(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 150 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY preparations were made to carry into effect the plan for Smith's release. "It was secretly arranged that Martin Meeker, William Hatch, John Woods, David Tyler, Obediah Ralph, William Terry, Charles Giles and John S. Giles to meet on the bank of the river at the mouth of Silver run on the evening of a day in November, 1824. These men were noted among the early settlers for their coolness, courage and great physical strength and activity. They had taken the greatest precaution in withdrawing from their homes without the knowledge of other members of their families. All were armed to the teeth with hunting rifles, pistols. One carried a flint lock musket loaded with seven rifle bullets, another carried a dragoon or horse-pistol loaded with three rifle bullets. They agreed on their plan and chose John S. Giles as commander, and, having disguised themselves by blacking their faces, they embarked in an old pirogue and with muffled oars floated down the river on their perilous adventure. It was known that the jail at Point Pleasant was strongly guarded, but these men, smarting under the outrage of their rights as citizens of Ohio, and aroused to resentment by the frequent taunts of Yankee cowardice hurled at them because they did not come and 'take Smith out,' as they had threatened to do, with fears for the imminent danger of the prisoner's life, had become desperate in their purposes. The little craft was urged forward by the long, dull strokes of the oars and landed eleven miles below at Point Pleasant. The jail was a two-story frame building, standing about fifty yards from the river bank, with two rooms below and two rooms above. The front entrance opened into the jailer's room on the lower floor, from which there was a passage into the other lower room, occupied as the jail. An outside stairs led to the rooms on the second floor, at the top of which was a platform, surrounded by bannisters and was used as a guard stand. The room at the head of the stairs was called the 'debtor's room.' On this occasion it was occupied by the guards, whose num- PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 151 ber had been increased to four men after the visit of Mr. John S. Giles. Without a word the attacking party divided, to make a simultaneous assault on the jailer's room and upon the upper room occupied by the guards. Meeker and Lyles reached the guards' room, where they succeeded so as to find an entrance for the muzzles of their guns, but the four guards inside held the door, but the action in placing the guns was menacing enough to restrain for a few minutes the guardmen, while the work in the lower room was in progress. First into the jailor's room, who was in bed, and just wakened, he was kept quiet by the presence of guns pointing close to him, while with an ax the prison door was broken down, and Smith jerked out of bed half asleep, and pushed through the door. The object of the raid having been effected so far, and no one hurt, they made haste to retreat and reach the boat as soon as possible. But the guards were out on the platform. Woods, with his dragoon's pistol, fired ; the gun failed, but his audacity kept the guard back, thus enabling the party to gain time in advance of their pursuers, for the jailer, as well as the guard, were bold, brave men, and followed with such determined steps that the order was given to fire on the pursuing force. Terry fired with his musket and hit one of the guard, who fell, the ball having marked his ear and cut through his whiskers. Thus hindered, but while the Giles men were getting into their boat, the guardsmen stood on the top of the bank not more than forty yards away and began to fire. Disregarding the firing they pulled for the opposite shore until near the middle of the river when balls began to strike the boat with precision. The boat was turned broadside to the shore and the men lay close down in the side of the vessel until out of range of the firing, all but Tyler, who refused to obey this command to shelter himself, and received a ball across the lower part of his breast that made a scar four or five inches long. While holding the boat in this position and floating down stream, out of the range of guns, the jailer had 152 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY taken a position behind a sycamore on the edge of the bank, and his shots were very annoying. His head looked like a knot on the side of the tree. And Hatch, the marksman of the company, was ordered to fire at the knot. He shot, and the ball, striking the side of the tree, filled the jailer's eyes with splinters. When reaching the Ohio shore, the boat was abandoned, and the men walked home, and before daylight crept to their beds so quietly that the members of their several households were not aware of their having been away or absent. The Virginians suspicioned John Woods, John S. Giles and Elisha Ayers, as three of the party that had broken the jail in Point Pleasant, and threats were heard of taking these men to Virginia, as they did Smith, and lynching them. This was not done. A more peaceful and lawful way was adopted, by seeking redress for their wrongs in the power of the law. Indictments were found at Point Pleasant against Woods, Ayers and Giles, and the Governor of Virginia made requisition on the Governor of Ohio for the surrender of the parties to the Virginia authorities. The Governor of Ohio issued his warrant and deputized Col. Lewis, of Virginia, to serve it. When Col. Lewis crossed the river to make the arrests, the people unaware of his authority, prepared to make a defense. Col. Lewis went directly to Chester, the county seat of Meigs county, and called to his assistance Thomas Rairdon, of Long Bottom, Deputy Sheriff Newsom and Constable Dickey, of Chester township. They went to make the first arrest of John S. Giles in Rutland and satisfied him of their authority, and he went without resistance, but they had not proceeded half a mile, when twelve men in disguise stepped out of the woods on Sargent's hill and demanded Giles' release. After some parleying, Giles convinced them of the authority from the Governor of the State that this was a legal transaction, and he was willing to let the law take its course, and they concluded to acquiesce. Among the men who were about to interfere were John Sylvester, Sr., Joshua Gardner, David Tyler and PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 153 Burrell Peck. Giles, Woods and Ayres were taken to Point Pleasant and lodged in jail, where they remained two months before they were tried. Giles and Ayres were found "not guilty," but Woods was pronounced guilty and fined thirty dollars, which he refused to pay, or allow his friends to pay, and boarded it out in jail, refusing to leave until they would keep him no longer. Judge Summers, of Charleston, presided at the trial, which was a perfectly fair one. Judge Clough, of Portsmouth, and Judge Fisher, of Point Pleasant, were attorneys for the defendants. There was no evidence whatever against Ayres, and none against Giles except the testimony of the jailer's wife, who swore positively to his being one of the party that broke into the room, but the jury was led to distrust her statement by the strong evidence of an alibi proven by the defendant. Polly Smith, a sister to Adams Smith, and afterwards the wife of Moses Matthews, a girl then of twelve years, and Col. Everett also gave strong evidence for the defendants which was all owing to the sly movements of the party in coming and going. After the conviction of Woods, the defendants made a point that it was only a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and imprisonment in the county jail, and the court concurred in that opinion. A number of persons were presented to the grand jury of Meigs county for interfering with Col. Lewis when making arrests. Some were indicted but the evidence was not strong enough to warrant a conviction. John S. Giles, Sr., was born in Maine, February 28th, 1795, and died in Rutland, O., May 18th, 1889, aged 86 years, 2 months and 20 days." William Church was a native of Maine, was married twicegs His first wife died; leaving two children—Samuel and Rhoda. Mr. Church married for his second wife a sister of the first wife, and a family of six sons and two daughters were born to them. He moved from Maine in 1816, with a family of seven 154 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY sons and one daughter, and came to Rutland, 0., in 1817. He was a millwright, and lived in Rutland until his death in 1821. The children were : Samuel, a millwright, a fine mechanic, who lived and died in Pomeroy, 0. Clement Church was a mechanic and a farmer. He lived and died in Rutland, leaving several children. William Church lived and died in Rutland. Joseph Church had a paralytic stroke when quite a young man, but lived to marry and rear a large family of chil dren. He settled in Salisbury township. John Church went to Minnesota, owned a farm and brought up a family. He died in Minnesota. Oliver Church moved to Marion county, 0., and had a good farm, and died there at the ge of ninety years, leaving a number of descendants. Alfred Church moved to Illinois, where he owned a mill and carried on that business