USA > Ohio > Portage County > History of Portage County, Ohio > Part 57
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503
PALMYRA TOWNSHIP.
the Center, in 1813. Joseph Tuttle, in 1820, built the first house on the southwest corner, and in 1824 the first frame building was put up at the Center, by a man with the honored name of William Shakespeare. The first saw-mill was built in this same year by Parker Calvin, and a grist-mill was afterward added to it, in 1828, by Henry Kibler, who was then owner. An ashery was operated at an early day by Jabez and Ezra Gilbert near the Center, and another in the northwestern part of the township by Horace Hol- lister.
One of the first preachers to expound the Word of God to the settlers in Palmyra was Rev. Shewell, a Methodist Episcopal circuit rider, who, although a man of no extraordinary culture, yet had those qualities that amply make up for any lack of scholastic attainments. He was a man of exemplary piety, honest and earnest in all his works, and who left an impress for good wherever he went. He was very zealous, sometimes terribly emphatic in his gesticulation, bringing his fist down upon the Bible at every word with a force that would make everything around rattle. It is said that on one occasion he told the people who were listening to him that if they did not repent they "could go to hell and be damned!" Several other early ministers preached occasionally, but it was not till October 10, 1813, that a church was organ- ized. At that date Rev. Nathan Darrow, a Presbyterian minister, formed into a congregation Noah and Hannah Smith. Jemima, Jesse and Samuel Palmer. In 1818 another church was organized by Rev. Andrew Clarke, a Baptist min- ister of Pennsylvania, and the members were William Brown and wife, Ben- jamin McDaniels and wife, George Pownell and wife, and Abigail Tuttle.
The Welsh Regular Baptist Church at Palmyra was reorganized May 23, 1862, when W. W. Davis, Morgan Reese and James Davis were elected Trust. ees; Shadrach James was elected Clerk. The location of the church was known as Soar, but commonly called Stone Chapel.
The members of the Methodist Episcopal society met at Deerfield June 7, 1879, when Daniel Collins, Hiram G. Spooner, T. W. Edwards, Otis Davis and Enoch Morgan were elected Trustees.
The first school is said to have been taught by Miss Betsey Diver, a daugh- ter of Daniel Diver, and the first schoolhouse was located in the south part of the township. Another very early teacher was Sophia Hubbard. Another was John Barr, who taught the first school at the Center. Nathan Boice, or Boys, Mattie Ruggles and Lewis Ely were also teachers. The statistics of the schools of this township are given as follows:
Palmyra Township Schools .-- Revenue in 1884, $3,767; expenditures, $2,916; 7 schoolhouses valued at $7,000; average pay of teachers, $32 and $26; enrollment, 132 boys and 151 girls.
Palmyra Special District .- Revenue in 1884, $1,454; expenditures, $851; 1 school-building valued at $3,000; average pay of teachers, $27 and $45; enrollment, 55 boys and 55 girls.
March 6, 1810, the County Commissioners issued an order setting off from Deerfield Township, Towns 2 and 3, with the name of Palmyra, and on April 2, 1810, the first election was held, resulting in the selection of the fol- lowing officers, in part: Amos Thurber, William Bacon, David Calvin, Trust- ees; David Waller, Clerk; David Daniels, Treasurer; Silas Waller, Appraiser; Jabez Gilbert, John McArthur, Overseers; Charles Gilbert, Constable; James McKelvey, Lister; Truman Gilbert, J. T. Baldwin, Fence Viewers; John Stevens, Zebulon Walker, Artemus Ruggles, Gibson McDaniels, Supervisors. May 21, 1810, David Daniels and Joseph Fisher were elected Justices of the Peace.
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
Palmyra Center .- General stores, Carson & Diver, W. W. Bigelow, W. B. Wilson; drug store, E. M. Evans; carriage and wagon-shop, Edgar Tuttle; undertaker. David C. Davis; saddle and harness, John Humes, Charles Brown; hotel, Bidlake House, Ira Bidlake & Son; shingle factory and tow-mill, D. C. Davis; steam saw-mill, W. E. Steveson; three blacksmith shops; three saloons; two shoe-shops; one milliner; one barber; physicians, Dr. W. G. Smith, Dr. L. C. Rose, Dr. B. B. Davis; veterinary surgeon, Dr. William Davis.
