|
"Tis strange,
but true; for truth is always strange, Stranger than Fiction."
SOON
after the admission of Ohio into the Union, a tide of
immigration began to pour forward from the Eastern States.
The causes that prevented this after the close of Revolutionary
war had been removed. The Indians, who hitherto, had
continued their incursions into the settlements, had, by the
victory of Gen. Wayne, been vanquished, and the
Greenville treaty had secured a great degree of safety to the
settlers in the new State. The soldiers from the different
Indian campaigns had taken back glowing reports of the fertility
of the soil, especially along the Scioto and its tributaries,
but not even the most imaginate had any conceptiont of the
future of this part of the State, most favored by nature of any
in this wide domain. Soon after the organization of
Delaware County, in 1808, the territory embraced in this
township, together with what is Oxford, the north half of Troy
and all of Marlborough, in Delaware County, and what is now
Waldo Township, Marion County, was organized under the name of
Marlborough Township, and so remained until 1815, when Oxford
Township was set off, including what is now Westfield Township,
and a small strip since added to Cardington.
-------------------------
* Contributed by L. S. Wells.
[Page 374] -
In
1822, Westfield was set off from Oxford as a separate township
of Delaware County, the boundary line, being one mile north of
the present dividing line between the two townships. In
1848 when Morrow County was organized, this township, went to
form a part, and at the same time was added to it on the south a
strip one mile wide and five miles long from Oxford Township,
and a strip averaging a half-mile wide and one and a half long,
embracing several hundred acres, was taken from its northeast
corner and added to Cardington Township. It is bounded on
the north by Marion County and Cardington Township; on the east,
by Lincoln and Peru Townships; on the south by Delaware County,
and on the west by Delaware and Marion Counties, and is located
in the southwestern part, and extends the farthest west of any
township in this irregular county of Morrow. It contained
in 1880, a population of 1,204.
The Whetstone River enters the township a little east
of the center on the north, and, taking a southwest direction,
divides the township inton two nearly equal parts, leaving it at
the southwest corner. The eye does not often meet a more
lovely sight than this beautiful winding stream, with edges
lined with the sycamore, walnut and willow, whose overhanging
boughs almost lie on its bosm, making a view as picturesque, if
not as romantic, as when, a century ago, the light bark canoe of
the red man glided over its surface, or beside its rippling
waters.
"In the leafy shade,
The Indian warrior wood his dusky maid."
The
Whetstone River (and it is to be regretted that any attempt was
made to change its name to that hybrid one - neither Indian nor
English - Olentangy), with its main tributary, Shaw Creek, which
joins it a little north of the center of the township, together
with Slate Run, Twentieth Run and several smaller but nameless
streams, furnishes a most extraordinary system of drainage, and
abundance of excellent stock, water, in connection with the
numerous springs, located along the larger streams.
Of the latter, two deserve especial mention; one an iron spring,
usually called red sulphur, of very strong flow, situated
nearly opposite the village of Westfield, on the west bank of
the river, around which clusters many an Indian tradition, and
beside which grows a willow tree of huge dimensions, planted
since the advent of the white race; the other a white sulphur
spring, located about a half-mile south of the north boundary of
the township, also near the river bank and remarkable for those
medicinal properties, for which the sulphur spring at Delaware
is noted. The river, in addition, affords good water
power, and, accordingly, have been found four desirable mill
sites.
The surface of this township is rolling along the
streams, and generally level in the eastern and western parts,
slightly inclining toward the river. The whole of the land
was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, consisting
chiefly of white and burr oak, elm and beech, while along the
streams white and black walnut, maple and sycamore, abounded.
But it is to be regretted that it has disappeared so rapidly
that there is not the proper proportion of timber to the
cultivated land, although there still remain some choice tracts
of timber-land. The soil, which is unsurpassed by any
township in this part of the State, consists of a rich black
loam along the river and smaller streams, and a heavy black
soil, such as is usually found on land formerly covered by elm
swamps. The eastern part is most excellent corn land,
while in the western part there is an admixture of clay, and it
is such as is usually known as beech land, better suited for
wheat and grass. The productions of the township are
principally corn, wheat and grass, with a proportion of the
minor crops. The people, owing to the numerous small
farms, are about equally divided in raising grain for the
market, and in raising stock, which latter only the large,
farmers can carry on successfully. Wool-growing and
cattle-raising is the chief occupation of the latter.
