GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 525 MT. ZOAR METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Many years ago the Methodists of Caesarscreek township erected a house of worship and held services under the congregational title of the Mt. Zoar church. Not only did the church building serve as a house of worship, but it was much used as a general social center and the old-time singing-schools which were made much of a feature in that neighborhood were conducted in the church. After a while the congregation ceased to exist as a separate organization and the church building gradually fell into disuse. OLIVE GROVE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The Olive Grove Methodist Episcopal church was another early organization in Caesarscreek township, which was long ago disbanded. The first house of worship erected by this society was a log building erected on the Powers farm, but which was afterward removed to the site of what has for many years been known as the Olive Grove cemetery. This was another case of the rural church losing out in favor of the town and village churches and the Olive Grove society long ago gave up its separate history and the old church house was in time torn down. METHODISM IN ROSS TOWNSHIP. About the year 1850 the Wesleyan Methodists of Ross township erected on the Daniel Little farm a church in which they held services until during the time of the Civil War, when the church ceased to exist as a separate organization. The building then passed into the hands of the Disciples, who held services in it until 1870, when they erected a building of their own in Grape Grove. The Protestant Methodists are said to have been the first of any religious denomination to hold formal services in Ross township, it being a matter of record that prior to 1820 they had been having preaching in various houses in the neighborhood, the principal place of gathering having been the one-room cabin of Berah Orcutt. One of the first ministers to preach there was Robert Dobbins. Z. Brown, an itinerant preacher, also occasionally stopped at Orcutt's and held meetings. About 1830 the congregation became organized under the name of the Bethel church, built a frame house of worship and continued to hold meetings for years, but the members finally became scattered and the old church was sold, the building later coming to be used as a barn. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT BELLBROOK. The first Methodist Episcopal church in Sugarcreek township was built on the southwest corner of Thomas White's farm, where the Bellbrook road joins the Dayton pike, about two miles west of the village of Bellbrook. Afterward this organization erected a log house of worship on the site of what 526 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO later came to be the establishment of the Protestant church, after the separation holding their services in the school house west of Dawson's, where the society continued to worship until 1844, in which year it erected a substantial meeting house in the village of Bellbrook. Among the more prominent of the early ministers of this church were the Reverends James B. Finley, Christy, Bigelow, Raper, Latta, Chase, Newson, Webster, Fields, Hypes, Black, Conroy, Robinson, Verity, Shultz and Porter. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT CLIFTON. Soon after the village of Clifton found a place on the map there was organized there a vigorous society of the Methodist Episcopal church and that organization has been maintained effectively ever since, the Methodists of Clifton having one of the most active of the lesser church organizations of the county. Not long after effecting an organization the Methodists at Clifton erected a comfortable little brick church, which was presently found to be too small for the purposes of the growing congregation and was sold to the township for school purposes. Upon the abandonment of this structure, Bates and Lewis presented to the congregation the lot upon which the present church stands and a new and adequate edifice was erected. The Clifton church has from the first enjoyed a prosperous state of development and the various departments of the church's activities have ever maintained active organizations. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH AT BOWERSVILLE. At a meeting held in Haughey's school house in Jefferson township in the year 1845 under the direction of the Rev. Ebenezer Webster there was organized the society now and long known as the Methodist Episcopal church of Bowersville. ohn S. Perkins was the first class leader and the society started out with an excellent organization, which has ever since been maintained. Originally the church was included in the New Burlington circuit, but presently was transferred to the Sabina circuit. In 1851, under the ministration of W. S. Smith and Joseph Blackburn, the church conducted a notable revival and in 1855 a neat one-story frame building was erected at Bowersville as a house of worship. The present pastor is Reverend Moore. METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH AT BELLBROOK. The history of this organization is contemporary with that of the denomination to which it belongs. In 1828 the agitation for lay-representation in the Methodist Episcopal church culminated in the expulsion from that body of a large number of ministers and laymen whose protest against the episcopacy had placed them outside the pale of the church, and these vigorous "protestants" formed a new church to which they gave the name GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 527 of the Methodist Protestant church, thus embracing in the name of the new organization their principal objection to the old church, that is, a protest against the episcopacy. This revolution found the Methodists of Sugarcreek township worshiping in the old log meeting-house on the Thomas White farm about two miles west of Bellbrook. The new church found adherents in the congregation and among these "protestants" was Stephen Bell, the owner of the land on which the church stood. He dispossessed the regular Methodists and the protestants, or "radicals," as they then were called by some, retained hold on the old church and grounds, for which they received a deed in 1832, the first trustees of the new organization being Henry Harman, James Snodgrass and Thomas Sparks. In 1842 the congregation, seeking a more central location, built a new church at Bellbrook and has since maintained an effective organization there. Among the early pastors of the Methodist Protestant church at Bellbrook were Joshua Devore, John M. Young, Reuben Rose, Henry Brown, T. B. Graham, J. B. Walker, J. J. White, W. R. Parsons, William Overholtz and W. W. Creamer. METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH AT ALPHA. The Methodist Protestant church at Alpha was erected in 1872 by the united efforts of the Methodist Protestant and German Reformed organizations, but the latter did not long hold services there. The original trustees were composed of members from each body, Daniel Overholser and David Gray acting for the Methodist Protestants. The latter organization continued to maintain its identity and flourished from the very start, for many years being the only church organization in the village. It has a substantial brick house of worship and its various activities are maintained in excellent fashion. Among the early ministers who served this congregation were T. J. Evans, W. R. Parsons, Reuben Rose, William Overholser and W. M. Creamer. METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH AT BOWERSVILLE. The history of the Methodist Protestant church at Bowersville dates back to the year 1829, when, not long after the "protest" against the episcopacy of the Methodist church, a camp-meeting was held at Port William, in the neighboring county of Clinton, under the auspices of the "protestants." This meeting attracted much attention and aroused no end of interest among the people, particularly those of the Methodist faith, and not long after the meetings closed societies of the Methodist Protestants began to be formed in this and surrounding counties. A church was built by the converts in Jefferson township and the new society grew and flourished. This early house of worship stood alongside the Jamestown road 528 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO near the residence of John Ross, but as the social center gradually became more pronounced at Bowersville the church was moved to that village, where the church congregation has ever since maintained services, the church and its various activities being reported to be in a flourishing condition. METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH AT PAINTERSVILLE. The beginning of the present church of the Methodist Protestant communion at