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PHYSICAL FEATURES, ETC.
This township which is designated in the
congressional survey as township seven of range one,
is one of the four westernmost townships in Preble
county. It borders on Israel township on the
south, and on Jackson on the north. To the
east lie Gasper and Washington townships while for
its western boundary it has the State of Indiana.
In appearance this
township is varied. It is hilly in the eastern
and northern parts, but in the south and west a long
reach of level country extends as far as the eye can
reach.
The physical features of
the eastern portion are closely allied to those of
the adjoining townships. Here the country is
hilly - not hills - steep and rugged, but of gentle
and easy ascent, following each other as regularly
as the rolls of the prairie. The soil which is
clay on a limestone subsoil, is productive, and
under a good state of cultivation. Fields,
heavily loaded with crops of grain, meet the eye of
the summer visitor, bespeaking, at once, the
industry and prosperity of the owners. The
chief crops are corn and wheat, and these thrive
here. Large quantities of hay are also grown,
and the huge barns which everywhere dot the
landscape, attest the success attending the labors
of the husbandman. Indeed, these barns far
surpass the dwelling houses in their grand
proportions. While the small, cozy cottage is
sufficient for the simple needs of the owner, the
claims of his crops are recognized by the erection
of barns of more than generous proportions.
These immense structures often exhibit as many as
five or six tiers of windows.
As one moves farther
westward, a striking change takes place in the
appearance of the country. Instead of the
rolling ground of the eastern portion of the
townships he finds himself entering upon a long
stretch of plain, reaching out on every side.
He is now entering upon the most fertile portion of
the township and, indeed, of the county. This
reach of land, once regarded as useless so far as
agricultural purposes were concerned, is now the
location of our most prosperous farmers. At
the time of the pioneer settlements, the settlers of
the middle and eastern portions supposed that they
had an unlimited pasture ground stretching to the
west, so unreclaimed was this land considered.
But finally some of the more knowing settled on the
condemned tract if we may so designate it, and
commenced a struggle with the natural difficulties
of the soil. By means of long, deep ditches,
and by maintaining a good system of drainage, a
decided change for the better was produced.
The forest gave way and cultivated fields took their
places. Instead of the boggy and treacherous
soil, there was a good, firm one, one which admitted
of tillage and improvement. Subsequent results
have demonstrated how correct were the convictions
of those hardy pioneers regarding the capabilities
of this region, which they so bravely located upon
for the purpose of engaging in a hand-to-hand attack
on the works of nature.
The inhabitants of this
township are hospitable and courteous in their
treatment of strangers. The township is
strictly an agricultural one. No towns exist
in the whole township, which are incorporated.
Here and there a few dwelling houses cluster around
some church or school, but this is all. This
lack of resorts for the idle is largely instrumental
in preserving the peace and quiet of this section.
The inhabitants are proud to say that they have not
a single dram shop in their midst.
One old farmer will
exultingly inform you that "they have the most civil
and law-abiding township in the county. He had
it from the sheriff, and he ought to know."
There are no streams of
importance in the township. Four Mile creek
winds through the central portion from north to
south, but is scarcely deserving of the name of
creek. During the summer months a mere thread
of water finds its way along the river bed, but of
not sufficient magnitude to turn the water mills
along its course. In the eastern sections
there is a small stream called Paint creek. It
is of small importance, however. Another of
the same kind flows through the southwestern
sections.
The soil in this township
is of a clayey nature and highly productive, but not
so much so as that of the western sections, where
large deposits of vegetable matter have been
accumulated during inundations in the past.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
It is to be regretted
that the early records of the Township cannot be
obtained, but by some carelessness they have been
mislaid, and are not to be found. Some of the most
important facts are obtainable from the older
settlers; but on many points we are unable to speak
positively.
There is but little
reason to doubt but that Eli Dixon
was the first settler in the Township which bears
his name. As early as 1804 he moved to Ohio from
Georgia, and settled on the farm now owned by Alexander
Huffman. A small creek running through
the place is still known as Dixon's branch. Four
brothers came at once—Eli, Samuel, Stephen, and Joseph. The only one
[Pg. 162]
who became identified with
the history of the Township is Eli. Samuel was
partially insane, and Stephen was killed while still
young by some wandering Indians, on the banks of the
Wabash River, in Indiana. Of Joseph nothing is
known. It is to Eli that our attention is called. He
probably came early enough to get his land in
readiness for the spring planting. His farm lay in
what was called the ''Four Mile" settlement. Along
the banks of the stream named "Four Mile" the first
settlers located and were known by that name. Few
facts can be obtained relative to Dixon's history.
He was at one time a captain in the Ohio militia,
and after the organization of the Township he was
elected a justice of the peace, but farther than
that we cannot speak positively. As early as 1818 he
moved with his family to Green County, Indiana, and
there it is supposed he died. Dixon's whole life
seems shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty, and no one
now can speak of him from personal knowledge.
The next to come into the
Township was a Kentuckian named
Kercheval. Indeed
some are in doubt as to whether he was not the first
man, but the majority of opinions make him arrive
later in the year than Dixon, possibly pretty nearly
at the same time. Kercheval settled farther south on
Four Mile creek, in section twenty-eight. He built a
mill there, but was probably a resident of this
Township for only a short time, as his name does not
occur in any of the later papers, nor is he ever
mentioned by the present inhabitants. This mill was
the first ever built in the Township; it stood on
the east bank of Four Mile creek, on the same site
where the Niccum mill now stands.
In 1806 Benjamin Harris moved to
this State from Kentucky, and settled on the farm
now known as the Thomas Huffman estate.
In 1807 Paul
Larsh arrived from
Pennsylvania, and settled on the present Larsh
estate. The first year was spent in a camp, where a
son, Newton Larsh, was born. There is a report
existing that says he was born beside a large fallen
tree, and that during the life of Newton Larsh no
one was allowed to disturb that log. Until the time
of his death it lay where it fell, a grim and silent
landmark.
About this time a
Kentuckian, whose name was Benjamin Harris, came from the south and
located on the farm now owned by Thomas Huffman.
In 1808 the Truaxes settled in the
western part of the settlement. This was on the
swampy land mentioned in the preceding paragraph on
"physical features." By means of drainage this land
was reclaimed and made to yield rich harvests. Among
the first settlers in this region of swamp and bog
were the Lybrooks, who located on what is now the
Toney estate owned by Carey Toney. This is now the
richest part of the Township. At heavy expense
tiling has been laid and the water carried off in
underground channels. Mr. Jehu Rhea, of this
neighborhood, has as much as one thousand five
hundred rods of tiling on his farm.
A settler contemporary with Lybrook was a
Dr.
DeCoursey, but where
he was from and where he went cannot be stated
positively. Perhaps he was one of those .uneasy
spirits who cannot endure the sight of civilization,
and so kept fleeing before the steady march of
progress, or perchance he was among those who fell
on the frontier defending their homes against the
encroachments of the Indians. In those days every
able bodied man was required to serve on the
frontier for a certain time. One division would go
to the front and the remainder would stay at home to
farm the land and also to act as a home guard and
reserve force.
About 1810 or 1812 settlements were made
in the southern and eastern parts of the Township.
In 1812
Simeon
Gard came from
Pennsylvania to Cincinnati by water, and from there
moved to Dixon settled on the farm now owned by
Little John Gard. He entered four hundred and eighty
acres of land in section twenty-five. Simeon
Gard
was born in Pennsylvania in 1777. He died in 1856.
His wife, Anna, who was born in Virginia in 1777,
died in the r 1850. Little
John Gard was born in
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1802, and is still
living on the in which his father entered in 1812.
He was married to Nancy Wright, who was born in Erie
County, Pennsylvania, in 1807, and who died in 1864.
Mr. Gard is the father of eleven children, two of
whom are deceased. John was in was in the war of
the Rebellion, in the Ninety-third regiment, Ohio
volunteer infantry, and died at Nashville 1863.
