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HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY - 197 CHAPTER III. LIFE IN THE: WILDERNESS-BIRTHS, DEATHS, MARRIAGES-STORES, ETC.-MILLS-TAVERNS ROADS-TOWNS AND VILLAGES-PIONEER ASSOCIATION. "Angels weep when a babe is born, And sing when an old man dies."-Anon. THE pioneers whose names have been given in the preceding chapter, with few, if any, exceptions, have emigrated to that land that is undisturbed by the Indians' war-whoop-a land where toil and danger never come. They came to a wilderness, infested with savages and wild beasts, and for years held their lives, as it were, in their own hands. Many of them were Revolutionary soldiers who had fought for the freedom of their country, and when victory perched upon its banners, and the olive branch of peace waved over the nation, they were forced to accept remuneration from an impoverished Government in Western land.. The privations endured in the patriot army were shall in comparison to those which met them in these wild and unbroken regions, and the dangers encountered in conflict with the hitherto victorious legions of King George, dwindled into insignificance by those of bearding the treacherous red man in his own country. The rifle was their inseparable companion; whether on the hunt, tilling the small patch of corn, or on a friendly visit to a neighboring- pioneer, and they were always ready for a tussle with either bear or savage. When they lay down to sleep at night, it was often with a feeling of uncertainty as to whether they would awake in this world or the next. But the depredations of the Indians were not the only dangers and troubles and vicissitudes to which tile early settlers were exposed in the wilderness. We sometimes find ourselves wondering, as we chronicle the scenes and incidents of early times, what the present generations would do, if all at once they were to find themselves Subjected to the " rough habit, coarse fare, and severe duty," which were so well known to the pioneers. The country has undergone a great change. Sixty or seventy years ago, the few scattering settlers were found in pole cabins, of perhaps sixteen by eighteen feet in dimensions ; the cracks daubed with mud; a puncheon floor, so well ventilated that a child would almost fall through the cracks between the puncheons, and a chimney of wood and stick and clay. If a man was so fortunate as to be able to have a glass window in his cabin, his neighbors would pronounce him " big feelin'," "stuck up," etc., and rather avoid him. The furniture of these primitive cabins was scarcely equal to the veneered walnut adorning our elegant homes of the present day. The chairs usually consisted of blocks sawed from a log, augur-holes bored in them, and leg. put in. Bedsteads were improvised in quite at plain a manner, while the beds themselves were usually leaves and wild grass, which honest toil rendered "soft as downy pillows are." To more clearly illustrate the simple mode of life practiced by the early settlers, we quote two separate and distinct authorities on the subject. The one is " Howe's Historical Annals," published in 1848 and the other the " County Atlas." published in 1866. The similarity between the two is some what striking, but affords rather convincing prooF of the truth of the matter tinder consideration They are as follows HOWE'S ANNALS, 1848.COUNTY ATLAS, 1866. During the early period of the county, the people The pioneers lived in a state of perfect social were in a condition of complete social equality equality - no aristocratic notions of caste, rank, or no aristocratic distinctions were thought of in society, office were felt. The only demarkation was between and the first line of de markation drawn was to the civil and actual offenders. Their meetings were separate the very bad from the general mass. Their for raisings, log-rollings huskings, weddings, sing- parties were for raisings and log-rollings, and, the ing-schools, and religious devotions. Their amuse- labor being finished, their sports usually were shoot- ments were-frolics " gaming, gymnastic evolutions ing and gymnastic exer- and convivial meetings of 198 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. cises with the men, and convivial amusements among the women; no punctilious formality, nor ignoble aping the fashions of licentious Paris, marred their assemblies, but all were happy and enjoyed themselves in seeing others so. The rich and the poor dressed alike; the men generally wearing hunting shirts and buckskin pants and the women attired in coarse fabrics, produced by their own hands ; such was their common and holiday dress and if a fair damsel wished a superb dress for he bridal day, her higher] Expiration was to obtain common American cotton check. Silks, satins, an fancy goods, that now in flate our vanity and deplete our purses, were not then even dreamed of. The cabins were furnished in the same style of simplicity; the bedsteads were homemade, and often consisted of forked sticks driven into the ground, with cross-poles to support the clapboard or the cord. One pot, kettle, and frying-pan were the only articles considered indispensable, though soot included the tea-kettle; a few plates and dishes upon a shelf in one corner was as satisfactory as is now a cupboard full of china, and their food relished from a puncheon table. Some of the wealthiest families had a few split-bottomed chairs, but as a general thing stools and benches answered the places of lounge and sofas, and at first the greensward, or smoothly leveled earth, served the double purpose of floor any carpet. Whisky toddy was considered luxury enough for any party the woods