(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE)

450 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. inhabitants. Peter C. Parker had lhe first store, near where is the present post-office. The second was kept by John Rose, in the western part, and about the same time William Cumback, in a building which stood near the centre of the village, had another store. Elias Broadwell and A. H. Cumback were also merchants of this period. In 1847, Joshua Dial engaged in trade where were afterwards Moses Elstun, Gotlieb Seitz, M. V. Markley, and the present J. W. Markley. Near 1847, Frederick Perdrizet began a trade, which since 1857 has been carried on by J. F. Perdrizet. At East Mount Carmel, Lane & Richards began merchandising many years ago, and were succeeded by Samuel Lane, for a long period a merchant in a building which yet stands east of the Methodist Episcopal church. In this part is a grocery-store, by Collins Doughty, and in the west part one by John Vail. In 1840, Caleb Dial was the postmaster of the Mount Carmel office ; in 1851, William Cumback ; 1853, Herbert A. Cumback ; 1865, C. C. Manning ; 1866, Gotlieb Seitz ; 1867, M. V. Markley ; and 1875, J. M. Markley. For many years past the office has had a daily mail. On Hall's Run, between the two parts of Mount Carmel, a famous old-time tavern was kept by John Whetston, at which stages stopped to change horses and long lines of loaded teams passed the night. Here were afterwards John Jamieson and others, as popular landlords. The house has long since been demolished. For some years the old John Rose house, in the western part of the village, was kept for the entertainment of the public. The present Mount Carmel House was ̊paned by William A. Ryan many years ago, and has been kept the past twenty years by J. A. Miller, who has in connection a public hall. The mechanic trades were early carried on by Jeremiah Sutton, Garrett Bias, and L. B. Wilmington, the latter continuing many years. Since 1849, E. D. Phillips has carried on shops at the lower end of the village, and at the upper part William Jones has shops. A quarter of a century ago chair-making formed an important industry at Mount Carmel, there being a number of shops, employing in the aggregate 30 hands. Among others who followed this business were Daniel Kelley, Henry Kelleyo Shadrach Medaris, and John C, Kelley. This interest has long since been discontinued. In early times Moses Broadwell had a tannery at Hall's Run, near the old tavern stand, and was followed in that business by a man named Wright. Representatives of the medical profession have lived at Mount Carmel, Dr. George Black being the first, and Drs. John A. Wheeler and B. Witham at present. Other practitioners have been Drs. Stephen J. Alexander, J. N. Thacker, Frank Parrish, L. W, Bishop, A. C. McChesney, and Frank Dennis. SECRET ORDERS. The township has several flourishing lodges, representing the Masonic order and the fraternity of Odd-Fellows. The first instituted was MOUNT CARMEL LODGE, No. 190, I. O. O. F., which was organized Feb. 12, 1852, with Daniel Kelley, Noble Grand ; John S. Lane, Vice-Grand ; E. D. Phillips, Rec. Sec.; Isaac Jones, Per. Sec.; Robert C. Temple, Treas.; and Elijah Day, John F. Avey, Samuel L. Teal, Emor Johnston, Isaac Jenkins, and W. A. Ryan, associate members. The lodge has had a membership of 80, and at present 56 belong. In 1867 the present fine hall was built, at a cost of $2500, and the property is controlled by trustees William Prickett, B. Witham, and J, F. Perdrizet. Since the institution of the lodge the Noble Grands for each year have been : 1852, Daniel Kelley, J. S. Lane ; 1853, E. D. Phillips, Samuel L. Teal ; 1854, R. C. Temple, S. W. Doane ; 1855, Nathan McMahan, J. M. Phillips ; 1856, S. L. Teal, John S. Jenkins ; 1857, Josiah Cross, John M. .Anderson ; 1858, N. U. Kerr, John Kelley ; 1859, G. L. Carter, Peter Snider ; 1860, Frank White, William P. Lorne ; 1861, S. F. Teal, S. L. Teal ; 1862, N. U. Kerr, S. F. Teal ; 1863, J. F. Perdrizet, Oscar Johnston ; 1864, N. U. Kerr, Peter Snider ; 1865, J. S. Jenkins, J. F. Perdrizet ; 1866, G. W. Stafford, John G. Steitz ; 1867, Samuel C. Thompson, J. M. Phillips; 1868, S. F. Perdrizet, John F. Lane ; 1869, S. C. Thompson, Emor Johnston ; 1870, Frank B. Lane, William S. Robinson ; 1871, Charles Steine, Samuel Neighbors ; 1872, T. F. Spaulding, C. M. Riggs ; 1873, J. C. McGuire, M. V. Markley ; 1874, M. A. Arthur, William D. Johnston ; 1875, Samuel L. Witham, Oscar Jones ; 1876, B. Witham, William Prickett ; 1877, A. C. Davies, R. B. Kyle ; 1878, J. W. Hill, Joseph Arthur ; 1879, Isaac Jones, James Brazier ; 1880, John D. Phillips. EUREKA LODGE, No. 447, I. O. O. F., was instituted at Withamsville, July 1, 1870, with charter members as follows : P. S. Jones, William Gaskins, A. B. Jones, J, W. Jones, T. C. Markley, Lewis Gelvin, W. T. Whitaker, W. J. Behymer, J. C. Hatfield, William Arthur, John Frantz. In a short time Henry Coones, N. H. Hatfield, E. Behymer, William "daddy, H. Myer, arrd Ed. Wilson became connected as members, and since that period the lodge has mainly been flourishing. Its meetings are held in a fine hall, above the public-school rooms, near the centre of Withamsville. The present officers are A. C. Bradbury, Noble Grand ; G. W. Witham, Vice-Grand ; T. W. Marshall, Rec. Sec. ; F. P. Witham, Per. Sec.; L. Ludlow, Treas. ; H. Cooms, J. P. Robb, Q. Hults, Trustees. The Noble Grands since the institution of the lodge have been P. S. Jones, J. D. Hatfield, W. T. Whitaker, Lewis Gelvin, William Swem, W. J. Behymer, Henry Coones, E. G. Gest, Lewis Ludlow, William Ellis, Elisha Behymer, Isaiah lInks, A. K. Bennett, E. Wilson, E. Hughes, Dr. F. P. Witham, E. Nash, J. P. Robb, D. P. Durham, and A. C. Bradbury.J J. B. COVERT LODGE, No. 437, F. AND A. M., received its charter from the State Lodge, Oct. 21, 1869, with Henry Van Gundy, Isaac Van Eaton, N. S. Fisher, F. J. Banks, L. McLaughlin, James H. Whittaker, A. Fagin, William Johnson, W. W. Archer, William B. Cord, George Sheldon, John Gray, and Nathaniel Witham as constituent members. The lodge soon had a membership numbering 50, and at present (January, 1880) reports 56 in good standing. The communications of the lodge are held in a fine hall at Withamsville, which was built in 1869 DANIEL KENDRICK LEAVITT was born Jan. 25, 1801, in Amherst, Hillsborough Co., N. H., and was the youngest of twelve children in his father's family, His father, Andrew Leavitt, was three times married, and Daniel K. was born to his second wife, whose maiden name was Jones. Andrew Leavitt served in the Revolutionary war, and fought at Bunker Hill under Gen. Warren, and his eleventh child, a daughter, married a Mr. Hutchinson, and was the mother of the noted Hutchinson family of singers. The subject of this sketch received the scanty education furnished at an early day in the New England district schools by a short attendance on them of winters, and worked on a farm, and also with his father, who was a large builder. In 1818 he bought his time of his father, and came to Cincinnati in the fall of that year with the Melendy brothers, who began the manufacture of fanning-mills in that city, and with whom for many years he was associated in business, and until the improved thrashing-machines with self-fanners supplanted the old-fashioned fanning-mill. He came from the State of New Hampshire over the mountains to Ohio with a horse and buggy, and Cincinnati was then a little city of only seventeen thousand inhabitants. He was married, in March, 1830, by Rev. Dr. Graves to Lucinda Belch, of Butler Co., Ohio, by whom he has had the following children : Elizabeth, unmarried ; Andrew, married, and at home ; Mary, married to Byington Campbell, of Ripley, Ohio ; Daniel, married, and residing near Amelia ; Cordelia, Harriet, and Topsy,-all three single ; and Rufus, who died in his seventh year of age. After, with the famous Melendy brothers, quitting the manufacture in Cincinnati of fanning-mills, he took up the trade of building, which he had learned under an apprenticeship with his father. He built the Cincinnati Vine Street Congregational church, and many other large edifices in that city, and in 1864 removed to Ripley, Ohio, where for eight years he carried on business, building and dealing in lumber. In 1872 he purchased of Nancy J. Pool the elegant farm of one hundred and thirty-six acres on which he now resides, located on the Mount Carmel and Tobasco free turnpike, half a mile from the former town, and the Cincinnati and Eastern, and Cincinnati and Portsmouth Narrow-Gauge Railroads. Both cross his farm, and the station of the latter is only ten rods from his residence. He is a general farmer, and makes a specialty of no particular productions, but gives considerable attention to fruits. In the great revival of 1828 he was converted under the preaching of Revs. Ross and James Gallagher in the First Presbyterian church of Cincinnati, but subsequently, owing to the pro-slavery preaching of its pastor, Rev. Dr. Wilson, he with seventeen others withdrew and organized the Sixth Presbyterian Church. For twenty-five years he has been an elder in the church, to which both he and his family are zealously attached. He is of English extraction, and a Republican in his politics. Originally a Whig, he very early identified himself with the anti-slavery movement for the abolition of slavery when it, was unpopular and brought obloquy on his head. He has lived to see the cause finally triumphant, and the cursed institution of slavery wiped from our statute-books, and the negro slave given the full rights of an American citizen. He is a noble type of the old Puritan descendants who threescore years and more ago came West, and to whose labors and works the remarkable growth of this new country in material and moral prosperity is very largely due. JOHN M. HUNT Photo, by Reynolds & Kline, Batavia, Ohio. ONE of the solid farmers of Union township, owning two hundred and twenty-four acres, is John Moore Hunt, who was born near Trenton, N. J., June 6, 1816. He was the son of George and Sallie (Moore) Hunt, who emigrated the fall after his birth to Batavia, in this county, where George Hunt, his father, for several years followed the profession of school-teaching, and was the first schoolmaster in Batavia, and subsequently taught two years at Columbia. He afterwards returned to Batavia and settled on a farm near this town, where he died in his sixty-eighth year. He was the father of the following children : Charles, Louisa, Jesse, Jonathan, John Moore, George W., Sallie, James M., Elizabeth, and Mary. John Moore Hunt lived in Batavia until about his fourteenth year, when he went to his father's farm and there worked until he began to learn the trade of a carpenter with his brother Jesse and Basil Thompson. This avocation he followed with success for twenty-two years, and was considered one of the best house-joiners in Clermont. He then settled on a farm once owned by Col. William Curry, of Batavia township, but afterwards purchased the Conklin farm near Olive Branch, in Union township, where he has ever since resided. He was married, Oct. 27, 1841, to Miss Elizabeth Conklin, daughter of Stephen Conklin, formerly of Cincinnati, by Rev. Joel Dolby, of the Protestant Methodist Church. From this union there were nine children, to wit : Sallie, intermarried with B. F. Bragdon ; Charles Moore, married to Mollie, daughter of Col. James Given, and residing in Kansas ; Benjamin F., deceased in his nineteenth year ; Carrie ; Emma ; Clara, married to William Dinkleman, residing in Madisonville; Olive ; William ; and Elmer Ellsworth. Mr. Hunt is a practical farmer, and has always taken great interest in the agricultural fairs of the county. He is a member of no religious denomination, but all his family belong to the Baptist Church, to which he is a regular contributor. He always has refused to be a candidate for local offices, but in politics is a pronounced Republican. He has twice revisited New Jersey, the scene of his birth, once in 1857 and again in 1875. His farm is located in one of the best neighborhoods of the county, and on it Mr. Hunt lives in independence, respected and esteemed by his neighbors. UNION TOWNSHIP - 451 by N. S. Fisher, and the principal officers from the organization of the lodge have been the following: 1870.—Henry Van Gundy, W. M.; Isaac Van Eaton, S. W.; N. S. Fisher, J. W.; James H. Whittaker, Sec. 1871.-Henry Van Gundy, W. M.; A. J. Banks, S. W.; John A. Morrison, J. W.; C. P. Witham, See. 1872.--A. J. Banks, W. M.; John A. Morrison, S. W. ; Davis Whippy, J. W. ; James H. Whitlaker, Sec. 1873.—A. J. Banks, W. M. ; Davis Whippy, S. W. ; James McRoberts, J. W.; L. D. Fisher, See. 1874.—Davis Whippy, W. M.; C. H. Cline, S. W.; George W. Behymer, J. W. ; L. D. Fisher, Sec. 1875.—Davis Whippy, W. M.; C. H. Cline, S. W.; George W. Behymer, J. W. S. A. Muchmore, Sec. 1876.—C. H. Cline, W. M.; John A. Morrison, S. W. ; William E. Mattox, J. W.; L. D. Fisher, Sec. 1877.—C. H. Cline, W. M.; James O. Johnson, S. W.; C. P. Witham, J. W.: G. L. Van Sant, Sec. 1878.—N. S. Fisher, W. M.; George J. Zabriskie, S. W.; George R. J. W.; G. L. Van Sant, Sec. 1879.—N. S. Fisher, W. M.; G. L. Van Sanl, S. W.; George R. Blrss, J. W.; Bennett Behymer, Sec. 1880.—C. H. Cline, W. M.; George R. Bliss, S, W.; C. A. Bennett, J. W.; Bennett Behymer, Sec. EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS. Among the pioneer teachers of Union is remembered Joseph Gossett, a relative of the Davis family, who was an excellent penman and a good teacher. He taught many years, pursuing his duties from morning until dark in the evening. Thomas Brinton, Samuel Ewing, Elijah Williamson, and Daniel F. Birney also helped to educate the youth of the early settlers. No official knowledge of the schools can be obtained, since the records have not been preserved ; but in 1853 the sub-districts reported as follows: No. 1 had no school-house and asked for an appropriation of $700 to build one. No. 2 reported its school in good condition. No. 3 represented that its house was so poor that the demand for a new one was very urgent. No. 4 reported a debt of $57.14. No. 5 was unrepresented. No. 6 was in a flourishing condition, No. 7 had no school-house and did not care to have any. No. 8 had no house and asked for an appropriation of $800 to build one. The requests of the several districts were complied with, and school buildings erected as soon as the funds could be raised. Most of the districts now possess good houses, and considerable attention is paid to the schools maintained in them, about eighteen weeks per year. In 1879 the number of pupils attending the public schools, outside of the special district of Mount Carmel, was 324, and the amount paid for their instruction, $254.91. The president of the board of education was N. S. Fisher, and the secretary J. W. Hunt. MOUNT CARMEL SPECIAL SCHOOL DISTRICT was formed Aug. 30, 1866, under the act of 1849 and the amendatory acts thereto, to include the territory of what was formerly district No. 9. The board of education selected was composed of William Walker and J. F, Dennis, for one year ; Samuel Lane, Sr,, and George Markley, for two years ; M. Johnson and E. Forbes, for three years. J. F. Dennis was chosen president, and Merit Johnson secretary of the board ; and these officers and treasurer, in the order named for each year since the organization of the district, have been : 1867, J. Manning, M. Johnson, S. Lane ; 1868, L. W. Bishop, M. Johnson, J. M. Rust ; 1869, L. W. Bishop, Mahlon L. Broadwell, J. M. Rust ; 1870, Mahlon Hayworth, Mahlon L. Broadwell, J. M. Rust; 1871, Emor Johnson, M. Simmons, J. F. Perdrizet ; 1872, N. A. Day, M. Simmons, J. F. Perdrizet ; 1873, W, F. Prickett, N. A. Day, J. F. Perdrizet ; 1874, J. K. Kyle, M. Simmons, N. A. Day ; 1875, E. D. Phillips, M. Simmons, N. A. Day ; 1876, E. 1). Phillips, M. Simmons, J. M. Rust ; 1877-79, E. D. Phillips, M. Simmons, J. A, Wheeler, In 1876 the board purchased two and a half acres of ground on which to erect the new school edifice, which was completed at a cost of nearly $7000. It is a handsome two-story brick building, containing four spacious rooms :aid two vestibules. The location is central for the district, which is about two miles square, and the lot has been partially improved. Until this house was occupied the schools were taught in two buildings, located in the eastern and the western parts of the hamlet. The first year of the special district $600 were voted for the support of the schools, and James Lane was the principal, continuing until 1869, when he was succeeded by E, A. Bunton. In 1870, C. M. Riggs was the principal ; from 1871 till 1873, L. D. Manning ; 1874, W. C. McGill ; 1875-77, A. W. Williamson ; 1878-79, D. G. Drake, assisted by Laura A. Rice and Ella M. Dennis. About $1200 per year are paid for the instruction of the 140 pupils attending the Mount Carmel schools thirty-two weeks per year. In the high-school department were 33 pupils, and the schools throughout had the reputation of being well conducted. More than thirty years ago the Rev. L. G. Gaines taught a select school of considerable merit at Mount Carmel. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. At Withamsville was originally organized the " Ten-Mile Baptist Church" (whose history is given in the township of Pierce), and the earliest settlers seem to have belonged to the Baptist persuasion. The organizations at present existing in the township are of comparatively recent origin, one of the oldest being the FIRST REGULAR BAPTIST CHURCH OF WITHAMSVILLE, which was constituted March 21, 1845, with 48 members, among them being Jephtha Johnson, Martha Johnson, Newton Corbley, Huldah Corbley, Reuben Loyd, Nancy Loyd, Nancy Stockton, Joseph Hatfield, Elizabeth Hatfield, Maria Kelly, Margaret Campbell, James T. Robb, William Arthur, Benjamin Behymer, Fanny Behmyer, Benjamin Bragdon, Rebecca Bragdon, Rebecca Johnson, Catherine Loyd, Elias Littleton, Sarah Littleton, Sarah Wheeler, Elizabeth Hulick, Nancy Kirgan, James Wood, William Nash, Sr., Elizabeth Robb, David Kirgan, Lucinda Arthur, Nancy Robb, Susan Nash, Reuben Bennett, Margaret Nash. Jephtha Johnson and Joseph Hatfield were elected the first deacons; David Kirgan, clerk ; William Arthur and Newton Corbley, singing clerks; William Nash, Reuben 452 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. Loyd, and James Wood, trustees of the building fund ; William Nash, Elias Nash, and S. Hatfield, committee on ministerial supply. Elder A, Sargent became the first pastor, giving the church one-fourth of his time. Thus organized, the work of building a meeting-house was actively pushed forward, and in 1846 a respectable edifice was occupied for worship. Thorough repairs in 1879 have made it very comfortable, and a fine bell and organ recently procured lend additional attractions. Viewed as a whole, the church has been prosperous, but previous to the war of 1861 it was somewhat distracted by the slavery question. On the 21st of October, 1854, a resolution was offered in church-meeting to the effect " That we are opposed to the introduction of any political question into the church, therefore we cannot consistently sympathize or co-operate with our brethren in any polilical efforts to prevent the extension of slavery or the liberation of those in bondage." This resolution was very properly rejected, whereupon some of the members withdrew because religion was blended with politics, and one member was excluded for saying "that the Withamsville Baptist Church is an abolitionist church." At present the church is fairly flourishing, having nearly 100 members, with M. Johnson, B. Behmyer, and H. Cooties as deacons, and the latter serving also as clerk. Other clerks have been Elias Nash, Peter Robb, M. Johnson, and William Arthur. The church ordained to the ministry William Martin in 1850, and twenty years later Stephen G. Lindsey. In 1850 appears the name of Rev. William D. Spaldon as pastor ; in 1861, Rev. William Dolby ; 1866, Rev. William D. Spaldon ; 1867, Rev. Joseph Hawkins ; 1868, Rev. William D. Spaldon ; 1871, Rev. E. R. Hera ; 1873, Rev. J. Hawkins, who yet occasionally serves the church, there being no regular minister at. present. A well-attended Sunday-school is maintained, which has H. Coones for superintendent. THE CENTRAL CHAPEL OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The first Methodist class in this part of the township was composed of A. B. and Elizabeth Jones ; Jacob McCord ; Elizabeth Swem ; J. W. and Amelia Jones; Henry Nash and wife ; James and Virginia Nash ; Eliza and Nancy Nash ; John Harris and wife ; Jacob Behymer and wife ; John Shannon and wife; and John L. Jones, who was One of the first class-leaders. The preaching services were first held over the blacksmith-shop of the Jones Brothers, but soon measures were taken to - uild a house of worship. This project was largely promoted by A. B. Jones, and in 1857 the house was inclosed, but it was not fully finished until ten years later. The house is of brick, 40 by 50 feet, 15 feet in height, and cost a little more than $3000. The first trustees were John Gest, Hezekiah Hawkins, James Ellis, J. W. Jones, A, B. Jones, John L. Jones, and John Harris, At the dedication of this house a large accession of members followed as the result of a series of revival meetings, held about that time ;" but the membership has diminished from year to year until at present it numbers but 25. The church has its ministerial supply from the Amelia Circuit. THE METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH OF TOBASCO. About 1835 a society of this faith was formed in this locality, which had among its members Samuel McCord, John Mills, Henry Hopper, Margaret Hopper, James Ward, Joshua Ward, John Ward, Sarah Smith, Joshua Whipple and his wife, Stephen Conklin, George Wilmington, Hester Eldridge, Mary Jellison, and others. The meetings were first held in the school-house which stood on the side of the present church building, but in June, 1842, a lot of land was secured west of the school building, on which to erect a house of worship. The lot was conveyed to Stephen Conklin, George Wilmington, Henry 'Hopper, and Joshua Ward as trustees, A small brick meeting-house was built the same season, in which the society worshiped until 1869, when it was remodeled and enlarged. It has again, within the past year, been renovated, and, having attractive surroundings, is a very inviting place of worship. The trustees in 1879 were Jellies 0: Johnson, N. S. Fisher, M. A. Arthur, L. D. Witham, and H. C, Jeremiah. The steward of the church was J. W. Kelly. The church has always enjoyed a fair degree of prosperity, and in 1879 had 70 members under the pastoral direction of the Rev. William Hillenschenkle. Other ministers have been the Revs. McGuire, Evans, Dolby, Langdon, Boyd, Davis, White, Bartlett, Rose, Williams, Rowan, Warrington, and Johnson. In the rear of the church is a grave-yard, from the Witham farm, which has been enlarged from time to time until it has become a spacious cemetery. The last addition was made in 1870, when the township authorities purchased five acres more, and have since then generously improved the grounds. The cemetery is situated on an elevated tract of ground, a little more than midway between the hamlets of Tobasco and Withamsville, and bears the name of " Mount Moriah." It contains a neat vault, erected in 1877, and many fine monuments. THE MOUNT CARMEL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. This body was organized by the Rev. S. J. Miller, about 1840, of the following persons, most of whom were formerly members of the Round Bottom congregation : Campbell Johnston, Jerusha, Jane, and Frederick Johnston, Thomas Davidson, Margaret Davidson, Margaret and Mary Johnston, William Cumhack, Nancy Cumback, Henry Broad- well, S. J. Alexander, Elizabeth Alexander, Sr., Elizabeth Alexander, Jr., William Pool, Catharine Pool, Andrew Kirkpatrick, and Elizabeth Kirkpatrick. William Cumback and Campbell Johnston were elected the first ruling elders. In 1842, Henry Broadwell was elected to the same office ; in 1850, Moses Elstun, and yet serves in that capacity ; in 1862, H. II. Cumback ; in 1867, L. W. Bishop and John Manning ; in 1869, Julius F. Perdrizet ; in 1878, D. K. Leavitt and John Boice ; and in 1880, M. V. Markley. For some time the Rev. James Black served the congregation as a licentiate, but on the 24th of July, 1842, was ordained to the pastoral office, in which he remained a few years, and was the onry settled pastor of the church, the subsequent ministers preaching as supplies. These have been the Revs. Wiseman, Gaines, Young, Mitchell, French, UNION TOWNSHIP - 453 Hill, McKee, Tedford, West, and Maxwell. In 1880 the Rev. H. A. Rossiter engaged to supply the pulpit. The congregation numbers 83 communicants, 42 of whom were added the preceding year. The Sunday-school has 90 members, and D. G. Drake for superintendent. The meet- • ing-house which the society occupies at Mount Carmel was erected in 1851. It is a neat brick building, and has an inviting appearance. The present trustees are Robert Cribbett, Frank Armstrong, and Harmon Blanchard. It is the second house of worship, the first one having stood near the present toll-house in Mount Carmel. THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF MOUNT CARMEL. Meetings of persons who believed in the universality of God's love were held in this locality many years ago, among the ministers being the Revs, A. G. Laurie, J. A. Gurley, George Rogers, M. Pingue, W. Y. Emmett, M. Crooley, J. W. Henley, and G. L. Demarest. Owing largely to the latter three the church was organized July 30, 1864, of persons who had formerly belonged to Newtown Church, viz. : Levi B. Wilmington, Artemas Day, N. A. Day, Sarah L. Whippy, Elmira Wilmington, R. Day, Margaret Thompson, M. Jenkins, Elizabeth Broadwell, E. Perin, Julius Kiser, P. Day, Nancy Day, A. R. Johnson, Jane Leaf, Mary Day, Mary Anderson, John Broadwell, and Robert Temple. In 1867 the church united with the Odd-Fellows in erecting a fine building, the lower story of which was fitted up for a place of worship, which the society has since occupied. The trustees in 1867 were G. R, Johnson, L. Wilmington, and N. A. Day ; and in 1880, J. M. Anderson, R. B. Kyle, and N. A, Day ; E. D. Phillips, Treasurer ; G. R. Johnson, Clerk ; J. K. Kyle, Moderator ; N. A. Day and E. D. Phillips, Deacons. For the past eighteen years the Rev. W. S. Bacon has had the pastoral direction of the church, which has nearly 100 members. A Sunday-school was organized some time before the church, which is yet continued with good interest, the average attendance being 65. For many years N. A. Day was the superintendent, and at present J, K. Kyle serves in that capacity. WESLEY CHAPEL OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, at East Mount Carmel, was erected in 1852, on a lot of ground given for that purpose by Samuel Lane, Jr. It is beautifully located, and the house—a commodious brick— itself appears very attractive. In 1879 its controlling trustees were J. M. Rust, Samuel Wright, W. J. Rust, Eugene Cross, Joseph Arthur, J. M. Phillips, J. D. Phillips, S. H. Cranse, and W. W. Duckwall. Close at hand is a fine parsonage which belongs to Olive Branch Circuit, from which the ministerial supply is obtained. The present is the second house of worship, the former, a small house standing at a point farther east, having been built a dozen years earlier, and was the first house of worship in this part of the township, Among the pioneer Methodists here were John Hall, Cyrus Broadwell, Cyrus Cross, James Ellis, Nathaniel Bennett, John and Samuel Lane. In 1879 the church had 113 members, under the leadership of the Rev. George E. Johnson, assisted by James Allen and Samuel Wright. A large and well-conducted Sunday- school is maintained, which has for superintendents George E. Johnson, Ambrose Temple, J. W. Hill, W. W. Hill, Merit Johnson, and Harry Swartz, alternating their duties from Sabbath to Sabbath, an experiment which has proved satisfactory at Mount Carmel, where probably more attention is paid to Sunday-school matters than in any other locality in the county. THE MOUNT CARMEL FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH is the youngest of the religious bodies organized in the township. It dates its beginning from October, 1877, when Frank Spalding and wife, Wilber Spalding, James Tompkins and wife, Nannie Tompkins, Joseph Arthur and wife, E. Forbes and wife, J. L. Forbes, and Addie Forbes united themselves in church fellowship. At present 17 members constitute the church, which has been supplied with preaching by the Revs. Spaldon, Hera, Hawkins, and Ware. E. Forbes and James Tompkins are the deacons, J. L. Forbes clerk, and E. Forbes treasurer. In connection with a grange of Patrons of Husbandry, Union Hall, a two-story brick building erected in 1851, was purchased and fitted up for lodge and church purposes, the lower story being devoted to the latter object. The room will comfortably seat 200 persons. ST. PAUL'S PROTESTANT EVANGELICAL CHURCH, near Willowville, is a frame house of worship built in 1846. The congregation which occupies it is small, and the present church council is composed of John Vogt, Christian Miller, and John Felger. The ministers of the New Richmond Church usually preach here once a month. In this locality, also, worship a society of United Brethren (also Germans), whose church organization is given in the history of Batavia, as is also the East Fork Baptist, organized at East Liberty, but now known as the Olive Branch Baptist Church. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. REV. SAMUEL WEST. That distinguished servant of the Lord whose name stands at the head of this biographical sketch, in consequence of his relation to the great West and the labors and privations he endured in planting the gospel from the Alleghanies to the Mississippi, and from the lakes to the Ohio, deserves a prominent place in the annals of Clermont County, where he so long lived and where his bold spirit took its departure. He was born in Pennsylvania, not later than the year 1779, February 14th. He was descended from a family that emigrated very early to America after the settlements opened up on the Atlantic coast, in the seventeenth century, and was of' a collateral branch of which Benjamin West, the celebrated painter, was a member. He received only three months' education in his young days, but from his youth was a close observer of human nature, and in after-years became a good scholar. He began 454 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. preaching in Virginia in his nineteenth year, and labored for several years in that State, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky as an exhorter. He came to Marietta, Ohio, when a young man, about the beginning of the present century. There he passed an apprenticeship at ship-building, and subsequently wrought at his trade. He then came to Cincinnati and its vicinity, and found a friend and counselor in Judge Philip Gatch, formerly a noted preacher and then residing near Milford. At what time and place and under whose ministerial labors he united with the Methodist Episcopal Church is unknown. His parents were members of the Church of England, in which he received baptism in infancy, and in after-years he has been heard to relate what deep conflicts in heart and mind he had in accepting his divine call to the ministry. It was in 1809 he reached Judge Philip Gatch's, where he tarried several mouths, preaching and exhorting in the neighborhood, until the arrival of Bishop Asbury, who licensed 11:m to preach and gave him stated clerical labors. Later in the same year he was admitted on trial into the Western Conference. His fields of labor in the itinerancy were as follows : 1809, Shelby Circuit, Kentucky ; 1810, Cumberland ; 1811, Guyandotte ; 1812, Little Kanawha ; 1813, Delaware, Ohio ; 1814, Knox ; 1815, Scioto (in which year he built the first meeting-house in Columbus, Ohio, and which was three years prior to the erection of Rev. Dr. James Hoge's church, the First Presbyterian) ; 1816, Lewistown, Ky. ; 1817, Lawrenceburg, Ind. ; and 1818, Miami District, Now occurred an important event in his life, —his marriage to a remarkable woman, who for nine years was to be his solace and support. He married,.in 1819, Mrs. Rebecca (Strong) Allison, widow or lhe eminent Dr. Richard Allison, and a daughter of that brave soldier of the Revolution, Gen. David Strong. That year his estimable wife accompanied him on the Hamilton and Rossville Circuit ; in 1820 to the Scioto (he was superannuated in 1821) ; in 1822 to Miami ; in 1823 to White Oak. In 1824 he retired from the Conference as a regular stationed preacher to engage in land-speculations, but he kept the faith of his younger days, and preached locally as his great business cares would permit. He was presiding elder of the Scioto District one year, and under his preaching the late Bishop Morris was converted and received into the church in which afterwards lie became so eminent. Rev. Samuel West in his later years bitterly lamented as the great mistake of his life his turning aside from the regular work of the ministry. Had he devoted himself to the ministry as a life work he doubtless would have been equal o any position the church had in its power to bestow. The personal appearance of Rev. Samuel West in the pulpit over half a century ago was prepossessing, and impressed one, in looking upon his tall form and flashing eye, with the belief that he had genius and eloquence; but when engaged in preaching or in conversation the brilliancy and fascination of his speech and manners would demonstrate that fact in a remarkable degree. None who were permitted to listen to the stirring accents of his voice, when engaged in description or declamation, would go away without being impressed with his power over the heart. The marriage of Samuel West with Rebecca (Strong) Allison was a most happy one, and its fruits were two children,—Samuel Roberts Strong West, born Jan. 9, 1820, and Rebecca Julia Evans West, born June 11, 1824, and who married John Kugler, one of the greatest business •men of his day in the county. Nine years this loving and devoted couple lived together, when, on June 1, 1828, death removed his beloved companion and transferred her to a better clime. She was a devoted wife to him in the ministry, in his business, and in their home. He subsequently married in Lawrenceburg, Ind., Mrs. Lucinda Ludlow, whose maiden name was Lucinda Porter. He was a third time married June 2, 1853, to Mrs. Elizabeth M. Williams, widow of Dr. Courtland Williams, by whom he had one child, Elizabeth, who died in infancy. Father West was an able advocate of Christian doctrine, and his success in planting Methodism in the extended fields to which he was assigned is proof of his ability and devotion to his work. Having in 1824 desisted from the regular and responsible pastoral work, he entered upon a career of turmoil—yet to him congenial—in which is strength of character was seen and felt by men who " buy and sell and get gain." For a third of a century lie was one of the largest speculators of the country in real estate, especially in Western lands, and he at one time owned forty thousand acres in Texas. He amassed a large fortune in his land-dealings and traveled over the entire West, and mostly on horseback. He was his own counselor not only in pursuing business, but also in litigation in courls. Few men had a more profound knowledge of the principles of law or were capable of a clearer presentation of their cause. At one time, when an important land-case of his was on trial in the Clermont court before the late learned Judge Fishback, his attorney not grasping the cause to suit him, Mr. West took hold, wrote new pleadings himself, and gained the suit. He was an extensive reader, a clear thinker, possessed an iron will, and had a wonderful memory. While his early education was limited, years after he became a man he took up and mastered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and kept posted in current literature and politics. He was a Whig and Republican, and in the late Rebellion helped to recruit for the Union army. Of large stature, an iron constitution, and powerful will, and possessed of unexcelled controversial powers, he was a giant in the pulpit, whether leading sinners to repentance or discussing doctrinal points with clergy of other denominations. Of great mental power, extraordinary memory, and being a close student, he acquired extended theological, scientific, and general knowledge, which rendered his sermons, discussions, and conversations most interesting and instructive. His ability was ever recognized and appreciated by the church in which he spent so many years; but he was the last of his generation, all of his compeers and co- laborers in the church and ministry are gone. He outlived them all and many of his acquaintances of later years, as also his wives and children. He died at the West homestead, near Olive Branch, Oct. 7, 1879. He was a Christian to his death, and his habits of simplicity and regularity and total abstinence from all vices enabled him to reach the advanced age of fivescore years and one. Up to a few days of his departure his faculties were all unimpaired, and UNION TOWNSHIP - 455 he walked about his estates. We have seen him sitting in the old arm-chair, an heirloom of the Revolutionary era in the Gen. Strong family, singing his favorite hymn, beginning " God moves in a mysterious way ;" and as his long white beard floated in the breeze, he had the sacred appearance of the old Bible patriarchs. Connected with the Swing, Fishback, Huber, and other noted Clermont families, his house was the great centre for a large circle of the best people of Southern Ohio; and this venerable patriarch was reverenced by all who loved to listen to his many rich reminiscences of pioneer times, and the early and happy associations of Methodism on the frontier. He was a most kind and loving husband, a father in all its holy and broad signification, a true and loyal citizen, but above all, lie was for the first quarter of the present century an ambassador of heaven traveling in the new country in the service of his God, and great were the fruits of his labors,— great to religion and great to humanity. SAMUEL R. S. WEST. For the past third of a century no citizen of Clermont County was more widely and favorably known than the late Maj. Samuel Roberts Strong West, He was the only son of Rev. Samuel and Rebecca (Strong) West, and was born Jan. 9, 1820, in Chillicothe, Ohio, where his father was presiding elder of the Scioto District of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He received a finished classical education, was a favorite pupil under the celebrated Professor Joseph Ray, of Cincinnati, and was subsequently a student at Meadville (Pennsylvania) University, where he completed his academic studies, From his eleventh to his fourteenth year he was a student of Latin and Greek, in bolh of which ancient languages he became proficient at college. He married Dec. 12, 1838, in Kentucky, Miss Harriet Newell Huber, daughter of the noted Jacob Huber, of Williamsburgh, Ohio, one of the early settlers of that town and most famous abolitionist of Ohio. His wife was a sister of Mrs. Judge Owen T. Fishback, and a lady of culture and force of character. From this happy union were born seven children, of whom the first, Thomas Owens Edwards West, died Oct. 23, 1841, aged twenty- three months and nineteen days, and the second child, Matilda Hasselman West, died in her fourth year of age. The five surviving children are Col. Samuel Adams West, born Dec. 25, 1843 ; Rebecca Strong West, married to Dr. R. C. Belt, of Milford, Ohio ; Anna Maria West, married to Thomas A. Loyd, of Olive Branch, Ohio; John Kugler West, residing on the homestead ; and Harriet C. West, the youngest child, and unmarried. Of the above, Col, Samuel A. West is an attorney-at-law of Milford, and served in the Union army in the Rebellion, having enlisted in April,1861,—the day after Sumter fell,—in Company C, Twelfth Ohio Regiment Infantry, in which lre served seventeen months, being then promoted to the rank of first lieutenant in Company B. Seventy-ninth Ohio Regiment of Volunteers, and in January, 1863, received his appointment as captain ; in January, 1865, he was promoted to the rank of major ; and in June following to that of lieutenant- colonel, receiving his discharge the same month as the war was over. He was the representative of Clermont County in the Sixty-first and Sixty-second General Assemblies of Ohio, from Jan. 5, 1874, to January, 1878. He gained a reputation as a prompt and fearless legislator in civil life, and his war record is one most honorable to himself and the patriotic ancestry from which he is a descendant. He went into the army when only seventeen years old, and was raised to be a lieutenant and captain before he was twenty-one, A few years after his marriage Maj. West moved to his fine farm near Olive Branch, where lre resided until his death, and which is one of the finest country-seats of the county. He was largely instrumental in the removal of the Clermont County Agricultural Society's Fair to Olive Branch, on his grounds, where its exhibitions were held from 1857 to 1864. For several years its president, and then marshal, be took great interest in its annual exhibitions, and in the agricultural, horticultural, and mechanical development of Clermont. For over forty years lie was a member of the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows, and was a charter member of Batavia Lodge, No. 136, instituted Oct. 10, 1849, and was its first Noble Grand. lIe received the degrees in Milton Lodge, No. 99, at Ameha, and was a representative to the Grand Lodge of Ohio. He also belonged to Oleander Encampment, No. 44, of Batavia, and in this order was one of its most prominent members. In 1847 he raised a detachment of troops for the Third Ohio Regiment, for the Mexican war, and was elected first lieutenant ; but in the consolidation of the Brown and Clermont County companies he was left out in order to secure the quota of the former, and this was done against his bitter protest. He was subsequently a captain in the militia, and commanded and drilled the crack company of the county. When the dark cloud of the late Rebellion overcast our national horizon, he left a comfortable home and a loving family and marched to the music of the drum and fife to the deadly conflict. He helped organize the Thirty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry (First Zouave Regiment), recruited a company and went to the front as its captain, and for meritorious services was promoted to be major. On his farm this regiment was encamped while its ranks were being filled at Camp Piatt. He gave up a loving family for the doubtful shelter of an army tent, and for the society of soldiers who loved him for his friendship and respected him for his courage. He bravely