HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 375 February 7, 1825, and Joseph Fletcher of Gallipolis was employed. He was assisted by Dr. Gabriel McNeal and laid out the tract into eighty-acre lots. The Legislature arranged for the sale to begin at Jackson in June, 1826. On January 26, 1827, the Legislature repealed all laws relating to the salt works and the disposal of the remaining lots was placed in the hands of an agent, Daniel Hoffman, of Jackson. EXPERIMENT NOT A SUCCESS Ohio's experiment in the government ownership of the salt industry from 1803 to 1816 was not a success from any point of view. Whether this was due to the weakness of the brine, the inefficiency of the agents, or the character of the salt boilers, has not been determined, but the facts are that the reservation was exploited and its resources impoverished, while the development of the surrounding country was greatly retarded. A few salt boilers acquired wealth, but they moved elsewhere to enjoy it. The shortness of the leases was one of the great drawbacks. No one cared to erect any substantial buildings on a short leasehold, and the settlement remained a village of huts until 1817, when the first lot sale occurred. No other improvements were made in the way of roads or public buildings beyond the actual necessities of the case. PIONEER ROADS AND POSTOFFICES A road for the transportation of salt was the first paramount necessity, and the Legislature appropriated $800 on February, 1804, for the laying out of a road from Chillicothe to Gallipolis by way of the Licks and Samuel S. Spencer was appointed a commissioner to oversee the work. For two or three decades this remained the principal road from the Ohio River to the interior of the state, and thousands of settlers from Virginia and the Carolinas traveled it. The second great need was a postoffice, and it was established October 1, 1804. The name Salt Lick was given to it, which it retained until 1817, when it was changed to Jackson C. H. The first postmaster was Roger Selden, who was a leading citizen in the early days. As an evidence of the slow development of the county, in the first few decades, it may be noted here that the second postoffice established at Oak Hill was not asked for until March 11, 1837, or a whole generation later. The contributing causes were the government ownership of the Licks, the bad repute of many salt boilers, the rough character of the hill country, the distance from rivers, and the bad roads, and not least, the delay in making surveys. The second road to the Licks was surveyed from Edwards Villa in Scioto County in 1804. The petition for this road was circulated by Col. John Edwards, and presented at the term of the court of common pleas held at the house of Associate Judge John Collins in Alexandria, in Scioto County, August 3, 1803. The road was authorized and the surveying was done by Robert Lucas, who was afterward elected governor of Ohio in the spring of 1804, and the report on the road was made 376 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION at the July term 1804. The completion of this road gave access to the Licks from the mouth of the Scioto River, and it had the effect of causing many of the young men of Scioto County to come to the Licks in quest of employment during the summer months. Of the number were such men as William Salter and. Levi and Robert Patrick. These two are thought to. have been the sons of Peter Patrick, who was one of the squatters who, with their families, effected a settlement where Portsmouth now stands as early as 1785, three years before. the settlement at COUNTRY ROAD IN JACKSON COUNTY Marietta. This Peter Patrick is said to have been the ranger who cut his initials on a beech tree near ..a creek flowing into the Scioto near the site of Piketon which on that account was called Pee Pee Creek and gave the name to the township. At any rate Robert and Levi Patrick were leading citizens at the Licks in 1808. TOWNSHIP OF LICK When the need for some form of local government was recognized the new township of Lick was organized by the officials of Ross County, to include the entire area now divided into Lick, Coal, Washington, Jackson, Liberty and Scioto Townships, of Jackson County. It held its first election in April, 1809, and the following officials were elected : HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 377 Trustee, Roger Selden, who was the postmaster at the Licks ; David Mitchell, .who later played an important part in the history of the county, and left many descendants, and Robert Patrick. Levi Patrick, brother of the latter, was elected treasurer. He left the county in about a year, and Olney. Hawkins was appointed to fill the vacancy March 10, 1810. The other officials were 'John Brander, clerk ; Samuel Niblack, lister ; John James and Olney Hawkins, overseers of the poor ; David Mitchell and William Niblack, justices; Samuel Niblack and Philip Strother, constables. Hawkins declined to serve as overseer of the poor and was fined. Stephen Radcliffe was appointed in his place. Olney Hawkins was the first rand juror, and Robert Patrick and William Niblack the first petit jurors to represent the new township at Chillicothe. Roger Selden left the county soon after his selection as trustee, and William Niblack was appointed in his place May 20, 1809. It will be noticed that the offices were monopolized in a measure by a few men. DAVID MITCHELL Of the number only David Mitchell and John James remained in the county permanently. It is a singular coincidence that two of their grandsons, John D. Mitchell and Charles C. James, were equally as influential in county politics in the eighties and the nineties as their grandfathers had been in the first decade of the century. Mitchell was born in Kentucky, and learned the trade of blacksmith. He then moved to Dayton, but early in 1808, he came to Jackson, where he spent the rest of his life. He lived on the south slope facing Salt Creek, near a spring a short distance west of the road to Chillicothe and west of the present residence of John J. McKitterick. He was a student like Elihu Burritt, and his wide knowledge added to his mental capacity, soon gave him high standing in the new country. When the democratic party divided, he affiliated with the Whigs, and remained in that party until his death, September 29, 1856, aged seventy-five years. He held many positions of trust in the county, representing it in the Legislature and serving as associate judge on the county bench. MAJOR JOHN JAMES His associate in many undertakings, Maj. John James, was a native of Connecticut, but came west as far .as Reading, Pa., when he was sixteen ears old, and settled in 1800, after the close of his warfare against the Indians at Parkersburg in Virginia. There he married Nancy Cook. He then moved to an island in the Ohio, and in 1807 he came to the Scioto Licks to live permanently. He had been engaged here several summers before that, and was already known to all the leading salt boilers. In addition to his other employments, he opened a tavern, which he conducted for several years. Later, when the new town was laid out, he settled in what is now Jamestown, and his remains and those of his wife lie in the Indian mound in the Jamestown Cemetery, which he laid out. He was an active and an influential man almost a giant physically, stand- 378 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION ing six feet and two inches, and weighing 225 pounds. Many stories are related about his remarkable physical prowess, among them one about a bully who came from Kentucky to fight him. He was dressing some slaughtered hogs at the time of the man's arrival, and asked him to wait awhile. When the work was done, he picked up the two largest hogs under each arm and carried them away to his house. When he came back stripped for battle the bully had disappeared. James was a great Methodist for many years, joining the class in 1811 and remaining a loyal member until his death. SOLDIERS OF THE WAR OF 1812 The first event in the outside world that materially affected .the salt boilers was the War of 1812. in July, 1812, Gen. Edward W. Tupper of Gallia County, came to .the Licks to seek volunteers in order to fill up the regiment which he had been commissioned to raise, and more than two hundred men enlisted for the six months' service. Their first camp after leaving Jackson was near a big spring on lower Salt Creek, where many of the men carved their names on a large boulder, which had fallen from the cliffs above some years before. This was known as the Camp Rock afterward, until it was blasted and used for building a new pike, a piece of vandalism that was inexcusable. It was in place in 1895 and bore the legend "Camp of 1812." General Tupper led his men through Chillicothe and Urbana to the Maumee, entering the Indian country in August. Receiving orders to march down the Maumee the Indians finally attacked them. A severe battle followed, but General Tupper and his men drove off' the enemy with a loss of fewer than thirty men, while the loss of the Indians was estimated at 300. William Hewitt was one of the scouts with this expedition. Tupper's men were on short rations, and while pursuing the Indians they fell