BOUNDARIES AND TOPOGRAPHY

     Anderson, the southeasternmost township in Hamilton county, and the only one of this county lying east of the Little Miami river - that is, in the Virginia Military district - is bounded on the south by the Ohio river, on the west by the Ohio and the Little Miami, on the north by the latter stream, which divides it from Columbia and Spencer townships, and on the east by a line drawn from the southeast corner of fractional section numbered twenty-two, in Columbia township, or from the mouth of the East fork of the Little Miami, south of its intersection with the Ohio at the mouth of Eight Mile creek.  By this line it is separated from Clermont county on the east, and is the only township of Hamilton which immediately adjoins Clermont, without the intervention of a stream.  The greatest length of the township, about nine miles, is on this line, but the length of that portion of the Little Miami that touches Anderson township is very nearly the same.  The other sides, being bounded altogether by the Ohio and Little Miami rivers, are exceedingly irregular in their boundary lines; but the township, varying from the breadth of a few yards at its northeastern most and southeasternmost points to its greatest breadth of six and a half miles on an east and west line from the mouth of the Little Miami, has an average width of five miles.  Its area is equivalent to nearly thirty-seven sections, or twenty-three thousand five hundred and seventy one acres.  A large part of this tract, on the west and north sides of the township, lies in the broad, fiat, and fertile valley of the Little Miami, upon which the site of Newton Newtown lies, and near which, in a commanding position, Mount Washington sits upon the hills, easily overlooking a broad view of the valley.  The general level of the hill tops in this township is high, Mount Washington being five hundred feet above low-water mark in the Ohio, and other heights almost as lofty.  One or two points in this township are said to be the loftiest in Hamilton county.  The ancient plateau of this region has been deeply cut through, not only by the greater waters of the Ohio and

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ANCIENT WORKS.

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THE ORIGINAL LAND OWNERS

     Anderson township, as already intimated, is distinguished above all other townships as the one subdivision of Hamilton county which lies on the Virginia military tract, reserved between the Little Miami and Scioto, for land bounties to the soldiers of the Virginia line, serving in the war of the Revolution, on Continental establishment.  The history of this reservation, with many interesting facts pertaining thereto, will be found in the chapter on land titles, in the first division of this work.  The following memoranda indicate the original owners of the respective surveys noted in that part of the Military tract which is now Anderson township:

     No. 395.  Bennett Tompkins, one thousand six hundred and sixty-six and two-thirds acres.
     No. 410.  Major John Critenden, one thousand acres.  He was the father of John J. Crittenden, the Kentucky statesman, and was an officer in the Revolutionary war, settling afterwards in Woodford county, Kentucky.  His tract was one of the finest in the Little Miami valley; and yet, so little was the value of land esteemed in those days, that he traded the whole thousand acres of splendid bottom and hill land to Major John Harris, of Mannicantown, near Richmond, Virginia, for a mosquito bar.  Harris in his turn sold it to Dr. Turpin, of the same place, for a pair of blooded mares; and Turpin made a present of it to his son Philip, who settled it, and developed it into a rich estate, which is still held by his descendents.
     No. 427.  John Anderson seven hundred and fifty acres.
     No. 500.  Holt Richardson, five hundred acres.
     No. 535.  Robert Blair, William Cassel, John Dempsey, Benjamin Gray, John Halfpenny, Daniel Sahon, one thousand acres; also John Green and James Giles.
     No. 536.  John Steele, six hundred and sixty-six and two-thirds acres.
     No. 552.  Robert Powells, six hundred acres.
     No. 608.  Abram Hites, one thousand acres.
     No. 609.  Joseph Egglestone, one thousand acres
     No. 618.  Robert Morrow, two thousand acres.
     No. 620.  Theodore Bland, one thousand three hundred and thirty-three and one third acres.
     No. 624.  A. Singleton, five hundred and fifteen acres
     No. 637.  William Taylor, one thousand acres.
     No. 706.  Jacob Fears, James Friggin, James McDonald, James Payton, one thousand acres; John Brown, two hundred acres.
     No. 916.  William Moore, one hundred and sixty acres.
     No. 1,115.  William Mosileye, one thousand acres.
     No. 1,126.  John Parke, one thousand acres; James Pendleton, one thousand acres.
     No. 1,581.  General James Taylor, five hundred and fifty acres.  This gentleman was the well-known Newport pioneer, father of the venerable Colonel James Taylor, who still resides upon the old place on the Kentucky shore, and retains large landed interests in Anderson township.  We here acknowledge much indebtedness to him in the preparation of this work.  General Taylor became possessor, first and last, of which he re-sold.
     No. 1,618.  Hites and Robinson
     No. 1,674.  Edward Stevens, one thousand acres.

