(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 342 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO CHAPTER XIX MALTA—THE VILLAGE AND THE TOWNSHIP. MALTA VILLAGE-PLATTED IN 1817-THE EARLY SETTLERS-THE POOLS, BELLS, AND OTHERS- JUDGE YOUNG-THE FERRY-THE FIRST STORES AND INDUSTRIES- THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF VARIOUS BUSINESS INTERESTS- MANUFACTURES- THE BROWN-MANLY PLOW COMPANY -CHURCHES, LODGES, ETC.-PERSONAL MENTION-MALTA TOWNSHIP-ITS ORGANIZATION- PIONEER SETTLERS-PIONEER INDUSTRIES-A NOVEL MILL-DAWES' STORE AND TANNERY -SLOW GROWTH OF SETTLEMENT-HUNTERS-ABE AND BILL HUGHES AND THEIR ADVENTURES- PERSONAL SKETCHES OF EARLY AND PROMINENT FAMILIES. MALTA village was laid out in 1816 -- by Simeon Pool and John Bell, who jointly owned the land, and was named by the former to commemorate his visit as a sailor to the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea. The original plat of the town occupied nearly the entire width of the bottom-land from the river to the base of the hill, slightly curved on the west to correspond with the bend of the river. Originally there were one hundred and fourteen lots, extending from an alley west of Pool street, east to Young street. This plat included Front. and Main streets and five cross streets— Pool, Adams, Center, Bell and Young. The town has been enlarged by additions made by William B. Young in 1821, William B. Young, Jr., in 1827, William Palmer in 1829, Francis A. Barker in 1840, and by " Upper Malta," consisting of thirty-eight lots laid out by the " Malta Real Estate Company," in 1883. Simeon Pool, one of the original proprietors, traded a brick tavern in Marietta for the tract on the north and including part of the town-plat. He settled here before 1812, and lived and died on his place. He had two sons, Simeon and Guy W., who lived here until after 1830, and then moved West. Pool had been a Seafaring man, and like most Sailors, was greatly addicted to profanity. He was a large man physically, and of more than average intelligence. He Served as justice of the peace some years before the organization of Morgan County. John Bell, son-in-law of Simeon Pool, probably came about the same time. He was a native of Tennessee, but moved here from Marietta. He was the proprietor of the lower part of the town, but Sold out to John Seaman in 1817. His sons were John Randolph, Simeon and William ; his daughters, Mary Ann (Miller) and Harriet (Lackey)—the latter still living in McConnelsville. Bell was a rough mechanic, a boatbuilder, etc. He was a large, strong man, of good intelligence, but intemperate. He used to compose verses and songs, which were considered remarkably good. MALTA - 343 George Miller, who kept the first tavern, located on the site of the town in 1815. He moved here from Salt Run, where he had previously been engaged in making salt. He afterward moved farther up the river, where he died. One of the earliest pioneers, William Palmer, came with his family in the fall of 1818, and with another family wintered in a log cabin. The cabin was without a floor. A table was improvised out of a tool-chest, and blocks sawed off the end of a log served instead of chairs. Mr. Palmer had five sons—Jackson, Ambrose, Jesse, Elias and William. Ambrose W. was a California forty-niner ;" was sheriff of Calaveras County, and had many exciting adventures in that wild period which followed the discovery of gold. William B. Young, a prominent man among the early settlers and afterward associate judge, located in Malta in 1817. A hewed log house built by him in that year is still standing on the bank of the river below the bridge. He was a quiet, unobtrusive and much respected citizen. He built and operated the first ferry across the river between McConnelsville and Malta. He also kept a few groceries for sale at his house. About 1818 he built a sawmill above the town on the stream since known as Clemens' Run. Judge Young died suddenly, and after his death his widow rented the ferry. Three sons— William B., Alexander and Joseph—and four daughters comprised his family. On lot 70, where is now the residence of Robert Lutton, stood the log cabin built by Wm. Palmer, the first cabinetmaker and carpenter of the village, not only in time but in skill as a mechanic. He afterward built the frame on the southeast corner of Main and Center, where Dr. Rusk resides. Mrs. Wm. Sherwood, one of his daughters, says her parents came to Malta in 1818, and built and resided in the log cabin for several years. She is one of the few persons yet living who were residents of Malta in 1818-19, and could fill a volume with reminiscences of the days when bears and deer and wolves were not strangers on the adjacent hills, and occasionally visitors of the village. She gives one instance of a nocturnal visitor still less welcome. Early one night, while a number of the family—mother and children—were engaged in boiling sugar-water in the vicinity of home, preceded by a terrific scream a panther leaped into the light of the campfire. Although greatly alarmed, they did not lose their presence of mind, and while the more juvenile placed the fire between them and the visitor, the others lighted their prepared torches, and with calls for aid, which were responded to, induced his retreat. But there were then no bear or panther-hunters in Malta, and the prowler went on his way unharmed. Mrs. Sherwood says that in 1818 there were six families in Malta—those of William B. Young, Jonathan Whitney, George Miller, John Seaman, Jonathan McMullen and William Palmer— and memory through the mist of years can only perceive double that number in 1826, when there were ten or twelve dwellings, nor present a panorama of progress from then till now, when there are about one hundred and twenty- five. The first store, if such it could be called, was started in 1818 by Hyman Lazarus, a Jew, who had previously tramped about the country as a peddler. He had but a very small stock, 344 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. but sold whisky, bought ginseng, and made some show of business. He first had his goods in a room in the end of Young's house, but afterward built a story-and-a-half log house where A. W. Walker's residence now is, where he continued business many years. A few years later Abel James, from Virginia, opened a small store in the building on the lot now occupied by Coulson Co.'s store, where George Miller had kept the first tavern. In 1829 James sold out to Francis A. Barker, Esq., county auditor, who moved his family into the rooms over the store. The kitchen, which was also the 'Squire's office, was on the ground floor in the rear of the store. Later Barker erected a brick store. Speaking of Mr. Barker, who was an early justice of the peace, brings to mind the following anecdote : On one occasion a stout, athletic bully named Adams had whipped most unmercifully a fellow known as "Blinky" Johnson, whom he had met at the grocery and saloon of Lazarus, the Jew. 'Squire Barker issued a warrant and had Adams arrested, then left the town, to be gone for the day on business. As the day wore away, Adams, who was in the custody of James Roland, became uneasy, and taking advantage of relaxed vigilance on the part of his keeper made a dash for liberty, and betook himself towards the woods. Mr. Roland was too aged to overtake the prisoner, therefore he summoned John Wright, a young man, and ordered him to bring back the fugitive. Wright quickly began the chase, was joined by Joshua Davis and others, and an interesting running match ensued. Adams, seeing that he was likely to be overtaken, rushed into John Seaman's house and out through the back door, Wright close after him. Adams was soon overtaken and secured. Adams had his trial in the 'Squire's kitchen, back of his store. He sat on the bed while Johnson, the prosecuting witness, gave his testimony, in the course of which he used some very uncomplimentary language regarding the prisoner. Adams, not being able to control his temper, made a spring toward Johnson, and with one blow felled him to the floor. For this offense Adams was taken to jail, but managed to make his escape by boring through the log walls of the primitive structure. John Seaman arrived in the incipient village August 2 1817, coming from Zanesville in a canoe. He was a native of Bedford County, Pa., and came to Ohio from Wayne County in that State. He purchased land of John Bell, and thus became the proprietor of the greater part of the town. He first moved into a house that had previouSly been occupied by CharleS Kinzel. Shortly afterward he erected a shoemaker's shop, and next a log dwelling. As the first Knight of St. Crispin, with the assistance of his sons, he made coarse and fine shoes to order for the people of the village and the surrounding country. He died in Malta. The family consisted of ten children—Minerva (Pool), Milton, Harmon, Henry, Prudence (Kirby), Charles 0., John L., David, Narcissa (Beck), Jesse and Perley. Three are still living—Harmon, born in 1809, and a resident of Malta since 1817; Charles 0. and Jesse. William Palmer began working at his trade, cabinet making, in 1818, and for many years supplied the demand for articles in his line. In 1841, with his son, Jackson J., he founded the PICTURE OF JOSHUA DAVIS MALTA - 345 Malta Furniture Manufactory. At first all the work was done by man power, but in 1851 a steam engine was added. This engine, the first built in the county, was a product of the foundry of Dunsmoor & Dickerson. In 1858 H. Dunsmoor and Samuel McCaslin bought the furniture manufactory from it J. Palmer. Three years later Dunsmoor & Son became the proprietors of the establishment, which is still run in the same name, although the senior Dunsmore is now deceased. From a mull beginning the works have grown in size and importance until they now rank among the chief industries of the Own. In 1875 the first parlor organ made in the county was manufactured in this establishment. Several have since been made. The first tavern was a hewed log house, on the present site of A. A. Coulson & Co.'s store, erected by George Miller. Miller kept tavern a few years and was succeeded by William Murphy. Next Abel James kept store in the building, purchasing it for $150. Francis A. Barker next occupied it ; then the Griffiths owned it and sold out to Alexander Simpson. About 1836 Simpson, in partnership with Milton Seaman, kept store there. The building was next occupied by J. M. Rogers as a saddler's shop, and afterward by Lazarus, the Jew. In 1846 it was torn down and the present building erected. The new building was first occupied by Alexander Simpson as a store ; then by Simpson & Woodmansee ; next by Joseph Black, and afterward successively by Thomas W. Simpson and Simpson Sr Young (T. W. Simpson and Wm. B. Young). The first tinshop in the . place was opened in 1846 by John Mellor, who is still in the same business. Mr. Mellor learned his trade with George P. Morris in McConnelsville. In 1844 Hiel Dunsmoor and David Dickerson started the Malta Foundry, the second in the county. Later Erastus Guthrie became one of the firm, which carried on business under the name of H. Dunsmoor & Co. Milton Seaman bought out Dickerson's interest and the firm name became Dunsmoor, Guthrie & Co. In 1853 Dunsmoor and Seaman sold out and the firm of Guthrie, White & Wadley began business. In 1858 J. Q. and P. B. Dickerson bought the entire establishment and carried on business under the name of J. Q. Dickerson & Co. In 1864 W. P. and John Brown and James and Frank B Manly succeeded to the ownership of the property which thus became the basis of the Brown-Manly Plow Works. The first mill in Malta was built by Isaac Baker on two flatboats, and was of the rare pattern known as a "floating mill." (For a description of it see chapter on Internal Improvements.) Baker came from Washington County and rented Young's ferry. It is related that the first time Hyman Lazarus, the Jew, saw a steamboat on the river, he came to Baker on the run, his eyes wide with astonishment, and shouted, "Mr. Baker ! Mr. Baker ! your mill haf got loose, and he is coomin oop the river a-grindin' like the devil !" About 1830 Abraham Lippett constructed a brush dam across the river near where is now the Malta Mill, and built a mill, which was in operation a few years. The first drugstore was established by James Cornelius in 1852. In 1867 he sold out to Dr. W. Wood, who con- 346 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. tinned business in the same vicinity— on the east side of Bell street—until 1873, when he sold out to Dr. Daniel Rusk, who still continues the business. George Z. Dickerson began the drug business in 1868, and iS still engaged in it. The, first fancy-goods store was started by G. E Halliday, who sold out to James Neely. The latter sold to Robert Lutton in 1879. The Misses Beckwith opened a millinery and fancy- goods store in 1878. A. L. Miller was the pioneer jeweler of Malta, and is still in successful business. In 1872 he erected the Miller Building, in which the Malta National Bank is located. In 1827, on the corner opposite James' store, Henry Dawes embarked in the mercantile business. He was a man of somewhat peculiar temperament, but enterprising and very successful in business. He became a prominent citizen and represented the county in the legislature. He continued business until about 1857, then removed to Wisconsin, where he died. All the early merchantS sold whisky, and with many of them it was customary to keep a bottle standing on the counter. Malta grew very slowly. Although a trading-point of considerable importance in the early years, yet the village increased very slowly in population until after the beginning of the Slack water improvement of the Muskingum. Since then the tOWn has rapidly improved, and its business development has been correspondingly great. It was incorporated as a village by a special act of the legislature passed March 7, 1842. John Timms was the first mayor and Hiel Dunsmoor the first recorder. In the amount of buSiness transacted and in general thrift and enterprise there is no village in Southern Ohio which can make a better showing in proportion to population. There were 652 inhabitants in 1880, according to the census of that year. The Malta National Bank, the first and only banking institution in the town, was chartered in 1872, and began business November 19 of the same year, in the rooms still occupied. The first officers were E. M. Stanbery, president ; Joshua Davis, M. McDaniel, John Hall, John Harris, John Miller and F. B. Pond, directors ; D. H. Mortley, cashier, and H. D. Miller, bookkeeper. D. H. Mortley was succeeded as cashier in 1874 by H. D. Miller, and W. H. Pierpoint