History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 80

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

USA > Ohio > Preble County > History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches > Part 80

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Jacob Bowers came from Pennsylvania and settled in Twin township, about the year 1820, removing here from Germantown, Montgomery county, Ohio. He finally re- moved to Indiana. His son, John, born in Pennsylvania, married Delilah Wysong, of Montgomery county, and settled in Twin township, and carried on for many years the old Bowers mill, on Twin creek, which his father had

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erected at an early date. He died in 1869, in West Alexandria, aged sixty-nine. The widow is still living, aged sixty-eight.

Mahlon Karn came to New Lexington in 1827, from Maryland. He was born in 1811, and in 1832 married Lovey Fritz, of New Lexington. They have had four children, of whom two are living: James H. Karn, of West Alexandria, and Mrs. Julia A. Holland, postmistress of West Alexandria. In 1839 he removed to West Alex- andria, where he now resides.

Philip Shafer, now residing in West Alexandria with his daughter, Mrs. Waymire, in the eightieth year of his age, removed from Pennsylvania to Butler county, Ohio, in 1822. In 1829 he came to Preble county, and settled on Banta's fork, in Twin township, on the farm which he still owns. His wife died in 1874, at the age of sixty- seven. He has ten children living and one deceased, viz: Peter, Henry, and Jacob, on the pike west of West Alexandria; Margaret (Oyler) deceased; Mary Jane (Poullus) in Van Wert county; Julia A., wife of Harvey Waymire, in West Alexandria; Lucinda, wife of John W. Sayler, on the Dayton pike, west of West Alexandria; Elizabeth, wife of Washington Ozias, in Twin township; Elcina (Bell) in Montgomery county ; Christian, on the old home place in Twin; and Philip, on the pike, west of West Alexandria.

Joel Shaw was born in 1803, in England, from whence he emigrated to the United States, in the year 1829. He removed from Kentucky to Dayton, Ohio, in 1835, and a year afterwards settled in Butler county, Ohio. In 1840 he came to Preble county, and settled in this town- ship, on the farm now owned by Herman Voge. He removed to Illinois in the spring of 1879, and is still living there.

John T. Shaw, the only one of the family now living in the county, was born in Kentucky in 1835, and re- moved to Preble county with his father in 1840. In 1855 he was married to Seraphina Fudge, and now occu- pies the place in Lanier township on which William Wright, sr., formerly lived.

Jacob Stotler emigrated from Somerset county, Penn- sylvania, where he was born in 1797, to Preble county, in 1833. He settled in section thirty-six, on the farm now owned by William Campbell. He died there in 1851, in his fifty-fifth year. His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Sorber, and whom he married in Pennsylvania, died here in 1846, in her forty-fifth year. Of ten children born to them, four are now living, viz: Edward S. of West Alexandria; Mrs. Lucinda Earhart, living in Darke county; Miriam, wife of Joseph Copp, of this township; and Margaret J., wife of Bethuel Har- ris, of Lanier township.

Edward S. Stotler was born February 13, 1825. In 1857 he married Sarah A. Halderman, who died April 1, 1861, in her twenty-eighth year.

Henry Snyder, born in Virginia in 1792, and when a young man of twenty-two years of age came with his parents to Montgomery county, Ohio. In 1816 he was married to Pamelia, daughter of Rev. Samuel Mow, a Lutheran clergyman. When he moved to this county he

settled in this township in section twenty-three, where Conrad Binkey now lives. He afterwards sold his farm and was living in Johnsville, Montgomery county, at the time of his death, which took place in March, 1876. His wife died in March, 1851. They raised a large family of children -thirteen in number, ten of whom are yet living, as follows: Mrs. Daniel Unrue and Mrs. Jonathan Guntle in Elkhart county, Indiana; James, in Linn county, Iowa; Pamelia, wife of Greenbury Loy, of this township; Mrs. Moses Gangwer, near Lewisburgh, this county; Samuel, in Twin township; Henry, in Grant county, Indiana; E. N. and Lovina, in Miami county, Ohio, and Mrs. Jacob Trick, in Eaton. Elizabeth (Mrs. Tragger), John, Harry and Daniel are dead. Samuel, who resides in section twenty- four, this township, was born in 1828; was married in 1841 to Maria Stubbs, of Montgomery county, Ohio.

