50 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. enemies, made his escape and reached his home, heartbroken and wretched over the loss of his brother, scalped and unburied where he fell. In the spring of 1795, before General Wayne had made the treaty of Greenville with the Indians and made the peace of Ohio secure, Nathaniel Massie, with a surveying party, again attempted the work of running lines in Highland and adjoining counties. March of that year started in mild and pleasant, and promised fair to bring warm and delightful weather to gladden the heart and quicken the step of the hardy band who with compass and chain ranged the woods, depending upon the gun and skill of their hunter scouts for the food that was to sustain them in their trail. This party surveyed along the head waters of Brush creek, passing from that point to the Rocky fork of Paint, and thence on to the Rattlesnake fork of the same creek, crossing Paint creek proper, going up Buckskin and across to the "old town" situated on the North fork of Paint. After reaching this vicinity the weather suddenly changed and snow began to fall. The snow fall lasted for two days and nights covering the ground with some two or three feet of snow. Turning warmer, a fine rain began to fall, freezing as it reached the surface of the snow, which soon formed a crust, not sufficiently strong to bear a man, but upon which the smaller game and animals could travel with ease. After the rain it grew intensely cold, hardened the snow crust and made it almost impossible for men to travel or hunt. The cold continued, provisions were gone and this band of snow-bound toilers lay around their fires day and night—cold, hungry, starving—with naught to greet their vision but measureless acres of snow and the doleful sound of sighing winds through the barren branches of the forest trees. Ineffectual efforts were made to secure game by those whose duty it was to supply the camp. Duncan McArthur, then a chainman and hunter, and afterward governor of Ohio, on the third day of the storm killed two wild turkeys which were, divided into twenty-eight equal parts and distributed to the men—not enough to satisfy their hunger, but simply to sharpen their appetites for additional food. The morning of the fourth day .the party started homeward. The strongest men were placed in the front to break the way. They marched all the day in this manner and at night had reached the mouth of the Rattlesnake about ten miles from their starting point. The next day turned out bright and warm, melting the snow some and making the journey less fatiguing. The second night of the march the party rested by their fires without sentinels. The night grew warmer, the snow melted fast and their prospects brightened greatly. The next morning all hands turned out to hunt. The killed a number of turkeys, a few deer and one bear. There was a feast that night around the red hot embers where turkey, deer and bear sent out the appetizing odor so refreshing to the nostrils of THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS - 51 hungry men. The weather growing warmer and the snow disappearing, the forty continued their labor cheerfully until they had accomplished the work they had been commissioned to do.. We could scarcely hope to impress the people of today with the sense of hardship and suffering of men, houseless, shelterless, and foodless, who simply endured because they were men with a work to accomplish, a duty to perform, with the will and courage to do so. All the early settlers of the Ohio valley were brave, fearless men, able to cope with the mighty forces of this new world. Men who had learned life's mission in the school of hardship, and while largely unlearned and unlettered, they had the quick eye, the strong hand and the warm heart that made the wilderness blossom like the rose, and their log cabin home the place of virtue and contentment. Classed among the fearless and noble men who people the Ohio valley, were a number who outranked them in culture and social refinement which is the result of education and training. While the surveyors were not the first. explorers of the country, they were the first to bring order out of confusion, the first to make practical and permanent the civilization that was to follow the, advancing years. The surveyors were all men of education and some of them of remarkable talent, and none were lacking in the elements of courage and endurance, so essential for those who are the advance guards in the stern ttle of life. After the peace concluded with the Indians in 1795, a strong spirit of emigration to Ohio from Kentucky began to assert itself. The constitution of Kentucky, with which the state was received into the Union in 1792, tolerated slavery, which was offensive to many of her people, and preparation was made to cross the river into the land where there would be no possible chance of meeting this objectionable feature in the coming future. The first of those to come. from Kentucky was John Wilcoxon, the first settler within Highland county. The history of this lonely wanderer, as told by John A. Trimble, is that in the spring of 1795 he emigrated from Kentucky, crossing the Ohio river at Limestone, and pushed boldly his way out into the vast and pathless Northwest Territory, determined to establish himself and family in the midst of its best hunting grounds, regardless of the prior claims of the Indians. With his worldly wealth, wife and child, stowed upon a strong horse, and himself and dog on foot and in advance, he struck out in the direction of the already famous rich lands of the Scioto and Paint creek country. He traversed the hills for several days, camping out at night, and frequently remaining four or five days at a place to hunt and rest his wife and horse. The weather continued delightful, it being the latter part of April, and Nature in the first dawn of vernal beauty presented a peculiar charm to the eyes of the lonely emigrants. The long days of bright, warm sun, succeeding the cold 52 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. rains of the first part of the month, had already covered the sunny banks and hillsides with early plants and flowers. The sugartree, elm, and buckeye were showing their green leaves, and the early wild grass not only supplied abundant pasture, but covered and adorned the surface of the ground. The nights, too, were more charming, if possible, than the days in these grand old, woods. The very stillness was sublime. The mild rays of the moon, penetrating the forest and tracing long lines of light and shade upon the irregular surface, presented a picture that none would fail to enjoy. As an accompaniment, and to enforce the consciousness of utter loneliness, the melancholy and spirit-like song of the whippoorwill arose at intervals, mingling with the distant howl of the wolf, the hoot of the owl and the scream of the panther. But when the early dawn . effaced the night scenes, and hushed the sounds which had added to their peculiar beauty, the aroused tenants of the tent were more than delighted with the music around them. The whole forest seemed alive with birds, while each one resolved to excel every other in melody and variety of song. The few and simple preparations for breakfast were soon over, and Wilcoxon, his wife, child and dog, sat down to their roast of fresh venison, with appetite, contentment and surroundings, that the palace of no monarch on earth could rival. They did not then fear the Indians, as it was known that they had agreed to go into treaty with Wayne; and hostilities for the present were not apprehended. Several weeks had now been passed in this leisurely half emigrating, when the cold rains of May commenced. The little party were entirely unprovided for this change, though a little exertion erected a bark camp under cover of which they were enabled to keep dry. The rains continued several days, and the time passed gloomily enough. Hunting was unpleasant and the provisions became scare in the camp. The horse growing weary of his position in the cold beating rains, broke his halter and wandered off. As soon as the storm abated, Wilcoxon with dog and gun started out, and after several days of diligent search the horse was found. While searching, Wilcoxon discovered a beautiful valley, and an unusually large and most remarkable spring which furnished a great abundance of most excellent water. Wilcoxon determined to strike his tent and locate at this point. Arriving at the spring, which is now known as Sinking Spring, in Highland county, he went to work in earnest to make improvements and build a house. First he cleared off some land, then planted some seed corn he had brought with him from Kentucky. Next he cut small logs, such as he and wife could carrc:, or with the aid of the horse drag, to the spot near the spring, which he had selected for his house. In the course of a few days it was so far completed that it served for a summer residence. The luxury of a bed was obtained by gathering leaves and drying them in the sun, then putting them into a bedtick brought with