became bookkeeper. Mr. Miller still holds the position of cashier. The remaining officers in December, 1885, were as follows : W. P. Sprague, president ; George S. Corner, vice-president ; Joshua Davis, E. M. Stanbery, John Miller, Peter Miller, J. M. Rogers, directors. The bank is well-managed and prosperous. Capital, $75,000. The leading business firms of Malta in the year 1885 were as follows : Brown-Manly Plow Co., manufacturers of agricultural implements ; G. L. Hoffman & Sons, tanners; H. Duns- moor & Son, furniture manufacturers ; the Malta National Bank ; Corner, Walker & Davis, dry goods and merchant tailoring ; A. A. Coulson & Co., and Dewees & Co., dry goods ; George Z. Dickerson and Dr. Daniel Rusk, drugs ; J. M. Rogers & Co., hardware ; Robert Lutton and E. & S. Beckwith, millinery and notions ; H. A. Davis, G. S. Hann and F. C. Thomas, groceries ; C. Palmer, cigars ; A. L. Miller, jewelry ; John Mellor, tinsmith ; John MALTA - 347 Glass and J. W. Thomas, hotels, besides the usual variety of minor business interests. W. P. Sprague & Co. began the mercantile business in 1853. The members of the firm were W. P. Sprague, Joshua Davis and John E. Thomas. J. H. Davis and R. H. L. Updike afterward became members of the firm, taking the places of Joshua Davis and W. P. Sprague, respectively. The firm was Davis, Thomas & Co., and next Rogers, Thomas & Co., then Coulson & Hann, Power, Coulson & Hann, Power & Hann, and next discontinued. The hardware business was not made A distinct one until the village had grown to considerable size. The hardware firm of J. M. Rogers & Co., the first and at present the only one in tOWn, was established in 1855, and for thirty years has carried on a successful business. The head of this firm, James M. Rogers, one of the leading business men. of the town, was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1819. His father, John Rogers, a local preacher of the Methodist church, moved his family to Malta in 1842. He was a native of. Virginia ; died in 1877, aged over eighty years. J. M. Rogers began business in Malta in 1842 as a saddler and harnessmaker ; was afterward in the dry-goods business, and since 1855 in his present business. He has always taken an active interest in the growth and prosperity of the town, and has filled many local offices. He was married in Malta in 1852 to Margaret, daughter of Nathan Sprague, and has five children living. After John Seaman the next shoemaker was Peter Bricker, who came in 1839, and for many successive years plied the thread and awl to the satisfaction of his patrons. George. Townsend came to Malta in 1839, and commenced making saddles and harnesses in a shop on Main street, between Bell and Adams streets. J. M. Rogers began the same business in 1842. William Breeze had a small dwelling and a blacksmith shop on the southwest corner of Bell and Main streets. He afterward made additions to his house and converted it into a hotel, which is now kept by John Glass. On the southwest, corner of Adams and Main streets was a frame building erected by William Sherwood. The building was burned dOWn when owned by Isaac Hedges, who, in 1880, erected the three-story brick building, now the popular " Valley House," kept by J. W. Thomas. Edward and William Miller, with whom H. Dunsmoor was associated for a time, were merchants between 1830 and 1840. Timms & Dunsmoor, and Timms, Dunsmoor & Taylor succeeded them. George L. Corner came to Malta in 1833. With the assistance of a man whom he brought with him, Mr. Corner, went into the woods, felled trees, hewed timber and erected a building for a store. (This structure was removed to the Joshua Davis lot in 1846, to make room for the Corner Block. For a number of years it was used as a tobacco packinghouse, but afterward torn down.) Later Mr. Corner took his brother Arthur into partnership. In 1837 Joshua Davis bought out Arthur Corner, and the firm became Corner & Davis: In 1848 William P. Sprague, who had previously clerked for the firm, was admitted to partnership. In 1853 the firm became G. L. Corner & Co , Peter Woodmansee and Albert Clarke taking the place of 348 -HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO Sprague and Davis, who retired. G. L. Corner died in 1857. Woodmansee retired shortly before, and the business was managed by Clarke, the Corner heirs being his partners. Joshua Davis became connected with the firm again in 1861, and business was carried on under the name of Corner, Davis & Co. Upon the death of Mrs. G. L. Corner, George S. Corner became a member, the style of the firm continuing the same until 1868. Davis then retired, and the firm became Clarke & Corner, and so remained until it was consolidated with the firm of A. W. Walker & Co., in 1871, under the Style of Clarke, Corner & Walker. J. G. Walker and Clarke sold their interests in 1873, and J. F. Davis became a member of the firm, the name of which was changed to Corner, Walker & Davis, which is the present style. The firm do an extensive dry-goods and tailoring business. On the bank of the river near a spring Israel Redman erected his residence prior to 1825. It was a building about twenty feet square, the lower story of stone and the upper of logs. Adjacent was his tanyard, currying shop and barkmill. Later, on Pool street, Emery and David Keyes started another tannery. The third and present was started by George Brownell. He sold out to Robt. Crawford. The property then passed to Davis & Hoffman, and next to G. L. Hoffman & Sons, the present proprietors. The establishment does a large business and iS among the most important industries. The schoolhouse, which occupies the southside of the East Square, was built in 1858. It is a two-story brick building. Prof. James M. Rusk has been the superintendent for a number of years. On the West Square is the town hall, built in 1879. It is a two-story brick 45 feet on Adams by 75 on Main street. The interior is neatly finished and will seat an audience of 600 persons. The lower story is divided into rooms for the mayor's office, township trustees' office, marshal's office and lock-up. In the early years of Malta it was understood that the squares on the east and west corners of Adams and Main streets were intended for the courthouse and jail in the event of obtaining the county seat. But in this as in other events disappointments are often advantageous. The East Square is now occupied by a building of more value than a forum for litigation, and the West Square by one more ornamental than windows decorated with iron lattice-work. The village got along without a schoolhouse until after 1830. The first term of school in the place was taught by a man named Walbridge in 1820 in a Small log house Situated on the lot now owned by Uriah Brown. There were few schools in the early years, most of the young people who went to school at all attending in McConnelsville. The first schoolhouse, a frame building, was erected about 1838 on the square near where the present school building is, and served until the present house was built. BROWN-MANLY PLOW COMPANY. In the year 1857 W. P. & John Brown commenced the manufacture of a one-horse double-shovel plow with iron beams, at Unionville, in this county. The substitution of iron for wood in the main frame work of the plow was a popular innovation, giving the implement strength, increased durability and a sight appearance, much in contrast PICTURE OF JAMES MANLEY MALTS - 349 with the clumsy character of its progenitor. The work was carried on by a few hands in an ordinary blacksmith- shop without the use of machinery, and the product—a few hundred per year —were hauled over the country by wagon and peddled through this and adjacent counties by the enterprising proprietors. Finding their location undesirable and that the business could be enlarged under more favorable circumstances, they removed to Malta, in the year 1859, where a building was secured of sufficient capacity to enable them to work twelve to fifteen hands, thus increasing their product so that after the supply of the home demand a surplus was left, to be Sent to more distant points, and wherever the plow went it found friends. The location occupied by their shop at this time was the present site of the new M. E. Church. In 1864 James and Frank B. Manly associated themselves with the Browns under the firm name of Brown, Manly & Company, for the continued prosecution of the business on a larger scale. The Manly Brothers had previously been engaged in the manufacture of threshing machines, horsepowers, wagons, canemills, etc., at Chaneyville, where they had done quite a prosperous business since 1848. In removing to Malta they merged their business into that of the new concern,. transferring their machinery, patterns, etc., etc., so that the firm of Brown, Manly & Co., while making the plow their leading manufacture, gave considerable attention to the specialties of the Manlys. About this time a purchase was made of a patent that had been taken out on the double-shovel plow some time previously. This proved to be a valuable acquisition, as it enabled the owners to practically control the manufacture of this implement and gave them, in a measure, monopoly of its sale. The proprietors, finding their quarters too straitened for the volume of their business, purchased the foundry and property of Guthrie & Co., where, after some enlargement and modifications of machinery, the new concern opened out upon an extended scale. The business now went forward prosperously. The plow found ready sale and became a source of considerable profit. The want of capital sufficient to handle the business to the best advantage occasioned some inconvenience, and to broaden the basis of operations, it was resolved to form a joint stock company. In 1870 articles of incorporation were obtained, and the concern assumed the name of the Brown-Manly Plow Company," with a chartered capital of $100,000, a number of citizens of the county identifying themselves as stockholders. The officers chosen at the commencement of the organization were as follows: President, Joshua Davis ; superintendent, W. P. Brown ; secretary, Moses McDaniel ; treasurer, George S. Corner ; W. P. Brown, James Manly, Joshua Davis, John Harris, E. M. Stanbery, W. P. Sprague, and Moses McDaniel, directors. The concern was now launched for a still more prosperous career. The plant was overhauled, ground extended, building enlarged, new shops erected and old ones improved, additional machinery of modern styles was introduced and numerous modifications made to increase the efficiency of the establishment. The company now entered upon the construction of a new article in the 350 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. schedule of their wares—the wheel cultivator for two horses. This was a more elaborate machine than the double-shovel and required considerable mechanical skill to bring it to a degree of perfection which would insure success. This, however, was not wanting, as the heads of the concern were all practical mechanics with a good degree of ingenuity and constructive genius. The cultivator proved a success and found a ready market, and swelled very largely the value of the annual product of the works. The general course of the business from this on was prosperous. The volume of the trade and the amount of the manufactures was steadily on the increase, and the factory never closed its doors for the want of orders or failed to supply its operatives with the usual amount of employment. The demand for the goods made has always been up to and sometimes beyond the capacity of the works to produce. The Malta " goods wherever known are esteemed as good as the best. This has, of course, given them prominence and ready entrance into widely-extended avenues of trade, reaching into two-thirds of the States of the Union, and given the village of Malta, the location of the works, a wide advertisement in the distant regions of the South and West. The shops now embrace a ground floor area of 25,000 square feet, and are mostly three stories high with a capacity of working 150 to 200 men, and two warehouses two stories high with ground area of 5,300 square feet. The power consists of twin engines of 60-horse power each. The personnel of the concern has undergone some changes within the ten years of its organization as a corporation. The present officers are James Manly, president ; John Brown, superintendent; W. P. Sprague, secretary and treasurer ; John Brown, James Manly, Frank B. Manly, W. P. Sprague and U. H. Brown, directors. When it is considered that the location of this establishment is off the line of any railroad, and dependent wholly upon river navigation for transportation, both in receipt of material and transmission of goods to market, it may excite surprise that they have been able to meet and withstand sharp competition and make a success of the business. To whatever cause this may be attributed, it must be allowed that while the existence of Such an establishment is an honor to the county and of value to its citizens, some credit must be given to the skill, enterprise and management of its proprietors. CHURCHES. Malta Methodist Episcopal Church-- was organized by Rev. James T. Donahoo in 1833. The original members were George L. Corner, Sally Corner, Charles Bryan, James Carlin, Mrs. James Carlin, Catherine Barker, Betsy Stone, Elizabeth Davis, Alex. B. Scott and Michael Wiseman. First church officers were Geo. L. Corner, steward ; Alex. B. Scott, class leader. The succession of pastors has been Revs. Donahoo, Milligan, Shaw, Dodds, Kellogg, Shelton, Reed, Hill, Meyers, Baird, Parker, Scovell, Brown, West, Brown, Cutcheon, Halliday, Ellis, Halliday, Harvey, Cunningham, Wilson, Munsell, Dixon, Hamilton, Gurley, Hamilton, Hurd, Fleming, Spencer, Frampton, Shelton, Frampton, Hooper, Ellis, Felton, Ellis, Kelley, Sheets, Greeg, Barniger, Adamson, Fink, Sowers, Lowe, Woolfe, Jones, MALTA - 351 Thomas, Gartner, Thomas, Frampton, Stivers, Thurber, Wakefield, Sites, Naylor, Fry, Carr, Nast, Cochran, Hixson, Lewis, Sowers and Tibbles. Three of lithe above, Revs. Spencer, Fry and Nast, were during their pastorates elected to chairs in universities at Athens, 0., Bloomington, Ill., and Cincinnati, 0. Rev. Spencer has for many years been consul at Geneva and other European cities. The first church edifice was built in 1846 ; it was of brick, and cost $1,500. The present church was erected in 1883. In size it is .60x60 feet, and cost $7,000. Its architecture is pleasing, and it is the most elaborate and commodious church structure in the county. The present membership is 236, with a Sabbath-school attendance of 890. Christian Church, Malta. — The Christian Church of Malta was first organized in 1859 by Elders Asbury Gardner and Enoch Dye. Services were regularly held until about 1861, when the society was for a time broken up. April 10, 1865, the church was reorganized with the following members : Susan Tanner, Elizabeth Townsend, Eli Smith, Ellen Smith, Leithey Smith, Thomas Sheridan, Edith Sheridan, A. P. Sheridan, Matilda Shook, Philip Strahl, Rhoda Strahl, Daniel Rusk, Martha Rusk, Susan Riley, J. M. Rusk, Jacob Power, Elizabeth Palmer, Mary Phillips, Mary Paterson, Samuel Miller, Margaret Miller, Alex. Miller, June Hann, Isaac Hoopes, Keziah Harding, Ann Harding, T. B. Fouts, Mary Fouts, Enoch Dye, Eliza Dye, Catherine Dunlop and Bicy Daniels. The first elders were: Thomas Sheridan and Samuel Miller. Deacons : T. B. Carter, W. J. Sheridan, A. J. Miller. One year from the last organization J. H. Wheeler was chosen an elder and T. B. Fouts deacon. The church building was erected in 1868, at a cost of $1,600, including the lot. The church has a membership of 55, with a Sabbath-school attendance of between 40 and 50. The church employs no regular pastor, but is under the supervision of the eldership. They are assisted in their labors by an evangelist. A. R. Pickens has officiated in. that capacity since 1883. The present officers are : Elders, J. H. Wheeler, Samuel Miller and W. A. Dunn ; deacons, William Benjamin, T. B. Fouts, A. J. Miller and Charles Morin ; A. P. Sheridan, clerk. LODGES. Valley Lodge.