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. 2 > Part 11
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Previous to this date, Harmony Township existed in name, and as early as 1811 cast forty-one votes at a general election held in Champaign County for * Following the year 1950 ile votes of the township and city of Springfield were given separately.
636
HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
Senator; that her territory was the same then as now is not probable. In proof of this, we quote from the record:
" April 25, 1618 .--- Ordered that that part of the county of Madison now comprised in the county of Clark, shall be and the same is hereby attached to and made a part of the township of Harmony, and shall be called and known by the name of Harmony."
There are no records to be found showing who were the early township officials, and their deeds are therefore more of tradition than of record.
The Ludlow line, crossing this township, divides the lands into two classes -Congress and military lands. This line runs twenty degrees west of north, and its direction mars the shape of the military lands on the east, and makes fractions of Sections 31, 32, 33, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 12 on the west. The Congress lands comprise more than two-thirds of the whole extent.
In the year 1830, the real estate of the township was valued at $61,314, and the taxable chattels at $2,928; in 1840, the value of real estate was $103,- 16S, and there were in the same year only nine pleasure carriages, valued at $596. In 1850. the real estate was valued at $484,516, and the personal prop- erty at $137,484. In 1860, the real estate value was $778,760, and the chattels at $354,82+. in 1370, the value of real estate was $1,277,180, and in 1990 it was $1,276,075. The township contains 31,450 acres and in 1880 had an aver- age appraised value of $40.31 per acre.
STREAMS.
Beaver Creek, the principal stream of Harmony Township, has its origin near the northeastern part of the township, and runs easterly, and is crossed by the National Road half a mile east of Harmony Village; it is a tributary of Buek Creek, and furnishes valuable water-power to a number of mills above its entrance into that stream.
Several smaller streams rise in the southern part of the township, flow south- erly, and empty into the Little Miami or its tributaries.
VILLAGES.
Lisbon, Plattsburg, Brighton, Vienna and Harmony are the only villages of the township. The three last named are on the National Road, which runs from east to west through the northern half of the township. Plattsburg and Vienna have each a post office; the other villages depend upon other points for their mail.
SUNDRY ITEMS.
Harmony is divided into two nearly equal parts by the C., S. & C. Railroad, which runs almost easterly and westerly on section lines of the Congress lands.
The center of the township, as shown by diagonal lines drawn from north- west to southeast, and from southwest to northeast, is on the north half of the northwest, quarter of Section 9, about ten rods south of the railroad.
PIONEERS OF HARMONY TOWNSHIP.
'The men and women who succeeded the native red man, and planted civil- ization in the foot prints of the untutored savage, were of a peculiar type. If the present generation acknowledge a debt of gratitude to the fathers who broke the yoke of tyranny and freed our beloved country from the oppressive chains of despotism, is it not a duty also to revere and honor the memory of the hardy pioneers, who, taking this now rich and happy country from the state of nature, have, by their enterprise and muscle, made it what it is?
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HARMONY TOWNSHIP.
The following brief mention is made of a few of the many early settlers who · located in the township between the years 1800 and 1880, and who are promi- nent in the organization of society:
Thomas Chenoweth settled in the vicinity of Lisbon as early as 1803, and in 1815 laid out the village of Lisbon. He was a Virginian. He accumulated considerable property by farming. He was the father of three sons and three daughters. He died, on the farm where he had spent a long and useful life, February 25, 1850, in his seventy-ninth year.
George Weaver settled near Lisbon in 1808, and erected a distillery some years later. He operated as a distiller for a number of years, and removed to Madison County about the year 1831.
John Merideth was a soldier of the Revolution. He came to Ohio from Hanp- shire County, Virginia, in company with Hamilton Busbey, in the fall of 1815, descending the Ohio in a flat-boat to Cincinnati, and traversing the wilderness by wagon to their destination. He settled at Lisbon in the fall of that year, and if not the first, he was one of the first, merchants of that place. During his business career, as a matter of convenience, he issued a proprietary scrip as currency. This home-made medium was easily imitated and the result was that he was compelled to redeem more than he issued. After a number of years, he rewanted to Urbana and became Cashier of a bank. Later, he removed to Miami County, and died in 1839, at the age of ninety-one. His youngest son attained distinction as a General during the late civil war.
