The history of Madison County, Ohio, Part 36

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

USA > Ohio > Madison County > The history of Madison County, Ohio > Part 36

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" The facts now enumerated will be seen, upon a little reflection, to lay the foundation for an excellent scope of country in an agricultural point of view. Generous and lasting soils and an abundant water supply are certain to be provided from such modifications of the beds of glacial drift in Cen- tral and Western Ohio. In accordance with these probabilities, Madison County is found to be one of the finest agricultural districts of the State. There is scarcely a foot of waste land in it, and most of it, if not already highly productive. is easily susceptible of being made so. The surface clays are generally black for at least one or two feet in depth. In land lying as nearly level as Madison County does, there would necessarily be enough detention of organic matter in the soil to produce this result. Even the lands underlain with gravel might have been swampy in their carliest his- tory, but after a forest growth had established itself upon them and the roots had penetrated to the porous beds below, a natural drainage would be secured, which would do much toward their amelioration. The gravel washed out of the bowlder clay is largely limestone gravel. Whenever an insulated area of this gravel has been left uncovered by the finer clays, and has itself undergone atmospheric agencies by which it would be converted into soil, we find the productive belts known as mulatto lands. The reddish soils thus designated certainly have just such a history.

" The forest growths on these several sorts of areas are. in every case, characteristic. The last-named division is the warmest and most fertile land in the county. It is occupied quite largely by black walnut, sugar mnaple, etc., and is, therefore, frequently styled ' black walnut land.' It is con- fined to patches and acres, and is nowhere extended in large tracts, or at least not in the central portion of the county. More of it is shown in the southern townships. The division last preceding this, viz., the clays under- lain by gravel or sand, are quite generally covered with burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa). This tree marks very definitely all the better portions of the areas now under discussion, and as this kind of land constitutes the most im- portant element in the surface of the county, the burr oak may be said to

characterize the county. The colder lands referred to, the weathering of the bowlder clay, are covered for their natural forest growth with swamp oak (Quercus palustris), post oak ( Q. obtusiloba) and occasionally white oak (Q. alba). The natural differences between these soils, as attested by their original forest growths, are clearly shown in their subsequent history under cultivation.

" The swampy condition of the land before drains and ditches provided an easy way of escape for the surface water, is the probable cause of the defective condition of the timber produced here. Many of the trees are hol-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

low-hearted. Another explanation is offered in the fires that the Indians were accustomed to kindle annually throughout this part of the State. The sparseness of the timber can no doubt be attributed to the last-named cause. While some of these varieties of soil are much warmer and kinder than others, all of them form blue-grass land. As soon as the surface water is withdrawn, this most valuable of all our forage plants-Poa pratense, or Kentucky blue-grass, comes in to displace the wild grasses that have occu- pied the ground hitherto, and it comes to stay. This is not the place to take up in detail this great source of agricultural wealth. It is enough to say

that all of its characteristic excellences are here shown. The best rewards of agriculture in Madison County have hitherto been drawn from this spon- taneous product of its soil. The lands of the county have been turned into pasture grounds since their first occupation. Under judicious management, cattle do well upon them throughout our ordinary winters, without hay or grain.

" It is to be remarked that Madison County is a blue-grass region, not so much because of the composition of its drift-beds as from the fact that these drift- beds are extended, owing to the accidents of their recent geological history, in wide plains which allow the abundant accumulation of vegetable matter in the forming soil. These same drift- deposits, when they lie on well-drained slopes, form a stubborn, yellow clay. that can hardly be kept covered with sod of any description. It must not, however, be inferred that all level drift-tracts will become blue-grass land, irrespective of their composition. Clays derived in large part from the waste of limestone, as are those of Madison County, are especially adapted to the growth of blue grass. Madison County has no monopoly of this important product, but all the flat-lying tracts of the coun- ties around it. as they have shared in its geological history, share also in its agricultural capabilities.

" These districts were shunned in the carly settlements of this general region on account of their swampy character, but discerning men soon came to see their great possibilities, and as the price per acre was scarcely more than nominal, they were bought in large tracts and have been so held until the pres- ent time. Farins of 2.000 acres are not unusual in the county. and fields of 500 acres are common. The recently divided estate of William D. Wilson, in the Darby Plains of Canaan Township, embraced 9,000 acres. The county is famous not only for the number of cattle it produces, but also for the quality. It holds some of the finest herds of improved cattle to be found in the State or country.

