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DIXON.
PHYSICAL FEATURES, ETC.
This township which is designated in the congressional survey as township seven of range one, is one of the four westernmost townships in Preble county. It borders on Israel township on the south, and on Jackson on the north. To the east lie Gasper and. Washington townships while for its western boundary it has the State of Indiana.
In appearance this township is varied. It is hilly in the eastern and northern parts, but in the south and west a long reach of level country extends as far as the eye can reach.
The physical features of the eastern portion are closely allied to those of the adjoining townships. Here the country is hilly—not hills—steep and rugged, but of gentle and easy ascent, followrng each other as regularly as the rolls of the prairie. The soil which is clay on a limestone subsoil, is productive, and under a good state of cultivation. Fields, heavily loaded with crops of grain, meet the eye of the summer visitor, bespeaking, at once, the industry and prosperity of the owners. The chief crops are corn and wheat, and these thrive here. Large quantities of hay are also grown, and the huge barns which everywhere dot the landscape, attest the success attending the labors of the husbandman. Indeed, these- barns far surpass the dwelling houses in their grand proportions. While the small, cozy cottage is sufficient for the simple needs of the owner, the claims of his crops are recognized by the erection of barns of more than generous proportions. These immense structures often exhibit as many as five or six tiers of windows.
As one moves farther westward, a striking change takes place in the appearance of the country. Instead of the rolling ground of the eastern portion of the townships he finds himself entering upon a long stretch of plain, reaching out on every side. He is now entering upon the most fertile portion of the township and, indeed, of the county. This reach of land, once regarded as useless so far as agricultural purposes were concerned, is now the location of our most prosperous farmers. At the time of the pioneer settlements, the settlers of the middle and eastern portions supposed that they had an unlimited pasture ground stretching to the west, so unreclaimed was this land considered. But finally some of the more knowing settled on the condemned tract if we may so designate it, and commenced a struggle with the natural difficulties of the s0il. By means of long, deep ditches, and by maintaining a good system of drainage, a decided change for the better was produced. The forest gave way and cultivated fields took their places. Instead of the boggy and treacherous soil, there was a good, firm one, one which admitted of tillage and improvement. Subsequent results have demonstrated how correct were the convictions of those hardy pioneers regarding the capabilities of this region, which they so bravely located Upon for the purpose of engaging in a hand-to-hand attack on the works of nature.
The inhabitants of this township are hospitable and courteous in their treatment of strangers. The township is strictly an agricultural one. No towns exist in the whole township, which are incorporated. Here and there a few dwelling houses cluster around some church or school, but this is all. This lack of resorts for the idle is largely instrumental in preserving the peace and quiet of this section. The inhabitants are proud to say that they have not a single dram shop in their midst.
One old farmer will exultingly inform you that "they have the most civil and law-abiding township in the county. He had it from the sheriff, and he ought to know."
There are no streams of importance in the township. Four Mile creek winds through the central portion from north to south, but is scarcely deserving of the name of creek. During the summer months a mere thread of water finds its way along the river bed, but of not sufficient magnitude to turn the water mills along its course. In the eastern sections there is a small stream called Paint creek. It is of small importance, however.. Another of the same kind fl0ws through the southwestern sections.
The soil in the township is of a clayey nature and highly productive, but not so much so as that of the western sections, where large deposits of vegetable matter have been accumulated during inundations in the past.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
It is to be regretted that the early records of the township cannot be obtained, but by some carelessness they have been mislaid, and are not to be found. Some of the most important facts are obtainable from the older settlers; but on many points we are unable to speak positively.
There is but little reason to doubt but that Eli Dixon was the first settler in the township which bears his name. As early as 1804 he moved to Ohio from Georgia, and settled on the farm now owned by Alexander Huffman. A small creek running through the place is still known as Dixon's branch. Four brothers came at once—Eli, Samuel, Stephen, and Joseph. The only one
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who became identified with the history of the township is Eli. Samuel was partially insane, and Stephen was killed while still young by some wandering Indians, on the banks of the Wabash river, in Indiana. Of Joseph nothing is known. It is to Eli that our attention is called. He probably came early enough to get his land in readiness for the spring planting. His farm lay in what was called the "Four Mile" settlement. Along the banks of the stream named "Four Mile" the first settlers located and were known by that name. Few facts can be obtained relative to Dixon's history. He was at one time a captain in the Ohio militia, and after the organization of the township he was elected a justice of the peace, but farther than that we cannot speak positively. As early as a a he moved with his family to Green county, Indiana, and there it is supposed he died. Dixon's whole life seems shrouded in a cloud of uncertainty, and no one now can speak of him from personal knowledge.
The next to come into the township was a Kentuckian named Kercheval. Indeed some are in doubt as to whether he was not the first man, but the majority of opinions make him arrive later in the year than Dixon, possibly pretty nearly at the same time. Kercheval settled farther south on Four Mile creek, in section twenty-eight. He built a mill there, but was probably a resident 0f this township for only a short time, as his name does not occur in any of the later papers, nor is he ever mentioned by the present inhabitants. This mill was the first ever built in the township; it stood on the east bank of Four Mile creek, on the same site where the Niccum mill now stands
In 1806 Benjamin Harris moved to this State from Kentucky, and settled on the farm now known as the Thomas Huffman estate.
In 1807 Paul Larsh arrived from Pennsylvania, and settled on the present Larsh estate. The first year was spent in a camp, where a son, Newton Larsh, was born. There is a report existing that says he was born beside a large fallen tree, and that during the life of Newton Larsh no one was allowed to disturb that log. Until the time of his death it lay where it fell, a grim and silent landmark.
About this time a Kentuckian, whose name was Benjamin Harris, came from the south and located on the farm now owned by Thomas Huffman.
In 1808 the Truaxes settled in the western part of the settlement. This was on the swampy land mentioned in, the preceding paragraph on "physical features." By means of drainage this land was reclaimed and made to yield rich harvests. Among the first settlers in this region of swamp and bog were the Lybrooks, who located on what is now the Toney estate owned by Carey Toney. This is now the richest part of the township. At heavy expense tiling has been laid and the water carried off in undergrouud channels. Mr. Jehu Rhea, of this neighborhood, has as much as one thousand five hundred rods of tiling on his farm.
A settler cotemporary with Lybrook was a Mr. De Coursey, but where he was from and where he went cannot be stated positively. Perhaps he was one of those uneasy spirits who cannot endure the sight of civilization, and so kept fleeing before the steady march of progress, or perchance he was among those who fell on the frontier defending their homes against the encroachments of the Indians. In those days every able bodied man was required to serve on the frontier for a certain time. One division would go to the front and the remainder would stay at home to farm the land and also to act as a home guard and reserve force.
About 1810 or 1812 settlements were made in the southern and eastern parts of the township.
In 1812 Simeon Gard came from Pennsylvania to Cincinnati by water, and from there moved to Dixon and settled on the farm now owned by Little John Gard. He entered four hundred and eighty acres of land in section twenty-five. Simeon Gard was born in Pennsylvania in 1777. He died in a56. His wife, Anna, who was born in Virginia in 1777, died in the year 1850. Littel John Gard was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1802, and is still living on the farm which his father entered In am He was married to Nancy Wright, who was born in Erie county, Pennsylvania, in 1807, and who died in 1864. Mr. Gard is the father of eleven children, two of whom are deceased. John was in the war of the Rebellion, in the Ninety-third regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, and died at Nashville in 1863.
About the time that the Congers settled in the township Thomas Woodward located in the northern part of the township on Four Mile creek. The land he entered is now the property of Martin Swisher.
Sections one and two were settled by two brothers, Henry and Peynton Bristow, and the land now owned by Levi Wyatt was entered by Phineas Hart.
