History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 25

Author: R. E. Lowry
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 985

USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions > Part 25

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SETTLEMENT.

The original settlers, who came here to divide the occupancy of the primeval forest with the Indians, arrived about 1806. They came principally from Kentucky and most largely from Bourbon county in that state. Most prominent among them were the Flemings, Irelands, Purviances, Morrisons and Mitchells. All of these families acted prominent parts in the early his- tory of the township, and a few of their lineal descendants are still found here. Most, if not all, of these early settlers stopped in the western part of the township, along the Whitewater, but it is notable that they built their houses, not on the lowlands of the valley, which were then, no doubt, wet and swampy in most places, but on the hillsides and more elevated locations, and usually near a spring of water.

Among the very earliest settlers of Jefferson township and one of the most prominent and influential in shaping the affairs of the new country, was David Purviance. He was born in Iredell county, North Carolina, in 1766. His parents, who were strict Presbyterians, reared him in that faith and he was thoroughly drilled in the catechism. At the age of twenty- three, he married Mary Ireland, who also was among the early settlers of Jefferson township. Soon after his marriage they emigrated to Tennessee and settled near Nashville. From there he later removed to Kentucky and settled on a farm in Bourbon county. His land, covered with a heavy forest and thick canebrake, was difficult to clear and presented difficulties involving much labor and privation. But here he toiled until 1791, when he was se- lected as a representative to the state Legislature. Then it was that his abilities were first revealed and it was discovered that he was really a great man. In 1807 he emigrated to Ohio and settled in section 31 of Jefferson township. He was a pioneer preacher and among his first activities was the organization of a church of the New Light, or Christian, faith, to which Elder Purviance had given his adherence during his residence in Kentucky. He had not lived here long until the fame of his powerful speeches in the

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Kentucky Legislature followed him. In the fall of 1809 he was selected to represent Preble and Montgomery counties in the state Legislature and served one term of two years. In 1812, the district having been changed, he was elected to the Senate by the counties of Preble, Darke and Miami, where he served four years. He was in the Senate at the time that Colum- bus was made the capital of the state. He was instrumental in securing the location of Miami University at Oxford, and for many years was a trustee of that institution. Although coming from a slave state, he was much op- posed to the institution of slavery and while in the Ohio Legislature his vigorous support of a bill for the repeal of the "black laws of Ohio" made him, for the time, very unpopular. But he never wavered in his convictions on the subject and his efforts on behalf of the slaves were never relaxed. In 1826 he was again elected and he always took a strong interest in political affairs. In the Legislatures of Kentucky and Ohio together he served fif- teen sessions, and he was also on the electoral ticket in 1812 when James Madison was re-elected President. He died in 1848 and lies buried in the old cemetery at New Paris.

A SOLDIER OF 1812.

Elder Levi Purviance was the oldest son of Elder David Purviance and was a worthy successor to him. He was born in Iredell county, North Carolina, in 1790, and moved with his parents to Tennessee, and thence to Kentucky. At the age of sixteen he came with his father to Jefferson township and assisted him in the work of clearing his land. During the first year he cleared six acres and put it in corn, and this was probably the first corn ever raised in the township by white men. In 1811 he was married to Sophia Woods, of Wayne county, Indiana. In 1812 he volunteered and served in the army at Fort Nisbet under the command of Capt. Silas Flem- ing. Fort Nisbet was located just across the north line of Jefferson town- ship, on the edge of Darke county, and was one of the numerous forts erected in this section as defenses against the Indians. In 1823 he was ordained a minister of the gospel and continued in this work until the time of his death. All this time, except ten years spent in Illinois, was spent in Ohio, five years in Miami county, five in Warren and the remainder in Darke and Preble counties. Elder Purviance was the constant attendant of his father, and when David died Levi took up his mantle. About 1852 he removed to Mor- ristown, Illinois, and after ten years returned to Ohio. After preaching for

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some time in Covington and Franklin, Ohio, he accepted a call to Eaton and died there April 9, 1873, in his eighty-third year.

David Ireland was born in 1765 in North Carolina. His father, John Ireland, was a native of Ireland and his mother of Irish descent. They emi- granted to Tennessee, whence they came to Jefferson township in 1808 with their son. David was born in North Carolina and was a Revolutionary soldier, being only seventeen years of age when he enlisted, and was elected captain of a company. He died in 1847. His last surviving son, James Ire- land, died nearly thirty years ago, at a good old age, at his home a short dis- tance north of New Paris.

