USA > Ohio > Clark County > The history of Clark County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men, V. 1 > Part 30
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During the session of the Congress of the year 1806, an act was passed entitled "An act to regulate the laying-out and making a road from Cumberland. in the State of Maryland, to the State of Ohio." President Jefferson, in his special message of January 31, 1807, says: "I appointed Thomas Moore, of Maryland, Joseph Kerr, of Ohio, and Eli Williams, of Maryland, Commissioners to lay out the said road and to perform the other duties assigned to them by the said act. The progress which they made in the execution of the work, during the last season, will appear in their report, now communicated to Congress. On the receipt of it, I took measures to obtain the consent for making the road. of the States of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, through which the Com- missioners proposed to lay it out. I have received acts of the Legislatures of Maryland and Virginia, giving the consent desired; that of Pennsylvania has the subject still under consideration, as is supposed.
" Until I receive full consent to a free choice of route through the whole distance, I have thought it safest neither to accept nor reject, finally, the partial report of the Commissioners. Some matters suggested in the report belong exclusively to the Legislature."
Again, in his special message of February 19, 1808, President Jefferson says:
To the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States :
The States of, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia, having, by their sev- eral acts, consented that the road from Cumberland to the State of Ohio, anthor- ized by the act of Congress of the 29th of March, 1806, should pass through those States, and the report of the Commissioners communicated to Congress with my message of the 31st of January, 1807, having been duly considered, I have approved of the route therein proposed for the said road, as far as Browns- ville, with a single deviation since located, which carries it through Uniontown.
From "Notes on the Administration of Jefferson," the following is quoted as a key to the then prevailing political sentiments of different factions, espe- cially in regard to "internal improvements:"
"It was opposed on the constitutional ground that the power of making roads was not given to Congress, but, to obviate this objection, the consent of the States through whose territories the road was to pass (Maryland, Virginia and Ohio) was first required. Yet if Congress had not the power of making roads, as was contended, the consent of the State could not give it.
"The bill passed, however, with the approval of President Jefferson, but the question continued to be long afterward a subject of controversy between those who were severally disposed to a strict and a liberal construction of the constitution."
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For many years the affairs pertaining to the road were prominent among the questions of the day, not only in Congress, but also with the people. Want of space forbids anything more than a brief outline of the rise and progress of the work. During the administration of President Monroe (1817), a bill was passed, by Congress, making an appropriation for the continuing of this road. but was vetoed, by the President, on the ground that it was unconstitutional. In May, 1830, President Jackson vetoed the bill for constructing a similar road in Kentucky, known as the "Maysville road." From the accompanying message "Old Hickory's" views of the subject are quoted:
"No less than twenty-three different laws have been passed through all the forms of the constitution, appropriating upward of $2,500,000, out of the national treasury, in support of that improvement (the Cumberland road), with the appro- bation of every President of the United States, including my predecessor, since its commencement." This position of the President awakened a strong current of re-action, and many of the best administration men yet clung firmly to the policy of a liberal support of the then popular system of internal improvements. At the next session of Congress (1831), several bills were passed, appropriating money for various public works, among which was the Cumberland road exten- sion, through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.
The pressure of public opinion was so great that the Executive yielded. the bills were approved and became laws.
The road was entirely completed as far west as the property of Col. Peter Sintz. a little beyond Mad River bridge. The survey and location were extended to Indianapolis, Ind., and a portion of the road opened, culverts built, etc., but the age of steam supplanted that of muscle, and the building of the early rail- roads connecting this Western country with the Atlantic seaboard deprived the road of its prestige; for many years Congress neglected to make appropriations for the necessary repairs, until finally, it was transferred to the States through which it passed. After this time, Ohio's portion became a part of the public works of the State and was cared for by the various acts of the Legislature until 1876. when that body reduced it to the level of other turnpikes, by placing it in charge of the Commissioners of the different counties through which the road extended.
The "specifications" were of the "red tape " variety, and called for "thirty- three feet clear roadway," with three successive coverings of broken stone, to be passed over fifty times, with an iron roller, of regulation length, diameter and ยท weight. "The stones to be no larger than would pass through an iron ring, tbe inside diameter of which was 2.25 inches," etc. The construction was in charge of engineer officers detailed from the United States Army, many of whom were " West Pointers," and some of these gentlemen were a little inclined to manifest their importance to the plain Buckeyes of "ye olden time."
