|
Liberty
township
was
taken
from the
north
end of
Sprigg,
and
organized
as a new
township,
Dec. 6,
1817, so
named
from the
popular
attachment
to the
principles,
the
definition
of the
word
implies.
The
election
was
ordered
to be
held at
the
house of
David
Robe,
on the
first
Monday
of the
succeeding
April.
SOIL
This is
one of
the most
fertile
townships
in the
county,
with
well
cultivated
farms
and an
industrious,
thrifty
people.
There
has
never
been an
assignment
made by
any of
its
citizens.
STREAMS.
There
are but
two
streams
of water
worthy
of even
the name
of
creeks.
These
are
Eagle
Creek,
and
Hill's
Fork,
which is
only a
tributary
of the
first
named
stream.
EARLY
SETTLERS.
Settlers
located
here in
considerable
numbers
at a
very
early
day.
Governor
Thomas
Kirker,
was, in
all
probability,
the
first
settler.
He came
some
time
from
1794 to
1796.
His well
known
old
homestead,
still
remains
in the
family.
After him others soon followed. Among the early
families,
were
James,
Joseph
and
Zachariah
Wade,
Needham
Perry,
who
became a
prominent
citizen,
was a
Judge,
etc.,
Alexander
Maharra,
Rev.
Thomas
Odell,
Richard
Askren,
David
Robe,
John
Mahaffey,
George
Dillinger,
Bezeleel
Gordon,
Col.
John
Lodwick,
Daniel
Marlatt,
James
McGovney,
Conrad
Fester,
Lewis
Coryell.
These
parties
all came
about
1800,
some a
year or
two
before,
and some
perhaps
a year
or two
later.
VILLAGES
FAIRVIEW
-
This is
a very
small
village,
located
near the
center
of the
township,
and is
the only
town in
Liberty.
It was
laid out
by
William
Mahaffey
Mar.
15,
1844, on
a plat
of nine
lots.
It
contains
one
store,
two
blacksmith's
shop,
one shoe
shop,
one
German
M. E.
church,
one
African
M. E.
church.
The elections are held in this place, and the only post
office
in the
township,
is kept
here.
It is
known as
Hill's
Fork,
because
of the
creek of
that
name
that
passes
near it.
THE
FIRST
STORE.
Was
started
by
Benjamin
Whiteman,
in 1837,
before
there
was any
village.
Henry
Copple
succeeded
him in
1840,
since
then
William
and
David
Robe,
Mr.
McIntire,
Robert
Patton,
Samuel
Fitch,
A. J.
Mannon,
William
Marshall,
Jacob
Kleinecht,
David
Robe,
Jr.,
William
Ellis,
John
Bishinger,
the
present
proprietor,
have
successfully
carried
on this
store,
which is
the only
one in
the
place.
POST
MASTERS.
The
following
are the
Postmasters:
1st,
Robert
Patton,
2d,
William
R.
Marshall,
3d,
James
Rea,
4th,
Wilson
Ellis,
and 5th,
John
Bishinger,
present
incumbent.
EARLY
RECOLLECTIONS, REMINISCENSES,
ETC.
The
first
horse
mill was
built by
William
McIntire,
on the
property
now
owned by
A. H.
Mahaffey's
widow,
and the
first
water
mill was
put up
by
Isaac
Foster,
at the
mouth of
Kite's
Fork.
FIRST
SCHOOL
HOUSE.
The
first
school
house
was
built in
1803, on
land
know
belonging
to
John
Kleinecht.
Mrs.
Dodson,
an
English
woman,
taught
the
first
school
in it.
Through
there
were
plenty
of
Indians,
yet
here,
when the
first
settlers
came,
they
committed
no acts
of
violence.
They
were,
however,
a source
of
annoyance,
from
their theiving
propensities,
stealing
anything
they
could
lay
their
hands
on.
It
required
"eternal
vigilance,"
on the
part of
the
whites
to keep
property
from
their
clutches.
