HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 373
CHAPTER X. *
WESTFIELD TOWNSHIP-INTRODUCTORY-FIRST SETTLEMENT-DRAKE'S DEFEAT-INCIDENTS
OF THE INDIANS-SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF THE PIONEERS-EARLY
INDUSTRIES, SCHOOLS, ETC.
"'Tis strange, but true; for truth is always strange, Stranger than fiction."
SOON after the admission of Ohio into the Union, a tide of immigration began to pour forward from the Eastern States. The causes that prevented this after the close of Revolutionary war had been removed. The Indians, who hitherto, had continued their incursions into the settlements, had, by the victory of Gen. Wayne, been vanquished, and the Greenville treaty had secured a great degree of safety to the settlers in the new State. The soldiers from the different Indian campaigns had taken back glowing reports of the
* Contributed by L. S. Wells.
fertility of the soil, especially along the Scioto and its tributaries, but not even the most imaginate had any conception of the future of this part of the State, most favored by nature of any in this wide domain. Soon after the organization of Delaware County, in 1808, the territory embraced in this township, to-ether with what is Oxford, the north half of Troy and all of Marlborough, in Delaware County, and what is now Waldo Township, Marion County, was organized under the name of Marlborough Township, and so remained until 1815, when Oxford Township was set off, including what is now Westfield Township, and a small strip since added to Cardington.
374 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.
In 1822, Westfield was set off from Oxford as a separate township of Delaware County, the boundary line, being one mile north of the present dividing line between the two townships. In 1848 when Morrow County was organized, this township, went to form a part, and at the same time was added to it on the south a strip one mile wide and five miles long from Oxford, Township, and a strip averaging a half-mile wide and one and a half long, embracing several hundred acres, was taken from its northeast corner and added to Cardington Township. It is bounded on the north by Marion County and Cardington Township; on the east, by Lincoln and Peru Townships; on the south by Delaware County, and on the west by Delaware and Marion Counties, and is located in the southwestern part, and extends the farthest west of any township in this irregular county of Morrow. It contained in 1880, a population of 1,204.
The Whetstone River enters the township a little east of the center on the north, and, taking a southwest direction, divides the township into two nearly equal parts, leaving it at the southwest corner. The eye does not often meet a more lovely sight than this beautiful winding stream, with edges lined with the sycamore, walnut and willow, whose overhanging boughs almost lie on its bosom, making a view as picturesque, if not as romantic, as when, a century ago, the light bark canoe of the red man glided over its surface, or beside its rippling waters,
"In the leafy shade,
The Indian warrior wooed his dusky maid."
The Whetstone River (and it is to be regretted that any attempt was ever made to change its name to that hybrid one-neither Indian nor English Olentangy), with its main tributary, Shaw Creek, which joins it a little north of the center of the township, together with Slate Run, Twentieth Run and several smaller but nameless streams, furnishes a most extraordinary system of drainage, and abundance of excellent stock, water, in connection with the numerous springs, located along the larger streams. Of the latter, two serve especial mention ; one an iron spring, usually called "red. sulphur," of very strong flow, situated nearly opposite the village of Westfield the west bank of the river, around which clusters many an Indian tradition, and beside which grows a willow tree of huge dimensions, planted since the advent of the white race ; the other a white sulphur spring, located about a half-mile south of, the north boundary of the township, also near the, river bank and remarkable for those medicinal properties, for which the sulphur spring at Delaware is noted. The river, in addition, affords good water power, and, accordingly, have been found four desirable mill sites.
The surface of this township is rolling along the streams, and generally level in the eastern and western parts, slightly inclining toward the river. The whole of the land was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, consisting chiefly of white and burr oak, elm and beech, while alone the streams white and black walnut, maple. and sycamore, abounded. But it is to be regretted that it has disappeared so rapidly that there is not the proper proportion of timber to the cultivated land, although there still remain some choice tracts of timber-land. The soil, which is unsurpassed by any township in this part of the State, consists of a rich black loam alone the river and smaller streams, and a heavy black soil, such as is usually found on land formerly covered by elm swamps. The eastern part is most excellent corn land, while in the western part there is an admixture of clay, and it is such as is usually known as "beech land," better suited for wheat and grass. The productions of the township are principally corn, wheat and grass, with a proportion of the minor crops. The people, owing, to the numerous small farms, are about equally divided in raising grain for the market, and in raising stock, which latter only the large, farmers can carry on successfully. Wool-growing and cattle-raising is the chief occupation of the latter.
There are many fine orchards in this section,
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some of the apple orchards dating back beyond the memory of any now living, and owing their existence to that remarkable individual known to the earliest pioneers as "Johnny Appleseed," who had a mania for starting orchards, and many of the oldest in Central Ohio were planted by him, one of which is located on the farm of Edwin M. Conklin, in this township.
With all the natural advantages possessed by this township, it is not surprising that we should find, as is the case, that the first settlement made within the boundaries of what is now Morrow County, was made here. John Shaw, Jr., of Chester County, Penn., purchased four hundred acres of military land, situated in the extreme north part of what is now Westfield Township, and abutting on the Greenville treaty line. With his wife and family, consisting of four sons and four daughters, he started in the spring of 1804 to locate upon it. After a long and tedious journey, they arrived at a settlement on the Whetstone, twenty miles north of Franklinton, now a part of Columbus, and at this settlement, the first made in Delaware County, he learned that his land was twenty miles further north, and that this was the nearest settlement to it, so he very naturally decided to make a temporary halt, which, for some reason, was prolonged through a period of four years. In the spring of 1808, he proposed to his son Jonathan, who in the mean time had married, that he would give him his choice of one hundred of the four hundred acres, if he would at once settle there, to which he acceded. Accordingly, be, with Jonathan, two of his other sons, and son-in-law, went up and looked over the ground, and Jonathan selected the northern part of the tract, a beautiful situation on a small stream, since known as Shaw Creek. Here they cleared a small space and built a cabin just a little north of the present residence of Jonathan Shaw, Jr. This cabin was a rude affair, about sixteen feet square, with a puncheon door and a puncheon floor, which latter was originally laid on the ground.
