USA > Ohio > Seneca County > History of Seneca County, Ohio; a narrative account of its historical progress, its people, and its principal interests, Vo. I > Part 12
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"Our cabin was a preaching place from my first recollection. Uriah Egbert's double cabin on the North Greenfield road was also a preaching place and a home for ministers until his death on the Portland road. The cabins of John Searles, George R. Harris' father and C. C. Park's father, were all homes for ministers during their early years. Camp meetings were held annually along the different streams, Wolf creek, Honey creek. Morrison creek, Sugar creek and Green creek, Sandusky county. These meetings were largely attended ending with large and noisy revivals. Adam Munsar, Mr. Wareham, Mr. Burns were the circuit preachers that I can remember. Father Thompson, a missionary with the Wyan- dot Indians at Upper Sandusky, and Presiding Elder Bigelow would be heard occasionally.
"The ministers had many hardships to contend with, travel- ing from place to place on horseback through the woods. There were no roads but crooked wagon tracks and paths over logs, through mud and brush. In the leather saddle bag thrown loose- ly over the saddle, they carried the New Testament, hymn books, church rules or discipline, blank class books and the life of Hes- teran Rogers. . They were also agents for John Wesley's sermons.
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They worked for low . salaries. As money was scarce, members would pay their dues in chickens. from five to six cents each, eggs four to five cents per dozen, butter five to eight cents per pound. Ministers would often carry them home on horseback.
"Then they had other perplexities. The first I remember was to keep down the sisters' high bonnets. high sleeves and wide skirts. They said this was a sly trick of the devil to get evil into the church. This 'evil' was kept down pretty well until about 1840, when the county began to be dotted over with churches. Soon a worse evil was offered, a sly trick to get the devil's organs into our country churches. This must be broken down, said the old veterans. But the younger brethern went with the sisters. So the sly tricks were all successful and now we all enjoy the sisters' fine dresses and the sweet music that fills our churches from these organs. And we are glad the superstitious notion of the devil and his sly tricks have passed away.
"The first doctors in Tiffin were Henry Kuhn and Eli Dres-
bach. The first lawyers, Abel Rawson. Joel Wilson and Cowdry. The first tannery was located where the gas plant now stands and was owned by Wm. Daily. The first foundry was located on the east side of the Sandusky river and between the present sites of the Monroe and Washington street bridges. I don't know who owned it. They made a cannon and on its first trial it burst, killing one man and injuring our late Esquire Dildine.
"The first jail, history says, was built in 1825. It was built of logs hewed square and notched close together. The floor was the same kind of timber, layed close together. It stood on the east side of the court house grounds. The last time I was in it was the day Andrew Jackson was elected president ; his last term. Don't know what became of it .. The Democracy raised a hickory pole that morning near where Gibson's monument now stands. The first bridge across the Sandusky river in this county was erected by Josiah Hedges in 1832. It stood about where the west side of the present Washington street bridge now stands. It was a toll bridge and the toll house stood on the southwest corner of the bridge. We crossed it with ox carts many times. This bridge lay on bents in the river channel. I don't know what became of it. "I witnessed the building of the first court house in 1836, and the light of its burning in 1841. and its rebuilding in 1843.
"In August of 1834 the cholera made its appearance in Tiffin ; sixty-three died out of a population of a few hundred. We lived four miles east of Tiffin at the time and sheltered a family of five during its stay in Tiffin.
"We cleared up two farms, one four miles east of Tiffin, from 1825 to 1836, now owned by Mr. Sepp; the other in 1837 in Adams township on Sugar creek, now owned by George Detterman. Oxen
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were used in clearing these farms. These oxen would often run away and change places turning their yokes upside down.
"I witnessed the surveying of the Mad River and Lake Erie Railroad from the center of Scipio (now Republic) to Tiffin. This was in the summer of 1832 or 33. Saw much of the work done from Tiffin to Republic. It was all woods. the right of way about one hundred feet wide all cleared and through the center large oak trees and many smaller ones dug out with shovel, pick and wheel-barrow. . The log cabins of the laborers remained along the track for many years. The Baltimore & Ohio now uses the same line to Republic. It was nine years from the time of this survey- ing until the road was finished to Tiffin. Before this road was built all merchandise was hauled by wagon from Portland (now Sandasky City) by the way of the Kilbourn road. Amsden's Corners (now Bellevue) and Cold Creek (now Castalia).
