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PHYSICAL FEATURES.
THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME.
SETTLEMENT.
The first settlement in the county was made in
this township in section thirty-six, by John
Leslie, who entered land as early as 1802.
Leslie and a man by the name of Long
entered the section together, Leslie taking
the south half and Long the north half.
Leslie emigrated from Pennsylvania with his
family, consisting of his wife, five sons and three
daughters. The sons were Davis, Joseph,
John, Stephen and Reese. Long
had no family.
The next to enter after
Wesley and Long was Alexander Pugh,
who entered five quarter sections in the eastern
part of the township. The most of his land lay
in section thirteen. He made the first
settlement in what is called Pleasant valley.
He came from Georgia with three thousand dollars,
and bought his land and paid for it at time of
purchase. The most of the settlers who entered
lands took them with the privilege of paying for
them in yearly installments. The lands were
generally sold to the settlers for about two dollars
and fifty cents per acre, they agreeing to pay about
eighty dollars a year. At the time of his
arrival Mr. Pugh was considered the
wealthiest man in the settlement. Soon after
Leslie's arrival William Swisher came
from Kentucky and settled section one. He
built on the north side of Twin creek. He was
originally from Pennsylvania, but moved to Kentucky,
where he stayed two years before moving to Ohio.
About the same time
Hezekiah Phillips
came into the settlement from ________ and settled
in the northern part of the township.
Rebecca Phillips is said to be the first female
white child born in the county. The southern
part of the township was settled by a large colony
of Friends, who came from the Carolinas and Georgia.
The families of Stubbs, Jones and Maddocks
formed a large part of the number. They were
originally from Pennsylvania. From there they
moved to North and South Carolina, and from these
latter States to Georgia. Their opposition to
slavery caused their emigration to the north and
northwest. They came in large numbers to Ohio,
and a great many settled in Gratis township.
The ancestor of the Stubbs had gone from
Pennsylvania to keep in sight and sound of his lady
love, Miss Ester Maddock. He saw
General Braddock when undertaking his disastrous
march against the combined forces of French and
Indians. As many as thirteen brothers of his
name came to Ohio together, and of these, twelve
settled within thirty miles of each other, in the
southern part of Gratis township and the northern
part of Butler county. The Stubbs are a
remarkably long lived familly, their average age
approaching eighty years. There is in the
possession of Mr. Jesse Stubbs, of West
Elkton, a record of events which he has kept for
over forty years.
George Kelley
settled in Gratis Township, and was among the earliest settlers
in the county. He came from Virginia, where he was born in
1782. His wife, Elizabeth (Harrell), was born in
Kentucky in 1787. They removed finally to Sullivan county,
Indiana, where they both died; he in 1868 , and she in 1876.
James Kelley, son of George Kelley, was born in
Gratis township in 1811, December 8th, and was married, in 1838,
to Hannah Goodlander, and has had a family of fifteen
children, eleven of whom are living.
Some of the other
early settlers were John Cypole and Levi
Kinman who came from Georgia in the fall of
1804, and settled in Gratis; Abraham Neff,
who settled on Twin, and built the first saw and
grist-mill; the two Gifts, Nicholas and
Jacob, who settled on section three, and were
afterwards among the four proprietors of the town of
Winchester; Abraham Wimmer, from Virginia;
Daniel Boone, from Kentucky, a relative of the
noted pioneer, and who settled on section eleven;
William Hixon, from Georgia; and Abner
Hall and nephew, Adam, of North Carolina.
The above all came before 1809.
John Brown was born
about 1795, in Georgia, from which State he
emigrated to Ohio, and settled in Gratis township in
1804. His father, Richard, entered a
three-quarter section, one hundred and twenty-seven
acres of which is now in the possession of his
grandson, Joseph Brown. He paid a
dollar and fifty cents per acre for the land.
John Brown's wife was Mary, daughter
of Jonas Randall who died in 1867. They
had seven children born to them: Jonas,
(deceased); Sarah, (deceased); John R.,
residing in Iowa; Jonathan in Kansas;
Richard, (deceased); Joseph and
Rebecca, (deceased). Joseph Brown
was married three times. By his first wife,
Elizabeth Stanley, he had two children (both
deceased). His second wife, Mary Hasley,
who died of smallpox in 1875, left two children:
Ellie and Milo A. His third wife is
Maria Stubbs. They have had one child,
Samuel (deceased). Mr. Brown
has been a director on the school board for
twenty-four years.
John Brown and
Mary Randall moved into their log but
the day after their marriage, carrying their effects
upon a horse. At the time they moved in there
was no floor to their dwelling. The house was
finished after they had moved in.
Jerid, son of Alexander Pugh,
was born in the year 1809. His father moved to
Gratis in 1805. He married Catharine
Barbara Schwartzwelder, who is still
living. They had six children born to them,
namely: Hannah, wife of Samuel
Harris; John, who married Eliza
Ann Gifford; William, who married
Ellen Smith; Alexander; Ellen,
wife of James Burnett; and Wesley
(deceased). John Pugh has three
children now living: Hiram C., Charles
Wesley, and Samuel J. Mr.
Pugh has a farm of about one hundred and
twenty-nine acres, all in a fine state of
improvement. He has also been a member of the
township board of education, but holds no office at
present.
Daniel Chrisman
emigrated from Rowan county, North Carolina, in
1803, stopping until August, 1805, in Warren county.
In that year coming to Preble county he settled in
section eleven, of Gratis township. By his
wife, Mary Ozias, he had five
children, four of whom are living, three of whom are
in this county. John, the only one in
Gratis township, married Susannah Hall
(deceased). He is about the last of the early
settlers, and is one of the largest land holders in
Preble county.
NOTE: Click
HERE for Picture
Lewis Chrisman,
son of Jacob Chrisman was born in 1801.
He married Sarah Harshman, by whom he had
eight children, three of whom are still living,
viz.: F. M., Sarah Ann, and Peter;
the last two are living in Indiana. Lewis
Chrisman died in 1854, and his wife in 1872.
F. M. Chrisman was born in Preble county, on
the old homestead, in the year 1833, and in 1857,
married Esther Russell, daughter of John
R. Russell. He has had six children, all
of whom are living. His farm contains three
hundred and sixty-eight acres. Rev.
Jacob Chrisman, the grandfather of
John and Daniel, was the first minister
of the German Reformed church who crossed the Ohio
river.
Benjamin
Fall,
came
into Ohio from North Carolina, and settled in Gratis
township. His father, Christian, was one of
the first men in the county; he came in 1805.
His wife was Mary Leslie, who died
about 1864. They had four children: Hannah,
wife of Joseph Haldeman; Mary
Ann, wife of Daniel Snyder;
Josiah, who married Susan Smith;
and Elizabeth, wife of Oscar Morris.
Mrs. Daniel Snyder had six
children: Susannah, Benjamin,
Samuel, Alice, Margaret, and
Libbie.
Samuel Stubbs was
born in Georgia in 1766, from which State he
emigrated to Ohio, and in 1805 settled on section
twenty-nine of Gratis township. He died while
on a visit to Indiana in 1846. His wife,
Mary Jones, was born in Georgia in 1771,
and died in Gratis in 1843. She was a
descendant, in the third generation, from Sir
Isaac Newton. Sir Isaac’s
sister Rachel married a Francis
Jones.
Mr. and Mrs. Stubbs had ten children: Rebecca,
William, Tabitha, Newton, Martha, Sarah Ann,
Nathan, Rachel, and Jesse
Stubbs. Jesse Stubbs married
Mary Jones, and has had nine children, six of
whom are living. Mr. Stubbs now
resides in the spot where he was born, and is
seventy-one years old.
Jonas Randall
came to
Preble county and settled in Gratis township in
1805. He was born in South Carolina December,
1766. He married Sarah Roberts,
who was a native of the same State, born May, 1766.
They had nine children, all of whom grew up and
raised families, but none are now living.
Jonas Randall died in Gratis in 1852, and
his wife in 1855. He was a prosperous farmer,
owning one thousand acres of land. He gave
each of his children a farm.
He was a member of Friends’ church, and was a use ful
citizen. John Randall, his son,
was born in South Carolina, in July, 1790, and was
married in 1811, to Elizabeth Conarroe,
who was born in Philadelphia, in 1795. They
have had nine children, of whom six are living, viz:
William C., in Monroe township; Mrs.
John Lee in Jefferson; Mrs. Isaac
Julian, in Illinois; Mrs. Isaac
Wright, in Indiana; Andrew C., in
Illinois, and Mrs. John Small,
in Kansas. William C. was born
in 1816, and has been married four times. He
was appointed, in 1837, ensign in the State militia,
under Governor Vance, and was
afterward made lieutenant, which commission he held
four years.
Thomas Stubbs was
born in Georgia in the year 1770. From Georgia
he emigrated to Ohio, and in the year 1805 he
settled in Gratis township. Like a good many
of the emigrants from the south, he was obliged to
leave on account of his anti-slavery views.
His wife was
[Page 188]
Mary, daughter of Charles
Hobson. They had ten children born to
them: Elisha, Arah, Charles
(deceased), John H., Keziah, Lydia, Rebecca,
Sarah (deceased), and Lorenzo. The
latter, born in 1818, married Sarah
Maddock, and has had five children, three of
whom survive. Mr. Stubbs has a
farm of one hundred and eighty acres. This
farm was given him by John Overpeck,
as a recognition of a kindness done him by
Lorenzo Stubbs. During an illness
of Mr. Overpeck’s his own children
deserted him and left him to Mr. Stubbs’
sole care. At Mr. Overpeck’s
death, at the age of eighty-two years, he left his
farm to Mr. Stubbs.