There are many fine orchards in this section,
[Page 375] -
some of the apple orchards dating back beyond the memory of any
now living, and owning their existence to that remarkable
individual known to the earliest pioneers as "Johnny Appleseed,"
who had a mania for starting orchards, and many of the oldest in
Central Ohio were planted by him, one of which is located on the
farm of Edwin M. Conklin, in this township.
With all the natural advantages posssessed
by this township, it is not surprising that we should find, as
is the ease, that the first settlement made within the
boundaries of what is now Morrow County, was made here.
John Shaw, Jr., of Chester County, Penn., purchased for
hundred acres of military land, situated in the extreme north
part of what is now Westfield Township, and abutting on the
Greenville treaty line. With his wife and family,
consisting of four sons and four daughters, he started in the
spring of 1804 to locate upon it. After a long and tedious
journey, they arrived at a settlement on the Whetstone, twenty
miles north of Franklinton, now a part of Columbus, and at this
settlement, the first made in Delaware County, he learned that
his land was twenty miles further north, and that this was the
nearest settlement to it, so he very naturally decided to make a
temporary halt, which, for some reason, was prolonged through a
period of four years. In the spring of 1808, he proposed
to his son Jonathan, who in the mean time had married, that he
would give him his choice of one hundred of the four hundred
acres, if he would at once settle there, to which he acceded.
Accordingly, he, with Jonathan, two of his other sons, and son
in-law, went up and looked over the ground, and Jonathan
selected the northern part of the tract, a beautiful situation
on a small stream, since known as Shaw Creek. Here they
cleared a small space and built a cabin just a little north of
the present residence of Jonathan Shaw, Jr. This
cabin was a rude affair, about sixteen feet square, with a
puncheon door and a puncheon floor, which latter was originally
laid on the ground. Then they repaired to their homes in
Liberty Township, and soon after Jonathan, with his wife,
child and worldly effects, started for their new home.
Folowing the old Indian trail leading home. Following the
old Indian trail leading from Delaware to Upper Sandusky, now
the Delaware and Marion Pike, to the Wyatt settlement, now
Norton. he diverged from that at this point, and cut his way for
eight miles through the woods, until he reached his cabin.
Here, for nearly six months, in an unbroken wilderness, where
the howl of the wolf and the scream of the panther were the most
common sounds that greeted their ears at night, they lived
alone, with not a soul within eight miles. Although the
Indians who thronged through these parts, were generally
considered friendly, yet Mr. Shaw, as a
precautionary measure, thought it advisable to have his gun by
his side; hence, whether making a clearing or tending a crop,
his faithful rifle was always within reach.
He built the first round-log, the first hewed-log and
the first brick house in Westfield Township, and bore a most
conspicuous part in the after-history of the township. To
the memory of no one do the citizens of Westfield Township owe a
greater tribute for daring enterprise, persevering industry,
unflinching honor, and high moral worth. His
fellow-citizens early showed their appreciation of his worth by
electing him the first Justice of the Peace, a position he held
for over twenty years, until he declined longer to be a
candidate.
His son, Jonathan, Jr., who occupies the old
homestead, exhibits with commendable pride his fathers neatly
kept docket, in which the first suit recorded was an action
brought to recover a claim for $4,621, which was paid after the
lapse of several months, in installments, a part of which were
in sums of less than $1. Having lived to hear the shriek
of the locomotive, where once he heard the howl of the wild
beast, and to see the civilization which he had planted nearly
half a century be fore grow to its full development, he sank to
rest Nov. 23, 1852, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, and was
interred in the burying-ground on his farm, now called the
Fairview Cemetery. [Page 376] -
In the fall of 1808,
John Shaw, Sr., accompanied by his other sons, Joseph,
Benjamin T. and John, Jr., his four daughters and
son-in-law, Isaac Welch, came up to occupy the balance of
the 400 acres. They built a cabin near where stands the
residence of A. H. Shaw. This was followed in a
short time by a cabin for the accommodation of the son-in-law.
In a few months, an event of considerable importance occurred to
the new settlement, in the marriage of Benjamin T. Shaw
to Anna Munroe.
