History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 85

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 85

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On reaching our present free and hospitable shores, the lad was readily put in the market of human chattels, and sold to a Virginian, the pro- ceeds to be applied to the payment of the child's fare for his captive transportation. He was then held in bondage by his purchaser until about twenty-one years of age, when he was captured by a warring tribe of Indians, and so escaped from the service of a white robber of labor to that of savages, who vied with the whites in the nefarious traffic in human beings. True, it does not appear that during his first service he suffered any abuse or wrongs beyond what is implied by involuntary service. To rob a man of the fruits of his toil appears severe and heart- less enough, and ever was a giant, inhuman wrong. As if this were not enough, a worse fate awaited the captive when once at the mercy of the Indians. By them he was held in the most abject and degrading bond- age for several years, during which period he suffered untold abuse and unnumbered tortures. His treatment, besides being that of an abject menial in the service of ignorant and cruel barbarians, was frightful and shocking beyond the power of expression. On one occasion, after a long series of tortures, his hair was all plucked from his head and eyebrows, and such other slow abuses inflicted that he lost the use of his eyes, and suffered such other misfortunes as to render him almost helpless to him- self, and largely useless to his tormentors. See him in this abject and pitiable condition, and tell us what could have been the measure of his hope! View him in the hands of a tribe whose rule was to put to death all useless captives, and then predict his ultimate fate! In his seem- ingly undone condition, if the words were ever justifiable, he might have exclaimed

"Oh, why has man the will and power To make his fellow mourn ?"

But just such crises as this sometimes in the history of nations as of men, marks the introduction to a new and better life, by building hope on the ruins of despair. So in this case. The blind captive steals away, inspired by thirst, in search of water, and after wandering about for a time hears the thrilling music of a rippling stream, which he approached, and cooled his parching lips. This done, his fever allayed, he crept aim- lessly, perhaps despairingly, away among the bushes which bordered the banks of the friendly stream. At length, in the solitude of nature, beyond sight and hearing of man, his bitterest foe, he threw himself upon the earth, and fell into a soft and soothing slumber, a sleep so kind that it brought him a dream of beauty, because a dream of liberty and strength. In that dream he was no longer blind, for blindness could

not look upon its picture of beauties and delights which he held in ado- ration. But it was a transitory joy, and he awoke to realize that "a sorrow's crown of sorrow is remembering happier things." He awoke to hear the rustling of bushes, and human voices just beyond his place of hiding. He listened, and learned he was the object of search, and that upon being discovered, being no longer of any particular use, it was the intention to put him to death. Perhaps in his forlorn condition this information was not invested with horror to himn. But it was still a ter- rible awakening from a beautiful dream of liberty and manhood. Again he listened, and heard a squaw observe that in case she found the object of the search, she would claim him as her servant, and spare his life that he might take care of her child. Perhaps he did not realize the kindness of that fate, but it presided, unconscious though he was of the fact. Perhaps he dreaded his life more than his death, and preferred to be discovered, if at all, by those who would end his misery by death, "the poor man's dearest friend, the kindest and the best." But it was not so; as it was, the squaw who intended he should live was the first to discover him, and so became the preserver of his life. Taking him to her wigwam, she at once set about the treatment of his eyes, and with that success for which the Indian medical treatment is proverbial. By the kind treatment of his preserver his eyesight was fully restored. During the period of this treatment he had been given charge of the child of his benefactress, until the red-skin child and pale-face man be- came almost inseparable companions. This companionship may have been, in fact must have been, something of a joy to the man who found in the child the first human being he had ever known who did not seek to oppress and enslave him. This manner of life continued for some time, finally culminating in a day of general sport and feasting. On this occasion, as was their custom on field days, the Indians gave them- selves over to the demoralizing influences of liquor, and became an in- toxicated mob. The captive-nurse saw another dream of liberty, but this time in his waking hours. He thought fully upon the matter, and finally resolved to make an effort to realize that dream.