furnished abundance of venison, and corn pone supplied the place of ever variety of pastry. Flour could not for some time be obtained nearer than Chillicothe or Zanesville goods were very high, and none but the most coo mom kinds were brought here, and had to be packed on horses or mules from Detroit, or wagoned from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, thence down the river in flatboats to the mouth of the Scioto, and then packed or hauled up. COUNTY ATLAS, 1866 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 197 the young. In these sports and meetings there was no punctilious formality of aping the styles of modern Paris. The rich and poor dressed alike. The men wore buckskin pants and hunting-shirts, and the women were attired in coarse, home-made fabrics. Such was their common dress. If a damsel soughs; her bridal attire, she aspired to calico. Silks, satins, hoops, and flummery -which now burden the slender frame, and empty our pockets-were never dreamed of. Household furniture was equally simple. Bedsteads were frequently original, consisting of forked sticks driven it the ground, and poles to support the cord or clapboards. Etc., etc. Not to man alone, however, is the credit due of transforming the wilderness into an Eden of loveliness. Woman, the guardian angel of the sterner sex, did as much in her way as man himself. She was not only his companion, but his helpmate Figuratively, she put her hand to the plow, and when occasion demanded, did not hesitate to do so literally. They assisted in planting, cultivating and harvesting the crops; besides attending to their household duties which were far more onerous than now. They were happy and contented, and yearned far less for costly gewgaws and fashionable toggery than do perhaps their fair descendants. As showing their vast contentment, with the life they led in those early times; we make the following extract from sketches by Howe of frontier life: "A visit was gotten up by the ladies. in order to call on a neighboring family who lived a little out, of the common way. The hostess was very much pleased to see them, and immediately commenced preparing the usual treat on such occasions a cup of tea and its accompaniments. As she had but one fire proof vessel in the house. an old broken bake-kettle. it, of course must take some time. In the first place. some pork was fried up in the kettle to get some lard: secondly. some cakes were made and fried in it ; thirdly, some short-cakes were made in it fourthly, it was used as a bucket to draw water: fifthly. the water was heated in it. and sixthly and lastly. the tea was put in it arid a very sociable: dish of tea they had." In those good old times, we are told, that the young men asked nothing, better to go courting in. than buck-skin pantaloons This was an improvement, it is true, upon the costume of the Georgia Major but was somewhat abridged as compared to that of the gay cavalier of the present day. We will give one other extract for the benefit of our lady readers: "A gentleman settled with his family in a region without a neighbor near him. Soon after. a man and his wife settled on the opposite side of the river from where the first had built his cabin and some three miles distant: the lady on the west side was very anxious to visit her strange neighbor on the east and sent her a message setting a day when she should make her visit and at the time appointed went down to cross the. river with her husband but found it so swollen with recent rains as to render it impossible to cross on foot. There was no canoe or horse in that part of the country. The obstacle was apparently insurmountable. Fortunately, the man on the other side was fertile in expedients; he yoked up his oxen, anticipating the event, and arrived at the river just as the others were about to leave. Springing upon the back of one of the oxen, he rode him across the river, and when he had reached the west bank the lady, Europa-like, as fearlessly sprang on the bark of the other ox, and they were both borne across the raging waters, and safely landed upon the opposite bank; and when she had concluded her visit she returned in the same manner.'' HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 199 But, as we have said, the whole country has changed in these years, and grand improvements have been made in our manners and customs. We have grown older in many respects, if not wiser. We cannot think of living on what our parents and grandparents lived on. The "corn-dodgers" and fried bacon they were glad to get, would appear to us but a frugal repast. However, this is an age of progress, and our observations are made in no spirit of dissatisfaction, but by way of contrasting the past and present. Although pioneer life had its bright side, and the term neighbor possessed something of that broad and liberal construction given to it by the Man of Nazareth eighteen hundred years ago; and though there are many still living whose "memories delight to linger over the past." and - " Fight their battles o'er again," and in imagination to recall the pictures of three-score years ago-yet we acknowledge that we are not of the number of those who say or feel that the "former times were better than these. The present times are good enough, if we but try to make them good. We have no sympathy with those who wail and groan over the sins and wickedness of the world, and the present generation in particular. The first births, deaths and marriages are events of considerable interest in pioneer life. The first child born in a community is generally a noted character, and the first marriage an event of more than passing interest, while mournful memories cluster