stood the hardships on the tented field for years, and no Union soldier served his country more gallantly and faithfully than Maj. West. In the battle of Winchester, Va., July 20, 1864, he commanded the " Old Thirty-fourth Ohio," and while the Union forces, overpowered in numbers, suffered a defeat, he valiantly commanded the rear-guard in the retreat. On his death, at a large reunion of his old regiment, resolutions of respect were adopted, showing no soldier in that gallant organization was held in higher regard for his bravery and endearing qualities than Maj. West. He was a firm believer in the truths of the Christian religion, and never would rent any of his Cincinnati or Clermont property for saloons or places to sell intoxicating liquors, and never would sell grain or any of his farm products to a distillery. Au old-line Whig until the dis- 456 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. solution of that party, he naturally went with the Republican party upon its organization, and was a consistent and active worker in the same until his decease. He was one of its trusted and ablest counselors, and in political strategy was hardly equaled in the county. Never an aspirant for office, he worked for his party from principles. A man liberally educated, with a mind well stored with general information upon all matters of a national or political nature, his political influence was of great weight in Southern Ohio. With his acute intellect and sound judgment, he could render valuable all the knowledge he acquired, drawn from whatever source. Added to these qualities Samuel R. S. West had a heart overflowing with kindness to all. He was generous almost to a fault, and often disregarded his own happiness and his own interest to alleviate the suffering and supply the wants of others. He was a true friend, and however imminent the danger or perilous the underlaking, he would bravely meet it when a friend was in danger or needed his services. He was a positive man, and took no pains to conceal his conduct or his views upon any subject, and the world always knew where to find Maj. West. Guile and deceit were no part of his composition, and he practiced no fraud himself and frowned on it in others. He loved truth for its own sake, and hated falsehood when practiced by others. But in his own family he appeared to the best advantage : a faithful and filial son, a kind and affectionate husband, a loving and indulgent father. His aged father almost worshiped him, his wife loved him, and his children regarded him with affection and honor. A man of splendid physique, being six feet and two inches in height, determined mind, a pleasant and clear conversationalist, he was ever the centre of the society in which he moved, and his life left a deep impress on the community. He died March 21, 1878, at his homestead, and was buried in the Cumminsville Cemetery at Cincinnati, by the side of his sainted mother ; and there, too, has since been laid his beloved father, who passed the age of fivescore years. Maj. Samuel R. S. West was a man of mind and heart, and as long as the annals of Clermont remain, so long his memory will be green in the affections of a people who cherish and prize true manhood as exemplified in this good citizen and brave soldier. REBECCA WEST. One of the most remarkable women in personal beauty and intellectual attainments that ever resided in Clermont County was Rebecca West, a lady whose varied accomplishments were far in advance of the pioneer days in which she was a conspicuous actor. She was born in 1778, near Hartford, Conn., and was the daughter of Gen. David and Chloe (Richmond) Strong. She descended from a family illustrious in the annals of New England, and her ancestry dates back to a time prior to the conquest of England, in 1066, by William, Duke of Normandy, when the Strongs were land-owners in England. The first of the Strong family is found at Northampton, Mass,, in 1631, eleven years subsequent to the landing of the " Mayflower" with the Pilgrim Fathers. A few years later some of this family were with the first colony that settled in Connecticut, where Gen. David Strong was born. He fought all through the Revolutionary war, and was colonel of a regiment distinguished for its gallant services under its intrepid commander. He was colonel of the "Northwestern Legion," under Gen. Anthony Wayne, in his celebrated campaign against the Indians in 1794, and participated in the battle of " Fallen Timbers," on the Maumee River, August 20th of that year, which resulted in a disastrous defeat and slaughter of the savages, and paved the way for future peace and the opening up of the " Territory Northwest" to settlements and civilization. Colonel Strong was afterwards for some time commandant of Fort Washington, at Cincinnati ; also at Fort Wayne and Detroit. By an order dated at Washington City, Oct. 16, 1800, signed by President John Adams and the Secretary of War, Col. Strong was ordered to canton the troops between Fort Massai and the mouth of the Ohio River, and he established his camp near Cairo, Ill., and also had command of Fort Pickering. Shortly afterwards, in August, 1801, he died in the line of his duty at his headquarters at Wilkinsonville, loved by his command of the cantonment and honored by his government, which had made him a general. He died on the anniversary of the day when he bravely fought in that memorable battle which established peace with the Indian tribes, under the gallant Wayne, in the Maumee Valley, in August, 1794, when the enemy's flank, as Wayne's report says, " was turned by Iris active and effective courage." Rebecca Strong was married in 1794, in her sixteenth year, to Dr. Richard Allison, the first physician to practice in Cincinnati, where he located in 1789, Dr. Allison was born near Goshen, N. Y., in 1757, and became distinguished in his knowledge of medicine and surgery. He was a surgeon's mate in the Revolutionary war when a young man, and was afterwards surgeon-general in the Indian campaigns of Gens. Harmer, St. Clair, and Wayne, and in this important position acquitted himself with marked capability and won national distinction. At St. Clair's defeat he narrowly escaped death, and at Wayne's victory he was near his father-in-law, Col. Strong, in the thickest of the fight. He eventually resigned his commission in the army and commenced private practice in Cincinnati, and considering the comparatively small population of the city at that time, secured an extensive practice, increasing it steadily year by year. In the first part of the present century Dr. Allison purchased military warrants, and entered two surveys of land in Clermont County,—one of four hundred acres, Allison's survey, No. 1730, in Franklin township, and the other of four hundred and forty-one acres, Allison's survey in Stonelick. On the latter he built an elegant residence at an early day, and there lived for several years with his accomplished wife Rebecca (Strong). He also erected a large grist- and saw-mill, and on May 3, 1815, laid out at the confluence of Stonelick Creek with the East Fork of the Little Miami the town of " Allisonia." His death in Cincinnati, March 22, 1816, interrupted the growth of his new town, which soon fell into decay, but was subsequently an important seat known as East Liberty. He was the first physician to practice in Cincinnati, and UNION TOWNSHIP - 457 the first to die within its limits, and has been well described as " the father of his profession in the Queen City." In his six or seven years' residence in Clermont he practiced in this county, and was its first medical censor under an act of the Ohio Legislature. Dr, Allison was appointed July 24, 1788, surgeon of the troops for the defense of the Northwest frontier by the executive council of Pennsylvania, which led to his coming to Cincinnati, where, in January, 1794, we find he was surgeon of the legion at Fort Washington, commanded by Col. David Strong, who had his wife and children with him. Here, at the fort, he became acquainted with Miss Rebecca, the commandant's daughter, the most beautiful and accomplished young lady in the Territory, and just from the best circles of the celebrated Connecticut society, then the finest in America. The subject of our sketch had no children by Dr. Allison, whose widow she remained three years, until 1819, when in her thirty-seventh year of age, still the most attractive lady in Cincinnati, she was married to Rev. Samuel West, a distinguished itinerant Methodist preacher, whose eloquence was famed throughout the West. She accompanied her husband that year on the Hamilton and Rossville Circuit, in 1820 to the Scioto district (in 1821 was with him when superannuated), in 1822 to the Miami Circuit, and in 1823 to White Oak Circuit. In 1824, Mr. West located in Cincinnati and quit the itinerancy. Here she resided with her husband, and was a favorite in society, of which she was one of its brightest ornaments. Two children were born to the Rev. Samuel and Rebecca West, —Samuel Roberts Strong West, born Jan. 9, 1820, at Chillicothe (Scioto Circuit) ; and Rebecca Julia Evans West, born June 11, 1824. The latter was a noble woman, possessing in a large degree the many excellent virtues and traits of her Christian mother, Rebecca, whom she greatly resembled, and whose pious example she imitated. She was married March 27, 1842, to John Kugler, then, and for a quarter of a century afterwards, Clermont's most successful business man. She died June 28, 1871, in her forty-seventh year, mourned by the whole community. Rebecca West died June 1, 1828, in her fiftieth year of age, and her soul took its flight rejoicing in the hope of a blessed immortality. Her sickness was long and distressing, but with Christian fortitude, and with the heroic virtues of her family, she bore it all wilhout a murmur. The memory of her humble walk, her holy zeal and pious example, joined with conciliating manners and cultivated mind, remains unsullied and undimmed by the lapse of time. She possessed the strong common sense, the keen perception of character, and the kindly heart which were the common heritage of the cultured women of the last century. Her latter end was truly a beautiful example of how a Christian should die ; waiting patiently and cheerfully the word of the Master to come, not repining at the delay of the summons, nor murmuring at the severity of the afflictions that taught her she was human and mortal ; bowing her will in all things to that of her Saviour, and kissing the rod that smote her, for she knew it was held in a loving hand. She was one of the most cultivated of those splendid pioneer matrons who did so much in forming the character of the early Ohio civilization, and her monument is reared in patriotic and intelligent descendants, whose lives bear the unmistakable impress of her genius and character,—one of the grandest and noblest in the history of this county or the annals of the State. MOSES ELSTUN. Moses Elstun, born in Essex Co., N. J,, March 17, 1800, was the son of Eli and Marx (Payne) Elstun. His mother's father, John Payne, served in the Revolutionary war, was taken prisoner by the Tories and " Cow-Boys ;" made his escape from those miserable enemies of the patriots, vowing he would never be retaken, but was waylaid at night and shot, and he ran to his doorstep, where he fell dead with his boots filled with blood. The grandfather of Moses on his father's side also fought in the Revolutionary war, was captured by the British, and died in prison from starvation and cold,—a martyr to the glorious cause of 1776 and its immortal principles of liberty. Eli Elstun and his family left New Jersey in the fall of 1802 ; stopped at the famous " Red Stone" settlement, where they wintered, and where their son Ralph was born. In the spring of 1803 they arrived at Columbia, Ohio, where they remained until the spring of 1805. They then removed to Clermont County and settled in Miami township, on what is now the second farm beyond Mount Repose. To Eli and his wife Mary (Payne) Elstun was born at Columbia a son, Freeman, and in Miami township two girls,—Mary, married to John Eppert, and Hannah, married to John Vinzant. Eli Elstun was a cooper, and in addition to his trade followed farming. He made barrels for Christian Waldsmith, a very early miller and distiller, and father-in-law of Mathias, the father of 458 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. John Kugler. Eli Elstun died in 1814, and afterwards his widow married Bethuel Covalt, one of the earliest pioneers of Hamilton and Clermont Counties, and whose family settled at Covalt's Station, near Milford, in 1791. She died in 1820. Christian Waldsmith died in 1814 of the cold plague, which fatal epidemic then extensively prevailed, and of which Eli Elstun sickened and died. Moses Elstun remained on the farm until his father's death, when he began his apprenticeship at cabinet-making with Mahlon Smith, in Williamsburgh, which trade he learned most thoroughly. He worked at it as a journeyman for a year and a half, until 1821, when he opened a shop at Perin's Mills. This place was then, and for many years subsequent, the most important business seat in the county, and here Samuel Perin had his extensive mills, distillery, store, cooper , blacksmith-, and wagon-shops. In the winter of 1822-23, Moses Elstun made a trip on the river to New Orleans with furniture and country produce and provisions. He married, Dec. 11,1823, Lydia Potter, likewise a native of New Jersey, by whom be had nine children, four dying in infancy. The other five were reared to maturity and had families, to wit : Dr. Wesley Payne Elstun, a distinguished physician of Cincinnati (who married L. Turpin, a daughter of Eben S. Turpin), and who was accidentally killed a few years since near Columbia by being thrown from his buggy ; Louise, married to Dow Nixon, formerly treasurer of Hamilton County, and now of the Inter-Ocean paper of Chicago ; Therese, married to David G. Devore, of Brown County ; Theron B , married to Hester McClelland; and Wilson, married to Jane Edwards. Moses Elstun remained in the cabinet-making business at Perin's Mills until 1844, when he sold out to Philip Stewart. He was elected a justice of the peace of Miami township in 1828, and served fifteen years successively, being four times re-elected. In 1837-38 he was elected and served as county assessor. In 1840 he was appointed by the court as land-appraiser of the district composed of Miami, Goshen, Wayne, Stonelick, and Jackson townships. In 1844 he bought the farm where Daniel Turner now resides, immediately moved upon it, and two years later built the fine two-story brick dwelling thereon. In 1843 he was elected county treasurer over W. C. Pinkham, the Whig nominee, and in 1845 was re-elected wilh no opposition, the Whig party also putting his name on their tickets after his renomination by the Democrats. He made a faithful treasurer, and neither the county nor any private individual lost a farthing by his administration. He was a very popular and affable official, and attended with scrupulous honor to the duties of his office. About the year 1850 he sold his farm to Daniel Turner, removed to Mount Carmel, and engaged in merchandising, where he remained in business until 1864. He had bought the farm on which he now resides—called the Dr. Williams place—on Dec. 11,1853, just thirty years after his marriage. He is now serving his seventh term in Union township as justice of the peace, which, with his five terms in Miami, makes thirty-six years as magistrate,-a longer period than any other living man in the county has served, and only equaled by "'Squire Larkin," of Neville, who in former times was forty-two years a magistrate. In 1864 he removed to his present residence, some three miles below Perin's Mills, where his wife Lydia (Potter) died Dec. 2, 1867. He has been a member of the Presbyterian Church since 1840, and has served in it as an elder, In politics he is a Jeffersonian Democrat, and has voted for fifty-nine consecutive elections. While living at Mount Carmel he was several years township treasurer and also trustee. He acted for eight years as treasurer of the " Batavia Turnpike and Union Bridge Company," and under his administration only was there ever any dividend of any amount paid to its stockholders. He took one thousand dollars stock in the Cincinnati and Eastern Narrow-Gauge Rail way; was one of the principal men to get it located down the East Fork, It runs through his farm, and in front of his residence is" Elstun's Station." His fine farm of one hundred and eighty-five acres is mostly bottom-land, and he makes a specialty of fruits, in the production of which he is excelled by few. He is of English extraction on the paternal and of French on the maternal side. On May 3,1829, he officiated at the marriage of Charles Hill to Rebecca Hand, and on May 3,1879, as a justice of the peace, he remarried this worthy couple at their golden wedding, holding in his hands the original license written out in full by D. C. Bryan, clerk of the court, over half a century ago. This golden wedding took place at Belfast, in Stonelick township, and at its conclusion another novel feature occurred. "'Squire Elstun" there united in marriage Mr. William E. Motsinger to Miss Rebecca Hill, daughter of the old couple whom fifty years before he had married, and whom a few minutes previous he had married in " Golden Style." Squire Elstun has passed his fourscore years, and they have been years of sterling integrity, of continued industry, of deserved honor, and of great public usefulness. No stain blots his long and eventful life, spent in official and private business, while his innumerable deeds of charity and kindness have made him honored and respected by all who know or ever came in contact with him. In the private walks of life, as well as in the many official stations he has held, he has proven true to his illustrious Revolutionary lineage. JESSE L. TEAL, Among the first and most worthy pioneers of Clermonl were Jacob Teal and his wife, Elizabeth, of German descent, who, in the year 1796, emigrated from Queen Anne Co., Md., to Kentucky, where they resided until the spring of 1798, when they located in this county near the East Fork of the Little Miami River, This couple of early settlers had three daughters and four sons, viz , Sarah, married to Joseph Jean ; Elizabeth, married to William Y. Potter ; and Ann, first married to William Voorhis, and the second time to John Blair ; Philip (who died young), Samuel, Jesse, and Jacob Lingen. The latter was married on Dec. 16,1819, by Rev. Philip Gatch, to Elizabeth Lane, daughter of Shadrach Lane, by whom he had three children, Jesse Lane, Sarah Elizabeth Strange, and Burroughs Westlake; and was married the second time, on UNION TOWNSHIP - 439 Jan 28, 1830, by Rev. Burroughs Westlake, to Lydia Dimmitt, daughter of Ezekiel Dimmitt, by whom he had twelve children. Jacob Lingen Teal died Feb. 16, 1869, and was universally known and esteemed in the county. He served many years as magistrate, and was over twenty years superintendent of the Providence Sunday-school in the Teal neighborhood, so noted in days of yore for its " oamp-meeting" association and memories. Jesse Lane Teal, a grandson of Jacob Teal and Shadrach Lane, was born Jan. 26, 1821, and part of his boyhood days were spent in Batavia. On Oct. 23, 1843, he was married, by Rev. George W. Walker, to Mary Gallagher, of Cincinnati, by whom he has had five children, viz.: Olive V., married to B. P. Hill ; Sarah Elizabeth ; Henry Clay ; Emma Lane, married to Lewis Beagle ; and Pliny A. He received a good common-school education, and under John Hill, the old surveyor and famous pedagogue of half a century ago, was instructed in the rudiments of higher mathematics. He taught school six or seven seasons, and received his certificates for teaching first from the board composed of Thomas L. Shields, William Howard, and John Hill, and afterwards from George L. Swing. For the past twenty-two years he has resided on his fine fruit-farm of one hundred and forty-six acres in Union township. For sixteen years he was secretary of the Sunday-school of Providence church, which edifice he helped to erect and to the building of which he liberally contributed. He has been for several years a member of Batavia Lodge, No. 109, of Free and Accepted Masons. For eight years he was one of the managers of the Clermont County Agricultural Society, and in that period was most of the time superintendent of its Floral Hall. No one in Clermont has excelled him in the number of premiums for fruit taken in that society. For a quarter of a century belonging to the State Horticultural Society, he has annually contributed largely to its exhibitions, and at the Cincinnati Exposition took the largest premium on fine fruits ever given in Ohio. He is a frequent attendant at the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, and at the Ohio State Fair has been one of its leadrng exhibitors, receiving there many and valuable premiums on his celebrated fruits. He has a choice library of standard agricultural and horticultural works, and us a practical producer of noted and popular fruits is hardly surpassed in Southern Ohio. His taste and judgment in flowers and fruits are only equaled by his hospitality, which he dispenses in a style worthy of a true descendant, of the old Lane and Teal pioneers of over fourscore years ago. ALFRED E. DAVIS. One of the pioneers of Hamilton Co., Ohio, was Eli Davis, born Dec. 1, 1772, in Salem, Salem Co , State of New Jersey, of