John H. Stubbs,
son of
Thomas Stubbs, was born in Butler
county in 1805. His father moved from
Pennsylvania to North Carolina, from there to
Georgia, and finally to Ohio. The first wife
of J. H. Stubbs, who was Margaret E. Hart,
died in 1840. They had ten children: Levi,
Zimri, Aaron, Thomas, Isaac, Lydia, Ira, Esta,
Elizabeth, and Sarah. His second
wife was Lydia M. Eccles, by whom he had
eight children: Enoch, Emma, Ezra, Harriet,
Eli, Allison B., George H., and Katie.
Levi Stubbs
married
Mary Thomozin Thayer. By her
he had nine children: John E., Lewis B, Ira S.,
Charles Z., Walter L, Luella, Aaron A., Lizzie Ann,
and Sarah Margaret. Ira Stubbs, married
Rebecca J. Swain. Nine children were born
him, viz: Ollie, Charles S., Russel F.,
Curtis A., Mary L., Lurton H., Frank C., Orion J.,
and Helen B. Mr. Stubbs
has a farm of forty-four acres. He is a
merchant in West Elkton.
John Riner
was born near
Martinsburgh, Virginia, about 1780. From
Virginia he moved to Ohio, and settled in Gratis in
the year 1805. He died in Gratis on section
fourteen, in 1840. His first wife was a
Huffman, of Virginia, by whom he had two
children: Sarah and Catharine.
His second wife was Mary Osborn, of
Sheppardsburgh, Virginia. She died in the year
1873, at the age of eighty-three. John
and Mary Riner had seven
children, four of whom are now living: Julia
Ann, Henry, J. Welsey and Rebecca.
Henry Riner married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Chrisman. They
have three children of their own: Susan,
John and Charles, and two adopted ones—Thomas
and Mattie.
Simeon Loop was born in
Pennsylvania, from which State he moved to Ohio.
He died in Gratis township about 1846. His
wife, Catharine E., is also dead. Mr.
Loop owned a farm of seventy-six acres.
Five children were born him: Susanna,
Jacob, Mary Ann, Sarah and
Lewis C. The latter married Eliza
Jane, daughter of George Long.
They have had two children: Mary Ellen
and Sadie (deceased). Mr.
Lewis Loop was born in 1830, and is still
living on the farm owned by his father.
Jesse Kenworthy, sr.
In the year 1805 Jesse Kenworthy, sr., came
to Ohio, and settled on section thirty-two of Gratis
township, where he died in 1858. He moved from
North Carolina to South Carolina, where he married
Rachel Cook, a native of that State.
She was the daughter of Eli Cook,
who settled in 1805, on the same section as
Kenworthy. This colony came overland to
Ohio, driving their own teams, and making the best
arrangements possible until they could build their
cabins. Jesse and Rachel
Kenworthy had a family of five children, viz:
William, who married for his first wife,
Alice Ballard, and for his second, Ann
Townsend; John, who married Lydia
Jones; Mary, who married first
David Branson, and second, Daniel H.
Moon; Sally (deceased), and Jesse, jr.
The latter married Mary Langston, and
has five children: John R., Susan K., Rachel,
Zimri and Alvin L. Mr. Jesse
Kenworthy, jr., was born in the year
1817, and has lived all his life on the farm where
he now resides. He first started on his
father’s farm which had been willed him. He
made additions to this from time to time until he is
now the owner of seven hundred and forty-six acres
in Ohio, be sides three hundred and sixty acres in
Illinois. He has made a specialty of stock
raising, particularly the raising of hogs, raising
from three to four hundred of the latter a year.
His son, Zimri, married Ann E. Lynn.
They have had two children: Francis Elmer
and Frank E., both of whom are deceased.
Daniel Kenworthy
is one of ten children. He has been married
twice—first to Mary Roberts, and then
after her death, to Mary J. Lane. He
has had four children. Mr. Kenworthy
is a member of the board of education of his
township, and also a director of the Preble County
Agricultural association. He has a farm of one
hundred acres.
William Gifford
moved to Ohio from North Carolina about 1805, and
settled in Gratis township. He was born in
1773, and died in 1813. His son, Jesse
Gifford, was born in Gratis township in the
year 1812. His wife, Bethena Rix, was
born in 1813. They had six children: Anuel,
Susanna, Eliza, Henry,
Hannah and Linley. Mr. Gifford
owns seventy-five acres in Preble county.
Anuel Gifford
married first Sarah Korres, by whom he
had six children. After her decease he married
Ellie Owens, and has had one child by this
union. Mr. Gifford has been
school director for four years, and for several
years a member of the board of education. He
is part proprietor of a saw-mill.
Nathan Maddock
was
born in Georgia, in the year 1777. In the spring of
1805 his father, Samuel Maddock, moved
from Georgia with a colony of about fifty persons,
composed mostly of representatives of the Stubbs
and Jones families. The
latter of these families is now not represented in
this part of the county. Samuel
Maddock brought with him his two sons, Nathan
and Francis, and his daughter Eleanor.
He settled on section thirty two of Gratis township.
Nathan married Sarah Fours, of
North Carolina. Four children were born to
them— Joseph, John, Henry, who
married Phebe Brown, and Rachel,
who married Riley Davis (deceased).
After he death of Mrs. Maddock, which
occurred in 1815, Nathan married Martha
Mendenhall, by whom he had one child,
Samuel, who married Martha Cook.
Joseph Maddock married Mary Stubbs.
Three children have been born to them, two of whom,
Nathan and Martha Ann, are
still living. Henry Maddock is
living in Lee county, Iowa, and Samuel in
Henry county, Iowa.
John Maddock and his wife Martha (Stubbs)
had six children, two of whom died in infancy.
Mr.. Maddock
[Page 189]
worked at his trade as carpenter
for twenty years, after which he became a farmer,
and now owns a fine farm of one hundred and sixty
acres. The Maddocks came from England
early in the eighteenth century, and settled in
Pennsylvania. From there they moved to North
Carolina, and from there to Georgia. They were
amongst the earliest settlers of the latter State,
where members of their family have held important
offices.
John Stubbs
worked at
his trade as carpenter for twenty years, after which
he became a farmer, and now owns a fine farm of one
hundred and sixty acres. The Maddocks
came from England early in the eighteenth century,
and settled in Pennsylvania. From there they
moved to North Carolina, and from there to Georgia.
They were amongst the earliest settlers of the
latter State, where members of their family have
held important offices.
John F. and Rachel Stubbs have two children,
Naomi and Charles. Joseph
Stubbs and wife, Esther Cooper,
daughter of William Cooper, of Butler
county, have two children, William Cooper
and Sarah Elizabeth.
Mr. Joseph Stubbs is living on the
old homestead, which his grandfather entered when he
first settled in Preble county.
Milton Stubbs
is the
son of Nathan and Ann (Mendenhall)
Stubbs. He married Sarah J. Cooper.
They have four children—Jonathan,
Elizabeth Ann, Esther E., and
Zimri. Milton has a fine farm of
two hundred and four acres. Marmaduke
Stubbs married Susan Kenworthy.
He was born in 1838, and is the father of two
children—Zimri A. and Mary L. The first
meeting of the Friends’ society was held on the farm
on which he lives.
William Clevenger
was born in New Jersey, about the year 1796. In 1806 he
moved to Ohio, and settled in section twenty-four of Gratis
township, where he died in the year 1860. His wife -
Elizabeth Inman - was born in New Jersey. She died
some fifteen years ago. They had eight children -
George, deceased; Mary; Jonathan, married Sarah
Turner; Jane, deceased; Harriet deceased; Anna E.,
and William. William Clevenger, jr., married
Catharine Gifford. They have had six children -
Mary, Walter, Elizabeth, Effie Jane (deceased), Ida
Minerva, and Lilla Myrtle. Mr. Clevenger owns a
farm of four hundred of fifty-two acres. His residence and
building are new. He was township trustee for two terms.
William Hixson
was born in
Georgia in 1777. From that State he emigrated to Gratis
about 1806, and settled on section nine. His wife,
Rachel (Stubbs), was a Georgian. She died in Gratis in
1848. Mr. Hixson was a member of the Society of
Friends. He left a farm of three hundred acres to his
three sons - John (deceased), who married Phebe
Randall; William, who married Sarah Pierson; and
Samuel, who is unmarried. John had a family of
eleven children. His family is in the west.
William had six children - Samuel, Rebecca, Mary
(deceased), Annie (deceased), Esta, and Milton.
He has a farm of two hundred and fifteen acres. Samuel
Hixson has a fine brick house, with an iron roof, which he
built in 1873. He has lived all his life on his present
farm.
Jonathan Roberts, a native
of North Carolina, settled in Butler county, near Gratis
township, Preble county, in 1805, where he died. His
father was Walter Roberts, who also settled in Butler
county. James W. Roberts, a grandson of the above,
was born in 1847. His father is Samuel Roberts.
He is one of six children, four boys and two girls. To him
and his wife, Lucretia (Davis), have been born three
children: Freddie C., Curtis S. and Willis.
Mr. Roberts is a member of the Society of Friends.
He is director of the school district and owns a farm of eighty
acres, which he bought from Hiram Stubbs. Zeno
Roberts, son of Jonathan Roberts, married Lizzie
Borradaile, daughter of Joseph Borradaile. They
have two children - Viola Adell and Albert Samuel.
Elihu Roberts a brother of the above, married Sarah
Stubbs, and has had eight children - Mary Alma, Otis,
Alonzo, Alpheus, Charles, Edwin, Margaret, and
Lindley.
William Roberts, born in
1829 is a son of Walter Roberts and Hannah Conarroand
grandson of Jonathan Roberts. Five children have
been born him - Margaret Jane, Conradin, Walter Scott, Laura
Bell and Ida May. He has a farm of fifty acres.
John B. brother of the above, married Mary C.
Maxwell, by whom he has had one child - Jesse C.
He has a farm of seventy acres on the Eaton and Winchester pike.
