258 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO
UNION.
Union is one of the largest and one of the best improved townships in the county. While there is some poor land, the most of the soil is of an excellent quality, and the bottom lands along the Scioto river, Paint and Deer creeks, are in fertility and productiveness unsurpassed. The township contains numerous streams, and the surface is generally quite uneven. The Scioto flows along its entire eastern border, and the north fork of Paint creek forms, for the most part, its southern boundary. Deer creek, a large branch of the Scioto, flows an easterly direction through the northern portion of the township, and divides it into what is called North Union and South Union. Yellow Bud, a stream of considerable magnitude, and also a tributary of the Scioto, flows through a small portion of the northern part of the township. South Union is watered by Dry run, a small branch of the Scioto, and several branches of the north fork of Paint creek.
The first settlers found the township covered with a heavy growth of timber, to clear it of which, and fit the land for cultivation, involved an immense amount of labor. The varieties consisted principally of walnut, hickory, sugar-maple, burr-oak, butternut, cherry and elm, which were found on the bottom lands, while on the uplands the oak generally prevailed.
SETTLEMENT.
Precisely at what date the settlement of the territory embraced within the present limits of Union township, was commenced, or who should be accorded the honor of making it, it is impossible now to say. It is quite probable that the first settlement was made in 1796, as some of those who came in with General Massie, in the spring of that year, we know shortly afterwards selected their lands in this township and settled upon them. Among these were the McCoys—Joseph, Thomas, and John. They were natives of Pennsylvania, but emigrated from Kentucky to Ohio. Joseph McCoy, after remaining a short time at the "station," settled on the farm now owned by his grandson, James B. McCoy. A few years after his settlement he erected the hewed log house, which is still occupied as a dwelling, nearly opposite the brick residence of James B. McCoy. The house was a two-story structure, with a fire-place below and above. The chinking was done with genuine plaster, and not with mud, as was common, and the logs were whitewashed. It was considered, in its day, a fine residence, being a great improvement over the ordinary rough log cabin. While stopping at the station, his wife was taken ill and died. She was buried about where the depot now stands, and is said to have been the first person buried in Chillicothe. Mr. McCoy subsequently married again. He died in a 1811, aged about forty years, and is buried in the graveyard of Union church, of which he was a prominent member, being one of its first elders. His second wife, Elizabeth, died in 1850, at the advanced age of eighty-two years. His children, by his first wife, were: Rachel, who became the wife of Daniel Lumback ; James Dixon; and Cynthia Ann, who married William Pinkerton, all now deceased. James occupied the homestead after his father's death. His sons, Joseph and James B., residing in Union, are the only children now living. By his second wife, Joseph McCoy had three children—Katsie, wife of Thomas Short; Alexander, and Jane, all of whom are living.
Thomas and John McCoy built their cabins in Chillicothe soon after the town was laid out, that of John McCoy being the first structure erected in the place. Thomas remained there until the spring of 1797, when he moved into Union, locating where his grandson, Moses Stitt, now lives. He bought three hundred acres in the Obediah Smith survey. In 18̊8 he erected the substantial brick house, now occupied by Mr. Stitt. The brick were burned upon the place, and the nails used in its construction were brought from Kentucky on pack-horses. He died in February, 1852, aged nearly eighty-two years. He had a large family of children, but not one of them is now living. John McCoy first made a settlement at the mouth of Paint creek, where he remained for a few years, when, because of the unhealthiness of the bottoms, he decided to remove to a higher location. He came to Union, and settled upon the hill where his son William K. McCoy now resides. He died in the year 1844, in the seventy-third year of his age. Two of his children are now living, viz.: Mrs. Stimson, near Massieville, aged nearly eighty years, and William, on the homestead, as before mentioned.
There were few permanent, settlers in Union, earlier than John Rodgers. He was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1777, and when ten years of age went to Kentucky. At the age of nineteen—in 1796 he emigrated to the Scioto valley with his uncle, Benjamin Rodgers, and has often said that he was here three months without seeing a white woman. He located land in the vicinity of where the Slate mills now are, on the north fork of Paint, put him up a shanty and kept bachelor's hall. About two years afterward he brought out his father and the rest of the family. His father,
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William Rodgers, afterwards resided on the place and kept tavern for many years. John Rodgers was married December 31, 1799, to Mary, daughter of Joshua Clark, and in the spring following settled in Union, having, the winter previous, erected the house which Matthew Clifton now lives in. This dwelling, built in the winter of 1799 –1800, has never yet been without a tenant and is a comfortable house now. Mr. Rodgers assisted at the raising of the first cabin in Chillicothe, and brought the first cattle into Ross county, driving them from Kentucky. His wife died in 1860, and a few years afterward, having lost his sight, he took up his residence with his daughter, Mrs. Beard. He died in 1866, at the ripe age of nearly eighty-nine years. He raised a family of eleven children, seven of whom are now living. Mrs. Amanda Beard and Mrs. Eliza Clifton are residents of this township.
General James Manary, a native of Pennsylvania, moved out from Kentucky in 1796. He brought his family on horse-back, his wife carrying a four weeks' old babe in her lap. This babe was Betsey Manary, who died a few years since, the last of the family. General Manary had visited the country a few years before, having accompanied Massie in his surveying operations. He was an expert hunter, and to him was assigned the duty of providing the party with game. He received from Colonel Massie one hundred acres of land, which he located on the north fork of Paint creek, in Union township. Here he settled with his family and resided until his death. He was a general in the war of 1812, and subsequently was elected to the legislature.
One of the prominent pioneers of Union was Colonel James Dunlap, son of Alexander Dunlap, who purchased land in the township in 1796. Colonel Dunlap was a native of Virginia, born in 1768, and removed to Union, settling on the land his father had previously bought. He erected the brick house now occupied by Richard Marzluff, prior to 1815, and resided there at the time of his death, which took place in 1821. He was a member of the legislature at an early date, and was once a candidate for governor of the State. He had a family of three children, viz: Peggy, who became the wife of Alexander McCoy; Nancy, who married John Mace, and Alexander, who went to Tennessee.
Thomas Dickerson and his wife, Catharine, came from Virginia in 1796 or '97, making the journey on packhorses. He located on the place afterwards occupied by Colonel James Dunlap, but about a year afterwards purchased one hundred acres on which Marion Dunlap now lives. The log house which Dickerson erected in 1806 is still used as a dwelling. He died in 1806, but Mrs. Dickerson lived until eighty-seven years of age, dying in 1852.
Alexander Robertson removed to Chillicothe from Augusta county, Virginia, in the fall of 1798. In the following spring he located on the farm now occupied by William Purse], taking a lease from George Haynes. In 1803 he settled, and afterwards lived, where his son, Captain James Robertson now lives. He died in 1840.
