ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 25 When the question is asked, when was the present city- of Xenia laid out? we know that. at this first meeting of the court much had been done in that direction, and early in the fall of 18'03 the work was finished. James Galloway, Sr., was appointed treasurer of said county the next day after Mr. Vance, which was August 4, 1803. At the December term of the court, 1803, he received $49.25 for his services. He, it is said, furnished his own Chain men in making, the survey, made a plat of the town, and sold some lots., He had also purchased the land of Colonel John Paul. And to the new made treasurer of Greene county Mr. Vance is firmly bound as director of the new county seat of Greene county. Inasmuch as this first bond (the. original of which, is in the hands of the writer), the first bond given by any officer in Greene county, is of historic interest we- will give entire the following true copy : Auditors office, Greene county, Aug. 4, 1803. Know all by these presents that we, Joseph C. Vance, David Huston and Joseph Wilson, of Greene county, are respectfully held and. firmly bound unto the treasurer of said county and state of Ohio, or his successors in office, in the penal sum of fifteen hundred dollars as witness our hands and seals, etc. The condition of the above mentioned obligation is such that if the above mentioned Joseph C. Vance shall well, truly and faithfully discharge all and singular the. duties, etc.,. of director for the purchasing of land, laying off and selling lots, at the seat of justice, for the aforesaid county, of Greene, as established, by the commissioners appointed by the general assembly of the state of Ohio for that purpose, agreeable to an act in such cases made and provided, the obligation is void and of none effect, otherwise it will stand in full force and virtue. Witness our hands and seals, this 4th day of August, one thous-and eight hundred and three. JOSEPH C. VANCE, (seal) DAVID HUSTON, (seal) JOSEPH WILSON, (seal) Attest, John Paul, C. G. C. As we have said, the first court was held in the house of Owen Davis, which was five and one-half miles west of the present city of Xenia, on what is now known as the Harbine farm, in Beavercreek township. The June term, 1804, was the last term of court held in the old log house down on Beaver. The present site of Xenia having been selected as the permanent seat of justice, Mr. William A. Beatty, from Kentucky, was busy in front of our present court house cutting the logs to erect the first tavern in the new county seat. He had also rented the west room up, stairs to the county- for a court room, and it was a race between him and Rev. James Towler which would be the-first to, finish their two-story dog cabins. Mr. Frederick Boner was building for Mr. Towler, on the lot now covered by- H. H. Eavey's wholesale house. The tavern of Mr. Beatty was on the site now covered by the Leaman block, opposite the present court house. The evidence is in favor of Mr. Beatty as to who won the race, as his build-ing was finished and opened for business October 1804. The house was a hewed-log. double structure, two stories high, its length was from east to, west, and width from north to south, and its west end was about forty-five feet east of the southeast 26 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. corner of Main and Detroit streets, on lot No. 13, where the Xenia National Bank now stands. The place that had been selected for the permanent county seat of Greene county was at this time covered by a dense growth of forest trees, as some one beautifully expressed it, "The whole country around the present city of Xenia was one unbroken forest, beneath whose sylvan shades the timid deer lay down to rest ; among whose branches the playful squirrel sported in freedom, the songs of birds made the forests redolent with music and was altogether a scene of natural beauty and harmony presenting itself to the senses—delightful and enchanting. But as if nature could not blend in such harmony, the charm is broken, the spell dispelled by the dismal howl of the wolf, or the blood-curdling whoop of the red men. Mid such surroundings our forefathers hewed a home for themselves and made it possible for us to have the beautiful homes we have to-day." Down in what is now known as Clermont county, on its southern border near the. Ohio river, was a little town by the name of Bullskin, named for a small creek of the same name. From that place running north was a trail passing through New Burlington, thence what is now (1900) known as Detroit street; Xenia, and terminating at Urbana, Ohio. Starting west was another trail through Franklinton, near the present city of Columbus, thence west over what is now known as Main street, Xenia, intersecting the Bullskin trail at the northwest corner of the public square, thence in the same direction to what is known as West street, Xenia, thence south from that point through Waynesville, Lebanon and on to Cincinnati. On the farm of Paris Peterson, four miles southeast of Xenia, had been commenced what was known as the town of Ceasarsville, by one Thomas Corneal, as early as the year 1800. A court house had been built, a public well also near by, and scattered here and there were quite a number of log cabins. In the early marriages of Greene county many parties were made one in that building, which had been erected for the court house by William I. Stewart, Esq. And it is also a fact that Ceasarsville was the one place of voting for Ceasarscreek township from May 10, 1803, until the organization of Xenia township August 20, 1805, when, as the record says, the first election for Xenia township shall be held in the house of William A. Beatty, of Xenia. The compiler of this has in his possession the original tally sheet of elections held in Ceasarscreek township from the first dividing the county into townships, which was clone May 10, 1803, and from that time until- the organization of Xenia township the few pioneers then living at what is now known as Xenia voted at the house of William I. Stewart at Ceasarsville, going out the trail now known as the Wilmington pike. In making arrangements to remove from the old court house some very valuable old papers have been found, which help to tell some of the stories of the past. Among them one which tells the names of the commissioners that had been appointed by the legislature to locate the permanent county seat of Greene county. They were Ichabod B. Helsey, Balden Apsby and William McClelland. The same commissioners acted as such for Montgomery county. Step by step, as it were, we have sought ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 27 to show the authority for every move that was taken to organize the county of Greene "in the beginning." And now we come to the time \lien the permanent county seat had been .chosen, and will proceed to tell how the said county seat came to be called "Xenia," and by whom named. A few months ago the compiler of this sketch had the pleasure of meeting at Springfield, Ohio, Mrs. Maria Stone, youngest daughter of General Benjamin Whiteman. Although in her ninety-third year, her mind was as clear as a perfect sounding bell when it came to talking of the long ago. It was with pleasure that we sat and listened as she gave her recollections of the christening or giving a name to the new seat of justice for the county of Greene, as she said she had heard her father tell time and again. She remembered. to have heard him speak of the time that he and his father-in-law, Owen Davis, and his good wife, Laticia Davis. had received an invitation from Joseph C. Vance, John Paul, William A. Beatty and others, to meet with them at the "cross-roads" (where Main street now intersects Detroit), and assist in giving a name for the new seat of justice that had been selected and laid out by Joseph C. Vance. Of course, the invitation was accepted, and the General and his family were present that day with other pioneers who had been also invited, and there was somewhat of a crowd. Many names were proposed among them were the names of Washington, Wayne and Greenville. And it is also said that at this time there was a stranger, a scholarly looking man, who stepped forward and said : "Gentlemen, allow me to suggest a name for your county town. In view of the kind and hospitable manner in which I have been treated whilst a stranger to most of you, allow me to suggest the name of "Xenia," taken from the Greek, and signifying hospitality. The name was accepted and placed among the names that were about to be balloted for. Several ballots were taken, and at last a tie between Xenia and another name which she could not recall. Out of compliment to Owen Davis, Mrs. Stone's grandfather, and who was also the owner of the building where the first courts of Greene county were held, and also the first miller in Beavercreek township, and a few years after the first miller in Miami township, near the present town of Clifton, Mrs. Davis was allowed to cast a vote, which vote was in favor of Xenia. And it is said that the stranger, as he started to ride away, after hearing the ballot was decided in favor of the name he had given, said, "Gentlemen, I thank you for deciding in favor of Xenia." That stranger was the Rev. Robert Armstrong, who one year later became the pastor of the Massiescreek and Sugarcreek associate congregations of Greene county. The object of this sketch is facts and not tradition. In this version we have ample proof of the statements made of its correctness. James E. Galloway, yet living (May, 1900), says he remembers to have heard his father, Major James Galloway, Jr., speak time and again of the circumstance as above related. In the records of the court held December term, 1803, we find that Rev. Robert Armstrong took out license to solemnize a marriage. That was about one year previous to his coming to settle permanently in this county, and while here he was called on for the purpose of joining a happy couple, and before doing so had to have a license. 