USA > Ohio > Union County > History of Union County, Ohio; its people, industries and institutions > Part 41
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One of the few Revolutionary officers who settled in Union county was Col. James Curry. He was born near Belfast. Ireland, in 1752, came to America with his father when ten years of age, and located in Augusta
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county, Virginia. After a most honorable service as an officer of the army throughout the Revolutionary War, he removed, in the year 1797, to Ohio, settling first in Ross county. In 1811 he came with his family to the terri- tory now known as Union county, where he located a large body of land and on which he erected the cabin in which he died. He was a member of the Legislature when the county was organized and was for many years after one of the judges of its courts. The following are brief notices of his children : James A., born in Virginia March 30, 1787; Harriet S., born June 7, 1791 ; Stephenson, born December 3, 1801 : Otway, born March 26, 1804; Louisa, born July 24, 1807: Robert Burns, the youngest of this family, born June 3, 18II.
Samuel Mccullough was a son of Samuel Mccullough, Sr., who died in Darby township in 1800. He lived with his mother, who married John Taylor in Madison county, till he arrived at the age of maturity. He then purchased a small farm in the southwestern part of Jerome township.
Survey 5,132 of six hundred acres, on Sugar run, in the south central portion of the township, was purchased at an early date by Judge Mitchell. of Darby township. He divided it into three portions, upon each of which one of his sons located. George Mitchell came first, probably as early as 1814. David Mitchell, Jr., his brother, settled on the adjoining tract about 1816. The third son of Judge Mitchell, who occupied land on this survey, was Jesse Mitchell. He was the first white child born in what is now Union county. The date of his birth was November 4, 1799, a few weeks after his parents had settled in Darby township. Jesse remained with his parents until his marriage, in December, 1823, to Elizabeth Robinson, daughter of Rev. James Robinson, then of Union township. He at once settled with his young wife on his farm on Sugar run. Mr. Mitchell remained on the farm, an industrious, energetic farmer until his death. May 13, 1881. He had nine children. all of whom are deceased.
James Buck, a pioneer, served in the War of 1812 and married Harriet S. Curry.
Phillip Hawn settled on survey 3.750 of one hundred acres, in the west- ern part of the township in 1819, and remained there till his death. Simeon Hager and Abner Chapman were pioneers. Samuel P. Morrison came from York county, Pennsylvania, about 1820. Simeon Rickard, a native of Vir- ginia, a soldier of the War of 1812, in 1828 emigrated to Darby township, and a year later to southwestern Jerome. Landon Bishop emigrated from Virginia to Franklin county, Ohio, in 1824, and three years later came to Jerome township.
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All of the above named settlers located in Jerome township prior to 1830. Soon after came many other prominent families, whose descendants still reside in the township, among whom were Nelson Cone, Judah Dodge. Titus Dort, Jesse Gill, William McCampbell. Sr., S. B. Woodburn, Dickey Beard, John Fleck, Chester Fox, William Bigger, John W. Evans, Samuel Herriott, William McCrory, John R. McDowell, John McKitrick, John Moss. John F. Norris, Jesse Weldon. Jacob Frederick, John, William and Temple- ton Liggett, James D. Robinson and John M. Robinson. George Ricard, Samuel C. Ryan and many others came in later.
William McCampbell, Sr., emigrated from Rockbridge county, Virginia, in 1835 and settled in Jerome township. He was a prominent citizen, and he, with his large family and the Beard family, who came at the same time, were the principal organizers of the Seceder church in that township. Addison T. McCampbell, a grandson, visited, a few months ago, Staunton, Virginia, and examined the records of marriages, wills and lands, where he found some in- teresting data connected with the family history, which is of interest to the large number of descendants. As shown by the will of his great-grandmother, she gave to her grand-daughter, Polly McCampbell, a "slave maid," which it is understood she brought to Ohio in 1835. Polly married David Beard, a farmer, school teacher and surveyor, and they resided in the township until about the year 1855. then emigrated to Iowa, where they both died at an ad- vanced age. Mr. McCampbell also visited the old stone church still in use at Timber Ridge, erected in 1756, where his ancestors worshiped, and read the tablet erected in memory of the women of the church "who made and carried the mortar used in the building." The great-grandfather, William McCamp- bell. served in the War of the Revolution. He also found records of the mar- riages of the Curry family, who came to the township early in 1800.
