History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 98

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 98

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In 1845 Rev. William Hayes organized a Disci- ple church at the school-house near the Five corners. Emor Hawkins, W. A. Disney, William Hawkins, Stephen Hawkins, and Daniel Hawkins were among the original members. In 1848 this church built a meeting-house at the Five corners, which continued in a prosperous condition several years. At the present time it is in a very weak and sickly condition. Daniel Bishop and Daniel Haw- kins appear as prominent members at this time.

In the winter of 1852-3 Andrew McNutt, of the United Brethren denomination, organized a church in a log house situated in the northeast part of the township. The most prominent members were Stephen Smith, Marcus Knowles, Nicholas Mur- rey, Bradley Smith, and Lovina McNutt. At first the members were very zealous and enthusiastic, but their ardor soon cooled, and the church had an existence of less than four months.

Successive justices of the peace:

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

1823-Nathaniel Stoughton.

1852-John Litzenburg.

" -John Stephens.

1853-John Stephens.

1826-John Jeffries.

1855-Silas Jaggers.

" -Nathaniel Stoughton.

1829-John Jeffries.

1858-David Patterson.

" -Nathaniel Stoughton. 1830-Sylvanus Mitchell. .

1860-George F. Beardslee. 1861-David Patterson. 1863-Platt G. Beardslee.

1832-John Jeffries.

1833-Sylvanus Mitchell.

1864-David Patterson.

1835-Smith Bishop.

1866-Platt G. Beardslee.

1836-Platt G. Beardslee. 1838-David L. Hill.

1839-Platt G. Beardslee. 1841-David L. Hill.

1867-John H. Jaggers. 1869-John Graham. 1870-John H. Jaggers. 1871-Isaac Monroe. 1872-Edward Cummins.

1842-Joseph Montagna.

1873-Brown K. Jackson.

1875-John Graham.

1876-Brown K. Jackson.

1849-Smith Bishop.

1878-F. S. Rowley

1879-Brown K. Jackson.

CHAPTER LIX. MILLER TOWNSHIP.

TOPOGRAPHY - ANIMALS - ORGANIZATION - NAME-FIRST SETLEEENTS AND SETTLERS - POPULATION - PIONEER MATTERS-ROADS-BRANDON -POST OFFICE -- STORM- CHURCHES-SCHOOLS-MILITARY MATTERS-JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

THE surface of this township is generally level,

T or, slightly undulating. There are no large streams of water within the township. Sycamore creek is the largest and runs an easterly course through the township, near the centre. Vance's creek, in the southern part, runs nearly parallel with Sycamore creek, and several small tributaries empty into these creeks, which form the natural drainage of most of the township. The northwest part is a heavy, yellow, clay soil, the east and south part has mostly a rich fertile soil. There is proba- bly no township in Knox county that has a grade of soil so even as Miller. It produces most excel- lent grass, and any portion of it, by proper cultiva- tion, produces excellent corn, wheat, oats and rye, various kinds of vegetables, and fruit in abundance. It was originally covered with a dense forest; the principal timber being beech, sugar or rock maple, elm, white and black ash, hickory, white and swamp oak, soft maple, black walnut, white walnut,

wild cherry, buckeye, basswood, and sycamore, with a dense growth of underbush, consisting of spice-bush, black-haw, dogwood, blue-beech, iron- wood etc. Along the streams and wet lands, were an abundant growth of leeks, wild onions, nettles, cow slips, and many other kinds of vegetation.

Among the wild animals, the deer, raccoon, porcupine, opossum, wood-chuck, and rabbit were very abundant. Wolves were too plentiful in an early day for sheep raising, and occasionally a black bear would make his appearance; wild turkeys and pheasants were very abundant. The last wild deer killed in this township was by David Ash, on the farm now owned by George Milligan, in the fall of I839. The last wolf killed in the township was by John Milhawn, in the winter of 1829-30, on the north part of the farm now owned by J. P. Jones. The only black bear ever killed in this township by any white man was by Otis Warren, in the fall of 1817, on the south part of the farm now owned by Dana Miller. The wild turkey gradually disap- peared, until about the year 1855, since which time, but few, if any, have been seen in this township.

Previous to September, 1815, this township, with several others, belonged to and constituted a part of Morgan township. On the fourth of September, 1815, Morgan township was divided by the com- missioners of Knox county, forming a new town- ship called "Sychamore." This township com- prised what now constitutes the townships of Mil- ler, Milford, Hilliar, and a strip one mile wide, from the west side of Morgan, and one section from the southwest corner of Pleasant.