John Harvey was another pioneer who came from Tennessee in 1808 and settled on a farm in sections 4 and 5. John Wasson came from Ken- tucky in 1810. James Fleming came from Kentucky about 1808. He was one of the most enterprising citizens of the new community and was noted for being closely identified with every enterprise calculated to promote its interests. He was one of the founders of New Paris. His brother, Judge Peter Fleming, who was also closely identified with every interest of Jef- ferson township. settled about the same time just over the line in Indiana between New Westville and Richmond.

John Mitchell, born in North Carolina in 1784, emigrated to Ken- tucky, and in 1810 came to Jefferson township and settled in section 14. His sons, Franklin and Samuel, the last remaining members of his family, died here, the former in 1905 and the latter in 1909.

Lewis Mitchell was born in Kentucky in 1796 and emigrated to Jef- ferson township with his parents, Elijah and Sarah Mitchell, in 1807. He died here in 1857.

Adam Reid, who was born in Rockbridge county, Virginia, about 1788, settled in this township about 1810, where he died in 1840. His son, Wil- liam B. Reid, who was the last survivor of a family of five children, was a well-known citizen of the township until his death, in 1891. In his earlier manhood he conducted a hatter's shop in New Paris, and later was a suc- cessful and prosperous farmer, and for many years owned and operated the farm now owned by his grandson, E. R. Clark, in section 32.

John Curry, progenitor of a numerous family, many of whom yet re- main, was born in Pennsylvania in 1804 and emigrated to this township in 1814. In 1832 he married Nancy Ann Brinley, who was born in New Jer- sey in 1808.

Thomas W. Porterfield was born in Virginia in 1777. His wife, Cyn- thia Ireland, was born in 1791, and died in 1869. They emigrated from

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Tennessee at a very early day and entered two hundred and forty acres of land in section 8 of Jefferson township. They arrived here before the wood- man's axe had touched the native forest, and built a cabin, but the Indians were so troublesome that they returned to Tennessee and remained there until the close of the War of 1812, when Mr. Porterfield returned and cleared his land.

It is notable that nearly all of these pioneers came from Southern . states, which were then slave territory, and, almost without exception, they held the strongest convictions against the institution of slavery, a fact which doubtless accounts in a large part for their emigration to the wilderness north of the Ohio, which was free from the hated institution. Thus was founded new communities in which were sown seeds of the conflict which, fifty years later, culminated in the elimination from the nation of this relic of barbarism.

Hugh Marshall. was born in Kentucky in 1789. In the year 1813 he emigrated to Ohio and settled in section 16 of Jefferson township. He had married Elizabeth Pitts in 1811 and his wife and child were his only com- panions during the journey. It is related of them that their only possessions were a horse, a kettle and a feather bed. The latter was used by Mrs. Mar- shall as a saddle, as she rode, carrying the baby and the kettle, her husband performing the journey on foot by her side. They had a family of eleven children, one of whom, Hannah, married James Brown. Her son, W. A. Brown, still resides in New Paris.

Michael Hahn, who was born in Cincinnati in 1794, emigrated to Jef- ferson township in 1816 and settled in section 7. He was the father of Joseph Hahn, who was born in 1812 and came here with his parents at the age of four years. The remainder of his life was spent in the township, most of it on the old farm, but in his later years he removed to New Paris, where he died in 1889. He is yet remembered by many of the older citi- zens as a man distinguished for the uprightness and probity of his life.

John Brinley, who was born in New Jersey in 1782, emigrated to But- ler county, Ohio, in 1811, where he remained until 1816, when he removed and settled in section 14 of Jefferson township.

James Norris, born in Maryland in 1781, afterward moved to Pennsyl- vania, whence he moved to Ohio in 1816, settling in section 35 of Jefferson. His son, John McD. Norris, succeeded him on the old place.

Gideon Garretson was born in Delaware in 1776, and in 1818 emigrated to Ohio and settled in section 18 of Jefferson.

William Stockton, born in 1790, in New Jersey, came to Hamilton

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county, Ohio, in 1804, thence removing to Butler country and in 1818 to Preble county, where he settled in section II of Jefferson township.

Andrew Scott was born in Ireland in 1819, and, when only two years of age, emigrated with his parents, Robert and Jane Scott, to Rockbridge county, Virginia. In 1829 they came to this township and settled in sec- tion 19.

Samuel King, born in Warren county in 1808, came to Preble county in 1818 and settled in Monroe township. His son, Samuel King, Jr., after- ward lived for many years on the farm in section 34 of Jefferson town- ship, the same that is now occupied by his son, James A. King.

