USA > Ohio > Morgan County > History of Morgan County, Ohio, with portraits and biographical sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 58
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68
Mount Zion Church .- This church, located in the southwestern part of Marion Township, was organized in 1880 by Rev. James W. Dennen, with 46 members. The first officers were Jesse B. Wood and Isaac Randall, deacons: Hazen Coulter, Randolph Randall. William Carty and Barak Thompson, trustees ; L. F. Hammond, clerk : J. B. Wood and John Thomp- son, leaders. The house of worship
451
MARION.
was erected in 1881 at a cost of $800. The pastors have been Rev. J. W. Dennen and Rev. Samuel Lewis. The church now has 80 members and the Sabbath-school 70 scholars.
THE HUFFMAN FAMILY.
Henry and Mary Huffman emigrated from Greene County, Pa., to Belmont County, Ohio, in 1834. From there they came to Marion Township, then a part of Athens County, in 1836. Here Mr. Huffman resided until his decease, which occurred February 17, 1852. IIis children were George W., Ruth, Godfrey E., Susannah, Peter, John, James H., Mary L., Annie L. and Samuel. James H. was in Co. D, 26th O. V. I., and died in New Orleans. John was in Co. B, 36th, was a prisoner at Libby and Danville for eight months. Ile was a farmer and blacksmith, and a very reputable man in every respect. George W. Huffman, who for fourteen years has been postmaster at Huffman's, was born December 18, 1836. October 16, 1864, he was married to Mary E. Devore, of Waterford, Ohio. She died January 25, 1880, leaving a family of six children, four boys and two girls. October 16, 1881, Mr. Iloffman was again married to Mrs. Mahala D. Geddis. Mr. Huffman owns the farm where he first saw the light, and has always resided in the same school dis- trict. He takes a lively interest in po- litical matters, and has never missed an election since he attained his majority. Has filled the office of constable for eighteen years.
Godfrey E. Inffman was born in Morgan County in 1839. In 1866 he married Louisa Knight. Children :
Harry, deceased; Mary E., Eda Ann and Joseph K.
John Huffman was born in 1845, in Marion. He married Mary E. Brown, and they have had by this union two children : William A. and Addie. He resides on part of the old homestead, is a farmer and stockraiser, and was a member of Co. B, 36th O. V. I.
Samuel Huffman, youngest son of Henry and Mary Huffman, was born in this township in 1851, and has always resided on the home farm. He was married in 1874 to Flora Gilchrist. Children : Eura D., Franklin S. and Hiram H.
But few families have done more in the upbuilding of the interests of the township or have gained a more promi- ment place in the public esteem. The family escutcheon is bright and has been tenderly guarded.
JOHN R. HAMBLETON.
Joseph Hambleton and family canie to Morgan County in 1832. He died in 1845, and his widow, whose maiden name was Ann R. Neal, died in 1852. Their children were Susannah, Stephen, Elizabetlı, Lydia, James, Franklin, William, John R., Joseph, Alfred, Al- bert, Emily and Neal.
John R. Hambleton, a prominent farmer, was born in Lancaster County. Pa., and came to Morgan County with his parents. In 1850 he married Mary A. Strode. Children : Elizabeth, Ann R., Orlando C., William T., Sarah M., Lydia F., Mary E., John R., Lucy J. and Eliza A. Mr. Hambleton has earned a merited success in his calling, and is classed among the representative farmers of the county.
CHAPTER XXIII.
DEERFIELD.
AN OLD TOWNSHIP-THE FIRST JUSTICE-EARLY ELECTIONS-NAMES OF VOTERS AND CANDI DATES-CHARACTER OF THE INHABITANTS-A PERMANENT POPULATION-AN HONORABLE RECORD-PIONEER LIFE-HUNTING-FAMILY SKETCHES-THE SAYLORS-STANBERYS, MOODYS, MASSEYS AND OTHER EARLY SETTLERS-THE VILLAGE OF TRIADELPHIA-THE FIRST ANTI- SLAVERY SOCIETY IN THE COUNTY-ITS ORGANIZATION IN 1836-NAMES OF ITS MEMBERS- CHURCHES OF DEERFIELD.
