USA > Ohio > Miami County > Piqua > The first century of Piqua, Ohio > Part 24
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pression to the lookers-on that the operation was slightly pain- ful. This employment, as you may well suppose, was not fun for the rats, but to those who participated it was a source of most exquisite recreation. After I had secured some hundreds of tails, strange enough the rats began to disappear. The sudden, mysterious and painful operation attending the loss of their tails caused a panic and stampede, and I was finally rid of the pests altogether. They emigrated in supreme disgust. For a long time, however, tailless rats were seen in vast numbers in various quarters of the town, to the wonder and amazement of the good people of Piqua.
Do you remember the "Piqua Light Infantry," and can you realize that the company was organized over forty years ago? One Harrold, an Irishman who served in the British and our own army, came to Piqua and inaugurated a military furore among the boys. A company was organized, with Demas Adams as captain. It was made up of splendid material and became noted for its superior drill and marching. And do you remem- ber our fifer? If this sketch should come under the eye of any survivor of the company I call upon him to laugh as he recalls this musical prodigy. I think his name was Heath, and he was from over the river somewhere. As soon as the orderly-sergeant handed the company over to the captain the signal was given to Heath to fire away on his fife. His right leg and his mouth at once commenced a series of violent struggles to force out a tune and for the space of a full minute it was exceedingly doubtful whether the spasmodic jerks of the leg and the contortions of the face and mouth would result in failure or a triumph. This exhibition set all authority and discipline at defiance for the nonce. Men and officers were alike convulsed with laughter. Once while we were marching in single file over the long bridge at the north end of Main street, with lock step and heads erect, one of the men (Louis Kirk) disappeared suddenly out of the file through an opening the width of a plank into the water below, a distance of twenty feet at least. The water fortunately was only waist deep. He carried his gun with him and rejoined the company a few minutes afterward uninjured, but he was an "exceedingly dem'd moist body," as Mantalina would have said. This company participated in that memorable Trojan campaign that culminated in the "battle of Boardford." This was it: The quiet and peaceable village of Troy, eight miles below, was about to be invaded by an armed force from the Knoop settle-
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ment, for the purpose of rescuing'from durance vile, parties who had committed an offense against the peace and dignity of the state of Ohio, and it was further alleged that they diabolically, and wickedly proposed to sack and burn the town and scalp the citizens. The "Troy Blues" were called out and a hurried and urgent demand made at the dead hour of the night upon Captain Adams' company to come to the rescue. Upon the arrival of the messenger the long roll was beat through the deserted and silent streets of Piqua. The company promptly responded to the call. A canal freight boat was forcibly pressed into service. Within a couple of hours the boat, with its freight of fierce warriors and a heavy cargo of war material and commissary stores, pulled out of the town with drums beating and colors flying. It has been said that wives embraced their husbands and little children clung to the legs of their daddies, but I don't believe it. Mine didn't, I know, but I have a sort of dim and vague impression that I cast a mournful and pathetic glance at my hotel and wondered if I should ever again decapitate rat's tails, or ever behold its beau- tiful and architectural outlines ; and would the mortgage ever be cancelled on the recorder's books at Troy. On the passage Cap- tain Adams detailed a squad of men to make a supply of cart- ridges. For ball a substitute was made of slugs chopped from bars of lead with a hatchet. They made a villainous-looking pro- jectile. As the boat came into the lock at the outskirts of the village we received a hearty welcome from the terrified citizens. From the lock we were escorted to the public square where we stacked arms and struck out for breakfast. It was expected the enemy would cross the river at Boardford, a noted crossing of the Miami about two miles from town. At this point the banks of the river were strongly guarded but no barricades erected, ditches dug or entrenchments thrown up. Many times during the day we were warned of the near approach of the opposing belligerents, and we as many times formed in order of battle. Not a soldier flinched. On the contrary, it can be truly said that "souls were in arms and eager for the fray." Once, indeed, our fifer's struggles to force a tune was construed by some of the Trojans, who did not know of Heath's infirmity, to indicate fear and cowardice ; but Heath floundered on violently until his shrill notes rung out a defiant strain to the invaders. As night ap- proached we bivouacked in the court house, and were only 'once called to arms during the night, which proved a false alarm. Before morning, however, the affair was settled by a conference
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of citizens with a delegation from the Knoop settlement, and thus ended this great scare and all there is of the "battle of Broadford," and a gaping world is no doubt jubilant that I have been spared to record its history. With the sun shining upon as brave and valiant a set of men as ever shouldered a musket we repaired to our boat and commenced the homeward voyage. Just outside of Troy from the deck of our boat we emptied our guns into the trunk of a large sycamore tree, and if it stands today, it bears in its body fifty pounds of leaden slugs as a memento of the desperate conflict. We reached home after a brief and event- less voyage with full ranks, our brows decked with victorious wreaths, and a proud consciousness that we had smoothed the wrinkled front of grim visaged war and checkmated one of the most formidable attempts to multilate and massacre the quiet citizens of a neighboring town, with whom we were ever on terms of the most friendly and fraternal intercourse. P. E. T.
