History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 84

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427

USA > Ohio > Shelby County > History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 84

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The township was named Grayson by Col. Jesse Wilson, in honor of the county in which he was born, in the State of Virginia, but retained this name but a short time, when it was changed to that of Washington. It is one of the southern tiers of townships, and borders on Miami County, and has an area of about twenty-five square miles. Its surface is undu- lating, but not broken, except along the streams. The soil generally is of a rich clay loam and gravel, except in a portion of the northern part, where clay predominates, and the soil is rather thin, but with good cul- tivation is productive. The township is well watered; its eastern bound- ary is formed principally by the Great Miami River. Loramie Creek, a stream of considerable magnitude, enters the township near its northwest corner, and flows southeast and enters the Great Miami just outside the county. Turtle Creek enters the township from the north, flows south, and empties into the Loramie near the centre of the township. Beside these there are other streams, and numerous springs run in different parts that afford ample drainage and water for stock. Also the Miami and Erie Canal and its feeder both cross this township. In addition to the drainage afforded by these streams, the canal and Loramie Creek give excellent water-power for mills. The Miami and Erie Canal Feeder, which takes its water from the Great Miami River near Port Jefferson, enters the main canal at Lockington, in this township. This is the summit of this canal. The water flows from the feeder both north and south. The water from this point south has a fall of sixty-seven feet, passing through six locks within the distance of one-half mile.

The system of gravelled roads, for which Shelby County is noted as being one of the best in the State, is to be seen in this township. All the principal roads and thoroughfares are graded and gravelled; also, many of the more private ones; and the time is not far distant when every man will have a gravelled road from his door to any part of the county. The north part of the township is crossed by the C. C. C. and I. R. R., on which is a station, giving the advantage of shipment by rail as well as by water on the canal.

The schools of Washington Township are equal to those of any others in the county. There are good substantial brick school-houses in every district, in which schools are supported from eight to nine months in the year.

Early Settlement.

The first permanent settlement made within the present boundary of Shelby County was made within the limits of this township. It was in the northwest corner on Loramie Creek that James Thatcher built his cabin, and brought his family as early as 1805. It is not known that

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RES. OF J. T. BAILEY , MAIN ST. LOCKINGTON . SHELBY CO. OHIO.

OLD HOMESTEAD OF JOHN WILSON & JAS. LENOX , ERECTED 1816.

RES. OF H. C. LENOX, WASHINGTON TW'P. SHELBY CO. OHIO.

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

there was any other that preceded him in any other part of the county. In 1806 we find that John, Joseph, and David Mellinger had located here in sections 29 and 30, near where Lockington now is. Thomas Earl was found here in 1806. John Wilson settled on the bank of Turtle Creek in section 7, in March, 1807. He was followed by Samuel Mar- shall in 1808, and he by Samuel McClure in 1810. In 1811 Richard, James, and John Lenox, with their mother and sisters, made their advent. There were probably a few others who came about the same time, but of whom we have no knowledge. The exact year that some of the above settled in the township cannot be definitely ascertained, but from the best information we can gather the time given is not far wrong.

The early settlers of Washington, in common with all the pioneers of the Northwest, endured hardships and privations of which we of to-day have but little conception. Their food was always coarse and unpalatable to the modern taste, and often scant-not sufficient for the demands of nature. Their principal food was corn bread and wild meat. Should a settler be fortunate enough to have wheat flour and tamne meat, he was considered to live like a king. It was not the quality of the food that gave them uneasiness, but the quantity. As a substitute for tea and coffee, they used the spice bush and sassafras. Many of the children of that day lived to become men and women without knowing the taste of store tea or coffee. Their clothing consisted of the furs and skins of animals they had killed, or a little later along, of flax raised, spun, and woven by their own hands. Any article that they had to depend upon purchasing at a store was dispensed with, for there were no stores within reach of them. Their nearest point of trade for several years was Cin- cinnati, at that time a small village, and it would take them a week or ten days to make the trip through the woods without a road.

