544 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO
CHAPTER XXVIII.
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OLIVE GREEN TOWNSHIP, ORGANIZED IN 1819- CHANGE OF NAME — FIRST JUSTICES OF THE PEACE — TAXPAYERS IN 1826 - AARON HUGHS THE FIRST SETTLER — HUNTING ADVENTURES, AND OTHER DETAILS OF PIONEER LIFE — REASONER'S RUN — SLOW PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT—AN ENGLISH COLONY ARRIVES IN 1817 AND DOUBLES THE POPULATION—THEIR ADVENTURES— SEVENTEEN INMATES OF ONE CABIN—THE EARLIEST FAMILIES—EARLY SCHOOLS-POLITICS IN EARLY YEARS—BELL-MAKING BY THE KEITHS — WILBUR SPRAGUE'S NARROW ESCAPE — SHOT BY AN INDIAN — STORES AND BUSINESS INTERESTS — CHURCHES.
OLIVE GREEN TOWNSHIP, named after its principal stream, was one of the original townships of Morgan County, organized in 1819, and then embraced as at present, a full congressional township. A few years later, on account of the political complexion of the township, its name was changed to Jackson. It is the only township in the county whose boundaries were not changed after the erection of Noble County in 1851.
Jonathan Hugh s was commissioned justice of the peace for Olive Green township, August 18, 1819, and served a full term. Moses Grandstaff was commissioned justice October 21,1819. These were the first magistrates in the township.
The following list, copied from the Morgan County tax duplicate, gives the names of all owners of real estate in Olive Green Township (township 5, range 9), in the year 1836, and may therefore be regarded
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as1 a complete list of the pioneer settlers of the township at that date :
William Allison, William Barton, James Britton, Henry Carroll, Joseph Carroll, Aaron Carroll, William Carroll, Peter Cad well, Mary Cad well, Ebenezer Cunningham, Jarvis Eddleston, John Farley, Aaron Hughs, Jonathan Hughs, George Johnson, Henry Gore, Jacob Jordan, Peter Keith, Benjamin Keith, George Legg, John and Thomas Merritt, William Ole phant, William Roach, John B. Ripley's heirs, Wilbur Sprague's heirs, Abraham Secrest, Thomas Taylor, John Taylor, Peter Taylor, David Wallace, David Wilson. Number of acres, 3,638; value of land and houses, $4,449 ; tax on the same, $44.29.
Aaron Hughs was probably the first settler of the township. He was a native of Hardin County, Va., and a thorough backwoodsman. He came to Ohio in 1804, and located on Will's Creek, in Guernsey County. After making considerable improvements there, he sold out and removed to what is now Center Township, Morgan County. He sold his property on Will's Creek for $500, and the money was stolen from him soon after, while he was stopping at a tavern. He lived two years on Olive Green Creek, in Morgan County, then sold out his improvement for $150, and with $80 of this, made an entry of the land in Jackson Township, on which he lived and died. The year of his settlement in this township was either 1811 or 1812. He was chiefly engaged in hunting and trapping, and was expert in the use of the rifle. Equipped with a gun and a pocket compass and accompanied only by his faithful dog, he was at home anywhere in the forest. He killed deer and sold venison hams at twenty-five cents each ; got $2 and upward for the scalp of each wolf killed; and from skin, bounties and meat made more money than any pioneer could who devoted himself solely to farming. Hughs killed four large buck elk after coming to this township, and his son James killed another. These were the last elk ever seen in the western part of the county.
Aaron Hughs had a family of seven sons and five daughters. The names of his children were Phebe, Josie, Polly, Lucy, Rebecca, James, Amos, Gabriel, Aaron, Jonathan, William and John. Of these Gabriel is the only one now living in the county. William, John and Lucy still survive, and are residents of Iowa.
Gabriel Thighs was born in Hardin County, Va., in 1801, and has resided in Ohio since he was three years old. He has had far more experience in dealing with the world than usually falls to citizens of a new country ; also more extensive acquaintance with the difficulties and hardships that pioneers have to encounter. Mr. Hughs is still vigorous and healthy and delights to narrate his early adventures. For fifteen years he peddled bells for the Keiths, traveling through northern Ohio and parts of Indiana. At first he went on horse-
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back ; then as business grew better, with a wagon. The bells found a ready sale almost everywhere and the business was profitable. Mr. Hughs has owned and conveyed a very large amount of real estate during his lifetime.
In his boyhood Gabriel Hughs followed hunting with as much enjoyment as that occupation afforded to his father. Once his father shot and killed an old bear not far from his home, and the cubs which accompanied her, ran up a tree. Returning home for an ax, he went back to the place where the dead bear lay, attended by his sons, Amos and Gabriel, and his brother Jonathan. The cubs were seen on the ground but ran up a tree as the party approached. The tree was soon felled and four cubs were secured—three alive and one dead. Gabriel took a cub in his arms to carry home. After he had walked some distance the young bear became uneasy, manifested a desire to get down, and finally bit its captor. Gabriel threw it down and kicked it to death. One of the cubs was kept until three years old, becoming very tame so that it could be led about by a rope around its neck. Mr. Hughs finally sold it for $3 and a pen-knife.
