400 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY Paint. The western line of the township and county strikes that stream at the mouth of Rocky Fork, one-half of its course being in Paxton Township and the other in Highland County. At this point begin the rapids of Paint. Confined within a comparatively narrow limit by limestone cliffs, the stream makes a descent of nineteen feet in a distance of 200 yards. On the Paxton side the land is wooded to the edge of the rocky declivity, small trees grow in the crevices, and moss and grass serve to cover the intervals, save where some jutting mass of limestone denies root-hold to even these. In the early years of the nineteenth century on the Paint side, the water power of the rapids served to turn the wheels of large works and iron, lumber, flour and nails were produced in considerable quantities ; upon the banks were the cabins of workmen and the residences of their superiors—all was activity and life. Now the men who projected and sustained the work are passed away. Below the rapids the stream broadens. Many years ago this was a favorite crossing for immigrants, and teamsters engaged in "packing" goods across the country, and was known as Keeper's Ford. Near by, Cold Spring furnished an abundant supply of drinking water, and now marks the site of the old camping ground. Rapids Forge is now passed, on either side, by the lines of travel—the Milford and Chillicothe Turnpike to the south, and the Bainbridge and Greenfield Road to the northward. But eighty or ninety years ago its now deserted shores were the scene of more activity than existed at any other point in the western part of Ross County. Two miles below Keeper's Ford, is Grassy Ford, still in use as a crossing place when the water of Paint is not too high. PAPER TOWN OF NEW AMSTERDAM The falls of Paint Creek are, following the line of the stream, about a mile below Grassy Ford. There the water makes a descent of about eleven feet, furnishing a fine natural water-power. This power was early utilized by Nathaniel Massie and Jacob and Enoch Smith, by the erection of a saw-mill and distillery. At that locality on the north bank was projected and laid out, by the Smith Brothers, a town called New Amsterdam. They no doubt expected, and circumstances indicated, that this was to be the principal place of what was then the large territory of Paxton Township. Fine farming land extended on either side of the stream ; both bottom and hill formed a main and conclusive argument in favor of the site. But it was not to be. Various causes, principal among which was the unhealthfulness of the location, combined to induce the abandonment of the idea. Bainbridge was projected HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 401 and laid out by General Massie, and New Amsterdam now exists only as a name on the map, and not now within the recollection of the oldest inhabitants. Below the site of New Amsterdam, Paxton Township extends to the northward of Paint Creek, which is, above that point, its northern boundary line, taking an area nearly equal to one-fourth of its entire extent, and embracing a part of the fertile valley of Buckskin Creek, the largest tributary of Paint in the township. Farther on, Cave Run empties into Paint, and, nearly opposite its mouth, the waters turned, years ago, the wheels of Jacob Platter's Mill. TWO HISTORIC SKIRMISHES WITH THE SHAWNEES Only one more point of interest is found on the creek before we reach the line of Twin Township, and that is the most notable of all. About a quarter of a mile west of the Milford and Chillicothe Turnpike Bridge were fought, in the year 1795, engagements between the exploring and surveying party under General Massie and a band of Shawnee Indians. The proximity of the bridge has caused the abandonment of this ford, and, though the scene of the most interesting event in the history of Paxton, it is rarely visited. These two skirmishes, which early historians dignify as battles, have been pronounced historical as the last conflicts between the two races in the Scioto Valley, preceding the treaty at Greenville which brought peace with the Shawnees and other Indian tribes of the Northwest Territory covering a period of seventeen years. In the year named (1795) an exploring party was organized, and set out from Manchester, on the Ohio River, for the Scioto country. Among the members of the little company were Nathaniel Massie, Robert W. Finley, Captain Petty and Martin Gilmore. After a. march of several days they reached the falls of Paint Creek, and their practiced eyes detected signs of a recent Indian visit to the place. Soon after, proceeding cautiously, they heard the tinkling of the bells of the ponies of the Indian band. It then seemed too late to retire with safety, and it was decided, after a hurried consultation, to advance in the following order and surprise their enemies : Fallenbach (the guide), General Massie, Robert W. Finley, and Captain Petty (to protect the rear), with other less noted members of the expedition at intervals. In a short time the party emerged upon the Indian Camp at Reeves' Crossing. So well had the movement been planned, and so cautiously executed, that the surprise of the Shawnees was complete. Had this not been so, it would have been disastrous to the whites, for, of their entire force of forty men, but twenty took part in the battle, the rest Vol. I-26 402 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY showing the white feather and seeking shelter behind logs and trees. After a sharp fight for a few moments the Indians broke and fled in confusion across the stream, leaving their camp and its contents to the mercy of the whites. The Shawnees lost several killed and wounded, and of the explorers one, a Mr. Robinson, who was shot and instantly killed. Martin Gilmore, who was the grandfather of Samuel Peacock, of Bainbridge, was separated from his companions, and ran to a point near where the Platter Mill was afterward built, pursued by two Indians. Crossing the creek at that point, he turned and shot one of his pursuers, when the other gave up the chase, and Gilmore reached the rest of his party in safety. Massie and his company, being left masters of the situation, gathered the horses, skins, and other valuables of the camp, and with a white man, John Wilcoxon, who had been held a prisoner by the Shawnees and had escaped during the confusion of the battle, commenced a retreat to Manchester, whence they had set out. It was certain that they would be followed by the Indians as soon as reinforcements could be obtained, so a strong position was selected for the night's camp, and every precaution taken that they might avoid surprise and successfully resist the expected attack. The place selected for the encampment was on Scioto Brush Creek, and there, after a night of watchfulness, their expectations were fulfilled, the Indians attacking their position with great vigor, about an hour before daybreak. Here again the cowards who had fled at the first fire the day before, sought shelter, and left to their few boon-companions the work of repelling the superior force of their enemies. This was bravely and manfully done. After about an hour of fighting, the Indians again retired, leaving the little party to return without further molestation to Manchester. In this second skirmish