USA > Ohio > Logan County > The historical review of Logan County, Ohio > Part 29
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Samuel Newell. 1818 to 1831: Noah Z. McColloch. 1831 to 1846: Thomas M. Robb, 1846 to 1857: James Leister. 1857 to 1866: Oden Hayes, 1866 to 1872: J. . 1. Mellvain. 1872 to 1879: George H. Allen, 1879 to 1885: S. A. MleColloch, 1885 to ISO1: R. F. Tremain, 1801 to 1897; W. S. Roebuck. 1807 to 1903: F. O. Batch, 1903 to 1906.
SIIERIFFS OF LOGAN COUNTY.
Upon the organization of the county, in 1818, Nicholas Pickerell was appointed sher- iff of the county, and assisted in putting the machinery of the county into operation, and held that office until 1822.
The following are the names of the per- sons occupying the office as sheriff since the organization of the county :
Nicholas Pickerell, 1818 to 1822: Dan- . jel M. Workman, 1822 to 1828: Raphael Moore. 1828 to 1830; Peter Kelly, 1830 to 1834: Martin Marmon, 1834 to 1838; Peter Kelly. 1838 to 1839.
Mr. Casad died in ISOr and Samuel B. Taylor was appointed for the vacancy and Kelly resigned because he feared that he would be compelled to hang Andrew served until his death in June, 1877. In 1877 W. L. Nelson was appointed to fill the Hellman, who was then in jail charged with
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HISTORICAL REVIEW OF LOGAN COUNTY.
the murder of his wife, and Joseph Newell was appointed to fill the vacancy.
Walter Slicer, 1840 to 1842: John Un- derwood. Jr., 1842 to 1848; Josiah Carr. 1848 to 1854: Robert Crockett, 1851 10 1858: MeCorkle Ackles. 1858 to 1860: J. W. Byers, 1860 to 1804: Esli Powers, 1864 to 1868: J. A. Mellvain. 1868 to 1872: W. H. Chandler, 1872 to 18;7: John Me- Cracken. 1877 to 1881: Henry M. Cline. 1881 to 1885: W. H. Lloyd. 1885 to 1889; W. W. Roach. 1889 to 1893: J. L. Sullivan, 1893 to 1897: Presley Shaw, 1897 to 1901 : R. S. Kerr, 1901 to 1905.
PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS.
Upon the organization of Logan county there was not a single lawyer located or living within the county, and James Cooley. of Champaign county, was appointed by the court to act as prosecuting attorney and oc- cupied this position from ISIS to 1821.
William Bayles, a lawyer from Urbana. came to Bellefontaine and in 1822 was clected prosecuting attorney. The list of prosecating attorneys from 1818 to the pres- ent time is as follows :
James Cooley, 1818 to 1821: William Bayles. 1822 to 1826: A. Casad. 1826 to 1832: Hiram McCartney, 1832 to 1836: Benjamin Stanton. 1836 to 1840: Richard S. Canby, 1840 to 1846.
Mr. Canby vent to the legislature in 1845. and William Lawrence was appointed prosecutor to fill the unexpired term.
E. Bennett. 1846 to 1848: William Hub- bard, 1848 to 1852: William H. West. 1852 to 1856: James Walker. 1856 to 1858; John Pollock, 1858 to 1860: Marvin War- ren. 1860 to 1862: J. B. MeLaughlin, 1862 to 1864: John A. Price, 1864 to 1870.
John A. Price was elected to the legis-
lature and Duncan Dow was appointed to fill the vacancy.
Duncan Dow, 1870 to 1874: J. B. Mc- Laughlin, 1874 to 1878: George W. Emer- s001. 18;8 to 1884: W. S. Plum, 1884 to ISgo: J. A. Oder. 1890 to 1896: Samuel H. West. 1896 to 1902: E. P. Chamberlain, 1902 to #905.
L'pon the organization of Hancock coun- ty. in 1826, Mr. Anthony Casad. of Logan county, was appointed prosecuting attorney of Hancock county, and served in that court for a term or two.