Diamond. - General store, O. B. Mason; hardware, Johnson & Shively; drug and grocery, Rose & Carson; shoe store, Ralph Stevens; lumber yard, O. B. Mason; hotel, Harris House; Postmaster, O. B. Mason; physician, Dr. William Jenkins; Palmyra Coal Company, W. B. Wilson, manager, one shaft open; Black Diamond Coal Company, proprietor, Samuel Kim- berly, one shaft open; Scott Coal Company, proprietor, Enoch Filer, one shaft open; Hutson Coal Company, proprietor, H. D. Hutson, one shaft open. Com- bined output of the four shafts about 550 tons per day. It ranks with the well-known Briar Hill coal and was first operated in 1865.
At the Center there is a Methodist Episcopal Church, Pastor, Rev. Joseph Gledhill; Congregational Church (Welsh), Rev. John J. Jenkins; Baptist Church (Welsh), Pastor, Rev. Edward Jenkins; Welsh Methodist Church, Pastor, Rev. David Evans. Also, a Disciples Church, one and a half miles northwest of the Center, Pastor, Rev. Linas Rogers. At the Center there is a fine graded school with good attendance, and seven other schools in the town- ship.
A. F. & A. M .- Charity Lodge, A. F. & A. M., No. 530, was chartered in 1883. Acting W. M., Del Ray Thomas; S. W., Del Ray Thomas; J. W., Charles Merwin; Secretary, W. D. Edwards; Treasurer, D. D. Carson; mem- bership, thirty.
K. of P .- Diamond Lodge, K. of P., No. 136, was organized January 26, 1882. P. C. C., David Joseph; C. C., Stephen Davis; V. C. C., William Barkley; Prelate, Arthur Johns; M. A., Richard Davis; M. E., James Jones; M. F., B. J. Morris; K. R. S., J. C. Buckley; I. G., Richard Wells; O. G., Davis; membership sixty-eight.
For over fifty years there has been held annually what is termed the Welsh Horse Fair, at which are exhibited on the first Monday in May fine horses of all kinds. It is as much for the purpose of affording an opportunity to buy - ers and sellers, as for show. There are usually fifteen or twenty of the finest stallions on exhibition.
Palmyra Agricultural Fair is held for two days in the fall. The present officers are: President, Isaac Tuttle; Vice-President, D. D. Carson; Secretary, S. A. Church; Treasurer, Jacob Scott.
A good deal of fine stock is raised in the township, and the land is highly productive, though hilly in some portions. The Welsh, who form a large proportion of the population, are generally a frugal and industrious class of citizens. Palmyra furnished thirty-seven soldiers for the Union in the late war, eleven of whom fell in the service. The Cleveland, Youngstown & Pitts- burgh Railroad touches at Diamond.
The general statistics of this division of the county for 1884 are: Acres of wheat, S57. bushels 10,481; no rye; of oats 375 acres, 16, 478 bushels; 3 bushels of barley; 180 acres of corn produced 1,857 bushels; 2,404 acres of meadow gave 2,942 tons of hay; 45 acres of clover yielded 67 tons of hay and 8 bushels of seed; 4 acres of flax gave 32 bushels of seed; 15 acres of potatoes produced 2,221 bushels; home-made butter, 24,118 pounds; 9,335 maple trees yielded 1,521 pounds of sugar and 2,498 gallons of syrup; 26 hives produced 440
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PARIS TOWNSHIP.
pounds of honey; dozens of eggs, 2,298; 301 acres of orchard produced 1,073 bushels of apples; pounds of wool, 25,476; milch cows, 333; stallion, 1; dogs, 106; killed, 17 sheep; died of disease, 5 hogs, 39 sheep, 7 cattle and 6 horses; acres cultivated, 1,913; pasture, 8,756; woodland, 2,782; total 13,451 acres. Population in 1850 was 1,093, including 642 youth; in 1870, 848, in 1880, 1,105; in 1884 (estimated), 1,300.
