AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 525 Lud Petty, 1855-56 ; Geo. McKee, 1856 ; S. Nesbitt, S. M. Hickman, 1857 ; G. A. Lowman, 1857-58 ; W. H. Tibbles, 1858 ; R. Boyd, S. H. Nesbitt, 1859 ; L. J. Higgins, P. R. McCue, 1860 ; A. L. Petty, John Shearer, 1862 ; E. B. Griffin, 1862-63 ; John Stephens, 1863-64 ; G. W. Baker, 1864 ; John Grant, 1865 ; J. Q. A. Miller, 1867 ; T. H. Wilkinson, 1869 ; Edward Ellison, 1872 ; J. B. Uber., 1875 ; J. R. Keyes, 1877-80 ; A. J. Hiatt, 1886-88 ; W. D. Stevens, 1889-90 ; S. P. Lloyd, 1891-94 ; J. S. Eaton, 1895 ; W. H. Haverfield, 1896-97 ; E. R. Jones, 1898; G. T. Humble, 1899-1901; J. F. Ellis, 1902-5; R. E. Meyers, 1906-7 ; A. E. Yeager, 1908 ; W. A. Kinney, 1909. Rev. Joseph Hall preached in the vicinity of East Springfield at the houses of Henry Hammond and William Davidson, who with the Rileys, Rutledges, Johnsons and Minors formed the first Methodist class. After the building of St. John's Church in 1826, the only house of worship then in the village, they held services there with more or less regularity until 1846, when they erected a building for themselves. F. I. Swaney was pastor in 1886, followed by M. J. Ingram, 1887-8 ; M. J. Slutz, 1889 ; James Walls, 1890-3 ; T. H. Taylor, 1894-6 ; S. P. Lloyd, 1897-9 ; E. S. Smith, 1900-3 ; J. F. Rankin, 1904-7 ; Ross Sullivan, 1908-9. Mount Hope Church in Section 20 was organized about 1830 with James Cowden as class leader. From 1833 to 1841 preaching was had at the house of James Rutledge, when a log church was built, which stood until 1860, when it was replaced by a frame. It was supplied from Richmond. Salem M. E. Society was organized in 1838 by Rev. Patrick McCue with the following class : Eli McKinney, leader; Margaret Miller, Martha Thompson, John Lawson, John Lacey, Elizabeth and John Ferrell and Sarah A. Myers. Meetings were first held in the school house, but a log church was built in 1844, replaced by a frame iii 1848. In 1879 the church was rebuilt and dedicated on July 13 with a membership of fifty. It is on the East Springfield circuit. Salem Township, like Mt. Pleasant and Smithfield, had a settlement of Friends among its pioneers, but in smaller numbers, among them being William Farquhar and wife Elizabeth, Joseph Hobson and wife Ann, Joseph Talbott and wife Mary, Benjamin Talbott and wife Susannah, Jacob Ong and wife Mary. Gatherings took place at William Farquhar's house until 1815 when they built a log meeting house. In 1820 it was replaced by a brick structure 30x40 in Section 9, south of Richmond. Jacob Ong and John Watson were the first approved ministers. The old building still stands in its quiet graveyard, but silent and deserted. The society dissolved many years ago, and B. L. Crew, of Richmond, is the sole living representative. Rev. Alexander Calderhead organized the Associate Reformed, now United Presbyterian Church, of Richmond, in 1805 at the residence of Col. John Andrews in the northeast corner of the township, with John Collins, John Johnson and John Walker, elders. A structure six feet long, five feet wide and seven feet high was built of clapboards on the farm of James McLain in 1806, and moved from place to place on a sled to suit the convenience of preacher or congregation. Of course this would only accommodate the pulpit with other ministerial furniture, the congregation gathering in the open air. On April 11, Rev. George Buchanan took charge, and in 1816 a hewn log house 24x28, called Union Church, was erected on the land of David Andrews, afterwards the R. H. Kerr property. Rev. Hugh Parks succeeded Mr. Andrews in 1831, and during his pastorate a new brick church, 35x45, was built in Richmond. This was replaced by a larger building 42x60 in 1851, which stands in the Shelley Addition, east of the original plat. Rev. Wm. Lorimer became pastor in October, 1838, and remained until 1858, during which time the membership rose to 146, its maximum number. Rev. J. H. Peacock became pastor in July, 1859, remaining eight years. Rev. J. B. Borland was installed on July 1, 1871, and remained in connection with Knoxville and Grant's Hill 526 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY until June 14, 1887. J. M. Dinsmore served from 1889 to 1893, W. T. Brownlee from 1898 to 1902, and W. R. Lawrence from 1903 to 1905. The charge is now vacant. It is not certain that Rev. Dr. Doddridge held services according to the Book of Common Prayer in Salem Township, as in his notes as published he was singularly reticent concerning his own personal work. Isaac Shane writes that what was known as the Protestant Episcopal Communion, under charge of Rev. Intrepid Morse, was the first service of that form to be held in East Springfield. But Dr. Morse did not come to this section until 1819, so if "Episcopal" services were held '..here previous to that date it was by some minister, who could have been none other than Dr. Doddridge, or Mr. Seaton. This is not improbable, as the majority of the inhabitants of that community were of this faith. Nevertheless it is clear that under Dr. Morse regular services were instituted, and steps were taken soon thereafter for the erection of a church building, a substantial brick structure, seating 200 people, the first house of worship in the village. About this time the organization was incorporated under the title of St. John's Church as follows : "To the Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, in the County of Jefferson, State of Ohio: This certifies that at a meeting held this day in the town of Springfield, Jefferson County, in pursuance of public notice duly given according to the act in that case made and provided by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, upward of twenty persons formed and organized themselves in a religious society under the name and style of ‘St. John's Church, Springfield,' and the following persons were then and there elected officers of the same for the ensuing year, viz.: John McCullough, John Scott, wardens; Jacob Stull, William W. Kinley, Charles Hunter, vestrymen. Springfield, April 5, 1826. Attested: William W. Kinley, Clerk, Int. Morse, Prest., Minister of St. Paul's Church, Steubenville, and St. James, Cross Creek." After Mr. Morse gave up his outside charges and confined himself to Steubenville the parish had the same ministers as St. James', Cross Creek, by whom services were maintained until about the close of the Civil War. By that time deaths and removals had reduced the congregation to such a small fraction of its former size that services were discontinued. St. Paul's Evangelical Lutheran Church of Salem was organized by. Rev. John Rinehart in 1814, with Jacob Vance and Andrew Strayer, elders. Among the pastors have been Rev. James Manning from 1825 to 1839 ; Benjamin Pope, 1839-43 ; Amos Bartholomew, 1843-8 ; George Baughman, 1849-50 ; Dennis Sweeney, 1850-3 ; David Sparks, 1853-9 ; James Manning, 1859-64; Jacob Singer, 1864-9 Joseph A: Roof, 1870-77 ; D. M. Kemerrer, 1877 and afterwards Rev. John Cook. The original place of worship was about a mile east of the village, but in 1870 a frame church 22x46 was built in the town. On March 27, 1847, a number of Presbyterian residents of East Springfield held a meeting and appointed a committee to solicit subscriptions to build a place of worship. On May 21 the committee reported $825 subscribed and Stewart McClave, William Palmer, George Hammond, John