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little community. He was also a Quaker preacher,
and thus, side by side with the advance of the
settlement, grew up and expanded the Christianizing
influences of that denomination, its early start
showing, in a striking manner, the deep religious
character of the first settlers. Thomas
Antrim and his wife are both dead. Their son,
Daniel Antrim, was the first white child
born in either Union, Champaign or Clarke Counties.
His birth took place in 1804, and he died in April,
1879.
The same year, 1803, John Sharp, brother
of Job Sharp, who had remained behind his
brother in Virginia, followed after and settled in the
immediate vicinity. He began to improve and clear
his land, harassed, however, by all the drawbacks
incident to pioneer life. He reared a family of
eight sons and three daughters. He died at the
advanced age of 98, universally beloved and respected.
Many of his descendants are well-to-do citizens of this
township.
Moses
Euans, an old Revolutionary soldier, at the
earnest solicitation of Job Sharp, who had
known him well in Virginia, and had sent him accounts of
the settlement in Zane Township, came up to the Sharp
settlement in 1803 on horseback. Satisfying
himself in regard to the fertility of the soil, the
excel lent climate, etc., he returned to Virginia and
purchased several military claims. In 1804, with
his family, he started for Zane Township, but reaching
Chillicothe at the be ginning of the winter season, he
remained there until the following year, when, with a
five-horse team, he started and came through to the
settlement, locating his claims on the land now occupied
by his grandchildren. His two sons, William
and Joseph, served in the war of 1812—the latter
as captain. None of his family survive him.
The year 1803 witnessed the settlement of James and
Joseph Stokes. They were both born in
Culpepper County, Virginia. James brought with
him his wife, a daughter of Moses Euans.
They settled in Zane Township, and put up the first
frame house in this township. This frame house was
a great curiosity to the whites and Indians.
Joseph was a Lieutenant in the war of 1812, and
after its close engaged in the mercantile business.
He also served as County Commissioner for many years.
Quite an influx of
settlers took place the following year, 1806. In
that year came Daniel Garwood with his
sons, Jose, Daniel and Jonathan,
and daughters, Patience and Sarah; John
and Joshua Inskeep and their families;
Robert Ray and his son, Joseph, all
from Culpepper, Virginia; Joshua Outland,
from the State of North Carolina, and Joshua
Ballinger, from New Jersey. The Garwoods
early became prominent citizens of this section; Jose
in particular, having received more than an ordinary
education, was given several positions of trust and
honor. He served with distinction in the war of
1812, and was appointed Brigade Inspector under Gen.
McArthur, with whom he was on very intimate
terms. All the members of the family are now dead.
The Inskeep brothers were related by marriage to
the Garwoods, and came to Ohio in 1805, settling
on Darby Plains, near Milford Centre. Preferring
the uplands, they moved to this locality the following
year. No man played a more prominent part in the
early history of the township than John Inskeep.
He served as the first Justice of the Peace in what is
now Zane and Perry Townships, his commission bearing
date Nov. 16, 1816, and the signature of Thomas
Worthington, Governor of Ohio. He was elected
to the Legislature from Champaign County when it
embraced what is now Logan and Clarke Counties, and, in
1816, conjointly with Reuben Wallace,
Member of Legislature, and
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In the year 1808, the
greatest consternation prevailed in the little
settlement on account of the failure of the corn crop.
Jose Garwood, in a manuscript written a few days
before his death, relates that in that year Dan
Garwood, Moses Euans and
George Harris, with a five-horse team, went to
Chillicothe to get a load for the use of the settlement;
and Jose himself, then quite a boy, went along to
ride the fifth horse as they threaded their way on the
zigzag road down the Darby. He further relates
that wheat was not planted until 1808. The first
crop, when made into bread and eaten, made every one
sic, and the experiment was not tried again until the
war of 1812. the principal meat was venison and
other wild game which the foret afforded. When a
long, cold winter compelled the game to seek other
localities, the settlers often suffered for want of
meat. Edmund Outland relates that his
father's family lived at one time nearly two months
without bread, and at the same period meat also became
very scarce. One morning, after being without food
of any kind for some
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time, his mother went to the spring near the cabin, and
saw two pigeons. With joy, she returned to the
house, and informing her husband, he immediately went
down and shot them. These were thankfully eaten.
