HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY. -439

CHAPTER XV.

CONGRESS TOWNSHIP-DESCRIPTIVE AND TOPOGRAPHICAL-THE EARLY SETTLERS-PIONEER

IMPROVEMENTS-INCIDENTS-SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES-THE VILLAGES.

WE were informed by a leading Republican that Congress Township was devoid of history, because it is and has ever been largely Democratic in its political sentiments. As one of the least of the particles that go to make up the great Democratic party, we do not indorse any such assertion. We know, of our own personal knowledge, that Democrats, as well as Republicans, sometimes have a good deal of very bad history, and would therefore suggest to those who live in glass palaces to beware how they throw stones. We should be charitable, and not condemn one another on account of our black sheep. As to the history of Congress, we succeeded in finding a considerable quantity, and not much of it was very bad either, but, on the contrary, rather good. A scope of country six miles square, with seven or eight churches in it, ought not to be very bad, and we will give it the benefit of any doubt that may exist, and pronounce it very good.

Congress Township is more modern in its settlement by the whites than some other portions of Morrow County. At what precise date the first permanent settlement was made within its limits by white men cannot be determined now with positive certainty. It is probable, however, that no settlements were made previous to 1820-21, while other parts were settled a number of years earlier.

Geographically, Congress Township is situated in the north-central part of the county, and is bounded on the north by North Bloomfield Township, on the east by Perry Township, on the south by Franklin Township, and on the west by Gilead and Washington Townships. It is described as Township 18, Range 20, of the Congressional lands, and was a full township until the southwest corner, comprising Sections 32, 31, 30, 29, and one-half of 19, was attached to Gilead Township. By the present census, it has 1,223 population. Congress is pretty well watered and drained by the Whetstone River, Owl Creek and their tributaries. The Whetstone, or Olentangy, enters the township a little east of West Point flows almost south through Sections 5 and 6: when it changes to a west course, passing out through Section 7. A tributary of this stream rises in Section 11, runs southwest two or three miles, changes to a west course, passes out a little south of the Whetstone, and unites with the latter in the south part of Washington Township. Two or three other small tributaries have their source in the southwest part, and, flowing southward, empty into the Whetstone, near Mount Gilead. Owl Creek has its source in Section 13, flows almost south, and passes out through Section 36. The Middle Branch of Owl Creek rises near Williamsport, starts out in a west direction, and then, with a curve of several miles in extent,

440 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.

changes to the southward, passing from the township through Section 33. The soil in the southern portion of Congress is a yellow clay, and is better adapted to grazing than to agriculture. The surface, too, is rather broken, and in some sections are inclined to be billy. In the northwest part it is also rolling and somewhat broken. The northeast quarter of the township is generally level, and of a rich soil. It is known as Owl Creek Prairie, and is a fine farming region. The timbered portion of the township is stocked with the different species common in this section of the State.

It cannot be positively ascertained now who made the first settlement in Congress Township, nor the precise date when it was made. William Rush, from Washington County, Penn., settled here in December, 1821, and his widow, who is still living, states that when they came there were but five families living in what is now Congress Township, viz., John Levering, Samuel Graham, Jonathan Brewer, a Mr. Bailey and Timothy Gardner. These families. she states, united together and assisted them in building a cabin, which was of the usual pioneer pattern. Mrs. Rush is still living on the place of their original settlement, and has been a widow since December, 1871. She occupies the fourth residence that has stood upon its site, the first being the pioneer cabin already mentioned. As soon as his circumstances would justify, Mr. Rush replaced his cabin with a good, substantial hewed-log house. Afterward, a frame dwelling took its place, and some years before his death the present residence was erected. He was a soldier of the war of 1812. Of the families living here when Rush came, not much could be learned. Brewer was from some one of the Eastern States, and settled where Reuben Pace now lives. Here he died many years ago. Levering was from Pennsylvania, and lived to enjoy wilderness life but a few years. Gardner was originally from New Jersey, and settled about a mile from the village of Williamsport, where he died in 1850. The elections were held at his house when there were but sixteen voters in the township. A daughter, Mrs. Curtis, is still living in the village of West Point, Graham was- from Pennsylvania, and died many years ago upon the place where he settled, and which is still owned mostly by his relatives and descendants. Of Bailey nothing is now remembered. When Mr. Rush came to the settlement, he found many Indiana encamped in the neighborhood, engaged in hunting. They were quite friendly, and did not molest the whites in any manner, when let alone.

