USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio, from 1808 to 1908, Vol. I > Part 38
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Springfield outranks her sister townships in leading roads-thoroughfares -over which travel passes from east to west and from north to south. And it is also traversed by both steam and trolley lines, and of the latter more are to be built.
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The Hon. William Patterson, one of the most prominent men of the county in the '30s, resided for a number of years in Springfield township, on the Mansfield-Galion road. Judge Patterson had been a soldier in the war of 1812, and was a member of congress from this district from 1833 to 1837 -- the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth congresses. He is buried in the Mansfield cemetery in an unmarked grave.
Even prominent men are soon forgotten, and honors, as Dryden wrote, are but empty bubbles.
CAPTURED BY INDIANS.
In the pioneer days, when Springfield township was first settled, there ivere no near neighbors. For miles around there was nothing but paths through the forests-woods infested by savages, wild beasts and venomous reptiles. Stock ran at large and had to be hunted up if they did not come home when evening approached. They had bells attached to the necks of the cows, and the tone or clatter of each was readily recognized by the owner.
A Springfield township settler, who had a wife and three children, went in search of his cows one evening, and, following the sound of the bell, was allured into an ambuscade and taken prisoner by the Indians. He was taken to another part of the country, where he was held a prisoner for five years. His one aim was to escape-to return to his family-but the Indians kept such a close espionage upon his movements, year after year, that no oppor- tunity to escape was open to him. He feigned contentment to throw them off their guard, and whenever separated from them in the hunt or chase would express delight upon rejoining them. Upon an occasion of this kind he succeeded in eluding their vigilance and in making his escape. He traveled by night and concealed himself during the day. He was pursued, but was not retaken. One day, while in the top of a tree and concealed by the thick foliage of its branches, his pursuers passed by, but did not discover him. Finally, foot-sore and almost famished, he reached his home. Being in Indian dress, his wife did not recognize him. He solicited something to eat, and after partaking of refreshments made his identity known.
But here an unexpected condition confronted him. His wife, after wait- ing for his return for three long years, concluded he had been killed by the Indians, and, thinking herself a widow, had again married. The woman explained the situation, and husband No. 2 was called in and a confer- ence was held. A novelist might here graphically portray the emotions, thoughts and passions which surged in the breasts of the dramatis personæe in this pioneer drama in real life, but the purpose of this sketch is to give a true narrative of a local historical event, without having the story annotated by flights of fancy.
Finally, husband No. 1 suggested, to relieve the woman of embarrassment. that the matter should be left to the children for them to decide which man should remain, and that the other must leave instanter and never return. The children said they wanted their "real papa," if he did look like an Indian. Thereupon No. 2 retired and left the country. He had been good to the. family and had well provided for them.
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A friend remarked to the returned husband that but few men would have treated the affair so philosophically, and inquired if the case had been decided against him if he would have as quietly acquiesced in the decision. The answer was "No; while I did not blame them, for they thought I was dead, yet had it been decided that I was to go and for him to remain I would have killed him on the spot."
The following excerpts are in place here :
When the Indians were being removed from Greentown to Piqua they were held in camp in this city a short time under guard. Two Indians-a warrior and his daughter-escaped through the lines, were pursued and the warrior was shot while in the act of crossing the little stream now called Toby's Run. The Indian-Toby-was killed, but the young squaw escaped and nine days later arrived at Upper Sandusky, having subsisted during that time on berries. The fact that the Indian maiden was with her father when he was shot throws around the scene a veneering of sympathy. But there is no sympathy in war, and the soldiers simply obeyed the military order to shoot whoever attempted to escape, and it seems unnecessary at this late day to apologize for the war of civilization against barbarism-a war that prepared the way for the church, the school and other institutions which enlightenment brought in its train.
Riblet's Corners are three miles west of Ontario, five miles east of Galion and midway between Crestline and Blooming Grove.
In the stage days "Riblet's" was a well-known locality. There was Rib- let's postoffice and there was Riblet's tavern, and Daniel Riblet was a state senator in 1854-6. What changes time brings! The postoffice, the tavern and the Riblets are now gone. The history of the past, like an echo from other days, comes back to our memory over the tide of years, as-
"The great world spins forever down the ringing grooves of change."