around the first death. Some of these incidents have several contestants in Delaware County. The first birth is claimed for two different individuals viz., Jeremiah Gillies and J. C_Lewis. From the most reliable information on the subject, the honor doubtless belongs to Gillies, who was born in what is now Liberty Township, on the 7th of August, 1803, a little more than two years after the first white settlement was made in the county. Other authorities, however, are of the opinion that J. C. Lewis was the first born. Says Events' "County Atlas," published in 1875: "On the 29th of September, 1806, the first white child was born in Delaware County. His name is Joseph C. Lewis, a native of the "Yankee' colony of Berlin. He became a minister of the Baptist persuasion at his maturity, and removed to Washington, District of Columbia." .Just which of these was the first birth, or whether either was first. is a point that probably will never be satisfactorily settled. But, as we have said, and to repeat it in legal parlance, the " preponderance of evidence " is in favor of Gillies. The first marriage is lost in the "mists of antiquity." That there has been a first marriage, and that it has been followed by a second and a third. and so on, ad infinitum, the 30,000 people of the county bear indisputable evidence. Death entered the county through Liberty Township-the pioneer settlement-and claimed Mrs. Nathan Carpenter. She died August 7 ,1804. One of the Welches died soon after. There were three brothers, viz., Aaron, John and Ebenezer Welch, who settled there in 1804, and, in a short time, one of them succumbed to the change of climate. He was the first white man buried in Delaware County. Mrs. Vining. who died in Berkshire Township in 1806, was another of the early deaths. Since their demise. many of their fellow-pioneers have joined them upon the other shore. In fact. of those who united in paying the last tribute of respect to them-all. perhaps, have followed to " that bourne from whence no traveler returns." Upon them the rolling years marked their record, and, one by one. they have passed from the shores of time, and their mortal bodies have mouldered into dust in the old churchyards. This has been the immutable fate of the band of pioneers who subdued this region and laid the foundation for a happy and prosperous community. The Carpenters, Powerses. Welches, Byxbes, Cellers, Hoadleys, Eatons, Rosecranses. Lee.,. Williamses, Fousts, Perrys, Pughs. Mortons. Philipses. Bennetts. Hintons, Spragues, Hills. Lotts : they are gone, all gone ! "They died, aye'. they died : and we things that are now - We walk on the turf that lies over their brow." The beginning of the mercantile business in Delaware County is somewhat obscure, and the facts pertaining to its early history meager and almost unattainable. Just who was the first merchant, and upon what particular spot stood his palace storehouse, are points that are a little indefinite. With all of our research, we have been unable to learn who opened the first store in Delaware, or whether the first store in the county was in Delaware or in Berkshire. We are, inclined to the opinion. however that the honor belongs to Berkshire, as it was laid out as a town sometime before Delaware. probably three or four years before, and, doubtless, a store was established soon after. Major Brown is said to have been the first tradesman at the place but did not remain very long in the business 200 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. Stores were not so much of a necessity then as they are now. After Brown closed out, a man named Fuller brought a stock of goods to the place, but neither did he remain long. Fuller, it is said, came from Worthington to Berkshire, but whether he had a store at the former place, before removing to Berkshire, our authority on the subject is silent. The first merchant at. Delaware of whom we have been able to learn anything was Hezekiah Kilbourn, but at what date he commenced business we could not learn. Lamb and Little were also among the pioneer merchants of Delaware, as was Anthony Walker. The latter gentleman had a store - a kind of branch concern - in Thompson Township at quite an early date, which was carried on by one of the Welches, as agent of Walker. Williams & Cone were early merchants at Delhi, and a man named Dean kept a store on Goodrich's farm, in Liberty Township, for a number of years. In what is now Concord Township was established one of the early stores of the county. It was owned and operated by a couple of men named Winslow (sons. perhaps, of Winslow's Soothing Syrup). and consisted of a box of cheap goods. exposed for sale in a small tent; at the mouth of Mill Creek. Shortly after this mercantile venture, Michael Crider opened a small store on the farm of Freshwater and eventually moved to Bellepoint. The foregoing gives some idea of the commencement of a business three-quarters of a century or more ago, which, from the feeble and sickly efforts described, has grown and expanded with the lapse of years, until, at the present day; the trade of the county annually amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mills-those objects of interest to the pioneer and sources of so much anxiety in a new country - have much the same history here as in other early settlements, and were rude in construction and of little force, as compared to the splendid mills of our day. They answered the purpose, however, of the settlers, and were vast improvements, rude though they were, upon the block and pestle and pounding process, of which we often hear the old people speak, and which was one of the modes of obtaining meal and hominy in pioneer