USA > Ohio > Champaign County > The history of Champaign county, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory etc > Part 60
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TOWNS.
The town of Kingston was not regularly laid out. It has been growing seventy-five years, since 1805, when Salem Township and, Champaign County were established. The writer was at this town sixty-three years ago; a block- house was then standing near Taylor's Mill, which mill was built by John Taylor, a Virginian, in 1810. In 1814, and for some years thereafter, Simon Kenton lived near the mill, and used frequently to come here to mill, riding on his pony with a bushel and a half of corn under him to get ground to make his pone of. Kingston is now a flourishing village of about 300 inhabitants, con- taining two fine churches and two good schoolhouses near. Rev. Benjamin Gehman lives near this village.
There is a post office at this village, and a depot on the New York, Penn- sylvania & Ohio Railroad lies one-half mile east of the village.
The village is surrounded by a rich country. The late Judge Edward L. Morgan lived one mile east of this village.
Kennard is situated on the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad, seven miles north of Urbana. Samuel H. Robinson was proprietor and laid out this town in 1864. The village contains near 200 inhabitants. One good church, one good schoolhouse, one large grain warehouse and one post office, which was the first post office in Salem Township.
A good country surrounds this village. The classic "King's Creek" runs in sight.
William and Alex Madden, brothers and native Virginians, reside near this town. William is about eighty years of age, in very feeble health. Alex is aged about seventy years, and is strong, robust and healthy.
[Since the writing of Salem Township history, Rev. William Haller has passed away. He took a deep interest in the Champaign County History, and assisted in placing on record many interesting historical facts known only to himself. The following obituary notice appeared December 9, 1880, in the columns of the Citizen and Gazette, of Urbana, Ohio, and is so fitting a tribute to the man and his works that we gladly make place for it .- PUBLISHERS. ]
" Rev. William Haller, an old and highly esteemed citizen of this county, died at his residence in Salem Township, Thursday morning, December 2, aged about eighty years. The deceased was one of the early pioneers of the county, having resided here for some sixty-five years, and was highly appreciated by
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
all who knew him for honesty and integrity. In early life, he embraced relig- ion, and for some sixty years has been a local preacher in the Methodist Epis- copal Church. His life has been one of activity and usefulness, and at a ripe old age has been gathered to his fathers. 'Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.' For many years, the deceased has been a contributor to the columns of the Citizen and Gazette.
"Since the above has been put in type, the following has been received from the pen of T. S. McFarland :
" The subject of the following sketch was born at Mayslick, Mason County, Ky., on the 5th day of August, 1801. In 1812, his father came to Ohio, at a time when the war cloud was gathering between this and the mother country, and landed in Urbana on the 12th of October of the above year; William then being a lad of eleven years of age. His father, John Haller, subsequently, in 1814, settled near the mouth of Nettle Creek, where William grew to the years of manhood. He had, prior to his leaving Kentucky, at the age of nine years, professed conversion, and shortly after his emigration to Ohio, at the age of thirteen years, he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church under the labors of. Rev. Robert W. Finley. At the age of nineteen years, he was licensed as an exhorter, and three years later as a minister. In 1825, he married Sarah, daughter of Ezekiel Arrowsmith, who died ten years later, leaving him three children-Fletcher, Lewis and Emily Jane. The year following her death, in 1836, he married Jane, his former wife's sister, who died in 1851, leaving him two children, Sarah and Lavenia. In 1855, he married Myrtilla Bishop, his now bereaved widow, by whom he had one child, who appropriately bears his father's name. Shortly after his first marriage, he built his first cabin at the old homestead, in Mad River Township, now occupied by his son-in-law, Elijah Hanna. Here he continued to live until after the death of his second wife, when he removed to the hill one mile west of Urbana. He finally removed to Kingston, where he lived either in the village or vicinity, until the day of his death, December 2, 1880. Coming into the county as he did, when the country was a comparative wilderness, he grew up to years of man- hood, and watched with more than ordinary interest the rapid development from time to time. He was a man of more than ordinary attainments, and always imparted his information for the benefit of others, with great pleasure. He was a modest, unassuming, self-sacrificing man, and the people of the Mad River Valley are indebted more to him than any other man for its moral and religious element. He was for many years a contributor to the paper which contains this notice of his life and death. In this he will be missed, as in all other circles of society, for, though dead, his works do follow him. His funeral services took place in the Methodist Episcopal Church at Kingston, under the direction of the venerable Rev. D. Warnock, assisted by Rev. S. F. Conrey, Rev. B. Gehman, and the Pastor, Rev. G. H. Kennedy. The Hymns 979 and. 990 were sung by the choir in a manner never to be forgotten by those present. A very large and sympathetic congregation was present to show their regard for a man who had no enemies. His remains were borne by request, by his old neighbors west of the river, namely : J. D. Powell, J. M. McFarland, F. N. Barger and T. S. McFarland. Thus has a good man passed away, whose memory will be revered for generations to come. His remains were at his request laid in the Talbott Graveyard, beside those of his second wife. Peace to his ashes."