" The lands of the second and third divisions, as might be judged from their constitution. are excellently adapted to the production of corn and other cereals, and are coming to be used for grain-growing, as well as for grass- growing. The varied elements of our ordinary American farming are thus becoming established here as elsewhere.

WATER SUPPLY.

"The last point to be taken up in the geology of the county is its natu- ral water supply. Madison County may be said to have an abundant and excellent supply, but it does not show itself in the ordinary modes, in springs and frequent water-courses. The supply, indeed, is under ground and must, for the most part, be brought to the surface by artificial means. The ordi-

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

nary rainfall of Central Ohio being granted, the geological conditions already described, necessitate an immense accumulation of water beneath the surface. Such an accumulation, we find, lying within easy reach. The surface of the bowlder elay is a common water bearer, though many wells descend into the elay to some of the irregular veins of sand and gravel, to which reference has already been made. The porous beds above the bowlder clay, varying in thickness from five to fifteen feet, constitute an efficient filter for the sur- face water in most instances. It must be remarked, however, that all of the dangers pertaining to such a supply show themselves here. The drift-beds are freely permeable. They have no power to shut out the products of surface defilement or prevent cess-pools and other sinks of impurity from discharging their offensive and poisonous drainage into adjacent wells and springs. There is abundant and positive proof that drinking-water contam- inated from such sources is very often made the medium for distributing fever and pestilence through families and neighborhoods.

" Of late years, the ageney of the wind has been quite extensively util- ized in pumping water from wells into reservoirs for the use of stock. The wind-pumps have been improved in so many ingenious ways that they work almost as if they were intelligent agents, matching supply with demand, and adjusting themselves to the force of the wind. The common method, how- ever, of providing stock water on those farms which are not traversed by living streams, is by means of pools, which obtain their supply directly and entirely from surface accumulations of rain. The water of such pools is always foul with mud and manure, and is heavily charged with vegetable and animal organisms in every stage of existence and deeay, and yet it is claimed to be a safe and wholesome supply. Still another source of stock water is found in some sections of the county. The water delivered by draining tile in underground ditches is gathered and conducted to troughs in the pasture grounds. Where the make of the country admits of this system, a supply in every way advantageous is secured.

" Buried vegetation is less frequently met with in the drift of Madison County than in the regions further to the southward, but it can scarcely be said to be of rare occurrence. Considerable acenmulations of vegetable mat- ter are needed to explain certain facts met with in a little settlement called Kiousville, in Pleasant Township. Several attempts to obtain wells have been made here without success. The trouble has been, in every instance. that after reaching a certain depth, choke damp or earbonie acid escaped in such quantity as to render further work impossible. Several ves

been lost in these attempts, and one during the summer of 1872. The sec- tion traversed is : Yellow elay, ten feet : blue elay. abruptly bounded on the upper surface, twenty to thirty-one feet ; then cemented sand and gravel. On breaking through the ernst of cemented gravel. the gas issues in strong volume. No water has ever been found in the gravel. The section is some- what anomalous, but it seems safe to conelnde that some sneh accumulations of buried vegetable matter as have been described in previous reports as exist- ing in Montgomery, Warren and Highland Counties are to be found here.

" The remains of a young mastodon were recently found in Range Town- ship on the farm of David MeClimans. The skull and its appurtenances were in the best state of preservation. The tusks were six feet long, meas- ured on the outside of the curve. A part of the lower jaw had perished,

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

but in the remaining portion a small molar tooth was found in place. It was afterward detached and found to weigh one pound and two ounces, while a larger tooth, but partially developed, lay back of it in the jaw. The occurrence of remains of these past glacial mammals is, however, compara- tively rare in this immediate arca.

" 'The principal points in the geology of Madison County have now been briefly treated, and it is seen that although the story of its bedded rocks is very short, there are still geological questions of great interest suggested by its broad and fertile plains."

WILD ANIMALS AND REPTILES.