September 15, 1813, an election was held at the school-house, in what is now sub-district No. 1, in Miller township, for the purpose of electing three trustees and a clerk, for the township of Sychamore. William Bair, Jonathan Hunt, jr., and Lemuel Chapman were elected trustees, and John Mott, jr., clerk. The citizens were not satisfied with the name given to this township by the commissioners, and at this election they determined to give it an- other name. Several names were proposed by different persons, and each urged his claim to the right and privilege of naming the township.

The State election was to be held on the tenth of October following, and it was agreed that the privilege of giving the township a name should be

1845-Emor B. Hawkins, 1848-James Condon. " -William Orme.

1851 -- William Orme.

1857-John Stephens.

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

sold at public auction on the day of the October election. As whiskey was at that time considered a necessary article-almost a legal tender-it was agreed that the person giving the most whiskey, to be used for drink at future elections, should have the privilege of giving the new township a name. James Miller was the successful bidder, giving five and one-half gallons of whiskey, at that time worth about fifteen cents per gallon. At that election there were seventeen votes polled. From that time to the present, the township has been known by its present name-Miller. Mr. Miller was a promi- nent and influential pioneer.

Among those seventeen voters were Riverius Newell, Otis Warren, Samuel Rowley, Gideon Mott, Riverius Newell, jr., Aaron Hill, Abner Hill, Alpheus Chapman, and James Miller.

In 1862, of these parties but one was living, viz .: Aaron Hill. Mr. Hill died in Mt. Vernon in 1870, in the eighty-eighth year of his age, honored and revered by the whole community. His wife was a daughter of Riverius Newell.

The name of Sychamore, as a township, is known to but few in the county at this time.

Of James Miller's family, James Warner, the old merchant, now living in Newark, who married Mary Bryant; Madison, of Miller township, who married Sarah Hill; Henry H., John F., Dr. Volney and Dana, were the boys. Mrs. Rosannah San- ford, Mrs. Harriet Knox, Mrs. Sally Sanderson, Mrs. Lucinda Ellis, and Mary were the girls.

In 1818 a petition was presented to the commis- sioners praying for a division of Miller township, and for the establishment of a township from the west part of it, to be called Hilliar. August 28, 1818, the prayer of the petitioners was granted, and Hilliar was organized. In 1823 a petition was pre- sented to the commissioners for the erection of a new township to be called Milford. March 3, 1823, the prayer of the petitioners was granted, and Milford was organized. In 1825 a petition was presented to the commissioners for the erection of the township of Pleasant. March 9, 1825, the prayer of the petitioners was granted. Thus Mil- ler was reduced to its present boundaries; com- prising a territory five miles long from north to south, and four and one half miles wide.

Miller township was composed of military lands,

except the second or northwest quarter, which was unappropriated. The first, or northeast quarter, was owned by William Stanberry, and contained about twenty-four hundred acres. The third, or southwest quarter, contained about four thousand acres, and was owned by George Bomford. The fourth, or southeast quarter, contained about three thousand acres, and owned by George B. Jackson. In the year 1808, Jackson sold the first piece of land that was probably sold to any actual settler in this township.

John Vance, sr., from Rockingham county, Virginia, purchased lot number three and sold the west part of same lot to his son, Jolın Vance, jr. Here, in 1808, John Vance, jr., erected the first log house, it is believed, in this township. This piece of land has been in possession of the Vance family down to the present time, and is now owned by Daniel Vance, a son of John Vance, jr. The same old log house is standing, and will most likely be kept in repair so long as the farm is owned by the Vance family. It is used for a granary, and looks as if it might be good for several generations to come. The first white child born in this town- ship was born in this house. This was Hannah Vance now widow of Daniel Houck, who was born in this log house June 10, 1809. Daniel Vance, the present owner of this farm, is now sixty-eight years old, and is the oldest native of this township now residing in the township. He was born in this house.

Daniel Vance narrates the following facts in re- lation to those early times: At the time John Vance came to what is now Miller township the Indians were quite numerous. After Mr. Vance had built his log cabin (size sixteen by sixteen), and moved into it, he used a blanket for a door. He worked away from home and frequently would remain away over night, leaving his wife and child (now Mrs. Hannah Houck) alone. The Indians were frequent visitors to the cabin of their new neighbors, and frequently brought venison and other game to exchange for corn. One Indian in particular seemed more warmly attached to the pale-face neighbors than the others. Upon one occasion he came to the cabin in the evening and asked Mrs. Vance if "Pale-face" would be home that night. Mrs. Vance's first impulse was to tell

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

him yes, as she did not know his designs in asking such a question, but she thought it would not do to tell him a falsehood, so she said no he would not be at home that night, as he went to work for corn. The Indian replied, "Pale-face shan't be hurt; pale-face need not be afraid." He then lay ' down in front of the door, and remained there all night. He did this on several occasions.