until his death. Charles Church lived in Pomeroy, and was killed by the explosion of a boiler in the Pomeroy rolling mill in 1866. Sarah Church was married to Curtis Larkin, who died in 1898, leaving a widow and one son, George B. Larkin, with whom she has a home, and lives in the enjoyment of good health, in her ninety-first year. 1908. G. B. L. Clement Church married Hannah Buxton, who was born in England November 2, 1808, and came to Ohio in 1817, and became the wife of Clement Church in November, 1829. They had six children, three sons and three daughters—Royal Church and James Church, and Mrs. Maria Shepherd and Mrs. Eliza Thompson. Mrs. Hannah Church died in August, 1896, aged 87 years, 9 months, 6 days. Mrs. Elizabeth Church, widow of William Church, Sr., was married to John Hoyt, and died in July, 1859; was buried at Hoyt Town, Meigs county, Ohio. There are many families of the name of Hoyt in Olive township and Orange, but no record of names or dates have been furnished for Mr. Larkin's manuscript, and the same fact is PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 155 evident in the lack of family history of the name of Stout in and about Chester township. Their names are always associated with the reputation of citizens of the best influence and character. RANDALL STIVERS. Randall Stivers was born in New Jersey and was the son of Daniel Stivers, a Revolutionary soldier. Mr. Stivers married Phebe Ball, a native of Vermont, and a daughter of Samuel Ball, a Revolutionary soldier. They came with four children to Graham's Station (now Racine), in 1816, having come from Olean, N. Y., on a raft of pine lumber. He was a brickmaker by trade, and found employment in that business at Graham Station, remained there for two years. Hearing of the discovery of coal, easily accessible, and near the Ohio river bank at Kerr's run, he removed to that place, where they lived three years. In those first five years in Ohio they experienced the privations and hardships as fully as generally fall to the lot of early emigrants. In a sparsely settled neighborhood, with barely sufficient means for support as the common lot of the people, they built a school-house and hired teachers. In 1819, the new county of Meigs was organized, and about 1821 the county seat was located at Chester, to which place Mr. Stivers removed his family in 1822. He was elected Justice of the Peace in Chester, and held the office for several years. He served four years as Sheriff, and was twice elected to the State Legislature. He was a promotor and patron of schools, and always interested in churches and works of benevolence. He was fearless in expressing his sentiments, and society and public affairs felt the influence of his opinions. Mr. Randall Stivers and his wife reared a large family, all of whom were prominent in business, or in political and educational lines. There were six sons and four daughters. Washington Stivers was married twice. Julia Stanley was his first wife, and Caroline Fisher the second. He was a merchant, and sold goods in Pomeroy for a number of years. 156 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY Afterwards he moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., where he died in ripe old age. Aaron Stivers was married twice ; the first wife was Miss Kerr; the second, Miss Cole. Mr. Aaron Stivers was one of the best known men in Meigs county, serving as Auditor and Deputy Auditor for many years. He made and published a large wall map of the county, suitable for school-houses, a work of thoroughly correct presentation. He was one of the most active members of the Meigs County Pioneer Association, and served as its Recording Secretary for seven years. He removed to Alton, Iowa, where he died November 29th, 1893, aged 77 years. Katharine Stivers was married to Theodore Montague, a lawyer who lived in Chester until the county seat was taken to Pomeroy, when they removed to Middleport, and continued as useful members of society for many years. In later life they made their home in Chattanooga, and there they both died. Serena Stivers became the wife of Mr. Allen, of Middleport, and died in middle life, leaving a husband and interesting family. George Stivers married in Meigs county, but moved west. He was a soldier in the Civil war, and died soon afterward. William Stivers went from Chester to Indiana, married there, and had a family. He was engaged in business, and was elected to the legislature, serving with credit to himself and constituents. He died in Indiana. Charles Stivers settled in Kentucky, where he married. Randall Stivers was the youngest son, and accompanied his father, Randall Stivers, Sr., to California on the overland route in 1849, and died in California. Urania Stivers was born in Chester, December 25th, 1827, and received her education in the Academy at Chester, and later in a prosperous seminary in Ashland, Kentucky. In her early teens she became a teacher in the public schools in PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 157 Meigs county. She taught many years in the Pomeroy schools, a highly respected and successful teacher. Caroline Stivers, the younger sister, acquired her education in the same schools with her sister Urania, and was also a popular school teacher, yet she was employed in the office of the Auditor, with her brother Aaron Stivers for several consecutive years. These sisters left Meigs county in 1884, and finally located in Des Moines, Iowa. Their influence for right principles and useful lives was evident through all the years as teachers in Pomeroy, Ohio, as well as in less active years in Des Moines, Iowa. Randall Stivers, Sr., and his wife, Phebe B. Stivers, both died in Pomeroy, and are buried side by side in the beautiful Beech Grove Cemetery. Pioneer travel on the Ohio river, for neighborly intercourse, or traffic, seems to have been done in canoes, while flatboats were in use for the transportation of families, produce and goods down the stream ; but when it was necessary to carry on trade up and down the river, keel-boats were employed, until steamboat navigation superseded their mode as merchant carriers. The first steamboat that ever passed down the Ohio river is said to have been the New Orleans, built at Pittsburg by Mr. Roosevelt, and which left that port in October, 1811. and reached Natchez, Miss., in January, 1812. Earthquakes occurred during the trip down. Few charts of the river were in existence, and the falls at Letart were provided with a pilot appointed by Congress, or rather authorizing the courts of Gallia county to appoint a pilot for Letart falls to pilot boats over the falls in the Ohio river, such pilot to give bonds for the proper discharge of his duty. Thomas Sayre was appointed in 1804 as such pilot. Adam Harpold was born October 9, 1790, and came to Letart, 0., in 1812, where he married Dorothy Roush in August, 1812. They settled on a farm, and Mr. Harpold conducted a 158 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY store, the first one for dry goods and groceries in Letart township. After the county of Meigs was organized and Courts of Common Pleas were held in the meeting-house in Salisbury township—in the July term of 1819, among the jurors impaneled is the name of Adam Harpold. He was prominent in township offices and a patron of education, strictly honest in business transactions, and maintained the respect and confidence of the community. Mrs. Harpold was a woman of strong character, of wonderful physical power and vitality. They had a family of sixteen children, and all save one child, who was drowned at seven years of age—seven sons and eight daughters—grew up and married, each making a new home of thrift and industry. The sons were mostly farmers and have been identified with the material prosperity of Meigs county for more than sixty years. Henry Harpold, Spencer Harpold, Peter Harpold, Philip Harpold, William Harpold, George B. Harpold, John Harpold. The daughters : Mrs. Pickens, widow, later Mrs. Wolf; Mrs. William Hester, widow, Mrs. Jacob Baker ; Mrs. Michael Bentz, nee Polly Harpold ; Mrs. Eben Sayre, Mrs. Augustus Justice, Mrs. Hezekiah Quillen, Mrs. Bradford Roush, Mrs. Barbara Ann McDade. The greater number of the Harpold sons and daughters had large families, so that the descendants in the third and fourth generations were notably numerous. Mr. Adam Harpold died in October, 1869, and his wife, Mrs. Dorothy Harpold, died in December, 1865, having lived in their Letart home for more than fifty years. "At a meeting of the associate judges of the county of Gallia, held at Gallipolis the tenth day of May, 1803, for the purpose of dividing the county of Gallia into townships and to apportion to each township a proper number of justices of the peace, and for other purposes ; present, Robert Safford and George W. Putnam. PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 159 "The said county was divided into three townships, named and bounded as follows : Letart township, beginning at the mouth of Shade river ; thence down the Ohio river to Kerr's run ; thence north to the county line ; thence east with the said line to the place of beginning ; and that one justice of the peace is the proper number to be elected in said township, and that the election be held at the house of Henry Roush." From Gallia county records. From