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CHAPTER XXI.
BROOKFIELD.
ORGANIZATION — BOUNDARIES — ORIGINAL EXTENT—CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY SET TIERS — NEW ENG LAND INFLUENCES — A PERMANENT POPULATION—THE "FEDERAL. TRAIL "— FIRST SETTLEMENT MADE IN 1806 BY THE DYE FAMILY—PIONEER REMINISCENCES UDGE WILLIAM RANNELLS AND OTHER PIONEERS — A. FAVORITE HUNTING- GROUND— SETTLEMENT PROGRESSES SLOWLY — EXPERIENCES OF AN EARLY FAMILY A PECULIAR INDUSTRY THE MANUFACTURE OF CASTOR OIL—LAND OWNERS IN 1826 — VALUATION AND TAXES F. at THAT YEAR — PERSONAL MENTION—EARLY SCHOOLS— EARLY MANUFACTURERS —A NOVEL SAW-MILL — THE SETTLERS ON BATES’ BRANCH — HISTORY OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT — THE FIRST POSTOFFICE — FAMILY SKETCHES - BROOKFIELD CHURCH.
BROOKFIELD was one of the original townships of Morgan County, organized in 1819. The commissioners of Noble County, May 1, 1851, altered -its boundaries, making them as follows:
"Commencing at the southeast corner of section 35 in township number 7, of range 10; thence north along the section line to the northeast corner of section 2, in said township and range; thence west along said township line to the northwest corner thereof; thence south along said township line to the southwest corner thereof; thence east along .said township line to the place of beginning-- containing thirty sections."
When organized in 1819, Brookfield was a full township, containing thirty-six sections. A row of sections on the east are now included in Noble Township.
With the exception of the Dyes and a few other families from Pennsylvania and Virginia, nearly all the pioneers of the township were New England Yankees, chiefly from Massachusetts, and a large number from Worcester County. They were intelligent, thrifty citizens, friends of churches and schools, and were generally permanent settlers. Their posterity have inherited their characteristics, and the well-improved farms and high moral tone of the people generally, shows that the inhabitants of the township are worthy sons of their worthy sires.
Probably no township in the county has had a more permanent population than Brookfield. The greater portion of the farms are still in the possession of the descendants of the original settlers.
The earliest route of travel through the township was the so-called Federal trail, said to have been made by a portion of St. Clair's army, who were unable to obtain boats for transportation to Fort Washington: The trail began at Grave Creek, on the Ohio River, and running westward crossed Dye's Fork of Meigs Creek,
420 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
near Renrock, then divided, one branch passing through Bristol Township, Morgan County, and crossing the Muskingum River at Gays- port.
The first permanent settlement in the township was made in 1806, by the sons of Ezekiel Dye. Dye's Fork, of Meigs Creek, takes its name from this family, and the "Dye settlement " was well known to the pioneers of the territory now forming the counties of Guernsey, Muskingum, Morgan and Noble. Ezekiel Dye, Sr., was a native of New Jersey, and a soldier in the Revolutionary War. He came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and in 1804 followed westward to Chillicothe the path known as the old Federal trail, seeking lands on which to locate. He was best pleased with the Meigs Creek location, and entered several hundred acres, situated in the vicinity of Renrock, upon which he and his sons located and passed their lives. They were good citizens—honest, industrious and straightforward men ; courageous and hardy, well fitted to endure the hardships of pioneer life.
Ezekiel Dye, Sr., came in 1807 to the lands which he had purchased ; but his sons, Thomas, Ezekiel, Vincent, William, John and Amos, came the year before and inaugurated the work of improvement. Their nearest neighbors were on Duck Creek and in the vicinity of Cumberland, and on the Muskingum River. The Dyes were all young men, and at the time of their coming only Thomas was married. He and his father located on the farm now owned by John L.
Reed. Thomas' first wife was Nano Davis. He married again after her decease, and was the father of a large family. Benjamin Dye, born in 1810, is still living. He is the son of Thomas and Nancy Dye, and is said to have been the first white child born in Brookfield Township.
Ezekiel Dye, Jr., settled on the east side of the creek on a farm ad joining his brother Thomas'. He married Nancy Sprague, lived and died here, and reared a large and respectable family. William, his brother, lived near the others, in Muskingum County. John, another brother, married Catharine Sears and settled on the creek, above the farms of Thomas and Ezekiel. Amos Dye married Sophia Dye, of Washington County, resided here some years, then returned to Washington County, where he died. Two daughters of, Ezekiel Dye, Sr., came to this township with the family, but returned to the East after a few years. The second wife of Ezekiel Dye, Sr., was Sarah Paul; she bore twelve children, of whom two, Fir- man and Elizabeth (Maxwell) of Morgan County, are still living. Joseph, Lewis, James and Firman were the names of the sons.
Vincent Dye, son of Ezekiel, Sr., was born in Westmoreland County,. Pa. He married Anna Waddle, whose parents came from Pennsylvania and located in the vicinity of Cumberland early in the present century. To them were born thirteen children—E. .J., Isabella, Elah, James, Elizabeth, Melinda, Cassie, Miner, Madison, Wesley, Johnson,
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Robert and Polly. Of these, E. J., Elah, Miner, Isabella, Elizabeth, Melinda and Cassie are still living, only E. J. Dye in Noble County at present.
E. J. Dye was born in Brookfield Township November 19, 1812. In 1836 he married Mahala Smith Three sons and six daughters were born of this union. Two of the daughters are dead. Johnson L. Dye, one of the sons, enlisted in Company B, Sixty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, October 22, 1861; re-enlisted January 1, 1864. He was in the engagements at Winchester, Deep Bottom, Chapin Farm, Petersburg, Appomattox, etc. After being mustered out at the close of the war, and remaining at home a year, he went to Kansas and thence to Fort Saunders, Dak. The family has never heard from him since, and it is supposed that he was killed by the Indians. E. J. Dye is a farmer and stock-raiser. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and has served eighteen years as justice of the peace. He had all the experiences incident to life in the backwoods, and remembers when the whole township was sparsely settled. When he was a boy his father used to send him into the woods to hunt for cows, tying a bell upon him so that he might be found in case he lost his way.
