History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 101

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co.
Number of Pages: 1096

USA > Ohio > Knox County > History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present > Part 101

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The Bell church, Disciple, was organized in 1829, and in 1834 a neat church edifice was erected on the farm of Benjamin Bell, sr., in the southeast corner of Morgan township, and on the line between Knox and Licking. The original membership was ten, viz: Rev. James Porter, Ben- jamin Bell, sr., Stephen Harris, Isaac Henthorn, and their wives; Elizabeth Bell and Isaac Stout. Rev. James Porter preached for this church several years.

The society has had no settled pastor for a long time, but Elders John Secrest, John Reed, Reuben

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

Davis, John Sargeant, James Mitchell, Jesse B. Ferguson, Arthur Critchfield, James J. Moss, Wil- liam Hayes, J. H. Jones, Andrew Burns, Abner Lemert, David Sharpless, David Weaver, Jonas Hartzell, Isaiah Jones, David G. Mitchell, and Benjamin Bell, jr., have preached at various times to the congregation. Being contiguous to Licking county, a majority of the members are residents of that county. There are about one hundred and fifty members at this time. The Bell church is one of the strongest, numerically and financially, of the Disciple churches in the county. A flourishing Sunday-school is sustained.

There are no other church organizations or edi- fices in the township at the present time. In the early history of Morgan, the Methodists held fre- quent meetings in the houses of the settlers, but they did not erect a church for worship. John Green, esq., and Caleb Pumphry were very zealous members of the Methodist church at an early day, and labored ardently for its success, but the or- ganization finally disbanded, and the members con- nected themselves with the Utica and Martinsburgh Methodist societies.

Rev. James Scott, the pioneer Presbyterian preacher of Knox county, frequently preached to the pioneers of Morgan. The citizens generally are believers in the religion of Christ.

There are no villages in this township. An ef- fort was made to establish one at an early date in its history ; some lots were sold but no buildings erected thereon, and the project was abandoned. The people do their trading at Mt. Vernon, Utica and Martinsburgh.

There are no physicians or lawyers resident here, nor has any post office been established in Morgan since its organization, the inhabitants receiving their mail matter at Utica and Martinsburgh.

The press is liberally supported by the citizens of this township, a large number of both secular and religious papers being in circulation.

CHAPTER LXII. MORRIS TOWNSHIP .*

SITUATION-WILLIAM DOUGLASS-DOUGLASS' MILL-SAM- UEL H. SMITH-CLINTON LAID OUT-THE OHIO REGIS- TER-JAMES LOVERIDGE-COLONEL ALEXANDER ENOS- OTHER EARLY SETTLERS-ROADS-STORES-DISTILLER- IES-SCHOOLS-CHURCHES-MILLS-TANNERIES-CLIN- TON-ELECTIONS-JUSTICES.

T the time of the first division of Knox coun- A ty into townships, the territory now comprising Morris township was equally divided between Wayne and Clinton townships. Occupying a cen- tral position, being watered by the two principal branches of the Kokosing, and affording some of the finest agricultural lands in the county, this section naturally attracted home seekers at the earliest period in the history of this part of the State.

The western half of the township-as at present constituted -comprises two military sections of four thousand acres each; the southwest quarter of the township being known as the Canfield sec- tion, and the northwest quarter as the Armstrong section. The eastern half was laid out in lots of one hundred and sixty acres each. The former half is mostly level bottom land, an alluvial de- posit with a gravelly substratum, and few springs, while the eastern half is moderately undulating upland, abounding in good springs.

One-half mile east of Fredericktown, on the bank of Owl creek, may be seen a mound about twenty feet high and sixty feet in diameter, surrounded by a ditch and embankment, the latter being outside the former. On the land of William Loveridge, north of the former site of Clinton, exists a relic of the Mound Builders, in the form of a circular ditch and embankment, very closely resembling a modern circus ring. It is about forty yards in diameter, the ditch being inside the embankment.

William Douglass left his home in Morris county, New Jersey, and wending his way to the far west, pitched his tent on the bank of Owl creek, just be- low the junction of its principal branches in 1804, the first permanent settler in Morris township. At this time the settlers in and around Mt. Vernon were obliged to go to Newark or Lancaster to mill,

*Hon. William Bonar furnished much of the material for this chapter.