When a boy of sixteen, Gabriel Hughs was accidentally shot by Timothy Gates while the two were deer- hunting. The boy was shot in the face and his jaw broken. His companion carried him to the nearest cabin, where he remained until the next morning, when he was carried home on a quilt and featherbed. He was five miles from home when the accident happened. Mr. Hughs still carries the scar.
Jonathan Hughs was a brother of Aaron, and came to the township a. few years later. He married in Muskingum County, settled in Guernsey County and came thence to Jackson Township, where he served many years as justice of the peace. His children were Sarah, Leah, Eliza, Mary, Rebecca, Abraham and James.
Reasoner's Run derives its name from a hunter named Reasoner, who came from Guernsey County, built a camp on this stream and remained here for some time hunting and trapping. This was long before the township had any permanent settlers.
The settlement of this township was of slow growth. Many pioneers were afraid of hill-farms, thinking the land worthless, or nearly so, and therefore this region had few attractions for them. The township is now well improved, and the farmers generally are prosperous.
In 1817, the arrival of several English families nearly doubled the population of the township. The members of this colony were Peter Taylor and his family, his brother John, a bachelor, Thomas Taylor, with a large family, Peter Cadwell and his family, together with his brothers, Richard, John and James, single men, two sisters, Margaret and Alice, and their mother, Mary Cadwell, Peter Gore and one son and two daughters. In all there were over thirty persons. Three only of these immigrants are now living—John Taylor, of Crooked
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Tree ; Mary Keith (nee Taylor), of Keith's, and James Taylor, son of Thomas, now in Illinois.
These English pioneers left Liverpool on a sailing vessel, and were sixty days on the ocean. They landed at Philadelphia, and after remaining about two weeks making preparations for their journey into the western wilds. started for Pittsburgh in two road wagons, each drawn by six horses. At Pittsburgh they bought a flat-boat, loaded themselves and their goods upon it, and started down the Ohio, some of the men rowing a part of the time to make better speed than the current afforded. They were intending to go to Cincinnati, then in the " far West," but falling in with one of the Keiths at Marietta, were led to abandon their purpose, through his account of the cheap and fertile lands yet unentered in Jackson Township. Accordingly, they sold their flat-boat at about one-half its original cost, and all came to the township and began the difficult and laborious task of subduing the forest and making themselves a home. Their inexperience caused the difficulties and hardships of pioneer life to assume mammoth proportions ; but relying upon the old maxim, " Where there is a will there is a way," they betook themselves bravely to their unfamiliar tasks, and soon had their cabins and clearings made and in good order. During nearly a year Thomas Taylor and his wife with their ten children, John Taylor, the bachelor, and Peter Taylor, his wife and two children all lived in the same cabin.
In the day time they could get along quite conveniently, as some members of the family were usually out of doors at work, but at night they found their quarters to be rather close.
Thomas Taylor settled on Big Run the year after he came, and there lived and died. His sons were John, Thomas, Peter and James. John amassed a good property, and died on Big Run.
Peter Taylor's children at the time of his arrival were John and Margaret. A son, Peter, was born later, and is still living in the West. John Taylor, oldest son of Peter Taylor, Sr., was born in England, January 1, 1814, and is still living. He has been a resident of Jackson Township since 1817, and is a worthy and respected citizen. His uncle John, who was one of the pioneer immigrants, died a bachelor.
Peter Gore was a widower when he came to this country. He lived on the creek, near the old Hughs' farm. His children were Henry, Mary and Ellen. James Cadwell, after his marriage, settled where John Wilson now lives. Peter Fernley came from England a few years later, married one of the Cadwell girls and settled in the township. James Britton, another Englishman, came to the township soon after the Taylors. He was an elderly man, and died shortly after his arrival. One day as he was out with a neighbor looking through the woods, chancing to hear a cow-bell, he said in all seriousness, " I was not aware that you had a church here."
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According to the recollection of John Taylor, the Hughses, Keiths, Carrolls, Wilbur Sprague and his family, the Merritts, and perhaps one or two others, were all that had settled in the township prior to 1817.
Marietta was the nearest trading place for these pioneers until Robert McKee opened a store at Olive, and Colonel Enoch S. McIntosh (still living) another at Ludlow. Rainey's mill at Macksburg was the only convenient mill, and that was often stopped for want of water. About 1829 a horse-mill was erected at Peter Taylor's ; Ebenezer Cunningham, who lived near where .Dexter City now is, and John Morgareidge were the millwrights.
George Carroll, a fine old man, who had served his country in the Revolutionary War, came from Will's Creek, in Guernsey County, and entered three quarter-sections of land on Reasoner's Run. He used to say that at the battle of Brandywine he and another comrade were the sole survivors out of all his regiment. His sons were Henry, Joseph, William and Aaron. A few representatives of the Carroll family still remain in the township.
Lewis Waller was an early settler, and lived on the school section. He was originally from Pennsylvania, but came here from Will's Creek. His brothers, Jesse, David, John and William, lived for a time on Big Run. Most of the Wallers went west. The Merritts also came from Will's Creek, and were intermarried with the Waller family. Daniel Merritt married Jane Waller, and John Merritt married Polly.