Calhoun, Joseph Clemmons and Caleb Waggoner were appointed trustees and directed to proceed to the erection of a building, which was dedicated on August 25, 1848, Rev. C. C. Beatty preaching the sermon from the 93d Psalm. The church is the largest in the village, and stands at the east end of town. On June 1, 1850, the church was formally organized by Rev. C. C. Riggs and John Knox with the following members : Henry Pittenger, Joseph Clemens and Alexander Porter, ruling elders ; Mrs. and Mary Ann Pittenger, Benjamin, Elizabeth, Agnes A. and Mary\ E. Mickey, Henry Hammond, Stewart McClave, John and Margaret Culp, Jacob and Violet Allensworth, Mary C. Riggs, Alex and Catherine Morrison, Rebecca Clemens, Rebecca Freeborn, Joseph Huston, Amelia Porter, Pamelia Palmer, James and Lucinda. Beatty, Martha J. Lindsay, Elizabeth McCullough, Jane Reynolds, George and Hermit Berresford, Elizabeth Scott, Mrs. Murray, Sarah J. and Elizabeth Mylor, Lucinda Scott. Rev. C. C. Riggs continued the first pastor until 1852 AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 527 when Rev. John Watson served as a supply for six months. Then came Rev. L. Grier from January 1, 1853, to December, 1860; J. S. McGuire, from 1862 to 1864 ; Rev. C. W. Wycoff, from April, 1866, to April, 1873 ; W. M. Eaton, 1874 to August 27, 1878, afterwards Joseph Patterson, and at present Rev. Mr. Fowler. The Richmond Presbyterian Church was organized by Rev. Cyrus Riggs on September 3, 1852, with the following members : John McGregor, Benjamin S. Bailey and William Patterson, elders ; Mary McGregor, Mary J. Chaplain, Hannah Percival, Martha Duncan, Samuel Beebont, Mary A. and Phoebe Beebont, Michael, Catherine and Jane Vangilder, William and Mary Waggoner, Elizabeth Rabe, Jane Cunningham, Mary, Ebenezer and Polly McGowen, Dorothy, Matilda and Rebecca Bailey, Joseph Gilkinson. Prof. Riggs served two years and Lafferty Grier one-third of his time for six years; Rev. Marquis from 1860 to 1865 ; Revs. Messes, Wykoff and J. B. Dickey for two years ; Rev. Israel Price from 1869 until about 1880, who after an interval was succeeded by S. C. Faris, and he in turn by Rev. Geo. W. McMillan, who recently gave up the charge. Soon after its organization the congregation erected a substantial brick building at the end of Sugar Street, which is still in use. Rev.. Charles Holliwell is the present pastor. A Presbyterian congregation was organized at Salem about seventy-five years ago, and at present occupies its second building, erected about thirty-five years since. During the political campaign of 1880 a preacher in the M. E. Church at East Springfield, in discussing certain phases of that' campaign, took occasion to animadvert on the Morey letter forgery. Some of the members took offense at this as savoring too strongly of partisan politics, and withdrew from the church. They formed a new organization, under the name of United Brethren, and procuring the old St. John's Church property, rebuilt it, where services have since been conducted. SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP. A glance at a county map of Ohio would seem to indicate that Springfield Township geographically should form a part of Carroll County, if much attention were paid to symmetry, as it appears as a projection of Jefferson into the other county, consisting of three rows of nine sections each, and one additional row of three sections lying directly west of Salem and Ross Townships, bounded on the north by Columbiana County, on the south by Harrison, and on the west by Carroll. It was the first civil township carved out of the original five and was set off by the county commissioners on December 6, 1804. It then included Brush Creek, Ross and half of Salem Township, about one-seventh of Harrison County and half of Carroll, large enough to make a small county in itself. The first election was held at the house of David Lyon in East Springfield, commonly called Gillis settlement. The creation of other townships in Jefferson County naturally reduced the size of Springfield, and when Carroll County was organized in 1813 it was proposed to incorporate the township into that county, but the people in the eastern sections protested, and it was left in its present form attached to Jefferson. Wolf and Lick Runs and Elk Fork of Yellow Creek drain the southern part of the township, the middle and northern parts being drained by the middle and north fork of Yellow Creek. The township is rugged but has good farms, while the coal and limestone have caused a large development, especially in the western and northern parts. It is claimed that the first salt made on Yellow Creek was manufactured in this township by Philip Burgett and John Tucker. While out hunting they found a spring of salt water, and procuring a kettle they boiled enough to make about three bushels of salt. This was a great 528 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY boon as salt had to be brought for a great distance and was very expensive. Solomon Miller, from Fayette County, Pennsylvania, was the first settler (1800) within the lines of the township as now constituted. He took up Section 10 and made improvements, but being unable to pay for an entire section, and nothing less could be entered, he was dispossessed, and this section was entered in 1802 by Henry Miser. He began anew, however, on Section 11. Stewart McClave settled on Section 6 in 1801, and was the grandfather of John McClave, Esq., of the Jefferson Bar. Following these came John Stutz, Joseph Gordon, Jacob Springer, Thomas Peterson, James Albaugh, James Ruttledge, James Allman, Henry Isinogle, Robert Young, Adley Calhoun, William Jenkins, James Campbell, S. Dorance and others. The rugged character of the country brought settlers slowly, and the deep, dark ravines furnished convenient lairs for wild animals, after they had retired pretty generally from other parts of the county. John Kirk, who came here about 1813, related that wolves would approach within a few steps of the farm houses and make night hideous with their howlings. One evening after dark as he was coming home he heard a noise in a thicket, and started his dogs in that direction. A pack of wolves started up, and the pursuers became the pursued. He reached his cabin, which fortunately was close, but never found a trace of the dog, which was evidently devoured by his wild projenitors. At another time when coming up the Long Run branch of Yellow Creek he heard what appeared to be cries of a woman in distress. But they did not deceive him and he crept stealthily into a fence corner. Directly a large panther appeared and passed so near him that he could hear its strong breathing. It passed by without discovering him, possibly because he was on the windward side. Full details of the Morgan raid in this township are given elsewhere, and this was about the only event in recent years to disturb the even tenor of events, until later, railroad and coal development imparted new life to affairs. AMSTERDAM. For many years after Springfield Township was created it could claim no town or village within its borders as finally defined. In 1828 David Johnston laid out a small fragmentary village on the western side at the junction of Lick Run and Yellow Creek, which he named Amsterdam. In 1850 it had' a population of 168, which in 1870 had fallen to 89, when it disappeared from the census. The town was incorporated in