Horses
were
kept in
a part
of the
house,
or a
room
adjoining
it.
William
Crawford,
who was
one of
the
early
settlers,
had a
room
made at
one end
of his
house,
to keep
a
valuable
horse
that he
owned.
CHURCHES.
The
first
church,
in
Liberty
township
was,
probably,
the log
house
that
stood
near the
cemetery,
on the
old
Governor
Kirker
homestead.
It was
built
about
1800, by
the
denomination
called
"Christians,"
- in
early
years
known as
"New
Lights,"
- but
their
building
has long
since
disappeared,
and
their
organization
ceased
to
exist.
There are at the present time five church organizations
existing
in the
township,
as
follows:
1. Methodist Episcopal church, at Brier Ridge.
this is,
perhaps,
the
second
church
built.
A long
meeting
house
was put
up,
probably,
not far
from
1804;
being a
good
structure,
it
lasted
till
perhaps,
1840, or
thereabout,
when it
was
replaced
by a
brick
house,
which
was
succeeded
by a
frame
building,
erected
some
years
ago.
2. Christian Union Church, near the last mentioned one,
but a
few
years
later.
3. German M. E. Church at Fairview, built 1853 or '51.
4. African M. E. Church, Fairview, plank house, built
1870.
5. Liberty Chapel, M. E., new frame house 30x40, cost
$800,
built
1879.
THE
KIRKER
FAMILY
THOMAS
KIRKER.
-
Thomas
Kirker,
whose
name is
so
prominently
identified
with the
early
settling
of Adams
county,
and
which
occupies
so
honorable
a place
in the
history
of his
adopted
State,
was born
in
Tyrone
county,
Ireland,
in 1760.
At the
age of
nineteen
years,
he came
to this
country
with his
parents
who
settled
in
Lancaster
county,
Pennsylvania.
After a
few
years
his
father
died,
leaving
a wife
and five
or six
children.
The
history
of the
family
for the
next few
years is
lost.
The next
we learn
is that
Thomas
Kirker,
is 1790,
married
Sarah
Smith,
who was
born in
1771.
This
marriage
occurred
in
Pennsylvania,
twenty
miles
from
Pittsburg.
A few
years
after
this
event,
he
removed
to
Kentucky,
where he
remained
a few
years,
then
moved to
Manchester
in 1792
or 1793.
In 1794,
he came
to
Liberty
township
and
settled
on the
place,
now so
well
known as
the "Kirker
farm,"
where he
lived to
the time
at his
deceased.
It is believed that Gov. Kirker was the first
permanent
settler
in what
is now
Liberty
Township.
Though
he was
not
possessed
of
brilliant
talents,
he had a
judgment
so sound
and a
mind to
clear,
with a
virtue
and
integrity
so
incorruptible
and
unselfish,
that he
received
an
esteem,
commanded
a
respect
and
exerted
an
influence,
that few
could
do.
The many
honorable
and
responsible
positions
with
which
his
fellow-citizens
entrusted
him,
fully
attest
the
truth of
this
remark.
He left
to a
numerous
family
that
seems to
have
inherited
the good
qualities
of their
ancestors.
Gov.
Kirker
devoted
his best
energies
in
opening
up the
material
resources
of the
new and
undeveloped
country
in which
he had
cast his
lot, as
well as
in
shaping
the
institutions
and
policy
of the
new
commonwealth,
that was
so soon
ushered
into
being,
under
the
benign
influence,
of which
the
wilderness
has
blossomed
as the
rose,
and he
land
been
covered
with the
beautiful
farms
and
happy
homes of
a happy
and
prosperous
people.
When steps were taken to call a convention to form a
constitution
for the
new
State,
Thomas
Kirker
was
selected
as one
of the
delegates
to that
body,
from
Adams
County,
and
discharged
the
important
duties
of the
trust
committed
to his
care,
with
fidelity
and
honor.
