(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) 292 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO TWIN. TOPOGRAPHY. Twin township in its surface features is wonderfully diversified, and in the beauty of its landscape, is equalled by few of the other townships in the county. Along Paint creek are bottom-lands of great fertility, and there is also considerable limestone soil in the township, but a large proportion of the soil is of a rather poor quality. Paint creek is the principal stream, and flows through the southern part of the township. The township, north of Paint creek, is watered by Upper and Lower Twin, Campbell's run, Wilcox run and Cattail run, and south of the creek by Sulphur creek and Black run. The streams called Upper Twin and Lower Twin, are very appropriately named, being about equal in size, and they flow a generally parallel course at a comparatively short distance from each other. These streams gave name to the township. At the head of Sulphur creek is a fine spring which is supposed to contain medicinal properties. NATIVE FOREST AND GAME. When the first settlers came into the township, they found it heavily timbered with ash, hickory, black and white walnut, cherry, hackberry, oak, poplar, sugar-maple, sycamore and other varieties. The buckeye grew very abundantly, and was very destructive to the cattle. A peculiarity of the native forests was the entire absence of underbrush, which was caused, no doubt, by autumnal fires. The woods abounded in wild game of every description, deer and wild turkeys being especially numerous, and which were the main dependance of the pioneers for meat. Every man, and boy too, for that matter, was a hunter, and many incidents are told by old residents, still living, of the encounters their fathers and grandfathers had with savage beasts. George Vinson Haller and Abijah Flora, while strolling through the forests in "Haller's bottom" one Sunday morning, came suddenly upon an old bear, and being unpreprepared for an encounter with the animal precipitately retreated. After collecting reinforcements from the neighborhood, the party started in pursuit, and tracked the animal to a large elm, in which, at a considerable height from the ground, was a large hole, which they rightly concluded was the entrance to bruin's den. A small tree was cut down and lodged against the tree in which was the bear, by which means Jacob Haller climbed up to the bear's den. The hollow in the elm extended down the tree some distance, and being unable to see the bear Haller was handed by the men below, a long pole with a bunch of hickory bark attached, and setting this on fire he thrust the blazing torch down the hole. This was a mode of attack for which bruin was not prepared, and he rushed out of the tree in a furious rage ; but no sooner did he make an appearance than a ball from George Haller's gun felled him to the ground. This, as already stated, was the Sabbath, and among the party was one or two Methodist exhorters, but they did not engage in the hunt for the sport of it. The pioneers did not regard it as a violation of the Sabbath, for which they had the strictest regard, but to protect by every means within their power, their homes and property from the perils which surrounded them. EARLY SETTLEMENT. One of the first settlers was Lewis Igo. He was a native of Maryland, born near Baltimore in the year 1767. In the fall of 1797 he came from Kentucky to the Scioto valley, purchased a tract of land of General McArthur, on Lower Twin, and built a cabin on the farm now owned by his son William. The following spring he brought out his family, and was also accompanied by his brother-in-law, Philip Hare. When they arrived in sight of the cabin they were astonished to see smoke ascending from the chimney, and Igo at once concluded that the Indians had taken possession of his domicile. He and Hare loaded their rifles and approached the house cautiously, expecting a fight, but a nearer inspection revealed the unexpected but gratifying fact that the occupants were a white family. A man by the name of Jeffers had moved in during Igo's absence, and, finding a habitation ready for his accommodation, very naturally took possession. He afterwards settled on the farm adjoining that of Igo. When the Igo family settled here their nearest neighbors were a family living on Paint creek, a short distance above where Bainbridge now is, and a family near where Slate mill now is. Their meal and salt were brought for some time after their settlement from Kentucky, Mr. Igo himself making the trips on a pack-horse. He was a cooper by trade, and made all the wooden ware used by the early settlers, his customers paying him by splitting rails for him. He died in 1844. He raised a family of eight children, of whom the following named are yet living : Paul, in Illinois; Mrs. Breedlove, in Urbana, and William, on the homestead. Philip Hare, after clearing off a small piece of ground where William S. Metcalf now lives, and planting it to corn, returned to Kentucky for his family. Many years afterward Hare removed to the west. HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 293 George Vinson Haller and family, and his brother, Jacob Haller, originally from the south branch of the Potomac, removed to Ross county from Kentucky in 1798 or '99. They settled on Paint creek, in what has since been known as " Haller's bottom," George Haller owning most of the land in that locality. The family lived the first winter in a shanty constructed of puncheons, and lined with the skins of bears that Mr. Haller had killed. One end of the structure was entirely open and before it was a logheap, which was kept burning and which served the double purpose of warming the occupants and keeping at bay the wolves, whose hungry eyes were often seen glaring at them through the blazing fire. Mr. Haller afterward moved on to higher land, the bottoms being subject to overflow. He was a local preacher, and a man of excellent character; was one of the first of the settlers who brought sheep into the country. He finally exchanged his lands in Twin for lands in Adams county. He was born in Berkeley county, Virginia, December 16, 1770, and died in Chillicothe September 8, 1839. He raised twelve children, all of whom survived him. A son, Lorenzo Dow, was with Fremont in his western explorations. Two of the children only are now living Mrs. McMillen, familiarly know as "Aunt Ada," living in Bourneville in the eighty-sixth year of her age, and Mrs. Carlisle, living in Highland county. Jacob Haller settled on Upper Twin. He died in 1823, at the age of fifty-seven years. Among the earliest settlers were the 'Peters. Samuel Teter, sr., emigrated with his family from Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 1799, and settled on Lower Twin, where Mr. Newman now lives. Some years afterward, he removed to Union county, where he died. He owned considerable land on Twin, which he divided among his sons, Samuel, George, John and Daniel. George and John settled and died here. Daniel died in Huntington township; John married Mary Edmiston, whose father was among the pioneers of Paint township, and died in 1843. Several of his children are living— Mrs. John C. McDonald, in Twin; the rest in the west. William and Edward Keran came from the south branch of the Potomac, prior to 1800. William settled in Hailer's bottom, where he lived about five years, when he settled on Plug run, and resided there some sixty years. He died in 1840. Edward Keran settled on the farm now owned by James Steel, then owned by Samuel Turner, of whom he took a lease. Subsequently, he moved on to Upper Twin, where he lived until about 1842, when he removed to Hardin county. He died there in 1846. Hugh Cochran, sr., emigrated with his family from Kentucky to Ross county, in the spring of 1796, and located at Station Prairie, below Chillicothe. He purchased a large amount of land in the vicinity of the present village of Bourneville, which he divided among his children. He died in the year 1829, at the age of eighty-four years. Hugh Cochran, jr., was among the earliest pioneers of this township, and lived and died on the farm his father gave him. He was born in 1788, married Jane, daughter of Joseph Myers, who was also an early settler in Twin, and died in 1863, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. His sister