Paintersville, for many years one of the strongest church organizations in that part of Greene county, was effected after the "protest" against the bishops during the '30s and the organization has been a continuing force for good in that community ever since. Following the separation the Methodist Protestants in that part of the county erected a frame house of worship near the township center, east of the Mt. Zoar church to which they previously had been attached, and when the growth of the organization warranted a further stage of development moved to the village of Paintersville. METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH AT SPRING VALLEY. Not until 1849 did the protest against the episcopacy of the Methodist Episcopal church among the adherents of that faith in and about Spring Valley lead to a sufficient separation of the "protestants" to warrant the organization of the Protestant Methodists in the village. In that year, under the leadership of Michael Dougherty, M. A. Gest, Mrs. Johanna Morris and others, the Methodist Protestant church was organized at Spring Valley and has since maintained an organization there. BETHEL METHODIST PROTESTANT CHURCH. According to an older chronicle, the first religious denomination of any kind to hold services in Ross township were the Protestant Methodists, who had preaching at different houses in that neighborhood prior to 1820. These meetings were frequently held in the little log cabin of Berah Orcutt, which contained only one room, and here the settlers would gather on preaching days, bare-footed and in their shirt-sleeves. Robert Dobbins was one of the first ministers who preached here, and while he expounded the Scriptures, Mrs. Orcutt, in the same room, watched the boiling of the old iron kettle, which hung in the fireplace, and the baking of the corn-pone, with which the congregation were to be refreshed when the services were concluded. Rev. Z. Brown was also an itinerant preacher who frequently stopped at Orcutt's and held meetings. The congregation built a frame church about 1830, called the same Bethel church and meetings were held there for years threafter, but the members finally became scattered and the old church building was sold and later became used as a barn. GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 529 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF XENIA. From an older chronicle it is learned that the first Baptist church in Xenia was organized on November 2, 1844, by nine persons who had taken letters from the Baptist churches at Cedarville and on Caesars creek for that purpose, the meeting at which the organization was effected being moderated by the Rev. T. P. Childs, who with his wife, the Rev. William McDonald and wife, Thomas McDonald, John Birth and wife and Ebenezer Hatch and wife, formed the nucleus of the present congregation. John Birth was clerk of the meeting, which received the letters of dismission from another church presented by Mrs. Susanna Parcell and her daughters, Catherine and Martha. On the 30th of that same month the Rev. T. P. Childs was called as pastor of the church and in the following month formal services were begun in a building dedicated to that purpose. Upon its organization this church was attached to the Mad River association, but in 1846 became connected with the Caesarscreek association. In July of this latter year Mr. Childs resigned his pastorate and in the following December the Rev. S. Marshall became his successor. The latter served as pastor for something more than a year and was succeeded by the Rev. J. R. Downer, who entered upon his pastorate in June, 1848, continuing to serve the congregation until 1850, when he was succeeded by the Rev. G. D. Simmons, whose salary was fixed at four hundred dollars a year. Mr. Simmons found this salary inadequate to his needs and in May, 1851, resigned his pastorate, the church remaining without a pastor until in the following October, when the Rev. 0. B. Stone accepted a call. Two years later Mr. Stone also resigned and in December, 1853, the Reverend Parmalee took charge, remaining with the church until his resignation in November, 1855. He was succeeded by the Rev. J. W. Weatherby, who served from January 12, 1856, to March 13, 1859, to be succeeded by the Rev. A. Guy, who served from December I, 1859, until in June, 1865. In the following December the Rev. I. Childs entered upon the pastorate and continued thus to serve until March 1, 1867, to be succeeded in the following November by the Rev. A. B. White, who served as "supply" until March 25, 1868. In the following June the Rev. B. Bedell became pastor of the church and thus continued to serve for more than ten years, or until October 8, 1878. In the meantime the church building had undergone extensive improvements and the congregation in 1853 had been presented a good parsonage property, the gift of J. W. King and Thornton Lucas. It was in 1853 that the church witnessed the greatest revival it had ever known, thirtytsix havting been baptized, three admitted by "experience" and five, by letter. In 1877 the church roll showed a membership of one hundred and nine. Following the departure of the Rev. B. Bedell a call was extended to the Rev. (34) 530 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO C. W. Currier, who was installed as pastor on January 16, 1879, and who served until 1886. He was succeeded in the following order by the pastors who have served the congregation since that time : James Rea, 1886-89T J. S. Wrightnour, 1889-93 ; T. B. Collins, 1893-96; a G. Stevens, 1896-99; Albert Read, since 1899. Reverend Read has had the longest pastorate of any of the men who have served the congregation. The present membertship is one hundred and eighty-nine. Harlan Fudge is superintendent of the Sunday school, Hugh McFadden president of the Young People's Society, and Mrs. Emma Simons president of the Ladies Aid Society. MERCERS RUN BAPTIST CHURCH. Another of the real old Baptist churches in Greene county is that known as the Mercers Run Baptist church in Caesarscreek township. This society was organized in 1818 by Aaron Lambert, one Hanby and a few others, who built a log meeting-house along Caesars creek about four miles east of Spring Valley. That site was used as a meeting place until along in the '70s, when the church building was destroyed by fire. The congregation then moved to the point it has since occupied as a meeting place, erected a new church and has ever since maintained an organization there. In the meantime, in 1844, the Baptists in and about the village of Spring Valley organized a society and in 1848 erected in the village a frame meeting-house, in which they held services until 1860, when, by reason of deaths in the congregation and the removal of many of the members, the organization was abandoned. This latter organization was led by Judge Clark and family, Washington Alexander and family and Elias Adair and family and until the church was built in Spring Valley held services in a log school house two miles west of the village. The Mercers Run congregation has enjoyed the services of some ministers of strong personalities during the long course of its continuous organization and has been a strong factor in the moral and social development of that part of the county. MIDDLE RUN BAPTIST CHURCH. What is said to be the oldest church organization in Greene county is the Middle Run Baptist church in Sugarcreek township, the church being located in section 35, not far from the Warren county line. The first house of worship erected on that site was a little log house which was built in 1799 by those of the very earliest settlers of that neighborhood who held to the Baptist faith. In 1832 that primitive log church was supplanted by a brick church building, which served the purposes of the congregation until in 1852, when it was torn down and a more commodious and convenient building of frame was erected. It is said that the chief distinction of these early Middle Run Baptists differentiating them from other Baptists was their GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 531 belief in what is known as "predestination," hence the name by which they came to be called, Predestinarian Baptists. The first minister of the Middle Run church was the pioneer preacher, John Clark, who was followed by Lemuel Cotterill. Following Cotterill came the Rev. Hezekiah Stites, who continued to serve the congregation as pastor for the remarkable tenure of forty years and whose influence for good in that community was marked in many enduring ways. Later the Reverends Read and Littleton served as pastors. CAESARSCREEK BAPTIST CHURCH. One of the oldest church organizations in the county is that of the Caesarscreek Baptist church, located on the dividing line between Jefferson and Silvercreek townships. The exact date