Then they repaired to their homes in Liberty Township, and soon after Jonathan, with his wife, child and worldly effects, started for their Dew home. Following the old Indian trail leading from Delaware to Upper Sandusky, now the Delaware and Marion Pike, to the Wyatt settlement, now Norton, he diverged from that at this point, and cut his way for eight miles through the woods, until he reached his cabin. Here, for nearly six months, in an unbroken wilderness, where the howl of the wolf and the scream of the panther were the most common sounds that greeted their ears at night, they lived alone, with not a soul within eight miles. Although the Indiana who thronged through these parts, were generally considered friendly, yet Mr. Shaw, as a precautionary measure, thought it advisable to have his gun by his side - hence, whether making a clearing or tending a crop, his faithful rifle was always within reach.
He built the first round-log, the first hewed-log and the first brick house in Westfield Township, and bore a most conspicuous part in the after-history of the township. To the memory of no one do the citizens of Westfield Township owe a greater tribute for daring enterprise, persevering industry, unflinching honor, and high moral worth. His fellow-citizens early showed their appreciation of his worth by electing him the first Justice of the Peace, a position he held for over twenty years, until he declined longer to be a candidate.
His son, Jonathan, Jr., who occupies the old homestead, exhibits with commendable pride his father's neatly kept docket, in which the first suit recorded was an action brought to recover a claim for $4.62 1/2, which was paid after the lapse of several months, in installments, a part of which were in sums of less than $1. Having lived to bear the shriek of the locomotive, where once he heard the howl of the wild beast, and to see the civilization which he had planted nearly half a century before grow to its full development, he sank to rest November 23, 1852, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, and was interred in the burying-ground on his farm, now called the Fairview Cemetery.
376 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.
In the fall of 1808, John Shaw, Sr., accompanied by his other sons, Joseph, Benjamin T. and John, Jr., his four daughters and son-in-law, Isaac Welch, came up to occupy the balance of the 400 acres. They built a cabin near where stands the residence of A. H. Shaw. This was followed in a short time by a cabin for the accommodation of the son-in law. In a few months, an event of considerable importance occurred to the now settlement, in the marriage of Benjamin T. Shaw to Anna Munroe.
This was followed by another, equally interesting, in the birth, in the family of Jonathan and Ruth Shaw, of a son, John L., the first white child born in what is now Morrow County, which occurred June 6, 1809. This again was followed by another--of weighty importance to the small settlement-the marriage of Susannah, daughter of John Shaw, to Mordecai Mitchner, who located here. The next accession was a man named Powers, who came here and married Jane Shaw, and Benjamin Camp married Sarah, another daughter of John Shaw, and he, too, located here. Powers joined the army in the war of 1812, way and on his home was killed by an Indian lying in ambush. His widow subsequently married Isaac Stearns. By this time, it will be seen, that, quite a little nucleus was formed, and, yet, they considered as neighbors those at the Wyatt settlement. at Norton, or the Cole settlement, at the junction of the two branches of the Whetstone, each eight miles distant. These were called on or visited in case of a raising, log-rolling or quilting; or did a settler wish to borrow an auger, adz, or any article, he had only to step over to his near neighbor, eight miles distant, to be accommodated.
Elisha Bishop, a native of Tennessee, came in 1811, and located on a farm nearly a mile south of the present town of Westfield. The next settlement was probably made by David Cook, on a farm that now adjoins Westfield, and is owned by Dr. Luellen. Mr. Cook came from Virginia in 1798, to Ohio, while it was yet a part of the Northwest Territory. He served in the war of 1812, and located here in 1814, and played an important part in the early history of the township, serving it as Justice of Peace as far back as 1818, when it formed a part of Oxford. Two of his sons still survive, John, a resident of this, and Seth, a resident of Cardington Township. The same year came John Elliott, and entered the land at what is now known as Bartlett's Corners, two and a half miles north of Westfield, on the pike. He, too, was a Virginian, was for many years a prominent man in the township, and was chiefly instrumental in securing the first post office in the whole township of Oxford, and it was this post office that gave Westfield Township its name.
There is a well-authenticated tradition concerning the origin of the name of the post office. There had for some time previous been a mail route over the Mansfield and Delaware road, passing by this point, but no office nearer than Delaware, fourteen miles distant, and but three between that point and Mansfield. The petition asking for the office was forwarded in care of the member of Congress from this district. The application was readily granted, but in it the petitioners had neglected to say what they wanted as a name for the office. It will be remembered, that, in those days, when the mails were carried by stages across the mountains, it took weeks to communicate between Washington and the West, and, as the name seemed a secondary consideration, their member, to whom the matter was referred, after some hesitation, suggested, as it was so far "out West," the Dame Westfield would be an appropriate, and it was accordingly adopted. John Elliott was constituted the Postmaster, and his house was the point for receiving mail for many miles around. In 1815, Timothy Aldrich located on the farm adjoining Elisha Bishop on the south. In 1817, John F. Place, a native of Providence, R. I., located on the farm adjoining that settled by David Cook, and for the past few years occupied by Capt. Jesse Meredith. One of his sons, Ethan, is a resident of this town
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY. - 377
ship, and is noted for his positive character and remarkable memory, especially of pioneer history. James Trindle, of Pennsylvania, another soldier of 1812, and who was conspicuous for his bravery in Drake's defeat, came about this time, and settled one mile north of the site of the village of Westfield. He received the patent for his land from the hand of James Madison, the President, whose signature it bears under date of February 15, 1811. Josiah Goodhue came next, and settled on the west bank of the river, just opposite the point where Cook had located. Daniel Peak, another soldier of 1812, with his sons Ziba and Richard, came in 1819 and settled on the school section. Two years later, Jacob Conklin, still another soldier, and, as well as Peak, a native of Vermont, located on an adjoining track. From Liberty Township, where he had first located, be followed the Indian trail to a point known as Windsor's Corners, whence he diverged, and, cutting his own road two miles north and fording the Whetstone, he reached his land, now owned by his son Edwin. The road be thus opened up is the south part of what is now known as the Claridon road. He wits a resident of the township fifty-four years, and died at the age of eighty seven. His widow survives him, and, although in her eighty-second year, her mind is clear, and she loves to recount the happy experiences of her pioneer life, amid toil and hardships, or how they used to gather in the humble cabin of the settler to hear those men of God, the pioneer preachers, tell of that house "not made with hands,"
" In thoughts that breathe, and words that burn."
