|
CHAPTER XXVI.
Pgs. 112
INCIDENTS and the EARLY NEW
MARKET SETTLEMENT - COL. WILLIAM KEYS and
the HARDSHIPS which HE and HIS FAMILY
ENDURED in their JOURNEY to HIGHLAND - The
STAFFORD, CALEY and CREEK FAMILIES MOVE IN
and SETTLE in DIFFERENT LOCALITIES - COURT
RECORDS, CLOSING UP the YEAR 1806
Page 112
The follies and vices
indulged in those days, were too often only
looked upon as so much sport, though they had a
damaging influence on the youth of the day,
particularly in and around New Market, which was
then the centre of fashion and refinement as
well as vice and profligacy, of the county.
One of the many characteristic incidents of that
time and place, which was in source of amusement
and laughter for many a day afterwards, is thus
remembered by an early resident of that place.
"Late in the Fall of 1805, Adam
Barngruber came from Kentucky with a four
horse wagon and team to New Market, loaded with
a miscellaneous stock of goods, wares and
merchandise, among which was a barrel of whisky
and a keg of tobacco. He had some remnants
of calico cotton handkerchiefs shawls, &c.,
perhaps enough to fill a bushel basket.
These goods he put for sale in a small cabin
about twelve feet square, right opposite where
Lewis Couch afterwards lived, which he
dignified by the name of store. He brought
with him a Dutchman called Fritz Miller
with whom he had formed partnership, he
furnishing the goods and Fritz selling.
This was the first trading establishment or
store in New Market, and, it is believed, the
first in the county. Here in New Market,
just like every other place, sinks of
demoralization were always first in order.
Fritz opened under most flattering
auspices, and by reason of his whisky and
tobacco soon had lots of friends.
Barngruber soon returned from Kentucky with
another load of goods of the same stripe.
Winter came, and during the long nights many of
the citizens would walk up to spend an hour with
"Fritz Miller." He had become a
great favorite. AT these meetings, the
"New Market Devil" (J. B. Finley) was
prominent, and many were the little tricks
played upon poor Fritz for the amusement
of the company. One chilly evening the
company, six or eight in number, concocted a
plan by which to have some fun out of Fritz.
J. B. Finley was among them as chief
conductor, whose mouth, upon the conception of
the plan, was seen to spread from ear to ear.
They, in carrying forward their plan, contrived
speedily to use up or spill all the water that
Fritz had provided before dark for night.
Soon a demand was made for water, and water they
must have, so poor Fritz had to gather up
his bucket and trudged off through the dark, a
matter of three hundred yards, to the spring,
the nearest point where water could be obtained.
He was absent some time. Meantime, the
company put out the fire which furnished all the
light for the store room. They then
secreted themselves in the dark, in the chimney
corners, and at the side of the house, awaiting
the arrival of Fritz. At length he
came with his bucket of water. Finding the door
open, and all darkness within, at the same time
ho was met at the door by such offensive,
sickening and suffocating effluvia, that he was
for a moment startled, and almost unnerved.
Recovering his breath, however, and speech, he
vociferated in his broken language, “Vat, vat
now! Vat in do hell ish now! I pleves dis
divel has came! Poys ! poys!” At this
moment one outside in the chimney corner, gave
an awful groan and gritted his teeth. “Vot
I dunder and blixen! O poys, vat now?
Mine Got! vat ish dis!” Here their leader,
Finley, set up a most hideous
bellowing, followed up by all the others in
their hiding place, with a
most terrific rushing and rattling of casks, and
gnashing of teeth, growling, howling, &c., which
so terrified the poor Dutchman that he
exclaimed, as he turned to run, “Mine Got! vat
ish dis? Mike Stroup, the
difel is comes for me!” He left his store
to the full possession
of the supposed evil one, glad to escape so
lightly what to him seemed terrible in the
extreme. After he was fairly scared off,
and everything quiet, the merry company lighted
up the fire, and amused themselves with whisky
and cards till morning, winding up in a pretty
extensive fight, in which Finley remained
master of the cabin.
During the following winter wasPage 113 -
Page 114 -
the Legislature afterwards; also Hamilton
county, after lie removed from Highland to the
Miami. In the fall of 1804, Abner
Robinson came from North Carolina, and
built a cabin and made an improvement on the
farm known as the old Leverton farm,
on the Washington road. He sold out to old
Foster Leverton in 1806, and moved
away. Leverton came from North
Carolina to Ohio. He was an Englishman by
birth, and has been dead a number of years,
leaving a large family of children and
grandchildren, most of whom still reside in this
county, useful and worthy citizens.