Welsh origin. When about twenty-one years of age he, in company with another young man, emigrated West, by walking to Pittsburgh and there descending the Ohio River in the old-fashioned family boat, and located at Lexington, Ky. Here he spent several years teaching school, for which he was amply qualified by a good education received in his native State. From Lexington he went to Newtown, Hamilton Co., Ohio, where he passed several years in the same vocation, and acquired marked celebrity as an excellent teacher, most thorough in his discipline and learned in all the English branches. He served several years as a justice of the peace of Anderson township, and was very popular as an efficient magistrate. Here he became acquainted with and married Ruth Long, of Butler Co., Ohio, in the year 1808. After his marriage they resided in Newtown four years, and there were born unto them two children. In 1812 he purchased of Gen. William Lytle sixty-two and one-half acres of land, now a part of the real estate of the late Alfred E. Davis, deceased, and which had not had a stick of timber out off of it. On it he built a log cabin in the woods, into which with his wife and two children he moved. Here he resided until his death on Oct. 23, 1832, leaving a widow and seven minor children. When he came into Union township in 1812 it was almost an unbroken forest, but to-day, thanks to the noble old pioneers, it is a territory of the best cultivated farms, dotted all over with commodious and comfortable residences, and several thriving villages. Alfred Eli Davis, the second child and son of Eli and Ruth (Long) Davis, was born in Newtown, Hamilton Co., Ohio, on the 10th of December, 1810; and at the time of his father's death, his elder brother having left to acquire a trade, he was the oldest child at home. He now became in his twenty second year the manager of the farm, which his father had increased to one hundred and twelve and one-half acres, but on which he bad left an incumbrance. By his industry and ingenuity he enabled his mother to raise her minor children, paid off the old debt on the farm, and built a new house. About this time he bought the interest of the heirs who had arrived at their majority, and continued to buy out the younger heirs as they became of age until he owned the whole farm. He married, Dec. 27, 1856, Mrs. Landona Jones, by whom lre had five children, three of whom are living, to wit, Jefferson, Eli, and Addie Davis. He died in March, 1879, in his sixty-ninth year, and left a very large estate, consisting of some three hundred acres in Carrington's survey, No. 2434, and the coutiguous surveys, lying about a mile north of Mount Carmel, besides a large amount of personal property. He was a model farmer and business man, and ever took the greatest pride in having the finest live stock of every kind. A habit of close observation of everything in connection with his farm, both regarding stock and crops, was what made him so successful in the management of one of the best conducted farms in the county. A keen business man, of quiok perception, good judgment, and strong executive abilities, he was a power in the community, and met with gratifying success in his life and career. MIAMI. This township forms the northwestern part of the county, the Little Miami River, whose course here is very tortuous, constituting its western boundary and separating it from Hamilton County. On the north the township borders on Warren County, its width in this part being only a little more than a mile. The ̊batmen Creek closely washes the boundary-line. On the east is the township of Goshen, the boundary-line being, in the main, the old State road, running to northern points. Southeast is the township of Stonelick, which, as well as Goshen, originally belonged to Miami. Lying south, and separated from it by the East Fork of the Little Miami, is the township of Union. These bounds give Miami an irregular shape, the general length being about double the widlh. The surface presents a varied appearance. Along the streams are usually bottom-lands of unsurpassed beauty and fertility. Lying beyond these are hills of moderate height, whose surface is generally level and in the form of a plateau. Along the minor streams the land is much broken, and in sonrc localities too irregular for profitable cultivation. Nearly every part was originally heavily timbered, many fine forests abounding, and there are yet many beautifully-wooded hill-slopes, or forest-lots, where the primitive growth remains undisturbed, forming a rich and striking contrast with the highly-cultivated fields of the township, and giving it a scenic beauty not surpassed in this part of the State. Aside from the streams mentioned, the principal water-course is Harner's Run, flowing westward north of the centre of the township, and mingling its waters with those of the Little Miami,—a very beautiful and useful stream. Many small watercourses abound, which are fed by springs of pure water, and which greatly promote the drainage of the soil, leaving it in good condition for the husbandman. Although variable the soil is fertile and adapted for almost every variety of fruit and farm products. The country is highly improved, and along the principal highways are a succession of flue farms, with costly buildings, many of them being of the modern style of architecture. In this respect Miami takes the lead among the townships of Clermont. PIONEER SETTLERS. As is elsewhere related in this book,* the first settlement in the county was made within the bounds of Miami by Col: Thomas Paxton and his family. In May, 1792, they left their home in Bedford, Pa , and came to Kentucky, settling opposite the mouth of the Little Miami. In the campaign against the Indians Col. Paxton commanded the advance-guard of Wayne's expedition. Returning from the seat of war, bearing the garlands of victory, Col. Paxton * See sketch of Thomas Paxton. passed down the east side of the Little Miami, when he was so much impressed with the beauty of the country around Loveland that he resolved to make it his future home. In the fall of the same year (1794) he arranged for the purchase of several large tracts of land, aggregating about 1200 acres, to which he and his family, except his son Robert, came to live in the course of the next two years, and laid the foundations of what soon became a flourishing settlement. Robert Paxton remained in Kentucky, but his sons- in-law, Owen Todd, James Smith, Robert Orr, Silas Hutchinson, and John Ramsey, and an Irishman, Redmond McDonough, all located on the above purchase. But after living here a few years Owen Todd and James Smith moved to Warren County, on the stream which became known as Toddls Fork. Robert Orr made his final settlement on the place now owned by his son, A. J. Orr. He served as an ensign in Capt. Wm. McMain's company in 1812, and died at the age of sixty-two years. Besides his son A. J., there were sons,-William, who died in Williamsburgh ; Charles, living near Loveland ; and Perry, in Missouri. The daughters became the wives of Emley Barber, Robert Hill, and Israel Jones. Silas Hutchinson lived in the same neighborhood until his death, many years ago. He reared sons named Joseph, who lived in the locality now called Guinea, where he died ; Robert was a trader on the river ; Silas R. is yet a well- known citizen near Branch Hill ; Thomas resides in Warren County, He had five daughters, one of whom married Elias Smith, of Goshen. Capt. John Ramsey met with an accident while engaged in the discharge of his military duties in 1794, which necessitated the amputation of his leg. Nevertheless, he lived to be eighty-four years of age, and was remarkably skillful as a hunter. His eldest son was Robert, woo moved to Missouri many years ago. George, the second son, married a daughter of Gov. Morrow, and lived in Northern Miami until his death, a few years ago. He was better known as Capt. Ramsey. The third son, John, also died near Loveland, not many years ago, the family still residing there. William Ramsey, another son, was born in Miami, Dec. 31, 1799, and in 1826 married Nancy Cox, of Goshen. He is better known as Col. Ramsey, and yet resides near Loveland, which he laid out in 1850. The youngest son of Capt. John Ramsey, Jesse, lived and died near Loveland, and the daughters married Henry. Emery and Samuel Eveland. In addition to the foregoing sons-in-law of Col. Paxton, his daughters, Rebecca and Polly, married Samuel Jack and David Snider. The former lived on Todd's Fork, the latter in Hamilton County. Of the two sons of Col. Paxton living in Clermont Samuel, the elder, was born in - 460 - MIAMI TOWNSHIP - 461 Kentucky, Aug. 7, 1793. He married Eliza Weller, a native of New York, about 1821, and yet lives on the firm he improved many years ago, and where his father erected the pioneer cabin, about two miles south from Loveland. For many years he was a river-trader, and accumulated considerable means in that business. His sons, Thomas, Andrew, and Wilson S., lived near Loveland ; John and Charles in Tennessee ; Clinton is deceased ; and the daughters, Martha and Harriet, remained single, while others married Harris Smeathers, John H. Branch, and Jarvis Rogers. Uncle Sammy, as he is familiarly called, has an interesting recollection of the first school he attended in Miami : " The schoolhouse was a log structure, the whole of one end being taken up by an immense fireplace, which consumed large quantities of wood ; and a large part of the time that should have been devoted to the acquirement of knowledge was spent by the scholars in providing fuel, yet there were so many cracks and crannies that the inmates barely escaped freezing. The windows of this pioneer educational institute were ornamented with greased paper in lieu of glass. Books were so costly and scarce that paddles' of wood were used for text-books from which to learn the lessons. Paper was pasted on the paddles, and on the paper the lessons were marked." Thomas Paxton, the younger son of Col, Paxton, was born in Miami not long after the settlement of the family. He married Rebecca A. Banghart, of Miami, and lived on the farm now occupied by his youngest son, Robert, dying there Sept. 10, 1871. The eldest son, Samuel, and the next, Nathaniel B., live in Warren County, James in Hamilton County, and Thomas B. is a distinguished attorney in Cincinnati. Of the daughters, Martha is the wife of Adam Leever, Sarah of Daniel Clark, and Mary of Dr. Creighton, of Cincinnati. Wm. Fitzwater was a pioneer southwest of the Paxton settlement. His son William died when a young man ; Thomas, another son, lived at " Cedar Banks," on the present James H. Johnston place ; Samuel. his brother, lived on an adjoining farm ; George east of Branch Hill, where his widow yet resides ; and John on the homestead a little northeast of Miamiville. The daughters of Wm. Fitzwater married John Brown, Lewis Stump, and Wm. N. Robinson, all members of pioneer families. Thomas Fitzwater has given the following interesting account of the immigration of their family from Pennsylvania and the pioneer events following their settlement, as well as an account of the Riggs family in Hamilton County, a member of which was killed by the Indians at Milford years before the township was settled : "C. Waldsmith, our own family, and four other -families started to this State on or near the let of May, 1796. I have but little recollection of the journey to Juniata, but I recollect that plane. The next place I recollect seeing was Bedford Springs, then nothing more until we came to Redstone. Here we were detained near three weeks waiting for our flat-boats. At Pittsburgh we met Gen. Wayne's regular army. I have a distinct recollection of seeing the soldiers firing the cannon; then the drum would beat and the fife would play a short time. The army was then going to Erie. Gen. Wayne died the next October. A day or two after leaving Pittsburgh Chris. Waldsmith was walking on a sand-bar, when he picked up a fife which looked very ancient. The brass on the ends was black and somewhat corroded, sad it was fult of sand. It was supposed it had been in the river since Braddock's defeat,—nearly forty-one years. I saw the fife hundreds of times in afler-years. They lent it to an old Revolutionary fifer, and never recovered it again. "The Ohio River was low, and the three flat-boats had great difficulty in getting along. They only traveled in the day-time, always tying up to the shore at night. At the mouth of Bracken River two families left and went into Kentucky. After being on the river seven weeks we landed at Columbia. The :Miami was pouring out muddy water and driftwood. This was the first sight I got of that river. "Not for above the mouth of the Miami the boat which contained Waldsmith's family ran aground. The four men and a boy tried to get it afloat that afternoon and into the night, but did not succeed. The next morning another boat came along, when they hailed the inmates for assistance; this boat landed close to ours, and I recollect seeing three or tour go to the boat which was aground; in two or three hours the boat was afloat. About twenty years ago old Father Durham told me the same story, and further said that Waldsmith was so pleased to get his boat afloat that he told them he would give them ten gallons of whisky for their services. They brought a keg which held three gallons, and he filled that. "It was about the middle of July when we landed at Columbia. 1n Veen or eighteen days, after the Miami got low, we arrived at our journey's end. Waldsmith went vigorously to work building a mill, Some time in the summer of 1797 I saw the frame of his gristmill put up. That seme fall he started one run of stones and also two copper stills for making whisky. This year (1797) Matthias Kugler came to the Territory. I have heard him laughingly tell about his losing his hat on the river, and shoes he had none on when he started. He was landed at Columbia in a skiff; when he arrived in reach of shore he jumped as far as he could, but lighted in the soft black mud, where it was so deep he got mired. After some floundering about he got to solid ground. He then had ten miles to travel, without shoes or hat, and his legs well plastered with mud. He arrived at his step-fatherls the same night. Soon after he commenced working for Waldsmith, and in September, 1798, he married his daughter. "I have often heard my father say he left Pennsylvania wilh only $60 in money ; when we got to our journey's end he had but two French crowns left, about $2.22. So we were tolerably poor until the fall of 1800. That summer father went to Pennsylvania and got $640 from his father's eslate; be also brought $300 for Waldsmith. This mousy placed us in better circumstances, as before that time our circumstances bad been very limited; in fact, we were quite poor, but we managed to live over it somehow. For three years we had a great deal of sickness each fall, and the sight of medicine or a doctor in those days would have been a strange sight indeed. Since the fall of 1800 there has not been one-fourth the sickness in one year that there was in that. " In the winter of 1813-14 I went to Detroit. We left Dayton on the 9th of December. At this place no 'cold plague' had been known at that time. We got to Detroit Jan. 4, 1814. Here we learned that the cold plague had been raging at a fearful rate a few weeks before, but had somewhat subsided when we arrived. We started back January 9th, about noon. That afternoon it snowed the fastest I over saw it for two hours, when the snow was eight inches deep. Getting twenty or twenty-five miles south of Fort Meigs the snow gradually began to get shallower. At Urbana it was not more than two inches deep. We got to Dayton in February, when I found that the cold plague had made its appearance, attended wilh fatal results, Every person died that was attacked. I got somewhat alarmed, and started for home, where I arrived February 12th. No such disease was heard of here until the middle of March; then it set in, but not so falal as at Dayton or Detroit. This was probably owing to the mildness of the weather. I helped nurse two cases at Dayton, both of which proved fatal, and also one here, who recovered. I found the disease inflammatory in the highest degree. Many persons died as soon as mortification set in, which it often did in five or six hours. Waldsmith and his son died in March of this disease. I recollect but three other deaths from this disease about here. A number of persons were attacked who recovered. "The Riggses came from the State of Delaware, starting with $3000 in gold, a negro man worth $800, a wagon, and 4 good horses. They came to the Redstone country, and stayed there some time. He had a son and daughter living there. It is probable they stayed over winter, as early in the spring of 1790 they stopped at Limestone. 462 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. Hero his negro man gave them the slip, and they never again saw him. Old William Riggs sold the chance of him for $100. "Landing at Columbia, they put the wagon together out on shore, and tied the horses to the tongue, two boys sleeping in the wagon. Next morning every horse was gone; and they never saw them again. They could not ascertain whether Indians or white people took them. The next I know of them they were at Covalt's Station, in 1791, raising a crop of corn. The fall after, Timothy Covalt and Maj. Riggs took a basket, intending to bring in a basket of papaws, crossed the Miami somehow, arrived at the foot of the gravelly hill east of John Kugler's distillery, and were there fired on by three 1ndiana from the brow of the hill, fifteen or eighteen yards distant. The 1ndians raised the yell. Covalt, being a few yards in the rear, seeing Riggs fall, wheeled and ran. The Indians followed him to lhe waler's edge. Ho ran through lhe Miami, and when over met men from the station coming to their assistance. The 1ndians got Riggs' scalp, but they were too much hurried to take any part of his clothing. Shortly after the news of St. Clair's defeat reached the station. His mother was so near fretted out of her senses that they packed up and went somewhere into Kentucky. How long they stayed there I donlt know, probably over the next winter. When they came back, finding the slations much stronger and things better for defense, they ventured to one of the frontier stations,—I think to Jarrettls Station. This statron was near where Turpinls house now stands." He also gives an account of the killing of Covalt by the Indians while he and others 'were hunting along the Little Miami in Hamilton County : "Towards noon of the first day on which Buckingham, Fletcher, and Covalt started on their hunt, Covalt began to get very uneasy and to urge the others to return home, saying there might be Indians about. The other two told him there was no danger, but this did not satisfy him. The nearer night approached the more importunate he became, and the more he urged them to return. This uneasiness in Covalt's mind Buckingham always viewed as a bad omen. His entreaties finally prevailed over the others, and they consented to return. So they left the licks' in order to reach the station while it was yet daylight. "Arriving opposite where Buckingham's mill now stands, while Covalt and Fletcher were walking close together and Buckingham about three rods behind, suddenly three guns were fired about twenty yards distant. Buckingham looked forward, saw Covalt and Fletcher start to run down the Miami, and also saw three Indians jump over a log, yelling and screaming like demons. As Buckingham wheeled to run up the river, he tried to throw off his blanket, but it hung over his shoulders like a powder-horn, as the strap passed over his head. When he did get it loose it took his hat with it. He ran up but a few poles, then took up the hill, the river and hill being close together. As he went up the hill he looked back several times, but saw no one in pursuit. When he arrived on the top he got his gun ready for emergency, then stopped, looked back, and listened. While thus standing he heard the Indians raise the yell down in the boltom, thirty or forty rods distant; then he knew they had caught one or both of the others. When he found the Indians were that distance from him, he knew he could make tracks as fast as they could follow him. So he steered over the hills, and came to the Miami at what is now Quail's railroad-bridge. Getting to the station he found Fletcher had got there a few minutes before him. By this time it was night. " Fletcher's story of the affair was that he and Covalt ran together some distance, when Fletcher's feet became enlangled in a grapevine, and down he fell, where he laid perfectly still until the 1ndians passed him. One passed close to him, no doubt thinking he had fallen to rise no more. And they all kept on in hot pursuit of Covalt. As soon as they got out of sight Fletcher made his escape down the river. Next morning a parly of men left the station to look for Covalt. Arrived at the place they found his body, his scalp, gun, tomahawk, powder-horn, blanket, knife, hat, end part of his clothes gone, and an old broken rifle left near his body. The 1ndian traces showed that they had crossed and recrossed at 1ndian Ripple. They were not traced any farther. "Enoch Buckingham continued with his family at Columbia from the spring of 1790 to 1795. Some time this spring they moved inlo a log cabin on the banks of the Miami, on the lower Buckingham farm." Samuel Robinson, a native of Ireland, came to Miami