He was elected a Representative to the first General
Assembly,
that met
under
the new
constitution.
This
body met
at
Chillicothe,
the
first
Monday
in
December,
1803.
He was
elected
to
represent
his
district
as
Senator
in the
second,
third,
fourth,
fifth,
sixth,
seventh,
eighth,
ninth,
tenth,
eleventh,
twelfth
and
thirteenth
General
Assemblies
of Ohio.
He was
called
to fill
the
honorable
position
of
presiding
officer
over
this
distinguished
body,
consecutively,
from
1806, to
1814,
with the
exceptions
of 1809
and
1810.
His
district
for the
greater
portion
of this
time was
composed
of the
counties
of Adams
and
Scioto.
In 1816, he was elected from Adams to represent his
county
in the
House of
Representatives.
His
ability
was
recognized
by that
body by
being at
once
elected
its
Speaker.
He was
afterwards
elected
Senator
in the
twentieth,
twenty-first,
twenty-second
and
twenty-third
General
Assemblies,
from
1821 to
1824.
By virtue of his office as Speaker of the Senate he
filled
the
office
of
Governor
of the
State
from
Mar. 4,
1807, to
Dec. 8,
1808,
for the
term for
which
Return
J. Meigs
had been
elected
but
declared
ineligible
- for
want of
residence
in the
State
the
requisite
length
of time.
In 1824 he was chosen a Presidential elector and aided
in
casting
the vote
of Ohio
for
Henry
Clay.
It is believed that no man in the State has served it
more
faithfully,
more
honorably,
or for a
greater
length
of time,
than did
Governor
Kirker.
He was a
member
of the
Presbyterian
Church
of West
Union,
from the
time of
its
organization
until
his
death,
serving
us an
elder in
it for
more
|
than twenty years. All
his sons, save one, have also served as elders
in the same church.
He reared a family of thirteen children, five sons and
eight daughters.
The following is the family record:
William - born Jan. 24, 1791; married Esther
Williamson.
John - born Apr. 18, 1793, an invalid.
James - born Feb. 9, 1795; married Elizabeth
Ellison.
Elizabeth - born Jan. 20, 1797; married
Joseph Campbell.
Page 24
-
Sarah - born Dec. 21, 1798; married Robert Pogue.
Mary - born Dec. 16, 1800; married __dalph
Vorhes.
Thomas - born Aug. 20, 1803; married Jane
Stevenson
Margaret - born Jan. 8, 1806; married Dr.
Alfred
Beasley.
Nancy - born Dec. 15, 1808; married Rev. J.
P.
Vandyke
George S. - born Feb. 7, 1813; married Mary
M.
Cunningham.
Rebecca - born Dec. 5, 1811; married Dr. D.
M.
McConahaughy.
Martha - born Dec. 18, 1816; married Franklin
Beasley.
Of these thirteen children had ___ six survive.
Elizabeth,
(Mrs.
Campbell)
who
lives in
Ripley.
Mary
(Mrs.
Thompson)
Nancy,
____
Vandyke)
who live
at
Pleasant
Ridge,
Hamilton
county,
Ohio,
Jane,
(Mrs.
Evans,)
Ripley.
Rebecca,
(Mrs.
M.
McConahaughy,)
Manchester,
Martha,
(Mrs.
Beasley,)
St.
Louis,
Mo.
Gov. Kirker died Feb. 19, 1837. His
wife
died
Aug. _5,
1821.
They
sleep in
the
Kirker
grave
yard.
BIOGRAPHICAL
SKETCHES:
J.
H.
KINCAID
The ancestors of the subject of
this sketch were Virginians. His paternal
grandfather, Thomas Kincaid, was born,
Dec. 13, 1744, served in the continental army
during the Revolutionary struggle, fought at
Brandywine, Germantown, and in many other
battles of the war. The maternal
grandfather, John Hannah, also, served in
the Revolutionary war, and swam the Brandywine.