Probably the next arrival, after those already mentioned, was John Russell. He was from New York, and is supposed to have settled about 1824-25. He entered the place where Dan Mitchell lived and died, and where his widow is still living. He sold out to Mr. Mitchell, upon his arrival in 1828, and bought a farm between Bellville and Lexington. Here he remained but a few years, when he sold out and removed farther west, where he died some years afterward. Dan Mitchell, who went by the name of "Dan," and did not allow himself called Daniel, as noted above, bought out Russell. He was from Washington County, Penn., and settled originally in Perry Township, in the spring of 1823, where he dwelt until the fall of 1828. He then sold out and removed to Congress Township, and settled where his widow now lives, one mile east of the village of Williamsport. She is seventy-nine years old, and enjoys ova good health. They came from Pennsylvania in wagons, and were sixteen days on the road. It was at a disagreeable season of the year, the ground was muddy, and over much of the route their wagon was the first to open the way. Often they had to stop and cut out a road and build pole bridges over the streams. But time, patience and perseverance " finally overcame all obstacles, and the journey was accomplished' without accident. He died about a year ago, but has several children still living, among whom are Z. H. Mitchell, who owns a saw-mill east of Williamsport. Another son keeps a hotel in Williamsport. The elder Mitchell was a man of some prominence in his neighborhood, and was one of the early County Commissioners.

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In 1830, there were scattered through the township the following additional settlers, viz.: Amos Melotte, Thomas Fiddler, William Andrews, Joseph Vannator, George and James Thompson, John Swallum, Enoch Hart, William Williams, Jerry Freeland, and perhaps a few others. Melotte was from Pennsylvania originally, but had been living for some time in the southern part of the state. He settled here in 1831, and is still living about one and a half miles south of Williamsport. Thomas Fiddler settled originally in this township, but moved over into Franklin Township. Andrews settled where A. B. Richardson now lives; moved to Wisconsin and died there. He has a cousin, Burt Andrews, who is a practicing lawyer in Mount Gilead. Vannator came about the time Andrews did, and has lived in the township ever since. The Thompsons came in 1830, and were originally from Ireland. George Thompson was the father of James, and died in 1859. James, however, and three sisters are still living. Swallum was from Virginia, and is living on the place of his original settlement. His father was one of the Hessians captured by Washington at Trenton during the Revolutionary War. There was a family living on the adjoining "eighty" to that on which Swallum settled, when he came, but they are now all gone. Hart was from Pennsylvania, and his wife was from Maryland. He, with his father, settled in what is now Perry Township, at an early day. Enoch Hart entered the land on which the village of Williamsport now stands, in 1827, and soon afterward be and his young wife settled on it. He erected a cabin on this land, and lived one year in it without a door, except a quilt hung before the opening. This afforded but a slight protection against the wolves, which sometimes became very fierce, and forced them to the necessity of guarding the opening to prevent the intrusion of the unwelcome animals. Mr. Hart sold out here to a man named Freeland, and moved into the northern part of the township, where he died in April, 1878, and where his widow still lives. Williams is perhaps the oldest man in the township, being now over ninety years of age. He was born near Boone Station, Ky., when that State was, in truth, the "Dark and Bloody Ground." He was in the war of 1812, and still delights in "fighting his battles o'er again." He was one of the engineers who surveyed and laid out the State road from Delaware to Mansfield, and, during their work upon this road, he killed eighteen deer and three bears. Mr. Williams first settled in the southern part of the township, but now lives in the village of West Point. Jacob Carr, living near Williamsport, is a son-in-law of Mr. Williams. Freeland was from Pennsylvania, and bought out Enoch Hart. He finally sold out to a man named Dakan, and moved into Bloomfield Township, where he died. His wife, after his death, moved to Indiana.