The first birth of a white child in this township was a child of Richard Lenox, Julia Ann, who became the wife of William Stephens. The first marriage of which we can learn was William Manning and Ruth Julian. The first brick house was built by John Wilson in the year 1816. The same is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Sally Lenox. The first frame barn probably was erected by Gideon Wright. The first sawmill in the township or county was built by Samuel Marshall on Turtle Creek, in the year 1815 or 1816 on the farm now owned by Win. Marshall.

List of Justices of the Peace.

Wm. Mellinger, Oct. 31, 1835. Harvey Guthrie, Oct. 19, 1858.

" Oct. 15, 1838. Win. L. Burns, April 22, 1861. M. Wilson, April 22, 1862.

James G. Guthrie, Oct. 14, 1839.

John Munsey, Oct. 20, 1841. Harvey Guthrie, Oct. 22, 1862.

James G. Guthrie, 'Oct. 17, 1842; Win. L. Burns, April 23, 1864.

resigned August 3, 1843. Win. Mellinger, Sept. 2, 1843. John Munsey, Oct. 15, 1844. Robert Dinsmore, Sept. 5, 1846. Win. Mellinger, Nov. 20, 1846. Robert Dinsmore, Sept. 22, 1849. Wm. Mellinger, Nov. 3, 1849. Robert Dinsmore, Oct. 21, 1852. Amos Mobiler, April 14, 1855. Harvey Guthrie, Oct. 26, 1855. Win. Mellinger, April 16, 1858.

Harvey Guthrie, Oct. 17, 1865. John N. Stewart, April 5, 1867. Robert Dinsmore, Oct. 18, 1869. John Johnston, April 8, 1870. Robert Dinsmore, Oct. 12, 1872. Jacob Everly, April 11, 1873. Isaac Betts, Oct. 20, 1875.

Joseph Johnston, Apr. 8, 1876.

J. K. Dinsmore, Oct 14, 187%.

John Johnston, April 17, 1879.

J. K. Dinsmore, Oct. 19, 1881.

M. E. Church.

The date of the organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church in this township is cotemporaneous with that of its early settlement. The township being the earliest settled portion of the country, and being settled by Protestants, the missionary of this church soon found his way among them, although perhaps for a number of years after the first pioneers located on the Turtle and Loramie creeks, there was no regular organized society. Yet we find James B. Findley and others of the Methodist missionaries preaching to this people. There was no stated time or place of meeting for worship for a number of years. At one time preaching would be at the cabin of one man, the next time at that of another. It was not very long, however, before a class was formed, and stated meetings were held. Who constituted this society, or when it was organized, cannot now be ascertained, as those who were here at that time have long since passed away, and no record has been left behind except such as tradition has handed down. The first society of which we have any definite knowledge was organized at the house of James Thompson, in the year 1825 or 1826. The first class consisted of James Thompson and wife, Jane Thompson, Joseph Caldwell and wife, Jane Patterson, Thomas Plummer, and Amos Travers. The first leader was James Thompson. Meetings were held at the house of JJames Thompson for a few years, then at the house of John Legg for about three years. In the year 1838 the society erected a hewed log church on the land of John Legg, and dedicated it under the name of Ebenezer Church. The pastor at this time was Rev. Dixon. The names of the members at the time of the erection of this church were : James Thompson and family, John Legg and family, Amnos Travers and family, James Jackson and family, N. M. Sullivan and mother, Jane Patterson, and Margaret

Thompson. This society was kept up until about 1872, when, owing to there being a society at Lockington and the church building being some- what dilapidated, the society was abandoned, and its members transferred to Lockington and elsewhere.

