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430 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO


CHAPTER XXII.


MARION.


A PART OF ATHENS COUNTY UNTIL 1845-ITS ORIGINAL BOUNDARIES-A PROSPEROUS AND WELL- IMPROVED TOWNSHIP-AN INDUSTRIOUS AND THRIFTY POPULATION-THE EARLY SETTLERS- THE INFLUENCE OF THE FRIENDS-CAPTAIN LOVELL'S EXPERIENCES-OTHER PIONEERS--PRIMITIVE ELECTION METHODS- EARLY JUSTICES-SCARCITY OF MONEY-THE VILLAGE OF CHESTER HILL-ITS ORIGIN-EARLY SETTLERS AND THEIR OCCUPATION-THE TOWN IN THE WOODS BECOMES WEALTHY AND PROSPEROUS-SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, LODGES, ETC.-PERSONAL MENTION.


MARION Township, which became a part of Morgan County in 1845, is the eighth township of the twelfth range of congressional townships, and was included in the lands sold by the United States government to the Ohio Company. The present boundaries of the township are those .of the original survey, with the exception that half of the northeast corner section has been set off to Windsor Township.


In 1805 all of Athens County was divided into four townships. Ames Township included both of the present townships of Homer and Marion. Homer Township, organized in Athens County prior to 1820, included part if not all of what is now Marion Township. In 1820, Homer had a population of 201 ; in 1830, 636. Marion first appears on the census enumeration in 1840, and then had 1,079 inhabitants. The eastern boundary line of the township has been several times changed. February 18, 1807, the eastern tier of sections of township 8, range 12, was attached to Washington County. February 10, 1814, sections 11 and 12 of the same township were also added to Washington County. After the annexation of Homer and Marion to Morgan County (March 11, 1885), the eastern boundary line of Marion Township becoming as it now stands.

Marion is one of the best-improved and most prosperous townships of Morgan County. The surface is generally uneven, but there is little land-that is untillable. Wolf Creek and several smaller streams furnish drainage. The soil is well adapted to fruits and cereals. Well-kept farms, good farm buildings and pastures teeming with live stock, all indicate that the farmers of Marion are well " up with the times" and prosperous. The mineral resources of the townShip are also of considerable importance. The coal found here is of good quality, and though at present only mined for local use, the time will doubtless come when in will be found valuable. Marion contains the village of Chester Hill, elsewhere described ; a part of the small hamlet of Plantsville.


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on the southern line of the township ; and a part of Joy, a small village lying in Homer and Marion.


The early settlers were mainly members of the Society of Friends and their upright lives and thrifty habits have had and still have, a good influence upon the morals of the people. It would be difficult to find any community whose average in intelligence, morality and character for sobriety and honesty is better than that of the inhabitants of Marion.


Most of the present inhabitants of the township are descendants of the early settlers, and many are living on the same farms which their fathers or grandfathers cleared and improved. The population is in no wise unstable or migratory. The pioneers came from various parts of the country ; but Belmont County in this state furnished a larger number of permanent settlers than any other section. From that county came most of the Friends, many of whom were of North Carolina origin.


Just when settlement began, it is impossible to ascertain at this late day. There is no reason why this township should not have had white inhabitants as early as almost any part of the county, and probably such was the Case. But the settlement grew but slowly. In 1834, when Chester Mill was founded, the clearings in the township were few in number and small in extent. Nearly all the settlers lived on or near the creeks.


Two of the earliest pioneers whose names have been handed down to us were Sharp and Champlin. The former was probably in the township as early as 1800, and Sharp's Fork, a branch of Federal Creek, perpetuates his name. Champlin came a few years later.


Among those who may properly be classed as early settlers of Marion were Captain Lowell, Selah Hart, Timothy Hopkins, Elijah Rude, Benjamin Lukens, Samuel Briggs, the Newhouses, Edmund Parker, Isaac Schwab, Henderson Rude, Aaron Fall, William Bowles, Jesse Hiatt, Ephraim Ellis, Rial and Peter Cheadle, the Binghams and Kings, the Huffmans, Andrew and Reuben McVey, Byron, the hunter, John Brewster, Aaron Thomas, Samuel Hollowell, George Woolman, John Dougherty, Joseph and John Hamilton, the Thompsons, Jehu H. Kinsey, Jonas Bye, Elijah Fawcett, Abner Lambert, John Edgerton, Wm. Smith, David Smith, Jeremiah Patterson, Jesse Worthington, John H. Livezey, Joseph Kennard, John Strahl, Joseph Cole, and many others, of whom more extended mention is elsewhere made.


Aaron Fall was a Revolutionary soldier who came from New England. Instead of purchasing land, or taking advantage of the law favoring those who had been in military service, he took a lease of school land and made his clearing and improvement upon it. His son Moses lived and died in the township, and his descendants are still here.


Timothy Hopkins and his sons, James, a prominent minister, George and Stewart, were early settlers on Wolf Creek. Timothy was justice of the peace and a prominent man in the settlement.

Samuel Briggs kept a small store for a time not far from the mouth of Goshen Run. Edmund Parker was much opposed to the laying out of Chesterfield, because he thought the location of a town there would interfere with the pasturage of his cattle, which roamed at will throurh the


432 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


woods, with only now and then a fence to keep them out of some small wheat field.


Jack Byron and William Bowles were genuine backwoodsmen. Byron was a river boatman for some years. It is said the wife of Bowles lived for some years among the Indians, being taken captive by them when a young girl.


At the mouth of Goshen Run, on the present farm of W. Hamilton Smith, there is a disused and neglected graveyard, in which repose the bones of some of the early settlers. Here were buried several members of the Briggs and Newhouse families, as well as others whose names are not even remembered.


Capt. Thomas S. Lovell, a native of Massachusetts, settled in 1814 on Sharp's Fork of Federal Creek. He was a seafaring man, and had been master of a vessel, trading with Spain and Portugal, during the war of 1812. His business suffering because of the war, he journeyed westward, and on the 18th of November, 1814, with his brother Russell and their families, arrived at the place on which Captain Lovell lived and died. The journey occupied ten weeks. For a time after their arrival both families lived in a small cabin belonging to Job Phillips They were much annoyed by wolves killing, their sheep and other stock, and the captain, having no knowledge of farming, found it very difficult. Elijah Latimer, a neighbor, was a noted hunter. Captain Lovell sold him a piece of land and took his pay in hunting. On this understanding Latime1 furnished the Lovells with venison and kept away the wolves whenever the sheep were threatened by them.


Sugar-making was an important part of the work of the pioneers. As groceries were high and money scarce, most families made their own sugar or had to do without. Captain Lovell used to relate his first experience in sugar-making, and how his neighbors laughed at it. He tapped hickories, buckeyes and other trees besides the sugar maple, not knowing the difference. To get his milling done he often rode on horseback to Lancaster, carrying a bushel of corn. On one occasion when the men were all away from home a bear chased a pig into the door- yard, and it escaped only by crawling under the house, where the bear could not go.


In 1816 Captain Lovell resumed his old life as vessel-master, sailing on the schooner Maria, of fifty tons burden, from Marietta to Baltimore with a cargo of pork. He crossed to Havana, thence to Baltimore, and from that place returned on horseback to his home in the backwoods of Ohio. Captain Lovell lived to a ripe old age, and was well known to many of the present inhabitants of the township. His brother Russell lived on an adjoining farm for several years. He was a painter, and was killed by the kick of a horse, in the Town of Athens. Without moving at all, the Lovells lived in three townships and two counties. In 1814 their location was in Ames Township, Athens County ; later, it was in Homer Township ; then in Marion, and finally in Morgan County.


John Brewster, a Revolutionary pensioner, lived west of Wolf Creek, in the northern part of the township. None of the name are now in the neighborhood.


Samuel and George Hollowell, from Pennsylvania, lived in the western part



PICTURE OF GEORGE W. HUFFMAN


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of the township, and near them Thomas Thorp, an early settler, where his descendants afterwards resided.