WORTHINGTON TOWNSHIP.
Worthington township was erected June 6, 1815, out of the west half of Green. As originated, it was twelve miles long from north to south, and six iniles wide. February 11, 1817, Monroe township was created out of the north half of Worthington, making each six miles square. Worthington is in the southeast corner of Richland county. It was named for Thomas Worthington, who was governor of Ohio at the time it was organized.
The surface of the township is broken, and in the southern part is hilly. It is well watered by the Clearfork and its tributaries, and numerous springs abound. Slater's run enters the township at its northwest corner and empties into the Clearfork at Newville. Andrew's run comes in from the western part, passes through Butler and then enters the Clearfork. The Shields' run, or Gold run, has its source in the southern part, courses north and enters the Clearfork a short distance below Butler. On the latter stream the Shields and Wilson sawmills were operated in former years.
Hemlock Falls, the old time picnic resort, is situated a mile and a half south of Newville, and about the locality are woven legendary tales and
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romantic incidents which could be spun out and elaborated upon to make a book of sufficient size to sell either by measurement or by weight-as bulk and heft are the desiderata of some people in the purchase of books. The falls is about a half-mile from the Clearfork at Watts' bend, and the water of the falls is a run from a spring on the highland back of the ridge. The water pours over a slanting rock for fifty feet, then makes a leap over the edge to a basin thirty feet below.
The first public meeting in the interest of the collection and preservation of the early history of Richland county was held at Hemlock Falls on the first Saturday of September. 1856. William B. Carpenter, now a resident of Mansfield, was the chairman of the meeting, and General R. Brinkerhoff and the late Rev. James F. McGraw were the speakers. A number of meet- ings upon historical lines followed at irregular intervals, resulting finally in the Richland County Historical society of today, which is auxiliary to the Ohio Archaelogical and Historical society of Columbus.
Between Winchester and Watts' Bend a narrow road winds between the river and the environing hills, whose huge rocks seem to frown ominously upon the passersby.
The first grist mill in the township, which was the third erected in the county, was built at Newville in 1815 by John Frederick Herring, and was operated about thirty-five years. The second grist mill was built by Jacob Myers in 1820, and was known for many years as the Kanaga mills. It is situated on the Clearfork between Butler and Bellville, and is now called Plank's mills. In 1840 David Herring, whose widow resides at 15 North Wal- nut street, Mansfield, built a large three-story grist mill on the Clearfork. between Butler and Newville. It was changed to a woolen factory, and now stands idle. The Watts' mills, on Slater's run near Newville, was operated for many years. The Rummel mills, on the Clearfork below Butler, was built by D. J. Rummel in about 1853. Jacob Armentrout built a sawmill upon this site in the '40s. He sold to Mr. Rummel in about 1850.
On Slater's run, at the south end of Newville, a woolen factory was operated for many years, and farther up the run were sawmills owned severally by Tarras, Losh and Clever.
Commendable interest has always been manifested in religious matters. and a number of denominations have organizations and church buildings here. The Rigdons preached at Newville in the early '305. The Disciples, the Methodists. the United Presbyterians, the United Brethren, the Lutherans. the Albrights, the Church of God, the Presbyterians and the German Reformed are represented.
The schools of the township are in keeping with the times and are equal to those elsewhere.
William Grosvenor, of Park avenue East. Mansfield, witnessed a flood incident on the Clearfork when he was a boy that is worth relating. The upper part of the long head-race of the David Herring mills widens into a reservoir, between which and the creek there is an island of about five acres. Upon this island stood a dwelling house occupied by a family. The Clear-
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fork had overflown its banks and the waters of Simmons' run, which emptied into the reservoir, overflowed its banks also, and the outlet at the "spill" formed a current but little less swift than the river itself. The dwelling house was inundated and stood unsteady upon its foundation. The peril of the situation was apparent and men gathered upon the shore and discussed ways and means to rescue the family. A canoe was obtained and a man volunteered to make the several trips necessary to bring the inmates to the shore. A hero always rises equal to every occasion, and this brave pioneer paddled the canoe forth and back until each member of the family was landed in safety upon the bluff. The last person taken over was a Miss Duncan, who was stopping with the family. She declined to take a seat in the canoe but stood with a foot upon either side of the boat and from a bottle drank to the health of the rescuer amid the cheers of the crowd.