Robert Davidson was born in Ireland, and in 1822 emigrated to this country. For eight years he was clerk in his uncle's store in Cincinnati. In 1836 he found his way to Preble county, and established a general store in a part of the house now occupied by Dr. Hill, in New Lexington. He has been in this business ever since, his present store being located just across the street from Dr. Hill's residence. In 1840 he married Sarah Miller, whose father, Frederick Miller, was one of the earliest settlers in Twin township. July 1, 1880, Mrs. Davidson died, and was buried in the Presbyterian cemetery July 4th.

Amos Markey, born in Baltimore county, Maryland; was married in 1821 to Jane Eby, of the same county, and in 1838 emigrated to Preble county, Ohio, after a residence of some years in Carroll (formerly Frederick) county, Maryland. He arrived here in the spring, and the following fall bought nearly three hundred acres of land in Twin township, where his son, John H. Markey, now lives. He died there in 1844, and his widow, sub- sequently married John Harter, whom she also survives. She is now seventy-eight years of age, having been born in Baltimore county, Maryland, in 1802. She has six children living and two deceased, namely: Jacob (dead), John H., living on the homestead; Christian, in Jackson township; Samuel, who died in California; Susannah, wife of Franklin N. Fudge, of Lanier township; Amos, in Missouri; Nathaniel, near Dayton, and Joseph, who married in 1862 Barbara, daughter of Samuel Hart, and who, like his brother, John, is one of the most substan- tial farmers of this township. His aged mother resides with him.

Andrew Copp was born in Shenandoah county, Vir- ginia, in 1798. He was married there to Elizabeth Hud- dle, who was two years his senior. In 1832 they emigrated to Ohio with a family of six children. They came in a four-horse wagon, and brought with them two cows, which the son, Andrew, then a lad of nine years, drove on foot nearly all the way out. On arriving in Preble county, the family took up their abode for a few months in Lanier township, and in the spring of 1833 moved into Twin township, and settled in the southeast corner in section thirty-six. The farm is now owned by Mr. Lewis Drayer. Mr. Copp opened there a tavern which he kept for a number of years. He subsequently

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moved into Lanier township, locating where his son, Andrew, now lives, but finally moved out into the Day- ton pike, where he resided until his death, which took place in 1848. His wife died in 1849. Of their six children, four are yet living, viz: Mrs. Lucy Stover, on Banta's creek, in this township; Andrew, who married Matilda Klinger, resides in Lanier on the the old home place; Mrs. Elizabeth Klinger, in Darke county, Ohio, and Joseph, who married Miriam Stotler, resides in sec- tion twenty-eight, this township.

Johnson McLean, esq., settled in West Alexandria in 1849. He was born in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, in 1826, and at sixteen years of age commenced to learn the saddler's trade in his native county. After he came to Preble county he worked jour work until 1853, since which time he has been engaged in business for himself. In 1857 he was elected justice of the peace for Twin township, and is now serving his seventh term, six of which were continuous terms. In 1855 he was united in marriage with Lucinda Loxley, of Twin township.

George Sauer, born in Germany in 1807, emigrated with his father to the United States in 1826. He lived in Montgomery county, Ohio, until 1840, when he re- moved to Twin township, near West Alexandria. He married, in 1833, Ann Mary Kisling, who died in 1859. He was married to his present wife, then Mrs. Margaret Eagle, in 1869. Mr. Sauer has two children, namely: Elizabeth, wife of John Fadder, of Lanier township, and Sarah, wife of Herman Vogue, of Twin township.

Frederick Pontius emigrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1822 or 1823. He settled in Gratis township and died there aged seventy-two or seventy-three. His oldest son, John, formerly a well known resident of Twin township, was born in Pennsylvania in 1817. He mar- ried Nancy Marsh, in Montgomery county, in 1840, and in 1844 settled north of Pyrmont, in that county. In the summer of 1850 he moved to Twin township, Preble county, and settled where his son Levi now lives. He died in 1875. Mrs. Pontius is still living with her son and is now seventy-seven years old. Levi Pontius, the son, occupies the homestead and was married in 1869 to Miss Mary Westerfield, of Twin township.