The number of bushels of coal mined in 1883 was 1,081,101, valued at $91,419. During the year ending May, 1880, there were only 471,200 bush- els mined by sixty-six men, valued at $37,780.
CHAPTER XXVII.
PARIS TOWNSHIP.
GOOD LAND WITH A BAD NAME-SLOW SETTLEMENT-ORGANIZATION -- CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS - SOME FIRST EVENTS - NOTABLE HAPPENINGS - MCCLIN- TOCKSBURG AND NEWPORT-OFFICERS, BUSINESS, RESOURCES AND STATISTICS.
P ARIS was originally the property of Lemuel G. Storrs, Henry Champion, Gideon Granger and Thomas Bull, members of the Connecticut Land Com- pany, and is Town 3, Range 6, of the surveys. Up to 1810 it was a portion of Deerfield, but at that time it was placed with Palmyra and formed a portion of that township, so remaining till 1820, when Paris cut adrift and has since been sailing along smoothly on the sea of progress without her convoy.
For many years before the truth was ascertained, Paris, or rather Storrsboro, as it was formerly called, had a wretched reputation, and a passage over it was avoided by persons ignorant of the real state of affairs, in many instances set- tlers to other portions of the Reserve going many miles out of their way in order to give the "swamps " of Paris a wide berth. It was commonly reported and believed by many that the entire township was one vast mud-hole, and that to get into it was sure destruction to wagon and team. As the country is level and the soil chiefly clay, in those early days, when scarcely a foot had trodden the soil, water would naturally accumulate in the lower sections, and it would get muddy, the mud being tolerably deep and sticky, too ; so sticky that, as an old settler remarked, one had to go home and get a shovel to dig himself out of the mud when he got " stalled." He meant his team, possibly. It was pretty bad, and no mistake, but cultivation and drainage have made it second to none on the Reserve as grazing land, whilst all other crops are produced easily. The soil, from the very fact of its original damp nature, is excellent, as it is composed in part of clay and the residue of decayed vegetable matter.
One hardy old Pennsylvanian, from Woodbury, Huntingdon County, ventured into the badly abused township, bringing his family and settling on Lot 21, on the 20th of June, 1811. This was Richard Hudson, and he resided where he settled till his death, which occurred June 27, 1819, his wife having preceded him one month, she dying May 28, 1819.
The old couple and their family were the only settlers till the following spring of 1812, when their son-in-law, John Bridges, arrived and built a house on the farm of Mr. Hudson. The next year John Young and John Cox, with their fami- lies, came in from Huntingdon County, Penn., and located on Lot 13, making four families in two years.
506
HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
In April, 1815, a valuable addition was made to the little settlement by the arrival of Channcy Hawley and William Selby and their families from Sanders- field, Berkshire Co., Mass., who located on Lots 27 and 33. In the fall of the same year came Calvin Holcomb and family from Granby, Hartford Co., Conn., and set- tled on Lot 21.
In December, 1816, Brainard Selby, Sr., Newton Selby and wife, Thomas B. Selby and Austin Wilson arrived from Sandersfield, Mass. Brainard Selby took up his residence with his son William, who had come the year before. Newton Selby located on Lot 40, and Wilson on Lot 39.
In the summer of 1817 John Smith and family arrived and settled on Lot 27, and in the fall of the same year Justus Wilson and family, from Sandersfield, Mass., and Rufus Smith from Whitestown, N. Y., came in. Wilson stayed with his son, Austin, and Smith built on the southwest part of Lot 39.
In February, 1818, Stephen Bingham, Sr., Stephen Bingham, Jr., and John W. Whiting came in from Whitestown, N. Y., with their families, and located on the northwest part of Lot 34.
