(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 50 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY of the eastern division of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, be, and they are hereby authorized to form for themselves a constitution and state government, and to assume such name as they shall deem proper; That the said state shall consist of all the territory included within the following boundaries, to-wit: Bounded on the east by the Pennsylvania line ; on the south by the Ohio river, to the mouth of the Great Miami river; on the west by the line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great Miami aforesaid ; and on the north by an east and west line drawn through the southerly extreme of Lake Michigan, running east, after intersecting the due north line aforesaid, from the mouth of the Great Miami, until it shall intersect said Lake Erie, or the territorial line, and thence, with the same, through Lake Erie, to the Pennsylvania line aforesaid ; " That all that part of the territory of the United States north west of the river Ohio, heretofore included in the eastern division of said territory, and not included within the boundary herein prescribed for the said state, is hereby attached to, and made a part of the Indiana territory. " That all male citizens of the United States, who shall arrive at full age, and reside within the said territory at least one year previous to the day of election, * * * be, and they are hereby authorized to choose representatives to form a convention, who shall be apportioned among the several counties within the eastern division aforesaid, in a ratio of one representative to every twelve hundred inhabitants of each county * * * that is to say,from the county of Trumbull two representatives, from the county of Jefferson seven, two of the seven to be elected within what is now known by the county of Belmont, taken from Jefferson and Washington counties ; from the county of Washington four representatives ; from the county of Ross seven representatives-two of the seven to be elected in what is now known by Fairfield county, taken from Ross and Washington counties ; from the county of Adams three representatives ; from the county of Hamilton twelve representatives - two of the twelve to be elected in what is now known by Clermont county, taken entirely from Hamilton county ; and the elections for the representatives aforesaid, shall take place on the second Tuesday of October next, the time fixed by law * * for elected representatives to the general assembly.' HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 51 COUNTIES OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. "At the time of the organization of the Northwest Territory the state of Connecticut had laid claim to that part of it lying north of the forty-first parallel of north latitude. In 1786 the legislature of that state ceded all of this claim to the United States, except a strip one hundred and twenty miles in length lying next west of the Pennsylvania line. This became known as the Western Reserve of Connecticut, and was often called New Connecticut, as that state continued to enact laws for its government, and exercise jurisdiction within it, as she did at home. In May, 1800, her legislature renounced jurisdiction to this reserve, and conveyed the same to the United States. It then became in order for St. Clair, the territorial governor, to create a county government for it. Before this, it had been parts of the counties of Jefferson and Wayne. On July 10, 1800, St. Clair placed all of the reserve in the county of. Trumbull. The new county embraced all of the territory north of the forty-first parallel, lying within a distance of 120 miles west of the Pennsylvania line. It was named in honor of Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, who was the executive of that state at the time the cession was made. The county seat was located at Warren. "The next county which St. Clair organized was Clermont. The date of his proclamation for the purpose was December 6, 1800. It was taken from the county of Hamilton. The county seat was located at Batavia. The origin of the name of the county has not been preserved, but the presumption is that it was derived from Clermont in France. "On pecember 9, 1800, but three days after the organization of Clermont county, St. Clair issued a proclamation for the organization of Fairfield county. It was taken from the counties of Washington and Ross, about one-half from each. St. Clair gave it the name of Fairfield, from the beauty of its fair lands. The county seat was located at Lancaster. "Belmont county was formed by St. Clair, September 7, 1801., It was made up of the northern part of Washington and the southern part of Jefferson county. Belmont is derived from two French words signifying a fine mountain. The surface is very hilly and the land very picturesque. St. Clairsville, the county seat, derives its name from Governor St. Clair. "This was the last county to be formed by the proclamation Vol. 1-4 52 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY (Picture: one of the authors of THE STATE CONSTITUTIION.) HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 53 of the territorial governor. Subsequent to this, under the new state government, counties were formed, and their boundaries changed, by act of the state legislature. ORIGINAL STATE COUNTIES. " This completes the evolution of Ohio counties to the time the state was formed. The convention which met November 1, 1802, to frame the first state constitution was composed of thirty-five members, apportioned to the counties appearing on the above map, as follows : Adams three, Belmont two, Clermont two, Fairfield two, Hamilton ten, Jefferson five, Ross five, Trumbull two, and Washington four. The northwestern part of the state, by the treaty of Greenville, August 3, 1795, had been allotted to the Indian tribes, as a reservation, and was unsettled by the whites. The seat of government of the county of Wayne was at Detroit, and when Ohio was being formed, as the greater part of that county would be in Indiana territory, it was given no representation in the convention. "These counties have been divided and disintegrated, until from the nine organized counties and the Indian reservation that came to the state when formed, the number has grown to eighty-eight. When this article was begun it was the intention to go to the end, and thus evolve the present county map of the state, but the time allotted has been too brief to allow it, and we stop at this convenient point, hoping to be able to present the others in some subsequent report." The foregoing chapter was given in volume five of the Ohio State Archmological and Historical Society publication, in 1897, and is given here by special permission of the Hon. E. O. Randall, secretary of the state society. We now turn to Morrow county, the erection and organization of which came later, a full account of which is given in another chapter. CHAPTER V. MORROW COUNTY OFFICIALLY. MORROW COUNTY OPPONENTS-RIVAL CLAIMS AT COLUMBUS-MORROW'S FINAL CAMPAIGN-MINORITY REPORT ON NEW COUNTIES -HOW THE GILEAD CLAIM WON-COUNTY'S CREATIVE ACT-FIRST YEAR OF INFANCY-POLITICAL RECORD-OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES "OF THE COUNTY- MORROW COUNTY INFIRMARY. From various sources the following account of the erection of Morrow county has been gleaned. The organization of Marion county, in 1824, and the establishment of the county seat at Marion, gave birth to the project to erect a new county out of the territory which is now known as Morrow. Mount Gilead was laid out in the same year, and formed a nucleus about which gathered the discontent engendered by the location of the seat of justice at Marion. Some of the more radical ones said that a new county would be formed to accommodate the large population which was situated in the outlying corners of the four counties, but it was some twenty-one years before this project bore the fruit of fact, and then not without a struggle that consumed the energies of the whole community, the time for years of its best citizens, and not an inconsiderable sum of money for that time. The early history of this struggle is but imperfectly known. The project awakened at the very start a determined opposition, and the operations of the active partisans in this movement were necessarily known to but a few of the leading spirits of the time. These have long since passed away, and we have vague traditions from which to glean information in regard to this interesting event. From all the information at our command, it appears that the early efforts were confined principally to gathering petitions setting forth the case of the petitioners, and asking the legislature for the obvious relief. Unfortunately for the early success of the project, there were a number of conflicting interests to be conciliated, some of which eventually commanded, nearly as great strength as the Gilead claim. 54 HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 55 MORROW COUNTY COURT HOUSES (OLD AND NEW), MT. GILEAD. 56 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY MORROW COUNTY OPPONENTS. It was proposed by the original movers in this project to erect a county out of the outlying portions of Marion, Richland, Knox and Delaware counties, with Mt. Gilead as the county seat. The movement was strongly opposed by the Richland county people, save the few to be especially favored by the change, and the erection, in 1846, of Ashland, which took a large portion of its territory from Richland, did not make this opposition any the less determined To this was added, about this time, the opposition of the conflicting claims of Chester and Bennington. The necessity for the erection of a new county on this territory was now generally conceded, and the contest turned on the question of the location of the county seat. The Gilead claim, as was known in lobby parlance, called for the erection of a county to be bounded by a line beginning at the northeast corner of section 1, in Tully township, Crawford county, thence east with a slight variation, taking the larger part of Bloomfield township ; then turning south on the section line of Troy township, near its northern boundary, it diverged from a straight line to take in the whole of Perry, Franklin, Chester and Bloomfield; thence west, taking the whole of Bennington, Peru, a little of the northern part of Oxford (Delaware county) and all of Westfield; then, deflecting to the east, including only the townships of Morven, Canaan and one half of Tully. This left Mt. Gilead the central point and the obvious county seat. The Chester claim proposed to erect a county out of the territory bounded by a line beginning in the southeast corner of Tully township (Crawford county) passing due east to a point about a mile east of the west line of Jefferson, dividing Washington and cutting a little portion off the southern part of Bloomfield and Troy; thence south, taking about a mile off of the western side of Jefferson (Richland county) passing around the whole of Middleberry (Knox county) and taking in the west half of Wayne, Liberty and Milford (Knox county) ; thence west on the southern line of Milford, Hillier (Knox county) and Porter (Delaware county) the line followed the western boundary of the last named township to Peru; then passing, so as to take in the whole of that township, it ran due north to the boundary line, deflecting to the east to the eastern boundary of Morven and Canaan to the place of beginning, leaving Chesterville the obvious place for the county seat. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 57 The Bennington claim made Marengo the central point, and ran its lines about it, taking territory from Knox, Licking, Delaware and Marion. It was era of county making, and the number of projects of this nature pressed upon the attention of legislators by hired lobbyists is astonishing. The number which more or less antagonized the interests of a county to be formed on the territory now known as Morrow reached as high as nine at one time. At that time, the names of Walhonding, Bennington, Chester, Ontario, Center, Taylor, National and Johnston, were the names of aspiring counties, not one of which ever crowned a successful issue, though some of the counties they introduced were established. RIVAL CLAIMS AT COLUMBUS. The state of affairs at Columbus at this time is well expressed by a letter from one of the lobbyists to his principals. He writes: "The committee on new counties has not yet reported, and we have all been waiting anxiously, expecting a report every morning this week, without coming to any definite conclusion as to who would get the report. I tell you, gentlemen, there are a great many ups and downs in this brown town, and about three downs to one up ; for there are so many conflicting interests here on the subject of new counties, and so much jealousy existing, that if you get a member favorably impressed some one, for fear your tale will interfere with his interests, will go and tell him that it is all false ; and the claim that has the least prospect of success has the most friends among the lobbyists." This was as early as January 14, 1846, and it was not until February 24, 1848, that these alternations of hope and fear were put to rest by the erection of Morrow county. The session of 1845-6 was about the first that the different claims were represented by lobbyists. During this session, Gilead was represented by Dr. Geller, John Young, Christopher Lindsay and S. T. Gunnard. Chester delegated her interests to W. Hance, E. B. Kinsel, Wm. Shur, Enoch and David Miles, and Bennington was represented by Thomas Freeman, a Mr. Moorehouse and Hiram Randolph. These men were on the ground as early as the candidates for legislative offices, and did not retire until the last struggle of the session. To understand the contest between these claims it must be remembered that according to the laws upon the subject no county could be formed containing less than four hundred square miles, and no county could be reduced below this constitutional minimum 58 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY The problem then was to map out a county that would answer these two requirements and receive the support of the majority of the people living within the territory thus included. It will be observed that in a spirited contest, these requirements furnished plenty of work for the partisans of the different claims. Committees were formed to solicit signatures to petitions or remonstrances, to secure subscriptions for expenses of the lobbyists, and to keep close watch and counteract the efforts of the committees for other claims. An opponent of the Ontario or Gilead claim writes to his principals concerning 'the operations of the friends of that claim : "I do not think there can be one solitary exception ; they