About the time that the
Congers settled in the Township. Thomas
Woodward located in the northern
part the Township on Four Mile creek. The land he
entered is now the property of Martin Swisher.
Sections one and two were
settled by two brothers, Henry and Peynton
Bristow, and the land now owned Levi Wyatt
was entered by Phineas Hart.
Levi
Gard was born in
Pennsylvania in 1799. In 1756, he, with his father,
Jeremiah Gard, started for Ohio, to look for a
suitable locality for settlement. His father left
the family mare and he walked the whole distance.
They camped out on the way, and one night were
greatly disturbed by the wolves, who were attracted
to the camp by the savory smell of fresh venison. The
Gards arrived at a point on Mill creek, about
ten miles northeast of Cincinnati. Then Levi rented
some land, and in that same year returned to
Pennsylvania and was married to Sophia Barkdall, of
that State. She was born in Germany in 1778, and
died in 1857. Levi died in 1860. Both of them died
on the first day of January. In 1798 Levi Gard and
wife removed to Ohio, bringing their household goods
in a flat-boat down the Ohio River. They settled a
little south of Mt. Pleasant, Hamilton County, where
they remained until the last week of December, 1806,
when they removed to Union County, Indiana. In
passing northward they had to ford the Miami River,
which at that time of the year was full of floating
ice. 1809 the Gards moved to section thirty-one of
Dixon Township, and settled on the farm now owned by
John Gard. All was forest around them, and there was
no habitation to receive them, save the little log
cabin without a floor. During the winter a temporary
floor was
[Pg. 163]
made of "score" blocks, and soon
afterwards a puncheon floor was made. John
Gard
still has in his possession the original puncheons
used. Levi Gard served through the War of 1812, and
was obliged to leave his family in the midst of a
forest full of wild beasts and Indians, but no harm
came to them. To Mr. arid Mrs.
Gard were born eight
children, of whom five are living; four are in Dixon
Township.
John Gard was born in Hamilton County, in
December, 1806, and was married in 1832, to Nancy
Sprout, who died in 1842. They had three
children—Levi R. lives in Dixon; Elizabeth, wife of
Ira Duvall, lives in Union County, Indiana; and
Harvey L. lives in Israel Township. In 1860
Mr. Gard
was again married to Dorcas (Jones) Ammerman, widow
of Martin Ammerman. She was born in 1820.
Mr. Gard owns
the quarter section upon which his father settled.
Mr. Gard moved to Rush County, Indiana, in 1833, and
remained there six years, when he returned to Dixon
Township.
Robert Runyan, son of Barfoot and
Nancy Runyan
was born in Rowan County, North Carolina, August 1,
1787. When nine years of age he moved to Madison
County, Kentucky, with his parents, and two years
later to Barren County, where he lived until he
reached his twenty-first year, at which time he
married Elizabeth Burns. In 1806 he moved to Somers
Township, and built a cabin below the iron bridge.
He remained here until 1808, and then settled on the
farm now owned by Robert Harris, near Sugar valley,
Dixon Township. While here he lost his first wife,
who died in 1823. In the following year, 1824, he
married his second wife, Mary, widow of James
McAuley, with whom he lived until her death, which
occurred in the year 1868. During the year 1812,
Mr. Runyan took part in the war. After living near Sugar
valley for twenty year, he purchased the farm on
which he afterwards died.
Samuel
Gordon came into Dixon in 1810, and made
his location in section twenty. He was born in
Guilford County, North Carolina, in 1795, and died
in Dixon in 1860. He was in the six months' service
in the War of 1812. He was married to Sarah Gard,
who was born in 1803, and to them were born ten
children, only three of whom survive, viz: Levi, who
resides in Henry County, Indiana; Phebe, wife of
Taylor W. Nicum, in Jackson Township, this County,
and John, who occupies the home farm in Dixon. He
was married to Esther Ann Stiffler, in 1865, and has
a family of five children living, and one dead. He
was in the war of the Rebellion as a member of the
Forty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry.
George
Parks emigrated with his parents, Samuel
and Charity Parks, from Kentucky, in 1811, and
settled on the farm now owned by John Conger, in
section twenty-five. George Parks was born in 1801,
and in 1825 married Mary Price, who was born in
Butler County, Ohio, in 1805. The issue of this
marriage was nine children, eight living, named as
follows: Silas, Harriet, Elizabeth, Henry N.,
Catharine, Mary Jane, Charity, and Leander. Harriet
and Henry reside in Grant County, Indiana; Catharine
in Eaton, and the rest in this Township. Silas was
married to Nancy (Rhea) Gordon in 1877, the widow of
S. Gordon. Leander married in 1869,
Livice Lewis.
Among the earliest
settlers of the Sugar valley neighborhood was
Josiah Simonson. His son,
Jessie, is now living there. Josiah
Simonson was
killed by the accidental discharge of a gun. He took
the piece down, and, thinking it to be unloaded, he
pushed the hammer back with his foot, putting his
mouth at the same time to the muzzle, for the
purpose of blowing the tube clear. The hammer
slipped from under his foot, and the gun, which was
heavily loaded, went off, sending the entire charge
through the lower part of his head. He lived until
early morning and then expired. Mr. Simonson was one
of the pioneers of his district, and his frightful
death cast a deep gloom over the community which had
grown up around him.
In 1815
John Pinkerton settled in
the township, and in the following year, 1816,
Major
William Gray, an officer in the Revolutionary war,
settled on section fifteen, on the farm now owned by
Robert Gray.
Michael
Runyon entered a quarter section in the
southeastern part of the township, where the Congers
now reside. He afterwards sold out and went to
Illinois. In 1812 Josiah Conger emigrated from
Kentucky to Ohio and settled in Dixon Township, in
the vicinity of what is now called Sugar valley. He was a native of the Carolinas. From there he
moved to Tennessee. He next went to Kentucky, and
afterwards to Ohio, where he lived until his death,
in 1843. His death was caused by the accidental
discharge of a gun. Mr. Conger was a minister of
the Christian church, having entered upon his sacred
office when only twenty-three years of age, and
continuing until his death. The journey from
Kentucky, which they were three weeks in
accomplishing, was made in a four-horse wagon. They settled on the farm now owned by
Mr. Thompson.
His wife, Catharine (Runyon), was born in 1787, and
died in 1871. They were the parents of eleven
children, five sons and six daughters as follows:
Nancy (Marshall), deceased;
Aaron R.; Moses;
Anna (Hoffman), deceased; Sarah, widow of
Alexander
Rhea; Mary (McWhinney), deceased; John, deceased;
Eli; Melissa, widow of Henry Overholzer;
William;
and Evelina, wife of Jacob Marshall.
Moses and A.
R. Conger are the only members of the family now
residing near Sugar valley, who were raised there.
Aaron
Ross Conger, the eldest son of Josiah Conger, was born in Tennessee in 1805. He came with
his father and mother first to Kentucky, and thence
to Ohio, and settled in Dixon Township. In 1827 he
was married to Ruth Marshall, by whom six children
were born, four of whom are living. His first wife
died in 1847, and in 1848 was married to Rhoda A.
Robinson, who was born in 1825. She is the daughter
of Isaac and Rhoda Robinson, who settled in Monroe
Township. Mr. Conger has had no children by his
second wife. He owns eighty acres of well improved
land in section twenty-four where he resides.
Moses
Conger, who emigrated to Ohio from
Kentucky in 1812, settled with his parents in
section fourteen of Dixon township, this county. He was born in 1807,
[Pg. 164]
and in 1828 married
Phoebe Price, who was born in 1807. To them were born nine
children, five of whom are living: Sarah J., wife of
Meeker S. Morton; Elizabeth A., wife of Lemuel S.
Bennett, William W., living in Dixon township, and
John A., who resides in Illinois.