William Klinger was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1792; came to Ohio with his father, Philip Klinger, in 1810. Philip Klinger settled in Mont- gomery county, but several of his sons subsequently be- came residents of Preble county. When about twenty- five years of age William was married to Catharine Bean, of Preble county, and settled in Twin, about a mile and a half northeast of West Alexandria. He cleared up a farm there and afterwards moved out on to the pike where Daniel Kritzer now lives. He kept hotel on the hill there from about 1833 to 1850, when he moved into West Alexandria, where he died in 1863. His widow, now nearly ninety years of age, is still living with her son- in-law, Andrew Copp, in Lanier township. They had seven children, four of whom are living: Henry C., in West Alexandria; Matilda, wife of Andrew Copp, in Lanier, southeast of West Alexandria; Samuel, in Califor- nia, and Mary, wife of Jonathan Kesslinger, in Euphemia.

Henry C. Klinger was born in 1820, and in 1844 was married to Elizabeth Hewit.

Michael Klinger, brother of William, was an old-time resident of West Alexandria, where he kept hotel for some time.

Philip Hewit, sr., came from North Carolina as early as 1807, and settled on Banta's fork, south of the road leading from Lexington to Eaton. He afterwards moved down on the Miami river, and built a mill near Miamis- burgh. Philip, his son, settled on a part of the home- stead, in Twin, but finally moved to Darke county, where he died. Only two of the family are now living, viz : Mrs. John L. Quinn, in Eaton, and the wife of Henry C. Klinger, in West Alexandria.

John Henry Voge emigrated with his family from Brunswick, near Bremen, Germany, to this county, in 1847. He settled in this township, half a mile north of West Alexandria. He was born in 1813, and died in Montgomery county in 1874. His wife, Margaret, is still living there, aged sixty-five. They have seven chil- dren now living, and three live in Preble county. Her- man, born in 1838, married Ann, daughter of George Sauer, and has five children.

Henry Voge lives in this township, on the Mrs. Trick farm, and Anna, wife of Henry Waiger, in Gratis.

William Longstreet came from New Jersey at an early date, and settled in Montgomery county, near Springs- burg. In 1854 he moved to New Lexington and resided there until his death, in October, 1860. His wife sur- vived him, her death occurring some nine years since. Of their five children, Mrs. Mary E. Trick is the oldest. She was married in 1858 to John C. Trick, who, when a child, in 1830, emigrated with his parents from Germany. His father, Frederick Trick, settled where Mrs. Trick now lives, and John C. occupied it after his father's death. John C. Trick died in January, 1875. There are five other children of William Longstreet, namely: Mrs. David Haywood and Mrs. Michael Wolf, in West Alexandria; Mrs. John Hart, in Jackson township; Mar- tha, wife of Daniel Young, in Lanier township, on the pike west of West Alexandria, and Christopher, in Kansas.

ORGANIZATION.

Prior to the year 1811 the whole of the third range was known as Twin township. The name is derived from the creek which runs through it from north to south.

In 1811 Gratis and Lanier townships were cut off and organized as they now stand, and for some time Harrison and Twin formed one township. In 1815 Harrison be- came separate, and Twin, with little of its former self but its name, assumed its present dimensions.

It is to be regretted that the early township records have not been preserved. The accessible records, go back no further than twenty years.

It has been ascertained, however, that the whole of the first range was originally one township. William Swisher was justice of the peace.

The first election, after the organization of Twin as it now is, was held at New Lexington, where the elections have been held ever since.

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At this first election Frederick Miller was elected jus- tice of the peace, and Henry Kessling, Simeon Van Winkle, and - were elected township trustees.

When Harrison and Twin were one the elections were held at the house of John Vance, on the farm in section thirty-three of what is now Harrison township, where George Weaver now lives. It is not known just when the first election was held at Vance's, but it is remem- bered that after it was over there were only three men left without an office, and to the credit of these men be it said that they did not try to create offices for themselves.

The present township officers are: James Carroll, John Zimmerman, and Wesley Ozias, trustees; N. S. Hart, clerk; Robert Davidson, treasurer; Johnson Mc- Lean, of West Alexandria, and N. S. Hart, of New Lex- ington, justices of the peace.

INDIANS.

Wandering companies of the Shawnees, Delawares, Miamis, Mingos, and Pottawatomies once held the ter- ritory of Preble county as a neutral hunting ground. Game of all kinds was plenty. Buffalo and elk still were to be found, and bears were numerous. Small game was too numerous to be noticed. The territory between Whitewater and the Miami valleys was traversed with well defined Indian trails. A favorite path was through the region of the Twin valley, now embraced in Twin township. As has been said, there was no better health resort for sick Indians than Twin valley. Neither was there any better hunting ground. The Indians of that primitive day are to be envied by the habitues of modern resorts, in that they were enabled to pursue and secure business, pleasure, and health, the three requisites of happiness, at an expense of almost nothing, and right at home, too.

