The
History
of
Miami County,  Ohio
CONTAINING
A History of the County; its Cities, Towns, etc.; General and Local
Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men;
History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio;
Map of Miami County; Constitution of the United States,
Miscellaneous Matters, etc. etc.
ILLUSTRATED
Chicago:
W. H. Beers & Co.
 1880

BIOGRAPHICAL REMINISCENCES.

     Having now given, as far as possible, all the names of those advance-guards and forerunners of civilization, who braved the perils and hardships incident to opening a home in the wilderness, up to the year 1800, we shall now take pleasure in giving a brief sketch of those of whom we have been able to glean any reminiscences.  David H. Morris and Samuel Morrison contracted with Symmes for lands near the mouth of Honey Creek, raised corn on Freeman's Prairie, and, as has been stated previously, were supposed to have been the first settlers of this county.  They were both honorable men, and well respected by the later settlers, who shared their hospitality.  The former came from New Jersey and served during the war of 1812, under Gen. Wayne.  Samuel Morrison was a native of Pennsylvania.  Robert Crawford came from Pennsylvania, was appointed by the Commissioners to superintend the laying-out of the town of Troy, and also in the sale of town lots, but after serving a year, he resigned.  John H. Crawford, also from Pennsylvania, was one of the first Associate Judges of the county, and served two terms. 

SCALPING OF MRS. MARTIN.

     Levi Martin and family were among the earliest settlers of Staunton.  Mrs. Martin was an unfortunate victim of Indian cruelty, and the details of which are worthy of a place in this connection.
     "In 1788, or near that time," says Stephen Dye, who was an eye-witness to the bloody affair, "the family of John Corbly, a very pious man, lived at Gerrard Station, on the Monongahela, not far from Redstone Fort, a mile and a half from a meeting-house.  He was, with his family, a regular attendant on Divine worship.  One pleasant morning in the spring, a party of youth had started from the Dye settlement (among whom was the narrator) to attend meeting.  They had just crossed a creek branch, when they heard the report of rifles in the direction of the fort.  It was an unusual sound on that day, but they supposed some strangers had come into the neighborhood, and were out hunting.  The party, however, had not proceeded half a mile, when they saw several bodies lying in the path, and, on approaching them, they proved to be the mutilated remains of the Corbly family.  The old gentleman had forgotten his hymn book, and left his family walking on, to go back after it.  During his absence, the Indians, concealed in the woods, shot at them, killed outright Mrs. Corbly and three children.  Two younger daughters were left for dead.  They had been knocked down, and, with the rest of the party, scalped, but were resuscitated; one of these, Delila Corbly, late Mrs. Martin, who died in 1836, lived for many years, an esteemed and favorite member of this neighborhood."  Mrs. Martin lived to rear a family of eight sons and two daughters, notwithstanding the severity of her wounds, which, her family physician says, extended over the crown of her head, as wide as the two hands.  The hair grew thriftily around the edge of the scalped surface, which, by careful training, grew upward, and served as a protection to the exposed parts.  At times, it caused her pain, and she frequently complained of headache, which she attributed to the loss of her scalp; but, so far as known, no serious results ever followed, for she lived to quite an old age, and performed a great amount of hard labor.
     Peter Felix, a Canadian Frenchman, was supposed to have been in the neighborhood of Staunton previous to the first settlement there.  He was rather a noted Indian trader, and in addition to this, kept a kind of tavern.  He was shrewd, and drove many a sharp bargain with the Indians.  His stock of needles once getting scarce, it is reported that he demanded of the Indians a coonskin for a needle, giving as an excuse, that the needle maker had died, and he could get no more.  It is presumed he made money at his calling, for at the organization of the county, the first courts were held in his house.
     Andrew Dye, Sr., was one of the oldest settlers of this county, and, with his sons, ranks among the most prominent of the same.
     Had all been as Mr. Dye, the growth of this county would have increased in spite of Indian massacres, famine, pestilence and every other known calamity incident to humanity, for he had eight sons and two daughters.  He died in 1837, at the age of eighty-seven; at which time his posterity amounted to about five hundred, three hundred and sixty of whom were living.  What a sight for an old bachelor to contemplate; gazing upon three hundred and sixty children ranging down to the fifth generation, with one hundred and forty buried.  John Gerard was one of the settlers who came to Staunton in 1799.  Was one of the first Associate Judges of the county.  He was a man of strict integrity, energy and a valuable citizen; and a prime mover in every enterprise looking toward the development of the infant county.
     Nathaniel Gerard, also a settler of 1799, in Staunton, bought land two miles from Troy, on which was located the celebrated tea spring, a description of which is given by D. H. Morris, in "Harmar's Expedition." now owned by the Coleman family.  Mr. Gerard established the first tannery in the county, which was of inestimable value to the early settlers, for they either had to pay an enormous price for leather, wear buckskin moccasins, or go barefooted.
     Henry Gerard, son of Nathaniel, was also one of the ninety-niners, and was one of the most useful men in the county.  While his father was the first to prepare the hides of the animals for their feet, he was the first to erect machinery for preparing the grain for their stomachs, and lumber for their houses and furniture.  Previous to this, he had been employed by John Cleves Symmes as his agent in superintending matters in connection with the northern part of his purchase, for which he was to be compensated in land; but as he was often heard to say that he never received anything, it is supposed Symmes failed with him, as well as with the Government.