The Lockington society was organized in December. 1847, by the Rev. Jacob W. Young, at the home of Wilkinson Post. The first members were W. Post and wife, Mrs. Patten, Mrs. Munson, and Mrs. Harper, with Isaac W. Legg as leader. They worshipped in private houses for about two years. In the summer of 1848 a subscription was taken for the erection of a church, but owing to the cholera epidemic that raged during the summers of 1848 and 1849, the church was not commenced until the year 1850, at which time they built a neat frame church, which was dedicated in June, 1850, by the Rev. Michael Marley. This society has kept up its organization, and has prospered from that time to the present. The present membership is nearly two hundred. The church having been built some thirty years, the society in 1881 enlarged and re- modeled it, and now it is a modern and commodious structure. There is a flourishing Sabbath-school in connection with the church, which has been kept up from the first organization of the society. It has a mem- bership of teachers and scholars of an average of one hundred and fifty.

U. B. Church.

The first society of this denomination of which we can gain any knowl- edge in Washington Township was organized at Rock Run about 1844 by the Rev. James Winters. The first class consisted of Francis Bailey and wife, Sarah Rasor, William Dunlap and wife, John Bower and wife, and Blakely Dunlap and wife. The first leader was Francis .Bailey. 'T his society kept up its organization for many years, but in course of time, there being churches at Pontiac and Lockington, and they having no church to worship in, the class was broken up by some of the mem- bers joining at Pontiac, and others being transferred to Lockington. The Lockington Society was formed in 1850 by the Rev. Henry Toby. Meetings were held for some two years in a school-house. The first members were William Valentine and wife, W. Furnace and wife, C. Beadle and wife, Abram Rasor and wife, Jacob Rasor, and Stephen Alex- ander and wife. The first leader was Jacob Rasor. In 1851 they erected their present church. It was built under the supervision of Jacob Antrim, and dedicated in 1854 by Rev. Henry Cumler. This society has a present membership of eighty, with a Sabbath-school attached, under the superintendence of Jasper Buxton. The following is a list of the pastors who have been on the Lockington charge since its organization in 1850, viz .: Jacob Antrim, Phebe Benton, John L. Hoffman, A. W. Holden, John L. Luttrell, - Hall, William Miller, Charles W. Miller, Samuel Fairfield, James M. Lea, Michael Johnston, James M. Lea, Sam- vel S. Holden, James Wilkerson, William Miller, Henry S. Thomas, Samuel L. Livingston, Elias Counselor, William Dillen, Isaac Imler, und R. W. Wilgus.

Disciple Church.

This society in Lockington was organized in the year 1871 by Elder John M. Smith. The names of the constituent members of the church were Joseph T. Wilkinson, C. Johnston and wife, S. A. Johnston and wife, William Beauchamp, John P. Johnston and wife, Joseph T. Bar- kalow and wife, Henry P. Johnston and wife, Sarah A. Johnston, Harriet Johnston, and Mrs. Mollie Mellinger. Services were held in the school- house for about one year, when they bought the same building and re- seated, papered, and painted it, and dedicated it as a place of worship, and it has been used as such from that time to the present. The first elders of the church were Joseph T. Wilkinson and Christopher John -- ston. The first deacons were William Beauchamp and S. A. Johnston. In 1872 Elder George Hill was elected pastor, who served about one year. He was succeeded by William Stone, who was followed by Aaron Moore, and he by Elder Blackburn, John Resler, D. C. Call, and C. G. Barthol- omew, the present pastor. The church has a present membership of about forty. The present officers are S. A. Johnston and C. Johnston, elders; A. L. Gillis and William Beauchamp, deacons.

LOCKINGTON. (Old Lockport.)

This town is situated in the west half of section 29, town. 7 south, range 6 east, and was surveyed by Jonathan Counts for David Mellinger, the proprietor, November 17, 1837. Main Street is five rods wide, and bears sonth 854℃ west. Cross Street is four rods wide, and bears north 44º west. All lanes are two rods wide; all alleys are one rod wide; all lots are four by ten rods, and contain one quarter of an acre each. Whole number of lots, as shown by original plat, thirty-two. Platted November 17; acknowledged November 28, and recorded December 18, 1837.

