WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP
pg. 685
In collecting facts concerning the early settlement and
history of Washington Township at this time, difficulties at
first sight unlocked for arose from several causes, the most
important of which is the neglect of the early settlers to
keep any record upon which a correct narration of facts can
be based. Another cause is to be found in the fact
that many of the early settlers moved to other localities in
order to escape from the hills and swamps of which the
township originally largely consisted, until but few remain
from whom the information required can be obtained.
But by great patience and investigation this narration has
been obtained and is respectfully submitted.
TOPOGRAPHY
This township is located in the eastern part of the county,
being the third from the top in the eastern tier of
townships. It has for its boundaries on the north
Wayne and Massie Townships. It has for its boundaries
on the north Wayne and Massie Townships; on the east,
Clinton County; on the south, Harlan and Salem Townships,
and, on the west, Salem and Turtle Creek Townships, the
Little Miami River forming its western boundary.
Todd's Fork enters the township on the east, and,
running in a southwest direction, empties into the Little
Miami River at Morrow. The lands along this stream are
broken into abrupt hills about100 feet high, indented, at
short intervals, with ravines extending in most places but
little beyond the tops of the hills.
The most considerable tributary of Todd's Fork on the
southeast side is Penquite's Run, and on the northwest side
are Scaffold Lick Run and Emily's Run. These all empty
into Todd's Fork.
The Little East Fork running from the east empties into
Todd's Fork about one-half mile wet of the Clinton County
line and forms the terminus of a large area of bottom lands
along Todd's Fork in Clinton County. But a
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small portion of these bottom lands lie along the stream of
Washington Township, a mountain in all to about 150 acres
below and 100 acres above the mouth of East Fork.
A little south of the center of the township, near the
College Township road, are the highest lands in the
township, on which is a swamp called Sweet Gum Swamp.
The water from this swamp moves slowly northward about two
miles, where it meets another small sluggish stream, and,
from the junction to its mouth, bears the name Flat Fork.
After it receives the waters of the north branch of Flat
Fork, it becomes a more rapid stream, and, rushing down the
hills, empties into Caesar‘s Creek.
The western portion of the township, along the Little
Miami River, is drained by Pigeon’s Run, Kidy’s Run and
Olive Branch on the northwest, and by Bloody Run, Hungry
Hollow Run and their tributaries in the southwest.
The bottom lands along the Miami River are of small
area, and are estimated as being about as follows: At
Freeport and below, to Mathers, 125 acres; at Mathers, below
the ford of the river, 30 acres; at Fort Ancient, 100 acres,
and, at Hammel, opposite Millgrove, 100 acres.
The hills along the Miami are steep, wild and rugged.
pierced with numerous ravines, and in the highest parts
reach an elevation of 250 feet.
In the northeastern quarter of the township is a table
hill about one and one-half miles in diameter and about
sixty feet high, called "The Knobs.” It has a deep red
clay soil, rich, friable. and easily cultivated, surrounded
by a flat black swamp of equal depth of soil. From the
base of this hill flow some fifteen or twenty living springs
of pure, clear, cold water, from which it takes the name of
“Spring Hill.”
Thus you have the principal topographical features of
the township as it
existed originally, provided you can picture to yourself the
level portions covered with a dense growth of timber and a
denser growth of underbrush, with a covering of leaves and
decayed matter on the ground sufficient to retain the
moisture during the whole of the year.
ANCIENT WORKS.
WILD ANIMALS - GAME.
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TIMBER.
INDIANS.
EARLY
SETTLEMENTS.
The first settlement, or rather, the first cabin as a
nucleus, around which the pioneers began to locate, was
built by William Smalley and his brother, Benjamin
Smalley in 1797, on the southeast bank of Todd's Fork,
where Charles E. Hadley now lives, one mile west of
Clarksville. A double cabin was erected. The
cabins were in the verge of extensive bottom lands, the
Little East Fork on the south and extending up Todd's Fork
many miles. These cabins were about fifty rods west of
the Clinton County line (though Warren County, till 1810,
extended east to Wilmington).
