The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county, Part 97

Author: W.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1214

USA > Ohio > Montgomery County > The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county > Part 97

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MOSES SHEARER, Clerk.

$6 70

ELIAS MATTHEWS

JEROME HOLT Trustee; JOHN D CAMPBELL

There being but $4.69 remaining in the treasurer Mr. Ainsworth was compeled wait the return of the eolleetor before his order could be eashed.

JACKSON TOWNSHIP.

" "HIS political subdivision was originally included in what was then known as Jefferson and German Townships, which contained most of the land nv in Jefferson, German, Miami, Jackson, Perry, Madison and Harrison Ivnships. On the 6th of June, 1814, a petition was presented to the County Cnmissioners praying for the formation of a new township, and, December 7.814, it was accordingly ordered by them that the prayer of their petitioners bgranted, and that the new township should be known as Jackson Township. Itvas originally eight miles long and six miles wide, containing forty-eight x are miles. The original boundaries were as follows, viz .: Beginning on the P ble County line at the corner of Townships 3 and 4, Range 4; thence east onthe township line six miles to the line between the fourth and fifth ranges; Ince north eight miles to the northeast corner of Section 25, Town 5, Range 4: hence west on section line six miles to the Preble County line at the north- wst corner of Section 30, Town 5, Range 4; and thence south on said county lin eight miles to the place of beginning. It contained eight square miles id included in Perry Township, which were detached in 1820, when Perry v formed and the present boundaries of Jackson established. The township contains thirty six square miies of rich arable land, well timbered, deep Oed and bountifully watered. It is bounded by Perry Township on the north, cerson Township on the east, German Township on the south and Preble Centy on the west, being known as Township 4, in Range 4. It received its late in honor of Andrew Jackson, or "Old Hickory," as he was familiarly ad, the seventh President of the United States and the hero of New Orleans. .t watered by several large creeks and their tributaries, which flow through h country in all directions, forming a perfect network of streams, thoroughly ingating the rich bottom lands that lie for a mile on either side of them and u ishing some admirable mill-sites, which, as yet, have not been utilized, which promise ultimately to be occupied by all kinds of water-propelled uthinery. Among these creeks, mention might be made of a few and of the evation of their names, which are all historical facts and rest now in the ils of the old residents, who will soon pass from among us, and, unless res- ul by the pages of history, are likely to be buried in oblivion. The largest f hese is called Big Twin, from the Indian name it formerly bore, which kent " one of two." This flows through the southwestern corner of the town- 1, near the southern line. "Little Twin " received its name as being the tlr "one " of the "two," indicated by the Indian name; it flows through the ne township from north to south, near the center. Wolf Creek was so vaed on account of the number of wolves that infested the thick timber on sanks in early days. "Tom's Run " was named after Tom Kilbuck, an n'an chief, who trapped and hunted along its borders before and during early iceer days. The branches of these creeks bear only local, if any names, with o pparent significance. They are, in the summer months, nothing more than . inl "runs" or brooks, but, during the spring freshets, they are swollen into or nts of great power, overflowing their banks and carrying before them every- thig of a floatable nature that is in or near their channels. There were also maz beautiful springs bubbling from the hillsides and flowing in picturesque rillto the creeks. A piece of land containing one of these unfailing springs wassure to allure an early settler. It is a notable fact that these pioneer fa-

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

thers always chose a hillside near a spring on which to raise their cabins a commence their farm operations. And their choice was not without reas The spring furnished them their water supply and the hillside afforded suital land for the immediate sowing of crops, as soon as it was cleared of the timb which was not the case with the level land, where water stood the year rou to the depth of several inches, and, of course, had to be drained and allow to dry before it could be cultivated. But it is these lands, with their blac mellow soil, formed from the decayed debris of the forest, that are now eagerly sought after. The taste of any settler could be satisfied by the land this township, as it furnishes a great variety of soil. There is the uplands, t low or bottom lands, the hilly lands and the undulating prairie. Could o ask for a larger variety from which to choose? It would seem not, and t facts warrant that inference. Few, indeed, were the settlers, who, having or settled here, left in search of more favorable country. In the southweste part of the township there is some very hilly land, which is a continuation the hills along Big Twin Creek in German Township, extending up into Jas son. Near this hilly ground, there is a round earthen mound, fifteen feet height. It is supposed to be either a fortification or a burial mound of th almost mythical nation that inhabited this country before the Indians. It l never been explored, but it is believed by the people of the neighborhood t] under and in it lie the bones of many of those people, who have left us so ma manifestations of their warlike propensities. Within the memory of some the early settlers, this mound and vicinity was a favorite hunting resort the Indians. The mound itself was a great deer-lick, and these animals wo1 come for miles to their pleasant lick only to meet their death at the hands the red hunter. Before the entrance of the white man, the country now co. posing Jackson Township was covered with a forest of oak, beech, walnut, as sugar and some poplar trees, with a dense undergrowth of prickly al and other shrubbery. This timber has now been largely removed and the po lar has become entirely extinct. The prevailing species is sugar, with a r sonable quantity of the other classes.