the foregoing we find that Henry Roush, Sr., lived in Letart township in 1803, but at what date he came to Ohio we are not informed. Henry Roush, Sr., owned land in Letart, Ohio, opposite Letart Falls, and brought up a large family. His son, Henry Roush, Jr., entered land in 1808, or purchased of the Ohio Land Company's Purchase, thirty-seven acres, as shown by the Gallia county records. He married Anna Sayre, of Mill Creek, Va., and settled on their farm in Letart, where they had a family of ten daughters and two sons. Sally Roush was married to Thomas Coleman, of Muses Bottom, W. Va. Betsy was the wife of Samuel Roberts, later married Henry Wolf, of Racine. Lydia was married twice—to Charles McClain—widow—Mr. Wagner: Anna was the wife of Mark Sayre ; lived and died in Great Bend, Ohio. Hannah was married to Mr. Coleman ; a widow—married—Mr. Jackson. Dorothy was the wife of Silas Jones, a prominent member of the Pioneer Association. Phebe was married to Elijah Runner, a son of an early settler of that name. Katharine was the wife of Morris Greenlee. Almena was married to Jacob Brinker, of West Virginia. Mahala was the wife of a Mr. Quillen. Edward Roush married Julia Sparr ; moved to Illinois and died. David Roush married Maria Hayman ; moved to Grand Rapids ; is dead. Mr. Henry Roush, Jr., died at an advanced age, and his wife, Mrs. Anna Roush, attained the remarkable age of 105 years at 160 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY her decease. They were worthy people, and their children were all esteemed members of society. Mrs. Dorothy Harpold was a daughter of Henry Roush, Sr. Paper by Mr. Charles Matthews, of Washington, D. C., as published in the Leader, March 12th, 1908: "Among the earliest settlers of Meigs county was George Washington Putnam, son of Colonel Israel Putnam and grandson of General Israel Putnam. George W. Putnam was born in Pomfret, Conn., July 27th, 1777. After the Indian war he came to Ohio with his father and his family, driving one of the teams along with the late Matthews, of Cheshire, who also drove one of Colonel Putnam's teams. George W. Putnam was married March 31st, 1799, to Lucinda Oliver, daughter of Colonel Alexander Oliver, of Washington county, and settled on lands then in Washington county, now located mostly in Gallia county, but the fraction of land on which he built his house is now located in Meigs county, on what is known as the Jacob Coughenour farm, between the turnpike and the river and from the Carl coal railway down the river to where the township line strikes the river. He also owned two 100-acre lots, Nos. 392 and 395, immediately west, now in Cheshire township. His dwelling stood on the lower part of the fraction of land now in Meigs county, where he lived and died before Meigs county was formed. Their children were Sarah, Lucretia, George W., Jr., Isabel and Clarinda. Sarah married Henry Sisson, February 16th, 1818. He was killed by the falling of a tree January 10th, 1827. George W. Putnam was the first county judge of Gallia county. He died in May, 1815, of what was known as the "cold plague." Whatever that may have been, it was certainly contagious, for the reason that .Mrs. Mary (Russell) Matthews, first wife of Phineas Matthews, who volunteered to help attend their old friend during his illness and until his death, was then herself taken with the same disease and died in a short time. Another version of his death is that he was 160 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY her decease. They were worthy people, and their children were all esteemed members of society. Mrs. Dorothy Harpold was a daughter of Henry Roush, Sr. Paper by Mr. Charles Matthews, of Washington, D. C., as published in the Leader, March 12th, 1908: "Among the earliest settlers of Meigs county was George Washington Putnam, son of Colonel Israel Putnam and grandson of General Israel Putnam. George W. Putnam was born in Pomfret, Conn., July 27th, 1777. After the Indian war he came to Ohio with his father and his family, driving one of the teams, along with the late Phineas Matthews, of Cheshire, who also drove one of Colonel Putnam's teams. George W. Putnam was married March 31st, 1799, to Lucinda Oliver, daughter of Colonel Alexander Oliver, of Washington county, and settled on lands then in Washington county, now located mostly in Gallia county, but the fraction of land on which he built his house is now located in Meigs county, on what is known as the Jacob Coughenour farm, between the turnpike and the river and from the Carl coal railway down the river to where the township line strikes the river. He also owned two 100-acre lots, Nos. 392 and 395, immediately west, now in Cheshire township. His dwelling stood on the lower part of the fraction of land now in Meigs county, where he lived and died before Meigs county was formed. Their children were Sarah, Lucretia, George W., Jr., Isabel and Clarinda. Sarah married Henry Sisson, February 16th, 1818. He was killed by the falling of a tree January 10th, 1827. George W. Putnam was the first county judge of Gallia county. He died in May, 1815, of what was known as the "cold plague." Whatever that may have been, it was certainly contagious, for the reason that .Mrs. Mary (Russell) Matthews, first wife of Phineas Matthews, who volunteered to help attend their old friend during his illness and until his death, was then herself taken with the same disease and died in a short time. Another version of his death is that he was PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 161 helping Phineas Matthews shear his sheep, became overheated, drank too much cold water and was taken with the "cold plague" and died at the Matthews farm house. Mrs. Matthews nursed him, took the same disease and died within a week (June 4th, 1815), leaving an infant son, a few days less than two months old. Mr. Putnam was buried on his farm, and several of his family were afterwards buried beside him. His unmarked grave is located immediately below the Carl coal railway, about half way from the turnpike to the river. Formerly there was a tombstone at his grave, but about four years ago some of his relatives bought a lot in the Gravel Hill Cemetery, Cheshire township, and moved the tombstone to that cemetery, but did not remove the remains of Mr. Putnam or his family. The grave can yet be located by Mr. Coughenour or W. P. Cohen or his mother. The son has repeatedly told me that he "would be willing to undertake to remove his remains to Gravel Hill Cemetery." Copied by E. L. B. Tumuli or mounds were seen in various localities, always bearing evidence of man's work in their construction ; always conical in shape and usually situated on the top of hills, as favorable to watch tower use. The curiosity of many settlers, ignorant and otherwise, despoiled these peculiar mounds by digging them down to find what might be entombed within. Human skeletons, pottery, mica and stone axes, copper rings, were exhumed in most places. There were in Lebanon township several mounds, one on the Bicknell farm that had a well defined fortification in the shape of a horseshoe surrounding the mound at a regular distance from the base. This mound was never opened, but, being in a field of level land, was plowed over, and very much of the hill shape was leveled. A larger mound on the James Hall farm was opened, and human bones, trinkets of copper, mica and curious stone arrows, pipes and stone axes were disclosed. In Rutland 162 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY township was a large mound on the hill near the center of Section No. 7. It was twelve feet high, and the bones of a very large man were found there. A small one on white clay bottom was on the Stevens farm ; also one on the southeast quarter of Section No. 8. A large mound on fraction No. 13 was known as the one on which Samuel Denny stood and made an oration July 4th, 1806. According to the measurements and calculations by a civil engineer, Henry Grayum, in 1873, the principal coal seam in Meigs and Gallia county has a dip to the east of about twenty-seven feet and to the south five feet to the mile. The greatest elevation in the measurements taken was at Braley's salt well, 840 feet, and its least at Antiquity, 377 feet, a difference of 463 feet in the direction of tidewater at Norfolk, Va. Samuel Denny was a prominent actor in nearly all the public transactions on Leading creek, and by many persons his name was supposed to be Dana, but the reading of his letters and business accounts show that he subscribed his name as Samuel Denny. Livingston Smith was the son of Noah Smith and his wife and was born in Vermont in 1796, but came with his mother to Leading creek, Ohio, in 1800, his father, Noah Smith, having died in Carlisle, Pa., while moving with his family to Ohio. Livingston grew up to manhood, married Eliza Case and settled on a farm in Rutland township and reared a family. Mr. Smith was a good citizen, intelligent and esteemed by the community, and lived and died in Rutland township. Virgil C. Smith was the son of Livingston Smith and was born November 28th, 1833gs and married Mary Plummer in 1857, who died in 1875. He was married the second time, to Agnes C. Torrence, in 1876. He was a farmer and also a minister of the Christian Church. He lived in Rutland and was identified with every enterprise for