OHIO GENEALOGY EXPRESS


A Part of Genealogy Express

 

Welcome to
Franklin County,  Ohio
History & Genealogy

Source:
1796 - 1880
History of Franklin & Pickaway Counties, Ohio
with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches
of Some of the Prominent Men and Pioneers
Published by
Williams Bros. -
1880
Pg. 401

CLINTON

     Clinton - township number one, range number eighteen, United States military lands - consists of just one of the original surveyed townships, of five miles square.  It was subdivided into four quarters, or sections, the original owners of which were the following named gentlemen:  Jonathan Dayton, the first and third sections; John Rathbone, the second section; and George Stephenson, the fourth section.  The date of their entries, was Mar. 12, 1800.
     The township is level, east of the river almost perfectly so.  Its principal stream is the Olentangy river - formerly called Whetstone creek - which flows south through the western portion of the township, uniting its waters with those of the Scioto river, at Columbus.

INDIANS,

of the Wyandot, and other tribes, remained in the township, and region, for a  number of years after the white settlers took possession of the soil.  Intercourse between them and the whites was of a friendly nature, and only during the year of 1812, after the surrender of General Hull, by which the whole northwest was exposed to the ravages of the enemy, were there any anticipations of difficulty by the inhabitants.  One evening, shortly after that unfortunate event, the settlers on the river were greatly alarmed by a report that the Indians were over-running the northern part of the State, and massacreing the inhabitants, and settlers in Clinton fled in terror to Franklinton, and a few went to Zanesville, for protection.  Andrew Wilson says the report reached his father's house after nightfall, and that he, though but six years of age, distinctly remembers the excitement that ensued.  After a night of dismal forebodings, in Franklinton, the refugees returned to their homes, and soon afterwards learned of the falsity of the alarm.
     On the west bank of the Olentangy, on the farm of James H. Hess, was a burying-ground of a former race - probably Indians - which was opened in the summer of 1879, and from twelve to fifteen skeletons exhumed.  They were in two parallel trenches, which were about twelve feet apart, and some three and a half feet deep.  A large number of arrows, tomahawks and other rude implements of war, had previously been found, indicating that a battle had once been fought there.

WILD GAME.

     The country, in its native state, and for many eyars after its first settlement, abounded in game of all kinds - deer, wild turkeys, and some smaller game being particularly numerous.  There were not a great many bears in the township, or vicinity, but they would frequently pass through it, and a number have been killed within its bounds.  Deer were more plenty than cattle are now, and venison was a common article of food.  It was not an unusual circumstance for a settler to bring down a fine buck with his rifle, from his cabin door.  One of the most successful hunters among the pioneers was David Beers, jr., who had a cabin on what is now "Squire Peggs' farm, which he made his headquarters while he pursued his favorite sport.  He began to hunt when a boy of fourteen, and did nothing else for seven years.  He used to say that he had hunted in every county in the State,

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and that the first eighty acres of land that he bought he paid for with the products of his gun.  In one day, in this township, he killed one bear and five deer.  The last deer killed in this township were, probably, those shot by W. S. Shrum and John Fleniken, about the year 1840.  They shot them (four in number) on the Morse farm, in the east part of the township.  Wolves were plenty, and were, perhaps, more dreaded than any other of the beasts of the forest.  They would come up to the cabin doors of the settlers, often protected only by a blanket, or quilt, and rendered night anything but pleasant with their piercing howls.  Sheep were not safe from them, unless shut up in pens, and the pioneers suffered considerable loss from their ravages.  Wild turkeys were caught by means of a rail pen, which was built over the end of a ditch dug in the ground, and covered over.  The birds were decoyed into the inclosure with corn, scattered in the ditch.  When once within the pen, they were safely imprisoned, for they would never go down into the ditch to get out, invariably seeking a means of egress above.  And squirrels were exceedingly plentiful.  They were so numerous, and destructive to the cross of the settlers, as to be regarded only as pests, and various means were resorted to to rid the country of them.  Large hunting parties were organized, and thousands were destroyed in that way.  Mr. Shrum states that in a few moments one morning, before breakfast, he, and a brother, killed thirty-two of them, without the use of a gun.

SETTLEMENT.