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522
HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
WAYNE TOWNSHIP.
BY F. M. M'ADAMS.
Wayne Township occupies a position in the northern tier of townships, being second from the eastern border of the county, bounded north by Logan County, east by Rush Township, south by Union and west by Salem.
Its extent is four and five-eighths miles from east to west, and seven and one-fourth from north to south, containing a little more than thirty-three and a half square miles, or about 21,460 acres.
The original proprietors of the land were Osborn, Smith, Tidball, Evans, Denny & Barreth, Stubblefield, Kinney, Goode, Pelham, Means, Poe, Frazer, Ladd & Norville, Galloway, Calderwood, Browder, Peterson, Morton, Barreth, Ladd, Dun, Herbert, Pomroy, Sears, Heth, Black, Hoffman, Campbell, Keane, Armstrong, Butler, Latham, Washington.
The original surveys have been subdivided into farms, and these subdivided into smaller tracts, until the boundaries are difficult to ascertain. The direc- tion of the lines of survey conform precisely to the "Ludlow Line," which is nearly twenty degrees west of north. This line crosses the extreme southwest corner of the township, leaving only twenty-one acres-a modest, right-angled triangle, on the west.
Agriculture is the leading pursuit. Considerable attention is given to stock-raising and wool-growing, though the latter has not, of late years, received as much attention as formerly. Hogs, horses and cattle receive especial atten- tion. The people, for the greater part, are native born and are descendants of Ken- tuckians, Tennesseeans, North Carolinians and Virginians. Nearly 10 per cent are foreign-born, the Irish predominating.
Originally the township comprised the territory of Rush, but in 1828, was divided, and a separate organization given to the east half. The records to be had, and from which information is to be taken, fail to give very definitely, the first official acts of the township officers.
It is probable that as early as 1811 the first election for township officers was held. It was the custom then to hold elections at the house of some one of the citizens of the township, and the houses of Isaac Gray, Reuben Paxton, Robert Stephens, Peter Black, Ebenezer Miles and Jerry Baldwin are men- tioned as having at various times been used for that purpose.
Previous to 1828, the names of Abishai Hoisington, Anson Howard, Ezra Winget and John Organ appear as having served as Clerks of the township in the order named ; the latter having served for several successive years.
In April, 1830, John Shaul was elected Clerk, and his successor, Wesley Hughes, was elected April 2, 1832. George N. Swisher served two years, and on the 7th day of April, 1834, Thomas Cowgill, Jr., was elected. On the day of the Presidential election, November 1, 1844, Thomas Cowgill resigned the office, having held it more than ten years. Daniel Vertner was appointed by the Trustees for the unexpired part of the year, and on the 7th day of April, 1845, Robert Archibald was elected to this office, and was re- elected and continued to serve until the 6th day of September, 1852, when he resigned, and Solomon Linville was made Clerk by appointment, for the unex- pired part of the year. April 4, 1853, John P. Wilson was elected, and served one year ; was succeeded by Solomon Linville. Daniel Vertner was elected in April, 1855, and continued as Clerk until April, 1858, when he was
ยท
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
succeeded by J. W. Barley, who held the office till April 4, 1864. William McMullen served from 1864 to 1865. Joseph A. Linville served from April, 1865 to April 1867, and was succeeded by Charles A. Barley, who filled the office till November 3, 1868, when the Trustees appointed Milton Beck to fill the vacancy. George Woodward served in 1869-70, and Jacob H. Craft was elected April 4, 1870, and continued in the office until he resigned in October, 1874. He was succeeded by James K. Graham by appointment. James Murphey was elected in April, 1875, and resigned the following November. Charles M. Graham was appointed for the unexpired part of the year, and was elected and served from 1876 to 1878. He was succeeded by John A. Gallo- way, April, 1878. Mr. Galloway is the present efficient incumbent.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
