History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, Part 92

Author: N. N. Hill, Jr.
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 826

USA > Ohio > Licking County > History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present > Part 92

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Coming toward Newark from the east, the hills on the right gradually recede, and near the city the

bottom lands widen out abruptly. The highlands north of the city run nearly at right angles with the Licking river, forming the east bank of the North fork, and the highlands south forming the east bank of the South fork. This area of apparently level land, extends up the North fork to the mouth of Brushy fork, thence west and south along the base of the Welsh hills to Licking summit at the South fork, and down that stream to Newark. This con- stitutes the body of the "funnel", and contains twenty-five thousand acres of excellent land, that one would suppose, from a glance over it, was al- most level; yet from its western terminus to the "Black Hand" there is a fall of at least one hun- dred and forty feet in this distance of twelve miles.

It will be observed that in almost every part there are gentle terraces downward, to all the various streams making all the surface of very easy drainage. The highlands north and south of Newark appear to be the western terminus of the great coal fields which extend to the Alleghanies. This large basin, or area of comparatively level land, in which Newark is situated, was once, like the bottom lands of the Licking, covered with a dense forest, and under- growth of bushes and wild vines; and on account of the numerous and rapid streams which centered in this valley, large quantities of drift wood blocked the streams and lay piled in every con ceivable shape and direction causing the waters to overflow and inundate a great portion of this basin whenever there was an unusually heavy fall of rain. When the floods subsided large pools of stagnant water were left here and there, which were the cause of much sickness among the early settlers. Perhaps in no other portion of the town- ship was this so obviously the cause of sickness as in the vicinity of Log-pond run. About one and a half miles northwest of Newark, this little stream, passing through this level ground, became obstructed, and spread over about thirty acres of woodland, causing the large timber to die and fall down, thus covering this large area with fallen timber, which could only be traversed by footmen walking on the logs. This was called the "log pond," and gave name to the stream. A little fur- ther north was another pond, clear of trees, called the "Goose pond," which covered seventy-five or eighty acres at times, and was a famous resort for

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ild geese and ducks. These ponds were par- ally drained about 1817. There was another urge pond directly west of Newark, which contin- ed to exist at a much later date. It covered orty or fifty acres, and was called the "Big Prairie," being mostly clear of timber. It was full f muskrat houses, flags and grass. This pond vas a somewhat remarkable one. It was dry in 805; corn had been raised on it by some of the irst settlers, and it was used in the fall of that ear for a race-course; the posts where the judges ad their station remained standing on the east ide, where the water was afterward several feet leep. It gave rise to much speculation among he settlers, who were unable to account for the act that some seasons, when there was abundance of rain, the pond would nearly dry up; and again n other very dry seasons, the pond would be full of water. Regarding this, Dr. J. N. Wilson, from whose article this topographical matter is mainly aken, says: "My attention was called to the dry- ng up of this pond one summer soon after the vater was let into the canal for the first time. Owing to the character of the sub-soil in most of his region, which is made up mostly of loose gravel and sand, the water percolated through it, illing up the wells and cellars all along the canal n its vicinity, but as the bottom became puddled the percolation ceased. Recollecting this fact, and remembering that the previous fall had been very dry, followed by a very cold winter which caused the water to be frozen to a great depth, thereby effectually breaking up the puddling at the bottom of the pond, at once explained to my mind the disappearance of the water the following spring and summer. There was no stream of water run- ning into or out of this pond. It was located just north of the old fort."

There is another fact which, no doubt, had a great influence in retaining in this funnel-shaped basin the poisonous miasms formed in it. The highlands, as above described, forming the sides of the basin, were covered with very lofty trees, principally oak, with a dense undergrowth, mingled in many places with spruce and other evergreens, which came to the very edge of the Licking river, and in many places the tops of these large trees nearly came together from the opposite sides

of the stream, thus forming a complete barrier to the winds, and damming up, as it were, the outlet of this funnel. This obstruction was not greatly disturbed until the construction of the Ohio canal, and subsequently by the building of the Ohio Central & Steubenville railroads. The quarrying of stone and the clearing of the forests has at last made a complete outlet for the winds, which may now sweep freely through this passage and give complete ventilation to the basin above. This has no doubt played an important part in improving the health of this great basin. The cultivation of the soil, the drainage of the ponds, the clearing away of the drift-wood from the streams, and the building of good houses, and other comforts, have converted this once sickly locality into a region as healthy and beautiful as can be found in the State.

