HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 675 school has held only two sessions a year, but it is hoped that in the near future it will be continued throughout the year. The object of the school is to afford young men and women an opportunity to acquire a good practical education; and it is especially gratifying to know that it is attended by young people who come with a determination to do honest, thorough work. With increased facilities its future would be exceptionally bright. Many of the best citizens of the town have repeatedly expressed their willingness and desire to contribute liberally toward erecting more suitable buildings; and from present indications they will act upon the conviction that lavish expenditure for educational purposes is wise economy, and thus the school will receive an additional impetus that will send it forward on a career of renewed prosperity and usefulness. BIOGRAPHICAL-JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP. John. J. Davisson, carpenter and builder, was born in Lawrence County, Ohio, Dec. 15, 1830, a son of Abed and Lucretia (Ashley) Davisson. He was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools, and when sixteen years of age began learning the carpenter's trade, at which he served two years. After working one year as a journeyman in Lawrence County, and the same length of time in Vinton County, he came to Jackson County, where he has since worked at his trade. He was married Dee. 29, 1853, to Mary Shore, a native of Pittsburg, Pa. They have had nine children, seven of whom are living—James L., born Oct. 12, 1854; Richard M., born June 5, 1858; John H., Aug. 29, 1859; Mary A., June 5, 1862; Flora A., Feb.12 , 1864; Alfred N., Aug. 27, 1867; William S., born April 22, 1871, and died Oct. 11, 1872; Charles E., born Nov. 9, 1873, and Edna May, born Feb. 15, 1876, and died April 9, 1877. Mr. Davisson is a member of Portland Lodge, No. 366, A. F. & A. M. Thomas P. Davis, miller, was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, in 1836, and came toAmerica in 1840 with his parents, John and Elizabeth. (Phillips) Davis, who settled in Oak Hill, where Mr. Davis died two years later. Our subject lived on the home farm till he grew to manhood, and in 1858 he engaged as engineer at Jefferson Furnace, where he remained till Sept. 1, 1864, when he enlisted in Company C,One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry. He served till the war closed and was honorably discharged June 17, 1865. After his return home he worked at the furnace for seven years, since when he has been engaged in his present business. He was married in March, 1860, to Betsy, daughter of John C. Davis. They have had nine children, of whom seven survive—Elizabeth,. John T., Daniel J., Mary J., Thomas C., Annie and Kate. Ellen and David are deceased. Mr. Davis and wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church, and he is a member of Portland Lodge, No. 366, A. F. & A. M. Thomas G. Davis, a son of David and Jane Davis, was born in Cardigan, South Wales, in May, 1801. He resided on the home farm till he grew to manhood, and in 1837 came to America. He first located in Pittsburg, Pa., where lie clerked for Ladley Coal Company ten years. He then came to Oak Hill and purchased his present farm, containing eighty acres of heavily timbered land. He began to clear his land and by industry has accumulated a good property. When the Jefferson Furnace was being built he donated thirty acres of his land to encourage the enterprise. He was married in 1847 to Kiner Williams, a native of Wales. They were blessed with six children, of whom three are living—Margaret Jane and David. His wife died in 1863. She belonged to the Calvinistic Methodist church. Mr. Davis belongs to the same church. He is now in his eighty-third year and has always enjoyed excellent health, 676 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY having never been sick till over eighty-one years old. Thomas E. Davis, farmer, was born in Cardiganshire, South Wales, Oct. 6, 1839. When he was one and a half years old his parents, Evan 0. and Mary (Jenkins) Davis, emigrated to the United States and settled on a farm in Jefferson Township, where they spent the remainder of their lives. Our subject attended the common schools and completed his education at the Ohio University in Athens. During the civil war he enlisted in the Forty-first Regiment Martial Guards, and served four months. He re-enlisted Sept. 1, 1864, in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, and served till the war closed. He returned home and taught school for nine years. He is at present engaged in farming on section 23, where he has 100 acres of well-improved land. Mr. Davis was married in 1872, to Maggie, daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Edwards. They have had six children-Evan C., born May 28, 1873; Nathaniel E., May 6, 1875; Mary E., July 9, 1877, and died Oct. 3, 1880; Elizabeth, born Feb. 6, 1879, and died Feb. 21, 1879; Lizzie J., Jan. 14, 1880, and Mary Ann, May 3, 1882. Mr. Davis is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He and wife belong to the Calvinistic Methodist church. Stephen J. Davis was born in Cardiganshire, South Wales, Nov. 12, 1838, a son of John W. and Mary Davis. When eleven years of age he came with his father's family to America and settled near Oak Hill, in Jefferson Township, where he was reared on a farm and educated at the common schools. After attaining his majority he worked as engineer at the furnaces for several years. In 1864 he purchased a farm in Allen County, where he resided two years, after which he purchased an interest in a portable saw-mill, which he operated several years. In 1880 he returned to the old homestead, where he is still following the avocatian of a farmer. He was married Nov. 27, 1873, to Mrs. Lizzie (Morgan) Jones. They have one child-Mary C. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church, and he belongs to Portland Lodge, No. 366, A. F. & A. M. John J. Davis, farmer, section 11, is the only son of John C. and Mary C. Davis, who came from Wales in 1837, and in 1844 settled in Jefferson Township. He was born Dec. 13, 1844, in Jefferson Township, where he attended the common-schools and lived with his parents till he grew to manhood, after which he worked at furnaces several years. During the late civil war he enlisted, Sept. 1, 1861, in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry. He served till the close of the Rebellion, and was honorably discharged June 17, 1865. After the war he again worked in furnaces for a time. He was married Nov. 2, 1868, to Mary B. Evans, born in Jackson County, May 21, 1851. They have one child-Mary Ellen, born April 29, 1870. Mr. Davis purchased his present farm in 1880, which contains forty acres of valuable improved land. He and wife belong to the Oak Hill Calvinistic Methodist church. Joel Davis, son of David and Catherine (Evans) Davis, was born in Cardigan, South Wales, Feb. 19, 1825. He came to the Unit- ed States in 1851, and settled in Oak Hill, where he worked at the saddler's trade one year, and when the Cincinnati & Marietta Railroad was being built he worked on that for a time.. He was then in the employ of the Limestone Furnace Company two years, after which he teamed about fifteen years. In 1869 he purchased his present farm, which contains 120 acres of valuable land. He was married Feb. 4, 1858, to Elizabeth Edwards, born April 28, 1832, a daughter of Daniel and Mary Edwards, who came from Wales to Jackson County in an early day. This union was blessed with five children-David Charles, born May 5, 1859; Daniel Baxter, Jan. 7, 1861; Mary Catherine, Feb. 22, 1863; Susan, HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 677 born Jan. 23, 1866, and died March 8, 1866, and Elizabeth Jane, born Dec. 17, 1874. Mr. Davis and his wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church. Evan T. Davis, foreman of the Oak Hill Fire-Brick Company, was born in Wales, Nov. 8, 1841. His parents, Thomas and Mary (Williams) Davis, came to the United States in 1846, and settled on a farm in Jefferson Township, where the subject of this sketch was reared. On attaining his majority he engaged in farming until Sept. 1, 1864, when he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, and served till the close of the war, when he received an honorable discharge. Ile was married March 22, 1866, to Elizabeth Ann Jenkins, born Aug. 15,1846, daughter of David and Ann Jenkins, natives of Wales. They are the parents of seven children-Thomas, born Oct. 29, 1867; David, born March 27, 1870; William L., born June 1, 1872; Evan W., born Oct. 6, 1874; JohnR., born May 24, 1877; Margaret Ann, born Oct. 7, 1879; Mary Ellen, Nov. 15,1881. He and his wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church. Joseph T. Edwards, farmer, was born in Denbighshire, North Wales, May 8,1830, and in 1836 came with his parents, Thomas and Catherine (Williams) Edwards, to the United States. After living in Pittsburg, Pa., six months, they came to Pomeroy, .Ohio, where the father engaged in coal-mining three years, when he came to Jackson County, and followed farming till his death, which occurred in May, 1843. His wife lived till. December, 1865. They were the parents of eight children, all natives of Wales. Our subject engaged in coal-mining at the age of fifteen years which he followed some time, after which lie worked in the rolling mills. He was married in 1857, to Mary Ann Morgan, who was born in Wales, Dec. 25, 1836. Twelve children were born to them-Lizzie J., born Nov. 8; 1857; Kate, Feb. 28, 1859; Thomas Lincoln, March 27, 1861; Mary Ellen, born Jan. 15, 1863, and died Aug. 30, 1863; Mary, May 22, 1864; Maggie, June 1, 1866; Hannah, Sept. 1, 1868, and died June 15, 1870; William, Jan. 7, 1870; Evan Robert, Oct. 24, 1871; John Hugh, Aug. 24, 1873; Ann Edith, Oct. 13, 1876, and David, Dec. 13, 1879. Mr. Edwards has a finely cultivated farm of 120 acres on section 22. He and wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church. David Edwards was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, in 1814, a son of Thomas and Margaret Edwards. His father died when he was seven years old, and in 1835 his mother and her family came to the United States. They remained in New York one year, when they moved to Cleveland, remaining there one yew. They then came to what is now Oak Hill, where David worked at the carpenter's trade, and his brother Thomas, who was born in Cardiganshire in 1818, worked at stone-cutting. By strict economy they saved money, with which they bought 200 acres of unimproved land. They soon purchased a horse-mill, which they ran in connection with their farming pursuits. Their next purchase was a saw and grist mill, which they operated very successfully eight years, when they sold out and, in company with several others, built the Jefferson Furnace. Our subject has retired from active service, but still manages his large farm. His brother Thomas was married June 10, 1860, to Ellen, daughter of David Jones, who came from Wales in 1847. They had four children, of whom only one is living. Thomas Edwards died April 30, 1867. David A. Evans, son of Evan and Ellinor Evans, was born in Monmouthshire, South Wales, about 1829. He came to the United States