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 58
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The early custom of burial at sites near the homes has originated a number of grounds in the township. There are eight cemeteries in the township. of which the one at Palestine is the chief and largest.
The population have been peaceful and law-abiding, hence any infraction of right is the more marked. Two crimes have been committed of late, most san- guinary in character. The victims were Wesley Guger and Stephen Wade. On the evening of October 24, 1877, after dusk, a body of armed and masked men halted before the house of Mr. Guger in Palestine, called him out, and deliberately shot him down. Where the mob was from, where they went, or who they were. has never been ascertained. The murder had no grounds so far as known save a charge of petty thieving. The second murder was committed in the dead of night in the fall of 1878. Stephen Wade, a colored man. was shot in his own house by a body of mounted men, masked and armed. He was charged with stealing, or more especially with harboring his sons, who had annoyed the com- munity by various thefts. Two notices were served upon them to leave the coun- try. The first was thus worded: "To Stephen Wade, Robert, Benjamin and Philip Wade-you are each and every one of you hereby advised to leave and
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stay away from Darke County, Ohio, within thirty days from date, or suffer the penalty. This means business." The above was penned in red ink. A second notice was dated September 14, 1878, but not received by the Wades till October 1. following. It was as follows :
" You and your whole family are hereby notified. for the last time, to leave this county in haste."
This was legibly written in black ink. No notice was given to these warnings. A mob, at midnight, surrounded Wade's dwelling, and aroused him. A shot was fired through the front window and struck an old clock just over Wade's bed. He discharged a shot into the mob, without effect, followed by yells and execrations. Wade reconnoitered from a window, and saw the mob firing at random into the house. He ran to the back door to escape, but, as he threw it open, a gun was fired, and he received a load of shot in the left eye, which penetrated the brain. A cry, and then he expired without a struggle. A post-mortem examination dis- closed sixteen No. 1 shot in the brain. We turn relieved from the inscription of these acts, whose bearing is a cloud upon the fair fame of any community, and reflect upon a love of law and justice. Such acts belong in localities destitute of school and church, and the better class of townsmen reprehend them, and would gladly see their perpetrators punished with the rigors of the law.
We find that the first piece of ground platted for a village site in the township was located on the northwest quarter of Section 24. The survey was caused at the instance of Nathaniel Ross, and the incipient town at one time contained a saw and grist mill, a grocery and a store. Bright anticipations of churches, schools and factories were doomed to disappointment. A rival sprang up across the prairie, which in time proved its ruin, and New London City exists only in this brief allusion to it.
Palestine was laid out, in 1833, by Samuel Loring. A beautiful view from the site of the present village is thought to have suggested the name. Loring's plat consisted of ten lots in the southeast part of the present corporation. Kester made the first addition, just north of the original sites. Samuel Guger and Abraham Weaver laid out the northwest part. and William Miller the southwest part. Col. David Putnam has since made an addition to the northeastern part. Palestine is to-day a very flourishing country village, containing one drug store, two groceries, one dry-goods store, one hotel, two blacksmith-shops, a wagon-shop, meat-market, grist-mill, saw-mill, shoe-shop, and health is attended to by three physicians.
In the northwest corner of the township, there exists a colored settlement, the foundation of which was laid by a man named Clemens. It has grown to con- siderable proportions. They have three schools, and a church (Methodist Episco- pal) building. There is a small hamlet, known as Tampico, here.
NEAVE TOWNSHIP.
This township was organized on the 5th of December, 1821, and at that date contained eight sections, in what is now Van Buren Township, making it eight miles east and west and four miles north and south. All of Neave Township lying in Range 3 was taken, in June, 1838, to form the township above named, and so the present dimensions were reached.
The pioneer settler in the lands now constituting Neave Township was Andrew Noftsinger, who came to Darke County in 1810. Sometime about 1817, he built a grist-mill on Mud Creek, below the outlet of the lake, where later stood the mill of Dr. Otwell. In the order of construction, this was the third mill built in the county. At the old post, known as Fort Jefferson, James Hayes was one of the earliest settlers. John Ryerson moved in in 1816, and during the two years following, settlement was made in the township by Moses Arnold, George W. Hight. William Townsend, Hezekiah Veitz. John Puterbaugh and Christian Schlechty.
