USA > Ohio > Noble County > The county of Noble; a history of Noble County, Ohio, from the earliest days, with special chapter on military affairs, and special attention given to resources. > Part 11
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In a little cemetery near Hiramsburg stands an unpretentious slab of plain, white marble, bearing the inscription: "John Gray, died March 29, 1868, aged 104 yrs. 2 mon. and 23 days. The last of Washington's companions. The hoary head is a crown of glory." John Gray was born near Mount Vernon, Va., January 6, 1764. In his boyhood he was employed by George Washington on numerous errands. His father fell at the battle of White Plains, and the son enlisted in the Patriot Army in 1781, where he served until the close of the war. John Gray was twelve years of age when the Inde- pendence of the United States was declared ; fifty-one when Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo; and seventy-three when Victoria mounted
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the English throne. He lived to see the American arms victorious in the war of the Revolution, the war of 1812, the Mexican war, and the war between the States. In 1829 he settled in what was afterward Noble county and there passed the remainder of his life. In 1866 he was granted a pension of $500 a year, by an act of Con- gress, but he lived only two years to enjoy it. According to the records of the pension office at Washington he was the last surviving pensioner of the Revolution, and he was probably what the inscription on his tombstone declares-"the last of Washington's companions." The last years of his life were spent in a humble home, about two hundred and fifty yards from the little cemetery, where his mortal remains found their final resting place, and where a number of his relatives lie buried. Many interesting incidents are told of the old veteran by Noble county people who knew him, and it is probable that in future a suitable monument will mark his grave.
In connection with the Civil war it is worthy of note that: Noble county furnished the only private soldier who afterward achieved a national reputation. James M. Dalzell, better known to the public as "Private" Dalzell, enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio volunteer infantry as a private, though he was pro- moted sergeant major for gallant conduct. In 1866 he was appointed to a clerkship at Washington, where he remained for two years, devoting his evenings to the study of law ; in 1868 he was admitted to the bar. Returning to Caldwell he began the practice of law and tock an active part in political affairs. His name was soon widely known through his contributions to the leading newspapers of the country, and as a public speaker in political campaigns he had few equals. In 1871 he conceived the idea of a general national reunion of soldiers who had served in the Union army during the war. A call was issued for such a meeting, at Lansing, Michigan, on March 4, 1872. Owing to insufficient advertising and lack of support, the reunion was a failure. A second effort was made with Washington, D. C., as the meeting place and March 4, 1873, as the date. This reunion was but little more successful than that at Lansing the pre- vious year and most of those who had become interested in the move- ment grew discouraged. Not so with "Private" Dalzell. Undis- mayed by two failures he made a third effort. selecting his home town for the meeting place and September 15, 1874, as the time. Here he had the co-operation of his old comrades in arms and September proved a much better month for a reunion than March. For months prior to the time fixed for the meeting Mr. Dalzell kept the news- papers busy in publishing his articles relating to the project. with the result that many took an interest in the matter. Congress passed resolutions recognizing the reunion as a national affair and granted the use of a number of pieces of artillery with an appropriate supply
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of ammunition. General Sherman and other prominent commanders were present; nearly every northern State was represented in the vast crowd, which was estimated at from 25,000 to 30,000 people. The reunion was held in a beautiful grove just west of Caldwell where the program was carried out according to the original plan. Old acquaintances were renewed and old friendships cemented at this first, and greatest, national reunion of Union soldiers. Notwith- standing Caldwell had at that time but one line of railroad the crowd was not inconvenienced for want of accommodations and everybody went away happy, but none more so than "Private" Dalzell, who had witnessed the successful culmination of his long cherished scheme. Reunions were also held at Caldwell in 1875 and 1876 but neither of those later meetings equaled in magnitude or interest that first great reunion. Mr. Dalzell represented Noble county in the Ohio legislature for four years from 1875 to 1879, and in 1882 he was a candidate for the Congressional nomination. The convention met at St. Clairsville, and after nearly three hundred ballots adjourned without making any nomination. After that he retired from politics and devoted his time to the practice of his profession.
All through the Ohio Valley have been found the ruins of struc- tures, in the shape of mounds, erected by some ancient but long since extinct population. Several of these mounds have been found in Noble county. In 1872 a number of scientists came to the county for the purpose of exploring one known as the Bates Mound in Beaver township. Among the relics taken from the mound were three skeletons of gigantic 'stature, grim mementos of a pre-historic race. They measured over eight feet in height and recalled to mind the children of Anak reported by the spies sent out by Moses to reconnoiter the Promised Land. Upon being exposed to the air the bones soon crumbled to dust but the scientists who had made the investigation expressed themselves as being highly pleased with the discovery.