D EERFIELD Township is older than Morgan County; for, prior to the erection of the county, the town- ship was one of the largest of the civil divisions of Washington County. Will- iam Massey, the first justice of the peace of whom we have any account. was probably elected to his office while the township was still a part of Washington County. The earliest record now dis- coverable of an election in the town- ship shows that on the 5th of February. 1820, an election was held at the house of John Breeze for the purpose of choosing a justice of the peace in place of William Massey, resigned.
At this election John Shutt, William McKitrick and Josiah Wright acted as judges ; and Samuel Aiken and Jeremiah Weston, clerks. (McKitrick and Wes- ton belonged in that part of the town- ship which subsequently became a part of the township of Union.) At this election forty votes were cast by the following voters :
John Tanner, Shubal Russell, John Hull, James Beldeau, Reuben Porter, James Reed, Aaron Hainsworth, Isaac Nixon.
Whitaker, Andrew Grubb. Jonathan
Norton, Silas Saylor, Philip Saylor, John Risen, William Oliver, Launcelot Oliver, George Pidcock, Josiah Joslin, Solomon Walker, James Murphy, Riley Joslin, John Morris, Martin Mitchell, William Nixon, Samnel Buckley, Joshua Breeze, John Sniff, William Joslin, Robert Aiken, Patten Pherson, Ilugh Riley, Joseph Pettit, Josiah Wright, Jeremiah Weston, Andrew Scott, Jolm Shutt, Samnel Allard and John Price.
Donbtless the above list includes the names of nearly all male citizens of the township at the time the election was held. Of the number of votes, John Price received 30; William McKitrick, +; Elijah Ball, 3, and John Morris and Samuel Saylor 1 each.
In the following year Samuel Stan- bery was elected justice; and at this election the following persons voted, in addition to those on the above list : Joseph Edwards, Thomas Campbell, Enoch Winchell, Samuel Stanbery, Levi Lightle, Samuel Walker, Jonathan Edgington, Thomas Parks and Hugh
At the spring election, 1823, were the
452
Forster
devards.
453
DEERFIELD.
following additional voters : Robert Stanbery, Alexander Brown, Andrew Grubb, John Hainsworth, Reason Ball, Forster Edwards, Joab Jones, Jonathan Adams, Willian Atkins, Morgan O'Leary, Jonathan Adams, Joseph Allard, Vatchel Ogg, John Lightle, John Briggs, John G. Wright, John Hollingshead, John Hopkins, Joshua Dicas, James Nelson, and Thomas Pettit.
!
In May of the same year another election was held, the preceding one having been declared invalid for the reason that John Price, a candidate for the office of justice, acted as a judge of election. Additional voters : John Campsey, Jacob Tedrow, Elijah Atkins and James Crawford.
The pioneer history of this township contains nothing extraordinary or re- markably interesting. There were the usual hardships and privations, but the settlers were of a sturdy, determined character and faithfully performed their duties against all disadvantages.
