The history of Hardin county, Ohio, Part 30

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1076

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telu as soon as he had untied the Doctor began to mend up the fire, and as the gnats were troublesome, the Doctor asked him if he should make a smoke behind him. He said "yes. " The Doctor took the end of a dogwood fork which had been burnt down to about eighteen inches in length. It was the long- est stick he could find, yet too small for the purpose he had in view. He then took up another small stick, and taking a coal of fire between them, went behind the Indian, when, turning suddenly about, he struck the Indian on the head with all his force. This so stunned him that he fell forward

with both his hands in the fire. He soon recovered and springing to his feet ran off howling into the forest. Knight seized his gun, and with much trepidation, followed trying to shoot the Indian, but using to much violence in pulling back the cock of the gun, broke the mainspring. The Indian continued his flight, the Doctor vainly endeavoring to fire his gun. He finally returned to the camp from the pursuit of Tutelu, and made prep- arations for his homeward flight through the wilderness. He took the

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

blanket of the Delaware, a pair of new moccasins, his "hoppes," powder horn, bullet bag, together with the Indian's gun, and started on his journey in a direction a little north of east.

At about half an hour before sunset he came to the Sandusky Plains, when be laid down in a thicket until dark. He had traveled some dis- tance into what is now Marion County. The Indian's gun being of no use after carrying it a day or two, he left it behind. He continued in a northeasterly direction, passing through what is now Marion, Morrow, Richland, Ashland, Wayne, and so on until the evening of the twentieth day after his escape he reached the mouth of Beaver Creek on the Ohio, in Beaver County, Penn., and was then among friends. During the whole journey, he subsisted on roots, a few young birds that were unable to fly out of his reach, and wild berries that grew in abundance through the forest. *

It is a generally admitted fact, that the old Shawnee trail from the Wyandot and Delaware Villages on the Sandusky and Tymochtee, to the Shawnee towns on the Big Miami and Mad Rivers, passed in a southwest- erly direction through what is now the Townships of Goshen, Dudley, Buck, Hale and Taylor Creek; thence on to the Indian villages, in what is. now Logan County. This was the trace over which Tutelu was conducting Dr. Knight to Wakatomika, where his proposed execution was to take place. It is also a received tradition that the precise spot where the Doctor out- witted, overpowered and escaped from his Indian guard was in Section 8, Dudley Township, on the north bank of the Scioto River, at the old Shaw - nee ford, near the residence of the late Judge Portius Wheeler. Thus has the territory of Hardin County been closely associated with two of the most noted events in the history of Ohio.

ALFRED HALE.

In Chapter III we have briefly mentioned the settlement at Fort Mc- Arthur, in 1817, of Alfred Hale and wife Mary, with a family of two sons and one daughter; also the birth of another son, Jonas, in 1819, and the subsqeuent death of the mother, whom tradition says was buried in a wal- nut canoe made by the Indians. Jonas Hale was the first white child born within the territory of Hardin County after the treaty of 1817; but as white traders lived among the Indians for many years prior to that event, we cannot tell that he was the first white child born upon its soil. It is our opinion, formed after a thorough investigation, that Alfred Hale moved from this region soon after the coming of the first permanent settlers; and we know that he never owned any land here, but belonged to that class of frontiersmen who lived by the chase. It may have been that he came here with the Government surveyors, and as soon. as they got through with their labors in this portion of the newly acquired territory, " pulled up stakes " and moved on. However, we have been un- able to discover whither he went or what became of him after his depart- ure, neither is it of any importance to our readers to know such fact; but it is safe to infer that he kept on toward the setting sun, in the van of civ- ilization, where, free from the restraining laws of well ordered society and sur- rounded with game in abundance, his latter days passed into oblivion.

In an address delivered at Kenton, by A. B. Johnson, on the 4th of July, 1876, he tells the following anecdote about the early settlement of

*He arrived at Pittsburgh July 4, 1782. In 1784, Dr. Knight married Col. Crawford's half sister, and. died in Shelbyville, on the 12th of March, 1838.

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

Hardin County. He says: " Sometime in 1824, Moses B. Corwin and Jon- athan E. Chaplin, both lawyers of Urbana, visited Fort Findlay, Han- cock County, to attend court. While there, they defended a man who had been indicted for stealing a rifle; they cleared their client and took the stolen rifle for their fee. On their way home, they on the first day shot a wild turkey and reached Fort McArthur ere nightfall, at which place two families then resided. But nearly all the members were sick with fevers, and our lawyers got but little accommodation. They cooked the turkey for their supper, and their horses got a few bites of fresh grass. During the night, the wife of one of the men died, and Messrs. Corwin and Chaplin re- mained the next day and performed the last sad rites of burial." There is nothing positively known as to who these families were, but, doubtless, one of them was that of Alfred Hale, whose wife died at the fort; while the name of the other is forever buried in the fading traditions of the past.