have got their own signers ; they have every one of ours whom they could torture, tease or beg into submission They have a great many signers who have signed our petitions. They must have nineteen hundred or two thousand petitioners in all, and some three or four hundred memorialists from Marion, Delaware and Crawford counties. I think they have traveled land and water to make proselytes, and verily they had made them." The session of 1845-6 passed without prejudice to either of the claims. By the illness of the two Whig senators the Democrats had a majority in that branch of the legislature and, being opposed to the erection of new counties, the matter made but little stir save among the anxious lobbyists. In the following session the forces were early on hand. The Gilead claim had been put in the hands of a committee during the previous session, but not acted upon, and early in this session Chester submitted its claim, with a good prospect of seeing the matter brought to a vote. But they were all doomed to disappointment by the death of Mr. Horr, the representative from Marion and Delaware, which deferred all considerations of county claims taking territory from this district. The governor appointed a new election to fill the vacancy, and Messrs. Eaton and Reynolds were nominated. This election was of vital importance to the new county lobbyists and one writes : "M has seen Eaton and he signified that he would not be in favor of new counties. Now, my boys, go into Harmony and get them to vote for Eaton." It is hardly necessary to add that he was elected. The Bennington claim was introduced late in the session and although it gained no prominence in the fears of the lobbyists, or discussions of the committees, it served to balk the hopes of other contestants. During the previous session the Gilead claim was decidedly in the lead, at the present, the prospect had changed, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 59 sending Chester to the front, and its supporters had strong hopes of bringing it to a favorable vote when Eaton took his seat. But Bennington was thrust forward and disturbed all their well-laid plans The bill to erect this county was about to be brought to a vote, but it was indefinitely postponed, January 29, 1847; and, though strenuous efforts were made on the part of its friends to resuscitate it by a vote to reconsider, it was effectually laid out. Gilead came before the house, and at the request of its friends was referred to a select committee, and Chester, after passing two readings successfully, was postponed by the request of its friends to the first Monday in December, 1847. Thus another winter of anxiety had passed and the county of Morrow was no nearer completion than at the beginning of the session. One thing had been gained ; the members had become disgusted with the whole subject and were in the mood to finish the bUsiness one way or another, if it ever came before them again. MORROW'S FINAL CAMPAIGN. The final campaign opened for them in December, 1847. The lobbyists were in full force and early on the ground. A letter dated December 8, 1847, from William Hance, at Columbus, to the Chester committee, gives the outlook at the beginning of the session as follows : "Judging from the present appearance and circumstances, the contest will be between Chester and Gilead, and in it Gilead has an advantage. The chairman of the committee in the house is believed to be a friend to that claim. The two Democrats, Smith of Hamilton and Coe, of Sandusky, voted for it last year,; hence they may have a majority report in their favor, which will be an advantage to them, as the dereliction of Gilead seems not to be thought of only when we mention it, and many members appear anxious to settle it in some way. On the other hand, we have Mr. Parks of Lorain, and Mr. Taylor of Franklin, on the committee, from whom we expect anything but a report either favorable to Bennington or Gilead. The chairman, Mr. Hurdisty, is from Carroll, and appears to be in the keeping of Mr. Watt, who has been engaged here for Gilead, for two or three years past, and is from Carroll county. In the senate the committee is composed of King, Horton and Beaver, King is a Democrat and is chairman ; the other two are Whigs. Horton was last year in the house and voted for an indefinite postponment of both 60 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Bennington and Gilead, and I think was favorable for Chester." It became generally understood that this session would bring the matter to an issue, and most strenuous efforts were made on all hands to place their claims in the most favorable light. The Gilead claim had changed in name from Ontario to Gilead, and then to Marshall, to conciliate the various prejudices. Chester had secured the services of a man that had successfully engineered Ashland's interest, and the lobbyists were everywhere strongly reinforced. One of the Chester lobbyists writes : "It is doubtless the fact that more lobbyists are employed at this time in Columbus, than ever before since the formation of the state." With these preparations made, there was nothing left but to hope for the best, with an anxiety that few, who have not had the experience, can well comprehend. It is almost distressing at this late date to read these letters from the lobbyists to their friends at home, informing them of the progress of affairs. Letters were written twice a week and they present a picture of shifting shadows, where the scene changes in a, breath, with the alternations of hope and despair. On December 13, 1847, the house committee is informed that Gilead at least, if not Bennington, is moving heaven and earth to accomplish her purpose, having all the doorkeepers and clerks in both branches, and many others employed in her behalf. Notwithstanding this array of opposition the writer has great confidence that the Chester claim is likely to succeed. He adds that there is a strong repugnance with the Whigs to support Bennington and, also, to a considerable extent against Gilead. In all that should be looked at as requisite in making a new county, such as remoteness from old county seats, contiguity of territory to the new county seat as compared with the old ones, compactness of territory, and consequent accommodations for the inhabitants taken into the new county, Chester was represented to have a much better claim than either Bennington or Gilead. "We have the direct expression of a number of members of a preference for Chester," concludes the letter. "We are satisfied beyond doubt that at least one member of each committee is decidedly in our favor, and have no reason to doubt the friendship of one other member of each committee, with strong hopes that the other Whig and Democrat will go for us on the other committee." A few weeks later comes the intelligence : "Walhonding (another new county project) is playing the deuce with all our new county projects and whilst she cannot be made herself, will HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 61 do much toward keeping others from being made." In another letter of about the same date, the same writer says : "We thought we had two of the senate committee great, and were disposed to push our claim with them, but the chairman declined calling the committee together until all the petitions from the conflicting claims were in. We then turned our attention to the house, where we felt pretty sure of two members of the committee, but today, there seems to be an undercurrent at work, which, I fear, renders it uncertain whether we shall have a single one in the senate, and but one on the house committee. If I am correct in my suspicion relative to the committees, it is all owing to the influence of the foreign friends of Walhonding;" A letter of December 23, 1847, brings news of a reaction. It says : "A majority of the committees has reported Gilead. Johnstown is gone by the board scarcely a grease spot left. National and Cumberland reported. The committee goes on rapidly this winter, disposing of five claims in one sitting. Today a bill was reported by the committee for the erection of Gilead. Chester, of course, was reported against by the majority, but we have two fast friends (Park and Taylor) who will make a minority report. The majority is one Whig and two Democrats; the minority is two Whigs. We have high hopes yet; we have now 1,660 petitions, all told. Gilead has only 1,259 legal ones within the territory, and 280 out of the territory, with 77 illegal ones. We expect the minority report will tear the report of the majority all to pieces. Bennington; once proud and lofty Bennington ! How are the mighty fallen ! Poor fellow ! (referring to the fellow who headed that claim): He sold his birthright for a mess of pottage." Notwithstanding the favorable action in favor of the Gilead claim, there was a very strong feeling on the part of all that it was likely to be finally defeated. The Whigs manifested considerable opposition to it on the ground that it would strengthen their adversaries, and unless the Democrats could be induced to forego their party opposition to all new counties, there was, indeed, no hope for its success. The Chester adherents strongly urged that the Whigs of the western part of Knox county were the only ones that had increased their majority, and that they should be encouraged. All this was not without its effect, and the prospects of Chester, though not ostensibly so bright as Gilead, were in reality much more hopeful. 62 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY MINORITY REPORT ON NEW COUNTIES. On December 27, 1847, the minority of the house committee on new counties presented the grounds of its dissent from the finding of the majority. The report of the majority we have not been able to secure, but, since that of the minority, as a matter of necessity, goes over the same ground, we shall trespass upon the patience of the reader so far as to give this paper, trusting that the importance of preserving a document of such historical value may be found a sufficient warrant for its introduction here. Mr. Park from the minority of the standing committee on new counties, made the following report: "The minority of the committee on new counties, dissenting from the majority in their recommendation of the Gilead and the rejection of the Chester claim - both claims occupying to a considerable extent the same territory—submit their views. "The minority cannot consent to all the general principles laid down by the majority in regard to the erection of new counties, as they do not feel in duty bound, constitutionally or otherwise, to erect new counties, unless the general good requires it, and that by so doing the rights of others are not impaired. And they are not willing, by any act of theirs, that censure should be cast upon any preceding legislature for not granting new county claims, which they believe were not meritorious. "Many considerations should be brought into view in deciding upon the merits of any new county that it might be proper to erect, which it is the duty of such legislature to carefully weigh before such questions are settled. For instance, in the very case now before the committee there are remonstrances from Knox county against any division of the same, because of that county having, by an overwhelming majority, incurred a heavy responsibility for the construction of a railroad, which responsibility it is supposed will devolve upon that portion of the people who may remain in that county. "The minority believe that if said result would necessarily follow dismemberment, it would be an act of injustice which this minority could not sanction. But, whether those who might thus be severed from Knox would be legally released from their proportionate share of debt thus incurred, the minority do not feel competent to decide. "There are also many reasons of a general nature which have an important bearing against the making of new counties, and which ought to have their proper influence in the decision of a question of this kind, but which the minority do not deem necessary now to enumerate. "It is perhaps true, as asserted by the report of the majority, that Gilead is an old applicant, but in view of all the facts of the ease this should weaken, rather than strengthen, its claim to the favorable consideration of the legislature, as, had it possessed ordinary merit, with the advantages it had employed—having been before the legislature without competitors and having had representatives from its own territory who were especially HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 63 charged with its interests it ought long since to have been erected into a county. But it would appear that past legislatures, which have evinced a favorable disposition toward the erection of new counties, have never been impressed with the advantages of this claim; and the undersigned confess that they are unable, after a full investigation of all the facts touching it, to dissent from the conclusion arrived at by the previous legislatures. One reason, as we learn, for these repeated failures, is the fact that during the time above referred to the citizens residing in the territory taken by Mt. Gilead from the counties of Knox and Richland, have been constantly opposed to being thus cut off from their connection with those counties, and attached to one which is, as they assert, directly hostile to their interests and advantages. Those citizens are not entirely opposed to the erection of a new county of which they might form a part, but they object to being taken, into a county which would render their situation worse than it is now, and hence, they have now united with those whom they heretofore opposed, and favor the erection of a new county of Chester, a county n, which they enjoy equal advantages with their western neighbors. "The undersigned are of the opinion that the advantages to accrue to the citizens of a new county would be more equally distributed by the erection of Chester than by the erection of Gilead. But, before giving their reasons for this opinion, they would state that they are both personally acquainted with the territory, out of which it is proposed to make one or the other of these new counties, and can therefore, speak with more confidence. "The minority will first notice the fact that the general business of that region tends northeasterly to Mansfield, Fredericktown and Mount Vernon. The first named place being the termination of the railroad which is rapidly progressing toward the latter places, and to which points the people are drawn, as well as for a market for their agricultural products as for the purpose of milling, and of furnishing themselves with what their wants require, in, either the mechanical or mercantile line, and to these points, from a large portion of the country in view, the business must not only continue to flow, but must very much increase, especially