in with a large drove of hogs in a cornfield, and they abandoned the pursuit, according to Atwater's history, to kill the hogs. The expedition then returned to Fort McArthur, and when winter set in they returned to their homes. Next year another company was raised at the Licks to march with Maj. Ben Daniel's to the relief of Fort Meigs. The men served from July 29 to August 19, 1813. The roster of this company was as follows : Captain, Jared Strong ; first lieutenant, John Gillaspie ; ensign, William Howe ; sergeants, William Given, John Lake, David Mitchell, Philip Strother ; corporals, Salmon Goodenough, Alex Hill, Joseph Lake, William Higginbotham ; drummer, Harris Penny ; fifer, James Markey ; privates, William Hewitt, Thomas M. Caretall, Jesse Watson, Joseph Robbins, William Ellerton, James Phillips, Samuel Aldridge, John Sargent, Samuel Bunn, Stephen Bailey, Henry Rout, Joseph Clemens, Joseph Schellenger, John Ogg, James Higginbotham, William Black. This was a representative body of men. Strong was afterward the first representative of the county, Given the first associate judge, David Mitchell had a long record in the public service of his time and county, while Bunn, Howe, Schellenger, the Lakes, Hill, and. Gillaspie have many descendants in the county to this day. So far as known all the men in the company came home. CHAPTER IV FOUNDING OF THE COUNTY LUCAS FATHERS JACKSON COUNTY-ORIGINAL BOUNDS-CREATIVE ACT- WILLIAM GIVEN-ORGANIZING COMMISSIONERS-FIRST ELECTION IN. BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP-FOUNDERS OF LARGE FAMILIES—FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP VOTERS-THE ELECTORS OF LICK-THE HAMLETS-JOSEPH ARMSTRONG-MADISON TOWNSHIP VOTERS-MILTON TOWNSHIP-FIRST COUNTY. OFFICERS-COMMISSIONERS FIRST MEETING-THREE TOWNSHIPS CREATED-JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP-CHANGES OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES-ROAD BUILDING-OTHER COUNTY BUSINESS. The seats of justice of Athens, Gallia, Scioto and Ross counties had been established at the first settlement made in each county. These settlements had been made on rivers, Athens on the Hockhocking, Gallipolis and Portsmouth on the Ohio, and Chillicothe on the Scioto, and when Gallia and Scioto counties were erected in 1803, and Athens in 1805, their outermost boundaries. touching Ross, were a whole day's journey from their respective seats of justice. It was only a question of time until' the inhabitants of the hinterlands found it necessary to seek the establishment of a new seat of justice which they could visit and return from the same day. The lawlessness of some of the salt boilers, and of so many squatters in the deep woods, was another determining cause, which, added to the political ambitions of certain citizens of the Salt Works, led to the movement which caused the establishment of Jackson County. William Given, Hugh Poor, David Paine, and others joined in a petition, which was signed by a large number of citizens of the four counties already named, and a representative body went on horseback to Chillicothe, in December, 1815, to bring the matter before the Legislature. They enlisted the services of Robert Lucas, senator from Gallia and Scioto counties, who had been a salt boiler himself and he presented the petition. LUCAS FATHERS JACKSON COUNTY The entry in the Senate Journal reads thus : "Dec. 22, 1815, Robert Lucas, senator from Gallia and Scioto Counties, presented a petition of certain inhabitants of Ross, Gallia, Scioto and Athens Counties, praying that a new county may be set off, in such manner that the seat of justice may be established at the Scioto Salt Works." The petition was referred - 379 - 380 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION to a committee of three, of which Lucas was made chairman, " to report thereon by bill or otherwise." The committee acted favorably, and a bill to erect the county of Jackson, named in honor of the hero of New Orleans, was introduced by Senator Lucas December 26, 1815. It was read a second time December 27, and passed the senate December 29. It was messaged to the House and read the first time the same day, read the second time December 30, and passed January 10, 1816, became a law two days later, January 12, 1816, and went into effect March 1, 1816. ORIGINAL BOUNDS The original county included all that part of the counties of Scioto, Gallia, Athens and Ross included within the following limits, to wit : Beginning at the northwest corner of township number ten, range number seventeen and running thence east to the northeast corner of said township ; thence south to the southeast corner of township number eight, in said range ; thence west to the southwest corner of section number thirty-five in said township ; thence south to the southeast corner of section number thirty-four, in township number seven in said range ; thence west to the southwest corner of said township ; thence south to the southeast corner of township number five, in range number eighteen ; thence west to the southwest corner of section number thirty-three in township number five, in range number nineteen ; thence north to the northwest corner of section number four, in said township ; thence west to the southeast corner of Pike County ; thence with Pike County line to the northeast corner of said county ; thence north to the northwest corner of township number eight, in range number nineteen ; thence east to the range line between the seventeenth and eighteenth ranges ; thence north with the same to the place of beginning. CREATIVE ACT The act erecting the County of Jackson consisted of only five sections. The first gave the boundaries as indicated above. The second section provided that all suits pending in the four counties involved, should be prosecuted to final judgment in the counties in which they were pending, and all taxes levied in each township should be collected in the original county and not in the County of Jackson. The third section provided that the tenure of justices should not be interfered with, and that they should serve until their terms expired. Section four provided that a county election should be held on the first Monday in April, 1816, to elect county officers to serve until the regular annual election. The last section designated the house of William Given at the Scioto Salt Works as the temporary seat of justice, for holding the courts and provided that the act should go into effect March 1, 1816. WILLIAM GIVEN William Given, who was so signally honored, by being named in the law establishing the new county, and by having his house selected as the HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 381 first seat of justice, was a native of Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1782. After his father's death the mother moved with her family, when William was ten years old, to Kentucky. When he grew to manhood he came to Ohio and settled first in Scioto County, but came later, or about 1801, to the Scioto Salt Works, where he married Rachel, daughter of William and Susan (Paine) Stockham on October 23, 1810, and went to housekeeping on Poplar Row. He prospered at the works, and built a two-story log cabin mansion, the first of the kind on the reserve. It stood near the site of old Globe Furnace in the northern part of Jackson, and was 'for many years the finest house in the county, hence its selection for holding courts. Given was thirty-four years old when the county was organized, and was a man of standing in his community. He was made one of the associate judges of the county and served until 1818, when he succeeded Jared Strong as representative of the county. In 1823, he was again elected associate judge and held the office until 1826, when he moved from the county to Nile Township, in Scioto County, where he lived thirty-seven years, and died June 26, 1863, aged eighty years, nine months and eight days. His wife died February 18, 1865, aged seventy years, nine months and fifteen days. His oldest son, named for him, was born at the Scioto Salt Works, July 31, 1811, and died, aged eighty-seven years, on July 30, 1898, in Scioto County. There were ten other children in the family, and their descendants are found in many states. Judge Given served with distinction in the War of 1812, as a volunteer from the Scioto Salt Works. In his later years he united with the whig party and the Methodist Episcopal Church. Such are some of the facts in the life of the most distinguished of the founders of Jackson County. Much of his long life was passed, however, in Scioto County, and there his sons grew to maturity. Several of them lived to a great age*. ORGANIZING COMMISSIONERS The Legislature elected three commissioners, Emanuel Trexler, John Stephenson and John Brown, to organize the new county government, and hold the first election. Trexler was of German origin, and was born in Pennsylvania. When he became a man he started west, and settled at the mouth of the Scioto, where he built his cabin in 1796, and became the first permanent settler of Scioto County, within the present limits of Portsmouth. Gen. Arthur St. Clair recognized him as the first settler, and appointed him as justice of the peace in 1798. Having neglected to secure a