From Piqua Tuttle went to Lebanon and then to Cincinnati, whence he leased the old Franklin House at Fourth and Main streets, remodeled it and named it the City hotel. Subsequently he opened the Woodruff House in that city. In 1854 he became the manager of the Niel House in Columbus, and later the Bates House in Indianapolis. He was after- ward in business in Terre Haute, but finally went back to Indianapolis where he was still living at the date of his letter.
WRITTEN BY JOHN H. YOUNG, OF URBANA, MAY 1890
My first acquaintance with Piqua was in the year 1822. At that time the town consisted principally of buildings along what is now Main street, beginning at John Garvey's, where the Pan- handle railway crosses, and ending at the river on the north.
My father lived in a frame house on the east side of Main street near the north end. Nearly opposite to him lived Mr. Sharp, whose daughter married John M. Cheever. Next south of him Henry Kitchen built a brick house in which I suppose his family still reside. Next south of my father William R. Barring- ton built a brick house, now owned by Mr. Alexander. Mr. Bar- rington came from Philadelphia and brought to Piqua the first printing materials and published the first newspaper in a small annex which he built at the north end of his residence. As this was next door to my father's I was in the habit of setting type be- tween school hours, morning, noon and night, until, from a fancy for it, I became a pretty good printer, so that when afterwards
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in 1829 Jeremiah Dooley bought the office and removed it to a frame house which stood about where Presley & Bowles' barber shop is, I followed it and continued to work in it. The press was a Ramage press, requiring two pulls to each side. The ink was put on the "forms" with balls made of buckskin and stuffed with wool. In the office of Jeremiah Dooley were three printer boys who afterwards attained some little distinction. They were Thomas J. Larsh, who was a member of the Ohio Constitutional Convention of 1852; J. H. Defrees, who represented the Goshen, Ind., district in congress several years, and John H. Young, who requests the author of this article to withhold his praises. I ought not to forget that grandest printer boy of all, John D. Defrees, who afterwards became Government printer at Wash- ington.
Among the earliest settlers hereabout was Col. John John- ston, of Upper Piqua, the Indian agent. He was a very capable public officer, an intelligent, cultivated gentleman, and gave char- acter to the early settlement of Piqua. Col. William McLean, who represented the district in congress several years, was a very early settler. He was a lawyer and had his law office on Spring street. I am not very familiar with the names of your streets, but I can designate by saying that Col. McLean sold the property to his friend, Robert Young, who being himself a lawyer, allowed the office to remain, but tore down the old and built a new fam- ily mansion, which is now used for school purposes. James R. Young and Joseph H. Young studied law in that office, but never practiced any, I am told, being content with being admitted to the bar. Col. McLean and Robert Young came from Warren county, as did also Col. Thomas B. VanHorn, who married the widow of Henry Chappeze and lived in a house which stood where Hiram Brooks now lives.
Of other early settlers I remember John Ingram, Col. Joseph Defrees, Anthony Defrees, Col. Joseph Bennett, the Mannings, the Mansons, Jacob Landes, John Tamplin, David JJordan, Henry Kitchen, Nicholas Greenham, M. G. Mitchell, Thomas Bellas, John M. Cheever, Dr. John O'Ferrall, Benjamin Leavell, Joseph Sage, John Chatham, John Garvey, William Scott, who lived at the north end of the town ; Boyd Edinger, Thomas W. Mansfield, Pat Scully, John McCorkle, Old Captain Riley, (he of Capt. Riley's narrative), lived for a while in a frame house which stood where S. S. Mckinney's residence now is. At a later period came Esq. Wm. Elliott, Col. Robert Shannon, Demas Adams. Geo. B.
