History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 60

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 559

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secured first the unsullied reputation and then the hand- some property, which together made him one of the sub- stantial and leading citizens of his community. He now owns in all about four hundred acres of productive land, and has his farms in a good state of cultivation He is known as a stock man, and takes an active interest in stock raising. His cattle and hogs are always of the best. For eight years he has been a prominent and zealous member of the Preble County Agricultural board.

Inasmuch as a substantial citizen of the township is the best material for civil office, Mr. Morton has from time to time filled various township offices. Though not obtrusive he has always taken an active interest in polit- ical affairs He always has been a thorough Republican, and is always ready to give an intelligent reason for his political belief. He is not a member of the visible church, but has the greatest respect for it. His liberal ideas upon the subject of religion have kept him from embracing a denominational creed. Mr. Morton will always be remembered as a man of sterling worth.

JOHN McCRISTIE, M.D.,

is the son of Joel and Ruth (Hornaday) McCristie, and was born in the year 1827, in Wayne county, Indiana. His boyhood was spent in Preble county, Ohio, and he gained the rudiments of his education in the schools of the vicinity; but deciding to lead a professional life, he went in 1847, to Cincinnati, where he attended the Eclectic Medical college, during the year mentioned and also 1848, 1849 and 1850, graduating in the latter year. He first located at Huntsville, Randolph county, Indiana, where he remained two years in the practice of medicine, gaining the practical knowledge of experience which he needed to supplement his college education. Leaving Indiana, Dr. McCristie went to Camden, Preble county, and there practiced until the breaking out of the war in 1861. He then enlisted in the Twentieth regiment Ohio volunteer infantry, and served as hospital steward for four months. Returning home, he was engaged in the re- cruiting service until September, 1863, and then entering the Ninth Indiana cavalry in the capacity of surgeon, remained in the service until the close of the war, being mustered out August 9, 1865. Returning to Ohio, the doctor located at College Corners, where he has resided ever since, and followed very successfully his profession. Dr. McCristie married in 1850, Lovina C. Loop, who was born in 1825, and died in 1859. Two children were the offspring of this marriage : Endora, born March 9, 1851, and died December 18, 1862, and Wilbur Everett, born March 26, 1858, now residing at Camden. His second wife, Amanada Tucker, born in 1846, in Union county, Indiana, and who is still living, Dr. McCristie married March 10, 1870.

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JACKSON.

Jefferson township .on the north, Washington on the east, Dixon on the south, and the Indiana line on the west, define Jackson township. In the original division of Preble county into townships, Jackson was embraced in Jefferson and Dixon townships. On December 18, 1816, it was ordered that the eighth township, first range, be incorporated into one township for county and other purposes, and that Jackson .become a distinct township. The first election was held at the house of Adam Starr. William Stephens, who was elected clerk, soon afterwards moved to Louisiana. John Mc- Cord and John Starr were the first justices of the peace. The present officers are as follows: William C. Mills, C. W. Baker and John B. Kelly, trustees ; J. C. Ady- elott, treasurer; William A. Arrasmith, clerk ; James Morrow, of New Hope, and L. C. Young, of Florence Station, justices. The elections are held at Campbells- town.

The surface of the township is for the most part roll- ing, the only considerable level area being in the south- ern part. The dividing ridge which determines the general course of the streams, crosses the southern boundary in section thirty-five, passes in a direction a little west of north, branches east and west at a point in' section sixteen, just north of Florence station, and con- tinues north across the Eaton and Richmond pike, about two miles northwest of New Hope, leaving the township not far from the center of the northern boun- dary

This division of the surface directs the water courses in four general directions. The eastern half of the township is drained by the tributaries of Seven Mile creek, the streams converging in the northeast and south- east quarters of the township. The north Dry fork rises in section twenty-nine, and the south dry fork in the low land southwest of Frames' graveyard, in what is called the Rich woods.

The declining slopes of the southwest quarter direct the courses of the east, middle and west branches of Four Mile creek, which flows south into the great Miami river, not far from Hamilton, Butler county. Elkhorn creek draws its supply from the northwestern quarter of this well watered township, and flows in a westerly direction into Indiana and empties into White- water river.

