History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c., Part 39

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968

USA > Ohio > Richland County > History of Richland County, Ohio : (including the original boundaries) ; its past and present, containing a condensed comprehensive history of Ohio, including an outline history of the Northwest, a complete history of Richland county miscellaneous matter, map of the county, biographies and histories of the most prominent families, &c., &c. > Part 39

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

The chamber, or "loft," was reached by a ladder from the outside; or, if the family could spare the room for it, the ladder was placed inside, and if, from lack of skill or thrift, this necessary manner of ingress was wanting, a row of stout pegs, placed equidistant apart, could be climbed with wonderful agility. The rosy, bright-eyed nieces of Johnny Appleseed never appeared so beautiful and graceful as when they ran, hand over hand, with twinkling feet, lightly touching the smooth pins that served them well for a stairway.

The fireplace occupied the greater part of one end of the cabin. Sometimes it had "wings," that came in reach of the hand. In the more modern cabins, jambs were built on the hearth. The trammel and hooks were found among the well-to-do families, as time pro- gressed. Previous to this, the lug-pole across the inside of the chimney, about even with the chamber floor, answered for a trammel. A chain was suspended from it, and hooks were attached, and from this hung the mush-pot or tea-kettle. If a chain was not available, a wooden hook was in reach of the humblest and the poorest. When a meal was not in prepara- tion, and the hook was endangered by fire, it was shoved aside to one end of the lug-pole for safety. Iron ware was very scarce in those days. Instances are related where the one pot

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served at a meal to boil water in for mint tea or crust coffee, to bake the bread, boil the pota- toes and fry the meat. By fine management this was accomplished. Frequently the kettle had no lid, and a flat stone. heated, and handled with the tongs, was used instead of one when a loaf. or pone or pumpkin pie was baked. A short-cake could be baked by heating the kettle moderately, putting in the cake, and tipping it up sidewise before the glowing fire. Bannock, or board-cake, was made by mixing the corn- meal up with warm water, a pinch of salt and a trifle of lard. into a thick dough, spreading it on a clean, sweet-smelling clapboard, patting it into shape with the cleanest of hands, and standing it slanting before the fire, propped in- to the right position by a flat-iron behind it. Baked hastily, this made a delicious cake, sweet and nutty and fresh, and the pretty stamp of the mother's dear, unselfish, loving fingers was plainly detected in the crisp crust. There was little in the way of ornament in the homes of the pioneers. The looking-glass, with a snow-white towel ironed into intricate folds and checks, hung under it against the bare mud-daubed wall ; a pin-cushion, that puzzled the novice by its points and corners, made out of gay pieces of plaid and bombazine and bom- bazette and camlet ; a row of tiny pockets ; a black cloth cat with a rickety head dispropor- tionate to its size, and a comb-case, com- pleted the list of embellishments. If the fam- ily owned a Buckeye clock, abundant room for the ample sweep and swing of its pendulum was granted, but generally the time was marked by the sunshine on the puncheon floor, the cracks measuring off the hours with a tolerable degree of certainty. The pouch and powder- horn held the place of honor beside the clock ; the gun rested on two wooden hooks. secured to a joist overhead. The saddle, wheels, reels, quilting frames, beds, "chists," meal-bag and a few rude, splint-bottomed chairs completed the furniture. From the joists depended dried

herbs, dipped candles, little pokes of dried plums, blackberries, hazel nuts, yarn, ginseng roots and golden-seal, hops, stockings, and gen- erally an old pair of white linen breeches stuffed full of dried pumpkin.

One would presume that the weeks spent by pioneers in block-houses where they fled for safety, would have been doleful in the extreme, but assurances are frequent that they were not so. The poor old cracked voices laugh heartily yet over the fun they experienced in those times. In the twilight the roll would be called, and men and boys would answer in differ- ent voices. so that if Indians were prowling about meditating an attack, they would be sur- prised at the vast number ready to confront them in a fight. Names would be called and responded to, of men living away back in Penn- sylvania, Virginia, New York and Massachu- setts. or perhaps they would be names made up for the occasion. This constituted an immense amount of fun.

Girls would steal out some of the horses and run races and chase one another up and down the hills, recklessly, excusing themselves before angry parents, "I didn't think!"