November 20, 1903, when the petitioners gave the population at 600. The cause of this increase was the advent of the L. E. A. & W. Railroad and the opening of coal mines, which gave the town a veritable boom. The People's Banking Company was organized with a capital stock of $15,000, but whose statement of Sept. 1, 1909, shows resources of $150,122.45. The individual deposits subject to check were $68,689.90; demand certificates, $1,575.93; and time certificates, $56,585.70, making a total of $127,390.76. George G. Hess is cashier. Nothing could better indicate the change from an insignificant rural hamlet to a bustling business community. A $25,000 hotel was started but the project ran out of funds before the foundation was completed. Paved streets were next in order, and arrangements were made to put down a fire brick pavement on the main thoroughfare. This condition of affairs naturally brought in its train a number of local industries, including the Cattrell planing mill and machine shops, Hess & Company's flour and feed mill, Myers & Cretser's saw mill, Workman & Son, carriage makers, most of which are still in operation. A Masonic Lodge was organized, and there has been added recently a branch of the Improved Order of Red Men. The immunity which Jefferson County enjoyed from any serious mine disaster for over forty years was broken on the night of Thursday, April 21, 1910, at Amsterdam on the western border of the coun- AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 529 ty. The night shift of the Youghiogeny and Ohio mine, consisting of twenty-five men, had been at work but a short time when, about 9:30 o'clock, an explosion occurred, which shook the entire surrounding country. Seven men, more or less injured, succeeded in escaping from the mine, while eighteen of their comrades were entombed. Rescuing parties were promptly organized but they were greatly hampered by the poisonous gas with which the mine was filled. As one corpse after another was brought to the surface the conviction became general that all of the eighteen left in the mine had perished. But the rescuers continued their work, and at 1 a. m. on Saturday reached the back part of the mine, where Melio Porcella, Paul Tobacco and H. Benedict were found in a semi-conscious condition. They were brought out and revived. The other fifteen were all dead, some of the bodies being blown to fragments. Somebody had doubtless ignited the deadly fire damp with a naked night. Three of the victims were taken to Dillonvale for services in the Roman Catholic Church there. The other twelve were buried in Amsterdam cemetery on Sunday in one big grave. Services were held by Rev. R. L. Houston, of the Presbyterian Church, and Rev. Sullivan, of the M. E. Church, at East Springfield. The survivors of the disaster were : Ed. Jones, night boss; Tom Smith, Lee Dewdz, Ross Scott, John Golder, Joe ZimDsk, John Sonter, Melio Porcilla, Louis Benedict, H. Benedict. The dead were : Joe Zempedros, Robert McMasters, Herbert Hays, Paul Roscoe, Andy Rosco, Joe Jacob, Charles Howarth, James Lockhart, Ed Tarcia, Lewis Jacomillio, Lewis Colaker, Joe Daring, John Daring, Reed Dealocko, Joe Debola. BERGHOLZ. Up in the northern end of the county on Yellow Creek John C. Allman located the hamlet of Nebo, where were built a flour mill owned by Mr. Allen, a small store later kept by William Ruddicks, a postoffice and three or four dwellings. By 1876 the postoffice had disappeared, only the mill and store kept a semblance of life about the place. But a little railroad, the Lake Erie, Alliance & Southern, was creeping down that way, and coal operators and speculators were at work. A large mine was opened on the opposite side of the creek named after Mrs. Bergholz, one of the owners. The railroad after passing varied financial stringencies was extended through the territory to Amsterdam and Dillonvale, and on October 24, 1883, James Kelly, Morin J. Hess and Christiana Hess platted a town on the opposite side of the creek, containing 156 lots 60x100 feet, and called it Bergholz. In 1906 forty additional lots were made, and the town was incorporated on August 6 of that year. Old Nebo was absorbed and the petitioners gave the number of inhabitants in the new town at 1,200. Ham Saltsman started a wagon maker shop and the Bergholz State Bank was organized with a capital of $15,000. The last statement, September 1, 1909, showed resources $121,563.36 and aggregate deposits $101,941.48. A. G. McBane is cashier. Wolf Run is a streamlet having its source in the range of hills upon which East Springfield is built (most of the old interior towns were built on ridge roads) and makes its way by a meandering northwest course to Yellow Creek. The extensive coal field on the western side of the county having extended across this run, a mine was opened about a mile and a half from East Springfield, around which grew up a hamlet lively in more senses than one. It has never gotten beyond that stage. SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES. As may be supposed from the character of the country and small population, records of early schools in Springfield Township are practically non-existent. No doubt those living on the east side found accommodations at East Springfield, and it is probable there was a school at Amsterdam 530 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY soon after that village was platted. As soon as the township was generally settled school districts were formed and the educational standard brought up to what it had been in the older communities. The rapid increase of population at Amsterdam and Bergholz in recent years caused those two communities to be set off as special school districts. The former has a good six-room school house costing $8,000 and Bergholz has a four-room building costing $4,000. The other school houses in the township are located in Section 5, Davidson farm ; 22, Thompson ; 1, McIntyre ; 5, Hess ; 6, Elliott; 9, Elk Fork; 17, Griffith. What was known as Rutledge M. E. Church was organized in 1809 by Rev. William Knox. The usual meetings were held for awhile in private houses, but soon after the organization the erection of a hewn log structure was begun, each man contributing a certain number of days' labor, so there was very little cash outlay. The charter members included James Rutledge, wife and children, John, William, James, Edward, Simeon and Jane ; John Kirk and wife, W. Taylor and wife, William Scarlot, wife and children, William, George, Richard, Mary and Ann ; Alexander Johnston and wife and daughters, Hettie and Rachel ; Francis Johnston and wife, James and Henry Forster and wives. The old log church was used for twenty years when a larger structure of frame took its place. At this time Robert Young and Thomas Rutledge gave half an acre each for church and burying ground, which was deeded to John Kirk, W. Taylor and William Rutledge, trustees. About 1850 the name was changed to Circle Green, the congregation at one time having one hundred members. Fire destroyed the second building, and in 1877 a third structure was erected at a cost of $1,200. It was formerly in the East Springfield circuit with Amsterdam, Mooretown and Salem, but in 1908 Mooretown and Circle Green, were transferred to Bergholz circuit. Amsterdam M. E. Church was organized about 1840, and for many years the congregation was small, but it has grown with the increase of population. A