CHAPTER XIV RANGE TOWNSHIP. Range township occupies a central position in the extreme southern tiers of townships in the county, being bounded on the west by Stokes township, on the north by Paint and Oak Run township's, on the east by Pleasant township and on the south by Fayette county. This township was not one of the first townships organized immediately after the organization of the County, but was early erected and put into working order. Among the commissioners records the following is found under date of December 7, 1812: "At a meeting of the commissioners of Madison county (on petition), ordered that the following bounds compose a new township, which shall be hereafter known and designated by the name of Range township, viz "Beginning on the county of Fayette at the crossing of the North fork of Paint creek; thence to the eight-mile tree on Langham's road; thence with said line to the southwest corner of Judge Baskerville's survey; and then from the aforesaid place of beginning, west with Fayette county line, to a point one mile east from the crossing of Main Paint; thence northerly to the southeast corner of Judge Baskerville's survey aforesaid." The geographical position of this township and the natural quality of its soil are such as to attract early settlement. William M. Linton was probably the first actual settler on the territory that was later to be erected into Range township. He was born in England about 1753, emigrated to Virginia, there married Mary Williams and settled in Hardy county. About 1797 they emigrated to Ohio and settled in Ross county. In 1800-01 they removed from thence to Madison county, settling a short distance south of where Sedalia is now situated, and resided there until his. death, in 1835. All his life he devoted himself to the pursuit of farming. He was the father of eight. children, Maria, George, Sarah, Susan, Hannah, Nancy, Betsey and Peggy. Maria married Cyrus Ward, Sarah married Archibald Stewart, Susan married Joseph Pancake, Nancy married William Davis, Hannah married Benjamin Walker and Peggy married Lockhart Biggs. David Dye, a native of New Jersey, probably came to Ohio a single man, and settled on land just east of William Linton a few years later, and, about 1810, married Betsey Linton. She died about 1835. He married, for his second wife, Nancy Wingate, by whom he had two children. They remained in this township until about 1867, when they removed to Yellow Springs, Ohio, where his wife died in 1879, and he in 1880, aged ninety-five years. He was a blacksmith by trade and followed it in connection with farming throughout his life. Peter Moneyhorn settled in this township in about 1806. Little is known of him, except that he was an eccentric character and indulged a great deal in writing poetry or making rhymes and funny expressions, to the great amusement of those about him. It is thought that, after a few years' residence here, he moved away. Archibald Stewart settled just south of William Linton, probably in 1806-08, and married Sarah Linton. He was a very energetic, good business man, and became an extensive stock dealer and a large landowner. He finally moved to Bloomingsburg, Fayette county, where he died. Joseph Pancake was born in Virginia, December 19, 1789; emigrated to Ohio, first MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 151 to Ross county, thence, in 1806, to Madison county, Range township, and was employed by William M. Linton to work on his farm; he married Susan Linton and soon afterward settled on land west of Sedalia. He Served in the War of 1812; for which service he later received a land Warrant. His wife died and he married a Miss Corbitt. She 'lived for only one year and he married Mrs. Jane Dugan, née Wilson, a native of Pennsylvania and the widow of Jesse Dugan, one of the early settlers of Range township. He lived with her until his death, in Sedalia, September 15, 1853. His wife died on July 30, 1863. He was the father of four children by his first wife and of three by his last wife. Mr: Pancake devoted his life to farming and at the tittle of his death had lived nearly half a Century in Range township, having been one of her earliest settlers and passed through the Varied trails, dangers and hardships of those tithes. And not only was he a pioneer in secular affairs, but also in the Methodist Episcopal Church, having been member of the first Class organized in this township and no one of its leaders: He served a long and devoted life in the church, and died esteemed and respected by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. Jesse Dugan, of Scotch descent, was a native of Pennsylvania; he married Jane also a native ofthat state, and about 1807, emigrated to Ohio and settled in Range township, on Bradford's creek, where he resided until his death, in 1824. He was the father of eight children. He spent his life as a farmer and knew the full force of pioneer life. He was a devoted member of the Christian church, and soon after his settling here, he caused preaching to be held at his house. A society was organized about 1814, embracing himself, David Kingery, William Hall and others. Some of the early ministers who preached here were Rev. Forgus Graham, George Alkire, and the Rev. Barton Stone, of Kentucky. Mr. Dugan was the main pillar in this society and served as an exhorter for several years. The organization was kept up and services held at his house until after his death, after which they ceased, his funeral sermon being the last one ever preached there. Joseph Burris, a native of Maryland, settled in Range township about 1807. Little can be ascertained of his life, except that he was the father of seven children, John, Samuel, Joseph, Robert, James, Betsey and Margaret, most of whom moved West. Levin Willoughby, another of the earliest settlers, settled here probably as early as 18407. William Vincent was a brother-in-law of Levin Willoughby, and settled in the same neighborhood about the same. date. Mr. Willoughby was born on Sharp's Island, in Chesapeake bay, and was the son of Job and Mary (Mills) Willoughby. His grandfather, Job Willoughby, was a native of Wales. Levin's parents soon moved into Maryland and settled near Cambridge, where they died. Their children were: Levin, John, Andrew; Amelia and Job. Levin married Elizabeth Levy, and Soon afterward, with his family and some of lass brothers and sisters, emigrated to Ohio and settled near Chillicothe, on the Governor Worthington farm. After a Short residence there, he removed to Madison county and settled in Range township; about 1801, remaining there until his death; He was a farmer by occupation and held many offices of trust in this township, He was the father of five children, One of whom died in infancy: Martha married Benjamin Badger, Nancy married Jacob Hull, David married Elizabeth Kinney, and Levin Married, it is believed, a Miss Gray. Burton Blizzard, a native of Virginia, first settled in Hogs county, where he married Millie Willoughby, and about 1806-07, settled in Range township; Madison county, on land he purchased of William Dunlap, at one dollar an were; and here he spent the 'remainder of his life. From time to time he purchased more had and at mien of his death he was the owner of nine hundred fine acres. He was was of a carpenter and was often called upon by the new settlers to come settlers to come hew puncheon's for the floors of their new cabins. He was one of the 'most prominent and best liked me of his day. 152 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. He assisted Patrick McLene in much of his surveying, and is said to have helped to lay out the town of London. He served as a justice of the peace for thirty years and as a commlssioner of Madison county from 1816 to 1839, inclusive. He was largely identified. with the establishment, growth and prosperity of Madison county; a man of more than. ordinary ability, firm in character. and integrity, be was one of the men for, pioneer times, and, his efforts were crowned. with success and, esteem. His wife survived him for several years and died at the advanced age of ninety-four. Daniel Counts was born in Rockingham: county, Virginia, November 30, 1779 ; he emigrated to Ohio, stopping first in Ross county, where he married, Elizabeth Walker, and thence; about 1808, come to Range township, this county, where he spent a long and useful life, ,devoted to farming and stock raising. He started in life at the verge of poverty, and at first lived in a .tent. he could afford a. better home. He was very successful from the start, being economical and industrious, accumulated property rapidly and at the time of his. deaths owned two thousand five hundred acres of land in Range township, besides a large amount of Western, land. and personal property. He lived in this township for over sixty years, and died, on. January 22, 1873, at the age of ninety-four years. He was a very eccentric man and the old residents of the township still tell many stories of his peculiarities. He was the father of thirteen children. Peter Counts came here from Ross county and herded cattle in 1812; he purchased land and remained as a settler, engaging largely in farming and stock raising, and also became quite, wealthy. Septimus Stuthard, a native of Virginia, settled early. in this township and remained here for many years. His last .years . were spent in Fayette county, where he died in 1857. His second wife was Lovey Salmon. He was a good neighbor and worthy citizen, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Caleb Ramey, a brother-in-law of Mr. Stuthard, probably. settled, in the township .about the same time. Thomas Baldwin, a native of Virginia also settled a little east. of Range about 1811-12. He married Mary Cookus, and lived here several years, during which time his wife died, and he subsequently, moved away. He was a good neighbor and a substantial citizen. He served ,as a justice of the peace for several years. James Whitesides settled where the, village of Range is now located, and was one of the early teachers of the township. He also served as a justice of the peace. John McClimans, who emigrated to Ross county, Ohio, thence, about 1812, removed to Range township„ Madison county, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he married Mary Creverston, They spent the remainder of. their lives in this township. He was a devoted Christian and a life-long member of the Presbyterian church. They were the parents. of ten children, nine of whom grew to maturity: Margaret, who married William Johnson; William, who married .Nancy Pearson ; George and John never married; Sarah married Isaac Housman; Samuel married. Rachel Pearson; Isaac married, first, Mary Parker, and his second wife was Elizabeth Clearage; David married Eliza Parker. John Housman, a native of Virginia, married Martha Frost; emigrated to Ohio and settled in Ross county; thence, about 1813, removed to Madison county and settled in Range township. They were the parents of. nine children, Margaret, William, Isaac, Jacob, Abraham, Samuel, Francis, Mary, Hannah and Martha. William Johnston, a native of Pennsylvania, married Margaret McClimans, a native of the same state; emigrated to Ohio and settled in Ross county, near Chillicothe, about 1801-05, where they resided until the fall of 1813, when they removed to Madison county and located in Range township, on Mud run. Here, and on adjoining-land which he subsequently purchased, they remained until his death, in the fall of 1861.. They had eight children, who grew to maturity : John, Nancy, who died unmarried.; William, who married. Philista Hall,. and. on Wednesday, September 27, 1882, celebrated their golden wedding anniversary; George, who married Barbara Beam and, settled in this. township; MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 153 Margaret married William, Nelson, and, soon after, settled in De Witt county, Illinois; Henry married and settled in the same. county in Illinois; Hannah married Dr. Joseph Bryant and lived in the same county ; and Joseph, the youngest child, married and also settled in the. same county. Mr. Johnston was one of the pioneers of Range township. At the time of his settlement here there were but few neighbors, as the country was sparsely settled, and he endured his full share Of the hardships and dangers of the pioneers life. He was a man of firth character and principles, and of undoubted