When the Dyes came to Brookfield they were obliged to go to Waterford, on the Muskingum, for milling. Salt was very hard to procure, and very high. Much of it used in the southern Ohio settlements was brought across the mountains on horseback by means of pack saddles. " Alum salt" was salt mixed with red pepper, that it might be used more economically. The first mill in the neighborhood of Renrock was a horse-mill, owned by Thomas Dye. There were no early water-mills in this part of the township.
Judge William Rannells was born in Tygart's Valley, Va., in 1769. When thirteen years of age he went to Washington County, Pa., with his parents. In 1796 he married Rhoda Bush. In 1809 he entered the land on which J. V. Rannells now lives and in the following year moved his family to it. He was one of the very earliest settlers of the township, and the family had all the varied experiences of pioneer life. Judge Rannells was the father of eleven children, ten of whom reached mature years. He died in 1856, his wife in 1864. He was a man of more than ordinary intelligence and good judgment.
J. V. Rannells was born in Brookfield Township, on the old homestead, March 2,1815, and is therefore among the oldest residents of the township. At the age of twenty-six he married Miss Laura Bay, who died in 1845. One child was born of this marriage. In 1846 he married Miss Rachel Falls. Four children were born of this union, two now living. Mr. and Mrs. Rannells are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. John Rannells, son of the above, enlisted in 1862 in the Ninth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, and served until
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February, is o. I le was killed while on a scouting expedition, near Winnsboro, S. C.
J. F. Rannells was born on the homestead in 1849. In 1878 he married Miss Sarah Allison. They have three children. Mr. Rumens and wife belong to the Presbyterian church.
Jacob Jordan and his sons, Adam and Peter, were among the earliest settlers near the township line in the vicinity of Hiransburg. Henry Hamilton, a brother-in-law of Jacob Jordan, was an early settler in the same neighborhood. While this was still a part of Guernsey County, elections were held at the house of the Jordans.
Jacob Jordan, a Revolutionary soldier, came to this township in 1810 and left it in 1818. His son Peter was born in Greene County, Pa., in 1797, came to this county when young, and died in Brookfield Township in 1808. He married Rachel Albin, whose father, James Albin, Was a Revolutionary soldier. Mrs. Jordan was born in Virginia in 1791. She died in 1881. Peter Jordan came to the farm on which John Jordan now lives in 1814. The whole country was then very wild, and bears, wolves and panthers inhabited it. Mrs. Jordan brought from Guernsey County a willow sprout which she used as a riding whip, and on reaching her home stuck it in the ground. It grew into a tree and is now about seventy years old. and fifteen feet in circumference. John Jordan was born in Brookfield Township December 23, 1823. In 1845 he married Nancy Downey, a native m Buffalo Township. They have five sons and four daughters. Of their sons P. D. Jordan is a merchant, postmaster, notary and a railroad agent; S. S. Jordan is a farmer and carpenter ; W. F. Jordan, telegraph operator and railroad agent; G, C. Jordan is a farmer in Illinois; J. D. Jordan is in the store of his brother, P. D. Jordan. John Jordan has always followed farming.
Dye's Fork of Meigs Creek was once a favorite hunting-ground for the Indians, When Ezekiel Dye, Sr., began his clearing, he was visited by two Indians. As he saw them approaching, he beard them muttering in their own language, and from their looks and tones he concluded they were not at all pleased at his intrusion. He feared they might attack him and kept a firm hold upon the handspike with which he was at work until his visitors had departed, intending to use it over their heads in case of hostile demonstrations.
When the Dyes came to the country, they had to go to Duck Creek, Bates Fork and Waterford to get help to raise their cabin. When the first barn was raised, settlers were summoned from many miles to assist, They came a day in advance of the raising, and remained' three days before they had finished their work.
A few years after the Dyes came James Lyons, who settled on the creek two miles from Renrock. Soon after he came here all his daughters died of consumption. His sons were James, Joseph and John.
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Until after the War of 1812 settlers came in very slowly. All the early arrivals chose farms upon the creeks. When Morgan County was organized in 1819 settlement had so far advanced as to make Brookfield one of the most populous townships of the county. But it was years later before all the land in the township was taken up.
Henry Hamilton, a native of South Carolina, was among the earliest settlers, locating about 1808 on the farm now owned by Adam Hamilton. He married Sarah Jordan. Six of their children are living. He died in 1830.
Clark E. Green and his brothers, Oliver and David, were among the early settlers. The former was killed by the kick of a horse. Oliver was accidentally shot by James Hunter while hunting. The charge entered his head, killing him instantly.
David Green was born in Spencer, Mass., December 27, 1797, and was probably the oldest man living in the township. He died May 21, 1887. In 1823 he married Augusta Brown, in Massachusetts. She died in 1842, having borne one child — Edward. In 1841 he married Mary Pearson. Their children are David J. and Mary A. (twins), and Lewis H. Edward and Lewis H. were in the service in the late war. Mr. Green first came to Ohio about 1820. He came through in a two-horse wagon. While on the way he had the misfortune to lose his pocket-book at a tavern. He recovered the book, but a check on the Marietta bank which it contained was gone. He succeeded in getting the money on the check by notifying the officers of the bank. He remained in Ohio about a year, cutting cord-wood near Duncan's Falls, for salt works upon the river. He took his pay in salt, which was then worth $1.50 per bushel. After his marriage (August 21, 1823,) he returned to Ohio and located where he now lives. A few years later he erected a mill for the manufacture of castor oil. The machinery, invented by himself, consisted of an inclined plane and a beam worked by horse power. As the beam was drawn over the inclined plane the oil was pressed out. There was a great demand for it, and Mr. Green traveled about the country with a horse and wagon, selling it. At one time in Newark, Ohio, before breakfast, he sold enough oil to pay for forty acres of land. He also sold oil by the barrel in Zanesville and other places. He continued this business about ten years. An acre of land would produce eight or ten bushels of beans, and one bushel would make about a gallon and a half of oil. The beans were dried in buildings similar to tobacco barns. Mr. Green also erected one of the early saw-mills of the township. Mr. Green has been a member of the Baptist church about sixty-two years, and for over fifty years has been a deacon. He has been justice of the peace, and held the office of township treasurer twenty years. He has been a successful farmer, and has done much to introduce new and improved breeds of stock. He has also made some inventions which he has patented. He is
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gifted with true Yankee ingenuity.
