ABOUT THE YEAR 1811.

     Rome Township lies on the eastern border of the county, and is bounded on the north by Bern Township, on the east by Washington County, on the south by Carthage, and on the west by Canaan Townships.  Its eastern border encroaches upon Washington County, about one mile east by two miles north and south, which adds about two section of land over a congressional township.  This would give it about thirty-eight sections, or 23,320 acres of land.

TOPOGRAPHICALLY

speaking, it is hilly and broken, but the valley of the Hocking is rich in agricultural wealth, for its soil is deep and fertile.  The river crosses the township from east to west, meandering in its course, and forms a portion of the eastern line of the township, the stream turning and running almost due south in its course for about three miles and then in a southeasterly direction.  Federal Creek flows into the Hocking River within its boundary, and some good agricultural and grazing lands are found on its border.  It is known as a township of timbered land, and it is still rich in timber resources.  The mineral development has not yet proven very great, but coal is known to exist, and has been mined to a small or limited extent.  It is, however, an agricultural township, and for cereal and stock raising has few superiors in the county.  Its territory may also be said to have been among the earliest settled, for it became a township in 1811, being on April 4 of that year

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     The organization read as follows. 
     “Thursday, April 4, 1811. —Ordered by the commissioners, That so much of the township of Troy as is contained in the original surveyed townships, numbered 5 and 6, in the 11th range, and 6 in the 12th range, be erected into a new township by the name of Rome .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .
     “ Ordered by the commissioners, That their clerk notify the inhabitants of the township of Rome to meet at the house of Amos Crippen, in said township, on Saturday the 20th instant, for the purpose of electing township officers.”
     But no election was held under this order, and on the 4th of June ensuing, the commissioners
   “Ordered, That the boundaries of the township of Rome be as follows, to wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of township number 6 in the 12th range, thence east on the township line until it intersects the river Hockhocking, thence up said river until it intersects the range line between the 11th and 12th ranges, thence on said range line (being the line between the counties of Athens and Washington) to the south boundary of Ames Township, thence west on said township line to the township of Athens, thence south to the place of beginning, and that the remainder of the township of Rome be and is hereby attached to the township of Troy. [This refers to the previous order of April 4.]
     “Ordered by the commissioners, That their clerk notify, by advertisement, the inhabitants of the township of Rome to meet at the house of Daniel Stewart, on Saturday, the 15th instant, for the purpose of electing township officers.”
     The township was taken from the territory of Troy Township as above bounded, and it continued thus until Feb. 10, 1814, when the Legislature passed an act giving to Athens County and to Rome Township the two sections of land lying on the west side of the Hocking River.  These sections were 31 and 32 of congressional township Ho. 6, of range No. 11, making a turn in the county line.
     It is one of the most thriving among the agricultural townships of the county, and its people are progressive, economical, and combine energy with intelligent labor.

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Just what the population of the township was in 1811 is not known, but it probably did not exceed 200.  In the census of 1820 it was 497; in 1830, 522; in 1840, 852; in 1850, 1,309; in 1860, 1,581; in 1870, 1,972; in 1880, 2,207.
     While there is nothing remarkable in this increase, the figures show one very desirable tact, and that is, that it has never gone back, but grown steadily and surely with increasing years.  It may be said to have sustained the general average of the county and State during the different decades with but one exception, that between 1820 and 1830.
     Daniel and Archelaus Stewart, who settled in the township in 1802, were the first to move for the organization of a church society, and a Methodist church was organized at a very early day, probably a few years before its organization into a township, and Rev. Jacob Young, then on the Marietta circuit, came to the residence of Mr. Daniel Stewart, held service and organized a society.  The original members were William Pilcher and wife, Job Rutler and wife, Eliphalet Case and wife, and Elijah Rowell and wife.  From this small but happy beginning three Methodist congregations have grown up, and three substantial and neatly furnished church buildings have been erected.
     The first service held in the township was by the Rev. Cyrus Paulk, Jr., who preached as early as 1803 at the cabins of the settlers.  He was a Baptist, and continued his ministration for several years.

SCHOOLS.

