754 - HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP.
BY THOMPSON DOUGLASS.
SITUATED in the extreme northeastern corner of the county and bounded on the north by Wilson Township and Fayette County, on the east by Fayette County, on the south by Wayne Township, and on the west by Wilson and Union Townships, we find the above named township. Whence the name was derived is not now definitely known, but the supposition is well warranted that it was so named on account of the rich soil of the territory originally comprised within its borders. It was one of the three original townships into which the county was divided by the Commissioners on the 6th of April, 1810, and was erected in words as .follows, viz.: "Ordered, that all that part of Clinton County east of the old boundary line of Warren County shall be one township known by the name of Richland." The township was not surveyed nor its boundaries described until the 10th of August, 1813, at which time the original boundaries were fixed as follows: "Beginning at a large hickory at the corner of Greene Township in the line of Union Township, thence running with the line of Greene Township to the southerly corner of the county and at the corner of Fayette County, thence north with the county line to the northeast corner, thence west with the county line to the original line of Warren County, thence south with said original line to the line of Union Township, thence with the line of Union Township to the place of beginning." It will be seen from this description that the township originally comprised all of what is now Wilson, Wayne and Greene Townships, and parts of Liberty, Union and Clark. A part of the township was taken from the west side to form Union and Greene Townships, August 21, 1813, and on July 15, 1817, a part was taken from the same side to form Liberty; Wayne was formed from a part of Richland March 4, 1837, and Wilson in August, 1850. The township, as it now exists, is of an irregular shape, being in its longest part, east and west, about eight miles long, by about four miles wide in the widest part, and containing 21,210.72 acres of fine agricultural lands as can be found. It is plentifully drained by the waters of Lee's Creek in the south, Rattlesnake Creek in the northeast corner, Palmer's Branch, Wilson's Branch and Grassy Branch, tributaries of Rattlesnake, in the eastern part, and Anderson's Fork, and a branch of Todd's Fork in the western part. Extending through the township from north to south, and nearly on the line of the old Urbana road is a water shed which has an elevation of about one hundred feet, and which divides the Scioto from the Miami waters, the streams on the east running into the Scioto River through the Rattlesnake Creek and its branches, while those on the west flow into the Miami. Anderson's Fork, running north-northwest, empties into Caesar's Creek in the extreme northwestern corner of the county, at New Burlington, and a branch of Todd's Fork drains the western limit of the township.
The surface of the country is, generally speaking, level, there being no hills or breaks of any kind The grade in the eastern part of the township is about six feet to the mile. ascending to the table-lands or water shed The slope on the western side is very considerably less, and the land is a little more rolling between Anderson's Fork and the water shed, but resumes the level appearance from Anderson's Fork to the western side of the township. There is very little if any waste land in the township; no bogs, swamps or hills, no broken country, no stone lands, and, in fact, no untillable lands, even the beds of the streams being so narrow that they occupy but a very small space as compared with those in adjoining counties.
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The soil is of a rich alluvial character based on a clayey subsoil which, in some places, has a stratum of stone underlying it at the depth of from four to six feet. The bed of Anderson's Fork is composed entirely of this stone, a stratum of which underlies the creek, extending about a mile from the stream on the west side, and about one hundred yards from it on the east side. The stone belongs to the class of limestone called the Clinton limestone, which is found throughout the county. From it a very good quality of lime can be produced, which, though not so white, is equally as good for building purposes as any other.
The land of the township is particularly well adapted to the raising of corn and grass, but it has not been as profitable for the cereals as it might have been; the improved system of drainage now in vogue is rapidly making it adapted for the raising of almost any crop.
The timber of the township was originally in great variety, and sometimes grew to a large size. In the low, swampy land the elm and maple trees grew in great abundance, clearly indicating the richness of the soil on which they stood. On the higher ground the burr oak grew in profusion, while vast quantities of sugar tree grew in all parts of the township. In addition to the above, trees of all other kinds peculiar to this locality could be found Rails were split by the settlers from walnut, blue ash and other trees that are today of great value. Besides the heavy timber, the ground was covered with a thick growth of underbrush and vines through which a passage could only be cut with much difficulty.
The whole of the township is in what is known as the Virginia Military District, and is composed of surveys entered by holders of military warrants, which are fully explained in the general history of the county. The following is a list of the entries and surveys made in this township.
Entry No. 550, August 4, 1787. Richard C. Anderson and Mayo Carrington enter 4,000 acres of land on Military Warrant No. 856 beginning throe miles southeast of Col. Logan's encampment in October, 1786, when a man deserted from him, running southwest 400 poles, and from the beginning northeast 400 poles, thence at right angles southeast from each end of this line for quantity. Surveyed March 3, 1794, by John Obannon, District Surveyor.
Entry No. 698, August 8, 1787. Jonathan Clark enters 1,000 acres of land part of Military Warrant No. 172, beginning at the northeast corner of Anderson and Carrington's entry, No. 550, running south 45° east with An derson and Carrington's line 400 poles, thence north 45° east at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 4, 1794.
Entry No. 727, August 8, 1787. Clement Biddle, assignee, enters 1,000 acres on several Military Warrants, Nos. 1,756, 1,906, 187, 1,891, 1,789, beginning at the northern corner of Jonathan Clark's entry, No. 698, running 400 poles southeast with Clark's line, thence 400 poles northeast at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 7, 1794.
Entry No. 729, August 8, 1787. John Tench, assignee, enters 1,200 acres of land, a part of Military Warrant No. 2,377, beginning at the north corner of Biddle's entry, No. 727, running southeast with Biddle's line 400 poles, thence northeast at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 7, 1794.
Entry No. 730, August 8, 1787. Lieut. Nathaniel Anderson enters 1,000 acres of land, part of Military Warrant No. 2,235, beginning at the north corner of Jonathan Clark's entry, No. 698, running 400 poles southwest with Clark's line, thence north 45° west at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 4, 1794.
Entry No. 732, August 8, 1787. Capt. William Lindsay enters 1,000
756 - HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
acres of land, part of Military Warrant No. 1,199, beginning at the north corner of Nathaniel Anderson's entry, No. 730, running southeast 400 poles with Anderson's line, thence northeast with Biddle's line at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 8, 1794.
Entry No. 758, August 8, 1787. Capt. Nathaniel Burwell enters 1,000 acres of land, part of Military Warrant No. 2,133, beginning at the north corner of John Tench's entry, No. 729, running south 45' east with Tench's line 400 poles, thence north 45° east 400 poles, thence at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 8, 1794.