Peter Bilbee, born in 1803, came with his parents, Peter and Isabella Bilbee, in 1820 and settled in section 23.

John Swerer came from New Jersey about 1820. His children were Lewis, George, Warren, Agnes and Sarah.

James Harvey Young emigrated to Ohio in 1831 and settled in sec- tion 22.

John McFadden was born in 1794 in Virginia, and emigrated to Ohio in 1834, settling in section 22 of Jefferson township.

James Woofter was born in Virginia in 1796 and emigrated to Ohio at the age of nineteen. He came to Preble county in 1827. In 1833 he built a flouring-mill a short distance north of New Paris, and this was after- ward operated for many years by his son; Daniel F. Woofter. The latter finally lost his life in the mill by a fall through a hatchway. He was cap- tain of Company F of the One Hundredth and Fifty-sixth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the summer of 1864.

James Graham, a great hunter, came from Virginia about 1822. He was considered the best shot in the township.

Thomas Miller came from Ireland in 1824 and settled on a farm in the very center of the township. His children, Robert and Joseph Miller and Mrs. Mary Graham. were well-known and respected citizens of the county, but are all now dead.

Arthur Duffield, born in Pennsylvania in 1810, settled in Gettysburg. in this township, in 1838. For eighteen years he kept a general store and finally became an extensive land owner.

John McKee came from Pennsylvania in 1822 and settled in section 14.

William McKee came to Jefferson township in 1822 from Pennsyl- vania.

Andrew McKee was born in Pennsylvania in 1802 and came to this county in 1822 with his parents. He died in 1870.

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John Harshman was born in Virginia in 1792, and came to Jefferson township and settled in section 26 about the year 1822. He was the father of Franklin, William and Daniel Harshman. The latter served as county commissioner and in other official positions.

Daniel Jaqua, unlike most of the pioneers of Jefferson township, was not from the Southern States, but was born near Kinderhook, New York, in 1787. After various removals to Pennsylvania and Cincinnati, Ohio, he finally, in 1824, reached this county and located on a farm in Jefferson township, from which he cleared the native forest. He died in 1871. His son, Reuben Jaqua, was one of the early school teachers of the county and is yet well remembered by many of his former pupils.

MARTYRED FOR HIS PRINCIPLES.

One of the best remembered of the early citizens of Jefferson town- ship was Thomas Barber, who became martyr to his anti-slavery principles in 1858 or 1859. He emigrated to Kansas about that time, just as the breaking out of the "Kansas troubles" over the question of the extension of slavery. True to his principles, he took an active part in the contest there and soon became known as one of the hated "abolitionists." He was shot by an assassin. The poet, Whittier, thus honored his memory :

"Plant the buckeye on his grave, For the hunter of the slave In its shadow cannot rest ; And let martyr, mound and tree Be our pledge and guaranty Of the freedom of the west!"

Coming down to later times in the history of the township and bridg- ing the period between the days of the pioneers and the present, we may mention a few of the citizens who were more or less prominent in the busi- ness and political life of the township.

Samuel Smith came from his native state of Pennsylvania in 1838 and settled in section 20 of Jefferson township, on the farm adjoining the east corporation line of New Paris. In 1840 he bought the mill here formerly built and owned by Peter Fleming, and for thirty-three years operated it. In those days almost every mill had as an adjunct a distillery, or, as they were generally known then, a "stillhouse," and Smith's was no exception.

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However, after a few years this feature of the enterprise fell into disuse and was abandoned. Mr. Smith was also engaged for many years in the stone and lime business and owned and operated the extensive quarries and kilns located on the northern outskirts of New Paris. He was succeeded in business by his sons, Thomas J. and William C. Smith, the latter operating the milling business, while the former conducted the stone and lime enter- prise on an extensive scale for a number of years during the seventies and eighties. Mr. Smith died in 1879.