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and Mr. Douglass determined to relieve them of that inconvenience by erecting a mill on his land above Mt. Vernon. With such a man as Douglass, to conceive an idea was equivalent to its execution ; so calling to his aid his son Aaron he built a dam, dug a race and erected a saw-mill, preparatory to the erection of a grist-mill; but as that undertaking involved considerable labor, time and expense, he put a corn cracker in his saw-mill, which served a good purpose until the grist-mill proper was com- pleted in 1806. He also built a fulling-mill and carding machine about 1808. These were of ines- timable advantage to the settlers.

The utility of the carding and fulling establish- ments can hardly be appreciated to the extent of their merits at the present time, when the old-time process of domestic manufacture of clothing ma- terial has been superceded by modern woollen and cotton factories. Each farmer kept a small flock of sheep. The wool from these was taken to the machine and carded. It was then spun and woven in the family, taken to the fulling-mill and fin- ished into cloth, suitable for men's wear, or, if de- signed for women's wear, merely colored and pressed.

So highly were Mr. Douglass' achievements val- ued by his appreciative neighbors that the county commissioners made this entry on their journal, May 2, 1809: "The tax on William Douglass' mill is ordered to be taken off as it is a public benefit."

The first grand jury impaneled in Knox county May 2, 1808, included William Douglass, and at the first election held in Clinton township on Oc- tober 11, 1808, he was elected county commis- sioner. In the War of 1812 Mr. Douglass ren dered valuable service as captain of a volunteer rifle company, and in that capacity escorted the Greentown Indians beyond the lines.

Captain Douglass having some surplus capital in 1816 he invested the same in Owl Creek bank stock, and at the settlement in 1818 he was found to have paid on his seventy shares the sum of six hundred dollars. Being a man of enterprise and desiring a field of operation commensurate with his ambition, the gallant captain in 1830 sold out to Anthony Banning and removed to Indiana with his son Aaron, where they have both since died.

His daughter Phobe married Richard Ewalt, and Sarah married James Rogers. They are both still living in the county.

James Walker, sr., came from Pennsylvania in 1804 and located near Douglass' mill site, just south of where Mr. Thomas Banning now lives. He occupied a little log cabin, said to have been built by Captain Fitting in 1803. Mr. Walker was the father of Philip, Joseph, Alexander, James, Robert, and John Walker, who figured more or less in the history of the county. His daughter, Sarah, married Stephen Chapman, and Mary, his other daughter, married Solomon Geller, and subse- quently moved to Morrow county. Mr. Walker and his wife died many years ago and were the first persons buried in Clinton graveyard, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, burying-grounds in the county. No stone now marks the spot where they lie. Let these lines be their monument.

John Simpkins, with his son Seeley, arrived from Virginia in 1804, and settled temporarily about a mile above William Douglass', on the place now owned by George Cassell, between the main branches of Owl creek. He subsequently removed to Monroe township.

To Samuel H. Smith, from New England, Mor- ris township is indebted for the first and only town laid out within its borders. With true Yankee en- terprise Mr. Smith conceived the idea of laying out a town and selling lots at a considerable advance on the first cost, to those who might follow him be- yond the beautiful Ohio in quest of homes. In pursuance of this idea he prospected up the Ko- kosing, and having, as he thought, found the land of promise, he blazed a tree-the recognized sign of possession-wended his way to Franklinton, pro- cured compass and chain, returned and laid out the town of Clinton, in section four, township seven, and range four, of the United States Mili- tary district. The new town contained one hun- dred and sixty lots, streets, public square, and all the appointments of a first-class town-on paper. The plat was duly acknowldged before Abraham Wright, justice of the peace for New Lancaster, December 8, 1804, and received the name of Clin- ton, in honor of Governor DeWitt Clinton, of New York.