28 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY In the Cincinnati Commercial, under date of April, 1854, also comes the following from Miami University, signed "M.," which gives the same story with some slight changes. This writer claimed, to have been a son of one of the early settlers of Xenia : "The place contained a few houses, yet it aspired to the dignity of a town, and commissioners, or whosoevers business it was, had assembled at the tavern to decide on a name; many names were proposed, some whiskey drank, and the afternoon spent, but on no name could they agree ; the evening came and went, and yet they were undecided. In the meantime a stranger had put up at the tavern, and his manner and dress bespoke one of education; they agreed that to him should be left the name for the village. The stranger was informed, of their decision, and consenting to the arrangement promised them a name in the morning. Breakfast being over, the name was requested. He gave them 'Xenia,' saying it was a Greek word meaning 'hospitality,' and that he gave it in consideration of his hospitable reception while a stranger in their midst." By an act of the general assembly of the state of Ohio, passed February 14, 1804, the office of county commissioner was created as it stands to-day. The first commissioner under this act was elected on the first Monday in April, 1804. They held their first court for the transaction of the business of the county in the following June, and at that meeting the following record was made : "At the house of Peter Borders, in Beaver-creek township, June, 1804. Jacob Smith, James Snowden and John Sterrett, Gents., produced certificates of their being duly elected commissioners for the county of Greene, and then there was a court held by the board of commissioners for said county, and John Paul was appointed clerk of said board of commissioners, and said commissioners cast lots for rank; Jacob Smith drew for three years, John Sterrett for two years and James Snowden for one year." ORGANIZATION OF XENIA TOWNSHIP. August 20, 1805, James Collier, John Sterrett and James McCoy and others presented a petition to the board of commissioners, at that time in session, for the above purpose, and was so ordered as follows : It is considered by the board of commissioners that there shall be one township organized out of parts of 'Ceasarscreek and Beavercreek townships. All that part of Beavercreek township east of the Little Miami and above the mouth of Massies creek, thence with Beaver-creek township, to the east corner of Sugarcreek township, thence with the Sugarcreek line to the mouth. of Anderson's fork, thence up the main fork of Ceasarscreek with the meanderings thereof to the east line of said county ; thence north with said line to the northeast corner, thence west to the Miami, thence down the river to the beginning, which shall be called and known by the name of Xenia township. The first election shall be held at the house of William A. Beatty in Xenia. Previous to this the elections have been held at the house of William I. Stewart, Ceasarscreek township, at Ceasarsville, near the present residence of Mr. Pad Peterson. In the year 1807 Moses Collier was appointed to take the enumeration of the white males in Xenia township above the age of ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 29 twenty-one years; the following is the result: William Aldridge, Littleberry Aldridge, John Allen, William Allen, William Allen, Jr., Samuel Alexander, Samuel Anderson, James Anderson, William Anderson, John H. Anderson, John Anderson, Daniel Anderson, John Alexander, Mathew Alexander, Angelo Adams, Ephram Adams, William A. Beatty, Bartholomew Berra, William Bull, Sr., Jame's Bull, Richard Bull, Thomas Bull, John Bull, John Boyd, David Boyd, Robert Boggess, Elias Bromagen, Daniel Boyle, Jonathan Brown, James Barkley, James Bunton,, Henry Baldwin, James Bonner, David S. Bonner, Frederick Bonner, Elisha Bales, Jonathan Bale's, John D. Burrel, James Bruce, Samuel Brazelton, James Butler, Samuel Bone, William Burnsides, George Boblett, Elbranah Bramlete, Henry Bray, Samuel Creswell, Walter Creswell, William Campbell, Daniel Cotrell, Jacob Cutler, Benjamin Cutler, James Collier, Moses Collier, Joseph Conklin, Andrew Cronk, John Chambers, Cornelius Collins, Jesse Duncan, Elgin Driskell, Owen Davis; John Donnelly, Andrew W. Davison, John Dooley, Elijah Embree, Thomas Embree, John Ellis, William Ellis, William A. Ellis, George D. Edge, William Edge, Michael Fullum, John Fries, Josiah Grover, Benja-min Grover, James Gowdy, Samuel Gowdy,. Robert Gowdy, Samuel Gamble, William Gordon, William Gibson, Andrew Gibson, John Gregg, John Graham, Joseph Graham, Thomas Godfrey, Gray Gary, John Good, John Galloway, John Gaddis, Mathew Hillis, James Hillis, Sampson Hillis, David Hillis, John Hillis, Henry Haynes, Benjamin Hanes, James Hale, Jacob Helmick, Joseph Hamill, Robert Hamill, Enos Holland, John A. Hoop, Tinsley Heath, James Hickman, William Horney, James Haynes, Hank Inman, John Irwin, James Junkin, William Junkin, William Johnson, Arthur Johnson, Reuben Johnson, Philip Jackson, Joseph Kyle, Sr., Joseph Kyle, Samuel Kyle, William Kendall, David. Laughead, Abraham Larue, Benjamin Lard, James Lyon, James Loyd, John Loyd, Samuel Lyon, William Lenard, David Mitchell, John Mitchell, James Miller, Jacob Miller, William Miller, Horatio. Maxey, Bennett Maxey, James Morrow, John Milton, Jahn Mattox, James Merryfield, John Marshall, William Morgan, John Morgan, Evan Morgan, Isaac Maitland, George Merryman, Richard Mendenhall, John Mendenhall, Aaron Mendenhall, Charles Moore, William McFarland, John McFarland, John McFarland, Jr., Robert McFarland, Alexander McCoy, Sr., David McCoy, Francis McCoy, Robert McCoy, James McCoy, John McCoy, Alexander McCoy, Jr., Daniel McMillan, Isaiah McDonald, Dempsey McDonald, Levet McDonald, Wilson McDonald, William McClelland, Adset McGuire, John. McClure, Jacob Nisonger, James Neeley, Sr., James Neeley, Jr., Michael Peterson, Thomas Per-kins, Joseph Porter, John Porter, Samuel Picklehimer, William Price, David Price, Eli Pendry, John Paul, Jonathan Paul, Henry Phenix, Henry Phillips, John R. Robins, Stephen Roper, Alexander Ross, Conrad Richards, Arnold Richards, John Ruth, William Ruth, Samuel Ruth, Andrew Scott, Moses Scott, John Stull, William Stanton, Jacob Steele, Hezekiah Saunders, Calvin Sayer, Thomson Simpson, James Small, Michael Spencer, Joseph Spencer, John Stevens, James Stevens, John Street, Rev. John Sale, Frederick Shigley; John 30 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. Shigley, John Sterritt, Joseph Sterritt, William Stanfield, James Stephenson, William Stephenson, Thomas Townsley, Sr., John Townsley, Sr., William Townsley, John Tucker, Joel Thornburg, James Towler, Isaac Vandeventer, Rememberance Williams, John Williams, Jonathan Wallace, Jonathan H. Wallace, Thomas Whalen, James White, William Wade, George Wade, William Witty, John 'Wilson, Joseph Wilson, Stephen Winter, James Winter, Jesse Watson, John Watson, Arthur Watts, Edward Watts. At the time Xenia township. was organized the following were then in office in Greene county : Jahn Paul was clerk of courts and county recorder ; William Maxwell was sheriff ; James Galloway, Sr., was treasurer of the county ; and the county commissioners were Jacob Smith, James Snowden and John McClain ; the county surveyor was James Galloway, Jr.; and the associate judges were Benjamin Whiteman and James Barrett, Sr. James Galloway, Sr.,. acted as treasurer of Greene county from the time of his appointment in 1803 until the middle of June, 1819, when he gave way to Ryan Gowdy. John Hivling never was treasurer, neither was James Popenoe, but were simply tax collectors. They were both sheriffs at the time they- were said to have been treasurers of the county, and as such were collectors of taxes. BATH TOWNSHIP. Bath township was organized March 3; 1807, being taken from the territory of Beavercreek, its south line originally, as now, -running east and west along the north boundary of the fifth of sections in the seventh range of townships. This line is one mile south of the village of Byron, extending from the west line of the county east to the Little Miami river. The township included all the territory west of, the Little Miami river between this line and what was then the south line of Champaign county. Bath township therefore extended two miles south of the present village of Osborn, and it included nearly all of what is now Mad River and Green townships in Clark county, also the northwest corner of Madison township in the same county. The first election in this township was at the house of Andrew Reed, April 29, 1807, for the purpose of electing two justices of the peace, which resulted in Andrew Reed being selected for the western portion of the township and Thomas Fream for the eastern portion, but both had quarters at what is now the village of Yellow Springs. Mr. David Sleeth had been appointed to take the enumeration of all the free white males over the age of twenty-one years, and the following are the names of those, he found in the new township of Bath : James Andrew, Hugh Andrew, William Anderson, John Anderson, John Adams, Darrow Aims, Zachariah Archer, Samuel Aldridge, John Blue, Sr., John Blue, Robert Blue, David Blue, John Black, George Brown, Samuel Brown, Robert Bell, John Burgess, Samuel Butler, Enoch Bots, Richard Bennett, Jacob Beall, John Badley, James Beck, Oding Barton, Thomas Barnes, John Buffanbarger, Joshua Bozarth, John Barton, Thomas Barton, George Botkins, Adam Chambers, James Chambers, Joseph Carpenter, Christopher Carpenter, John Carpenter, Isaac Cruzan, Job Clemens, John Casad, Sr., John Casad, Jr., Aaron Casad, Jacob Casad, Sr., ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 31 Jacob Casad, Jr., Samuel Casad, Abraham Classmire, Isaac Clemens, John Crumb, John Cromwell, John Galloway, Ezra Clark, John Cox, Josiah Carson, Dennis Dunn, Benjamin Deveer, Mathew Dinsmore, John Driscoll, Robert Davis, Daniel Davis, Robert DeWitt, George Drummond,. Abraham Enlow, William Emmitt; Robert Flack, Edward Flood, Jonathan Flood, Benjamin French, John Forgy, James Forgy, Daniel Foley, Arthur Forbes, Thomas Fream, William Freele, William Forqueor, Jonas Forqueor, George Foulk, John Goldsby, Edward Golds-by, William Goldsby, Bridge M. Goldsby, John Goldsby, Sr., James Grimes, Samuel Grimes, John Grimes, William Gregory, James M. Galloway, David Grummen, James