USA > Ohio > Clinton County > The history of Clinton County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its townships, cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; history of the Northwest territory, Volume 1 > Part 26
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"Two accounts are given of the part acted by Joseph Van Meter and his son Morgan. One is that Joseph and his family took refuge in the fort with- out loss of time. The other is that father and son, on the second day of the siege, composed a part of the company of forty men, who, on hearing of the dangerous condition of the people and garrison in the fort, left the settlement on Short Creek, went to their relief, and were fortunate enough to be able to enter the fort without the loss of a man. Both accounts agree that both Jo- seph and his son Morgan were in the fort while it was besieged by the In- dians, and participated in its defense. At one time during the siege, it is said, the rifles used by the men in the fort became so heated by the rapid firing as to become to some extent useless, and recourse was then had to a lot of mus- kets, of which a sufficient number was found in the storehouse of the garri- son. If this account be true-and it is credited in the history of the siege -- it clearly shows that, if a part of the garrison was composed of old men and mere boys, they were at least acquainted with the use of the rifle.
"Joseph Van Meter, the elder, continued to reside on Short Creek until his death. The manner of his death was never certainly ascertained. He went from home to fish, and never returned, nor was any vestige of him ever found. Some supposed that he had been drowned, while others were of the opinion that he had been taken prisoner by the Indians and burned at the stake "Morgan Van Meter came to Clinton County as early as 1798 or 1799. It is believed that he was settled at Deerfield, Warren County, with his broth- ors, Joseph and Isaac, as early as 1796, or at least 1797, having come here from Harrison County, Ky. Joseph could not have remained long at Deerfield if he
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY,
came there in 1797, for in that year there is the most satisfactory evidence that. he was located at the mouth of Dodson's Creek, on the south side of the East Fork of the Little Miami, a milo or so below Lynchburg, in what is now High- land County. Morgan Van Meter did not leave Deerfield, as is claimed, for a year or two after his brother Joseph did. William Van Moter, a very intelli- gent gentleman, a distant relative of the Van Meter brothers, who settled, when a boy, on the East Fork, near to Isaac and Joseph, is of the opinion that Morgan settled near where Snow Hill now is in 1798, But Mrs. Leggett, still living (this sketch has been written a number of years), says he made his set- tlement the year in which she was married. Her family record, being pro- duced, shows that her marriage occurred in 1799. Mrs. Leggett was a Shaw- han, a sister of the late John Shawhan, Esq., long a resident near Deerfield, and of Amos Shawhan, of Morrow, and knew the three Van Meter brothers when she was a young woman and they were rosiding at Deerfield. Deerfield at that time was simply a cluster of houses. It was not laid off as a town until several years afterward. The houses were of very rude construction, being de- signed for temporary shelter more than for permanent abode. On the arrival of any new emigrant, if he found an empty house, he took possession of it. If there was no vacant house, one was put up for him. Deerfield was simply a place to stop and stay until a selection for a permanent settlement could be made.
" The farm of Joseph Van Meter was on the southeast side of the East Fork of the Little Miami, and is now generally known in the neighborhood as the Michael Stroup farm. Mr. Van Meter removed to Illinois many years since, where he died. His brother Isaac settled at an early day in the neigh- borhood of his brother Joseph, on the northwest side of the East Fork, about one and a half miles north of where Lynchburg now is, in Clinton County. The farm opened by him was the old homestead of the late Hiram Connell, now owned by Mr. Connell's son William. Mr. Van Meter sold it in 1814, and re- moved to Illinois.
" The College Township road, which led from Chillicothe to the College Township, near where Oxford College has since been established, was, as far as where Clarksville now is, the road from Chillicothe to Cincinnati. It is believed that it was surveyed and established in 1799,* and, being blazed through, soon became a road much used by travelers. This road was not cut out or improved, at least in some parts of it, until 1804. Horsemen, guided by blazes made on the trees, followed the line of the road, and were thankful for this help.
