History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 108

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104

USA > Ohio > Summit County > History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio > Part 108

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HISTORY OF SUMMIT COUNTY.

but a few years, and then removed to near San- dusky City.

William Triplet, who was the second settler of the township if Cruzen was the first, appeared about 1807. By the statements of John Buch- tel and Mrs. Sarah Warner, he came several years previous to 1809 (the year John Kepler located in the township). William was the son of Joseph Triplet, who also settled in Green with his family a short time after his son did. Joseph was born in England, and for many years followed the sea as a captain's cook. By his first wife he had three children-Hetty, John and Charles ; they did not remove to Green with the father. The two sons left for the West before their father did, and were never heard of afterward. Joseph's second wife was a Miss Drake, of Maryland. He followed butchering in Baltimore, then moved to South Branch, Va., where his daughter Hetty married a man named Wolf. Joseph removed to Pennsylvania, then located for a short time in Ohio, near Steuben- ville, and afterward in Green Township. This old gentleman must have spent much of his time moving ; he finally died about the year 1825, aged seventy-one, at the residence of his son William, in Coventry Township. He dressed in buckskin, with coat. pantaloons and vest of that material ; wore moccasins on his feet and a fur cap, made from wild-cat, otter or raccoon skin, on his head. By his second wife, Joseph had eight children, all of these were early set- tlers of Green Township. They were William, the first or second settler of Green ; James died in Coventry ; Polly, married Simeon Payne and removed to Licking County ; Abraham, settled in De Kalb County, Ind .; Betsy, married Jonathan Potts, and they moved West ; Sallie, married Samuel Hanes, they settled in Brimfield Township ; Solomon, who traveled with a cir- cus at an early day, and afterward located in Licking County ; Jacob moved to Indiana. These eight children of Joseph Triplet are all dead. Many incidents are related in regard to this family. When they first located in Green Township, they had to secure all supplies at Steubenville, and secured their grist at a mill on the Sandy River, until the old " tub-mill " was built at Middlebury. It is said that Will- iam Triplet would plow all day with his horse, and turn it out to pasture at night, but the wolves being very troublesome, it was neces- sary to guard the animal, and Triplet would

lay down near the animal with his rifle, remain- ing all night near the faithful beast, in order to protect it. One day the Triplets heard their pigs squealing, and when William visited the pen to investigate matters, he discovered a bear walking off with a fine article of bacon ; Bruin always relished pork meat, and never failed to make the settlers uneasy in regard to the safe- ty of their winter supply. An Indian squaw paid a visit to the Triplet family on one occa- sion, and greatly admired the dress worn by little John Triplet ; the effect of her covetous- ness was that she stripped the white child, and adorned her own papoose with the stolen clothing. William once shot at a deer and missed it ; he followed the animal for a short distance, and was suddenly confronted by an Indian, who exclaimed, " Whoa ! see me buck ?" This unexpected appearance of the native who desired information in regard to " his buck " cooled the ardor of the white deer-hunter, and he relinquished all claim to the animal he de- sired to capture. The Indians claimed all the game in the forests, and when the whites com- menced to settle the county, the red men ap- peared more frequently on this portion of their hunting-ground, in order to secure as much of their " own property " as they could. William Triplet was drafted during the war of 1812; that is, every able-bodied man was expected to turn out and protect the settlement from the British and Indians. Triplet visited Canton, but was so sick that the doctor exclaimed, " We don't want any such looking men as you are !" and William was sent home. The Triplets lived on Section 16 land for six or seven years, then moved to Coventry Township, where Joseph and his son William died. The latter married Mary Dixon, daughter of Thomas Dix- on, an early settler of Green Township. Will- iam Triplet was the father of nine children - John, Hetty, Cynthia, Joshua, Eliza, William, Amanda, Marian and Sophia. The eldest, John, is now a resident of Coventry Township ; Cyn- thia is now living in Greensburg, the wife of John Hunsberger. These are the only two of Triplet's children now living in Summit County.