In 1889 the first election under the Australian ballot law was held in Noble county. The first election commissioners for the county under the new system were J. F. Knouff and George Rhodes, Republicans, and Peter Miller and L. H. Barry, Democrats. Schools of instruction were conducted by both parties for the purpose of instructing the voters as to the workings of the law. Notwithstanding some friction occurred in the change from the old to the new method of voting the system worked well and met the general approval of the voters. So well had the schools of instruction done their work that a smaller percentage of votes were thrown out in Noble county, on account of defects, than in most of the counties of the State. Since that time the system has grown in popular favor and few of the
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electors of Noble county would express themselves in favor of the old method of casting their ballots.
By an act of the legislature, passed March 8, 1892, an additional judgeship was created in the eighth judicial district. The subdivision is composed of Muskingum, Morgan, Guernsey and Noble counties, and is known as the first subdivision of the eighth district, and had two judges previous to the act of March 8, 1892. Under the pro- visions of the act, the first election for judge was to be held on the first Monday in April, 1892. At that time William Chambers, of Noble county, was elected judge and continued to hold the office for ten years.
When the Spanish-American war broke out Noble county was not. called on to furnish any volunteers but a number of Noble county boys, who were serving in the regular army participated in the military operations in Cuba. Among them were Stephen M. Archer, who held the rank of captain in the Seventeenth United States in- fantry, Oliver M. Knouff, and William H. Wehr, now foreman in the Republican Journal composing room, who was wounded in the hip at El Caney, Harry Collins and Pursell Archer, both of whom were in the artillery service and fought at El Caney and the other engage- ments around 'Santiago. About a year before the beginning of the war a company was organized at. Summerfield, known as the Guilbert Rifles, and was mustered into the Ohio National Guard as Company E of the Seventh regiment. The company numbered sixty men, the first captain being Robert W. Calland, a veteran of the Civil war, and who was afterward promoted to major of the Seventh regiment. A signal honor was paid to this company on the occasion of the reception to Admiral Dewey at Wheeling, Va., February 22, 1900, when it was selected as escort to the admiral and assigned the post of honor in the procession. The company was named in honor of W. D. Guilbert, auditor of State, who is a citizen of Noble county. In 1903 the commissioned officers of the company were Grant S. Hast- ings, captain ; Luther Danford, first lieutenant ; and Clyde . McClin- tock, second lieutenant. This is the only company of the National Guard in the county, but it is regarded as one of the best drilled in the State, owing in a great measure to the skill and perseverance of Captain Calland, who aroused a military pride in the bosoms of the young men constituting the company.
Prior to 1869 the physicians of Noble county had never established a local medical society. The pioneer doctor, with a practice covering a territory extending over a radius of ten to twenty miles, out at all times of night and in all kinds of weather, visiting his patients over roads that were at times almost impassable, had but little time for association with his professional brethren. Mounted upon a good horse, with a stock of medicines in the old-fashioned pill-bags thrown
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across the rear of his saddle, he combatted disease in his own way according to his best judgment. Among the early physicians of the county were William McKee and David McGarry, of Olive; J. F. Capell and William S. Spriggs, of Sarahsville; John Kirkpatrick and Francis Slater, of Sharon; J. M. Stone and N. P. Cope, of Hiramsburg; John Keller, of Mt. Ephraim; Joseph Wilcox, of Batesville ; R. P. Summers and David Frame, of Summerfield ; John Martin, G. A. Way, and J. W. Kraps, of Caldwell. There were others but these were perhaps the most prominent in their day. In the summer of 1869 there was organized and incorporated The Noble County Medical Society, with the following charter members: Drs. Mechem and R. B. Taylor, Summerfield; John Martin, J. W. Kraps and G. A. Way, Caldwell; W. G. Martin, Harrietsville ; Charles Schreiber, Sharon; R. C. Downey and W. P. Spriggs, Sa- rahsville. Dr. John Martin was the first president and G. A. Way the first secretary. This organization continued in existence for several years and held regular quarterly meetings, many other physi- cians joining at intervals.