A noticeable feature in the geology of this township is the immense nu ber of large bowlders of glacial deposit that underlie the soil in some pla and lay piled in fantastic shapes in the forest and along the creeks. Th bowlders resemble red granite, and some of them are of great size. They h been found on almost every farm in the township, and, in some instances ! labor required in removing the timber has been exceeded by that required clearing the land of these huge rocks that seem to belong to some other wo than ours, and look like lonely sentinels awaiting the coming of their kind.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

To write the history of the early settlement of a township is a matter more difficult accomplishment than would at first be supposed. Although settlers were few, yet they knew little, if anything, of their fellow-pioner who might be living within six or seven miles of them. And when asked v the first settler in the township was, they invariably tell you who was the f in their immediate neighborhood, possibly not knowing that long prior to t some dauntless frontiersman had, with his family, settled in the same towns four or five miles through an almost impenetrable forest from him. Such the case in this township. Settlements were made along the extreme north and also along the extreme southern borders; which of these was first can o be known by the accounts of the pioneers or of their children. In either ca we are dependent upon the memory of man. So far as can now be learn three families, named severally, Stoner, Oldfather and Pfoutz, were the first

JACKSON TOWNSHIP.

bak the solitude of the present township of Jackson and war with the savage bists and not less savage men for a home in their midst. They all came from Finsylvania, bringing large families with them, and were here a short time bore 1801, but whether they came together, or if not, which one came first, chinot now be learned. The most diligent research and inquiry fail to dis- cuer anything further of them than that they all settled together in what was abrward known as the "Swartzell Settlement" near the site of the present tun of Farmersville.

The next to follow these intrepid Pennsylvanians was Abraham Swartzell, ab a son of the Keystone State. He left his home in the East in 1801, and. incompaay with his brother Henry and a man named Boomershine, came to this tenship and entered 360 acres of land, where Farmersville now stands. He hl a family consisting of his wife and four children, viz., Anna, Matthias, Pilip and Elizabeth. He built a small cabin of round logs, with three sides, I front being open. The fire was built in front and the only heat received The cabin was from this fire, which was kept overnight, from day to day, in a rge iron kettle. In these days of matches, we cannot realize what a terrible camity it was to our forefathers to have their fire go out. But yet these hidy settlers were "happy as larks," and their children were born, raised, and my of them died, without knowing of any other than this primitive mode of i. Here, in this rude and to us seeming uncomfortable hut, Abraham Swart- zo had born to him nine children, all of them healthy and robust as the trees ajund them. They were named severally John, Sarah, Abraham, Polly, Hiry, Daniel, Joshua, Susan and Enos. The father, immediately after his ain was built, commenced felling trees, girdling others and clearing away and bring the underbrush preparatory to sowing a crop from which his little talily were to derive their sustenance. He thus cleared some four or five ics of land, and, after turning the soil by his personal labor, as was then the vom, he planted the first crop on his new and primitive farm. He was mibled some by wolves, which were then thick, but they did no damage ter than an occasional scare to some member of his family. No sooner was vi farm in shape than he commenced lending his aid to the improvement and seling of the country around him by assisting other settlers in raising their ans, clearing their land, rolling logs and in other ways which were custom- ar in that early day. His children all grew up to manhood and womanhood, 'niried and scattered over the United States. He died in 1840, at the ago of 17-six years. His son John, the oldest of the children, born in the open an spoken of above, is still living; he was born in 1807. When large nigh, he attended a subscription school in a little log schoolhouse near his a er's farm, where the neighbors, all being of German extraction. were having Orman school taught by a man named Johns. He afterward married, and a continued to reside in this township during the whole of his life, now being nn seventy-five years of age. He lives with one of his children in Farmers- il. Henry Swartzell and Mr. Boomershine, the men who came with Abraham wrtzell, both brought very large families and settled near Abraham, on land lining his. They all entered land from the Government. Apropos to habove, mention might be made of the singular fact that very few of the uy settlers had small families. And it reflects greater credit on them, that, ri these large families to sustain, they succeeded so well. They seldom had esthan ten children, and often as many as sixteen, and yet, such was their p-heartedness that if a family of children should be deprived of their par- and the settlers were always ready to divide the little ones among them and car adopt his quota.