—Valley Lodge No. 145, F. & A. M., was organized November 13, 1846, with the following charter members: James Cornelius, Joshua Davis, Milton Seaman, Hiel Dunsmoor, Allen Daniels, J. S. McCuskey, H. C. Grimmel, J. G. Shod] and T. D. Cheadle. The first officers were James Cornelius, W. M.; Joshua Davis, S. W.; Milton Seaman, J. W.; Allen Daniels, treasurer; Hiel Dunsmoor, secretary ; J. S. McCuskey, S. D.; H. C. Grimmel, J. D.; T. D. Cheadle, tyler. Of the charter members only Joshua Davis, Allen Daniels and T. D. Cheadle survive. The lodge is in a prosperous condition, and had seventy members in December, 1885. The officers at that date were Israel Hoopes, W. M.; Charles A. Miller, S. W.; J. W. McKee, J. W.; James Manley, treasurer ; J. W. Beckwith, secretary ; Frank C. Miller, S. D.; S. M. Gillespie, J. D.; W. M. Green, tyler. Odd Fellows.—Malta Lodge No. 287, I. 0. 0. F., was instituted June 19, 1655, 352 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. with the following charter members and first officers : William Sillery, N.G.; Samuel Swasey, V. G.; W. H. Blundon, Rec. Sec.; Geo. E. Halliday, Per. Sec.; Peter Bricker, Treas.; Geo. Weitzell, James Walter, Isaac Walter, George Cain, Jacob Holt and James A. Gillespie. Since organization, 189 members have been admitted. The present membership is 85 and the Lodge is in a prosperous condition, having cash and investments to the value of $1,600. Among the positions held by members of this Lodge, H. E. Miller was a representative to the Grand Lodge of Ohio from the 29th district; C. B. Coulson has served as District Deputy Grand Marshal. The officers-elect (June 1886) were J. D. Hoopes, N. G.; B. F. Roney, V. G.; G. M. Black, R. S.; H. E. Miller, P. S.; H. A. Davis, Treas. WILLIAM SHERWOOD. Zurial. Sherwood, the progenitor of the Sherwood family in Morgan County, was born near Hartford, Conn., in that memorable year, 1776. When a young man he moved to Pennsylvania, settling on the Susquehanna River. There he married Lucy Keeler and for some time kept a tavern and operated a ferry ten miles below Tunkhannock, in the present county of Wyoming. In December, 1809, lie decided to remove to Delaware, Ohio, to which place a brother- in-law, the Rev. Jacob Drake, had preceded him. Accordingly, with his family, consisting of his wife and four children, and his household goods, he Started on his journey. They traveled with a span of horses and a yoke of oxen through a wild region, and arrived at their destination without accident. At Delaware they stopped with Mr. Bigsby, who was the founder of the town. At the outbreak of the war of 1812, the inhabitants of Delaware became alarmed fearing an attack of Indians, and many of them fled in quest of a place of safety. Mr. Sherwood and his family started out without any definite idea of where his stopping place would be. He passed the site of the present city of Columbus, and between that point and Worthington, met the army of General Harrison. The sight of the army brought a feeling of safety, and advancing to Putnam, Muskingum County, Mr. Sherwood decided to locate there for a time. During the war he engaged in the transportation of army supplies and kept tavern. In 1814 he bought what was known as the Moore farm in the present county of Morgan, to which he removed with his family in the fall of 1818. He waS a pioneer salt-maker, and the salt-well which he bored on his farm is believed to have been the first in the county. He continued the business many years. Mr. Sherwood died at the extreme old age of. ninety-five. He was the father of nine children :— William, Raymond, Asa (who died young), Nancy (Conaway), Keeler, Polly (Wells), Sarah (Atchison), Eliza (Robb) and Lucinda (Burgoon). William Sherwood, a venerable pioneer, and one of the most worthy citizens of Morgan County, was born in Pennsylvania, October 1, 1801. As will be understood from the foregoing sketch, he had his full share of pioneer experiences and hardships. Possessed of a keen, discriminating mind, he was an apt scholar, and made the best use of his limited opportunitieS. He was reared on the farm, and in the winter of 1818-19 engaged in teaching a school on Oil Spring Run. By various kinds of PICTURE OF WILLIAM SHERWOOD PICTURE OF EDWIN SHERWOOD MALTA - 353 laborr he became possessed of a few hundred dollars, which he invested in goods and engaged in the mercantile business in Malta about 1825. After being in trade several years he engaged in salt-making on quite an extensive scale, which he followed successfully. The active business career of Mr. Sherwood covered a period of more than forty years. During that time he was largely interested in mercantile business, salt-manufacture, farming and dealing in real estate. For a time he was also the largest producer of petroleum in this section. In company with G. C. Devol, for some time he handled nearly all the salt manufactured on the river. While so extensively engaged in business Mr. Sherwood did not neglect matters of public import. He has always been found willing to encourage and assist every worthy enterprise. In 1852 he was a candidate for member of the constitutional convention. He was also nominated for state senator in 1875, but unfortunately the party to which he belongs has usually been in the minority. He was active in the building of -the McConnelsville and Malta bridge, and has ever been in favor of public improvements. He organized the first county agricultural society, and for many years was its president. Mr. Sherwood was married in 1823 to Rachel Palmer, daughter of William Palmer, one of the pioneers of Malta. It is a fact worthy of mention that this aged couple are now living on the spot where they first met over sixty-five years ago. They have reared a family of five children, all of whom are still living—Edwin, Permelia (Potter), Jane (Mortley), William Oscar and Mary (Gage). EDWIN SHERWOOD. Edwin Sherwood, son of the venerable William Sherwood, is a well-known citizen and a leading farmer of Morgan County. He is a native of the county, having been born in Malta Township, November 28, 1823. Reared in the then new country, he had only the advantages for education afforded by the inferior schools of that period. After working on the farm until a young man, he entered the store of Henry Dawes, in Malta, where he acted as a clerk for about two years. In 1843 he became a clerk in the store of his father, who was then doing business in Malta in partnership with Milton Seaman. He continued this employment until 1847. His father having purchased the Union Salt Works, he then moved to them and took an interest in the business. In 1852, the salt industry being dull, he went to California, where he remained for two years mining and working at other business. In 1854 he returned and purchased his father's interest in the salt works. He conducted the business from that time until 1875, having also a farm and a store besides. He has always been a hard-working man, and often worked day and night about the salt works. Having purchased a part of the Leggett property (about 200 acres), in 1867 he bought the Alexander McConnel farm of 500 acres. His land, which is equal to any in Morgan County in point of excellence, lies together upon the Muskingum River in the southern part of Morgan TOWnship. Mr. Sher wood is one of the largest and most successful farmers and stock-raisers of the county. He is a man of excellent business capacity, and withal is self-made. He has the satisfaction of knowing-that he has earned what he has—and such 354 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. industry as he has shown richly merits success. He is a liberal man, a genial friend and neighbor, and much respected. Mr. Sherwood is a republican. He has adopted no religious creed, but believes in doing right and doing good. He is a friend to every religious denomination and to the cauSe of temperance. He haS never sought office, yet has served as infirmary director and aS president of the Morgan County Agricultural Association. He was. married June 2, 1843, to Margaret G. Simpson, daughter of David Simpson. She was born in Loudon County, Va., and came to Morgan County with her parents when young. Mr. and Mrs. Sherwood have six children-Arthur L., William, Eva (Lovell), Charles W., Oscar T. and Edwin M. JOSHUA DAVIS. Daniel Davis, the father of Joshua, was of Welsh descent. He was born in Maryland, and resided in that State and Pennsylvania until his removal to Ohio. He was chiefly engaged in farming, though he learned the tailor's trade and worked at it for a few years. He was married in Washington County, Pa., to Sally Carrol, by whom he was the father of five sons and one daughter, all born in Washington County. Mrs. Davis died .in Pennsylvania, but all the children settled in Ohio. Mr. Davis died in Union TOWnship in this county in 1859. Joshua Davis, who has been prominently identified with the business interests of Morgan County for many years, was born in Washington County, Pa., June 17, 1808. His early life was passed upon a farm and he attended the common schools, having fair opportunities for obtaining an education until he was ten years of age. Coming to Ohio with his father's family in 1819 he found schools very few and very poor, and for six years he did not see the inside of a schoolhouse. At the age of sixteen he engaged, in Barnesville, Belmont County, in learning the tanner's trade, at which he served until he attained his majority. In July, 1829, he came to Morgan County and for a short time attended school in McConnelsville. Thus ended his school education; but by reading and reflection, aided by keen observation and Sound judgment, his mind has become stored with a great variety of facts and valuable information. In the Spring succeeding hiS arrival in Morgan County, Mr. Davis entered the store of Francis A. Barker in Malta, where he acted as clerk for a year and a half. In the fall of 1831 he rented a tannery in Union Township, which he purchased in the following year and conducted until 1837. Soon after going to Union Township he taught a winter school of sixty scholars. This was his only experience in teaching. In 1837 Mr. Davis moved to Malta, where he has since resided. He engaged in the mercantile business, in which he had a successful and honorable career until his retirement therefrom in 1879. Aside from the mercantile business Mr. Davis has had a prominent part in other industrial and commercial enterprises. He was one of the organizers of the Brown-Manly Plow Company, and Served as president of the company until 1883, when he sold his interest. He helped to organize the First National Bank of McConnelsville and was a member of the first board of directors of that institution. He also assisted in organizing the Malta National Bank, of MALTA - 355 which he has been a director from the beginning. He has ever been found among the encouragers of public improvements, always ready to promote the best interests of his town and county. In 1855 he was elected to the office of County Commissioner, in which he served for sixteen years. In his extensive business career he has formed a wide circle of friends and acquaintances among whom he has maintained the highest reputation for uprightness and integrity of character. He was formerly a whig, but has been a member of the republican party since its formation. Ile is a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church to which he has belonged for over fifty years. Mr. Davis was married July 18, 1832, to Nancy Williams, daughter of John Williams, an early settler of McConnelsville. She died in 1863, having borne nine children—Catherine, who died young ; Perley B., a minister of the Ohio Conference of the M. E. Church ; Edwin P., who died at the age of. twenty ; Oscar, died, aged three years; Sarah E., died when five months old ; Henry A., now a prominent merchant of Malta ; Mary E., wife of Rev. Frank G. Mitchell, of the Cincinnati Conference of the M. E. church ; John Francis, of Corner, Walker Davis, Malta; and Charles W., engaged in the manufacture of spices at Wichita, Kan. March 10, 1864, Mr. Davis was married to his present wife, Mrs. Lucy Woodmansee (nee Corner). JOHN E. THOMAS. John Thomas, the father of the immediate subject of this biography, was born in Wales, England, and came to this country in the same vessel that brought Gen. La Fayette. He settled in Virginia, where he married Miss Sarah Partridge. They resided in Charlestown, Virginia, where John E. was born in 1808. Mrs. Thomas was a daughter of one of the prominent men of that section and a slave-holder. This fact in connection with business disasters induced them to emigrate to Ohio, hoping that in the new country they might be able to retrieve their shattered fortunes. John E. was a lad of eight years at the time of the family's emigration, and still retains a vivid recollection of the struggles of his father in the new country. Just as better times began to dawn, the mother died (1820), and about two years later the father also died leaving their children to care for themselves. At the age of fifteen John E. was apprenticed to the trade of a woolen manufacturer, with the provision that he was to have three months schooling each year. After the expiration of his term of apprenticeship (five years and six months) he engaged in business with his brother in New Lexington where they operated a grist and woolen mill. In 1835 Thomas E. came to McConnelsville where he formed a co-partnership with General Robert McConnel in the business of manufacturing woolen goods. They continued in business for nine years. He next purchased the Malta Mill in company with Messrs. Stone and Brown. Two years afterward Mr. Thomas sold his interest and in company with Mr. Seaman engaged in the dry goods business in the building known as the Thomas and Rogers store-room. In 1852 he purchased the Windsor Flouring Mill which lie operated very successfully. He retained, however, his interest in the store, and soon after purchased Sea- 356 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. man's interest. The firm was afterward knOWn as Sprague & Co. In 1855 he bought the farm where he now resides. Since this time he has devoted himself to the improvement of the property. The life of Mr. Thomas has been a successful one. He has identified himself with all the leading enterprises of his time. He was one of the incorporators of the First National Bank of McConnelsville and was interested for many years in its management. He was also prominent in the construction of the bridge and was president of the company before its sale to the county. He has been active, thorough, and progressive in all matters. Mr. Thomas has been married three times. His first wife, whom he married in 1832, was Miss Elizabeth Comly. He was married to his second wife, Miss Mary Ann Sprague, in 1848. In 1879 he was married to his present wife, nee Mrs. Frankie Webb. JAMES MANLY. William H. Manly, the father of the subject of this notice, was born in Cecil County, Maryland, in 1804. His wife, whose maiden name was Sarah D. 