Entry No. 763, August 8, 1787. Lieut. Col. Presley Neville enters 1,400 acres of land, 'a part of Military Warrant No. 18, beginning at the north corner of John Roberts' entry No. 699, running south 45° east 500 poles, passing Roberts' east corner at 400 poles, thence north 45° east at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 8, 1794.
Entry No. 766, August 8, 1787. Lieut. Col. Presley Neville enters 1,400 acres of land, part of Military Warrant No. 18, beginning at the north corner of entry 767, running south 45° east with his former line 500 poles, thence north 45° east at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 10, 1794.
Entry No. 837, August 9, 1787. Lieut. Col. Presley Neville entered 1,400 acres of land east of his entry, No. 766, but withdrew the entry, and on May 7, 1794, he entered 1,400 acres, part of Military Warrant No. 18, on the waters of Paint Creek, beginning at the east corner of his former survey, No. 766, running with his former line north 45° west 500 poles, thence north 45° east, and at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon June 15, 1794.
Entry No. 854, August 10; 1787. Lieut. Col. Thomas Posey enters 1,000 acres of land, part of Military Warrant No. 240, beginning at the north corner of Nathaniel Burwell's entry, No. 758, running north 45° east, with Patrick Carne's line 400 poles, hence at right angles south 45° east for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 22, 1794.
Entry No. 855, August 10, 1787. Capt. Thomas Pemberton enters 1,000 acres of land, part of Military Warrant No. 398, beginning at the south corner of Thomas Posey's entry, No. 854, running north 45° east '400 poles with Posey's line, thence south 45° east at right angles for quantity. Four hundred acres of this was withdrawn and entered in Survey 274. Surveyed by John Obannon March 21, 1794.
Entry No. 895, August 10, 1787. Lieut. William Whitaker enters 1,000 sores of land, part of Military Warrant No. 2,121, beginning at the north corner of Thomas Pemberton's entry, No. 855, and the south corner of Joseph Scott's entry, No. 891, running north 45° east 400 poles with Scott's line, thence south 45° east, at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 19, 1794.
Entry No. 891, August 10, 1787. Capt. Joseph Scott, Jr., enters 1,000 acres part of Military Survey No. 1,887, beginning at the north corner of Edward Douse's entry, No. 880, running north 45° east 400 poles with Douse's line, thence south 45° east at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 17, 1794.
Entry No. 900, August 10, 1787. Leut. Col. Edward Carrington enters 1,500 acres of land, part of Military Warrant No. 1,792, beginning at the north corner of P. Neville's entry, No. 837, running north 45° east with Thomas Pemberton's line to his east corner, thence south 45° east at right angles for quantity. Seven hundred and eighty. acres of this was withdrawn. Surveyed by John Obannon April 5, 1794.
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Entry No. 932, August 11, 1787. James Galt, heir, enters 1,000 acres of land on Military Warrant No. 194, beginning at the north corner of J. Scott's entry, No. 891, the south corner of Alexander Balmain's entry, No. 917, running north 45° east 400 poles with Balmain's line, thence south 45° east 400 poles at right angies for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 18, 1794.
Entry No. 1,061, August 13, 1787. Gen. Daniel Morgan enters 2,500 acres of land on Military Warrant No. 19, beginning at the east corner of P. Neville's entry, No. 837, running south 45° west. 800 poles, thence south 45° east at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon April 1., 1794.
Entry No. 1,449, August 18, 1787. Col. Edward Carrington entered 1,500 acres, which was withdrawn, and on March 13, 1794, he entered 1,200 acres on Military Warrant No. 1,792, beginning at the east corner of Anderson and Carrington's entry, No. 550, on the waters of Caesar's Creek, running with their line, north 45° west 400 poles, thence north 45° east and at right angles for quantity. Surveyed by John Obannon March 29, 1794.
Entry No. 6,298, July 17, 1809. Thomas Bagwell and Agnes Lingo, representatives of Thomas Lingo, deceased, enter 309 acres of land on two military warrants, Bagwell 200 acres on No. 5,579, and Mrs. Lingo 109 acres on part of 5,589, on the waters of Paint Creek, beginning at the east corner of Edward Dawes' entry, No. 811, running north 45° west 378 poles, thence north 45° east 88 poles, thence south 45° east 500 poles, thence south 45° west 136 poles, thence north 45° west 130 poles, thence north 45° east 48 poles to the place of beginning. Surveyed by John Galloway, Jr., July 20, 1809.
In addition to these surveys, there are, jutting into the township, small corners of T. Bland's entry, No. 885, Lieut. John Jameson's entry, No. 907, and Capt. William Lindsay's entry, No. 963.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.
The following is a list of the Justices of the Peace of the township since its erection, together with the dates of election and terms of service: Absalom Reed, June 30, 1810, 181.3, 1816, 1819, 1824, 1825, 1828, 1831, 1834, 1837, 1840, 1843; Willam Venard, June 23, 1810, to October, 1813; Joseph Roberds, April 21, 1810, 1813, April 21, 1821, April 21, 1824, 1827; his last term of office as Justice of the Peace expired in 1850; John Allen, 1814 to 1817; Samuel Reed, 1815 to 1827; James Gollaher, April, 1816; Joseph Shepherd, May, 1818; John C. Spencer, April, 1825; Maurice Howard, May 7, 1830; William Antram, December 15, 1831, to December, 1834; Stephen Evans, April 17, 1833, 1838, 1839, 1842; Edward Adams, April 3, 1827, to 1833; Moses Rees, November 16, 1833, November 25,1859; Edward Thorp, May 15, 1837, 1840, 1843, Benjamin Brown, May 15 to May 27, 1837; resigned; Alexander Roberts, September 23, 1837; Adam Miller, April 11, 1837; Harrison Jeff's, April 26,1842, died; Charles P. Gallaher, March 31, 1843, June 29, 1855, 1858, 1861, 1864; Oliver H. P. Dakin, November 16, 1853; James B. Betser, December 3, 1856; Joseph T. States, November, 1856; John Kingery, October 27, 1844,1867,1876, 1879; John Sillik, January 26,1861, resigned February 12, 1861; David Giffin, August 3, 1866,1881; David Chance, October 28, 1861, 1864; John Jackson, October 20,1870 to 1873; Josepu Roebuck, February 2,1871 to 1877; James M. Morton, September 18, 1878 to 1881; William H. Dakin, October 13, 1881;* D. B. Matthews, July 13, 1881.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
The early settlement of this township was greatly retarded by the imperfect titles to the lands derived by settlers. Many of them purchased tracts
* We are indebted a to the late Judge R. B. Harlan for the above list.
