ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY, OHIO. IN THE BEGINNING. OHIO. Ohio. was the first born state of the Northwest Territory north of the Ohio river. Its territorial era was from. 1788 to 1803, under the ordinance of 1787. The first territorial legislature met at Chillicothe November 24, 1799, and adjourned January 29, 1801. The second territorial legislature met November 23, 1801, and adjourned January 23, 1802. According to William A. Taylor's grand compilation of facts, found in his able work, "Ohio States, men. and Annals of Progress," a political revolution ensued at the close of the year 1802. The territorial government Was over-thrown, and the state. government estab-lished. Thirty-six able men were chosen to formulate a state constitution, and take the necessary steps for admission to the Union of States. They. met at Chillicothe November 1, 1862.. Among the number were two who were. at that date credited to. Ham-ilton county, but were at the time residing in the bounds of what is now Greene county, Greene as yet not organized. They were John Wilson, living three miles south of the present site of Bellbrook, near "Clio," arid Col. John Paul, residing at what is now known as Trebeins Station, and afterwards known as the founder of Xenia, Ohio, and also of Madison, Indiana. Under this con-stitution the state emerged from its territorial stage finally, by the passage of the act February 19, 1803, by congress, empowering the. state to execute laws., by which she was admitted and fully recognized a one of the states of the Union and thus becoming the seventeenth star as represented on the flag. In tracing the original organization of our County of. Greene; and the locating of the temporary "Seat of Justice." for the same, we find that we are brought into, near relationship with five counties of the state. Hamilton county was organized January 2, 1790, by proclamation of Governor St. Clair, and Ross was established eight years later, August 20, 1798. Without going into details. as to the boundaries of the two counties from which, by an act of the legis-lature, the counties of Warren, Butler, Montgomery and Greene were taken, we 18 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. would refer the reader to the authority, as to who it was who gave to our county, its name, Greene, and to whom we are responsible for our first courts being held in the 'township of Beavercreek, at the house of Owen Davis, or was sometimes called the house of Peter Borders. The township was named after Beaver creek, a branch that emptied into the Little Miami river. We find in volume one, page 303, of the Laws of Ohio, under date of March 24, 1803, an act for the division of Hamilton and Ross counties. Section i of said act applies to the formation of Warren county; .section 2 of said act applies to the formation of Butler county; section 3 of said act applies to the formation of Montgomery county; section 4 of said act applies to the formation of Greene .county ; section 5 of said act applies to, and reserves the right of Hamilton and Ross counties to make distress for all dues, and officers' fees unpaid by the inhabitants within the bounds of said new counties at the time of such division, etc. Section 6 provides that until a permanent seat of justice shall be affixed in the several new counties by commissioners appointed for that purpose, the following places shall be temporary seats of justice, and courts shall be held thereat. In the county. of Warren, at the house of Ephraim Hathaway on Turtle creek. In the county of Butler, at the house of John Torrence, in the town of Hamilton. In the county of Montgomery, at the house of George New-come, in the town of Dayton. And for the county of Greene, at the house of 'Owen Davis, on Beaver creek: The fathers of that day, who were members. of the general assembly of Ohio, were patriotic men as evinced by the names which they gave the new made counties just formed. The first county, Warren, named for General Joseph Warren, who fell at the battle of Bunker Hill. The second county formed, Butler, was named for a distinguished officer of the Revolution, General Richard Butler, -who fell in St. Clair's defeat. The third county organized, 'Montgomery, was named after' General Richard Montgomery,. a soldier of the Revolution, killed in the assault upon Quebec. The. fourth and .last organized, Greene county, named for General Nathaniel Greene, another distinguished officer of said war. Section 7 of this act also shows that our legislative fathers did not want anything like injustice to result from any action of theirs, and therefore enacted further that all the inhabitants of the counties of Montgomery and Greene, who lived north of the eighth range shall be exempt from any tax for the purpose of erecting court houses and gaols (jails) in the aforesaid counties of Montgomery and Greene. Section 8 of this act provides that this act shall commence and be in full force from and after the first day of May next, making as it were May 1, 1803, the