'Walter, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania. They married in 1827 and Settled in Chester County, where they resided until 1833, when the family removed to Belmont County, Ohio. Mr. Manley was a miller, and followed that occupation until lie came to Ohio, after which lie worked at farming. In May, 1839, he moved to Homer Township, now in Morgan County, and about four years later to Penn Township, where he resided until his decease in 1879. His first wife died in 1844, and in the following year he married Rebecca Michener, of Penn Township, who is still living. Of the first marriage eight children were born, three of whom are dead — James, William, Rachel (deceased), Joseph (deceased), Thomas, Louisa (deceased), Frank B. and Sarah M. The children of the second marriage were Mary (deceased) and Anna. Mr. Manly was a Whig and afterward a Republican ; a man of decided views and of unblemished character. James Manly, the oldest son of William H. and Sarah D Manly, was born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, January 22, 1829. He came to Ohio with his parents, and until sixteen years of age worked at farming, grubbing, clearing, etc., having the usual experience of farmers' sons in a new country. His school education was limited, his attendance being confined to two or three months in the winter season at the inferior schools of that time. At the age of sixteen he was apprenticed to George Williams, of Morganville, a manufacturer of wagons and threshing machines, to learn the trade. His apprenticeship being completed in three years, in 1848, at the age of nineteen, in partnership with his uncle, James Walter, he opened a shop at Chaneyville. At the end of four years Mr. Manly purchased his uncle's interest. From 1852 to 1860 he carried on the business alone, making wagons, threshing-machines, etc., employing five or six hands and doing a prosperous business. In 1860 he formed a partnership with his brother, Frank B. Manly, who had learned the trade in his shop. They continued the business at Chaneyville until 1864, when they removed to Malta, and with W. P. and J. Brown formed a partnership under the style of Brown, Manly & Co. This was the beginning MALTA - 357 of the important establishment known as the Brown-Manly Plow Works, the history of which appears on another page. The business, successful from the first, increased rapidly, and in 1870 a joint stock company was formed under the name of the Brown-Manly Plow Company. In 1882, upon the retirement of Joshua Davis, Mr. Manly succeeded him as president of the company, which position he still holds. As will be seen from the foregoing, Mr. Manly is a self-made man, his success in life being wholly the result of his own labors and his excellent business qualifications. He is a gentleman of modest disposition, but of sterling worth of character. As a citizen he is public-spirited and liberal, and at all times zealous in encouraging every worthy object. He is a Republican in politics, and a member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken the Knight Templar degree. He was married in 1850 to Lydia Naylor, daughter of Samuel and Abigail Naylor. Mrs. Manly was born in Jefferson County and came to Penn Township, Morgan County, when an infant. This union has been blessed with five children-- Mary A. (Brown), Sarah D. (Pickett), Samuel N., Elizabeth E. (Scott) and Capitola S.—all living in Malta. SAMUEL MELLOR. Samuel Mellor, one of the pioneers of Ohio, was born in Liverpool, England, in 1794. In 1802 the family immigrated to Washington County where they resided until 1833, when they removed to Morgan County and settled on a farm in the southern part of Malta Township where he followed farming, and also worked at his trade —coopering. He, died in 1880, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. He was a prominent citizen and served several years as 1nfirmary director. His first wife, nee Margaret Young, of Washington County, bore six children— George W. (deceased), Almira (Keyser), John Benjamin (deceased), William E. (deceased), and Samuel W. For his second wife he married Joanna Bacon, of Washington County, by whom he had one child, Henry L. John Mellor, tinsmith of Malta, is among the old residents of that place. He learned trade in McConnelsville and opened a shop in Malta in 1845. With the exception of seven years he has been there ever since. WILLIAM V. MELLOR Was born in Washington County, July 10, 1824, son of Samuel and Margaret (Young) Mellor. In 1832 the family removed to Morgan County, settling in Malta township. W. V. Mellor received a common school education and acted as a teacher for several winters. In 1849 in company with his brother Benjamin, and Washington McConnel, son of General Alexander McConnel, he doubled Cape Horn—which was considered more of a feat in those days than at present. After three years in the mining region of the West, during which he accumulated some means, he returned to his old home. In 1854 they bought the place now owned by his widow and family. Mr. Mellor was married in 1857 to Mrs. Jane Mellor, nee Massey. Her father, Matthew Massey, a native of Ireland, settled near Triadelphia in this county in 1816, and died in 1820. There were born of this union Annie, George S., Perley B. and Clara. Mr. Mellor was a prominent citizen and a very useful one. He 358 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO waS active in raising bounties during the war, and was always charitable and kind. He was always called Billy Mellor, and was on good terms with everybody. He held Some local offices, and was a member of Webb Lodge (Masonic). He died in August, 1885. His oldest son, George S., is a graduate of Dennison University, Granville, Ohio, and the other children have taken regular courses at good schools. JOHN MILLER. Edward Miller, Sen., a native of England, came to America at the age of nineteen and with his parents, settled on Wolf Creek about three miles north of Beverly. Thence, about 1806, he came to what is now the Sherwood farm in Malta Township in Morgan County, which he purchased and began improving. A Small clearing, consisting of about sixteen acres, had previously been made upon the place by John Lockhart. Mr. Miller was among the earliest of the pioneers of Morgan County and encountered all the hardships and difficulties incident to life in the new and unsettled country. In 1816 he sold out and moved to Wolf Creek in the present township of Union where he resided the remainder of his life. He was a successful farmer and a worthy citizen. He died June 23, 1838, in the sixty-third year of his age. His wife, whose maiden name was Catherine Nulton, he married in Washington County. They reared a family of ten children : Mary, the oldest, was the wife of Thomas Byers, and is now deceased ; Edward iS now living in Malta, at an advanced age ; John resides in Malta Township ; Samuel is dead ; William and George live in Iowa.; Elizabeth (deceased), married William Spurrier; Melissa, the widow of William Graham, resides in Tuscarawas County ; Matilda (deceased) married Isaac Dye ; Sally married William Spurrier and lives in Union Township. John Miller, the immediate subject of this sketch, was born on the present Sherwood farm in Morgan County, June 13, 1810, and is therefore among the oldest residents of the county. He passed his earlier years at home upon the farm, having but limited opportunities for obtaining an education. When about twenty-one years of age, he began work for himself, following farming for a short time. He next engaged for about nine years in building salt-boats upon the Muskingum River, and freighting salt and other products to Cincinnati and other Southern points. In 1840 he married Elizabeth McComas, daughter of Nicholas McComas, of this county, and soon afterward settled upon a farm. He has since been engaged very successfully in farming, and is now considered one of the best farmers in the county. He has resided on his present farm since 1847. His home farm consists of 430 acres of good and finely improved land, pleasantly situated upon the river a short distance above the village of Malta. Mr. Miller has dealt considerably in real estate, and haS always been an active business man. He was one of the incorporators of the Malta National Bank, and has been one of the directors since its organization. He was also a director of the McConnelsville National Bank for several years. Mr. Miller was formerly a whig and is now a republican. He was an anti-slavery man ; is a friend of temperance and other good work. His character and Standing are two well known to the people of PICTURE OF JOHN MILLER MALTA - 359 Morgan County to require commendation here ; in all his dealings he has been honorable and just. Mr. Miller's first wife died in 1855, having borne two children, Kate M. (Stanbery) and Hiel D. The latter is now cashier of the Malta National Bank. In 1857 Mr. Miller married Nancy A. Wright, daughter of John Wright, of this county. Their children are Harry E., J. Emmet and Blanche. HIEL DUNSMOOR. Hiel Dunsmoor—the immediate subject of this sketch—was, like all the Dunsmoors, Dinsmoors, Dinsmores and Densmores, in Europe and America, so far as is known, decended from the " Laird of Achenwead," through his youngest son. This Laird," whose name it is understood was — Dunsmoor, lived at Achenwead, on the river Tweed, in Scotland, about the time the Pilgrims landed in America. The laws in Scotland at that remote period, decended from feudal times, made the eldest son of a family of quality the sole heir to titles and estates, on which account and the feeling. of degradation engendered by the deference enforced from him by his father toward his eldest brother, in recognition of said laws, and the accompanying prevailing customs relating thereto, this youngest son, when seventeen years of age, left home without his father's permission, went to Ireland, married, and settled in the County of Antrim. The Dunsmoor coat-of-arms is described as " a farm on a plate of green, with three sheaves of wheat standing in the center." This son who settled in Ireland had four sons, the eldest of whom, named John, with his wife, children and grandchildren, were of the original party of Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who emigrated to New England from the north of Ireland, in 1719, and formed the settlement of Londonderry, New Hampshire, so named after their native place. To this same party we are indebted for the introduction into North America of the culture and manufacture of flax, and the culture of the potato, which vegetable " their neighbors for a long time regarded as a pernicious root, altogether unfit for a christian stomach." This opinion of those remote times, contrasted with the present, reminds us that in the affairs of the stomach, as well as in the realms of mind, morals and theology, " the world moves." Of these last named children, one—a physician— named John, was the great-grandfather, his son John, who it is understood was his eldest, was the grandfather, and Phineas—a son of the latter—was the father of Hiel Dunsmoor. The grandfather—John Dunsmoor—married Mary Kimball and resided for an extended period in Townsend, Mass., where eight children were born to them—five boys and three girls. John, the eldest son, married, but his wife's maiden name is not known ; he resided in Charlestown, N. H. Joseph married a Miss McNeal of New York state, resided for some years in Charlestown, then removed to New York, it is understood, some place on the Susquehanna, where he remained the balance of his life, so far as is known. Of William it is not known whether he married or not ; he resided in Charlestown. Samuel, the youngest son, married Miss Anna Powers and settled in Vermont. Of the girls, the names of two, Miriam and Hannah only are known. Miriam married Rufus Leland; they resided in Charlestown. Hannah married Benjamin Pierce, a cousin of President 360 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO Pierce. They also resided in Charlestown many years, afterwards removing to Amherst, N. H., where they were when last heard from. The remaining sister married a Mr. Saunders. They settled in Boston, where, as a merchant, he became quite wealthy. The grandmother, for a second husband, married a Mr. Lovell; no children however were born to them. Her son Phineas,the father of Hiel, was born at Townsend, Mass., as has been previously indicated, December 29, 1771. He was married April 10, 1798, to Polly Gage, who was born in Pelham, N. H., July 16, 1782. She was a daughter of Abner Gage—a patriot soldier of the revolution—who, in the battle of Bunker. Hill, had a portion of one foot taken off by a cannon ball ; her mother's maiden name was Susan Ober, and the latter had a sister whose first husband—a Mr. Hull—died in the Revolutionary army; her second husband was a Mr. McLaughlin. Besides Polly, they hid four children—three boys and one girl ; of the boys, Abner married a Miss