patent for his farm, he was dispossessed by Henry Massie, who had secured a patent and he then moved to. the Little Scioto, where he set up a grist mill on the site' of the Lafayette Mills of later days. In 1813 he left Scioto County and came to the Salt Works, where he was a successful business man, and these qualifications secured for him the appointment as commissioner. His family is still represented in the county. John Stephenson, his associate, was a native of South Carolina, but moved after his marriage to Cabell County, Virginia, and in 1814, came to Ohio and settled in Gallia County, in what is now Bloomfield 382 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION Township, of Jackson County. He was the most active of the Gallia men, who worked for the establishment of the new county, and this secured for him the appointment as commissioner., His family was numerous and influential, and two of his sons held county offices, James being elected sheriff and John, Jr., recorder. The latter died while holding that office. His grandson, John S. Stephenson, held the office of commissioner of this county, and J. W. Stephenson, son of the latter, was twice elected commissioner of Pike County. Hiram Stephenson, another great-grandson of the first commissioner, has served two terms as treasurer of Jackson County. The third commissioner, John Brown, was a citizen of Athens County before the new county was organized, and this accounts for his appointment. The three counties of Athens, Gallia and Ross were thus represented in this first board of commissioners. They held their first meeting March 1, 1816, at the house of Judge William Given and organized the new county. For the convenience of voters at the first election, they divided the county temporarily into five townships, viz. : Bloomfield, Franklin, Lick, Madison and Milton, and they appointed judges and clerks to conduct the election in each precinct. The first election was held April 1, 1868, and 220 electors participated. They were practically all the men in the county for the election was of sufficient importance to attract general attention, and every well man went to the polls. FIRST ELECTION IN BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP The election in this township was held at the house of Judge Hugh Poor, which stood in a central location. The officers were Samuel McClure, Moses Gillespie and Theophilus Blake, judges ; and Robert G. Hanna and Allen Rice, clerks. Thirty-seven electors cast their ballots, the name of Reuben Long being the first registered. The others were : Theophilus Blake, Henry Humphreys, John Hale, James Hale, William Keeton, Morris Humphreys, Ellis Long, Benjamin Long, Azariah Jenkins, Joshua Stephenson, Thomas Barton, John R. Corn, John Scurlock, John Dickerson, Sharp Barton, George Campbell, Hugh Poor, Hugh Scurlock, Moses Hale, Arthur Callison, Christopher Long, Benjamin Hale, Robert Irwin, Moses Gillespie, David Stoker, Nimrod Arthur, Allen Rice, Michael Stoker, James Lackey, Martin Poor, John Stephenson, Sr., Samuel McClure, Andrew Donnally, John Stephenson, Jr., Robert G. Hanna and Alexander Poor. It appears that some young men not old enough to vote were at the polls for one Joel Long, and John Hale, one of the voters, agreed "to box and fight each other at fisticuffs." The well-known code of the backwoods was doubtless observed, but the result did not give satisfaction, and Christopher Long assaulted Moses Hale, and according to the indictment at the first term of court held in August, 1816, did "strike, beat, wound, and illtreat to the great damage of said Moses Hale." John R. Corn interfered in behalf of Hale, and Long assaulted him. Benjamin Long was standing near and when James Lackey tried to protect Corn Long assaulted him. In August, 1816, John Hale and Joel Long HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 383 were fined $12 each, and Christopher Long $6 under each indictment. Benjamin Long entered a plea of guilty for assaulting Lackey at the November term, 1816, and was fined $10. The cause of the feud between the Longs and the Hales is not known. FOUNDERS OF LARGE FAMILIES Many of these voters were founders of large families. John and Hugh Scurlock were natives of Stokes County, North Carolina, and were brothers of James Scurlock, born in 1796, and George born July 19, 1800. There were perhaps two or three other brothers, William, Joshua and Joseph and a sister named Lydia, who after her coming to this county married Nelson Aleshire. The father of this family, whose name was James, died in North Carolina, and the widow and her children came to Ohio in 1806. George. was only sixteen years old when this election occurred, hence he could not vote. He married Elizabeth, sister of Robert G. Hanna, who was a clerk of the election. Both were children of John Hanna, who was one of Gen. Andrew Lewis' men in 1774. George Scurlock and his wife were the parents of nine children. He died at the age of eighty years, and his wife, who was born October 27, 1800, died in her sixty-ninth year. The family is now quite numerous in the county. Sharp and Thomas Barton were father and son. The father was born in Patrick County, Virginia, and he and his wife, Jennie, came to Gallia County in 1811. There Thomas Barton married Charlotte, daughter of James and Mary Hale, in 1815, and he became a citizen of this county when those sections of Gallia County were annexed in 1816. Their third son, Hamby Barton, who was born November 30, 1827, and was married November 10, 1853, to Lucinda Quickel, lived until the summer of 1915, together with his wife. Thus they lived together nearly sixty-two years. Thomas Barton died August 27, 1845, and his wife September 28, 1877. James Hale, who was perhaps the oldest of the family that voted at the election, is said to have come from Virginia to the Licks in 1800, but he returned to Virginia to marry and brought his wife, Mary, to this county in 1811. Several of his descendants still remain in the county, but only one of them bears the family name. Alexander Poor was a native of North Carolina, and came to this county in 1809. He was later a member of the Legislature and was colonel of the militia for many years. James Lackey was a native of Virginia and came to Bloomfield in 1806. John L. Corn came to the county in 1811 from Patrick County, Virginia, where his son James was born September 28, 1804. This son married Milly Vernon, who was born in Stokes County, North Carolina, and they became the parents of nine children, of whom Riley Corn became the most widely known in Jackson County. His daughter married Charles M. Davis, and they live near Rempel. Samuel McClure, who was the presiding judge in Bloomfield Township's first election, was born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, May 4, 1785, and was married to Nancy Levisay, born September, 1782, in the same county on February 12, 1801. They moved to Bloomfield in 1811. They had ten children and their descend- 384 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION ants now form perhaps the most numerous family connection in the county. The oldest daughter, Margaret, married Charles Slavens, who was born in Virginia March 6, 1796. This occurred August 29, 1821, and they located in Pike County, where the husband died April 16, 1871. The wife survived until she was an octogenarian. Reuben Slavens, their son, was a soldier in the Civil War, and served as commissioner and treasurer of Pike County. It is a coincidence that his son, Jacob Slavens was elected treasurer of the same county as a republican November 3, 1914, although the county is strongly democratic. Samuel Slavens named for his grandfather, Samuel McClure, was one of the famous Andrews raiders in the Civil War, and was one of the seven patriots hanged by the Confederates June 20, 1862. Nancy, a sister of Reuben and Samuel Slavens, married Hugh Gilliland, Martha, the second daughter, married Samuel Stephenson January 25, 1826, and Arthur McClure, her brother, married Jane Stephenson the same day. Nancy McClure married Benjamin Callaghan February 15, 1826. She lived until March 2, 1891, and died in her sixty-eighth year. Polly McClure married William Smith February 12, 1829. Betsy married John Corner December 23, 1830, and they returned to Virginia. Susannah married Joseph Cackley September 1, 1836 ; Jacob Warwick McClure married Emily Burris February 18, 1841. Thomas Perry McClure married Lucinda Miller July 14, 1842, and Charles Slavens McClure, the tenth child, married Margaret Callahan May 20, 1852. This roster of names indicates that the McClures became allied with many of the other pioneer families and those alliances were multiplied by the grandchildren until many of the inhabitants of Bloomfield, Franklin, Scioto and Hamilton are of the McClure blood. While hundreds of representatives are located elsewhere, Michael and David Stoker, in the list of voters came from Stokes County, North Carolina, in 1806. Catherine Stoker married Alexander Lackey and the children of their grandson, Leonidas F. Lackey, still live in the township. In this connection it may be noted that Enoch Russell came to Bloomfield in 1806, but for some reason he did not attend the election. He was a soldier of