William
W. Conger, born in 1814, married Julia Wilkinson in 1860. She was born in 1843, and is the
daughter of George Wilkinson. Mr. and Mrs. Conger have four children, all living:
Emma, Royal,
Edward, and Bertha. Mr. Conger owns forty-seven acres of
land in section twenty-four.
In 1810
Jacob Marshall
settled in
Dixon, on the farm now known as the Marshall
estate,
in section twenty-four. Marshall was a Marylander,
and his wife, Rebecca Murray, was from the same
State. Ten children were born to them, five of whom
are still living, as follows: Josiah, who is living
in this township; Edmund, in Indiana; William, in
Butler County, Ohio; Jacob, in Harrison Township,
and Ephraim in Kansas. Josiah Marshall married
Harriet Price in 1834, the issue of which union was
six children, four of whom survive, viz: Mrs. David
Wilkinson, resides in Washington township; Mrs. John
R. Burson, Mrs. John Brower, and Mrs. John Hickman,
in Dixon. Jacob Marshall served six months in the
War of 1812.
Daniel
Brower was born
in Virginia in 1803, and emigrated to Ohio in 1815.
He married Sarah Shively, who was born in Stark
County, Ohio, in 1811, and died in 1877. Four of
their nine children are living, two in Dixon
Township, and two in Indiana. Jacob Brower, the
father of Daniel, was born in Virginia in 1772, and
settled in Lanier Township in 1815, where he died in
1832. His wife was a native of Maryland, and died in
1876. The old folks were the parents of eleven
children.
Thomas
Pinkerton came to Dixon in 1815, with his
father, John Pinkerton, who entered land in section
thirty-two. John Pinkerton subsequently represented
Preble County in the State legislature two terms. Thomas was born in South Carolina in 1793, and
married, in 1816, Margaret McGaw, by whom he had
seven children, two of whom survive: Elizabeth, wife
of John B. Foster, living in Illinois, and W. A.
Pinkerton, in this township, W. A. was born in 1821;
married, in 1843, Maria Sterrett, who was born in
1821. They have had four children, two living.
Mr.
Pinkerton has held the office of justice of the
peace six years, and has been trustee of the
township some fifteen years.
Major
William Gray settled in Dixon in 1816. He
was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1755, and
emigrated to this county from Tennessee. He entered
the land in section fifteen, which Robert Gray now
owns. Major Gray was in the Revolutionary war, and
served during almost the entire period of its
continuance. He died in 1849. His wife, whose maiden
name was Ann Thornberry, was a native of North
Carolina, born in 1764, and died in 1854. They had
five boys and six girls, three of them now living,
viz.: Mrs. Ann Garvis, in Union county, Indiana,
Mrs. Elizabeth Shoemaker, in Grant County, Indiana,
and Mrs. Cynthia Shoemaker, in Darke County, Ohio.
John Gray, father of Robert, now residing in this
township, was born in North Carolina in 1797, and
came to Ohio with father in 1816. He was married to
Nancy Rhea, was born in 1799. Her father was one of
the early tiers of Washington Township, having
located there early as 1810. Six of the thirteen
children born to and Nancy Gray are now living,
namely: Robert this township; Mrs. Thomas Reed, near
Springfield, Illinois; Mrs. J. W. Cook, in Jay
County, Indiana; Clark Logansport, Indiana;
James,
in Arizona, and Margaret wife of James
Paddock, in
Kansas. Robert Gray married in 1864, to
Rachel Cunningham, widow of H. Cunningham, and has two
children.
Nancy
Cooper, widow of Benjamin Cooper, Sr.,
emigrated to Preble County from Kentucky with her
family in 1816, and settled in section seventeen. She was in Woodford County, Kentucky, in 1775, her
maiden name being De Coursey.
Benjamin Cooper,
Sr., died Kentucky, in the year 1803. There are
two children now living—Mrs. Jane Davis, widow of
Jesse Davis living in Carroll county, Indiana,
and Benjamin in this township. Benjamin Cooper, Jr., was born in 1804, and was married in 1837, to
Susannah Flora, who was born in Franklin county, Virginia in 1819. Mr. Cooper began in the woods on farm now
owned by his daughter, Mrs. Ross. This he cleared
up, having purchased it of William De Coursey in
1835. By hard work and industry he has
accumulated a fine property. He has given to each
of his children as they married and left the old
home the sum of five thousand dollars. His
surviving children are Mrs. Smith Railsback,
Mrs.
David Railsback, and Mrs. F. V. Ross.
Carey
Toney moved into Dixon and settled into
section six in 1819. He was born in Buckingham
County, Virginia about the year 1779, and died in
this township. His wife, Elizabeth (Doren), died at
the advanced of ninety-seven or ninety-eight years. They had a family of ten children, four now living,
namely: James near Logansport, Indiana; Archibald,
Jonathan and Harrison, in Dixon. Archibald was born
in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1801, and came to
this township with his parents in 1819. He has been
twice married; His first wife was Dorcas White, born
in 1802, died in 1850. In 1851 he was married to
Catharine Whitesell who was born in 1821 By his
first marriage he had five children, who are all
living, and by his second marriage ten children,
eight of whom are living.
Harmon Toney emigrated from Virginia to
Ohio 1819, and located on the farm now owned by
Anderson Toney. His wife was Fanny
Kingley.
Carey Toney
was born in section eight, Dixon Township, in 1842,
and in 1863 married Sarah Moss; who was born in 1846
in Carroll County, Indiana. Four of their six
children are living. Mr. Toney resides in section
seventeen of Dixon Township.
William, son
of Harmon Toney, was born in Dixon Township in 1838,
and in December, 1859, was married to Margaret E.
Witt, who was born in Union County, Indiana, in
1842. Two of their three children are Andrew H.
and Orla, L. Minta died in 1880. Mr.
Toney owns one
hundred and ninety acres adjoining his residence in
section eight, and one hundred and twenty acres in
section six, where he is building a new house.
Mr.
[Pg. 165]
Toney owns one hundred and ninety acres adjoining
his residence in section eight, and one hundred and
twenty acres in section six, where he is building a
new house.
Joseph
Miller was born in North Carolina in 1772
and removed from that State and settled in Somers
Township in 1818. In 1820 he moved into this
township and settled in section thirty-six. Here he
died in March, 1859. His wife, who was Ann Hodgens,
was born in 1778 and died in 1856. Of their seven
children three are now living, viz.: Robert H.,
Martha C. (Stubbs) and Joseph H., who resides on the
old homestead. Joseph H. married for his first wife
Margaret Elizabeth McDivitt, who died in 1841, and
he subsequently married Hannah S. Booker, born in
1821, and whose parents were early settlers in the
county. By his first wife there were born three
children, one of whom is deceased. He had no
children by his second marriage.
Samuel
Morton was born in Warren County, Ohio,
in 1819, and came with his parents, Benjamin and
Hannah Morton, who were early settlers of Israel
Township. He married Susan Kinney in 1856, who was
born in 1832. They have had five children, four of
whom are living. Noah is at home, as are also
John
and Kate. In 1870 Samuel Morton was elected township
trustee and served two terms. Mr. Morton has built a
large number of houses in Dixon Township.
Ora P.
Morton was born in 1857, in Dixon
Township, and he is the oldest child of Samuel and
Susan Morton, who now reside in section thirty of
Dixon Township. Mr. Morton married
Miss Anna Honsher,
who was born in 1857. He is the owner of one hundred
and twenty acres of land located in section
thirty-six, Gasper Township.
Samuel
Pottenger was born in Kentucky, in 1790.
While a child, in 1880, his parents emigrated to
Butler county, Ohio. He died in 1859, his death
being caused by injuries received from a runaway
team of horses. His wife, Jane McCowen, was born in
1799, and is still living. She emigrated to Preble
county with her parents from Tennessee, in 1816. Her
mother lived to be one hundred and seven years old.
