The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 39

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051

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The first white settler in the township was John Hilliard, who emigrated from New Jersey in 1792 ; went first to West Virginia, where he remained till he came to Ohio, and located in Hamilton County, coming from there to Spring Creek Town- ship, Miami County, the 4th of April 1797, and permanently located himself on fractional Sections 30 and 36, Range 12. Previous to this. a Frenchman had settled in a log-cabin near the same place, who kept a supply store and traded his wares to the Indians for their furs and venison, of which there was always a great supply . at that period; but, as this trader had entered no land, Hilliard became the first land-holder and permanent settler in the township. Mr. H. was accompanied to his new home by his family of four boys and two girls. Two men, whose names were Broderick and Hutchinson, also journeyed thither with their families, at the same time, in company with the Hilliards, but, after pitching their tents here for only a short season, they grew weary of the place and determined to seek another, where fewer difficulties would have to be contended with, and accordingly "pulled up stakes" and took their march farther into the wilderness. There was at this time, a small piece of ground, scarcely two acres in extent, which had been burned off by the Indians, and here this family raised the first crop of corn, beans, and vegetables, that had ever been cultivated by members of the Caucasian race in the limits of Spring Creek Township. The family at first took up their residence in a little bark hut which had been vacated by the Indians, and, although a very humble-looking and unpretentious structure, proved a home to the growing family.

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After the first winter spent in this primitive dwelling, Mr. H. built one more sub- stantial from round poles, which, although by no means elegant, was quite an improvement on the bark hut. The roof of this house was of rude clapboards, and the chimney a most inartistic pile of mud and sticks ; the floor was partially cov- ered with puncheon plank, while, in lieu of a door, a large, old quilt hung, curtain- like, over the aperture, which answered the purposes of ingress and egress. Hav- ing thus secured for himself a house of his own making, Mr. H. turned his attention to the labor of enlarging the cleared space upon his farm, and by dint of his indom- itable will and unswerving perseverance, united with the great strength of his mus- cular powers, he soon succeeded in reclaiming a considerable portion of his farm from its originally worthless condition and bringing it under a tolerably fair state of cultivation. The nearest mill to the pioneer's cabin was at Dayton, which town, at that time, contained but three or four houses, and to this place, along a blazed pathway through the forest, the sturdy farmer rode his horse to mill, where he obtained the corn-meal which constituted the principal article of diet for the old settler. There being no marketing done in Dayton at this time, it became neces- sary at times to take a journey to Cincinnati, for the purpose of laying in family supplies. After a few years hard labor in the new settlement, John H. died, and the members of his household, accompanied by a little handful of sympathizing Indians, formed the first funeral procession in the community. That burial pre- sented a scene worthy of being described by an artist's pen ; the little group of mourning friends, assisted in the solemn burial rites by the awe-stricken natives; the solemn, awful stillness of the surrounding forest-all these present a picture to the mind well worthy being reproduced upon the canvas of some modern Raphael Charles Hilliard, a son of this family, was the first white man who married from Spring Creek Township. In 1804, he became the husband of Sarah Manning, a daughter of one of the pioneer settlers of Washington Township, who lived just across the Miami River from the Hilliards. John William Hilliard, born to this couple in 1805, is the first person of his race who saw the light of the sun for the first time in the township. This gentleman is at present a resident of Piqua, and, although his health is greatly impaired, yet his eyes kindle with enthusiasm and the blood runs more rapidly through his veins as he describes the scenes and recounts the incidents, so full of interest, of those good old times. The Hilliard family contended alone with the difficulties of frontier life for several years before the settlement was increased by the addition of any other families.

Probably the second settler in the township was John Dillbone, who immi- grated here from Pennsylvania in 1804 or 1805. He was accompanied by his wife and one son, the family being increased, after their residence here, by the birth of one son and two daughters. Mr. Dillbone located on the northeast quarter of Section 1, at that time an unbroken wilderness. He immediately erected a rude cabin and began clearing his ground preparatory to planting his first crop. Upon his arrival here, he possessed nothing to assist him in his labors but his two will- ing hands, which found plenty of work to do. There had, by the time of his arrival, been a trading-post established near the present site of Troy, and here they obtained what provisions they needed at first. Mr. Dillbone worked by the month for a man near Troy for the money with which he bought his first cow.