Hesalton, of Salem, N. H., Daniel married Miss Polly, a daughter of Dr. Shaw, of Unity, N. H., Joseph married a Miss Sprague, of Claremont, N. H., the remaining daughter, Susan, the eldest child, married Phineas Hull, her cousin. The mother,died at Ackworth, N. H., in 1789, and after a time Abner, the father, married a Miss Rodgers, for his second wife. They had four sons and one daughter born to them. Of the sons, John married Ruth Woodbury. Of the other sons, Joshua, Eliphalet and Stephen, nothing besides their names is known save that they married and Eliphalet had two sons; the daughter, Ruth, married Samuel Strong. Phineas Dunsmoor, after having married Miss Gage as before stated resided, it is understood, as a farmer, at Charlestown, Sullivan County, N. H., about eighteen years, where, October 20, 1807, their son Hiel was born. The even tenor of the father's life, like that of many others, was rudely, broken in upon by the war of 1812. He was then a captain of cavalry but did not perform any active service. He was, however, ordered to " hold his company in readiness to march to Portsmouth at an hour's notice," where several British ships, laden with soldiers, were in the offing several days with seeming intentions to land them, which action it was desired to prevent if attempted, but it was not. From Charlestown he removed to Goshen, same county, in 1816, trading for a hotel stand and a large farm adjoining. Here he kept hotel until the spring of 1822, doing an excellent business, that then being an important or favorite stopping point for a large wagon-road travel on the principal route between Vermont and Boston, this being before the days of railroads. There is now, however, but an occasional traveler, and the place, as a village, is sinking in decay. In the spring of 1822, when Hiel was fifteen years of age the family, consisting of the father and mother and their children, four boys and two girls (of which more anon) left New Hampshire in wagons for Ohio-in that day deemed in " the far west." They came through the State of- New York, along the Shore of Lake Erie, and down to Ashtabula County, Ohio. Thence, after, tarrying a short time at Mrs. Dunsmoor's father's, who with his family had removed and settled there in about 1810-, they proceeded to what is now Fairfield (was then Wesley) Township, Washington County, Ohio, arriving in July, 1822, PICTURE OF H. DUNSMOOR MALTA - 361. and settled on a tract of 905 acres of land for which Mr. Dunsmoor had traded his Goshen, N. H., hotel stand and adjacent farm with J. Brick, one of the original "Ohio company." They lived temporarily in a log schoolhouse of the settlement, soon erecting and moving into a log house of the prevailing primitive type, the roof being secured by weight poles, nails not then being purchasable in that part of the country. This house, as has been chronicled of those of many other pioneers, was at first, however, shadowed by the " forest primeval," and the howling of wolves formed the common refrain of the night time with which the ears of the family were regaled. Here the father quite suddenly died in the following May. In his illness he was attended, but perhaps ineffectually, on account of the distance he had to be summoned and come from, by Dr. S. P. Hildreth, the talented pioneer physician and historian of Marietta. His death was a paralyzing blow to the family, as the children were all comparatively young and the heavy work of clearing the forest was yet mainly before them; but the mother was an energetic intelligent woman, and her sons were scions of a father, self- contained, intelligent, of great energy and firmness of purpose to which was added a high sense of and honor for right and duty, who, had he lived, would have been a pOWer for the advancement of the community with which he had newly cast his lot. They therefore set bravely to work, and in due time much of the forest was laid low and Smiling fields a rustling corn and waving grain greeted the eye in its stead. Though, as it may interest some to know, wheat then sold for 371 cents per bushel at Marietta, their market, twenty miles away. The original homestead was about one mile northwest of the present Layman, Ohio, postoffice ; its site and the main portion of the original tract is yet in the hands of Lucius and his and Horace's children. Besides Hiel, Mr. and Mrs. Dunsmoor had been bleSsed with seven children, as follows : Horace, born October 11, 1799 ; Hiram, born December 21, 1802 ; Abner, born March 17, 1804; Mary K., born August 13, 1805 ; Lucius P., born January 25, 1810; Ataline G., born September 18, 1812; Daniel N., born November 26, 1817. Of these children, all save Daniel N., were born at Charleston, N. H., Daniel being born at Goshen, same state. Hiram died at Charlestown, January 224 1804, the others save Abner, Horace and Hiel, are yet (1886) living. Horace married Jane Bishop, a neighbor's daughter, of Wesley township, and lived a farmer. They had children as follows: Marian, Sylvester L., Gilbert, Susan, Caroline, Emily, Alson, Euphama, Carmi, George and Harriet. The father died in 1878, his wife having preceded him a short time. Abner married Miss Emily E. Topliff, of Quincy, Ill. She, however, died soon after without issue, a few years after which he married a Miss Miller, of same place, by whom he had a son—Augustus M.—and, about two years after, a daughter, which latter, however, died in infancy, accompanying her mother. The father died in 1853, having been a merchant most of his life. Mary K. married Ephriam Palmer, of what is now Palmer township, Washington County, Ohio. He was a farmer and at one time a colonel in the State militia. They had children as follows: Phineas, Lydia, Polly, Ruth, Abner and Ermina. The father died many years ago. Lucius P. married Mahala Williams, of Wesley 362 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. township, and has always lived a farmer ; they had children as follows : Albina, Polly, Jane, Josephine, Laura, Jasper and Lodema. The mother died in 1876. Ataline G. married Hiram Gard, of what is now Palmer township, Washington County, Ohio, whose long life has been occupied in the main by farming and merchandising — about equally. He has also followed old-time milling and droving, and was a lieutenant-colonel in the old State militia when that of his county disbanded. They had children as follows : Edward, Charles, Mary, Martha, Helen, Hosmer and Hiel ; Daniel N. married Julia Goddard, of what is now Fairfield Township, Washington County, Ohio. They had one son, name not known. The father afterward married Mrs. Isabel Harvey, of Barlow Township, Washington County, Ohio. They had three children, Pearly, Harvey and Alonzo. The son Hiel, who and his immediate family will exclusively be the subject of the remainder of this sketch, always having been of a very social nature-both his parents also being of a social temperament—early sought a companion to share his joys and sorrows at a fireside of their own, and his choice fell on Miss Susannah Mellor, whom he married in 1827, when he was about nineteen and a half years of age. She was a daughter of Samuel MellOr, who came from England when about nineteen years of age and lived — a farmer — near Waterford, Washington County, Ohio. "His domestic comforts in this marriage was all that could be desired." They had five children, all of whom lived to marry. The eldest—Susannah H.— married Smith Daniels, of Milan, Erie County, Ohio, to which place they removed, and where she died, May 3f 1853, of consumption, leaving no issue. The second daughter—Folly G. married George S. Brownell, of Situate, R. I.; she, also, died, May 3, 1853, leaving three children—Mary, Susan and George Hiel. The father volunteered into the 63d regiment, O. V. I., in the war of the rebellion, and—as. a first lieutenant—was one who led the night attack on Fort Wagner, near Charlestown, S. C., on July 18, 1863, in which attack he was killed by a shot in the breast. The third daughter—Jane Miranda—married Jesse D. Thomas, of Putnam, Washington County, Ohio, who then removed to Windsor, Morgan County, same state, and engaged in mercantile business; the mother died of consumption, January 28, 1848, leaving two children, both girls, the eldest— Marcella I.; the youngest, Florence M.1— who have since resided principally with their grandfather Thomas, in Putnam, Ohio. The next child—Ephraim P.—was horn May 5, 1833; he married Miss Sarah F. Fouts, daughter of Lemon Fouts, 3d, of Malta, Morgan County, Ohio.. They had seven children respectively as follows : Alice Mabel, Ella Maria, May Cordilla, two sons who lived but one month and thirteen days each, Florence, and a son who, in the fall of 1878 or 9, when of not more than a few fleeting moments or hogs in this bright world, departed with his mother for the brighter. The father was engaged for an extended period with his father in the manufacture of furniture at Malta, afterward was in the livery business at Zanesville, and at present is house- building in Belton, Mo. The youngest child—Marian. Josephine Elmira.--was born March 27, 1836. She married Gardner D. Newcomb, a MALTA - 363 machinist, of Bernham, Me., when they removed to Portsmouth, Ohio, where, after a residence of eleven months, Charles T.—their only child—was born. They very soon afterward removed Successively to Malta and Zanesville, Ohio, remaining a comparatively brief period at each, when the mother went into a decline and—like innumerable others who had gone before and still others who will follow her—came to the parental roof to die, which she soon after did, of consumption. Their son remained with his grandfather (Dunsmoor) until his majority, at whose home his children and grandchildren ever found without stint a haven of rest and that open- handed and unremitting hospitality for which he was widely noted ; the " father followed the example of thousands of others and, at his country's call for volunteers, enrolled his name in the 62d 0. V. I., in 188I, and was one of those brave boys who made the night attack on Fort Wagner, was wounded in the shoulder by a Minnie ball but recovered." The remorseless hand of consumption was also lain on Susannah —Mr. Dunsmoor's wife and she died, November 1st, 1353. In the contemplation of the aggregate of his bereavement caused by consumption, Mr. Dunsmoor was led to exclaim (I give his own words, as I have twice before in this sketch since the record of his marriage, and will once or twice again after the present quotation), "thus in a few years' time, with that fell disease consumption, have I been deprived of a dear wife and four children, leaving me none except my son Ephraim of all my family. Could the fact have been made known to me that in so short a time death was to deprive me so nearly of all my family, it seems to me that it would have dethroned my reason ; still the back is prepared for the burden and man submits to the Divine will; these oft dispensations of Providence convince us that this is not our abiding place. I feel that I have treasures in heaven and will shortly be there with them." On June 26, 1854, Mr. Dunsmoor was again married to Miss Lucy Atwood, of Union Village, Broome County, N. Y., "daughter of a farmer named Stephen Atwood, who was a descendent, in a direct line, of the Pilgrims who came to Plymouth, Mass., in the Mayflower." When about twenty-one years of age he walked from Massachusetts to his previously mentioned home, carrying with him all of this world's goods he then possessed, being preceded, however, by what he doubtless valued more than pulseless mammon—a comely young woman with whom he had previously formed an acquaintance which had evidently been mutually pleasing, for they were married soon after his arrival at what was ever afterward his home. The house he built—or had built—for himself about sixty years ago to take the place of his first rude log one, is yet standing and in good preservation, being occupied by one of his several children yet living—and prosperously— in the same neighborhood. The house is somewhat peculiar in appearance, being shingled on the sides (the original shingles) as well as on the roof. " This— like Mr. Dunsmoor's first marriage- was one of domestic happiness." Nobly has the second Mrs. Dunsmoor filled the office of wife, mother and grandmother, for her husband, his children (what were left) and grandchildren ; in fact the latter have almost—perhaps entirely—known no other in her place. 364 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. Side by sine with her noble husband she has uniformly with grace, good sense, sincerity and generosity, welcomed and entertained relatives and friends as becomes a wife, of a leading and honorable citizen. She has by the same side performed that nobler office-wept with the sorrowing and had an unvarying smile and helping hand to welcome and encourage the broken in health and spirit and for their orphans. Mr. Dunsmoor commenced his business career as a farmer immediately after his marriage ; moving on his farm, he worked on it in the summer and taught school —and very successfully in the winter. This—until he got his farm cleared— perhaps three or four years, when he sold his farm, moved to Brown's Mills, Washington County, Ohio, and engaged in the mercantile business, having bought his brother-in-law—H. Gard's-goods, the latter having previously been engaged there in the same business. While thus engaged he took in his brother Abner as a partner, when they enlarged their business by engaging to some extent in old-time flat-boating, i. e , buy or get made a boat of the style then in vogue, buy country produce (pork, bacon, flour, potatoes, etc.) sufficient to load it, and when this done, and at a proper rise of the river, one of the partners, assisted by about three men, would embark, generally for the Crescent City, though they would generally "coast as they went," i. e., sell to the natives at towns and large plantations at different points on their way down, tarrying at each as they found it to pay, winding up each trip generally at New Orleans by selling the boat and its remaining contents, when—after seeing the sights of the city—they would return home on a steamboat. Of the latter, however, there were few yet running compared with the present. Mr. Dunsmoor at this time and after he removed to Malta, Ohio (of latter more particulars farther along), made quite a number of theSe trips personally for himself and partners, meeting with various adventures as he naturally would, some of which were exciting and dangerous. In after years it was a favorite and muchasked-for treat for his children and grand-children to hear him tell stories of when he was down the river." Lack of space forbids the narration of any of