"Hauling was done by the hundred. It was woods much of the way from Tiffin to Sandusky. Father and Daniel Dildine. Sr., did much of the hauling and I was always with them.
"The first merchants in Tiffin were John and Benjamin Pit- tenger, C. C. Parks' father, Mr. Cromise. Mr. Stevens, R. W. and Lorenzo Shawhan and John M. Naylor. These men all transacted business in small rooms carrying all kinds of dry goods, groceries, hardware and everything that was needed. J. M. Naylor conducted the first exclusive hardware store in Tiffin. Before the railroad was built farmers had to haul all their produce to Sandusky City. This brought much of the farmers' trade to that city. When there was, grain they would lay in a barrel of salt, a sack of green coffee and many other things for the year.
"The Tiffin post office was the only one I knew of for many years. Postage on ordinary letters was ten cents ; a few years later six cents, if paid in advance.
"The first paper printed in Tiffin was the Sencca Patriot in 1832, when I was learning to read.
"From 1828 to 1829 the landoffice for the sale of the Delaware lands was located in Tiffin.
"The first bank in Tiffin was the Seneca County Bank. I re- member it, but cannot give an account of it, as I had no use for banks then.
"I commenced making coffins in 1838; a few years later went into the undertaking business at Lowell and soon built one of the first hearses used here. I made the first covered coffin used here, for the son of David Dudrow. For several years from five to eight dollars was the price for the largest coffin and attendance with hearse. No caskets were used then. . Thirty years later as fine hearses and caskets were used as today.
"John Searles built the first country church in the county, on
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the north bank of Rocky creek near his home on the Morrison road, on the same spot the church now stands. Mr. Searles was one of the first white men who lived in Seneca county. Ile was kind to his poorer neighbors, and when wheat flour was scarce and hard to get, he gave to them freely from his supply.
"The first Methodist Episcopal church built in Tiffin stood on the south side of Market street a half a square east of the river. It was dedicated by Presiding Elder Bigelow in 1830 or 31. The building is now occupied by Klopp Brothers.
"I helped to build the first school house in district No. 3, Clinton township, in 1834, a small hewed log house with a fire place stick chimney. In 1837 helped build the first school house in district No. 6. Adams township. It was the same as No. 3, only a stove for heating. These houses were built in the woods and on the same spot where the brick houses now stand. These houses had each three long benches for seats. I got my education in these houses. Cynthia Persons taught the first school in No. 3 in a cabin in the woods one mile east of Swander station. She was soon discharged for attending a dance. Earl Church taught the first school in No. 6 in a cabin one mile west of the pres- ent school house. Summer teachers were paid one dollar per week ; winter teachers twelve dollars per month and boarded with the pupils.
"The men who built No. 3 were Henry Hall, father of Joel Hall, now on the old home. Thomas Blair, James and Elijah Brooks, Thomas Swander, father of Rev. John I. Swander, of this city, and Jacob Bogart. The men who built No. 6 were Jacob Hoeltzel, Earl Church, father of Mrs. D. C. Rule, Jacob Bogart, Daniel Rule, Jeremiah Williams and Ezra West. Those fathers and early teachers are all dead except one teacher, Mrs. Horace Emery, who resides near Greenspring.
"I was fortunate in seeing the great meteoric shower the night of the 13th of November, 1833. I witnessed the falling meteors until daylight. The meteors disappeared, leaving long blue streaks which soon faded away. To me they appeared different
from explanations in astronomy. They appeared a short dis- tance away, never close by, always disappearing before reaching the ground. These meteors looked like stars the size of hen's eggs and were very numerous and close together.
"In the fall of 1828 we camped with the Indians at Upper Sandusky. Sixteen years later I was in this village again, and found the Indian cemetery and old mission church much dilapi- dated.
"The largest tree in northern Ohio, a sycamore, stood south of the village. Its base for several feet above the ground was about fifty feet in circumference. At the top of the base. it branched
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into several large nice straight trees about the height of other timber.
"I spent one day on General Crawford's battle field a few miles north of Upper Sandusky. It was as the Indians left it a short time before. The oak grove where Crawford first routed the In- dians was scarred with bullets from the ground to the branches. These bullets had been eut ont by the Indians and sold for relics many years after the battle. This grove was mostly of small white oaks standing quite close together, covering but a few acres.
