USA > Ohio > Muskingum County > Zanesville > Past and present of the city of Zanesville and Muskingham County, Ohio > Part 4
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MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
W. H. Harrison was well known in the west as an Indian fighter and was immensely popular because of his success in defending the frontier ; he had legislative and executive experience, but when he became the nominee of the whigs, in that memorable campaign, an opposition paper expressed the opinion that "he was better fitted to sit in a log cabin and drink hard cider than rule in the White House." The Whigs did not take offense at the comment but made it a party slogan, and the log cabin became the campaign emblem. Harrison was portrayed sitting at the door of a log cabin, through which could be seen a barrel of hard cider with coon skins and strings of buckeyes adorning the rude walls.
An immense state convention was held at Co- lumbus, February 22, 1840, and large delegations came from various points in the state, in wagons and on horseback, as there was no other form of transportation, and among the devices presented was a log cabin, built of buckeye logs, mounted on a wagon and hauled by a long string of horses ; in the cabin was a strong chorus that sang campaign songs, the burden of the refrains being about the buckeye, in its various uses by the residents. The buckeye thus became a popu- lar Whig emblem, and buckeye canes were cut in immense quantities and sent into adjoining states.
In preparation for a large mass meeting in western Pennsylvania, it was ordered that each officer should carry a buckeye cane, and a com- mittee was sent into Ohio to procure them. The procession was two miles in length and many in- dividuals ordered canes, and 1,432 were counted, and over one hundred strings of buckeye beads were worn by young ladies, dressed in white and riding in a canoe, carrying banners representing the states.
When S. S. Cox. a Zanesville boy, made a European trip he signed his letters to the home press, "A Buckeye Abroad," and in 1841 the pres- ident of an eastern college, in referring to his pupils mentioned those from other states by the name of the commonwealth, but those from Ohio were designated as "Buckeyes."
U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
The Representatives to the National Lesisla- ture have been :
1803-13 Jeremiah Morrow
1813-17 James Caldwell,
1817-21 Samuel Herrick,
1821-23 David Chambers,
1823-29 Philemon Beecher,
1829-33 William W. Irvin.
1833-35 Robert Mitchell,
1835-37 Elias Howell,
Entire state. Third Dist. Fourth Dist. Fourth Dist. Ninth Dist.
Ninth Dist.
Twelfth Dist. Twelfth Dist.
19
PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
1837-39
Alexander Harper, Twelfth Dist.
1839-41
Jonathan Taylor,
Twelfth Dist.
Joshua Mathiot, Twelfth Dist.
1841-43 1843-47
Alexander Harper, Fourteenth Dist.
Nathan Evans,
Fourteenth Dist.
Alexander Harper, Fourteenth Dist.
1847-51 1851-53 1853-57 1857-61 1861-63 1863-65
Edward Ball,
C. B. Thompkins, Wm. P. Cutler,
Sixteenth Dist. Sixteenth Dist. Sixteenth Dist. Thirteenth Dist. Thirteenth Dist. Thirteenth Dist.
1865-69
John O'Neill, Columbus Delano,
1869-73
Geo. W. Morgan,
1873-79
Milton I. Southard,
Thirteenth Dist.
1879-83
Gibson. Atherton,
Fourteenth Dist.
1883-89
Beriah Wilkins,
Sixteenth Dist.
1889-93 James W. Owens,
Sixteenth Dist.
1893-1905 H. C. Van Voorhis, Fifteenth Dist.
1905-
Beman G. Dawes, Fifteenth Dist.
During the one hundredth year's existence as a county, the Congressional district has been rep- resented forty years by a resident of the county, and of the twenty-six gentlemen who have been honored by the toga of the office, eight have claimed Muskingum as their home. Gen. Her- rick and Dr. Mitchell have been sketched among the Distinguished Dead, and brief biographies of the other Representatives follow.
