History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 89

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1060

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During the early years of the settlement in Paris Township the inhabitants were compelled to make extensive journeys to get their grain ground. To go twenty or thirty miles through unbroken forests was no small undertaking, and as each grist was ground in the order of its reception at the mill. the trip often con- sumed days of valuable time. These disad- vantages and ineonvenienees originated many "ways and means" of providing meal for family use. It is said that "necessity is the mother of invention," and the straits in which the pioneer often found himself led to many rude modes and expedients to enable him to get along at all. One of his inventions was the " stump mortar," which was made by burning a cavity in the top of a stump. A spring pole was then arranged, to the end of which the pestle was attached, when the mechanism of the primitive " flouring establishment" was complete. The unfortunate individual who furnished the motive power for this rude ap- plianee realized the Scriptural injunction, " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Other modes resorted to were the coffee-mill and the grater. At last, when a little mill was built in Osnaburg hy Jacob Kitt, which was operated by oxen on a "tread wheel," it was considered a great benefit to the community, and Kitt as a benefactor of his kind. The first grist-mill built in what is now the township of Paris was built by Rudolph Bair, on Black Stream, about the year 1814-15. It was a two-story frame building, with two run of buhrs. The history of this mill is somewhat

Jacob Schmachtenbergen

505

PARIS TOWNSHIP'.

eventful. It passed into possession of Daniel Bair. upon the death of his father, and at his death to Benjamin Roop, who sold it to John P. Myers. The water supply. never very strong, finally failed. and the mill was abandoned and a steam mill erected near by. which a few years later was sold by Myers to a man named Greiner, who eventually removed it to Stras- burg. Bair also built a saw-mill on Black Stream, a few years before erecting the mill just described. A grist-mill and saw-mill were built in 1820, by John Whiteacre, which were for years known as the " Whiteaere Mills." He also kept a distillery in connection, which fur- nished fighting whisky to the surrounding population. Other mills were built in adjoin- ing neighborhoods, and the trouble of the early settler in this direction was forever removed. Peter Oyster opened a tanyard, the first in the township. It was a small affair, but found of considerable convenience to the community at that early day.

Paris Township has excellent railroad com. munication. as it is tapped by two already com- pleted lines, with a flattering prospect of another. The roads, which are mentioned in the opening of this chapter. have been of great benefit to the township. and brings the best markets of the country to the very doors of the people. The oll Sandy and Beaver Canal also passed through Paris. It was built during the great "internal improvement " fever, and extended from Glasgow, on the Ohio River. to Bolivar, in Tuscarawas County, and on the Ohio Canal. It was abandoned some thirty years ago, but still remains as a part of the | drainage system of the country through which it passes.

Much of the early history of Paris Township is very elosely connected with the little village of Paris, laid out in an early day, and will be given under that head. The first religious meetings were held there and the first church organized there. also the first store and first post office were kept within its limits, together with many other items of interest that occurred in that immediate vicinity, which will be men- tioned in their places.

As stated in the beginning of this chapter, Paris Township was originally a part of Osna- burg. It was organized into an independent township. on the 1st of April, 1818. At a meeting of the County Commissioners, who

were then composed of John Sluss, William Alban and John Saxton, held on that day. the records show that " Rudolph Bair presented a petition for the incorporation of a new town. ship, by the name of . Paris.' now a part of Os- naburg. signed by himself and others, and that the election of township officers be held on the 1Ist inst., at the town of Paris, in said town- ship." At the election referred to, Thomas Deweese and Samuel Bosserman were elected Justices of the Peace. The following incident is related of Bosserman. one of those early representatives of the law. le accepted his commission with considerable misgiving as to his ability to discharge the duties, and his first case, it is said. so " befuddled " his mind that he resigned the office in disgust. As no one else could be found in the township willing to accept it. Daniel Burgert. a resident of Osna- burg Township, agreed to remove into Paris on condition that they would elect him, which agreement was faithfully carried out. and Mr. Burgert clothed formally with the dignity of office. As the early records of the township are destroyed, any further roster of the early officers is not to be obtained. Previous to the formation of Paris Township, its citizens voted at Osnaburg, but this movement brought the war into Africa, or. in other words. gave them a voting place of their own. The township has furnished its quota of talent for engineering the affairs of the county. Its first public ser vant was Gen. John Angustine, who was elected Sheriff in 1820 and served until 1824, when he was elected to the State Senate, in which body he served eight years. Rudolphus Martin served as a Representative one term : Arnold Lynch, Recorder three terms, from 1937 to 1843 : Isaiah Estep, Commissioner one term, and John W. Greenwood was appointed Asso- ciate Judge of Common Pleas Court, in ISE2. serving seven years. Thus it will be seen that Paris has furnished some of the brains of the county, as well as a good deal of the bone and sinew.