" Perhaps," remarks Judge Gaylord in his reminiscences, " there is no town- ship in the county that has had less changes in its original proprietors than Deerfield. Where the pioneers origin- ally established themselves, there most of them sojourned until removed by death. This is in part accounted for by the fact that the soil is not quite so in- viting to the enterprising agriculturists as that of other townships; yet it is durable and in some parts quite pro- ductive. This township in the course of the last fifty years has brought forth quite a number of gifted men, who, in the professions, in the various business enterprises in the county, have become prominent. In law, gospel and physic her sons are somewhat prominent, and
some of them hold high positions in their professions in their several lo- calities. She has sent forth a troop of active business men scattered here and there throughout the land. Deer- field may well be proud of the posi- tion she holds; and if her soil is not as productive as other parts of the county, she has not been derelict in the production of men, who, in the active turmoils and labors of life, have shown themselves well able to play their parts to admiration:"
Silas Saylor is one of the pioneers of Deerfield, one of the few whom Father Time has seen fit to leave as a relic of a generation that has gone. In the picture gallery of his memory he is still able to discern a faded representation of Deerfield as it was sixty-eight years ago. In October of 1818 he came into the township with his parents, his sister and a brother-in-law, Ben- jamin Weimer. At this time, he says, Deerfield was almost a wilderness; a few hardy settlers had made "little holes in the forest" in which to con- struct their cabins. A man by the name of James Reed had a little distil- lery, which kept the pioneers supplied with what was then considered a ne- cessity for those who were exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather, and an indispensable article to those engaged in the performance of severe labor. Reed also had a handmill, which was patronized by the settlers in the imme- diate vicinity. John Price was the blacksmith; he sharpened the plow- shares, welded the logchains and shod the horses of those wealthy settlers who could boast of the possession of these valuable animals.
Philip Saylor, a revolutionary sol- dier, was from Mifflin County, Pa., of
454
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
.
which place Silas, his son, was a native. On his settlement in Deerfield, Silas became a professional hunter, and for a time kept the new-comers supplied with venison and any other kinds of game they might desire. Mr. Whitaker was a fellow-hunter, and from their hunting expeditions they derived quite an in- come. Mr. Saylor says that for buck carcasses they received $1.25 ; for does' the price was much less. The hides they tanned and disposed of to the set- tlers, by whom they were used in the making of moccasins and other articles of clothing. Deer were very numerous, and Mr. Saylor states that with one gun he killed 618. Corn-bread and venison were the principal articles of diet. Al- though their surroundings were dismal, still they were in a degree contented and happy. Just in the bloom of young manhood, they were full of hope, and looked forward to the time when their pioneer days would be over, and sur- rounded by their families they could pass the remainder of their days in "peace and plenty." The wife of Mr. Saylor, née Miss Ann Pettit, was born in New Jersey and came to Ohio with her parents in an early day. They first settled in Muskingum County, and from thence removed to Malta Township, Morgan County, in 1820.
Samuel Stanbery, one of the early settlers in Deerfield Township, was born at Morristown, N. J., in 1777. He was married in 1800 to Phobe Wyckoff, who died in 1809. He was again mar- ried to Sarah Homans, and shortly thereafter removed with his family to Fayette County, Pa. In 1819 he moved to Ohio, spent the first winter in Zanes- ville, and the next spring moved to the farm now owned by John F. Wood- ward, east of Triadelphia, where he
lived until his death, in December, 1825, leaving a widow and eleven chil- dren-Robert, Jacob M., Sarah H., Phobe, Mary, John, Joel, Ira, Ezra, Harriet and Elizabeth. In the few years that he lived in Deerfield he made many friends. He was largely instrumental in the organization of the Deerfield Presbyterian Church and was one of its first elders.
Joab Jones was one of the pioneers of 1816. When a young man he came to the "Ohio Country " and settled in Athens County ; from thence he went to Marietta, where he remained a short time, when he emigrated to Morgan County, Deerfield Township.
Isaac Whitaker was one of the early pioneers of Deerfield Township. He was born in Maryland in 1789, and in 1803 came to Zanesville, Ohio. He served his country as a soldier in the war of 1812, and in 1816 came to Morgan County with his family of wife and one child and settled in Deerfield Township. His wife, whose maiden name was Hannah Rees, was a native of Loudon County, Virginia, where she was born in 1795. They reared a family of eleven children, ten of whom are living. Mr. Whitaker identified himself promi- nently with the early history of Deer- field Township. He died in 1869, aged eighty ; his wife in 1885, at the extreme age of ninety years.
