USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > Dayton > History of the city of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, Volume I > Part 75
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Daniel Miller was another of the Dunker pioneer preachers who settled along Wolf creek, November 2, 1802. George Shoup, another minister of the church, settled on Beaver creek about 1805. These three men with their wives were the first brethren and sisters that lived in the vicinity of Dayton.
The first regularly organized church in the county, the Lower Miami church, has at the present time a house of worship about six miles southwest of Dayton, on the Germantown pike. The Dunker people have always been largely an agri- cultural people and the ministers of the church of the Brethren are not generally salaried or supported, except in the larger cities. Each congregation usually has a presiding elder who is assisted in the ministry by several other men, who with the elder in charge, do the preaching for the congregation. The Brethren ( Pro- gressive) congregations are always in charge of a pastor who is supported by the congregation, and who is generally also the bishop of the congregation which he serves.
The Old Order Brethren have elders in charge of each congregation who are also assisted by a number of ministers who do the preaching and in no cases are they fully supported by their congregations.
To go back to the congregations of the Church of the Brethren (Conser- vative). the Lower Miami church is at present in charge of Elder Enoch Hyer, assisted in the ministry by Emanuel Shank, Jesse Garst, and Jesse Noffsinger. This congregation numbers one hundred and ten.
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The Bear Creek church was probably the second church organized in the county. It is located about six miles west of Dayton on the Eaton pike, and is at this time erecting a commodious house of worship with facilities for modern Sunday-school work. The congregation is presided over by Elder John W. Beeghly with Josiah Eby, Henry Eby, John J. Bowman, and Earl Neff as as- sistants in the ministry. There are one hundred and fifty members in this congregation.
The Lower Stillwater church with two houses of worship, one at Fort Mc- Kinley, and the other at Happy Corners, near Salem, is in charge of Elder L. A. Bookwalter, assisted by William Klepinger, A. L. Klepinger, D. C. Stutsman. and B. F. Honeyman as ministers. This was probably the third congregation organized in the county and now has about two hundred and fifty communicants.
One of the largest congregations in the county is the Wolf Creek church, lo- cated in the western part of the county with four houses of worship, one of which is in the village of Brookville. This church is presided over by Elder John Cal- vin Bright, who is assisted in the ministry by Samuel Horning, George Erbaugh, Noah V. Beery, and Joseph P. Robbins. The congregation numbers about three hundred members.
The Salem church with a large house of worship in Clay township east of Phillipsburg numbers at this time about two hundred and sixty members. The elder in charge of the congregation is Elder John H. Brumbaugh, assisted in the ministry by Samuel Snell, William Minich, Ezra Flory, Stanley C. Wenger and Charles L. Flory.
The Lower Twin church in the extreme western part of the county is a joint congregation with half of its membership of one hundred and forty living in Pre- ble county. This church is presided over by Elder Jonas Horning of Montgomery county, assisted in the ministry by Noah Erbaugh.
The Trotwood church located in the village of Trotwood, is the newest or- ganization of this branch of the fraternity in the county. This church is in charge of Elder Daniel M. Garver, assisted by Elder John Smith, one of the veteran min- isters in the church, C. M. Bants, and William Swinger. This congregation num- bers one hundred and ten members. Of the churches in Dayton we shall speak in another article.
The Brethren church (progressive), has five congregations in the county out- side of the city of Dayton. Soon after the organization in 1883 congregations were gathered at Farmersville, Bear Creek, six miles west of Dayton, and Miamis- burg, or rather five miles southeast of that city on the Springboro pike. At each of these centers new houses of worship were erected, in which services have been maintained ever since. Prominent among the lay leaders in these early efforts were Hon. C. A. Coler, D. R. Wampler, Dr. George Henkle, and Joshua Gilbert at Farmersville. Abram Beeghly, M. C. Kimmel, and Peter Shank were leaders at Bear Creek. The Earlys led by John Early and David Early, assisted by Jerry Neible, were leaders at Miamisburg. These two latter congregations were served in the pastorate for more than ten years by Dr. J. M. Tombaugh, now of Hagers- town, Maryland.