on the completion of the railroad to Frederiektown and Mount Vernon. "It is almost needless to say that the people of any county are lest accommodated by having their civil and judicial business transacted where their mercantile and other business concentrates. Gilead, as the location indicates, cannot afford such accommodations. These facts will show that the people of the territory embraced in. Chester, or that ought to be embraced in any new county in that region, will be better accommodated at Chesterville, as the county seat, than at Gilead. "But it is not alone on arguments such as these that the minority rest their views of the propriety of erecting Chester instead of Gilead. "It will be perceived that the proposed county of Gilead requires so much territory from Marion as to reduce that county below its constitutional area a fact not noted in the report of the majority. As the constitution of the state declares that no new county shall be established by general assembly which shall reduce the county or counties or either of them from which it shall be taken to less extent than 400 square miles a declaration to which no two constructions can be given the minority of the committee, in common with others, are of the opinion that it would be doing violence to that 64 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY instrument to erect Gilead, or any other new county which does so reduce an existing county. Aside from this constitutional view of the matter, the expediency of thus reducing a county below its constitutional area and attaching fragments of territory taken from its neighbor to restore what was thus lost, may be seriously questioned. Upon this point the minority do not deem it necessary to enlarge. "But, however this may be, it is objection which can be easily obviated by the erection of Chester, as there is contiguous territory enough in the counties of Delaware, Marion, Richland and Knox to make a new county, without cutting Marion down below 400 square miles. Then why resort to a doubtful measure, when the means are not only ample for avoiding it, but the people interested might at the time be accomodated much better thereby. "When to all this is added, what the minority believe is a fact, that the territory detached from Union and attached to Marion county reduces Union below its constitutional area, there no longer remains a doubt with the minority that Gilead cannot ought not to be made. "But there is another fact which should not be over looked, in comparing the merits of the two claims, and which, as the minority thinks, places beyond controversy the question as to which of them ought to be made. "According to what the minority believe to be a correct estimate, there are about thirty-six square miles in Chester, which is nearer the county seats of the counties in which said territory now lies, than it will be in Chester if that county is erected. This seems to be a sufficient amount of territory to be thus incommoded by the making of any new county, but in Gilead there are within its advertised bounds seventy-eight square miles of territory similarly situated. To this may be also added six miles in the parts proposed to be attached to Marion, making a total of eighty-four square miles incommoded on account of increased distance from the county seats. This is equal to one-fifth of the whole territory embraced within the bounds of Gilead. And when to this is added the fact that many of those who may be brought nearer to the new, than they are now to the old county seat, but would nevertheless be incommoded by having to transact their civil and judicial business in one direction, and their other business in another, there will probably be two-fifths of the population of Gilead who would feel themselves injured by the erection of said county. "The minority also deem it proper in conclusion to notice a few points made by the majority in their report. "In alluding to the petitions the majority say that they are from citizens of Richland, Crawford, Marion, Delaware and Knox. The minority upon examination find petitions from Richland, Marion, Delaware and. Knox, but none from Crawford. This may be by some regarded as a matter of small moment. Be it so; but in all things, especially official matters, everything however unintentional, calculated to deceive, should be carefully avoided. "The majority also say, 'that there is in the counties from which the proposed county is to be taken an abundance of territory out of which to erect a new county, without reducing either of the counties from which territory is taken below the constitutional amount.' The minority not having seen the bill reported by the majority for the erection of Gilead, do HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 65 not of course, know its provisions; but judging from the terms of the petition, it cannot be doubted that provision is therein made for attaching to Marion territory for the purpose of restoring it to its constitutional area. "The majority further say, that in making Gilead, there is left in the county. of Richland, four hundred and eighty square miles; in the county of Delaware four hundred and sixty-six square miles; in the county of Knox five hundred and twenty-four square miles; but, most singularly, omit to tell how much is left in the county of Marion, which it will be borne in mind, is reduced below the constitutional limits. "The minority will next notice the comparison made by the majority of the number of petitioners with the number of voters in the territory embraced by Gilead. The report says that the number of voters amounts to about three thousand a large majority of which number have petitioned for the erection of the proposed new county. "The minority have made a hasty estimate of the number of votes polled at the gubernatorial election in 1844, and find that they amount to about three thousand five hundred. It is well known that more or less. voters in all elections do not attend the polls. These, added to the natural increase since that time, would doubtless swell the number to nearly or quite four thousand. The minority have also carefully counted all the petitioners for Gilead, and find that the number of those within the bounds of that claim amounts to one thousand four hundred and thirty-six, being only a little more than one third of the estimated number of voters in said territory. "In addition to the foregoing petitioners, the minority find of those out of the Gilead territory, ninety-four in Marion county and one hundred and eighty six in Delaware county, making in all two hundred and eighty. To such petitions, however, coming from, persons not residing in territory included in the new county, the minority attach but little weight—knowing as they do, how readily many persons sign petitions for objects in which they have little or no interest. "The majority say further in their report that they have `taken into consideration the various other claims which conflict with this (Gilead) and find that the largest number of legal petitioners are in its favor." The minority have also been attentive to this matter, but have arrived at a different result. The petitioners which the minority think should have any influence in the case, being those only who are within the territory of the proposed county of Gilead, amount as before stated, to one thousand four hundred and thirty-six, while -Chose for Chester, number one thousand six hundred and thirty-five, all of whom are within the territory, and all are strictly legal. [Signed] ELAN PARK, GEORGE, TAYLOR, Committee This attack was followed up by the presentation of a bill to erect the county of Chester, and both bills passed successfully to the third reading in the house. In the meanwhile Gilead had nar- 66 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY rowly escaped utter defeat, and was saved from a hostile vote only by recommitting it to the committee. On the other hand the lobbyist of that claim had, after an unsuccessful attempt to buy out Chester for $1,000, purchased the aid of the Bennington champions Freeman for cash, and Randolph for a promise of office in the new county and, thus reinforced, were making up in shrewd management what they were losing in popularity. A letter from Dr. Hance early in January, 1848, gives the status of the rival claims as follows : "Just before adjournment, the new county committee reported back the Gilead bill, with some amendments, when Mr. Blake moved its recommittment to a committee of one, which finally resulted in recommitting it to a committee of three, to-wit—Blake, McWright and Cotton. A division being called for, thirty-seven members arose in favor of its recommittment, being a majority of the whole house, two at least of the enemies of Gilead being absent, who, had they been present, would have voted for recommittment. This vote I think, decided the vote of Gilead. The Gilead folks feel a good deal excited about the result of this vote. "Well I wish they were worse crippled than they are; though I think they will be killed when they come up again. Since the report of the committee, 170 petitions have been presented for Gilead. These I examined tonight, and find 57 of them from Harmony, 89 from Marlborough and 24 from Marion township. At the time of the report, Gilead had 1,436 petitioners, to which add the 57 from Harmony (being the only ones within the territory), and they have 1,493, while we have now here, 1,851, being 358 more than they have within the territory. They had at the time of the report 280 out of the territory, to which add the above 113 and it makes 393, being in all, in and out of the territory, 1,886. Add to the number in the territory what we have out of the territory (being about 60), and we have 1,911, hieing 25 more than they have." On the fourth of January the Gilead claim was reported back to the committee of the whole house, and was indefinitely postponed. On the following day this vote was reconsidered and the bill recommitted, and by one of those freaks of fortune "that no man can find out" the fortunes of Gilead began to pick up. A letter from the lobby at Columbus states January 5,1848 : "I have no doubt that the Walhonding demonstration has made friends for Gilead among the Democrats, and this indirectly injures Chester. A wonderful change has certainly been made among the Democrats in regard to new counties. Heretofore, they have, as a party, been opposed, but the vote for Gilead shows a different feeling. On the vote to indefinitely postpone Gilead, there was for it 26 Whigs and 8 Democrats ; against it, 21 Democrats and 12 Whigs HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 67 HOW THE GILEAD CLAIM WON. Not to go into further tedious details, the excellent management of the Gilead claim was exhibited by its passing one day, in the absence of some of its enemies, by a majority of one, and going into the senate. To recover the ground lost, the Chester managers had a new bill introduced in the upper house, and proposed to contest every foot of ground. Here. Gilead found it necessary to rely more upon the skill of its management than upon its friends in the senate. As late as the 21st of February, it was indefinitely postponed by a vote of 17 to 15, a vote that would have been the death of any ordinary project. But the lobby influence was indefatigable, and the bill was resuscitated and passed February 24, 1848. It is difficult to determine whether its friends or its foes were the most surprised by this denouement, and just how it was done has long been a puzzle One vote was gained by changing the name of the proposed county. A senator from Morrow in the southern part of the state, who had been instructed to vote against Marshall county, said that if the Gilead people would change the name to Morrow, after the ex-governor of that name, he could vote for it. This was accordingly done, But after waiting in vain for a favorable opportunity to catch their opponents napping, they devised a plan by which they hoped to receive a favorable vote. The day came when the absence of a single adverse vote. would give the Gilead claim a clear field. Senator Olds of Pickaway, who was very fond of a game of cards, was inveigled into a back room by the Gilead retainer and got so interested in a game that he forgot his interests at the capitol. To make his absence from the senate certain, George N. Clark, who was one of the Gilead lobby at that time, skipped up to the door and locked it, the key being on the outside by a previous arrangement. When the bill was presented the opposition at once sought for the missing member, but without avail, and Morrow county was erected by barely enough votes to insure success. This was done in the afternoon, and as soon as possible thereafter, George N. Clark mounted Dr. Geller's horse to carry the news to Mount Gilead. He reached Sunbury about midnight, where he stopped to rest until morning. The people here were favorable to the Gilead claim, the cannon was brought out, fires were lighted and an impromptu jollification was held. The next morning, Clark came on to Woodbury, where he lived. Here the cannon was brought into requisi- Vol. I--5 68 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY tion and, after tiring themselves out, they turned in and escorted the messenger to Mount. Gilead. The news had preceded him along the road and, as the procession passed, it gained accessories, so that in spite of the almost impassable mud, the cannon and a large concourse of people came bringing the news to the new county seat. That night the little town went wild in excitement. The cannon boomed, fires blazed and the crowds yelled themselves hoarse, while all the oratorical talent of the place was placed under tribute to add to the general cheer. The rejoicing was of a generous character, and the exultation was not so much over the defeat of their opponents, as that the hope so long deferred had at last been realized. The Chester people, while regretting the defeat of their own measure, could, and did, heartily join in the general congratulation on the erection of the new county of Morrow. COUNTY'S CREATIVE ACT. The bill as passed provided: "That so much of the counties of Marion, Delaware, Knox and Richland, as are embraced within the boundaries herein after described, be and the same are hereby erected into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of Morrow, and the seat of justice within and for said county shall be and is hereby fixed and established at Mount Gilead, to-wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of Tully township, in Marion county; thence east on the township line to the southeast corner of said township; thence north on the township line to the northeast corner of said township; thence north one mile; thence east on the nearest line of lots to the northeast corner of Section 9, in Troy township, Richland county; thence south on