Thomas Kincaid, after the Revolution
married, and removed to Maysville, Kentucky,
where he lived awhile, then moved to Liberty
township, and died in Winchester. while he
lived in Kentucky, his son
John, who is the father of the subject of our sketch,
then a young man, came over to Manchester and
took up his quarters in the stockade, which was
then just built. This was probably early
in 1791. Here, he seems to have remained
until 1800, for we find that he married
Miss Sally Hanna, the Rev. John Danlevy,
a Presbyterian minister, being the officiating
clergyman on the occasion. Mr. Kincaid,
with his young wife, immediately moved to
Liberty township, which was then almost an
unbroken wilderness. They settled near
where the
Kirker grave yard has since been made, but
presently bought the farm where his son, J.
h. Kincaid, now lives. This farm they
cleared up, and here they reared a family and
lived through life. Mrs. Kincaid
died Oct. 22d, 1824. The deceased of
Mr. Kincaid
occurred Apr. 3, 1834. They both lie
buried in the
Kirker grave yard. John Kincaid
being one of the first settlers in the township,
became early identified with its interests.
He soon became a useful and influential citizen,
and did much to develop the resources of the
country. He was selected to fill the
office of Justice of the Peace being one of the
first in the county, who held that position.
This office he held many years. He served
in the war of 1812, as the Colonel of a
regiment. In 1827, he was elected to the
office of Associate Judge of the county, which
he filled to the time of his death. At the
time of his decease he was the nominee for
Congress, for his district. After the
decease of Mr. Kincaid, his son.
J. H. KINCAID
Became
the
owner of
the old
homestead
of his
parents.
On this
farm he
was
born,
Oct. 14,
1813,
where he
grew up
to
manhood.
He
worked
and
helped
his
parents
clear it
up,
receiving
such an
education
as the
schools
of the
country
at that
day
could
give.
He was
married
Aug. 7,
1834, to
Barbara
Lawrence.
they
reared a
family
of nine
children
- five
sons and
__
daughters,
besides
three
that
died in
early
years.
Of the
__
surviving
children,
three of
them are
married.
One of
the ___
J. W.
Kincaid,
served
in the
army
throughout
the
rebellion.
___ in
the 91st
Regt. O.
V. I.,
which
participated
in many
of __ard
fought
battles
of the
war.
In 1865,
Mr.
Kincaid
suffered
__d
domestic
affliction,
by the
death of
his
wife,
which
occurred
January
10th, of
that
year.
He
married
for a
second
wife,
Miss
Jane
McNeilan,
Dec. 23,
1867.
This
lady was
the
daughter
of
Rev.
William
McNeilan.
She was
born in
County
Tyrone,
Ireland,
Oct. 23,
1838,
and came
over
with her
parents
who
emigrated
to
America
in 1842.
They
settled
about
three
miles
north of
West
Union,
where
her
father
died
Dec. 23,
1876.
Her
mother
still
survives,
and
lives in
west
Union.
After a
long and
useful
life,
Mr.
Kincaid
and his
amiable
wife,
are
passing
their
remaining
days in
peaceful
quiet on
his
beautiful
farm,
where he
was
born,
surrounded
by every
comfort
that can
be
desired.
JAMES
McCLANAHAN
Was born Sept. 25, 1814; received
his education in the common schools of the
country afterwards taught school more or less of
the time, for fifteen years. He was
engaged for a while in the mercantile business,
but finally bought the George Dillinger
farm, one of the earliest settled places in the
township. Mr. McClanahan has been
in business all his life, and has been eminently
successful. He has always been identified
with the public interests of his township,
having filled most of the various township
offices, serving three terms is Justice of the
Peace. He married Apr. 11, 1843, Sophia,
daughter of John Baldridge, a prominent
citizen of the county. This lady proved to
be a model wife, to whose aid and good counsels,
Mr. McClanahan attributes much of his
success in life. Their union has been a
happy one indeed. They have raised a
family of seven children, two sons and five
daughters. Four are married, two live in
Adams county, one in Brown county, Ohio, and one
in Minnesota. Mrs. McClanahan was
born Jan. 12, 1815, being only a few months
younger than her husband. they live on a
beautiful farm, surrounded with every comfort of
life.