Grummen, Nimrod Haddix, William Haddix, John Hall, Jacob Hall, Richard Hall, William Hamilton, Frederick Hosier, Peter Hosier, Ezekel Hopping, Jeremiah Hopping, Moses Hopping, David Hopping, George Horner, Charles Heffley, Samuel Hulie, Jacob Harbine, David Humphrey, James Johnston, Sr., James Johnston, Jr., William Johnston, Arthur Johnston, George Kerkendale, Adam Koogler, Solomon Kershner, Sr., Solomon Kershner, Jr., John Knox, Solomon Kelley, William Low, John Lee, Warton Lampton, Justice Luce Benjamin Luce, Elisha Ladley, John Lardee, Jacob M. Marshall, George Minral, Jonathan Mercer, Robert Mercer, James Miller, Benjamin Miller, Martin Miller, James Miller, Sr., Christy Miller, Aaron Miller, William Martin, John Martin, William Mears, Daniel Moore, Richard Moore, Sr., Richard Moore, Jr., John Morgan, Charles McGuire, John McCullough, William McClure, Mathias McClure, John McKage, Joseph McCord, William McKenzie, Joseph McCune, Alexander McNary, Alexander McHugh, Samuel McKenney, John McPherson, John McGillard, Sr., John McGillard, Jr., James McDormit, Mr. McDermond, John Nelson, Phillip Petro, Nicholas Petro, Paul Petro, William Pasel, Andrew Reid, Jess Rush, Jacob Rush, John Rue, John Rosegrant, Jacob Ryan, David Read, Jacob Rudy, Henry Sidensticker, Sebastian Shroufe, Sr., Sebastian Shroufe, Jr., Christian Shroufe, Samuel Stewart, John Stewart, Isaac Stout, John Sleeth, David Sleeth, John Smith, Mathias Smith, William Smith, Spencer Smith, Thomas Seamore, Samuel Stites, Evers Stevens, Borxeen Stout, George Shannon, Elijah Stibbons, Francis Sipe, William Stevens, Simon Shover, Samuel Shoup, Jacob .Stoker, William Stoker, Joseph Tatman, James Tatman, Peter Taylor, Joseph Taylor, Isaac Taylor, David Taylor, Henry Taylor, John Templeton, Joseph Tole, Jacob Trubee, John Trubee, Silas Trobridge, John Tingley, Christopher Trubee, Macajey Tole, Joseph Wadkins, Richard Wise, Zibbee Winget, Samuel Winget, Reuben Winget, Jacob Wilson, John Wilson, Michael Wilson, Christian Wilson, Valentine Wilson, Robert Wolburn, Benjamin Whiteman, Ebenezer Wheeler, George Wolf, John Wolf, John Wolf, Andrew Westfall, Jacob Vandevanter, Peter Vandevanter, Cornelius Vandevanter. MIAMI TOWNSHIP. Miami township was organized on the 8th day of June, 1808, being taken from Bath and Xenia townships. Its northwest corner was in the present Mad River township, Clark county, in the south line of Champaign county, two miles north of the 32 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. present northeast corner of Bath township. From this point the west line of Miami extended south seven miles to the southern line of Bath township; thence it extended east to the east line of the county. The present southern line of Miami is part of the original line. Extend the present- southern line of Miami two miles west and then east to the east line of the county and we shall have the original line. Miami township then in-- cluded in what is now Greene county, the northern portions of what is now Cedarville and Ross townships, and in Clark county about one-third of Mad River ,township, all of Greene and one-half of Madison township. The first election was held in the house of David S. Brodick at Yellow Springs. The enumeration was taken by James Stewart, lister, of Miami township, in 1808, and is as follows : John Adams, John Ambler, John Anderson, William Anderson, William Andrew, William Alban, Thomas Barnes, William Berry, John Berry, Thomas Barton, John Blue, David S. Brodrick, Owen Batman, James Beck, Widow Bradfute, Widow Curry, Elizabeth Currie, William Cotren, Cornelius Collins, John Calloway, Widow Dewitt, Owen Davis, Rachel Duffy, Robert Davis, Ephram Enlow, William Edge, Thomas Freeman, Arthur Forbes, William Freal, Daniel Foley, Michael Folm, John Garlough, David Garrison, John Gowdy, Mathew Gibson, Widow Goldsby, Sarah Goldsby, John Goldsby, George Goldsby, Edward Goldsby, John Graham, David Hopping, Ezekiel Hopping, Samuel Hulic, David Humphreyville, Christopher Hulinger, Joseph Huston, Jacob Hubble, William Johnson, John Knox, Elisha Leslie, Justice. Luse, Christopher Lightfoot, George Logan, Daniel Mann, Maurice Miller, Benjamin Miller, Jacob Miller, John Morland, Sr., John Morland, Jr., William Morland, William M. Martin, James Martin, Robert Mitchell, Andrew Moodie, William Miars, John McClelland, Alexander McCullough, Moses Napp, William Passel, Michael Peterson, Alexander Russell, Conrad Richards, Abraham Runion, John Riley, John Ray, John Rosegrant, John Stewart, Samuel Stewart, James Stewart, Abraham Stout, Isaac Stout, Sebastian Shrouf, Christopher Shrouf, Evan Stevens, Francis Sipe, Henry Taylor, George Taylor, Cornelius Vandevanter, Isaac Vandevanter, David Vance, John Vance, John Walker, Robert Walburn, James Willetts, Ebenezier Wheeler, John Williams, James Stewart, lister of Miami township in 1809. The above were all tax payers at that date. SILVERCREEK TOWNSHIP. Silvercreek township was organized March 4, 1811, being taken from Ceasarscreek and Xenia townships, the greater part from Ceasarscreek. Its southwest corner was in the southern line of the county, one mile east of the old Ross county line; that is seven miles west of the southeast corner of the county ; thence it extends north eight miles, thence east seven miles to the east line of the county ; thence south with said county line to the southeast corner of the county ; thence west to the place of beginning. Its northern limit originally was the same as that at present ; it, included all of what is now Jefferson township, and the eastern part of Spring Valley, about one-fourth of the township. The first election was held at the house of Noah Strong in ROBINSON'S' HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 33 said township. At the organization of Jasper township, the 9th of June, 1853, a; portion of Silvercreek township was added, to the aforesaid township, and again on the 7th day of June, 1858, Jefferson township was taken entirely from Silvercreek township. Previous to the formation of this township there had been an election precinct at Bowersville. The petitioners for the new township were mostly from that part of the. township. By the formation of this township, Silvercreek was reduced in size one-half and to its present boundary. In 1813 James Bryan took the enumeration for taxable purposes, and reported as. tax payers for the year 1813 : James Bryan, Morison Bryan, Herman Browder, Jonathan Browder, William Browder, Thomas Browder, Daniel Browder, Ezekiel Bess, George Bone, Cornelius Curzen, John Campbell, Lemuel Cotrell, Hiram Cottrell, John Curry, Lewis Chance, Thomas Chaner, John Copeland, William Copeland, Edward Chaney, David Davis, Andrew Downey, Christopher Ellis, Bazel Foster, William Gilmore, Uriah Hunt, William Hibben, John Hoblet, Stephen Hussey, Mary Hussey, Nathan Hussey, Samuel Johnson, John W. Johnson, Michael M. Johnson, Joseph Johnson, John S. Johnson, Christopher Johnson, Moor-man Johnson, Jesse Kelsey, Joseph Lucas, Thomas Lenard, Nathaniel Lenard, Samuel Lee, Andrew Moorman, Pleasant Moorman, Thomas P. Moorman, Chiles Moorman, Macajah C. Moorman, Thomas Moorman, Sr., Aaron Mendenhall, Martin Mendenhall, Stephen Mendenhall, John Myers, Michael Mann, James Medley, John Mickle, Mary Mulnick, John Oliver, Ebenezer Perry, Thomas Palmer, John Pearson, Jacob Rumbaugh, George Rumbaugh, Asher Reeves, Malon Stratton, George Shaner, Sr., George Shaner, Jr., Adam Shaner, John Sheeley, Michael Sheeley, William Saunders, Noah Strong, George W. Strong, Robert Stewart, James Stewart, Malan Suard, William Skates, William Stanberry, Hureules Turner, Walter Turner, Levi Townsend, Abraham Townsend, Richard Thornberry, John Watson, Sr., John Watson, Jr., David Watson, Stephen Williams, Joseph Wilson, Sr., Joseph Wilson, Jr.,. George Wilson, Edward Warren, Eleanor Wood, Phillip Wikle, Abraham Young. ROSS TOWNSHIP. Ross township was organized on the same day with Silvercreek, March 4, 1811. It was taken entirely from Xenia township, and is bounded as follows : Beginning at. the northwest corner of Silvercreek town-ship, it extended north to the south line of-Miami, a distance of nearly six miles, thence-east with the Miami line. to the east line of the county; thence south to the northeast. corner of Silvercreek; thence west to the-place of beginning. Since its organization.: in 181i a portion of Cedarville township has been taken from it, and a portion of Miami: added to it. In form it was originally. a rectangle, seven miles in length- from east: to west, and nearly six miles in width from north to south. The. first election was held'. at the house of John Bozarth. From the old records of the county we. find that Wilson McDonald, as lister, took the enumeration of taxable property in said: township May 26, 1813, and from his, returns we. gather the following names as to, who the residents of the township were at: 34 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. the aforesaid date: Daniel Burrous, John Bozarth, Joshua Bozarth, David Brown, John Bergin, Benjamin Bloomer, Margaret Baal, William Burk, Isaac Bice, John Campbell, William Campbell, Benjamin Cutler, John Cullum, Andrew Crank, Michael Casada, Joel Dolby, Andrew Douglas, Edward Flood, Sr., Jonathan Flood, Edward Flood, Jr., Upton Farmer, Jacob Follis, John Ferguson, William Ferguson, William Frasier, Mary Farmer, William Farmer, Frederick Goodheart, Angeline Gilmore, Abel H. Gibson, John Harrow, Samuel Herrod, Benjamin Harner, Alexander Irvin, Arthur Johnson, David Johnson, Benjamin Johnson, Isaac Johnson, Reuben Johnson, James Junkin, William Junkin, Phillip Jackson, James White, John Watson, Jr., John Watson, Sr., William Wilson, Eliza Young, Aaron Lambert, John Lambert, Chancey Laurence, John Mercer, William Miller, Wilson McDonald, Reuben McDonald, Robert McFarland, Jacob Paullin, Rebecca Paullin, Alexander Rowen, Robert Ross, James Ross, Isaiah Sutton, Ammoriah Sutton, John Sutton, James Selby, Boncan Stout, Aaron Saunders, Samuel Sheley, David Sheley, Monnos Shook, John Shigley, Michael Spencer, Sr., Michael Spencer, Jr., Francis Spencer, James Stanford, Thomas Stanford, Rev. Moses Trader, Samuel Teel. VANCE TOWNSHIP. At a court held at the court house in Xenia, on the 31 st day of October, 1812, there being present Thomas Hunter, Peter