     The first settlement of the territory now constituting the township of Clinton, was commenced as early as 1800, along the Olentangy, on the west side.  Among the first families that arrived, were those of BALSER HESS, John Lisle, and a family by the name of HendersonBalser Hess came from Bedford county, Pennsylvania, with a family, consisting of his wife and eight children.  He stopped in Ross county (as now constituted) a couople of years, and then came to this township, and located where his grandson, James H. Hess, now lives, subsequently taking up three hundred and twenty acres of land there.  It is thought that this family made the first improvement in the township, for they cut their way into the woods of Clinton, the son, Daniel, going ahead of the team, and with his axe preparing the way for the slowly moving train.  The first house erected by the pioneer, Hess, was a double log structure, which, although not a tavern, was a common stopping place with travelers.  Mr. Hess' occupation in Pennsylvania, was that of a shoemaker and tanner of leather, and he followed the same trade after his settlement here, tanning the first leather and making the first shoes in the township.  People came from Chillicothe to get their boots and shoes made by Mr. Hess, and his pay very seldom consisted of legal tender.  One of the first pioneers in the township, Mr. Hess was also one of the first of their number who died, his death occurring in December, 1806.  He was the first adult person buried in Union cemetery.  His wife's experience of pioneer life was in strange contrast to his, surviving him nearly half a century.  She died in 1855, at an advanced age, having raised nine children, all now dead but one.  The youngest, at the time of his death, was fifty-seven years of age.  The names of the chilren, were: Daniel, Mary, Eve, Polly, Balser, Catharine, Betsey, Susan, Sarah, and Moses; Susan - now Mrs. Israel Carpenter, and living in Illinois - is the only survivor.  Daniel and Moses lived and died in this township, the former a short distance west of his father, and the latter on the homestead.  Daniel Hess was one of the first justices of the peace in the township, being elected soon after its organization, in 1812.
     JOHN LISLE, a native of Ireland, emigrated to Ohio, from Kentucky, in 1798, and first located in Franklinton, his family being among the first inhabitants of that old town.  In 1799, or 1800, he moved into Clinton, and settled where J. O. Lisle now lives, and subsequently died there, his wife, Rachel, surviving him.  Their children, all of whom are now deceasedd, were: Robert, Margaret, Elizabeth, James, Rebecca, Jane, John and Rachel.  Robert married Abigail McIntyre, of Fairfield county, and resided in Clinton until 1817, when he removed to Hamilton township, and settled where his son, Harvey, now resides; Margaret became the wife of James McElvain, an early resident of this county, but later of Indiana.  Elizabeth married Luther Powers and moved to the same State; James, who lived in Hamilton township, married Mary Golliford; Rebecca was the wife of Joseph Young, of Fairfield county, and Jane, of Samuel Maynard, who lived in Clinton, for several years, when he moved to Sandusky county; John married Thankful Maynard, and removed, soon afterwards, to Indiana; Rachel was the wife of William Sackett, and first settled in Fairfield, and afterward Putnam county.

     The HENDERSON FAMILY located on land now owned by Thomas Hess.  There were three sons in the family - Alexander, Samuel, and Adam - all now supposed to be dead.

     HUGH and ELIJAH FULTON, brothers, were among the first settlers of the township.  Hugh lived where the family of Henry Slyh now does, west of the river.  He had four sons, who finally sold to Jacob Slyh, and moved to Michigan.  Elijah Fulton settled just north of the Hesses, and died there at an early date.

     SAMUEL McELVAIN and family located, soon after 1800, on the farm just north of where W. S. Shrum now lives.  They subsequently moved to Columbus.

     JOHN HUNTER, the first settler on the east side of the river, in this township, occupied the south part of the land now constituting the college grounds.  Above him, in successive order, were two families by the name of Vance, and Herdoff, Droddy, Smart, Simmons, and others hereafter mentioned.

THE CENTENARIAN.

     DAVID  BEERS, SR., one of the oldest, and most active, pioneerws of Clinton, was a resident of the township from 1804 until 1850, when he died at the great age, it is said (his exact age not being known), of one hunderd and four years.  He was a natie of New Jersey, and when seven

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years of age, with a little two-year-old sister, was stolen by the Indians.   The two children, and their widowed mother, were going on a journey on horse-back when all three were captured by the savages.    The children were separated from the mother (whom they never saw again, and was undoubtedly killed), and taken over into Canada.  David was kept in captivity for seven years, when, by some exchange of prisoners between the whites and Indians, he was released.  His sister, however, was taken to the region of upper Sandusksy, and remained there among the Indians during her life.  she became the wife, successively, of three Indian chiefs, her last husband being the well-known Wyandot, Between-the-Logs.  Some years after his settlement in Clinton, Mr. Beers heard of a white woman living with the Indians at Upper Sandusky, and he made a visit to the tribe, where he found his long lost sister, contented and happy in her savage life.  David Beers removed, with his family, from Pennsylvania to Ohio in 1802.  He remained in Fairfield county two years, when he moved to this township and located just north of the college grounds.  In 1809 he settled where North Columbus now is.  The old hewed log house, in which he lived, is still standing.  He died there, May 16th, of the same eyar above stated.  He was the father of nine children, they are:  Conrad, David, Elizabeth (who became the wife of Ransom Coe), Moses, Peter, Catharine, Solomon, Rachel, and George W.  Five are yet living; they are: Moses and Catharine, (wife of D. P. Wilcox), who live in Missouri; Peter, who lives in Iowa; Rachel (Mrs. Wheaton), and George W., who live in Clinton.  Conrad died in North Columbus.  His son, Moses, and a daughter, Mrs. Spencer, reside in this township.  Three other sons live in the west, and a daughter in Lorain county.  David Beers, jr., some of whose hunting exploits are briefly mentioned elsewhere, settled in Clinton, where he remained until 1831, when he moved to Mifflin, and settled on Alum creek, and resided there until his death.  He was justice of the peace of that township for thirty years, when he was succeeded by his son, David, who still retains the office, having served twenty-one years.  He was twice married, and was the father of ten children, three of whom are deceased; of the remainder, Washington, David, Daniel, and Gertrude reside in Mifflin township, Ellen in Clinton, Mrs. Elizabeth Holden in Champaign county, and Mrs. Eliza Spangler in Columbus.

