History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 22

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 923

USA > Ohio > Pickaway County > History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens > Part 22

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).

St. Jacob's Evangelical Lutheran Church at Tarlton was organized November 8, 1861. A Lutheran society had existed at Tarlton, however, from a very early date, the meetings having been held as stated in the preceding paragraph, in the same building with the Ger- man Reformed society until the organization of St. Jacob's Church and the erection of the present church building, which is a frame struc- ture valued at $1,200. The following have served as pastor of St. Jacob's Church since 1882: Revs. J. E. Wesner, W. H. Fishburn, G. W. Hudson, James F. Beattes, W. L. Hun-' ton and J. M. Wenrich, of Stoutsville, the pres- ent pastor, who took charge in 1891. The pres- ent membership of the society is 125. Orestes Mowery is superintendent of the Sunday- school, which has a membership of 50.

Tarlton Presbyterian Church .- The Cum- berland Presbyterian Church at Tarlton was finally changed to a Presbyterian Church, of which Rev. W. W. Carhart, of Whisler, is now pastor. The church property is valued at $1,- 500; while the building, as has been indicated

in a preceding paragraph, is an old one, the property has been improved by the building of cement walks and presents a very creditable appearance. The present membership of the church is 115. Harvey Mowery is superin- tendent of the Sunday-school, which has a membership of 100.

Whisler Presbyterian Church .- In Febru- ary, 1859, a Cumberland Presbyterian Church at Prairie View (Whisler) was organized by Rev. Archibald Brice at the Oak Grove M. E. Church, the society comprising some 10 or II members at its formation. Until the comple- tion of their house of worship, a frame struc- ture, erected in the fall of 1860, which is still doing service, the society met in a frame school- house. Some time ago, the society became a Presbyterian Church, and is now known as the Whisler Presbyterian Church. The church building is valued at $1,000. The society has also a good parsonage at Whisler, built about 10 years ago at a cost of $1,800. The church has a membership of about 100. Rev. W. W. Carhart is pastor. The flourishing Sunday- school connected with this church has a mem- bership of about 125; the superintendent is Mrs. Nellie Quillen.

Jerusalem Church, or the Stumpf Church as it is frequently styled, was organized by Revs. George Wise and Jacob Leist about the year 1820 as a German Reformed society. Rev. Jacob Leist was one of the earliest of the pio- neer preachers of this region. He came to Salt Creek township in its early settlement, began preaching soon after his arrival and continued in the ministry for a great many years. He proved a valuable accession to the settlement and during the long period of his ministry was highly esteemed for his moral worth. He mar- ried Elizabeth Shoemaker, daughter of Judge Jacob Shoemaker and fixed his residence where Leistville now stands, there residing until his death. The church services were held in a schoolhouse, located in the northeast corner of section 26, until 1831, when a brick house of worship was built. The present, neat, brick church was erected in 1877 at a cost of $3,000. Rev. Henry King and Rev. Jacob Leist-the former a Reformed minister and the latter a

Digitized by Google

168

HISTORY OF PICKAWAY COUNTY

Lutheran-preached to the church for upwards of 25 years. Rev. Mr. Weaver is now pastor.

In 1819 or 1820 members of the German Reformed and Lutheran denominations resid- ing in the western part of the township built a log meeting-house, in which services were held for a number of years, although no organi- zation was ever effected. A United Brethren society was subsequently formed there, and oc- cupied the house for some years, when it dis- banded. The meeting-house finally burned down.

The Dresbach U. B. Church was organized about 1820 at the house of George Dreisbach ; among the first members were George Dreis- bach and wife, Henry Dreisbach and wife, John Dreisbach and Elizabeth Whitesel. The appointment has been for many years on the Pickaway Circuit, which now embraces four appointments: Pontius, Morris, Dresbach and Fairview. The pastor of the circuit is Rev. O. M. Martin, who succeeded Rev. D. W. Lambert in September, 1906. In 1829 the present brick church on the north line of the township was built. Until six years ago, when the parsonage at Circleville was bought, the pastor of the Pickaway Circuit resided at Tarl- ton. The church has a present membership of 42. In 1841 a general conference of the United Brethren churches of the United States was held at the Dresbach Church.