of the organization of this society is unknown, but it was undoubtedly considerably more than one hundred years ago, probably about the year 1803. The first Baptist church in that neighborhood was the little old log church in Jefferson township for many years known as the "Iron Jacket" meeting-house. This building was finally abandoned and a new church was erected on the township line at the site ever since occupied by the congregation. During the '20S the pioneer preacher, Cottrell, was in pastoral charge of the church and he was followed by Sutton and Tuttle, also well-remembered pioneer ministers of the Baptist church. Sutton has been referred to as "a great preacher and a successful revivalist, whose words, like bread cast upon the waters, were gathered after many days." An English preacher of the name of Jones has also been referred to as one of the successful pastors of the church during the pioneer period. Others of the pioneer line were Reeves, Hummer, Stephens and Smith. When the little old log meeting-house became inadequate for the needs of the congregation a small brick structure was erected and this latter served as a place of worship until in 1873, when the congregation erected a much larger and more comfortable church building, one of the finest rural churches in the county: Adjacent to the church is the neighborhood burying ground which was established in that community at a date so remote as to be beyond the recollection of the oldest present inhabitant. CAESARSCREEK BAPTIST CHURCH NO. 2. On account of a difference of opinion on religious matters which arose in the Caesarscreek Baptist church, above referred to, in 1837 there occurred a division in that congregation which resulted in the withdrawal of about twenty of the members of the same, who, under the leadership of the Rev. George Reeves, organized a new society, built a new church, not far from the old one, and there held services until 1859, when their present house of southern part of Silvercreek township. From the time of this division the worship was erected on what .was long known as the Hatch farm in the 532 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO Rev. George Reeves served as pastor of No. 2 church for a period of eighteen years. At the time the new church was built in 1859 there was a membership of thirty-three, but by natural decline this number gradually became reduced until in the early '80s there were but seventeen members, the congregation at that time being ministered to by the Rev. Elias Reeves, son of the founder of the church, who preached once a month. GERMAN BAPTIST (DUNKER) CHURCH AT ZIMMERMANVILLE. The German Baptists or Dunkers of Beavercreek township have had an organization since the year 1805, when they began to hold services in accordance with their faith in the houses of members of this faith who had settled in and about the settlement that later came to be known as Zimmermans, or Zimmermanville, there being early a considerable colony of Dunkers there who had come over from Pennsylvania. The first deacons of the congregation were Moses Shoup and John Stoneberger and the early ministers who served the congregation were Elders Miller, Sigler and Shoup. Until 1843 the Dunkers continued to hold their services in the houses of members and then they erected a single-story frame structure, about thirty-six by seventy in dimensions, at Zimmermans, where they ever since have maintained their organization, holding services every other Sunday. During the '80s the ministers of this congregation were B. F. Darst, Henry Duncan and David Bates. Aaron Coy is the present pastor. Since the old days the German Baptists or Dunkers have gradually abandoned some of the distinctive customs that marked them apart from other religious denominations, the younger generation giving much less attention to the distinctive dress of the sect than did their fathers, but the old ritual of the church is maintained and there has been no diminution of the devotion of the members to the old faith. MT. ZION REFORMED CHURCH. In connection with the dedication of the new church at Mt. Zion in July, 1912, the Rev. J. F. Tapy, pastor of the Beavercreek charge of the Reformed church, issued an admirable and illuminative pamphlet under the title of "A Record of the Past," which carries a complete and comprehensive history of the old-established Mt. Zion Reformed church and which is acknowledged as the basis of the present briefer narrative relating to that church. The Mt. Zion church, situated on the Indian Riffle road in Beavercreek township, eight miles west of Xenia, was organized in 1845, in which year the congregation erected a substantial meeting house of brick which served as a house of wortship for sixty-six years, or until torn away to make place for the new church which was dedicated on July 28, 1912. Though there is a bit of confusion regarding the actual date of a formal organization of a congregation of the Reformed church in Beavercreek town- GREENS COUNTY, OHIO - 533 ship, there is no question that the assemblage of persons of that faith in that township has rendered more than a century of continuous service thereabout. As early as the year 1800 Jacob Coy, a son of Jacob and Susanna Coy, who had come to this country from Germany and had located in Maryland, came to the Northwest Territory and settled on a farm in what later came to be organized as Beavercreek township, this county, his place being about two miles west of the present hamlet of Alpha. On that farm was erected what is believed to have been the first school house built in Beavercreek township. Jacob Coy had been reared in the faith of the German Reformed church and when other settlers holding that same faith began to find their way into that part of Greene county he became one of the leaders in the work of promoting a formal organization of a branch of the church here, the school house on his farm being used as a place of denominational worship as early as the year 1809. Just when the first formal church organization was effected is not definitely known. An earlier chronicle places the organization of the Reformed church as early as August, 1809, but Samuel Ankeny, one of the early settlers of that part of the county and for years an active member of the Reformed church, assigns the organization of Beaver Reformed congregation to the year 1817 or 1818. However, it is evident that the early settlers in coming into their new environment soon made for themselves a church home. Even though the first gatherings for public worship seem to have been attended by people of all creeds and were therefore undenominational, the denominational spirit was never lost and accordingly as early as 1809 settlers of the German Reformed faith gathered themselves together and held denominational services in the Coy school house. In 1817 or 1818 at a meeting held in Jacob Coy's barn under the direction of the Rev. Thomas Winters this band of worshipers was organized into the Beaver Reformed congregation. In 1820 or 1821 this congregation had assumed such numerical proportions that it was found inconvenient to continue holding meetings in barns and school houses and after considerable debate a site for a meeting house was selected on the northwest corner of the George Long farm, the place now occupied by the Beavercreek cemetery, and arrangements were made for the erection of a log meeting house to be used as a "union" church by both the Reformed and the Lutheran pioneers, articles of agreement being adopted by both congregations for the temporal interests of the church. In 1823 the Rev. Thomas Winters, who had "laid for the church these broad and deep foundations," was released and his son, David Winters, was called to the field. The latter was at that time still a theological student, but in 1824 he was ordained and was installed as the pastor of the Beaver Reformed congregation, a form of service he continued to render for twenty years, during which time the congregation increased in numbers from fifty to nearly two hundred and fifty, and during which time several other congregations of the Reformed 534 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO church were organized within the geographic bounds of the Beaver congregation, which is thus regarded as the mother church of the Reformed communion in Greene county. In 1833 a portion of the members of the Beaver congregation formed a separate church in Xenia and in 1837 others of the mother congregation found it convenient to organize the Union church in the vicinity of Byron. In 1840 another offshoot formed themselves into a separate congregation known as Aley's church and in 1845 developed the movement that led to the organization of the Mt. Zion church, about sixty of the members then connected with the Beaver congregation associating themselves together and erecting