them. For a bedstead, THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS - 53 forks were driven in the ground and sticks laid across them, reaching the wall of the cabin. Over these elm bark was placed and the tick on the bark, forming a most excellent bed. Mrs. Wilcoxon had been busily engaged in this while planting some garden seeds which her thoughtful prudence had brought along. This accomplished, and a chimney built, something over six feet high, made of poles and mud, with back walls and jambs of flat rock, and a rough clapboard door for the cabin, completed the dwelling place of this lonely pair by the Big Spring, a home of joy and pride to the honest, simple-minded husband and wife. Time passed on. The small patch of corn and pumpkins grew finely and promised an abundant yield, while in the little garden opposite the chimney grew the gourd and bean, the letusce and potato. Around the door clustered the morning-glory, and in a carefully protected nook near the wall grew the pink, violet and other favorite garden flowers, cherished memories of other days, bringing back with their bright colors and sweet odor the scenes of her girlhood days, in the old home amid .loving friends, now distant, and, perhaps, never to be seen again. Early one morning in July Wilcoxon started out with his axe and a large wooden pail in his hand, the result of his own skill as a cooper, to cut a bee-tree which he had discovered and marked a few days before. The tree stood some two miles from his cabin home. It was a very large tree and consumed some time in the cutting. He had felled it and gone with the pail to the part occupied by the bees, leaving his axe at the stump of the tree. The honey appeared in great abundance, and was not damaged greatly by the falling of the tree. Large sheets of beautiful white comb were taken out until the pai1 was filled and piled up to the height of itself above the top; and stil1 the supply was not half exhausted. While vexed at the smallness of his vessel, he concluded to eat as much of the tempting, comb as he could, and accordingly fell to work with hands and mouth. He had been thus pleasantly engaged but a short time, with the clear, bright honey running' down over his arms to his elbows, utterly oblivious to all around him, when three Indians, who had been watching his movements for some time from an adjoining thicket, noiselessly slipped out, and approaching him from behind, seized him by the arms, which they immediately bound, and thus put an end to his honey eating for that time. They had been attracted by the sound of his axe, and reached the spot soon after the tree fell. After helping themselves to as much honey as they wanted, they carried the pail with its contents to their encampment, three or four miles east. They manifested no disposition to hurt Wilcoxon, but took him along as a prisoner. When they reached the camp he discovered them to be a war party of about twenty Shawanees, who, having refused to go into the treaty with the other Northwestern tribes, had been on an expedition to the northeastern part of Kentucky, and were returning 54 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. with some stolen horses and other plunder. Shortly after the arrival of this party, camp was broken up and the party began the march, taking Wilcoxon with them. They went by the route leading through the Indian towns on the North fork of Paint, and apprehending no danger from pursuit, they traveled very leisurely, stopping frequently to hunt and amuse themselves. The third day after their capture of Wilcoxon they reached main Paint near the present site of Bainbridge, and passing down the right bank of the creek to the point where the turnpike now crosses, encamped for the night. They sent some hunters out in the morning, and after they returned, and had prepared and eaten breakfast, preparations were made to. resume their journey, when, greatly to the surprise of the Indians, who had taken no precautions, believing themselves entirely free from danger, they were suddenly fired upon. Not knowing who the assailing party was, nor its strength, the Indians made a precipitate retreat across the creek, leaving everything behind them except their guns. In the midst of the terror and. confusion Wilcoxon made his escape. This affair, which has been called the last Indian battle in southern Ohio, was due to the advent of the first party attempting a settlement in the neighborhood of Chillicothe. While the treaty with the Indians was yet in progress, a body of forty men had set out from Manchester. Among the number were Rev. Robert Finley, William Rogers, father of Col. Thomas Rogers, long a resident of Greenfield, Highland county, and Amos Evans, whose pioneer home for many years was upon Clear creek, a. few miles north of the present town of Hillsboro. This company advanced cautiously until they reached Paint creek in the neighborhood of the falls, when they found fresh signs of the presence of Indians, and before long heard the bells upon their horses. Though a truce prevailed in Ohio, the whitemen attacked the Indian camp so suddenly that the Indians were completely surprised. They made but little resistance, fleeing quickly' across the creek and leaving all their property behind them except their guns. According to the story of the whites, five or six of the Indians were killed and as many more wounded. Thee whites lost one man, Joshua Robinson, who was shot through the body. The white men gathered all the horses and skins and whatever else was worth taking, and placing the wounded Robinson upon a litter, started on their return march. Robinson died a few hours afterward and was buried in the silence and solitude of the dim old forest. Night came down upon the whites some miles south of the present site of Bainbridge and fearing pursuit they made every preparation to defend themselves should the Indians come upon them. Sentinels were placed about the camp and every precaution taken to guard against a surprise. Just about an hour before day one of the sentinels saw an Indian creeping upon him. He waited until the creeping figure came near enough for a certain shot when he fired. The THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS - 55 Indian fell, but rose again and made off as fast as his crippled condition would allow. A night attack was then made by the Indian band, but the whites, aroused by the shot from their sentinel, were prepared and soon drove their red foes back. William Rogers, mentioned as one of the leaders in this last conflict was a native of Pennsylvania, who removed with his father, Hamilton Rogers, to Loudoun county, Va., in about the year 1770. After a few vears he married and settled upon what was called a life lese, near Goose creek. Finding himself surrounded by slave-holders, and witnessing the practical operation of the slave system, he determined to seek a home where it did not exist. In 1784 he started upon a journey over the mountains. On reaching Brownsville, Pa., the wonderful land of Kentucky was the talk upon all lips, and pleased with the account of this land of milk and honey, he resolved to visit it in person and verify by observation the story he had heard. The following spring he and one of his brothers started down the river and landed at Limestone (Maysville), and went from there to Lexington. About five miles from that place they camped and raised a crop of corn. Having found the country much to his liking, he returned to Virginia for his family, and in November, 1785, reached his new home in safety. Some time afterward he moved to Bourbon county and remained in that county until the adoption of the state constitution, 1792, and as the constitution tolerated slavery, he was again brought face to face with a system he abhorred, and determined to seek a home in the Northwest Territory just as soon as that district was open to settlement. In 1799 Rogers and his two sons, John and. Thomas, came to the Scioto country and began a settlement on the North fork of Paint creek. Their cabin occupied a point near where the turnpike now crosses the stream, and theirs was the only cabin between that place and the present city of Chillicothe, except that of General McArthur which stood near the town. Robert Finley, another of the Indian fighters in that last battle, and afterward a resident of Highland county, scarcely needs a mention here. His name was a household word for years and his history is known to all. He was born in Pennsylvania, educated at Princeton college, New Jersey, and early in life became a clergyman in the Presbyterian church at a time when pressing calls were being made for Christian work in the south. He yielded to these cries for help and went as a missionary to North Carolina, where he remained for three years. There he became acquainted with Daniel Boone, ;whose glowing description of the beauty and richness of his favOrite Kentucky excited the fancy of this gifted man and he resolved to visit the land of promise. He took up his abode for a few years in :Virginia, where he preached with great success, but still yearning