This was followed by another,
equally interesting, in the birth, in the family of Jonathan
and Ruth Shaw, of a son, John L., the first white
child born in what is now Morrow County, which occurred June 6,
1809. This again as followed by another - of weighty
importance to the small settlement - the marriage of Susannah,
daughter of John Shaw, to Mordecai Mi_chner, who
located here. The next accession was a man named Powers,
who came here and married Jane Shaw, and Benjamin Camp
married Sarah, another daughter of John Shaw, and
he, too, located here. Powers joined the army in
the war of 1812, and on his way home was killed by an Indian
lying in ambush. His widow subsequently married Isaac
Stearns. By this time, it will be seen, that, quite a
little nucleus was formed, and, yet, they considered as
neighbors thouse at the Wyatt settlement, at Norton, or
the Cole settlement, at the junction of the two branches
of the Whetstone, each eight miles distant. These were
called on or visited in case of a raising, log-rolling or
quilting; or did a settler wish to borrow an auger, adz, or any
article, he had only to step over to his near neighbor, eight
miles distant, to be accommodated.
Elisha Bishop, a native of Tennessee, came in
1811, and located on a farm nearly a mile south of the present
town of Westfield. The next settlement was probably made
by David Cook, on a farm that now adjoins Westfield, and
is owned by Dr. Luellen. Mr. Cook came from
Virginia in 1798, to Ohio, while it was yet a part of the
Northwest Territory. He served in the war of 1812, and
located here in 1814, and played important part in the early
history of the township, serving it as Justice of Peace as far
back as 1818, when it formed a part of Oxford. Two of his
sons still survive, John, a resident of this, and Seth,
a resident of Cardington Township. The same year came
John Elliott, and entered the land at what is now known as
Bartlett's Corners, two and a half mils north of
Westfield, on the pike. He, too, was a Virginian, was for
many years a prominent man in the township, and was chiefly
instrumental in securing the first post office in the whole
township of Oxford, and it was this post office that gave
Westfield Township its name.
There is a well-authenticated tradition concerning th
eorigin of the name of the post office. There had for some
time previous been a mail route over the Mansfield and Delaware
road, passing by this point, but no office nearer than Delaware,
fourteen miles distant, and but three between that point and
Mansfield. The petition asking for the office was
forwarded in care of the member of Congress from this district.
The application was readily granted, but in it the petitioners
had neglected to say what they wanted as a name for the office.
It will be remembered, that, in those days, when the mails were
carried by stages across the mountains, it took weeks to
communicate between Washington and the West, and, as the name
seemed a secondary consideration, their member, to whom the
matter was referred, after some hesitation, suggested, as it was
so far "out West," the name Westfield would be an appropriate,
and it was accordingly adopted. John Elliott was
constituted the Postmaster, and his house was the point for
receiving mail for many miles around. In 1815, Timothy
Aldrich located on the farm adjoining Elisha Bishop
on the south. In 1817, John F. Place, a native of
Providence, R. I., located on the farm adjoining that settled by
David Cook, and for the past few years occupied by
Capt. Jesse Meredith. One of his sons, Ethan,
is a resident of this town-
[Page 377] -
ship, and is noted for his positive character and remarkable
memory, especially of pioneer history. James Trindle,
of Pennsylvania, another soldier of 1812, and who was
conspicuous for his bravery in Drake's defeat, came about
this time, and settled one mile north of the site of the
village, and settled one mile north of the site of the village
of Westfield. He received the patent for his land from the
hand of James Madison, the President, whose signature it
bears under date of Feb. 15, 1811. Josiah Goodhue
came next, and settled on the west bank of the river, just
opposite the point where Cook had located.
Daniel Peak, another soldier of 1812, with his sons Ziba
and Richard, came in 1819 and settled on the school
section. Two years later, Jacob Conklin, still
another soldier, and, as well as Peak, a native of
Vermont, located on an adjoining track. From Liberty
Township, where he had first located, he followed the Indian
trail to a point known as Windsor's Corners, whence he diverged,
and, cutting his own road two miles north of fording the
Whetstone, he reached his land, now owned by his son Edwin.
The road he thus opened up is the south part of what is now
known as the Claridon road. He was a resident of the
township fifty-four years, and died at the age of eighty seven.
His widow survives him, and, although in her eighty-second year,
her mind is clear, and she loves to recount the happy
experiences of her pioneer life, amid toil and hardships, or how
they used to gather in the humble cabin of the settler to hear
those men of God, the pioneer preachers, tell of that
house "not made with hands."