A petition being presented to the County Commissioners, and granted in the fall of 1820, for a separation from Palmyra and its erection into a township, Storrsboro became such on the 10th of November, when the first election for officers was held. Justus Wilson, Stephen Bingham and William Selby were the Judges, and Rufus Smith and Stephen Bingham, Jr., Clerks. The following were the officers elected : Trustees, Rufus Smith, Justus Wilson, John Smith ; Clerk, Cheney V. Senter ; Overseers of the Poor, John W. Whiting, Titus Stanley ; Fence Viewers, Austin Wilson, Calvin Holcomb, Jr. ; Lister, Bidwell Pinney ; Appraiser, Newton Selby ; Treasurer, Stephen Bingham, Jr .; Constables, Chauncy Hawley, Luther Wilson ; Supervisors of Highways, Newton Selby, John Smith ; Justices of the Peace, Stephen Bingham, Calvin Holcomb. At this elec- tion there were twenty-five votes polled, and the name of the township was changed to Paris.
Calvin Holcomb refused to accept the office of Justice with its multiplicity of duties and heavy emoluments, preferring to attend to his farm, and Squire Bing- ham, therefore. had it all his own way. In 1822 a suit was brought for assault and battery against Samuel Hudson by Jarvis Holcomb.
In 1817 a religious event of much importance for that early day occurred. Richard Hudson, who was a Methodist, in connection with some others of the same (lenomination, assisted in a camp-meeting held upon his place. Quite a large number of persons were present, and several ministers conducted the services. It might be more properly termed a " bush meeting," as they are called in some sections, and lasted only a couple of days.
In 1835 the first church, the Welsh Congregational, was organized by Rev. David Jenkins, and consisted of the following persons : Richard Morris, Mary Morris, Robert Roberts, Elizabeth Roberts, William Probert, Maria Probert, Edward Morris, Ann Morris, John Morris, Mary Williams and Widow Probert. The organization has remained intact ever since, and they now have a tasteful and commodious church edifice at the Center, which has been erected forty years. The congregation is large and composed almost entirely of Welsh, the services being mostly conducted in that language. There is a fine Sunday school also connected with the church. Rev. David Davis has been pastor for over thirty years. Welsh Independent Congregational Church of Paris Township, at New- port, was reorganized and elected D. N. Evans, John Rees and Samuel Jones Trust- ees February 8, 1850.
There is a Baptist Church with a large Sunday school, of which Rev. A. J. Morton is pastor.
At MeClintocksburg there was formerly a United Brethren Church, but with the decay of that embryo city it disappeared in the general wreck, and now there is no society of that kind in the township.
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PARIS TOWNSHIP.
Of the early ministers who preached for the settlers may be mentioned Revs. Joseph Treat, Nathan Darrow, Congregational, and Revs. Robert Roberts and Shadrach Bostwick, Methodist.
The first school taught in the township was at the house of Richard Hudson in the summer of 1819 by Miss Betsey North. It was entirely a private school for the benefit of the children of "Uncle " Richard, but a couple of the boys of Chauncy Hawley were admitted. The first public school was taught in the winter of 1819-20 by Daniel Leavitt, of Trumbull County, in a log-schoolhouse erected on the northwest corner of Lot 34. It commenced with twenty-five scholars. The present condition of the schools is shown by the following statistics : Revenue in 1884, $2,669 ; expenditure, $1,447.48 ; six schoolhouses valued at $3,600; average pay of teachers 830 and $23 ; enrollment, eighty-four boys and seventy- six girls.
In 1812 Richard Hudson set out the first orchard in the township, and in 1814 gathered some apples from it, which was the first cultivated fruit grown here. In March, 1813, William Bradford, of Braceville, Trumbull County, married Betsey Hudson, daughter of " Uncle " Richard Hudson, and Squire John McArthur tied the knot. In the spring of 1814 Mrs. Susan Cox, wife of John Cox, died. The first child born in the township was Elijah Hawley, which event occurred October 11, 1815. This gentleman, who is still living, was the fourth son of Chauncy Haw- ley, who first settled with William Selby on Lot 33, but afterward moved to Lot 27, where he lived till he died June 14, 1846. His son, Elijah, still occupies the homestead. The first roads established through the township were laid out in June, 1817, one from Palmyra, and one from Charlestown, through to Newton Falls. The first saw-mill was erected by Alexander and Titus Stanley, on the Mahoning River, near where the road crosses it at McClintocksburg. The first frame building, a barn, was erected in 1819, by Calvin Holcomb, on the southern part of Lot 21, and the first frame dwelling-house was erected in 1823 by Gains A. H. Case, at the Center, and it still stands there, but was removed from its orig- inal place some years ago. In 1827 William Case commenced keeping tavern at the Center, but he died the following year, when the business was continued by his widow, who, in 1832, married again. "Aunt Cretia," as she was called, was a very strong-minded woman, and a zealous champion of Gen. Jackson and Dem- ocracy. She used to say that, "Although my husband is dead, thank God he lived to vote for 'Old Hickory.'" In 1828 a postoffice was established and Thomas B. Selby appointed Postmaster. The office was in the house of William Selby, on the northeast corner of Lot 33. A weekly mail was run to Warren. A tannery was operated in the early times in the south part of the township by Patrick Davidson, and hats were manufactured by Chauncy Hawley. There was also a chair factory, a basket and pail factory, and a small foundry for making hand irons, flat irons, etc.