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HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY.
Dennis Hart, of Connecticut, located on Bridge Creek. in the fall of 1819, on the lands of George, W N. Wright, near the farm now owned by A. H. Vandyke. During the year 1820, the neighbors built a log schoolhouse, on the Greenville and Eaton road. cast of the present residence of A. H. Vandyke. on the land then owned by Joseph Townsend. In this house. Mr. Hart taught during the winter of 1820-21. Mr. Hart died at the ripe age of eighty-four years. He was known as an honorable and worthy townsman.
Peter Weaver came from Butler County. Ohio. to this township in 1819 ; here purchased land, cleared him a farm. and year after year has found him living upon it. till 1880. He built the first house in Weaver's Station. named after him. and since grown into a thriving little town. On his first arrival. he found here a block- house, situated about one-fourth of a mile north of where Mount Zion Church now stands. This rude pioneer fort was built by Mr. Noftsinger. of whom we have spoken. It is claimed by some that this same man built the first cabin in the county. It was located on Mud Creek, about one-half a mile south of Mr. Weav- er's cabin, as early as 1816. Its structure was unique and commensurate with the ability of the builders. It consisted of forks set in the ground, upon which poles were placed, and covered with clapboards.
In 1819. John Puterbaugh built a mill. whose motive power was found in oxen. It stood about two and a half miles southeast of Mr. Weaver's land. This improvement dispensed with water-power, and motion was communicated to the buhrs by cog-wheel connection with an upright shaft, which was turned by attach- ing oxen to transverse levers, passing through it. When the inflow of settlers and the organization of the county into townships set in operation a system by means of which public improvements could be made. numerous roads were laid, and took up a sinuous course around obstructions, and in close proximity to settlers' doors. Sparse settlements caused the formation of distriets extensive in area and meager in population.
Mr. Weaver went six miles to the first bridge that was erected across the mouth of Mud Creek, to work out his road tax. As an illustration of the manner of procedure, it is said that settlers were accustomed to work during the winter clear- ing a patch of ground. This was planted to corn in the spring, and in the fall it was sown to wheat or other winter grain.
When the settler wanted groceries, he went into the woods and cut a load of hoop-poles, and took them for sale to Martinsburg. Coonskins and hoop-poles were Darke County currency in those days. All the cabins, single and double, were built of logs, with puncheon-logs split and hewed on one side for floors ; greased paper took the place of glass, and wood latch and string were the pioneer's substi- tute for door-knob and bell. At this time there were only two cabins between what is now Louisburg and Matchett's Corner, and only one little cabin between Weaver's and Fort Jefferson. Deer, turkeys, bear and other animals abounded, and fur- nished meat supply to the table. Mr. Weaver himself killed about one hundred deer, two bears, and very many turkeys. As is the case with all old sportsmen, Mr. Weaver enjoys a relation of early experiences, and tells the following concern- ing a bear-hunt in which he was engaged.
It so happened that he had loaned his gun to some boys of the neighborhood, to kill squirrels, and after hunting nearly till night the dogs struck the trail of a bear. which they followed rapidly, and soon drove the animal to seek refuge in a tree.
It was near where Mr. Weaver chaneed to be, and, hearing an outery, he went to the spot and found several of the settlers already standing around the tree, endeavoring to get a good position for an effective shot. Weaver took his gun from one of the number, and soon after delivered his fire at the bear. But the load did not even cause the animal to change position. A neighbor then fired, and struck a leg, upon which the bear scrambled down, and set off up the banks of the creek, followed pell-mell in hot pursuit by all the men and dogs. One only
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remained behind of the men. Weaver stopped to put a heavy charge in his gun, and had just completed the act and was about to set forward when down the creek he saw men, dogs and bear coming back with as great celerity as they had departed, only the conditions were reversed, and instead of many for the one, it was one for the many. Weaver waited till the bear was within ten feet of him, when he fired with fatal effect.