The two brothers hacked a road from somewhere
near Columbia, and brought their families and few household
necessaries they were possessed of to the cabins, arriving
in the fore part of the day. They unpacked their
goods, placed them in the huts, and returned to Columbia for
the remainder of their
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property, leaving their wives and children in the wilderness
with strict injunctions to show no signs of fear if any
Indians came.
That night eight Indians came to their cabin to stay
all night; their request was granted, and it was so arranged
to let them as far as possible occupy one of the cabins.
One of the men, a stalwart fellow, took his position in the
part occupied by the Mrs. Smalleys, laid on
the earthen floor, his motions being very restless and
suspicious. Mrs. William Smalley
kept herself awake by rocking a rude cradle all night while
lying on her bed. Late in the night, the Indian got
up, stirred the fire, lit his pipe, took a long and
leisurely smoke, lay down and slept quietly the remainder of
the night In the morning, they all departed. If there
is any truth in the old adage that it is an omen of good
luck to have visitors the first day on moving to a new
house, it was surely verified in this case. Their
nearest neighbor was James Miranda, about nine
miles distant direct, at the mouth of Todd’s Fork.
In 1801, John Barkley built a but about three-fourths
of a mile south of Smalley; the place is now
designated by a thicket and a bunch of tansey, but the
location not being desirable, he, in 1802, built a hewed-log
house where John B. McCray’s house now stands.
The house was raised with the help of eleven men - James
Miranda, William Smalley, Benjamin
Smalley, Archie Henderson (a half
brother), Owen Todd, Aaron Sewell,
John Sewell - the three
latter having settled some five miles east in what is now
Clinton County, are remembered as being of the number.
At just what time Nebo Gaunt settled on the Little
Miami is not known, but he built the first mill in the
township (at the site of Freeport) in 1802. He was an
ingenious man, and could work as millwright, carpenter,
wagon maker, blacksmith, etc, with facility. He
afterward built a two-story frame house, and made nearly all
the nails used in its construction.
Samuel Pidgeon and Marmaduke Mills settled in
1805, the former where his grandson, Samuel Pidgeon,
now lives, and the latter on the hill near the present road
to Harveysburg. George Hidey settled prior to that
time on what is known as the Hidey farm, where his
descendants still reside.
William Trotter settled about 1798 or 1799 on
what is now the College Township road, where Aaron Ertle
now lives. His relatives claim his settlement in
1796 or 1797, but this is evidently incorrect. He was
a soldier of the Revolution. Ezra Robertson,
his brother-in-law, settled in Turtle Creek Township in
1799, and removed to this township shortly after, and
settled on the opposite side of Stony Run, near where
Allen Shawhan now lives; the spot is
designated by a lombardy poplar. He also w'as a
soldier of the Revolution, and both were from Maryland.
A. W. Trotter, of Indiana, writes concerning his
grandfather, in a letter dated Aug. 3, 1881, to H. H.
Robertson, Fort Ancient, as follows: William Trotter
was born in Maryland in 1769, and his wife in New Jersey in
1771. When he moved to that settlement, a man named
Dutton, at Millgrove, was his nearest neighbor.
After this - I don’t know how long—Andrew
Brandstater and Joseph Robertson moved
into the settlement. The nearest mill was Stubbs’,
about eight miles below, on the Miami, which was very
convenient. There were plenty of Indians when he
settled in Ohio and for years afterward. They
frequently came for different articles of food, always
bringing some article of their own manufacture in exchange.
Uncle Andy Trotter says the first thing he
ever wore on his feet was a pair of moccasins made by an old
squaw. His post office was for years at Lebanon.
The deer he killed would amount to hundreds; he also killed
scores of bears, the most of which were killed in the
hickory flats, but bears were killed in all parts of the
county and in adjoining counties."
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Andrew Guttery purchased land at the point
opposite Millgrove in 1803, and had a settlement made on the
lands, but it is not now known who first settled on it.
He was a soldier of the war of 1812; he built a flat-boat at
Millgrove, took a load down the Mississippi and died in the
State of Mississippi.