birth-clay of Greene, Warren, Butler and Montgomery counties. Thus it is shown by this act that in the formation of Greene and Montgomery coun- ties to 'them was given a large exent of territory, extending from their present south, ern boundary to the north line of the state, and from the west line of the state to the east line of Greene county. As it is a matter of historical interest in view of the fact that volume one of the Laws of Ohio enacted in the town, of Chillicothe, at. a meeting of the first general as- ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 19 sembly of Ohio, :is very rare, and hence more valuable, from it will give entire the _original boundary of Montgomery and Greene counties as found in that number. Section 3 of an act dividing Hamilton and Ross counties is as follows: That all that part of Hamilton county included within the following boundary, viz : Beginning on the state line at the northwest corner of the county of Butler, thence east with the lines of Butler and Warren to the east line of section number sixteen, in the third township, and fifth range; thence north eighteen miles, thence east two miles, thence north to the state line, thence with the same to the west boundary of the state; thence south with said boundary to the beginning, shall compose a third new county called and known by the name of Montgomery. Section 4 of said act enacts that all that part of the county of Hamilton and Ross included in the following bounds, viz Be• ginning at the southeast corner of Montgomery county, running thence east to the Ross county line, and the same course continued eight miles over the said county of Ross ; thence north to the state line, thence westwardly with the same to the east line of Montgomery county, thence bounded by said line of Montgomery to the beginning, shall compose a fourth new county called and known by the name of Greene. From this it can be seen that part of the land then called Montgomery and Greene counties, was held but temporary, and the time would come when other counties would be formed from them. Such was the case with Greene, when February 20, 1805, Champaign county was organized, thus curtailing Greene of her large northern boundary. The founders of our county Greene, as will appear, were men who were well versed in the laws and acts of the general assembly of the state. At the .same session of the general assembly, March 28, 1803, was enacted a law for establishing seats of justice for new made counties, as follows ; Section I. Be it enacted by' the general assembly of the state of Ohio, that for each new county established during the present or any future session of the' legislature three commissioners shall be appointed whose duty it shall be to examine and determine what part of said county so established is the most eligible for holding the several courts within the said county, and it Shall be the duty of the secretary of state immediately to notify the persons of their several appointments. Section 2. And 'be it further enacted that no person residing within the County so established, or holding any real property within the same, and. who has not arrived at the age of twenty-five years, and been a resident of the state one year, shall be eligible as a commissioner. Many reasons have been given why the first site chosen as the temporary seat of justice, five and one half miles west of the present city of Xenia, on what is now known as the Harbine farm, was not continued as the permanent county seat -of Greene county. The best reason that we find, and we think the correct one, is to be found in secton 3 of this act, defining the duty of said section stating that they shall proceed to examine and select the .most proper place as the sea: of justice as near the center of the county as possible, paying regard to the situation, extent of population, and quality of the land, together with the general convenience and interests of the inhabitants. Section 4 enacts that the commissioners 20 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. after having agreed upon the place for the seat of justice, shall make report thereof to. the next court of common pleas to be held in said county, if it appears no town has been previously laid off at the place agTeed on by the commissioners, the court shall appoint a director, who, after giving sufficient bond for his faithful performance, shall be fully authorized to purchase the land of the proprietor or proprietors for the use and behoof of the county, and proceed to lay off said land into lots, streets and alleys under such regulations as the court may prescribe (see Vol. 1, page 109, Laws of Ohio, March 28, 1803). We are filled with admiration at the promptness to act, of our pioneer fathers,— "in the beginning"—as we have seen the formation of the four new counties was accomplished by an act of the legislature, March 28, 1803, by the passage of an act for that purpose. Said act to commence and be in force May 1st, i803. Ten days afterward, May 10, 1803, in obedience to an act