300 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. Sisters, and accepted and occupied by them a year or two, until their removal to Columbus, as before stated. MISCELLANEOUS.—When the news of the firing on Sumter reached Somerset, with the accompanying Proclamation of President Lincoln calling for volunteers, the hearts of the people were wonderfully stirred, as was the case all over the country. The bell of the old Court House was rung, and it was not long until the house was crowded to overflowing. Hon. William E. Finck was the first speaker called out, then T. J. Maginnis, then Col. William Spencer. These speakers all condemned and denounced the attack upon Sumter, and declared that President Lincoln must be supported in defending the National forts, and in maintaining the supremacy of the National Government. Dr. Martin Kagay was the next speaker, and his remarks were even more radical than the speakers who had preceded him. He said that the leaders of secession had been in the habit of magnifying the raid of John Brown ; but now, since they had fired upon the flag, it would be necessary for hundreds of thousands of John Browns to invade the South, no matter what the cousequences to the peculiar institution of slavery. The speakers were all unusually able and eloquent, inspired by the theme and circumstances of the hour. Many were tired with a patriotic ardor to do or die for their country, and not a few almost immediately enlisted in response to the call of President Lincoln. A place known as " Lidey's Rocks," situated in the western part of Reading township, is a wild, romantic spot, and has, at one time or another, attracted a considerable number of visitors. It has frequently been a favorite resort for picnic and other parties of pleasure. .There is a peculiar formation of rocks, the scenery is delightful, and the general surroundings highly picturesque. There is a natural cave, though not a large one, and there seems to be a natural fireplace, in between two rock, where the stone appears to be blackened and burned by the heat and smoke of many fires. Indians may have encamped in this place before the settlement of the country by the whites, and it iS more than probable that many an adventurer and hunter of the early days built his camp fire and broiled his venison at this stone fireplace. Lidey's Rocks are only a few miles distant from either Somerset, Junction City, or Rushville. The " Rocks " are not visited so frequently as they were some years ago, but the locality is still one of interest and attraction. It is stated, upon what appears to be good authority, that the first white man buried in what is now Perry county, was interred in the woods, a few miles north of Somerset, not far from the road now leading to Thornville. The man was a stranger. passing along, who took sick, and, in a few days, was a corpse. There was then no public or private burying ground in the neighborhood or county. So the mortal remains of the stranger; whoever he was, were inclosed in a rough box, and consigned to a grave dug in the woods, the whereabouts of which his friends, if he had probably never knew. Some of our oldest citizens could point very near the spot where the stranger was buried, but soon all trace of the burial place will be lost, and possibly, fifty or a HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 301 hundred years hence, the bones may be accidentally exhumed, and the subject be a nine days' wonder for generations yet unborn. Isaac Pence, one of the earliest settlers of the township, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and was in the celebrated naval engagement under Commodore Perry, in honor of whom the county is named. Pence was one of the soldiers in the boat who rowed Commodore Perry from his own sinking ship to another vessel. Mr. Pence was an industrious, intelligent man, highly esteemed by all, and lived to a good old age. John J. Jackson, of this township, and the latest surviving soldier of the War of 1812 in it, though a quiet, modest man all his life, has rather an eventful history. He served thorugh the War of 1812, and drew a pension the day of his death, for military services rendered the United States Government. After the war was over, he in some way drifted to St. Louis, and he emigrated from that place, or vicinity, to Bearfield township, Perry county, Ohio, and his name will be found in the history of that township as one of the first settlers. His first wife was an Ijams, a sister of William, John and Joseph Ijams, well remembered by the older citizens of Perry county. Mr. Jackson and othersjourneyed from St. Louis, across the country, to this county, in 1815 or 1816. It was a journey full of strange adventures. So far as now remembered, Mr. Jackson and companions are the only pioneers of Perry county who emigrated from the West. All the others came from the East or South, and nearly all from the East. The widow of John Lidey, another soldier of the War of 1812, and a member of the Constitutional Convention from Perry county, in 1851, lives in Reading township, in the town of Somerset. A few other widows of soldiers of the War of 1812 live in other parts of the county, but the soldiers themselves are all gone. Reading township had, in June, 1880, a population of three thous-, and three hundred and sixty-seven. 302 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. CHAPTER XXXIV. SALTLICK TOWNSHIP. Saltlick township was organized about 1823, and received its name from a deer-lick, near where the town of McCuneville has since been built. It was six miles square when first organized, but a small portion of one corner was taken to help form the new township of Pleasant. At a later date, Saltlick was divided and Coal township formed from the Southern part. Monday Creek, Sunday Creek and tributaries, drain the township of Saltlick. As a whole, it is hilly and, in part, exceedingly rough ; though there are some good farming lands on the ridges, and also along the creeks. Some of it is very productive. It is all, or nearly all, underlaid with a good article of bituminous coal, and much of it with the so-called "Great Vein," which is extensively mined at Shawnee. Parts of the township are also rich in iron ores. The Iron Point deposits, which lie high in the hills, are of great thickness, of good quality, and produce an enormous quantity of ore, which is used by the furnaces of Shawnee. The Iron Point deposit is reported nearly exhausted, but this seam of ore, in all probability, exists in other hills, at a corresponding horizon. What is now Saltlick township was settled in 1815, by the Hazletons and others. The following were of the very early settlers : John Hazleton, Sr., John Hazleton, Jr., Henry Hazleton, William Hazleton, Joseph Hazleton, Henry Rush, and William Bailey. The township settled up very slowly, and, for many years, had but a few voters and a small population. Saltlick was a former hunting-ground, in the early days. Its hills and narrow valleys abounded with deer, bears, wild turkies, and many varieties of smaller game. Panthers, wolves, wildcats and catamounts were not uncommon. People from the north part of this county, and from other places, came here to hunt. Many of them would stay for days, and some of them for weeks. The deer-lick, previously referred to, was frequently watched by the hunters, for the purpose of shooting the deer when they would come there to lick the salt water. The hunter would conceal himself, at a convenient distance, and when the deer would come and begin to lick, the hunter would fire, with a good chance of securing his game. After a whilt0the deer would not venture to the lick in the daytime, but would frequent it at night. The hunters did not give it up, and, after scouring the woods through the day, would conceal themselves near the lick at night, and when they heard the deer drinking, would shoot by the sound. This, of course, made the result of the shot very uncertain ; nevertheless, many a deer was killed in this way. There was doubtless, many a fierce contest with deer and bear, in the early times of Saltlick ; but the old pioneers and hunters are all dead, HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 303 many of them died long ago, and tradition is growing dim and uncertain concerning those far-away times. The men and women who were children in those early days can remember nothing more doleful than the howling of the wolves at dusk, and in the night. They were hunted and killed for the bounty paid by the state for their scalps. Deer skins were taken to market and sold, but brought, usually, only three cents a piece ; yet the money received from this source helped pay taxes, in those days when taxation was very low. A company was organized and a salt works erected at the deer-lick, about 1829. A good article of salt was made there for several years, but the concern became unprofitable, and the works were abandoned. Coal was used for neighborhood use only, until the Newark, Somerset and Straitsville Railroad was built to Shawnee. A traveler who was passing through the county in January, 1855, remained over night with a hospitable farmer, at the foot of a large hill, not far from Shawnee Run, or a tributary thereof. The log house, with one room, contained a large grate, in which a coal fire was brightly burning. The