In conclusion, the appended sketch is given, as being as much descriptive of the relation the "Old Pike" bore to Clark County, as to the portion especially referred to by the writer:
"The national turnpike that led over the Alleghanies from the East to the West is a glory departed, and the traffic that once belonged to it now courses through other channels; but it is simply because it is the past that the few old men living who have reminiscences of it glow with excitement and exalt it in recalling them. Aroused out of the dreamy silence of their ebbing days by a suggestion of it, the octogenarians who participated in the traffic will tell an inquirer that never before were such landlords, such taverns, such dinners, such whisky, such bustle or such endless cavalcades of coaches and wagons as could be seen or had in the palmy days of the old national "pike:" and it is certain that when the coaching days were palmy, no other post-road in the country did
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the samo business as this fine old highway, which opened the West and Southwest to the East. The wagons were so numerous that the leaders of one team had their noses in the trough at the end of the next wagon ahead: and the coaches, drawn by four or six horses, dashed along at a speed of which a modern limited express might not feel ashamed. Once in awhile Mr. Clay or Gen. Jackson made an appearance, and answered with stately cordiality the familiar greetings of the other passers-by. Homespun Davy Crockett sometimes stood in relief against the busy scene, and all the statesmen of the West and South-Harrison, Hous- ton, Taylor, Polk and Allen among others-came along the road to Washington. The traffic seems like a frieze with an endless procession of figures. There were sometimes sixteen gayly painted coaches each way a day; the cattle and sheep were never out of sight; the canvas-covered wagons were drawn by six or twelve horses with bows or bells over their collars; the families of statesmen and mer- chants went by in private vehicles; and while most of the travelers were unos- tentatious, a few had splendid equipages.
"Its projector and chief supporter was Henry Clay, whose services in behalf are commemorated by a monument near Wheeling.
" The coaches ceased running in 1853; the 'June bug,' the 'good intent,' and the""landlord's,' as the various lines were called, sold their stock, and a brilliant era of travel was ended."
NEW BOSTON.
In the eastern part of Bethel Township, about four miles west of Spring- field, on the Valley Pike, is the site of what was once a flourishing little town called New Boston; it was located mainly upon a "bench" of land, on the north side of Mad River, and occupied the identical spot upon which stood the old Indian town of Piqua. Boston was laid out by its proprietor, Henry Baily, in November, 1809; Jonathan Donnel was the surveyor; the in- lots were five poles wide by ten poles in length; the out-lots were twenty-two by twenty nine poles; the streets were four poles wide and the alleys one pole.
The plat was acknowledged before William Stephens, Justice of the Peace, November 17, 1809; recorded in Urbana November 18, 1809; in Clark County November 12, 1850; vacated by order of the Common Pleas Court, of Clark County, December 13, 1866. Boston was also the name given to the civil pre- cinct comprising the westernmost portions of the county, probably including all of what is now Bethel, and the whole or a part of Pike, German, Mad River and a small portion of Springfield.
The subjoined "poll-book of an election held in the Township of Boston, in the county of Champaign, on the 8th day of October, 1811, may be of inter- est, as indicating who the men were who kept the machinery of every-day life in motion, seventy years ago:
Elias Baker, Thomas Gilliland, Philip Trout, Samuel Merandy, James McKentire, John Boice, Henry Haines, Sr., John Best, John McKentire, Heze- kiah Stout, William Williams, Nathaniel Williams, Jeremiah Syms, Thomas MeIntire, John Morris, Benjamin Morris, Henry Bailey, John Humphrys, Will- iam Donnel, John Campell, John Enoch, John Crain. John Adams, Abal Craw- ford, Thomas Hays, Josiah Mot, Layton Palmer, Joshua Gregory, Jonathan Don- nel, John Hamilton, John Perrin, Peter Menack, Daniel McMillen, Thomas Williams, Peter Sentz, Ralph Gates, James Donnel, Jacob Huffman, James Gilliland, Casper Coar, Nicholas Sentz, Joseph Clevenger, William Enoch, Adam Replogal, Joseph Layton, Daniel Davis, Henry Haines, Jonathan Baker, John Gates.
