USA > Ohio > Morgan County > History of Morgan County, Ohio, with portraits and biographical sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 50
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The Millers came from Guernsey County and settled in Penn in 1850. The family consisted of the widowed mother and thirteen children. They settled on the farm now owned by James Dougan. William Miller, one of the sons and one of the most prominent
farmers of Penn Township at this time, was born in Guernsey County in 1832. He purchased the farm where he now resides in 1855. It comprises three hundred acres and is regarded as one of the best in the township. He married Sarah Hummel and has a family of six children.
William H. Young was born in Por- tage County, in 1837. In 1858 he came to Morgan County and settled in Penn Township. In 1862 he enlisted in Company F, 86th O. . V. I., a three months organization. He reënlisted in Company G, 161st O. V. I. He did his duty unflinchingly, and from expos- ure became crippled for life. After his discharge from the service he returned to Penn, where for eight years he offi- ciated as township treasurer, besides holding many other minor positions. In 1884 he was elected to the office of register and recorder, the duties of which he has discharged with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the people.
The politics of Penn Township are a very certain and reliable quantity. Out of over 300 voters there are about 50 democratic votes, on an average. Thus it has been for several years. At present the honor of casting the democratic vote of the village is enjoyed by one individual.
PENNSVILLE.
This is a small but very pleasant vil- lage, situated in the central part of Penn Township. It is among the old- est of Morgan County villages, and is quict and old-fashioned. Nevertheless, it is a good trading point, containing four well-stocked stores, which supply the inhabitants of an extensive tract of farming country with groceries and
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
dry goods. Pennsville is of Quaker origin, and has always been what it is to-day-moral, quiet, well-behaved.
The first plat of the town was made in 1828 for Nathan Sidwell, proprietor. A few years later additions were made by Samuel Spurrier and Nathan Sid- well, and by Joseph Stahl. The village was settled quite rapidly, and during the first decade of its existence its pop- ulation probably was as great, if not greater, than it is to-day.
Samuel King opened the first store. William Foulke was another early mer- ehant. John Penrose settled in the village in 1830° and opened the first blacksmith shop. Shortly afterward his wife began selling a few goods, and as business grew Mr. Penrose turned his attention to it, opening a store with Joseph Lawrence as his partner. He continued the mercantile business until his death, and was widely known and very popular.
Jesse Sidwell, blaeksinith, was an early eomer.
John and Samuel Rogers, from New Jersey, started a tannery in 1831. They carried on the business on quite an ex- tensive seale for several years, and after gaining a competency, sold out and went to Illinois.
"In 1832," says one who first saw Pennsville in that year, "there were but three or four frame buildings in Pennsville. The rest of the structures were log cabins, and many of them surrounded by dense woods."
Dr. E. G. Coulson eame to the place in 1841. Ile thinks the village had between 200 and 300 inhabitants. John Penrose and John Spurrier were then the leading merehants. The Rogers' tannery was in operation. John Dunn, father of ex-Sheriff Dunn, was a shoe-
maker here, and Abraham Naylor a cabinetmaker. John Wood carried on mereantile business. William Lent was Justice of the peace then and for some years after. Dr. Williams was the village physician. Soon after eame Dr. Spurrier and Dr. MeNiehol. Jehu Coulson, father of Dr. Coulson, was a mason and brieklayer, and worked on many buildings which are still standing.
John McLain, now of St. Joseph, . Mo., and Flavins Waterman kept the first tavern in Pennsville. Other early tavern-keepers were Bob Kirby, Lep Tompkins and 'Squire Lent. Though some of the hotel-keepers in former years have sold liquor, there has never been a bar-room in Pennsville.
The first temple of education in Pennsville was a primitive log sehool- house, which served for several years. The present school building, a two- story frame structure, was ereeted about 1863. Two schools are now maintained.