The soil in the northern and northwestern part of the township, is known as clay upland, and produces aver- age crops of corn, wheat, oats, flax, barley, and tobacco. The timber is plentiful, and consists of beech, white and bur oak, ash, sugar, poplar, and walnut. The low

lands in the southern part of the township, especially in Four Mile valley and the Rich woods, are black with rich loam which yields enormous crops of corn, and consequently makes the raising of hogs a specialty. The area of nearly four hundred acres southwest of Union chapel is called the Rich woods, and is certainly one of the richest tracts of land in the county. These low lands were at first densely wooded with a heavy growth of small gray and blue ash, and oak trees, and the work of clearing and draining the land was enor- mous, but the reward of this labor is seen in the in- creasing wealth of the land owners.

SETTLEMENT.

In the year 1805 Ayres Taylor, a Kentuckian, bought one hundred and sixty acres of Government land, and erected a rude log cabin near the confluence of the three branches of Four Mile creek, in section twenty-nine, forty rods south of the present residence of Ebenezer Paddack. At this time the Government was selling land to settlers upon the following conditions: For tracts of one hundred and sixty acres, eighty dollars down, eighty dollars in two years, and eighty dollars in each of the two years following; the land and previous payments to be the forfeit of any failure to comply with these conditions. The little farm purchased by Ayres Taylor was in the midst of a lonely wilderness, and the labor of clearing the forest was too great for the solitary worker, and at the end of the first year he found that it would be impossible to meet the second payment, and he longed for the com- ing of a friend who would purchase the claim. He found this friend in Henry Paddack, who emigrated from Ken- tucky in the beginning of the present century, and lived for a short time in Butler county, five miles north of where Hamilton now stands. August 1, 1801, his son Ebenezer was born. April 5, 1806, he, with his family, consisting of his wife and three boys and one girl, ar- rived at the cabin of Ayres Taylor, who sold his property to the newcomer for eighty dollars, and immediately went back to Kentucky. Mr. Paddack raised the first crop in the township, and soon afterwards he set out the first apple orchard. The brick house now occupied by his son Ebenezer was the first in the township. Mr. Paddack lived to see his children grow up and settle around him. He died at a ripe old age, and lies buried in an Indiana graveyard.

Ebenezer Paddack was about five years old when his father came to Jackson township. From his earliest years he was inured to the hardships of pioneer life. He with his brothers had a boy's love of adventure, and many a good hunt did they have after turkeys, deer, and

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smaller game, with which the surrounding forest teemed. Occasionally they would meet with a bear, though bears and elk had nearly all been driven away by the Indians, whose hunting parties frequently encamped on the Pad- dack farm. In 1825 he was married to Susannah Swain, and there were born to them eight children-Daniel, Ja- cob, Rachel, Sarah, Elizabeth, James, Reuben, and Phebe. In December, 1837, his wife died, and in 1838 he mar- ried Malinda Gard, the widow of Lorenzo Gard. She was born in 1813, in Green county, East Tennessee, and her father settled in Preble county in 1822. Five chil- dren were born of this union-William, who married Nancy Swisher; Harvey married Frances Paddack ; Lu- cinda married John Oxer, of Jackson township; Miriam married William Weist, of Jackson township, and Mariah, who died young. Mr. Paddack removed to Indiana in April, 1838, and came back to the old homestead in June, 1841, where he has lived ever since.

About the time of the Paddack settlement, John Mc- Cormick settled on a farm one half mile north of Henry Paddack's. He was at one time one of the township officers.

In 1806 a squatter, named Robert McCormick, built on Four Mile, in section thirty-two, a hewed log cabin with a clapboard roof, and being obliged to return to his native Kentucky, rented his place to Rice Price, a Quaker, who became one of the substantial citizens of the township. He afterwards moved to the farm in sec- tion seventeen, now occupied by Elisha Smith. He lies buried at the southeast corner of Mr. Smith's barn, and for many years the spot has been fenced in, though at present there is nothing to indicate the grave.

ELKHORN SETTLEMENT.

The country around Elkhorn creek near its intersec- tion with the Indiana line, was settled by emigrants from Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia, and soon it became known as the Elkhorn settlement. About 1807 John Hardin came from Germantown, Montgomery county, and purchased land in the vicinity of Elkhorn creek. He lived there for several years, and sold land to many of the incoming settlers. But he had invested all of his money in real estate, and failing to realize the handsome profit from the sale of his land which he had anticipated, he and his brother Eliakim sold out and removed to where the city of Indianapolis now stands. After his removal he became very wealthy. David Side- well, John Bozworth, Michael Crowell, Amos Higgins, William Neal, the three Wade brothers-Joseph, John and William-Andrew Morrow, and others came about the same time that John Hardin settled.