In the year 1809 Abraham Cairnes, from Vir- ginia, purchased lot number one in the Jackson tract, being the southeast corner of the township. The same year Andrew Thompson purchased lot number two.

In 1810 Cornelius Thompson, from Hardy county, Virginia, purchased lot number four. He died in a few years, leaving two children, one of which, Enoch Thompson, now resides in the town- ship.

About 1812 Daniel Bailer purchased lot num- ber nine, William Campbell lot number ten, and Henry Row lot number five. The latter has one son, Henry Row, now living in the township.

About 1816 Peter Weaver purchased lot num- ber eleven. He has two sons now living in the township.

About 1816 George B. Jackson died and his lands remaining unsold, went into the hands of minor heirs. The balance of this tract was a wilderness for several years, and was not all occu- pied by actual settlers until about 1840.

In 1814 James Miller, Thomas Turner, and Otis Warren, from Vermont, immigrated to Miller town- ship. James Miller purchased section number five, the northwest corner of the township, contain- ing about six hundred acres. On this farm he erected the first frame barn and the first brick house built in this township. The barn was built in 1815; the house in 1824. He was a man of much energy and perseverance, and reared a large and respectable family. He died in 1844. The youngest son, Dana, now owns and resides upon part of this farm, being the only one of the Miller family now residing in this township. Thomas Turner purchased the northeast quarter of section six : he was about sixty-five years of age when he came here. He had no children. The first labor he performed after building was to clear a piece of ground for a graveyard for himself; it is the same

now used for a graveyard in the northwest part of the township. He died April, 1826, aged seventy- seven years. Otis Warren was an adopted son of Thomas Turner; preferred to hunt rather than labor, and would spend his money for whiskey in- stead of bread for his family. In 1815 Cyrus Gates, from Rutland, Vermont, purchased the southeast quarter of section six, where he resided until his death, August 21, 1867. He reared a family of nine children, of whom four are now living, and all reside in this township. The farm is now owned by Lewis Gates, the youngest son now living.

From this time to 1819 all this quarter of the township was occupied by actual settlers; and it is now almost impossible to give a correct account of them all. William Hildreth, from Connecticut, in 1817, purchased the northwest quarter of section four, on which farm he died in 1828. He reared a family of five sons, of whom only two are now living. They both reside in this township-Arnold W. and Epaphro. Rufus Ward, from Vermont, purchased the northeast quarter of section four. This same farm is now owned by his grandchildren. The southwest quarter of section four, was pur- chased by Alpheas Chapman, from Vermont, who had one daughter, Mrs. John Colopy, now residing in the township. In 1817 Nathaniel Lash pur- chased the southeast quarter of section four. Phin- eas Squires, from Vermont, purchased the south- west quarter of section three, and reared a family of eleven children, of whom but one is now living. He resides in this township. Royal D. Simons purchased the southwest quarter of section three, of Phineas Squires in 1818. Jacob Simons, from Vermont, in 1813-14, purchased the northwest quar- ter of section eight, and sold it in 1817 to John Ol- ney, who came from Rhode Island in 1816. Emor Harris purchased the northeast quarter of section seven, where he lived until his death in 1851. He was elected to the office of justice of the peace seven times. He was very much respected in the community, and has one son and and one daugh- ter, now living in the township. James Sealts pur- chased the northwest quarter of section seven. He is living at the present time, being the only man among the first settlers of this quarter of the town- ship now living. His age is about ninety-two years. Levi, Hiram and Manley Rowley, Riverius New-

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

ell, Silas Mott, John Mott, and his sons, John, Gideon and Samuel, Lemuel Chapman and Aaron Hill were among the early settlers. Salmon Hooker came from Vermont in 1816; his widow is now living in the township, aged eighty-six years. Aaron Hill was born near Boston, Massachusetts, emigrated to this county in 1811, and shared in the privations and toils of life in the new country. During his residence in this township he worked as a carpenter and joiner, a blacksmith and a farmer, and with true Yankee instinct, lent a hand at whatever work the wants of the country required. Of his family of five, Norman N., of Mt. Vernon, is the sole survivor. Riverius Newell (the father-in- law of Aaron Hill) was one of the first, and many yet believe him the first, settler in the township. He died in Mt. Vernon, and was buried by the Masons, March 30, 1835.

