History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 90

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

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in the third census of the United States, under the name of Tuscarawas Township, the true name being Tuscarora, as will be seen by con- sulting the treaties by which the territory was obtained, and the works of Francis Parkman, Jr. The first permanent settlement in the township, then, however, only known as a part of the " New Purchase," was made by two brothers, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, John and Robert Warden. They left their home in Wash- ington County, Penn., with a cart and horse, and rifles, a change of clothing, a filled straw tick and blankets and rations, to be replenished as time and chance might enable them to do so. they had forded the river where is now the northern terminus of Clay street, Massillon, and reached. in their western journey the sur- veyor's camp, at the spring on the "Section." There they made a permanent halt, and when the land came into market, entered the quarter- section now owned and occupied by David Gib. Subsequently, John purchased the interest of his brother, and lived many years on that farm, holding offices of trust and responsibility in the township, and aiding in laying the founda- tions of good order, for which the township has since been celebrated.

The third census of the United States showed, of old and young in the township, 145 inhabi- tants, nearly every man in the township being the head of a family. Their names are here given : William Henry, Seth Hunt, Daniel Hoy, Charles Hoy, Stephen Harris, John Patton, Isaae Poe, William Byal, Caspar Noll, James Eldredge, Stephen Eldredge, Thomas Eldredge, Edward Otis, Thomas Chapman, Henry Clapper, Daniel Clapper, John Clapper, Adam Lower, Peter Johnson, William Crites, Adam Grounds, George Baystone, Massum Metealf, Jacob Met- calf, Jeremiah Atkinson, Robert Warden, John Geringer, Peter Slusser, Andrew Augustine and Robert Barr. At this date, 1810, the entire population of Stark and what is now Wayne

* Contributed by Robert H. Folger.

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TUSCARAWAS TOWNSHIP.

County, was 2.731; Wayne had of that num- ber 332. and Stark 2.402. These facts are taken from the original manuscript census. furnished to the writer by the late Hon. Joseph 11. Larwill. It is proper. just here, to correct. an error into which the author of llowe's Histor- ical collections was inadvertently led in prepar- ing that valuable work.

On page 517. Mr. Ilowe says : " Wayne was established by Gov. St. Clair. August 13. 1796." and adds: " Its original limits were very extensive." and proceeds to give them. "l'is true that Gov. St. Clair. by proclamation, did enact a county called Wayne, of widely ex- tended limits. but those limits were reduced by the erecting of other counties by Gov. St. Clair. and the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, after 1802, until Gov. St. Clair's county of Wayne was in the Territory of Michigan. where it yet remains, Detroit being the county seat. On the organization of Stark County, Ohio. in 1809. the act of the General Assembly creating the county, described certain territory lying west of Stark County, but subject to its jurisdiction nntil otherwise ordered, to be called the county of Wayne. In 1812, the General Assembly of Ohio provided that that territory should thenceforth be known as a separate and distinct county, and shoukl be called Wayne County. The correctness of this statement will at once be acknowledged when it is remem- bered that it was not until the year 1805, by the treaty of Fort Industry that the Indian title to the territory west of the Tuscarawas Branch of the Muskingum was extinguished. and the I'nited States authorized to assert their author- ity over any territory west of the Tuscarawas. Under the order of the Commissioners, the township was organized as a political commu- nity, and it is much to be regretted that the ree- ords of the early organization cannot be found. The township was settled rapidly with industri- ous and useful inhabitants. They realized that "schools and the means of instruction were essential to good government." and accordingly churches and schoolhouses were erected in every neighborhood, or religious exercises were held in private houses.

From the best information that can be had. the first election in the township was held on Monday, April 1, 1810. at the house of William Henry, at which William Henry and Daniel Hoy were elected Justices of the Peace ; Ste-

phen Harris, Daniel lloy and Peter Slusser, Trustees ; Thomas Chapman and Henry Clap- per, Supervisors of Highways; Adam Lower and William Crites, Fence Viewers ; Andrew Augustine, House Appraiser ; William Henry, Treasurer ; Stephen Harris, Constable ; Peter Johnson, Township Clerk.

