History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 42

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1490

USA > Ohio > Washington County > Marietta > History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens > Part 42

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

James Owen, from Rhode Island, came to

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HISTORY OF MARIETTA AND WASHINGTON COUNTY,

Ohio in 1788. His son Daniel came into the Adams colony.

Col. William Mason, a soldier of the Revo- lution and one of the first party of pioneers. settled in Adams about 1797.

William Mason, of Pennsylvania, came to this settlement about the same time.

Maj. Joshua Sprague, an officer in the Revolution, came to Marietta in 1788, with his two sons, Jonathan and William. They went to Waterford but afterward Major Sprague and his son William removed to Adams.

Stephen Frost, Michael Cyphers, Joseph Si- mons, Amos Wilson, Geo. M. Cox. Alfred Hall, Morgan Wood, James H. Rose ( of Vir- ginia). Among the German settlers are Philip Mattern (a son of Henry Mattern, who lived in Salem ), Jacob Schneider, Jacob Becker, and Jacob Reitz.

Joseph Frye came from Maine to Water- ford, where he taught school, before he moved down to his farm.

William and Daniel Davis, sons of Capt. Daniel Davis, a soldier in the Revolution, and one of the 48 pioneers. The descendants of Captain Davis bore an honorable part in our second war for liberty, that of 1861-05.

Oliver Dodge, one of the 48 pioneers, came from Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. His son, Richard, a lover of fine horses and of a good joke, was long a familiar figure in Mc- Connellsville. Richard left no children.

Nathan King, a native of Nova Scotia. Two of his daughters were married to sons of Robert Allison.

Churches .- The Baptist Church dates from 1797: its reorganization from 1832. The Christian Church was organized in 1831. The German citizens of Lowell and vicinity organ- ized the Protestant Evangelical Church in 1857. The Congregational Church built a house of worship in Lowell in 1800, but serv- ices are no longer held in it. A few of the men bers now meet in Rainbow.

ADAMS TOWNSHIP AND LOWELL CORPORATION.

Development .- During the last decade Lowell has developed and improved to a con-

siderable extent. Many beautiful residences have been built, the streets have been improved and cleaned, old buildings have been removed and additions have been made to the size of the corporation.

The plat of Sprague's addition to the cor- poration was approved by the Council a few years ago; Pfaff's sub-division, comprising 14 acres of ground, was annexed in 1901 ; and the plat of Saner's addition was approved June 6, 1902. Numerous buildings are being erected on all of these additions and the town is ex- periencing a nice growth.

Industrial .- Lowell is proud of the volume of business that is transacted within its limits. It has a goodly number of industries that have been built up gradually and are upon a safe footing and in a flourishing condition, Great pride is taken by the people of Lowell and Adams township in the First National Bank. The capital stock of the bank is owned prin- cipally by local parties and the conservative manner in which the business has been man- aged has made it a valuable investment. The deposits are heavy and a nice surplus is being accumulated.

Lowell can boast that there is more busi- ness transacted within its borders than in any other town of its size and many larger ones along the Muskingum River.

The oil developments in Adams township have resulted in very valuable productions. The first large pools were found in the Reed field on Cat's Creek, and the Minch field, which lies to the northwest of the town. The Minch field was sold at one time by A. J. Brown, A. 1. Vaughn and others to the Boston & Marietta Oil Company for $130,000. Considerable oil is being found on Bear Creek, near the east- , ern township line and the developments there are making the fields very valuable. The south- western section of the township also is pro- ducing some oil.

Educational .- The Adams Township School District is composed of 11 sub-districts. ranging in numbers from one to 12, inclusive, No. 6 being consolidated with No. 11. The enumerations of the youth of school age in the township during the last five years have fluc-

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tuated between 370 and 400. The percentage of attendance upon the enumeration is quite large, and the Board of Education has been fortunate in securing the services of good teachers. There are several new school houses which are commodious and well adapted to the purpose, but most of the others are old and in bad condition. Owing to the unusually and unavoidably bad state of the finances of the Board, nothing can be done at present with the houses, but as soon as there is a cash bal- ance on hand the matter will probably be taken up and some changes in the districts may be made that will secure a better division of the township. J. A. Schwindeman is president of the Board at this time.

The Lowell Independent School District embraces the entire town and a strip of the surrounding territory. It has graded schools which have more than a local reputation. Prof. J. L. Jordan and Prof. D. A. Lake, who have been principals of the schools during the last 18 years, deserve great credit for the manner in which they have built them up. There are four teachers.