Jesse Hiatt and wife came to the township in 1834, and attended the first Friends' meeting ever held in Chesterfield. The meeting was conducted by Hinchman Haines, from New Jersey, and was held in the woods on the hill back of where the Central hotel now is. Jesse Hiatt settled on Goshen Run in 1837. Elijah Hiatt settled somewhat earlier one mile south of Chesterfield.


John and Joseph Hamilton were early settlers. Joseph, especially, was a prominent and influential citizen. John Dougherty located in the northwest corner of the township. Joseph B. Thompson's father located early in the same vicinity. Eli Shields, who is still living, was quite an early settler. Jehu II. Kinsey, who was justice of the peace a number of years, lived in the northern part of the township.. He removed to the East. His son, James H., is still a resident here. In the southern part of the township John Edgerton, whose descendants are numerous, Elijah Fawcett, Abner Lambert and Jonas Bye were early settlers. David Smith, from Belmont County, located near Chesterfield. The family is still well represented in the township. Jeremiah Patterson, on the present Jesse Worthington farm, was a prominent man, dealing some in land, and very active in encouraging settlement. John H. Livezey located on Goshen Run. Joseph Kennard, an early settler, was accidentally shot on an election day. A boy, playing with his gull, discharged it with fatal results.


There were no very . important industries in the township in early times. John Strahl, on Opossum Run, had a saw-mill quite early. Prior to 1840 James Cole put in a brush dam and erected a mill--good for those days— not far from the present site of the Barkhurt mill (formerly Pierpoint's). A round hole in a limestone rock on Henman Run is supposed by some to have been used by the Indians as a mortar in which to grind corn. But this is mere conjecture.


One of the first school-houses in the township stood near the confluence of Goshen and Jonathan's Runs. Lydia Brewster and her son Sherman taught school there, and the township elections were held there until about 1838, since which they have been at Chester Hill The style of election, as conducted at the old log school-house, is thus described by an old resident. The ballot box was a man's hat held between the knees. There was nothing to prevent ballot-box stuffing, had any person attempted it, as the judges and other officers of election were out of doors the most of the time, indulging in such sports as pitching quoits, shooting at a mark, jumping, etc. The polling place was transferred to the village against the most vigorous protests from some of the settlers. Some of the hunting population, to show their anger, came to town on election day, but took pains to let every one know that they would not vote. Jack Byron and William Bowles, especially, indulged in some offensive language about the way the election was conducted and rebelled at having judges who attended to their duties. Neither .did they want to hand their ballots through a window into a box, but wanted.to see them " go in the hat." But the new ways soon ceased to be distasteful.


434 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


The early justices of the peace were Timothy Hopkins and Selah Hart. The latter was succeeded by his son, Selah Hart, Jr., and he (probably) by Stewart Hopkins. George G. King succeeded Stewart Hopkins.


Jeremiah Patterson, who lived less than a mile east of the village, on one occasion went to law with Arnold Patterson.. The amount originally involved in the dispute was but $7.50, but the costs, before final settlement, amounted to over $600, - of which the greater part was paid by the plaintiff.


Elijah Fawcett moved to the southern part of the township, in September, 1841. His, neighbors there were Joseph Smith, Jonathan Fawcett, Abner Lambert, Jonas Bye and Jonathan Hiatt. Money was then very scarce and most of the trading between farmers and merchants was by barter or exchange. Mrs. Fawcett, trading for the first time at Arnold Patterson's store astonished the proprietor, when she handed him $20 in response to the usual inquiry, "Who shall I charge this to !"


Jonathan Fawcett settled in the southern part of this township in 1834.


John Edgerton settled near him in 1835, on land previously owned by Absalom Joy. In 1879 John Edgerton and wife had children, grand-children and great-grand-children : 177 living, 34 had died, making in all 211.


Abner Lambert and his wife, Elizabeth, in 1879, had 10 children, 10 children-in-law, 65 grand-children, 16 grandchildren-in-law, 52 great-grand-children, making 153 ; 121 then living. He moved to the southern part of the township in 1836, on land that Pearson Yore ,had OWned previously.


Cutler Cheadle says that " one of the first settlers was Asa Briggs, who came in 1810, and settled at the mouth of Goshen Run on Wolf Creek, where be put up a still. He originated a scheme by which he proposed to sell to his neighbors section 16. He had no title to the land and for some reason the project did not succeed. The first store at that point was kept by Flavis Waterman and John Morris.


Jesse Worthington was born in Cecil County, Maryland, in 1825. In 1828 the family emigrated to this county. They remained but a short time when they went to Muskingum County, where they remained until 1832 when they returned to Morgan County, settling in Marion Township. William Worthington, the elder and father of Jesse, married Elizabeth Taylor. To them were born six children-five girls and one boy. Mary, Rebecca, Mildred, Priscilla, Jesse and Eliza A. Mary married Caleb Engle and died in 1880. Rebecca became the wife of William Pickett. Mildred married Joseph Penrose. Priscilla married David Masters. Eliza A. married Thomas Hobson. Jesse married Rachael Pickett. They have had fourteen children of whom twelve are living. The family are members of the Society of Friends and are highly esteemed.. The children of Jesse and Rachel Worthington are William, Mary, Sarah, Louisa M., Thomas, Ann, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Edwin T., Amanda A., Eliza J., Elma, Frederick and Walter. Thomas and Ann are deceased.


David Smith, one of the early settlers of Marion was born in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1827, came to Marion Town. ship where they resided until their decease.


The elder Smith was a Friend and .married Ann Todd. They reared a family of nine children,—Mary, David,


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Humphrey, Elihu, Lydia, Rebecca, Amanda J. and William S. , David resided with his parents until 1852, at which time he married Miss Mary Foulke. Two children were born to them William F. and Eliza A. The latter died in infancy. William married Mary B. Pond. They reside in Barnesville, Belmont County, where he is engaged in the practice of his profession.


October 6, 1858, Mrs. Smith (the elder) died, and in March of 1862 Mr. Smith was again married to Hannah Foulke, a sister of his first wife. She died in 1868, and in 1873 he was married to Mrs. Lydia V. McGrew. Mr. Smith is a, member of the Society of Friends. He has taken an interest in the affairs of the county and township, and has held many positions of trust and responsibility. He served his fellow-citizens in the capacity of county commissioner with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents. Mr. Smith was formerly engaged quite extensively in trade but at present is farming and stock-raising.


John Schofield, whose death occurred February 22, 1877, was a Friend and one of the well-known citizens of the township. He married Miss Belinda H.: Hobson in March of 1862. She was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1834, and when thirteen years of age removed with her parents to Washington County. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Schofield removed to Marion Township and settled on the farm where Mrs. Schofield and her family now reside. Six children were born to them, all of whom are living. Their names are Andrew T., Lydia J., Rachel A., Stephen H., Edith M., and Isachar. Mr. Schofield was an industrious and thrifty farmer, and by the aid of his wife accumulated a snug little competency. To the original purchase they have added sixty acres.


Robert V. Embree was born in Penn Township, Morgan County, Ohio, in 1839. His father, Israel Embree, married Mary A. Vernon. They reared a family of twelve children —Martha, Lindley H., Japtha V., Robert V., Deborah, Samuel, Hannah, Eliza, Caroline, Merrick S., Wheeler L., and Jesse R. Two of the daughters, Hannah and Caroline, are deceased. Robert V. was reared under the parental roof. When eighteen years of age he left home, and for the greater part of the time until be was twenty-four lie traveled. March 2, 1864, he was married to Miss Mary L. Newton. Three children were born to them—Nathan M., Edward I., and Walter J. Mir. Embree has been successful in the accumulation of property and the building of a reputation. He is a worthy member of society, and a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.


In 1841 William and Margaret (Morrison) Brown and family came to this county from Allegheny County, Pa. Mrs. Brown died in 1874 and Mr. Brown in 1875. Their children were Elizabeth and Mary L. The former married James Remy. She died in 1861 leaving six children—Mary, Lewis, Parker, Martha J., Simeon and Charles Owen. Miss Mary L. Brown lives upon and conducts the homestead farm.