Throughout the pioneer days of Madison County, the whole region of country embraced in the Scioto Valley was one vast hunting ground. Here nature's herds lived and flourished; but soon after the coming of the white man, they began to avoid his deadly aim and seek a retreat in the deper fastnesses of the forest. Year after year passed away, until finally the larger animals became extinct in this portion of Ohio, and nothing was left for the huntsman but the smaller and more insignificant game, and even that is now a scare article. Through the assistance of Dr. Jeremiah Converse. we have been enabled to gather a brief description of the larger wild animals and reptiles that inhabited Madison County ere the progress of civilization destroyed or drove them from its soil.

The elk had become extinct prior to the occupancy of this country by the whites; but that the prairies of Madison County had shortly before been their grazing ground, is evident from the large number of horns that were found almost everywhere on top of the ground, partly and wholly buried beneath the soil, and turned up in broken fragments by the plow. The elk horn in a perfect state of preservation, especially the larger sizes. is a curi- osity to persons who have never seen it. The diameter of the horn to the first prong was usually two or more inches, but where it was attached to the head, it often measured from three to four inches. If the pair was perfect, with the head of the animal attached, and set upon their points, they would measure from three to four feet in height. Each horn had from five to seven prongs, and so arranged that when the head and neck were in line with the body, as in the act of running, the largest elk could readily pass through the thickest under-brush with the greatest case, and without any impediment therefrom.

Bears were not very numerous, but enough were left to remind the settler that when bruin made a raid upon the pig-sty, his assured rights were to be respected. Their favorite abode was in the timber along the streams. They were not considered a dangerous animal, except when suffering from hunger, their anger aroused, or their cubs in danger ; but then it required great courage and good generalship to effect a safe retreat and thereby avoid a deadly battle. In the fall and winter, they were hunted for their meat and skins. Their flesh was rich and savory, while their skins were tanned and used for robes and bed covering in the winter seasons.

The wolf was the pioneer's dreaded enemy and were of two kinds, black and gray. The former was seldom seen, but the latter infested the country in immense flocks. The wolf is long legged, with heavy fore-shoulders, light hind quarters, very lean and gaunt through the loins, keen-eyed, with

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

pointed nose, cars erect and a long bushy tail usually curled between his hind legs, giving him the appearance of a thievish, sneaking enr. The first settlers suffered more from the depredations of these animals than all others combined. They made onslaughts upon the sheep, pigs, calves and colts ; and often great numbers would congregate under cover of night and attack individuals who happened to be belated, or even whole families whose cabins were isolated from the more thickly settled country. The wolf had a pecu- liar and instinctive howl, which was quickly taken up by others and in an incredible short space of time the bark could be heard in every direction, rapidly concentrating toward one point. Its manner of fighting was very different from the common dog. Instead of grappling with its antagonist, its fighting was done by springing forward, snapping or cutting with the front teeth, which were very sharp, and then retreat for another opportunity. This method of advance and retreat was rapidly repeated so long as its adversary was within reach : but when their numbers were overpowering, they exhibited a greater boldness and dash, thereby demonstrating their cowardly nature. As the settlements increased, these pests grew beautifully less in number, their destruction having been encouraged through a premium for wolf-scalps, offered by the County Commissioners during the first seven years of the county's history. In 1835, an immense wolf hunt was organized in the eastern portion of the county, which proved but a limited success, and was the cause of the Rev. Isaac Jones receiving an accidental shot through one of his wrists, which crippled him for life. He had pur- posed ascending a tree so as to obtain a better view of the animals that were to be gradually hemmed in toward that point, and shot by him as they came in sight. As a Mr. Pitcher was handing him his rifle ere he got too far up the tree, the weapon was discharged, with the foregoing result. Soon after this event, the wolf disappeared from this region, although an odd one was seen and dispatched at intervals.