in 1851 and lived in Richmond, Va., a year, after which he lived in Pittsburg about a year. He then resided in Cincinnati about two years, when hecame to Jackson County. He worked in the rolling mills in the above-named places till he came to Jackson County, 678 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. since which time he has been engaged in farming and has accumulated a good property. His farm contains ninety-one acres of land. He was married Jan. 6, 1851, to Elizabeth Shadrick, who was born in Wales in 1831. They have had twelve children-Jemima, born Oct. 24, 1851; Shadrack, Aug. 6, 1855; John H., Jan. 6, 1858; David S., Oct. 6, 1860; Mary, born March 15, 1863 and died in August, 1864; Phoebe, born Aug. 20, 1865; Evan R., Oct. 31, 1868; Newton, June 6, 1870; Benjamin, born July 20, 1871, and died in infancy; Thomas J., born Aug. 10, 1872; William H., Feb. 6, 1875, and Cora, born May 15, 1876, and died in infancy. Mr. Evans and his wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church. David D. Evans was born in Jefferson Township, Jackson County, Jan. '2, 1838, where he was educated at the com mon schools and completed his education at the Ohio University, at Athens, since which he has been engaged in teaching school, and has taught twenty-seven years. He was elected Magistrate in 1876 and has held the office since by re-election. He was married Sept. 4, 1862, to Winnie A. Hughes, born Oct. 13, 1835, and daughter of John and Ann Hughes, natives of Wales. They have had nine children, of whom six are living-Thomas L., born Jan. 9, 1864; John E., Dec. 10, 1865; Richard G., April 12, 1867; Ann E., July 18, 1869; Jane Alice, March 18, 1875, and Elail Jane, Aug. 29, 1876. Mr. Evans has a fine farm of forty-three acres. He and wile belong to the Welsh Presbyterian church. His father, Thomas Evans, was a native of Wales, and came to America in 1836 and located in Oak Hill, where he followed blacksmithing till his death. Henry Horton, farmer, section 4, Jefferson Township, was born Nov. 19, 1820, in Jackson County. He was married Sept. 9, 1841, to Nancy, daughter of William and Jemima Patton, who were pioneers of Gallia County, Ohio. Mr. Horton followed farming till 1854' after which he engaged in the 'manufacture of lumber for six years. He then returned to the old homestead where he owns 188 acres of well-improved land, and is still engaged in farming pursuits. Mr. and Mrs. Horton are the parents of five children living. Three of their children are deceased. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. John Horton, father of our subject, was born in Greenbrier County, Va., Oct. 14, 1787, of English origin. He served five years in the war of the Revolution. He came to Jackson County in 1811 with his wife, Mary (Radeburg) Horton, and two children, and lived in Madison Township till 1825. He then removed to Jefferson Township and purchased the farm where our subject now lives, where his wife died in August, 1839, at the age of fifty-one years. Of their ten children only three are living. Mr. Horton was again married to Mrs. Sarah Shumate. He died June 6, 1869,and his wife about a year and a half later. John H Horton, son of William and Elizabeth (Gilliland) Horton, was born Jan. 26, 1842, in Jackson County, Ohio. He was reared and educated in the county, and attend. ed school in the first school-house built in District No.5, Jefferson Township. Jan. 1,1863, he was married to Nancy Cummins, who was born in June, 1846, and a daughter of Polina Cummins. They have had three children, two of whom are living-Margaret and Mary E. Milard F. is deceased. Mr. Horton has a fine frame residence and a well cultivated farm of 240 acres on sections 5 and 8, Jefferson Township. In politics he affiliates with the Republican party. Evan E. Hughes, physician and surgeon, was born in Jefferson Township, Jackson Co., Ohio, May 14, 1845. His parents, Evan and Elizabeth (Evans) Hughes, were natives of Wales and came to the United States about 1842 and settled in Jefferson Township, where Mr. Hughes died when our subject was an in- HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 679 fant. His mother married again in about five years and died two and a half years later. Our subject was, after the death of his parents, reared on the farm of his uncle, Thomas C. Jones, and educated at the common school. Sept. 1, 1864, he enlisted in the late war in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, and was honorably discharged June 17, 1865. After his return Ire went to school in Van Wert County, Ohio, a short time, after which he went to Wisconsin, where he attended the Spring Green Academy. In the fall of 1868 he began the study of medicine with Dr. Henry Roether, of Van Wert County, and took his first course of lectures at the Cleveland Medical College in the winters of 1869 and 1870. In the winter of 1871 and 1872 lie attended the lectures at the Cincinnati Medical College, where he graduated March 1, 1872. He then practiced in Meigs County, Ohio, one year, after which he went to Centerville, Ohio, where he remained two and a half years. In March, 1875, he came to Oak Hill, where he has s'ince followed his profession and built up a large practice. He was married Dec. 8, 1880, to Jennie Morris, born March 25, 1853, and daughter of Edward and Mary Morris, natives of Wales. They have been blessed with one son, born June 5, 1883. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church. Thomas J. Hughes, son of John and Ann (Williams) Hughes, was born in Jefferson Township, Jackson County, Sept. 20, 1840. He lived at home till September, 1864, when he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, and served till the close of the war, when he was honorably discharged. He then returned home and engaged in farming, which avocation he still follows. He was married April 23, 1869, to Sarah D. Jones, born in Wales, July 16, 1845, and daughter of David W. and Margaret (Pugh) Jones, who came to America and settled in Jackson County in 1847. Mr. and Mrs. Hughes have had seven children, of whom six are living-Margaret, born Sept. 25, 1870; David, Jan. 31, 1873; Ann, March 23, 1875; John, Feb. 15, 1877; Ellen, Feb. 6, 1879, and Thomas, May 13, 1881. John was born Sept. 11, 1871, and died Sept. 3, 1873. Mr. Hughes and wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church. Mr. Hughes's parents were natives of Wales. They came to the United States and located in Jackson County about 1838. Edward J. Jenkins was born in Cardiganshire, Wales, July 31, 1833, and came with his parents, James and Jane (Jones) Jenkins, to America in 1836. They settled in Jackson County, where Edward was reared on a farm, and has always followed farming pursuits. He lived at home till nineteen years of age, when he was married to Jane Davis, daughter of John C. and Mary Davis. They have had six children, of whom five survive-Jennie E., Mary A., Charles, Jane H . and Maggie. John is deceased. His wife died March 7, 1878, and he was again married July 1, 1880, to Ellen E. Jones, of Gallia County. This union was blessed with two children, of whom one survives-Nellie. Mr. Jenkins has been elected to many local offices by the people. He and his wife belong to the Presbyterian church. Evan N Jones, son of John N. and Ann (Davis) Jones, was born May 8, 1829, in Cardiganshire, Wales. He came with his father's family to America in 1840. They first lived in Pittsburg, Pa., two years, after which they resided in Gallia County five years, and from there moved to Lawrence County. He was married Nov. 1, 1854, to Elizabeth Griffiths, a native of Cardiganshire, Wales. They have had eight children born to them, six still living-John, born Aug. 14, 1855; Thomas, Aug. 28, 1858; Ann, Oct. 28, 1860; Mary, June 6, 1865; David, June 26, 1867; William, Dec. 11, 1870. After his marriage he worked in the furnace till 680 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. 1868, when he came to Jackson County and purchased the farm where he still resides, on section 26. The farm contains 140 acres of well improved land. He and his wife belong to the Calvinistic Methodist church. John Davies Jones was born in Madison Township, Jackson County, Oct. 24, 1841. He enlisted in the late war in October, 1862, in Company IT, One Hundred and Seventeenth Ohio Infantry, but was soon transferred to Company H, First Ohio Heavy Artillery. He served three years and was honorably discharged in August, 1865. After his return to Jackson County he followed teaming for five years, since which he has been engaged in the manufacture of fire brick as foreman for the AEtna Fire-Brick Company at Oak Hill. Since he was fifteen years of age he has been leader of the choir in the Congregational church; and his son, Daniel E., aged fourteen years, presides at the organ in the same church. He was first married to Mary Morgan in 1866, by whom he had seven children, of whom four are living. His present wife was Lizzie Evans before her marriage. They have one child. Eben Jones was born in Cardiganshire, South Wales, Jan. 14, 1834, a son of Thomas T. Jones, of Jefferson Township. In 1837 his parents came to America and settled in Jackson County, Ohio. When he was eighteen years of age he entered the Ohio University at Athens, remaining there two years. He afterward attended Bartlett's Commercial College, at Cincinnati, from which he graduated in 1857. That same year he began teaching, and taught six years. In August, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, and was appointed First Lieutenant, serving eleven months. On his return home in 1865, he engaged in saw-milling. In 1867 he became a stockholder in the Buckeye Furnace and served as its Secretary till March, 1873. In the spring of .1873 he was employed to superin tend the building of the Triumph Furnace, but on account of the inferiority of the coal the furnace was abandoned. Dec. 1, 1873, he became a stockholder in the Globe Iron Company, and was its Secretary till Jan. 1, 1882, when he resigned to assume the management and superintendency of the Buckeye Furnace Company, but in May, 1883, he was obliged to resign on account of ill health. Mr. Jones was instrumental in having a railroad built to the Buckeye Furnace, thereby increasing its value. He has for many years taught vocal music, and is now chorister of the Presbyterian church, of which he is a member. Politically he is a Republican. He was married in 1857 to Ann,daughter of Morgan Williams, of Columbus, Ohio. Of ten children born to them but seven are now living. Thomas Morgan, farmer, was born Sept. 8, 1820, in Llancwulle, Cardiganshire, South Wales, where he attended school two years. His early life was passed in farming. His parents, Moses and Elizabeth (Evans) Morgan, were natives of Wales, and emigrated from Cardiganshire in 1838 and settled in Pomeroy, Ohio. In one year they removed to Jackson County, where they died, the former Jan. 20, 1861, and the latter in 1847. They were the parents of nine children. Our subject was apprenticed to learn the stone-mason's trade under Thomas Price. He helped build the Buena Vista Furnace in Kentucky, Buckeye, Jefferson and Bloom furnaces in the Scioto Valley. He was married in April, 1851, at Portsmouth, Ohio, to MaryWilliams, who emigrated from Llangeitho, Cardiganshire, South Wales, in 1847. They have had