Elisha Roberts son of Walter Roberts, married
Sarah E. Gifford, by whom he had twelve children, nine of
whom survive. Mr. Roberts has a farm of over
sixty-five acres. The first farm which he owned in Ohio is
now owned by Joseph Eby in the northwestern part
of Gratis township. He then bought the farm he now
occupies.
John Roberts
was born in the
year 1802 in North Carolina. In 1805 he came to Ohio with
his parents. His father was Jonathan and his
grandfather was Walter Roberts. They moved from
Pennsylvania to Carolina in 1783. John owned a farm
in the northwestern part of Gratis in section eight. His
wife was Rebecca, daughter of Richard Brown who
came to Ohio from Georgia. His children were Mary Ann
who married Charles Ross; Sarah, who first husband was
Elliott Pierson, the second Nimrod Bennett; Phoebe Lydia(deceased),
Juliette (deceased), Zenith, Eliza Jane, who
married William Lautis; Rebecca who married
Obediah Talbert; Susan(deceased). Mr. Roberts
left a farm of one hundred and seven acres. His death
occurred in 1850. During his life he was a member of the
Society of Friends.
Richard Talbert
was born in North Carolina in 1797. His father was
Thomas Talbert, who came to gratis in 1807, and who died
there about 1844. Richard Talbert died in Gratis in
June of 1874. To him and wife, Rachel (Harris)
were born twelve children, eight of whom are still living,
namely: Solomon, Lydia, Asa, Ebediah, and ruth, Thomas and
Isaiah.
[Page 190]
Solomon Talbert was
born in 1819. His wife was Helah Blanchard.
They have had eleven children born them, eight of
whom are now living.
Asa Talbert, born in
1824, married for his first wife Sarah Townsend
by whom he had two children - Melissa Jane
and Mary He has had no children by his
second wife - Elvira Stubbs. Asa Talbert
owns a farm of one hundred and four acres as part of
the old homestead.
Isaiah Talbert
married Durinda Conarro, and has five
children. He is interested in a large carriage
manufactory. A full history of his business
will be found under the head of "Industries" in this
township.
Elijah Mendenhall,
a
Georgian, settled in Gratis township in 1806. He located
on the southeastern quarter of section thirty-four. His
wife‘s maiden name was Martha Miller. Mr.
Mendenhall left Georgia on account of his opposition to
slavery. He came to Ohio with a number of persons who
were, like himself, members of the Society of Friends. In
1814 he died in Gratis township. His wife survived him
twenty-nine years and died near West Elkton in 1843. After
the death of her husband she married Nathan Maddock,
by whom she had two children. Elijah Mendenhall’s
children were, James, Alice, Annie,
Marmaduke and Joseph. Marmaduke married
Elizabeth Johnson and had eight children, six of
whom are still living. Marmaduke Mendenhall
was born in 1810 on the place where he now lives. His farm
contains about ninety acres. Joseph L. Mendenhall,
son of the above, married Delilah, daughter of Samuel
Roberts. They have two children—Theodore S.
and Arthur C. Mr. J. L. Mendenhall has a farm of one
hundred and twenty-five acres, part of which belonged to the old
Mendenhall homestead. He was at one time a
member of the township board of education. William H.
Mendenhall, brother of the above, was born in 1853.
His wife was Sarah Eveline, daughter of
Jonathan H. Payne, of Somers township. They have only
one child. His farm contains about fifty acres—a part of
the old homestead.
William Gifford
was born
in North Carolina in the year 1800. From that State he
moved to Ohio in the year 1808 and settled in Gratis township.
His wife was Naomi Farrell, of New Jersey. Their
son Henry was married twice, first to Lucy Ann Parham
and then to Sarah Rix. He has had seven children.
His son John married Elizabeth Cooper and has two
children, Henry and Hattie He owns a farm of
one hundred and thirty acres on the Jacksonsburgh free pike, and
is also a director on the school board and district clerk.
Seth Gifford married Susan daughter of George
Hanger of Gratis township. They have two children:
Lucy A. and Jennie.
Mr. Seth Gifford
owns a farm of eighty-five acres, where he has always lived.
He served one term as a school director.
Nathan Hornaday, sr.,
was
born in North Carolina in 1766. In 1806 he moved to Ohio
and settled on section eighteen, of Gratis township. His
wife was Ruth Pickets. They have had eight
children, two of whom are living, John and Nathan.
Mr. Nathan Hornaday, sr., died in Gratis in 1810.
Nathan Hornaday, jr. married for his first wife
Lydia Graig by whom he had one son, Samuel C.
After her death he married Elizabeth Frances Connable.
The fruits of this union were two sons: Lerton B.
and Albert C. His wife dying, he married a third
wife, widow Nancy Ann Pigman of Hamilton, Ohio.
Mr. Hornaday was a justice of the peace for most of the time
since 1842. For five years he was an assistant internal
revenue assessor. HE is now a minister of the Methodist
church.
David Hoover
was born in North
Carolina in 1765. From that State he moved to Ohio and
settled, in 1800, near Dayton, Montgomery county. In the
next year he moved to his home on the Stillwater, where he died
in 1841. He came to Ohio in the year of the Marietta
settlement, and started off by himself in the woods, where he
made a home and was afterwards the owner of two good farms.
His wife, Elizabeth Curtis, died in 1852 or 1853.
They had eight children, of whom Dnaiel, James, and
Andrew are now living. James married a daughter
of Philip Andrews. They have nine children.
Mr. Hoover has been a druggist for twenty years. He
was in the furniture business in Lewisburgh.
Martin Sayler was born in
Frederick county, Maryland. In 1809 he emigrated to Ohio
and settled in section three, of Gratis township. He died
in Gratis in 1852. The town of Winchester if now standing
on the land he entered. His wife, Elizabeth Wilson,
died in Gratis in 1843. Mr. Sayler was one of the
first trustees of his township. He was a millwright by
trade and built most of the mills during the infancy of the
township. Eleven children were born him:
Catharine (deceased), Elizabeth (deceased),
Christina, Anna, Patty, Sarah, Susan, Sebastian, Rachel, William
(deceased), and one who died in infancy.
Dr. Christian Sayler
was born in Virginia in
1804. His first wife was Esther Lining,
by which he had three children, two of whom,
James and Caroline, are living. His
second wife was Catharine Bruce, by whom he
had six children, four of whom now survive:
William, Elizabeth, Rachel, and W. Scott.
Dr. Sayler, sr., has had the principal
practice in Gratis for more than fifty years, but
has now entirely retired from the practice of his
profession. His two sons - both graduates of
the Ohio Medical college - succeeded him. He
owns one of the finest farms in the country,
containing three hundred and forty acres adjoining
the town. Dr. Sayler held the office of
trustee some forty years ago, but has confined
himself too closely to his profession to serve as a
public officer for many years.
Dr. William Sayler,
son of Dr. Christian Sayler, married Miss
Sophia Nicodemus, daughter of Joshua
Nicodemus, who came to Preble in 1838.
They have two children, Lerton Roscoe and
Mary Catharine.
Charles Wilkinson,
born in Kentucky, emigrated from that State to Ohio
about the year 1810, and settled in this township.
He married Elizabeth Evans, and was
the father of a family of twelve children.
Their son William H. is one of the
substantial farmers of Dixon township, which he
acquired by hard labor and economy. In 1849 he
married Anna Davis, who died in 1878.
[Page 191]
Peter Prugh
was born in
Frederick county, Maryland, from which State he moved to Ohio,
and in 1811 he settled in section four in Gratis township.
His wife was Elizabeth Gentis, of Clarke county, Ohio,
who died in 1845. They had fourteen children - Abner,
Peter, John, Daniel G., Sarah, Jacob, Joshua, Julia Anna, Isaac,
Elizaeth, Benjamin, Abraham, Caroline and Joseph.
Daniel G. has been married twice. His first
wife was Sarah Swihart, by whom he had two children,
Reuben Cassius and Albert Clayton. By this
second wife, Anna Swihart, he had one child, Charles
L. His farm is a fine one of three hundred and fifteen
acres on the Camden and Winchester pike.fteen acres, on the
Camden
and Winchester pike.
Jacob Furey
was born in Maryland.
In the year 1816 they moved from that State and settled in Ohio,
on section nine of Gratis township, where he died in 1838.
His wife was Catharine Morningstar, who was born in Augusta
county, Virginia. She died in the fall of 1860.
Their son John came with them to Ohio. He was born in
Maryland, in the year 1808, and died in Gratis township in 1862.
His wife, Catharine Brower, was born in Augusta county,
Virginia, in 1810. They had eight children. Henry
Furey married Arsenath, daughter of David
Lautis, an early settler of Gratis township. They
have had three children born them. Mr.
Furey owns a
farm of one hundred and thirty-five acres. He is a director of schools and clerk of the district.
Elias Mackey
was born
in Pennsylvania, in the year
1790. In 1814 he emigrated to Ohio and settled on
section eighteen of Gratis township. He died in
Jefferson
township in 1873. John Mackey, an ancestor of the
Mackeys, was one of those who threw overboard the
tea
from the English ships in Boston harbor during the
excitement preceding the Revolution. He afterwards
served during the war and afterward came to Ohio
with
his children. Elias Mackey married
Christina Phillips.
Ten children were born to them. Lewis, son of
Elias
Mackey, married Minerva J. Robins. He has only one
child living, Charles W., who is studying medicine
with Dr. Sayler, of Winchester.
Mr. Mackey has been a
teacher in Preble county for thirty-six years.
George Hanger
was
born in Augusta county, Virginia,
in 1795. From Virginia he moved to Ohio about the
year 1813, and settled on section twenty-six of
Gratis
township, where he died in the year 1870. His first
wife
was Susan Loops, by whom he had four children, viz.:
Elizabeth, Susan, Nancy Jane, and
Katie Ann. His second wife, Mary
Ann Krackengast, bore him three children—Sarah
Margaret, George W. and Harriet.
