USA > Ohio > Fairfield County > Pioneer period and pioneer people of Fairfield County, Ohio > Part 6
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John Sherman's public career places him in the front rank of statesmen, and his name upon the im- perishable roll of fame. He did not become presi- dent, but his name will be honorably mentioned in history long after many who have held that exalted office are forgotten. The life of Senator Sherman has been a model one in all respects, pure and without reproach. The temptations and excesses incident to public life had no charms for him. In the quiet home with his family and books he spent his leisure hours. He has· respect for religion and is an Episcopalian in faith.
He was devoted to his mother, both in youth and manhood, even down to old age. For we find this passage in his Autobiography written when near 70 years of age.
" Of my mother I can scarcely write without emo- tion, though she died more than forty years ago." We need not search farther for the influence that shaped and formed his character. The above passage makes it clear.
The name and fame of the Shermans reflects un- fading lustre upon their native city.
GEN. W. T. SHERMAN
The day of the funeral of Gen. W. T. Sherman, the citizens of Lancaster held memorial services. C. M. L. Wiseman, of the speakers, delivered the follow- ing brief address :
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen : I will read a passage from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress :
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"After this it was noised about that Mr. Valiant-for- truth was taken with a summons. When he understood it he called his friends and told them of it. Then, said he, "I am going to my father's; and though with great difficulty I got thither, yet now I do not repent me of all the trouble I have been at(to arrive where I am. My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get them. My marks and scars I carry with me, to be a witness for me that I have fought His battles who will now be a rewarder." When the day that he must go hence was come, many accompanied him to the river side, into which, as he went, he said; "Death, where is thy sting?" and as he went down deeper he said, "Grave, where is thy victory?" So he passed over, and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side.
Sherman has gone to join the grand army on the other shore. We believe that it is well with him, as it is with all men who live for humanity or give their lives to their country.
It was the good fortune of many in this audience to personally know General Sherman, which is to them a never failing source of pleasure.
I have met him often in Lancaster and elsewhere and at his headquarters in Washington. I always found him an affable and pleasant gentleman and especially was he kind in Washington.
He had the reputation of being a blunt, gruff man, but that grew mainly from the fact that he disliked an ovation and personal attention. He avoided displays wherever he could well do so and sometimes offended: But he was the most beloved of all our generals in spite of himself. We remember well when he returned to Lancaster from St. Louis on his way to Washington to tender his services to President Lincoln, and how disappointed he was on his return. The story of that interview is graphically told in his memoirs. We also remember well when he returned to his family from Missouri after he had been relieved of his command at Louisville, Kentucky. And how dejected and sad he was, suffering under a cloud of misapprehension and the stormy attacks of the daily press.
But his day of triumph came, when, at the head of his
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victorious legions, he marched down Pennsylvania avenue, amidst the plaudits of assembled thousands, the observed of all observers and the acknowledged second, if not the first, great hero of the war.
In the early history of the war the one baneful thing was the jealousies of each other of the different commanders and the one great obstacle to success.
But history will forever record the love and confidence of Grant and Sherman for and in each other. They were not jealous of each other, nor were they jealous of or wanting in confidence in their subordinate officers. This will be appreciated the more if we recall a bit of history- the jealousies and intrigues of the Roman generals destroyed the greatest empire of the world.
The confidence in and faithfulness to each other, of Grant and his generals saved our country. General Sherman, though a grim warrior and fierce fighter-always giving his enemy a full taste of the horrors of war-was at heart a tender man. Those who have read his articles in the North American Review will remember one of which the southern negro is the subject, as tender and pathetic as anything ever written. His pathetic reference to the negro servant, Old Shady, can not be surpassed.
In honoring Sherman to-day we honor a great citizen as well as a great soldier. I envy those among us who have the honor and the distinction of having served under his command. To have been with General Sherman on his march to the sea "is a life long honor increasing with the weight of years." Brave men have been the theme of song and story in all lands and in all ages. Long ago the Grecian bard Homer, sang :
'The brave live glorious or lamented die,
The wretch who trembles on the field of fame
Meets death and worse than death, eternal shame.'