James Pitt came a little later than those mentioned above. He is a Pennsylvanian, and settled here in 1831, where he is still living, and in good health for one of his years. Peter Lyon, living in same neighborhood, is also an early settler, and is still living on the place of his settlement. Gideon Chamberlain was an early settler near the southern line of Congress Township, where be located in 1828. He has a son, Squire Chamberlain, now living in Williamsport. Samuel McCleneham settled in Congress about 1831-32. He died in 1873, but his widow is still living. Mr. Foultz, who settled in the northeast part of the township very early, we are told, was a soldier under Napoleon Bonaparte, and participated in the ill-fated expedition to Moscow. He is now dead. John Moffett came from Pennsylvania, but was of Scotch descent, and came to this township in 183 1, where he died in 1846. His widow is still living and is ninety three old. She crossed the mountains with her family, in 1802, and settled in Southern Ohio, where she lived until her marriage and removal to this township. She has been a member of the church for more than sixty years. John Garverick was from Pennsylvania in 1833, and settled in north part of township, where he died in 1872.

Congress Township was settled mostly by Penn -

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sylvanians, who were quiet and industrious people, attending strictly to their own business, and leaving others to do the same. They have not advanced as rapidly, and kept pace with this fast age, as they have in other portions of the country. In fact, we have heard it remarked that the people of Congress Township were a quarter of a century behind the time. However, this is much better than a mushroom growth, that will perish as rapidly as it grew.

There were plenty of Indians passing to and fro through the township when the whites first came, though they were quite friendly. They would encamp upon the little streams, and hunt for several days at a time. They were great beggars, and would steal little things sometimes, and so required constant watching while in the neighborhood. But, in a few years, they were sent to reservations provided for them by the government; still later, to lands given them far away toward the setting sun, and

"Lo! the poor Indian, whose untutored mind

Sees God in clouds, and hears Him in the wind,"

is seen no more in his old haunts and hunting grounds, and the crack of his rifle is no longer heard in the forests of Morrow County. Both are things of the past, so far as this section is concerned.

When white people first began to settle in Congress Township, they had to go to Mount Vernon and Fredericksburg to mill, and the trip extended, sometimes, to several days. Some years after settlements were made, Win. Levering built a horse-mill in the Township, on Section 25, which proved a great convenience to the people, and is, we believe, about the only mill the town has ever had, except saw-mills. The pioneer store was kept by Mr. House, at a very early day, perhaps as early as 1830. He soon moved to Mount Gilead, and the next mercantile effort we hear of in the township was by Mr. Andrews, at a much later date. The first blacksmith was, probably, Dan Mitchell. He did not follow it as a business, but used to work at the trade when the pressure of his neighbors compelled him, and he could not well avoid it. John Levering was also an early blacksmith, and kept a shop for many years in the township.

The first birth, of which we have any account, occurring in this township, was Lavina Mitchell, a daughter of Martin Mitchell. She was born on a place adjoining Dan Mitchell's, in 1829, and was, doubtless, the first in the township. The first marriage is forgotten. One of the first deaths remembered was that of a man named Samuel Peoples, who was killed at a house-raising, in a very early day. A woman named Bailey was also an early death. Margaret Swallum died in 1832, but, whether that was before those already noticed, we cannot say, as we could not obtain the dates of the others. The first roads through Congress were the Indian and emigrant trails. The first road laid out by authority was probably the Delaware and Mansfield road, which passes through the township. Congress is now provided with excellent roads, which, in most cases, are laid out on section lines, and are kept in excellent condition.

Close on the heels of the pioneers came the preachers, some of whom were pioneers themselves. Private houses were used, until the building of schoolhouses, when they became temples of worship, as well as of learning. While these early religious services were not conducted with that clockwork precision and machine routine of our later and more systematically refined worship, they had the merit of heart and soul devotion, which defied the adverse criticism of the world. The preachers were not college graduates, nor theological prodigies; but what they lacked in mental force they made up in physical power, and they could be heard a mile away, when the atmosphere was favorable. Thirty-minute sermons were not fashionable in those days, and a preacher would often blaze away for three and four hours on a stretch. When the angel of death visited a household, some one of these pioneer preachers was called on to preach at the funeral, and he exposed himself to the bitterest weather, and faced storms of cold and

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sleet and snow, in answer to the call of distress by his stricken fellow-pioneers. Of these early divines, it may be truly said, "They went about doing good," and that, too, "without the hope of fee or reward.". It was in the work of the Master, and was done "without money and without price," and this was reward enough.