758 - HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
of varying extent, and after hearing and improving the land, would find that the seller had no title, and they were obliged to pay for the land a second time, or engage in a useless law suit which usually resulted in little less than bankruptcy to the settler and a judgment in favor of the new claimant. On this account, people were afraid to buy, and preferred taking land direct from the Government in regularly surveyed townships. In addition to this, the nature of the ground was. against early settlement, as our fathers preferred locating on more elevated lands, free from the water that covered the ground in the lowlands. Richland Township, in the beginning of the nineteenth century, was little better than a huge swamp or bog. The ground was covered with a heavy growth of timber, the leaves of which lay in half decayed matter of several inches in depth, the earth was wet and almost covered with pools of standing water, and a rank growth of grass and underbrush prevented the rays of the sun from ever reaching the sodden earth. But the clearing and draining of the land has made this one of the banner agricultural townships of the State. Its farms are rich, fertile and productive, its water supply good, and its drainage perfect. Farms that were originally purchased for $1.80 per acre are now valued at $100 per acre. As a single instance of this, the farm of William Knox, in what is known as the Holly purchase, is cited.
Who the first settler of the township was has long been a matter of doubt, the honor being due to one of two settlements that were made at about the same time. Careful investigation of all testimony likely to throw light on the subject now leads to the belief that the first settlement was made in what is now called the Reed settlement. The settlement of the county was made in three stages, the Reed settlement on the Wilmington & Washington pike being the first, the Upper Prairie settlement along Anderson's Fork being the second, and the Palmer settlement in the Tench Survey being the third.
The first settlers were Absalom and Samuel Reed, two brothers, who came from Bourbon County, Ky., in the year 1803, and settled on land in the Lindsay Survey. Both brought their families with them. Absalom's family consisted of his wife, Edith (Paris) Reed, and one son, Jehu, who was the only child they had. Samuel brought his wife, Sarah (Paris) and three children, viz., Elizabeth, Absalom and Abner. After his settlement here, he had born to him Josephus, Cyrus, John, William, Mary and Samuel P. The brothers bought all the Lindsay Survey, but afterward sold 100 acres to their brother, Cyrus, then a young man, who passed through the war of 1812, and in 1819, came to Ohio and settled on this land. Logan, the celebrated Indian chief, with his band, is said to have been on the land at the time of their settlement here.
The next settlements that were made were by Thomas Stett, David Reed and Samuel Reed, in 1804. Stett was of Irish descent, and brought his wife, Martha, a sister of the Reeds. He had six children, one boy and three girls being the present survivors of the family. He settled on 150 acres on Anderson's Fork, on the line of the Centerville road. In 1851, he moved to Iowa, where he died, his wife having died in Richland Township. His farm is now owned by William Reed, and is second to none for fertility in the township. The Reeds, David and Samuel, were of Irish descent, and sons of James Reed. They came from Kentucky, and were both unmarried. David located on 100 acres of land, now in Wayne Township, and married Hannah Daugherty, by whom he had four children, three sons and one daughter, one son, William, being the only survivor. Samuel raised a family of eight or ten children.
Thomas Hardwick came from Tennessee to Kentucky, and thence, in 1805 -06, to Richland Township, where he located on 150 acres of land in the Tench Survey. He brought two sons. Charles and William, and three married daugh-
RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. - 759
tens, viz., firs. James Palmer, Mrs. John Palmer and Mrs. John Nelson. His family were all grown and married when he came, and all are now dead. Mr. Hardwick built the first horse-mill in the township. He was a respectable, honest, hard working frontier man. He sold his farm to Ezekiel Spurgeon in 1808, and returned to Kentucky. His son, William, settled another farm in the same survey, where he remained a short time with his brother-in-law, John Palmer, but afterward moved to Wayne Township. Mrs. John Palmer, with her husband and family, removed to Indiana prior to 1837. Mrs. James Palmer, husband and family moved to Missouri about 1837. None of the Palmers have left any descendants in the county. Mrs. John Nelson and family moved to the neighborhood of Antioch, in Greene Township.
Ezekiel Spurgeon emigrated from Kentucky to Adams County, Ohio, and in 1808, came to Richland Township, where he bought the Thomas Hardwick farm. He had the following children: William, Rebecca, Nancy, James, John, Samuel and Jesse, all now dead but Rebecca and possibly William They all married and had children, and all of the family have now left the county except James, the son of John, Thomas, the son of James, and Cyrus, the son of Jesse.
Levi Arnold came into the township shortly after the year 1807, from Kentucky. He was a smart man, much respected, and was subjected to a severe accident by being run over and almost split asunder by a wagon. He located on a farm in the Posey Survey, part of his land lying on either side of the creek in that survey. He was married and became the father of a large family. He moved from Clinton County to Illinois, where he died.
William Cue came to Richland Township from Warren County, Ohio, in `1810, and settled in the Tench Survey, buying 100 acres of land from James Gallaher, in payment for which he was to clear land for Gallaher. His farm included what is now known as the "Ulysses Morgan " property, and the recent site of the " burnt tavern." The latter part he afterward sold to James Gillispie, who built the "burnt tavern," and the fall and winter of 1813-14, sunk a tan yard. Gillispie died on the place, and about the year 1832 his family left the county. The Morgan property was sold by Cue to Joseph Hathaway, who left the county in 1817 or 1818. Cue, after selling out, bought another farm in the same survey, part of what is now known as the "old Bos worth" farm. He remained here until 1830, when he left the county.
William Burris emigrated from North Carolina to Kentucky, and in 1809 located in Fayette County, Ohio. Previous to 1812, be came to Richland Township with his wife, Celia (Bellar), and nine children. He was born January 3, 1764, and his wife April 12, 1771. Both died in Richland Township. Of the children, the only three survivors are living in Clinton County, but none are in this township.
James Gallaher, who owned land in Richland Township, came to the township in 1810, and sold some of his land to William Cue. In February, 1814, he moved his family onto the premises where he died in 1825, aged sixty-one years. He was born in New Jersey, in 1764, and in 1796 emigrated to Warren County, Ohio. While there, he assisted in building the first brick house in Lebanon. In 1796, he married Leah Porter, who died in 1831. They had eight children, two boys and six girls, of whom Charles P., now living near Sabina, is the only survivor. The land on which they located is still known as the " old Gallaher place."