days. Before there were any "corncrackers " built in this county, the people used to go to Chillicothe to mill, and to other places equally remote. An old gentleman informed us but a few days ago, that one of the first trips he made to mill after settling in Kings ton Township in 1813, was to a mill which stood ten miles beyond Mount Vernon. and that he was gone several days. Milling was indeed one of the dreaded burdens of the people, and a trip of the kind meant any space of time from two days to as many weeks. There seems to be no doubt but that the first effort at the building of a mill in Delaware County was made by Nathan Carpenter in 1804. Sometime during the year he erected a sawmill on the Olentangy, to which was added a pair of small buhrs, called in those days "nigger heads," and which were used for grinding corn. Notwithstanding its limited capacity, the people found it a great convenience. In Harlem Township, "a handmill " was established at a very early day, and shortly after, a horse-mill. Some years later, a man named Budd built a grist-mill on Duncan's Run. In what is now Oxford Township, Lewis Powers built a little mill, which is entitled to rank among the pioneer mill, of the county, and Philip Horshaw erected one in the present township of Scioto ; also a similar edifice in Genoa Township was built by Eleazer Copely, at an early day. Crider's and Hinton's mill, in Concord Township, should be mentioned among these early institutions, and Hall's on Alum Creek in the present township of Berlin. These primitive affairs have been superseded by modern mills of the very best machinery and almost unlimited capacity. As pertinent to the subject, we make the following extract from the "County Atlas," where it is recorded upon the authority of Elam Brown, Esq. "In 1805, there were few inhabitants on the Whetstone. Carpenter built a small mill in 1804. We Berkshire boys used to follow a trail through the woods on horseback (the boys were on horseback; not the trail), with a bag of corn for a saddle. The little wheel would occasionally be stopped, or several bags of corn ahead in turn would bring the shades of night upon us, and we had to camp out. Nathaniel Hall built the first mill for grinding on Alum Creek. and also a saw-mill. These proved great conveniences for the settlement. In times of drought, I have ridden on a bag of grain on horseback to Frederick Carr's mill on Owl Creek. This horseback-milling was done by the boys as soon as they could balance a bag of corn on a horse." Next to the pioneer miller, the pioneer black. smith is, perhaps, the most important man in a new country. It is true, the people cannot get along without bread, and probably could do without the blacksmith but he is, nevertheless. a "bigger man" than ordinary mortals. Among the early disciples of Vulcan in the county, we may notice HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 201 James Harper, the pioneer blacksmith of the Berkshire settlement, Hezekiah Roberts, in what is now Genoa; Isaac Rosecrans, in the Kingston settlement; Thomas Brown, in the present township of Marlborough, who had his shop where Norton now stands ; Joseph Michaels, in what is Oxford Township ; Joseph Cubberly, in the present township of Thompson. Among the early Justices of the Peace, we have Joseph Eaton, Moses Byxbe, Ebenezer Goodrich, Daniel Rosecrans, Ezra Olds, Charles Thompson and others. Their courts were the scenes of many a ludicrous incident, no doubt, from which a volume might be compiled that. would rank high among the humorous works of the day. The administration of justice and the execution of the laws were done with the best intentions, but in a way that would be termed very "irregular" nowadays. The Squire usually made up his decisions from his ideas of equity, and did not cumber his mind much with the statute law. Moses Byxbe represented Uncle Sam as the first Postmaster General ever in Delaware County. His duties were not very onerous, and his lady clerks had ample time to read all the postal cards that passed through his office. Letters then cost 25 cents apiece, and were considered cheap at that when the pioneer had the 25 cents. But Uncle Sam has always been a little particular about such things, requiring prompt pay, and in coin too, and as a consequence, the letter was sometimes yellow with age before the requisite quarter could be obtained to redeem it. Who kept the first tavern within the present precincts of Delaware County. is not known of a certainty. The first house erected on the site of the city of Delaware was kept as a tavern by Joseph Barber, and was built early in the year 1807. As there were settlements made in the county several years prior to this, it is likely there were taverns at an earlier date. As descriptive of this first tavern in Delaware. We make the following extract from an article in the "Western Collegian", written, by the lamented Dr. Hills: "The Pioneer Tavern was a few rods southeast of the 'Medicine Water.' It was on the plateau just east of the ridge that lies south of the spring, and terminates near there, some three or four rods inward from the present street. The first house was a double-roomed one, with a loft, standing north and south (the house), facing the east, and was built of round logs, chinked and daubed. In course of time, a second house, two stories high, was added, built of hewed logs, and placed east and west, at right angles with the south end of the first building, with a little space between them. In this space was the well, with its curb and its tall, old-fashioned, but easy-working ' well-sweep.' Around at the southwest of this was the log barn and the blacksmith-shop, and a double