the moral elevation of the dependent PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 163 and neglected. He was the recording secretary of the Pioneer Society of Meigs county at the time of his death, in March 1885, a man loved by his friends and respected by his neighbors. He left a widow and seven children. Mrs. Noah Smith, the mother of Iivingston Smith, came from Vermont to Leading Creek, Ohio, with three daughters besides the son, heretofore mentioned. They were : Theresa who was married to Eliezer Barker, who was drowned in Leading creek in June, 1813. She afterwards was Mrs. Laundress Grant. Jenny Smith married a Mr. Maples. Nancy Smith became the wife of Captain Jesse Hubbell. William Johnson was born in Ireland and married Sally Harmon. They emigrated to the United States and came tc Shade river in Chester township in 1800. There they made v. home, in which they raised a large family. This was a relig ious family, and all lived to honor their pious parentage. Abram Johnson was a local preacher, and Thomas Johnson moved west. Mary was the wife of John Miles. Adaline, Mrs. Henry Ellis. Sarah, Mrs. John Wolf. William Johnson and his wife died in 1836 and 1848. John Entsminger was born in Virginia in September, 1757 and when but a youth of seventeen years was an active participant in the battle at Point Pleasant under the immediate command of Colonel Charles Lewis. He was a soldier in the Revolutionary War under General Francis Marion and subsequently under General Morgan. He fought at the battle of Cowpens. Many incidents of soldier life were related by him in later years to his children. Mr. Enstminger was captured by the British at one time, but released on condition that he would go home and fight no more. A comrade, whose name was Vansant, and he started home, but on the way they came across several Tories who were building a house and whc twitted them about having been captured. They went on n 164 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY little farther, when Mr. Entsminger said to his comrade, "I wish we had thrashed them," and, going on a little farther, he said, "Let's go back and thrash them." So they turned back and whipped the Tory men, took them prisoners and marched with them to the Continental army and again took up arms and served until the close of the war for independence. John Entsminger married Jane Reese, February 16th, 1787. She was born on July 26th, 1759. They moved with their family from Botetourt county, Va., to Ohio, in the fall of 1797. They traveled overland, bringing their stock and household goods with them. They would travel all day and camp at night. Sometimes stopping a day to cook and bake, when necessary. They milked their cows, and after using what milk they wanted put the rest of it in the churn, set the churn in the wagon, and the butter was ready to take out when they stopped at night. They crossed the Ohio river about five miles above where Gallipolis now stands, known then as French Town. At that time, leaving out the primitive town, there was but one house besides theirs in a radius of ten miles on the Ohio side of the river. They ground corn on hand mills and went to Logan for flour. Later they could buy flour from the canoe-men who poled their crafts up stream. Salted bear meat and fresh game supplied their tables. Although fifty-five years of age, Mr. Entsminger volunteered and served a term under General Tupper in 1812 in the Northwest. His eldest son, David Entsminger, was a soldier in the War of 1812. Mr. John Entsminger and his wife had a family of two sons and four daughters. David, John Lewis. The daughters were : Mrs. Luther Shepherd, Mrs. John Bing, Mrs. Daniel Grayum and Mrs. David Grayum, who was left a widow with two daughters and two sons. Henry Grayum served as major in the Civil War; William Grayum was a captain in the Fourth West Virginia from the first to the close of the war in 1865. Mr. John Entsminger felt crowded when the settlers moved into that neighborhood, so he went farther into the wilderness PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 165 and located near where Langsville is now and lived there with his son, John Lewis Entsminger, until the close of his eventful life, on October 10th, 1830, fifty-six years to a day from the celebrated battle of Point Pleasant, aged seventy-eight years. He was buried in the Miles Cemetery. Mrs. Jane Entsminger died May 19th, 1830, in the seventy-first year of her age, and is buried in the Miles Cemetery at Rutland, Ohio. George Wolfe, father of John, Jacob, Peter and Henry Wolfe, came from the Shenandoah valley of Virginia to the rich bottom lands on the Ohio river adjoining the present village of Racine, about 1807 or 1808, date uncertain. He felled the great trees and toiled hard to clear land for cultivation, and in 1812 his sons, John Wolfe and Jacob Wolfe, who had families, emigrated to Ohio. John Wolfe, with a four-horse covered wagon, came over the Alleghany mountains to inherit the home founded by the father, George Wolfe. There were two younger brothers, Peter and Henry Wolfe. John Wolfe and Jacob Wolfe built each of them a two-story brick house on the river front of their respective farms and reared large families. They tilled the land, planted fruit trees and lived to see a numerous posterity grow up around their homes, a quiet, honest, industrious people. The Wolfe bottoms have been owned and cultivated by the descendants of George Wolfe for at least one hundred years. In recent years the families have been distributed over other sections of the country. The first Regular Baptist Church in Rutland was organized on November 27th, 1817, by members signing the covenant, seven men and three women. Benjamin Richardson, clerk, and Thomas Everton, deacon. The church was further organized on October 31st, 1818, by the following persons signing the covenant : Thomas Everton, Asahel Skinner, Anson Gaston, Benjamin Richardson, Robert Simpson, Relief Everton, 166 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY Betsy Richardson, Elizabeth Holt, Thomas Gaston, Jared Gaston, Ebenezer Everton, Laundress Grant, William Stevens, Joseph Richardson, Sally Stevens, Bethiah Simpson. The first preachers were Aaron Holt, Peter Aleshire, Horace Persons and Thomas Gaston. Afterwards other ministers preached at different times—James Hovey, Amos Stevens and James McAboy. The brick schoolhouse was used for religious worship by several denominations—the Free Will Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Regular Baptists and Universalists. The Presbyterians built a church on the lot by the Plummer homestead in 1820, it being the first church erected in Rutland township. The Regular Baptists built their church in 1838. Benjamin Richardson gave the lot and did a large share toward building the house. The first Disciples, or Christian church, in Rutland was built on a lot given by Rev. Elisha Rathburn. Rutland Cemetery was surveyed and laid out in lots in 1824 by Samuel Halliday. The place had been used as a burying ground for a long time, but the interments had been made without regularity, so that it was difficult to make the proper .arrangement of the premises when surveyed by Mr. Halliday. The lots were made 8 by 33 feet in size. Later, in 1872, the township of Rutland bought of George McQuigg the cemetery grounds, which, including the "old graveyard," contains three and three-quarters acres of land. The size of the new lots, 10 by 24 feet, which are staked and numbered. The first burial in what is now Rutland township, from the settlement in 1805, was that of a girl nine years of age and who was buried on the Higley farm, a spot afterwards abandoned, but a family burying place was made on the Higley grounds in subsequent years. Many persons were buried on the Phelps farm. Some of the pioneers were interred on their own land. The first grave made in the Miles' Cemetery was for a little child, but no date is known. Dr. Clark, from New England, came to Ohio in quest of health, and died soon after PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 167 his arrival and was the second person buried there, but his grave was unmarked and the precise location is lost, as is many another one. John Hayman and family came from Somerset county, Md., about 1810. They came first to Letart Falls, in Virginia, but soon removed to Letart, Ohio. Their eldest son was Spencer Marshall Hayman, who married Jerusha Chapman, a daughter of Ezra Chapman, an old settler in Letart township. Spencer M. Hayman was a surveyor and after the organization of Meigs county, was elected as surveyor for the county, and served the public in that office for many consecutive terms. He was also justice of the peace and the first postmaster at Apple Grove, so named because of Mr. Hayman's large orchard of fine fruit. They brought up a large family—three sons and five daughters. The sons were : Ezra Hayman, who married Sally Wright, of Mill Creek, W. Va., who lived and died in Letart township. Henry Hayman was married twice. His first wife was Minerva Marvin, a daughter of Calvin Marvin; the second wife was a Miss Harding. Henry Hayman lived in Mercer's Bottom, where he died. Harrison Hayman married Agnes Williamson, a daughter of Wilkinson D. Williamson, of Lebanon township, Meigs county, Ohio. They settled in Warth's Bottom, W. Va. Both