Another early settler on Section 16 land was Thomas Dixon. John Buchtel thinks that the Dixons were the first settlers of Green Township. They appeared about the same time the Triplets did, and the two families were con- nected by marriage. Thomas was a weaver by

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trade, and his daughter Ann assisted him at this occupation. The Dixons had previously lived near Steubenville, Ohio. Thomas had five daughters and four sons-Mary Dixon mar- ried William Triplet ; Ann married Bazil Viers ; Betsy married Jacob Smith ; Margaret married David Hartman ; the fifth daughter, Jane, died, being unmarried. Triplet, Viers, Hartman and Smith were early settlers in Green ; the first three lived on Section 16 land, near their father-in-law. Very little is known in regard to Hartman and Viers, but it is related of old "Granny " Viers, possibly the mother of Bazil, that she was a good hand to call on in case of sickness, and once, when a cow in the neighborhood was bitten by a snake, old granny collected some herbs and cured the valuable beast. It is to be hoped that many other good deeds were recorded for this old lady in the " good book above," for she passed over the river fifty years ago. Thomas Dixon afterward removed to Coventry Township, with his two sons-in-law, Triplet and Viers, and died about the year 1822. Dixon's four sons were Liberton, Michael, James and John ; the latter died at New Portage ; James and Michael re- moved to Richland County.

About the name of Liberton Dixon is clus- tered much that is romantic. for he of all the early settlers of Green Township has been handed down to posterity as the daring advent- urer of the early day. There is considerable added to the credit of this mighty hunter of the past which would not bear the closest scru- tiny of an unbiased historian ; but, if we should fail to give Green Township due credit for being the home of this illustrious Nimrod, and record on these pages some of the stories told about him, then every true son of Green would brand the Summit County history as a " fraud." It is said that Liberton lived with the Indians for seven years, until one evening an old Indian got mad at Liberton while they were around the camp-fire, and took after him with a huge knife. The famous hunter being convinced that " discretion is the better part of valor." fled from the camp and was followed by the warrior. Liberton accidentally tumbled over a brush heap, and the brave shared the same misfortune. It was a lucky accident for Liberton, but an unlucky one for the Indian, who dropped the knife when he fell ; Liberton seized the weapon, killed the savage, and

decided to return again unto the haunts of civili- zation. When on the way to the white settle- ments he was chased by the Indians who had discovered the body of their comrade. Liber- ton sought shelter from their bullets behind a tree, but the trunk was so small that it did not satisfactorily answer the desired purpose, and some seven shots were put through his clothing, but nevertheless, he escaped, and afterward set- tled in Green Township ; but, in his after years, he became a bitter enemy of the red man in consequence of their treachery toward him. According to his own accounts many Indians suffered death by his hands. It is said that, in relating his exploits, he would always leave his hearers to infer that the savage antagonists with whom he had frequent encounters had all been sent to the " happy hunting grounds" in consequence of his skill as an " Indian hunter." But the event of his life, which relates more particularly to Green Township, was the tragic death of Wam-pe-tek. This savage was the chief of a band containing about forty, and they had their headquarters near Turkey Foot Lake. These inoffensive red men never harmed the whites, but spent most of their time hunt- ing, fishing and resting, at which latter occupa- tion they were very successful. But one day Liberton and the chief quarreled about a bee- tree which both claimed. The result was, shortly afterward, the Indian was missing. Some one hearing the report of a rifle, asked Liberton what he had shot. "I shot at a deer," was the reply. "Where is your prize ?" was the next question, and his answer was, "I missed the animal." Dixon was a crack shot with the rifle, and never missed the object he fired at ; consequently, his statements on this occasion were not believed, and it has always been said that Wam-pe-tek, and not the deer, was his mark ; the chief never appeared to clear the mystery, and the supposition is that, while the savage was standing on a log near Indian Pond the fatal bullet struck him. Dixon then threw the body in the pond, which is situated about one mile west of East Liberty, and just northwest of the schoolhouse at that point. Other persons add other statements in regard to the matter. It is stated that a few days after the chief disappeared the ashes of a fire were discovered in the woods, and in them only half consumed were several articles formerly owned by the savage. Also that the band of

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Indians suspected Liberton. and would have killed him, but Dixon's brother John interfered. This brother John was also a hunter of some note ; but, fortunately, did not consider it was necessary to slaughter every inoffensive Indian who crossed his path. It is related of John that he killed a very large wild-cat at the swamp which is just west of Greensburg, and this locality was afterward called "Wild-Cat Swamp." He also shot a large bear which was on a chestnut tree, standing upon land now owned by Widow Spitler, of Greensburg. Lib- erton married Mrs. Hannah Culver, formerly Miss Pelton, and removed to Coventry Town- ship, where he died abont 1830. There are some old settlers who declare that toward the end of his life he was afraid to go out after night through fear that the spirits of some of the savages he had killed would capture him. Liberton was the father of four children ; they all moved West. It is related of Liberton and his brothers that they were brought up in the backwoods and were inured to all kinds of hardships ; they could sleep on the ground, and were not particular about a shelter to protect them from snow and rain if they desired repose ; they could eat anything and live, march, and work without eating for a much longer time than the men who were the permanent settlers of the township. The Dixons were not afraid of danger, and, therefore, more valuable in turbulent times during the war of 1812 than a score of the farmers who inhabited the town- at that time.