The beautiful animal known as the red deer was a Godsend to the pioneers. From these harmless inhabitants of the forest, that were accessi- ble at all times, they procured most of their meat. Deer were very numer- ous, and more than fifty in one flock have been seen grazing upon the prairie or "stamping flies" beneath the shady groves; but they were usually found in pairs, or half a dozen at most, except when chased by the wolf or dog. At such times, large numbers were aroused from their slum- bers and joined in the stampede. Not only was the deer valuable as an article of food, but its skin, when tanned, served many useful purposes. The stalwart backwoodsman generally wore a vest and a pair of " buckskin breeches" made from the prepared hides of these animals. In an untanned condition, or rawhide state, it was cut into strips, twisted, then dried in the sun, after which it served the purpose of tugs or chains for the settlers' harness ; also lines, bridles, mittens, moccasins and other articles used in pioneer life.

Wild hogs were frequently met with, and were more dreaded, perhaps, than any other of the wild beasts. The genuine wild boar, exasperated by the hunters, was the most terrible game of the forest, and the hunt was exciting and dangerous. His attack was too sudden and headlong to be easily turned aside or avoide l, and the snap of his tusks, as he sharpened them in his fury, was not pleasant music to the timid or amateur hunter.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

Ilis tusks are known to have measured over a foot in length, and many desperate fights and hairbreadth escapes are recounted in connection with this animal. The wild hog was not valued for its flesh, but was regarded simply as a dangerous pest, and hunted mainly to rid the country of his presence.

There were other animals that once inhabited these parts, viz., the pan- ther, lynx, native wild cat, porcupine, etc., but these, like the elk, the bear, the wolf and the more valuable deer, have long since become extinct. Even the fox, raccoon, woodchuck, opossum and squirrel, together with many other small animals, are growing scarcer year by year under the ruthless hunter's vengeance; and the day is not far distant when Madison County will be entirely devoid of the animal as well as the feathery tribes that once infested its forests and prairies. This is not as it should be. The few specimens that are left ought to be spared, and stringent laws should be passed to protect those innocent dwellers of the forest and pre- vent their utter extinction.

Among the venomous reptiles that once endangered life and limb were the racers, copper-heads and prairie rattlesnake. The latter were very numerous, as well as formidable and dangerous. The antidote for their bite, however. grew upon the prairie lands, and was a kind of herb called by the Indians " rattlesnake weed." The person bitten, by immediately chewing a considerable quantity of the stalk, swallowing the juice and binding the pulpy chewings upon the bitten part, prevented all ill effects that would otherwise result from the bite. It is well that these reptiles no longer exist in this land, and that all such venomous things disappear before the onward march of civilization.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

CHAPTER VIII.

PUBLIC OFFICERS-MEMBER OF CONGRESS-PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS-MEM- BERS OF THE TERRITORIAL ASSEMBLY - SENATORS - REPRESENTATIVES- ASSOCIATE JUDGES-PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS-COUNTY COMMISSIONERS -SHERIFFS- TREASURERS-CLERKS - RECORDERS -SURVEYORS- CORONERS-COLLECTORS - AUDITORS-PROBATE JUDGES-BIOG- RAPIIIES OF PIONEER OFFICIALS-POLITICS.

TN writing a history of Madison County, we believe it to be one of the most important duties we owe to her citizens to give an authentic list of the men who have filled the many public offices and occupied a leading position in her affairs. Since the first white settlers built their cabins within her limits, there has never been a time when there were not men competent and trustworthy to transact the publie business, and guide the affairs of the growing county in a manner satisfactory to her people. With the object in view of preserving the names of those officials, we have spared no pains in making a thorough research of all records within our reach, and, if there should be any list incomplete, it is because there is no source now in exist- ence from which to obtain the information. The reader will bear in mind that seventy-two years have passed away since the birth of Madison County, and that in the first years of its existence little was done toward preserving many facts important to the historian of to-day. No regular method was followed in keeping the records of the several offices, often the events were not transcribed at all, and what does exist is in places so vague, or dimmed by the ravages of time as to baffle our efforts toward deciphering its meaning with any degree of certainty.

The only citizen of Madison County who has ever had the honor of being a member of the United States House of Representatives was Richard A. Harrison, now a resident of Columbus, Ohio, but who for many years was a leading member of the Madison County bar. He was elected to rep- resent the Seventh Congressional District in the Thirty-seventh Congress (1861-63), vice Thomas Corwin, who resigned to accept the appointment of Minister to Mexico. Three citizens of this county have been Presidential Electors, viz .: James Curry, in 1816, as a Monroe and Tompkins Elector; Aquilla Toland, in 1840, as a Harrison and Tyler Elector; and Charles Phellis, in 1872, as an Elector on the Grant and Wilson ticket.