Christian Ritchhart and family, consisting of his wife, his sons Christian, Jacob, John, Henry and Abraham, and his daughters Mary and Elizabeth, emigrated from Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1797. They journeyed down the Ohio river on a flat-boat, until arriving where Portsmouth now stands; thence pushed up the Scioto on a keel-boat to the mouth of Deer creek, where they arrived on the tenth day of October, of the above named year. Here he settled and resided for two years, when, on account of sickness, which then prevailed to so great an extent on the bottoms, he settled on Spring bank, where he lived the remainder of his life. About ten years after his settlement his wife died, and he afterwards married the widow Timmons, by whom he had two children, Frederick and Anna (now Mrs. Wood, living in Michigan). He purchased a tract of land of between twelve and thirteen hundred acres, on Deer creek, and his sons also settled on this tract, except Abraham, who died in Noble county, Indiana. His daughters, Mary and Elizabeth, became the wives respectively of John Moyers and Philip Minear, who was one of the earliest settlers of Union. The only descendants of the Ritchhart family now living in the township are Jacob and Hiram Ritchhart, and Mrs. Penelope Morrison, children of Jacob Ritchhart, sr.
A family by the name of Thompson,—Oswell, Nasy, Philip, William and Joseph,—with their father, whose name is not recollected, were among the earliest pioneers in Union, who settled north of Deer creek. Thompson, sr., kept an early tavern on the old Franklinton road.
Michael Beaver, sr., emigrated with his family from Virginia to Ross county in 1796, but remained only two years, when he returned to Kentucky, on account of the unhealthfulness of the new country. In 1800 he came out again, and bought eleven hundred acres in the Chilton survey, on Deer creek. He was a soldier of the Revolutionary war, and his son Michael of the war of 1812. He erected, at an early date, the brick house now occupied by Mr. Byron Lutz. He died in 1821 or '22. Michael, jr., died a few years since, in his eighty- fifth year.
William, Anthony, Samuel, Jeremiah and Robert Smith, all brothers, came out with Colonel Massie in 1796. William and Samuel afterwards settled in Union, on the river, but finally removed to Pickaway county. Samuel Smith was, without doubt, the first magistrate in Ross county, as we find him mentioned as such in the following incident narrated by Howe in his "Historical Collections:" "In the spring of '97 one Brannon stole a greatcoat, handkerchief and shirt. He and his wife absconded, were pursued, brought back and a formal trial had. Samuel Smith was appointed judge, a jury empaneled, one attorney appointed by the judge to manage the prosecution, and another the defence; witnesses were examined, the cause argued and the evidence summed up by the judge. The jury having retired a few minutes, returned with a verdict of guilty, and that the culprit be sentenced according to the discretion of the judge, who soon announced that he should have ten lashes on his naked back, or that he should sit on a bare pack-saddle on his pony, and that his wife, who was supposed to have had some agency in the theft, should lead the pony to
260 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO.
every house in the village and proclaim, 'This is Brannon who stole the great-coat, handkerchief and shirt;' and that James B. Finley, now Rev. J. B. Finley, chaplain of the Ohio penitentiary, should see the sentence faithfully executed. Brannon chose the latter; and the ceremony This is Brannon who stole the great-coat, handkerchief and shirt,' was at the door of every cabin in the village, in due form, proclaimed by his wife, he sitting on a bare pack-saddle on his pony. It was performed in the presence of Mr. Finley, and when it was over, Brannon and his wife made off."
Jacob Mace emigrated from Hardy county, Virginia, to this county in the year 1798, and, settled on Evans' prairie, near Yellow Bud. Several years afterward he removed to within four miles of Chillicothe, in Union township, where he resided until his death. His son, Isaac Mace, deceased, was born there in 1802. Jacob Mace, jr., now residing in Liberty township, was also born in Union, and lived there until 1833.
John Robinson, now in his ninety-second year, is the only one left in Union of the early pioneers. He was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1788. His father, Joshua Robinson, came out with Colonel Nathaniel Massie and party, in the spring of 1795. The party proceeded on their journey without molestation until their arrival a short distance below the falls of Paint creek, when they came in contact with some Indians who had encamped at Reeves' crossing, near where the town of Bainbridge now is. A fight ensued, in which Joshua Robinson was shot through the body and died in a few minutes. His brother, William Robinson, who was also in this fight, moved to Ross county in 1800, and settled on the land which he had previously purhased of Colonel Massie, comprising some six hundred and forty acres in South Union. His cabin was among the first erected in the vicinity. When war was declared in 1812, he promptly volunteered, although exempt from duty by reason of his age. He died at the age of seventy years.
John Robinson, on the death of his father, was adopted by his uncle, William, with whom he lived until he was of age. He served in the war of 1812 as corporal in Captain Alexander Manary's company. After the close of the war he settled on the farm on which he still lives. He married Hannah McDill, and has had a family of ten children.
In the spring of 1800 Henry and Thomas Bowdle and Thomas Withgott moved in from Dorchester county, Maryland. James Sisk and family came at the same time, or shortly afterward. They all located temporarily in Chillicothe, while they selected their homes in the woods. The same season they cleared off a small piece of land on the farm on which Withgott aftei ward settled, and planted it to corn. They would walk out to their work every morning, and home at evening, a distance of eight or nine miles, and picking their way through the forest by means of blazed trees. Henry Bowdle and his sons purchased the Jones survey of one thousand acres, and built his cabin on the farm now occupied by William.T. Bowdle. The house was constructed with a row of port-holes in the walls, and father and sons were fully equipped with deer guns and a large quantity of ammunition, for defence, in case an attack should be made by the Indians, who were somewhat troublesome at the time in other portions of the county. But the Indians did not have the temerity to come within range of their guns. Henry Bowdle died March I, 1829, in the eightieth year of his age. His children were William, Thomas, Joseph, Jesse, Elizabeth, and Rachel. The first three brothers married daughters of White Brown; Jesse, his cousin Lilly Bowdle. Elizabeth became the wife of Rev. Elijah Truitt, and Rachel, of Curtis Buck- worth.
Thomas Bowdle, sr., Thomas Withgott, and James Sisk settled on Dry run. Bowdle and Lisk subsequently removed to Pickaway county, near Westfall, and both died there. Thomas Withgott was twice married, and had a family of ten children. He died in 1836, in his seventy-seventh year. His son Reuben (deceased in 1861) married Sally, daughter of William Bowdle, who occupies the Withgott homestead.
Isaac Cook, born in Connecticut in 1768, emigrated to Chillicothe from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1798. He was the agent of General Nevil for the sale of his land, and after living for two years across the river from Chillicothe, he took up his residence in Nevil's survey, in Union township, erecting his house where his son William now lives. Judge Cook was a man of character, ability and influence. He was an associate judge of the.court of common pleas of Ross county for twenty- seven years, being first appointed in 1803, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Felix Renick. He was also a member of the legislature for several terms. He died in 1842. He raised nine children, six of whom survive, as follows: Scott and Mrs. McKell in Chillicothe, William in Union, Mrs. John Boggs and Mrs. Moses Boggs in Pickaway county, and Joseph in Missouri. Mafia Webb (deceased), the eldest daughter, was the mother of Mrs. President Hayes.