The alluvial as well a diluvial deposit is by no means of uniform depth in this basin. It may be a hundred feet in places to the bottom, yet in others, as where the Central Ohio railroad crosses the Licking river, the original rock comes to the surface; and again two miles up the North fork the rock appears. The great amount of decom- posible matter contained in this gravelly plateau has disappointed many in their estimates of the durability of the soil for tillage. The very early settlers feared that as soon as the vegetable mould that formed the surface should be exhausted by tillage, the soil would become sterile and worth- less. Fifty years ago it was said that such and such fields were about worn out, but the recuper- ative power of this soil, by the decomposition of the limestone and other earthy compounds, is won- derful, and these same fields continue to yield the best crops, equal to any of the newer lands, and making more certain crops from the fact that they are less affected by any excess or want of rain than clay soils. Whatever else was produced in this basin, it was very certain to produce, in pioneer times, an abundant crop of fever and its accom- paniments, and verified the saying of the Indians "that the Lick-Licking was a bad place to raise papooses."

And it is a mistake to suppose that it took but few years to change this miasmatic region into a healthy one. It was soon found that where the trees were cut down and the under-brush cleared

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away, there immediately sprang up in the places thus exposed to the sun, the most luxuriant growth of weeds, grasses, vines and plants, covering all the partly cleared lands, which more than compen- sated for the removal of the trees. This growth was very vigorous, and formed a covering for many wild animals as well as large numbers of venomous reptiles. These were a continual dread to the early settlers, and not only to the settlers, but the horses and cattle were in constant fear of them, and often suffered from their poisonous fangs.

Dr. John Newman Wilson was one of the early and prominent settlers of Newark, and identified with its interests and prosperity during his long life of seventy years. His father came here in 1806 with a numerous family, all of whom left the mark of their individuality upon this county. Dr. Wilson was long an honored member of the pio- neer society here, and died in October, 1868. The following regarding the early diseases preva- lent in Newark and vicinity, is from one of his interesting and valuable papers. From it may also be gleaned other matters pertinent to the early history of Newark :

"My father and family moved to and settled near this city in 1806, when I was a small boy, and consequently I must rely on older and earlier settlers for most of my facts, and from none have I received information, more capable of giving it, than from my medical preceptor, the late Dr. John J. Brice. Dr. Brice, in his youth, resided in the healthy county of Harrison, West Virginia, where he had the advantage of a good prepara- tory education. He read medicine in Pittsburgh and Union- town, Pennsylvania. During his studies he obtained some notoriety by being, perhaps, the first to practice vaccination west of the mountains, which I think was in 1801.

"His preceptor had obtained some vaccine matter from a then representative of Kentucky, as he passed by Uniontown on his way home from Congress. This virus had been sent to the President of the United States by Dr. Jenner, of London, to be distributed to members of Congress.

"His preceptor, Dr. Simonson, having little faith in this in -. novation turned the matter over to his pupil, "Jack Brice." who immediately began his tests. It soon created widespread interest. Dr. Brice, thereafter, aiways took great interest in the subject of vaccination, and was the most careful physician I ever knew in the selection of virus. His mode of vaccination was peculiar. He made it a rule, whenever he could, about the tenth day after vaccination, to examine the pock, and if well matured, he would make a slight puncture with the lancet, take some virus and insert it in the other arm of the same person, so, as he said, to go through the same process as the first, and destroy any remaining susceptibility that might exist. I have yet to learn that any of the early settlers who were vaccinated by Dr, Brice, have had even varioloid. He must have vaccin- ated hundreds of families in this county.

"Dr. Brice located in Newark in November 1803. I think, having a good opinion of his qualifications ; and many of his old acquaintances having settled in and about Newark, ther gave the commencement of his professional career an impetus, and he had high expectations of success.