Mrs. Dillbone was noted for being an excellent spinner, and manufactured all the clothing material for her family, for which purpose they, as well as the other early settlers, always raised a field of flax, and it was while laboring with the flax, in the fall of 1812, that both these people met an untimely and horrible death. Fears, about this time, began to be entertained that a general outbreak among the Indians was imminent. Whisperings of the terrible atrocities of the savages in other places reached the ears of the white settlers here, and caused the hearts of many to beat more rapidly under the dreadful apprehensions of danger that pos- sessed them.

Mr. Dillbone, being a bold, fearless man, disdained to be intimidated by the flying rumors of the day, and expressed himself so freely on the subject as to in

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some manner incur the suspicions of the Indians, who resolved upon his destruc- tion, together with Mr. Gerard, of another township; and so well did they lay their plans that they succeeded in murdering their victims the same hour of the same day. Mr. and Mrs. Dillbone were in the field pulling flax, while their children were all close by, under the shade of a large tree. The field was partially planted with corn, and in this the red men secreted themselves, ready to seize upon the most opportune moment for the completion of their hellish designs. The sinking sun, casting its lurid glare on the surrounding forest, and the evening shades, fast settling down upon that sultry August day, warned the tired laborers that their day's work was about completed. Little did they dream how soon a period was to be put to their earthly labors; but so it was to be. They suddenly were aroused to the knowledge of some intruder's presence by the barking of a dog, and Mr. Dillbone raised himself from his stooping posture to see what disturbed the peace of the dog, and the same instant fell dead, pierced in the breast by a bullet from the gun in the hands of an Indian, who at that moment sprang from his place of concealment in the corn, in order to scalp his victim. Mrs. Dillbone, taking in the situation at a glance, started to the corn for protection, but was overtaken in her flight by the savage, and a single blow from his tomahawk felled her to the ground, where, after taking her scalp, the Indian left her weltering in her own blood.

During all the time this butchery was taking place, the infant children were compelled to remain lookers-on of the dreadful scene which made them orphans, with no power to render the least assistance to their dying parents, and knew not how soon they would be called upon to share the same fate. At one time, the Indian walked toward them as if intent upon killing the remainder of the family, but, before reaching them, stopped a moment, and, looking satisfactorily around upon the ruin he had already wrought, seemed to think his brutal thirst for blood and vengeance appeased, as, leaving the children unharmed, he took to his heels, and was soon lost to sight in the wooded depths. The oldest boy, who, all this time, had held the seven-months-old baby in his lap, now rose and ran to the nearest neighbors, and, procuring the assistance of James McKinney, returned to the spot, where they found the victims of the terrible outrage, and removed them to Mr. Mckinney's house. The horrible news soon spread, and the settlers, col- lecting together for miles around, went for the night to the blockhouse, expecting to hear of greater depredations, but, save the murdering of Gerard at the same time, no other scalps were taken, and the settlers finally returned to their homes. The Indians who committed these horrible butcheries were never discovered.

Probably the third settler in this township was William Frost, who. with his wife, emigrated from North Carolina, in 1805, reaching Spring Creek the same year, where he entered the northeast quarter of Section 20. The first year of his living here, was spent in building his cabin, and preparing a small piece of ground to plant in corn the following spring, and, being entirely without assistance, for on his arrival here he had no children, the work progressed but slowly ; however, by constant application to the work before him, he managed to clear a piece of ground, consisting of several acres, from which, in the summer of 1806, he raised the first crop of corn ever harvested in that part of the township. His son, Ebenezer, born in 1807, is probably the second white boy born in the township. He resides at present on the old homestead of his father, which he has succeeded in perfectly transforming, and which now is one of the most productive farms in the neighborhood. Mr. Frost, in his youth, had a great fondness for the chase, and in his day has, with his trusty rifle, laid many of the noble brutes of the forest at his feet, and, old as he now is, his youthful passion for this kind of sport still clings to him, and he often scours the woods for hours, hunting squirrels, well remembering the day when this species of game was considered too small to waste powder and shot on, and the hunter would consider the day spent uselessly unless he had man- aged to kill a deer or two, and thus provide the family with the best of meat for several weeks. The only tile factory in the township is the property of Mr. Frost, who has operated it quite a number of years, and produces a good quality of tile,