COUNTY AUDITORS.
The office of county auditor has always been a most important one, and, in connec- tion with the county commissioners, the county auditor has substantial charge of its financial affairs. The office has from the beginning been filled. in nearly all cases, with men of business ability. The follow- ing is a list of the county auditors from the organization of the county in 1818.
Thomas Thompson, 1818 10 1822: Noah Z .. MeColloch, 1822 to 1832: George Krous- kop. 1832 to 1846: William Stokes, 1846 to 1854: J. D. Baxter. 1854 to 1858; Wil- liam Stokes, 1858 to 1866: T. Miltenberger. 1860 to 1867: Joseph R. Smith, 1867 to 1873: John H. Stewart, 1873 to 1880: F. R. MeLaughlin. 1880 to 1887: Christie Wulliams. 1887 to 1893: Charles D. Camp- bell. 1893 to 1899: Frank E. Milligan, 1899 to 1905.
COUNTY TREASURERS.
The following is a list of the county treasurers of Logan county since its organ- ization in 1818.
Martin Marmon, 1818 to 1821: Nich- olas Pickerell. 1822 to 1823: Daniel Work-
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HISTORICAL REVIENT OF LOGAN COUNTY.
man, 1823 to 1826: Martin Marmon, 1826 to 1835: A. H. Lord. 1836 to 1841: Sam- uel B. Taylor, 1842 to 1849: John Under- wood. Jr .. 1850 to 1850: Jeremiah Kelley. 1856 to 1860; John Underwood, Sr .. 1800 to 1861: W. L. Nelson, 1861 to 1860; John A. Smith, 1866 to 1868 : J. M. Kelley. 1868 to 1860: W. L. Nelson. 1809 to 1875: N. H. Jackson. 1875 to 18,8: W. H. Chan- dler. 1879 to 1882: F. S. Chase, 1882 to 1886: J. D. Inskeep, 1888 to 1892: Charles Rogers, 1892 to 1894: J. M. Ebrite. 1895 to 1899: Oren Outland, 1899 to 1903; Isaac N. Miller. 1903 to 1905.
COUNTY RECORDERS.
The following list comprises the county recorders from the organization of Logan county to the present time :
Thomas Thompson, 1818 to 1820: Sam- tiel Newell. 1820 to 1830: B. S. Brown. 1830 to 1832; H. B. Strother, 1832 to 1850; William Newell. 1850 to 1856: J. B. Under- wood. 1856 to 1857.
Underwood ran away from the county, abandoning his office, and William McCol- loch was appointed to fill the vacancy and served from 1857 to 1858.
William Cheever, 1858 to 1864: Jolm Shurr, 1864 to 1870: J. O. Sweet, 1870 to 1879; John A. Coulter, 1879 to 1885; Ben- jamin Underwood. 1885 to 1891 : William Stough, 1891 to 1897 : Major Joseph Swish- er, 1897 to 1903; Henry Reymer, 1903.
COUNTY SURVEYORS.
The following list comprises the county surveyors from the organization of the county until this time :
am. 1842 to 1844: Alexander A. Harbeson, Daniel Hopkins, 1838 to 1842: John Meech, 1844 to 1848: Oden Hayes, 1848 to 1850; J. B. MeLaughlin, 1850 to 1856: H. C. Moore, 1856 to 1862; George T. Curl, 1862 to 1864: J. D. Mclaughlin, 1864 to 1808: N. H. McCormick, 1868 to 1882: S. .A. Buchanan. 1882 to 1888: James C. Won- ders. 1888 to 1894: Wilbur A. Ginn, 1894 to 1902: J. C. Wonders, 1002 to ----.
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.
The county commissioners have almost the entire charge, in connection with the county auditor, of the financial affairs of the county, and have supervision of the collec- tion and expenditure of the county funds and public taxes; the building and mainte- nance of public roads and highways, the construction of public ditches and the super- vision of all public buildings; the building and care of the county bridges, and in short the building, repair and control of all pub- lic work in the county. It is the most im- portant office in the county in so far as it af- fects the levy and collection of taxes for pub- lic purposes, and the expenditure of the same. The following list comprises the county commissioners from 1818 to the pres- ent time :
1818 to 1820: Robert Smith, Solomon McColloch and William McBeth.