the Revolution. William Keeton was the son of David Keeton another soldier of the Revolution. FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP VOTERS Franklin Township had for its election officers : Judges, John Rook, John Farney and Abraham Baker ; and clerks, Isaac Baker and William Stephenson. Teter Null was the first of the sixty-one electors to cast his vote. The others were : Jacob Wishon, Peter McCain, Basil Johnson, John Wallace, Lewis Howard, John Clemmons, Isaiah Sheward, Jesse Martin, Peter Seel, Samuel Stephenson, Isaac Kilcoderic, Hugh Malin, Nathan Kirby, John Graham, John Peters, William Lyons, Eli Dixon, Thomas Crabtree, James Graham, James Higginbotham, Jonathan R. Nelson, John Dixon, Abraham Dixon, Thomas Craig, Ralph Nelson, James Johnson, John Martin, John Duncan, Ross Nelson, Emanuel Trax- HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 385 ler, Richard Johnson, William Martin, Hugh Gilliland, John Burnsides, Alexander Wilson, Alexander Anderson, Nathan Dixon, John George, William Holland, Francis Holland, Nottingham Mercer, Samuel Craig, Levi Mercer, John Traxler, Benjamin Ellison, Samuel Traxler, Jonathan Traxler, Nathan Sheward, Thomas Scott, John Farney, John Book, Abraham Baker, John Webb, James Martin, William Stephenson, Isaac Baker, Joseph Graham, Isaac Hartley, James Pennelton, Henry Dixon. An election to choose justices was held the same day, but by a different set of officers. They were Teter Null, Samuel Traxler and Hugh Gilliland, judges, and John Martin and Francis Holland, clerks. Sixty votes were cast, of which John George had 32, Thomas Scott 29, Isaac Baker 28, Nottingham Mercer, 26 ; George and Scott were winners. John Martin named above was the pioneer who came to the Licks in 1796, and has been spoken of already. Peter Seel was the first white man to settle permanently in what is now known as Jefferson Township, building his cabin in the woods near the site of the Diamond brickyard, below Oak Hill, in 1814. His nearest neighbor was Lewis Adkins, who owned what has been long known since his days as the Joseph Cackley farm. Seel was a native of Germany, but emigrated when a young lad. He died February 21, 1868, aged eighty-four years, leaving 140 descend ants. Isaiah Sheward was the founder of a large family, who still takes an active interest in township and county affairs. The Hollands, Nulls, Scotts, Craigs, Kirbys, Duncans and Georges have left the township and the county, but the Dixons, Nelsons, Howards, Johnsons, Trexlers, Mercers, Grahams, Gillilands, Stephensons and others have many representatives in the county. J. H. Rook, descendant of John Rook, died in 1915, at the home of his son in Washington C. H. A number of these voters moved to Lick Township as soon as the sale of lots in 1817 enabled them to buy property near the Licks. This movement down the valley toward Jackson has continued until this day, and a large proportion of the inhabitants of the county seat, can claim descent from the sturdy Franklins of this fine old township. James Graham, named among these voters, became a leading citizen of Scioto Township after its organization in 1816. He was a Virginian by birth, and he married Catherine Rickabaugh who was born in Pennsylvania. They were the parents of twelve children who grew to maturity, viz. : Phoebe, who was married to Abraham Dixon ; Elizabeth, the wife of Eli Dixon; John ; Felix, who married Lucinda Russell ; Jehiel, who married Rebecca Graham ; Catherine, the wife of John Haley ; Lydia, the wife of Nathan Gilliland; Sarah, the wife of John Norris; Mahala, wife of Levi McCoy ; James, who married Margaret Norris, and was long the largest man in the county, weighing 360 pounds ; lastly,_ Mary, the wife of Franklin McCoy, and Hannah, who married Lewis Davis: These twelve clans are nearly as numerous as the McClures, Hertons., Stephensons, Browns and Arthurs. Thomas Craig was another soldier of the Revolution. He belonged in the Maryland line and served under Capt. Richard Davis, in the .first regiment, commanded by Colonel Rollins. He enlisted in 1776, was taken prisoner at Fort Washington and was not discharged until 1784. His pension certifi- Vol. I-25 386 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION cate was No. 10,780. A third Revolutionary soldier in Franklin was Jules Dawson of the Virginia line. He served three years and seven months in the Thirteenth Regiment. He was in battle against the Indians at Coshocton on the Muskingum at the mouth of White Woman's Creek, and also on Big Beaver. A number of his. descendants still live in Franklin. He survived until after the Fourth of July, 1843, for he and Thomas Oliver, another veteran of the Revolution, were taken to Jackson that day, to a great celebration held in their honor as the last survivors of the Revolution in the county. Oliver died February 23, 1844, and Dawson outlived him only a few _months. Oliver was a native of Maryland, where he was born May 10, 1763. His father died when he was only fourteen years old, and he went to live with his uncle, David Leffiand, in Loudon County, Virginia. When sixteen years old, in 1779, he enlisted in the Sixth Virginia Regiment, under. Colonel Muhlenborg and served three years and seven months. He became a pensioner in 1834, getting $80 a year. He had come to Ohio in 1816 and settled in Madison Township, but he moved later to the Mt. Zion neighborhood in Franklin, and was buried in Mt. Zion graveyard. Oliver was married three times, and was the father of a large family, whose members are now widely scattered. One son named Hiram was a soldier in the Civil War. A number of other veterans of the Revolution died in this county, among them James Hulse of the Virginia line, who served three years in the company of Abraham Shepard in the Twelfth Regiment and received a land warrant from Virginia. William Clarke of Jefferson, who served three years in the First Regiment of Virginia Artillery and fought at Hampton and in North Carolina, when Colonel Buford was defeated, was another. THE ELECTORS OF LICK Only fifty-nine veterans attended the election in Lick. This was evidently all the electors, for the distance to the polls was not. great. The small number indicates that the great majority of the salt boilers had left, either departing from the county or settling on lands subject to entry outside of the Salt Lick Reservation. The officers were : James Weeks, John Ogg and Asa Lake, judges ; and Joseph W. Ross and George L. Crookham, clerks. The first of the fifty-nine voters was Maj. John James, grandfather of ex-Warden C. C. James. The others were Abraham Dehaven, William White, Horam Denny, John W. Sargeant, Joseph Clemmens, Philip Stother, Samuel Bunn, John Gillaspie, Asa Lake, James Weeks; George Bowen, Jacob Culp, Matthew Rider, Absalom Wells, Hugh Sharp, Valentine Pancake, William Givens, John Stockham, Joseph Armstrong, James Adams, John Brander, George L. Crookham, David Mitchell, Jacob Schellenger, William Brown, Salmon Goodenough, John Crap:), John Armstrong, John Ogg, John O. Kelly, John Higginbotham, Charles Higginbotham, David Watson, Samuel A. Hall, John Henry Grant, Peter Marshall, Daniel Comber, John Praether, John Stewart, Henry Routt, Joseph W. Ross, Francis O'Ray, John Lake, John McGhee, Jared Strong, Daniel Harris, Daniel Clark, Samuel Aldridge, A. J. Hig- HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 387 gins, Isaac Newell, Jesse Watson, Alexander Hill, Abraham Welch, Elk Bramlett, William Higginbotham, William Howe, John Allen, William Hewitt. THE HAMLETS There had been small hamlets in several parts of Lick established with reference to the most profitable salt wells. The largest, of course, was Poplar Row, which afterward secured the seat of justice. But there had once been a large hamlet on the site of the infirmary farm, known as New Jerusalem, and the best well in that region was near where the Gallipolis road crosses the railroad. There was a third smaller hamlet on Buckeye, west of Jackson, near where John Downey's residence stands now, and a fourth on Given 's Run, near where Jisco Furnace stands. A fifth was situated on Horse Creek, toward Chapman, and there was a smaller hamlet on Sugar Run toward Petrea. It seems remarkable that an industry which at one time had employed hundreds of men, had dwindled so rapidly that only fifty-nine men remained in the whole township, including salt boilers and farmers, as well as some business and professional men. But the salt boilers had been largely wanderers, mostly bachelors, residents at the. Licks only during the summer and autumn months, attracted there by cash wages. The transients departed as the wells began, to decline in importance. An examination of the records shows also that the voters of Franklin and not a few of those of Bloomfield had been salt boilers. The records of the period are meager, but there survives a letter written by Rev. John Stewart, who speaks of a campmeeting held in August, 1816, about one mile east of Poplar Row. It continued for some time with Rev. David Young, presiding elder of the district, in charge, assisted by Rev. John Tivis, the circuit preacher for Salt Creek; Reverend Stewart, who was a citizen of Athens County, assisted for several days. JOSEPH