Levi Gard was born in Pennsylvania in 1799. In 1756, he, with his father, Jeremiah Gard, started for Ohio, to look for a suitable locality for settlement. His father rode the family mare, and he walked the whole distance. They camped out on the way, and one night were greatly disturbed by the wolves, who were attracted to the camp by the savory smell of fresh venison. The Gards arrived at a point on Mill creek, about ten miles notheast of Cincinnati. Then Levi rented some land, and in that same year returned to Pennsylvania and was married to Sophia Barkdall, of that State. She was born in Germany in 1778, and died in 1857. Levi died in 1860. Both of them died on the first day of January. In 1798 Levi Gard and wife removed to Ohio, bringing their household goods in a flat-boat down the Ohio river. They settled a little south of Mt. Pleasant, Hamilton county, where they remained until the last week of December, 1806, when they removed to Union county, Indiana. In passing northward they had to ford the Miami river, which at that time of the year was full of floating ice. In 1809 the Gards moved to section thirty-one of Dixon township, and settled on the farm now owned by John Gard. All was forest around them, and there was no habitation to receive them, save the little log cabin without a floor. During the winter a temporary floor was
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made of "score" blocks, and soon afterwards a puncheon floor was made. John Gard still has in his possession the original puncheons used. Levi Gard served through the War of 1812, and was obliged to leave his family in the midst of a forest full of wild beasts and Indians, but no harm came to them. To Mr. and Mrs. Gard were born eight children, of whom five are living; four are in Dixon township.
John Gard was born in Hamilton county, in December, 1806, and was married in 1832, to Nancy Sprout, who died in 1842. They had three children—Levi R. lives in Dixon; Elizabeth, wife of Ira Duvall, lives in Union county, Indiana; and Harvey L. lives in Israel township. In 1860 Mr. Gard was again married to Dorcas (Jones) Ammerman, widow of Martin Ammerman. She was born in 1820.
Mr. Gard owns the quarter section upon which his father settled. Mr. Gard moved to Rush county, Indiana, in 1833, and remained there six years, when he returned to Dixon township.
Robert, son of Barfoot and Nancy Runyan, born in Rowan county, North Carolina, August 1, 1787. When nine years of age he moved to Madison county, Kentucky, with his parents, and two years later to Barren county, where he lived until he reached his twenty-first year, at which time he married Elizabeth Burns. In 1806 he moved to Somers township, and built a cabin below the iron bridge. He remained here until 1808, and then settled on the farm now owned by Robert Harris, near Sugar valley, Dixon township. While here he lost his first wife, who died in 1823. In the following year, 1824, he married his second wife, Mary, widow of James McAuley, with whom he lived until her death, which occurred in the year 1868. During the year 1812, Mr. Runyan took part in the war. After living near Sugar valley for twenty year, he purchased the farm on which he afterwards died.
Samuel Gordon came into Dixon in 1810, and made his location in section twenty. He was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1795, and died in Dixon in 1860. He was in the six months' service in the War of 1812. He was married tb Sarah Gard, who was born in 1803, and to them were born ten children, only three of whom survive, viz: _Levi, who resides in Henry county, Indiana; Phebe, wife of Taylor W. Nicum, in Jackson township, this county, and John, who occupies the home farm in Dixon. He was married to Esther Ann Stuffier, in 1865, and has a family of five children living, and one dead. He was in the war of the Rebellion as a member of the Forty-seventh regiment Ohio volunteer infantry.
George Parks emigrated with his parents, Samuel and Charity Parks, from Kentucky, in 181 1, and settled on the farm now owned by John Conger, in section twenty- five. George Parks was born in 1801, and in 1825 married Mary Price, who was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1805. The issue of this marriage was nine children, eight living, named as follows: Silas, Harriet, Elizabeth, Henry N., Catharine, Mary Jane, Charity, and Leander. Harriet and Henry reside in Grant county, Indiana; Catharine in Eaton, and the rest in this township. Silas was married to Nancy (Rhea) Gordon in 1877, the widow of S. Gordon. Leander married in 1869, Livice Lewis.
Among the earliest settlers of the Sugar valley neighborhood was Josiah Simonson. His son, Jessie, is now living there. Josiah Simonson was killed by the accidental discharge of a gun. He took the piece down, and, thinking it to be unloaded, he pushed the hammer back with his foot, putting his mouth at the same time to the muzzle, for the purpose of blowing the tube clear. The hammer slipped from under his foot, and the gun, which was heavily loaded, went off, sending the entire charge through the lower part of his head. He lived until early morning and then expired. Mr. Simonson was one of the pioneers of his district, and his frightful death cast a deep gloom over the community which had grown up around him.
In 1815 John Pinkerton settled in the township, and in the following year, 1816, Major William Gray, an officer in the Revolutionary war, settled on section fifteen, on the farm now owned by Robert Gray.
Michael Runyon entered a quarter section in the southeastern part of the township, where the Congers now reside. He afterwards sold out and went to Illinois.
In 1812 Josiah Conger emigrated from Kentucky to Ohio and settled in Dixon township, in the vicinity of what is now called Sugar valley. He was a native of the Carolinas. From there he moved to Tennessee. He next went to Kentucky, and afterwards to Ohio, where he lived until his death, in 1843. His death was caused by the accidental discharge of a gun. Mr. Conger was a minister of the Christian church, having entered up0n his sacred office when only twenty-three years of age, and continuing until his death. The journey from Kentucky, which they were three weeks in accomplishing, was made in a four-horse wagon. They settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Thompson. His wife, Catharine (Runyon), was born in 1787, and died in 1871. They were the parents of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, as follows: Nancy (Marshall), deceased; Aaron R.; Moses; Anna (Hoffman), deceased; Sarah, widow of Alexander Rhea; Mary (McWhinney), deceased; John, deceased; Eli; Melissa, widow of Henry Overholzer; William; and Evelina, wife of Jacob Marshall. Moses and A. R. Conger are the only members of the family now residing near Sugar valley, who were raised there.
Aaron Ross Conger, the eldest son of Josiah Conger, was born in Tennessee in 1805. He came with his father and mother first to Kentucky, and thence to Ohio, and settled in Dixon township. In 1827 he was married to Ruth Marshall, by whom six children were born, four of whom are living. His first wife died in 1847, and in 1848 was married to Rhoda A. Robinson, who was born in 1825. She is the daughter of Isaac and Rhoda Robinson, who settled in Monroe township. Mr. Conger has had no children by his second wife. He owns eighty acres of well improved land in section twenty-four where he resides.
Moses Conger, who emigrated to Ohio from Kentucky in 1812, settled with his parents in section fourteen 0f Dixon township, this county. He was born in 1807,
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and in 1828 married Phoebe Price, who was born in 1807. To them were born nine children, five of whom are living: Sarah J., wife of Meeker S. Morton ; Elizabeth A., wife of Lemuel S. Bennett, William W., living in Dixon township, and John A., who resides in Illinois.
William W. Conger, born in 1814, married Julia Wilkinson in 1860. She was born in 1843, and is the daughter of George Wilkinson. Mr. and Mrs. Conger have four children, all living: Emma, Royal, Edward, and Bertha. .Mr. Conger owns forty-seven acres of land in section twenty-four.
In 1810 Jacob Marshall settled in Dixon, on the farm now known as the Marshall estate, in section twenty-four. Marshall was a Marylander, and his wife, Rebecca Mir-. ray, was from the same State. Ten children were born to them, five of whom are still living, as follows: Josiah, who is living in this township; Edmund, in Indiana; William, in Butler county, Ohio; Jacob, in Harrison township, and. Ephraim in Kansas. Josiah Marshall married Harriet Price in 1834, the issue of which union was six children, four of whom survive, viz: Mrs. David Wilkinson, resides in Washington township; Mrs. John R. Burson, Mrs. John Brower, and Mrs. John Hickman, in Dixon. Jacob Marshall served six months in the War of 1812.
Daniel Brower was born in Virginia in 1803, and emigrated to Ohio in 1815. He married Sarah Shively, who was born in Stark county, Ohio, in 1811, and died in 1877. Four of their nine children are living, two in Dixon township, and two in Indiana. Jacob Brower, the father of Daniel, was born in Virginia in 1772, and settled in Lanier township in 1815, where he died in 1832. His wife was a native of Maryland, and died in 1876. The old folks were the parents of eleven children.
Thomas Pinkerton came to Dixon in 1815, with his father, John Pinkerton, who entered land in section thirty-two. John Pinkerton subsequently represented Preble county in the State legislature two terms. Thomas was born in South Carolina in 1793, and married, in 1816, Margaret McGaw, by whom he had seven children, two of whom survive: Elizabeth, wife of John B. Foster, living in Illinois, and W. A. Pinkerton, in this township, W. A. was born in 1821 ; married, in 1843, Maria Sterrett, who was born in 1821. They have had four children, two living. Mr. Pinkerton has held the office of justice of the peace six years, and has been trustee of the township some fifteen years.