Benjamin and Samuel Kirkpatrick settled about the same time as Mr. Cook, and in the same vicinity, making their location just above where Mr. Cunningham afterwards settled. Further up on the line between Union and Deerfield, on a little run of the same name, was a settler by the name of Waugh. He afterward moved to near Greenfield, Highland county.
Thomas Hicks was also a prominent settler in this neighborhood. He emigrated to this county from Maryland, in 1802, and settled on the farm on which Mr. Thompson now lives. He was associate judge for a number of years, and died in office. He had a large family, the oldest of whom was Willis, who resided on the homestead a number of years, when he sold out and moved to Madison county, where he died. His daughter Rebecca became the wife of David Cunningham, and is now living on the Cunningham homestead.
Thomas White came from Delaware about the same time that the Hicks family came, and settled just north of where Dry Run chapel now stands.
John Winders and family settled on Dry run in 1800,
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also his brother James about the same time. John Winders removed from Pennsylvania to "high bank prairie" in 1796, and remained there four years, when he moved to Union. Levi Warner came out with the family and subsequently married a daughter and settled on part of his father-in-law's farm, where his son Abner Warner now lives. These families were Quakers, and soon after their settlement others of the same sect moved in, namely : the Crispins, Websters, Furgusons and others. Soon after Winders arrived, a Friend's society was formed, and a log meeting house erected on his land a short distance north of Mr. Warner's private residence. They also established a school and built a school-house on the same lot. Nothing is now left of the buildings, but their site is marked by the little burying-ground in which their dead were deposited. Levi Warner removed to Clark county in 1852, where he died the following year, at the age of seventy-two. His wife died in 1821, and he was afterward twice married, his second wife being a sister of his first, then the widow of John Webster.
David Augustus was an early pioneer of Union, emigrating from Delaware before 1800. He settled where Martin Briggs now lives, and died there in 1842, aged nearly eighty years. His son John, born in 1800, still lives in the township.
Thomas Earl, sr., settled about 1800 on the farm now occupied by Curtis Kinneman.
James Armstrong, from Kentucky, settled about the same time where his son-in-law, William Bostwick, now lives. He was associate judge for a number of years. He died in 1843, aged seventy-one.
Levi Hurst and family, in company with his brother-in-law, Samuel Badley, and Robert McCollister and family, emigrated to Ross county from Maryland in 18o1. Mr. Hurst was induced to go west by the emigration of his Methodist friends, the Bowdles, Withgotts and Sisks, the previous year. The party left Dorchester county, Maryland, in April, traveling with three or four carts, which were drawn by two horses, driven tandem, until they arrived at Wheeling. Here Mr. Hurst purchased a flat-boat, on which the company and their effects floated down to Portsmouth, except the horses, which Badley and a couple of lads brought through by land. At Portsmouth, horses and carts were again brought into use, and in nine days the travelers reached Chillicothe, arriving in the month of June. Mr. Hurst removed to Union in September following, purchasing of Governor Worthington a farm in the Morgan survey. The hewed log house which he built in 1804, he occupied until his death. He was born in 1770, and died in 1860. His wife died the following year, in her ninety-first year. Their married life had extended over a period of seventy years. They were the parents of fourteen children, of whom they reared ten, and five are now living. John N. Hurst occupies the homestead on Dry run.
Joseph Clark and James McCreary came from Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 18or. They erected a cabin on the land purchased by Clark, near the site of the present house of Joseph Clark, jr., and kept bachelors' hall. Clark married Elizabeth, daughter of William Rodgers, and resided where he first settled until his death, which took place in 1857, at the age of eighty- seven years. McCreary settled on the farm adjoining Clark's, and also lived upon it until his death. He married Jane, daughter of General Manary, and raised a family of three children, one of whom, Rebecca, was the first wife of Mr John Steele.
Enos Pursel, a native of Virginia, came to Ohio from Pennsylvania. He subsequently married Martha Smith, whose parents came to Ross county in the spring of 1797, and a year, or two afterward settled in Union. Enos Pursel settled on the farm now owned by his son, Smith Pursel, and died there. Smith Pursel, born in Union in 1804, resided in the township until 1875, when he moved to Chillicothe.
Colonel John Evans and Anthony Simms Davenport were among the earliest settlers of the North Union, and both of them owned a large amount of land in the vicinity of where Yellow Bud now is. Colonel Evans was born in Baltimore county, Maryland, in 1766, and emigrated to Ross county in about the year 1800. He was a surveyor, a man of energy and enterprise, and became wealthy. He died in 1841 in his seventy-sixth year.
Peter Jackson settled at an early date on Spring bank, but after a number of years removed to Deerfield, where he died.
Levin Noble moved in from Sussex county, Delaware, with his family, consisting of his wife and eleven children, in 1804. He settled in the southwest part of the township, purchasing a large amount of land in this and other townships. The next spring after his settlement he returned to Delaware, and died while on his way back to Ohio, within a few miles of his home. He had a family of twelve children, all of whom are now deceased but the youngest, Mrs. Charity Heath, living in North Union.
Nicholas Cunningham came from Virginia in 1805, and settled where Mrs. R. B. Cunningham, the widow of his son, David now lives, and resided there until his death—August 1847. He raised a large family, but David only became a permanent settler in Union. David Cunningham died in April, 1877, and his widow now occupies the place.
Philip Minear, sr., (who married a daughter of Christian Ritchhart), Thomas Tootle, Asa Hankins, Thomas Littleton, Henry Cook, Abraham- Kearns, General Henderson, Eweell Williams, and Osmond Crabb, were among the early pioneers in Union, in different portions of the township.
John Acton came from Kentucky with his family at an early date, and settled where the widow Steel now lives, near Anderson station. His son Richard settled on the Stevens' farm, just above his father, and William below the Pool place, where one of his sons still lives. Benjamin died in the same neighborhood, and Jeremiah near Adams' mill.
Joseph Chew, a native Of Virginia, removed from that State to Ohio in the fall 44'8̊6: He settled on Paint
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creek, about two miles west of Chillicothe, on the limestone road. In 1815 he removed to Union, and settled on the farm now owned and occupied by his sons Colby and James. He died in 1848, aged seventy-five years.
Levi Anderson emigrated from Virginia with his father, John Anderson, in 1808. He married Isabella Swartz, also of Virginia, and carried on a fulling-mill and carding-machine in Chillicothe until the fall of 1838, when he settled in Union, on the farm now occupied by his son, James R. Anderson. He was born in 1790, and died in 1846. He was twice married.
William Beard, sr., moved into Union in 1809. A brief biographical memorandum in the possession of R. W. Bowdle, esq., reads as follows: "William Beard, sr., born December 27, 1759, in Frederick county (since Washington), Maryland; was at General Gates' defeat, August 16, 1780; was at the battle of King's Mountain, October 7, 1780; moved to Virginia, Greenbrier county, in 1798; emigrated to Ross county, Ohio, in 1809; was the father of fourteen children. N. B. He has ever been a true Whig, and a true friend of American liberty." Mr. Beard died in this township in 1851, aged nearly ninety-three years. His son William was the husband of Mrs. Amanda Beard.
