Paint Township, which takes its name from the creek that forms its eastern boundary, was organized cotemporary with the formation of the county.  Its solid is rich, and cannot be exhausted, being fertilized by the various tributaries of Paint Creek.  It is bounded on the north by Madison County, on the east by Madison and Marion townships, and on the south and west by Union and Jefferson townships, respectively.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS

     The first settler was George Coil, a man of enterprise, who came in the younger days of this century, and built a cabin immediately after his arrival, and began clearing up a corn patch.  The writer has been unable to obtain the data for an extended biography of this man, consequently the mere mention of his name must suffice.
     William Hays emigrated from Kentucky to this state, in 1803, and settled in Big Walnut, where he remained till 1805, when he removed to this township and settled on part of survey 1063, on the bank of Paint Creek, with his father, James, and the family, consisting of David, John, James, jr., Ranking, Benjamin, Jane, Mary, Hannah, Elizabeth, and Sarah.
     William and John served as privates in Captain McElwain's militia company, belonging to Colonel Harper's command, which was ordered out to Fort Sandusky, where they assembled and built the fort.  At the close of the war, they returned home and worked on the farm.
     Solomon Salmon, a native of Delaware, removed to this state with his wife and one child - a boy - at a very early day.  In the year 1805, he came to Paint Township, and settled on a portion of the land now owned by his son, Perry, and across the creek to the rear of the latter's residence.
     Perry Salmon has in his possession, the military patent for four hundred acres, granted to Solomon Salmon, assignee of John McClain, assignee of Benjamin Parker, assignee of William Johnston, assignee of Samuel Kercheval, assignee of Thomas Jenkins, only living representative of Joshua Jenkins a sergeant in the revolutionary war.  The date of the survey of said tract, was many years prior to the signing of the instrument by James Monroe, March 26, 1819 - a number of years after possession was taken by Salmon.  Perry, a relative of Solomon Salmon, accompanied him, and settled on land now owned by Gideon Vezay.  The old cabin in which he lived still stands, but at present is unoccupied.
     In and after 1805, there was a constant tide of immigration to this township, some of the most prominent being the following:  Solomon Sowers, who built the first mill in Paint Township; Samuel Robbins,  a pioneer school teacher and justice of the peace; Jacob Pursely, the first blacksmith; John Oliver, the first carpenter; Joseph Parris, a participant in the war of 1812, and also in the revolutionary war; Leonard Parris, who was in the war of 1812, and was by occupation a hunter, farmer, and stock raiser; Jeremiah Smith, another brave soldier in the war of 1812, and a host of others, whose names are not ascertainable.
     Nathaniel Tway, was born in Clermont County, this state, and his father, John Tway, was a native of New Jersey.  The former served three years and six months, having volunteered.  At the battle of Brandywine, a ball from the enemy's ranks was lodged in the heel of his foot, but otherwise he was unhurt.
     He came to this county in 1810, and worked for various farmers by the day.  Two years later his father came, accompanied by the family, and located in this township, near the Madison County line, on the present Simeon Wisler farm - on leased land.  Nathaniel afterwards purchased land of the Funks, the title to which not being clear, however, he never came into possession.
     William Squire was born in New Jersey, within eighteen miles of New York City, in August, 1756.  During the war of the Revolution, when but eighteen years old, he enlisted as a private in his uncle's company, and served with credit.  He married Miss Sarah Caldwell, and with her removed to Pennsylvania.  In 1816, the family, which had been increased, by the birth of four children, immigrated to Ohio, remained in Ross County six weeks, then came to this county, and located on David Allen's place, where they remained a short time, then purchased two hundred and fifty acres of land of Col. Stewart, at two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and removed there.  The farm is at present in the possession of Nathaniel Squire, and consisted originally of prairie land in part.
     East of them a settlement had been made by Henry Kile, on a farm now owned by Jackson Hays.  In the same neighborhood lived Oliver Kile, James Allen, William Devilin, who lived on the site of the new school house, and on the Martin Judy farm lived Isaac Dunham.
     There were several settlements on the road leading through Bloomingburg; one Lambert lived on the site of the village graveyard, and Isaac Boner on the lot now occupied by J. M. Edwards.  Col. Stewart owned about seven hundred acres of land in the neighborhood of Bloomingburg.
     An extended biography of Col. James Stewart will be found in the outlined history of the county, but, inasmuch as he was an early and prominent resident of this township, and because a number of his relatives yet survive him, the following facts are deemed worthy of publication.  His parents resided in Philadelphia during the war of the Revolution, moved to the interior of the state soon after its close, and thence to Washington County, Maryland.
     He was born near Hagerstown, September 29, 1786, where he remained until 1804, when, under a keen sense of the sinful and demoralizing influence of human bondage, his parents determined to move from Maryland, and therefore purchased a tract of land, of eight hundred acres, known as the Lucas survey, on which was located the town of old Chillicothe, now Frankfort, with a view to an early settlement upon it.
     In December, 1807, at the age of twenty-one years, James came to Ohio to reside, and was followed, February, 1809, by his father and the rest of the family.  Soon after, he purchased the two hundred acres of land, then in Ross County, which subsequently was cut off to form a part of Fayette, the home of his early manhood, on which he resided until his death.
     The commissioners of the new county held their first meeting in his cabin, in the spring of 1810, then an isolated place, before any settlemtn was made in Bloomingburg, or a county seat established.
     In 1812, he was elected colonel of the Fayette County regiment, in the third brigade of the Ohio militia, a time when all must be united for the protection of their homes.
     He was married, in 1811, to Jane, daughter of William Robinson, of Ross County, one of the pioneers of the state.  He soon after united with the Presbyterian Church, at South Salem, took an active part in the Organization of the Presbyterian Church, at Washington, and was an original and lifelong member of the Bloomingburg Presbyterian Church.  He was not surpassed in the community, in his administrative abilities, high Christian character, energy, and liberality.  On all questions of public interest, his convictions were formed by careful study, firm and unyielding integrity, but always supported with magnanimity and generousity.  He left two thousand dollars which was the term of the Academy, and lie his other benefactions, was made with a vew to future growth.  He devoted much of his time in surveying, and assisted in locating the original boundaries of the township.  He died, May 30, 1862.  His wife died, Feb. 8, 1865.
     The union was blessed with ten children: Hugh, K., born November 10, 1812, died Sept. 23, 1834; William R. born Mar. 2, 1815, died Aug. 26, 1821; Jane C., born June 8, 1817, married to Rev. C. A. Hoyt, Nov. 15, 1838, died at Jacksonville, Florida, in the fall of 1873; George, born Dec. 19, 1819, married Jane Gillespie, Nov. 6, 1839, and is living on a portion of the old homestead, near Bloomingburg; Margaret, born Dec. 23, 1821, died June 12, 1824; James S., born Mar. 2, 1825, died Mar. 13, 1843; Mary E., born July 2, 1827, died in infancy; Robert, born July 12, 1829, died Aug. 1, 1829; Archibald, born Apr. 3, 1831, died Mar. 16, 1833; Nathan L., born Aug. 8, 1833, is now living in Texas.

