| IN considering the annals of a new country, " 'Tis
distance lends enchantment to the view." It is no uncommon
occurrence to those whose duty and pleasure it is to gather the
materials for these pages, to meet with those who, forming the
connecting link between that day and this, have no appreciation
for the enterprise of which this volume is the outgrowth.
The stern experiences of pioneer times have come to near their
lives to make the record of them novel or interesting. But
the early days, so full of toil and privation, have passed
beyond the reach of the hopes and fears of those of a
later generation, and, gilded by tradition, they reflect back to
us the "mellow glow of a novelty that is akin to romance."
But a higher motive for perpetuating the history of those who
subdued the wilderness and made the desert places to "blossom
like the rose," is that we are thus able, approximately, to
measure the value of what has been wrought for succeeding
generations. It was a noble spirit of self-sacrifice that
animated the pioneers of this land, and "bowed their strong
manhood to the humble plow.” Forgetful of their own ease
at a time of life when years of toil could reasonably have
demanded repose for their declining days, they braved the
untried difficulties of the wilderness, that their children
might achieve that greatness which their patriotic faith
pictured in the future. The rapidly increasing population
in a country devoid of manufactories left to the pioneer but one
alternative; ease at the expense of their children’s future, or
a wider scope of cheaper lands, bought with a life of toil, that
found rest only beyond the grave. The broad lands waving
with the green plumage of the springing grain, the thousand
homes adorned with the comforts and luxuries of an advanced
civilization, the vast resources that command a nation’s homage,
are the grand memorials that set forth the virtue and wisdom of
their choice. The land which invited the immigration of
the pioneers of Chester was all that nature in her pleasantest
mood could offer. A dense forest of heavy timber covered
every acre. Streams reaching out into every Page 351 -
R. E. Lord
(Richard E. Lord)
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quarter of the township drained the land, promising supplies for
stock, and ample power for the pioneer industries so necessary
to a frontier community. Such advantages were not long in
attracting emigration. Surveyed by Joseph Vance
in 1807, the first settler came close upon his track,
erecting his cabin in 1808, swinging his ax—“signal of a mighty
change.”
This township was first organized by the Commissioners
of Knox County as a part of Wayne Township, one of the four
divisions into which that county was formed at its organization.
In 1812, Chester, including the township of Franklin, was set
off as an independent fraction of the county, its name being
suggested by some of the earliest settlers, who were natives of
Chester, in the county of the same name in Pennsylvania.
In 1823, Franklin was set off and Chester was left in its
present shape, five miles square, its lines coinciding with
Township 5, in Range 17, of the United States military survey.
It is bounded on the north by Franklin, east by Knox County,
south by South Bloomfield, and west by Harmony. The Middle
Branch of Owl Creek, which enters the township at the northwest
corner, and the South Branch of the same stream, which enters a
little further south, join just a little southwest of the
village of Chesterville, forming the main body of Owl Creek,
which passes the eastern boundary of the township a little north
of the middle line. Streams from either side drain the
land, and furnish during the larger part of the year a plentiful
supply of water for stock. The timber consists of a heavy
growth of black walnut, maple, buckeye and cherry, with a lesser
quantity of ash, elm, oak and beech. The soil, generally,
is a rich loam, mixed with a limestone gravel, a combination
that furnishes an almost inexhaustible resource for grain
raising. An exception to this quality of soil is found in
the extreme northeast and southeast corners, and in much of the
southwest quarter of the township. In these sections a yellow
clay soil, prevails, which is turned to good account in raising
grass and corn. Here stock-raising is made the principal
industry, some fine herds of pedigree stock being exhibited with
commendable pride by the owners. In other parts of the
township, the farmers devote their efforts to raising grain,
large quantities of which are sold every year.
The first settlement within the present limits of
Chester was made by the original holder of a military land
warrant, in 1808. Evan Holt, a native of
Wales, but along resident of Chester County, Penn., had served
six years in the Revolutionary army, and receiving a "warrant
for his services, moved on to his land as soon as surveyed by
the Government. His claim was situated near the central
part of the township, on a fine stream of water, and is now
owned by Mr. Joseph Trowbridge.