Moses Grandstaff, one of the first justices of the peace, was only a brief resident of the township. He married a sister of Lewis Waller. Jonathan Hughs, for many years the magistrate of the township, was a fine man and a leading citizen. Instead of encouraging litigation for his own emolument, he always sought to have his neighbors settle their disputes without resorting to legal measures. Many a dispute brought before him was amicably adjusted by the Squire's friendly advice without trial. The Squire lost his fees, but that did not trouble him if he could make two enemies friends.
Wilbur Sprague, son of one of the Washington County pioneers, came to the township about 1814, and settled on a farm adjoining that of Aaron Hughs. His adventures in the Indian War are elsewhere mentioned.
George Legg came about the same time, and made an entry of eighty acres. He was a Virginian, and a shoemaker by trade.
THE KEITHS.—Peter and Benjamin, were among the most prominent early settlers. They came about 1817, and took up farms. They were Pennsylvanians, and had lived on Tick Hill for a short time before removing here. Both were blacksmiths and bell-makers. Benjamin was the grandfather of W. B. Keith, Esq.
The Jordans were early settlers on Will's Creek, about five miles from Cambridge. Afterward he removed to the headwaters of Duck
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Creek, near Hiramsburg, where their descendants still remain. Jacob was the father, and he came to Jackson Township. He had nine sons and two daughters. Jacob and Isaac (twins), Elijah and David, were among his sons who resided several years in this township.
Charles Moore and Jeremiah Wilson, were among the first teachers in the township. Probably the first school-house was built near the western line of the township.
An early school was taught in a cabin in the Hughs and Gore neighborhood. Williams was the name of the teacher. Soon after a school was taught by a man named Wickham, in a cabin on Reasoner's Run. At an early date a log school-house was erected on the school section.
Jacob Miller, who lived in the school section, was an early blacksmith, and a good workman, but intemperate.
The honor of having cast the first Republican or anti-Democratic vote in Jackson Township is claimed by several. Gabriel Hughs says that Nathan Shockley (who lived as a squatter on Reasoner's Run) was the first Whig voter and for many years the only one.
John Taylor was an early justice of the peace. George Baker was a justice of the peace and a leading citizen for many years.
Until 1828 the township was a political unit — solidly Democratic. The Cad wells, Taylors, and other English settlers after becoming naturalized, voted against the Jacksonians, and thus the political strength of the latter was somewhat modified. It is related by one of the prominent early politicians that as he saw several anti-Jackson Englishmen approaching the polls in a body on election day, he cried with an oath, " Here comes the .British army ! "
David Wilson, who married a Carroll, was an early resident, and lived on Reasoner's Run.
John B. Ripley was among the first settlers. His descendants are still here. Hiram Ripley, his son, lived in the township several years, then moved away.
David Waller lived a number of years on the Wilson farm. He had a large family, most of whom went west. His brother Lewis was also an early resident of the township and died here.
John and Thomas Merritt were among the earliest settlers on Big Run. James and David, sons of Thomas, are still residents of the township.
William and Daniel Roach first settled on the Muskingum River, after ward removing to Big Run. William was killed by the falling of a tree, some years since.
The early settlers found it very difficult to procure sufficient salt for their use. On one occasion Peter Cadwell went to Olive with three bushels of wheat. This he sold to Thorla & McKee for one bushel of salt, Mr. McKee stating that he did not particularly want the wheat, but would take it to oblige Mr. Cadwell, since he had brought it so far for the purpose of trading it.
William Allison was an early set-
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tler in the southern part of the township, on a farm adjoining that of Thomas Taylor.
John Farley lived on Big Run, and at one time operated a little horse-mill there.
Among the early settlers of the township were Peter and Benjamin Keith, from Pennsylvania, the former a soldier of 1812. They took up a quarter section of land, which is still in possession of their descendants. They were blacksmiths and bell-makers. They made many bells, which were sold to the early settlers for miles around. Peter was twice married --first to Miss Dickey, by whom he had four children : Benjamin, Robert, Elizabeth and John ; and, second, to Miss Mary Taylor, who bore eight sons and two daughters. Mr. Keith was a very devout man, and through his efforts an early church was erected at Keith's.
Philip W. Keith, next to the oldest of the children of Peter and Mary Keith, was born in Jackson Town ship in 1827, and resided in the township until 1873, when he removed to Dexter City, his present home. He was for a time engaged in oil-producing. Mr. Keith married Miss Mary A. Shinn and is the father of two children : Charles W. (de ceased) and Henrietta. He is a member of the Methodist Protestant church.
The great-grandfather of Pardon C. Keith was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and spent his fortune for the patriot cause. His grandfather was an early settler near Beverly, and his father a pioneer of Jackson Township. Pardon Coop Keith was born at Keith's in 1834. In 1857 he married Elizabeth Wilson, who died in 1859, leaving one child —William Elvin. In 1860 married Susan Coffee. Children: Clara F., Leon W., Mary E., Lewis. Charles, Willard O., Orien W., As A., Pardon E. and Raymond C. Mr Cook is a Democrat and a member of the Odd Fellows and Masons. He has held the office of justice of the peace and other township trusts.