eight children—Elizabeth, Stephen, Moses, Ann and David (twins), William, Mary Jane and Thomas Charles (twins). David died at the age of two years and Thomas Charles at the age of nine years. Mr. Morgan settled in Jefferson Township, Jackson County, in 1850. He has worked at his trade occasionally, but has made farming his principal occupation through life. He has HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 681 held the office of Township Trustee ten years. He is a member of the Patrons of Husbandry and belongs to the Calvinistic Methodist church. In politics he was formerly a Whig, and cast his first vote for Henry Clay, but since the organization of the Republican party has voted that ticket. Mr. Morgan has been a great reader through life, a good citizen and a consistent Christian. John Phillips, eldest son of Joseph and Mary (Mackley) Phillips, was born Nov. 24, 1823, in Jefferson Township, Jackson County. His youth was spent in assisting his father on the farm and in attending the subscription schools. He was married Sept. 10, 1845, to Mary Delaney, who died June 13,1874, in her forty-ninth year. They were the parents of seven children-William, born Aug. 2, 1847; A. G. Thurman, born .Tan. 19, 1849, and died Feb. 1, 1880; Mary J., Jan. 19, 1851, and died Aug. 5, 1872; Josephus, born March 10, 1853, and died Feb. 2, 1876; Octavia, born Feb. 28, 1856, and died in 1859; Minerva A., April 13, 1858, and Samilda Sept. 19, 1861. Mr, Phillips was again married April 5, 1877, to Mrs. Lizzie Nichols, a native of Virginia. He has a well-improved farm of eighty acres in section 25, and has made farming his principal business through life. He enlisted in the late war in Company 0, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, and served till the war closed. His second son, Thurman, enlisted at the age of sixteen, and served through the war. He participated in twenty-nine hard-fought battles and was wounded at the battle of Petersburg, which unfitted him for further active duty, although he still remained in the army. Joseph Phillips, farmer, section 24, Jefferson Township, was born in Jefferson Township, Jackson County, Aug. 15, 1846. He was educated at the common schools and reared on the home farm, and since the death of his father has managed the homestead. His father, Joseph Phillips, Sr., was born in Kanawha County, W. Va., Oct. 5, 1801, and in 1817 came to Jefferson Township, Jackson Co., Ohio. He was married March 25, 1821, to Mary Mackley, our subject's mother, and settled on the farm where he spent the rest of his life. They were the parents of nine children. His wife died March 16, 1852, and he was again married Jan. 13, 1853, to Mary Allen, ' a native of Jackson County. This union was blessed .with four children. Joseph Phillips, Sr., died Feb. 22, 1876. Milton Phillips, son of Joseph and Mary (Mackley) Phillips, was born July 17, 1840, in Jefferson Township, Jackson County. He lived with his parents till the breaking out of the late war, when he enlisted, Aug. 5, 1861, in Company D, Thirty-sixth Ohio Infantry. He was engaged in several skirmishes h. West Virginia, and while at the battle of Louisburg, May 23, 1862, was shot through the right lung, from the effects of which he has never fully recovered. He was honorably discharged in November, 1862. He was married in September, 1870, to Jennie Tyler, a native of Jackson County, by whom he had two children who died in infancy. Mrs. Phillips died in August, 1873, and he was again married, March 22, 1877, to Elizabeth Overton, a native of Kentucky. The union has been blessed with one child--John G., born March 30, 1878. Mr. Phillips is engaged in farming on part of the old. homestead, where he owns seventy-nine acres of improved land. He and wife are members of the United Brethren church. John Shumate, son of Harrison and Sabinah (Buckley) Shumate, was born June 11, 1839, in Jefferson Township, Jackson County. He lived on the farm with his parents till manhood, and attended the common schools, and June 2, 1861, he married Jane, daughter of Amos Jenkins, of Jackson County. They are the parents of ten children-Eva, Sabinah, Elfie, Jennie H., William J., Flora, Mary D., Roy E. and Ross E. He resides on a part of 682 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. the old homestead which he owns in connection with his brother. William Shumate, farmer, section 1, was born in Jefferson Township, Jackson County, July 30, 1844, a son of Harrison and Sabinah (Buckley) Shumate. When seventeen years of age he enlisted, Sept. 7, 1861, in Company D, Thirty-sixth Ohio Infantry. He participated in many of the hard-fought battles of the war, and was discharged Aug. 2, 1865. He then returned home and has since been engaged in farming. He resides on the old homestead which lie and his brother John own and which consists of 364 acres of valuable land. He was married May 29, 1867, to Emma Johnson, of Jackson County. This union has been blessed with seven children-John, Herbert, Bertman, Charles, Nellie, Nora and an infant. Mrs. Shumate is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. John, W. Thomas, deceased, son of William Thomas, was a native of Wales, born Sept. 30, 1814. When a young man he emigrated to America, and worked in the rolling mills in several of the largest cities in the United States previous to his coming to Jackson County. He worked in the rolling mills at Portsmouth several years, when he was married to Mary Owens, daughter of John Owens, who died in Jefferson Township, June 6, 1883, aged eighty-four years. They were the parents of nine children, three of whom died in childhood. Those living are-Mary Ann, William, Margaret Jane, Sarah E., John 0. and Susie. After his marriage Mr. Thomas came to Oak Hill, where he purchased the farm on which his children now reside. After farming a few years lie was chosen Financial Agent for the Cambria Furnace, which position he held for twenty-two years, after which lie retired to his farm where he lived till his death, which occurred May 25, 1882. David D. Williams, miller, was born in Wales, April 14, 1833, a son of David L. and Margaret (Philips) Williams, who came to the United States in 1841, and settled in Oak Hill, where they passed the remainder of their days. Our subject was reared on a farm and attended the common schools, and on reaching the age of manhood engaged in mining, which he followed twenty years. Sept. 1, 1864, he enlisted in Company C, One Hundred and Seventy-ninth Ohio- Infantry, and served till the war closed. He was mustered out June 17, 1865, after which he was engineer at the Jefferson Furnace until 1871. He then, in partnership with Thomas P. Davis, purchased the flouring mill at Oak Hill. He was married June 20, 1855,; to Ann C., daughter of John C. and Mary (Lloyd) Davis. Twelve children have been born to them-Mary Alice, born Dec. 31, 1856; Daniel D., April 14, 1859; Margaret J., June 12, 1861; John D., Sept. 16, 1863; Edwin D., April 14, 1866; Thomas L., born June 17, 1868 ; Caynor Ann, Jan. 31, 1870; Ettie E., Oct. 13, 1872; David N., Oct. 16, 1874; Lewis W., April 4, 1876; Laura IC, Sept. 9, 1878, and Evert B., June 15, 1880. Mr. Williams and wife are members of the Calvinistic Methodist church. MADISON TOWNSHIP. Levi Brown, farmer and stock-dealer, was born in Marion Township, Pike Co., Ohio, Jan. 7, 1838, a son of David and Lavina (Pool) Brown. When eighteen years of age, in company with a Mr. Calder, he erected the grist-mill now owned by John B. Brown, in Pike County. He followed milling three years and then purchased a farm which is a part of his present estate. He now owns 300 acres of fine improved land. He was married Dec. 1, 1859, to Ruhima, daughter of William and Abigail Stockham, who have for many years been prominent citizens of Pike County. They have a family of nine children, four sons and five daughters. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are both members of the Baptist church. Timothy Evans was born in Madison HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 683 Township, Jackson County, July 17, 1821, a son of John and Mary (Jones) Evans, who came from Wales in 1818 and settled on the farm where our subject now lives. He was educated at the subscription schools, and was married in 1857 to Margaret, a daughter of John and Mary (Evans) Owens, who were natives of Wales. They have had a family of nine children—Mary E., John O., Robert B., Sarah E , Gomer, Susannah, George W., and two who died ,in infancy. Mr. Evans has always followed farming, and now owns 500 acres of valuable land. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Captain W. J. Evans was born in Pittsburg, Pa., Feb. 18, 1821, the youngest of seven children of Daniel and Mary (Evans) Evans, natives of South Wales. His parents were married in Wales, and came to America in 1810, locating in Pittsburg, where his father died in 1830. Four of their children died in infancy. David died in Jackson County in 1872, and John is a resident of Pittsburg. W. J. came with his mother to Jackson County in 1835. She bought some land and he assisted in clearing it up. His education was necessarily limited, as from an early age he had been obliged to work. His mother died in March, 1864. In 1846 he married Jane A. Frazee. Of their eight children five are now living. In 1862 he raised Company H, One Hundred and Seventeenth Ohio Infantry, and was appointed its Captain. In the latter part of 1863 the regiment was changed to heavy artillery. In the fall of that year he was detached, and was Provost-Marshal at Loudon, Tenn., seven months; from there he went to Cleveland, Tenn. Ile returned home in the fall of 1865 and resumed farming. His farm is underlaid with coal, ore and limestone. lie has six drift-mines of ore and one coal drift open. His limestone is blue and of a good quality. The fire-clay is of a superior quality. Politically Captain Evans was first a Whig but is now a Republican. In the fall of 1853 he was elected to the State Legislature. He served as Justice several years until he refused further service. Daniel and James Herbert.