Pelham and Benjamin Grover, commissioners., it was ordered that Miami township be divided as follows : Beginning at the northeast corner of section 30, in fifth township on the north side of Greene county line, thence south with the section line to the Miami river, thence to the northwest corner of Ross township; thence with said township line to Greene, continuing thence with said county line to the place of beginning. The said new township shall be called and known by the name of Vance township. It was ordered that Samuel Kyle, Esq., do survey and lay off Vance township, agreeable to the above order, and make report thereof to the next court of commissioners. It was further ordered that the first meeting of the electors in Vance township for the purpose of electing township officers shall be at the house of Adam Peterson in said township on the first Monday of November next. On the 2d of January, 1812, Samuel Kyle reported as follows : "Pursuant to an order from the honorable board of commissioners of Greene county, I proceeded on the 31st day of December, 1812, to survey and lay off Vance township as follows, viz. : Beginning at a stake and white oak northeast corner to section No. 30 in township 5 and range 8, thence south with the line of this section (crossing a branch at three miles and seventeen poles, and the north fork of the Little Miami three miles and 143 poles, again at three miles and 169 poles) four miles and 135 poles to the Little Miami liver ; thence south seventeen, east two miles, 202 poles to three elms and a burr oak, corner to Ross township; thence east seven miles to three white ,oaks in the line of Greene county, corner also to Ross township, thence north (crossing east fork of the Little Miami at three miles and 255 poles, and a branch at five miles and 129 poles) seven miles to a black oak, white oak and hickory, corner to Greene county ; thence west ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE' COUNTY - 35 (crossing a branch at 136 poles, and the north fork of the Little Miami at six miles and 196 poles) seven miles and 242 poles to the beginning." May 26, 1813, Jeptha Johnston com-pleted the work of taking the enumeration of the aforesaid township. for taxable pur-poses, as follows: Charles Arthur, Charles Alsop, John Bacock, John Branson, George Buffenbarger, Mathew Bolen, John Briggs, Richard Bloxsom, William Brooks, Abraham Bash, Jacob Bowman, Isaac Cooper, Thomas Cooper, Lenard Cane, John Callo-way, James Curtis, Robert Davis, Peter Dewitt, Elisha Dewitt, William Edgar, Michael Fallum, Alexander Foster, Daniel Griffin, William Gowdy, John Garlough, Sr., John Garlough, Jr., Prudence Gibson, George Hembleman, James Hays, William Harpole, George Humphreys, Richard Ivers, Jeptha Johnston, Jacob Knave, Christopher Lightfoot, Thomas Mills, Lewis Mills, Jacob Miller, George Miller, William Marshall, William Moreland, Robert Mitchell, George Nagley, Sr., John Nagley, Henry Nagley, William Paullin, Ebenezer Paddick, Solomon Peterson, Adam Peterson, Michael Peterson, John Pollock, Conrad Richards, John Reese, Owen Reese, John Ross, Abner Robertson, James Stewart, John T. Stewart, Samuel Stewart, Seth Smith, John Standley, George Stepleton, Moses Scott, Joseph Thornbury Uriah Thornbury, Thompson, Thomas Thornbury, Isaac Vandeventer, David Vance, Joseph Vance, John Vance, Ephraim -Vance, William Vandolah, Richard Vickers, Robert Walburn, Merida. Wade, John Willet, George Weaver, Sr., George Weaver, Jr., John Wilson, Anna. Wilson, Joseph Wilson, John Walter. AN OLD-TIME CONSENT AS TO MARRIAGE. January 25th, 1816. This may certify that John B. Lawranee, of Ross township, Greene county, applied, to me for my "Consent" to join in matrimony with my Daughter Armelia Vickers, of Vance Township, County of Greene. I have therefore granted the above John B. Lawrance, his request, to marry my Daughter in a Lawful manner agreeable to an act made and found for such cases. Therefore you may grant said License for the above named purpose, without any, doubt of being called in question in any further period. Given under my hand and Seal the day and year first written in pursuance of its being done in Vance Township, Greene County. RUTH VICKERS. (Signed) JOHN B. LAWRENCE, CEDARVILLE TOWNSHIP. Cedarville township was organized on the 6th day of December, 1850. It was taken from the townships of Xenia, Ceasarscreek, Ross and Miami; it was the first township organized with very irregular boundary lines, and therefore created corre-sponding irregularity in the boundary lines of the townships out of which it was taken. This township has been changed but little since its first organization. In 1848, when an effort was made to form the township of Cedarville, some citi-zens of Ross objected to the measure, entering a vigorous protest against it, the parties making this. protest saying to the commissioners : "Our reasons we will fully 36 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. set forth in your presence, only adding here that we are not willing to have any of our township cut off, which is already too small, to gratify the caprice or spleen of any." The commissioners ordered a notice to be given in three different public places of an election of three trustees, a clerk and a treasurer to be held on the 21st day of December, 1850, in the town of Cedarville, at the house of John W. Walker. NEW JASPER TOWNSHIP. New Jasper township was organized on the 9th day of June, 1853, being taken from the townships of Ceasarscreek and Xenia. SPRINGVALLEY TOWNSHIP Was organized into a township on the 3d day of December, 1856, being taken from Sugarcreek, Ceasarscreek and Xenia townships. JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP. Was organized on the 7th day of June, 1858, being taken entirely from Silvercreek township. Previous to its formation there had been an election precinct at Bowersville, and the petitioners for the new township were mostly from that part. By the formation of this, the last township in this county, Silvercreek was reduced in size about one-half. JOHN PAUL, THE FOUNDER OF XENIA, OHIO. John Paul was clerk of the courts of Greene county from 1803 to 1808. It is a source of regret that more care had not been taken to preserve the history of the early pioneers of our county of Greene. We have the statement in a few words. "John Paul donated to the town of Xenia and county of Greene the ground for the public buildings," and again in answer to the question "Who was the founder of Xenia ?" the answer is, "John Paul sold to the proper persons, who had been appointed to receive it, the two hundred and fifty-seven and three-fourths acres of ground which constituted the original corperation of Xenia." But who was John Paul, where did he came from, and what became of him? The compiler of this sketch had thought there would be no doubt but what our honored old townsmen, Thomas P. Townsley, could answer the aforesaid questions, but he said he could not. He said that when he made up his mind to marry he went to Pennsylvania and secured his "Paull," and that the founder. of Xenia was no relation to his wife's people that he was aware of, he spelling his name Paul, whilst his wife's was Paull. We gather the following from the reccrds of Greene county : At the first organization of the county John Paul was at that time a resident of Beavercreek township, and at the first meeting of the associate judges at the "house of Peter Borders" for the purpose of laying off the county into townships John Paul was appointed as clerk of courts. In the minutes of said court, which was held on the l0th day of May, 1803, appears the following : "John Paul was appointed to act as clerk for said court, and took the oath of office," He continued to act as such until December 7, 1808, when we find in the minutes of a special court that had been called the following communication from Mr. Paul : "To the Commissioners of Greene County : Mr. Josiah Grover ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 37 will attend as clerk at your next meeting, and at the end of same you may proceed to choose another clerk in my place. Signed, John Paul." Captain Benoni Nesbitt (now deceased) gives us a very interesting story of John Paul. He intimates that before the selection of a permanent site for the county seat had been determined, Mr. Paul was then residing in a cabin "down on Beaver," and while there he learned that the point selected for the site of the county seat was at the fork of Shawnee creek. He forthwith closed his cabin, and was away to see the parties who were agents for the land that would comprise the new county seat, from whom he purchased two thousand acres, which would take in all, and more, of the aforesaid county seat. We find on an examination of the records that the story of Captain Benoni has some foundation. In Vol. I, Records of Deeds, page 16, appears the following under date of June 7, 1803: "Bought of Thomas Richardson and wife Elizabeth, of Hanover county, Virginia," and goes on to describe the tract. Mr. Nesbitt was mistaken in the name of the party to the story, calling him Jonathan (see history of Greene county, page 425) instead of John. "Jonathan Paul entered the land that is now called the John B. Lucas farm (see Vol. No. 1, Deeds, page 542) and erected his cabin near where now the home of John B. Lucas stands. Jonathan Paul bought of Thomas Parker and his wife Sallie, of Frederick county, Virginia," and the deed is dated October 8, 1808. So it can readily be seen that John and Jonathan were not one and the same person. Jonathan was the youngest brother of Colonel John. Mr. Paul in his generous gift of the one and one- half acres of ground to the town of Xenia and county of Greene for public buildings was not exorbitant in his price for the balance of the land, which he sold to the parties representing the new county seat for the sum Of two hundred and fifty dollars for the two hundred and fifty-seven and three-fourths acres which constituted the original corporation of Xenia. Yet while Mr. Paul was liberal, there is evidence to show that while he was a good clerk of courts for Greene county he was also a man of good business qualifications, and had an eye to reaping benefits in the future as the new town would. grow and improve. We