Although he lived nearly two-score years upon this place and
raised a large family, that settled about him, but little is
remembered of him by those now living in the township. He
was an earnest, conscientious man, and commanded the respect of
his fellow-townsmen. He was in very straitened
circumstances, however, and often substituted nettles for flax,
making it up into very passable cloth. One of his
children, Evan Jr., is said to have been a great fighter
and possessed of muscle and pluck. Sometime about 1827, he
made up a matched fist fight with John Magoogin,
in Morris Township in Knox County. The origin of the fight
was some difficulty which occurred at a camp-meeting, which
furnished an incentive to the principals to make the contest all
it proposed to be. The combat took place at the
cross-roads by William Mitchell’s, on the occasion
of a general muster, and was witnessed by a large crowd of
interested spectators. It is said that Holt
exhibited great skill and address, but was fairly vanquished by
his antagonist. The Holt family were not
long the sole white residents of the township. A large
tract of land had been purchased by McLaughlin, of
Chillicothe, and desiring to put the land upon the market, he
offered John Walker fifty acres of land at 50
cents per acre, if he would go on to it and clear it.
This, Walker, who was in limited circumstances, was glad
to do, and
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in March of 1808 he moved out, with his family, from Washington,
Penn., to Chester, choosing a barren clay knoll just north of
the present site of Chesterville. A fine spring, situated
on the property, was the chief consideration in making his
choice, and the soil has since become fair farming land.
When he came, he found Indians encamped upon the site of
Chesterville, who, however, offered no molestation. Their
second child, Robert, was born here Nov. 9, 1809.
Here for some eighteen months they lived alone, the dense forest
which stood unmarked between them and Holt preventing any
exploration for neighbors. Mrs. Walker, in
the mean while, for her own protection, became quite expert with
a gun, and on one occasion killed a deer that was passing the
cabin. In the fall of 1810, the family of Jacob
Shur came to this part of the township, and was received by
Mrs. Walker with the most extravagant expressions
of joy, declaring that she had not seen a woman’s face for
eighteen months, save as she looked into the running brook.
Mr. Shur came from the same county as the
Walker family, bringing his family and household
effects stowed away in a wagon, save his son John, who
rode on horseback behind his uncle, who accompanied them to the
West. Mr. Shur bought 125 acres of land, and
put up a double log cabin about a quarter of a mile northwest of
where the hotel now stands. In the spring of this year
David Miller had come from Fayette County, Penn., and
settled a half-mile south of where the village stands, on the
Sparta road. Here he bought of McLaughlin fifty
acres, on which some slight improvements had been made.
Mr. Miller was a Scotchman, and had been one of the
troops that were brought over by the British in the
Revolutionary struggle. He was with Cornwallis, at
Yorktown, and, deciding to make this land his home, failed to
march out with the troops when they started for home. He
packed his family and a few household goods in a cart, and,
yoking his cow with an ox, made the tedious journey through the
wilderness. On his way to his new home he met with many,
who, noticing the ruddy health of his children, advised him not
to go to Ohio, as his children would soon lose their robust
appearance in this miasmatic country. He was not thus easy
to be discouraged, and made his way to his home in Chester.
In the succeeding year, the little community was reenforced by
the accession of the family of Henry George, who
settled near Chester Church, near the center of the township.
Mr. George was one of that number of Welsh people
who early settled in Chester County, near Philadelphia. A
countryman of his by the name of David Jones had
bought the southwest section of the township; and, desiring to
stimulate emigration to this part, he gave Mr. George
a hundred acres of land, subject to a grant of four acres off
the southeast corner of the piece for church purposes. At
that time, Franklin and Chester were united with several
townships in Knox County, under the name of Wayne, but in that
part of it which is now known by these titles, in their combined
territory, there were only seven cabins, occupied by Samuel
Shaw and David Peoples, within the present
limits of Franklin; Evan Holt, John
Walker, Jacob Shur, David Miller,
William Johnson, who settled on the Mount Vernon road, in
the eastern part of the township, miles away from any neighbor,
and Alexander Walker, within the limits of
Chester. Mr. George’s cabin made the eighth
dwelling, and invitations had to be sent to settlers for eight
miles around to secure enough help to put it up. This
quarter of the township subsequently became known as the “Welsh
section,” from the fact that it was owned by a Welshman, and
through his efforts was principally settled by that nationality.