It is difficult to say who was the first messenger to proclaim "glad tidings of great joy " to. the people of Congress Township. As is usually the case, there are "several first ones." Rev. Silas Ensign was one of them, and supposed to be the first Methodist. He used to preach at Mr. Gardner's, long before there was a church or a schoolhouse in the township. Revs. David James and John Thomas were Welshmen, and two of the pioneer Baptists ; also, Rev. James Parsels, who was finally sent to the penitentiary, as noticed in another chapter of this work. Rev. Mr. Shedd was one of the first Presbyterian preachers. A is .not altogether certain which church first, as several of them are very old.

The Brin Zion Baptist Church was organized, it is confidently stated, more than fifty years ago, in a schoolhouse in the southern part of the township, some two miles from the present church. It was established by that pioneer minister, Rev. David James, and the following are some of the original members: William Peterson and wife, Mr. James and wife, and one or two daughters, and Allen Kelley and wife. A church was built a few years after the society was formed, and was probably the first church edifice in the township. This building was used by the congregation, until sadly out of repair, when. the present edifice was built, about 1857-58. Rev. William Wyant is the present Pastor, and the membership is not far from one hundred. There is a flourishing Sunday school, of which John Critchfield is Superintendent, in connection with this church. Although originally in Congress Township, yet since the addition to Gilead Township of a section or two from the from southwest corner of Congress, the church is just across the line in Gilead Township.

Mt. Tabor Methodist Episcopal Church was organized about the year 1836, in a schoolhouse which stood near where the present church now stands. Among the original members, we may notice Polly Swallum, Peter Lyon (who was the Class-leader), Bees Wheeler and wife, Ann Foster, Joseph Kirby and wife, and James Pitt and wife. The first church was built about 1840, and served the congregation as a place of worship, until literally worn out. For several years after their church gave out, they were homeless, except as they used schoolhouses. In 1873, the present handsome building was put up at a cost of over $2,000. Rev. Mr. Lynch and Rev. Benjamin I Allen were among the early ministers of this congregation. The Rev. Mr. Buxton is the present Pastor of the church, which belongs to the Darlington Circuit. The membership is between forty and fifty. A Sunday school is carried on with Mr. Thummey as Superintendent. A pretty little cemetery is adjacent to the church, and contains the mortal remains of many of the early members, as well as many of the pioneers of the neighborhood. When Mr. Pitt came to the country, there was not a public burying ground in the township, and, soon after entering his land, he gave one acre for a church and cemetery. Margaret Swallum was the first person buried in it, after being laid out. Since then, it has been pretty well populated.

Pleasant Grove Church (Disciples) is located on a corner of Mr. Swallum's land, and in the midst of what, we very nearly concluded, was a rather inhospitable neighborhood. Two individuals, to whom we had been recommended for a history of this church, treated us coolly, to say the least. The society was formed about forty years ago, and a log building erected near the present church. In it they worshiped until the erection of the latter, which was accomplished in 1858. It is a substantial frame building, of modern architecture. The membership at present is about 100, though many have dropped off by death and removal. The congregation is

446 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY.

in the pastoral care of Rev. Mr. Neal. Quite a neat little burying-ground adjoins the church, and is the last resting-place of many of its old members.

The church laid down on the map northwest of Mt. Tabor Methodist Church, has been moved into the village of West Point, and is known as the Beulah Church. It is again referred to in connection with the village.