integrity, possessing the full confidence of the community in Which he lived. He filled. the office of justice of the peace for several years. John; the eldest son of William Johnston, was born in Ross county; March 13, 1806; and was in his' seventh year when, with his father and mother, they located in Range: township. Here he grew to manhood, married and settled, reared a large family of. children, and here resided until his death, July 29, 1882, in his seventy-seventh year; haling teen a resident of the township for almost for almost years. He was a man of high moral character, a kind neighbor most worthy citizen; and was held in very high esteem in the community where be had lived so long. Richard Gosslee was born in Sussex county; Delaware, May 19,1181. He Married Elizabeth Brown, February 11, 1803, and in 1804 emigrated to Ohio, and as did most of the. other early settlers of this township, he becoming the first settler in Ross county. ;In 1816 he settled on the well-known Gosslee 'farm; about eight miles south of London, In Range township,. Where he remained until 1856, when he removed to London, where he died on November 20, 1872; at the ripe old age of ninety-one years and six months. His Wife had died many years previously. He afterwards married a Mrs. Martin, of Circleville, Ohio, who lived but a few years. In 1847 he was married to Mrs; McFeely, of Circleville, Ohio. By his first wife, he was the father of eight song and four daughters. Mr. Gosslee was a stanch' supporter of. the Methodist Episcopal church and was "one of the founders of the Concord church, in Range township. He joined the Methodist church in 1801. Immediately after his marriage, he commenced to hold family worship, morning and evening; which' Custom he continued throughout his. long life until within 'a few days of his death. Over seventy years of his life were spent in the service God, in communion with the church of his choice. Very soon after he settled on his farm in this township, he was active in the organization of a' class 'at his' bane,- and there preaching was held for many years, until the erection of a church building in 1836-37. Cornelius Johnson, a native of Maryland, married Sarah Andrews, and in 1803, with his family, emigrated and settling first in Ross, About 181748 he removed to Madison county and settled on the Suver farm, in Binge County, but, prior to his death, he returned to Ross county, where he died. He was twice married, and by the two wives was the father of twenty children. Thomas Athey, a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, emigrated to Bourbon county, Kentucky, where he lived for several years, and was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal church; thence he removed to Ohio, and married Diana Abrams, a daughter of Judge Henry Adams, and, about 1801-02 removed to Fairfield county then, in the fall of 1818, settled in Range township, Madison county. He later became It resident Of Union township, one and a half miles south of London. He was born on November 18, 1780, and died on October 26, 1861. His wife was born on June 8, 1777, and died October 8, 1863. They had eleven children. William King was among the early settlers, and was 'one of the first justices of the peace of Range township," serving, in 1813 With Burton Blizzard. Others who were early settlers and who 'have been prominently identified and associated" with the growth and progress of Range township are James roster, .Joseph Gillespie, Benjamin Harrison 'and Richard Ayers. 'Jain 'Fisher was born near Harper's Perry, Virginia", in November, .1776. "He married Elizabeth Byers; in April, 1797, and removed to Ross county, Ohio, sin 1809, and, about 1819, settled in Range township; Madison county, where he resided until his death, at the age of ninety-three. He served in the War of 1812 was,the founder 154 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO of the Bethel society of the Methodist Episcopal church; in which he was the first class leader, the class being organized at his house, which served as the first preaching place of this society. Mr. Fisher was leader, trustee and Steward of this Society until near the time of his death. He as an honored citizen and a devoted Christian: SURFACE, SOIL AND STREAMS. The surface of Range township is remarkably level, there being only small portions of. it along the streams that are undulating. It was, when the first settlers discovered it, possessed of large oak openings and prairies; with some portions, especially along the creeks, heavily timbered. The varieties of timber consisted principally of burr; white and red oak, hickory, walnut, elm and maple the first two mentioned varieties predominating and the burr oak: growing to a large, size and probably exceeding all other varieties of timber. In some localities there wasan abundance of fine walnut timber, which, in an early day was cut down and burned .on the ground in order to get the land cleared and ready for cultivation. Most of the timber of this section :of the county was perfectly- cleared from any brush or undergrowth when the first settlers came, constituting some beautiful oak groves. This condition was undoubtedly brought about by the effects of the 'annual fires, which were set off in the grass by the Indians; and the entire country burned over in every direction for miles. The soil is very rich and very productive, the fiat and more level portion being composed of a vegetable deposit, very deep, rich and black ; the rolling and elevated portions are a strong loam and clay soil, excellent for wheat and grain. The township is abundantly watered by numerous creek's and streams; fed by springs, and, with a clay and disintegrated limestone subsoil, is almost proof against common Or ordinary droughts. Bradford creek is the principal stream. The heads of its branches rise' in Paint and Oak Run townships, and uniting on the north boundary of Range township; flow in a southeasterly direction; forming the boundary line between Range and Oak Run townships for about a mile and a half, then passes into Oak Run township; then again enters this township, passing through its northeast corner and. enters Pleasant township. In its course it receives a tributary which is formed by two branches, which water all the northern portion of the township, their various branches penetrating it in numerous directions. In the center, of the township rises Mud run which flows southeast into Pleasant township, The North fork of Paint creek is formed by two branches, which rise a little northeast of Sedalia, form a function just north of the village of Range and flow southeast into Fayette county. The general direction of all of these streams and their branches is east, southeast and south, showing distinctly that the northwest portion of the township has the greatest elevation. EARLY SCHOOLS.   One of the early schools of this township was in, the David Dye school house, on land later, owned by a Mr. Ford. This was a hewed-log. house. Frank Flood was the first teacher. The, next school house, which succeeded this, was the two-story frame, house in Sedalia. MILLS Since most of the streams of the township were ill adapted to the supplying of water power for the operation of mills, there is very little to be said On the subject of early mills in Range township. There were many portable and temporary mills in the early days but it is quite impossible to obtain, at this late date, any trace or record of them. At quite an early date, probably about 1835, William Holt erected a steam-mill in steam-mill. called Sedalia on the Armstrong lot, which was perhaps the: first steam-mill. in the county. This mill, was run a few years and then removed to Newport, and there run several years. CHAPTER XV SOMERFORD TOWNSHIP. Somerford township lies along the western herder of Madison county; second from the northern border. It is bounded on the north by Pike and Monroe townships, on the east by Monroe and Deer Creeks townships, on the south by Union township and on the west by Champaign county and Clark county. The following was taken from the record books of the county' commissioners, dated March 4, 1839 : "Ordered, by the commissioners; that the following boundaries, which have heretofore been a part of Deer Creek township, be organized as a new township, to be known and designated by the name of Somerford, to wit : 'Beginning at the southwest corner of Pike township, in the line of Champaign County; thence with the said line south three miles and two hundred poles to the corner between the county of Champign and Clark; thence with the Clark county line south ten degrees west, six ,and a half miles to the north" bank of Deer creek, on Daniel Wilson's land; thence north seventy-seven degrees east, four miles and one hundred eighty poles, crossing the Urbana road and Glade run to two black oaks and two burr oaks near where George, Frederick formerly lived, on A. Toland's land; thence north to the line of Monroe and Pike townships north forty-six degree§ west, five miles to the beginning." The next and last record we find concerning the boundary line of Somerford township is in the record book, dated March 20, 1840, and is as follows "Ordered, by the commissioners of Madison ,county, that the line between the townships of Union and Somerford be so altered as to include Daniel Wilson's and the land upon which he now lives into Union township." SURFACE, SOIL AND TIMBER. Throughout Madison county there is much of uniformity, in, the surface and soil of the different townships, And, to a greater or less extent, the, description of one will cover that of all the different townships, and with a, slight variation, to the presence of creek land, etc., will be a representation. of any other. Therefore, when, we say that the surface of this township is level, as has been said of all other townships in Madison county, is merely, repeating a statement that has been, made. The western portion, of. this township possesses the greatest altitude, as shown by .its streams and creeks, all flowing towards its eastern border; yet even this portion is level or slightly, undulating. The soil very rich and productive: and suitable to the raising of kinds of grains, cereals and grasses, the exuberance of the latter malting it, an excellent stock country. Along the creeks .and the more flat portions of the township, the soil consists of a deep black loam, and the more undulating lands are a mixture: of loam and clay. The township is well watered by, the creeks, which also prove invaluable for drainage and which are fed by, great, numbers of beautiful springs. These springs dot the farms from one extreme to the other of the limited domain. Deer creek, with its numerous branches, penetrate all portions of the territory. George's creek, the largest branch, heads near the northwest corner of the township, and, coursing, in a southeast direction, empties into. creek, near the eastern border of the township. With all the beautiful springs and, creeks, forming an ever-gushing supply of. water together. with the subsoil of clay, this township is proof against danger to its crops from an ordinary :drought. Somerford township, unlike many others of Madison county, was originally well timbered, having no prairies entirely destitute of trees; and it might be stated that 156 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. it had a very remarkable variety of timber, consisting of white, black, red and burr oak, elm, maple, locust, cherry, hickory, walnut and beech, of which the white and red oak were the most beautiful growths; the cherry and walnut, of which, in an early day, vast quantities were cut down and burned in clearing up the land, if now in possession of the owners of these lands, would alone be worth a fortune. But the ruthless axe of the pioneers and his merciless torch nearly obliterated these species from the township. Owing to the small size of the streams, there is no water power of value, and the mills that now exist, or have existed in this township, have been run by steam power. Therefore, the greatest efforts, and the interests of the people, with the natural advanages they possessed as above described, have been along lines of agricultural pursuits. EARLY SETTLERS. The first settlement in this township was made in the eastern part, on or near Deer creek, between the years of 1802 and 1805. In 1803-04, there came from