PLAIN TOWNSHIP was organized in 1817, and was so named from the plains, or glades, which, to a large extent, constituted its timber growths at the time of its first settlement, and which cover large areas of its surface at the present time.  Its population in 1870 was 1,837.  The list of officers of the township appears on the records as follows:

     Justices of the Peace - George McCauley, July 12, 1832; William Kean, April 19, 1833; Benjamin Rogers, May 30, 1835; William Kean, January 20, 1837; Clinton Wilson, January 30, 1837; James A. Hill, June 4, 1838; C. Wilson, January 13, 1840; H. Edwards, January 13, 1840; Jonas May, January 13, 1840; H. Edwards, December 17, 1842; L. H. Upham, December 17, 1842; M. Kauffman, December 24, 1842; M. Kauffman, December 20, 1845;  Eli Jones, December 20, 1845; C. Wilson, April 12, 1848; M. Kauffman, December 16, 1848; Benjamin Eason, December 16, 1848; James Henry, April 11, 1850; George Young, October 19, 1850; J. H. Downing, November 5, 1852; James Henry, April 19, 1853; D. C. Martin, December 1, 1853; James Henry, April 28, 1856; B. F. Zercher, November 12, 1856; G. W. Horn, April 22, 1857; Abram Soliday, April 19, 1859; B. F. Zercher, October 20, 1859; A. Funk, April 17, 1860; J. K. Forbes, April 13, 1861; James Henry, April 21, 1862; A. Funk, April 17, 1863; D. C. Kean, April 15, 1864; James Henry, April 12, 1865; H. W. Walton, April 11, 1868; Samuel B. Kelley, October 20, 1869; H. W. Walton, April 10, 1871; S. B. Kelley, October 12, 1872; Abram Soliday, April 15, 1873; H. W. Walton, April 14, 1874; William Mellinger, April 12, 1875; Abram Soliday, April 13, 1876.

Pages 639 - 642

TOWNS IN PLAIN TOWNSHIP.

     Millbrook received is title from General Thomas McMillan, who named it and surveyed it.  It was laid out by Elijah Yocum, Aug. 10, 1829, the plat and certificate recorded next day, and found in County Records, p. 315, vol. 7.  The carding mill to the east of was originally a grist mill, built by McMillen in 1816, for John Nimmon.

     Blachleyville was laid out by William B. and William Blachley, Dec. 16, 1833, after whom it was named.  It was surveyed by George Emery, the plat and certificate recorded March 12, 1834, and found on page 210, vol. 11, County Records.

     Jefferson was laid out June 30, 1829, by Stephen Williams and Alexander Hutchinson, and was surveyed by Peter Emery the plat and certificate recorded July 2, 1829, which can be found on page 276, Book G.  It is favorably situated, four miles west of Wooster, and does considerable business.  It had from an early period find mail facilities, the coach line extending from Wooster to Ashland.  This line having been vacated, it was restored two years ago, Charles Lessiter conducting it for one year, when it passed into the hands of Joshua Warner.  George Waggoner is the Postmaster.

     Reedsburg was laid out by William Reed, after whom it was named, Dec. 13, 1835, and surveyed by George Emery, the plat and certificate being recorded Jan. 4, 1836, and found on page 527, vol. 13.  The first settlers of that neighborhood were, Matthias Starn, Joseph Mowery, John Peters, William Hagerman, and others.

     Springville was laid out by David Brown and surveyed by John A. Lawrence, Dec. 16, 1844, plat and certificate recorded Dec. 4, 1845, the record being on page 33, vol. 28.  It was formerly called Buffalo, or Health's Corners.