The Fousts, John, Abraham and Samuel, all came into the township not far from this time, and all had been in the " last war" with Great Britain. Samuel, now the only surviving one, although but ten years of age, drove a team, and was with Gen. Harrison at Fort Seneca when the battle was fought at Lower Sandusky, and could hear the firing. Abraham served under Gen. McArthur, and, while at Detroit, was taken sick, and, not relishing hospital life, contrary to orders, crossed over into the city and boarded with a family consisting of a French woman and her husband, the former of whom took quite an interest in the young soldier and was the means of saving his life. For several days, the old lady was observed to have long conversations with her husband, whose sympathies were with the British. The subject of these talks, which were in French, seemed to be young Foust. At last his benefactress warned him to flee at once, as a plot had been laid to take his scalp, and he was then glad to submit to the inconveniences of hospital life. During the war of 1812, Jonathan Shaw, the original pioneer joined the army of Gen. Harrison and, during the exciting times, his family and those of the other settlers at Shaw Town so called not because of any village located there, but because of the numerous families of Shaws there located, would often take refuge in the block-house at Fort Morrow at the Wyatt settlement, where they would sometimes remain for weeks.
On one of these occasions a company of rangers, passing through that settlement and finding the people gone, helped themselves to a plentiful supply of honey from the hives of John Shaw, Sr., and, when they had feasted, they made a target of a tree near the house for rifle practice, and shot a number of bullets into it, which the boys on their return considered of so much value that they carefully cut them out.
Drake's defeat, which caused so much alarm to this section of the State. occurring within the limits of that vast tract called Marlborough Township, which at that time included this, and as a large number of the participants in that affair were afterward settlers here, it seems very appropriate that an account of it should be given in this connection, especially since the one which bas found its way into history is erroneous in several particulars. Since this version of the affair has been carefully gleaned from original sources, and has come from the lips of some who could say "All of which I saw and part of which I was," it is hoped it will accord more nearly than
378 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.
any other with the facts as they actually occurred.
The disgraceful surrender of the post at Detroit by Gen. Hull, left the settlements, in a measure, unprotected, and, of course, rumor, in the absence of reliable information, brought exaggerated reports of the intended descent of the British and Indians. In this state of affairs, it was thought best for the two frontier settlements in that township, the one at Wyatt's and the other at Cole's, to gather their families in the block-house, either at Fort Morrow or Delaware, while nearly all the able-bodied men, amounting to about twenty or twenty-five, organized themselves into a company, under the command of Capt. William Drake and Lieut. John Millikan, the latter. an officer in the regular army, then on detached duty as Governmental Surveyor.
The arrangements having been hastily made, the company mounted, and, accompanied by a wagon to haul their provisions, they set out for Fort Seneca to join the army of Gen. Harrison, leaving a few men at each settlement to gather the families into the block-house. Starting late in the afternoon, they halted for the night, after going but a short distance, intending to complete their preparations and push through to their destination as fast as possible.
Before disposing of themselves for the night the question had been asked, "What shall we do if attacked before morning ?" It was agreed by the officers and men, that, with their meager numbers and undisciplined state, they could make no show against any force they might likely meet; hence, it was decided, should such an affair occur, that each man must seek his home, and, if possible, get his family within the block-house, a precaution they now realized was not well taken. Fatigued, they sank to rest around a fire, little fearing any occasion for alarm. At this very inopportune time, Capt. Drake, although a well-meaning man, but given to fun, conceived the plan of putting the bravery of his men to a test, and indiscreetly proceeded to carry it out. Slipping through the lines unobserved, he discharged a gun and rushed to the camp, calling out, prevailed, as might be supposed. The men, suddenly wakened, mistook each other for foes, a mistake heightened by the fact that some had tied their red handkerchiefs around their heads as a protection from the cold, which gave them an Indian-like appearance. A general stampede ensued, some not stopping to mount their horses or even secure their arms. James Trindle, however, bravely stood his ground, and, mistaking John Foust (with his head grotesquely wrapped) for an Indian, fired at him, the ball cutting the skin just above the ear, and carrying away a lock of hair. One of the men who attempted to run caught his foot in a grape-vine and fell, and hearing the firing, and believing himself to be shot, breathless awaited the scalping knife of the gory savage, feeling the while, as he thought, the blood trickling down the inside of his buckskin breeches, but in this he was mistaken. An attempt on the part of Drake to avert the impending disaster was unavailing, the more loudly he called to his men that he had raised a false alarm the more rapidly they appeared to run, and, most of them, being expert woodsmen, took the direction of their homes to proclaim the surprise and massacre of the whole command.
Nathaniel Brundage, of Norton, joined in the general stampede and as well as others acting under the orders given in the evening, struck out with the one thought in his mind, the protection of his family from a horrible fate ; for the experience of those who had been so unfortunate as to fall into the hands of the savage Indians and almost equally savage British in the early part of the war were taught that mercy was not a quality that entered into the nature of either. On they flew, through brush, over logs, through swamps and across streams, each independent, taking the moon only for a guide. Brundage, miscalculating the time of night by supposing he had been asleep but a few minutes, in following the moon, veered too far to the north, and, after traveling all night, arrived at daylight at the Welsh settlement, now Radnor Township, in
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Delaware County. There, with clothes torn to shreds and bleeding hands and face from contact with the prickly-ash bushes, he told how the entire command save himself, had been annihilated. "Then there was mounting in hot haste." From cabin to cabin the news passed, and a general flight began.