entrance of the coal mine was scarcely two rods from the door of the dwelling, and the coal mine was the coal house. There appeared to be no coal bucket, but a huge bank shovel, on which nearly a bushel could be carried, was used to bring in coal to replenish the fire. The remains of this old house, a cabin, could not long since be seen, within the present limits of Shawnee, but the surroundings are entirely different from what they were in 1855. The facilities for market of the inhabitants of Saltlick, were not very good previous to the advent of railroads. There was no great surplus, however, and that made the trouble of marketing farm products less than it otherwise would have been. The surplus products had to be wagoned to New Lexington, Logan, or Athens, over rough roads. In the days when tobacco was raised it was taken to Rehoboth or Rushville, the principal tobacco markets. The building of the railroad changed all this, and Saltlick, with numerous other improvements, has a railroad station at Shawnee, and another at McCuneville ; and Shawnee is a better market, for most country products, than Cincinnati or Columbus. New Straitsville, on another railroad, is but a short distance off. In a political way, Saltlick is distinguished for having been a strong Democratic township, until the disbandment of the Whig party and the organization of the Republican, since which time it has been about as strongly Republican as it had previously been Democratic. It gave a majority of eighty-three for John C. Fremont, for President, over Buchanan, in 1856. Saltlick, before its dismemberment, of course, raised the first three years' company in the county, for the War, which organized and rendezvoused at Old Straitsville, which was then in the township, but is now in Coal. Saltlick is also noted as the only township in the county, in which no draft was made for soldiers to serve in the War of the Rebellion. The township kept ahead of its quota on all occasions, and without ever paying a dollar of local bounty. It is one of a very few precincts in the State thus distinguished. A fearful calamity occurred at Sulphur Springs, in the eastern part of the township, on the evening of the ninth of September, 1870. 304 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. Lewis McDonald and George Gayer resided there. Gayer was proprietor of the flouring mill there, known as the Lyons Mill. McDonald was a large farmer, and had a small country store,. McDonald, Gayer and George W. Gordon were in the little store on the fatal evening. Gayer was buying some rock powder, and, upon examining it, expressed his opinion that it was not very good. He applied a match to a very small quantity in the palm of his hand, and it did not ignite. Mr. McDonald said that it was not a fair test of the powder. and proceeded to make a test himself. He took some out of a hole in a keg, and placed it on a chair, several feet therefrom. He lighted a match and applied it to the small quantity of powder on the chair. Immediately there was a terrific explosion, and the little brick store edifice was in ruins, with McDonald, Gayer and Gordon badly burned and partly buried in the debris. They succeeded in getting out in a short time, with great difficulty. Gayer went a few rods to his residence, without assistance. McDonald was seen to be badly hurt and was helped home. Both McDonald and Gayer gradually grew worse, and died in a few hours. A little son of Mr. McDonald, aged about three years, who was no doubt playing just outside the store, was buried under the ruins. and no doubt was instantly killed. His body was not recovered until next morning. A little boy ten years old, son of a Mr. Priest, of the neighborhood, was not known to be in the store, but is believed to have just reached the door when the explosion took place. He was badly burned, his clothes were set on.fire, and himself blown out clear of the debris. The poor boy started and ran with all his might, his clothes burning, and after running some distance he jumped into the creek, fell over on his face, and would have drowned, but a lady who was passing went in and took him from the water. His clothing was all burned off, and he only lived a few minutes. Mr. Gordon, though badly hurt, eventually recovered. The victims of the explosion were buried on the Sunday following, and their mortal remains were followed to their final resting place by the largest concourse of people ever assembled, on a funeral occasion; in the county. Many persons were present from McConnellsvile, Athens, Logan, New Lexington, and other places. McDonald and Gayer were highly respected citizens and sons of old pi0neers, who were among the first to settle in the Sunday Creek country. A fatality appeared for a time to attend the place. A little while after the burning of the store, and its dreadful results, two boiler explosions occurred at the Lyons mill—to which reference has been made—by which two or three persons were badly injured. Captain Lyons, who owned the mill—and from whom it received its name and retained it after other parties owned it—also met with a violent death in the town of Shawnee, in December, 1876. He had, at times, become dissipated in his habits, and one evening in December, of the year named, was at a saloon kept by Thomas Hughes. When the proprietor desired to close up, about 11 a. m., Lyons, who was somewhat intoxicated, requested the privilege of remaining in the saloon by the fire, over night, which request was reluctantly granted. Some time in the latter part of the night the building was discovered to be on fire. When Hughes came upon the scene he announced that Captain Lyons HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 305 was in the saloon. It was altogether too late to rescue him then, and there wes a hope that he had in some way made his escape. When daylight came, his charred remains were found among the ruins. The cause of the fire will never be known, though it is probable that Mr. Lyons, .in attempting to keep up the fire in the night, or in a delirious state, had placed kindling wood or other combustibles about the stove. Some person in the neighborhood heard Lyons shouting and pounding sometime in the night, and recognized his voice, but thinking that he was on a customary spree, paid no heed to it. At all events, it must have been a night of horrors to the old soldier, until death finally came to his relief. Captain Sam Lyons was a brave and generous man, and, until dissipation overcame him, was possessed of many noble impulses, and had a host of friends. Shawnee is the largest town in the township, and was laid out by T. J. Davis, in 1872. For two years after the town was laid out, its growth was most extraordinary, and its enlargement has not yet ceased. It is situated on Shawnee run, and two or three of the tributaries thereof. There are several large coal works within and about the town, and four furnaces, furnishing employment for large numbers of laborers. It has a postoffice, newspaper, station-house, two telegraph offices, two hotels, a large union school-house, five church buildings, several large stores, carrying heavy stocks of goods, and numerous smaller shops of various kinds. The town has a good municipal government, and it is, generally speaking, a quiet and orderly place. The Masons, Odd Fellows, and Knights of Pythias all have their lodges. Shawnee has 800 children of school age, and in 1880 had a population of 2,77o, which, since that date, has probably increased to over 3,000. Here is the terminus of the N. S. & S. railroad. McCuneville was laid out in 1873, by Frank, John W. and John McCune, and is situated on the N. S. & S. railroad, two miles north of Shawnee. Large salt works were erected here in 1873—'74, and were run for several years, making a good article of salt ; but from some cause they proved unprofitable, were discontinued, and now the entire buildings have been torn away, and the salt wells abandoned. McCuneville has a postoffice, school-house, railroad station, hotel, store, a number of good private residences, with a population of about 200. It has a M. E. Church society, which holds regular services in the second story of the school Other denominations sometimes hold religious services at the same place. Hemlock is a small village, situated in the eastern part of the township. It contains a postoffice, store, woolen mill, and a number of private residences. The Baptists were the pioneers in religion in Saltlick. A congregation was organized and a church built on the land of John Hazleton, about one-half mile south of where McCuneville now is, about 182o. This church antedates the oldest Baptist church at New Lexington, and is the first Baptist Church built south of the State road, leading from Zanesville to Lancaster. The Baptists of New Lexington attended the Hazleton church several years, and until the New Lexington church was organized. 