During the summer of 1905, Rev. Martin Shively, the pastor of the Dayton church, began holding services in the village of Salem on alternate Sundays at
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3 o'clock in the afternoon. The work prospered and the congregation was or- ganized with twenty-seven members during the fall of 1907. The church pur- chased the property formerly known as the Christian church, and put the build- ing in first class condition. Rev. Shively continued in charge of the congregation1 until July, 1909.
The congregation now numbers fifty-five communicants.
During the month of October, 1907, Rev. Shively heeded an earnest plea to come to New Lebanon where there lived a few members of the denomination but where there was no church building nor regular services held by any denomina- tion. He held several revivals in a vacant business room in the Odd Fellows building, and in April, 1908, a church was organized with fifty members. Steps were at once taken toward the erection of a house of worship. The new build- ing, a very substantial structure, costing more than eight thousand dollars, was dedicated April 4, 1909. Rev. Shively continued to serve as pastor of the con- gregation, giving his services on alternate Sunday afternoons until July 1, 1909, when the membership had grown to sixty-seven.
The Bear Creek, Miamisburg, Salem and New Lebanon churches are now combined under the pastorate of Rev. W. C. Benshoff, who took charge of the circuit in July, 1909. The combined membership of these congregations is over three hundred at this time.
The Old German Baptist Brethren (Old Order) have four organizations in the county and have substantial houses of worship in each.
The lower Stillwater church is located on the Dayton and Salem pike, about eight miles northwest of Dayton and is presided over by Elder Amos Hyre, assisted in the ministry by Henry Filbrun, William N. Kinsey, and Henry Flory. This congregation numbers about one hundred and thirty members.
The Salem church, located about two miles north of Salem, is presided over by Elder Noah Spitler, with William Landes, Marcus Butts, and Frank Pippenger as assistants in the ministry. This church numbers seventy-five members.
The Wolf Creek church with a house of worship southeast of Brookville, is in charge of Elders Henry and George Garber, the former being the editor of "The Vindicator," their official church paper. Other ministers in this congrega- tion are Charles Milliard and David Garber. The congregation numbers about one hundred and thirty communicants.
The fourth congregation of the Old Order Brethren is the Bear Creek church, located west of Dayton. This church is in charge of Elder Henry Garber, assisted by Samuel Stoneroad, Philip Miller, and Daniel Miller. The congregation is com- posed of about seventy-five members.
The combined numerical strength of all the nineteen churches of the Dunker fraternity in the entire county is about three thousand communicants at this time, and they are universally recognized as a part of the best element of the citizenship among the religious denominations of the county.
GYPSIES.
In the year 1856 the pioneer families of gypsies came into Montgomery county. Chief among them were Owen Stanley and Harriet Worden, his wife,
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Levi Stanley and Matilda Joles, his wife with their families. With them came others most of whom had traveled extensively before striking this camping place which was for a time not far from Fairfield, on what was known as the Jack Frick farm, then on the Davis farm in Montgomery county. The Stanleys soon acquired property, Owen purchasing the "Black Farm" situated about eight miles north of Dayton and later owned by Levi Stanley. Considerable property located principally in Harrison township with some in Wayne, Mad river and Butler, has been accumulated in the course of years by the families of Stanleys and Jef- fries. These families with their many descendants comprise the Dayton class of gypsies. Many other families, some differing in nationality, often frequent the vicinity in their wanderings. These are the families of Wells, Harrisons and Coopers. The Wells, a big hardy class of people, coming from a settlement near Detroit, Michigan, are quite numerous. The Harrisons are from the vicinity of Washington city. There has been also a tribe darker in complexion than any yet mentioned and of a rough ugly nature. These tribes which have made occa- sional visits have not been considered local. The Dayton settlement is made up of an English class. The Stanleys were quite numerous in England and there boasted as being a better class of the traveling tribes.
Owen Stanley, styled by the Dayton gypsies "king" was born in Reading, Berkshire, England, and died February 21, 1860, in his sixty-seventh year. His wife, the queen, died August 30, 1857, age sixty-three years. They were suc- ceeded to the throne by their son Levi and his wife Matilda. The kingship car- ries with it no authority but great reverence is given to the king and queen. This tribe, while the possessors of considerable property are as nomadic in their habits as the race at large. They generally rent their lands and property and roam over the country, the men following trading principally and the women fortune telling. There are times, however, when they live under roof and farm their lands for a period of years. The winters are spent through the south.