David Osborn, Richard Thornburg, Richard Mills, Michael Myers and Henry Myers, all settled on Rattlesnake Branch and Wilson Branch, north of Sabina, prior to 1813. Osborn came from North Carolina when quite old, bringing with him his wife, one son and several daughters, some of his family
760 -HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
being left at home. He afterward moved to Indiana. Thornburg moved from Carolina to Tennessee, and thence to this township. He had two sons and four daughters. Mills was also a Carolinian; he settled on the land now owned by Smith & McClintock, but, after remaining but a short time, he moved to Indiana. Myers was a recent emigrant from Germany, and Henry was his married son. Very little can now be learned of them.
Joshua White was one of f the soldiers from New Jersey who went into Pennsylvania to suppress the insurrection. After his discharge he remained in Pennsylvania, and there married Betsey Canno, of near Pittsburgh. He emigrated to Adams County, Ohio, and some time previous to 1814, located in Richland Township, in what is now Wayne Township. In 1829, he came into Richland Township as it now exists, where some of his descendants still reside. Joseph Roberds, a Pennsylvanian, emigrated from South Carolina to Clinton County, in 1805, and in 1818 moved into Richland Township, locating in the Posey Survey, about a quarter of a mile east of the Hogue Schoolhouse, where he bought land of one Batton, who had bought out Levi Arnold. Mr. Roberds married Anna Randall, and had a family of fifteen children, fourteen of whom reached their majority. Most of them are now dead, and only one, Elias, is now living in the county. He claims to be the oldest man now living in the county that was born in the county and that has spent his whole life there. He was born in 1807, and now owns 350 acres of land in the Posey Survey. His father, Joseph, moved to Indiana in 1832-33, and died there in 1854.
Mrs. Catharine Jacks came into the township in 1818. She was born in Woodford County, Ky., March 15, 1795, and died in Richland Township June 25, 1880. She was the daughter of Timothy and Betsey (Hoblit) Bennett, who moved to Warren County in 1800, and to Clinton County in 1801, where they located on a farm east of Wilmington. Catharine married Joseph Doan in September, 1813, and moved with him to Indiana, where they remained until 1818, when they came to Richland Township, settling on the McClintock farm where Mr. Doan died September 2, 1825, leaving seven children. On the 7th of May, 1826, Mrs. Doan married Elkanah Jacks, by whom she had five children. Her first husband came to Richland Township from North Carolina in 1810.
John Jacks came into the township in 1818. He was born in Lawrence County, N. C., in 1777, and moved from there into South Carolina. His father was killed in the war of the Revolution. In 1802, he married Phoebe Roberds, a daughter of Freeman Roberds, of South Carolina, and in 1808 came to Ohio, landing at Cincinnati in October of that year, with his wife and two children. He afterward moved to Warren -County and settled near the town of Waynesville, where he remained until 1809, when be moved to Clinton County and located near Burtonville. He enlisted in the war of 1812, hod at its close returned to the farm. He was dispossessed of his farm through a defective title, and in February, 1819, located on land in the Posey Survey, in Richland Township, where he in 1825 built a horse-mill. In 1837, he sold his farm and removed to Indiana, where he died in February, 1869. He was the father of nine children, five boys and four girls, all of whom reached their majority. Three boys and three girls now survive, only one being a resident of Clinton County.
Francis Wining, a Jerseyman, came into the township in 1815, and after remaining several years, moved West. He settled in the Posey Survey. He was an industrious, hard working man, much esteemed by the settlers of the vicinity.
Edward Crabb or "Ned" Crabb, as be was more familiarly known, was
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in the township as early as 1812; but of the date or place of his birth or the date of his settlement, nothing can now be learned. He, however, merits a place among the old settlers, as those who came as early as 1813 found him located in the neighborhood of the Posey settlement.
There may have been others who settled in the township at or prior to the dates of some of those in the foregoing list. If such there were, all traces of them have become lost, and after the lapse of over half a century, it is impossible to even learn their names. The readers will therefore be charitable in passing their judgment, remembering that any omission is not made through carelessness, but through ignorance. Our list closes at a time when the town. ship was becoming pretty generally settled, and when the settlement was attended with less difficulty and labor, on account of the drier condition of the bound and the conveniences furnished by civilization.
ROADS.
The first road of any kind in the township was a trail called the "Miami" or "Chillicothe Trace," from Chillicothe through to Sabina and down Anderson's Fork to Oldtown, three miles beyond Xenia, in Greene County. It was a mere path cleared through the forest, and was supposed to have been opened by the Indians, as the first settlers reported it as existing when they came. On this road, Wilson, one of the earliest pioneers of the county, first settled.
The "Kenton Trace " which is fully spoken of in the general county history, was laid out by Gen. Simon Kenton in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and extended from the Ohio River opposite Maysville, Ky., to Urbana, Ohio, passing through Richland Township from Reesville to Morgantown.
The first regularly established road was the Urbana road, running from Hillsboro to Urbana, along the line of the Kenton Trace, through the town ship from north to south, near the center, and built prior to the erection of the county. It was resurveyed October 7, 1820, on " account of the true course having become lost." It was not piked until 1873, but has always been one of the leading and most important roads in the township.
The road from Wilmington to Washington was also established prior to the county's organization. It runs through the full length of the township from east to west, and was piked in 1869.
A road from the Urbana road through Sabina to Leesburg, in Fayette County, was built in 1830, but was not piked until the winter of 1869-70.
The township is now crossed in every direction with good macadamized roads, many of them traversing the lines of the surveys. The pikes lead from all parts of the township to all the important places in the county, and are, manly of them, connected with each other by summer or mud roads.
SCHOOLS.
Schools began to be taught in the township as soon as the settlements were in sufficient numbers to justify it. Each neighborhood would erect a log schoolhouse in which school would be taught as long and at as frequent periods as a teacher could be had. The schools were kept up entirely by private subscription, each settler agreeing to send a certain number of scholars for whose instruction he would give a specified amount of wheat, corn or other produce, but very rarely money.