Hamilton Busbey was a Virginian, and was born in Hampshire County in 1792. He emigrated to Ohio in company with John Merideth in 1815, settling at Lisbon, where he remained for ten years. He then bought and occupied a farm near the present village of Plattsburg. He served the township in various official capacities. He was the father of a large family. His oldest son, Thomas C., is still a resident of Harmony Township. Mr. Busbey died in Coles County, Illinois, December 16, 1847, aged fifty-five.
Joseph Morris was an early settler near Lisbon; was one of the early school- - teachers of the vlilage, and was a minister of the Baptist Church, reaching over a period of half a century. He raised a large family of children, who inherited the noble traits of their father, and who filled well their stations in life.
John Craig, a Revolutionary soldier, was born February 15, 1758; entered the army in 1775, and was discharged in 1780. He came to the township in 1SOS, and died in Springfield Township, at the home of Lewis Skillings, Sr. He was a man of moral worth and sterling integrity.
John Heaton settled east of Lisbon as early as 1815; was a farmer, and served as a Justice of the Peace for twenty-one years. His sons, Henry, James, Abraham and Abner, were residents of the township, and worthy citizens. Mr. Heaton died November 22, 1861, at the age of eighty-two.
John Judy, Sr., was born in Basle, Switzerland, about 1760. He came to America at the age of ten, with his father's family, who settled on the south branch of the Potomac. He came to Kentucky at the age of twenty-two, and married Phoebe Lamaster. About 1794, he came to what is now Greene County, Ohio, and about the year 1800 he came into the territory of what is now Har- mony Township, and settled two miles east of the present site of Plattsburg, now the farm of Matthew Bonner. Here he reared a family of children. About 1831, he removed to Union County, Ohio, where he died at an advanced age.
The Turner brothers. Thomas, James, Robert, William, David and Sanmel, were settlers near the Madison County line, coming into the township in about the year 1SOS. They were natives of Maryland. They took an active interest in the organization of the township. Robert served as a Justice of the Peace
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
and as County Commissioner. Their descendants are among the prominent cit izens of Union County. " There was not a black sheep in the flock."
" Col." Thomas Rathburn was born in Rhode Island in 1782, and came to Ohio in 1911, gottling of Brighton the come year. Served some years as Justice of the Peace, and also as Colonel of militia. Died in 1869, in his eighty-eightb vear.
Samuel McMillan settled on Beaver Creek, near the present site of Brighton, in 1811. He was a blacksmith by trade, and also served the town- ship as a magistrate.
Enoch King was from Pennsylvania, and, in the year 1812 or 1813, settled a mile east of where Plattsburg now stands. He was a farmer of good repute, and was the Appraiser of real estate of the township in 1840. He was twice mar -. ried; had a large family, thirteen of whom grew to maturity. Enoch, John and David, sons of the second wife, are residents of the township to this day. Mr. King died in 1865, aged seventy-one. His widow and daughter Mattie reside on a portion of the home farm.
John Osborn was a native of Greenbrier County, Virginia: he moved to Kentucky in 1790, and thence to Ohio in 1812. occupying the lands on which Plattsburg was afterward located. His sons, William, Levi, Jesse and Elijah were in after years worthy and prominent citizens of Harmony Township. He died August, 1847, aged eighty-seven.
William Osborn, oldest son of John Osborn, came to the township with his father in 1812, having been born in 17S7. His first wife was Jane McDonald; , his second, the widow of James McArthur. Mr. Osborn was one of the original founders of Plattsburg, and built the brick hotel on the principal corner. He was a man of great energy and extraordinary business capacity, and dealt largely in stock and real state. He died October 17. 1870, aged eighty-three. A suitable sketch of his life and character is found in Turf, Field and Farm of October 25, 1570, written by Hamilton Busbey, editor of that journal, and a native of Harmony Township.