CHAPTER XXII.
MILL CREEK TOWNSHIP.
This was one of the three original townships in Union county. On the second division of the county into civil townships, in 1821, the boundaries of Mill Creek were fixed as follows: "It is agreed to divide the county of Union into five townships, and the fifth township is to embrace all east of Paris township to the west boundary line of said county, and to be known by the name of Mill Creek."
This township is situated in the southeast part of Union county and takes its name from Mill Creek which flows through its northern part. It is bounded on the north by Dover township and the county of Delaware, on the east by Delaware county, on the south by Jerome township, and on the west by Darby, Paris and Dover townships. The original surveys of this township occupied about eleven years' time. However, some of its surveys were made in a remarkably short time, for it is shown that in one day seven thousand acres were surveyed into eight different tracts.
STREAMS, TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL.
Mill creek is the chief stream in the township. It enters from Dover township, passing through survey 3,956, and for more than one mile forms the boundary line between said townships, crossing in an easterly direction till it reaches survey No. 1.307, when it takes a very crooked course in a general northeast direction, passing diagonally through said survey and so on out of the county into Delaware county. At an early day the waters of this stream furnished the pioneers with an abundant water power. Many of the first mills of Union county were built along this stream. Spring run is another fair-sized stream, in the central portion of the township. Few, if any, townships in the county present a better surface for farming purposes than Mill Creek. The soil is deep, rich and very productive. Along the creek bottoms and flat portions it is a black loam, while the remainder is a strong clay soil, most of it underlaid with a disintegrated limestone and gravel, the latter forming a good material for road making. The timber here was similar to that found elsewhere in Union county. The great num-
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ber of maple trees afforded an abundant supply of maple sugar and syrup, both for the home and for shipment. Grain, corn and stock raising have always been the main features of agriculture in this township, and from these much wealth has been accumulated with the passing of the years.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
To Ephraim Burroughs, a native of New Jersey, must be accorded the distinction of having been the first white settler to invade the wilds of what is now Mill Creek township. In the autumn of 1795 he left his native state with his family for Kentucky. In 1804 he moved to Clark county, Ohio, and at the close of the War of 1812 he settled in Union county. His location was a little east of the village of Watkins. He bought one hundred acres, remained about four years and then moved to Indiana.
There were three or four families. all of whom came in at about the same dates, and soon after the first settler, Burroughs, made his settlement. Among this number was William Conklin, a native of Delaware, who located on land next to that entered by Burroughs and there remained until just be- fore the breaking out of the Civil War. The date of his coming was 1816. Here he reared a good-sized family. One of his daughters married a Mr. Anderson, of whom it was related that he paid for his farm by selling hick- ory nuts gathered by his own hands. These nuts all grew on his own land and he hauled them over the mud roads to Dayton and Springfield.
Daniel Bell, born in New Jersey, but an early settler in Ohio, came to this township in 1816, settling near Mr. Conklin's place. He was a black- smith by trade and followed it in connection with his farming operations. Later he moved to the White River country, Indiana, but afterwards re- turned to Union county and died near Watkins.
John T. Thompson, with his aged father. James Thompson. emigrated from Virginia to Ohio, settling in Union county about 1816 on Mill Creek survey No. 5.477. The father died there in 1843. aged almost ninety years. He was a veteran of the Revolutionary war. This was perhaps one of the first five families to settle in the township. The son became a very promi- nent factor in the early history of the township and county.
Alvin Randall, a native of New Hampshire, emigrated to York state in 1809; to Worthington, Ohio, in 1812: to Madison, Indiana, in 1813, cast his first vote at the first election after that state was admitted to the Union, in 1816. In 1817 he became a resident of Darby township and in 1819 came
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to Mill Creek township. He later removed to Indiana and died in Noble county.
Asa Robinson, a native of Massachusetts, moved with his family from his native state to York state, and in 1809 is said to have moved to Ohio. At a very early date he settled in Delaware county. He was engaged in the milling business at Hinton's mills. Later he sold out and bought land in survey No. 2,992, where he remained until his death.