     Among the settlers of those early days there was nothing that received their more earnest attention than that of the education of their children.  To read, write and cipher and to be a good speller was what they deemed a necessity, and added that of grammar and geography when they could.  A good common-school education was generally the summit of their ambition, and it was only when a boy became ambitious for a higher course, refused the plow and stuck to his books, that money was raised by the sacrifice of a horse or other stock to give him the desired schooling.  In fact, having become worthless on the farm, for if he was sent in the field to work, he was generally found under a tree or in the crook of the fence, perfectly oblivious to all surroundings and deep in

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the mysteries of his favorite study, the old man at last got weary and  gave it up and the book worm was soon in his glory, for he was going to the academy and then to college.
     The first school-house erected in Rome Township was in 1804, and was built by subscription - that is, the neighbors joined in the work, each doing their part.  The house above mentioned was built of logs, about sixteen feet square, and was located on the east bank of Federal Creek, near its mouth.  The first teacher was Abram Richards, and a daughter of Ebenezer Barrows, Mrs. Polly Driggs, was the next.  Of course it was not long before other school-houses were erected and schools taught.
     In 1841 the Rev. Amos Miller started a private school on his farm and called it "Miller's Academy."  It flourished for more than twenty years, a large two-story building being erected to furnish accommodations.  It was about one mile form Savannah or Guysville.  It suspended during the civil war and was never resurrected.
     There is at present an academy located at Savannah, the management of which has been quite successful.  It was founded in 1867, by a number of public-spirited citizens, and its first Trustees were: Fred Finister, Peter Boyles, Vincent Caldwell, Harvey Peirce, and Harvey Caldwell.  Its first teacher in charge was Prof. George W. Bryce, and the fact that 140 scholars enrolled themselves the first year shows that the citizens were imbued with the right spirit.

BRIDGES AND MILLS.

     In 1808 the first bridge in the township was built over Federal Creek, near its mouth, by Elijah Hatch, and in 1818 a second one was built at the same place.  In 1842 a fine bridge was erected by Peter Beebe, Isaac Jackson being the architect; it was at first a toll bridge, but is now free.  About the year 1851 or 1852 a bridge was built over Federal Creek, near the mouth of Big Run,  but was soon swept away; another has since been erected on the same site.  The bridge at Savannah was built about 1858, the funds being supplied partly by the county and partly by subscription.  Another has been built over the Hocking, about two miles below Savannah, the funds being raised in the same manner.
     The first grist and saw mill in the township was built in 1802 by George, Henry and James Barrows, on Federal Creek, about a mile from its mouth.  The mill is a log building with only one run of stones, which were made of the "Laurel Hill granite," and run by

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a large undershot wheel.  Before this then nearest mill where wheat could be ground was Devol's, on the Muskingum, at least forty miles distant.  Many families, however, possessed that great desideratum of pioneer life, the primitive hand-mill and the "hominy block."  There were also a few horse-mills in the county, but they were only used for grinding or, as it was called, "cracking" corn.  In 1818 Reuben Farnsworth built the first mill on the Hocking and substantial mill structures ever erected in the county.  Farnsworth failed, and the mill passed into the hands of Peter Beebe, who afterward sold it to Thomas Welch.  It was sold by Mr. Welch to Cook, Crippen & Co., and subsequently passed into the hands of a son of Mr. Cook, who is the present owner.
     In 1820 the Savannah mill (grist and saw mill) was built by Ezra Stewart and his brother Charles, sons of Esquire Daniel Stewart and his brother Charles, sons of Esquire Daniel Stewart.  It has three run of stones and does a great amount of custom work.  It is situated on the Hocking River, in the village of Guysville, about three miles from the west line of Rome Township.  About 1834 Alexander Stewart and George Warren built the Stewart Mill (a saw-mill), near Savannah; but it was soon destroyed by fire, and a large three -story grist and saw mill was erected on the site by Daniel B. Stewart.  In 1844 Mr. Stewart connected a woolen factory with the establishment, which is now owned by a daughter of Mr. Stewart, Mrs. Charles Byron.  In runs 470 spindles, has four looms, four carding machines.  The grist and say mill are still in active operation.  Two miles above Savannah are the Kincade Mills, built in 1842 by John and Allen Kincade, and rebuilt by John Kincade on an enlarged plan and in a more substantial manner in 1868, and was again rebuilt in 1880 by D. B. Stewart.  About 1854 Heman Frost, son of Abram Frost, one of the pioneers of Carthage Township, built a grist and saw mill three miles below Cook & Crippen's mill; it was subsequently replaced by a saw mill, which was swept off by high water in the spring of 1867, but built by Allen Kincade.

