The history of Madison County, Ohio, Part 30

Author: Brown, Robert C; W.H. Beers & Co., pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1180

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grew up, he married Margaret Kilgore, a very fine young woman, about 1807. She was the daughter of Thomas Kilgore, who was one of the early settlers on Big Darby. Silas settled on the farm now owned by Eugene Babb, in Jefferson Township. He adhered to the New-Light Church ; was an up- right citizen, and raised a large family." We have been told by old settlers that he died on this farm. but Alder says : " Silas Springer bought a farm on Big Darby, which he improved and lived on until the year 1825, when he sold out to George Brown and moved West. Hle was of a religious turn of mind and would sometimes preach. After he went West, he joined the

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

Mormons, and I then lost sight of him." Which of these accounts is the true one we are unable to say, but, doubtless, some of our readers may be able to throw sufficient light on the subject to clear away all doubt, and es- tablish one or the other as the true story.

USUAL OSBORN.

As already mentioned, Usual Osborn was a native of Pennsylvania, and son-in-law of Benjamin Springer, with whom he came from Kentucky to Madison County in 1796. Alder gives the following sketch of this pioneer, which we quote verbatim. He says : " Osborn was a kind-hearted man, although he was what was then called 'a regular old bruiser.' Yet he would discommode himself to accommodate his neighbors any time. He was remarkably strong and muscular, but not quarrelsome ; yet it was by no means safe to cross his track. He would fight at the drop of a hat, and I never knew him to get whipped. Fist-fighting was a very common thing among the early settlers ; especially so was it amongst those who used whisky to excess. If they had any difficulty, they would fight it out fist and skull, and then make friends over a cup of whisky. 'Might was right' in those old- fashioned days. Osborn was a hard-working man, but a poor planning one, and of all poor families, whites or Indians, I have ever seen, I think his was the poorest. The first winter they came they had not a sign of a bed to lie on. He had a large box, sufficiently large for him and his wife to lie in, and in the fall they gathered leaves and filled the box. They had two blankets ; one of these they spread over the leaves for a sheet, and the other they used to cover with. This constituted their bed for a year or two after they came to this country. The children had to shift for themselves. In the evening, the two oldest boys would gather a large quantity of prairie hay or grass, take it into the house and pile it in a corner, and then the three little fellows would crawl under it and sleep until morning; then gather it all up and take it out and give it to the cows. This was the only bed the boys had for many, many months. Osborn's wife was one of those worth- less kind of women who never do anything when it should be done, and con- sequently was always behind-hand. There was plenty of everything required to make soap, yet Osborn's wife seldom ever made any, and consequently was nearly all the time out of soap. I have frequently known her to take honey to wash her clothes with. Osborn was a great bee-hunter and always had plenty of that article on hand. Honey makes a very good lather, but not equal to soap. On very cold days, Mrs. Osborn was in the habit of driving her cow into the house to milk her. The whole family was very scant of clothing. Osborn himself was one of those hearty pioneer men who would go all winter with nothing on his person but a linen pair of trousers, a linen shirt, a linen hunting shirt, a pair of moccasins or shoes, and a wool hat or coon-skin cap, In fact, I never knew him to be any better dressed for years, and not until sheep got plenty did he wear a woolen garment, and yet I never heard him complain of being cold. I spoke of his being a hard- working man, but I do not mean that he was a steady worker, for he was not, but he could do more work in a given time than any two men I ever knew. He turned most of his attention to trade and traffic in a small way, and of course not very remunerative. Though not quarrelsome, no man need spoil for a fight when Osborn was around. There was a man by the