Mack McDaniel was a Kentuckian. He settled near the site of Plattsburg in 1813, and died in November, 1832, at the age of eighty-one.
Benjamin Hathaway was from Massachusetts, and served in the war of 1812, and was a Captain in the navy. He became a citizen of the township in 1815. His life was a mass of mystery, fact and romance, but he was withal a man of great integrity and intelligence. His son Benjamin was Colonel of a regiment of militia, and a school teacher of repute. The senior died January, 1861, aged eighty-owo.
James Haney settled on Beaver Creek in 1810, and built the first saw-mill in the township. The remains of the mill and race can yet be seen.
'A man named Burke erected a mill on the Little Miami about 1815. It was a small affair, and could only be operated to advantage during the rainy seasons, but it was considered valuable in those days.
Col. William Foreman, born in Kentucky in 1791, came to Ohio and settled in Harmony Township in 1812. He was the father of eleven children, a Colonel of militia, Township Treasurer for several years, and the owner of a largo estate. He carried on a tannery on the old London road. three miles west of Plattsburg, for many years. He resided in Harmony Township fifty-eight years, and died February 19, 1871, aged eighty-one.
William Henry was from Kentucky. He settled on the Little Miami, one and one-half miles north of Lisbon, in 1814. He was a man whom many remember kindly.
James McDaniels settled two miles north of Lisbon in 1815. His nativity is in doubt. He took an active part in the campaign of 1840, and, at a mass
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HARMONY TOWNSHIP.
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meeting at Springfield on the 18th of June of that year, he was selected as one of the corner-men in the erection of a log cabin on the occasion.
Robert Reid settled on the Little Miami, on the farm now owned by B. Sprague, in 1815. He took an active part in the affairs of Harmony Township, serving the township as Clerk and Trustec.
James Sprague was a Canadian; he settled west of Lisbon, on the Little Miami, about the year 1815. He was the father of L. B. Sprague and Darius Sprague, residents of Harmony Township, and Dr. James Sprague, of London, Ohio.
Edward Rice was one of the early settlers of Harmony Township. He came to Ohio with his wife in 1809 from Massachusetts, which was also his wife's birthplace, and settled on the farm south of the present village of Harmony, known as the Patten farm in 1812. He was a man well informed, took an active interest in the public affairs of the township, and was a Township Trustee for several years. Four of his sons were residents of Springfield Township and city. His son Asa, now deceased, built a steam saw and grist mill in Vienna about 1854. Mr. Rice died January 10, 1842, and his wife Lucy October 22. 1877. Gabriel Cox settled on a farm adjoining Harmony Village about the year 1813. He farmed some and kept hotel south of the village. He was a Free- jabron, aud when he died was buried by that order.
James Donnels settled on the farm now owned by his son-in-law, Jesse Boyd, in 1808. Was a farmer and amassed considerable wealth. His only son James lives immediately east of Harmony in the house built by his father about the time the pike was finished.
David Hannah was a Virginian. He settled on Sinking Creek, in the northwestern part of the township, in the year 1815, and carried on a distillery for several years. In his day he was regarded as the largest and most powerful man of the township.
John Nichelson settled on Beaver Creek in 1806. Samuel Goodfellow owns the farm now. He had five sons-four of whom passed away years ago. Isabel, the oldest daughter, married Moore Goodfellow, and this is regarded as the earliest marriage in Harmony Township. Daniel Jones married one of the daughters, and the third died unmarried.