'Mrs. Julia Barnd, an aged pioneer, recently deceased, used to say that in those pioneer times she had frequently walked from - 30 - 306 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. New Lexington to the Hazleton church on Saturday, returning on Sabbath evening, carrying a child in her arms all the way there and back. The distance was seven or eight miles. Other pioneer women did the same, and did not consider it any hardship. The Hazleton church was used about fifteen years, and then abandoned as a house of worship, a new church being built about two miles north, also in Saltlick township. This church was used about the same length of time as the Hazleton church, then, by deaths and removals, the congregation was broken up, and the few members who remained attached themselves to the New Lexington church. The Catholics erected a stone church edifice one mile west of where McCuneville now is, about 1825, which was a regular charge for many years, but has been abandoned. There is a burying ground near the old church. The Disciples of Christ organized a church in the eastern part of the township, and erected a church in 1830. The congregation is still in existence, and the church building still in use. The churches in Shawnee are all of comparatively recent origin. The M. E. Church was organized soon after the town was laid out, and a church was erected in 1874. The Methodist Protestant congregation was organized about the same time, and the church was built in the same year. The Welsh Congregationalist Church was erected in 1875. The Welsh Calvinistic edifice was erected in 1878. The Catholic Church was built in 1880. The Baptists have not yet erected a church, but have an organization and hold regular services at a public hall. The Catholic Church is brick, all the others are frame. All of the churches in Shawnee maintain Sabbath schools. Some of them are very largely attended. Sulphur Springs, situated in the eastern part of Saltlick township, is a point of some note, on account of the mineral water there, and the general natural surroundings. The water of the Springs has been used to some extent for medical purposes, and it is probable that there is about as much virtue in it as in the water of most of the famous springs of the country. There are also some veins of alum water in Saltltck, as some of the wells and springs will testify. Saltlick township had, by the census of 1880, a population of three thousand nine hundred and seventy. HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 307 CHAPTER XXXV. THORN TOWNSHIP. Thorn township is, as originally surveyed, just six miles square. It is the north-western township of the county, and is bounded on the north by Licking, and on the west by Fairfield county. It derived its name from the numerous thorn bushes, bearing red berries, which grew in early times adjacent to the little lakes near the northern line of the township. There are other theories of the origin of the name of the township, but the one herein given, is generally believed twas correct one. Thorn was,organized as a political township, about 1804, by the authority of the Commissioners of Fairfield county, of which it was then a part. Nearly all of the township belongs to the drift formation, and the soil, as a whole, is highly productive. The water system may be denominated a little complex, when compared with any of the other townships of the county. Jonathan's Creek, the northern branch of the Moxahala, drains most of the eastern part of. the township, and the northern branch of Rush Creek, the western part. Honey Creek empties into the Reservoir. Walnut Creek heads in the western part of the township, and flows into the Scioto river. So it will be observed, a small portion of the township belongs to the Scioto Valley. The natural outlet of the lakes, the nucleus of the Reservoir, was into the Licking river ; hence, that part of the township which is drained into the Reservoir, is in the Muskingum Valley. When the Reservoir was constructed, as a feeder to the Ohio Canal, an outlet was made into the Scioto, therefore some persons claim that all the land drained into the Reservoir by Honey Creek and other streams, is in the Scioto Valley. This is a fine point, and of no practical importance.. There is not the least doubt, however, about Walnut naturally flowing into the Scioto. and, consequently, all the lands drained by it are, indisputably, in the Scioto Valley. With the exception of the part that belongs to the Scioto system, the land of Thorn is nearly equally divided between the Muskingum and Hocking vallies. The surface, in the western and enorthern parts of the township, is usually denominated level, though it is nearly all rolling enough to drain. The eastern and south-eastern portion is hilly, and yet of such a character as to be excellent farming land, and interspersed with vallies that are very rich. The level land in the northern part of the township is also extremely fertile. In the richness of its soil and yield of farm products, Thorn excels any other township in the county, and is, in fact, surpassed by but very few in the State: Oak and chestnut were the prevailing timber in the hilly parts, and in the valley parts ash, maple, .beech and walnut. There was a large 308 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. amount of hickory in various parts of the township. Wild plums, wild cranberries and the red thorn berries, already mentioned, were in early times very plentiful in the northern part, in the neighborhood of the little lakes. The land where they grew is now nearly all covered by the waters of the Reservoir. The little natural lakes, referred to, consisted of pure, clear water, and were well stocked with fish, principally, sun, cat and salmon. There was a number of lakes or ponds in other parts of the township, that contained water the year round, except in July and August, when they dried up, and were supposed to breed fever and ague. They have all, or nearly all, been drained long since, and their beds furnish a rich, black soil, highly productive. The early settlers of Thorn came principally from Pennsylvania and Virginia, and a large number of them were either Revolutionary soldiers, or their descendants. As a matter of course, they were generally poor, and lived just long enough to clear away a heavy, dense forest, and convert a wilderness into a field of profitable agriculture. Any of these old settlers, who died out of debt, leaving forty acres of land to each child, was considered well off. Very few of these old pioneers lived to see the railroad era, and the comforts and enjoyments of later times. The permanent settlements began in several places, about the same time, without any one seeming to know that the others were there. The sound of an ax, the tinkling of a cowbell, or the barking of a dog, was often the first thing to reveal to the lonely settler that he had neighbors not far away. These settlements commenced in 1801 or 1802, accounts as to the exact time conflicting. Of the first settlers were George Stinchcomb, Sr., Daniel Snider, George Valentine, Hooper, John Humberger ; and soon came the Neals, Zartmans, Friends, Fishers and others in quick succession. Here is a list of all who can be recalled up to about the years 1815-16 George Stinchcomb, Jr., Daniel Snider, George Valentine, Jacob Overmyer, Joel Strawn, John Nesbit, Robert Henderson, Daniel Kemper, John Smith, Benjamin Moore, Jesse Stevenson, Jacob Miller, William Karr, Henry Bowman, Geoffrey Weimer, Henry Boyer, Alexander Morrison, Solomon Brown, James, Henthorn, Thomas R. Johnston, Jacob Anspach, Peter Humberger, Michael Fisher, Hugh McMullen, Peter Zartman, George Long, Jacob Cover, Christian King, Christian Foster, John Humberger, George Parkinson, David Thompson, Adam Fisher, Adam Bogenwright, David Helser, John Fisher, Philip Crist, David Sellers, William Stall, John Ortman, Samuel Henderson, Jacob Crist, Christian Hoover, Joseph Cooper, Samuel Ortman, Joseph Bowman, Thomas Curry,. Jonathan Roberts, John Fisher, Andrew Foster, Israel Penrod, Peter Cool, Jacob Long, Jacob Wiseman, Andrew Cooperrider, Henry Baker, James Henderson, Joseph Good, Benjamin Good, John Crist, William Fullerton, Eli Watson, Abram Sain, Peter Rarick, John Henthorn, James Neal, Joseph Henderson, Joseph Watkins, Jac0b Hooper Ezekiel Hooper, Henry Foster, Luke Johnston, John Brown, John McMullen, John Kendall, William Taylor, Edward Cowley. According to Dr. Scott's History of Fairfield County, published in HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 309 1876, the following named persons were all citizens and tax-payers in Thorn township in 1806, and no doubt they were, 'or .be took the names from the official records. There is no telling how much territory Thorn embraced at that time, but many of the names are unmistakable Thorn township names, as the township is constituted at present. Here is the list of tax-pavers in Thorn for 1806: Edward Anderson, John Bartholmew, Joseph Barnes; David Brooks, David Baker, James Black, Paul Bean, John Bearshore, John Binkley, John Harris, Uriah Hall, Henry Humberger, David Heller, John Humberger. Peter Humberger, James Henderson, Jacob Hooper, Daniel Huber, Henry Neff, James Neel, Robert Orr, George Ogg, John Parr, William Ream, John Ramsey, Mathias Redingur, Mathias Ripple, Henry Bowman, John Berry, Mordecai Chalfant, Joseph Cooper, Jacob Cooper, William Claypool, John Dixon, M. Dean, Leonard Emrick, John Fisher, Jr., John Fisher, Joseph Ferguson, Joseph Fickle, John Good, Widow Graham, Charles 'Toward, William Harris, Edward Harris, George Huffman, Christian Hoover, John Johnston, William Johnston, John James, John King, Peter Livingston, Clelland Meek, Mr. McMullen, Frederick Myers, Frederick