Mahlon Anderson and family removed from Jefferson county, Virginia, to this county, in 1809. He settled on what is now the Woodbridge property, in Scioto township, and, after the war of 1812, removed to Union, and located where Nancy Anderson now lives. He died in 1843, aged nearly seventy-one. He was the father of eight children, two of whom are now living William, and the wife of John Thompson, near Andersonville.
John Anderson, who lived where his son John M. now lives, died in 1869.
Hezekiah and Isaiah Ingham came out from Bucks county, Pennsylvania, in 1810. They were industrious, energetic young men, and Hezekiah was a practical paper manufacturer, having served an apprenticeship in the business in Pennsylvania. David Crouse had in process of construction at the time of their arrival a flouring-mill, on Kinnikinnick creek, in Green township. The Messrs. Ingham leased the property for seven years, and finished the building, which they converted into a paper-mill. At the expiration of their lease they came to Union (in 1817 or '18), and subsequently engaged in a like enterprise here. Hezekiah Ingham was married to Nancy Justus, a daughter of one of the early settlers of Green township. He died in 1863. His sons, William and James, are proprietors of the paper-mill in Chillicothe. Isaiah Ingham died in 1867. A daughter is the wife of S. C. Swift, of Chillicothe. Hezekiah and Isaiah Ingham were brothers of Samuel D. Ingham, a member of President Jackson's cabinet.
In 1812 Jacob Maughmer emigrated from Pennsylvania, and settled on the Kern's property, on Deer creek. Two years afterward he purchased and moved onto the farm now occupied by his son, John, and died there in 1854, at the age of seventy-five years.
William Shasteen removed from Rockbridge county, Virginia, and settled on the Ohio river, below Gallipolis, where he remained two years. In 1819 he moved to Ross county, and settled in Union, on the place now owned by Jacob Slager, then owned by Ezekiel Thompson. He died here about 1853. His son, William, born in Virginia in 1814, has resided in the vicinity since his settlement in 1819.
Thomas Thompson moved into Union in 1815, having occupied the farm now occupied by Joseph McConnell for five years previous. He settled in this township on the property now owned by his son, John, and the widow of his son, Alexander. He died in 1845, aged seventy-eight years. Ot his seven children, two are now living—John in Union, aged eighty-three, and Daniel in Chillicothe.
James Steele, a native of Scotland, removed to this county from Virginia in 1820. After a residence of about five years in Union, he moved across the creek, into Twin township, where he lived until his death.
John Dunlap, born in Virginia in 1776, came from Kentucky to Ross county, Ohio, in 1796, having previously purchased, in connection with his uncle, Alexander Dunlap, a land warrant for the Fowler survey in this township. He afterward returned to Virginia, and was married to Dorcas Dowell. He remained in Virginia until 1825, during which he made several visits to Ohio, when he emigrated with his family, and settled on his purchase, near the mouth of Dry run. He died at the age of nearly eighty years. He had a family of six sons and one daughter, who became the wife of Nathan Gillen, and died in Missouri. The only survivors are James and Lorenzo, who reside in the township. James came out in 1824; afterwards married Nancy Vines, who is also still living. Major Dunlap was killed by the kick of a colt, March, 1876. He was twice married; first, to a daughter of Judge McCollister; and, second, to Ellen Goodman, who is still living. John Dunlap, jr., died January, 1879. His widow (Mary Ann Minear) survives, and occupies the homestead, with her son, Charles.
William Fulton came when about twelve years of age, from Pennsylvania. His father, John A. Fulton, lived and died in Chillicothe, and was a man of some note. William Fulton, in 1811, married Eliza Loofborrow, of Pickaway county, and a number of years after removed to Union, and located on the farm now owned by his son-in-law, A. J. Byerly. He was a surveyor; was born in 1792 and died in 1853.
Among the various hardships which the pioneers were called upon to endure in the settlement of the country, besides exposure to wild beasts and Indians, lack of milling facilities, and not infrequently an insufficiency of food and clothing, was the regular visitation of fevers, which were generally of a bilious type, and were attended with great mortality. Their origin was attributed to the decomposition of the luxuriant vegetation which grew so abundantly on the bottoms. Often whole families were prostrated at the same time:
The year 1800 or 1801, will long be remembered as one of great mortality to the children of Union township, the disease being that dreaded one in our day-
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scarlet fever. We are told by one of the old residents on Deer creek, that thirty-three children on the creek died in the above year, and some families returned to Kentucky or Virginia temporarily.
TOWNSHIP ELECTIONS.
The records of the early elections have evidently not been preserved, the earliest now in the possession of the township clerk being dated 1816. The spring election of this year was held at the house of Edward Wilson, and the following officers were elected: John Crozier, clerk; Alexander Robertson, Nicholas Cunningham and Robert Shirley, trustees; Aaron Dowley, treasurer; Chas. McCrea, lister; Thomas Bowdle and 'Thomas Withgott, overseers of the poor; Joseph Clark and John Stouchton, fence viewers : Benjamin Jones, Henry Nicholson, and Jacob Ritchhart, constables; Joseph Gardner, justice of the peace. Supervisors : James McCreary, number one; Isaac Bradley, number two ; Thomas Shields, number three; Robert Harvey, number four; Isaac Cook, number five; James Dunlap, number six; and David Anderson, number seven. Searching through some old records in the county auditor's office, we come across the following early justices of the peace in Union. William Robinson qualified as justice, October 23, 1809; John Evans, April 9, 182o; and Thomas White, April 18, 2811, to serve three years.
PIONEER SCHOOLS.
It is impossible to speak with precision concerning the early schools of Union, and We can do but little more than indicate the localities in which some of them were first opened. The first school-house in South Union was built about the year r800 or i8or, on or near the site of the present house on the farm of Mr. Joseph Clark. It was a log structure with puncheon floor, and a roof of clapboards with weight-poles laid across to keep them on. The windows were made by cutting out a log for several feet on each side of the house and putting greased paper in the opening. One end of the house was almost entirely appropriated for a fire-place. The seats consisted of split slabs supported by wooden pins. In this manner the school-houses were built for a number of years.
A school was opened in a log cabin about a mile north of where Andersonville now stands, in 1815 or 1816, the teacher being a man by the name of Perkins. It was afterwards held in a school-house on the Messrs. Inghams farm, east of the village. A hewed log house was erected a short distance above Andersonville in 1823, and was used until the brick house in the village was erected. A school-house was built at an early date near where the Union church now stands, and another where the upper part of the basin now is, in 1814 or 1815. Mr. Young and Mr. Lowery were the first teachers. One of the earliest schools was opened on the farm of Thomas Withgott in which Charles McCrea was one of the first teachers.
The first school in the Cook neighborhood was kept in a six-cornered, round log school-house, near where Mrs. Cunningham now lives, as early as 1805 or 1806. Ebenezer Everts was one of the first school teachers here, teaching several terms. The first school organized under the school law was the Quaker school, then kept in a hewed log school-house.