Major William Gray settled in Dixon in 1816. He was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1755, and emigrated to this county from Tennessee. He entered the land in section fifteen, which Robert Gray now owns. Major Gray was in the Revolutionary war, and served during almost the entire period of its continuance. He died in 1849. His wife, whose maiden name was Ann Thornberry, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1764, and died in 1854: They had five boys and six girls, three of them now living,. viz.: Mrs. Ann Garvis, in Union county, Indiana, Mrs. Elizabeth Shoemaker, in Grant county, Indiana, and Mrs. Cynthia Shoemaker, in Darke county, Ohio. John Gray, father of Robert, now residing in this township, was born in North Carolina in 1797, and came to Ohio with his father in 1816. He was married to Nancy Rhea, who was born in 1799. Her father was one of the early settlers of Washington township, having located there as early as 1810. Six of the thirteen children born to John and Nancy Gray are now living, namely: Robert, in this township; Mrs. Thomas Reed, near Springfield, Illinois; Mrs. J. W. Cook, in Jay county, Indiana; Clark, in Logansport, Indiana; James, in Arizona, and Margaret, wife of James Paddock, in Kansas. Robert Gray was married in 1864, to Rachel Cunningham, widow of Henry Cunningham, and has two children.
Nancy Cooper, widow of Benjamin Cooper, sr., emigrated to Preble county from Kentucky with her family in 1816, and settled in section seventeen. She was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, in 1775; her maiden name being De Coursey. Benjamin Cooper, sr., died in Kentucky, in the year 1803. There are two children now living—Mrs. Jane Davis, widow of Jesse Davis, living in Carroll county, Indiana, and Benjamin, sr., in this township. Benjamin Cooper, jr., was born in 1804, and was married in 1837, to Susannah Flora, who was born in Franklin county, Virginia, in 1819. Mr. Cooper began in the woods on the farm now owned by his daughter, Mrs. Ross. This farm he cleared up, having purchased it of William De Coursey in 1835, By hard work and industry he has accumulated a fine property. He has given to each of his children as they married and left the old home the sum of five thousand dollars. His surviving children are Mrs. Smith Railsback, Mrs. David Railsback, and Mrs. F. V. Ross.
Carey Toney moved into Dixon and settled in section six in 1819. He was born in Buckingham county, Virginia about the year 1779, and died in this township. His wife, Elizabeth (Doren), died at the advanced age of ninety-seven or ninety-eight years. They had a family of ten children, four now living, namely: James, near Logansport, Indiana; Archibald, Jonathan and Harrison, in Dixon. Archibald was born in Franklin county, Virginia, in 1801, and came to this township with his parents in 1819. He has been twice married. His first wife was Dorcas White, born in 1802, died in 1850. In 1851 he was married to Catharine Whitesell, who was born in 1821. By his first marriage he had five children, who are all living, and by his second marriage ten children, eight of whom are living.
Harmon Toney emigrated from Virginia to Ohio in 1819, and located on the farm now owned by Anderson Toney. His wife was Fanny Kingley.
Carey Toney was born in section eight, Dixon township, in 1842, and in 1863 married Sarah Moss, who was born in 1846 in Carroll county, Indiana. Four of their six children are living. Mr. Toney resides in section seventeen of Dixon township.
William, son of Harmon Toney, was born in Dix0n township in 1838, and in December, 1859, was married to Margaret E. Witt, who was born in Union county, Indiana, in 1842. Two of their three children are living: Andrew H. and Orla L. Minta died in 1880. Mr.
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Toney owns one hundred and ninety acres adjoining his residence in section eight, and one hundred and twenty acres in section six, where he is building a new house.
Joseph Miller was born in North Carolina in 1772 and removed from that State and settled in Somers township in 1818. In 180 he moved into this township and settled in section thirty-six. Here he died in March, 1859. His wife, who was Ann Hodgens, was born in 1778 and died in 1856. Of their seven children three are now living, viz.: Robert H., Martha C. (Stubbs) and Joseph H., who resides on the old homestead. Joseph H. married for his first wife Margaret Elizabeth McDivitt, who died in 1841, and le subsequently married Hannah S. Booker, born in 1821, and whose parents were early settlers in the county. By his first wife there were born three children, one of whom is deceased. He had no children by his sec0nd marriage.
Samuel Morton was born in Warren county, Ohio, in 1819, and came with his parents, Benjamin and Hannah Morton, who were early settlers of Israel township. He married Susan Kinney in 1856, who was born in 1832. They have had five children, four of whom are living. Noah is at home, as are also John and Kate. In 1870 Samuel Morton was elected township trustee and served two terms. Mr. Morton has built a large number of houses in Dixon township.
Ora P. Morton was born in 1857, in Dixon township, and he is the. oldest child of Samuel and Susan Morton, who now reside in section thirty of Dixon township. Mr. Morton married Miss Anna Honsher, who was born in 1857. He is the owner of one hundred and twenty acres of land located in section thirty-six, Gasper township.
Samuel Pottenger was born in Kentucky, in 1790. While a child, in 1880, his parents emigrated to Butler county, Ohio. He died in 1859, his death being caused by injuries received from a runaway team of horses. His wife, Jane McCowen, was born in 1799, and is still living. She emigrated to Preble county with her parents from Tennessee, in 1816. Her mother lived to be one hundred and seven years old. To Samuel and Jane Pottenger were born three children, all of whom are still living. Nancy Jane married Cornelius McDivitt and resides in Dixon township. Mary Ellen married Edmund Murphy and lives in Butler county. James H. lives in Dixon township.
Cornelius McDivitt married Nancy Jane Pottenger in 1860. They have had three children, all of whom are alive. Their farm, consisting of two hundred and forty acres, is.under a good state of cultivation. There has not been a death on this farm for fifty years.
William Pottenger came into the township in 1823, and settled in section ten. He was born in Wayne township, Butler county, Ohio, in 1805, and was married to Mary Monfort in 1834. She was born in 1812, and died in 1879 Mr. Pottenger, although he settled here when the country was still quite new, has ever since resided within a mile of the place on which he first settled. He is the father of ten children, eight living and two dead, as follows: Elizabeth, Henry, Thomas (who was killed at Gettysburgh in 1865), Catharine, Wilson, Ella, John, Margaret, Mary, and William (now deceased).
Samuel Bell, born in Ireland in 1784 emigrated to Ohio from South Carolina, and settled in Israel township about the year 1817. His wife was Jane Hamilton, born about 1790. She died in 1868, and her husband the same year. Their children were six in number, five of whom survive: Andrew lives on the old place; John lives in Iowa; James lives in Kansas; William and Nathan in this township. William, born in 1822, in Israel township, married, in 1857, Sarah McCallum, who was born in 1825. They have six children living and three dead.
James Rhea was born in Kentucky in 1800. His wife was Mary Gray. To them were born ten children, seven of whom are still living, as follows: Ann I., wife of Benjamin Glessner, is now living in Marion, Indiana; Alexander resides in Greenwood county, Kansas; John Rhea, in Eaton, Ohio; Jehu, on the old homestead in Dixon township; Elizabeth, wife of David R. Dooley, in Grant county, Indiana; George W., in Hanover county, and Nancy, wife of Silas Parks, in Dixon township, section nine.
Mrs. Nancy Harris bas born in 1812. Her parents, Andrew and Rachel Lytle Lintner, came from Butler to Preble county at an early day, and settled in Dixon township. Nancy, who was their second child, was born in 1812, and was married in Butler county to Benjamin Harris, in the year 1829. For about five years after their marriage they continued to reside in Butler county, and about the year 1835 they removed to Preble county, and settled on the farm of one hundred and fifty-seven acres, in Dixon township, where Mrs. Harris now resides. To Mr. and Mrs. Harris were born seven children, of. whom two are living, viz.: Judge A. L Harris, of Eaton, and Eliza J., wife of Levin Murray. Mr. Harris died in 1872, and his widow now has the sole management and care of the farm, which she keeps in good 0rder.
James H. Lewellen was born in Dixon township in 1830. His parents, Philip and Anna Lewellen came to Preble county from Kentucky at an early day, and settled in Dixon township. They were the parents of eleven children.
In the year 1853 James H. was married to Frances M. Gavin, who was born in 1832. Her parents, John and Elizabeth Gavin, are dead. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewellen have been born three children: James C. lives in Indiana; Lizzie married Samuel C. Weist, lives in Dixon; and Charles Edwin is dead.