ARMSTRONG Joseph Armstrong; who was one of the voters, afterward became the most widely known man in the county. He came to the Licks when a young man, and during his sixty years life in the county, he held many offices. The first of importance was director of the town of Jackson, to which he was elected by the Legislature in 1817. In the fall of the same year he was elected sheriff, and was re-elected in 1819. He was elected sheriff again in 1828, and served two more terms. John Duncan, a friend, succeeded him, and then he was elected for another period. He thus held the office of sheriff longer perhaps than any, other man in the history of Ohio. He also served many years as tax collector, and it is said that many of the treasurers employed him to ride the county to collect delinquent taxes. Davis Mackley, who knew him, wrote thus : "I suppose that Armstrong was acquainted with every man in the county. He was a man of good, sound, practical, common sense, his conversational powers were 388 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION good. He was always one thing, always a gentleman, and although polite, he was without affectation. His home was on a farm two miles south of town near the Franklin and Lick township line, but his business was office holding. For forty years a large portion of the county money passed through his hands, but no charge was ever whispered against him, and when he cane to die he was still a poor man. He finally retired to his farm because of deafness which incapacitated him from further public service." He died February 4, 1859, aged seventy-seven years and four days, and his remains lie in Mt. Zion Cemetery. Armstrong had three sons, James, Stephen and Joseph. Stephen was remarkable for his physical perfection ; Joseph moved west. James and Stephen died in this county. James' services were sought at every wedding, funeral and religious and political meeting in the county because of his ability as a singer. He knew all the hymns of the day by heart, and had learned many songs and ballads. One of his favorites was Burns' "Highland Mary." He was always in demand at the camp meetings, several, of which were held in the county every summer, usually in August or Sep- tember. Even as late as 1840 he was still singing, and led at the campmeeting held at Clay in the southeast corner of Franklin, on land belonging to Ben Callaghan. Timothy Darling, who was a taxpayer in Lick in 1819, does not appear to have voted in 1816, but he had located in the township as early as 1815, according to the statement of his son, James Darling. He came. here from Wood County, Virginia. His wife was Elizabeth Cook, a sister of Nancy Cook, who married Maj. John James, who had settled at the Licks in 1807. The Darlings were the parents of six children, William, ,Derrick, James H., Barsheba, Elizabeth C., and Aurora. Elizabeth C. died unmarried, and was the first person buried in Jamestown Cemetery ; Barsheba married Isaac Brown, son of Nathan Brown, and. Aurora mar' ried Charles Love. Timothy Darling settled on the farm later known as the 'Hippel estate near Coalton and died in 1830. James H. Darling, his son, remembers that Henry Routt was a soldier of the Revolution and lived on Salt Creek. The home of the Richmond family stood on Pearl Street, near where Orange Furnace was built afterward. Richmond was killed by a falling tree in a storm near Runkles Bridge. Jared Strong built a mill on Salt Creek at what is now known as Bierlytown, and after his death John Burnside married his widow. Strong had three sons, Jared, Johiel and Stephen Johiel was killed by ththe fallingf his horse when he was crossing the ice near. the Jacob Sell home to go to a frolic at the McKinniss home. James H. Darling married Rachel Howe, who was a sister of Tacy Howe, who married Peter Bunn, Sr. Zaphaniah Brown built the first horse mill near Berlin. Doctor Mussett was one of the early physicians. Jared. Strong, CaCaptainincaid and G. W. Hale were officers in the musters in early days, usually held in September. John McGhee was born in Bedford County, Virginia, and came to the Scioto Licks about 1808. His wife was Priscilla Radcliff and they were the parents of nine children. He died at the age of eighty-one years. William, their second son, was born at the farm in this county, April 5, 1815, one year HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 389 before the county was organized, became one of the leading business men of the county and died of cholera July 4, 1871. Samuel Bunn was a native of Maryland, but his parents moved to Virginia when he was a child. He came to the Scioto,Salt Works with the Shoup family in 1800, and married Elizabeth Nelson. Peter, Harmon and Henry C. Bunn were his sons, born August 5, 1820, November 12, 1824, and June 1, 1827, respectively. He died in 1865, aged eighty-two years. Ross Nelson came to the Salt Works at an early day, perhaps in 1812, and became the owner of a salt furnace. It is claimed that Abraham French was a resident of this county in 1816, but his father, Henry French, did not vote here. He was born in Virginia in 1765, and his wife, Abigail, in 1773. They moved to Gallia County in 1815, and soon thereafter to this county. It is possible that French did not care to vote or that he was not a qualified elector in time to vote. Abraham French, the son, became an active citizen of Jackson in after years. He married Rachel Ridenour in December, 1832, and they moved into the town, where they opened a tavern, which they conducted until 1865. He also managed a stage line from Gallipolis through Jackson to Chillicothe, and had several mail routes. The son, Smith French, who drove one coach, is still living with his son, A. A. French, on Salt Creek. MADISON TOWNSHIP VOTERS The election of this township was held at the house of Jacob Moler, which stood near the site of Madison Furnace. The officers were : Judges, Jacob Moler, William H. C. Jenkins and John Atkinson ; and clerks, John Horton and Jeremiah Callahan. Twenty-one electors participated, Samuel Radabaugh being the first to vote. The others were : George Radabaugh, John Callahan, Sr., Henry Radabaugh, William Corner, Robert Taylor, Benjamin Arthur, Lewis Adkins, Sr., Joel Arthur, Amos Arthur, John Horton, Jacob Moler, John Atkinson, William H. C. Jenkins, Elijah Delano, John Shoemaker, Joseph Pauley, Jeremiah Callahan, Jeremiah Roach, Lewis Adkins, Jr., Jesse Radabaugh. Four of the twenty-one electors were Radabaughs, and the family deserves special mention. Henry Radabaugh was the father. He was horn in Virginia, the son of Adam Radabaugh and Catherine Buzzard, ,daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Buzzard. They were the parents of nine children, all born in Greenbrier County, Virginia, between 1780 and 1810. It was in the latter year that the family left Virginia, and they entered Jackson County the next year, settling on Little Raccoon on land included in Gallia until 1816, as noted. The nine children married as follows: Samuel married Rhoda Jones ; Jesse, Elizabeth Arthur ; George, a Polly, whose maiden name has been lost ; Mary, John Horton ; Elizabeth, Reuben Roach ; John, Mary Elliott ; Henry, Jr., Lydia Henson ; Catherine, Benjamin Arthur; Susannah, Enoch Ewing, and Margaret, James Jenkins. Sixty-nine children, thirty-six sons and thirty-three daughters, were born to these nine pairs. The father died 390 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION comparatively young, but the mother lived to be nearly ninety years old and died in Williams County, Ohio, in 1852. She moved into that county to join her children, Samuel, Henry, John and Margaret. Susannah, who had married Enoch Ewing, moved to Hillsdale in Michigan in 1853. The other four children died in this county. Five of the grandchildren of Henry Ewing, Sr., are still living, Henry Ewing, at Pioneer, Ohio; Silas H. Arthur, at Portsmouth ; Catherine Bryo, at West Union, Ohio, and Jeannette White and Emma Potter in Michigan.. The election in Madison in 1816 was almost a family affair. Radabaugh, his three sons, two sons-in-law, and their five kinsmen, formed a majority of the voters. John Horton, one of his sons-in-law, became the founder of a large family originally located in Jefferson, but many representatives have moved to other parts of this state, and to several other states. A grandson, named Josephus Horton, was elected commissioner in Rice County, Kansas, in 1912. One of the oldest citizens of Madison in after years, named Daniel Faulkner, did not attend the election, for his residence was left in Gallia County. His house stood on the Black Fork of Symmes Creek, and nearby he established a grist mill, the first in his township, in 1808. This mill did not grind wheat. It was on a hill near this mill that the first church in that part of the state was erected in 1819 by the Union Church of Regular Baptists where John Young, John Lee, John Kelly, William Fuson, Basil Lewis, John Bennett and Levi McDaniel preached. The first United Brethren Church in this county was established at the home of Samuel Roach, son of Jeremiah Roach, named above. MILTON TOWNSHIP The judges were George Martin, John Backus and George Burris, and Joshua Scurlock and John Crouch were the