Thomas J. Smith, who was born in 1841 and married Nellie McPher- son in 1863, was prominent in the township for many years for the large employment he gave to labor in the extensive lime and stone business which he conducted. He it was who first conceived the improvements in the New Paris quarries, which finally led up to the extensive crushing plant now in operation there. It was while engaged in making the excavation for the railroad track leading into the quarries in 1892, that he lost his son and business partner, Nathan J. Smith, who was killed by the fall of a large derrick. This was a hard blow to Mr. Smith and his own death followed in 1893, largely the result of exposure and overwork, leaving his cherished plans incomplete and to be carried into execution by others. Mr. Smith is, perhaps, best remembered by his useful devotion and incessant labors through many years in the temperance cause. Himself a victim, in his earlier years, of the liquor habit, he became interested in 1877 in the "Murphy movement." For the remainder of his life he remained true to the total abstinence pledge which he then took. . For years he was the official head of the temperance organization in New Paris, always present at the numerous meetings that were held. frequently visited other localities to organize and assist the work, and, though one of the busiest of men in his large business activities, he was never too busy to lend a helping hand in the work of the reform which was ever nearest his heart. Of him it may truly be said that he was one of those "whose good works do follow them."

Saul Thomas came to western Ohio in 1817, where he lived until his death, in 1880. Most of that time was spent in or near New Paris. He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and for seventy years was an active busi- ness man.

James Paul came to Jefferson township from Adams county, Ohio, in 1836. He was the father of James H. Paul, who died in 1891.

Dr. Albert Hawley, born in Warren county, in 1822, after graduating in medicine in 1846, settled at Gettysburg. where he continued in the prac- tice of medicine until a few years before his death, which occurred in 1913.

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Duval Swain, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1810, came with his parents first to Jackson township, whence they afterward removed to sec- tion 22 of Jefferson. Here he died in 1888.

George Crubaugh, born in Pennsylvania in 1808, came to Jefferson township in 1840 and occupied a farm in section 24.

Guy Bloom, son of Joseph and Rebekah Bloom, was born in Pennsyl- vania in 1816. He came to Ohio with his parents in 1827, and they settled in Darke county. In 1845 he married Hannah Frances Jamison and they settled on a farm in section 34 of Jefferson, which he improved and made one of the best in the township. His death occurred in 1883 and that of his wife in 1889.

John Coblentz was born in Maryland in 1825, and came to Darke county, Ohio, with his parents in 1829. In 1869 he removed to Jefferson township, locating on a farming in section 4 and 5.

In the War of 1812, Jefferson township furnished her full quota of soldiers, and in the Civil War it was almost depopulated of able-bodied men, nearly all of whom responded to the call to arms.

THE SCHOOLS.

The first school house in Jefferson township was built on the McGrew farm, two miles north of New Paris. It was a log structure of the char- acteristic type of the rude architecture of that day, having a puncheon floor and puncheons around the sides for writing desks. There was a fireplace seven feet wide in one end and it is related that in cold weather, when suf- ficient fire was maintained for comfort, a volume of flame rolled from the low mud chimney. Economy of fuel was not then necessary to be con- sidered. John Ireland is thought to have been the first teacher, and he was succeeded by Clements Ferguson, then a young medical student who after- ward became a leading physician of the community. Among other early teachers was Thomas Buman. In 1838 the township was divided into ten sub-districts.

The first school house in New Paris was built very shortly after the founding of the town, for those early settlers were men of intelligence and believed in affording their children facilities for obtaining the best educa- tion possible, though at that time this was meager enough as compared with the courses now. The "three R's" comprised about all that the average pupil was expected to acquire, and grammar and geography were regarded as the higher branches. This first school house was located in the western part

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of the town at the corner of what is now Main street and Whitewater ave- nue, about where the residence of Miss Frances Kirkpatrick stands. It was, of course, of logs and primintive to the last degree in every appointment. A few years later it was decided to build a larger and better school house, and, accordingly, a frame building was erected on Cherry street, nearly opposite where the Christian church now stands. It consisted of two rooms and was considered quite a fine building. It was doubtless as much a source of pride at that time as a twenty-five thousand dollar building would be now. It served as the educational center of the town for many years, until 1868, when it was sold and converted into a dwelling.

In the year just mentioned, the need of a better gradation and more room for the ever-growing school having become urgent, the local board decided to erect a two-story brick building. This was done, on the large lot in the east part of the town. Ten years later, in 1878, an addition of equal size was added to it. The idea of the high school, and a more ex- tended course of study, was then coming into prominence, and the enlarged building afforded scope for its development. Among the earlier superin- tendents of the enlarged school were Abner Hahn, James McNeill, E. J. Thomas, and others. In 1884 F. S. Alley, a native of Union county, In- diana, was employed as superintendent. He served in that capacity until 1891, when he removed to Ripley, Ohio, to take charge of the schools of that city. To Professor Alley, perhaps, more than any other single indi- vidual, was due the credit of the organization and development of the New Paris schools, which has made them among the best in the county. He it was who revised the course of study and systematized the work of the high school, which had not previously reached the stage of real organization. Professor Alley was succeeded for several years by E. L. Thomas, and he by C. R. Coblentz, himself a graduate of the school. In 1900 Superin- tendent B. S. Dairs took charge and continued until the close of the term in 1914, when he resigned to accept the district superintendency. Superin- tendent Glenn J. Noggle is now at the head of the schools.