the nearest line of lots with the eastern boundary lines of Franklin, Chester, and Bloomfield townships, in Knox county, to the southeast corner of said township of Bloomfield; thence west with the south line of Bloomfield township, Knox county and Bennington and Peru township, Delaware county, to the southwest corner of said township of Peru; thence north four miles; thence west along the nearest line of lots to the west line of Oxford township, Delaware county; thence north along the township line to the Greenville treaty line; thence easterly along Greenville treaty line to the southwest corner of Morven township, Marion county; thence north along the west line of said Morven and Canaan townships, Marion county, to the place of beginning—and also attaching to the county of Marion so much of the county of Delaware as is contained in the following boundaries, to-wit: Beginning on the Greenville Treaty line at the northeast corner of Marlborough township, Delaware county; thence south along the line between Marlborough and Westfield townships, Delaware county, to the southwest corner of said Westfield township; thence west in a straight line to the boundary between Union and Delaware counties; thence north on said boundary line to the Greenville treaty line." "Section 2. Provides that suits and prosecution pending in those portions HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 69 of the several counties set off to Morrow or Marion previous to the 1st of March, 1848, shall be prosecuted to the final judgment and execution in the same manner as if the county of Morrow had not been erected, and that all officers should so act until the first Monday in March, 1848. "Section 3. Provides that all justices of the peace, constables and other officers in those parts of the counties set off to Morrow and Marion counties shall continue to discharge their duties until their term of service expires and their successors are elected. "Section 4. That all writs and legal processes issued in the territory recently erected, the county of Morrow, shall be styled of Morrow county after the 1st day of March, 1848. "Section 5. That the legal voters residing within the limits, of the county of Morrow shall, on the first Monday of April, 1848, assemble in their respective townships, at the usual places of holding election, and proceed to elect the different county officers (except sheriff and coroner who shall be elected according to the 39th section of an act regulating elections, passed February 18, 1831), in the manner perscribed regulating elections, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election and until their successors are chosen and qualified. " Section 6. Provided that Morrow county shall be attached to the Second Judicial circuit of the court of common pleas. "Section 7. That no tax shall be levied upon the property either real or personal, of the citizens of Morrow county, for the erection of a courthouse and jail within and for said county, until the sum of $7,000 shall have been subscribed and paid to or expended by the county commissioners, as donations from the citizens of said county, for the erection of public buildings; provided, that if said sum of $7,000 shall not be subscribed and paid within two years from and after the passage of this act, it shall be the duty of the commissioners of the said county of Morrow, within twenty days after the expiration of said term of two years, to give notice of such fact in some newspaper of general circulation in said county, and the qualified electors of said county may, at the annual spring election then ensuing, determine by ballot the location of the seat of justice for said county, and that place having in its favor a majority of all the ballots cast such election shall thereafter be established as the seat of justice for the said county of Morrow. "Section 8. Nothing in this act shall be so construed as to exonerate that portion of Knox county, hereby included in the county of Morrow, from any liability on account of any railroad subscription heretofore made by the said county of Knox, but their due proportion of said subscription shall be levied upon all property within said territory, and collected by the treasurer. of Morrow county, and be by him paid over to the treasurer of Knox county, or such other officer or person as may be authorized by law to receive the same. "Section 9. And it is hereby made the duty of the auditor of Knox county, on or before the 15th day of June in each year, as long as the above tax shall be claimed, to furnish the auditor of Morrow county with the rate per centum of the tax levied in Knox county for the purpose above named; and upon receipt of said rate, the said auditor of Morrow county shall add such rate to all the property, personal and real, within the above 70 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY named territory detached from Knox county, according to the value of said property as entered upon his duplicate." [Signed] JOSEPH S. HAWKINS, Speaker House of Representatives. CHARLES B. GODDARD, President of Senate. February 24, 1848. It is a curious study to review the history of this struggle for a new county to note the thousand and one influences that effected the general issue, to measure the power of the contestants, and mark the means used to accomplish their purposes. The contest was substantially between the Chester and Gilead claims. Bennington, though supported by sufficient funds, and adroitly managed by Freeman, Randolph and Morehouse, was intrinsically weak, and ignominiously collapsed when closely scrutinized. Gilead, evidently had the largest purse, and expended, from first to last, not far from $15,000. She had the largest force in the lobby, maintaining during the last session of the contest, six hired lobbyists, besides eight of her own citizens. The support of the Gilead claim was steady, and the burden, divided among a comparatively large number, was more easily borne. Money when necessary was readily secured, one or two persons contributing as high as $1,000, and some considerable more. Chester spent much less money for the very satisfactory reason that there was less to spend. The burden of the contest fell upon a few individuals ; remittances to the lobby were made in sums of $15, to $50, and, during the crisis of the contest, it was only by the indomitable courage of the managers of the claim at Columbus, that Chester was kept before the legislature. At no time, did the number of their lobbyists exceed ten, and frequently, because of sickness or other causes, their number was reduced to a single representative. While their opponents dispensed a lavish hospitality, they were obliged to scan their outlays with the closest economy to pay their board at $2.50 and $3.00 per week. In the matter of communications with the home committees at Chesterville and Mt. Gilead, during the season when the mud was almost impassable, the lobby at Columbus was often put to their wits' end. The mail went out twice a week, but was often delayed for days at a time. Here, the Gilead people, who had horses in waiting could accomplish what the Chester people were obliged to forego, or take advantage of such opportunities afforded through a chance HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 71 visitor at the capitol. Other things being equal, these facts must have told strongly in favor of the Gilead claim, but it must be conceded that the Chester lobby handled their case with admirable tact, and were finally defeated by other than diplomatic means. Chester undoubtedly had the strongest prima face showing, and commanded the strongest vote in both houses of the legislature, but it failed, till late in the contest, to get an able champion in the house. On the other hand, Gilead, though having less friends among the members of the legislature, had an able manager in the house, who was efficiently supported by the shrewdness of the lobby, and, in the event, this secured the victory. FIRST YEAR OF INFANCY. Morrow county having been legally created, it took little time to put her simple governmental machinery in motion. A few of the happenings which occurred during the first year of her official existence are gleaned from perusal of the old court house records. The story of the county's first year of infancy is thus told by the Morrow County Register, of February 19, 1908 : "Many interesting facts are to be noted by a careful perusal of the older records on file in the courthouse. The commissioner's first book was opened April 10, 1848, and the initial record appearing therein is as follows, showing the first scratch of a pen ever made in portraying historical business transactions : 'Proceedings of the commissioners of Morrow county, Ohio, at their first session begun and held at the town of Mt. Gilead, Ohio, on the tenth day of April, 1848. Present : Wm. Hanna and John Doty.' On May 8, 1848, John Creigh took oath of office as a commissioner. The name of Hiram F. Randolph is signed, he being the first auditor. Succeeding sessions were devoted to arranging settlements with other counties from which Morrow was taken. "The county building was a frame structure and stood where the present temple of justice now gracefully towers. There were no provisions for a court room and to provide such accommodations the commissioners acted by arranging with the trustees of the Baptist meeting house for renting the building for the term of time that the county wishes to occupy it for the purpose of holding court. The trustees further agreed to furnish two rooms suitable for petit and grand juries. On June 5th, of the first year, the commissioners ordered that in case the citizens of Morrow county shall furnish timber of a suitable size, shingles, and all the 72 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY lumber necessary for the construction of an ordinary wooden jail and shall furnish the ground for, and build a jail twenty feet square with two cells separated by a log partition, a sum of money not exceeding $20 is hereby appropriated to furnish nails, iron, glass and necessaries to finish said jail ; to be expended by auditor of said county when he is satisfied the citizens have performed the work above mentioned. "This building was erected, and after serving its purpose until the construction of a better building, it was torn down and until some years ago its walls were used for side walk purposes on one of the streets in Mt. Gilead. To prevent prisoners cutting through the walls the planks were further strengthened by driving them full of nails. Such boards lasted a long time as sidewalks. "In June, 1848, the commissioners levied a poll tax on practicing attorneys and physicians, and they continued this method of taxation for several years. The tax was regulated according to the estimated income to the professional man and the amounts collected as shown by the records ranged from one to three dollars for each doctor and lawyer. There were forty-five physicians and the same number of lawyers in the county at that time. "The first examination made as to the condition of county funds was made June 5, 1848, and the report filed was a follows : ' This day the commissioners examined the books and vouchers of the treasurer of Morrow county and the following is the settlement had with said treasurer for the year ending June 6, 1848: To amount of horse license $50 ; to amount of fines in state cases $200 ; to amount of Morrow county's proportion in the treasury of Marion county $350.77 ; total $402.77. By county orders redeemed $103.62 ; by treasurer's fee on $402.77, $20.13 ; total $123.75. Balance in treasury, $297.02.' "The first marriage record ever kept in Morrow county is an interesting little relic. It is little in several ways. The book is small, it has but few pages and the paper is not of the heavy and durable quality as is now put into record books. Little, old and badly worn, it presents a queer appearance in contrast to the big, heavy volume now used. The first license to be granted in Morrow county was issued as follows : 'License issued March 22, 1848—Wm. McDonald and Sarah Ann Peterson.' That's all there was to it. A return was made after the ceremony had been performed and read : 'I certify that Wm. McDonald. and Sarah Ann Peterson were joined in marriage by me on the 30th day March, A. D. 1848—B. H. Pearson, B. M.' The capital letters after the signature indicate HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 73 that the parson was a Baptist minister. As the foregoing shows, the earlier records were kept in a very simple way." MORROW COUNTY POLITICALLY. The first election of any political importance after the organization of Morrow county, was the presidential election of 1848, when General Taylor and the Hon. Lewis Cass were the candidates for president. Morrow county gave a large Democratic majority, and four years later when General Franklin Pierce and Gen. Winfield Scott were the candidates, Morrow county cast its vote for Gen. Pierce. Before the next presidential campaign came around a new party the Know-Nothing party carried the county, and the dissolution of the Whig party followed and the Republican party came into existence, and has dominated the politics of the county more or less ever since. Occasionally a Democrat gets elected to a county office, but such occasions are so few and far between that Morrow county may be considered normally Republican. OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVES OF THE COUNTY. Senators of the Seventeenth district : John T. Creigh, 1854-6 and David Miles 1858-60 ; Twenty-eighth district David Miles, 1862-64 ; John H. Benson, 1878-80 ; Wm. G. Beebe, 1892-4 ; John M. Thompson, 1908-10 ; H. S. Prophet, 1876-82 ; Allen Levering, 1884-6 ; and William M. Williams, 1900-2. Representatives :George N. Clark, 1852-4; Thos. S. Bunker, 1856-8 ; Joseph Gunsaulus, 1862-6 ; Jeremiah M. Dunn, 1868-70 ; Thos. E. Duncan, 1874-8 ; James Carlisle, 1880-4 ; George Kreis, 1886-1890 ; John J. Gurley, 1854-6 ; David Rees, 1858-62 ; John H. Rhodes, 1866-8 ; Albert H. Brown, 1870-4 ; Allen Levering 1878-80 ; Enos W. Miles, 1884-6 ; Wm. S Phillips, 1890-2 ; Hugh G. Rogers, 1894-6 ; Henry H. Harlan, 1906-8 ; Louis K. Powell, 1898-1900 ; and Walter W. Vaughn, 1908 to the present. Auditors :—Hiram F. Randolph, 1848-51 ;Geo. S. Bruce, 1851-55 ; John Shunk, 1855-9 ; Jeremiah Shunk, 1863-5 ; W. Smith Irwin, 1859-63 ; Geo. W. Clark, 1865-9 ; Asa M. Breese, 1869-75, ; Simon Rosenthal, 1875-80; B. D. Buxton, 1880-6 ; John J. Gurley, 1886-7 ; Christian Gruber, 1887-90 ; A. A. Whitney, 1890-6 ; C. D. Smiley, 1896-1902 ; W. C. McFarland, 1902-8 ; and Clifton Sipe, since 1908. Treasurers :—Wm. Geller, 1849-53 ; Ross Burns, 1851; Smith 74 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Thomas, 1851-1855-9 ; S. M. Hewitt, 1853-5 ; George Granger, 1859- 60 ; John C. Godman, 1860-1, 1863-4 ; W. Smith Irwin, 1864-5 ; Wm. W. McCracken, 1865-9 ; Chas. C. Wheeler, 1869.