"We do hereby certify that Samuel Newel had forty-seyen votes for the
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State Legislature, Samuel Mccullough had two votes for the State Legislature. James McElvain had forty-seven votes for County Commissioner, Daniel Mckin . non had two votes for County Commissioner."
"John Crain, John Humphrys, Thomas McIntire, Judges; Attest, Williami Donnel, John Campbell, Clerks."
In the foregoing the style and spelling has been followed as near as could be; it will be observed that the names are not all written as the same names are now.
Henry Bailey is said to have been more given to hunting and fishing than to business, and if reports be true the greater portion of the citizens of the little town of Boston were of the Rip Van Winkle type, only they never " waked up." There used to be a tavern there with "birthplace of Tecumseh" on the sign: there was also a graveyard, the remaining portion of which is now inclosed by a plain board fence, and stands in the middle of a farm lot. Whoever takes the " pains" to crush through the jungle of thorns and briers may find prostrate tombstones, with the name of Crawford, and other of the early names, rudely engraved thercon. There was also an academy building of stone which was never finished, and a log meeting house. The following was read at the late Clark-Shawnee Centennial celebration, which was held on the site of "New Boston:"
Mr. T. F. McGrew -- Dear Sir: If you wish to say anything in your address about Boston on the occasion of the celebration at the place where the town of Boston was located, I will here state what I remember of it in its prosperous days. Just after you pass the toll-gate, near the place named, the turnpike road turns more directly to the west, and it runs in nearly a straight line paral- lel with the river, until it slopes down to the lower lands forming the long stretch of river bottom. It was on this little piece of table land that the town of Boston was located. The old wagon road ran south and parallel with the present turnpike, and it was along this road in a single line that the town of Boston once stood. The houses were not more than ten or a dozen in number, and were scattered along the road for a distance of perhaps forty rods, most of them on the south side, and were nearly all built of logs. One house on the south side was a frame house, where a tavern was kept by a man by the name of French. The last house on the west end of the street was an old log house. when I first remember the place, about the year 1818. It stood on the edge of the sloping ground that goes down abruptly into the prairie bottom. At that time there lived in this old house a man and his wife by the name of Powell, who always excited my boyish curiosity on account of their extreme old age, as I then passed frequently through the village on my way to the house of my aunt, who lived a short distance below.
At this period of 1818, the town of Boston was a competitor for the county seat of justice; and, after it was located at Springfield, the town of Boston los its prestige, and began its work of decline. The houses, poor at the best, one by one went into decay, and disappeared, and it must be at least a quarter of a century since the last one disappeared that stood there in 1818. The graves of some of its citizens are now inclosed with an old picket fence, near the decayed town's location.
Yours truly, JOHN LUDLOW.
ANTI-SLAVERY SENTIMENTS
The first tide of emigration to this county set in from the direction of Kentucky, Maryland and Virginia, with quite a sprinkling of men from New England, the "Jersey" country and New York; as would be supposed the polit- ical complexion was Whig, so much so that Clark County was always a reliable stronghold of Whiggery. In those days to be a Whig was to avoid any collision
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with the interests of slavery or its extension. From this it may be seen that the political soil of this county was not the proper place to plant the seeds of " lib- erty," in the " abolition " sense of the term, and when an incidental or straggling germ chanced to drop here, it was plucked up, root and branch, amid loud notes of warning sounded from the party "bassoon."
In 1844, the " Liberty party," so called, nominated James G. Birney for Presi- dent of the United States, upon a platform, the main plank of which was oppo- sition to slavery. Clark County's entire interest in this "Abolition cussedness," as one of the speakers of the campaign called it, was represented by twenty-one votes.
"But in spite of the plowman, the nut which was planted Shall grow to a tree of magnificent size."
Upon the partial disbandment of the Whig party, the greater number of its former supporters united with the then growing and progressive political organ- ization known as the Free-Soil Party. "Abolitionism" as such had changed its most objectionable features, from an advocacy of abolishing slavery where it already existed, to the preventing of its extention into the Territories of the United States. The next step was the formation of the Republican party, with all there was of good, that had been maintained by each of the others, incorpo- rated therein. The various anti-slavery atoms had now concentrated and were crystallized into a mass by the attempted destruction of the National Govern- ment, in the interests of slavery. The "tree " had attained its growth. How it withstood the cyclone of civil war, only to emerge with greater thrift, is a part of the history of our country not proper to transcribe here.