George Noggle and T. C. Neave, William and Simeon Chapman and Adam Belles were all of that class known as early settlers in this township. It is said that, when this township was organized, a game of cards was played by H. D. Williams and John Douglass on the one side, against Easton Morris and T. C. Neave on the other, to determine who should have the honor of giving to it a name. The first party won, and they two playing again between themselves, the game was won by Williams, but Neave was so anxious to name the township, that he paid Williams $10 for the privilege, and then named it after himself. Fort Jefferson, built by the soldiers of St. Clair, in 1791, was the first structure erected by white people in the county. There is much of real interest connected with this old post which should be gleaned and placed on record.
The schoolhouses of this township are all of brick, well built, comfortable. and supplied with the apparatus needed to advance school work.
There are a number of churches in the township, among which are a Metho- dist and a Union Church at Fort Jefferson, a United Brethren near Weaver's Sta- tion, and a church at Sampson. The village of Fort Jefferson was laid out in 1818, and Sampson in 1846. There are about fifty miles of road, much of which is piked. The population in 1870, of Neave Township, was 1.093.
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP.
In June, 1838, Van Buren Township was organized, and named after the Presi- dent then in office. James Gower, an early settler and a present pioneer of ninety- three years, was the " moving spirit" in its formation, which was not accomplished without much opposition and difficulty, and this now aged man was he who gave the township its name. It was taken from the south end of Adams and the east end of Neave, and contained all of Township 8 north Range 4 east, that is in this county, and all of Township 9 north, Range 3 east, except Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, which are included in Greenville Township. In June, 1839, Franklin Township was formed, con- taining all of Van Buren east of a line running north from the southwest corner of Section 36, Township 9 north Range 3. The township, as now constituted, con- tains twenty-six sections. The surface is extremely level and the soil excels in fertility, being of alluvial formation. with good body to it. In years past, from one to five feet of water covered most of the surface, during half the year. Now, by an artificial system of drainage, it has been reclaimed to the uses of civiliza- tion, and is producing a hundred fold. The eastern part of the township is not so well advanced in improvement as is the rest, from the fact that its lands were, for many years, held mostly by speculators, who would not or at least did not either dispose of or improve it. There are no considerable water-courses in the township, the channels by which its surface is drained being small tributaries to Greenville and Panther Creeks. An extensive moraine passes from north to south through it, along the track of which are found an abundance of bowlders, many of which are of remarkable size, being from ten to twelve feet in diameter. Some gravel beds have been deposited on its surface, which afford convenient and valnable material for the improvement of public highways. The roads are mostly in good condition, the larger proportion of them being piked. Some of these, however, from much travel and heavy hauling, are well-nigh worn out, and need considerable repairs. The staple products are corn and wheat, the soil being admirably adapted to the cultivation of the former grain. Barley, oats, rye and tobacco are raised to a considerable extent. The entire township is thoroughly
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agricultural, and in 1870 contained a population of 1,212, a small part of whom were colored and some foreigners. A few settlements were made within the present limits of the township before the close of the first quarter of a century, but improvements were slowly made, and for many years the clearings formed a small part of the area of the lands, owing to the wet. swampy condition of the country. Just who was the first settler and when he moved in, cannot be known with pre- cision. There were probably no settlers in Van Buren Township previous to 1818, about which time several men built them cabins within its present limits. Sam- uel Pearce, Samuel Martin and Elias Burt were probably the first to erect houses in Van Buren, in about 1818. Eli Townsend and Jacob Sebring followed soon after. In the spring of 1820, came John Charkwith, and settled in the extreme southwest corner of the township. He was born in New Jersey, and came to this part of Darke County from Montgomery. Isaac Byers, who was the first Justice of the Peace, moved up from Preble County the same spring ; a Virginian by birth, he yet preferred this section to his native State. His widow still survives. James Gregory settled, about this time or perhaps a year or so sooner. on lands he afterward sold to Benjamin Roe, and now owned by William Shields. David and William Byers, brothers to Isaac, came soon after he had got located. Richard and James Gower moved, in 1826, into the extreme north part of the township. where they were among the first settlers. John Fourman entered land in the southeast part of the township. Mordecai Ford, who was the first Clerk in Van Buren. was, also, a pioneer. Jacob Potoff, at Nineveh, was an early settler at that point, and is remembered to have built the first blacksmith-shop in the township. Several others are deserving of mention in this connection, as pioneers of Van Buren, but authentic accounts of them have not been gained. The first election of the township was held in the smithery of Potoff. at Nineveh, at which time there were about forty or fifty votes cast. Improvements progressed quite slowly for some time, the characteristic pioneer cabin prevailing for many years. Finally, these began to give way to the more pretentious frame buildings, and occasionally a brick residence made its appearance. The first two of the last-named were built by John Fourman and John Walker. At the present day, there are many fine frame dwellings and substantial brick residences in the township.