new church was built here about 1888-9. An M. E. Church was organized at Bergholz about eighteen years since, which was first served from Wintersville and Harlem, but in 1907 it was set off as a circuit, to which Mooretown was added the next year. Among the earlier supplies were Rev. Thomas Taylor, Thomas Hanson and Samuel Lowrie. E. M. Hughgart was the stated minister in 1907-8, and D. F. Norris, 1909. A neat frame building was erected about twenty years ago. Amsterdam Presbyterian Church was organized and a building erected in 1840, which has been in use ever since. Bergholz Presbyterian Church was organized about a year after the town was laid out. Rev. Homer Sheely was among the first pastors. The United Presbyterian Church of Bergholz was organized about eighteen years ago by Rev.H.Y. Leeper, who served it in connection with Yellow Creek until July 8, 1902. W. C. Work acted as supply for one year when Rev. J. Walter Liggitt took charge in connection with Yellow Creek Church until 1908, when he came to Steubenville. A Disciple Church started about 1903 made the fourth religious society in the town. It may be noted here that Gen. James M. Shackleford who commanded the Union forces during the Morgan raid through this township in 1863, died September 7, 1909, at his summer home near Port Huron, Mich., aged eighty-two. Nebo or Bergholz Presbyterian congregation is served by Rev. Frank Bozard. ROSS TOWNSHIP. Ross Township, named in honor of James Ross, was laid off by the county commissioners in 1812, with thirty-six sections, but later the upper tier was taken off to form part of Brush Creek, leaving it with an area of thirty square miles. It AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 531 lies to the north of Salem and east of Springfield, the northern half being rough and hilly, and the southern part a good farming section. Before 1800 and as late as 1805, "squatters" built cabins on Yellow Creek, subsisting on game and fish, and as salt was a product of this region, these "squatters" had little trouble in obtaining such merchandise needed by them in barter for this mineral. Among these squatters were : William Castleman, Mark Dike, John Bruce, John Davis, Jacob Drake and William Roach. Among the first permanent settlers (1798-1813) were : Thomas George, Allen Speedy, Arthur Latimer, Stephen Coe, Ludowich Harden-brook, Joseph Elliott, William Scott, John Farquhar, Henry Crabbs, Joseph Reed, Isaac, Shane, Thomas Bay, a participant TIC the Gnadenhutten tragedy Mordecai Moore, "Daddy" Dixon, Robert Barnhill, John McEldery, Alexander Johnston, William Grimes, Captain Allen (War of 1812), Henry Gregg (grandfather of Richard Henry Gregg, Esq., of the Steubenville bar), coming from Redstone with his brother Richard in 1802, the latter attaining the age of 105 years Robert George and Thomas George, his son (from what is now Dauphin County, Pennsylvania), came to Jefferson County in 1805, and settled on Section 28, in what is now Ross Township Andrew Griffin, Benjamin Shane, John Shane. James Shane came toWashington Canty, Pennsylvania, from New Jersey in 1794, and in 1798 crossed the Ohio River at Cable's Ferry and located on Wills Creek. Here he married Hannah Rex, of Greene County, Pennsylvania, and in 1810 moved to Island Creek Township, and then to Ross Township. The widow of his sou, Isaac Shane, is now keeping a hotel in East Springfield. Mordecai Moore, Sr., who was with Capt. William Harbaugh in the War of 1812, settled in Ross Township in 1815. Moore was stolen by slave-drivers on a street in London when a small boy and brought to Philadelphia, where he was sold to a Quaker, who held him in bondage until he reached his majority, when he was given his freedom, together with a mattock and shovel, and no doubt, a blessing, as recompense for the long and faithful service to the benevolent Friend. Henry Crabs located in 1798, the year after Steubenville was laid out. He was accompanied by his wife, the two having all they possessed tied in a quilt. They crossed the river to the site of Steubenville in a skiff. The settlement was very sparse, he in his lifetime mentioning "Hans Wilson, Esq., Cable and Black Harry as among the few inhabitants." Crabs erected the first blacksmith shop one mile east of the John Kilgore farm, near Richmond, where he did work for the settlers, there being quite a number of families in that vicinity. He made plow points, axes and trace chains, all the raw material having to be packed across the mountains. Salt springs were noticed by the very earliest settlers on Yellow Creek; in fact, were known to the Indians as well as the four-footed denizens of the forest, and when the government surveys were made Section 34 was retained as public land, containing valuable mineral. This, however, did not prevent the settlers from utilizing the springs in the manufacture of salt, which was then worth $8 a bushel in the Ohio Valley. Henry Daniels in 1802 erected a small furnace for boiling the salt water. He sunk a hollow sycamore log in an upright position at the spring, and from this the salt water was dipped into the boiling kettles, producing about three bushels per day, a crude process certainly, but profitable at the then prevailing prices. When Isaac Shane went there in 1803 for salt he found so many waiting customers there ahead of him that he returned with out it. Wood was used for fuel in these furnaces, but about 1820 coal was substituted by Mordecai Moore, and the salt water was pumped into a reservoir and conducted by means of wooden pipes back to the bluff where the fuel was obtained. But the supply from the spring was limited and the brine was weak, consequently the product was not nearly equal to the de- 532 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY mand. At this juncture, John Peterson, an ex-territorial constable, conceived the idea of boring a well. The facilities were very poor, the work being done by hand, assisted by a spring pole. But perseverance prevailed and at a depth of 300 feet a flow of salt water was struck " strong enough to carry an egg." Other wells followed, and a plentiful supply obtained. In the meantime Mr. Moore had substituted shallow pans for evaporating the water, superseding the old kettles, and carried on business for a number of years until competition at other points made it unprofitable. Stewart McClave purchased a part of Section 34 in 1826, and just in front of the family residence on Yellow Creek is a mound five feet high and several rods in diameter, composed of cinder, which marks the site of the old United States Salt Works. Mr. Moore's works were not all in Section 34, for he afterwards moved to Section 28, father east, where he founded what was known as Moore's Salt Works or Mooretown, although the word "town" must be used here in a very restricted sense as applicable to the small collection of buildings around the grist mill which was operated for many years, and the store kept by Lewis Moore. For some unexplainable reason the postoffice name was changed to Pravo, which finally disappeared with the progress of the rural free delivery. In fact, the present Ross Township never had a regular town or village within its borders, being exclusively a rural community. There is no postoffice in the township. Early indications of oil and later efforts in searching for the oleaginous fluid are related in the chapter on that subject. Township elections