" Morgan Van Meter has now lain in his grave more than sixty years. The son of a frontiersman, he had but little, if any. education. So far as we know, he never held an office or aspired to one, civil or military. The house he lived in has disappeared, and his grave is covered by a stable, or is in the public highway, with no stone to mark it. But his name is perhaps more fre- quently spoken of by our old people than that of any citizen of Clinton County who has been doad fifteen years, with perhaps a few exceptions.
" Morgan Van Meter made his will during his last sickness. It bears dato March 28, 1813, and was admitted to record June 21, 1813."
Regarding Amos Wilson, the following is in the language of Judge Har- lan: "Amos Wilson, from whom Wilson Township, Clinton County, was named, was one of three sons of John Wilson, a member of the first constitu- tional convention of Ohio, who was the son of John Wilson, an Irishman. Amos Wilson and his father before him, and several of his brothers and sis- ters were born .in New Jersey. From that State his father removed with his
* Provided for by Legislature of 1802-03.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
family to the Rodstone country in Pennsylvania, and from there to Washing. ton County, Ky. He lived for several years in Washington and Greene Counties. His next removal was to Mill Crook, in Hamilton County, Ohio, near Cincinnati. John Wilson, named for his grandfather, born December 29, 1786, informed the writer, on March 13, 1876, that his grandfather, after he sold his possessions in Kentucky, supposing that he would get his money in silver, took his grandson, then nine years of age, on a separate horse to Lex- ington, to bring the money home. He, however, was not paid cash as he ex- pected, but was given a draft on Cincinnati, on which he received his payments when they arrived there. This was in 1795. In 1796, John Wilson, with his family, and his sons and their families, left Kentucky and came to Cincinnati. That year, the party raised a crop on Mill Creek. In the spring of that year, George and Amos went to Middle Run, in what is now Greene County, Ohio, and cleared a few acres of land, on part of which hemp was sown, and on the residue corn was planted.' No fence was put up around the little clearing. The corn made a good crop; the deer took a part of it, but the squirrels seemed shy of it, as if doubtful of its fitness for food. These young men returned to Mill Creek and remained until fall, when each mounted on a horse and re- turned to their newly opened farm to secure their crops. One night, three In - dians came and stole their horses. On discovery of their loss, the Wilsons, each armed with a rifle, started in pursuit. They traced the Indians by a de- vious and circuitous way, taken evidently to avoid pursuit, to the old site of the famous town of Chillicothe, on the Little Miami, north of where the town of Xenia now is. Here the Indians, three in number, and all armed, were found encamped for the night. The pursuing party had, up to this time, sup- posed that there were only two Indians, with no advantage in number on either side; but here were three to two. The Indians watched their adver -. saries closely, and were constantly ready for action if a fight should be brought on. The Wilsons were not less vigilant, and were ready, but by no means courting a combat. The Indians, after a time, offered them something to eat. This, however, was the only friendly act performed by either side. Sleep on neither side was taken. It is believed that neither party even nodded. At last the light of morning came, and the white men mounted their horses and rode rapidly away without molestation.
"In the spring of 1797, John Wilson commenced a settlement on Middle Run. His improvement was immediately upon the road now leading from Waynesville to the town of Centerville, in Montgomery County, Ohio. His first dwelling, a rude structure, of course, has disappeared, but near its site the house long his residence still stands. It is situate on the south side of the road, and is in Greene County, though bat a short distance from the line di- viding the counties of Greene and Warren.
"The Wilsons came to Cincinnati in 1796, from Kentucky; 1797, they cropped on Mill Creek, near Cincinnati; 1797, George and Amos, sons of John Wilson, raised a small crop of corn and hemp on Middle Run, Greene County; 1797, George and John came up from Mill Creek to look after their crops, and had their horses stolen by the Indians; in 1797, John Wilson, in the fall of the year, moved to Middle Run, in Greene County. In 1799, a Baptist Church was organized at Middle Run. About 1803, Amos Wilson began to preach in the Baptist Church.