There being no water-power facilities of any consequence. manufacturing industries developed slowly. The first mill of any kind in Van Buren was an old "flutter-wheel " saw-mill built by John Fourman, on Panther Creek. This estab- lishment furnished lumber for a large tract of country for a considerable period, some of the buildings in the extreme southern part of the county having been fur- nished with lumber from this mill. The second mill of this kind was erected near Jaysville, by Messrs. Kilbourne and Jay. There are now four saw-mills in the township, with capacities ranging from three to six thousand feet per day. These represent the manufacturing interests of Van Buren.
Schools began in a small, crude way, about a half-century ago, and have steadily advanced to their present flourishing condition. There is a great contrast between the pioneer log houses and their rude belongings, as compared with the newest structures. Then a single small rude house stood on the land of William Townsend, and within was Mordecai Ford. well skilled to rule and ferule. Now there are eightsubstantial brick buildings, having ten rooms, and requiring the employment of eight teachers. School statisties for the year ending August 31, 1879. are as follows: Amount paid teachers, $1,906.20 ; expense of sites and buildings, $2.143.14 : incidental expenses, $499.97. and the entire expenditure was $4,549.31. There were eight gentlemen and five ladies, or a total of thirteen teachers employed, at wages averaging, for males, $39, and for females, $20; 212 boys, 180 girls, or a total of 392 pupils attended the schools ; the average monthly enrollment was, of boys, 161 ; of girls. 139 ; total. 300. Daily attendance of boys, 114 : of girls, 99 : total, 213.
To the Christian denomination belongs the honor of having first borne the Gos-
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pel into the forests of Van Buren. The pioneers of this sect were Revs. Sneithen, Aslıley, Williams and Mordecai Ford. They erected their first church in 1851, at Delisle. There are now three churches in the township. Two United Brethren and one Methodist. The former at Abbotsville, and the Methodist at Jaysville, were built about the same time, not far from 1850. The other United Brethren Church was built about 1868 or 1870, at Nineveh, and was called Keyler's Chapel, from the name of him who was the means of its construction.
There are but two cemeteries in the township, one of which, old and dilapi- dated. is now almost abandoned. The first was established nearly fifty years ago by the society of the Christian Church, and is known as the Abbottsville ceme- tery. The second was recently established under the auspices of the Township Trustees, and is located upon a fine tract of six acres, inclosed with a substantial board fence.
There are several small villages in the township, but the tendency was to farms exclusively. The proximity to Greenville and Arcanum to a great extent dispenses with the necessity of more than exist. The first regularly laid out town in the township was Abbottsville, deriving its name from its founder, Abbott. This center for a time made an advance which promised much to its anxious inhabitants, but it was a transient effort, and its existence is known only to the pages of history. The eager speculation of that day caused the platting of thousands of sites which showed in later years a few ominous-looking houses and straggling occupants and seeming mourners of a drifting center of settlement, and Abbott was one of those not favored. Storekeeping was first engaged in by George and William Falkners and in addition to the store, there was a wagon and blacksmith shop. Delisle, now the only village regularly laid out in Van Buren Township, was platted under direction of the widow Fairchild in 1850. and a building for the purpose having been erected, the pioneer store in the place was opened by John Tillman and Jesse Lease. Aaron Vanatta was the first smith. The village, as at present constituted. contains a dry-goods and grocery store, a blacksmith and a wagon shop and saw- mill. It is located on the Dayton & Union Railroad, which gave rise to the place.
Jaysville is a small hamlet on the same road, and is located about five miles south of Greenville. It contains a single store and a saw-mill. In the township, there are three post offices-one at Delisle, at Jaysville and at Poplar Ridge, in the northeast part of the township.
FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP.