a church edifice at the point ever since known as Mt. Zion. The constitution of the Mt. Zion Reformed church was effected on August 28, 1845, the Rev. H. Willard, pastor of the Xenia charge, officiating; Jacob Coy and Jacob Rike being installed as elders and Solomon Glotfelter and Rignell B. Marley, deacons. Sometime prior to this date Michael Swigart, Henry Coy and Jacob Rike had been appointed trustees to superintend the erection of a house of worship .in the northwest quarter of section 35, Beavercreek township, and on October 5 of .that same year that house was completed and dedicated, articles of agreement being entered into at the same time whereby the house should be held and used as the joint property of the Evangelical Lutheran and Reformed congregations. The first minister of the Lutheran congregation was the Rev. Henry Heinicker, who was followed, in turn, by Roszen Miller, Solomon Ritz, John Geiger, John Ryder, Ott and J. F. Schaefer. The first minister of the Mt. Zion Reformed congregation was the Rev. David Winters, who for twenty years had been serving as the pastor of the Beaver charge and who for years had been riding over the fields and primitive roadways of Greene county carrying the gospel message to almost every corner of the county. A year prior to the organization of the Mt. Zion contgregation the Beaver congregation was united with the Xenia and Caesarstcreek congregations, forming a new charge, which called the Rev. Henry Willard as pastor, and Mr. Winters was thus released of his labors, but he still continued his charges at Dayton, David's (now of the Valley charge) and at Aley's, in addition to his labors at Mt. Zion. In 1850 further changes were made in the "circuit," Mr. Winters, however, continuing in charge at Mt. Zion, the congregation of which at that time pledged themselves for his support to the extent of one hundred and ninety dollars. In 1851 the Reformed church known as "Hawker's," on the Dayton and Xenia pike, was built, adding one more to the charges on Mr. Winters' circuit. Some time later Aley's ceased to be a "union" church and was left entirely to the United Brethren, who continue to occupy it. This church was built in 1838 on the farm of Jacob Aley, who donated the land for a meeting house, which was GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 535 built under the united efforts of the Reformed, the Lutheran and the United Brethren people. In the capacity of a "circuit' or traveling preacher David Winters served the above-named congregation until about 1885. A year or two prior to that date the Miami classis had proposed a reconstruction of charges, making the Xenia congregation a charge by itself and Mt. Zion, Beaver and Hawker's a separate charge, thus taking Beaver back into the group where she once stood. Beaver congregation objected to this and it was not until in November, 1885, that the reconstruction became effective under the decision of classis, Mt. Zion, Beaver and Hawker's thus becoming a sepatrate circuit under the name of the Alpha charge, which name shortly afterward was changed to the Beavercreek charge, which it still bears. During this reconstruction period Mt. Zion seems to have been without a regular pastor, but in February, 1886, the newly constructed charge extended a call to the Rev. J. B. Shoemaker, who declined the same, and in the May following the charge invited the Rev. J. H. Steele, then of the Mohican charge, to accept the pastorate of the Beavercreek charge. This call was accepted and in the following October Mr. Steele began his pastoral duties there. In the following March he carried on a series of evangelistic services which resulted in a gain of more than one hundred in the membership of the church. Mr. Steele remained pastor of the charge until December 25, 1892, when he accepted a call to go to the Grace Reformed church at Tiffin. During his pastorate numerous important improvements were made in Mt. Zion church and the Lutherans discontinued their services there. Mr. Steele's successor at Mt. Zion was the Rev. A. E. Baichley, who was installed as pastor of the Beavercreek charge on July 23, 1893, and who remained until his departure in April, 1895, to take charge of a church at Canal Fulton. During Mr. Baichley's pastorate there were eighty-five accessions to the church. The Rev. F. W. Hoffman, a young man just out of the seminary, was the next pastor of the Beavercreek charge, his pastorate extending from June 1, 1895, to July I, 1900, during which period the general activities of the charge were strengthened and the membership increased. Mr. Hoffman's departure was based upon a call to the First Reformed church at Tiffin and he was succeeded by the Rev. J. J. Leberman, D. D., of Louisville, Ohio, who began his pastorate on September 3o, 1900. A few weeks after Doctor Leberman's arrival at Mt. Zion his youngest daughter was the victim of a savage assault at the hands of a negro and this incident so turned the Doctor against the community that he declined to consider a definite installation as pastor and within less than a year left for Lancaster. About this time Beaver and Mt. Zion were made a separate charge in order that the respective congregations might have preaching every Sunday instead of every two weeks, and on December 22, 1901, the Rev. H. N. Smith, then of Culver, Indiana, became pastor 0f the charge, continuing that relation for two years, at the 536 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO end of which time he went to Pennsylvania. For some time thereafter Beavercreek charge was served by supplies, the chief of whom was Edward F. Evemeyer, then a senior in the seminary, and who upon completing his theological course accepted a call to Beavercreek and was installed as pastor on May 7, 1905. The Rev. Edward F. Evemeyer remained pastor until in November, 1905, when he left to take up the pastorate of the Fourth Reformed church at Dayton. During his pastorate extensive improvements were made in the church and parsonage and the general work of the charge was strengthened. Following the resignation of Mr. Evemeyer the Beavercreek charge extended a call to the Rev. J. F. Tapy, then pastor of Trinity charge at Maplewood, this state. This call was presently accepted and on March 21, 1909, Mr. Tapy was installed as pastor of the charge, the installation ceremonies taking place at Mt. Zion. Even before Mr. Tapy had entered upon his pastorate it had been recognized that there was a great need of a new church at Mt. Zion and he began systematically to organize the movement which prestently resulted in a decision to rebuild. At a congregational meeting held on December 6, 1909, it was unanimously voted that a fund should be started for a new church, building to be begun when this fund should reach the sum of seven thousand dollars. In due time this sum was in sight and on Sunday, June I I, 1911, the congregation worshiped for the last time in the old church that had served the congregation for sixty-six years. The corner stone of the new church was laid on September 3, following, and the first services in the new edifice were held on May 5, 1912. The new church was completed at a cost of about thirteen thousand five hundred dollars and was formally dedicated on July 28, 1912. The present membership of Mt. Zion church is one hundred and seventy-five. The Sunday school, Elmer Wetzel, superintendent, has an enrollment of two hundred and ten ; the Woman's Missionary Society, Mrs. J. F. Tapy, president, a membership of twenty-five, and the Young People's Society, Jesse Johnson, president, forty. The parsonage property maintained by the Beavercreek charge was provided in 1886 at a cost then of something like three thousand dollars. PISGAH REFORMED CHURCH. In 1872 those of the residents of Beavercreek township living north of Zimmerman's who held to the faith of the Reformed church erected a meeting house about thirty by thirty-six feet in dimensions at the point where the road from Zimmerman's crosses the Dayton road, in the central part of section 34, and gave to the same the name of the Pisgah Reformed church. Prior to that time they had been holding services in the school house in that district under the ministrations of Father Lefevre, mention of whose name is made GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 537 in connection with the history of Mt. Zion church. Among the original members of this congregation were George Koogler, Eli Trubee and S. C. Bates. In the latter '70s and early '80s Adam Hawker was the pastor. This church has been discontinued many years, and the building is now used as a school house. REFORMED CHURCH AT FAIRFIELD. This church was organized in March, 1843, by the Rev. Thomas H. Winters, mentioned above, the first communicants of the .congregation in Fairfield previously having been affiliated with the congregation