In the year 1831 John Morgan, of Wales, came into the township, purchased a part of Lot 32, and erected a log-cabin. From this humble beginning the countrymen of Morgan have come in from time to time, and have so increased that the population is now about two-thirds Welsh. Through the inducements of the first settler, who wrote to the old country about the cheap lands in Paris Township, these thrifty people have come and gradually drained and improved the country till it is now one of the finest grazing spots in the county. There is not an acre that cannot be cultivated, and whilst wheat does not do very well, corn can be raised in abundance, but dairying is the main resource. Some of the finest cattle are raised here. The people are noted for their honesty, industry, economy and religious devotion.
In 1835 a man named Mcclintock started a town on the east and west road near the crossing of the Mahoning, which bid fair to become a fine little town during the canal days, but when that water-way began to run down so did the
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
town, and now, in these post-canal days, desolation reigns supreme in Mcclintocks- burg.
Newport was also laid out on the canal about the same time as MeClintocks- burg, flourished for a while and then retrograded, but since the building of the Pittsburgh, Cleveland & Toledo Railroad, in the bed of the old canal, it has taken an onward move, several buildings having lately gone up, and a store is about to be opened.
In this year, 1835, Isaac Hopkins came from Pittsburgh and opened the first store at the Center, ran it one year, and then sold out and left. In 1839 the first grist-mill was erected by two Englishmen, William Philpot and Philip Price, on Lot 24, where Newport now is.
Township Officers .- Trustees, H. A. Chapman, Smith Busey ; Clerk, Joseph W. Jones ; Treasurer, Richard Morris ; Assessor, William B. Phillips ; Constables, John A. Evans, T. C. George ; Justices of the Peace, Michael Jones, Edward Roberts.
At the Center there is a general store kept by Samuel Evans. Miss Winnie Morton is Postmistress. There is a cheese factory near the Center, operated by John R. Thomas.
The P., C. & T. R. R. runs across the township, and affords shipping facilities for the various products. Paris will be found to possess considerable mineral resources after the proper development has been effected. Already, and in fact for many years past, fine quarries of freestone have been opened, furnishing an almost unlimited supply of material for building and flagging. It can also be used for grindstones. The township is well watered by the Mahoning River and its tributaries. Paris furnished forty-nine soldiers to the war for the Union, ten of whom lost their lives in the service.
The present statistics of Paris Township are as follows : Acres of wheat, 659, bushels, 7,658 ; buckwheat, 11 acres, bushels 30; oats, 694 acres, 21,291 bushels ; corn, 494 acres, 2,088 bushels ; meadow, 2,188 acres, 2,860 tons of hay ; clover, 2 acres, 2 tons of hay and 4 bushels of seed ; flax, 3 acres, 20 bushels of seed and 1,000 pounds of fiber ; potatoes, 16 acres, 839 bushels ; butter, 51,011 pounds ; maple sugar, 2,134 pounds and 1,517 gallons of syrup from 8,037 trees ; 375 pounds honey from 32 hives ; 14,687 dozen of eggs ; 5,057 bushels of apples, 21 of peaches and 1 of pears from 209 acres of orchard (1883) ; 16,279 pounds of wool ; 598 milch cows ; 4 stallions ; 88 dogs ; killed, 13 sheep, and injured, 22 ; died of disease, 11 hogs, 274 sheep, 24 cattle and 8 horses ; acres cultivated, 4,223 ; in pasture, 6,806 ; in woodland, 2,339 ; waste land, 65; total, 13,433 acres. Population in 1850 was 1,019, including 470 youth ; in 1870, 691; in 1880, 666; in 1884 (estimated), 650.