A heedless lad, given to wandering along the trail out of sight of one of the forts, was sud- denly scared by one of the men hiding behind a tree, who gave a piercing yell imitating an Indian. The boy flew back to the fort scream- ing piteously. "Oh! mam, they're a-comin', they're a-comin !" " Who is it coming, son?" said the mother ; but he only cried the harder, " Oh! mam, they're a-comin', they're a-comin'!" In after years when the boy became a man and held offices of trust, his laugh was a dry, little abashed sniff when reminded of the inci- dent.

Education was not neglected. Books were few, but to those who longed to improve their opportunities the way was not hedged up en- tirely. They could study spelling, reading, writing, arithmetic and geography at all

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times. Instances are related of the father teaching spelling and geography while at work out in the clearing with his boys. He could drill them on the geography of other countries while they sat nooning. and eating their corn- bread and butter, and boiled turnips, under the trees and beside the brook. In the evenings they could study the multiplication table and the rules, and have good times spelling aloud. Once a week the young men in some localities met to compare writing and see how much or how little they had improved. Paper was very scarce, and narrow strips only were used. It was no disadvantage to the eager boys of those days to browse among the few old books that had been their father's and their grandfather's. One boy, after he had mastered the alphabet, which was pasted on a smooth, board paddle. set traps and caught rabbits, and sold the skins for one cent apiece, and bought a new spelling- book with a nice wooden back.

Any kind of a book was a school-book in pioneer times. The large reading class was the History of the United States, the lesser ones read in the Life of Capt. Riley, English Reader, Buck's Theological Dictionary, Book of Martyrs. Encyclopedia, Introduction, etc. Teacher's wages in the winter were $8 or $10 a month and boarding round -- the pay raised by sub- scription and left at any of the mills within a dozen miles. More than nsual was the prepara- tion made for the master's week-the time when the family expected the teacher to board with them a week. If they all slept in the same room, the teacher and his host, or one of the big boys. "sat close to the fire and patted in the ashes," until the women retired, then the embers were buried. the room in darkness, and he could retire. In the morning he lay hiding his time, with one eye open. The pounding or grinding of the coffee was the signal bell that intimated it was time to "face the music.' When the women went out to get the sausage in the lean-to, or to ent the meat, the delay was

favorably lengthened. and he availed himself of the opportunity.

Then. if he pulled down his vest. cracked his knuckles, milked his beard, or did anything else that betokened his embarrassment. his host un- derstood. and. giving his head a side-wise jerk. said. " down to the brook "-then down to the brook, where there was plenty of water, went the master, and washed openly, and under the canopy of heaven, where there was no stint of accommodations, and where the oxygen was fresh and free. Nowadays, people dignify the calling, and don the teacher, professor; but then. wherever he went, a stranger and unknown, the parents of his pupils invariably, and away ahead of Young America. jovially called him " Jimmy," or " Johnny," or ". Georgie." or ". Billy." He was fortunate if he escaped a nickname. They liked him. They wanted to prove it by making him "one among 'em." and very often he was called " Nosey." or " Boots." or ". Parson," or " Blinkey." It was not uncommon for the teacher to be obliged to sleep with a couple of little scratching boys-all packed into one bed, like sardines in a box. A treat was expected on or about Christmas. Sixty years ago the treat was the bona-fide one of good whisky. Sometimes the master and the boys held their pow-wow in the schoolhouse, but generally, per- haps on account of the girls. they adjourned to a fence. where they sat like a row of rooks on the top rails, and passed the grog from one to another. with bits of jokes and repartee follow- ing the bottle in quick succession. An instance is recalled in which the teacher. a confirmed smoker. lighted his pipe, and passed it round among the boys and girls, inviting all to partake of the treat. Candies and raisins formed the staple of the more modern treat. If the teacher ignored the custom. of was too stingy to conform to it. he was - barred out,"-the windows were fastened securely. the benches piled high against the door, and his entrance was impossible, unless some

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stipulations were made which proved satis- factory to all.

This foolish and barbarous custom was such an engrafted and fixed one that it has not be- come entirely rooted ont yet, after all these years. Even parents and school officers smile half-approvingly, still, when their boys threaten to " bar ont the master."