—The subjects of this sketch own one of the largest and most fertile farms in Madison Township, and are representatives of a family whose history is closely connected with that of the early settlement and subsequent development of the southwestern part of Jackson County. Their father, John Herbert, who died in 1881, was an important factor in the progress of this section, and a few items of his personal history as related to that progress may be interesting to the local historian and valuable for future reference. Mr. Herbert was the son of James and Mary Herbert, of Cardiganshire, South Wales. In 1825 he married Jane Jones, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Jones, of the same county. In 1838 they emigrated to this country with five children—Elizabeth, Thomas, Daniel, John and Mary, and arriving here in May of the same year they located in Jefferson Township, about five miles to the southwest of Oak Hill, near the present site of Samsonville. This section was then one dense primeval forest, with here and there a small cleared space with a log but in its center, showing that the initiatory rites of a future civilization had already been performed. In the midst of this wilderness a tract of land was bought from the Government, a log cabin was built and the battle of life began anew. By the aid of the ax and a couple of borrowed mattocks a space of ground was cleared, the soil prepared and fine crops of corn and wheat soon rewarded the toil and cheered the hearts of the brave pioneers. Thus in a new country, suffering the usual privations of pioneers and contending with a host of difficulties, John Herbert laid the foundation of a long and prosperous career. Here were born the remaining children, James, Ann and Jane. Mr. Herbert, by habits of industry and economy, 684 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. rapidly thrived and accumulated considerable wealth. In 1854 he removed to the present homestead, three miles to the south of Oak Hill, on the recently completed T., C. & St. L. R R, where the family has since resided. The name of John Herbert throughout the southern part of Jackson County was the synonym of industry and whole-souled integrity. A conscientious adherent of the Calvinistic Methodist denomination, he was yet noted for his liberal ideas and his toleration of those Whose views dif fered from his own. He was instrumental in establishing Sabbath-schools and churches in the neighborhood of his home, and prominently identified himself with all worthy movements of a religious nature. Elizabeth, the eldest of the children, was married to E. Phillips, and is now living in Gallia County. Thomas, the eldest son, married Elizabeth Davies, of Jefferson Township, and located in Gallia County. He died in 1869, and his widow with her four sons now resides at Oak Hill. John married Elizabeth Morris, of Oak Hill. He died in February, 1861, and his wife died in September of the same year. They left one daughter, Mary, who also died in 1882. Mary was married to Daniel Edwards, and lives in Madison Township ; Ann married David E. Morgan, and lives in Gallia County, and Jane married John F. Morgan, and lives in Portsmouth, Ohio. Mrs. Herbert resides on the homestead with her sons, Daniel and James. Both of these sons are still unmarried. They are well known as intelligent and wide-awake citizens, and rank among the most thrifty and wealthy farmers in the county; they are also proprietors of extensive landed estates in the West. They have frequently filled positions of honor and trust in the township in which they reside, and were it not for their characteristic indifference to political honors both might have occupied public positions of trust and emolument. John J. Jones, agent for the Etna Fire-Brick Company, Oak Hill, was born in Cardiganshire, South Wales, in 1826, and came with his father's family to the United States in 1838. They settled in Gallia County, where he attended the common schools, and lived on the home farm till twenty-six years of age. He was married March 25, 1852, to Nancy Thomas, a native of Wales. They had a family of six children, of whom only three are now living. In 1853 lie came to Oak Hill and engaged in the mercantile business which he followed successfully for twenty-four years. He was appointed to his present position in 1873, 'and carried on his mercantile trade in connection with it till 1876, since which he has devoted his entire time to the Brick Company. He still retains a half interest in the establishment of Parry, Warren & Cu. He served as Magistrate for six years, and has held many local offices of trust. He and wife are members of the Congregational church, of which he holds the position of Deacon, and is also Clerk. His residence is in Madison Township. Lakin J. Kirkpatrick, farmer, was born in Madison Township, Scioto Co., Ohio, April 3, 1841, a son of John H. and Harriet S. (Beauchamp) Kirkpatrick. Nov. 1, 1861, he enlisted in Company F, Fifty-third Ohio Infantry, re-enlisting at the expiration of his term and serving till the close of the war. He was discharged Aug. 12, 1865, having seen much active service, and participated in many hard-fought battles. He was wounded at the battle of Resaca, Ga., May 13, 1864, and was left Q n the field for dead; he would probably have been buried had it not been nearly night. On their return to the field it was found that lie was alive, and the proper restoratives were applied. He afterward saw hard service as a soldier. Sept. 14, 1865, he married Ruhama James, of Pike County. To them were born two children. His wife died Oct. 14, 1874, and Oct. 23, 1875, lie married F. Butchen, of Pike County. They have two children. Mr. Kirkpatrick has a fine farm of HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 685 150 acres. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a member of the Grand Army of the Republic. Aaron McLaughlin was born Aug. 15, 1818, in Chickamauga, near Gallipolis, Ohio, his parents having emigrated from Greenbrier County, Va. He was taken in charge by the Overseers of the Poor, having lost his parents at the age of three years, and in his fifth year was bound is Jacob Moler, of Madison Township, Jackson County. His early education was very limited, there being no public schools at the time, learning his alphabet at the age of thirteen, the school term being limited to three months each year, and up to his twenty-first year being obliged to labor on the farm; his school-days did not exceed ten -months. After serving on the farm until he was twenty-one years old, he then was engaged fora time in school teaching, but soon after, leasing a farm, he has ever since been engaged in that business, at present owning a fine farm of 200 acres of improved land. He was first married Sept. 1, 1841, to Highley Ann Corn, a native of Jackson County. They had eleven children, eight of whom survive. His wife died March 27, 1863, and he was again married Nov. 24, 1864, to Sarah Swanson, a native of Gallia County, Ohio, by whom he -had two children, one still living—Oscar. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and in politics he is a Democrat. The subject of this sketch is a true type of the Anglo-Saxon race; with him honesty is esteemed the prince of virtues. It is worthy of remark for the benefit of the young that through all the eventful years of his life he never was prosecuted in a court of justice for in offense against his fellow-man. Anthony Smith, was born in Jackson County, Ohio, April 24, 1840, a son of Robert Smith, now a resident of Pike County. He was reared and educated in his native county. In September, 1863, he enlisted in Company K, Seventy-Eighth Ohio Infantry. In the latter part of the same month he participated in the battle at Murfreesboro, Tenn. From there lie went to Atlanta, Ga.; thence to Savannah, Beaufort Island, Pocatalico Station, and Columbia, S. C. He assisted in the liberation of the prisoners at Andersonville. At Orangeburg, S. C., he received a severe wound in the right leg by charging a field-piece. He was discharged in 1865 and returned home, and has since been engaged in burning charcoal. He married Tryphenia Shepard. They have a family of five children. HAMILTON TOWNSHIP. This is the most western of the southern row of townships in Jackson County, but does not extend to the western limit. It is only a partial township, being the eastern two-thirds of township 5, range 19, and is consequently rectangular in shape, four miles wide and six .miles long from north to south. At the session of the county commissioners in December, 1825, a petition, which was granted, was received from the inhabitants of the present township of Hamilton asking for a township, described in about the following language : "Beginning at the northeast corner of section 1, township 5, range 19, running south along the township line to the southeast corner of section 36, of said township; thence west along the county line, .between Jackson and Scioto counties, to the southwest corner of section 33; thence north to the northwest corner of section 4; thence east to the place of beginning." The township has always remained as thus described. At the time of its formation there were only about twelve voters in the township; there are now about 150. The first officers were: Trustees, Samuel Gilliland, John Canter and John Cantwell; Treasurer, John Walls; Clerk,- Solomon Dever. Since 1840 the population for each decade is as follows: In 1840, 415; in 1850, 665; in 1860, 923; in 1870, 1,108; in 1880, 819. 686 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. The occupation of the people is mainly farming and grazing, although the surface is too rough to be favorable to the farmer. SETTLEMENT. The farm now owned by Franklin Dever was, it is said, settled temporarily in about 1300 and was permanently settled by his father, Solomon Dever, in the year 1816. This was probably the first- settlement in the township. Solomon Dever, Jr., now eighty-seven years of age, is the oldest representative of this family, and the oldest surviving pioneer of the township. He was born in Hampshire County, Va., in December, 1796, and came with his fathTowalmostinto what is now Hamilton Towalmostin 1816: They came into the alino4t unbroken wilderness, settled on the old farm when the woods were full of wolves and other wild beasts, requiring the protection of stock by shelter in the night. Solomon Dever has been married over sixty-two years, and has a ,child over sixty. He was the first Clerk of the township, and has all his life been a prominent citizen. Other surviving pioneers of the township are: Samuel Stephenson, Thomas Lyons, Jackson Gilliland, William Parker and others. The topography of this township is similar to that of the most of the county, very hilly and marked by numerous small water-courses. The hills contain coal, iron ore and fire-clay, besides a strata of excellent building shas. The north end of the township ha's the Jackson shaft coal which comes to the surface near the middle of the township. The quality is about equal to, but the vein is thinner than where it is worked further north in the county. Two veins extend through the hills - of the entire township, twelve and thirty inches in thickness, but the coal is inferior in quality. Excellent fire-clay is found in many of the hills, some of which are worked extensively. From the hills in the southern part of the township considerable iron ore has been taken. Jackson Furnace was located near the southern border. Most of the land in the two southern rows of sections is held in large bodies, bought for mining purposes, and consequently thinly settled. SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES. Hamilton has 303 pupils of school age and five schools. In 1882 the entire enrollment only reached 223 with an average attendance of 126. The average salary paid to teachers is $33.33 a month. The Hamilton Christian Church was established in about 1821, by the Rev. Mr. Summerbell. This society, the first in the township, struggled for many years with but a meager existence, meeting in dwellings and school-houses. Their present church, the only one ever owned by the society, was built in 1871, costing about $1,000. The society has now grown to 100 members. The church has a flourishing Sabbath-school. Pleasant Hill Methodist Protestant Church was organized in 1850, by Rev. William Hatfield, pastor. There were fifty-six organizing members who met for a time in the residence of James Davis. The first church was a log building, built in 186. The Trustees