Others of the company, not less frightened, carried the word to the Cole settlement at the forks of the Whetstone, and the women and children were at once started in wagons for Delaware, but, owing to the bad condition of the roads and the consternation of the women, the teamsters -were obliged to unhitch, and, some mounted and others on foot, they endeavored to make a more rapid flight. From Radnor, they came pouring down into Delaware in a complete state of terror. Many exaggerated stories are told regarding the consternation of the people, some of which have little foundation, but there seems to be a well authenticated one regarding a family named Penry, who fled from Radnor, leaving, by some mistake, their little boy, Walter, asleep in the house, and did not discover the fact until half way to Delaware, when they halted, and two men volunteered to go back and get the child, which they accomplished.
When the news reached the Wyatt settlement that the Indians were upon them, an old Dutch. man, named Hushshaw, noted for his profanity 1 and professed disbelief in God, began to pray, breaking forth in words like these, "Mine Got! Mine Chesus! shust save me dis dime, und I bromise I never more ask a favor."
In the camp, when the matter was fully understood and quiet restored, less than half the men mustered for service. When Trindle understood how the Captain caused the alarm for a little sport, and when he comprehended the disastrous consequences which must follow, his anger is said to have been without bounds, and he told Drake that he must die then and there, and it was with difficulty that he was restrained from shooting him on the spot. The consequences for a time were attended with inconveniences the people could ill afford to bear, but were, perhaps, on the whole, salutary, as teaching the settlers to be on their guard against a real surprise. But instead of forming and marching on to the relief of Sandusky, as is related in the commonly accepted account, the company, thoroughly ashamed of the result of the expedition, there disbanded, and this short campaign has passed into history as "Drake's Defeat."
The Whetstone River was always a favorite resort for the Indians, and, for years after the conclusion of the war of 1812, they were accustomed to come in the spring from the Wyandot reservation to make sugar on the "bottoms." Their methods were simple. The sap was caught in troughs made in this fashion: Going to the elm swamps, a section of bark was taken from the tree, about eighteen inches long, which was split into two parts so that each piece would make a trough, the ends. of each were then clamped together with sticks and fastened with bark strings and the sides distended by a stick placed transversely, and, when dry, the trough was ready for use. The sap was gathered by squaws, each carrying two brass kettles swung on a yoke fitting the neck. The boiling down was attended to by the braves, who used for clarifying, deer's blood dried in such a shape as to resemble a plug of very black tobacco. It is said that some of the very old sugar-trees, when cut into, still show the marks of the Indian tomahawk used in " tapping." The Indians frequently came through these parts with ponies loaded with cranberries, gathered from the marshes which lay in Crawford County, on their way to the settlements in the eastern part of the State, where they could sell the berries. An Indian trail is remembered which crossed the Whetstone at the Iron Spring, already mentioned, on the Goodhue farm, and, keeping along the river up to Shaw Creek, it followed the west bank of that stream in the direction of Upper Sandusky. The Indians who made visits in these parts belonged to the Pottawatamies, Mohawks, Senecas and
380 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.
especially the Wyandots, and were peaceably inclined and usually honorable in their intercourse. John Cook relates an incident of his father buying an Indian pony, which was soon after missing. Suspecting a band of Indians who had passed through that locality about that time, he procured the assistance of a neighbor, and together they started for the Indian country.
On the banks of the Tymochtee, a small stream in what is now Wyandot County, they found the pony tied to a tree, but no one in sight so making a bridle of bark they brought him back. One morning soon after this, while Mr. Cook's family were at breakfast, three Indians came stalking into the house without warning, and, pointing to Mr. Cook, one of them said " You steal Indian's horse." Mr. Cook, at once comprehending what was meant, explained that he had merely taken his own property, but the Indian insisted that the pony had been stolen. After some discussions, he became convinced that the pony had belonged to the Indians but had been stolen by some renegade white man and, being satisfied of the justice of their claim. paid them $4, and gave them a gallon of whisky, whereupon they left, apparently well satisfied.
Johnny Sandstone, a noted chief of the Senecas, a very intelligent Indian who spoke English fluently was frequently seen here. Big John and Daniel Damish, rioted Wyandots, are also remembered. Tom Lyons a renegade Indian who invariably came on horseback, was a great source of annoyance to the men and a terror to the women. He carried a shot pouch slung over his shoulder, from which he used to exhibit what he averred was the hand of a white child, taken, he said, in Virginia, and a string of meat which he declared was composed of the tongues of white women. He was at times quite insolent, and is said to have met a tragic death at the hands of a white man named Russell, whose wife had in some way incurred his displeasure, whereupon be threatened to add her tongue to his collection.
Russell, either fearing that be would carry out his threat, or wishing some pretext to put the scoundrel out of the way, shot him, and buried him in a sink hole in a swamp. Of course his visits were missed, but no one ever knew how he met his death or that he had really been killed, until Russell, many years after, confessed it on his deathbed. In 1844, his bones were found where he is said to have been buried, and are now in the possession of a physician in Stark County, Ohio.
The log cabin is yet too familiar to require any description, but the inside furnishings were in such contrast with everything of that kind at the present day, that a passing notice may be given. The furniture, such as cupboards, bedsteads, tables and chairs, was made by each settler himself, out of the crude materials at hand, with the aid of an ax, auger and drawing-knife. The table furniture consisted of pewter dishes, plates and spoons, but chiefly wooden bowls, noggins and trenchers (terms of pioneer Yankees, unknown at tile present day), and when these were scarce their place was frequently supplied by gourds and hard-shelled squashes. Stoves of course were unknown, and the cooking was all done at the fire-place, by the aid of the crane, and hooks on which were hung the pots and kettles. In later times, bread was baked in a tin reflector placed beside the fireplace. One article, which served for ornament as well as use, ought to be mentioned-the pioneer's rifle, with shot-pouch and powder-horn, always to be seen hanging on the wall, on hooks or brackets of deer's horns.
Though the pioneers suffered occasionally from want of bread in early times, the supply of meat was usually abundant, consisting chiefly of venison and wild turkey. Deer were very numerous in this locality in early times, and even for many years, there being two or three noted " licks" in this vicinity, where the deer would conic on moonlight nights. One of these was near the northern limit of the township, on the river, and another in the eastern part of the farm now owned by John G. Kehrwecker. Wild turkeys were so common
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that it was no rare thing for the settler to shoot them from his cabin. Besides these, hogs, which at first were allowed to run at large in the woods and feed on the "mast," had rapidly multiplied, until they were considered common property.