SETTLERS AND PROGRESS.

     What was called in those days the “Upper Settlement” in this township was first settled in 1808, when Joshua Selby, John Thompson, Robert Calvert, and Jonathan Simmons came from Virginia,

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and Richard, George, and James Simmons, from Pennsylvania.  They were all good citizens.  In 1810 or 1811 Christopher Herrold, one of the pioneers of Ames Township, settled in Rome.  He was a Pennsylvania German and a man of enterprise and thrift.  He afterward removed to Dover.
     A strong evidence of .the enterprising spirit of the early settlers is afforded by the fact that in 1811 a sea-going vessel was built in Rome Township, a mile below the mouth of Federal Creek, on the south bank of the Hocking.  She was launched and taken to New Orleans in the spring of 1812.  The vessel was built by Captain Caleb Barstow, from Providence, Rhode Island, and was called The Enterprise.
     Between 1800 and 1810 the township received a number of good settlers.  John Johnson and father, on the Hockhocking, opposite Federal Creek; Job Ruter, with his sons Martin and Calvin, on the river about two miles above Federal Creek; and about the same time came Nathan Connor, Rev. Moses Osborn, the Calverts,, the Thompsons, the Selbys, and the Mitchells, all of whom settled on the river.  Most of these came from Virginia.  Also prominent among the early settlers were Abraham Sharp, for whom Sharp’s Run and Sharp’s Fork of Federal Creek were named; Francis Munn, a revolutionary soldier; Archibald Borough, Thos. Richardson, Mr. Seth Briggs, Jeremiah Conan, Wm. Pilcher, Aaron Orme, Thos. Swan, Aaron Butts, Eli Catlin, Daniel Anderson (a Lieutenant in the Revolutionary army), David Chapman, Rev. Enos Thompson (Methodist) and the Hewitts.

EARLY HISTORICAL FACTS.

     Esquire Elmer Rowell, a pioneer and a valuable and prominent citizen of Rome Township during its early days, who died a few years back, leaves the following reminiscence of pioneer days: “When I first settled here the nearest postoffice was at Athens, sixteen or seventeen miles distant, and I have frequently gone that distance for a single expected letter; now there are four postoffices in the township.  Then we went thirty miles to obtain our necessary dry goods, groceries, hardware, etc.; now there are seven or eight good country stores in the township.  While musing on the times and people of fifty-five years ago, the whole scene for thirty miles up and down the valley seems photographed on my memory—the men and women, their costumes, the log cabins and the cleared

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patches.  The men all dressed in homespun during summer, and during winter a great part of the clothing consisted of buckskin; the females, both matron and lass, dressed for every day in homespun, except in later years, when one now and then began to appear in a  'factory dress,’ and all had for Sunday and holidays the more costly and gayer calico and cambric dresses.  Those were the days of warm friendships and close attachments.  Common hardships and labors begot a fellow feeling.  If there was a cabin to raise, every man for miles around turned out with alacrity to help raise it and put on the last clapboard.  If there was any job too heavy for one man to do, all assisted.  When a hunter or any one else was belated, be he a stranger or acquaintance, he found a home and a welcome in any log cabin he might chance to find.”

THE WAR OF 1812.

     Rome Township having been or was the home of several of the Revolutionary patriots and soldiers of 1776, when the war of 1812 was declared they found her sons willing patriots to enter the field and defend the soil of their country from the footsteps of an invader. Athens County being called upon for a company of infantry, to be composed of fifty men or volunteers, the militia regiment of the county, then commanded by Colonel Edmund Dorr, was summoned to meet at Athens and volunteers called for. The men stepped promptly to the front, and of this number Rome Township was the residence of nine who enlisted.  Their names were Jas. Crippen, Peter Beebe, Thaddeus Crippen, Ebenezer Hatch, Chas. Stewart, Wm. Starr, Andrew Stewart, John Wickham and Daniel Muncie.  The company was then raised to sixty men and Rome added one more volunteer, George Driggs, or one sixth of the number.  In 1813, when the Governor of Ohio called for forty days’ mounted riflemen, George Barrows, Montgomery Perry and a young man named Swann went from Rome.
     William T. Hatch, son of Elijah Hatch, was the first male child born in the township, and his sister Harriet, the late Mrs. Hill, is said to have been the first female.  Mrs. Elijah Hatch, mother of Judge Hatch, was the first person who died in the township.  A portion of the facts here given were taken from Walker’s very interesting history of Athens County.  The growth of the township and its increase in population has been spoken of in previous pages, and to this might be added the fact that its material progress has been a marked feature in its history, and prosperity seems to have taken a firm hold upon the township.