These appear to be the earliest settlements made in the
township by men who came to stay. Although only these
few are mentioned as settlers, we will remark that at the
same time the country was filling up by backwoodsmen,
adventurers, leasers. squatters and hunters, who settled for
the time being at any desirable spot. stayed as long as they
were satisfied with the location and then went to another
place as their fancy or interest suggested. To give an
idea of
their numbers I will give one instance. On a tract of
land on Todd’s Fork, purchased by James Harris
and others, in 1809, containing 1,000 acres, seven teen
families were located; none of their descendants now remain
among us to tell whence they came or where they went, but
they mostly turned their faces westward.
In 1805, John Adamson settled on the
College Township road, near and opposite Lewellyn
Williams, in the angle where Fort Ancient & Clarksville
pike diverges southeast from the old road. Arba
Alexander soon after owned and settled at the same
place. Timothy Titus settled in 1806, on
the north side of the Chillicothe road, where James
Meloy now owns, in a half-faced camp. As soon
as he got matters a little regulated, he set up a blacksmith
shop. This was the first shop of the kind in the
township, except Nebo Gaunt’s. It is
supposed William McCray settled in the
vicinity the same year. Jacob Garretson,
father-in-law of Timothy Titus, settled north
of Union Church about the same time. James
Villars settled in 1807, where Eli Kirk
now lives. and erected a distillery, but removed to Clinton
County in 1813. In 1806, William Smalley
built a mill near his house on the creek, of sufficient
capacity for the neighbor hood; he had also a small
distillery, which was kept in operation but a few years.
A man named Hagerman was the millwright, who put the
works in the mill. Smalley also built a brick
house in 1811, James Abbott doing the
carpenter work.
This was the first brick house in the township, and is
now occupied, with some alterations. by Charles E. Hadley.
Some seven or eight houses were erected at the cross-roads,
which gave it the appearance of a country village, but all
have disappeared except the brick. Benjamin
Smalley removed east to about the present county line,
and set up a blacksmith shop. One Shockley was
the smith, and many anecdotes are told of his rude
mechanism.
In 1803 or 1804, several persons came to the Trotter
settlement - Thomas Diakin, from Virginia to
Kentucky, thence to this settlement; Andrew
Brandstater, Thomas Woodsides, Sylvanus
Clark and John Souard, a tailor, being
of the number.
Ude Carter came in 1804; Dixon
Smoot about the same time. South of Trotter’s
about a mile, some families settled on Lick Run, but in what
year is not known, but probably from 1804 to 1807, Simon
Shoemaker, Jacob Littleton, Henry
Stites, Henry Hollingsworth being named
among them. John Bowser and Samuel
Bowser were distillers. John Cox
settled near the mouth of Stony Run on the Miami; in
attempting to swim the river at the foot of the Narrows, be
was drowned.
The settlement at Mather’s Mill, on the Miami, on the
Lebanon & Wilmington road, was earlier than 1807, David Van
Schoyck and Lewis Rees being there before that
time. Lewis Rees built the mill in 1807,
when it was disposed of to Richard Mather, who
settled there the same year. George Zentmire
settled the same year some distance below the mill, and
built the dam for Mather. His cabin was by a spring
below the mill. In addition to the mill,
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Richard Mather set up a store and smith shop;
he brought with him Jacob Ashmead and Richard
Taylor as millers. Jacob Horn,
blacksmith; Jacob Longstreth, storekeeper:
Samuel Couden, an Irishman; John Frazee
and others came the same season. George Zentmire
was a Virginian of German descent, spoke the German language
fluently and was a Revolutionary soldier.
In 1806, David Farris removed from Virginia with a
large family, on pack horses, and settled first on the
Little East Fork, near the fort in Tribbey’s bottom, and, in
1808, purchased 400 acres, mostly in Warren County, and
settled on the Bull Skin road. He was a chairmaker and
furnished the settlers with chairs, some of which are still
in use or kept as relics of early and honest workmanship.
Prior to this, or about the same time, George
McManis settled one mile south of Farris, and
James Garrison and Jeremiah Brackney
farther south on the same road at the farms now occupied by
John Cleaver and Thomas McCray.