David J. Green was born in Brookfield Township, December 7, 1845. In 1869 he married Mary A. Fairchild, who died in 1881. Their children are Charles F., David E., Henry O. and Luella M. In 1883 Mr. Green married Miss Mary Wilson. He is largely engaged in farming and breeding fine stock, cattle, hogs, sheep, etc. He has held the office of township trustee, is a member of the Baptist church, and also of the Masons and Odd Fellows.
Following are the names of the owners of lands and houses in Brookfield Township (township 8, range 10) in 1826, taken from the tax duplicate of Morgan. County for that year :
Michael Archer, Andrew Ault, Joseph Amberry, John Byers, Henry Brindley, Giles Briggs, Asa Burlingame, Richard C. Bond's heirs, James Bates, John Barkess (Barkhurst ?), Joseph Bell, Horace Blanchard, Linus Bacon, William Bates, Joseph Blackburn, Samuel Byers, Findley Collins; Elijah Collins, Daniel Curtis, Stephen Chariot, James Craig, William Campbell, Vincent Dye, Ezekiel Dye, Ezekiel Dye, Jr., Thomas Dye, John Dye, John Draper, Charles Downey, Thomas Downey, Robert Frakes, Henry Frakes, James Guy, Clark E. Green, Oliver W. Green's heirs, Presley George, Henry Hamilton, James Hunter, Henry Hunter, Silas Hurd, Erastus Hoskins, Jacob Jones, John Jones, Adam Jordan, Abraham Lett, Alexander Love, Robert Lansing, James Lyon's heirs, Joseph Lip pitt, Thomas N. Muzzy, William McElroy, James McElroy, Henry McElroy, James McKee, Thomas McCleary, Hugh Nickerson, John Prouty, Russell Prouty, William Rannells, James Robinson (of Virginia), James Robinson, John Richey, Cyril Richardson, William Springer, Solomon Schemmerhorn, Nathan Smith, Francis Scott, Eleazer Spooner, John D. Spark, Richard Thorla, Daniel Whitmore, Thomas Wharton, Andrew Wharton, Christopher Westcott, James Watson. Value of real estate, $11,142 ; total tax on real estate, $111.42.
Asa Burhngame was a Yankee, and a prominent early settler. He held the office of justice of the peace and was also a school-teacher. Several of his descendants are living in the township.
Benjamin Brindley was an honest and industrious backwoodsman, and lived to a ripe old .age. Horace Blanchard came from Massachusetts in 1816, settled in the southwest part of the township, and there kept hotel several years ; Daniel Curtis, also from Massachusetts, about the same time. He was noted for his musical ability. He went west and died there.
One of the first schools was taught in the old bean house, without floor, on Linus Bacon's farm. The early teachers there were Thomas N. Muzzy, Nancy Harkness, James Warren, Israel Jordan, McAllister, and John M. Foster.
Jotham Sprague, from Massachusetts, located near Hiramsburg and died there. He was a lawyer, or
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pettifogger, but had little legal business.
Thomas N. Muzzy was an influential man among the pioneers, and through his efforts several New Englanders were induced to try their fortunes in the Ohio country. The New Englanders, accustomed to hills, were not so averse to locating upon them as were the Pennsylvanians and Virginians, who sought to obtain bottom lands.
Alexander Love married a daughter of Judge Rannells, and lived on an adjoining farm. He was a fine man. His widow is living in Cumberland at an advanced age.
William and James McElroy located in the central part of the township. They were shoemakers, and plied their trade at their homes.
James Robinson came from Virginia and located on a farm adjoining Horace Blanchard's. John Richey came from Wheeling. He was a prominent citizen, and served several years as a justice of the peace.
Jacob Jones was the successor of William Bates, the pioneer settler on Bates' Branch. He had a brother John, who settled near Hiramsburg. Jones died here and his large family went to Indiana.
Abraham Lett and James Dye were colored men who had formerly been slaves. Set free by their masters, they entered land adjoining the Muskingum County line, and ended their days there.
Henry Hunter located near the center of the township about 1812, and near him his sons, James and Henry. Silas Hurd, from Massachusetts, located on a farm adjoining Hunter's. He married a sister of Captain Hill, of Zanesville. The family were noted for their musical ability, and for their interest in education. Several of them were successful teachers.
The earliest school attended by the people of the southwest part of the township was within the present limits of Morgan County. Among the early teachers there were Ross, Jordan, and David Green.
December 4, 1810, a petition was presented to the commissioners of Guernsey County, asking for a road, to commence at Cambridge, to intersect the State road to Marietta. The petition was granted, and viewers appointed to meet at the house of William Rannells the second Monday of January, 1811. Robert Latta and William Rannells gave bond for the cost that might arise from viewing said road.
The township had twenty or more male inhabitants above twenty-one years of age in 1817. The law required that number before trustees could be elected for the school section. August 4, 1817. en petition of Abraham Jordan and others, an election was ordered for that purpose, to be held at the house of Jacob Jordan, August 25. All the early elections were held at the same place, the first being held June 23, 1810, for the purpose of choosing justices and other township officers for Buffalo Township, Guernsey County, in which Brookfield was then included.
In the eastern part of the township schools were taught for several
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years in old buildings and deserted cabins. The first school-house where the pupils from this part of the township attended was built at Hiramsburg. Asa Burlingame, Nancy Harkness and Moses Hardy were early. teachers. The last was one of the best teachers in this part of the country. He was a New England er.
The Downeys, a numerous family, were among the early settlers. Merriman Downey is among the old residents of the township.
The early manufacturers of the township were not extensive. Henry Hamilton had a saw mill which ran a few years. Russell Prouty constructed a saw-mill which was a curious specimen of Yankee ingenuity As the stream on which he desired to locate it was too small to furnish sufficient water power, he built an aqueduct, bringing water from another stream, and thus increased the volume of water. " Humph ! Might as well try to carry the water in your hat," was the sarcastic comment of one of his neighbors, a man named Bartlett, when he saw what Prouty was trying to do. Prouty, however, had his Own ideas and his own way of doing things, and nothing short of a total failure would convince him that he was wrong. lie first started a store, then built a saw-mill, and after the failure of these engaged in the manufacture of castor oil.