This village, like other Quaker eom- munities, was strongly abolitionist, and figured prominently in the management of the Underground Railroad. Fugi- tive slaves who sueeeeded in reaching Pennsville or the neighboring village of Chester Hill, were reasonably safe from recapture, and were sent on their way rejoicing.
The first briek house in the village was erected on the lot where the store of T. E. Penrose now stands. It was of sun-dried briek. In the early years of the village it was the residence of Joseph Lawrence, and later Joshua Wood kept store in it.
Anthony Fowler was an early settler in the village. He was a cloek maker and worked at his trade here. Several old-fashioned eight-day clocks of his
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manufacture are still in use. The works are of wood and they are said to keep accurate time. The house in which Fowler lived, a brick one, is still standing, and is the oldest brick build- ing in the village.
The Dr. Williams property, a log house, weather-boarded, still stands on its original foundation, and is probably the oldest house in town.
The principal business interests of Pennsville in 1886 were as follows:
General stores: T. E. Penrose, E. R. Hilaman & Son, J. S. Simpson, James Dewees.
Hardware: M. Penrose.
Drugs: L. J. Harmer, Dr. E. G. Coulson.
The usual variety of minor industries are to be found here. There are three physicians-Dr. E. G. Coulson, Dr. L. S. Holcomb, and Dr. Herman Choguill.
CHURCHES.
The Friends' Meeting-Was establish- cd in 1827. The first meeting house was a log building. Next a brick house was erected, which owing to some de- fect, served only a few years. Two other meeting houses have since been erected, that now in nsc being the fourth one erected.
The Methodist Protestant Church-At Pennsville was organized by Eli Matson and Isaac Davis about 1883. Matson was class leader and Davis a prominent member. Other early members were William Hann, John Spurrier and Dr. Samuel Spurrier. Revs. Dalby. Potter, McFarland and Austin were early preachers. The first meetings werc held in a log school house west of Pennsville; afterwards the class met in
shops and dwellings in the village until a church was erected. The present church was erected about 1866 during the pastorate of Rev. J. G. Ogle. The church has a fair membership.
The Baptist Church-In the western part of the township is one of the oldest religious organizations in Mor- gan County. Thoughi now reduced in membership, it was formerly largely attended and very thriving. All the old members having died or removed, little information can be obtained regarding it. The Joneses, Hickersons, Moodys, and Shepards were among the early members.
The other churches of the township are a Methodist Church, in the north- west corner, and a Christian Church, in the sonthwest part.
Antioch Church .- This church, located in the southwestern part of Penn Township, was organized by E. E. White and Nathan Moody in 1867. The first church officers were Isaac Hmmmell and William Miller, elders ; Martin Bingman and David Kennard, deacons. The above and the following comprised the original members : Sarah Miller, Hannah Hummell, Mary Ken- nard, Mary A. Bingman, J. F. Moody, Lavina Moody, Lewis Bingman, Eliza A. Bingman, Ellen Parsons. The house of worship was erected in 1867 at a cost of $500. The pastors have been Revs. E. E. White, Nathan Moody, R. Harvey, J. F. Moody, A. R. Pickens and G. B. Sturgcon. The church now has 100 members and the Sabbath- school sixty scholars.
Mt. Zion Church .- Mt. Zion Church, in the northwest corner of Penn Town- ship, was organized by Rev. John Wilson abont 1830. Among the orig- inal members were James Ady, Sr.,
*For a sketch of the Friends' Meeting in Pennsville, ' see the chapter on Marion township.
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
Mary Ady, Joshua Ady, Thomas Seares, Mary Seares, Margaret Pipe, Mrs. Mary Baird, Samuel Aikens ; Joshua Ady and Thomas Seares, trustees. The first church, 18x24 feet, was erected in 1832 at a cost of $150, which sum also in- cluded the price of the churchyard. The present church, a frame building, 32x36 feet, was built in 1858 and cost $500. The pastors have been Revs. John Wilson, Herbert and Hicklin, Palferman, Warren, Parrish, Ostrum, J. C. Seares, Tracy, Southard, Scott, Lawson, Warren, Ogle, Bowden, Samuel Lancaster, King, Morphy, Thomas Potter, William Dye, W. S. Seares, William Hatfield and Thomas Orr.