About 1820 Richmond Hillard purchased the east half of the northwest quarter of section six. This was the last piece of land held by the Gov- ernment in this township, and is the same piece now owned by J. M. Hillard.

The first, or northeast quarter of the township, owned by William Stanberry, was divided into twelve lots of two hundred acres each, about 1815. About 1816 Timothy Colopy and William Colopy, brothers, formerly from Ireland, were the first to locate in the northeast quarter of the township. Timothy purchased lot No. 6. He had a good education, was a man of good natural ability, and much respected by his neighbors.

William Colopy purchased lot No. 11; he has one son, Timothy, and one daughter, Mrs. Mar- quand, now living in the township. His widow is yet living, aged about ninety-two years, and is prob- ably the oldest person now living in the township.

In 1818 Benjamin Chambers, from Pennsylva- nia, purchased lot No. 8, on which he lived until his death in 1839. His son Benjamin, who now owns the farm, came here with his father in 1818. His wife, who was Miss Rachel Walker, was born in Morris township, this county, in 1802 ;* she is the oldest person now living in this township, that was born in Knox county.

John Smith, about the year 1818, purchased the

lot in the northeast corner of the township, and died on his farm in 1877. His two sons, Robert and Finley, now own the farm.

In 1818, John McCardle and David Morton purchased lot No. 5.

In 1820, Isaac Lesser and Samson Shadley pur- chased lot No. 7.

In the same year Solomon Shafer purchased lot No. 9, and James Fletcher lot No. 10.

The third, or southwest quarter, owned by George Bomford, was divided into lots of one hun- dred acres each in the winter of 1829-30, and was offered for sale in the spring of 1830. The first sale was of lot No. 23, being the same now owned by Joseph West and N. A. Chambers. It was pur- chased by William and Alpheas Baker. Within the next two years all the lots adjoining the Gran- ville road were sold.

Among the first purchasers were James Osborn, lot No. 19, John Osborn, lot No. 32, Thomas Os- born, lot No. 35. William Beadle purchased lots Nos. 24, 25, and 33; Richard Mann and Orville Fosdick the south part, and Thomas Fosdick the north part of location lot; and Dr. Stimpson and Luther Hall, lot No. 12. Of these families, none are living in this township at this time.

Enoch Thompson purchased lot No. 34, and re- sides on the same lot at the present time. Lanson Crippen bought lot No. 13; his son Henry resides on the south part of the same lot.

S. F. Vose, Samuel Egely, William Chambers, and Alpheas Beadle, were among the early settlers on this road.

In 1834 John Conaway, from Coshocton county purchased lot No. 18; Reuben Hall lot No. 19; and ir. the same year erected a saw-mill on Vance's creek, in the west part of the Bomford section.

In 1835 a road was established from the Syca- more road south, through the west part of this sec- tion. Soon after this road was located the lots remaining in this section were sold.

The first purchasers were as follows: Samuel Mason, lots Nos. 1 and 8; Thomas Ash, lot No. 2; Oliver Squires, lot No. 7; Luther Freemam, lots Nos. 10 and 17; John Conaway, lot No. 9; William Paul, lot No. 28; Amos Hilliar, lot No. 27; Bryant Thornhill, lot No. 30; John Butcher, lot No. 38; Samuel Hunter, lot No. 3; Levi Ward,

* This is probably an error, as it is generally believec there was no white settler in the county as early as 1802.

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY

lot No. 6; Jacob Oldaker, lot No. 11; David Row, lot No. 16; S. F. Vose, lot No. 21; Levi Dila- plane, lot No. 26; James Cunningham, lot No. 36. In 1839 Joseph Pearson purchased lot No. 20, the last lot owned by Bomford. This completes the first settlement of the township.

The population of Miller township in 1830 was 548; in 1840, 977; in 1850, 1,064; in 1860, 996; in 1870, 929; and in 1880, 827.

The principal occupation of the first pioneers of this township was clearing the land and farming. Zanesville was the place where most of the trading was done. In the spring of the year considerable quantity of maple sugar was made, taken to Zanes- ville and exchanged for salt and groceries. Their clothing was mostly manufactured at home, as each farmer kept a few sheep, and the wool was spun and wove into cloth by members of the family, and made into clothing for winter. A small piece of ground was sown in flax by each farmer, from the lint of which the summer clothing was manufac- tured; all the labor of producing this clothing being performed at home. All farm products were sold at very low prices-wheat seldom so high as forty cents a bushel, and corn brought from eight to fifteen cents. A first class cow would sell for eight or ten dollars, and all other farm products at equally low rates. Even at these rates it was al- most impossible to get the cash. Money was scarce and almost all kinds of business was carried on by barter. The merchants would sell their goods to the farmers on time, the farmer agreeing to pay with wheat, or pork, when he slaughtered his hogs. The wheat and pork were again ex- changed by the merchant for goods. Thus trade was carried on with a small amount of money. The wheat was made into flour and packed in bar- rels, the pork was also packed in barrels, and a con- siderable quantity of corn converted into whiskey. All this made a demand for cooperage, and Miller furnished her full share of coopers. Rufus Ward, Levi Ward, Cyrus Gates, Emor Harris, James Sealts, Oliver Squires, and Chester Coleman were all engaged in coopering for several years. Since 1850 the farmers of this township have been largely engaged in wool-growing, and it is among one of the largest wool-growing townships in the county.

