USA > Ohio > Ross County > Pioneer record and reminiscences of the early settlers and settlement of Ross County, Ohio > Part 7
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By Robert Dill.
His father Robert Dill, Sen., and Thomas Dill, emigrated, in the first place, from Pennsylvania to Kentucky. From there they came to Ohio in 1800, and erected one of the first cabins that was built in the township. Robert Dill, Sen., served as jus- tice of the peace for several years. Indians were very plenty when they first came to Ohio, and would often call at their cabin. Mr. Dill was a home hunter. Deer were so plenty that they
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Paxton Township.
were often killed for their skins alone. At one time, while out on a hunt, he had quite a fight with wolves, there being some ten or fifteen of them, but escaped without harm. Mr. Dill, on making his first payment for his land, had to go to Pennsyl- vania. To make it, he started on horseback with about $1,500 in his saddle-bags, and on the way his horse, by some means, escaped from him, and started off with the money. After a hard chase and much anxiety of mind, he overhauled him and found all safe. Todd's trace passed immediately in front of the house in which he now resides. He has served his town- ship as an officer in different capacities from time to time. His father died aged seventy-one years.
Ancient Works.
On Mr. Dill's farm are six ancient mounds, of different sizes, from twenty to thirty feet in hight, and on Mr. Richard Dill's farm is an ancient fort or fortification containing about twenty-four acres, which is a perfect square. The embankment is from three to four feet in hight, and, at regular intervals, there are low places or gaps. On Mr. Thomas Blackstone's farm is a circular formed work, containing some seventeen acres. The embankment is three or four feet in hight. All of these works seem to have been subjected to fire at some time, as there is found on them ashes and coals; pieces of earthenware, some of fine workmanship, have been found in and about them. Near some of these works freestone rocks, finely dressed, are found, some of them of an oblong shape, three by four feet, with the corners rounded off. One of these mounds is coated with gravel some eighteen inches in depth, and surrounded by a stone wall some three feet in hight. Several years since this mound was opened, and a skeleton was found in the inside, in a sitting posture, surrounded with stone.
By Thomas Blackstone.
His father, John Blackstone, emigrated from Virginia to Ohio in 1802, and was in the war of 1812. He was also at the defeat of St. Clair. During the fight he became very thirsty,
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Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.
and lay down to take a· drink. Not knowing they were de- feated, he was soon informed of that fact by another soldier, by the name of Black, who, when flying past and seeing him lying there, called to him and said : “ Blackstone ! d- it, why don't you run ?" He rose and found the whole army in flight. But he soon was up with them. He died aged seventy, two years. He was a great hunter, and killed many bear, deer, wolves, and other game. One of his neighbors went to a deer lick at one time, and saw what he supposed to be the ears of a bear through the brush, working back and forth, as though keeping off the flies, when he up with his gun and fired. When the gun cracked he heard the tingle of a bell, and, upon going to the spot, to his surprise he found, instead of a bear, his own yearling colt.
By D. C. Carson, of Bainbridge.
The first tannery in Paxton township was sunk by Nathan Reeves, two miles east of Bainbridge, at the crossing of Paint. He also kept a ferry boat at said crossing. Reeves emigrated from Virginia, with the Carsons, about the year 1798. Mr. Carson's father, Robert, settled in Highland county when New Market was the county seat, one mile west of where Hills- borough was laid out, where he sunk a tannery. The first school house was built on the farm of Christian Platter. It was also the first preaching place in the township. General Massie was one of the first settlers in the township, two miles west of Bainbridge. He laid out a town north of Paint creek, at the Great Falls, which was named Amsterdam. Here he built a grist mill and still house on the north side and a saw mill on the south. It was, however, very sickly, so he laid out Bainbridge, and it proving more healthy, Amsterdam was vacated. He also built a furnace on his farm, above town. Amos Folk was the first merchant in Bainbridge. He brought his goods from Chillicothe, in the first place, in saddle-bags. E. Kelly was the first blacksmith and justice of the peace. Austin Southard was the first shoemaker. These three families
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Paxton Township.
composed the town for two or more years. Massie's mills, still house, and furnace are all gone. D. C. Carson was born in 1799, in all probability the first white male child born in the township. There has been fourteen still houses built in the township, but at this time there are none. Near Bainbridge are two fine sulphur springs, very strong, and perhaps as good as any in the State.