Kentucky two brothers, Robert and John Scott, of whom but little can be learned as to their place of settlement or the good they accomplished. At about the same date, and from the same state, came Tobias Shields and his two sons, John and Andrew, and located in this township. There were probably more of this family than the above mentioned, but their history cannot be gathered. After the organization of Madison county and' of Deer Creek township—the latter embracing a large scope of territory, including Somerford John and Andrew Shields held various offices in the township for several years. Tobias, the father, was a true backwoodsman, rough in his habits and nature, and was blind for thirty years before his death. About this time Charles Atchison, also from Kentucky, settled here and proved a most worthy and useful citizen ; he was probably the first treasurer of the township after its erection and also filled many other offices in the township. Daniel Ross was another pioneer settler., of the same date. He had a large family, of whom there is record of the following sons: Angus, David, John and Alexander, who were all more or less in the various offices of the township until 1836. They evidently left this township about the latter date and emigrated west. In 1805 came John Wilson, from Greenbrier county, Virginia, who, with John Arbuckle, erected a double log house, in which they both resided for some time: He was one of the first trustees, which office he filled four years in succession. About 1808-10, Gabriel Markle, a native of Maryland; emigrated to Ohio, and settled in Somerford township, one mile north of the village of Summerford, on Deer creek. Here he remained through life and died about 1825, nearly eighty years of age. He was of German descent, a good, industrious man and a worthy citizen. He had four sons and nine daughters, who grew up and became worthy citizens of the township. About 1811, Samuel Dickerson, a native of Virginia, settled' here. He was a noted bunter, a good farmer and a respected citizen. George Prugh was born in Maryland and married Margaret Markle. Mr. Prugh was of German descent and his wife was a native of Maryland. He emigrated to Ohio in 1812 and settled in what was then Deer Creek township, but now a part of Somerford, about one mile north of the village of Summerford, where he remained till their death. He died in 1841 and his wife in 1864. He was a very excellent citizen and held the offices of trustee, treasurer and justice of the peace. Two of his sons, 'Samuel and G. W. Prugh remained throughout their lives in this township and were most honored and respected citizens. William Pepper, a native of Maryland, settled here about the year 1810-12, as is shown by the township records. He was a supervisor in 1812. John Summers, a native of Virginia, who settled here about 1813, was a blacksmith by trade and perhaps the first to ply his trade in this township. Shedrick Preston, from Greenbrier county, Virginia, settled on the tract of land MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 157 purchased, by John : Arbuckle, about 1812-13, as in 1814 he served as township trustee. Subsequently he moved to the Big Sandy. Abner S.. Willard was a native of Vermont, born in 1791. He emigrated first to Canada, thence to New York, and in 1812 came to Champaign county, Ohio ; in 1815 he removed to Madison county, where he lived until his death. He married Hulda Colver, who was born on the banks of Lake Champaign, in New York state, in 1796. They were married in Madison county in 1817. He died on December 16, 1872, and his wife died on June .3, 1861. He was a man of undoubted character. and 'esteemed and respected by all who knew him. David Colver, a native of Virginia, settled in this township about :1815-16. In early life :lie was a sailor and traveled quite extensively. He was an active, industrious man, a good neighbor, and a firm Universalist in religious faith. John Barrett,. a native‘ of Maryland, was a brother-in-law of John Arbuckle, they having married sisters. He came to this county. soon after Mr. Arbuckle and settled on the same tract of land. He died with that prevalent; yet much dreaded, disease, milk-sickness. Jacob Steele settled here about 1815. Thomas Taylor came from Chillicothe, Ohio, and settled on Deer creek, about 1815, where he lived about five years ; thence settled on the old Columbus and Springfield stage road; and there kept a tavern in an early day. He made good improvements, was an excellent and intelligent man and a good citizen. Late in life he moved to the village of Summerford; where he died at the age of about eighty years. Valentine Wilson, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1786, emigrated with his father's family, in 1790, to Clark county, Kentucky, where he remained a citizen twelve years; then, in 1802, he emigrated to Ohio and settled on the headwaters of Beaver creek, in Bath township, 'Greene county. In 1816 Mr. Wilson removed to Madison county and settled on the headwaters of Deer creek. He was married three times and was the father of nineteen children. He was first married in 1806, to Eleanor Judy, by whom he had six children. She died on the 5th of September, 1818, and in 1819 he married Mrs. Susanna Umble, who became the mother of four children. She died, on August 18, 1825, and on June 18, 1827; he married for his third wife, Nancy Roberts, who became the mother of nine :children. Of these nineteen children, all but one grew to maturity, and of the eighteen who arrived at maturity; all but one became the heads of families. :Mr. Wilson died on July 2, 1855, on the farm where lie first located in 1816. From a small beginning, on one hundred and sixty acres of land, bought of the man who had recently entered it, with Congress scrip, in the thirty-nine years of his after life. he had accumulated nearly ten thousand acres of land, and died the wealthiest man in Madison county. John J. Roberts settled here about 1817. He was the successor. of Gabriel Markle to the grist-mill on Deer creek. Sutton Potee, a native of Baltimore, Maryland, emigrated with his wife and three children, in the fall of 1817, to Ohio, and settled on the farm located near the National :road, on Deer creek. He married Hannah Markle, by whom he had six children: Mr. Potee was a very active, stirring man, and devoted his whole business life to farming. He was cautious in all business transactions, of firm and undoubted character, and a life-long member of the Methodist church. William and Charles Soward, :brothers, settled on the James D. Statler land about 1817. The latter subsequently removed to Logan county. They were men of good character and great business ability. William started in life poor, but became quite wealthy. Amos Howard was born on Goose island, in the Connecticut river, Grafton county, New Hampshire, April 9, 1775. He married Miran Mills, who was born on March 18, 1774. They were married on March 22, 1796, and removed to Virginia in 1808. In 1809 he came down the Ohio river in a flat boat and evidently settled in Somerford township about the year 1817-18. He was burned to death in 1843. He came 158 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. here a very poor man, but by industry economy and close application to his business, he accumulated a good competency. His son, Amos J., settled on the home place and lived there through life; he died April 16,1882. The Howard family have ever been known, as most worthy and respected citizens. John Cory settled in the northern part of the township about 1818, and served as a justice of the peace. Eli Williams, a native of Virginia, settled in this township about 1818-20., Thomas Orpet, .a- native of Maryland, married a sister of George Prugh, and settled on Deer creek, about, the year 1818-19. He died about the year 1861. He was of German descent, uneducated, and would never allow his children' the benefits of education; believing it dangerous and injurious:. Erastus Hathaway; a native of New York and a ship carpenter by trade, settled here with his family about. 1818-20, and. lived and died in that township. He purchased his land. of -John Caperton; a native of Virginia, who settled here about 1814, but, in 1832, returned to his native state. Mr. Hathaway was a man of ability and character, and served as trustee and justice of the peace. James and Dwyer. Brown, brothers, were natives of New York, but became residents of Somerford township about 1818-20. ' James' was born on June 21, 1795, and died on March 13, 1875. He first emigrated to Canada and later to Ohio. His wife, Mary Ann, was born in Virginia in 1803, and they were married. in Madison county. Dwyer Brown married Miss McMullen, and subsequently moved west. James Brown was an excellent citizen and neighbor, a useful member of society, and was intrusted with many of the offices of the. township. He reared a large family of children, whose character was above reproach. Ansel Bates came to this township, and -settled just north of Tradersville, about 1818. His children were Asa, Ansel, Elijah, William, Sylvanus and. Zenas. The last two were twins. The sons were quite prominent and well known in the affairs of the county, but the latter emigrated west. William Scott settled in this township about the year 1820. He: married Betsy Rigdon and subsequently moved to Pekin, Illinois, where he died. Charles Rigdon came here from Champaign county and settled about the same time 1820-21. Richard Baldwin came here, presumably from Chillicothe, and settled oh surveys No. 9,285 and No. 10,626, about the year 1820, where he resided until about 1837. He then removed to Mechanicsburg Samuel Houston, a native of Pennsylvania settled here about 1820. He married. Elizabeth Arbuckle. He was an intelligent .and Well-educated man and one of the township's best citizens. He taught school and was later township ,clerk. Michael Statler was a native of Virginia and settled in this township on the Urbana road, about 1824. He was accidentally killed in 1842 while cutting down a tree, which fell on him and crushed him. Luther Newcom, a Yankee, settled here about 1820, and was among the first teachers in the township. William Harber, a native of Virginia, was the only surviving member of his father's family, the others having been killed by the Indians when he was but a child; he escaped -by secreting himself in the tall grass. He grew to manhood, married and, about the year. 1825, settled in the northern part of this township. He raised a large family of children, but who, in later-years moved west Samuel Wilson. came to this locality from Paint township, and settled in the west part of the township, in survey 6,078, about the year 1825. He remained here only five years, when he removed to Illinois. William Kirkley settled in the northern part of this township, on land owned by Thomas. Bales, about 1825-30. He married Mary Cowan, who was an excellent Christian woman. Peter Smith, who was a native of Clark county, Ohio, settled here about 1842. He was. killed In 1880, when a train of cars passed over his body. Samuel and John H. 