USA > Ohio > History of the Ohio falls cities and their counties : with illustrations and bibliographical sketches, Vol. II > Part 67
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Zebulon Collins, who was no doubt a brother of the famous scout and hunter, William Collins, settled a year or two before the Pigeon Roost massacre, one mile and a half east of Henry- ville. Here he began to operate a still-house, and finally a way tavern on the Charlestown and Brownstown road. During a part of his life he was chosen as a justice of the peace. It was at his tavern that the first polls were opened in the township, and from this fact the township de- rived its first name, that of Collins. In the af- fairs of the township he took an active part. It was here that a company of soldiers were sta- tioned in 1813 when Mr. Huffman was killed by the Indians, to protect the frontier. Collins was originally from Pennsylvania.
Mr. Huffman, of whom we have spoken re -.
peatedly, was an immigrant from Pennsylvania and settled on the west bank of Silver creek, one and a half miles from Henryville, three or four years before his death, in 1813. He was killed on a bright Sunday morning by the Indians while standing in his door watching his children, says one historian, and another, a grandchild, and one of his sons, at play in the bottom near the house. The ball passed through his breast; and after running around the corner of the house he dropped dead. The arm of his wife was grazed by the same bullet. One of the boys was car ried into Canada ; the other escaped by crawl- ing into a hollow log. His wife lived to an ad- vanced age in the neighborhood, and was buried by the side of her husband on the old place.
A Mr. Cook lived two miles east of Henry- ville very early, and left about the time of or soon after the massacre.
Another family by the name of Connel, settled about 1811 on the West fork of Silver creek, but remained only for a few months.
Among the later settlers who came after In- diana was admitted as a State, were James Allen and David McBride, brothers-in-law, from Penn- sylvania. Juda Hemming, who emigrated from Kentucky, and Islam McCloud, of South Caro- lina, were the only early settlers in the township in the extreme south side.
The most prominent family in the extreme west was that of Lawrence Kelly, who came from Pennsylvania, and was here as early as 1810. His sons were Hugh, John, Abram, William, and Davis, who lived in the township till their deaths. Martha Kelly married John Lewis, Sr., of Mon- roe township. Another daughter married Wil- liam Blakely, a Virginian, but here from Ken- tucky. One of the daughters married Mr. Wil- liam Patrick, whose descendants are quite nu- merous in the county at this time.
John Deitz and wife, both Germans, came to Monroe from Kentucky, while the Grant was yet in its infancy.
On the west side of the township, near the Oregon line, William Beckett, of Pennsylvania, settled about 1810. His family was very large, and consisted mainly of sons. He died many years ago. There are now but few of the fami- ly, with then descendants, in this section:
Josiah Thomas settled in the same section years ago, marrying one of the Beckett girls.
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
A Mr. McCombe settled in the eastern part of the township very soon after the massacre. He left a small family, of which the members are now scattered in other States.
During the years when the other townships were filling up with settlers rapidly, Monroe was left out in the cold. There were no early permanent settlers between Henryville and the Pigeon Roost settlement.
William E. Collins, by birth a Pennsylvanian, was one of the first white men in the neighbor- hood of the northwestern corner of the township. He came secondarily from the interior of Ken- tucky, whither he had gone from Louisville in quest of game. Learning that game was abund- ant in this region-the Pigeon Roost ground- he came hither. His son Henry met his death from the hands of the Indians. Kearns, one of the oldest sons of the family, settled near the old battle-ground in 1813, where he resided until his death. His wife, Catharine Cooper, bore him four sons and six daughters. Kearns Collins, Jr., resides near where he was born, a prominent farmer, and possessed of many of the character- istics of a frontiersman. He has been married twice. His last wife is one of those old-time women who yet remain in the township, who manufacture their own clothing.