George
W. Hanger married Catharine Judy, and has five children. He owns a farm of two hundred and twenty-six
acres. For the past nine years he has been a member
of
the school board.
Henry Bowman
was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, from
which State he moved to Ohio, and in the latter part of 1814 he
settled in Stark county. In 1855 he died in Albion,
Indiana. His wife was Elizabeth Henning, who
died in 1837. Soon after arriving in Ohio he was drafted
into the army. He moved to Mansfield, Ohio, and stopped in
the block house. There were only six families in Perry
township when he settled there. He had ten children born
him. John H. Bowman, his son, moved to Preble
county in 1837. He married Mary Ann, daughter of
Benjamin Darraugh, of Winchester. Five children
have been born him - Rebecca, Henry, Florinda,
Benjamin Franklin, and John Winfield.
Mr. Bowman came to Gratis as a tailor; but has
been in the mercantile business for thirty years. For
seventeen years he has been postmaster, also has held the
offices of recorder and mayor of corporation. His son
John W. Bowman, married Laura A. Gebhart, and has two
children, Benjamin and Clotilda. His
business is general merchandise.
Thomas Wall, a native
of England, emigrated to this
State at an early date. He was for many years a member of the Queen’s Guards, in the English army. He
was crippled in Dublin by the accidental discharge
of a
gun. After coming to Ohio he settled in Cincinnati,
as
a brass founder, and while there moulded and cast
the
first bell ever cast in the city. The castings of
the city
clock at Hamilton are his work. Mr. Wall
was twice married; first to Catharine Floyed. She was the
daughter of John Floyed, of Cincinnati, one of the first
settlers there,
and who claimed to have made the first keg of beer
ever
made there. By his first marriage Mr. Wall had nine
children, only three of whom survive—William,
Thomas,
and Edward. His second wife was Hannah
Waller.
The fruit of this union was three children—Charles
P., Solomon, and Lewis. Charles P. married
Emma Floyed,
by whom he has had three children. His farm
comprises
about sixty acres, a part of the old Goodwin place.
Lewis was born in 1858. He married Mary, daughter of
John
Skillman, of Hamilton county. His farm comprises
sixty—seven acres. There is in Mrs. Wall’s
possession
some antique chinaware bearing the stamp of the year
1572; also two guns brought to America over one hundred and fifty years ago by one of her ancestors.
Abraham Flory was
born in Franklin county, Virginia,
from which State he emigrated to Ohio, and settled
in
Gratis township in 1823. His son, Henry, married
Marillis P. Egans. They are both living. Their
children
were: Nancy, wife of Joseph Brubaker;
Elizabeth,
wife of Jacob Brubaker; Joseph, married to
Mary A. Eikenberry; Abraham, married to
Tennie Frantz; David, married to
Leah Frantz; Jacob, deceased; and
Daniel, deceased. David and
Leah Flory have had ten children, via:
Minerva (deceased), George, Mary,
Joseph (deceased), Ervin, Martha,
Willis, Jennie, Jessie, and Addie.
Mr. Flory was for a long time a preacher in the German
Baptist church. He has a farm of two hundred and forty
five acres.
David Branson
was
born in New Jersey about 1812. In 1822 he
emigrated from. that State to Ohio, and settled in
Wayne township, Butler county. His wife was
Mary, sister of Jesse Kenworthy,
of Gratis. They had two children—Amos
and Thomas. Amos was born in
1831. His wife was Priscilla, daughter
of Joseph Evans, of Clinton county.
They have three children - Mary, William,
and Lydia. Mr. Branson
owns a farm of one hundred and four acres.
[Page 192]
Daniel Stover,
a Virginian,
settled in Ohio in 1826, in Lanier township. His wife was
Susannah Funk,who died in 1870, in Lanier township. They
had eight children - Mary (deceased), married Jacob
Coffman; Susannah (deceased), married David Coffman;
Nancy; Jacob, married Catharine Chrisman; Elizabeth,
married Wilson Eby; Sarah, married Joseph Schenk;
and Hannah (deceased). Jacob Stover has only
one child - John C. Mr. Sstover is a farmer,
living with Mr. Chrisman. Both he and his wife are
members of the German Baptist church.
Job Smith
was born in New
Jersey in the year 1776. He emigrated from
that State, and settled on section seventeen of
Gratis township, in 1827, where he died in 1844.
His wife was Hannah, daughter of Mahlon
Gibbs. They have had nine children, seven
of whom survive, viz.:
John, William, Charles, Louisa, Ann G., Ellis C.,
and
Mary H. Ellis C. Smith has been married
twice - first to Mary Swann, and then to
Bathenia Swann.
He had had five children, four of whom are now
living, viz.:
Albert W., Mary A., Charles A., and Kittie.
He was born in the year 1818. His farm
contains about one hundred and forty-two acres.
For two terms he was a member of the board of
education, and also supervisor for some length of
time.
John Thomas
was born in
Pennsylvania in 1791. He lived most of his early life in
Virginia. His wife, whom he married in Maryland, was
Mary Wright. He settled in Winchester about 1827 and
kept a tavern. He also was engaged in cabinet making.
For twelve years he was a justice of the peace, and during the
years 1851 and 1852 he served his State in the legislature.
He has had ten children, seven of whom are still living, viz.:
William W., Moses W., Matilda W. (Kelly), Emily A. (Cazad),
James L., John G., and Harriet E. Of these the
first four are living - Thomas is Iowa and the remainder
in Ohio - John G. being a resident of Winchester,
Harriet E. (Bradstreet) of Dayton, and James L., of
Camden. The latter has resided in Dayton, and James L.,
of Camden. The latter has resided in Dayton since 1862.
His wife was Mary Elizabeth Patton. Mr. James L. Thomas
has been a justice of the peace of Somers, and has held the
office of mayor of Camden since 1874.
Joseph Mullendore
was born in Virginia in 1795. From Virginia he moved to
Ohio about the year 1805, and settled in Montgomery county.
In 1828 he moved to Lanier township. He died in Gratis
township in 1846. His wife, Elizabeth (Stump), died
in 1868. Their children were: Daniel, Jacob, Elizabeth,
Catherine, Susanna, George, Joseph, Aaron and Noah.
The latter, after graduating at Miami university, went to
California, where he was shot in a difficulty which arose about
an editorial in the paper which he was editing.
Jacob Mullendore
married Maria Beachler, and has had eleven children.
He owns a farm of two hundred and seventy acres.
John Brower
was
born in Pennsylvania, from which State he moved to Lanier
township. During his life he was a member of the German
Baptist church, of which he was for thirty years an elder.
Noah Brower, a grandson of the above, is one of eight
children. His father was a resident of Dayton for fourteen
years previous to his death. He owned a farm of three
hundred and twenty acres. Noah Brower married
Caroline Neff and has one child. He was at one time
engaged in the saw-mill business. His
farm contains forty acres.
John Stiver.
In the year 1898 John Stiver settled in
Montgomery county. He was born in Pennsylvania about 1791.
From this State he emigrated to Ohio, and died in Jackson
township, Montgomery county, in 1821. His wife was
Margaret Vance. After the death of Mr. Stiver
she married for a second husband Abraham Garrer. John
Stiver had four children, tow of whom are still living:
Mary, who married David Basore, and is now living
in Indiana, and Absolom, who married Rachel,
daughter of William Sayler. They have had no
children born to them, but have adopted two - Esther Bickers
and Winfield Freeman. Mr. Stivers is a lawyer, and
has practiced for seventeen years. He was justice of the
peace from 1852 to 1870, and again from 1874 to 1880. in
1862 and 1863 he was a member of the State legislature. He
was a county commissioner from 1854 to 1857.
John E. Thomas
was
born in Pennsylvania about 1790. He emigrated
from Virginia to Ohio in 1829, and settled in Gratis
township. He was justice of the peace for sixteen
years, and has represented the counties of Preble
and Montgomery in the Ohio legislature. His
wife was Mary Wright. They have
had ten children, seven of whom are still living.
James L. Thomas
was born in
Butler county in 1823. He married Mary F. Patten,
and has had five children, four of whom are living. Mr.
Thomas is by trade a carpenter and millwright. He has
been justice of the peace for three terms and mayor of Camden
for l four terms.
Joseph Fahrney
was born in
Maryland in the year 1817. In 1840 he came to Ohio and
settled on section one of Gratis township. His father, who
died in Maryland in 1837, was a physician and a man of
considerable wealth. Joseph Fahrney is one of a
family of eight children. His first wife was Catharine
Neff, by whom he had four children. By his second wife
he has had five children. He has a farm of four hundred
and seventy-five acres.
Peter Fahrney,
who married
Clara, daughter of Adam Stover, had two children -
Flora W. and Latin.
John Bookwalter,
eldest son of John and Catharine Bookwalter, was born in
Johnstown, Cambria county, Pennsylvania, in 1812. In 1822
he moved with his parents to Montgomery county, Ohio, and
settled five miles southwest of Dayton. His mother died
soon after their arrival in this State. She had contracted
a trouble in her lungs during the journey which terminated in
consumption. At the age of sixteen he learned the
wagon-making trade, and in 1833, started his shop in Winchester.
In the year 1835 he married Mary Mikesell, by whom he had
eleven children, seven of whom are now living. His wife
died in 1869, and in 1870 he married Sarah A. Gorsuch.
No children were born of this marriage.
Mr.
[Page 193]
Bookwalter
died in 1879. G. W. M. Bookwalter married for his
first wife, Rebecca Bowman, by whom he had one child, now
deceased. His second wife was Sarah, daughter of
John Russell, of Winchester. George Bookwalter
was engaged in painting for thirty years. He has been
mayor of Winchester of eighteen years, and clerk of the township
nineteen years, both of which offices he is now holding.