J. C. M. Barkhurst was born in Caroline County, Md., October 23, 1818. At the age of twenty-two the family removed to Harrison County and thence to Morgan County. In 1839 he was married to Miss Mary Booth. They have had three children, two sons and


436 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


one daughter—Frances Ann, David and Zachariah Rugan. The latter was married to Miss Nancy Pierpoint. He met his death accidentally in June of 1883. Frances Ann was married to David P. Morris. She died June 18, 1873, and shortly after her death her husband removed to Kansas ; the children, Charles E. and Mary Lillian, reside with their grandparents. Mr. Barkhurst has been successful in life; not only in a business point of view, but in the building up of a priceless reputation and in the accumulation of a large circle of friends.


Cyrus Cheadle and wife came to what is now Marion Township, Morgan County, in 1821. They had a family of five children-Louisa (Parker), living on part of the old homestead, Mary A., Cutler, Peter and Alfred. Mrs. Parker, the oldest daughter, was married at the age of 20. Her husband, Calvin Parker, died February 16, 1865. He was the father of ten children—five of whom are living, viz.: Seth, Hannah, Olive (Work), Harriet, (Grubb) and Lot.


Cutler Cheadle was born in Morgan County in 1814. His father was one of the early settlers of Windsor Township, and removed to Marion Township in 1821. They lived in the cabin of pioneer days, with puncheon floor and a square hole for a window. Wolves, bears, wild turkeys and deer were numerous. Mr. Cheadle can recollect the time when it took a bushel of wheat to buy a yard of calico, and says that a family who could indulge in the extravagance of a quarter of a pound of tea was thought to be wealthy. In 1834 Mr. Cheadle was married to Miss Harriet Barnett. She died. in April, 1885. She was the mother of two children, Hannah and Thomas, both deceased.


Joseph Hoopes was a member of the Society of Friends and was born in Lancaster County, Pa., February 11, 1800. In the spring of 1804 the family removed to Harrison County, Ohio. At the age of sixteen Joseph was apprenticed to the trade of a blacksmith. After the expiration of his apprenticeship he married in the spring of 1821 Miss Abigail Cope. She was born in Loudon County, Va., in 1799. Her father was a minister in the Society of Friends and came to Belmont County when she was quite young.


Mr. Hoopes followed his trade in Belmont and Harrison Counties until 1833, when he removed with his family to Marion Township, then almost a wilderness. The first few years of his life were marked by the severest trials and privations, and it required all his physical strength and moral courage to meet the requirements of his increasing family. In 1869 his wife died, and in 1885 he was called to join her, having lived in the township fifty-two years. His posterity numbered 144-15 children, 71 grandchildren, and 58 great-grandchildren.


Israel Hoopes was born near Cadiz, Harrison County, Ohio, in 1826, and came with his father into Morgan County in 1833, locating in Marion Township, where he resided until 1845, when he went to Malta to learn the blacksmith trade. He married Ruth A. Todd in 1851. They have three children—Sibilla C. (Beckwith), Malta ; Narcissa (Pletcher), Deavertown, and Julius D.

James King came to this township in 1823. He was married in Lancaster County, Pa., to Rebecca Smedley.


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Their children are Joseph (deceased), james, Sarah (deceased), Rebecca (Livezey), Mercy (Hoopes), Lewis, Joel, Joseph, Ann and Perley. Joel King Was born in 1828. In 1850 he married Elizabeth Bingman. Children : Elmer (deceased), Rachel (Kennard), Isabel (Thompson), John, Ellsworth, Lina and James A. Mr. King has served in several township offices, and is a member of the Christian Church.


Jesse Fawcett, an esteemed citizen and a worthy member of the Methodist Church departed this life February 6, 1882. December 14, 1837, he married Miss Hannah Lambert. She was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1817. In the same year her parents removed to Belmont County, and from thence in 1835 to Morgan County, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Fawcett had eleven children born to them, eight of whom are living, to wit: Elizabeth L., Jonathan, Abner L., Mary A., Melinda, David L.,. Susannah and Hannah M. Jonathan married Miss Isabel Clark, and they reside in Athens County ; Mary A. became Mrs. Job Clark ; Susannah married William Mock. Their home is in Harper County, Kansas ; Hannah M. married N. C. Glenn ; Daniel L. married Miss Eliza Smith ; Abner L. was born in October of 1843, and was married in May, 1866, to Elizabeth A. King. They have four children, Jennie K., Francis H., Hattie M. and Herbert G. Mr. Fawcett has taken a commendable interest in educational and political matters. He has served his fellow townsmen as clerk for seven years, and for four years as treasurer. He is a member of the board of education of Chester Hill. Daniel L. Fawcett was formerly a farmer. He is now engaged in merchandising in Pleasantville, Morgan County, Ohio.


Lindley M. Fawcett was born in Delmont County, Ohio, in 1835, and with his parents came to Athens County in 1841, from whence they removed to Marion Township, Morgan County, where the subject of this notice has since resided. In 1862 he was married to Miss Mary Huestis. They have reared a family of six children : Willis T., Sadie Josephine, Marietta, Walter H., Arthur and Edith L. Mr. Fawcett is one of the thrifty and progressive farmers of the township. Ile has occupied several minor positions of trust in the gift of his townsmen, and by his moral worth has endeared him- .self to a large circle of friends; He and his family are exemplary members of the Society of Friends.


Walter Newton was born in Windsor Township in 1825. His father, Gideon Newton, an early settler in Morgan County, was born in the blockhouse at Marietta in 1804. Walter, was married in 1849 to Catharine Eveland, of this county, whose parents were early settlers. Children : Joel (deceased), John H., Melissa, Jasper, Alice L., Daniel G., Zillah, Amanda, Lucinda, Walter B., Charles W. and William M. Mr. Newton is a successful farmer, and has served in some township offices.


William H. Glassford was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1838. In 1844 he came to Morgan County, Ohio, with his parents, who settled in Union Township. They subsequently removed to Muskingum County, but returned. In 1859 Mr. Glassford married Olive J. Linn. Children : D. Howard, Frederick R., James B., Ida May, Ella, Perley L., Maggie, William G., Lavinia and Harry B. The family belong to the Methodist Protestant Church.


Charles P. Wood was born in Penn


438 - HISTORY ON MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


Township, and moved to Marion Township soon after the war. He married Susan Mary. Dunn. Children : Annie L., John D., Leroy S. His wife is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Wood has served in some local offices. His occupation is farming. He also devotes some of his time to his trade of gunsmith.


Charles H. Dunn was born in Marion Township in 1849 and has resided all his life in the county. In 1880 he married Lydia Tibbetts, of Indiana. Children : Gladys I., Harry and Mary E. Mr. Dunn began teaching at the age of seventeen and has followed that business since. He is also engaged in farming.


Selah Hart and wife (Sarah Watrous), came to Washington County at a very early day, and assisted in the construction of the Block House at Waterford, where some of his children were born. Thence he came to Morgan County with his family, wife and seven children, Sarah, who married George L. Cofiner, Mary, Cynthia, Walter, Seth, Hiram and Selah, Jr., all of whom are now deceased. Selah, Jr., married June Thompson in 1826. Children : June, Sarah, John, Mary, Selah, Jr., Nathaniel, Hiram and Emma. John Hart married Miss Hannah Randall in 1855, to them were born three children : Nathaniel, Hiram and Sarah E., now Mrs. John Davis, of Union Township.


Eli Shields was born in New Castle, County, Delaware, in 1811 and resided there until his removal to Morgan County, Ohio, in 1841. At the age of twenty-eight he married Lydia N. Hambleton. Children : Elmira J., Joseph H., Benoni J., Benjamin F., William N., Charles O., George O. and Annie L. Mrs. Shields died in 1882. Mr. Shields is a prominent farmer and has served as township trustee.