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Frye, Dr. G. V. Dorsey and others. Maj. Stephen Johnston, who now happily survives, was one of the early settlers. In early life he went to a school in the brick school house on the public square which stood west of Main street and west of your city hall, kept by his step-father, Daniel Mitchell. The seats were long slab benches-no backs and no desks-and one day the teacher sought to punish Stephen for his mischievousness and sent him to a bench away from the other scholars. As soon as the old man's back was turned Stephen was with the other boys; the old man stormed, but Stephen's apology was, "Father, that seat back there is too hard."
Speaking of that old school-house reminds me that it was there I attended the first political meeting I ever attended. The orator on the occasion was Thomas W. Mansfield, who was the mail carrier, and a famous Jackson man. As a boy I was not a Jackson man-indeed my education had been so neglected that I thought Jackson men great rascals. One evening there was a Jackson meeting in the school house and I slipped in (perhaps bare-footed), and there in front of a tallow dip stuck in a tin candlestick on a little table stood the orator of the occasion, Col. Mansfield, swinging his arms and yelling, "Fellow citizens, the truth of the principles taught by Gen. Jackson grows more brighter and more shininger every day, as sure as the reflection of the light of this candle shines in the face of every man pres- sent," (7 men and a boy.) I was overcome at the first outburst and ran over to Billy Scott's little store located in a small annex at the north end of John Chatham's house and reported. It was in this little room that your rich merchant and banker, Wm. Scott, took his start. It was a mighty small start-a few dry goods, but more groceries and butter and eggs and country pro- duce. John Chatham's house was on the east side of Main street and north side of the public square. I think the house occupied by Mr. Lee and others stands where stood "the house that Jack built."
Old John Chatham was famous in his time,-he had a voice like a lion and did the needful yelling to boost the hands at house and barn raisings. The period to which I am referring was be- fore canals, turnpikes or railroads were built. At the great freshets of the Miami river in the spring, boats were built at Piqua in which flour, bacon, pork, corn, and fruits were shipped to New Orleans. The boats were built on the bank of the river near where your gas house stands and there launched into the
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river and then loaded for the grand voyage. The launch was a great occasion. People came from far and near, and old John Chatham gave the word: "Men, are you ready? Now, all to- gether, heave, O!" What an excitement! Piqua was always fond of excitement. As the untaught sailors tramped the deck controlling the boat with the three great oars it was grand. And didn't the boys and some girls and old people run down Main street to see the boat as it came around the bend to the south end of town and sped away? Those voyages down the great Miami to the Ohio river and thence to New Orleans of course occurred before the making and opening of the Miami canal. This canal was not commenced to be constructed from Cincinnati to Dayton until 1826 and finished through to the lake about 1844. Quite a struggle occurred between the Mad river and Miami valleys as to the location of the canal north of Day- ton. My father was a member of the Ohio Senate when, by act of the legislature, the route was established to run up the Miami valley through Troy and Piqua, and the town of Piqua was grandly illuminated and the Piquads were excited.
J. H. YOUNG.
The following is a brief history of the Hilliard family and its set- tlement at Piqua, written in 1859 by Joseph Hilliard, father of James G. Hilliard, recently deceased, shortly prior to his death :
EARLY SETTLEMENT OF OHIO BY JOSEPH HILLIARD
Piqua, Ohio, Sept. 1859.
Joseph Hilliard, the writer of this sketch, was born Jan- uary 1, A. D. 1784, in Burlington county, New Jersey, near the present site of Mount Holly, about sixteen miles south of Tren- ton, and nineteen from Philadelphia.
When about three years of age my parents, John and Eliza- beth Hilliard, removed to Wheeling, Va., where they remained a short time when they emigrated to Columbia, on the north side of the Ohio and Little Miami rivers, six miles east of Cincinnati.