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TOWNSHIP OFFICERS.

     1811. - Trustees, Job Ruter, Eliljah Hatch and James Crippen; Clerk, Caleb Barstow.
     1812. - Trustees, Daniel Stewart, George Barrows and John Thompson; Clerk, Amos Crippen.
     1813 - Trustees, Elijah Rowell, James Crippen and John Thompson; Clerk, Elijah Hatch
     1814. - Trustees, Daniel Stewart, James Crippen and Joshua Selby; Clerk, Elijah Hatch.
     1815. - Trustees, Daniel Stewart, James Crippen and William Barrows; Clerk, Elijah Hatch.
     1816. - Trustees, Daniel Stewart, Elijah Hatch and Joshua Selby; Clerk, William Stewart.
     1817. - Trustees, James Crippen, John Thompson and Henry Barrows; Clerk, Wm. Stewart.
     1818. - Trustees, James Crippen, Archelaus Stewart and Henry Barrows; Clerk, Wm. Stewart.
     1819. - Trustees, James Crippen, Archelaus Stewart and Henry Barrows; Clerk, Wm. Stewart.
     1820. - Trustees, James Crippen, Archelaus Stewart and Daniel Stewart; Clerk, Wm. Stewart.
     1821. - Trustees, James Crippen, John Thompson and Daniel Stewart; Clerk, John Green.
     1822. - Trustees, Elijah Hatch, Joshua Selby and Daniel Stewart; Clerk, Daniel Stewart.
     1823. - Trustees, James Crippen, Elmer Rowell and Archelaus Stewart; Clerk, Elijah Hatch.
     1824. - Trustees, Wm. S. Doan, Joshua Selby and Henry Barrows; Clerk, Elijah Hatch.
     1825. - Trustees, Daniel Stewart, Elijah Dalbey and Peter Beebe; Clerk, Elijah Hatch.
     1826. - Trustees, Daniel Stewart, Elijah Dalbey and James Crippen; Clerk, John Thompson.
     1827. - Trustees, Daniel Stewart, Josephus Butts and Joshua Selby; Clerk, Samuel Thompson.
     1828. - Trustees, John Thompson, Josephus Butts and Joshua Selby; Clerk, Samuel Thompson.
     1829. - Trustees, John Johnson, Josephus Butts and Joshua Selby; Clerk, Edmund Cook.
     1830. - Trustees, John Thompson, Josephus Butts and Daniel D. Cross; Clerk, Guy Barrows.