for Kentucky he removed with his family to Flemmingsburg and 'wilt a cabin. This was a frontier house, built for comfort and 56 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. defense, having port holes like a fort, and was ready at any time for the cordial welcome of a Christian gentleman, or the quick eye and steady aim of the pioneer Indian. fighter. In 1796 Rev. Finley liberated all his slaves and came to the Scioto country to aid in the upbuilding of the early settlement at Chillicothe. After his deliverance Wilcoxon arrived sound and well, only minus his axe, pail and honey, at his cabin by the Big Spring, much to his own and his wife's joy. He was disturbed no more by Indians, and in fact, by no one else, for no human being seemed to be aware of the existence of his cabin and corn patch, in the dark and pathless forest. He gathered his corn and was delighted with the heap of golden ears that greeted his vision, and promised bread for the coming winter. Cold' weather beginning, Wilcoxon prepared for its reception by daubing the outside of his cabin with clay, mixed with wild grass, to keep it from crumbling, and prepared the inside by hanging the skins of the wild animals he had slain, upon the wall, a valuable and unique drapery, fit for the palace of a king. The long winter passed off pleasantly. He hunted when the weather was suitable, and when it was not, he remained in his cabin, dressing skins, and, with the aid of his wife, making them, into clothing for himself and family, all of whom were dressed in skins of wild animals. In the spring of 1796, another party was organized at Manchester for the Scioto country. A part of this company went by boat up the Ohio and Scioto rivers, not by steamboat or tug—those were unknown in that day—but wide flat bottomed boats, of clumsy character and great weight, propelled by poles and paddles. The parties were to meet at the mouth of Paint creek. The party that went by water carried with them the utensils necessary for the establishment of a permanent settlement. April 1, 1796, they landed their goods and began the business of preparing the soil for their future harvest, and such was the beginning of the present city of Chillicothe, which was laid off by Nathaniel Massie, Duncan McArthur and others. Another party, bound for the mouth of Paint, went by land, and by mere chance took the route from Manchester that led them past the cabin of Wilcoxon. These were his first white visitors, and be entertained them in true pioneer style. Wilcoxon and wife were so pleased with their new found friends that they at last consented to forsake their little'cabin home by the big spring and accompahy their visitors to the Massie settlement on the Scioto river. In the fall of the same year Timothy Marshon emigrated from Virginia and finding the unoccupied cabin of Wilcoxon took full possession of house and ground and lived there for a number of years. At about this time Frederick Brougher came with his family from Virginia and settled- about a mile north of Sinking Spring, on Zane's Trace, which is now known as the Zanesville and Maysville road. In 1796 Robert. Finley emancipated all his slaves in Kentucky THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS - 57 sent twelve of them under the leadership of J. B. Finley, his son on a journey to Chillicothe which was to be their future home. The negroes were mounted upon pack horses, which were loaded with bedding, cooking utensils, provisions and other necessary articles. Part of three other families journeyed with them with a drove of cows, sheep, and hogs. After crossing the Ohio river the weather rued very cold and the whole county being without a road, the travel was slow and difficult, scarcely the distance of ten miles per day, and often when overtaken by storms, they were compelled to damp and await better weather. After sixteen days of hardship and suffering they reached their destination on the Scioto river a few miles below Chillicothe where they built snug winter quarters. Bread was a scarce, crude article, made of pounded hominy and corn meal, and upon this they lived, together with what could be ained in the woods. Game was plentiful, and the opossums very, fat, and the negro's heart was filled with joy, and his black face shone like polished ebony, as he sung and danced in the moonlight. In the spring following Robert. Finley and the rest of the family moved out, and after erecting a cabin, all hands turned out to put in a crop of corn. They were compelled to fence in their fields to protect them from domestic animals, which roamed the forest at large, seeking the prairie spots for plentiful pasturage. When the fall came Finley desired to sow some wheat, but no seed could be obtained in that locality, so James and John Finley were sent with pack horses to Kentucky for this needed article. These two boys journeyed through the pathless forest. with the first grain of the kind ever sown upon the Scioto. Before this when the inhabitants exhausted their corn meal, they would resort to the hominy mortar for cracked corn, which when boiled soft or made into bread well shortened with bear's oil, was highly relished. Wheat flour was not obtainable for some time, and the small amount in the homes of the prudent and thoughtful, was kept for sickness, or such special occasions when company demanded some extra preparation for their entertainment. Whisky sold in the early settlement at $4.50 per gallon, but in the spring of 1794 when the keel boats began to run, the distillers along the Monongahela sent in such quantifies to this market, that the price declined to fifty cents per gallon, and men, women and even children drank freely of this fiery beverage, until drunkenness was a common, and almost every-day, trouble, and contention grew up in the settlement. Quite a number of Wayne's soldiers and camp women settled in the town of drunkards. Added to this was the Nesence of a number of Indians, who frequented the town to trade pelts for whisky which made them wild and fierce, and sent them yelling through the streets, dressed in their native costume, frightful pictures of a ruined race. This condition of things called for the interposition of the sober and orderly portion 58 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. of the the citizens and at last a meeting was called to take into consideration some means of reform. This meeting was held under the shade of a large sycamore tree on the banks of the Scioto. A large crowd attended this meeting and perfect order was maintained while the deliberations were held. After considerable discussion it was agreed that whenever a trader sold whisky to the Indians, or in any way furnished them with intoxicating drinks, he should be compelled to keep all the Indians thus made drunk, in his own storehouses until sober. For the first violation of this law the offender was to be reprimanded in a public manner by two persons appointed for that purpose, and for the second offense, their whisky kegs would be tomahawked and the contents poured upon the ground. This was the first whisky legislation by the people of Ohio. This law was disregarded by one of the traders, but the penalty followed so quickly the offense, that the law was regarded as supreme, none daring to violate it. Those early laws were crude but efficient, the lawmakers honest and the lawbreaker was sure of punishment. In 1797 Gov. St. Clair appointed Thomas Worthington, Hugh Cochran and Samuel Smith to be justices of the peace for the Chillicothe settlement. Justice Smith did most of the business, and his prompt and decided action made him very popular. His docket no one could understand but himself. He never issued a warrant when he could possibly avoid doing so, but would send a constable to bring the party before him that justice might be administered. Law books were of no authority for him. He justified his own decisions by saying: "All laws are intended to secure justice, and I know what is right and what is wrong as well as those wha made the laws, and therefore I stand in need of no laws to govern my actions." The following is one of his cases orally reported: Adam McMurk. cultivated some ground on the Station Prairie, below the town. One night some one stole his horse collar. Next morning he examined the collars in the possession of his fellow plowmen then at work, and found it on one of the horses and claimed it. McMurdy went to Squire Smith and stated his case. The Squire sent his constable with instructions to bring the collar and the thief forthwith before him. The accused was immediately arraigned, court being held in the open air under the shade of a tree. A Mr. Spear testified without being sworn, that "if the collar was McMurdy's he himself had written his name on the ear of the collar." The Squire turned up the ear and found the name. "No better proof could be given" said the Squire, and Ordered the prisoner to be tied up to a buckeye tree, and to receive five lashes well laid on, which sentence was immediately executed. The generous-inducements held out by General Massie brought a