THE M'ARTHUR FAMILY.

There is no name in Hardin County so closely associated with the pio- neer history of Ohio as that of McArthur; and though the ancestor of the family that settled in this county was only an uncle to Gen. Duncan McArthur, the man who made the name historic, yet his descendants were prominent in founding civilization around the head-waters of the Scioto- the source of which was discovered by their illustrious relative. Donald McArthur was born in Scotland, November 8, 1742, and died in McDonald Township, Hardin County, Ohio, January 10, 1835, aged ninety-two years two months and two days. He was twice married, and by his first wife was the father of three children, viz., Daniel (who remained in Scotland), John and Margaret. By his second wife, Catherine, the following chil- dren were born to him: Duncan and David. in Scotland; Nancy, Archibald, Peter C. and Margaret, in America. Some time near the beginning of the present century, Donald McArthur, wife Catherine and four children, John (who was married), Margaret, Duncan and David, came from their native land, and finally settled near Albany, N. Y., where the family resided about five years. The daughter Margaret, however, fell from the vessel and was drowned ere reaching their destination, and the next daughter born to them received the same name in memory of the dead girl. Thence they removed to Chillicothe, Ohio, where their well known relatives then re- sided, and lived in that vicinity several years.

In 1818, Peter C. McArthur, in company with Daniel Campbell, came from Ross County to the head-waters of the Scioto River, and built a cabin on land now owned by Robert Reed, in McDonald Township, Hardin Coun- ty, Ohio. They remained a short time and then returned to Ross County with the intention of bringing out their families; but rumors of an expected Indian outbreak reaching their ears, they concluded to give up the idea for the present and remain in the older settlement. Early in 1822, the whole McArthur family came to the newly erected county of Hardin and settled on the land where Peter C. had built the cabin four years previously. Here most of the older ones passed the balance of their days. For some years prior to Donald's death, he was blind, but, as already stated, lived to the great age of ninety-two. His wife, Catherine, survived him nearly ten years, dying November 22, 1844, aged seventy-seven.

Of the children who came here, John married Jane MacMartin, in Scot- land, the day before leaving for America, and became the father of the fol- lowing children, viz. : Daniel, who died unmarried, August 25, 1849; Dun-

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

ban, married Nancy Campbell, daughter of William Campbell, of Ross County, Ohio, and died October 28, 1850; his widow still survives him and lives on the homestead in McDonald Township; John, married Margaret H. Wallace, of Ross County, and died September 19, 1863, his widow dying February 22, 1873; David died unmarried, May 1, 1848; Nancy, died in early womanhood; Allen F., married Ellen Dunlap, and died April 14, 1874, aged forty-nine years six months and twenty-four days. His widow survives him and resides at Ada. There can be but little doubt that Allen F. McArthur was the first white child born in Hardin County af- ter its erection. His birth occurred, judging from his age at his death, as engraved on his tombstone, in September, 1824, or about two years after the settlements of his parents in this county. Joseph married Sarah J. Wilson and died September 8, 1876, and three children died in infancy. The father, John, Sr., who was one of the first County Commissioners, died February 16, 1859, aged seventy-four years six months and nine days; his widow, Jane, died April 23, 1863, aged sixty-seven. He was a man of ordinary size and light complexion, possessing the faculty of getting and keeping money, and was, therefore, one of those successful pioneers who leave to their descendants handsome estates.

Duncan, the eldest son of Donald and Catherine McArthur, 'did not re- main in this county any length of time. David, the next son, died here, March 4, 1850, aged fifty years. Nancy married Jonathan Carter, the first Treasurer of Hardin County. Archibald died unmarried, in 1829, aged twenty-six years five months and fourteen days.