of the general assembly, passed April 16, 1803, wherein was made the duty of the associate judges of the court of common pleas, in each and every county within the state then organized, to meet on the loth day of May, 1803, following at the places that had been designated where courts were to be held, and proceed to lay out these counties respectively into. a convenient number of townships, and also to determine for each township a proper number of justices of the peace, who were to. be elected on the 21st of June following. This first meeting of the associate judges was called a court, 'but it was not for the trial of cases, but for the transacting of business pertaining to the organization of the county under the laws which have been cited. William Maxwell, Benjamin Whiteman and James Barrett were the first associate judges, and. as Mr. Maxwell had been a member of the first general assembly, and had helped to formulate and pass the laws which have been mentioned, and there can be no doubt but it was he who had selected his two associates, Whiteman and Barrett, and had himself taken the oath of office. of associate judge, before leaving Chillicothe to attend this court, and the record says "he administered the oath to Benjamin -White-man and James Barrett." TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION OF GREENE COUNTY. May 10, 1803. Court being duly organized, Col. John Paul was appointed clerk pro tem. to said court, and took the oath of office. The court then proceeded to lay- off the county into townships, as follows : there being no counties north of Greene, the large strip of land extending from the present southern boundary of the county, to the north boundary line of the state, by the width of the county, was divided into four townships, namely : Sugarcreek, Ceasars-creek, Mad-River, and Beavercreek. SUGARCREEK TOWNSHIP. The. west line of Sugarcreek was the same as now, seven miles long, the north-western corner of the township being at the northwestern corner of the tenth section in the western line of the county ; from this point the line extended south, along the western line of the county; seven miles, to the southwest corner of the same; thence, east, crossing the Little Miami River, and the same course continued, four miles east ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 21 of the river very nearly to the southeast corner of what is now Spring Valley township; thence north ten miles, to a point due east from the point of beginning. This point, the northeastern corner of Sugarcreek township, was about two miles. south, by a little west from the present city of Xenia. The township included what is now Sugarcreek, nearly all of Spring-Valley, and the southwest part of what is now Xenia township. In compiling and separating the old papers of the county, the four books, in which were the names of the first to settle in. the four original townships were found, signed, by the enumerator of each of the four townships. James Collier took the names of those living at the time in Sugarcreek township, who were free white male inhabitants, over the age of twenty-one. He commenced the work August 3, 1803, and completed it August 10, 1803, reporting a total 71. We will copy from his little book the names of those of the aforesaid date who were living in Sugarcreek township: Seth Anderson, Samuel Anderson, Alexander Armstrong, Robert Buckles,. William Buckles, James Buckles, Ephram Bowen, James Barrett, Sr., James Barrett, Jr., Samuel Brewster, Alexander Barnes, James Barnes, James Bruce, James Cunningham, James Clancey, James Collier, David Curry, Rev. Joshua Carman, Joseph Campbell, John Ennis, Thompson Ennis, Samuel Ennis, Jeremiah Ennis, Isaac Gerard, John Gowdy, Thomas Hale, John Hale, Joseph Hale, Jacob Horner, Benjamin Horner, John Heaton, Jacob Hosier, John Irwin, Joseph James, John Knight, Capt. Nathan Lamme, Samuel Martindale, Ezekiel Martin, Samuel Martin, Isaac Martin, William Miller, Robert Marshall; John Marshall, John McKnight, John McLean, Willis Northcutt, Joseph Robinson, Joseph Robinson, Jr., Edward Robinson, William Snodgrass, Sr., William Snodgrass, Jr., James Snodgrass, Sr., James Snodgrass, Jr., Robert Snod-grass, James Snowden, Jacob Snowden, Cyrus Sackett, Daniel Thomas, Abraham Thomas, 'William Tanner, James Tanner, Abraham VanEaton, John Vance, Sr., John Vance, Jr., Joseph C. Vance, Joseph Vance, John Wilson, Sr., John 'Wilson, Jr., Daniel Wilson, George Wilson and Andrew Gowdy CEASARSCREEK TOWNSHIP. Ceasarscreek township began at the northeast corner of Sugarcreek, running thence north to the Little Miami. It ran about half a mile west of the present city of Xenia, and intersected the, Little Miami river west of Oldtown, at the mouth of Massies creek ; thence it extended east to the east line of the county. On the east and south it was bounded by the county lines. This township was about four times as large as Sugarcreek, extending north from the southern boundary about fifteen miles, and included all. of the southeastern part of