The town is thus located in the south part of Washington (originally Grayson) Township, on the summit of the Miami and Erie Canal, this being the point at which the Miami Feeder enters the canal and distrib)- utes its waters to the north and south. The point is one of considerable topographic and hydraulic, almost of romantic interest. If not romantic it is at least highly picturesque and interesting. Within a half-mile to

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

the southward are six canal locks, affording navigation over a fall of some sixty-seven feet within the distance mentioned. To the northward of the town, the canal extends at a dead level for a distance of about twenty-two miles, the first lock in this direction being at New Bremen, Auglaize County. From Lockington the Miami Feeder affords canal navigation through Sidney to Port Jefferson, in Salem Township. From the fall afforded by the Lockington Summit, an aqueduct is constructed, by which an unlimited water power is conducted to Piqua, Miami County, a distance of five miles. With the sixty-seven feet of fall at this little town, water-power enough could be utilized to almost drive the industrial wheels of a world. It is of rare interest to the visitor in this section to witness canal boats locking themselves up or down a height of over sixty feet at six steps or bounds, and traverse a distance of a half mile beside, within the short space of one hour. To one not acquainted with the lock system, a visit to this place would prove of rare and plea- surable interest, for if the town presents nothing else of a novel character, its artificial water power and dispersion of water is a peculiar feature possessed by no other town in our State. Besides these artificial water peculiarities, the Loramie Creek, almost a river, sweeps by the town-a beautiful stream. not devoid of majesty and grace, across which the canal and Piqua water-power are carried by separate aqueducts, constructed of timber alone. Such are the peculiar features which invest this little town with more than every-day interest, although its plat and population are small.

Petition for the Incorporation of Lockington.

Commissioners' Office, September 9, 1857. The petition of thirty of the inhabitants, being qualified voters embraced within the proposed limits of Lockington, was presented to the Commissioners of Shelby County this day, and by them ordered to be filed by the auditor in his office for the inspection of all persons interested, and the said Commis- sioners appoint the 9th day of December, 1857, as the time for the fur- ther determination on the prayer of said petitioners.

Commissioners' Office, December 9, 1857. It is ordered that the vil- lage of Lockington be incorporated in accordance with the petition pre- sented in September, under the provisions of an act entitled "An act to provide for the organization of cities and incorporated villages."

Lockington, March 6, 1858. This is to certify that we, as agents of the qualified electors of the incorporated village of Lockington, Ohio, at a meeting held this date, did appoint the first Thursday of April next for the election of municipal officers in said village, to be advertised on the 8th of March, and the succeeding month, which advertisement wrote and truly and duly set up on said day, the following being a true copy of the same :-

Election Notice.

The qualified voters of the incorporated village of Lockington, Shelby County, Ohio, will take notice that there will be an election held in said village on the first Thursday of April next, 1858, for the purpose of electing municipal officers, as provided by statute, to wit: one mayor, one recorder, five trustees, one marshal, and one treasurer.

D. K. GILLESPIE, A. MOHLER, J. HUMPHREY.

Lockington, Ohio, March 8, 1858. Agents for Incorporation.

Also appointed, next Monday night week, it being the 15th inst., re- questing the qualified voters of Lockington to convene at early candle- light at the school-house in said place, for the purpose of appointing a board of judges and clerks for said election, and to attend to any other business which may arise.

March 15, 1858. The citizens of Lockington, agreeable to previous notice, assembled at the school-house this date for the purpose of elect- ing three judges and a clerk to serve at the coming election for corpora- tion officers, whereupon the meeting organized by appointing W. S. Burns chairman, and A. J. Campbell secretary. The following persons were chosen : W. B. Valentine, C. Hill, Jacob Rasor, judges, and John Humphrey, clerk. The meeting thereupon adjourned.

WM. S. BURNS, Chairman. A. J. CAMPBELL, Secretary.