LODGE.
Morgan Lodge, No. 363, I. O. O. F. Was instituted July 11, 1860. The char-
ter members were A. W. Stewart, Joab Holt, William S. Seares, George Cain, George Matson, Joseph A. Matson and Reuben Brenneman. Three of this number, Joab Holt, George and J. A. Matson were still members in 1886. The first officers were George Cain, N. G .; George Matson, V. G .; A. W. Stewart, P. S .; W. S. Seares, R. S .; Joab Holt, treasurer. Since its organ- ization 169 persons have been admitted to membership in the lodge. The membership in 1868 was ninety-one. The lodge property is worth about $2,000. The hall is a large one and probably better furnished than any other lodge room in Morgan County. Present officers : Draper Van Fossen, N. G .; A. S. Brown, V. G .; E. K. Yocom, R. S .; S. B. Yocom, P. S .; John S. Simpson, treasurer.
John M. Dermott
CHAPTER XXI
WINDSOR.
THE LARGEST TOWNSHIP OF THE COUNTY-THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENT-THE BIG BOTTOM MASSA- CRE-SITE OF THE BLOCK HOUSE-NEW ENGLAND INFLUENCES-FRUIT CULTURE-EARLY INHAB- ITANTS ALONG THE RIVER-THE HILL FARMS AND "RABBIT LANDS " -- THE OLD MILL AT LUKE CHUTE-PIONEER FAMILIES-MELANCHOLY EVENT AT A WOLF HUNT-JOEL SHERMAN KILLED- THE NOTED FISHERMAN OF THE VALLEY-CANOEING-A PIONEER'S EXPERIENCES-REMARKABLE RELIGIOUS EXCITEMENT-THE "SIX WEEKS' MEETING " IN 1819-EARLY SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS -MERCANTILE AND INDUSTRIAL ITEMS-THE VILLAGE OF STOCKPORT-A GOOD TRADING POINT -THE SETTLEMENT, ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE TOWN-LODGES-CHURCHES-BIOGRAPHICAL.
W INDSOR Township, the largest in Morgan County, is wholly in- cluded within the limits of the Ohio company's purchase and of the donation tract. It was the earliest settled part of Morgan County, and at the time the county was formed had made greater progress in population and improve- ments than any other portion of the county.
Here was the settlement of Big Bot- tom, made in 1790, and ruthlessly de- stroyed by the savages early in the year 1791. For a deseription of the bloek- house and a history of the massaere, the reader is referred to chapter VI, " The Indian War."
For a time the exact location of the historic blockhouse on Big Bottom was, to a considerable degrec, a matter of conjecture. Recently, however, through the earnest efforts of Mr. Obadiah Brokaw, the precise spot where it stood has been definitely ascertained. Any one passing down the river road from Windsor to Marietta can see the spot marked by a stone slab, in a field im-
mediately north of the residence of Mr. Brokaw. In the immediate vicinity of the slab were found indisputable evi- dences of the material of the blockhouse and the remains of its unfortunate oeeu- pants.
The pioneers of this part of the county were largely from the New England States. They were intelligent, moral and progressive. The county is cspe- cially indebted to these New Englanders for the introduction of fruit-apples, peaches, pears, cherries, etc. Orehard- ing has been a prominent industry in the township from the earliest settle- ment to the present time.
The soil is rich and productive. The township contains a greater arca of bottom-land than any other in the county. The farmers are thrifty and progressive, and many of them very prosperous.
Windsor Township was organized as one of the integral parts of Morgan County in the summer of 1819. Its ter- ritory has since been enlarged by the incorporation into the township of a
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
large part of Roxbury Township, form- erly in Washington County.