Many incidents of more or less historical value are related in connection with the old anti-slavery movements. There was a station or two of the " Under- ground Railroad" here, also an eating house, and all the necessary belongings of a first-class depot. The house on Mechanic street, now occupied as a home for aged women, formerly the residence of John D. Nichols, Esq., was one of these stations. A secret closet was recently discovered in this building, wherein " Sambo" was stowed away when necessary. The place had every outward appearance of being a part of the old "Stack chimney," so much so that the present occupants set up a stove and thrust the pipe thereof into the bogus flue. In due time, of course, somebody "smelled woolen," an investigation ensued, and one or two blows from an ax disclosed an embryo conflagration, and the facts for this item.
JOHN E. LAYTON AND THE GREENE COUNTY RESCUE CASE OF 1857.
. The following is inserted as being both historical and biographical, as it relates to one of Clark's most respected citizens, very recently deceased:
Mechanicsburg, a beautiful village of 1,500 inhabitants, is situated in the southeast corner of Champaign County, on the headquarters of Darby Creek, and has always been noted for the strong and unyielding prejudice against slavery among her people. In the days of the underground railroad this was one of the regular depots, and no George Harris, fleeing from the smarting lash of the slave driver, ever failed to obtain protection and assistance within her borders; and like the old Jewish cities of refuge, her people nover yielded up those who sought their protection. Ad White, a fugitive from Kentucky, bear- ing the surname of his master, had made his way to the place of rest for the oppressed, and, thinking he was far enough away, had quietly settled down to work on the farm of Udney Hyde, near Mechanicsburg. His master had tracked him to the farm of Hyde, and obtained a warrant for his arrest at the United States Court in Cincinnati. Ben Churchill, with eight others, undertook his capture. []Ad was at that time a powerful man, able and willing to whip his
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weight in wildcats if necessary, and had expressed his determination never to return to slavery alive. Churchill & Co. had been advised of this and made their approaches to Hyde's house cautiously, informing some persons in Mechan- iesburg of their business, and suggesting to them to go out and see the fun, which invitation was promptly accepted. Ad slept in the loft of Hyde's house. to which access could only be obtained by means of a ladder, and one person only at a time. Here he had provided himself with such articles of defense as a rifle, double-barreled shot-gun, revolver, knife and ax, and had the steady nerve and skill to use them successfully if circumstances forced him to. Churchill and his party arrived at Hyde's and found the game in his re- treat. They parleyed with him for some time, coaxed him to come down, ordered old man Hyde to go up and bring him out, deputized the men who followed them to go up and bring him down, but all declined, telling ing them five men ought to be able to take one. White finally proposed, in order to relieve Hyde of danger of compromise, if the five Marshals would lay aside their arms and permit him to go into an adjoining field, and they could then overpower him, he would make no further resistance, but so long as they persisted in their advantage he would remain where he was, and kill the first man who attempted to enter the loft. Deputy Marshal Elliot, of Cincinnati, was the first and only one to make the attempt to enter where White was, and as his body passed above the floor of the loft, he held a shotgun before him, perhaps to protect himself, but particularly to scare White. But White was not to be scared that way. He meant what he said when he warned them to let him alone, and, quick as thought, the sharp crack of a rifle rang out on the air, and Elliott dropped to the floor, not killed, but saved by his gun, the ball having struck the barrels, and thus prevented another tragedy in . the slavehunter's path. This was the only effort made to dislodge White, and after consultation they left for Urbana, going thence to Cincinnati. The gentlemen who had followed them out to Hyde's rallied them considerably on their failure, and in all proba- bility were not very choice in their English to express their opinions of "slave- hunters."