John Kepler, who made the first permanent settlement in Green Township, came out to the new country with his family in the fall of 1809. He was a blacksmith by trade, and worked at this occupation some in his new home. Ilis brother Andrew brought him out to Ohio with his four-horse team ; he then returned to Penn- sylvania for his own family, and they reached Green Township in the spring of 1810. The Keplers were born in Bucks County, Penn., and married twin sisters. John's wife was Magdalena Cramer, and Andrew married Mary. The Keplers purchased from the Government 320 acres, comprising the east half of Section 17. John occupied the western part of this tract and Andrew the eastern half. In after years they purchased other extensive tracts, which are now the property of their descendants. When John first arrived with his family, they

lived for some time in a hut built beside a log ; then erected a more permanent residence on the land afterward occupied by his brother An- drew, which they owned during the first win- ter, and for a short time after Andrew's family came, in 1810 ; for a brief period both families occupied the same cabin. John Kepler was not able to go to the war of 1812. and so he assisted in sending young John Dixon as his substitute, furnishing him with blankets and other articles of clothing. John was a resident of Green Township for about twenty-five years and was then killed while working a cider-press. His wife survived him many years. John was buried in the graveyard on his brother An- drew's farm. He was the father of nine children, as follows : Catharine, married Henry Warner, of Coventry ; John, formerly of Green ; Jacob, now a resident of Coventry ; Andrew, shot on August 16, 1871, by his son-in-law ; Dan- iel, moved to De Kalb County, Ind. ; George. formerly of Coventry, now deceased; Henry, died at eighteen ; Samuel, died in Illinois, and Lena, died after marrying Henry Cook. Dan- iel was the youngest child when the family re- moved to Ohio. After Andrew Kepler moved his family to Ohio, he sold two of his horses to his brother John, and, shortly afterward, the other two animals died. He then purchased oxen to aid in farming. The family suffered many hardships for several years. The Indians would frequently appear with their ponies, dogs and papooses ; they brought baskets which they desired to trade for flour, meal, potatoes and other articles. When Andrew was with the American army, during the war of 1812, the Indians kept his wife supplied with ven- ison, which they exchanged for meal and pota- toes. Mrs. Kepler never feared the savages, for they were always friendly and kept their promises. It was only necessary to supply one with a loaf of bread and tell him that venison was desired at a certain time, and he never failed to respond. But the wolves were very troublesome, and would occasionally approach within five or six rods of the fire where Mrs. Kepler was cooking the meals. Mrs. Rebecca Herring, formerly Miss Kepler, says : "We children did not hate the Indians so much as we did the wolves; these animals howled around the house at night until we thought the clap-boards on the roof were shaking." Finally, the State offered a bounty for each

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wolf scalp, and the howling tribe of the forests commenced to decrease in numbers, and in a score of years farmers were able to raise sheep with profit. At one time, during the absence of her husband, Mrs. Andrew Kepler caught a wild turkey with her hands ; she made a feast, to which she invited her relatives and friends. About the same time, old Joseph Triplet's wife having obtained a rumor, from some source, that the British and Indians were coming, alarmed the neighborhood. The two Kepler families, the Smiths and the Buchtels hastily prepared to leave, and got half-way to Canton before they found the alarm was false. (This was possibly at the time Capt. Drake, in order to try his men, gave a false alarm, and his men became panic-stricken.) Andrew Kepler, after living in the township nearly fifty years, died January 16, 1855, at the advanced age of seventy-eight years and eleven months. He was buried in the graveyard at East Liberty. He was the father of eleven children. Nine grew to maturity, were married and raised large familes, and the Kepler descendants are very numerous in Green Township and else- where. These nine children are located as fol- lows : Elizabeth married Samuel Stover and re- moved to Illinois ; Mary married three times, and is now the widow of Jacob Paulner, at Greensburg ; Catharine married Peter Wilhelm, of Green, and died ; Sarah, now Mrs. David Warner, of Green ; John, of Green ; Rebecca, now the widow of Lewis Herring, of Green ; Jacob A. died in Green ; Andrew, of East Lib- erty, and Samuel, struck by lightning on August 10, 1854.