were held at the residence of Henry Crab until 1850 and afterwards at school house No. 3. William Scott, the first justice of the peace, resided on Section 32. Robert George, a native of the township, born March 27, 1806, started the first store in the township at Mooretown in 1828, and has left an enduring landmark to his name by a gray sandstone monument erected by him in 1871, at a cost of $700, to the memory of the soldiers of Ross Township, who lost their lives in the war of the rebellion. It stands on a bluff overlooking the creek, resting on a stone platform seven feet square, being a doric column, including its capital twenty-one feet high. On the western face of the base is the inscription, "To the memory of the fallen soldiers of Ross Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, in the War of 1861 to 1865." Dies are inserted bearing the following names : "Thomas, son of Robert and Martha George, Second regiment, O. V. J., killed at Perryville, Ky., October 8, 1862 ; Thomas Duke, Thirty-second, died August 27, 1864; John Duke, First Tennessee battery, died August 27, 1864; James Dorrance,, Second, O. V. I., died March 31, 1862 ; Robert McClave, Fifty-second, died January 14, 1863; Barton Gerin, Second, killed May 8, 1864; Elbridge Green, Eighth Iowa Cavalry, died 1862 ; David Potts, Thirty-second, killed 1864 ; James Russell, Second, died April 14, 1862 ; John Porter, Second, killed April, 1864 ; David Call, Second, died 1863; Isaiah Call, Second, died 1863 ; J. Kirkpatrick, Thirty-second, died 1864; Alfred Walters, Second, died 1864; Samuel F. McLain, Second, died 1863 ; Thomas B. Starn, Thirty-second, died November 2, 1865; Edward Graley, Thirty-second, died August 4, 1864 ; G. W. Graley, One Hundred and Twenty-second, died October 20, 1863; John Stewart, Second, died in prison, 1864; Aaron Scamp, Thirty-second, died 1864; David Kriner, Second, died 1862 ; Jacob Kriner, same ; Enos Striker, Second, died 1864 ; H. K. Crabs, Fifty-second, died November 3, 1863 ; Adam Sauer, One Hundred and Seventy-Eighth, died January 14, 1865 ; Stanley Shane, Second, died November 23, 1863 ; Newton Wycoff, Fifty-second, died June 1864 ; William Rea, Second, died a prisoner, August, 1864; Benjamin Rea, Fifty-second, died October, 1863; Ross Coyle, One Hundred and Twenty-second, killed December 4, 1863 ; Edward Goodlin, Fifty-second, died 1863." An appropriate AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 533 military device is carved in high relief on the western face of the shaft, and the monument is a striking object to those descending or ascending the valley. In Section 33 are the remains of a prehistoric mound which may have been a fortification. It is circular with a radius of 250 feet which would give a circumference of about 1,700 feet. It is located on a bluff, which on the northwest side is about 200 feet high and almost perpendicular. On the southwest the "fortification" is about 100 feet high, sloping gradually to the creek. The ditch when first discovered by the whites was about four feet deep, and had large trees growing in it. The northwestern portion of the enclosure had apparently been washed away by the creek. This is the most extensive relic of the kind discovered in Jefferson County. The early products of the township flour, whiskey and salt, were hauled to the mouth of Yellow Creek and thence carried by flatboat to down-river points. When the Ohio Canal was opened wheat was hauled across the country to Massillon and Bolivar, but pork soon became the leading product of the section still known as Bacon Ridge, because it was cheaper to turn the grain into hogs and sell the pork rather than cart it fifty or sixty miles in order to secure water transportation. While the Ohio canal system was of immense benefit in developing the sections of the state through which it passed it was of very little use to Jefferson County, which received practically no return for the many thousands of dollars of taxes paid by her citizens to build up rival communities. Pork was hauled to Pittsburgh and Baltimore in six horse wagons, and the teamster's office was an important one. At home smoked ham brought six cents a pound, butter five and six cents, eggs two cents a dozen, and people made their own clothing. As to the morality of that region the late Isaac Shane writes : "The morals of our neighborhood were fairly good. While my father (James Shane) had many criminal cases before him, the offenders came mostly from the Yellow Creek settlements. William Johnston, a law student in Steubenville and afterwards a judge in Cincinnati, started, as I suppose, on Bacon Ridge, the first temperance society in the county, the members signing a very strict pledge. This was in 1833." SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES. The first school house in the township was built about 1814 and was located about half a mile southeast of Stephen Coe's mill near Mooretown. James Ewing was the first teacher with a three month's term. Others were not long following and concerning these Mr. Shane writes : "The early schools were taught on subscription. There were no school houses (this as we have seen was not always the case). A teacher would get the use of some cabin or outhouse, or a farmer's kitchen in which to hold his school. He would seat it in a very primitive way, but it served his purpose; the children learned to read, write and cypher, and all were pleased. The teachers were persons of very common scholarship. The first I call to mind were Mr. Dixon, Thomas Riley and Mr. Baker; next came Henry Crabbs and Samuel McCutcheon. The schools were held sometimes one month, sometimes three, according to the money raised. The schools were kept in winter, but seldom in summer; nor were they kept every winter. The predominating religious influence being Presbyterian, the parents were encouraged by the ministers to educate their children. About 1820, under a then new law, townships were districted and school houses built; but still the distilleries outnumbered the school houses four to one. The first school house in our neighborhood (Bacon Ridge) was built on lands now owned by John Lysle, and then a marked improvement was noticed both in schools and teachers. Samuel McCutcheon and Henry Crabbs continued to wield the birch and after them came Peter Eckley, uncle of Hon. E. R. Eckley, of Carrollton, Joseph Shane (uncle of Isaac), and James Clendenning and in 534 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY 1837 the first female teacher came among us—a Miss Hartshorn." Had the early schools of Ross Township produced no other visible fruit than Hon. Wm. Johnston, whose career is related in Chapter XX., they would have more than justified the expectations of their founders, in that it was mainly through his efforts that Ohio secured her first common school law. But they have kept up with the times and the township has eight school buildings, an average of one for each two and a half square miles, located as follows : Section 5, Lewis ; 7, Montgomery ; 8 and 16, McLean; 16, Sutton; 19, McIntire ; 27, Smythe; 28, Moore. Rev. George Scott organized a Presbyterian Society about 1804, which had a meeting house about the center of Section 25, which was called Richmond Church, although it was five miles from the present town of Richmond. The original members were Arthur Latimer, John P. McMillen, Stephen Coe, Thomas Bay, Calvin Moorehead, Aaron Allen and Andrew Dixon. Wm. McMillen was the first pastor and served two years. The first place of worship was the usual primitive log structure, small in size and poor in accommodations, but the congregation growing, in 1820 a brick building 30x50 was erected, which stood several years, when it was decided to divide the congregation on account of it covering too much territory. 