History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 71

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 71

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remuneration of the miller, but by the law of custom he was allowed to crook his hand to any extent in stroking his toll-dish.

At the close of the Indian war, Captain Devol selected a suitable site, purchased land. moved his family, and commenced building another floating mill, in 1795. In the absence of all other kind of mills except hand mills and the means of purchasing from abroad. the.ex- igency of the public demanded something that would reduce corn to breadstuff. Captain Devol had made one experiment, and was still to make improvements, and he persevered un- der very discouraging circumstances,-want of necessary funds, the difficulty of procuring iron, millstones, &e. : m the beginning of 1790 the mill began to grind, and although a mere circumstance to a mill. - a mere temporary con- cern -- yet it did the grinding, in the times of a thin population, for a distance of 50 miles above Marietta and 50 miles below, and even ground meal to go to Zanesville in its first set- tlement. Subsequently Captain Devol built a mill upon a larger scale, which stood prominent upon high stone pillars, with a water-wheel 40 feet in dimensions : this mill accommodated a large circle of inhabitants, as the Muskingum is the only perennial stream in the county; at the time of the year when mills ceased to operate was the most advantageous tine for these mills, and the most beneficial to the public.

In 1801 Captain Devol built the ship "Mis- kingum," of 204 tons, launched in the spring of 1802. belonging. to Benjamin Ives Gilman, Esq., and the brig "Eliza Greene," owned by Charles Greene, merchant, of Marietta.

In 1802 a number of vessels were built at Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Marietta, and on the Muskingum, which were launched and floated down the Ohio, in April. 1803.

CAPT. WILLIAM DANA, a native of Water- town, near Boston, was some time in his coun- try's service. He commanded a company of artillery previous to and for some years after the little of Bunker Hill. He had leased a large farm and resided in the neighborhood of Worcester and was compelled to relinquish

the same to prevent a large sacrifice of proper- ty. He left New Hampshire early in May. 1788, with two sons, and arrived in Marietta the fore part of June. He built a log cabin on the corner of Market Square, exactly " where the Post Office now stands: he was to clear and improve the land and give up his possession when the people required its de. As it was too late to plant, he and the boys cleared a small piece toward the Female Semi- nary and made a small kiln of bricks, which were probably the first kiln of bricks burned in Ohio. Bricks were made near the same place by Mai. Ezra Lant of Newburyport. Massachusetts, in the summers of 1789 and 1700. When I took possession of the cabin I purchased the lease, and cleared and fenced Market Square, and the common in front of the Muskingum, and sold my possession to Mr. Burlingame, and he to Dr. True, whose de- scendants now own it. I had a small chimney built of those bricks, and when I removed to the garrison of "Upper" Belpre in the spring of 1793, 1 took some hundreds of those bricks to build a small chimney in the chamber of Captain Dana's block-house, and when I moved up the Muskingum-December 1, 1795 -I brought up in General Putnam's barge 500 bricks, a considerable number of which I took to Belpre and which were made in the first kiln made on Market Square, and are now about our premises.

COL. EBENEZER BATTELLE, a native of Bos- ton, had been captain of the Ancient and Ion- trable Artillery Company of Boston, who could not be elected to that position without he had held a colonel's commission under the Governor of Massachusetts. He arrived with his family in Marietta in 1789, and removed to Belpre in the spring of 1790. He was liberally educated and was an active partner in a book- store with Isaiah Thomas in Boston. He was educated with a view of his embracing a cler ical life, but he did not embrace that protes- sion. He moved to Olno and became a farm- cr. Ile officiated as chaplain in the Belpre set- tlements during the Indian war. These pa- triots of the Revolution did not forget that

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they were the recipients of the gifts of a pro- tecting Providence, and did not neglect to meet on the holy Sabbath and offer up their prayers and adoration to our Gracious and Merciful Father, their constant and bountiful benefactor, and with thankfulness and grati- tude for the present and past implore His pro- tecting care for their country and themselves in time to come.

CAPT. NATHAN CUSHING, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, a soldier of the Rev- olution, and a true and valuable officer, came with his family early to the settlement, and settled in Belpre. Farmers' Castle stood part- ly on his land : he was head of the police and had principal charge of the military in that gar- rison. He was one of the most candid, indus- trious and valuable citizens. He had a large family, which he took the utmost pains to educate during the war, and who now occupy reputable and respectable stations in the coun- try.