Andrew Nichelson came to the township with his father, John Nichelson, in 1806, being then three years old. Before he was of age, he purchased and paid for a tract of eighty acres of land, thus laying the foundation for the vast wealth which he afterward possessed. He was twice married, and was the father of a large family ---- eleven of whom became men and women. His first wife was Rachel Hammond; she died in 1852. His second wife was Mrs. Angeline Yea- zle, nee Spencer. whom he married in 1854. He was a man much esteemed for his many charitable acts, a life-long and consistent member of the Christian Church, and was widely known as a man whom nothing could divert from the path of rectitude. He died July 23, ISSO, in his seventy-eighth year.
Moore Goodfellow was a native of Ireland. He settled on Beaver Creek on lands now occupied by his fourth son, Samuel Goodfellow, in 1810. His wife was Isabel Nichelson: they were married in ISOS Their children were Will- iam, Jolin. Thomas, Mary Ann, Isabel. Samuel, Elliott, Rachel, Rhoda and Moore. His offspring, with their descendants, have held prominence in the township in business, political and social circles for nearly three-quarters of a century. He died September 16, 1800.
Henry Oxtoby. Sr., was a native of Yorkshire, England, as was also his wife Elizabeth Cook. They were married and had four children in their native land. They emigrated to America in 1503, locating first in the State of New York. In 1814, they came to Ohio and purchased 180 acres of land near Oxtoby Sta-
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
tion, now owned by John Pierson. For this land Mr. Oxtoby paid $2.25 por acre; it has since sold for $100 per acre. His only son, Henry, still lives near the old homestead and the ripeness of his declniing years is rendered glorious by the recollection of a well-spent life. the senior Oxtoby died in 1838, his wife in 1836; the three daughters have followed.
William Baird was a native of Hagerstown, Md., born March 16, 1762. HA moved to Kentucky in 1794, and thence to' Ohio in 1808, settling ou Beaver Creek lands now owned by his son William D. Baird. He served in the Revo- lutionary war. He left three sons and four daughters at his death. One son still lives at the age of seventy-eight, and one daughter aged ninety-three -- both res- idents of Harmony Township. Mr. Baird attended a treaty with the Indians in 1809 at Springfield, and saw the celebrated warrior and chief Tecumseh; was personally acquainted with Daniel Boone and Simon Kenton of historic fame.
Benjamin Foreman, 'James Parks, Warham Stasy, Lewis Fee, Nicholas Storms, John and George Jones, Allen Gilbert, Matthew Spencer, John H. and George Dynes, were all settlers of Beaver Creek section, in the vicinity of the National road.
James Burns and Daniel Jones and family were carly settlers near Lisbon. Thomas Stites was an early settler one and a half miles northwest of Lisbon, and managed a distillery for some years.
Jacob Girard, Thomas Whittredge and Isaac Dillon were early settlers near Lisbon. Robert Thorp, Sr., and family settled in the southwestern part of the township in 1819, they came from England. James Price came in 1S20, died in 1846.
Isaac Chamberlin settled near Lisbon about the year 1815, and kept a pub- lic house for several years. His children were Stephen H., George, Walter, Mary, Caroline and Sarah.
John Whiteley settled in the neighborhood of Fletcher Chapel, near the western line of the township. He served as Justice of the Peace of Harmony Township for several successive years. He was also a Commissioner of the county. His sons William, Joseph, Andrew and Abner have become noted throughout Christendom as inventors and manufacturers. Mr. Whiteley died June, JS15, aged sixty-four.
Christopher Laybourn was born in England in 1745; there married, in 1777, to Margaret Newlove, born in 1758. In 1794, he with his wife and six children emigrated to New York where they lived eighteen years. during which time he was Mayor of New York City two years. In 1812, he and family came to Clark County, settling in the southwestern part of this township, now known as the Thorp farm. He afterward moved to the farm where Joseph Laybourn now lives, in Section 25, where he died in 1842, his wife having died in 1825. He was a school teacher and a man of good education.