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     No. 1,677.  Colonel Richard Clough Anderson, four hundred and fifty-four acres.  He was the chief surveyor of the Military district, appointed to that office by the State of Virginia.  He resided ten miles south of Louisville, where he kept the office for many years, and until it was removed to Chillicothe, in this State.  He was father of the late Hon. L. Anderson, of Cincinnati, and Marshall P. Anderson, of Circleville, also a well-known citizen, more recently deceased.  The township takes its name from Colonel Anderson.
     No. 1,679.  Edward Clark, four hundred acres.
     No. 1,680.  Joseph Neville two hundred acres.
     No. 1,682. John Mead, four hundred and thirty-four acres.
     No. 1,775.  General George Washington, President of the United States, nine hundred and ninety-seven acres.  A very appropriate number for the greatest of Revolutionary heroes to hold.  It was in the year 1775 that he took command of the Continental armies, at Cambridge, Massachusetts.  His was the triangular tract next the present Clermont county line, the northeasternmost survey in the township, the point of it resting on the Batavia turnpike, but a little way from the mouth of the East fork of the Little Miami.
     No. 2,204.  Nathaniel Wilson, four hundred acres.
     No. 2,276. General Nathaniel Massie, six hundred acres.  This owner was one of the most active and enterprising surveyors in the Military district, and the founder of the earliest towns within its borders - Manchester in 1794, and Chillicothe in 1796.
     No. 3,393.  John Nancarons, two hundred and seventy acres.
     No. 33,94.  P. Higgins, ninety acres.
     No. 3,817.  John Hains two hundred and fifty acres.
     No. 4,243.  Frank Taylor
     No. 6,543.  John English, two hundred and fifty acres.
     No. 8,903.  George C. Lights.

COVALT'S STATION.

A FORTIFIED STATION.

     Probably as early as 1790 the eyes of some of the settlers, or newcomers to Columbia, were turned to the broad and fertile tracts in the valley east of the Little Miami, and a party of colonists soon attempted to make a home there.  Their first settlement was opposite Turkey Bottom, at the foot of the hills on survey number five hundred and thirty-six, about a mile below the present site of Union ridge bridge, on the land now owned by Colonel James Taylor.  Here, for their protection against the Indians, as the custom then was they built a small block house, or stockade, which, from the principal man of the party, the father of the late John H. Gerard, ex-sheriff of Hamilton county, received the name of "Gerard's Station."  Other settlers to be protected by it are said, by Colonel Taylor to have been Joseph Williamson, Stephen Betts, Stephen Davis, Major Stites, Captain Flinn, and others.  He says that the block-house stood on the side of the hill near what is called Big spring, and not far from Flinn's ford across the Little Miami, which

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was on the principal land-route, in the early day, from Cincinnati and Columbia eastward.  Stites and Flinn are reputed to have had at least one sharp fight with the redskins at this station.  Some traces of it were to be observed until quite recent times.

ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

OTHER NOTES OF SETTLEMENT, ETC.

     Mr. JOHN BETTS, grandfather of George M. Betts, came to Anderson township at a very early day.  He was of Irish descent, and emigrated from Pennsylvania to Ohio.  John R. Betts, father of George M., was born in this township.  For several years he was in the pork business in Cincinnati.  His wife's name was Sarah S. Martin.  She was a daughter of George Martin, who died in 1878, at the advanced age of ninety-three years.  He was here when the old fort was at Columbia.  His wife was a Rigdon.  She was the first white child on the north side of the Little Miami river.  Mr. John R. Betts had three children:  George M., Elizabeth (Mrs. S. Burdsall), and Emma (Mrs. George Pike).  The son is now superintendent of the Mount Washington Canning company, which cans from twelve to fifteen thousand cans of fruit and vegetables per year.

