History of Noble County, Ohio: With Portraits and Biographical Sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 66

Author:
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : L.H. Watkins
Number of Pages: 709

USA > Ohio > Noble County > History of Noble County, Ohio: With Portraits and Biographical Sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men > Part 66

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Samuel Lindsey was a farmer and died in this township in 1880. He

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and his wife (nee Margaret Hart) were the parents of seven children, three of whom are living : James, Cephas and Elizabeth (Moore). Samuel Lindsey served as post- master about thirty-two years. His father, James, was a Revolutionary soldier.

Cephas Lindsey married Jane Moore in 1869. Children : Martha A., Margaret and Effie B. He owns and occupies the old homestead, a good farm. His brother James was in the Forty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry for three years and in many severe engagements.

Rufus Merry settled on the place now occupied by his son, Ambrose, about 1818. His father, Ambrose, came to the county about the same time. They came from New York State. Rufus Merry was the father of nine children, several of whom are yet living. He was a member of the Christian church. He died in 1877.

Leonard Schoeppner came to this township at the age of sixteen years. He took the old homestead of his father at the age of twenty-three, and has added to it until he now has 260 acres of well-improved land. He was married in 1845 to Elizabeth, daughter of Peter Miller, and is the father of twelve children. He is among the oldest German residents of the township.

August Dimerling, Sr., a native of Germany, came to this township from Philadelphia about 1839. His sons, John and August, are promi- nent farmers of the township.

John D. Hill, a native of Ger- many, came to this county in 1840,

and began clearing and improving land. He first bought a piece of land about a mile and a half from the present farm of his son, John D., afterward selling it and making sev- eral subsequent purchases. He died in 1881, at the age of seventy years. His widow is still living. Their children were John (deceased), Cath- arine, Leonard, Barbara (deceased), Eva and John B.

John B. Hill was born in 1850, on the farm where he now resides. In 1872 he married Mary F. Rausch. They have eight children: Rosa, Aloysius, Joseph, Eva, Gertrude (de- ceased), George, Peter and Ottillia. Mr. Hill has a well-improved farm of nearly 200 acres and the best barn in the township. He raises fine sheep. IIe has served as justice of the peace for six years. He is a supporter of the Catholic church, and he and his father contributed liber- ally toward building the new church at Fulda. He was the chief petition- er for the graded road from Fulda to Caldwell, and is prominent in every worthy enterprise.

Leonard Hill, son of John D. Hill, was born in Enoch Township in 1842. In 1866 he married Mary Michel. Children: John A., Eliza- beth, Henry, Leo (deceased), An- drew, Leo, Annie, George (deceased), Caroline and Louie. Mr. Hill bought eighty acres where he now lives in 1864, and has since added ninety- three acres, besides making extensive improvements in buildings, etc. He has made a specialty of raising hogs and graded shorthorn cattle. He is a supporter of the Catholic church.

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Anthony Kress, who died in 1883, came from Germany in 1838, and about two years later removed to this township, beginning with forty acres of land. He was the father of eight children, six of whom are liv- ing.

Michael Shott came to Monroe County when twelve years of age, and resided there until 1845, when he settled in this township on the farm now occupied by his son John. He is one of the prominent German farmers. In 1868 he removed to his present home, formerly the old Fran- cis Hupp farm.

G. C. Ehlerman, of Fulda, is one of the most enterprising business men of Noble County. He came from Germany in 1866, at the age of nine- teen, and settled in Miltonsburg, Monroe County, where he clerked in a store, having previously served an apprenticeship at that business in his native land. In 1868 he came to Fulda and entered the employ of John S. Hohman. He afterward bought the latter's stock of goods (Mr. Ilobman having failed for a large amount), and has since done a large and successful business. He also purchased Mr. Hohman's tobacco warehouse and began dealing exten- sively in tobacco. The warehouse and its contents were destroyed by fire in May, 1886, involving a loss of $10,000. Mr. Ehlerman has since erected a new building, the best of the kind in eastern Ohio. He has also a large and commodious store, an elegant residence and seventy-five acres of land. He packs from 200 to 300 hogsheads of tobacco per year

and deals extensively in wool, hand- ling about 80,000 pounds annually. Mr. Ehlerman is a Catholic. He is at present serving as township trustec. He was married in 1873 to Mary E., daughter of John S. Hlohman, and has six children : Mary, Julia, Fred- erick, Cecilia, Christian and Ernest.