At this time the township embraced a large amount of territory in fractional sections adjoin- ing the river which became parts of Perry, Lawrence, Jackson and Franklin, the latter township being now the southwestern township of Summit County, as it was the northwestern township of Stark previous to 1840, when, by act of the General Assembly of Ohio, it was taken from Stark to help Summit to the consti- tutional amount of territory to make a county. Hence it will appear in many instances that the same persons were original settlers in two or more townships. For example, Stephen Harris, William Crites, Henry Clapper, Daniel Clapper and John Clapper, first settled in what is now Lawrence Township, and, except Mr. Harris, never moved away from their first entry of land west of the river, until after Lawrence was organized. in 1816. When Tuscarawas Town- ship was reduced to its legal number of sections by the organization of other townships, Mr. Harris, as appears hereafter, sold his land in Lawrence, purchased property in Tusearawas, on the hill south of Lawrence Station, on the Pittsburgh. Fort Wayne & Chicago Railway, removed into that township, and remained there until his death. lle lived to an old age, and was prominently identified with the growth and prosperity of the county, as will be seen by a personal sketch of that gentleman, of peculiar interest, derived from a source that entitles it to the highest credit.

Among the very early settlers west of the Tuscarawas River and before the organization of the township was Michael Oswalt ; the Ind- ians disturbed him and he went back to Columbiana County, but soon returned and rep- resented Stark County in the House of Repre- sentatives many years. He was an upright man, and discharged his duty according to the best of his ability. During his term of service in the llouse of Representatives, the great question of State internal improvement, by canal naviga- ble, came up, and during its preliminary stages, Mr. Oswalt voted for it. On its final passage. the hue and cry that had become general

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throughout the county against it so alarmed him that he voted against it. He lived, how- ' ever, to see the Ohio Canal opened, and naviga- ble to the now city of Massillon, when he joined in the popular feeling in its favor, and insisted that the Ohio Canal was his baby. In 1836, he sold his land in what had then be- come Perry Township, and moved to Fairfield County, where he ended his days, a respected citizen of that excellent county.

Among the survivors of the early days of the township is Alvah Wood, born at Brookfield, Clinton County, New York. May 5, 1795. This venerable gentleman is now a member of the family of William Walter, in the southern portion of the township. He never was married. By his labor and economy. he acquired a farm which now supports him comfortably. With his father, Jonathan Wood. a Revolutionary soldier, he came into the township in 1819, and. with the interegnum presently noticed. has been a resi- dent ever since, for the full period of sixty- eight years, and is believed to be the oldest ' person in the township. The writer of these sketches is indebted to him for many facts touching the early settlement of this town- ship.

In 1809, James Eldredge entered the south- west quarter of Section 25. at the land otlice at Canton, and paid all in silver. Between that period and 1813, Robert Barr entered the fractional Section, now in Perry Township, in which is located the celebrated Warming- ton Coal Mines, and. in order to facilitate the transit across the Tuscarawas River, es- tablished the fording known as " Barr's Ford- ing," near where is now the iron bridge. Robert Barr is yet remembered as a genial Irishman, whose house was never closed to the new-comer seeking a home in the then wil- derness. He was one of those who had left the land of the harp and shamrock during the re- bellion of 1798, and found a home at last in the then dense forest on the west side of the great county of Stark, now numbering its 60.000 inhabitants. He removed west. after selling his possessions in this township, and aided in build- ing up another portion of the great empire, the success of which is renowned alike in song and in story.

Another pioneer settler whose name appears in the census of 1810. was Massum Metcalf, generally called Madeap. Ile had started with

the march of civilization. lle located in what is now Lawrence Township, but did not remain, for the reason that the "county was too thickly settled ; he could hear his neighbor's dog bark, and it was so eleared up that he could not fell a tree at his door for firewood." " Wild game was plenty," says Mr. Wood, " wolves, deer, bears, wild cats and turkeys were plenty, and among the Nimrods were Charles Dongal and Solomon Wilson, who never traveled anywhere without a rifle, powder horn. shot pouch, and a sheath-knife suspended to a belt. When game was killed too large to be carried home, it was thoroughly bled, the entrails removed, and the carcass hung to a limb. and, under the common law of hunters, it was safe for the owner to call for it, with the means of tansport- ing it home. HIe who would disturb it, did so at the peril of his life, if ever found out. As the county was settled, Dongal and Wilson went where civilization had made fewer in- roads. Mr. Wood has resided in Tuscarawas Township, since 1813, excepting three or four years, when he returned cast, and remained in Vermont. He is now at the age of eighty-six, enjoying excellent health and a clear memory of many events of the carly settlement of the township. In those days there were few mills in what now constitutes the township of Frank- lin, Summit County, Lawrence, Jackson, Perry and Tuscarawas, Stark County. On Newman's Creek. in Lawrence were two. Roger's and Grundy's being the first. and they of limited capacity. Goudy's mill was ereeted in 1812, of wooden gearing, which was constructed by two young millwrights, one of whom. John Crail, died within ten years last past, and was the father of Mrs. Fletcher. of Massillon. When the young men reached the Tuscarawas River, on their way to their job. the ferryman pro- posed to charge them 50 cents each for carrying them across. Unwilling to pay such a price, they waded the river and carried their tools and saved their money. After finishing their job for Col. Gondy. they went to Kendal. and, in 1814. built the dam across Sippo Creek, which supplied the water for the mill of Capt. Mayhur Folger, referred to in the History of Perry Township. Mr. Crail was well known to the writer, as an upright and useful citizen, who life-long contributed his share to the common weal. The mill he built for Col. Goudy passed through many owners, was repaired and iron