of the Union church, four miles southeast of the village. Two years later Mr. Winters was succeeded as pastor by the Rev. J. S. Weise, who remained, however, but six months, at the end of which brief pastorate Mr. Winters again assumed charge of the flock. On March 1, 1845, Hiram Shaull was called to the pastorate. In the meantime the congregation had been pushing the erection of a house of worship in the village and in due time the same was completed and dedicated. During a revival held by Mr. Shaull in February, 1846, there were more than seventy accessions to the church. In the following July Mr. Shaull severed his relations with the congregation and was succeeded by the Rev. Jesse Steiner, who in 1852 was succeeded by the Rev. A. Z. Dale, whose successor was the Rev. H. K. Banes, who resigned in 1859 and was followed in October of that year by the Rev. J. Schlosser, who remained until 1867 and was succeeded by the Rev. J. M. Lefevre, whose pastorate terminated in 1880. Mr. Lefevre was followed by the Rev. J. T. Hale. MAPLE CORNERS REFORMED CHURCH. The Reformed church at Maple Corners in Caesarscreek township was organized about the year 1837, an offshoot of the old Beavercreek church, and the new congregation soon. after its organization erected a substantial brick house of worship. The Rev. Thomas Winters was the first pastor and he was followed by his son, David Winters. In 1878 the Maple Corners congregation supplanted its old meeting house by a new and much more commodious brick church and services have ever since been maintained there. Maple Corners many years ago became a charge associated with the Xenia congregation and was thus served by the Rev. Henry Willard for some time after the pastorate of David Winters. CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT JAMESTOWN. Not long after Alexander Campbell had inaugurated the movement which led to the organization of the Disciples or Christian church, Walter Scott, one of Campbell's most effective followers, visited this community and by his preaching created an interest in the new society that was crystallized 538 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO in the organization of a church of that denomination at Jamestown, one of the prime movers in the organization being Oliver Hixon, and under the ministration of the Rev. Matthew Winans a Campbellite society was organized at Jamestown about the year 1828, the initial membership of the same being about forty. The congregation built a brick house of worship, thirty by forty feet in dimensions, and under the ministrations of Doctor Winans the new society grew and flourished. Doctor Winans died in 1859, other influential members of the society, one by one, began to be called about the same time and, as an older chronicle puts it, "slowly but surely were the pillars of the church weakened." About 1865 a canvass of the situation revealed so great a decrease in membership that it was thought expedient to dissolve, which was done. Those of the members of the organization living east of the village continued to hold meetings occasionally, however, in the school house about a mile east of town and maintained an organization which in 1873 had attained sufficient strength to warrant the erection of a meeting house and a building thirty by forty feet in dimensions was put up near by the school house, the Rev. John Irvin at that time being pastor of the flock, which numbered about fifty. In the meantime, in 1835, there had been organized at Jamestown a "Newlight" branch of the Christian, or Disciples, church, under the ministration of the Rev. Matthew Gardner. This society held services in the old Campbellite church until the latter was declared unsafe and was torn down in 1861, after which the church organization seems to have been practically suspended until 1871, in which year the Rev. Asa Coan, of Yellow Springs, reorganized the same and revived the society, which at that time had a membership of fifteen. A room was secured in the school house and under the pastorate of the Rev. Peter McCullough the membership was so rapidly increased that a year later there were one hundred and sixty-five communicants on the roll. Not long afterward this congregation erected what then was the handsomest audience room in town. In 1876 the Rev. B. F. Clayton was called to minister to the spiritual wants of the congregation and he served faithfully in that capacity until August I, 1880, when he accepted a call to Rhode Island. CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT BOWERSVILLE. Many years ago there was organized at a meeting held in the house of Thomas Haughey a society of the "Newlight" branch of the Campbellite or Christian church, the congregation afterward holding services in the school house which then stood near the old mill-pond. The greater part of the members of this early society presently became affiliated with the Christian GREENE. COUNTY, OHIO - 539 church at Jamestown and did not carry out their originally expressed intention to erect a meeting house in the Bowersville settlement. In the meantime, at a meeting held in the meeting house of the Methodist Protestants at Bowersville on November 23, 1851, under the direction of the Campbellite preachers, William Irvin, William Hayes and R. B. Henry, a society of that faith was organized with an initial membership of about forty. For a while thereafter this new society continued to use the meeting house of the Methodist Protestant and then they built a church of their own, a frame structure thirty by forty feet in dimensions. The congregation steadily grew in numbers and in 1874 the church was remodeled and enlarged. Soon after the congregation had effected a definite organization a Sunday school was established. CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT GRAPE GROVE. The Christian church people of Ross township have had an organization at Grape Grove for many years. Upon the organization of the society there services were held on alternate Sundays in the meeting house that had been built on the Daniel Little farm by the Wesleyan Methodists in 1850. During the period of the Civil War the Wesleyan Methodists ceased to exist as a separate congregation and the meeting house passed into the hands of the Disciples or members of the Christian church congregation, who continued to hold services there until they erected a new church building at Grape Grove in 1870. This was a neat frame building erected at a cost of something more than one thousand dollars. The congregation at that time numbered about eighty souls. SUGARCREEK CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The Sugarcreek Christian church in Sugarcreek township was organized in 1835 by Elder George Owens as the "Union Baptist Church of Jesus Christ," a name which the society continued to bear until 1846, when the present name was substituted therefor. Upon the organization of the society a frame meeting-house was erected in the central part of section 12, southeast of Bellbrook and that meeting-house was used until 1867, when a substantial brick edifice was erected in its place. Among the early ministers of this church besides its organizer, George Owens, were Joseph Weeks, Peter McCullough, Thomas Brandon, A. L. McKinney, C. C. Phillips, Peter Banta, R. Brandon, C. T. Emmons, H. Y. Rush, B. F. Vaughn and J. F. Ullery. THE SILVERCREEK SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. According to an older chronicle it is apparent that the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in the community east of Jamestown in Silvercreek township, had an organization there as early as 1812, it being narrated that 540 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO Thomas P. Moorman was the first clerk of the meeting, the meetings for some time being held in the house of the Moormans, addresses being made there by such traveling ministers of the Quaker faith as came through this way. After a while a log meeting-house was erected about a mile southwest of Moorman's, there being then about fifty members of the society. There the Friends continued to worship until about 1838, when the log meetinghouse was torn down and a more commodious structure of frame was erected in its place. This meeting-house in time also was outgrown and in 1873 the Society erected a new meeting-house, a substantial edifice of brick, one mile east of Jamestown, on the Washington pike, there being at that time an active membership of about one hundred. Among the early ministers who served this meeting were Joseph Doan and Thomas Arnett. In 1866 the Rev. M. F. Moorman became the pastor and he continued to serve until in the '80s. NEW HOPE QUAKER CHURCH. It was not long after the beginning of a social order in that part of Greene county now comprised within the bounds of Caesarscreek township that the Quakers, who