David Harper, father of Abraham Harper, came from Pennsylvania and settled in Guernsey County about 1820. In 1833 he removed to Stock Township, and about 1852 to the vi- cinity of Dexter City, where he died in 1875. His children were Rhoda (de- ceased), John J., Elizabeth (deceased), Isaac N., Abraham, George W., Will- iam B. (a member of the Seventy- seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, killed at the battle of Saline), Mi- chael (a soldier in the same regi- ment), and Mary A. The father was a school-teacher for many years.

Abraham Harper was born in Stock Township in 1837. In 1857 he married Amanda, daughter of Obed Ackley, an early settler. Chil- dren : Columbus M., Mary E. (Math- eny). Mr. Harper has served in various township offices and is at present a justice of the peace. The family belong to the Christian church.

Joseph Smith and family, from Chester County, Pa., settled on Olive Green Creek in 1824, and about 1833 removed to Noble Township, where he died in 1860 at the age of eighty- three. Mr. Smith was the father of four children : Thomas G., John, Joseph and Margaret. He was a preacher of the Baptist denomina- tion. His son John, now a resident

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of Enoch Township, came to Ohio with his parents. In 1837 he mar- ried Mary J. Cain, daughter of Will- iam Cain. Children : Elizabeth C., Landon R., Van Buren and Joseph L. Mr. Smith is a prominent farmer, having two hundred acres of land, which he purchased and improved himself. His children all reside in this county. He has served as town- ship trustee. His maternal grand- father, Thomas Green, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.

John Boyd, son of Thomas Boyd, was born in Belmont County in 1819. His father, a native of Pennsylvania, came to Ohio when a boy, married Agnes Miley in Belmont County, and in 1822 settled near the present town of Sharon. His children were Mary (Archibald), Rebecca (Roberts), Mar- garet, Nancy (Parrish), Ann (Par- rish), John, Miley and Robert -- of whom Ann, John and Robert are living.

John Boyd settled on his present farm in 1841, beginning with seventy- eight acres, and adding to it until at one time he owned 930 acres, part of which he has since given to his sons. Mr. Boyd was married in 1841 to Margaret Shepard, daughter of George Shepard, of this county. Their children are Thomas, George, Robert (deceased), Sarah E. (de- ceased), Lafayette, Theodore and John N. Mr. Boyd follows farming and the raising of fine stock. The family are members of the United Presbyterian church.

William McBride was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Harrison County about 1816. In 1833 he re-

moved to Enoch Township,. and entered two hundred acres of land where his son Martin now resides; he lived upon his farm until his decease in 1871. By his first marriage there were four children : John, Mary A. (dead), Samuel and Martin. Martin was born in Carlisle, in 1832. He married in 1856 Miss Jane Swainey. They had two children, Abigail and Uriah. The former died in her eight- eenth year; the latter married Miss Alice Davidson. Mr. McBride en- listed December 25, 1861, in the Twentieth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was engaged in the following battles: Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Fort Gibson, Vicksburg, At- lanta, Ga., Corinth, and many of the minor engagements. At Atlanta he was hit by rebel bullets eight- een times. He was on detached service as a sharpshooter, being one of the best marksmen in the regi- ment. He served his term and was honorably discharged. He is a rep- resentative of one of the oldest families in the county, and is an honorable and useful citizen.

FULDA.

The survey of the village of Fulda was made by Charles Burlingame, June 5, 1861. The original plat con- tains six acres and ninety-three square rods. The village is called after a town in Germany of the same name. The land on which the first lots were laid off was owned by John Brahler. John S. Hohman sold several lots about the same time. Other additions have since been made. The land on which the

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town stands was entered by Isaac Morris and afterward owned by Frederick Spencer, his son-in-law.

The first store was started before the town was laid out, about 1855, by Heiddlesheimer & Hohman (H. W. Heiddlesheimer and John S. Hloh- man). The business was afterward continued by J. S. Hohman* alone until 1876, when he failed with liabili- ties of $146,000, causing heavy losses to many. He dealt largely in tobacco and live stock. During the war his mercantile business alone amounted to $50,000 a year. He removed to the West and is now in Kansas.

G. C. Ehlerman began business in Fulda, in 1867, for J. S. Hohman. In 1876 he bought Hohman's stock at assignee's sale, and has since done a large business for a country mer- chant. Ile is also extensively en- gaged in packing and shipping tobacco.

After the village was laid out Francis Fischer bought a lot and erected the first house. He carried on the saloon business, which his widow still follows, and was also engaged in brewing for several years in a small way.

John S. Hohman was the first postmaster. The office was not established until several years after the village was projected. The first blacksmith was John Noll, who still resides in the place. The first shoe- maker was John Diegmiller.