Henry Hamilton was the proprietor of one of the early horse mills. It was run by two horses, and they went " round and round," An old resident says a mouse could eat the meal about as fast as it came from the mill.
A woolen-mill was put in operation near Renrock about 1841. A man named. Bigger was the proprietor. He sold out to Mr. Bush. The old mill is no longer in operation.
Joseph Bush began operations at the Renrock woolen factory in 1853. He carded, spun and made cloth for the whole surrounding country. He carried on the business for fifteen years or more, then turned it over to his son, W. H. Bush, who ran the factory for three years, selling off his machinery on account of scarcity of water to run it. W. H. Bush afterward was engaged in the same business at McConnelsville and at Beverly, and is now one of the proprietors of the Caldwell woolen-mill.
The first store at Renrock was started about 1845, by a Mr. Boman from Morgan County. The. post-office was established some years later. The place now contains two stores, a blacksmith shop and the postoffice.
From published reminiscences by Dr. Charles Draper, of Cumberland, a native of Brookfield Township, we gather the following items relative to settlers on the Bates branch of Buffalo Fork of Will's Creek.
The earliest settlement in the vicinity was made within the present limits of Guernsey County. A man named May entered eighty acres in 1806, on the present Covert farm near Cumberland. He was followed by Esquire Lattey, Thomas Bay and others. The latter located where
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Cumberland now is in 1812. Thomas N. Muzzy, of Massachusetts, arrived June 23, 1814, and on the 4th of July entered land adjoining the Bays in this township. He not only began improving his land at once, but speedily erected and put in operation a grist-mill and a aw-mill, which was the first in the neighborhood. He taught the first school, organized the first Sunday school, and laid the foundation for the first church and the first temperance society in the valley. He was an 1812 soldier. He named Spencer Township, Guernsey County, after Spencer, Mass., where he was born. He died at the age of ninety-four.
William BenneIls was one of the first associate judges of Morgan County, and in the absence of the presiding judge acted as president judge at the first term of court held at McConnelsville in 1819. He came horn . Pennsylvania, and settled on land now owned by his son Joseph. He was a man of enterprise, intelligence and good judgment. He was an active member of the first church, and an exemplary citizen. He erected the first frame barn in Brookfield Township. and at an early date built a brick house.
Dr. Ziba Lindley, a son-in-law of Judge Rannells, located where Johnson Allison now lives. He was the first physician in the township, and among the first in the present county, and is beheved to have been skillful and successful. He removed to the West many years since, and died at an advanced age.
Colonel Linus Bacon, from Massachusetts, located in 1819 on lands now owned by his son David. He was noted as a musician and a scholar. Ire taught several winter schools. He died in 1864.
William Bates, after whom the Bates branch is named, is believed to have been the first settler on the creek, preceding Muzzy, Rannells and others by a few years. He came from Pennsylvania and was a true woodsman. He was especially noted as a bear hunter and is believed to have killed more bears than any other pioneer of the neighborhood. He was rough in manner and not popular among Ins neighbors. Claiming to be the oldest settler on the creek he sought to run the affairs of the neighborhood. His mark upon hogs was to cut of both ears close to the head. He sold out to Elijah Collins in 1829.
Andrew Wharton, from Wheeling, W. Va., settled in the valley in 1816. He was a prominent man and was the first justice of the peace in Brookfield Township, holding the office from 1819 to 1822. He was also the first merchant and the first postmaster. In 1820-3 he was one of the commissioners of Morgan County. He lived on the Harrah farm, now owned by William Stranathan. He died about 1833.
Russell Prouty came, in the spring of 1816, settling on lands now owned by the widow Prouty. IIc was from Spencer, Mass. A peculiar industry was started by him--at mill for the manufacture of castor oil. He induced his neighbors to raise beans for him, and the business became so
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extensive that several hundred acres were planted annually. The industry was profitable not only to Mr. Prouty, but also to those from W whom he purchased the raw material. In 1844 he engaged quite largely in bee-culture. In 1853, on account of ill health, he revisited Massachusetts, where he died soon after his arrival.
In 1817 John Draper (father of Dr. Draper, of Cumberland) settled on a farm adjoining Prouty. He made the journey from Massachusetts in it one-horse wagon and was twenty-nine days on the way. He purchased a tract upon which a cabin and a small improvement had previously been made by Rev. James Moore, a Presbyterian clergyman, and the first minister of the valley. In 1821 Mr. Draper erected a frame barn and in 1831 a brick house, both of which are still standing. In 1834 he brought the first Durham cattle to the township. He named Brookfield Township after Brookfield, Mass., where he formerly lived. He died in 1877 at the age of eighty-nine years.
James Watson came from Massachusetts and settled in 1817 just below where the Baptist church now stands. He returned to the East alter a brief residence.
John and James Ginn, Irishmen, came to the present Eakin farm early. They were weavers by trade. They moved west several years since.
The editor is indebted to Mr. O. L. Hunter for the following items of history relative to his school district:
The present Walter Downey farm was entered by Henry Brindley, who came from Virginia in 1815. After obtaining a title to the land he turned it over to his son Benjamin, who cleared and improved it. The latter was a peculiar man, and spent much of his time in hunting, in which he was quite successful, He died quite early and John Brill& ley took possession of the estate.
The John Hamilton farm was entered by John 'Parkhurst. It was cleared and farmed for many years by Henry Teener, whose son Henry now lives in Caldwell. John Hamilton's father was a noted hunter,
The farm of William Jordan was first occupied by him, but he did not. enter the land. A man named Miley, knowing that Jordan was making arrangements to secure it, went to the land office in 1832 and entered it. Jordan obtained the deed by selling a horse to Dilley. This was the last land entered in the district, and perhaps the last in the county.
The farm owned by Newton Allison was entered by Adam Jordan, who came from Greene County, in Pennsvlvania. He lived upon the place until his death, after which the farm was sold to William Stranathan, and by him to Joseph Covert. On this farm was erected the first school-house in the district. The school was taught by John Hunter, brother of Samuel Bunter. The windows were made of greased paper, and the door of clapboards. One end of the room was all taken up by a huge fireplace. That part of the farm lying north of the road was entered by Robert Lansing, from Vermont.