Before Rush was cut off from Wayne, and up to 1822, the name of David Hurley appears on the records as a Justice of the Peace. But, if there were other magistrates before this, the records fail to show it. John Shaul, Thomas Irwin and James Devore served before the year 1826. Peter Igou was elected at the house of Jerry Baldwin, January, 1828. His election was successfully contested by St. Leger Beck and Martin Flaherty, and a new election was ordered, which was held on the 8th day of February, 1828, when Igou was again elected, and his term of office began on the 16th of the same month. William Organ was commissioned a Justice of the Peace February 1, 1830. Peter Igou was re-elected in February, 1831. William Organ was re-elected in January, 1833, his second commission bearing date February 1, 1833. Igou was succeeded, February 1, 1834, by the election of John Stowe. Peter Igou was again elected, at the house of John Holycross, February 15, 1836. John Stowe was re-elected January 16, 1837. David B. Williams was com- missioned February 25, 1839, and Robert Pennington May 24, 1839, and was succeeded by Lester Ware. David B. Williams was re-elected February 15, 1842. John J. Harlan was elected November, 1844, and was re-elected November 26, 1847, resigning July 1, 1848. He was succeeded by Andrew McBride, who was elected July 20, 1848. C. O. Johnson was elected August 17, 1850, and was succeeded by William Thomas August 29, 1853. Silas Igon was elected April 4, 1853, and was succeeded by Alexander Pickard on the 7th of April, 1856. William Thomas was re-elected, his commission being dated August 29, 1856. William R. Clark was elected April 4, 1859, and resigned on the 5th of September following. His immediate successor was John W. Barley, who was elected on the 24th of the same month. Will- iam Thomas was again elected, his commission being dated September 21, 1862. James W. Hunter succeeded Barley, his commission bearing date- October 15, 1864. William Thomas served continually until November, 1874, when he was succeeded by Aaron Mitchell. James W. Hunter was succeeded by John Middleton, Jr., April 1, 1867, who was re-elected April, 1870, serving six years in all. James W. Wells was elected April, 1873, and re-elected April, 1876, his six years ending with the election of John A. Gallaway, April, 1879. Mr. Gallaway is the present incumbent. Aaron Mitchell served one term of three years. He was succeeded November, 1878, in the election of F. M. McAdams, the present incumbent, who was re-elected October 12, 1880.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY. .
OTHER TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.
Of the Trustees who served the township in its early organization and pre- vious to 1840, we find the names of Thomas Cowgill, Sr., Henry Fairchild, Silas Hale, Thomas Middleton, Thomas Irwin, James Williams, Erastus Burn- ham, Jeremiah Baldwin, James Devore, Sylvanus Smith, James Mitchell, Thomas Lary, Jesse Johnson, Thomas Goode, Sr., St. Leger Beck, Paul Igou, John Stowe, Aaron Gutridge, Simon Miller, Matthew Mason, John Middle- ton, William Organ, John J. Harlan and James Gray.
During the same period, the office of Township Treasurer was filled by Thomas Irwin, Isaac Gray, William Organ, John Miller and Otho Johnson.
For the same period, the names of Ezra Winget, Otho Johnson, James Claypole, Robert Cloud, Robert Stephens, John Richardson, Peter Black, Erastus Nutter, John Walburn, Ross Thomas, Allen Haines, Reuben Fair- child, Reuben Paxson, Anson Howard, William Winget, Samuel Reed, Samuel Goode, John Colwell, Andrew Hays, David Ripley, John Parthemar, Boyd Richardson, Isaac Farmer, Stephen Cranston, William Gifford, Asahel Woodsworth, Angus Clark, Solomon Black, Barney Richardson, John Wilson, Asa Gray, Jonathan Looney, William Jenkins, William Middleton, Jonathan Morecraft, Basil Day, Simeon Morecraft, Henry Reynolds, Stephen Thomp- son, Moses Devore, John Spencer, Thomas Baldwin, Nickolas E. Swisher, Willis Spain, Isaac Wilson, John H. Swisher, Jeremiah Davis, Benjamin Spill- ers, David Parker, Thomas Wade, William Pepple, Levi Williams, William Shackleford, James Middleton, Robert Wilson, William Sharp, Elijah Breed- love, Thomas Cooper, Cephas Atkinson, George Barley and William Lary appear as township officers of various kinds.