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name of Chard who had some grudge at Osborn. One day in the winter, when Osborn was mending his shirt, Chard came to his house. Ile told Osborn that there was a little difficulty between them and that he had come to settle it. 'Very good,' said Osborn, throwing down his shirt and springing to his feet. They made a few passes at each other, when Osborn clinched Chard and threw him on the fire. A neighbor who happened to be present rescued him from his perilous situation before he was much burned. No sooner was he out of the fire and on his feet than he took to his heels and ran off as fast as possible, much to the amusement of Osborn and his neighbor. That ended the fight for that day. Not many days after, Chard made it convenient to pass Osborn's house. He met Osborn on the road with a yoke of oxen going for a load of hay. Chard was on horseback, and held in his hand a stout cudgel. Said he to Osborn. . Now, we are by our- · selves ; we can settle that little matter of ours.' 'Oh,' said Osborn, . that is what you are at, are you ?' Chard got off his horse, and while he was hitching him, Osborn stepped to one side and bent down a bush and cut it off. When Chard turned toward Osborn, he saw him trimming the bush with his butcher-knife, and, conscious of the power of the man, he trembled. The butcher-knife and cudgel were in Chard's eyes as powerful as the fire, and having no desire, as he afterward expressed it, 'to be butchered, roasted and eaten,' he sprang to his horse, mounted and put spurs to him to make his escape before Osborn could catch him. However, Osborn pursued Chard as fast as he could, and as the latter had to pass Osborn's house, Osborn ran in and got his gun and fired it off in the air. Osborn said he did not want to hurt the ' varmint' but only to scare him to death."

Osborn finally bought a small farm on the east bank of Little Darby, now in Monroe Township, and the property of Jonah Wood. He farmed some and wagoned considerably, supplying the community with salt. He kept two or three yoke of oxen. In the fall, he would load with cheese, butter, honey and other commodities, take it to Zanesville, sell his load, and bring back salt, glass ware and other necessaries. In this way he was a useful man and a benefit to the community. Prior to the erection of Mad- ison County, and when its territory formed one township of Franklin County, we find that Osborn was Collector of Taxes for Darby Township. At a session of the Associate Judges of Franklin County held January 7, 1804, the following record appears : "Usual Osborn having given bond with approved security for the collection of the county tax in Darby Town- ship, it is ordered that he be appointed Collector of the same." After his settlement in Monroe Township, his neighbors soon discovered that he was not a man to be trifled with. One winter, hav and feed for stock was very scarce, there having been a short crop the previous summer, and con- siderable stock was really in a suffering condition. George Fullington had a better supply than most of the neighbors, and sold to them till he could spare no more, when he gave out word throughout the neighborhood that no one could be supplied with hay from his stacks. Osborn owned a pair of old oxen and a cow at this time, using the former to haul loads and travel around with. His animals becoming very poor and in an almost starving condition, he saw he must have hay or they would die. Mr. Full- ington would sell no more, so Osborn hitched his oxen to his sled, drove to Fullington's hay-stack, and, with the assistance of his son, loaded on all he

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

thought his animals could haul, and ordered the boy to drive home. He immediately walked to Fullington's house, called him out and directed his attention toward the stack, whence the owner saw Osborn's son driving with a load of hay. He told Fullington that he could not let his cattle starve while hay could be found. It is said that Osborn was not very par- ticular when out of meat whose hog he shot, and was therefore mixed up in a great many law-snits, out of which he usually came victorious. He was known as " Gov. Osborn," on account of his aggressiveness and determina- tion to always have his own way. If he made a promise, he would always keep it. He was married twice. His first wife came with him to the county and here died, leaving the following children : Silas, Daniel, Thomas, Samuel and David. His second wife was the mother of Isaac, Charles and Maria. As the country began to get thickly settled and neighbors in every direction, the progress of civilization was disagreeable to his frontier education, so he sold out in 1835 and moved West, where he expected to find things more in harmony with his feelings.

JAMES AND JOSHUA EWING.

In 1798, these brothers emigrated from Kentucky to Darby Township and settled a short distance northwest of the site of Plain City. They bought farms lying on both sides of Big Darby. One reason for making their purchases on each side of the stream was that they might have ready access to the prairie grazing lands, and at the same time have tillable lands on the elevated bottoms along the creek. They supposed, as did many others, that the open prairies would afford them pasturage for many years to come. In this, however, they were sadly mistaken, and James lived to see those prairies owned by many industrious farmers, inclosed with good fences, and their surroundings indicative of thrift and prosperity.