INCIDENTS, ETC.

     Prior to, and for some time after, the organization of the county, the unbroken forests of Paint were inhabited by the untutored sons of the forests and plains.  They were generally inclined to be peaceable, unless offended by some real or imaginary cause, when their savage nature became fully aroused.  A white man, named Wolf, shot and killed an Indian at Chillicothe, which maddened his dusky companions, and caused great consternation among the whites.  Because of the threatening attitude assumed by the savages in this locality, the white inhabitants became alarmed, and hastened to Chillicothe for protection.  Solomon Salmon, however, refused to fly, but upon the approach of the enemy, simply retired to the adjoining woods.  The Indians prowled about the house for some time, then disappeared, and Salmon returned to his cabin, congratulating himself on his narrow escape.
     The wife of Judge Joseph Gillespie, brought with her the first colored woman ever seen in this country.  She came from the State of New York, by wagon, in 1817, and was called Ruth Platt, and is still living with the family of William Ustick, of Washington.
     It is said that one of the most  outrageous deeds performed by the notorious Funks, was the capturing of a wolf, removing his hide, and allowing him to run at large.
     Mr. J. M. Edwards, a prominent resident of Bloomingburg, has in his possession an old Bible which is printed in small pica type and inherited from his other's family.  The book is eighteen inches long, eleven inches wide, and four inches thick.  It is known as the "Brown Bible," published in England.  On each page are valuable commentaries, printed in small type.  It contains a family register, is copiously illustrated, and has been in the hands of Mr. Edwards and his ancestry for more than one hundred years.
     It need scarcely be stated that whisky was an indispensable article in every pioneer household, and a single incident will illustrate its health-restoring qualities: Perry Salmon accompanied his brother-in-law to Springfield, to have some grain converted into meal.  People had flocked thither from far and near on the similar errand, thus compelling our friends to wait for their turn for several days.  The brother-in-law became sick because he was compelled to subsist without the use of coffee as a beverage, and Perry, in the meantime, in order to change a five dollar bill, purchased twelve and one-half cent's worth of whisky, which he gave to his sick companion, who strange as it may appear recovered instantly.

EDUCATIONAL

CHURCHES.

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

UNION CHAPEL

THE OLD SCHOOL BAPTISTS

BAPTIST CHURCH

SECRET ORGANIZATIONS

IN THE WAR WITH GARFIELD