Doubtless some of the bottoms of this township were occupied by hunters' cabins, here and there, even before the Indian War. But this is merely con- jectural ; the date of actual, permanent occupation by white settlers may safely be set down as 1795-6, after Wayne's vic- tory and the treaty of peace with the Indians.
The earliest settlers were nearly all located on the river. Not until all the river farms were occupied did immi- grants begin to think of improving the uplands. The hill-farms were called "rabbit lands," and considered well- nigh worthless. Few of them were taken up before 1820, and from that time forward for thirty years or more the work of improvement was slow but constant.
Beginning at the Morgan Township line and following the river we find that the early settlers were as follows:
On the first farm George Miller was located for a time. About 1817 he sold out to Asa Olney, whose son Oman settled upon the place. Joshua Davis lived on the farm a short time, but died in 1821.
Where Samuel H. Scott now lives, Thomas- Devin settled about 1818. Near the site of the schoolhouse Thomas Dorragh was located a few years. He left in 1820.
In 1811 Nathan Dearborn came from New Hampshire on foot and located on the farm now occupied by Capt. I. N. Hook. His brother-in-law, Isaac Melvin had occupied the place a short time before, but had left. After mak- ing some improvement, Mr. Dearborn remained on the place till his first wife died. In the fall of 1813 he re-
turned to New Hampshire and mar- ried again. The following March he was drafted, and served a year in the army. Mr. Dearborn was the first coroner of Morgan County, and acted as sheriff at the first term of court in McConnelsville. His son, II. P. Dear- born, now of Meigsville Township, born in 1814, has a vivid recollection of pio- neer events, and has assisted the editors of this history by furnishing many interesting reminiscences. Mr. Dear- born was one of the pioneer temperance workers of the county.
Asa Emerson, Jr., was on the farm below, prior to Dearborn's settlement. Near where J. J. and J. C. Henery now live, from about 1822 to 1826, Samuel M. Dyke held a squatter's possession. He was one of the early teachers of the township. Just below lived William Davis, 2d, and John B. Peary, succeeded about 1817 by Levi Davis and Prince Godfrey. The latter died in 1821. Near the site of the brick church, Sam- uel Henery located in 1815. His pos- terity is still numerous in the township. Next down the river was Elder Will- iam Davis, pastor of the Baptist Church ; and where Robert Henery now lives, James Nott, early in the present century.
Opposite the site of the village of Stockport was Nathaniel Eveland, and next below, Samuel White. Asa White was on the farm of the late Arthur Taggart ; and a little below lived John Craft and Elisha Hand, who removed to Indiana about 1830. Jotham Keyes, about 1821, having previ- ously lived a short time at Marietta, moved to the next farm. His wife was a cousin of Hon. Edward Everett. Mrs. Barker, matron of the Children's Home, is the only representative of the
Bugene Ferrat
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WINDSOR.
Keyes family known to the writer. On the Obadiah Brokaw farm, Joseph Cheadle was an early settler ; the lower part of the farm was early occupied by Elijah Smith (1815); about the same time came also Dr. Ephraim Wight.
The Cheadles were from Vermont and all early settlers. Asa, John, Richard and Paddoek were brothers. Asa was an early justiee of the peace. Richard Cheadle settled where Mrs. Mellor now lives and remained on the place until his death. Where the late Annie Lawrence lived, Ephraim Ellis resided a short time, then moved to Marion Township. Paddock Cheadle lived on the Henry Blaekmer farm. He moved west. Timothy Blaekmer eame to the next place in 1823, having previously lived for twenty years a few miles below on the other side of the river. John Cheadle lived on the Buek farm from the time of his settlement until his death.