     JOHN WILSON, in 1797, married Rachel Cresswell, in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, and immediately after started, with his bride, for the far west.  They traveled on pack-horses, as far as Pittsburgh or Wheeling, carrying with them a few articles of household necessity, and then put their horses on a flat-boat, on which they, also, came down the ohio river to the mouth of the Scioto, thence up to Chillicothe, on their horses.  They lived on the Kinnickinnick, in Rose county, till 1804, when they came to what is now Clinton township, and settled upon fifty acres, now occupied by their son, Andrew Wilson.  The father died here, Oct. 2, 1879, at the age of over eighty-one years; his wife survived him about three years, and was about the same age at the time of her death.  They had a family of three sons and two daughters.  One of the daughters is now living in Fremont, Ohio, and the other in Iowa.  Andrew Wilson, the only surviving son, was born in Clinton, Feb. 16, 1806, and is the oldest man in the township, who was born in it; his wife was Chloe, daughter of Jason Bull.

     DENMAN COE, of Connecticut, emigrated to Wayne county, Pennsylvania, where he remained a year or two, and then, in 1807, came to Ohio.  After remaining a short time in Worthington, he located in Clinton, on the Harbor road, on the Henry Innis farm.  He lived there some five or six years, and then returned to Pennsylvania, where he subsequently died.  Dudley and Ransom, his sons, received the homestead, on which Dudley resided until his death.  He was married, at the age of fifty, to Sarah Hoskins, of Holmes county, by whom he had four sons and two daughters, all now living.  Ransom Coe, in 1815, purchased, of Caleb Rice, a hundred acres of land, now owned by his son, A. F. Coe, which he cleared up, and on which he lived until his death, in October, 1855.  At the time of his death, he owned over five hundred acres of land.  His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of David Beers, sr.  She survived her husband some thirteen years.  They had a family of six children, two of whom are deceased -  Henry, who died, unmarried, in Clinton, and Mrs. Salinda Stewart, the eldest daughter, who died in Burlington, Iowa.  Three of the surviving children reside in this township - Mrs. Lovilla Ackerman, Alvin, and A. F. Coe; Mrs. Rachel Stone lives in Delaware county.

     HARVEY COE, a younger brother of Ransom, settled in Mifflin township, where his widow and son, James H. Coe, now live.

     In  1809, or 1810, JOSEPH SHRUM bought, and settled upon, eighty-eight acres in this township, where W. S. Shrum, his son, now lives.  He was a native of Germany, and in 1800, when eighteen or nineteen eyars of age,  he emigrated to this country.  For a year or two, he lived in Little York, Pennsylvania, and then came to Franklin county, and located in Hamilton township, where he had a distillery, for a couple of years, on the Shoaf farm, on the Chillicothe road.  Afterwards, he bought one hundred and sixty acres in the same township, now the Klickinger farm, which he lost on account of imperfect title, when he came into this township and settled, as already stated.  Soon after his settlement, he built a distillery on the west bank of the Olentangy, just south of his residence.  The still was burned down in 1824, or 1825, but he rebuilt it the same year, but on the east side of the river, and carried on distilling until 1837, when he retired from active business.  Jan. 1, 1809, he was married to Elizabeth McGranahan, by whom he had seven children.  She died in 1823, and he was married twice afterwards, but had no children by these subsequent marriages.  Mr. Shrum was killed, in September, 1859, by a train of cars on the Piqua road, while driving over the long crossing, west of Jones mill, living forty-eight hours after the accident.  At the time of his death, he was over eighty-eight years of age.  Although owning and operating a distillery, he was a strictly temperate

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man in his habits.  For thirty years he was a member of the Franklinton dragoons.  A son and two daughters are now living:  W. S. Shrum, born in this township, in 1814, and now residing on the homestead; Mrs. Elizabeth Reams, in Michigan, and Mrs. Lucy Gillen, in the State of Illinois.

     At an early date, quite a number of New England people came into the township, and settled mostly along the Columbus and Worthington road, which originally run a somewhat different course from what it now does.  One of the first was ABRAHAM INGHAM, who came from Barkhampstead, Connecticut with his family, then [1808] consisting of his wife and three children.  The year before, he had made a trip to this western wilderness, to take a look at the country, walking the whole distance both ways, and averaging over fifty miles a day the round trip, and some days traveled sixty-five miles.  The family settled on the David Bristol property, a mile and a half south of Worthington, where they lived until 1812, at which time Mr. Ingham purchased of Daniel Case the farm now occupied by his son, George W. Ingham.  At the time he erected his cabin here, on this now thickly settled road, the nearest direction.  Mr. Ingham, after a useful life, died in this township, in 1840, his wife surviving him thirty years.  They raised a family of six children, four of whom are yet living, viz.: Mrs. Arnold, in Delaware county, aged over eighty; A. C. Ingham, in the town of Delaware, aged seventy-nine; George W. who lives in this township, on the old homestead, and a daughter - Mrs. Wilcox - in Iowa City, Iowa.  George W. was born in this township in 1816.
     At the same time, Jordan Ingham, an older brother of Abraham moved out with his family, and settled on the farm adjoining his brother on the south.  He died about the year 1843, and his wife previously.  The only member of the family now living resides in Iowa.

     DANIEL CASE came from Hartford county, Connecticut, in 1811, and settled on the farm, a part of which is now owned by his son, William Case.  His dwelling stood on the bank of the river, near where the mill now does.  Mr. Case died in 1817.  Of his five children, two only are now living - William, was above mentioned, and Rodney, in Kentucky.