the loss of the Shawnees is not known ; that of the whites was confined to the wounding of one of their number, Mr. Gilfillan, by a rifle ball, through the thigh, and the shooting of several horses. NATHAN REEVES AND HIS LANDS Nathan Reeves, after whom the crossing was named, had purchased large tracts of land on Paint Creek, and in 1793 and 1794 General Massie, with his assistants, surveyed 1,000 acres of the Reeves' properties. In the spring of 1795 their owner made a contract with William Kent, of Pennsylvania, whereby it was agreed that Kent should come to Ohio and clear forty acres of the tract and place it in condition for planting, Reeves to give him in payment fifty acres of land, to be located at any point outside of the tract which he (Kent) should select. In furtherance of the agree- HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 403 ment, Kent came into the wilderness alone, with only his axe, gun and a small tent, settled himself near the base of a sheltering hill and went manfully to work. He cut the first tree ever felled in Paxton Township in preparation for actual settlement, and for about six months of the year he thus worked alone in the wilderness. At the time there was not an actual settler in Ross County, and a fierce Indian war was drawing to a close, without Kent's knowledge. But amid the loneliness and dangers of the forest, infested by wild beasts and savages, William Kent persevered, cleared the first corn-field in Paxton and earned his fifty acres of woodland. The land thus cleared embraced the ground long afterward occupied by the Seymour house. It was originally erected in 1805 by Reeves, who occupied it for many years as a tavern on Zane's Trace. The property continued in the ownership of Reeves and Kent until 1832, when it passed to David Adams who sold it soon afterward to R. R. Seymour, a Virginian. MASSIE'S MANSION IN THE WILDERNESS After his work as surveyor of the military lands was completed, General Massie began to look about him for a place to build him a home—a place where he might enjoy the repose which his arduous labors of the past years had so well earned. In the course of his services as surveyor he had become, by one means and another, the owner of large tracts of land at various places in the country of the Scioto, and it was from these that he had to choose. Among his possessions was a body of land in Paxton Township embracing the farms subsequently owned by Austin Pepple, Joseph West, the Dunn heirs, and other property, extending from Paint Creek up Massie 's Run beyond the present Cynthiana Pike. This large and fine tract of land Massie resolved to make his home farm. Upon the base of the first hill back of Paint Creek, where a natural platform of a few acres, skirted by a small stream, offered a sightly and healthful position, he built his house in the year 1800. It was a spacious and solid structure, the first approaching the modern idea of comfort which was erected in Paxton. Every nail driven in its erection was forged by hand, with hammer and anvil. Every timber was cut from the soil and selected for its office ; no economy of material or labor marked the work, and for about a century it defied the usual destructive assaults of time. To this mansion in the wilderness Massie brought his young wife, fresh from the luxuries of her Virginian home, and installed her as its mistress. It must have been a trying experience to her, a delicately reared and cultivated woman, to turn her back on civilization and share the hardships of a frontier life. Massie was every inch a man, but he was no "carpet knight," and a life of 404 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY exposure, hardships and danger, had made him, though warm at heart, somewhat rough in speech and manner. So long as he lived his house was open to all, and a warm welcome especially awaited any of his old comrades of the trail who might visit him_. McDonald tells us, in quaint language, of the lavish hospitality of his home ; how he could not do enough for his uncouth companions ; how his table groaned with its superfluity, and how the delicate hands of Mrs. Massie passed among her husband's guests, seated about the fire-place after supper, cups of fragrant tea. This last custom was a new one to McDonald, and he tells us that he regarded it as "rather a foolish" fashion. Massie, though settled in a comfortable home and free from such dangers as he had encountered in the past, was by no means idle. On Massie's Run, near the house of J. W. Fernow, he established, about the year 1800, the first sawmill in Paxton, on Paint Creek ; he enabled the Smith brothers to build a grist-mill, and himself built the first still-house in the township. In that year the Smiths founded the Town of New Amsterdam on the northern shores of Paint Creek. On his farm in Paxton General Massie built, at a somewhat later day, a furnace, where he manufactured iron for some time. Take into consideration the developing and management of a farm of several thousand acres, the oversight of large tracts at other points, the selling of land and the trouble incident to finding funds for all these various enterprises, and for the payment of a large indebtedness contracted in the original purchases, and it will be readily believed that Nathaniel Massie did not eat the bread of idleness. Here we have to do only with that part of his life which has a bearing on the development of Paxton. In this first house the husband and wife lived, and when they died both were buried on the hillside west of the old homestead, and rested there until June, 1870, when their remains were removed to the cemetery at Chillicothe. On the worn sandstone slab, which marked his grave in Paxton, is this inscription : "In memory of Nathaniel Massie, who was born December 28, 1763, and died November 3, 1813, in the fiftieth year of his age. " `It must be so, our father Adam's fall And disobedience, brought this lot on all. All die in him, but hopeless should we be, Blest revelation, were it not for thee Hail, glorious gospel ! heavenly light, whereby We live with comfort and with comfort die. We view beyond this gloomy scene, the tomb, A life of endless happiness to come.' " Passing on, we find that the settlement became quite general in the year 1800. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 405 THE TOWNSHIP UNDER TERRITORY AND STATE Paxton Township was erected by the territorial government during the year 1800, and then embraced all of Ross County west of the Scioto River, as well as portions of the territory now included in Fayette and Highland counties. On the fifteenth day of May, 1802, the inhabitants of the township, having met at the house of Christian Platter for the purpose of electing township officers, selected the following persons : William Kent, clerk ; Thomas Dill, Michael Harr, Thomas Keer, Joseph Taylor, and Samuel Teter, overseers of the poor; Zachariah Taylor, John Wilson, Christian Platter, fence viewers; Nathan Massie, Enoch B. Smith, and John Combs, appraisers of houses; John Combs, lister of property ; Frederick Braugher, John Brown, Hugh Cochran, William Pellers, James Wilson, and James Curry, supervisors of highways ; John Combs, John White, and Jacob Harr, constables. The above named persons being sworn, entered on the duties of their respective offices; twenty-four township officers in all. At an election held at the house of Christian Platter the 4th day of April, 1803, the following township officers were chosen according to law : William Kent, clerk ; Nathan Reeves, Noble Crawford, William Taylor, Sr., trustees ; Robert Holliday, Reuben Brister, overseers of the poor; Zachariah Taylor, Benjamin McClure, Joseph Rockhold, fence viewers; Samuel Jordan, Lucans Hawkins, appraisers of houses; Isaac Hartman, lister of taxable property ; Jacob Davis, Christian Platter, Abraham McCoy, Daniel Harr, John Brown, supervisors of highway; Talbot Ward, Jacob Harr, constables. Thus ended the township government under the Northwest Territory. By an act to incorporate townships passed at the second session of the First General Assembly of the State of Ohio, on the second day of April, 1804, the inhabitants (or electors) having met at the house of Christian Platter, for the purpose of electing township officers,, the following were chosen : William Kent, clerk and treasurer ; Robert Dill, Christian Platter, Jared Irwin, trustees ; Zuri Combs, John Torbet, overseers of the poor ; Thomas Edmonson, Elisha Kelley, fence viewers; Samuel Jordan, Thomas Massie, listers of taxable property and house appraisers ; Robert Edmonson, Thomas Dill, John Swan, Spencer Records, Enoch B. Smith, supervisors of highway ; Joshua Davis, Benjamin McClure, John White, constables. MASSIE FOUNDS BAINBRIDGE After the failure of New Amsterdam, General Massie sought a more favorable site for a village, and in 1805 laid out Bainbridge. 406 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY At that time three families were residing on the site and for two years no addition was made to the settlement, the business and industries of whineasmprised the store of ÆNneas Foulk, the blacksmith shop of Elisha Kelley, and the shoe shop of Austin Southard. Nathan Reeves had a tannery on his land two miles east, and Massie's mills, furnace and distillery were about the same distance westward. To the north, half a mile away, was a general store conducted by Christian Benner. MERCHANTS AND BANKERS The Bainbridge plat was soon advanced in standing by the establishment of a postoffice by that name, with Elisha Kelley, blacksmith and justice of the peace, as postmaster. Then a few other families took notice of the location and settled there. Foulk, who had been bringing his goods in saddle-bags from Chillicothe, was reinforced in the mercantile line by David Adams and a Mr. Crockett, both of whom opened stores. The Seymours finally displaced Foulk, and other pioneer merchants came into the field, such as Elijah Rockhold, J. P. Brown, William M. FitzWilliams, T. C. Campbell, Charles Robbins (the first druggist) and J. H. Huling (the first hardware merchant). Most of the thriving mercantile establishments and the banks of the present are conducted by the descendants of the pioneers mentioned. This is especially true of the private bank of Rockhold, Brown & Company, which is a direct descendant of the Rockhold, Cook & Company, bankers, founded in August, 1867. The firm originally consisted of Elijah Rockhold, Aaron Fernow, J. P. Brown and William A. Cook. Mr. Cook died in the late '70s, and the descendants of Messrs. Rockhold and Brown are still identified with the bank. The senior member of the firm is Elijah C. Rockhold, son of the founder, both senior and junior Rockholds being also engaged in general merchandising at the time of the bank's establishment. Another member of the firm is J. P. Clagett. The old firm of Rockhold, Cook & Company were also owners of the Paint Valley mills. The other bank operated by Spargur, Head & Company was established in 1878 by J. B. W. Spargur, John Hulitt, B. C. Hulitt, William W. Clyburn and Asa W. Spargur. The interest of the late senior member of the firm is held by his widow ; other members are J. R. Head and R. F. McCoppen. The present industries of Bainbridge are represented by the flour mill of Worley Brothers, the Hosler sawmill and the two canning factories of W. S. Moore and the Bainbridge Canning Company (W. M. Lewis). HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 407 THE VILLAGE OF TODAY Bainbridge was incorporated in 1838 and has a population of some 900, people. It is on the Dayton, Toledo & Ironton Railroad; is a good shipping point and the center of quite a large country trade. Since 1900 it has been in the class of municipalities which own and operated their water and light plants. Its educational facilities are adequate to the wants of its people, and the same may be said of its social and religious advantages. The Masons, Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias all have organizations. MASONS AND ODD FELLOWS Bainbridge Lodge No. 196, Free and Accepted Masons, was organized October 18, 1849. Its charter members, holding the offices stated, were as follows : J. D. Miller, worshipful master ; Samuel Tweed, junior warden; G. D. Teter, junior deacon ; Jacob McDaniels, treasurer ; James Slater, senior warden ; C. W. A. Halley, senior deacon ; J. M. Baird, secretary ; Daniel Kelly, tyler. Bainbridge Lodge No. 437, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted August 20, 1869, and its charter members were William L. Tulleys, D. E. Peck, J. H. Huling, John W. May, Fred Messmer, W. W. McCrackin, James S. Hannawalt, T. J. Atkins, James I. Clarke, C. D. Lindley, E. C. Rockhold, Isaac B. Gault and Peyton Kendall. The lodge, as now constituted, has a membership of seventy. Paint Valley Lodge No. 496, Knights of Pythias, was organized in the early '90s. 408 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY THE METHODISTS The pioneer church in Bainbridge and in Paxton was the Methodist. Almost as early as 1800 there was preaching in private houses and in school houses in various parts of the township. It was in 1818, however, that John Meek and John Collins, who had been among these early preachers, formed the first church organization in Bainbridge. During that year a class was instituted, consisting of James Gaskill and wife, Sarah McCollum, Rebecca Turner, John Baird and Magdalen Gilmore, and placed under the leadership of Mr. Gaskill. The class met at Gaskill's house, which became, and for some time continued to be, a regular "preaching place" of the denomination. In 1820 Gaskill gave to the church permission to build a meeting-house on his land and a small brick church was built there 24 by 30 feet in size. Gaskill used the adjacent land as a tan-yard. Afterward the tanning business together with the real estate, passed into the proprietorship of E. Rockhold and son, and the old meeting-house was turned into a slaughter-house. There the members of the congregation continued to meet until 1834, when they erected the frame structure, occupied by them until the year 1868. At that date a fine lot was purchased by the society on the south side of the main street of the village, and a church building erected at an expense of nearly $10,000—a severe strain upon an organization of only about eighty members. On the second day of April, 1876, this building took fire, and the roof and woodwork were completely destroyed. Not to be discouraged by this, however, repairs were at once begun, and in September of that year the congregation occupied the rebuilt edifice. In 1868, when the church erected its third