Elizabeth was the wife of George Kilgore, who came in with Nathaniel Massie, in the spring of 1796. They were married in Chillicothe, April 17, 1798, and theirs was the first wedding celebrated in the Scioto valley. They settled, at an early date, in this township, a short distance above Bourneville. They lived there until their children, of whom they had a large number, were grown, and then moved to Indiana. James, David, Andrew and Allen Cochran also settled in this township, but the first three finally removed to the west. Allen was a justice of the peace, for a number of years, of Twin township. He died in his sixty-third year, February 13, 1850, from an injury received while attending a trial in Chillicothe. In 1800 John Core moved into the township, and settled on Lower Twin, where Mrs. David Core now lives. He was a millwright, and erected a grist- and sawmill soon after his arrival, on the creek, a short distance above his residence. He had a family of seven sons and four daughters. His sons, John, Henry and Chris- ley, served in the war of 1812. His youngest son, David, married Mary, daughter of Colonel John McDonald, and lived on the old homestead. He died in 1861. Peter Storm and his family, consisting of his wife and nine children, emigrated from near Marti nsburgh, Virginia, in the fall of 1802. They started on their journey early in the month of September, and arrived at Haller's bottom about the first of October. Many of their old neighbors and friends accompanied them on their journey a number of miles, and then bidding them a sorrowful adieu, returned to their homes with the firm belief that they should never hear of the emigrants alive again. Two sons, George and John, then lads of fourteen and twelve years of age, drove two cows from Virginia, walking the entire distance. Mr. Storm raised one crop of corn in Haller's bottom, and then he purchased of General McArthur one hundred and fifty acres adjoining the farm now owned by his son, John. He was a blacksmith, and established a shop on his farm soon after his settlement. He had a family of twelve children; the three youngest born in this township. All are now dead, except three, the oldest of whom is John. He was born October 27, 1790, and is consequently now in his ninetieth year, but physicially as smart and well preserved almost as ever. He was in the war of 1812 for something more than a year, as private in the first company of rangers. His wife died many years ago. Abijah Flora was one oCthe earliest settlers in Haller's bottom, emigrating from Virginia. He served in the war of the Revolution as lieutenant of his company. He died at the age of seventy years. Daniel Hare, who settled in Twin in 1801 or 1802, emigrated from Kentucky. He came out in the fall of 1797, and built a cabin on Paint creek, about a mile above Bainbridge. He was an experienced hunter, and the following winter he did but little else than hunt. He killed deer, and other wild game, which he salted down bringing the salt from Kentucky--in a trough dug out of 294 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. a large sycamore tree. Over this trough thus filled with meat he placed another of the same size, and then covered the whole with brush to conceal it from the Indians who were encamped in the immediate vicinity. In the spring he returned for his family, and when they arrived he found his meat untouched. He cleared there a piece of land for Nathaniel Massie, for which he received a hundred acres on lower Twin, in Twin township, besides what he could raise from his cleared land. He remained in Paxton four or five years, during which time he had accumulated enough money to purchase an additional one hundred acres in Twin. He then received a deed from General Massie for two hundred acres, and removed to this township. He was born in Pennsylvania in 1766, and died in Bourneville in 1850. His wife died in 1807, and he subsequently married again. He had three children by his first wife. His eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was the wife of John McKenzie, now deceased. Daniel Devoss was an early settler, and lived on the ridge near what is called Spruce hill. Aaron Foster emigrated from Pennsylvania in the early settlement of the township. He served in the war of 1812, as adjutant, under Colonel McDonald. He was a justice of the peace of Twin township for twenty-one years, and served as county commissioner one term. William Reed came from the State of Delaware before 1800, and located on Lower Twin one of the first gristmills in the township. David Elliott was an early settler, and was a captain of a company in the war of 1812. David Turner, from Delaware, emigrated to Ohio at an early day. Jacob Myers, a carpenter, served in the war of 1812, as major, and was distinguished for his bravery. Colonel John McDonald, the well-known author of "McDonald's Sketches," was a resident of Twin township for over fifty years. He was born in Pennsylvania, in 1775, came to. Chillicothe in 1796, and three years afterwards was married to Catharine, daughter of John Cutright. In 1800, he settled where John Campbell now lives, and in 1802 removed to Poplar ridge, where he resided the remainder of his busy life. He held during his lifetime various offices, civil and military. He was in the army under General Wayne; was in the war of 1812, and taken prisoner at the surrender of Detroit. In 1813, he was appointed a captain in the regular army, and in 1814, he was placed in command of a regiment of regular troops, with the rank of Colonel, and remained in the service until peace was declared and the army disbanded. In 1817, he was elected to the Ohio senate and served two years. At a late period of his life he wrote the book above referred to. He raised a family of five daughters and one son, namely: Mrs. Henry Core, deceased; Mrs. White Morgan, living in Concord township; Henrietta, who died unmarried; Mrs. Enos Gunn, deceased; Mary T., widow of David Core, and now residing on the Core homestead; and Colonel John C. McDonald, who occupies the McDonald homestead on Poplar ridge. Colonel McDonald died September 11, 1853. He had lost his sight some months previous to his death. A more extended sketch of Colonel McDonald is given elsewhere in this voltime. Gideon Coover emigrated from Pennsylvania in the year 1800, and subsequently purchased the farm now owned by Mrs. Rowe. About the year 1820 he, with others, went to New Orleans with a flat-boat laden with flour, pork, hops, etc., and died of yellow fever. He had disposed of his cargo and was returning home, when the nature of his sickness becoming known to the captain of the vessel he at first refused to carry him farther, but was finally prevailed upon to take him to Baton Rouge. There he was put ashore, and died at the house of a minister whom he had previously known. He left a wife and nine children surviving him, all of whom are now deceased, except two, viz: John and Adam, aged, respectively, seventy-six and sixty-eight. Philip Gossard and his son-in-law, Caspar Plyley, with their families emigrated together from Philadelphia to Ohio about the year 1801. When they reached Pittsburgh, intelligence wcs received of Indian depredations in the country to which they were going, and they remained for a short time in that city. During their sojourn there their number was augmented by the birth of a son to Mr. and Mrs. Plyley, that son being Philip G. Plyley, now almost an octogenarian. Gossard and Ply- ley first settled at the mouth of Deer creek, in Union township, but the location on those bottom lands being very unhealthy they soon removed to the ridge in Twin township, since called Plyley's ridge. Plyley settled where Clinton Plyley now lives, and kept a public house there for many years. Caspar Plyley served in the war of the Revolution. His father had been the owner of considerable real estate in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and had lost much of his property through the worthlessness of the continental money. Mortified by the reverses of the family, Caspar, although then a minor, enlisted in the army, and subsequently participated in numerous engagements under General Greene. He died at an advanced age, but at what date we were unable to ascertain. Of his family, five are yet living—John, in Kansas; Philip G. and William, on Plyley's ridge; Mrs. Biggs, in