CAPT. ROLAND BRADFORD, a native near Plymouth, Massachusetts, a soldier of the Revolution, was a good man, a good citizen, and a good farmer. He left but one child now living-Robert Bradford, of Parkers- burgh. He was a descendant of old Governor Bradford, of Plymouth, and brought to Mari- etta a number of articles of household furni- ture that belonged to his ancestors, several of which are now in possession of his son Robert. He had a rare escape from the Indians in re- turning from Scioto Springs, in 1794, with G. Greene.

CAPT. OLIVER RICE, of Rutland, Massa- chusetts, was an officer through the Revolu- tion. He married after the war-lost his wife -came out early, and settled in Belpre-was afterward a major in the militia-a sterling citizen and among the best of farmers; his line is extinct in this country. He was a brave man at Stony Point, and was a lieuten- ant.

CAPT. JONATHAN HASKELL came early and settled in Belpre; subsequently he was ap- pointed a captain in General Wayne's army. He was with General Harmar out against the

Indians ; he came up with his company and re- sided one winter and a part of a summer in Marietta. He married a sister of Capt. Daniel Green. He was out with Wayne : he returned to Belpre, where he raised his family and made his exit; he had a daughter married to Mr. Lawton of Barlow.

LIEUT. GEORGE INGERSOLL, a native of Boston, came early to Belpre, having been an officer of the Revolution; he was a lieutenant of the first artillery company in the county. He was for some time under pay as an officer of the United States in the Indian war ; he re- turned over the mountains after the war. He had some employment at West Point, where he got married and did not return.

The following were prominent citizens of Belpre and of the county all in the month of March, 1790 :-

COL, ISRAEL PUTNAM, son of Gen. Israel Putnam, of the Revolution, came with his son, Maj. Aaron Waldo Putnam, and returned to Connecticut, and in 1793 brought the residue of his family. Colonel Putnam was one of the largest capitalists of the time that emigrated to our county ; he was an experienced and enlight- ened agriculturist ; his example and precept were beneficial in giving an earnest tone and direction to farming in Belpre. Many of our Revolutionary settlers had been practiced to watchfulness and inured to danger, and dis- ciplined to the use of the sword and gun, who were not familiar with the plow and the scythe and the sickle, but by the example of those bet- ter skilled, they soon became good farmers.

MAJ. A. W. PUTNAM, late of Belpre, was one of the most skillful, extensive and thor- ough farmers early in the settlement. His farm lay about half a mile below Farmers' Castle, and when the war commenced he moved into that garrison, but left his stock on the farm, where they required his daily atten- tion. The Indians-who were secreted back on "the Plain," covered by the woods- watched those who went out to feed their stock; as Major Putnam was on his way to feed, and had got a sufficient distance, as they judged, they left their cover and endeavored to

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cut off his retreat, but he early discovered them and gave the alarm to the garrison ; the citizens flew to their arms and made a sortie with all speed down the river in the direction to meet Major Putnam and intercept the In- dians before they should meet Major Putnam. When the Indians found they could not effect their object, they made a halt, fired several shots at Major Putnam and received several shots from the party without effect, then made their retreat to the woods ; but the citizens did not think prudent to follow. lest they should be led into an ambush.

GRIFFIN GREENE, EsQ., from Rhode Isl- and, was an early settler. He moved to Belpre in the spring of 1790. He had been engaged in mercantile business in Rhode Island and had been active in the cause of his country during the Revolution, suffering some loss which led him to Europe, where he observed a floating mill for grinding grain, near Amsterdam, which led to the erection of one of similar construction in Belpre, in company with Capt. Jonathan Devol, as related elsewhere. Esquire Greene was a man of genius, and a man of talents, a useful, enterprising and exemplary citizen. His after life and family are well known.

DANIEL LORING, from Massachusetts, was an early settler in Belpre; he was appointed a magistrate by General St. Clair, and subse- quently a judge under the Territorial govern- mient : he was a substantial and correct man. and one of the best kind of citizens: his de- scendants are an exemplification of his worth and estimation in society.

ISAAC PIERCE, EsQ., a native of Rhode Isl- and, was brother-in-law to Charles Greene : they came together early in 1789: he was an early settler in Belpre; he was bred a mer- chant. but he soon learned the trade of a farm- er : subsequently he became a magistate. and was much resorted to for those instruments of writing so necessary in society to keep its surface snyroth, by keeping the rough even and the crooked straight. His physical powers were moderate, but his moral and mental were

such as made him a good man and a good citizen.