The first of these schools in the township of which we have any account, was taught in the house of James Palmer, near the present site of Reesville, in 1814, by James Ferguson, an itinerant schoolmaster. The number of scholars in this school, or the length of time it was taught, cannot now be ascertained; neither can we learn what became of Ferguson. Another early
762 - HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
school, and perhaps the second one taught in the township, was by James Bloomingdale Daugherty, in 1815. The schoolhouse was in the Biddle Survey, and about half a mile west of the Burnt Tavern. An early school was taught by !t man named Pellum, in 1820-21. It was hold in a log house built for the purpose, which stood near where the schoolhouse now stands, on the McClintock and Smith farm. Previous to this time, and about 1817-18, a subscription school was taught in the eastern part of the township, in a house built for a dwelling, on the Posey Survey, about a quarter of a mile west of the present schoolhouse in the survey. It was first taught by Thomas Powell, on the Tyson lands. The school was started principally to give Powell an opportunity of gaining a livelihood, and was only in existence a short time.
Schools continued to be started in different parts of the township for longer or shorter periods until as late as 1830, but no regular course of teaching was had. In the summer and fall of 1828, a schoolhouse was built on the Gallaher farm, in the Tench Survey, in which Thompson Douglass taught the first school. There were then but few schools in the township. Soon after this, however, schools sprang up in various parts of the township, and continued so to do until the present district school system was inaugurated. There are now seven school districts in the township, in addition to the Sabina and Reesville special districts. In the districts, exclusive of the latter two, there are 303 children of school age, for the education of whom a tax of $1,147 was levied at the last annual levy, in 1881.
INDUSTRIES.
Among the early settlers of the township, industries, other than those incident to the clearing and cultivating the farm, were not to be thought of, and not the least of the many inconveniences with which the pioneer had to contend, was the absence of mills inthe neighborhood. Families were frequently obliged to go for weeks without meal on account of the great distance to the mill and the impassable condition of the trails. In the absence of meal they lived on hominy, which was made by crushing corn between two stones. A great drawback to the building of mills was the absence of any adequate water supply, the creeks in the township being small and not rapid. The first mill in the township, and the first industry of any kind, was a horse-mill built by Thomas Hardwick, about the year 1807, on Wilson's Branch of Rattlesnake Creek, in the Tench Survey. This mill was operated very Successfully for a number of years by Ezekiel Spurgeon, and supplied a long-felt want to the neighborhood.
In the same survey a tan yard was sunk by James Gillispie in the winter of 1813-14, on the ground where the Burnt Tavern was afterward built by the same man.
In 1822, a distillery was built by William Spurgeon, in the Tench Survey, on the land that James Gallaher sold to William Cue. The distillery was run by Spurgeon for about five years, and was the cause of several bitter suits at law. It was afterward moved to the old "Cherry lot," opposite' the horse-mill, and there again operated by Spurgeon, but under his brother's name. After about one year at this place, the stills were removed and the distillery disappeared.
The first brick-yard in the township was on ground now within the corporation of Sabina. It was opened in 1827, bv William Lomax, who furnished the brick for many of the first brick houses in the township. The clay for the brick was tramped out by oxen, and all the molding was done by hand. A part of the residence of Jacob Theobold, in Sabina, was built of brick from this yard. There are now two brick-yards in the township, owned respectively
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by J. P. and A. J. Darbyshire. Both yards are north Of Sabina, on the Plymouth road. About three kilns of from 150,000 to 250,000 brick each are burned annually. The gentlemen controlling these yards have been in this business in various party of the township for many years. They are contractors for brick work, and consume in their business most of the brick they manufacture.
There are also two tile factories in the township, one at Reesville, operated by Walker & Fristo, and the other by A. J. Darbyshire, in connection with his brick-yard. The former has a capacity for manufacturing forty kilns of 350 rods each per season. They grind their material by steam, and are supplied with all the modern appliances for perfecting their work. They have been in their present locality since 1879. The Darbyshire factory is also run by steam. They have two kilns, one of which is a recent invention, in which the fire may be started on either or all of the four sides or under the center. They have a capacity for making and burning one kiln of 1,400 rods each week during the season. They also have shed room for ten kilns, the sheds being one 200x24 feet, and the other 100x23 feet.
The first stationary saw-mill was built near Sabina, on Wilson's Branch of Rattlesnake Creek. It was built by James Spurgeon in 1836, and stood for a short time. The first steam saw-mill was built near the same place by A. C. Mills, in 1851. It was burned down in 1857, and not rebuilt. Another was started in the town of Sabina some years later, by James Achor. It was burned down in 1875, and rebuilt by R. J. Darbyshire and A. Sellars in 1876. The saw-mill at Reesville was built by William Wilson in 1861, and soon thereafter purchased by A. Sellars, who still owns it.
The first steam grist or flouring-mill was built by Benjamin and James Jarolds, in Reesville, in 1861. It was afterward sold to Cyrus Henry and A. Bloom, the latter being now the sole proprietor. The next flour-mill was built in Sabina, in 1876, by G. B. Ely. It was sold to R. K. Greely, who enlarged it and added to it many of the modern improvements, among them being a machine for grinding and one for shelling corn, a dumping scale for ear corn, and a railroad side track to car scales of 6.000 pounds capacity. They work three runs of stoop.
CHURCHES.
Most of the churches in the township are included in the towns of Sabina and Reesville, and as these are closely connected with those in the surrounding country, it is deemed. advisable to mention them all in the township history under one head. Previous to any regular church organization, the settlers had services whenever an opportunity offered, or whenever a traveling preacher stopped in the neighborhood. These services were held sometimes in the cabins of the pioneers, or oftener in the woods adjoining a settlement. People came for miles around to attend these occasional preachings.
The first regular preaching in the eastern part of the township was in the house of Joseph Doan, some time previous to 1824 The preacher was Rev. Robert Dobbins, or " old Father Dobbins," as he was called He was an itinerant Methodist preacher, who traveled a circuit of many miles, preaching at the various settlements at stated times.