house of worship, the frame building which had been constructed in 1834 was transferred to the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is still alive. In the early days of the Methodist Episcopal church at Bainbridge it was a part of the Hillsboro circuit, which embraced' 23 appointments, all of which was attended by two clergymen. Each of these ministers had to traverse a territory 30 miles square in 20 days and preach 29 times during that period. Among the early preachers of the circuit were Revs. Robert W. Finley, James B. Finley, James Havens, G. W. Walker, George Maley and James Quinn. Later pastors were Revs. John Power, Henry Turner, W. P. Strickland, Joseph Brunner, Joseph Reeder, Mark Bonner, Thomas Lee, Leroy Swormstedt, Zachariah Wharton, Edward Estell, B. A. Cassett, I. W. Smith, Henry Wharton, B. L. Jefferson, I. W. Stone, John Stewart, Alexander Mehaney, Philip Nation, John W. Locke, J. A. Brown, David Reed, J. S. Brown, B. Mark, HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 409 A. Morrow, A. Kite, J. W. Steele, James B. Austin, Joseph S. Morris, D. C. Howard, Samuel Bateman, Nathan Westerman, Eskridge H. Dixon, David H. Moore, now a bishop retired ; I. B. Brad-rick, F. A. Timmons, W. H. McClintock, Richard Pitzer, William Morris, T. G. Wakefield, Ed. T. Lane, J. P. A. Dickey, David Mann, R. I. DeSelm, Frank Gillilan, M. W. Acton, Isaac Mackey, C. B. Longman, Carl G. Doney, at present head of Williamette University, on the Pacific coast ; T. B. White, T. W. Locke, F. M. Swine-hart, C. W. Sowers, W. E. Prior, W. L. Hickey, G. D. Clifford, and the present incumbent, Rev. John M. Chandler. The church now numbers over 400 members. Altogether it has occupied five houses of worship—erected in 1820, 1834, 1868, 1897, and 1903. THE PRESBYTERIANS Most of the early preaching which the Presbyterians of Bainbridge enjoyed was furnished by clergymen from South Salem, who became established there in the pioneer times. There was no distinct organization at Bainbridge until 1841, when Rev. George G. Poe formed a church. In 1842 land was purchased and a meeting house erected. Among the early pastors were Revs. P. Irmiston and S. P. Durham. Rev. Kerns Preston is now in charge. CHAPTER XVI GREEN TOWNSHIP AND KINGSTON IN A STATE OF NATURE-THE FIRST GENERATION OF PIONEERS-WILLIAM MCCOY - COL. JOHN ENTREKIN - JOHN CROUSE, MILLER, DISTILLER AND MUSICIAN- ABRAHAM EYESTONE-JOHN GOODMAN—THE REEDYS-SAMUEL WHITSEL-THE MILITARY FREDERICKS-A CHRONIC GUNNER AFTER INDIANS-THE MAYS -THE BITZER BROTHERS-THE MILLER FAMILIES-JOHN HAYS -HUGH LITTLE-THE THOMAS, DURHAM AND ENTREKIN PROPERTIES JAMES DOWNS - THOMAS WRIGHT, THE LITERARY WEAVER-ABRAHAM JONES-TOWNSHIP REDUCED TO PRESENT AREA-KINGSTON FOUNDED AS INGTOWN-THE FIRST LOT SOLD (29) -EARLY MERCHANTS AND PROFESSIONAL MEN-POSTOFFICE AND CORPORATION-VILLAGE OF THE PRESENT-SOCIETIES AND CHURCHES - THE OLD MOUNT PLEASANT ACADEMY - SECOND GENERATION OF TOWNSHIP PIONEERS-FLOUR AND GRIST MILLS -EARLY DISTILLERIES-COTTON, WOOLEN AND PAPER MILLS-TANNERIES. Green Township is in the northeastern part of the county, east of the Scioto River, and is chiefly drained by the Kinnickinnick Creek, some of whose headwaters flow from Colerain Township. A smaller stream, Blackwater Creek, waters the northwestern sections. On the whole, the soil is rich and the rural population prosperous. IN A STATE OF NATURE The early settlers found the country well wooded, with the exception of the river bottoms, which were bordered by a growth of underbrush and considerable swampy land. One of the old settlers used to say, " The wet prairie in many places was a deep bog into which a rail could be pushed its entire length, and another placed on its end and pushed into the ground until both were forced out of sight." The first timber growth comprised black walnut, sugar maple, black and honey locust, chestnut, elm, ash, oak, beech and hickory. Some of this was made into lumber and rails, but much was burned - 410 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 411 in clearing the land. Many of these old-time wooded tracts have since been cultivated, and lands formerly considered useless swamps have been drained and made unusually productive. THE FIRST GENERATION OF PIONEERS Nearly all the first generation of pioneers who became permanent residents of Green Township were from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia—William McCoy, John Entrekin, Abraham Eyestone, John Goodman, the Frederick brothers, John Crouse, Samuel Whitsel, James May, and others. Quite a colony had arrived and settled even before the township was defined in 1803. Those who became best known, and left descendants whose lives, in turn, became a part of the progress of the township, are noted. WILLIAM MCCOY William McCoy, from Pennsylvania, came to Ross County in 1795 or 1796, and settled on Kinnickinnick Creek, in Green Township. Soon after his arrival lie built a log flouring mill on section 10, which he kept in operation some two years. It did not prove a success under his management, and he sold to John Crouse, who built up a large business in milling. His son David long resided on the old McCoy farm, which his father bought. After selling the mill Mr. McCoy moved to the site of the old Mount Pleasant Church, a mile west of Kingston, where he improved a farm and assisted in organizing the first church in the township. His death occurred in 1823. He had a family of eight children, several of whom passed their lives in the township. COL. JOHN ENTREKIN John Entrekin came from Adams County, Pennsylvania, to Ross County, Ohio, arriving in April, 1797. He was a wagoner, 412 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY and for a number of years teamed flour and whiskey for John Crouse, conveying it to the best and most accessible market. In 1801 he married Nancy Crouse, who received from her father the south half of sections 7 and 10. On the latter section they settled and made a home. He bought and sold land for many years, and accumulated considerable property. During the War of 1812 he was connected with the army as wagon-master, his route being from Chillicothe to Lower Sandusky. During the films of "general muster" he was colonel of a regiment of militia. Throughout his life he was a prominent farmer and quite a politician, and served his county as a state representative and as associate judge in the Court of Common Pleas. He was a great sufferer during several of the later years of his life, and died May 10, 1842, from the effect of a surgical operation. At the time of his death he was aged sixty-four years. He left a family of five daughters and four sons. JOHN CROUSE, MILLER, DISTILLER AND MUSICIAN John Crouse came from Frederick County, Maryland; to Green Township, near the mouth of Kinnickinnick Creek, where in 1798 he bought the small flouring mill built by William McCoy. He largely increased the patronage of the mill, which has since been known as "Crouse's Mill." He added to it a distillery, and during the War of 1812 made a large profit on the whiskey he manufactured. In those days corn could be bought for from 6 to 10 cents per bushel, and each bushel of grain would make four gallons of liquor, which sold at $1 per gallon. Mr. Crouse was a man of convivial habits when young, a tailor by trade. After marriage he applied himself to business