It was thought at first that the settlement would be- come the settlement of that part of the country. But about this time a Quaker from North Carolina, named Jeremiah Cox, came to the Elkhorn region in search of water power for milling purposes. As he represented a large colony of probable emigrants, it was hoped that he would be satisfied and send back for his friends, but he soon found the stronger water power of the White- water, and consequently the Quaker colony settled where

Richmond now is. Despite this disappointment the Elkhorn settlement continued to increase. It was here that the old Shiloh church received its strong support. Many of these early pioneers are buried in the little cemetery which is situated on the Indiana line. They took their grain to what was known as the Spring mill, kept by a Quaker named Comber, and many a tale did the jolly miller tell to his customers, while they waited for their grists. The mill was situated just beyond the State line, near the junction of the Cincinnati, Richmond & Chicago, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis railroads. The only saw-mill at that time was also across the line, on Short creek.

After the War of 1812, the settlement of the township was rapid. The northeastern sections were settled by the Pennsylvania Dutch.

Michael Crowell was one of the pioneers of the Elk- horn settlement, and suffered many of the hardships of pioneer life. He was born in Virginia, in 1773, emigra- ted to Preble county in 1806, and settled in section twenty. His wife was Hannah Wells, who was born in 1789, and died in 1879, at the advanced age of ninety years. Of their nine children, David, Henry, Jacob and James are living. Henry and James live in Whitly county, Indiana, and David is in Madison county. Jacob Crow- ell owns two hundred and sixty-five acres of the home- stead place, and has his farm well improved and highly cultivated. Miss Emma Teasel became his wife in 1850, and to them were born three children: William F. married Frances Cook, and resides in section twenty ; Josiah M. and Francis E. are at home.

Andrew Morrow was one of the earliest pioneers of Jackson, having settled here in section nine, in 1807. He was a native of Orange county, North Carolina, and was born in the year 1767. His wife, Rebecca Laughlin, was a native of the same county, and was born two years subsequently. At the time of their removal to this county they were living at Wayneville, Warren county, Ohio, and their son, Richard Morrow, one of the older residents of the township, and who has lived on the homestead ever since his settlement there in 1807, was born in Warren county, Ohio, January 25, 1807. He was married to Sarah Barr, in 1832, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1810, and died in 1876. They were the parents of nine children, five of whom are living. There were seven other children of Andrew Morrow, sr., but only one besides Richard is now living, namely : Nancy White, living in DeKalb county, Illinois.

Andrew Morrow, jr., was born in 1805, and died in 1857. His wife, Mary D. Small, was born in 1816. She was the daughter of James and Elizabeth Small, na- tives of Pennsylvania, and who settled in Preble county in 1806 or 1807. To Mr. and Mrs. Morrow were born three children. James, who resides with his mother in Jackson township, was elected justice of the peace in 1879.

John Wolf married Elizabeth Welsh in Kentucky, and emigrated to Ohio in 1811, settling in section ten of Jackson township. Seven of the thirteen children are living: Sarah, the wife of Robert McCord, and Andrew,

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her brother, live in Iowa; Margaret, the wife of James Shafer, resides in Huntington, Indiana, and Elizabeth owns forty-seven acres of land in section ten of Jackson township; Laura, Elma and Tilla live on the home place.

David Brower emigrated from Virginia to Ohio about 1800, and settled in Washington township in 1811, and afterwards removed to Jackson township, on the farm in section fourteen, now owned by Adam Reid. His wife was Mary Unger, of Virginia. He erected a cabin on his land, and immediately proceeded to clear and im- prove his farm. They had six children, three of whom are living: David and his sister, Elizabeth, the wife of Benjamin Hornbaker, live in Van Buren county, Iowa ; Chris. Brower, now living in Eaton, owns land in section thirty-six. Of his eleven children, six are living: Serena, the wife of H. M. Kylander; Judith, wife of James R. Bennett, and Susan A., wife of Joshua Williamson, all live in Indiana. Their third child, Milton, is in Illinois, and Melissa, wife of Westly Maddox, resides in Van Buren county, Iowa. Theodore, who married Alice Ed- son, lives on the farm of his father, who moved to Eaton a few years ago.

Among the first settlers in Jackson township was Jacob Cline, sr., and his wife, Catharine Isley, who emigrated from Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1813, and settled in section thirteen, a short distance west of where New Hope now stands. His house was near the old State road, and was for several years the favorite stopping place of passing travellers. They had two sons, Abel and Jacob.