The Protestant Methodists commenced holding services in the house of John Harper, in the Posey Survey, in 1830. They continued meeting there for about two years, and then changed their place of meeting to the house of E. Roberds, where they continued to meet until 1841, when the Bethel Church was built, on the Roberds farm. This church was burned down a few years afterward, but it was rebuilt, and continued to be the place of worship for people of that denomination until 1860, when the Sabina Church was built in its stead. Among the earlier preachers of this denomination were Jonathan
764 - HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
Flood, Adzed McGuire. Benjamin Ryan, Joel Dalbey, A. H. Trumbo. William Evans and A. H. Bassett. In 1860, the Protestants purchased a lot on Wash. ington street, near the center of the village of Sabina, of David Persinger, for $300, and in the same year erected their church, which cost about $3,000. The cl.arch is a one-story frame building, with a seating capacity of about three hundred and fifty. The members of Bethel Church assisted in the building of the church, and adopted it as their place of worship. The society now numbers about eighty members. The following is a list of the pastors of Bethel and Sabina Churches: R. Rose, R. T. Boyd, J. M. Young, J. H. Webster, R. Dobbins, A. Channell, J. J. White, S. H. Evans, J. W. Kidd, W. B. Evans, E. P. Winans, G. W. Fowler, J. R. Thompson, A. V. Shepherd, C. C. Caddy, W. E. Stubbs, J. M. Littler, M. V. B. Evans, G. W. Leadom, T. D. Howe, W. B. Warrington, Z. D. Hickman, P. F. Johnson, P. B. Chaney, O. P. Stevens, W. Ravencraft, J. Hastings, A. N. Barlow, J. W. Spring, A. S. Kingsley, J. Shepherd.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Sabina was organized in the School house in Sabina; by Rev. William Smith, in 1850, with thirty members. For five years previous to this time, they had held services in the schoolhouse, but no church organization had been effected. Revs. George Brown, J. H. Middleton and D. H. Sargent figured as pastors in the early history of the church. In 1860, the society purchased a lot formerly occupied by a still-house, of John Luddom, for $275, and in 1862, built a one-story frame church at a cost of about $3,000. * The society now numbers about seventy-five members and is presided over by C. J. .Wells, the present incumbent of the pastorate.
The Christian Church of Sabina was organized in 1843, by the Rev. John Rose, who was the first resident pastor of the church. In 1845, the society purchased a lot on Howard street, on which they built a frame church, where they worshiped until their present church edifice was erected. For some reason it became necessary to re-organize the church society, which was done by Rev. L. Southmaid, November 2, 1858. In 1879, a lot was purchased by the society on the corner of Washington and College streets, and a new, one story brick church erected at a cost of $2,800. The new church was dedicated by Elder L. L. Carpenter, of Wabash, Ind., on the 18th of January, 1880. In 1882, the old frame church of the society was sold to the congregation of the Colored Baptist Church.
The Friends' Church of Sabina was organized in the Methodist Protestant Church, in the winter of 1878, by Mr. and Mrs. Frame, with about one hundred members. In 1880, they purchased a lot on Elm street of Mrs. E. A. Newman, for which they paid $400. On this they erected a handsome little one-story brick church, with Sunday school room and vestibule, for $3,500. The church proper will seat about four hundred people. The total cost of building and fitting the church will amount to over $4,000.
Richland Church was organized in 1864. by Rev. P. F. Johnson. They had very little preaching until a year afterward, when the church building was erected. The society numbers about eighty members, and is in Sabina Circuit, which is composed of this church and the church at Sabina. They are under the pastoral care of the Rev. Josiah Shepherd. In the summer of 1881, the old church at Richland was torn down, and a new brick building erected at a cost of $2,500. The present church is a neat and pretty structure, and will comfortably seat about two hundred and fifty people.
The Reesville Methodist Church was organized in 1872, by Rev. J. J. Taggart, with about twenty members. It was organized in a schoolhouse,
* The church ban a capacity for seating about two hundred and twenty-five people. Among the more recen pastors have been A. Rolley, J. I. Taggart, A. M. Griffith and N. W. Darlington.
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which they afterward purchased and converted into a church. The church is part of Bowersville Circuit, and numbers between sixty-five and seventy members.
The Colored Baptists of Sabina have a church organization, which was offected in 1881. They worshiped in the Colored Schoolhouse until 1882, when they purchased the old frame building erected by the congregation of the Christian Church. The society is still in its incipiency, and numbers but a few members.
BURYING-GROUNDS.
Many of the settlers had family burying-grounds on their own lands, and this custom is still adhered to by some of the farmers in the township. The oldest of these family graveyards have disappeared,.-while the others are too numerous and too obscure to be noticed in this sketch.
The first graveyard in the township was the Spurgeon Graveyard, in the Tench Survey, which was opened soon after the time of the first settlements, in 1805. It was a small and strictly neighborhood burying-ground, but has since ceased to be used as such.
The next regular graveyard was, known as the Doan Graveyard, in the Posey Survey, on the McClintock & Smith farm. The land was purchased by Elisha Doan, who donated about one acre for burial purposes. The first persons buried were Daniel Hillman and Effie (Higgins) Hillman, his wife, both about 1822. Mrs. Hillman was buried there first, and after her death her `husband went to Kentucky, and in the same year returned to his old home, where he died, and became the second person interred in the Doan Yard. From the number of bones found in this burying-ground, it was supposed that it had been a place of burial for the Indians. The ground is still used as a place of interment, being now incorporated as such.
The old Sabina Graveyard, which occupied about half an acre of ground on the south side of the town and in the present corporation, began to be used before the town was laid out, and about the time the settlement of the country around the town was commenced. After the town was laid out, and for some years after it became a town of some size, the place was extensively used for burials. It is no longer used as such, however, and most of the bodies have been taken up and re-interred in the new cemetery.
The Sabina Cemetery is owned by a joint-stock company, with a capital stock of $1,500. The company was organized April 6, 1.872, with the following Board of Directors : D. C. Harrison, President; H. H. Thorp, Secretary; W. H. Ferrill, Treasurer; A. C. Mills, E. Roberds and H. H. Johnson. Fifteen acres of land were purchased of William Custis, at $100 per acre, and improvements costing about $1,500 made. The grounds are beautifully located on a hillside, with sufficient elevation to be nicely drained by natural means. They are laid off in sections and lots, of which over one hundred and thirty lots have already been sold. Many beautiful monuments deck the grounds in different places as mementoes of respect paid by the citizens of the township to their departed friends. It is the intention of the company to make this the most beautiful cemetery in the county, and, with the natural advantages of their grounds, this will not be a difficult task. The present Directors are: Jacob Theobold, President; H. H. Thorp, Secretary; A. Custis, Treasurer; B. J. Darbyshire, Henry T. Burnett and Samuel Love.
SABINA.