Accordingly, he walked back and forth near the scene of revelry and debauchery, carrying the child in his arms, apparently concerned only about its welfare and happiness. The child was fretful, and the ruse successful, for it was not known by the Indians that the child was being tormented by pinching in order to cause the crying. Thus with his fretful, restless charge, the captive walked back and forth, each time extending his walk away from camp and captors. Finally, thinking himself unnoticed, he started on a wild flight for the nearest fort and that liberty for which he thirsted. The fort was distant several miles, but he knew its whereabouts satisfactorily enough to undertake to find it. With the child still in his arms, he hastened onward, finding presently the Indians were in hot and furious pursuit. To be overtaken was to suffer a horrible death just after his first breath of liberty. It was now a race for life itself, and clinging to the child to prevent the use of arrows by the pur- suers, who were now close upon his back, he kept up the race, and reached the fort just as he fell exhausted by his burdened flight. The occupants of the fort favored putting the child to death, but he remonstrated, declaring that as it had saved his life, its own must now be spared. He then re- stored it to its mother, but for himself declined all invitations to return with the Indians, although their offers were profuse and liberal, and possibly sincere. From that day Thomas Bailey, for the first time a free man, realized his manhood, renounced his savage life, turned his back upon a long period of bondage, and looking about him for a moment was dazzled by the glory of freedom's sunlight, and stood amazed at the realization of his brightest hope. He, the victim of piracy, slavery, and barbarism; who had bowed his head in despair, crushed in spirit, and, for a time, wrecked in body, stood forth after all an evidence of the tenacity of the life of man when put to the severest test. Turning his face to civilization, he sought the settlement of the whites in Virginia, the scene to him of so much suffering, but now the theatre in which he was to enter upon a new life, presided over by a kinder fate. Measure, if you can, the joy of the tortured slave, when in the enjoyment of " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," and when, for the first time, he realizes he is master of his fate, and recognizes the divinity of man. Thomas Bailey entered upon a new life, under new conditions, inspired by a new purpose. Reaching the settlement he plunged in active labor, and after a time was married to an estimable lady, reared a large and respectable family, and closed his eventful life surrounded by the bless- ings of liberty, prosperity, and peace.

WILLIAM and FRANCIS BAILEY.

William Bailey, a grandson of Thomas Bailey, the story of whose checkered life has just been told, was born in Virginia in the year 1785. When about twenty years of age he married Sarah Reison, a lady of Virginia, and shortly afterward came to Ohio and settled in Warren County. Here their son, Francis Bailey, was born in the year 1815. His youth was passed with his parents at his native place until he attained his majority, or in 1836, when he married Rachel Northrup, of Clinton County, and came to Montgomery County the same year, where he located and learned the milling trade. He continued at this occupation until

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

1844, when he came to this county and located on a farm in Washington Township. Here he gave his attention to farming until 1863, when he purchased a stock of dry goods and groceries at Lockington, and con- ducted a general store during the following three years. From 1866-69 he was employed in buying grain at Lockington for D. K. Gillespie, pro- prietor of the warehouse. About the latter date he became a stockholder in a company organized to construct and operate a paper mill at Lock- ington, but the project failed, and Mr. Bailey sold his interest at a heavy sacrifice. He next bought a sawmill, but soon disposed of it to his sons and retired from active work. He is now mayor of Lockington, and has in the past held the offices of township trustee, treasurer, and finally, that of land appraiser in 1880. In 1858 his first wife died, leaving eight children to mourn the loss of a mother. In 1862 Mr. Bailey married his second wife, Rosanna Boyer, the results of the marriage being one child, which died in infancy.

WILLIAM BAILEY,

a farmer, and one of the trustees of Washington Township, was born in Montgomery County, O., in 1839. He has devoted his life to farming, except three years that he was part owner of the Lockington Lumber Mills. In 1863 he married Cynthiann Valentine, a daughter of David Valentine. She was born in Shelby County in 1842. They have a family of four children, viz., Laura E., Anna M., Carrie M., and Lida. They reside on section 16, where he commenced when his land was nearly all in the woods. Beside this he has another farm of eighty acres of im- proved land.

JOHN T. BAILEY,

a son of Francis Bailey, was born in Montgomery County, O., in 1840; he is a resident of Lockington, and is engaged in the manufacture of lumber and handles. In 1868 he was married to Miss Eleanor J. Jack- son (a descendant of Edward Jackson, one of the pioneers of Shelby County). She was born in 1841.

JAMES LENOX.