James H Kinsey, an old resident, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., in 1824 ; came to Morgan County with his parents in 1830, and has since resided here. In 1844 he married Esther. McMillan, of Harrison County, Ohio. They have five children living : Amos M., Jehu H., Mary J. (Roberts), Sarah Elizabeth (Carr), Emily A. (Kirby). Amos married Mary A. Barkhurst and lives on the adjoining farm. Jehu married Rachel A. Coulson, of Pennsville. Mary J. married Milo E. Roberts, who died in 1881. Two of their four children are living. Mrs. Roberts lives on the homestead. Sarah Elizabeth married Joseph Carr and lives on the home farm. They have four children. Emily A. married James Kirby and lives at Pennsville ; two children. Mr. J. H. Kinsey has served as notary public for many years. His wife died in 1884. His father died the same year, aged ninety-seven. His mother died in 1859.


John Syphers was born in Greene County, Pa., in 1842. When fourteen years of age he came to Morgan County and lived with his uncle. In 1869 he married Mary Ann Baldwin. Children: Andrew, Sadie E., Carl T., Louie R. Mr. Syphers has held several local offices-constable, school director and Supervisor. Mrs. Syphers is the daughter of Worthell and Sarah Baldwin, who came to Morgan County about 1830.


Eli Swayne was born in Belmont County in 1821 and resided there until eighteen years of age. He then came to Morgan County with his widowed mother and family in 1840. There were seven children: Benjamin, Thomas, Mary; Evans, Eli, Caleb and Bennett. In 1843 Eli married Maria Rice, of Bel-


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mont County. By this union he has had five children—Narcissa (deceased), Eugene, Joseph B. and Eliza J. (twins); James M. (deceased). Eugene married Jennie Clancy in 1868; Eliza J. became the wife of Samuel Smith in 1873 ; Joseph B. married Clarissa Dewees in 1873. All live in Morgan County. Mr. Swayne followed milling from 1840 to 1859, and has since been successfully engaged in farming. He has held several local offices.


Allen Woolman was born in Belmont County in 1830. In 1833 he came with his parents to Marion Township, where he has since resided. Mr. Woolman was married in 1850 to Eliza Baldwin. They had seven children, six of whom are living, viz : Clark M., Adaline, Julianna, Emma J., Effie M., Rose A. Mrs. Woolman died in 1876. In 1878 Mr. Woolman married Miss Hannah McElfresh. They have one child, Clarence. Mr. Woolman is a leading agriculturist of the township.


David McVey has been a lifelong resident of Marion Township. He was born in November, 1841. In 1869 he was married to Miss Ann Livezey. They have a family of three children— Ulysses S., Elsie Ellen and Roxana. Mr. McVey is a farmer and stockraiser.


Joseph and Margaret Porter came in 1838. The former died in 1842, the latter in 1854. James M., a son, is one of the prosperous farmers of the township. He was born in Harrison County, Ohio, in 1837. In 1866 he married Deborah J. Peebles, of Washington County. Children : William Sherman and Augustus Sherwood,


John Fletcher Calvert (deceased) was a prominent and worthy citizen. He was a well-known farmer. For his first wife he married. Mary Dent. Their children were Mary Ann, who died at the age of twenty, and Joseph, living. He was married in 1870 to Maggie Walker, and they have four children living. In 1849 John Fletcher Calvert married Eliza J. Gosney, who is still living. Their children are John, Isabel, Martha Ellen, Jacob and Ira, living; Sarah J. and Tabitha, deceased. The sons are prominent young farmers.


Isaac Hummel, son of James Hummel, an early settler of Penn Township, was born in Morgan County in 1831. He married Anna Bingman in 1855. Their children are Joseph, Lavina, Alice Ann, Olive, Charles, Juliet, Laura, Cora, Franklin and Effie. The family belong to the Christian Church. Mr. Hummel is a prominent farmer of Marion.


Alfred Williams was born in Winchester, Va., in 1806; settled in Brownsville, Pa., with his parents when three years of age, and there remained until 1840. Alfred came to Belmont County, Ohio, was there married to Rachel R. Gibbons, and in 1850 settled in Marion Township. He is a prominent farmer and has served in several local offices. Children: Mary E., Victoria, Amanda, Lorenzo D., Margaretta J., Emily L., Lucy V., Howard J . and Charles E.


John D. Cheadle was born in Washington County, where his people were early settlers, and is one of a family of fourteen children. His father died in 1836. John remained at home until 1843, when he married Nancy Reed. Children: William (deceased), Madison, Mary Ann (Adrian), Eliza Jane (Van Antwerp), Julia, Lucinda, Laura Belle, Agnes, John Elmer and Ida. Mr. Cheadle has served in several local offices.


John W. and Sarah Atkinson came from Bucks County, Pa., and in No-


 440 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


vember, 1847, settled in Marion Township. Mrs. Atkinson died in 1883. Jesse W. Atkinson, a prominent farmer, son of John W. Atkinson, was born in Pennsylvania in 1839, and has resided in Morgan County since his parents settled here. He was married in 1869 to Miss Julianna Elliott. Children: Rachel C., Fred E., Frank J., Mary and Elsie D.


Caleb Wood was born in Chester County, Pa., in 1792 ; settled in Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1813, removing thence to Morgan County in 1835, and died in 1879. He was married in 1824. His wife, who was born in Virginia, in 1799, removed to Ohio in 1816. She died in 1885. Caleb Wood and wife were Friends. Their children were John. Milton, who died June 15, 1864, in the U. S. Hospital at Baton Rouge, La.; Alfred, a resident of Nebraska; Mary A. (Peeples), Columbus, Ohio ; William C., born in 1833, now a resident of Marion Township; Susan (Patterson), Columbus, Ohio ; George R., Oakland, Cal.; Amanda J. (Huestis), who died in 1872. The Wood family settled in the woods near Chester Hill in 1835.


George Geddes is a native of Belmont County, Ohio, and came to Morgan County with his father's family. They settled in Windsor Township, above Stockport. Here they remained but three years, when they removed to Middle Ridge. They resided here until 1865, at which time George was married to Miss Rebecca E. Hoopes. Shortly after their marriage they removed to their present home in Marion Township. They have reared a family of nine children, five boys and four girls : Florence J., Joseph H., Mary E., John F., Eber H., Murray, Ida M., Riley P.

and Augusta A. Mr. Geddes is one of the reputable citizens of the township, and one of its most prosperous and thrifty farmers.


Charles V. Barkhurst was born in Guernsey County, in 1847, and came to Morgan County in 1855 with his parents, Daniel and Mary (Wallraven) Barkhurst. He is one of a family of seven children, viz., William, Thomas, Elizabeth, Mary E., Sarah, John and Charles V. Mrs. Barkhurst died in 1861, and Daniel Barkhurst in 1883. Charles V. was married in 1865 to Margaret M. Niceswanger. Children, Mars E., Laura L. and Flora Dell.


Nathan Woodyard was born in Athens' County, in 1833, and resided there until 1853, when he came with his father, James Woodyard, to Morgan County. His father died in 1873. His mother is still living. Nathan is a farmer. He belongs to the M. E. Church. He married Elizabeth Gifford, of Athens County, in 1872, and they have four children.


Samuel Milner was born in Belmont County in 1825. In 1848 he was married to Miss Elizabeth Ni,chols, who was born in 1825. To them have been born four children, the eldest of whom, Mary B., died in infancy. Lauretta, now Mrs. W. A. Choguill, was born in 1854. Thomas N. married Miss Emma Cook, and Guilford, Miss Jennie Hooper, of Stockport. Mrs. Milner died February 15, 1881. Mr. Milner is a member of the Methodist Church, and has served as class-leader.


Granville Wood, a prominent Friend and one of the reputable citizens of Marion, was one of the later settlers of the township. His wife, Lydia T., was born in Jefferson County, Ohio, in 1825. About 1840, her people immigrated



PICTURE OF JOHN R. HAMBLETON


MARION - 441


to Morgan County, and settled in Center Township. In 1851, they were married and moved to Marion TOWnship, where Mr. Wood died, in 1871. To them were born seven children, four girls and three boys: George W.,Thomas H., Mary A., Addison W., Rachel B., Charity W. George W. was married in 1874, to Miss M. A. Golden. Thomas H. was married in 1879, to Lasetta Thompson, Mary A. died March 31, 1863.