are dead. The daughters : Sinai Hayman was the wife of Hillman Parr. Betsy Hayman was married to William McKay, of Warth's Bottom. Minerva was Mrs. Ephraim I. Sayre, of Letart township. Martha Ann Hayman was married to Elson Paden, and their home was just below Letart Falls, in Ohio. They were noted for true Christian lives and benevolence. Angeline Hayman was the wife of a Mr. Paden ; both died early. Kitty Hayman married James Ashworth. Both died soon. Josiah Hayman was the second son of John Hayman and was in the family that moved from Maryland. He married Nancy Ford, a daughter of Mrs. Esther Ford, a widow, who 168 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY came from Maryland at the time of the senior Hayman's emigration to Ohio. Josiah Hayman lived in Letart township, where they brought up a large family. Mr. Hayman was a local preacher, belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and a fine singer, noted for leading large congregations on car grounds. They had a family of sons—Wesley, Henry, Calvin, Lewis, William and Charles; daughters—Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Regina and Adaline Esther. Wesley Hayman married Thirza Maria Cross, became insane, never recovered. Henry Hayman married Margaret Wagner and lived in Letart. He was a man highly esteemed by a large circle of friends and acquaintances. He was elected sheriff one or two terms. Always identified with the affairs of his church as steward, class leader and Sunday school superintendent. They reared a family of worthy citizens. Calvin and Lewis Hayman died in young manhood. William Hayman, son of Josiah Hayman and his wife, was married to Mary Jane Donally, a daughter of Andrew B. Don-ally, many years clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, Meigs county. He made their home at Letart Falls, W. Va. Was a merchant. Esther Hayman became the wife of Lewis Pilchard; lived at Letart Falls. Elizabeth married John Ritchie, but died soon afterwards. Regina was the wife of Townsend Smart ; lived in Racine and died there, leaving a family of five children—Arthur, Frank, William, Earl and one daughter. Adaline Hayman was the wife of Philip Jones, of West Virginia. Hezekiah Hayman was a nephew of John Hayman, Sr., and moved with his family from Maryland in company with his uncle to Ohio in about 1810. One son, Robert Hayman, lives in Middleport, Ohio. Stephen Hayman married Letitia Caldwell, and their children were : John N. Hayman, one of the commissioners of Meigs county for several terms ; Stephen PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 169 Hayman, of Grand Island, Neb., and Maria, the widow of David Roush, who died at Grand Island, Neb. John Wagner was born May 12th, 1792, and came to Letart, Ohio, from Lancaster, Pa., after the War of 1812. He was a soldier in that war. He married Elizabeth Himeleich in 1818 and settled in Letart, Ohio. They had three children—George H. Wagner, Alfred N. and Margaret, who became the wife of Henry Hayman, son of Josiah Hayman. Mrs. Elizabeth Wagner died in October, 1821. Mr. Wagner married a second wife, a widow, Mrs. Lydia McClain, and they had two children. Mr. John Wagner died in March, 1882, and Mrs. Lydia Wagner died at ninety years of age. George Burns came from Philadelphia to Letart, Ohio, at an early day. Had charge of a floating mill at Letart Falls and kept a store, said to be the first at Letart, Ohio. There was a family of three daughters and one son, George Burns, Jr. The eldest daughter was Mrs. Alfred Beauchamp of Elizabeth, W. Va. Caroline became the wife of Thomas Alexander, of Letart, and spent her long life in their home in Letart, where they brought up a family of eleven children. They were influential and highly respected people. They died at the advanced ages of eighty-four and ninety years. Regina Burns was married to John Caldwell and made a hone in Letart, where they brought up a family. She died many years ago. Obadiah Walker and Cassandra Walker, nee Halsey lived in Chester township in 1805 and spent their long lives in the same locality. They were good citizens and brought up a large family of sons and daughters. Jesse Walker, the eldest child, was born in 1806. He was twice married. Miss P. M. Richardson was the first wife, but dying, left two children. He then married Margaret Mauck of Cheshire, Gallia county, where they made their home 170 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY until death. They had two children. Jesse Walker died at the ripe age of eighty-five years, a kind, upright man, a member of the Free Will Baptist Church from his youth. Milton Walker married Harriet Newel and lived in Chester several years, and then went to Illinois. They were Methodists, earnest Christians. Selden Walker, Vincent Walker and Obadiah Walker were younger sons. Vincent married Sevilla Weldon and moved to Iowa and died there. Obadiah married Emily Weldon; lived and died in Chester township. Bethia Walker was the wife of Baza Wells, in Chester. She had two children, but buried them and her husband also. She was married afterwards to Benjamin Brown, of Athens, Ohio. All are dead. Melissa Walker married and was left a widow in Iowa. Emeline Walker was the wife of William Church, in Rutland. Ohio, where he died, and she went to Iowa. Samaria Walker was married to James Decker, of Lebanon township. They had two or three children. Mr. Decker and Mrs. Decker died in Lebanon township. Caroline Walker was married to Abner Hissim, of Tanner's Run, Ohio, but later they removed to Iowa. In the Gallia county records of deeds made for lands coming within the boundary of Meigs county when organized is the name of Thomas Halsey, purchaser, 1792. The family of Halsey have continued in Chester and Orange townships, with their descendants. Dr. Fenn Robinson was the most noted doctor within the boundaries included in Meigs county in the pioneer days. He had an extensive practice, and he was equal to any emergency. His saddle pockets were receptacles for all medicines needed, with compartments for surgical instruments. He could pull a tooth or cut off a man's leg, if necessity required, lance an abscess or an arm, spread a fly blister plaster or set a dislo- PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 171 cated joint. He rode through the woods, following road or trail, through creeks, at high or low tide, in rain or snow, at night or in the day—he found the way. His patients believed in him and had faith in his skill. His travels were in a radius of more than thirty miles from his home at Chester, and he was the family doctor for two or more generations. No trained nurse with sick folks then, nor pharmacist to fill prescriptions. He reared a large and highly respectable family. Dr. Robinson never ran for Congress nor sued a poor man for his bill. His honors rested on a noble life. John Hall and his wife, Sarah Hall, nee Hahurst, came from Pennsylvania and settled on a tract of land in Letart township above the mouth of Old Town creek, known as Ohio river bottom land, in the year 1811. Mrs. Hall was reared by Quaker parents. They were industrious and thrifty and cleared for cultivation their large farm. They had a large family of sons and daughters. James Hall, the eldest son, married Leah Ford, and they lived in Lebanon township and brought up a family. Their children were : William Henry Hall, Wesley, Thomas, Isaac Lewis, Spencer Marshall and a son Benjamin, who died in childhood. Two daughters were : Sarah, who was married to Hamilton Parr and lived in Brown county, Ohio. Ann Maria Hall died in young womanhood. James Hall was elected justice of the peace and served one or two terms. He was postmaster for Great Bend, Ohio, several years. He died in 1885 or 1886. Mrs. Hall lived to the great age of eighty-seven years, a most excellent woman. They both died in Great Bend, Ohio. Job Hall married Betsy Smith, daughter of Solomon Smith. She died early, leaving two children. Job Hall was killed on his boat on the Yazoo river, supposedly for money. Ela Hall married Polly Lasley. John Hall married Silvina Buffington. Aaron Hall married Nancy Crall. The daughters 172 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY were : Nancy Hall, the wife of Isaac Lauck, and moved to Missouri. Rachel was married to Ezra Lauck, and they went west. Matilda Hall was married twice—first to Mr. Shafer and afterwards to John Lee. She lived and died in Lebanon township. Mary Hall was Mrs. Owen Darby ; they went west. Delilah was married to a Mr. Lornes and died in Great Bend. Sarah Ann was married three times. The first husband, George Cummings, who died. Mr. Ezekiel Custer, Sr., was the second husband, and John Warner third. Mr. John Hall, Sr., died in middle age, but left a will that was the puzzle for lawyers for two generations. Mrs. Sarah Hall died in the early seventies, living and dying on their homestead farm. The Sayres are a numerous people, residing in Letart, Ohio, and Letart, W. Va. David Sayre entered land in Letart township in 1803. There are several branches of the name, descendants in four and five generations, living in Meigs county. Daniel Sayre, father of Moses E. Sayre and great-grandfather to the Hon. Edgar Ervin, were first settlers in Letart township. As a people the Sayres were religious, good, prosperous citizens. Mr. Ervin is a member of