have evidence to show that he was what is called to-day in the west "a town boomer," and that he had much to do in having the county seat of Greene county located at this place. In a map of Xenia which the compiler of this sketch has in his possession a number of lots all over the town are marked as the property of John Paul. Josiah Grover, his agent, was his brother-in-law. From the best information that can be obtained Mr. Ptul, soon after he resigned as clerk of courts of Greene county, removed to the present site of the city of Madison, Indiana, and became the founder of that city. Among the records of this county is a transcript taken from the courts of Jefferson county, Indiana, in the year 1816, and certified to by John Paul, clerk of courts of Jefferson county, Indiana. In comparing the hand writing it is the same as our John Paul's, ex-clerk of courts of Greene county. In addition to this is evidence taken from the Cincinnati Gazette of some correspondent who had been a former resident of this county (and who does not give his name), 38 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. but does give some very interesting pen pictures of some of the early residents of Xenia. Of Mr. Paul he says : "He was the original proprietor of Xenia, Ohio, and also of Madison, Indiana, and that he was a pioneer from Kentucky. A man of great enterprise, and was for several years the intelligent and active clerk of courts of Greene county, Ohio." He was also the father-in-law of Governor William Hendricks, who was an honor to the state in which he lived, and filled the office of a legislator, governor, representative and senator in congress with ability and rare integrity ; and who, with his pioneer father-in-law, John Paul, the proprietor of two flourishing cities in Ohio and Indiana, sleeps in death in the cemetery in Madison, Indiana. Many of the early settlers of Greene county followed, Mr. Paul to Madison and located there and in that vicinity. Major George Gordon moved him to that place in 1809. In fixing the date when Mr. Paul first came to Greene county, Ohio, we quote from his family history : "In 1794 he was married to Miss Sarah Thomberry Grover, sister of Josiah Grover, the second clerk of courts of Greene county, at Danville, Kentucky. They had four children, the first child, Mary Berry, dying when quite young. The next child, Ann Parker, was born in Kentucky (Hardin county) March 18, 1799. John P., the next child, was born in what is now Greene county, Ohio, December 23, 1800, which is near the time he first came and purchased of the United States the land known to-day ( 1900) as `Trebein's; three miles northwest of the Little Miami river. And it was Colonel John Paul who was the first to harness the waters of the aforesaid river to get power to run his grist and sawmill at that point, and it was then known as "Paul's Mill." At the close of the year 1802 the territorial government was overthrown, and the state government established. Accordingly representatives were chosen to formulate a state constitution, and take steps for admission to the union of states. Mr. Paul, then living in that part of Hamilton county which was soon to be Greene county, was chosen as one of the representatives, and helped to formulate the first constitution of the state, under which we lived for nearly one-half a century. Cblonel John Paul was also a member of the senate of first legislature that convened at the town of Chillicothe, March 1, 1803. He had also a near neighbor of his in the house of the legislature in the person of William Maxwell, who was chosen as one of the first associate judges of Greene county." This brings his history down to the time he was chosen as clerk of courts May 10, 1803. Colonel John Paul was the fourth child and second son of Michael Paul and Ann Parker, who were married at Germantown, Pennsylvania, about the year 1751 or 1752. Michael Paul was a native of Holland. The time and place of his birth are unknown, as is also the date of his emigration to this country, and the fact as to whether he came alone or with others of his family. However, it is known that he had two brothers who lived at the same place, Germantown, Pennsylvania. He left Germantown in the year 1766 or 1767 and went to Red Stone (Old Fort) now Brownsville, Pennsylvania. From there he went to what is ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 39 110W West Virginia, and from there in 178i to Hardin county, Kentucky, where he died in 1801. Ann Parker, wife of Michael Paul, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1724. She belonged to the order of Dunkards. She was a cousin to Rev. Samuel Davis, D. D., a noted Presbyterian preacher of that day, and president of one of the early theological schools of Pennsylvania or New Jersey, perhaps at Princeton. She died in Hardin county, Kentucky, in June, 1813, at the age of eighty-nine. They were the parents of seven children, John, the subject of this sketch, being the fourth. He was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1758, and died June 6, 1830, in Madison, Indiana. He went with his father to Brownsville and to Virginia, and afterward to Kentucky. In the year 1778 he went with the expedition of Gen. George Roger Clark, in the campaign against the Indians in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The expedition went by boats from Louisville, Kentucky, to Kaskaskia, Illinois. When they debarked at Kas-kaskia the soldiers had to walk for a good distance in water up to the armpits, carrying their guns and powder horns above their heads to keep them dry, before reaching the fort. In 1794 he was married to Miss Sarah Thomberry Grover, at Danville, Kentucky. She was born in or near Baltimore, Maryland, March 21, 1775, and went to Kentucky with her parents somewhere in the decade of 1780, They had four children, Mary Berry, the oldest, dying when quite young. In 18̊9 Col. Paul left Xenia and came to the Indiana territory, landing with his family at the point where Madison now stands, October 6, 1809. Previous to this he had gone to the "Vendue" of public lands at Vincennes, where he bought the land upon which New Albany now stands. Upon this trip home from that sale he stopped at this purchase to fix a home, but concluding that it was an unhealthy locality he prospected along the river for a more healthy situation. He decided upon the present site of Madison as being the best suited to his wishes, and went home to Ohio to await the opening of the sales at Jeffersonville, where this land was to be sold. In the spring of 1809 he went to the sale and bought the land, and returned home and arranged for the immediate removal of his family to this place, where he afterward lived until his death. Colonel Paul was a man full of the milk of human kindness. His benefactions in the way of property for public uses are seen all along the pathway of his life. In Xenia, Ohio, he gave the site for the courthouse. In Madison, the ground for the old grave-yard, on Third street, the site for Wesley chapel, now the opera house. In Ripley county, Indiana, the ground for the graveyard in Versailles, and ground for the academy. He was a practical surveyor and a very good judge of the quality of the land, as is proven by the fact that a great many tracts of the best land in this county and Ripley were bought by him from the United States, Government. He was a man endowed by nature with. all of the elements of a: leader among men, and. he was one. In this clay and generation he would have been called an athlete on account of his activity-, strength and powers of endurance. He was tall, of fine, attractive physique; he had a command-ing appearance; kind-hearted ; he was gen-tle in manner to all, tender to those in dis- 40 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. tress; magnanimous, he was generous to a fault, always a friend to the poor and helpless, and ready to lift up and help forward young men. He was beloved by his friends and respected by all who knew him, even by his enemies, for like all men of positive character, he had them. He was an energetic business man, and engaged in farming, milling and real estate business. He was the first representative in the territorial assembly from a part of Clark ;county, Indiana, and was a member of the legislature after that county was organized. He was elected a senator from Switzerland .and Jefferson counties, Indiana, to the first legislature of the state, which' convened at -Corydon, Monday, November 4, 1816. He was called to the chair of the senate as chairman pro tempore, and was the first presiding officer of the senate. He was the first clerk and recorder of Jefferson county, Indiana, which office he held for many years. Col. John Vawter, in a letter written in 1850, says of Colonel Paul : "He was one of George Roger Clarke's men in the expedition against the British posts at Detroit, Michigan, and Kaskaskia, Illinois." He was .at the capture of Vincennes, February 24, 1779. At the time he located in this county his family consisted of himself, his wife, Miss Ruth Grover, who was a niece of his wife, and who made her home with them, and their three children. The eldest, Ann Parker, was' born March 18, 1799, in Hardin county, Kentucky. John P., who was "born in Greene county, Ohio, December 23, 1800, and Sarah G., who was born March 21, 1802, in Greene county. Ann Parker was married May 29, 1816, to William Hendricks. From this union were born nine children. She died September 12, 1887, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. John Porter Paul was a. graduate of Washington College and became a surveyor. He was married to a Miss Eliza Meek. He died in September, 1835, in Clark county, Indiana, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. Sarah G. Paul was married three times.. Her first husband was Dr. Robert Cravens, who died leaving one son, Judge John R. Cravens, of Madison, Indiana, who, is now deceased. Her second husband was Dr. Samuel M. Goode, who died leaving one son, now living in Madison, Indiana, and known as Dr. Goode. Her third husband was B. C. Stevenson, a Methodist preacher. She died in September 14, 1877. Mrs. Paul, the mother of the family, died May 8, 1866, in the ninety-second year of her age. GENERAL JOSEPH