John J. Beck was born in Belmont County, Ohio, in 1S10. In 1840 he came to Morgan County, and two years later he married Eliza A. Henry, of this county. Two children were born of this union, both now deceased. Charles H. married Alice Hopkins, and they had five children, who are still living with their mother and grandfather on the. homestead. George E., the other son, died in 1849. Mrs. Beck died in 1880.


Martin Bingman was born in Harrison County, in 1827. In 1836 lie came. to Marion Township with his parents, and has Since resided here. He is a farmer and a member of the Church of Christ. In 1848 he married Mary Ann Milton, of Athens County. Children, Mary M. (deceased) Louisa (Kennard) William H., Sarah Ann, Rachel J. (Wilkes), Ellis T., Joseph F. and Hattie M.


George Woolman and his wife (nee Mary Cotton) came from Belmont County, Ohio, about 1834, and Settled in this township. Their children were Robert, Rachel, Elizabeth, George, Samuel, Joel, Allen, Emily and Sarah. George Woolman, the younger, was born in Belmont County in 1824, and settled in Morgan County with his parents. When 21 years of age he

went to Iowa, where he remained two years. In 1850 he married Margaret Ann Dollison, and settled in Marion Township. Mr. Woolman and wife are members of the M. E. Church.


Jehu Hiatt was born in Virginia February 6, 1781. About 1808 he removed with his family to Belmont County, and thence to Highland County in the spring of 1831. In 1837, in company with his son Jesse Hiatt and his family, he came to Morgan County and purchased alarm in Marion Township on section 17, at the mouth of Goshen Run, where he died in July of that year. Jesse Hiatt, son of Jehu, was born in Virginia December 27, 1807, and married Ruthanna, daughter of Amos and Mary Vernon, of Belmont County, where she was born in 1807. Jesse Hiatt died October 2, 1885. He was a worthy member of the Society of Friends, and highly esteemed by all who knew him. He had a family of nine children—four sons and five daughters. E. J. Hiatt, the eldest son and one of the most prominent sheep-growers in the county, was born in Highland County in 1835. He married in 1860 Sibbilla Peebles. But few men in Morgan County have done more in the interests of sheep husbandry than Mr. Hiatt. He is the present Secretary and Vice-President of the Ohio State Wool-Growers' Association, Corresponding Secretary of the Eastern Ohio Wool-Growers' and Stock-Breeders' Association, member of the Executive Board of the United States Merino Sheep-Breeders' Association. This board compiled and published the first public register of sheep ever issued. In 1881 lie commenced the publication of The

Shepherd's National Journal, which he edited for three years. This organ


442 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


(now published in Zanesville) was the pioneer journal of its kind in the United States. It is now known as The Shepherd National, Journal and Rural Era, and issued monthly. Originally it was a thirty-two page quarterly. Mr. Hiatt is a recognized authority on all matters pertaining to sheep husbandry,. and one of the prominent farmers and valuable citizens of the county. Jesse L. Hiatt was born in Marion Township in 1846, and resides in the old homestead of his father and grandfather. He was married in 1868 to Miss Mary J. Stoneman. Two children are living, Jasper C. and Clarence S. Mr. Hiatt is also one of the prominent sheep-growers of the county, and has done much in forwarding this industry. He resides on the old homestead of his grandfather, the title of which has never been out of the family.


Taylor Strode was born on the banks of the Brandywine, Chester County, Pennsylvania, March 6, 1801. He learned the trade of a stonemason, and followed that vocation till 21 years of age. He then came on foot to Harrison County, Ohio, with a knapsack on his Shoulder. Worked at his trade for tine year, then returned to Chester County, where he stayed four years. He married Miss Elizabeth Woodward, and returned to Harrison County, Ohio, in a one-horse wagon, where he lived for eight years, working at his trade and farming. In 1836 he moved with his family, consisting of his wife and four children, to Morgan County, Ohio, to a farm on a stream known as Goshen Run, in Marion Township, where he remained one year. He disposed of this farm, purchased another. of 125 acres in the same township, moved to it, and there lived till his children, nine in all, were married, except three who had died ; then sold his farm in 1874 to his son, . Paschal Strode, and went to live with his children. He is now living with his daughter, Mrs. John R. Hamilton. He is in his 85th year.


Paschal Strode, son of Taylor Strode, an old resident, was born in Marion Township in 1842. He was married in 1861, and is the father of three children —Sylvanus E., Emerson and Annie. Mr. Strode is a prominent farmer.


Augustus Strode was born in 1834, in Harrison County, Ohio ; came to Morgan County in 1836, and has since resided here. He was married in 1862 to Ann Eliza Knight, of this county, and is the father of two children George K. and Franklin J. The latter resides at home. Mr. Strode has served in some local offices and is a successful farmer. Geo. K. Strode was born in 1863 ; . married Emma Barkhurst in 1885 and resides on a farm adjoining the homestead.


Zebulon Worrall was born in Pennsylvania in 1797. He learned the tailor's trade in Philadelphia, and when a young man emigrated to Jefferson County, Ohio. There he married Martha Ratcliff :and remained until 1837; then with quite a large family of children moved to what is now Morgan County, settling on a piece of land in Marion Township, adjoining the village of Chester Hill. He settled in an almost unbroken forest and cleared and improved his land. After a few years he engaged in the raising of fruit trees. This business he followed many years, introducing into Morgan and adjacent counties many choice varieties of fruit. Thousands of trees now bearing fruit stand as monuments to his industry and enterprise. Mr. Worrall died in 1866.


MARION - 443


Elwood R. Worrall was born in Harrison County, Ohio, June 15, 1832, and came with the family to Morgan County in 1837. He was reared upon the farm of his father and for fifteen years was engaged with him in the nursery business. After the dissolution of their copartnership he engaged in merchandising in Chester Hill. While a resident of Marion Township he filled all the offices in the gift of his fellow-townsmen, and in 1880 was elected to the responsible position of county treasurer, the duties of which he discharged with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people until 1885, when he was succeeded by A. P. Whittaker.


Jonathan and Ann Pierpoint came from Columbiana County, Ohio, to Morgan in 1826. They settled on Wolf Creek in Penn Township, seven miles south of McConnelsville. He was a miller by trade, and the following year 1827, he built a sawmill on the creek, and in 1828 erected a gristmill. They had a full share of the toil, privations and hardships. Both lived however, to ripe ages. Mr. Pierpont died at the age of seventy-two in 1846, his wife in 1850 at the age of seventy-three years. Both were exemplary members of the Society of Friends, and in their daily lives practiced the teachings of their church. John Pierpoint, a son now living in Marion Township, was born in Columbiana County, Ohio, in 1812, and came to Morgan County with the family in 1826.


Elijah Elliott and wife . came from Belmont County in 1831, and settled near Elliott's Cross Roads, Homer Township, on the farm where they still live. William Elliott, born in this county in 1836, married Lucinda Strode in 1859. They have had seven children, six of whom are now living, viz.: Dora, William T., Elijah, Elizabeth, Anna M. and Emmett F. Mr. Elliott enlisted in 1862 in Co. I, 62d O. V. I., and served until mustered out. He was present at the taking of Morris Island, and at the charge on. Fort Wagner.


Stephen Todd, son of William and Rebecca Todd, with his wife Sibbilla, came from the State of Georgia to Belmont County, Ohio, in 1803, and from thence in 1837, to Chesterfield, Marion Township. Sibbilla Todd died May 29, 1838. She was a daughter of Daniel and Mary Williams. Stephen Todd died near Chesterfield; March 31, 1849.


Asenath Todd, daughter of Stephen and Sibbilla, was born in Belmont County, Ohio, April 6, 1814.