granary or corn crib, with a space between for its many purposes, as necessary, indeed, as the kitchen is for household purposes. Here was the grindstone, the shaving-horse, the hewing block, the tools of all kinds, and the pegs for hanging up traps of all sorts. Here the hog was scalded and dressed, the deer, raccoon and possum were skinned, and their skins stretched and dried, or tanned. Here also were the nuts dried and cracked. For many reasons, it has a. bright place in the memories of boyhood. How few know the importance of the pioneer tavern of the early days. It was of course the place of rest for the weary traveler, whether on foot or on horse. It was many a day before a dearborn' or ' dandy wagon' was known on the road. But it was much more than this, and seemed the emporium of everything. It was the market-place for all ; the hunter with his venison and turkeys - the trapper with his furs and skins ; and the knapsack peddler-the pioneer merchant here gladdened the hearts of all with his 'boughten' wares. At his tavern, too, were all public gatherings called, to arrange for a general hunt, to deal out justice to some transgressor of the unwritten but well-known pioneer laws. In fact, it was here, at a later period, that the first organized County Court was held, with the grand jury in the tavern loft, and the petit jury under a neighboring shade tree." But to return to the early hostelries of other sections of the county. Thomas Warren kept a tavern in Radnor at an early day, and James Stark kept one at Stark's Corners, in the present township of Kingston. There is no better standard of civilization than roads and highways. In fact, the road is one of the best signs or symbols by which to understand an age or people. The savage has no roads. His trails through the forest., where men on foot can move only in single file, are marked by the blazing of trees. Something can be learned of the status of society, of the culture of a people, of the enlightenment of a government, by visiting universities and libraries, churches, palaces and the docks of trade; but quite as much more by looking at the roads. For if there is any activity in society, or any vitality to a government., it will always be 202 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. indicated by the highway, the type of civilized motion and prosperity. Delaware County is justly celebrated for its excellent roads. Turnpikes, macadamized and graveled roads, traverse the county in all directions, and large sums of money have been expended in their construction. The people and the authorities have always exhibited considerable interest in building good roads. Almost the first business transacted by the County Commisioners' Court was the passing of an order for making a road through the county. The old Sandusky military road is still known as the route over which supplies were conveyed to our army at Fort Meigs during the war of 1812. The history of this road would make almost a volume of itself. Sometime between 1825 and 1830, the Sandusky and Columbus turnpike road was chartered, which runs over the old route of this military road and which, with some changes and improvements, is still one of the first-class and popular roads of the comity. Its early history. however, was "stormy and tempestuous,'' to say the least. The ideas of internal improvement then were rather vague. The passing of the act chartering the Sandusky and Columbus turnpike road was considered great importance, and when work :actually commenced, the event was celebrated at Sandusky with pomp and ceremony. The United States Government made a large grant of land to the company, and it was supposed that a magnificent road would be the result. But for a number of years after its completion. it is described as by far the worst road in the county. Although graded and leveled down, yet it was but it "mud road" and, in the winter season. became almost impassable. Notwithstanding its condition. toll-Gates were kept up and toll exacted of all who traveled over it. This frequently brought on a rebellion. and mobs gathered now and then and demolished the gates. In these mobs and riots several men were shot, though none, we believe, were killed. Finally, the obnoxious act was repealed, but here the Supreme Court stepped in and decided that the act could not be repealed. But after years of wrangling and fussing, a new company was organized and the road improved, and eventually graveled. Later, it became a free road. The excellent system of roads is unsurpassed in any county; perhaps, in Central Ohio. At present as reported by the Secretary of State, the roads are as follows: One incorporated turnpike, twelve miles of which is in Delaware County; and ten free turnpikes, with sixty miles of road, making it total of seventy-two miles of turnpike road in the county. Of the railroads, we shall speak in another chapter. The following are the towns and villages laid out within the county since its settlement by white people, together with th names of original proprietors and the date of their survey. Berkshire Village was the first laid out its the county. It was laid out in the fall of 18o4, by Moses Byxbe, who owned a large body of land in what are now Berkshire, Berlin, and Delaware Townships. Norton was perhaps the next on record and was laid out by James Kilbourne and others, but we have been unable to get the exact date of its survey, and refer the reader to the township history. Delaware, the capital of the county, was also laid out by Moses Byxbe, who, with Judge Henry Baldwin, of Pittsburg, was the proprietor. The original town was laid out on the east bank of the Oletnangy, but subseqently abandoned and