rapid increase to the town of Chillicothe. The rich low lands were laid off in farms of one and two hundred acres and sold for cash, THE FIRST SETTLEMENTS - 59 or on credit, for two dollars per acre. The settlers from the east, unaccustomed to the sight of cornfields so, rank in growth that a horse was hidden a few yards away, were delighted with the richness and fertility of the soil, and gladly availed themselves of the privilege to purchase upon such easy terms. The immense growth of timber of almost every variety, sugartree, elm, black walnut, oak, hickory, wild cherry, and hockberry, the undergrowth of spice wood, sassafras and wild plum, the grape vine and the blackberry, all conspired to fill the mind and heart with thanksgiving and song. Beneath all the wild rye, green and luxuriant, mixed with the prairie and buffalo clover, furnished abundant pasturage for flocks and ,herds. The fame of this garden of the world spread to the east and the people were anxious and excited over the prospect of a home in the west. Established landing places upon the river, Marietta, Gallipolis, Manchester and Cincinnati, were convenient resting points for the tired emigrants until they could determine the spot or their western home. The Marietta settlement rapidly extended up the Muskingum valley, and from Gallipolis settlements extended north toward the present city of Lancaster, then the principal town of the Wyandot nation. Zane's Trace leading from Wheeling to Limestone, run in 1796, passed through the present location of Chillicothe, and was the means of bringing settlers to that place, while the route from Kentucky. through Manchester opened the way to the interior of the state. The settlement in and around Chillicothe was the first made in peace, west of the mountains. It grew very rapidly and was the central point to which the tide of emigration turned, and very soon became a place of importance, and a general resting place for the tired emigrants after the long and slow journey of the wilderness. Here all necessary information could be obtained in regard to lands unappropriated, and to purchase from the land proprietors suitable homes in the garden spots in the Northwest Territory. From this center the stream of emigration diverged in almost every direction, and very many who I afterward became citizens of Highland county, made their first settlement near Chillicothe, yet are a part of the history of Highland county because of their long residence and identification with those early years. All this time, since 1789, what is now Highland county had been part of Washington county, which had for its east boundary the Scioto river. On July 10, 1797, Gov. St. Clair by proclamation established Adams county. It included a great area both east and west of the Scioto river, from the Ohio river north to the Indian treaty line and including the lands of Highland county. Court was first held at Manchester on the Ohio river. The governor appointed commissioners to determine the location of the county seat, who, after some trouble, settled upon a point a short distance 60 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. above the mouth of Brush creek, at a town now known as Adamsville. This action of the commissioners greatly incensed the good people of Manchester, who kept up such a warm contest over the matter, that it was finally arranged to change the location to West Union, which action was taken in 1804, when peace and quiet was restored to the disturbing elements in the body politic. Long before that, on August 20, 1798, the greater part of Highland had been made part of the new county of Ross, and the seat of justice was established at Chillicothe. The Ross county then established was a great territory. Its east boundary was the west line of the Ohio Company's purchase. The north boundary was the Greenville treaty line, and the west boundary was a line drawn north from the mouth of Eagle creek on the Ohio river. These lines had been those of the alder county of Adams, the northern part of which was set off as Ross. The dividing. line was run west from "the forty-second mile tree" on the line of the Ohio company. The old line between Ross and Adams may be found by drawing a line on an accurate state map, from the southeast corner of Vinton county, through the southeast corner of Highland, to the west line of Highland. All of Highland south of that line was in 1798 to 1805 part of Adams county, and all north thereof in Ross county. CHAPTER IV. BEGINNINGS OF NEW MARKET AND GREENFIELD. THE remarkable prosperity of the new town of Chillicothe, and the probability of the erection of a new county between that outpost and the older town of Manchester, led to the founding of New Market. As it is told in the words of one of the old residents of Highland county,;* the pioneer in founding the new county seat was Henry Massie, a younger brother of Gen. Massie, who came out from Virginia shortly after Manchester was located and engaged as an assistant surveyor under his brother. In the summer of 1796, while the settlement about Chillicothe was making, he was engaged in locating and surveying lands on the head waters of Brush creek, in the present county of Highland. The summer and fall of the next year was employed by him in the same way. Most of the rich bottom lands on the Scioto and Miami having been taken up by the early surveyors, he was of necessity confined chiefly to the hill region, then in Adams county, and extending north of Manchester some thirty miles. While making these surveys he became impressed with the beauty of an upland tract which he entered and surveyed for himself. The land was not rich, but it lay finely and seemed to occupy a position which one day might make it important,. and a source of wealth for himself. It was, as near as he could then ascertain, about equidistant from the only located towns in the military district, and, he doubted not, might become the seat of a new county, when it became necessary to establish another north of Manchester. Thus impressed he returned with his company to Manchester about the first of December, and during the winter made a visit to his brother at Chillicothe. He was surprised at the rapid growth of that place and the surrounding country, and at once understood that his brother would become very wealthy by the sale of his lands and town lots. Immediately he determined to lay out a town himself early in the next spring on his previously selected * John A. Trimble in the Scott sketches published in the Hillsboro Gazette many years ago. 62 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. site, and communicated his project to his brother, who warmly approved the plan and promised him all the aid he could in advancing the enterprise. On the 5th day of April, 1798, Henry Massie set out from Manchester with a small company to lay out the town on the uplands. Following the Kenton trace through the dense wilderness, the party arrived on the 7th at the place of their future operations, and camped near a fine spring. The next day they began the erection there of some huts for their accommodation, beginning what was known as Camp Ross. They had brought with them on their pack horses meal, bacon, salt, &c., sufficient for their immediate wants, also axes and implements.r The company consisted of Henry Massie, Oliver Ross and his daughter, a girl of fifteen, Robert Huston and another. Miss Ross went as tentkeeper and cook, and was then believed to be the first white woman in the present county of Highland, in consequence of which Massie. gave her a lot in the town when it was laid off. Huston and Ross were both Irishmen, who had emigrated only a few years before. Henry Massie had indulged in his dream of founding a town so long that he had become firmly convinced that it would soon rival his brother's already successful enterprise on the Scioto. He accordingly proceeded to lay the town out on a grand scale. The city of Philadelphia was taken as a model and followed in every detail of the city that was to be. This plan formed the plat into regular squares and intersected the streets at right angles. The two main cross streets were ninety-nine feet wide and all the others sixty-six. The town plat covered four hundred acres, and looked superb on paper. The public square, designed for the court house, contained four inlots, and was the northeast corner at the intersection of the two main cross streetsN, Each inlot was eighty-two and one-half feet in front, and one hundred and eighty-five in depth. One lot was donated for school purposes, and an outlot for a cemetery. The town was thus blazed out in an unbroken forest, and as its name Massie selected the title of a favorite village in his native Virginia. So the embryo metrop. ohs of the uplands received the name of New Market. After the town was laid out Massie commenced running off the adjoining lands in lots to suit purchasers who were expected soon to appear. While thus engaged Ross and Huston officiated as chainmen. They continued in this service until they had earned sufficient wages to purchase for each a