W. B. Keith, a well-known citizen, was born September 11, 1856, on the farm which he now owns and where his parents and grandparents lived before him. His grandfather, a native of Pennsylvania, entered the land and reared his family here. W. B. Keith is a Democrat, and a member of the Odd Fellows' Lodge and Encampment. He has served as justice of the peace for seven years. In 1883 he married Sarah A. Reed, of Sharon, and they have one child— Harry W.
John B. Sprague is a descendant of one of the early pioneers of Washington County, who came to Ohio when the settlers were in constant peril from the Indians. His father, Wilbur Sprague, a native of New York, came to Ohio at the age of fifteen, and lived at the fort or block-house in the vicinity of where Beverly now is. One morning when milking be was surprised by nine Indians, eight of whom fired at him. One bullet lift his back and passed entirely through his body, carrying a brass button from his garments ahead of it. This took place near
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the entrance of the garrison. He was carried into the fort by his uncle. He recovered after two years of suffering. He married and settled in Jackson Township among its early pioneers. J. B. Sprague was born in 1818, on the farm where he now lives. In 1843 he married Harriet Thorla. Children: Violetta, Eliza, Phebe M., Sarah S. and Benjamin W.
John Smithson, or Squire Smithson, as he is familiarly known, was born one mile below Macksburg, Washington County, in 1828. He was reared as a farmer, which avocation he has since followed. Although he is not a politician, he has given proper attention to political matters. In 1880 he was elected county commissioner, serving one term of three years. He is a worthy member of the Free and Accepted Masons.
He has been twice married. His first wife was Miss Adeline L., daughter of James Dalton. She died in 1871. For his second wife he married Miss Jane J., daughter of John Hutchins. By the first marriage there were two boys and five girls ; by the second, one son.
Angus McDonald was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1829, and came to America with his parents in 1832, arriving at Olive Green Creek August 10. Mr. McDonald has followed farming, and is a minister of the Christian church. He married Rachel Stevens in 1852, and they have seven children living. Mr. McDonald enlisted October 9, 1861, in the Sixty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; veteranized in Jan- nary, 1863, and was mustered out a captain at the close of the war. He participated in the battles of New Madrid, Island No. 10, sieges of Corinth and of Vicksburg, Decatur, Resaca, Kingston, Kenesaw, and in Sherman's march to the sea. At Decatur, Ga., he was twice wounded. Few Noble County soldiers have a better military record.
Reuben Simons, son of a Revolutionary soldier, settled in 1835 on the farm which he still occupies. He was born in Washington County, Ohio, in 1805; married Esther Wells in 1829, and is the father of seven children, five of whom are still living Thomas (deceased), Patience (deceased), Alfred, Content, Antha, Mary and Serene. Mr. Simons has been a member of the Christian church from early manhood. His father was a pioneer at Marietta, and while in company with R. J. Meigs (afterward governor), was shot and severely wounded by an Indian.
David R. Way was born in Jackson Township November 5, 1846. His parents were natives of England. Mr. Way has followed farming. He was married in 1866 to Rebecca J. Smith, of Sharon Township, and their children are Cora, Charles and Emmet. Mrs. Way is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Way is a Republican and a member of the Patrons of Husbandry.
William M. Way was born in 1862, on the Way homestead. His father died suddenly in 1880, while on his way from Dexter City to Marietta. In 1885 W. M. Way married Mary
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Reed, daughter of Isaac Reed, of Sharon Township. They have one child—Catherine A. Ed ward E. Way was born in 1851 ; married Tacy Mathews in 1872.
John Delaney was born on Will's Creek and came to Jackson Township in 1835, when one year of age. His father cast the first Whig vote that was ever cast in the township. There were other Whigs, but until the advent of Mr. Delaney they were not permitted to vote. In 1858 John Delaney married Elizabeth Mitchell. Children : Ada, Boyd and Margaret.
William Henry Mayguckin, merchant at Ridge, Jackson Township, was born in Pennsylvania in 1843, and came to Jackson Township with his parents in 1849. He has followed farming, and for nine years has been engaged in the mercantile business. In 1866 he married Martha E. Willis, of Jackson Township. Their children are Mary C. and Clara W. The family belong to the Methodist church. Mr. Mayguckin enlisted in October, 1861, in Company D, Sixty-third Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served three years. lie was never absent from duty for a day, and never asked for leave of absence. He was in many noted engagements, among which were New Madrid, the battle and siege of Corinth, Decatur, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, etc.
Philip M. Smith was born in 1829. Ills ancestors were from New England and his paternal grandfather and one son were drowned in the sound of Martha's Vineyard. His father and his grandfather, Tilton, came to Steubenville, Ohio, in 1819, and thence to Olive Township. Mr. Smith has been a farmer and a merchant. In 1854 he went to California, where he remained five years. In 1863 he married Margaret Taylor. Her father, John Taylor, settled in this township in 1816. They have one child—Millie E. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Smith is a Republican.
George H. Nichols is a descendant of an old family, his grandparents having settled in Ohio about 1826. He was born in Beverly, Washington County, in 1857, and for several years has been a successful teacher in Noble County. He also works at carpentry. Mr. Nichols is a Republican, but has served as township clerk in Jackson — a sufficient proof of his popularity.