COL. ALEXANDER OLIVER, from the west- ern part of Massachusetts, came on in 1789. "and moved to Belpre in March, 1790: he had a large family ; one daughter married Judge Daniel Symmes, another William Spencer, of Cincinnati. The family were reputable: his descendants are all settled in the western part of the State.

CAPT. BENJAMIN MILES, of Rutland Massachusetts, settled in the "Lower Settle- ment" of Belpre; his family was large and reputable. He was a substantial farmer and took much pains to educate his children, some of whom, I believe, occupy prominent situa- tions in society.

WILLIAM BROWNING, from Rutland, Mas- sachusetts, came on with General Putnam's family in 1790. COL. DANIEL BENT, from the same place. ISRAEL STONE, from the same place. All were settled in Belpre in 1790. They were all substantial farmers. CAPTAIN CURTIS, from Connecticut, MR. GUTHRIE and and family, from the same place, were in gar- rison during the war, were settled in Newbury. The above persons had large families, some of whom occupy prominent stations, and all are reputable and noted.

I have been more particular with the first settlers of Belpre, because I consider they pos- sessed in a mo re eminent degree those sterling qualities which form a base on which to erect this social edifice, and which are best calculated at once to cherish, guard, and perpetu- ate our republican liberties. They must have had some education in early life : they must have been practiced to in- dustry and economy under the influence of a respect for morality and religion; they could not have been selected t, lead their country - mien to battle for their country's rights mere- ly for their physiendl powers cas of old) but they must have been chosen from their moral standing and superior intellect. They had a second education in the army of the Revolution, where they heard the precepts of wisdom and

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saw the examples of bravery and fortitude: . Island, came early to the county with his fami- they had been disciplined to obey and learned the advantage of subordination to law and good order, in promoting the prosperity and happiness of themselves and the rest of man- kind.

I must not omit the name of one person ; he deserves a rank with our best men-DAN- IEL MAYO, from Boston. He was educated at Harvard University ; he came early to Belpre and taught school in Farmers' Castle in the time of the war ; he was not only a scholar but a gentleman, a most esteemed citizen, and sub- sequently married a daughter of Col. Israel Putnam and moved to Newport, opposite Cin- cinnati.

DEAN TYLER, a native of Haverhill, Massa- chusetts, came out very early. He had been liberally educated. He possessed abilities, but his genius was eccentric; he had been exclus- ively confined to handling books and found it difficult to became accustomed to the ax-handle and the hue, and without the means to live without, there were few implements which of- tered the means to keep the pot boiling, and in- stead of growing up with the settlement and becoming a guide and benefactor, he became worse than indolent, buried his talents and lis errors should not be remembered.

ly, which were numerous. His oldest sons, Gilbert and Jonathan, settled in Marietta ; they were both blacksmiths, industrious and valua- ble mechanics and good citizens. He was some time a judge of the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, in the time of the Revolution, when patriotism ran down the streets like a s tream, and paper money like a flood. He was a man with a strong mind ; had read much and had formed some eccentric theories by which he arrived at the conclusion that the moral and mental were and ought to be subordinate to the physical powers.

BENJAMIN SHAW, from Beverly, Massa- chusetts, came early to the country and settled at Waterford : he was a good citizen and a sub- stanial farmer. He had a large family, who nowy hold reputable and respectable stations in society : his oldest daughter married Benja- min Dana, of Waterford; his youngest son, Boylston Shaw, now resides on and inherits the paternal property at Waterford.

BENJAMIN DANA, from Pomfret, in Ver- mont, came out with Col. Israel Putnam's fami- ly in 1794 and resided in Belpre until the peace with the Indians. He then purchased proper- ty in, and removed to, Waterford; he became one of the most extensive and successful agri- culturists in the county. He inherited all the qualities analogous to the evergreen and granite of his native State, and adopted all the improvements and advantages incident to the more fertile soil and congeniel climate of the State of Ohio. He very early began the cutivation of the fine-wooled Merino and Sax- on sheep : his flock is the largest and finest in the county. Very few men with the same means could have accomplished so much and still fewer could have done more.