1800-1807

     Our facilities for ascertaining the names and number of those who came into this county, from 1800 to 1805, seem to be very meager.
     We learn of an Irishman, by the name of George Kerr, who settled on Section 8, in Monroe Township, about the year 800.  He cleared out a little farm, and became an industrious and permanent settler of this county.  At this time, also, a few families came from South Carolina, and settled in the vicinity of Kerr, cleared lands, and raised large families; many of whom are now living on the farms of their fathers.  Among those worthies we may mention Joseph Layton, Jesse, Amons, and David Jenkins; the last of whom were elected Justice of the Peace in 1818, the duties of which office he honorably discharged until his death in 1858.  About this time, also, came a family of Pearsons.  Samuel, was a man who could indulge his ingenuity in almost any direction, could with equal facility mend a plow, or pull a tooth, make a singletree, or cut off a finger, fix a clock, or administer worm medicines to a squalling baby; in fact make himself useful at almost anything, and therefore was indispensable to the immigrants.  Enoch Pearson was one of the first preachers in the county, and held many meetings in the woods, where he preached the honest doctrine of the Friends, to which denomination he belonged.
     As he was one of the earliest to proclaim the Word of God, so was he one of the first taken to the fold about.  His remains lie buried in the family graveyard.
     Thomas Furnace came to this county from South Carolina in the year 1800 and located on the farm now owned by Newel Kerr, in Monroe Township.  Mr. Furnace was a prominent man in the county and wore some of her highest honors, having been elected Sheriff, and afterward represented Miami in the State Legislature.  The now flourishing county owes an everlasting debt of gratitude to those brave men who supported her in her infancy, and gave her the strength of their own heroic manhood.  Not only does she owe a debt of gratitude to these men, but equally as much to the true-hearted and noble-minded women; who aided their brothers, their husbands, their fathers, with their own hands; and, by their presence and purity, rendered the house in the wilderness a place of happiness, to which their husbands, brothers and fathers, wearied by the hard day's toil, could retrace their husbands, brothers and fathers, wearied by the hard day's toil, could retrace their steps, feeling each grow lighter, as they approached the abode where woman's presence made all things cheerful, and woman's sweet smile of welcome chased away all the toils of the day.
     Such men were the Coppocks, Pearsons, Furnaces, Mendenhalls, Coateses, Leagues, Yountzes, Jenkinses and hosts of others, who gave color to the county, and where descendants do honor to the ancestors.
     It will be impossible for us to give the names of all the immigrants to this county after 1800, because from rapidity of immigration and the increase within themselves, we cannot keep pace with them; we will give, therefore, a few of the most prominent.
     It appears that the District of Newberry, in South Carolina, furnished numerous emigrants for this county during the years 1801 to 1805.  Georgia and Tennessee also furnished many, most of whom belonged to the denomination of Friends, and left their native country on account of their extreme aversion to the institution of slavery, and a remarkable prophecy delivered by one of their venerated religious leaders.  In the year 1801, Henry Fouts came to this county and settled while yet a young man, in Section 33, Union Township, and during the same year Leonard Eller settled in Section 35, both from the State of North Carolina.  These, with their families, seemed to be the first settlers of that locality.  Coming at the same time, it appears a little remarkable that one should settle on the west and the other on the east side of the river.  It attests, however, the fearless spirit that reigned in those men, who did not even seek mutual protection from the dangers that so closely environed them.  It appears that Fouts manifested the better judgment in his selection, for, in addition to its richer soil and superior location, a fine, ever-living spring ran through his lands, of sufficient size and fall to propel all kinds of machinery, and with these accessories his lands were greatly superior to Eller's.