DAVID CHAMBERS was born at Allen- town, Pennsylvania, November 25. 1780; ed- ucated himself and learned the trade of printer and came to Zanesville about 1810: soon after the Muskingum Messenger was started he purchased the interest of one partner and later of the other and was not only the sole proprietor but editor and journeyman ; under his masterful hand the paper became one of the most prominent and influen- tial democratic organs of the state. In 1814 he was chosen Representative to the General Assem- bly and sold the paper, and from 1817 to 1821 was clerk to the county commissioners, an office equivalent to the present county auditor. From 1821 to 1823 he was Representative to Congress and upon retiring joined Adam Peters in publish- ing the Ohio Republican, in advocacy of the elec- tion of Henry Clay to the presidency. In 1836. '37 and '38 and again in '41 and '42 he repre- sented the county in the lower house of the Gen- eral Assembly and 1843 and '44 was sent to the Ohio Senate, serving as speaker during the last named year. He was a man of great force of character and distinguished ability, and for forty years was a leading public man in the Muskin- gum valley. His commercial and financial inter- ests were extensive and he ranked among the most enterprising citizen of Zanesville, where he died in August, 1864.
ALEXANDER HARPER first breathed the breath of life February 5. 1786, in Ireland ; he
came to America early in life and settled at Zanesville, and appeared as an advocate at the Muskingum Bar in 1813; by close application and perseverance he attained the highest distinc- tion at the Bar, on the Bench and in the legisla- tive halls at Columbus and Washington. In
1820 and '21 he represented the county in the Ohio House of Representatives, and was im- mediately thereafter chosen presiding judge of the fourth circuit, over which he presided from 1822 to 1836; from the Bench he entered Con- gress and served during 1837 and '38, and was returned from 1843 to '47 and again during 1851 and '52; the last nomination came as a distin- guished honor, when he was 65 years of age and with honors thick upon him, the nomination be- ing unopposed in a whig district in which a nomination was equivalent to an election, an evi- dence of the reputation for ability and probity his long career had established. In Congress his power was recognized by his appointment to the judiciary and similar important committees. He was kind and gentle in disposition and was iden- tified with all the most praiseworthy movements in the city of his adoption, where he died Decem- ber 1, 1860.
EDWARD BALL was born in Fairfax county, Virginia, in 1810, and came to Zanesville when a young man ; he was a man of large af- fairs, engaged in numerous business enterprises and was extensively interested in the shipment of live stock to the eastern market, an occupation. which, before the creation of packing houses and beef trusts, was an important and lucrative busi- ness. From 1839 to '43 he served as sheriff of the county, and was Representative to the lower house of the General Assembly in 1845 and 1849. From 1853 to 1857 he was Representative to Con- gress and was Sergeant at arms of the National House of Representatives during the two follow- ing Congresses. In 1860 he was admitted to the Bar, and from 1868 to 1872 was again Represen- tative to Congress. Originally a whig he became a republican, but later affiliated with the demo- crats, and was accidentally killed at Zanesville in 1879 while superintending the loading of a ship- ment of cattle.
JOHN O'NEILL was born at Philadelphia. Pennsylvania, December 17, 1822, and boasted of his pure Irish descent, and certainly inherited the native wit and shrewdness of that people. His parents moved to Frederick, Maryland, when he was quite young and there he attended school : while yet a boy he entered the office of the Attor- ney General, as a law student and pursued his reading with so much energy that he was ad- mitted to practice before attaining his majority. In 1843 he came to Zanesville, and accepted a position as law clerk in the office of Richard Stil- well, in the room at the northwest corner of
20
PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
Fourth street and Fountain alley, which was his own law office for so many years, and until his retirement about a year or so before his death. During his long practice he formed partnerships with Corrington W. Searle, George W. Money- penny, Hugh J. Jewett, W. H. Ball and C. C. Goddard. In 1853 he became prosecuting at- torney and served with signal ability until Jan- uary, 1856; when the Civil war occurred he was active in recruiting men for service; in 1863 he was chosen Representative to Congress and served one term : from 1884 to 1888 he represented the Muskingum district in the Ohio Senate, and dur- ing the last two years was president pro-tem of the body : against his own better judgment he acquiesced in the opinions of the majority of his colleagues and the expressed wishes of many of his constituents, and with the democratic sena- tors went to Kentucky and Tennessee to prevent a quorum of the Senate and the chances of Repub- lican supremacy. Originally, Mr. O'Neill was a stanch whig, but upon the disruption of that party and the formation of the Know Nothings he affiliated with the democrats and remained one during the remainder of his life. Mr. O'Neill was a gentleman of the old school, polished, po- lite, graceful, unobtrusive and kindly : he was one of the most eloquent speakers and profound logi- cians of the Muskingum bar, and was styled the silver tongued orator ; his most celebrated foren- sic efforts were brief and he had the faculty of compressing more pointed statements and bril- liant periods in a brief space of time than any associate at the bar. During recent years he was afflicted with an affection of the eyes that forbade the use of books and papers, but kind friends kept him acquainted with the current of the rapidly occurring events, at home and abroad. An at- tack of "grippe" so exhausted his feeble vitality that he obeyed to the summons to another exist- ence May 25, 1905, and was borne to his grave as the honored nestor of the Muskingum bar.