Abel Cline was born in 1816, and in 1853 was married to Miss Barbara Stamback, and to them have been born two children, one of whom died in infancy. Their son, Jacob D., married Miss Emily Deem in 1879, and now lives on his father's farm.

Jacob Cline, jr., was born in section thirteen, Jackson township, in 1820. In 1842 he was married to Elizabeth Tomlinson, by whom he had two daughters, Susannah and Emma, the widow of William Hawk. Both daugh- ters reside at home. In 1873 Mr. Cline, in co-part- nership with his son-in-law, William Hawk, purchased the general store at New Hope, and upon the death of his partner, in 1875, became sole proprietor. He is the acting postmaster at New Hope.

Jacob Swain emigrated from Pennsylvania in 1814, and settled in Jackson township, on the land where New Hope now is, where he and his wife, Elizabeth Bloom, spent the rest of their days. They had eleven children, six of whom are living: Hannah Miller, Dural Swain, in Jefferson, and Elisha, in Washington township, of this county; Polly Almonrode lives in Illinois; Polly Quinn, in Iowa, and Malinda Ogbern, in Indiana.

John McWhinney, sr., came from Knox county, Ten- nessee, in 1815 or 1816, and settled in this township in section six. His first wife was Mary Dugan, who was a native of South Carolina. By this marriage there were born six children, only two of whom are living. They are John McWhinney and Mrs. Crocker. Mr. Mc- Whinney, sr., married, in 1824, Pamella Alexander, by whom he has had five children.

John McWhinney, jr., was born in Jackson in 1819; married Cynthia Adams in 1845. Of the four children of this union only one now survives, viz: Mrs. Samuel Wolf. In 1855 he married Miss Sarah J. Moore, his present wife, who was born in Adams county, Ohio, in 1834. By this marriage there were five children, four living and one deceased.

Matthew McWhinney, sr., was born in Tennessee in 1790. In 1811 he married Temperance Kendrick, who was born in the same State in 1792, and about the year 1815 or 1816 emigrated to Preble county, Ohio. He settled in Jackson township, where he entered and cleared up eighty acres of land. Mr. McWhinney com- menced pioneer life here with no means except a horse and wagon, but by a life of industry and toil, he accumu- lated a good property, his farm finally consisting of three hundred and twenty acres. He died in 1859, surviving his wife five years, who died in 1854. They had twelve children, nine of whom survive, as follows: William, living in New Paris, this county; Letitia, wife of Joseph Kelley, in Butler county, Ohio; Stephen, in Eaton; LeRoy, in Iowa; Eleanor, wife of W. C. Emerson, in Indiana; Thomas M., in Warren county, Ohio; Frank, in Greenville, Darke county, Ohio; Elizabeth Ann, widow of DeWitt West, in Indiana, and Jeannie, wife of Charles B. Cooper, in Anderson, Indiana.

Jeremiah Frame, a native of Virginia, removed with his family to Kentucky, Bourbon county, and in 1815 emigrated to this county, and settled in Jackson town- ship, in section twenty-five. His son, Silas, father of Daniel Frame, was fourteen years of age at the time of the removal of the family to this State. He married Miss Polly Strader, who was born in North Carolina. Daniel Frame, now residing in this township, was born May 7, 1826, on the farm he still occupies, and Septem- ber 18, 1851, was married to Hannah Dilman, whose parents were early settlers of Gratis township, where she was born January 1, 1830. Her father died in 1848, but her mother is still living.

One of the oldest of the pioneers of this township is Mrs. Catharine McManus, now in the eighty-sixth year of her age, having been born near Brownsville, Pennsyl- vania, June 8, 1795. She emigrated to Ohio with her parents, who settled in Butler county in 1810. Febru- ary 2, 1815, she was married to John C. McManus, her maiden name being Miley, and in 1819 they removed to this county. Mr. McManus died here in 1852, and his widow and seven children survive him. The surviving children are: Sarah Billings, Elizabeth Westcut, in Illi- nois; Jane Munger, in Indiana; Mary Catharine, wife of Porter Webb, of Somers township, this county; Lavina Campbell, in Illinois; Julia, wife of James Wilson, in Dixon township, and Charles H., in this township, his aged mother living with him. He married in October, 1865, Martha Wilson.