Samuel Lewis was the first permanent white settler in Worthington township. He located on the northwest quarter of section 1 in 1809. In 1812 he erected a blockhouse on his farm for the protection of the settlers.
Henry Nail, William Slater, Peter Zimmerman and James Wilson came in 1811. Simmons, Herring, Broad, Darling, Pearce, Davis and some others came a few years later.
Captain James Cunningham was one of the early settlers of the county, but did not locate in Worthington until about 1820. He harvested the first crop of wheat in the county. Captain Cunningham was of Irish parentage, and was reared and educated in Baltimore. He came West-to this "new pur- chase"-to teach school, but later became a farmer. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, as his father had been in the revolutionary war. He died in 1870, aged nearly ninety years.
Martin Spohn was born in Pennsylvania in 1804. Came to Ohio in 1832 and located in Tuscarawas county, and later came to Worthington township, this county. The Spohns were the founders of the town of Butler. They were Dunkards and industrious, exemplary people. Mrs. Sarah Bevington, of West Fourth street, Mansfield, is the daughter of Martin Spohn. She has two sons- one is the manager of the Aultman-Taylor office at Chicago, and the other is an officer in the United States navy.
David Taylor was born in Pennsylvania in 1813. Came to Ohio with his parents in 1821, and located in Worthington. He was county commissioner six years.
Jonathan Plank was born in Pennsylvania in 1816. Came to Richland county in 1856. He was a miller, and his son, E. A. Plank, succeeded him.
Joseph Snavely came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1839. He was a farmer, a respected citizen and the father of eleven children.
Thomas Simmons came from Maryland to Ohio in 1813 and settled in Worthington. He was a soldier in the War of 1812, and two of his sons served in the Mexican war.
Edward Sheehy came from County Cork in Ireland in 1809. He resided for many years in Monroe township, but later moved to Worthington, where he died. One of his sons, John Sheehy, resides on South Adams street, Mansfield.
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Hiram H. Sharp came from Pennsylvania and settled in Newville in 1842, and learned the carpenter trade with Isaac Pulver.
Lewis Rummel was born in Maryland in 1804. He came to Ohio in the twenties. Was a miller by trade. He united with the Disciple Church in 1840, and was one of the leading members of that denomination until his death. He was the father of Silas Rummel, of Lucas.
David Secrist was born in Pennsylvania in 1815. He was a shoemaker, and by industry accumulated considerable wealth and owned some valuable farms.
Samuel Easterly and Peter Lehman resided near the Easterly Church. They were farmers and highly respected citizens.
William Norris was one of the largest land owners in this township at the time of his death.
James W. Pearce's father. Lewis Pearce, was one of the earliest settlers in the township.
Daniel Mowry was born in Pennsylvania in 1823 and came with his parents to Richland county, Ohio, in 1828. He lived near Newville and is now deceased. He was the father of Mrs. John W. Baughman, of Jefferson township.
Dr. Robert Mclaughlin was a leading physician of Butler for many years and was the father of Dr. J. M. Mclaughlin, of this city.
The McCurdys are of Irish descent and have been prominent citizens of this township since 1834.
The McClelands came from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1824. They were prominent people in the township, and one of the descendants. C. L. McCleland, is county clerk-elect.
John Hughes was a prominent citizen and a tailor at Newville for many years.
Daniel Spayde is a successful farmer and was a soldier in the Civil War.
The late Dr. J. P. Henderson was one of the pioneer doctors of Richland county, and was a member of the constitutional convention which framed the present constitution of Ohio.
R. W. Hazlett, a prominent citizen of the township, has been successfully engaged in various pursuits, but is now leading a retired life.
Alexander Greer came to Ohio in 1820, and is the father of Henry Greer, of Butler.
The Darlings came to the county at an early day. and their descendants own some of the most valuable land in the township.
James Carlisle, a soldier of the War of 1812, settled near Newville in 1832. He was the father of the late Freeman Carlisle.
Thomas B. Andrews was a justice of the peace of Worthington for many years, and served two terms as county commissioner. His widow, whose maiden name was Marilla Pollard, is still living.
The Calhoons were prominent in the township, and Noble Calhoon was a justice of the peace for several years.