George Shin also settled at about the same
time near by, on the Goshen pike. William
Nickerson came from North Carolina to Kentucky, thence
to Ohio, and, in 1809, settled on Todd’s Fork, about three
miles below Smalleys. In 1814, he and a
daughter, aged fourteen, died of the cold plague: both were
buried in the same grave. Thomas Emily
settled prior to 1810, near where there is now a graveyard
on Emily’s Run. Elisha Cast
settled about the same time on Todd’s Fork, below Smalley’s,
south of the Chillicothe road, now the Penquite
farm; he was from North Carolina. About 1812, the
settlers began to encroach on the swamps. there being roads
leading through them, making their settlement more
convenient. There were some four or five families who
squatted at Springhill - Hester and Solomon
Reel only being remembered.
James Wilkerson, who was a Revolutionary
soldier, was born in Virginia Nov. 29, 1758, and there
married Sarah Moore. He moved to
Kentucky from Virginia, and, in 1805, came to Ohio; he
settled on the College Township road (which was laid out in
1804) in a field now owned by Jesse Urton; he
brought a family of nine children, three sons and six
daughters. About 1809 or 1810, he gave his farm to his
daughters and purchased land on “The Knobs,” on the west
brow of the hill, on the Lebanon & Wilmington road. He
built a distillery at the foot of the hill, which was
operated for many years, making mostly peach and apple
brandy. This gave place, in 1860, to a steam saw-mill,
built by his son John and grandson James H.
His three sons, William, John and James,
located on lands near his distillery about the time of his
settlement there. In a religious meeting, held in Flat
Fork Schoolhouse, about 1827, the aged father. James
Wilkerson, arose and said he could no longer
conscientiously carry on a distillery. He died Dec. 4,
1834, his wife dying July 17, 1841; his son William
had a distillery near where George H. Wilkerson now
lives, but it was discontinued in 1820. John
erected a distillery for making apple brandy near the
present residence of William Reynolds, in
1841, which was continued but a few years. John
died Jan. 24, 1868, his wife, Elizabeth (Farris)
Wilkerson, dying in July, 1870. One daughter,
Mrs. Perry G. Mills, and a grandson, Horace B.,
and his sister Melissa, wife of Bayless N.
Settlemire, are all that remain in the township.
About 1812, James Farris settled on the
Clarksville road. the place now being owned by Dr.
Z. T. Garland. John and William
White settled on the same road farther southeast. in
1815.
John Barkley, Jr., built a cabin in the spring
of 1816 near where William Villars now lives.
The farm now occupied by Paul Williams was
bought, about 1812, by John Hadley, of North
Carolina. and leased. Afterward, about 1825, Thomas
Daugherty owned it; afterward Israel
Dennison, and still later. Samuel
Williams. father of the present occupant.
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It will not be improper to state in this place that the Flat
Fork at this farm was formerly spanned by a rude bridge more
than twenty rods long, with puncheon floor. Some years
after, it was replaced by another, 135 feet in length, by
Samuel London and John L. Williams, at the
expense of the county. At present, a bridge of
twenty-feet span answers all purposes and the land is
cultivated up to it, where water once stood two or three
feet or more in depth. This will suffice for the
Springhill settlement.
We will now return to the Mather settlement
on the river, then return east ward along the Wilmington
road. The Mather family have removed to
various parts, one son, Joseph, living on the
Wilmington road, in Clinton County. George
Zentmire purchased a farm on the river below Freeport,
where he died May 20, 1836; his wife, Elizabeth
Dunn, died Feb. 18, 1854. Their family, four sons
and four daughters, are scattered, one son, Rev.