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     1831. - Trustees, John Johnson, Josephus Butts and Joseph Mitchell; Clerk, Guy Barrows.
     1832. - Trustees, Wm. S. Doan, James E. Hatch and Joseph Mitchell; Clerk, John Welch.
     1833. - Trustees, Levi Stewart, James E. Hatch and Joseph Mitchell; Clerk, Elijah Hatch.
     1834. - Trustees, Levi Stewart, James E. Hatch and Joseph Mitchell, Clerk, Wilson Selby.
     1835. - Trustees, Alexander Stewart, James E. Hatch and Peter Beebe; Clerk, Thos. Newcomb.
     1836. - Trustees, Joseph Mitchell, James E. Hatch and Samuel Hill; Clerk, Blanford Cook.
     1837. - Trustees, Joseph Mitchell, S. T. Richard and George Warren; Clerk, Blanford Cook.
     1838. - Trustees, James E. Hatch, Joshua Calvert and George Warren; Clerk, Elmer Rowell.
     1839. - Trustees, Peter Beebe, Wilson Shelby and William P. Doan; Clerk, Elmer Rowell.
     1840. - Trustees, Peter Beebe, Joseph Mitchell and Levi Stewart; Clerk, Wilson Selby.
     1841. - Trustees, Peter Beebe, Joseph Mitchell and Levi Stewart; Clerk, Wilson Selby.
     1842. - Trustees, Daniel B. Stewart, William Mitchell and Nelson Cook; Clerk, Wilson Selby.
     1843. - Trustees, Wm. P. Doan, wm. Crippen and B. F. Johnson; Clerk, E. B. Parrill.
     1844. - Trustees, Peter Grosvenor, Levi Stewart and Joseph Mitchell; Clerk, Wilson Selby.
     1845. - Trustees, Peter Grosvenor, Levi Stewart and Joseph Mitchell; Clerk, Wilson Selby.
     1846. - Trustees, D. B. Stewart, Wm. Simmons and B. F. Johnson; Clerk, Joshua Calvert.
     1847. - Trustees, D. B. Stewart, Wm. Simmons and Abraham Parrill; Clerk, Joshua Calvert.
     1848. - Trustees, Elmer Rowell, Artemus S. Crippen and Levi Stewart; Clerk, B. F. Johnson.
     1849. - Trustees, Elmer Rowell, Peter Grosvenor and Levi Stewart; Clerk, Sydney S. Beebe.
     1850. - Trustees, Nelson Cook, Peter Grosvenor and Connell Roberts; Clerk, B. F. Johnson.

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     1851. - Trustees, Nelson Cook, Peter Grosvenor and T. F. Jones; Clerk, B. F. Johnson.
     1852. - Trustees, Levi Stewart, Peter Grosvenor and Wm. R. Winner; Clerk, Joshua Calvert.
     1853. - Trustees, Elmer Rowell, D. B. Stewart and Wilson Selby; Clerk, B. F. Johnson.
     1854. - Trustees, Elmer Rowell, D. B. Stewart and Wilson Selby; Clerk, B. F. Johnson.
     1855. - Trustees, Elmer Rowell, D. B. Stewart and Wilson Selby; Clerk, B. F. Johnson.
     1856. - Trustees, T. R. Rider, Perry Barrows  and Harvey Pierce; Clerk, Charles H. Grosvenor.
     1857. - Trustees, T. R. Rider, Voltaire Barrows and Harvey Pierce; Clerk, Chas. H. Grosvenor.
     1858. - Trustees, Josephus tucker, Perry Barrows and Elmer Rowell; Clerk, Robert Bean.
     1859. - Trustees, James Rice, Herman Frost and Artemus Buckley; Clerk, Blanford Cook.
     1860. - Trustees, James Rice, Josephus Tucker and W. L. Petty; Clerk, Blanford Cook.
     1861. - Trustees, James Rice, Josephus Tucker and W. L. Petty; Clerk, Blanford Cook.
     1862. - Trustees, A. S. Crippen, Artemus Buckley and G. S. Simpson; Clerk, Blanford Cook.
     1863. - Trustees, A. S. Crippen, P. W. Boyles and James Cross; Clerk, James Moore.
     1864. - Trustees, Blanford Cook, P. W. Boyles and James Cross; Clerk, Harvey Pierce.
     1865. - Trustees, Blanford Cook, P. W. Boyles and J. W. Johnson; Clerk, Harvey Pierce.
     1866. - Trustees, Blanford Cook, Joseph Patterson and Harvey Pierce; Clerk, Charles Dean.
     1867. - Trustees, Blanford Cook, Amos Patterson and Robert Bean;  Clerk, George M. Ross.
     1868. - Trustees, Blanford Cook, Amos Patterson and Robert Bean; Clerk, George M. Ross.
     1869. - Trustees, Amos Patterson, Harvey Pierce and J. W. Johnson; Clerk, D. W. Cornell; Treasurer, B. F. Johnson; Justices of the Peace, R. A. Fulton and Elam Frost.
     1870. - Trustees, Amos Paterson, J. W. Johnson and V. A. Caldwell; Clerk, D. W. Cornell; Treasurer, B. F. Johnson.

