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CHAPTER XVII
RUSH TOWNSHIP
Page 310
Rush
township is in the extreme northeastern corner of the county and
was set off from Wayne township with its present boundaries in
1828. It was originally a part of Salem township, but when
Wayne township was organized in 1811 it was included within the
limits defined for that township. In fact, the history of
the early settlement of what is now included within Rush
township falls within the history of Wayne, since it was a part
of that township for seventeen years, 1811 to 1828. In the
chapter relating to Wayne township reference is made to a large
number of settlers who were identified with the early history of
Rush township, many of whom were connected with both townships.
Rush township falls entirely within the lands of the
Virginia Military Survey, and consequently all of its lands are
surveyed by the metes-and-bounds system. An examination of
the original records in the recorder's office shows that there
are thirty-eight military surveys in the township which are
included wholly or in part within its limits. It will be
noticed that many of the surveys of Wayne, Rush, Union and
Goshen townships overlap. The largest survey in the
township, No. 118, is that of George Weeden and contains
two thousand acres, while the smallest, No. 5863, contains only
fifty-three acres, and was entered by Thomas M. Bayley.
The list of original proprietors in interesting only in the
matter of tracing land titles, since none of them came to the
county themselves and located on the land which they entered.
Most of these proprietors were merely assignees of the old
soldiers whose services had made possible the land grant.
The complete list of original proprietors, together with their
respective survey numbers and total acreage is set forth in the
following table:
| Survey No. |
Acres |
Original
Proprietor |
| 4658, 4678 |
500 |
D. Boisseau |
| 7772 |
83 |
Walter Dunn |
| 12081, 12744 |
82 |
Walter Dunn & G. W.
Clark |
| 2833 |
1000 |
Peter Manifold |
| 2669 |
1000 |
Peter Manifold |
| 102 |
740 |
Henry Whiting |
| 4666 |
1000 |
Thomas Browder |
| 8422 |
110 |
L. Jones |
| 9724 |
500 |
Benjamin Forsythe |
| 3476 |
750 |
John Askew |
| 5559 |
200 |
B. Grines |
| 5808 |
200 |
John Baird |
| 8565 |
500 |
W. Dunn & N. Haines |
| 1147 |
1000 |
Benjamin Biggs |
| 5583 |
888 |
John Baird |
| 12613 |
212 |
Joseph Spencer |
| 7822 |
-- |
Anthony Walker & A.
Jones |
| 7323 |
310 |
James Galloway |
| 4602, 4741 |
666 2/3 |
George Weedon |
| 9002 |
200 |
Ladd & Norville |
| 5300, 5948, 5754 |
242 |
E. Bowman |
| 10537 |
400 |
A. Bowman |
| 5716, 5748, 5754 |
242 |
E. Langham |
| 5279 |
235 |
D. Bradford |
| 4753 |
560 |
William Heath |
| 5753 |
73 |
H. Woodson |
| 4568 |
100 |
Edward Stokes |
| 7491 |
1500 |
Thomas Moore |
| 7311 |
1955 |
James Galloway |
| 13503 |
1600 |
Lucas Sullivant |
| 7913 |
200 |
John A. Fulton |
| 7143 |
100 |
William Townsley |
| 5863 |
53 |
Thomas M. Bayley |
| 7905 |
150 |
J. Galloway & J. Crawford |
| 9014 |
220 |
Richard Kennon |
| 5596 |
830 |
William Washington |
DRAINAGE AND TOPOGRAPHY
Page 311
EARLY SETTLEMENT
Page 312
The northern part of
the township was the earliest settled for the reason that the
southern portion was too swampy to attract the early settlers.
Woodstock and its immediate vicinity was not settled until the
twenties, while some hundreds of settlers were located in the
northern part of the township by that time. The first
village in the township was North Lewisburg and it lies in the
northwestern corner next to the Logan county line. It is
connected with the county seat by a railroad, as is Woodstock,
the only other village in the township. Electric lines
have been projected to pass through the township, but none have
materialized thus far.
Two years after the township was organized, that is, in
1830, the Ohio Gazetteer set forth a very concise history
of Rush township. This history, with its characteristic
brevity, is reproduced verbatim: "Rush: a post township in
the northeast quarter of Champaign county, in which the towns of
North Lewisburg and Woodstock are situated, the first having a
postoffice of the same name. It was constituted in 1828
and at the census of 1830 contained 750 inhabitants.
Taxable land 18,610 acres."
FIRST GRIST-MILL IN TOWNSHIP
Page 313
"THE CROSSING"
Page 313
COMING OF THE VIRGINIANS
Page 314
LIST OF EARLY VOTERS
Page 315
It is not profitable to
follow through the long list of township officials who have
served in various capacities since the township held its first
election in 1829, but a list of the various officials -
trustees, treasurers, clerks, and justices of the peace - up to
the time of the Civil War may be interesting in showing some of
the prominent citizens of the township in antebellum days.
The trustees served in the following order:
Jordan Reams
Thomas Irwin
Christopher Cranston
Nathaniel Kidder
Samuel Reed
George Gideon
Jerry Colwell
Thomas Spain
Henry Fairchild
Isaac W. Marsh
William Audas
John N. Williams
Sylvanus Smith |
William Milligan
Stephen Spain
Elba Burnham
William Milligan
David H. Hall
William Audas
William Snuffin
Melvin Sprague
John B. Cranston
Edwin Spain
H. Hall
Jacob Elsworth
Christopher Cranston |
Harvey Cushman
Joseph Johnson
Joseph P. Smith
Elba Burnham
Trueman M. Kimball
Oris Fairchild
William Audas
Elias Smith
William Taylor
William Hoisington
R. T. Burnam
Robert Elliott
A. N. Howard |
C. P. Morse
Elias Smith
Charles Lincoln
C. S. Hyde
Truman M. Kimball
Jesse Smith
John Hunter
R. Jennings
Philo Burnham
Henry Winder
Henry Jackson
J. D. Cranston
Levi Kirk
Frank Pearl |
The clerks of the
township from 1828 to 1861 served in the following order:
| Elba Burnham, |
1828-30 |
Henry H. Kelsey |
1844-47 |
| Harvey Cushman |
1831 |
Jennison Hall |
1848-49 |
| Isaac Morse |
1832 |
H. Smith |
1850-51 |
| Samuel Williams |
1833 |
S. G. Smith |
1852-55 |
| Christopher Cranston |
1834 |
C. W. Smith |
1856 |
| Oziel Lapham |
1835-36 |
B. S. Bennett |
1857 |
| Isaac W. Morse |
1837-39 |
Azro Smith |
1858-59 |
| Amos Stephens |
1840-43 |
B. S. Bennett, |
1860 |
| |
|
Azro Smith |
1861 |
The treasurer of the
township during this same period (1829-1861) served in the
following order:
| Anson Howard |
1829-33 |
Sylvanus Smith |
1838-61 |
| Bela Kimball |
1834-37 |
|
|
Smith served longer
than any of the officials of the township, his service closing
in 1861 as treasurer, after having been in the office for
twenty-three yeas. Previous to entering the treasurer's
office in 1838 he had served as justice of the peace for a
number of years.
TOWNSHIP OFFICIALS
Page 315
TWO SOCIAL CENTERS
Page 316
DIFFICULTIES OF IMMIGRATION
Page 317
COMING OF THE RAILROADS
Page 318
EARLY MILLS
END OF CHAPTER XVII.
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