The gypsies' burial place in Woodland cemetery is believed to be the only sacred burying ground of gypsies in the United States. It occupies ground near the central part of the cemetery about one hundred yards south of the lake. The grave of the queen, Mrs. Matilda Stanley, was the first gypsy grave in Dayton. In more recent years others that they have dignified with royal honors have been brought to Dayton for burial. The last royal funeral took place in 1909, when gypsies from as far away as Cuba came to convey their respects and condolence. Recent events indicate that the property of the tribe will be divided and sold but Woodland cemetery will still be the center to which the wanderers will return.
FARM STATISTICS.
The acreage for the different crops in Montgomery county for the year 1908, as reported by the Ohio department of agriculture, is as follows : Oats, nineteen thousand two hundred and sixty-eight ; winter barley, eighty-one; spring barley, eighty-seven ; corn, fifty thousand and eleven ; ensilage corn, sixty-seven ; sugar corn, two hundred and twenty-six ; tomatoes, one hundred and nine : peas, seven ; Irish potatoes, eight hundred and ten ; sweet potatoes, one ; onions, eight ; meadow, nineteen thousand two hundred and twenty-two; clover, nine thousand seven
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hundred and ninety-nine; alfalfa, one thousand and seventy ; flax, five; tobacco, sixteen thousand one hundred and eighty-two; sorghum, fourteen ; grapes, eight ; apples, one thousand four hundred and fifty-three; peaches, twenty-six; pears, one hundred and sixty-seven ; cherries, seventeen ; plums, eight; other small fruits, one hundred and thirty-four.
In the above statistics the estimates for 1909, when available, have been sub- stituted for the 1908 report.
Of the one hundred and ninety-nine thousand six hundred and sixty-three acres of land owned in the county in 1908, the following classification is made : Cultivated, one hundred and thirty-six thousand four hundred and twenty-nine; pasture, thirty-seven thousand four hundred and eighty-two ; woodland, seventeen thousand one hundred and eighty-seven; lying waste, eight thousand five hun- dred and sixty-five.
In 1908 one million seven hundred and seven thousand six hundred and forty- six gallons of milk were sold for family use; eight hundred and eighty-eight thousand eight hundred and forty-one pounds of butter were made in home dairies, and sixty-eight thousand, eight hundred and fifty more in factories and creameries ; eight hundred and fifty-four thousand, eight hundred and seventy-six dozen eggs were produced; eleven thousand three hundred and sixty-four pounds of honey were obtained from one thousand three hundred and eighty-six hives. In 1909, one thousand four hundred and three gallons of maple syrup were pro- duced. It has been estimated that three million nine hundred and twenty-three thousand one hundred and twenty pounds of fertilizer would be used in 1909.
CHAPTER IV.
MILITARY HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.
BY ALBERT KERN.
WAR OF 1812-WAR WITH MEXICO-THE CIVIL WAR-SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR- MONTGOMERY COUNTY MEMORIAL BUILDING.
A county containing no battle-ground has a military history only in relation to the supplies of material and men for operations elsewhere. In the four wars in which Ohio participated, the War of 1812, the Mexican war, the Civil war and the Spanish-American war, these matters of supply bore an important part. The state was a great recruiting ground for them all. Notably in the Civil war --- three hundred and thirteen thousand one hundred and eighty men enlisted for the service. A comparison with other states will show the great excess in favor of the splendid "Buckeye State."
The frontier conflicts with the Indians have no relation to this chapter and have been treated elsewhere in this history.
WAR OF 1812.
In approaching the connection of the county with the War of 1812, it is of interest to note that several of the prominent early settlers and pioneers of the locality served as soldiers in the war. Colonel George Newcom was a soldier in Wayne's army against the Indians and was in the service in the War of 1812. Wil- liam Newcom, his brother, also took part in the war and afterwards died from the effects of hardship and exposure incurred thereby. Benjamin Van Cleve, whose father had been a soldier in the Revolution, served in the army under St. Clair, Wilkinson and Wayne. His brother, Capt. William Van Cleve, organized a company of riflemen in the village of Dayton and reported for duty at the front soon after the war broke out.