Page 576 -
     1871. - Trustees, Amos Patterson, J. W. Johnson and V. A. Caldwell; Clerk, D. W. Cornell; Treasurer, B. F. Johnson; Justices of the Peace, J. S. Devol and S. S. Beebe.
     1872. - Trustees, Amos Patterson, J. W. Johnson and V. A. Caldwell; Clerk, D. W. Cornell; Treasurer, D. M. Burchfield.
     1873. - Trustees, Amos Patterson, E. Vickers and J. W. Johnson; Clerk, John L. Cross; Treasurer, D. M. Burchfield.
     1874. - Trustees, Amos Patterson, J. W. Johnson and Jefferson Perry; Clerk, J. L. Cross; Treasurer, D. W. Cornell.
     1875. - Trustees, Jefferson Perry, Edwin Glazier and Clark Dodds; Clerk, J. E. Cook; Treasurer, D. W. Cornell; Justices of the Peace, R. M. Wilson and Edwin Glazier.
     1876. - Trustees, Jefferson Perry, Clark Dodds and J. A. Caldwell; Clerk, J. E. Cook; Treasurer, D. W. Cornell; Justice of the Peace, Silas E. Hedges.
     1877. - Trustees, Noah Tedrow, Frank Patton and Elijah H. Bean; Clerk, J. E. Cook; Treasurer, D. W. Cornell; Justice of the Peace, S. S. Beebe.
     1878. - Trustees, B. S. Plumley, Riley Crippen and Jefferson Perry; Clerk, J. E. Cook; Treasurer, D. W. Cornell; Justice of the Peace, James Malcolm.
     1879. - Trustees, B. S. Plumley, Riley Crippen and Amos Patterson; Clerk, S. B. Pickering (resigned), L. M. Fowler; Treasurer, D. W. Cornell; Justice of the Peace, Silas E. Hedges.
     1880. - Trustees, Riley Crippen, Amos Patterson and Eli Brooks; Clerk, L. M. Fowler; Treasurer, D. W. Cornell; Justice of the Peace, S. S. Beebe.
     1881. - Trustees, Amos Patterson, J. W. Murphey and J. W. Johnson; Clerk, L. M. Fowler (serving part of the years, and S. N. Hobson appointed to fill out the term); Treasurer, H. J. Smith; Justice of the Peace, William King.
     1882. - Trustees, J. W. Murphey, J. W. Johnson and Eli Brooks; Clerk, S. N. Hobson; Treasurer, H. J. Smith; Justice of the Peace, P. F. Bush.
     1883. - Trustees, Hiram Burden, Henry Finsterwald and Eli Brooks; Clerk, S. N. Hobson; Treasurer, Harvey J. Smith; Assessor, William Skinner; Justices of the Peace, S. S. Beebe and Henry Crippen.

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GUYSVILLE.

     The village of Guysville is situated near the southwestern corner of Rome Township, on  the bank of the Hocking River, and on the new line of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad.  It was laid out in 1836 by Chauncey Carpenter, who at that time owned the mill at that place.  The postoffice was established about three years later through the efforts of Mr. Guy Barrows, who was appointed hte first Postmaster, and for whom it was named, although the village has always been known by the name of Savannah.  Among the first settlers were a Mr. Conner, a blacksmith; Laban Heth, a shoemaker; Barton Ferris and Amos Calvert.  the village has a population, at present, of about 250 inhabitants.  It has a flouring mill, owned by J. W. Cornell; a Methodist Episcopal church with a membership of about fifty, and two physicians, G. W. Blakely and G. B. Parker.  The merchants are D. W. Cornell and Brown & Lawrence, general merchandise; John Picket and L. C. Murphey, drugs; and John D. Sand's furniture and undertaking store.  It has also a millinery store, two harness shops and two blacksmith shops.  There being a good bridge across the river at this point to connect it with the surrounding country on the opposite side of the river, and that being particularly a stock-raising section, this village has lately become the most important live-stock shipping point in the county.  The most active parties in this business are Samuel Stalder and J. W. Murphey (partners), Henry Stalder, Jefferson Perry and William Rhodehaver.  The post office is at present kept in the store of Brown & Lawrence, Mr. H. H. Brown of that firm, being the Postmaster.
     Savannah Lodge, A. F. & A. M., was established June 28, 1872, with the following charter membership: A. B. Dickey, Master; B. W. Calvert, Sen. Warden; J. E. Cook, Jun. Warden; D. M. Burchfield, Secretary; J. A. Hawley, Hiram Burden, William Johnson, Vincent Caldwell, Charles Byron, J. W. Johnson, E. D. Merwin and J. A. Caldwell.  The  present officers are:  G. W. Blakely, Master; S. N. Hobson, Sen. Warden; D. W. Cornell, Jun. Warden; C. L. Bean, Secretary.