Of the first births, deaths and marriages, we have but little record or data from which to glean information. Thomas Deweese. Jr., a son of one of the early settlers, was born in Feb ruary, 1808. and is supposed to have been the first-born of what is now Paris Township. The cabin in which his father's family then lived was neither "chinked " nor " danbed."

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HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY.

nor had it any floor, except mother Earth. Such were some of the hardships of pioneer life. The first couple to embark in a matrimonial venture was John Bair and Catharine Henning. Since the solemnization of their nuptials. many have gone and done likewise. Of the first death we were unable to obtain any informa- tion.

The first physician was Dr. Robert Estep, who came from Pennsylvania, and settled in Paris in ISIS. The following is related of him : " IJe had served an apprenticeship as a silversmith, but soon abandoned the business. for the study of medicine, for which he exhib- ited more than ordinary aptitude. Thrown upon his own resources for pecuniary aid. he was unable to attend medical lectures, but, like the majority of practitioners of that day, in the West, set up in the business without having obtained the decree of M. D. He very soon acquired quite a reputation, not only as a suc- cessful practitioner, but as a bold and skillful operator in surgery. Twice he performed the Cesarean section, the only physician in the county who ever attempted the operation. Hle left in 1834, removing to Canton, and was suc- ceeded by Dr. Preston.

Conrad Henning was the first blacksmith in the township, and was here as early as 1811. For several years he did all the work in this line for the entire community.

During the war of 1812, many of the able- bodied male citizens of Paris volunteered, or were drafted into the service. Among them were Samuel and Jacob Thoman, and Jacob Augus- line. While Augustine was at Detroit, there was a call for volunteers to go on a perilons expedition to Mackinaw, and he was the first to offer his services. He assisted in building the fort at that place, and was in an engagement ! with the English forces, August 14, 1814, under Col. Colgrove. His immediate commander was Maj. Roller, of Columbiana County .* These citizen soldiers participated in many of the battles of the war. and, in all. acquitted themselves with credit. The township has always been patriotie to the core. In the great rebellion its record is glorious, and worthy the great State, of which it is a part. During the existence of the okl Militia Law of the State all able-bodied men between the ages of eighteen and forty-five. were compelled to turn

out on certain days to " muster." Paris sup- ported a fine company of this "cornstalk" militia, who always participated in the gen- eral musters, and received many merited com- pliments for their fine appearance and ex- cellent discipline. Their officers were John Unkefer, Captain ; David Unkefer, Lientenant, and John Henning, Ensign.

The canse of education received the atten- tion of the people of Paris in an early period of its history. The first school in the town- ship of which we have any account, was taught in the winter of 1810-11, by Thomas Deweese, in a log house of Jasper Daniel's, his father- in-law. The next school was taught by Con- rad Henning. in a building put up especially for school purposes, and was the first temple of learning erected in the township. It stood on Section 4, on land owned by Jacob Motts, and was of the regular pioneer pattern, viz., log structure, elap-board roof, stick chimney, puncheon or slab floor, greased-paper windows, etc., etc. Rapid strides have been made in ad- vancing the cause of learning in the last fifty or sixty years, as the following statistics from the Board of Education will show :

Balance on hand September 1. 1879 $943 54

State Tax . 687 00

Irreducible fund 135 76

Local tax for school and school-

house purposes. 2,1tt 32

Total $3,877 3t

Amount paid teachers. $1,810.00

Fuel and other contingent ex-

penses 185.72

Total expenditures $2,295 72

Balance on hand September 1, 1880 $1,581 59

Number of schoolhouses in the township 8

Value of school property $6,700 00

Number of teachers employed-Males, 10; Females 7. . . 17

Average wages paid teachers-Males .. .. .