Burwell Peebles, son of Mordecai and Abigail Peebles, was born in Prince George County, Virginia, Oct. 7, 1805. Moved to Belmont County, Ohio, in 1827. Married Asenath Todd, April 27, 1831. They moved to Pennsville in 1834, and to Chesterfield in 1835. He died Jan. 24, 1884, at their residence on section 3, Marion Township. She died Sept. 8, 1885. They were both consistent members of Friends' Church.


Sibbilla Peebles, daughter of Burwell and Asenath Peebles, was born in Chesterfield, May 9, 1836. Married E. J. Hiatt, May 31, 1860. Their family consists of three daughters and one son.


The Male family were from West Virginia. They were among the early settlers of Marion Township and identified with its pioneer history. Isaac Male was born in Randolph County in 1828. He is a farmer and a member of the Methodist Church.


Reuben McVey was born in Lan-


444 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


caster County, Pa., Oct. 30, 1800. In 1826 he came to Morgan County and settled on Section 23, Marion Township. He was married in the same year to Betsey Kennard, who was born in York. County, Pa., in 1811. Both died in 1882.


Joseph Jones and wife came to Morgan County from Greene County, Pa. The father retired from business in 1881, and resides in Columbus, Ohio. The mother is deceased. They were members of the Wesleyan Church. Wilbur B., born in Greene County,. Pa., in 1855, conducts the home farm. He. has served as school trustee.


J. W. Myers was born near Baltimore, Maryland, in 1809. Came to Belmont County, Ohio, in 1825, and to Morgan County in 1848. He is a farmer and a Methodist. In 1832 he married Mary Ann Kelly.


John G. Jackson was born in Greene County, Pa., in 1827. In the spring of 1853 he came to Morgan County and purchased a small farm of sixty acres, running in debt for a part of the purchase money. In 1861 his house and contents were destroyed by fire, entailing a loss of over one thousand dollars. Despite his losses he has added to his original purchase until he now owns a fine farm of 226 acres, and is one of the well-to-do farmers of the township.


Joseph and Hannah Jones came from Greene County, Pa., and settled in Marion in 1865.


Letitia Hilton, whose maiden name was Letitia McPherson, was born in Loudon County, Va., and resided there until about thirteen years of age. Settling in Belmont, she came thence to Zanesville and to Morgan County. In 1855 she married George Hilton, by whom she had three children, two of whom, William and Melbourne, are living.


CHESTER HILL.


This pretty little village, located a little southeast of the center of Marion Township, contained, in 1886, about 450 inhabitants. It is an important trading point for a rich agricultural. country, and is as prosperous a place of its size as can be found in Southeastern Ohio: Its pious Quaker founders have reason to be-proud of their work. The village contains no saloons or drinking places,. no low resorts of any kind. The population is intelligent, progressive and moral. A good schoolhouse; in which a school of three grades is maintained, was erected in 1881 at a cost of about $8,000. Three churches amply suffice for the accommodation of worshipers.


Chester Hill, or Chesterfield, as originally named, was laid out in 1834. The land on which the greater part of the town is Situated was owned by Exum Bundy and Elijah Hiatt. Bundy lived on the lot east of what is now known as lot 16 of the Williams addition ; Hiatt lived near the forks of the road on the farm known as the Dr. Parker place, but afterwards moved to Marion street, to a site opposite where Charles Penrose's store now Stands. The first plat of forty-eight lots, was laid off for Exum Bundy, by J. B. Pruden, surveyor. In the following year (1835), the first addition— lots 49 to 80 was made by Elijah Hiatt. The intended addition being partly on Bundy's land, Bundy deeded Hiatt sufficient land to complete the lots, and Hiatt returned the favor.

Additions were made a little later by others as follows : By Exum Bundy, lots 81 to 97; by Dempsey Boswell,


MARION - 445


lots 98 to 105 ; by William Crew, lots 106 to 115 ; by Nahum Ward, a number of outlots, lying south of Bundy's addition. These additions were all made very soon after the town was platted. The last addition was made in 1867, by Caleb Williams, and lies west of the original town.


The name of Bundyville was suggested for the new town. Others wanted to call it Boswell, in honor of Dempsey Boswell. Boswell himself preferred Chester, and that name would have been adopted but for the fact that there was already a Chester to the southward. So Chesterfield was chosen as being nearest to the desired name. But a little later, when a postoffice was established, it was found that still another name must be assumed, as there was already a. Chesterfield postoffice in the State. Therefore the place became Chester Hill, though locally the old name is more commonly used.


One of the first settlers of the infant village was Dempsey Boswell. In partnership with Jesse Beck and Elijah Hiatt, each of them contributing $250, he started the first store, in a small frame building back of the spot where Joseph Funk's house now stands, on lot 13. The stock was purchased in Pittsburgh, and the store was managed by Boswell alone. His customers usually settled in the spring and fall, when he had to purchase new goods, and obtained credit the rest of the year.


Jesse Beck built a cabin on lot 17 (the old Perpoint property) and soon afterward started a horsemill and cardingmill.


Samuel Hampton, in 1835, built a house about where George King now lives, and afterward a brick house at the lower end of the town. He was a carpenter. Robert Way, also a carpenter, became a resident of the village about the same time. Jesse Boswell, son of Dempsey Boswell, was another early arrival. William Boswell and family moved in 1836 to leased land and lived in a cabin near where W. Hamilton Smith now resides.


Chandler Lee arrived and began preparations for starting a tannery in 1836. His father, Samuel Lee, also came from Pennsylvania in the same year.


George G. King arrived in the spring of 1836, bringing his family, which formed the seventh in the town. The "men of families" who had preceded him were Samuel Hampton, Robert Way, Elijah Hiatt, Dempsey Boswell, Jesse Boswell and Jesse Beck. King was the first blacksmith, and set up his shop immediately after his arrival. It was not long until he was elected justice of the peace. The rest of the villagers being Friends and unwilling to hold that office, Mr. King filled the position for eighteen successive years, and in 1884 he ended his thirty-third year in the office. He is the .oldest male resident of Chester Hill, and has seen it, as well as the surrounding country, transformed from a wild and primitive to a rich and prosperous condition.


The first mill in the village was built by Jonathan Bundy and was a very primitive establishment. It was a horse mill, and the burrs were supported by a crosspiece placed between two trees. Jesse Beck afterward had a mill with " tramp wheel," which was something of an improvement over Bundy's.


Thomas and Moses Bundy were among the first settlers in the village. Moses, a bachelor, was a harness-maker. James South, an early settler, lived on


446 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


lot 62, in a house which was sometimes used for a Schoolroom and sometimes as a place of worship for the Methodists. Here James Hopkins occasionally preached.


Esther (Lee) Huestis and Ann (Lee) Chambers, daughters of Samuel Lee, are now living in Chester Hill, and recollect plainly the dismal scene which the village presented when they first saw it. They came from a well-settled portion of the country—forty-eight miles from Philadelphia, and having journeyed the long distance into the wilderness, were overwhelmed with loneliness and cried from homesickness at the dreary sight which the settlement presented. They lived with their brother, Chandler Lee, the tanner.


William Doan located early on lot 92; Thomas Crew and family, on the lot opposite, where the Central Hotel now is ; Isaac Haines on the Samuel Phipps property ; Stephen Todd lived about a quarter of a mile east of the village, and William Smith about a half mile east.


Arnold Patterson and family moved to Chester Hill in the fall of 1837. Patterson's was the first log house in town. All the buildings previously erected (with the exception of Boswell's frame store) had been of the log-cabin style. Before coining Patterson had contracted with Samuel Hampton to build a two- story log house. Robert Way assisted in the work. When the building had been raised to the height of one story, work had to be suspended on account of the scarcity of help. After Patterson's arrival, he with Isaac Deems, Jesse John, who settled here, John Monroe and Amos Coppic, succeeded in finishing the job: Mr: Patterson kept tavern for some time.

Reece Cadwallader, the second merchant of the place, began business not long after the settlement of the town, on the corner of Coal and Marion streets. He was the first postmaster, being recommended for that position in what was then a novel manner. The different candidates were voted for, and the candidate who received most votes was, accordingly, reasonably sure of appointment.