Josiah Bookwalter
married first Sarah E. Mitchell. Three children
were born them, only one of whom survives. His second wife
was Eva McKee, by whom he has one child. He is a
partner in the firm of Bookwalter & Fetherling at
Winchester - carriage-makers.
John M. Bookwalter
married Louisa Canarroe, daughter of
Richard Conarroe, of Butler county, Ohio/ Their
children are Ivea L. and L. Veturia. One
child is dead. Mr. Bookwalter is a carriage-trimmer
by trade. He was in the one hundred day service during the
Rebellion.
Benjamin F. Bookwalter
married Elvira, daughter of John
and Catharine Russell They have six children. He
is engaged in the blacksmith shops of Bookwalter & Fetherling.
Jonathan Horner
was born in
New Jersey about 1798, from which State he moved to Ohio, and
settled in Butler county in 1807. His death occurred in
Gratis township in 1852. He married Hannah Antrim,
by whom he had four children, namely Rachel (deceased),
Sarah, Berziller and Elizabeth (deceased).
Berziller Horner,
born in
1826, married Elizabeth Kinsey, by whom he had five
children: Hannah Ann., Mary Elizabeth, Maria Frances,
Elenora and Emma. Mr. Horner owns a farm of
about eighty-seven acres.
Jonathan Cooper moved from
Georgia in the year 1803, and settled in Wayne township, Butler
county. He died in Somersville. During the latter
part of his life he never wore a hat or a pair of socks, either
in summer or winter. His son, William, was born in
Butler county in 1803. He married Elizabeth,
daughter of Elijah Kellum. They have three
children: Sarah, wife of Milton Stubbs; Esta,
wife of Joseph Stubbs, and Elijah, who married
Emma Ann Conarroe. The latter has three children:
William, Jannie G. and John. He, Elijah
Cooper, has about five hundred and forty acres, including
land in butler county. Mr. Cooper was a resident of
Butler county until his thirty-fifth year. He is now a
dealer in stock.
G. F. Deter Kesling
was born
in Virginia, from which State he moved to Kentucky, and finally
settled in Ohio, in Warren county, in the year 1805, where he
died in 1852. He was drafted into the War of 1812, but
escaped service by sending a substitute. During his life
he was a farmer and distiller. His wife was
Margaret
Null.
William Kesling
was married
twice - first, to Martha Lyons, by whom he had eight
children, and after her death, to to Mary Doley.
Dr. Isaac Kesling is now a
resident of Winchester, Gratis township. He is a
successful practitioner of the Eclectic school, having graduated
at the Cincinnati Eclectic College of Medicine. Dr.
Kesling married Eliza Ann, daughter of John
Potterf, an old family in Preble. The township of
Gasper was named from Gasper Potterf, one of this family.
Jacob
Lesh, a
Virginian, emigrated at an early date from that State to Ohio,
and settled in Lanier township. His wife was Mary
Lantis. Their son, Henry, married Julia Ann
Morning Star, who is now living. Henry died in
Lanier township in 1853. Their children are: Jonas,
Lydia and Leander S.
Jonas Lesh married
Sarah A. Phillips, and has three children. He is a
carpenter and builder by trade. Five generations of this
family are buried in Preble county.
Jacob Judy
was
born in Dauphin county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1797.
From that State he moved to Ohio, and settled in German
township, Montgomery county, in 1815. His death occurred
in that county in 1877. At his death he was the largest
farmer in German township - owning three hundred and eighty
acres. His wife, Catharine Hetzler, is still
living. He had seven children, six of whom still survive,
namely: John, Mary, Samuel, Catharine, Susan and
Jacob. Samuel, who was born in the year 1821, married
Magdaline Bean, and has six children: Martin,
Catharine, Abraham, Mary, Charlie and Lettie. Mr.
Judy is a prominent member of the United Brethren church.
His farm, located in the southeastern part of the township,
contains about three hundred and twenty acres.
Joseph M. Hendrix
was born
in Pennsylvania in 1816. From this State he came to Ohio
in 1842, and settled on a quarter section of section ten, in
Gratis township. He and his wife, Agnes (McDonald),
made the journey in a wagon the year after their marriage.
His father was a wealthy farmer in Pennsylvania, owning a farm
of three hundred acres. He had seven children, all of whom
are dead excepting John M. and Joseph.
John M. married Rebecca, daughter of John Murry,
of Carrol county, Maryland. He has had nine children.
His farm contains four hundred and forty acres of
fine land, which is under good cultivation
Jacob Featherling
was born
in Washington county, Pennsylvania, from which place he moved to
Ohio. He first settled in Delaware county in 1832, and
afterwards, in 1835, moved to Montgomery county. His wife,
Parmelia Lewelen, died in 1864. Eight children were
born to them, three only of whom are now alive, namely:
Cephas C., George and Eliza.
Cephas married Sarah C., daughter of M.
G. Hollinger, of Harrison township. They have two
children. Mr. Fetherling was a teacher for thirteen
years, and was a principal at Winchester from 1870 to 1873.
He served three years in the war of the Rebellion in company H,
of the Ninety-third regiment. He is extensively engaged in
business in Winchester, and is one of the leading business men
of that town. He is engaged in the grocery business,
besides being partner in Bookwalter & Featherling's
carriage manufactory.
James Russell
was born in
Pennsylvania in 1771, and settled in Montgomery county in 1802,
where he died in 1843. John Russell, his son, was
born in 1797. He is the father of ten children, seven of
whom are living. James M., the fifth child, married
Eliza Neff, the daugh-
[Page 194]
ter of Abram Neff. They have seven
children. Mr. Russell is engaged
in the lightning rod business in this county.
Francis L. Raikes
is the son of F. F. Raikes, of Somers
township. He married Helen E. Bower, of
Somers. Having no children born to them, they
have adopted a daughter, Mary Ethel.
Mr. Raikes is now serving his second
term as a trustee of Gratis township. He is
postmaster at West Elkton. During the late war
he served three months in the Twentieth regiment of
the Ohio volunteer infantry.
Jacob S. Weinland
was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1819.
His father, Jacob Weinland, lived for
a time in West Elkton, and from there moved to Union
City, where he died. Jacob Weinland,
sr’s wife was Elizabeth Singer,
who died in Clark county. They had six
children, four of whom still survive, viz:
John, Maria, Jacob S., and
Elizabeth. Jacob S. married Mary
Eckert, of Butler county. They have had
eight children, four of whom are now alive:
Elizabeth A., Jacob A, Daniel C., and
Mary H. Dr. Weinland began practicing
medicine in 1847, at West Elkton, where he has been
ever since. For twelve years he was the only
physician in the place. Of late years he has
belonged to the eclectic branch of medicine, and has
met with good success. Dr. Weinland
came out to Ohio as a miller, when only seventeen
years old. He afterwards taught school and
studied medicine.
James Dusky
settled at
Cincinnati in 1825. He was a native of
Virginia, but was compelled to flee the State on
account of a threshing he had administered to an
overseer, who was abusing a slave. He died on
the Ohio river, of yellow fever, in 1836. His
wife, Elizabeth Stone, died in 1846.
They had eight children, three of whom survive:
George Washington, Henry, and
Silas; the latter married Elizabeth,
daughter of James Robison, of Gratis
township. They have had two children born to
them: Charles Henry and Richard
Randall. Mr. Dusky is the
principal blacksmith in West Elkton. He has
been in the county for over twenty-five years.
Matthew W. Robertson,
a native of Virginia, moved to Ohio in 1866, and
settled at College Corner. His wife was
Mary E. J. Coffee. They have three
children: Dr. William C., Maggie J.,
and Amanda. Dr. William C. married
Clara J. Sparks, and has one child, Howard E.
He is a graduate of the Ohio Medical college, at
Cincinnati. After a year's practice in
Indiana, he removed to West Elkton, Ohio, where he
now has the leading practice of that part of the
county.
WINCHESTER.
is the largest incorporation in the township.
It is a quiet village of about five hundred and
twenty inhabitants, situated in section three, about
a mile south of the line dividing the townships of
Lanier and Gratis. The plat of the town was
recorded by the late proprietors, Martin Sayler,
Abraham Wimmer and Abraham and Jacob Gift,
in the year 1817. The original plat contained
sixty-four lots. In the year 1829 an
additional plat of sixteen lots was added by
Martin Sayler. In the same year Abraham
Wimmer added twelve lots, and in 1831 sixteen
more were laid out and added to the incorporation by
Jacob Gift. While the lapse of more
than sixty years has not seen any remarkable growth,
the town has, nevertheless, grown to be a business
center of considerable local importance. The
different branches of business are well represented
and the town is the seat of a carriage, manufactory
at one time the largest and most thriving in the
county. The limits of the corporation embrace
over a hundred lots, lying on streets laid off at
right angles.
The lack of ordinary facilities for transportation has
had a depressing effect on the town. The
nearest railroad station is that of Camden, in
Somers township, some six or eight miles west of
Winchester. The mail of the town is brought
from Middletown, Butler county, every day. The
same line serves for the three offices in the
township.
The first house ever erected within the limits of
Winchester was built by Peter Kulp, who built
a cabin in the year 1818, on the site a few rods
south of where the Mackey hotel now stands.
The first store was that of Benjamin Darragh
who kept a small shop on the spot where Bowman's
grocery now stands. His store was a mixture of
everything necessary for frontier life, with few of
the luxuries. Hardware, dry goods and
groceries were alike represented, payment being made
with produce as often as with cash. Since the
establishment of this store the business has been
increasing until at the present more than a score of
houses devoted to different branches of business
line the streets. The following is a list of
some of the most important: drugs, James Hoover;
dry goods, Tobey & Son, and
J. W. Bowman; grocer is, J. W/
Scott, J. H. Bowman, E. H. Morris and C. C.
Fetherling & Co.; boots and shoes, F. Michael
& Co. and J. R. Burnett; harness, J. W.