The militia organizations of the new state of Ohio were crude but effective. The rule provided for an enrollment of all able bodied male citizens between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. Each man was required to provide him- self with a good musket and bayonet, belt, knapsack, two spare flints, and a pouch with twenty-four cartridges.
If the individual carried a rifle, he was to have a powder horn containing a quarter pound of gun-powder and twenty-four balls, fitted to the bore of his
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rifle. Preachers, judges of courts, jail keepers, customs and post-officers, stage- drivers and ferrymen on mail routes were exempt from drill or military duty.
The county was in the first division. The six counties composing it were entitled to have their troops brigaded together. A brigade was composed of six regiments, a regiment of two battalions, a battalion of four to eight companies, and a company of forty-eight men.
When in active service these militia companies were to be governed by the rules and regulations of the United States army. Division commanders were appointed by the governor and the legislature. Four company musters were re- quired each year, battalion muster in April or May, regimental muster in October each year.
The service musket of this period carried a barrel forty-two inches long, smooth-bore, with no accuracy beyond a hundred yards, and had a flintlock. The length of the weapon was fifty-seven inches, that of the bayonet sixteen inches. The locking ring had not yet been devised. These muskets were either of the British pattern, or some of the French Charleville muskets left over from the Revolution, or some of the new American ones just being turned out from the arsenal at Springfield, and fashioned, not after the British weapons, but after the old French model. The gun carried a round lead ball which was sometimes reinforced by the addition of three buck-shot.
The rifleman, however, was the darling of the frontier, and carried a far different weapon, a plainly made arm, with a barrel forty-two inches long, the bore of a size to suit the whim of the owner. These varied from the small ones, known as "squirrel rifles" to those of larger size in which the bore was carefully rifled, with four deep grooves set in a spiral. These weapons were used with deadly accuracy and were sighted up to two hundred yards. Audubon, the noted naturalist, has left a fine account of the manner of loading them. A feather was inserted in the touch-hole, and a charge of powder measured from the powder horn. Or, if the owner had no charger, he merely placed a ball in his left palm and poured powder over it until it was covered, this constituting the proper charge. The powder was then poured into the muzzle, a greased patching placed on the muzzle, and then the bullet, which was next, rammed home with strokes of the hickory wood ramrod. The weapon was then thrown over the left arm, the feather extracted from the touch-hole, priming from the horn placed in the pan, and the pan-cover closed. The arm was then ready for use. The ranger or rifleman, in addition to his rifle also carried a tomahawk, and a long knife, both essential for a fight at close quarters or useful in making camp or preparing game for 11se. The ranger also carried with him a light pack, containing some salt and a bit of jerked meat, or parched corn. It hardly deserved the name of a knap- sack. With these humble equipments it was remarkable that these men accom- plished what they did in the service on the frontier.
Gen. Edward Munger of Washington township was one of the first local men to hold a prominent position, that of the command of the Fifth Brigade, First Division. At the time the war broke out, the state had nominally fifteen thousand militia and could provide at least, three thousand men on short notice ready for the field.
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Courtesy of Albert Kern
ANCIENT MILITARY ARMS
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Maj. George B. Whiteman of Greene county was afterward placed in com- mand of the Fifth Division, to which Montgomery county had been transferred. In 18II it became well understood that a war with great Britain was at hand. England, not content with the loss of her colonies by the strangely successful Revolution, kept up an annoyance by the impressment of seamen and the seizure of trading vessels on the high seas. This was bitterly offensive to the pride of Americans and the resort to arms soon became a matter of necessity in what has sometime been called the Second War for Independence. For several years pre- ceding the actual declaration of war, intrigues with the Indians were openly carried on. The red men were supplied with arms and ammunition and other gifts to tempt them to harry the frontier. The great war-chief Tecumseh, who is said to have had his first skirmish and received his first wound, just beyond Mad river and not far from Dayton, a man distinguished for his race and tribal hatred of the whites and possessing powers of organization and an ability far in excess of any of his people, readily availed himself of the offers of England and in terms became her ally. He sought to gather the tribes for a united effort against the Americans, and later acted in conjunction with the red-coated sol- diers of Britain. The battle of Tippecanoe was fought November 7, 18II. Then came the fateful year of 1812. Pres. Madison made a call on Ohio for twelve hundred militia for one year's service. In answer to this call, Gov. Return Jonathan Meigs issued his order to the several division commanders and appointed Dayton as the point for assembly. On April 29, 1812, Gen. Munger, above referred to, received an order to raise a company of rangers. They were to be mounted and equipped for active duty on the outposts. They were to serve for one year. From the troops assembled for muster, twenty men volunteered to serve in this company. Later more men were assigned to the number and Capt. Perry put in command. The company used a point at the mouth of Hole's creek, below Dayton for assembly. On April 27th, this company of rangers passed through Dayton on their way to the frontier, their station to be at Fort Loramie.