     Prominent among the pioneers of this township were THOMAS BULL and family, who arrived in Worthington, in the fall of 1812, removing from the State of New York.  They remained the first winter in Worthington, and in the spring came to this township, Mr. Bull having purchased in the Rathbone section, lots eight, nine and ten, comprising something over six hundred acres.  He settled upon lot eight.  Thomas Bull was a native of Vermont, born November, 1762, and died in Clinton, October, 1823.  His wife Sylvia (Benedict), was a native of Connecticut, born in 1766, and died here at the age of about eighty years.  They raised a family of four sons and two daughters - Chloe, Jason, Nathan T., Alonson, Hiram and Edith.  They all came to Ohio with their parents, except Chloe, who came subsequently with her husband, Isaac Brevoort, who was drowned a short time afterward which crossing the Olentangy river.  Jason Bull lived on the farm just north of his son-in-law, Andrew Wilson, and died there, February, 1861.  He was a local Methodist preacher.  Alonson died in Columbus; Hiram, on the Mississippi, below New Orleans, where he had settled; Edith became the wife of a Dr. Beach, and resided in Marion county, Ohio.

     DR. NATHAN T. BULL, the only survivor of the family, and now residing in this township, was born in Clinton county, New York, Sept. 29, 1795; married, January, 1820, Fidelia, daughter of Eber and Rebecca Wilson, who removed from Washington county, New York, to this township, with his family, in 1818.  Mr. Wilson resided on the farm now occupied by Mr. Fuller, for two years, when he removed to Lower Sandusky (now Fremont), and shortly afterward to the Maumee river, where he settled near Perrysburg.  Mrs. Bull was born Aug. 23, 1798.  With the exception of her hearing, which has become of late years considerably impaired, Mrs. Bull still retains her faculties in an excellent state of preservation.  Dr. and Mrs. Bull have lived together as man and wife, for the unusual period of three score years, and have, now living, seven children, twenty-two grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren.

     JOHN SMITH came from Francestown, New Hampshire, in 1812.  He worked for Squire Samuel Wilson above Worthington, about a year when he married his employer's eldest daughter, Olive.  In 1814 he purchased of Thomas Bull, lot number nine, in Clinton township, now owned and occupied by Mrs. Catharine SmithMr. Smith was a zealous christian man, and was actively engaged, during most of his life, in religious and reformatory work.  He was in Minnesota, as sort of missionary among the Ojibway Indians, for several years.  He was the first president of the first temperance society, and of the first anti-slavery society in Franklin county.  He organized the first Sunday-school in this township, and was its superintendent for about thirty years.  He died April, 1865, his wife surviving him a few months.  They raised a family of six children: Rev. Samuel D. Smith, now pastor of the Presbyterian church in Reynoldsburg, this county; Elizabeth C., now widow of Willialm F. Breck, and residing in Parker City, Pennsylvania; John A., Jeremiah B. and Joseph, all deceased, and Mary M., who married William L. Starr, and lives in Nebraska.  Joseph Smith, above mentioned, was the husband of Catharine Piatt who is still living in Clinton, on the old homestead.  Mrs. smith is a sister of John J. Piatt, the poet.

     ROSWELL WILCOX and family came to this county from Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1805.  The journey which was made by wagon, consumed three weeks, and from Granville to Worthington they traveled by blazed trees - the country was then almost a complete wilderness.  They located, for a short time, in Franklinton, when they moved about two miles above Worthington, in the Wilson neighborhood, where they lived some eight years.  In 1814 Wilcox moved with his family to this township, and settled where Joseph Guitner now lives, having erected a saw-mill, where the Hess mill now stands, in

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1810.  He resided there until his death.  His wife survived him, and died in Delaware county.  They had a family of eight children, of whom D. P. Wilcox now living in Missouri, is the only survivor.  A daughter, Emily, was the wife of Apollos Maynard.

     PHIOLOGUS WEBSTER and family, and his sons, Peter, John, and Harvey, and their families, moved into the township during the war of 1812.  They came from Connecticut - John, and family, from Hartford, and the rest from Simsbury.  they came by wagon, and were three months making the journey.  the father settled where the aged widow of Elihu now lives, and died there a few years afterward.  Peter also settled on a portion of the old homestead.  John located in Columbus, where he lived some ten years, when he settled in Clinton, on the farm now owned by Mr. Little, but lived on the east side of the road; his son, Amason Webster, born in Columbus, in 1814, is sstill a resident of this township.  Harvey died in this townships, though hem ade no actual settlement; he  was the father of Lewis H. Webster, a member of the bar of Columbus.  Elihu married Mary Anderson, who still survives him, at the age of over eighty years.  Rhoda, who became the wife of Farin Olmstead, and lived in Blendon township, subsequently removed to Madison county, and, finally, to Iowa, where she died.  Levi died in Clinton, at the age of eighteen.

     ROSWELL COOK and family moved in from Connecticut in the winter of 1815, and at the same time came his sons, Rodney and Chauncey, with their wives.  The father bought and settled upon the farm now occupied by Rodney's son, Clement Cook.  After his death, which took place in Delaware county, the elder son had the home place, and Chauncey lived on a portion of the farm south of his brother.