'There being other churches in the neighborhood it was decided to move a couple of miles eastward in the northwest quarter of Section 13, and here on what was known as Bacon Ridge a new frame structure 33x44 feet was erected, and the old building torn down. The records previous to 1840 .are lost, but Thomas Hunt was pastor for seven years, succeeded by James Robinson, a. classmate of Dr. Chalmers. J. R. Dundas served from 1840 to 1844, succeeded by Cyrus Riggs, Lafferty Geier, for seven years, and John S. Marquis, who resigned on account of ill health in 1865. William Wycoff served from June, 1866, to October 19, 1873, and was succeeded by W. M. Eaton until October, 1868, since when the congregation has depended on supplies from Richmond. Rev. E. N. Scroggs, of the Associate Presbyterian, organized a congregation on Yellow Creek in 1814, which subsequently became the Yellow Creek United Presbyterian Church. Rev. John Walker and Dr. Ramsay were among the early ministers. The first preaching was at the house of Thomas George (afterwards noted as an underground railway station), then in a tent, and in 1828 a brick house of worship (30x40 feet) was erected, which was afterwards lengthened twenty feet. In 1858 a frame building 40x60 was erected, which is still in use. Among the first members were: Henry Crabbs (Krebs) and wife, Anna, Hamilton Walker and wife, Mary, William Kelly and wife, Christine, Nathan Barr and wife, Margaret, Samuel Dorrance and wife,' \Mary, John Jordan and wife, Mary Ann, Thomas George and wife, Jane, John Kean and wife, Mary, and Sarah Story. Thomas George and Henry Crabbs were ruling elders. Rev. John Donaldson succeeded Dr. Ramsey for twelve years; James Patterson, eighteen years ; John Easton, one year; T. Simpson, December 25, 1856, to September 12, 1861 ; James Golden, April 4, 1863, to April, 1869; HI Y. Leeper, January, 1870 to July 8, 1902; W. C. Work, supply one year ; J. Walter Liggitt, 1904-08. The Methodists as an organized body began comparatively late in this township, but for quite a number of years preaching services were held at the home of Richard Jackman (maternal grandfather of Richard Henry Gregg of the Steubenville Bar), on Bacon Ridge. Alexander Johnston (father of Judge William Johnston), who came from Pennsylvania to Ohio about 1800, was a Methodist Episcopal minister, following farming during the week days and preaching on Sundays. He became quite wealthy and owned a large tract of land in the township, including the farms later owned by John Lysle and Matthew Stevenson. Alexander Johnson's son, AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 535 Alexander, was also a Methodist Episcopal minister; a man of wonderful talent, he having written a commentary on the Bible, declared by those who read the manuscript (it was not published) to have been a scholarly effort. The first organization was in Section 8 in 1834 called Mt. Zion, by Rev. Edward Taylor. The class was composed of Thomas Taylor, leader; James Taylor and wife, Hettie, Henry Gregg and wife, Susannah, Benjamin Elliott and wife, Nancy, and Jane Jackman. A frame church was built in 1837, which was burned twenty years later and immediately rebuilt, 32x44 feet in size. It is a part of Richmond circuit. Pine Grove Church in Section 5 was begun by the preaching of Rev. Samuel Wharton in an old log house in 1838, and a few months after a class was formed by Rev. Thomas Thompson, composed of fourteen persons, including Samuel N. Herron, leader; Andrew Saltsman and wife, Catherine, Solomon Hartman and wife, Jane Saltsman, Mrs. Rebecca Schwinehart and daughter, Julia Ann, Matthew H. Roach and wife, Elizabeth. In 1841 under the auspices of Revs. John Murray and George McCluskey a brick structure replaced the old log house, and is still in use, being on Hammondsville circuit. Rev. J. Williams organized a class at Mooretown in 1847, composed of Mordecai Moore, leader; Thomas Smith and wife, Eleanor, Wilson Anderson and wife, Rebecca, Dr. McDowell and wife, Mary, James Knox and wife, Ann, Mrs. Elizabeth Moore. A frame house, 30x41, was erected in 1851 and is still in use. It is part of Bergholz circuit. In 1830 Bethel Lutheran Church was organized in Section 3 on the east side of the township and a brick building erected. It was replaced by a frame in 1872, which was dedicated the same year by Drs. Sparks and Passavant of Pittsburgh. While the congregation has always been small, services have been maintained with more or less regularity by supplies. BRUSH CREEK TOWNSHIP. Mr. Caldwell in his history has the following paragraph : "Brush Creek Township at this time (1879) contains neither a lawyer, doctor, preacher nor saloon. It has one small village of eighty inhabitants with a postoffice, a store, a blacksmith shop and a shoemaker shop. It contains within its limits four churches." This description applies just as well today, except that rural delivery has displaced the postoffice. When Columbiana County was formed from Jefferson on March 25, 1803, most of what is now Brush Creek Township was within the limits of the new county, but in 1832 the legislature changed the line, throwing three tiers of sections back into Jefferson. The following March the county commissioners detached a tier of sections from the north side of Ross and attached it to the territory acquired from Columbiana, and organized it into a township, calling it Brush Creek, after the streamflowing through it. Thus it contains twenty-four sections or about that number of square miles. At one time wheat raising was a considerable farming industry, but in later years grazing and stock raising are in the lead. Coal abounds as in the adjoining townships. As stated, there is but one village in the township, Monroeville, a small hamlet laid out by Abraham Croxton in 1836 and named after President Monroe. The postoffice was called Croxton, there being another Monroeville in the state. William B. Derrick has preserved some reminiscences of the early settlers, among them being Martin Adams, who bought his farm from the government in 1805, moving there on March 25, 1806, and remaining there until his death. He was a justice of the peace, donated the land for Chestnut Grove Church and cemetery, ran a mill and distillery, and, according to his biographer, accumulated a large fortune, which was scattered at his death among impatient and dissatisfied legatees. Thomas Gillingham was agent for Nathan Harper, Joseph 536 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY Potts & Company, a company of Quaker salt boilers from Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Henry Emmons had the property since known as Collinswood. Matthew Russell, a bachelor, willed a large sum to the state for the benefit of the insane, which was materially reduced by litigation on the part of heirs. Thomas Adams came about 1810 and settled on Section 27, since owned by his son, John. Jacob Ritter settled in 1810 on what was afterwards the McIntosh place. Then there were William Kerr, Samuel Clark, Elisha