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TUSCARAWAS TOWNSHIP.

machinery put in, and finally destroyed by fire a few years since.

The first licensed minister of the Gospel in the township was the Rev. Edward HI. Otis, a Baptist, who settled in the southern portion of the township prior to 1810, as his name ap- pears in the census for that decennial period, and who had the stated preaching of the Gos- pel at the houses of the five neighbors in that portion of the township. The second minister who came into the township was the Rev. James Dixon, who was appointed to Tuscarawas circuit, Nov 1. 1810, the district being known as Muskingum District of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, the conference being known as the Western Conference ; and since the coming of the Rev. James Dixon, the township has never been without preaching by some minister of that church.

Elder Otis was born in Massachusetts in 1766, was a son of Stephen Otis, who was a Major on the staff of Gen. Joseph Warren, when Gen. Warren fell at the battle of Bunker Hill, Maj. Otis being also severely wounded recovering from his wounds he was attacked by small pox. which carried him off. Gen. Elder Otis' wife, Mary. was born April 18, 1770. Their family was Lois Otis, married to Thomas Eldridge ; Ezekiel Otis, married to Widow Stansbury ; Jesse Otis, married to Charlotte Davy ; Phebe Otis, married to George All- man ; Mary Otis, married to William Harding, well remembered as a wagon-maker in Kendal, in Perry Township, in 1826; Merrill Otis, mar- ried to Hannah Piersoll ; Edward Otis, mar- ried to Sarah Shul b ; Marilla Otis, who was mar- ried to James Kilgore, a son of William Kilgore. On the death of Marilla, Mr. Kilgore married Miss Olive Dean, of the Pigeon Run settle- ment. Elder Otis organized the first Baptist Church in Stark County, and which, as nearly as can be ascertained. was known as Pigeon Run Baptist Church. Among the members were Curtis Downs, Jacob Cox, his family and sister. Jonathan Wood and his family of six or seven, Thomas, Charles and John Rigdon, and their families, cousins of Elder Sidney Rigdon, who afterward became prominent as a Mormon Elder. They also had a cousin George, a plain, blunt man, whose integrity of character compelled him to speak ont just what he thought, no matter who might be hit and hurt. On one occasion, at a meeting of Elder Otis'

church and congregation, for prayer and con- ference, the Elder called on the brethren and sisters present to tell their religious experience. George had taken a seat in a remote corner of the room and listened attentively to the tribu- lations, trials and wrestlings with the adversary, of those who spoke, and finally the Elder said to him, " Brother Rigdon, haven't you some- thing to tell us concerning what the Lord has done for you since our last meeting ?" George sprang to his feet and in his peculiar manner said, " Brother Otis, I'll be dang'd if I came here to lie," and immediately sat down. The Elder made a closing prayer and dismissed the congregation.

Death and removals have long since scat- tered the Pigeon Run Baptist Church. The history of this township immediately following its organization is strongly marked by the in- coming of the Presbyterian clement, among whom were Ebenezer Shaw, John Warden, his brother Robert Warden (who now became per- manent settlers), William Johnson, Nathaniel McDowell, John Forsythe, Archibald Steele, James Irvin, Robert Noble, Daniel Hoy, Charles Hoy. Robert MeDowell, James McDowell, Will- iam Donahey, the Tiltons, MeFaddens, Evanses, Fultons and Lytles. Col. John McDowell, who afterward moved into Sugar Creek Township, Wayne County, as did William Erwin. There were a number of families by name of Porter, from Western Pennsylvania, who settled west of the river, who, when Lawrence Township was organized in 1816, found themselves in that township, where they remained.