Asa Emerson and his sons located in the vicinity of Luke Chute about the beginning of the present century. There Luke Emerson engaged in mill- ing. Just below, Jolin Carter, an early settler had a distillery. Further down were Elnathan Ellis, Jonathan Bald- win, George Harward on the present T. Blake farm ; Archibald MeCollum, on the place afterwards oeeupied for many years by Adelphi Webster; Joseph Morris, on part of the R. L. Coburn farm; Nicholas Coburn (1796) on the Coburn farm; and Sylvanus Olney where E. N. Olney now lives.
Returning to our starting-point, eross- ing the river and again following it downward, we find Samuel Evans on part of the farm now owned by M. Keyser, John Widger, John and Hum- phrey K. White, who established a mill
in 1822. John White was a prominent man, a justice of the peace and a rep- resentative to the legislature. The J. B. White farm was settled by Barnabas Sutliff, familiarly known as Barney, in 1814; and at a later date Abijah C. Seely occupied the Bishop and Kent farm. The Newberry farm was settled as early as 1814 by Sylvanus Newton * and general musters were sometimes held there. Gideon and Walter were his sons. Alexander McMillan, from Maine, known as Dr. MeMillan, set- tled on the Geddes farm. The doctor made pills from roots, herbs and other material ; but he elaimed that in order that they should be absolutely effective that in the process of manufacture, the fire in his furnace should be kept up for seven years. He had un- bounded faith in the effieaey of his own mcdieines, and onee told a pa- tient who complained that his doses were doing no good, that the medieine would work, though it might take seven years to reach the desired result.
Frederick Eveland and his sons, David, Moses and John, oeeupied the site of Stoekport, and several brothers by the name of Lucas were also in this neighborhood prior to 1815. Further down at an early period werc Andrew Dennis, a revolutionary soldier, and his sons, Danicl, Samuel, Thomas, Andrew and Uriah ; David Sells, Daniel Cole- man and Jacob Nulton ; Asa Cheadle, Simeon Nott and Simeon Evans, all very early.
Henry Harward, and his son George, settled on the Thomas Blake farm at a very early date-probably before 1800. The Harwards were from Pennsylvania
* The wife of Newton was a Stacy. She was a sister to the Stacys who were inmates of the Block-house on Big Bottom in 1791.
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HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
and were of Irish descent. George, Charles, Katie and Mary were members of George Harward's family. None of the name now remain in the county.
Jonathan Baldwin came from Con- necticut, about 1800, cleared land and planted an orchard on the upper end of the Blake farm, which has since been known as the Baldwin orchard. This orchard and another planted by. Nich- olas Coburn, Sr., were doubtless the first orchards in Morgan County, though other Yankee settlers were not long in following the examples set by Baldwin and Coburn. Several apple trees and one pear tree of those planted by Bald- win are still standing. Apples were a source of considerable revenue to the early settlers who had orchards. They were transported to Zanesville in canoes and usually brought high prices. Ca- noeing of fruit and other products was a business, regularly followed by some at certain seasons. It required skill and an intimate acquaintance with the river to manage a large, heavily laden canoe and take it through the ripples in safety. The pioneers always offered apples and cider to visitors or neighbors who called. It was customary to warm the cider by plunging a red-hot poker into it ; then red pepper and ginger were added to give it flavor. This drink, with a plate of russets or greenings, was fine enough for the epicures of those days.
Wolves were numerous and very troublesome to the early settlers. Al- though no instances are remembered of their attacks upon people, many an aged pioneer can recall the time when stock (especially sheep) was often attacked and killed by them. The last wolves in this region, according to the recollec- tion of H. P. Dearborn, were killed in 1832, by Levi Allen of Waterford.
It was customary for the county to pay a bounty tax for the killing of wolves. Proof was made before a jus- tice of the peace who issued a war- rant enabling the holder to draw the money from the county treasury. A justice, whose name is unnecessary in this connection, was once applied to for such a warrant. The certificate was made out in such a manner that it was legi- ble and its meaning evident. But after he had affixed his signature to the document he happened to think that he . had said nothing about the age of the wolf. So he wrote below his own namne, " A Full Grown Wolf." As the justice was a man of at least two hundred and fifty pounds' weight, the ludicrous na- ture of the certificate was readily ap- parent.