-73 ; James G. Miles, 1873-7 ; John G. Russell, 1877-81 ; S. W. Trowbridge, 1881-5 ; David V. Wherry, 1885-9 ; A. W. James, 1889-93 ; J. M. Moody, 1893-7 ; M. M. Iden, 1897-1901 ; Albert Gardner 1901-5 ; Willis E. Hart-pence, 1905-9 ; and J. D. Fate, 1909 to date. County Recorders :Samuel Poland, 1848-51 ; Mathew Roben, 1851-4 ; Silas Holt, 1854-61 ; Elmer C. Chase, 1861-70 ; Daniel D. Booher, 1870-6; C. L. Van Brimer, 1882-8 ; John B. Gatchell, 1876- 82 ; S. R. Rawhauser, 1888-94 ; Fletcher A. Dewitt, 1894-1900 ; Geo. J. Young, 1900-6 ; Clayton James, 1906-11 ; and N. O. Melott, 1911 up to the present. Surveyors :John Leonard, 1848-51 ;Wm. Dowling, 1851-3 ; Jos. Hathaway, 1853 ; Laren Gray, 1853-6 ; Thos. Sharp, 1856-7 ; John T. Buck, 1857-70, 1873-82 ; O. L. R. French, 1870-3, 1891-6 ; B. J. Ashley, 1882-8; Wm. C. Dennison, 1888-91 ; Thad. E. Buck, 1896 ; David Underwood, and Chas. M. Wolford, 1911. Coroners :John Blair, 1854-6 ; Isaac Leonard, 1856-9 ; Wm. Spratts, 1859-61 ; R. C. Bacon, 1861-3 ; B. T. Vail, 1863-7 ; Reuben Hulse, 1867-71 ; Thos. N. Hickman, 1871-3; S. J. Oliver, 1873-7 ; Stephen Brown, 1877-81 ; J. L. Williams, 1881-7; A. D. James, 1887- 9 ; C. C. Dunham, 1889-93 ; R. C. Spear, 1893-7 ; J. H. Jackson, 1897- 9 ; E. C. Sherman, 1889-1905 ; R. L. Pierce, 1905-9 ; George H. Pugh ; 1909-11 ; and W. D. Maccabee, 1911 to the present. Commissioners :William Hanna, 1848-9 ; Byron Beers, 1849- 52 ; John T. Creigh, 1848-50 ; John Doty, 1848-51 ; Dan Mitchell, 1850-53; Marquis Gardner, 1853-4 ; Stephen Casey, 1852-5 ; Alexander Gray, 1853-6 ; John Shurr, 1854-7; James M. Mitchell, 1855-61 ; Josiah Horr, 1856-9 ; Joseph Watson, 1857-60 ; Levi Reichelderfer, 1859-60 ; Marcus Phillips, 1860-6; D. S. Talmage, 1860-7; James Pugh, 1860-5 ; Washington Strong, 1865-71 ; Benj Phillips, 1866-9 ; Jos. Conway, 1867-70 ; John Snyder, 1869-72 ; Marcus Phillips, 1870-3 ; Lewis Queen, 1871-4 ; M. B. Brooke, 1872-5 ; Geo. W. Hershner, 1873-7; John T. Quay, 1874-78 Jesse B. Herrod, 1875-9 ; Wm. Brooke, 1877-83 ; George W. Hershner, 1878-81 ; J. C. Swetland, 1879-85; W. G. Brenizer, 1881-4 ; James Atkinson, 1883-6 ; Jacob L. Miller, 1884-7; F. A. Welch, 1885-8 ; A. A. Crawford, 1886-9 ; John McNeal, 1887-93 ; A. B. Kees, 1889-92 ; Geo. W. Hershner, 1891-94 ; Jesse B. Culver, 1892-8; Geo. T. Barnes, 1893-9 ; S. A. Richardson, 1894--1900 ; John Hoff, 1898-1904 ; D. S. Hopkins, 1899-1905; Hai. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 75 rison Kinneman, 1900-6; S. T. Poland, 1904-10; Henry F. Ault, 1905-8; Washington Ramey, 1906-9 ; S. P. Stull, 1905-8 ; Lafe Gates, 1908; and Henry Lepp, 1908, (present incumbent). Infirmary Directors :James McKibben, 1871-2 ; Mason Bliss, 1871-3 ; James M. Briggs, 1871-4 ; James M. Vaughn, 1872-8 ; Wm. Green, 1878-9 ; Wm. E. Wilson, 1874-7 ; E. C. Haskins, 1877-83 ; Hiram Payne, 1878-81; Neeley Noble, 1879-85 ; Jesse Shaw, 1883-9 B. J. Potts, 1881-7 ; James Turner, 1885-91; L. S. Dudley, 1887-93 ; Y. P. Barry, 1889-92 ; J. D. Armstrong, 1891-7 ; Jacob Eckert, 18928 ; C. W. McCracken, 1893-9 ; Tarlton Peck, 1897-1900 ; Geo Chambers, 1898-1901; Geo. H. Hale, 1899-1905 ; Claude Thompson, 1900-6 ; S. S. Hull, 1901-7 ; J. C. Thomas, 1903-9 ; G. W. Brown, 1905-11; L. D. Harding, 1907-10; D. H. Oborn, 1909, (in office) ; J. D. Armstrong and B. E. Goodrich, 1911. Infirmary Superintendents :George N. Clark, 1871-4 ; G. E. Miller, August, 1874-March, 1885, twelve years ; A. B. Lersch, 1885; Sylvester Rhodebeck, 1900-5 ; Geo. W. Eccles, 1905-10 ; B. F. Thuma, 1910 ; and Newton Rule, 1911. MORROW COUNTY INFIRMARY On March 10, 1870, W. Smith Irwin and wife conveyed to the county commissioners of Morrow county for the consideration of $12,000, two hundred and one acres of land, known since as the Infirmary farm ; fifty more acres were later bought, making a total of two hundred and fifty-one acres. When bought this farm was justly called the "poor farm." Skillful superintendents who were practical farmers, have brought it up to a more productive state, and good crops are now raised thereon. The first directors elected in the fall of 1870, were James McKibbin for one year, Mason Bliss for two years, and James M. Briggs for three years. Their successors are given in the roster of county officers. The first superintendent was George N. Clark who, because of his wife 's death, did not serve two years. The second was Gilbert Elwood Miller, and he continued as such nearly thirteen years. He was an experienced farmer, and "made good." The next was H. V. Lersch, who was succeeded by Sylvester Rhodebeck, George Eccles, B. F. Thuma and (the present superintendent) Newton Rule ; all experienced farmers and competent superintendents. The number of residents now present at the infirmary is only twenty. CHAPTER VI. PIONEER MEN AND WOMEN. CHANGE SINCE PIONEER DAYS-MEN AND WOMEN TOGETHER-OLD ROADS- IMMIGRATION FROM 1830 TO 1848—TALES OF PIONEERS -ROSS N. MATEER, MT. GILEAD PIONEER-THE REMARKABLE RINEHART FAMILY-"FROM FIRST TO LAST" (BY MRS. MARTHA M. HARLAN ) -INDIANS AND A SCALPING KNIFE-FIRST WHITE SETTLERS-THE LEGISLATIVE STRUGGLES-PROGRESS-" IN THE LONG AGO" ( BY CAPT. L. N. CUNARD ) -MT. GILEAD IN FEBRUARY, 1848 -MT. GILEAD'S DAY OF DAYS-THE BOYS OF MORROW COUNTY-FIRST NEWSPAPERS- EXCITING FINANCIAL EPISODE-GODFATHER OF MT. GILEAD-A MEMORY PRODIGY-MRS. SMITH DEMUTH 'S RECOLLECTIONS. It is an interesting study to trace a country's history from its beginning and follow society in its formative state and note its material developments and scientific achievements. It took George Washington eight days to journey from Washington to New York to be inaugurated president of the United States. The same distance can now be traveled in less than eight hours. The pioneer period is an epoch of the past. Although Morrow was not a pioneer county, its first settlers have nearly all passed away. It may have been difficult for some of them to accept and become reconciled to the changes that were brought about in their day and generation at the change that has stamped its seal upon the wilderness whose winding paths they had known so well and had so often trodden. Many of the early settlers lived to see Morrow county lay off its primeval wildness and the beauty and grandeur of the forest until the land bloomed like unto the garden of the gods. The pioneer times are frequently spoken of as "the good old days." An old gentleman sentimentally referring to those days, had his remarks taken too seriously by a bystander, who understood him as wishing for a return of the things and conditions of the past. The bystander said: "Times change. Don't let us fall behind the procession, rather let us be thankful for the better - 76 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 77 conditions of our day and generation." He further said that the luxuries and comforts of today make us lack nothing. Would you go back to the period when the family surrounded the pot of mush and helped themselves from it, a morsel at a time ? Before Morrow had an organization as a county, we had our second war with Great Britain, and the question has been asked, "Did that war advance or retard the settlement of the country ?" those have read history to bra little purpose who have not learned that war advances civilization. The fighting instincts of human nature have brought about more important results than have any other one force. Homer, the earliest of the great poets, began his Iliad by invoking the muse to sing of martial exploits, and expressed his faith in war as a means of progress. The spirit then displayed was not materially different from that which the patriots of colonial times manifested, which culminated in the War of the Revolution and the achievement of American independence. The same impelling tendency was seen in the heroic events of the war of 1812. and also in our war with Mexico, as well as in our recent civil strife. The records of the "dull, piping times of peace" do not show the advance of civilization as do the annals of war. How beautiful has been the result of the labors of the settlers. But that golden era of the first settlement has passed away and taken in its wake the old men and women whose like we shall never seen again. But we rejoice to know that the glory of one age is not dimmed by the age succeeding it. CHANGES SINCE PIONEER DAYS. To give more fully the changes that have taken place : The spinning-wheel of the pioneer days is now known only as a relic in a museum, or an antique ornament in a parlor. The loom is no longer used in private houses ; the piano has taken its place. The low price of stockings has banished knitting, except for ornamental purposes. Water is forced into our houses through pipes and is carried out by gravity ; while gas, manufactured or natural, as a fuel, heats our houses from cellar to attic, which makes the keeping of a fire a small matter. In cities or towns bakers relieve the housekeeper of bread-making, and thus at every point the burdens of life are less strenuous and more bearable. The work of the farmer which was so laborious in pioneer times is daily becoming lighter and can now be comparatively easy 78 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY if he profits by the advancements made in that pursuit. Now machinery does the hardest part of the work. The machines sow, cultivate, cut, bind, thresh, winnow and carry the grain. They cut, rake, load, mow and dry the hay. They husk, shell and clean the corn. They cut and split the wood. They do all the hardest of the work. MEN AND WOMEN TOGETHER. The first settlers found Morrow county thickly covered with a heavy growth of timber, and the land shielded from the rays of the sun by dense forest foliage. To erect a home here, and put the land in a state of cultivation, taxed the powers of the pioneers to their utmost. It was for a while a struggle for subsistence and everything they did was in the way of improvement. This was practically true for twenty years. An average of five years was consumed before the frontier 'farmer could be relied upon to furnish the support for himself and family, without game and wild fruit and buying corn from his neighbors. After the erection of a cabin, from five to ten acres of timber was felled and the trees cut into suitable lengths for rolling into piles for burning. And an affectionate veneration should be manifested for the pioneer women who shrank from no dangers, shunned no hardships, endured great privations, and in their homes cultivated social and domestic virtues. These strong and brave mothers, who toiled by their husbands' sides in life's hot noon, and went hand in hand with them down the dusky slope of the evening of an eventful, busy life, have like their companions, folded their arms to rest. And the men clad in linsey-woolsey or tow pants and homemade linen shirts laid broad and deep the foundations of social, moral, industrious and religious life, which have been preserved by their descendants as a priceless inheritance. A just meed of praise should be given the pioneer preachers, who amid all difficulties, dangers and hardships, ministered to the early settlers of Morrow county, and materially aided in laying the moral sentiments which have broadened and deepened with the advancing years. It was a labor of love to them, and they endured privations that few of today know anything about. The oratory and eloquence of these preachers made many converts, and much could be writteen favorable about them, many of whom were scholarly men. They appealed, to the holiest and most sacred im- HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 79 pulses of the heart and wove the loveliness of their teachings into the lives of their hearers. OLD ROADS. The old State road, passing northeast and southwest through Sparta, was laid out a number of years before the war of 1812. Its course was from Mansfield, via Fredericktown and Sunbury, to Columbus. The second road was the Mount Vernon and Delaware road, laid out about 1811. In 1814, the New Haven and Johnstown road, passing north and south through Bloomfield, was projected. In 1816, the Quakers in Chester township cut out a road through Bloomfield to a small settlement near Mount Liberty. 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 meantime, 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. IMMIGRATION FROM 1830 TO 1848. From 1830 to the formation of Morrow county in 1848, immigration came into the new county more rapidly and nearly all the vacant land was soon taken. Some of the old settlers sold out to the newcomers, and farms were opened and put under cultivation, new and better buildings erected, the roads improved and new ones laid out and opened, bridges and mills built, and the whole county improved in many respects. In the early settlement the country presented a new and wild appearance. The deep and thick woods abounded with underbrush and rank vegetation and wild game. Game was early in great abundance, as were also wolves and bears. The formation of Ohio as a state had opened up a vast amount of land to the enterprising pioneer. The reports concerning the beauty and resources of the country, and the fertility of its soil, 80 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY thus brought to the attention of those who began to feel crowded in the older communities, stimulated their natural curiosity, and gave rise to a wide-spread emigration movement, which was then called the "Ohio fever." The "new purchase" added a fresh impetus to this movement, the effects of which seemed to have become universal. Songs descriptive of the pleasures and advantages to be found in Ohio were sung at the entertainments of the young. The chorus of one of these songs was : "We'll all together go Where plenty pleasures flow And settle on the banks of the pleasant Ohio." The roads consisted of trails, through mud and in some places underbrushed, and in others only blazed—with no bridges crossways. In passing from one neighborhood to another, or from one settlement to another, persons were guided by the blazed trees. LOG CABINS AND TAVERNS. The buildings were rude log cabins in the very early settlement of the county. They were generally fourteen by sixteen feet, covered with clapboards held on by the weight-poles placed on each tier, a ridge pole in the center. The floors were made of puncheon, split out of logs, and roughly hewn with a broad-ax. The windows were square or long holes, made by sawing through one or two of the logs ; slats were nailed across, and the orifice made into a window by covering it with paper, which was pasted over. The chamber or "loft" was reached by a ladder from the outside, or if the family could spare the room for it the ladder was placed inside, or if necessary the upper floor was reached by a stout row of pegs being driven into the wall, which could be climbed with agility. The fireplace occupied the greater