When moving, our boat was stoved in in consequence of the breaking up of the ice and we lost two out of three horses, most of our cattle, hogs, sheep and other personal property.
After a short stay at Columbia, my parents removed, in com- pany with Judge John Symes, the father-in-law of Gen. Harrison, to North Bend, fifteen miles below Cincinnati. The Indians were then numerous here, and during the early part of our stay
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were friendly and peaceable, but owing to the fact that some of their horses were stolen by the whites and secreted in the woods, they became very much enraged, and many difficulties and bar- barities ensued.
WHITE MAN AIDED INDIANS
A certain white man by the name of Ash, who had been taken by the Indians in his boyhood, was in the habit of secret- ing himself on the banks of the river and begging the boats pass- ing up and down to stop and take him on board.
JOSEPH HILLIARD
He being a white man and acting for the Indians, decoved many unwary victims into the hands of the enraged Shawnees and others and was the cause of many of the brutal massacres which then occurred; and such were the forebodings of his mind, it was said, that he was afraid to travel alone during the night, being haunted by the spirits of those in whose murder he had been an accessory.
BROTHER TOMAHAWKED
About this time my brother, Uriah Hilliard, a lad of fifteen years of age, being out in search of the cows one morning, was tomahawked when within one-half mile of his father's house. He
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was the first person that I ever saw that was killed by the In- dians.
He now sleeps in the same grave with his mother in North Bend.
The next persons massacred were Stephen Carter, Benja- min Laffordy, Benjamin Cox, and a number of others. One John R. Mills was badly wounded, but so far recovered as to be able to go about for years.
Previous to this time James Logan, afterwards an Indian chief, was taken prisoner by the whites, with his mother and brothers, and removed into Kentucky. He was afterwards brought and exchanged by Judge Symes for some white prisoners.
In time subsequent, he fought with Gen. Harrison against the British and also the Indians. He was a brave and noble soldier, characterized by a large share of humanity.
IN DANGER OF BEING MURDERED
When I was about nine years of age my father and my two older brothers went to Null creek, near the town of Reading, for the purpose of building a cabin. I was left at home to take care of the house and stock, my younger brother and sister being with me.
At this time a man by the name of Demoise was murdered by the Indians and this caused terrible consternation through the settlement, and no one could predict what disclosures a single day might make.
Parvin Dunn, my brother-in-law, knowing our exposure as children without even the watchful care of a mother (she having been taken from us by the hand of death) came at midnight to our rescue and took us to North Bend.
MOVED TO VICINITY OF PIQUA
In 1797 my father, brother Charles and myself, accompanied by six families and three single men, took up our residence in the vicinity of Piqua on the east side of the Big Miami river.
There were then no houses this side of Dayton except one on Honey Creek built by Jonathan Donalds and David Morris. During the cultivation of our first corn crop we lived in Indian camps constructed from bark and poles after which the same season we erected cabins.
In the fall of the same year the first cabin was built upon the present site of the city of Piqua by Job Guard, who came to
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this settlement from Greenville. Our neighbors were then scarce (except Indians) and pretty well dispersed, being principally in Dayton, Springfield and a few scattered along Mad river.
The land in the eleventh range being owned by Judge Symes, my father commenced laying out a town on the east side of the river under his direction, but he (Symes) soon after fail- ing, the land fell back into the hands of congress, we holding a pre-emption right in the same.
SETTLEMENT AT STAUNTON
The next settlement in this county was made by John Knoop and a number of others in the spring of 1798 at Staunton, eight miles south of Piqua.
The game of the region at that time consisted of bear, deer, etc., with wild turkeys and other small game in abundance, all of which were considered acceptable dishes in our cabin home. Corn bread was then our "staff of life," the corn being ground in hand mills and baked in a Johnny cake, or in the old corn dodger style.
Our manner of traveling was oriental and simple, without a carriage or vehicle of any kind. Our wives and daughters were no drivers of chariots or buggies as now, but good pedestrians and not unskilled equestrians. Our young people had their so- cial parties, going generaly on foot, but if they rode, each young man and his partner on the same horse with himself.