In 1803, Mathias Swartzell, a native of Germany, and the father of the two

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

mentioned heretofore, came to this county, where he died about 1820, leavi a family of four sons and five daughters. He was an old Revolutionary soldi and was one of those liberty-loving heroes who assisted in crushing Engl tyranny and driving the minions of despotism from this fair land. About t same year, John Kinsey settled in this vicinity, marrying Elizabeth Mulle dore, daughter of Jacob Mullendore, finally locating in Section 32, where ! son David now resides. He was the father of eight children. three of wh. are yet living, viz., Mary, David and Jonas; he died in March, 1819, and : widow married Jacob Myers, by whom she had five children; she died in 181

Two families came in the spring of 1804, viz., the Colemans and Vane coming from Somerset County, Penn. Coleman brought his wife Katie a nine children, four boys-Daniel, John, Henry and William-and five girle Betsy, Rebecca, Sarah and two smaller ones; he settled just east of the prese site of "Staver Church." Michael Vance had a wife and small family, a settled in the neighborhood of the others; his son Manuel married Elizab Sayler, danghter of John Sayler, a native of Virginia, who was also one of pioneers of Jackson Township, and his grandson, John Vance, is now a re dent of Dayton. In 1805, Adam Swihart and Michael Long, two sturdy so of Pennsylvania, settled in this township with their families, and both have l many descendants Swihart's son Jonathan married Sophia Cloyd, a native Virginia, and falling heir to a portion of his father-in-law's estate, selec that which lay in Jackson Township, and here he spent his entire life, dyi in 1876, aged seventy-four; he was the father of eight children; six now s vive; his widow is residing upon the old homestead, aged seventy-seven. Is Long, the son of Michael, was born in this county; married Esther Mill daughter of Daniel Miller, also an early pioneer. They have had ten childr both are living and now enjoying the fruits of their early industry and ! affection of their many descendants. All of those pioneer families were h est, frugal and industrious, and all came imbued with the same purpose, v to make for themselves a home in the Western wilds, and give to their child a start in life.

Several families arrived during the year 1805, among whom were Schidelers, the Izors and the Albaughs. They were of the stanch, energe sons of Pennsylvania-men inured to hardships of all kinds, making them w adapted to enter a new and wild country and endure the discomforts of pion life. Fearlessly they traversed unknown forest paths, cut new roads wh there were none, forded strange rivers, and, with their wives and little or commenced changing the wilderness, filled with the deep, unbroken silence solitude, into a scene of life, activity and enterprise. The Schideler mention above was Henry, the fifth son of a family of thirteen; he was born in Wa ington County, Penn., on the 24th day of June, 1793. As his name indica he was of German descent, his grandparents both having come from German he removed to Ohio with his parents in 1805, in his twelfth year. They loca on land in Section 30, chosen, no doubt, on account of its elevated posit and close proximity to Tom's Run, both of which considerations, as we h before said, being great inducements. He was married, in 1826, and, as,a sult of the union with his estimable wife, had thirteen children, nine of tl being boys and four girls. He lived on his old farm until his death, wh occurred in July, 1879. In early life, he manifested an absorbing interest politics, and, as he grew in years, his interest in that subject grew with h He was, politically, a Jeffersonian Democrat, and never during his life vo any other than the Democratic ticket. In 1832, he was chosen by the pec of his county to represent them in the General Assembly of the State, and re-elected in 1834. He also served in the capacity of County Commissio

JACKSON TOWNSHIP.

ar Justice of the Peace, which latter office he held for twelve years. Of the Izjs and Albaughs who came this year, nothing can be learned.