by way of Pittsburgh in 1797, and settled where is Miamiville, purchasing the entire survey. Here he endured the hardships incident to pioneer life, and died in 1823. His family consisted of James W., who improved the present Horatio Buckingham farm. About 1835 he removed to Texas, where he figured in the pioneer history of that country, at one time being Territorial Governor. From Texas he went to California, where he died in 1857. William N., the second son, married Nancy Fitzwater, and settled on the great bend of the river, where he died in November, 1871, leaving children named Alfred N., Samuel, George F., William F., and Elizabeth B. The youngest son of Samuel Robinson, Moses F., occupied the homestead a number of years, but died at Miamiville in 1879. His children were Dr, John M., of Scipio, Ind., who was a medical director in the late war ; Charles, living at Miamiville ; and a daughter, who married Nathan Austin. Of the daughters of Samuel Robinson, Maria became the wife of Simeon Elliott, of Hamilton County ; and Belinda, of E. A. Buckingham. The latter was a son of the Enoch Buckingham alluded to above, and became a resident of Miami about 1830 ; and his descendants yet remain in this part of the township. The elder Buckinghams, Levi and Enoch, settled in Hamilton County, south from Miamiville, about 1794. Horatio Buckingham, another son of Enoch, also became a resident of Mialai about the period mentioned. Farther down the Little Miami the Rev. Francis McCormick made the first settlement. He was a Revolutionary soldier and served under Lafayette at Yorktown, About 1789 he married Rebecca Easton, and seven years later settled on the present A. H, Matson place, above Milford, owning the entire survey of 1000 acres. He sold off his land to settlers as they came in, selling the last tract to Andrew Mee rew in 1806. He then moved to near Mount Washington, in Hamilton County, where he died. At his cabin, in 1797, was formed the first Methodist class in the State of Ohio ; and for many years, although not a regular itinerant, he was very active in preaching and forming Methodist churches, contracting in this service a disease which shortened his life. He had ten children, viz.: Francis Asbury, Charles, George W., Thomas J., and Johnson (one of them an adopted son), none of whom remained in the county. His daughters were married: Mary to Thomas Mears, a pioneer in the Salem settlement, and grandfather of Frank M. Mears, of Miami ; Henrietta to Philip Hill, who came to Miami about the same time as McCormick ; Lucinda E. (born Jan. 10, 1801) to Gen. Thomas Gatch, with whom Charles McCormick lived a number of years ; Nancy to Mr. Gregg ; and Patsy died single. Not long after the settlement of McCormick, the Rev. Philip Gatch came to improve a tract of land which adjoined his on the south. Philip Catch was born near Baltimore, Md., March 2, 1751, of parents belonging to the Episcopal Church. In 1772 he was converted under the preaching of the Methodists, and the following year he himself began to preach. In 1774, Philip Gateh and William Walters took an appointment, and were the first native Methodist preachers in America to serve a circuit. MIAMI TOWNSHIP - 463 He was very zealous, and as Methodism was not favorably received. was often subject to violent abuse. On one occasion they applied tar to his body, and the last stroke was applied to his eyeball so as to nearly destroy his sight. Subsequently he narrowly escaped death at the hands of his persecutors, and although he had to pass through all manner of tribulation, he lost not an appointment. In June. 1778, he was married to Elizabeth Smith, who was a most excellent wife and a very judicious adviser. The same year he retired from the itinerancy, on account of his injured eyesight, but continued to preach, at the same time carrying on a plantatiom Ten years later he moved to Buckingham Co., Va., where, in 1780, be liberated the slaves which his wife brought with her at her marriage. The evils of slavery becoming more deeply impressed on loin he determined to remove to the Northwestern Territory. Accordingly. on the 1Ith of October, 1798, he and his brother-in-law, Rev. James Smith. his friend, Ambrose Ranson. and others (white and colored ) to the number of thirty-six persons, started for the Miami country, having Newtown as an objective point. Gatch and Ranson came to the McCormick purchase and temporarily lived near him. In February, 1799, Philip Gatch moved into his own cabin, which stood on the southern edge of the present township cemetery, east of Milford, which he occupied for a time, but afterwards lived in a large house on the county road, on the place now occupied by George W Gatch. near the place of' his original settlement. He continued to preach when occasion offered, and in 1805 assisted Bishops Whatcoat and Asbury in establishing the work of the church in the Western country. While in Southern Ohio they made his house their home. It was also the home of the weary Itinerant, aud on occasions of quarterly. meetings at Milford from 50 to 100 persons were entertained at the humble homes of Gatch, McCormick, and Ranson. Many of these persons came from the country twenty miles around, some walking all that distance. On account of his position on slavery, Philip Gatch was selected as a member of the first Constitutional Convention and was for twenty-two years an associate judge of Clermont. His family consisted of four sons and four daughters, at, ot whom reared families of their own Of the daughters, Presocia married James Garland, who settled three miles east, from Milford, and dying, his widow married for her second husband David Osborn,. who removed to Green County The second daughter, Martha, married John (lest, who lived five miles northeast from .Milford. The third. Elizabeth. became the wife of Aaron Matson, who came to Milford from Pennsylvania in 1806, and resided there until 1834, when he moved to Cincinnati. For near!) the entire period he was the postmaster at Milford, near which he died. in 1857, at the Sage of eighty-two years His son Aaron H., yet lives north of Milford, and Philip at Oxford. The daughters married James and Benjamin Simmons, of Monroe, and Adam Lakin, of Rushfield hid The other daughter of Philip Gatch. Ruth, married Michael Swing. Dec. 6, 1806, who died in 1835, and his wife fifteen years later. He was the father of George S Swing, of Miami, and Judge Philip B. Swing, of Batavia Another son, Aaron M., died in 1840 Of the daughters, Sarah A. became the wife of John Crane; Mary, of George Leming, Rut 1, ofsi Hill C. Goodwin ; and Martha, of President Mathews, of Hillsboro' College; Elizabeth and Margaret L. died single. The sons of Philip Gatch were Conduce, Thomas, Philip, and George. The first lived on the Edenton pike, three miles from Milford, and reared a family as follows: Daughters, who married William M. Harvey, Rev. Jacob Dimmitt, and Elisha B. Simmons ; sons, Philip, who died on the East Fork in 1840 ; Andrew M., yet living near the homestead; the Rev. Joseph M., who died at Milford; John G, who died at Newberry ; Thomas, on the homestead ; and William, on the East Fork. The second son, Gen. Thomas. lived about a mile from Milford. His daughter, Ruth S., died single, and others became the wives of Dr. Courtland M. Williams, Frank M. Mears, of Milford, and Dr J. E. Combs, of Boston. Of his sons, Nathaniel died in Cincinnati ; Dr. Philip B. is a physician at Milford ; William died a youth ; Francis M. lives on the homestead ; and Thomas is president of an Oregon institution of learning. Philip, the third son, made his final settlement three miles east from Milford. He was the father of Hon. Moses D. and William Gatch, of Xenia ; Hon. Conduce II., of Iowa ; Philip S , George S., Charles H., and John D., of Miami ; and Mrs. John Holmes, of Goshen. George, the youngest son of Philip Gatch, was a minister, and after being an itinerant many years, died on the home-place. His son John died a young man ; Asbury P. lives at Springfield, where also resides Samuel ; George W. is yet a resident of the township. Several of the daughters married into the Buckingham families. Ambrose Ranson was a bricklayer and plasterer, and worked some at his trade, but finally bought himself a farm near East Milford. He sold this farm and bought one near Newberry of Isaac Edwards ; while residing on this farm he was elected one ofsi the associate judges that formed the first Court of Common Pleas for the county. He was born in 1765 and died on the 12th of July, 1843, on his farm, two miles east of Batavia. Mr. Ranson was a tall, slender man, six feet one inch high, and straight as an arrow. He had a fair education, was well read, and regarded as possessing a sound judgment. He had been a zealous member of the Methodist Church for over fifty years, and died in the faith in which he lived. No man could live more harmlessly in his neighborhood, for he gave cause of complaint to none. He died regretted by all who knew him, being one of the very few against whom the veriest fault-finder threw no stone. Southwest from Philip Gatch lived Judge John Pollock, a most noted personage in the early history of Ohio, and enjoying State renown as a legislator and politician. While suffering a temporary aberration of mind, he rashly ended his life. A further account of his services appears elsewhere. Benjamin Cross and Thomas Hare, brothers-in-law of Pollock, came about the same time. James Pollock, a cousin of Judge John Pollock, settled at Symmes, opposite Branch Hill, in 1795, and there laid out a town which the war of 1812 cut short. He was the father of the venerable Ezekiel Pollock, who died in Miami a few years ago. 464 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. George Conrad, a native of Pennsylvania, purchased a part of the McCormick tract at Milford in 1796, building a small cabin and deadening four acres of land the same season. In the spring of 1797 he brought on his family, consisting of two sons and two daughters, to live ; two more children were born in Miami. George Conrad was born in 1765, and died in 1825. He was one of the first county commissioners. His children were sons named Isaac, Abram, and Jacob. The latter died at Milford in 1849, and was the father of Moses D., John, and William Conrad, and of Mrs. John M. Gest, well known in Miami. The daughters married Samuel Shumard and George Ward, of Stonelick, and John Bill, of Indiana. James and Peregrine Garland, natives of Delaware, moved to Kentucky in 1790, and in 1797 to Miami. The former was the son-in-law of Philip Gatch, and after living a time near him, settled in 1807 on Pleasant Hill. One of his sons, Philip, died in 1879, and Rev. Benjamin F. yet lives on part of the homestead. Other sons; James S. and Dr. Thomas S., live in Clinton County. Peregrine Garland lived on the Charles H. Gatch place until about 1832, when he moved to Indiana. His eldest son, James, born in Miami in 1801, died about four years ago at Pleasant Hill. The Long brothers, Frederick, John, and Jacob, settled on Harrier's Run soon after 1800. The first was a local Methodist preacher of much ability, although somewhat eccentric. One of his sons, Moses. yet resides in that locality. Not long after the Longs had settled Felix Motsinger, their half-brother, and his mother also came from North Carolina, carrying their effects hither on horses which they rode. Motsinger served in the war of 1812, and on his return married a daughter of Garret Kramer, a pioneer from Pennsylvania, who also lived in this locality, and settled at what is called Guinea, where he died in 1858. He had sons named Felix, Robert, and William, the former yet living in the township ; and daughters who married John Stump, A. P. Brown, Henry Leever, and Obadiah Ireton. On the farm now owned by Jeremiah Price, whose father, Jeremiah Price, was also a pioneer, John Stump was an early settler, coming some time before 1800. He was the father of the above John Stump, Lewis, of Goshen, and other sons named Edward, Philip, and William, who removed to the West. Joseph Brown, a Virginian, in 1799, settled on the farm which is now occupied by H. P. Brown, opposite Camp Dennison, where he died in 1862, at the age of ninety-one years. He served in 1812. Of his family, George settled in Stonelick, William in Jackson, John removed to Pickawayt Thomas died in Mercer County, Aquilla P. lives near Loveland, Joseph has deceased, and Henry P., the youngest, is a physician on the homestead. The daughters married David Smysor, Hiram South, Joshua Wright, and Philip Smysor. In 1798, Philip Smysor settled on the farm which is now occupied by his grandson, George W., where he died many years ago. He had sons named David, John, Abraham, removed to Indiana, George died in Goshen ; and by his second wife sons, Philip, Henry, Jacob, and Welley, the three last named physicians ; and daughters who married Thomas Long, Abner Combs, and Sarah, who is a medical practitioner in Hamilton County. In the same locality William Salter, Elisha Hopkins, and Thomas McFarland were pioneers about 1800, the families all having removed. Salter died about 1825. Eli Elstun, of Essex Co., N. J., who had served in the Revolution, located on Harrier's Run in 1805. He was a cooper by trade, and made barrels for Christ. Waldsmith. His family consisted of seven sons and four daughters,— Isaac, a farmer and cooper at Newberry, served in the war of 1812, and was a pensioner, dying at the age of eighty- six ; John, who lived in Stonelick ; William, also in the war of 1812, died in Miami a few years ago ; Eli, who moved to Rushville, Ind.; Moses, living in Union town, ship, where a sketch of his life appears; Ralph, living in • Illinois ; Freeman, a cooper at New Richmond ; and the daughters married Ebenezer Osborne, John Mann, John Eppert, and John Van Zandt. Andrew McGrew came from Baltimore, Md., in September, 1806, and purchased the remaining interest the McCormick tract at Milford, moving into the double log house, the chimneys of which yet stand on the hill near Mr. Matson's. He had served in the Revolution, and died in 1823, Of his nine children, Charles removed to Indiana; Jonathan died near Milford ; William (the father of J. Milton McGrew, sixth auditor) also removed to Cincinnati ; Paul died near Newberry ; Joseph was a merchant at Milford, and died there ; Andrew is yet living at Milford, at the age of eighty ; Isaac, the youngest son, died in 1823. The daughters married Conduce Gatch and Jacob Gest. At the same time Paul Rust and his mother came from Maryland. He married Mary Gest and moved to Indiana. David Hand, a house-carpenter, came to Milford the same time. About 1810, Lewis Gatch came from Maryland. and 'purchased a tract of land which had been somewhat improved by Alexander Beard, a Virginian, who had settled here some years before. He married Maria Newton, daughter of Ebenezer Newton, who had come to Miami from New Jersey a short time before, with grown-up daughters, several of whom married into the McGrew family. After budding a stone house on the hill, Gatch sent for his father, Nicholas, who was a brother of the Rev. Philip Gatch. He died at the residence of his son Lewis. The latter had a family,— John N., yet living near Milford ; Benjamin, a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church South ; Oliver, living in Indiana ; Nicholas, Lewis, Henry, and Dr. Charles D., deceased in the township. One of the daughters of Lewis Gatch, Emehne, married Elias Speidel, of Miami township. In 1808, Daniel McClelland came from Greenville, Tenn., to his brother-in-law, Robert Townsley, in Batavia, where he engaged with him in building a mill, which was better known as Jenkins' mill. In 1815 he moved to Milford, where he lived until 1835, when he went to Indiana. He had sons named Thomas, John, Daniel, Joseph, Edward, and James. Mary, the eldest daughter, married Cornelius Stewart, and moved to Illinois ; Martha, Cyrus Pierson, of Cincinnati ; Anne married Andrew McGrew, of Milford. fifty-eight years ago, and both yet reside in the village. MIAMI TOWNSHIP - 465 They reared three children,—George W., of Cincinnati ; Dr John K., who died in Texas; and Mrs. Joseph M. Foster, of Miami. The Leming brothers, Ezekiel, John, Gabriel, and Charles, with their families, came from New Jersey in 1806 and settled in the neighborhood of Newberry. Ezekrel, the oldest, lived on the farm now occupied by It. M. Marshal, where he died about 1848. His sons were Uriah, yet living at Newberry ; Randall H,, living a mile from Newberry ; Britton, formerly a merchant at Milford ; Isaac a miller, living at Whitewater, Ind. Paul, died at Keckuk, Iowa ; E. W., died at Madison, Ind.; and the daughters married Erastus Holmes, Samuel Harvey, William Merrill, and John G. Gatch. John Leming lived on a farm now occupied by John McClelland. He had two sons, George and Randolph. Gabriel lived and died at Newberry. His children were William, George, James, Abram, Isaac, Jacob, and Jackson. James is the only one now living in the county. Charles Leming lived on the farm now owned by Thomas Cook, and then removed to Indiana. J. E. Leming is the only son remaining in the county, and lives at Newberry. John Rybolt was a pioneer in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood, dying there in 1849. He was the father of Daniel, Stephen, and Michael R. Rybolt, of the township ; Rev. John C. and Henry, of Illinois ; Jacob, of Cincinnati ; and William, of Kansas. One of the daughters married Dr. Garland. Samuel Perin came to Ohio from New York in 1806, and lived for a time in Stonelick. In 1813 he purchased 14 acres of land at what is now Perin's Mills, which he improved and added to by purchase until he was the owner of 800 acres in Miami and 700 in Union, in that part of the county. In 1835 he erected the large mansion in the lower part of the hamlet, which is now occupied as the residence of Dr. Woodward. Samuel Perin died April 3, 1865, at the age of eighty-one years, the death of his wife having occurred fourteen years earlier. Of their ten children eight grew to mature years, viz.: Darius, living in Missouri ; Ira, in Union, near his old home ; Harvey, in Hamilton County , Oliver, a banker in Cincinnati ; Glover, a surgeon in the United States army, was in Mexican war and medical inspector during the Rebellion ; Lyman, a flour merchant in Cincinnati ; Rhoda, married James Kenyon ; and Martha, Solomon Langdou. Dr. William Williams came from Bucks Co., Pa., to Milford after 1812, and was the second physician there, Dr. Thorndyke being the first. He was one of the ablest practitioners in the county. He died about fifteen years ago. He had two sons and four daughters. Of the former were Cortland M., a physician at Goshen and other points, and Oliver P., a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His oldest daughter married Dr. Thomas Brown, who studied with Dr. Williams, and was for many years a physician at. Milford, then he removed to Cincinnati. The other daughters married Nathaniel Gatch, Philip S. Gatch, and J. A. Adams. For his second wife Dr. Williams married a daughter of Ichabod B. Miller, one of the prominent pioneers of Hamilton County. Thomas Shumard was horn in New Jersey in 1780. In 1803 he married, and in 1807 settled in Goshen township. From there he moved to Miami, and thence to Milford, where he was employed in the first store. He was thrice married and the father of eleven children. Two of them, Matilda, wife of John Needham, and Sarah, wife of Isaac Potter, were born rn New Jersey. The rest, Francis, Jacob, Rebecca, Joseph, Eliza, Thomas, Mary, John, and David, were born in the county. He died near Olive Branch in 1872, aged ninety-one years. His third wife survived him. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for over seventy-three years. Other members or the Shumard family came to Clermont among the pioneers. In 1815, Samuel came, and after living in Miami, a few years, settled in Stonelick. In 1818, David Shumard settled on the present farm of William Mead in Batavia. He was a consistent member of the Baptist Church. In 1792, John Shields immigrated from Maryland to Ohio, stopping at Garrett's Station, where he remained until his removal to Clermont County, in 1805, when he settled on the farm now owned by Jacob Creder near Lovelaud. He was the father of nine children,—five sons and four daughters. He was in the war of 1812, and served with great gallantry, under Gen. Harrison, at the battle of the Thames. In 1816 he bought Capt. Richard Hall's farm in Stonelick, and died in Mississippi in 1830, while on a trapping excursion. The William Tudor farm was settled by Thomas Shaw, who came from New Jersey in 1806. He had a large family, among the sons being John, James, William, and Achilles. Grandsons yet live in the township. James Combs, from the same State, settled in Miami in 1812. One of the sons, James, yet resides at Milford, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. He was next to the oldest in the family, and has survived all the other members twenty-seven years. He has ten sons living, the youngest being twenty-eight years old. John Armstrong was a pioneer in the Swing neighborhood, and was a prominent, useful citizen. Of his family, John, living west of Perin's Mills, is well known in the township and county ; Jacob, Samuel, George, Eleanor, Maria, Rhoda, Mary H,, and Ruth have all deceased. Farther northeast among the pioneers were the Pang- burn and Hunt family. son of Joshua Hunt, William Henry, is a resident of Milford. Theophilus Simonton, of Loveland, is in his seventy-second year, and comes of a noble pioneer family that settled at the mouth of Obannon Creek in 1797, and helped to open the unbroken forests to civilization. His father, Theophilus, and two uncles, William and John, were among the first immigrants to Miami township, five years before Ohio was admitted into the Union, and his father bought a large farm of Col. Thomas Paxton, the first man to raise a field of corn between the Little Miami and Scioto Rivers. He has been eighteen years a justice of the peace, and his father, long years ago, served twelve in the same position. He is a brother of the noted Col. Hiram Simonton, many years a leading hotel-keeper at Columbus. In 1806 a number of immigrants arrived from New Jersey under very inauspicious circumstances, for that was the year of the drought. From the 4th of May until the 466 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. 