USA > Ohio > Darke County > The history of Darke County, Ohio, containing a history of the county; its cities, towns, etc.; general and local statistics; portraits of early settlers and prominent men; > Part 29
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In proportion to the population of the county, negroes form much the largest per cent of the infirmary inmates. Next in number are the Irish, but it is a curi- ous fact that the per cent of Irish women is very small. To quote the exact language of the Superintendent, "Nine out of ten of all the inmates who have come have been brought here through intemperance ; some of them through acci- dents received while drunk." There are fourteen idiotic persons in the institution, four of whom do not know enough to feed themselves, and must be waited upon like small children. The health of the inmates has been uniformly good. A
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single death has occurred among the old occupants within a year. There have been four deaths in all, but three of these were brought thither sick.
The infirmary physicians are the Drs. Matchett. The entire number of pau- pers in the institution on August 31, 1879, was 114; the number admitted during the year was 193; the number of poor otherwise supported by the county was 150. According to the report of the Auditor, the total cost of keeping the infirm- ary poor was $8,314.49, and the entire expense of maintaining those otherwhere was $1,940.05, thus making an expense of poor for the year of 1879 a grand total of $10.254.54, or an average cost per day of each pauper to the county of 26 cents.
It is pleasant to contemplate the humane consideration now manifested for these unfortunates as compared with their condition during the earlier years of county government. Prior to the establishment of the infirmary in 1854. there was no place where their helplessness could find kindness and care; under the prevalent custom of "farming out" the paupers to the lowest bidder, the unfor- tunate was made to suffer in many ways, and it did not conduce to wholesome fare, warm clothing and sufficient rest, with exemption from labor, and medical care when sick, to have been sold under competition to persons whose object was less the amelioration of their condition than the hope and intention to profit from the investment. The history in detail of this infirmary and others similar is encouraging proof of the development of charitable and noble impulses, which render the unostentatious benevolence and philanthropy of peace more to be admired and honored than the most glorious deeds of war.
The present jail and Sheriff's residence has been standing about ten years. The contract for building was let in September. 1869, to Jonathan Kenney, of Dayton, Ohio, for $39,750. Miles Greenwood, of Cincinnati, did the iron work, and Alexander Kerr, of Greenville, the carpenter and joiner work. The two build- ings are connected by a hall, and their extent is ninety-seven feet in length by forty-four in width. The buildings are of two stories, with neat freestone finish. The residence is an elegant structure, and the jail is admirably arranged to secure the comfort and safe-keeping of prisoners. This property is situated upon Broad- way. The court house is an ornament to the city, and an honor to the county. The edifice was completed in 1874 at a cost of $170,000, and the dedication was formally made on August 3 of that year. The material used in building is stone. The Corinthian style of architecture prevails, but with such additions and modifi- cations as to render difficult any attempt at strict classification. In reply to inquiry, an architect classed it as "Corinthian with American treatment."
Whatever it may be termed, it presents to the eye an ornate and imposing appearance. Ascending the stone platform, you push aside a door and enter a corridor extending down the center and length of the building. Furnaces supply uniform and agreeable temperature; offices are located for public convenience. Large iron safes stand to the left as you pass from the front entry. The first rooms to the right in order are the offices of the Board of Commissioners, the Auditor and of the Treasurer. These are spacious. convenient, and fitted up with necessary furniture and apparatus. The treasury vault with inclosed safe would seem to place the public moneys in actual security. On the left from the front, are the offices of the Recorder and Probate Judge, and the Probate Court room. Ascend from either side by winding stairways, and there are found on the second floor the offices of the Sheriff and the Clerk, together with the court room and its attendant consultation and jury rooms. On the third floor are located the Sur- veyor's and Prosecuting Attorney's offices, and other needful rooms. The struct- nre is surmounted by a fine tower, in which is contained a clock that is as nearly perfect in construction as modern science and artistic skill can produce. Whether borne upon the ear in the hours of night, or calling the industrious populace to resume or cease from toil, by day, the musical, measured strokes which knell the passing hours, teach a constant lesson of punctuality, diligence and transient existence.