The best men on American soil once belonged to this profession, and among their older memo- ries and reminiscences they treasure the recol- lections of " keepin school and boardin"'round;" of grandfather's stories of the Revolution, told from his seat in the warmest corner ; of the sup- pers of mush and milk ; of the farmer's rosy. robust daughter. toward whom they cast " sheep's eyes ;" of the nightly feast of walnuts and doughnuts and cider ; of the country sing- ing-schools, and of the jealous swain in gay wamus ; of the first love that only survived one winter ; of the money they earned all them- selves, and of the pride that swelled them when the school officers said " Well done." The vent- urons hoy of a few months before stood up, strong in his new manhood, full of a sound. sweet faith in himself. feeling the force of the poetaster's creed. when he sang :

Better lore did never Science Teach to man than self-reliance. 'Tis the law of Him who made you- Aid yourself, and God will aid you.

The spinning and weaving and clothing of large families comfortably, as did the thrifty pioneer mothers, is to the women of nowadays a marvel beyond their comprehension. How could they do it, those nursing mothers with large families ! They rose early and worked late, and improved every moment of time. They did nothing by halves. When they went visit- ing they took their work. not embroidery. or migniardise, or crocheting, as of present times, but substantial sewing or knitting. The min- ister's wife, for an afternoon's employment, one time, took a bed-tick and a pair of panta-

loons, both new linen, and made them with her deftly flying left hand too. She was the woman who hurriedly told her day's work, saying, "I've washed an' baked an' ironed six pies to-day."

Linen for Sunday clothes was made of cop- peras and white. checked or striped, and when bleached was very pretty and soft. For very choice wear it was all flax; for every day or second best. the warp was flax and the filling tow. Linsey-woolsey, or linsey, was wool and cotton, very much the same as water-proof or repellent is now, only that it was harsh and not finished. Dye-stuff's in early times were in reach of all-butternut or walnut hulls colored brown; oak bark with copperas dyed black ; hickory bark or the blossoms of the golden- rod made yellow : madder, red : and indigo. blue : green was obtained by first coloring yel- low. and then dipping into bhie dye. Stocking yarn was dyed black, brown or blue ; and. for very choice stockings, strips of corn husks were lapped tightly in two or three places around a skein of yarn, and dyed blue. When the husks were removed, whitish spots were found, and the rare "clouded yarn" was the result. The little tub of blue dye, with elose- fitting cover. stood in the warm corner in every well-regulated household. and it made a very convenient seat, and the cover was always worn smooth. Many a lad inclined to matrimony has sneaked slyly along and seated himself on the dye-tub as soon as the old folks retired. When carding machines came and lessened the labor of the toiling women, one of the first in- dications of anything as fine as " store clothes " was the soft, pressed flannel, grand enough for any uncommon occasion, called "London brown." The folds lay in it. and it shone to eyes accus- tomed to look upon nothing finer than home- made barred flannel. like lustrous satin. It smelt of the shop, however ; the odor of dye- stuff and grease and gummy machinery elung to it for a long while. About this time a bet- ter quality of men's wear appeared in the same

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wonderful color of London brown; and, to young men coming of age, who had been in- dentured boys, the beautiful "freedom snit" was valued higher than the horse, saddle and bridle. Previous to this, the suit was often home-spun jeans, or home-fulled cloth in the rough, dyed a dark yellow or a snuffy brown ; coat, pants and vest cut and made by the hand- iest woman in the vicinity. The wamus was the common garb of the pioneer ; in color red, blue, brown, yellow or plaid, and not unfre- quently, plain white flannel, made in a hurry, at the sudden approach of cold weather, and worn temporarily, which meant only until the time came in which the over-busy wife or mother could concoct a simple dye and give it a solid color. Long before this period of full- ing-mills, the ingenuity of the pioneer and his thrifty wife had devised a novel method of thickening the texture of flannel so as to make it suitable for men's winter wear. It may not have been a practice everywhere. The web of goods was stretched out and held loosely at each end, while men with bare feet and rolled- up trousers sat in rows on each side of it. Then the women poured strong hot soapsuds on the web while the men kicked it with all the vigor possible, making the white foam of the suds fly all over their persons. It proved a very good substitute, and caused an immense sight of fun and laughter. This was always done in the evening, was a "bee" the same as a husking bee or a chopping bee; and, if the work was done by the beaux, the belles poured on the hot suds and shared in the fun and wit- nessed the agility of the contestants, and after- ward refreshed themselves by a dance on the wet puncheon floor. This way of fulling cloth was called a "kicking bee," and was a feature of those times of privation and exigency. The stiff new linen shirts, trousers and sheets could hardly be ironed into smoothness in those days, when no family owned more than one flat- iron, and there was not much time to be given

