USA > Ohio > Union County > Jerome > History of Jerome Township, Union County, Ohio > Part 4
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Till her pure spirit fill the earth, Wide as the heavens are free."
The farm which Mr. Charles M. Jones owns and on which he resides, adjoins Plain City on the north and was purchased by his father, Thomas Jones, in 1856, who was the first man to introduce Norman horses in this section of the State. He also dealt largely in thoroughbred cattle and Plain City became noted throughout the State for fine horses and cattle.
Charles M. Jones, on his "Pleasant Valley Stock Farm" as it is still called, deals largely in horses and keeps up the reputation established by his father more than half a century ago as a breeder of fine stock.
There are citizens yet living in the vicinity who can re- member the days when there were but two general stores in the village, George Hill, proprietor of one, and Joseph and Peter Guitner of the other, and "Old Dad Marshall" kept the grocery, where he dispensed ginger-snaps, blind-robbins, and red-striped peppermint candy. The merchants of the town at this time have a large and flourishing trade. Good churches, goods schools, and the citizens are progressive, prosperous, and happy.
VILLAGE OF JEROME.
The village of Jerome, also known as Beachtown, Pleasant Hill, and Frankfort, was platted in the year 1846 by William Irwin, County Surveyor, for Henry Beach, and the Beach fam- ily was the only family residing there. It is pleasantly situ- ated and in the early days was a thriving business town, but like other inland villages, while it is still a good business town, it has not increased greatly in population. The Beaches and the majority of the old inhabitants have passed away, but the
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History of Jerome Township
village and vicinity have always been noted for good substan- tial citizenship, a thriving farming community, and the merch- ants do a good business in all lines, and at all times.
The first merchants of the village were Amos and Kilburn Beach, and the first tavern keeper was William Case. Other merchants who have been prominent business men in the vil- lage are H. B. Seely, Lattimer & Hamilton, George Dixon, Oliver Asbury. The merchants now doing business are Daniel Landecker and H. B. Seely Company.
Herrick B. Seely was for many years a merchant in the village, and also served as Postmaster. He was a fine business man and stood high in the community and among wholesale merchants as a man of strict integrity. At his death the business descended to his sons, one of whom still continues in business in the village in general merchandise, under the firm name of H. B. Seely Co. The firm does a large and profitable business, and are in every way worthy successors of their father, who laid the foundation for long-continued mercantile business by the family.
The first Methodist Church was organized at Jerome in the year 1835 and services were first held at the residence of Henry Beach. Among the early members were the Beaches, Stones, Hallecks, Wells and Frederick families.
A log church was erected in 1842, which was occupied as a church until a short time before the outbreak of the Civil War. A frame church was erected and dedicated April 15th, 1860, by a Rev. Dr. Warner as pastor. Among the ministers who have served as pastors of the congregation are: Rev. Chase, Rev. Hathaway, Rev. John E. Moore, Rev. Edward Rudesill, Rev. J. Shoop, Rev. Thurston, Rev. Ferris, Rev. Pierman, Rev. Abernathy, Rev. J. K. Argo, Rev. Pryor, Rev. Theodore Crayton, Rev. A. Holcomb, Rev. A. L. Rogers, Rev. B. J. Judd, Rev. Tubbs, Rev. Thomas Ricketts, Rev. Thomas Wakefield, Rev. J. H. Middling, Rev. A. Plum, Rev. John Gordon.
The Jerome Presbyterian Church was organized December 16th, 1853, and Rev. William Brinkerhoff was the first pastor.
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History of Jerome Township
Templeton Liggett and John Fleck were the first Ruling Elders. Rev. Brinkerhoff served as pastor of the church until the congregation decided to become a Congregational Church, on November 2d, 1862, and he then resigned as pastor. After- ward Rev. Hawn, an old-school Presbyterian, became pastor, followed by Rev. C. N. Coulter in 1866. In 1867 the denomi- nation was again changed to the new-school Presbyterian, and Rev. A. N. Hamlin became pastor, followed by Rev. Steven- son, Rev. Mason, Rev. Hill, Rev. Crow, Rev. Thomas, Rev. Christ, Rev. Henry Shedd. About the year 1898 the Presby- terian and Methodist congregations united and the Presbyte- rian Society was abandoned. The Methodists now have a good, strong congregation under the pastorate of Rev. John Gordon.
SCHOOLS.