By Mr. Howard Newman, of Twin Township.
On Mr. Price Taylor's farm, in Paxton township, stood a large mound, which Mr. Newman worked into brick some years ago. In this mound he found numerous human bones, some of a very large size, sometimes almost the entire frame. Some of the skulls were in a good state of preservation, con- taining the entire teeth. He found the center of the mound seemed to be filled with decayed matter, perhaps of human bodies; among this he found charcoal, pieces of lead, etc. Mr. Newman worked on this mound some three years before he made it up into brick.
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Pioneer Recora of Ross County, Obu.
Liberty Township.
Township Officers.
Justices of the Peace, Elijah Humphrey and T. B. Er- skine; Trustees, Joseph Thomas, Madison Arganbright, and J. W. Drummond ; Treasurer, Samuel G. Griffin ; Clerk, Elisha Murphy; Constables, Thomas Grubb and Charles Parrott ; Land Appraiser, Levi Jones ; Postmaster, Thomas Ratliff.
The village of Londonderry contains about two hundred inhabitants, one M. E. Church, cemetery, two stores, three gro- ceries, two hotels, five blacksmith shops, one school house, one saddlery, two shoemaker shops, one silversmith and gunsmith, three physicians.
For the above I am indebted to Mr. Samuel G. Griffin, father of Mr. P. G. Griffin, clerk of the court of Ross county. Mr. Griffin emigrated to Ohio from Virginia in 1831, and is now aged about sixty-nine years. He has served his township as treasurer for thirty-two years, and justice of the peace for sev- eral years.
Ancient Works.
On Mr. Thomas Orr's and Milton Jones' farms, near the bank of the Scioto river, is quite a large earthwork, several feet in hight, in an eight-square shape, with a gap at each corner. The inclosure contains about fifteen acres. On the same lands, near the river bank, is another earthwork, thrown up in a per- fect circle, containing about twenty or twenty-five acres, with a lane or gap dug out leading down to the water's edge.
On Mr. Daniel Harness' farm is another of those ancient works, square shaped, and in the center is a small mound six or eight feet in hight, the wall containing within it about eight
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Liberty Township.
acres. Mr. Harness says on his farm, on the bank of the Scioto river, where the water had washed some of the bank away, were found at one time quite a large number of leaden balls of different sizes and shapes, some of them weighing an ounce or more, perhaps in all half a bushel, indicating that at some time there had been quite a severe battle there. He also states there was found on his farm a large stone pipe, weighing one pound, with the shape of a human face neatly cut upon it. Near the same place was found a marble or stone ball as large as a good sized apple, perfectly round and smooth, with a hole through the center, with many other curiously cut stones and darts. On Mr. Ed. Harness' farm is another of those mounds, which is about one hundred feet long, sixty feet wide, and fif- teen to eighteen feet in hight. Mr. Harness says at one time some persons opened this mound, and the inside was found to be quite hollow, the cavity admitting a person by stooping a little. Around the base were found buried a great number of human skeletons of quite a small size. A number of them were dug out. Under the head of each skeleton were found the fibers of seemingly very fine cloth, the threads appearing very plainly. Near this mound is a curiously shaped earth work thrown up, containing some ten acres within the walls, with a long lane or outlet leading out for some distance from the main work.
Mr. John Davis, whose name appears in another place in this work, says Mr. Harness, in early times, started to Chilli- cothe on horseback to buy some salt, just after he had settled where he now lives, taking with him the last dollar he had, which would pay at that time for a half bushel. On the way he met a party who proposed a horse race for one dollar a side. Mr. Davis put up his dollar and won the race, and with his two dollars he bought a bushel instead of a half bushel of salt.
By Simpson Jones.