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Such is the productive
character of some of these trees, that one on the farm
of John Inskeep has been known to bear as many as
sixty bushels of apples in one year.
Death, the inexorable iconoclast, found its first
victim in Henry Jones, known throughout the
settlement as Grandfather Jones, in March, 1810.
His body was interred in the Quaker graveyard. The
first marriage was that of William
Euans and Rachel Stokes,
which occurred in 1811.
Death, the inexorable
iconoclast, found its first victim in Henry Jones,
known throughout the settlement as Grandfather Jones,
in March, 1810. His body was interred in the
Quaker graveyard. The first marriage was that of
William Euans and Rachel Stokes, which occurred
in 1811.
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The fathers of many of the
earliest settlers in this township were soldiers in the
Revolutionary War, and a few of the pioneers them selves
acted their part in that great struggle and in the
Indian wars which, for years, blazed along our
frontiers. "Mad" Anthony's over throw of
the Indians at the Maumee Rapids, and the crushing
defeat at the battle of Tippecanoe, had the effect,
however, of checking
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the Indians in their depredations, and it was only
through the insidious and malicious machinations of the
British agents, in 1811, that they were again prevailed
upon to dig up the hatchet and take sides against the
Americans— a policy reprehended at home and bitterly
censured among all civilized nations. They joined
the British, and the first knowledge of that fact came
from the lurid glare of the burning cabins which blazed
a foreboding beacon light along our defenceless borders.
The news of Hull's disgraceful surrender of the
fort at Detroit spread consternation and alarm among the
settlers. A company was at once organized,
consisting of nearly all the able bodied men in the
settlement, and Zanesfield, then a part of this
township, became a frontier post. The garrison at
that point narrowly escaped an attack and surprise by a
mere accident. A few soldiers, who were out on a
scouting expedition some miles from the post, had gotten
up one morning early for the purpose of hunting
squirrels for their break fast; after shooting quite a
number they returned to their camp, and, later in the
day, while scouting, came across traces of a large band
of Indians. The latter, evidently, had heard the
firing and had hastily decamped, supposing their
movements had been discovered. The strong log
house of Job Sharp was used as one point
where the families of the Sharps, Warners,
Inskeeps, Euans,
Stokes, Ballingers and Curls gathered
on a threatened attack; from the top of the house a
lookout was kept for the Indians. The house of
William Seger, in the south part of the
township, was used for the same purpose. Isaac
Painter remembers going to a block-house, in what
is now Champaign County, with his mother and her
children, in company with other families, on the
occasion of a threatened Indian descent, while his
father was off serving as a soldier. William
Inskeep recollects well the day of Commodore
Perry's victory on Lake Erie. It was a day of
unusual clearness and beauty, and, as he and his father
were cutting corn, they heard the roaring of what seemed
to them like distant thunder, and they considered this
quite phenomenal on account of the weather, not a cloud
being perceptible in any direction. It was
afterwards explained to be the roar of artillery about
one hundred miles away.
As early as 1825, an anti-slavery agitation was begun
in this locality. Meetings were held in
schoolhouses, and the matter was generally discussed by
the citizens. The reason that the agitation
assumed such proportions was because the slaves, on
their way north, came up this way, and of necessity the
people were frequently called upon to take sides, pro or
con, with the runaway slaves. The poor negroes, in
escaping from their pursuers, would, in passing through
here, be harbored by the Quakers. The nearest
station of the underground railway was at Pickereltown,
in an adjoining township. They generally came
north through London, Madison County, via Marysville, to
Canada. Samuel Warner relates that he once
met a crowd of nine heading for the "big woods," as
their pursuers were close upon them.
Money was scarce for many years, but, fortunately,
there was but little use for it. Counterfeiting,
however, was carried on quite extensively at one time,
and a great deal of bogus money was circulated.
Several parties were arrested, but, after being confined
in jail for some time, were discharged for want of
sufficient proof.
The great earthquake of 1811, the shock of which was
felt as far west as the Mississippi River and as far
South as New Orleans, was distinctly perceived in this
township. Samuel Warner recollects
his father running to catch the dishes in the cupboard,
as they began to go through a variety of antics, and the
farmers becoming very much alarmed.