22d day of August no rain fell to moisten the ground, and the river was so low it was readily forded at Three Islands, opposite the mouth of the Obannom Many made only a temporary stay in Miami. John Emery came from New Jersey at a later day, settling on the farm now occupied by his son, Dr. J. P., in 1815. Here he died in 1857, full of honors, at the ripe age of eighty-one years. Other sons were Henry, who died in the township; Elisha J., living in Kansas; Capt. Andrew B., killed in the late war. His daughters were married,-Sarah, to James Breeding; Elizabeth, to S. R. Hutchinson, of Miami ; Mary, to George Myers ; and Anna, to John Applegate, both of Goshen. Three years later Harmon Eveland came from the same State and settled on the Goshen township line. Here he died in 1832, leaving sons, Samuel, Peter, Joseph, John B., Philip J., and Harmon, the latter living at Loveland. His daughters married William Frybarger, John Cox, and Samuel Paxton. Limited space forbids the mention of many other names of Miami pioneers who came at periods anterior to the above as well as subsequent. But in the appended LIST OF PROPERTY-HOLDERS IN 1826 will be found those who were identified with the pioneer interests of the township. A prefixed asterisk indicates non-residence in the year named. Anderson, John. Anderson, James. Addison, Jonathan. Armstrong, John, No. 958; Peter Higgins, original proprietor. Anderson, David. No. 1349 ; Lewis Stark, original proprietor. Anderson, Samuel, No. 519; John T. Griffin, orig. prop. Avery, Abigail. Berry, Mark. Berry, Benjamin. Boggs, John. Bill, Ruth. Barber, Daniel, No. 981; John B. Johnston, orig. prop. Barber, Nathaniel, No. 991; Jos. Jones, original proprietor. Baker, John, No. 1675; Edw. Stephens, orig. prop. Bill, John, No. 1675; Edw, Stephens, orig. prop. Boyer, Jacob. Brown, John M. Briley, Samuel, No. 2226; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. Brannon, Alex., No. 1550; Robt Todd, original proprietor. Branch, Joseph, No. 1767 ; Ezekiel Howell, orig. prop. Brown, Benjamin. Buckingham, E. A., No. 5992; Robinson, Mosely & Todd, original proprietors. Brown, John, No. 3776; John Higgins, original proprietor. Brown, Joseph, No. 590 ; John G. Griffin, original proprietor. Buckingham, Rachel. Butterworth, Samuel, No. 631; Jos. Carrington, orig. prop. Ballard, Nancy, No. 631; Jos. Carrington, orig. prop. Breeding, Thos., No. 631; Jos. Carrington, orig. prop. Brannon, George. *Buchanan, Rachel, No. 2570 ; Francis Baldwin, orig. prop. *Buchanan, Levi, No. 1017 Robert Todd, orig. prop. *Brown, Jacob, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. *Buckingham, Isaac, No. 992; Thomas Dix, orig. prop. Covalt, Silas. Cliver, John, No. 590; John T. Griffin, original proprietor. Cotteral, Joseph, No. 991 ; Jos. Jones, original proprietor. Combs, Thomas, No. 992; Thos. Dix, original proprietor. Combs, Daniel, No. 992; Thos. Dix, original proprietor. Combs, Benj., No. 976 ; Cad. Jones, original proprietor. Combs, James, No. 976; Cadwalader Jones, orig. prop. Combs, Richard. Conrad, Isaac, No. 590; John T. Griffin, original proprietor. Conrad, Jacob, No. 1349; Lewis Stark, original proprietor. Cannon, Richard. Collins, Sarah, No. 973; Thos. Holt, original proprietor. Cotteral, William. Carr, David. Cramer, David. Clark, Benjamin. Combs, James. Covalt, Bethuol, No. 937; John Nevilte, original proprietor. Conrad, Abraham, No. 1349; Lewis Stark, orig. prop. Cazine, Peter. Chapman, John, No. 2194; Martin Nall, original proprietor. Cregger, Wm., No. 2194; Martin Nall, original proprietor. Cox, Samuel. Clemmons, Benjamin. *Connen, 1ra, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. •Collins, Peter, No. 973; Thos. Holt, original proprietor. *Combs, Jas., Jr., No. 976; Cad. Jones, original proprietor. *Cleveland, Stephen B., No. 991 ; Jos. Jones, orig. prop. *Cross, Benj., No. 430; Robert Powell, original proprietor. *Cotteral, John, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. *Clark, Wm,, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. *Cross, John J., No. 981; John B. Johnson, orig. prop. Dimmitt, Jacob. Duckett, Thomas. Davidson, John. Durham, Jacob, No. 1675; Edw. Stephens, orig. prop. Durham, Benj., No. 1675; Edw. Stephens, orig. prop. Davidson, Robert, No. 720; Leroy Edwards, orig. prop. *Dunn, Walter, executor of J. Graham, No. 973; Thomas Holt, original proprietor. *Dimmitt, John, No. 958; Peter Higgins, original proprietor. Eldridge, John. Eveland, Harmon, No. 519 ; John T. Griffin, orig. prop. Everson, Amos. Elstun, Moses, No. 1675; Edw. Stephens, orig. prop. Erwin, Andrew. Erwin, John. Erwin, Francis. Emery, Henry, No. 2194 ; Martin Nall, original proprietor. Emery, John, No. 2019 ; William Lytle, original proprietor. *Elstun, Isaac, No. 257G ; Francis Baldwin, original proprietor. *Elliott, Simon, No. 5992; Robinson and Mosley, original proprietors. *Ebersole, Christian, No. 991 ; Joseph Jones, orig. prop. Fountain, Mathew, No. 1675 ; Edward Stephens, orig. prop. Frazee, Richard, No. 2377 ; William Lytle, orig. prop. Frazee, David. Fitzwater, Thomas, No. 937 ; John Neville, orig. prop. Fitzwater, William. Fitzwater, Samuel, No. 937; John Neville, original proprietor. Fitzwater, Thomas, No. 937; John Neville, orig. prop. *Fairchild, Abigait, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Gatch, Thomas, No. 5995; William Mosley, orig. prop. Gatch, Philip, No. 958; Peter Higgins, original proprietor. Gest, Jacob, No. 590; John T. Griffith, original proprietor. Garland, Philip. Green, Marmaduke, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Goudy, Thomas C., No. 1550; Robert Todd, orig. prop. Giberson, Joseph, No. 2800; Samuel Hawes, orig. prop. Gatch, Lewis, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Gatch, Conduce, No. 1770; Edward Simpson, orig. prop. Garland, James S. Gest, John, No. 981 ; John R Johnson, original proprietor. Godfrey, John, No. 958; Peter Higgins, original proprietor. Gatch, George, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Hughes, Edward, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Hendrick, L. A. Hawn, Emanuel. Highland, Michael, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Hughes, John, No. 991 ; Joseph Jones, original proprietor. Holmes, George, No. 992; Thos. Dix, original proprietor. Haskin, Augustus. Holmes, Erastus. Harvey, Joseph, No. 991; Joseph Jones, original proprietor. Halliday, Thomas. Hair, Thomas, No. 430. Robert Powell, original proprietor. Hair, Thomas, Jr., No. 1349; Lewis Stark, orig. prop. Hall, William. Hixson, John, No. 937; John Neville, original proprietor. Huffman, John, No. 3623; John Lindley, original proprietor. Hedger, Owen, No. 991 ; Joseph Jones, original proprietor. Hutchinson, Joseph. Jr., No. 720; Leroy Edwards, orig. prop. Hughes, James, No. 1550; Robert Todd, original proprietor. Hughes, Nathaniel, No. 1550; Robert Todd, orig. prop. Hughes, Isaac Hixson, Mathew, No. 937 ; John Neville, original proprietor. Hooper, Stephen, No. 992 ; Thos. Dix, original proprietor. Higginbotham, Uriah. Hand, David, No. 1349; Lewis Stark, original proprietor. Hutchinson, Joseph, No. 2377; William Lytle, orig. prop. Hutchinson, Silas. Hutchinson, Robert. Hutchinson, Silas, Jr., No. 720; M. Nalt, original proprietor. *Hunt, Joshua, No. 2377; William Lytle, orig. prop. *Huddleston, Jacob, No. 937; John Neville, orig. prop. *Hart, —, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Irwin, Robert. MIAMI TOWNSHIP - 467 *Irwin, Andrew, No. 3332; William Lytle, orig. prop. Johnston, James B. Johnston, Thomas E. *Jenkins, John and Isaac, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, original proprietor. *Jones, James, No. 991; Joseph Jones, original proprietor. *James, John H., No. 991; Joe. Jones, original proprietor. Kellogg. Charles. Kugler, M., and Son, No. 1767; Ezekiel Howell, orig. prop. *Kam, Thomas, No. 2377; William Lytle, orig. prop. Laferty, Archibald. Leming, Ezekiel, No. 982; Thos. Drx. original proprietor. Leming, Isaac. Leming, John, No. 2800 ; Samuel Hawes, original proprietor. Leming. Randall, No. 991 ; James Jones, originat proprietor. Linegar, Daniel, No. 550; John T. Griffith, orig. prop. Linegar, Thomas. Loomis, James. Livengood, Thomas, Leming, Uriah. Laferty, Archibald. Linthicum, Jos. Leming, David, No. 992; Thos. Dix, original proprietor. Leming, Charles, No. 913; John Neville, original proprietor. Long, Frederick, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. Leming, Elias, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. Long, John, No. 992; Thomas Dix, original proprietor. Long, Daniel. Leming, Gabriel. *Langdon. Elam, No. 972; Jonathan Clark, orig. prop. Martin, Lewis, No. 1675; Edw. Stephens, orig. prop. Matson, Aaron, No. 590; John T Griffith, orig. prop. Megrue, Andrew, No. 597; John White, original proprietor. McMains, Wm., No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Medaris, Wm. Medaris, Stephen, No. 1748; J. Nancarrow, orig. prop. Mains, John. Megrue, Jonathan, No. 590; John T. Griffith, orig. prop. Megrue, Paul, No. 991; Jos. Jones, original proprietor. McGee, Charles, No. 991 ; Joe. Jones, original proprietor. Malernee, Isaac. Magill, Wm. Masters, Silas. Megrue, Charles Morris, Aaron, No. 3332; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. McGarvey, Hugh. Mitchell, James. Murphy, Wm. Murphy, Samuel Mullen, James. McLaughlin, Charles, No. 1349; Charles Stark, orig. prop. McMains, Enoch, No. 3332; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. McLaughlin, Jehu. McKinney, Elsy. Motsinger, Felix, No. 720 ; Leroy Edwards, orig. prop. Morrell, Wm. Matson, Aaron. Morrison, Arthur. *Megrue, Charles, No. 991; Joe. Jones, original proprietor. *Morris, Robert, No. 590; John T. Griffith, orig. prop. *Megrue, Andrewt Jr., No. 597; John White, orig. prop. Orr, Robert, No. 720; Leroy Edwards, original proprietor. Orr, William. Oliver, Samuel. Osburn, Benjamin, No. 3623; I. Lindsey, orig. prop. Osborn, David. Price, Jeremiah, No. 937; John Neville, original proprietor. Pollock, John, No. 430; Robert Powell, originat proprietor. Perin, Samuel, No. 1675; Edw. Stephens, orig. prop. Preston, Jonathan. Potts, Samuel, No. 720; Leroy Edwards, orig. prop. Pierce, Ephraim. Phillips, Mary, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle. original proprietor. Poland, Nathaniel. Paxton, Thomas, No. 720; Leroy Edwards, orig. prop. Paxton, Samuel. Potter, Adam. Packard, Henry, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. *Paxton, Martha, No. 2194; Martin Nall, original proprietor. *Parker, Isaac, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. *Pierson, Cyrus, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. *Porter, Elias, No. 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. Rust, Paul. Ray, Elizabeth. Ramsey, Benjamin. Riggs, Calvin, No. 992; Thomas Dix, original proprietor. Rybolt, John, No. 958; Peter Higgins, original proprietor. Riddle, Isabel. Ross, Enoch. Riggs, James. Riggs, Avery, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. Robinson, James W., No. 5992; Robinson, Mosley and Todd, original proprietors. Rodocker, Jacob. Ramsey, John, Jr. Ramsey, John, No. 2019; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. Ramsey, George, No. 720; Leroy Edwards, orig. prop. Richardson, Benjamin. *Ramsey, Jesse, No. 981; John B. Johnson, orig. prop. *Ringsberry, James, No 1748; John Nancarrow, orig. prop. *Robinson, Moses, No. 5992; Robinson, Mosley and Todd, original proprietors. *Robinson, James W., No. 5992; Robinson, Mosley and Todd, original proprietors. Stroman, Henry. Siften, William. South, Thomas. Swing, Michael, No. 502; Thos. Overton, original proprietor. Shumard, Francis, No. 958 ; Peter Higgins, original proprretor. Sanders, Elizabeth. Smitht Samuel W., No. 1748: John Nanoarrow, original proprietor. Smith, Jesse S. Salter, William, No. 590; J. T. Griffin, original proprietor. Stewart, Jamest No. 958; Peter Higgins, original proprietor. Slye, Cornelius. Shaw, Thomas, No. 2377; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. Stump, Philip. Stump, Lewis. Stump, Jane. Smysor, Philip, No. 590; J. T. Griffin, original proprietor. Smysor, John. Stephens, Nicholas. South, Hiram. Shaw, John, No.976; Cad. Jones, original proprietor. Stewart, Polly Ann. Stewart, Hall. Stephens, Thomas H. Smysor, David, No. 3232; Wm. Lytle, original proprietor. Smith, Jacob. Simonton, Elenor, No. 2191; Wm. Nall, original prop. Simonton, William, No. 2191 , William Nall, original proprietor. Schuyler, Peter, No. 1545 : Elisha King, original proprietor. Sears, Joseph. Schuyler, Jacob, No. 1545 ; Elisha King, original proprietor. Schuyler, Adam, No. 1545 ; Elisha King, original proprietor. Snider, Levi, No. 720; Leroy Edwards, original proprietor. *Stroman, Henry, No. 502; Thos. Overton, original proprietor. *Sears, John, No. 631: Joseph Carrington, original prop. *Stewart, John, No. 958; Peter Higgins, original proprietor. *South, Isaac, No. 976; Cad. Jones. original proprietor. *Snider, David, No. 1767 Ezekiel Howell, original prop. Tiger, Nicholas. Thompson, David. Thomson, Joshua. Thompson, Samuel. , No. 1748; J. Nancarrow, orig. proprietor. Teal, Samuel F. Templeton, William. Twiner, Josiah. *Titus, John, No. 992 ; Thomas Dix, original proprietor. *Tuttle, Ezra, No. 1748 ; J. Nancarrow, original proprietor. *Taylor, James, No. 6152; G. K. Hubbard, original prop. Vanhorn, William. Vandevort, John, No. 720; Leroy Edwards, original prop. Vandevort, Nicholas, No. 720 ; Leroy Edwards, orig. prop. *Vincent, Thomas, No. 981; J. B. Johnson, original prop. U. S. Branch Bank, No. 2194 ; Martin Nall, orig. prop. Williams, William. Watts, David. Wood, Jeremiah, No. 1748; J. Nancarrow, original prop. Wilson, M. C. Warren, Jane. Williby, James. Wheeler, Abraham, No. 937 ; John Neville, orig. prop. *Western, William. *Wood, Samuel, No. 1748; J. Nancarrow, original prop. *White, Jacob, No. 976; Cad. Jones, original prof. Yates, Artis S. Yeatman, Walker. At this time the owners of village lots in Miami were in Milford : Avery, Abigail. Anderson, Peter. Covalt, Isaac. Conrad, Jacob. Elston, Moses. Fairchild, Abigail. Fitzwater, Thomas. Gatch, Philip. Gatch, George. Gest, John. Green, Marmaduke. Gatch, Lewis. Garland, Peregrine. Gatch, Conduce. Gatch, Thomas. Hare, Thomas. Herr, Elias. Higbee, Elias. Hughes, Edward. Hawn, Emanuel. Jackson, David. Kibby, James. Kugler, Mathias. McMains, William. Medaris, Stephen. Matson, Aaron. McDonald, James. McGrue, Jonathan. Osburn, David. Parker, John. Potter, Adam. Pollock, John. Pierson, Cyrus. Robinson, Thomas. Rust, Charles. Ringsberry, James. 468 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. Riggs, William. Ray, Elizabeth. Rusl, Paul. Siflen, William. Shumard, Thomas. Salter, William. Tuttle, Ezra. Teal, Samuel. Watts, David. Williams, William. Westlake, B. Wilkerson, D. Ward, George. In Newberry the lot-owners were : Combs, Daniel. Combs, James. Holmes, George. McGrew, William. McGrew, Paul. Riggs, Calvin. Raper, William. Stephens, Nicholas. Turner, Josiah. The village property was valued at $15,039, on which was a tax of $90.23. The taxes on the other real estate in the township were $c66.65, The horses numbered 358, and the cattle 590. The tax on personal property was only $140.78. CIVIL GOVERNMENT. At the formation of the township of Obannon (called Miami after a year), in February, 1801, John Pollock was appointed constable; John Ramsey, lister of taxable property ; Theophilus Simonton and Samuel Robinson, appraisers of houses; Ambrose Ransom and Peter Wilson, supervisors of highways ; Thomas Paxton, Francis McCormick, and William Simonton, auditors of supervisors' accounts; Samuel Robinson and Theophilus Simonton, overseers of the poor ; and Francis McCormick, Samuel Robinson, and Theophilus Simonton, fence-viewers,--who were duly qualified, and entered upon the discharge of their duties. The first election in the original township of Miami (which then embraced the entire county north of the East Fork as far east as Jackson) of which any record exists was held at the house of Nathaniel Dunham, April 2, 1804, for the purpose of choosing three county commissioners ; Theophilus Simonton, John Pollock, and James Stewart served as judges, and Ambrose Ranson and Silas Hutchinson were the clerks. Forty-eight votes were polled by the following: Jacob Cutler, John Knott, John Irwin, Jacob Slye, Thomas Frost, Francis McCormick, William Malott, James Arthur, William South, Daniel Mock, Perry Garland, David Roudebush, John Bodie, John Long, J., William Knott, James Davison, Thomas McFarland, John Stump, Silas Hutchinson, John Hadley, George Conrad, John Davison, Owen Todd, John Gest, Thomas Paxton, Robert Orr, Nat. Dunham, Lewis Frybarger, Andrew Frybarger, James Patterson, John Ramsey, Christian Long, Jr,, Harvey Donham, Elihu Aopkins, Russell Isham, Andrew Shetterley, Enoch Gest, Ambrose Ranson, James Garland, Redmond McDonough, John Pollock, William Donham, Philip Gatch, James Stewart, Robert Davison, Thomas Cook, Theophilus Simonton, William Simonton. From this time until 1867 no records of the township have been preserved in the office of the clerk, and the civil list which is given extends only from that year as follows: TRUSTEES. 1867.—W. E. Means, J. G. Turner, M. Cushing. 1868.—H. P. Brown, J. G. Turner, W. C. Pinkham. 1869.—F. M. Gatch, Aaron Apgar, Jerome Tice. 1870.—R. P. Abbott, Charles H. (latch, Jerome Tice. 1871.—R. P. Abbott, Charles H. Crotch, Charles Harker. 1872.—R. P. Abbott, E. J. Emory, George S. Swing. 1873.—P. S. Gatch, Frank Mears, J. R. Long. 1874.—F. H. Allen, T. Paxton, Jr., George Cox. 1875.—J. H. Johnson, John G. Armstrong, George Cox. 1876.—J. H. Johnson, Jasper Newton, Wm. M. Johnson. 1877.—Erastus Wasson, Moses D. Conrad, Wm. M. Johnson. 1878.—Erastus Wasson, A. Brower, M, R. Rybolt. 1879.—Erastus Wasson, A. Brower, J. G. Armstrong. CLERKS 1867, A. M. Gatch; 1868-73, A, B. Shaw ; 1874, W. B. Applegate; 1875, George F. Robinson ; 1876, John L. Bronson ; 1877, A. B. Shaw; 1878-79, T. B. Hannars. TREASURERS. 1867, William Tudor; 1868-71, A. M. Gatch; 1872-77, S. J. Rybolt; 1878-79, Robert Kernahan. ASSESSORS. 