Political .- Normally, Adams Township is Democratic in political complexion by from 40 to 50 majority. The oil operations during late years have brought many new people to the township, which has altered the matter somewhat in several instances, but on an av- erage it stands about the same. The present officers of the township are: Trustees, John Decker, John Huck and Daniel Marsch; clerk, John D. Hollinger ; treasurer, .\. C. Beach ; as- sessor, Ed Schwindeman ; justices of the peace, Daniel Marsch and J. M. Newton : constables. W. F. Burdine and Elias Dobbin. In Lowell corporation the Democrats are also usually vic- torious. The officers of the corporation are : Mayor, A. D. Bell; clerk, John D. Hollinger ; treasurer, C. G. Schneider; councilmen, S. Turkenton. F. A. Boyle, J. W. Landsittle, J. F. Hoilinger, Fred Fauss, and .\. Il. Henniger : marshal. Philip Rothley.

Questions looking toward the issuing of bonds for the purpose of building a new public hall and the erection of water works have met

with defeat when submitted to the voters of the corporation.

Fraternal .- The following fraternal or- ders are represented by subordinate lodges and branches in Lowell, viz: Knights of Pythias, Masons, Odd Fellows, Daughters of Rebekah, and Grand Army of the Republic.

Buell Lodge, No. 395, Knights of Pythias, has 97 members and owns real estate valued at $2,500. Conventions are held every Monday evening.

Lowell Lodge, No. 438, I. O. O. F., has 91 members enrolled upon its roster and the real estate owned is valued at $3.000. Meetings are held every Tuesday evening.

Sunbeam Lodge, No. 51, Daughters of Re- bekah, has a goodly number of members. Meetings are held every Thursday evening.

The roster of Lowell Lodge, No. 436, FF. & A. M., shows a membership of 34. Meetings are held monthly.

Dick Mason Post, No. 304, G. A. R., has 16 members.

.All of the lodges are in a flourishing con- dition.

-John D. Hollinger.

AURELIUS TOWNSHIP.

Aurelius township was originally a part of Monroe County, being admitted into Washi- ington County, December 15, 1818. In that year John S. Corp and Judah M. Chamberlain headed a petition to the commissioners of Washigton County, praying the establishment of this addition as a township.

On the commissioners' journal, dated De- cember 15, 1818, appears this record :

On petition of John S. Corp, Judah M. Chamber- lain. and others, praying for the establishment of a new town in the county of Washington, therefore

Resolved, by the Board of Commissioners, That that township, pambered five in the cighth range, ex- cepting sections No. 25, 26 and 27. anl fractional sec- tions No. 34, 35 and 36 be and the same is hereby declared and established into an incorporated town, to be here- after known and distinguished by the name and denomi- nation of . Jurelius, and the mhabitants residing in said district are hereby declared entitled to all the privileges and immunities of incorporated towns in the State. The clectors in said town will meet at the house of Mr. Judah

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HISTORY OF MARIETTA AND WASHINGTON COUNTY,

M. Chamberlain on the second Monday of January, 1819. at 10 o'clock A. M., to elect their township officers agrecably to law.

At this meeting Gilead Doane and Judah M. Chamberlain were elected justices of the peace but nothing else is known of the meeting.

It will be noticed that the establishing act did not give Aurelius sections 27 and 34. The date of this accession, as ascertained from the commissioners' journal, was that of their June session, 1842. For they

Resoked, that section twenty-seven and fractional section thirty-four, in township five, range eight, here- tofore belonging to township Salem, is hereby annexed to Aurelius.

Aurelius was reduced to its present small dimensions by the act of the Legislature form- ing Nogle County. It was passed March II. | 1851.

Among the earliest settlers in Aurelius were the Dains, Duttons, Bousers and Hutch- ins. Dr. John B. Regnier, who came about 1819, has well been considered "the father of the township," being a leader in the formation and development of it. He was appointed first postmaster in 1819, built the first grist mill about the same time, and secured the buikling of the first road from the mouth of Cat's Creek to Macksburg.

William W. Mackintosh opened the first store about 1827. Free Will Baptist Church was organized between 1810-12; a "regular" or "hard-shelled" Baptist Church was organ- ized soon after. In 1818 the Methodist Epis- copal Church was organized.

A public school was started as early as 1809 with Nancy Dutton as teacher.

The two villages of the township are Macksburg and Elba, which have owed their prosperity to the oil development which has been very profitable here, there being now 75 producing leases in the township. This is equaled by only one other township in the county as shown by the table of leases in the chapter on "The Oil Industry."