To Samuel and Jane Pottenger were born three
children, all of whom are still living. Nancy
Jane
married Cornelius McDivitt and resides in Dixon
Township. Mary Ellen married Edmund
Murphy and lives
in Butler County. James H. lives in Dixon Township.
Cornelius McDivitt married Nancy Jane Pottenger in 1860. They have had three children, all
of whom are alive. Their farm, consisting of two
hundred and forty acres, is under a good state of
cultivation. There has not been a death on this farm
for fifty years.
William Pottenger came into the township in 1823,
and settled in section ten. He was born in Wayne
Township, Butler County, Ohio, in 1805, and was
married to Mary Monfort in 1834. She was born in
1812, and died in 1879 Mr. Pottenger, although he
settled here when the country was still quite new,
has ever since resided within a mile of the place on
which he first settled. He is the father of ten
children, eight living and two dead, as follows:
Elizabeth, Henry, Thomas (who
was killed at Gettysburgh in 1865), Catharine,
Wilson, Ella, John, Margaret,
Mary, and William (now
deceased).
Samuel
Bell, born in Ireland in 1784 emigrated
to Ohio from South Carolina, and settled in Israel
Township about the year 1817. His wife was Jane
Hamilton, born about 1790, She died in 1868, and her
husband the same year. Their children were six in
number, five of whom survive: Andrew lives on the
old place; John lives in Iowa; James lives in
Kansas; William and Nathan in this township;
William, born in 1822, in Israel Township, married,
in 1857, Sarah McCallum, who was born in 1825. They
have six children living and three dead.
James
Rhea was born in Kentucky in 1800. His
wife was Mary Gray. To them were born ten children,
seven of whom are still living, as follows: Ann I.,
wife of Benjamin Glessner, is now living in Marion,
Indiana; Alexander resides in Greenwood County,
Kansas; John Rhea, in Eaton, Ohio; Jehu, on the old
homestead in Dixon Township; Elizabeth, wife of
David R. Dooley, in Grant County, Indiana; George
W., in Hanover County, and Nancy, wife of
Silas Parks, in Dixon Township, section nine.
Mrs.
Nancy Harris was born in 1812. Her
parents, Andrew and Rachel Lytle Lintner, came from
Butler to Preble County at an early day, and settled
in Dixon Township. Nancy, who was their second
child, was born in 1812, and was married in Butler
County to Benjamin Harris, in the year 1829. For
about five years after their marriage they continued
to reside in Butler County, and about the year 1835
they removed to Preble County, and settled on the
farm of one hundred and fifty-seven acres, in Dixon
Township, where Mrs. Harris now resides. To
Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born seven children, of whom two
are living, viz.: Judge A. L. Harris, of Eaton, and
Eliza J., wife of Levin Murray.
Mr.
Harris died in
1872, and his widow now has the sole management and
care of the farm, which she keeps in good order.
James H. Lewellen was
born in Dixon Township in 1830. His parents,
Philip
and Anna Lewellen came to Preble County from
Kentucky at an early day, and settled in Dixon
Township. They were the parents of eleven children.
In the year
1853 James H. was married to Frances M. Gavin, who
was born in 1832. Her parents, John and Elizabeth Gavin, are dead. To
Mr.
and Mrs. Lewellen have been
born three children: James C. lives in Indiana;
Lizzie married Samuel C. Weist, lives in Dixon; and
Charles Edwin is dead.
William Duggins was
born in Preble County, in 1824. His parents, William
and Sarah Duggins, came from Kentucky to Ohio at an
early day. William, their youngest son, was married
in 1849, to Sarah, daughter of Robert and Mary Runyan, who were early settlers of this county. Six
children have been born to them, all of whom are
living and are married. James H. lives with his
mother in Dixon; William T. is in Washington
Township; Mary D. is the wife of Finley Kincaid, of
Washington; and Elmer E. and Cora A. are at home.
Mr. Duggins died in 1875, and his widow lives on the
home place of one
[Pg. 166]
hundred and sixty-five acres of
land in section thirteen, of Dixon township.
Smith
Charles was born in Guilford county,
North Carolina, in 1784, and in 1805 came to Warren
County, Ohio. In 1807 he came to Preble County and
settled in Dixon Township. He was in the War of 1812
for six months. For thirty years he was the Dixon
township treasurer. His wife, Nancy Kercheval, was
born in 1784 and died in 1823. There were seven
children by this marriage—James, Elisha,
Reuben,
John P., Mary, Elizabeth, wife of
Leroy Larsh,
living near Richmond, Indiana, and Sarah, residing
in Dixon township with her brother William. Smith
Charles married for his second wife Elizabeth Hibler,
a native of Kentucky. Three of the four children
born of this marriage are living, viz.: Thomas W.,
William H. and Nancy, widow of John Jennings, of
Butler County. Thomas W., born in 1825, married, in
1853, Mary Flora who was born in 1834. He occupies a
part of the old home place. William H., who also
lives on a part of the homestead, was born in 1828,
and in 1854 married Sarah E. Leech. She was born in
1836.
John P.
Charles was born in Dixon on the old
place, June 20, 1815. In 1853 he married Mrs. Sarah
E. Jackson, widow of Dr. William M. Jackson.
She
was born in New Hampshire in 1823.
During the
years 1845-6-7 Mr. Charles was the editor of the
Eaton Register, and then bought the Hamilton
Intelligencer, which he sold six months afterwards. In 1880 he again assumed editorial control of the
Eaton Register, which position he still retains.
John M.
Daugherty was born in Butler County,
Ohio, in 1823. John M. and Sarah Daugherty were his
parents. His father died when John was young. In
1832 he came with his grandfather, Samuel Hunt, who
settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Daugherty. His
mother joined them soon afterwards. In 1845 he was
married to Sarah, daughter of John and Lucy R.
Truax, who settled in Preble county at an early day,
and for many years lived just south of the Daugherty
farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty were born four
children, of whom all are living: Mrs. Libbie
Reynolds, of Eaton; John S., who married
Lizzie
Parker; G. W. lives in Eaton; and Lewis C., who
married Cora Surface.
Mr. Daugherty
owns about two hundred acres of land in sections one
and two of Dixon Township. He has for a number of
years been president of the Preble County
Agricultural board, and has always taken an interest
in every laudable enterprise.
Michael
Fleisch was born in Germany in 1820, and
in 1840 came to this country; stopped for eighteen
months in Philadelphia, and then came to Butler
County, Ohio, and worked for six years near
Somerville. In 1843 he married Catharine
Meekly, by
whom he has had five children—three girls and two
boys: Jacob lives in Kansas; Joseph is in Dixon
township; Sarah is the wife of John Shafer;
Matilda
married Emery Davies, and Nancy is at home. About
the year 1850, Mr. Fleisch came to Preble County,
and bought one hundred and twenty acres of land in
section five of Dixon township. From time to time he
added farm to farm until he owned about a thousand
acres in Dixon Township. He has given away part of
this vast tract of land to his children, and now
owns the whole of section five, as good a farm as
there is in the county, and undoubtedly the largest. Besides this he owns about five hundred acres in
Indiana. Mr. Fleisch keeps his vast farm in perfect
order, and in a good state of improvement. He deals
extensively in fine stock, and makes the raising of
hogs a specialty. His farm presents an attractive
appearance, and is one of the finest tracts of land
for miles around.
Joseph, the
second son of Michael Fleisch, was married in 1865,
to Lucinda Laflan, who was born in Union county,
Indiana, in 1846. Their seven children are still
living: Lottie, Jacob, Lawrence,
Ida, Viola, Luella
and Varner. Mr. Fleisch owns two hundred and
eighty-six acres of well improved land in section
seven.