     Remains of Buffaloes and Cedar Trees - Between Springville and Millbrook the land-owners in plowing, but more especially in ditching, come in contact with the

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remains of cedar trees.  Half a century ago immense logs were taken out, three feet from the surface, that had lain there for ages, and were sawed into boards.  Trees were found three and four feet in diameter.  More recently, in ditching in the low lands directly south of Millbrook, have been found more of these cedar relics.  What is mysterious about this is the fact that there are no cedar forests in that section, nor have we any knowledge of them from any source whatever.  South and east of the village on the old Culberson farm, and the one where James Bruce lives, were found buffalo skulls and horns, and remains of human bodies of immense size, were found buffalo skulls and horns, and remains of human bodies of immense size.  Here was a field for the naturalist, antiquarian, archeologist, ethnologist, and man with the encyclopedia, and sweet Gonzales, ever smiling James.

     Jacob Kister was born in York county, Pa., and removed to Wayne county in 1834, landing with his wife and family on the 16th of May, near Cross Keys.  In August of the same year he bought a farm of 170 acres, including the carding mill and new grist mill, lying near Millbrook, purchasing the same from Rev. Elijah Yocum.  He had three children born in Wayne county; his wife, Catherine Shuman, of York county, had seven children at three births.  David Kister, brother of Jacob, accompanied him to Wayne county, bringing his wife and family.  He bought land in East Union township, lived there a number of years, then moved to Noble county,  Indiana, where he now resides.  Adam Kister, another brother, came out ten or twelve years before Jacob or David.  He died near Edinburg.  He was the father of Shuman Kister.  Andrew Kister was married to Roxanna, daughter of Brigadier General Thomas McMillen.

     Joseph G. Yocum was born in Cumberland county, Pa., Oct. 17, 1816, and was  married Apr. 25, 1839, to Mragaret D. Funk, of Chester township.  His father's name was Charles, a native of Pennsylvania, and was raised in Juniata county, but removed to Wayne county in June, 1828, bringing with him has wife and three children, Joseph G., Elmer and James.  When he came to Plain township he settled near the carding-mill in West Millbrook, on some lands owned by him and John, his brother, who made the improvements on William Liddell's farm.  He, unfortunately, met with an accident in the carding mill, from the effects of which he died Nov. 2, 1828.  Joseph G. Yocum, then but twelve years old, went to Congress township, to live with his grandfather, with whom and with his uncle he worked.  At the age of twenty he rented the farm he now liveson from the guardians of his three brothers.  At the end of two years he married, and his year he purchased the farm from the heirs.  There was a tannery upon the

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place, the first in the township, built by Andrew Yocum in 1825.  Mr. Yocum has two children, Lucien S. and Charles M., the former married to Miss Lucy Weaver, the latter to Miss Bell Ross, of Sugarcreek township.  He is a member of the church, a man of  sterling character and unbending integrity.

     Jacob Smyser was born in York county, Pa., June 27, 1810, and is marred to Sarah Diehl.  He came to Wayne county in 1832, and has had seven children.  His father, Jacob Smyser, was a native of York county, Pa., and died Sept. 14, 1840.  He was a farmer, and of German ancestry.  the subject of this notice ahs been a citizen of Wayne county for over forty years, and is one of the popular and trustworthy men of Plain township.  He is a man of correct life, a member of the Lutheran church, noted for his adhesion to principle and unswerving rectitude of purpose and action.

     A. B. Ebright was born Mar. 27, 1818, in Perry county, Pa., and emigrated to Ohio with his father, George Ebright, and with whom he subsequently lived until his death.  He was drafted in the war of 1812, but procured a substitute.  He was married in April, 1851, to Miss Tamar Freese, of Plain township, and has four children living.  His daughter, Artie D., married David Sloane, of Ashland, and lived but eighteen months after marriage.  His sons are as follows:  E. F., M. C., George J. and John B.  Mr. Ebright is a man of more than ordinary intelligence of great sagacity and independent mind and will.  He is and has long been a member of the Methodist church.

