USA > Ohio > Licking County > Granville > The history of Granville, Licking County, Ohio > Part 3
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15
14
13
Hart
Standary 4000 CHE @#1.25 $5000.
Stunberg 4000 kč. @ x 2.00 ₹ 8000.
0
Bennington.
Burlington
4
ford. o
MPAN
15
2.
roe. .
Liberty.
M Kean.
3
4.0
RCHA
Bray. 4000 at ~ ~ 2,00
bans
50 40 OG
$7560.
ville.
2
Denman 4000 20 @ $1.50 $6000.
G 1.75 $8610.
85390.
The ranges are numbered from east to west, 13, 14, 15 the, Townships from south to north, 2. 3, 4; the townships are di- vided into four sections each, as shown in Monroe Township. ,
Jonas Stanbury received from Government a patent for Sec- tion 2, Township 2, Range 13; & having deeded an undivided half to John Rathbone for $1,250, they two with their wives deeded the whole to the company's agents by separate convey- ances, Nov. 2, 1804, for $7,560; there being 5,040 acres rated at $1. 50 an acre.
Joseph. Hardy received the original patent for Section 3, Township 2, Range 13; & on Nov. 1, 1804, sold to the com- pany's agents for $8,610, there being 4,920 acres rated at $1.75 per acre.
Wm. Steele received the original patent for Section 4. Town- ship 2, Range 13, and on Oct. Ist, 1804, he & his wife con- veyed to the company's agents for $5,390, there being only 3,080 acres at $1.75 per acre.
John Bray received the patent for Section 2, of Township 2,
Mun
ST.
Stanbery
Jersey.
Hardy 4920
Steele 3080 ccc @$1.75
30
BOUNDARIES.
Range 14, and Nov. 22d, 1804, deeded it to the company's agents, by his attorney, Jonas Stanbery, Esq., 4,000 acres @ $2.00 an acre, making $8,000.
Mathias Denman holding the patent for Section 4, Town. 2, Range 14, with Phebe, his wife, sold to the company's agents, Oct. 24th, 1804, for $6,000, there being 4,000 acres @ $1.50.
Jonas Stanbery, original patentee for Sect. 2, Town. 4, Range 13, with his wife, Nov. 2d, 1804, conveyed it to the company's agents, there being 4,000 acres at $2 for $8,000.
Jonas Stanbery, original patentee for Sect. I, Town. 4, Range 15, with his wife, Nov. 2d, 1804, conveyed the same to the company's agents, there being 4,000 acres @ $1.25 for $5.000.
These seven sections, relatively situated as in the diagram, lay in the U. S. Military District. This was bounded on the north by the Greenville Treaty Line; on the east by the Seven Ranges, the first survey authorized by the United States west of the Ohio River; on the south by the Refugee Tract, a body of 100,000 acres set apart by Congress as a reward for certain British subjects who in the War of the Revolution, espoused the cause of the colonists ; and on the west by the Scioto River.
31
THE LICKING COMPANY.
CHAPTER VI.
On the 21st day of September, 1804, a lengthy constitution was adopted by the company. As the lands that had been chosen for their adventure were not in the Scioto Valley, the name " Scioto Land Company " was no longer appropriate. Therefore, they adopted their constitution acting under the name of " The Licking Land Company."
The preamble recognizes the fact and intent of the agree- ment already made, describes the location of the land for which they were negotiating, and provides for the purchase of such other lands as may afterward be judged best by the company.
Article first binds each subscriber to take of the company as many acres as he annexes to his name in subscribing, and stipulates that payment shall be in money, real estate to be appraised by disinterested persons, or by other men's obliga- tions, secured either by mortgage on real estate or by respon- sible endorsers.
Article second names a committee of trust, consisting of twelve members, who shall receive and give real estate on the part of the company. The committee thus appointed were Levi Buttles, Timothy Rose, Job Case, Russel Atwater, Seth Hayes, Noadiah Holcomb, Solomon Noble, Timothy Spelman, Levi Hayes, Samuel Thrall, Zadoc Cooley and Cornelius Slocum.
Article third provides for the admission of future members to the company.
Article fourth provides for the distribution of the land after certain reservations are made. A town plat is reserved, which shall have as as many building lots as there are one hundred acre parcels in the entire purchase ; each one hundred acres to draw a building lot in the town. A school lot of one hundred acres and a "minister lot" of one hundred acres
32
THE CONSTITUTION.
are also reserved, the former for the support of schools in the village, and the latter for the support of " the Gospel minis- tration within the purchase of the company." Further, all mill seats are reserved. The remaining lands of the purchase are tlen to be divided into one hundred acre lots. Two distributions of these lots are then provided for. At the first, the choice of village lots and farms is given to the highest bidder. The second division is for those who do not choose to bid for a choice, and is to be entrusted to a committee to be chosen by the proprietors whose interests are concerned. · Actual settlement is required, either of the proprietor or some other acceptable person, under certain annually recur- ring penalties for failure.