STEWART.

     The village of Stewart is situated on the Hocking River and the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, about two miles below Guysville.

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It was laid out by Mr. D. B. Stewart, on a part of the Stewart homestead, in 1875, about the time of the completion of the rail- road to that point.  Mr. Stewart built the first five houses, and furnished lots and dressed lumber for a number of others, waiting on the occupants for pay.  A mill and church had marked the site for many years, and a postoffice had been in the locality since 1830, but was not located at this particular place until 1873.  Previous to the establishment of the village the postoffice had been called Federalton.  The village has its church; a flouring mill, owned by Mrs. Ruth Byron; a planing mill, owned by D. B. Stewart; one physician, Dr. W. E. Webb; and two stores, kept by H. G. Smith and S. N. Hobson, Mr. Hobson being the present Postmaster. Stewart has a population of about 200.

NEW ENGLAND.

     The village of New England, situated near the western boundary of Rome Township, on the old line of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, sprang up soon after it was known that the railroad would pass through that point, about 1853, and was laid out by Jacob Tedrow, E. H. Moore and A. G. Brown, of Athens, being his partners in the ownership.  The postoffice was established immediately after trains began running on the railroad in 1859.  The first residence was built by Thaddeus Rider, and the first store by Chapman & Rider.  The store stood on the lot now used for the Methodist Episcopal parsonage, Mr. Rider’s dwelling standing just south of it on an adjoining lot.  Then followed in succession L. R. Jarvis, who built a store; Hiram Gard, who kept a store in the depot building, and Joseph and Amos Patterson, who built the store and residence now occupied by J. M. Rhodes.  The village has two churches, Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian, the former having a membership of about fifty-four, and the latter a membership of over ninety.  The merchants are L. R. Jarvis, J. M . Rhodes and Harvey Patterson.  Mr. Rhodes is also the present Postmaster and keeps the office in his store.  Since the abandonment of the railroad through this village the population has greatly decreased, being now not more than 150.

FROST.

     Frost Village is in the southeastern part of Rome Township, on the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, and has been built since the

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completion of the railroad. The merchants are C. D. Smith, F. M. Payne and Washington Russell.  The population is about 100.

BIG RUN.

     Big Run was a station on the old line of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, and is situated in the northeastern part of the township.  The postoffice remains and one store, owned by H. Gordon & Son.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

EDMOND BEAN
MRS. LORANA BEAN
W. P. BEEBE
G. W. BLAKELEY, M. D.
JOHN BRANDEBURG
ABRAHAM T. BUCK
MRS. RUTH S. (STEWART) BYRON
JAMES A. CALDWELL
F. J. CARPENTER
CHARLES COLEMAN
JOHN E. COOK
MRS. L. C. COOK
MRS. ESTHER COPELAND
JOHN COPELAND
ANSLEY CORNELL
D. W. CORNELL
A. S. CRIPPEN
EDWARD DOAN
MRS. MELVINA L. (WASHBURN) FROST
EDWARD H. GINN
JAMES GINN
J. M. GROSVENOR
LEANDER HARRIS
JAMES HESS
SAMUEL N. HOBSON
WILLIAM JACKSON
[PHOTO OF W. R. YOUNG]
L. R. JARVIS
E. W. JEWELL
J. W. JOHNSON
MOSES LAWRENCE
GUSTAVUS LeGOULLON
JOSEPH LINTON
JAMES MORRISON
L. C. MURPHY
PATRICK O'CONNOR
FRANCIS B. PATTON
AMOS PATTERSON
F. M. PAYNE
JEFFERSON PERRY
WATERMAN L. PETTY
J. M. RHODES
WILLIAM W. ROWELL
WASHINGTON RUSSELL
HENRY J. SMITH
JOHN M. SPAULDING
SAMUEL STALDER
D. B. STEWART, JR.
MRS. MARY (OOSER) TEDROW
NOAH TEDROW
C. G. TUCKER
NEHEMIAH O. WARREN
HARVEY WRIGHT