"I have lived over eighty-one years in Tiffin and Seneca county. In all that time I have been without its bounds only for about one year when traveling. A home here is a home in the best part, as has been well said of the best world we know of."
Jesse Bogart gave the above sketch to the writer about a month before his death. He was eighty-five years of age when he passed away at his home in Tiffin, No. 384 East Market street. at 8:00 o'clock Sunday evening, September 4, 1910, death being due to the infirmities of old age. The deceased was born in Fairfield county, April 2, 1825, and was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Bogart, with whom he came to this county in 1826, settling on a farm on the north Greenfield road. HIe had lived in Tiffin since 1872, with the ex- ception of sixteen years spent on a farm near there.
REMINISCENCES OF PIONEER LIFE.
(As Told by a Seneca County Pioneer.)
The early emigrants to the valley of the Sandusky were com- pelled to make their way through forest and swamp as best they could. They had to follow old army roads, or Indian trails, ford- ing streams, and winding through the woods for hours and days by blazed trees. There was no bridge across any stream in the whole valley of the river-nor could a house or cabin be found to stop at. They had to camp out, and sleep in the wagon, or on the ground, with no roof but the trees, or the broad canopy of heaven. When Mr. Montgomery moved into the old fort, there was no bridge be- tween Urbana and Lower Sandusky. When the writer came to Seneca, in 1833, there was no bridge in the county. Neighbors on opposite sides of streams, made a way to get across by falling a tree across and walking over the log.
In the years 1819 and 1820, there were but five families of white people living between Fort Seneca and Fort Ball. These were the Dumonds, William Harris, Abner Pike, (who had a cabin near the place where Ezra Baker afterwards built a frame house
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near the mill,) an old man by the name of McNutt, and widow Shippy. Benjamin Barney, Anson Gray and Joel Chapin also arrived about that time.
The Indian tribes here at the time of the first settlement by the whites, were the Senecas, Cayugas, Mohawks and Oneidas. The Senecas-the most numerous-and Cayugas occupied the lower part, and the Oneidas and Mohawks the upper part of the reserva- tion, which was nine miles north and south, and six miles east and west, on the east side of the Sandusky river. The land was held in joint stock, and each had the privilege of making improvements, as he wished.
They numbered several hundred, and were not bad in general character, but friendly and kind when well treated and not mad- dened by whisky, for which they had a strong passion. I have known them to offer two or three dollars' worth of goods for a quart of whisky; and, when intoxicated, would give anything they pos- sessed for it.
They depended largely upon hunting for subsistence, in which, when children, they commenced by shooting fish and small game with the bow. Most of the Indians and squaws cultivated each a small piece of land, varying from a half to two acres, which they formerly did with a hoe ; but seeing us use the plow, and the amount of labor saved thereby, they concluded to abandon the custom of their fathers. Seeing two Indians plowing on the opposite side of the river one day, I crossed over and discovered them going the wrong way over the land, throwing the furrows in, and next time running inside of it, and then another, which they thought very well, until I turned them the other way, and gave a little instruc- tion, which they thankfully received. They raised a soft corn, which they pounded into meal and used to thicken soup.
They had much idle time, which they all liked-the children spending it in shooting, the old people smoking from the pipes made in the heads of the tomahawks, with an adjustable handle for a stem. They smoked the sumac leaves, dried and pounded, which gave a pleasant odor.
The young Indians had a love for sports. Their chief sum- mer game was ball-a game in which ten or twelve to a side en- gaged, the ground being marked off in a space of about sixty rods. the center of which was the starting point. Each player had a staff some five feet long, with a bow made of raw hide on one end. with which to handle the ball, as no one was allowed to touch it with his hands. At the commencement, the ball was taken to the cen- ter and placed between two of the staffs, each pulling toward his outpost. Then the strife began to get the ball beyond the outpost by every one, the success in which counted one for the victor, when the ball was taken to the center again and a new contest began. Vol. I-7
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The squaws and older Indians constituted the witnesses to these · sports, and added zest by their cheers.
The favorite winter sport was running upon skates. They would spread a blanket on the ice and jump over it with skates on, trying to excel in the distance made beyond.
Another favorite sport was to throw upon the snow, to run the greatest distance, snow snakes made of hickory wood, about five feet long, one and one-half inches wide, one inch thick, turned up at the point like a snake's head, and painted black.