Among the very first settlements made in Ross county was that of the Highbank Prairie, now included in this town-
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Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.
ship. As early as 1798 corn was raised by different parties on that prairie. The crop spoken of by J. B. Finley, as hav- ing been raised by James Kilgore on the Station Prairie, was beyond doubt raised on the Highbank Prairie. As Kilgore settled and put up his cabin about where Horace Crookham now lives, and was living there in 1798, it is hardly likely he would cross the river and go up two miles to raise corn, when there was as good or better land within a few hundred yards of his cabin. Mr. Kilgore afterward bought the upper tract of the Highbank Prairie, and divided it with a Mr. Holton, on which tracts of land, now owned by Thomas Orr and Milton Jones, both of them ended their days. We have no informa- tion that Mr. Kilgore attempted to raise any crop previous to 1798, in which year he did raise corn on the Highbank Prairie; so that we conclude the first corn was raised by the whites on that prairie instead of the Station. Among the earlier settlers who came out to make a crop preparatory to a settlement, were Thomas and Zebulon Orr, who raised corn on the Highbank in 1798 or 1799; also, Robert Corhen, Ben- jamin Kerns, Amos Taylor, and others-indeed, this was the center of the settlement, and the bank east of this rich and fertile prairie soon became lined with cabins, and so continued up to the time of the land sale. As the Government sold no smaller tracts than a section, it was the purpose of most of these early settlers to club together and buy homes on this prairie. But on the day of sale, when these lands were sold, the crier, instead of naming them the Highbank lands, offered them as the lands lying at the mouth of Indian creek, and they were bought by Benjamin Kerns, Felix Rennick, and Joseph Har- ness, except the upper fractional section, which was bought by James Kilgore and Holton. This made a scattering of the pioneers then settled along the bank, most of whom fell back upon the flats or second bottoms and uplands-some even seek- ing the hills on account of health and game. I have had it, says my informant, from more than one of these old settlers, that
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Liberty Township.
it was their settled conviction that there was bribery used in the selling of the Highbank lands, but just who was accused I never learned. *
Rich and productive as these lands were, there was a terri- ble drawback to their attraction in the shape of chills and fevers. So prevalent was this disease that not a cabin or a fam- ily escaped for a single year; and it often happened that of a large family there would not be a single well member to fur - nish drink to the others. In such cases buckets would be filled in the morning by those most able and placed in some accessi - ble place, so when the shakes came on each could help himself or herself. Had there been any seeming possible way of get- ing back to the old settlements, from which these adventurers had come, most, if not all, would have left the rich Scioto bot- toms, with their shakes and fevers; but so it was, there were no railroads or canals, or even wagon roads, on which they could convey their disheartened skeletons back to their old home- steads, with their pure springs and health-restoring associa- tions. At the time of the year when a tedious land or water trip could be made, there were enough of each family sick to prevent any preparatory arrangements for such a return ; while in winter there were even more obstacles in the way than the sickness of summer. Thus held not only by the charms of the scenery, and the productiveness of the soil, but by the sterner realities of shakes and burning fevers, few that came ever re- turned, but every year brought new neighbors.
# Who the party guilty of the bribery of the crier was, seemed to be indicated by several circumstances that followed soon after the sale. The first wheat raised on the Highbank was by Mr. Kerns, who was permitted to get it harvested and stacked, soon after which it was fired in the night and burned up. Among the first patches cleared in the upland by Mr. Kerns was for an orchard. Before fully completing the clearing, and while the log-heaps were on fire, Mr. Kerns had his apple-trees planted. These trees were obtained at a considerable cost, as there were no nurseries yet in this country. A night or two after the trees were all set out, and before the remains of the log-heaps were gone out, some person or persons went and pulled up every tree in the orchard, and laid the roots in the fire !- Jos. SMITH.
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Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.
But to return to the land sale. There was a general feel- ing of indignation toward the fortunate possessors of the High- bank lands, and parties who had expected to procure homes there hastened to make sure of the next best lands within reach. The Orrs removed to Dry run, in an adjoining township ; Rob- ert Corhen and Benjamin Hanson located on Walnut creek, near Mooresville; Amos Taylor, Thomas Jones, McClintick, and others located on Walnut creek, where they lived till the close of life. On getting possession of the corn land on the Highbank, one of the purchasers claimed rent from those who had raised crops, and all paid except Thomas Orr. Orr refused to pay rent for Congress land, and was sued by Benjamin Kerns, who failed to recover.
Very soon after the sale of the Highbank lands, all the better portions of the township were entered, chiefly by specu- lators and parties clubbing together. Few persons had the means to enter a whole section, or even a half section. All the land in the township, except the Highbank, was covered with a heavy growth of timber, such as white and black oak, hickory, sugar, poplar, beech, and walnut. To cultivate this land it was necessary first to clear it, which was a laborious job. Much of this timber, especially on Walnut creek, consisted of the finest yellow poplar, tall and straight, and many of them four and six feet in diameter. To get these trees out of the way re- quired much labor, as there were no saw mills, stationary or portable, then, to work up those remarkable trees, but thou- sands of them were deadened and suffered to stand and dry a few years, then cut down and burned by using the smaller limbs and other timber as "niggers." To clear a farm thickly set with timber was a work of years, and was accomplished only by persevering industry.