McInturft, Andrew Myres, George Mager, Adam Myers, John Myers, John McMullen, James Mervin, Thomas McOwen, Jacob Ream, Ludwig Reddinger, John Reason, S. Stockberger, Joel Strawn, Jacob Stotts, William Starret, Peter Starkee, William Skiner, Andrew Smith, Peter Sane, William Taylor, Michael Thorn, John Thompson, George Valentine, George Weadman, Jacob Wiseman, John Weadman. A large majority of the settlers who came to Thorn previous to 1820, were Pennsylvania Germans ; and the German was, at first, the prevailing language in churches, schools and society. There were English speaking settlers, of course, but German was more spoken than English, for a long while, but its use has died out. The common schools are all English, and the youth, for a quarter of a century or more, have been taught this language almost exclusively. The internal improvements of Thorn township, until 1871, consisted of the common road only, but Millersport, in Fairfield county, is only a short distance from the northwest corner of the township, and is situated on the canal, and it became the place where most of the wheat was sold. Brooke & Lewis, Thorn township merchants (one from Thornville and the other from New Salem), built a warehouse on the canal a little east of Millersport, and, for several years, purchased nearly all the surplus wheat of the township, which, in the '30s, and up into the ,40s, was wry large, and the principal export, as the surplus corn was nearly all sold. to drovers, and fed on the ground ; for, until cattle were shipped East by the cars, there were large numbers from Southern Ohio, Kentucky, and Northern Indiana, driven through this township on the way to the Eastern market. The first mill was built on Jonathan's Creek, near where the old Zanesville road crossed the stream. It was a small log building, with one corner set on a stump. It was, for a number of years, a noted place on the road between Zanesville and Lancaster. It is related that a traveler, being directed .at Zanesville to go by Cooper's mill, he kept inquiring for the place all along the road, and which everybody seemed 310 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. to know. When he reached the noted mill he was very much disappointed, and even disgusted, and expressed himself in very uncomplimentary language. He closed his remarks by saying he would go on West ; he had no call to stop there. Yet Cooper's mill was a famous place, in its day. Samuel Hite also erected a little spring run water-mill, a sort of corn-cracker, where a fair article of corn meal was made. He finally turned it into a churn-mill. There was also a horse or cattle power mill on the Hooper place, that ground corn, and probably other grain. Thomas Norris also erected a mill, of similar character, on the Townsend Reed farm, where good corn meal was made. The early settlers were all fond of corn bread. One year, when the wheat was killed by frost in May, and the corn also gave out, the people lived on chickens and early potatoes for several weeks ; then roasting ears came, and as soon as corn was hard enough to grate meal was grated, and then corn cakes, milk, butter, and chickens made a meal good enough for kings, and a very Welcome one to the hard pressed pioneers. There were many good sugar camps in Thorn, and the sugar-making season was a memorable one. The sugar was, in fact, one of the principal forest trees. The pioneer girls and boys had jolly times, gathering and boiling sugar water, and " stirring off." The little sugar camp in the woods was quite a feature in early times, in Thorn township. Samuel Dixon brought the first colored person into. the township. He (Dixon) came from Virginia. " Peg" was a fine looking black woman, of about twenty years of age. Next was the old man Perry and his family, and Old Jerry. They were accustomed to attend prayer meetings at New Salem church, where they often prayed in public, fervently and devoutly, and in strains of intense earnestness, eliciting many amens, and other tokens of approval, from the members of the Church. In 1832, the Asiatic cholera raged fearfully in the central-southern part of the township, and a large number of deaths occurred. George Clum and William Friend, who lived in the cholera region, were about the only grown male persons who did not take it ; and yet, as long as the dreadful scourge raged there, these two men visited the sick, the dying, and prepared the dead for burial, neither of them sleeping in a bed for several weeks, .so .constant and untiring were they engaged in their self-sacrificing ministrations. Dr. William Trevitt then resided in Thornville, distant five or six miles from the infected district. He was a skillful physician, and saved every case he reached before the patient got into a certain condition.- He kept three horses constantly bridled and saddled, and rode both day and night. Two of his horses dropped dead under the spur. He saved one of his patients after his horse fell dead, though he ran a considerable distance with his saddle-bags on his arm. If he had 'arrived five minutes later, it is believed, his patient would have died. After Henderson (for that was the patient's name) got well, he went to Trevitt's office and inquired for his bill. Trevitt turned to his book, and told him the ordinary charge of only two or three dollars. Henderson asked him what his horse was worth. Treyitt told him that he had paid eighty dollars for him. only a few days before. Thereupon Henderson took out his pocket-book and counted out eighty-five dollars, and offered the money to Trevitt, who declined HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 311 to take any thing but his regular fee, which he took and put in his pocket. Henderson then took out change so as to leave just eighty dollars remaining, the price of the horse, which he left upon the counter, with an emphatic remark, that that money belonged to Trevitt, and not to him. The cholera raged fearfully for several weeks, and then disappeared as suddenly as it came. It was very bad in Newark, Licking county, at the same time. As rich and populous as Thorn is, it was, for a long time, destitute of internal improvements, was off the main thoroughfares of travel and commerce, and occupied a somewhat isolated position. Still, the farmers managed to market their surplus products without any very serious difficulty. There was the National pike only a few miles north, and the Zanesville and Maysville pike, only a little further south. There was the Ohio Canal, with a warehouse at Millersport, just over the township line, in Fairfield county ; and, with the one convenient market, and the two other not distant outlets, the people' managed to get along comfortably and make money. There was an every other day mail and hack line between Lancaster and Newark, passing by way of Thornville ; so, after these two places obtained railroads, the inhabitants of Thorn could get away without much difficulty, when they wished to make a railroad journey to distant parts of the country. Pre- vious to the railroad era, they were even better situated, comparatively, for they could reach a through line of stages at Jacksontown, only a few miles north, or at Somerset or Rushville, not much farther south. There was, at one time, a turnpike projected to run from Lancaster to Newark, by the way of Thornville, and engineers surveyed the line. The undertaking received no great encouragement, however, and was soon abandoned. It is said that Samuel Hite, the old pioneer, was the only man, through whose land the line was run, who was friendly to the enterprise. There was, however, an ambition for a produce mart within the limits of the township, and an effort was made to secure the same. The Licking Summit Reservoir had been constructed as a feeder to the Ohio Canal, by means of high artificial embankments. This construction turned the three or four little natural lakes into one large body of water, and also submerged much of the adjacent flat country. The " Licking Summit Reservoir Improvement " was the name of an enterprise that was expected to .bring Thorn township into direct connection with the canal, and furnish a good home market for all surplus farm products. In pursuance of this idea, a boatway was cut through the Reservoir from the feeder, some three miles northeast of Millersport, on the Ohio and Erie Canal, to a point at the southeastern extremity of the Reservoir, about one mile from Thornville. A two-horse tread-wheel boat was to tow canal boats to and fro along this boat-way, a distance of several miles. Thornport was laid out, a large hotel and warehouse were speedily constructed, and quite a little town sprung up as if by magic. Things went on swimmingly for a season, and the strange craft plied regularly between Thornport and the Feeder, on the Ohio and Erie Canal, carrying out the surplus grain products of the township and returning with salt, groceries, hardware, dry goods, and other commodities. But just 312 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. as the only seaport" of Perry promised to be a substantial success, if not a beauty and a joy forever," the wicked floods of adversity poured in and quenched all the rising hopes of promise. One day as a canalboat was being towed in slowly through the delightful, placid waters, and all earth and sky