MILTON I. SOUTHARD was born at Perry- ton, Licking county, Ohio, October 20, 1836, at- tended the public schools and graduated from Dennison University, Granville, in 1861 ; in 1863 he was admitted to the Bar and located at Zanes- ville. From January, 1868, to November, 1872, he served as prosecuting attorney, and in the latter year was elected Representative to Congress and re-elected for the two ensuing terms; he was a member of the committee on revision of the stat- utes of the United States and chairman of the Committee on Territories, and Colorado was ad- mitted to statehood on his report. Although he had a large and lucrative practice, at Zanesville, upon the completion of his Congressional term he located at New York, in association with Gen. Thomas Ewing, in the practice of his profession. During the winter of 1904-5 he was attacked with
"grippe" and upon convalescing expressed a de- sire to return to the hills of Zanesville that he might be "home;" his request was gratified and he was brought to the residence of his brother Frank H., where he died May 4, 1905.
HENRY CLAY VAN VOORHIS was born in Licking township, Muskingum county, Ohio, May 11, 1852, and was educated in the public schools and Dennison University : in 1874 he was admit- ted to the Bar and has always manifested a deep interest in politics; from 1879 to 1884 he was chairman of the Republican County Committee, and was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1884 ; in 1893 he was elected Rep- resentative to Congress and by successive re-elec- tion has served six terms, but upon being named for the sixth term announced that he would not again be a candidate. At the time of his first election he was president of the Citizen's National Bank, which he resigned, and upon the sudden death of Willis Bailey, the president, in February, 1905, Mr. Van Voorhis, then vice-president, was again elected president.
STATE SENATORS.
1804. Joseph Buell, Washington, Gallia and Muskingum.
1805, Joseph Buell, Hallam Hempsted, Wash- ington, Gallia, Athens and Muskingum.
1806, Hallam Hempsted, Leonard Jewett. same district.
1807, Leonard Jewett, John Sharp, Same Dis- trict.
1808-09, Robert McConnell, Muskingum and Tuscarawas.
1810-II, Robert McConnell, Muskingum, Tus- carawas and Guernsey.
1812-14, Robert McConnell, Muskingum.
1815-16, Ebenezer Buckingham, Muskingum.
1817-18, George Jackson, Muskingum.
1819, Samuel Sullivan, resigned, Muskin- gum.
1820, John Mathews, Muskingum.
1821-22, Thomas Ijams, Muskingum.
1823-24, Ebenezer Buckingham, Muskingum.
1825-26, Wyllys Silliman, Muskingum.
1827-29, John Hamm, resigned, Muskingum.
1830, James Raguet, Muskingum.
1831-32, Ezekial T. Cox, Muskingum.
1833-34, Thomas Anderson, Muskingum.
1835-38, Samuel J. Cox, Muskingum.
1839-42, James Henderson, Muskingum. 1843-44, David Chambers, Muskingum,
Speaker, 1844. 1845-48. Charles B. Goddard, Muskingum, Speaker 1847.
1849-50, Charles C. Convers, Muskingum, Speaker 1850.
2I
OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
PAST AND PRESENT
1852-53, W. E. Finck, Muskingum and Perry. 1854-55, Hugh J. Jewett, Muskingum and Perry.
1856-57, Eli A. Spencer, Muskingum and Perry. 1858-59, Ezekial Vanatta, Muskingum and
Perry.