One of the greatest inconveniences from which the settlers suffered was the want of mills, especially for grinding corn and wheat. The first thought of the pioneer, after building a cabin, was to clear a piece of ground and put in a crop of corn, which, owing to its stumpy condition, must needs be cultivated almost entirely with a hoe. The first fruit of this was "roasting-ears and a little later, as the grains hardened, they were reduced to meal by a grater. Next, the hominy block was called into use. This consisted of a piece of wood, usually beech, about three feet long and eighteen inches in diameter, on the end of which was laid a bed of coals, and when this was charred sufficiently it was scraped, and the same thing was repeated until a concave excavation was secured. Into this the corn was poured, and, with a hand pestle, the work of making meal and hominy was accomplished. An improvement on this was a sweep, not unlike the well sweep even now sometimes seen, into one end of which an upright piece was mortised, and into the end of this an iron piece was inserted, and this contrivance was usually operated by two persons. From the Indian meal was made " pone," which was baked in an iron oven on the hearth ; "Johnny-cake," baked on a board, or "hoe-cake," in which dough was wrapped in leaves and baked in ashes.
The first mill was built by Jonathan Shaw, Sr., on his farm on Shaw Creek. about 1814. Rude as it was, with "nigger-head " buhr stones and a sifter instead of a bolting cloth, it was a great convenience, as, previous to this time, they were, obliged to go to Franklinton, now a part of Columbus, over forty miles distant; a trip, with the necessary delays, occupying from three to four days. Jonathan Shaw, Jr., relates an instance worthy a place in this connection : The second season after his father located here, the family exhausted their supply of breadstuff and were compelled for some time to subsist almost entirely on meat. Working late in the fall to get his wheat sowed, he then loaded his two horses with about four bushels of grain to each, strapped on pack saddles, and, walking himself, drove them to Franklinton. Here he was delayed longer than usual. It turned cold in the mean time, and snowed and then rained, and again froze, which made the traveling slow and difficult, and the night of the fourth day found him on his way home, near the Wyatt settlement, with the river to cross, and the danger great of crossing under the circumstances. Cold and tired, no wonder that the light from a settler's cabin in the distance seemed to invite him thither. For a moment he hesitated, then came to his mind his I little family eight miles distant anxiously awaiting his return, and without further consideration he pushed ahead. When, about half-way across the river, the horses broke through the ice, and each attempt to gain a footing was attended with difficulty. After floundering in the broken masses of ice for some time, they finally reached the shore with the meal safe, but Mr. Shaw drenched to the skin, and in a short time, his garments were frozen stiff. To add horrors to his situation, he had proceeded but a short distance when the wolves began to gather around him, seemingly determined to attack his horses. Nearer and nearer they came, as by degrees bolder grown, until he could see their eyes glare in the darkness, and bear that horrid snap of their fangs. Now it seemed that his trusty rifle was his only hope of defense, though with his benumbed bands he could scarcely hold it; but prudence dictated that it was best not to shoot until the last extremity. Thus tortured, he endured their company for miles, until at last they left him. On his arrival home, in taking off his stockings he removed the skin from his feet at the same time.
The first saw-mill was built by Timothy Aldrich in 1825, and four years later he added a corn mill. This was superseded by a flouring-mill built in 1834 by Patee & Cone, and it by the present
382 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.
one, which was built by Mr. Wiseman, in 1856, and has for years been the leading mill in this part of the county.
Morgan Lewis, who came here from New York State in 1834, put in the works, both saw and grist, at the Bartlett Mills, two and a half miles north of Westfield, and afterward built the mills a half-mile north of the village. About 1843, Jehiel Howard and Jordan Jones put in carding and fulling machinery at the Bartlett Mills, which, not proving very profitable, was abandoned about two years later.
As illustrating the scarcity of lumber in an early day, it is related that when the father of Comfort and Benjamin Olds died, there was no lumber for a coffin nearer than Delaware. So Timothy Aldrich gave his wagon body for that purpose, and the nails of the same were carefully drawn and used to nail the coffin. A piece of the same wagon box is in the possession of his son, Smith Aldrich, and is used as an "ironing board."
The farm implements consisted mainly of a bar-share plow with a wooden mold-board, and a V-shaped harrow with wooden teeth. For harvesting, a scythe for grass and a sickle or hand cradle for grain was used. A day's mowing was two and a half acres, and a day's cradling was five acres of wheat or six of oats. The wages paid were from 50 to 75 cents for the former, and from 75 cents to $1.00 for the latter, while for ordinary labor the maximum was 50 cents. extravagance. A big day's work was the great pride of old and young men. As an example of what the hardy operated in the township at one time, and a vacant pioneer could do, it is related that Eli Benedict cut and put up five cords of four-foot wood in one day.
The thrashing was at first all done with a " flail," and later, when double log barns had been built, the grain was tramped out by horses. The introduction of the thrasher, consisting merely of a cylinder, was considered quite an innovation, but, as the grain must then be separated from the chaff, fanning mills came into demand, and this township was noted for that industry, as spoken of elsewhere.
The pioneers experienced great difficulty in keeping their sheep from the ravages of wolves, hence flax was a crop on which they largely relied for clothing. After being well rotted, broken and "scutched," with a wooden knife, hackled to separate it from the "tow." with the flax for the warp and the tow for the filling, it was woven on band looms into linen. When woolen yarn was substituted for tow in filling, it was called "linsey woolsey." These fabrics formed the chief part of the clothing of men and women, and from them were made trowsers, warmuses, shirts, etc. The hide of the deer often furnished, when tanned by the Indian process, a part of the clothing, answering for breeches for the men and even dresses for the women, good enough in dry weather, but anything but agreeable when wet.
From it also were made gloves for the hands and moccasins for the feet. Occasionally, a nice doe-skin, not a kind of cassimere, but taken from the carcass of a young deer, was made into a vest, or jacket, as then called.