Prior to 1805 the Indians in Twin township were nu- merous. The Pottawatomies, who were the last to leave, used to encamp in large numbers:

In the years 1803-4 there were several companies of them in Twin township. One band of more than seventy- five warriors of the Pottawatomies pitched their wigwams just west of where Jacob Rape lives, in section twenty- two, not far from Twin creek.

About fifteen hundred camped on the Ozias place, in sections ten and three, and the country round about was their hunting ground. They are never known to have injured the white man, who was every day limiting the freedom of the original owners of the forest. As long as the Pottawatomies lived in Twin township they were friendly and peaceable.

The Indian trading post was then at Fort Greenville, in Darke county. In the early part of 1805, the Government having purchased all of the Ohio land in the possession of the Pottawatomies, prevailed upon them to leave this part of the country. The time for this migration was set for the first of May. The setting sun of the thirtieth of April left them as usual on the old camp ground, and the rising sun of the morrow found in the valley of the Twin only the ashes of their camp fires, and overtook them far on their westward journey.

Their departure was quiet, and no doubt the white settlers thought that they had seen the last of them, but in the War of 1812 these same Pottawatomies, under the influence of Tecumseh, joined the English, and at this time the Indians came back to their old haunts, and overtaking the traders who had not treated them fairly at Fort Greenville, they wreaked their vengeance upon Stoner and Elliott.

THE INDIANS IN THE WAR OF 1812

were very troublesome to the soldiers. Men who could out-general the British red-coats, lost their scalps at the hands of the wiley savages, who acted for the English as the hounds of war.

In the fall of 1812 Captain Trotter's company of the regiment of Kentucky cavalry, commanded by Colonels Ball and Simmerell, and Major McDowell, passed through Preble county en route for the Indian towns along the Missisinewa river, near where Marion, Indiana, now stands. On their way they rested for about a week on the hill adjoining New Lexington on the south, and the people of the neighborhood were happy to make the acquaintance of these stranger soldier boys in their midst. Among them was a young man of fine address and pleasing manners, Sergeant Henry Riddle, of one of the best Kentucky families. His gentlemanly conduct and social qualities won for him the highest esteem of all who made his acquaintance. He left Lexington with his company in the full vigor of his young manhood, little thinking of the hardship, suffering and death awaiting him.

The company arrived on the banks of the Missisine- wa, and, right in the midst of hostile Indians, made a halt early in December. One night, soon after their en- campment, they were attacked by a large force of In- dians. A deep snow covered the ground and the night was bitter cold. The brave Kentuckians retired behind their camp fires, and, concealing themselves as best they could, awaited the approach of day. Though they had suffered terribly with the intense cold, they were ready in the early morning to return the attack of the "red-skins." A sharp fight ensued, entailing considerable loss to both sides. In this engagement the Kentuckians numbered several killed and about forty wounded. Among those severely wounded was the popular young sergeant, Henry Riddle. The company succeeded in repulsing the In- dians for a time, and hastily destroyed a number of their villages; but Tecumseh with an army was near by, de- layed by the heavy snow, and it was necessary to beat a hasty retreat. The company, broken up into little squads, accordingly started for home. The wounded were carried on litters. Sergeant Riddle was then

placed in charge of four of his comrades-Conley, Bailey, McBride, and McCarty-and the little party started on the long and weary homeward journey. They came by the way of Greenville, Darke county, and in a few days reached the vicinity of New Lexington and their old encampment. The bitter cold and the scarcity of provisions caused great suffering among the returning soldiers, and all along the way the kind-hearted settlers

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met them with horses and provisions, thereby saving many a life. When Sergeant Riddle reached the old camp ground, near Lexington, his courage failed, and his wounds had grown so much worse by reason of constant exposure to the inclemencies of the winter weather that it was thought best to make a halt, and thus give the sick man a chance for his life. His litter was set down before the house of Frederick Miller, just south of Lexington, near their former camping place.

While Sergeant Riddle was among them in the early part of December, in the full vigor of perfect health, the settlers had become acquainted with him, and had learned to esteem him. As soon as the neighbors heard that their friend was lying at Mr. Miller's sick and helpless, they vied with each other in supplying his wants, and he was in danger of being killed by kindness.

