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Welcome to
Gallia County, Ohio
History & Genealogy

Source:
History of

GALLIA COUNTY
Containing
A Condensed History of the County;
Biographical Sketches; General Statistics;
Miscellaneous Matters, &c.
H. H. HARDESTY & CO., PUBLISHERS, CHICAGO AND TOLEDO.
1882

Gallipolis Township

I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII XIII XIV XV XVI XVII XVIII XIX XX XXI XXII XXIII XXIV XXV XXVI XXVII XXVIII XXIX XXX

For Chapters XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI & XXVII - SEE TOWNSHIPS BELOW HERE

TOWNSHIPS:
includes biographies

XVIII
Gallipolis
XIX
Guyan
XIX
Ohio
XX
Clay
XX
Harrison
XXI
Walnut
XXII
Green
XXII
Perry
XXIII
Greenfield
XXIV
Addison
XXIV
Raccoon
XXIV
Springfield
XXVI
Cheshire
XXVII
Huntington
XXVII
Morgan

BIOGRAPHIES

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Page X -
one of the American-bound vessels which brought the French emigrants from Havre de Grace.  On their arrival at Alexandria he was sold to a hotel proprietor for one year, to pay his passage, at the end of which time he came to Gallipolis.  He remained here until the distribution of lands at the French grant, when he accepted his portion about one mile below Haverhill, where he continued to reside, accumulating a large amount of property.  He was a shrewd man of enterprise, and died August 8th, 1826, in the sixty-fivers year of his age.
     MONS. JEAN BAPTISTE BERTRAND was a fine Latin and French scholar, and came with the emigrants to Gallipolis, in 1791.  He was occupied for some time as a miller and in a mill near the village.  One day, while absent, he procured a substitute, who, while occupied in the mill, was killed and scalped by a hostile band of Indians.  He obtained a tract in the grant, and by his genial disposition became very popular.  He died at his residence in French Grant, March 21st, 1855, aged 94 years, the last man to survive of the original French of Southern Ohio.

     RENE CAREL was born in Paris, France, and came to Gallipolis in the spring of 1803, accompanied by his wife and two children, Franklin and Virgil.  On the way from Pittsburgh to Gallipolis, by river, he stopped to visit Blennerhassett at his island, and he was in after years fond of mentioning the cordial courtesy with which he was received; the elegance, amounting  to grandeur, of the palatial residence of Blennerhassett, its rich furniture and art embellishments, and the beauty of the grounds, the more remarkable from the fact that this section then was an almost unbroken wilderness.  Mr. Carel immediately engaged in business pursuits after his arrival, establishing what was probably the first salt works in the State, the salt works being located just below Chicamauga creek, and the ground upon which it was situated is now within the corporate limits of the city.  He lived a respected citizen, and died Mar. 27th, 1843.

     COLONEL LUTHER SHEPARD was born in Hampshire county, Massachusetts, July 31st, 1777.  He came with his father's family to Marietta, in 1790, and, in company with his brother Calvin (who is mentioned herein in connection with the history of the Methodist Episcopal church), arrived at Gallipolis shortly after the year 1800.  In 1809, he married Margaret, a daughter of John Entsminger (whose name will be found in the extract published of the early records of the township, among its list of original officers, in 1802, and who came to Gallia county, from Virginia, in 1795.)
     Colonel Shepard served as captain of a company in the war of 1812, during a portion of which service he was post commandant of Chillicothe, whither he was accompanied by his wife.  He had under his charge at that point a large number of British prisoners, among whom was an artist of considerable repute, who, while there, painted finely executed portraits of himself and wife, on wood, which are now in the possession of one of his descendants, and highly prized, not only as interesting relics, but as valuable works of art.  As a matter of interest, in this connection, a copy will be given of an old document which is found among the papers of Colonel Shepard, and now in the possession of one of his descendants.  In contrasting the appearance of it with military papers of like import of the present day, one is impressed with the lack of modern red-tape and its business-like language:
                                                                                                                   CHILLICOTHE, April 4th, 1814.
     Sir:  On receipt of this you will take charge of Camp Scioto, in which the British prisoners are confined.  You will put all the prisoners in close confinement who have been concerned in the mutinous conduct to-day, in rejecting their provisions after they were passed as good by their own non-commissioned officers.  You will keep them under guard for twenty-four hours, without suffering them to cook or eat.  You will order out the one-half of your effective force on guard, this day and to-morrow, and have the guard well supplied with ammunition.  If any of the prisoners become refractory, or insolent, you will order them to be tied.
                                                                                                                    Yours, with respect,
                                                                                                                            JOHN MILLER
                                                                                                     Colonel of 19th Regiment, Infantry
CAPTAIN SHEPARD,
             Commanding Ohio Militia

     Colonel Shepard, after the war, continued to reside at Gallipolis, an honored citizen, leading an active business life until his death, which occurred in 1852.   Four of his children are yet living, viz.:  Mrs. Alexander Vance, Mrs. Margaret Aleshire, Miss Julia Shepard and Edward T. Shepard.