1820 to 1824: James McPherson. John Garwood and John Means.
1824 to 1826: James MI. Workman, John Garwood and John Means.
1826 to 1830: William Scott, David Norton and John Harrod.
1830 to 1832: N. Z. McColloch, David Norton and John Elliot, Jr.
1832 to 1836: William Scott, Alexan-
B. S. Brown, 1818 to 1821 ; James Mar- mon, 1821 to 1830: Daniel Hopkins, 1930 to 1836; Walter Clement. 1836 to 1838; der Thompson and Jose H. Garwood.
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HISTORIC.I. REVIEW OF LOGAN COUNTY.
1836 to 1838: Robert The grey. James M. Marmon and Joseph St .
1838 to 1842: James Walker, G. H. Barnes and George R. Green.
1842 to 1844: Thomas Green, Thomas James and Joseph Morris.
1844 to 18448: 1. 11. Barnes, John Elam and Alvin T. Cundiff.
1848 to 1850: John Underwood. John Hoge and B. S. Brown.
1850 to 1854: John Hoge, B. S. Brown and J. M. Glover.
1854 to 1856: James Kenton, John Humphreys and Jacob Humphreys.
1856 to 1800: Milton 1. Anderson. D). W. MeKinoa and Bentley Williams.
1860 to 1862: David Mitchener, Thom- as A. Pool and C. I. Brooks. 1862 to 1866: Bentley Williams, Thom- as A. Pool and C. I. Brocks. 1866 to 1868: Bentkyy Williams, John G. Hoge and Thomas A. Poul.
ISO8 to 1871: John G. Hoge, William Fisher and Joseph A. Keller.
18TI to 1873: Joseph A. Keller. Esli Powers and J. S. Robb.
1873 to 1875: J. S. Robb. Esli Powers and John Rosebrook.
1875 to 1876: Eslie Powers. John Rosebrook and J. S. Kobb.
1876 to 18;8: John Rosebrook, J. S. Robb and Henry Kelly.
1878 to 1881: John Rosebrook. Hen- ry Kelly and Charles Cookston.
1881 to 1882: Henry Kelley, Charles Cookston and John Harrod.
1882 to 1883: Charles Cookston, John Harrod and R. P. Enkins.
1883 to 1884: John Harrod. R. P. Lukins and Joseph MI. Putnam.
1884 to ISS7 : R. P. Lukins, J. M. Put- nam and John Harrod. 15
1887 to 1888: R. P. Lukins. J. M. Put- nam and Edward Higgins.
1888 to 18go: J. M. Putnam. Edward Higgins and A. C. MeClure.
1800 to 1803: Edward Higgins, A. C. MeClure and Samuel Smith.
1803 to 18 f: A. C. MeClure, Samuel Smith and Joel Easton.
1804 to 1805: Samuel Smith, Joel Easton and Joseph Fergus.
1805 to 1800: Joel Easton. Joseph Fergus and James Eller.
1897 10 1808: Joseph Fergus, James Elder and Joel Easton.
1898 to 1800: James Eller. Joel Easton and John Brown.
1900 to 1001 : Joel Easton. John Brown and Lewis W. Norviel.
1001 to 1002: John Brown, Lewis W. Norviel and James E. Shaw.
1002: Lewis W. Norviel. James E. Shaw and John L. Makemsom.
CHAPTER XXV.
BRIDGES AND DITCHES, AND CONCLUSION.
There are in Logan county including cul- verts and public structures on roads and highways. more than six hundred bridges.
In the early times the streams were simply forded at convenient points and gen- erally roads were so located as to reach the most desirable fording places on the streams. Fortunately. however, there was little or no difficulty in finding good fordings at almost any convenient point for the location of pub- lie highways.