Fulda is situated upon one of the highest elevations in the county.

The location is pleasant and health- ful. From the town a fine view can be had of some of the most attractive natural scenery in Ohio.

The business interests of the place in 1886 were as follows:

G. C. Ehlerman and J. B. Arnold, general store.

John Noll and John Brahler, Jr., blacksmiths.

Peter Johnson, wagon-maker.

Mrs. Bosold, hotel.

James T. Brown, physician.

Fulda contains the best church in the county. It is in a special school district and has a large frame school- house, built in 1884 at a cost of $1,200. The school is in two depart- ments. Both English and German are taught.

CHURCHES.

The churches of Enoch Township, aside from the Catholic church at Fulda, are a Methodist Episcopal church, in the northern part of the township; a United Brethren church in the western part, and a Christian church in the northwestern part. Of these the Methodist Episcopal church is the oldest, the present church edifice being the third that has been erected since the formation of a class.

The United Brethren church was erected about 1850. It is one of the few log churches still left standing in Ohio. The Powells and the Harrises were among the early members. Preaching was had in the neighbor- hood over fifty years ago, at the house of 'Squire Powell. The Chris- tian church was organized more recently.

*In 1857 Hohman also started a store at Rosedale, now called Rice's Mill, which was run for a few ears.

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REV. DAMIAN JOSEPH KLUBER. The history of St. Mary's church and the life of Father Kluber are so inseparably connected that neither is complete without the other. To the upbuilding of this society he gave a life of passionate earnestness and self-sacrificing effort. His devotion to its interests and the spiritual and temporal welfare of his people has been rarely excelled. Like his Master, his life was spent in doing good. His abnegation and entire disregard of his personal welfare were the primary cause of his early death. He was born December 20, 1837, at Fulda, Hesse-Cassel, Germany. His father was an intelligent gentleman of the middle class, who died when Damian Joseph was a small boy. In his youth he evidenced a studious disposition, which was fostered by his mother. IIe entered the seminary at his native place, where he obtained a thorough classical education. In 1857 he came to America, and, hav- ing decided to make the ministry a life's vocation, entered "Mt. St. Mary's of the West," at Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was ordained in June of 1860, by Most Rev. J. B. Purcell, archbishop of that diocese. In July of the same year he was given the Fulda church, with the adjoining missions in Monroe, Washington and Noble Counties. All his visits to the different points of his parishes were made in the saddle, and it can be said of him, as of the early mis- sionaries, that "the saddle was his chair and his bed." Continuous rid- ing in the saddle over rough roads caused hernia, which was the pri-

mary cause of his decease. In 1865 he was relieved of the missions in Monroe County, and in 1871 of the missions at Harriettsville and Fox's settlement. There still re- mained, however, a great deal of horseback riding for him to do; his disease grew worse, and attended with more danger. One day in February, 1883, he started for Cald- well; the roads were in a terrible condition; his business he thought to be imperative, as he had collected a fund for the relief of poor people in Europe (whose country had been devastated by floods) which he de- sired to remit at once. IIe arrived in Caldwell, but was there attacked with strangulation, from which he died February 20, 1883, in the forty- sixth year of his age.

HIe was visited during his illness by Rt. Rev. Bishop Watterson, who, despite the condition of the roads and the inclemency of the weather, attended the funeral and witnessed the grief of his spiritual children, to whom he had been a father and teacher. His pastorate embraced a period of twenty-three years, in which time he built the present church edifice and a parochial resi- dence and school, and brought the congregation to its present perma- nence and prosperity. A beautiful monument, erected by his congrega- tion, marks his resting-place. Al- though dead, he still lives in the hearts of those he was associated with. IIe is remembered by all who knew him as a Christian gentleman, whose great kindness of heart and the all-absorbing love he possessed

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for the work he was called to do cut ure had become entirely inadequate short his earthly existence in the , for the wants of the congregation, prime of life.

St. Mary & Catholic Church .- "The Congregation of the Immaculate Con- ception of St. Mary" was organized about 1840. Some seven years pre- vious to this time (1833) a party of German immigrants from Wheeling, W. Va., had settled in the vicinity of Fulda, upon government lands. This little band formed the nucleus for what has since become one of the most prosperous Catholic societies in this section of the State. For sev- eral years they were denied all re- ligious advantages, but about 1840 a clergyinan made his appearance among them, occasionally holding divine services in neighboring log cabins and log barns. Nine years after, Rev. J. Kramer, of Miltons- burg, visited them. For seven years he made semi-monthly visits. During this time he began the erec- tion of a small church building, which was dedicated by Rt. Rev. J. B. Purcell, of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1853. In 1858 Rev. J. B. Brummer was appointed ; he was the first resi- dent pastor; he remained until 1860, when he was succeeded by Rev. D. J. Kluber, who ministered to the spiritual wants of the congregation for over twenty-three years. To him the society is largely indebted for its · present size and permanence.