"In thoughts that
breathe, and words that burn."
The Fousts, John,
Abraham and Samuel, all came into the township not
far from this time, and all had been in the "last war" with
Great Britain. Samuel now the only surviving one,
although but ten years of age, drove a team, and was with
Gen. Harrison at Fort Seneca when the battle was fought at
Lower Sandusky, and could hear the firing. Abraham served
under Gen. McArthur, and, while at Detroit, was taken
sick, and, not relishing hospital life, contrary to orders,
crossed over into the city and boarded with a family consisting
of a French woman and her husband, the former of whom took quite
an interest in the young soldier and was the means of saving his
life. For several days, the old lady was observed to have
long conversations with her husband, whose sympathies were with
the British. The subject of these talks, which were in
French, seemed to be young Foust. At last his
benefactress warned him to flee at once, as a plot had been laid
to take his scalp, and he was then glad to submit to the
inconveniences of hospital life. During the war of 1812,
Jonathan Shaw, the original pioneer, joined the army of
Gen. Harrison, and, during the exciting times, his family
and those of the other settlers at Shaw Town so called not
because of any village located there, but because of the
numerous families of Shaws there locatedd, would often
take refuge in the block-house at Fort Morrow at the Wyatt
settlement, where they would sometimes remain for weeks.
On one of these occasions a company of rangers, passing
through that settlement and finding the people gone, helped
themselves to a plentiful supply of honey from the hives of
John Shaw, Sr., and, when they had feasted, they made a
target of a tree near the house for rifle practice, and shot a
number of bullets into it, which the boys on their return
considered of so much value that they carefully cut them out.
Drakes defeat, which caused so much alarm to
this section of the State, occurring within the limits of that
vast tract called Marlborough Township, which at that time
included this, and as a large number of the participants in that
affair were afterward settlers here, it seems very appropriate
that an account of it should be given in this connection,
especially since the one which has found its way into history is
erroneous in several particulars. Since this version of
the affair has been carefully gleaned from original sources, and
has come from the lips of some who could say All of which I saw
and part of which I was, it is hoped it will accord more nearly
than [Page 378] -
any other with the facts as they actually occurred.
The disgraceful surrender of the post at Detroit by
Gen. Hull, left the settlements, in a measure, unprotected,
and, of course, rumor, in the absence of reliable information,
brought exaggerated reports of the intended descent of the
British and Indians. In this state of affairs, it was
thought best for the two frontier settlements in that township,
the one at Wyatt's and the other at Cole's, to
gather their families in the block-house, either at Fort Morrow
or Delaware, while nearly all the able-bodied men, amounting to
about twenty or twenty-five, organized themselves into a
company, under the command of Capt. William Drake and
Lieut. John Millikan, the latter an officer in the regular
army, then on detached duty as Governmental Surveyor.
The arrangements having been hastily made, the company
mounted, and, accompanied by a wagon to haul their provisions,
they set out for Fort Seneca to join the army of Gen.
Harrison, leaving a few men at each settlement to gather the
families into the block-house. Starting late in the
afternoon, they halted for the night, after going but a short
distance, intending to complete their preparations and push
through to their destination as fast as possible.
Before disposing of themselves for the night the
question had been asked, What shall we do if attacked before
morning? It was agreed by the officers and men, that,
with their meager numbers and undisciplined state, they could
make no show against any force they might likely meet; hence, it
was decided, should such an affair occur, that each man must
seek his home, and, if possible, get his family within the
block-house, a precaution they now realized was not well taken.
Fatigued, they sank to rest around a fire, little fearing any
occasion for alarm. At this very inopportune time, Capt.
Drake, although a well-meaning man, but given to fun,
conceived the plan of putting the bravery of his men to a test,
and indiscreetly proceeded to carry it out. Slipping
through the lines unobserved, he discharged a gun and rushed to
the camp, calling
[Page 379] -
[Page 380] -
[Page 381] - [Page
382] - [Page 383] -
[Page 384] -
[Page 385] -
[Page 386] - [Page
387] -
James Auld [Page 388] - [Blank Page]
[Page 389] -
sons responded nobly to the call for the defense of the nation.