were J. R. Hunter, James Davis, William Parks, John Cool and Solomon Norris. The new church was built in 1875 at a cost of about $1,600, and was furnished at a cost of $100. The entire church property is estimated at $2,000. At the time the new church was built, Rev. E. Looman was the pastor and James Davis, J. R. Hunter, N. D. Parks, William Parks and John Pierce, Trustees. The present membership is about 120. PreachingWm.had every two weeks by the Rev. Win. Hollingshead, present pastor. The church has a flourishing Sabbath-school, superintended by C. Weed. St. John's Lutheran Church, was founded in 1851 by the Rev. Mr. Hatfield. In 1878 the present church building was constructed, HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 687 costing nearly $2,000. The society at present comprises about 100 members. POSTOFFICE. Almost in the center of the township is the only store and postoffice, called Mabee's P. O. A grist-mill is located here also, and with the few other houses a scanty village is formed. Jackson Furnace, in the southern part of the township, was in operation from 1838 until 1874. BOUNDS, VALUATION, ETC. The township is bounded on the north by Scioto Township; east by Jefferson Township, and south and west by Scioto County. It has a landed area of 15,360 acres, of which the assessor returns 15,187 acres. The valuation in 1882 on real estate was $92,507; chattel property, $36,279; total, $128,786. BIOGRAPHICAL. Harrison Canter was born Aug. 25, 1833, a son of Henry. and Malinda Canter, the former being a native of Virginia, and the latter born Dec. 25, 1808, in Woodford County, Ky. Henry Canter came to Lawrence County, Ohio, in an early day, where he lived till his death, June 17, 1856. Our subject spent his youth in helping his father on the farm and in attending the common schools, where he obtained a fair education. He was married Feb. 3, 1859, to Hannah, daughter of John and Eliza Keller, who are yet living in Jackson County. They have had nine children—Amanda (deceased), David F., Ermilda, John W., Henry, Lizzie, George W., Martha J. and Thomas M. Mr. Canter has followed farming through life, and now owns 164 acres of land in Hamilton Township, which is underlaid with three veins of fine coal, ranging from fourteen to thirty-six inches in thickness, and has also a good vein of iron ore. Mr. Canter has acted as Justice of the Peace for six consecutive years, and in 1874 was elected Township Treasurer. Jackson Gilliland, son of Samuel and Sarah Gilliland, was born Dec. 22, 1829, on the farm where he now resides. His father settled on the home farm in Jackson County, Nov. 2, 1815, which he converted from a wilderness to a good farm, and where he spent the rest of his life. His death occurred Jan. 25. 1852, at the age of sixty-four years. Our subject attended the common schools till he was fourteen years old. At the age of twenty-two years he took charge of his father's farm, which he now owns. He has 444 acres of land which is underlaid with several veins of coal and iron ore. In 1861 he became a partner in the Jackson Furnace, which he operated very successfully for three years, since which he has been engaged in farming and stock raising, and is one of the largest stock dealers in the township. He was married Nov. 14, 1865, to Jennie, daughter of Samuel and Jennie Baker, of Jackson, Ohio. They have three children—Samuel B., Cranson E. and Oscar C. Mr. Baker, father of Mrs. Gilliland, was an officer in the war of 1812, and during Jackson's administration was a clerk in the auditor's department. He is yet living in the town of Jackson, aged ninety-two years. Vinton, McCoy was born July 18, 1835, on the old home farm, where he now resides, and is a son of Michael and Elizabeth McCoy, who lived in Jackson County. The father was born May 22, 1800, and died Nov. 8, 1869. Vinton was reared on the farm and attended school till he was twenty years of age when he began teaching and followed that profession six or eight years. In 1863 he eras chosen First Lieutenant of a company raised in the neighborhood for the purpose of protecting the homes. All of the company were captured by Morgan, but were soon liberated. He also served as enrolling officer during a part of the war. He was also ap- 688 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. pointed Postmaster at Mabee's during the war, which position he held several years. Mr. McCoy was married Jan. 25, 1857, to Louisa J., daughter of Daniel and Louisa Foster, by whom lie had five children—Louisa E., William J., John W., Elmira F. and D. V. F. Mrs. McCoy died April 13, 1868, and he was again married July 18, 1872, to Hester L., daughter of Amos and Hester Jenkins. Five children have been born to them, four now living—Warren E., Everet W., Nettie E. E. and Jessie M. M. Mr. McCoy has a good vein of coal on his farm. He has been engaged in the saw-milling business for many years, and still follows that occupation. He is also engaged in farming. His Grandfather McCoy came from Ireland and settled on the Ohio River near Millersport, Lawrence Co., Ohio, in an early day. Samuel Stephenson was born Dec. 31, 1799, in Monroe County, Va., and is a son of James and Margaret (Smith) Stephenson, who were also natives of Virginia. In 1819 the family moved to Ohio, settling near the cross roads on Symmes Creek, where his parents spent the rest of their lives. His father died Feb. 7, 1846, aged eighty years. Samuel had his name enrolled as a soldier in the war of 1812, but was rejected on account of his age. He was married Jan. 15, 1824, to Martha McClure. They had eight children, four now living—James, Nancy (wife of Reuben Slavens), Washington and Harrison. Those deceased are—Samuel, Jacob, Smith and Charles. The two last mentioned died in defending their country. Mr. Stephenson has a splendid farm, on which is found a fine quality of iron ore and several veins of good coal. PIKE COUNTY. CHAPTER XXXIII. THE HISTORY OF PIKE COUNTY-ITS PHYSICAL FEATURES-ITS SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION. THE DAWN OF CIVILIZATION. In 1796, when what is now Pike County was settled, it was a part of Washington County, and also of a territory, west of the Scioto River and east of the Little Miami, which was the east boundary line of Hamilton County, and was not yet organized. While hunters and trappers had hunted through the territory and taken their chances with the Indians for many years previous, and the river leading to their chief village,some twenty miles distant, had been traversed by the canoes of the Indian and the hunter, yet as the abode of a permanent settler it dates no further back than early in the above year. A settlement was then made in the vicinity of Piketon, or where Piketon was .afterward located. This spot was called the Pee Pee prairie, and the settlers were three brothers—Arthur, John and Abraham Chenoweth, from the western part of Virginia,and John Noland, of Pennsylvania. This was but the nucleus of quite a settlement which followed. Even these settlers were preceded by some persons under the conduct of Messrs. Kenton and Miller, from Mason County, Ky., who came through the county the year previous on a prospecting tour. They stopped on what has since been called " Miller's Bank." The - 44 - American, Pioneer gave an account of the origin of the name in substance: About the year. 1795 two parties from Mason County, Ky., conducted by Kenton and Miller, arrived at where Piketon is now situated. Mr. Miller, in charge of the company, had a dispute with a man by the name of Owens, in Kenton's company, about the right to settle on the spot. This quarrel resulted in the death of Miller and his burial on the bank, which took the name of " Miller's Bank." The county east of the Scioto River was at that time in Washington County, the Scioto River being its west line. Below this spot and not far from the river in early days were found ancient works of parallel walls of earth, about 100 feet apart, the walls being nearly fifteen feet high. This place, as there were other evidences of civilization found, was undoubtedly the location of a French trading post. They had been in the country as Indian traders for nearly three-quarters of a century at that date. Lewis Evans published a map of the Central British Colonies in 1755, and at that time gave the place the name of of " Hurricane Toms." The parallel walls were evidently put up by the French traders to guard against surprise before becoming on friendly terms with the then possessors of the country. However, a half century later left - 689 - 690 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. little of "Hurricane Toms " but these walls, and they were not a very definite memento of the past. In 1800 some thirty cabins were found erected up and down the river Scioto within the limits of Pike County, and quite a large immigration came from Pennsylvania of German extraction. EARLY SETTLERS. Immigrants began to arrive soon after and the Chenoweths and Noland did not remain masters of the wilderness long. Since writing the history of Scioto County it has been ascertained that Hezekiah Merritt was really the first settler of Scioto County, and in 1815 the part of the county where he lived was a portion of the new county, Pike. The following is an interview with John Merritt, son of Hezekiah, in 1870, in relation to his father's family : " In 1795 they left Pennsylvania to seek a home for themselves and little ones in the great and unexplored West, and came to Manchester, Adams Co., Ohio, bringing with them five children, of whom I was the eldest. It was immediately after Wayne's treaty with the Indians. They came via the Ohio River. On arriving at Manchester my father met two of his brothers, who told him that he had passed as good land as he could find below. Colonel Nathaniel Massie was then organizing a party to go to Chillicothe to lay out that town, and the three brothers went with it. When they had reached Paint Creek they were attacked by a party of unfriendly Indians, who killed one of the men. One Sticklett, who was a prisoner with the Indians, came over to the Massie party, which turned back to Manchester. After a while my father, in company with two other men, went up the Ohio and Scioto rivers, on an exploring expedition, and were so well pleased with the lay of the land in and about where Lucasville now is, that they were induced to make a lodgment there. My father came back to Manchester and took his family up to where Lucasville is, and landed on the twenty-fourth day of December, 1795, —the day before Christmas. I claim that my father was the first white man who settled on the Scioto River, along its whole length." " Will you now inform us what was your father's next procedure, and how the earliest settlers contrived to live ?' " My father made a camp, and the next spring erected a log cabin. He put in several acres of corn, for which lie had to go to Limestone (now Maysville) for the seed. My mother was a good gardener, and our family fared better than most of the early settlers on this account. We had to grind our corn in a hand-mill. The only food raised by most settlers at first was corn, and for the remainder of their subsistence they depended upon wild game, of which there was an abundance. Sometimes this was their only dependence." " Did you not have a