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
Respecting the history of the churches of Union, of which she has no less than eight, the historian has had to depend for his information, in the absence of church records (with one or two exceptions), upon the recollection of the oldest members of the respective societies.
THE METHODISTS
were the pioneers in the establishment of public worship, and in the organization of a religious society. In 1800, as already stated, Henry and Thomas Bowdle, Thomas Withgott and James Sisk moved in with their families from Maryland. They were Methodists, and the same year they formed themselves into a class on Dry run, under the ministration of Rev. Henry Smith, who, it is said, preached the first Methodist sermon in this region. The usual preaching place was at Thomas Bowdle's, in his house in winter and in his barn in summer. In 1802 Levi Hurst, an ardent Methodist, moved in, and was a valuable addition to the little band ; also the Crabbs, Augustuses, Hubbards, and others. Henry Bowdle was the first class leader, and after him Thomas Withgott. Dry run became one of the principal appointments on Deer Creek circuit, one of the oldest and strongest of the circuits. It was formed from a portion of Scioto circuit in 1808. The presiding elders who officiated on this circuit down to 1820, were the following : John Sale, Solomon Langdon, James Quinn, David Young, and John Collins. Prominent among those who officiated at a late date, were Russel Bigelow and James B. Finley. Circuit preachers on Deer Creek circuit for the same period were Benjamin Lakin, John Crain, John Collins, W. Lloyd, Francis Travis, Ralph Lotspeich, J. Haines, R. Cloud, C. Waddle, Samuel Parker, Alexander Cummins, H. B. Bascom, Isaac Quinn, Sedosa Baker, Walter Griffith, Isaac Pavey, Samuel Glaze, Shadrach Ruark, R. W. Finley, William Swayze, and John Brown. In the year 1820 the Dry Run society erected a log meeting-house where the brick church now stands, which they occupied for twenty years. The parsonage on this circuit was built here on Dry run. It was a hewed log house and stood in the midst of a maple forest, out of sight of any other human habitation. The present Dry Run chapel, a new brick structure, was erected in 1845.
In 1828 steps were taken by the members of this society for the organization of a Sabbath-school, which, without doubt, was the first Methodist Sunday-school organized outside of Chillicothe. It was organized with a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, and five managers. William Bowdle was elected president, Levi Hurst, vice-president ; Hooper Hurst, secretary ; Willis Hicks, treasurer, and Joseph Bowdle, Reuben Withgott, John N. Hurst, Wesley Bowdle and Stewart Tootle, managers. A superintendent was subsequently chosen, Hooper Hurst being elected to the position, and the offi-
264 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO.
ces of president, vice-president and managers abolished. John N. Hurst has been actively identified with the school since its organization, and of the seventy-five members and nine officers (eight of whom are now deceased) originally enrolled, he is the only one connected with it. He has been its superintendent for over thirty years.
A class, called the Moberry class, was organized as early as 1814 or 1815, holding their meetings for many years at Mr. Moberry's house. Rev. Pleasant Thurman, father of United States Senator Thurman, and Rev. Joseph Dunlap were among the early preachers who officiated for this society, and others in the vicinity. The class was finally disbanded, and others in the neighborhood subsequently organized. One of these was
SHILOH CHURCH,
originally called the Jenkins society. It was organized at the home of John Jenkins, a local preacher, and the meetings were held there for some time, and afterward at the log school-house, in the same neighborhood. The original members of the class were John Jenkins and wife, Major Willits and other members of his family, Thomas Funston and wife, William Williams and wife, Zadok Pursel, wife and two sisters, Oliver Michael and wife, and some others. The church building was erected in 1845, when the name of the society, at the suggestion of the wife of Major Willits, was changed to Shiloh church.
The society at Andersonville held meetings regularly as early as 1815, and perhaps earlier, in the log house of Thomas Littleton (where the small brick house of Charles Dunlap now stands), and also at the house of Henry Cook, in the same neighborhood. Mr. Littleton, Mr. Cook and their wives, John Brandes and wife, Stephen and Philip Minear and their wives, Joseph Hurst and wife, Robert Furrer and William Harper (exhorters), and others were early members. The society occupied the hewed log school-house, about a mile above where Andersonville now is, until 1829, when they built a one- story brick meeting-house, just west of the village. This building was taken down and rebuilt in 1879, at a cost of about one thousand two hundred dollars. The graveyard of this church was opened in May, 183o, when Mrs. Howard Rouse was interred.
John Jenkins was an efficient local preacher of this society, and through his labors and influence the membership and prosperity of the church were much increased.
The Methodists in North Union erected a log meeting-house on the Swaney road, about the year 1828. The Minears, Pritchards, Thom psons, Evans, Davenports, and some of the Ritchharts, were the early members of the society--called the "Spring bank" church. Soon after the log house was ready for occupancy, it took fire and burned down, and a few years after in 1832— the present brick church was completed. The Rev. Evan Stevenson, father of Hon. Job Stevenson, of Cincinnati, was the first minister, and was an efficient pastor and able preacher. He preached in the vicinity for a number of years. A few members of the Baptist church assisted in the erection of the brick building, in consideration of which their denomination was permitted to use it the fifth Sabbath of every month in which there were five Sundays. The Rev. William Baker, of Deerfield township, was their pastor. The church has not been occupied for the past four years, it being considered unsafe, and meetings are now held in the schoolhouse.
MOUNT ZION'S CHURCH
was organized on a Sabbath, in 184i, by Rev. Samuel McAdow, who, on the occasion, filled an appointment for the Rev. Pleasant Thurman. The meeting was held and the class organized in the Armstrong school-house, which had been a regular appointment for some time previous. Those who joined at the organization, or shortly afterward, were the following: Thomas Augustus and wife, Elijah Johnson and wife, William Bostwick and wife, William Ogden and wife, John Brown and wife, Thomas Hurst and wife, John Abernethy, Thomas Earl and wife, George Shriver and wife, George March and wife, Joseph Offut and wife, John Henness and wife, Job Packer and wife, Samuel Ulm and wife, John Ulm and wife, Edward Ulm and wife, Mary Ulm, Margaret Ulm, Jacob Ulm and wife, William Rickabaugh and wife. Thomas Hurst was appointed leader of the class. A short time after the society was organized, it was taken in as an appointment on the Deer Creek circuit by Rev. E. H. Field, who traveled the circuit that year, and it soon became a prosperous church, with a membership of fifty or sixty persons. Judge Armstrong, who owned a farm immediately across the road from the school-house, being pleased with the success of the society, though not a member of any church, donated them an elevated spot of ground on his farm, a few hundred yards south of the school-house, upon which to erect a church edifice, which was erected in 1843. The first sermon in it was preached before it was completed, by Rev. Philip Nation, one of the preachers then on the circuit, from the text, "They that trust the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth forever," (first verse of one hundred and twenty-fifth Psalm), which gave the society its name, instead of Armstrong's chapel, which had been preferred by some of the members. The dedication services were conducted by the Rev. James B. Finley.