In early times, every family tanned its own leather, as well as manufactured its own shoes and other articles of clothing. The first tannery for public convenience was established, as near as can be ascertained, about 1825, by Adam Brenizer.
Very rarely muslin or calico found its way into the settlement, and, as it - cost about 50 cents per yard it was deemed an article of luxury and even extravagance.
A band of counterfeiters was supposed to have operated in the township at one time, and a vacant schoolhouse was the place where they were suspected of manufacturing the bogus coin, a suspicion seemingly well founded, when, on the removal of the building a few years later, a mold for making half-dollars was found. One man, who never labored, yet seemed always supplied with money, was particularly suspected. The counterfeit money was not put in circulation here, but, as he was frequently absent weeks at a time, it is probable at such times he exchanged the spurious for good money. He was subsequently
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 383
hanged in Cincinnati, under another name, for murder and robbery.
This section never suffered from any special epidemic, yet it is said the people always expected to shake with ague just after corn planting as regularly as that season came. With the aid of decoctions, however, made from dogwood and wild cherry barks, white boneset, wahoo, colt's foot, black snake-root, and various herbs, they managed to ward off and cure the ordinary diseases usually without the aid of doctors; occasionally they had to send to Delaware or Berkshire for one, until Dr. Granger located here in 1838. He was not only a good physician, but was prominent in many business enterprises, and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1860, he was Treasurer of Morrow County.
Previous to 1825, nearly all the roads were merely blazed. The State road from Delaware to Mansfield was surveyed in 1812, but had been established some time previous. This was followed by one in 1817, beginning at the Indian boundary line at what is now called Shaw Town, and extending south so as to intersect the former at what is now "Bartlett's Corners." The first bridge was the one across the Whetstone, near Westfield, built of poles, in 1835, and was followed by one two miles further north; each has been superseded by several in the mean time, and now there is a substantial covered frame structure at each of these points. The State road was a mail route from Delaware to Mansfield as far back as 1820, at which time there were three offices between those points, Kelley's Corners, Shauck's and Lexington. The mail was first carried by a man named Barnum, who attempted to run a stage in connection with it, but, the patronage not justifying, it was abandoned. He was followed by Daniel Earl, and he by Hugh Cole, each of whom carried the mail on horseback. On the building, of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad, this route was abandoned, and the mail for Westfield has since been carried from Ashley, and has been, daily, since 1860. The State road was piked from the Delaware County line to Cardington, in 1866, but, owing to the scarcity of suitable gravel, it was found difficult to make a first-class road. The gates were taken down, and it became a free pike in 1878. During the time it was a toll road, the gate near Westfield was in charge of Chauncy Higley, a soldier of the war of 1812, and at the present time the only surviving one of those veterans in the township.
The first tavern was a log one, built by Edwin Patee, near where now stands the Westfield schoolhouse, and was a point where the stage changed horses in going from Mansfield to Delaware. This was called Patee Town, but a town was not laid out until 1829, which was then called Tyrone. The original proprietors were Henry Patee, Simeon Smith and Josiah Goodhue. Mrs. Betsy Barber, who came here in 1834, states that the place then contained a frame house, now a part of the Stutz Hotel, built by Alva Patee for a tavern, and probably the first frame building in the township. A log house, occupied by Solomon Smith, where now stands the residence of Wilbert Granger, and' another, by David Smith, on the premises where O. E. Richardson now lives.
During this year, an important personage made his appearance in the township, named Adam Wolfe, who brought a small stock of goods, consisting of handkerchiefs, stockings, needles, thread, etc., the whole consisting of a pack, which he carried from house to house, and it is said that his advent caused so much excitement among the female part of the community, that they did not await his visits, but came flock. in- to town to see the " new goods." His success was such that he returned to Washington County, Penn., and purchased a lot of goods, and opened a store in a vacant schoolhouse just north of the tavern before mentioned. Soon after this, the people of the village secured the removal of the post office to this place, which had some years previously been transferred to Windsor's Corners, in Oxford Township. On the occasion of its removal here, there was quite a jollification, a four-horse team being
384 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.
used to bring up the appurtenances of an office, which might have been carried in a basket. Adam Wolfe was appointed Postmaster, and gradually the name of the office became the name of the town. For many years, however, Westfield was widely known by the name of " Breadless," which is said to have originated early in its history in this way: A family traveling through, stopped to let some bread, and, visiting each house, was unable to find a loaf, and, as they traveled on, they related this, which seemed to them a remarkable incident. However, in 1840, this place gave such an abundant evidence of the injustice of the name, on the occasion of a "log cabin dinner," at a mass meeting in Gen. Harrison's time, that the unwelcome name was soon dropped.
An industry rather peculiar to this place contributed to its financial prosperity more than any other cause, consisting of the manufacture of fanning mills, begun in 1829 by Petty & Phillips, and carried on afterward by Adam Wolfe, and later by Wolfe & Granger. This business gave employment to from twenty to thirty persons in the manufacture and sale of the mills. Salesmen traversed the whole State, and even the States farther west, and, as the mills were sold for money in that age of barter, a good deal of money was brought into circulation here, hence nearly all the older citizens date their start in life at this period. This flourished until the advent of the improved thrasher and separator. Still another industry contributed to the prosperity of this township. The dense forest which covered the land must be removed, so the trees were felled and made into log heaps and burned, and the ashes carefully gathered, and taken to the numerous asheries located in this vicinity and bartered. From these were made black salts, potash and pearl-ash, and hauled to Zanesville or Cincinnati, and exchanged for such goods as would be required in exchange for ashes.