“The Fifty Acre Section,” was another name for the same
locality, which gained some popularity from the fact that most
of the settlers were in reduced financial circumstances, and
could buy but fifty acres, which in those days of cheap lands
was considered a mark of poverty. This was, however, a
good natured pleasantry on the part of the more fortunate
settlers, as nothing like a spirit of caste had had opportunity
to spring up in a community where
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“ The richest were poor and the poor lived in
abundance.”
In April, 1812, the
community in this section received another accession of Welsh
people in the family of Edward Evans, who bought
the traditional plat of fifty acres of David Jones,
situated about two miles and a half south of the present site of
Chesterville. Preceding him had come James Irwin
and Peter Rust, from Pennsylvania; Joseph
Howard, from West Virginia; Lewis Johnson,
Rufus Dodd and John Kinney, and settled
in this vicinity. In November of 1812, the family of
James McCracken came from Fayette County, Penn., and
bought one hundred and sixty acres about a mile and a quarter
south of Chesterville, on the Sparta road. He was induced
to come to Chester, through the persuasion of Miller.
A married daughter of the latter, who had been to Ohio on a
visit to her parents, in a casual conversation mentioned a
neighbor in Fayette County, who was looking for an eligible
country to which he could move. Her father at once called
her attention to a fine piece of property, located near him, and
told her to inform Mr. McCracken of its
advantages. On her return she performed her errand so
well, that her neighbor at once set about his preparations for
leaving for the Ohio lands. He was without a team,
however, and, informing Mr. Miller that this was
the only obstacle that prevented his coming, the latter at once
proceeded to Pennsylvania, with his team, to bring him on.
During his absence, the difficulties that had been brewing
between England and the States, culminated in the declaration
of war. Miller's family, living in an
isolated position, naturally exaggerated the danger which all
felt to be imminent. A block-house was early built across
the road from Rush’s mill, and thither, on the occasion
of a false alarm, the larger part of the community repaired.
There was but little concert of action, and of fearing that the
confusion would result in the destruction of all, Mrs.
Miller took her little family to Mount Vernon. They
were here when Hull surrendered, and during the Zimmer
and Copus tragedy, which seemed the sure forerunner
of their own destruction. It was in such perilous times
that Mr. Miller, returning with Mr.
McCracken and his goods, found his family at Mount Vernon.
With the return of her natural protector came Mrs.
Miller’s courage, and she readily consented to return home
and brave the dangers of the war with her husband. They
arrived in Chester in November and never left their homes again
for protection. Mr. McCracken built a cabin
on his property, leaving his family at Miller’s cabin
until his own was finished, and afterward during the period of
the war, his family slept there for their mutual projection in
case of actual danger. These families, thus closely
associated for their mutual protection, were destined to be more
strongly united through the marriage of William
McCracken with a daughter of Mr. Miller, some
years later.
The war of 1812, beyond exciting the apprehension of
the people, made but little impression upon this community.
There were but few settlers, who had been there but a short
time, and, busy with their improvements, they had not found time
to discuss the probabilities of the war and imbibe the fears of
older settlements. The woods were full of
Indians, but the prompt action of the Government in removing
them from their camps at Greentown and Jerometown in Richland
County put an end to the principal cause for alarm. The
tragedy growing out of the removal caused, as has been noted, a
widespread alarm, and most of this community went to the
block-houses built across the road from where Rush’s mill
now stands or to one built in Wayne Township. The conduct
of the refugees while at these places indicates that the
movement was more a precautionary ma_ter, done to pacify the
timid, than as a means of defense against an active foe.
There was nothing but confusion on each occasion, and no more
care was taken by the people to guard against a surprise than
when at their cabins. The men went every day to their
improvements to look after their
affairs, and women and children went out about
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the block-house in search of wild fruit or corn without a
suggestion of fear. The first occasion of flight to these
frontier fortresses was in September, and the fields of corn
heavy with “roasting ears” were too inviting for the boys to
resist. The number of ears taken began to alarm the owner
of the field, and he forbade the boys taking any more. A
story is told of two little fellows, who, notwithstanding these
orders, under the cover of night eluded the watchful eyes of the
owner and got one ear. After husking it, each grasped an
end while one essayed to cut it in two. Just as the knife
came down, one of the boys, anxious to get the larger part of
the spoils, jerked the ear, causing the knife to sever the end
of the other’s thumb at the same time that he cut the corn.