Gen. Bierce says in 1854: "Jacob Smith, Ja- cob Coleman and Col. Dillman next came into the township. They were all from Center County. Penn. Coleman and Smith died about fifteen years ago (1839) and Dillman twenty (1834)." Of these three men, Coleman settled on land now owned by Alex Stine, and was buried at Union- town ; Jacob Smith was the son of Conrad Smith, who entered the northwest quarter of Section 17 in the spring, and died six months after settling upon it; previous to his death, he endeavored to make a bedstead to sleep up- on but failed. His son Jacob put a large bowlder upon his grave, and in rough letters carved the name of his father on the stone. It is reported that, after the farm was sold to the Baughmans, this rude monument was taken

for the corner-stone of a new barn. "Col. Dillman," it should be Conrad Dillman, settled upon 160 acres now owned by John Gougler ; he was a very moral and religious man, and would go from house to house with his Bible teaching the people. He was a prominent member of the Methodist Church at an early day, and afterward united with the Evangelical Association. His youngest daughter married Rev. Adam Klinefelter, for many years a prom- inent citizen of Green Township. Dillman was buried on the southwest corner of his farm. The Buchtel family also settled in Green Township at an early day. Peter Buchtel came in May, 1811, with a large family of chil- dren, and entered at the Government office at Steubenville the land now owned by John Kepler. Peter was in the American army dur- ing the war of 1812, and died of disease at Sandusky City. John. his oldest son, who re- sides north of Akron, is the father of Hon. J. R. Buchtel, of that city. John relates the following : "The first house we lived in was built of stakes taken from a large chestnut tree which we cut down, and formed a rude hut by leaning the stakes against the log ; there were eleven children in our family, but we never had a doctor in our house. We lived mostly on deer's meat and wild honey ; father killed twenty-five deer one fall, and found one bee-tree which contained eighteen gallons of honey ; after father died, I had to assist in supporting the family; I had to work four days for a bushel of wheat, and two days for a bushel of rye." Peter Buchtel's wife was Mar- garet Cramer ; she was a sister of Mrs. Mary and Magdalena Kepler ; their brother Daniel, Jacob and Abraham Cramer were also early settlers of Green Township, locating up- on Government land about 1812. Among those who settled in the township previous to 1820, were John Yarrick, who entered the east side of Section 25 about 1809; his daughter was the mother of Lewis Miller, Esq., of Akron ; William Ball, southwest quarter of 25. about 1809; Thomas Maebee, northwest of 36, about 1809 ; Abraham DeHaven, southwest of 24, about 1810; Ludwig Spotts, southeast of 34, in 1812; Daniel Raber, southeast of 24. about 1813: William Beltz, southwest of 26. about 1813; Henry Everhart, northeast of 36, about 1813; Jacob Sichley, northeast of 26, in 1813 (this gentleman always claimed he heard

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the roar of the cannon during Perry's victory on Lake Erie, from his farm in Green Town- ship); - Swales, southeast of 26, about 1813; Cornelius Johnston, northwest of 25, in May, 1814; Simon Yarrick, father of Adam, in 1814; Daniel Wise, about 1813 ; John Kreigh- baum, in 1814 ; Michael Myers and sons with their families, in 1814; Philip Hartong, about 1813; Henry Raber, Sr., about 1814; Adam Working, about 1815; Robert Hall, in 1817; Jost Snyder, in 1819 ; John Hunsberger came with his family in 1822, and purchased 400 acres on Sections 15 and 22; he brought $800 with him from Pennsylvania, and the money was hid in the churn while traveling to Ohio ; Hunsberger built upon his land the finest house and barn which, up to that time, had been erected in the township; the children of the family received in Pennsylvania a good com- mon-school education, and have always taken a prominent position in Green Township. Abram, the eldest son, taught school for twenty- one successive winter terms ; served as Jus- tice of the Peace for twenty-four years, and was also Township Clerk twenty-one years. Among the prominent families who have set- tled in the township since 1820, are the follow- ing: John Foust, in 1822; Henry Warner, 1823; Jacob Hartong, 1824; Jacob Dicker- hoff, 1826 ; Henry Beard, 1827; Michael Heck- man, 1828; Peter Thornton, 1829; George Chisnell, previous to 1830 ; Jacob Vandersoll, John Mottinger and George Bidleman, in 1830; David Grotz, 1832; Jacob Humbert and Michael Schreiner, about 1833; Joseph Grable and Charles Stroman, Sr., 1834; Peter Wise, 1835; David Smith, 1836; John Goug- ler, about 1837 ; Jacob Grable, 1838; Joseph Stauffer, 1840; Isace Franks, about 1841 ; George Foster and George Kline, in 1842.