a new town laid out on the west side. The plat was recorded March 10, 1808. in the Recorder's office of Franklin County. The villages since laid out are as follows NAME. WHEN LAID OUT. ORIGINAL PROPRIETOR. Galena* (Zoar)..........................April 20, 1816....................William Carpenter. Sunbury ....................................November 9, 1816 ............William and Laurence Myers. Delhi..........................................August 7, 1833 .................Edward Evans. Bellepoint .................................September 16, 1830...........James Kooken. East Liberty...............................March 16, 1836..................D.William Page and E. Lindenberger. Olive Greene.............................May 10, 1836 ....................C. Lindenberger and Festus Sprague. Rome.........................................September 2, 1836 ............D. Price and Amos Sarles. Eden..........................................September 27, 1836 .......... D. G. Thurston and Isaac Leonard. Williamsville ...........................December 8, 1836 ..............Anson Williams. Freedom...................................April 23, 1841 .....................Jesse Locke and J. G. Jones. Centerville ..............................March 2, 1848......................Edward Hartwin and B. Roberts. * Galena was originally called Zoar. See history of Berkshire Township. HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 203 NAME. WHEN LAID OUT. ORIGINAL PROPRIETOR. Cheshire.................................March 20, 1849................F. .J. Adams. Ashley (Oxford) ....................May 15, 1849...................L. Walker and J. C. Avery. Harlem...................................July 23, 1849....................A. Washburn and James Budd. Stratford................................May 11, 1800....................Hon. Hosea Williams and H. G. Andrews. Edinburg............................... Leonardsburg .......................March 13, 1852.................S. G. Caulkins. Ostrander..............................May 20, 1862.....................James Liggett. Orange Station.....................July 29, 1852......................George and H. J. Jarvis. Lewis Center.......................July 30, 1852......................William S. Lewis. Yanktown............................April 3, 1858 .....................John B. Black. Powell.................................February 1, 1876 ...............A. G. Hall. Hyattsville .........................February 6, 1876 ............... H. A. Hyatt. Radnor ..............................March 9, 1876......................Thomas Edwards. The following post offices, according to a late official directory, are now in existence in the county, and are given without reference to date of establishment Alum Creek, Ashley, Bellepoint. Berkshire, Center Village, Condit, Constantia, Delaware (C. H.), Galena; Harlem, Hyattsville, Kilbourn, Kingston Center, Leonardsburg, Lewis Center, Norton. Orange Station, Ostrander, Pickerell's Mills, Powell, Radnor, Sunbury, Y Yanktown, Vane's Valley, and White Sulphur. The manufactures of Delaware County are a subject of considerable importance, and will be fully noticed in an appropriate department. The manufacturing g interests consist of foundries, factories, machine-shops, mills, etc., and comprise one of the great sources of the wealth and prosperity of the county. Taking up the subject at its beginning it will include the tanneries and carding machines, pioneer institutions that have long ago become obsolete, but in their day were of as much importance to the people as any of the modern manufacturing establishments are to the present generation. About the year 1870, an effort was made to organize a pioneer association in the county; but as a society, it has never ainounted to much. One or two meetings were held. officers, elected, and a Fourth of July dinner constituted the bulk of its proceedings We have been unable to get a glimpse at the books of the association, if indeed it has any, and hence, extract the most of our information froin the newspaper files, which, in general matters of an historical nature; are usually correct. From the Delaware Herald of June 23, 1870, we gather the proceedings of a meeting of citizens of Delaware; which are as follows: "At a meeting hold at * Ashley was surveyed under the name of Oxford, which was subsequently changed to present name. Council Rooms Monday evening, June 30, a committee of fifteen, heretofore appointed for the purpose of making arrangements for a pioneer picnic, the same was duly organized by electing Rev. J. D. Van Deman, Chairman, and Eugene Powell, Secretary. It was resolved that all persons who were born or who carne into Delaware County prior to 1821, are in the opinion of this meeting, entitled to the honorary designation of being pioneers, and the same are entitled to participate in the meeting as such. to be held at Delaware, Ohio, 4th of .July next." This meeting made all the preliminary arrangements for a gathering of the pioneers on the great anniversary, by appointing committees, arranging, a programme, etc. S. K. Donavin, A. E. Lee and Dr. H. Bessie, were appointed a Committee on Finance: E. C. Vining, R. R. Henderson and J. Humphreys, a Committee on Invitation: J. M. Crawford, J. W. Lindsey, H. J. McCullough. Eugene Powell and B. Banker, a committee to act in connection with the ladies committee, for preparing dinner: R. R. Henderson. J. W. Lindsey and C. F. Bradley, a committee to arrange time and place. Rev. J. D. Van Deman, Eugene Powell and Dr. T. B. Williams, a committee to see that the programme of the day was carried out. It was resolved that Hon. T. W. Powell be invited to deliver an address