The first public road located in Miller town-

ship was the Granville road, leading from Mt. Ver- non to Granville, and was established about 1810. The second was the Bryant's Mill road, leading from Bryant's mill to Utica. This mill was situated on Dry creek, near where the Knox county infirm- ary is now located, and the road was established in 1815. It has been changed materially from its first location, and a large part of the original road has been vacated. That part from the north line of lands owned by M. C. Bone, to the north line of lands owned William McCuen; also from the Granville road west to J. M. Hillard's, thence north to the township line, is nearly on the original sur- vey; the remainder of this road has been vacated. The third road is what is called the Sycamore road, and was located and established in 1818. It has been changed in many places from its original lo- cation.

The village of Brandon is situated near the cen- tre of Miller township, at a point where the Syca- more road crosses the Granville road. The first house was built by James Hare, on the northwest corner, about five rods from the Sycamore road, and about two rods from the Granville road. The second house was built by C. L. Bennett, on the south side of Sycamore street, near where Dr. Hatcher- now resides. About 1824 Phineas Squires purchased the land in the northeast corner-he probably owned sixty-eight acres, then all a wil- derness. He built a hewed-log house, near where J. C. Harstock now resides, which is worthy of no- tice. It was the largest log house ever built in this township; that is, there were more logs used in the building than any other log house built in this part ef the country. The exact dimensions cannot be given at present, but it was probably about forty-five feet long, twenty-four feet wide, and two stories high. It took two lengths of logs to reach the length. The partitions and floors were of logs hewn on three sides. The chimney was built in the centre of the house, with a huge fireplace on two sides of it. There was probably nearly as much solid timber in this house as there is in all the houses in the village at the present time. Phineas Squires was captain of the militia, and the neigh- bors called this house the "war office."

About 1830 Manley Rowley purchased one acre of land in the southeast corner, on which he erected

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HISTORY OF KNOX COUNTY.

a building for a hotel, being the same property now in use for that purpose.

In 1830 Simeon A. Bagley and Enos Barnes formed a partnership in the blacksmithing and wagonmaking business. Barnes purchased James Hare's lot. In 1831 they built a brick shop on the lot now occupied by J. R. Milligan's residence. This shop was about fifty feet long, twenty wide and one story high, with a brick partition through the centre, making two rooms, one for a wagon shop the other for blacksmithing. Soon after they had everything in good working order, the shop with all its contents was destroyed by fire. Bag- ley then sold his property and left the place. Barnes put a new roof on the building, made other necessary repairs, and continued blacksmithing in one of the rooms several years. The other room was used several years for a school-room and meet- ing-house and some time for a dwelling. In 1839 Enos Barnes sold his property to H. C. Lockwood, which included some fifteen acres on the north- west corner. Previous to this time John Mott had sold a piece of land, eight rods wide, along Syca- more street, from the corners west to the section line, and there had been three cabins built on this piece of land. In 1842 John Mott owned all the southeast corner, and he and H. C. Lockwood made an agreement to lay out a certain amount of their lands into town lots. Accordingly they em- ployed a competent surveyor, and some fifteen acres of the southwest corner were surveyed and staked off into lots, streets and alleys, when a dis- pute arose about the exact location of the Granville road. The surveyor went to Mt. Vernon to exam- ine the records, got drunk, and it was several days before he returned. Previous to this time the place had been known by the name of Four corners. During the absence of the surveyor a dispute arose about the name for the new town, Lockwood claim- ing the right of naming it, and gave the name of New Windsor. Mott wished to give the town the name of Brandon. These parties waxed warm in their dispute, and when the surveyor returned they had abandoned the project of making a new town. From that time to the present the village has been known as Brandon. It never was regularly laid out into town lots, each person purchasing lots to suit himself, for size, shape and location. Levi

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History of Knox County, Ohio, its past and present, Part 98

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