The Lenox family traces back in a direct line to Scotland, although the date of immigration of the American branch of the family cannot be clearly ascertained. Still that immigration was at least prior to the Revolutionary period, for it is known that John Lenox served in the continental army throughout the war for independence. He came, then, during the colonial period, and passing through the Revolutionary war, married Rachel York and settled in Virginia at the dawn of the national period. After his death, which occurred in Virginia, his widow and family came to Ohio in search of a new home. This was in the year 1796, or seven years prior to the admission of Ohio as a State. The family on coming to the Northwest Territory, settled near that old ter- ritorial town, Marietta, which had witnessed the solemn inauguration of the first court held in "the territory northwest of the Ohio River." Here the Lenox family remained until 1811, when they sought the valley of the Great Miami and settled within the present limits of Turtle Creek Township, this date being eight years prior to the organization of Shelby County. Of this family James Lenox became one of the leading spirits in the new community, and one of the principal citizens of the new county. He was born in Virginia on the 14th of February, 1793, and was one of the children who, with his widowed mother, came to the county in 1811. He was thus here just in time, although yet young, to breathe the spirit of war, for the air was then filled with that war germ which developed the second war for independence. His father had served in the first, and he entered the second, serving throughout the campaigns of 1813 and 14 in the operations in Ohio, Michigan, and Canada. Re- turning at the close of that war, he resumed the vocations of peace, and assisted in the development of that community which was yet to erect itself into a new county. On the 12th of February, 1818, he married Sally, daughter of John and Anna (Webb) Wilson. The Wilson family had come from Virginia to Ohio at an early date, even settling in this county's limits as early as 1807. Before coming here they had settled for a time in Warren County, and it was at this place their daughter Sally was born, Jan. 1, 1803. After his marriage Mr. Lenox settled in Turtle Creek Township, on land which the family had entered in 1811. Here he lived until 1845, when he moved to Washington Township, having purchased the old John Wilson farm, which had been entered by Wilson in 1807.

From a date prior to the organization of Shelby County Mr. Lenox held a commission as justice of the peace, an office he retained for many terms in succession. At the erection of the county he became the first treasurer, having been appointed to this office by the Board of Commis- sioners on the 7th of June, 1819. He also held the various township offices, including the appraisership. He is said to have been a man of reserved manners and domestic tastes, who was greatly devoted to lite- rature, and as such a man is still highly revered by those who knew him best. Having exceeded his " threescore years and ten," he laid down the burdens of life December 9, 1865, having closely approached his seventy-third year. Though greatly enfeebled by age, and wearied by

the burdens of a toiling life, Mrs. Lenox still survives at the advanced age of seventy-nine years. The family consisted of twelve children, viz .: Emeline M . born May 19, 1819; died, 1822. Napoleon B., born June 9, 1821; died Nov. 28, 1862. Anna W, born Aug. 4, 1823 ; died Oct. 5, 1823. John W., born Sept. 21, 1824; died Sept. 12, 1851. William F., born May 25, 1827; died Oct. 17, 1865. Hamilton C., born Nov. 5, 1829; lives on homestead. Jesse W., born Jan. 22, 1832; died Aug. 26, 1864. Julia A., born April 12, 1834; resides in county. Abraham, born Aug. 5, 1837; died March 12, 1863. Hiram, born July 24, 1839; resides in Illinois. Laura L., born Dec. 23, 1841 ; resides at old home. Virgil C., born April 5, 1844; resides in Illinois. Of these, four sons were in the war of the Rebellion, one of whom died from the effects of a wound ; one from disease while in service; one after the war, from disease con- tracted in the service; while one only of the four survives, viz., Virgil C., who resides in Illinois. Hamilton C. now, together with his sister, Laura L., resides on the old homestead.

JOHN WILSON.