MILLS AND FACTORIES.

The water power afforded by Whitewater creek was liberally utilized at an early day. About 1814, John Ireland erected the first grist-mill in the township on the creek below the town and near the state line. The remains of the foundation of this old mill are yet to be seen. The New

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Paris mill, afterward run by the Smiths, was built by Silas and Peter Flem- ing about 1825.

Shortly prior to 1835, James Woofter built a grist-mill about a mile north of New Paris, which he operated during his life-time, after which it passed into possession of his son, Captain Daniel F. Woofter.

About 1840 Fletcher Doloff started a mill two miles north of New Paris. There was a stillhouse connected with it.

More than eighty years ago Robert McGrew put up a "corn cracker" a few hundred yards south of the Doloff mill. This afterward became a regular grist-mill and a distillery was also carried on there.

On the bank of the creek in the western environs of New Paris a woolen-mill was erected at any early day and was operated by the Barber brothers, Thomas and Oliver, until it was destroyed by fire some time in the fifties.

Robert Snodgrass had a tan-yard just above this mill at a very early day. Another tannery was installed about 1820 on Washington street in New Paris by one Crampton, who operated it for many years. Somewhere near 1860 it was acquired by Joseph Bourgoyne, who continued to operate it until it was destroyed by fire about 1882.

There were three saw-mills not far from New Paris, the Coblentz mill, about three miles north of the town, one owned by Thompson Fleming, near the Woofter mill, and one that was owned and run by Joshua Mackey, a mile south of town.

Owing to the changed industrial and commercial methods and condi- tions, all those old mills have long since ceased to exist. The very sites of some of them would be difficult to locate, and the water power of the creek is no longer utilized.

NEW PARIS.

In the first settlement of Jefferson township, James Fleming entered the southwest quarter of section 20, and, soon afterward, Andrew Ireland bought land in the northwestern quarter of section 20. In 1816 Mr. Flem- ing, doubtless impressed with the beauty of this valley as a desirable site, and the need of a community center for the new settlers, now increasing in number from year to year, conceived the idea of establishing a town, and platted a portion of his land to that end. In 1817 Mr. Ireland, whose land adjoined his, joined him in the plan. Inasmuch as both the founders had come from the vicinity of Paris, Kentucky, it was decided that the name of the new town should be New Paris. The respective plats of the two were

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separated only by the as yet imaginary main street and they embraced the territory between the present Cherry street and the first alley north of Main street, north and south, and from High street to Whitewater avenue, east and west. This original plat of twenty lots was acknowledged August 18, 1817, before Isaac Stephens, justice of the peace, and New Paris sprang into legal existence. To stimulate the beginning of building of their new towns, the two promotors offered a lot free to whoever would build the first house. John H. Cottom was the man who accepted the offer and he im- mediately proceeded to erect a square log house on the southwest corner of Main and Washington streets. In this house he opened a hotel in 1817. A man named Pryor soon after erected a frame house on the northwest cor- ner, opposite Cottom's hotel. Here the first store in the town was opened and kept, and this corner has been so occupied from that day to this. Robert Sprowls built a large frame house on the southeast corner, where the First National Bank is now located, and Robert McGill's house and blacksmith shop was established on the northeast corner, where the K. of P. building now stands. Thus was the little hamlet started, and as new settlers con- tinued to arrive, dwelling houses were erected and it grew and prospered and for many years more business was transacted in New Paris than in the neighboring town of Richmond. A very extensive business was carried on by Chadwick's pork-packing establishment, which was located just north of Main street opposite the tannery. Afterward George W. Vanneman purchased the business and engaged in the packing of pork on Main street, the packing house being located where the residence of L. C. Ashman now stands. The slaughter house was located on the opposite side of the lot, on Cherry street, where the handsome residence of W. E. Roberts was recently built. For a number of years more pork was packed and more goods sold in New Paris than in Richmond or any other neighboring town.

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History of Preble County Ohio: Her People, Industries and Institutions, Part 25

Author: R. E. Lowry Publication date: 1915 Publisher: Number of Pages: 985

Author: R. E. Lowry
Publication date: 1915
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 985