"In the beginning of his practice he had to deal principal !! with inflammatory diseases, particularly pleurisy, which he sad was much more common at that time than in after years. Ir his treatment of inflammatory diseases his success equaled his expectations, except in that of rheumatism, which was then as stubborn as it has ever since been. In his treatment of inflamma- tory fevers, cathartics, antimonials and the free use of the lan- cet with blisters, usually effected a cure. Most of the early settlers were from the healthy regions of Virginia and Pennsyl- vania, and he thonght they bore blood-letting better than they did after remaining for a time in this unhealthy and miasmatic section -- as it then was. When the summer and fall diseases began he found they did not so readily yield to the lancet and his doses of "ten and ten," as taught by Dr. Rush, a famous Philadelphia physician, but he persevered.

"He found that by his treatment the remittent fevers seemed to yield, in part, and assume the intermittent or ague form; bu: when winter came plenty of his patients were still shaking, yet he did not give up the use of the lancet, but tried it in every stage of the disease; often bleeding just before, as well as in. the cold stage, and sometimes with success; but when he saw the result in many cases, such as enlarged spleen, dropsy am other sad consequences, together with the murmuring of h.s patients, he felt but little flattered by his success. It is true he did not confine himself entirely to the remedies above men- tioned, but sometimes used emetics, Peruvian bark and opium. though sparingly. He also made some use of Virginia snake root, poplar bark, willow, dogwood and cherry.

"Dr. Brice having founded his practice on the theoretical views of Dr. Rush, believing with him that yellow fever was only a higher grade of bilious fever, in all its forms; and that if Dr. Rush succeeded by giving his doses of "ten and ten" of calomel and jalap, and in the use of the lancet, he could no: conceive why the milder forms of the disease should not yield to the same treatment. He felt so vexed with his want of success, and so disappointed in his expectations, that he returned to hi friends in Virginia, determined to abandon the profession and look up some other vocation in life. His brother, however. dissuaded him from this, and induced him to visit Philadelphia and consult Dr. Rush. He attended part of one course of lec- tures there, and related to Dr. Rush his disappointments. The latter took an interest in his statements, and advised him to re- turn to his field of labor, telling him that Dr. Caldwell, who had been his student, was then engaged in translating a work from the Latin he thought would be of great service to him. advised him to procure a copy and be governed by it in bis practice. This work he obtained in 1805, before leaving Phila. delphia. I am certain that this book must have saved the lives of many of the pioneers.

"Dr. Brice having purchased a good supply of medicines i Philadelphia, including a good quality of chinchona bark. an article not always easily obtained, returned to Newark and It sumed his practice. The lancet was used more sparingly, and only to relieve some organ from the violent action of the heart Calomel and jalap were used to disgorge the bilious matter and correct the biliary secretions. This, with the free use of the bark during the intermissions of the fever, became the founds-

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tion of his practice. His success now came fully up to his ex- pectations, and he had plenty of business.

"The country was sparsely settled, and he made long rides into the country, often going into adjoining counties. At that time it was the remittent form of fever that gave the most per_ plexity, this sometimes proving fatal. In accordance with Se_ nac's advice, he gave up bark during the remission in cases where he apprehended danger. In many of these cases coma often occurred early; in these his main reliance was on the bark. His favorite mode was to give it in a decoction, acidulated with sulphuric acid; but in ordinary cases it was taken in doses of a teaspoonful in wine every hour, or mixed with a decoction of Virginia snakeroot. A very common way, too, was to ad- minister it in doses of a teaspoonful in the common beverage of the country, whiskey.

"An old and popular psescription was: bark, one ounce; Virginia snakeroot, one-half ounce; sal tartar, twelve grains; whiskey, one pint: drink ad libitum.

"It was not long until a prejudice arose against the use of barks by those who had protracted ague, they attributing to the remedy what was the result of the disease, saying they could feel the effect of the bark in their bones, as people often now say their bones are full of quinine. (Quinine was first used here in 1825,"the first ounce costing sixteen dollars.)

"It is a mistake to suppose that typhoid fever did not occur among the early settlers. My eldest brother laid the greater part of the year 1805-6 with this fever. It was then called typhus.