William Duggins was born in Preble county, in 1824. His parents, William and Sarah Duggins, came from Kentucky to Ohio at an early day. William, their youngest son, was married in 5849, to Sarah, daughter of Robert and Mary Runyan, who were early settlers of this county. Six children have been born to them, all of whom are living and are married. James H. lives with his mother in Dixon; William T. is in Washington township; Mary D. is the wife of Finley Kincaid, of Washington; and Elmer E. and Cora A. are at home. Mr. Duggins died in 1875, and his widow lives on the home place of one
166 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
hundred and sixty-five acres of land in section thirteen, of Dixon township. ship. From
Smith Charles was born in Guilford county, North Carolina, in 1784, and in 1805 came to Warren county, Ohio. In 1807 he came to Preble county and settled in Dixon township. He was in the War of 1812 for six months. For thirty years he was the Dixon township treasurer. His wife, Nancy Kercheval, was born in 1784 and died in 1823. There were seven children by this marriage—James, Elisha, Reuben, John P., Mary, Elizabeth, wife of Leroy Larsh, living near Richmond, Indiana, and Sarah, residing in Dixon township with her brother William. Smith Charles married for his second wife Elizabeth Hibler, a native of Kentucky. Three of the four children born of this marriage are living, viz.: Thomas W., William H. and Nancy, widow of John Jennings, of Butler county. Thomas W., born in 1825, married, in 1853, Mary Flora, who was born in 1834. He occupies a part of the old home place. William H., who also lives on a part of the homestead, was born in 1828, and in 1854 married Sarah E. Leech. She was born in 1836.
John P. Charles was born in Dixon on the old place, June 20, 1815. In 1853 he married Mrs. Sarah E. Jackson, widow of Dr. William M. Jackson. She was born in New Hampshire in 1823.
During the years 1845-6-7 Mr. Charles was the editor of the Eaton Register, and then bought the Hamilton Intelligencer, which he sold six months afterwards. In 1880 he again assumed editorial control of the Eaton Register, which position he still retains.
John M. Daugherty was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1823. John M. and Sarah Daugherty were his parents. His father died when John was young. In 1832 he came with his grandfather, Samuel Hunt, who settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Daugherty. His mother joined them soon afterwards. In 1845 he was married to Sarah; daughter of John and Lucy R. Truax, who settled in Preble county at an early day, and for many years lived just south of the Daugherty farm. To Mr. and Mrs. Daugherty were born four children, of whom all are living: Mrs. Libbie Reynolds, of Eaton; John S., who married Lizzie Parker; G. W. lives in Eaton; and Lewis C., who married Cora Surface.
Mr. Daugherty owns about two hundred acres of land in sections one and two of Dixon township. He has for a number of years been president of the Preble County Agricultural board, and has always taken an interest in every laudable enterprise.
Michael Fleisch was born in Germany in 1820, and in 1840 came to this country; stopped for eighteen months in Philadelphia, and then came to Butler county, Ohio, and worked for six years near Somerville. In 1843 he married Catharine Meckly, by whom he has had five children—three girls and two boys: Jacob lives in Kansas; Joseph is in Dixon township; Sarah is the wife of John Shafer; Matilda married Emery Davies, and Nancy is at home. About the year 1850, Mr. Fleisch came to Preble county, and bought one hundred and twenty acres of land in section five of Dixon township. From time to time he added farm to farm until he owned about a thousand acres in Dixon township. He has given away part of this vast tract of land to his children, and now owns the whole of section five, as good a farm as there is in the county, and undoubtedly the largest. Besides this he owns about five hundred acres in Indiana. Mr. Fleisch keeps his vast farm in perfect order, and in a good state of improvement. He deals extensively in fine stock, and makes the raising of hogs a specialty. His farm presents an attractive appearance, and is one of the finest tracts of land for miles around.
Joseph, the second son of Michael Fleisch, was married in 1865, to Lucinda Laflan, who was born in Union county, Indiana, in 1846. Their seven children are still living: Lottie, Jacob, Lawrence, Ida, Viola, Luella and Varner. Mr. Fleisch owns two hundred and eighty-six acres of well improved land in section seven.
William B. Parker was born in New Jersey in 1818, and came to Preble county about the year 1835, in company with his mother, Sarah Parker. In 1845 he was married to Mary Ann Burley, daughter of David and Jane Burley, who came to Preble county about the year 1848. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Parker settled on Paint creek, in Gasper township, and in 1857 moved to their present farm of one hundred and sixty acres of land in Dixon township. Three of their five children are living: 'John, near New Paris; Daniel, near Florence Station, and Mary E., the wife of Sylvester Daugherty, of Dixon township.
Stephen Gard was born in Union county, Indiana, in 1836. His parents were Lorenzo and Malinda (Perkins) Gard. His father died in 1836, and his mother afterwards became the wife of Ebenezer Paddack, and is still living. In 1866 Stephen was married to Sarah Dillman, daughter of David and Hannah Dillman. She was born in 1846. To Mr. and Mrs. Gard have been born four children: Ida L., deceased; Oscar, Emma J. and Clifford. Mr. Gard owns . one hundred and sixty-four acres in section eighteen.
Charles B. Simonson is the tenth child of Jesse and Mary Russell. Jesse Simonson came to Ohio from Essex county, New Jersey, about the year 1822, and Mary Russell came from Kentucky. They were married in 1823, and have had eleven children, of whom four are living. Charles B. was born in Dixon township in 1839, and in 1867 was married to Keziah Osborn, of Champaign county, Ohio. After their marriage they settled on the farm of eighty acres in section twenty-five, of Dixon township, where they now reside. They have no children. Mr. Simonson has just erected a fine new house.
Mrs. Eliza A. McDivitt came to Preble county with her parents in 1825; she was born in Pennsylvania in 1816. She became the wife of Robert McDivitt, her maiden name being Fry. Her husband died in 1863. He was born in North Carolina in 1813. Mrs. McDivitt is the mother of eight children, named George W., Cornelius, Catharine, Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Ellen, and John A.
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Cornelius was born in 1838, and in 1860 married Nancy Jane Pottenger, who was born in 1836. They have had three children.
Charles Larsh moved to this township and settled in section four in 1830, coming from Brown county, Ohio. He was born in Kentucky in 1792. His wife, Ellen Rains, whom he married in 1817, was born in Brown county in 1798. They had a family of ten children, all living but one. John R., the oldest son, came to Preble county with his father in 1830, and in 1844 married Hannah Smith, whose parents were among the earlier settlers of the township, having settled in section twenty-three in 1816 or 1817.
William Silver, sr., settled in Dixon in 1836. He was born in Salem county, New Jersey, in 1773, and in 1827 settled in Warren county, Ohio. He died in Israel township in 1848; his wrfe, Rebecca (Bates), born in 1776, died in 1849. Of the family of eight children, only three survive, one son and two daughters: William B. residing in Dixon, and Mrs. Martha Brown, and Mrs. Phebe Brown, in Huntington, Indiana.
William B. Silver was born in 1808, in Salem county, New Jersey. In 1835 he was married to Ann Johnson, and the next year settled in this township, removing from Warren county, Ohio. He has seven children living and two dead.
Thomas Morrow, who settled in section nineteen, in the year 1837, was a native of Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, where he was born in 1783. He was a local magistrate in his native county for seventeen years, being appointed justice of the peace by the governor. He died in 1867 at Fair Haven, this county. His wife was Elizabeth Barr, born in 1788, and died in 1873. They had six children: David B. (dead), Mary, wife of Peter Tolan; Jane, Richard, Sarah Ann, wife of John Williams; Eliza (dead).
Richard Morrow was born in 1822; married in 1859, Isreldia Jones, who was born in 1836. They have five children living and five dead. Mrs. Morrow is the daughter of Andrew Jones, who was one of the earliest settlers of Union county, Indiana. He was born in Bowling Green, Tennessee, in 1787, and was a soldier of the War of 1812. Died in 1859.
Silas Hart was born in 1808, and died in Dixon township in 1869, on the farm occupied by his son. By his wife, Hannah Enlinger, he had nine children, seven boys and two girls. The boys are all living. Mrs. Hart resides with her son Alexander, who is a single man. Mr. Hart is the proprietor of the oldest tile factory in the county, and does a thriving business.