Ebenezer Shaw will be remembered with all the other Presbyterians named, as one of the true men of Tusearawas Township. He came into the new territory of Stark County with Robert Latimer and Daniel C'arter, in 1806, and entered land about four miles east of the now city of Canton. On that farm Mr. Shaw had two sons born-James and Abraham F. James studied for the ministry, and was called to the church at Windham, Portage County. Shortly after, he was ordained, and if the memory of the writer be not at fault, he remained the Pas- tor over that church until his death, a few years since. He was an early graduate of Western Reserve College, and spent a long and faithful life in his Master's service. He was born in 1807, and at his death had nearly or quite filled out the threescore and ten years allotted

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to man, His brother, Abraham F. Shaw, re- sides at Savannah, Ashland County, at the age of seventy, and is one of the worthy citizens of that county, deservedly enjoying the esteem and confidence of a large circle of friends, Many of the early Scotch-Irish Presbyterians settled in the northern part of the township, by means of which the neighborhood took the name of Dublin, a name the school-district bears to. day, and Dublin Schoolhouse is a historie land- mark. The elder stock of the MeDowells has of course passed away, but with all the rest of that class, including the Erwins, they left a name the excellence of which is transmitted to their posterity. Most of them moved into the town- ship about the same time, 1815 and 1816. On getting into the township and providing a house of the rudest kind for their families, their next care was to see to it that a house for re- ligions worship should be creeted, previous to which the preaching was at Mr. Shaw's in the winter, and in the summer at Mr. Daniel Hoy's barn. The first Presbyterian preacher was Rev. James Adams, from Dalton, Wayne County. The Presbyterian Church of Pigeon Run was organized in 1820, although it is somewhat cer- tain that a church edifice was built much earlier on Mr. Shaw's land, as Robert Noble assisted in hewing the logs, of which it was built, in 1816. On the organization of the church in 1820, which was done in the barn of Ebenezer Shaw, William Johnson, Nathaniel McDowell and Ebenezer Shaw were chosen Ellers. At this time, Rey. Archibald Hanna was Pastor of Mount Eaton, Fredericksburg and Pigeon Ron Churches, one-third of the time being devoted to each, at a salary of $400, one-half to be paid in wheat, at 50 cents per bushel. That portion allotted to the Pigeon Run congregation, to be paid in wheat. was to be delivered at Mr. Shaw's ; from there Mr. Hanna had it hauled to market, and sold it at 40 cents, taking pay in such articles as merchants would give in ex- change. for in those days wheat would not com- mand money at any price, nor did it command money until 1829, after the opening of naviga- tion on the canal, the market being at the new city of Massillon.

Mr. Shaw donated three acres of his land for a church and burial place. or, in the lan- guage of those days, a " burying ground," on which the hewed log edifice was erected, and nsed summer and winter. without a stove.

"There we sat," says Abraham F. Shaw, Esq., in a late letter to the writer of these reminiscences, "in the winter time, during a long service of about two hours. trembling with cold, and the preacher trembled too. The word of the Lord was precious in those days." After Rev. Mr. Hanna, came Rev. James Snodgrass, who is supposed to be the last settled minister over that congregation. Ile came from Jefferson County, and died while discharging the duties of the pastorate at that church. Death and I removals have sent that church out of existence. In a further account of the manner in which the preaching of the Gospel was delivered to the Presbyterians then, Mr. Shaw says: "After some time, the people were able to buy a stove and as much pipe as would reach through the gallery floor. The smoke all remained in the house. It was hard to tell which was the more endurable, the smoke or the cold."

The first school taught in that neighborhood was taught by Adam Johnson. He taught in a small house with a large fire-place and greased paper windows, on Section 16. The teacher's knowledge was limited, and the branches he taught were few. The shorter cat- cchism was learned, and had to be recited every Saturday afternoon, by the whole school.

First, and prominent among the settlers of this township, was Andrew Poe, and was elected a Justice of the Peace at the second Justice's election. Mr. Poe's remote paternal ancestor immigrated to this country in 1745, from the Palatinate, and settled on Antietam Creek, Md., where his wife died. He was afterward murdered by one of his teamsters on the road between his home and Baltimore. He left four children :

1. George Poe, who inherited his father's estate, and when the war of the Revolution broke out, he remained loyal to the British cause.

II. Andrew Poe, born in the Palatinate, in 1739; came to this country with his parents, and, some time after his father's death. went further west, to what is now Washington County, Penn. He was in the Army of the Revolution, married and had a family. Some of his descendants are now living in Ravenna. Portage Co. Ile was engaged in the fight with Big Foot and his band of Wyandots, in 1782, at the mouth of Tomlinson's Run, on the Ohio River, in Han- cock County. W. Va. He was the person who had the individual fight with Big Foot and one other Indian, and not Adam, as usually stated.