WILLIAM GRAY, of Massachusetts, was a nephew to William Gray, an extensive mer- chant. for whom he was named, who lived Some time in Salem, and subsequently in Bos- ten. He came early with his family and set- tled in Waterford; his physical and mental powers were such as would command attention and favorable notice in any society had his pas- sions been under the guidance of miorai prin- ciple and his intellect under the discipline of education. He was some time employed as a lieutenant in the United States service, and Several other persons-Captain Davis for instance, father to a large family now scattered over the State. A Mr. Barlow, brother to his uncle-Billy Gray, of Boston-regularly sent i am money enough to maintain his family. but he was deficient in the characteristics of . Joel Barlow, the poet and land agent, who the Yankee -- industry, economy and regular . habits Two of his daughters are respectively married to the Messrs. Howard, of Waterford. (HILBERT DEVOL, ESQ., a native of Rhode died in France; this man was probably 60; he got a lot-now a part of the William Dana farmi-built a cabin, cleared a field, and raised a crop: he lived by himself, refused to go into

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garrison, contending the Indians would never kill him while he had his Bible. But the In- dians came in the spring of 1791. early in the morning, and seeing a little hut, which they took to be solitary, they began to whoop and halloo; the old man, taking advantage of this warning, after losing faith in his Bible, fled to the river undiscovered, and crept out on a leaning sycamore over the water. As the water was rising fast, it drove him into the top, and as he was out of hearing of the garri- son, he had to stay until some time next day

before he got relief. A party from the garri- son, knowing that the Indians were in, went down to see if Mr. Barlow's Bible had been a protection ; they found the Indians had been at the house, the Bible torn to pieces, his bed emptied and the bed clothes and other clothing taken away, with all other things of value : his pots and kettle broken and strewed about : they heard some one hallooing at the river and found him on the tree. Ile imme- diately left for Vermont, where he was alive a few years ago, aged between 90 and 100.

CHAPTER XXIII.

REMINISCENCES BY HON. GEORGE M. WOODBRIDGE.

SKETCH OF MR. WOODBRIDGE'S LIFE-A WATCH NIGHT MEETING OF FIFTY YEARS AGO- EARLY FLOODS IN THE "OHIO BASIN"-REVOLUTIONARY RECORD-A REPORT OF THE EARLY BURIALS IN WATERFORD TOWNSHIP-SOME DISTINGUISHED VISITORS DURING THE PAST CENTURY-RECOLLECTIONS OF SOME MEN OF FORMER YEARS- SOME EARLY RECOLLECTIONS-MOUND CEMETERY-MONUMENT TO MARK THE FIRST LANDING OF THE PIONEERS-THE OLD COURT HOUSE-CORN HUSKING TIMES-A HUNT IN 1832-THE PAST-THE FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL-A GENUINE PIONEER- DEFENSE OF THE PIONEERS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS.

In the last 10 or 12 years of his life. Mr. | Now that he has entered into rest we cannot Woodbridge, having then retired from active do better than to draw upon these for this memorial to hiis worth. He was born in Ma- rietta. October 3. 1814. His grandfather, Dudley Woodbridge, came from Connecticut with the early colonists of Ohio, in 1790. His son, Dudley Woodbridge, Jr., father of George M., was a great merchant and business man of Marietta for about 50 years: of the courtly and gracious dignity of the old school. business, wrote many interesting sketches de- scribing early events in Washington County. and it had been the hope of many that he would collect these sketches and publish them in bock form. Our hope has not been real- ized. Fortunately the most of his articles, published as they were written in the local pa- pers, have been preserved. From them we make liberal extracts, believing that they con- From childhood George Woodbridge was a prince among his companions, honored for his wit, loved for his good-heartedness. He was an early graduate of the Ohio University, and was even then a brilliant orator, with pro- phetic promise of the eloquence that in after years captivated and swayed the multitude. tain many items of general interest stated by one who was a keen observer and a careful writer. The persons and events described rep- resent nearly every part of the county. As an introduction to the chapter we give a short biography of the writer, from the pen of Rev. David H. Moore, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church :

HON. GEORGE MORGAN WOODBRIDGE .- This distinguished Ohioan died in Marietta. March 23rd inst. ( 1900), in his 86th year. In the Western Christian Advocate of January 24, 1804, we printed his cut, a sketch "by a long-time friend," and editorial comment.