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The farm now owned by the widow Green was entered by Cyril Richardson, from Spencer, Mass. Here Clark Green lived and erected the earliest tannery in this part of the county. The farm now owned by Mrs. Glass was also entered by Richardson, and sold to Oliver Green. Thomas Connor, Dr. Stone, Esquire Worley, George Dickerson and Moses Glass afterwards owned the farm successively.
Eleazer Spooner entered land in 1816. (See notice elsewhere.) Mr. Spooner was. a good citizen, and always took an active interest in public schools, churches and Sabbath schools.
The farm now conducted by Mr. Trott was entered by Thomas N. Muzzy in 1816. The farm known as the Thomas N. Muzzy farm was entered by him in 1814, and was the first land entered in the district. Mr. Muzzy came through from Massachusetts with a team, and after reaching Cambridge was obliged to cut a road the rest of the way, his wife driving the team. His son Edwin bought the farm, sold it to Samuel Hathaway, and he to H. C. Hunter.
The farm of Jacob Archer was entered by James Marshall, from Pennsylvania. The farms of J. S. Morgan and II. C. Hunter were entered by Clark Green, from Massachusetts.
The Taylor farm was entered by James McElroy in 1815. He sold to his son William and from him it was purchased by John Taylor, the present owner. 429
The James Hunter farm was entered by a man named Clark, who soon sold to Jonas Bemis. Beemis sold to James Hunter and his heirs sold to the present owner. Henry Hunter came from Pennsylvania and entered a tract of land in 1814. He was one of the first ruling elders of the Buffalo Presbyterian church at Cumberland. When the Hunters came, the nearest postoffice was at Chandlersville. After the death of Henry Hunter the farm was sold to Samuel Hunter. He operated the first threShing machine in this section, and people came for miles to see the wonderful machine. Mr. Hunter is still living on the farm and has lived in Muskingum, Morgan and Noble Counties without once moving from the place.
Judge Francis Scott was one of the prominent early settlers. In early years he was one of the three associate judges of Morgan County. He was born in County Donegal, Ireland, in 1781, and -came to Pennsylvania with his parents when young. He migrated west to Brooke County, W. Va , and was there married in 1809 to Miss Mary Meek. He came to Ohio about 1810 and located in Jefferson County, but returned to West Virginia after a brief residence, and thence went to Washington County, Pa. In 1818 he removed to Brookfield Township, where he lived the remainder of his life. He was the father of six sons and two daughters.
Judge Scott was accustomed to market his oats in Cambridge at 123,- cents per bushel, carrying them
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thither on a pack-saddle. He was remote from neighbors and all the surroundings were of the wildest character. He kept a few calves which he was obliged to fasten in a pen at night to keep them from the wolves. Often he went out to drive the wolves away. and was scarcely back to the house before they would return again.
John W. Scott was born on the farm where he now resides, November 11, 1822. and has always lived in the township. He is one of the prominent arid progressive farmers of the township. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant Church and has held the office of township trustee ; also, township treasurer. lie was married in 1849 to Miriam Thompson, and is the father of six sons, all living but one. Mr. Scott was formerly a Whig and is now a Republican.
Sylvester Scott, son of Judge Francis Scott, was born March 29, 1825, on the farm where he now lives. He has followed farming as his principal occupation. In 1848 he married Susannah Thompson, a native of Guernsey County. Three children have been born to them, of whom two are living, a daughter and a son. The oldest daughter married Edward Bartlett, and died in 1876. Time second daughter married John Beckett, and lives at home. The son lives on a part of the old homestead. The family belong to the Methodist Protestant church. Mr. Scott was formerly a Whig, and is now a Republican.
Finley Collins, an early settler, after coming to Ohio, first worked at the salt works near Chandlersville. A few years later came his father, Elisha Collins, and his twin brothers, Elijah and Elisha. They also had a half-brother named John. Finley Collins made a great deal of maple sugar in early times, which be marketed at a good price. In 1810 Finley Collins married Margaret Shull. Their children were Sarah, John C., Mary, I Iannah, Michael, Maria, Ira, Jacob, Silas, William and Margaret. Sarah (Smith), Maria (McClelland), Ira, William and Margaret (Dunnick) are living. At one time Mr. Collins was in the service of the government against the Indians.
John C. Collins was born September 4, 1813, on the farm now owned by William Collins. In 1848 he married Sarah H. McLees, a native of Muskingum County. They have had eight children. Margaret J. (McCleary), Hannah, Loudema (Trimble), Sarah E. (Miller) and Charles S., are living; Amanda A., Mary C. (Taylor) and John Franklin, dead. Mr. Collins died in 1883. He was a Universalist in religion, and was well posted on all current affairs. He was one of the early abolitionists of this region. Four of the daughters have been teachers.
George Ayers, a native of one of the Southern States, was born about 1811. He came to Guernsey County with his parents, and there married Nancy Brannon, who bore seven children, six of whom are living. e died in 1883, and his wife in 1870. David Ayers, son of George,
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was born in Noble Township in 1844. In 1869 he married Miss Alwild Willey. *Their children are Luella and Willie. Mr. Ayers served in the late war in the One Hundred and Sixty-first and One Hundred and Ninety-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He is a successful farmer, and a member of the Methodist Protestant church. He has served as justice of the peace.
James Eakin was born near Gettysburg, Pa., in 1807, and came to Harrison County, Ohio, in 1816. In 1830 he married Miss Elizabeth B. Foster, and in 1836 settled on his present farm. He has held the office of county commissioner six years, and was justice of the peace nine years. lie has been a member of the Presbyterian church fifty-six years.
John Moore, the first justice of the peace in this township after the organization of Noble County, entered upon the duties of his office November 18, 1851.
Isaac M. Combs, a prominent farmer, was born in 1839 on the farm now owned by John M. Combs. In 1801 he married Agnes B. Squier. Children : Frank D., Well S., John E,, Estella F., Albert, Charles S., Cora M. and Fred. Mrs. Combs• died in 1884. She was born in Pennsylvania and in early life came to Guernsey County with her parents. Mr. Combs deals largely in stock and is prominently identified with the interests of the township. He is an active Republican.