The postoffice was established not later than 1840. Squire King was instrumental in obtaining it. To facilitate matters and get the office speedily established, the citizens raised by subscription enough money (50) to pay the cost of transporting their mail once a week from Plymouth to Pennsville. William Williams was the first mail carrier on this route, which afterward became a through route of the government's, instead of a private affair. Chester Hill postoffice, for the first quarter, yielded 40 cents revenue to the government. Cadwallader was .succeeded as postmaster by Geo. G. King, who had the office and a small grocery in one end of his blacksmith shop. King was succeeded by Thomas E. Van law.


Probably the first school in the village was taught by Mary Dewees. Rebecca Kirby and Esther C. Lee were also early teachers. The educational interests of the place have always been carefully looked after.


Dr. Isaac Huestis, the first resident physician, came to the town in June, 1837, and still resides here. At the time of his arrival, or soon after, there were among the inhabitants of the place the following men, some of whom have not yet been mentioned : Zebulon Worrall, the first tailor ; Asa Hampton, shoe-


MARION - 447


maker; Samuel D. Hampton and Amos Vernon, carpenters ; Burr Gregg, the first and only hatter; William C. Lee, tanner; Allen T. Lee, cabinetmaker ; Elias Dyke and Nelson Gray, wagon- makers ; John Engle, a non-resident, did most of the chimney-building. Jonathan Naylor and Asa Hampton had a pottery about where William Moore now lives.


Isaac Haines came to the village about 1838. He was a prominent man and served as State senator. He was a man of venerable appearance, very devout, and a constant reader of the Bible. By trade he was a weaver.


An idea of the appearance of the village in its infancy may be formed from the following incident: A stranger traveling along the road came to Elijah Hiatt's cabin . and inquired the way to Chesterfield. " Thee is in the midst of the city," was the answer.


Tamar Hiatt, now Mrs. David Pierson, is supposed to have been the first white child born in the village.


The first adult buried in the Friends' burying-ground was Isaiah Williams' wife.


.A correspondent of the Chester Hill Beacon * for March, 1880, names the following persons as being residents of the village in 1840: Thos. Bundy, Sr., Jonathan Naylor, James South, Mordecai Worrall, William Boswell, Dempsey Boswell, Arnold Patterson, Thomas Penrose, Samuel Lee, Jesse Beck, George (4. King, Joel Garretson, Wm. Doan, Samuel B. Hampton, Peter Yore, Nelson Gray, Reece Cadwallader, Robert Way, Benjamin Way, Isaac Haines, Henry Doudna, Elijah Hiatt (probably), Moses Bundy. Dr. Isaac Huestis and Elias Hodgin. Asa Hampton, John


* A local sheet, whose existence was evanescent.


Hampton, William Crew and Thomas Crew were householders of the village about that date. The nearest farmers were Zebulon Worrall, Exum Bundy, William and Joseph Smith and Philip Leake.


Among the early hotel-keepers of the village were William Boswell, Arnold Patterson, Samuel Hampton, Nathan Dodd and Samuel Lee. Boswell kept in what is now known as the Amy John property ; Patterson, a little north of Marietta street, on Marion street ; Hampton, at the lower end of the village ; Dodd's house, with a green tree painted on the sign, was on the southeast corner of Marion and Marietta streets ; and Samuel Lee's, on the northeast corner of Marion and Coal streets.


In 1845, according to the recollection of an old resident, the inhabitants of the village were Isaac' Haines, Thomas Penrose, blacksmith, William Milhouse, druggist, Dr. Huestis, Jesse Beck, John D. Wright, merchant, Thomas Crew, Elias C. Dyke, T. E. Vanlaw, Ira Patterson, Peter Vore, Asa Holloway, James Melchi, Samuel Lee, Burr Gregg, Thos. Bundy, James Vernon, Jesse John, Prudence Hodgin, Joseph J. Parker, Oliver Livezey, Enoch Parker, Eli Swayne, Mordecai Worrall, Israel Purviance, Wm. Boswell (three last were tanners), John P. Wood, merchant, Caleb Williams, merchant, Arnold Patterson, tavern-keeper, Watson Harris, Nathan Dodd, tavern-keeper, Zebulon Worrall, Eli Hodgin, tailor, Dr. George Michener, George G. King, blaasmith and justice, Nelson Gray, wagon-maker, Elisha Holloway, Samuel B. Hampton, tavern-keeper, Henry Doudna.


In 1852 the merchants were T. E. Vanlaw, John D. "Wright, Elisha J. Holloway and Caleb Williams. The


448 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


town has grown slowly, but its, increase in wealth has been constant. As it is to-day, its citizens have just reason to be proud of the village.


The principal mercantile and industrial interests of Chester Hill were represented by the following names in 1886:


General Stores : Charles Penrose, Smith & Dewees, George John.

Hard ware : Clark Patterson, Samuel Johnson.

Furniture and Cabinet-making: Charles Patterson, J. W. Doudna.

G. W. Mulks. Wood, Thompson Charles Patterson, J

Druggists : F. L. Smith, Dr. Parker & Co.

Clothing : O. W. Williams.

Merchant Tailor : G. W. Mulks

Groceries : . Thos. Worstell.

Jeweler : Robt. Dutton.

Boots and Shoes : G. B. Gilbert.

Central hotel : W. W. Johnson.

Gristmill : Henry Bowman.

Sawmill and Planingmill : Henry Funk.

Physicians :Drs. Isaac Huestis, Isaac Parker, Smith Branson, A. J. Parker.

Dentist : Geo. Patterson.


SOCIETIES.


Masonic Lodge.—Mount Olive Lodge, No. 148, F. and A. M., was instituted at Plymouth, Washington County, in 1847 —chartered Oct. 31, 1847—and continued to meet at that place until May 15, 1853, when Chester Hill became the seat of the lodge. The charter members (1847) were Samuel W. Smith, Job S. King, David Willis, John Worrall (still living), George King (still living), William Hodgin, William Calvert, William Cogill, Horace Dunsmoor, William White, Levi Heald. Samuel W. Smith was the first Worshipful Master of the lodge ; Job S. King, S. W. ; and John Worrall, J. W. The list of masters of the lodge from 1847 to 1886 is thus given by Dr. Isaac Parker : S. W. Smith, John Worrall, Watson Harris, . Dr. Isaac Parker, John Doudna, Job S. King, George Patterson, Abner L. Fawcett. The lodge now has over 40 members and is in good financial condition. The lodgeroom is furnished tastily and well. The property of the lodge is worth about $600. The officers in 1886 were A. L. Fawcett, W. M. ; George Worrall, S. W. ; John Doane, J. W. ; George Patterson, S. D. ; John Fisher, J. D. ; Eli S. Fawcett, Treas. ; Geo G. King, jr., Secy.; Fred L. Mercer, Tiler.


Grand Army.-G. J. Mercer Post, No. 529, G. A. R., was organized at Chester Hill, August, 1885, with R. G. Maynes commander. There were 22 charter members. In April, 1886, the post had 30 members.


RELIGIOUS.


Methodist Episcopal Church.—The first permanent society of this denomination at Chester Hill was formed in 1844 under the ministration of Rev. Philo Matthews, a talented, eloquent and earnest local preacher. The first class consisted of but few members. For a time services were regularly held in Elias Dyke's wagon-shop. Then the church edifice of the Methodist Protestants (since disbanded) and the Masonic hall each served as a meeting place. Not until 1868 did the society have a house of worship of its own. The present edifice, completed in that year, cost about $2,400. It is a neat frame building. Among the early members were Thomas Mercer, Elias Dyke,




MARION - 449


James Melchie, David Mercer, George G. King, William Calvert, Fletcher Calvert and Thomas Hiatt. William Calvert was the first class-leader, succeeded by David Mercer, Thomas Hiatt, and others. The church has been reasonably prosperous, and now has 130 members. A good Sabbath-school is maintained. In 1886 the church officers were : Trustees—Henry Bowman, Dudley Larkins, Edward Hammond, Edward Worrall, Osborn Smith. Stewards—Osborn Smith, J. A. Stone, Eli S. Fawcett. Sabbath-school superintendent—A. J. Parker.