Between 1818 and 1822 the following came into Mill Creek township and effected a permanent settlement : Joseph Harrison and sons, Aaron, Moses and Benjamin, all locating on survey No. 2,998; Valentine T. Shover, John Sherman, Thomas Daniel, Silas Osborn, Nathaniel Toothacre and John Gray settled in survey No. 5,477; John, William, Asa and Randolph Death, four brothers, colored men, settled near Harrison's, but most of them soon moved from the county.
Another pioneer was Zebadiah Farmim, a native of Rhode Island, who settled near Watkins village in 1823.
George Graham, a native of England, emigrated to America, first set- tling in York state, but later moved to Ohio. He had a large family, most of whom settled in this township about 1823.
Pierce Lamphere located near Watkins in abont 1823. He was an early teacher in the township.
Another immigrant of 1823 was Aaron Tossey, a native of New Eng- land. Many of his children lived in the township and were active in its earlier development.
Elder Daniel Long, a native of Maryland, born in 1789, was a soldier in the War of 1812 and became a settler in Mill Creek township in 1820. He had traveled over a large portion of southern and central Ohio, organizing Christian churches. The Watkins Christian church of this township was one of the first to be formed in this section and he was pastor of this church for many years. He died in 1873, at the age of eighty-five years and had preached up to within a short time of his death. He died while in the midst of a revival season. He was one of Ohio's great pioneer ministers. He married and had one child, Thomas W. Long.
Other settlers coming in about 1823-24 were George Lukenbill and John McCawley, the latter a native of Scotland. He moved to Marysville, where he subsequently died.
Bennett Beard, who settled on Mill creek about 1824, erected one of the first saw mills in this vicinity. About the same time the following people
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came to the settlement: Jacob Hawk, Alexander Garringer, John Heriff, Samuel Saunders, Z. Smith, Jeremiah Roe, John Keens and Jacob Taylor. Also that year or not later than the following year came Joseph Watkins, Asahel Rose and James Fowler. In 1826 came William Rogers, a school teacher. William Newhouse and Edmond Holycross settled on survey No. 5,477. In 1828 and 1829 we find that Christian Myers, Charles Hamlin, Abraham Stiner and David Smith appear as settlers, all located on survey No. 1,573.
This brings the settlement down to about 1830 and after that it com- menced to increase too rapidly to undertake to trace out the coming and going of the multitude, many of whom have lived and labored and finally passed on to the great beyond, leaving descendants to take up the activities of life.
WATKINS.
Watkins is the only village in Mill Creek township. It now has a popu- lation of about eighty people. It is within survey No. 1,307 and was platted July 12, 1838. The proprietors were Thomas P. Watkins and William Conk- lin. James Thompson erected tl. first house on the village platting just east of where Ray Thompson's store in later years was built. He opened the first store of the place in 1840 in one room of his residence. The post- office was established in 18440 and the government furnishes the author with the following as the correct list of postmasters: James Thompson, Jr., ap- pointed March 18, 1840; William Thompson, November 11, 1842; James Thompson, April 29, 1859: S. R. Heath, April 21, 1862; Warrett Owen, April 9. 1863: W. T. Thompson, October 6, 1885: Warrett Owen, July 18, 1889; R. B. Thompson, August 31, 1893: Lemuel Tossey, December 24, 1896; F. J. Hinterschend, April 10, 1901 ; L. L. Williams, August 5, 1904; Leonard Kalteis, November 30, 1907. Office was discontinued July 31, 1908.
The various physicians who have practiced here include these, in about the order given: Mains Wasson, Doctor Reed, Doctor Rose, William An- drews, T. P. Shields, John Pounds and several of a later date, whose names appear in the Medical chapter of this work.
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CHAPTER XXIII.
DOVER TOWNSHIP.
Dover is one of the latest organized townships within Union county. It is in the central portion along the eastern boundary of the county. It is bounded on the north by Leesburg township, on the east by Delaware county and Mill Creek township, on the south by Mill Creek and on the west by Paris township. Its territory originally belonged to Mill Creek township and so remained until in December, 1838, when it was made a separate civil township. The records show that on March 5, 1839. it was ordered by the county commissioners that the boundary line of Mill Creek and Dover town- ships be altered so as to detach from Mill Creek and attach to Dover town- ship survey No. 3,007. The first land surveyed, 1,087 acres, survey No. 3,007. in the township was executed June 3, 1797, for John Graham.
NATURAL FEATURES.