James Ewing was financially more favored than most of the pioneers. In those early days he was considered " rich," with almost unlimited means at his command. He was one of the Directors of the Franklin Bank of Franklinton, Ohio, and this connection made him useful to the community in which he resided. The borrower of capital, by getting Mr. Ewing's recommendation as to the financial safety of the note, could always get ready cash. Indeed, it may be said of him that he was more than an ordinary bank stock director, for he issued individual notes of small denom- inations, which passed readily at their face value in his portion of the county. For many years, the only post office in that region of country was kept by him for the accommodation of his neighbors, and in connection with it he handled dry goods, groceries, notions, etc., in such quantities as would meet the pressing demands of the people. The land which he selected was the site of an old Mingo village, but the Indians deserted it in 1786, at the time of the destruction of the Mackacheek towns by Gen. Logan. When Mr. Ewing settled there, the remains of the huts were still to be seen, also an old blacksmith-shop wherein, according to Jonathan Alder, a white man named Butler did iron-work for the Indians. The savages, however, frequently revisited the vicinity, and, although ostensibly friendly, were a source of considerable annoyance to the whites, as they always looked upon the latter as intruders: but the presence of Jonathan Alder in the neighborhood prevented bloodshed or serious trouble between

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the opposing races. Upon the erection of Union County in 1820, the property of the Ewing brothers was thrown into the new county. Prior to the creation of Madison County, we find that James Ewing was paid $8.75 " for seven days' services in taking the list of taxable property and the enumeration of white males in Darby Township for the year 1803." This appears on the official record of the Associate Judges of Franklin .County dated January 10, 1804. James Ewing was born in 1770, and died in 1850. In 1808, he married Elizabeth Cary, daughter of Luther and Rhoda Cary, then residing in what is now Canaan Township. Mrs. Ewing was born in 1780, and died in 1865. They were the parents of three children, viz., Thomas M., born in 1809, died at Cardington in 1876; David C., born in 1811, died in 1835; and Phoebe, born in 1813, died in infancy. The family were adherents of the Presbyterian Church, and were very much respected throughout the valley in which they resided so many years.

Joshua Ewing died during the " sickly seasons " of 1822-23. He mar- ried Margaret Jamison, who bore him the following children-James Scott, Green, George, Eliza, Polly (who married David Chapman, the Surveyor), Margaret, Cynthia, Harriet (who married William Allen, of Plain City), and Martha. Mr. Ewing was elected Justice of the Peace at the first . election held in Darby Township, after the organization of Franklin County, in 1803. Upon the erection of Madison County, he was elected a member of the Board of Commissioners, serving continuously in that capacity for the first seven years of the county's history. In 1800, Mr. Ewing brought four sheep to his farm, which were the first introduced into Madison County. One day an Indian was passing by, and his dog discovering the sheep pur- sued them and killed one of the animals. This so irritated Mr. Ewing that he shot the dog at once. The Indian vowed vengeance, threatening to kill Ewing in retaliation, but through the influence of Jonathan Alder, who happened to be present, the shedding of human blood was prevented. Ewing was a brave man, and told Alder he could defend himself, but the latter knowing the treacherous character of the savages, felt that it would not be wise to let the trouble go any further ; so smoothing the matter over for the time, he was finally enabled to persuade the Indian to leave the country. He had demanded pay for his dog, but Ewing positively refused to give him a cent, and being a man of determined character. remained firm in his purpose. Mr. Ewing was a Surveyor, and made many of the early surveys of Madison County, ere the terrible miasma of the Darby plains marked him as its victim, with the scores of others, who fell beneath its poisonous breath.

DAVID MITCHELL.

A short distance northwest of the Ewings settled David Mitchell in the summer of 1799. Ile was born in York County, Penn., in 1760; there married Martha Black, a native of the same county, and born in 1764. In 1797, the family remove to Kentucky, and two years later located on the property, now known as the Caldwell farm, in the southern part of Union County, which was cut off from Madison, in 1820. David and Martha Mitchell were the parents of the following children-Moses, born in 1783 ; Samuel, in 1785; George, in 1787, died in infancy, and the next child, born in 1789, was also named George; David, in 1792; Margaret, in 1794; Martha, in 1797;

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Jesse, in 1799, born after coming to Big Darby ; Elizabeth, in 1803; Dixon, in 1806, and Aaron, in 1810. Mrs. Mitchell died in 1823, and he was married to Rebecca Nelson in 1824, who died the same year. In 1825, he married Hannah Caldwell, to whom were born two children, viz .: John C., in 1826, and Alexander R., in 1829. All of these children are dead, except John C., who resides on the old homestead. The first election after the creation of Darby Township, which then embraced all of Madison, and a portion of Union and Clark Counties, was held at the house of David Mitchell, June 21, 1803. Upon the erection of Madison County, Mr. Mitchell was elected Associate Judge, and re-elected in 1817; but when Union County was created, in 1820, his home was embraced therein thus ending his second term on the Common Pleas bench of this county. Judge Mitchell was a very ex- tensive stock dealer and for a time was one of the leading pork-packers of Columbus. He died in 1836, leaving behind a record for intelligence, integrity and enterprise, second to few men of either counties in which he spent the last thirty-seven years of his life.