BARLOW TOWNSHIP.

Barlow township was organized in 1818 at

a meeting held in July. The first trustees were Cornelius Houghland, S. N. Cooke and Caleb Green; Duty Green was treasurer. The first settlers in the township were the Lawtons, Vincents, Greens, Proctors, Houghlands, Mc- Guires. The main road in the early days was the "State Road" from Marietta to Athens, which passed near the Lawton cabin ; another from Belpre to Watertown ran a little west of this cabin.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was the first to enter the township, the first church be- ing a log meeting house built in 1808. The First Presbyterian Church was erected in 1838. In 1839 this church split, the "New School" faction leaving the parent church. They unit- el again in 1870. The United Presbyterian Church was organized in 1849 and the Union Church at Vincent in which several denom- inations worshiped was built in 1867. The Christian Church was organized in 1846.

The first school house was built in 1808-09 and was known as the "Old Hickory" school house. A vivid glimpse into that early school house is afforded us in the papers left by Henry Earle Vincent :

"The house in which the pioneer children of Barlow township first learned their A, B, C's, and to repeat 'In Adam's fall we sinned all' was built entirely of rough hickory logs. with chimney of 'cat and clay,' and a broad fire-place wide enough to receive logs the length of a common fence-rail, which not only furnished fuel for fire but seats for the young urchins while warming themselves. The floor. benches and writing table were all made of rough-hewn puncheons-that is, logs split into slabs and some of the roughness 'scutched' off with a broad-axe. Small cavities were left in the back wall in which the ink-stands, contain- ing the maple ink, were kept to protect it from the frost.

"The windows were made by cutting out a piece of a log six or eight feet in length and placing small sticks perpendicularly across the space at intervals, thus making a sash over which the paper was pasted. The paper used was generally the well-scribbled leaves of okdl

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copy books, as there were no newspapers in those days and blank paper was too scarce and too valuable to be used for such purposes. This paper was made transparent by being first gen- erally coated with coon's grease or possum fat, and a fire-brand held to it until well-melted.

"The old schoolmaster was so deaf that the scholars would talk right out loud,' and often he would go to sleep and then the way the young rogues in 'home-spun and linsey' would 'cut-up' was nobody's business but the teacher's and he did not know it. When dis- missed for noon, the first one on the ice was the best fellow-but the best fellow in this case happened to be a tall, portly girl, who generally led the van in all the sports. The old school- house has long since, with the youthful actors in the scenes about its portals, passed away forever.'

Barlow village was made in 1840 with John McCuig, Horatio Ford and Lyman Laf- lin as proprietors, and "consisted of eleven lots of fifty-four acres each and located near the Marietta and Belpre roads." Lyman Laflin opened the first store.

Fleming, a station on the old Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, now a prosperous little hamlet on the Marietta, Columbus & Cleveland Railway, was laid out August 3, 1853. by Hen- ry Earle Vincent, who kept the first postoffice. The first store was opened by Church B. Tut- tle, and Enoch Preston kept the first tavern.

D. C. Lasure contributed the following on "Stores and Trade" of Barlow to the Barlow Centennial which is of interest.

"The first store of which I can learn, in Barlow township, was on the southeast corner of Barlow X Roads.

"H. N. Ford, C. B. Tuttle and C. Shipman started a store in the Ford building, under the firm name of H. N. Ford & Company. H. N. Ford died in a short time, and C. D. Ford took his place. Soon John Ford bought C. D. Ford's interest and the firm was John Ford & Company. Then D. H. Merrill anu T. W. Moore bought this firm out, and Ford. Ship- man and Tuttle retired. This was in 1858 or 1859. Soon after D. H. Merrill bought

Moore's interest and carried on the business two or three years, when J. W. Merrill bought an interest, and the firm became Merrill Broth- ers. This firm did an extensive business for some years. Then C. D. Ford bought a third interest and the firm became Merrill Brothers & Company, and continued so two or three years, when C. D. Ford retired, and the firm became Merrill Brothers and so continued until succeeded by Lazure Brothers. Smith Broth- ers bought out Lazure Brothers, and they sold to A. W. Morris, W. E. Thompson and D. E. Greenlees, as Morris, Thompson & Company. Soon Mr. Greenlees retired, and the firm was Morris & Thompson. Mr. Thompson sold his interest to J. H. Fleming, making it Mor- 1is & Fleming, who after continuing business a short time, removed their stock of goods to Williamstown, West Virginia. The store room, which had been enlarged at different times by Merrill Brothers, then was unoccupied for some time, but a year or two ago L. C. Maxwell put in a stock of goods and is now doing business there.