to unnecessary work. Garments were gener- ally drawn back and forth, briskly, over the top of a chair-back, to take out the big wrinkles and give them a tolerable degree of softness, while plain wear, such as bed and table linen, and petticoats and aprons, were folded down as smoothly as possible on a chair, and the woman who spun at the little wheel sat upon them a day or two. A new tow-linen shirt could be compared to nothing else than a very guilty conscience by the man who wore it. The shives sticking in the linen pricked into the flesh continually, and were a source of great annoyance.

In every neighborhood there were a few families who had brought with them the super- stitions of their forefathers, and the result was that some poor man or woman was reputed to be a witch. Not much proof was required. If a woman had very black eyes, or stepped stealthily, or spoke in a low tone of voice, and the gossips said she was in league with the prince of the black art, it did not take long to fasten the reputation upon her, and the ignorant looked with awe and fear upon the poor hunted, watched creature. And so they greased their broom handles, and laid dead snakes head fore- most in the paths, and hung horse-shoes over the cabin doors, and were careful to spit in the fire, and not look over their left shoulders when they passed the abode of the doomed one. But sometimes her wrath fell upon them, and the oxen would lie down in the furrow, and no power could move them, not even hot coals. nor boiling soap, when poured upon them. One time, when the family of a poor man rose in the early morning, one of them lay still, and slept heavily and breathed noisily. On examination it was discovered that he had been witch-rid- den; his sides were black and blue from the kicking heels that had urged him on to his best paces, and the corners of his mouth were torn from cruel bits guided hy jerking hands. Peo- ple who were objects of the witch's spite found

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a brood of downy young chicks in their chests, and piles of sprawling kittens under the half- bushel ; and they overheard deep. cavernous voices, and fine piping ones. in conclave at mid- night up in the air and the treetops, and under the dead leaves, and beside the chimney, and tracks, with a cloven hoof in among them, were discernable. Think of the misery of a poor creature reputed to be a witch. met in her own lowly cabin by a weeping mother beseeching her to remove the spell of incantation that her sick child might recover! No denial of the absurd charge could avail her; no sympathy offered was accepted; and the foolish mother could do no more than return home, burn some woolen rags to impregnate the out-door air ; stand the child on its head while she could count fifty backward ; grease its spine with the oil of some wild animal ; cut the tip hairs off the tail of a black cat. and bind them on the forehead of the persecuted one, while she re- peated a certain sentence in the Lord's Prayer. Then, in her own language, " If the child died, it died ; and if it lived, it lived."

One very singular old man, a soldier of the Revolution, known to all the early settlers of the county, was remarkable for his peculiarities, his drolleries, and his fund of big stories. One of his little boys was a very good child, and he accounted for it from the fact that the pros- pective mother had read a book of sermons, and the result had made a favorable impression upon the mind of the boy. Relating this to a neighbor, he said : " Oh. he's the piousest little cuss you èver saw !"

Hauling logs out in the clearing one day with his hired man, the two sat down to rest, and make plans for brush and log heaps. In an idle way the man said he would be satisfied if he had as much money as he wanted-say, a wagon loaded with needles, and every needle worn out with making bags to hold his money. " Poh !" said the soldier ; " now, I wish I had a pile so big, that your pile wouldn't be enough

to pay the interest on mine so long as you could hold a red-hot knitting needle in your ear !"

He used to say to his nephew, in his strange, weird way, " After I'm dead, I mean to come back, an' set round on the stumps, an' watch you, an' see how you're gittin' along. I'll set in the holler yonder, in the gray o' the evenin', an' obsarve you ; see 'f I don't." And, though a half-century has elapsed since the old man was gathered to his fathers, the pioneer or his children never pass the "holler." a round. scooped-out basin in an old roadside field. without thinking of the words of the old man ; and involuntarily they turn their gaze upon the few gray stumps remaining, and they seem to see him sitting there with his queer, baggy breeches fastened by a wide waistband, his shirt collar open, and his long white locks tossed by the dallying breezes from the south.