part of one end of the cabin. Sometimes it had "wings" that came in reach of the hand. In the more modern cabins jams were built on the hearth. The trammel and hooks were found among the well-to-do families, as time progressed ; previous to this, the log-pole across the inside of the chimney, answered for a trammel. A chain was suspended from it, and hooks were attached, and from this hung the mush pot or teakettle. If a chain was not available a wooden hook was within the reach of the humblest and poorest. When a meal was not in preparation, and the hook was endangered by the HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 81 fire, it was pushed to one end of the lugpole for safety. Iron was very scarce in those days. Instances are related where one pot served at a meal to boil water in for mint tea or crust coffee, to bake the bread, boil the potatoes and cook the meat. By good management this could be accomplished. Johnny cake was made by mixing the corn meal up with warm water ; adding a pinch of salt and a trifle of lard and working all into a thick dough ; spreading it on a clean board ; patting it into shape, and standing it slanting before the fire, propped into the right position by placing a flatiron behind it. When baked this made a delicions cake, sweet and fresh, with the stamp of a mother's dear, unselfish, loving fingers plainly detected in the crisp crust. There was little in the way of ornaments in the homes of the pioneers. Very few families had clocks. They guessed the hour of noon, or ascertained it by the creeping of the sunlight up to the "noon mark" drawn upon the floor. The furniture of a cabin was usually a few chairs, a plain table and a bedstead. The bedsteads were made by poles being crossed and stuck into the wall at one end and resting on sticks at the other end. A little later came the "trundle-bed which was low and was pushed beneath the other bed when not in use. There were no carpets upon these cabin floors, and a set of dishes usually consisted of six plates and six cups and saucers, and happy was the housewife who possessed these luxuries, for many families had only a few pewter plates which they had brought with them. The cooking utensils were a teakettle, an iron pot and a skillet. They grew gourds and hard shell squashes, from which they made bowls and dippers. Salt had to be brought from the east in the very early settlement, and later, when a road was opened from the lake and the supply often became exhausted, and its scarcity was a great privation to the pioneers. "Johnny cake" was the principal form of bread for breakfast, and pone for dinner, with wild game, hominy and honey, while the standard dish for supper was mush and milk Log-rollings, house-raisings and wood-choppings were big occasions then, and dinners of pot-pie were served. Corn huskings were also great events, and nearly all the pioneer gatherings would wind up with a dance after supper, in which all present joined. In the absence of a fiddler, the music was furnished by some one whistling or blowing upon a leaf. For lighting purposes there was the "lard lamp" and later the "tallow dip." The bible and an almanac, with perchance a 82 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY book or two brought with them from their former home, often constituted the reading matter of a family If the fire went out upon the hearth it was rekindled by striking flint, or by a coal from a neighbor's hearth, which gave rise to the old saying, "Did you come for fire ?" The cabin homes of old Morrow, Some still are left today, In shady nooks by winding brooks, And on the great highway. The spinning wheels of the pioneer period, what few there are left, are cherished as heirlooms by their fortunate possessors. There was the large wheel for wool and the small one for flax. The hum of the spinning wheel and the reel was the piano music of the pioneer home ; and, when echoed by the loom with its quick-moving shuttle, furnished -the cloth and linen so useful in those early times when calico was a dollar a yard and money was very scarce. In the early days a tavern was a prominent factor in a community, and they were interspersed here and there along the roads leading to the lake. It was a place where every traveler who came along sought rest and refreshments for himself and his tired horse. Taverns were also the stopping places of the freight wagons and stage coaches, and the arrival and departure of these were great events in the life of the early communities. These taverns had large fireplaces, which in winter were kept well filled with wood, and they were of sufficient capacity to heat and light the house. There was no market for wood in those days of clearing the forests, and the only cost of fuel was the cutting of the wood. Around these great fireplaces the travelers gathered, and their conversation gave the settlers glimpses of other parts of the country, of which they knew little, and at bedtime the weary sojourners would spread their blankets near the blazing fire and retire to rest and sleep. But the tavern with its old fashioned life has gone with the stage. Neighbors were very friendly and sociable in the early settlement of what is now Gilead township, running together and eating together without any ceremony. Social gatherings and bees and frolics were common for special purposes and on particular occasions. The mode of living was coarse and plain eating corn bread, potatoes, cabbage, pumpkins and turnips, wild hog, deer, HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 83 ground hog, raccoon, squirrels, wild turkey and pheasants. The wearing apparel was home made manufactured by the women mostly from flax for summer, and from flax and cotton, and wool and cotton for winter. Wool was scarce ; for it was difficult to keep sheep on account of the wolves. Shoes and moccasins were made of the tanned skins of ground hogs ; and men's clothes were frequently made of dressed deer skin and caps of coon skin. The primitive cabin was in many cases built without nails or glass or any article of hardware. An ax, "frow," saw and auger were the only tools necessary to build a cabin. The component parts were round and straight logs, clapboards, eave-bearers, weight poles, (PICTURE: OLD FASHIONED WAY OF MAKING CLOTH.) split sticks and mud for the chimney and for chinking and daubing, a spacious fireplace to take in a big back-log, puncheon floor, ladder for the loft, greased paper for the windows, a door made of clapboards and an open porch with various useful articles hanging round. After awhile some progress was made in building better houses, in the use of nails, glass, hewed logs, shingles, boards, lime, stone and brick. The great idea and aim of a new settler was to make a clearing for the raising of some crops to support the family. This one thing must be done the heavy forests of timber must, by some means, be cleared away, and this was a Herculean task; Vol. 1-6 84 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY but by patient, persevering labor it was done ; the openings were made by the ax, handspike and fire, and by means of the maul and wedge the cleared spot was fenced in. Walker Lyon and family came all the way from Connecticut, to what is now South Bloomfield township in one wagon drawn by two yoke of oxen with a horse, ridden by one of the party, on the lead. They were forty days on the road, and, when their destination was reached, freezing cold weather had set in. It was too cold to mix mortar, so the chinks in their hastily erected cabin were filled with moss gathered from far and near in the woods. One of the first settlers brought with him an ash board, which was honored with the central place in the only door of his cabin, and, when neighbors were present, this was pointed to with infinite pride, by the owner. Augustus and Giles Swetland came two years in advance of their father and the balance of his family. They erected a small log cabin, and began to clear the land their father had previously purchased. The abundance of game in Chester township, while at first a great advantage to the settlement, soon proved not an inconsiderable burden, and hunting became necessary for defense against their depredations. Wolves were found especially troublesome, and the utmost care had to be taken to guard against their constant attacks. Mr. Shur was for some time unable to provide a door to his cabin, and used a blanket as a temporary barrier. This proved insufficient to keep the wolves at bay, and he was obliged to build fires before his door tofeel at all secure. Stock of all kinds was in more or less danger. Henry George brought a few, sheep into the settlement, and built a high pen to guard them at night, but his care was unavailing. Although they were guarded by day and folded at night, the wolves finally took them all. They would steal upon the flock in the daytime, within fifty feet of the house, and make away with one of the sheep. Yearling cattle were frequently destroyed by falling in with a pack of these voracious animals, and even grown animals and horses were sometimes attacked, and more or less injured by them. Soon after the coming of the Shur family, a cow was killed by these animals near his cabin, and was partly eaten when discovered. One of the greatest inconveniences from which Morrow county 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 HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 85 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. Mr. Patton raised a pair of steers from the cows he brought with him to Morrow county waiting till they were grown employing his time in clearing his land and fencing it. His cabin was built near a spring, and at one time his wife went after a pail of water, was lost in the woods, and, after wandering round for some time, was at length led home by the cries of her infant child. Later, Joseph Patton and his sisters were left by their father to finish hoeing a patch of corn. This kept them busily employed till after dark, when at length they were started by the howling of wolves not far away, which was responded to by two other packs of those savage beasts in opposite directions. They heard the tramping of their feet, and not unfrequently saw their eyes glistening through the dark their incessant howlings making the woods hideous the while. Their father heard those frightful howls, rushed into his cabin, seized his gun, and hastened out to the rescue of his children thus exposed to danger, firing as he went. He was just in time. They were hardly rescued had hardly reached a place of safety ere they heard the wolves howling their disappointment. On another occasion, when Joseph Patton and his father were working in the woods, they saw, not far away, a huge drove of wild hogs approaching. They had only time to climb into some trees when the swine scented them, and rushed madly to their place of refuge. They tore the bark off these trees with their tusks, and tore down all the bushes and saplings in the near vicinity, apparently maddened with disappointment in not securing their prey. 86 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY David Anderson failed to get his cows up one night, and went in search of them the next morning, when he found them mired in a swamp, where they had furnished a midnight repast for the wolves. Many others lost stock under similar circumstances. Children returning late from school were chased by them. Deer, wild turkeys and wolves were every-day sights. Small herds of deer, scared by wolves, would come out of the woods, leap the fences and go scampering across the clearings. Often the settler, upon rising in the morning, would find a herd pasturing on his wheat field, seeming to love the rich herbage. In herds of six or eight, they were often seen sporting in the woods, leaping back and forth over fallen trees like children on a play ground. There were many brackish springs scattered about, which the deer frequented, and which were often watched by the hunter during the night. The winter of 1812-13 was severe on deer, however, contributing largely to drive them out of the county. A heavy fall of snow came early in the winter, and successive thaws and freezings had formed a crust of considerable thickness. The deer found it difficult to obtain a living, and were so poor that they were unfit to eat, and their skins were too poor for tanning. This fact did not prevent their being a tempting bait for the wolves, which killed hundreds of them that winter. The light footed wolf found the crust an excellent path, while the deer, in its frantic efforts to esdape from the ferocious pack, broke through at every step, lacerating its legs, and finally wearied out, falling an easy prey to its pursuers. ROSS N. MATEER, MT. GILEAD PIONEER. Ross N. Mateer, who was the first child baptized in the Presbyterian church of Mt. Gilead, spent his entire life of seventy-nine years in Morrow county, with the exception of a few years preceding his death at Toledo, Ohio on the 26th of September, 1910. His remains were taken to his native place and buried at River Cliff. The deceased was born in the little village of Whetstone, Marion county, Ohio, August 31, 1831. The name of the village was changed to that of Mt. Gilead by an act of the legislature in 1833, when the subject of this sketch was two years old. He was a son of Wm. N. and Elizabeth Porter Mateer, who came from Adams county, Pennsylvania, to Mt. Gilead in 1830. Many of the early settlers were from Pennsylvania. His father was one of the first HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 87 school teachers in Mt. Gilead. His father and mother were charter members of the -Presbyterian church organized in Mt. Gilead, November 2, 1831. The house where this church was organized is still standing and in good repair, occupied by Mrs. Heck. The subject of this sketch was born in a cabin house that stood just east of Mrs. Heck's ; it stood on the ground where Arthur Mann now lives. Ten days after the organization of this church at a meeting three infants were baptized, the first of whom was R. N. Mateer. He united with the church on examination at the age of eighteen years, under the ministry of Rev. James Brown, who was a native of Scotland, but received his education in this country. He died while serving this church ; his remains have been resting for many years in the old graveyard. R. N. Mateer was a member of this church almost a lifetime. He was one of the deacons for years before his removal to Toledo. His father moved on the farm two and one half miles east of Mt. Gilead where the late John Mateer's family now lives. He died soon after, leaving the mother with a family of four children, John P., Ross N., Matilda (wife of J. W. Cook) and a half brother, James McMullin. They have now all passed away. Being deprived of his father at the early age of six years he endured the hardships incident to farm