In times of high water the fording in
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HISTORICAL REVIEW OF DOGHIS COUNTY.
many places Yas dificult and frequentie ations has cleared out the masked has dangerous, if not impressable, and it hacome necessary to permit the floods to calle and the waters to run off before the temps could le crossed. This diten copirel set- eral days, as the wools. fil'en timbes. brush and debris, hell the waters back and kept the whole country flooded for many days. It was not an infrepent occurence to see whole sections of the country under water after heavy rains, and this was especially CONCLUSION. the case as to the low and flat linds and We have attemptel to give'a fair and succinct history of the county from its ear- liest beginning until the present time and have not hesitated to use every source of information, or to reconcile the information very possible that some errors of date of statements have crept into these pages. be cause no one who has not attempted by search and inquiry to make discovery of these things, can understand how difficult it is in all cases to obtain accurate and exact information or to reconcile the information obtained with the dates and the facts them- selves, upon all points. We have attempted. however, to do justice to all things, and have neither added nor omitted by reason of fear or favor. the lands adjoining many of the streams in the county. These waters ran off slowly. leaving the country wet and in many parts unfit for anything more than pasture lands, or given over to musles All this has been changed within a halt cemury, and it is now almost impossible to find any march- lands in Login county and it is still more difficult to find any streams which are not confined within their banks, and are not properly provided with culverts. or brilged with substantial structures of word of iron. At least one-half of the bridges of the coan- ty are now of iron or steel and it is es- timated that the cost of the bridges in Lo- gan county is fully two hundred and nity thousand dollars.
DITCHIES.
There are in Logan county including county ind private ditches, more than two. thousand miles of ditching. and the estimat- ed cost of the ditches exceeds two millions of dollars.
Almost every acre of the land of the county is now drained by county or private ditches, or such ditches are now under con- struction.
This wonderful improvement has brought the low and wet lands under culti-
driven tway malara, and bringit De sam When to the very highest standodans com i the best agricultural and producing con- tie. In the state: while the low lands. otoh unit a few years since were not subject to euhivation, are new regarded with the greatest favor and are returning most both tiful crops to the husbandman.
The record of Logan county and the representative people who came to populate it stand second to none in the state.
The men and women who came to this frontier and laid the foundation for the marvelous temple of human liberty, which bas since been buildled, and whose coming was but the beginning of an empire to be dedicated "to liberty and humanity for- ever," accomplished more for the world's growth and development than all the con- querors that ever followed the footsteps of prince, or potentate, for the subjugation of tribes and peoples, and for the establishment
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HISTORICAL REVIEW OF LOGAN COUNTY.
of oppressive and unrighteous government. by the pretended power of "the divine right of kings."
The cross and the crown were here joined in one common cause, and the axes which laid waste the wilderness began the uphilding of the rude temples, where all were permitted to worship according to the dictates of conscience and to how before the altars of a just and all-seeing God.
The rude and untutored aborigines found among the newcomers only friends and assistants, and while the forest fell and cities and villages sprang into existence. there was neither war nor rumors of war so long as it was possible to maintain peace and good will among the tribes and kindred of the northwest.
The streams which had for so mery cen- turies been flowing to the seas undisturbed. save by the savage and the will beasts. were harnessed to the improvement- which came into the wilderness and became docile servants of the people.
The plains which had grown the tangled grasses and been enriched by the fires which cleared them in the springtime for fresh growth and fertility, became the homes of a new and prosperous people. The very for- ests which had been sighing in the winds of untold and uncounted centuries bowed their heads and fell before the blows of the all- conquering and determined pioneers, who had come to make their homes in the new Eldorado of the west.
home of fremer dedicated forever to the hharty of the people.
In the growth and development of the State of Ohio, Logan county has kept pace. and in population and improvement is rank- ed with the first.
Her churches, schools, and public insti- titions are in keeping with the intelligence and prosperity of the people.
The cities and villages are centers of thriving trade and business: her farms are under the highest state of cultivaton. and her farm improvements are second to none in Ohio. Throughout the county are now leing constructed interurban electric lines. which will bring every section of the county and almost every farmhouse. within an hour's ride of the seat of justice.