      Dewitt C. Kean, son of William Kean, was born in Plain township, Apr. 14, 1832, on the farm where he now lives.  He attended the township schools, and in 1854 went to Delaware College, Dr. Thompson, President, after which he began teaching, having altogether taught twelve  terms in Plain township and one in Clinton.  May 9, 1855, he was married to Miss Mary E. Brubaker, of Lake township, Ashland county, and has seven children, to with:  William F., George P., Olin L., Gertrude P., Orange Judd, Laura B. and Estella.  The three oldest have been attending Wooster University.  He is one of the intelligent men in the township and his character without a flaw; is heartily identified with every enterprise that looks to progress, and one whose excel-

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lent qualities make him a man highly regarded.  For nine yeas he was Justice of the Peace, and, with his wife, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.

CHURCHES OF PLAIN TOWNSHIP.

     Reformed Church of Reedsburg was founded by Adam Stump, a pioneer minister of the West, who labored here in 1840 and organized the congregation.  Rev. J. Schlosser was next, and then Rev. Jesse Hines, who yet lives in Reedsburg.  Rev. J. J. Excel came after him, and during his ministry the church edifice was erected.  The congregation is at present in a prosperous condition.

     Lutheran Church - The first services held by persons of this faith were in 1836, at the residence of Jacob Smyser, Sen., and M. Starn, and an old log school-house east of the village.  The family of Mr. Smyser is the only Lutheran one now known to have lived in this community at that time.
     In 1842 a German Reformed and Lutheran Church was built east of the village.  The building committee was Jonas Spangler, Washington Cassiday and Jacob Smyser, Jr.  No regular organization occurred till 1848, when a constitution was drafted and signed by the following membership:  Daniel Smyser and wife, Martin Smyser and wife, Jacob Smyser and wife, Emanuel Smyser and wife, Samuel Baley and wife, George Lawrence, David and Henry Horn, Hanna Kelley and Isaac Peterman.  In 1859 it was determined to build a church of their own in the village, and in 1873 it extensively repaired, and now is a beautiful edifice.  The present membership is ninety-seven. The line of ministers is as follows:  Andrew Kuhn, W. J. Sloan, George Wolf, G. W. Shaffer, C. C. Guenther, George Leiter.  A. M. Smith, D. Smith, Jacob Fry, Adam Helwig, A. Z. Thomas, and S. P. Kiefer.

     Baptist Church of Millbrook. - The Baptists of this settlement for many years attended service at Wooster, and afterwards they built what was known as the Dunbar church.  In about 1854 they erected a church building of their own in Millbrook, though it stands across the line in Clinton township.  The early Baptists were Elijah Pocock, Mrs. Irvine Keys, Mrs. William, mother of the late Dr. Baker, of Wooster, John Reider and wife, and Mrs. Elizabeth Knox.  the early Baptist members of the Dunbar neighborhood were David and William Kimpton, John Robinson and wife and oldest daughter, Jacob Singer and wife, the daughters of Thomas Culbertson, and Robert Dunbar, who settled in Wooster township in 1829.  Becoming an independent church, they grew in numbers and influence.  The following is the probable line of ministers:  Rev. A. W. Hall, Rev. A. J. Buell, Rev. John Burke, Rev. T. J. Penny, Rev. A. E. Anderson, Rev. Nelson Candal, Rev. J. K. Porter, Rev. G. W. Taylor, and Rev. James Samis, present pastor.

     Maple Grove Church - The original edifice as a log building, raised in 1835, on the precise grounds occupied by the new one.  It was a rude structure, with slab seat without backs, etc., and was called the Case Meeting House.  Prior, however, to this church, the society held religious services in a house one-half mile south of the church and now owned by James Weltmer.  The members attending that church were Jean, wife of Samuel Case, Oresimus Case and Sarah his wife, Joshua Case, Gashim Woods and wife and daughter.  Their new church edifice is one of the best in the township, and the church is in a prosperous condition.