"It is claimed by some (atlas history of Clinton County, p. 11) that the first permanent settlement in Clinton County was made by Amos Wilson and James Mills, in what is now Wilson Township, in 1799. They were brothers- in-law, and came to the county together, but it seems to be clearly established that their settlement was not earlier than the fall of 1801, and possibly not
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
until the spring of 1802. Amos Wilson, up to 1801, was living upon a pre- empted right about three miles northwest of where Waynesville now is. This pre-emption right ho exchanged with the Rev. Joshua Carman (we find this name also spelled Carmen), well known to many of our citizens, for 100 acres of land in the eastern quarter of the county. Mr. Carman was, at the time of the exchange, living in the State of Kentucky, near Louisville, and had come out into the Miami country on an exploring expedition. Having secured Mr. Wilson's claim, he returned to Kentucky for his family, and, in the fall of the same year, brought them out to the Waynesville neighborhood. On his arri- val, Mr. Wilson vacated the house on the pre-emption, and Mr. Carman en- tered into possession. Whether Mr. Wilson at once came up to settle on the land ho had thus acquired, or not until the following spring, has not been as- cortained with certainty.
"That Timothy Bonnet made his settlement as early as March, 1801, is clearly established, and we havo the best authority for believing that Morgan Van Motor had made his settlement where Snow Hill now is at least two, and porhaps throo, years previous. Mr. Wilson was married four times His first wifo was Ann Mills, to whom he was married on the 22d day of June, 1791. . In March, 1807, Mrs. Wilson diod, and September 27, 1807, he married Rachel Jamos, with whom he lived until her death, in May, 1818. On the 12th day of July, 1818, ho was married to Mary Coulter, who died in 1839. Mr. Wilson was married the last time in 1843, to Elizabeth Dowden, who survived him twenty years."
From data since obtained, it is evident that Judge Harlan was misled as to the actual time of Mr. Wilson's settlement in his county. The latter's son, Amos Wilson, Jr., furnishes information, which is confirmed by a record in the old family Bible, to the effect that Amos Wilson, Sr., located in Clinton County in 1799. The circumstances were these: He purchased 200 (instead of 100) acres in the northeast corner of W. Taylor's survey, in what is now Wilson Township, and, in order to find it, was directed to go to the locality of the De- serted Camp, and follow the survey line due northeast from there until he should cross Anderson's Fork and Anderson's Prairie, and reach the ridge land, or white oak land, beyond. He followed these directions, and, suppos- ing he had reached his own land, at once began improving it. After two years' labor at this spot, he found that he was upon what is known as the Hinkson farm, in the R. Eggleston survey, No. 886, and, moving south to the adjoining farm, began anew to improve. A year was spont here, when he was chagrined to learn that again he was on the wrong land, it being in W. Lindsay's sur- vey, No: 732, on what is now known as the Reed farm. Being now discour- agod, and having wasted three years in improving land not his own, he avowed his determination to return to the older settlements; but Joshua Carman, from whom he had purchased the land, came along and showed him his own, and, to partially compensate him for his pains and induce him to stay, donated to him a strip containing fifty acres, lying on the west side of the original 200 acres. At this time, which was in the early spring of 1802, Mr. Carman was accompanied by Mr. Wilson's brother-in-law, James Mills, who had purchased a farm immediately south of Wilson's, in the same survey. These two men procooded at once to erect log cabins on their farms, and both structures were raised on the same day. The families occupied them, and on these farms lived Amos Wilson and James Mills until their death. In 1827, Mr. Wilson erected on his place the first brick house in the northeastern part of the county. Of the family of Mr. Wilson, not a representative is now left in the county. The Mills farm is still owned by the descendants of the man who made the first improvements upon it in the spring of 1802.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
David Sewell, the first settler of Vernon Township, is the third man claimed by some, and with perhaps equal evidence, to have been the first settler in Clinton County. Judge Harlan's account of him states that he bought land in the Archibald Campbell survey, No. 2250, carly in 1798, and arranged to move upon it, his sons to go at once. One son, Aaron, was married, in April, . 179S, in Frederick County, Va., and, with his wife, brother John and family, and their father and mother, started West, arriving in due time at Bedle's Sta- tion, in Warren County, Ohio. The Judge then states that they could not thon find the land which had been purchased, nor a surveyor who could show it to them. The Judge places their arrival in this county in 1801 or later, giving reasons for his conclusions, which appear in another place. Mr. Cyrus L. Sewoll, in his history of Vernon Township, makes statements founded on what seems to be conclusive evidence, showing that the Sewell families settled here in 1799, and that a division of the land was made in 1801. (See history of Vernon Township, in this volume.)