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which has been extensively used in his immediate neighborhood. John R. McKin- ney was probably the fourth permanent settler in the township. He immigrated here in 1805, having left his native State, Pennsylvania, the same year. He was an unmarried man, and consequently labored under many and great disadvantages ; but, believing in the old adage which advises young men to procure a cage before trying to catch the bird, he labored manfully alone, put up his log hut, into which he moved his furniture, consisting of an oaken bench and rude table of his own make ; and to this rather limited stock of household goods he added a bed, which, by the way, is described as not being as soft as downy pillows are. These articles. together with the few utensils necessary for his culinary department, constituted the bulk of his earthly gear at that time. Better days were, however, in store for the lonely bachelor. Upon his arrival here he entered the whole of Section 32, and, being a man of extraordinary bodily strength, succeeded in accomplishing nearly as much with his single pair of hands as other farmers in the neighborhood would with the assistance of two or three boys. After working alone for five years, Mr. Mckinney grew tired of spending the winter nights alone by the side of his fire-place, and made things more agreeable all around by marrying Miss Jane Scott, a native of Kentucky, in 1810. From this time forward his immediate sur- roundings grew more pleasant and home-like, and in time the log-cabin gave way to a house of more pretentious dimensions Mr. Mckinney died in 1834, univers- ally regretted. He had been a prominent man in the little settlement, and played a conspicuous part in all questions of a public character that agitated the minds of the community at that early day. At about this date settlers began to pour into the township more rapidly than heretofore. John Millhouse emigrated from Maryland in 1808, and located in the southwest quarter of Section 21. His family at that time consisted of two sons and two daughters. Mr. M. erected his cabin and cleared his land, as had other settlers before him, and remained upon the farm now occupied by his grandson, till his death.

Gardner Bobo immigrated to this township in 1808. He entered the north- west quarter of Section 21, now owned by William Geiserman. He was accom- panied to his Western home by his large family of sons and daughters. This being in the northern part of the township, near the Shelby County line, Mr. Bobo did his milling at Berry's Mill, in that county, to which place a pathway was blazed through the woods for the convenience of the settlers in this part of Spring Creek Township. Grain was always taken to mill on horse-back, and, as wagons had not yet come into vogue in this neighborhood, a simple path through the woods was all that was required to accommodate all the travelers of the day. The first wagon in the township was the property of old Mr. Dillbone.

Mathias Scudder located in Spring Creek Township prior to 1808. Uriah Blue, James L. Mckinney, Dennis Lindley and Henry Millhouse all entered land in different parts of the township about 1808. At this period domesticated ani- mals had become quite numerous. Especially hogs were raised by all the farmers in considerable abundance. Railroads being at that time an invention yet to. be discovered, to drive the stock to a market was the farmer's only alternative. They drove them through to Baltimore, Pittsburg, Philadelphia and other places, and, much of the way being through miry woods, many weeks were required to make the journey and return. Owing to the fact that fences were not kept up by the carly settlers, their stock roamed the woods at large, and hogs, especially, not being so easily distinguished from others of their own kind, became, at times, mixed with those belonging to a different herd, and, in attempting to separate them. it was found impossible to do so satisfactorily to all parties. so that it was deemed necessary to devise some means by which this endless and unpleasant disputing could be avoided. A system of marking was consequently agreed upon, so that every man had his own mark, by which he could distinguish his stock from that of his neighbor, which always bore a different mark from his. Each man chose his own mode of marking his own stock, and this mark was recorded in a book kept for that especial purpose, which was deposited with the Township Clerk, so

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that, after this, all such disputes were settled by referring to this book, which con- tained such declarations as the following : "This is to certify that the mark used by Uriah Blue for the year 1815 will be two slits in the upper side of the right ear." Another reads : "The mark used by Gardner Bobo for the year 1815 will be a notch cut in the tip of the left ear." This settled the matter, and from that time on no trouble was experienced from this source.