The educational privileges have always compared favorably in the schools of the village with other schools in the township, which is noted in the county for its excellent schools. Under the present efficient Superintendent, Professor Homer E. Cahall, the Special High School ranks among the best in the county.
The new school building, known as the Ryan Memorial School, Jerome Special High School, is modern in every re- spect and speaks volumns for the community in which it is located. The district, with the help of Mr. Ryan, erected this spacious and beautiful structure, and the school and com- munity owe to Mr. Ryan, the great benefactor, a debt of grati- tude for his untiring energy and efforts in their behalf. The School Board and all progressive citizens are entitled to great credit for their support toward securing a new building, and thus advancing the cause of education in this community.
The building is a model as regards beauty and convenience, and cost approximately $11,000. It is a four-room building, and includes library room, office of the School Board and the superintendent, together with a spacious auditorium in the basement, which seats about 300 people. Nothing has been
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History of Jerome Township
spared that might add to the comfort of the pupils, and the library is up-to-date and contains about 400 volumes. Through the efforts of the superintendent and the School Board the school was placed in the list of second-grade high schools of the State. The school is equipped with a fine ap- paratus for Physics, Agriculture, and Botany, and the present corps of teachers are very efficient.
The Primary Department is in charge of Miss Marie Pounds, who is an excellent instructor for that grade. Mr. Lon McMillan is in charge of the Intermediate grades, while Professor H. E. Cahall has charge of the High School Depart- ment. Mr. McMillan has been a student both at Delaware and Ada Universities, and Professor Cahall is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.
There are about 100 pupils attending the school this year. The district has been centralized, the pupils being conveyed to school in modern vehicles. With a progressive superin- tendent and well-trained, competent teachers, and with an awakened and thoroughly Christianized community, the school will no doubt prosper in the future as it has in the past.
As the Jerome school of today is much further advanced than the school of fifty years ago, so we may feel confident that fifty years hence the school will, in the onward march of progress, by far surpass the school of today. In the language of the historian, "The Past has taught its lesson, the Present has its duty, and the Future has its hope."
PHYSICIANS.
Of the physicians who have practiced in Jerome may be named Drs. Converse, Asberry, Holland, John E. Herriott, Dr. P. F. Beverly (who served as surgeon of the 30th Regi- ment, O. V. I.), Dr. Henry, Dr. Bargar, and Dr. Kirbey.
The following named citizens have served as postmasters : Horace Beach, Isaac Wells, George Leasure, Hurd Lewis, Dr. Converse, S. H. Brake, William O'Hara, John Latham, Joseph Brobeck, James Linn, W. Wells, H. B. Seeley, George Dixon,
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History of Jerome Township
Olliver Asbury, Lattimer & Hamilton, and Pearl E. Hyland. The mail is now received R. F. D. from Plain City.
Among the old and prominent families who settled in the eastern section of the township in the early days were the Stones, Donaldsons, Norrises, Colliers, Hoberts, Fredericks, Pattersons, Dorts, Cases, Beaches, Wells, Bishops, Evans, Moss, Hudsons, Brobecks, Williams, McCrorys, Herriotts, Magills, Hills, Jacksons, Neils, Langstaffs, Stuarts, Frys, Brakes, O'Harra, Ashbaughs, Perrys, Seeleys, Temples, Bow- ersmiths, McKitricks, Foxes, Brinkerhoffs, Durboroughs, and many others who came later. There were but few of these families who had members that were eligible to military service who were not represented in the Union Army.
There was quite a military spirit abounding in the village in the ante-bellum days. Some of us who took part in the Civil War can recall the days in the late years of 1840 when the muster and training days of the "Corn-Stalk Militia" on the farms of James A. and Robert Curry were looked forward to by the boys as the great events of the year. When Captain Kilburn Beach, in gorgeous regimentals, cockade and flowing plumes, drilled the Militia, the rattling of the drums and the shrill notes of the fife was the signal for all the boys in the neighborhood to assemble at the place of muster to hear the music and witness the drill.
This recalls the poem in the old Second Reader of that day :
"Was you ne'er a Schoolboy And did you never train, And feel the swelling of your heart, You ne'er shall feel again ; We charged upon a flock of geese And put them all to flight, Except one sturdy gander Who thought he'd show us fight ; But oh ! we knew a thing or two, Our Captain wheeled the van, We scouted them, we routed them, Nor lost a single man."