"In the winter of 1812-13 snow was sufficient for the running of sleighs and sleds most of the winter; there was, perhaps, bet ter sleighing than has been known since, so that corn, oats, pork flour, etc., were taken to Sandusky and other points on the lakes, from this place, on sleds. This was not only a great ad- vantage to the pioneers, but a God-send to the army then fight. ing the British. Near the close of the war an epidemic of the most fatal character prevailed, known by the name of 'Cold plague. The attack was mostly violent chill followed by fever and se- vere pain in some region, generally in the lungs, but often in the brain, and sometimes in the bowels or limbs, the pain often preceding the chill. Delirium soon attended and the patient sank; the disease often proving fatal in forty-eight hours. If it lasted several days the symptoms were generally of a typhoid character. At first most of the cases proved fatal; blood- letting was found to be injurious, and medicines of all kinds seemed equally so. The practice finally adopted was that of putting the patient to bed and dosing with warm teas and warm applications to the exterior surface. The boughs of the spruce pine were extensively used for this purpose, and it was thought the pine had some peculiar virtue in this disease. This fatal epidemic swept over the country at that time, much the same as the cholera has since done.

"The measles and whooping-cough prevailed with the early settlers as they have since; also colds and influenza. Diarrhoea never prevailed as an epidemic in our early settlements until the approach of the cholera in 1832. Dysentery was also unknown until 1826. It then made its appearance in the neighborhood of Brownsville, in this county, and was called the bloody flux. We had many cases in Newark in the fall of this year, and it prevailed with great violence the following summer, and was at- tended with greater fatality throughout the summer than any other disease has ever been.

"Puerperal fever was frequent about this time-1825-28.

Perhaps more women died from this cause, than at any other time, before or since.

"Scarlatina was unknown in Newark until 1831. The first case was a boy in the family of the late Lucius Smith, who then lived in a brick house since used for the Baltimore & Ohio rail- road depot. The disease soon became a severe scourge and many children died with it.

** Consumption, I think, was less common in early times than at present, and was confined to families with a hereditary taint.

"What has been said about diseases in Newark will apply equally to other portions of the county, except the highlands, where intermittents were less prevalent. In the northwestern portion of the county milk sickness was not uncommon, and a number of deaths were caused by it. It continued to prevail at irregular intervals until 1835.

"The first physician in Newark, as far as I am able to learn, was a Dr. Allen. He came from New York with a Mr. Rath- bone, a land agent. He left a few years after Dr. Brice settled here. There was a Dr. Ager in Granville, in an early day, but he soon retired from business.

"Dr. Handley practiced medicine here in 1809-10. He was from the east.

"Dr. Noah Harris came here probably in 1808, and was mar- ried in 1810. Dr. Brice soon formed a partnership with him. He was a good physician and a popular and useful man."

Medical attention was hard to secure in those days, on account of the sparsity of the population and the condition of the roads. Physicians went altogether on horseback, with their pill bags buck- led to the saddle. Wheeled vehicles were first used by the physicians about 1830. Medicines were hard to procure; it took several weeks to get them from eastern cities, and often they were worthless. Peruvian bark, especially, was high in price and often of no value. Drs. Brice and Harris controlled the practice of medicine about Newark for twenty-five years.

Most of the early-time physicians of Newark are named in this chapter. Those of a later date, who practiced their profession between the years 1825 and 1850, were Dr. Elisha Cooper, Dr. Dan- iel Marble, Dr. Edward Stanbery, Dr. J. N. Wil- . son, the Drs. Dickinson, father and son, Dr. Z. C. McElroy, and Dr. Thomas H. Roe, all of whom have deceased, except the two last named. Dr. McElroy has been a successful and respectable physician of Zanesville for about thirty years, and also an extensive contributor to the medical peri- odicals of Europe and America. Dr. Roe still de- votes himself to the practice of his profession in Newark and vicinity, making surgery, as he has always done, a specialty. Dr. Cooper was from New Hampshire, Dr. Marble from western New

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York, Dr. Stanbery from Zanesville, and the Dick- insons from England. They were respectable and successful practitioners, as was also Dr. J. N. Wil- son, of whom a full biographical sketch is given in connection with the genealogy of the Wilsons.

Among those most prominent of a later day were Drs. J. H. Hamill, A. Barrows, L. T. Ballou, J. R. Black, B. F. Spencer, and others, most of whose names will be found among the members of the Licking County Medical society, given else- where in this history. Of the foregoing all are

living and in full practice, except Dr. Ballou, of whom an extended biographical sketch is given elsewhere in this volume. Dr. Black has been a voluminous writer on subjects chiefly bearing on hygiene and medical science generally. His work entitled "Ten Laws of Health," and his contribu- tions to scientific journals, and to the annual pub_ lications of the "American Health association" of which he is a member, have met with a good de- gree of public favor.