1867, A. F. Queal; 1868-69, S. It. Hutchinson ; 1870-71, John W. Hill; 1872t J. F. Johnson ; 1878, A. A. Leever; 1874-79, M. Hutchinson. The township has been divided into a number of voting precincts, in each of which a place for the meeting of the electors has been provided ; and no township has made better provision for cemeteries than Miami, the interest manifested in this respect being in the highest degree praiseworthy. On the 26th of June, 1867, the truslees agreed to purchase six acres of ground adjoining the old Gatch burial-ground, cast of Milford, for a cemetery for the use of the public, paying therefor $200 per acre. A large roadway from the pike to the grounds was donated, and the whole has been tastefully laid out and highly improved. A number of fine monuments and other memorials to the dead are in the cemetery, whose general appearance is seldom surpassed by rural burying-grounds. Hardly less attractive is the township cemetery at Miamiville. It was begun by the Miamiville Cemetery Association, which was organized April 10, 1866, and purchased by the township Jan, 16, 1869, for $1600. It was transferred on the part of the association by trustees H. G. Leever, William Humphrey, H, Buckingham, A. L. Buckingham, and N. B. Paxton. It has a beautiful location on the banks of the Little Miami, and is inclosed with a neat Osage hedge. There are tastefully laid out walks and drives and a substantial stone vault, erected in 1870. The cemetery contains many monuments of fine and costly designs. Both these cemeteries and the old Union burying-ground, east from Branch Hill, are under the immediate charge of the board of trustees, whose wise management has made them spots whose beauty is extolled with pardonable pride by the good citizens of the township, It is not possible with the meagre data obtainable from the records to give any account of the early roads more satisfactory than that which appears in a general chapter in this book, to which the reader is referred. In 1879 there were 31 road districts in the township, and the highways in general were in z very fair condition. The principal thoroughfares are toll-roads of easy grade and splendid repair. The chief of these are the Cincinnati and Wooster, from Milford to Goshen, and the old pike from Perin's Mills to Milford, through the bottom-lands along the East MIAMI TOWNSHIP - 469 Fork. Having a course almost parallel with the former is thc Cincinnati and Fayetteville Railroad, now in course of constructiom The old Little Miami Railroad, built in 1844, enters the township at the great bend of the river at Miamiville, and passes up the stream to Loveland, where it strikes into Warren County. At that point it is intersected by the Cincinnati and Marietta Railroad in its course eastward, and as both roads are well equipped, rapid and easy oommunicatron with all points is afforded, also bringing the markets of Cincinnati within easy reach. Since many of the people of Miami are engaged in fruit-culture and market-gardening, this is an especial advantage, as shipments can be quickly and safely made. The culture of the peach for market purposes was introduced about I850, by J. C. Davis, a native of Maryland. He planted an orchard of 95 acres near Newberry, on the farm at present owned by S. J. Rybolt, with budded varieties of' fruit, which yielded so well that at the end of ten years the orchard had paid for itself and netted $50,000 besides. This remarkable success induced hundreds of farmers to engage in fruit-growing, and ere many years all the ridge-lands east from Milford to the wet-lands of Goshen, and north to the Obannon, were set in peach orohards. The culture of that fruit became the absorbing industry, and for a number of years Miami was the greatest peach region in the State. Then came a decline of this iudustry. The trees failed to yield and whole orchards went to decay. Some resumed their former customs of farming, while others directed their attention to other orchard products, planting the apple and the pear, both of which have yielded rich returns ; and many orchards of these fruits now abound. Orcharding and gardening has been reduced to a science in Miami, and their prosperity and intelligent direction is largely attributable to the influence of Loveland Horticultural and Agricultural Society, elsewhere noted HAMLETS AND VILLAGES. Along the Cincinnati and Wooster turnpike the population is so dense that the road in many places resembles a principal thoroughfare leading from a large city which is lined with fine suburban houses ; in other places are distinctive hamlets. Farthest east and near the Goshen towuship line is MOUNT REPOSE, a small but pleasant hamlet, built upon land which formerly belonged to Paul McGrew. Here a man by the name of Selden engaged in merchandising about 1828, in a small brick house which he had erected for this purpose. Following him, among others, as merchants, have been Isaac Leming, Paul Leming, Conduce McGrew, Andrew McGrew, Leonard MeGarvey, and the present David Manning, who also keeps the post-office, which bears the name of the hamlet. In 1869, Ezra Simpkins is recorded as the post. master, and in 1873, G. P. Jackson. Isaac Elstun, Jr,, is an attorney-at-law at Mount Repose Farther east, on the pike, was an old-time hostlery, kepi by the Porter family, which had a popular patronage. In this locality Jacob Wainwright opened a blacksmith-shop about 1840, and that trade has been carried on ever since At the same time Paul Leming opened a wagoumaker's shop, in which he and others were engaged many years. The present wheelwright is Aaron Condo. Charles McGee had a cooperage in this neighborhood from 1823 for a number of' years. Three miles from Milford, on the above turnpike, are the hamlets of NEWBERRY AND NEW SALISBURY, which are practically one small village, whose post-office bears the name of " Mulberry." Here are the Mulberry seminary, Methodist and Christian churches, and several dozen houses. The Newberry part of the village was laid out in 1818 by Thomas Shumard, and consists of only a few lots on the highway as its course then ran. When the road was changed so as to leave the hamlet to the north, New Salisbury was laid out, on the south of that place, and on the present turnpike. The plat was made Aug. 22,1833, by Thomas Combs, and consisted of 40 lots, whose size was variable. The same year, 1833, the Mulberry post-office was established with James B. Johnson as postmaster. Four years later J. G. Dimmitt was the postmaster, followed in two years by Erastus Holmes. Since then the appointees have been,-1847, Eli Elstun ; 1851, R. B. Leming ; 1855, D. G. Sparks; 1865, A. M. Miller ; and I871, J. Simpkins. For many years the offrce has been supplied with a daily mail. Most of the above were also engaged in merchandising at thrs point, but it is said that William McGrew was the first in trade, some time about 1820. Erastus and Daniel Holmes were largely engaged in business here, as well as their predecessor, Jacob G. Dimmitt. At present John Quincy Bass has a good general store, in which is also kept the post-office ; and J. E. Leming is the grocer. Others engaged in merchandising here were Henry Smysor, R. McDonald, R. B. Leming, Isaac J. Merrill, and Moses Cook. In the practice of medieine, Dr. Fleming Leever was the first to locate at Newberry ; and successive practitioners have been Drs. E. B. Chatterton, Eli Elstun, Richard Collins, and J. F, Abraham. Gabriel Leming had a public-house about 1834, but at an earlier day Daniel Holmes entertained the public. In later years the village has been without a hotel. As mechanics, Michael Highland carried on the first blacksmith-shop, and has had numerous successors in that trade. John Long was an early wagon-maker, and Robert Jones is the present. For thirty years J. E. Leming has had a shoe-shop; and formerly the Elstun family had several cooperages. Forty years ago Joseph Griffith had a horse-mill, operated by a sweep-power, which was not long continued. In later years R. B. Leming had an upright steam saw-mill, which has also passed away. The manufacture of brick on a large scale was formerly carried on by Thomas Combs. On Harner's Run Isaac Elstun had in operation a saw-mill and distillery about a dozen years from 1825, when the latter was discontinued, but the former was carried on by Uriah Leming and Philip Smysor. On the same stream Charles Leming had a tannery, and Abner Hixon a mill for grinding corn. 470 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT. COUNTY, OHIO. PERIN'S MILLS. In 1813, Samuel Perin, a millwright, purchased 14 acres of land and a water-power on the East Fork, near the southeast corner of the township, where he got in operation a saw-mill, the following year, to cut up the dense forests which up to that time covered this part of the county, but which were now rapidly filled by the numerous settlers who located here, and who soon demanded a grist-mill. This was supplied in 1817, on a small scale, but in 1823 Mr. Perin built a mill of large capacity, which manufactured flour for the Southern markets, chiefly New Orleans. To convey the flour thither flat-boats were built at the mills, and placed in charge of trusty men, usually John Williams and Darius Perin. Fifty-two such boats in all were launched at Perinsis Mills. After the water-power had diminished steam was supplied, and Samuel Perin continued to operate the mills until about 1850, when they passed into the Cohoon family, and after a few years were destroyed by fire. Subsequently another steam-mill was built, but the machinery was soon removed, and since the mills have been inoperative. In connection with his mill Samuel Perin operated a distillery on a large scale, from 1835 for the following ten years, when it was destroyed by fire. At a much earlier day distillation on a small scale was carried on by him. In 1824 he engaged Enoch Ross as the manager of a tannery which he established that year, and which produced a large amount of work. Much of the leather was here manufactured into shoes and harness by Mr. Perin, who had shops, where a number of men were engaged. About the same time he operated carding-machines, and had a cooperage and the ordinary mechanic-shops, the different industries employing many men, and making Perin's Mills one of the busiest localities in the county. After their discontinuance the place became comparatively unimportant, and has not since risen above the character of a small hamlet, possessing the attendants of a country trading-point. On the opposite side of the East Fork is Cohoon Station, on the Cincinnati and Eastern Railroad, from which place Perin's Mills is supplied with a daily mail. The post-office was established in 1830, with Darius Perin as postmaster. In 1859 the office was held by J. B. Cline ; in 1863, by Colin Spence, and after a few years was discontinued. It was re-established with the name of McPherson, with Colin Spence as postmaster, but in a few months the name was changed to Perin's Mills, and yet so remains. John M. Brown, afterwards a well-known merchant of Batavia, was the first to engage in trade here, and was succeeded by Samuel Perin, who merchandized about fifteen years. Since that time among others in trade have been Avey & Sutton, L. Berger, M. D. Rybolt, and the present Isaac Turner, who also keeps the post-office. The public-house is kept by Joseph Cline. For many years Moses Elstun had a cabinet-maker's shop, and when he removed Philip G, Stewart carried on that trade. Samuel Teal was for a number of years the blacksmith. In 1835, Dr. Courtland Williams located here as a physician, and in 1840, Dr. Colin Spence established himself in his profession, yet remaining a resident of Perin's Mills, although not in active practice. He read medicine with Dr. J. T. Shotwell, and was graduated at the Ohio Medical College. For the past twenty-one years Dr. John B. Cline has here been a successful practitioner. BRANCH HILL. This is a station on the Little Miami Railroad, about two miles south from Loveland, and nearly the same distance north from Miamiville. It dates its history as a village from Jan. 3, 1873, when Col. John H. Branch, the proprietor of a large tract of land, laid out 102 lots in the neighborhood of the station, which have been improved to some extent, chiefly by the erection of suburban residences, many of them displaying much taste and architectural beauty. An excellent class of people was attracted, among them the lamented G. M. D. Bloss, editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer, who was killed near the village by a railroad train. At a later day the founder of Branch Hill met with a similar fate, The death of these two prominent citizens cast a great gloom over the community. The Little Miami River at this point is crossed by a very fine suspension-bridge 315 feet long, costing $70,000. On the surrounding hills are also a number of handsome residences; but beyond these no importance attaches to the place. A post-office with the name of Branch Hill was established in this neighborhood in 1848, with John Regan as postmaster ; in 1855, Jonathan Hildreth held the appointment, and after a time the office was discontinued. An office with the name of Polktown was next established in 1860, with John H. Branch as postmaster, which was also discontinued. In 1875 the Branch Hill office was revived, with A. S. Hutchinson postmaster. In 1877, A. W. Powers was appointed. A daily mail is supplied. Two miles east from Branch Hill is a settlement locally known as Guinea, where were formerly shops and stores, a few of the former being yet carried on. Years ago Felix Motsinger had a large cooperage here, in which a number of men were employed. MIAMIVILLE is a small village on the Little Miami, about four miles above Milford. It was laid out by Moses F. Robinson, Sept. 29, 1849, and originally consisted of seventeen lots, to which additions were made as follows : By Moses F. Robinson, Sept. 10, 1851 ; by the same, Oct. 1, 1853; by the same, Oct. 20, 1859 ; by the same, Nov. 4, 1865; by the same, August, 1868 ; and by A. N. Robinson, in March, 1874, who laid out 208 lots near the depot of the Little Miami Railroad. Although having a very fine and healthy location, the village has not attained great prominence, and in a business point of view is not so important as in days gone by. Attention was first attracted to this locality by the mills of the Buckingham family. The first on the Clermont side was built about 1810 by Enoch Buckingham, near the present railroad-bridge. It was small, yet proved a great convenience. On the Hamilton County side a small sawmill was operated by power from the same dam, and also belonged to the Buckiughams. Some time about 1830 John S. and Mark Buckingham erected the present mills at Miamiville. They were first supplied with huge breast- MIAMI TOWNSHIP - 471 wheels, which were displaced by turbine-wheels, and the mill has been supplied with modern machinery. As many as 130 barrels of flour per day have been manufactured, but at present the mill is not operated to its full capacity. In connection with the mill the distillation of grain into liquor was begun on a small scale about 1835, the capacity being increased from time to time until it was 400 bushels per day, In 1858 the distillery was destroyed by fire, and this interest has not since been resumed. At that time the property belonged to Horatio Buckingham, and at present belongs to his heirs. The saw-mill has been operated almost continuously since the power was improved. It is yielded by a stone dam about six hundred feet long, and having a four-foot breast. After the village was laid out Daniel Weaver opened mechanic-shops, but was shortly after succeeded by H. G. Leever, who carried on well-appointed shops until recently; and others have here been engaged in the ordinary trades. In 1849, M. F. Robinson opened the first store in a small frame building, which is at present the shoe-shop of John Kohler. After a few years he was succeeded by the Buckinghams, who transacted a large business until about 1860. Meantime, James Gest had another store, which he carried on until his death, about ten years ago. His successors were G. W. Pool and the present J. H. Eveland. In this period M. F. Robinson erected another large stone building, which has been occupied by various persons until recently, there being now but one store. Here is kept the Miamiville post-office, established in 1849, with Mark Buckingham as postmaster. The subsequent appointees have been Jane Adams, Hiram Bodine, R. T. Woodlief, William II. Behymer, and, in 1875, J. H. Eveland. About 1850, Riley Y. Woodlief opened a public-house, which was kept by him and his family until a few years ago. It bore a good reputation in the Little Miami Valley, and had a popular host. Dr. Wm, McHenry located at Miamiville as the first physician about 1856. Four years later Dr. Alfred Buckingham established himself in a practice, a part of which he yet conlinues from his new home at Camp Dennison. For the past three years Dr. W. P. Evans (eclectic) has been at Miamiville. LOVELAND. This beautiful village is situated at the mouth of Obannon Creek, on the Little Miami, twenty-six miles from Cincinnati and about eighteen from Batavia. It is the junction of the Cincinnati and Marietta and Little Miami Railroads, which have here large and well-appointed depot buildings and repair-shops, giving the village an air of bustle and activity possessed by no other place in the county. A large portion of the inhabitants of Loveland and its suburbs are business and professional men of Cincinnati, noted for their enterprise, intelligence, and love of the beautiful in nature, who have reared elegant villas and palatial mansions along the beautiful river-side, or upon the numerous wooded hills which surround the village. The narrow limits of the original village site have long since been overrun, and Loveland has extended itself beyond the Obannon and the Little Miami into the adjoining counties of Warren and Hamilton, the streams being crossed by bridges of beautiful design and, substantial finish. The country roads leading to the rich uplands of this part of the State, for some distance from the village, are lined with residences of unique and imposing design, standing in spacious and highly embellished grounds which, with the rich natural surroundings, cause this locality to have an enchanting appearance. Some of these grounds extend to the river's edge, with boating-places and fishing- preserves, and beyond them are wooded slopes and cultivated fields verdant with growing grain and luxuriant with varied foliage. Shading the river are tall elms and spreading sycamores, which give the stream a cool and placid appearance, delightfully pleasing to the eye, and constituting another feature among the many attractions of the railroad centre of the county. Loveland has had a rapid but substantial growth, and, including its suburbs, has a population of nearly 1000 souls, a magnificent school building, three churches, and the various interests noted in the following pages. On April 1, 1792, John Obannon, a celebrated deputy surveyor in the Virginia Military District, surveyed for Joseph Carrington 500 acres of choice land in Miami township, Clermont Co., on which Loveland is located, and numbered his entry 631, it being made on military warrant No. 2425. On June 28, 1805, President Jefferson issued his patent for this survey to Joseph Carrington, in pursuance of an act of the Congress of the United States, passed Aug. 10, 1790, and of an act amendatory thereto, passed June 9, 1794, enabling the officers and soldiers of the Virginia Line on Continental Establishment, to obtain titles to certain lands lying northwest of the Ohio between the Little Miami and Scioto Rivers. This patent was granted to Carrington as assignee of William Hendricks, who was assignee of Stephen Pettus, heir-at-law of John Pettus, for his three years' services as a captain in the Revolutionary war. Carrington belonged to one of the first families in Virginia, in Cumberland County, and was an extensive land- and slave-holder, and dying at an early date, he emancipated his favorite slave, Tillie, and her husband, York, with their two children, Betty and Chloe, and devised all his Ohio real estate to his two sons, Paul J. and William. On July 10, 1825, the Carrington sons sold the whole tract to Benjamin Butterworth, a Warren County pioneer Quaker, and grandfather of the eloquent Hon. Benjamin Butterworth, of Cincinnati. The elder Butterworth devised by will, dated Sept. 14, 1826, to his son, Samuel C., 200 acres of this survey, who sold 189 acres thereof on the 6th of May, 1848, to Col. William Ramsey, who on Nov. 17, 1849, laid out the town of Paxton, and on March 19, 1850, the town of Loveland, now corporately recognized as one town. George W. Felter, on Sept. 22, 23, and 24, 1863, resurveyed the town, established new lines and corners, and renumbered the lots. Since that period landowners in Hamilton and Warren Counties have platted additions, and in Clermont many non-platted building-lots have been sold to extend the village bounds. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. On the 12th day of February, 1876, application was made to the commissioners of Clermont County for corpo- 472 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. rate privileges for the village of Loveland, with limits extending beyond the foregoing plat so as to embrace 800 acres of land. The petition was signed by Daniel Clark, M. S. Williamson, B. F. Rowan, D. W. Rowan, Samuel Rich, E. K. Hall, and others to the number of 80. M. S. Williamson was deputed by the citizens to act in their behalf to secure the necessary papers of incorporation ; and on the 16th of May, 1876, the place was vested with municipal rights, the limits of the village being extended for this purpose to territory in Hamilton and Warren Counties by the action of their authorities. The first election for village officers was held July 28, 1876, with the following result : Mayor, John H. Law ; Councilmen, W. A. Carmichael, G. C. Hill, Daniel Clark, G. T. Williams, John Connor, and T. Simonton ; Treasurer, .M. Kaplan ; Marshal, Peter Drake ; Street Commissioner, Edwin The council levied the first year for a general fund one-half mill on the dollar ; for police, one mill ; for public buildings and a jail, one and a half mills; and for streets, one and a half mills. This year the village was declared a road district, and cells for the confinement of prisoners were constructed in the public hall, the expense of building which and other improvements were paid out of a loan of $1500 for which the bonds of the village had been issued. Including this amount, the receipts from all sources the first year were $1959.94. In 1877 the officers elected were : Mayor, John H. Law ; Clerk, William Scott ; Councilment Wrlliam Nash, George T. Williams, W. A. Carmichael, John Connor, G. C. Hill, and Daniel Clark ; Treasurer, John Fogelman ; Marshal, Thomas Lynch. The taxes were levied on a duplicate of $250,000, and netted $2000, including among other things moneys for the support of a fire department. 1878.—The members of the council elected were James R, Hindman, G. M. Keating, and T. Simonton. 1879.