Three names are attached to the first compact and not to this constitution, viz : Reuben Ashmun, Levi Cooley and Asa Seymour.
Also, thirty-three names are attached to the constitution and not to the compact. Some of these are from Ohio, and, of course, they did not join the company until they were on the ground. Thus the whole number engaged in the enterprise was 112.
The following are the thirty-three alluded to :
Ephraim Howe, James Coe,
Charles Slocum,
Jesse Munson, Jr., George Cooley,
Timothy Spelman,
For son,
Wm. Cooley, Elias Pomeroy, Sam'l Thrall, for son,
Jesse Munson, Augustine Munson, Daniel Wadsworth,
Elkanah Linnel, Ethan Clark, Giles Dayton,
George Avery, Gad Rose, Elias Gilman,
Nathan Allyn, Justin Hillyer, Martin Root,
Jedadiah H. Lewis, Roswell Rowley, Thomas S. Sill,
Nathan Allyn, For son,
Roswell Rowley, David Butler,
For son,
Daniel Baker, Samuel H. Smith, John Johnson,
Noble Sheldon, Jeremiah R. Munson, Wm. Reynolds.
Leaving out the three mentioned as signing the compact but not the constitution, also eight who would seem to have
33
THE CONSTITUTION.
signed it in Ohio, the company, at the time of starting, con- sisted of 101 members, which, without any very serious im- port, happens to be identical in number with those who landed on Plymouth Rock.
The committee of twelve proceeded to receive the obliga- tions or money of the signers, issuing to them a deed for an undivided portion of the new lands. Russel Atwater, Esq., acted with them for a time, and then resigned his position and his connection with the company, and executed a quit claim deed to the rest of the committee for all the property they had received in trust for the company while he was a member, November 2, 1804, as attested by Titus Fowler, J. P. for Hampshire [Mass.].
All these deeds were recorded in Lancaster, and were transferred to the Licking County records from pages 50 to 170.
5
34
PREPARATIONS.
CHAPTER VII.
In the prosecution of their preparations the company held frequent meetings during the fall and winter succeeding. Various committees were appointed and important business put into their hands.
Levi Buttles was the first president of the company, but his duties calling him to Ohio, Russel Atwater, Esq., was chosen temporarily in his place. He, in turn, declining the appointment, Dea. Timothy Rose was appointed temporarily, and when they reached Ohio he became president.
Levi Buttles was appointed agent for the transaction of the company's business in Ohio.
Timothy Rose and Timothy Spelinan were appointed a committee to receive the letters addressed to the company.
Another committee was to receive subscriptions for a library.
Propositions were made for naming the new town after one or another of the land-holders from whom they had purchased their lands, but it was finally left until they should meet on the ground. Ere that time arrived a matter had transpired which determined them to drop those names and choose "Granville." It had been determined to add to their pur- chase another tract, as the company had increased beyond their expectations. The agents of the company called on the agent of the land-holders in New York and opened nego- tiations. He professed a desire to serve the company and assured them he could arrange the business to their advant- age, and better than they could for themselves.
The land was sold to him for a dollar an acre, and he sold to them for two, doubling the cost to them and putting half the price of the section into his own pocket. After this transaction the proposed names were not so savory in the minds of the settlers,
35
ADVANCED COMPANIES.
It had been determined to send forward eighteen men in the spring to improve land, raise corn, build huts for the tem- porary accommodation of the emigrant families, and to erect a saw and grist mill. The number was afterward reduced to twelve. Finally three smaller companies were sent at dif- ferent times. In March, 1805, five men were sent out who reached their destination in April. They were Elkanah Linnel, Titus Hoskin, Gideon Cornell, Elihu Cooley and Elias Pomeroy. Their method was to seize upon favorable localities, here and there an open spot, perhaps one that some squatter had used previously, or a bit of prairie, or one that could be opened to the sun by topping off the trees; then hoe in the corn without plowing, trusting chiefly to the virgin soil for a crop. They had numerous competitors for posses- sion of their corn while growing, and particularly when ripening, in the bears, turkeys, coons, deer, wild hogs and squirrels that roamed at will, requiring watching day and night to guard against them. Of course they could do but little, without resources, in a wild country, toward preparing to receive two hundred weary emigrants to comfortable homes. In the fall when their work was done, it is related of Mr. Pomeroy that with a pocket compass he started alone, taking a bee line for the northeastern part of the state, where he had friends whom he wished to find, and got through all right.