Charles Wilkinson emigrated from Kentucky in 1810, and located in Gratis township, Preble county, Ohio. By his wife, Elizabeth (Evans), were born twelve children. William H. Wilkinson, the second son, married Anna Davis, in 1849. She was born in 1814, and died in 1878. To them were born eleven children, of whom eight are living, and in Preble county. Mr. Wilkinson, by dint of industry, has been able to purchase a large quantity of land. His fine home is situated in section twelve.
C. T. Wilkinson was born in Lanier township, Preble county, Ohio, in 1849, and married Sarah E. Wright, who was born in 1850. Mrs. Wilkinson's parents reside in Gasper township, and are old settlers. To Mr. and Mrs. Wilkinson has been born one child, Nona Della, in 1872. They reside on a farm of ninety-two acres of land.
James Crothers was born in Ireland in 1839, and in 1854 or 1855, emigrated to Ohio. In 1864 he married Nancy Downey, who was born in Ireland in 1844, and came to Preble county about 1855. They have had six children, all living at home. Robert, the father of Mr. Crothers, resides with his son. Mrs. Crothers' parents died in Ireland.
Elisha Wilkinson settled in section fourteen in 1856. He was born in Butler county in 1816; married Rebecca Hazelton in 1840, and has had eleven children, five dead and six living. Three reside at home, and three within a short distance of the old home.
Joshua D. Hickman was born in Maryland in 1810; emigrated to Ohio in 1840, and in 1856 settled in Preble county, Dixon township, section eleven, where he now lives. He married, in 1839, Abigail Wilkinson, who was • born in 1820. Mr. Hickman is the only survivor of six children of Abel and Sarah Hickman. His own children are five in number, namely: Abel, Frances Ellen (Mrs. Isaac N. Saul), John D., Minerva Abigail (wife of William H. Duggins) and George P. Mr. Hickman's farm consists of two hundred and three acres.
John Gentle was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in 1790, and came to Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1807, and to Preble county in 1813, settling in Eaton. He was a soldier of the War of 1812, serving six months. He married Julia Hendricks in 1814, who was born in 1798. They had but two children: James B. and Elizabeth M; the latter died in 1833, in her sixteenth year; James B. married Catharine Acton, in 1843; she died in 1873, aged fifty years, having borne her husband six children, four of whom survive.
John Taylor was born in Ireland, county of Leitrim, in 1812. Margaret Anderson, who afterwards became his wife, was also born in Ireland, in Roscommon, in the year 1809. Both crossed the Atlantic in 1840, and both landed in Quebec, and afterwards came to the vicinity of Oxford. They became acquainted in Butler county, and were married in 1842. They had six children, five of whom are living and four are single, and live with their mother. Eliza Jane is the wife of W. H. Collins, of Union county, Indiana; Margaret Ellen, William Morris, John Draper, and Mary Ann are at home. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor went to housekeeping in Butler county, came to Israel township in the spring of 1854, and after remaining there four years removed to Dixon township, where Mr. Taylor soon afterwards b0ught one hundred and thirty acres of land in section twenty-nine. John Taylor, the father, died in 1877.
John D. McDivitt was born in Ireland, in 1820. He came to Ohio from Pennsylvania. His wife, Elizabeth Pottenger, was born in 1825. They have had the following children, namely: Nancy Jane, Catharine, Charles Newton, Ella, Laura, Samuel, Clarence, and William; five are now living.
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Abraham Shoemaker was born in Virginia in 1840, and in 1861 emigrated to Indiana. In 1864 he removed to Ohio and settled in Dixon township, at which time he was married to Miss Mary Kindley, who was born in 1842, on the farm in Dixon township, where they now reside. Mrs. Shoemaker's parents were Daniel Kindley, born in North Carolina in 1797, and Susan (Weeks) Kindley, born in 1808. Mrs. Kindley, who could not read and write until after her marriage, acquired a fair education by hard study.
To Mr. and Mrs. Shoemaker were born seven children, four of whom are living—Daniel, Levin T., Martha, and Robert F. They own two hundred and forty acres of land in Dixon township.
William H. Hemp settled in section twenty-two, in 1866. He was born in Maryland, Frederick county, in 1834, and removed from that State to Ohio in 1842. He married Cordelia Shaffer, born in 1846, and has one child, Calvin E.
John Flora was born in Virginia in 1831, and the same year came with his parents to Preble county. He married, in 1856, Mary Caroline Potterf, granddaughter of the pioneer, Gasper Potterf. Mrs. Flora was born in 1839. They have eight children, viz.: Jacob, Mrs. Royal Harvey, Ida Alice, Anna, Lovina, Minnie, Everett, and Edith.
John Dove, sr., was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1783, and emigrated to Butler county in 1814. His wife was Rachel Wetzel, born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, in 1793. From Ohio he moved to Hancock county, Indiana, where he died in 1865. His wife survived him ten years and died in 1875.
John Dove, jr., son of the above, was born in Butler county, Ohio, in 1815. In 1843 he died, near Trenton, in Butler county, Ohio. His wife, Elizabeth (Collins), was born in 1817, and is now living in Montgomery county, Ohio. Two of their children are still living, William C. and Marcella C.
William C. Dove was born in 184o. He was in the war of the Rebellion until 1862, when he was discharged for disability. He was enlisted in the Eighth regiment, company B, of the Indiana volunteer infantry. In 1866 he married Sarah J., widow of C. W. Morris, who was killed at Atlanta in the War of 1861--65, while serving in the Forty-seventh Ohio, company B. They have had five children, two only of whom are now living.
John W. Cook became a resident of Preble county and Dixorf township in 1871, having previously lived in Jay c0unty, Indiana. The same year he married Miss Frances R. Wilkinson.
William Pugh was a native of Georgia, and settled at an early day in Dixon township. His wife was Lucy Young. William Pugh died in Illinois in 1864, leaving two children—Alexander, who lives in Indiana, and Sherwood, in Illinois—who are all who survive of a family of eight children.
W. D. Pugh, son of John and a grandson of William Pugh, was born in Preble county in 1846, and in 1870 married Josephine A., daughter of Isaac and Jane Dooley, born in 1847. Mr. W. D. Pugh has lived on his present farm of eighty-four acres since his marriage. One child has been born to him.
Mr. Pugh served in the war of the Rebellion during the hundred days' service. He was engaged at Cumberland, Maryland, under General Kelly.
Frank O. Dunlap was born in Lanier township, Preble county, in 1846. In 1872 he was united in marriage to Netta Johnson, born in 1851. She is the daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann Johnson, the latter of whom is now living in West Alexander. Her father died in 1879. Mrs. Dunlap is one of three children now surviving out of a family of seven. To Mr. and Mrs. Dunlap have been born two children. Mr. Dunlap is now residing in section fifteen of this township.
Vincent Rose was born in Washington county, Tennessee, in 1807, from which State he emigrated to Union county, Indiana, in 1827. In 1873 he moved to Ohio. His first wife, Sarah Bradway, was born in 1807 and died in 1863. Nine children were born by this marriage: Matilda Jane, wife of George Brown, resides in Israel township; Thomas resides in Richmond, Indiana, and George in Liberty, Indiana. The rest are deceased. Mr. Rose's present wife was the widow of George Oxer, whom he married in 1874. Mr. Vincent Rose is the owner of sixty-four acres of land. •
Harvy Paddack was born in 1847. In 1872 he mar; ried Frances, daughter of Lewis Paddack, who resides in Jackson township. One child has been born to them— Ruth, in 1880.
Washington, the seventh child and fifth son of William and Fannie Bruce, of Washington township, was born at the old home place, south of the present site of Eaton, in the year 1809. In 1832 he married Sarah Readmon, of Harrison county, Kentucky. She was born in 1822, and is living. For eighteen years after their marriage they lived in Kentucky, and then removed to Marion county, Indiana, where they remained eighteen months, when they removed to their present residence in Preble county, and settled in section three of Dixon township, just east of West Florence. They have one child, Charles W., who was born in 1858, and resides with his parents. Mr. Bruce, besides the one hundred and eighty-five acres of land adjoining his residence owns land near Eaton, and in Indiana.
Thomas B. Thompson settled in section twenty-three in 1877. His father emigrated from New Jersey, and settled in Butler county, Ohio, where Thomas was born in 1823. His 'first *wife was Jane Crawford, who was born the same year' and died in 1862. He had by his first wife five children, four of Whom are now living. A daughter, Dorcas Jane, is the wife of Daniel Wilkinson. His present wife is Mary Hamlyn, who was born in 1844, and by this marriage there are four children.