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HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
We close our chapter with a brief statement relative to the trial and convic- tion of Monroe Roberson for the murder of Wiley Coulter, since it has attracted general attention, and is remarkable in the annals of the courts of Darke County. Crime has had its votaries here as elsewhere, but in no undue proportion. Mur- ders have been committed, and there have been trials, convictions and escapades, but this becomes historical from the fact that it is the first instance where the dread conclusion has been a sentence of death on the gallows.
The difficulty between the two men that led to the murder occurred at Nip- town, a point nine and a half miles from Greenville. Following some hard lan- guage, Coulter, while attempting to make his escape, was pursued and fired upon by Roberson. Three several and deliberate shots were discharged. and Coulter fell to the ground mortally wounded, and soon died. His assailant was taken to Greenville, tried at the February term, 1880, and sentenced to be hung on July 18 of the same year. The doomed man was a native of Tennessee, forty-five years of age, had served in the army, was a hard drinker and had lived about twelve years in the county. His victim was his wife's brother, who had lived from childhood in the family, and was at the time of his death, about twenty-three years old. The jurors impaneled for this trial were Stephen Eubank, G. W. Fox, C. T. Pickett, Samuel Cole, George Suman, Milton Coble, Samuel Noggle, B. F. Gilbert, James Benson, Cornelius Fry, William Bleare and James Johnson.
The attorneys for the defense were Messrs. Anderson, Allen, Calderwood and Charles Calkins ; for the State, Prosecuting Attorney H. Calkins, and Messrs. Knox and Sater. The case was tried before Judge Meeker, whose charge to the jury is a plain, direct statement of the laws on murder. The prisoner was adjudged guilty, and sentence pronounced upon him. The community, while desirous that crime be punished, differ in regard to the mode, and no inconsiderable portion of the better class are averse to hanging.
DARKE COUNTY FROM 1816 TO 1824-PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT.
Turning again from the seat of government to the farms which give villages and cities their vitality and importance, we follow the early progress of agriculture from the organization of the county up to and inclusive of 1824. We may speak somewhat of the arduous labors of the early settlers, describe their log cabins, recall their old-fashioned furniture, their homespun attire, their rough, kind man- ners and their open-handed generosity. The comfortable hewed-log home has been demolished to make way for the frame or the more durable brick. The fence of rails will soon disappear, and already the work of log-rolling is a memory, and the making of rails exceptional. Village, town and city have been built to supply the demands of trade and commerce, and the people of the present time, worthy off- spring of noble sires, have carried forward the works of civilization.
Glance again at the points of settlement, the vantage-ground already won. Below Ithaca, in the southeast, lived Lucas and Robbins. At intervals along Mil- ler's Fork, near Castine, were Ellis, Freeman, Park and Robert Phillips and J. F. Miller. On the east bank of the Whitewater stood the cabins of Brawley, Pur- viance, the McCluers, Broderick and Jacob Miller, Zadoc Smith and the Wades. Near Fort Black, by the lake, were the Rushes, Henry Hardy, Tibbs, Falkner and possibly the Kunkles. On the Middle Fork were the Tillsons, Harlans, Emerson, Helpenstein and Gert. Approaching the town, we find Spencer, the Edwards families, Wilsons and others. Further to the north we come to Cloyd, Pearson, Cassaday and Kettring. About Palestine, dwelt Samuel Loring. In the northern part of German Township lived Ludwig Clapp, reputed credulous and supersti- tious, William Asher, of the same mind, Moores and Rush and John McNeil, Rarick, Snell and Miller, on Crout Creek and its vicinity. East of the West Branch dwelt Martin Ruple, Arch. Bryson and John W. Whittaker, while lower down were the small clearings made by John Hiller and Daniel Potter. Mud Creek passed
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by the cabin homes of Peter Weaver, Andrew Noppinger, his son Joseph, James and Henry Rush, Sumption, MeGinnis, Burns and Wertz. East of the prairie, Zadoc and Reagan had located, and traveling the stream brought in sight the homes of Abraham Studabaker and Abraham Miller. James Hay dwelt at Jeffer- son, and below were Ryerson and Winegardner. On Greenville Creek, above town, stood three cabins occupied by Ullery, Dean and David Williamson, and below on the creek were those of Squire Briggs, Westfall, Maj. Adams, Bryan, Cunning- ham and Studabaker. On the south bank of the creek, at intervals, the enumer- ator finds Popejoy, Esq., Hayes, James Gregory and Carnahan. Christopher