A surveying party was sent out in July under Mr. James Coe, consisting of Wm. Reynolds, Samuel Waters, Joshua Kendall, Sereno Holcomb and Win. Jones. Their work was to lay out a town site as near as possible to the point where the three sections, the Hardy, the Steele, and the Stanbery and Rathbone sections cornered together; to fix upon a burial lot, school lot, and minister lot as reservations ; lay out roads ; and divide the rest into lots of one hundred acres, reserving all mill seats. They arrived in August and accomplished their work so nearly, by the arrival of the colonists, that the division of lands soon after commenced.
-
36
FIRST MILL SITE.
A company of five men with their families arrived on Fri- day, the fifth of July, sent out to open roads, build mills, and prosecute the work begun by the others in getting ready for the later arrivals. They were Timothy Spelman, Cornelius Slocum, John Phelps, Ethan Bancroft and Hugh Kelley. Mr. Bancroft found shelter for his family in one of the cabins at the mouth of Clear Run. Mr. Phelps and Mr. Spelman in the Jones and Cunningham cabins, and others here and there. Mr. Spelman seems to have had oversight of all the workmen, and charge of all the company's work; and in his absence this care devolved on Mr. Slocum. Mr. Phelps was the millwright and Mr. Kelley the blacksmith. They put up a saw mill about sixty rods below the mouth of Clear Run, on the left bank of Raccoon. The creek made a bend to the south and back again to its original course, and across the neck of the bow was a natural sluice-way which they used for a feed-race. They made a dam at the entrance of this cut-across by setting sycamore logs on end, inclining down stream, in a trench across the stream, and secured a fall of a few feet. But the freshets were too much for the anchorage of the sycamore logs, and the bed of the streani was soon washed clear of them. Fifty years ago the remains of this dam could be seen in a continuous line of stumps running south several rods from the stream. The site of the mill and race has just now (1880) been obliterated by the steam shovel that loads the gravel trains for the Ohio Central R. R.
Afterward, the mill was removed to the head of the cut- across, which was made the tail-race ; and, as the first dam had proved a failure, they tried one made of brush. This lived to see the saw run part way through the first log, when a freshet came and it, too, was swept away. This, of course, was the first mill erected within the township so far as authenticated: Whatever that aboriginal brush dam already noticed may have been for, we know not.
Another important step in the preparations of the emi- grants was the selling of their eastern homes. In this they
37
SELLING THEIR EASTERN FARMS.
were greatly favored. The land-holders of whom the com- pany had purchased their western lands, came to old Gran- ville and received the farms of the emigrants at a valuation fixed by "indifferent " [disinterested] parties, in payment for the western tract; those selling taking the value of their farms in shares of the company's land, to be afterward al- lotted, according to agreement, in western farms. The con- dition of Europe and our maritime relations had been such for some years as to give farmers an " extravagant " price for their produce, and when the above sales were made farms were high in value. Within three years thereafter, from causes unforseen, prices of produce and real estate went down, so that the land-owners never realized from those pur- chases what they cost them.
But the most important step of all was the organization of a church, May 1, 1805, to be bodily transplanted from the old pastures of Massachusetts to the wild woods of Ohio. A fair proportion of the emigrant families were praying fam- ilies, and many of the leading men were church members. On Wednesday, the first day of May, twenty-four persons were organized, by a council, into a Congregational Church. They were : Samuel Everitt, Mrs. Mindwell Everitt, Widow Abigail Sweatman, Israel Wells, Mrs. Chloe Wells, Joseph Linnel, Timothy Rose, Mrs. Lydia Rose, Roswell Graves, Mrs. Hannah Graves, Job Case, Samuel Thrall, Mrs. Tri- phosa Thrall, Levi Hayes, Hiram Rose, Mrs. Sabra Rose, Zadoc Cooley, Mrs. Michal Cooley, Lemuel Rose, Mrs. Ach- sah Rose, Samuel Everitt, Jr., Silas Winchel, James Thrall, and Hannah Graves (2nd).
Before they left Granville, Zeruah, wife of Joseph Linnel, Elizabeth, wife of Job Case, and Sarah, wife of William Gavit, were received to membership. Also, Timothy Spel- man was taken under the watch of the church and adınitted to church privileges, he being of another denomination there called Separatists.
They adopted a covenant and articles of faith, elected
38
CHURCH FORMED.