John Judy, Jr., was the second son of John Judy, Sr., and was born in a block-house near Flemingsburg, Ky., in 1791. He came to Ohio with his fath- er's family and settled on the "Judy farm" on the head waters of the Little Miami near the Madison County line. His wife was Lydia Hull. He served. in the war of 1812 as a private; served Harmony Township as a magistrate, and was a Captain of a company of militia. He built one of the first brick houses in the country, and kept the "Black Horse Tavern," the first hotel in the town- ship. He was a man of integrity and lived and died a consistent member of the Free- Will Baptist Church. Ho removed to Illinois about 1860, and died December 1, 1874, aged eighty-three.
Dr. William Amphlet located in the western portion of the township in an early day. He was an Englishman by birth, well educated, skillful in his pro- fession, and owned a library of great value.
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yours denly R. J. Collins SOUTH CHARLESTON
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HARMONY TOWNSHIP.
Dr. J. B. Lingle was born in Springfield in 1813, and settled at Vienna as a physician in 1836. He was a successful practitioner, and served the town- ship officially as Justice of the Peace, Treasurer and Clerk. He died in 187S. His widow, whose family name was Laird, still survives.
Washington and Josiah Wilson came to this township with their mother Temperance (Judy) Wilson, about 1513, where Michael Wilson, Jr., was born shortly afterward. This family became one of the wealthy and influential ones of the township, and wielded an influence for good.
Mention is made of other physicians who have practiced their profession at Vienna. Harry H. Young, James Sprague, -- Norris, - Hunter, William U. Banwell, E. H. Smith.
The merchants of Vienna have been Caleb Barrett, Daniel Brown, Emanuel Wayne, D. B. Farrington, W. S. Funston. George W. Ryan, D. O. Heiskill, J. M. Bennett. W. T. Harris, J. A. Widdicombe, Samuel Frock.
Caleb Barrett had a store at Windsor, on the old Columbus road, as early as 1825, from where he removed to Vienna upon the completion of the National road.
William Pool and wife came with their son-in-law, Edward Rice, to this township in 1812, where both died; they were natives of Massachusetts.
CEMETERIES.
The various burial-places in the township seem to have been selected with a view to desirability and fitness.
At Lisbon, the dead rest in a neatly kept cemetery, and the memorials of affection erected to perpetuate the memories of the departed are tasteful and appropriate.
At Plattsburg, the site of the cemetery is one rarely equaled for position. It is well kept and contains the graves of a number of pioneers of the early days.
At Brighton, a small and tolerably well kept cemetery is used as a place of interment by the general public.
At Vienna, nearly a mile west of the village, and north of the National road, is a cemetery which is large, well laid out and neatly kept.
Fletcher Chapel is one of the oldest burial-places of the township, and the dead here perhaps number two hundred, among whom are the names of many whose descendants have figured prominently in public life throughout the land. Laybourn's is a small and somewhat private lot on Section 29, and on the road leading from Harmony to Plattsburg.
The Wragg Cemetery, on Section 22, is somewhat neglected of late years.
"Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid, Some heart, once pregnant with celestial fire; Hands that the rod of empire might have swayed, Or waked to estacy the living lyre."
Following is a list of the names of some of the early settlers of Clark County who were born before the year 1800, and who are buried within the township:
NAME. DIED. AGED.
James Campbell
December 30, 1841. . 51 November, 1832. .81 Enoch King. Max 17. 1955 .: 1 William Osborn .. . October, 1870. $3
Charity King
Jane Osborne .. James McDaniel .. . January, 1815. January. 1839. .50 John Osborn. Angust, 184; Sì Polly O-born .October. 1:25. 59
B. B. Browning. August, isos.
Mary Browning .. November. 1865.
Benjamin Hathaway . January, Isol. .... .52
NAME.
DIED. AGED.
Mack MeDaniel
Elizabeth McDaniel .. February, 1550.
Charles Stewart. August, 1819.
David jones November. 1857
Mathias Smith. August, 1868.
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HISTORY OF CLARK COUNTY.
NAME.
DIE.D. AGED.