It was simply a repetition of the fable of the dog that stole
the meat from the butcher-shop — the outcry brought the owner of
the corn on to the scene, and both lost the corn and received a
rebuke that put an end to the foraging of roasting-ears.
Soldiers were seldom seen here. The township was not in
the line of march of any of the troops, there was only a single
trail of importance, and the settlement was too new and sparsely
settled to attract the recruiting officers. Shur
and Walker were pressed into the service with their
teams, but they were not long retained. It is said that
two soldiers, relieved from duty on account of sickness, going
home, came to the settlement, and, stopping here, became worse
and died. They were buried near the block-house, and the
site of their graves is still pointed out. So little
apprehension was felt here that the tide of immigration scarcely
showed signs of falling off.
Among those who came during the war, and just after,
were Joseph, William and Uriah Denman.
This family settled near Chesterville, and were prominent in all
enterprises affecting the interests of the new community.
Some years later came John Stilley, whose family
was the first to explore this region. His uncle was early
captured by the Indians and taken through this section, and,
attracted by the beauties of the country, came back, after being
liberated, in 1807, and settled near Mount Vernon. John
was then a boy of fifteen, and drove a team from Pittsburg, to
the latter place for his uncle. At the breaking-out of the
war, he went to Pennsylvania and served in the army, serving a
part of the time in guarding prisoners of war. It is
related that one of the prisoners was a first-rate barber, and
acted in that capacity for Mr. Stilley’s company,
becoming quite attached to his Yankee friends. An exchange
of prisoners having been talked of and expected, the barber
expressed a desire to stay in the “land of the free.” That
night, Stilley being on guard, the red coat took
advantage of his friendship, and was found missing when called
for to be exchanged the next morning. After the war, he
tried boating on the Mississippi, but finally found his way to
Chester, where he settled and lived till he died.
At the close of the war, the Indians, having been
temporarily restricted, swarmed back to their old haunts.
The valley of the Owl Creek had been a favorite hunting ground
with the savages from their earliest traditions, which they saw
going beyond their grasp with great regret. Whatever may
be true of the Indian race elsewhere, or at other times, their
history in Delaware and Morrow, and the adjoining counties, is
all that the friend of the red man could ask. They saw
themselves dispossessed of the fairest hunting grounds in the
State, by a force that left no hope in an appeal to the
arbitrament of war, and that in obedience to a philosophical
boomerang, that served only to confuse and confound its own
apologists. And this was submitted to with a docility that
argued, on the part of the natives, a want of appreciation of
the loss they sustained, or a stoical acceptance of a fate that
years of unavailing war had shown to be inevitable. Guided
by the civilized patriotism of a Pitt, they would have marked
the westward course of empire with the sanguinary traces of a
bloodier war than any that darken the pages of history to-day,
ending in a quicker, but not less certain, annihilation, than is
now their
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their own purposes, and a creditable addition to the buildings
of the village. The cemetery, which lies behind it, was
purchased of Enos Miles by the society about the time of
the erection of their first church building. In 1837, it
contained some twelve graves, and was neither cleared nor
fenced. With increased means, the church has rendered
those attentions to this abode of the dead that a civilized
taste demands, and it is one of the neatest cemeteries in the
county. In 1875, Abram Concklin built a handsome
stone vault, in the face of a high bank, at a cost of a thousand
dollars. It is a very ornamental feature of the grounds.