Scott and Samuel Miller; tin store, C.
E. Darragh; millinery, Miss M. J. Mackey.
Messrs. Brookwalter and Fetherling own a
large buggy manufactory in active operation. A
few years ago a sensible plan was adopted by the
several groceries in town. Instead of adopted
by the several groceries in town. Instead of
running an active competition trade in all branches,
they agreed to make an arrangement by which each
would make a specialty of some branch of the
business and retain the exclusive right of sale of
that branch. By this arrangement, in addition
to their groceries, Fetherling & Co. and
Bowman kept hardware, and J. W. Scott the
queensware. This plan has been found to act
admirably for the business men, but how it suits
there customers is a matter of opinion. The
store keepers having a specialty of one department
can demand their own prices.
The legal profession is represented by Mr. A. Stiver,
who has held many offices, both in the town and in
the township.
Winchester is connected with all the other towns around
by well kept pikes. A telephone line extends
to est Elkton, and from there to Camden, affording
easy communication with the outside world.
The church denominations are represented by the
Methodist, the Reformed, and the Baptist.
These each have houses of worship, and are in a
prosperous condition. There was at one time an
organization of Presby
[Page 195]
terians in the town, but they
gradually grew less in numbers, until finally they
disbanded, the Reformed church buying their church
building. The town itself is quiet and
orderly. No liquor saloons are allowed within
the corporation limits. This, and the fact
that the people are brought daily in contact with
the Friends, who were the early settlers, and who
are known as peaceable and law abiding people, has a
strong tendency to keep the town orderly. No
criminal case has been on docket since July 11,
1878, more than two years ago.
No records of the first
elections for corporation officers are now existing.
Until 1862, when Mr. Brookwalter was elected
mayor, no care had been taken of the records.
Since then there has been an office built, where
faithful entries of the town business are kept.
The present officers are as follows: G. W.
M. Brookwalter, mayor; H. C. Michael,
corporation clerk; Lester Shaw, marshall;
R. F. Tobey, treasurer; W. H. C. Steele,
B. F. Brookwalter, J. S. Snyder, William Frazee,
William Street, and E. H. Morris,
councilmen; Seth Burnett, street
commissioner. The board of education is made
up of the following gentlemen; Noah Brower,
president; A. G. Prugh, clerk; D. G. Prugh,
Levi Furey, J. G. Thomas, and G. W. M.
Bookwalter. The town possesses a fine
two-story brick school-house of four rooms.
The school is divided into four grades. A
mayor's building is in process of erection, and is
to be ready for occupation before Jan. 1,
1881. The estimated value of the building is
eight hundred dollars. The site chosen for the
erection of this building was one selected by two
men who intended building a saloon. To
forestall this design the council bought the
property, and are to devote it as a site for the
mayor's building.
There are several
handsome residences in this town, and these,
together with the whole town itself, present a neat
and pleasing appearance.
WEST ELKTON.
This is the second of
the two incorporations in Gratis township, and lies
in the southwestern part of the same, about one mile
north of the township line. It was laid out in
1847 by J. L. Street, for the following
proprietors: J. N. Gift, R. W. Swain, J. H.
Stubbs, Jesse Stubbs, Nathan Hornaday, Walter
Wheeler, Isaac Wright, P. S. Patton, Stephen Leas,
James Smith, Henry Maddock, and J. P. Brown.
West Elkton is a quiet and orderly town of quite
considerable local importance. Like
Winchester, it lacks railroad communication, and is
dependent on Middetown for its daily mail. It is on
the line of telephone reaching to Camden, and coming
in from the north.
The first man to locate on the spot was David
Taylor, a wheelwright. He built a shop and
also dug the first well inside the limits of the
present town. In the year 1828 or 1829 the
first store was opened by a man by the name of
Rockhill, on the site where Dr. J. S. Weinland
now resides. The house in which he started his
store is now owned by Mr. Bennett, of
West Elkton. Rockhill sold out to Mr.
Townsend, who in turn was bought out by Mr.
Dix. The origin of the name of West
Elkton is somewhat singular. The Society of Friends
had a
quarterly meeting near the place which was called
the Elk quarterly meeting, from the name of the
creek. Mr. Dix, in ordering
goods, ordered them shipped to Elk. By some
mistake the goods were sent to Elkton, and the name
was taken for the town. Afterwards, on finding
that there was an Elkton already in the State, the
place was called West Elkton, to distinguish the two
places.
West Elkton has grown to be a place of about two
hundred inhabitants.
The building at present used for educational purposes
was built originally under the supervision of the
Friends. It was erected during the fall and
summer of 1869, at a cost of three thousand three
hundred dollars. Two thirds of this amount was
contributed by the Society of Friends, and the rest
by outside subscriptions. It was used as an
academy for several years, and was known as the West
Elkton academy. It was finally thought best to
sell the building to the West Elkton special school
district, which sale took place in the year 1878,
and it has since then been used as a public
school-house.
The present officers are Nathan Hornaday,
mayor; A. C. Hornaday, corporation clerk;
Thomas Stubbs, treasurer; Christopher
Pierson, marshal; John Mikesell,
street commissioner; Lorenzo Stubbs,
J. S. Weinland, W. C. Robertson, S.
A. Stubbs, Silas Dusky, and A.
Van Trump, councilmen. The board of
education is composed of R. W. Randall,
chairman; J. S. Weinland, clerk; Isaiah
Talbert, A. Van Trump, Nelson Hornaday, and
A. T. Maddock.
The town is well kept, and presents a busy and pleasing
appearance to the visitor. Although the
business houses are not numerous, they each do good
business. The following is a list of the
principal houses: Dry goods, S. A. Stubbs &
Co.,'dry goods and groceries, Stubbs &
Gifford; grocery, Ira Stubbs.
A good hotel is kept by Mr. Maddock.
From the fact of the town’s being situated in the
midst of a Quaker settlement, no disturbances of any
size ever occur. Like its neighbor,
Winchester, it does not tolerate the sale of liquor
within its corporation, which is mainly instrumental
in keeping the orderly spirit.
West Elkton is the seat of the establishment of
Messrs. Van Trump, Talbert
& Co.’s large buggy manufactory, which has doubtless
done a great deal towards making the town what it is
today.
The first post office in the town was started in the
year 1844, and was kept by Rawley Wheeler.
This post office was the result of a petition
started by Mr. Jesse Stubbs.
Owing to the fact that the Democracy was in power, a
Democratic postmaster, Joel G. Hutchins was
appointed, but Mr. Wheeler acted as
deputy postmaster in his stead.
There are two church buildings in the town, one a frame
building, used by the Methodists, United Brethren,
and Wesleyan Methodists, and one which is the
meeting-house of the Friends.
GREENBUSH.
is a small collection of houses in the eastern
part of the township. It is unincoporated
and is of no especial importance. The first
house built there was built by a man
[Page 196]
by the name of White. He built a small
hut of slabs, and in consequence the place was for
along time known as Slabtown. White
also built a saw-mill at the same time. Some
time afterwards some New Englanders came there and
gave it its present name. The first post
office was opened in the year 1874, by Jacob
Poffenberger. There are a few small
shops in the place. The only one of any size
is the grocery of Mr. Poffenberger, in
which the post office is kept. Greenbush has
one church building, which is used alike by the
United Brethren and the Methodists.
CHURCH HISTORY.
There are ten religious
organizations in Gratis township; of these, three
are Methodist, two United Brethren, one Reformed,
one Baptist, one Wesleyan Methodist, and one each of
the German Baptists and of the Friends. The
latter comprise by far the larger number of members,
and are eminently the denomination of the township.
The first church building in the township was a
meeting-house erected by the Friends about 1806, of
which mention will be made in the sketch of that
society.
THE SOCIETY OF FRIENDS.
Among the
earliest pioneers of the southern part of the county
was a colony of Friends who emigrated from Georgia
and South Carolina on account of the evils of
slavery in those States. Nathan
Stubbs is generally credited with the honor of
being the first of their number who penetrated the
Preble wilderness. He came late in the fall of
1804 from Wrightsborough, Columbia county.
Georgia, and settled near what is now the Butler and
Preble county line. He was followed, in the
spring of 1805 by Francis Jones,
Samuel Maddock, Samuel Stubbs,
Joseph Stubbs, and several others with
their families from the same place. They were
joined by Eli Cook, Benjamin
Hawkins, Jesse Kenworthy,
Jonathan Roberts, Jonas Randal,
with their families, besides many others from Bush
river, in Newberry, and from adjoining districts in
South Carolina. Others came about the same
time from Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so that there
was a large settlement in the southeast part of the
county of these devout and earnest people.
They brought their bibles and religious principles
with them, and it was not long after their arrival
until they established religious worship in their
midst. The first meeting for divine worship,
or conference, was held at the house of Nathan
Stubbs, about two miles southeast of West
Elkton, and afterwards at Eli Cook’s, about two
miles to the west, during the succeeding fall and
winter.
In the fall of 1806 a lot of three acres was purchased
(which is now within the corporate limits of West
Elk ton), upon which a meeting-house of round logs
was soon built and a graveyard laid out.
Divine service was instituted by the Miami monthly
meeting, according to the discipline of the church,
in April of the same year. Their number kept
increasing by the arrival of immigrants, and in a
few years a larger house was required. This
was built of hewed logs, and a monthly meeting
established in 1809, by Miami quarterly meeting.
It was then a constituent branch of the Baltimore
yearly meeting and known as the “Elk monthly
meeting.” They probably numbered at that time
from two hundred and fifty to three hundred members.