Blue's and Mill creeks are the principal water courses in the township. The former enters from Leesburg township on survey No. 5,497, and courses a little south of east through the north central part of the township into - Delaware county, leaving Dover from survey No. 7.358. One of its chief tributaries is Grass Run. Mill creek enters the township about the center of its western boundary from survey No. 3.355, taking a southeasterly course. It finally falls into Delaware county. This is the largest stream within Union county as regards water power, and at an early day provided much water power. furnishing mill sites for many mills and factories of the smaller sort, but very useful to the pioneer settlement of the county.
Along these two streams, Blue's and Mill creek, the land is rolling and in places quite hilly. The remainder of the township is very level. easily cul- tivated and the soil is uncommonly productive. The creek bottoms are made up of a deep. black loam. Other parts of the township are made up of clay subsoil, though not liable to be affected by dry weather. These lands were originally very wet, but along in the seventies and eighties the system of tile drainage began to obtain and today the swamps have all disappeared. Wheat. corn, oats and potatoes, the main productions, are raised with profit. Grass
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grows here in luxuriance and cattle grazing has long been a leading industry. When the pioneer came here he found great forests covered the most of the township. These forest trees, some hundreds of years old, had to be felled and removed and it took many years before all the stumps of these forest kings were entirely obliterated from the fields. It may be stated that the first generation had all they could do to clear away these forests and prepare sufficient land for cultivation. The next generation, however, commenced to reap the reward of the hard pioneer work performed by their fathers. The timber along the creek bottoms consisted chiefly of walnut, hickory, eln. sycamore and some cherry and oak. Thousands of immense walnut logs were rolled into the log-heap and burned which would bring fabulous prices today. The country has been destitute of walnut timber, practically speak- ing. for thirty-five or forty years. The sugar maple groves, however, have been cared for on account of the sugar and syrup they afford.
EARLY SETTLEMENT.
The first evidence of a settlement by white men in this part of Union county was when the sound of the woodman's ax broke in upon the green solitude of the immense forests on the south or west banks of Mill creek, in the southwest part of this township. A few years earlier pioneer Ephraim Burroughs had settled in the wilderness of Mill Creek township, near the present village of Watkins. His second son, Jonathan M. Burroughs, born in New Jersey in 1794. married Mercy Bell, and in the winter of 1815 lo- cated on Mill creek in what is now Dover township, on four hundred acres of land which he leased of Thomas C. Grary, of Virginia. Here he struck the first blow at clearing the forests of the township. He erected a small log cabin, daubed it with mud and in mid-winter moved into it with his young wife. In one corner of this cabin was erected a frame for a bedstead. con- sisting of two poles extending from holes bored in the logs of his cabin and supported by a single corner post, with poles laid across for slats, upon which was laid a straw bed. For covering they used one blanket and a feather bed containing seven pounds of feathers. Their table consisted of a large slab with logs placed underneath. Mrs. Burroughs had one broken plate, one knife with part of the handle broken off and a fork with one tine gone. Mr. Burroughs made himself a wooden plate and a wooden fork and used his pocket knife to eat with. Spring and the sugar-making season were soon at hand. Sugar maple trees were found on every hand, and as much sugar was made as possible. But they had no utensils with which to manufacture
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the syrup and sugar. Mr. Burroughs finally succeeded in renting three big kettles and with his own hands fashioned out sugar troughs and tapped about two hundred trees. Now the work and labor commenced; day and night, week in and week out, they toiled, gathering the sugar water, boiling it down and making sugar until the season was past. Next the sugar must be mar- keted and with the money some necessary household articles must be pur- chased. James Ewing's store at Plain City was the nearest one where goods could be purchased and that was only ten miles distant. He had no horse and the roads were mere bridle paths run by blazed trees. He took upon his back all the sugar he could carry and traveled the entire distance to the store on foot. In exchange for his sugar, he purchased a half dozen plates, a half dozen knives and forks, a half dozen cups and saucers, a tin teapot, a quarter pound of tea, and with these on his back he made his way homeward. His good wife unpacked and washed the dishes, while Mr. Burroughs took his trusty ax and split out a large stab and dressed it up smooth as possible. Upon pins driven into a log in the cabin he placed his slab as a shelf and on this was placed the new supply of tableware. With hearts full of gratitude and eyes beaming with delight, on the opposite side of the room stood the young pioneer wife, gazing upon the small though beautiful outfit, the result of the first united effort toward obtaining a home and livelihood. Years later Mr. Burroughs remarked that "I tapped my wife on the shoulder and said to her 'we'll make it yet."" He said at that moment he felt prouder than he would have felt years later if some one had presented him with ten thousand dollars. He was highly successful and made a handsome fortune, which he used for the good of his family and for the worthy objects all about him, never once forgetting the early trials and sacrifices he had under- gone.