Peter C., the youngest son and the first permanent settler of Hardin County, was married to Mariah Griffin, of Logan County, who bore him the following children: Thomas J., married Rebecca Sneffin, of Cham- paign County, and died in the Union army during the rebellion; Archi- bald, Jonathan and David, all died in boyhood; Elizabeth, married Sam- uel Dunham, of Logan County, and there died; Catherine, passed away in early womanhood; Caroline, married near Cleveland and removed to the West, and John, died in the army, while fighting for the Union. Peter C. McArthur was a man of good education,* and it is said that in 1837 he taught the first school in that part of Hardin County. The log cabin wherein that school was held stood near the " Pfeiffer spring" in Roundhead Town- ship, into which subdivision Peter C. removed after his marriage. Prior to that event, he lived with his parents at the old homestead in McDonald Township. We have been told that he was somewhat dissipated, and there- fore did not succeed in accumulating much property. He was a tall, sparely-built man, a warm friend and a good citizen. His grave is un- marked, and we are therefore unable to give any dates in connection with his birth, age or death.

As to Margaret, the youngest child of Donald and Catherine McArthur, all we know is that she lived and died in Hardin County. The family were originally Presbyterians, but in those early days Revs. James B. Finley and Thomas Sims, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, held services occa- sionally at the cabin of Donald McArthur, and finally the McArthurs joined the Methodist Church, and generally died in that faith. Some of their de- scendants are yet residing near where the old Scotchman, with his family, settled more than sixty years ago; while the name is known and respected throughout the county, of which they were the first permanent pioneers.

*Was elected County Assessor on the 1st of April, 1833.

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

DANIEL CAMPBELL.

This well-remembered pioneer was a cotemporary of the McArthurs, and settled in the county at the same time. He was born in Kentucky in 1790, and coming to Ross County, Ohio, he there enlisted in Capt. James Manary's company of rangers, and served in the war of 1812. He subse- quently married Rebecca Kerns, who was a native of Ross County and a daughter of William Kerns, who was a native of Ireland and a local preacher in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He came, in company with Peter C. McArthur, to the territory now embraced in McDonald Township in 1818, and after erecting a cabin and planting a small patch of corn, ther went back to Ross County for the purpose of bringing their families, but on ac- count of the unsettled state of the country, did not return until 1822. Dan- iel Campbell brought with him at this time his wife and three children, and settled east of the Scioto River, about two miles northeast of the village of Roundhead, in what is now McDonald Township. During the first year in their new home, two of their little ones died, and this so discouraged them that they went back to Ross County at the end of that period. In the spring of 1829, Mr Campbell and family again came to Hardin County and settled in the same locality. Their surviving child, Mary J., here grew to maturity, and on the 6th of May, 1832, was married to Alexander Given, who still survives her. She was the mother of five children, viz .: Eliza J., Mary H., Alexander F., Daniel and Rebecca; the two latter are deceased.

Upon the organization of Roundhead Township, in 1832, which was prior to the organization of Hardin County, Daniel Campbell was elected Justice of the Peace for the new township, and' when the county was or- ganized swore in the Associate Judge at Fort McArthur, in March, 1833. He was the only Justice of the county until the erection of Taylor Creek and Blanchard Townships, in which two Justices were elected, in May, 1832. On the 1st of April, 1833, he was elected Recorder of Hardin County, and re-elected in October, 1833 and 1836, serving in that office seven consecutive years. In September, 1849, he became one of the Asso- ciate Judges and was on the bench when the new constitution was adopted, which abolished that office. Daniel Campbell died August 9, 1864, aged seventy-four years; his wife died April 12, 1861, aged sixty-seven years, six months and twenty-five days. Politically, he was a Whig and after- ward a Republican. He stood about five feet eleven inches high, had a fair complexion, and was a man of good education for pioneer days. He accumulated 250 acres of land, was regarded as a fine business man, honest, upright and straightforward-a man generally respected by those who knew him best.

SAMUEL TIDD.

In February, 1822, the territory now embraced in Roundhead Town- ship received its first settler, which settlement was cotemporary with the second one made by the McArthurs and Daniel Campbell, cross the Scioto, in what is now McDonald Township. Samuel Tidd, a native of Pennsyl- vania, emigrated to Logan County, Ohio, and in February, 1822, removed to Hardin County and settled in the northern part of Section 21, Roundhead Township. He was a blacksmith by trade, and during the pioneer days was considered a fine workman. He followed his trade in connection with farming, and did a great amount of work for the Indians prior to their removal to the West. His wife's name was Barbara, and to them were born the following children ere coming to this county: Elizabeth, Mary,

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

Sallie, Hugh, Nancy and Martin (twins), and Charles S. About one year subsequent to their settlement, another child was born, viz., Jane, whose birth occurred March 23, 1823.