Mr. Smith by his energy and business tact soon

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succeeded in drawing around him a colony of mechanics, laborers, and business men, which soon gave to Clinton not only the appearance, but the actual advantages, of a central town. The first house erected on the new town plat was Mr. Smith's. Samuel Ayres got out the timber and Amariah Watson, James Loveridge, and William Douglass, assisted in raising it. On the second day of March, 1808, Mr. Smith was appointed county surveyor; being the first to fill that office in Knox county. He was also a member of the first grand jury. In 1807 Mr. Smith opened the first store in Clinton. It was kept in a small frame building a few rods west of the present residence of Uriah Walker, a large brick building erected by Mr. Smith in 1808 for a hotel. Being a man of varied accomplishments he was not contented with being surveyor, storekeeper, and landlord, but must needs play tanner also. To this end he built a tannery in 1812, at the junction of Clinton street with the Mt. Vernon and Frederick road, and advertised to pay two dollars and fifty cents per cord for oak bark. In July, 1813, Mr. Smith induced Mr. John P. McArdle to engage with him in the publication of a newspaper at Clinton. A press was put up in a small log building on Clinton street, west of Smith's store, and there the first newspaper ever printed in Knox county, styled The Ohio Register, made its appearance, printed and published every Tuesday by Smith & Mc- Ardle. The wanning fortunes of Clinton and the rising greatness of Mt. Vernon caused the office, with all its material, in 1815, to be transferred to the latter place. In 1809 Mr. Smith also figures as worthy master of Mount Zion Masonic Lodge No. 9, organized at Clinton that year, and in 1814, at a meeting of the Grand lodge at Chillicothe, Samuel H. Smith was the representative. During the time of his mercantile operations he received a good deal of money, and on one occasion he threw a shot-bag full of specie on the counter and said that any one who could run away from him with that bag, might have it. Taking him at his word Henry Smith, his nephew, an active young man, grabbed it and ran, pursued by the owner. After coursing down the road some distance, and finding the old gentleman gaining on him, the young man climbed over into the field to escape,

but Samuel caught him, and he gave up the bag amid the shouts and cheers of Captain Nye's cavalry company, who witnessed the ludicrous scene. It appears that with all his energy, tact and business qualifications, Mr. Smith could not stand the enervating effects of prosperity. He became involved, failed in business, and emigrated to Texas, where he was at the outbreak of the Rebel- lion, engaged in surveying.

James Loveridge was a native of Morris county, New Jersey, who in 1805, in company with his wife, sought shelter at William Douglass' place until he could erect a cabin of his own. Just above Douglass' cabin a small stream put into the creek, and this Loveridge followed up until he discovered a beautiful spring, which caused him to select that spot as his future home. The only Yankee then in the country claimed to have located the land, and proposed to sell it to Loveridge at a higher price than the Government rate, which was then two dol- lars per acre. Concealing his intentions from all but his wife, Loveridge slipped off to the land office, examined the record and finding the land unsold entered it himself, returned with his pat- ent in his pocket and bid defiance to speculation. In the spring of 1806 he built his first log house near the spring above mentioned, and as soon as he got a spot of land cleared he sought out Johnny Appleseed and laid in a supply of apple trees, which he planted just above the spring, and there a number of the same trees are still standing- patriarchs in Pomona's domain. One of them measures nearly eight feet in circumference, and another recently cut down exhibits seventy annual rings or growths. In the year 1807 Mr. Loveridge built the first tannery in Knox county. It stood just below the road leading from Mt. Vernon to Mansfield, and near the house now occupied by William Loveridge, son of James. The old log building was replaced by one of brick in 1822, which is still standing; the tannery business having been carried on at the same place for seventy con- secutive years. William Loveridge relates that when the prisoners taken at Hull's surrender were subsequently returning home, many of them stop- ped at Clinton in a destitute condition, and that his father cut up his hides and made them mocca- sins. James Loveridge was on the first petit jury

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empanelled in Knox county, May 2, 1808. Mr. Loveridge's barn, built by John Johnson, the car- penter, was the first frame structure of the kind in Morris township. His old log house was re- placed by a substantial brick in 1820, which he occupied till his death, in the ninety first year of his age. Mr. Loveridge was noted for his industry and an inveterate tendency to blossom out in rhyme in conversation. His son William, born on the eleventh of June, 1806, inherited his father's broad acres and his partiality for words that "hunt in pairs."

One of Samuel H. Smith's right hand men was Ichabod Nye, captain of a troop of horse, who acted a prominent part in the scenes of the early history of Clinton. His name first appears as a member of the first grand jury impanelled in the county. Captain Nye lived on the north side of Clinton street and just west of Smith's tavern. In 18II he was elected sheriff of Knox county, as- sisted in organizing the Masonic lodge in Clinton, served acceptably in the War of 1812, and kept hotel in Clinton in 1813. The captain, as well as his brother Samuel, have long since passed away.

Amariah Watson arrived from Wyoming, Penn- sylvania, and put up with William Douglass in 1805, but in 1806 moved to Fredericktown.

The spring of 1806 brought with it a new ele- ment into the wilderness region, in the form of Friends, the forerunners of a large number of that society, who, by their quiet yet industrious ways, have contributed very much to the prosperity and peace of the county. The venerable Henry Roberts may be justly regarded as the head of this emigration from Maryland. In 1805 he left Frederick county, in that State, with his family, and directed his course to the far west; but on reaching Belmont county he found it necessary to winter his family there. On the seventh of April, 1806, he landed at Henry Haines', in the Ten Mile settlement, and after spending a few weeks looking for a good location, on the fourteenth of that month settled down with his family at the little prairie, five miles above Mt. Vernon, of late known as the Armstrong section. His family con- sisted of his wife, three sons, and one daughter. William moved to Illinois, Isaiah to Missouri, and Richard to Berlin township. His daughter, Mas-

sah, married Dr. Timothy Burr, and died at Clinton in 1814.