Samuel Jewett was an early settler in the western part of the township. He was a Yankee and removed to Iowa after residing here some years. Jesse George was a revolutionary soldier who settled and died in the southern part of the township. Presley George located near Thorla. He came from Massachusetts and married Mary; daughter of Hugh Nickerson. He emigrated to Iowa in 1840. His son Melvin, then two years of age, is now a Congressman. from that State.
Richard Thorla, one of the pioneers of the township, was born in Newbury port, Mass., October 13, 1791. When he was a child his parents removed to New Hampshire, where he lived until 1815. In that year in company with William McAllister. and family he came to Marietta. In 1817 he married Camilla McAllister and settled on the Ohio River, about a mile above the mouth of Duck Creek. In 1818, with two of the McAllisters—— William and his son James— he visited Illinois, going down the Ohio and up the Mississippi in a pirogue as far as the mouth of the Kaskaskia. They were not pleased with the country or the climate and started for home, crossing the Wabash at Vincennes and making their way toward North Bend. Before they reached the Ohio William McAllister died and was buried by his son and son in-law in Hartford, Ohio County, Ind. The younger McAllister and Thorla eventually reached home, though suffering greatly from disease caused by the malarious climate to which they had exposed themselves. In 1819 Thorla entered a quarter section of
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land on Dye's Fork, in Brookfield, and in 1823 removed to it with his wife and family of two children. He died in 1859 at the age of sixty- eight; his widow died in 1878, aged eighty six. Their children were Elvira, who married Seth Andrews, and was the mother of Prof. Martin R. Andrews, of Marietta; Caroline, who married John Jamison; Mary, wife of Simon Nickerson, now living in Oregon; F. W., who lives on the home place; A. H., who married Martha Stevens; he enlisted in November, 1861, in Company I, Sixty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry and served three years. A. H. Thorla occupies a part of the homestead farm. His children living are Maggie, Minnie and Richard V.
F. W. Thorla, a farmer and distiller, was born May 22, 1832,. in Brookfield Township. He married Sarah. A. Stevens and is the father of Silas, Ellsworth, Florence, Linda, George McAllister and Milo.
Thomas Thorla, the grandfather of F. W. and A. H. Thorla, was born in New England in 1748. He served as a soldier throughout the Revolutionary War. Three of his sons having come to Ohio, he followed them, arriving in Marietta with his aged wife about 1828. He lived at Olive some years and died in December, 1835.
John Murphy, son of Daniel Murphy, a native of Ireland and now a resident of Buffalo Township, was born in Buffalo Township in 1843. In 1869 he married Lena Gregg and in 1872 settled in Brookfield. Mr. Murphy is the father of three children, one of whom is living. He is a farmer and a member of the Presbyterian church.
George W. Gander was born in Muskingum County, January 6, 1836. His father, David Gander, a native of Virginia, came to that county quite early and died there in 1872. In 1857 G. W. Gander married Miss Cindrella Hicks, who was born in Guernsey County. They have six daughters and two sons. Mr. Gander located on his present farm in 1862. He is a successful farmer and stock-dealer. In 1864 he enlisted in Company H, One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served until honorably discharged. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church.
Benjamin C. Lukens was born in Maryland in 1812. His father and grandfather lived in Harford County in that State. In 1833 he married Miss Louisa W. Smith, of his native State, and about six years later came to Brookfield Township, settling on an unimproved farm. He is the father of five children, four livingB. S., Cumberland, Ohio; John C,, Kansas; Joseph F. (a graduate of Ohio University, Athens, 1866), superintendent of schools, Lebanon, Ohio ; Lizzie H. (Arrick), Reinersville, Ohio. Joseph F. was in the late war, served under General Thomas and was taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry. Mr. Lukens is a Republican and a member of the Methodist Protestant church. He was living at Baltimore at the time the first railroad was put in operation between that place and Ellicott's mills.
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The cars were drawn by one horse, upon wooden rails.
John B. Dye, son of Thomas Dye, was born in Brookfield Township, March 20, 1832. In 1862 he married Margaret Elder. They have one child-Elmer N. Mr. and Mrs. Dye are members of the Methodist Protestant church. In politics he is a Democrat.
David Elder and wife (nee Elizabeth Neil) came to the present Elder farm about 1840. his children were Mary A., Julia and Margaret, born in Pennsylvania, and David, Vance N, and Eliza A., born in Ohio. Julia and Mary are dead. Mr. Elder died in 1873 and his wife in 1881. They were members of the. Presbyterian church. Mr. Elder held the offices of township trustee, township clerk and justice of the peace.
Jason Tilden was born near Belfast, Me., in 1805. His parents settled in Muskingum County, Ohio, in 1817. Jason was brought up in the family of John Draper, an early settler and prosperous farmer in Brookfield. In 1830 he married Jane Richey, a native of Virginia. Both he and his wife died in 1883. They had eleven children, five of whom are living,
The first mail route between Mc- Connelsville and Cambridge was established in 1827 or 1828. Jason Tilden was the first mail-carrier. A man named Johnson was the contractor. There were then but five offices between McConnelsville and Cambridge. One of them (at Wharton's) was in Brookfield Township. The mail was carried once each week.
Eleazer Spooner was born in Oakham, Worcester County, Mass., June 28, 1794. A number of the early settlers of Brookfield were from the same county. In company with Clark E. Green, William Watson and Cyril Richardson, he came to Brookfield Township in 1816. He was a shoemaker, and brought the tools of his trade with him. He worked at farming in summer and at his trade in winter. He entered 160 acres on section 3, and in 1818 erected a cabin. In the following year he married Isabella Beach, who is still living at the age of eighty-six. They had one son and ten daughters; five of the daughters are yet living. Mr. Spooner sold a part of his farm quite early, taking his pay in installments, some of which were as low as twenty-five cents. He died April 19, 1884. He served as township trustee nineteen years.