The Tarlton U. B. Church was organized about 1840 by Revs. Lewis, Ambrose and Joshua Montgomery and consisted of eight members. The building was erected two or three years later and stands just north of the county line. Before the erection of the church, the society held its meetings at the house of Jacob Larick. The church was formerly quite prosperous.

The Tarlton M. E. Church was organized sometime before 1825. The first meetings of the Methodists in this township were held at a very early date at the house of Abraham Mon- nett. The Tarlton church was formerly in the Adelphi Circuit, Chillicothe District, which em- braced 20 appointments in Pickaway, Vinton, Ross, Fairfield and Hocking counties. In 1841 Tarlton Circuit was formed from Adelphi with

seven appointments, of which the Tarlton church and Haller's Chapel were the only ones in Pickaway County. In 1870 South Perry Circuit was detached from Tarlton, leaving the latter with four appointments: Tarlton, in Pickaway County; and Hopewell, Amanda and Oakland, in Fairfield County. The meet- ings of the Tarlton church were held in the log schoolhouse until 1840, when a church edifice was erected. The following were the pastors of the Adelphi Circuit up to the time the Tarl- ton Circuit was formed: Revs. E. H. Field, George C. Crum, William Westlake, Philip Nation, John Stuart, John W. White, John Stuart, Wesley Roe, Benjamin Ellis, David Lewis, Benjamin Ellis, J. B. Austin, Charles C. Lybrand, Richard Daughty, James Parsons and Richard Daughty. The first preacher, af- ter the formation of the Tarlton Circuit, was Rev. Daniel Poe, who was followed by Revs. James Laws, Alexander Morrow, Joseph Mor- ris, David H. Sargent, John M. Clark, Andrew Carroll, E. T. Webster, John W. Steele, Mc- Cutcheon, Gortner, Fink, Howard, Bennett, Anderson, Kirkman, G. G. West, L. White- head, John T. Miller, Isaac F. King, Benjamin Ellis, John T. Miller, Andrew Carroll, Ben- jamin Ellis, Thomas R. Taylor, W. F. Filler, B. Wolfe, Ross, Sibley, Weir, Ebright, Hall, Hanawalt, Thomas Hall, Pickets, McClintock, T. S. Thurston, Isaac Mackey and Berry, who was pastor in 1879. Rev. R. A. Blair of Adelphi, is the present incumbent. The church has a membership of about 100. The church building is valued at $3,000 and the parsonage, a seven-room structure, is valued at $1,500 .- The Sunday-school, of which William Shoe- maker is superintendent, has a membership of about 80.

The Whisler M. E. Church, formerly known as the Oak Grove M. E. Church, was organized in 1858 by a union of the Warren schoolhouse class and that at Hallers Chapel. A church building was put up that summer and dedicated in the fall of the year by Rev. Mr. Felton. About two years ago the society built a new frame church at Whisler at a cost of $2,- 000 and the name was changed to Whisler M. E. Church. Rev. J. L. Landsittle, of Adelphi,

Digitized by Google

169

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

is pastor. The church has a membership of about 50 members. George Fox is superin- tendent of the Sunday-school, which has a membership of about 50.

Union Chapel of the M. E. Church is a frame building valued at $1,000, situated in Salt Creek township near the home of S. S. McClelland.

The English Evangelical Lutheran Church at Tarlton was formed by Rev. Nathan B. Lit- tle in 1835 with about 30 members. The church building of the Old School Presbyter- ians was occupied as the place of worship until 1841, when the society erected the church build- ing at Tarlton they have since used. For the last seven or eight years services have not been held regularly. A minister has been engaged who will serve both this church and the Eng- lish Evangelical Church at Circleville. The church is not in a flourishing financial condi- tion. The membership is only 20, whereas in 1879 it was about 60; nearly all the former members have died or moved away. The Sun- day-school, of which Miss Ida Mowrey is sup- erintendent and James Porter of Leistville, as- sistant superintendent, has a membership of 30.