Samuel Zentmire, living at Morrow. The
river at this time was amply stocked with fish; brush drags
were made to be used as seines, and great quantities were
obtained. Fifteen or more deer in one herd was a
common sight. Many of the oldest inhabitants assert
with great earnestness, that a fight with Indians on the
Zentmire farm, and also a short distance above
Freeport, took place some time previous to the first
settlement, but no direct evidence of such events can be
obtained. On the hill east of the river, Joel
Drake settled, in 1815, where John
Wilkerson now lives; he was from Southampton County,
Va., and was a soldier of the Revolution, taking part at
Yorktown and witnessed the surrender of Cornwallis; he and
his brother, Jordan Drake, left Virginia in
1807, and encountered a terrible tornado after crossing the
Ohio. They arrived at Anderson’s Fork (they
supposed at the time), in Clinton County, now Snowhill; but
milk sickness prevailing, they disposed of their property
and removed to Warren County and settled on the head of
Olive Branch in 1815. Jordan Drake
settling near by where Samuel Craig now lives,
Jordan Drake raised a large family, his
daughter in law, Mrs. John W. Drake, and his
grandson, Henry M. Drake, remaining in this township.
Joel Drake was an active and influential
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church; his death occurred
in 1841.
About the same time, 1815, Jonathan Friar,
William Friar and Thomas Friar settled
in the vicinity, and, not long after, Asa Barge.
John Hall, Adam Barnes and ____
McFall; and farther east, in 1814, William
Chenoweth settled where Amos Warwick now
lives. On the opposite side of the road John Weeks
settled, in 1818, on part of Chenoweth’s land. now
owned by the heirs of William Wilson and George H.
Thomas.
Who first settled where David Farris now
lives, I am not informed; he is the son of David
Farris, who settled in 1808 in the eastern part of the
township, and moved to the present site in 1828. opening a
large farm; he is now in his eighty-third year, hale and
hearty.
David Robertson settled prior to Farris on the
farm now occupied by his son, Ezra Robertson.
Henry and Jonathan Sherwood moved to
the township in 1833; Samuel French settled in
1820, and built a stone house. in 1832, since owned by
Nathan Clark, now by John Van
Horn. William Murray, from Maryland,
settled on the west side of the Miami in 1815, where
Michael Maher now resides; he moved to this
township in 1832, where Alexander Harlan now
lives. Himself and George Rankine, on
the 26th of December, cut and carried the logs, built a
house and moved in the next day; he was foreman at the
carding-mill while it was in operation at Freeport;
shoemaker, farmer and soldier in the war of 1812; two of his
sons reside on farms on the hills east of Freeport.
We return to the settlement on Todd’s Fork and the
Montgomery road to mention a few settlers who located there
subsequent to 1812.
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Thomas Kephart was born in Loudoun County,
Va., Feb. 24, 1784; his wife, Mary Skinner, was born
Sept. 4, 1788; they were married Mar. 5, 1808, came to Ohio
in 1812, and settled on Todd's Fork near the southern line
of the township; he was a farmer and miller, and, for over
sixteen years, ran the Stubb's mill, at Millgrove; he
retired to his farm in 1835, and died May 10, 1861; his wife
died Jan. 16, 1873.
Richard Riley settled south of the creek
in this vicinity in 1814; he was from North Carolina; they
packed their goods on one horse, his wife riding the horse
and carrying the baby. For some years the wild cats
killed their pigs and lambs. Mr. Riley was born
Dec. 5, 1792, and died Apr. 4, 1851; his wife, now the widow
of Capt. James Humphreys, resides on the farm.
The McCray family, from Virginia, settled
in the vicinity in 1813. There were seven brothers -
Hugh, Daniel, Christy, Joseph, Andrew, Armstrong and
William, the latter coming some years previous.
They settled at different points southeast of the creek and
were industrious and useful citizens.
James Humphreys was born on the Delaware
River May 26, 1792, came to Centerville in 1815, and, in the
same year, to this township; he settled where Charles
Urton now lives; he was a farmer and boatman; at one
time prior to 1826, he went to New Orleans with Capt.
Titus. He had the confidence of the people and
held various minor offices; he was Captain of the Salem
Rifle Guards, a volunteer company, for several years; he
died Feb. 9, 1879, in the eighty-seventh year of his age.
James Penquite, of Culpeper County, Va.,
was born Oct. 7, 1782, came down the Ohio in a flat-boat, in
1817, and settled near the Bull Skin road; he died Dec. 5,
1835.