The Roberts family at once proceeded to farm- ing, and with a four-horse team broke up nine acres of the prairie and planted the same in corn. It was a difficult operation, but yielded them an abundant crop, fully remunerating them for the labor expended.

Mr. Roberts was joined in the fall by William Y. and William W. Farquhar, and from this nucleus sprang the numerous families of Quakers in Wayne, Middlebury, and Berlin townships in after years.

John Johnson, of Chester county, Pennsylvania, found his way to Knox county in the fall of 1806, and located near a large spring on the property now owned by William Day's heirs, in Morris town- ship. The spring spoken of was situated on an Indian trail known as the Greentown trail. The Indians journeying to and from Greentown used to camp at this spring in considerable numbers, and were a great source of annoyance to Mr. Johnson. On one occasion a big Indian went so far as to en- force his demand for butter by flourishing a large knife in a very threatening manner. Mr. Johnson, who happened to be within hearing, came to the assistance of his wife, and the Indian was driven off. Soon after this the Greentown Indians were removed, much to the relief of the entire settle- ment. Mr. Johnson was one of the first carpenters in the country, and to his skill not a few of the better class of citizens are indebted for the com- fort of the homes they occupy. He served in the War of 1812, and was at the siege of Fort Meigs. His sons were Thomas, known as the jailer of Knox county for many years; William, who moved to Hardin county; John, who lived on the old homestead; Joseph, now living in Miller township; Samuel Johnson, who now lives in Polk county, Iowa, and Isaac Johnson, who resided on a farm just south of the old homestead. John Johnson, sr., died in March, 1858.

William Mitchell came to Morris township in 1807. His children were Jacob, Nathaniel, Abi- gail (Mrs. John H. Mefford), Mary (Mrs. John Young), Hannah (Mrs. William Mefford), Naomi (Mrs. Thomas Evans), Sarah (Mrs. Cyrus Cooper), John, Silas and William. Nathaniel was one of

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the scouting party that went out at the time of the Copus massacre in 1812, and died in 1813, from disease contracted by exposure in the Indian campaign. William Mitchell, sr., died August 12, 1848, in the eighty-third year of his age.

Daniel Cooper moved from Butler county, Penn- sylvania, in 1809, and located west of the main branch of Owl creek, on the Philip Leveridge property, and was followed shortly after by his brothers, Carey and Elias. Carey Cooper's sons were Charles, Elias, Hugh, John and Lewis. Carey Cooper was elected justice of the peace in 1822. Daniel had seven children: Thompson, William, George, Henrietta, Julia, Josiah and Sarah. Thompson Cooper was justice of the peace in 1836, 1839, 1842, 1845, 1848 and 1851.

Hiram, Uzziel, Cyrus and Timothy Ball came from New Jersey, and located on the Owl creek bot- toms where their father owned one thousand acres of land which is still owned and cultivated by their descendants.

Colonel Alexander Enos was another of Samuel H. Smith's New England coadjutors, and lived in Clinton, east of Smith. He was a private in Cap- tain Walker's company in 1812, and at the time of Hull's surrender, was taken prisoner. After the war Colonel Enos practiced law, being the second lawyer in the county, and in 1815 was elected representative. Later he moved to Rich- land county.

Dr. Timothy Burr was the first physician in Morris township. In December, 1813, the follow- ing advertisement appeared in the Ohio Register:

Samuel H. Smith having added a large stock of goods to his former assortment, will trade for butter, sugar, country linen, rye, corn, hides, deer skins and furs.

Dr. T. Burr is duly authorized to attend to his business, and will prescribe gratis to purchasers of drugs and medicines.

In the War of 1812 Dr. Burr was surgeon and paymaster in Colonel Alexander Enos' regiment. The above named were the more prominent of the early settlers. Prominent citizens of a later date were Jabez Beers, Joseph Coleman, Ichabod Mar- shall, Benjamin Barney, Joseph Rickey, John Trimble, Richard Loveridge, Barnet Bonar, Ben- jamin Jackson, John Wheeler, Samuel Youman, Peter Rush, John Irvine, John McAbee, Joshua Braddock, and Christian Rinehart.