In 1863 a school building was erected, and three years later a pas- toral residence. The latter was quite pretentious for that time, and cost $2,500.

By this time the first church struct-

so arrangements were made for the building of a new one. It is rather an imposing structure, of brick, 60 x120 feet, and cost $19.498. The corner-stone was laid May 31. 1874, by the reverend pastor, by permission of the ordinary. The new church was finished in 1875, and dedicated in August of that year by Rt. Rev. S. H. Rosecrans, who at the time was bishop of the diocese of Colum- bus, Ohio, and who preached the dedi- catory sermon.

The following reverend gentlemen honored the pastor with their pres- ence: Very Rev. J. B. Hemsteger. V. S., Revs. Schelhamer, Fladung, Schleicher, Buss and Ryan. In 1884 Rev. Ed. L. Fladung was called to the pastorate, and, seeing the neces- sity of extensive improvements, be- gan at once the building of a new residence. The brick and stone of the old church were used, and the old parsonage taken as a residence for the teacher. The church was over- hauled -- new ceiling, altar, etc. The entire cost, including the building of pastoral residence, the new altar, re- pairs on the church and other im- provements, was about $4,700. The church is the finest structure of the kind in the county. Interest at- taches to the names of the original members of this congregation. Some of the more prominent ones were John Schoeppner, Sr., John Adam Schafer, Philip Schneider, Adam Brahler, Melchior Black and others.

The succession of pastors has been Revs. J. Cramer, J. A. Brummer, D.

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

: ASTOR, LENOY AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

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J. Kluber, J. G. Luttig and E. L. Fladung. The present member- ship is 125 families, or about 700 souls. The parochial school has about 125 pupils. Owing to the very able administration of Father Fla- dung, both church and school are in a very flourishing condition.

JOHN B. HILL .- John D. Hill, the father of the subject of this notice, was born in Mittlebach, Hessen, Germany, in 1810. In 1834 he came to this country in company with John Schoeppner, and together they settled in Wheeling, W. Va. In 1838 Mr. Hill came to Noble County and entered forty acres of land in Enoch Township, returning to Vir- ginia, where he worked one year to obtain money with which to enter another forty. Afterward he sold his purchases and bought eighty acres, upon which he resided for many years. Ile died in April of 1880, aged seventy years. He mar- ried Miss Ottillia, daughter of John Schoeppner, who was his fellow pas-

senger from Germany and one of the first German settlers of Enoch Town- ship. He had a family of seven children: John, Catharina, Anna B., Leonard, Barbara, Eva and John B. The latter was born in 1850 and married, in 1872, Miss Mary F. Raush, and has a family of eight children : Rosa, Aloysius, Joseph, Eva, Catherine, George, Peter and Ottillia. He is one of the leading German farmers of the county, own- ing the old homestead, to which he has added seventy-five acres, making a fine farm of 237 acres, under good improvement and with good build- ings. For some time he has made sheep-growing a specialty. Like his father, he is a Democrat in politics and a Catholic in religion. Both have been generous supporters of church enterprises, and aided in the erection of St. Mary's church.

John B. has for six years been a justice of the peace. He is a pros- perous farmer and an esteemed citi- zen.

CHAPTER XXX. BEAVER.

PIONEER SETTLERS-LARGELY FROM MARYLAND-THEIR CONDITION AND CHARACTERISTICS -ADVENTURES WITH BEARS AND PANTHERS-HOW " WHISKY RUN" GOT ITS NAME -- "FROLICS "-JOHN HOUSE'S MILL-MENTION OF EARLY SETTLERS-ANECDOTES-OR- GANIZATION OF BEAVER TOWNSHIP, 1816-TAX-LIST IN 1830-THE BOUNDARIES OF THE TOWNSHIP AS ESTABLISHED IN 1851-CHANGE OF BOUNDARY-EARLY MERCHANTS- FAMILY SKETCHES-EARLY SCHOOLS-BATESVILLE-ITS ORIGIN AND GROWTH-A NEAT AND THRIFTY TOWN-CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, LODGES, ETC.