William Bradley was probably the next man to locate in Dover town- ship. He settled on Mill creek just below Mr. Burroughs in 1818. He was a native of Maryland. He was an honest, worthy and upright pioneer. Dur- ing the same year there were several who found their way into the township as settlers. These included John Hannaman, the third settler, who came from Chillicothe and settled on Mill creek, south of Marysville and Delaware pike. He bought two hundred acres and upon this he located in 1818. After a few years he sold and moved on west.
Stephen Dysert came in from Ross county about 1818 and remained until his death. He and his estimable wife were buried on the farm where they had spent most of their lives.
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Isaac Dodd, another immigrant of 1818, located near the Hannaman place, remained many years and then sold and went west.
Lancelot Maze, a native of Ireland, became a settler here in 1818, and died in 1823. It has been claimed that he was the first justice of the peace elected in Dover township.
William Richey, Sr., of Pennsylvania, but whose father came from the north of Ireland, came to Darby Plains in 1813, and in 1819 located in Dover township on Mill creek in survey No. 9,028, and died there in August, 1847. His son, William, Jr., was a Whig and represented his county in the Legislature in 1845-46, and also was justice of the peace for twenty years. He resided here more than fifty years and cleared up and improved a large and valuable tract of land. About 1873 he removed to Franklin county, Kansas, where he died on March 16, 1882, aged eighty-eight years.
Another early settler was John Dinwiddie, a Virginian, who came to Union county in 1823, settled on Mill creek and resided until death overtook him. His remains were buried on his own farm.
Daniel Williams, a native of Maryland, with his father's family, emi- grated to Ohio in 1808 and settled near Chillicothe, where the father died. In 1828 the son moved to Dover township and died in the township in 1866.
Jonathan Bowen, a Virginian by birth, emigrated with his family to Ross county, Ohio, and in about 1825 moved to Dover township. James B. Clark, another Virginian, settled in 1825 on Dun's run, Dover township, and there died in 1829, aged forty-five years. He reared a large family, members of which still reside in the township. He taught many terms of school in Dover township.
Still other settlers of the twenties were David W. Worley, a Virginian. who came in 1824: Coats Thornton and George H. Houser. Then came Amos Spurgeon, of Virginia, who settled on Blue's creek in survey No. 5.499. In 1865 he moved to Illinois.
Rev. John Carney, of Virginia, emigrated to Ohio and located in Dover township in 1828 and resided there until his death. He was a very zealous Baptist and an early preacher in this denomination. He was uneducated, but the type of a man who in those early times took well with the masses. He was a power for good in the community in which he settled. In 1828-29 Abner Liggett came in and settled on the south bank of Blue's creek, where he resided until 1882, when he removed to Green Bend, Ohio.
Rev. Ebenezer Mathers was a Methodist preacher. The first class of the Mount Herman church was organized at his house about 1838. He worked
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faithfully until his death, in 1852, when he had reached his sixty-third year. Joseph Russell and Elijah Brown settled in 1831-32; Levi and Daniel Long- brake the same year : Mathew Columber and Alexander Ross in 1833.
MILLS OF DOVER TOWNSHIP.
But few mills have ever been operated in this township. Most of the lumber and flour used by the citizens here have been manufactured outside of the township. About 1850 Adam Richey and Beal Selman erected a steam saw-mill three-quarters of a mile from the village of Dover. Later J. H. Felkner and J. D. Burkabill owned the property and did an extensive busi- ness. About 1871 L. B. Dennis erected a saw-mill and spoke factory in the village of Dover. Fifteen men were employed along about 1874, when the plant was sold to D. F. Dyal. who in 1878 moved the machinery to Arkan- sas. There have been numerous portable steam saw-mills within the town- ship from time to time.
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