Jehu W. King was born in Ridgeville, Warren county, Ohio, in 1829. His first wife was the widow of David Taylor. She was born in 1835, and died in 1837. By this marriage there was born one son, Edward T. King, who resides with his father. Alice E., wife of Wallace B. Goodall, of Ottumwa, Iowa, is the only child born t0 Mrs. Sarah King by her first marriage. Mr. King mar-
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 169
ried for his second wife Sarah J. Booth, who was born in Cincinnati in 1828. To them have been born five children, one of whom is living. Leona is the wife of Frank Rhea, of Eaton, and William Charles, Henry and Maggie reside at the home of their father, in section twenty-four.
In 1857 Mr. King was admitted to the bar, and in 1866 commenced the practice of law in Eaton. He was elected prosecuting attorney of Preble county in 1865, and at the expiration of his first term again received that office. In 1869 he was elected probate judge, which office he held for two successive terms. In 1878 Judge King moved to his farm of seventy-four acres of land in Dixon township.
Abraham Overholser was born in Virginia in 1810, and when five years old came to Preble county with his parents, who settled in Gasper township. His wife was Lydia, daughter of Daniel Brower, of Gasper township. Mr. Overholser died in 1877, and his wife is still living in Gasper township. John H. Overholser, the eldest son, was born in Gasper township in 1842, and in 1865 was married to Mary A. Bennett, daughter of Elijah Bennett, deceased. To Mr. and Mrs. Overholser have been born three children—011ie J., Daisy (deceased), and Charles L. They lived in Gasper township until 1878, when they removed to their present residence in section twenty-two of Dixon township.
Abraham Brubaker and family emigrated from Virginia to Preble county, and settled near Winchester, in Gratis township, in 1825. George Brubaker, their son, now living in Jackson township, was born in Virginia in 1813, and came to Ohio with his parents in 1825. In 1838 he married Miss Anna Banta, who was born in Lanier township in 1818, where her father, Peter Banta, made a settlement a short time previous. Mr. and Mrs. Brubaker had a family of eight children, who are living.
John Melling was born in Preble county, Twin township, in 1808. His first wife was Catharine Shoemaker, who was born in 1815, and died in her twentieth year. His second wife was Susannah, daughter of William Melling, a Virginian. She was born in 1815, and is still living. By his first wife he had one child, Daniel, now living in Gettysburgh, Preble county. There were six children born to him by his second wife, two of whom still survive—John Wesley and Stephen P.—both of whom are living at home.
Morris Cohee was born near Hamilton, Ohio, in 1821. He married Sarah, widow of Samuel Maddax. She was born in 1832. To Mr. and Mrs. Cohee has been born one child, George, who died in infancy. Mr. Cohee owns thirty-seven acres of land under a good state of cultivation.
THE FIRST MILL
was built by James Kercheval, on Four Mile creek, in section twenty-eight, about 1805 or 1806. It was built of logs and ran only during the fall and spring months when the creek was high. Kercheval sold out to Gobel, who after a short stay sold his interest to Stratton, who was the one to first open a regular store, which he ran in connection with his mill. The mill is now owned by the Niccum family.
The second mill was started by Ebenezer Elliott, on Four Mile, but farther south than Kercheval's. These two are the only water-mills ever started in the township.
Samuel Parks, at an early date, started a mill by horsepower, of the kind then known as "corn crackers." This was very little used, except during the summer months, when the creek was too low to start the water-mills.
At one time William Dallas had a mill in operation at Concord, but it has long since been destroyed.
THE FIRST SAW-MILL
started in this township was erected at the Kercheval mill during the time of Gobel's proprietorship, about 1814 or 1815.
The next was built in the northern part of the State, on Four Mile creek, near the county line, by George Kelly, and in 1822 one was started by Henry Morris.
There are now several in different parts of the township, most of which are run by steam, owing to the lack of sufficient waterpower.
POST OFFICES.
In 1841 the first post office that was established in Dixon township was opened about two hundred yards east of the old Kercheval (or Niccum) mill. The frrst postmaster was Jacob Morris. The post office was called Stony Point post office. After a few years it was moved to Beechymire, where John McGahan was the first postmaster. This was afterwards carried over to Indiana. At an early date there was a post office at Sugar valley, which was kept in the house of the postmaster. peo. tem. No record exists to show who was the first postmaster.
THE FIRST STORE.
About 1820 Gobel, then owner of the old Kercheval mill, sold out to Mr. Stratton. He brought with him a large stock of goods and ran a store in connection with his mill. As this was the first thing of the kind in the township, the proprietor doubtless made a profitable thing of it. A small shop had been kept there previously by a man by the name of Steel, who, perhaps, ought to receive the name of having been the first to open store. A store was afterwards kept at Sugar valley by Larkin Norman. Neither of these stores are in existence now, and nothing of the kind deserving of the name of store exists in the township.
MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.
The only thing in the township that can be classed among the industries of the county is a tile factory, located in the southern part of the township in section thirty-five. It is run by W. F. and H. L. Bader, and has a capacity of ten thousand rods per year.
The first still-house was run by Mr. Culver, and was stationed in the northeastern quarter of section three, on the farm now owned by Stephen McWhinney.
In 1823 or 1824 a still-house was opened by an Englishman named Richard Morris, or as he is popularly called, Dickey Morris. This was placed on the northwestern quarter of section twenty-one.
At the time of the William Dallas mill there was a
170 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
distillery run in connection with the mill; also on section twenty-one; and one was started in section sixteen, near Concord church, by Will White. This was afterwards burned down.
These distilleries were for the most part rather insignificant affairs; at the most they rarely exceeded four gallons a day. But the old settlers assert that the whiskey was far superior to any which can now be obtained.
Ebenezer Elliott, at one time, had a carding and fulling mill at his mill on Four Mile creek, but it has long since disappeared. - It was the only thing of the kind ever started in the township.
The first road in the township was the pike, which now marks the boundary between this township and Jackson. The second was one known as the Richmond and Camden road, running across the township, from southeast to northwest. One or two short sections of this road are still in use, but by far the greater part has been obliterated, and scarcely any traces of it are now remaining.
The first white child, as far as can now be ascertained, who was born in Dixon township, was Newton Larsh, son of Paul Larsh, a Pennsylvanian, who had settled on the present Larsh estate. .
The first death is supposed to have been that of a young daughter of Eli Dixon's, who was buried in the present Burson burial-ground, in 1807.
EARLY INCIDENTS.
No record now exists of any disturbance being made in this township by Indian hostilities. The War of 1812 occurred so soon after the settlement of this region that its weak and helpless condition would seem to have invited attack, but none was made. Indians have been often seen passing through, or camping in, this neighborhood, but never daring to molest the inhabitants.
One instance occurred which excited a great deal of interest at the time of its occurence. Stephen Dixon, one of the four brothers who came together from Georgia, had moved with some families from the neighborhood and settled on the banks of the Wabash river, Indiana. Stephen was living with a family of Paddacks, who moved from Preble county. Mr Paddack was the uncle of Ebenezer Paddack, of Jackson township, to whom we are indebted for the following narrative :
Soon after their removal from this county, and their settlement in Indiana, the little band were attacked and all killed or made prisoners. The two men, Paddack and Dixon, were away from the house, and their bodies were found, one in the field and one in the woods. The ground around the body of Dixon showed that he had made a fearful struggle against the overwhelming odds. He had a heavy hoe in his hands, the handle of which was almost cut to bits by the tomahawks of the Indians in their endeavors to strike the brave settler. The remains of some of the children and of the mother were found among the ashes of the cabin. Two girls could not be found. Whether they were destroyed with the rest of the family, or carried off into captivity, has never been satisfactorily settled. Rumors have reached the ears of anxious relatives at different times, mentioning that some passing bands of Indians had been seen going to the far west, having in their possession two young white girls; but how true this is, or whether they were the lost Paddacks, none can say.
The year 1817 is mentioned for its severe winter. A fall of snow covered the ground for a depth of two feet, and a crust of snow formed thick enough to bear the weight of a dog but not that of a deer. The dogs of the settlers set out on a hunt for themselves, and the old settlers declare that such was the havoc made by this wholesale slaughter that "scarcely an antler" was seen in the country afterwards. The dogs could easily pull down a deer, which, at every step; would plunge up to its body in the treacherous snow, while they could glide along at full speed over the frozen surface, barely stopping to make sure of the death of one before starting off after a fresh victim. The reader can imagine how keenly this loss was felt by the settlers, when they reflect that the woods abounded in game before the snow—such as deer and turkey, and the former formed the chief supply of the early settler's larder for a long time after locating in the country.
THE FIRST ELECTION
held in this township was held near a large log in section sixteen, near where the Concord church is now standing. It is impossible to give the first officers, owing to the lack of records concerning the infant settlement. All that is known is that Eli Dixon, esq., then c0unty commissioner, and at whose instigation the township was organized, was elected first justice of the peace. Some time afterwards a house was built, which served the triple purpose of school-house, church, and township house. The present township house is a neat wooden structure, standing on a high elevation.
THE PRESENT OFFICERS.
At the last election in the township the following officers were elected to office: Trustees, Philander McQuiston, David Railesback, and William Taylor; treasurer, Samuel Earhart; clerk, John W. Cook; justice of the peace, John M. Daugherty; constables, William Charles and Perry C. Flora; supervisors, Joseph Pierson for district number one, Henry Paris for number two, and Robert Gray for number three. The board of education was given under the head of "schools."
STATISTICS FOR 1880.
The present population of the township, according to the last returns, is one thousand one hundred and sixty-two (1162) persons. In 1830 the population numbered one thousand three hundred and sixty-six (1366) persons, showing a decrease of two hundred and four in fifty years. The present value of real estate in the township according to the returns of the assessor, is as follows: Value of buildings, one hundred and thirty-five thousand nine hundred and ninety-five dollars. Value of lands, seven hundred and fifty-four thousand nine hundred and. thirty-five dollars. Total, eight hundred and ninety thousand nine hundred and thirty dollars.
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SCHOOLS.
The first school in Dixon township, the seed from which the present system sprang, was opened at a very early day. The date of its establishment cannot now be accurately ascertained. It was built on the old Jacob Marshall farm. The present residence of Judge King stands very near the site of this school. The first to teach in this building was John A. Dailey, who had come to this county from New York with his brother George. They were both men of good education, as their former pupils are proud to testify, and gained an enviable name through this township by their success as teachers. The scholars came to this school from all parts of the township, and some even came from other townships. It is related that the teacher, together with some of his older pupils, kept bachelors hall. The construction of this school-house is deserving of mention. Logs, of course, were the materials out of which the walls were built. Clapboards, split from the trunks of trees, took the place of shingles, and were kept in place by weight logs stretched across them. The floor was formed of rough puncheons, and light was admitted by cutting into the top of one of the logs and pasting a greased paper across the hole thus made. The writing desk was the flat srde of a split log, and was placed around the sides of the building so as to have the full benefit of the light from the windows (?). As the school was only kept during the three winter months, the weather was too severe to allow having the doors open, and the pupils and teacher were both dependent on the light which came through their panes of paper. The seats were logs hewn flat, and were supported by stakes driven into auger holes. A fire-place at each end supplied the necessary warmth. Such was the construction of all the school-houses during this period. The men would get together and build one in a day. The teacher was paid by subscription, from one to two dollars per head a month. Perhaps more for the higher branches— such as Latin or higher mathematics. John Dailey taught in this school for three or four winters. Moses and A. R. Conger, Little John and Levi Gard, are the only ones now living around Sugar valley who attended this school.
About the year 1814 John Taylor taught a school in the northern part of the township, near where West Florence is now located. The terms were ten dollars a month. An attempt was made to have the teacher paid by subscription, but the requisite number of scholars could not be secured. At last, through the influence of Mr; Paddack, one of the oldest settlers, who showed great zeal in getting the school started, and who himself subscribed largely, the school was organized. Mr. Taylor offered to teach it for a year for one hundred and twenty dollars, which sum was raised for him.
In 1816 a school-house was built in the northeastern quarter of Joseph Dixon's land. The first to teach here was John L. Dickey, afterwards sheriff of this county. Nathan Truax succeeded him. This building was soon abandoned, after which another one was built nearer the creek.
In the southeastern quarter of section ten a school was taught for a short time by David Truax.
The first school building of any pretensions was built on Four Mile creek, about a quarter of a mile south of Concord church. The building was of hewn logs, closely fitted together, with a good deal of pains taken with the inside arrangements. This building was used for several years. The terms of subscription were from one dollar and fifty cents to two dollars. The charges for the higher branches were from three dollars to five dollars.
Under the present educational system the township is well supplied with schools, there being nine fine brick buildings in the township, placed at the distance of two miles from each other and forming a square having three on a side with one in the center, as near the center of the township as maybe. These buildings are all on well travelled roads, and most of them are at cross roads. The present board of education consists of the following gentlemen: James Gard, chairman; J. M. Dougherty William Swisher, Thomas Weir, Stephen Gard, Robert Gray, Charles Borradaile, Allen Wyley, and John French.
RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS.
The first house of worship to be erected in this township was built by the Baptists, in the year 1817. It was built of logs, and was stationed in the northern part of the township. The building has long since disappeared, and the ground is now without any mark to locate the spot. The church was built on Four Mile creek, in the northwestern quarter of section five. The membership at the time was about twenty persons. The church was abandoned long ago, as the congregation grew away from that section, and another house was erected in Jackson township, which was destroyed some time ago. Mr. Ebenezer Paddock, of Jackson township, is the only man now living who was connected with the building of this church. The second church to 'be organized, and the oldest now in existence in this township, was the Methodist church at Sugar valley, in the southeastern quarter of section twenty-four, very near the center of the section. Quite a number of persons, some living in the Sugar Valley settlement and others farther south, had been discussing the question of organizing and building a church for some time. The persons living in the southern part of the township proposed that they should help the people of Sugar valley build a church on condition that if at any time a church was to be erected in the southern part of the township, the people at Sugar valley should refund the amount received from their neighbors below them. But in or about 1832 a class was formed at Sugar valley by William Sutton, and has always existed since as an established church. The first class was composed of the seven following persons: Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Simonson, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Longnecker, and their two daughters-in-law, Mrs. Eli and David Longnecker, and Mrs. Jacob Auchey. Mr. Simonson was the leader of his class for a great many years, and has always been a prominent member in the church. The first meetings were held at the old Simonson home-
172 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
stead, where Charles B. Simonson now resides. For three or four years houses of the members of the class sufficed for the meeting of this little band, but during the ministration of John C. Deems they purchased of Jacob Longnecker, a frame building, twenty by thirty feet, which stood in an old field, and had been built to serve as a pork house. By adding wings of eight feet at each side, they had a building, thirty by thirty-six. This was stationed at Sugar valley near where the present brick church stands. The land where the frame building was placed, was donated by Jacob Longnecker. This was their regular house of worship for a long time. About fifteen years years ago the building was destroyed by fire, and soon after, a new one was erected—the present building. The structure is of brick, standing on a fine site donated by Mr. Williams, whose wife is still living near the church. The cost of the present building was three thousand dollars. The present membership is about fifty. Soon after the purchase of the old pork house, the Sunday-school was organized. The third and last church to be organized in the township was the one popularly known as the Concord church standing in the northeastern quarter of section sixteen. In November of 1840, this church was formed by the Christian denomination under the pastorship of Rev. Luther Fenton. There were only eight members at first—Moses Dooley, Carey Toney, Jacob Cooper and his two daughters, Lavicy and Elizabeth, Charles Collins and Alexander Rhea. The first building used for a meeting house, was the old Dixon township house. The present church building was erected in 1848, at a cost of one thousand dollars. The dimensions of the present church building are about forty by fifty. The dedication sermon was preached by Isaac N. Walter. Elder Levi Purviance was the first pastor, and had the care of the church for ten or twelve years. In 1850 the Sunday-school was organized, and the same year the present cemetery was laid out. The board of trustees for which were Temple Aydelott, George Parks and Alexander Rhea. The first child to be buried in this graveyard, was a young son of the widow Kindell.
There are two other cemeteries in this township—one on the present Huffman farm, in the northwest quarter of section eleven, formerly owned by Eli Dixon, whose young daughter was the first to be buried in it. This was the first burial ground in the township, and Dixon's young daughter who died in 1807, is said to have been the first person who died in the township. Another burial ground is situated in the eastern part of section seven, but is not much used at present.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
COLONEL PAUL LARSH.
The subject of this biography, and one of the pioneers and old-time prominent men of Preble county, was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, October 8, 1782. He was of French descent, his grandfather, of whom he was the namesake, having emigrated to this country in 1754, or the following year. The life of this French pioneer in the new world was a romantic one. As early as 1756 he was a trader among the Indians in Ohio, and located, as nearly as can be determined, about where Xenia now is. He had been there about three years and become quite popular among his savage patrons, when a white woman, with three children (who had been in a raid into Virginia), was brought to the Indian village. This lady, with her children, he rescued from her captors by sacrificing his goods and furs; took them in a canoe down the Little Miami to the Ohio, down the Ohio to the Mississippi, and up that stream to the flourishing cantonment of Kaskaskia, where they were married. There was born Charles Larsh, the father of Paul Larsh, and grandfather of Thomas J. Larsh, esq., of Eaton. The family remained at Kaskaskia until the settlement was broken up by an incursion of British troops, some time prior to the Revolutionary war, when they were taken by the soldiers to Fort Pitt (now Pittsburgh), from which place, after many viscissitudes, they reached the region now known as Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where, as we have stated, Paul Larsh (the second) was born. When young Paul was about four years of age, his father (Charles) determined to try his fortune in the new territory of Kentucky, and made the journey down the river in a small boat. They landed at Limestone (now Maysville), and settled near Lexington, where the subject of this biography, with a numerous family of brothers and sisters, was reared, amidst all of the dangers of frontier life. Before attaining his majority Paul located with his father's family at Manchester, Adams county, Ohio, then known as Massie's Station, where he was employed for several years in building flat-boats for the navigation of the Ohio and Mississippi. In the summer of 1806 Mr. Larsh, then being in his twenty-fourth year, and not having seen the place of his nativity since his infancy, determined to visit Pennsylvania. He made the trip upon horseback, through the almost unbroken wilderness. It was during this visit that he met at the house of a relative Miss Mercy Minor, daughter of General Minor, of Greene county, Pennsylvania, whom he married on the sixth of November, 1806, and took back to the west with him, shortly after. Some time during the winter following Paul Larsh entered, at the land office in Cincinnati, the southwest quarter of section number ten, in Dixon township, Preble county (then Montgomery), and in the spring of 1807 he moved on to this land. Notwithstanding it was almost the middle of April before he commenced work, and the fact that he had the unbroken green forest t0 contend with, he prepared six acres of ground and
Res. of FELIX LOHRER, Dixon Tp., Preble County, Ohio
HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO - 173
planted it in corn that season. There was literally no breadstuff to be procured nearer to his cabin than some distance below Hamilton. Thither he made several trips that summer, for corn and meal. Meat was more abundant and very easily procured. Deer were very numerous, and the larder of the pioneer's cabin was seld0m destitute of the finest venison.
At the October election, in the year 1812, Mr. Larsh was chosen sheriff of Preble county, being the successor in office of Jacob Fudge, who was the first sheriff of the county. He served two years and was succeeded by Samuel Ward, who continued in the office four years. In 1818 Mr. Larsh was again elected to the office, and was re-elected in 1820, thus serving in all six years. On the first of January, 1819, Sheriff Larsh removed to Eaton, where he remained three years to a day, returning to his farm in Dixon township on the first day of January, 1822. In the spring of 1829 he removed to a onearm in Wayne county, Indiana, four miles east of Richmond, at which place he remained until 1833, when he removed to a mill property, on Whitewater, five miles below Richmond. Previous to his removal to Eaton he had been elected justice of the peace for this township, and captain of militia, and shortly afte1 removed to Eaton was elected colonel of his regiment, which office he continued to hold until after his return to his farm. During the War of 1812 he served a tour of duty as quartermaster, having charge of the supplies for Fort Nesbit, Fort Black, and Fort Greenville.
In the year 1867 Colonel Larsh, then verging upon eighty-five years of age, took a trip to the State of Illinois for the purpose of disposing of a tract of land which he owned in Randolph county of that State, and also to make arrangements to regain possession of a large tract in the American bottom, near Kaskaskia, once owned by his grandfather. Whilst there, and before accomplishing the object of his journey, he was attacked with a disease of choleraic type and died on the thirteenth of August of that year (1867), and was buried near the early residence of his grandfather, and birthplace of his father.
Colonel Larsh was the oldest of a family of eleven children, all of whom (except one) raised large families. His own family consisted of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, besides one son who died in infancy. Brought up in the wilderness, where schools and the means of education were very limited, Colonel Larsh attained manhood almost destitute of learning, never having attended school but three months in his life. His quick perceptive powers and remarkably retentive memory, however, enabled him to master, as if by intuition, all of the details and incidents of any business with which he had anything to do. He was notable for strong, sound, common sense, quick comprehension, and logical facility in making deductions. He was very social in disposition, fond of society and conversation, and shrewd in his estimates of men. Physically he was very hardy and strong, could endure almost any amount of fatigue, and was always first choice at log rollings. He was about five feet ten inches in height, compactly built and weighed one hundred and seventy-five pounds. His complexion was fair, hair light, and he had uncommonly bright blue eyes.
FELIX LOHRER.
The life of the subject of this brref biography illustrates the success which attends the man who, from his youth up, has been honest, industrious and careful. Felix Lohrer was born in Bischofzell, Thurgau county, Switzerland, on the eighth day of May, 1832. He is the youngest child of Jacob and Katrina Lohrer.
When about eighteen years of age he emigrated to America and in due time landed at New York city. His eighteenth birthday was spent on shipboard. He stopped for about a year near Sagg harbor, Long Island, and engaged in farming. In 1851 he came to Ohio and stopped at Hamilton, Butler county, where he found work in a dairy. He soon accumulated enough money to enable him to go into partnership with his brother in the dairy business. This took place in 1856, and two years later he became sole proprietor of a dairy of about fifty cows.
In 1858 he married Sarah Gabelman, who was born in Lahr, Baden, in 1834, and came to Ohio and stopped at Hamilton, when she was twenty-two years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. Lohrer have been born eight children, six of whom are living. Jacob, born November 27, 1859, died in 1878; Katharine was born January 30, 1861; John was born July 28, 1862; Felix, born February 19, 1864; Charles, born July 8, 1867, and Mary was born December 8, 1870. Frederick, who was born August 1I, 1874, died in 1875. The youngest child, Sallie, was born August 23, 1876.
In 1864 Mr. Lohrer sold his interest in the dairy, and devoted his entire attention to the cultivation of his farm of one hundred and five acres of land, located just northeast of Hamilton. He sold his farm that same year, and in the spring of 1865 removed to his present farm of one hundred and sixty acres in the southwest quarter of section thirty, of Dixon township. Since Mr. Lohrer's removal to this farm he has improved it greatly. He has cleared considerable land, and by a thorough system of ditching, has greatly improved the quality and productiveness of the soil. He raises stock of the best quality, although he does not make stock-raising a specialty. In 1879 he erected his present fine residence and barn. His buildings are undoubtedly among the neatest in Dixon township. He never ceases making improvements.
He is a member of the German Baptist, or Dunker church, and has always voted the straight Democratic ticket. Mr. Lohrer is a good example of a self-made man. All of his fine property has been accumulated since he came to this country.
174 - HISTORY OF PREBLE COUNTY, OHIO.
LEWIS LARSH
was one of the early pioneers of Preble county. He was born in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1784. When four years of age his parents removed to Fayette county, Kentucky, and when yet quite a lad he made a trip down the river to New Orleans on a flat-boat, and rode all the way home on a mule. In 1806 he married Anna Bilbec, who was born in New Jersey, in 1789. In 1811 with
his wife and only child he emigrated to this county, and settled on Four Mile creek, near Concord. He rolled up a log cabin in the thick woods, and began the work of clearing the land. The family had to work hard and live frugally "to keep the wolf from the door," but like most of the pioneers of that day, they possessed brave hearts and strong hands with which to do it. In 1812 he joined a company of volunteers, and went to St. Mary's, where he was drafted to go to Fort Meigs. He returned home, however, before the expiration of his term of service, on account of sickness in his family. He was a great sufferer from rheumatism, and for twenty- five years was compelled to walk with two canes. He was an active member of the order of Free Masons until his rheumatic troubles prevented him from attending its meetings, and he finally severed his connection with it. He died on the thirty-first day of August, 1878, at the advanced age of ninety-five years. He retained the use of his intellectual faculties until near the close of his life.