The eldest of the family, Elizabeth, first married a Mr. Richey, upon whose death she married Francis Purdy, and subsequently removed to the West; Mary became the wife of Halsey Howell, of Logan County, Ohio, and died there; Sallie married Andrew Richie, and with her aged husband still resides in Roundhead Township. For more than sixty-one years, "Aunt Sallie" has watched the gradual development of Hardin County, and well remembers the time when the whole county contained but three or four families. Her form is still erect and she thinks little of walking from her home to Roundhead and return, a distance of several miles. Hugh Tidd first married Mary Given (a daughter of William and Jane Given), upon whose death he took for his second wife Sarah J. Caseman, and both died in this county; Nancy became the wife of Andrew Hattery, both of whom spent their lives here; Martin was married to Sarah Conner, removed to Illinois and there died; Charles S. was born in 1821, came with his par- ents the following year to Hardin County, where, after reaching manhood, he married Margaret Ann Mckinnon, settled on the old homestead and, with his wife, still survives to tell the story of more than threescore of years' residence in that vicinity. He and "Aunt Sally " Richey are the only survivors of Samuel and Barbara Tidds' children, who, with their par- ents, settled in the forest of Roundhead Township in February, 1822. Jane Tidd, who was doubtless the first white female child born in Hardin County, became the wife of Louis Rutledge, and died in this county. The parents passed their lives here, the father, Samuel, dying March 8, 1851, aged seventy-two years, his wife Barbara having died July 13, 1846, aged sixty-one years. Mr. Tidd was a very industrious man, upright and straightforward in all his dealings, and inany of his descendants are among the most worthy citizens of the county.

JAMES E. HUESTON.

. It is a well-known fact that the first settler of Hardin County north of Kenton was the dimly remembered pioneer whose name heads this sketch. James E. Hueston was a native of Pennsylvania, and of Yankee origin. He was married in the Keystone State to Margaret Parks, whose parents were natives of Ireland. In 1820, Mr. Hueston removed with his family from Pennsylvania to Ohio, and in May, 1724, settled on the Blanchard River, in the northeastern part of Hardin County. He located in the northwest quarter of Section 12, Jackson Township, and there, amid the dense forest, he erected a rude cabin, and began the battle of life in the Western wilds. It is unnecessary for us to tell of the trials and hardships that fell to his lot during the first years of his residence in this county. It is the same old story of trials, fatigues and suffering manfully borne by most, if not all, of that noble vanguard of civilization that settled in the for- ests of Ohio. In 1831, Mrs. Hueston died and was interred on the east bank of the Blanchard; and in the fall of 1834, her husband's remains were laid by her side. In March, 1833, Mr. Hueston was appointed by the Governor as one of the Associate Judges .of Hardin County, and January 4, 1834, the Ohio General Assembly elected him to the same position for the full term of seven years, but fate had decreed that he should live only a brief period to enjoy the honor thus conferred. To James E. and Mar- garet Hueston were born the following children: Thomas E., William, Amanda, Maria, Jane, Margaret, Ann E. and Martha.

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

The best known member of this family was Thomas E., who was born in Beaver County, Penn., May 5, 1813, and in May, 1824, accompanied his parents to Hardin County, where he grew to manhood. He attended school but a few months during his boyhood days, yet by self application in after years, he became well informed in all the common branches of a business education. In 1836, he was married to Ann Howey, a native of Richland County, Ohio, who came with her parents to Jackson Township in 1834. Of this union were born ten children, viz .: John, Margaret J., Mary, Isabella, Benjamin F., James M., Hattie, Alice F., Effie and Corne- lia A., of whom the following survive: Mrs. Margaret J. Tresseler, who re- sides on the old homestead; Mary, wife of Dr. R. Woods, Quincy, Ill., James M., attorney at law, Toledo, Ohio; Alice F., now Mrs. J. N. Mahan of Ada, and Cornelia A., wife of Dr. Hagerman, of Dunkirk. Thomas E. Hueston at his father's death became owner of one-half of the homestead, and subsequently purchased the remaining half from his brother William. In 1840, he was elected Justice of the Peace and Land Appraiser, of his township: served as a member of the Board of County Commissioners from 1852 to 1854, and in 1871, was again elected to the same position, during which term his death occurred. Throughout his official career, he reflected credit upon himself by the faithful and satisfactory discharge of his duties, while his private, as well as his public life, was characterized by the strict- est honor and integrity. He was killed by the collision of two trains at Dunkirk, on the 14th of March, 1872, and being an honored member of long standing in the Masonic fraternity, that order, as well as the county offi- cials, passed appropriate resolutions at his death, testifying to his worth as a kind father, a loving husband and an honored citizen.