Robert Cree was born in Greene County,
Penn., Apr. 2, 1790; came to Ohio in 1811 and married
Eleanor Barkley Nov. 27, 1811; he settled where
Cphraim Castello now owns, set up a blacksmith shop and
followed farming, flat-boating wagoning and smithing.
In 1828, he removed to the Montgomery road, where James
Stanfield now lives. His wife died Sept. 23, 1845,
and he married Ann Mitchell; he was enterprising and
respected.
John Grey settled where Lydia Morrow
now lives, about 1815.
William Morrow, born in Vermont in 1794,
came to Ohio with his father in 1816; married Susan
Nickerson in 1819, and settled on the Bull Skin
road near where Miles Hadley now lives; he moved to
the John Grey far by Union Church in 1829, and died
in 1861; he was a soldier of the war of 1812, and
participated in the battle of Plattsburg. After coming
to Ohio, he followed teaching school for some years,
afterward farming and wagoning in winter. His wife,
Lydia (Williams) Morrow, resides on the homestead.
Timothy Titus, spoken of previously as an
early settler, made a number of trips to New Orleans with
flat-boats, and died in Mississippi with the yellow fever in
1826; he served two campaigns in the war of 1812 as Captain,
and was Justice of the Peace from the organization of the
township till his death.
William Guttery moved to Turtle Creek Township
in 1803, to Washington in 1814 or 1815, and settled where
his son Benjamin now lives.
Samuel Bowman, from Kentucky, served in the war of
1812, came to Ohio in 1816, married Mary Skinner
September 1, 1817, and died in 1862, aged seventy-three.
His widow lives on the homestead on the Montgomery pike, in
her eighty-ninth year.
John Cowden settled in 1822 on the old
Montgomery road near the southern boundary of the township;
he was killed by the falling of a tree.
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A. Voorhis
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The settling of the swampy space along the College
Township road, which extends from Robert Cree’s
to Fort Ancient, is next in order, going westward.
In 1804, Smalley’s and Trotter’s were the
only dwellings in this locality. Charles D.
Hampton, M. D., appears to have been the first west of
Crees', but at what date he came is not known.
He was from Pennsylvania, and, probably, settled in 1814,
near where E. T. M. Williams now lives. but afterward
settled on the road where Alfred Van Doren resides;
he moved to Clarksville in 1819, and was its first
physician; he with his family and some others left, in 1825,
and joined the Shakers at Union Village.
John L. Williams, of Bucks County. Penn, settled
on the Hampton place in 1822; the lands are
now occupied by his sons, E. T. M. and Lewellyn.
James Morrow, a native of Vermont, came to New
Jersey, and thence to Ohio, in 1818, and settled on this
road, but went to Clarksville a few years after.
John Vandoren, of New Jersey, moved to
Cincinnati in 1814, and settled where William
Vandoren now lives, in 1818; he was a carpenter by
trade, and kept a tavern; he died Dec. 4. 1826.
In the midst of the swamp, in 1818, Zachariah and
James Ward, from Loudoun County, Va., settled, the
former on the road, the latter where Amos Dunn
resides; they were coopers, and, the land being heavily
timbered with fine oaks, they were enabled, by patience and
perseverance, to clear the land, which is now of more than
average quality. Several of their descendants are in
the vicinity.
Thomas Dunn, of Virginia, of German descent,
born June 11, 1772, came to Portsmouth in 1803, and settled
east of Fort Ancient in 1812; he was a wheelwright and
farmer and had five sons and seven daughters.
There were other old settlers in the vicinity, of whom
little can be learned. Among them are Daniel
Williams, James Frazee, Mr. Miller and others.
Jeremiah Mills, a son of a Revolutionary soldier
of the same name, was a native of Essex County, Va.; he
served three months in the Revolution and also aided in
suppressing the whisky insurrection in Pennsylvania; he
married Abigail Bryant, and, in 1802, came to
Cincinnati; in 1810, he moved to Dayton, and, during the war
of 1812, wagoned supplies to the army. He afterward
engaged as a pioneer in clearing land and making brick, and,
in 1818, moved to Washington Township, where he settled on
land at the head of Stony Run; he erected a distillery below
Trotter's, which was operated but for a few years; he died
Dec. 11, 1860; his son that remain in the township.