OTHER SETTLERS.

With Mr. Mitchell came his father, Samuel, who died here, also his brothers-in-law, Samuel McCollongh and Samuel Kirkpatrick, with their families, locating in the same neighborhood. Mr. MeCullongh died in 1800, leaving two sons, Alexander and Samuel. He was buried on the farm of David Mitchell, being the first person interred in what is now the Mitchell Graveyard. Hlis coffin was made from a tree split in two, hollowed out like a couple of troughs, then fastened together with wooden pins. It is believed that Mr. Mccullough was the first white man who died in what subsequently became Madison County. Wolves were so numerous then that it was neces- sary to cover the grave with heavy logs, to prevent them from exhuming the remains. His widow married John Taylor, who came from Kentucky, and located a short distance south of the site of Plain City, in 1800. There they spent the balance of their days.

Samnel Kirkpatrick left two daughters, one of whom died young; the other married and removed from this locality, so that none of his descendants are living in this portion of the State. Along about the same time came Samuel, George and David Reed, also Robert Snodgrass, all of whom settled on Big Darby. These pioneers left numerous descendants who principally reside in Union County ; yet as the original settlers were citizens of Madi- son, prior to the erection of the former county, we feel that it is due to their memory to mention their names in connection with its history.

MICHAEL JOHNSON.

There is no doubt that Michael Johnson was living in what is now Jef- ferson Township some time prior to the beginning of the present century. He was a native of Ireland, born about 1750, and in early life came to the colony of Virginia, where he grew to maturity and married the daughter of German parents, who had also located there in childhood. They had born to them nine children, viz., John, Margaret, Mary, Jacob, Abraham, Henry, Sarah, Catherine and Michael, the latter dying in infancy. Feeling the necessity of finding a country where he could obtain homes for this large- family, he left Virginia in 1795, on a prospecting tour to the Northwest

Josiah Swetand,

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Territory, where he remained about one year. He then returned to Virginia and early in 1797 began to make preparations for moving his family to this country. With his wife and eight children, he started for the Scioto Valley, and finally settled on Little Darby, about four miles northwest of the site of Jefferson. This settlement occurred during the year 1797, probably late in the fall. IIere in the forest he built his cabin, and here many of his descend- ants yet reside. Michael Johnson possessed that stout, robust constitution so characteristic of the Irish, whom scientists declare to be the finest physic- ally developed race on the globe. Mr. Johnson was drowned in the Little Darby in 1808. While crossing that stream with his son-in-law, Peter Paugh, in a canoe, the skiff began to sink, when Paugh suggested to John- son, who was a good swimmer, to jump out and swim. Johnson did so, but the water being very cold. he immediately took cramps and sank to rise no more. Paugh was rescued by some friends swimming a horse to where he was clinging to the branches of a tree, and he, catching hold of the animal's tail, was brought safely to the shore. Mr. Johnson's widow survived him several years, when she, too, passed into eternity, leaving eight worthy chil- dren to mourn her loss.