them here except one briefly outlined. Mr. Dunsmoor at the termination of one of these trips was sauntering along a street in New Orleans when he was attracted by one of the oft-read-of slave auctions. He approached and became a spectator. lie saw among other sales a mother and her little child of perhaps three years put on the block and sold to different masters, and when the child was ordered taken away, the mother clung to, it until the planter who had bought the child raised his cane seemingly to strike her. She then fell in a swoon and the child was removed from her arms, likely never again to nestle there in this world. Mr. Dunsmoor (to use his own words) quit the scene, and as he walked away exclaimed in the fullness of his heart, " My God! is this the boasted land of liberty ? is this the asylum for the oppressed of every land ? This blot on our country's otherwise fair escutcheon, Mr. Dunsmoor happily lived to see removed. After continuing in business in Brown'? Mills some two or three years, (in 1867) he removed to Malta ; also his militia experience ended about this time or a MALTA - 365 little before. On arriving at mustering age (18 years), he had joined a company, raised, it is understood, in Barlow, Wesley and Roxbury townships, of which he was soon elected or appointed a subaltern officer, in which capacity he served a short time, when he was appointed by his colonel, Ephraim Palmer, an officer of his staff—adjutant 1st Regiment, 1st Brigade, 3rd Division Ohio Militia, in which capacity he served until the regiment was disbanded, which was caused by important changes in militia laws. Upon removing to Malta, Mr. Dunsmoor entered into partnership with William and Edward Mellor, and again carried on mercantile business for perhaps about three years, when he sold his interest to one or both of the Mellors. He next (in 1840) formed a partnership with John Timms, and yet again carried on merchandising and flat-boating in connection—more of the latter here than when he was in the same business at Brown's Mills. (For further detail regarding this latter business see former mention of business done at latter point). This firm continued in business about three years, when it closed out, the immediate cause of which well illustrates Mr. Dunsmoor's incorruptible honesty under trying circumstances. Therefore it will be briefly narrated here : In 1843 he and Mr. Timms took their last boat down south ; it was loaded with pork, bacon, etc., but finding a poor market at New Orleans this time, they, by the advice of authority they deemed entirely trustworthy (and likely it was) forwarded the cargo to a commission firm in New York to dispose of. They in due time received advice from the firm that their goods were sold and to draw on them " at sight," which they did, but the paper was protested and they lost the entire amount, which, being a valuable cargo, left Mr. Dunsmoor worth $1,500, less than nothing; but he (in 1845) commenced business again, this time that of selling clocks on commission, Allen Daniels furnishing the capital. He continued in this business until 1848 or a little after, operating in the states of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, when, though he had been quite successful, he was forced to quit the business, the chills and fever having fastened themselves upon him, which was a more serious matter in those days than now. He had, however, by this means been enabled to pay all his debts dollar for dollar, which he did without his creditors having recourse on him in any way. He was very jealous of his reputation for honesty, and ever after this occasionally with great comfort of mind reverted to this incident in and part of his business career and to the fact that he had been enabled to pay in full, "no man ever having lost a cent by him." The same year he quit the clock business, he engaged with David Dickerson in the foundry business. He continued with Mr. Dickerson until 1850, the firm name being Dunsmoor & Dickerson. In 1851 the firm name changed to Dunsmoor, Guthrie & Co., but it is not known who, besides Mr. Dunsmoor and Mr. Guthrie composed this last firm, which continued the business until 1856 or 1857, when Mr. Dunsmoor sold his interest to Messrs. Guthrie and Seaman, and was the same year appointed secretary of a projected railroad known as the Pittsburgh, Maysville and Cincinnati Railroad, of which he was also a director. He continued secretary of this corporation for several years after work was stopped on the road. He since, at different times, has 366 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. been prominently connected with other railroad projects, by which it was hoped to develop his county and furnish a reliable communications for its citizens with the outside world. Lack of sufficient financial support has, however, heretofore prevented all these hoped-for improvements from being completed. In 1858 Mr. Dunsmoor bought the furniture establishment of Jackson Palmer, which business he energetically (as he did whatever he engaged in) carried on until his death, enlarging and improving the establishment from time to time, and eventually taking in as a partner a worthy nephew, Augustus, son of his brother Abner, which nephew he had raised as he would a son (be not being a son, nor an adopted one, as supposed by many), his mother, as will be remembered, having died when he was but about two years of age. Three of his little orphan grandchildren met with the same benignant treatment, and as has been said before, his hospitable doors and great heart were always open to all of them to come and go as they listed. But the children designated, being orphaned at a tender age, had his more particular attention. Mr. Dunsmoor, during his life time, was by his fellow-citizens elected, and he served many terms as justice of the peace (than which there are few more honorable positions among men, if elected, as he was, and the office filled as it was by him) He was frequently called upon to fill various other honorable and responsible positions being one of those men always looked to by his neighbors for the management of their public affairs of moment, when wisdom, recognized character, and business tact were needed. Mr. Dunsmoor became a Master Mason in the McConnelsville Ohio Lodge, February 2, 1846. He was instrumental in organizing Malta Lodge, of which he was 'a member at the time of his death, and the last of its charter members. He had filled the several higher stations in the lodge most acceptably. A good many years before be died he became a Royal Arch Mason, which he was in good standing ever after. He was a member of the Universalist church for fifty years, also one of the original members of the McConnelsville church: He died October 28, 1883, having attained the age, of seventy-six years. His wife, Lupy A., survives him. They had no children. Hiel Dunsmore, besides having the characteristics heretofore indicated, was a shrewd judge of men and their motives, of noble presence and dignified bearing, and " to a character of sterling worth united (as can be well said of his surviving wife) a genial, hearty temperament which rejoiced in the society of friends and found a chief pleasure of life in their companionship. A good talker, he possessed a fund of anecdote and reminiscence which together made him excellent company." Mrs. Dunsmoor was born in Union Village, N. Y., April 8, 1825, and came to Morgan County in June of 1853, and was married to Mrs. Dunsmoor the following year. Her father, Stephen Atwood, was born in 1785. His father, Samuel Atwood, was a native of Massachusetts, and was born in 1754. Stephen married Miss Lucy Briggs in 1811. He was a farmer by occupation. In 1820 the maternal grandfather of Mrs. Dunsmoor (Briggs) came to Chesterfield, where he died in 1821. GEORGE L. CORNER. Among the prominent pioneer citizens who have lived and died in MALTA - 367 Morgan County, one of the most deserving of a place in these biographical sketches is George Lowe Corner, a man of unobtrusive disposition yet of generally recognized worth and influence. The succession of events which determined his settlement in the county is ancestral history, interesting to quite a large family connection living in this region of Ohio, while having an appropriate place in this memoir. George Corner and Martha (Dumbill,) Corner, his grandparents, were well-to-do people of the middle class of Cheshire, England, where they acquired by purchase a tract of some eleven hundred acres of land in the wilds of Kentucky, with a view to emigration and settlement there. Accordingly, soon after, in the early part of the year 1795, they sailed for America, bringing with them all their immediate descendants, embracing a number of grandchildren. A tedious voyage brought them to Baltimore, Md., and though here some of their party were smitten with yellow fever, they pressed toward their intended home, crossed the mountains, descended the Ohio River, and in August of the same year arrived at Marietta, 0., leaving, however, one of their number, a victim of the fever, buried in the woods lof Pennsylvania, near the "Big Springs" of the Juniata. At Marietta, learning that their lands were far beyond and distant inland from the river, they concluded to remain for a time under the protection of the stockade there, and the elder Corner entrusted the title papers to their lands to Herman Blannerhassett, then a noted lawyer of the vicinity, for the purpose of perfecting their claim by such further measures as might be required. Before this was accomplished, Blannerhassett's house was burned and with it the title to their Kentucky purchase. This occurrence determined the settlement of most of this family of immigrants within the then extended limits of Washington County, 0. George, the grandfather and George, his son, (whose wife was Ann (Clark) Corner) settled on Wolf Creek, within the bounds of what is now Windsor Township, Morgan County, where to George and Ann was born, October 23, 1797, their fourth child, George L., believed to be the second ;white child born within the present limits of the county. In 1802, the father being an invalid, removed to New York City to avail himself of medical skill, but in the winter 1804-5 the family returned to their Wolf Creek home, leaving the husband and father buried on the banks of the Monongahela in a cemetery near Cookstown, Pa. On their return they found the grandfather had also deceased. The widowed mother, with her young family, had then and there to buffet with the hardships and privations of pioneer life. George L. remained with her on her little farm, acting his part as a good and dutiful son, till, at the age of sixteen years, he was apprenticed to a Mr. Currier, of Athens, 0., to learn the tanning and currying trade. Upon completion of his indentures he found work, near Wheeling, Pa., upon the National Pike, then being built. By rigid economy and industry he saved money enough to make the first payment on a quarter-section of land, which he located in` Township and upon which he built a cabin and 368 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. made a little clearing, and again started out in quest of work to secure, what was then so scarce and yet so necessary to hold, the purchase-money for his deferred payments. After long and diligent search be found employment at his trade at Georgetown, Brown County, O., where he 'remained and wrought till his savings were sufficient to meet the payments on his lands and then returned to devote his energies, quite successfully, to establishing a tanning business and the improvement of his property. As a citizen of Union Township he took a prominent position in its affairs for several years prior to his removal to Malta, in 1833, serving as justice of the peace to general acceptance. He was especially useful in harmonizing and adjusting suits and disputes amongst his neighbors. By reason of his sound sense, good judgment and strict integrity his advice was sought in many affairs in the circles of his business and social acquaintance. The business career of Mr. Corner has been so thoroughly outlined in the chapters of this history devoted to Union and Malta Townships, that it is not deemed necessary to reproduce it here. From 1833 until his decease he was successfully engaged in merchandising. For his first store building, at Malta, he went into the woods, felled the trees, and hewed the timbers. He was held in high and general esteem for his solid, manly character, distinguishing traits of which were benevolence, candor, and a high sense of justice. Envy or malice had no place in his heart, and he preferred always to speak good rather than ill of others. In manner he was considerate, kind and engaging; calm, prudent and self-possessed under adverse circumstances. His public spirit was attested by the liberal aid he gave to every enterprise that tended to promote the welfare of the county. His educational opportunities, were of course, very limited, but he possessed good natural ability, and by attention to such opportunities as he had, he attained intelligence above the average. An earnest christian, he practiced in his daily life the tenets of his belief. He was one of the founders of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Malta, and for many years its main stay and support. His useful life closed August 11, 1857. His departure was widely lamented and the inquiry was frequently made, " who is they to take his place ? " Mr. Corner was married November 28, 1822, to Miss Sarah W. Hart, then of Athens County, an estimable christian lady of New England parentage, who survived him about three years. There were born to them nine children, May, Emily, Lucy, Eliza A., Sarah, Martha, Marcus L., George S., and Newell. MALTA TOWNSHIP. This township was the latest formed in Morgan County. It was set off in 1839, its territory being principally taken from Morgan Township, with the addition of a few sections from Deerfield. On the list of pioneer voters in Morgan" Township, given in Chapter XVIII, will be found the names of many whose locations were within the present limits of Malta Township. Edward Miller, who was born in 1805, and who came to the township in 1806, says that they were few settlers until after the close of the war of 1812, PICTURE OF GEORGE L. CORNER MALTA - 369 Then for a few years land was taken up rapidly and it was not long before all the most desirable tracts had been entered. Some of the .old-time pioneer hunters alarmed at the encroachment of the settlers upon the territory where they had been for years engaged in their pursuit unmolested, left their little clearings, and with guns and axes upon their shoulders departed to the westward in search of