Samuel Moody was a man who left his imprint indelibly stamped upon the annals of the township. He was born in 1783 in Maine, from which State he came with his family in 1818, and settled on the northeast quarter of Section 6. With him came his family of wife and five children-Alsadania, Noah, Priscilla, Stillman and Nathan. He was the pioneer on the section on
455
DEERFIELD.
which he settled, his neighbors being Josiah Wright, Jonathan Adams and Isaac Whitaker. Like most of the pioneers, Mr. Moody was in an impe- cunious condition on his arrival in the county. It is a family tradition that, after leaving Zanesville, he had only one coin left. a Spanish milled dollar. Although many times severely pressed for money, he could never be induced to part with it, and it is still preserved by some member of the family as an heir- loom. Mr. Moody was a very valuable acquisition to Deerfield's population. He was a shoemaker by trade, and for some years went from house to house, as was the custom in those days, making and repairing the shoes of the settlers' families. He also ministered to their spiritual wants. Ile was a Baptist in his religious belief, and for many years he preached through Morgan and adjoin- ing counties, frequently extending his travels into Virginia. His wife was an excellent lady. She was born in 1787 and became the mother of eight chil- dren, three of whom were born in the county-Smith G., Lydia A. and John F. She died in 1866, her husband in 1873, aged ninety years. Smith G. Moody is a native of the township; for many years he was a merchant of Tria- delphia, and for a quarter of a century was postmaster. He Mmarried iss Olive I'. Wise in 1848. She was born near Deavertown.
William Massey was a Friend. He came from Chester County, Pa., in 1816, and entered three quarter-sections of land, part of which is now in Malta Township. In 1819 he married Miss Sarah Gay, and reared a family of six children-Levi, Mary, Asa, John, Caro- line and Sally. John was born in Malta in 1825 and has been a resident
of the county ever since. He was a soldier during the war of the rebellion and left his family to care for them- selves. During his absence Mrs. Massey not only cared for the family, but took charge of the farm. She did much of the farm labor herself in addition to her household cares. She is a type of the noble, patriotic women to whom the people are indebted.
James Crawford was an early settler on Wolf Creek. He was a native of Pennsylvania, and at an early day located in Muskingum County, from whence he came to Morgan County about 1820. He was a blacksmith by occupation, and brought with him a stock of cowbells, expecting they would find a ready sale among the pioneers ; but owing to the scarcity of money he found no sale for them. He reared a family of ten children. Mary married John Massey in 1849. He died in 1858.
Hugh Nixon was an Irishman, and came from Ohio County, W. Va., about twenty miles below Wheeling. With him came his family, consisting of his wife and four children-Frances, Ann J., Joseph W. and John W. He was prominent among the pioneers and was the first settler on the northeast quarter of Section 28. He was one of the early justices of the peace of the township. and for nine years he occupied the posi- tion continuously. He was a devout member of the Methodist Church, and was everywhere highly esteemed. Of his children three are living in the county-Mrs. William Hopkins, Eliza A., and Joseph W., who lives on a part of the old estate.
Abont 1816 Joseph Anderson, then a young man, settled on the farm now owned by his son, Joseph, Jr. Several years after, his father, Augustine, from
456
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
Sussex County, New Jersey, came to the township. He was an officer in the war of the revolution, and died in the township when in his eighty-eighth year.
Jacob Tedrow came from Washing- ton County, Pa. He located a tract of land in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1807, where he remained until 1817, when he came to what is now Deerfield Township, where he entered a quarter- section. He did not identify himself with the development of the township except as a farmer. He went to Athens County in 1837. and died in Hocking County about 1870. Michael, his son, was born in Washington County, Pa., in 1809, and has been a resident of the township for fifty-two years. He mar- ried Sarah Prine. She was born in Mercer County, Pa., in 1811. In 1812 her parents came to Muskingum Couny, Ohio, where she was reared and mar- ried. Of the family of Jacob Tedrow, Michael is the only one now living in the county. He is one of the pioneers in the section of the township in which he resides.