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History of Jerome Township
Little did the boys of this neighborhood, when reading or reciting this old poem, think they would, in a few years, have the opportunity to charge upon an enemy in real war, in some of the greatest battles of modern times.
Isaac Wells, a prominent citizen of Jerome, was Orderly Sergeant, and some of us remember about the men lying around on the grass answering to their names as he called the roll at the close of the day's arduous drill. The patriotic and military spirit instilled in the boys by the training and muster days, in which they were too young to take part, was aroused to fever heat when war was declared in April, 1861. At the time when the first company for three months was being or- ganized at New California, I recall that several of us attended a war meeting at Jerome. It was held in the Presbyterian Church and Rev. William Brinkerhoff, pastor of the church, made an eloquent address, of which I remember one sentence distinctly. The drums were on the pulpit platform, to which he called attention by saying: "Munitions of war and the Bible are side by side in the House of the Lord."
The only full company organized in the township was at Jerome. This company was organized in August, 1861, and the officers at organization were: Captain, Elijah Warner; First Lieutenant, Henry Brinkerhoff; Second Lieutenant, Henry Hensel.
One hundred and two soldiers served in the company dur- ing the war, and thirty-two died in the service. The company was assigned as Company E, 30th Regiment, O. V. I. Captain Warner was promoted to Major of the Regiment; Lieutenant Brinkerhoff was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the 2nd Mississippi, U. S. C. T., and James D. Bain was promoted to the Captaincy of the company.
Lieutenant Colonel Brinkerhoff remained in the Regular Army after the close of the Civil War, and was retired a few years ago with the rank of Colonel. Major Warner, Captain Bain and Lieutenant Hensel are all dead. As I recall, Ser- geant James C. Collier, who had a long and honorable service from August 19th, 1861, to August 13th, 1865, is the last sur-
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History of Jerome Township
vivor of that company of 102 brave Jerome Township boys residing in the vicinity at this time.
The company had a remarkable service and the losses were appalling, as almost one-third of their number were killed or died in the service, and scarcely a man in the company escaped some casualty, either by wounds or by being captured as a prisoner of war.
THE VILLAGE OF NEW CALIFORNIA.
The village of New California was platted in 1853 and the first general store was opened by S. B. Woodburn and Dr. Albert Chapman. Soon after the platt was made, Samuel Ressler of Marysville, Ohio, erected a two-story frame build- ing on the southwest corner of the square for a tavern, and did quite a thriving business for a number of years. He also had a small grocery in the same building. This soon became the great center for the stock business in the southern part of the county. Stock scales were erected and hundreds of hogs would be driven in by the farmers in one day. They were then driven to Pleasant Valley or Worthington to be shipped by rail to New York. Some droves would number three or four hundred and many boys in the neighborhood were em- ployed at 50 cents a day to drive them, often through mud and rain. As there were no bridges spanning the small streams, and the water at times being solidly frozen, it would be the work of hours to force the great droves of hogs across the ice, and the boys well earned the half-dollar a day.
The Ressler Tavern was quite a favorite hostelry in its day, as there was a great deal of travel on the State Road, running from Pleasant Valley to Delaware, and also on the road leading from Marysville to Columbus. Many were the yarns spun in the old barroom as travelers, drovers, and others gathered around the old open-front wood fire Franklin stove, smoking their pipes and "stogies" furnished by the genial landlord. The first mails, once a week, were carried on horse- back from Dublin in those ante-bellum days. Still, the arrival of the mail, carried in large saddle-bags, was quite an import-
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History of Jerome Township
ant event, as it brought the weekly papers, and all were eager to hear the latest news-but a week old.
Among the merchants who "kept store" and kept the post- office in the village the following named are recalled: S. B. Woodburn, Perry Buck, John Liggett, John Robinson, H. Benton, George Stokes, William Thompson, Robert Thomp- son, Otway, John W. and W. L. Curry, Fred Fleck, Robert Hager, Albert Allen, H. M. Dort, Jesse Curry, and Grant E. Herriott.
Mr. Grant E. Herriott, the present merchant, has been in business in the village several years. He is an energetic, pro- gressive young man, has a good trade, is doing a flourishing business in general merchandise. He takes a deep interest in the schools, is treasurer of the School Board, is active in all the business affairs of the township, and is up-to-date.