     Henry Fouts was a very quiet, unassuming man, splendid physical development.  Industrious habits, energetic and persevering, and every way adapted to the hardships and labor attending the clearing out and building up a home in the forest.  Generous and liberal in his nature, he supported the feeble efforts of his neighbors, to provide the means of educating their children.  Of five daughters and one son, whom, during his lifetime, he sent to school at the old West Branch Schoolhouse, but two, viz., Mary Wheelock and Rebecca Vore, are now living, both residing on the land given them by their father.  Though not strictly a member of any church, Mr. Fouts was a Quaker in faith, and attended their church.
     It may be said, in truth, of Henry Fouts, that the sound of his ax was the first to break the silence of the forest west of the Stillwater.  By him was built the first hose, by him was cleared the first land, the first seeds sown west of the river.  Though he came there young, he did not lie to see a turnpike passing through his lands, much less a railroad.  He died in the prime of manhood in 1822, leaving behind him an unincumbered patrimony, a portion of which, if not all, is still held by his descendants.  He remains lie in West Branch Burying-ground.   Leonard Eller came at about the same time, and from the same State as Mr. Fouts.  He was a much older man, and possessed more means, the greater portion of which he invested in lands.  His five sons settled near him, and, being robust and industrious, they soon made a visible mark in the forest.  In the year 1802, John Waggoner, from North Carolina, after having wintered in Waynesville, in what subsequently became Warren County, came to this county, and located in Section 33, in Union Township, about February or March.  Owing to the inclemency of departing winter, his sufferings were more than ordinary, yet it was necessary to begin his clearing early, so as to put in his spring crop.  Waggoner was about twenty-seven years old when he came here, and had a wife and two step-sons, Martin and Noah Davenport, both too young to render him any aid.  Of his own in after life he had five children, all of whom raised large families.  Jacob, the only son of John Waggoner, was remarkable for his superior ingenuity and judgment, being one of the bet mechanics of his day, and so much the superior of his father that the old gentleman yielded him precedence on every occasion.
     In the summer of 1802, the little settlement received valuable accessions in the persons of John Hoover, Caleb Mendenhall and Joseph Mendenhall, also from North Carolina.  These with their families, clustered around the little nucleus already formed, adding to its strength and social comfort, as well as facilitating labor.  Section 33 had been purchased by a speculator, and thus was sold in small quantities to settlers who did not have the means to buy in the large quantities offered by the Government.  Of the four last-named families who came in 1802, John Hoover's was the oldest, and being possessed with some means, he gave land to all of his sons, of whom there were seven, and three daughters.  Though his sons were all practical farmers, they followed other occupations.  Henry, the oldest, was a surveyor, and also a magistrate for many years.  Abraham ran a saw-mill, and Joseph, the youngest, was a school teacher.  They were all born members of the society of Friends, and intelligent thinking men.  Of his ten children, not one is now living but whose posterity extends to the fourth generation.
     The old gentleman was very economical, and his wife, Sarah, being a woman of great piety, industrious, and an excellent manager, through the combined efforts of each, they succeeded in treasuring up a very handsome competency for their children.  He having died nearly forty years ago, his lands are now mostly in the hands of strangers, who plow and reap, little caring for the privations and toil required to wrest the now beautiful fields form the dense forest of 1802.