the county. The population of Ceasarscreek township at the time of its organization, May 10, 1803, of the free white males, over the age of twenty-one, as taken by Joseph Price, first assessor of said township, was fifty-eight, old enough to vote, and following are the names : James Bonner, Isaac Bonner, Jacob Bone, Samuel Bone, John Bellington. Josiah Elam, John A. Hoop, Stephenes Hoggert, Josiah Hunt, James Lowry, Joseph Lambert, Samuel Lee, John 22 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. Lucas, Caleb Lucas, John Montgomery, Samuel Martin, John Martin, Stephen Mendenhall, Martin Mendenhall, John. Mendenhall, William Mullen, Samuel Miller, Edward Mercer, Isaiah McDonald, Dempsey McDonald, Levet McDonald, William McFarland, Joseph Price, David Price, Sr., David Price, Jr., Frederick Price, Peter Price, David Painter, Nathan Porter, James Porter, Henry Prill, Jr., Henry Prill, Sr., James Corry, John Campbell, William Conkleton, Joel Conkleton, George Isham, Lenard Stump, Joseph Sterrett, John Sterritt, Isiah Sutton; Joniah Sutton, Amaziah Sutton, Samuel Sutton, Lewis Sutton, William Garner Sutton, William I. Stewart,. Noah Strong, Reuben Strong, William Stanfield, Joseph Wilson, Sr., Joseph Wil son, Jr., Remembrance Williams. MAD RIVER TOWNSHIP. Mad River township was No. 3, and its population at the time of organization Was 156 of free white males over the age of̊ twenty-one, taken by John Daugherety, of Springfield, first enumerator. Springfield had been designated by the associate judges as the place in the aforesaid township for holding elections, and at the house of Griffith Foose. This was the third township organized; its southern boundary line was the south boundary of the l0th range of the township in what is now Clark county. This line extended east and west, and is two miles north, passing through the city of Springfield, Clark county, along which the national road passes. It was the largest township in the county ; its width from east to west was the same as that of the county, and it extended to the northern limits of the state. At that time, May T0, 1803, the following named were residents : Adam Allen, Ezekel Arrowsmith, William Aims, Edward Armstrong, Isaac Anderson, Seth Arnett, Frederick Ambrow, George Bennett, Henry Bailey, Robert .Boyce, Paul Butler, George Brown, Joseph Barlow, Thomas Burt, James Bishop, John Clark, John Crosley, Thomas Cowhick, Elijah Chapman, William Chapman, Cornelius Carter, Elnathan Correy, John Dawson, Thomas Davis, Domnic Donley, John Daugherety, Isaac Dickson, Jonathan Donnel, Isaac Dillon, John Denney, Archabald Dowden, James Demint, John Doyle, Christopher Endrick, Nathan Fitch, Griffith Foose, John Forgey, Daniel Gobel, Aaron Gooden, Job Gard, Elisha Habour, Enos Holland, John Humphrey, Thomas Hardin, William Holmes, Jacobs Huffman, Henry Huffman, Joseph Hill, Abraham Inlow, John Jackson, Silas Johnston, Jonathan Johnston, Simon Kenton, Thomas Kenton, William .Kenton, Solomon Kelley, Abner Kelley, John Kelley, Joseph Kiser, Thomas Loury, Robert Loury, Archabald Loury, William Layton, Joseph Layton, Robert Layton, Joseph LeFaw, George Manford, Burrell Mills, Thomas Moore, William Moore, Samuel Mitchel, Alexander Miller, John Miller, Edward Mercer, John Milholland, James McPherson, Adam McPherson, John McPherson, James McDonald, William McDonald, Archabald McKinley, James McGill, Christopher McGill, Robert Mc-Mains, Joseph McKenney, Robert McKenney, Daniel McKennon, William McCullough, Samuel McCullough, William Owens, Thomas M. Pendleton, William Palmer, Eleazier Piper, Daniel Phillips, William Paul, James Paul, John Paul, Thomas ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY - 23 Pierce, William Powell, David Prunty, William Rhoades, Thomas Redman, Charles Rector, Thomas Robertson, Jacob Robertson, Daniel Robertson, Hugh Reid, Joseph Reid, John Reid, Jacobs Reid, Thomas Reid, John Risdon, Benjamin Ross, William Ross, Sr., William Ross, Jr., Felix Rock, Patrick Rock, Robert Renick, Daniel Rector, James Rhoetell, Thomas Rosers, Jacobs Sewer, Joseph Simons, William Smith, James Smith, Thomas Scott, James. Scott, Charles Stoss, Henry Sturm, Lewis Summers, Joseph Sutton, John Taylor, Sampson Tolbert, John Tillis, Sr., John Tillis, Jr., Benjamin Turman, Isaac Turman, John Tucker, Rev. William Wood, James 'Wood, Christopher Wood, Joseph Whitlesey, Adam Wise, James Ward, William Ward, Hugh Wallace, William Wallace, Bazel West, Christopher Weaver, William' Weaver, John Welch, John Wirt. BEAVERCREEK TOWNSHIP. Beavercreek was the next largest township, and, the population of same as ascertained by Peter Popenoe, assessor, of said township, May i0, 1803, of all the free white male inhabitants over the age of twenty-one years, was one hundred and fifty-four. It comprised the remaining part of the county not included in the three townships named ; that is, all north of Sugarcreek and Ceasarscreek, and all south of Mad River township. The village of Springfield was in Beavercreek township, and the old forest trees that were