These men were continually writing to the East, telling their friends what rfect country they had found and the magnificent crops the lands produced, Ir.] fina ly, they persuaded Adam Staver to emigrate. He was born in Lan- Laer County, Penn., in 1767, and, at the time of his emigration, was possessed f vo good mills and 300 acres of land in his native State. These he aban- ucd for an unimproved home in the West, to which he came in the spring of 83, bringing with him his wife, Fannie Staver (nee Daups) and seven children -bhn, Barbara, Frederick, Henry, Jacob, Valentine and Adam. He landed a ferman Township, Montgomery County, and rented a farm on Twin Creek onhe summer, on which he left his wife and children, who fattened the hogs, mod geese, butchered and otherwise prepared for winter, while the father wo inned his journey up into Jackson Township, where he entered a half sec- Lc of land and bought a half-section of a man who had entered it, but could 10 pay the entrance fee and sold his bargain to Staver for $20. In the follow- a spring (having built a cabin in the meantime), he moved his family. He lll a very useful place in society during his life and died, in 1854, at the ripe lage of eighty-seven years. His son Henry is the only one of the children now vg in the State. He is on the old farm. having added to it considerably ung his lifetime. He has in all 700 acres of very fine farm land; he is a naj well preserved, being eighty-seven years old. and still carries on the work fie "place." Though his hair is silvered by the frosts of eighty-eight win- r his eye is bright, his hand steady and his step as firm as men much young me has lived a life of moral integrity and is now enjoying the well-merited oord, in the affection of his family, a peaceful old age and a perfect use of all aculties. In his treatment of friends and strangers, the writer hereof can il verify that he retains all the hospitality for which his family is so much lıred. His brother John was appointed a Captain in the war of 1812, but af'e his term of service commenced, the war closed. No others of his family e in the war. This family was the means of bringing into the township heirst preacher who ever raised his voice in praise of the "White man's To" in the district now so thickly dotted with churches of all denominations: s ame was Samuel Mow; he was brought by Mr. Staver from Hamilton, h ; he commenced farming on a quarter-section of land which had been en- r for him by Mr. Staver; he preached for the Staver Church a great many

In 1806. George and Margaret Rumbarger. natives of Pennsylvania, on with a family of two children and located in Section 35, and there died. a : son John was but ten years old when his parents came to this county, Wig been born in Pennsylvania. July 2, 1796; he was married August 24, 3], to Elizabeth Miller, who bore him eleven children, nine of whom are aliving; she died March 23, 1874, and her husband is still residing on the r which his father settled seventy-six years ago. In the same year as Rum- u'r, came Christian Cook, also of the Keystone State, and settled in Sec 123, where he died in 1814, being buried on the farm, his wife surviving u until 1863; they had eleven children-Maragret, Frederick, Christian, ut and Michael being the only survivors. At this time, the township be- willing up rapidly, and it would be utterly impossible to give the records who came in the following ten years, but among those who can be called ! 10vers, and of whom we have been able to collect anything reliable, may be Le ioned Evan Hoops, who, in 1811, settled with his family in Section 7; he is born in Pennsylvania, was married twice-first, to Catharine Kinsey, ofVrginia, who bore him seven children, three now living-Jane, John and

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Christian; his wife dying December 25, 1814, he was married in 1816 to sanna Sheets, also of the " Old Dominion," to whom were born seven childr five yet living, viz., Daniel, Sarah, Minerva, Henry and Solomon. Mr. Hc was a tailor and worked at his trade day and night, being overrun with b ness from the pioneers of his vicinity; he hired the clearing of his land, wl he paid for from his earnings on the beuch; he died in June, 1862, a eighty-two; his wife is still living at the age of ninety. In 1813, Samuel Barbara (Ruby) Rodeheffer, of Virginia, settled on the farm now owned David Bowman, in Jackson Township, where he resided until his death, lear to his family a nice well-improved farm; he was the father of nine child six of whom survive, viz., Catharine, John, Joseph, Samuel, Abraham Mary. Another early settler of Jackson was Peter Drayer, of Pennsylva who located with his family in Section 7, in the year 1818, where be d His son Daniel was born in Pennsylvania, August 27, 1809; came with father to this township, and was married to Elizabeth Gantz, a native of M land, born September 19, 1808; they had thirteen children, nine of whom now living. Mr. Drayer, Jr., died in 1876; his wife still survives him. township was now thickly settled; land was bought and sold; deer and o game retreated to the deeper fastnesses of the forest, where the white man not yet penetrated, and the township began to wear the appearance of a ci ized territory. It was soon taken from Jefferson and became its own rule township affairs, the first elections in it being held at the house of Ja Wench, Jr.

CHURCHES.