Robert M. Kelley was born in Sharon Township in 1842. His father was a native of Maryland. At the age of eighteen, in October, 1861, Robert enlisted in Company K, Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged after serving four years and seven months. He was at Pittsburg Landing, Iuka, Corinth, Holly Springs, Little Rock, White River, Mark's Mill, Saline River, Mobile, and in many other engagements. He lost his health in the army, and his sight became seriously impaired. In 1868 he married Martha E. Foreman. Children : Elmer J., born 1869, died 1880; three infant boys, now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Kelley are members of the Methodist Episcopal church.
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Mahlon A. Look was born in Noble County in 1858. His father was a native of Massachusetts, and his mother of Maryland. They came to this county from Guernsey. Mahlon has been a teacher and a farmer, In 1869 he married Venora C. Dixon of Washington County. Their children are Elza M. and Elsie M. Mr. Look is a Republican, and has been township clerk. He is at present the teacher at Crooked Tree (November, 1886).
Philip Ritzer was born in Prussia in 1834 ; came to Wheeling, W. Va., in 1851, and to Noble County in 1861. In 1862 he enlisted in Company E, Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served three years and was discharged in 1865. He was at Chickamauga, where his garments were riddled with bullets, at Hoover's Gap, Resaca, Marietta, and in the Atlanta campaign and the march to the sea. He married Melissa H. Lovett, of Harriettsville, and is the father of six children, four of whom are living.,
Oscar Mathews came to Crooked Tree in 1865, from Morgan Comity. His parents came in 1838 from Loudoun County, Va., to Center Township in Morgan County, where Oscar was born. His father was a school teacher for thirty years. The subject of this notice is a carpenter by trade. He is now postmaster and merchant at Crooked Tree. Three of his brothers were in the late war and have since died from wounds and other disabilities incurred in the service. Oscar married Eliza James, of Washington County, in 1862. Chil dren : Eva, Benjamin L., Jennie and Lottie R. Mr. Mathews is a Republican, and has been township trustee.
Angus Bell was born in Olive Township, May 13, 1833. His parents and grandparents were among the .early settlers of Noble County. His father, born in Fayette County, Pa., in 1804, married and settled in Noble County in 1825. Angus Bell has followed farming, teaching and the mercantile business. He has followed the latter occupation at Keith's since 1865. In 1867 he married Mary A. Hughes, of Morgan County. Children: Ida W. and Amon Edward. Mr. Bell is a Republican and an Odd Fellow. He has been postmaster at Keith's since 1869.
J. W. Tilton came from Martha's Vineyard, Mass., and settled at Three Forks, Olive Township. His son, Isaac L. Tilton, now a farmer in this township, was born in Olive Township, June 19, 1837. He enlisted in 1864, in the hundred days' service, in the One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged at the expiration of his term of service. In 1866 he married Serena S. Simons. They have one child—Arthur L. Mr. and Mrs. Tilton are members of the Christian church.
Rev. George Willis was born in Licking County in 1813 ; his father, who was a native of Pennsylvania, came to the State in 1812 ; in 1818 the family removed to Washington County, Ohio, where they settled upon a tract of unimproved land. Here the mother died in 1869, the father in 1873. They were subjected
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to the hardships of the early times and suffered many privations. The elder Willis was a great hunter and had many thrilling adventures. One night he heard a goose make a peculiar noise ; taking his ax, he went out and seeing some large animal, which he supposed was a neighbor's dog, he killed it on the spot ; an examination revealed the fact that it was a large panther. Rev. George Willis was married in 1835, to Miss Christiana Skipton, and came to this township in 1858; for over fifty years he has been a minister of the Gospel. He has also served his townsmen as trustee for six years and as magistrate for twenty-one years.
H. S. Willis came to Jackson Township in 1858. He was born in 1854, in Washington County, Ohio. He has followed school-teaching and farming. In 1876 he married Sarah E. Mincks of Jackson Township. Children : Nellie B. (deceased), Lillian M., Letha A. (deceased), Harry H. and Freddie H. Mr. and Mrs. Willis belong to the Methodist Protestant church.
Sidney J. Glidden was born in Washington County in 1837. His parents and grandparents were among the early settlers of Olive Township. Sidney enlisted in August, 1862, in Company E, Ninety-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and after serving eighteen months re-enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixty-first Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was in several noted engagements. In 1863 he married Nancy McKitrick. They have eight children.
Walter Shinn was born in Jackson Township in 1865 and is a farmer. His parents and grandparents were Virginians. His father came to Ohio, settled on Will's Creek and thence came to Noble County. There were nine sons and three daughters in the family.
M. B. Danford is a son of Samuel Danford, of Sharon Township, and was born in 1856. Since 1883 he has devoted himself to the practice of veterinary surgery. He is the only surgeon of the kind in this section. He married Lizzie Stevens, of Morgan County, in 1876 and they have one child - Minta. Dr. D. is an Odd Fellow and a Republican.
James Willey, the oldest of a family of thirteen children, was born in Pennsylvania, in 1818, and came with his parents to Noble Township in 1819. He has followed milling and farming. In 1841 he married Emily, daughter of Benjamin Thorla, of Noble Township. Children : William McKee, Rhoda, Elizabeth, Benjamin H. and Jesse P. Elizabeth died in 1880, at the age of thirty-five. Mr. Willey is a Democrat. Both he and his wife belong to the Universalist church.