and accumulated a large fortune. He was no mean performer on the violin, and until the day of his death retained his love for music. He died in Kingston, September 5, 1847, aged eighty-eight years. When a young man he married Miss Umstead, in Maryland, and in the new Indiana country raised a family of four sons and four daughters. ABRAHAM EYESTONE Abraham Eyestone and family emigrated in the fall of 1799 from Pennsylvania, and on their arrival in Ross County settled on the west side of the Scioto River, where they remained some two or three years, but it proved to be an unhealthful location and he moved across the river, settling on section 16 (school land) in Green Township. Soon after the opening of the land office in Chillicothe, with Peter Frederick he entered section 14, on which HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 413 he lived until about 1837, when he bought fifty acres in section 10, and 140 in section 9. He died on this land about 1839. He had seven children, two of whom were born after the coming of the parents to Ross County, and one died in infancy. JOHN GOODMAN John Goodman and wife, with six children, from Berks County, Pennsylvania, arrived in Green Township in 1799. Mr. Goodman entered 160 acres, built a log house and made a home for his family. Three children were born after that event, making nine in all. The sons remained in the vicinity of their home during their lives ; the daughters moved elsewhere, with the exception of Magdalene. John Goodman, Sr., built a sawmill on Blackwater Creek, which he ran some ten years. THE REEDYS Abraham, Michael, Coonrod, John, Margaret and Sally Reedy, and other sons, came into Green Township about 1799, and settled on the east branch of Kinnickinnick Creek, near the junction of the two branches, where they entered land, made homes and died. SAMUEL WHITSEL Samuel Whitsel came from near Morris Grove, Virginia, to the township, about the year 1800. After settling he was married, in 1803 or 1804, to Ruth Crouse. He worked in the mill and still-house of John Crouse previous to this time, and after marriage engaged in farming. He owned 414 acres of land on Blackwater Creek, about midway between the Scioto River and Kingston, where he lived and died. He was a member of a light-horse company under Col. John Entrekin, and was out a short time during the War of 1812. THE MILITARY FREDERICKS Peter, Daniel, Henry and Solomon Frederick, with their father, mother and two sisters, migrated from Pennsylvania, and settled in Ross County in 1799. The father entered a section of land located on both sides of Kinnickinnick Creek, some three miles east of the railroad station bearing that name. His farm comprised bottom land of very rich quality, covered on the borders of the creek with a dense growth of underbrush, and a little farther back 414 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY with heavy walnut and hickory, but mostly oak timber on the upland. On the death of their father the property was divided between the children. Solomon, the younger son, was a fife-major in the War of 1812, from which he never returned. Peter was a lieutenant at the same time, and was taken prisoner at the surrender of General Hull. He was afterwards exchanged with the rest of the army. Henry was also a soldier in the fortifications at Detroit, and while at breakfast was struck by fragments of a shell and severely injured. He was captain of the company in which his brother, Peter, was a lieutenant. After his exchange he recovered from his injuries, and in his old age moved to Illinois, where he died. For many years the three brothers, Peter, Daniel and Henry, remained on the farm. Peter afterwards moved to Kingston, where he died in 1853. A CHRONIC GUNNER AFTER INDIANS Henry was a bitter hater of the Indians, and many years after he returned from the war, when an old man living in Kingston, which was on the route pursued by travelers going to the East, he would see parties of Indians on their way to Washington. Such was his hatred of the red man that he would go all about the town endeavoring to borrow a gun with which to shoot some of them, but his neighbors would never let him have firearms at such times. His entire family went to Illinois, and in 1860 he followed them. THE MAYS James May, accompanied by his family, consisting of his wife, three sons and three daughters, came to Chillicothe from Fredericksburg, Virginia, about 1798. They made the journey down the Ohio River to Portsmouth in keelboats, and thence to their place of destination by means of pack-horses. He was by trade a gun and locksmith, and during the Revolutionary war manufactured guns and other arms for the patriot army. The original bills for some of his wares were long kept by his grandson, James May, in Kingston. Mr. May followed his calling in Chillicothe until about 1822, when he located near Kingston, where he died in 1836, nearly ninety-four years of age. His wife died in Chillicothe in 1816. His sons were John, James and Henry. Henry May came to Chillicothe with his father, James May, and family, about 1798, when eleven years of age. He married in Chillicothe, and for several years kept a tavern a mile and a half north of the town on the old stage road. During the War of 1812 he was for a short time in the army as a member of Captain HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 415 Brush's company, from Chillicothe, and was included in the force surrendered by General Hull, though at a remote distance from Detroit, and never became a captive. In 1822 he sold his tavern and bought land for a farm in Pickaway County, near the line of Ross County, making his home in the north part of the Village of Kingston, in 1843. He was by trade a wheelwright and chair-maker, and worked at that avocation when living on his farm. He was also engaged in a tannery in company with John Larkins, in Kingston, for a number of years. The family of Henry May consisted of five sons and five daughters. THE BITZER BROTHERS William, John, Coonrod and Jacob Bitzer, with several sisters, came soon after 1800, and settled three miles southeast of Kingston, where each entered land, made permanent homes and raised families. Jacob served as a soldier in the War of 1812 until its close, when he returned and married Barbara Metzger, by whom he had seven children. THE MILLER FAMILIES Abraham Miller came from Kentucky about 1800, and settled at the station near Chillicothe, where he remained three years, after which he moved into Green Township and bought section 26. He first came to Ohio in company with twelve others, and spent one season at the station, raising one crop of grain, and returning after his family in the fall. Their journey was made by means of packhorses, on which they brought bedding and other necessary articles, as well as the means for buying the land. His children were Jesse, William, John, James, Abraham, Elizabeth, Annie and Sarah, two of whom died when they were living below Chillicothe. The others lived to maturity and, at the death of the father, the land was divided into five parts. Jesse was given a farm in Pickaway County, where he died in 1878, leaving eight children. The other children married and raised families. Abraham inherited 122 acres of the home farm, where he lived, and died in 1856, leaving a family of eight children. He