Previous to 1810, the Lutherans residing in the Staver neighborb would assemble in the little schoolhouse near them, where the "St Church" now stands, and would there hold their meetings or be addressed any minister available. In 1809, Adam Staver was the prime mover in the ganization of a church, which was the first in the township. There had I previously purchased three and a half acres of ground to be used as a bury ground, and upon this, in 1810, a church was built, tearing down a log sch house that stood there, in which they had been worshiping in union with German Reformed people. The church was at first a one-story log, but it afterward covered with clapboards and raised one story. The seats were arranged in tiers, one above the other, when the church was remodeled. still standing, but no services have been held in it since 1871. The preacher was Andrew Mow; he was followed by Andrew Simon and And Hinkle. The church was then without a preacher. but, hearing of one di the Ohio River 150 miles, a delegation was sent to secure him; he came, did not stay long. The burying-ground near the church was started in 1: when the settlers purchased three and one-fourth acres of land and fence off for a cemetery. The first burial in it was in the fall of 1807, and no is well filled with the graves of the old settlers, whose bones rest in the h earned land, while their children enjoy the fruits of their labor. The mem of the Lutheran and German Reformed faiths were given a quarter. of an of ground by Philip Slifer, and, in 1825, built a union church out of ] It was torn down and a brick one built in 1861 for $500. Revs. Winters Saul Hinkle were the first pastors. The Methodist Episcopal Church Johnsville was organized and a house built in 1830. The society was an, but succeeded in maintaining the church until 1877, when the services discontinued and the property, a frame building, valued at $200, put in hands of the conference. The German Reformed Church was organized a 1850, and, in 1852, the first church was built on ground donated by Ge Clemmer. It was on Lot No. 14. and was a one-story brick building,

JACKSON TOWNSHIP.

Ingle roof and cupola. It was built by Jacob Coleman, contractor. This olding was replaced in 1879 by a very imposing church edifice, built of Ik, one story high, with a spire containing the bell taken from the former Erch. It was erected at a cost of $4,000, and has a seating capacity of about It is quite elegantly finished and furnished within, and certainly reflects nit credit upon those through whose efforts it was erected; present member- h about 100; pastor, Rev. Joseph G. Shoemaker; his predecessor was Rev. HM. Herman, who had served this people for twenty years. The dedicatory enhon was preached May 2, 1880, by Rev. J. H. Reiter.

The United Brethren Church is on Lot No. 1, which is valued at $100. t'as built in 1854 at a cost of $1,600. The ground was bought by a man aed Hendricks, in Darke County, for $65. The church organization took le in 1838. There are other churches in the township which are not sta- (3 in the circuit, but merely houses of worship built for the convenience of Hin neighborhoods, where services are only occasionally held. As they e not the first built and are not of the first importance, it will not be neces- a to mention them here.

SCHOOLS.

Previous to the passage of the first school act, in 1821, the schools were I hat are now called subscription schools. In those days they knew no other. first school taught was in a little log schoolhouse which stood where lir's Church now is, in Section 23. It was taught for twelve weeks, five and h f days each week, and eight hours each day. The farmers subscribed twenty- 11) scholars, at $2 each, payable in money and produce. In 1810, the Lu- win minister, Rev. Mow, taught a school for a year in a log schoolhouse bre the Staver Church now stands. In I813, another log schoolhouse was 1 near the Swartzell neighborhood. It was a German school and was uht by a traveling German teacher. In 1818, a house was built on Tom's u one and one-half miles from where Farmersville now stands, in which bl was taught by an Englishman named Graham. Schools now commenced ig kept every year and in almost all neighborhoods, and indeed, the transition o subscription to district schools was so gradual that it cannot be said h. the one entirely ceased or the other generally commenced. For long to the law of 1825 was passed, which commanded the districting of each wship, the subscription schools continued. In 1838, when provision was a for the building of district schoolhouses, and for some time thereafter, e were many subscription schools, but they soon began to be discontinued. le district schools opened, until now there has not been one in the township rmany years. There are now eleven districts with a comfortable brick vi ing in each and school taught for eight months in each year. The total unt appropriated annually for school purposes is from $3.000 to $3,500.

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The history of Montgomery county, Ohio, containing a history of the county, Part 97

Author: W.H. Beers & Co Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co. Number of Pages: 1214

Author: W.H. Beers & Co
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Chicago, W. H. Beers & co.
Number of Pages: 1214