The schoolmaster was an early addition to the settlement, as well as the pioneer preacher. One of the first schools taught in the township, was by Benjamin P. Truex, about 1834. It was kept in a small cabin, built for school purposes, not far from the village of Williamsport. A man named Hayden taught school near Dan Mitchell's, at a very early day, perhaps the next school after that taught by Truex. The house in which Truex taught was the first built in the township, perhaps, for school purposes. It was the usual log cabin schoolhouses, and contrasted strongly with the comfortable schoolhouses of the present day, which are to be found at nearly every cross-road in the township. The present educational perfection is embodied in the last report to the County Auditor, as follows:

Balance on hand September 1, 1878 . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1,301 70

State tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706 00

Local tax for schoolhouse purposes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,830 02

Amount paid teachers within the year . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,007 00

Number of schoolhouses in township . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Value of same . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,000.00

Teachers employed-male,10; female, 5; total. . . . . . . . 15

Paid teachers per month-male, $40; female, $20.

Pupils enrolled-male, 222 : female, 159 ; total . . . . . . . 381

Average daily attendance-males, 135; females, 100; total 235

Balance on hand September1, 1879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 444 65

The village of Williamsport was laid out, and the plat recorded in Richland County, October 11, 1836. Enoch Hart entered the land upon which it is located, and after a few years sold out to Jerry Freeland. He sold to William Dakan, who laid out the village and called it Williamsport, in honor of his own name. The first store was opened by William Andrews, as soon as the village was laid out; he built a dwelling and a storehouse, Dakan had a store nearly as large as Andrews. A post office was established at the house of William Andrews, about half a mile north of town, some time before the town was laid out. He petitioned for it, and in honor of him it was called Andrews' Post Office, a name it still bears. He was the first Postmaster, and as soon as the village was laid out, the office was moved to it; Mark Cook is the present Postmaster. Before the place was laid out, or a post office established, a post was planted in the ground, and a box nailed to the top, in which the mail carrier, as he passed on his route, dropped the weekly newspapers for the people of the neighborhood. The first tavern was kept by Reuben Luce, and was a place of great resort. Being on the direct road from Delaware to Mansfield, everybody repaired to it to have news from the outside world. Martin Mitchell was also an early tavern-keeper at Williamsport. The present hotel is kept by a man named Mitchell.

The first school taught in the village was by Z. H. Mitchell in 1842. The year before he taught at Andrews', just north of the village. A good two-story frame schoolhouse "adorns the town, which was built a few years ago; Prof. M. Miller is the present teacher. The business of the village may be summed up as follows: Two stores, one grocery store, one hotel, three blacksmith and wagon shops, two shoe-shops, one physician, one cheese factory, very recently established by Dr. Thoman, and a schoolhouse and church.

The, United Brethren Church was built in 1853; the society was organized the year previous by Revs. Slaughter and Tabler; the church is a neat and substantial frame ; the present Pastor is Rev. Mr. Orr. A large and flourishing Sunday school is carried on, of which Dr. Thoman is superintendent.

Williamsport, notwithstanding it is an old town, has not attained to very large proportions, and doubtless never will equal Cincinnati in point of population. By the census just taken (1880) its bona- fide population, by a careful count of noses, amounts to just eighty-one souls. There is plenty of room for growth.

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West Point is situated about equally in Congress and North Bloomfield Townships. The store and post office are in the latter, while the church and schoolhouse are in Congress. The dwelling houses are about equally divided between the two townships. That portion in Congress, according to the present census, has a population of fifty three. An excellent brick schoolhouse erected in 1878, is an ornament to the little village. G. G. Curtis is the present teacher, and the attendance is from twenty-five to thirty, but in the winter season it is much larger.

Beulah Church, on the south side of the dividing line, of West Point, was founded by Rev. Jeremiah Martin. The first church edifice, was a log building, and stood about two miles south of the village. When it gave out and a new building was needed, the man upon whose land it had been built, had grown tired of it, and so the congregation bought the site where it is now located. The present edifice was put up in 1856, and is a substantial frame. The membership has fallen off very much in the last decade. Many have died, and others have moved away, whose places have not been filled. The last regular Pastor was Rev. Thomas Dye, who died last winter. An interesting Sunday school, of which Andrew Casto is Superintendent, is maintained with a good attendance.

The little village of West Point, though small, is noticed in the chapters devoted to both Congress and North Bloomfield Townships. To which of the two townships, the larger share of it belongs, we are not able to say.