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saddlery shop, one shingle factory, one pottery and tile
factory. The latter enterprise was started about
1850, to meet the great demand for sugar crocks, and is
carried on at present by the Marquis Brothers.
The town also contains a fine township house, built in
1879, at a cost of $1,750, and including the furnishing
$2,250. It is a frame structure, the upper part of
which is a hall, while the lower part is used in part
for holding elections and transacting other township
business. There is also a very fine hotel in the
town, now under the efficient management of Col. Joel
Haines, underlying which is a thick vein of
limestone of which there is a fine quarry near.
The town is on an eminence, and great difficulty is
experienced in finding a supply of water. Recently
Nelson Devore sunk a shaft to the depth of
ninety-six feet, over seventy-five of which was through
solid limestone before striking a good flow. A few
years ago the enterprising citizens of the village
placed a hydraulic ram in one of the springs on the old
Sharp farm, about half a mile distant from
the town, and now a good supply of water is forced
through pipes up into the central part of the town,
where it pours a refreshing stream sufficient to supply
all the citizens.
The first church was that of the Friends, built about
half a mile northeast of the present town of Middleburg,
and was built about 1805. It was a double log
structure, with puncheon floor. This was occupied
until after 1825, but was finally abandoned. There
the first school was taught, and in the graveyard
adjoining the first burial was made. The oldest
grave-stone now to be found is that of Esther,
wife of John Garwood, and bears date 20th
day of the 12th month, 1811. It is a simple
sandstone slab. Col. Haines, when a
boy, acted as sexton, and, time after time, kindled the
charcoal fire on the brick hearth that occupied the
centre of the church. The remuneration that he got
was 25 cents for several months' work. This
structure was also occupied at times by the Methodists,
until they built a church of their own, about eighteen
feet square, at what was known as Inskeep's
mill-dam. This latter church was built about the
time of the war of 1812. This church was on what
was known as the Mad River Circuit, and had preaching on
week-day. Meetings were held once in six weeks.
This church was used as a place of worship until about
1830, when it was used for a short time by the
Protestant Methodists. The third church erected
was that of the Methodist Episcopal, and was known as
the Mt. Moriah Church, and its building dates 1829.
It was a hewed log structure, built by voluntary
contributions of labor. The first members were
Dr. John Elbert and wife, John Inskeep and wife,
Thomas Ballingerand wife, Joseph Euans
and wife, Benjamin Weatherby and wife,
Allen Sharp and David Sharp; the latter,
in all probability, was the first minister. This
building was succeeded, in 1854, by a brick structure,
which cost $1,225. This edifice was burned in a
very mysterious manner, at midnight, Aug. 24, 1874.
How the fire originated was never definitely known, but
was generally supposed to have been set on fire.
It was rebuilt, however, the following year, at a cost
of $1,425, and was furnished at an outlay of some $300
more. In April, 1860, a severe storm unroofed it
and blew in a gable end, which necessitated an
additional outlay of $350. There is
adjoining the church a graveyard, where sleep the early
members of this church. The first interment was
that of Mary, wife of John Painter,
early in 1828, and in the same year she was followed by
Samuel Sharp. Mt. Moriah Church now
has a membership of about thirty. The Pastor is
Rev. C. T. Wells. A Sunday school has been
maintained in its connection since 1850, with an average
attendance of about twenty or twenty-five. G.
W. Tallman is the present
Page 483 -
Superintendent. The church was followed by another
Methodist Episcopal Church, which was built in the
village of Middleburg, in 1834, then but recently laid
out. The building committee consisted of Daniel
Garwood and Thomas Ballinger.
The church was built of logs, and volunteer labor raised
the structure. It would have cost, in all
probability, about $300. It was abandoned as a
church about 1840, and is now used as a dwelling.
The decline of this church was no doubt owing to the
defection of a large body from the Methodist Episcopal
Church, who severed their connection with the parent
church for the purpose of establishing the Methodist
Protestant Church. he Christian Church at
Middleburg followed next, being erected in 1835, and was
the first frame church built in the township. It
was the only church of this denomination within fifty
miles, and Arthur Criffield was the first
minister. The cost of the structure was about
$400. The present building, a frame structure, was
erected in 1870, at a cost of $3,200, completely
furnished. It was dedicated by the Rev. N. A. Walker.