Timothy Rose and Levi Cooley deacons, and Samuel Ever- itt, Jr., clerk. They received a certificate of their formation into a church, which was signed by all the members of the council, as follows : Aaron Church, Nathaniel Gaylord, Ozius Eells, Timothy M. Cooley, Joel Baker, and Roger Harrison.
Two of the church, Zadoc Cooley and wife, did not emi- grate at that time, so that the total membership on arriving at their new homes was twenty-five, most of them being young heads of families.
Dr. Cooley, the pastor, preached a sermon on the occasion from Ex. 33:15: " If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence." With public pledges to remember each other in prayer, and with many tears on the part of both mother and daughter church, they separated.
The various minor preparations can as well be imagined as described. Seven hundred miles were to be traversed with ox teams. Men, women and children must be cared for, taking the risk of exposure, over-fatigue, sickness, acci- dent or death, by the way. Food, raiment and shelter must be provided, by day and by night, in sunshine and shower. The route was among strangers, much of it by an unfre- quented way, mountains and rivers were to be crossed, and the journey was to end in a wilderness, with a winter ap- proaching and no homes to welcome them. They were not fool-hardy. Perhaps no undertaking draws the line so closely between necessities and superfluities as this. This must be taken, for that there is 110 room The more carriage, the more care; the more teamns, the more subsistence; the larger the cavalcade, the more straightened the accommodations by the way; the inore abundant the provisions, the greater the expense. The supplies are curtailed to the lowest point of ingenuity, and the endurance is urged to the highest point of possibility ; then, trust in a kind providence supplies the missing link. The oldest among them were serious and provident, and the youngest were moved to song by the ro- mance of the situation. Timothy Spelman contributed a
39
MINOR PREPARATIONS.
few verses of song, which were sung at their gatherings and by the way all summer long. Three verses of this song are all that can now be found. The tune to which they were sung is said to have been called the " Belle Quaker ":
1. . " When rambling o'er these mountains And rocks, where ivies grow Thick as the hairs upon your head, 'Mongst which you cannot go; Great storms of snow, cold winds that blow, We scarce can undergo; Says I: My boys, we'll leave this place For the pleasant Ohio.
3. " But long and tedious winters, Our cattle, they must starve; We work and tug from month to month To dig through drifts of snow! Says I, My boys, we'll leave this place For the pleasant Ohio.
8. " Our precious friends that stay behind, We're sorry now to leave, But if they'll stay and break their shins, For them we'll never grieve; Adieu, my friends! Come on, my dears, This journey we'll forego, And settle Licking Creek, In yonder Ohio."
40
BY THE WAY.
CHAPTER VIII.
In the month of September the families began to leave in small companies for their six weeks' journey. Their route from Granville, Mass., lay south-westward, crossing the Hudson River at Fishkill Landing, or Fort Edward ; thence over a point of New Jersey, across the Delaware at Easton, the Schuylkill at Reading, the Susquehanna at Harrisburg, by Carlisle and over the Alleghanies, through Washington, Pa., across the Ohio at Wheeling, and on to Zanesville. From that place they drove through unbroken forests, guided by blazes on the trees made by those who had gone be- fore them. Others, from Granby, Conn., took a more south- erly route, by Hartford and New Haven, eventually falling into the same road. St. Clairsville, Belmont County, was a new settlement; there was a hotel kept by John Beatty where Cambridge now stands, and Washington, Ohio, was just laid out as a village.
The first company to arrive consisted of Elias Gilman, William Gavit, Silas Winchel, James Thrall, Levi Rose and Samuel Thrall, with their families, and Thomas Sill. This company kept the Sabbath throughout the journey, stopping early Saturday evening, so as to have all preparations made and begin holy time at sundown, according to their custom. They arrived at their destination Saturday, November 2, having been forty-four days on the road.
Tuesday, November 12, the second company arrived, con- sisting of Lieutenant Jesse Munson, Timothy Rose, Lemuel Rose, Hiram Rose, Roswell Graves, Enoch Graves, Justin Hillyer, Gideon Cornell, George Avery with their families, and Amos Carpenter, Martin Root, Noble Sheldon and Thomas Rathbone This company did not rest on the Sab- bath, and were forty-nine days on the road. Jesse Munson was advanced in years and well situated in life. He only
41
ARRIVAL BY COMPANIES.
came to be with his children, who were all leaving for the west, and all but two with this colony. When he crossed the Ohio at Wheeling, he was disappointed in the soil and looks of the new country, and muttered, "if they hadn't anything better than that to show him, he should give them a big gun and go back again." But when they got to the Licking Valley, with its broad expanse of deep, rich soil, his feelings changed. He would get out and examine the soil in his hands, even smelling and tasting it, expressing the greatest satisfaction. When they got to the Jones cabin, on Center- ville street, then occupied by Edward Nash, he determined that there would be the place for him to anchor, saying " he should have that farm." Being a man of means, he paid the price, lived and died there, and it is still occupied by his descendants. The cabin built by Jones, of blue ash logs, was, in after years, clearly identified, and some of the timber preserved and manufactured into canes.