The enlistment began on Sunday, the very day that Fort Sumter
capitulated, at the close of services at the Methodist Church in
Westfield, on which occasion eight volunteered, in anticipation
of the call for troops, which was not made by President
Lincoln until the next day. By May 1, a company was
formed from this and the adjoining township of Oxford, which was
mustered into the service on June 15, 1861, as Company C, of the
Twenty-Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and under command of
Capt. Jesse Meredith, who had attained that rank in the
Mexican war. Out of this company, twenty were killed in
battle and fifteen died from disease. Westfield
contributed liberally to the Thirty-First, Sixty-Fifth,
Eighty-Eighth, Ninety-Sixth, One Hundred and Twenty-First and
One Hundred and Seventy-Fourth Regiments of Volunteer Infantry,
and to the Third and Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, but
especially, and ninety-Sixth and One Hundred and Twenty First
Infantry. It also furnished some men to the Third, fourth,
Sixty-Fourth and One Hundred and Eighty-Seventh Ohio Infantry
and Eighteenth Regulars and Eighth Ohio Cavalry. This
township was always ahead of its quota, and a noted fact was,
that it furnished men for the rank and file, only two officers
going from here during the entire war. Fifteen years after
the close of the war, on May 31, 1880, the citizens of the
township met in Westfield, to decorate, for the first time, the
graves of "our fallen heroes," on which occasion a vast
concourse of people, headed by the surviving veterans, many of
them maimed and scarred by wounds, repaired to an adjoining
grove to listen to an appropriate address by Maj. William G.
Beaty. Then, amid impressive ceremonies, the graves of
the soldiers buried in the cemeteries adjacent to the town, were
decorated with flowers, while a temporary monument surmounted
with flags, served to remind us of those who died on
battle-field and in prison-pen, and whose remains rest beneath a
Southern soil. At the close of the exercises a salute was
fired by their surviving comrades.
Following is a list of
the soldiers whose memory the people of Westfield Township
delight to honor:
Revolutionary Soldiers -
Alexander Dixon, Sr.,
Reuben Martin, Jacob Foust, Wilmot Munson, Ebenezer Wood.
Soldiers of the
War of 1812 -
Elisha Berry, Daniel Gibbs,
Benjamin Olds, Jacob Conklin, Abraham Foust, James Trindle,
David Cook, Jonathan Lewis, John Foust, Jonathan Shaw, Sr.
Soldiers of the
Civil War -
Third Infantry -
John Van Brimmer,* Charles Wood,* Sidney Aldrich;*
Fourth Infantry -
John Darst;*
Twenty-sixth Infantry -
Levi Potter,
Daniel Hopkins, John Goodhue, J. H. Barber,* James Bartholemew,*
Leander Dixon,* William West,* Newman Barber,* William Smith,*
David Taylor,* Adam Moyer,* Lyman A. Cook,* William Cramer,*
Captain Jesse Meredith;*
Thirty-first Infantry-
George Zent,* Frederick Kehrwecker,* David Rann,*
John Palmer;*
Sixty-fourth Infantry -
Murray Buck,* John Bensley;
Sixty-fifth Infantry -
Frederick Cutter,* Ira Barber,* Harry Wheeler,*
Hiram Wheeler,* Orson Lewis,* Jonathan Lewis;
Sixth-sixth Infantry -
Benjamin Peak, Jr.;*
Eighty-eighth Infantry -
William Clark, Sr.,* Leroy Rogers,* Mordecai
Meeker,*
Ninty-sixth Infantry -
Cyrus Devore, George Curren, William Wheeler,
Alpheus Scofield,* Thomas Barber,* Josiah Howard,* David
Barber,* John Kehrwecker,* Jacob Kratt,*
One-Hundred-and-Twenty-first Infantry -
Chester Bartholemew, Jarvis
Aldrich, Benjamin Denton, David Piper,* Sanford Olds,* Almon
Ruggles,* William Baxter,* Theodore Wood,* Henry Bishop,* Dennis
Baxter,* Joshua Barry;
One-Hundred-and-Seventy-fourth -
LaFayette Aldrich,* Lincoln Dixon,* Eli Curren;*
Eighteenth Regulars -
William Clark, Jr.;*
Third Cavalry -
Chauncy Olds;*
Eighth Cavalry -
George Hopkins*
-------------------------
* Died of disease. Killed in battle. Died of
wounds.
|