Martin Sheffer was born in Jackson township. His father, Daniel Sheffer, was born in 1789, and was an old settler in the neighborhood. Martin Sheffer married Sarah Fisher in 1841, who was born in 1823. Ten chil- dren were born to Mr. and Mrs. Sheffer, seven of whom

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are living, viz .: James, John, George, Daniel B., Emily F., Amos C. and Oran. Mr. Sheffer died in 1876. His widow resides on the home place in section eighteen, on the Indiana line.

James M. Shafer was born in Preble county in 1847. In 1872 he married Margaret Lone, who was born in Ire- land in 1846. They have two children.

Benjamin Fisher settled in an early day in section twenty. He was born in Kentucky in 1782 and died in this township in December, 1866. He was at one time a justice of the peace of Jackson. His wife was Polly Kessling, who was born in Virginia in 1786 and died in 1870. They had eight children, as follows: James (de- ceased), John (deceased), Catharine (deceased), Patsy, who was the wife of William Campbell (deceased), Ma- linda, wife of A. P. Campbell, Sarah, widow of Martin Sheffer, Susan (deceased) and Elizabeth, wife of Lewis Paddock, of this township.

John Campbell, born in the State of Virginia in the year 1760, emigrated to Ohio in 1818. He settled in section twenty-two, Jackson township, and died in 1847. His widow, whose maiden name was Sarah Vance, born near Philadelphia .in 1772, survived him a number of years, and died in 1856. This couple lived to the ad- vanced ages of eighty-seven and eighty-four years respect- ively. They had a family of eleven children, seven of whom are now living, as follows: Samuel, in Indiana; James, in Missouri; Robert, in Nebraska; and Mrs. Mary McCowen, Andrew, William and Alexander P., in this township. The last named was married in 1842 to Melinda Fisher, the result of which union is five children, two of whom are deceased. The death of one, Vivinda, was caused by a painful accident, October 14, 1867, she then being a young lady of sixteen years of age, and full of hope and promise. She was killed by a pistol shot at the hands of one William Thomas, who shot at the pro- prietor of a show that was exhibiting in Eaton on that day, and the shot missing the intended victim, hit the innocent girl, who fell dead almost instantly. Her mur- derer is now serving out a life sentence in the State prison.

Andrew Campbell was born in Tennessee in 1810, and in 1835 was married to Miss Sallie Morrow, who was born in 18ro. Two children were born to them. Lean- der married Rebecca Hileman, and Levi Clinton resides at home. Mr. Campbell owns ninety-three acres of land, under a high state of cultivation. The father and mother of Mrs. Campbell were George and Sarah Jones Morrow.

Frederick Stark emigrated to Preble county from New Hampshire, in the year 1820, and settled in Jackson township, section twenty-nine, on the farm now owned by Henry Swisher. He was born in Stratford county, New Hampshire, December, 1794; was married in 1820 to Abigail Doloff, a native of the same place, and born in 1800. They had ten children born to them, five of whom survive, as follows: Mrs. Robert Bell, who re- sides a short distance east of Campbellstown; Mrs. Mc- Whinney, who lives in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio; John F. and Temperance L., residing on the home place, and Benjamin F., in Eaton.

In 1826 Samuel Benner, sr., father of Samuel Benner,

jr., emigrated to this county, and his father, Jacob Ben- ner, entered three hundred and fifteen and a half acres of land in sections fourteen and fifteen of Jackson town- ship, where Samuel Benner, the grandson, now resides. Samuel Benner, jr., married Mary Dunkerly, and was the father of seven children, all of whom are living. His son married Mary Halderman in 1853, who died in 1876. To them were born two children, one of whom resides with Mr. Benner.

Joseph Bell came from the State of Tennessee in 1829, and settled in this township in section thirty-four. He was born in North Carolina in the year 1792, and died in 1842. Of a family of nine children only three are now living, viz .: Robert, Sophia, and John. Robert married Mary S. Stark, daughter of Frederick Stark, whose settle- ment has been noted, and resides in Jackson township, a short distance east of Campbellstown. He has four children. Sophia is the wife of William McWhinney, and resides in Jefferson township; John lives in Kansas.

David Daily, born in Virginia in 1816, emigrated to this county from Tennessee with his parents in 1831. He located in section thirty-five, Jackson township, and began clearing up a farm. In the spring of 1835 he mar- ried Margaret Frey, who was also a native of Virginia. She died in 1843, and Mr. Daily was, in 1846, again married to Phebe, daughter of John Lewis, who was one of the pioneers of Preble county. Mr. and Mrs. Daily have seven children, and they are all residents of this county.

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History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 60

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 559

Author: H. Z. Williams & Brothers
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 559