Martin, Alexander Fleming, James Roff, David Ripple and his sons and son-in- law Hathaway on Stillwater, near Beamsville. Conlock was at Webster, and Mc Donald, Mote and Ludwig Christie below. Ward Atchison was on the verge of the Black Swamp, and Lewis Baker on Indian Creek. From Bridge Creek on to the dividing branch, were scattered Arnold Townsend, the Thompsons and Clay. These men had settled here under many difficult circumstances, but they had effected a lodgment and formed a center by which others could be guided and assisted. Persistent in labor, patient under afflictions of disease were these plain men with unaffected manner and kindly greetings. As the country began to be settled, families were moving on to different locations in the central part of the county. There was a large portion of the county that seemed so much of a swamp as to make a final occupation problematical. Along Greenville Creek, as above named, one found at varying distances the log cabins of a few families, and there were others on the West Branch. There were cabins on the branch known as Crout Creek, and yet others upon Mud Creek. These scattered clearings were the oldest in the county, and northward there were few, if any. And from there, so far as means would permit, the new-comers received their supplies and assist- ance. Courteously and kindly, the tired emigrants were welcomed to the hospi- talities of their cabins. Wherever at night the light of a fire shining among the trees indicated a settler's home, there was a certainty that the latch-string was hang- ing out and hearty cheer in readiness to relieve them. A common peril and a like experience bound all together by ties of interest, friendship and relation. The dis- position to extend a helping hand, while it was a necessity to the settler, was rarely given grudgingly or with thoughts of after payment. Equality and mutual assist- anee was an unwritten pioneer law, and for many years much of the time of older setlers was cheerfully given to raisings, rollings and all kinds of work requiring co-operation. Judge Wharry attended raisings where men had come from a distance, on farthest lines apart, of twenty-five miles, and here were formed acquaintances which soon ripened into feelings warm, generous and enduring.
Exceptional instances, as that of Jacob Cox, present us with men of means seeking an heritage in lands, but the people were generally poor. They had noth- ing to lose but much to gain. Mr. Cox, as we have named. is worthy of further notice in this connection. He came to Darke from Redstone and bought 2,200 acres in the east part of German and Washington Townships, and thereon located himself and sons Martin, John, Jacob, Henry and Abraham, together with his daughters Barbara, Mary and Eve, who later became known as Mrs. Stingley, Mrs. Waggoner and Mrs. Martin.
Fresh from service in the ranks, and animated by hope of a common glorious future for his country and himself. the rifle which had aided Wayne upon the Mau- mec and Harrison at the Thames, became useful to provide the family with meat and to guard the growing or ripened grain from depredation. There was no longer dread of the forest ; men struck out by themselves and independently chose and improved such spots as met their fancy. The extent of each man's claim or title had no bearing on degree of estimation. It mattered not that one could buy but forty acres. while another could acquire a section. The difference lay, not in the men, but in the outlay. Where each had planted a few acres in corn and other crops, nature showed no partiality in stimulating growth or perfecting the grain,
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and where nature was impartial, human customs were in strict and willing accord. The entire settlements were bound together. Witness the prompt rally from Lex- ington and Piqua on hearing of Rush's death and the frontier peril. They met at various gatherings. Together they worked their best ; together they enjoyed their hours of relaxation. Religious worship found general and all-day attendance, and there were several services before each wended his way along the forest path homeward.
The pioneers of Darke were not peculiar in their love for neighborhood visit- ing. The same partially obsolete but happy custom was in that early day to be observed in all the new communities, and surviving pioneers have brought this habit with them in their attenuated and shattered ranks. It looks as though the practice would perish with them. Care for the sick was universal. It was held to be the duty of all. The writer recalls, in this connection, the kind, tender tone in which Lemuel Rush inquired of his fellow-friend and pioneer associate, George Arnold. concerning his health, and the fraternal feeling manifested between these two is but a single illustration of general regard.