James Long was born in Washington County, Ohio, in 1846. His father was born in Washington County, Pa., and his mother in Washington County, Ohio. In February, 1864, James Long enlisted in Company K, Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was in many battles and skirmishes. At Mark's Mill, on the Saline River, in Arkansas, he was captured and taken to Camp Flood, Tyler, Tex.,
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where he suffered the hardships of prison life for ten months. He was discharged at Columbus, Ohio, in 1866. In 1872 he married Phebe Merritt, of Jackson Township. Children : Virgie M. and Alvah H. Mrs. Long is a member of the Christian church. Mr. Long is a farmer and a Democrat.
John M. Danford was born in Monroe County, March 30, 1844, and came to Jackson Township, Noble County, in 1867. February 6, 1865, he enlisted in Company D, One Hundred and Eighty-fifth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war. In 1866 be married Delia C. Mitten. Children : George W., Oscar S., Mary M., Joseph W., John T., Charles M. (deceased), James T., Forrest. C. deceased), Chloe R., Sarah and Sherman. The family are mein hers of the Methodist Episcopal church. Mr. Danford is a Republican and has served as township trustee.
Abner J. Davis was born at South Olive in 1838. His father, a native of Maine, was a soldier in the War of 1812. He married Lucinda Mayhew, a native of Martha's Vineyard, whose father, Frederick Mayhew, was a landscape painter and sailor. The family came to Ohio in 1834. A. J. Davis married Margaret Teters in 1860. They have had ten children, seven of whom are living.
Benjamin R. Parrish, son of Stephen Parrish, of Sharon Township, was born in Sharon Township in 1847 and is a farmer by occupation. In 1.873 he married Phebe Keyser, of
Sharon Township. Of their six children five are living : James R., Isaac S., Richard S., Sarah A. and Belva A.
Church Benjamin Morris was born in Noble County in 1859. His parents and his grandparents were early settlers in the county, and his father is now a merchant in Beverly. The subject of this notice has followed farming and the mercantile business. In 1877 he married Nancy E. Hughes, of Morgan County. Children: Jesse M., Minor P., Nellie B. and Bertha. Mr. Morris is a Republican. He has been township treasurer and is a member of the Odd Fellows.
John Misel was born in Guernsey County, in 1818. His father, John Misel, was a German, an early settler in that county, and a soldier in the War of 1812. John Misel is a farmer in Jackson Township. He married Harriet Delancey in 1839 and is the father of fourteen children, three of whom are dead.
James Ogle, a native of Ireland, and his wife Ann (Dixon), who was born in New York State, were among the early settlers of Olive Township. Mr. Ogle was assessor of Morgan County two terms. He was the father of ten children. Benjamin C. Ogle, now of Jackson Township, was born in Olive Township in 1827, and is a farmer. In 1862 he enlisted in the Ninth Ohio Cavalry, Company B, and served until his discharge at the close of the war. He was present at the siege of Knoxville; at the rebel surrender at Cumberland Gap ; in the skirmishing at Nashville ; in the Rousseau raid and Atlanta siege ;
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with Sherman in his raid and the " march through Georgia."
John S. Mincks was born in Jackson Township, April 16, 1845; son of Hiram and Eliza (Shipley) Mincks, the former a native of Pennsylvania, and the latter of Maryland. He is a prominent and influential citizen ; has served in various township offices — trustee, assessor, etc.—and is the present justice of the peace. He is steward of the Methodist Episcopal church, and superintendent of the Sabbath school. March 17, 1861, he married Mary, daughter of Nestor Hardin, of Jackson Township. They have had two children : Irvin E., living, and Emmet Otes, deceased.
About 1835 James Farley and Peter Keith opened a store near the present hamlet of Keith's. Jonathan Gibbs was their clerk. This was the first store in the township. About ten years later Amos Smith opened a store where Angus Bell now lives, and there has been a store at Keith's: ever since. B. M. Leland kept store several years about a quarter of a mile further down the road.
After Amos Smith came P. W. Keith, John Ray, George Baker, Dye & Tilton, Yarnall Bros., Baker & Keith, and Benton Baker, successively. The Leland store was successively conducted by Leland, J. C. Tilton & Co., D. K. Paxton, S. G. Jordan and Bell & Keith, the last named firm consisting of Angris Bell, R. G. Bell and Adam Keith. This firm began business in 1865, and in 1866 removed to the present location. After fourteen years, the firm changed to Bell & Hughes (Angus Bell and J. P. Hughes). Since 1881 the style of the firm has been Bell & Morris (Angus Bell and C. B. Morris). Theirs is now the only store in the place.
Keith & Cunningham opened a store in 1881, and were succeeded by Charles Phillis, who went out of business in 1885.
The postoffice at Keith's was established about the year 1835.
A steam saw-mill was built in 1855, and in 1861 a grist-mill, by P. W. Keith. These mills are still operated, and have been owned by P. C. Keith since 1873.