was starting a tannery on the place, when he was killed by a fall from a load of lumber. Abraham Miller, Sr., was an early justice of the peace in Green Township. JOHN HAYS John Hays settled with his family on the northeast corner of section 34, previous to 1800. He lived but a few years and 416 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY left his property to his three sons, James, Andrew and John. The last named was a colonel in the War of 1812, and died September 4, 1834, in Kingston. James and Andrew built a still-house on the land, which they kept in operation several years. They then engaged in transporting flour and .pork to New Orleans, finally making homes in the South. HUGH LITTLE Hugh Little settled in Green Township in 1800 or in 1802, making a purchase of eighty acres of land in section 28, the west part, where he remained until 1817, when he sold to John Crouse and bought 110 acres in the southeast corner of the same section, where he made a home and passed the remainder of his days in clearing and improving his farm. He was originally from Maryland, but moved from that state to Pennsylvania some years previous to emigrating to Ohio. His death occurred in 1825. His children were four in number. THE THOMAS, DURHAM AND ENTREKIN PROPERTIES A man named Jeffers settled on the bank of Blackwater creek within a few years after 1800. He built a very small cabin near the stream, in which he rigged up a primitive grist-mill, which he run for a few years. He owned a large tract of land, the most of which he sold to David Thomas, who also disposed of it previous to 1812. Thomas sold his land in parcels. Matthias Spees came soon after 1800, as did Jacob Durham, and both purchased land from Thomas. Durham died after a few years, and left his land, some 300 acres, to his heirs, who finally sold to John Entrekin, after which they moved to other parts. Spees sold his land after. a few years, and settled near Wapakoneta, Ohio. Thomas went to the West, as did Jeffers. JAMES DOWNS James Downs, accompanied by his brothers, John, William, David and Thomas, and sisters Rebecca and Susanna, came to Ohio and located in Ross County soon after 1800. James settled on McClain's hill, near Chillicothe, for a time. He there married Annie Snodgrass, and bought a place in the southern part of Green Township on the old Chillicothe Road. At that time the land was owned by Gov. Thomas Worthington, and had some small clearings made by squatters. At the death of Mr. Downs, his property was left to his children. Both James and John Downs were in the War of 1812. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 417 Section 35 was settled by Samuel Little, who came about 1800, the Barnhart family, Thomas Wheeler and Mr. Pyle, all of whom were early in the country. Mr. Pyle lived and died among the hills, where he raised a large family. John Markel settled on fractional section 1, which lies adjacent to the Scioto River, soon after 1800. He owned most of the section, and built a double log cabin, which in those days was considered almost a palace. This was situated on the east side of the pike, and was occupied a few years until he was able to build a more pretentious residence, when a part was moved away and the remainder used for a year or two as a schoolhouse. Isaac Brink also came about the year 1800, and settled on the fractional section adjoining Pickaway County, where he remained during his life, and at his death left the land to his children. It remained in the family until 1868, when his grandson, John Q. Brink, sold it to Mr. Cannonbarger and moved to Missouri. George May emigrated from Pennsylvania to Green Township in 1801, soon after his arrival purchasing a farm on the Adelphia pike. He had a family of six or eight children, nearly all of whom married and moved to other parts. His son, Samuel, was born in 1791, and was ten years of age when the family located. He was married in 1834 to Charity Long, and settled on the farm deeded her by her father, where he passed his life and died in 1867. The parents raised a family of twelve children. THOMAS WRIGHT, THE LITERARY WEAVER Thomas Wright, from the north of Ireland, emigrated to near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, in 1801. He there married Elizabeth Flail, and together they came on horseback to Ross County in 1808, making a settlement near Crouse's mills on the south bank of Kinnickinnick Creek. The land they first occupied was in the northwest quarter of section 10, and there they remained until 1814, tilling the soil and at odd times weaving linen cloth for the general use of the early settlers. In 1814 they moved to the northwest quarter of section 3, on land afterward owned by Samuel Barker, where they made a home until 1821. In that year they moved to the southwest quarter of section 10, where Mr. Wright built the house in which he lived until 1834, when he again sold and bought 300 acres of land in the west half of section 4, on the banks of Blackwater Creek. There he lived until 1851, when he died suddenly from heart disease. He raised a family consisting of four sons and four daughters. Mr. Wright continued at his trade of weaving until well along in years, always with a book, "Milton's Paradise Lost," "Burns' Poems," "Pollock's Course of Time," or "Cowper's Vol. I-27 418 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY Poems," open before him, and from which he committed a great deal to memory. ABRAHAM JONES Abraham Jones came from between the north and south branches of the Potomac River, in Hampshire County, Virginia, and settled in Green Township, Ross County, in 1802. He made the journey with his family in a keel-boat from Wheeling, and the second day after his arrival entered section 5. A squatter was living on the land, where he had made a small improvement and built a cabin, but as soon as Mr. Jones took possession he moved to Grape Ridge, where he was sure the land was so poor no man would ever buy it, but the march of civilization and improvement soon drove him again from his supposed secure abode. Mr. Jones soon sold 100 acres of land from his section to his brother-in-law, James Rogers, who improved it. REDUCED TO PRESENT AREA In April, 1803, a law was passed by the new State Legislature directing the associate judges of the several counties in the state to meet on Tuesday, May 10, 1803, and establish the boundaries of the townships in their respective counties. Under authority of this act, the judges of Ross County, Reuben Abrams, William Patton, and Felix Renick, established the boundaries of the townships then existing. Green Township was established as follows : Beginning on the Scioto, at the southwest corner of Pickaway Township and Fairfield County, to the eastern boundary of Ross County ; thence south with the same on the southeast corner of section number 12, in township number 10, of range number 18 ; thence west to the northeast corner of section number 14, in township number 8, of range 21; thence south two miles, to the southeast corner of section number 23, in the township last mentioned ; thence west to the Scioto River; thence with the same to the beginning. At the time of establishing these boundaries, it was ordered that the qualified electors in this township meet at the house of John Crouse, on the 21st day of June, of the same year, there and