Brooks, Cyrus Moore (soldier of 1812) Kenneth McLennan, John C. McIntosh and others. According to Mr. Derrick Joshua Downard and John Hutton discovered salt water in the creek near the mouth of Salt Works Run, where Irondale is now situated. It was while they were hunting deer near the close of the Eighteenth century. Downard came to Brush Creek in 1784, and his son Joseph was born on the north fork of Yellow Creek in 1796. It will be remembered that Salt Run flows through Brush Creek Township and empties into Yellow Creek at Irondale in Saline Township. SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES. Like Ross, the pioneer schools of Brush Creek Township produced at least one character which rescued them from obscurity, Rev. Alexander Clark, who became a prominent minister in the M. P. Church, as well as a writer and educator of wide reputation. He started the "School Day Visitor," the first child's paper published in the country, which afterwards grew into the St. Nicholas Magazine and at his death was editor of the Methodist Recorder, the organ of his religious denomination, published at Pittsburgh. The first school house in the township was on the farm owned by Moses Marshall and afterwards by Elias Cope about twenty rods east of the present site of Chestnut Grove Church in Section 2. It was built of logs in 1814, and the teacher was Samuel Clark, father of the Rev. Dr. Clark mentioned above. He was engaged at $10 a month for four months by Mat thew Russell and Moses Marshall, and boarded free with the latter. Some of the attending pupils lived fully three miles away. Of course in those days there was no such thing as teachers' examinations, and little discrimination in their employment. The patrons of the school took what they could get and at the least price, generally without regard to quality. However, the results were better than might have been anticipated. Close by this school house were the mill and distillery of Martin Adams, the latter abandoned a few years later for want of patronage. In 1830 the school district was regularly organized, consisting of Sections 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, giving a district of nine square miles. The first election \for school officers was held at the house of Martin Adams on September 8, choosing Samuel Clark as clerk, John Adams, William Kerr and Elisha Brooks, directors ; Martin Adams, treasurer. At this meeting the building of a new house was ordered, to be a hewn log building, shingle roof, stone chimney, a door and windows. The size was to be 20x20. Application was made to the aud itor of Columbiana County for an abstract of the taxable property of the district, and a levy of ten mills on the dollar was made, which aggregated a total of $50. The building was erected the same fall under the direction of James Clark and Charles Marshall, on a tract of land granted by John Adams. The neighbors joined in the " raising," and the house was built in one day at a cash outlay of $32. The fact that the whisky of the forefathers lent inspiration to all these gatherings is generally recognized, and in this case it is related that the next morning after the raising Clark went to the newly erected building to finish up the work, and arriving before his partner, Marshall, concluded to "take a nap" in the adjoining woods. Marshall arrived shortly after, and not finding Clark, he also concluded to "take a nap" and fell asleep in the woods. Clark finally awoke, and not seeing Marshall went to his residence to ascertain the cause of his AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 537 absence. In the meantime Marshall awoke and went to Clark's to find out why he was missing. When they found each other is not recorded. William Kerr was the first teacher and school was held with more or less regularity until 1852, when Samuel Clark was hired as teacher at $18 per month. When Christmas came he refused to give the customary treat, which the scholars demanded and quit the school in disgust. His son, Alexander, who had received his early education here, was employed to finish out the term, and thus the place became immortalized in his book, "The Old Log School House." Among the sketches in Mr. Clark's book the following is worthy of preservation: "A long time ago, before any of the pioneers had permanently settled in the valley of Yellow Creek, it was common for Virginians to make excursions over these hills, bringing their horses with them from the settlements, and hobbling them in the wild meadows to graze while they wandered off in search of game, in which the woods abounded. In such exploits it was usual to sleep on the grass with the far-off sky as the only shelter and the distant howling of the wolves the only lullaby. About this time salt springs were discovered on the creek, and crude furnaces were built for `boiling salt.' The persons who first engaged in this business were a daring, reckless class of men, not particular regardful of their appearance or habits. Commonly two or three would join fortunes, erect a rough cabin, and build a furnace near a saline spring, there to spend weeks and months boiling salt in the wilderness. "One of these establishments was owned and operated by a rough, mischievous fellow by the name of Miller, who was always ready for a joke, no matter how severe or at whose expense. While Miller and his two associates in the enterprise were seated around the great roaring furnace one morning, wishing for some kind of amusement, a stranger, lean and lank, having every symptom of a genuine Vermonter, approached on horseback, and asked permission to leave his pack-saddle and other traveling appendages in their care, while he should spend the day in hunting. The favor being cheerfully granted, he dismounted, left his saddle, and wandered off in quest of deer. As soon as the newcomer was fairly out of sight, Miller, who looked upon him as an intruder, determined to annoy him, and as a convenient method of testing the calibre of the stranger, he threw his pack-saddle into the furnace, where it was soon reduced to ashes. Toward evening the hunter returned, and on very deliberately making inquiry for his saddle, was told the less he said about that the better Otherwise he might share the same fate. The remark was accompanied by a significant look toward the fire, which instantly suggested to the indignant stranger the whereabouts of his saddle. However, he said nothing, and was soon on his homeward way. In a few days he returned once more, seeming in a fine humor, and brought a new pack-saddle which he left in Miller's care, as before, charging him emphatically not to burn that one or else there would be a noise about it. Of course the warning not to touch the saddle was more than Miller was willing to bear, and he resolved to repeat the experiment as soon as the stranger should start on his day's hunt. No sooner had he turned his back upon the furnace than Miller called after him, 'Look-here, Mister, I'll show you who's a goin' to do the orderin' round here,' and into the fire went the saddle with a will. But in a moment the huge kettles, the walls of the furnace and everything thereunto pertaining were scattered in one universal wreck, the hot fluid sprinkling freely over the unsuspecting heads of the salt boilers, and the clouds of hissing steam completely blinding them for awhile, thus affording the revengeful stranger opportunity