the Ohio Legislature, a native of Meigs, and has reflected credit on his family and won popularity for his own public services in the Ohio Legislature for the years of 1907 and 1908. At the pioneer meeting in August, 1890, Mr. Phineas Robinson made a speech, in which he said that "in early times silver was the coin most in use by the common people, and that it was often cut into four or five parts to make change," a fact that the writer of this article well remembers. Mr. Robinson also gave a history of the Keg Company of Chester, which was undoubtedly correct as he stated it, but not as published from report in the Telegraph. Therefore this reviewer wishes to state the case as he understands it. PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 173 About 1825 or 1826, not sure as to date, a company was formed, it was said, of Nathan Newsom, a tanner, who lived in Chester ; Moses Green, of Orange township, said to be a horse jockey, who had married into a very respectable family; Nicholas Lake, who also had a very respectable woman for a wife, and John Nolan, a batchelor, who lived about Chester at that time, not a bad man naturally, but so constituted that he could be made a cat's paw when needed. The Keg Company made and sold counterfeit money, silver dollars, that could not be told from the genuine, and they would exchange two dollars for one good one. So one man, having two or three hundred dollars, agreed to buy of the spurious coin, and, repairing to a secret room, his money was counted out on a table, when the lights were suddenly put out and all the money swept off from the table. The man lost his money. He went before the grand jury, and the four men were indicted. They could not arrest Newsom and Green, they fleeing to parts unknown. An officer tried to arrest Nolan, who stabbed the officer and was sent to the penitentiary for it. As soon as he had served his time he left for New Orleans, where it was said that he became a wealthy and respectable citizen. Lake had stolen a horse in Athens county and was sent to the penitentiary for that act. While in prison he, with others, was taken under guard outside to work. Lake attempted to run away, the guard shot and wounded him so that he died. In 1818 Dr. David Gardner and his brother Charles came to Chester, Ohio. They bought out Mr. Levi Stedman's store and filled it with goods purchased in the Eastern cities. Charles Gardner went back to Long Island, New York, but Dr. Gardner remained in Chester many years and died there ; also Mrs. Gardner, and both are buried in the Chester Cemetery. Their daughter was married to Mr. Maples, an Episcopal clergyman, who was rector of Grace Church in Pomeroy, Ohio, and influential in the erection of the neat Gothic church in that place. 174 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY After a long and successful pastorate, winning high regard for his character, he unfortunately became insane and died in the Athens Hospital for the Insane. Edward Weldon was married to Mary Faris in Dublin, Ireland, and emigrated to the United States. The precise date is not on record, but they located for a few years in Washington county, Pa., where Mr. Edward Weldon died ; also two sons, each one named Edward. The widow, Mrs. Weldon, moved first to the Lewis farm, above Point Pleasant, Va., and stayed one year, when she removed with her family to Chester, Ohio. The children were : Frank Weldon, who was lost, fate unknown. James Weldon married Lettie Stout. William Weldon married Elinor Pullins ; lived and died in Chester, Ohio. John Weldon married Mary, daughter of Dr. Fuller Elliott ; settled in Letart township, later Sutton, and had a family of sons and daughters. Richard Weldon, married Sally, daughter of Levi Stedman, of Chester. They had two daughters—Emily, Mrs. Obadiah Walker, and Caroline, who was married to Mr. Heaton. Richard Weldon and his wife died young. Martha Weldon became Mrs. Samuel McKinley ; lived in Kentucky. Catharine was married to John Van Kirk, in Chester township. Margaret became the wife of Augustus Watkins. Mary Weldon was the first wife of Andrew Donnelly, clerk of the Court of Common Pleas for Meigs county during a long period of years. Mrs. Donnelly died young, leaving two children, Charles Donnelly and Margaret. Francis Weldon, son of James Weldon, married Rachel Cozad ; parents of Mrs. Lurinda Williamson, widow of Captain James Williamson, now of California. A remarkable meteoric shower was displayed in November of the year 1831. It was called "the stars falling," and created great alarm in some localities. Some people averred that the judgment day had come, while others opened their Bibles to read of "stars falling and men's hearts failing," while in many homes in sparsely settled places the inhabitants slept soundly PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 175 and knew nothing of the wonderful sight in the heavens reported by witnesses. Rev. Isaac Reynolds lived in Letart village and mingled with the frightened ones, allaying their fears. He said "the meteors fell thickly at one time, and that strange, fantastic shapes were assumed by many of those lurid bodies in their descent to the earth." The history of meteoric showers or the aerolites had not been taught in the schools. This event was generally concluded to foretell some great calamity to befall the world. Another natural phenomena was considered as an omen of calamity—the aurora borealis, or northern light. The beauty of the sky was not so impressive as the smothered belief that some disaster was impending, as of war or pestilence. A comet with a luminous following gave certain warning to a class of credulous folks that the end of this world was near, and a few believers in the Miller prophecy resided in Lebanon township. Time has gone on with great regularity; spring and summer, autumn and winter, have banished such fears. A flood in the Ohio river in 1832 was a real and disastrous event. The inhabitants were living in houses on the river bank, and farmers especially had no buildings on the bluff or second bank to shelter themselves. In Lebanon several families sought shelter in a two-story log house, but the water continued rising, so that at nightfall they were removed in flatboats to the hillside, making beds on the ground in the open field, although snow was falling in scattering flakes. One man made a pen on his flatboat for his four fat hogs and for his chickens, with corn for feeding them. Stock and horses were taken to the hills before the water had wholly covered the bottom lands. Houses, barns, haystacks, as well as uprooted trees, went hurrying by on the swollen river. Of the cholera in Chester in the year 1834 an account of the scourge was published in the Meigs County 176 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY Telegraph of January 20th, 1893, and copied from that paper into this manuscript the same year by S. C. Larkin. "Fifty-nine years ago since Meigs county had that awful experience with cholera. Chester was then the county seat and the chief village in the county, with a population of 200 souls. Of those who lived in Chester in 1834 but three persons remain as residents of the old village with clear remembrance of that event, Mrs. Dolly A. Knight, Mr. Harold Wells and E. Sardine Weldon, then a child of six years. Reports were in circulation of the ravages of Asiatic cholera in maritime cities, New York and New Orleans, and of its deadly prevalence in foreign countries. Mrs. Dolly Knight and her husband, Benjamin Knight, moved from the Ohio river, where Pomeroy was located later, to Chester, where Mr. Knight took charge of a flour mill. They were congratulated by their friends for getting off from the river and going to the interior, where they would be comparatively safe from the contagion. Human foresight was a failure. In Chester they took a house situated on the lot where the postoffice stands at present. On the west end of the lot was a small brick schoolhouse, used also for religious or church assemblies. The first case of cholera was Dr. James S. Hibbard, who had been called to Syracuse to prescribe for a man who was sick, a steamboat man just returned from a trip on the river. Dr. Hibbard pronounced the case cholera and prescribed accordingly. On his way back to Chester he was attacked with the malady and, getting off from his horse, took a dose of calomel, lay down by the roadside and fell asleep in the woods. As soon as he was able to remount his horse he proceeded homeward. He finally recovered. This occurred in July. Soon afterwards a son of Jasper Branch, about fourteen years of age, came to his work in the mill from his dinner, was taken violently ill and was assisted to an upper room, but grew rapidly worse, and before nightfall he was dead. That night a sister, older than he, took sick and died before morning. Two deaths in Mr. PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 177 Branch's family was a shock to the community. Two or three weeks elapsed, and then a show came to Tupper's Plains, which Lewis Nye, a youth, attended and remained over night. He was stricken with the cholera next morning and died in a few hours. Next in order of time was the family of John Ware, a saddler. He had a large family, but the father, mother and four children fell victims to the cholera. First the