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About 1809 a few squatters had built rude log cabins
and cultivated land along the banks of Captina but had not
entered land. These wandering squatters were superseded by
permanent settlers who had purchased and occupied government
lands between 1809 and 1814
THE FIRST FAMILIES.
Among the first
families were the Englishes, Gibbonses, Stantons, Williamses,
Bishops and Edgertons.
The township, like Wayne, is in the form of a
square, and contains 36 sections. Its boundaries have been
previously given and we need only add that it occupies the
southwest corner of the county. This township being off
the leading lines of travel was among the last to be settled,
wherefore one of hte leading improvements is the Barnesville &
Somerton Pike which was built about 25 years ago and extends to
the county line, a distance of 11 miles. The road is
supported in main by tolls. It traverses a rich
agricultural country somewhat hilly in places but susceptible of
the highest cultivation.
FIRST INDUSTRIES.
Of the township as a
whole are strictly agricultural, producing fine crops of wheat,
corn, wool and tobacco. Because of prevailing high prices,
tobacco is at present the leading crop, and for a number of
years has yielded the principal revenues.
Twenty years ago tobacco was grown to such an extent,
that the total product amounted to 700,000 pounds, and the
average yield per acre was 1,000 pounds. In 1902 the
acreage is lessened but the price of tobacco ranges from $6 to
$12 per hundred.
THE FIRST MILLS.
The township is well
watered by Leatherwood, Beaver and Captina creeks, along the
banks of which many grist mills were erected.
The first was built in 1819-20 near Somerton by
Jonathan Pogue.
Two years later, Abraham Packer built one
farther up the creek. This mill was rebuilt about the
outbreak of the Civil War, and conducted by Thomas Smith
There is said to have been a hand mill conducted by a man by the
name of Joseph Davis, which served the people in the
early times when the creeks were dry.
TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS
AND POPULATION
The present township
officers are: Trustees, - Simon Howell, William Dewer
and P. S. Butler; Clerk, H. W. Pakavi; treasurer,
T. P. Rhinehart; justices of the peace, - D. J. Ewers,
M. Malone and J. C. Hampton.
The population of the township at
the last census was 1,862, while in 1890 it was recorded at
2,045, showing a loss of 183.
The tax duplicate for 1901 shows an assessment in
Somerset precinct of $163,365. In 1992 it is recorded at
$158,182, showing a loss of $5,183. In Boston precinct,
the assessment of personal property in 1901 is placed at
$75,273. In 1902 it is recorded as $72,153, revealing a
loss of $1,119, or a total loss in the township of $8,302.
However the tax levy for 1902 is only 1.61 as against 1.63 in
1901.
SOMERTON.
The village of Somerton
is a pretty upland town, with a population of about 250.
It was established between 1816 and 1818 by one of the pioneer
settlers heretofore mentioned, namely, Boden Stanton.
It is asserted that the first
postmaster was Richard Andrews, who built one of the
first houses in the village. The present postmaster if
J. S. Wilson. The first mail was carried upon
horseback from St. Clairsville weekly and some years later it
was received twice a week via Fairview.
The first buildings erected were a house and blacksmith
shop by Moses Davis. Today the streets are bordered
by numerous comfortable homes and a number of stores, wagon
shops, etc.
SOME OLD
CITIZENS.
Some of the old
citizens of Somerset township are James Bishop, 85 years
of age, J. P. Strahl, 84 years of age, Samuel Starbuck,
80 and Jacob Bishop, nearly 70.
THE SCHOOLS.
of Somerton were built in 1820 and consisted of
a round log building chinked with mud and a clapboard roof, with
the usual accompaniments of a puncheon floor.
The present modern building was erected in 1890 and is
presided over by Prof. T. P. Harris, who is assisted by
Miss Lona Hobbs. The enrollment numbers 105.
The village Board of Education in 1902 consists of Atwood
Warrick, S. B. Warrick and W. A. Lucas, clerk.