In 1817 a brick building, known as the “old brick
meeting house,” was erected, at a cost of about five
hundred dollars. Public worship was held in
this house for more than half a century. About
the year 1870 the membership was considerably
augmented, and steps were
soon afterward taken toward the erection of a more
commodious house. Accordingly, in 1872,
subscriptions were reported sufficient, with the
available material in the old building, and a new
house of brick, sixty-five by thirty-five feet,
erected on the site of the old building, costing
complete about four thousand dollars, which was
opened for worship on the twenty-fourth day of
November, of the same year, the monthly meetings
having convened the day previous. The house is
a plain, substantial building, and will seat about
five hundred. The membership at present is
about three hundred and fifty.
The old graveyard, containing more than an acre of
ground, was filled up several years ago. For
many years after the first settlement of the county,
it was the only public burying-ground for miles
around, and the remains of many worthy pioneers were
interred in it. The first
person buried in it was Margaret, wife of
Nathan Maddock, who died about 1806.
The first marriage in the church, as far as can be
ascertained, was that of Francis Maddock and
Phebe Coon, which was solemnized on
the twentieth of November, 1806.
Thus it will be seen that the Friends have had a church
organization and regularly held religious worship in
the township for seventy-five years. Their
first log meeting-house was the first built in the
township, if not in the county.
The West Elkton district school was formerly an academy
under the control of the Friends.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
at Winchester, was built in the year
1809, and dedicated on Christmas day of the same
year. The present building cost about three
thousand five hundred dollars. The first
church this denomination possessed was a frame
building, built about the year 1832. This was
used as a house of worship until the erection of the
present building. The site of the new building
is about two blocks nearly east of the old site.
The old building is now used as a carriage
repository. The first pastor of the new church
was Rev. M. G. Baker, who was also the one
who built the church. He experienced a great
deal of trouble in getting his work completed.
It required five hundred contributions to make up
the necessary sum. A good deal of the
carpentering was done by Mr. Baker
himself. Messrs. James
Manning and John Brookwalter were
the building committee. Their present pastor
is the Rev. J. C. Ambrose. The
membership is about eighty persons. The church
building has a seating capacity of four hundred.
THE REFORMED CHURCH.
at Winchester was organized in the year 1865, by
the Rev. A Warner, with a membership of about
fifteen.
[Page 197]
They bought a building which had been built by the
Presbyterians for a church. These latter
became so weak that they concluded to sell their
church property. The
Reformed church bought it for about one hundred and
thirty dollars in the year 1866, and repaired it.
The Rev. M. F. Frank is now in charge
of the church. The membership is about
sixty-five. The Sunday-school has only been in
existence since 1879. The church building is
of brick.
THE BAPTISTS.
The Baptist
denomination in Winchester was organized in 1836.
For a year or two they worshipped in the building
now owned by the Reformed church. In the year
1838 they built their present church, which is a
brick building, costing about seven hundred dollars.
The minister in charge of the church at first was
the Rev. Mahlon Morris, who had
charge for eighteen years. The church has no
Sabbath-school. The church has a seating
capacity of about three hundred. The present
pastor, the Rev. W. H. Hickman, has been in
charge since 1878. The number of members is
now about twenty.
THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
in West Elkton was organized about
1850. For three years they used a school-house
for worshipping purposes. In the year 1853 a
union meeting-house was built, which has been used
by the Methodists ever since, in connection with the
United Brethren and the Wesleyan Methodists.
At the organization the church members numbered
about twelve, but they have increased until their
present membership is seventy. Their present
pastor is the Rev. J. C. Ambrose. A
union Sunday-school was started in 1850, and is
still in existence. It is estimated that the
church building will accommodate three hundred and
fifty people. The cost of building it was one
thousand five hundred ($1,500) dollars.
WESLEYAN METHODISTS.
This
denomination was organized at West Elkton, in the
year 1852, with about fourteen members. For
some years they worshipped in a school-house.
Their first pastor was the Rev. John Harrison.
They have had no regular preacher for five or six
years, and at present are not in active operation,
their membership being only about six.
THE UNITED BRETHREN
of Winchester organized in the year
1849; their first membership was seven persons.
The class was composed of Dr. and Mrs. J. T.
Weinland, Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Sites,
Mr. and Mrs. John Fouts, and Mrs. M. F.
Spraggs. There was no meeting-house in the
place at the time of their organization, and they
were compelled to worship in an old meeting-house
which belonged to the Anti-Slavery Friends.
They now use the union meeting house, erected in
1853. Their present membership is fifty-nine.
The Rev. Theodore Rork was
their first pastor. The Rev. S. Huddle
is now in charge.
THE METHODISTS
at Greenbush organized as early as
the year 1816. For a long time they made use
of Mr. John Riner’s barn for a
meeting-house. In 1836 they built their first
building, at a cost of about five hundred ($500)
dollars. This was sold and moved away in 1863; it
now stands on the Germantown pike, and is used as a
Wesleyan meeting house. In 1850 the present
church was built by a party of New Englanders, who
were Congregationalists. In 1860 they moved
away, and sold the church building to the Methodists
and the United Brethren. The present building
has a seating capacity of about two hundred and
fifty. The first class was composed of Mr.
and Mrs. John Riner, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph
Myers, Mr. and Mrs. Christian Fall,
Mrs. Cooper (now Mrs. Eslinger), Mr.
and Mrs. Thomas Deem, and a few others.
The Sunday-school, which is a union one, was
organized in the year 1833. The present
membership is about thirteen persons. The
pastor in charge is the Rev J. C. Ambrose.
GERMAN BAPTISTS
in Gratis township were organized
about the year 1820. The district embraces
part of Lanier township. It extends north to
the Dayton and Eaton pike, east to Johnsville, south
to near the southern line of the township, and west
to the Indiana State line. The denomination
possesses two church buildings in this township.
The oldest of these stands west of Winchester.
It is known as the Brubaker church, and was built in
1858, during the eldership of John Brower.
Their finest building is a large brick structure in
the northern part of section one. It was built
in 1874, during the eldership of Mr.
Abraham Younce, their present elder.
The building, known as the Twin Valley church, was
built at a cost of over nine thousand dollars.
Their present membership is about one hundred and
eighty. The Revs. Messrs.
Francis Cotterman, Jacob
Loman and David Flory are their
present ministers.
THE GREENBUSH CHURCH.
Nearly
thirty years ago the members of the Congregational
denomination living near Greenbush decided to erect
a house of worship. Accordingly a neat frame
building was put up. About the year 1860,
owing to the small membership, it was decided to
sell the church building to the United Brethern and
Methodists, who had organized societies of their
respective denominations a few years before
These two denominations still own the church, and
their ministers preach on alternate Sabbaths.
At present the United Brethern are the most
numerous, although their brethern, the Methodists,
are in a flourishing condition. Rev. S.
Huddle is the United Brethern minister, and
Rev. J. C. Ambrose is the Methodist pastor.
CEMETERIES.
For
many years after the settlement of the townships no
regular burying places were in existence. The
dead were buried on the home farm. Possibly
some three or four families would use the same spot.
In some cases these small beginnings finally
resulted in being regarded as regular burial places,
but in the majority of cases, the graves would
remain alone on the edge of a field or in the depths
of some favorite grove. In 1832 the first
cemetery in the township was laid out near
Winchester.
[Page 198]
The first burial was that of Richard
Housel in that year. This burial place was
used until recently, when the townlaid out a new
one, farther from town on the south side of the
Eaton pike. It has been named Fair View, and
is as lovely a spot as could have been obtained for
the purpose.
Fair Mound cemetery at West Elkton was laid out in
1805. The first person ever buried on the
place was Mrs. Nathan Maddock,
whose death took place in 1805, and is generally
believed to have been the first in the township.
The place gradually grew into use until the year
1875, when it was regularly established as a public
cemetery, by the township authorities, under whose
supervision all of the cemeteries in the township
have been placed.
The cemetery at Greenbush has quite a history connected
with it. The first burial on the ground now
known as Greenbush cemetery was that of Mrs.
Betsey Ellis, who was buried there in 1828. John
Riner, on his death-bed, wishing to have the
place recognized as a public burying-ground, willed
a half acre of the land, where the graves stood to
the township as a permanent burying place. But
in writing out the will the lawyer, instead of
writing the southeastern quarter of the section,
which was the quarter containing the graves, wrote
the deed as alluding to the southwestern quarter.
Afterwards the people wishing to have the matter
arranged satisfactorily, gave John
Chrisman, the owner of the land, a deed to the
half acre left by will in the southwestern quaster
of the section on condition of his giving them the
half acre which was the intention of old Mr.
Riner to leave them, and which was the site
of the present graveyard. The deed was made in
the year 1875, and since then the Place has been a
public burying place.
THE MEDICAL STAFF.
The
first physician in the township, as far as can be
ascertained, was Dr. Samuel Nixon,
who was stationed in Winchester. Dr.
Christian Sayler who is now the oldest
physician in Gratis, studied medicine under him.
The latter has now retired from practice. The
present members of the medical staff in the township
are Drs. William Sayler, of
Winchester, allopathic; Isaac Kesling,
of Winchester, eclectic; J. S. Weinland, of
West Elkton, eclectic; W. C. Robertson, of
West Elkton, allopathic; W. S. Sayler, of
Winchester, allopathic, and Daniel
Keplinger, eclectic. The two latter are
just beginning their practice, having only recently
graduated.
INDUSTRIES.
The
buggy manufactories in the township are the chief
objects of interest; of these, the establishment of
Brookwalter & Fetherling is the
oldest, being established in 1833, by John
Bookwalter (deceased). At the age of
sixteen he learned the trade of wagon making, and in
the year 1833 he started his shop in Winchester.
After following this business for some time, he was
obliged to turn to lighter work, on account of
rheumatism, brought on by a fall into a creek.
He then started a buggy shop, which is still run by
Josiah Bookwalter, his son. He
afterwards sold out to his sons. During his
business life he accumulated a comfortable fortune,
more than sufficient for his own needs. While
under his management the shops were the most
prosperous in the township, but owing to depression
of business, only one set of hands are now employed.