daughter Polly, a young woman, returned from church in the evening, apparently well, but that night she died. The next day two of her brothers were snatched away, and the second day the father and mother joined the dead children. Relatives of the Ware family came up from Gallipolis to help care for them, and took the survivors home, one boy dying on the way. Five children remained, who lived, married and settled in Meigs county, Gallia and Mason, W. Va. William Ware never married ; lived in his sister's home and died there at Miller McGlothlin's, near Ravenswood, W. Va. Charles Doane, a tanner, was suddenly attacked after a talk with Dr. Carpenter in a light vein, "that after the people all died, he and the doctor would open a hotel." After parting, in fifteen minutes the message was sent to the doctor of his sickness, and in one hour Charles Doane was dead. William Torrence was stricken by the epidemic, but rallied for a time, then relapsed and died after an illness of fourteen days. Mr. Harold Wells nursed William Torrence fourteen nights in succession without taking off his clothes to go to bed. Later, Myron Wells, Baza Wells, their mother and a sister were each prostrated with the disease, while Harold, the brother and son, attended them, and they all recovered. A son of Marcus Bosworth, about ten years of age, went to bed as usual, but later called his mother, "so very sick," and, although medicine was administered at once, by 10 o'clock the child was dead. A Mr. Horton, aged about forty-five years, was one of the fatal victims. Harold Wells, Otis Hardy and Van Weldon were busy all the time ministering to the sick 178 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY and burying the dead. Mr. Weldon was a cabinet maker and made the coffins for those who died. This history of the cholera in 1834 in Chester we believe correct and authentic. S. C. L. An incident occurred in 1833 in Lebanon township, below Sandy, when the cholera was epidemic in New Orleans and many cities, that a steamboat landed on the Ohio side of the river near a small graveyard on the bank and sent a messenger to a house not far away for permission to bury a man, then dead on the boat. The request was denied with rudeness, so frightened was the householder at the approach of cholera. The man was buried by the roadside. No case of the disease appeared in the neighborhood until the next summer, when the man who refused the stranger a grave was stricken with cholera and died, the only death from cholera ever known in the place. The second visitation of cholera at Middleport, in 1849, resulted in the deaths of four persons in the Baily family—Mr. David Baily and his wife, his daughter and son-in-law ; also Mrs. Hudson, a sister of Mr. Bailey. Oren Jones was their nurse. He was a young man and claimed that by his strong will he was able to resist the contagion. There were a few cases of cholera in Pomeroy in 1849, but we are not in possession of details. In the first seasons of the epidemic there were fatalities of some persons about Letart. Balser Roush and family, living above Racine, in Letart township, were victims ; several of them died. Dr. J. B. Ackley gave medical attention and secured assistance for care of such as needed. Job Story, of Bedford township, was one of the early settlers of that township and a pioneer abolitionist, who ever dared to vote his sentiments even in old Bedford. He died March 18th, 1883, aged ninety-one years. PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 179 Frederic Merrill and Arthur Merrill were brothers, who were born in Newburyport, Mass., and moved with their father to Cincinnati in 1823. The family came to Meigs county in 1830. Frederic Merrill was a merchant in Rutland village. He was a township trustee several years, but returned to Cincinnati, where he died in 1844. Arthur Merrill graduated in a law school and came to Rutland in 1834. He served as probate judge in Meigs county six years. Died in Rutland April 18th, 1881, aged sixty-eight years. Samuel Pomeroy owned the valuable coal lands first developed in and near the town of Pomeroy, at the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Much territory of the Ohio Company's Purchase is seen on the records of Gallia county and of Washington county as entered by Abigail Dabney, and later was transferred to other parties, Mr. Samuel Pomeroy, a relative, a Boston man, who lived in Cincinnati in 1833, at the time that his daughter, Clara Alsop Pomeroy, became the wife of Valentine B. Horton, a young lawyer from Pittsburgh, Pa. Mr. Horton was born January 29th, 1802, in Windsor, Vt., having taken a military training and also a regular course in law, and after his marriage came directly to Pomeroy, Ohio, in 1833, where he opened up the coal industry that gave Meigs county its greatest commercial importance and laid out the town of Pomeroy. Mr. Samuel Pomeroy built a fine residence just back of the present Court House, but died soon afterwards. The history of V. B. Horton cannot receive adequate notice in these brief articles, and belongs in fact to a later time than the real pioneer period of the early settlers. Mr. Horton died in Pomeroy, January 13th, 1888, at the age of 86 years. Mrs. Clara Alsop Horton was born in Boston, October 7th, 1804, and with her husband made their home in Pomeroy dur- 180 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY ing fifty-four years of their wedded life. Her courteous manners and fine intellectual equipment made her the peer of any lady in any land. Her gracious charity and broad views of life gave her influence with the best class of people in social, civil or religious life. She was a devout Episcopalian, and her husband built and donated to the town of Pomeroy the elegant stone church of that denomination. She was a wise, exemplary wife and mother. They had a family of five children : Clara Pomeroy Horton became the wife of Gen. John Pope. Francis Dabney Horton was married to Gen. M. F. Force of Cincinnati. Edwin Johnson Horton married a daughter of Dr. Estes Howe of Boston. Annie Alsop Horton died in childhood. Samuel Dana Horton became noted as a writer of prominence in monetary affairs, lived on the Continent of Europe, and married a daughter of a retired British officer in Switzerland. Catharine Alsop Horton was the wife of John May of Boston. Mrs. Clara A. Horton died September 28th, 1894, nearly ninety years of age, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Force, in Sandusky, Ohio. Martin Heckard, a lawyer, came to Meigs county about 1838 or 1839, not certain as to date. He located in Pomeroy and married Miss Catharine P. Horton, a sister of the Hon. V. B. Horton. Mr. Heckard was the first Probate Judge of Meigs county; and served three years. They had a family of three children. George Heckard, Lucy Heckard died in young womanhood. Mary Heckard went to school on the Hudson, and became the wife of Mr. Huntington of Long Island. Judge Heckard died in Pomeroy. Mrs. Heckard died at her daughter's, Mrs. Huntington, January 9th, 1890, aged seventy-nine years. PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 181 Jacob Rice, born at Murrayville, Pa., January 2nd, 1790. He married Hannah Plummer, who died leaving one child, Henry Rice of Rutland. Mr. Jacob Rice died November 3d, 1888, aged 98 years, 10 months, 1 day, in Salisbury township. Ira McCumber was born July 5th, 1805, in Gallia county, and married Mary Boyer, who was born April 29th, 1807, in Pennsylvania. They lived in Salem township, and Mr. Mc-Cumber died April 14th, 1882, aged 77 years. Mrs. McCumber died May 5th, 1895, aged 88 years. She was a member of the Pioneer Association, and died in Salem. The fugitive slave law was brought to notice by two men who had captured a slave belonging to one of the party, and had taken him before a justice of the peace in Gallia county, 0. They requested a trial, and certificate for the removal of the slave from the State. The justice appointed the trial to be made the next day at 10 o'clock a. m. An anti-slavery man who learned when the suit was to held, started at once to Rutland for Nathan Simpson, a lawyer of local fame. The following morning Mr. Simpson and his friend started for that magistrate's office to watch proceedings. What could be done? Evidently the master had all the proof that the law required. When the lawyer's party got within a few miles of the place, they began announcing their mission and inviting people, every man they saw or could send word to, "to come and see the fun." At the hour, 10 o'clock, Mr. Simpson went into the courtroom and talked with the owner ; also with the slave, and offered to see that he had a fair trial. At first, he opened the case very mildly, but as the house filled up, the crowd looking through the doors and windows and every place where they could see or hear, Simpson's voice became louder and increased in pathos and energy with little thought about correctness of language or logic. The slave owner became 182 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY alarmed, fearing the mob had collected to lynch him, and with his party slipped out of a back door, saying, "He would never follow another slave into Ohio, for when they get there they are beyond our reach." It is claimed that this case was the last capture of a slave in Ohio. 1850. James Petty was