Seymour Guernsey was born in Connecticut, and emigrated to Utica township, Clark county, in 1817. From Olean Point on the Ohio river, about one hundred and fifty miles above Pitts- burgh, the family took passage in a boat, on which they made the entire trip to their place of landing. Mehetabel Beardsley, his wife, was born in New Haven, Connecticut; and bore him before arriving here two sons-Burritt and Sey- mour-and one daughter-Malinda Ann. After remaining in the vicinity of Utica for one year and raising a crop, he removed to Monroe town- ship, where he and his wife died. The marriage produced four sons and two daughters, of whom three sons and one daughter are living. The sons are all citizens of this county; the sister, Mrs. Mitchell, resides in Hamilton county, Indiana. The elder Guernsey was born October 9, 1786; his wife, March 25, 1785. Soon after their mar- riage they moved to New York State. Ruth, the second daughter, was born in Utica town- ship; Daniel was born in Monroe, in the Blue Lick country; Elam B., the present county
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auditor, in the same section with his younger brother, Daniel. Ann, one of the sisters, and Burritt, a brother, are dead. After buying a tract of two hundred acres of land near Blue Lick, the family made it their permanent home from 1818 till about 1856, during which time they farmed and engaged in grinding corn with one of the old style of horse-mills. Seymour Guernsey, Sr., was one of those men who gave tone and decision to the character of the county. In education he was far above the average, his father, Daniel, being a graduate of Yale. He died January 19, 1872; his wife, February 5, 1871.
Thus we have seen the characters, though only in a cursory manner, of the men and women who rescued this township from the red man, and began the work of clearing off the forests, preparing the way for the present thriving gener- ation.
Among the old stock of settlers who are yet living in the township is Samuel Williams. He was born in 1799 in east Tennessee and came to Monroe in 1835. By trade he is a carpenter, but most of his life has been engaged in agricul- tural pursuits. He is the father of eight chil- dren, who were born of two wives. Mr. Wil- liams in religion is a Presbyterian of the strictest sect ; educationally he has little of the polish of colleges, but possesses abundance of good com- mon sense, which is more valuable than all ac- quired possessions. He lives on the banks of Silver creek, and is the oldest man in the town- ship.
Seymour Guernsey, Jr., was born in New York in 1813, and came to this county in 1817, landing at Utica with his father's family in the month of August. His first wife was a niece of Colonel Willey, of this township. She died September 10, 1870. March 10, 1873, he mar- ried Celestia Sanderson. Mr. Guernsey has farmed most of his life on tract number two hun- dred and fifty-three, near Henryville. He has been actively engaged upon all the religious questions of his time. He is a regularly or- dained Methodist minister, and perhaps has a better acquaintance with religious matters than any man in the township. In 1873 he was dis- abled, and now lives in the village of Henryville. His memory is retentive, and his fund of pioneer incidents inexhaustible. Many of the young
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men of the township will find in him a character fit for imitation.
Colonel John Fletcher Willey, one of the most remarkable men, both physically and mentally, in Clark county, as well as in Monroe township, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the mouth of Mill creek. His father, Barzilla Willey, who was a soldier of the Revolution, was born in New York, and came to Cincinnati in 1808 from Utica, in that State. All the land below the city at that time belonged to the Harrisons and Sedams. After remaining here for two years, ac- cumulating a boat-load of produce, he started for New Orleans. Arriving at the Falls of the Ohio, he found them impassable, and anchored on the west side. After waiting here some time for the river to rise, and having his merchandise dam- aged considerably by the cold weather, he sold his load to the best advantage possible, and made Jeffersonville his home for one year. In 1811 he moved to Monroe township and settled near Memphis; but at that time there was no such township as Union in the county. After a life of much hardship and ripe experience, he died at the residence of his son, Mr. J. F. Willey, in the township of Utica, in 1854. Colonel Willey has been one of the most influential men of his time. His indomitable will-power renders ob- stacles of little consequence, and his command- ing appearance and well-known character secure universal respect. His home is on section six- teen, which borders on the Scott county line, where he is engaged prominently in growing fruit-peaches being the principal crop. Colonel Willey formerly lived in the Utica bottoms, but removed to the knobs to engage in raising fruit, and to escape the malaria which seemed to affect the health of his wife.