C. VANCE. A SKETCH OF THE MAN WHO SURVEYED AND LAID OUT THE CITY OF XENIA. An eventful life of usefulness, filled with exciting incidents. He was on.; of those sturdy old Scotch Presbyterians, and previous to emigrating to the Northwestern Territory was a resident of Washington county, Pennsylvania. A few years after the close of the war of the Revolution, he, with his family and property, embarked On a raft and commenced .the journey down the Ohio. The trip was a dangerous one as well maybe supposed. They were at times obliged to dodge the arrows shot at them by the wandering Indians, which came spinning over the water and fastened themselves ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 41 in the side of the boat. They frequently would wish themselves back in the old Keystone State, but to return would be as dangerous as to go ahead, which they did, and the southern shore of Kentucky was finally reached, and here for a time he resided. The war whoop and tomahawk and scalping knife were the greetings the savages gave to strangers, and the warmth of their receptions was hardly such as to lend enchantment to the whites. The first matter to attend to on landing was the erection of a block house, and here the neighbors met whenever there was an attack by the red men, which was oftentimes the case. At such times the General's family would be enlarged by the gathering of his neighbors for refuge arid assistance. In the early spring of 1797 Daniel Wilson (one of the early settlers in what is now Sugarcreek township, Greene county, Ohio), as he was returning to settle permanently on land near the village of Clio, which he had previously entered, overtook Joseph C. Vance and John Vance in the valley south of where Lebanon now stands. They were on their way to this locality, and hence were the first settlers where now is located the town of Bellbrook. Joseph entered the land extending along the east side of what is now Main street, Bellbrook, being part of Sections 31, 32 (3.5). He erected a log cabin on the site that used to be occupied by Willoughby & Davis as a carriage manufactory, on the southeast corner of Main and Walnut streets. This was the first building that was erected on the site now called Bellbrook, and it was built in the year 1797. It was the building which was to become historic on account of the use that was afterward made of it. This was the building that James Clancey a few years afterward purchased of Joseph C. Vance, and ran his first tavern—the place whereon the organization of the county into townships was. selected as the place of holding elections, and where on the aforesaid occasions would assemble the pioneers, from one-half mile east of the present village of New Burlington to the Montgomery county line on the west to cast their ballots for the men of their choice for the different offices. And in that cabin was the place where Rev. Robert Armstrong, the pioneer associate preacher, preached the word of life in the fall of 1804, and on that occasion was for the first time sung the beautiful songs of the sweet singer of Israel, in that part of Greene county. Among the number on that occasion was Gen.. Joseph C. Vance and. family, John Vance, John and James McKnight (cousins of the McKnight's that came later) ; William and James Tanner, John Gowdy, Sr., and his son, Andrew, who Was the father of Alexander, who is yet living ( 1900) on West Main street, Xenia; two Snodgrasses, two Snowden ( Jacob and James), Capt. Robert McClellan, John Torrence, John Hutchison, Abraham Van Eaton, Capt. Nathan Lamme, James Collier and others. In the first organization of the county into townships May to, 1803, Joseph C. Vance was the first clerk of the Sugarcreek township. He was also one of the number that was selected to sit as a grand juror "on the body of Greene county,' as the old records express it. August 3, 1803, Joseph C. Vance was appointed to survey the county seat, and lay off the town of Xenia. This he did the same season, and at the December term of the Court of Associate Judges received $49.25 for his 42 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. services. He furnished chain men in making the survey, made a plat of the town and sold some lots. He was selected to act as director of said town and served in that capacity until Tuesday, August 27, 1805, when he resigned and William A. Beatty was appointed in his place. Mr. Vance previous to his resignation as director must have taken his departure from Xenia, for we find that according to our records Champaign county was organized February 20, 1805. In the history of said county it-is said that Joseph C. Vance was selected as clerk of courts, and was the founder of the city of Urbana. His military title was acquired on account of services under Gen. George Roger Clarke against the combined British and Indian forces at the time of the Revolution. He lived a useful life, died and was buried at Buck Creek churchyard, six miles southeast of Urbana, Ohio. His son, Joseph Vance, was governor of Ohio from 1836 to 1838. At the time of his canvass for that office some of his boyhood companions in Bellbrook, Greene county, remembered "Joe," who used to drive an ox cart over the Pickney road, when he was a boy at home on the site of where Bellbrook was afterward built. FRANCIS DUNLAVEY, FIRST PRESIDING JUDGE OF GREENE COUNTY. Francis Dunlavey was born near Winchester, Virginia, December 31, 1761. His father, Anthoney Dunlavey, came from Ireland about the year 1745, and afterward married Hannah White, sister to Judge Alexander White, of Virginia. Of this mar riage there were four sons and four daughters. Francis was the eldest of the sons. About the year 1772 the family removed from Winchester to what was supposed to be western Virginia, on the west of the Alleghany mountains, and settled pear Catfish (Washington) in what is now Washington county, Pennsylvania. In this frontier settlement when the Revolutionary war broke out there was great exposure, as we have already seen, to Indian depredations. The men of the new settlements were constantly called upon to serve in longer or shorter tours of militia duty, which were considered essential to the safety of the frontiers. Mr. Dunlavey volunteered as a private on the 1st of October, 1776, under Capt. Isaac Cox; his lieutenant was David Steele. His company encamped in the woods at Holliday's Cove, on the Ohio river, opposite a large island in what is now Brooke county, West Virginia, now known as Brown's island, above Steubenville, Ohio, but below the mouth of Yellow creek. Here the company erected a chain of log cabins, block houses, and scouted in pairs up and down the river for the distance of twelve miles. This fort or station was on the line of defense from Fort Pitt to Gravel creek, erected as at protection to the border against the Indians. Mr. Dunlavey afterward remembered that he frequently saw at this post Col. John Gibson, of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, who supervised the several stations on the river. His tour of duty expired on the l0th of December, and he was then discharged. During the latter part of the service of this tour he, with others, was detached and sent down the river about twelve miles, where Decker's Fort was erected, and where a small settlement was protected while the ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 43 inhabitants gathered their corn. In July, 1777, Mr. Dunlavey served fourteen days in the militia at Fort Pitt as a substitute for his father, Anthoney Dunlavey, who had been drafted for a month and had served the first half of it. General Hand had just ar-rived at the post, unaccompanied by any troops. Notwithstanding Mr. Dunlavey was a militia man, he did duty in garrison under officers belonging to the regular army. Capt. Harry Heath had command of the post upon the arrival of Hand. Col. John Gibson and some of his regiment, Thirteenth Virginia, were in the garrison a short time. Captains Scott, Bell and Steele, well known about Pittsburg before, during and after the Revolutionary war, were in Fort Pitt at this time. Simon Girty was also present, then a subaltern. He seemed wholly taken up in intercourse with the Indians, many of whom were in and around the fort. Mr. Dunlavey volunteered upon the 1st of March, 1778, for one month's service. The rendezvous was at Cox's Station, on Peter's creek. Colonels Isaac Cox and John Canon attended to organizing the men ; but in eight days the militia relinquished their arms to some recruits for the regular army, who relieved them and they returned home to attend to putting in their crops. On the 15th of August, 1778, Mr. Dunlavey was again drafted for one month, the place of meeting was Pittsburg. He served this tour under Lieut. John Springer, the troops being attached to the command of Captain Ferrol, lately from the seaboard, who had a company detached from the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment. This body of men ranged the woods, visiting the stations on the frontier line between Pittsburg and Wheeling, and finally relieving a company of militia from Hampshire county, Virginia, at the latter place, commanded by Capt. Daniel Cressap, brother of the celebrated Mike Cressap. Mr. Dunlavey was discharged at Pittsburg at the end of the month's service. About the 5th of October he again entered the service. He went this time as a substitute for Andrew Flood, joining the company of Capt. John Crow. His battal-ion commander was Capt. Hugh Stevenson ; regimental commander, Col. William Craw-ford. The army. was then under the command of Brig.