regions where game was plentier and neighbors were fewer. But to those who had formerly enjoyed the comforts of civilization and who loved the companionship of their fellow-men, it was many years before their surroundings appeared otherwise than wild, desolate and forbidding. Indeed, as late as 1835, the aspect of the township was that of the primitive forest, broken here and there by a small clearing in the midst of which appeared a small log cabin. Many people now living can recall the time when deer abounded in the woods, and some yet survive who in their earlier years were not unaccustomed to the sight of the bear and the wolf. The Indian trail from the north to the Ohio River led along the ridge a mile or more back from the Muskingum. This route was frequently used by the red men even after the country was settled by the whites. The Indians were accustomed to call upon the settlers with baskets and trinkets which they sought to trade for whisky, tobacco and other articles. At the house of Edward Miller, Sen., now the home of William Sherwood, they were frequent visitors, as Miller had hunted with them when a boy and understood something of their language and customs. The monotony of life in the wilderness was occasionally enlivened by an exciting hunt for bears and wolves. At one time a party of men found a bear on Oil Spring Run and closely pursued him until he took refuge inside a hollow sycamore tree. One of the number, a man named Briggs, arranged a prop against the tree and climbed up to the place where the bear was supposed to have taken refuge. He then cut a hole with an axe, but seeing nothing of the hear, inserted his head to reconnoiter. His face met the damp nose of the bear ; his head was withdrawn very suddenly and he descended to the ground in the quickest possible time, leaving to his companions the task of securing the bear. As the county paid a considerable bounty for each bear killed, hunters missed no opportunity of destroying these animals whenever it was possible, So that it was not many years until they disappeared altogether. Most of the early settlers of this part of the county found their way to their new homes by means of canoes and pirogues, transporting their goods upon the river either from Marietta or Zanesville. The river was the principal thoroughfare in the early years. Roads and horses and wagons belong to a later period. Reuben Porter settled about 1815 where his descendants still live. His son Reuben is still living in the township at an advanced age. Thomas Risen settled in 1816 where George Warren now lives. His sons John, Joseph and Amos, still living in the county, are among the old residents. Near by was William Alloway, a tall lean. Yankee. He remained but a few years when he went West. 370 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. Rufus P. Stone, who was quite a prominent man in the early years of the county, lived on the present John E. Thomas farm in 1818. He came here from Washington County and resided here until hiS death. On the river below Stone, lived Henry Snyder and Theophilus Caton. Benjamin Beckwith, whose descendants are still here, was an early settler on the school section. His son-in-law, John Wesley Johnson, was an early settler on the farm adjoining the Porters. He died in 1831 and the farm has since changed owners several times. Hon. William M. Dawes, one of the early associate judges of the county, settled in the township as early as 1817. He had quite a large family. In connection with his sons he carried on distilling and tanning, kept a store and ran a carding machine. His son Henry moved to Malta where he became a prominent merchant. Judge Dawes sold out to Humphrey Rusk. Edward Miller, Sen., settled on the present Sherwood farm in 1806 and resided there till 1816. Previous to his settlement John Lockhart had made a small improvement there. Simeon Pool, one of the founders of Malta, was among the earlieSt settlers in the township. The present John Miller farm was included in his land. Samuel McCune, an early settler, lived on the next farm above Pool's. Mrs. Clemans, of Penn Township, was one of the pioneer women of Malta. In 1810 her mother, Nancy Stone, in company with her uncle John Eveland came from Wilkesbarre, Pa. They made the trip over the mountains in a wagon containing their household goods and five children, arriving in Zanesville they completed their journey by river to what has since been known as the Moore farm where they settled. Eveland did not remain long, however, emigrating to Missouri. Mrs. Clemans passed through many hardships. She states that at one time the family were without bread for six weeks, subsisting entirely on corn and potatoes. Salt was obtained from " over the mountains by packing it on horses. In 1817 she was married to John Clemans a Virginian. He died in Malta. He was a millwright by trade. Bill Hughes is said to have built the first cabin within the present limits of the village of Malta. Abe settled north of the town a little later and afterward moved west a few miles. Bill moved to the vicinity of Bald Eagle. Later both quitted the country. They were from Georgia and excellent types of the roving squatter characters, once familiar in nearly every part of the county. Above the John Miller farm was a hundred acre tract entered at an early day by Captain Olney, an early settler of Washington County, whose son-in- law occupied it for a few years. This farm passed into the hands of James A. Gillespie in 1820, and about the same time he bought the one hundred acre tract above it of Gilbert Olney. The latter tract was first occupied by Samuel McCune, probably as early as 1812. He sold out to Gilbert Olney, from Washington County. The latter was not related to Captain Olney. James A. Gillespie engaged in the manufacture of salt in 1829. He and Zurial Sherwood were then the only salt makers on the river between Malta and Eagleport. Gillespie's well proved a good one and his success was such as to lead others to embark in the business MALTA - 371 and in a few years salt-furnaces were numerous along the river. The industry was an important source of revenue to the pioneers. Salt was one of the very few products of the county that could be sold for cash, and a ready market was found for it in Cincinnati and other cities. Many men were employment about the furnaces, in the cutting of wood, and in the transportation of the product to market, and thus salt-manufacture became an important interest. James Alexander Gillespie was of Irish parentage. He was born in Maryland, and came from Harford County in that state to Ohio. After a short time spent in Licking County, he moved to Muskingum County in 1814, and for four years plied his trade—that of a cooper—at John Matthews' mill at Moxahala, at the mouth of John's Creek. During this time he saved money with which he entered land in Morgan County. In 1818 he embarked in a pirogue with his family and goods, and landed at Malta. There being no wagons in the country, his effects were transported with sleds to the place that was to become his home. The land entered by him was a quarter-section, now occupied by the Barkhurst and Gillespie families. Mr. Gillespie followed his trade in connection with farming, and the articles manufactured by him found sale in Putnam. He was the principal cooper in the neighborhood. About 1827 he engaged in distilling, which he followed for about two years. His first distillery was on Oil Spring Run, but the following year he ran one located above McConnelsville, on the east side of the river. In 1829 he engaged in salt-making, in which he was interested until his death. He died in 1838. He was then engaged in keeping tavern in McConnelsville on the spot where the Koons House now stands. He was a prominent man and served as justice of the peace. His wife was Margaret McLeary, of York County, Pennsylvania. They had nine children, eight of whom grew to mature years— Jane (Kincaid), John McLeary, James, Mary A. (Fouts), Nancy (Fouts), William Thomas, Samuel Martin, Hily (who died young), and Margaret (Martin). Of these John M., James, Martin and Margaret are living. John M. Gillespie [son of James A.] an old resident of Morgan County, was born in Maryland in 1812, and has resided in Morgan County since 1818. He was engaged in fanning and salt-making until 1853, when he bought of Thomas, Stone & Brown the woolen factory in Malta, which he ran until 1877. He now resides in the village of Malta. In 1831 he married Elizabeth, daughter of Allen Fouts. Children—Nancy J., James A., Solomon, Elizabeth, Clarissa and John M., all living. William Thomas Gillespie,, married Nancy Hedges and lived on the old homestead, where his widow yet resides. He was born in 1822 and died in 1883. His children are George A., Samuel, Martin, Silas and Belle. Zurial Sherwood, a native of Connecticut, settled on the present Moore farm in 1818. He was the pioneer salt manufacturer of Morgan County. (See biography of William Sherwood.) Isaac James had a mill on Oil Spring Run, probably as early as 1820. It was afterward enlarged and ground both wheat and corn, proving a great convenience to the settlers. Thomas Campbell and Henry Moore had an early mill on Island Run. 372 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. Among the well-known pioneer hunters and trappers were Abe and Bill Hughes, whose adventures, narrated in full, would fill a volume. One of them was for many years a resident of what is now Malta Township, and both of them were familiar with all parts of the county. In 1819 they had an adventure upon Wolf Creek, nearly, if not quite equaling, the famous Putnam wolf story. Judge Gaylord gives the following account of it : "All along Wolf Creek the ferocious wolf had its den or place of concealment and safety. The creek derived its name from the great number of wolves prowling and depredating in that region. At that time the treasurer of the county paid $3 for each wolf-scalp taken and presented. This was something of an inducement for Abe and Bill to lay down the shovel and the hoe,' and go forth with their rifles to pursue and capture the great enemy of sheep and hogs. " In one of their excursions they tracked an old she-wolf to her den. Arrived at the entrance, Abe proposed that Bill crawl in after the wolf. Bill declined the job, not like Putnam's negro, for want of courage, for he waS as brave as Julius Caesar; but suggested that as Abe was the smaller man, he should penetrate the den, while he (Bill) stood watch at the entrance to dispatch the wolf when she emerged. Abe disrobed to Some extent, entered the den and cautiously made his way toward the inmate and her young. On the approach of the hunter the old wolf seemed to comprehend the situation, and made a spring toward Abe in order to pass him and thus gain freedom and light outside. In making the passage the wolf and Abe met in a narrow part of the passage-way, Abe got the worst of the adventure, the wolf tearing and lacerating his body and his buckskins in a terrible manner. Bill, true to his trust and responsibility, stood at the entrance with his faithful rifle in hand, and, as she emerged, shot the old wolf dead. Abe, not to be defeated in his adventure and prospective profit, returned again to the lair and brought forth the young wolves. The scalps of the wolves brought into the purses of the hunters quite a neat sum of money for those days. These men, from the great flow of immigration into the county, became somewhat cramped for hunting territory ; and wild game becoming scarce, and unreliable as a source of subsistence and profit, they pulled up stakes and departed from their familiar hunting grounds, to find in the Far West a more congenial people, more freedom and more game." JACKSON C. MURDUCK. Jackson C. Murduck was born August 24, 1829, in Bristol Township, Morgan County, Ohio. His parents, Edmund and Lydia (Murphy) Murduck were early settlers of that township and are mentioned in the chapter devoted to the history of Bristol. The subject of this notice was reared on his father's farm and received a good common school education. He followed farming until 1862, when he enlisted as a private in Company C, 122d Regiment, O. V. I. On the organization of the company he was made a corporal. He participated in forty-five battles and skirmishes, among the most noted engagements being those of Winchester, Locust Grove, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania C. H., Cold Harbor, North Ann, Monocacy, etc. In the last named battle he was PICTURE OF JOHN. E. THOMAS MALTA - 373 severely wounded in the right forearm, causing a permanent disability. After spending several months in the hospital, he was discharged in February, 1865, and returned to his home. In July of the same year he had the misfortune to lose his house by fire, causing a serious loss. In 1866, Mr. Murduck was elected sheriff of Morgan County, and at the expiration of his term of office he was re-elected. At the conclusion of his second term, he bought the farm in Malta Township upon which he has since resided. Mr. Murduck is a man of excellent character and is highly esteemed. He is a member of the Christian church and an earnest friend of temperance and every other good cause. He is also a prominent member of Hughes Post, No. 285, G. A. R. Mr. Murduck has been married three times. The maiden name of his first wife was Miss Elizabeth Adams, of Bristol Township. She died in 1870. In 1872 he married Miss Albina Carman, who died in 1878. In 1880 he married Mrs. Martha J. Pickett, who died in the same year. Of the first marriage eight children were born- Willie and Edmund W., deceased ; and Samuel A., Frank E. (Scott), Myrtie C. (Thompson), Clarence W., Rose and Edgar L., living. Three children were born of the second marriage ; two of them died in infancy, and one, Nettie A., is living. William Anguish was born in 1804. When a young man he came to Jefferson County and from thence to Morgan in 1834. He purchased the farm on which he resided until his decease, which occurred July 17, 1866, from a stroke of lightning. He was a man of excellent principles and adhered tenaciously to what he thought to be the right. He took an active part in the organization of the Wolf creek Christian church. He was reared in Marshall County, West Va., and married in Jefferson County, Ohio, Miss Margaret Tweedy, and for a time resided in Guernsey county, Ohio. Mrs. Anguish died in 1835, leaving to the care of her husband two children, James M. and David; the latter died in 1846. James M. was born in Guernsey County in 1827, and married Miss Margaret A. Carman. She died in 1859, leaving him with three children : Harriet A., Perley B. and Almeda M.; his second wife was MiSs Mary M. Newton. Mr. Anguish