This township comprehends thirty sections, or over nineteen thousand acre, of land. It lies in the eastern tier of townships. and was formed in June, 1839, from a portion of Van Buren Township. It received its name from the illustrious printer. Benjamin Franklin, and possesses a surface almost a monotonous level, the sameness being broken here and there by occasional gravel drift or cairn.
The soil is extremely fertile, and is composed of a rich alluvial formation of well-nigh inexhaustive durability. Formerly. it was very wet, but has now been nearly all reclaimed by general and thorough drainage. The principal stream is Painter Creek. which flows diagonally across the township. Entering in the southwest corner, it trends to the northeast till it reaches the northeast corner of Section 18, whence it takes an almost due east course, passing out of the township in the southeast corner of Section 9. This, with its tributaries, constitutes the central drainage system of the town. The northern part is drained by tributaries of Greenville Creek. and the southeastern by tributaries to the Stillwater.
In the way of improvements, Franklin Township is not in the van. but, since 1870. rapid advance has been made in this respect. The chief products are corn and wheat. The cultivation of tobacco has become a subject engaging consider- able attention.
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The manufacturing interests are not extensive. there being only three saw-mills in the township.
The German Baptists had the first organization in the township. Philip Younce, a minister of this society, preached the first sermon in this part of the county. Having held meetings for some time at their several homes, the people at length erected a building on land now owned by Samuel Bean. for such use as occasion might require, and the Baptists therein held services.
The Christians were the second religious sect to form an organization in Franklin, and, in time, built them a church on land now owned by John Spidel The sect has now two organizations in the township, the one named, and the other in the northeastern part of the township. This latter society was formed, in 1877, with seventy members, now increased to one hundred.
The " Brethren in Christ" have had a society since 1863. This was founded. with twelve members, by Revs. John Winger and Jacob Swank. The society now numbers thirty-eight members.
The German Baptists now have a fine church building on the farm of John Flory. The above denominations comprise all the religious bodies in the township.
Daniel Oakes is by some accredited with having been the first white man to build a cabin within the limits of Franklin. He came hither from Montgomery County, and settled on the banks of Panther Creek, on land now owned by Hiram Rhodes. Theophilus Penny arrived about the same time as Oakes, and entered land now owned by Jacob Swinger. Eli Inman was the pioneer in the northeast corner of the town, to which he removed from Miami County. Elisha Penny, Christian Newcomer, Martin Brant, Jacob Stauffer, Henry Finnifrock, William and John Hess, Samuel Hall, John Hayworth, John Karl, Gideon Varnum, Jacob Marker, Varnum Aldrich, Charles Birch and John Brooks were all early settlers in Franklin. Hall and Hayworth came in 1824; Eli Inman, in 1826. William Hess, in 1829 or 1830, opened a little stock of goods and groceries, consisting principally of whisky and tobacco, these being disposed of to the settlers ; there was received in exchange staves, hoop-poles, skins and pelts.
In 1830, Jacob Marker, an old wagoner, came and settled on land now owned John Swinger. He had a good team of horses, and a strong wagon, and his serv- ices were in almost constant demand, hauling staves, etc., to Dayton. loading back with salt and other goods for the stores on his route. and to those of Greenville, Adams' mill, etc. Until the date of the township's formation in 1839, the settlers voted at New Harrison or Adams' mill, as the little settlement was then called.
The first schoolhouse built in the township was put up by John Hess in 1838. on the present farm of Hiram Rhodes, on Section 19, on Panther Creek. Prior to this, however, school had been taught for some time in a private house owned by William Hammel, and located on the Swinger farm. The first teacher was David Clevine. There are now in the township seven brick schoolhouses and one frame. There are 655 youth of both sexes in the township, ranging in age from six to twenty-one. Between sixteen and twenty-one, there are 131 persons. The amount paid teachers was $2,111.26; contingent expenses, $264.24 ; total, $2,375.50. Value of school property is $8,000. The average wages is $38 and $18, and the average time of school session for the year was thirty-four weeks. There is but one village in the township ; it is known as Vienna. It is situated on the Green- ville and Milton turnpike, in the south central part of Franklin, and was laid out in 1870 by George Wright and John Hayworth. The hamlet contains two dry- goods stores. a confectionery and a saloon. There are in Franklin two post offices, and the population in 1870 was 1,366.
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