     EDWARD STANLEY, SR., from Connecticut, arrived about the same time as the Cooks, and located where Erskine A. Fuller now lives; he died there, and his son, Edward afterward occupied the place.

     EZEKIEL TULLER, also from Connecticut, came to Ohio in 1814, and after living a few years in Sharon township, settled in Clinton, where James Wetmore now resides.  None of the family are now left.

     JOHN BUCK came out with the Cook family.  He was then single, but afterward married Diadamia Cowles, and settled on the place now occupied by his son, William.  the father and mother both resided here until their death.

     SADOSA BACON, from Connecticut, purchased in 1813, the farm now occupied by his son, John.  In 1817 he married Anna Case, and lived upon his farm until his death in 1822.  He was a traveling Methodist preacher.

     PHILIP ZINN settled in Columbus in 1813; afterwards bought and located on the north part of what is now the college grounds.  He was an early mail-carrier from Columbus to Chillicothe, and from Columbus to Delaware.  He is also much engaged in transporting goods by wagon from the east to Columbus.  He died in Pennsylvania while on such a trip.  His children, Adam Zinn and Mrs. John Garner, live in this township, and Peter, a lawyer, below Cincinnati.

     In 1819 ALEXANDER SHATTUCK, born in Groton, Massachusetts, Sept. 9, 1797, came to this county with his brother, Simon, and wife, Sarah Simpson who settled in Perry township.  He was a carpenter, and worked at his trade for some time after his arrival.  His first purchase of land was ninety acres, still occupied by his widow.  It was then uncleared except a few acres, and contained a log cabin.  He was married in Worthington, Feb. 17, 1830, to Flora Andrews, who came with her parents to Ohio from Connecticut, when six years of age.  She was born July 24, 1808.  To them have been born two sons and ten daughters, all now living but one son.  William Shattuck who lives on the farm next south of his mother's, is one of the leading farmers in the township.  Alexander Shattuck died Oct. 23, 1870.

     HENRY INNIS, of Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, married, in Harrison county, Ohio, Isabella Clifford Pegg, and in 1817, came to Franklin county.  He located in Franklinton, where he kept a tavern some four yers, when he moved to Clinton, and settled on the farm now occupied by Abraham Carl.  He erected the brick house now occupied by the family of A. R. Innis, his youngest son, in 1840.  He resided there until his death, Apr. 13, 1865, aged seventy-three.  His widow, born July 30, 1793, is still living.  They raised a family of nine children, four of whom survive - Colonel Gustavus S. Innis, manager of the State Reform farm, at Lancaster; William H., one of the substantial farmers of Clinton; Mrs. James Durrett, in Scioto township, Pickaway county; and Adam R., also in Clinton.  Elizabeth was the wife of Frederick Roder, formerly of Clinton, now of Delaware county; Mary married Mr. Jimeson, of Blendon township; Minerva was the wife of Joseph Mock, of Clinton, and died June, 1879; Isabella C., was the wife of Silas Wilcox; and Elias P., died at the age of twenty-one.

     The MAYNARDS - two families - the most of whom settled in Sharon township, came, with some others, from Massachusetts, to this county, in the year 1806.  In Connecticut, the emigrants were arrested for traveling on the Sabbath, in violation of the old blue laws of that State.  Two men of the party went back with the officer to the magistrate, who had caused their arrest, and succeeded in getting off in some way without suffering the penalty to which they had made themselves liable.  Moses Maynard settled in Worthington, and, Stephen, his brother, west of the river, in the same township.  Apollos Maynard, son of Moses, born Sept. 12, 1796, married, in 1820, Emily Wilcox, daughter of Roswell Wilcox and Dorcas Pinney, and subsequently, in 1832, purchased, for one thousand dollars, seventy-seven acres in Clinton, where North Columbus now stands.  On the place west of High street, was in cabin built by Jacob Loy, and this Mr. Maynard moved to the east side of the street, and occupied.  He subsequently erected the brick house occupying the same site, or nearly so.  He died, Mar. 24, 1868.  Mrs. Maynard died Dec. 20, 1857.  Two children were born to them - George Clinton, who died Aug. 2, 1860; and Laura Maynard, now living in North Columbus.

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     SAMUEL G. FLENNIKEN emigrated from Pennsylvania in 1798, settling at first on the Lancaster road, below Columbus.  He was born in North Carolina, and raised in Pennsylvania.  He married Elizabeth Morehead, in Chillicothe, in 1798.  About 1820 he moved, with his family, to Clinton township, when he bought the land on which the county infirmary was to be located.  his purchase was made from the McIlvaine heirs.  He was elected associate judge in 1817, and served until his death, in 1845, a period of twenty-eight years.  He raised nine children, seven sons and two daughters.  His son, Samuel W. Flenniken, lives in Brown township, on Little Darby creek.  Eliza S. married Joseph R. Anderson, and lives near Columbus, on the Dublin pike.  Dorcas J. married Daniel Lakin, and settled in the southwest corner of Clinton township.  Two of her sons live in Perry township, George W., on the bank of the Scioto river, and Samuel W., near the Clinton township line.  Sarah Flenniken remained single and lives with her sister, Mrs. Anderson, near Columbus.  The remainder of the children of Judge Flenniken went to the west where they died.