life in the then new country. His boyhood was spent in such conditions as characterized the early settlers in those frontier times, with limited educational and religious privileges. He worked on the farm until about sixteen years of age and attended the district school as he had opportunity. When seventeen years old the news came to Mt. Gilead that the bill erecting Morrow county passed the legislature on February 24, 1848. The news was brought on horseback from Columbus to Mt. Gilead. Morrow county is the youngest county in the state. He attended the celebration and barbecue. The old Presbyterian church that stood in the old graveyard in the southeast part of town, was selected as the place for the free dinner, where a whole ox was roasted. There were loads of eatables and many partook of the hospitality of the people. In politics he was a Republican, and for many years before his removal to Toledo was the oldest native in the place. When nineteen years of age he went to Delaware county, near Old Eden, to work for John Black at wagon making. While living here he married Mary Redman, April 14, 1853. Her married life was short; she died, leaving one child, Florence E., who died November 17, 1862. On September 4, 1856, he married Emeline Breese; to this union were born six children : Charles, died in in- 88 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY fancy; Gertrude E., wife of Rev. Will C. Miles, died Jan. 15, 1892. Four children are still living: Mary E., wife of G. W. Fluckey ; Lemuel R., of Girard, 0., Margaret B. and Ralph V. They all, except Lemuel, live in Toledo. In 1860 he bought alarm which is part of the farm where the Morrow county infirmary is now. He was living there when the Civil war broke out. In August, 1862, he enlisted in Company E, One Hundred and Twenty-first 0. V. I. While the regiment was at Franklin, Tennessee, he was taken sick with typhoid pneumonia, which very nearly cost him his life, from the effects of which he has suffered all his life. In June, 1863, he was honorably discharged. Soon after returning home he sold his farm, not being able to work it, and moved to Mt. Gilead. He secured one of the Star mail routes, running from Mt. Gilead to Johnsville, which he followed for sixteen years. Afterwards he went in the meat market with his brother-in-law, L. H. Breese, which business he followed for twenty years. About seven and a half years ago they moved to Toledo, where Mr. Breese still resides. THE REMARKABLE RINEHART FAMILY. The following from the Mt. Gilead Sentinel of December 26, 1907, is still pertinent and furnishes a remarkable instance of family fecundity and longevity : It does not fall to the lot of many mothers to rear to manhood and womanhood a family of fifteen children, and in her old age to have all but two of them living so near to their birthplace and to her life-long home as to be in a position to render her the care and attention which is one of the debts youth owes to age. Such, however, is the happy experience of Mrs. Margaretta Rinehart, widow of Michael Rinehart, who resides near Williamsport, Congress township in this county. Only once did the sorrow of losing a child come into the life of Mrs. Rinehart, her first born son having been taken by death in his infancy. Of the fifteen other children born to Mrs Rinehart, all are living, twelve of these residing in Morrow county in the immediate vicinity of the home farm, one daughter living in Galion, another daughter in Jewel county, Kansas, and a son in San Francisco, California. Almost thirty-three years ago the entire family, for the father was then living, had their pictures taken, the photograph having been made by E. J. Potter, of Mansfield. The taking of the picture of a family group is not unusual and many people follow the practice of having a group picture taken at regular intervals, but it is HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 89 the rule, rather than the exception, that in the later pictures there is a gradual dwindling of numbers, even where the family is much smaller than in the present instance. Ten years ago the Rhinehart family, still with the fifteen children, again went to the Potter studio and posed for another picture. In this picture the father was absent, he having died in 1880. But even with this break in the family the incident was considered unusual in view of the fact that all fifteen of the children had passed safely through the interval of more than twenty years, and were so situated as to be able to get together for the making of another group picture. But unusual as this may have been considered, Mr. Potter was still more surprised a short time ago when an aged lady and fifteen younger men and women again came into his studio and informed him that they wanted to have another group picture taken. It was the same Mrs. Rinehart, who had again gathered her flock together and brought them to the photographer who had taken the picture of thirty-three years ago. In the fall of 1910 was held a reunion of the family at the old homestead which was taken up by the grandfather of these children when he came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in 1836. Mrs. Rinehart has fifty-eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. The late Michael B. Rhinehart, the father of these fifteen children, was born in York county, Pennsylvania, April 11, 1824, and came to Ohio with his parents at the age of twelve years, his father locating in Perry township, Morrow county, on a farm three miles east of Williamsport. Mrs. Rinehart, whose maiden name was Margaretta Elizabeth Baker was born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, July 13, 1834, and came to Ohio at the age of three years, her parents locating on a farm a mile and a half southeast of North Woodbury. She was united in marriage to Mr. Rinehart, June 13, 1852. All of the children were born on the old Rinehart homestead, the oldest of the fifteen, a daughter, having been born August 22, 1854. All of the children are married except one son, Jacob, who is also the only son who does not reside in Morrow county, he being located in San Francisco. Of the fifteen children nine are sons, they being Levi, George, Charles, Amos, Silas, Adam, Jacob, Arthur, and John. The six daughters are : Mrs Almeda Fringer, of Jewel county, Kansas ; Mrs. Ella Dukeman, of Galion ; Mrs. Louisa Corwin, Mrs. Caroline Stull, Mrs. Susanne Grogg and Mrs. Sarah Feigley, of Morrow county. 90 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY FROM FIRST TO LAST. Paper by Mrs. Martha Mosher Harlan, read before the Twentieth Century Club of Mt. Gilead. We have read that "the earliest history of Morrow county, in common with that of the state, is veiled in 'mystery, and what share it had in the prehistoric times can only be guessed." It is generally believed that Morrow county was the scene of the busy activities of the Mound Builders. The traces of their occupation are abundant in all sections of the county. During the centuries when the Indians had dominion in this country the mounds of the Mound Builders were left undisturbed. They had no tradition of a preceding race, and, unvexed by the goading of inquiring science, left these relics of a curious people undisturbed until the white man wrought the mighty change. Three of these works have been found at, or near, Chesterville. A mound located near the old schoolhouse was plowed down in 1837, and scraped into a hole from which it was undoubtedly thrown. In 1839, when the hotel was built in Chesterville, a mound near by furnished the material for the brick. In digging it away, a large human skelton was found. Some trinkets were also found in the mound, but no accurate description of them can be had. Other mounds are found in the townships of Troy, Canaan, Washington and Lincoln, which many believe contain valuable relics if investigated.. INDIANS AND A SCALPING KNIFE. Historians fail to tell us when the Indians first came to Morrow county. There is no record of there ever being an Indian village in this county. It was a rich hunting ground, and the Indians had resorted here from the earliest recollections, but had found a home in the surrounding counties. They continued to come here in quest of game to be found in the woods as late as 1819. A hunting party for some years kept a permanent camp in Lincoln township, the members coming and going as their fancy moved them. My father has a "scalping knife" in his possession that belonged to his grandfather, Asa Mosher, one of the first settlers in this part of the county. Tradition says that Tom Lyon, a Delaware Indian chief, traded the knife to Asa Mosher for two bushels of meal, and assured him that it had "scalped heaps of white men." HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 91 FIRST WHITE SETTLERS. It is believed that the first white settler in this county was Evan Holt, who came to Chester in 1807. Cyrus Benedict settled in Peru township in 1809. The Shaw settlement in Westfield township dates back to 1808. Cardington, then known as Morven township, was not settled until 1821, and the first settlement in Gilead township was in 1817. My great-grandfather, Asa Mosher, came from Granville, Washington county, New York, in 1816, to look up a location and selected a large tract of land south of where Mt. Gilead now stands, and in 1818 he moved his family from New York and settled on that part of section 14, Gilead township, lying west of the Quakerdom road. From family records and deeds, we learn that Jonathan Wood, my great-great-grandfather on the other side of my father's family, came from Plattsburg, Clinton county, New York in 1816, and first settled in Peru township in the Quaker settlement near Cyrus Benedict. But when Asa Mosher moved here, in 1818, the Jonathan Wood family concluded to settle near them, and those two families, with the family of Peleg Rogers, also from New York, entered all the land of section 14, and laid the foundation of another Quaker settlement. A few years later Asa Mosher's son married Jonathan Wood's granddaughter and became my grandfather and grandmother. A portion of the land entered by Asa Mosher and Jonathan Wood has been owned by their descendants ever since. Asa Mosher built the first grist mill and saw mill in this part of the county ; the mill was built in 1819 on the spot where Uncle Gideon Mosher's barn is now located near the covered bridge between Mt. Gilead and Cardington. This mill was built before the land was surveyed and opened for settlement, but after the survey in 1822 Asa Mosher secured the deed and patent for the land from the government. Friendsborough was the first village or town to be laid out in the township. It was surveyed and laid out in town lots by Colonel Kilbourn, in 1822, near the Asa Mosher mill. The town was never built up, as Asa Mosher owned the larger share of the land, and bought the other lots to make a farm for his son Robert, my grandfather, whom he wanted to live near enough to run the mill. For a number of years the township elections were held at or near the Mosher mill. It is now believed that Friendsborough would have been the county seat of Morrow county had it been built up, for, being centrally located between Cardington and Mt. 92 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY Gilead, it would probably have united the power and population of both the rival villages. THE LEGISLATIVE STRUGGLE. The history of the bitter fight in the legislature among the contending factions over the formation of the new county afterwards called Morrow, and the work of the lobbyists at that time, reads very much like the columns of our daily papers of today, and we cannot but wonder if those "good old times" we hear so much about really were so much better than the present time. The organization of Marion county, in 1824, and the establishment of the county seat at Marion, was the first cause of the project to erect a new county out of the territory which is now known as Morrow county. Mt. Gilead was laid out in the same year, and formed a nucleus about which the discontent with the location of the seat of justice gathered. Some of the more radical ones said at once that a new county would be formed to accommodate the large population which was situated in the outlying corners of the four counties (Marion, Knox, Richland and Delaware), but it was some twenty-one years before this project bore the fruit of the fact, and then not without a struggle that consumed the energies of the whole community, the time for years of its best citizens, and not inconsiderable sum of money for that time. The early history of this struggle is but imperfectly known and we have but vague traditions from which to glean information in regard to this interesting event. It appears that the early efforts to form the county were confined principally to gathering petitions, setting forth the case of the petitioners, and asking the legislature for the obvious relief. Unfortunately for the early success of the project, there were a number of conflicting interests to be conciliated. The movement to erect a county out of the outlying portions of Marion, Knox, Richland and Delaware counties, with Mt. Gilead as the county seat, was strongly opposed by several factions. The Richland county people, save the few to be especially favored by the change, were strongly opposed to giving up so much of their territory. The necessity for the erection of a new county was generally conceded and the contest turned on the question of the location of the county seat. The Chester claim proposed to erect a county, with Chesterville near the central point for the count seat. The Bennington claim made Marengo the central point, and ran its lines about it, taking territory from Knox, Lick- HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 93 ing, Delaware and Marion counties. The Gilead, Chester and Bennington "claims" had their hired lobbyists to press their claims upon the attention of legislators during the sessions of the legislature. History tells us that "on December 13, 1847, the house committees is informed that Gilead, at least, if not Bennington, is moving heaven and earth to accomplish her purpose, having all the doorkeepers and clerks in both branches, and many others employed in her behalf." The above was evidently written by a "Chester lobbyist." Bennington finally withdrew from the contest in favor of Gilead, and for several weeks it was hard to tell which would win, Chester or Gilead. It became generally understood that the session of the legislature of 1848 would bring the matter to an issue, and most strenuous efforts were made on all hands to place their claims in the most favorable light. The Gilead claim had changed in name from Ontario to Gilead, and then to Marshall, to conciliate the various prejudices. It is said that a senator from the town of Morrow, Warren county, in the southern part of the state, who had been