A politician born, he was elected to the Ohio Legislature in 1842. As Representative from Washington County, 1842-43. he ranked well up among the remarkable young men of that General Assembly-such men as Robert C. Schenck ( General Schenck ) : Caleb J. Mc- Nulty, of Knox (died on the Mississippi in 1846) : LeGrand Byington, of Pike; John .A.'

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Smith, of Highland ; not to mention the famous Dr. Edson B. Okls. Mir. Woodbridge was not a candidate for re-election. He continued to take an active interest in political affairs for more than thirty years, until the shades 'of his evening were drawing nigh. He was a delegate to the first National Republican Convention, which nominated John C. Fre- mont for President: and he became assessor of internal revenue in 1862, in time of the War of the Rebellion, and continued in that position to the public satisfaction till about 1873. or a period of some 10 years.

It was while in the Legislature that he met and won his bride, Miss Lizzie Hensley. of Kentucky, who for more than half a cen- tury graced his honze, and added an unsur- passed charm to the society of Marietta. She preceded him into the rest for which both toiled and lived.

His oratorical powers were put to noble uise at the outbreak of the Civil war, when. with his fellow-laborers, designated by the Military Commission of Washington County, he was largely instrumental in recruiting the Thirty- sixth, Sixty-third, and Seventy-seventh Regi- ments of Ohio Volunteers. During the entire struggle, his voice, influence and substance were on his country's altar.

lle was a life-long and loyal Methodist. For more than seven months he was a great sufferer. During all that time his patience was unbroken and marvelous: and he never was aught but the same courteous Christian gentleman that he was in the class room, on the hustings, in the place of business, in the circle of his family. He talked freely with his daughters, who were constantly with him. Miss Woodbridge writes :

"lle said that he was not afraid to die, and that he had 'a conscience void of offense to- ward Gol and man.' Nothing burt my dear father in :e than a word against the Bible or the Divinity of Christ. Any man who had sutch ideas he seemed to fear, and really had a horror of. The Apostles' Creed. he said, ex- pressed his belief.'

.And so, very peacefully, at four in the aft- ernoon of Friday, March 23d, he fell asleep.

In the second year of my ministry I was his pastor, and learned to love him as a son might love a father. In 1896 1 feared he would slip away from us, and so had the biographical sketch prepared in advance, from which I have drawn today. But I used it at once, explaining my decision by the editorial note which follows, and which, better than anything I could write today, tells the story of his worth and worthiness :

"Why should the above be filed to be used when the splendid genius it commemorates is no more? Rather let the incense of its sin- cere compliment regale the living : and let the young men of Plymouth and of our Ohio Com- pany's purchase look for inspiration while they may upon a direct and immediate de- scendant of the Ohio Pilgrims.

"What a priceless privilege to be a Paul at the feet of such a Gamaliel-to be post graduate in his unchartered school of oratory and Christian statesmanship!

"The chrism of the beginning of the North- west Territory was upon his brow, and he taught of the past of our country as one re- hearsing his own experience. A careful stu- dent of the Constitution, he knew each man's relation to that imperishable document, and could point with inerrant finger to the parts contributed by Jefferson and Hamilton. Fol- lowing him, our history was not as the weird wonders of half-explored caverns dimly lighted by the smoking torch of garrulous pride: but as the wide landscape seen from mountain sum- mit when the sun bathes it in cloudless splen- dors. For such a country as he saw and de- scribed, it were sweet to die.

"In that earlier time there were sparkling and inexhaustible fountains of poetry in his nature. His soul deepened from boyhood. When a lopesome student at the old Ohio Uni- versity, he threw himself weeping on the worn horseshoe tracks that marked his father's homeward journey. Ever within him was a holy place of tenderest feeling, in whose se-

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clusion he might hide and weep alone. This it was which surcharged his speech with mag- netic currents that leaped from heart to heart. and gave to his cogent reasoning and fertile fancy the unpurchasable spell of eloquence.

"After all, his life has been an outline. As when some artist crayons his grand conceptions on the waiting canvas and passes on, nor ever returns to fill in the sketch with details that make its possibilities immortal in the finished painting ; so he, poet, philosopher, statesman, orator, each in all and all in each, outlined his chef d'oeuvre, and then scorned to pay the price a selfish world would have exacted for the easel-stores its completed glories required."

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History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and representative citizens, Part 71

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