'Kennedy, a native of Virginia, settled here quite early, probably about 1815-20. The latter became a prominent, and useful citizen, was justice of the peace forty years and probate judge froth 1864 to 1876. MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 159 Jonathan Markle, a brother of Gabriel Markle, came here and settled with his brother, Ezra Markle, of the same family. He was also an early settler, this family being among the true pioneers of the township. A few others who were here prior to 1830 were John Nagley, Asa Owens, George Vance, Bennett Warren, Benjamin Hull, Levi Umble, John Osborn, John Groves, Henry Groves, Noah Marsh, Newman Mitchell, Joseph Geer, James Geer and John Osborn. Still later, from 1830 to 1840, the following settlers were prominently connected with the growth and prosperity of the township : Gardner Lewis and his son, Schuyler, who were natives of New York, but settled here in 1836 he died in 1862. Rev. Eli Adams, a native of Maryland, settled in the extreme western part of the township, where he died in 1870; he was a, most excellent man and a minister of the gospel. A. J. Gilligan, a, native of Maryland, settled in Somerford in 1839. He was a tailor by trade and followed this profession while a resident of the latter town. He held the office of justice of the peace fora .number of years. John M. Houston a native of Kentucky, emigrated to Clark county, Ohio, in 1814, where he married Maria E. Cartmell, a native of Clark county. They settled in this township in 1837, removing to Louden in January, 1.877, where he died on January 29, 1870. He served as justice of the peace, and trustee for a number of years.. He, was an active member of the Methodist Episcopal, church.. TRADERSVILLE The neap shows a hamlet in the northern part of the township by the name of Tradersville, but there are now only two or three houses in the place. At one time it was an important trading center, but it long ago gave up hopes of becoming an urban center. The only industry represented in the place now is a general store owned by H. A. Lewis. Several years ago there was a. flourishing Methodist Episcopal church in the hamlet, but it has been discontinued for many years. SUMMERFORD Summerford, the only village in Somerford township, was laid out on June 5, 1835, by Joseph Chrisman. The proprietor Opened the first tavern and became the first merchant of the infant town. William Eaton was the first postmaster and G. W. Cartzdafner was the last man to hold the office. With the establishment of rural route No. 2, out of London, on September 2, 1902 the postoffice at Summerford was discontinued. The first physicians were Doctors Putnam and Crann. Among the merchants of the village in the past may be mentioned W. L. Clingan, M. V. Fauver and J. A: Evans. Owing to the fact that no railroad has ever come to the town it has never become a place of much importance; although the electric line which passed through the town in 1902 has been of great help in building it up: There is a two-room brick school building. three churches (Christian, Methodist Episcopal and Dunkard) and a commodious town hall in the village. The Odd-Fellows and Eagles have lodges in the town. The present population is about three hundred: The following is the business and professional directory for 1915: Barbers, E. P: Geer, Mrs. Stella West ; blacksmiths; Clyde Gist. Edgar Bussard, W. M. Saffley; hotel, C. M. Buffington ice cream, parlor, Mrs. Stella West; livery, C. M. Buffington; merchants, G. W. Cartzdafner, C. M. Buffington, N. O. Pitzer; physician, M. Q: Sprague; pool rooms, E: P: Geer, Mrs. Stella West; weod working shop, George Bussard. The present officials of Somerford township are as follow : Trustees; Stephen Bodkins, R. V. Wilson and Humphrey Nicewarner; school board, M. C. Sprague; Valentine Wilson, Clyde Gist, Prugh Overturf and N. C: Pitzer health officer, B. F. Woosley ; clerk, Herman Soward ; treasurer, Clarence Potee. CHAPTER XVI STOKES TOWNSHIP. Stokes township is located in the. extreme southwest corner of Madison. county, being bounded on the north by Clark county and Paint township ; on the east by Range township; on the south by Fayette county and on the west by Greene county. It was one of the original townships of the county and the commissioners' records have the following to say about its erection: “April 30, 1:810, ordered. that all that tract of country contained in the following boundaries be and the same is hereby laid out unto a separate township, to be known by the name of Stokes, and is bounded us follows, viz.: Beginning at the southeast corner of Champaign county, and Tunning in a southeast direction; on the north side of Big Prairie, east 'of John Moxer's, to the head of the East fork of Paint creek, and with the said East fork, including the inhabitants on each side of said fork, to the Fayette county line ; thence west to the corner of Greene county ; thence with the Greene county line to Champ county line; thence with said line to the place of beginning, by order of they board." The township election in 1810 was held, by order of the associate judges of Madison county; at the house of Outright. There are no records available from which to find Who were chosen to fill the various Offices. All the township records before the year of 1833 have disappeared. In the erection of Clark county in 1817, some of the territory of the township went to form that county. Again, in 1853, Paint township was erected and a part of the above described territory embraced in Stokes township taken to form a part of that township. PIONEERS. It is, believed that Isaac Hudson,, who located in this. township in 1802, was the first white settler, within the precincts of Stokes township. It was at his house that the commissioners and surveyors met preparatory to establishing permanently the boundary line between Greene and Madison counties, in September, 1816. He did not remain a resident of the township for a very long period of time afterward, but moved to Indiana and settled at Vincennes where he was killed in the war that followed soon after. Isaac Hudson was a son of Skinner Hudson, who was a native of England, but who, while quite, young, left his native land, emigrated to America, settled in Kentucky, and In 1804 removed to Madison county, Ohio, settling near his son, Isaac. John K. and Austin, two sons. of Skinner Hudson, were reared and grew to manhood in this township. John K. Hudson was, born in Kentucky, in 1799 and came to Ohio with his father. He married Hannah Mahaffey and they became the parents of twelve children. Mr. Hudson was a man of undoubted character and an active and useful citizen. He died in 1872. The Hudson family were ever first and foremost in the improvements and progress of the country,. in the promotion of morals, education and Christianity. They were hospitable kind hearted and good neighbors, just such persons as were needed to open up .a new country and lay tile, foundations of true principles which were .to make the country prosperous and happy. James Curry; a native of Pennsylvania, married Isabel Roland and, in 1806, emigrated to Ohio, settling in Stokes township, on what was later known as the James S. MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 161 Moon farm. He remained a citizen of the township and county throughout his long and useful life. He was the father of eight children. He died on April 21„ 1871. John Kelso settled in the township in 1808. Noble Ladd settled on Skinner Hudson's land about 1808, also. Andrew Rea, a native of Virginia, became a settler of Stokes township about 1808 or 1810, and located on land later owned by the Gordons. He had a large family of children, of whom were William, Robert, Thomas, Jesse and James. John Moon, a native of North Carolina, made the entire distance from his ancestral home to the then frontier state of Ohio in a wagon and settled on land in the north part of Fayette county, near the Madison county line, in 1808, remaining there until his death. He was the father of ten children. Many of his children settled in Stokes township and his son, Aaron, served as a trustee of the township for twenty-five years and as its treasurer for twenty-six years. Jonathan, his second son, was a township trustee for twenty-three years. Samuel Herrod was born in 1776 and became an early settler of Greene county, Ohio. His wife, Mary, was born in 1790. They settled in Stokes township about 1814-15 sharing all the trials and hardships of the early settlers and pioneers. He died in 1857 and his wife in 1866. He became quite a large landholder. Samuel Hornbeck, a native of Bourbon county, Kentucky, became a settler in this township about 1815 or 1816 and remained a citizen of the township until his death, July 26, 1868. He served during the War of 1812. He was the father of fifteen children. Jacob Selsor, a native of Virginia, came to Ohio in about 1815 and settled in Stokes township, and here he married Elizabeth McHenry, who was a native of Kentucky. He died in 1842 and his wife in 1864. David Selsor was born in Virginia in 1806; a son of John and Mary Selsor, who also were natives of .Virginia, and emigrated to Ohio when David was a boy, probably about 1815 or 1816, settling in this township, where they remained until their deaths. David, when but a boy of sixteen, commenced his career as a farmer and stock-dealer. exhibiting in his boyhood days that aptness and shrewdness as a trading man and financier which, in after years, won for him wealth and laurels. He was known from the Atlantic to the Pacific as one of the greatest stock dealers of Ohio; and perhaps second to none for fine-blooded stock. At the time of his death, January 12, 1882, he owned nearly three thousand acres of land, on whose broad acres roamed large herds of stock, many of which were of the finest breeds of blooded animals. In the summer of 1882. after his death, this stock was sold at -public auction and many prominent dealers from various states and Canada came to buy. George Linson, who was born in Virginia, January 7, 1790, married Elizabeth Hutsinpillar, who was born on December 24, 1792. They emigrated to Ohio and settled in Stokes township about 1815, where they resided until their death, Mrs. Linson dying inn June, 1845, and Mr. Linson in April, 1855. Mr, Linson .came to this portion of the state when it was new and almost a wilderness, and bore a good share of the pioneer privations, but he eventually became possessed of a fine farm and a large competency. He was a man of undoubted character and a highly respected neighbor and citizen. They reared a family of children, who grew up and became prosperous and honored citizens. Isaac McHenry, who came to Stokes township when a boy, 'probably in 1816 or 1818. was born in Kentucky, June 4, 1801. He was married in Stokes township to Christina Selsor, a native of .Virginia. She died in 1832, and he married, for his second wife. Nancy Flood, who survived him. He died in 1874. Joseph Thomas, a native of North Carolina, settled in Paint township in the period from 1815 to 1818. He was generally known as the "White Pilgrim." He made the trip (11) 162 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO from North Carolina on foot,. and soon afterward returned to his native, stater where he married a Miss Ridenhour, and brought her to his new home in the eastern portion of Stokes township. He was a preacher in the Christian church, and shortly after. locating here, had, preaching at his home :and soon: organized a church, of which he was for several years the pastor. He also traveled and preached at many other places. over the surrounding country, being one a the ablest defenders of the doctrines: of that faith who ever talked .in this part of the state. He was also an active worker and a prominent man in the. :Masonic order, and was finally sent into, the. Eastern States to travel in the interests of that. order; while there he took the small-pox, from which he died. Subsequently some minister of the Christian denomination visited his grave; and wrote, and published a very expressive and beautiful, hymn on his life and character. Lot Bozarth was born. in Virginia in 1792,. and early emigrated to Stokes township, Madison county, settling on the land that is still known as the Bozarth farm. Here he married Nancy Rea who was born in Maryland in. 1802: They later removed to White county, Indiana, where they lived a few. years; when they returned to Stokes, county and here spent the remainder of their years. He died on April 7, 1872, and his wife, March 12, 1878. Mr. Bozarth was a kind neighbor. and a goad citizen,. and held several offices of trust in the township. EARLY SETTLERS The above mentioned may be truly called the pioneers of Stokes township, but there remain a few sturdy sons and daughters who deserved an honorable mention; as they, too, bore a part: of the brunt of developing: the township. Jessie Pancake was barn in Virginia in 1801. He emigrated to Ohio and settled in Ross county in. 1812 ; thence about 1820, or soon after; he located in this township, where he married Martha Cooper. who was born in this county in 1814, of a true pioneer family. Mr. Pancake spent his life in this community, and became one of the honored and well-known citizen's of this township, held many of its offices :and was in every respect a most worthy citizen. His wife died in 1839; just in the bloom of womanhood. He died in 1877. He made farming his business throughout life and became' the owner of a beautiful farm of twelve hundred good acres in the township. He was the father of John Pancake, who also became an honored and respected citizen, of the township. Thomas Cooper, a native of North Carolina, came