On April 20 and 21, 1901, occurred one of the heaviest falls of snow ever known in the county. It began snowing early on Saturday morning, the 20th, and continued without cessation for thirty hours. In that time three feet of snow fell, interfering greatly with the ordinary business pursuits, and almost blocking the highways to travel. Few people attended church that Sunday morning. The bells hung silent in the steeples, sending forth no invitation to come to worship, while everyone who was able to lend a hand turned out to clear the roads or clean the snow off the flat roofed buildings to prevent their collapse under the great weight. For once the old settler was nonplussed. From his storehouse of recollections he could bring no reminiscence of a similar phenomenon in the years gone by, and as the date of the great snow was so late in the season it is quite probable that it will not occur again in many years. Future generations, when a heavy fall of snow comes, can sit around the firesides and hear old men tell of the great snow storm of April, 1901.
In celebrating the centennial of Ohio's admission into the Union it fell to the lot of Noble county to furnish the poet, who wrote the ode that was widely used in the exercises of the public schools of the State. The ode was written by J. Milburn Harding, a young attorney of Caldwell, and was first used in the Caldwell public schools on February 27, 1903. On Sunday, March 1, it was pub- lished for the first time in the Ohio State Journal, and soon afterward was used in the public schools of Chillicothe. It was published in the Caldwell Republican Journal on March 26, and during that month was widely used in the schools as the best tribute to Ohio's
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progress and patriotism. The poem, which is reproduced below, tells in graphic language the story of the State's redemption from sav- agery to civilization. It has been preserved in the report of the His- torical and Archaelogical Society of Ohio, for 1903, and was pub- lished in the quarterly journal of the society.
OHIO CENTENNIAL ODE.
Columbia's pride, Ohio, grand and fair, Where wealth and beauty are beyond compare, Where labor, truth and knowledge have control, Thy name is peer upon the honor roll. Ohio, first-born of the great northwest, Nursed to thy statehood at the Nation's breast And taught the wisdom of the Ordinance Rule, No slav'ry chain, but e'er the public school. Ohio, name for what is good and grand, With pride we hail thee as our native land ; With jealous pride we sing our heartfelt lay To laud thy name, this first Centennial Day.
One hundred years and half as many more Ago, from ripples on proud Erie's shore Far to the south where, beautiful and grand, The placid River's wave kissed untrod sand, The dusky twilight of the forest old Concealed the native Indian, wild and bold. Within the awe of that primeval wood The white-skin captive, pining, lonely stood And longed to lift the prison veil to roam From savag'ry to join dear ones at home.
Here lived the greatest, noblest Indian men. Retreating from their eastern glade and glen, They crossed the river, called this land their own And hoped to hunt and fish and live alone. Here came another race. The renegade, The scout, the trapper, followed each his trade. Here, too, the priest and bishop, with sad face, Converted souls, built missions, "Tents of Grace." But they are gone. The annals of the strife That brought to one race death, another life, Have oft been writ, by deeds not free from stains, In noblest blood that coursed a race's veins.
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Then came forth through the gate-way of the West That band of war scarred soldiers, all in quest Of peaceful homes. Their river voyage past, The Mayflower of the West her moorings fast To Buckeye faith. With noble, pure desire Debarked that crew-to found a new Empire. They brought with them their all ; but, e'er they, came The purest laws that Liberty could frame. More settlers followed them. With steady stroke And fire they cleared the land of native oak, And reared their cabin homes. Soon did appear The rude log schoolhouse of the pioneer. One decade and a half of honest toil
Create a state of Freemen on Free Soil.
One century of statehood-statehood such As all the World proclaims the guilding touch Of man's long strife for liberty, and one Full-gemmed with purest deeds that men have done. When Tyranny, in dark expiring throe A few times dared on our horizon show A cloud of war, Ohio's noble sons Were first to bear and last to stack their guns. With Erie's waters mixed their crimson blood ; They reached and crossed the Rio Grande's flood ; They 'Starred and Striped' the Montezuma's halls ; They filled the ranks at Lincoln's several calls, And fought till Freedom won. Ohio's roll Was near Four Hundred Thousand men, each soul Free born and taught, for that great civil strife. Ohio men in every fight were rife. In cabinet and battle camp each plan, A Stanton, Chase, a Sherman, Sheridan Or Grant direction gave. The slave is free. The breeze but one Flag floats from sea to sea.
Pure, noble women, honest, learned men For peace and progress here have ever been. Each morning's breeze, throughout our hills and dells, Wafts on its wings chimes of ten thousand bells ; Ten thousand fields of sheep and kine give voice ; Ten thousand whistling factories rejoice ; Four million people rise, from slumber sweet In happy homes, their daily tasks to meet.