Daniel Swallow, of Dutch and English descent,
from Bucks County, Penn., came to Butler County, in 1813,
and to Washington Township in 1815; he settled on the head
of Lick Run, one-third of a mile east of William H.
Strout's farm. He planted the first, and probably
the only, nursery ever planted in the township, and did much
to improve the quality of the fruit in this locality; he
moved to Montgomery County, Ill., in 1832.
William B. Strout, of English descent, came from
Portland, Me., to Cincinnati, in 1816, and thence to this
township; he studied medicine with Charles D. Hampton
about 1822, and married a daughter of Daniel Swallow;
he was a practical farmer and a good physician until his
death, in April, 1871.
The Flat Fork swamps north and west of Springhill
remained a solitude until about 1840, when the Harrises,
John Hadley and John Wilkerson opened up their
lands, and, in 1844, Lukens Hatten, the Warwicks,
William Thompson and others made improvements and now
this section will compare favorably with any other part of
the township.
There are many worthy men that, for a number of years,
were useful and
Page 696 -
respected citizens of the township, whom it would give us
pleasure to mention.
Some moved to other parts or retired from active life, among
them Capt. William H. Hamilton, for nine years
County Commissioner, and Henry Sherwood, who held the
same office eighteen years - the former now a resident of
Lebanon, the latter of Waynesville. Both were Township
Trustees several terms while here.
INCIDENTS.
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SKETCH OF WILLIAM
SMALLEY.
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ORGANIZATION AND RECORDS
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ROADS.
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CHURCHES.
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Page 706 -
CEMETERIES.
While the county was yet devoid of churches near which
seemed the most appropriate for the last resting place of
our departed friends, private or family graveyards were
common.
There is near the house of John B. McCray a
family burying ground, laid out by John Barkley at a
very early date, Mrs. Masterson, his near relative
being the first one buried there.
George McManis laid off a cemetery on his farm,
about one mile west of Clarksville. It was nearer the
residence of Thomas Emily than his own; hence, it is
known as the Emily Graveyard. Milton McManis,
a young man, son of George McManis, was the first
person interred there. A great many are buried there,
but of late years it is not used as a place of burial.
Timothy Titus donated the grounds for the Union
Church and graveyard. His daughter, Thoda Titus,
was the first interred in the latter. Great numbers
have since been buried there, and it still remains a popular
place of burial.
Olive Branch Methodist Episcopal Church has a
well-filled graveyard on the church lot. Jordon
Drake, a young man, being the firt one buried, about
1823; Mrs. Isaac Stutsel, about 1824; then a young
woman named Almira Houston who was killed by falling
from a swing.
The Wilkerson Graveyard was established by
Jame Wilkeron, on his farm on "The Knobs" (Springhill)
as a family graveyard. Thomas Deakin, his son
in law, was the first buried, in 1811, and Solomon Reel
the next.
In the yard of Bethany Church (Baptist) is a public
burying ground.
The first civilized person buried in the township was a
runaway slave from Kentucky, who was found sick in the
forest by for by him and buried on the bank of Todd’s Fork
from Smalley's house in the fork of the Bull Skin and
College Township roads. This was a short time after
Smalley settled, perhaps 1803 or 1804. The washing
of the bank of the stream for years exposed the bones, and,
about 1860, the skeleton was exhumed by Dr. Francis M.
Wilkerson and is most probably in his possession at this
time.
SCHOOLS.
Page 707 -
VILLAGES.
Page 708 -
FREEPORT, OREGON POST
OFFICE.
Page 709 -
built, in 1881, by W. W. Ingraham, a steam saw mill
of large capacity for custom and general work. The
railroad officials have built a side track to it, and
considerable quantities of sawed lumber are shipped from
that point.
HAMMELL.
The
village of Hammel was laid out about the time the railroad
was constructed (in 1844) and took the name of its
proprietor. It is on the Miami opposite Millgrove, and
two miles below Fort Ancient, and contains a few
MILITARY.
Among the early settlers of this township, a goodly number
of Revolutionary soldiers, and those who served in the war
of 1812, appear. They have been named as far as
possible, though doubtless some have escaped my inquiries.