In 1805 Jonathan Barrett, from Virginia,
bought out Nathaniel Pope, on
Hardin’s creek, and settled there. His
brother Richard, and his. brother-in-law,
Henry Cowgill, came with him.
Richard settled on Fall creek, near the
farm known as the old Fairley place,
Cowgill settled in the same neighborhood.
Mr. Crew,
father of Joshua Crew, of Penn
township, settled on Hardin’s creek, in
this year.
William and
Isaac Sharp came out from Virginia,
in company with the Keys family,
and settled on Samuel Reece’s land, as
tenants.
The settlements up to this year, (1805,) in Highland
county, had principally been made on the water
courses within its boundaries. There were,
however, exceptions; New Market, Franklin
and Dicks settlement, Wilkins,
Shafer, Laman and Caley,
north-west of New Market and the settlement of
James Johnson, in the present township of
Penn.
What the strong inducements were on the banks of the
little creeks which cut up the county, is not
very apparent at tills day. Perhaps the
small bottoms of rich lands formed the principal
attraction. This inquiry is not, however,
important. These streams, though small,
were generally well adapted to mills, and mills,
of all things, were most needed by the early
settlers. Consequently they soon appeared
at intervals, along the banks of the creeks.
Temporary, frequently rickety things, only able
to grind a few bushels of corn in a day, when
there happened to be plenty of water, and that
had not frozen, were erected. These little
pioneer mills, simple and unpretending as they
certainlywere, even for that day, met, to a
considerable extent, the wants of the early
settlers.
Up to the time of which we now speak, no mill had been
erected on Clear creek, and none on Fall creek.
On Hardin’s creek there were, however,
two. Jacob Beals, who moved
out early, erected a small tub mill on the
creek, about a mile below where the Washington
road now crosses, in 1804. About the same
time, Phineas Hunt erected a small
grist mill where the Washington road now
crosses, and built his house on the hill
adjoining. These mills did much of the
grinding of the Fall creek settlers, and,
indeed, for the settlers more distant.
About the same date, and perhaps even earlier, a
little trap of a mill was built at the falls of
Rattlesnake — right at the falls—but it never
did much good, washing away soon after, and
never being rebuilt.
Old William
Stafford and his four sons, Jonas, James,
Robert and John, moved out from North
Carolina, and settled between Fall and Hardin’s
creek, in 1804, in the neighborhood of Abner
Robinson. The old man settled on the
farm now owned and occupied by John Morrow,
Esq. James, his son, settled on the farm now
owned in part by Jacob Tompkins, Jordon Ladd,
Micajah Johnson’s widow, and Joseph
McNeil. John Stafford settled
on the farm now owned and occupied by John
Leverton.
Nicholas Robinson
came out with his brother Abner, from
North Carolina, and settled the farm now owned
part by John Leverton and part by
Allen Johnson.
In the year 1805, ’Squire
George Caley purchased the land on which he
resided for many years. This place is a
short distance north of the old Philip Wilkin
farm. Mr. Caley says the
first year he lived there he killed twenty-two
deers. He came from Virginia to New
Market, it will be remembered, in 1801. ’Squire
Caley reared a large and respectable family, and
in all essentials faithfully discharged the
duties of a good citizen. He was present
at the laying off of the present town of
Hillsborough.
In 1805 John,
Joseph and Jacob Creek emigrated
from Virginia, and settled with their families
in the neighborhood of Richard Evans.
John settled on the old Thomas
Hinton farm on the pike. Joseph
settled on and improved the farm recently owned
by Judge Barry, and later by
Thomas Willett; and Jacob
settled on the farm now owned by the heirs of
John Barry, where he resided a number
of years. They are all dead. Whilst
they lived they were industrious and useful
citizens. Joseph Creek was
something of a mechanic, rather better than the
necessities of the times forced upon all
backwoods men. It was absolutely necessary
for every head of a family, in the early
settlement of the
Page 115 -
Page 116 -
Page 117 -
Page 118 -
<
CLICK HERE to RETURN to TABLE of CONTENTS
> |