The view from Fowler's gap and the Round Top knob, on the farm of Colonel Fletcher Willey, and north in the direc- tion of Henryville, is one of very great interest. From the summit of Round Top a view of the surrounding landscape may be obtained in all its variety. The highlands of Ken- tucky are again seen, appearing like a cloud sinking behind the distant horizon. The Ohio is assuredly entitled to the name originally given to it by the French, La Belle Riviere, and from points above noted is seen meandering, like a silver stream, through the valley to the southwest. The view gives a succession of hill and dale, woodland and cultivated fields, streams and rocks, most magnificently blended in a panor- amic picture of which the eye does not weary.
Colonel Willey's son-in-law, Mr. Poindexter; is actively engaged with him in growing peaches,
and it was through the skill and persevering industry of these two gentlemen that the knobs were found to be good localities for fruit. Mr. Willey and his son-in-law are what might be called scientific horticulturists, for their orchards resemble much the garden of some marketer. Future orchardists in the townships, which are made up to a great extent of knobs, will have to accord to Mr. Willey and Mr. Poindexter the honor of first making these long considered worthless hills valuable for raising a staple fruit. The shipping point is at Memphis, in the town- ship of Union.
ROADS.
On account of the slowness of settlement, the township had few thoroughfares at an early day. The first two roads ran from Charlestown to Salem in 1817, and were known as the Upper and Lower Salem roads. The lower road ran almost on the dividing line which now separates Carr township from Monroe. The other ran through the Blue Lick country, and yet climbs the knobs in the same old place. At this date there were no cross-roads running either to Jef- fersonville or Louisville. The Brownstown and Charlestown road ran about one mile from Henryville, and was laid out in 1825 or 1826; it was not till many years afterwards that the grade was made sufficiently light to admit of heavy hauling. Another road was located about 1830, which led to the county-seat of Washing- ton, and which was thought to be a more direct and a shorter route. It intersected the Charles- town road near Henryville. As the wants of the people increased, other roads were laid out,- all, however, leading to the center of the town- ship and the county-seat. The nature of the soil prevented any well-developed plan of macad- amizing; and besides there were no gravel pits, or even stone which could be broken and con- verted into a solid road-bed. Many small streams bisected the roads; where they were not evenly cut they often followed up some ravine in the creek-bed to gain at last the top of the knobs. It was impossible to follow section lines, and naturally sprang up a system of roads of all di- rections and degrees of importance.
Monroe township has more roads, probably, in proportion to its tillable soil, than any other township in the county. This is accounted for by the fact that it lies in the northwest corner of
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Clark, and is in the line of passage between it and the interior counties.
Upon the building of the Jeffersonville, Madi- son & Indianapolis railroad through the town- ship, the people here took much interest in the enterprise. The proprietors of Henryville gave a site for a depot, and contributed in va- rious ways toward its success. It was the build- ing of this railway which brought the township to the notice of the various manufacturing estab- lishments throughout the country. Its great forests of oak were rapidly turned into ties and cut into stuff for building cars. Tan-bark was for a number of years a staple article. Cooper- shops sprang up all over the township, and turned out barrels by the thousand. The rail- road company reduced its rates of freight for those who carried on an extensive business with them, and made large contracts with farmers and agents for supplies. There is in the township exactly seven miles of railway track. The only station in the township is that of Henryville; but another on the summit serves as a shipping point for the farmers and stock-growers in the northern part of the township.
MILLS AND STILL-HOUSES.
Monroe was never noted for its mills. The surrounding townships furnished many of the mills necessary to a new and thinly settled coun- try like that of which we speak. Vincent Pease, who resided in the northern part, near the sum- mit, ran a little mill on one of the branches of Silver creek about 1820. He also gave some time to making fanning-mills, which were probably the first in this end of the county. In 1830 a flour- ing-mill of considerable capacity stood on Silver creek two and a half miles from Henryville. The position the township took in the matter of mills and the grinding of corn, wheat, and so on in early times is still retained; and the township can scarcely yet boast of a first-class mill within her boundaries.
Good authority says there was never more than one still-house in Monroe township. This was owned by Zebulon Collins, on the Charlestown and Brownstown road, and stood on the bank of Silver creek. It was here in 1823. After a few years it went down, probably on account of the scarcity of corn, which was grown very scantily on the bottoms. Ex-Governor Jennings, however,
had a still-house close by; but in Charlestown township, where those who needed spirituous drinks could be accommodated. Soldiers who were in this district about this time, or a few years previous to it, often resorted to the then non-elect Governor's warehouse for whiskey sup- plies. These soldiers belonged to that system of protection which was adopted after the Pigeon Roost massacre. The old Collins fort, where the rangers were stationed, was situated about one and a half miles southeast of Henry- ville, on the Silver creek branch of Silver creek.
SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES.
Daniel Guernsey was the first school-teacher in the western part of the township. As has been said, he was a graduate of Yale college, and, for many years after coming into the Blue Lick country, engaged in school-teaching. In surveying Clark county he did much service; and in subdividing and apportioning the land among the heirs of the original tract-owners, he was for many years actively employed.
Burritt Guernsey, one of his sons, taught fre- quently during the winter terms after he had ar- rived at maturity. He had been educated mainly through the efforts of his father. Wages were then insufficient to support a family. The tuition was made up, generally, on the subscription plan, each scholar paying about $2 for a term of three months. The teacher often boarded with the parents of the scholars, as was always in such case previously arranged.
Schools never came to be regarded, by the people who settled in the township at first, as of very great importance. It was not till after the State school laws were enacted that a successful system of schools was encouraged. People then became much interested in the proper education of children, and hence have at present schools and school-houses that will compare favorably with any in the county. There are eleven school districts and about seven hundred and fifty school children in the township.
Many years elapsed before there was erected in this township any regular church building. Services were held in school-houses and the homes of the pioneers. The prevailing denom- ination was the Calvinistic Baptist, which was composed mainly of emigrants from the South. The Pennsylvania settlers were mainly of the
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
Presbyterian faith; but being in the minority, in the course of several years they almost unconsciously fell in with the stronger class. Among the early Baptist preachers was Rev. Thompson Littel, who lived on Muddy Fork creek. He was a characteristic man, and in ad- dition to his natural abilities he had acquired many religious and historical facts fitting him admirably for his work. During his time he was the most prominent of all the early ministers here, and it seemed his influence was almost without a limit. When the Christian church, founded by Dr. Campbell, attracted so much at- tention in this country, he left the doctrine espoused in boyhood and took up the new faith. Ever afterwards he eloquently advocated the new religion, but many of his old parishioners could not forgive him for his radical change. His salary was often meager, and, much like that of a school-teacher, was too small to support his family.
Preaching in early times was widely different from what it is now, preachers often riding a circuit extending from the Wabash and its tribu- taries to the Great Miami. Between these rivers there were dense forests, wild beasts, low, wet land, through which roads led, and tangled un- derbrush of various descriptions. Appointments were often left two and three months in advance, and the punctuality with which they were kept always ensured a large attendance. It required no small amount of energy to meet these engage- ments, and it often happened that the arrival of the minister was distinguished by the number of marriages he performed and the good time every body had, even to the babies, during his stay. There was a sincerity in religious matters and the marriage ceremony then, which nearly always prevented divorces and the loose moral atmos- phere which now disgraces so many religious assemblies. The simple-hearted earnestness of the pioneers was often a subject of remark by those who came from the East and were here to see the sights of a new country.
In the eastern part of the township a United Brethren class was organized more than fifty years ago. Rev. Thomas Lewellen, a man who rode the circuit for more than fifty years, and who died November 11, 1881, was the most prominent preacher of this denomination in the township. He was eighty-six years of age at the
time of his death. There was in this section a church standing on the road which curves out into Monroe, as it goes from Otisco to the interior of the townships and returns again to the county seat of Scott. The old class, how- ever, is in a disorganized condition. Mr. Lewel- len came from Kentucky. He had little except natural ability; his strength lay in the earnest expression which always characterized his ser- mons.
A Rev. Mr. Wilson, whose residence was in Washington county, near the line, preached here very early.
Rev. Mr. Washburn preached in this section of country, as also did Rev. Mr. Hosey, a man famous in the religious affairs of the county. Mr. Hosey's remains lie in the Little Union cemetery. Rev. Mr. McConnell, who lived east of Henryville, on the bank of Silver creek, was an active participant in the religious affairs of the township. Rev. Mr. Applegate was an early preacher, though not regularly paid. The Rev. John Clark, who came from Virginia at an early date, was an active religious worker. Nature had made him a good speaker, and he was one of the great men of his tinie. Mr. Clark was after- wards a local elder in the Methodist Episcopal church. These men made up the ministers of a half-century ago,-all of them now numbered with the dead.