The present membership is about seventy-five, and is now
without a regular pastor. Connected with the
church is a Sabbath school, with an attendance of about
sixty-five. This is under the superintendency of
William A. Ballinger. The Methodist
Protestant Church was built in the town of Middleburg in
1836, at a cost of about $1,200, and was a frame
structure. The membership consisted largely of
those who had been prominent in the Methodist Episcopal
Church. The old church at Inskeep's Mill
was used a short time by the new organization, when they
decided to build a structure far eclipsing anything of
the kind in the vicinity. The prime movers were
those who had figured prominently in the early history
of the township—name ly, Capt. Joseph
Euans and John and Joshua Inskeep.
Both Euans and Joshua
Inskeep had saw-mills, and contributed largely to
the building. It is said that Joshua
Inskeep, who was a man of most remarkable pluck,
contributed more than half the funds to build it.
The building, however, was on a more elaborate scale
than the times and condition of the congregation
demanded, and as a consequence was never finished, but
continued to be used until a smaller one was built, when
it was sold, and is now used as a carriage factory by
Eurem Carpenter. The present Methodist
Protestant Church was built in 1873. It is a
substantial frame, surmounted by a belfry, containing an
excellent bell, and cost, when finished, $1,650.
It was dedicated by Rev. P. T. Johnson, and the
first minister was Rev. A. C. Hall. It has
a membership now of about seventy-five, and a Sunday
school the year round of about sixty-five scholars.
J. W. Young is the Superintendent.
Union Chapel is situated in the southwestern part of
the township on the line of Monroe Township, and was
organized Sept. 1, 1874, and was dedicated Nov. 22,
1874, with Rev. J. M. Robinson, Pastor. The
church was formed by a part of the membership of the old
Salem Church, one mile and a half below, in Monroe
Township, when the latter was abandoned as a place of
worship. The original members were: Elizabeth
Stuart, N. M. Stuart, Catharine Stuart,
Jane Sharp, J. M. Sharp, Catharine
Sharp, T. W. Haines and Phebe Haines.
The church cost, including the furnishing of same,
$2,200, and both the church and Sabbath school are in a
flourishing condition. The membership is about
sixty, and the Sabbath school about the same number.
The present Pastor is John S. Pumphrey. The
Superintendent of the Sabbath school is James Seamon.
The first schoolhouse was located near Joshua
Inskeep's. It was a log building of the rudest
sort, with puncheon floor and huge fire-place, with
greased paper pasted over an
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aperture, as a substitute for glass. Here pre
sided, as first teacher, William Seger,
who is mentioned among the earliest settlers.
"A man severe he was, and
stern to view.
* * *
* * *
* * *
Well had the boding
tremblers learned to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face."
Here nearly all the youth,
in what is now Zane Township, attended school in that
day Zane Township, attended school in that day and
learned to read by means of Websters Speller, the
Testament and Columbian Orator, or were instructed in
the mysteries of figures by the aid of Pike and the
Western Calculator. This, however, was burned, and
was succeeded by a frame in 1820, far in advance of its
times; the spaces between the studding are said to have
been filled with brick laid in clay mortar. Here
Edward Watt was the first teacher.
The first brick school was built on what is the pike
leading from North Lewisburg to Middleburg, and is noted
as being the first house in which a stove was used.
Here, also, for the first time, the study of geography
was introduced in 1838, Hiram Garwood
being the first pupil in that branch. The township
now contains six sub-districts, in five of which are
substantial frame schoolhouses, while in the village
there is a fine two-story building, erected in 1874, at
a cost of about $2,700. The two lower rooms of
this building are occupied by the schools of the village
district, while the upper part, built by the township,
is open to pupils from all the districts.
The schools of Zane Township are above average, and
employ female teachers usually in the sub-districts, at
an average salary of about per month, continuing from
seven to eight months in the year. In the township
school, a good male teacher is employed, for six months
in the year, at a salary of about $47 per month.
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