James Bartlett and his wife, whose maiden name was Nancy Knowlton, removed from Massachusetts to Upsher County, W. Va., about 1810. After twenty years' residence there he removed to Brookfield Township. He died January 11. 1868, in Spencer Township, Guernsey County. His widow died in 1876. They had ten children, most of whom were born in Virginia. Seven daughters are yet living. Henry D. Bartlett, born in West Virginia, came to Brookfield in 1830. In 1840 he married Sarah Throckmorton. He reared a family of ten children, eight of whom are living. In 1874 he removed to Washington County, where he died
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March 23, 1886. James Bartlett was born in 180 on the farm where he now lives. He has held the offices of township trustee and justice of the peace. In 1872 he married Celinda Burlingame. They have six children — Sarah Alice, Francis, Florence, Harriet, Susan and Edward Henry.
John Allison was born in Washington, Pa., in 1810. In 1840 he removed to Cumberland, Ohio, and thence to the farm in Brookfield Township, where he died. In 1852 he married Nancy Johnson, who died in 1857, having born three children, two of whom are living. In 1862 he married Mrs. Rebecca Hatton (nee Bartlett). He was a member of the Presbyterian church. He died in 1880. His sons, J. J. and J. F. Allison, are prominent farmers, and members of the Presbyterian church. J. J. Allison was born in Spencer Township, Guernsey County, in 1853. In 1886 he married Miss Mary Green. J. F._ Allison was born in Spencer Township in 1855.
Henry Hunter, a native of Ireland, was an early settler on the farm now owned by Miles B. Hunter. Five of his children are yet living: Samuel, Nancy, Margaret, William and Ebenezer. The family came to the township about 1814. Samuel Hunter was born in Butler County, Pa., in 1806, and has resided in the township since the family located here. He married Eliza Chapman and is the father of eight children, seven of whom are living.
Rev. Joseph Thrap, well known to old residents, was born in Baltimore County, Md., October 16, 1776, and died in Muskingum County, Ohio, May 12, 1866. He joined the Methodist Episcopal church early in life. In 1792 his parents removed to the vicinity of Morgantown, W. Va. In 1796 Joseph responded to a call for volunteers to protect the frontier settlements against the Indians, and served for six months under Captain Dent. For this service he received a land warrant for 160 acres. In 1803 he married Jemima Van Camp, who died in 1867, in the eighty-fifth year of her age. In 1804 he came to Ohio, following an old Indian trail up the Captina, across Will's Creek and on to the Muskingum. He settled where Nashport now is and raised a crop of corn. The following September he brought his wife from Virginia and in 1805 removed to Licking County. In 1810 he settled in the southwest part of Muskingum County, where he continued to reside until his decease. For nearly sixty years he preached the Gospel without any fixed remuneration. He was the father of twelve children, eleven of whom reached mature years, and eight are still living. Two are ministers of the Methodist Protestant church—Rev. Joel Thrap, of Adrian, Mich., and Rev. Israel Thrap, of Coshocton County. Rev. Joseph Thrap was licensed before leaving Virginia. In 1805 he helped organize a Methodist church in Licking County and in April, 1806, the first quarterly meeting in that vicinity was held at his cabin. On the organization of the Methodist Protestant church he attached himself to it and adhered to it through life.
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John A. Thrap was born in Muskingum Township, Muskingum County, January 17, 1818. In 1842 he married Catharine, daughter of Judge Francis Scott, of Brookfield, and settled in this township in the following year. He is a prosperous farmer and a worthy citizen, a Republican and a member of the Methodist Protestant church. He is the father of two children, only one of whom is now living.
John Taylor, a native of Ireland, first located at Philadelphia, then moved to Holmesburg, Pa., where he lived four years in a house belonging to James Buchanan, afterward President. He settled in Brookfield Township in 1838 and died here in 1862.
The first school-house in the township was a log cabin on section 4. Among the early teachers of the township were Erastus Hoskins, Mary Brown, Josiah Burlingame and Asa Burlingame.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY.
Brookfield Baptist Church —This church was organized February 8, 1825, at the residence of Ezekiel Dye, Sr., Rev. James McAboy and Rev. William Reese, officiating ministers. The original members were William Smith, Catharine Smith, Fanny Tilden, Sarah Dye, Harriet Swank and Charity Bond. During the first year the following persons joined : Ezekiel Dye, Sr., Augusta Green, Ruth French, John Braughton, Elizabeth Bates, John Dille, Horace Blanchard, Clarissa Blanchard, Lenna Dalman, Rebecca Talbert, Hannah Kirkpatrick, Mary Downey, Mary George, Michael Archer, Jacob Paul, Elizabeth Paul, David Green, Mary Ann Wharton, Lydia M. Moler, Caspar Moler, Elizabeth Moler, Jacob French, James L. Delong, Agnes Delong, Peggy Downey, Lucy Richardson, Mary Bond, Joseph Taylor and Prestley George. William Smith was chosen the first deacon in August, 1825, and James L. Delong church clerk. James L. Delong was clerk until 1856, and was succeeded by Edward F. Green until 1861, when David Delong was chosen clerk. The latter holds the office at present. In May, 1826, Joseph Taylor was the first delegate to the Baptist Missionary Society, which met in Zanesville. A meeting-house about thirty feet square, of hewed poplar logs, was built on the site of the present house in the spring of 1826. The first annual meeting of the Meigs' Creek Association was held May 26 and 27, 1826, in this building, when it was only partly completed. The floor was not laid, and the sleepers served as seats. This association afterward met with the Brookfield church at the following times : August, 1831; August, 1838; August, 1847, and August, 1865. In 1871 the church was dismissed from the Marietta (formerly the Meigs' Creek) Association, and August 28, 1872, united with the Zanesville Association. The latter association met with Brookfield church in August, 1877 and 1886.