Triadelphia, the only village in the township, is situated a little north of the center. It was laid out in 1838 by A. Roberts. The plat consisted of twenty-six lots, Main street and Juniper and High streets crossing it at right angles. At present there are some ten or twelve dwellings, one school-house, two churches, one dry-goods store and a blacksmith shop.
The Walpoles are lineal descendants of Sir Robert Walpole, of England. Martin Walpole came from County Cavan, Ireland, about 1809, and for a time lived in New York, and came thence to Morgan County. At the time of his settlement there were only two
families in the township. For a year he lived alone, at the end of which time he was joined by his wife and family. The story of his pioneer experiences sounds more like fiction than fact. His cabin was ten by twelve feet; for a chimney he had a large stump in the center; a suspended quilt formed the door, and often at night the wolves would pull the quilt aside and look in. and but for the fire would have entered. He was a man of powerful physique, and on one occasion he killed a bear with no other weapon than a handspike ; at another time he found a panther among his sheep, and killed it in the same manner. He had three sons and three daughters. Mathew Walpole, a son, and one of the prominent citizens of the township of Malta, was born in Morgan County October 24, 1824. Mar- tin Walpole died May 24, 1847; his wife, Margaret, died September 30, 1855. The farm he first entered is still in possession of the family, also the prayerbook, which in pioneer days afforded him much con- solation.
In 1836 the first anti-slavery society in Morgan County, and perhaps the first in Southeastern Ohio, was formed in Deerfield Township. The anti-slavery movement was at this time in its in- fancy, and it required no small amount of moral courage to espouse the cause of the black man. Many of the mem- bers of this organization lived to see the principles they advocated triumph. The following are the articles of associ- ation and names of the members :
" PREAMBLE .- Believing slavery to be a sin against God, a violation of liu- man rights, and an obstruction to the cause of Christianity, by making it the patron of sin and exciting the derision of opposers, believing that it consigns
UM Malory
457
DEERFIELD.
the slave to degradation, suffering and despair, surrounds the masters with perils, and exposes all who nphold the system to the judgment of God, and believing that we owe it to the op- pressed, to our fellow-citizens who hold slaves, to our country, to human inter- ests universally, to posterity and to God, earnestly to seek the abolition of slavery by nsing such means, and such only as are sanctioned by the laws of the land and by the dictates of human- ity and justice : we do hereby agree to form ourselves into a society to aid in the accomplishment of this object and to be governed by the following consti- tution :
"ARTICLE 1. This society shall be called the Deerfield Township Anti- Slavery Society.
"ARTICLE 2. The object of this so- ciety shall be the entire abolition of slavery throughout the United States and the elevation of our colored breth- ren to their proper rank as men. While admitting that the several States have, by our federal constitution, the exclusive right to legislate for the abolition of slavery in their respective limits, it maintains that it is our imper- ative duty to collect and diffuse facts and information upon the subject, and by all lawful means to convince our fellow-citizens throughout the Union that it is a heinous sin against God, at war with the principles of human lib- erty, ruinous to our national morals and prosperity, and that the duty, safety and interests of all concerned, require its utter and immediate aboli- tion."
Articles 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 provide for the government and regulation of the society.
Following are the members : William
Shutt, Joseph Woodward, George Mar- tin, J. K. Jones, William Woodward, Jacob W. Stanbery, Robert Lavery, Richard Massey, James Evans, James Cope, E. A. Merriam, Owen Gifford, William Brady, Isaac Williams, John Metcalf, William Oliver, Kersey Smith. Nathan Cope, James Harrison, Ralph Porter, Osburn Plnily, Geo. Williams, Milton Griffith, William Wells, Ed. T. Moore, Eliza Stanbery, Phebe Wood- ward, Ruby B. Porter, Achsah Guthrie. Abigail Woodward, Rachel Martin, Elizabeth Metcalf, Martha Cheney, Susan Evans, Ann Cope, Lydia Porter. Sarah Cheney, Ruth A. Evans, Betsey Metcalf, Anna Porter, Lydia Wells. Susannah Metcalf, Abigail Cope, Han- nah Metcalf, Anna Williams, Hannah Wilson, Ruth Smith.