Robert Alexander located in Worthington township in 1826.
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John Hayes, Sr., was a farmer in this township, and a number of his descendants are citizens of the county.
Abner Davis was a farmer who lived about two miles southeast of New- ville. He was onec robbed of eleven hundred dollars in gold. The money was recovered in a peculiar way. The robbers, three in number, were from Mt. Vernon. The night was severely cold, the mercury standing below zero. Two of the number froze to death within a few miles of Mr. Davis' house. The third was so badly frozen that he was easily captured, and upon his trial was sentenced to the penitentiary.
John Ramsey was a farmer and school teacher. He was a justice of the peace and a county commissioner.
A. C. Kile was an auctioneer, a justice of the peace and served two terms in the legislature.
James A. Price, publisher of the Bellville Messenger, was a Worthington boy.
George Hammon came from Virginia and located in Worthington. His son, Thomas, now deceased, became one of the largest land owners in the township.
The Carpenter family located in Newville, and Daniel Carpenter was one of the first merchants and manufacturers there. Daniel Carpenter was the father of William B. Carpenter, of this city, and of the late George F. Carpenter.
Dr. Hubbs, an Olivesburg boy, learned the printer's trade and followed typesetting for several years, and in company with his father-in-law, the late Joshua Ruth, published the Loudonville Advocate. Later Dr. Hubbs read medicine, and has been a successful practitioner at Butler for about twenty years. The doctor always has a cordial greeting for his friends and deserves to have good things said of him.
John W. Wilson went to California in 1852. driving all the distance from Butler to the Pacific coast, except between Cincinnati and St. Louis, which was made by boat. He served his country as a soldier in the War of the Rebellion. Mr. Wilson, like Henry Greer, was quite a dude in his younger days, and today has the appearance of a well-to-do business man. He has a fine home adjoining the town.
William A. Traxler, a school teacher back in the fifties, was a Civil War soldier, has a comfortable home and has retired from business.
L. W. Severns was a Butler boy, whose father was a leading merchant there for many years. Curt was in the cavalry service all through the Civil War.
The Mix family was long identified with the history of Worthington township, and several of their number have been engaged in mercantile pursuits.
Of the Mckibben, the White, the Snyder, the Crowner, the Traxler, the Wilson, the Flaharty, the Frehafer, the Piper, the Bemiller, Pritchard, Tooman, Berry, Shields, Grubaugh, Mishey, Kunkle, Cunning, Keller, Switzer, Dutton, Kramer, Halferty and other families, sketches will be given later.
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There was a generous friendship among the pioneers. There were no aristocratic lines drawn between the "upper and lower" classes. Their amusement-cabin raisings and log-rollings-were generally accompanied with a sewing or a quilting, and these brought together a whole neighbor- hood, both men and women, old and young, and after the labors of the day were ended the evenings were spent in amusements. A wedding frequently called together all the young people for miles around. The party assembled at the home of the bride, and after the nuptials came the wedding dinner, of which there is none such now. The second day was called the groom's day, and the party would go to the home of his parents to enjoy the "infair." Then came the racing for the bottle, and fleet horses were in demand. The successful racer would take the bottle and meet the company, treat the bride and groom and then the guests.
While Worthington township had no taverns outside of the village, a number of private houses entertained transient guests. Among these were Shields, Davis and Hammons. At the latter place drovers often put up for the night. At these pioneer homes many a weary traveler through the tall and lonely forests has been sheltered and refreshed beneath their humble roofs, and the savory odor of ham and eggs would have tempted more fastidious appetites.
Many manly lads and beautiful lasses have been reared within the walls of these cabin forest homes. Many courtships have been carried on during the long winter evenings beside the dying embers in the old-fashioned fire- place-happy in present love and anticipating future bliss and prosperity in a more commodious home.
Here and there yet can be seen some relic of pioneer life and the good old-fashioned customs. The present generation should be remindful of the privations and hardships of the men who cleared the forests and first tilled our soil, and compare their humble beginning with our present state of improvements and utilities. It is to those who marked the way in the early settlement that we are so deeply indebted for our present prosperity.
PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP.
Plymouth township was organized February 12, 1818, and as originally created was twelve miles long from east to west, and six miles wide from north to south.