apparently as lovely and serene as the blue, waters of the lake itself, a storm suddenly loomed up in the northwestern sky, and almost in a twinkling rain descended in torrents, forked lightnings flashed, and the thunder rolled and jarred until even the big catfish at the bottom of the lake were stunned. Worse than all for the hardy seafarers, the winds blew a fearful hurricane, the waves of the agitated lake tossed and rolled around as fearful as the waters of the Atlantic in mid ocean. There could be but one result. The frail fleet was not prepared to weather such a gale, and the whole concern was wrecked, the boatmen thankful that they had escaped a watery grave. It is probable that the boatmen who encountered this " storm at sea" carried exaggerated reports of it to the men of the Ohio and Erie Canal, and it is certain that no captain or men would venture out into the Reservoir again ; and thus ingloriously ended the inland navigation of Thorn township, and the costly boat channel, scooped out with so much toil and difficulty, became a desert waste of waters. Thornport went quickly down as a consequence. The " banquet halls" of the big hotel became deserted, and rats, weasels and minks played prisoners' base in the commodious warehouse where had been safely stored thousands of bushels of golden grain. If Oscar Wilde, who complains that this American country has no ruins, could be led through the old hotel and warehouse at Thornport, his ethereal, esthetic nature would be gladdened, and if his eyes could behold the wreck of the boats, he would long to return to Europe no more. Thorn was not destined, however, to remain forever without internal improvements. The railroad era came to her directly. A road bed was made through the township in 1853, but no road was actually secured and cars run, until 1871, when the Newark, Somerset, & Straitsville was opened, and Thornport—one mile from Thornville--- made a station. Thornport was not to sleep in ruins forever, and a new town has sprung up there. The old hotel, warehouse, and other old buildings remain to represent the place as it was before the disastrous wreck of boats ; but many new houses are near at hand to represent the new railroad town of to-day. The old and the new are there, side by side, and the contrast is an impressive one. The Ohio Central runs close along the western border of Thorn, and is nearer to many of the inhabitants than the N. S. & S., which runs through the eastern part of the township. When the richness and fertility cif the soil is considered, it is a little wonderful that so large a number of inhabitants left at an early day for the northwestern section of the State. The fact is, the population greatly increased along from 1828 to 1838, and this, with a highly favorable report of the region named, by those who knew it well, influenced many to move where land was more plentiful, and the country less thickly inhabited. Rev. Jacob Hooper, of Thorn, who, from 182o to 1825 had been a missionary among the Wyandot Indians, brought back such glowing accounts of the richness of the Sandusky region, HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 313 that every year furnished its movers from Thorn to the new country. Sandusky, Seneca, Hancock, Wyandot and Allen received the greater part of the emigrants from Thorn. In Allen county, so many of the Crists, Smiths, Stambaughs, Riebolts, Wisemans and others settled in one part that they concluded to have a Thorn township named after the old home in Perry. Near Fostoria are the Wisemans, Williamsons, Hoopers, Foxes, Williamses, Norrises, Reeds. Stinchcombs and many others, once all residents of Perry county. Honey Creek, Seneca County, was also noted for its Thorn township people. The Cooleys, Valentines, Steels, Stinchcombs, Reeds, Crists, Davises, Teals, Camps, Gafields and many others are from old Thorn. Some time in the Thirties there was a failure of crops in the Sandusky country, and Thorn having furnished such a large percentage of the early settlers, responded with alacrity, and the contributions in corn and flour were quite large. Although the people of Thorn were then hard run, they were not slow in bringing in their offerings for the suffering people of the Sandusky region, ranging from one hundred pounds of flour down to a quart of corn meal. The contributions had to be hauled to Sandusky by wagons, Findlay being one of the principal distributing points. Many a tear trickled down the cheeks of the poorer class of people, as they brought in their little offerings of meal, sincerely regretting that, by reason of their own pressing necessities, they could be no larger. / Jacob Strawn, the Cattle King of Illinois, lived in early times a little distance northeast of Thornville. He was successful, but sold his farm there and started West. saying he would he the richest man in his State or nothing. He made his word more than good, for he became the largest land owner in Illinois. and the largest cattle owner in the United States at the time of his death. Strawn was waylaid and killed near his own home twenty or more years since. It is not a little singular that another Perry county man, John W. Puff (Harrison township), who died at Denver, Colorado, only a few years since, was, at his death, the greatest cattle owner in the known world. John Fisher, a Pennsylvanian, was an odd genius in his way, and at one time aspired to become the largest land owner in the township, and did, at one time, actually own five sections of land running across the township, and had it all paid for. He was carrying on negotiations for the sixth section when the failure of a firm for whom he was a heavy indorser, broke him up, and he was sold out by the sheriff. The old man gathered a little from the wreck; and went to Indiana, but he was too much broken down to rise again as a heavy land owner. The acres that he once owned in Thorn township would be a large fortune in this day. The politics of the township has always been Democratic, from the days of Jackson to the present. The Democrats have usually numbered about three to one of other parties. The breaking up of the Whig, the organization of the Republican party, and the civil war, made some personal charges, but the relative strength of the Democratic party remained about the same. It is also worthy of note, that the party rallied to the support of Horace Greeley, when he was a candidate for President, as strongly as it did for Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Tilden 314 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY. and Hancock. For m0re than fifty years it has been the same unyielding, overwhelming Democratic township, though there are probably not to exceed half a dozen men remaining there who voted for Jackson in 1828. The Indians came into the township quite frequently in early times, to hunt bear. The borders of the little lakes, ponds and swamps, were favorite haunts for that animal. There was a large swamp in the Hooper region, where bears would congregate. When the Indians would visit the neighborhood, to hunt bear, or for other purposes, they would take possession more freely than was agreeable, but they never disturbed anything but something to eat. There was an Indian trail through the township, on the way to or from Washington, D. C., or back and forth between the Indian towns on the Muskingum and Scioto. The old Indian Spring, so called, was a little north of the house of George Stinchcomb, Sr., and was walled up with split puncheon. The Indians were fond of something good to eat, and did not confine their diet to bear and dear meat. They could readily scent a bake-oven full of pies, and when they were baked enough, they would take them out and eat them after the style of some men of paler faces. They liked to trade a sick dog for a well one ; and if the sick dog got well, they wanted him also. Some of the Indians were very kind and considerate ; and when the fact is taken into consideration, that they mingled freely with the early settlers and their families in Thorn, with no resultant tragedy, it goes far to establish the fact, that they were not naturally bloodthirsty wretches, but when waging war, carried it on as barbarians, which they were. The Reservoir has latterly become quite a place of public resort for fishing, boating and gunning parties. Certain kinds of fish are plentiful in the Reservoir, and quite a number of persons make a regular business of fishing. Visitors to the Reservoir are chiefly from Newark, Lancaster, New Lexington and intermediate points. Boats are kept to hire out to visitors, with men to row them, when it is desired. Rowing is pleasant enough when the waters are calm and smooth ; but when the waves are rolling, the sport becomes unpleasant and even dangerous, and fatal accidents sometimes occur. Only a year or two since, a party of several persons ventured out on a windy day, the boat capsized, and three of them were drowned. The well known author, Emerson Bennett, laid the plot of one of his famous Indian stories about the original lakes here and neighborhood. How much actual truth, if any, is contained in his romantic story of this region, it would be difficult to determine. Bears were very numerous about the original lakes and swamps. Indians and whites alike made it a business to hunt and kill them. In very early times, bears from other parts of the country were chased into the swamps and low lands, where the Reservoir now is. They could not always be followed up successfully, and sometimes their capture had to be given up. There were bear chases or hunts in this part of the township, as late as 1826 or 1827 ; but, about that time, this wild animal of the forest was exterminated. The population of Thorn., including villages, was, in 1880, one thousand nine hundred. HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 315 TOWNS.—Thornville, first called Lebanon, was laid out by Joseph McMullen and John ______. The record of the establishment of this town is imperfect, there being no date given, but it was probably about 1811. The post office could not be called Lebanon on account of the prior claim of Lebanon, Warren county ; and when this became known, the name of the town was changed to Thornville. The village grew slowly, but soon had a tavern, church, school-house, blacksmith and other shops, and a dozen or more dwelling houses. It had, according to the census of 1880, a population of two hundred and sixty-nine. The town now has a post office, one newspaper, three churches (Lutheran, German Reform and Methodist), a union school house, two physicians, one hotel, two dry goods stores, two hardware stores, two drug stores, two livery stables, and the usual number of small shops for a village of its size. Within the last few years, and since the building of the railroad, four or five fine costly residences have been erected. Some of these are among the costliest in the county. Thornville is delightfully situated on a commanding eminence, overlooking a portion of the Reservoir and much of the surrounding country. It is on the common road from Somerset to Newark. and from Lancaster to Newark. It is about one mile distant from the line of the Newark, Somerset and Straitsville Railway. In addition to the new structures, the old part of the town has been repaired and painted up, within the last few years, and the place now presents a modern and neat appearance. Thornville is surrounded by a very rich country, and the business men of the town have a large and profitable trade, which appears to be on the increase. The population is also increasing. Thornville is distinguished as being the burial place of Hon. Samuel White of Newark, who died suddenly in 1844. He was the Whig candidate for Congress, and had acquired a State and national reputation. He was making a warm canvass, and probably over-exerted himself in a long, political speech, causing his death. He had been married to a Miss Stoneman, daughter of Rev. Jesse Stoneman of Thorn township. Mrs. White died, and her remains were interred by her kindred who were buried in the M. E. Cemetery at Thornville. When her distinguished husband died, his remains were brought from Newark and laid by her side. The long funeral procession that wound around the margin of the Reservoir, and up the Thornville hill, was the grandest pageant of the kind that, up to that time at least, had ever been witnessed in the county. White's political friends fairly worshiped him, and his political foes hated and dreaded him. But all political asperities were laid aside, when the grim messenger came and took the gifted young orator and statesman beyond the reach of partisan warfare and political honors. It is worthy of note, that the remains of the great Whig orator came to rest in a town and township so overwhelmingly opposed to him in politics. But the grave banished all resentments, and the ashes of the distinguished statesman sleep quietly beneath the plain, white marble stone, which stands at the highest point in the cemetery, adjacent to the M. E. Church. In addition to name, date of birth and death, the stone is inscribed with the following simple but impressive sentence : " We all must tread the road to death." Thornport was laid mit by W. W. Talbott, in 1839. A large hotel, 316 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY warehouse and other buildings, were erected ; but when the " Licking Summit Reservoir improvement " went down, they all went to decay, and the place became a mere fishing point. Upon the completion of the Newark, Somerset and Straitsville Railroad, in 1871, the town brightened up again, and quite a number of new houses has been built. The population by the census of 1880, was one hundred and twenty-five. It is a station on the Newark, Somerset and Straitsville Railroad, and is also situated along side of the Reservoir. Thorn township is laid off into convenient school districts, has good, comfortable, commodious school-houses, and school from six to eight months of the year, and taught, as a general thing, by good, competent teachers. Public education receives very general attention. Agriculture has now reached a high state of cultivation, and the well-kept farms, houses, barns, etc., and the thrifty appearance of live -stock, all indicate an industrious, prosperous, and enterprising people. The population of Thorn, including villages, in June, 1880, was 1,900. Rev. Joseph Walmire, late of this township, had an eventful expe- rience in his very young days. His father and mother, with himself and two little brothers, were on board a sailing vessel from the old country, destined for the United States of America. The trip was long and tedious ; the father and mother of the little boys took sick, died, were buried at sea, and the orphan children were sold to the highest bidder, to pay passage and other expenses. The children were all bought and taken charge of by separate persons, went to different parts of the country, but all secured good homes, and only one of them was called by the name of their own parents. They knew nothing of each other while children, but after they grew to be men, they sought and found each other out, and henceforward were brothers, and strangers to each other no more. Joseph Walmire became a local preacher )f the M. E. Church, another brother was a somewhat distinguished and talented minister of . the Lutheran Church, while the third was a thrifty, industrious citizen, highly esteemed by all who knew him. Rev. Walmire died only a few years since. Another of the brothers was living not very long ago. Whether the third is living or dead, is not known. CHURCHES.—Zion, or Ribel's Church, is the second oldest in the county. In 1806, Matthias and Elizabeth Reinhold sold two and a-half acres of land to Zion Church. The witnesses to the contract are Philip Miller, Henry Humbarger, and John King. The articles of organization are dated June, 1806, in the hand-writing of John King, in German. and the document is now in possession of George Daniel, who kindly exhibited it for inspection, and to whom the public is, therefore, indebted for the facts established. It appears that Rev. John King, of the Reform; and Rev. William Foster, of the Lutheran Church, calling to their aid the brethren in their respective connecti0ns, united in the purchase of church and cemetery grounds, and in erecting a church edifice thereon, now known as " Ribel's Church." The names signed to this document are in the order f0llowing : William Foster, Preacher ; Peter Humbarger. Elder ; Henry Humbarger, Peter Hedrick, Deacons ; Matthias Reinbold', John HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 317 King—the writer, and also the representative of the Reform people—. Philip Miller, William Stahl, Jacob Reem, William Rehm, Michael Sterner, Andrew Foster, Leonard Emrick, Paul Bean, Jacob Weissman and Adolph Weissman. Rev. Henry King, of Baltimore, Ohio, is a son of the Rev. John King, above named, and is still living. This record shows Rev. John King to be the first preacher of his sect who settled in the county. He came as early as 1803–,4. He was, so far as there is record proof, the first preacher that ever settled in Perry county, and the Rev. William Foster was the next, and both united in the work of the Christian to build one house for two sects, and their labor stands to this day, blessed and approved. Both congregations are strong, active, influential, and sustain regular religious services. The Regular Baptist Church in Thorn is on Section 17. Henry Bowman, one of the very first settlers, gave one acre of ground. The first person buried there was a child of one Israel Penrod. The senior Baptist members were Adam Bogenwright, James Smith, Samuel P. Hite, Stephen Smith, Rev. William Karr, Jacob Balsly, Rev. George DeBolt and others. The first building was erected of hewn logs, near 1824, and the first preachers were Rev. Kauffman and Rev. Eli Ash-brook. The church at present is a frame of commodious proportions, and enjoys regular preaching. The German Baptist Church of Thorn township, Perry county, commonly called Dunkers, or Tunkers, which, in German, means " to dip ; " hence the appellation of Tunkers, and later that of Dunkers. Like all other churches in early times, the meetings were held in private houses, in barns, and in the open groves, when weather permitted. The names of Schofield, Gall, Plank, Hendricks, Snyder, Dennison, Helser, Bosserman, Funderburg, Cover, and Froude are among those of the earliest known in Perry county. The membership is large and very respectable in character. The preachers have no stipulated salary, but assistance is extended voluntarily, or when needed. No member of the church is permitted to become a public charge. Help to the needy is a duty enjoined. Faith and repentance prior to baptism are essential to membership. The minister is called by vote of the majority of the congregation. The preference of the voter is expressed privately, and the tally is kept by the elders. The church or council meetings are held on Saturday prior to the Sunday meeting and preaching. These are sometimes held quarterly, sometimes twice a month. The Jonathan’s Creek branch of the German Baptist Church comprises Perry, Fairfield, Licking and Muskingum counties. The organization of this branch of Christians dates back in Germany to 1708. They have, here in Perry, no church record, or roll of members, and this may be true elsewhere. The minister, when first elected, is on probation, and in his first degree of advancement. If faithful, he may be advanced to the second degree in the same way, and by the same vote which first chose him, and in the same way they are advanced to the third degree, or full ministry, ordained by the laying on 0f hands of at least two ordained elders. When placed under oath they affirm ; they are non-combatant in war, which they oppose ; they seat them- 318 - HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY selves around a table at sacrament of bread and wine after the supper, the sexes at separate tables. The sick are also anointed with oil in the name of the Lord. They believe in a change of heart prior to baptism, and without which baptism is of no effect for salvation. The denomination has a good, commodious house of worship, situated in the eastern part of Thorn township, on the common road leading from Somerset to Thornville. Many Dunkers, or German Baptists, were among the earliest pioneers of Thorn, and religious worship was held at private houses at a very early day, no doubt previous to 1810. Daniel Snider was a preacher and leader, and services were often held at his house. Snider also preached in Fairfield, Muskingum and other counties, and was widely known, and everywhere venerated by the brethren of the denomination to which he belonged. He died at the age of 93, universally esteemed. There are quite a number of Dunkers in some other parts of the county, but there is no other public house of worship. The Lutheran and Reform churches in Thornville were both organized at a very early date—from 1810 to 1812. A little later the two congregations united in the building of an edifice to be used jointly. Rev. William Foster, the founder of the Lutheran Church in Perry county, was, no doubt, the principal officiating minister in the organization of the Lutheran congregation, and Rev. Andrew Henkel came along about that time or soon thereafter. The writer has seen a printed certificate of baptism, signed by Rev. William Foster, of date A. D. 18o6, the rite having been administered in Thorn township. Foster died about 1815 or 1816, and Rev. Andrew Henkel appears to have succeeded as pastor of nearly all of the Lutheran churches in Perry county. Rev. John King was, no doubt, the minister in charge when the Reform congregation was organized. He came to what is now Perry county in 1803 or 1804, and, according to the best information, was the first minister of any denomination to settle in the county. The Lutheran and Reform congregations continued in the joint ownership and use of church property until about twenty years since, when each society separately erected a large, commodious and costly house of worship. Both the Lutheran and Reform churches are strong and active, and sustain stated preaching and Sabbath schools. The Methodist Episcopal Church in Thornville was organized and a church built at an early clay. The edifice, which was of brick, was, after a short time, reported unsafe, when it was torn down and a large frame building erected in its stead, which continues to be used at the present time. The Rev. Jesse Stoneman was, in his lifetime, a member of this church, and his ashes repose in the cemetery adjacent. The charge is attached to the Rushville Circuit, and secures its ministers by appointment of the Ohio Conference. Regular preaching and other church services, including Sabbath school, are sustained. Friend's or Crist’s Church (Methodist Episcopal), situated in the southwestern part of Thorn township, though not strictly speaking a pioneer church, is one that has been long established, and sustains regular preaching and other religious services common to the denomina- HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 319 tion with which it is connected. The society has a neat, comfortable house of worship, and, in proportion to its numerical strength and general ability, is zealous and liberal in church work and in contribution to the various funds of the church. The regular ministers are appointed and Sent by the Ohio Conference. The Methodist Episcopal Church at New Salem is on the Perry county side of the line. A church was organized and a log house of worship built at an early day—about 1818 to 182o. This was in use until 1838 or 184o, when a neat, commodious frame edifice was erected near the site of the old one, which has been occupied until the present time. The society is tolerably strong in numbers, active, and preaching and other church services, including Sabbath school, are regularly sustained. Its ministers are appointed by the Ohio Conference. HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 321 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES PERRY COUNTY. ACHAUER, JOHN JACOB, merchant, New Straitsville, Ohio, was born September 1, 1822, in the Kingdom of Wertumberg, Germany, son of John Jacob and Regine Dorotha (Young) Achauer. At the age of twelve years he emigrated, with his father, to America, who, landing in New York, came west and settled in Brush Creek township, Muskingum county, Ohio, where he entered eighty acres of land, upon which he lived to the time of his death, June 30, 1858, aged sixttwentu-niners, nine months and twentv-nine days ; his wife following hiaged eighty-threeary, of 1879, aged-eighty-three years. Mr. Achauer; the subject of this sketch, remained upon the farm with his father until he was fifteen years of age, at which time he employed with Jacob Brock, of Zanesville, Ohio, who kept a fancy bakery and coffee-house, with whom he remained for two years, during which time he acquired some English education at his leisure moments. At the expiration of this time he employed as a clerk with the firm of Roff & Lesslie, who kept a general merchandise storeof Zanesvillee principal store of Zanesville, where he remained one year, and on account of the embarrassment of the firm, brought about by the panic of 1840, he returned home and worked from spring till fall on the farm, when he employed with one Granger, at Moxahala, this county, where he worked in a distillery until the following spring, when he again returned home and engaged in farming for over one year—from 1842, February, to 1843, June—and returned again to Moxahala and finished the trade of a distiller in 1847, with Andrew Graham. Having completed his trade, he bought thirty-three acres of land at Blue Rock and opened business for himself, running a distillery and sawmill, continuing until 1849, then selling out and buying a steam sawmill about one-half mile up the creek, which he run for about nineteen years, at which time he sold out and came to this place, in 1871, and engaged in the grocery business, which he carried on until 1874, when he suspended business on account of the miners' strike in that year, by which he lost $5,000. The strike began in April and he suspended in July of the same year. In 1874 he was elected Mayor, to fill a vacancy of eight months ; was engaged in fire insurance and steamship agencies, and was also notary public, and was again elected Mayor in 1879, serving two years. Resumed business again in 1881, where he keeps a neat and well selected supply of produce and dry goods. He is now a member of the town Council, and was run for County Representative, on the Greenback ticket, in 1878. Was married January 28, 1845, to Miss Charlotte Molter, born November 26, 1826, in the Prov- - 31 - 322 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES ince of the Rhine, in Bavaria ; daughter of Peter and Margaret (Young) Molter. They are the parents of thirteen children, viz. : Charles. ; Louisa D. deceased ; John G. ; Andrew G. deceased Caroline C. ; Augusta M. ; Julia ; Lydia A., deceased ; G., ; Albert L. ; Benjamin F. ; William P. ; Elizabeth, and Edwin F. ACKER, PROF. H. F., teacher of the High School, New Lexington, Ohio. Professor Acker was born Januaiy 31, 1850, in the same house in which his father was born. He is the son of Adam and Margaret (Brown) Acker, both natives of Clayton township. His paternal ancestry is German, his maternal, Irish. Young Acker began teaching in 1867, and taught four terms, then entered the Ohio University, at Athens,. and graduated in 1875. He came to this place in the fall of the same year, when he took charge of the schools here as Superintendent and teacher of the High School, which position he held for two years. The following year he had charge of the Madison Academy, in this county, since which time he has held his present position. Prof. Acker was married July 5, 