had put in their lot with the settlers of that community, effected a formal organization for worship and began to hold Sabbath Day meetings in the homes of such of the Friends thereabout whose humble abodes would properly lend themselves to the purposes of small public assemblages. Meetings continued thus to be held until about 1830, when the Society of Friends in that neighborhood erected a meeting-house about a mile west of the present village of Paintersville, where they were able to meet amid conditions less likely to create confusion. Among the early ministers of the New Hope church were those ardent Quakers, Jesse Faulkner, Thomas Arnett and Joel Thornburg, whose influence for good throughout that community was so firmly fixed on the social life of the settlement that it has been a continuing force to this day. During the latter '70s and early '80s Eber Haines was the minister at the New Hope meeting-house, but after his day the congregation gradually decreased in membership until it was no longer able to support a minister. It has not held regular services for some years. SPRING VALLEY SOCIETY OF FRIENDS. The Spring Valley preparative meeting of the Society of Friends is one of the oldest church organizations in Greene county, the date of the first formal organization of the Quakers in that community going back to the year 1808, when Edward Walton, William Mendenhall, John Mendenhall and William Stanfield and their respective families effected an organization for worship and put up a little log meeting-house about three miles east of where later became established the village of Spring Valley. There the Quakers of that community continued to worship until 1844, when they built GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 541 a frame meeting-house near the village and there held their services until 1877, when they purchased the Baptist church in the village of Spring Valley and at the same time reorganized their society, changing its name from that of "Richland" to the "Spring Valley Preparative Meeting of the Society of Friends," the membership at that time numbering about one hundred. Rev. Lloyd is the present pastor. THE LUTHERAN CHURCH AT XENIA. The Lutherans of Xenia date their formal organization as a church body to the year 1843, when the Rev. J.' Lehman preached to such adherents of that faith as then were living in Xenia, these first preaching services being held in the German Reformed church at the corner of Monroe and Church streets that later was bought by the African Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Lehman continued as pastor of this little flock until 1847, when he resigned and was succeeded by the Rev. Solomon Ritz, under whose direction in the following year a house of worship was erected by the congregation on West Main street. Mr. Ritz resigned in 1852 and was followed by the Rev. A. Bartholomew, whose service was terminated at the end of a couple of years, after which the congregation was served by the Rev. G. Peters and the Rev. J. Borns, as supplies, until the Rev. J. Geiger took charge in 1856. The latter resigned in 1859, after which the congregation was without a settled pastor until the Rev. J. F. Shaffer was installed as pastor on August 25, 1861. Mr. Shaffer continued as pastor for more than twenty years. THE ALEY UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH. Aley's church, which was noted as a center of religious activities in the northwestern part of Beavercreek township for many years, is located on the farm formerly owned by Jacob Aley on what is known as the "Fifth Street road" near the central part of section 10 of the township just named. Jacob Aley donated the land on which the church was built and hence it has ever borne his name. The first edifice erected there in 1838 was built as a result of a joint effort on the part of the United Brethren, the Lutherans and the adherents of the German Reformed faith then living in that community, the United Brethren occupying the church on alternate Sabbaths. Among the original members of the United Brethren congregation were the three Aleys, Jacob, John and Abram, David Costler and Jacob Fox. ST. BRIGID'S CATHOLIC CHURCH AT XENIA. From a historical sketch of St. Brigid's Catholic church at Xenia published in 1898 it is learned that in 1844 there were five Catholic families in Xenia and that some time in that year the Rev. Father Juncker, of Dayton, afterward bishop of Alton, celebrated mass for these communicants on the 542 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO porch of Jacob Klein's residence on Main street. During the years following other missionary visits were made from time to time and there is a record of the visit of Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, and Rev. Father Rosecrans, afterward bishop of Columbus, in 1848, mass being celebrated on the occasion of this visit, nine communicants presenting themselves. Visiting priests from Piqua and Urbana continued to make visits to Xenia, services being held in the basement of the old court house, and in 1849 there was a definite effort made to organize a Catholic parish at Xenia, this effort being under the direction of the Rev. James F. Kearney, of St. Raphael's church, Springfield, the first baptismal record in the parish book, in the hand of Father Kearney, having been entered on the II th day of August of that year. The first notation of a marriage in the parish is made under date of September 10 of that same year. In 1849 also were made notations with reference to funds collected for the purpose of church erection, these notations also being in Father Kearney's hand. In May, 1850, the Rev. Father Howard, of Springfield, was given spiritual direction of the little parish at Xenia and he continued the collections made by Father Kearney. The Rev. Thomas Blake in the latter part of 1851 became the first resident pastor of the Catholic parish at Xenia. He pushed the building movement, lots for that purpose having previously been purchased at the corner of Second street and the Xenia and Cincinnati pike, in Gowdy's addition, and the corner stone of St. Brigid's church was laid on Sunday, June I 1, 1852, Father Howard making the address. It is understood that the first cost of the church was about five thousand dollars, but as the parish grew and its influence expanded additions and extensions were made, a parish school was built, a house for the teaching Sisters was bought and in 1894 a new parish house was built. The latest improvement in the parish was the erection of the substantial new parochial school which was dedicated to educational purposes in 1914. At the beginning of his ministry at Xenia Father Blake had a wide field of labor, his activities extending to London, South Charleston, Corwin, Morrow, Waynesville, Loveland, Milford, Yellow Springs, Wilmington, Jamestown and other places and for years he required the services of three assistants to cover this parish. Pending the erection of the church Father Blake witnessed Catholic marriages in the parlors of the Ewing House, where for years he had his room. In 1885 Father Blake practically retired and Father Cunningham, of Yellow Springs, took charge of the Xenia parish. Father Blake died on July 24, 1886, and was interred in the basement of St. Brigid's church. Father Cunningham was succeeded in March, 1887, by the Rev. Joseph Stoeppelmann, who in October of that same year was transferred, the Rev. Isaac J. Hocter being appointed to succeed him. In the year 1894 GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 543 the new parish house on Second street was erected. From 1890 the following priests assisted the pastor at Xenia : M. J. Loney, P. J. Shea, J. J. Shea, George F. Hickey, William J. Fogarty and Joseph G. Denny. In the fall of 1896 Jamestown was detached from the Xenia parish and since then St. Brig,id's has had no assistant priest. On March 19, 1913, the Rev. James E. Quinn, of Cincinnati, was appointed priest of St. Brigid's and has since been in charge of the parish. The various departments of the parish's activitties are well organized and all are reported in a flourishing condition. COLORED CHURCHES OF THE COUNTY. The large colored population of Greene county is well supplied with churches of several different denominations. The following townships have churches: Cedarville, African Methodist Episcopal and Zion Baptist; Miami, African Methodist Episcopal (Yellow Springs), Baptist (Yellow Springs) and Baptist (Clifton) ; Silvercreek, African Methodist Episcopal and Baptist, both in Jamestown; Xenia, Middle Run Baptist, Zion Baptist, Third Baptist, First African Methodist Episcopal, St. Johns African Methodist Episcopal, Third Methodist Episcopal, Wesleyan Methodist, First Christian, Holy Christian and what is locally known as the "Holy Rollers." This makes a total of