-Gen. Lachlin McIntosh. Mr. Dunlavey afterward remembered that Colonel Evans was commander of one of the militia regiments, and that there were also present Col. John Gibson, of the Thirteenth Virginia, and' Daniel Broadhead, colonel of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment. It was this army that built Fort McIntosh at the mouth, of Beaver creek. The army marched into the wilderness on the 5th of November, crossing the forks of the Muskingum, and building Fort Lawrence on the west bank of that river. He afterward returned to Fort McIntosh and was discharged on the 20th of December. Mr. Dunlavey was again drafted on the 25th of August, 1779 ; the rendezvous, Fort Pitt. He was in camp three days at the "King's Orchard," on the Allegheny river. He then marched up that stream under Colo-nel Broadhead as chief officer, Colonel Gib-son next in command. His captain was one Ellis. In this army were Lieuts. John Hardin, of the Thirteenth Virginia, and Samuel Brady, of the Eighth Pennsylvania, both afterwards famous in Indian warfare. John Monteur, a half-blood (son of Andrew Monteur, a Frenchman), a man of informa- 44 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. tion and education, but a great savage, accompanied the expedition, which consisted of about seven hundred whites, including some light horse, and about sixty Indians. Proceeding up the east bank of the Allegheny they crossed the Kiskiminitas, at its mouth, and a crooked creek, and came to Kittaning, where there was a garrison. The army lay several days at an old Indian town on the river about twelve miles above the Kittaning. They then marched up the river and crossed about fifteen miles below the mouth of French creek. They: then crossed the latter stream and moved toward the Monsey towns, meeting and defeating a small body of Indians, some thirty or forty in number. Four or five of the Americans were wounded, among them Jonathan Zane, who was acting as pilot to the expedition. The Monsey villages were deserted. The army lay in the abandoned towns nearly a week, destroying several hundred acres of growing corn on the banks of the river. On their return a young man named John Ward was badly injured by a horse falling on a rock in a creek. This accident occurred in what is now Butler county, Pennsylvania, where there is a township and post office called Slippery Rock. Mr. Dunlavey was discharged September 29. In the spring of 1782 Mr. Dunlavey was a student in Rev. Thaddeus Dodd's Latin and mathematical "log cabin" school at Ten-Mile, in Washington county, near Amity. He was then considered "a young man of superior talent and amiable disposition." He did not remain long in this school, for, in April of that year, he again volunteered against hostile Indians under a call from James Marshall, lieutenant of his county. The men rendezvoused at Decker's Station, or Fort, on the east bank of the Ohio, one mile above Cross creek. After a few days the men were dismissed, a sufficient number to have undertaken any important movement not having assembled. He was absent from home only ten days. No sooner was the expedition against Sandusky announced than Mr. Dunlavey once more shouldered his rifle. By the 15th of May he had returned to Decker's Station. He soon after crossed the Ohio to Mingo Bottom, and, upon the organization of the army, was made a lieutenant in Capt. Craig Ritchy's company. After the return of Mr. Dunlavey from the Sandusky campaign, and as soon as the peace of the country permitted, he was sent to the Dickenson College. He was afterward a student of divinity under Rev. James Hoge, of Winchester, Virginia, and finally taught a classical school in that state, having several pupils who subsequently were distinguished for their talents and learning. About the year 1790 he moved with his father's family to Washington, Kentucky, or that neighborhood. In 1792 he came to Columbia, near Cincinnati, where he opened a classical school in connection with the late John Reiley, of Butler county, Ohio. This school was continued for several years. He afterward moved to Lebanon, Warren county. Mr. Dunlavey was twice a member of the legislature of the Northwestern territory. He afterward was elected to the convention that formed the first constitution of Ohio. He was a member of the first state legislature, and was subsequently chosen, presiding judge of the court of common pleas of the first circuit, which office he held for fourteen years. The ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 45 counties of Hamilton, Butler, Montgomery, Greene, Warren and Clermont composed the first district. In the old graveyard at Lebanon, Ohio, near the middle of the north boundary line, is the grave of this old hero. A modest looking monument bears the following inscription : "In memeory of Francis Dunlavey, who died October 6, 1839, aged seventy-eight years." He was among the first white men who entered the territory now forming Ohio, was a member of the territorial legislature and of the convention that framed the constitution of Ohio. GEN. BENJAMIN WHITEMAN. One of Greene county's first associate judges died July 1, 1852, at his residence near Clifton, Ohio, at the age of eighty-four years. He was born on the 12th of March, 1769, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; in 1782, and when about thirteen years of age, he emigrated to Kentucky about seven years after the first white settlement had been made there by Colonel Daniel Boone, and settled near Limestone, or Maysville, as it is now called. He was associated with Boone in defending the white settlements from the ruthless hands of the savages, enlisting and serving as a volunteer in General Harmer's campaign, and also in General Anthony Wayne's army, after the appointment of that gentleman by Washington as a successor of General St. Clair to the command of .the army engaged against the Indians on our western frontier. In the month of March, 1792, he was in a desperate engagement with a party of Indians, headed by the gallant warrior, Tecumseh, in what is now Brown county, a few miles above where the town of Williamsburg is now situated. Some horses had been stolen from Mason county, Kentucky ; a party of men numbering thirty-six, commanded by that veteran Indian fighter, Simon Kenton, started in pursuit, General Whiteman being one of the party. On the morning of the second day, after crossing the Ohio river, twelve of the men gave out and returned, the weather being extremely bad. About noon, the same day, they came on the Indian camp, and found them so numerous that the attack was defrayed until night. They lay. concealed until midnight, when the attack was made in three divisions, but the Indians stood their ground and returned the fire. The watch word of the Kenton men was "Boone," which being familiar with the Indians the name was shouted on all sides, and the combatants became blended together, as was also the watch-word. 'The night was dark and the flashing and roar of the rifles, the yells of the savages and the shouts of the attacking party made the scene awfully appalling. The Indians being re-enforced from a neighboring camp, Kenton ordered retreat, which was effected with the loss of but two men. The Indians had: about one hundred men lost, fourteen killed: and seventeen wounded. In 1793, when about twenty-three, General Whiteman married the daughter of Owen Davis, the old: miller down on Beaver creek, owner of the house of Peter Borders, Greene county, Ohio's, first court house, with whom he lived for a period of about fifty-nine years. The fruits of this marriage was a numerous and a very respectable family. In the fall of 1799 he removed with his 46 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. young family to Greene county, Ohio, and settled near the mouth of Beavercreek, in the vicinity of what is now known as the Harbine farm. In this neighborhood he lived about five years, and in 1799 he built the house in which the first court was held in the county. In this connection it will not be amiss to introduce the testimony of General Whiteman himself as to when he first settled in Greene county, and while it will throw light on matters that have been settled, yet from his evidence will show con-: clusively that errors will sometimes be accepted as truth. A court of the master commissioner ( Josiah Grover) was being held at the house of Amassa Reid, at old. Chillicothe, or Old Town, for the purpose of taking depositions of some of the oldest pioneers, to be used in suits of ejectment against different parties then pending in the court of Greene county. General Benjamin Whiteman, in answer to the question "At what time did you become acquainted with the old Chillicothe, on the Little Miami river ?" said: "In the month of October, 1790. In 1792 I, together with a detachment of militia from Kentucky, encamped on that point of land that lies just beyond Old Town, between what is now known as Massies creek and the Little Miami river. It was then /generally spoken of as an island amongst us, and I always believed it to be an island until I became a resident of this county, in 1799. About one year after I settled in this county I had occasion to go to the falls of the Little Miami, and, traveling up between the Little Miami and Massies creek, I found them to be separate streams, and as to the island below the mouth of Massies creek, at which I have since understood Jamison's entry com menced at or called for, I have no knowledge of nor never heard of such a one until several years after I settled in this county. I first settled on Beavercreek, about six miles from the. Old Chillicothe, in what is now the bounds of Greene county, and there was no settlement at that time above Davis' mill, above Beavercreek, except three families on the Little Miami, in the limits of what is now Greene county, and the settlement on what I then lived on Beavercreek, and it did not exceed six or eight families." The three settlements spoken of above were those of James Galloway, Sr., George Galloway, cousin of James, Sr., and Robert Boggess, the last named near the falls of the Little 'Miami, and the first two spoken of were located, James Galloway, Sr., on the left of the road across the Little Miami, going north, and George Galloway on the right opposite what is now (1899) the Miami Powder Works. General Whiteman was asked "How often had you passed through or near Old Chillicothe?" and he answered, "I passed through that point of land three times in three different years, between the years 1790 and 1794, once under the command of Colonel Edwards, with about four hundred volunteers, and twice on small scouts." General Whiteman resided in Beaver-creek township for about five years, and there built the house in which the first courts were held in the county. In 1805 he removed to a tract of land which he had purchased in the vicinity of Clifton, and on the spot where his old mansion now stands he lived for a period of forty-seven years. He was present at the naming of the new county seat of Greene county, when the forks of the Shawnee creek was chosen as a per- ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 47 manent location, and was one of the first associate judges of the first court held in the county-. He was associated with Generals Gano, Findley and others in first organizing the military system of Ohio, and held a commission of lieutenant colonel in the militia of Greene county in 1805, and was also at the time president of the court of inquiry of said county. When the war between this country and Great Britain broke out he was appointed brigade general of this division, and having entered upon the active duties of his office he continued to serve his coun-try to the end of the war. After the war closed he retired to his country residence, in the vicinity of Clifton, where he spent the remainder of his days in educating his children, and enjoying the sweets of domestic life. He was one of the early pioneers of Greene county, his name being associated with the earliest recollec-tions of the old settlers. It is incorporated with our social, civil and military affairs in their earliest history. He lived to witness the origin, progress and development of our county and state from the time she was rocked in the cradle of infancy until she took her stand as the third state in this great confederacy. General Whiteman was both a soldier and a patriot, as well as a dignified gentleman of honest and high-minded prin-ciples, who scorned a mean action, was a good citizen, a pleasant neighbor and a kind father. We have the assurance, also from the testimony of Rev. Moses Russell, to whom we are indebted for part of this sketch, that among the last acts of his life was a distinct avowal of the principles of Christianity, and especially the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ, and the expression of a hope that through his death he might obtain salvation. How much has been lost to Greene coun-ty in the death of this grand old pioneer. Could his biography have been written of the many facts of local history, which he had in reference to the early times and set-tlement of this county, it would have made a large volume, almost priceless in value. In the cemetery at Clifton, Ohio, his body lies buried with the simple and modest inscrip-tion on his monument, "Benjamin White-man, born March 6, 1769; died July 1, 1852." Nothing to indicate his record as a soldier, or which would lead one to think of the brave and daring life that he lived as a soldier, the stirring events that have been his to share. May he rest in peace. ASSOCIATE JUDGE WILLIAM MAXWELL. On account of Mr. Maxwell's early death, which occurred in the year 1809, and his immediate friends and descendants having removed from the county, it has been a very difficult task to compile and pay anything like a just tribute to his worth as a brave and. enterprising pioneer of Greene county. The facts that we have been enabled to gather here and there read almost like fiction. We learn from the early history of Hamilton county that he was a native of New Jersey, and not long after the organization of said county he came out and settled on the site now known as Cincinnati, Ohio. We also find that Mr. Maxwell had the honor of publishing the first newspaper that was published in that city, if not the first one that was published north of the Ohio river. He came to the front in that capacity November 9, 1793, being 48 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. encouraged he set, up an office. It was a primitive affair, located in a small room in a log cabin, which stood on the corner of what is now known as Front and Sycamore streets, near the river. The settlement at that time contained not more than two hundred souls. His press was brought down the river from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The name of the paper was "The Sentinel of the Northwestern Territory." He was also the second postmaster of Cincinnati, the .successor of Abner Dunn. It was along about this time that an event occurred which is related by his granddaughter, Mrs. Sarah Beath, of Normal, Illinois, who says : "My grandmother's (the wife of William Maxwell) maiden name was Nancy Robins. Her father was killed by Indians in Virginia, and her mother with two or three children escaping to Cincinnati took refuge in the block houses there, when the village was beseiged by the Indians." Mrs. Beath's great-grandmother afterward became the wife of Ebenezer Zane, the founder of Zanesville, Ohio. And it was under trying times, as above stated, that William Maxwell, ex-representative to the first legislature that met at Chillicothe, to formulate and enact laws for the new county of Greene and state of Ohio, ex-associate judge and ex-sheriff of Greene county from December 7, 1803, until 1807, met, won and married Nancy Robins. From the old records we find that Mr. Maxwell and his little family in 1799 removed to the then more northern part of Hamilton county to what is now known as the Maxwell farm situated in Beavercreek township, Greene county, Ohio. Many facts which are a mystery are made plain by the aid of which we term the "old records." Many questions never could' have been answered had it not been for the light from them that' is thrown backward down the road that leads back to the "long ago." For example, when the first legislature convened at Chillicothe to designate the temporary county seat for the new made county of Greene, how did they know about the house of Owen Davis on Beaver creek? The answer to that is, William Maxwell, the subject of this sketch, and a member of that body at that time, had been living for more than five years in sight of the house of Owen Davis, or, as it is sometimes called, the house of Peter Borders.. His land adjoined, and in many places was the boundary line, of the land then known as the Owen Davis farm, now the home of our honored fellow citizen, Jacob Harbine. Mr. Maxwell was also an officer and an active worker in helping to establish the militia in Greene county. As far back as 1805 he held the position of major. December 7, 1803, having resigned the office of associate judge, he was elected sheriff of the county in place of Nathan Lamme, who, had resigned said office on account of his large land interests. Among the old relics of Greene county in the way of historical papers are three of the original bonds given by Mr. Maxwell for faithful performance of duty ; two of said bonds are for the office of sheriff, the other is for the office of collector of taxes. After Mr. Maxwell's death his widow married John White. The children of William Maxwell and wife Nancy are as follows : sons, William, 'John, Elias, George, Ludlow, and daughters, Nancy., who married John Sayers ; Eliza, who married Samuel Owens ; and Levina, who married Baker Butler. About one and one-half miles southeast ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 49 of the village of Alpha, not far down the Little Miami river from what is known as the "Indian Riffle Bridge," on ascending the hill can be seen the stones that were placed there by the hands of him of whom we write, as the foundation of his spring house. Not far from the spring was the first cabin which he erected as his home, and not far from the spring on a high point of land is the grave of William Maxwell, Sr., but where the spot 'is where loving hands laid him to rest in 1809 none as yet can tell. JAMES BARRETT, ONE OF THE FIRST ASSOCIATE JUDGES OF GREENE COUNTY. He was a native of the state of Virginia. The first notice of Mr. Barrett as a public man we find to be that on the 6th day of April, 1803, the two houses of the first legislature of Ohio. which had assembled at Chillicothe, met in joint convention and selected three associate judges for each of the then existing and newly organized counties. The gentlemen selected for Greene county were Benjamin Whiteman, James Barrett and William Maxwell. After his appointment Mr. Barrett served as such until the year 1810. He was at this time well up in years and the infirmities of age were growing upon him. He first purchased one half of a section of land in what was then known as Hamilton county, in the early part of the year 1802. This land was in the first entire range of townships, and in the second township and known as lot No. 32 in said township on the general map of the Miami purchase ; the north part of said section was set off to James Barrett. Mr. Barrett's family at this time consisted of his wife Elsie and four children, two sons, James and Philip, and two daughters, Eleanor and Hannah. His son James at this time was upwards of twenty-one years of age and his brother Philip was nineteen. The family on first coming to Ohio in 1800 resided in that part of Hamilton county that is now known as Butler county, on Dick's creek. In the fall of 1801 Mr. Barrett started out to select a location for his future home, where he and his family could go to work and open up a farm of their own. He returned and told his boys that he had found a place which suited him, and he wanted them to go with him and see it. If they were as well pleased with it as he was he would purchase a half-section, and if they would go with him and settle upon it, it should be theirs. The result was the boys came with their father to what is now known as Greene county, and he purchased the one-half section of land in Sugarcreek township, now (1900) owned by Mr: Dinsmore Bigger, Hattie Bigger, Samuel Weller and, I think, what is known as the Robert Tate farm. April 12, 1802, they removed to it and commenced making improvements on the southeast half of said section, where they continued to live in common until September 1, 1808; Philip was married to Miss Elizabeth Barnes. Previous to this James, the elder son, had married Nancy Mantan, September 17, 1806. Eleanor was the first of his children to marry. She married Armstrong McCabe, April 12, 1805, and some time later they removed to Vigo county, Indiana. At a later date Hannah was married to David Wilson, son of Daniel, and they also removed to Montgomery county. After Philip's marriage he erected his house on the other part of said one-half section, and continued to live there until 1826, when