hundred acre lot of land adjoining the town plat. Having prepared copies of the plat of his town, Massie sent them with a brief description of the country, and a. statement of the inducements to actual settlers, to Maysville, Manchester, Chillicothe and other places. This brought visitors from all over the country to his encampment the next summer, among whom were BEGINNINGS OF NEW MARKET AND GREENFIELD - 63 Jonathan Berryman and William Wishart, who were pleased with the country. Berryman bought a hundred acre tract adjoining the town plat on the south, and Wishart bought a corner lot in the town. Berryman returned to Manchester, his temporary residence, while Wishart remained and commenced improving his purchase by cutting out the trees and brush and building a log cabin, designed. for a tavern house. This cabin was the first house erected in the town of New Market, and stood on the lot where now stands the deserted home of Lewis Couch. Wishart was an industrious energetic Scotchman, and soon had his building in condition to serve as a tavern. But the rush of new settlers did not follow in such numbers as to crowd the new Motel, small as it was. The fame of the rich land about Chillicothe, and the wonderfully rapid growth of that place, drew most, of the immigrants, who had but little respect for oak hills as farming lands, and no dread of fever and ague. As an inducement, to settlers, Massie offered to every man who purchased of him one hundred acres of land an outlot of three acres and in order to get the country opened up and in a condition for cultivation, he employed men to clear out land adjoining the town plat, giving fifty acres of land for clearing ten. The first ear there was no crop raised, and all the breadstuff used had to be ought on pack horses from Manchester. But the settlers and surveyors had little difficulty in supplying their wants from the game which was found in great abundance in the woods. They also found service berries and mulberries in great profusion, and in the fall great quantities of hazel nuts, hickory nuts and walnuts. They had taken cows with them, so that milk was plentiful, and it could be kept cool at the excellent spring near Miss Camp, which was the headquarters of the surveyors, and for a time, until Wishart's tavern was opened, for visitors and new comers. Ross selected his lot of land adjoining the town plat on the east, but made no improvement that year, being constantly engaged as chainman for Massie, who had become principal surveyor in that region and therefore received large numbers of military warrants to locate, chiefly on shares. Joseph Carr, who was a surveyor and land jobber, came to the new settlement during the summer and gave much of his time to surveying lands. When Berryman went back to Manchester, after selecting his land, he intended to return in season to make the necessary preparation for winter, but one of his horses getting crippled, he was compelled to postpone his return until late in the fall. He was a native of the state of New Jersey and had come to Manchester with his wife and effects the previous autumn. When his horse recovered he loaded his few articles of household goods into his light, Jersey wagon, and about the first of October set out for New Market. There was no road for wagons, none having passed into the country north, and he followed a pack- 64 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. horse trace until he struck the Kenton trace, which was the route followed by all who had gone to the new settlement. Cutting his way through the woods by day, he camped out at night, using the closely covered wagon to sleep in, his horses hobbled and belled, grazing around, and his dog under the wagon, little disturbed by the howls and hoots of the wolves, panthers and owls. On the eleventh day he arrived safe and well on his land, adjoining the town plat. It was forenoon when they reached the end of their journey, and the day calm, beautiful and pleasant as autumn days often are. Berryman immediately went to work vigorously with his axe to cut logs for his cabin, while the horses were turned loose to graze on the luxuriant. growth of wild pea vine which was then common all over the hills, and the wife set about preparing dinner, to which she and her husband set down on the ground, carpeted with autumn's variegated fallen leaves, with a peculiar relish. They were at home, though they had neither house nor field, and they therefore doubly enjoyed their simple repast, and the pure cold water from the bubbling spring near by. The labor of preparing the logs and clearing off the ground for the cabin was interrupted a few days after by the straying of the horses., One was found some miles north of New Market, dead, evidently from the effect of a snake bite on the nose. The other horse was probably taken by some strolling band of Indians, as the country some twelve miles north was then pretty thickly settled by the Shawanees and Wyandots. But about the middle of November Berryman was ready for the "raising." Men were of course scarce, but what few could be had were kind and neighborly. They turned out, some four or five of them, and by hard lifting managed to carry the logs to the place and raise the cabin. The remainder of the work, such as roofing, laying puncheon floor, buil ing the cat and clay chimney, making the clapboards, door, and oth work, he was compelled to do himself. After all this he moved in, for while all this work was going on he lived in his wagon. About the first of December it began to rain very hard and continued for some two weeks, so that Berryman could not daub his cabin to keep out the wet and the cold. He was enabled, however, to provide for his future wants by killing a large bear from his cabin door, while deer and wild turkeys could be found in large numbers but a short distance from his home. The weather becoming cold after the rain, Berryman became alarmed, lest he should be unable to chink and daub his house so as to keep out the snow and the cold in the severe weather that was certain to follow. He hit upon a plan to obviate this difficulty by building large log heaps on all sides of his cabin, and after chinking the cracks, fired his log heaps, made his clay mortar, and fixed his home all snug and warm, the heat from the burning logs keeping the clay from freezing, and drying it quickly and even BEGINNINGS OF NEW MARKET AND GREENFIELD - 65 baking it hard, This work was done between Christmas and New Year, and his home was one of comfort and plenty, and stood tenanted for many years, a pioneer palace where virtue, contentment and religion reigned. Jonathan Berryman planted the first orchard in the present county of Highland. He brought from New Jersey a large selection of apple and peach seeds of choice variety, and planted as soon as possible on reaching his land near New Market. His peach orchard in three or four years was in fine condition, giving an abundant supply of the most excellent fruit. Berryman was also a bee man, and soon the hum of those honey-making workers could be heard among the flowers that grew in wild profusion. In March following the *laying out of the town, Oliver Ross, Massie's assistant, came back from Manchester, bringing his eldest son, St. Clair Ross, another son and the daughter, and arrived upon the 16th. They erected a temporary camp on their land east of the town plat and commenced clearing for a corn patch. As yet the town of New Market had no permanent settler. The persons engaged in laying out the town had all returned to Manchester for the winter. Oliver Ross was a comparatively old man, and when he and his sons- went on to the ground to commence the clearing, which was on the 17th of March, 1798, he requested St. Clair to take the axe and cut down a sapling. After was done he handed him a grubbing hoe and requested him to take up some grubs, remarking that he wanted him to have it to say when he became an old man that he had cut the first tree and taken up the first grub in the New Market settlement, which was, except for the settlement of Sinking Spring by Wilcoxon, the first in the present county of Highland. The Ross boys planted four acres of corn that spring, and prepared for future improvement by slashing the timber for fall burning. Their nearest towns were Chillicothe, Cincinnati, and Manchester. They still lived in their camp during the summer. Their carpet, says Mr. Ross, was nature's green earth ; their table a split log with the flat side up, and their standing food was corn meal gruel, thickened with wild onions. Sometimes this was varied by a roast of venison or other, game. St. Clair Ross was married to Rebecca Eakins in 1807, by Samuel Evans, a justice of the peace, at the residence of the bride's father, Joseph Eakins, near New Market. The next permanent settler that came to New Market was Jacob Bean, then came McCafferty, and some others the exact date of whose arrival is unknown. Robert Boyce arrived from Manchester with the first wagon brought out to the settlement of New Market. He sent word he was coming and asked the people to aid him in