Thursday, April 1, 1858. The board of judges and clerks met, agree- able to foregoing appointment, this day, to wit : W. B. Valentine, C. Hill, and Jacob Rasor, judges; and John Humphrey and George Gillespie, clerks ; and were sworn as the law directs, whereupon they proceeded to open the polls for the election of town officers. It is hereby certified that the number of electors at this election was forty-nine. W. S. Burns had 45 votes for mayor ; G. A. Gillespie had 48 votes for recorder ; Jacob Rasor had 25 votes for treasurer; John Agenbroad had 25 votes for marshal ; W. B. Valentine had 47 votes, F. Whitby had 25 votes, D. K. Gillespie had 25 votes, N. B. Boust bad 25 votes, and Thomas Wilson had 25 votes, for council.

Officers Elected.

1859. Jacob Rasor, mayor ; John Humphrey, recorder ; Charles Beers, treasurer ; John Aginbroad, marshal.

1860. C. D. Williams, marshal ; other officers re-elected.

1861. W. L. Burns, mayor ; H. S. Gillespie, recorder ; George Wood, treasurer ; J. Aginbroad, marshal.

1862. Jacob Rasor, mayor ; C. D. Williams, recorder ; J. S. D. Gard- nev, treasurer ; J. Aginbroad, marshal.

At this period a number of the citizens entered the army, and dissen- sions existed to such an extent among those at home, that the incorpora- tion was abandoned. Ten years later it was revived, since which time it has been sustained.

1872. Daniel Rasor, mayor; Jacob Rasor, clerk ; J. C. Althoff, trea- surer; Wm. Wilson, marshal.

1873. Dr. Snow, mayor; Jacob Rasor, clerk ; J. C. Althoff, treasurer ; Robert Simpson, marshal.

1874. Jacob Rose, mayor; C. D. Williams, clerk; J. C. Althoff, trea- surer ; N. B. Brust, marshal.

1875. J B. Schutte, mayor; Jacob Rasor, Clerk; John Aginbroad, treasurer; W. J. Holly, marshal.

1876. Benjamin Shutte, mayor ; Robert Simpson, clerk ; J. C. Althoff, treasurer ; Wm. Phillips, marshal. 1877. J. C. Cullers, mayor ; J. R. Brown, clerk ; J. C. Althoff, trea- surer ; Wm. Phillips, marshal. 1878. Jacob Everley, mayor; J. P. Brown, clerk ; John Aginbroad, treasurer ; J. W. Reese, marshal.

1879. Robert Simpson, clerk; Daniel Rasor, treasurer; John Agin- broad, marshal.

1880. Francis Bailey, mayor; J. C. Althoff, clerk ; Daniel Rasor, treasurer ; John Barret, marshal.

1881. J. C. Althoff, clerk ; D. Rasor, treasurer ; J. Barrett, marshal ; S. D. Smith, Jacob Rasor, and Robert Simpson, councilmen ; William McDonald, street commissioner.

Lockinglon Flouring Mills.

About the year 1830 a man by the name of Steambarger, or Stein- berger, built a small flour mill on Loramie Creek, near where Lockington now is. Prior to his building this mill a man by the name of Aldrich had built a sawmill near the same site, but it had gone down. This saw- mill was rebuilt, and run in connection with the flour mill. In 1837 he sold these mills to John Brown, who attached a woollen mill. After a few years he sold to Robert Ewing, who in the year 1844 built a new flouring mill, and ran it up to 1859, then sold to D. K. Gillespie, who sold to John Johnston, and he to John Fuller, who soon afterward died; it then passed into the hands of O. C. Horton, who owned it about one year, when it was burned. This was in the year 1872. This same year Rasor & Bro. bought the site, and the following year erected the present mill. From Rasor & Bro. it changed to D. Rasor & Son, who are the present owners.

Lockington Lumber Mills.

The first sawmill in the town of Lockington was built by William Ste- phens in 1845 or 1846. From him it went into the hands of Reed Bros., who owned it a few years but let it go down. In 1860 Daniel & Jacob Rasor bought the site and erected a new mill, and attached to it a corn crusher and chopping buhr. The Rasors owned and ran it until 1873, when the Summit Paper Mill Company bought it, but owned it but a few months, then sold to Francis Bailey and two of his sons, who were its owners until 1876, when it passed into the hands of J. T. & H. P. Bailey, who are its present owners. These mills derive their power from the canal, they having two turbine wheels, giving them a 70-horse power. These mills are used in the manufacture of lumber, with a capacity of 12,000 feet per day. Beside the manufacture of lumber they have seve- ral lathes, on which they manufacture handles of all kinds, beside other turned work. They keep in employ about fourteen hands.