By the creation of new counties and new townships, Plymouth was reduced in size to twenty-four sections-six miles from north to south and four from east to west. This territory was surveyed by Maxfield Ludlow in 1807, but no settlement was made until several years later. The land is generally fertile, slightly rolling, and an elevation extending across the . township from east to west is the "Portage" between the river and the lake.
In the survey swamps and prairie land are occasionally noted, but the larger part of the township was heavily timbered.
The old Wyandot trail, from the Sandusky river to Pittsburg, passed across the northeast part of the township and through the present village of
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Plymouth. This trail was widened into a road by General Beall's army in 1812, and it was along this road that the early settlers of the northern part of the county came when hunting homes in the West. Many of the first settlers of Blooming Grove and other northern townships had been soldiers under General Beall, who had opportunities when encamped upon the banks of the Whetstone, at Olivesburg, and at Camp Council in Blooming Grove township, and in marching along the "trail," to see the beauty and the possibilities of the country, and at the close of the war returned to the forest scenes of their military operations, entered land and became pioneer settlers, and their descendants are today influential citizens of the county.
Abraham Trux was the first settler in Plymouth township. He built a cabin on the northwest quarter of section 5 in the spring of 1815. John Concklin, Daniel Kirkpatrick, Robert Green and John Long also came in 1815. John Morris, William and Daniel Prosser, Thomas McCluer, James Gardner, Michael Gipson and James Douglass came in 1816. By 1818 there was a sufficient number of residents to organize a township. The first election was held in the spring of 1818 and resulted in the election of Abraham Trux, justice of the peace; Stephen Webber, constable; John Concklin, John Long and Thomas McCluer, trustees. A postoffice was estab- lished in 1817 on the military road a few miles east of Plymouth on section 4, now in Cass township. Jacob Vanhouten was the first postmaster.
The first settlers were at considerable inconvenience in getting grain ground, and had to go miles to reach a grist mill. There was not sufficient water in that section to run mills in dry seasons. Later a number of horse- mills were erected. This was before steam was used as an operating power.
Whatever improvements have been made in Richland county, Plymouth township has shared those improvements. Whatever advancements there have been along educational lines and in civic betterments, Plymouth is always in line and touch with her sister townships.
At irregular intervals for years past reports have been made of the dis- covery of coal in the northern part of the county. But such discoveries never materialized. The collapse of the recent "boom" was owing to the fact, as alleged, that the shaft had been "salted." It is a legitimate part of the work of a geological survey to expose and to prevent frauds, but not to assert that any particular individual has attempted or practiced a fraud. Thin seams of carbonaceous matter or beds of bituminous shale may be reached by boring. Coal if discovered in Richland county would have to be found below the carboniferous conglomerate, beneath which strata it has never been found in paying quantities.
The Pittsburg, Akron & Western railroad, which crosses the B. & O. at Plymouth, opened a market for the stone quarries that has been a material help to that vicinity. The Plymouth stone is of the Berea grit, the upper layers thin, the lower ones more massive and blue in color.
A story of a fight in Plymouth between two Irishmen comes down in the unwritten history of pioneer times. These sons of Erin were neighbors living south of Plymouth. Upon returning from a trip to the lake they quarreled as to which side of a stump they should drive around at the corner
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of Main and Plymouth streets. Their team was composed of a horse belong- ing to each; therefore, each claimed to speak as having authority. They stopped the horses and sat in the wagon and discussed the question, but as they could not agree, they proposed to decide the case by fighting. They got out of the wagon and fought in the street. Quite a crowd collected to see the performance, and while the "mill" was in progress the team started, went around the stump on the west side and was then halted by one of the bystanders. The Irishmen were separated and told that the horses had decided the stump question, going around it by keeping to the right. But the Irishmen replied that, although it was decided so far as the horses were concerned, it was still an open question between themselves, which they proposed to decide in their own way, and each taking a drink of whisky from a jug in the wagon, the pugilistic encounter was renewed and finally they were down in the muddy street "wallowing in the mire." A 'squire being present, he commanded peace in the name of the state of Ohio, and the belligerents desisted from their strenuous contest, for the Irish are always loyal to those in authority. After drinking again from the jug, they got into the wagon, avowing that they would fight it out when they got home.
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