sixteen colored churches in the county. There are a few colored people who belong to the Catholic church at Xenia. The pastors of these several colored churches in .1918 are as follow : African Methodist Episcopal, Yellow Springs, Harry Maxwell; African Methodist Episcopal, Cedarville, F. H. Mason; First African Methodist Episcopal, Xenia, P. S. Hill; St. Johns African Methodist Episcopal, Xenia, P. A. Nichols; Third Methodist Episcopal, Xenia, J. H. Payne; Wesleyan Methodist, Xenia, S. S. Walker; Zion Baptist, Cedarville, H. O. Mason; Baptist, Yellow Springs, Frank Liggins; Baptist, Clifton, C. M. B. Lewis; Middle Run Baptist, Xenia, W. C. Allen; Zion Baptist, Xenia, G. W. Bectton; Third Baptist, Xenia, A. M. Howe; First Christian, Xenia, W. W. Williams; Holy Christian, Xenia, Rev. Bell; "Holy Rollers," Xenia, Mrs. Thomas. Practically all of these congregations have church buildings of their own, some of those in Xenia having fine edifices. The St. Johns and First (or New Site) Methodists and the Zion Baptists of Xenia have the largest colored congregations in the county seat, and the largest in the county. CHAPTER XXXI. THE PRESS FOR A HUNDRED YEARS. The history 0f the newspapers of Greene county for the past hundred years is difficult to trace owing to the fact that the files of a great majority of the papers which have been published in the county in the past have not been preserved. The newspaper has played an important part in the life of the county; in fact, it is impossible to overestimate the benefit of a good newspaper to a community. The statement is frequently made that our civilization is largely moulded by the press, pulpit and platform, and of the three agencies, the press of today probably occupies the ranking position. There is not an improvement advanced, not a new idea broached, which does not find a ready advocate in the columns of the local papers. Uniformly they have stood for the best interests of the communities which they seek to serve; there may be exceptions, but as a rule, the local papers can be depended to stand on the right side of public questions, particularly as they may affect questions of local portent. THE OHIO VEHICLE. The first newspaper in Greene county was undoubtedly The. Ohio Vehicle, and the best evidence points to its establishment in January, 1814. Fortunately there has been preserved a partial file of the paper for the year 1815, the same being in the newspaper collection of the Greene county library, but the first issue in the small bound volume kept there is dated Tuesday, February 14, 1815, Vol. II, No. 5. If the paper had been issued regularly each week since it was established, its initial number would have appeared in January of the preceding year. The bound file above referred to contains most of the issues of the Vehicle for 1815 up to and including the issue of Tuesday, October 24, 1815. No other issues of the paper have been seen by the historian, and for this reason it is not known how long it continued publication. This first newspaper in Xenia was a small, four-column folio, published by Pelham & Smith, but who the publishers were, where they came from, whether they established the paper, and how long they continued to issue it —all these are unanswered questions. Neither Pelham nor Smith were identified with any other paper in the county as far as is known. GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 545 THE PEOPLE'S PRESS AND IMPARTIAL EXPOSITOR. On May 24, 1826, there came into existence a new paper in Xenia bearing the cumbersome title of The People's Press and Impartial Expositor. James B. Gardiner, as editor and proprietor of this new sheet, seems to have been a good newspaper man, if his paper may be any criterion by which to judge his ability. A bound file of his paper is in the collection of the Greene county library, and it has the appearance of being much better than the average sheet of its day. It continued to come from the press, and presumably without any break in its issue, until it was consolidated with the Xenia Gazette on January 1, 1829. It is evident that it changed its name slightly, since Langdon, the editor of the consolidated paper in 1829, refers to it as the Ohio People's Press, of Gardiner. OHIO PEOPLE'S PRESS, AND XENIA GAZETTE. Sometime in the '20s, or it may have been earlier, there were two papers in existence in Xenia at the same time. One was the Ohio People's Press and the other was the Xenia Gazette. Not a single copy of the latter paper has been seen by the historian, the proof of its existence resting upon a copy of another paper which has been preserved. The paper in question bore the lengthy title of Ohio People's Press, and Xenia Gazette, and the first issue of this paper, January I, 1829, Vol. I, No. 4, explains in its editorial column that it is a consolidation of two previously existing papers bearing these respective titles. Richard C. Langdon, the editor of the consolidation, states in his salutatory that the papers had been edited by James B. Gardiner and Henry E. Spencer, respectively. Gardiner's paper has been discussed. Spencer was at one time mayor of Xenia, a practicing attorney and was interested at one time or another with the newspapers of the town. He came from Cincinnati in about 1826 and began the practice of law, but in the summer of 1828 he established a campaign sheet known as The Cornet (not the Comet, as has been stated in other histories of the county). He was an ardent follower of John Quincy Adams and his paper was to sound the praises of Adams, who was making the race for the presidency in 1828. Some time before January 1, 1829, Spencer seemed to have changed the name of his paper to the Xenia Gazette; at least, on that date Langdon became the owner of the former papers of Gardiner and Spencer and from the double-barrelled title he gave his paper it would seem that Gardiner contributed Ohio People's Press,. and Spencer Xenia Gazette, the new sheet carrying the ponderous heading Ohio People's Press, and Xenia Gazette. The comma and conjunction indicate the parentage of the sheet, which, from its subsequent history, must have been prematurely horn. Spencer soon left Xenia and returned to Cincinnati where he died in February, 1882. (35) 546 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO Langdon changed the title of his paper after eight issues, the edition of March 5, 1829, Vol. I, No. 9, carrying the title of Farmers' Record, and Xenia Gazette. The editor explains in this issue why he changed his name by saying that his former title was not sufficiently descriptive of his paper; that it covered too much territory. Furthermore he advanced the proposition that there were so many papers bearing the name "press" that there was liable to be confusion. The "and Xenia Gazette" part of his title was run immediately below "Farmers' Record," and he always made use of the comma in separating the parts of the heading, thus indicating the parentage of his sheet. But neither the new name of the paper nor all the energy that Langdon could bestow upon it was sufficient to make it successful. He managed to last exactly one year. When his fifty-second issue was reached he evidently did not have the heart to say farewell to his faithful subscribers, but in his next weekly issue, January 7, 1830, he indulged in a long valedictory to his short list of subscribers. He said that the people of the county had not supported him, and made the statement that he had only two hundred and seventy-five subscribers, although the county had a population of between ten and eleven thousand. Furthermore, only three merchants of Xenia patronized his advertising columns. In the concluding paragraph of his farewell Langdon referred to the fact that during that week a wagon load of new press equipment had gone through Xenia bound for Oldtown, and that Messrs. Farnsworth, of Xenia, were going to establish a paper in that village. This is the only reference to any newspaper in Oldtown, but it appears from the best evidence that Langdon was wrong in stating that the Farnsworth brothers went to Oldtown with the newspaper plant. Instead there is every evidence to indicate that they went to Yellow Springs and started a paper in that place. One of the local historians of that town credits Oliver Farnsworth with establishing a paper there in 1830, and this was evidently the paper to which Langdon refers in his valedictory of 1830. SOME FORGOTTEN PAPERS OF THE '20s AND '30s. It is unfortunate that complete files of the newspapers of the county have not been preserved, for without the papers themselves it is impossible to tell much about them other than their names. And, strange as it may seem, even the names of some of them are obtainable only from fugitive references to them in other papers of their time. But the files of most of the early papers have