For seven years prior to the erection of Madison County its vote belonged to Franklin, and ere the formation of the latter its ballots were counted among those of Ross. It will, therefore, be of interest to the citi- zens of this portion of Ohio to know who represented the territory now embraced within its boundaries from the first Territorial Assembly up to the present. The members were, from 1799-1801, Thomas Worthington, Elias Langham, Samuel Findlay and Edward Tiffin ; 1801-1802, Edward Tiffin, Elias Langham and Thomas Worthington. The Territory then became a State, and the constitution thereof provided for a General Assembly com- posed of the members of the Senate and House of Representatives.

H Cew. Smith.

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HISTORY OF MADISON COUNTY.

SENATORS.

The members of the Senate were elected every two years by the legal voters of the State, which was apportioned every four years, the number of Senators being fixed by the Legislature according to the enumeration of white male inhabitants over twenty-one years of age, and the districts established accordingly. In the First General Assembly (1803), Ross County, which then embraced the present counties of Franklin and Madison, composed a Senatorial district. In the Second and Third (1803-04 and 1804-05) Ross and Franklin were together, this territory being a portion of the latter county, while in the Fourth (1805-06) Highland County was attached thereto and remained so throughout the two subsequent Assem- blies. In the Seventh and Eighth (1808-09 and 1809-10), Franklin and Delaware formed a district. The Ninth General Assembly (1810-11) is the first time we find the name of Madison figuring as a portion of a Sena- torial district, composed of Franklin, Delaware, Madison and Pickaway ; while in the Tenth (1811-12), Pickaway was put into another district, and the others remained together until the Nineteenth General Assembly (1820- 21), when the new county of Union formed a part thereof. Thus it remained until the Twenty-second Assembly (1823-24), at which time Marion and Crawford Counties were attached to this Senatorial district, which then read Franklin, Madison, Union, Delaware, Marion and Craw- ford. This lasted, however, only through that one session, and in the Twenty-third (1824-25), the three latter counties were cut off from this district, which existed as Franklin, Madison and Union up to the Twenty- seventh Assembly (1828-29), when Madison, Logan and Shelby constituted a district. The following session, Union County was added thereto and remained as such until the Thirtieth Assembly (1831-32), at which time Madison, Union, Logan, Shelby and Hardin were united. In the succeed- ing session, Shelby County, was replaced by Hancock. In the Thirty-fifth (1836-37), another change occurred, Madison, Fayette and Greene forming a district, existing thus four years, when the district was again changed. In the Thirty-ninth General Assembly (1840-41), Franklin, Madison and Clark were combined and remained united up to and including the Forty- sixth session (1847-48), but in the Forty-seventh, Franklin County was replaced by Champaign, so that Madison, Clark and Champaign were together at the time of the adoption of the new constitution in 1851, which provided that the Senatorial apportionment was to be established decennially, and obtained by dividing the whole population of the State by thirty-five, the quotient thereof to be the ratio of Senatorial representation. The State was divided into fixed districts, which were numbered, and these three coun- ties have since constituted the Eleventh Senatorial District of Ohio.

The following is the list of Senators with their date of service : 1803, Nathaniel Massie, Abraham Claypool; 1803-04, Abraham Claypool. Na- thaniel Massie, John Milligan ; 1804-05, Abraham Claypool, Joseph Kerr; 1805-06, Joseph Kerr, Duncan McArthur ; 1806-07 and 1807-08, Dun- can McArthur, Abraham Claypool; 1808-03, 1809-10, 1810-11 and 1811-12, Joseph Foos : 1812-13 and 1813-14, John Barr ; 1814-15 and 1815-16, Joseph Foos; 1816-17 and 1817-18, Thomas Johnson ; 1818- 19, 1819-20, 1820-21 and 1821-22, Joseph Foos ; 1822-23, Henry Brown ; 1823-24, James Kooken ; 1824-25, 1825-26, 1826-27 and 1827-

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The history of Madison County, Ohio, Part 36

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