has been a successful farmer and teacher, and for about forty years a worthy member of the Christian church. In political belief he is a Republican. Thomas Sears was born in Loudoun County, Virginia, and came to Malta Township in 1827. He married Mary Daniel, of his native county. Eight of their children are now living. Alzira resides in Penn Township ; Matilda in Penn Township ; William S. in Reinersville ; John H. in Penn Township ; J. D. in Malta Township ; Jane (Pickett), in Minnesota ; Mary C. (McPeak), in Malta Township ; Sarah (Hann), in Penn Township ; Thomas M., deceased. Mr. Sears served in the war of 1812. He and Mrs. Sears were members of the Methodist Protestant church. Mr. Sears died in 1864 ; Mrs. Sears, in 1881. J. D. Sears was born in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1826. He married Mary E. Matson, of Penn Township. They have six children living, two dead. Rebecca M., deceased ; Emma J. (Graham), of Portsmouth, Ohio ; C. D., C. J., Minta M. and Maggie, of Malta ; Annie J., deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sears 374 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. have been members of the Methodist Protestant church upwards of forty years. Mr. Sears has held a license as exhorter in this church about twenty-five years. Daniel Wilson came into Morgan County about 1845. He married Mary Dewees. Ten children were born unto them, seven of whom are now living: Margaret (Miller), of Washington County, Ohio; Sarah A. (Chapman) and Mary (Stanley), of Lyons County, Kan. ; Ruth (Cope), of Kan. ; Wm. J., of Chase County, Kan. ; Owen D., Kossuth County, Iowa, and Thomas, of Malta Township. Catharine and Samuel are deceased. Mr. Wilson served as justice of the peace one term. He and Mrs. Wilson were brought up in the faith of the Friends. Thomas Wilson was born in Monroe County, O., 1836. He married Mary J. Milton. They have three children living : Daniel L., J. H. and Frank, of Malta TOWnship ; Emma, dead. Mr. Wilson has served as township. trustee. He is a staunch Republican. David Mercer was born in Lancaster County, Pa., in 1800. He came to Morgan County about 1825, locating in Bristol Township. He married Elizabeth Smith. They had ten children, seven of whom are now living: Mary C. (Barkhurst), of Bloom Township; Delila, dead; Sarah (Argo), Bristol Township; Nancy, of Clark County, Ia. ; John A., Malta; Eliza, dead ; Wm. D., Bristol; Matilda, dead ; D. H., Bristol ; Elzena (Hardesty), BriStol. Mr. Mercer was a blacksmith by trade and made manufacturing augers a specialty. He and Mrs. Mercer were members of the Methodist Protestant Church. In politics Mr. Mercer was a Republican. John A. Mercer was born in Bristol Township in 1831. He married Lucinda Kinsey. Their children living are : Chauncy B., Kinsey, Laura and Elsie, of Malta township; Willis, dead. Mr. Mercer is a republican. Nicholas D. McComas was born in Harford County, Maryland, December 31, 1790. He married Matilda Creagh. They had six children, two of whom, Hannah (Hall), of Hamilton County, O., and Caroline (Hall), of McConnelsville, are living. Mr. McComas came to Morgan County in 1837. His second wife, who survives him, was L. Prudence Evans, of Washington County, O. They have two children : Winfield S. and Sarah A. (Timms), residing hi Malta township. Mr. McComas was a carpenter as well as a farmer. In politics be was formerly a Whig, but afterwards became a Democrat. Although having never made an open profession of faith, yet he was a firm believer in the Christian religion. He had a very retentive memory, which was preserved till the last. He served in the war of 1812. At the ripe age of 82 he was gathered unto his fathers, January 11, 1872. William Henderson was born in Ohio County, W. Va., in 1797. He married Jane Anderson of the same county and moved to Bloom Township, Morgan County, in March 1826, locating on the farm afterwards owned by Abraham Roberts, where he remained about seven years. He then moved upon the farm now owned by the heirs of John Henderson, where he resided until his death, in 1879. There were eleven children, nine of whom are living: James, deceased ; Nathaniel, residing in St. Clair County, Mo. ; Thomas, in Andrew County, Mo. ; John, dead ; William in Malta; Mary (Fulton), in Deavertown ; MALTA - 375 Lydia (Miller), in McConnelsville; Emeline (Montgomery), in Jefferson County, 0.; Sarah A. (Reed), in Windsor Township; Lorena (Smith), in Andrew County, Mo.; and Rebecca (Bagley), in Deavertown. William Henderson, Jr., was born in Brooke County, W. Va., April 27, 1824, and came to Morgan County with his father when two years of age. He married Nancy Glass. They have five children : Mary E. (Timms), of Malta ; Margaret, of McConnelsville; Nancy E., of Malta; Martha G., of McConnelsville, and Florence A., of Malta. Every Member of both of the above families was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and James was a minister of the gospel and presiding elder for four years. Thomas A. Osburn was born in Winchester, Va., in 1797. Ite came to Morgan County about 1825 and married Lois Beckwith. They had nine children, seven of whom are living: Eliza (Wiseman), resides in Malta; William, Page County, Ia. ; George, in Malta; Rebecca (Patterson), in McConnelsville; Mary (Scott), McConnelsville; Martha (Arnold), McConnelsville, and Wesley, Page County, Ia. ; Henry and Nancy (Cope), deceased. Mr. Osburn served as infirmary director nine years. George Osburn was born in Malta township, January 16, 1831. He married Mary Buchanan. They have two children, Albert and Cora. Mr. Osburn is a member of Valley Lodge No. 145 F. & A. M. Thomas Risen came from Virginia to Morgan County at a very early day. He married Sarah Kennedy. Their children were John, of Malta Township; Ellen Wright (dead); Betsey and Polly, unmarried ; Joseph, residing in Malta Township; Jonas, in Deerfield ; Martin (dead); Elizabeth J. (Gillespie), residing in Brownsville, Ohio, and Lydia A. (Shellhammer) dead. Joseph Risen was born in Deerfield Township June 19,,1813. He married, first, Marriet Pidcock. Two of their children, Sarah E., of Browneville, and Hiram G., of California, are living. One died in infancy. For his second wife he married Catharine Tanner. They hAve three children living. Margaret A. (Jennings) resides in Kansas ; Harriet (Long) in Parkersburg, W. Va., and Irena M. in Malta Township. Mr. Risin k an undertaker by trade. He and his wife have been members of the Wolf Creek Christian Chutch many years. In politics he is a republican. William Barrel was born in New Jersey, where he married Abigail Sedwich, and came to Morgan County in 1828. There are five children living : John, in Malta Township ; Henry, in Corning, Ohio ; Hannah (James), in Deaverstown; Susan (Smith) and Matilda (Taylor), in Malta John, William, Mary, Eliza, Cornelius S. and Mary J. (Risen) are dead. The mother of William Barrel (Elizabeth Hyce), was captured by the Indians when about seven years of age and held captive until the age of fourteen, when the old chief, in a drunken frenzy attempted to kill her; but his squaw hid her for three da, ys, and then took her to French Town to her parents. Henry Taylor married Matilda Barrel in 1857. Ten children are living : William, in Morganville; Emma (Roth- rock), Malta; George, Malta; Eva (Risen), Kansas; Cornelius, Carlos, Henry, Myrtle, Jessie and Edward at home. Peter Miller was born in Guernsey 376 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO County, near Cumberland, Ohio, in 1827. He came to Morgan County in 1850. He married Miss Sarah Simpson, of Penn Township. They have four children. E. G. resides in Zanesville; Oscar, Frank R. and William S. in Malta Township. Mr. Miller served as county commissioner from 1877 to 1880. In politics he is a staunch republican. Manassa Kaiser was born in York County, Pa., in 1814 and came to Morgan County in 1833. He married Elmira Mellor. They have three children living. William resides in Nebraska; Emno, (Spencer) and Nettie B. Bailey, in Malta Township. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. John Newman was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Malta Township in 1833. He married Millie Walker. They have reared seven children : Eliza resides in Adams County ; William, in Madison County ; John, in Adams County ; Josiah E., in Malta Township; James, in Illinois. Eli and Matilda are deceased. Mr. Newman resided in Morgan County from 1833 to 1866, when he moved to Adams County, where he now resides. Josiah E. Newman was born in Muskingum County in 1832, and came when one year of age with his parents to Morgan County. He married Miss Sarah Milton, and has three children—Milton L., Charles H. and Lucy. Mr. Newman is now living with his second wife, Hannah Mercer, also of Morgan County. Reuben Riley was born in Jefferson County, Virginia, and came to Morgan County, Ohio, at quite an early day. He married Jane McCarty. Five of their children are living—John W., in Malta Township; Zacharia T., in Hocking County; James H., in Illinois; George W., in Windsor, and Mary A., in Malta Township. Joseph and Richard are dead. Mr. Riley has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal church over half a century. In politics he is a democrat. Humphrey Rusk was born in Belmont County, Ohio, where he married Margaret McDonald, of Ohio County, West Virginia. He removed to Union Township about 1824. His family consisted of nine children, four of whom are living : Mary (King) resides in Kansas; H. A., in Malta Township; William, in Missouri, and Perley, in Illinois. David, Archibald, Eliza J. (Buldridge), Christiana, (Anderson) and Wilson S. are dead. Humphrey A. Rusk was born in Union Township, 1831. He married Mary Parr. They have three children— Archibald, residing in Columbus; James W., in Malta Township, and Mary (Taylor), in Morganville. Mr. and Mrs. Rusk have been members of the Presbyterian Church at McConnelsville about forty years. David Finley was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, where he married Jane lAulton, and removed to Malta Township, 1837. They had six children, only two of whom, David and James, are now living. Robert, John and Samuel are dead. James Finley was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in the year 1817, and came with his father to Malta TOWnship in 1837. He married Mary Pennell, and five children comprise their family : Jane (Moore) resides in Union Township; Isaac, Joseph and Thomas A., in Malta Township, and Mary Ellen (Smith), in Plain City, Ohio. Mr. Finley has been a member of the PICTURE OF WM. V. MELLOR PICTURE OF SAMUEL MELLOR MALTA - 377 Presbyterian Church since 1838. Mrs. Finley also united with the same church in her youth, and remained a consistent member until her death, which occurred in 1875. In politics Mr. Finley is a democrat. William Scott was born in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1797. When seven years of age, his father, Andrew Scott, emigrated to Muskingum County, where he reSided until 1817, when they came to Union Township, Morgan County. January 5, 1826, he married Catharine Nelson. They, had nine children, all living-Martha J. (Williams), Nelson and Sarah (Hotchkiss), in Malta Township ; Davis D., in Union Township; William, in Guernsey County, Missouri ; Andrew, in Union Township; Priscilla (McKitrick), in Wisconsin; Charlotte (Buchanan), in Missouri, and Amos, in Union Township. Mr. Scott was a pious man, but never made an open profession of his faith until about 1850, when be united with the Baptist Church at McConnelsville. Mrs. Scott was also a member of the same church. Nelson Scott waS born in Union Township, April 10, 1828. He married Harriet Hainsworth. One son, Luther, was the fruit of this union. Mrs. Scott died in 1862. His present wife was Nancy J. Triplitt. Mr. Scott iS a staunch republican. George Parker was born in Pennsylvania and came to Morgan County at quite an early day. He married Margaret Holst. The only representative of their family now residing in Malta Township is Mrs. Sarah J. Warner, who first married J M. Reed. They had three children, two of whom—Francis M. and Chas. W.-are now living in Malta Township. Joseph A. is dead. After Mr. Reed's death Mrs. Reed married Hiram Warner, who died in 1879. James Forsythe was born in Ireland in the year 1791. He served there during the war of 1812 and soon after came to Marietta, Ohio, where he married Eliza Dugan. After remaining there a short time, he moved to Brush Creek, Muskingum County, where he remained five years, then came to Malta Township in 1821, locating where his son J. B. now resides. The family consisted of five children—Eliza (Tanner), resides in Union Township ; J. B., in Malta Township ; Jane (Anderson), Matilda (Bricker) and William are deceased. Mr. Forsythe was a democrat. J. B. Forsythe was born in Malta Township, November 9, 1830. He married Mary J. Shaw. They have five children --Eliza J., William A., Andrew, Elizabeth and Almeda. J. D. Miller was born in Malta Township in 1855. He married Rachel Glass. They have three children—Charles D., John C. and William B. Mr Miller is a staunch republican. He and Mrs. Miller are members of the Pleasant Valley Methodist Episcopal Church. John S. Price was born in Pennsylvania in 1799. When quite young he came with his parents to Deerfield Township. He married Susanna Laughlin, of Deerfield. They had ten children, seven of whom are now living: Nancy (Moody), residing in Homer Township ; John L., in Hocking County; Violet (Bell), in Kansas ; A. J., in Homer Township; William, in Malta Township ; Susanna, in Deerfield, and Margaret (Armentraut), in Virginia. William Price was born in Deerfield Township in 1833. He married Henrietta Walter. They have three children- 378 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO. Louisa F. (Moody), of Fulton County, Ohio; Isaac W., of Minnesota, and Robert M., of Malta Township. In politics Mr. Price is a democrat. Isaac Raney was born in Guernsey County, siOhio, in 1809 and came to Morgan County in 1829, locating on the northeast quarter of section 29. He married Sarah Smith of Fayette County, Pa. There is only one child—Eli A., living; Elizabeth (Williams) and Levina (Earich) are deceased. Mrs. Raney came to Morgan County with her parents when three years of age, locating in Penn Township. They were both consistent members of the Christian Church. Mr. Raney died January 11, 1862. Eli A. Raney was born in Malta Township, December 25, 1853. He married Laura Thompson, of Union Township.. They have three children—Sadie Estella C., and Bessie. They are both members of the Christian Church. Mr. Raney has been engaged in teaching more or less since twenty years of age. He is now a Prohibitionist.