     AQUILA DURHAM was born in Maryland in May, 1779, and died in September, 1870, in his ninety-second year.  He was the youngest of a family of eleven children, six of whom lived to be over eighty-five years of age.  The family was noted for longevity.  His father died at the age of ninety-six, and had six brothers and two sisters, each of whom lived to be over eighty.  Their father came from Durham, England, in 1722, and settled in Maryland.  Joshua Durham, father of the subject of this sketch, sold his estate and slaves in Maryland soon after the close of the Revolution, and started for the West.  But, owning to the depreciation of the continental money, he and his family were obliged to remain in Pennsylvania

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several years.  They arrived in Cincinnati in June, 1797, only eight years after its settlement, and pushed right out into the wilderness to make a settlement, and built a cabin in the Miami bottoms, about ten miles from Cincinnati.  Aquilla was then eighteen years old.  He helped his father open a clearing in the woods, and, being a skilful hunter, kept the family supplied with game.  Many hardships were encountered; but they were so accustomed to them that they seemed rather to enjoy the dangers of the chase and the hard labor and privations they had to undergo.  When General Harrison was governor of the Indiana Territory, with headquarters at Vincennes, Aquila kept him supplied with sheep and cattle, which had to be driven through the unbroken wilderness.  Many thrilling adventures were experienced by his parties when on the road.  Wild animals were troublesome at night, and the Indians were constantly on their path.  In 1804 he was married to Harriet Thompson, daughter of Barnard Thompson, a Revolutionary soldier.  They settled near his father's, and two years later removed upon the farm now owned by Thompson Durham.  He lived on that farm for sixty-two years.  They raised ten children, all of whom lived to be over forty-five years old.  Seven of them still live.  His wife died in 1868, after sixty-four years of married life.  He voted in 1802 at the first election held in Ohio, and never missed an election as long as he lived.  He attended the Cincinnati markets for almost sixty years, at first carrying his produce to market on hoseback horseback, then in wagons to the river and thence in a boat.  After roads were opened, he went through to the city in his wagon.  Every Tuesday and Friday found him in the market.  Many of the old citizens were his customers, and well remember him.  It was his pride and boast that no one ever said he was  not honest.

     WALTER JOHNSON settled in Anderson township in 1804, where his death occurred eighteen years after.  He was born in Pennsylvania in 1782.  He was a leading farmer, and was several times a member of the board of trustees of the school board.  His wife was Anna Bridges.  The surviving members of his family are Rebecca COX, W. W. H. Johnson, Franklin Johnson, Hannah Cord, Charles Johnson, Walter R. Johnson, Anna Johnson, and Sallie Norton.  Charles Johnson's birth is dated in the year 1820.  He has filled several township offices.  He married Rebecca Corbley, and their children are John C., Walter R., Van R., and Leonidas.

     FRANCIS H. JEWETT is the son of David Jewett.  His mother's name was Eunice Rider.  The father, who was born in Maine, emigrated from New York to Cincinnati in the year 1835. In the last named place, in 1840, the son was born.  At the age of twenty-seven he was married to Catharine Henn.  Three years later he began the dairy business in Covington, Kentucky, where he remained up to the year 1876, when he removed to his present place in Anderson township.  He is said to possess excellent business qualifications - in fact is the successful owner and manager of the largest dairy in the township.

     DAVID JONES and his wife, Mary S. Jones, emigrated from Virginia to the State of Ohio, and were among the first settlers in Anderson township, where the former died in 1872.  Abner Jones grandson of the preceding was born in 1816.  In 1849 he was married to Miss Emily Bennett, daughter of Samuel D. Bennett, of the same township.  In politics he has always been a Democrat and for twenty-four years has held the office of justice of the peace.