cutting a road through the woods to the settlement. St. Clair Ross was one of the number that helped open the way. He also helped cut the road H-5 66 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. from New Market west to the crossing of Whiteoak, thence to Williamsburg, or Lytlestown as it was then called. Soon after the founding of New Market, the town of Greenfield had its beginning. The latter was preceded, and in part brought about, by the advent of Jacob Smith and his brother Enoch, and a party of some fifteen families, from Virginia, in the Scioto valley. They came down the Ohio to Manchester, and followed the trace from that place to the falls of Paint, where the Smiths, being millwrights, determined to abide. Crossing over to the north side of Paint, they prepared to spend the winter at the falls, and being strong handed soon erected a number of cabins, sufficient to house the party. October and November were delightful months; game was very plentiful, and the settlers at the mouth of Paint had raised a very large crop, so that the new comers at the falls found their wants easily supplied. The Virginians made but little effort, during the winter, toward clearing and preparing the land for the spring planting. Instead, they engaged with zest in the delightful pastime of killing deer and bear. Jacob Smith, however, while others were thus occupied, was preparing to establish a mill. He made a visit to Chillicothe to see General Massie, who owned all the land about the falls, and Massie who contemplated a homestead near the falls, at once made a proposition to Smith to give one hundred acres of land for every twenty of his own that was cleared and made ready for cultivation, as well as the first two crops from the cleared land for themselves. After the two crops promised were taken off this land, tenants from the Chillicothe settlement were placed upon it and cultivation and improvement was continued under the supervision of General Massi himself, who began in 1800 the erection of his famous mansi Meanwhile General Massie joined with the Smiths in building a da across the creek, and the Smiths built a mill that was an excellent one for that clay, and, as afterward improved, took rank as one of the best in the country. Massie also erected a small mill as a convenience for his own tenants. In 1798 General McArthur, having witnessed the success of Massie's settlement, conceived a like purpose for himself upon a large tract of land, upon the west bank of Main Paint, which he had surveyed and located some two years before. He journeyed with a small party through the unbroken wilderness, there being no road open from Chillicothe west, carrying his outfit upon pack horses explored his lands, and selected a beautiful sloping spot upon the west side of Paint for a town, which was platted upon a liberal scale, with wide streets intersecting at right angles. He gave to actual settlers both an inlot and outlot. A square—the southwest corner of. Main and Washington streets—was donated for a. courthouse and jail, and a lot for a burying ground was also given. General McArthur was BEGINNINGS OF NEW MARKET AND GREENFIELD - 67 strongly impressed with the notion that, not far in the future, this place would become the seat of justice for a new rich county, and is thus impressed he acted. The town being blazed out, staked off and platted, nothing remained but to give it a name, and the new town was called Greenfield. Possibly the tender memories of other years flooded the soul of General McArthur when he recalled the little village of that name in Erie county, Pa., where he had spent his boyhood days, and where his aged father and brothers and sisters were still living, and where, in the churchyard, beneath some weeping willows, the grave of his mother was kept green by tender hands. It perhaps would not be out of place here to speak of General McArthur personally, as pioneer, citizen, governor, and to drop upon the grave of this honest man a sprig of evergreen due the memory of one who, unaided by wealth and culture, reached at last the highest place in the gift and heart of his fellowmen. Duncan McArthur was born in Duchess county, N. Y., January 14, 1772. His parents were natives of Scotland, his mother of the Campbell clan, so widely kown in Scottish story. She died while Duncan was quite young. When about eight years of age the father and family moved to the western frontier of Pennsylvania. The war with England was then. In progress, and schools were impossible; but young McArthur at the age of thirteen had learned to read and write fairly. His father was very poor and as soon as the work of his own little farm was done, Duncan was hired out to work by the day or month to other farmers in the neighborhood. At this time there was no wagon road across the Alleghany mountains, and all the merchandise, powder, lead, iron, pots, kettles, blankets, rum, and other necessary articles were carried over on pack horses. Young McArthur frequently engaged in the business of conducting trains over the mountains; the excitement and danger of the undertaking being greater inducement to this fearless boy than the small wages received for his service. It was almost a daily occurrence to see these moving trains of pack horses, loaded with articles of value, in single file, cautiously making their way over the rugged and stupendous Alleghanies, often along paths barely wide enough for a single horse, from which the least deviation would send horse and load into the awful abyss below. But such were not the only dangers that beset the journey; the Indians frequently lay in ambush to kill the packers and rob the trains. When McAthur was eighteen years old he bade adieu to home and friends and joined Harmar's army, and from that time he became identified very closely with the history of Ohio. His career is an interesting and instructive one. Without the aid of a single friend, without education or wealth or the associations of society, so essential to improvement, he step by step advanced his way, a farmer boy, a packer, a private in the army, a salt boiler, a hunter and trapper, a spy on the frontier, a chain carrier, a surveyor, a member of the 68 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. legislature, and finally governor of his adopted state. McArthur became wealthy, and through the honors conferred upon him by his fellow citizens he was brought in contact with the cultured and refined of society. Yet the fads of social etiquette never disturbed his broad good sense; he never forgot the fierce struggle of his early years and the frank and generous nature of the pioneer never left him. "He was physically a splendid specimen of manhood, six feet in height and as straight as an arrow, hair and eyes as black as night, complexion swarthy; his whole frame perfectly developed and step as elastic and light as a deer." Although some details of his character, developed in the hard struggle for wealth, cannot be presented for imitation, in his unity of purpose and of effort he furnishes us with a noble example. The nobility of principle, the freedom from tortuous policy, the direction of the energies to the attainment of one worthy end, makes practicable what is called in the Scriptures the "single eye," not complex, no obliquity in the vision, looking straight on, taking in one object at a time. If we look into the lives of men who have vindicated their right to be held in the world's memory, we shall find that all their actions evolve from one comprehensive principle, and converge to one magnificent achievement. Such a man was Duncan McArthur. In 1799 Henry Massie determined to connect his town of New Market with the settlement at the Falls of Paint and Chillicothe, and early in the spring he began the cutting of a pack horse trace to those places. On reaching. the Falls settlement he found the way open from there to the town of his brother on the Scioto. Gen. William Lytle, who in an early day had emigrated to Kentucky from Penn sylvania, and took an active part in the desperate Indian fights upon the borders, made a trace from Williamsburg, then called Lytlestown to New Market. The town of Lytlesville had been laid out some time before by General Lytle, and in December, 1800, it was made the seat of Clermont county, extending northward from the Ohio far inland on the west line of Ross and Adams. A pack horse trace having been cut through to Cincinnati, a means of communication was thus established by way of New Market to Chillicothe, and from that place on to Marietta, Zanesville and the old states beyond the mountains. During the summer of 1799 but little improvement was made in the town of New Market, Wishart's hotel survived, and now and then received a stranger guest or a party of surveyors, but no new houses were erected, though some effort had been made to separate th town from the wilderness by chopping out a few trees and underbrus so that the crossing of the main streets might be discerned. In fall much dignity was conferred upon the town by the establishme of the postoffice of New Market, and the appointment