born in old Virginia in 1819, and came when quite young with his parents to Pagetown, Meigs county. His father Hugh Petty moved to Gallia county subsequently, and died there. James Petty married in that county, but lost his wife soon afterwards, when with his widowed mother, he came to Rutland, and remained there the rest of his life. He held many responsible local offices, justice of the peace, for many years. He made a home for his aged mother and invalid sister with filial and brotherly devotion. His death occurred in Rutland, Ohio, January 26th, 1891, aged seventy-two years. Mrs. A. Hoff—nee More—was born in Parkersburg, W. Va., on November 1st, 1819, and was married to J. D. Hoff January 29th, 1839. They came to Letart, Ohio, in 1845, and to Middleport, Ohio, in 1849. She united with the Methodist Episcopal Church in her fourteenth year, and lived a consistent and useful life. She died in Middleport, July 18th, 1883. Lucinda H. Dunham, wife of Hiram B. Smith, was born in Washington county, Ohio, November 20th, 1808. She was the daughter of Amos Dunham and wife—nee Laura M. Guthrie, from whom she inherited a liberal share of physical and mental qualities. She obtained a fair English education at Marietta, Ohio. The family came to Pomeroy in 1837, where she became the wife of Mr. H. B. Smith, a lawyer and prominent man in business and social circles in Pomeroy, Ohio. He was an active member and president of the Miegs County Pioneer Association for several years. They had one son, who died PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 183 in early manhood. Mrs. Smith died in Pomeroy, Ohio, March 17th, 1881. Catharine Dawson was born July 17th, 1820, in Beaver county, Pa., and was married to Dr. Joseph Dickson, October 19th, 1841. They moved to Athens county the same year. They had five children, three of whom died in childhood. Dr. Dickson went with a company overland to California in 1849, and was killed by the accidental discharge of his own revolver soon after reaching California. December 11th, 1864, Mrs. Dickson was married to Mr. Josiah Simpson, of Rutland, Ohio, and removed to his home with her two daughters. She died June 4th, 1895. She had been a faithful member of the Free Will Baptist Church, a most excellent woman. The Bradbury family. Contributed by Judge Samuel Bradbury in 1895, to the Meigs County Pioneer Association. "Seventy-nine years ago, December, 1816, the parents of Judge Samuel Bradbury floated down the Ohio river in a little boat and tied up at the mouth of Leading creek, where they entered a small log cabin, and with their seven children became citizens of the great State of Ohio. The father had but one dollar and fifty cents in his pocket when he landed. The family came from Maine, having made their way through the wilderness as best they could. Samuel was seven years old at that time. One son was born after the arrival in Ohio, who died at the age of thirty-eight years. The family were reared to honorable lives, and the sons achieved merited distinction in positions of honor and trust. The seven children lived to an average age of eighty-three years." Judge Samuel Bradbury was born in Maine, August 4th, 1809, and died in Middleport, Ohio, March 1st, 1897, aged eighty-seven and one-half years. He had been one of the most active and efficient men in the organization of the Meigs County Pioneer Association in 1876. 184 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY Simeon Elliott was a brother of Judge Fuller Elliott, and came to Meigs, rather Washington county, in 1797, and bought land, situated back from the Ohio river, in what was later included in Sutton township. He married Lucy Putnam, a distant relative of George W. Putnam. They had a large family, reared to honorable positions in the community, in a home of refinement not common in those days. The sons were : Rev. Madison Elliott, a graduate of Marietta College and of Lane Seminary, Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the principal of the academy at Chester in 1811 '15, a flourishing institution at that time. Miss Clarissa Cutler, a daughter of Hon. Ephraim Cutler, was the vice-principal. Two other sons were Putnam Elliott, who died in early manhood, and Sumner Elliott, who emigrated to some Western state years ago. The daughters were : Nancy Elliott, Maria, Mrs. William Torrence ; he died of cholera ; then she married Mr. Phineas Robinson. Lucy, Mrs. Josiah Branch ; Lury Ann, Mrs. Orin Branch ; Adaline, Mrs. Elihu Stedman ; Fidelia, and Lydia died unmarried. Mr. Simeon Elliott was called "Squire" Elliott, in distinction from Judge Fuller Elliott, M. D. He built a tread mill run by horse-power, and attached to the machinery a carding machine. Mrs. Elliott, after being a widow many years, married Abel Chase, Sr., of Rutland. Samuel Branch settled in Chester township in 1807. He married Miss Tryphena Stedman, a sister of Levi Stedman, so long prominent in public affairs. Mr. Branch was a Free Will Baptist preacher, and opened his own house for preaching ; also built a schoolhouse on his own land for the education of the children of the neighborhood. Mr. Branch was ready to assist in any enterprise for the benefit in morals or education in the community. They had a large family of sons and daughters. Samuel Branch, Jr., was a Baptist preacher. Harry and William were farmers. Josiah Branch married Lucy Elliott, PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 185 and kept a store in Chester. Orin Branch married Lury Ann Elliott ; they had one daughter, Julia. Mrs. Lury Ann Branch died early. Orin Branch moved to Pomeroy, and was county treasurer several years. His second wife was Miss Josephine Paige, an excellent woman. Hosmer Branch married and settled in Pomeroy, engaged in mercantile business. They had several children. Mary Branch was married three times—Wallace and Spicer were two of them. Lucy Branch was the wife of James Madison Cooper. Miranda Branch was married to Mr. Cline ; lived in Pagetown. Rev. Samuel Branch, Sr., was a pioneer of the type to be honored and remembered. Some old, yellow papers, found among the Levi Stedman's documents, have been furnished for notice in the Revised Pioneer History of Meigs County by Miss Eva L. Walker, of Chester, Ohio, as belonging to the estate of Mr. Levi Sted -man, her great-grandfather, and we take pleasure in copying several of them, while all of them are interesting specimens of the writing and transactions of the pioneer period. We copy first a parchment deed, a land warrant, signed by James Monroe, President, with official seal of the United States of America attached. I, James Monroe, President of the United States of America, to all to whom these presents shall come, greeting : Know ye, that in pursuance of the acts of Congress, appropriating and granting land to the late army of the United States, passed on and since the sixth of May, 1812, Dinah Byram, only heir at law of Adam Ball, having deposited in the General Land Office a warrant in her favor, numbered 24689, there is granted unto the said Dinah Byram, only heir at law of Adam Ball, late a private in Holt's Company of the Seventeenth Regiment of Infantry, a certain tract of land containing one hundred and sixty acres, being the northwest quarter of Section 6, of Township 1 south, Range 5 east, in the tract ap- 186 - PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY propriated (by the act aforesaid) for military bounties, in the territory of Arkansas, to have and to hold, the said quarter section of land, with the appurtenances thereof, unto the said Dinah Byram, only heir at law of Adam Ball, December 9th, and to her heirs and assigns forever. In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent, and the seal of the General Land Office to be hereunto affixed. Given under my hand, at the City of Washington, this sixteenth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-one, and of the independence of the United States of America the forty-sixth. Seal of the General Land Office }  U. S. A.  By the President, JAMES MONROE. JOSIAH MEIGS, Commissioner of General Land Office. Exd. Recorded, Vol. 6, 7255. J. Wheaton. Levi Stedman, Esq., to Matthew Buell, Dr. : 1811. PIONEER HISTORY OF MEIGS COUNTY - 187 Dolls. 130. — cts. No. 131. General Post Office. Washington City, July 1st, 1819. Sir—At sight, pay to Skinner & Barber, or order, One hundred and thirty dollars, and charge to account of this Office. ABRAM BRADBURY, Assistant Post-Master General. To Levi Stedman, Esq. Post Master, at Stedman's Mills, Chester, 0. Aug. 29, 1820. Order from M. Segrist, to Mr. Levi Stedman, Shade river, Ohio. Let Thomas Haywalt have three galls. of Whiskey, in exchange for Rye, to be delivered at the Ferry, and oblige, Yours Resp'y, MICHAEL SEGRIST. Mason, Va. The deed of the land from Dinah Byram to Dorothy Stedman and Joel Cowdery, executors of the will of Levi Stedman, deceased, executed and acknowledged before Randall Stivers, justice of the peace, signed Dinah + (her) Byram, and recorded by mark Recorder of Meigs county, 1824. David Barber, Clerk. Receipts of money for different purposes. A deed of ten acres of land from Josiah Vining to Dorothy Stedman to satisfy a judgment for eighteen dollars and sixty rents, with the costs accruing thereto. Recorded in Volume 2nd, page 80 and 81. Chas. Gardiner, Recorder.