then to elect three justices of the peace for said township, each to serve three years, and until their successors were qualified. No record of this election can be found, nor can it be definitely ascertained who were the persons elected. At a later date the names mentioned are as follows : John Ramsey, qualified as justice April 11, 1809 ; Isaac Claypool, April 15, 1810; George Ramsey, April 6, 1812. HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 419 The line between Ross and Pickaway counties was surveyed August 19, 1806, by John Evans. Two miles had been taken from the northern part of Green and given to Pickaway Township, June 25, 1805. On June 11, 1804, Colerain Township was set off from Green on the east, and a little later Springfield was taken from the south, which reduced the township to its present size. KINGSTON FOUNDED AS INGTOWN In 1805 James Ritchie, a Pennsylvanian, came from that state and settled in the northern border of Green Township where he purchased section 4. Soon afterward he transferred forty acres of that section to Thomas Ing, who built a log house upon it and proceeded to plat a town. Mr. Ritchie himself built a house on the site of Ingtown and it was occupied by his sister, Mrs. Southard. Quite a number of families located at this point which was called "Ingtown" until 1816, when it was laid out as a village, and some objecting to the name it was changed to Kingston. Mr. Ing was a tailor by trade, and was the first of that craft to exercise his calling in the little community. He also opened the first tavern in the place. Widow Susanna McCutchen also kept an early tavern in the village, the barn of which was destroyed by fire in 1831, and several stage horses burned to death. In 1837 there were two taverns in Kingston, one kept by Reed Armstrong, and the other by Mrs. Isabella Duncan. One was the regular stage house, with some twenty-five regular boarders besides ; the other had thirty regular boarders, besides transient custom. The road through Kingston was known in early days as the Lancaster Road, and was frequently traveled by noted men of the nation. Henry Clay, Richard M. Johnson, Felix Grundy, John J. Crittenden, Thomas Marshall, and ex-President Santa Anna, of Mexico, were entertained at one of the humble taverns of the place, at different times. President Monroe and party passed through the town in 1817, and remained at dinner with James McCutchen, who then kept one of the taverns. It was the regular route from the southwest and west, to the Federal city, and was traveled by most of the prominent men of that day. THE FIRST LOT SOLD (29) Among the musty documents in the county archives at Chillicothe are two very interesting deeds to the people of Kingston ; one is for the first lot sold after the town was platted as Kingston in 1816, which was bid in at public auction, and the other its trans- 420 - HISTORY OF. ROSS COUNTY fer to John Hays in 1820. The lot (29) is now owned by the village and it is proposed to erect a town hall upon it. The text of the old deeds also conveys considerable general information. "Know all men to whom these presents may come," reads the original deed, "that whereas Jacob Long, of Ross county, Ohio, hath this day purchased at public sale of and from Thomas Ing. In-Lot number twenty-nine in the town of Kingston, Ross County, Ohio, at and for the sum of fifty-two dollars and fifty cents, lawful money of Ohio State, to be paid in three equal payments, in three, nine and fifteen months from this date. "Now know ye, that if the aforesaid instalments are punctually paid, as they become due, then and not till then, I, the said Thomas Ing, proprietor of said town, do hereby promise and obligate myself, my heirs, executors and administrators, to sign, seal and execute a good and sufficient Warranty Deed of conveyance in fee simple, clear of all incumbrance, unto the said Jacob Long his heirs and assigns forever, the said lot of ground number twenty-nine with the appurtenances. "In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this Second day of December, Anno Domini 1816. "Thomas Ing (Seal) " The deed which transferred lot 29 to John Hays and heirs : "Know all men by these presents that whereas, the United States by letters made patent, dated at the city of Washington the tentlb day of February A. D. one thousand eight hundred and twelve, granted unto James Ritchey, Section number four of Township number nine in Range number twenty-one, Worthington Survey, Congress land sold at Chillicothe, and the said James Ritchey and Martha, his wife, by indenture, bearing date of the ninth day of November A. D. one thousand eight hundred and sixteen, sold and conveyed fifty acres thereof unto Thomas Ing in fee—as by said indenture duly entered of record at Chillicothe aforesaid, may more fully appear, and whereas the said Thomas Ing laid out a town on part of said fifty acres of land known by the name of Kingston, as by plat of said town duly entered of record, at Chillicothe, may more fully appear ; and whereas the said Thomas Ing sold at public sale In-Lot number 29 in said town to a certain Jacob Long of Ross county and state of Ohio at and for the sum of fifty-two dollars and fifty cents. "Now know ye that I the said Jacob Long of Ross county, Ohio, and Mary, his wife, for and in consideration of the sum of sixty-five dollars current money of the United States to their hand, the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge and acquit the said John Hays, his heirs, executors, and admit have granted, bargained, sold, aline, HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 421 was confirmed and by these presents doth grant, bargain, sell, aline and confirm unto the said John Hays and to his heirs and assigns forever all that Lot or piece of ground known and designed as aforesaid by being in-lot number 29 in the said town of Kingston together with all improvements water courses profits and appurtenances whatsoever belonging or in anywise appertaining and the reversions remaining, rents, issue and profits thereof and all the estate, right, title, claim, interest of them, the said Jacob Long and Mary his wife of in and to the same to have and hold the lot of ground hereby bargained and sold with the appurtenance unto the said John Hays his heirs and assigns forever,—and the said Jacob Long doth by these presents warrant and forever defend all and singular the premises hereby bargained and sold with the appurtenance unto the said John Hayes his heirs and assigns forever from the claim or claims of them the said Jacob Long and Mary his wife, their heirs and assigns and from the claim of all persons whatsoever. In witness whereof they have put their hands and seal this 26 day of June A. D. 1820. "Attest, Jacob Holverstol "Jacob Long (Seal) Michael Long (Seal)  her Mary X Long (Seal) mark" As Mary Long could only make her mark, it was necessary for a justice of the peace to testify that she voluntarily relinquished her dower right in the property, which was done through the following documentary text: "The State of Ohio, Ross County—Before me, Peter Frederick, one of the acting justices of the peace in and for said county, personally came Jacob Long and his wife Mary and acknowledged the within written indenture to be their act and deed and desired the same may be recorded as such; she the said Mary being of full age, separately and apart from her husband by me examined and the contents thereof made known unto her, thereunto voluntary consenting. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 26 day of June Anno Domino 1820. "Peter Frederick J. P. (Seal)." (All deeds, whether the wife could sign her name or not, were acknowledged in this way in this state until the married woman's act passed in 1884.) EARLY MERCHANTS AND PROFESSIONAL MEN The first store was opened in Kingston by George Brown, about 1817. He continued in business a short time and sold to Duncan 422 - HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY & Logan, who remained in trade many years. At that time, and for many years thereafter, all the goods on the shelves of the early merchants were teamed in huge Pennsylvania wagons from Philadelphia, six large draft horses being generally required to perform this labor. James McCutchen opened the second store in Kinsgton, in 1818. William Ferguson was also an early merchant, and was the first postmaster in the township. The first physician to locate in the vicinity of Kingston was Dr. Edward Ostrander, who settled' near old Mount Pleasant Church in 1813, and soon established a large practice in the surrounding country. Previous to his coming the early settlers, in case of sickness, had been obliged to call Doctor Scott of Chillicothe. Doctor Hunter came to Kingston some years after the settlement of Doctor Ostrander. He was followed by Dr. J. S. Prettyman and Doctor Curl, both of whom were residents of Kingston as early as 1832 or 1833. The first school in Kingston village was opened about the time the town was laid out, in 1816, or, possibly, in 1817. James Dunn was probably the first teacher. .Other teachers in an early day were Amos Benton and David Bunn. POSTOFFICE AND CORPORATION The postoffice in Kingston, the first in Green Township, was established about 1820, with William Ferguson as postmaster. Kingston was incorporated as a village by special act of the Legislature in the winter of 1834. The act of incorporation designated the first Saturday of April as the date for holding the first election, which was accordingly held in D. P. Bunn's tavern, April 5, 1834. The officers chosen were Peter Frederick, mayor ; Reed HISTORY OF ROSS COUNTY - 423 Armstrong, recorder; William Ferguson, John S. Prettyman, John Zimmerman, William Rockwell and Joseph R. Griffith, councilmen. The council met April 9th, and appointed John Byerly marshal and John Crouse treasurer. The act of incorporation included the original plat made by Thomas Ing, with such additions as had since been made by James Ritchie and Duncan & Logan. VILLAGE OF THE PRESENT Kingston, which is just below the line separating Ross from Pickaway county, is now a growing village of more than 800 inhabitants on the line of the Norfolk & Western Railway. Its general appearance indicates thrift and good care. It has a substantial centralized school attended by about 300 pupils; a newspaper (the Tribune), which is now in its sixteenth volume and owned and edited by A. L. Hatcher ; a bank (the First National) ; a number of industries and several well-stocked stores; and social, benevolent and religious organizations befitting a progressive and intelligent community. The village enjoys the advantages of a flour mill, a planing mill and several elevators, which, with its bank, emphasizes the fact that it is the trading and banking center of a prosperous farming country. The First National Bank of Kingston was organized in 1909, with the following (also its present) officers : N. J. Dunlap, president ; A. L. Ellis, vice president ; C. E. Myers, cashier. Its capital is $25,000 ; surplus and undivided profits, $11,000 ; average deposits, $110,000. SOCIETIES AND CHURCHES The societies of Kingston include a Masonic Lodge (No. 624) ; Pearson Lodge No. 372, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, instituted in 1864; Scioto Grange No. 160, chartered in 1874, and the Independent Order of Ground Hogs. The last named organization, although nearly sixty years old and very popular at Kingston, has no extended reputation like the other orders mentioned. It was formed in Charles Goth's harness shop in 1858, its charter members besides the gentleman mentioned, being James Hayes, T. I. N. Lindsey, Cyrus Ford and B. F. Duncan. Good fellowship is its basis and watchword, and there are no limits as to age, either up or down. The order has a membership of about 250. Its annual meetings at Kingston, held at Goth's Hall, are events of enjoyment not only for the village but for much of the countryside. Music, and eating, and speaking, and general hilarity mark such gatherings; nothing stronger than sweet cider served. The 424 - HISTORY OF .ROSS COUNTY. hall is usually decorated with skins of such wild animals as raccoons squirrels and muskrats, and occasionally a lone ground hog decorates and adorns its entrance. At last accounts the officers were : Chief Hog, W. K. Orr ; treasurer, Dr. C. C. Hatfield; sergeant-atarms, S. P. Baldoser. The Methodists commenced to have services in the log cabins of the first settlers as early as 1800, but no public house of worship was erected until 1829, when the old brick church was completed at Kingston. At first all denominations met therein, but not long after it was built, through the influence of John Crouse and others, Methodists, who were in the majority, purchased the building. An organization was effected about the same time. The church has been in continuous existence since and is now in charge of Rev. George E. Hughes. The pastor of the Presbyterian Church is Rev. S. B. Yockey. The Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church and academy were prominent institutions in the early history of the township and the village. The former was organized a mile west of the present village in August, 1798. During that year a few Presbyterian families had settled in the neighborhoodPicka-in Ross and others in Picka.- way County. They met and consulted regarding the organization of a church, and in July, 1798, erected a rough log building, thirty feet square. There was no floor in the house; the sleepers served for seats, and a few split logs formed a stand or pulpit, from which the minister addressed the small congregation. Rev. William Speer organized the small community as a church, and remained in charge of it some four years. The society was named Mount Pleasant Church, from the beautiful eminence on which it stood and the fine prospect from its south door. The organization was formed with fourteen members, six males and eight females, as follows : William McCoy and wife ; James Wilson, his son John, and three unmarried daughters ; William Craig and wife; William Blair and wife ; Samuel Denny and wife, and Margaret Denny, wife of David Denny. McCoy and Wilson having been ruling elders in their old homes in the East, it was agreed that they should serve as such in this new church, without formal installation. Rev. William Speer was engaged to preach one-third of the time at a salary of $100 per year. This was the origin of the present Presbyterian Church, of wYockeyhe pastor is Dr. S. B. Yoekey. THE OLD MOUNT PLEASANT ACADEMY The Mount Pleasant Academy was organized by Rev. Timothy Stearns in 1849. On August 22, 1848, he preached a semi-cente-