Chillicothe, and Joseph, a short distance west of the city. Humphrey J., deceased, occupied the farm on which his son, Leonidas, now lives, in Union township. Philip Gossard settled on the farm immediately west of Plyley, now called the Fuller farm, and died there. He was a native of Switzerland, and, it is said, was an excellent scholar in his native language, and also an accomplished musician. His son, John, the father of Joshua F., lived and died on the place now occupied by M. P. Gossard. His son, Philip, also resided on the .ridge. William Campbell, a native of Scotland, emigrated to the United States before the year 1800. He found his way to Chillicothe soon after, and went to work for General McArthur, his cousin, and remained in his employ until his marriage, in 1816. Two years later he settled in Twin township, and lived there until his death, which took place in 1852. He was the father of sixteen chil- HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 295 dren. John Campbell occupies the farm on which his father lived. A daughter, Mrs. Cutright, also resides in this township. Isaac McCrackin, born in 1785, emigrated with his wife, Catharine (Parker), from Hampshire county, Virginia, to this township, in 1808. They lived two years in Haller's bottom, when he purchased the farm now owned by William Taylor.. He died in 1849. His wife survived him a number of years. Judge McCrackin represented Ross county in the legislature, session of 1831– 32, and, at the expiration of his legislative term, was appointed associate judge of this county, in which he served efficiently for seven years. He had previously been justice of the peace of Twin township for a number of years, and was one of the earliest elected to that office. His family consisted of three children, namely: Ursula L., now the wife John Howard; Robert P., both living near Bourneville, and Isaac Newton, deceased. James Sommerville, and family, consisting of his wife and three children Helen, James, and John—emigrated from Scotland to this county in 1898. He settled on the place now occupied by Seth Fuller, and died there. James went to Kentucky, where he engaged in school teaching, and among his pupils were members of the Breckenridge and Clay families. At a later date he went west, and was killed at the battle of Tippecanoe. John married Elizabeth Smith, and lived on the farm now occupied- by his daughter, Sarah Sommerville. He lived to the advanced age of nearly ninety-two, dying in April, 1879. He was quartermaster under Colonel McDonald during the campaign of 1814, and was among the early justices of the peace of this township, and served efficiently a number of years. He was the father of twelve children, the most of whom he survived. Three only are now living, viz.: Sarah and Mrs. Reed in Twin, and Mrs. Dill in Paxton, near Bainbridge. John Mahan was an early settler, and also George Yoakum, who had previously lived on big bottom, below Waverly. When he moved into Twin, he cut the road through the woods, which was afterward known as Yoakum's trace. Job and John Harness settled in Twin some time before the war of 1812. They made the journey up the Scioto and up Paint creek in a keel-boat, landing near the bridge above Bourneville. They settled on Paint creek, and erected a grist-mill in an early day. They finally sold out, and moved to Indiana. Benjamin Turner emigrated from Delaware in the early settlement of the township, and settled where the brick house of James Steel now stands. Christian Baum came from Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, about 1815, and bought one hundred and sixty acres of land in Madison township, Pickaway county. He afterwards added largely to his purchase, buying two hundred acres in Twin township, Ross county, which is still in possession of the family. In 1818 he was married to Sarah Shook, and raised a family of seven children as follows: Joseph, George, John and Mary (Posey) living in this county; Lewis and Mrs. William T. Conklin in Pickaway county, and Jacob, deceased. The log house occupied by the Baum family in the pioneer days is still standing. When Christian Baum emigrated to Ohio, he walked over the mountains, and carried his rifle on his shoulder. He had but little to begin with, but by dint of hard labor and economy he eventually accumulated a fine property. He died in 1862, aged about seventy-two. Peter. Platter, sr., was born in Germany. He came with his father to Pennsylvania in 1764, when he was only five years old. He served as a soldier in the war of the Revolution and was in the battles of Bunker Hill and of Brandywine. He married, and with his wife and one child, moved, about 1793, to Kentucky. After six or seven years,he moved to Adams county, Ohio. In 1811 he traded his three hundred acres of land in Adams county for a like number of acres in Haller's bottom, in Twin township, Ross county, Ohio. He lived in the house now owned by David Shotts. He was a consistent member of the Associate Reformed church (afterwards called the United Presbyterians), and was beloved and respected by all who knew him. He died in 1832, January the 2d, at the age of seventy-three years. His wife followed him to the grave on the 23rd of February of the same year (1832.) Her age was sixty-one years. Their family consisted of thirteen children, all of whom grew up and outlived their parents. Their names were Barbara, Susanna, Joseph, Henry, Christine, Sarah, Elizabeth, George, Peter, Catharine, Christain, John and Andrew. Of these, John and Peter are still living. Barbara, the eldest, died but recently (January 26, 1880 at the advanced age of ninety-one years. John lives near Locust Grove, Adams county, Ohio. Peter obtained land east of his father, and married Mary Ann Clark. In 1846 he purchased five hundred and fifty acres of land between North Paint and Paint creek, and moved his family thereto. Mrs. Platter died, leaving seven children. Mr. Platter married for a second wife Sarah A. Nesbit, by whom he has had four children. All these children but two are living. By thrift and enterprise Mr. Platter has been able to increase his wealth, so that he now owns over a thousand acres of excellent land. He has for many years been a member of the Third Presbyterian church in Chillicothe. John W. Pool emigrated from Maryland in 1813, leaving his native State on the day of Perry's victory on Lake Erie. He was a blacksmith. He died in 1823, at the age of fifty years. His son Henry is now living on Lower Tw.in, at the age of seventy-four years. He married a daughter of George Vinson Haller, who is now deceased. John Howard, now aged nearly eighty years, and living near Bourneville, came with his uncles, Philip and John Howard, from Rockingham county, Virginia, in 1817 or 1818. Philip and John Howard, sr., who were bachelors, lived the first year at Frankfort, in Concord township, then settled in Haller's bottom. They afterwards settled on the place now occupied by their nephew, John Howard, and died there—Philip in 1833, in the sixty-fourth year of his age, and John in 1852, in his eighty-first year. 296 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. John Howard, jr., married Ursula L., daughter of Judge McCrackin. John Hanawalt, born in Mifflin county, Pennsylvania, in 1798, emigrated to Steubenville, Ohio, in 1818. He carried the first mail from Steubenville to Gallipolis, making his trips on horseback. In 1820 he moved to Frankfort, Ross county, and in 1828 to Bourneville, where he followed his trade-that of tailoring. He died in Bourneville in 1872. While residing at Frankfort he was married to Mary J. Hill. Mrs. Hanawalt survived her husband several years, and died some two years since, at an advanced age. She was highly esteemed. A son and daughter now reside in Bourneville. James S. has, until recently, been engaged in the grocery business for the past six years. ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIP. Twin township was formed, February 20, 1805, from territory taken from the townships of Union, Concord and Paxton. The voting place, for a number of years, was at the house of J. Elliott. The records for the first five years subsequent to the organization cannot be found. At the spring election of 181o, Henry Porter was elected clerk; John McDonald, William Reed and Job Harness, trustees; George V. Haller and Moses Dimmel, overseers of poor; Andrew Gursham, lister; Jacob V. Haller, house appraiser; Daniel Hare, treasurer; George Yoakum and Abijah Flora, fence viewers; Robert McMahan, Peter Clover and James Irwin, constables; John Harness, Philip Hare, Samuel Teter and John Walker, supervisors. Henry Porter was township clerk until the spring election of 1814, when he was succeeded by Isaac McCrackin. In 1815 George Porter was elected clerk; in 1816 Colonel John McDonald. George Porter was again elected in 1817, and re-elected in 1818 and '19, and was succeeded in 1820 by Henry Stipp. After Stipp, the next three clerks were, successively, Matthew Waddle, jr., Jacob Meyers, jr., and Daniel Campbell, who served several years. The trustees elected from 1811 to 1820, inclusive, were as follows: 1811, Moses Latta, Daniel Hare and Job Harness; 1812, David Elliott, George Teter and John Harness; 1813, George Teter, David Elliott and William Johnston; 1814, George Teter, William Johnston and Aaron Foster; 1815, Isaac McCrackin, William Johnston and John McLean; 1816, Amaziah Morgan, Aaron Foster and John Morris; 1817, Henry Stipp, John Sommerville and Amaziah Morgan; 1818, Amaziah Morgan, Jacob Myers, jr., and Aaron Foster; 1819, ditto; 1820, John McDonald, Aaron Foster and James Matthews. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. For the reason above mentioned, we are unable to give the names of the first justices elected. Colonel John McDonald, and Henry Porter were elected at the spring election of 1811, their commissions bearing date, "April 1, 1811," as recorded in the township clerk's book. Henry Porter performed the double service of township clerk and justice, not a very onerous one in those days, we suppose. Colonel McDonald resigned in 1812, to enter the military service of the United States, and Isaac McCrackin was elected to the vacancy. George Porter was elected as successor to McCrackin, in 1815, and re-elected in 1818. He resigned in 1819, and was succeeded by Isaac McCrackin, who served until 1831. McCrackin's successors have been as follows, the office being at Bourneville or vicinity: John Sommerville, from 1831 until 1834; Allen Cochran, sr., from 1834 until 1843; William K. McMillen, from 1843 until 1848 ; Robert I. Robertson, from 1848 until 1855, when he resigned, and Daniel T. Evans was elected and served until 1856. Esquire Robertson was again elected in 1856, and served until 1865; Allen Cochran, jr., elected in 1865 and served until 1871, when Esquire Robertson was elected and has continued in office up to the present time, comprising in all a period of service of twenty-five years. Among the early justices of the peace, we also find the names of Job Harness and William Reed, elected in 1814; Amaziah Morgan and Aaron Foster, in 1817; Aaron Foster and Matthew Waddle, in 1820; Aaron Foster and James Waddle, in 1823; John Harness, commissioned May 19, 1824, in place of James Waddle, removed. FIRST EVENTS. The first dwelling erected in Twin township was the cabin of Lewis Igo, erected in the fall of 1797. The first white child born was Paul, son of Lewis Igo, born February 2, 1799. He is still living in Illinois. Mary, sister of Paul, and Mary Keran, daughter of William Keran, were born in 1800, and were among the first female children born in the township. Mary Igo became the wife of Elijah Breedlove, and now lives in Urbana, Ohio. Mary Keran (afterwards McGinnis), died in 1879, in Hardin county, Ohio. FIRST SCHOOLS. The first school-house in Twin township was erected on the farm of John Teter, and David Reed was one of the first teachers. The first school on Paint creek in Twin was kept in a buckeye log cabin, as early as 1804 or '5. Mrs. Ada McMillen, now aged eighty-six years, says she attended this school when a girl of eight or nine years of age. The school was shortly after removed to a log house on Black run, Adam Gilfillan being one of the first teachers there. Schools were then supported by subscription, the subscribers paying in proportion to the number of children they sent. RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. The Methodists established religious services and formed a class in the first settlement of this township. Meetings were first held at the cabins of the settlers in Haller's bottom, and William Keran, a local preacher, is said to have preached the first sermon ever delivered in Paint Creek valley. He settled in Haller's bottom, on Paint creek, prior to 1800, having emigrated with his brother Edward, also a local preacher, from the south branch of the Potomac, Virginia. He was a man of earnest and active piety, and, after a long life of great usefulness, died in Bourneville in the year 1840. The early members of the society were William and Edward HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 297 Keran and their wives, George Vinson Haller and wife, John Mick and wife, John and George Teter and their wives, John Mahan and wife, Archibald Browning and wife, Abijah Flora, Benjamin Grimes, Mrs. Mary Porter, Mrs. Matson, and others not recollected. A log meeting house was erected as early as 1809 or '10, on the farm of John Teter, which was used some five or six years, and then a double hewed-log house was built on the graveyard lot, just north of the present village of Bourneville. The society held meetings regularly in this log house some thirty years, when it was destroyed by fire shortly after the adjournment of a watch night service, held on the last night of the year 184r. Among the preachers who ministered to this society at an early date, were John Collins, James Quinn, Moses Trader, Greenberry R. Jones, Henry Fernandez, Hector Sanford, Russell Bigelow, John H. Power, W. P. Strickland, LeRoy Swormstedt, James P. Gurley and others, most of them men of marked characteristics and ability, and whose names are still household words in the great denomination to which they belonged. The great event in the history of the Bourneville society was the Meharry revival, which occurred in the winter of 1842-3. Shortly after the destruction of the log church, a brick house was commenced, and in the fall of the same year (1842), Rev. Alexander Meharry was appointed to this (Bainbridge) circuit as the colleague of Rev. John Stewart, who had been on the circuit the year previous. Meharry was an Irishman by birth, was impulsive and blunt like the majority of his race, but withal a preacher of zeal and ability. On his first occasion of preaching in Bourneville, he found the house in an unfinished condition, bad management having attended its erection from the beginning. The preacher told his congregation that if they permitted their church edifice to remain in that state, the curse of God would rest upon them, but that if they would go forward and complete it, the result would be, he firmly believed, a great revival, in which one hundred souls would be converted. The next day a meeting was held by the members, at which it was decided to finish the house, and the prediction of the preacher was more than fulfilled, one hundred and eighty uniting with the church during the year. The revival commenced the next Sabbath, first among the children. Judge McCrackin meeting the preacher soon after, said, "You are catching minnows." " Yes " was the answer, "we are catching minnows, and they are excellent bait." A short time afterward, when the work had begun among the adult population, and among the converts were a son and daughter of the judge, he met the revivalist again, and said, "You began with minnows, but you are catching fish now."* The building erected in 1842 was taken down in 1875, and the present neat and substantial brick edifice erected on the same site, at a cost of about seven thousand dollars. The church at this writing (January, 188o), under the efficient pastorate of Rev. D. C. Thomas, is * Rev. John Stewart in "Fifty Years of Western Methodism." 