About 1848 Asa Lang started a small store near where Oscar Matthews now is. Next came William Morris, where John W. Taylor now is. He was succeeded by Thomas Morris. Dr. William Boyd built the store now kept by J. B. Davis. Taylor & Sons succeeded Boyd and also Morris. Afterward the firm became P. S. Taylor, then Taylor & Smith, succeeded by John W. Taylor. P. S. Taylor carried on the mercantile business for ten years where J. B. Davis now is.
The first blacksmith at Crooked Tree was John Black. The present one is Ithamer Martin. Wesley W. Reed, saddler, lived here for twenty- five years, then moved to Morgan County. The shoemakers are Albert and William McKendrie. Elijah, their father, lived here and worked at the same trade several years.
Crooked Tree postoffice was established about 1860. James R. H. Smith was the first postmaster.
The little village of Jacksonville
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(Crooked Tree postoffice) was laid out by James II. Steadman. The survey was made by George Bell, May :25, 1854.
Dungannon, a projected village n section 30 of township 5, range 9, was laid out by Nathan H. Essex. George Bell made the survey June 17, 1850. The name of the " city " does not appear either on State or county maps, but the place survives as Ridge postoffice. A store is kept at this point by W. H. Mayguckin.
The stores in Jackson Township, January 1, 1887, were as follows : William H. Mayguckin, Dungannon (Ridge postoffice); Bell & Morris, Keith's; J. B. Davis, John W. Taylor, general merchants, Crooked Tree ; Oscar Matthews, grocer and postmaster, Crooked Tree.
CHURCHES
Three Methodist Episcopal churches - Crooked Tree, Williamson's and Shafer's — the Haines United Brethren church and the Methodist Protestant church at Keith's, are the churches of Jackson Township,
United Brethren Church.— Jesse Haines was the founder of the United Brethren church, and W. W. Stringer one of its early prominent members. The organization is an old one, and the church one of the old-fashioned log buildings. The present membership is small.
Methodist Episcopal Churches.—A Methodist class was organized and met at Peter Taylor's for many years. About 1848 a log meeting-house was erected at Crooked Tree. In 1872 the present frame church, 32 by 50 feet, was erected at a cost of about $1,400. The present membership is about fifty. Among the leading early members of this church were Elias Rainey, Samuel Boone, William P. Davis, Shubal Smith, Daniel Wagner, Samuel Hale, Rev. John S. Corp and their families. Daniel Wagner, John and James Waller, Worthington Tilton and W. W. Reed are among former class-leaders. Philip Smith has been leader for twenty years.
The Williamson Methodist Episcopal church had a log meeting-house erected at about the same time the Crooked Tree log church was built. About 1871 the present church was dedicated. It cost about $1,200. The present membership is about seventy-five. This church is named for Samuel Williamson, an early and prominent member. Jere Smith, John Mincks, Andrew Martin and William Rainey were early members. Jere Smith, J. M. Smith and Andrew Martin were early class-leaders.
The Shafer Methodist Episcopal church was an old log building, -recently replaced by a small frame house. Samuel Shafer, William Darr* Samuel Johnson, Enoch Swig- ley, the Allertons and others were early members, Samuel Shafer and Samuel Johnson being among the most prominent. The present membership is small. This church is on the Mount Olive circuit. The Crooked Tree and Williamson churches are on the Dexter City circuit.
Methodist Protestant Church.—A Methodist Episcopal class was organized very early in the vicinity of
558 - HISTORY OF NOBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
Keith's, and a log meeting-house was erected as early as 1834. About 1862 the congregation became Methodist Protestant.
It was fully organized April 17, 1864, by Rev. George Willis. The original members were Jacob Foreman, Elizabeth Foreman, Peter and Matilda Brown, W. B. and Sarah Reaney, May Keith, Adaline Cutler, Philip W. Keith, Mary Keith, Samuel and Lucinda Sailor, Mordecai Ghrist, George and Christiana Willis and John and Ruth Haga. The first trustees were W. B. Reaney, Samuel Sailor and Philip W. Keith. The succession of pastors has been Revs. George Willis, Wm. Sears, Ogle, Ansley Blackburn, Wm. Sears, R. S. Welch, Wilson, McKiever, Wm. Betts, John Clark, J. B. McCormick, W. H. Gay, John Baker, S. A. Fisher, M. V. Shuman and T. J. West. First church edifice built in 1865 at a cost of about $900; present membership, sixty-four; Sabbath school, forty-five.
ODD FELLOWS.
Keith Lodge.— Keith Lodge, No. 466, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was instituted October 14, 1870. The charter members were Adam Keith, P. C. Keith, John Hughs, George Baker, Thomas W. Phillis, David Bell, William Donaldson, A. W. Willis, Peter Gore, William Heaney and Shubal Hutchins. The lodge now has about eighty members. The hall was built in 1884 at a cost of about $1,300. The lodge-room is neatly and well furnished and the lodge is prosperous. The present value of the entire lodge property is not far from $3,000. The present officers are Benjamin Danford, N. G.; Gilead McKee, V. G.; Abraham Shriver, secretary; James Foreman, P. S., and W. B. Keith, treasurer.
BIOGRAPHICAL.