No soldiers of the war of 1812 are known to be living in the
township.
An attempt was made, at the beginning of the Mexican
war, to re-organize the militia in this township, but the
effort met with ridicule, and, of course, was a failure.
David B. Glasscock and James D. Wallace were
the only two from this township known to be in that
struggle.
In
the war of the rebellion, the following list comprises the
volunteers from 1861 to the close of the war, as correctly
as can be ascertained:
Allen, John,
Ayres, David,
Barbee, Elias,
Barbee, George,
Barkley, John W.,
Bowser, Jacob
Bowser, Elwood,
Bowser, Samuel,
Brackney, Asa,
Brackney, Isaiah,
Brewer, Milton,
Brown, Richard,
Chance, Elijah,
Cochran, Jeremiah,
Conner, Robert,
Cree, Milton,
Crowell, Ezekiel,
Curl, Bryant,
Cummins, Benjamin,
Cummins, George,
Cunningham, Frank,
Dakin, W. D.,
Dale, John,
Dunn, Wilson,
Edwards, Clay,
Ely, Martin J.,
Emery, William,
Flack, William,
Foster, Hiram,
Gallaher, Patrick,
Glascock, William,
Hampton, John,
Haresty, George,
Harner, George,
Harris, George, |
|
Harris, Charles A.,
Hathaway, Cornelius J. D. M S.,
Hathaway, Patrick Clark
Hathaway, Wm. Andrew,
Hidey, Alonzo,
Hidey, George,
Hoan, John,
Howe, J. D.,
Hughes, John,
Hughes, William,
Hunt, Shannon,
Jobe, Andrew,
Jobe, Archibald T.,
Kelsay, William,
Kelsay, William,
Kephart, A. J.,
King, George,
Kirk, Harrison,
Kirkham, William,
Lee, Daniel,
Lister, Joseph,
Lynch, Michael,
McCray, Christy,
McCray, Samuel J.,
McCray, Thomas,
McKinney, Eli,
McKinney, William,
Millakin, John,
Mills, Francis,
Mills, Robert,
Milner, Joseph,
Morrow, George,
Morrow, Samuel,
Morrow, Henry,
Murray, Joseph, |
|
Murray, Joseph H.
Osborn, Henry,
O'Harra, Frank,
Osborne, Charles,
Paris, William L.,
Penquite, Jack,
Penquite, James F.,
Price, James,
Ragen, John,
Ratchins, Charles,
Read, John B.,
Reader, Joseph,
Riley, Henry,
Riley, Henry,
Settlemire, Baylis,
Shannon, Edward,
Sherwood, Francis J.,
Sherwood, Samuel,
Sherwood, Thomas,
Smith, J. D. M.,
Smith, John O.,
Smith, Theodore,
Strong, Nathaniel,
Strout, William B.,
Terry, D. W.,
Terry, Samuel,
Thomas, George W.,
Thompson, James,
Thompson, James F.,
Thompson, Samuel A.,
Thompson, Nathaniel,
Underwood, Marcus,
Vandorin, George,
Ward, Amos,
|
Page 710 -
Weeks, James,
Whitaker, Joseph,
Wilkerson, George H.,
Wilkerson, William S., |
|
Williams, Alfred,
Williams, Amos,
Williams, Harrison,
Williams, John C., |
|
Williams, Paul,
Williams, Simeon,
Wilson, Andrew,
Worley, Delt, |
ONE HUNDRED DAYS MEN.
Clark, Mart,
Cowden, Alfred
Cowden, John W.,
Glascock, David B.,
Graham, John H.,
Howe, Oliver,
Humphrey, Alfred, |
|
Loucks, William,
McGwinn, Patrick,
Morrow, Morris,
Penquite, Joseph,
Urton, Charles,
Urton, Thomas,
Vandoren, Alfred, |
|
Vandoren, Barclay,
Wilkerson, George H.,
Wilkerson, Lucius G.,
Wilkerson, Thomas S.,
Williams, E. T. M.,
Williams, Loucks, |
END OF CHAPTER -
|