Monroe Township was laid
off in June, 1836, being taken from the east end of Twin
Township, and contained all of Township 7 north, Range 4
east, that is in the county, and the eastern tier of
sections of Township 8 north, Range 3 east. This
is the southeastern township of the county, and is
bounded on the north by Franklin township, on the east
by Miami County, on the south by Preble and Montgomery
Counties, and on the west by Twin Township.
Ludlow's Creek runs diagonally across the northeast part
of the township, entering the east half of Section 6,
and running south by east, leaves the township from the
center of Section 16. This creek has many small
tributaries that afford excellent outlets for many
underground drains that farmers are putting in to dry
out and warm up the land. In an early day this
township was very low and wet, but, owing to the large
quantity of decayed vegetable matter, these low lands
are very productive; in fact, what was once swamp and
quagmire is now choice farming lands.
There is no village or city within the boundaries of
this township, but a place that bears the name of
Pittsburg, of which, perhaps, in a day away back in the
past, some had an idle dream of future greatness.
But, alas, the ravages of time, the destroyer of all
things, have lain in the dust the ambitions of its
founders, and Pittsburg lives only in name and story.
The first to brave a settlement in this township, and
undergo the privations and hardships of a pioneer life
in a wilderness, was Asa Jones and Henry Addington,
who built their cabins on Section 8, in about 1819.
They were followed the next year by Mr. Mote and
family, who were the third actual settlers in the
township, and he lived only one year after his
settlement when he died, the first death that occurred
among the settlers. His remains were taken to
Milton, Miami County, for burial.
Thomas Jones, brother of Asa, came in
1823, and settled in the northern part of the township,
and George Gabel in the southern part in the same
year. Among others who settled in the township in
an early day were William and John Richardson in
the northern part, Samuel Cams and Peter Shank
in the southern part, and Joseph Brown, Peter Abram
and John Snorph in the southwestern part.
Settlers came in very slowly, which can be attributed
only to the wretched state of the country at this time.
Reader, imagine, if you can, this beautiful country of
to-day, shrouded in the mantle that nature gave it, a
dense forest, gloomy and almost impenetrable swamps, not
a mark of civilization to greet the eye of the hardy
pioneer; no churches, no schools, with nothing but the
bowl of the wolf, the screech of the panther, the rapid
flight of the timid deer; the whoop of the red man or
the whiz of his arrow, to break the enchanted stillness
that reigned supreme in nature's wild dominion.
Such was the condition of this now beautiful township of
Monroe, with its highly improved and productive farms,
its fine residences, its commodious barns, its churches,
its schools, its roads; and, can we not truthfully say,
we owe as great a debt of gratitude to those early
pioneers, as we do to our fathers that broke the chain
of oppression, and freed our beloved country from the
despotic rule of cruel tyranny. We certainly do,
for freedom and civilization go hand and hand;
advancement and development are the fruits of liberty,
and most nobly have these pioneers discharged the duty
intrusted to them, and we are in the possession to-day
of the fruits of their labor and privation.
CHURCHES.
In an
early day, these pioneers, like the Israelites of old,
were without a place in which to worship, but with
a spirit true to devotion, they met in each others'
[Pg. 456]
cabins, and raised their voices in unison and praise in
magnifying the name of their great Preserver.
Among the early pioneer preachers in this locality was
Philip Younce, a German Baptist, who preached the
first sermon within the present bounds of Monroe
Township.
this denomination of religionists began their labors in
the Miami Valley, at the same time the first ray of
civilization illumined the great forest, and with a
purpose as true to the development of Christianity as
the magnetic needle to the pole. They have kept
unswervingly to their course, have triumphed over every
opposition, borne down every calumnious thrust, and
to-day the beautiful Miami Valley is dotted with their
churches, their schools, their other improvements and
developments. In fact, the little germ planted and
so carefully nourished and trained has expanded and
grown, and to-day its success is without a parallel in
the great Miami Valley. These people are
unostentatious, make no display of finery, or a gaudy
appearance, are strictly temperate, industrious, and are
among the best citizens to be found in the land.
They have two churches, one in Monroe Township, the
other in Franklin; they are known as the Ludlow and
Painter Creek District, and have a membership of 400,
who are presided over by the Rev. Jesse Stutsman,
Elder William Cassell and the Rev. Tobias Kreider,
all gentlemen of ability and refinement, and are doing
good work in the advancement of Christianity and
enlightenment.
The first members of the German Baptist Church that
lived in America emigrated from Swartzenau, Germany, in
the year 1719, and settled in Germantown, Penn.
They had been severely persecuted on account of their
religious faith, and fled to America with a hope of
gaining liberty and having the privilege of worshiping
God according to the dictates of their own conscience
and according to His word. For sixty years their
progress was slow, owing to the difficulties and
hardships of a new country in its unsettled state,
caused by the French war of 1755 and the Revolution,
twenty years later, and many subsequent Indian wars
along the borders of the new settlements. The
Indian's ruthless hand was severely felt, and many fell
victims to the scalping knife. At times, their
danger was so severely felt that when the father or sons
left the house they bade their friends good bye, with a
fear of never meeting them again.
But the long, long night of woe finally began to give
way, and a bright morn shone forth, which has lasted for
over a century, and still shines. In 1748,
Christopher Saur printed the first German Bible in
America, also edited the first paper ever issued from
the church. They organized their first
Sabbath-school in 1740, and the first annual conference,
of which we have any knowledge, was held in 1778.