THE UNION PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
was organized April 13, 1802. Rev. William Speer was its first pastor, preaching one-third of the time and giving the other two-thirds to New Hope (now First) Presbyterian church in Chillicothe. Mr. Speer resigned the pastoral charge of both churches in October of the above year, after which Union church depended on occasional supplies until 1806, when Dr. Robert G. Wilson became the pastor, in connection with the church in Chillicothe, having preached for the two societies a year previous. Dr. Wilson continued pastor until 1811, when the Chillicothe church secured from the presbytery the whole of his services.
HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 265
Of the original members we have no definite information, as no records seem to have been kept prior to 18o6. At the close of Dr. Wilson's pastorate, the membership numbered forty. Joseph McCoy was one of the first elders, and he probably officiated as such until his death in 1811. John Crozie was church clerk and the records until 1817 are in his handwriting. In that year he was deposed from the office of ruling elder, and no record was afterwards kept, except a brief record in 1831 and 1832. In 1810 or 1811 a meeting-house—a small brick structure—was erected, meetings previous thereto being held at the dwellings of the members, and, in the summer, frequently in the forest. The building was partially blown down in 1831, but was soon after rebuilt. With regard to the successive pastors of the church we can not speak with accuracy. According to the recollection of William McCoy and others, Dr. Campbell (practicing physician as well as minister,) succeeded Dr. Wilson. His pastoral relation was dissolved by death. The next pastor was Rev. William Jones, who was first employed in 1815. The records contain a copy of the subscription for his second year's salary, in which occurs the following clause which shows the kind of compensation the pioneer preachers received for their services, to-wit: " N. B. Tne one half of the above sums win be taken in wheat, corn, beef or pork, at the market price, when delivered." The total amount of the subscription was two hundred and twenty-three dollars and twenty-five cents. Mr. Jones was pastor at two or three different times. Other pastors whose names we have were Rev. James Robinson, Rev. Hugh S. Fullerton, Rev. James Dunlap, Rev. Daniel Gilmore, Rev. William P. Eastman and Rev. Norman Jones. In 1824 Dr. Wilson resigned his pastorate of the First Presbyterian church in Chillicothe to accept the presidency of the Ohio University at Athens. He remained at Athens a number of years and then returned lo Chillicothe, after which he again officiated for the Union church for many years. One of the most successful pastorates was that of Mr. Fullerton, who remained, however, but a short time, accepting a call to the first Presbyterian church in Chillicothe. The present pastor is the Rev. William P. Eastman, who has served the church at a former period.
MONA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The initial steps in the organization of this society were taken in the fall of 1871, when, at the regular quarterly conference of Dry Run chapel, Mr. George T. Sowerby, one of its members, submitted a proposition looking to the erection of a church edifice in his neighborhood. A subscription of two thousand dollars, and a donation of ground for the purpose, were pledged. The majority of the members, however, thought the organization of another church in the vicinity unadvisable, and the proposition was not accepted. A similar offer was then made to the Presbytery of Chillicothe, and by it accepted. A mission-school had been formed at the schoolhouse, in sub-district number one, the summer previous, and the success attending it resulted in the movement for the organization of a church.
A committee, appointed by the presbytery, consisting of Rev. W. H. Prestley, of the Third Presbyterian church of Chillicothe, Elders James Bonner, Hugh Bell, Peter Platter, and Samuel F. McCoy, met (with the exception of Mr. Platter) at the Mona Mission, April 22, 1872, for the purpose of effecting the proposed organization. Rev. Mr. Prestley was moderator of the session, and Mr. McCoy was elected clerk. Rev. H. W. Biggs, of the First church, Chillicothe, was also present and delivered a sermon. The following named persons were admitted to membership, viz: on profession of faith, Mrs. Mary Hankins, Miss Willa Hankins, Miss Rebecca Cunningham, and George T. Sowerby; and by letter, from the Presbyterian churchof Greenland, Mrs. Catharine Tootle, Mrs. Rebecca B. Cunningham, and Miss Sarah Cunningham. The certificates of Mr. and Mrs. William C. Plyley, not being in form correct, their admission to membership was postponed until a subsequent meeting. George T. Sowerby and William C. Plyley were elected elders, and were ordained as such the following fifth of May, at which time also Mr. and Mrs. Plyley were received into membership.
The society met with considerable difficulty in the erection of a house of worship, and it is not yet entirely finished. Work upon it was commenced in August, 1872, and on the twenty-third day of May, 1875, it was dedicated, the Revs. Robert Gilbraith and H. W. Biggs, officiating. The trustees were David Cunningham, Samuel F. McCoy, George T. Sowerby, L. B. James, and Isaac S. Cook. The building was intended as a school for a higher grade of learning than the common school, but such an institution has not yet been organized. The amount expended in the erection of the buiiding thus far in cash, material and labor, is something over five thousand dollars, and to complete it will require an additional outlay of about two thousand five hundred dollars.
Rev. W. H. Prestley officiated for the church as stated supply, from 1872 to 1876, and was succeeded by Rev. William P. Eastman, pastor of Union church, who preached for a part of two years. Rev. J. 0. Pierce, the present pastor of the Third Presbyterian church of Chillicothe, has preached, with more or less regularity, as stated supply, since the fall of 1877.
The present elders are George T. Sowerby, who has held the office, continuously, since his appointment at the organization of the church, and James N. Myers, who was elected in 1878. The deacons, elected the same year, are Matthew ;J. Clifton, Irving Beyerly, and Scott Cunningham. The membership at the present (January, 188o) writing is about forty.
MOUNT OLIVE CHURCH
of the Christian Union denomination was organized by the Rev. Addison Nichols, on the fourteenth of November, 1868. Mr. Nichols had preached in the neighborhood one year previous to this. The society met for worship in the brick school-house, near the Methodist Episcopal church, until 1878, when they erected a brick church a short distance west of Andersonville.
An Evangelical society was organized at Yellow Bud
266 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO.
some two or three years since, which is still in existence. They have no church building, but use the school-house as a place of worship. This school-house was formerly a church of a Protestant Methodist society.
CEMETERIES.
The first burials were made in private burying-grounds, which have not, except in a few cases, been kept up. The Bowdle burial-ground is the oldest regular burial place in the township, being laid out soon after 1800. The first person buried there was Mary Sisk, the first wife of James Sisk, the date of which event was February 2, 1801. We find here the names and dates of many of the pioneers of Union, among them the following: James Sisk, August, r836, aged seventy-five years; Rev. Elijah Truitt, 1853, in his eighty-fourth year; his wife, Elizabeth, 1857, aged seventy-three years; William Bowdle, 1830, aged fifty-six years; Curtis Buckworth, 1870, aged nearly seventy-nine, and his wife, Rachel, 1873, aged nearly eighty-one; Henry Bowdle, March r, 1829, aged seventy-nine years and six months, and Sarah, his wife, February, 1822, aged seventy-one years and three months; Thomas Bowdle, September, 1835, aged eighty, and his wife, Elizabeth, September, 1827, aged sixty-two.