TOPOGRAPHY, ETC.
The surface of the township is diversified with hill and valley. The southern portion is high and level ; the western boundary borders on Dugan Prairie, and comprises some of the finest lands in the country. The northern part is occu- pied by the valley of Mingo, and is noted for its beauty and fertility. The cen- tral part is more hilly and uneven than the other parts of the township. In the southeast is a locality known as the " Ridge," but, the surface of that neighbor- hood being nearly level, it is reasonable to conclude that this appellation was the result of some other cause.
King's Creek is the principal stream. It has its source in the marshy lands in the vicinity of Cable, a little south of the center of the township, runs a southwesterly direction, and empties into Mad River near the southwestern bor- der of Salem Township. This stream furnishes power for several mills.
Spain's Creek is a small stream, and has its source a mile east of Mingo, flows an easterly direction and passing through the northwestern part of Rush Township, and through North Lewisburg, empties into Darby, in the edge of Union County. The center of the township is on the Morecraft farm, a hun- dred yards southeast of the residence of Samuel Pennington.
Numerous springs of excellent water abound in different parts of the town- ship ; and, in parts where springs are lacking, water is obtained by digging to the depth of from twelve to forty feet. The surface of the land is, in many parts of the township, underlaid with excellent gravel in inexhaustible quanti- ties, supplying the necessary material for the numerous improved roads which traverse the country in nearly every direction.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
ROADS.
The original roads of the township seem to have been laid out without regard to section lines, and with the object in view to avoid acclivities and declivities as well as ponds, swamps and other hindrances to travel. In suc- ceeding years these errors were corrected to some extent, but even at present few of the highways traverse the country in a direct route. The result is, that the farms in the township, many of them conforming to the roads, are irregular in shape, and have their beauty greatly marred.
The township is traversed by several gravel roads, constructed under the " Free Pike" law. (See Rev. Stat., Sec. 4774-4828, and 4829-4864.)
The first of these extends from west to east, and is known as the " Urbana and Woodstock Pike." It enters the township near the " Breedlove Pond," and, running an easterly direction via Cable and Clinton's Corners, passes out at the farm of Peter Black, on the east line. The length of this road within the limits of the township is nearly six miles. This was built in 1868. The North Lewisburg Pike extends from the C., C. & I. C. Railroad, west of Cable, to North Lewisburg via Middletown, a distance within the township of about four miles. This road was built about the year 1869. The Woodstock and Mingo Pike was built in 1871. Its length in the township is about four and a half miles, and it extends from Woodstock to the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio Railroad, in Mingo; some years later (1877) this road was extended to the line of Logan County, a distance of nearly two miles. In the summer of 1876, the Mingo & West Liberty road was constructed. Two miles of this road is within the township limits. It was built by Joseph Chamberlin. The Mingo & Kingston road via Kennard was built in 1877. The Clinton-Stafford road, extending from the Clinton Corners westward to near the western border of the township, was built in the summer of 1880 by Joseph Chamberlin and Cyrus Guy.
These roads, though they have been constructed at a cost of more than $50,000, are the pride of the township, and have added to the value of real estate vastly, besides rendering travel pleasant and easy at all seasons.
SCHOOLS.
The early settlers were not slow in taking measures to give their children the advantages of education. The majority of the first citizens felt keenly the need of education themselves ; it is not strange, then, that they sought to give to those who would come after them the advantages of good schools.
Isaac Gray built, with some assistance from a few neighbors, a house which was used for a schoolhouse. It was put up about 1813 or 1814, and was situ- ated a short distance southeast of the present site of Carmel Church. A description of this house would answer for the schoolhouses of that day gener- ally. It was constructed of unhewn logs, covered with clapboards held in place by weight poles. The interstices between the logs were daubed with clay mortar. The loft was covered with rails laid closely together, and these were plastered with mud from the upper side. A large fire-place with an outside stick chimney was at one end; the floor was made of puncheons split from large logs and hewn into shape. These were sometimes fastened to the sleepers by nailing, but generally held in position by their own weight. The seats were often of split logs, sometimes of sawed slabs. The writing desk ranged along one side, and was held in a slanting position by pins driven into the wall.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
The door swung on the outside, and was fastened on wooden hinges. The win- dows were destitute of glass, but in its place greased paper was used, admitting a feeble light.