The Mohawks and Oneidas had some very well educated people, and most of their tribes could read and write. They had religious services every Sabbath in the form of the Church of England, held by a minister of their own tribe. They were excellent singers, and often attracted the whites to their religious exercises, which pleased them very highly.
The Senecas and Cayugas were more inclined to adhere to the custom of their forefathers. They held in reverence many gather- ings. The green corn dance was prominent among them, but that most worthy of note was the dog dance. This was the great dance, which took place about mid-winter, and lasted three days, at the close of which they burnt their dogs.
The country west of the Sandusky river was not only a dense forest, but also a vast swamp, in which the Indians themselves found no spots suitable to build their wigwams. This great swamp was the country of the Wolfereeks-sluggish streams that come together near the mouth where Wolfcreek proper enters the Sandusky river in Ballville township, Sandusky county. There were no Indian trails through this swale. These followed the banks of the river on both sides, from the headwaters of the Sandusky to the mouth. Along these trails they built their towns, and the army road, made and opened in the late war, under the direction of General Harri- son, following the left bank of the river on high ground wherever practicable, and without any line of survey. There was another army road from Delaware to Fort Seneca, on the east side of the river. Along this road Fort Seneca and Fort Stephenson were supplied with provisions.
A considerable trade was carried on between the southern portion of the state, after the close of the war of 1812, and Lower Sandusky and Sandusky City.' Teams came loaded with flour. bacon and whisky, and returned with fish or merchant goods, which were sold at Urbana, Springfield and Dayton.
Rev. James Montgomery was appointed the first agent of the Seneca Indians. He took charge of his office in November, 1819, and moved into the old blockhouse at Fort Seneca. The only minister we had was the Rev. James Montgomery, of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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The Senecas took possession of their lands soon after the treaty, and began to build cabins and open. little clearings around them. By virtue of the treaty, the United States were obliged to estab- lish an agency near the reservation, to provide for their wants, and in every way to assist in carrying into effect the conditions of the treaty.
The Senecas were an exceedingly superstitious people, and not- withstanding all the influences brought to bear upon them to love and embrace the Christian religion. they were very stubborn, and seemed to prefer their untutored notions about the Deity to the beauties of divine revelation. The belief in witches was a part of their faith, and whenever anything occurred that troubled them, they were sure that some witch was at the bottom of the mischief. Their vengeance then generally fell upon some poor old squaw, who was then. almost certain of being killed.
In the fall of 1824, the first general muster of the militia took place at Fort Seneca. The regiment numbered about four hundred men, under General Rumley and Colonel J. B. Cooley, who gathered from over the country between Cold creek and Tymochtee, many having to camp out in order to reach the fort in time.
Jesse and George Omsted had our only store between Delaware and Lower Sandusky.
There was considerable travel during the spring and early summer of 1821, by men in search of land, till August, when the land sale occurred.
Our greatest privation was want of mills. Our nearest mill was at Cold creek. about twenty-four miles distant, and without a direct road leading to it. The difficulties in some cases were very trying. For example : Mr. Barney and Daniel Rice arranged for a trip to mill, each with a team of oxen and wagon. As they had to cross the river, the grain was hauled there, unloaded and ferried across ; then the wagon ferried over, and afterwards the team swam over, when they could reload, hitch and proceed. This was in April, 1821. After having their grain ground, and on their homeward route, they were overtaken by a snow storm. The snow was damp, and fell to the depth of a foot, rendering the road almost impassable, and so weighed the bushes down over them, that they were compelled to abandon their wagons, and with much difficulty succeeded in reaching home with their oxen.
Although the year 1821 was a trying one, it had secured to many a sufficient amount of land to afford a home for the future, and to encourage us. We had an abundant crop.
Many of the people had acted as squatters. The Indians, who had formerly lived on the west side of the river. had removed to their reservation on the east side, and abandoned their old homes and houses, which were appropriated by the white settlers, and held
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until they wished to go, or were displaced by a deed from Unele Sam, conveying the same to somebody else. The settlement was weak in 1821, and to raise a log cabin, the neighbors were often summoned from places five or six miles distant.
Of those who came previous to the land sales, some suffered from siekness, and, becoming discouraged, left, and others died; but immediately after the land sales the population steadily in- creased, and in 1823. Mr. Rumley built a mill on Green creek, and soon after Mr. Moore built a mill on the Sandusky river, in order to supply the increased demand, which greatly diminished the in- convenience we had all experienced.