THE BELMONT BANK.
Is a private
institution that has been in successful operation since Jan. 25,
1875. It was organized as a State bank with a capital of
$50,000, with R. C. Miles, president, and T. F. Martin,
cashier. The directors were Solomon Hogue, Hiram
Whitacre, Samuel Starbuck, R. C. Miles, M. P. Miles, W. H.
Atkinson, and S. L. Mooney.
This organization was maintained until April, 1887,
when the bank was converted into a private bank under the firm
name of E. J. Hogue & Company. Solomon Hogue, one of the
organizers of the bank, was for several years county comissioner,
and in the performance of his official duties enjoyed public
confidence to a marked degree.
THE
CHURCHES.
The Society of
Friends - The first religious service conducted in
Somerset township was by the Friends in 1818. The first
overseer was Isaac Stahl, who was appointed at the first
monthly meeting in April of the same year, and John Middleton
was approved as Minister. The old house is still standing,
and the organization is maintained, but the congregation from
various causes has become so reduced that services are no longer
held with regularity. The surroundings of the church and
cemetery are neatly and tastefully maintained.
The Methodist Episcopal Church - The
The Presbyterian Church -
SECRET SOCIETIES.
TAYLOR POST, G. A.
R.
BOSTON
AND TEMPERANCEVILLE.
Are the two other
villages of the township, the former being laid out in 1834 and
the latter in 1837.
BOSTON - While Mordecai
Harper was the first land owner in Boston, the first
house was built by Joseph McMullen and the second by
David White. The first church built in Boston
Christian Church which was erected in 1830. In 1852 a new
church was erected. Today the organization is maintained
but the congregation is reported small.
The present population of Boston is estimated at 100.
There are two stores and an extensive cigar factory, conducted
by Wheatley & Company. The school in Boston is under the
management of the Misses S. Skinner and Pearl Jones.
TEMPERANCEVILLE was established by Robert
Gallagher, a man of intense temperance principles for the
age in which he lived, and who thus sought to advance the cause
so dear to his heart.
The present population of Temperanceville is between
150 and 200. The village school contains two rooms, under
the supervision of Harmon Skinner, with Miss Armstrong
as assistant. Two cigar factories are in operation that
employ quite a number of lands.
THE
CHURCHES
TO BE ADDED AS NEEDED
THE OIL FIELD.
The leading industry of
Temperanceville is the development of the oil field.
Fifteen wells are already in operation, yielding a total average
of about 150 barrels per day, and new openings are under
contemplation. The oil prospects in Temperanceville are
promising.
THE WARRICK
MURDER.
One of the most
frightful tragedies in the history of the county occurred near
Somerton in 1900. Two professional burglars named
Stevens and Devine, who were reported to be from
Zanesville, Ohio, entered the quiet village a few days preceding
the tragedy and subsequent testimony indicated they were
planning to rob the Belmont Bank, but failing to obtain a supply
of nitroglycerine from Bellaire they changed their plans.
A window lady named Mrs. James Warrick lived
about a mile from the village and her grandson, Clarence
Warrick, a young man of 16 and a maiden lady named Miss
Markey, made their homes with the old lady.
The day preceding the tragedy, the father of
Clarence Warrick who was administrator or trustee of the
widow's estate, had drawn $300 from the Barnesville bank for a
year's living for the widow, and it is supposed that these
robbers obtained information of the fact and they believed he
would take it to the widow's house.
The house was entered and the old lady and her
companion were bound hand and foot and when Clarence was
aroused he was foully murdered.
The robbers made their escape but public sentiment was
so aroused that the murderers would have been summarily dealt
with if caught. They were subsequently arrested, tried and
convicted of murder, and sentenced to the penitentiary for life.
After serving a brief term of imprisonment they were released
upon a writ of error, and returned to the Belmont County jail to
await another trial, but before the trial came off the murderers
escaped from jail and have not since been heard from. |