"Lyman Laffin was postmaster for a num- ber of years in early times and carried a small stock of goods in connection with the post- office.

"Soon after the Civil War. the store room east of Mrs. M. A. Ford's was built by the Barlow Mill Company, composed of C. B. Tut- tle, George B. Turner. Jude Chamberlain and Harry Burchett. They did business in it for a year or two, then moved mill and store to Vincent. Somewhere in the 'fifties,' H. G. Lawrence partially built a store room just west of and near to the store so long occupied by Merrill Brothers. This was occupied as a store room by a Mr. Coyton, later by John Parker, and finally by Scott & Pollard. Each of these continued but a short time. The building became the property of Merrill Broth- ers and when John Haddow's residence was burnt, Mr. Haddow bought the oldl store, and it is now the framework of Mrs. Haddow's house. Ten years or so ago. J. 11. Haddow built a store room in the village and occupied it some time. in partnership with Mr. Gracey

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HISTORY OF MARIETTA AND WASHINGTON COUNTY,

as Gracey & Haddow. Soon Mr. Gracey re- tired, and Mr. Haddow afterward sold an in- terest to Perley Dunsmoor, and the firm be- came Haddow & Dunsmoor. Mr. Haddow re- tired and P. Dunsmoor was the store man. Later P. Dunsmoor & Son, and at present D. L. Dunsmoor. Two or three years ago J. W. Scott and J. F. Foster started a store in the south end of the village, and after a year or two Mr. Foster retired, and J. W. Scott con- tinues the business. Lawton Sisters have run a store in the Post Office building for the past ten years or more. Sarah J. Lamb ran a store in the east end of the village for two or three years when, having become married to a lior- rid man, she gave up the store business and went west.

"The first store in Vincent, called the 'Farmers Exchange,' was kept by C. B. Tut- tle on what was known as Gard's corner. I believe he was succeeded by Gard & Son, who later sold to H. M. Amlin and William Mc- Kibben, who did a fair business for a short time as Amlin & Mckibben, and H. Gard & Son built a new store on the opposite corner and did business there for a short time. Af- terward John Lynch kept store in the same place. Other stores in Vincent were kept by John Tuttle, Tuttle & Dunn, Mary J. Pres- ton, Preston & Tuttle, and A. B. Vincent in the building formerly used as the station house on M. & C. R. R. S. F. Hayes built a store in the village about 25 years ago and did busi- ness there until within a few years.

"After the T. & O. C. E. R. R. was re- vived, Sandy Shaw and D. R. Shaw built a store near the railroad crossing, and did busi- ness as Shaw Brothers. Later D. R. Shaw retired and Sandy still runs the store. Hayes Brothers built a store on the opposite side of the railroad and ran a hardware business. Jo- seph Smith started a store in a building put up by J. C. Vincent four or five years ago, and ran it a short time. He was succeeded by Berkley & Company, and they by A. C. Fuller. F. W. Vincent built and runs a store on the opposite side of the street. Burris Crewson had a store where Adam Kepler now lives.

WV. O. Keith has a store on a new street run- ning past the school house.

"I have understood that Mrs. McGary car- ries a small stock of groceries. Thomas Breckenridge built a store at Fleming station probably about 1860. He was succeeded by a Mr. Martin from Pittsburg and he in turn by Edward Cecil, Mr. Tullis, Strickling Brothers, J. H. Haddow, Haddow & Fleming, Fleming & Turner, Charles Turner, Hart Brothers, C. E. Finch, Fleming & Biedel, Finch & Biedel, Coffman & Miller, S. A. Coffman and C. E. Starr, who now occupies a new store at the old stand.

"After C. E. Finch sold out at the station, he started a store near his residence and still runs it. Robert Pryor at one time had a store on Pryor Ridge, where Harvey Martin now lives, and D. G. Martin also kept store a while just north on the same ridge.

"On the establishment of a post office at Ormiston, Alexander Ormiston started a store at his farm in the northeast part of the town- ship, which he has since discontinued. Mrs. McCurdy has had a store on Barnett Ridge for some years, and at one time a Mr. Amos kept a small store on the Hoon place. There may have been other efforts in the store line, but I have failed to get track of tliemn."

Of the later advancements should be men- tioned the Barlow Fair. It was started in a small way, in 1871, by William Thompson, 1. B. Lawton, Frank Deming, William Moore, E. H. Palmer, Daniel Canfield, John Ormiston and others, and has grown year by year to its present greatness and importance. There is a tradition, of long standing in this county, that it never rains in the time of the Barlow Fair.