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Ohio, pearl of western forest sea, Where lived a Race in dark antiquity To speak to us of industry and toil With tongues entombed in mounds of clay and soil ; Ohio, guardian of eternal right,
The lamp of justice burned but dimly bright Till thou, from off thy Northwest Throne, Interpreted, with will and arm of stone That grand old page, where Heaven's guided pen And said, "Born free and equal are all men ;" Ohio, may thy "Jewels" number rise To guard thy name a thousand centuries.
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Chapter VIII.
BOUNDARIES OF THE COUNTY-AREA-SURFACE-SOIL-CROPS- TOBACCO-OCCUPATIONS-MINERAL PRODUCTS-SANDSTONE - COAL-IRON-SALT-NATURAL GAS-TAXABLE PROPERTY IN 1903 - MORTGAGES - CHURCHES - METHODIST EPISCOPAL - CATHOLICS - BAPTISTS-PRESBYTERIANS-DISCIPLES-OTHIER DENOMINATIONS-EDUCATIONAL GROWTH-SCHOOL STATISTICS - FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS - MASONS - ODD FELLOWS - KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS-GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC-SONS OF VETERANS-CIVIL GOVERNMENT-LIST OF OFFICIALS SINCE THE ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY-POLITICAL-ELECTION STATISTICS-CENSUS REPORTS-DISTANCES-GENERAL REFLEC- TIONS.
N OBLE COUNTY is situated in the southeastern part of the State and is bounded on the north by the county of Guern- sey ; on the east by the counties of Belmont and Monroe ; on the south by the county of Washington ; and on the west by the counties of Morgan and Muskingum. The area is a little over 400 square miles, the county containing 258,560 acres. It is one of the hilliest counties in the State. A ridge running east and west through the county divides it into two main slopes. This watershed runs through Marion, Center, Noble, Buffalo, and a corner of Brookfield townships. North of it the streams flow in a northwesterly direc- tion to the Muskingum river. These streams are the three forks of Will's creek-Buffalo fork, Seneca fork, and Beaver fork-with their lesser tributaries. South of the ridge the principal streams are the east, west, and middle forks of Duck creek, which flow southeast to the Ohio. Although the surface is exceedingly uneven the soil is of that limestone formation that makes it strong and productive. The hill- sides are well adapted to grazing while the bottom lands along the streams produce bountiful crops of all kinds of cereals. Fruit is also grown in abundance and is of great variety. One of the most profit- able crops is tobacco, which is raised throughout the county and is generally of a fine quality.
Agriculture is the principal occupation, though several important mineral products are to be found in the county. Limestone is found
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in every township and in several localities there is sandstone well adapted for building purposes. The largest of these deposits is near Whigville, in Marion township, where the ledge measures in soma places forty feet in thickness. Another large bed of sandstone is on Reasoner's Run in Jackson township. Iron ore is also found in some parts of the county. It is said to be of excellent quality but has never been worked to any great extent. What is known as the Meigs creek coal has been found at several points and it is believed that it underlies the entire county. At numerous points it crops out and at such places mines have been opened and worked to good ad- vantage. The coal is not of the best quality, however, containing but about forty-five per cent of fixed carbon, and leaving a large amount of ashes and clinkers. The vein varies from three feet to five and a half feet in thickness and is mined without much difficulty. This enables the producers to put it on the market cheaply and the chances are that the local demand will be supplied by the local mines for some time to come .* The Meigs creek coal is mined in drifts or banks. In addition to this vein extensive testing shows the existence of two other veins of excellent coal, the Cambridge, or No. 7, at a depth of about 180 feet and the Hocking Valley, or No. 6, at a depth of about 280 feet, underlying the entire Duck Creek valley, north of Caldwell. There are now three shafts working in the different veins just north of Belle Valley, the Chris McKee plant being the finest in the valley between Caldwell and Cambridge, and is equipped with the latest improved electrical mining machinery. Practically all of the coal lands on both sides of the Marietta branch of the Pennsylvania rail- road north of Caldwell, for a mile on each side have been bought outright. Other mines have already been located and at no distant day the little city of Caldwell will become the center of an important coal mining industry. The Caldwell Mining Car and Manufacturing Company was organized in 1892 and is now making cars, tipples, and other coal mining supplies, and their products are used not only in the various mines in the Duck Creek and Will's Creek valleys, but are shipped to nearly every State in the Union.