JOHN McCLANAHAN
The McClanahan family is
of Irish origin. The grandfather of
James and John McClanahan, whose name was
also John, was married twice. By
his first marriage, he had five children:
Andrew, Robert, John, Sydney and
Elizabeth. Andrew, the oldest, never
came to this country. His second wife was
Elizabeth Thompson.
They were the parents of four children: William,
Martha, Rebecca and Margaret.
this grandfather, John McClanahan, bought
10_ acres of land in of Gen. Massie,
about two miles west of West Union. He
deeded, Sept. 28, 1811, fifty acres of this land
to his son William, by his second
marriage.
William married Nancy Paul, Jan. 15, 1809, and
settled on his fifty acres, which he cleared up,
and on which he lived until his decease in June,
1858. He lies in the Cherry Fork cemetery.
These were the parents of five children, named
Eliza, Samuel, James, John and Nancy Jane.
Of these children, three are dead, Eliza,
Samuel and Nancy Jane; the latter
died in early years. John McClanahan,
the youngest son, who is the subject of this
sketch, was born Oct. 20, 1820. He married
Esther Bess, Nov. 20, 1842, who died in
1874. by this marriage he raised four
children, two sons and two daughters. For
a second wife he married Nancy May,
November, 1874. In 1843, he united with
the U. P. church, at West Union, of which he has
been an exemplary and consistent member.
Mrs. McClanahan is also a member of the same church.
Mr. McClanahan now owns, and lives on the old
homestead of his father. His house
occupies the site of the one in which he was
born, and where he has lived all his life.
He has a pleasant home, where he and his
estimable lady are enjoying the comforts of an
industrious, well-spent life, with the respect
of the whole community.
WILLIAM
AND
THOMAS
McGOVNEY
The McGovney
family of Adams county, is of Irish origin, but
in our researches we are unable to trace it
farther back than to the grandfather of
William and Thomas McGovney, whose names
stand at the head of this article. The
first information we can get of this
grandfather, whose name was
James McGovney, is when he was a young man in
Ireland, and about to embark for America, in
1772. This young man, before leaving his
native land, his early home and friends, which
he was to see no more was not unmindful of the
needed preparation for his welfare in that
distant country in which he was soon to make his
habitation, a lonely strange". Among the
last things he did before starting, was to go to
the church, in which he had always worshipped,
and obtain its recommendation, and which gave
him the following certificate:
"That James McGovney, a single man, has lived
fro his infancy in the bounds of this
congregation, and, as far as we know, always
behaved himself in a sober, inoffensive manner,
and may be admitted to the fellowship of any
christian society, where his lot may fall,
is |
certified in the session of
Lisburn, the 21st day of May, 1772."
JAS. BRYSON,
Dis. Mister.
This Lisburn is a town situated on the Lagan river,
Ireland, 6½
miles S. S. W. of Belfast, from the harbor of
which the ship sailed. The next thing did
in preparing for the embarkation, his father or
some other relative, went to the captain of the
ship, and paid a balance due on his passage
money, as shown by the following receipt:
"Received from Mr. Thomas McGovney, Two Pounds,
Two Shillings, and Three Pence, Sterling, which
with One Guines paid Earnest, is full for page
of James McGovney
on board the ship Philadelphia, James Malcom,
Master, from hence to Newcastle or Philadelphia,
and they are each to have six pounds of bread,
six pounds of beef, fourteen quarters of water,
and a pound of molasses every week during the
voyage, provided there be not the appearance of
a longer passage than twelve weeks, and in that
case to be brought to such an allowance as a
committee, to be chosen out of the passengers,
shall think prudent."