Of the remaining children of James E. Hueston, we have gathered a few brief items. William married Lucinda Johnson and settled on that portion of the old farm lying on the west bank of the Blanchard, which he subse- quently sold to his brother, and removed to Forest, where he engaged in . the hotel buiness and there died. His children were James E., who died unmarried; Hannah, became the wife of Clarence Lynn, of Hancock County; Louemma is the wife of Free Owens, of Jackson Township; Mar- tha, married Frederick Burlin, of Forest; and Alice is married and resides near Cleveland, Ohio. Amanda, the third child of James E. Hueston, mar- ried William Johnson and died in this county. Maria, died in girlhood; Jane became the wife of Bember Letson, and now resides in Iowa; while . Margaret, Ann E. and Martha passed away in childhood. For many years during the first settlement of Hardin County, the cabin of James E. Hues- ton was one of those pioneer " inns " used as a general rendezvous by trav- elers and land prospectors; and after his death his son, Thomas E., con- tinued the business, keeping a house of entertainment for man and beast.

SAMUEL AND ANDREW RICHEY, AND JAMES HILL.

About 1825, the widow Richey came with her family from Logan County, Ohio, and settled on the northwest quarter of Section 20, Round- head Township. They had previously emigrated from Pennsylvania in 1816, and located in Logan County, where the father died. The eldest son, Samuel, married Mary Ann Rutledge, by whom he had the following children -- Thomas, Nancy, Andrew and Mary Ann (deceased). His first wife dying, he married Mrs. Emily Davis, to whom were born Jane, Sam- uel (deceased), Emily and Viletta. Mrs. Richey is still living and resides on Section 7, Roundhead Township.

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HISTORY OF HARDIN COUNTY.

Andrew Richey was born in Pennsylvania in 1809, and accompanied his parents to Logan County in 1816; thence, about 1825, came with his mother to Roundhead Township. He subsequently married Sallie Tidd, and resided on the old homestead until about 1853, when he purchased the farm in Section 9, where he now lives. He is the father of six children, of whom four survive-Mary Jane, Sarah, Charles and Lydia. The deceased are Elizabeth and Walter. These brothers are two of the four oldest living settlers in Hardin County; Andrew's wife, " Aunt Sally" Richey, and her brother, Charles S. Tidd, having been here three years prior to their com- ing. In fact, few of the county's present citizens are aware that in their midst are living four pioneers, two of whom have been here eight, and the other two, eleven years before the county was organized.

Another of the earliest pioneers of this county was James Hill, who was born in Maryland, close to the city of Baltimore. He removed to Lancas- ter County, Penn., and subsequently to Logan County, Ohio, whence he came to Roundhead Township, Hardin County, in 1825, and settled in the southeast quarterof Section 20. Here he lived one or two years, when he returned to Logan County, and did not come back to Hardin until 1833, this time locating on the northwest quarter of Section 20, Roundhead Township, where he died September 25, 1862, aged ninety-nine years. As Mr. Hill did not remain permanently after his first settlement, we have thought it proper to give a fuller sketch in the history of Roundhead Town- ship, to which we refer our readers.

CHARLES W. AND SAMUEL STEVENSON.

Few of the pioneers of Hardin County were better known or more un- iversally respected by its citizens than Charles W. Stevenson. He was born in Kentucky, November 20, 1796, and came with his parents to Greene County, Ohio, about 1800, where he grew to manhood. In January, 1819, he was married to Cynthia Scott, also a native of Kentucky, born August 19, 1795, who came to Greene County, Ohio, with her parents, at the same. time that the Stevenson family settled in that locality. In the spring of 1827, Charles W., with his brother Samuel, settled on a piece of land near the head-waters of Silver Creek, in what is now Taylor Creek Township, and were the first pioneers of that portion of Hardin County. In the fall of 1827, Mr. Stevenson went back to Greene County and brought his wife ' and three children to the log cabin which the brothers had erected during the summer. After living on the land until about 1833, and making con. siderable improvements, a difficulty arose between them and the owner, Gen. James Taylor, who resided at Newport, Ky., by which they lost the land as well as the results of five years' hard labor in clearing the soil for cultivation. Several years afterward, Taylor paid them $100 each. About this time, the brothers erected a saw mill and corn cracker on Six-Mile Creek, which proved a great benefit to the early settlers for miles in every direction.

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The history of Hardin county, Ohio, Part 30

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co. Number of Pages: 1076

Author: Warner Beers & co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago : Warner Beers & Co.
Number of Pages: 1076