Barnet Bonar came to the county in 1812, from

Washington county, Pennsylvania, and located on Granny's creek. He died in May, 1844, aged eighty. His son, William, was elected to the State senate in 1859, and resides at present in Mt. Ver- non.

The Winterbothams were a highly intelligent family, but one of whom now resides in Knox county. Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, the accomplished authoress, residing in New York, is a descendant of this family.

May 8, 1808, a petition was presented to the county commissioners for a road from Mt. Vernon to Fredericktown, signed by Jacob Young, Nathan- iel M. Young, William Mitchell, A. McLaughlin, Ziba Jackson, William Smith, Eliphalet Lewis, Simeon Lyons, John Kerr, Casper Fitting, Amariah Watson, John Lewis, Samuel Watson, William Y. Farquhar, Amos Yarnell, William W. Farquhar, Daniel Ayres, Richard Hale, Abram Ayres, Henry Markley, and Joshua Vennum. Viewers: William Gass, James Colville, and Matthew Merritt. Sur- veyor: William Y. Farquhar. Their report was approved and recorded April 7, 1809.

June 4, 1810 John Young, jr., William Evans, Jacob Young, John Haldeman, William Mitchell, Andrew Kilpatrick, John Young, sr., James Lewis' Aaron Young, Matthew Young, Adam Hand, Cal- vin C. Lawrence, Ephraim Lyon, and Charles Cooper petitioned for a road from Douglass' mill to the Young settlement. William Gass, Henry Haines, and Joseph Walker were appointed viewers, and John H. Millikin. surveyor. The view was re- turned July 9, 1810, and approved September, 1810.

John Fish, Daniel Johnson, and William Bevans were appointed commissioners to lay out a State road from Johnstown, Licking county, through Knox county to New Haven, in Huron county, and having performed their duty, filed a copy of said survey in the office of the comissioners of Knox county, July 11, 1820. That road is now called the Mt. Vernon and Mansfield road.

Samuel H. Smith had the first store in Clinton, in 1807. Richard Fishback's store stood on Clin- ton street, just west of the present residence of J. B. Banning. Ralph Granger kept store in Clinton in 1815, and J. S. Banning near the old Douglass mill in 1835. The first hotel was also kept by

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Samuel H. Smith. Benjamin Barney followed in 1810, and in 1813 there were four houses of pub- lic entertainment with their inviting signs swinging in the breze, in the streets of Clinton. The re- spective hosts were Ichabod Nye, Alfred Manning, John Barney, and Samuel Youman.

Very early in the history of Knox county, Mor- ris township became somewhat famous for its dis- tilleries, in which the surplus rye and corn were converted into whiskey, or "fire-water," as the In- dians aptly called it. Simeon Carpenter and his brother Freeman were amongst the first to engage in the business. William Douglass had a distillery a short distance east of his mill. Richard Philips carried on the business on the west side of the Fred- ricktown road, near Smith's tannery. Smith Had- ley, on land now owned by James Ramsey, and Robert and James Rogers on the Harvey Cox place, east of the Fredericktown road. In addition to these there were several other distilleries in oper- ation. The excuse for the existence of these estab- lishments was the fact that whiskey, in those early times, was an article of almost universal consump- tion. The exceptions to the rule were found amongst the Society of Friends, a few of whom settled in the west part of the township.

The pioneer school-teacher of Morris township was Ichabod Marshall. In 1812, he taught in a little log house which stood at the junction of Clinton and Main streets, where J. B. Banning now resides. The next school was taught in a house built especially for that purpose, which stood northeast of Smith's hotel. Silas Knapp was teacher. The third house stood southwest of J. B. Banning's, and the first school in it was taught by James Brown. The fourth stood on the hill south of Clinton, - Hill, teacher. The fifth was erected north of the Wooster road, at its junc- tion with the Mansfield road, near William Love- ridge's house, Milton Lewis, teacher. The sixth in succession stood on the south side of the afore- said road, William Drake, teacher. The present house is the seventh, a fine frame structure, erected in 1873, and stands on the east side of the Mans- field road, about midway between J. B. Banning's and William Loveridge's houses, Alexander A. Hanna, teacher. William Loveridge is the only surviving pupil of the first school taught at Clinton.

There are at present six school-houses in the town- ship, all good substantial buildings.

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History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 101

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co. Number of Pages: 1096

Author: Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), comp; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-; Graham, A.A. & Co., Mt. Vernon, Ohio
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Mt. Vernon, Ohio : A. A. Graham & Co.
Number of Pages: 1096