The liberty and protection the Constitution of the
United States gave them instilled new energy, and their
progress became more visible.
The first meeting-house of the church that we have any
account of was built in Franklin County, Penn., in 1798.
The first Brother that settled in Virginia was John
Garber, in Flat Rock Valley, in 1777; he was an
eminent minister, and built up a large congregation.
From this valley, Jacob Miller moved to Ohio, and
settled on the west side of the great Miami River, near
Dayton, in 1800. He was the first one that settled
west of the river, and was an able man, and labored
faithfully in the cause of promoting and advancing the
principles of Christianity. He was born in
Pennsylvania, in 1735, and, at the time of his arrival
in Ohio, the country was a dense forest, inhabited by
numerous tribes of Indians. It is said of
Brother Miller that he often visited them in their
wigwams and sang and prayed with them, that his kind
treatment led them to protect him. They said he
was the good man the Great Spirit sent from the East.
He raised a very exemplary family of twelve children,
nine sons and three daughters; three of his sons became
able ministers, and reside in Indiana, and have done
much in building up the church in that State, which
numbers eighty-five organizations at present.
There are, at this time, about seventy-five organized
churches in Ohio, with very large, commodious houses for
worship.
[Pg. 457]
There are organized churches in twenty of the States of
the Union, and one in Denmark, with an estimated
membership, in the aggregate, of over one hundred
thousand.
There are eleven religious periodicals printed by
members of the church, and devoted to its advancement.
There are three colleges under control of the church -
one at Mount Morris, Ill., conducted by Elder J. W.
Stein; one at Ashland, Ohio, conducted by Elder
S. G. Sharp, and one at Berlin, Penn., conducted by
Elder James Quirter. These colleges are
large and commodious, and have all the advantages and
conveniences of modern architecture. The students
are watched over with great care, and everything of an
immoral nature is strictly excluded, and students are
welcomed, regardless of religion or sect, if they
conform to the moral standard required. Their
church has four organized congregations in Darke County,
with a membership of eleven hundred - one congregation
in the southern part of the county known as Ludlow and
Painter Creek; one in the northeast part, known as
Oakland; one in the northwest part, known as Union City,
and one in the southwest, known as Palestine
Congregation. There are twenty-three resident
ministers of this denomination in the county, and they
have nine houses of worship, which are very neatly
constructed and finished.
The Lutherans also have a church organization in the
township, but are not so numerous as their German
Baptist brethren. They have a good church
building, and a membership of about forty, presided over
by the Rev. Mr. Peters, a very able clerical
gentleman.
Great enthusiasm prevails among the people in regard to
their church, and a true Christian feeling predominates
among the members. They are the best of citizens,
take great pride, generally, in educating their
children, are sober and industrious, and their farm
improvements are number one in every particular.
They are mostly old settlers, and came here with little
or no money, and, by hard labor and good management
(characteristics of the German people), they have made
good, comfortable homes, and are living in the full
enjoyment of all the necessaries of life.
There are, also, a goodly number in the township
belonging to ther denominations, of which we might
mention the Baptists, the Methodists, the Brethren in
Christ, etc., but, as they belong to churches outside of
the township, cannot properly, be spoken of here.
SCHOOLS.
A school
district was laid out in this township in 1836, three
east and west and one mile in width, thus leaving out a
mile on the western side. Much dissatisfaction was
caused by thsi arrangement, so new districts two miles
square were formed, and in 1837, a schoolhouse which had
been partly finished was removed to Section 28.
There are now seven school buildings in the township,
erected at an estimated cost of $6,000. The
township has a total enumeration of 548 scholars.
Enrollment - males 230, females 216, total 446.
Average daily attendance, 126 boys and 140 girls;
average per cent in attendance 72; number between
sixteen and twenty-one years of age, 39 boys and 31
girls; total, 70. Average price paid teachers per
school month - men, $40; ladies, $20. Thus we see
that the school advantages in this township are good,
and the people in general are making strenuous efforts
to educate their children, which certainly is very
commendable to the patrons of the schools.
Asa Jones, Monroe's first settler, taught the
first school in the township. Children were
obliged to come long distances, and we were surprised in
looking over old records to find the average per cent in
attendance quite as good as now.
The journeying of the children to and from school at
certain times was fraught with great peril, and the
labyrinth in the woods was so intricate that roads had
to be "blazed" so that the children might not lose their
way.
The first schoolhouse was a small log structure
with puncheon floor, and
[Pg. 458]
clapboard roof sections of the logs were removed to
admit the light of day and again replaced as a
protection against the fury of storms and the biting
blasts of winter. A fireplace in one end gave
warmth and comfort to the occupants. In the
severity of the winter, a semi-circle was formed around
this fireplace, and frequently an exchange of places
would occur, so that all might have a slight benefit of
the coveted place, but I am sorry to say the
schoolmaster most generally occupied the "warm seat,"
much to the dissatisfaction of his pupils.
Seats were improvised by splitting linn logs in two,
boring holes in the ends, into which wooden pins were
inserted, so that the flat side would be up, and
undoubtedly these made very comfortable seats for the
boys and girls of fifty years ago.
No maps, charts, gloves or finely glazed black boards
adorned the walls, no improved text-books to elucidate
the mysteries of science, thus making school days more
profitable and agreeable. Owing to these
disadvantages, it was only by dint of hard labor and
persevering industry that the young men and women of an
early day acquired the rudiments of an education, and
from these humble temples of knowledge men of sterling
worth and ability have descended. |