The first justice of the peace in the township, chosen at the first election in 1819, was Adelphi Webster. He was also an early school teacher.
In 1817 Prince Godfrey, a native of England, who came from Maine to Ohio, moved from Duck Creek, where he had lived a year previously, and set- tled on the river on land now owned by the Henerys, above the brick church. He was the father of five children, three of whom are living: Phebe M. (Patterson), Samuel B. (deceased), Malinda H. (Mckibben), Abigail (de- ceased), and Ellen (Menier). After the decease of Mr. Godfrey his widow mar- ried Israel Davis. The children of this marriage were Abigail, Israel and Jesse-one now living, Jesse, near Hooksburg. Mrs. Davis died in 1879 at the age of ninety-four.
Samuel Godfrey, brother of Prince, came West earlier and induced the latter to come. He lived on Duck Creek until after the death of his wife,
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WINDSOR.
and moved thence to this township. Here he married Mrs. Eunice White (nee Emerson). They had two children who died in the West. Louisa, one of the children of the first wife, was drowned in the river at Devol's. There was a skating party, and she was being pushed on the ice in a rocking chair, when she went down in an air hole. This was on Thursday. The following Saturday her body was seen through the ice by a man who was crossing over the river below. Benjamin, Sam- uel, and Joseph, were also children by by the first wife. The two last named are still living in the West.
Samuel White settled in Windsor township opposite Luke Chute, near the beginning of the present century. He was from New England. His father, Thomas White, and his (Sam- uel's) brothers, Thomas, Olcott and David, all lived in the same neighbor- hood, some of them on the opposite side of the river. Samuel came to this vicinity a young man, married Eunice, a sister of Luke Emerson, and followed milling. He had but one son, Asa, the youngest of the family, and five daughters-Mary (Andrews), Centre township; Susana and Roxana, dead ; Lydia and Abigail.
Asa White, son of David White, lo- cated on Big Bottom, sold out and went to Iowa.
The mill at Luke Chute was the principal mill in the settlement in the early years. The date of its erection is not to be ascertained, but it was prob- ably in operation as early at 1815. Luke Emerson and Samuel White built it in partnership. They constructed a dam from the island to the shore, which threw the water around the island, making a rapid on the other
side, called the " chute "-hence Luke's Chute. After being in operation many years the mill was burned. Sam- uel and Wells White, by the assistance of their neighbors, erected another. The Luke Chute mill was the best and the most largely patronized of the early mills in the Southeastern part of the county. It was owned by Jeremiah Spurgeon after Emerson & White.
The Corners of Morgan County are of English descent. Their progenitor, George Corner, Sr., was an early settler at Marietta. He had determined on locating in Kentucky, but on arriving at Marietta and finding some of his friends there, he determined to cast his fortunes with them. In 1796 he settled in what is now Windsor township on Wolf Creek, five miles west of Beverly, where his son George L. was born in 1797. A few years afterwards he died while on his way westward from New York, whither he had gone for medical treatment. Of his family, William, George, and Ellen (Smith) lived and died in Morgan County. William and George were among the early settlers of Union town- ship. Both afterwards moved to Malta, where George L. died Aug. 11, 1857, and William a few years ago.
The Coburn family was one of the earliest in Morgan County. Major Asa Coburn was one of the first six families that arrived at Marietta, August 19, 1788. His family consisted of his wife and six children: Phineas, the eldest son, who arrived, with the first party of immigrants, at the mouth of the Mus- kingum, in April, 1788; Nicholas, Asa, Sibyl, Mary and Susannah. Major Coburn was one of three brothers who entered the Colonial Army at the open- ing of the revolution: Andrew, the
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