     CASPER KINER came to this county from Pennsylvania in 1824.  He lived a couple of years south of Columbus, and then located where the college grounds are, in Clinton township, where he remained for a year.  He then moved to Coshocton county, where he resided seven yers, when he moved back to Clinton.  He settled on the farm, a portion of which is now occupied by his son, Jacob, and lived there the balance of his life.  He raised a family of ten children, of whom three sons and a daughter are now living, viz: Jacob, Henry, and John, in this township, and Mrs. Nathaniel Smith, near Georgesville.

     WALTER FIELDS moved into this township in 1824, from Athens county, Ohio, where he had lived six years.  He located on one hundred acres of land, now owned by L. L. Pegg, just east of his son, Albert Fields' farm.  In 1867 he moved to the farm now occupied by his son, where he died ten years afterwards.  His father, John Fields, and his family, came from Athens county in 1828, and settled upon the same lot.  He died in 1864, at the age of one month and a few days over one hundred years.

     JACOB SLYH came from Jefferson county, Virginia, in October, 1828, his wife and father coming out with him.  They remained in Columbus through the winter, and then came to Clinton and settled a mile south of where he now lives.  At this writing he is aged eighty-one, and his wife seventy-eight.  They have five surviving children, all of whom are married.  William occupies the homestead.

     FREDERICK WEBER emigrated to the United States, from Germany, in the spring of 1830, and lived one year in York county, Pennsylvania, and three years in Stark county, Ohio, when, in 1834, he moved to this township, and settled where he now lives.  This place, which he purchased of Thomas Johnson, consisted of sixty-eight acres, on which there was a log cabin, and only five acres cleared.  This part of the township was then very new, wet, and heavily timbered.  Mr. Weber has now three hundred and ten acres.  In Stark county he married his first wife, who died in 1851, and who was the mother of his ten children, seven of whom are now living.  In 1862 he married his present wife, Mrs. Amelia Schwartz, of Columbus.

     WINDSOR ATCHESON, who resides in the southeast part of the township, at the age of seventy-seven, has been a resident of Franklin county since 1828.  In 1813, he came from Center county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio, with his parents, who settled in Stark county.  In 1828, he came to Lockbourne, and worked on the canal two or three years, when he went to Columbus.  In 1842, he located in Montgomery (now Marion) township, west of where the round house now is, and in 1846, moved into Clinton.  For many years he has been engaged in the manufacture of brick.  July 29, 1852, he was married to Maria Kiser, and has a family of five children.

     ROBERT INNIS, a brother of Henry, before mentioned, moved into the township, from Harrison county, Ohio, in 1834, and settled on the farm now occupied by his widow, Mary Innis now aged nearly seventy-one.  Mr. Innis died Aug. 19, 1879, aged nearly seventy-five.  There are eight children of Robert Innis, all married and settled for life.

     JOSEPH PEGG, who settled in Clinton in 1833, came from Philadelphia, with his father, Elias Pegg, who was among the early settlers in the old town of Franklinton.  Elias Pegg, his son, now lives there, and his daughter, Mrs. Henry Innis now in her eighty-seventh year, resides in this township, and Mrs. Samuel Fisher, another daughter, at Hilliard.  Joseph Pegg was married in Franklinton, to Matilda Crawford, and, the year above stated, purchased of Henry Innis, a farm of sixty-eight acres, on which he resided until his death, in 1854.  His wife died a few years since.  They had eleven chidren, all of whom are living, with the exception of a daughter,  who was killed in childhood, by a tree, cut down by the hired man, falling upon her.  Elias W. Pegg, son of Joseph Pegg, is justice of the peace of Clinton, a position he has filled with credit many years.

     J. P. LITTLE and wife came to Ohio from Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1833.  They lived in Licking county about three years, when they moved to this township, and purchased of John Webster, sr., the farm they still occupy.  Mr. Little was born Feb. 13, 1802, in Greene county, Pennsylvania.  His wife (Anna Beck) whom he married in 1830, was a native of Washington county, same State, an is now aged sixty-six.  they have raised six children, and all of them are now living.

PIONEER SCHOOLS.

     The first school in Clinton, according to Andrew Wilson and others, was kept by Miss Griswold, in an old log cabin on the Lisle farm, in the summer of 1809 or 1810.  The house had only part of a puncheon floor, and greased paper for windows.  The children who lived east of the river, of whom John Wilson sent four, had to wade the stream to get to the school.
     In 1812 Michael M. Baker, an Irishman, opened a school in a log house on the Maynard farm, north of the

Pg. 407 -
college grounds, then owned by Joseph Smart.  Jonas B. Ward and Roswell Fisk were early teachers in the same house.
     A school was kept by Miss Becky Gordon in a vacant log dwelling on the Hess farm, as early as 1817.
    The first school in the Cook neighborhood was taught by Diadamia Cowles, afterwards wife of John Buck, in the summer of 1816.  The school was kept in a log structure, previously used as a stable by Roswell Cook.  The first school-house was built in 1815, on Webster's run, on the top of the hill, northeast of the late Edward Stanley's residence.  The first pedagogue was Timotny Sedgwick, of Connecticut, who taught a winter school.  The first summer school was kept by Miss Rachel Cook, whose tuition was partly paid in grain.
     In the fall of 1819, or following winter, a small log school-house was erected nearly opposite where the present Methodist Episcopal church now stands, in which James Ferson kept the first school.  He was a man of excellent character and qualifications, as a teacher, and taught a large and successful school.
     A hewed log house was built a few years afterward, just north of the old school-house which has also long since disappeared.  The now venerable Dr. Bull was one of the earliest teachers in this house, teaching two winters.
    The township is, at present, divided into eight school districts outside of the city limits, and each district contains a good brick school-house.