Settlements in the remaining townships of Clinton County were made in the following order:
Clark Township-The first settler was Thomas Johns, who located three miles southeast of Martinsville, on the East Fork of the Little Miami. The date of his arrival is not known, but it must have been as early as 1800, or in . the first part of 1801, as Isaac Miller, Joseph Mckibben and Gideon MIcKib- ben all arrived in the latter year, and Mr. Johns had preceded them.
Union Township-Timothy Bennet is credited with being the first to lo- cate a home within the limits of what is now Union Township, having settled east of the site of Wilmington in the month of March, 1801. No other family arrived for over two years, or until the fall of 1803, when George Haworth be- came the second settler in the township.
Chester Township-The first actual settler in this township was Caleb Lucas, originally from New Jersey, and later a resident of Kentucky, who lo- cated here in 1802. Asa Jenkins had arrived in 1799, and George Mann in March, 1801, but, although both men owned land in Chester, their dwellings were across the line in what is now Greene County. They subsequently re- moved, however, to Chester. The first brick house in Clinton County was built near Oakland, in Chester Township, in 1807, by James Birdsall, and is still standing. The bricks in its walls were manufactured on the place, by Mr. Birdsall, and it can readily be imagined the task in that day was not an easy one.
Liberty Township-Stephen Mendenhall, a native of Tennessee, settled on Dutch Creek in the spring of 1803, and was the first to erect his cabin in what is now Liberty Township.
Wayne, Richland and Washington Townships were all settled in 1803. John Jackson, a native of Pennsylvania, located in Wayne in the spring of that year. Some time during the year, Absalom and Samuel Reed, from Bourbon County, Ky., took up their abode in Richland, while Isaac Wilson, from Vir- ginia, settled on Col. Carrington's survey, in Washington, before the close of the year. Jonas Soaman and a man named Armstrong arrived soon after, and in 1805, Armstrong opened, upon the present site of Cuba, the first house for public entertainment in the township, and one of the earliest in the county, probably Morgan Van Meter's, in .Greene Township, being the only one to an- tedate it, if Armtrong's was not opened first.
Adams Township- The first settler in this portion of the county was Samuel Lee, who came in 1804, and made his home near the present site of Spring- field Meeting-House.
Jefferson Township -- This township was settled considerably later. Tho
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
first cabin within its limits was built by Samuel Jackson, about 1812. Mr. Jackson came from Tennessee, and was a noted hunter. It is recorded that, during his life-time, he killed two panthers, 360 deer and eighty boars. Jo- soph Hockett built the first howed-log house in this township, at a date not given. a. Mri on Township-The territory which latest received the attention of . settlers in Clinton County is included in what is now Marion Township. Ac- cording to the statements of Esquire J. W. Rice, the township historian, the first settlement was made in 1814, by Jonathan Baldwin, a native of Monon- galia County, Va., who had located in Guernsey County, Ohio, in 1804, and in Warren County in 1806. He served under Gen. Harrison in the war of 1812.
ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY WHEN FIRST SETTLED.
Brown-limbed and mighty were the forest trees That lifted high their giant trunks in air; Filled with sweet incense was the singing breeze Which touched, with soft caress, wild flowers fair; The sunlight glanced among the foliage green, And vainly strove to pierce the gloom beneath; Glad swelled the heart of him who viewed the scene And breathed the fragrance of the flowery heath.
So often have descriptions been written of the appearance of this region before the white settlor had made it his home that those who read must all be familiar with the phraseology commonly employed. Yet there is not enough variety in the terms which can be used to write in a greatly different manner on the subject from those who have told the story during many years. A vast forest wilderness stretched northward from the Ohio River, into the depths of which pushed the bold pioneers from the States of North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and oth- ers, most of them coming from Virginia and the Carolinas.