of welcome to the pioneers. Rev. J. D. VanDeman to read the Declaration of Independence. and Rev. Mr. Childlaw to deliver an oration on the occasion. It was also resolved that the pioneers. and the citizens of Delaware generally, be requested to participate in the celebration of the day, and that the proceedings of the meeting be published in the city papers. The meeting of the pioneers on the 4th and the appropriate celebration of the nation's birthday, is also chronicled in the Delaware papers. The 204 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. Herald of July 7 says that "great credit is due to S. K. Donavin, Maj. D. W. Rhodes and Dr. Bessie for their kind attention in distributing the invitations to the pioneers." The assembly was called to order by Rev. J. D. Van Deman. Hon. O. D. Hough was chosen permanent President of the Pioneer Association of Delaware County. A committee to draft a constitution and by-laws was appointed, consisting of Zachariah Stevens, Lucius C. Strong, B. C. Waters, W. G. Norris and Col. Henry Lamb. A resolution was adopted requiring the Secretary to procure suitable blanks for the collection of the pioneer history of Delaware County. The following persons were appointed a committee to collect the pioneer items in their respective townships: Berkshire Township, O. D. Hough; Berlin, Elias Adams; Brown, William Williams; Concord, William Benton: Delaware, E. C. Vining; Genoa, George Williams; Harlem, Daniel Rarick ; Kingston, O. Stark ; Liberty, Thomas C. Gillis; Marlborough. Hugh Cole ; Oxford, Jonathan Corwin; Orange, Charles Patrick; Radnor, David Pendry; Scioto, Horatio Smith; Thompson, John W. Cone ; Trenton, William Perfect, and Troy, Joseph C. Cole. The organization was more completely perfected by the election of a Secretary and Vice President, and of B. Powers, Treasurer. Finally it was resolved to hold the next meeting on the last day of the county fair, in 1871; a rather long recess for newly formed pioneer historical society. It is not strange that it became lukewarm before the time of meeting arrived. Of this distantly appointed meeting, the Gazette of October 6, 1871, makes this single allusion: " The pioneers were out in full force." We believe the society has never since held a meeting. The foregoing is about the sun and substance of its birth, life and death, and if it contained any historical facts in its archives. they are doubtless buried in oblivion through the society's premature death. It is to be regretted that the association has not been kept up. In many other counties, where our duty as historian has called us, we have found pioneer associations and of settlers societies of vast benefit in collecting and preserving the history of their respective counties. The address referral to as being requested of Judge Powell was delivered to the pioneers at their meeting on the 4th of July, 1870, and was an able and entertaining, paper. It appears in the Gazette of July 8, 1870, and we make an extract or two from it as items of interest to the few remaining pioneers. Its great length alone prevents its insertion in these pages entire "Pioneers of our Country; Venerable Fathers and Mothers of our County: We heartily hail you to our social gathering. We most cordially invite you to partake and unite with us in the joyous festivity of the occasion, in which you are the principal object of our attraction and care. On this happy and joyful day-the ninety-fourth anniversary of our national independence-we invite you here, from motives of gratitude and a deep sense of obligation that, the people here assembled feel due to you, for the privations and endurance you have encountered ; and the perseverance and patience you have manifested in pioneering this county from a howling and savage wilderness, to that high degree of civilization and refinement, we everywhere witness about us. You have made the solitary places to become glad, and the wilderness to rejoice and blossom as the rose. We therefore say. Hail, venerable fathers and mothers! Pioneers of our county, welcome to our social festivities and unite with us in rejoicing and hallowing this day-the birthday of our national existence, which has secured to our people, and over our whole land, so much prosperity and Happiness, of which all of you have been living witnesses for the last fifty years, and some of you from the day of its birth. These ideas solemnly call upon us to review the past, and consider how many difficulties and perils we have passed through, and by the mercy of God and His kind providence are now left to enjoy and rejoice over this day. Some of you witnessed the establishment of our Union: and our National Constitution and Government ; then the turmoils and difficulties, national and political, that brought on the embargo of 1807 ; then the war with Great Britain in 1812; then the war with Mexico in 1846-47 ; and, lastly, the terrible war of our late rebellion, for four years, from 1861-65. During those times how many friends and associates-how many companions and compatriots have you survived, and are left by the blessings, of heaven to enjoy with us the fruition of this day. But it is the recollections of your pioneer experience that is the most vivid and enduring upon your memories; the memory of those persons who were your companions and neighbor in your pioneer life in the early settlement of this county, who have departed this world, after having shared with you its perils and conflicts, while you are left here to enjoy its blessings. It is a solemn thought to recall the remembrance of our HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. - 205 departed friends ; and to be reminded how many we have