In the Union Church burying-ground. the oldest inscription the writer noticed was that recording the death of Joseph McCoy, who died in 1811. His second wife, Jane, died in 185o; Joseph Clark died in 1857, aged eighty-seven years, and his wife, Elizabeth, in 1853, aged seventy-six years. William Rodgers died in 1824, aged seventy-four, and Phebe Rodgers, in 1823, aged sixty- seven; Hamilton Rodgers, in 1844, at the age of sixty- six years. John Rodgers died August 19, 1866, aged eighty-eight years, ten months and twenty-two days, and his wife, Mary, September 16, 186o, aged seventy-eight years, eight months and three days; Thomas McCoy, February 28,-1852, aged nearly eighty-three years, and Mary, his wife, July 22, 1851, at the age of nearly eighty; William Beard, sr., in 1851, aged ninety-four; William Beard, jr., in 1868, aged seventy years; Thomas Junk, 1861, aged ninety-two years; John McCoy, 1844, nearly seventy-three years; David Augustus, 1842, aged nearly seventy-six; Robert Neal, 1863, "aged about one hundred years;" his wife, Jennie, 1871, "aged about one hundred and three years."
In the Spring Bank cemetery the first recorded burial is that of Mary Evans, mother of Colonel John Evans, who died in 1812, aged seventy-four; Colonel Evans died December 27, 1841, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and his wife, Miranda C., died in 1817; Philip Minear, sr., died in 1846, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
Many graves in these burying-grounds have no headstones, and some of the inscriptions are so nearly obliterated as to be illegible. The cemetery at Andersonville, in connection with Union chapel, is more recent, the first interment being that of the wife of Howard Rouse, in May, 1830.
MILLS.
The first grist-mill erected in the township, was built by Francis and Baylis Nichols, where Yellow Bud now is, about 1800, and the next by Governor Tiffin, on Deer creek, just below the bridge, about the year 1805 or 1806. The mill was called "Old Malden," but why we are not informed. It was afterwards owned and operated by John Tootle, and subsequently passed through several hands until it came into possession of the Ritchharts, who finally took it down. In about the year 181o, Joseph Gardner erected the Albright mills, consisting of a grist- and saw-mill, which then stood where the present saw-mill does. Judge Gardner was a man of enterprise and energy, and at a later period was associate judge of the county, succeeding Judge Hicks. He carried on the mill until his death, when it was bought by Nasy Thompson: The next owner was Captain Leffingwell, and then Joseph Albright, and it still remains in the family. In 1817 or 1818, Hezekiah and Isaiah Ingham, together with John Webster, erected a large three-story flouring-mill, on the river east of where Andersonville now stands. The Inghams afterward became the sole owners, and in 1831 or 1832, they converted it into a paper-mill. which they operated until about 1838, when it went out of existence. They also had a distillery.
There have been several saw-mills erected in the township, besides the one already mentioned, the smaller streams in former years affording a sufficiency of watt rpower to run them a large portion of the year. One cf the earliest was built on Dry run, by Abner Winders, which did the sawing for the entire neighborhood. Major Willits built a saw-mill on Anderson's run, in digging the race for which he came upon five human skeletons, fourteen feet below the surface of the ground, buried in a stiff blue clay.
The steam corn-Sheller and elevators at Anderson's station, were established by the present owners, J. & T. L. Anderson, in 1876.
VILLAGES.
There are two small towns in the township-Yellow Bud and Andersonville-both of them on the canal, and a station on the Marietta & Cincinnati railroad, called Anderson's station. Yellow Bud, situated on the stream of the same name, had its origin in the erection of a grist-mill, soon after 1800, by Francis and Baylis Nichols. In the fall of 1835 a distillery was built by a company composed of Joshua Clark, of Lancaster, Ohio, and others, and a pork-packing business established. Merchandizing was also carried on. It was laid out as a village by Isaiah Ingham, John Boggs and Samuel G. Lutz, in 1845. A post-office was established with Washington Delaplane as postmaster in 1845 or 1846. A dry-dock, for the construction and repair of canal-boats, was built at Yellow Bud about the year 1837, by William Thompson, the first one on the southern division of the Ohio canal. Yellow Bud now contains some twenty-five families.
Andersonville lies six miles north of Chillicothe, and contains about a dozen families. It took its name from Mahlon Anderson, who formerly owned the land on which it is situated, and who opened the first store there. The land was afterwards purchased by Major and Lorenzi Dunlap, who platted the town in 1851, and
HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 267
recorded their plat under the name of Lewisville, out of compliment to their surveyor, Colonel Lewis Sifford. A post-office was established in February, 1873, with John Bridges postmaster, who has held the office until the present time. The name of the post-office is Andersonville, and the town is generally so called.
There is also a post-office at Anderson's station, and one on the Egypt road called View post-office. The latter is about to be discontinued.
EARLY EVENTS.
As already stated, the writer has been unable to ascertain who struck the first blow for the purpose of improvement in Union and erected the first cabin, but it was probably one of the McCoys, who no doubt selected their locations in this township soon after their arrival in the Scioto valley in the spring of 1796.
The first orchard was planted by Mrs. Dickerson in the spring of 1797, from apple seed which she brought with her from the Ohio river, the fall previous. On the farm of Mr. Samuel G. Lutz, near Yellow Bud, are apple trees two feet or more through, which were set out by General Henderson in 1798.
Levi Hurst, who was a brick mason, erected for John Rodgers, in 1804, a brick chimney for his house, which had been built in the winter of 1799-1800. The brick were burnt by Mr. Hurst on his own land, and were, without doubt, the first brick manufactured or used in the township. There were used in the construction of the chimney about five thousand brick. This house has never been untenanted since its erection eighty years ago.
The first hewed log houses erected in the township were those of Joseph McCoy—of which mention has already been made—and Levi Hurst, which was built in 1804. The latter building, except the roof; is in a tolerably good state of preservation, but has not been occupied for many years. The house rested on a brick foundation, the logs were nicely hewed, and the cracks between them were filled with brick and mortar. The lower floor was of puncheon, but the upper one was of sawed stuff; tongued and grooved together with as much nicety and taste as if done by a modern mechanic. The ceiling up-stairs was of plaster, and is still good, though the house has its third roof.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
MAJOR DUNLAP.