The town of Sabina was laid out by Warren Sabin, after whom it was named, in 1830, on land originally entered by P. Neville. The original plat of the town was recorded on the 6th of December, 1830, and contained thirty
766 - HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
seven lots, numbered consecutively from one to thirty-seven--one street, Howard, and one cross-street, Washington. There were twenty lots on the north side of Washington street, and ten on the south side. The streets were five poles wide, and the alleys, of which there were four, were one pole wide. The lots fronting on Washington street were five poles wide in front and ten and a half poles wide in the rear. Those fronting on Howard street were five and three-quarters poles front and ten poles in the rear. In addition to these, there were three odd lots---one containing forty-five and a half poles, one forty-one and fourteen-hundredths poles, and one twenty and three-fourths poles. Additions have been made to the original plat as follows: Thomas Hollman's Addition, January 11, 1856; John S. Drake's Addition, January 9, 1873; R. Curtis' Addition, July 6, 1874; D. Giffin's Addition, December 15, 1875; J. Theobold's Addition, September 11, 1876; J. Roberds' Addition, December 4, 1876; J. W. Curtis' Addition, June 19, 1879; J. W. Curtis, another addition, December 30, 1879.
The corporation of the town was extended to include additional territory August 9, 1813. In 1859, the town was incorporated, and M. Morris appointed Mayor. He served but a short time, not to exceed a month, when he resigned the office, and Jacob Theobold was appointed to fill the vacancy. The following is a partial list of the Mayors of the village since then, it being impossible to give a full list, with dates of service, on account of the books of the corporation being lost: John Bridwell, Jacob Leir, C. P. Gallaher, David Gift W. H. Dakin and J. L. Johnson.
The first building built upon the land where the town stands was a log structure, little better than a pen, built by Elisha Evans long before the town was contemplated. It stood near where Andrew Glassglow's residence now is. The first house in the town after it was platted was a pole log house, built by Elijah Sabin, near the present site of Jacob Theobold's residence. Andrew Love was the first settler, first Postmaster and first tavern-keeper in the town. He located here soon after the town was laid out. William McMillen and Warren Sabin were the first store-keepers of the place. They opened a general store as soon after the town was laid out as they could get a building erected. McMillen's store was where Jacob Theobold now lives. Jacob Theobold was the next merchant to commence business in the town. He opened a store about the year 1841 An early blacksmith, and by some said to be the first, was Isaac Haines. Floyd Farris opened the first shoe shop in a building near the site of Flower & Tobin's bakery. The town has continued to grow from the time of the first settler until the present, Physicians came into the town, stores were opened and various kinds of business commenced as soon as the rapid growth of the place demanded. There are now in the village three dry goods stores, three drug stores, two hardware stores, three clothing stores, nine groceries, one furniture-dealer and undertaker, one bank, two saddler shops, two grain-dealers, two butchers, one bakery and confectionery, two tailor shops, one silversmith, one carriage shop, three blacksmith shops, one wagon-maker, three shoe shops, two tin shops, four doctors, three lawyers, two ministers, two hotels, one printing office, three saloons, a flour-mill, a post office, a telegraph office, an express office, two milliners, two mantua makers, eleven carpenters, two lumber dealers, three plasterers, two painters, three brick makers, five brick masons, a livery stable, two stock dealers, a coal merchant, a barber shop, a tile mill, a real estate agent, two insurance agents, and a brass band of fifteen pieces.
The township and town, in conjunction, recently built a large two-story brick building, with a town hall in the second story, and offices for the town and township officials and a town prison on the first floor. In addition to
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this, there are two other halls, an Odd Fellow and Masonic, which will be spoken of in their proper places.
The Sabina Bank commenced doing business February 17. 1875, with a capital stock of $50,000, and the following board of officers: E. A. Lewis, President; D. Edwards, Cashier; L Lewis, E. A. Lewis and William T. Haydock, Directors and stockholders. It is a private bank, operated under the banking laws of the State of Ohio. In 1880, the board built the handsome building in which their offices are now located. The capital stock of the bank has been increased to $80,000. The present board of officers is as follows: Isaac Lewis, President; E. A. Lewis, Cashier; William T. Haydock, C. E. Lewis, I. Lewis, E. A. Lewis, Seth W. Smith, Directors.
Sabina Lodge, No. 324, F. & A M., was organized in the Rapp House, Sabina, August 4, 1860, with thirteen charter members. The first officers were: R. Newman, W. M.; D. Giffin, S. W.; J. D. Achor, J. W.; Joseph Rapp, Treasurer; S. A. Christy, Secretary; Jacob Theobold, S. D.; R. Custis, J D.; D. Chance, Tiler. The lodge now numbers eighty members, and meets '' in a room twenty by seventy feet, which they added to a two-storybrick build corner of Howard and Sycamore streets; in 1871, at a cost of $1,600. The present officers are: S. B. Lightner, W. M.; Elihu Hiatt, S. W.; J. M. Woodmansee, J. W.; R. Custis, Treasurer; A. Arnold, Secretary; J. J. Stover, S. D.; S. E. Curtis, J. D.; W. G. Hutchings, Tiler.
Sabina Lodge, No. 501, I. O. O. F., was organized September 5, 1871, with eight charter members, and instituted by Grand Master Ira Baird. The first officers were: James Van Pelt, N. G.; H. H. Thorp, V. G.; D. C. Harrison, Secretary; John Gilliland, Treasurer. The lodge now numbers sixty-five members, and meets in Odd Fellows' Hall, corner of Howard and Washington streets. The ball consists of a third story, which was put on a two story brick building by the lodge in 1874, at a cost of $1,200.The present officers are: James A. Hughey, N. G.; A. J. Gaskin, V. G.; Elijah Sobers, R. S.; John Britton, P. S.; H. H. Thorp, Treasurer. In connection with the lodge. a successful encampment of Odd Fellows is conducted The latter is Sabina Encampment, No. 182.
The post office of the village was established there almost as soon as the town was named. The following is as full and accurate a list of the Postmasters as can now be obtained: Andrew Love, John L. Perkins, Harrison Jeffs, Jacob Theobold, Fairfax McFadden, Banner Burtley, Jacob Theobold, Evan Campbell, William H. Farrill, C. B. Hill. These gentleman served in the order named, with may be one exception-that of Harrison Jeffs, who may not have immediately succeeded Perkins.
The school of Sabina is in what is known as a special district. It is a graded school of five departments, presided over by a Principal and four teachers. The house, a two-story brick, was erected in 1871, at a cost of from $5,000 to $6,000. It was built on a lot of an acre and a half of ground, purchased for $100 per acre. The building consisted originally of four rooms, but in 1879, four rooms were added, at a cost of $3,000. The estimated cost of the building and improvements is over $10,000. For this district, a tax of $2,746.42 was levied at the last annual levy. There is also in the town a school for the exclusive use of colored pupils. It was opened to them during the year 1879, and is still in successful operation.