clerks. There were forty-two votes cast, the first by Austin Palmer. The others were cast by Andrew Frasure, Peleg Potter, Charles Ratcliff, Joseph Crouch, John Phillips, Thomas Phillips, William Crow, John Baccus, George Martin, George Burris, Patrick Shearer, Joshua Scurlock, John Crouch, James Stephenson, William Burris, Reuben Rickabaugh, Drury Bondurant, William Delay, William Bass, Jonathan Delay, William Craig, Cuthbert Vinson, John Snuke, Robert Howard, James Dempsey, Joshua Rhodes, John Kite, Robert Ward, Jeremiah Brown, Zephaniah Brown, David Paine, Charles Robbins, Adam Althar, Daniel Hollinshead, John Hollinshead, John Delay, Joseph Howard, Jacob Delay, Joseph Crouch, Jr., John Brown and Nathan Brown. All these voters had been citizens of Athens County before the organization of the new county except perhaps John. Kite. He had been located at the Salt Works for many years, where he established the first mill and the first still, but when Milton was opened up for settlement he had moved there and located not far from Middleton, where he started a mill and a still, the first in the township. Austin Palmer, who cast the first vote, died April 18, 1854, aged sixty-one years, eleven months and HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 391 twenty-seven days. The most prominent voter was David Paine. He was born in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, September 14, 1775. He settled in Ohio when a young man and married Abigail James, sister of Maj. John James, on James Island, March 15, 1801. He moved to his Milton Township home then in Athens County in 1808. The following year he was converted under the ministry of Reverend Cummings, a Methodist circuit rider, who held a camp meeting near his home, and he remained a church member until his death, which occurred at the home of his son-in-law, Hezekiah S. Bundy, January 5, 1856. He was one of the first associate judges of the county and held many positions of trust and honor at the bestowal of his neighbors. Jacob Delay was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church and he assisted in organizing a class in Milton at an early day. This was the origin of the old Salem Church which is now taking on a new lease of life. The growth of the township was slow and the entire tax in 1818 amounted to only $43.50, but by 1825 there were sixty-six voters at the fall election and a steady growth followed. The rich lands attracted so many settlers that Milton outstripped Lick, which had the courthouse, at every census down to 1860. After Wellston was established in the '70s Milton led Lick again and continued to be the most populous township until Wellston became a separate township. FIRST COUNTY OFFICERS The returns of the first election were taken to the home of Judge William Given at Poplar Row, where they were opened by the three associate judges, William Given, Hugh Poor, and David Paine, April 14, 1816. It was found that the number of votes cast in the five townships was 220. The abstract of votes is as follows : Sheriff, Abraham Welch 119, John Lake 93, Samuel Trexler 1. Welch was declared elected. Commissioners, John Stephenson 114, Emanuel Trexler 108, John Brown 100, Samuel McClure 94, Francis Holland 30, Reuben Long 84, Jesse Watson 21, John Delay 46. The three named first who had been appointed by the Legislature were the winners. Coroner, John Gillespie 84, William 54, Samuel A. Hall 39, David Mitchell 4, Jacob Delay 2. Gillespie was declared elected. Abraham Welch, elected sheriff, was conducting a tavern at the Salt Works, which accounts for his popularity in the race. Samuel McClure came within a few votes of defeating Brown for commissioner, because Brown was from Milton Township, which then had only a few votes. COMMISSIONERS' FIRST MEETING The commissioners held their first meeting at the house of Jared Strong at the Salt Works and Dr. N. W. Andrews was elected clerk of the board. He was the first physician to settle at the Works. Dr. Gabriel McNeal came to the county soon afterward and settled in District No. 1 392 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION of Jefferson. The only other business transacted at this first meeting was the hearing of the petition of Daniel Hoffman for the erection of a new township. No action was taken and the board adjourned to June 3, 1816. This was the first regular meeting of the board and was held at the home of the clerk, Dr. N. W. Andrews. They had no copy of the Ohio Statutes and adjourned over to the next day. On June 4, 1816, they appointed Abraham Welch, the sheriff, to collect the taxes. Maj. John James was appointed as treasurer of the county and Dr. Nathaniel W. Andrews was appointed as keeper of the great seal of the county. The license for merchandising was fixed at $15.00 a year, for keeping a tavern at $6.00. Adjourned. THREE TOWNSHIPS CREATED The first business transacted July 1, 1816, was the establishment of three townships, Jackson, Clinton and Milton. Clinton was detached in 1850 when Vinton County was organized. A second meeting was held July 21, 1816, when Bloomfield, Franklin, Scioto and Lick townships were organized. These new townships reduced the original township of Lick very much. It was still further reduced in 1821, when Washington was organized, and Liberty in 1839 and Coal in 1883. The first officers of Liberty were elected December 21, 1839, at the home of William Newell. JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP Jefferson Township was organized January 25, 1822, and the first election was held in April, 1822. John Shumate was elected lister ; Basil Lewis and William Jenkins, trustees ; Solomon Mackley, justice of the peace ; Jephthah Massie and James Fullerton, constables ; John Kelly, overseer of the poor ; John Shumate and Jephthah Massie, fence viewers ; Andrew Fleming, supervisor. For some reason there was a failure to elect men for all of the offices and several men were given two offices. Mackley was made treasurer while Shumate was elected clerk as well as lister and fence viewer. At the election in 1823, held April 7 at the home of James Fullerton, the following officers were elected : Trustees, Theophilus Blake, Solomon Mackley and James Fullerton ; clerk, John Shumate. Then the doubling up began. Mack-ley, who had been sworn in as justice May 23, 1822, was elected treasurer and lister, John Shumate and Andrew Fleming were elected supervisors, William H. C. Jenkins and Jephthah Massie fence viewers, Benjamin Arthur appraiser of property, Joel Arthur overseer of the poor, and Solomon Mackley, who already had two offices, was made his associate. James McDaniel was a holdover justice when the township was organized. The trustees met April 12, 1823, to lay off the school districts and the following quaint record pictures the men and the times of the early '20s. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 393 "District No. 1—Beginning at the township line on the county road from the forks of the Little Scioto to the county road from Beggs old place to the Scioto Licks near Henry Radabaugh's thence north east to township line. "District No. 2—Beginning at the township line on the state road from the Ohio River opposite to mouth of. Guyandotte, to the town of Jackson, then running south east to the county line. District No. 3: Beginning at the township line at the county road from Cashatt's old place to the bridge crossing Fourmile near Thomas Scott's, thence running north with said road to township line. District No. 4: Beginning at the county road from Hales Creek to intersect the county road from Cashatt's old place to bridge near Thomas Scott's at or near John Shumate's north east with said road to the three mile tree. District No. 5. Beginning at the three mile tree aforesaid to intersect the county road from Cashatt's old place .aforesaid thence running to the end of the road. District No. 3 to consist of Azariah Arthur, Amos Arthur, Benjamin Arthur, William Jenkins, Joseph Horton and Enoch Ewing. District No. 2 to consist of John Scurlock and Lewis Arthur. District No. 5 to consist of John Johnson, Nimrod Arthur, Amos Jenkins, Thomas Elliott, Gabriel McNeal, William McNeal, James Fullerton, John Barton, George L. Walton, James Walton, James Kelly, Solomon Mackley, Jesse Kelly, Jesse Radabaugh, John Mackley. District No. 4 to consist of Lewis Massie, Jephthah Massie, George Crump, Big Jephthah Massie, Jesse Dickson, Robert Massie, Robert Phillips, Abner Phillips, Peter Seel, John Whitt, Robert Whitt, john Farley, Matt Farley, Thomas Farley." The list for District No. 1 is not given, but Theophilus Blake, Joel Arthur and John Shumate lived in it, and possibly Charles Blake and Andrew Fleming. Theophilus Blake built the house in the northeast corner of the township later owned by Stephen Lego, in 1818, and the old frame still stands as a part of the present dwelling. The Joel Arthur house on the hill a short distance west of it was built about 1816 and there is a tradition that one of his sons shot a deer at the lick near by from the upstairs window on the west side. A grandson, Thomas Arthur, now owns the old homestead. Many other descendants live in the county. Joel Arter (this is the spelling on his tombstone) died September 15, 1837, aged sixty-nine years. Nancy, his wife, preceded him November 16,. 