CHAPTER LXVII.

NEWARK TOWNSHIP AND CITY.

FIRST SETTLERS AND SETTLEMENTS-GENERAL WILLIAM C. SCHENCK-LAYING OUT THE TOWN OF NEWARK-A CO 0 THE ORIGINAL RECORD-THE SETTLERS OF 1802-FIRST SALE OF LOTS IN NEWARK-FIRST BUILDINGS ERECTED- F REV. JOHN WRIGHT-WHAT MRS. HAUGHEY SAYS-THE EARLY TAVERNS-WHAT DR. WILSON SAYS-THE OLD COURT HOUSE, JAIL AND WHIPPING POST-A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE SCHOOLS OF NEWARK FROM THE FIRST TO THE PRESENT TIME -- THE PRESS OF NEWARK.

"New empires rise, Gathering the strength of hoary centuries, And rush down like the Alpine avalanche, Startling the nations." -Prentice.

N the two previous chapters on this township, I an effort has been made to impress upon the mind a picture of the country as it appeared just prior to its occupation by the white-race, and this picture, it will be perceived, was not a flattering one, though believed to be a faithful one. The picture was beautiful to the eye, the surface was diversified and lovely, but beneath that surface lurked the savage, the wild animal, the venomous reptile and the malarial poison that insidiously and stealthily attacked the vital powers of the pioneers, All these in addition to the dense forest were to be conquered and put out of the way. This was done but it cost many lives, like the fighting of any other great battle.

Up to the year 1801, no white settlement existed within the limits of the township. A few settlers were in the Licking valley, and the Staddens had erected their cabin, and settled very near its east-

ern line. It was up the Licking valley, from the direction of Zanesville, that the first settlers came, over roads of their own construction. During the year 1801, four families settled within the limits of this township, and the record does not show which of these came first. One of these was Samuel Parr, who settled in the Licking valley, just below the junction of the North and South forks, and first above the Staddens, on what was afterward known as the "Miller" farm. James Macauly and James Danner located near the mouth of the Ramp creek, in the southern part of the township, where the first named built a "tub mill" or "corn cracker," the first water-power concern within the present limits of the county. There were other settlers, also, in this year, on Ramp creek, not far from its mouth. These were Phineas and Fred- `erick Ford, and Benoni Benjamin. Phineas Ford settled in Union township; Frederick very near the present line between Union and Newark town- ships, but Benjamin settled within the limits of Newark township, near where the canal feeder crosses Ramp creek. It is believed these four

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families constituted the entire population of this township in 1801. In 1802, however, immigrants came in greater numbers, and from this time for- ward there was a steady stream of immigration. The most important arrival in this year was that of General William C. Schenck, who laid out the town of Newark, calling it after his native place, New- ark, New Jersey. This territory was then in Fair- field county, and continued so until 1808.

Hon. William C. Schenck was an early emigrant to the Miami valley, where he was a large land- holder. He and Daniel C. Cooper were proprietors of the town of Franklin, in Warren county, Ohio, situated on the Big Miami river, which they laid out in 1795. There Mr. Schenck resided and some of his descendants are yet living in that vicinity.

In 1799 Mr. Schenck was chosen secretary of the first council of the Northwest Territory, and served also at the second, and probably the third and last sessions.

In 1803 he was elected a member of the first senate of Ohio, serving two years. In 1820 he was elected a member of the house of representa- tives of Ohio, and died at Columbus during his term of service, January, 1821. He was a man of character, ability and enterprise, and greatly esteemed by his fellow pioneers of the Miami val- ley. He was father of Rear Admiral James F. Schenck, of the United States navy, and of Gen- eral Robert C. Schenck, who is known to the whole country as an old time member of Congress, a Union general and a minister to foreign courts.

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History of Licking County, Ohio: Its Past and Present, Part 92

Author: N. N. Hill, Jr. Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Number of Pages: 826

Author: N. N. Hill, Jr.
Publication date: 1881
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 826