THE SABINA UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
In 1874, a general meeting of the citizens of Clinton and surrounding counties was called to be held at Sabina to consider the advisability, and, if " thought advisable, the means best adapted to the formation of an agricultural
768 - HISTORY OF CLINTON COUNTY.
or fair association. t this meeting, it was decided to undertake the formation of such an organization, and committees were accordingly appointed to solicit subscriptions in furtherance of the object. After these committees had obtained $5,000 in subscriptions to the stock, another meeting was held, at which the following board of officers was elected: E. B. Martin, President; J. R. Amos, Vice President; D. C. Harrison, Secretary; H. H. Thorp, Treasurer; and S. B. Lightner, B. J. Darbyshire, John Kirk, John Borum, U. M. Morgan, H. B. Reed, C. M. Luttrell and J. W. Carter, Directors. Thirty-five acres of ground on the Washington pike, and adjoining Sabina on the east, were then rented of A. C. Mills, a lease for ten years being taken by the society. Work was at once commenced on the ground, and, during the first year, $7,000 was expended in improvements to the grounds. The first fair, held in the fall of 1874, was a great success, financially and otherwise, and since then the society has continued to reap annually the reward they so well merit for their enterprise in the undertaking. Improvements are being made upon the grounds from year to year, the books of the Society Showing that fully $1,000 are expended annually for that purpose. In 1881, the grounds were enlarged to forty acres. A half-mile track, sixty feet wide, has been made, and shed room for fully two hundred horses erected. In addition to this, the society has built commodious cattle pens, a floral hall, agricultural hall, dining hall, music hall, band stands, judges' stands, etc. The M. V. R. R. Company built a very fancy little stand for the use of their officials while attending the fair. It is just opposite the judges' stand, and contains telegraph instruments by means of which the officials can attend to the business of the road while attending the races. Seating room for fully five thousand people has been erected in amphitheater form around one side of the ring. The fairs of this Society are growing yearly in the popular favor. Large sums of money are annually paid in premiums, and lawful competition is always encouraged by the society. The different railroads approaching the grounds ran excursion trains to and from the grounds each day during the fair. The present officers of the association are: A. Sellars, President; H. A. Haynes, Vice President; R. Curtis, Treasurer; I. Roberds, Secretary; S. B. Lightner, C. B. Vaniman, A. J. Gaskins, H. B. Reed, A: J. Wilson, C. E. Custis, B. J. Darbyshire, C. Rhonemus, Directors.
REESVILLE.
The town of the above name was originally called the Cross Roads. It was laid out by Moses Reese in 1857, the plat being recorded on the 11th of July of that year. The town plat originally consisted of twenty acres and seventeen and seventy-five hundredths poles of land, divided into twenty-five lots, lying along the Muskingum Valley Railroad, with the Urbana road running through it as a cross-street. It lies in the western part of the township, about two and a half miles west of Sabina. An addition was made to the town December 9, 1868, by David Puckett, and another, January 17, 1874, by C. Rhonemus. A post office was established in the town soon after the railroad was completed, and J. E. Barr installed as first Postmaster. The first merchants in the place were Jonathan and Henry Ruckers, who kept a general notion store previous to the platting of the town. Their store was afterward successively owned by Samuel Reed, Baron Douglass, William Wilson and William Lyons. Christian Rhonemus came to the town in 1.858 and engaged in mercantile business. Since then, he and his family have been prominently identified with the business interests of the town. Robert McClellan, who came to the town in 1858, was the first and only tailor ever carrying on business in its limits. There are now in the town four dry goods stores, a drug store,
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two saloons, two blacksmith shops, one shoe shop, a post office, a railroad depot, a church and a schoolhouse, and a population of about one hundred and fifty inhabitants, with taxable property valued at over $14,000. The town constitutes a special school district, for which a tax of over $1,000 was levied in 1881.
CONCLUSION.
The settlement and progress of this township is greatly retarded by the scarcity of farm lands, and the inability of those desiring to become citizens of the township to purchase them. Large tracts of land are held by non-residents, who have purchased them as a means of speculation. These lands are either farmed for them by hired labor, or are rented out to tenants, who are rarely citizens, and who care little for the welfare of the township. The owners of the land are opposed to all public improvements, as they increase the taxes without making the returns from their speculation any larger. To show the real extent of the injury thus endured by the township, we call the reader's attention to the fact that one-fourth of the township, or a total of over five thousand acres of the very best land, is owned by six non-resident proprietors. One of these large tracts is the farm of McClintock & Smith, attorneys, of Chillicothe, which comprises 1,118 acres, purchased during the war. This land contains nine tenant houses, and is farmed entirely by tenants. Frederick Overly, Esq., manages the immense farm for the proprietors, and cultivates a part of the ground as a tenant. Other instances of a like character could be cited, but our space forbids us to dwell on this subject. Suffice it to say that a large part of the township is held by speculators, in tracts of from 150 to 1,100 acres, and, as they prove safe and paying investments to the owners, of course they will not part with the land unless paid a price far exceeding the prices of land elsewhere, and thus those who would enter the township as citizens and take an interest in its welfare are crowded out. These farms are rarely worth more than from $50 to $60 per acre, while other farms in the same locality, properly improved, are worth $100 an acre.
There being no stagnant water nor pools of any size in the township, and on account of the high elevation of the table-lands and the general cultivation of the country, together with the habits of life, diet and equable temper of the citizens, they have been blessed with comparatively long lives. As indicative of this, we mention Thomas N. Adams, who died in 1880, aged one hundred and three years; James Wherry, who died in 1876, aged ninety-three years; Samuel Allen, who died in 1881, aged eighty-six years; Catharine Adams, who died in 1879, aged eighty-seven years; Anna Wallace, who died in 1879, aged eighty-five years; Catharine Jacks, who died in 1880, aged eighty-six years; Benjamin Wilson, who died in 1879, aged eighty-five; and Lawrence Melvy, still living, aged ninety-two; Melinda English, still living, aged ninety-two; Mrs. Lydia Reese, still living, aged eighty-five; and others of like age, who are still bearing the burdens of life's cares, or have gone to that better land "where the weary are at rest."