The teachers of that day were thorough in what they pretended to teach ; they were determined to impart, and the pupil was as determined to learn. A common trait in the youth of that day was an invincible determination to learn.
Several schoolhouses of this description were built in the township in an early day. In the succeeding years, as people became abler to incur the ex- pense, they built better schoolhouses, but it can hardly be said with truthful- ness, that, with increased school advantages, education became correspondingly more general. North Salem, a house erected for and used as a Methodist meet- ing house, and of which mention is made elsewhere, was used also as a school- house from 1824 to 1830.
The schoolhouses constructed during the last decade are in keeping with the. progress of events in educational matters, and compare favorably with school buildings in the rural districts throughout the State. The Board of Education has of late years adopted the practice of building of durable material, having in view the unquestionable principle that the best is the cheapest. There are- eleven school districts in the township at present; two of these (Mingo and Cable) maintain two schools for the winter season.
During the school year ending August 31, 1880, the total amount of money expended for school purposes was $3,880.86. Average price paid teachers per month, ladies, $25; gentlemen, $37. The same year, there were enrolled, males, 277 ; females, 246; total, 523; whole number of both sexes between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, 143. The value of school property is estimated at $7,000. Number in the various branches-alphabet, 66 ; reading, 409 ; spell- ing, 422; writing, 358; arithmetic, 319; geography, 268; grammar, 138 ; composition, 5; oral lessons, 509 ; drawing, 45; algebra, 23; geometry, 6.
RELIGIOUS.
Methodism in Mingo Valley. - In the year 1821, a number of persons of Methodist extraction met at the house of Alexander St. C. Hunter (where William Winder now lives), for the purpose of organizing a religious society. Of the number was Alexander St. C. Hunter and Sarah Hunter, Thomas Hunter, Robert Goode, his wife and mother, Lydia Russell, and her daughters Hester, Rebecca and Lydia. These persons formed them- selves into a class, as designed by Wesley, and for two or three years there- after continued to meet at this house for social religious worship. By the year 1824, the society had attained numbers and strength, and they deter- mined to erect a house of worship for their accommodation. Robert Goode, Peter Igou, William Sharp and Isaac Sharp served this people as class. leaders. Having determined to build a church, they were not long in carrying their resolution into practical effect. Money was scarce. Few of them had any bank accounts or funds of any kind, but, with them, to resolve was to do. Material and labor was at once promised. The house was soon built, and the society felt a pardonable pride in its possession. But of this house let us say a word. It was situated on the farm now owned by B. R. Tallman. Lydia Russell gave the site. Each of the principal members contributed labor or material. The house is described as being of unhewn logs of the surrounding forest ; the roof was of clapboards, held in place by weight-poles ; a large fire- place occupied part of the south end, and a low, long window on the north end.
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HISTORY OF CHAMPAIGN COUNTY.
The door was a plain plank one, with wooden hinges, swinging outward when opened, and fastened with a wooden latch fifteen inches in length, and fastening to a huge catch, like a figure 4. The door was at the east front, and on this. front was a shed or porch, designed to shelter and accommodate parts of the congregation when the capacity of the interior was overcrowded, as was often the case. The seats were made of split logs, made smooth on the split side and supported by pins for legs.
This church was called North Salem. And who, think you, preached to this. people ? Such worthies of the church as John Strange, Samuel Brown, John F Wright, Francis Asbury, William H. Raper, Alfred Lorain, James A. Don- ahoe, - Westlick and Robert Brandreth. This rude house was the principal house of worship for all the surrounding country, from 1824 to 1831, when it was abandoned for one of more pretensions, situated near by, on the site of the mansion of the late Thomas Hunter, erected in 1866, now occupied by his widow, " Aunt Nancy," and her youngest son, Hale. This house was not built for a house of worship but for a schoolhouse, and was considered the best school- house in all the land at that day. It had a stove in the center, a shingle roof, a batten door hung with iron hinges, and the logs were hewn on two sides. The interstices between the logs were daubed with mortar made of lime and sand, and the general appearance of the house indicated progress. In this house, the Word was proclaimed from 1831 to 1838 by Obadiah Johnson, Joshua Boucher, George W. Walker, Michael Marlay, David Warnock, James Smith and A. Wambaugh.
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