At this period in the history of the township. the stream of immigration sud- denly ceased for the time being. Wars and rumors of wars had spread through- out the country, and preparations were being made in all the States to repel the invading Indians. The few inhabitants of Spring Creek Township, anticipating an outbreak in their locality, convened in a meeting held for the purpose of devising means for self-defense, and decided on the erection of a blockhouse, where they might assemble at night and unite their forces for the mutual good ; this was built on John Hilliard's farm, a few rods from the present house. It was a large double log-house, built from round logs, capable of containing, at that time, all the popu- lation and much of the household goods in the township, and here the settlers would gather, with their wives and children, and pass the nights in comparative safety. Save the killing of the Dillbones, however, nothing occurred to disturb the peace of the little colony, and in time the old fort was abandoned, after which it was used by Mr. H. for a barn for a great many years, and then, yielding to the shattering influence of the elements, it crumbled away, and its very existence is a fact not remembered by more than one or two men in the township. After the excitement consequent upon the war was over and the fears of the people allayed, settlers again began to pour in from the older States. Among the first of these to reach Spring Creek Township was Samuel Wiley, who came here from Maryland in 1812 and settled on Section 25 and fractional Section 31. He was accompanied by his three sons. The family, after reaching Pittsburg, procured a raft and the services of a man to carry them down the Ohio to Cincinnati, which place they reached after a perilous voyage of several days, in which they all narrowly escaped drowning ; one woman of the company being thrown from the boat, succeeded in reaching a large rock in the middle of the river, from which she was released with difficulty. Their destination was finally reached without the loss of any lives. The family reached this township the same day Mr. and Mrs. Dillbone were killed. Samuel Wiley, Jr., was the father of sixteen children, and, during one presidential campaign, twelve of his boys voted for Buchanan. These were prominent men wherever they lived. Their grandfather, Samuel, Sr., had served as an aid to George Washington during the war of the Revolution, by whose side he had fought many a bloody battle during the struggle of our country for its independence. On Section 25, entered by Mr. W., there are several mounds, which indicate the existence, in this locality, of a prehistoric race. The largest of these earthworks embraces about two acres in extent, and is some three feet high. Various pieces of workmanship found upon the spot, such as arrow-heads, pieces of pottery, and images carved upon stone, go to prove that this people were not wholly unac- quainted with the fine arts, and that they possessed more than the ordinary intel- ligence of the Indian. Upon this mound a human skeleton was plowed up, which, although badly decayed, was judged, by those who examined it, to have been that of a man at least seven feet in height. An ash tree, more than a hundred years old, growing on one of the mounds, shows that they must have been built at & period of time very remote from the present.

About the next arrival after the Wileys, was Joseph Kearns, who came from Pennsylvania, and located on Section 20, in this township, in 1815. This section was all woods at that time, and bee-trees were abundant, so that there was no lack of sweets for table use. Mr. Kearns put up a cabin of one room, with puncheon floor and clapboard roof, the chimney of mud and sticks being built on the out- side. The table used by the family was also made of puncheon slab, by Mr. Kearns. Besides building his house, he succeeded in clearing two and a half acres of ground the same spring, which he planted the 10th of June, and from