of "mine bos of the tavern as postmaster. When this dignity was conferred BEGINNINGS OF NEW MARKET AND GREENFIELD - 69 Market had but one house, and that almost obscured by the rank growth of butter weeds, which were then in bloom, and filled the air, with their silky petals. The hotel was without a sign, but it needed none, as it was the only visible stopping place in the whole region. A pole fence surrounded the tavern, which consisted of a single room twelve by sixteen feet, while stalks of corn earless and dry, and pumpkins, yellow and golden, served as ornaments to embellish and suggest. But the place had become a post town and such dignity must not be disregarded. The burly Scotch landlord by some method managed to get a barrel of whisky and two tin cups, and was prepared to honor the name and station he so proudly occupied. It was quite an inter, eating sight upon mail day when the solitary dweller was aroused from his drowsy slumber, by the clear ringing notes of the postman's horn, and to see what polite show of respect. was accorded the important mail carrier, clad in buckskin hunting shirt, coonskin cap, and fully armed with heavy dragoon holsters under bearskin cover. But keeping postoffice in an uninhabited town soon became monotonous and as no letters arrived Wishart concluded he would make custom by an effort of his own. So he wrote to every person that he knew, and some he had only heard of. This for a short time proved successful, and answers came from. far off friends and quaint replies from unknown parties, until the office became noted for the influx of documents. But the postmaster found no profit in this method, and quit writing letters and resigned his office at about the same time. In the same year, 1799, Jacob and Enoch Smith enlisted the service of a ,urveyor, and platted a town at the Falls of Paint, which they called New Amsterdam. In 1799, also, the first improvement in the newly laid out town of Greenfield,was made. Job Wright, an odd, easy going fellow from the bluffs southwest of Chillicothe, disliking to live in a thickly settled portion of the county because of his hunting and fishing proclivities, gathered up his wife and children, gun and dogs, started out in search of a more congenial clime, and finding Greenfield destitute of inhabitants and the hunting and fishing fine, 'determined to settle there, and. built a cabin for the shelter of himself and family. This was the first house of any kind built in Greenfield, and was on the northeast corner of Main and Washington street, on the ground since occupied by the Franklin House. Job was by trade a hair sieve maker, and followed his trade when he could not unt nor fish. These hair sieves in those days were necessary articles in the economy of housekeeping. Wire sieves could not be obtained at any price, and corn meal either ground or pounded is not first class eating until the bran is separated from it. By his trade Job managed obtain bread for his family, but for his main living depended upon his fishing rod and gun. He had one favorite fishing hole, at a promi, ent rock, some fifty yards above where the bridge now is, which :bears his name even now, and is still the lurking place of the fierce 70 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. black bass. Job Wright remained at Greenfield for some years, but as the town grew, population crowded the quaint specimen from his favorite places and he again departed for parts unknown. In the spring of 1796 John Kincade, with his family, left Virginia for the Northwest Territory. He was a veteran of the Revolutionary war and desired to locate his hard-earned Virginia land warrant and secure for himself a home to shelter his old age. Bringing his goods upon pack horses, he came to Point Pleasant, crossed the Ohio at that place, continued his journey to the west of the Scioto river, and at last reached a large and beautiful spring of pure water near the banks of Sunfish creek. This spot so pleased Kincade that he determined to locate the land around that spring and there build himself a home. Kincade settlement soon became known and in the next year or two quite a number of families located in the vicinity. In 1798 Charles and James Hughey bought land of Joseph Karr in this neighborhood, and both families settled on their purchase, increasing the settlement to thirteen persons. In a little while after this the number was increased by the arrival of two families from Pennsylvania, and in the winter of 1799, Reuben Bristol, from Kentucky, and Abraham McCoy, an Irishman, became established settlers. Then thirty-three persons, all freeholders, constituted the neighborhood, a happy, peaceful community, lacking no essential thing to make them happy, having none of the vices which mar the peace and morals of society, without a code of laws for government and control, without taxes, and without the petty strife of partisan politics, the bitter cup in civilized life. These people were by no means ignorant and uncultured, or destitute of the means of mental improvement and enjoyment. Many had books and all had Bibles, and the Sabbath day was more carefully observed in its sacred aracter and purpose than now when in the midst of our boasted adva in morality and civilization. In November, 1799, Mareshah Llewellyn came to Highland county and settled upon Rocky Fork about two miles south of Hillsboro. He was a native of North Carolina, of a Welsh family that came to America during the reign of Charles II, and as they were of a wild and roving disposition, the name was found, not only upon the shores of the Chesapeake, but amid the sands and swamps of the old "North State" and the mountains of eastern Tennessee. Llewellyn was twenty-four years of age, strong, good looking, and polite, yet notwithstanding all these good qualities, he could not persuade old George Smith to give him Peggy for wife, but in lieu thereof Smith swore that he would shoot Llewellyn if he caught him paying any attention to his daughter. This action did not agree with the mind and heart of Peggy, and she determined to have her own way in the selection of her husband, and selecting a time when her father was called away from home as a witness at BEGINNINGS OF NEW MARKET AND GREENFIELD - 71 Rutherford Court House, they packed their worldly goods on a tough old horse that Mareshah bought on a long credit, and on a bright moonlight night they started for Tennessee. In about two weeks of brisk travel they reached Elizabethtown, on the head waters of the Holston, where they were legally married. Thence they traveled to Kentucky, camping out at night. Llewellyn did sonic very successful hunting upon this journey, and by this means supplied himself and wife with food and material for raiment. They at last reached Boonville on the Kentucky river, where they tarried for some time, exchanging bear and deer skins for some necessaries, among which was a large sized hand mill for grinding corn. Once more they started north, but by the time they reached Blue Lick the horse's back was so sore that they could travel no further. Finding employment in boiling salt they remained during the summer at Blue Lick, and when October came, bundling up their goods they again started on their journey. After various stops the wandering pair finally settled on Rocky Fork at a fine spring on the west side of the road now known as the West Union and Hillsboro pike. During the fall of 1799, New Market improved largely, and some six or seven cabins were visible from the tavern door. Much of the dense undergrowth had been cut out, and the timber cleared or thinned out in the surrounding forest, which gave to the town the appearance of being the center of a logging camp with the bushy tops of the fallen trees yet remaining uncleared. Winter firewood was near and plentiful and the blue smoke going up from the wide chimneys gave evidence of cheerful comfort within. The permanent settlers in Kew Market in the year 1800 were Eli Collins and family, Isaac Dillon, Jacob Eversole, John Eversole, Christian Bloom, Robert Boyce, Jacob Beam, John Emrie and the plucky landlord of the hotel, William Wishart. Jonathan Berryman was on his farm, adjoining the town. He had cleared and cultivated a few acres, and was known as the most successful farmer in the community. He had raised more corn than would supply his own wants and found ready sale for his surplus at his own crib. Oliver Ross had erected a house on his land east of town, the best in that region. Houses in that day consisted of a single room which answered the purpose of kitchen, parlor and bedroom. Ross, however, built his house of hewed logs, clapboard roof, with one room in front and one back of it which served as a kitchen. He had cleared some land and raised some corn, and under a special license from Governor St. Clair opened a tavern. Robert Huston had built upon his land and tended a patch of corn. This was the condition of things in and about New Market in the year 1800. All the necessaries, save corn and wild game, were brought from a distance—Manchester or Chillicothe—yet the people