thus survived and to be admonished also that we, too, are mortal. But the kind Providence has so arranged it, that as old age steals on, we are better prepared calmly to meet that change and with Christian resignation say : 'I would not live forever.' "Now, without troubling ourselves about precise dates, permit me to recur to your early pioneer days-those days of your conflicts, perils and triumphs, in which many an incident, I know, occurred, highly interesting and instructive to this rising generation, that is about to succeed you and to take your places, who know nothing of these conflicts, perils and triumphs you have passed through-the battles of life you have encountered in order to transfer to their hands this country that you found as a savage wilderness, now filled with all that administers to the demands of civilized life and refinement, and satisfy our wants physical, moral and religious. The contrasts between then and now are almost beyond the power of those who have not witnessed them, to comprehend ; yet in a great measure, it is your work ; you laid the foundation upon which this superstructure has been built. To you belongs the great triumph that art, by the means of industry and perseverance, has accomplished over nature. I know that your task is often a thankless job, that often the succeeding generation receive the fruits of the toil and industry of those who precede them, with indifference and sometimes with ingratitude. The Great Ruler of the universe, however, has so ordained it, that the honest and faithful laborer shall not go unrequited of the fruits of his toil ; for there is the consciousness of having done his duty in his day and generation ; that, he has fought the good fight; that he leaves this world improved and beautified for those who come after him. These will remain a source of moral triumph and consolation, of which even the ingratitude of this world cannot rob him ; and I doubt not will be a passport to the next. There are those who go through this world without doing any good to themselves or others, perfect parasites upon the world, without conferring upon it any benefit in return for what they have received from it. Their history is, that they were born, lived and flourished, and then rotted. To me, the thought would be a source of pain and agony, that I had never planted a tree, nor dug a well, nor done anything thing to improve and make the world better. "The greatest progress made in the early settlement of Delaware County was that in the east, making Berkshire its center. home of the leading men of the eastern settlement had passed off before I came to the county, forty years ago this fall ; but from all information of them, they were men well worthy of those who followed them. Soon after I came here, I became acquainted with most of the people of that part of the county; and I must say for them, that probably no new settlement could count in their ranks so large a proportion of men so distinguished for high order of intellect and general information, for business capacity and enterprise. The great body of these people were from New England and New York; a good many from the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania, who were the same race of people; and quite a number were immigrants from New Jersey. With these were mixed a few people from other portions of the country, with but few foreigners. Among the first settlers was a considerable colony from Berkshire County, Mass., who gave the name of Berkshire to the township, which for some time included the eastern portion of the county. "And now, let me say to the rising generation to the young men who are about to take the places of these men who have departed from us, that whose young men thus coming up, must rise early, labor hard and diligently, and with perseverance, in order to make good the places of these old pioneers." After following the county through the long period of its growth and prosperity, Judge Powell closes his address as follows: "That which has changed and improved those times for Delaware, may be stated, first, the general improvement, of the county dependent on its own resources ; the neat came, to our greatest relief, the railroad ; then next these colleges-these institutions of learning; then, lastly, not least, our manufacturing establishments. Take away from Delaware any of these sources of our prosperity, and Delaware would immediately cease to bewbat she is. If it be asked, if such were the situation of things in olden times, how did the old pioneer live? We answer, he lived well ; had plenty to eat and to drink, and of the best of its kind; and the women, by their economy, industry and perseverance in spinning and weaving, produced by domestic manufacture whatever we wore, and that with which we were clothed; and we thus lived independent and happy. 206 - HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY. "Then a question recurs to us-Are the presen generation, with all their improvements and advantages, a better people ? That is a question of a very doubtful solution. They now have more advantages and privileges, greater ease in procuring the wants and luxuries of life; but whether they make better use of what is given to them; whether in coming to accountability of the use they make of what is given to them, they will square up the account as well as the old pioneer does, is very questionable ; but I have a strong conviction that when that great trial and reckoning comes up, when our accounts will all have to be balanced, debit and credit, before Heaven - I must say that I would sooner risk the chances of the old pioneers." (RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) |