38 in the midst of an extensive revival, resulting already in one hundred and four accessions to the membership, and a great improvement in the morals of the town. The Sabbath-school of this church was regularly organized about 1842, with Elijah Bridwell as superintendent. Robert I. Robertson, the present superintendent, has acted in that capacity upwards of twenty-five years. MORRIS CHAPEL. As early as 1812 or 1813, the Methodists in this vicinity held meetings regularly at the house of John Riley, who lived about a mile east of where "Slate mills" now stands. Riley's was afterwards an appointment on Deer Creek circuit, and meetings continued to be held there until some time after Mr. Riley's death, which took place in 1838. The place of preaching was then removed to the hewed log school-house on the farm of David Moore. At this time the society was embraced in Frankfort circuit. Mr. Riley led class until his death. Henry Long was the first leader at the school-house. Jesse Wiley, Jacob Miller, Henry Snyder, Solomon V. Dorman, and Jacob Musselman were early class-leaders. Morris chapel was commenced in 1847, but was not completed until about 185o. March 20, 1848, the church was incorporated and a board of trustees elected, consisting of Solomon V. Dorman, Jesse Wiley, and Jacob Miller. Henry Snyder was elected clerk. The church was named Morris chapel for Presley Morris, one of its members. The present membership is about twenty-nine. D. C. Thomas is preacher, and J. T. Bishop leader. CORES' CHAPEL. This society was formed under the labors of Rev. J. Hill, in the year 1842, and consisted of nineteen members, as follows: Alexander Reed (leader), Eliza Reed, Elizabeth Core, Mary Harbman, Samuel Wilkins, Ann Wilkins, Nancy Bayley, Mary A. Wilkins, Nancy Wilkins, William Binns, Louisa Binns, John Binns, Rebecca Binns, Sarah Core, Mary Core, Mary Pool, Mary Pool (second), Joshua Ross, and Sarah Ross. Meetings were held at the house of David Core until the completion of the chapel, in 1852, at which time Rev. Joseph Morris was on the circuit, and J. W. Clarke was presiding elder. The first board of trustees consisted of the following named persons, to-wit: Rev. Z. Wharton, Peter Smith, Adam Coover, David Core, and Samuel Wilkins. The United Brethren had a society in this neighborhood long prior to the organization of a class by the Methodists, and met for worship at the dwelling of John Core. The frame church on Owl creek was erected by the Methodists many years ago. The society was disbanded a number of years ago, and the house is not now used. Sulphur Lick chapel was built by a Methodist Episcopal society about the year 1845; was afterward sold to the Protestant Methodists, but their society, also, is now pretty much broken up. The Protestant Methodists organized a society at Bourneville about the year 1833. James McGinniss was 298 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO the first class leader, and the meetings were held in his house, which stood where the post-office now is. The society built a frame church in 1839 or '40, and continued prosperous for a number of years. After the death and removal of the leading members, the society began to decline, and soon ceased to exist. The building was subsequently sold to the Swedenborgians. The Presbyterians erected their meeting house in Bourneville about the year 5849. The society was never very strong, and eventually became unable to sustain regular services, and they have not had stated preaching for some three years. NORTH FORK CHURCH was organized by the Rev. Isaiah M. Ford, then of Jackson, Ohio, in 1845. The society was constituted with a membership of sixteen--six males and ten females, viz: John Steel, Rebecca Steel, James M. McCreary, Mary E. McCreary, David G. Steel, Margaretta Al Steel, Philip G. Plyley, Mary B. Robinson, Isabella Robinson, Hannah Robinson, John P. Plyley, Sarah Plyley, Eliza J. Craig, Maria Henry, Mary Recob, and Caspar Plyley. John ,Steel and James B. McCreary were elected elders. For some time previous there had been regular preaching at the school-house on the Cincinnati pike, by the Rev. George Beecher, of the Second church, in Chillicothe. A subscription was raised in 1844 for the erection of a frame meeting house, which was built on the farm of John Recob. It was not completed until 1846. One day, during a week day service, the house took fire and was burned to the ground. Subsequent to this, and until the erection of the present church, the society occupied the Methodist church. On the eighth day of May, 1853, the church decided, by a vote of its members, to change its ecclesiastical relation from the presbytery of Scioto to the free presbytery of Ripley. This action was taken because (as alleged) of the indifference of both the old and new school churches to slavery, intemperance, and secret societies. After the war, or at least after the abolition of slavery, it resumed its former ecclesiastical connection. The brick church, located at Slate mills, was finished in 1793. The following clergymen have officiated for the church, either as pastors or stated supplies, to-wit: Mr. Tuft, Mr. Howe, B. Walker, William H. Beecher, 3. R. Gibson, W. H. Prestley, Norman Jones, Heber Gill, H. W. Guthrie, the present minister, and perhaps one or two others, whose names ,cannot be recollected. THE PAINT VALLEY SOCIETY OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH (SWEDENBORGIAN) was regularly instituted by the Rev. J. P. Stuart, on the twenty-second day of July, 1860. The names of the original members were as follows: John Sommerville, Sarah Sommerville, Robert Dill, Rebecca Dill, William Dill, Julia McKenzie, Sarah Bishop, Maria Bishop, Robert W. Spangler, Margaret Spangler, Mary Bradford, Lucinda Bradford, and Nancy Reed. Dr. Spangler was elected president; Robert Dill, secretary, and William Dill, treasurer. The original membership has been reduced by death and emigration, but a majority is still left and there are many others who are believers in the doctrines of the church, and attend upon its appointed services. The Protestant Methodist meeting house in Bourneville was purchased by the society in January, 1868, and has since been used by it as a house of worship. The church has employed a minister only a part of the time, his place when absent being supplied by a reader. EARLY BURYING-GROUNDS. The first burying-ground was laid out on the hill, near the old log meeting-house, on the Teter farm. It was laid out in the -early settlement of the township, and Daniel Teter was one of the first persons interred. 'The first burials were made in the bottom, and afterwards on the hill. Mrs. Martha Hare, wife of David Hare, was interred on the hill in 1807. This burying-ground is now greatly dilapidated and is but little used. The Bourneville cemetery was commenced soon after the erection there of the log church—in 1814 or 1815. The oldest inscription is that of Sarah, wife of Matthew Mahin, who died December 27, 1814. In this graveyard rest the remains of many of the earliest pioneers of the township. MILLS. The first grist-mill in the township was erected by John Core on Lower Twin. He moved in from Virginia about the year 1800, and settled on that stream where the widow of David Core now lives. Shortly afterward he erected, farther up the creek, a grist-mill, and subsequently a saw-mill. The mill was a good one for that day, and was operated until the year 1819, when it took fire and was entirely consumed. Mr. Core afterward established a horse-mill, which was much used. William Reed built a saw- and grist-mill on the same stream, below Core's mill, also at an early date. A grist-mill was erected by Job Harness on Paint creek south of where Bourneville now stands, about the year 1807 or 1808. The millstones were made by Daniel Devoss out of a couple of "hard-heads" found in the vicinity, and the iron work was done by Peter Storm. Matthew Waddle afterward owned the property, and he and his sons subsequently established a factory and carding machine. These were finally burned down. George Kilgore erected a grist-mill a few years after that of Harness' was built, on the opposite side of the creek, and was run a good many years. The State mills, situated on the north fork of Paint creek, on the Cincinnati pike, were erected by John Morris and James Reese in the year 1827. In digging the race from the mill down, blasting had to be resorted to, on account of slate. Morris and Reese after a few years sold the property to David and Larner Collins. Subsequent owners were the Messrs. Chapin, Presley Morris, Davis Dunnock, Steel & Wells, Blosser & Biszant. It is now owned by Jacob Blosser who, on acquiring ownership, made considerable improvements. The Bourneville mills (steam power) were erected in 1874, by a stock company composed of William A. Jones, Samuel Sprinkle, George Grimes and others. Mr. Jones