Most of the early settlers of Green Township suffered many hardships. At first, there were no mills nearer than Steubenville, Ohio, and other supplies had to be obtained about the same distance from their new homes ; fre- quently, some families would run entirely out of provisions, or, by living on short rations for weeks, secured an appetite which would de- vour anything that could be " chawed." Alex Johnston relates an incident in regard to one family in their neighborhood, who, for a time, had only "parsley for breakfast, parsley for dinner and parsley for supper." Fortunately,

after several days, they secured other diet. Another household demolished the last food in the larder. After planting their early potatoes and growing hungry, they dug up the " seed- lings," devoured the outside, and then planted the eyes. But the soil was very fertile, and, in a few years, all had an abundance. Then each man desired to sell his surplus grain ; but, for years, there was no market for anything raised on the farm. Consequently, money was very scarce. When a new settler arrived from Penn- sylvania, he generally had a small balance in cash, but desired something to eat. The result was, that there was a strife among those having produce to see these new settlers before their neighbors did, and secure a portion of this money to pay necessary bills, such as taxes. John Spotts relates that when his father settled in the township in 1812, wheat was so scarce that Ludwig had to pay $3 for a bushel. In a few years, the old gentleman had wheat to sell, and then he could not get 25 cents for the same amount of grain. In those days, farmers re- ceived so little for their produce that frequently men hauled a load of wheat to Cleveland, and exchanged it for a barrel of salt. Money being scarce, people considered themselves poor, al- though they had plenty to eat and clothes to wear. Their apparel, however, was generally home-made. Before the canal was completed, all store goods were high, and, consequently, settlers without funds could not always secure these high-priced luxuries ; but they clothed themselves, for there were many spinning-wheels brought from Pennsylvania, and the women knew how to use them. The men frequently wore buckskin, and garments made from this material were not an uncommon sight many years after 1820. The forests, for a few years, were full of game ; but the white population of the township increased so rapidly that by 1825 scarcely any wolves or deer could be found. The last deer shot in the township was possibly killed by Simon Yarrick, about the year 1830. Bears and panthers were hunted down and ex- terminated many years previous. Gen. Bierce says : "Superstitious notions about 'spooks ' were formerly somewhat common among many of the early Dutch settlers, who dreaded the spirit of a dead Indian far more than they did the living spirit encased in flesh and bones, however well armed. In the early settlement of the township, the low grounds were noted

Daniel Mine

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for the appearance of the ignis fatuus, or ' Will- o-the-wisp." By the superstitious pioneers, these dancing and deceiving lights were sup- posed to be the spirits of the Indians or ' spooks,' who had come back to visit their hunting- grounds, and upbraid the pale faces for their fraud and double tongues. These harmless lights caused many a strong man to tremble, as he paced his solitary way through the dense and dark forest.

But the early settlers of Green Township were not all farmers, and this was fortunate, considering the large amount of produce raised each year, which could not be sold, for want of a market. When these tillers of the soil ex- changed, at Canton, forty-four bushels of rye for a barrel of salt, they could not so readily complain because some men thought it was not expedient for all mankind to be farmers, and so followed other occupations. Some of the early settlers who purchased farms, occasionally worked at trades they had learned in Pennsyl- vania. John Kepler and Michael Myers were blacksmiths as early as 1814, and erected forges near their dwellings. Myers transferred his forge to his son Henry, and he to his son Michael, who to-day uses the vise brought from Pennsylvania by his grandfather. Ludwig Spotts, who came in 1812, also followed black- smithing. A man named Kauffman started a rude tan-yard at an early day, on the farm now occupied by C. Long, west of Greensburg. In those days, tanners were "lucky" men, for their goods were in greater demand than the fruit of the soil. Nearly everybody had wheat, but few had leather, which they all needed ; consequently, leather was valuable, and it was the article with which everything else could be obtained. Tanners would not exchange their work for wheat at all times, for in those days leather was as good as cash, and it was frequently the medium of exchange between the settlers, notwithstanding it did not have the stamp of the Government upon it. Kauffman's tannery was afterward removed to Greensburg. There was also a tan-yard near East Liberty at an early day. The first shoemaker that started a regular shop was old Adam Musser's son John, who manufactured and repaired, about one mile east of what is now Greensburg. Previous to this, Adam Working followed this trade some at his farm, which he entered about 1815. John Foust, who came in 1822, was a

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History of Summit County, with an outline sketch of Ohio, Part 108

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848- Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey Number of Pages: 1104

Author: Perrin, William Henry, d. 1892?; Graham, A. A. (Albert Adams), 1848-
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago, Baskin & Battey
Number of Pages: 1104