to this township, perhaps as early as 1810 or 1812, and died about 1840. He possessed a very limfted education; but had a sprightly; active mind and goad business faculties. He died early in life, yet owned about a thousand acres of land, and doubtless, had he lived, would have become wealthy. Peter Slaughter, who was born in Virginia; moved to Highland county, Ohio, in an early day .and; in about, 1820-25, removed to Madison county; settling in Stakes township, an Paint creek, where he resided until his death in the fall of 1864. married Elizabeth Cooper; by whom he was the father of eleven children, of whom ten grew to maturity. Mr. Slaughter :married, for his second wife; Anna E. Lynch; who was the mother of three children. He commenced life in very limited—circumstances, but was possessed of great business tact, energy and resourcefulness; He entered largely into the stock business and became one of the biggest stock dealers of the county, being well known all over the state. He was possessed of an extensive acquaintance and 'an unlimited credit, which he maintained throughout life, and died wealthy, owning, three thousand acres of land. Moses Thomas, a native of North Carolina, married Catharine Williams; a native of Virginia, where they were married ; they emigrated to Fayette county; Ohio; in 1825; and soon afterward came to: Madison county,. settling in Stokes township, where they remained until their death. Two of their. sons, Benjamin and William; remained rest, dents of the township and became among its most trusted and respected citizens. Will- MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 163 iam Cooper, a native of North Carolina, emigrated to Fayette county, Ohio, when a young man ; in 1828 he married Elizabeth Merriman and settled in Stokes township, Madison county, where he spent his life. His wife died in 1865. Jacob Smith was the eldest of six children of Mathias and Margaret Smith, who emigrated to Cincinnati in 1806, and in 1807 removed to Greene county, settling on Beaver creek, where they died. Jacob was born in Maryland in 1803 was reared in Greene county, Ohio ; married Amanda Herrod; settled in Stokes, township, this county, in 1836. Here he opened out in the woods and made considerable material progress. The west and north parts of the village of South Solon are built on his. land. Joel Ervin, born in Ohio: in 1811, settled in Stokes township in 1830-35. SURFACE, SOIL AND STREAMS. Like the remainder, of the county, the surface of, Stokes township is slightly: undulating. The land has a gentle, gradual, slope from the northern to the southern boundary, such that all the creeks flow from, north to south. There are, no large streams within the township: The soil is rich and very productive, and all the fiat and more level portions of the township are composed of a rich, black loam,. while the undulations and higher portions are a loam and clay, the whole being underlaid with a stratum of clay, and this, in turn with a limestone gravel. The township is well watered and, with her clay subsoil, seldom suffers from drought., In her primltive condition, as the settlers found her, there were many acres of low, level portions in prairie, destitute of trees and, covered with sedge, often six to eight feet high. Other portions were sparsely covered with trees, with a thick undergrowth of hazel brush. The timbered portions consisted principally of the various species, of oak—white, black, reds and burr with some elm, walnut, hickory and maple, white and burr oak predominating. Paint, creek, the largest, of the„ streams,. enters the -township from the north, flows-through surveys 5,781 and 3,983, and flows in. a zigzag, southern course entirely through the township, leaving it in the middle of the old Bailey lands, at a point almost due south, of the point at which it enters the township. This stream is fed by a number of fine springs along its way, which makes the stream an extraordinary good one for watering stock. Sugar creek the seond stream in size, enters the township from the north and flows directly south through the center of the township into Fayette county. There are two small streams that drain the western portion of the township. The first flows southward through the township, a little west of South Solon, and on through Fayette county and empties into Rattlesnake creek, of which fit is a branch. The other flows through the extreme western portion in a southwesterly direction, enters Greene county, and finally empties into the Little Miami river. These streams, located and distributed as they are, give excellent opportunity for the ditching and draining of the land, and with the general richness and productiveness of .the soil, constitutes them among the best lands of Madison county. EARLY SCHOOLS. Undoubtedly one of the first public schools in this township was a log house on the land later owned by James Crawford. Mr. Burley was the first teacher. This was about 1830. The next school house was built on land later owned by John Murray. There was also a log house for school purposes on Samuel Harrod's land about 1831. The first. teacher here was Mr. Sears, who was a rigid disciplinarian and created some difficulties: in the neighborhood because of his severity with some of the boys. This, however, was no exception in that day, as good physical powers and the ability to chastise the pupils was almost as great a qualification to teach in those days as were intellectual attainments. CHAPTER XVII. UNION TOWNSHIP. Union township is situated in the west central portion of Madison county and is bounded on the north by Somerford and Deer Creek townships; 'on the east by Fairfield and Oak Run townships, on the south by Oak Run and Paint townships, while on the west the border is the Clark county The surface of the township is generally level, and considerable portions of it were Originally oak openings and prairies. The surface is rolling along the streams and creeks, and inclined to be somewhat hilly in a few localities. The principal streams are Glade run, Deer creek, Oak run and Walnut run. Glade run and Deer creek cross the eastern portion of the township, flowing from north to south. Oak run rises in the northwest part of the township, flows southeastward through London and the central part of the township, and on through Oak Run township and is a branch of Walnut run, which rises a little south of the headwaters of Oak run and flows in a southeast direction into Paint township. It enters the township again to cross the southern neck from west to east, a distance of about two and one-half miles. In the southwest and western portions of the township the surface is quite level. On the tributary of Walnut run and the headwaters of Oak run, the surface is rolling. Between said tributary and Oak run is a large extent of very level and beautiful country, and also the same condition exists between Oak run and Deer creek. The most uneven and hilly locality, and in fact about the only portion which can with propriety be called hilly, is the southern. portion, along Oak run and Walnut. The entire township possesses a rich, strong and productive soil. The mare level portions generally consist of a black loam, with here and there a small admixture of clay. Almost the entire township is especially well adapted for grazing and the raising of stock, which has ever been one of the foremost occupations of the farmers of the township. The western portions of the township have the highest elevations. The township is well watered, and good wells, with lasting water, are obtained from fifteen to forty feet below the surface. In some parts of the western portion of the township there are flowing wells, the water being impregnated very. strongly with iron, and perhaps with other minerals. Therefore, there must be extensive subterranean courses, which are supplied with water from some distant source of very high elevation, and this source, or somewhere along the subterranean course, before it reaches the surface, must be abundantly supplied with iron. The variety of timber is about the same as in other portions of the county. On the more level portions, and in the oak openings, burr oak predominates, with some hickory and elm ; in some wet portions, elm rather predominates. in some places, and along the creek bottoms, was formerly found considerable walnut timber. On the more elevated lands, with clay soil, were white, black and red oak, hickory and ash, as the prevailing species. The prairies, as first occupied by the pioneers, were found with an exuberant growth of grass, which formed excellent pasture range for their stock, the grass often growing seven and ,eight feet high. But late in the season, when it became very dry, it became as dangerous an element as it was beneficial, to the settler in the early part of the season, for often the grass would be set on fire, and burn and destroy everything of a destructible nature which lay in its course. When once started, with a brisk wind. it would travel at railroad speed, and many a farmer had his buildings, grain and every- MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 165 thing swept away in a few minutes of time. Sometimes, by a combination of neighbors making a hard and continued fight with the fire before it got too near their homes, they would succeed in saving their property. But in the fall of the year it required con-tinned watchfulness on the part of the settlers to guard against these destructive fires. PIONEERS. Union township was not settled as .early as the eastern portion of. the county. As the settlements were formed from the Ohio river up the Scioto and its tributaries branching off westward up Deer creek, the Darbys and their tributaries, and thus penetrating the eastern townships first, before reaching the central and western portions of the county, it would be a natural :consequence that the eastern townships would receive the first permanent settlers. And this was natural also from the fact that Chillicothe became the seat of supplies for the first settlers of this county, they at first obtaining their groceries and farming implements, all the equipment of agriculture and the necessities for their homes and families from that place. And as settlements were made up these streams, northward and westward, and as roads were opened and means of communication established, these settlers pushed on in advance. After settlements were made in the eastern townships, it took but a few years for them to penetrate into the territory now found within the boundaries of Union township. William Blair and James La Barr are probably the persons to whom should be accorded the honors of having been the first to locate within the present confines of Union township. These men probably located on Glade run about the same time, and that very soon after the year 1800, perhaps 1802-04. Blair was a preacher in the New Light Christian church. He located on land that was afterward known as the Josiah Melvin farm. LaBarr was a miller by trade and remained in this neighborhood but a short time, moving on to the Darbys, to follow his trade in a mill that was early erected there. John Deeds, of German descent, was probably the next to locate in the township. He, with his family, settled on the Marshall lands, about 1803-5 ; he was a blacksmith by trade, probably the first in the township and, perhaps; in the' county. Of his children, were George, Philip, John G. and one daughter. They remained here .a few years, sold out to William Smith, and removed to Pickaway county, Ohio. John McDonald, a native of Virginia, married a Miss Schuyler, and at an early date emigrated to Tennessee. In April, 1807, he, with his family, came to Madison county and settled on the Glade, where he died in 1811. His children were as follow : Maudlin, who died in Tennessee; Thomas, who died at Woodstock, Champaign county, Ohio; James and John, who died on the Glade; Samuel, who died in St. Clair county, Illinois; Betsy, who died in Alabama; George, who also died in St. .Clair county, Illinois, and Schuyler, who died on the Glade. Of the above, James, the third child, married, in Tennessee, Nancy Cook, a native of New Jersey, and," with his family, came to this county with his father, and with him settled .on the Glade run. Their children were: Mary, who married a Mr. Ferguson; George, who married Malinda Ferguson, by whom he had one daughter; Mary