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     Plain Church (Lutheren) - The lot on which this church stands was deeded to the members of the German Reformed and Lutheran churches by George Karns, in 1834.  The church was built in 1834-35.  A permanent organization took place Nov. 5, 1843, with the following offices and members:  Elder, Jacob Soliday; Deacons, John Miles and John Soliday; Members, Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth and Sarah Smith, Mary Keister, Morgan Doyl, Charlotte Dysert, Mary Welty, Catharine Byers, John G. and John Welty, Mary and  Elizabeth Shelly, Louvina Jones, George Muttersbaugh, Lydia Miles, Catharine and Elizabeth Soliday, Sarah C. Smith, Elizabeth Knox and Mariah Lawrence.  In 1853 the present church structure was erected.  The present membership is sixty-two, and the line of ministry is the same as that of Reedsburg.

     Evangelical Church - The original members were C. Felger, John Raudebaugh, M. Rittenhouse, Phillip Kettering, John Weltmer.  The first house of worship was built in 1856.  The present edifice was erected in 1876, under the ministry of Rev. Joseph Felger, and was dedicated by Rev. Joseph Bartzler.  The building committee consisted of George Felger, Harrison Swickart, George Nave, Christian Fair.  Its present officers are George Nave, class-leader, and Cylas Fickes, exhorter.  It is now known as the Grand View church.

     Disciple Church, in Blachleyville, was built in 1866.  Hugh Funk and family, Peter Baker and his father's family, Casper Swart, and others, were among the earliest of this denomination in this locality.  Rev. Harrison Jones was the first preacher.

     Christ's Lutheran Church, in Blachleyville, was built in 1875, Rev. George Dillman ministering to the congregation.

     Oak Chapel, Methodist - The old log edifice was erected in 1827, and was dedicatged by Rev. Russel Bigelow.  The new church was constructed in 1861, and dedicated by Rev. Adam Poe; the circuit preachers then being Revs. Starr and Spofford.  It has recently been repaired - a cupola added, wherein a bell is introduced.  This church is in a prosperous condition, with a Sunday-school in conjunction with it, of which David Bitner is superintendent, and near to this church, in 1818, the first camp-meeting was held in Plain township.

     Nathan Warner, son of Nathan Warner, was born in Northampton county, Pa., Oct. 12, 1790.  He was the second son and third member of family of nine.  His ancestry was of English origin on the paternal and Welsh on the maternal side.*  He remained with his father till he was twenty-four years of age, when he was married, May 4, 1815, to Mary Rathbun, of Cayuga county, N. Y.  He then removed to Plain township, settling on a piece of land which he purchased, north of the residence of Rev. Jesse Warner, deceased.  Here he lived seven years, when he removed to the present residence of Daniel Thomas, east of Jefferson, where he lived from August, 1826, to May, 1843, when he removed to the premises now owned by his son, Rev. Joshua Warner, south

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* See Warners, Wooster Township.

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of Jefferson, and where he continued to live till his death, Sept. 12, 1870.  He had nine children, and had been a member of the Methodist church for sixty-two years.
     Mr. Warner was a man characterized by many noble and remarkable qualities.  He was a born mechanic, and in this direction there was scarcely any limit to the range of his genius.  He could make anything he undertook, from a leather boot-jack to a threshing-machine.  He manufactured the first fanning-mill for winnowing wheat that was ever made or used in Wayne county.  In making it he observed no pattern; it was a conception of his own, and though made over half a century ago, it is still in use and better than many of the more improved mills of the present day.  He was always a busy man, and did not rust from idleness.  His son has a powder-horn over a foot long, on the heavy end of which is horizontally cut with his pocket-knife, "N. Warner - 1809,"  He has a pouch also, made of a 'coon-skin, with the hair all worn off; a finely silver-mounted rifle, with which he killed deer and bears, and a coat with but few rents, and on it a row (nine) of silver-gilt buttons, the property of his great grandfather, and descending to him, he being the third custodian of it by the name of Nathan.
     He was a conspicuous man in the early history of  his township and county.  He was one of the earliest of its tax collectors; the receiver of public funds to make material improvements; one of the trustees of his township in 1835; on the first grand jury ever impaneled in Wayne county, his name being identified with the early history of the county, as the record exhibits, in its most notable and vital enterprises.  After the surrender of Hull, Aug. 16, 1812, and the massacre on the Black Fork, a rumor was circulated that the Indians were about to move on the settlements at Wooster.  Isaac, son of Adam Poe, was going from Wooster to Mansfield on horseback, and hearing this news, retreated rapidly toward the former place to give the alarm and obtain aid from Beall's army, then at Wooster.  His horse gave out when he reached Killbuck, when Mr. Warner instantly supplied him with a fresh one to continue his journey, when sixty soldiers were at once detached and sent to the relief of the inhabitants.  He knew what it was to endure the hardships of pioneer life.  We may draw upon our pen and the resources of our imagination, but can never produce the perfect picture.  His life was a varied and eventful one, and who will say that the world is not made