A single incident, recited by an old settler, images the earnest regard shown in the early days by neighbors for each other :
One day, a settler was badly injured when at a considerable distance from his home. It was necessary that a team should be taken to convey him home. Although a full day's drive, there was no reluctance in offering help. Two persons tendered their services, and there ensned a friendly contest for the privilege. The older urged a long acquaintance and neighborship, and these claims were acknowl- edged by the other.
In 1818, there was the commencement of a settlement on the east fork of Whitewater, and on Twin Creek, near Ithaca, and several families had settled near Fort Black, now known as New Madison. During this year, Mina town and Fort Jefferson were laid out. and. in the year following, Versailles was platted, making in all five villages, the germs of future business towns, and the only ones for full a dozen years-practical proof, in so large a county, of sparse and tardy occupation.
During the year when Fort Jefferson was platted, a tavern stand was occupied there, and. while the conveniences were far from equal to the Turpen or Wagner Houses of to-day, yet there was an abundance of plain, palatable food and little ceremony. During 1818, A. Studabaker left his former entry. near Gettysburg, and removed to the farm more recently the property of his son George. William Arnold and others were residing on Bridge Creek. The settlements now became known by various names to distinguish them; such was " Yankee Town." one called Ireland, located north of Greenville, and a third is mentioned here as sug- gestive of the section, known as the Black Swamp Settlement. These nuclei of the clearings in Darke. each formed a distinct neighborhood, and had their leading men, respected for honesty, good faith, and frugality in public as well as private affairs.
In 1820, Darke County was still covered by a dense and but little broken forest. The northern townships were extended areas of swamp, rich in elements of production, useless until the clearing and drainage could make cultivation practicable. Cabins were built upon the higher grounds, and clearings made down the inclinations. Here grew the oak, whitewood. beech, maple, basswood, ash, hickory and other kinds of timber in boundless profusion, and the finest trees were regarded rather as an incubus to tillage than as valuable adjuncts of a farm. Those woods are mainly leveled now, and their grove screens of trees but vail the open fields beyond. Still the trees, while in one sense a bar to cropping land, were useful as containing the material for home and winter fires. When a settler had selected the site of his intended habitation, he felled the timber upon it and cut the logs suita- ble in proper lengths. The material for the cabin being prepared, he traverses the woods far and near and announces his intended raising. The settlers leave their work and gather in at the appointed hour. In some localities, teams were used,
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but here in Darke, cattle were scarce and the horses were spared as much as possi- ble for other work. Logs were carried to the sides and ends of the building. Now four corner-men are chosen, on whom devolves the duty of notching and placing the logs. The rest of those assembled roll up the logs as wanted until the desired height is reached and the work of co-operation ceases. The settler now selects a large-sized straight-grained tree and, felling it, cuts off four-feet lengths. These are split with a large Frow, and as wide as the timber will allow. These are used without planing or shaving for clapboards for the roof, which is formed by making the end logs shorter each row until a single log forms the comb of the roof; on these logs the clapboards were placed, the ranges of them lapping some distance over those next below them, and kept in their places by logs placed at proper distances upon them. Puncheons for the floor were made by splitting logs of a foot and a half in diameter, and hewing the face of them with a broad-ax, when this tool could be obtained. The length of the puncheons was half that of the floor. The door was made by sawing or entting the logs in on one side, so as to make an opening about three feet wide. The opening was secured by upright pieces of timber, about three inches thick. through which holes were bored into the ends of the logs for the purpose of pinning them fast. A similar, but wider, opening was made at the end for the chimney. This was built of logs and made large to admit of a back and jambs of stone. At the square, two end logs were made to project a foot or more beyond the wall, to receive what were called the butting poles, against which the ends of the first row of clapboards was supported. A clapboard door and a table were then made. Sometimes a quilt was made to do duty for the former for a time, and the latter was constructed of a split slab, placed upon four round legs set in auger holes. Stools having three legs were made in the same way. Some pins inserted in holes bored in the logs at the back of the room, served as support for some clapboards, designed as shelves for the dishes. A single fork, placed with its lower end in a hole in the floor, and the upper end fastened to a joint, served as a bedstead, by placing a pole in the fork with one end through a crack between the logs of the wall. This front pole was crossed by a shorter one within the fork, with its outer end through another crack. From the front pole, through a crack between the logs of the end of the house, the boards forming the bottom of the bed were put in place. Sometimes this was varied by pinning other poles to the fork, a little distance above these, for the purpose of supporting the front and foot of the bed, while the walls were the sup- port of its back and head. A few pegs around the walls for the garments of the women and hunting-shirts of the men, and two small forks or buck's horns fixed to a joint for the rifle and shot-pouch, completed the carpenter work.