In early times when salt was scarce and hard to obtain its manu- facture was conducted at several places in the county, salt water being found almost anywhere by drilling a well. When the railroads were opened through the county it was soon discovered that salt could be more easily obtained through commerce and the salt works of Noble county were discontinued. The oil industry, described in a previous chapter, is one of the principal sources of wealth. A few years ago when natural gas began to be utilized for fuel in Western
* A full, technical description of the coal deposits of the county may be found in the report of the Geological Survey of Ohio, volume V, chapter XIX.
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Pennsylvania, various parts of Ohio, and in Eastern Indiana, the attention of certain persons in Noble county was directed to the conservation of the gas from the wells in the oil district, a product which had hitherto been allowed to go to waste. As a result of their endeavors the people in the principal towns and villages, and many of the farmers of the county, have for some years enjoyed the benefits arising from the use of this gas as a clean and economical fuel. The experience of the Noble county gas fields does not differ materially from that of others. In time the pressure began to decrease, the long hard winter of 1903 was so severe a test that many found the supply of gas inadequate to their needs and returned to the use of coal, which, though not so clean nor so convenient, they found more reliable.
The casual observer, in passing through Noble county, might con- clude, from the uneven surface, that the people are rough in character and poor in property. Such, however, is not the case. The men who settled the territory were of industrious habits and their descendants have proved themselves to be men of the same distinctive quality, who have by their energy wrested wealth from the rugged hills. In 1903 the real estate of the county was appraised for taxation at $3,874,010, and the personal property at $1,858,319, making a total of $5,732,320, or about $1,250 to each family. Few agricultural counties can make a better showing. The census of 1901 gave the number of families on the farms at 2,815. Of these 1,726 owned their homes free from encumbrance, 563 were mortgaged, and the remainder were tenants. Schools and churches were among the first institutions to be established, distinguishing the early settlers as believers in education and as a moral, reverent and God-fearing peo- ple.
The oldest church in the county was probably the Methodist Epis- copal church at Carlisle, founded about the year 1812. At first it was only a class, with Elisha Enochs as leader, but in 1820 a log house was erected and the congregation regularly organized. Among theearly inhabitants of the county the Methodists were the most progressive and aggressive of any of the religious denominations. The first Methodist church in Summerfield was erected in 1830, though a class had been in existence there ever since the year 1819, Nathaniel Capell being the first leader. A Methodist church was established at Sarahsville about the time the town was laid out and is therefore one of the oldest in the county. Thomas Barry and William Shaw were among the leaders at this point. The church at Mount Ephraim was organized in 1830, with Joseph Graham as class leader, and in 1844 the first building was erected for the congregation. This building was replaced by a larger one in 1880. In 1832 a few Methodists in the vicinity of Harrietsville got together and organized a class with Jonas Lovett
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as leader. After a school house was built the congregation was organ- ized into a regular church, meetings were held in the school house until 1869 when a church building was erected. In 1836 Methodist churches were organized at Mount Tabor in Stock township and at Crumtown in Elk township. Two years later a meeting-house, as the early church buildings were generally called, was erected by the Methodists at Sharon. This afterward became one of the strongest congregations in the county. The old building was superseded by a larger and finer structure in 1870. The Middleburg Methodist church was organized. For some time class meetings had been con- ducted under the leadership of Henry Enochs. Jacob Miller was the first pastor of the church at Middleburg. In 1859 the Methodist church of Caldwell was founded. The church was really organized at the old village of Olive years before Noble county was created. After the location of the county seat at Caldwell, Samuel Caldwell donated a lot for a church site and the congregation removed to the new county seat. It is the oldest church in Caldwell. Some of the most prominent citizens of Caldwell were among the membership. After the completion of the railroad from Marietta to Caldwell the Methodists turned their attention to the founding of new churches in the villages that sprang up along the line of the railroad. In 1872 the church at Dexter City was organized, meetings being held for a time in the school house with Rev. Luther Timberlake as the pastor. Two years later the church building was erected, the first in Dexter City. In 1881 William Kirkbride offered to give the Methodists a lot in South Olive if they would build a church there. The same year the South Olive Methodist church was organized by Rev. George Willis. Although small at first, the congregation soon became one of the largest and most active in the county. Methodist churches were also established at an early day at Batesville and in Buffalo township.
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