William
B. Parker was born in New Jersey in 1818,
and came to Preble County about the year 1835, in
company with his mother, Sarah Parker. In 1845 he
was married to Mary Ann Burley, daughter of
David
and Jane Burley, who came to Preble County about the
year 1848. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Parker
settled on Paint Creek, in Gasper Township, and in
1857 moved to their present farm of one hundred and
sixty acres of land in Dixon Township. Three of
their five children are living: John, near New
Paris; Daniel, near Florence Station, and Mary E.,
the wife of Sylvester Daugherty, of Dixon township.
Stephen
Card was born
in Union county, Indiana, in 1836. His parents were Lorenzo and Malinda (Perkins) Gard. His father died
in 1836, and his mother afterwards became the wife
of Ebenezer Paddack, and is still living. In 1866
Stephen was married to Sarah Dillman, daughter of
David and Hannah Dillman. She was born in 1846. To
Mr. and Mrs. Gard have been born four children: Ida L., deceased;
Oscar, Emma J. and
Clifford. Mr. Gard
owns one hundred and sixty-four acres in section
eighteen.
Charles
B. Simonson is the tenth child of Jesse
and Mary Russell. Jesse Simonson came to Ohio from
Essex County, New Jersey, about the year 1822, and
Mary Russell came from Kentucky. They were married
in 1823, and have had eleven children, of whom four
are living. Charles B. was born in Dixon Township in
1839, and in 1867 was married to Keziah Osborn, of
Champaign County, Ohio. After their marriage they
settled on the farm of eighty acres in section
twenty-five, of Dixon Township, where they now
reside. They have no children. Mr.
Simonson has just
erected a fine new house.
Mrs,
Eliza A. McDivitt came to Preble County
with her parents in 1825; she was born in
Pennsylvania in 1816. She became the wife of
Robert McDivitt, her maiden name being Fry. Her husband
died in 1863. He was born in North Carolina in 1813. Mrs. McDivitt
is the mother of eight children, named George W., Cornelius, Catharine, Elizabeth,
Joseph, Mary, Ellen, and John A.
[Pg. 167]
Cornelius was
born in 1838, and in 1860 married Nancy Jane Pottenger, who was born in 1836. They have had three
children.
Charles
Larsh moved to this township and settled
in section four in 1830, coming from Brown County,
Ohio. He was born in Kentucky in 1792. His
wife, Ellen Rains, whom he married in 1817, was born
in Brown county in; 1798. They had a family of
ten children, all living but one. John R., the
oldest son, came to Preble County with his father in
1830, and in 1844 married Hannah Smith, whose
parents were among the earlier settlers of the
township, having settled in section twenty-three in
1816 or 1817.
William Silver, Sr.,
settled in Dixon in 1836. He was born in Salem
County, New Jersey, in 1773, and in 1827 settled in
Warren County, Ohio. He died in Israel township in
1848; his wife, Rebecca (Bates), born in 1776, died
in 1849. Of the family of eight children, only three
survive, one son and two daughters: William B.
residing in Dixon, and Mrs. Martha Brown, and
Mrs. Phebe Brown, in Huntington, Indiana.
William
B. Silver was born in 1808, in Salem
County, New Jersey. In 1835 he was married to Ann
Johnson, and the next year settled in this township,
removing from Warren County, Ohio. e has seven
children living and two dead.
Thomas
Morrow, who settled in section nineteen,
in the year 1837, was a native of Huntingdon county,
Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1783. He was a
local magistrate in his native county for seventeen
years, being appointed justice of the peace by the
governor. He died in 1867 at Fair Haven, this
county. His wife was Elizabeth Barr, born in 1788
and died in 1873, They had six children: David B.
(dead), Mary, wife of Peter Tolan; Jane,
Richard, Sarah Ann, wife of John Williams; Eliza (dead).
Richard
Morrow was born in 1822; married in 1859,
Isreldia Jones, who was born in 1836. They have five
children living and five dead. Mrs. Morrow is the
daughter of Andrew Jones, who was one of the
earliest: settlers of Union county, Indiana. He was
born in Bowling Green, Tennessee, in 1787, and was a
soldier of the War of 1812. Died in 1859.
Silas
Hart was born in 1808, and died in Dixon
Township in 1869, on the farm occupied by his son. By his wife,
Hannah Enlinger, he had nine children,
seven, boys and two girls. The boys are all living.
Mrs. Hart resides with her son
Alexander, who is a
single man, Mr. Hart is the proprietor of the oldest
tile factory in the county, and does a thriving
business.
Charles
Wilkinson emigrated from Kentucky in 1810
and located in Gratis Township, Preble County, Ohio.
By his wife, Elizabeth (Evans), were born twelve
children. William H. Wilkinson, the second son,
married Anna Davis, in 1849. She was born in 1814,
and died in 1878. To them were born eleven children,
of whom eight are living, and in Preble County.
Mr.
Wilkinson, by dint, of industry, has been able to
purchase a large quantity of land. His fine home is
situated in section twelve.
C. T.
Wilkinson was born in Lanier Township,
Preble
County, Ohio, in 1849, and married Sarah E. Wright,
who was born in 1850. Mrs.
Wilkinson's parents
reside in Gasper Township, and are old settlers.
To Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson has been born one child,
Nona Delia, in 1872. They reside on a farm of
ninety-two acres of land.
James
Crothers was born in Ireland in 1839, and
in 1854 or 1855, emigrated to Ohio. In 1864 he
married Nancy Downey, who was born in Ireland in
1844, and came to Preble County about 1855. They
have had six children, all living at home. Robert,
the father of Mr. Crothers, resides with his son.
Mrs. Crothers' parents died in Ireland.
Elisha
Wilkinson settled in section fourteen in
1856. , He was born in Butler County in 1816;
married Rebecca Hazelton in 1840, and has had eleven
children, five dead and six living. Three reside
at home, and three within a short distance of the
old home.
Joshua
D. Hickman was born in Maryland in 1810;
emigrated to Ohio in 1840, and in 1856 settled in
Preble county, Dixon township, section eleven, where
he now lives. He married, in 1839, Abigail
Wilkinson, who was born in 1820. Mr.
Hickman is the
only survivor of six children of Abel and Sarah Hickman. His own children are five in number,
namely: Abel, Frances Ellen (Mrs. Isaac N. Saul),
John D., Minerva Abigail (wife of
William H, Duggins)
and George P. Mr. Hickman's farm consists of two
hundred and three acres.
John
Gentle was born in Frederick County,
Maryland, in 1790, and came to Hamilton County,
Ohio, in 1807, and to Preble County in 1813,
settling in Eaton. He was a soldier of the War of
1812, serving six months. Be married Julia Hendricks
in 1814, who was born in 1798. They had but two
children: James B. and Elizabeth M; the latter died
in 1833, in her sixteenth year. James B. married
Catharine Acton, in 1843; she died in 1873, aged
fifty years, having borne her husband six children,,
four of whom survive.
John
Taylor was born in Ireland, county of
Leitrim, in 1812. Margaret Anderson, who afterwards
became his wife, was also born in Ireland, in
Roscommon, in the year 1809. Both crossed the
Atlantic in 1840, and both landed in Quebec, and
afterwards came to the vicinity of Oxford. They
became acquainted in Butler County, and were married
in 1842. They had six children, five of whom are
living and four are single, and live with their
mother. Eliza Jane is the wife of
W. H. Collins, of
Union county, Indiana; Margaret Ellen, William
Morris, John Draper, and Mary
Ann are at home. Mr.
and Mrs. Taylor went to housekeeping in Butler
County, came to Israel Township in the spring of
1854, and after remaining there four years removed
to Dixon Township, where Mr. Taylor soon afterwards
bought one hundred and thirty acres of land in
section twenty-nine. John Taylor, the father, died
in 1877.