then growing on the site of Xenia were in Ceasarscreek township. The voting precincts in those townships were as follows : In Sugarcreek, the house of James Glance), ; in Ceasarscreek, the house of William I. Stewart ; in Mad River, the house of Griffith Foose, and in Beavercreek,. the house of Peter Borders. The following named were then residents of Beavercreek township: George Alexander, George Allen, 'William Allen, John Aken, William Aken, Gabrel Bilderhack, Peter Borders,. William Bull, Sr., James Bull, Richard Bull, John Bull, John Bosher, Gardner Bobo, James Benifield, Jesse Bracken, John Buchanan, James Buchanan, Robert Bogges, Elias Bromogen, Jacob Coy, Adam ,Coy, Levi Conley, Abel Crawford, James Carroll, John Cottrell, Isaac Crusan, Benjamin Devere, John Driscal, William Downey, Qwen Davis, Lewis Davis, Robert Frakes, Jona- than Flood, Edward Flood, John Forgy, John Freeman, William Freeman, Samuel Freeman, Elijah Ferguson, William Fergu son, Zachariah Ferguson, Benjamin Ginn, James Galloway, Sr., George Galloway, James M. Galloway, .Thomas Godfrey, John Harner, Jacob Harner, George Harner, Michael Hendricks, Andrew Hawker, Abraham Hanley, Alexander Haughey, David Huston, William King, Adam Koogler, Jacobs Koogler, Richard Kiser, Peter Kiser, John Kiser, Mathew Kavender, George Kirkendale, Jacob Kent, Samuel D. Kirkpatrick, George Kirkpatrick, William Law, Justice Luce, Arthur Layton, Arnest Longstreth, Cornelius Morgan, John Morgan, Sr., John Morgan, Jr., Isaac Morgan, Evan Morgan, Christy Miller, John Miller, James Miller, Frederick Morelander, William Maxwell, William Minnier, Abraham Minnier, Edward Mercer, Jonathan Mercer, Harry Martin, William McCloud, Charles McGuire, William McClure, John McKaig, Daniel McMillan, Alexander McCullough, William McFarland, Alexander McCoy, 24 - ROBINSON'S HISTORY OF GREENE COUNTY. Alexander McCoy, Jr., James McCoy, Daniel McCoy, John Nelson, William Oneal, William Orr, John Paul, James Popenoe, Peter Popenoe, .Sr., Phillip Petro, Nicholas Petro, Paul Petro,. William Price, William Pasel, Nicholas Quinn, Sr., Nicholas Quinn, Jr., Mathew Quinn, James Riddle, John Ritenhouse, Garret Rittenhouse, William Robins, Isaac Rubert, Alexander Rough; John Rue, Abraham Rue, Andrew Reid, William Stockwell, Andrew Stewart, Jacob Shingledecker, William Mad River Stephenson, John ,Mad River Stephenson, James Stevenson, William Stevenson, John Stevenson, Peter Sewel, John Shigley, Frederick Shigley, Thomas Simpson, Michael Spencer, William Smith, Joseph Smith, Jacob Smith, John Smith, James Scott, Christopher Truby, Jacob Truby, John. Tingley, Silas Taylor, William Taylor; George Taylor, Thomas Townsley, John Townsley, James Tatman, Joseph Tatman, Charles Williams, Christian Willand, Benjamin Whiteman, Andrew Westfall, James Westfall, George Wolf, John Webb, Henry Whitinger, Henry Ward, Henry Young. The above mentioned townships, which, as we have seen, occupied much more territory than is now comprised by Greene county, were organized by the associate- judges of the court of common pleas, and was the last act of the- aforesaid judges in organizing townships for the county. The total number of voters in Greene county when first organized : Sugarcreek township, 71; Ceasarscreek township, 58; Mad River, 156; Beavercreek, 154 total vote of the county; 439. In the old records of the county; many of which had been hidden away for nearly a century, much of historic interest is to light, and from them we find that John Paul, the founder of Xenia, Ohio, was a resident of what is now (1900) known as Trebines Station, in fact, had settled there in the year 1800, and had been the first to harness the waters of the Little Miami at that point, having built a sawmill, run by water power, and that station was then known as "Pauls Mill." Tradition says while living at that place he had learned that the permanent, seat of justice was to be located at the forks of Shawnee creek. He therefore hied away to Cincinnati and purchased the land on which the now city of Xenia is built. Subsequent events would indicate that such was the case. August 2, 1803, was the day set for the first meeting of the court of common pleas for Greene county. On the second day of this term General Joseph C. Vance was appointed director, with power (according to the law that had been enacted for such purposes) to purchase the land for the use of said county, and proceed to lay off said land. into lots, streets and alleys under such regulations as the court may prescribe. See laws of Ohio, page 309, Vol. 1, Sec. 4, of said act. From this we would infer that previous to the meeting of this first court of common pleas the commissioners. had been appointed., and had located the permanent seat of justice, had settled all claims of competing towns, such as Ceasarsville, Pinkney and other places which tradition says wanted to be the county town of Greene , county, and had decided in favor of the forks of Shawnee creek, three miles from the mouth of where said creek emptied into, the Little Miami river.