were con- 72 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. tented and happy and were able to control their appetites by the amount and variety of the supply of provision on hand, and when spring returned, it found them in good condition for work in forest and field, the hominy and bear meat fully agreeing with their digestion. Now and then an effort was made by some lady, who had brought a small quantity of tea from her old home, to make some display of the lost art of tea. making, when some special occasion demanded extra exertion at entertainment. We give one instance for the edification and comfort of the tea lovers of the present age. A small number of ladies had gathered at a neighbor's cabin to enjoy social converse and the detailing of events so common among the fair women of all lands. To meet the demands of this visit the very best the house could furnish was prepared and it was decided to brew a cup of tea as extra fare to grace the board. But no fire proof vessel could be found except an old broken bake-oven, such as was used to bake cornpone. With this they went to work, beginning with the substantials. First there were some nice cakes made and fried in bear's oil in the one vessel ; then some short cakes were made and baked in it; then some fine venison steaks were fried in the same vessel, after which 'it was used to carry water from the spring, some hundred yards away, and finally the tea was made in this precious old oven, and pronounced by all present to be most excellent. In the spring of 1800 Nev Market was highly honored by a visit from Governor St. Clair, who, on a journey from Chillicothe to Cincinnati, stopped at Ross' tavern, which greatly vexed our friend Wishart of the New Market hotel. Ross was an Irishman, of broad, good sense, and much blarney, and doubtless brought all his charms to bear upon the fun-loving governor, who shortly after his return to Chillicothe sent Ross a commission as Territorial justice of th peace, making him the first officer of the law within the present, limit of Highland county. This honor highly elated Squire Ross, and was an added dignity to the town of New Market. The commission did not arrive quite soon enough for the purpose of certain parties in the neighborhood of New Market. John Emrie and Squire Ross's eldest daughter, Margaret, had concluded to get married, and as it was necessary to have legal sanction to this contract as well as witnesses, a man by the name of John. Brown was brought up from Amsterdam to perform this interesting ceremony. The ceremony was performed at eleven o'clock a. m. Dinner was served at twelve noon, and the rest of the day was spent in shooting at mark, romping with the girls, and a grand old dance at night. In this same important. year, 1800, the seat of government was removed by act of Congress from Cincinnati to Chillicothe, and the erection of a state house was commenced at that place to accommodate the Territorial legislature and the various courts. Chillicothe, after this, besides the seat of justice of the Highland settlements we have BEGINNINGS OF NEW MARKET AND GREENFIELD - 73 described, became the most important place in the Northwest, the center of wealth and fashion, drawing its trade and extending its influence for hundreds of miles, bringing to its busy crowded streets the mixed population from everywhere. In 1800 John Coffey, Lewis Lutteral, Samuel Schooley, Joseph Palmer, James Curry, James Milligan and William Bell came to Greenfield and began house building and other improvements with the view of permanent settlement. Mr. Bell died the following spring, leaving a wife and six children, three. sons and three daughters. The sons all married and remained in Greenfield, and in the course of a few years were the leading business men in the town. oseph and Charles were the first blacksmiths, and Josiah was the First hatter in the town. They all saved money, and quitting their old industries, engaged in the dry goods business and became the prominent merchants in the town. Joseph removed from Greenfield to Washington, Fayette county, where death found him in 1854. John Coffey resided many years near Greenfield, and filled several important offices in the church and state. James Curry did not remain very long in Greenfield, removing with his family to Union county and settling on a farm on Darby creek, where he died in 1834 at a ripe old age, respected and honored by all. "When quite a young man James Curry had been with the Virginia forces in the bloody battle of Point Pleasant. He served as an officer in the Virginia Continental line, during the greater part of the Revolutionary war, id was taken prisoner by the British when the American army surrendered at Charleston, S. O. During his residence in Ohio he was extensively known among the leading men of the State. He was several times elected to the State legislature, and was one of the lectors by whom the State was given to James Monroe in 1820. The last of many public trusts which he held was that of associate judge for this county." Otway Curry, his youngest son, was born in Greenfield in 1804, and grew to be a lad of much promise. His father bestowed great care upon his education, intending that his son should become a lawyer. But this was not in harmony with the boy's wishes and likes. His was the poetic temperament, and the musty tomes of legal science had no charms for him, much to his father's regret, and while Otway made the effort. to please his father, his heart was not in the study, but far away in an ideal world. To escape from this ordeal, he ran away from home and study, and reached Cincinnati unknown and without money. He engaged with a man to learn the carpenter trade, leaving him some leisure to indulge the poetic inspirations that filled his mind. He remained in Cincinnati some years, and became noted as the poet of the west. His contributions to magazines and newspapers were short, but full of the elements of poetic fire, and many a sweet, pathetic note of his has cheered and made better the vigorous toilers of the west. He became editor of 74 - THE COUNTY OF HIGHLAND. the Chillicothe Gazette in 1853-4. In the fall of 1854 he quit editorial work and removed to Marysville, Union county, for the purpose of practicing law, but sickened and died in the February followteing his removal, after an illness of a few days. The first school, so far as we have been able to learn, was taught outside the town of Greenfield in a little cabin, by Judge Mooney, in 1803-4. No house was erected for school purposes in that town until 1810. This building was of round poles or logs and shingled with clapboards. The room was sixteen feet square; half of the floor was of split puncheons and the "other half was native earth. The earth floor was toward the fire-place, which filled one end of the building. A door was cut out, and a log removed for a window, with broad rails with wooden pins for seats. This constituted the convenience of these early schools. Coarse paper, quill pens, maple bark ink, Webster's blue-backed spelling book, Pike's arithmetic, : bare feet from April to December, and a teacher with a well-seasoned rod, were the incidents essential to the culture and enlargement of the mental vision of the youth of that early day. But the history of the county will show that from the rude log school house have come men and women who not only had the capacity to understand and direct material events, shaping the character and destiny of the country by their clear and cultured view of the true elements of social economy, but were graced with every virtue that made them leaders and seers in social progress, intellectual and moral. This school house was replaced by a larger building of hewed logs in. 1815, and occupied the ground afterward enclosed and used as a graveyard. This house served the school purpose of Greenfield until 1837, when James Anderson and Thomas Boyd were employed to build two frame school houses, which were used for many years. Greenfield did not go forward at a rapid pace for some years aft its first settlement., and as one of her good citizens remarked, "up to the year 1814 it was green enough." Most of the lots up to that date were covered with hazel brush, grape vines, and running brier. There were some progressive people in the town and they urged the necessity of clearing out and the further improvement of the place if the future of their city would be assured and permanent. Two or three taverns, which were mere excuses for the name, were run- ning; their only means of existence was the ability to keep whis on hand to satisfy the native thirst of the local and traveling public, The first public house of any note was erected by Francis P. Nat, in 1804. A man by the name of Simpson also "kept tavern in th town," and he was followed by Noble Crawford, who erected a Stoll building, the first of its class in the town. This hotel had a goo reputation far and near. T. McGarrough owned this house for several years, and kept it for a place of rest and comfort for th emigrants in their journeys in search of homes. The building