completely disappeared and only the most fragmentary knowledge of their existence is left to tell their story. One of these transitory sheets breathed its last in the fore part of 1827, and if it were not for a passing reference to it by the People's Press it would GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 547 probably have remained unknown. On April 12, 1827, Editor Gardiner of the Press had the following notice in his newspaper : "After the publication of this week's paper, the office of the People's Press will be removed to the upper east rooms in Mrs. Davidson's Stone House near the Public Square, and formerly occupied as the office of the late Xenia Register." This is the only notice of the Register which has been seen by the historian, but it undoubtedly records the passing of one of the early papers of the town. The stone house of which mention is made is undoubtedly the one still standing on Market street opposite the county jail, the same which it is said Doctor Davidson erected in 1814. Another of these sheets, so local authorities aver, was called The Xenia Transcript, and Thomas Coke Wright is credited with being its editor some time between 1829 and 1833. Another was The Xenia Free Press, which was established by J. H. Purdy in November, 1830, and seems to have had a more or less consecutive career for about a decade. A bound file of the Free Press for 1837 is now owned by The Chew Publishing Company. This paper may have been the immediate successor of the Farmers' Record, and Xenia Gazette which was laid to rest by Langdon, as before stated, on January 7, 1830. Of this, however, there is no evidence, and only a file of the paper would prove it. A fourth paper of the '30s is credited to William D. Galligher, his sheet being known as The Backwoodsman. It is given a traditional birth in 1830, but not a single copy has been seen by the historian In any of the collections in the county. Another lost sheet of the '30s bore the scintillating title of The Democratic Spark, a name which at least betrays its politics. It is supposed to have come from the brain of one Ramsey about 1838. It was evidently one of the many campaign sheets of the day. No copies are to be found in any of the newspaper collections of the county. THE GREENE COUNTY GAZETTE. One of the papers of the '30s which has a definite history is The Greene County Gazette, a complete file of which is preserved in the Greene county library. It made its initial appearance on December 24, 1835, under the joint ownership of Albert Galloway and Thomas Coke Wright. Whether this paper was the immediate successor of another paper, the editors fail to state, but since Wright had been connected with The Xenia Transcript it is possible that it followed his paper. Wright withdrew from the paper with the issue of November 17, 1836, his valedictory stating that he had disposed of his interest to his partner, Galloway, because he had been elected county auditor. It might be said here that Wright held this office for eighteen consecutive years, or until 1855. He later served as recorder from 1860 to 1866. Galloway seemed to have begun to look around for another partner at 548 - GREENE COUNTY, OHIO once, and in the issue of January 3, 1837, Vol. II, No. 1, David Douglass, Jr., is announced as a new member of the firm. But the paper was not destined to live much longer. In fact, only twelve more editions came from the press, the issue of March 28, 1837, Vol. II, No. 13, announcing "that with this number its publication will be suspended for a time, or discontinued entirely." After dilating upon the fact that the paper needed something besides the good will of the public to pay its bills, the editors inform their few subscribers that if the paper did not resume publication within four weeks they might consider it indefinitely suspended. It did not appear within the specified time. The paper had been a consistent opponent of the democracy of Jackson and may be said to have been the first Whig paper of the county. This party needed a county organ and it was this need which lead up to the establishment of the next paper in Xenia—The Torchlight. THE XENIA TORCHLIGHT. For half a century the Xenia Torchlight cast its refulgent rays over Greene county, and at times in its long career its radiance reached to all corners of the state, and even to many other states of the Union. From the day of its first appearance on September 18, 1838, until its final absorption by the Xenia Gazette on August 7, 1888, the Torchlight was a virile sheet and one which at times was quoted as much as any paper in the state published in a town the size of Xenia. At various times in its career it had some of the best-known writers in the state connected with it. Two of Ohio's best poets were once in its editorial chair, and in the days when Otway Curry and Coates Kinney were associated with it they made it one of the leading county papers of the state. Politics was responsible for the beginning of the Torchlight. The desire of the Whigs of the county to have an organ to support the candidacy of William Henry Harrison for the presidency fully accounts for the establishtment of the paper in 1838. The prime mover in the agitation for the paper was E. F. Drake, and it was at his initiative that a subscription paper was circulated among the leading Whigs of the county asking for subscriptions, the subscribers "to pay the amount opposite their names, the money to he applied to the purchase of a printing press and material, and the procuring the necessary apparatus to put in operation a Whig newspaper at Xenia." The names of these Whigs of the '30s were as follows : E. F. Drake, Charles F. Merrick, John Sexton, Thomas Marshall, Daniel Martin, James A. Scott, Samuel Puterbaugh, John Walton, Jacob Bechtell, Joshua Martin, Robert D. Pogue, N. C. Baker, A. G. Zimmerman, Alexander Connor, G. C. Lauman, Samuel Newcome, John Kendall, John Ewing, John Harbison, Albert Galloway, Samuel Lamme, James Bratton, Bazil Keiler, Alfred GREENE COUNTY, OHIO - 549 Trader, Ebenezer Steele, George W. Wright, Nathan Nesbit, Thomas C. Wright, John Keiler, John B. Allen, A. Harlan, T. M. Perkins, Robert Stevenson, John McBride, James Galloway, James Collier, Jonathan Fallis, Jeremiah Gest, A. Hivling, Jr., J. H. McPherson, H. G. Beatty, C. F. Beall, Alexander B. Beall, John Hivling, Brinton Baker, L. Wright, Samuel Powell, B. Newkirk, Samuel Crumbaugh, Smith Persinger, Walter King, John Ankeney, Isaac S. Perkins, Samuel Galloway, David Hanes. Moses Collier, John S. Perkins, James McMillan, Silas Roberts, R. F. Howard, Tinsley Heath, William Lewis, Aaron Collett, Andrew Galloway, Conwell & Company, Pugh Sterrett, Benjamin Towler, John Stevenson and Cummings & Conwell. At least two of the sixty-nine stockholders had been connected with one of the county papers, Albert Galloway and Thomas C. Wright having been the founders of The Greene County Gazette in 1835, a paper which led a wavering existence for about two years. It is probable that these two men were largely instrumental in the selection of Pazzi Lapham, of Urbana, as the editor and general manager of the proposed paper. When the first issue of the much-advertised paper appeared on September 18, 1839, its subscribers were awed by a long title, towit : Greene County Torch-Light and Xenia Advertiser. This long and unwieldy heading continued at its mast until July I I, 1839, when it was shortened to Greene County Torch-Light, the editor being careful to hyphenate the illuminating part of his title. On the same day this abbreviated heading- made its bow to the public it was announced that W. B. Fairchild had become a member of the firm as business manager. Some time between the issues of March 5, 1840, and April 16, 1840, Fairchild retired from the paper, and Lapham is stated to be the sole "editor and proprietor." The issues between these two dates are missing from the bound files in the Greene county library, and it is therefore impossible to tell the exact date when Fairchild retired. For some reason which the editor failed to explain, the name of the paper was completely changed with the issue of May 14, 1840, Vol. II, No. 36. On this date it appeared under the title of Ohio People's Press and, bearing this comprehensive heading, it passed into the hands of W. B. Fairchild on September 3, 1840. Lapham stated in his valedictory that his health made it imperative that he retire from the paper. The new editor and owner was evidently not impressed with the changed title of the sheet, and for this reason he changed it back to Greene County Torch-Light with the issue of November 12, 1840. With only a slight variation in name it continued under this title until its final absorption by the Gazette in 1888. Less than three years after taking hold of the paper Fairchild, on June 15, 1843, sent forth his valedict-