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better by the lives of such men?  His good wife and he toiled and struggled and lived to see the dawning and the light.

"They shunned not labor when 'twas due,
They wrought with right good will;
And for the homes they won for them
Their children bless them still."

     Rev. Joshua Warner, son of Nathan, was born July 22, 1827, on the Daniel Thomas farm, east of Jefferson, and was married Nov. 30, 1848, to Miss Jane Baker.  He is a farmer by occupation, although for the last ten years he has been licensed to preach, never, however, having traveled on  circuit, except one year as a stated supply.  Mr. Warner is one of the best citizens of Wayne county, a man of genius and ability, an eloquent and convincing speaker, and in every respect an honorable and highminded gentleman.

     Eli Zaring made his appearance upon this planet Jan. 16, 1836, in Plain township.  He had the advantages of an early education under instructors like Hon. J. H. Downing, General Thomas F. Wildes, and others, and soon prepared himself for teaching.  He attended Vermillion Institute in Hayesvile, in 1856, and has taught three terms of school.  He was married to Mary A. Stevick Aug. 20, 1857.  Mr. Zaring has frequently held township offices, holds a notarial commission, does considerable conveyancing and is an accurate and careful business man.

     General Thomas McMillen. - In 1778, in Adams county, Pa., was born the subject of this sketch.  When three eyas old he emigrated to the neighborhood of Pittsburg.  In the year 1791, an act of Congress imposing duties upon domestic distilled spirits  gave rise to what was called the "Whisky Insurrection," which was only quelled by the display of a large military force after two ineffectual proclamations by the President.  Pittsburg being the headquarters of the insurgents, General McMillen was an eye witness to the scenes which transpired upon that memorable occasion.
     At the age of twenty-six he enlisted as a soldier in his country's defense, then at war with Great Britain, and was honored with the command of a company.  He, with his company, were stationed at Erie during the winter of 1812-13, while Commodore Perry was fitting up his fleet, with which in the following September he

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gained so signal, a victory over the British squadron under command of Commodore Barclay.
     In the spring of 1814 he emigrated to the State of Ohio, and in 1816 was elected in Wayne county a Representative in the Legislature of that State - was afterwards elected Senator, and served eight years successively in one or the other capacity.  When first sent to the Legislature the eat of Government was only accessible on horseback from his residence in Wayne county, there being most of the way merely a path through the wild forest.
     In 1840he emigrated to Iowa, and located at Mt. Pleasant, and in 1842 was chosen from Henry county a Representative in the Territorial Legislature, where he rendered most important service in getting up a revised Code of Laws.
     He died at  his residence near Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, January, 1852.  When he came to Wayne county he settled near Millbrook, and entered the farm now owned and occupied by George Strock, Esq., one of the popular and standard men of Plain township.

     John Nimnon, one of the Associate Judges of Wayne county, came in at a very early day and lived on the farm now owned by Dr. Battles, of Shreve, it including at that time the present site of Millbrook.

JAMES DOUGLASS.