cow ?" " Yes, but she died on the way to our new home on the Scioto. My father was a millwright, and had built a horse-mill at Manchester, and went back to dispose of it, which he did for a cow, which gave us milk for a couple of years, when my father was forced to kill her to keep his family from starving. She produced sixty pounds of tallow, though she had had but two feedings of corn, and she stole them. Then we were without a cow, but families had begun to come in pretty thickly, and my father built afloating mill for grinding corn. It was a rude structure, but answered a purpose. This mill gave him some advantage, as the settlers brought their corn to be ground, and with the toll he was enabled to buy another cow, after which we never suffered for want of one. My father's family, in the meantime, was increasing, and I was growing up to manhood. Six children my mother bore him in Ohio. Andrew, Moses and myself still live, certainly; and Heze- HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 691 kiah, who was in the late war, may possibly be alive, though I am not able to say, for we never knew what became of him. I lived with and labored for my father till I married, and obeyed him as I did when a child, for I felt it to be my duty to do so. My father lived seven years on the land near Lucasville." Probably the very next settler in the county was Jno. Kincaid, who. settled at the Big Springs, now marked as Kincaid Spring. He settled there in 1797, and was at the time the first pioneer of all that country and township. But, like the Chenoweths, he was not monarch of all he surveyed long, for the next year or two came Jno. Parker, Ezekiel Moore and son Joseph, Geo. and Isaac Peniston, who all settled in that part of the county. Then, to the Chenoweth settlement, came Snowden Sargent in 1797, and Jas. Sappington came with him. They arrived at their location the first week in April, 1797. Wm. Beekman settled over on Grassy Fork of Sunfish, in Mifflin Township, .in the spring of 1801, about one mile from Latham. Daniel Daily came also in 1801 and settled on part of what is now known as the Vanmeter farm, in Seal Township. He married Susannah Wynn in 1802, and died in 1862, in the eighty-fourth year of his age. His son, Wm. Daily, was born Oct. 3, 1808. Presley Boydston was another of the early pioneers, and came in the spring of 1799. He located and purchased 1,400 acres of land in Scioto Township and afterward sold 200 acres to Thornton W. Sargent, son of Snowden,and the remaining 1,200 he retained, dividing it among his children, the largest part going to Elizabeth, who married Jno. Barnes, he making it his home with them after the death of his wife. John Barnes and wife were married before they came and had four children—John, James, Allen and William. Old John Barnes died about the year 1812. He came in 1801, and purchased land in the Pee Pee Township, a part of which is in the present limits of Waverly. The Wynns were another family of pioneers, who left their impress upon the stage of events. William S. D. Wynn came in 1801, and his son, William S. Wynn, was then six years old, having been born Oct. 22, 1795. The old man was a Justice of the Peace of Seal Township in 1835, and was in the war of 1812. In a sketch of the life of William S., which he gave in 1868, he said: "My father moved into Pike County in the round year of 1800, when there were but very few people in it. There were' not then much more than half a dozen family names, among whom were the Chenoweths, Sargents, Mustards, Barneses, Guthries, Noland and Rod-. erick. If there were any more they have escaped my memory." The Wynns settled below Piketon. Near them, and the same year, Patrick Johnson settled on the river, and John Barnes was a neighbor and located above him. The Vanmeter farm is a part of the Wynn homestead. John Satterfield came in 1802, and became a soldier in the war of 1812. His wife lived to the remarkable age of over 100 years, a hale, hearty woman and of great memory. She did not know the year she was born, and the family Bible was with some of the other children, but thinks it was in 1771, and it could not have been later than 1774, for she remembered several incidents in the Revolutionary war. She died in the winter of 1874–'5. Rev. William Talbott, of the Methodist Episcopal church, made his home in Pike County in the spring of 1799. His son, Benjamin Talbott, from whom a sketch was received a few years since, was born in the county, or what afterward became Pike County, May 4, 1810. There were none of the early pioneers who left a greater impression 692 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. upon the times than Colonel John Guthery, who came to this country in 1798. He had a family of twelve children, eight sons and four daughters, and purchased the ground upon which Piketon stands, and fully a mile down the river, and then east toward Beaver. He had been a Colonel in the Revolutionary war and was a man of fine presence and good ability. He became prominent in county affairs for many years. His sons at the time of the organization of the county were grown, and all more or less prominent in county affairs. Two daughters, in 1873, represented the Guthery family. Lydia Peters, one of these, lived to an advanced age. Her husband, William D. Peters, was a soldier in the war of 1812. Mrs. Peters survived her husband many years. Peter Wills located on No Name Creek in 1806. James Goodin and James Sappington both came about the same time. Cornelius Elton Millar, brother of John W. and Abram Millar, who settled at Lucasville in December, 1803, canoe to Pike County in 1808, then Scioto, but his farm, when Pike was organized, was just north of the line. He had a fine farm, and, like his brothers, was an energetic man. Daniel Lee settled in Camp Creek Township in 1809, and John H. Towner, who lived in the county long enough to have his goldenwedding Sept. 6, 1872, came that same year. John Corn, who settled in Perry Township in 1810, was a prominent man in his neighborhood, and was an able man. He lived near what is now Cynthiana. James Lumbeck, on Lumbeck's Hill. William McBride, who cleared the Dewey farm, John Long, who once owned the Christian Cameron place, and Stephen Lasey, who located the Rittenhouse farm, came from 1810 to 1812. George Eubanks and family came in the year 1804. They were originally from Maryland, but came from Kentucky to Ohio, where they had lived a few years. The homestead is now occupied by two daughters, the two youngest, both born in Pike County and upon the farm; they are now the sole owners, both being unmarried, and respectively in the seventy-fifth and seventy-eight year of their age. They are the oldest settlers of Perry Township now living, and natives of the county. Little is said here of the Downings, the Fosters, Wilsons, Corwines, Pancakes, Jameses and Davises, but each of these families would almost make a history. They came from 1797 to 1805. James Davis came to Ross County in 1802, and to Pike about 1810. John Davis, -his brother, settled a mile and a half north of Waverly, purchased 600 acres of land, which was purchased by James, as his brother became involved and was compelled to sell. James moved onto this farm and became not only a prominent citizen of the county, but one of its most wealthy. He died in 1853 worth over a half million dollars, and owned some 3,000 acres of land in this and adjoining counties. His personal property exceeded the sum .of $150, 000 at his death. Benjamin Lewis's arrival dates from April 17, 1812, and Josiah Bryan and his wife Mary, who both became well known for their kindly and neighborly qualities, also came in the spring of 1812. General James Moore came to where Piketon stands Oct. 13, 1813, and was in 1839 State Deputy Marshal of Ohio. George Emmitt, father of James Emmitt, the latter the most prominent man in Pike County for the last half century, came to Pike County in 1815. The history or sketch of the latter is more or less interwoven in the history of the town of Waverly. Josiah Pillers, who, when lie came, settled on Sunfish Creek, about two miles from Latham, married Miss Mary Beekman, Sept. 26, 1816. Pillers and the Beekmans were early settlers of Pike County, and Mary Beekman had no less than five brothers in the war of 1812. Their names were Gabriel, Christopher, William, Aaron and Abraham, a HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 693 Captain. The Beekmans are numerous in Pike, for the brothers all settled and reared families. The Pillers farm is one of the finest in that section of the county. It has upon it a noted spring, nearly as great a volume of water coming from it as that of the " Big Spring," and a splendid grove of sugar-maple trees. The cabin that Josiah Pillers erected in 1816, to which he took his bride, was still standing sixty years later. It was not used as such, but was left standing in memory of pioneer days. The couple were married by William Parker, a Justice of the Peace of Mifflin Township. Thomas Waldron was a soldier of 1812. In 1817 he drifted to Pike County and- settled. Asahel Perkins came the same year. He was a school teacher by profession and taught in the old log cabin, near the residence of Ed. 0. Jones, two winters, 1817—'18 and 1818—'19. William Paschal came in 1819. Mrs. Catharine Cross and James Robinson came in 1822. Erastus H. Dewey, also a school-teacher, came in 1824, and taught for several years. John Hopper, a native of Virginia, came to Pike County in November, 1829, and settled on Sunfish Creek. Wm. Woods was in the mercantile business in Pike County and Waverly for several years, but sold out in 1829 to enter upon the duties of Sheriff of Pike County, to which he had been elected in October. He was re-elected in 1831, and was also Sheriff from 1837 to 1841. He was a prominent character for years. Standing near the south side of the Bum-garner graveyard, and almost facing the turnpike, is a plain marble slab with the inscription: " George Givens, died Sept. 29, 1846, in the 103d year of his age." He was born in Ireland in the year 1743, Jong before the time of the American Revolution, and about eleven years after Washington's birth. The place of his nativity is not exactly known, the nearest giving it being an old book left by him, on one of the fly leaves of which is written: " Mr. George Givvin. This Book * * Bought In Ireland, County Tyrone, Parish of Killeshell * * * * Nigh Bally Galley (Ballygawly). Bought In his own House for 3s. 3d. sterling." This is all that is now known in regard to the place of his birth and home while in Ireland. He was twice married while a resident of the Emerald Isle. He had five children by one or both of these wives. He emigrated to America in 1794, with his wife and children, all of whom were sons, and after a long voyage landed in Pennsylvania. On the voyage two of his sons died, one of whom was buried in the sea; the other lived until they were so near the land that they were permitted to retain it on board and bury it in their adopted country -- a sorrowful welcome to our happy and prosperous country. It was a hard stroke, and doubtless went far toward hastening the death of the mother, as she did not long survive her boys, but soon passed away from the scenes of her .earthly labors. About the year 1798 he again