T THE first settlement in the town- ship was made by the Reed family, elsewhere mentioned, and by Thomas, John and Joseph Carpenter and John Tyrrell as early as 1810. The Carpenters came from Virginia. They reared families and died in the township. In early years they were noted hunters. Tyrrell afterward moved east. Richard and Matthias Croy were among the first settlers. The family became widely scattered.

Nearly all the pioneers came from the old States of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania-by far the great- er number from Maryland. Few of them were blessed with a surplus of this world's goods. They had their own way to make, their own fortunes to achieve. Their experience did not differ from those of the generality of Ohio pioneers, and no remarkable events marked the history of their lives. They were honest, worthy people; neighborly, kind-hearted and obliging; generally men of strong religious convictions but of limited education.

The old settlers found the country heavily timbered and wild game

abundant. There were turkeys and deer in plenty; many wolves and a few bears and panthers. Samuel Carpenter, crossing within a mile of Batesville, heard a sound which he at first took to be the cry of a human being in distress. He answered; the cry was repeated several times, and the sound came nearer. Then he understood that it was not a man but a panther that was approaching him, and made all haste to his home. At another time John Joy, on his way to the home of the Carpenters, saw peculiar tracks on Whisky Run. They led into a cave or cleft in the rocks, and he-bold even to rashness -crept in to see what was there. Discovering nothing, he came out and proceeded on his way. The Carpenters and John Tyrrell, on be- ing told of the tracks, went with Joy to examine them. Tyrrell at once pronounced the tracks to be those of a panther. They also discovered that new tracks, leading away from the rocks, had been made since Joy left, and the wide spaces between them showed that the animal had made tremendous leaps in leaving

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the spot. The settlers of the neigh- . borhood gathered, and with their guns followed the panther a long dis- tance, but did not succeed in killing him.

Whisky Run is very appropriately named. In early years Jacob Cline- dinst, George Peters and Michael Upmeyer each had distilleries along the stream a short distance apart. Farther down James Eagon had a distillery. John House, on Beaver Fork, also had an early distillery. Whisky came nearer being a legal tender than almost any other article except money, and the latter was very scarce. The price of whisky was from 25 to 372 cents per gallon, and a gallon of whisky was the equiv- alent of a bushel of corn. Though whisky was almost universally used as a beverage, yet habitual intoxica- tion was rare. A man who would not offer to treat a neighbor who called at his house was at once set down as mean and stingy.

In early years almost every species of labor was performed by "frolics" - gatherings of the neighbors for raising, grubbing, log-rolling, chop- ping, splitting rails, harvesting, etc. On these occasions there was great rivalry to see which man would per- form the most labor. The women also had their gatherings for prepar- ing flax for spinning, for quilting, carding, etc. These gatherings were always most enjoyable for all the participants.

In 1812 John House and family came from Greene County, Pa., ac- companied by House's brother-in-law, Thomas Ball. They came with teams,

cutting their own road from Leather- wood Creek. James Eagon had set- tled in 1811 on the farm next below where House located. John House served as justice of the peace for eighteen years. Prior to this, Ed- ward Bell, who lived on Leatherwood Creek within the present limits of Guernsey County, had held the same office for the township. John House built a log-mill upon the creek as early as 1816, and afterward erected a saw-mill. The grist-mill was after- ward twice rebuilt, and the last one erected is still standing. Mr. House died in 1856. Nathan House, born in Greene County, Pa., in 1810, has lived in Beaver Township since 1812, and has a vivid recollection of the hardships and experiences of pioneer life.

Some years after James Eagon came to the township, his brothers, Jesse and Bernard, came out from Pennsylvania and settled, bringing also their father, Bernard Eagon.

John Delong was among the first settlers, coming prior to 1812. He located at the forks of the creek. Ilis sons, Thomas, William and Na- than, lived here after him.

Nathan Mills, from North Caro- lina, came about 1812, and lived in the township many years. Some of his children went to the western part of the State; he made them a visit and died while coming home.

The Reed family was among the pioneers-John Reed and his sons, James and Thomas, lived and died in the township.

John Ross, a Revolutionary sol- dier, came quite early and was miller

HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.

at House's mill for seven years. He had seven sons, who scattered to various parts of the country.

Francis Miller and Moses Ball, early settlers, were soldiers in the War of 1812.

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History of Noble County, Ohio: With Portraits and Biographical Sketches of some of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 66

Author: Publication date: 1887 Publisher: Chicago : L.H. Watkins Number of Pages: 709

Author:
Publication date: 1887
Publisher: Chicago : L.H. Watkins
Number of Pages: 709