It has been but a little while since Sherman at the head of 60,000 Grand Army veterans, with tattered banners and inspiring music marched down the streets of Columbus-a grand and imposing spectacle. He will march with them no more. He is with the Grand Army over the river and they rest
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"On Fame's eternal camping ground Their silent tents are spread, Whilst glory guards with solemn round The bivouac of the dead."
Soon the rear guard will follow him, one by one, one by one, till all are gone-they will pass over "and all the trumpets will sound for them on the other side." Lancaster will long mourn the great soldier whose heroic life and great achieve- ments have placed him in the front rank of the many distin- guished citizens whose lives have shed lustre upon our history and added to her renown as the home of great men. Born here, brought up in our midst, married here; his name is indissolubly linked with that of Lancaster and his memory will always remain embalmed in the hearts of her citizens. Our hero is dead-but his fame survives, unsullied, untarn- ished, bounded only by the limits of human civilization.
BY JOHN B. M'NEILL.
It is certainly fit and appropriate that the good people of old Lancaster should on this occasion moisten with their tears the garlands that are being placed upon the grave of General Sherman.
Here he was born; Here he struggled when an orphaned boy; and from here he was called to West Point, to become a ward of the Nation. He honored his god-parent-hence his days were long in the land, and "In the world's broad field of battle" he became "A hero in the strife."
Words cannot fully express the emotions of the heart, and language is too poor indeed to embellish the wreaths on Sherman's grave; but the eloquence of the tear of woe is abroad in the land; the Nation is in gloom and sorrow; the old soldiers are all in mourning, and the American citizen is standing with uncovered head, because our old Lancaster boy has gone to sleep-to sleep the sleep that knows no waking, along with Grant and Sheridan and Thomas, and the mighty host of comrades, who are mouldering in the silent grave. But
When spring, with dewy fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallowed mould, She there shall find a brighter sod.
Than fancy's feet have ever trod.
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JACOB BECK
One of the pioneers of Fairfield County, and for years one of our best known and most useful citizens, cele- brated his 90th birthday June 25, 1894. To the as- sembled company he read, without the use of glasses, the following brief sketch. He was a citizen of Hock- ing township for 60 years :
KIND FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS : - We have met here this day, the 25th of June, for the purpose of commemorating my ninetieth birthday. I was born on the 25th of June, 1804, in the village of Rhotenflue, in the canton of Basle, Switzerland, nine miles, or in the Swiss dialect, dreistund, from the city of Basle. In the year 1806 father, with his little family, con- sisting of his wife and one child, emigrated to America. They left their home on the sixth day of May and went to the city of Basle, and took passage in a boat on the River Rhine, and arrived at the city of Amsterdam, in Holland, on the 17th day of the same month, and at once set sail for the new world. They arrived at the city of Philadelphia, Pa., on the 10th day of August -having been a little over twelve weeks on the deep. They settled, temporarily, in the State of Pennsylva- nia. In the year 1810, in the month of April, they started for the West, arriving at Lancaster, Ohio, on the 5th day of May, 1810, where father located with his family. I was nearly six years old when we arrived at Lancaster, and I was reared in this town, and lived in or near to it until the present time. I was united in the bonds of holy wedlock to Miss Susan Kerns on the 31st of August, 1826. This union was blessed with eight children - one of whom died in its infancy; of the remaining seven children, there are two daughters and five sons, all of whom survive; two sons and a daughter are resid- ing on the old homestead, and the other daughter is comfort- ably located not far distant. There is one son banking in Pierce, Nebraska; one is pastor of a congregation in Rich- mond, Indiana, while another is practicing medicine in the city of Dayton, Ohio.
Now, dear friends, in my feeble and nervous debility, I find myself where I am and as I am - my duty is submission.
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Because I am unwell or disabled, I need not be unhappy. I accept my situation as of divine appointment and I will try to be contented in it - I will make the place where my lot is cast as bright and cheerful as possible, and wait with patience till I am permitted to enter my heavenly home.
On the same occasion, C. M. L. Wiseman deliv- ered the following tribute to his friend of forty years :
VENERABLE FRIEND : - This numerous company has met with you today at your invitation to celebrate the 90th anni- versary of your birth. You have been greatly favored by a kind Providence. He hath kindly lengthened out your days far beyond the ordinary time allotted for the life of man. He has preserved your mental and physical faculties, so that you are enabled to join with us in the celebration of this unusual event, an anniversary measured by four score and ten years.