In January, 1875, a church of the Evangel- ical Association was formed at Pleasant View, two miles north of Whisler, composed of about 20 members. The church building was erected the following summer and was dedicated Sep- tember 5, 1875, by Rev. R. Dubs. Rev. S. E. Rife was the first pastor. Other early pastors of this church were Revs. Hankey, Wingard, Ellenberger, Munn, Rinehold and Evans. This organization has been split into two societies. both of which worship in the same church building. Rev. Davis, who lives near the church, is pastor of one, and Rev. Stumpf, who lives at Stoutsville, is pastor of the other.

CEMETERIES.

The oldest cemetery in the township is the one known as the Stumpf burying-ground, in which the first person buried was Jane Defen- baugh, who died in October, 1804. The ground for her burial was donated by George Dunkel, The cemetery at the Dresbach U. B. Church is

also one of the oldest in the township; many of the Dreisbach family have been buried here. Mound Hill Cemetery, located near Whisler, is still used for interments and is in good con- dition. The township cemetery is located near the center of the township and is controlled by the township trustees. There are also a num- ber of other burial grounds scattered through- out the township.

SCHOOLS.

What was probably the first schoolhouse in the township was built on the southwest quar- ter of section 24, about 1803 or 1804. About the same time a rude log structure was built in Tarlton near the site of the present Methodist Episcopal Church. A man named Mitchell kept the first term of school in this house. The first school in the southwestern part of the township was kept in a log schoolhouse on the farm of Joseph Schoots, in section 33. One of the early teachers was Timothy Beach. The Board of Education of Salt Creek township, elected in November, 1904, is constituted as follows : Daniel D. Mowrey, Rufus Reichelderfer and Jacob Friece-four years; Allen Drum and George B. Armstrong-two years. There are nine school buildings in the township. The school at Whisler has two rooms, which are taught by Oliver Floyd and Anna Pontius. This is a special district; A. W. Imler is clerk of the board.

The trustees of the Tarlton Special School District are as follows : L. B. Thomas, Henry Mowrey, Clay F. Macklin and M. D. Kreider, there being one vacancy. The Tarlton school building was erected in 1899, at a cost of $4,- 000. It includes a high school department, in charge of the principal, W. L. Davis; a gram- mar school, taught by George W. Bochert; and a primary department, taught by Elsie Davis. The high school has a four-years' course and is classified as third grade.

EARLY MILLS.

The first sawmill in the township of Salt Creek was erected by John Lutz, on

Digitized by Google

170

HISTORY OF PICKAWAY COUNTY

Moccasin Creek. The earliest on Salt Creek were those of Dunkel and Stumpf near Adel- phi and the Reichelderfers (John and Chris- tian). The first settlers here had their grind- ing done at Crouse's mill in the vicinity of Chillicothe; at a later date they had their grist ground at Van Gundy's mill, on the Kinnickin- nick. A grist-mill in Salt Creek township was built by Jacob Strous on Salt Creek in 1820. A sawmill was built here in 1825, the original grist-mill was replaced by another in 1831, and a carding machine put in in 1834. All these were run by water power. In 1810 of 1811, Abraham Barnet erected a sawmill on Salt Creek at Tarlton. It was run as a sawmill until 1815, in which year the property was pur- chased by George Wolf, who made extensive improvements and also built a flouring mill. At length finding that the water power was not sufficient for his purpose, he made an original experiment about 1830 or 1831, in the line of introducing steam power, which, however, proved a complete failure. A steam sawmill was built at Tarlton in 1849 by a joint stock company.

PHYSICIANS.

The first physician to take up his residence in the township was Dr. Waldo. Dr. Otis Bal- lard settled at Tarlton in 1817, and practiced until 1842, when he was compelled to retire on account of poor health. In 1879 the town had two physicians : Dr. J. J. Baker and Dr. J. R. Kelch. The former is still actively engaged in practice here. The village has two other phy- sicians: Dr. Samuel J. Irwin, who has been located here since 1888; and Dr. Frank M. Macklin.

