Eppley, Thomas Wills, William M. Robb, 1870; James Eppley, William M. Robb, John Ritt, 1871-2; James Eppley, Thomas Wills, L. D. Hern, 1873-8; James Eppley, Thomas Wills, J. W. Dunn, 1879; Thomas Wills, J. W. Dunn, O. J. Wood, 1880.
NOTES OF SETTLEMENT.
William D. Goforth lives about one and a half miles south of Cheviot, in Green township, with an only daughter. The wife, now dead, was Miss Sallie Gordon, whose ancestry is traceable to Lord George Gordon, 'of Scotland. She died April 4, 1878. Mr. Goforth is de- scended from distinguished stock. His grandfather, Judge William Goforth, born April 1, 1731, was appointed a member of the State legislature and was judge of the Northwestersn Territory, then comprising the district of
Ohio. He came to Ohio in 1788, and died in 1805. His own father, Dr. William Goforth, was surgeon of the army in the War of 1812, and was also a member of the legislature of Louisiana, where he went in 1803, and came back to Ohio in 1816. His oldest son served in the capacity of lieutenant, and William D., then a lad of fifteen years, witnessed the engagement between the forces of Generals Jackson and Packenham at New Or- leans. He also served under Scott in the Mexican war, as ensign, and planted the colors on the Mexican capitol. During the late war he carried the colors of the Fifth Ohio cavalry when they made the attack on the Louisi- ana Tigers at Shiloh. He was offered the pay and rank of a major, both of which he refused. He was crippled at Shiloh by his horse throwing him against a tree. His own son was in forty-seven engagements.
Rev. Samuel J. Browne was born at Honiton, Eng- land, in 1786, and emigrated to this country in 1796 with his father, Rev. John W. Browne, who settled first at Chilicothe, Ohio, and afterward, in 1798, at Cincin- nati, and a few years later was drowned in the Little Miami river while returning from one of his appoint- ments to preach in that neighborhood. His son, Samuel J. Browne, learned the printing business with Nathaniel Willis, and in 1804 started the Liberty Hall newspaper, afterwards the Cincinnati Gazette, and in 1824 the Cin- cinnati Emporium, afterwards the first daily paper of large size printed in Cincinnati. Through his instigation and pecuniary aid his son, J. W. S. Browne, and his son- in-law, L. S. Curtiss, originated and placed on a paying basis the Cincinnati Daily Commercial. He early per- ceived the growing tendencies of his adopted city, and was among the first to show his faith by frequent invest- ments in real estate in the city and its suburbs. In 1830 he purchased the late Browne homestead, consisting of twenty-five acres on the north side of the Miami canal, opposite Baymiller street, and erected thereon a fine residence which he occupied until his death.
Mr. Browne was twice married. His first wife, a most estimable and handsome English lady, was wooed and won while Mr. Browne was on a visit to his brother in England, and by whom he had seven children, three of whom still survive. His second wife was a daughter of the late Dr. E. A. Atlee, a lady of sweet disposition and most amiable character, by whom he had five children, of whom three are still Ilving. Mr. Browne pursued a most active life, retaining both mental and physical vigor to within a short period of his death, which occurred in September, 1872, at the ripe old age of eighty-five years.
Samuel W. Carson of Cheviot, mail agent of the Great Eastern railroad from Cincinnati to Chicago, is the oldest member of his father's family, and was born January 1, 1816. In 1850 he went to California, being gone five years, and returning via Panama railroad, coming across the isthmus on the first train over that line. During the war he was provost marshal and afterwards for two years was revenue collector. In 1856 he was assigned a posi- tion in the mail service on the Great Eastern railroad from Cincinnati to Chicago, which position he still re- tains. Mr. Carson is a descendant from a remarkable
E. D. CROOKSHANK, M. D.
E. D. Crookshank, M. D., of Cheviot, and a well known citizen and physician of the county, was of Scotch descent and born in New York city April 28, 1807. His father, Nathaniel C., was born in Scotland September 27, 1772; was a physician; a man fond of letters and sci- entific researches, making the subject of natural history a specialty. He gave the subject of geology particular attention, and prepared manuscripts that should be put into book form. The inconveniences of the printing business in his day precluded the luxury of making many books, otherwise we would have something probably more tangible relating to the man. He also became proficient in mathematics, and after his coming to Hamilton county we hear of his making scientific surveys. He also surveyed the ground for the Cincinnati, Brookville and Harrison pike.