The beauty of these forests as they then stood, interspersed with all the varieties of timber common to this country, can only be imagined; and there is not a single nook or corner in the bounds of this township that has not been despoiled, not so much by the " scythe of time," as by the "ax of progress." It
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Liberty Township.
scarcely seems possible that so great a change could be wrought in all our forests in seventy years as has already been. And it seems scarcely credible that in the settlement of a whole township, not one land owner could have had forethought enough to have saved a ten-acre lot of timber in its natural glorious state, with its magnificent poplars, walnuts, oaks, sugars, grapevines, pawpaws, spice-wood, etc. Such a ten-acre lot, as it once stood seventy years ago, would to-day be a greater curiosity, and attract more attention, than the best thousand acre farm in Ross county. I know, says my informant, broken lands, that were covered with forests of sugar and poplar, in- terspersed with other varieties, which if they now stood as they stood even fifty years ago would bring one hundred dollars per acre, now not worth ten dollars per acre. Such has been some of our improvements on nature and her adornments.
The great pervading element our pioneers brought with them was destructiveness to trees, vines, flowers, and shrubs ; to wild beasts, from the fat bear to the little ground squirrel ; and from the wild turkey to the humming bird, the same hand of extermination was extended.
Speaking of those grand old poplars, says my informant, reminds me of one I but recently manufactured into plank, turning out over eleven thousand feet of weather-boarding, be- sides some seven hundred feet of inch plank. To get this tree to the mill it was cut into eighteen logs, the four main body logs being split into quarters.
Next to the forests, the great attraction was the game of this region-the bear, deer, and wild turkeys. It frequently happened that great fat bears would be treed close to the cabin, and as for deer any one acquainted with the paths and divides could very soon find a white tail. Thomas Jones, my grand- father, raised a pet bear from a cub, taken when quite small, which was, in his manners, decidedly an oddity. When grown he was kept chained in the yard to a stake, around which he had his circle and play-ground. There was one spot in that circle that he never passed without putting his nose to the
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Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.
ground and turning a somersault. No whipping or fighting him could so confuse him as to cause him to pass that sacred spot without this singular exhibition. After he had fairly ma- tured he was killed for his meat, and to get rid of the trouble of taking care of him. They also raised a pet deer which was, in her way, also a curiosity. She would go out in the woods and make friends with the wild deer, and then start for home in company with her gentleman deer, who generally forfeited his life by his attentions, for no sooner was the pet belled-deer in sight than the gun and dogs were turned on the wild deer, when the tame deer would join the dogs in the chase, and rarely fail in capturing the deceived animal. At last the trusty deer was shot by mistake for a wild deer, having gone out without her bell.
Persons who once became accustomed to the use of bear meat often preferred it to any other meat. How much of this preference was founded in imagination was illustrated by an anecdote I will relate, wherein a certain Joshua Baltinger and John Rogers figured as regular bear hunters, as well as bear eaters. It happened on a time when the old pioneers were on a trading expedition to the Jackson salt works, that they put up for the night with Thomas Jones, who had but recently ar- rived, and erected his cabin, but had not formed a taste for eat- ing bear. A day or two before the arrival of his old acquaint- ances he had gone into the woods and killed a large black sow, and skinned and cut her up in the same manner as though she was a bear, taking care to leave her feet in the woods. Being fat the carcass had all the appearance of one, so much so that my grandfather said to the person who helped him to kill and dress the sow, "We will call her a bear." So the word went round that Tommy Jones had killed a fine fat bear. Such of the neighbors as liked bear meat must have a fry, while those who could n't go bear meat could not be prevailed on to touch the "critter." Among those was Tommy Jones himself. As the two travelers were unsaddling, they espied the black skin hanging across a pole, and at once inquired what skin that was.