Brookfield church is the parent of a number of other churches. In
436 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
1839 a new Baptist congregation was organized on Dye's Fork of Meigs' Creek, three miles from the old church. This organization was short-lived, and many of its members returned to the parent church. In 1852 a branch was formed at Hiramsburg, and a meeting-house built there, which has since become the property of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. About the same time another branch was formed in Meigs Township, Muskingum County. In 1865 twenty- four members withdrew to form an independent Baptist church at Cumberland, Guernsey County. The pastors at Brookfield have been as follows : Rev. William Reese, 1825 -32; William Sedgwick, 1834-7; Robert H. Sedgwick, 1837-8; B. Y. Siegfried, 1838-40; Eber Crane, 1840-3; Henry Ward, 1843-9; Benjamin Thomas, 180-3; Edward Jones, 1853-7; John W. Warwick, 1858; A. J. Buel, 1859-62; Simeon Siegfried, 1862-4; G. W. Churchill, 1865-8; Henry Ward, 1868-71; S. G. Barber, 1872-3;. T. M. Erwin, 1873-80. The present pastor, Rev. E. W. Dannels, began his labors April 1,1882.
The following persons have been licensed by this church to preach the Gospel : Warren Knowlton, 1838; Alexander McElroy, 1852; Christopher Lippitt, Thomas Downey, 1862. The following ministers have been ordained by this church: B. Y. Siegfried, March, 1838; Warren Knowlton, June 20,1839. The following have served as deacons : William Smith, Prestley George, Welcome Ballou, David Green, John Smith, Thomas Moore, Edward F, Green, Josiah R. Knowlton, Harrison R. Dye and David Delong.
From the organization to the present time the church has had 460 members. The present membership is eighty-five. David Green, Sr., eighty-nine years old, is the only person still living and holding a membership since the first year of the existence of the church.
The present church building was begun in the spring of 1846, and the society took possession of it late in the fall of 1847.
BIOGRAPHIC.
JOHN GRAY.
One of the most remarkable characters that ever lived in Noble County was John Gray, of Brookfield Township. Although he was an early settler in the county, it is not to his name as that of a pioneer that most interest attaches. Far more important are the facts that made him celebrated, causing his name to be the theme of talented writers both of poetry and prose, and giving undying lustre to his simple, commonplace life. He was the last surviving soldier of the American army in the Revolutionary War.
John Gray* was born near Mount Vernon, Va., January 6; 1764, and spent his boyhood in that vicinity. His parents were poor and he was brought up to a life of toil and hardship. The same poverty was his con-
*For the facts contained in this sketch we are indebted to a pamphlet written and published by Hon. James M. Dalzell.
PICTURE OF JOHN GRAY
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dition throughout his long life. The first day that he ever worked out he was employed by George Washington at Mount Vernon. He seems to have been a favorite with the Father of his Country, who frequently shook hands with him and addressed to him encouraging words. He was the oldest of a family of eight children, and on his father joining the patriot army in 1777 he became the chief support of the family. Frequently the Grays were obliged to depend upon rabbits caught by John and his brother as their only meat. At one time John worked a week at ploughing for two bushels and a half of corn. His father fell at the battle of White Plains, and in 1781, John, at the age of eighteen years, volunteered and served until the close of the war, being present at the surrender of Cornwallis. He was in a skirmish at Williamsburg, and was one of 10 men sent on the dangerous but successful expedition of Major Ramay. After the war he returned to the vicinity of Mount Vernon and resumed work as a day laborer. At the age of twenty he married Nancy Do Nell and moved to Morgantown, Va. He was a western pioneer and lived at Dilley's Bottom and Fish Creek during the days of border warfare with the Indians. He came to Ohio while it was yet a territory. The year 1829 he settled in Noble County, where he passed the remainder of his days. He married his second wife, Nancy Ragan, at the Flats of Grave Creek. He again married in Ohio, but survived his wife and all his children except one. He spent the last years of his life at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Nancy McElroy, and died on the 29th of March, 1868, being in the one hundred and fifth year of his age. The records of the pension office at Washington prove that he was the last surviving pensioner of the Revolution. No pension was obtained for him until 1867, when, through the efforts of Hon. John A. Bingham, a bill was passed by Congress giving him $500 per year to date from July 1, 1866, as long as he lived.
John Gray was a man of spare and bony frame, five feet eight inches high, broad-chested, with a head that was well-shaped and massive. He had but one bad habit — he chewed tobacco for nearly one hundred years. He was a man of exemplary character and sound religious faith. He was a member of the Methodist church for nearly eighty years. In the later years of his life his hearing and sight became impaired and he was obliged to resort to crutches. He warmly sympathized with the Union cause during the late war, and lamented the course of his native State. Quietly, peacefully, as he had lived, the last of the Revolutionary veterans sank to rest amid the rural scenes which he loved so well. No proud monument adorns his resting place, but it is to be hoped that the public-spirited citizens of Noble County will some day see that an appropriate memorial stone is placed there.
PICTURE OF STEVENSON TRIMMER
The Trimmer Family.— Samuel Trimmer was born in New Jersey
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and when a child immigrated with his parents to Pennsylvania. His father, Paul Trimmer, was a soldier of the Revolution and participated in several notable engagements. He followed the Sea for several yearS and died about 1830, aged nearly one hundred years. His wife was a sister of General Anthony Wayne. Samuel Trimmer was a farmer, a very worthy citizen and an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church, as was also his wife. He died in 1847, aged fifty-seven.
Stevenson Trimmer was born in Washington County, Penn., March 11, 1815, and October 14, 1843, was married to Miss Ann McAdams. His worldly effects at this time inventoried one horse and $25 in money. After his marriage he began life as a farmer oil leased lands, and by his industry and thrift he prospered and soon acquired the nucleus of a competency. In 1852 he came from Pennsylvania to his present farm, which originally consisted of eighty acres of unimproved land, which by repeated accessions now contains 420 acres, highly im proved. In 1882 Mrs. Trimmer died. Her only child, James A., enlisted May 2, 1864, in Company H., One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and died in hospital at Cumberland, Md., June 9, 1864, in his twentieth year. He was an estimable young man, a member of the Presbyterian church and a good soldier. In 1885 Mr. Trimmer was again married to Mrs. Malinda Butterbaugh. In religious and political affiliation Mr. Trimmer is a Presbyterian and a Republican. For six years he has served the county as Infirmary director, receiving the suffrages of both parties. He is an elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian church and every worthy cause finds in him a warm friend and patron. He is one of those liberal, public-spirited gentlemen whose identification with any community is always productive of good. Five orphan children have been the recipients of his generosity, and throughout the entire county he is known as one of the most respected citizens of Brookfield Township.