1860-61, Charles W. Potwin, Muskingum and Perry.
1862-63, Thomas J. Maginnis, Muskingum and Perry.
1864-65. William E. Finck, Muskingum and Perry.
1866-69, Daniel B. Linn, Muskingum and Perry.
1870-73, William H. Holden, M. D., Muskin- gum and Perry.
1874-77, Elias Ellis, Muskingum and Perry.
1878-81, Lyman J. Jackson, Muskingum and Perry.
1882-83, John D. Jones, 15-16 District.
1884-85, John O'Neill, 15-16 District.
1886-87, John O'Neill, Edwin Sinnett, 15-16 District.
1888-89, Edwin Sinnett, Joseph G. Huffman, 15-16 District.
1890-91, Daniel H. Gaumer, 15-16 District. 1892-95, George Iden, 15-16 District.
1896-97, Benjamin F. Rodgers, Charles U. Shryock, 15-16 District.
1898-99, William E. Fink, Jr., William E. Miller, 15-16 District.
1900-0I, William Lawrence, 15-16 District. 1902, Norman F. Overturf, 15-16 District.
REPRESENTATIVES.
1804-05, Seth Carhart, Elijah Hatch, Ezekial Marvin, Washington, Muskingum and Gallia counties.
1805-06, Elijah Hatch, James Clark, James E. Phelps, Washington, Muskingum, Gallia and Athens counties.
1806-07, Levi Barker, Lewis Cass, William H. Putoff, same district.
1807-08, John R. P. Burean, Joseph Palmer. John Mathews, same district.
1808-09, David J. Marple, James Clark, Mus- kingum and Tuscarawas.
1809-10, David J. Marple, George Jackson, same district.
1810-TI, David J. Marple, George Jackson, Muskingum, Tuscarawas and Guernsey conn- ties.
1811-12, George Jackson, William Frame, Mus- kingum, Tuscarawas, Guernsey and Coshocton counties.
1812-13, John Hamm, Stephen C. Smith, Mus- kingum.
1813-14, Stephen C. Smith, Joseph K. McCune, Muskingum.
1814-15, Stephen C. Smith, David Chambers, Muskingum.
1815-16, Robert Mitchell, Joseph K. McCune, Muskingum.
1816-17, Robert Mitchell, Robert McConnell, Muskingum.
1817-18, Christian Spangler, Thomas Nisbet. Muskingum.
1818-19, James Hampson, John Reynolds, Mus- kingum.
1819-20, John Reynolds, Robert McConnell, Muskingum.
1820-21, Alexander Harper, Robert K. Mc- Cune, Muskingum.
1821-22, Alexander Harper, William H. Moore, Muskingum.
1822-23. William H. Moore, Nathan C. Find- lay, Muskingum.
1823-24, John C. Stockton, Joseph K. McCune, Muskingum.
1824-25. Thomas L. Pierce, Thomas Flood. Muskingum.
1825-26, Thomas L. Pierce, James Hampson, Muskingum.
1826-27, James Hampson, Thomas Flood, Mus- kingum.
1827-28, James Hampson, James C. Stockton, Muskingum.
1828-29, Wyllys Silliman, David Chambers, Muskingum.
1829-30, Littleton Adams, James Raguet, Mus- kingum.
1830-31, Littleton' Adams, Thomas Maxfield, Muskingum.
1831-32, Appleton Downer, David Peairs, Muskingum.
1832-33, William Cooper, John H. Keith. Muskingum.
1834-35, Aaron Robinson, William H. Moore. Muskingum.
1836. David Chambers, Muskingum.
1837. David Chambers, David K. McCune, Muskingum.
1838, David Chambers, Charles B. Goddard. Muskingum.
1839, Abraham Pollock, George W. Adams, Muskingum.
1840, Abraham Pollock, John Watkins. Muskingum1.
1841-42, David Chambers. Charles Bowen, Muskingum1.
1843. Joseph Fisher, Davis Johns, Muskin- g111.
1844, Davis Johns, Muskingum.
1845. Edward Ball, John Trimble, Muskin-
1846, John Trimble, Muskingumn.