-At the annual election 168 votes were polled, and the following elected : Mayor, John H. Law ; Clerk, William ,Scott ; Treasurer, W. W. Brock ; Councilmen, N. W. Bishop, John Connor, William Nash ; Marshal, Thomas Lynch. The levy for this year was seven mills on the dollar. Since being incorporated Loveland has been materially benefited ; the streets have been placed in good condition, and provided with lumps for the use of gasoline, sidewalks have been built, and the quiet and order of the village have been greatly promoted. The first house built on the Ares, nt site of Loveland was erected by Patrick McGarvey, a deserter from the British army. It was a kind of a light hoop-pole arrangement, and was occupied by the recreant son of Mars for many years afterwards. Patrick, the owner of the mansion, was quite a curiosity in dress, and possessed of a little more than the usual amount of Irish wit. GENERAL BUSINESS INTERESTS. Among the first buildings put up in the village after it was laid out was the old " Paxton House," which was erected by William Ramsey, and in which J. M. Smith opened a hotel, which has been kept by a number of dif ferent persons, and is yet continued. Not long after Lawen De Golyer erected the first brick house, which was used for mercantile purposes. In 1854 he erected a large three- story block of brick, the upper story of which forms a public hall, which was the usual place of public meetings until the spacious school-hall was provided. A part of the De Golyer house has been used for hotel purposes. The present " American" and " National" hotels were built by Jacob Fogelman. The former has always been kept by Benjamin Rowan ; the latter has had numerous owners. At West Loveland, Dr. L. W. Bishop, a few years ago, erected a large hotel for the accommodation of summer boarders, which has been called the " Riverside House." It has a beautiful location, and appears very attractive. The first store in this part of the county was kept about two miles east of Loveland, at a place called Obannonville, where is now the residence of Col. William Ramsey, by Louis Fairchild. He was succeeded after 1824 by Rapp & Hall, and they in 1836 by William Ramsey, who kept the store, packed pork, and had the post-office until about 1847, when James Loveland became the postmaster. The latter removed his business to the newly laid-out village of Paxton, and the office in 1848 was changed to Loveland, so named after the first merchant and postmaster at what is now the village of Loveland. Loveland's place of business was on the site at present occupied by Porter Turner's store. Near the same time J. M. Smith had another store at a place where he was followed by Lawen De Golyer, But before this time Frederick Ballard engaged in trade in a building which stood opposite the Turner store, where were afterwards Philip Moses and M. Kaplan. The house was destroyed by fire in 1878. John and George Thompson were next in trade at the stand now occupied by John Thompson. John Fogelman was an active business mant first in the De Golyer building and later at the stand now occupied by W. W. Brock. Since 1866 the Hill brothers, John, Porter, Absalom, and Albert, have been connected with the mercantile interests of Loveland, and for a period not quite so long N. P. Turner, both firms carrying a general assortment of goods. In other lines of trade are Theodore Spinner, Joseph Ruhr, and the Rowan Brothers. John Shuesler is a druggist at a stand established many years ago, and for the past five years Dr. William Scott has had another drug-store in the western part of the village. In 1851, James Loveland was succeeded as postmaster by W. F. Ballard, but after four years again became postmaster. In 1857, Leopold Horst was appointed ; in 1859t A. A. Leever ; in 1865, M. Kaplan ; and in 1867, William Ramsey. The latter has since held the appointment, with John Fogelman as deputy. The office is supplied with seven mails per day, and since October, 1869, has been a postal money-order office. Near Loveland Dr. J. P. Emery was a practicing physician from 1835 till 1860, and still lives there retired. For a score of years Dr. W. A. Carmichael has been a successful practitioner at Loveland, and has as contemporary physicians Drs. L. W. Bishop, N. W. Bishop, William Scott, and Dr. Criley, the latter being a homoeopathic practitioner. As an attorney, Mon. S. Williamson has a large and increasing business in Clermont and the adjoining counties. SILAS R. HUTCHINSON - ELIZABETH HUTCHINSON. THE first settlement made in Clermont County was in Miami township, near Loveland, in 1795, by Col. Thomas Paxton and his four sons-in-law, Judge Owen Todd, Col. John Ramsey, James Smith, and Silas Hutehinson. Silas Hutchinson was born, in 1772, in Maryland, and married Miss Margaret, daughter of Col. Thomas Paxton, of Pennsylvania. Col. Paxtont with his family and sons-in-law, first emigrated to Kentucky. He was the commander of the advance guard of Wayne's army, and after the victory of Wayne over the Indians, in the tall of 1794, returned the following season to Ohio, where he settled. To Silas and Margaret (Paxton) Hutchinson were born ten children : Joseph ; Keziah, married to Christopher Forden ; Isabelle, married to Elias Smith ; Robert P. ; Silas R. ; Elizabeth, married to Miles Springsteel ; Nancy, married to Samuel Davis ; Rachel, married to James Tilton ; Thomas ; and a child who died in infancy. Silas R. Hutchinson was born in Miami township, Jan. 11, 1804, and his earliest recollections date from the death of his grandfather in March, 1813, and the return of his elder brother, Joseph Hutchinson, from the war of 1812. Clermont County was then mostly a dense forest, with here and there a few acres partially cleared and occupied by an isolated log cabin. There were no improvements or means of communication other than mere tracos through the woods up to 1815. nor had much been done towards developing the soil, or in the mechanical arts. By aid of the hand-loom the flax and wool wore made into wearing apparel, often supplemented by deer-skin. and these constitutod the pioneer wardrobe. In the summer season Silas R- employed his time hoeing corn, and in winter attending schools of a very primitive character. In 1817 he went to the academy at Madisonville, Hamilton Co.t and there remained two yearst boarding with his brother-in-law, Christopher Forden. lie was married, Feb. 26, 1826, to Elizabeth Emery, daughter of Judge John Emery, an emigrant from Nevi Jersey, and afterwards an associate judge of the Clermont Common Pleas Court, and a representative for two years in the Ohio Legislature- His wife, a most estimable lady, is still living, and by her he has had nine children, of whom two died in infancy ; the remainder were Preston ; Newton ; Angelinet married to Nathaniel B. Paxton, and now deceased ; Margery, married to John B. Ward ; John ; Mary, married to Achilles Shaw ; and Harriet, married to Robert Paxton. Silas R. and his wife, Elizabeth (Emery), were enabled by the joint contributions of their parents to begin housekeeping, but not properly to commence farmingt as Mr. Hutchinson had his horses, harness, plows, wagons, etc., to procure. But by the energy and business tact that has distinguished him through life he obtained all these indispensable articles, and began farming. In 1827 he purchased a lease on the land of his father-in-law. This was encumbered—all the timber over eighteen inches left on it being dead—and presented a very fair prospect for a large amount of hard work without much remuneration. In 1836, after a residence of nine years on these premises, he purchased a farm of one hundred and sixty-six acres about a mile south of his birthplace, and moved thereon Dec. 10, 1836t and on that fine farm he has since resided. His father, Silas Hutehinson, was in 1826 the last collector of the county, and he assisted his father in the discharge of the duties of that office. The first public office which he tilled after arriving at his majority was that of clerk in the Presidential election of 1828, when John Quincy Adams and Gen. Jackson were candidates. From that period to 1864 he was most of the time clerk of Miami township, and also of the township board of education from its organization in 1853 up to 1864. Since 1846 he has repeatedly filled the office of township assessor of personal property in addition to his other positions. An elegant penman, thorough accountant, and of rare business judgment, he was one of the best local officials in the county. In 1851 he assisted in constructing a turnpike from Madisonville, Hamilton Co., to Dallasburg, in Warren County, and for years was secretary of that turnpike company. In 1866 he was largely instrumental in the organization and laying out of the beautiful Miamiville Cemetery, which embraced at first ten acres, and is now one of the prettiest and most attractive in Southern Ohio. In 1864 he was elected a commissioner of Clermont County. and served in that capacity three years, making one of the best officers who ever held that important post. He had for his colleagues during his term F. J. Roudebush, William Hawkins, J. P. Molen, and Charles Burkhardt. Mr. Hutchinson is a man of inflexible integrity, unimpeachable personal character, of splendid executive ability, and in all the many public positions to which he has been frequently called his conduct has not been marred by a blemish, while his offrcial intereourse with all was affable and pleasant. He was a Democrat in politics until 1863, when he became identified with the Republican party, of which he is now a leading member. Starting in life with no capital but his honesty and iron will, he has become one of the largest farmers in Clermont County, acquired a good fortune, and at his advanced age lives in easy retirement on his beautiful estate near Miamiville. MIAMI TOWNSHIP - 473 MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. A short distance below the village of Loveland is a waterpower on the Little Miami, where as long ago as 1820 Peter Sears had a small corn-mill with one run of stones. The dam was built chiefly of brush, weighted down with stones by the neighbors, who made a " bee" for that purpose. In 1830, Thomas Breeding built a part of the present mill, putting in a frame dam two years later. The present dam was built in 1874 by Eveland & Dyer. It is four hundred feet long, and yields a six-foot fall. The mill was owned after Breeding by Kibbie & Ross, James Loveland, Paxton & Eveland ; in 1852, by H. Eveland ; and since 1872 by him and J. M. Dyer. Its capacity has been increased from time to time until more than 100 barrels of flour per day could be manufactured. It is at present supplied with four runs of stones and good machinery. In the village the principal industry is A. B. Brock's planing-mill and lumber-yards. They were established in 1872 by W. W. Brock, and since 1876 have been in charge of the present proprietor. The building which he occupies is 32 by 62 feet, three stories high, with a wing 20 by 40 feet, in which is a well-appointed office. The motive- power is steam, which operates all the machines necessary in producing builders' material in wood. Mr. Brock has also a well-assorted stock of builders' hardware, paints, glass, etc., and handles coal and lumber on a large scale. It is the most complete establishment of the kind in the county. THE LOVELAND BUILDING AND LOAN ASSOCIATION, whose object is to raise money to be loaned among its members and depositors for use in buying lots or houses, or building and repairing houses, or other purposes, was organized as a body corporate April 27, 1875, with M. Kaplan, John H. Law, Daniel Clark, Joseph Ruhr, and A. B. Brock as corporators. The capital stock was fixed at $99,900, in 333 shares of $300 each. John H. Law was chosen the first President; M. Kaplan, Vice-President ; Daniel Clark, Treasurer ; A. P. Brock, Secretary ; and L. P. Baen, Attorney. These officers, with the exception of the treasurer, have been continued to the present. Daniel Clark, as treasurer, at the end of two years was succeeded by the present, N. P. Turner. At the end of the first year the association reported 224 shares in force, with a profit of $4.85 on each share. A year later the number of shares in force were 196 ; in 1878, 133 ; in 1879, 96; and the present condition of the association is shown in the appended report, from March 1, 1879, to March 1, 1880 : RECEIPTS. Weekly dues - $2,054.50 1nterest - 744.50 Fines - 75.15 Advanced insurance - 20.50 Paid oil mortgage - 275.00 3,169.65 On hand March 1, 1879 - 76.66 Total - $3,246.3 1 DISBURSEMENTS. 22 shares retired - $2,728.51 Taxes - 105.80 Secretary's service - 104.00 Advanced insurance - 34.50 $2,972.81 Balance on hand - $273.50 60 Number of shares in force - .68 Total loaned and on hand - $12,573.50 Value of each share - 184.90 1/2 Profit on each share - 54.00 1/2 A. B. BROCK, Secretary. MILFORD. This is the largest village in the township, and ranks third in point of population in the county. It has a pleasant location in a small valley on the Little Miami River, about eighteen miles from Cincinnati, with which it has communication by a good turnpike and the Little Miami Railroad; which has a station at West Milford, in Hamilton County, the two places being connected by a substantial bridge. Closely environing the village are high hills, which have limited the building space and caused Milford to stretch along the river to the beautiful meadow-lands northeast from where it had its humble beginning, giving the place a somewhat straggling appearance, which time will doubtlessly correct. Along the excellent turnpikes entering Milford are many fine and—in a few instances--palatial suburban residences, which greatly add to the beauty of the place, as well as giving evidence of the refinement and affluent circumstances of citizens of this part of the county. In the village proper are many citizens of foreign birth, but who have become closely identified with its interests, and are noted for their thrift and industry in providing comfortable homes. In a state of nature the site of Milford and the surrounding country possessed a picturesque beauty to which even the practical pioneer could not be blind. No wonder, then, that it struck with rapture that old Knickerbocker, the quaint and eccentric John Nanearrow, who had it surveyed for him on May 28, 1788, in the survey No. 1748, of 230 acres on military warrants Nos. 3930, 3931, and part of 3932, and on it this old Dutch burgomaster intended to found a city that should become the future metropolis of the West. But the unforeseen disasters of commercial speculations ruined the man, and he assigned all his landed possessions in the Northwest to John Vaughn and Peter January, merchants of Philadelphia ; but before doing so, with thrifty foresight, he sold this Milford survey, on Dec. 20, 1802, to Philip Gatch for $920 in lawful money of the realm. Judge (latch sold 120 acres of the Nancarrow survey to Judge Ranson, who in turn sold 64 acres thereof to John Hageman, who laid out the town-then called Hageman's Mills—on Jan. 17, 1806, into 46 lots. The first addition to Milford was made by Lewis Gatch and Edward Hughes, Sept. 8, 1817, on the eastern part of the original village, consisting of 37 lots. Feb. 2, 1846, Britton Leming made an addition of 34 lots, the plat being made by the then county surveyor, William S. McLean (still living at Williamsburgh), and its dedication and acknowledgment was before Mark P. Taylor, J. P., afterwards mayor of Cincinnati. Oct. 1., 1847, Dr. L. A. Hendricks, an old pioneer settler and medical practitioner of note, made a subdivision of 23 lots, the survey being made by the venerable Col. James Given, now of Mount Carmel. April 24, 1849, when John Ferguson was auditor and L. B. Leeds recorder, the town was resurveyed and numbered as to its lots by Surveyor McLean. 474 - HISTORY OF CLERMONT COUNTY, OHIO. July 3, 1869, Dr. J. S. Combs and wife and Ruth S. Gatch laid out another addition, which was called East Milford, of 49 lots, aided by A. H. Matson as surveyor. Oct. 15,1872, Col. William Storms made an addition of 34 lots out of part of the old Lewis Gatch farm, the survey being made by Professor George H. Hill. John Hageman, the founder of Milford, lived in a hewed- log house, by the spring, in the upper part of the old village. Here is now a stone house, the first in the place, which was built in 1815 by John Mains, the first blacksmith in Milford. Edward Hughes was the next in this trade, the family removing from here to Moscow. William Hall, the first wagon-maker, removed at an early day. The first frame house stands opposite the " brick row," and was built about 1809 by a man named McFeeny, who was John Hageman's miller. Two years later Stephen Medaris built the first, or one of the first, brick houses in Milford, which now belongs to John L. Brunson. About the same time Paul Rust built the frame house which is now occupied by the widow Warren as a grocery. Rust was a cabinet-maker and removed to Cincinnati, where he became a well-known undertaker. Among the other early settlers of Milford was A. H. Matson, Sr., the first postmaster, who was also the first cooper. He lived on the site now known as the " Hickey" corner. Samuel Thompson, another cooper by trade, kept the public-house where is now the " Jackson House" twenty-five years. He was very muscular, and sometimes exercised his brawn to keep up the good name of his house as an orderly resort. Near by was the cabin of the widow Ray, with her two sons, who subsequently removed to the farm which is now occupied by John Gatch, where she died. Henry Stone and Jeremiah Wood were early millwrights. The latter lived in the upper part of the village until his death, at a very advanced age. William Brunson, who hved on the island, followed his avocation as a miller forty- two years, and had a most excellent reputation for making superior flour. Emanuel Hawn was the first hatter, but became a hotel-keeper, and Wallace Boyer was the hatter. Marmaduke Green was the pioneer tailor, having a shop on the site now occupied by the buildings of Caleb Williams. He moved to Cincinnati, where he became the father of John K. Green, In 1815, Daniel_ Linegar, another tailor, came from New Jersey, and carried on his trade until his death in 1836. He was the father of William P. Linegar, a merchant of Milford. Dr. William Williams, the pioneer doctor, lived in a frame house on the site of the Steffen residence. Thomas And John Cook were also among the early settlers of the village. The former was a man of prodigious strength, and once accomplished the feat of pulling off a greased gander's head, the goose being suspended just low enough to admit of being reached while galloping by on horseback. From this circumstance Milford was sometimes called "Gandertown" by the inhabitants of rival villages, but soon outgrew this appellation. In 1837 the owners of houses in Milford were Thomas M. Brown, Thomas Bond, Ichabod Clark, William Conklin, R. G. Cook, D. D. Davidson, Joseph W. Hall, L. A. Hendrick, Thomas Hare, Emanuel Hawn, Levi Knapp, Mathias Kugler, John Kugler, Britton Leming, Wilham McMains, Ruth Niles, John Pollock, Henry Polser, Samuel Perin, Elizabeth Ray, William Williams, Joseph Williams, Benjamin Walker, Thomas Boyer, Joseph Brown, James Dennison, Preston Duckett, Joseph Griffith, Edward Hughes, Elias Kerr, William Riggs, Simon Ramsey, and D. G. Pompelly. MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT. Milford was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly, passed Jan. 23, 1836, and on the 26th of March of the same year the first election of village officers was held at the public-house of Emanuel Hawn, with the following result : Mayor, William Williams ; Recorder, Thomas M. Brown ; Trustees, John Kugler, John Ray, Britton Leming, Emanuel Hawn, and Simon Ramsay ; Treasurer, Edward Hughes ; Marshal, James Dennison ; Street Commissioner, William Conklin. The marshal was also appointed nuisance-master, at a salary of $5 per year, A tax of five mills on the dollar for all purposes was levied, and brought into the village treasury $113.20; as license fees there were received $5, and as road tax $82 more, making the total receipts $200.20. Of this amount there were paid out to defray the current expenses of the village government $104.24, leaving a neat balance in the treasury, For protection against fires the trustees provided eight ladders, which were to be placed in pairs at John Kugler's, William Conklin's, E. Hawn's, and William Riggs'. The village records for many years are defective, thus precluding the giving of a complete list of officers, but for the years of which any account exists they have been as follows : 1837.—Mayor, E. Hughes; Recorder, Lawson Pratt; Trustees, Joseph Williams, Joel Ogg, Thomas Boyer, Wm. Conklin, L. A. Hendrick ; Treasurer, Levi Knapp ; Marshal, Wm. Brown ; Street Commissioner, Jacob Hughes. 1838.—Mayor, James Dennison ; Recorder, Lawson Pratt ; Trustees, R. F. McMains, John Oliver, Joseph Williams, Edward Hughes, John Kugler ; Treasurer, Levi Knapp ; Marshat, Abel Daugherty ; Street Commissioner, John Julien. 1839.—Mayor, John Pollock ; Recorder, Joseph Wrlliams ; Trustees, Wm. Williams, Edward Hughes, Thomas M. Brown, Wm. Baughart, Henry Polser; Treasurer, Thomas M. Brown ; Marshal, Street Commissioner, and Nuisance-Master, A. P. Boyer. 1840.—Mayor, Leonard A. Hendrick; Recorder, John Pollock; Trusteest Emanuel Hawn, Wm. McMains, Wm. Conklin, John Kugler, Britton Leming ; Treasurer, Emanuel Hawn; Street Commissioner, Wm. L. Barwise. 1841,—Mayor, L. A. Hendrick ; Recorder, James Dennison i Trustees, E. Hawn, William Williams, Jacob Allen, Abram Boyer, James Pollock; Treasurer, E. Hawn ; Marshal, William Barwise. 1842.—Mayor, L. A. Hendrick ; Recorder, Orville Wiggins ; Trustees, T. W. Boyer, James Pollock, W. P. Linegar, J. Kugler, W. T. Brown ; Treasurer, W. T. Brown. 1843.—Mayor, Charles Williams ; Recorder, Orville Wiggins ; Trusteest B. Leming, James Pollock, T. W. Boyer, Preston Duckett, Abram Bell; Treasurer, T. W. Boyer; Marshal, P. Duckett; Street Commissioner, James Pollock. 1844.—Mayor, Wm. E. Hughes; Recorder, 0. Wiggins; Trustees, Moses Ross, A. Bell, E. Hawn, Wm. McMains, L. Windsor ; Treasurer, E. Hawn ; Marshal, P. Duckett ; Street Commissioner, Thomas Bailey. 1845.—Mayor, L. A. Hendrick ; Recorder, P. Duckett ; Trustees, D. G. Pumpelly, J. Simmons, J. N. Ross, M. Ross, A. Bell;