From 1838 to 1850, business was at high tide in Westfield, several stores had been located here, the fanning mill and ashery business flourished, and three distilleries were in full blast in the vicinity. it is, however, very questionable whether the distilleries really added to the permanent prosperity of the community, although they furnished a home market for grain which heretofore usually had to be wagoned to the lakes and exchanged for salt, leather and perhaps some money, which latter was carefully hoarded up for taxes. Samuel Foust relates that in 1836 be hauled 2,000 bushels of corn to Delaware, for which he received 10 cents per bushel, and, as showing the relative price of articles, it is said that salt was worth $18 per barrel, while whisky could be bought for 18 cents per gallon. At this period of its history, intemperance reigned in this vicinity, and Westfield was far famed for its lawlessness and the rough character of some of the people who were accustomed to congregate there, and death even is said to have occurred in one or more cases as the result of these drunken carousals. In that chivalric age, when quarrels were settled with fists instead of in the modern way with revolvers, this place was unrivaled, and a fight was an almost daily occurrence. One acquainted with the people of this moral, peace, loving village as it now is, can scarcely realize that such is its past history. With the temperance agitation and other causes, the distilleries went, into decline and were abandoned. For reasons already given, the fanning-mill business languished, the asheries had served their purpose, and the building of the railroad and the location of a station two and a half miles distant, made Westfield no longer desirable as a manufacturing point, but still it retains its prestige as a trading-point, and contains one large dry--goods store, one grocery and restaurant, One hardware and clothing store, one harness, one wagon, one cooper and two blacksmith shops and two butter and egg packing establishments, and, according to the present census (1880), contains a population of 135 souls.
The Westfield Lodge of Independent Order of Odd Fellows was instituted April 13, 1855, with Dr. George Granger, Dr. Ephraim Luellen, John R. West, Lyman Carpenter, John W. Place,
HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY. - 385
David Smith, George T. Peak, John M. Neff, D. C. Peck, Robert McGonigle and J. L. Runnels, as charter members. The present officers are: J. T. West, N. G ; John Willey, V. G; John Ruggles Secretary ; C. B. Coomer, Per. Secretary; O. E. Richardson, Treasurer. The lodge owns the building and lot on which its hall is located, and has a surplus of over $1,000 in money. There was at One time a prosperous Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry located here, but this has been allowed to die out.
As already seen, Westfield Township was detached from Oxford, in 1822, but as late as 1825, there are said to have been less than a dozen voters. However, soon after this the township began to fill up rapidly, and the need of churches and schools was felt. The itinerant missionary here, as in other sections, visited the humble cabin of the settlers to leave a tract, offer up a prayer with the family and to counsel them to "lay up for themselves treasures in heaven," and left their impress on the minds and hearts of many now living, but their influence and not their names are remembered. The first church in Westfield Township was erected by the Baptists, and was a log structure, and stood about a half-mile south of the village. Among some of the first members were John F. Place and wife, Simeon Smith and wife, Elisha Bishop and wife, Elijah Smith and wife, Adin Windsor, and Mrs. Hannah Goodhue, about twenty-two in all. The first ministers were Simeon Smith and Benjamin Martin. In 1844, the present frame structure was erected on two acres of ground, a mile north of the village, given two years before for a cemetery. The present Pastor is Rev. Peter Powell, and the membership is nine. Over forty who once were members now rest beneath the trees around the church.
"Each in his narrow bed forever laid,
The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep."
The next in point of time was probably the United Brethren Church, and was Organized at Shaw own, about 1830, by George E. De Neal, of Virginia. All the original settlers here, with a single exception, were members of the Society of Friends, who early banded themselves together for religious worship, which was held in their houses, and was probably the first religious organization. No church was ever formed, however, and on the organization of the United Brethren Church the majority of them united with it. Among the first members were Joseph Shaw and wife, Jonathan Shaw, Sr., Jonathan Shaw, Jr., Daniel Goetshall and wife, and Nancy Black. After holding services in the house of Mrs. Nancy Black for about four years, they built, by voluntary contributions of labor, a hewed-log church, nearly a mile south of the present edifice. This served them until 1856, when a frame building was erected on the site of the present church, and called Fairview, which has had rather a remarkable history. It was repaired in 1874, and a bell placed on it, at a total expense of about $800, when, even before it was re-dedicated, it was struck by lightning and the entire end demolished, which was repaired, and, in the following January, while the congregation was assembling for service. it caught fire and was burned to the --,round. The same year the present handsome edifice was erected, at a cost of $2,000, and surmounted by a bell, at an additional cost of $150, and was dedicated by Bishop Jonathan Weaver, and now has a membership of about sixty. Connected with this is a flourishing Sunday school, with an attendance of about seventy-five, of which James L. Shaw and Abram Armstrout are Superintendents. Near by the church is the Fairview Cemetery, formerly the Shaw family burying-ground. In this the first grave was made in 1815, for Nancy Shaw, who, it will be remembered, was the first bride in the township, and the next, two years later, for her husband, Benjamin T. Shaw.
A society of Methodists had been organized, and services held at the houses of Jacob Conklin and Benjamin Olds, as early as 1822, and subsequently at the house of Daniel Peak, on the school section. This society consisted of Jacob Conklin
386 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.
and wife, Benjamin Olds and wife, Daniel Peak and wife, and others, and had preaching , on weekday, once a month, being on Galena Circuit, which then stretched from Galena to Broken Sword, in Crawford County. Among the first ministers were James Gilbruth and Russell Bigelow. The society continued until about 1842, when a series of meetings were begun in Westfield by Thomas Grissell, which produced a great excitement and a religious awakening, and were for a time held in a ball-room in a tavern built by Cutler & Barris.
This society was organized under the discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the former consolidated with it. They at once set about to build a church, which was consummated within four weeks by voluntary contributions of labor. This was a small frame building, and stood just north of the present structure. The increasing membership made this one too small, and, in 1856, it was replaced by a commodious frame edifice, at a cost of $2,600. The present membership is about eighty, with T. J. Gard as pastor. Here is maintained a Sunday school with an attendance of about one hundred, in charge of Robert Smith. The churchyard has been used as a cemetery about fifty years.
The first school of which we can find a record was taught in a private house at Shaw Town, by Caroline Porterfield, who is remembered as the "woman who chewed tobacco." This was followed by one taught by Fields McWhorter, who, like many of the early Western teachers, was an Irishman, of whom it could well be said,
"A man severe he was, and stern to view
Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace
The day's disasters in his morning face."