In 1845, the Presbyterian Church formed a society in
this township. Ebenezer Goble, a member of this
denomination and an earnest Christian man, desired to have a
society formed here, and, though far from wealthy, made such
strenuous efforts that he accomplished that end in the year
mentioned. On the first page of the sessions record is
found the following: “At the sessions of the Presbytery of
Richland, held in the church of Blooming Grove, Apr. 8 and 9,
1845, a request from sundry members of the Frederick Church, and
others living in the vicinity of Chesterville, that a church
might be organized in the latter place, was granted, and the
Rev. James Scott and Ruling Elder Alexander
Menzie, of the Church of Frederick, were appointed a
committee to carry into effect the wishes of the petitioners and
the resolution of the Presbytery.” On May 15, 1845, the
following persons presented certificates of dimission from the
different churches near by: From the Frederick Church:
Ebenezer Goble, and Anna, his wife, Aquilla
Jarvis, Rosanna Jarvis, Sr.,
Rosanna, Jr., John Jarvis, Sarah Jane McAtee, John Boggs,
Eliza Boggs, Richard D. Struble, William Beemer and wife,
Harriet Beemer, their daughter; Bartlett Norton
and wife and Ann, their daughter; Richard Manier
and wife, Margaret Jane and Anna May,
their daughters; Julius W. and Sarah Ann Fox,
Stephen Runyon, Elizabeth Leonard,
Margaret Willett, Susannah McCall and Mary
Berry. From the church at Martinsburg, there were
Nathan Peares and wife and Margaret M.,
their daughter; from the church of Amity, Benjamin
Hall and wife; from the Congregational Church at
Strongsville, William Wilkinson and wife, John
Smiley and wife; from Harmony Presbyterian Church,
Lettice Green. The first Elders elected were
R. D. Struble, John Smiley, Nathan Peares; and for
Deacons, Ebenezer Goble, William Beemer; Julius
Fox. The next movement after the organization of a
society was for the erection of a church building. Mr.
Goble, though not possessed of great means, was
indefatigable in his efforts, and his house became the place for
holding the meetings for furthering the interests of this
church. On Feb. 1, 1845, at a meeting at his house,
himself, with H. Struble, Israel Green,
William Beemer and Julius W. Fox, were
appointed a building committee, and in that year, a lot was
purchased for $35, and a place of worship erected upon it that
cost $319 for the woodwork, and $95 for the masonry for it.
The Rev. John Elliott presided over the
church as a missionary at first, but, in 1846, the Rev. F. A.
Shearer divided his time between the Chesterville Church and
the Harmony Church in Franklin. The present Pastor is
Rev. T. J. McClelland, a graduate of Alleghany City
College. The membership now reaches forty persons.
The church has had an arduous struggle for existence from the
first, but it has gradually got on to a securer basis and is now
in a fair growing condition. Closely following the
establishment of public worship came its co-worker, the public
schools. The first teacher was probably John
Gwynn, who taught one term in the old log Chester Church.
But the cause of education in the settlement did not reach a
vigorous existence in the community until the coming of Enos
Miles, in 1815. He was an educational enthusiast—a
teacher by profession—and the main instrument in securing the
first township schoolhouse, selling the land on which to build
it to the Trustees for a pint of oats. He taught a school
in the old Baptist Church, and later, taught another in a part
of Shur’s double cabin. A little
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dent; W. F. Bartlett, Secretary, and P. B. Crowell,
Treasurer. There are now three departments, presided over
at this writing, by William Morrow, Miss S. E. Goble,
and Miss A. E. Leonard. The balance on hand in the
special district funds,
Sept. 1, 1878, was $420,29; the amount of State tax received,
$260,25; local tax for schools and schoolhouse purposes,
$2,178,62; total amount paid teachers in the year, $1,063; value
of school property, $3,000; enrollment, 73, average attendance,
56; balance on hand, Sept. 1, 1879, $1,449.02. The present
board is Joseph Gunsaulus, President; J. A.
Goble, Clerk; G. W. Shur, Treasurer, and Dr. L. D.
Whitford, Dr. B. F. Jackson, and S. Modie.
An interesting feature of the early educational movement was a
debating society, which was held in the different schoolhouses
about, and occasionally in the barroom of the old hotel.
The disputants used to gather from the neighboring townships,
and among them were Jeremiah Smith and McMillen,
of Harmony Township; Enos Miles, John
Holt and others.
The place of holding elections, at an early day, was at
Shur’s cabin, but after 1823, when Franklin was
set off, the voting place was removed to McCracken’s,
south of the village, and nearer the middle of the Township, as
then limited. After
the village of Chesterville assumed more importance, the voting
precinct was moved there; but not without exciting considerable
feeling in the matter, and the township was divided in
sentiment, as it was geographically, by the creek. In
1867, the town hall, with the aid of the Odd Fellows’ society,
was built, and during the current year it is proposed to use
certain funds, accruing from railroad taxation, in favor of the
Lake Erie Division of the Baltimore & Ohio, in fitting it up
with a stage and scenery. |