CHURCHES.
Deerfield Presbyterian Church .- This church is one of the oldest religious societies in the county. It was organ- ized in 1819 by Rev. Thomas Moore.
The first members were Samuel Stan- bery, Jacob Price and wife, T. Camp- bell and wife, J. Wright and wife, and S. Price, and three others whose names are not now remembered, making eleven in all. October 6, 1821, Samuel Stanbery, Thomas Campbell and Josiah Wright were ordained elders. The pres- ent membership is seventy-two; num- ber of Sabbath-school scholars, thirty- five. The pastors have been as follows: Revs. Thomas P. Moore, John Hunt, Plumstead, - Aiken and - Ferguson. Since 1858 the preaching has been by supplies, of whom twelve have labored at various times, from one to two years each. The first pastor, Rev. Thomas Moore, was a tall. spare man, grave and dignified. His dress was of the ancient
458
HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.
kind. He wore knee-breeches and knee- buckles, and his sermons, like his dress, reminded one of the olden times. The organization of the society was due to the efforts of Samuel Stanbery, a man whose genial disposition and upright life won the respect of the entire com- munity. The little pioneer church grew thrifty and strong, and in 1822 a log church 24x28 feet was built near the site of the present one, and Rev. John Hunt was secured as pastor. He left the field in 1831. In 1839 the old log church was removed and a frame building took the place, which after a time was thought to be unsafe, and in 1859 a new one took its place. This church was burned in 1877, and the present edifice built the same year. Four of the members of the congrega- tion were soldiers in the war of the rebellion and lost their lives in the defense of their country-James Bailey, Asa Massey, Joel Walker and James Robb.
The Locust Grove M. E. Church .- The Locust Grove Methodist Episcopal Church is located in the south part of Deerfield Township. Services were first held at the house of Hugh Nixon. About 1826 a hewed log church was erected, the cost of construction being fifty bushels of wheat. It was formally dedicated by Bishop Norris. In 1844 a frame church took its place. This church was burned in 1868, and the present church structure was built in 1869. Among the early preachers were men prominent in the annals of Method- ism. Notably among the number were Messrs. Trimble, Gavitt, Hamilton and Stewart.
D. H. Deaver and Miles Underwood. The present membership is about seventy.
The church has a flourishing Sunday- school-E. J. Nixon, superintendent.
Christian Church .- The Christian Church of Deerfield was organized October 9, 1884, by Dr. O. W. Thomp- son. The names of the first officers were: S. G. Moody and William Banks, elders ; George Banks and Thomas Holcomb, deacons; T. J. Mas- terson, clerk: Henry Massey, George W. Pickrell and George S. Gregg, trus- tees, and seventy-eight members. The present church was built in October, 1884. is 34x42 feet, costing $1,500. The first pastor was Rev. A. R. Pickens. The present membership of the church is thirty-eight; number of Sabbath- school scholars, fifty.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
FORSTER EDWARDS.
Forster Edwards was born in Man- chester, Mass., in 1793. During the war of 1812, for prudential reasons, his father removed his family to the State of Maine. Here young Forster remained until about 1816, when, learning of the fertility of the " Ohio Country," and of the advantages to be secured by settle- ment, he determined to visit the new Eldorado, which he did in the autumn of that year. While crossing the mountains he had an adventure with a robber who tried to waylay him with a stone. Mr. Edwards being armed, the robber was repulsed, and he continued his way unmolested. He was favorably impressed with the new country and selected the northeast quarter of Sec- tion 10 as his future home. Making
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.