CHURCHES.

CLINTON CHAPEL.

     Meetings by the Methodist in Clinton were commenced, in 1819, at the log house of Eber Wilson, on the farm now owned by Mr. Fuller.  The first circuit preachers were John Tivis and Leroy Swomstedt, who preached, alternately, once in two weeks.  A class was formed, with the following members:  Thomas Bull and wife, Nathan T. Bull, Alonson Bull, Edith Bull, Fidelia Wilson, Abel Tinckum and wife, Louis Gay and wife, Eber Wilson and wife, Jason Bull and wife, and widow Delano.  Meetings were held at Eber Wilson's house about two years, and, after that, at the dwelling of Thomas Bull, until his death, some eighteen months.  Subsequent to this, and until the erection of the church, they were held at the old school-house, which stood just west of where the church now stands.  The church was built about the year 1838, and was the first meeting-house in the township.  The ground for the church and graveyard was set apart, for the purpose, in the will of Thomas Bull, one of the society's most zealous members.  The church has been fairly prosperous, and meetings have continued, without interruption, up to the present time.  Andrew Wilson and Amoson Webster are the present class-leaders.  A Sabbath-school has been in existence, in connection with this church, for over forty-five years, and is now flourishing.  It contains a good library.  Amoson Webster is the superintendent.

THE M'KENDREE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH,

in the eastern part of the township, was organized at the dwelling of John Baker, in 1852.  Rev. Urich Heath, who was then on the circuit, officiated in its organization.  The constituent members were twelve in number, as follows:  Henry Innis and wife, Robert Innis and wife, David Canfield and wife, Mrs. John Baker, and Mrs. Cornelius  Sharp.  The church, a small frame house, was erected the same eyar the society was organized.

THE BAPTIST CHURCH.

west of the river, called the Clinton Predestinarian Baptist church, was organized at the Union church, by Elder Samuel Carpenter, of Lancaster, and Elder Hiram Hendren, of Canal Winchester, in August, 1860.  the members composing the organization, were:  Rev. Daniel Hess and wife, Josiah Kinnear and wife, Sarah Hess, Aaron Hard, Jemima Hard, Melissa Hard, Ansel Hard, Myron Hard, and Robert Walcott.  Aaron Hard was elected the first deacon.  The first meetings of the society were held irregularly at the Union church, and subsequently, in the Walcott school-house, in Perry township.  The church, a neat brick structure, was built in 1870.  The first pastor was Rev. Hiram Hendren, who preached one year, when he was succeeded by Rev. Daniel Hess, who continued as pastor until October, 1877, when he resigned.  Since then Rev. George Tussing, of Columbus, has officiated as pastor.  William Winegardner is the present church clerk.

THE UNION CHURCH.

near the west line of the township, was erected by the Episcopalians of Clinton, and a German Reformed society, in Perry township, in the fall of 1852.  The lot, of one-half acre, was donated by Jacob Slyh.
     The German Reformed society was organized by Rev. Jacob Weaver, at the Kenny log school-house, on the twenty-second of June, 1851.  The original members of the society were:  Jacob Eagle and wife (Mary Ann), John Kenny and wife (Nancy), Rodolfus Phinegar and wife (Elizabeth), Mathias g. Slough and wife (Lydia), Frederick Wiser, and Mary Whip.  The first officers chosen by the church were: Jacob Fogle, and Rodolfus Phinegar, elders; John Kenny, and Mathias G. Slough, deacons.  The successive pastors of the Reformed church have been as follows: Jacob Weaver, George W. Willard, Henry Willard, and Joseph Heffley.  Subsequent to Henry Willard, the Rev. John Voght preached for some time as a supply.  The society, at the present time, numbers about twenty-six members.  The elders are Jacob Fogle and James Kenny, and R. Phinegar, deacon.
     The Protestant Episcopal society, with which the German Reformed united in the erection of the church previously mentioned, was organized at the time the church was built, in 1852.  The membership consisted of Jacob Slyh and wife (Emeline), Daniel Lakin, Washington Lakin and wife (Rebecca), and Elizabeth Lisle Jacob Slyh was elected senior Warden, and Daniel Lakin, junior warden.  There are now about twenty-one members.  Rev. Messrs. Roberts, Richards, Ross, Ruth, Nash, Jones, and Young (the present minister), have been the successive pastors of the church.
    
The Winebrenarians ("Church of God") hand an or-

Pg. 408 -
ganization in this township for a number of years, and in 1852 erected a brick church in Clintonville, which is now used for a dwelling.

FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL.

     The first Sabbath-school in the township was organized by John Smith, at his house, in 1832.  He had charge of the school for a number of years, keeping it for three or four years in his own house, and afterwards in a log school-house west of the site of the Methodist Episcopal church.

MILLS AND OTHER INTERESTS.