Her public highways are equal to any in the west, and her people are filled with pride of home and are enjoying the fruits of a rich and generous inheritance.
Every valley. river and lake which less than a century ago was the home of the red man, is now within the control and keeping of a people whose blood was mingled with the clas at Lexington, and whose ancestral crats of arms were won at Trenton and Brandywine.
All of this is the result of less than a hundred years of labor and improvement. The men and women who came into the wil- derness to find homes for themselves and their children. and to hy the foundations of "an empire within an empire" have long since been called to their fathers, but the splendid legacies they left to the coming generations will remain as a rich inheritance for all the centuries to come.
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The new century had but opened the way for a greater improvement, and the loy- al and devoted men and women who had earned their rights to a share in the up- building of this most promising portion of From out of the wilderness and the cab- ins came the fruitful fields, the rich harvests the new Republic, came with strong arms and loyal hearts determined to make it the and the comfortable and independent homes.
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HISTORICAL REVIEW OF LOGAN COUNTY.
From the strong and sturdy stock of the pioneers came the manly and courageous men and women who in after time- were to prove that the blood which had flowed through the veins of Valley Forge and Mon- month, and had been tried in the crucible of the Revolution, was still flowing in the veins of their children, and that there was no Huer blood coursing in any living creature than that which stood on the heights of Little Round Top, followed the dashing Sheridan up the Shenandoah, fought with Grant in the Wilderness, served with Thom- as, the "Rock of Chicanrigt." and march- ed with Sherman to the sea
When we contemplate the marvelous de- velopment of a single century of American progress, whit mind so far seeing, and so comprehensive as to be able to cast the hero- scope of the future?
. What will another century bring forth? What will the children of the coming gen- erations find to omstrip the marvelous march of the century just closed?
If we would call back from their graves the pioneers whose axes blazed the way through the wilderness, and the smoke of whose cabins ascended like incense to the praise of Him who had guided and guarded them through every danger, what a won-
drous panorama of beauty and grandeur would pass before them ?
Cities filled with splendid structures. magnificent temples of worship, the streets rivaling the Appion way: cities, towns and villages where marts of trade and commerce are the wonder of the world. Instead of the Indian cange, lakes and rivers filled with floating palaces, carrying the products of the great northwest to the wharves of every country in the world?
Rushing on the wings of the wind, from the farthest east and the bleakest New Eng- land rocks and hills to the golden shores of the Pacific, the trains of interurban com- merce have swept the hands of time from the dial and measured the distance with the suns; the great discoveries of Edison. Tesla and Marconi, which have turned the night into day, and have placed within the control of mm that mysterious power which is destined to move the mountains and to cover the oceans as with a span.
When we see all of this progress and development of the first century of the Re- public we stop to wonder if it can be pos- sible that the pace which has been set by the marvelous minds of the first, can be equaled or excelled by the still more mar- velous minds of the century to come?
BIOGRAPHICAL.
HON. WILLIAM LAWRENCE. A. M., Furope. perhaps Sweden, and purchased a LL. L.
( See portrait frontispiece ).
It is said of an eminent man of old that he has done things worthy to be written; that he has written things that are worthy to be read: and by his life has contributed to the welfare of the republic and the hap- piness of mankind1. He on whom this trans- cendant eulogy can be pronounced with even partial truth is entitled to the gratitude of his race. No where within the broad Emits of the Commonwealth of Ohio, has there died a man over whom this might more truthfully be said than William Lawrence. Lawyer, jurist. statesman, author, educator. agriculturist and banker, his life seems not only to have touched upon almost every de- partment of activity, but to have left its impress there for good. The influence of his labors was far-reaching, and most beneficial to mankind, and no history, such as this volume defines in its essential limita- tions, will serve to offer a fit memorial to the life and accomplishments of this honor- ed man, and yet we would offer our tribute of praise to one who so largely aided his fel- low men as did William Lawrence.