Dayton was to be the assembly ground for the troops in this region. By May Ist, the companies began to arrive and were placed in camp, it is said on the site of the present Cooper park, where they remained without tents or sufficient equip- ment until the middle of the month.
It was ordered by Maj. David Reid that the first battalion of the newly or- ganized troops should meet in Dayton at the usual parade ground on the second Monday of April, 1812. Hostilities were just beginning and the preparations were hastened. On May 6th, Gov. Meigs came to Dayton to superintend the organization of the militia, twelve companies of which had, by this time, re- ported in obedience to his orders.
The governor's arrival was celebrated by the firing of thirteen guns. On the 7th he issued a stirring appeal to the people, the terms of which are of sufficient interest to permit its reproduction.
"Citizens of Ohio: This appeal is made to you. Let each family furnish one or more blankets, and the requisite number will be completed. It is not re- quested as a boon : the moment your blankets are delivered, you shall receive their full value in money ; they are not to be had at the stores. The season of the
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year is approaching when each family may, without inconvenience, part with one.
MOTHERS, SISTERS, WIVES. Recollect that the men, in whose favor this appeal is made, have connections as near and dear as any, that bind you to life. These they have voluntarily abandoned, trusting that the integrity and patriotism of their fellow citizens will supply every requisite for themselves and their families ; and trusting that the same spirit, which enabled their fathers to achieve their independence, will enable their sons to defend it.
Headquarters Dayton, May 7, 1812.
R. J. MEIGS, Governor of Ohio."
It will be remembered that this locality was still a frontier and that danger existed from the incursions of the Indians, who were now in the pay of the British. Some two thousand Indians representing five tribes, Shawanees, Otta- was, Wyandotts, Senecas and a few Delawares, still occupied the northwest portion of the state. This locality was very familiar to them, and its new set- tlements afforded tempting opportunities for plunder. Miami county, lying next to the north, was a fender for Montgomery, for on its pioneers, the blow would first fall. The militia of Miami county rendered good service in menacing the savages who otherwise might have swept down upon Dayton and her out- posts. Two or three block houses were built in Montgomery county, west of the river. These were designed as places of refuge and for rallying places for the settlers in the event of an Indian foray.
In addition to the movement of Gen. Munger in the direction of Green- ville to aid in repelling a threatened attack led by Tecumseh's brother the Prophet, Gen. Duncan McArthur's command marched under orders from Gov. Meigs to Greenville and another detachment was sent to Piqua, for the protection of the frontier. An Indian council was held at Piqua, at which Col. John Johnson, the United States Indian agent, endeavored to restrain the red men from aggressive movements on our frontier. Only wavering and uncertain promises were obtained, and nothing definite allayed the anxiety felt along the frontier. Promises could be easily broken and the horrors of savage warfare be precipi- tated on the exposed cabins of the settlers. To the frontiersman, the Indian has always stood as an uncertain quantity, and when it is remembered that these men had often witnessed the treacherous conduct of the scalp seeking warriors, it is not surprising that an Indian became a ready mark for a rifle bullet and that one was sent as willingly as though the mark was the wild panther of the forest.
On May 14th, Gov. Meigs left Dayton for Cincinnati, expecting to meet the new commander, Gen. Hull, but returned to Dayton on the 15th without the general. On the thirteenth, Gen. Gano and Gen. Cass reached Dayton with about seven hundred men. This reinforcement raised the numbers here in camp to about fifteen hundred men. On the twentieth, Capt. Moorefield arrived with a company of light infantry. The troops in camp were still deficient in supplies, although this was not permitted to interfere with a close attention to drill.
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