For THOMAS GREG,
FRANCIS BARRON."
This receipt, which is a printed blank filled out, is given
verbatim. Unfortunately the descendants of this man
have failed to preserve anything like a regular record of
the early events in his life, whereby a very interesting and
useful narrative is somewhat marred. We are unable to
learn when or where he landed upon our shores, or what he
did for some years afterwards. We can only gather,
that somewhere east of the mountains, in Pennsylvania, that
he married a lady named Nancy Crockett; that he
afterwards moved to Augusta county, Virginia, where he
stayed he stayed until the spring of 1795. It is
probable that Mr. McGovern married about 1780; that
he moved to Virginia in 1783. From Kentucky he came to
Adams county in the spring of 1795, and purchased 1,000
acres of land in Liberty township, where he lived and died.
The part of this land on which he settled, after became the
property of Alf. Riffle. A portion yet remains
in the hands of descendants. He reared a family of
nine children, named Jane, Thomas, Betsy, Peggy, James,
Polly, John, William and Robert. Jane
married Thomas Foster; moved to Kauawha Licks, where
she died. Thomas married Jane Graham;
lived and died in Liberty township, on the farm now owned by
his son, Thomas McGovney. Betsy married
Aaron Robuck; they lived and died in Liberty
township. Peggy married John Vance; they
settled three miles north-west of West Union, where they
died of cholera. James married Elizabeth
Douglass; now lives in Greene township. Polly
married Adam McGovern; settled in Liberty township,
and soon died. John married Nancy Graham;
settled near Chicago, Ill., where they both died.
William never married lived in West Union, where he died
in 1833, with cholera; Robert married Sally
Mason, daughter of Thomas Mason. Thomas,
the second child, who married Jane Graham, reared a
family of nine children, named James, William, John,
Louisa, Elizabeth, Morello, Crockett, Thomas and JAne.
(Two of these children, to-wit: William and Thomas
are the names that head this article.) James
married Eliza, daughter of Thomas Holmes, and
lives three miles north-west of West Union; is farming.
John married Rebecca, daughter of Thomas
Holmes; removed in 1860 (or 1869) to Missouri, where he
is farming. Louisa married Thomas Perry, son
of Judge Perry; settled in Liberty township, where
she died in 1842. Elizabeth married
Needham Perry, a son of Judge Perry. Her
husband died some years ago, and she was married a second
time, to Joel Weeks. They live in Liberty
township, and farm. Morello married James
Holmes, a son of Thos. Holmes; lives three miles
north of West Union, who farms. Crockett
married Sarah, daughter of Thomas Holmes.
He runs a planing mill in Manchester. Jane
married Alexander Davidson, who died in the army in
1834. The widow lives in North Liberty.
WILLIAM McGOVNEY,
the second, in the
above family, was born Sept. 24, 1813. He married
Isabella, daughter of Judge McClanahan, May 8,
1839. They have reared a family of seven children,
three sons and four daughters, to-wit: Mary Elizabeth
born, 1840, married C. C. Ellis; lives in Huntington
county, Ind.; farming. Samuel T., born 1843,
married Miss Wright; lives in Indiana druggist.
Louisa A., born 1845, married W. F. McDaniel;
they removed to Vernon county, Missouri. Elenora,
born 1847, married George M. Fulton, who lives near
North Liberty. Mr. Fulton is engaged in
farming. Isabella, born 1849, married
William Gardner, who lives in Huntington county, Ind.,
engaged in farming. John M., born 1854, married
Belle McKay; he lives on the old homestead engaged in
farming. Newton, born in 1857, never married.
Mr. McGovney lives on the East Fork of Eagle creek,
Liberty township. He owns a farm that was first
settled about 1800, by Conrad Fester, also adjoining it, a
farm settled by Judge Needham Perry, about the same
time. He now owns over 450 acres of land, which is in
a high state of cultivation.