NEeggleston
511
RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
RANDOLPH TOWNSHIP.
FIRST TWO SETTLERS-BELA HUBBARD AND SALMON WARD-THE TIDE FLOWS ON -- WARD'S FOUR TRIPS-OLIVER DICKINSON-FIRST DEATHS, BIRTHS AND MARRIAGES-INITIAL INDUSTRIES-A FEW EARLY FACTS-ORGANIZATION AND OFFICERS-CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS-OLD AND NEW INCIDENTS-THE HUBBARD SQUASII -RANDOLPH FAIR - UNDERGROUND RAILROAD -SOIL, STREAMS AND STATISTICS.
R ANDOLPH, which is Town 1, Range 8, originally fell to the lot of Col. Lem- uel Storrs, of Connecticut, Henry Champion and others. Some time after the drawing, however, Col. Storrs purchased the interests of the other holders of the lots in the township, and became sole owner, he being the proprietor of con- siderable other property on the Reserve. Storrs was in every sense a self-made man, having been born of humble parentage, but he had that within him which to so many men has been better than wealth-integrity, perseverance and fine bus- iness qualities.
The first persons, other than Indians, to enter the township were the surveyor, Amzi Atwater, and his assistant, Wareham Shephard. They came to run the lines in the summer of 1797, and camped on a small stream in the southern part of the township, where they made their headquarters.
Among the number of first settlers were Bela Hubbard, Salmon Ward and others, of Middletown, Conn. The two named, in the early part of 1797, removed from their native State to Jefferson County, N. Y., where they remained till 1802, but not being satisfied with their first location started for New Connecticut in the early part of March, that year, with an ox-team and a cart loaded with flour, bacon, tools, etc., and landed in Randolph about the last day of the month named. They halted at a spot about half a mile west of the present Center, and made prepara- tions for establishing a home. The first night they encamped under a large tree that stood for years afterward, it being held sacred as the abiding place of the first settlers. Here the two pioneers made a small clearing, and with the timber thus cut built a cabin, finishing it the day after their arrival. This old cabin was for many years a land-mark where it stood, but venerable things must, or rather do, give way before the chariot of progress. The day after finishing their cabin Ward was taken sick, and when he recovered sufficiently to travel he made as straight a streak for the East as circumstances and the roads would permit, having had quite enough of life in the wilderness, yet, as the sequel will show, retaining a hanker- ing after the fine lands of Randolph. Hubbard continued to reside where he set- tled for many years, but some time before his death he removed to Mogadore, on the Summit side of that duplex village. having attained a very advanced age. From the time Ward left till July, about six weeks, the only white inhabitant was Bela Hubbard, and he used to say that it was awful lonesome to be far away from any habitation of his fellow man, and when the only sounds of the night would be the howling of the wolves, the hootings of the owls and the songhing of the winds through the almost interminable forests. Yet, had it not been for such heroic men and their heroic wives, what would this beautiful Western country now be ?
In July of the same year came Arad Upson from Atwater, where he had been
27
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HISTORY OF PORTAGE COUNTY.
living a short time, he having gone there from New Durham, N. Y., but originally came from Plymouth, Conn. At the same time came Joseph Harris, afterward a prominent citizen of the county. He came direct from Middletown, Conn., and settled here, but removed some years afterward to Medina County. Late in the summer Salmon Ward, accompanied by Calvin Ward and John Ludington, arrived in the township after a journey of many hardships, having been on the ragged edge of starvation several days before reaching the county. They came by the lake shore, and after leaving the water had to almost cut their way to the section they had in view, they having chosen a route that was very little frequented. The following winter, 1802-03, there were but six persons in the township.
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