instructed to vote against Marshall county, said that if the Gilead people would change the name to Morrow, after the ex-governor of that name, he could vot for it. This was accordingly done and one more vote was gained for Gilead. The bill was finally passed February 24, 1848, and Morrow county was erected by barely enough votes to insure success. PROGRESS. The infant county has been of slow growth, in regard to population, for since 1860 each census has given Morrow county about one thousand less population than the preceding one. In 1850 and 1860 our population was over 20,000 ; in 1880 a little over 19,000 ; in 1890, 18,120 ; and in 1900, 17,879. The reason for the decrease is supposed to be because of the unpopularity of large families of children, and we are supposed to make up in quality what we lack in quantity ; for, as a county, we are proud of our record as history makers. Our schools and churches are among the best, and in most of the reform movements Morrow county takes a leading part. The story of the "underground railway" and the anti-slavery movement generally, is interwoven in the history of our county, and with our record in the temperance cause we are all familiar. Is it any wonder that the "makers" of Morrow county look upon the work of their hands and pronounce it "good?" 94 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY IN THE LONG AGO. Contributed by Captain L. M. Cunard. Sixty-three years ! How long it would appear looking forward, yet how short the time seems which has been measured off and tumbled into eternity since Morrow county was erected. The writer was then a boy of thirteen years old : he now has grandchildren thirty years old. Let some one any one who may read these lines make a list of the men now living in Gilead township, who voted at the election for county officials on the first Monday of April, 1848. "Our fathers, where are they ?" They sleep. If I mistake not, Morrow is the state's baby county, though Ashland and Vinton are less than a half dozen years her seniors. The bill erecting Morrow county finally passed the legislature February 24, 1848. On the following day Governor William Bebb appointed Richard House, E B Kinsell and S. T. Cunard associate judges, and affixing Ohio's seal to their commissions as such, gave Morrow county her initial send off. In April following, William Geller was elected treasurer, H. F. Randolph auditor, W. S. Clements clerk, and William Hanna, J. T. Creigh and John Doty county commissioners. At the general election following in October the same officials were reelected, with Ross Burns as sheriff and William Dolin county surveyor. MT. GILEAD IN FEBRUARY, 1848. Perhaps nothing would more interest the present generation of our county's inhabitants than some reminiscences of the exciting events which occurred in the village of Mt. Gilead at the time of which I write, February 24 to 28, 1848. At that date the population of Mt. Gilead was less than 550 souls. There were three hotels in the village : The "Our Hotel," kept by David Patterson, on the southeast corner of the south public square ; the "Van Arnim" hotel, kept by a Mr. Van Arnim, which stood on the west side of the south square, north of Marion street, and the "Palo Alto House," kept by Lovel B. Harris, which stood where the Kandy Kitchen now stands. Trimble's store, House's store and James Shaw's store were all on Main street. Rigdon's blacksmith shop stood on the spot now occupied by the W. & M. hardware store. E. R. Falley had a harness shop in one of the rooms in the HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 95 building now owned by M. S. Merritt, where the big watch is, the second story of which, as it stands now, then being on a level with Main street ; also Colwell's drug store and tin shop, C. K. Lindsey's dry goods store and William Graves' harness shop. Back on East Marion street were Charles Breese's blacksmith and wagon shop, Addlesperger's cooper shop, and Cooper & Sackett's old wool carding machine. C. K. Lindsey was postmaster. The news of the passage of the bill was brought to South Woodbury from Columbus by the late Geo. N. Clark, he arriving on horseback about 10 a. m. the 25th. He immediately dispatched a messenger to Mt. Gilead with the news, on a fresh horse. This messenger, a young Mr. Davidson, overtook the late Dr. Pennock some three miles north of South Woodbury, and the doctor, in the exuberance of his joy, started his horse on a gallop for the new county seat, arriving in advance of Clark's messenger by nearly half an hour. There was a weekly mail between Mt. Gilead and Columbus; a "star route" between Mt. Gilead and what is now Old Eden, over which a "mail boy" rode with the "mail bags" on Friday of each week; post offices at Wood's corners in Lincoln township, South Woodbury and Stantontown in Peru township ; from Eden to Delaware the mail was carried on the stage which run from Sunbury to Columbus. MT. GILEAD'S "DAY OF DAYS." Immediately preparations were begun for a big celebration and barbecue. The old Presbyterian church, which stood beside the "grave yard" just east of Dr. Tucker's, was selected as the place for the "free dinner " John Weaver furnished a fat steer, which was roasted for the occasion. There were wagon loads of "grub" given by the farmers living around Mt. Gilead, whose farms were advanced in value 200 per cent. by being suddenly placed so near a prospective city. The work of preparing the banquet and high jingo jollification was so systematized that not a jar or miscarriage occurred. On the day of the jubilee at least two thousand voters from the surrounding townships partook of the town's hospitality. The late Charles Bird was "carver-in-chief." He had a corn knife two feet long and ground very sharp for the occasion. He was assisted by Elzy Barton, Henry Snyder, and many others whose names I cannot just now recall. I think that Elias Cooper was "chief ox roaster." That was the day of days for Mt. Gilead, 96 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY and a pen description of the wild rejoicing of its hardy citizens on that day could not be given. The "lobby" was honored by being placed in a wagon arranged for the occasion, drawn by four horses, driven by Harry Rigour. This wagon was followed by another four-in-hand driven by Jim Colwell containing the "New County Glee Club." The "lobby" consisted of William Geller, David Watt, Sam Kelley, C. K. Lindsey, S. T. Cunard, A. M. Fisher, an attorney, Dr. McWright, who was Marion county's representative in the legislature, and others whose names I do not now recall. These were the gentlemen who managed the Columbus end of the business. At the Mt. Gilead end were the men who attended to the "ways and means" business, among whom were J. S. Trimble, Richard House, D. S. Talmage, Smith Thomas, David Patterson, Saul Geller, Charles Bird, Henry Snyder, Joe Rigour, Charles Breese, and a score or more of others, who held meetings every night in the week for the purpose of devising ways and means to raise the "sinews of war." This was the "lobby," and its support, the glee club, consisted of Wm. Donaldson, Jos. Rigour, Ethan Van Arnim, Bob Murdick, Jas. Colwell, David Patterson, John Giles, Ely Steltz, John Lindsey, Anthony Raymond and Wash McCall. THE BOYS OF MORROW COUNTY. I can remember but a very few couplets of the songs the glee club sang that day. It is to be regretted that they are lost to posterity ; I think there were three, however.   Here is the first stanza of one : Come, friends, rejoice with us today; We beat our foes all far away, And took their scalps without any bounty. For we are the boys of Morrow county. Another stanza was as follows : There's Cunard, Fisher, Watt and Brown, We'll give them all three cheers around; And Lord forgive us if we slight Young Morrow 's champion, Doc. McWright. It was understood at the time that William Donaldson was the HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 97 the song writer for the occasion. Those songs were sung and re-sung, over and over, in every part of the village by that wagon load of Mt. Gilead's stalwart young men, and while they were singing Geo. N. Clark's. Woodbury cannon was belching forth the tiding of great joy from the spot where Mr. Boyle's house now stands. The jam of humanity over at the old Presbyterian church where the barbecue was in progress from noon till three o'clock was simply indescribable. However, everybody was finally fed, and not near all the provisions consumed. One remarkable thing about that gathering was that no person was in the least angered during the day. Everybody was hilarious and remained in a good humor. One commendable thing about that jubilee was that there were no speeches delivered to the crowd. The men whose labor and patience culminated in the erection of this county were great workers ; men of action. The day's jubilee closed with a dance at "Our Hotel," at which our townsman, Hurd Payne, served as general utility boy, and his mother served as keeper of the ladies' wraps. To give my readers an idea of the enthusiasm with which the women of Mt. Gilead entered into the spirit of the hour let me here state that a lady, Mrs. Smith Thomas, roasted fourteen ducks and baked bread enough to fill a two-bushel basket, and placed all at the disposal of the committee on rations. This is but a sample of the all-pervading spirit which, like that at pentecost, came down on all alike, old and young, male and female, and seemed for the time being, to make all of one kin. FIRST NEWSPAPERS. The county seat was not long without newspapers. John Dumble issued The Democratic Messenger, Vol 1, No. 1, I think, in May, 1848, known in this day as the Union Register. His printing office was the first floor of a building which stood about where the "Bee Hive" store is now located. The ground floor of his office, though, was about where the second story of the present brick building now is. The writer, then a barefoot boy, saw the first Democratic Messenger printed. That old hand' printing press was the most awe inspiring sight he had ever beheld. I stood with a kind of reverence in the presence of John B. Dumble, who was a very dark complexioned, short, heavy set, black haired, black eyed man. 98 - HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY In that paper was an advertisement of the old "carding machine," which closed with this request : "If we spoil your wool don't make a great racket, But call for the damage on COOPER AND SACKET." David Watt started the Whig Sentinel and I think he issued the first number in July, 1848. The Sentinel printing office was over Judge Richard House's store, where Theo. Brown's photograph gallery now is. The writer was a bred and born Whig, and as soon as the Whig Sentinel was started he would steal up into that office every week, when, as a kind of market boy, he was sent to town with butter and eggs ; four cents a pound for butter and two cents a dozen for eggs, the current price in summer In the Sentinel office on the Friday following the presidential election in '48, was a crowd of Whigs wild with joy over the election of General Taylor for president. Ben Peirson, a Baptist preacher, was a sort of leader. Charles Breese was almost crazed with joy over the defeat of Lewis Cass, the Democratic candidate for president. Of all the crowd I remember seeing there, I think no one is living. This was the first election in which the telegraph had been brought into requisition in furnishing election returns and Columbus was the nearest telegraph office, but the news had reached Mt. Gilead from there by messenger. David Watt wrote : "Thanks to Samuel Finley Breeze Morse for the magnetic telegraph by which we are enabled to inform our readers that General Taylor is elected president." These words were printed in what, I think, the printers call display type. The letters were so large that the sentence occupied the half of a page of the paper. Everybody in that crowd seemed happy, even the boy who is now writing this. We verily believed the country was saved, for we had heard Tom Corwin declare that the Democratic party, if not defeated, would destroy the government. Ben Peirson succeeded C. K. Lindsey as postmaster and moved the post office from Lindsey's dry goods store into a room which is now over the frame part of James & Striibble's stove and tinware store. In those days subscribers whose post office address was in the town where the paper was published, called at the printing office for their paper, as it was not distributed as now through the post office. HISTORY OF MORROW COUNTY - 99 The county offices were located in a long, frame, two-story house, which stood on the two lots where the court house now stands. This property was owned by Elzy Barton and J. M. Talmage. Court was held in the Baptist church, on the northeast corner of the south square. EXCITING FINANCIAL EPISODE. Under the act erecting the county and locating the seat of justice at Mt. Gilead, the citizens of Gilead township were required to contribute $7,000 for public buildings, and they were required to make this amount good within two years, otherwise the location of the public buildings was to be submitted to a popular vote. Upon the settlement of this part of the new county business, there might be a great many surmises indulged in. Already about $12,000 had been expended by the managers of the new county enterprize, besides their time ; and now, sixty-three years later, reversing the order and reasoning back from effect, or result, to cause, I conclude that it was arranged in Columbus about the month of February, sixty-three years ago, that a sacrifice should be offered, and that after all, the expense of securing the passage of the act erecting the county should be borne by the tax payers of the county, and the big hearted Dr. Geller was then and there chosen, and, by his consent, was prepared for the altar of sacrifice. He was elected county treasurer by 800, a handsome majority. Two years later our townsman, Smith Thomas, a Whig, was elected by 53 majority. Soon Dr. Geller's shortage was discovered. The commissioners appointed Ross Burns, whose term as sheriff had just expired, to take charge of the treasurer's office until Mr. Thomas qualified, July 1st, following. Geller left, and by a strange fatality his bond could not be found, his bondsmen were saved, and twenty years later by a joint resolution of the general assembly of Ohio, the attorney general, Judge West, was authorized to compromise the state's claim against Geller and release him from all liability for criminal prosecution. The matter was settled by Geller's agent, the late Judge Cunard, by the payment to the state of $6,000. And so ended what was once a very exciting episode in our county's history. GODFATHER OF MT. GILEAD. Let me close by saying to the readers, when you are passing through any of the "old grave yards" in the vicinity of Mt. Gilead, Vol. 1-7