The face of the country at the beginning of the settlements in Clinton County bore a vastly different look from the present. The soil was extremely fertile, and upon it grew, in the utmost luxuriance, the many varieties of trees and shrubs common to this latitude. Nearly the entire surface of the county was covered by massivo forest trees and the tangle of shrubs which grew be- neath. Spicewood and the wild pea-vine formed a mat through which the feet could push with difficulty. From the leaves of the spicewood was made a de- coction which was used in the place of "store toa," when the latter could not be obtained. Sassafras tea (called "sassafrack" in the vernacular of that day) was also used, and the sap of the sugar maple was a boon which the settlers well appreciated as an almost invaluable article in the economy of their house- holds. Flowers in greatest variety grew and blossomed under the trees. and the rose, the wild lily, the dogwood, the red-bud and a hundred other varie- ties made a beautiful carpet for the magnificent forest aisles in their season.
Splendid as was the appearance of the country in the days when the " first settler" looked upon it, the fact remained that out of the forest depths his home must be carved. The task promised to be by no means an easy one, but the man who was bold enough to venture far from the older settlements and brave all the difficulties he must of necessity encounter was not disheartened with the prospect before him, and began at once the work he had resolved to accomplish. The ringing strokes of his ax echoed in the thick green wood, and the trees lay prostrate where for hundreds of years they had stood in their glory. The rays of the sun streamed into the little clearing; smoke curled up- ward from burning logs and brush-heaps; the rude cabin soon stood outlined against the dark and somber forest wall, and the new home was begun where never before had the footsteps of civilization penetrated.
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HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
PIONEER PECULIARITIES.
Sturdy and bold was the pioneer. His characteristics were admirably suited to his situation. He possessed an indomitable will, unlimited energy, and, in many instances in this region, more than ordinary intelligence and ed- ucation. The remarks of Josiah Espy, author of " Memorandums of a Tour in Ohio and Kentucky in 1805," apply well to this region. He wrote:
" The emigration to the State of Ohio at this time is truly astonishing. From my own personal observations, compared with the opinions of some gen- tlemen I have consulted, I have good reason to conclude that, during the pres- ent year, from twenty thousand to thirty thousand souls have entered that . State for the purpose of making it their future residence. These are chiefly from Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee; but, on inquiry, you will find some from every State in the Union, including many foreigners. The inhabitants of the State of Ohio, being so lately col- lected from all the States, have as yet obtained no national character. The state of society, however, for some years to come, cannot be very pleasant-the great body of the people being not only poor, but rather illiterate. Their necessities will, however, give them habits of industry and labor, and have a tendency to increase the morals of the rising generation. This, with that respect for the Christian religion which generally prevails among that class of people now omigrating to the State, will lay the best foundation for their future national character. It is to be regretted, however, that, at present, fow of them have a rational and expanded view of the beauty, excellency and order of that Christian system, the essence of which is divine wisdom. The great body of the people will, therefore, it is to be feared, be a party for some years to priestcraft, fanaticism and religious enthusiasm." (History of Warren County, Ohio, p. 253.)
Mr. Espy speaks of the great body of the people as being rather illiterate; but the character of the new settlements was largely molded by the influence of those of the pioneers who possessed education and a large measure of refine- ment. Among the early settlers of Clinton County, especially, there were numerous men who, because of their attainments, were given the reins of the local government, and who, by their labors for good, earned for their respect- ive localities the credit of being to some extent farther advanced toward the state of cultivation found generally in the older settlements than were some of their less fortunate neighbors. Probably the fact that many of the pioneers were members of the society of Friends had much to do with the case. The great majority of the people came from slaveholding States, yet the spirit grew among them that slavery was wrong, and they rebelled against the insti- tution which cast a dark shadow over the land for so many years. It is true there were some among them who could not be led to believe that slavery would ever be abolished, neither that it was right to advocate abolition or assist fugi- tive slaves to a country where they would no longer be in thralldom. Some who possessed this belief had a deep-rooted hatred for the colored race, and the possibility of having them for neighbors was extremely repulsive. It is known that one black man was murdered in this county because he had set- tled on land which happened, unfortunately, to be near to that owned by over- scrupulous white men. This antipathy, however, existed only among the few, and the part taken by the citizens of the county in after years established its identity beyond question concerning slavery.
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