Your life has been a long, honorable and useful one, illustrating the virtues that adorn and ennoble human nature.
When Daniel Webster welcomed Lafayette to this country in 1825, he said : "Illustrious citizen, you have come down to us from a former generation."
This is literally true of you, my friend. Long before a majority of this assembly were born you were an active business man of Lancaster, and all with whom you were then associated have passed away, with the exception of one honorable and highly respected citizen, whom all regret cannot be with us today, Henry Orman, two days the senior of Jacob Beck and for 70 years friends and brothers.
It was the good fortune of Mr. Beck to personally know the great men who made Lancaster and the State of Ohio famous, and to enjoy their warm personal friendship. I will name a few of the most noted men referred to. Gen'l Beecher, Judge Sherman, Senator Ewing, Judge Hunter, Hon. Henry Stanbery, Hon. John T. Brasee, Gen'l Sam'l F. McCracken, John Creed, Gen'l Sanderson, Dr. McNeil, Gov. Medill, and Gen'l W. T. Sherman and John Sherman, both as boys and men.
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Mr. Beck cherishes a high regard for his old friends of long ago and often refers with pride to his long associa- tion with them.
Your lot, Mr. Beck, was cast in a favored land and you have lived your ninety years in the most interesting period of the world's history.
Great events have transpired both in the political and moral world and everything pertaining to science and art has seemingly reached perfection; and there would seem to be nothing left to be discovered.
American generals have marshalled the greatest armies known to history. The greatest rebellion of any age was sup- pressed and human slavery, the greatest blot upon human civilization, abolished; with this great event the name of Abraham Lincoln will be forever associated, and his one of the names that will go down in history .- When Mr. Beck was a mere boy, this Western Empire was an infant and three- fourths of its present territory a howling wilderness.
We now number nearly 50 states and a population in round numbers of 70,000,000. In Mr. Beck's early days all public business was transacted by horse back. Trips to New York and New England were often made in that way. Now you can visit every town of any importance in the whole country in a railway car.
When the parents of Mr. Beck came from fatherland it required three months to make the trip. Now it can be made in from 6 to 10 days.
Science has chained the lightning, electric wires encircle the globe and a message of love or mercy may literally "take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of Earth."
These vast changes have taken place in the lifetime of our venerable friend. Who does not envy him the recollec- tions of his long and eventful life.
We read in the scriptures: "See'st thou a man diligent in his business, he shall stand before kings and not before mean men." No man ever lived who was more diligent in business than Mr. Beck. Industrious, punctual and scrupu- lously exact in all things.
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He has always prided himself upon his industry and that he complied with that other passage of scripture: "In the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat bread."
He was not ashamed of any honest calling and when a young man he was a good blacksmith, and there in the black- smith shop he learned the lesson of his life long before the poet Longfellow so beautifully expressed it:
"Thus at the flaming forge of life Our fortunes must be wrought."
He was a good county treasurer, a good farmer and a good administrator of estates. For twenty-five years of his life he was the popular administrator of estates in this county. In this work he displayed great capacity and highly commended himself to his able attorney, H. H. Hunter. The work of an administrator of that day was much more diffi- cult than at present. Then there were no books of form and instruction. Swan's manual had not then been heard of.
During this work of Mr. Beck, Henry Stanbery con- ceived the idea of writing out and publishing forms for an administrator. He did the writing and submitted his work to Mr. Hunter for his approval. Mr. Hunter promptly told him that his friend Jacob Beck was the author of a better form, which Mr. Stanbery after examination admitted and threw his own work into the fire.
Jacob Beck with his saddle bags upon his arm, filled with important papers was once a very familiar figure on the streets of Lancaster.
You have been a life long and consistent member of the Lutheran church. You have occupied positions of trust and honor under its administration, the most important being that of trustee of the university at Columbus, Ohio.
You have enjoyed the friendship and confidence of the leading clergymen of that denomination for seventy years; and of those living who knew you in early manhood I can name only Rev. Joseph Roof and Rev. Chas. Spielman, both valued friends and colaborers. Both distinguished clergy- men of their denomination and known and loved far beyond denominational lines. Rev. 'Jos. Roof was once called as a witness in the Common Pleas Court at Circleville. The oppos- ing counsel arose and requested the court to permit Mr.