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TESCARAWAS TOWNSHIP.

111. C'atharine Poe was born in the Palat- inate, and came to this country with her parents. She subsequently joined her brother in Wash- ington County. Penn. But little is known of her history.

IV. Adam Poe, born 1715. at sea. while the family was on its way to this country. Some time after his Father's death, he also joined his brother Andrew. in Washington County. Penn. He married Elizabeth Cochran, who was born in February. 1756, on the northwest coast of Treland, whose first husband -Cochran- was killed by Indians, on the Ohio River, opposite East Liverpool. Ohio. Adam was also in the fight with Big Foot, and was the person who actually shot that Indian. He died September 23, 1838, at the age of 93. at the house of his son Andrew Poe, in this township. and is buried at Sixteen Church. His widow died in the same house. December 27. 1811. aged eighty- eight years and ten months, and is buried by his side. They had several children, among whom was AAndrew Poe, born November 12, 1780. in Washington County. Penn., who married. Sep- tember 8, 1803. Naney Hoy, born June 6. 1779. in York County, Penn .. the daughter of Charles lloy. They settled in Columbiana County. Ohio, and, in 1812, the family moved to Tusca- rawas Township. Stark Co., where he died, August 12. 1851, aged seventy years and nine months. in the same house where his father and mother died. and was buried at .Sixteen Church." His wife died in the same house. March 29, 1865. aged eighty-five years, nine months and twenty-three days. They had children :

I Il. Sarah and Adam Poe, twins, born July 12. 1804 in Columbiana County, Ohio. Sarah married John Montgomery, of the same county ; had several children. and is dead. Adam married and had three children. Ile was a well-known Methodist preacher and D. D .. and died some years since, at Cincinnati, being at the head of the " Methodist Book Concern" in that city. at that time .*

III. Elizabeth. born March 20. 1806. in Columbiana County. married John Gaver, of the same county, and had children. They went to the Southwest, and she is now dead.

IV. Charles, born September 26. 1507. in Columbiana County, Ohio; married in Stark County, Ohio, May 31. 1831, to Susanna War- ner, born November 5. 1817, at Loudon. Frank- lin Co., Penn. He died in Coshocton County. December 14, 1852, and his widow died March 21. 1881. in Stark County. Ohio. They had five children :

1. Orlando Metcalf. born March 7. 1832. on the farm now owned by Hon. Thomas W. Chapman. in Bethlehem Township, in this county : entered the United States Military Academy. at West Point, September, 1852. from the district then composed of Knox. Coshocton and Holmes Counties; graduated June. 1856. and was appointed a Lieutenant in the corps of topographical engineers, where he remained until March, 1863. when, by the consolidation of that corps with the corps of engineers, he became a Captain in the resulting organization, and a Major March 7. 1867. He was brevetted Major July 6, 1861. for gallant services at the siege of Knoxville. Tem .: Lieutenant-Colonel. September 1, 1864. for gallant services in the capture of Atlanta, Ga .; Colonel. Dec. 21, 1861. for gallant services in the capture of Savannah ; Brigadier General, March 13, 1865. for gallant and meritorious services, terminating with the surrender of the insurgent army. under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. He also hold the following appointments in the volunteer service during the war: Colonel Second Michigan Infantry. from September 16. 1861. to November 29. 1862, and Brigadier General of volunteers from November 29. 1862. to March 1. 1863. Also, the following staff appointments: Chief Topographical Engi- neer Department of the Ohio during the cam- paign of Gen. MeClelland. its Commander, in W. Virginia. May 13. to July 25. 1861. Rich Mount- ain campaign. Chief Engineer Department of the Ohio. commanded by Gen. Burnside September 27. to December 15, 1863, during which he con- ducted the defensive operations at the siege of Knoxville, Tenn .: Chief Engineer on the staff of Gen. Sherman. Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi, from April 3. 1861, to June 29. 1865. covering the Atlanta campaign. the march to the sea. and the campaign of the Carolinas, and was in the following actions: battle of Rich Mountain. W. Va .. July 11. 1-61; fight at Lowinsville. Va .. September. 1561 : siege at Yorktown. Va., April 5 to May I. 1562 ; battle of Williamsburg. Va .. May 5. 1862; battle of

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History of Stark County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 90

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