     MR. JOHN WEBB was taken to Cincinnati with his family early in 1790.  He was born in Monmouth, New Jersey, four years previous to this time.  His death occurred in Newtown, in 1857.  His wife's maiden name was Hannah Frost.  She was one year her husband's senior; her death occurred in 1857.  The surviving members of the family are Sidney Webb, of Delta, Ohio, and L. A. Webb of Anderson Township.  The last named son in 1840 married the daughter of John Frost, of Hamilton County.  Ten years later he built the house in which he now resides, the site of which is said to be the highest elevation of land in Hamilton county.  Among the leading farmers of the county the subject of our sketch holds a prominent position.

     MICHAEL LAWYER emigrated from New Jersey to Hamilton county in 1815, and thence to Clermont county in 1819.  He was born in that State in 1771, married Nancy Martin, and remained in New Jersey about ten years after marriage, when he took his family across the mountains into Pennsylvania and settled in Green county, where they lived fourteen years.  In 1815 they removed to the west, coming down the Ohio on a flatboat, commonly called a "family boat," and stopped at the month of the Little Miami.  They resided in this valley four years, and then removed to Clermont county, where the father died in 1835, and there mother ten years afterwards.  The surviving children are Catherine Paul, Isabella Becker, and Michael Lawyer.  The last-named was born in 1812, and was consequently but three years old when his people landed in the Miami country.  In 1839 he married Cynthia Robinson, daughter of John Robinson, and ten years thereafter removed from Clermont county to the farm he now occupies in Anderson township, where, in 1859, he built the fine residence in which he makes his home.

     WINFIELD S. DUNHAM was born in 1817.  His marriage occurred in 1844.  The same year he built the home where he now lives in comfort, having secured a fine competence in the business of farming.  His mother was Narcissa Wilmington the daughter of Joseph Wilmington of Clermont county.  The parents of Mr. Durham first settled near the mouth of the Little Miami.  They have six children living at the present time.

     ISAAC EDWARDS, born in New Jersey in the year 1800, was a settler of Clermont county, where he died in 1855.  His wife's name was Alice Sawyer.  They have three children now living of whom William Edwards, jr., was born in 1830.  He was married in May, 1863, to Miss Ellen Dole, of Olive Branch, in the same county, by whom he has nine children, all living.  The next spring after his marriage he removed to the fine place he now occupies, immediately adjoining the Edwards station on the Cincinnati & Eastern railroad., in a handsome house upon the farm of his uncle, William Edwards, sr.  Here

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he has devoted himself closely to his legitimate business of farming, without any turn for speculation or public life.  He is now hard upon fifty years old, but is still in the prime of his powers, a strong man and an excellent farmer.

     SAMUEL JOHNSON, father of James O. Johnson, was among the first who settled on Clough creek, where he remained during the rest of his lifetime.  He was born in Virginia, from which State he emigrated to Ohio, and was a leading resident of Anderson township.  His wife's name was Nancy Estel.

     JOSEPH MARTIN settled in Anderson township as early as 1799.  He was born in Bedford, Pennsylvania, whence he emigrated to Ohio.  His death occurred in the same township in the year 1846.  He was in the old blockhouse at Gerard Station.  His wife was Miss Rebecca Gerard.  Four children are still living, of whom their son, Gano Martin, was born in 1811.  At the age of twenty-nine, he was married to Elizabeth Curry, the daughter of Colonel William Curry.  They still live on the old homestead.  Mr. Martin had always been in politics a Republican.  Since 1840 he has been an active member of the Baptist church of Newtown in which he has always taken great interest, and for the support of which his contributions have been no small part.

     W. H. MARKLEY was born in 1827, at the place where he now resides.  He married Catharine Silvers, with whom, surrounded by a large circle of friends, he enjoys his large farm and beautiful home.   His father, Jacob Markley, first settled in Anderson township in 1814.  He was born in West Maryland in 1803, but emigrated from Virginia to Ohio.  He died in this township in the year 1879.  He was a large land-owner, and also followed the business of boating on the river to New Orleans.  His wife's maiden name was Emeline Martin.  There are five children living at the present date.