John D. McDivitt was born in Ireland, in 1820. He
came to Ohio from Pennsylvania. His wife, Elizabeth Pottenger, was born in 1825. They have had the
following children, namely: Nancy Jane, Catharine,
Charles Newton,. Ella, Laura, Samuel, Clarence, and William, five are now living.
[Pg. 168]
Abraham
Shoemaker was born in Virginia in 1840,
and in 1861 emigrated to Indiana. In 1864 he removed
to Ohio and settled in Dixon Township, at which time
he was married to Miss Mary Kindley, who was born in
1842 on the farm in Dixon Township, where they now
reside. Mrs. Shoemaker's parents were
Daniel Kindley,
born in North Carolina in 1797, and Susan (Weeks) Kindley, born in 1808.
Mrs. Kindley, who could not
read and write until after her marriage, acquired a
fair education by hard study.
To Mr. and
Mrs. Shoemaker were born seven children, four of
whom are living—Daniel, Levin T., Martha, and
Robert F. They own two hundred and forty acres of land in
Dixon Township.
William
H. Hemp settled in section twenty-two, in
1866 He was born in Maryland, Frederick County, in
1834, and removed from that State to Ohio in 1842.
He married Cordelia Shaffer, born in 1846, and has
one child, Calvin E.
John
Flora was born in Virginia in 1831, and
the same year came with his parents to Preble
County. He married, in 1856, Mary Caroline Potterf,
granddaughter of the pioneer, Gasper Potterf. Mrs.
Flora was born in 1839; they have eight children,
viz.: Jacob, Mrs. Royal Harvey, Ida Alice, Anna,
Lovina, Minnie, Everett, and Edith.
John
Dove, Sr., was born in Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, in 1783, and emigrated to Butler
county in 1814. His wife was Rachel Wetzel, born in
Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1793. From
Ohio he moved to Hancock County, Indiana, where he
died in 1865. His wife survived him ten years and
died in 1875.
John
Dove, Jr., son of the above, was born in
Butler County,
Ohio, in 1815. In 1843 he died, near Trenton, in
Butler County, Ohio. His wife, Elizabeth (Collins),
was born in 1817, and is now living in Montgomery County, Ohio. Two of their children are still
living, William C. and Marcella
William
C. Dove was born in 1840. He was in the
war of the Rebellion until 1862, when he was
discharged for disability. He was enlisted in the
Eighth regiment, company B, of the Indiana volunteer
infantry In 1866 he married Sarah J., widow of C. W.
Morris, who was killed at Atlanta in the War of
1861-65, while serving in the Forty-seventh Ohio,
company B. They have had five children, two only of
whom are now living.
John W.
Cook became a resident of Preble county
and Dixon township in 1871, having previously lived
in Jay county, Indiana. The same year he married
Miss Frances R. Wilkinson.
William
Pugh was a native of Georgia, and settled
at an early day in Dixon Township. His wife was
Lucy Young. William Pugh died in Illinois in 1864,
leaving two children—Alexander, who lives in
Indiana, and Sherwood, in Illinois- -who are all who
survive of a family of eight children.
W. D.
Pugh, son of John and a grandson of
William Hugh, was born in Preble county in 1846, and
in 1870 married Josephine A., daughter of Isaac
and Jane Dooley, born in 1847.
Mr. W. D. Pugh has lived
on
his present farm of eighty-four acres since his
marriage. One child has been born to him. Mr.
Pugh served in the war of the Rebellion during the
hundred days' service. He was engaged at Cumberland,
Maryland, under General Kelly.
Frank
O. Dunlap was born in Lanier Township,
Preble County, in 1846. In 1872 he was united in
marriage to Netta Johnson, born in 1851. She is the
daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann Johnson, the latter
of whom is now living in West Alexander. Her father
died in 1879. Mrs. Dunlap is one of three children
now surviving out of a family of seven. To Mr. and
Mrs. Dunlap have been born two children.
Mr. Dunlap
is now residing in section fifteen of this township.
Vincent Rose
was born in. Washington County,
Tennessee, in 1807, from which State he emigrated to
Union county, Indiana, in 1827. In 1873 he moved to
Ohio. His first wife, Sarah Bradway, was born in
1807 and died in 1863. Nine children were born by
this marriage: Matilda Jane, wife of
George Brown,
resides in Israel Township; Thomas resides in
Richmond, Indiana, and George in Liberty, Indiana.
The rest are deceased. Mr. Rose's present wife was
the widow of George Oxer, whom he married in 1874.
Mr. Vincent Rose is the owner of sixty-four acres of
land.
Harvy Paddack
was born in 1847. In 1872 he
married Frances, daughter of Lewis Paddack, who
resides in Jackson Township. One child has been born
to them— Ruth, in 1880.
Washington
Bruce, the seventh child and
fifth son of William and Fannie Bruce, of Washington
Township, was born at the old home place, south of
the present site of Eaton, in the year 1809. In 1852
he married Sarah Readmon, of Harrison County,
Kentucky. She was born in 1822, and is living. For
eighteen years after their marriage they lived in
Kentucky and then removed to Marion County, Indiana,
where they remained eighteen months, when they
removed to their present residence in Preble County,
and settled in section three of Dixon Township, just
east of West Florence. They have one child, Charles
W., who was born in 1858, and resides with his
parents. Mr. Bruce, besides the one hundred and
eighty-five acres of land adjoining his residence
owns land near Eaton, and in Indiana
Thomas
B. Thompson settled in section
twenty-three in 1877. His father emigrated from New
Jersey, and settled in Butler County, Ohio, where
Thomas was born in 1823. His first wife was
Jane Crawford, who was born the same year and died in
1862. He had by his first wife five children, four
of whom are now living. A daughter, Dorcas
Jane, is
the wife of Daniel Wilkinson. His present wife is
Mary Hamlyn, who was born in 1844, and by this
marriage there are four children.
Jehu W.
King was born in Ridgeville, Warren
County, Ohio, in 1829. His first wife was the widow
of David Taylor. She was born in 1835, and died in
1857. By this marriage there was born one son,
Edward T. King, who resides with his father.
Alice
E., wife of Wallace B. Goodall, of Ottumwa, Iowa, is
the only child born to Mrs. Sarah King by her first
marriage. Mr. King marr-
[Pg. 169]
ied for his second wife
Sarah
J. Booth, who was born in Cincinnati in 1828. To
them have been born five children, one of whom is
living. Leona is the wife of Frank Rhea, of Eaton,
and William Charles, Henry and
Maggie reside at the
home of their father, in section twenty-four. In
1857 Mr. King was admitted to the bar, and in 1866
commenced the practice of law in Eaton. He was
elected prosecuting attorney of Preble County in
1865, and at the expiration of his first term again
received that office. In 1869 he was elected probate
judge, which office he held for two successive
terms. In 1878 Judge King moved to his farm of
seventy-four acres of land in Dixon Township.
Abraham Overholser was born in Virginia in 1810,
and when five years old came to Preble county with
his parents, who settled in Gasper township. His
wife was Lydia, daughter of Daniel Brower, of Gasper
Township. Mr. Overholser died in 1877, and his wife
is still living in Gasper Township. John H. Overholser, the eldest son, was born in Gasper
township in 1842, and in 1865 was married to Mary A.
Bennett, daughter of Elijah Bennett, deceased. To
Mr. and Mrs. Overholser have been born three
children—Ollie J., Daisy (deceased),
and Charles L.
They lived in Gasper Township until 1878, when they
removed to their present residence in section
twenty-two of Dixon Township.
Abraham
Brubaker and family emigrated from
Virginia to Preble County, and settled near
Winchester, in Gratis Township, in 1825. George
Brubaker, their son, now living in Jackson Township,
was born in Virginia in 1813, and came to Ohio with
his parents in 1825. In 1838 he married Miss
Anna Banta, who was born in Lanier Township in 1818,
where her father, Peter Banta, made a settlement a
short time previous. Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker had a
family of eight children, who are living.