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which he obtained a good crop, notwithstanding, it had to be watched every day, till it was two feet high, in order to save it from the depredations of the squirrels, which, at that date, are described as being "as plenty as mosquitoes." Mr. Kearns had served in the war of 1812, for $5 per month, and kept himself; he was also intimately acquainted with Daniel Boone, whom he had often heard relate his wonderful experiences with the Indians, while on his hunting expeditions. Among the families that came to the township, between the years 1812 and 1816, the names of John Furrow, John Hendershot, John Wilson, Jacob Gates, John Webb, Ezekiel Boggs, Alexander Jackson, David Clark, David Floyd and Lewis Deweese may be mentioned. These were all men of excellent parts, and just such as were needed to bring order out of the original chaos. A meeting was held, to organize the township, the 4th of July, 1814, and the first Monday in April, 1815, the first township officers were elected as follows': Henry Orbison, James L. Mckinney and Uriah Blue, Trustees ; David Floyd, Treasurer ; Lewis Deweese, Clerk ; John Wilson and Jacob Gates, Constables ; John Webb, Lister ; and William Concannon, John Rogers, Ezekiel Boggs, Alexander Jackson, David Clark and Nathaniel Gerard. Supervisors. Officers for 1880 are David Manson, John Saunders and L. Devinney, Trustees ; Paul N. S. Pence, Treasurer ; J. R. Snodgrass, Assessor ; Messrs. Houser and Sims, Constables ; William Snodgrass, and Thomas R. Patterson, Justices of the Peace ; J. R. Duncan, Clerk.

There are two towns in the township, the oldest being Shawancetown, laid out on ground owned by Mr. Hunter, and surveyed by J. Bellow previous to 1840: The first house in the place was a log cabin put up by David Gates; it has long since ceased to be numbered among the occupied residences of the town. The village received its name from the Indian tribe that formerly had a permanent camp upon the spot.

Rossville was laid out on land owned by Mr. Ross, for whom it was named. The plat was prepared by William Knowles, between 1835-40. There are no busi- ness houses in the place, neither are there any in Shawaneetown save the furniture factory owned by Mr. Cron, which does an extensive business. Both of these vil- lages being separated from Piqua only by the Great Miami River, which is crossed at each of the places by substantial bridges, the necessity for stores and groceries in their midst is done away with, the inhabitants preferring to do their trading in the larger place, which is so near at hand that the casual observer would suppose them to form a part of the town from which they are only separated by the river.

In the early settlement of the township the first thing needed in the line of manufactories was a mill where they could procure meal for family use. Settlers went to mill in Shelby County and other remote places till 1808, when this great want of the people was supplied by James T. Mckinney, who erected his mill on the banks of Spring Creek. This was one of the old corn-crackers then so common in Ohio, and as wheat had been raised in but few places in the county, and corn meal being the only article of flour used for bread, this corn-cracker was con- sidered a great convenience, and Mr. Mckinney, being called upon to do the grind- ing for the people far and near, had but few moments to pass in idleness ; but this necessity for constant action did not dampen the spirits of the merry miller, who might always be found at his post; and early and late, when the atmosphere was clear, the cracking of the old hopper might be heard for miles around.

Several years previous to the building of the grist mill, Charles Manning had erected a distillery in the township, which takes precedence of all other manufacturing establishments in Spring Creek. Mr. Manning ran this some time, and made an excellent quality of whisky, when he disposed of it to Henry Orbison, who con- tinucd to operate it. Mr. Orbison, by the way, was quite an influential man in the community, and was frequently called upon to occupy responsible positions in his township and county.

Silas Manning, who had settled in the township in 1811, built the second grist- mill in about 1818; he operated it successfully a number of years, when it was sold .. It is now the property of Thomas Patterson, but has not been used for years.

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A grist-mill was connected with a carding-mill by Mr. Ross, in 1830, who did a good business in both branches for many years, when the property was burned ; he afterwards rebuilt and operated for some time, when another fire destroyed the whole thing, which was never rebuilt.

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The History of Miami County, Ohio, Part 39

Author: W. H. Beers & Co. Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Number of Pages: 1051

Author: W. H. Beers & Co.
Publication date: 1880
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 1051