     THOMAS MEARS, a native of London, England, came to America and became a resident of Philadelphia about the year 1794.  From this city he removed to Cincinnati at a very early date, where he practiced law.  His brother John was a coppersmith, at which trade he amassed a large fortune.  Some branches of the family still remain in Cincinnati.  In 1858 he was killed by being thrown from a carriage.  His father, a physician, was a man of remarkable bravery.  He died in the West Indies from yellow fever, where he was practicing at the time.  He was a great traveller, and when the country was new is said to have driven from New Orleans to Cincinnati in a gig.  The wife of Thomas Mears was Polly S. McCormick, daughter of Rev. Francis McCormick, one of the founders of Methodism in the west.  The children of this marriage were William E. Mears; Francis Mears, of Clermont county; John Mears, of Anderson township; and Eliza C. Mears, now Mrs. Stoms, also of Anderson township; Esther Mears, afterwards Mrs. Whetstone, deceased; Isaac Mears now in Colorado; and Patsy, who died in infancy.  William was born in Columbia in 1835.  Previous to 1875 he was a merchant a large part of the time.  At that date he became a member of the postal corps, where he remains at the present.  His wife was Miss Hannah A. Sutton.

     ROBERT MARTIN was born in Ireland in 1772.  He settled in Sycamore township in 1820, and died in Symmes township in the year 1850.  He was educated for the ministry, but was a teacher the greater part of his life.  His wife was Jane Luckey.  The surviving members of the family are Belinda Clemmens, Jonathan T. Martin, and Dr. J. S. Martin.  The last-named is a graduate of the Eclectic Medical institute, of Cincinnati, of the class of 1849.  Since that time he has been practicing in the town of Mount Washington, with the exception of three or four years spent in the south and west.  His present wife was Julia C. Bishop, of Anderson township.  The They have two children, Matilda Elms and Olive May Martin.

     ABSALOM H. MATTOX first settled in Springfield, Ohio, in 1840.  Before this time he was one of the early settlers of central Ohio, serving as sheriff of Clark county from 1825 to 1830.  He came to Cincinnati in 1865, and died ten years later.  His business was that of a merchant.  His wife was Drusilla Haskell, and the members of his family now living are Absalom H. Mattox and F. G. Mattox, the latter a lawyer by profession, and at present clerk of the United States court at Columbus.  Absalom H. became associated with the editorial corps in 1872, where he still remains, and since 1865 he has been connected with the Cincinnati Gas Light company.

     ISAAC TURNER was born in Virginia in the year 1780, but emigrated from Green county, Pennsylvania, to Ohio.  He settled in Columbia township as early as 1816.  His death occurred in Anderson township in July, 1833.  He was considered a leading farmer at that time, and had a decided reputation for industry.  His wife, Sarah Turner, died in 1848.  The surviving children are Electa Highland, Rachel Martin, Michael Turner, and Syrena Light.  Michael Turner was born in 1809,  At twenty-six years of age he was married to Nancy Flinn.  They have six children living: Isaac D., J. J., George W., Anna E., John W., and E. J.  He has remained on the old homestead and followed the business of farming the greater part of his life.  At one time he was extensively engaged in pork-packing in which he secured a fine competence.

     LOUIS DRAKE was among the pioneers  of Columbia township.  Born in New Jersey, he emigrated from that State to Ohio, where he died in 1832.  He was in the War of 1812, and at different times filled several township offices.  His wife's name was Elizabeth Kennedy.  They had eleven children, only four of whom are now alive.  T. T. Drake was born in Columbia in 1818.  He has tollowed followed the business of farming in a large way, and, having secured a good property, has now retired from active life.  His present residence is in Newtown.  His wife was Lydia Mills, and there are two children, Louis D. Drake and Ordelia L. McGill, both of whom are also residents of Newtown.

     MARTIN HESS was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1803, from which State he emigrated to Anderson township in 182, when he took immediate charge of the Turpin mills.  He continued in his position, respected by all, for twenty-five years, and died in 1855.  His wife - Eliza Flint previous to her marriage - was born

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in 1806, and is still living, at the advanced age of sevent-four.  The children are Sarah Muchmore, Martin V. Hess, G. W. Hess, Lottie Searles, and Amanda Hess.  Mr. M. V. Hess was elected township clerk in 1868.  Two years later he became township treasurer, which office he has since held, with the exception of two years.  He is the present incumbent.