1847. A. S. B. Culbertson. Abel Randall. Mlus- kingum.
1848, Abel Randall, Muskingun. 1849. Edward Ball, Muskingum.
22
PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
1850, William Morgan, Muskingum.
1852, William Morgan, William C. Filler, Muskingum.
1854. John Metcalf, Samuel McCann, Mus- kingum. 1856, John A. Blair, John Crooks, Muskin- gum. 1858, John A. Blair, Lewis Frazee, Muskin- gum.
1860, Daniel Van Voorhis, Elisha I. Trimble, Townsend Gore, Muskingum.
1862, Thaddeus A. Reamy, Jacob Glessner, Muskingum.
1864, James Gallogly, Elijah Little, Muskin- gum.
1866, A. W. Shipley, Perry Wiles, Muskin- gum.
1868, Edward Ball, H. J. Jewett, Muskin- gum.
1870, Edward Ball, Elias Ellis, Muskingum. 1872, William H. Ball, Elias Ellis, Muskin- gum.
1874, James A. Moorehead, John B. Sheppard, Muskingum.
1876, Harvey L. Gogsil, Lamech Rambo, Mus- kingum.
1878, H. F. Achauer, Muskingum.
1880-82, Robert Price, Muskingum.
1884. Charles E. Addison, Muskingum.
1886, Elijah Little, David Stewart, Muskin- gum.
1888, Daniel H. Gaumer, John C. McGregor, Muskingum.
1890. Thomas J. McDermott, Muskingum.
1892, Thomas D. Adams, Muskingum.
1894, William S. Bell, Muskingum.
1896-98, B. F. Swingle, Muskingum.
1900, Amos N. Gray, Robert Silvey, Muskin- gum.
1902, James M. Carr, Muskingum.
CHAPTER III.
CREATION OF COUNTY. JUDICIARY. ASSOCIATE JUDGES. CLERKS OF THE COURT. PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS. SHERIFFS.
PROBATE COURT. COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. COUNTY AUDITORS.
COUNTY TREASURES. COUNTY RECORDERS. COUNTY SURVEYORS. COUNTY CORONERS.
MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
When Ohio became a state of the Union, it was composed of nine counties : Washington, Hamil- ton, Adams, Jefferson, Ross, Trumbull, Clermont. Fairfield and Belmont, and the first state legisla- ture erected eight more : Butler, Montgomery and Warren from Hamilton ; Greene from portions of
Hamilton and Ross ; Franklin from Ross ; Colum- biana from Jefferson and Washington; Gallia from Washington; and Scioto from Adams At the second session, the House of Representatives, on January 4, 1804, passed a bill creating Liv- ingston county, which the Senate amended to read Muskingum, and as finally adopted, by both houses, January 7, 1804, the bill read as follows :
"Section I. Be it enacted, etc., That so much of the counties of Washington and Fairfield, as comes within the following boundaries, be and the same is hereby erected into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of Muskingum, to wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of the ninth township, in the ninth range of the United States' military lands, thence with the western boundary line of said range south to the southern boundary line of said military lands, thence with the same west to the western boundary line of the fifteenth range of public lands, thence with the said line south to the southwest corner of the sixteenth township of the fifteenth range, thence eastwardly to the south boundary of the sixteenth township till it intersects the west boundary of the twelfth range. thence with the sectional lines east to the western boundary line of the seventh range, thence with the same north to the northeast corner of the military tract, thence with the north boundary line of the tenth township in the first and second ranges of said military lands, west until inter- sected by the Indian boundary line, thence with the same westwardly to the place of beginning.
"Section 2. That from and after the first day of March next, said county shall be vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities of a separate and distinct county; Provided always, that all actions and suits which may be pending on the said first day of March next shall be pros- ecuted and carried into final judgment and exe- cution, and all taxes, fees, fines and forfeitures which shall be then due shall be collected in the same manner as if this act had never passed.
"Section 3. That the temporary seat of justice of said county shall be at the town of Zanesville until the permanent seat shall be fixed acording to law.
"Section 4. This act shall commence and be in force from and after the first day of March next.
ELIAS LANGHAM, "Speaker of the House of Representatives. "NATHANIEL MASSIE, "Speaker of the Senate."