subsequently purchased the interest of the HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 299 other stockholders, and now owns the property. The mill contains excellent machinery and does a good business. BOURNEVILLE. The village of Bourneville, situated in Paint valley, between Upper and Lower Twin, was laid out in the spring of 1832, by Isaac McCrackin and John Boswell. The town was named for the surveyor, Colonel Bourne. A post-office had been established a few years previous, and John Boswell was appointed postmaster. The office was called Twintown, and was kept in the frame building opposite the hotel, which is now occupied as a dwelling by John Lance. Boswell opened a stock of goods in the same building, and was the pioneer merchant in the place. Merchandising was also carried on at an early date by Elijah Bridwell, Samuel and Frederick Edwards, Douglas Smith, William Rowe, Robert P. McCrackin, and others. The mention of the name of Frederick Edwards recalls the terrible tragedy which was enacted in this village in October, 1844, and of which he was the unfortunate victim. He was keeping store in the building now occupied by Jones & Hanawalt, and being a bachelor slept in his store. He was reported to keep considerable money about him, and a plan was laid by two men by the names of Thomas and Maxwell, to rob him. On the night of the tragedy Thomas entered the store through the front window, and not finding the expected treasure in the storeroom proper, began a search in the room in the back end of the store, in which Mr. Edwards slept. Being awakened by the noise, Mr. Edwards sprang out of bed and seized the burglar, who, as he afterwards stated on the trial, used his knife to free himself from his grasp. The dead body of Edwards was found in the front part of his store the next morning, with seventeen terrible wounds on different portions of his body, any one of which, it was believed, would have caused death. The murderer was some time afterward captured in Pennsylvania, brought back, tried and convicted of murder in the first degree, and was hung in Chillicothe in March, 1846. Maxwell, who was supposed to have had some agency in the plot to rob Mr. Edwards, made his escape from the county jail while awaiting his trial, and was never recaptured. The hotel building was erected by John Howard, in 1832, but was first opened as a tavern by William Rowe, who purchased it of Mr. Howard before it was entirely finished. The house is now kept by Martin Frey. The village was incorporated in _____ and village officers elected, Elijah Bridwell being elected to the office of mayor. The citizens, however, were very indifferent in regard to a municipal government, and two years after the charter was granted it was abandoned. Bourneville now contains about two hundred inhabitants, a post-office, three churches, a school-house, dry goods stores and groceries, one drug store, one stove and tinware store, one hotel, a flouring mill, and a number of machine shops. The present postmaster is Abraham Summers, who was appointed to the office under Buchanan's administration, and has held the office continuously since, with the exception of about eighteen months. PHYSICIANS. Among the earliest practitioners in Twin township, were Drs. Edmiston and McAdow, of Chillicothe, and McCague, Carpenter, and Walter, of Bainbridge. The first resident physicians were Drs. Thompson and Morton, who probably located in Bourneville about the same time. Dr. Morton, who was quite successful in his practice, first engaged here as a school teacher, although having previously studied medicine and made his first professional visit upon the wife of Hugh Cochran during his first term of school. He shortly afterward devoted his whole time to the practice of medicine. He finally removed to Salem, Ohio, and died there. The next physicians were Dr. A. Y. Hull and Dr. J. M. Baird. The former acquired considerable notoriety in connection with the Edwards murder. It was due to him mainly that the murderers, Thomas and Maxwell, were brought to justice. He removed from here to Des Moines, Iowa, and subsequently became a member of the legislature of that State. He is now publishing a paper in Sedalia, Missouri. Dr. Baird removed from Bourneville to Chillicothe, where he resided until his death. These were followed by Drs. Tettler, Brooks, DeForest, Spangler, Chenoweth, May, Pettigo, Hall and Smith. The medical history of the township would hardly be complete without some reference to a well remembered, eccentric character known as "Captain Molly." She came a widow from Kentucky, with several small children in the early settlement of the country, and located in the vicinity of Bourneville. She soon after entered upon the practice of midwifery, and soon had an extensive ride. She dressed in male attire, or in a style somewhat similar, and rode her horse as a man rides. Her hair was cropped close to her head, which was covered summer and winter with a straw hat of her own manufacture, and of a style anything but feminine. She was unusually intelligent and quick-witted, and whoever attempted to have a little sport at her expense, as was often the case, generally got more than he wanted. Notwithstanding her rough exterior, she was most kind and generous at heart. The fees which she received from her wealthier patients, she frequently distributed among the destitute. From those of her patients who were unable to pay, she asked nothing but her board during her attendance upon the family. She died in 1836, of cancer, the nature of which she seems to have pretty well understood, as she refused any surgical aid whatever. Her name was Mary Edmiston. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. COL. JOHN McDONALD, of Poplar ridge, backwoodsman, scout and surveyor, pioneer and patriarch, soldier, legislator, and patriot—adequate in every avocation in which he engaged, and admirable in every relation of life—such was John McDonald, of Poplar ridge. One of the earliest settlers in Ross county, and for many years one of its most respected and substantial characters. 300 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO Colonel McDonald was of Scotch descent, and his nature was of that sturdy, active, and daring kind which one naturally associates with the Highlanders. His grandfather, Thomas McDonald was horn and raised near Lock Shin, his occupation being that of a herdsman. William, his third son, was the father of the hero of this sketch. He was reared in his native Highlands, and came to America in the year 1772, settling in Pennsylvania. In that State, and soon after his arrival, William McDonald married Effie McDonald, who was of the same clan, and distantly related. Thus it is shown that John McDonald's ancestors were, on both sides, Scottish Highlanders. They were herdsmen as far back as tradition gives any knowledge of their lives, and like all of the members of the Highland clans, were soldiers, always ready to attack for plunder, or to assist, stoutly, any encroachments upon their rights. John McDonald was the oldest son, and oldest child, of his parents. He had four brothers and two sisters, viz: Thomas, James, William, Hiram, Nancy, and Henrietta. All of the brothers, except Hiram, who died when a youth, distinguished themselves by bravery in the field, and won high honors in civil affairs, and the sisters were most estimable women. Thomas McDonald was associated with the subject of this sketch in his early life as a ranger or spy for General Wayne, and in after life was a member of the general assembly of Ohio. James went into the regular army as a captain in 18o8, and during the war of 1812 was promoted to the rank of major. He won distinction in the service, and after the cessation of hostilities was retained on the peace establisment. William was a man of most excellent qualities, and in civil life filled the offices of county sheriff, and deputy State marshal, positions for which, his brother says, " his kindly and indulgent disposition rendered him very unfit." In the war of 1812 he was at first appointed a lieutenant. His intrepidity in the front of battle won for him the regard of his superiors. He was appointed adjutant, aid to General Ripley, then a captain, and finally a major. At the close of the war he was retained on the peace establishment as inspector general. Nancy McDonald married General