     ISAAC EDWARDS emigrated from New Jersey to Ohio, and settled in Clermont county about 1805.  Two years afterwards he came to Anderson township, where he died in 1827, being a leading man of his time.  His wife was Hannah Martin.  She died in 1837.  The surviving children are William Edwards, of Anderson; Rebecca Horn of Knox county; Elizabeth Day, of Van Buren county; Samuel and Edwards, both of Anderson township.  Edward Edwards was born in 1812, on the old homestead, where he yet lives.  The farm consists of two hundred and ninety-six acres of rich bottom lands.  His wife's name was Eliza Glansey.  The children are Euphemia and Clara Hammel, all living at the present time in Hamilton county.

     WILLIAM H. AYRES was born in the year 1849.  Leaving school at the age of nineteen, he entered the employ of Mr. W. R. McGill, and still holds his position, respected by all who know him.  The first representative of his family in Ohio was his grandfather, John Jones, whose wife was Hattie Durham before her marriage.

     R. W. HIBBEN first settled in Anderson township in 1839.  He was born in Charleston, South Carolina, and came from that city to Ohio.  He died in 1844.  His wife's name was Rebecca E. Goodman, and they have seven children living.  Duke G. Hibben the son of the preceding, was born in South Carolina in 1829.  At the age of ten he came to Anderson township and still remains on the old homestead, surrounded by many friends.

     SAMUEL SHAW settled at Newtown in 1828.  He was a Pennsylvanian by birth, but emigrated from there to Ohio, where he lived until the time of his death in the year 184.  He was the proprietor of a hotel for thirty-one years.  His wife was Isabel Jefferies.  Five children are living.  The son, Moses Shaw, was born in 1833.  In 1861 he was married to the daughter of Jacob Ross.  He has always followed the business of farming.

     ELISHA MILLER settled in Anderson township in 1812.  He followed the business of blacksmithing and farming, and has given the art of wood carving a deal of attention, receiving a diploma for the finest carving on exhibition at the tri-State fair of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan.  He was married in 183-, to Hester J. Hopper, daughter of Abraham, who is noticed elsewhere with the Hopper family.  He is a man respected by all.

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     The oldest house remaining in the township is a hewed log house near the site of Gerard's station, which was built in 1805 by Josiah and Samuel Holley.  It is much in repute as a veritable relic of the olden time, and one of the most venerable dwellings in Hamilton county.
     The first mill in the county was Wickersham's (some say Coleman's), upon, rather in front of Nathaniel Wilson's survey No. 2,204, at the rapids of the Little Miami, about two miles from its mouth and below the mouth of Clough creek, not far from the present site of Union bridge.  Colonel Taylor says his father, General James Taylor, was at the mill in 1792; and further:

     He went with the servant with two bags of corn to have it ground.  The mill, he said, was a rough affair, constructed out of two Kentucky flat-boats, which made meal of a very coarse character.  He said travelling to that spot at that day was not considered very safe, as Indians had been seen a few days before on the trail leading to the mill from Fort Washington, and in fact had killed a man.  Phillip Turpin, who settled on Crittenden's survey No. 410, about 1795, subsequently built a flouring-mill near the spot where Wickersham built his mill.  Said mill stood there until within the last two years, when (1870) it was torn down by his heirs.

     The Turpin Mill, which was a very fine one for its day, and did excellent service for two generations, was built about 1805.  In the same year the first ferry over the Little Miami was established in the vicinity by the Holleys before mentioned, which they leased for one hundred dollars in cash and one hundred gallons of whiskey.  This beverage was then made in considerable quantity at a large distillery half a mile from Turpin's mill, upon or near the site of the old block-house.
     All ferries across the river...........................MORE TO COME.

EARLY RELIGION.

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NEW TOWN.

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MOUNT WASHINGTON

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CALIFORNIA.

OTHER POST OFFICES.

POPULATION.

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against four thousand and seventy-seven ten years before.  A comparative statement of the number of its inhabitants, during the several years in which the federal census has been taken, will be found, as in the case of other townships of Hamilton county, at the close of chapter X, in the first part of this work.
 

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