Ann, who married Judge Fulton, of Columbus; Priebe, who married a Mr. Luffburrough, of Iowa ; Elizabeth, who married John Davis; Charity, who married Walker Graham; John, who died unmarried; and Maley. In about the years 1808 or 1809 the Melvin family settled on the Glade. They were, perhaps, natives of Virginia and came to this state by way of Tennessee. The first family of this name to locate in this township was that of Thomas Melvin, who came here in the, spring of 1808. He was born on January 21, 1782, and died in the fall of 1808, a. few months after arriving here. He was the eldest son of John Melvin, Sr., who married Jane Barnes and, with his family; came to the Glade in 1809, and there resided until his death. Besides the eldest son mentioned above, they had the 166 - MADISON .COUNTY, OHIO. following children: Charles, Polly, Abby, Bartholomew, Joseph, Samuel and Jefferson. Joseph, Melvin, a cousin of John Melvin,, Sr., settled on the Glade about the same time with his, family. He married Phebe Van Vacter and was the. father, of the following children John, Silas, Joseph, Sallie, Thomas and, Jane,: About 180840, Lewis Coon, a native of Virginia, and several of his nephews located on Deer creek, on or near the Minshall lands, and it is probable that he died here. Of the nephews, there is record of the following names: Jacob, Henry, Adam; Lewis and Abraham, who all married and had large families; each family had a "Jake," and to distinguish one from the other they were known in the community. as "Old -Jake," "Fatty- Jake," "Yankee Jake," "Fiddler Jake, "Little Jake” and "Gutty Jake." They were a family Well known for their honesty and uprightness, being good neighbors and respected citizens ; but most of them moved West after several years' residence. Probably the last to go was Jacob Coon, Sr, who resided here until 1848, when he removed to Missouri, and subsequently to Illinois, where he died, at the age of ninety-five years. In 1808-9 Williams Starns, from Tennessee, settled on the Glade, where he resided until his death, about 1830 his. wife, Nancy; died a little earlier. Their children were: James, Betsy, Nancy; Polly, Margaret, William, Abby; Rebecca and John. Mr. Starns was a farmer and a man of sterling worth and integrity. William Smith; a native of Pennsylvania, came to the Glade as a young, unmarried man, about 1812-13. He made his home with James McDonald at first and afterward purchased the old Deeds farm. He returned to his native state, Married; and returned with his wife to his new home on Deer creek about 1814; when he erected a saw-mill. He lived but a few years, had no children and was buried on the place. William Aikin settled near the Melvins, on the Glade, about 181042. He resided there for six or seven years and, sold out to the Melvins, and moved back to his native state. The foregoing were early settlers of the eastern portion of the township and the reader's attention is now called to those of the, others parts of the township. Philip Cryder was born in Pennsylvania, but; while young; removed with his father to Newtown, Virginia, where he grew to manhood; and married Nancy McClintick. In 1806, in company with David Watson, Jonathan Minshall and others, thirty-nine persons in all, he emigrated to Ohio, first stopping at Chillicothe, where he purchased a tract of land embracing eight hundred acres, for which ,he paid two dollars an 'acre: Others of this company purchased large tracts. They, then organized a surveying party, under Col. Elias Langham; and left Chillicothe to survey and locate their lands. Mr. Cryder, David Watson and a few others composed this party. They had, as may well be imagined, a very rough tour, camping out at night -and coursing through the wilderness, but they accomplished their purpose. In 1807-8; Mr. Cryder located with his family on his land, erecting a cabin, in which he was assisted by two neighbors, Mr: Fry and Major Withrow, and two Indians. One of the latter was the well-known hunter, Captain John, who visited thee early settlers throughout this section very, frequently, and who, it is said, was killed in combat with a deer, both he and the deer being found dead, lying side by side, as they had fallen: Mr: Cryder was a recruiting officer in the War of 1812, and a major of a company of horse, yet he saw no field service. Once during the war it was reported that the enemy were coming to 'massacre them all, and it produced a severe scare; Major Cryder started with a company of men for Ft. Wayne, but while on his way he' ascertained that there was no danger and returned home. In the meantime his wife, with two little children, mounted on horseback and started for Chillicothe. On the place where he first settled, Mr. Cryder remained the rest of his life. In the early years of their settlement here they were in great danger from prairie fires, and at two different times Came. very near losing all their property which was destructible by fire, but, by a combined effort of the people of the surrounding country, aided by help from the citizens MADISON. COUNTY, OHIO - 167 of London, they succeeded in staying, the fiames, and thus saving their property. However; in the. severe struggle, Mr: Cryder became overheated and Cooled off too suddenly, thus laying the foundation for consumption, with which he died; at the age of sixty, eight years, in 1838. His wife survived until August. 1856, aged seventy-six: They were interred in the Watson cemetery: Of their nine children; three died Young and six grew to maturity, Mary married Jonathan. Markle ; Arabella married John Palmer; William; Eliza married William Jones; Samuel married Isabel Watson and Nancy, married Samuel. Watson: Mr. Cryder. was a wagonmaker by. trade and was probably the first in Union township. He followed this trade in connection with farming through all his life He was one of the township's best, citizens; and of his devoted. Wife lt is worthy of note that though, she was reared in a home that owned many performed all of the household Work; she was a noble helpmate and a brave pioneer, and endured many hardships with fortitude and a willing heart in the early of the settlement they had no wells, and if they located where there was nb permanent and lasting spring, they often had to Carry water a great distance. Of Mrs. Cryder; it is said that at times she carried water for drinking and culinary purposes a distante of half a mile.  About 1808-9 James Criswell became a resident o the Harford lands. He was a very peculiar and eccentric Old man, yet honest and honorable in all his dealings always endeavoring to meet his obligations promptly." The story is told of him that one evening he was out in the clearing quite a distance froth his Cabin. It became quite dark arid at some distance from him he observed, as he thought, a remarkably thick a uster of stumps, when suddenly the dark objects; Supposed to be stumps gave evidence of life and began to approach  him for the house with all possible speed, pursued by a pack of wolves and barely reached his cabin in time to escape then he was a blacksmith by trade, moving from place; to place, and after a few years all trace of him was lost One of the best known of the pioneer families of Madison county snd of Union town ship was the Warner, Joseph Warner, Sr. was a native of Maryland, but, while a young man, removed to Virginia, where he married a young lady whose given naive was Ruth and who became the mother of the following children: Henry; Robert Joseph, John, Amielia, Sarah; Margaret and Ann. About Mr. Warner; with some of his family removed to Ohio and stopped first near in about 1808-10, some of his sons; among; who thwere Joseph. and William, came in this county. Joseph Warner; Sr., lived to the remarkable age of one hundred and four years. When. one hundred years old, he rode to Washington, D. C., on horseback and back again, and when one hundred and three year of age he rode the same horse to Indiana, to visit; one of his children, then residing there, are where he died a year afterward. Joseph Warner, Jr., was a carpenter by trade; which buiness he followed for many years, in connection with farming. He built one among the first houses erected in London, after the laying out of the town, and for several years did a great amount of carpentering in London ; subsequently he moved with his family to town; but, after a few yearw residence there, he moved back to the farm. He subsequently purchased more land, until he owned three hundred acres. He married; Sarah Atchison; by whom he had the following children: John, who married Phebe Jefferson (twice Married afterwards) and lived In Colorado; Eli Smith; who married. Elizabeth Pancake; Charles; who married Isabell; Rebecca, unmarried; Samuel; who married Sssan Maria Sheperd; Rachel, who married James Scarf. Mr. Warner was a member. of the Methodist Episcopal church; an energetic pioneer, and beCame became prosperous farmer: He sustained an unblemished character and was a much esteemed and respected citizen: He died an August 30; 1865, in his eighty-first year. His wife died on April 7, 1850. Levi. H. Past: settled two and a half milers west of London, on the Springfield pike, 168 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. at a very early day, but of him little can be learned, as it appears that he moved away after a few years residence in this township. The county records show that he served as county treasurer from1811 to 1815. Daniel Brown, a native of Virginia, settled southwest of. London, near Philip Cryder, about 1808-10. He erected a wind-mill for grinding corn, but it failed to work satisfactorily and he ran the mill by horse-power. He had few equals as a man of character, honesty and conscientiousness in all his business relations. This is well shown by the following story that is told of him : James Withrow owned laud on the south of Mr. Brown, and they concluded that it would be mutually beneficial to each of them to exchange ownership in these two tracts of land; consequently, the trade was made, the deeds duly executed and thus the business consummated. Finally, one day Mr. Brown called to see Mr. Withrow and informed him that he had reason to believe that the title to the land he had deeded to him was defective, and, as neither of them had recorded their deeds, he proposed that the trade be made null and void by destruction of the deeds, which was accordingly done; subsequently, it was proved that his fears were not without foundation, and in a short time he lost the land. Thus, by the honesty and unselfishness of Mr. Brown, Mr. Withrow was saved from loss or trouble. Mr. Brown by his wife Rachel, had several children, of whom Betsey married Samuel Watson ; Rachael married Walter Watson ; Daniel and Ruth. Some of the children moved west, and married there, but their names are not remembered. William Wingate was born in Fairfax county, Virginia, eight miles from Washington city. In 1800 he was married to Margaret Warner in 1805 removed to Belmont county, Ohio ; and in 1809, to Madison county, but did not remove his family here until 1811. He located near David Watson on Walnut run. He died in this township on November 19,1863, at the age of nearly eighty-four; his wife died in 1834. Their children were: Ruth, who married Thomas Rea ; Nancy, who married David Dye ; Amelia, who married Joseph Ward; William, unmarried; John ; Elizabeth; Sarah Ann, who married Richard Hera, and Margaret. Mr. Wingate served in the War of 1812. He was an industrious man, of undoubted integrity, and all his life a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal church. About 1809 Benjamin Kirkpatrick, of Irish descent, with his wife, Mary, settled one and a half miles west of London, where, a few years afterward, he died. He located there about 1809, was a good, honest farmer and a member of the Presbyterian church. The Kirkwood cemetery was named after him. He died on December 5, 1821. Of his children, were the following: John and James, who died in 1822; Joseph, who married Ellen Conly, and soon afterwards died; William, who married Harcy Hammond; Harriet, who .died from a rattlesnake bite, and Samuel. Hezekiah Bayless, who, it is understood, was a native of Virginia, settled, with his wife, Sarah,. on land in this township about 1810, as he was known to be here during the War of 1812. He resided here for several years and then removed to Champaign