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" A bear," answered Tommy, quickly. "Killed a bear, Tom- my?" "O, yes; a fine fat one, too." Turning to Rogers, Balt- inger says: "I told thee we'd get some bear meat before we got back, and now here it is." No excuse could prevent some bear meat from being fried for supper that night. Forthwith the skillet began to " siz and friz," and the peculiar flavor of the bear to fill the cabin, greatly to the delight of the old hunters. "Now," says Baltinger, " can't thee smell the difference, Tom- my, between that bear meat and pork?" No pork, or any other meat, smelt like that bear meat. Thus the conversation went on while the meat was cooking, till brought on the table, when one of the old bear eaters, taking some meat and gravy on his plate, says : "I tell thee, Tommy, where the difference is between this meat and gravy and pork; thee may eat all the bear gravy thee pleases, and it won't rise on the stomach like hog meat gravy." To this Tommy only remarked that "the paws of the bear were enough for him, he wanted nothing to do with the gravy." Thus feasted on bear meat from the old black sow, the old bear hunters went on their way rejoicing, taking good care to call again on their return trip to get an- other fill of bear meat, nor were they informed of the joke for some months afterward.
At that time hogs would generally be fat in the woods. Scarcely a year but there were either acorns or beech-nuts, and always roots in abundance. Of wild turkeys there was a great abundance. When a boy, says my informant, I shot a wild hen turkey that weighed nineteen pounds, a weight I never have known a tame hen turkey to reach. From what I have seen of the wild and tame turkey, I am satisfied there has been no im- provement made by domestication. On the contrary, I am sat- isfied there has been a perceptible deterioration in the turkey family since their domestication. The reasons for this I have nowhere seen accounted for.
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Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.
Old Settlers.
Thomas Jones, my grandfather, emigrated from New Jer. sey in 1804, and settled on Walnut creek, where he opened a small farm, and raised nine sons and two daughters, all of whom lived to grow up, and all married and settled in the same neigh- borhood. For years he could take his nine sons into the bar- vest field, and himself leading with the hand sickle make ten hands. Each of his eleven children became the head of a numerous household. The old homestead is still retained, and is in the possession of the youngest child. The Abraham Clay- pool and Amos Taylor farms remain in the possession of the children. With these exceptions all the other lands in the township have passed from the original purchasers into new hands.
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Jefferson Township.
Jefferson Township.
By J. W. Vanmeter.
This township is in the southeast part of the county. Salt creek passes through it, near the center, in a southwest direc- tion. Richmond is the only town in the township, situated on the west bank of Salt creek and on the road leading from Chil- licothe to Jackson. The town contains about three hundred inhabitants, with five stores, two groceries, two hotels, two tan- yards, two blacksmith shops, three wagon shops, and two shoe- maker shops-all doing a good business ; one fine Methodist Episcopal Church, one large school house, with a school of from one to two hundred pupils, one gunsmith shop, two physicians, one surveyor, and one harness-maker.
At the east end of the town is a fine flouring and saw mill and a woolen factory. The advantages of water power here are perhaps as good as any in the county. At the crossing of the creek there is a fine bridge.
East of the creek the land is hilly, where a chance deer may be seen ; west of the creek the land is good. The town- ship was settled originally by Quakers from North Carolina. The town was laid out in 1811 by the Moffitts. The Coxes and Hinsons settled at this place in 1798. Soon after the settle- ment, other settlers came-the Meekers, Strattons, Minears, and many more Connecticut Yankees; also, the Rittenours, on whose land is a stone barn, where the Rev. Mr. Cartwright preached in 1805. Anthony Rittenour emigrated to Ohio, from Maryland, at an early day, and has long since passed away, and his son Jacob is the only one of the name left, who is now about eighty six years of age. Mr. Rittenour served his country in
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Pioneer Record of Ross County, Ohio.
the war of 1812; he is the oldest man living in the township. Benjamin Short, aged eighty-four years, also served in the war of 1812-these two being the only old soldiers of that war now living in the township. None of the Moffitts, or their descend- ants, now live in the township, they having long since moved to Chillicothe, Illinois. Henry Hinson, an early settler, died some years since, aged eighty ; his son, John Hinson, is the old- est man now living who was born in the township ; he is aged sixty-five years. Eli Stratton, one of the first settlers, died in 1867, aged eighty-nine years, having lived in the same house fifty-three years ; he moved to town about a year previous to his death. He was the father of S. D. Stratton, late recorder of Ross county. Out of all the persons living here forty years ago but five remain in the town and five in the township, all the others having died or moved away.
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