John, the eldest of the family, married a distant relative of the same name, whose parents came to Jefferson Township at a much later day than Michael Johnson's family. He was not a very successful farmer, on account of his restless disposition. He first settled on the farm now owned by George W. Blair, in Jefferson Township, which he left and returned to again and again, under the squatter system then in vogue. About 1837, he removed to Michigan, settling near St. Joseph, where he and wife died. Of his chil- dren, now residents of Madison County, are John, in Jefferson Township; Euphemia Lombard, of Monroe Township, and Permelia, of Canaan Town- ship. Margaret, the second eldest child of Michael Johnson, married Will- iam Lapin ; Mary, the third child married Peter Paugh, a native of Virginia, who settled in Madison County about 1800, subsequently locating on Spring Fork, where he and wife resided until death. IIis first wife dying and leav- ing a family of several children, he subsequently married the Widow Guy. Paugh was a warm friend of Jonathan Alder's, who speaks of him in his reminiscences. All of his descendants removed to the West many years ago. Jacob, the fourth child of Michael Johnson, was a great hunter, and spent several months with a band of Indians, taking part in their hunts and their mode of life. Ile finally became tired of living in this manner and returned to Madison County, where, about 1807, he married Jemima Cary, and lived alternately in Jefferson and Canaan Townships, finally locating near the site of West Jefferson. About 1832, he removed to a farm four miles northwest of that town, where he subsequently died. His first wife had passed away about 1826, and he married Phoebe (Cary) Davis, widow of John Davis, who survived him several years. Of these marriages twelve children were born, six by each, only four of whom are living in Jefferson Township, viz. : Mary, widow of Henry Penny, and Lewis by the first wife; while Luther and Samuel are the children of the second wife. Abraham, the fifth child of Michael Johnson, married Susan Bradley, daughter of Jonas Bradley, of Monroe Township, and pioneers of that portion of the county. Abraham and wife first located in Monroe Township, but finally bought the farm where James Peene now resides, and there Abraham died.

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His widow married Nehemiah Gates, and removed to Illinois. Henry, the sixth child, was a peculiar character, a noted hunter, and delighted in the chase. He never married, went to Illinois and there died about 1842. Sarah, the seventh in the family of Michael Johnson, married Henry Robey, of Canaan Township, and died childless. Catherine, the eighth and last of the family, married Abijah Cary, who lived and died in Canaan Township. Many of their posterity are still residents of that part of the county.

WILLIAM LAPIN.

In 1797, William Lapin accompanied the family of Michael Johnson to the Northwest Territory. He was a native of Virginia, and soon after coming to what is now Jefferson Township, of this county, he married Mar- garet, the eldest daughter of Michael Johnson. Four sons were the fruits of this union, viz., James, Jacob, Robert and William. Mr. Lapin engaged in stock dealing, and while out of a business trip, about 1820, he died, near Chillicothe. His widow survived him until about 1842, watching over her four sons until all reached manhood, when she went to join her husband in a better land. James Lapin, the eldest of the children, first saw the light in 1798, and was, doubtless, the first white child born in Madison County. He grew up, and married Rebecca Johnson, who bore him eleven children. In 1852, he sold his farm, and, with his wife and eight children, removed to Illinois, where the parents died. Some of the posterity still reside there, but Mary, the third child, and widow of Abner Johnson, is living in this county. Jacob, the second son of William Lapin, married Catherine John- son, a sister to his brother's wife. This marriage occurred about 1823, and soon afterward they located in Franklin County ; thence removed to Illi- nois. Robert, the third son, married Margaret, a daughter of John John- son, and grand-daughter of Michael Johnson. She dying, he married her sister, Mary, and, about 1850, moved West. He followed farming, was a good neighbor, but did not accumulate much property. William, the fourth and youngest son of William and Margaret Lapin, married Elizabeth Nichols, removed to Montgomery County, Ohio, about thirty years ago, and died near Dayton. All of these sons were born, it is believed, in Jefferson Township, and Mary. the daughter of James, and widow of Abner Johnson, is the only one who bore the name of Lapin, now a resident of Madison County.

JAMES AND WILLIAM HEWEY.

On the farm now owned by Gabriel Alkire, on the northeast bank of Deer Creek, in Pleasant Township, settled two brothers, James and William Hlewey, in 1797. They came from Kentucky, but are believed to have been natives of Virginia. A short distance southeast of where they built their cabin was an Indian camping ground, also one of their old burial places. This is on the farm of Courtney Tanner, and in a field under culti- vation. James Hewey was married. while William remained single, and lived with his brother. They erceted their cabin, made some improvements, and here remained until death. Nothing is further known of them. During the early days of Madison County, Richard Douglass was in the habit of making " Uncle Jimmy " Hewey's cabin his stopping place while going to and fro between Chillicothe and London. " Uncle Jimmy " always had a demijohn of corn-juice on hand, and " Dick " was not averse to indulging

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The history of Madison County, Ohio, Part 30

Author: Brown, Robert C; W.H. Beers & Co., pub Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Chicago, W.H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1180

Author: Brown, Robert C; W.H. Beers & Co., pub
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Chicago, W.H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1180