Another superstitious old man used to divine secrets, tell fortunes, foretell events. find the places where money was buried. cure wens by words, blow the fire out of burns. mumble over felons and catarrhs, remove warts, and, with his mineral ball, search out where stolen goods were hidden. The " mineral ball " to which the superstitious ascribed such marvelous power, was no less than one of those hairy calculi found in the stomachs of cattle, a ball formed compactly of the hair which collects on the tongue of the animal while licking itself. This man, one of that class whose taint infects every neighborhood, could not from any considera- tion be prevailed upon to leave a graveyard first of all. .. Why. drat it!" he would say. "it's sure and sartin death; never knowed a fellow to leave the graveyard fust but what he'd be the next 'un planted there!" "When an old neighbor of his died suddenly. this man said, with his thumbs hooked into his trousers' pockets restfully: "W'y, drat him, he might a knowed more'n to leave the graveyard fust man! As soon as I seed him do it. 1 says to myself. says I, "Dan. you're a goner; you're

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done for; they'll tuck you unter next time, an' nobody but your booby of a self to blame for it!"

In very early times one of the sorest priva- tions that the poor pioneer encountered, was the scarcity of salt, Mush, hominy and corn- bread without a savor of salt was very insipid food. It was very precious, and when they had a little, they dealt it out generously to all, even though a teacupful was a man's allowance to carry home to his family. Women used to bor- row a " mite of salt," and a "settin' o' butter." The workingmen-and they all belonged to this elass-nearly starved at first for meat vietnals. They wanted pork. Turkey and bear and ven- ison did not seem to touch the right place. In 1811, a few of them joined in killing a large hog which had been lost so long in the wilder- ness that he had become wild, and was a fero- cious creature, with over-jutting white tushes and standing bristles. After several ineffect- ual rifle and musket shots, he was brought to the ground. The meat tasted well to the poor men, and the hide made good sole leather.

Inthose early times, say before the pioneer had raised erops, and when mills were distant, they lived on mush and corn-bread made from the meal of corn that they had pounded in a hom- iny-block. The block was made by burning out, or hollowing out, a stump. By placing wood in the center of it. and laying on stones to become red-hot, a hollow could be made deep enough for use. The corn was pounded by an ax, or an iron wedge in the end of a stick. When sifted, the finest of the meal made bread, the next mush, and the third grade was grits or hominy. This, with butter and milk, con- stituted the daily food. Without salt, one can imagine what the living of the poor pioneer amounted to ; and it must not be forgotten that many of them owned no cow. One of this class of men when interviewed not long ago said, " Yes, times were pretty hard for new-comers. but I want you to remember that there was a

smart sprinkling of Virginians ahead of us here in Richland County, and the Lord never made better people. If they killed a deer, or a beef, they always shared liberally with their neigh- bors, and especially with those in need. I mind the year after we came, my father took down with the ague, and things looked dark enough for a while ; but, when old Billy Slater, on the Clear Fork killed a fat cow, he loaded a lot of the choicest on to a horse and brought it to us ; and old John Davis, another Virginian, looked after us as though we were his kindred. The hospitality and good will and courtesy of the Virginia pioneer were without a parallel; they were so kind and cordial, so much ahead of the thrifty, selfish Yankees, in their gracions deeds and their generous conduct. That phrase, . the lateh-string is always out,' is full of mean- ing" __ the quivering old voice grew husky with emotions that overpowered him, and he was left alone with his thoughts and olden mem- ories.

Salt was obtained at Zanesville and San- dusky. and. as there were no roads, it had to be packed on horses, following the trail. one be- hind another. At one time, Andy Craig, in company with two other men, brought a barrel of salt-280 pounds -- from Sandusky, on the back of one horse. Andy had a daughter. a fair, fat girl, a young woman toward whom Johnny Appleseed was somewhat at- tracted. and for a time Johnny frequently spoke of "Hanner Craig." Boys and girls laughed slyly, but they did not venture to joke the kind old man.

Distilleries were common. In one township alone there were no less than six in full blast at one time. Whisky was currency for which grain was exchanged. It was a common bev- erage among all classes. a social habit, and its use was not abused over-much. It helped men at log-rollings and raisings and gatherings, kept their spirits up. and made them friendly and chatty. Sometimes it was the incentive to fights

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Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co. Number of Pages: 968

Author: Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Mansfield, O. : A. A. Graham & co.
Number of Pages: 968