BELPRE TOWNSHIP.

The names of the settlers in Belpre and much of the early history of the township are found in Chapter IV.

It was created by resolution of the Court of Quarter Sessions, December 20, 1790, as is shown by the following record :

Resolved, That townships No. 1 and 2, in the tenth

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range, and No. 1, in the ninth range, be. and they hereby are incorporated. and to be meluded in one township, by the name of Belpre.

The first town officers were: Col. E. Bat- telle, town clerk; Winton Casey, overseer of poor : Col. Nathaniel Cushing, constable.

The location of the settlements is thus de- scribed by Dr. S. P. Hildreth: "The main body of the new colony tract was divided into two portions, known as the 'Upper' and 'Mid- dle' settlements. The lands on the river were of the richest quality ; rising as they receded from the Ohio on to an elevated plain, 30 or 40 feet higher than the low bottoms, and ex- tending back to the base of the hills. This plain was in some places more than half a mile in width, forming with the bottoms alluvions of nearly a mile in extent. The soil on the plain was in some places fertile, loamy sand ; and in others inclined to gravel, but every- where covered with a rich growth of forest trees, and producing fine crops of small grain. About a mile below the Little Kenawha. this plain came into the river, presenting a lofty mmural front of eighty or a hundred feet above the surface of the water. This precipitous bank is continued for half a mile, and on its brow, and for some distance back, is clothed with evergreens, being chiefly different varie- ties of the cedar. That portion of the plain is known by the name of 'the Bluff,' and is lo- cated near the head of Blennerhassett's Island, close to the landing and crossing place to the mansion erected a few years after by this cele- brated man. 'The Bluff' divided the 'Upper" settlement from those below. The 'Upper' lay in a beautiful curve of the river, which formed nearly a semi-circle, the periphery of which was about a mile and a half, and rose gradually from the bank of the river on to the second bottom by a natural glacis, the grade and beauty of which no art of man could ex- cel. From the lower end of 'the Bluff,' the plain gradually receded from the river, leaving a strip of rich bottom land, about three miles in length, and from a quarter to a third of a mile in width. This distance, like that portion above, was laid off into farms, about 40 rods

wide and extending back to the hills, which rose by a moderate slope to an elevation of an hundred feet above the surface of the plain, and were clothed with oak and hickory, to their tops. This charming location was well named 'Belle-prairie,' (or beautiful meadow ), but is now generally written 'Belpre.' "

THE TOWN OF BELPRE IN 1902. (Incorporated in 1901.)

The Belpre of today reflects creditably the intellectual and cultured characteristics of the stalwart pioneer of the "block-house" days. There still remains some traces of the old pio- neer blood, and a few of the historic points made famous during the days of the first set- tlers are cherished and protected by the present inhabitants.

The geographical limits of Belpre have been encroached upon, from time to time, until now Belpre-proper-represents an incorporated village about one mile long and one-half wide, directly opposite Parkersburg, West Virginia. Though the settlement of Belpre is one of the oldest in the county and hence in the State, and for many years the most popular commun- ity in the county, outside the present Marietta, yet it was not until July 22, 1901. that it was voted to incorporate it. The following Janu- ary ( 1902) the charter was received, and on I the 13th day of the same month, the election of the first officers of the corporation was held. The estimated population is 900,-10 census has as yet been taken since the incorporation.

The valley in which Belpre is located is still one of the most productive along the Ohio River, being especially adapted to truck-gar- dening, and yet retains the pristine beauty, which gave to it its poetic name. Belpre is essentially a residence village, its commercial and industrial interests having been greatly damaged by the 1884 Ohio River freshet, from which it has only partially recovered. How- ever, in a retail way, it has a number of in- stitutions which do a thriving business. It depends upon Parkersburg, West Virginia, for its banking facilities. A building and loan

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company was incorporated January 8. 1902, with an authorized capital of $500,000.

Belpre has ever taken a front rank in its interest in education. Its public schools are noted for their excellence, and have an enroll- ment of 300 pupils, with eight teachers. The school building is a well-equipped brick struc- ture of eight rooms, erected in 1876. Con- nected with the schools is a circulating library of 650. volumes, to which additions are made each year.

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History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 42

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J Publication date: 1902 Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1490

Author: Andrews, Martin Register, 1842-; Hathaway, Seymour J
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: Chicago : Biographical Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1490