. The ancestry of this pioneer of Shelby County is lost in the person of his father, Jeremiah, who was a resident of Virginia prior to the period of the Revolution. It is certain he was of Irish descent, if not a native of Ireland. His son John was born in Grayson County, Va., in the year 1774, during that agitation and unrest which was nerving the infant colonies for the supreme moment which came but two years later, and saw defiance flaunted in the face of the mother country. There is nothing of moment connected with his youth, and so he is found to have re- mained at his father's home until about 1799, when he married Anna Webb, who was a native of Georgia, a lady of much refinement, and a descendant of the royal family of England. When but a child she had been entrusted to carry several military despatches of great importance during the closing scenes of the Revolution. In this capacity she won many expressions of gratitude and admiration for her sagacity and dar- ing. In 1801 Mr. Wilson, with his wife and one child, came to Warren County, Ohio, then a part of the Northwest Territory. Here he remained until March, 1807, when, with his family, consisting of his wife and three children, he came to the newer community of the north Miami, and settled within the present limits of Washington Township. Here he entered 160 acres of land in section 7, and erecting a cabin, went bravely to work to carve a farm from the almost unbounded wilderness. It could scarcely have been a cheerful task, for, aside from the arduousness of the labor incident to his situation, he found himself practically isolated from society, for he had overstepped the boundary of civilization. Still he went about his task with that determination which always wins, and directing his whole energies to the development of his home farm, he was soon enabled to reach out and acquire other lands, until, at his death, he he was able to give a farm of 160 acres to each of his children. At the organization of the county he became an active public spirit, and we find him a member of the first board of County Commissioners, which met in regular session at Hardin, June 7, 1819. During the succeeding years he devoted his time to farming and the acquisition of farm lands, and was at all times considered one of the most energetic and public spirited citizens of the county. His death occurred June 7, 1841, and was caused by the blow of a falling limb of a tree. His wife survived him until 1847, when she passed from life, and was laid by his side in the old cemetery at Hardin. Their children, three in number, were named Jesse, who was born Nov. 12, 1800; Sally, born January 1, 1803; and Hiram, born November 5, 1804.

JESSE H. WILSON.

This son of John and Anna ( Webb) Wilson was born in Grayson County, Va., November 12, 1800, and was but a few months old when his parents came to the Northwest Territory. At their removal to this county he was but seven years of age; his whole memory and all his as- sociations cling and cluster about the county upon whose sunrise he looked in his own youth, and the development and growth of which he has witnessed with ever-increasing interest. During his boyhood he helped his father on the old Turtle Creek farm. When he was about thirteen years old his father concluded to move his wife and children to a place of safety about two miles south of l'iqua, as Indian troubles had arisen, and the Garrett and Dilbone murders had been committed. Ac- cordingly Mr. Wilson took his family, and was about to leave his wife and children at the house of a man named Staller, but Mrs. Wilson, with womanly devotion and heroism, refused to remain in safety while her husband was exposed to danger, and so she accompanied him back to the frontier home. Jesse, however, was left at Stallers, but soon be- came restless, and expressed a determination to return home. Everything which could be done, was done to dissuade him, but all to no purpose, for on the third day he stole away and pursued the route to his home, which he. reached in safety, to the glad surprise of his parents. Mr. Wilson and his few neighbors had constructed a block-house on the Wilson farin, but fortunately for the infant settlement, it was never needed for protection against the Indians. Mr. Wilson was known as a very athletic and muscular man, although not above the average in size and weight.

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HISTORY OF SHELBY COUNTY, OHIO.

During the days of the old Ohio militia and the gala-day " musters " he became colonel of a regiment in which his brother Hliram was major. On November 18, 1819, he married Abigail Brodrick, of Wapakoneta, the service being performed by James Lenox, J. P., of Turtle Creek Township.

After attaining a ripe old age, Mr. Wilson passed from life July 19, 1881, carrying with him the respect and confidence of a whole community. His wife had preceded him to the grave, her death having occurred August 23, 1851, when she was mourned by a large family and an extended circle of friends.

They reared a family of thirteen children, whose names, dates of birth, and place of residence or date of death are as follows : Alfred D., born Sept 26, 1820; resides at Columbus, Kansas. John B., born August 5, 1822; died June 15, 1845. Anna, born Oct. 1, 1824; died Nov. 24, 1880. Albert, born Sept. 14, 1826; resides at Sidney. Robert, born Sept. 26, 1828; resides in Clinton Township. Hiram, born Sept. 21, 1830; resides in Boone County, Iowa. Mark, born March 2, 1832 ; resides in. Turtle Creek Township; Mehala, born December 7, 1833; died July 19, 1849. Henry C., born Sept. 26, 1835; resides in Washington Township. The- odore G , born July 14, 1838; resides at Jonesboro', Indiana. Nehennal F., born Nov. 11, 1840 ; resides in Washington Township. Cassius C., horn Feb. 16, 1843; resides in Champaign County, Illinois. Maria L., born Sept. 14, 1848; died August 9, 1851.