Duncan McArthur, and Henrietta became the wife of Presley Morris; a prominent early settler. John McDonald, in the old family Bible, describes his father as having been "a very active but little man, of a violent and hasty temper, impetuous in all his pursuits, but in his friendships kind and as true as the needle to the pole." He was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and, about 178o crossed the mountains with his family and settled at a place called Mingo bottom, three miles below the present site of Steubenville, where he remained until 1798, at which time he removed to Washington, Kentucky. He remained there a number of years, and then settled in Ohio. William McDonald died on the sixth of September, 1823, and his wife survived him but four days. They were buried side by side on Fruit hill. The husband was in his seventy-eighth year and the wife in her sixty-eighth. But to return from family history to the biography of Colonel John McDonald. He was born in Northumberland county, Pennsylvania, January 28, 1775, and reared upon the border amid all of the dangers of the long-continued period of Indian warfare, which did not close until after he had reached his majority. When his father was living upon the site of Steubenville, the Ohio river was the extreme western frontier, and in the first year of his residence in Kentucky, the whites and redskins were constantly engaged in hostilities. Inn "the dark and bloody ground," the boys and young men were incited to follow the example of the old and skilled woodsmen, and personal bravery, cool daring; bodily strength, and agility, were regarded as the best qualifications a man could possess. These were the essential elements in the character of the pioneers of Kentucky, and indispensable qualities for men exposed, as they were, to the wiles of a savage enemy. Simon Kenton was a resident of the same settlement in which the McDonald family lived, and as his example was more especially emulated by the young men, it is propable our hero received the greater part of his education in woodcraft from that prince of the pioneers and leader in Indian warfare. It is known that young McDonald's first excursion in quest of the Indians was made with Kenton. One Josiah Wood, and another man, who went out with a party of hunters on the waters of Bracken, were killed by Indians, and the report reaching Washington about midnight, Simon Kenton, made immediate preparations for striking an avenging blow. The trail of the murderous Indians was found, and pursuit made, but they succeeded in escaping, crossed the Ohio and were never after seen. Young McDonald, on being refused by his father permission to go with this party, stole a rifle from the cabin and overtook the. hunters at a distance from the settlement. The ardor of the youthful warrior was somewhat cooled by the horrible appearance of the mutilated bodies of the two victims, which the party discovered at sunrise; but he was not daunted, and would have been glad of an opportunity to have met the perpetrators of the outrage. After this affair McDonald was constantly 'engaged in hunting, scouting, and surveying--the latter the most dangerous occupation of all. In the spring of 1792, he joined General Nathaniel Massie's settlement (Massie's station, now Manchester) on the Ohio river, and was engaged in many dangerous expeditions. Through the whole of the closing decade of the last century, his life was one of extreme hardship and constant peril. He was a boatman, a hunter, a ranger, and a surveyor. One of the most exciting adventures in his experience is related in a chapter of the general history in this volume, and his name is very frequently mentioned in connection with the survey of the Virginia Military lands, and the history of Indian occupation. This fact must be the apology for brevity here. In 1794, he and his brother, Thomas, joined General Wayne's army as rangers, or spies. The company of rangers consisted of seventy-two men, who were under the command of Captain Ephriam Kibby. It was their duty to traverse the Indian country, in every direction, in advance of the main army. The company was divided into small detachments, each of which, after a scouting expedition through the woods, reported to the commander. McDonald was a man of the most unquestionable bravery, and had a combination of qualities which made him a very valuable member of this corps, as well as of the large surveying parties which, under the leadership of Nathaniel Massie, Lucas Sullivant, and others, traversed the whole of the Virginia Military district, and located thousands of acres of land, while the Indians were still roaming through its forests and living in permanent villages upon the banks of Paint creek and the Scioto. He was skilled in woodcraft, had a thorough knowledge of Indian habits and tactics, daring yet cautious, trained to habits of self-denial and hard labor, and in hard muscles had nerves that never quivered in the presence of danger. He was courageous enough to attempt any task; prudent and judicious enough to conduct it to a successful close. Contrary to the commonly received idea of the people of a younger generation, who have read or heard of Colonel McDonald, but have never seen him, he was a man of short stature. He was broad in build, heavily muscled, and his appearance was indicative of great physical power and ability to resist fatigue. He was agile and active, and his personal appearance was suggestive of a certain physical alertness, which is supposed to have been a common characteristic of men of his class and time. None but men of this stamp were adapted to the mode of life which Colonel McDonald led during the early years of Ohio history. The beginning of the present century brought to the subject of our sketch a change in manner of life. The brunt of the struggle for implanting civilization in the great Northwestern Territory had been passed. The days of greatest danger were past. McDonald and others who had been in the very front of the vanguard of the great army of occupation, began to reap the benefits and pleasures of a life of peace, which their deeds had made possible. It is pleasant to know that some of the brave men who endured the hardships of a frontier life, who served in the army, who assisted in the surveys of the rich valleys and rolling upland of Ross county, and otherwise prepared the way for its settlement, found in the very land over which they had marched and fought and dared hidden danger, happy homes and comfort for their declining years. McDonald married on the fifth of February, 1799, Catharine Cutright, and in 1802 settled on Poplar ridge, Ross county, where he continued to reside until his death. The offspring of this union were seven daughters and one son, viz: Effie, Maria, Henrietta, Nancy, Mary, John Cutright, Margaret and Elizabeth, all of whom obtained respectable positions in society and worthily preserved the honorable name they inherited. In his after life, McDonald was accorded that recognition which his valuable work and strong, true character entitled hhn to. He was elected several times as justice of the peace, and served as a militia officer, being captain, major, lieutenant-colonel and colonel. Distinction was in waiting for him, and another period of activity and danger. When the war of 1812 broke out, he enlisted as a volunteer in the First regiment of Ohio volunteers, and received the appointment of paymaster general. On the receipt of this appointment, he went to Dayton, the place Of general rendezvous for the northwestern army, and soon after his arrival there, was appointed quartermaster of the regiment, and continued to discharge the duties of both offices until the surrender of the army by General Hull. He was made a prisoner at the surrender of Detroit. In 1813 he was appointed a captain in the regular army, In 1814 he was in command of 0 regiment at Detroit, HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 301 and he remained in the service until peace was made in 1815 and the army disbanded. Returning to civil life, Colonel McDonald was elected, in 1817, a member of the State senate, in which body he served two terms, giving his county a most creditable representation. His later years were spent in the quiet enjoyment of home life and the prosecution of his farm work. After 1834 he spent much time in writing