THOMAS McGOVNEY,
who is
the eighth in the family, lives on the West
Union and Decatur pike, four miles west of the
former place. He owns 250 acres of the
original purchase made by his grandfather,
James McGovney. This property was also
the homestead of his father,
Thomas McGovney. It is a pretty place,
pleasantly situated, and highly cultivated.
Mr. McGovney
owns 330 acres, in all. He married
Sarah McNeil,
daughter of John McNeil. They are
the parents of four children, three daughters
and one son. These children are:
Cora A., born Nov. 17, 1856, died Apr. 6,
1857. Mary Jane, born Feb. 8, 1858,
married F. M. Morrison, Mar. 1, 1876,
died Apr. 5, 1879, leaving a son, named Roy
Elmo, who was born Jan. 8, 1879.
Margaret Isabel, born Dec. 22, 1860, died
Jan. 27, 1868. They all repose in the
Kirker graveyard. John Clinton,
born July 20, 1863, living with his parents.
Of Mrs. McGovney's ancestors, we can only
reach back to her great grandfather, but when,
or where, he was born, whom he married or even
what his christian name was we know not.
All that we can learn about him, is, that he
lived in Kentucky, at an early day, had a wife,
and two sons, named Joseph and John.
It was in the early settling of that State, that
Mr. McNeil lived there. Late in the
fall, one season, he, and some neighbors, went a
distance into the forests to hunt and kill their
winter's meat. He took with him his son,
Joseph, then seven or eight years old, to
ride the pack horse and take care of him, while
the party were hunting. One night as they
were lying by their camp fire, they were
attacked by Indians and the whole party killed -
except the boy, who was unhurt. The
Indians, when they had seized him were fiercely
attacked by a large dog, by which their grasp
upon him was released and he sprang into the
darkness of the woods, and eluded his captors,
and made toward his home as well as he could.
With only his pants and shirt and a pair of
socks on, accompanied by his faithful dog the
little fellow made his way, through the cold and
snow toward home which he reached after being
out three days and nights, almost perished with
cold and hunger. On his road, he had to
wade a stream that was up to his neck.
When night came on, he would seek a place beside
a log or rock that would be some protection,
where, with the warmth imparted by his dog, who
slept with him, he was saved from perishing with
the cold. When he reached home, his feet
were so badly frozen, they never regained their
natural condition. These two brothers
lived in Kentucky, till they grew to manhood and
married. They came together and settled in
Wayne township, Adams county, in the spring of
1800, and each raised a family of ten children.
The older of these brothers, Joseph McNeil,
was the grandfather of
Mrs. McGovney and one of his sons named
John McNeilis her
father. This John McNeil reared a
family of four children - all daughters, named,
Sarah A. (now
Mrs. McGovney), Mary Adaline, Nancy Jane, Susan
Margaret. This faily, including
Mrs. McGovney's family, are all members of
the U. P. church at Cherry Fork. Joseph
McNeil, and his oldest son, James,
were both in the war of 1812. The son who
went into the army at 18, was celebrated for his
fleetness of foot. While the troops were
lying at Sandusky, he had a foot race with an
Indian that created some interests at the time.
Six thousand men were present to witness it,
Gov. Meigs being also on hand to see it.
The spectors formed two lines, between which the
parties ran. McNeil was the winner
and was presented with a cane, as a memento of
the contest. This cane, he, in after life,
constantly carried with him. Thirty-eight
years after the event, he was at Ripley, O.,
when a steamboat arrived, and a passenger
recognized
McNeil with his staff, as the young man, who
ran the race with an Indian at Sandusky in 1814.
In July, 1863, a bummer who appeared to be
hovering around Hobson's men, who were in
pursuit of Morgan, for plunder, met McNeil, who
was riding a very good horse, and demanded it
for the use of the army, enforcing his claim, by
presenting a pistol at the old man.
McNeil immediately drew his cane for fight.
The bummer withdrew his pistol, let go the rein,
and the rider went on with his horse. |