HENRY C. WILSON.

This son of Jesse and grandson of John Wilson was born in this county in the year 1835, and is still a resident of Washington Township, where he is a leading farmer and stock-raiser. In 1860 he married Mar- garet JJ., daughter of John and Rebecca (Shaw) Wright, who was born in this county in 1838. Their family consists of nine children, whose names and dates of birth appear as follows : Mary A., born 1860; Jesse C., 1863; Hannah A., 1865; Sallie F., 1866; Emma A., 1868; Anna M., 1870; John C., 1873; Stella M., 1876; Ralph W., 1880.

THE MELLINGER FAMILY.

Years prior to the Revolutionary war four brothers by the name of Mellinger came from Germany to America and settled in Lancaster or Westmoreland County, Pa. Some of the descendants of these four bro- thers afterward went to Kentucky. The names of three of them were Joseph, John, and David. The date of their immigration to Kentucky is not known, but we find them there as early as 1795. In 1806 these three brothers and two sisters found their way through the forests of Ohio to the present limits of Washington Township; here they entered two half sections of land on Loramie Creek. Lockington is now located on part of this land. The date of the settlement of the Mellingers in Shelby County is in some doubt : by some it is claimed that they came as early as 1806; by others, not until 1809. From the best information we can gather we are of the opinion that they came in 1806. It is well known that they were among the very first settlers in the county.

To attempt to give a history of the early settlement of these pioneers is impossible, for there are none now living who know anything of them except as tradition has handed it down from one generation to another. It is known that there were but few white settlers in this part of the State. All their trading was done in Cincinnati. There was not a road, mill, school, or church within many miles of them. Of these three bro- thers and two sisters, we can write only of the three brothers. Joseph Mellinger, the eldest of the three, was born in Pennsylvania in 1772. When or whom he married we cannot learn. He was one of the prime movers in the organization of Shelby County, and was one of the first board of commissioners of the county. Of his family we know nothing except of one son, Benj. F., who was born in 1821, and in 1841 married Eliza Vanvactor, with whom he raised a family of three children, Joseph L., Louisa F., and Sarah. Benjamin F. and his wife both died in 1849. Joseph Mellinger (sen.) died in 1840.

John, the second brother, was born in Pennsylvania about 1774, mar- ried in Kentucky about 1795, died in Shelby County-date of death not known. He was the father of Wm. Mellinger, Esq., who was born in Kentucky in 1797. He was the oldest of the family, and was raised in the woods without any advantages of schools, for it will be remembered there were no schools in his boyhood days. Yet Esq. Mellinger did not suffer himself to remain without an education, which he acquired by his own fireside with the aid of such books as he could borrow. In - he married Jane Huey. By this union they had eleven children, who grew up to their majority. Esq. Mellinger was a prominent and useful man in his county. He served as commissioner of the county for six years, and was justice of the peace of his township for more than twenty years. He died in 1869, esteemed and respected by all. His wife died in 1871.

Wm. Mellinger, Jr., a son of the above, was born in 1833, and lived with his parents during his minority. In 1855 he married Margaret Campbell, a daughter of John and Elizabeth ( Brown) Campbell, who settled in this county in 1834. Mr. and Mrs. Mellinger have a family of five children, whose names are as follows: Ida A., Olive J., Frank B., Carrie B., and

Maude. In 1872, after the death of his mother, he bought the old home- stead of his father and grandfather, where he now resides.

Allen B. Mellinger, another son of Win. Mellinger, Esq., was born in 1841. In 1861 he married Mary Rouse, a daughter of Furnam and Margaret (Silders) Rouse. They have five children, viz., Viva, Jesse, George, Grace, and Walter.

Of David, the third pioneer brother, we only know that he raised a family of ten children, all of whom have died or moved away, and only one of his descendants is left in the county, viz., Elizabeth A. Burnett.

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History of Shelby County, Ohio, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 85

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

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