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Roof to testify without the usual formality of an oath, as his word was sufficient. Such were the men who favored Mr. Beck with their confidence and friendship.
We honor you to-day as a faithful member of your own church organization; we honor you in a larger sense, not as a Lutheran, but as a broad-minded Christian gentleman. Your whole life has been as "an open book to be read of all men." Your life and character has impressed itself upon this community and time and eternity alone will unfold the force and effect of your example. But few men have been so favored; but few communities have been so fortunate.
Perhaps the most gratifying feature to Mr. Beck, of his long life, is that he has raised a large family of interesting children. All followed his good example and became good men and women and good citizens.
And the greatest blessing the Almighty has vouchsafed to him is that they all live and are here to-day to shower blessings upon his venerable head and to thank God that he still lives. Another scripture has been fulfilled. "His children shall rise up and call him blessed."
An English poet beautifully says :
"Sure the last end of the good man is peace,
How calm his exit, night dews fall not more gently to the earth,
Nor weary, worn out winds expire so soft, Behold him in the eventide of life,
A life well spent, whose early care it was
His riper years should not upbraid his green
By unperceived degrees he wears away,
Yet, like the sun, seems larger at his setting."
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BRIEF TOWNSHIP SKETCHES.
BERNE
B ERNE township was first settled by the Car- penters, Emanuel, Samuel and John. They were soon followed by the Shallenbergers and Abraham Ream and his sons. The Carpenters, Shall- enbergers and Reams built the first mills and were prominent and useful citizens.
Joseph Stukey and two brothers were early set- tlers and reared large families. Stukey built a good mill at the mouth of Rush creek. Joseph Stukey was a prominent man and an associate judge for this county for one or two terms. He was appointed by the Court of Common Pleas one of the receivers of the Lancas- ter bank, when it was wound up in 1842. Levi Moore and Asa Spurgeon were among the first to set- tle below Lancaster.
One of the very first settlers in Berne township was Gen. Jonathan Lynch, as early as 1798 or 1799. He lived on what is now the Baldwin farm. He oper- ated a small tan-yard, the first in the county. Here a son was born, December, 1799; one of the first, at least the second, to be born in the county. Gen. Lynch was a very prominent man. He commanded a brigade in the war of 1812. He spent his small fortune in caring for his men, and his children state that he was never reimbursed.
PLEASANT
The early settlers of this township were Edward Teal, Nimrod Bright, Frederick Arnold, Aaron
(100)
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
Ashbrook, William Trimble, Thomas, Matthew and David Ewing, and James Duncan. Trimble and Ewing were prominent men and represented this county in the legislature. Fredk. Harmon, John Miller and Dewalt Macklin came in 1800.
MADISON
The early settlers of this township were Martin Landis, Sr., Samuel Spangler, Adam Defenbaugh and Matthew and Robert Young, and the Shaffers, a large family.
RICHLAND
The early settlers of this township were John Mur- phey, Emanuel Ruffner, Daniel Stevenson, Thomas William and Isaac Ijams. The three brothers rear- ed eight sons who became prominent township men, the most distinguished of whom was Joseph Ijams, a great merchant in his time. William Wilson and his sons, William, Thomas, Joseph, Isaac and David. The daughters, also Mrs. James Richie, and Mrs. Col. Wm. Sumner and Mrs. Herron were prominent people ; bold and fearless pioneers. William Coulson was not an early settler, but he was the most able and distinguished man of Rushvlle, or of Richland town- ship; a great pioneer merchant. He lived beyond 90 years.
RUSH CREEK
The first settlers in this township were the Youngs (in 1799), Andrew Ashbaugh, Fredk. Ashbaugh, John Ashbaugh, Sr., John Ashbaugh, Jr., Joseph Miller and their wives.
The McClungs and Larimers came later. William McClung served in the war of 1812,was member of the
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Ohio legislature and an associate judge of the Com- mon Pleas Court.
In this township the first Presbyterian house of worship was built, of which an account is given in the sketch of the Rowles family.
The Ashbaugh family arrived at the Carpenter set- tlement on Hock-Hocking the evening of December 31, 1799, and on the morning of January 1, 1800 their son, David, was born in one of the Carpenter cabins.