This gentleman, lately a wealthy and respected citizen of Union township, now deceased, was the fifth son of John and Dorcas (Dow) Dunlap, born in Lexington, Rockbridge county, Virginia, June 1, 1814. He was named from an uncle on the motherls side. His father came to the Scioto valley as early as 1776, and entered the fine tract, subsequently owned by his son, and now occupied by the widow, Mrs. Major Dunlap, on the Ohio and Erie canal, five and a half miles from Chillicothe. He did not occupy it, however, until 1817, and the family was not removed thither until 1825. There the elder Dunlap died in 1855, at the age of eighty-five, his wife surviving him four years longer. Major received some education in such schools as that early day and primitive region afforded, hut spent his time mostly in the labors of thefarm until maturity, when he engaged also in the purchase and sale of cattle, hogs, and other live stock. He continued in this business for many years, handling, in the aggregate, more property of this kind than any other two men in the valley, meeting with almost uniform success, and acquiring by this and his farming operations a very handsome competence. He resided in Louisville, a small village near his home, for about a year after his first marriage, which occurred September 5, 1848, to Miss Martha McCollister, daughter of Mr. Charles McCollister, a Pike county farmer. She departed this life March 6, 185o, and he remarried March 27, 186o, being this time united to Miss Ellen Goodman, daughter of David Goodman, of Green township, the subject of another notice in this hrstory. There is but one child of his first marriage—Mary Martha, now wife of Martin V. Briggs, a farmer in Union township, two and a half miles from Chillicothe. The children of the second are Blanche, Oliver Lorenzo (named from his two of uncles), Elizabeth Tabitha (who takes her names from her grandmothers), Margaret Ellen, and David Major (named from his maternal grandfather and his father). All at this writing (March, 1880) are still residing at home with their mother.
Mr. Dunlap was somewhat in public life, though not in any way a professional office seeker. He served in 186o on the State board of equalization, and was for one term infirmary director, declining a reelection. In politics he was an old-line Whig, and subsequently a Democrat, but not especially active in either party. He was for many years a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and then of the Christian Union church, which was formed of Methodists, prompted to leave the older societies by differences growing out of the late war. He took a lively interest in public enterprises, subscribing liberally to the stock of the Scioto Valley and the Dayton & Southern railroads ; taking nearly all the stock in the Louisville turnpike, upon which his place was located, and which he and a brother built at their own cost ; and also investing largely in the Chillicothe & Clarksburgh turnpike. Considering the nature of his principal business, he got along with the world with remarkable smoothness, very seldom engaging in litigation, and being generally popular and in good repute. He was killed March 14, 1876, by a colt he was trying to halter, which probably struck him with its fore feet, and so crushed and bruised him that he died almost instantly. His funeral was largely attended, and very general regret was expressed at his loss. He left his widow and children excellently provided for, and they continue to reside at the old home.
ANDREW J. BEVERLY.
Andrew Jackson Beyerly, now a substantial and well-known farmer of Union township, was born in Chillicothe, November 11, 1815, the youngest son of Michael and Anna (Miller) Beyerly. He is of German stock on both sides, and both his grandfathers were soldiers of the Revolution. His father was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, March 14, 1774, and died in Chillicothe, February is, 1841, aged sixty-seven. He pursued in his lifetime the somewhat diverse employments of shoemaker and flat-boatman. He was also a soldier in the war of 1812, serving three terms, respectively, as a minute-man, a substrtuteo and a volunteer. He was in active service, at one time in a retreat under Colonel Brush, of Chillicothe, before Tecumseh and a greatly superior force of Indians; but escaped all dangers unharmed. Andrew's mother was born in York county, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1781, and died of cholera, in Chillicothe, September 1, 1833, aged fifty-one years, ten months and four days. His wife's father was born December 31, 1792, came to the Scioto valley in 1806, and died here in 1869, at the age of seventy-seven. Her mother, whose maiden name was Eliza Loofbowrow, was born February 2, 1792, and died in 1853. The daughter, Susan, afterwards Mrs. Beyerly, was the youngest of thirteen children, and was born May To, 1834. Her father's people came to Chillicothe in 1800, by way of wagons to Wheeling, flat-boats to Portsmouth, and wagons again to Chillicothe.
Andrew received some education in a subscription school in Chillicothe, and also in the public schools. He learned the saddlery business with his brother, William H., and traveled for a time as a journeyman, leaving Chillicothe with hut one dollar and a half in his possession; but presently located at New Holland, Pickaway county, where he began working for Colonel Thomas L. Mackey, now sheriff of Ross county. In 1842 he opened a saddlery and harness shop in New Holland, in partnership with John Lewis. At the end of two years they dissolved, each starting a shop for himself. In 1856 he gave up the business and removed to the place he now occupies—a three hundred and nine acre tract an the Egypt road, in Union township, six miles from Chillicothe—in which his wife had an interest, through her father, Mr. Beyerly, buying
268 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO.
out the other heirs in due time. Here he has since kept the even tenor of his way as a quiet farmer, his life unmarked by any striking or stirring incident. Although of decided political convictions, he has never been an office seeker, and has held no office above that of school director, often refusing the offer of other places. He has been a member of the Presbyterian church of late years, and was formerly in the order of Odd Fellowship, but has not been an active Rember for a long time. His business has been almost entirely free from litigation. He was never in court as a witness more than once, and never a juror more than once, which was upon the trial of Johnson, for murder, some years ago. He has accumulated a comfortable property, enjoys excellent health, and bids fair to live to a happy old age.
Mr. Beyerly was married in Circleville, November 7, 1852, to Miss Susan Fulton, of Ross county. They have children as follows--all living and with their parents at home: Ann Eliza, Michael Irvin, Wade Jefferson, Lucy Lugenia, Kate Lavina, Grace, and Wallace Fulton. Mrs.
Beyerly's father was, in early years, a surveyor, and was employed to assist in running the boundary line between Indiana and Ohio, under John A. Fulton who had the contract for the survey with the United States government. He was also a commissary in the war of 1812.
HIRAM RITCHHART.
Mr. Ritchhart is one of the substantial farmers, the " solid men" of Union township. He was born there, near his present residence, the fourteenth day of August, 1825, the fourth son of Jacob, and second son of his second wife, Elizabeth (Griffin) Ritchhart. He is of German stock, but his father was born in Virginia, and came with Hiram's grandfather to the township about 1796. The mother was of a Maryland family. His father was a farmer, and Hiram was thoroughly bred to the business, and has followed it all his life, taking sometime' for schooling of winter, in his childhood and youth. He lost his father in 1836, his mother dying three years after. His elder brother, Col. Ritchhart, took charge of the farm and family, and brought him up. He was married February 22, 1853, to Miss Rebecca A., daughter of Col. John Mace. Their union has, so far, proved childless. They have, however, taken and reared several children of others, among them a child of his brother, Jacob, and one of his wife's cousins, Jessie Mace. (Other children of Jacob Ritchhart were Col. Abraham, Jacob, Hiram, Penelope (now Mrs. J. S. Monism, of Yellow Bud), and Elizabeth, now wife of Samuel Print, a grain operator in Chillicothe and Yellow Bud.
Mr. Ritchhart bought the farm south of the old place, near Andersonville, seven miles from Chillicothe, on the Louisville turnpike, which he has since owned and occupied with great business energy and success. One hundred and five acres were inherited from his father. He has not been much in politics, but has held the post of .township treasurer ten to fifteen years, and is now an incumbent of the office of infirmary director. He is also a member of the Patrons of Husbandry, and is otherwise a leading and useful citizen of his township, and of Ross county.