county, Ohio, where he. died. They were the parents of several children, but the names of but two, Sarah and John, have been preserved. The above are given as true pioneers. In addition there were a. number of early settlers, who, on account of the hardships endured, labors performed, and prominent spheres in which they acted, were, some of them, more fully identified with the improvement, .growth and progress of the township and county, than many who settled earlier. David Goryes, who was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia, married Elizabeth Stipp, of the same county, and emigrated to Pickaway county, Ohio, in about 1805: in about 1811 he came to Madison county and settled in Union township. Soon after settling here he erected a tannery, which was said to be the first in the county. Here he remained and carried on business one or two years, when his wife died, and soon afterward he sold his property in town and moved back to the farm. In 1846 he sold his farm and again moved to town to live, and here he resided until his death in his eighty-fourth year, in MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 169 1855. He was a man of undoubted integrity, firm in character; and a devoted member of the Methodist church for years. He served as a soldier in the War of 1812 under General Harrison and. was .near Detroit at the time of Hull's surrender. He was the father of eight children : Keturah, who married Charles Seward; Sarah, who married Wilson Dungan ; George, unmarried ; Letitia, who married. Squire Knight ; Rachel, who married A. A. Humes, and Mary, married Absalom Neff, John Moore, a native of the state of Virginia, married a Miss. Smith, and, in 1811, emigrated to Ohio, remaining one year in Ross county in 1812 he settled in Madison county, locating in the northern part of Union township. Mrs. Moore died and he subsequently married Sarah Littler. By his first wife he had two children and by the last wife, nine. Mr. Moore was a reserved, unpretentious man, yet full of fun and quick with repartee, and enjoyed life well. He followed farming throughout his life; a man of kind heart and a substantial and worthy citizen. In 1813 John F. Armstrong came to Madison county and .settled on what was later known as. the Hiram Richmon farm. Armstrong was born in Kentucky, March 13, 1772, served a short time in the. War of 1812 ; and married Elizabeth Warren, a native of Pennsylvania. He was successful at stock farming and breeding, which he made. a specialty the remainder of his life. He owned about three hundred acres in this county, besides quite an amount of western land. He was the father of twelve children. James Porter, a native of Maryland, emigrated to Ross county, Ohio, about 1800, and there married Elizabeth Kibourn. He served during the War of 1812, and about 1815 settled in this township, on land known as the Porter farm. Here he built his cabin and soon afterward set out an apple orchard with trees that he raised by planting the seeds from some old rotten apples which he had carried to this county: This was the first orchard in the neighborhood and some of the trees are still standing, old and gnarled. His wife died in October, 1829, with thw "trembles," or "milk-sickness." He was left with six small children on his hands, whom he took to his brother. in Ross county ; there he subsequently married Mary Bradley, and; in 1835, brought his children back, and then resided the remainder of his days on the farm where he had first located. The children by his first wife were: John, who married Mary Timmons; Peter, who married Mary Jane Ayers, moved to Illinois and later to Kansas; Amelia ; Ann, who married 'John Troud; James G., Samuel and Lucretia. The children by his second wife were, Nancy, Joshua, Malinda, Harriet (who married A. J. Coover), and William H. Mr. Porter was a large, robust man, six feet four inches in height, and his average weight was two hundred and fifty pounds. His wife died in 1849, and he died in 1852, at the age .of sixty-three years. George Beecher, believed to have been a native of Maryland, married Gatty Truitt, and settled near where the infirmary is now located., about 1814-15; where he resided until his death. He -had one child, Mahala, who married Charles Warrington. Robert Smith, a son of James Smith and a native of Virginia, came to this county about 1815 and settled on what is known as the Phifer place. He was married in Virginia to Anna Littler, in the year 1800, Mr. Smith died in 1816. In 1817 his widow married William Noteman an early settler of Deer Creek township. Mrs. Noteman died in 1826. In November, 1814, William Jones and wife, with one child, Job K., emigrated from Tennessee and settled in London. Later there were born to the parents, Isaac, John, William and James. The father was a blacksmith by trade and the first to follow that vocation in London. He was afterward engaged in various occupations and became very wealthy. He suffered severely in the crisis of 1837, by paying security debts, and removed to his farm in Union township; subsequently he returned to London and lived with his son, Job K., at whose home he died. He was everybody's friend and was familiarly known as "Dad Jones." Of the children, Job K., remained a resident of London until his death, which occurred on April 4, 1877: He possessed, at one time, over eight hundred acres 170 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. of land in Union and Deer Creek townships, Madison county. John became a merchant in London and James a lawyer in Champaign; Illinois., Thomas Jones, a native of Worcester county; Maryland, emigrated .to Ross county, Ohio. about 1817 removed to Madison county and located in the southwestern part of Union township, where he purchased land. Later P. Helphenstine purchased a large tract, of land of Fulton & Creighton, of Chillicothe, from which M Jones obtained enough to make his first purchase of one thousand acres He remained where he first located the remainder, of his long and useful life In politics he was at first a Whig and later. a stanch Republican. He Served, under the old Constitution; as an associate judge for several years, and also as county commissioner. He was a Man of kind heart and noted for this deeds of love and charity. wife was Mary .P. Truitt; a native of Maryland, by whom he had seven sons and one daughter: James J.; who married; Josephine Kerr; William G., who married Eliza Cryder; Edward A., who married MargeryElkin, Doctor Toland, who married Frances A. Toland, John E., who married Mary McLene; Eliza J., who married, J. B. Evans (later Thomas O. Smith); Kendall P., who died in 1854, and Addison, who married Sarah. F. Godfrey. Mr. Jones died in 1859 and his wife in 1865. Samuel Messmore, a native of Pennsylvania, married Mrs. Michael Lohr, nee Mary C. Miller, who was born, in Rockingham county, Virginia. In 1810 she married Michael who died in 1818: By him she had two sons and two daughters: Margaret Ann, who married William Campbell ; George W:, who inarried Sarah F. Reeder; John; who married Ann Noteman, and Mary, who married Michael Carr. Mr. Messmore married Mrs:, Lohr in 1819. In 1820 they removed to Ohio and settled in Union township, Madison county. He was the master of two trades; bricklaying and shoemaking the after of which he followed connection with farming all through his, life he died in Midway, this county, having moved there just a year or two before, his death. He was of excellent character, honest. and upright in all his dealings, hind and liberal in his habits, and in his later years devout member of the Christian church. By Mr. Messmore, Mrs. Messmore was, the mother of three children Mary Catherine; who married James Gossard; Isabel, who married Alexander Wilmoth, and James Madison, who died in childhood. James, Garrard, a native of Pennsylvania, was born on January 28, 1780, and emigrated to Warren county; Ohio, about 1796-97, where he married Mahitable Buckles; who .was born .August 14, 1772; in Virginia: They later moved to near Lisbon, Clark county, Ohio; from thence, in 1823-24; to Union township, Madison county, locating in the west part, where he purchased land and remained his his children where Mary; who married David Smith, who died; and, she married Robert Buckles; Jonah never married and died ii this county about 1848; James who married Mary Buckles, and died in this county, July 24, 1880; and Stephen, who married Nancy Davis. Mr. Garard's wife died on October 8, 1836. He later married Martha Hollar; by whom he, had two children, Martin Van Buren and Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Garrard died, on January 28, 1845. About 1829, Mr. Garrard built a grist-mill on Oak run, just above the Roberts' mill, made of hewed logs and run by water-power: Soon after he erected a small distillery ; these he ran until about 1840, when he sold the mill Charles Roberts and the still was discontinued. He was an active worker, in the Democratic party organization. He was soldier, in the War of 1812: Dr. Simon .Steers, a Yankee by birth, located in the north. part of the township about 1816 and was one of the first Physicians of this township. He lived here until, his death.He and his wife are both interred   the cemetery near Newport. James Rankin, one of the prominent, and leading business men of the men, was born, in Maryland May 20, 1786. On February 10, 1807, he married Margaret Trutt; who was born in Worcester county, Maryland, January 1, 1788. In the spring of 1817; they MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 171 emigrated to Ohio, and were all summer: making the trip, arriving in the county in the fall of the same year. In the spring of 1818; they, located on the land now known as the county infirmary farm: Mr. Rankin: wash. contractor and. builder by profession and was one of the contractors for a county, jail built about this time. However; he made farming his life occupation. He was a prominent member of the Presbyterian, church of London and was one of its constituent members at the time of its reorganization in 1829. He was also a loyal member of the Masonic fraternity. He held the office of township trustee for more than fifteen years politically, he was an ardent Whig. He cited on August 21,1857; Mrs. Rankin died On: December 12, 1871. They were the parents of the following children: John T. N:, who married Charity Ann Fullerton; Albert who married Abigail Cooper; Charlotte Ann Selby, who married William Stroup; Joshua Truitt; who married Sarah Evans; Mary Atkinson; who married` Fulton Armstrong; James, who married Ann Eliza Warner, and Washington Purcell, who died in childhood. Edward Evans settled in Paint township, in 1813 and a little later; located in Union township, on land belonging to the James Armstrong heirs, where he died.' '‘He was a native of Virginia; a good honest farmer a worthy and respectable citizen, and a member of the Methodist church. A cripple by the name of Jesse Paine, a native of Maryland, settled here about 1820. He had a' large family of children, of whom were John, Zadoc, Samuel and James; all good, industrious men; and who, starting in life poor, became thrifty farmers. In about 1818, James Rayburn, a native of Virginia, first emigrated to Ross county thence, in the same year, to Madison County. He first settled eight miles south of London at Willow Springs, and about 1839 removed to near London, where he lived until his death: He married a Miss Corbit; by whom he had seven children: Henry; who moved to Indiana; James, who became a member of the Legislature and an associate judge and later moved to Illinois ; John ; Creighton M: and one daughter named Patsey, who married Dr. James Allen. James Kiscaddin settled here about 1824, a good; industrious man; he never owned property, and later removed to Marion: Ohio. Samuel Carr, a native of Harrison county, Virginia; came, when a single than, to Madison county andsettled hear Newport; purchasing' land of Col. Elias Langham but thls he lost entirely, having; a worthless title. Thereafter he rented a farm. In 1824 he purchased that is still known as the Carr place; here his son John died for Many years, and he resided there until his death. He married Amelia Warner, by whorn he had the following children : John W.; Minerva Ann; who married Robert: Withrow; Maria Jane, who died unmarried; Eliza Ruth, who died at eighteen years of age; Frances and Mary, who died in infancy ; Amanda; who married Henry R. Dun, and Samuel, who Was killed by being thrown from a horse when twelve year's old. Mr. Carr came to the county prior to the War of 1812 and served in that war. He spent his life as a farmer and stock raiser,: and accumulated considerable property. He died en May 18, 1864; at the ripe old age of eighty-one years; his wife died on August 31, 1864; aged seventy-two years:. William Jackson, a native of Pennsylvania, of Irish descent, removed to Virginia, and there married Nancy Rea, a native of Maryland, of Welsh descent. They came to Ohio in 1828 and settled in the western part of Union township where they resided until their deaths. Robert Armstrong, a son of Judge James Armstrong, of Ross county. was born on April 7, 1801; he married Elizabeth Earl, and settled in this county, four miles south of London, about 1824-5. His wife died in 1844, and he afterwards married Mrs. Maria Coover, 'nee' Cowling. He was the father of fifteen Children. Mr: Armstrong was an extensive farmer and stock raiser and very successful in business; he became the owner of fourteen hundred acres of land in Madison county and a large amount of western lands, besides a large amount of personal property. He died in 1865 and his wife in 1873. 