Notwithstanding the careful nursing and many com- forts which he received, it was evident to all that death had marked him for his own. He gradually sank, and in January, 1813, slept the sleep that knows no waking.

The peculiar circumstances of this death excited the sympathy of the whole community, and although their acquaintance with the young soldier was of short dura- tion, the people mourned for him, and every possible preparation was made to give him a soldier's burial. The coffin in which the remains of Sergeant Riddle were placed, was made by Alexander Stinson, of New Lexing- ton. At the funeral Captains David E. Hendricks and James I. Nisbit were present with their companies, and honored the memory of the dead by a military parade, martial music, and a parting salute over the grave, which was situated a half mile from Lexington, on the south line of Frederick Miller's farm, about one hundred yards west of the West Alexandria and Lewisburgh pike. Here until 1826, rested the remains of the gallant sol- dier. At that time it was thought that his grave and his memory would be better preserved in the cemetery at West Alexandria, and accordingly the remains were dis- interred, and with appropriate ceremonies, buried in the cemetery. On this occasion the coffin was made by John Miller, of West Alexandria, and Captain Elzroth with his company turned out and fired a military salute over the final resting place of Sergeant Riddle.

It is to be regretted that no memorial stone marks the last resting place of the soldier. The exact position of his grave cannot be given, as there is not a vestige of a mound to be seen. The grave is in the northwestern part of the cemetery, and almost anybody in the vicinity can tell about the place.

EARLY EVENTS.

The first house in the township was built by Judge Nesbit, where the first brick house in the county was built in 1811. This brick house is three stories high but narrow. It is still in good condition,

Frederick Miller produced the first crop of wheat. Henry Kesling had the first bearing orchard. There are some of the old trees still standing.

There have been three organized squirrel hunts. The last one was very exciting. Companies from Twin and

Washington townships contested with companies from Harrison and Monroe. Every man was a good shot, and the pesky little squirrels died by hundreds. On the day of this big hunt nearly three thousand "bunnies" yielded up their little lives, and there was only a difference of fifty between the two companies, but which company beat is not recollected. This occurred in 1815.

It was customary on holiday occasions for all the good shots in the township and surrounding neighborhood to gather in some central location, and have a turkey match. Among those who could hit the turkey "every pop" was Jacob Rape, sr., who never thought of taking a rest for his rifle while shooting.

Wolves, catamounts and bears were numerous in the early times, and they were a source of considerable an- noyance to the settlers.

The awful screaming of a scared catamount was enough to curdle the warmest blood. One night when Elder Adrian Aten was going home from meeting at New Lexington, just as he arrived at the stone quarry on Rape's run, man and horse were nearly scared to death by the scream of a catamount, whose den was in the quarry, and man and horse were home before they knew it.

One day Henry Kesling went into the woods to cut a hoop pole, to make a hoop for a sugar-water tub. He was just unslinging his sharp axe to cut a hickory sapling that grew by the side of a big log, when he was surprised by a big black bear that immediately showed its teeth and beckoned him to its embrace. But Kesling had no idea of being hugged by a bear. Without stopping a moment he dealt bruin a death blow with his axe, and the family was supplied with fresh meat.

About twenty years ago a tremendous big catamount imposed upon the people in the vicinity of West Alex- andria by making them think that it was a panther escaped from some show. Nobody was afraid of it, but they all kept out of the neighborhood. It was finally killed and the imposition discovered.

EARLY SCHOOLS.

The first school-house in Twin township, was a little log cabin, which stood in New Lexington, not far from the site of the old Presbyterian church. It was opened as a school about the year 1807, probably by George Miller, son of Frederick Miller. He was followed by David Williams. The house was a deserted cabin that had been used for a short time as a residence. It was owned by James I. Nisbet. The benches were rough, and the light was admitted through little windows, cov- ered with greased paper.

What is known as the Whipple school-house, was built near where Whipple's mill now stands, on Price's creek, in section eight. The first school opened there in 1812, was taught by Thomas Coldscott, who remained for several winters. Afterwards this school was divided, and one school was established in the northwest corner of section sixteen, and the other further north. These two schools were the nucleus around which the present efficient school system of the township is formed. The township

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History of Preble County, Ohio, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches, Part 80

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

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