     In the first settlement of the county the pioneers were compelled to make extended journeys to get their grain ground into flour.  to go thirty or forty miles to mill - to Chillicothe, as the first settlers did - and through unbroken forests, was no small undertaking.  The grist was ground in the order of its reception at the mill, and the few mills then in existence were so overcrowded with business that several days would be required some times to get the grist through the mill.  A man who has had some experience says "one in going to mill could eat his grist while waiting for it."  Frequently, the mortar and pestle was brought into use.  A cavity burnt into the top of a stump, or block, a spring-pole, or sapling, with a pestle attached by means of bark - these were the sum total of the parts and mechanism of the mortar and pestle-mill.  With this the people pounded their corn.  Frequently, they had "jointed" corn - corn cut from the cob with a joiner's plane.  The first grist-mills of any considerable advantage to the county were those of Colonel Kilbourne and Samuel Dyer, the former near Worthington and the latter on Darby creek, where Georgesville now stands.  These were erected about the year 1805.  The first grist-mill in the township was erected by David Beers, sr., in 1810.  The mill is now owned by the Messrs. Hess.  Mr. Beers sold the mill, in 1816, to his son-in-law, D. P. Wilcox, who operated it until 1839, or 1840, when he sold it to James Mateer.  Mr. Mateer subsequently sold it to John B. Piatt, who was succeeded by the Messrs. Hess.
     The grist-mill, farther up the river, now owned by Jacob Weisenhammer, was originally built on the Olentangy, in Sharon township, by Stephen Maynard, about the year 1813, and was afterwards moved to its present location.  It is the same mill, just as the boy's jack-knife was the same, which had had three new handles and two new blades.  George Whip owned this mill for some thirty years, and it is known as Whip's mill.  Roswell Wilcox in 1810, erected the first saw-mill in the township, just below the Beers grist-mill.  The two mills were run by the same flume, which caused some trouble and litigation between the owners.  A saw-mill was built about the year 1814, near Whip's mill, by Dan Case and Belias H. Skeels  The saw-mill in the eastern part of the township, was moved in and put up by Messrs. Jennings and Jeffries, about two years ago.  A saw-mill had previously been erected there by William Keyes, of Westerville, who afterwards moved it to Columbus.
     There were, at one time, three distilleries in the township, which did an extensive business in the manufacture of liquor.  The most important manufacturing interest in the township, at the present time, is that of brickmaking, a large number of brickyards being in active operation.

TAVERNS.

     The first house in the township, kept for the entertainment of the public, was opened by Peter Haroff, in his dwelling, on the old Columbus road, near where the college grounds now are.  The house consisted of three or four log cabins, joined together, and in it the early township elections were held.  About the year 1814, the Wilcox tavern was erected, by Roswell Wilcox.  The building was a frame, and stood where the residence of Joseph Buitner now stands, and of which the old tavern now forms a part.  Mr. Wilcox kept the tavern until his death.

PHYSICIANS.

     Dr. Charles H. Wetmore, the pioneer physician of the township, removed to this county from the city of New York, in the year 1819.  He commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Henry, of Lansingburgh, New York, and afterwards road with Dr. Burrett of Troy; he attended lectures at the college of physicians and surgeons of the University of New York, and was licensed to practice in 1808.  He first began the practice of his profession in Troy, but was practicing in New York City at the time of his removal to Ohio.  Dr. Wetmore died, Sept. 10, 1868, in the eighty-sixth year of his age.  Dr. Nathan T. Bull, born in Clinton county, New York, Sept. 29, 1795, came to this township, with his parents, Thomas and Sylvia Bull, in 1812.  Adopting the medical profession, he went, when about thirty-one years of age, to Cincinnati, and attended lectures at the Ohio medical college, of that city, having previously read with Dr. Comstock.  He began the practice of his profession in Hamilton county, where he continued some six or seven years, when he came back to Clinton, with the intention of engaging in other pursuits; but so great was the need of physicians at that time, that he reconsidered his resolution.  From that time, until within a few years, Dr. Bull has been actively engaged in the practice of medicine.

VILLAGES.

     In 1846 or '47 Alonson Bull laid out a few building lots on the Columbus and Worthington road, which were bought and improved by mechanics.  He did not design it for a village, and had no plat of his lots recorded.  His purpose was merely to afford homes for a few mechanics, for the benefit of the neighborhood.  The few houses erected, however, formed the nucleus around which grew up a little town, and took the name of Clintonville.  A postoffice was established there in October, 1847, with James Ferguson as postmaster.
     In 1842 Solomon and George W. Beers laid out forty acres into logs on the road, about a mile, south of Clintonville.  They recorded their plat, and named the place North Columbus.  the first lots were purchased by Alexander Shattuck and he erected the second house, William Carroll buildilng the first.  The first store was opened there by a man by the name of Bender.  In 1859


JOHN FIELD.
["at the age of 90"]

WALTER FIELD                         MARY FIELD

Photos by . McCann, Westerville, O.


MRS. AMASON WEBSTER                              AMASON WEBSTER
J. T. WEBSTER
MRS. ORRELL E. LEGG                                   C. L. WEBSTER

 

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Kinnear's addition, consisting of fifteen acres, was laid out by Samuel Kinnear, and in 1870 an addition of one hundred and seven acres on the east side of the street by George Williams.  The town is now embraced within the corporation limits of Columbus.

_____
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
_____

THE FIELDS FAMILY - pg. 409

THE WEBSTER FAMILY -pg. 409

DR. CHARLES HENRY WETMORE. - pg. 409-410


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