     GENERAL LEWIS NEWSOM was born in New London, Campbell county, Virginia, in October, 1785.  He came to Gallipolis in April, 1807, where he continued to reside, a man of education and refinement, and one whose good qualities endeared him to those with whom he came in contact.  The author of this history is greatly indebted to him for many facts obtained from his published sketches of the lives of early settlers.  His name will be found in connection with the history of many offices and institutions of the city and county.  He was much interested in the success of the Gallia Academy, as will be found by reference to its history in the following pages.
     He married a daughter of C. R. Menager, who was born in 1792, among the first children born in Gallipolis.  Her mother, Mrs. Menager, outlived all but three of the original French settlers.  Mr. Newsom has met Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and had the good fortune to listen to some of the celebrated speeches of the eloquent Patrick Henry.  He died March 17th, 1872.  His wife died in 1868.
     JUNIUS l. NEWSOM - a son of General Newsom, was born in Gallipolis in 1810, and has always resided in Gallia county, and is now a resident of the city, where he is well known and universally respected.

     CHARLES CREUZET was born in the city of Lyons, France, May 15th, 1793, and came to this country in 1803, at ten years of age, landing in New York.  In the same ship and of the same party, came Genevieve Pistor, who afterward became his wife.  From 1803 to 1817 he lived in New York and Baltimore, and made several trips to the West Indies, where his mother was then living.  He volunteered and served in the defence of Baltimore, when that city was threatened by the British during the war of 1812.  In 1817 he was married in New York city, and at once started for the West, accompanied by his wife and her mother and family.  Of the latter was the sister of Mrs. Creuzet, Mrs. Margaret Menager, who is still an honored resident of Gallipolis - the last one of those who crossed the ocean together  and sought a home here.  At Pittsburgh he embarked in a flatboat, and landing at Gallipolis, was induced to remain.
     Here he lived all his life, and from 1825 in the same house.  He engaged in mercantile pursuits, in which he prospered.  Later he became interested in manufacturing, and by careful and skillful management built up a large business, retiring from active life in 1863.  He was enterprising and liberal, sympathetic and kind to the unfortunate, and rich in all those qualities which are the elements of complete manhood.
     It was probably not until after his death that the great charity and unostentatious benevolence of the man was fully appreciated.  He was never known to bestow anything for the sake of personal aggrandizement, or for gaining popularity.  His favors were granted in a manner such that the recipients knew not whence they came, until by after investigation conclusive evidence was, without his knowledge, grained of their source.  A score or more of men in this vicinity who are now enjoying the comforts of an ample fortune, testify to the fact that they owe it all to the unexampled and disinterested kindness of Mr. Creuzet, who was a friend in time of need.
     It is sufficient to say of his wife, that, in all those noble benevolent attributes for which he was distinguished she was fully his equal.  Mr. Creuzet died at Gallipolis, on Saturday evening, July 31st, 1880, aged 87 years.  His wife died February 17th, aged 77 years.

OTHER PROMINENT GALLIPOLISIANS AND ITEMS OF INTEREST.

     Of the many others who have been closely identified with the interests of the city, a few will be here mentioned, and the attention of the reader is called to the personal histories of Gallia township families in the following pages.
     HON SIMEON NASH was born at South Hadley, Massachusetts, Sept. 21st, 1804.  His father was a millwright, and his mother a woman of more than ordinary mind and strength of character.  He received his early education at the district school, near his home, and early developed an eagerness and thirst for knowledge, in which he was greatly encouraged by his mother.  He spared no efforts nor wasted time in improving his mind, digesting and placing on paper whatever impressed him as being of value, which plan he pursued through life.  The good results of this method became apparent in after life, during his career as a lawyer.  It enabled him to become widely known as a ready and effective speaker, always prepared when called upon, to talk intelligently and impressively upon any subject of public interest, his extemporaneous speeches containing all the elements of one that might have been carefully written and the subject of long and intense study.
     At the age of seventeen years he went to Hopkins' Academy, in Old Hadley, where he remained six months, beginning his preparation for college.  In 1825 he entered Amherst college, and not having the means to meet all expenses, he taught school during the winters while there.  After graduating, in 1829, he returned to South Hadley, where he remained for two years, studying law with the late Edward Hooker, and teaching a school for boys.  Having finished his law course, he accepted an invitation from the late Honorable S. F. Vinton, a native of South Hadley, and came to Gallipolis, by stage, January 9th, 1832, where he continued to reside the balance of his life.
    It is necessary to reside one year in Ohio before he could be admitted to the bar, and this time he passed with Mr. Vinton, who proved a wise friend and counselor.  He was admitted to practice in 1833.  For a time business was dull, but it steadily progressed, as he became better known, until he attained an extensive and lucrative practice.
     He served as State Senator in the 38th, 39th, 40th and 41st General Assemblies - 1839 to 1842; nearly two years he was upon the State Investigation Commission; a member of the State Constitutional Convention of 1851, and for ten years occupied the bench as judge of the common pleas court, where he presided with ability and becoming dignity, commanding the respect which the position required, in the disposition of many vexed questions his decisions were generally acquiesced in. 

See Page XI

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