NAME.
DIED. AGED.
Wm. L. Converse .... September, 1846 .. .. 47
Sarah Stickney
April, 186%. 83
Jacob Olinger .. . ... May, 1877. 90
John Hawkins. May, 1869. 81
Matthew J. Spencer. July 1824 .84
Isaac Peters August, 1869. 70
Abigail Spencer .. May, 1872.
Magdalena Miller. .August, 1869 .. 93
Darius Sprague ... September, 1858. 67
Thomas Chenoweth. . February, 1856.
Elizabeth Chenoweth. March, 1856. 76
Mungo Murray August, 1830.
Catherine Murray . February, 1861. .85
Jesse Anderson September, 1823. 37
James Jones. November, 1852. .52 :
Mary Jones. August, 1825. 45 -
Daniel Jones 1832 78
George Hempleton.
October. 1825. 43
Isaac Chamberlin.
.July, 1853. 79
Polly Chamberlin. . May, 1867. 85
John Heaton November, 1861. .82
Thomas Stites December, 1853. .76
Jeremiah Smith July, 1819 .69
James Sprague July, 1844. 59 -
Mary Sprague. July, 1870 79
Thomas Cushman. July. 1852 .56
Cornelius Carter . February, 1829.
.56
Richi'd G. Trousdale .. April. 1861. 6%
John Watson .. .May. 1844 . 58
Benj. K. Cozier. March, 1840 .. 53
Sally Cozier. .October, 1536 47
Robert Craig. September, 1850. .51
Isaac Wood. August, 1825. .54 John Craig. March. 1838.
Jane Wood ..
May, 1871
01
William Allen. September, 1825 .60
John Whiteley. June, 1845. .64
Dr. Abraham Aldrich. April. 1874 ..
Christiana Whiteley .. March, 1858 74 Polly Aldrich. August, 1855.
Nancy Hill .. October, 1845 86 Lavina Borland. October, 1869 60
Nathan Reddish. .July. 1853. 69
Harriet Reddish. .April, 18:4
S2
Nancy Laybourn. August, 1852.
Elisha Laybourn. . . .. March, 1861 71
Abigail Laybourn. . . . March, 1876.
Jane Mc Millan ..
November, 1874.
: William McMillan. . . February, 1876. .81
Joel Laybourn. .. .. October, 1851 71 Josiah L. Marsh
Zuruiah Laybourn. . .April, 1862.
John Mattinson. July, 1862. 71
Daniel Nason March. 1857 73
Rowena Simpkins .July, 1870
Nancy Nason .. August, 1849 68
Boyd Benton. May, 1842.
John H. Dynes. August. 1819
Olive Whittredge. .July, 1843 .. 64 William Anderson April. 1841. 42
Warhamn Stasy November, 1850.
Jarusha Stasy August, 1826, 57
Ebenezer Bennett. April, 1845 66
Catherine Bennett. . . January, 1845. 61
John Stickney. . March, 1850. .71
D). W. Henkel. March, 1852. 59
Peter McKercher .. . . February, 1843. 44
LISBON.
This village is situated near the southeast part of the township. on the road leading from South Charleston to Springfield. and is the southern terminus of the Lisbon & Catawba Free Pike. It was laid out on the 25th day of October, 1815, by Ebenezer Pattocks and Thomas Chenoweth, and on their lands. The surveyor was John James. Main street is sixty feet wide: Main cross-street is sixty feet wide, and Chillicothe and South streets are each forty-nine and a half feet in width. The three last named run parallel to each other, and at right angles with Main street. The original plat shows fifty-six lots, or fourteen squares of four lots each. Lots numbered from 1 to 28 lie west of Main street; lots numbered from 29 to 56 lie on the east side.
At the time the village was founded, and for some years later, it gave prom-
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O. cher. 1351. 78
John Thomas. . August. 1866. 74
Joseph Newlove March, 184S. 80
Ann Newlove. November, 1841 .75
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