Shelby Grange, No. 165.

This Grange was organized Sept. 16, 1873, at Liberty School-house, by S. H. Ellis, Master of Ohio State Grange. The charter members were, J. J. Johnston, Miss Martha Johnston, James Weymer and wife, S. A. Johnston and wife, James Ewing, Wm. Beauchamp and wife, George A. Marshall and wife, John Weymer, A. N. Brading, H. C. Wilson and wife, Mary A. Lenox, J. J. Alexander, James H. Hardesty and wife, P. B. Weymer, Joseph A. Wilson, J. L. Mellinger, A. S. Davenport, William Mellinger, Ida Mellinger, A. C. Adams, D. J. Thompson, James Cald- well, Harriett Johnston, and S. J. Johnston.

The first officers were: Master, S. A. Johnston ; Overseer, H. C. Wil- son ; Lecturer, G. A. Marshall; Steward, John Johnston; Asst. Stew- ard, Jas. Weymer ; Chaplain, W. Beauchamp; Treasurer, J. J. Alexan- der; Secretary, A. N. Brading; Gate-keeper, James Ewing; Ceres, Jenny Weymer; Pomona, Mrs. S. A. Johnston; Flora, Mrs. H. C. Wilson ; Lady Asst. Steward, Mrs. G. A. Marshall.

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

Present officers : Master, H. C. Wilson ; Treasurer, James Weymer; Secretary, J. J. Alexander.

The Grange at the present time has a membership of eighteen. They have a neat hall on the land of J. J. Alexander.

BIOGRAPHIES.

THOMAS BAILEY.

After all, Fate is only the caprice of conditions; to-day a sunbeam of happiness, to-morrow a night-cloud of gloom ; filling one life with the tender bloom of hope, another with the withering blight of despair. This very caprice is the foundation of hope, for, if the life born to ad- versity did not feel a potent strength within, capable of contending against a hard fate with something of a promise of success, the light of that life would go out in gloom and despair. These lives, which know only a hard condition of existence, are sustained and cheered by that manhood in man which, willing to perform mighty deeds, is also able to endure the cruelty of biting wrongs. He finds his condition his invete- rate, bitter, and relentless foe, and takes up arms against that condition. When he battles against the hard surroundings of his birth, no measure can be taken of his endurance and strength. In that war he becomes his own fate, and struggles on, determined to triumph or perish in the effort If he succeeds, the world calls him a genius or a hero; but if he fails, he was only a trifler or a fool. Success is the measure of effort with humanity, and simply means that a man must accomplish whatever he undertakes.

Let us look for a moment upon the eventful life of a man upon whom Fate seemed only to frown, but who, battling against the enemies of his very birth, at length became master of his fate, and received the plaudits bestowed upon the hero. Go backward, then, in years beyond the birth of our proud Republic, to the first decade of the eighteenth century, and enter one of the homes of England. Then and there Thomas Bailey sprang into being under conditions against which two continents of men afterward arose in arms in order that life might be rendered worth the living. It was a century before the judicial declaration that "a slave cannot breathe the air of England and live," for human piracy and slavery were yet legalized and encouraged. The tree of liberty had produced no fruit, and under the very conditions of his birth Thomas Bailey found himself in deadly conflict with his surroundings. When a mere child he was kidnapped and taken aboard a vessel then about to sail for America, where slavery and barbarism were yet at a premium. The " home of the free and the asylum of the oppressed" existed as yet only in dreams of the future.

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History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 84

Author: R. Sutton & Co. Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Number of Pages: 427

Author: R. Sutton & Co.
Publication date: 1883
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 427