"January 7, 1804."
The county, as thus defined, had a length from north to south of about six miles and a width. from east to west, of about fifty-five miles.
Whatever opinions may be entertained respect- ing the savagry, indolence and treachery of the
23
PAST AND PRESENT OF MUSKINGUM COUNTY.
American Indian his nomenclature must be con- ceded to be vastly superior in logic, rhythm and melody to that applied by his white conqueror. Where the civilized man employed arbitrary, acci- dental or sentimental names for locations, the In- dian coined one indicative of the characteristics of the object, and where these have been pre- served or retained the language has not suffered by the addition to its vocabulary.
No citizen of Ohio would consider, for a mo- ment, the exchange of the name of his state for any of the ten classical designations proposed by Jefferson in his ordinance of 1784. Moxahala is more musical than Jonathan's creek, and the Nat- chez, of the former Seventh ward, possesses the same superiority of euphony over the neighbor- ing locality of Millwood ; Muskingum pleases the ear more than Licking, and Tuscarawas and Coshocton are more agreeable in sound, and more appropriate in designation, than the Knox and Holmes which are attached to adjoining counties. Therefore, as these lines are read, the people of Muskingum county should experience a grateful acknowledgment to the Ohio Senate, which amended the act creating the county, by substitut- ing Muskingum, originally pronounced Moos- king-dom, an Indian word meaning Elk's Eye, for the name Livingston, however worthy the pa- triot was of the distinction, as proposed in the original draft as passed by the House, and to which amendment the House promptly acceded.
By act of February 13. 1808, Tuscarawas county was cut off, and by act of January 31. 1810, Guernsey county was created from parts of Muskingum and Belmont. By act of January 31, 1810, Coshocton county was formed from Muskingum and Tuscarawas ; by an act of De- cember 26, 1817, Perry was created from Mus- kingum, Washington and Fairfield, and Decem- ber 29, 1817, Morgan county was erected from Muskingum, Guernsey and Washington, but was to remain attached to the respective counties until the new county was organized ; this last amputa- tion ended the reduction of the original area of the county, and Muskingum ranks as the eigh- teenth in seniority among the eighty-eight coun- ties of the state.
JUDICIARY.
The first judicial system of Ohio grouped sev- eral counties into a circuit, with a president judge, elected by the General Assembly, for seven years, and who was required to be a lawyer, but three citizens of cach county in the circuit, who were not required to be lawyers, were also chosen by the legislature as Associate Judges ; the president judge and two associates, or three
associates without the president judge, could hold court, and sessions could be held at the pleasure of the associates.
In 1804 there were three circuits, Muskingum county being in the second with Adams, Fairfield, Franklin, Gallia, Ross and Scioto counties. Wyllys Silliman was president judge and April 25 was named by law as the beginning of the first term of the Common Pleas Court in Mus- kingum county, but the record does not give the date of the first court, the register reading as fol- lows :
"At a special court held on the day of
in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and four, at the house of David Harvey, Esquire, in Zanesville, in and for the county of Muskingum, it being the first court held in said county, Present, the Honorable Willis Silliman, Esquire, President ; and Jesse Fulton and David Harvey, Esquire, his Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of said county. Ap- pointed Abel Lewis, Clerk protem of said court, who gave bond and was sworn into the office aforesaid by the said Honorable Willis Silliman, Esquire, according to law and the constitution of the state of Ohio."
The first court was held in David Harvey's tavern, at the southwest corner of Main and Third streets, sessions being subsequently held in a two story log house on the west side of Sixth street, about one hundred feet south of Main street, and owned by James Herron.
The earliest known writ was dated June 6. 1804. in a slander suit in which the defendant was charged with having used the words, "You are a thief and I can prove it:" damages were claimed in the sum of $500.00 and verdict was rendered November, 1804, in the sum of $3.00. Judge Silliman had resigned and appeared in the case as counsel for the plaintiff, but on November 20, the same month, sued his late client as attor- ney for the late defendant, in an action for debt : Lewis Cass defended the suit and at the August term obtained a verdict, and the unfortunate al- leged defamer had to pay the costs again.
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