married, his wife being Miss Nancy Morgan, an aunt of the late Thomas Morgan, of Seal Township. Soon after the marriage they turned their faces westward, and came to Massieville, Ross County, where they lived until 1807. While there their first child (Thomas) was born, also several of the others, just which I do not know. After the death of his second wife he placed his boys in good families in Pennsylvania, two of whom he left there, and the youngest (Robert) was brought to Ohio with them. Robert married a sister of Rev. Jared Daniels, of Piketon. About the year 1807 George Givens received a patent for a 'tract of land, now owned by Adam and Frank Brust, on which 694 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. he removed with his family and began to clear away the forest to found the long expected home. The remainder of his children by his second wife (eight in number) were born here. Their names in order of birth are: Thomas, George, Jane, Betsy, Nancy, James, Polly and Samuel, all of whom are now dead. They left large families, and together they and their children and grandchildren now number between 200 and 300 persons. GOVERNOR ROBERT LUCAS. Governor Lucas first settled in Scioto County, and was a prominent and conspicuous character in the pioneer days of that county. He left there and settled in Prke County soon after it became a county. He had a beautiful place, and his wife, a woman of refinement and culture, made it a home of beauty and comfort. The residence was of brick, located some two miles south of east of Waverly, on the road from Piketon to Jackson. He was a resident of Pike County when elected Governor. After his appointment as Governor of Iowa he removed to that territory and died there. His widow survived him manyyears, and the following, published in the Iowa City _Republican, relates an incident that illustrates Western growth, and the changes that occur within a lifetime. Mrs. Lucas, widow of the ]ate Governor Lucas, gave a party in that city on June 21, 1871, being the seventy-sixth anniversary of her birthday. It said: "There were present children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, four generations, ranging from boyhood to old age, the hostess appearing the happiest of them all." Mrs. Lucas's husband, General Robert Lucas after serving two years as Governor of Ohio, was appointed by General Jackson first Territorial Governor of Iowa. Mrs. Lucas, then past middle life, accompanied her husband to the new territory, but little of which had been reclaimed from the savages. She has lived to see it developed into a great and rapidly growing State, of a million and a quarter of people, holding a position second to no equal number on the face of the globe. Governor Lucas was the President of the first national political convention that was ever held in the United States. It met at Baltimore in 1832, and nominated Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, for President, and Martin Van Buren, of New York, for Vice President. Governor Lucas's name also headed the first Jackson electoral ticket ever run in Ohio. ITEMS OF INTEREST. The taxes paid in Pike County for the year 1822 were $815.18. This was divided by townships as follows: Beaver, $77.47; Sunfish, $54.45; Mifflin, $123.62; Pee Pee, $20.30; Pebble, $30.10; Seal, $316.49, and Jackson, $122.84. The tax-payer who paid the largest tax was Henry Bramlette, $12.20, and the next John Barnes, $11.60. Robert Lucas, paid $7.11. James Hibben paid the smallest tax, just 30 cents. The first tax receipt is one in the hands of J. P. Peters and dated March 24, 1801. It was given for the taxes of 1800, to his father, John Peters. The amount was $1. Mr. Peters thinks his father was the first white settler and came in the fall of 1793 or spring of 1794. It was possible, if he was with the army, but as the Indians held possession of the country at that time he is probably mistaken. The Indian war was raging at that time, though he may have come in the fall of 1795, but sooner is extremely doubtful. John Peters paid $1 on 200 acres of land in 1803, and $1.50 in 1807. General James Rowe carried the mail from Chillicothe to Portsmouth in 1816, and Waverly and Piketon were on the route in later years. There were no roads in these days and the route was on what was called Yoakum's trail. The first white child born in Pike County was John Chenoweth,son of Abraham, in 1797. HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 695 The first court was held in the old Chenoweth dwelling, about half a mile from Piketon on the west side of the river, and part of the time the second term under a tree. During the first term of the Circuit Court, which was held at this house, and under the tree near by they had a prisoner in charge, and the jail was an inverted sugar hogshead and the guard sat on top of it. Holes had been cut in to give him air. The first marriage of record a fter the organization of the county was that of James Walls to Miss Polly Starr, May 4, 1815. The marriage ceremony was performed by H ezekiah Merritt, Justice of the Peace. The first school-house in the county was in Mifflin Township, erected of logs in the fall of 1804, and the first school was kept in the winter of 1804-'5. The first Prosecuting Attorney in the County was James Sill, of Chillicothe. There was no resident attorney in the county. Among those who' practiced here were Richard Douglas, Thomas Scott, Ed. King Creighton, Grimsky & Bond. George Corwine was Collector in 1807. William Bowman, Collector in 1824. Squirrels were abundant, and Mr. Peters has a receipt for bounty given for their scalps. NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICE. The following incident was taken from the "Recollection of James Emmitt": "Along some time iLi this early period Benjamin Masters, father of our townsman, John Masters, kept tavern in Piketon, and he used to. tell, with infinite humor, and in his inimitable way, how two of Pike County's citizens nominated themselves for office. " There lived near the present site of Waverly a man by the name of Aaron Seymour, who was fond of his cups and who stuttered badly. Near Piketon lived a man by the name of William Headley, who stuttered as badly as Seymour did, and who was equally fond of creature comforts. Well, these two worthies on a certain day met at Masters's tavern, and as was customary in those days, one of them called for a half pint of whisky, and they, seating themselves at a table began to sip the delightful beverage. While thus enjoying their social glass Seymour said to Headley, 'D-d-do you know, H-headley, tha-t I'm go-go-going to r-r-run for County Corm-m-missioner this fall? ' 'N-n-no,' said Headley, is th-that so?' Y-yes,' said Seymour, I'm a c-can-candidate.' G-g-good,' said Headley, 'and d-d-do you k-know t-th-that I'm a can-can-candidate for T-tr-treasurer?' ' Is t-that so ? ' said Seymour. Your j-just the m-m-man for the pl-place. Give me y-y-your h-hand.' Whereupon they shook hands heartily and called for another half-pint of whisky, and while seated at the table drinking it, Seymour said to Headley, wish you would t-tell Col-collings t-that I'm a can-candidate, and 1-1-learn wh-what he thinks about it." All r-r-right,' said Headley, 'a-a-and I w-wish you w-w-would see B-bill Woods, Seymour, and s-s-see what he th-thinks of me.' " This agreed upon, they called for another half-pint; and when this was drank, they separated, to meet on another day. At the appointed time Seymour and Headley were again seated at the table in Masters's tavern over their half-pint, and Seymour said to Headley, Di-did you s-see C-c-collings, He-. headley?' " Yes—I s-saw h-him.' " W-w-well—What d-d did he say ?' "'He s-s-said y-you w-w-w-were just t-the m-man for the p-p-place.' Thereupon Seymour called for another half-pint, when Headley said, 'and-d-did y-you see Bill W-woods?' " Yes,' said Seymour, I saw Woods.' "'Well, w-w-what d-d-did Bill say?' "'Bill s-s-said—you w-w-would r-r-run 1-1-like h-h-hell if n-n-nobody r-r-run against you.' 696 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. Thereupon Seymour called for another half-pint and the party soon broke up. " Masters was an excellent mimic, and he could imitate the voice and articulation of both Seymour and Headley, and he used to tell this story on those two worthies to admiring and appreciative crowds on many an occasion afterward." Sunfish Hill, west of the Scioto River, in this county, is said to be the highest point of land in Southern Ohio. The first mill was built in Pike County in 1807, on Camp Creek, by Hezekiah Merritt. It was then a part of Scioto County. Joseph Lewis built the first ferry-boat used at Piketon across the Scioto River. It was built in 1812 and used to bring the Lewis family to this county. It was built on the Monongahela River and sold to Colonel John Guthery on their arrival, who used it as above mentioned. A few years since, and perhaps now there were seen the outlines of an ancient fort on the farm of Thornton W. Sargent, in Scioto Township. It seems to have been of similar work as that near Piketon. In 1812 Frank Adams owned a mill on Sunfish Creek and another was in operation the same year further up the creek, owned by a Mr. Moore, who sold it to Stewart Alexander. BEFORE IT BECAME PIKE COUNTY. The present boundary of Pike County was once a portion of Ross, Scioto and Adams counties. Nearly two-thirds, however, was from Ross. Seal Township, in Scioto County, extended north to the Ross County line and included Camp Creek and nearly all the townships of Scioto, Union and Marion in the southern part of the county. Very little was taken from Adams County, only a portion of Sunfish and the west end of Camp Creek, leaving Ross, as above stated, to furnish the larger part of the territory. Pee Pee and Jefferson townships composed nearly all of the south and east of Ross County, which was turned over to Pike, and Paxton in the southwest. In 1802 Ross had nine townships; in 1803, eleven, and in 1804 no less than seventeen municipal divisions. Pee Pee was the largest lying west of the river, Jefferson lying on both sides of the Scioto. Jefferson extended south to the Ross County line, which included the present townships of Jackson, Beaver, a corner of Pee Pee and Seal. Franklin Township, Ross County, was cut off from Pee Pee and Jefferson in 1806, and that left Pee Pee, after Huntington Township was cut off, in Pike County, where it was formed. Franklin Township, when made, was the southeast town of Ross County, being taken, as above stated, from Pee Pee and Jefferson. This township of Franklin was again divided. in 1814, and a portion of Pee Pee that at that time was also east of the river, being a part if not all of the present Seal Township, was made into a new township by the Ross County commissioners. Then, as above stated, Paxton Township, which was the southwest township of Ross County and joined Pee Pee on the west, was also divided by the Ross County commissioners into Mifflin township on the south part. This was done in 1806 and Mifflin Township took in all of Perry and Benton in this county as now formed, and all of Paint and Paxton townships as now formed in Ross. Thus when Pike County was formed it took in Mifflin, Pee Pee and Beaver townships of Ross County. WHEN ORGANIZED. The county of Pike was