The common dress of the young men consisted of hunting shirts made of buckskin and cut in notches in such a way as to make ornamental fringes, and pantaloons of the same material. Instead of hats they wore fur caps of their own manufacture, and made from the skins of the fox or raccoon and adorned with the tail of the animal for a pendant.
EVERYBODY WORE MOCCASINS
Boots and shoes were little worn, buckskin moccasins being used instead, their manufacture was simple and unique, being composed of one piece, the edges uniting in a seam at the top and another at the heel by a cord of the same. They were fastened to the foot by passing a string under the shoe which, being brought up, was made to tie around the ankle.
When fine shoes were worn they were of a style which the young ladies and gents of the present day would scarce know to what use they could be applied. They were much longer than the
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foot, and terminated in a point which, of course, turned up. Young ladies' fine dresses were made of calico and'chintz, prin- cipally of calico.
Their ordinary dresses were made of striped lindsey and very often they had no other kind. Their dresses were small in comparison with those of the present day, hoops being very scarce in those days, our log cabins scarcely affording sufficient room for the modern style of female dress.
KEPT TIME WITHOUT CLOCKS
Such an article as a cooking stove was unknown, the wide chimneys affording sufficient space for all cooking purposes. We kept time without a clock and were as regular in our habits as now. Our floors were made of puncheons split out of the log and sometimes hewed. For chairs we used benches from three to six feet long, and small three-legged stools, which served all neces- sary purposes for comfort and convenience.
Our dishes consisted of bowls and trays made of pewter or wood, no china or Liverpool ware being then in use. All our furniture was plain and common and no style was covered by a patent.
The different members of the settlement were true to each other's interests, and in my opinion selfishness and treachery were not as common as they are now.
Our living was hard, scarcity of bread being very common, but meat was always plenty. Our nearest water mill for sev- eral years was owned by Col. Patterson, two miles and a half below Dayton. Several years afterward John Manning erected a mill near the place where Piqua now stands.
FIRST BLOCK HOUSE
The Indians being very troublesome, a block house was erected near the present residence of D. E. Thomas, Esq. We seldom had occasion to resort to it, however.
On November 24, 1807, I was married to Sarah Reed, origi- nally from North Carolina. We had seven children, all of whom are living at this date.
In 1812 war was declared with England and General Hull surrendering to the British at Detroit, general consternation pre- vailed throughout the country. Fort Wayne was beseiged by the Indians, and General Harrison with his troops was sent to the
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relief of the people of that region. Many of the settlers accom- panied the expedition, my brother Charles being one of the num- ber.
Finding Fort Wayne forsaken by the Indians, General Har- rison at once proceeded to Eel river, in Indiana, and destroyed a few Indian towns, but had no regular battle with any of the tribes. One or two regiments on their way against the British encamped on a field in this vicinity, now owned by D. E. Thomas, nearly opposite the present school house of the town of Hunters- ville.
HOSTILITIES CEASED
I have the clearest recollection of seeing the army encamped there at that time. After hostilities ceased we had very little trouble, occasionally a stroke from the hand of an unfriendly In- dian, but in a great measure we were permitted to enjoy domes- tic happiness and attend to the cultivation of our farms unmol- ested, which has ever since been my employment.
From the first log hut that was erected on the present site of the city of Piqua in 1797, I have been permitted by a kind Providence to live and see it a flourishing town, with nearly all the facilities of modern times.
MRS. RACHEL DAVIES
Mrs. Davies, in 1899, wrote the following sketch of her life:
I was born December 7th, 1812, in a log cabin on what was then known as the Greenville road, now the McMacken farm on the Versailles pike.
Afterwards my father built a large, two-story, hewed log house. In 1818 we moved to Upper Piqua on what is known as the Ashton farm. They made the brick to build the house on the farm. They cut the logs in the woods, took them to the saw mill and made them into lumber; made a board kiln and dried the lumber; they split the shingles, which covered the house, in the woods by hand.
They built a hewed log barn, which still remains there. Father set out a big orchard consisting of elegant fruit trees of all kinds. In winter we dried the peaches, apples, cherries, pears and plums. Then we had a maple grove and made our own molasses and sugar.
We raised our own cattle, sheep, etc .; cured our beef, sell- ing the hides to the tanner. We sowed the flaxseed ; pulled the
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