CHAPTER VI
GENERAL GIBSON AND HIS ADDRESSES
GREAT SPEECH AT MELMORE-NOTABLE PIONEER ADDRESS- HOW HE STARTED IN LIFE-THE HEROES OF EARTH-NOT ALL GRAVE-YARD BUSINESS-EIGHTEEN-KNOT BELLE-PIONEER COOK- ING-TRIAL OF CHRISTIAN SPIRIT-WHISKEY OR WATER ?- FIRST BUGGY BROUGHT TO THE COUNTY-THEY CLEARED THE LAND-OLD AND NEW LAND HUNTERS-RELIGIOUS "QUARRELS"-DOMESTIC LIFE AND RELIGION-EDUCATION AND MUSIC-ONE CHANGE FOR THE WORSE-INCREASE IN POPULATION-FARM LABOR NEVER MORE AGREEABLE-GOD'S TRUE NOBILITY-GIBSON AND THE SISTERS OF MERCY-THE BLACK HORSE TAVERN.
The late General William H. Gibson was one of Seneca county's bravest soldiers and most eloquent orators, and a beloved pioneer as well. Anything relating to him is therefore of deep interest to old- time residents who always had for him so much pride and affec- tion. One of the earliest oratorical triumphs is recorded below.
General Gibson's great speech at a Fourth of July celebration at Melmore in 1843, placed him in the front rank as an orator. Aged men had been given seats of honor on the platform. An old Revolutionary soldier, with long. flowing white hair, sat in the center of the platform, which was profusely decorated with Ameri- can flags, and as General Gibson was closing his speech, he paid a very eloquent tribute to the flag, and then turning to the old soldier he placed his hands upon the soldier's head and exclaimed : "Here is a man who fought for that flag through two wars." The effect was electrical. Many persons in the audience were in tears.
As Gibson approached the closing words of his address, his spirit flamed brilliantly in patriotic panegyric, and turning to the flag, he reviewed the cost of that emblem of liberty. Like the rushing of a mighty Niagara came his well worded thoughts, potent with the impact of truth, and whilst the burning periods of an exalted patriotism sprang from his quivering lips, the young orator moved forward and backward on the platform, punctuating every step with a patriotic utterance. Then, moving slowly back and be- hind the chair on which an aged veteran sat, with thrilling dramatic
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effect, he gathered up the folds of the flag and, with both hands grasping the banner, he rested them on the snowy crown of the aged soldier. Then, with fervent utterance, he exclaimed :
"This flag is ours ! It is kissed by the sunshine of God, floats over a free and independent people, and is honored through- out the world. But they who gave it to us are passing away ! Reverently I place this flag on the brow of my friend Arnold, for it was he and his compatriots that gave it to us. These white
stripes tell of the purity of their devotion. These red stripes speak of blood shed by patriots falling at his side. Those stars shining from that field of blue herald to all principalities what they won ; and all this is ours. His race is nearly run. £
He will soon go to meet the brave spirits with whom he bivouacked in the paths of the mountains and in the storm-swept plains of the valleys. But sacred will be his dust.
SCENE OF GENERAL GIBSON'S GREAT SPEECH, MELMORE.
(Delivered under elm tree; as a boy clerked in the building to the left. ) "Yes, 'tis evening and the setting sun, Sinks slowly down beneath the wave; And there I see a gray-haired one- A special courier to the grave. He looks around on grave and mound, And falls upon the battle ground. Beneath him sleeps the hallowed earth, Now chilled like him and still and cold. The blood that gave young Freedom birth No longer warms the warrior bold. He waves his hand with stern command- And dies, the last of glory's band."
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Tears streamed down the cheeks of tender-hearted women, and the bronzed faces of stalwart men were wet with unbidden tears. And yet Gibson was still a boy. Due preparations had been made for the speech, but it was not delivered as a studied effort. His heart was aflame with patriotic devotion. The pent-up enthusiasm was given release. The aged veteran on the platform was an ob- ject lesson, and, altogether. Gibson was in the glory of his matchless imagery. His spirit was communicated to the thrilled assembly and the orator then had no difficulty in carrying his fascinated hearers by the force of his magnetic personality, to the heights from which they could see as he saw and be moved by the patriotic im- pulses that stirred his soul.
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