John
Melling was born in Preble County, Twin
Township, in 1808. His first wife was Catharine
Shoemaker, who was born in 1815, and died in her
twentieth year. His second wife was Susannah,
daughter of William Melling, a Virginian. She was
born in 1815, and is still living. By his first wife
he had one child, Daniel, now living in Gettysburgh,
Preble County. There were six children born to him
by his second wife, two of whom still survive—John Wesley
and Stephen P;—both of whom are living at
home.
Morris
Cohee was born near Hamilton, Ohio, in
1821. He married Sarah, widow of Samuel
Maddax. She
was born in 1832. To Mr. and Mrs.
Cohee has been
born one child, George, who died in infancy.
Mr. Cohee owns thirty-seven acres of land under a good
state of cultivation.
THE FIRST MILL.
was built by James Kercheval, on Four Mile
creek, in section twenty-eight, about 1805 or 1806.
It was built of logs and ran only during the fall
and spring months when the creek was high. Kercheval sold out to
Gobel, who after a
short stay sold this interest to Stratton, who was
the one to first open a regular store, when he ran
in connection with his mill. The mill is now
owned by the Niccum family.
The second mill was
started by Ebenezer Elliott, on Four miles,
but farther south than Kercheval's.
These two are the only water-mills ever started in
the township.
Samuel Parks, at
an early date started a mill by horse-power, of the
kind then known as "corn crackers." This was
very little used, except during the summer months,
when the creek was too low to start the water-mills.
At one time William Dallas
had a mill in operation at Concord, but it has long
since been destroyed.
THE FIRST SAW-MILL.
started in this township was erected at the Kercheval mill during the time of Gobel's
proprietorship, about 1814 or 1815.
The next was built in the
northern part of the State, on Four mile creek, near
the county line, by George Kelly, and in 1822
one was started by Henry Morris.
There are now several
in different parts of the township, most of which
are run by steam, owing to the lack of
sufficient waterpower.
POST OFFICES.
In 1841 the first post office that was established
in Dixon township was opened about two hundred yards
east of the old Kercheval (or Niccum)
mill. The first postmaster was Jacob Morris. The post office was called Stony
Point post office. After a few years it was
moved to Beechymire, where John McGahan was
the first postmaster. This was afterwards
carried over to Indiana. At an early date
there was a post office at Sugar valley, which was
kept in the house of the postmaster.
peo.tem. No record exists to show who was
the first postmaster.
THE FIRST STORE.
About 1820 Gobel, then owner of the old Kercheval mill, sold out to
Mr. Stratton.
He brought with him a large stock of goods and ran a
store in connection with his mill. As this was
the first thing of the kind in the township,
the proprietor doubtless made a profitable thing of
it. A small shop had been kept there
previously by a man by the name of Steel,
who, perhaps, ought to receive the name of having
been the first to open store. A store was
afterwards kept at Sugar valley by Larkin Norman. Neither of these stores are in existence now,
and nothing of the kind deserving of the name of
store exists in the township.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
The only thing in the township that can be classed
among the industries of the county is a tile
factory, located in the southern part of the
township in section thirty-five. It is run by
W. F. and H. L. Bader, and has a capacity of
ten thousand rods per year.
The first still-house was
run by Mr. Culver, and was stationed in the
northeastern quarter of section three, on the farm
now owned by Stephen McWhinney.
In 1823 or 1824 a still house was opened by an
Englishman named Richard Morris, or as he is
popularly called, Dickey Morris. This
was placed on the northwestern quarter of section
twenty-one.
At the time of the William Dallas mill there was
a
[Pg. 170]
distillery run in connection with the mill; also on
section twenty-one; and one was started in section
sixteen, near Concord church,, by Will White.
This was afterwards burned down.
These distilleries were for the most part rather
insignificant affairs; at the most they rarely
exceeded four gallons a day. But the old
settlers assert that the whiskey was far superior to
any which can now be obtained.
Ebenezer Elliott, at one time, had a carding and
fulling mill at his mill on Four Mile creek, but it
has long since disappeared. It was the only
thing of the kind ever started in the township.
The first road in the township was the pike, which now
marks the boundary between this township and
Jackson. The second was one known as the
Richmond and Camden road, running across the
township, from southeast to northwest. One or
two short sections of this road are still in use,
but by far the greater part has been obliterated,
and scarcely any traces of it are now remaining.
The first white child, as far as can now be
ascertained, who was born in Dixon township, was
Newton Larsh, son of Paul Larsh,
a Pennsylvanian, who had settled on the present
Larsh estate.
The first death is supposed to have been that of a
young daughter of Eli Dixon's, who was
buried in the present Burson burial-ground,
in 1807.
EARLY INCIDENTS
No record now exists of any
disturbance being made in this township by Indian
hostilities. The War of 1812 occurred so soon
after the settlement of this region that its weak
and helpless condition would seem to have invited
attack, but none was made. Indians have been
often seen passing through, or camping in, this
neighborhood, but never daring to molest the
inhabitants.
One instance occurred which excited a great deal of
interest at the time of its occurence.
Stephen Dixon, one of the four brothers who came
together from Georgia, had moved with some families
from the neighborhood and settled on the banks of
the Wabash river, Indiana. Stephen was
living with a family of Paddacks, who moved
from Preble county. Mr. Paddack was the
uncle of Ebenezer Paddack, of Jackson
township, to whom we are indebted for the following
narrative:
Soon after their removal from this county, and their
settlement in Indiana, the little band were attacked
and all killed or made prisoners. The two men,
Paddack and Dixon, were away from the
honse, and their bodies were found, one in
the field and one in the woods. The ground
around the body of Dixon showed that he had made a
fearful struggle against the overwhelming odds.
He had a heavy hoe in his hands, the handle of which
was almost cut to bits by the tomahawks of the
Indians in their endeavors to strike the brave
settler. The remains of some of the children
and of the mother were found among the ashes of the
cabin. Two girls could not be found.
Whether they were destroyed with the rest of the
family, or carried off into captivity, has never
been satisfactorily settled. Rumors have
reached the ears of anxious relatives at different
times, mentioning that some passing bands of Indians
had been seen going to the far west, having in their
possession two young white girls; but how true this
is, or whether they were the lost Paddacks,
none can say.
The year 1817 is mentioned for its severe winter.
A fall of snow covered the ground for a depth of two
feet, and a crust of snow formed thick enough to
bear the weight of a dog but not that of a deer.
The dogs of the settlers set out on a hunt for
themselves, and the old settlers declare that such
was the havoc made by this wholesale slaughter that
“scarcely an antler” was seen in the country
afterwards. The dogs could easily pull down a deer,
which, at every step, would plunge up to its body in
the treacherous snow, while they could glide along
at full speed over the frozen surface, barely
stopping to make sure of the death of one before
starting off after a fresh victim. The reader
can imagine how keenly this loss was felt by the
settlers, when they reflect that the woods abounded
in game before the snow—such as deer and turkey, and
the former formed the chief supply of the early
settler’s larder for a long time after locating in
the country.
THE FIRST ELECTION
held in this township was held near a large log in
section sixteen, near where the Concord church is
now standing. It is impossible to give the
first officers, owing to the lack of records
concerning the infant settlement. All that is
known is that Eli Dixon, esq., then county
com
missioner, and at whose instigation the township was
organized, was elected first justice of the peace.
Some time afterwards a house was built, which served
the triple purpose of school-house, church, and
township house. The present township house is
a neat wooden structure, standing on a high
elevation.
THE PRESENT OFFICERS.
At the last election in the township the following
officers were elected to office: Trustees,
Philander McQuiston, David Railesback, and William
Taylor; treasurer, Samuel Earhart; clerk,
John W. Cook; justice of the peace, John
M. Daugherty; constables, William Charles
and Perry C. Flora; supervisors, Joseph
Pierson for district number one, Henry Paris
for number two, and Robert Gray for number
three. The board of education was given under
the head of “schools.”