TARLTON LODGE 218, I. O. O. F.,

Was organized March 6, 1853, the first officers being: J. W. Steele, N. G .; J. Metzler, V. G .; Sylvester V. Firor, secretary, and Archibald Lybrand, treasurer. The lodge is a flourishing one and owns its own building, which is valued at $3,500.

TARLTON

Was laid out about 1801 by Benjamin Newell, and was first called Newellstown. It is situated on Salt Creek, on the north line of the town- ship and in 1900 contained 388 inhabitants. The Columbus & Southern Railroad runs through the town. The first building erected here was the log cabin of Christopher Myers, and the first store was kept by a man named McLane. Jacob Sayler kept the next store on the same lot where the cabin of Myers stood. Other early traders here were Samuel Lybrand, William and Stephen Julian, and Singleton & Carr. The first tavern was kept by John Shoe- maker in his log dwelling. An early tavern in the east end of the village was kept by a man named Markwood. The first frame building erected in the township was the dwelling of John Shoemaker at Tarlton. Adam J. Nye settled at Tarlton soon after the close of the War of 1812. For many years he kept a tavern and was also in trade. The road through Tarl- ton was once the principal road from Kentucky to the East and General Jackson and Henry Clay used to stop here on their way to the seat of government.

The first postoffice was established in the township at Tarlton sometime prior to the War of 1812, Samuel Lybrand being the first post- master. Adam J. Nye succeeded Lybrand and kept the office in his tavern. C. Thomas is the present postmaster. One rural route runs from Tarlton.

The present village officials are as follows : Mayor, M. D. Kreider; marshal, Ben Macklin; clerk, E. D. Wolfe; treasurer, L. B. Thomas; Council-J. W. Shoemaker, Edgar Ward, Z. N. Macklin, Wayne Reichelderfer, M. D. Hedges and Virgil Durrant.

The business interests of Tarlton include the following: Barr Brothers, C. Mounjoy, Henry Mowery and C. Thomas, general mer- chandise; Nick Fethererolf, bakery; A. W. Zehrung, hardware; Samuel J. Karshner, car- riage trimming and harness; W. L. Rice, cooper; D. K. Wilson, buyer and shipper of wool; S. Defenbaugh & Son, undertakers; Roberts' Hotel, run by Mrs. C. W. Roberts;

Digitized by Google

171

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

Tarlton Hotel, conducted by J. C. Shaeffer ; Joseph Boyer and M. D. Hedges, blacksmiths; J. F. Oberdorfer, lumber and planing-mill; Wesley Grove, carriage and wagon repairing; Mowery & Kelch and Edgar Ward, coal; James Kelch, manufacturer of sealing wax; Leist & Durrant, concrete contractors; John W. Zeh- ring, tinner ; Lewis Spangler, boarding-house; and Samuel Hartranft and Henry Mowery, feed stables. Barr Brothers also sell imple- ments; Nick Fethererolf, Barr Brothers, C. Mounjoy and C. Thomas are buyers and ship- pers of poultry. Irwin & Ballard are now build- ing a good-sized elevator at Tarlton.

WHISLER, STRINGTOWN AND LEISTVILLE.

Whisler is a small settlement of about 20

families, situated in the southwestern part of Salt Creek township. The postmaster is Wil- liam Fox. Leist & Fox and J. W. Wilkins sell general merchandise; Simon Hamilton is the village blacksmith.

Stringtown is a settlement located a little east of the center of the township, extending along the Circleville and Adelphi pike. The population of the entire settlement is said to be about 75 or 80. Levi Imler conducts a grocery and Noah Butterbaugh is engaged in black- smithing.

At Leistville, which is situated on the west- ern border of the township a little north of the center, is a small settlement of about 40 or 50 population. Andy A. Grove has a blacksmith shop here.