WILLIAM F. WAY, the first of this name to settle in Noble County, was born in England and came to the United States in 1820 with his family of wife and two children, a son and a daughter. He landed in Norfolk, Va., thence came to Duck Creek, Washington County, Ohio, where he followed his trade, that of a blacksmith, until his removal to Wood County, Va., where he died in 1846. He was an honest, industrious man of unquestioned integrity, and highly esteemed for his sturdy manhood; the daughter died in 1820. The son, Edward T., was born in England in 1812; his youth and early manhood were passed amid the rough experiences of pioneer days, and in early life he learned to rely on his own efforts. The family were poor, and for a time he lived with Peter Taylor, a farmer of Jackson. Township, doing the work upon the farm, for which he received one-third of its product. In 1833 he entered forty acres of land, selling the only piece of property he had, a horse, to make the first payment. This investment may be called the initial effort of his life, and formed the substructure of a successful business life. He erected a cabin, cleared his little farm, and as he prospered bought
PICTURE OF EDWARD F. WAY
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more land, until he became the owner of a fine estate of six hundred acres. The year following the first purchase, 1834, he married Miss Elizabeth Raney. The young couple were destitute of what would now be called the necessaries of life; their home was scantily furnished ; a small stand did service as a table ; this memento of pioneer times is still in possession of the family. The farm work was done with the rude implements of that time, the grain was cut with a sickle, thrashed with a flail, winnowed with a hand fan, and ground at a horse-mill ; despite these obstacles they thrived by the practice of rigid economy and hard labor. Ten years after their marriage Mrs. Way died, and was laid to rest in the Taylor cemetery. Mr. Way's second wife was Miss Ann, daughter of Edward and Mary Ellison. By this marriage there were nine children : Elizabeth, David. R., Mary A., Abagail, Edward E., Henry, Sarah E., Emily J. and William M. Elizabeth, the eldest of the family, was twice married. Her first husband was Lindley Garnall ; her second, James Sheldon. David R. married Jane R. Smith ; Mary A. became Mrs. John C Hale ; Abagail married W. H. H. Hussey and resides in. California ; Edward E. married Miss Tacey E. Mathews ; Henry married Adaline Taylor; Sarah E. became Mrs. George Boon ; Emily J. married Elvin Raney, and William M., Mary Reed. Mr. Way was a prominent and successful farmer, a worthy citizen and the personification of integrity and honor ; his " word was as good as his bond." On one occasion he borrowed $5,000 on his "promise to pay." He identified himself with all the interests of the community, and exerted a marked influence on the moral welfare of those with whom he was associated. He was a worthy member of the Methodist church. His charity was proverbial and no one ever left his door hungry. He died at his home in Jackson Township, December 20, 1879.
REV. JEREMIAH PHILLIPS, the oldest Methodist preacher in Ohio, is of New England ancestry. His parents, Ananias and Abigail (Pitcher) Phillips, removed from New Hampshire to Saratoga County, N. Y., where Jeremiah was born May 3, 1799. The family removed to Washington County, N. Y., and in 1823 decided to go further west, and the subject of this notice went in quest of a location. He selected and purchased a small farm near Meadville, Pa., and thither the family removed. There Mr. Phillips had for his neighbor John Brown, afterward famous in our history, and formed a strong friendship for him. In 1830 Mr. Phillips entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal church, in which he has been a faithful, earnest, successful worker. He had a deep and powerful voice and was an effective sermonizer, probably among the best of the pioneer preachers in western Pennsylvania. His first circuit labors required him to travel about 280 miles every four weeks, through a rough, mountainous country, the bridle path leading through unbridged streams and miles of unin-
560 - HISTORY OF NOM E COUNTY, OHIO.
habited woodland. His circuit was that of Connellsville, Pa., and his salary $100 pet, year. He preached thirty-three times every four weeks, and rarely missed an appointment. He studied books of theology as he rode from one place to another. He soon gained the sobriquet of "The Abolition Preacher," and never ceased to labor for the freedom and elevation of the colored race. From Connellsville he was sent to Parkersburg, in western Virginia, and there, in the slaveholders' own country, continued with unabated energy fearlessly to denounce the "institution." While on the Harrison circuit, in Virginia, in 1834, he married Arah Courtney, of Irish descent. Her womanly courage and Christian patience cheered him in his dangerous and difficult work ; and with him she shared the joys and sorrows of life until called peacefully away, October 14, 1883 She was the mother of ten children, who reached mature years.
Mr. Phillips continued to labor in the Master's vineyard in Virginia and Pennsylvania until 1844, W lien he came to Cambridge, Ohio. The unpopularity of his opinions and utterances on the slavery question were among the causes that brought him to this State. After laboring at Cambridge, Mr. Phillips was assigned to Sharon. In 1846 the family removed to Summerfield ; and, in 1847, to a farm in the wild and then sparsely settled country near Mount Tabor church in Stock Township, Noble County. In 1873 he sold the farm and removed to his present residence near Dexter City. Since 1864 he has held a superannuated relation to the church, but has continued to preach at intervals. His mental faculties are still clear, and in all respects he is a remarkably well-preserved old man. He has probably ridden 125,000 miles on horseback, preached 14,000 sermons, and the influence of his work has added to the church between 10,000 and 12,000 members. To him belong all the "honor, reverence and good repute" that follow faithful service.