STATISTICS FOR 1880.
The present population of the township, according to
the last returns, is one thousand one hundred and
sixty-two (1162) persons. In 1830 the
population numbered one thousand three hundred and
sixty-six (1366) persons, showing a decrease of two
hundred and four in fifty
years. The present value of real estate in the
township according to the returns of the assessor,
is as follows: Value of buildings, one hundred
and thirty-five thousand nine hundred and
ninety-five dollars. Value of lands, seven
hundred and fifty-four thousand nine hundred and
thirty-five dollars. Total, eight hundred and
ninety thousand nine hundred and thirty dollars.
[Pg. 171]
SCHOOLS.
The first school in Dixon township, the seed from
which the present system sprang, was opened at a
very early day. The date of its establishment
cannot now be accurately ascertained. It was
built on the old Jacob Marshall farm.
The present residence of Judge King
stands very near the site of this school. The
first to teach in this building was John A.
Dailey, who had come to this county from New
York with his brother George. They were
both men of good education, as their former pupils
are proud to testify, and gained an enviable name
through this township by their success as teachers.
The scholars came to this school from all parts of
the township, and some even came from other
townships. It is related that the teacher,
together with some of his older pupils, kept
bachelors hall. The construction of this
school-house is deserving of mention. Logs, of
course, were the materials out of which the walls
were built. Clapboards, split from the trunks
of trees, took the place of shingles, and were kept
in place by weight logs stretched across them.
The floor was formed of rough puncheons, and light
was admitted by cutting into the top of one of the
logs and pasting a greased paper across the hole
thus made. The writing desk was the flat side
of a split log, and was placed around the sides of
the building so as to have the full benefit of the
light from the windows (?). As the school was
only kept during the three winter months, the
weather was too severe to allow having the doors
open, and the pupils and teacher were both dependent
on the light which came through their panes of
paper. The seats were logs hewn flat, and were
supported by stakes driven into auger holes. A
fire-place at each end supplied the necessary
warmth. Such was the construction of all, the
school-houses during this period. The men
would get together and build one in a day. The
teacher was paid by subscription, from one to two
dollars per head a month. Perhaps more for the
higher branches— such as Latin or higher
mathematics. John Dailey taught in this
school for three or four winters. Moses
and A. R. Conger, Little John and Levi
Gard, are the only ones now living around Sugar
valley who attended this school.
About the year 1814 John Taylor taught a school
in the northern part of the township, near where
West Florence is now located. The terms were
ten dollars a month. An attempt was made to
have the teacher paid by subscription, but the
requisite number of scholars could not be secured.
At last, through the influence of Mr. Paddack,
one of the oldest settlers, who showed great zeal in
getting the school started, and who himself
subscribed largely, the school was organized. Mr.
Taylor offered to teach it for a year for one
hundred and twenty dollars, which sum was raised for
him. In 1816 a school-house was built in the
northeastern quarter of Joseph Dixon’s land.
The first to teach here was John L. Dickey,
afterwards sheriff of this county. Nathan
Truax succeeded him. This building was
soon abandoned, after which another one was built
nearer the creek.
In the southeastern quarter
of section ten a school was taught for a short time
by David Truax.
The first school building of any pretensions was built
on Four Mile creek, about a quarter of a mile south
of Concord church. The building was of hewn
logs, closely fitted together, with a good deal of
pains taken with the inside arrangements. This
building was used
for several years. The terms of subscription
were from one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars.
The charges for the higher branches were from three
dollars to five dollars.
Under the present educational system the township is
well supplied with schools, there being nine fine
brick buildings in the township, placed at the
distance of two miles from each other and forming a
square having three on a side with one in the
center, as near the center of
the township as maybe. These buildings are all
on well travelled roads, and most of them are at
cross roads. The present board of education
consists of the following gentlemen: James Gard,
chairman; J. M. Dougherty William Swisher, Thomas
Weir, Stephen Gard, Robert Gray, Charles
Borradaile, Allen Wyley, and John French.
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
The first house of worship to be erected in this
town ship was built by the Baptists, in the year
1817. It was built of logs, and was stationed
in the northern part of the township. The
building has long since disappeared, and the ground
is now without any mark to locate the spot.
The church was built on Four Mile creek, in the
northwestern quarter of section five. The
membership at the time was about twenty persons.
The church was abandoned long ago, as the
congregation grew away from that section, and
another house was erected in Jackson township, which
was destroyed some time ago. Mr.
Ebenezer Paddock, of Jackson township, is
the only man now living who was connected with the
building of this church. The second church to
be organized, and the oldest now in existence in
this township, was the Methodist church at Sugar
valley, in the southeastern quarter of section
twenty-four, very near the center of the section.
Quite a number of persons, some living in the Sugar
Valley settlement and others farther south, had been
discussing the question of organizing and building
a church for some time. The persons living in
the southern part of the township proposed that they
should help the people of Sugar valley build a
church on condition that if at any time a church was
to be erected in the southern part of the township,
the people at Sugar valley should refund the amount
received from their neighbors below them. But
in or about 1832 a class was formed at Sugar valley
by William Sutton, and has always existed since as
an established church. The first class was composed
of the seven following persons: Mr. and Mrs.
Jesse Simonson, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Longnecker,
and their two daughters-in-law, Mrs. Eli and
David Longnecker, and Mrs. Jacob Auchey. Mr.
Simonson was the leader of his class for a great
many years, and has always been a prominent member
in the church. The first meetings were held at
the old Simonson home
[Pg. 172]
stead, where Charles B. Simonson now resides. For
three
or four years houses of the members of the class
sufficed
for the meeting of this little band, but during the
ministration of John C. Deems they purchased of
Jacob
Longnecker, a frame building, twenty by thirty feet,
which
stood in an old field, and had been built to serve
as a pork,
house. By adding wings of eight feet at each side,
they
had a building, thirty by thirty-six. This was
stationed
at Sugar valley near where the present brick church
stands. The land where the frame building was
placed,
was donated by Jacob Longnecker. This was their
regular house of worship for a long time. About
fifteen
years years ago the building was destroyed by fire,
and
soon after, a new one was erected—~the present
building.
The structure is of- brick, standing on a fine site
donated
by Mr. Williams, whose wife is still living near the
church. The cost of the present building was three
thousand dollars. The present membership is about
fifty. Soon after the purchase of the old pork
house,
the Sunday-school was organized. The third and last
church to be organized in the township was the one
popularly known as the Concord church standing in the
northeastern quarter of section sixteen. In November
of 1840, this church was formed by the Christian denomination under the pastorship of
Rev. Luther
Fenton. There were only eight members at first—Moses Dooley,
Carey Toney, Jacob Cooper and his two daughters,
Lavicy and Elizabeth, Charles and Alexander
Rhea. The first building used for a meeting house,
was
the old Dixon township house. The present church
building was erected in 1848, at a cost of one
thousand
dollars. The dimensions of the present church building are about forty by fifty. The dedication sermon
was preached by Isaac N. Walter. Elder Levi Purviance
was the first pastor, and had the care of the church
for
ten or twelve years. In 1850 the Sunday-school was
organized, and the same year the present cemetery was
laid out. The board of trustees for which were
Temple
Aydelott, George Parks and Alexander Rhea. The first
child to be buried in this graveyard, was a young
son of
the widow Kindell.
There are two other cemeteries in this township—one
on the present Huffman farm, in the northwest
quarter of
section eleven, formerly owned by Eli Dixon, whose
young daughter was the first to be buried in it. This
was
the first burial ground in the township, and Dixon’s
young daughter who died in 1807, is said to have
been
the first person who died in the township. Another
burial ground is situated in the eastern part of
section
seven, but is not much used at present.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
COLONEL PAUL LARSH FELIX LOHRER
LEWIS LARSH
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