A century or more ago, during the early settlement of Pennsylvania. two brothers. by the name of Lawrence, emigrated from
large tract of land on the Delaware river. near Philadelphia. They embarked with a vessel in trade on the river, and lost their land by permitting the claim of adverse oc- cupants to ripen into title. One of these brothers emigrated to western Pennsylvania, settled near Brownsville, and is perhaps the ancestor of the western Pennsylvania Lawrences. The other brother married a French lady and had a numerous offspring. One of these was David Lawrence, a sub- stantial farmer, who died about 18os, near Philadelphia, leaving a family of several children without any estate. Amongst them was Joseph, an orphan boy, friendless and portionless, who was apprenticed for seven years to the business of blacksmithing and faithfully served out his teri. At the ex- piration of his term, while yet a youth, he enlisted as one of the Philadelphia Guards. in the war of 1812. and served during the war. On the restoration of peace, he re- moved to Ohio, where he was married to Temperance Gilchrist, a native of Virginia. a lady of great benevolence, of exemplary piety and many virtues.
William Lawrence, the subject of this memoir, the only surviving representative of these parents was born at the beautiful village of Mount Pleasant. Jefferson county. Ohio, June 20. 1819. At that place the father pursued his calling as a mechanic
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THIE BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD.
for many years, but subsequently removed to Bellefontaine. Logan county, Ohio. where he engaged in the quiet pursuits of agriculture, and he lived to see his son rise to prominence and fame in this state. While at Mount Pleasant William Lawrence be- came a student in the village school, where he soon evinced an ardent love of books and showed a precocity indicative of his fu- ture success. With unusual rapidity and a thoroughness which would have been credit- able to riper years, he mastered the branch- es there taught and displayed at that carly day those superior powers and qualities of mind with which his subsequent career showed him to be so eminently gifted. In the spring of 1830 his father retired to a farm which he purchased near the village of Richmond. and in connection with agricultu- ral pursuits he conducted a blacksmith shop. It seemed necessary that he have his son's assistance in this dual work, and. though he found it uncongenial. he. nevertheless, per- formed his duties in the smithy and in the fields. Through all the years, however, he rever relinquished his determination to be- come a factor in the walks of life demanding broad and keen intellectuality.
ball, who had recently opened a classical seminary near the Ohio river above Steuben- ville. His preceptor was a ripe and accom- plished scholar under whom he made rapid progress in the acquisition of knowledge. and laid the foundation of his fine classical education. Although he was frequently summoned to aid in the labors of his fath- er's farm. he never fell behind his class, but was distinguished for the case with which he mastered the sciences and the elegance of his translations of the Greek and Latin languages. He remained in that school until the spring of 1836, when his father procur- ed for him a situation as a merchant's clerk in his native village and there, despite his entreaties and remonstrances, William Law- rence was doomed to pass the summer of that year. It was not, however, a period of wasted effort. for there he acquired what Heks cannot supply - accurate and active Business habits which were the foundations of the astonishing rapidity and systematic methods with which he dispatched the busi- ness transactions of his profession in later life. It was about this time that he first witnessed a display of forensic eloquence which kindled his youthful ardor into en- thusism. He had read with intense de- light the models of Greek and Roman or- atory and the richest gems of British and American eloquence, but now he had seen and heard that of which he had before only read, and in writing to a friend he said : "1. too, will be a lawyer." At last winning the consent-although a reluctant one-of his father. he became a student in Franklin College at New Athens, Ohio, in the au- tumn of 1836, and in the fall of 1838 he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and the complimentary honor of
Mr. Lawrence was gifted with the vigor of constitution and a power of endurance which enabled him to accomplish an im- mense amount of labor. While working in the shop and in the fields the cultivation of letters was not entirely neglected in him. Each leisure moment found him indulging in the perusal of works of history and poetry and during the winter months he generally sj ent a "quarter" at the log school-house. fa- mous in the educational annals of the north- west. He took a decided step in advance in the autumn of 1813. when he was placed un- der the instruction of the Rev. John T. Tid- pronouncing the valedictory oration on the
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