The first Schoolhouse was a log one, which has been spoken of as having been afterward used as a store room by Adam Wolfe, and the first who taught in it was Harry Patee, who taught bout 1823. These houses were followed by one at Elliott's, now Bartlett's Corners, and at Shaw Town. How strange would one of those primitive schoolhouses seem to the pupils of to-day! What a change has fifty years wrought in the old log Schoolhouse, whose batten door swung on wooden hinges, and whose seats were slabs without backs, where greased paper answered in place of window-glass and a long fire-place instead of a stove! Here, amid these rude surroundings, the children of the pioneers learned to spell and read in Dillworth or Webster before taking up the Testament or English reader. Here they were instructed in the mysteries of figures, hoping at the farthest to cipher to the "double rule of three" in Pike or Daball. Or herewith goosequill pen made by the teacher, and ink made from maple bark and copperas, they were taught to write that good round hand, from which in later years we have degenerated.
The pioneer schoolhouse has passed away, to give place to the modern one of brick or stone, with patent desks and all the modern improvements; but it is questionable where we have greatly improved on the methods pursued or the results Obtained. The wages paid in early times for teachers were about $6 per month for females and $13 for males, and even this amount was not usually all cash; frequently a large part was in produce or store pay. Ethan Place, one of the early teachers of the township, says he received his pay in almost everything except money, including smoked meat, dried apples, and beans. The schools of Westfield Township are fully up to the average, and each district is supplied with a good, comfortable frame house, except the village of Westfield, which has a two story brick house, built in 1877, in which two schools are maintained.
There are few things, of which Westfield Township has as great reason to be proud as her war history. It has already been seen that nearly all her pioneers were soldiers of the war of 1812, some of whom brought with them their fathers, who had served in the Revolutionary war. When again the black cloud of war. overspread our land, a d the dissolution of the Union was threatened, her
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HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 389
sons responded nobly to the call for the defense of the nation. The enlistment began on Sunday, the very day that Fort Sumter capitulated, at the close of services at the Methodist Church in Westfield, on which occasion eight volunteered, in anticipation of the call for troops, which was not made by President Lincoln until the next day. By May 1, a company was formed from this and the adjoining township of Oxford, which was mustered into the service on June 15, 1861, as Company C. of the Twenty Sixth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and under command of. Capt. Jesse Meredith, who had attained that rank in the Mexican war. Out of this company, twenty were killed in battle and fifteen died from disease. Westfield contributed liberally to the Thirty-First, Sixty-Fifth, Eighty-Eighth, Ninety-Sixth, One Hundred and Twenty-First and One Hundred and Seventy-Fourth Regiments of Volunteer Infantry, and to the Third and Thirteenth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, but especially, the NinetySixth and One Hundred and Twenty-First Infant try. It also furnished some men to the Third, Fourth, Sixty-Fourth and One Hundred and Eighty-Seventh Ohio Infantry and Eighteenth Regulars and Eighth Ohio Cavalry. This township was always ahead of its quota, and a noted fact was, that it furnished men for the rank and file, only two officers going from here during the entire war. Fifteen years after the close of the war, on May 31, 1880, the citizens of the township met in Westfield, to decorate, for the first time, the graves of " our fallen heroes," on which occasion a vast concourse of people, headed by the surviving veterans, many of them maimed and scarred by wounds, repaired to an adjoining grove to listen to an appropriate address by Maj. William G. Beaty. Then, amid impressive ceremonies, the graves of the soldiers buried in the cemeteries adjacent to the town, were decorated with flowers, while a temporary monument surmounted with flags, served to remind us of those who died on battle-field and in prison-pen, and whose remains rest beneath a Southern soil. At the close of the exercises a salute was fired by their surviving, comrades.
Following is a list of the soldiers whose memory the people of Westfield Township delight to honor:
Revolutionary Soldiers.-Alexander Dixon, Sr., Reuben Martin, Jacob Foust, Wilmot Munson, Ebenezer Wood.
Soldiers of the War of 1812 - Elisha Barry, Daniel Gibbs, Benjamin Olds, Jacob Conklin , Abraham Foust, James Trindle, David Cook, Jonathan Lewis, John Foust, Jonathan Shaw, Sr.
Soldiers of the Civil War.-Third InfantryJohn Van Brimmer,* Charles Wood,* Sidney Aldrich ;* Fourth Infantry-John Darst;* Twenty-sixth Infantry-Levi Potter,+ Daniel Hopkins,t John Goodhue,t J. H. Barber,* James Bartholemew,* Leander Dixon,* William West.* Newman Barber,* William Smith,* David Taylor,* Adana Moyer,* Lyman A. Cook,* William Cramer,* Captain Jesse Meredith ;* Thirty-first Infantry-George Zent,* Frederick Kehrwecker,* David Rann,* John Palmer;* Sixty fourth Infantry-Murray Buck,* John Bensley; + Sixty fifth Infantry- Frederick Cutter,* Ira Barber,* Harry Wheeler,* Hiram Wheeler,* Orson Lewis,* Jonathan Lewis -t Sixty-sixth Infantry-Benjamin Peak, Jr.;* Ei ghty-eighth Infantry -William Clark, Sr.,* Leroy Rogers, * Mordecai Meeker ;* Ninty-sixth Infantry-Cyrus Devore,t George Curren,t William Wheeler,+ Alpheus Scofield,* Thomas Barber,* Josiah Howard , * David, Barber,* John Kehrwecker,* Jacob Kratt;* One- Hundred-and-Twenty-first Infantry -Chester Bartholemew,t Jarvis Aldrich,t Benjamin Denton,t David Piper,* Sanford Olds,* Almon Ruggles,* William Baxter,* Theodore Wood,* Henry Bishop,* Dennis Baxter,* Joshua Barry; + One-Hundred-and-Seventy-fourth-LaFayette Aldrich,* Lincoln Dixon,* Eli Curren; * Eighteenth Regulars-William Clark, Jr. Third Cavalry-Chauncy Olds ;* Eighth Cavalry George Hopkins.*
* Died of disease. t Killed in battle. +Died of wounds.