1835, aged seventy-seven years. They were buried on the high point of the hill west of the house and a number of other pioneers lie beside them. The house descended to their son, Azariah, who died October 8, 1886. William H. C. Jenkins, mentioned above, settled near another spring about a mile further west. His initial, H. C. perpetuated the family names, Hunter Cavendish, of his mother. He was the father of fifteen children. His first wife was Nancy, sister of John Horton the pioneer. After her death he was married twice and his third wife, Clara Shepherd, survived him. His death occurred September 21, 1856, at the age of sixty-four years, four months and sixteen days. His youngest son, Frank Jenkins, was a soldier in the Civil war, and he was the youngest soldier that enlisted 394 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION from this county. When he died of fever at Nashville, Tennessee, December 15, 1864, his age was only fourteen years, seven months and nineteen days. Jenkins came from Virginia to this county in 1811. The father, Azariah Jenkins, settled in Bloomfield Township and voted there at the first election in 1816. George Crump lived on a farm later occupied for a lifetime by Thomas McNeal, and he established a still which he operated for many years. John Sumate built his cabin near a strong spring and established the Shumate homestead, where a grandson, William Shumate, a veteran of the Thirty-sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, still resides. The Shumate hill is often referred to as a landmark in the old records and has an elevation of 869 feet. John Johnson lived in the township almost until his death, which occurred December 13, 1895. He was ninety-four years old. Three of his sons served in the Civil war, and Junior Johnson was killed in battle. Several new names were added in 1824 to the list of road hands, among them John Love, William Corn, 'Andrew B. Brown, John Bradburn, William Hughes, Barnabas Dawson, Jonathan Massie, Jesse W. Reese, Timothy Varian, Henry Hughes. The latter was a soldier in the Revolution, and according to his declaration, made June 26, 1826, he enlisted in . 1779, for eighteen months in a company commanded by John Andrews, which belonged to the regiment of Colonel Hawes of the ,North Carolina line in the Continental establishment. He fought in the battles of Guilford C. H., Camden, Eutaw Springs, was wounded at the battle of Camden, and was discharged in the year 1781 at Salisbury, North Carolina. His family was a large one, and his descendants in this county are very numerous, the majority in Jefferson, but there are many in Jackson. There were many offices in township governments in those days, but that divided the duties and relieved any one voter of too much labor in the service of the public. This had the effect also of making the government a part of every man's life, which promotes true democracy. The following entry from the Jefferson records, throws light upon the duties of overseers of the poor : State of Ohio, Jackson County, ss : To William Comer, constable of Jefferson Township, greetings : You are hereby commanded to notify Elizabeth Huddleson, Commodore Perry Huddleson and Polly Huddle-son, now the wife of Joseph Horton, to depart this township, and of this writ make legal service and due return. Given under our hands and seal, this first day of November, 1828. Jesse Kelly, George Corn, overseers of the poor. Executed by reading on the day of this instant by me, William Comer, constable. These orders were issued as precautions to prevent strangers from gaining a residence in the township, when they were thought to be incapable of supporting themselves. The Kellys were related to the family of President U. S. Grant, and his parents visited the family of Jesse Kelly one year, and thought at one time of settling in the county. This Kelly lived on land now owned by Miss Jane T. Jones. The Massies were an influential family and one of them became, in after years, the first postmaster of Oak Hill. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 395 CHANGES OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES A number of changes have been made in the boundaries and area of Jackson County since its organization in 1816. First an act was passed. January 3, 1818 that "all that part of Ross County which is comprised within township No. 9 in Range 18 and township No. 9 Range No. 19 be annexed to Jackson county." These were organized as Harrison and Richland townships but in 1850 both were given to Vinton County. Their population and that of Clinton then numbered. 1,760. At the same time a tier of sections east of Madison Township and another tier south of the same township were annexed to Jackson County from Gallia in order to maintain Jackson's area within the constitutional requirement. This annexed to the county some very valuable land, and the neighborhood where the first Welsh pioneer had settled. Vinton County was organized March 23, 1850, with an area of only 402 square miles. It was named in honor of Samuel F. Vinton, who was for years the most distinguished citizen of Gallia County. He was born in Massachusetts, September 25, 1792, and about the year 1816 he established himself at Gallipolis, where he engaged in the practice of law. Many Jackson County people had been citizens of Gallia before 1816, and many others from Gallia moved into Jackson County afterward. They .retained a kindly interest in their old county with the result that Vinton secured much practice among them. His manners were pleasing, and his personality charming and he became very popular in Jackson, gradually taking the bulk of the practice from the Chillicothe attorneys. One result was that he was appointed prosecuting attorney of Jackson County at the sessions of court of 1820 to 1824 inclusive. It was while folding this position that he was elected to Congress in 1822 where he was returned for six succeeding terms serving fourteen years altogether continuously. Six years later he was elected for an- eighth term, and served six more years, Vinton died at Washington, May 11, 1862. It is recognized now that the erection of so many small counties in the hill country of Ohio was a mistake but in those early days the rivalry of families or of two towns, or two factions, led to those divisions. Even as late as 1854, a man named Samson living at Oak Hill originated a movement to organize a new county with Oak Hill as the county seat, but the legal requirements under the new Constitution were such that the effort proved abortive. There were minor changes made in the western boundary of Jackson County later, but the details are not of general interest, the object having been to straighten boundaries and promote the .convenience of a few farmers. ROAD BUILDING The work of laying out roads was one of the first duties of the commissioners. The first petition received their consideration July 3, 1816. It had been presented by Isaac Baker of Franklin Township, and prayed for the laying out of a road : Beginning at the fork of the creek two 396 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION miles and a half above Levi Mercer's on the new county road leading from Portsmouth to the Scioto Salt Wells; thence the nearest and best way to Hugh Gilliland's on the waters of Symmes Creek ; thence to Abraham Baker's ; thence the nearest and best way to intersect the new road that leads from the Salt Works to Gallipolis at or near Radabaugh 's in the most suitable place. The reviewing of the road was ordered, and Levi Mercer, John Horton and Lewis. Adkins were appointed to do the work without charge, because they were three of the beneficiaries. John Horton was Radabaugh's son-in-law. Lewis Adkins lived on the farm north of Cackley's swamp. The viewers selected. the route in the fall of 1816 and made their return January 8, 1817. It was not considered however until June 2, 1817, but it was then established as one of the public highways of the county. This road was 93/4 miles long. It began at a white oak in the forks of the Little Scioto near Levi Mercer's ran by a Beaver pond afterward known as Baker's Pond, and intersected by the Gallipolis Road near Henry Radabaugh's house. OTHER COUNTY BUSINESS The' preparation of the duplicate of the county, .arranging the names of taxpayers. alphabetically, was the next undertaking of the commissioners. It was a big task for them, but they completed the work July 29, 1816, ready for delivery to the listers. The men appointed were Joseph Armstrong, for Lick ; John Adkins, for Madison ; Richard Johnson, for Franklin, John Stephenson, Jr., for Bloomfield ; and John Scurlock, for Milton. The entire duplicate of property tax amounted to only $301.20. The duplicate for 1817 as returned, by the listers amounted to $354.85. Building began on a little more pretentious scale, after the Town of Jackson was laid out in 1817 and the duplicate for 1819 shows several additions. For instance, Levi Booth had built a house valued at $550; Andrew Donnally, two valued at $250; William Given, two valued at $200 ; Daniel Hoffman, one house valued at $1,600; John Hall, one valued at $500 ; John James, one at $125 ; Charles O'Neil, one valued at $175 ; Edmund Richmond, Sr., one valued at $1,000; Mary Ransom, one valued at $175 ; J. W. Ross, one at $125 ; Strong & Given's store room at $1,300 ; and Jared Strong, a house at $1,125. These valuations throw a light on the progress in the new town. The county levy in the surrounding townships, in the year 1819 were as follows : Bloomfield, $47 ; Franklin, $70; Jackson, $30.50 ; Scioto, $39.65. While Lick's was $120.07 Franklin was then the wealthiest next to Lick. The school lands of the various townships were sold in 1825 at a great sacrifice. Only a small amount was secured for building schoolhouses. The prices were Jackson, 121/2 cents an acre ; Lick, Hamilton, Washington, and Bloomfield, 25 cents; Scioto and Clinton, 37 1/2 cents ; Madison, Milton, Harrison,' and Richland, 50 ; and Jefferson, 87 1/6. That was the home of Dr. Gabriel McNeal and he made a fight to prevent too great a sacrifice because the township already had three schools in operation. CHAPTER V MISCELLANEOUS COUNTY MATTERS THE FIRST COURT OF COMMON PLEAS-ASSOCIATE JUDGES-PRESIDING JUDGE JOHN THOMPSON-THE COUNTY AT COURT-JOSEPH SILL PROSECUTING ATTORNEY -TEXT OF FIRST PETITION-FIRST INDICTMENT-FIRST JURY TRIAL VOTERS AT FIRST GENERAL ELECTION-VIOLATIONS OF LIQUOR LAWS-FIRST PENITENTIARY CONVICT-PERMANENT SEAT OF JUSTICE-SURVEY OF NEW TOWN OF JACKSON-SALE OF LOTS-MICHAEL MCCOY-BUILDING OF JAIL AND COURTHOUSE-EARLY TAX PAYERS. The first term of Court of Common Pleas in the new county was held August 12, 1816, at the house of .William Given at. the Salt Wells. The judiciary for each county then consisted of a presiding judge who travelled a circuit of several counties, and three associate judges from each county. William Given, David Paine and Hugh Poor were the three associate judges. They like the commissioners had been selected, one from each of the three most populous districts brought together to form the new county viz. : Given from. Ross, Paine from Athens and Poor from Gallia. The last named was a native of North Carolina. He moved to Virginia first where he married Miss Martha Hutchison. They came to Ohio in 1804 settling near Vinton where his father died aged one hundred and four years. Poor moved again in 1811 to what is now Bloomfield Township where he lived the rest of his life. He died in 1829.. He had served as judge for fourteen years. He was engaged in business for many years, but suffered severe reverses before his death. His wife survived him for thirty-one years, dying in Jay County, Indiana, in 1860. They were the parents of eleven children and many descendants still live in this county. PRESIDING JUDGE JOHN THOMPSON The county was in the Second Judicial Circuit of Ohio, of which Judge John Thompson was presiding officer. He arrived at the Salt Works August 11, 1816, accompanied by several attorneys, from Chillicothe, and their clients, for up to that time nearly all the business of the Salt Works was transacted with the outside world through Chillicothe. Among the attorneys were N. K. Clough, Richard. Douglass, and Joseph Sill. Samuel F. Vinton, of Gallipolis, was present also. - 397 - 398 - HANGING ROCK IRON REGION The attendance of country people was very large, practically all the men in the county turning out, for such was the custom on court days-in pioneer times, and this term had the distinction of being the first. It must have been a motley gathering, and it offers a fine subject for the artist who would revive on canvas, one of the gatherings of the pioneers. First were the Salt Boilers, Maj. John James, the Indian fighter, towering in the crowd, David Mitchell, the stalwart blacksmith, John .Martin and the long list of men mentioned elsewhere. There was the picturesque Dr. Gabriel McNeal from Jefferson and Rev. Jacob Delay, another resident minister from: Milton. Mingling with the Salt Boilers were the farmers, from their clearings in the woods, men from North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky in the majority, but with a sprinkling from Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York, and perhaps two or three from far off New England. Of men of foreign birth, there were only a few like the jolly Peter Seel, the. German from Jefferson. Then there was a third class, the squatters, hunters, many of them hermits, the solitary men of the woods, clothed in the skins of wild animals, such as William Hewitt, the two Davis brothers of Rock Run, and others of the same type, strange looking men. The fourth and smallest class were the well dressed men, the judges, attorneys, visiting business men, and a handful of local business men. On the whole it was a homespun crowd, and the like will never be seen in this world again. The crowd thronged the taverns, walked under the trees, for it was midsummer and gathered around the home of Judge William Given .where Judge Thompson was a guest. It was a very warm day, and Judge Thompson concluded that the Given sitting room was too small for the occasion., Accordingly Sheriff Abraham Welch was directed to take a table and chairs out under a spreading oak nearby, where court was opened in due form with Judge John Thompson seated in the center, with his back to the boll of the tree. All were thus enabled to witness the ceremony. Dr. Nathaniel W. Andrews was appointed clerk pro tempore, and the proceedings began in the usual form. The grand jury was called and the following answered to their names : James McDaniel, George Campbell, Samuel Trexler, John McNeal, Robert Ervin, James Higginbotham, William Martin and William Stephenson. The other six not appearing (and how can their absence be accounted for), the sheriff was directed to summon six bystanders. He chose Joseph W. Ross, Joseph Crouch, Joshua Winks, Andrew Donnally, Moses Hale and Jared Strong. The last named was appointed foreman. Joseph Sill of Chillicothe was appointed prosecuting attorney, for there was no attorney living at the Licks. The grand jury then retired some distance and held its sittings under another tree guarded by deputy sheriffs who kept the crowd at the proper ,distance. COURT BUSINESS The next business transacted was the granting of a petition to allow the voters of Scioto to elect "a wise, sensible, prudent and discreet person " a justice of the peace. HANGING ROCK IRON REGION - 399 The first case called was styled, Brown & McCort vs. Peleg Potter : Debt. Richard Douglass appeared as attorney for the plaintiff. Potter was allowed to give bond and, John George was accepted as his surety. Douglass, the attorney to appear in the first case in Jackson County courts, was a native of Connecticut, where he was born in 1775. He came to Ohio in 1809 and located at Chillicothe where he began the practice of law. He was short in stature, but had a large body and thus presented an odd appearance but he was a man of great versatility and much talent. During his long practice he appeared many times in Jackson County courts. He died in 1852. The first administrator appointed was Joseph Crouch to administer "the goods and chattels, rights and credits" of his father, Joseph Crouch, Sr., deceased, of Milton Township. The appraisers were Jacob Delay, James Stephenson and John Brown all of the same township. The first business transacted by the court August 13, 1816, was hearing the petition of Andrew Donnally of Bloomfield Township, for a license to keep a tavern' at the Salt Works. The text of this petition has been preserved and it reads as follows "July 10, 1816. To the Honorable Judges of the Common Pleas Court of Jackson County :, The petition of the undersigners, freeholders of Bloomfield township, humbly represent to your honors, that we conceive a public house of entertainment in Bloomfield township would conduce to the public convenience. Therefore we recommend Andrew Donnally one of the citizens as a man of good character and every way calculated to accommodate the public. We' therefore pray your honors would grant him a license for the purpose and your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. " Donnally was the first signer, and he doubtless wrote the petition, judging from the spelling. The other signers were Judge Poor, Elijah Long, Moses Hale, Andrew Boggs, Samuel McClure, William Stephenson, James Stephenson, Samuel Allison, Reuben Long, Alexander Poor, Joel Long, Christopher Long, Gabriel McNeal, Robert Irwin, John Stephenson, Robert. G. Hanna, Benjamin Long, Azariah Jenkins, George Burris, George Campbell, and Anthony Boggs. The petition was granted but shortly afterward we find that Andrew Donnally was conducting his tavern, not in Bloomfield, but in one of the houses on Poplar Row at the Salt Works. FIRST INDICTMENT The first indictment returned by the grand jury August 13, 1816, was that against Joel Long and John Hale, because "on the first day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixteen with force and arms in Bloomfield, etc., they did agree to box and fight each other at fisticuffs." This fight which occurred on election day at the home of Judge Hugh Poor had started a. riot. Moses Hale, who was a witness was also' a grand 'juror, and Judge Poor was on the bench, hence both young men entered pleas of guilty and each was fined $12 and the - 399 -