The first church erected in the township was Bower chapel. It was put up in 1830, and stood in the lower part of Monroe, near the line which divides the townships. The house was of logs. Barzilla Willey and wife, Calvin Ruter and wife, and Mrs. Townsend were among the first members. The first preachers were transient; among these were Revs. Messrs. Willey, Ruter; John Strange, who was from Ohio; Joseph Armstrong; William Cravens, a blacksmith, and a great anti-temperance and anti-slavery man, and Allen Wyle. All these men were here before 1825, and before any church was erected, and when preaching was held in private houses.
The Mount Moriah Methodist Episcopal church is located in the eastern part of the township. It was organized as early as 1830. The Beckett family composed a goodly number of the members. Messrs. Anderson and Thomas were members also. This church belonged to
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HISTORY OF THE OHIO FALLS COUNTIES.
the. Charlestown circuit, and had the same preachers as those previously mentioned. Mr. James S. Ryan, who lives one-half mile west of Henryville; Colonel J. F. Willey, and Mr. Seymour Guernsey, Jr., are all prominently identified with the religious matters of their township. Mr. Ryan is an unordained Method- ist minister; so also is Colonel Willey. Mr. Guernsey is a regular preacher, and has devoted the greater portion of his life to the field. His travels have carried him into the by-places of humanity, and have rewarded him with rich re- sults for time and eternity.
BURYING GROUNDS.
The Mountain Grove graveyard, in the west- ern part of Monroe, in the Blue Lick country, is one of the old burying places in the township. Mr. Lawrence Kelly and wife, who died on the same day, and were buried in the same grave, were the first persons interred in it. The land was donated for this purpose, and is located on a high point overlooking the level country below.
Little Union burying-ground, west of Henry- ville one-half mile, is very old. It took its name from the fact that all denominations at this place of worship buried in it. There is a school-house there now; occasionally a sermon is preached or a few months of Sunday-school held in it.
Perhaps the first person buried in Monroe township, who died a natural death, was Hannah Guernsey. She was interred in the private grave- yard of the Guernseys in the Blue Lick country. Another burying took place soon after in the neighborhood of Memphis, but then in this township. An infant child died by the name of Walker, and here it was buried.
The graveyard connected with the Mount Moriah chapel, is an ancient one. Mrs. Wilson was among the first buried in it. She was re- moved a number of years ago, and was found to have petrified. Everything about the old burial place is rapidly going to decay. A few more years, and many of its associations will be swept away with the things of the past.
In early times the better physicians came from Charlestown. Drs. Layman and Cass lived in the Blue Lick country, and practiced in all direc- tions about 1825 to 1830. Dr. Bear lived near Henryville. He also was well and favorably known throughout the various townships.
CIVIL AFFAIRS.
The first justices of the peace in the township were Guy Guernsey and William Keynon. Bur- ritt Guernsey was one of the first trustees. The present trustee is Lawrence Prall, who resides near Henryville.
The old post-route between Charlestown and Salem passed through the Blue Lick valley. It was not till about 1835, however, that a post- office was established in this neighborhood. The Pine Lick office was near, and for a number of years it answered the wants of the people. Finally the office was changed so as to be more convenient for the general public. It was taken to Blue Lick, and since has remained in this locality. Thompson McDeitz was the first post- master. Mails were carried once a week. The building of the Jeffersonville, Madison & Indi- anapolis railroad discontinued the old route, but it was some time before the office could be estab- lished at Blue Lick, with Memphis as a terminus.
TAVERNS AND BLACKSMITHS.
Those who made tavern-keeping a part of their business were Zebulon Collins, no doubt the first in the township, who also had a store; and Thomp- son McDeitz. In the valley of Caney fork were William Martin and David Huckleberry. They were store-keepers also; generally those who kept tavern kept store, and vice versa. Powder was always procurable in various places, as also was lead, two things very necessary in supplying the larder of the pioneers.
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