About the year 1800 he left Scotland and settled in New York city, where he married a Miss Mary Dickerson, of Ulster county, Pennsy- vania. The fruits of this union were seven children: Jane Wiley, whose husband, now deceased, was an old resident of the county; Fidelia, now dead; William Cullum, a soldier in the Mexican war, but now dead also; Na- thaniel, a lawyer in Sullivan, Illinois; Erasmus D., subject of this sketch; Martha (dead), and Juliette, wife of Dr. Williams, of College Hill-both dead. Jane, Juliette, and Erasmus D. were born in New York, Erasmus being about four years of age when his father removed to Cincinnati, com- ing to Pittsburgh in wagons and from there to the city in flat-boats. The family did not remain long in Cincin- nati, but again removed, going to a farm twenty-two miles from Harrison, where they lived five years, and in 1817 moved into the town where Dr. Crook- shank spent most of his early life. He attended the schools of Millville and graduated in the high school course under David D. Monfort, after which he took a course of medicine under the instruction of his father, and was examined and authorized to practice his profession by the board of medical examiners of Cincinnati-a method then in vogue, but abolished during the latter days of the society and just before the advent of the Ohio Medical college of Cincinnati.
About this time-April 4, 1833-he was married to Miss Mary Lin- coln, daughter of Rev. Henry Lincoln, of Harrison, Ohio, and moved to Dorr Town, where, after a period of about five years in pursuit of his practice, he removed to Fairfield, Franklin county, Indiana, and there continued his profession also. This was about the time of the exciting political contest of 1840, and in which it was not strange to find a man like that of our subject-of strong will-of determined purpose-and marked traits of character, longing for a tilt in the affairs of our gov- ernment with those who sought the downfall of the party favoring his convictions. The opportunity for developing the strength of the man resulted in his election to the legislature of that State by the Democratic party, which was in 1844. There was an exciting' contest for United States Senator. It was the session of 1844-5. The candidates before
the Democratic caucus which had the majority were James H. Lane -- afterwards of Kansas notoriety-and the Hon. Jesse D. Bright, now both deceased. The caucus was so evenly divided that Dr. Crook- shank had the casting vote, which he gave to Mr. Bright who was a senator for eighteen years afterwards. In view of the course pursued by Lane subsequently, Dr. Crookshank always congratulated himself on his choice,
In 1849, shortly afterwards, he removed to Green township, Hamil- ton county, Ohio, and settled near Cheviot and again pursued his practice of medicine; but in 1859 the Democratic party in the county convention nominated him for the then lucrative office of county treasurer, supposed to be worth twenty-five thousand or thirty thousand dollars a year, and elected him over able and strong competitors. The county had been Republican the year before, having elected Henry Kessler sheriff by some twelve hundred majority. Nevertheless Dr. Crookshank was chosen treasurer by an equally large majority, and served with great credit. His personal integ- rity was high and he carried it into his official relations. He was the soul of honor; he was brave and chivalrous, and sensitive to the highest degree to any point that affected a moral dere- lection of duty. He was ever true to principle, He was a Democrat in ad- versity as well as in prosperity, and always stood staunchly by its organi- zation. He was an unselfish and most liberal man, and charitable to the needy in his professional relations. He kept up with the progress of the age; was known to and most highly respected by the Democrats of this generation, as well as those who had preceded it. He was more than a physician; he was a highly cultivated and accomplished man of the world. His death, which occurred March 5, 1876, was undoubtedly hastened by a mishap on the cars while on his way to Illinois in 1865, since which time until his death his rugged nature and elastic step gave way to something less firm and buoyant. His practice in his profession was large, lucrative, and laborious. His death occurred just one year previous to that of his es- timable wife. The fruits of this marriage were three daughters-now living: Mary, Florence, and Adelaide; and four other children now dead-Genevieve, Katie, Henry Lincoln, and Lurtone. The first named was the oldest, and who is now the wife of George B. Tait, formerly commission merchant, 196 West Sixth street, Cincinnati. He is at present a resident of the homestead property in Cheviot. Florence, is the wife of Mr. C. E. Laws, a wool merchant, who resides at Rich- mond, Indiana. Adelaide, the youngest, married George B. Mayer. They reside near Cheviot on part of the homestead.
The history of Dr. Crookshank is one worthy of chronicling. He' was a well known and highly esteemed citizen in his day, and came of the earliest pioneer ancestry, making his life border on the earliest period of western history. Himself and father were also distinguished physicians of the county.
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HISTORY OF HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO.
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