Chips are now taken and driven in between the logs and the open spaces of the chimney, and a bed of clay mortar having been prepared, the cracks were daubed, and the work is done. In houses thus built, and unplastered within and entirely devoid of adornment, our ancestors lived with a comfort unknown to the opulent occupant of many a palatial residence of to-day. Coal stoves or wood stoves were unknown, but in the wide fireplace were found hooks and trammel, and andirons. Near by were the bake-pan and the kettle ; and as homes varied there were to be seen in many a log house the plain deal table, the flag-bottom chair. and the easy, straight, high-backed rocker. Carpets there were none. The beds contained no mattress, springs, or even bed-cord, the couch was often spread upon the floor, and sleeping apartments were separated by hanging blankets. Not infrequently, the emigrant neighbor, and occasionally Indian visitor, lay upon blankets or robes before the huge open fireplace, with stockinged or moccasined feet before the constant fire. Wooden vessels, either turned or coopered, were commonly used for the table. A tin cup was an article of luxury almost as rare as an iron fork. Gourds were used at the water bucket, and there were not always knives enough to go around the family. The immigrant brought with him, packed upon the horse, or later on the wagon, some articles of better sort.
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Upon the kitchen drawers were set forth a shiny row of pewter plates, buck- handled knives, iron or pewter spoons, or there were seen a row of blue-edged earthen ware, with corresponding cups and saucers, with teapot-articles then to grace the table at the quilting, social afternoon visit, or preacher's call ; but advancing civilization has sent the plates and spoons to the melting pot, while knives and forks have taken less substance but more shapely form. Perchance a corner of the room was occupied by a tall Dutch clock, such as ticks with measured stroke the minutes by in the kitchen of John Spayd, of Greenville, to-day.
In another corner, the ruder furniture had given place to an old-fashioned high-post and corded bedstead, covered with quilts-a wonder of patchwork ingen- uity and laborious sewing. Then the ubiquitous spinning-wheel, and not unfre- quently a loom. A settler of Darke in 1820, thus describes the dwellings of that date : " They were of round logs about ten inches through ; they were properly notched at the corners, and well chinked and plastered up with clay mortar, and provided in some instances with front and back door ; basswood logs, split in two, flat side up, made a very substantial floor ; the fireplace reached nearly across one end ; a stone wall from the foundation was carried up about six feet, two sticks of the proper crook rested one on either end of the wall, and against a beam overhead, forming the jams, and upon these rested the chimney, made of sticks and clay mortar, very wide at the bottom, tapering to the top, and serving the purpose of both chimney and smoke-house ; the hearth was of flat stones of various sizes, and occupied a considerable portion of the room. To build a winter fire, there first was brought in a large piece of log which was placed next the chimney-back, and known as the back-log ; next came a somewhat smaller log, which was placed on the other and called the back-stick ; then came two round sticks, green and less combustible than the others ; these were placed endwise against the back-log, and served in place of the more modern andirons. Upon them was laid the fore-stick, and between this and the back-log, dry limbs were piled in and the fire applied; when this was fairly started more wood was put on and a pile to keep it up lay near by. The fire thus built, which was done about 4 o'clock of a winter day's afternoon, would last a long time with little attention, keeping the family, clothed in good, warm homespun, comfortably warm." If, by mischance, the fire went out on the hearth, it was rekindled by a coal or burning brand from a neighbor, or by flint, steel and tinder. In many cabins, the fire described gave out but partial warmth, and the group which sat around it were roasting on one side while freezing on the other. Few, indeed, were the books to be found with the settlers, and news- papers were rarer still. Upon the shelf, there may have lain the few books used at school, the Bible and the almanac, and the paper, when one could be had, was read at evening hours by the light of a tallow dip, or before the glowing hearth- fire.
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