Digitized by Google

CHAPTER XV

SCIOTO TOWNSHIP

When Pickaway County was erected out of portions of Franklin, Fairfield and Ross coun- ties, Scioto township was included in that part taken from Franklin. It then extended west and south to Darby Creek and was bounded on the east by the Scioto River. When Jack- son township was formed at a later date, Scioto contributed a portion of its territory. It was further decreased in size in 1830, when a por- tion of its territory was detached and added to the new township of Muhlenberg. When Darby township was first formed, it included a considerable portion of land east of Darby Creek now lying in Scioto township. On Octo- ber 14, 1878, that portion of Darby township east of Darby Creek was set off to Scioto, so that the present boundaries of this township are as follows: Franklin County on the north, Scioto River on the east, Muhlenberg and Jack- son townships on the south and Muhlenberg township and Darby Creek on the west. This accession to the territory of Scioto township makes it one of the largest townships in the county. In point of population also it is one of the largest, being second only to Circleville township, having according to the census of 1900 a population of 2,030.

On the bluffs of the Scioto River in this township were found at an early day traces of earthworks built in such a form and position as would indicate that they were used as places of defense. These and a number of mounds, some of which are still to be seen, are supposed to have been built by the Mound Builders.

In 1856 a building was purchased by the

township for use as a town house, for the pur- pose of holding elections or for any other uses needed. In 1871 the township of Scioto and the corporation of Commercial Point bought a lot and erected a substantial brick building at Commercial Point, for township and corpora- tion purposes. The first story was built by them and the second by the Masonic fraternity who used it as a lodge hall. The township of- ficers for 1906 are as follows: Trustees-Jo- seph Smith, William M. Beavers and Henry L. Gochenouer; clerk, W. J. Beers: treasurer, J. L. Martin; assessor, Littleton P. Johnson ; justices of the peace-Thomas J. Beckett and H. C. Heise.

EARLY SETTLERS.

In the early days the settlement of the terri- tory now included in Scioto township was tardy, as the township was covered with forest growth, with no prairie lands. The greater part of the territory, also, was taken up in large tracts, which hindered the early development of the land. The early settlers were chiefly from the States of Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Among the earliest settlers who located here in the first years of the 19th century were: Thomas and John Thompson, who came about 1800; William Ballard, who came in 1801; Edward Fitzgerald and George West and fam- ily, who came about 1804; Edward and Isaac Williams, who came about 1806; Jacob Wide- ner, who came in 1807; and Capt. Eleazar Will- iamson, who settled here in 1808. Thomas

Digitized by

Google

173

AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS

Thompson, named above, settled at Chillicothe some time before 1800, in which year he came to Scioto township and located on the McMahon survey. John Thompson came about the same time as his brother Thomas; both were soldiers of the Revolutionary War. William Ballard settled on Darby Creek in 1800 and the follow- ing year located in Scioto township. George West, who was a Virginian, bought about 900 acres of the Butler survey on the Scioto River in the southeastern part of the township. Capt. Eleazar Williamson was a member of General Braddock's army in the French and Indian War, and took part in the battle where Braddock was defeated and killed. In the War of the Revolu- tion he took an active part; afterwards he was captain of a company under Colonel Crawford in the latter's campaign against the Indians, in 1782. He settled near Chillicothe in 1800, and eight years later moved to Scioto township, where he bought a farm which was part of the Taggart & McLaughlin survey.