The first physician who practiced in the village was Dr. Culver, and in succession Drs. Milo Lawrence, Thomas J. Haynes, James Cutler, B. F. McGlade, J. S. Howland, Dr. Merriam, Dr. Vigor, the present physician, has a large and lucrative practice.
Some of the characters of the village were quite interest- ing, and had some traits that would have made David Harum green with envy. The village blacksmith was John Walley, which recalls the poem :
" Under a spreading chestnut tree, The village smithy stands ; The smith, a mighty man is he, With large and sinewy hands ; And the muscles of his brawny arms Are strong as iron bands."
In his shop the schoolboys congregated at the noon hour to watch the sparks fly from the red-hot iron, as the swarthy smith hammered the horseshoes into shape and nailed them to the hoofs of many wild and vicious horses.
John was a great story teller, and it was claimed that he had great imagination and at times "used the truth with parsi- monious frugality." He claimed to have invented a magnify-
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History of Jerome Township
ing glass, through which he could look into the earth three miles. With this glass he located several gold and silver mines in the neighborhood, but they were never developed for lack of funds, He never would allow anyone to see the glass, as he claimed he did let one man look through it and it magni- fied so strong that it killed him.
He was also a great skater and one of his stories was that one time when he lived in Dublin, Ohio, he skated to Colum- bus and back, twenty-four miles, before breakfast, and cut ten acres of wheat with a cradle the same day. He did not let the seasons spoil a good story. The tales of the Arabian Knights vanished into nothingness beside the wonderful stories of the blacksmith, and it is but little wonder that the schoolboys stood with eyes distended and mouths agape as they listened to his wonderful tales.
The Gowan boys also erected quite a pretentious black- smith and wagon-shop and for many years did a thriving busi- ness. Others recalled in the same line were Wilson Martin and John Hickman. Both of the latter were queer and inter- esting characters, and many amusing stories could be related of their peculiarities.
Martin was quite a nimrod and usually kept his rifle handy in the shop for any emergency, if game was reported in the vicinity. One day he was busily engaged shoeing a horse for a farmer when a boy came into his shop and reported a flock of wild turkeys in the woods near by. Martin dropped the horse's foot, seized his rifle, bullet pouch and powder horn and made for the designated quarry on the double quick, leav- ing the horse half shod. In about two hours he returned, groaning under the load of three sleek, fat, brown turkeys on his back. All the villagers assembled to see the game and congratulated Martin on his wonderful prowess as a hunter. He, like many other great hunters, was no doubt drawing on his imagination a little by relating how he had driven these wild turkeys, that were swifter on foot than the fastest deer- hound in the country, to cover and how he had brought them down from the highest oak trees with his good and unerring
-
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History of Jerome Township
rifle, "Black Bess." It was a thrilling story and the villagers were much enthused. But soon a damper was to come, as a neighboring farmer appeared on the scene after a man who had been killing his flock of tame turkeys. Martin was very much crestfallen when he learned the truth, and the farmer, a very liberal man, presented Martin with the turkeys and bade him "sin no more." But the blacksmith never heard the last of it from the village boys, who teased him about not knowing the difference between a tame and a wild turkey.
THE LITTLE BROWN SCHOOLHOUSE.
The old schoolhouse standing on the northeast corner of the square at New California is one among the last of the old landmarks left in that village of buildings erected more than half a century ago.
The house was very substantially built, as was the custom in those early days, otherwise it would not have stood intact for three score years. The frame is of heavy hewn oak, doors, windows, casing, weather-boarding and shingles walnut, all worked out by hand. As you enter the front door there is a small room on the right about twelve or fourteen feet square, used for a hat and cloak room, and a similar room on the left, used for election purposes. The main room will seat about seventy-five persons, and was heated by a big box-wood stove, standing in the center of the room. It is undoubtedly the oldest schoolhouse in the county at this date, and accord- ing to the recollection of the "oldest inhabitants" it has re- ceived but one coat of brown paint since it was erected.
This house was erected in 1852 and the first "Select School" was taught by Llewellyn B. Curry in the winter of 1582-3.
By the kindness of my two old schoolmates, Robert Mc- Crory and R. L. Woodburn, a photograph of the old school- house, as it now appears with broken windows and weather- beaten by the blistering suns of summer and the blasting storms of more than fifty winters, was placed in my hands.