organized February, 1815, and five years later had a population of 4,253. This was some 1,500 less than the county of Scioto the same date (1820), but was some 400 more than Jackson County on the east. Its bottom lands .which lie on the Scioto River and its branches which flow into it are composed of very rich, alluvial soil, HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY - 697 deep and strong, and are splendid wheat and corn lands. On leaving the bottoms of these streams the surface of the country is generally hilly, and these hills, except the high bluffs, are excellent stock ranges, the grass growing luxuriantly. The county while thus being somewhat broken does not depend altogether upon its agricultural productions, its attractiveness for stock-raising purposes, or its well-known fruit producing qualities, but its hills abound in immense quantities of splendid freestone that is unsurpassed for building purposes. So good is the quality of this stone that it has been extensively shipped to many points, and has proven a valuable addition to the industrial wealth of the county. The Act of Incorporation is as follows: " An Act to erect the County of Pike. " SECTION 1. Be it enacted, etc., That all that part of the counties of Scioto, Ross and Adams, included within the following limits, to-wit: Beginning at the township line on the Scioto River, between townships 3 and 4 in the twenty-second range, and running with the same east to the corner between sections 34 and 35, in the fifth township, twentieth range; thence with the section lines north to the Ross County line; thence with, the same east to the range line between ranges 19 and 20; thence north with the range line, nine miles, into Ross County; thence west to Highland County line; thence with Highland County line to the north line of Adams County; thence with Adams County line to the highlands between the waters of Scioto, Brush Creek and Sunfish; thence southeastwardly with said highlands so far that an east line will strike the beginning, shall be a separate end distinct county, by the name of the county of Pike. "SEC. 2. That all suits or actions, whether of a civil or criminal nature, which shall be pending, and all crimes which shall have been committed within said counties of Scioto, Ross and Adams, previous to the organization of the said county of Pike, shall be prosecuted to final judgment and execution within the counties in which such suits shall be pending, or such crimes shall have been committed, in the same manner they would have been if no division had taken place; and the sheriff, coroner and constables of the counties of Scioto, Ross and Adams shall execute within such parts of the county of Pike as belonged to their respective counties previous to the taking effect of this act, such process as shall be necessary to carry into effect such suits, prosecutions and judgments: and the collectors of taxes for the counties of Scioto, Ross and Adams shall collect all such taxes as shall have been levied and unpaid within such parts of the county of Pike as belonged to their respective counties previous to the taking effect of this act. " SEC. 3. That all justices of the peace within those parts of the counties of Scioto, Ross and Adams which by this act are erected into a new county, shall continue to exercise the duties of their offices until their term of service expires, in the same manner as if they had been commissioned for said county of Pike. " SEC. 4. That on the first Monday in March next the legal voters residing within said County of Pike shall assemble in their respective townships at the usual place of holding township elections, and elect their several county officers, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election: Provided, what where any township shall be divided in consequence of establishing the county lines of the county of Pike, in such manner that the place of holding the township election shall fall within the counties of Scioto, Ross or Adams, then and in that case the electors of such fractional township shall elect in the next adjoining township or townships in said county of Pike. "SEC. 5. That the courts of said county of Pike shall be holden at the house of Arthur 698 - HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO VALLEY. Chenoweth, until a permanent seat of justice shall be established for said county of Pike. " SEC. 6. That commissioners shall be appointed agreeably to the provisions of an act entitled ' An act establishing seats of justice,' to fix upon a place for the permanent seat of justice for said county of Pike, and make report thereof to the court of Common. Pleas in and for said county, which court is hereby authorized to establish the same agreeably to the provisions of the above-recited act; and the commissioners aforesaid shall receive a compensation for their services out of the treasury of the said county of Pike. This act to take effect, and be in force, from and after the first day of February next"— [Pawed, January 4, 1815.] A. "Resolved, By the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, that Edward W. Tupper, of Gallia County, and George W. Barnes and John Davidson, of Highland County, be, and they are, hereby appointed Commissioners to fix the seat of justice in the county of Pike." Adopted January 28, 1815. B. Report of Commissioners appointed to locate the seat of justice in Pike County: " The subscribers having been appointed by the last General Assembly of the State of Ohio Commissioners to agree and select on a suitable place for the establishment of the seat of justice in and for the county of Pike, having first caused the day of their meeting to be duly advertised, and taken the oath by law required, proceeded to examine such places within said county as appeared to them best adapted for the purposes aforesaid, taking into view the general interest and convenience of the inhabitants of said county, and, after a careful examination, have unanimously agreed and determined that the seat of justice for said county of Pike be placed and established on the east bank of the Scioto River, on the tract of land containing about 115 acres, owned by Elisha Fitch, situate in and being a part of fractional section No. 5, in township 5 and range 22. " To the Court of Common Pleas for the county of Pike. " G. W. BARNES, "JOHN DAVIDSON, " EDWARD W. TUPPER." PIKE COUNTY, March 24, 1815. C. TAKEN FROM THE COURT RECORDS. " The Hon. Samuel Henry, Associate Judge, took his seat. The court appointed Eli Sargent, Director, according to the act establishing seats of justice, who gave bond with Arthur Chenoweth and Abraham Chenoweth in the penalty of four thousand dollars, conditioned according to statute. Thereupon it was ordered that the said Director proceed and receive the proposals of Elisha Fitch, in whose lands the commissioners reported the seat of justice, together with the title papers, and make report of all things fully,, in writing, to this court immediately." D. ELI SARGENT'S REPORT. "To the Honorable, the Court of Common Pleas, of the County of Pike:—In compliance with an order of your honorable court I here. with further report that I have received additional proposals from the said Elisha Fitch as follows, to wit: The said Fitch proposes to sell forty acres of his tract at the rate or price of twenty dollars per acre, to wit: Beginning one rod south of his lower corner on the River Scioto; thence south eighty poles; thence running north within one pole of his, the said Fitch's line, which meanders the river: thence down the river with the courses of the line which meanders the river, keeping HISTORY OF LOWER SCIOTO .VALLEY - 699 one rod south of said meandering line, to the place of beginning; supposed to contain forty acres, be the sum more or less, all of which is respectfully submitted. Eli Sargent, Director. "And the said Fitch further proposes that the streets and alleys to be laid out in a town on the land aforesaid leading to the river and extend across the meandering line aforesaid, to low water mark of said river, reserving the right of drainage on said river. "ELI SARGENT." FROM THE JOURNAL. "And the court being satisfied of his title, so far as a deed from Guthery can evidence. [The land had been deeded to Elisha Fitch by George Guthery and Sarah, his wife, March 22, 1815. The conveyance was made by Fitch to Sargent May 12, 1815.] Thereupon that the Director receive a conveyance in fee simple, with a covenant of seizure from said Fitch and wife in his name, for the use of the county, according to proposals so recorded, and give assurance that he will pay tor the same out of proceeds arising after sales, and thereafter forthwith proceed, taking to his assistance a surveyor and chain carrier, and lay off a town on the lands so conveyed by the said Elisha Fitch." The town was at that time ordered by the court to be named " Piketon." The Director, Eli Sargent, was ordered to open the sale of lots June 1, 1815, and proceed to sell from day to day until all were sold, except four lots reserved for a public square and for public buildings. The county a as named after General Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was killed at the storming of York, in Upper Canada, in the war of 1812-'15. He led his troops gallantly and was one of the noblest and bravest of the young heroes of that war. He was killed April 25, 1813, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. Some years later, in 1842-'3, the east line of the county not being a straight one north and south, but there being a jog in it which was longer on the north than on the south line of the eastern boundary, there was a revision of the boundary line on the east, made by running a straight line through, the uneven territory, thus giving Jackson .a portion of territory belonging to Pike, and taking a portion from Jackson and adding it to Pike. THE GEOLOGY OF PIKE COUNTY. The rocks of Pike County belong to the aqueous division of geology—that is, were all deposited in horizontal sheets on the floor of the ancient sea. They were subsequently lifted into dry land, and have been made to take their present relations of hill, valley and plain by the agencies of water, ice and air, continued through periods of vast duration. Though once horizontal, none are so now. All the strata of the county dip to the eastward, between twenty or thirty feet to the mile. The northeast portion of the county is within the coal measure, and there have been indications in other sections, but as the coal measure lies along the eastern formation of the Waverly sandstone it is hardly to be expected that coal will be found among the Waverly series. On the west side of the Scioto is the black slate alternate with the sandstone. These Shales are succeeded in ascending order by a much more extensive and important series, viz.: the Waverly Group—a collection of alternating beds of sandstones and shale's, 600 feet in thickness. All of the approved building stones of the series are found in the lowermost 200 feet, and generally belong to the class of fine-grained sandstones generally known as freestone. It is also to be remarked that the building-stone courses do not stretch in unbroken sheets across the country which the series occupies, but while at one point they hold a certain horizon in the for-