Chagrined and mortified at their failure, and smarting under the sharp rallies of the bystanders, Churchill anu Elliott made their report to the Court at Cincinnati, and made oath that Azro L. Mann, Charles Taylor, David Tullis and Udney Hyde had interfered and prevented the capture of the negro White, and refused to assist when called upon. Warrants were issued for their arrest, and a posse of fourteen, headed by Churchill and Elliott, went to Mechanics- burg and took them in custody. The men were prominent in the community, and their arrest created intense excitement. Parties followed the Marshals, expecting them to go to Urbana to board the cars for Cincinnati, but they left the main road. striking through the country, their actions creating additional excitement, and causing a suspicion of abduction. A party went at once to Urbana and obtained from Judge S. V. Baldwin a writ of habeas corpus, com- manding the Marshals to bring their prisoners and show by what authority they were held. John Clark, Jr., then Sheriff of Champaign County, summoned a posse and started in pursuit, overtaking the Marshals with their prisoners just across the county line at Catawba, when the two parties dined together. In the meantime Judge Ichabod Corwin and Hon. J. C. Brand went to Springfield with a copy of the writ, and started Sheriff John E. Layton, of Clark County, and his deputy to intercept them at South Charleston. They reached there just as the Marshals passed through, and overtook them half a mile beyond the town.
In attempting to serve the writ, Layton was assaulted by Elliott with a slungshot, furiously and brutally beaten to the ground, receiving injuries from which he never fully recovered. Layton's deputy, Compton, was shot at several
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times, but escaped unhurt, and when he saw his superior stricken down and helpless, he went to him and permitted the Marshals to resume their journey. Sheriff Clark and his party came up soon after, and Sheriff Layton was borne back to South Charleston in a dying condition, it was supposed, but a powerful constitution withstood the tremendous shock, although his health was never fully restored.
The assault upon Sheriff Layton was at once telegraphed to Springfield and other points, cansing intense excitement and arousing great indignation. Parties were organized and the capture of the Marshals undertaken in earnest. Their track now lay through Greene County. Sheriff Lewis was telegraphed for and joined the party. On the following morning, near the village of Lumber- ton, in Greene County, the State officers, headed by Sheriff Lewis, overtook the Marshals, who surrendered without resistance. The prisoners were taken to Urbana before Judge Baldwin and released, as no one appeared to show why they were arrested, or should be detained.
The United States Marshals were all arrested at Springfield, on their way to Urbana, for assault with intent to kill, and, being unable to furnish security, were lodged in jail overnight. James S. Christie was Justice of the Peace at the time, and issued the warrants for the arrest of the Marshals: the excitement was so great that the examination was held in the old court house which proved too small for the crowd. Mr. Christie was one of those who were obliged to attend at Cincinnati. The Marshals again returned to Cincinnati and procured warrants for the arrest of the four persons released upon habeas cor- pus, together with a large munber of citizens of Mechanicsburg. Urbana, Spring- field and Xenia, who participated in the capture of the Marshals. In Cham- paign County the feeling against the enforcement of this feature of the fugitive slave law had become so intense that the officers serving the warrants were in danger of violence. Ministers of the Gospel and many of the best and most responsible citizens of Urbana said to Judge Baldwin, Judge Corwin, Judge Brand and Sheriff Clark, on the day of arrest: "If you do not want to go, say the word, and we will protect you." feeling that the conflict was inevitable, and might as well be precipitated at that time. These men, however, counseled moderation, and were ready and willing to suffer the inconvenience, expense and harassment of prosecution for the sake of testing this feature of the slave driver's law, and also in hope and belief that it would make it more odious, and secure its early repeal or change.
The cases of Udney Hyde and Hon. J. C. Brand were selected as test cases representing the two features-that of Hyde for refusing to assist in the arrest of a fugitive slave, and that of Brand for interference with a United States offi- cer in the discharge of duty. The District Attorney was assisted by able coun- sel, and the most eminent lawyers in the State were secured to conduct the defense, when, after a long and stormy trial, the jury failed to make a verdict. The contest had now lasted nearly or quite a year, and all parties were becom- ing tired of it. The patriotism actuating both sides. though being of a differ- ent character and order. was entirely exhausted, and the glory to be obtained would now be left for others yet to follow. The Kentucky gentlemen who had stirred up all this racket in his effort to get possession of his $1.000 in human flesh and blood now stepped to the front and proposed to settle the trouble if he could have $1.000 for his Ad White, and the costs in all the cases paid. This proposition was readily acceded to, the money paid. and the cases all nolled by District Attorney Matthews. The deed of Ad White was made in regular form by his Kentucky owner, and now forms one of the curious and interesting features of the Probate Court records for Champaign County.
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