to make good his escape, which he did without the formality of bidding his victims good bye. The truth flashed upon Miller's mind about as soon as the hot ashes flashed into his face—the pads of the pew pack- 538 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY saddle had been stuffed with gunpowder." The school building referred to was occasionally used for preaching, and about 1845 the first temperance meeting held in the township was conducted here, starting the reformation which put the local distilleries out of business. The old building stood for forty-four years, being torn down in 1874 and replaced by a new frame building, after an interesting reunion of teachers, friends and pupils on the old grounds. Some relics have been made from the logs and preserved as mementoes. The township is well supplied with schools at present, there being five in operation, there be ing two extra lots, with locations in Sections 1 (Downard), 8 (Beard), 21 (Thompson, "Old Log"), 27 (Monroeville), 32 (Brush Creek), 24 (Workman), 15 (Salt Run). Chestnut Grove M. E. Church traces its origin to points outside the limits of the township. The meetings at the Hickman house near the mouth of Yellow Creek early in the Nineteenth century, where Rev. 'William Tipton preached in 1822, were the beginning not only of Chestnut Grove, but also of the societies at Irondale and Highland Town in Columbiana. County. Meet- ings were also held at the house of Theophilus Kirk, near where Hammondsville now is. The first class was composed of Susan Susan Cox, Mary Cox, Amy Drey. David Walter, Mary Walter, James Ewing, Sarah Ewing. The early ministers were William Tipton, John E. McGraw, John R. Shearer. About 1838 Rey. J. M. Bray began preaching at the Clark "old log school house," now Thompson's. In the meantime Martin Adams, whose housekeeper was Mrs. Agnes Hartley. of the Lutheran faith, in accordance with her wishes, gave a tract of land to that denomination, to be the property of the First Lutheran Church, of Brush Creek Town- ship, stipulating in the deed that when not used by the Lutherans it was to be free to the Presbyterians, and when they did not need it, to the Methodists. A stone building was started in 1838, just about the time that Rev. Bray began preaching at the log school house, the erection of a stone building was begun, the neighbors without regard to creed contributing to the work. When the walls were half up John Calder, the mason, died, and nothing more was done until next year when the walls were completed and the building roofed. At this time Mrs. Hartley died, and nothing further was done until 1847, when the house was completed and occupied by the Methodists. There never was but one Lutheran sermon preached in it. This building was used until 1898, when, becoming too small and unsafe, a new frame structure was erected close by at a cost of $2,500. Rev. Sheridan Baker preached the first sermon on the occupation of the stone church in the fall of 1847, and the next year Rev. Samuel Longdon and A. H. Thomas were appointed by conference, the charge then being in Somerset circuit. John E. McGraw, John R. Shearer, Harry McAbee, John Crawford and William Tipton were among the early preachers, and the first class leaders were Samuel Robinson and Joshua Ewing. The members of the first class were Hannah Robinson, Sally Ewing, Jane Ewing, Myron and Ann VanDusen, Mary Gillingham, Elizabeth and Leah .Beard. Since 1870 the church has been served from Irondale. Grant Hill United Presbyterian Church was organized in 1866 and a comfortable frame house built about a mile west of the Thompson school house. The original members were William M. Martin, Robert B. Sharp and John R. McCullough, elders; Laughlin Dallas, Sr., and Jr., Barbara, Margaret and Maggie *Dallas, John and Mrs. Sharp, William Rose, Sr. and Jr., Margaret, Lizzie, Alexander and Martha Rose, Robert V., Belle and Isabel Martin, Hugh AI. and Maria McIntosh, William, Mary M., Joseph, Eliza and John S. Russell, Josiah and Jane Adams, Jane Johnson, john and Nancy McCoy, Lizzie Randolph, Albert G. and Susan Maple, Annie Cameron. Rev. S. W. Clark preached the first sermon and held communion in AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS - 539 October, 1866, in the uncompleted building. There was preaching by supplies until February 9, 1870, when Rev. H. Y. Leeper took charge. The installation sermon was by Dr. T. R. Simpson, address to pastor by Rev. J. H. Leeper, and to the people by Rev. Erskine. Mr. Leeper continued in charge until 1902, since which the congregation has been served from Yellow Creek and Irondale. The Presbyterian Church of Monroeville was organized in 1835. In June of that year the Presbytery of Beaver met at New Lisbon, Ohio, and -Rev. Thomas E. Hughes was commissioned to hold a meeting in Monroeville for this purpose. This meeting was held on July 4, and Rev. Mr. Hughes in company with Richard Gilson, elder from Bethel Church, were present. After appropriate religious exercises Mr. Hughes gave a narrative of the action of the Presbytery, and being chosen moderator, it was resolved to elect two elders, Joseph Holsack and Samuel Clark. The following day being Sunday the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered, and Alexander, infant son of Samuel and Christina Clark, was the first baptized in this congregation. The first elders were ordained on September 24. A small church was soon erected, which was replaced by the present structure which was dedicated free of debt on April 23, 1882, Rev. S. M. Davis preaching the sermon. There is also a Disciple Church in the same neighborhood, known as Berea, which is without a pastor. There are three cemeteries in the township. CHAPTER XXIV GENERAL ADDENDA County, Township and Village Population-At one Time First in the State Tax Valuation and Levy-Schools, School Houses and Teachers-Postoffices. When the census of 1800 was taken Jefferson County showed a larger population than any of the other seven counties into which the. territory of Ohio was then divided except Hamilton, and contained nearly one-fifth of the entire population of the state, which was then 45,365. Trumbull County had just been detached from Jefferson, which, if it had still retained its original boundaries from the Muskingum and Cuyahoga Rivers to the Pennsylvania line and Ohio River, with the lake on the north would have held about one-fourth the people. Washington County, with its much vaunted Marietta settlement, had little more than half as many. The population of the seven counties at that time -was as follows : Adams, 3,432; Hamilton, 14,692 ; Jefferson, 8,766; Ross, 8,540; Trumbull, 1,302; Washington, 5,427; Wayne, 3,206. Although the lopping off process con-tinued in the creation of Belmont, Columbi-ana and Tuscarawas Counties, yet Jeffer-son took the first place in 1810, with a population of 17,260, doubling her figures, while Hamilton only had 15,258. The succeeding figures are as follows : 1820, 18,531 ; 1830, 22,489 ; 1840, 25,030 ; 1850, 29,133 ; 1860, 26,115 ; 1870, 29,188 ; 1880, 33,018 1890, 39,415 ; 1900, 44,357. Present estimated population, 55,000, of which 25,000 are in Steubenville Township. The following table gives the population of civil divisions in the county since 1850, the township figures in each instance including the municipalities in such township :

542 - HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY