HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY, OHIO, CONTAINING A History of the County ; its Cities, Towns, etc.; General and Local Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men ; History of the Northwest Territory ; History of Ohio ; Map of Miami County ; Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, etc., etc. ILLUSTRATED_ CHICAGO: W. H.. BEERS & CO. 1880. TROY, MIAMI COUNTY COURTHOUSE 1888 TROY, MIAMI COUNTY COURTHOUSE 1888 SEARCH ENGINE When you reach the page you have been referred to by the search engine, search this page by going to the top of your browser, click Edit and then click find on this page. Type in the desired search word and click. This will take you to the places on the page where this word is found. It will take you through all of the places that this word is found on this page (RETURN TO THE HOME PAGE) 207 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600 650 700 750 800 850 PREFACE. A SINGLE county in the great State of Ohio occupies but an insignificant place upon the chart of the world, and its history and people are comparatively. unknown. The grand river of national history is formed by the union of many small streams of record and tradition, flowing from hundreds of counties all over the globe. Tracing one of the rills to its source, and the gathering of a blossom from its bank, or a shining pebble from its bed, is the purpose of this volume. Had the pioneers of Miami County kept a chronological journal of events, the writing of a history now would have been comparatively easy. In the absence of such records, the magnitude of the undertaking is rendered more intricate and difficult, by reason of the absence of nearly all the pioneer fathers and mothers who first came to gladden the prairie and forest wilds with their presence, and scatter the seeds of that better intelligence, which, growing and spreading as year was added to year, until the county of their choice ranks second to none in modern accomplishments. The seeds they scattered ripened into the fullness of a plentiful harvest, and schoolhouses, churches, cities, towns, canals, telegraphs, railroads and palatial-like residences occupy the old " camping-grounds" of the red men who have long since passed away. In this history we have labored to record only facts gleaned from the most authentic sources, and have been aided by efficient historians and those associated with the earlier rise and progress of the county to the present time. The history of Washington Township and city of Piqua is from the pen of Dr. G. VOLNEY DORSEY. The Hon. STEPHEN JOHNSTON has contributed valuable material for the history. The history of Lost Creek is by the " Poet of the Miami," Mr. THOMAS HARBAUGH. DAVID JONES, of West Milton, furnished the notes of Union Township history. J. L. PURDY, of Covington, wrote the history of Newberry Township. To the officials of the county, the city officials, township officers, and citizens of Miami County generally, we are indebted for interesting and authentic information, which we have carefully compiled, and now present to our readers, trusting that the volume will meet the approval of an intelligent people, and add to their libraries a valuable book for future reference. THE PUBLISHERS. CONTENTS. HISTORY OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. Geographical Position Early Explorations Discovery of the Ohio English Explorations and Settlements American Settlements Division of the Northwest Territory Tecumseh and the War of 1812  Black Hawk and the Black Hawk War 19 20 32 34 59 65 69 73 History of Ohio French History Ordinance of 1787, No. 32 The War of 1812 Banking The Canal System Ohio Land Tracts Improvements Boundary Lines Organization of Counties and Ear Events 93 96 105 122 126 128 129 132 136 137 Governors of Ohio Ancient Works Some General Characteristics  Outline Geology of Ohio Ohio's Rank During the War A Brief Mention of Prominent Ohio Generals  Some Discussed Subjects   Conclusion 160 174 177 179 182 191 196 200 ILLUSTRATIONS Source of the Mississippi  La Salle Landing on the Shores of Green Bay  Buffalo Hunt  Trapping  Month of the Mississippi 22 24 26 28 31 High Bridge Pontiac, the Ottawa Chieftain Indians Attacking Frontiersmen, Present Site Lake Street Bridge, Chicago, 1833 A Pioneer Dwelling 33 42 55 58 60 Lake Bluff Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chieftain Indians Attacking a Stockade Black Hawk, the Sac Chieftain Perry's Monument, Cleveland Niagara Falls 62 68 71 74 91 92 HISTORY OF MIAMI COUNTY Owners of the Soil Extinction of the Indian Title Settlement of the Ohio Valley Institution and Boundary of Miami County Expedition of Gen. G. R. Clark Earliest Settlement Early Settlement. Hindrances to Early Settlement Little Copper Distillery Dress Food and Cooking Biographical Reminiscences Scalping of Mrs. Martin Caleb Mendenhall Old Settlers np to 1807 Sociability Hospitality First Preaching Rival Lovers Singing Schools Wives for the Settlers Whisky, Conscience and Mud 207 208 209 210 210 213 215 216 218 218 219 220 221 226 231 233 233 234 234 234 235 235 Ladles' Industrial Department Log-Rolling An Old-Time Schoolhouse Temperance Talk Corn Husking Game and Hunters Pigeon Roosts Squirrels and Squirrel Hunts Mails Capture of the Moffitt Boys County Seat Miami in the War of 1812 Killing of Dilbone and Wife The Old Muster Cut Money or Sharp-Shins Effects of the War Improvements, Customs, etc Miami County Infirmary Exhibit Miami County Agricultural Society  Judicial and Official County Officers 236 236 236 237 238 238 240 240 243 243 246 247 251 258 262 263 264 266 268 269 274 281 Miami County in the Ohio Legislature Miami in the Great Rebellion Geology, Ancient Mounds, Relics etc Prairies Plum Thickets Old Fortification of Piqua Relics Statistics Friends' Church at West Branch Brown Township  Spring Creek Township  Union Township  Newton Township  Concord Township  Staunton Township  Lost Creek Township  Elizabeth Township  Bethel Township  Monroe Township  Washington Township  Newberry Township 283 285 290 30 302 302 307 307 847 309 222 334 358 372 385 393 400 410 420 433 459 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Brown Township Spring Creek Township Lost Creek Township Staunton Township 471 502 520 543 Elizabeth Township Washington Township Bethel Township Monroe Township 568 577 627 642 Concord Township Newberry Township Newton Township Union Township 672 724 757 799 CONTENTS. LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS. Joseph G. Young, deceased Dr. R. W. Hays Dr. Horace Coleman Col. A. H. Coleman, deceased Mrs. Mary Mitchell, deceased Gen. John Webb 115 133 151 169 187 223 J. H. Ramsey Mrs. Dorothy Ramsey Charles Voorhis Mrs. Emma Voorhis Mrs. Malinda C. Voorhis, deceased John Schindler 259 271 313 331 349 367 Mrs. Sarah A. Schindler William J. Wiley James M. Dye, deceased B. F. Brown N. H. Albaugh Snoop Children's Home 385 421 439 457 241 404 MISCELLANEOUS Map of Miami County Constitution of the United State Population of the United States Area of the United States Fro 79 203 203 Area of the Principal Countries the World Population of the Principal Countries in the world 203 203 Miles of Railroad in Operation Population of Ohio Population of Miami County Business References 203 202 871