1876, to Miss Lizzie, daughter of Thomas and Rachel (Wilson) Rhodes. They are the parents of one child, Mary Pau- line, who died in infancy. ADAMS, CHARLES, engineer, Shawnee, Ohio, was born January 27, 1861, in Morgan, Morgan county, West Virginia, son of Robert and Ellen (Culbertson) Adams. Upon the breaking out of rebellion, and about six months after his birth, his father moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he remained about five years, and in the following places was engaged during the time that his son remained at home : St. Louis, Missouri, three years ; Grand Tower, Illinois, one year ; Knightstown, Indiana, two years ; Ironton, Ohio, one year ; Bellaire, Ohio, seven months ; Ashland, Kentucky, four years, when and where Charles began work at plate rolls in a rolling mill, remaining about two years, from where he came to Shawnee, Ohio, where he engaged as a striker at Fannie Furnace blacksmith shop for about one year, when he went to Ashland, Kentucky, remaining about six weeks, and again returned to Shawnee, and to the same shop, working about thirteen months, at which time he engaged as fireman on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, running from Newark to Shawnee, where he remained about six months, and then worked as top filler at the New York furnace about three months, at which time he took his present position. He was married December 3o, 1880, to Miss Ella, daughter of George and Catharine (Diller) Martzolff. They are the parents of one child, viz. : Robert George. ADAMS, ROBERT, farmer ; postoffice, New Lexington, Clayton township ; born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1803 ; settled in Perry county about the year 1827 ; a son of Joseph and Martha (Moore) Adams ; married, in 1825, to Miss Margaret McClelland, daughter of James and Mary (McKinley) McClelland. They are the parents of eight children, viz. : Mary J., deceased ; Joseph ; James M. ; John ; Margaret M., deceased ; William, deceased ; Samuel ; Calvin, deceased. Mr. Adams had five sons in the late war. ADAMS, ROBERT, Manager of New York Furnace, Shawnee, Ohio, was born November 1, 1829, in Lanarkshire, near Glasgow, Scotland ; son of James and Margaret (Barclay) Adams. Mr. Adams was brought HISTORY OF PERRY COUNTY - 323 up in a furnace region, and learned the trade of moulder, beginning at the 'early age of ten years, and served seven years, at Schott's iron works. After learning his trade he has been engaged as follows : Learning blast furnace trade, where he worked eight years and nine months —at this place there were sixteen furnaces. At the expiration of this time a Quaker iron company, of Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, and situated on the Susquehanna River, induced him to emigrate to America, and employed him as furnace keeper for sixteen months, at Danville, Montour county, Pennsylvania, keeping furnace ; at Bloomsburg, Columbia county, Pennsylvania, two years, keeping furnace for the -Paxton Iron Company ; this company then sent him to Bools' Falls, Connecticut, where he blowed furnace one year ; at Stockbridge Plains, Massachusetts, where he blowed two furnaces one year for D. T. Perry, at which time the work stopped ; at Prideville, Monongahela county, Virginia, blowing two furnaces, three miles apart—one used charcoal and the other used coke—for a Boston company, five years and six months ; was at this place at the opening of the rebellion and when the first gun was fired upon Fort Sumter, in 1861. Mr. Adams was at this time captain of a militia company in this place, having been promoted from first lieutenant, and was, by Governor Wise, ordered into the service ; but not being willing to take up arms against the Government, he went to Alleghany, Pennsylvania, where he blowed the American Furnace three or four months for John Jamison, when he returned to his home in Virginia, remaining about one year, blowing fnrnace six months of the time at Independence, for George Hardman. At Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, blowing furnace for Mr. Loughlin three years and eight months. He next superintended the building of two furnaces at Sunebar, which he afterward blowed two years and six months. At this time, in 1868, the Boat Trade, near St. Louis, Missouri, sent for him to come and start a furnace they had built in 1862. where he was employed eighteen months, and made the first iron that ever was run from c0al in Missouri. At this time he again returned to the moulding trade, and was employed at Grand Tower, one hundred and ten miles below St. Louis, for six months, from where he went to Hillman,s Furnace, Le-green, to Ohio, and to Knightstown, Clay county, Indiana, where he was employed, keeping furnace and moulding, about six months ; next to Ironton, Ohio, remaining f0ur years, moulding, running and keeping furnace ; at Bellaire, Ohio, eight more, blowing furnace. While here he was called to start the Stony Hollow furnace, near Steubenville, Ohio, that had been chilled, taking from it twenty-six tons of iron ; at Ashland, Kentucky, two months, blowing furnace ; and again moulded for about two years,, when he came to Shawnee in June, 1877, where he has been employed up to this time. Was married in August, of 1842, to Ellen, daughter of Lewis and Ellen (Allen) Culbertson. They are the parents of nine children : Robert, deceased ; Ellen ; Margaret ; William ; Agnes ; James, deceased ; Charles ; Mary, and Sarah. ADAMS, WM. WALLACE, engineer, Shawnee, Ohio, was born June 23, 1855, in Bulls Fails, Connecticut ; son of Robert and Helen (Culbertson) Adams. Mr. Adams lived with his father until 1870, which time found him at Knightsville, Indiana, from where he went to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and engaged at Jones & Loughlin,s mills, firing engine boilers 324 - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. for three years, from whence he went to Ashland, Boyd county, Kentucky, where he remained up to the time of his coming to Shawnee. During his stay at Ashland he was married to Elizabeth M., daughter of Joel and Mary (Mayhew) West, of Boyd county, Kentucky. They are the parents of three children, viz. : Mabel C. : Agnes C., and Robert L. After coming to this place he has been engaged as follows : Laying brick, three months ; night watch at New York and Straitsville Coal and Iron Furnace, about seven months ; keeping furnace. two years ; working about furnace until about June, 1880, when he employed in his present vocation and which he has held during this time. ADAMSON, PIUS V., Shawnee, Ohio. merchant. was born September 26, 1856. in Muskingum county. Ohio : son of Luther and Sarah (Dills) Adamson ; was raised in Zanesville. Ohio, and assisted his father in a retail dry goods store of that place : was married May I I. 1878, to Hester, daughter of 'William R. and Eva (Ball) Terry. of Licking county, Ohio. They are the parents of one child, whose name is Wate T. Mr. Adamson left Zanesville, after having finished his course of study as laid down by the public school system of that day, together with a business course at the Zanesville Commercial College. in the fall of 1874, when he took a berth for a short time on a boat plying on the Muskingum, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, from Zanesville. Ohio. After this he was engaged in his father's dry goods store for eight months, and at the end of this time he went to Shawnee, Ohio. where he engaged in clerking for two years, and then went into business for himself, where he has remained up to this present time, and has carried, upon an average, a stock of about four thousand dollars' worth of goods since he first opened his store of general merchandise, and has enjoyed a good business, although in competition with company stores. AID, MAXIMIN, retired boot and shoe manufacturer. New Lexington, Ohio ; born. September 22, 1820. in Upper Rhine. Department Alsace, France ; son of Francis Anthony and Mariah (Miller) Aid. Maximin came to America, November 15, 1831, and landed in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he remained about two years. then came to Waverly, Pike county, Ohio, ten months : then to Chillicothe. Ohio, in 1834, and to Logan. Ohio. in 1845. his father's family remaining at Chillicothe ; and to Clarksville. Jackson township. Perry county. Ohio, in 1848, and built the first house in that place. In 1832. to New Holland, Pickaway county, Ohio ; in 1834, to Rehoboth, Perry county, Ohio, and, in 1856, came to New Lexington, Ohio. where he has remained to the present time. Mr. Aid's father and brothers (four) were all boot and shoe manufacturers. Mr. Aid was married, first, in 1846, to Miss Mary, daughter of Joseph and Christena (Hoover) Krieg, of Perry county, Ohio. They became the parents of nine children, viz.: Christena Loretta, married to Thomas Henestofel ; Catharine Anne. died in infancy ; Mary Anne V., married to John M. Smith : Frank J.. .now County Surveyor of Perry county, Ohio, married June 1. 1882, to Miss Lillian F., daughter of William J. and Ellen (Dunbar) Cully, of Hebron, Ohio ; Hellena ; Catharine F. ; Emma ; and two died in infancy, not named. Mrs. Aid died in July, 1861. Mr. Aid was married, the second time, March 4, 1862, to Miss Lucinda Anne. daughter of John and Martha (Gooden) Hartsell, of Perry county. Ohio. Joseph