The Society of Friends.*—This society had their origin in England about the middle of the seventeenth century and for a time were subjected to the most vindictive persecutions on account of their rigid adherence to some of the cardinal tenets of their faith, one of which was the scriptural injunction, "Swear not at all," "Neither by any other oath." Upon their refusal to testify (under oath) their allegiance to the government, they were often imprisoned and not infrequently had their personal estates confiscated, and forfeited for life their landed interests. As they could not conscientiously take off their hats in honor to man, they were frequently fined when appearing in court. They believe that civil government is a divine ordinance and that it is the duty of all to yield obedience in everything which does not interfere with that allegiance they owe to God, but deny that government can by legislation make anything right which in itself is morally wrong. Believing it is not the will of the Creator that Christians should engage in war, they have always preferred to suffer the penalties rather


* By Isaac Huestis.


than place themselves in opposition to what they believe to be the will of the Almighty.

The "meetings" of this society in Morgan County are branches of the Ohio Yearly Meeting, which was originally composed of Friends west of the Alleghany Mountains. In 1813 it was set off from the Yearly Meeting of Baltimore, and since 1878 the meetings have been held at Stillwater, Ohio, " commencing on the last first-day of the ninth month." All branches are accountable to the Yearly Meeting and are subject to its discipline and regulations in the organization of meetings.


The first Friends' Meeting for worship in Morgan County was held in 1819 at Pennsville (then called Deerfield). Pennsville monthly meeting was established in 1827. The Chesterfield monthly meeting was organized in 1837. These monthly meetings were originally accountable to the Stillwater Quarterly Meeting, which held one session in each year at Pennsville. In 1855 the Pennsville Quarterly Meeting was established and since that time the meetings in Morgan County have been subordinate to it.


This society has no ordained ministers, believing that silent worship may be acceptably performed without the aid of instrumental means. They value highly, however, a ministry exercised under the immediate influence of the Holy Spirit.


The Society of Friends believe in the light of Christ revealed in the secret of the soul as God's gift for man's salvation, which William Penn (one of the founders of the society) said " was the cornerstone of their fabric, their distinguishing point, or principle, and goodly tree of doctrine from which all


450 - HISTORY OF MORGAN COUNTY, OHIO.


others spring." This light of Christ, or inward manifestation of the Holy Spirit, as obedience is yielded to its dictates, enables its humble followers clearly to see their proper places and stations in the church. By it those called to the work of the ministry, both male and female, are enabled to give convincing proof that they are rightly qualified for the service; they are then recorded by their respective meetings as ministers of the gospel in unity with the body of Friends, and until so acknowledged are not permitted to travel abroad in the exercise of their gifts, nor until they obtain certificates from the meetings to which they belong for the particular service they believe required of them. No compensation is given to ministers as an equivalent for their services in the ministry. If any such are in limited circumstances, they are assisted the same as other members. None are suffered to become a public charge ; and Friends settle differences among themselves in regard to property by arbitration instead of going to law.


The first meeting-houses of Friends in Morgan County were temporary structures.


In 1840 a brick meeting-house was built at Pennsville, at a cost of about $1,100. The present meeting-house was built in 1882, at a cost of about $1,400.


A frame meeting-house forty feet Square was built at Chesterfield about the year 1840.


At each meeting-house a lot of ground is appropriated as a burying place for the members, Friends being cautioned to avoid all extravagant expenses in the interment of the dead, and enjoined to maintain a testimony against affixing monuments to graves,


The present number of members of Pennsville meeting is about 100 ; present number of members of Chesterfield meeting, 150 ; Pennsville quarterly meeting, including Plymouth monthly meeting in Washington County, numbers about 350.


Bethel Church.—Bethel Church, in the southeastern part of Marion Township, was organized in 1848 by Rev. Levi Cunningham. The first church trustees were Henry Barnes, S. Denny and John Walter. The. first church edifice, erected in 1856, was 28x36 feet in size and cost about $300, of which only about $40 was paid in money. The present church, a frame building 36x40 feet, was erected in 1874 at a cost of $1,000. The pastors, as nearly as can be remembered, have been as follows : Revs. Cunningham and Mann. Robt. Anderson, James Hopkins, Josiah Forrest and Gifford, M. Sheets, McSibley and Pilcher, Samuel Rankin and Glenn, Wilson, Gardner and George Murray, S. Rilen, J. Calvert, James Hopkins, Ricketts, Jacob Hathaway, Milton Cooley, J. Payne, J. Steele, R. Callaher, Thomas Sayers, Robt. Mors grain, W. Mock, J. Sollers, George Copeland, Lewis IIaddox, Thomas Gardner, Chas. O'Neal, J. W. Ricketts, J. L. Durant, M. Winsor, T. Halcon, T. Monroe.


Mount Zion Church.—This church, located in the southwestern part of Marion Township, was organized in 1880 by Rev. James W. Dennen, with 46 members. The first officers were Jesse B. Wood and Isaac Randall, deacons ; Hazen Coulter, Randolph Randall, William Carty and Barak Thompson, trustees ; L. F. Hammond, clerk ; J. B. Wood and John Thompson, leaders. The house of worship


MARION - 451


was erected in 1881 at a cost of $800. The pastors have been Rev. J. W. Dennen and Rev. Samuel Lewis. The church now has 80 members and the Sabbath-school 70 scholars.


THE HUFFMAN FAMILY.


Henry and Mary Huffman emigrated from Greene County, Pa., to Belmont County, Ohio, in 1834. From there they came to Marion Township, then a part of Athens County, in 1836. Here Mr. Huffman resided until his decease, which occurred February 17, 1852. His children were George W., Ruth, Godfrey E., Susannah, Peter, John, James H., Mary L., Annie L. and Samuel. James H. was in Co. D, 26th O. V. I., and died in New Orleans. John was in Co. B, 36th, was a prisoner at Libby and Danville for eight months. He was a farmer and blacksmith, and a very reputable man in every respect. George W. Huffman, who for fourteen years has been postmaster at Huffman's, was born December 18, 1836. October 16, 1864, he was married to Mary E. Devore, of Waterford, Ohio. She died January 25, 1880, leaving a family of six children, four boys and two girls. October 16, 1881, Mr. Hoffman was again married to Mrs. Mahala D. Geddis. Mr. Huffman owns the farm where he first Saw the light, and has always resided in the same school district. He takes a lively interest in pa. litical matters, and has never missed an election since he attained his majority. Has filled the office of constable for eighteen years.


Godfrey E. Huffman was born in Morgan County in 1839. In 1866 he married Louisa Knight. Children : Harry, deceased ; Mary E., Eda Ann and Joseph K.


John Huffman was born in 1845, in Marion. He married Mary E. Brown, and they have had by this union two children : William A. and Addie. He resides on part of the old homestead, is a farmer and stockraiser, and was a member of Co. B, 36th O. V. I.


Samuel Huffman, youngest son. of Henry and Mary Huffman, was born in this township in 1851, and has always resided on the home farm. He was married in 1874 to Flora Gilchrist. Children : Eura D., Franklin S. and Hiram H.


But few families have ddne more in the upbuilding of the interests of the tOWnship or have gained a more prominent place in the public esteem. The family escutcheon is bright and has been tenderly guarded.


JOHN R. HAMBLETON.


Joseph Hambleton and family came to Morgan County in 1832. He died in 1845, and his widow, whose maiden name was Ann R. Neal, died in 1852. Their children were Susannah, Stephen, Elizabeth, Lydia, James, Franklin, William, John R., Joseph, Alfred, Albert, Emily and Neal.


John R. Hambleton, a prominent farmer, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., and came to Morgan County with his parents. In 1850 he married Mary A. Strode. Children : Elizabeth, Ann R., Orlando C., William T., Sarah M., Lydia F., Mary E., John R., Lucy J. and Eliza A. Mr. Hambleton has earned a merited success in his calling, and is classed among the representative farmers of the county.