VIOLET
The early settlers of Violet township were H. Donaldson, A. Donaldson, Ed. Rickets, W. Hustand, Dr. Tolbert, Abraham Pickering and M. Fishpaugh.
GREENFIELD
Greenfield township was settled in 1798 and 1799. Isaac Meason was one of the very early settlers. Walter McFarland and his father came about the same time. Joseph Stuart, Ralph Cherry, Jeremiah Cherry, Joshua Meeks and Samuel Randall were here before Meason. Gen. James Wells, a distinguished man, of a very distinguished family, came here about the year 1801 and settled where Hooker station is located.
Henry Abrams, father-in-law of Gen. Sanderson, was an early settler, as was Loveland and Smith, who built the first mill in the county.
Jacob Claypool came in 1808, but did not bring his family until 1811. He became one of the distinguished men of the county ; farmer, drover, banker, legislator and an all round good business man. This township was the seat of the famous Greenfield Academy, where so many young men were educated by that famous scholar and teacher, Dr. John Williams.
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Of Fairfield County, Ohio.
AN HISTORIC OHIO MILL
ROCK MILL, AT HOOKERS, OHIO
Among the other Ohio flouring mills, few are to be found in a better state of preservation than the Rock Mills, shown in the engraving. It is located at the upper falls of the Hocking river, near the village of Hookers, Fairfield County, about seven miles from Lancaster. It occupies (nearly) the site of the first mill erected (1799) on Hocking river, built by Love- land & Smith. They located directly below the falls, the grists being taken into the mill at the gable by ropes from the top of the cliff.
The present building was erected in 1824. It has the heavy frame timbers of that period and is four stories high. It was built by a man named Barrett, as a combined grist and woolen mill, but the woolen ma- chinery was never put into the building. The premises have since been owned successively by Abraham Book- walter, Christian Morehart, Joseph Knabenshue (father of Samuel Knabenshue, editor of the Toledo Blade), Philip Homrighous and John Foor, who in the spring of 1899 became a member of the firm of Solt, Alspach Bros. & Foor. They completely remodeled the mill, putting in Nordyke & Marmon Company's machinery and the Swing Sifter System. It has since been run- ning successfully, doing a comfortable business. The firm is now styled Solt & Alspach. C. Mingus is the head miller.
The waterfall shown in the engraving is located immediately to the right of the penstock. Below the falls for half a mile or so, the river is confined within a narrow gorge some 50 to 60 feet deep, which is shaded by a heavy growth of timber. It is a favorite
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resort for searchers for the picturesque in that part of Ohio. The wide gorge resembles the body of a bottle and the narrow stem above the falls, the neck, hence the name "bottle-river" or Hock-Hocking. Grogan, one of the first white men to visit this valley (1751) records this name .- American Miller.
CLEAR CREEK
The Shoemakers, John and Jacob, were undoubt- edly the first settlers of this township, as early as 1797, Charley Friend and Michael Nye came in 1800. In 1807 the men destined to become the leading men of the township settled in Clear Creek. John Leist was born in 1784, in Northampton county, Penn. He was a soldier of the war of 1812 and a member of the Ohio Legislature from 1813 to 1820. He was distinguished for his integrity and rare good common sense. He reared a large family of children.
Rev. Jacob Leist, a pioneer Lutheran preacher, was his brother. Near John Leist's home in Dutch hollow the first church of the township was built. A flourishing society of Lutherans has worshipped there for ninety years. Judge John Augustus was a promi- nent man in Clear Creek.
BLOOM
The early settlers of Bloom township were Abra- ham Courtright, Jesse D. Courtright, Z. Drake, C. Merchant, M. Allspaugh, Levi Moore and Christian Crumley. Abraham Courtright taught the first school in Bloom township; this was in 1805. It is claimed that a church was built in this township by Presbyteri- ans in 1807, on the old Columbus road.
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WALNUT
William Murphey, Sr., and his three sons, Wil- liam, Benjamin and Edward, James Holmes and his family of boys, were the earliest settlers of Walnut township. Rev. John Hite, Samuel Crawford, Sam- uel Wiseman, Jacob Culp and George DeBolt were early settlers.
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