James Johnson, Francis Rush and Moses Rawlins came about 1808; John, Hugh and Andrew Shaw and James Miller, about 1809; Joseph Reed and John Nevins, about 1810; while Andrew Jordan and Charles Williams settled here in 1811. Charles Williams always bore the reputation of a Tory and it is said that for many years he would buy no land, claiming that the King of England would yet own the country. John ("Jack") Stinson and Joshua Williams came here in 1812; Michael Robinson and son Isaac, in 1822. The Robin- sons settled in the south part of the township at what is now known as Robtown. Isaac. Smith, Joseph Gochenouer and his son George came here about 1827. Joseph Gochenouer ex- changed property in Virginia for 1,000 acres of wild land in the General Porterfield survey, west of Commercial Point. William Harlor, John Fretwell, Robert Gibson and .Wiley H. Beckett, who was the founder of the village now known as Commercial Point, came here about 1829. In the early '30's, John W. Lane, Robert Wilson, Mason Cleveland, James H. Burnley and John Mundell came here. James H. Burn- ley laid out the town of Rome, which with the town of Genoa became the village of Com-

mercial Point. Other early settlers of the township were: William Mires, Andrew Gal- breath, John Martin, .William and Robert Seeds, Samuel Sayres, James Sample, Daniel Harper, John R. Davis, James Redman, Enoch Henry, Martin Boots, Alexander Laf- ferty, Peter Dechert, Anthony Coontz, James Ward, Griffith Justice, Rufus Dennis, Thomas Strain, John and James Walker, Daniel Pur- sell, George Hott, J. W. Durrett, Luke Wilkins, William Boyd, Absolom Van Vickle, Jacob W. Stiverson, Joshua Hil, Jacob Grabill, James M. Johnson, Jonathan E. Trimmer, James Meeker and the Choates.

CHURCHES.

Commercial Point M. E. Church .- The first Methodist Episcopal Church in Scioto township was organized between 1829 and 1834, at which time a log church was built and called Point Pleasant Church. Religious serv- ices were held in the township by Revs. Austin and Philips as early as 1829 and by Rev. John Mckinley, a local preacher. In 1854 a small brick church was erected in the village of Com- mercial Point. A portion of the walls and roof were blown down in 1873 and a new church building was erected in its place, which is valued at about $2,400. The church is now a station of the Commercial Point Circuit, which was detached from the Darbyville Cir- cuit in 1884. In this year a frame parsonage was built in the village at a cost of $1,500. The pastors since 1886 have been the follow- ing : Revs. Byron Palmer, E. N. Nichols, B. E. Thomas, F. M. Evans, F. S. Armstrong, C. B. Longman, J. E. Gordon, F. H. Smiley, A. R. Henderson, S. A. Crosby, M. E. Cun- ningham and M. E. Goodrich, the present in- cumbent, who was assigned to this circuit in September, 1906. The church at Commercial Point has an average attendance of 50. The Sunday-school, of which A. J. Hott is superin- tendent, also has an attendance of about 50. It was organized April 18, 1847, with these of- ficers : James W. Durrett, superintendent; Vin- cent I. Williams, assistant superintendent ; John Martin, secretary; William Harlor, treasurer ;

Digitized by Google

174

HISTORY OF PICKAWAY COUNTY

and John Pierce, librarian. The average at- tendance for the first year was about 20.

The Methodist Episcopal Church at Orient is about 15 years old. The church edifice is a frame structure valued at $2,000. This is a charge of the Harrisburg Circuit and the pres- ent pastor is Rev. R. C. Orndorff, who suc- ceeded Rev. John Walters in September, 1906. The church has an average attendance of about 100. J. S. Mckinley is superintendent of the Sunday-school, which has an attendance of about 45.

The King's M. E. Church, about three miles east of Orient, is a charge of the Darbyville Circuit, of which Rev. F. B. Davis is pastor. The church building is a frame structure. Fred Dountz is superintendent of the Sunday-school.

A regular Baptist society, commonly known as Primitive Baptists, was organized about 1829 at Darbyville. The organization was re- moved, in 1874, to Scioto township to the lo- cality now known as Matville, two miles west of Commercial Point, where a church building was erected at a cost of $600. Regular serv- ices, held once a month by Elder Hanover, have an average attendance of about 40. Annually, on the third Saturday and Sunday in June, the Baptist Association holds services in Beaver Grove near Matville, which are attended by from 3,000 to 4,000 people.

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.

History of Pickaway County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, Part 22

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Number of Pages: 923

Author: Aaron R. Van Cleaf
Publication date: 1906
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 923