$38 00

Average wages paid teachers-Females. . 18 00

Number of pupils enrolled-Males, 190; Females, 187 371

Average monthly enrollment-Mates, 128; Females, 142 270

Average daily attendance - Males, 97; Females. 101 201

The following incident, which occurred in this township, may be read with some inter- est, and is from a communication recently pub- lished in the Canton Repository: "A very sin-

* Canton Democrat.

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PARIS TOWNSHIP.

gular circumstance occurred in Paris Township not many years ago, that should be mentioned. Mr. Carr and wife, of Wayne County, were traveling in a one-horse buggy, east on the State Road. It was in summer, and on a still day ; not a breath of air stirring. A short dis- tance beyond the town of Paris, as they were passing a dead tree standing by the roadside, it fell, without warning, directly across the buggy, crushing the vehicle and both occupants to the earth, killing them instantly. The horse broke away, was caught by a neighbor who happened to be on the road. taken back, and the couple found as described ; though yet warm. there were no signs of life. A sad end- ing of an anticipated pleasure trip. The mel- ancholy event created quite a sensation in the neighborhood. and was the subject of comment and speculation for a long time after." In the " midst of life we are in death," and the ways of Providence are inserutable.

The township of Paris is well supplied with villages, but all of them put together would searcely make a respectable town in point of population. The village of Paris was the first projected city. and dates its origin back only sirty-right years. It is located on the north- cast corner of Section 8, and is supposed to have been laid out by Rudolph Bair, December 22. 1813. It was surveyed and duly platted by Daniel L. MeClure, July 1. 1816, and recorded in the Recorder's office the September follow- ing. The State road passed through it, or by it, which gave it considerable prominence, as that road was then the great thoroughfare of travel through the country. The stages that ran over the State road changed horses here, which further contributed to its notoriety. The first tavern in the place was kept by one John Unkefer, who is described as a jolly, good fellow, and as belong- ing to that class of landlords who could spin a good yarn and furnish a square meal. which gave his house, as well as the town, a wide- spread reputation. He kept the stage stand, and while the horses were being changed. the passengers were fed by the hospitable landlord. About stage time, everybody gathered around the door of the old log tavern to see the stage come in, just as the boys of the present day gather at the railroad depot at train time to disgust decent people, in trying to see who can swear the biggest oaths, chew the most tobacco, squirt the greatest quantity of tobacco juice

and use the most obscene language. As the stage rattled up with the " blowing of the horn and the prancing of the steeds," the people stood round. open-mouthed, ready to pick up any stray scrap of news from the outside world. The first store in the town was kept by Samuel Putnam. llis stock would, at the present time, be considered rather limited. but the wants of the people were confined to a few actual necessaries. Hlad their desires extended beyond this, they had not the means to indulge them, as money was scarce and not easily at- tainable. Putnam finally sold his stock and good-will to Robert Alexander, A man named Daniel Burgert, mentioned elsewhere as one of the early JJustices of the Peace, engaged next in the mercantile business. Ile carried on an extensive trade and did a considerable busi- ness, dealing largely in horses and cattle. He was the first Postmaster of the town, and as such was commissioned August 12, 1822. The fate of Mr. Burgert was involved in some mys- tery, and is thus related by those who are familiar with the circumstances: "It was in 1833, that, having some business in Steuben- ville, he started to go there on horseback. The next morning, after leaving home, he was found dead in a saw-mill race in Jefferson County. The supposition of many was, that during the night, which was very dark. he had mistaken the mill for the bridge, and was killed in falling off. By others, he was believed to have been robbed and murdered, as it was well- known that he frequently carried large sums of money on his person. The mystery remains unsolved to the present day."