     James Douglass, although a native of Pennsylvania, was of Scotch-Irish parentage, and belonged to a family which was characterized by robust manhood, great physical power and extreme longevity.  His earlier years were spent in Tuscarora valley, Pa., on whose rugged hillsides he toiled, and where he acquired those habits of industry and diligence which distinguished his whole career.
     He was married to Miss Elizabeth Wallace, of Juniata county, Pa., Apr. 27, 1827, being then thirty-six years of age.  She was born near Cookstown, in County Tyrone, Ireland, Dec. 25, 1802, and, with her father's family, emigrated to America in 1810.  Their voyage to the New World was tedious and tempestuous, and performed at a crisis of extreme public peril, as a war was in progress between France and England, the latter not hesitating to board all vessels at sea, and cause impressments into its naval and military service.  They landed at Baltimore, and immediately directed themselves to Juniata county, Pa., where her parents lived and died.

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     Soon after their marriage she embarked with her husband to the then far and fabled West, to taste its privations and promises, locating on the spot where faded the bloom of her mature life, and where was triumphantly unfolded the sublime lesson of a death whose terrors were defeated.  Here she encountered the stern trials and hardships which uniformly beset the first settlers of all new communities, but performed her part with unfaltering fortitude, never despairing, never surrendering, but hopefully and buoyantly looking forward to the beautiful tomorrow of better days.  She was a woman of much intelligence, sweet and composed disposition, tender sensibilities, ardent attachments and many social and domestic virtues.  Though passionately devoted to her friends and family, she was wont to withdraw from them when sacred volumes would be read, and when she would question her soul and call for the strength that is the answer of the ascended prayer.
     A woman of great native strength of mind, of extreme force of character, of fervent Christian impulses, her counsels were always sought; and thus her life became a perpetual example, and her death a peaceful vindication of that holy religion which adorned and embellished all her days.  She was an ardent lover of sacred poetry, a faithful student of sacred history, and enjoyed a perfect familiarity with the Scriptures, which were her study and delightful theme.  She was an earnest member of the United Presbyterian church, to which she belonged for nearly fifty years.  Her death occurred Wednesday morning, Oct. 16, 1872, having attained the Psalmist's limit of three score years and ten.

     After his arrival in the new county the subject of this sketch settled in Plain township, about four miles west of Wooster, where he lived over forty years.  He found his new home a solitude of stately trees, which were soon felled by his strong arms, when fields of waving corn and acres of nodding grain rapidly rewarded him for his toil and secured to him an independence.  In his dealings with men he was scrupulously honest, and as true to promise as the needle to the pole.
     Few men possessed good health to such an extraordinary degree as he.  His physical frame was a model of muscular perfection, and his constitution, until a short time prior to his death, was unimpaired by disease.  There appeared to be no limit to his energies, no exhaustion to his vital forces.  Proverbially industrious.

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he taught economy and practiced it.  Though sometimes seemingly austere, and even punctilious with men, no one who knew him doubted but under that brusque exterior there throbbed a warm heart and blossomed the kindliest of the domestic virtues - as in the regions of the North, under Polar snows, flourish flowers and plants of surpassing beauty.  With his wife he had long been in communion with the United Presbyterian church.
     He died on Saturday afternoon, Nov. 16, 1872, at the advanced age of eighty-two years.  With him perished the last of the old family stock.  On the 18th of October, he followed his wife to the quiet keeping of the tomb, and in just thirty days he was borne to his place of rest.

"To slumber while the world grows old."

     By his marriage James Douglass had six children, viz.:  Elizabeth C., Robert, publisher in this history, James W., Mary A., Ben and William W.  James W. Douglass, his second son, died July 3, 1877.  He was a successful farmer, a man of imposing appearance, standing six feet two inches in hight, possessed of a fine intellect, discriminating judgment and rare social qualities, which secured to him the warmest friendship of all who knew him.  He was a man of strict integrity, firmness and decision of character, and held a commission from the United States government in the Revenue service for several years, discharging his duties with fidelity and conceded ability.  He was an earnest and zealous member of the Methodist church.  His remaining family consists of his wife, Sarah A., and one child, Mary Elizabeth.

JAMES DOUGLASS
*    

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