At the time of their most prosperous condition
twenty hands were employed, and the shops had a
capacity of turning out one hundred and ten new and
one hundred old, or what was repairing jobs.
These buildings occupy a conspicuous locality in the
western part of Winchester,
The establishment of Van Trump, Talbert & Company, is
the most flourishing buggy manufactory in the
township. The following is a hasty sketch of the
business since its establishment.
In the year 1860 Argerbright & Talbert
started a carriage shop. They started in an old
cabinet shop, bought from Eli Stubbs
for about twelve hundred dollars. They ran the
business for three years, having good success.
In 1863 Talbert retired, on account of his
health, Daniel Argerbright buying out his
interest. Mr. Talbert went to
Minnesota for several months, after his return he
started a carriage shop on the place now owned by
Samuel Landis. After two years Mr.
Talbert went to Miamisburgh and entered the same
business. In the meantime Argerbright
had taken into the business in West Elkton, W. S.
Maddock. In 1865 he sold out to Maddock,
who afterwards took in his father as partner.
In 1869, I. Talbert, A. Van Trump, and D.
L. Weinland bought the business. In 1871
Van Trump sold his interest, and in
1874 Talbert bought out Weinland’s
interest, and in the same year consolidated with
Vantrump and Stubbs, who are the present
firm, under the firm name of Van Trump,
Talbert & Company. Their business is in
a prosperous condition. Besides a buggy
manufactory, the firm runs a saw-mill, an
undertaking establishment, and a pump business.
In all they employ fourteen hands, ten of whom are
employed in the buggy department. The capacity
of the shops is fifty new jobs a year, besides
repairing, etc. The building is a large
four-story brick, is situated in the eastern part of
West Elkton.
EDEN LODGE NO. 147, I. O. O. F.
was organized in the year 1850.
It numbers about sixty-eight members. The
present officers are as follows: William Gregg,
N. G.; John Flora, V. G.; Berry Flora,
S. P. G.; H. C. Michael, recording secretary;
R. C. Prugh, permanent secretary; J. W.
Scott, treasurer. The lodge house of the society
is in Winchester.
THE FIRST SCHOOL
was doubtless kept by the Friends in
the southern part of the township, but the exact
date cannot now be ascertained, nor the name of the
teacher of the same. The earliest school of
which recollection is had, how ever, is one which
was kept in the northeastern quarter of section
thirty-three, by Jesse Hobson, in the
year 1806. The land where this school-house
stood is now owned by Samuel Hetzler.
The building used was a double roomed house which
had been used as a dwelling house. The early
schools were all taught by subscrip-
[Page 199]
tion. Schools were held in deserted log cabins
for many years. These would be occupied during one
winter term, and at the next opening the school
would be located elsewhere. There are at
present seven schools which are under the
supervision of the township. These are all
large, roomy buildings, built of brick and located
at some convenient point easy of approach, generally
at cross roads. The present board of education
of the township is composed of the following
gentlemen: Henry Glaze, Jacob
Mullendore, Josiah Powell, Daniel
Kenworthy, E. R. Taylor, Anuel
Gifford and Milton Stubbs.
THE FIRST MILL.
The
grist—mill of David and John Rohrer
stands on the site of the first mill of the kind
ever built within the limits of Gratis township.
It was built by Abraham Neff, in the year
1812, in section one. The building was a frame
one, built of lumber sawed at the sawmill which was
built by Mr. Neff in the year 1806.
About the same time a grist—mill was built in the
southern part of the township on Elk creek, by a man
by the name of Ferry. The third in the
township was built in section one, on Twin creek, by
Samuel Taylor. It was run by a
stream called Chrisman’s branch. These three
are all that were erected within the limits of
Gratis, and of them only one is now in operation.
The old Neff"s mill was torn down in 1849,
and the present building erected in its place.
It is of brick and stone, and is five stories high,
running three runs of stone. The saw mill at
Rohrer’s is the only one ever run by water in
the township. There are three steam saw-mills
now in the township—one at Winchester, one at West
Elkton and one at Greenbush.
THE UNDERGROUND RAILWAY
During the war of the Rebellion an institution
existed in southern Ohio which was the cause of
considerable ill feeling between the opposing
factions in that part of the State. This was
an organization known as the “Underground Railway,”
and was organized with a view to rendering
assistance to any fugitive slaves who might cross
the Ohio river, and were desirous of reaching
Canada. The society was splendidly managed,
and it is a matter of pride with those who were
members, that not a single slave was ever captured
when once he had obtained a pass on the “Underground
Railway.” The modus operandi was somewhat as
follows: The organization had members
stationed along the banks of the river, and it is
even shrewdly surmised that agents were sometimes on
the southern side of the stream. As soon as a
slave crossed the river he sought protection in the
houses of these members, and was immediately sent
north to the next station. From this point
they were hurried by friendly hands to the next
station, provided the road was clear; otherwise they
were kept in safe hiding until the “train” could be
carried through in safety. One of these
stations was near West Elkton, in Gratis township,
and was under the charge of one of the leading
citizens in that part of the county. This
gentleman, whose name is retained, declared that he
had often had as many as five or six fugitives on
his hands at one time, waiting for a safe pass
northward. The transportation was generally
done at night, but urgent cases sometimes occasioned
an exception to this rule. The agents ahead
were at once instructed if there should be any
pursuit, to immediately place the northern bound
passenger in hiding for a season. The slave
was instructed to watch for a certain sign, and if
given him at at any time to follow without
questioning. This association often received
threatening letters, but pursued their humane work
regardless of outside enmities. They claim that the
number of fugitives who arrived in Canada in safety,
through the assistance of the society, reached into
the thousands.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
At the
present day this township is strictly temperate.
As was remarked before, no dram shops of any kind
are tolerated; but in days gone by this was not the
case; distilleries could be counted by the score,
all through the northern part of Gratis, although,
owing to the influence of the Friends, few, if any,
ever were erected below the line of West Elkton.
The first distillery of which any record can be.
obtained was built in the northeastern part of the
township, about the year 1811, by Christian
Fall. This was only run for a year or two. Daniel
Chrisman started one in the same part of the
township, in 1824, which was kept in operation for
over six years. About the same time one was
started in the same neighborhood by Peter
Riner. Around Winchester it is stated that
as many as fifteen could be counted within a circuit
of two miles.
This country was settled by families from the Carolinas
and Georgia, all of whom were familiar with the work
of distilling, and each man who could afford it had
a copper still on his place. The article
produced was of the best quality. Each man
used his own grain. Those who could not afford
a still of their own were accustomed to exchange
grain for whiskey. It was regarded as in
dispensable at every log-rolling or house-raising,
and it required a man of strong determination to
refuse the liquor to the workmen. It was
gradually done, however, until finally any attempt
to manufacture the article was frowned down by the
majority of the citizens.
The first death in the township was that of Mrs.
Nathan Maddock, who died in the year
1805, and was buried in Fair Mound cemetery, near
West Elkton. She was the wife of one of the
earliest settlers in the township.
The marriage of Walter Roberts, in the
year 1806, was the first in Gratis. He is now
living in Indiana.
THE FIRST WHITE CHILD
born in the township was Rebecca,
daughter of Hezekiah Philips. She
afterwards married Jonas Brubaker, and
is now living west of Winchester, on the Eaton pike.
She has reached the age of seventy-six years, and is
the mother of five or six children. Besides
being the first white child born in the township,
Mrs. Brubaker has the honor of being the
first female child born in the county, Mr.
George Hendricks, of Somers, being the
first male child.
[Page 200]
EARLY INCIDENTS
No incident
of a stirring nature seems to have occurred during
the infancy of the township. The settlers were
too close to the settlements along the Maimi
river to have very great fear of the Indians.
These latter were often seen passing through the
township, but always in a peaceable manner.
They were always stopping to beg food, and seldom
failed to express gratitude.
The only event which seems to have impressed itself on
the minds of the early pioneers was a severe fall of
snow in the winter of 1803-4. It was the
heaviest ever witnessed in the country, in many
places reaching the depth of thirty-two inches.
THE PRESENT OFFICERS
of Gratis township are: Noah
Brower, F. L. Raikes and Daniel
Gifford, trustees; G. W. M. Brookwalter,
clerk; J. M. Matthews, treasurer; J. G.
Thomas and Lewis McKay, assessors; H.
C. Michael and James Robinson,
constables; A. Stiver and Nathan
Hornaday, justices of the peace; P. S. Brower,
W. S. Vickers, E. R. Taylor, C.
Platt, S. Eckhardt, James
Robinson, S. Stonebraker, M. Stubbs
and George Hanger, supervisors.
No records of the early elections of the township can
be obtained. They have either been lost or
else are laid away in some corner among the papers
of some early pioneer, as there is no recollection
of them now. The first election was probably
held at the residence of that settler whose house
was easiest of access to all. There is no town
house in the township. The elections are held
at the office of the township clerk in Winchester.
POPULATION AND VALUATION
The present
population of the township, according to the last
census, is two thousand three hundred and nine
(2,309). The value of property in the
township, according to the returns of the assessors,
is eight hundred and sixty-six thousand eight
hundred and thirty-eight dollars ($866,838).
Of this amount, seven hundred and forty nine
thousand six hundred and three dollars ($749,603) is
the value of the lands, and the remainder—one
hundred and seventeen thousand two hundred and
thirty-five dollars ($117,235) - of the buildings
etc. The above valuations include those of the
three towns in the township, Winchester, West Elkton
and Greenbush. The property valuation of
Winchester is fifty-seven thousand nine hundred and
forty-eight dollars ($57,948); that of West Elkton
is thirty-one thousand eight hundred and seventy
dollars ($31,870), and of Greenbush, four thousand
two hundred and twenty dollars ($4,220).
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOHN CHRISMAN
CHRISTIAN SAYLER, M. D.
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