As we look at that photograph, what memories of the days
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History of Jerome Township
of more than half a century ago come trooping thick and fast, some sweet memories and some sad. Sweet memories, as the old song goes, of
"School days, school days, Good old Golden Rule days, Reading, and writing, and 'rithmetic, Taught to the tune of a hickory stick."
Pleasant days to think about now, but not all so pleasant when the "schoolmaster" used the rod with a heavy hand, as he was wont to do on frequent occasions, but usually not amiss.
Then there are the sad memories when we recall the great majority who, with us, pored over the hard examples in Ray's Arithmetic and parsed, with the thirty-five rules of the old Kirkham Grammar,, Gray's "Elegy" and "Hamlet's Solilo- quy," who have crossed the dark river. No other period in the life of man is so fraught with unalloyed happiness as the good old school days.
The citizens of that day who by their enterprise and with a view of raising the standard of the common schools, erected the building have all passed to their reward, but their work has borne good fruit. Among the many old settlers who were interested and assisted both by work and contributions may be named Jesse Gill, John, Alfred, Samuel, David and Andrew McCampbell, Samuel B. and John Woodburn, John, William, Templeton and Henry Liggett, James A. Stephenson, Robert and John Curry, Nelson Cone, Jesse and David Mitchell, Dixon, Thomas, James, Moderwell and Mitchell Robinson, Walter Gowans, John McDowell, Rev. I. N. Lauhead, Perry Buck, Judah Dodge, James and David Dort, Jame Ketch, William Bigger, William Taylor, Anthony Wise, Elijah, Ira and Henry Fox, Landon Bishop, John Ruehlen and John Nonnemaker.
Many other citizens in the township whose names might be mentioned were interested, but the names given are of the old settlers within a radius of two miles who took an active part in this advanced movement in educational matters.
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History of Jerome Township
The building fund was secured by private subscription, ex- cepting $50 donated by the township, with the proviso that it could be used for elections and township meetings.
As there was no other public hall in the village, it was used not only for elections, but for all kinds of political, religious, Sunday School, singing schools and public meetings as long as it was occupied for school purposes and served the public well for nearly half a century.
The original idea in erecting the building was for the sole purpose of establishing a "Select School" where the higher branches were taught to prepare students for teaching or to enter college. The teachers were, with few exceptions, college graduates, and the branches taught included higher mathemat- ics and the languages. A literary society was organized and was continued from year to year as long as the Select School was kept up, which was for a period of about forty years and until a graded district school was established in the village.
The school was largely attended and at one time it was shown by the records of certificates issued by the Board of School Examiners that there was a sufficient number of teach- ers in Jerome Township to supply all the schools in the county.
Many young men and women who attended this school received, through encouragement from these high-grade teach- ers, their first incentive to secure a collegiate education. A large number of them did enter college and were graduated with honors and are now successful business or professional men and attribute their success largely to the educational ad- vantages in this school.
Among the teachers were Llewellyn B. Curry, Rev. I. N. Laughead, Rev. Isaac Winters, Olive Gill, David Cochran, Samuel Graham, Mr. Johnson, Thomas Evans, R. L. Wood- burn, George Ruehlen, Mr. McCharahan, Leroy Welsh, James Curry, John Stockton, E. L. Liggett, Calvin Robinson, David H. Cross and J. W. Baughman.
Of these teachers the following named have died :
Llewellyn B. Curry, Rev. I. N. Laughead, Rev. Isaac
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History of Jerome Township
Winters, David Cochran, Samuel Graham, E. L. Liggett, Olive Gill Mitchell, Leroy Welsh, and R. L. Woodburn.
The names and residences of the survivors so far as known are : Thomas Evans, in Decatur, Illinois; Colonel George Ruehlen, Quartermaster U. S. Army, Washington, D. C .; Rev. James Curry, Newark, California ; Calvin Robinson, Harting- ton, Nebraska ; D. H. Cross, Pasco, Texas, and J. W. Baugh- man.
Of the other named teachers the addresses are not known, if they still survive.
The descendants of the old settlers named as taking an active part in organizing this school were all pupils of the school, numbering from three to perhaps six in each family, and in all several hundred during the forty school years. The school term only extended over the late autumn and fall months and did not interfere with the public schools of the winter, and many of the students taught country schools dur- ing the winter and "boarded around" among the scholars.
They are now of the third generation, counting from the first settlers of the county in 1798. Many of that generation have reached the allotted age of three score years and ten, and those who survive are scattered all over the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
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