On Sunday, November 17, three men arrived, having come through without load in twenty-two days. They were Sam- uel Everitt, Jr., Arauna Clark and Joab Griffin.
About November 20, arrived Frederick Moore and Worthy Pratt, and about the same time a company of fourteen, Sylvanus Mitchel, Israel Wells, with their families, and James Sinnet.
Monday, December 2, arrived twenty-five; Joseph Linnel, Job Case, David Butler, with their families, and Titus Knox, having been fifty-one days on the road. Of this company was Leveret Butler, a lad of twelve or fourteen, who carried a shot gun. He strayed away one day hunting, and came into camp at ten at night with half a score of squirrels, after the company had become alarmed at his long absence. He never forgot his hunting propensities, and made them very useful to the colony afterwards.
Thus far 176 had arrived, of whom fifty-two were heads of families. Others came from other quarters, so that in Jan-
6
42
INCIDENTS.
uary following there were in the colony 234 persons ; and these, without any invidious sense, were the F. F. G.'s.
During their journeyings, sickness had visited many of them, serious dangers encountered some, great fatigue was endured, and difficulties overcome by all. In some places, the wagons were held right side up by ropes fastened to the top and held by men walking along the hill-side above the road. Some were so far discouraged as to wish to turn back. But the more enthusiastic held them to their purpose, and all persevered.
Two or three incidents may be worth recording :
A son of Deacon Rose, as he was climbing into the wagon, which was about to start, fell, and the wheel passed over his leg. A daughter of Enoch Graves was run over, the wheel passing over her head and arm. The father, seeing the acci- dent inevitable, whipped up the oxen to pass over the child as rapidly as possible, and her life was saved. Neither accident delayed the company a half hour.
One evening they drew near a house of large dimensions, and were fain to apply for shelter. The man at first refused to entertain them, alleging that the Yankees always stole from him. Deacon Rose offered his riding horse as security for the good behavior of the company, and reluctant consent was finally given Two very large rooms were given up to them, one to the ladies and the other to the men. In the ladies' room were great piles of bedding standing on chairs along one side of the room. It was noticed that a colored woman, a servant about the house, several times came in, handling over the quilts, and seemed very officious watching them. When they came to start in the morning, sure enough, the host missed a large pewter platter, and insisted on searching the wagons. This would cause a very irksome delay. Naomi Cornell and Silence Rose remembered the movements of the colored woman the evening before, and suspected where the platter was. Giving one of the chairs a little tilt, they sent the clothing over the floor, and the
43
·
A DUTCHMAN PLACATED.
platter rattled out with them. Seizing the woman, who was near, they would not allow her to go until the host came and heard their story. The woman confessed her guilt, in that and former thefts, and the inan was so ashamed of his charge against the Yankees that he gave themn twenty pounds of honey and half a dozen loaves of bread for a feast, and they parted in friendship.
One of the boys was on another occasion sent ahead toward evening to secure a place for the company for the night. He found a commodious house and asked a woman in charge of it, if they could spend the night there. "I reckon," was her answer. Not understanding the provincialism he waited some time and then said, "I wish you would tell me whether we can stay all night or not." "Well, I reckon," the woman answered again. Being non-plused he went back to the wagons and reported. Older heads took in the meaning better and arranged to stay.
While on the mountains the king bolt of one of the wagons broke. Far from any blacksmith, they must rely upon their own resources. Mr. Munson drove up and produced from his wagon a piece of hard hickory, which his forethought had led him to put in with his outfit, and of this a bolt was made that served to bring the wagon to its journey's end.
The largest company to come through together was that of Dea. Rose. They reached the Jones cabin, Tuesday, Nov. 12th, and found it, as well as all other cabins, already filled by those who had preceded them. There was waiting with the1 Rev. Cyrus Riggs, a Presbyterian minister from West- ern Pennsylvania. Having heard of their near approach he was waiting to welcome them and preach them a sermon be- fore going on his way. Scarcely waiting to loosen the oxen from their yokes or to eat, one hundred assembled for public worship. Then they sought rest in sleep, some in the cabins and others in the wagons. Thirty persons slept in one cabin, the preacher being first provided for. The night was made lurid with a great burning log heap, and thus passed the first
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