172 - MADISON COUNTY, OHIO. Lancisco, Gideon and George Peck, sons of Gideon Peck, of Ross county, Ohio, settled on a tract of land in the west part of Union township, which was purchased by their father. They settled here about 1828. Of other early settlers known to have settled here about 1812-15, were John and George Sutherland, John and James Beatty, Henry Ward and an only son, Joseph. ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWNSHIP In the commissioners' records for the date of April 30, 1810, we.find the following: "Ordered, that the following boundaries compose a township, to be known by the name of Union, and is bounded as follows, viz.: Beginning at the mouth of Oak run, thence east to the Franklin- county. line ; thence north four miles ; thence. west to the line. of Deer Creek township; thence west with said line to the Champaign county line; thence with said line the southwest corner of Champaign county and the north corner of Stokes township ; thence with the north line of Stokes three miles; thence eastwardly to the southwest corner of Judge Baskerville's survey ; thence direct to the beginning." At a meeting of the commissioners on December 7, 1812, it was ordered that "the line of Union township between Union and Pleasant, running from the mouth of Oak run to the county line, be vacated ; and it shall run northeastwardly to the state road leading from London to Dyer's mill, so as to leave all the inhabitants on main Deer creek in Union, and all those on Oppossum run in Pleasant township ; said line to continue with the state to the county line." On June 2, 1829, it was "Ordered. by the commissioners, that the following lines, as run by Henry Warner, be established as township lines between the townships of Union; Pleasant, Range and Stokes: Beginning at the northwest corner of Samuel Baskerville's survey, running south twenty-four degrees west about fifty poles; thence south twenty-two degrees west to the line between the counties of Madison and Fayette, a short distance east of McIntosh's farm, for the line Stokes and Range townships. The line between Pleasant, Range .and Union, running from Baskerville's said corner north seventy degrees. east to Longhom's road, near Samuel Kingern's; continue the same course two hundred and twenty poles; thence north twenty degrees west forty poles; thence south seventy degrees east to the Chillicothe. road ; thence north fifty-three degrees east to Deer creek; thence up the creek to the mouth- of Oak run; thence north fifty-two degrees east to the line between the counties of Madison and Franklin." Again, on June 6, 1836, "at a meeting of the commissioners of Madison county, on Petition being presented, ordered that the line between Deer Creek township and Union township be altered to run, to wit: Begining at the northwest corner of Jefferson Melvin's farm, and southwest corner of John Adair's land, and to run westerly to strike the Lafayette road ten poles south of the Glade, between B. Bowdry's and D. J. Ross; thence the same course continued until it strikes the present line, which divides said township so as to include D. J. Ross into Union township:" On March 2, 1840, it was "Ordered by the commissioners of Madison that the line between the townships of Union and Somerford be so altered. as. to include Daniel Wilson and the land on which he lives into Union township." So it is seen that the boundaries of Union township passed through several changes prior to 1841. and it is to be observed that its present boundaries are still different from the above, as Fairfield township has since been erected, and with other changes which have from time to time been made, have constituted its boundaries as they now exist. The township is now about eleven miles long from east to west, from two to six miles wide from north to south, and. has the honor of containing London, the county seat of Madison county, Because of the absence of any records of the township for the first ten years after MADISON COUNTY, OHIO - 173 the erection of the township, it is possible to give only the first officers that appear on the existing records, which is for the year 1821: George Chappell, William Smith and Patrick McLene, trustees ; Stephen Moore, Jr., clerk; William Jones, treasurer ; William Athey, assessor; Henry Warner, Edward Evans, and James Campbell, constables; Henry Coon, William Jones, Edward Evans, Thomas Brown and :John Asher, supervisors; Aquilla Toland and Simon Steers, fence viewers; John Moore and A. G. Thompson, overseers of the poor; John Simpkins and Jonathan Minshall, justices of the peace: EARLY MILLS. In about 1829, a grist-mill was erected on Oak run a little above where Roberts'• mill was later located, by Jacob Garrard. This mill was built of hewed logs and the power was supplied by the stream. Soon afterward he erected a small distillery connected with the mill ; these he ran until about 1840, when he sold the grist-mill to Charles Roberts, who refused to purchase the distillery, and it then went into disuse and decay. Soon after the mill came into Mr. Roberts' possession, he erected a new mill on the site referred to above. Henry Inn, in about 1840, erected a carding-mill, with a saw-mill attached, on Oak run, about one mile north of London, run by water-power. He continued the business there about five years, when he sold: the property to C. IC. Slagle, who continued the business for four years, when he erected a new building, two stories high, thirty by fifty feet, attached to the old building, in which he placed machinery for the manufacture of all kinds of woolen goods.. This machinery he ran by steam power, and in 1850 had it in full operation, when he rented the property to .William Fish, who was a practical manufacturer. Mr. Slagle then erected a tannery near the woolen mills. Mr. Fish, after conducting the business two years associated .himself with Dennis Clark and. thus continued two years. Then Mr. Fish retired, Mr. Clark purchasing his interest and continuing the business until June 28, 1864, when the whole property was destroyed by fire, caused by sparks falling on the roof from the chimney. This, fire also destroyed Mr. Slagle's tannery and all his property. The mill was never rebuilt. CEMETERIES. Probably the first to receive interment within the township were two infant children of Thomas Melvin, on Glade run, who died in the summer of 1808, and were buried on his land, which afterward became. a regular burying ground for that neighborhood and vicinity and was, known as the Lower Glade cemetery. The first adult person to be interred was Thomas Melvin, the father of the above mentioned children, who died in the fall of 1807. In 1811, the body of John McDonald, Sr., was deposited in the same piece of ground. From this time the deaths and burials became more frequent, as the neighborhood of the Glade filled up with settlers, and for many years much sickness prevailed. After the death of Thomas Melvin, this land came into the possession of Charles Melvin, who fenced around about an acre of ground and donated it for cemetery purposes. In the extreme western part of the township, many of the pioneers were buried in the Turner burying ground, just in the edge of Clark township. Also a few persons were interred on the James Garrard farm, which was, in the early days, known as the Sutherland burying ground. But it is now all in an open pasture, and not a mark left to show who was buried there. In the southern and southwestern portions of the township, many of the early dead were interred in the Watson cemetery. At London there were two burying places quite early established—one in the northpart of town, usually known as the Methodist, and the other west of the town, known an the Presbyterian. These were used for many years and until the purchase and establishment of the present grounds known as Oak Hill and Kirkwood cemeteries. CHAPTER XVIII. TOWNS AND VILLAGES AMITY Amity, or West Canaan; is situated on the banks of Big Darby creek, in the north: eastern part of Canaan township. This is the only town within the llmits of the township and as the business of mercantile trade began. Prior to the laying out of the town, the history will really begin With that Period. Dr. Lorenzo Bach opened a store And commenced the mercantile trade about the year 1826. Doctor Beach had been a practicing physician, but having decided to give up the practice of his Chosen profession, decided that there was need of a store in Which should be kept a general assortment of goods supply the People of that community. a very successful busniess for several years, and there gained his first financial foothold among the early settlers as a good financier. At that time, 1826; the woolen-mill of Uri Beach was in full operation creating a concentration point for the people. of a large extent of surrounding country. With the extensive business of the woolen-mill and Doctor Beach's stare as a nucleus a little village began to spring up and. there soon became quite a demand tor more houes. In view of this demand Uri and Dr. Lorenzo Beach purchased a tract of land of Dr. James Comstock embracing that upon Which the town of Amity now stands, and commenced to lay out a town. Abijah Cary surveyed and laid out one tier, of lots on each side of the road, thirty-three all. The plat was made and the same recorded at London on January 3, 1833; under the name of New Canaan. In November, 1834, an addition to the town was laid out and: recorded by. Dr. Lorenzo Beach and Luther Lane, the ,same being surveyed by James at which time the name of the town was changed to Amity; by which name it has since been known. In 1831, the first hotel was kept by William J. White, and the first blacksmith, shop by P. Strickland. The Postoffice was established about 1830 prior to the laying out of the town, and was kept by Horatio Adams; on,. the Finch farm, and was called New Canaan. Post-office. This office was next kept .by A. S. Stone, on the farm which was later owned by Henry Converse then it was kept on the Nugent farm, and from thence changed to Amity; where it remained until covered by a rural-delivery mail route. In 1834-85 Luther Lane erected a distillery, which was in operation four or flue years. About 1833, a Mr. Willey erected a comb factory, in which he employed several persons, and did an extensive business for four or five years. Probably about 1832, Doctor Beach was succeeded in the mercantile business by Rev. Henderson father of Judge O. Crabb, of London. In 1834; Doctor Beach and Luther Lane purchased a stock of goods and opened a store in another part of the town: At that early period Amity. was one of the most flourishing towns in. the northern part of Madison county: There were two good stores in the town, a flourlshing woolen factory; a saw-mill, a distillery comb factory, besides the blacksmith and minor mechanical trades. Main City at that period did a very, small business Compared to tut the latter's days of prosperity were numbered. The factory dam was declared a nuisance and had to be torn down, thus putting a, quietus on all the manufacturing interests in Amity. Subsequently the railroad was