After the laying-out of Paris by Mr. Bair, his next move was to find a name worthy of the town whose foundation he had just laid. He chose the name of Paris, but wherefore, we are unable to say ; whether it was for Paris, the son of Priam, whose judgment on Mount Ida, in favor of the beauty of Venus, obtained for him the promise of llelen, whom he afterward carried off from the house of her husband, thereby involving Troy in dames, or whether for Paris, the beautiful city of the plain, the great metropolis of the fashionable world, or whether in the " eternal fitness of things" all objects must have a name, is now unknown and of little moment to the reader. It was chris- tened Paris, and by that name it is still called. Shortly after the town was platted, Bair donated

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HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY.

two acres of land within its limits to the Ger- man Reformed and Lutheran Congregations for a church and cemetery. Upon this lot a log build- ing was erected at a very early day, and used both as a schoolhouse and a church, and in it John Augustine taught the first school. Among the first ministers who preached in it were the Revs. Mahuesmith and Hewett, who were itin- erants. Revs. Weir and Faust, from Canton, were the first regular preachers. A cemetery was laid out adjoining the church, in which a child of Robert Stewart was the first burial. The old log church has been replaced by one in keeping with the time, and the cemetery has become rather densely populated. The Presby- terian denomination occupy the Lutheran Church, and the Methodists have a church of their own, which was built in 1873. The pres- ent business ontlook of Paris is two dry goods stores, one drug store, one provision store, two hotels. one wagon and carriage factory, one wagon factory, two paint shops, two harness shops. three boot and shoe shops, two black- smith shops, one meat market, one planing mill (built in 1880), one saw mill. one grist mill, one vinegar factory. etc., etc.

Minerva is the largest village in the town- ship. It is in the southeast corner, on Section 36, and lies about one-third in Carroll County. It has communication with the outside world by means of the Tuscarawas Branch of the Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, and the Con- notten Valley Narrow-Gauge Railroad ; it also has the benefit (?) of a projected road, known as the " Steubenville. Canton & Cleveland Rail- road." The place has a fine water-power in the Sandy River or Creek, and the old Sandy & Beaver Canal, which is, to some extent, utilized - - by mills and other industries of the village. Minerva was laid out about the year 1835, by John Pool and John Whiteacre, who, to give it prominence, perhaps, and to make it a success- ful competitor of Paris, which had already been booming for several years, called it by the clas- The Minerva' Union Agricultural Fair Asso- ciation has its grounds here. An annual fair is held, and occasionally a horse fair in the early summer. This interest, however, is fully given in the chapter on geology and agriculture. Since the town sprang into existence, it has enjoyed the luxury of several newspapers at different periods, which were established and sical name of Minerva, the danghter of Jupiter, who, it is said, sprung from his brain " fully ! armed and equipped." just after he (Jupiter) had swallowed his fran. Metis. Minerva was the goddess of wisdom and the patron saint of lit- erature ; and in this respect, her namesake ou the banks of the raging Sandy very closely re- sembles her, as evidenced by their support of | flourished, some of them, but for a brief while, the history of Stark County. and then passed away "among the things that

The first house erected in the village was built by John Whiteacre, about the time the town was laid out. Ile erected a grist mill in 1836, which received its motive power from the Sandy Creek, and was the first mill in the vil- lage. The first store was kept by a man named Tabor, who opened a small stock of goods about 1836. He was followed by John Christ- mas and John Pool, who managed the mercan- tile business for some time. Bennett Perdue built a house in 1835, in which he began keep- ing tavern, and for several years it was the only public house in the place. A post office was established February 8, 1828, and John Pool was commissioned as Postmaster.

The Disciples, or Christians, organized the first church in the village of Minerva, and erected the first church building, but at what precise date we were unable to learn. It still retains the strongest membership of either of the four churches in the village. Besides this church, the Presbyterians, Methodists and Lutlı- erans have organized societies, and each have a good, comfortable temple of worship. They are all supplied by able pastors, are well sup- ported, and have large membership and flour- ishing Sunday schools. The Masons organized a lodge years ago, as Brown Lodge, No. 235, but, from some cause, interest in it waned to such an extent, that in the summer of 1880, it suspended work, and its charter was returned to the Grand Lodge. The Odd Fellows, too, had a lodge here at one time, but it has also become extinct. The school building of Mi- nerva, which is a large and commodious edifice, is located in that part of the town lying in Car- roll County. It forms a special district, and the school is graded, a movement which was accomplished in 1879, through the exertions of the present able Principal and Superintendent, Prof. S. D. Cameron. The teachers, besides Prof. Cameron, are S. D. Sanor, Eva 11. Perdue and Lizzie M. Morrison.

George Myant

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PARIS TOWNSHIP.

were." The last venture in the "art preserva- tive" is the Minerva Monitor, which issued its initial number May 20, 1881. and is edited and published by D. B. Sherwood. It is a four-page paper. with eight columns to a page, and is well filled with reading matter, and a good display of advertisements. It should receive the hearty support of the citizens of Minerva and the sur- rounding country. The first paper in Minerva, was established by William Morris, but did not last long. This was followed by the Minerva Commercial, established in 1869, by R. E. Wat- son. In March. 1872. the Weaver Brothers became the proprietors. and in 1877 the paper was discontinued. From this time the village was without a paper until the recent establish- ing of the Monitor.

The commercial and social interests of Mi- nerva, as mirrored at present, show the follow- ing cast: A large flouring mill. owned and operated by Davis Brothers ; a planing mill, by T. D. Yost ; car-shops (a private enterprise), carried on by Pennock Brothers, doing a large and profitable business ; general repair shops, hy A. B. Chaffey & Co .: four general stores ; two millinery stores ; two drug stores: two hardware stores ; one jewelry store ; one furni- ture store; one bank; a schoolhouse : four churches ; a post office ; one newspaper and four hotels. Mr. G. F. Yengling, a prominent business man. is putting up quite an elegant little opera house, and several other business

blocks are in the course of construction, which will add materially to the attractiveness of the town.

Robertsville, or Robardsville, was laid out in 18.12. It is situated on Section 19, and has the advantage of Black Stream as a "water high- way." and the Connotton Valley Railway, which passes through. It was laid out by Joseph Robard, a Frenchman, who bought the land upon which it stands, from Samuel Rhodes, an early settler in the vicinity. Samuel Young kept the first tavern in the place. A post office was established in December. 1862. and Peter Adolph commissioned as Postmaster. There are two churches in the village, Catholic and Reformed. The former was built some twenty Years ago, and the latter about 1875 76. The business consists of two dry goods stores, one grocery store, and a number of shops, a steam saw mill and a planing mill, a churn mannfac- tory and a schoolhouse. A new schoolhouse will be built during the present summer, 1831.

New Franklin is situated in the northeast corner of Seetion 12. and has never been regu- larly laid out as a town. It consists of a small collection of houses, and has a Methodist Church, and a Lutheran Church and cemetery, a schoolhouse and a store, with the usual com- plement of shops of different kinds, generally found in a hamlet of its proportions. A post office was established in February. 1832. with Jesse Shoard as Postmaster.

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HISTORY OF STARK COUNTY.

CHAPTER XXIV .*

TUSCARAWAS TOWNSHIP-DESCRIPTION AND BOUNDARIES-THE ROLL OF EARLY SETTLERS_ FIRST CENSUS-SCHOOLS AND EARLY TEACHERS-CHURCHES-THE POE FAMILY - POST OFFICES, ETC.

O N the fifth day of March, 1810, the Com- missioners of Stark made the following entry on their journal : "On the petition of sundry inhabitants of that part of Canton and Plain Townships lying west of the Tuscarawas River, was organized into a township called Tuscarawas, and it was ordered. that the first election be held on the first Monday of April, 1810." The limits of the township, as do those of all the other townships south of the Western Reserve, include thirty-six sections of 640 acres each, or 23,040 acres each, and it may be well said of the township that for mineral and agri- cultural resources. it has no superior in the county.

Following in the wake of the " New Pur- chase," as the territory west of the Tuscarawas Branch of the Muskingum was called, immi- gration commeneed into that territory in 1807. The surveys were commenced in that year. and concluded by William Henry, Joseph H. Larwill, Jobn Larwill and John Harris. Among the first lands entered in the township, was Section 10; this was entered by John Barr, and by him sold to Jacob Bowman, Esq., after- ward President of the Monongahela Bank of Brownsville, Penn., and by his heirs, or the im- mediate grantees of his heirs, to James Bayliss, Esq., and is as fine a body of land as is in the county. Having been kept in an unbroken body for years, it is known all over the town- ship as the "Section."

During the time of the making of the sur- veys on the west side of the Tuscarawas River, settlements were made there more rapidly than in the west. That portion of the county was known as a part of Canton and Plain, as late as the organization of the township, and such was the weight of population that the county had been entered but one year, when the peo- ple petitioned for a separate township, and ob- tained their organization, so as to be included

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History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 89

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1060

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892? ed
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1060