reminiscences of the first settlements along the Ohio and its tributaries, and biographies of some of the prominent pioneers, with the details of whose lives he was familiar. These sketches were principally published in the Western Christian Advocate, and four of the more important biographies, 'those of Duncan McArthur, Nathaniel Massie and Captain William Wells, were published in hook form-the little volume, commonly known as "McDonald's Sketches." But few works of the kind by amateur authors have been more valuable or interesting than this simple, unpretending, but reliable little volume of sketches. Colonel McDonald was not an educated man, and it was impossible that he should have been, and hence his writing has not the ease and grace of a cultured literary style, but he was a man of strong, vigorous mind; he had much to say; it was a labor of love to relate the adventurers of his old comrades in arms, the pioneers of southern Ohio, and in his own way he told the story of their lives, and left a lasting monument to their memories. Much valuable history would have been lost had it not been for Colonel McDonald's service-a service for which every student and lover of western history has been profoundly thankful to the pioneer. He was very modest as an author, and was reticent in regard to himself in a degree, which has been regretted by all of his readers. His personal knowledge of the scenes which he has depicted, and 'participation in the adventures he has described, is often only suggested by the author's graphic style and minute attention to detail. Considering the slow and painstaking labor of composition which the sketches, published in hook form and in the newspaper press, must have cost the writer, his task was an immense one. Contemplation of the difficulty of production, the reader's feeling of gratitude is increased, and admiration for the sturdy pioneer author intensified. His work has proven valuable beyond what must have been Colonel Mc- Donald's fondest hope, and has given him a place in the minds and hearts of the reading and thinking people of the present time which he most surely never thought to fill. It was not ambition that led to this frontiersman's employment of the pen in his old age, but the desire to save from oblivion the record of the hardships, through which the early explorers and settlers passed; the deeds of bravery they performed; the sterling traits of character they possessed, and, perhaps, to revive in his own memory the faces; and the manners of those who had been the companions of his young manhood's days. Colonel McDonald's character was an admirable one in all respects, and his works in public and private were a fair exhibition of the inner man. His early years were spent in the midst of excitement, toil and conflict, and when there was no longer a necessity for his serving the interests of his country by force of arms he assisted in the councils of the State. The later years of his life were occupied in the promotion of public good, and almost every work of material and moral improvement and every benevolent enterprise found in him an unselfish friend and warm supporter. He died September 11, 1853, after a long and lingering sickness, having survived his wife a little over three years. JOHN STORM. This venerable citizen, now one of the patriarchs of the Scioto and Paint Creek valleys, was born November 27, 1790, in Virginia, and is consequently now nearly ninety years old. His grandparents were from Germany. His father was born in Beverly (now Morgan) county, Virginia. John was the second son of Peter and Barbara Ann (Feshour) Storm. l lis mother was a native of Maryland, born near Hagerstown. Ile was one of a family of twelve--eight sons and four daughters, nearly all of whom married and raised families. His family was distinguished fur the size of its men, six of the sons being six-footers or over, and weig:iing at least two hundred pounds apiece. He is to this day a man of large physical presence. His father was an athletic farmer and blacksmith, and his mother was also of robust build. The former died at the age of eighty-four, she at ninety-three. John remained at home assisting his parents in their labors until they left the comparatively barren farm in Virginia, and came to the fertile Paint Creek valley. They emigrated in 1803, in a four-horse wagon, fording the Ohio at Wheeling, and settled first in Haller's bottom, near their subsequent home, here they rented land and raised one crop. 'lire next year they removed to a tract of one hundred and fifty acres in what has come to be known as "Storm's hollow," on the present line of the Springfield Southern railroad, five miles from Bainbridge, which they occupied in the spring. The father had brought but one hundred and ten dollars with him, all of which went for part payment on the land and household equipment; and the family for a time tasted the bitterness of pOverty. Game abounded in the neighborhood; the father was a good hunter, and in a single fall killed eighteen bears near his home, the meat from which was taken by John to Chillicothe and exchanged for necessaries and medicine. In March, 1812, young Storm volunteered for service in the war then commencing with Great Britain. He received a place in the company of mounted rangers commanded by Captain Manary, which was afterwards selected by General Harrison as his body guard, and took full part in the adventures and hardships, returning at last safely to his home. March 2, 1815, he was married to Miss Diana DeHart, daughter of Samuel DeHart, who kept a grist-mill on the north fork of Paint. She died March 31, 1866, after a lingering illness; and he writes of her in a published account of his life: "She was a helpmeet indeed to me." They had ten children-Jacob, born September 29, 1818, killed by lightning July 1, 1850; Nancy, born January 1, 1820, afterwards wife of Andrew Cook, and long dead; Eliza, born March 11, 1822, now Mrs. Allen DeHart; Joseph, born May 20, 1824, died at the age of two years; Rebecca, born March 5, 1827, now Mrs. Michael Greggs; Mary, born May 19, 1829, became Mrs. Smith Griffin, and deceased many years ago; Elizabeth, born April 18, 1831, now Mrs. James Shultz; Jane, horn February 14, 1833, now Mrs. William A. Jones; Maria, horn August 17, 1835 Mrs. Alex. Gilfillan, deceased, and Ann, born October 2, 1837, Mrs. John Giffillan, who died soon after her sister. Most of the surviving children live with or near their father. For the last sixty years his life has been uneventful. He has accumulated a large property, owning about twenty-eight hundred acres of land, of which fifteen hundred acres are well located in Indiana and Illinois. He has also considerable interests in turnpike and railway property. The Dayton Southern, which passes for five miles through his hind, honors him in "Storm's station," situated a mile from his house. Notwithstanding his great age he still enjoys good general health, and takes much daily exercise on horseback. CAPTAIN PHIL. A. ROUES. Philip Abram Rodes was a native of Frederick county, Virginia, born the fifteenth of April, 1830 ; oldest and second child of Isaac F. and Mary Catharine (Stone) Rocks. On both sides tie was of German descent. His father was a Virginia farmer, and removed, when Philip was about four years of age, with his father-in-law and their families, to the near neighborhood of Hillsborough, where Mr. Rodes took a faun and began life anew. After a time he sold his place and moved into New Boston, and opened a general country store, which he conducted until 1856, when lie changed his residence to Hillsborough, where he recommenced business as a grocer, and died there January 23, 1869. His wife died many years before, April 17, 1836, and he had remarried, this time to Miss Sarah Glasscock, who survived him, but deceased in the spring of 1879. He had in all six children, four sons and three daughters, of whom Frances Ann, Philip A., Alcincla Christina and John Wesley were children of the first wife, and Benjamin Glasscock and Charles Browning, children of the second. All are now deceased except the last two named. Philip received an average common school education, and remained at home until his father's remarriage, when he was about sixteen years old. lie then went from New Boston, where his father was doing business, to Hillsborough, engaged there as clerk for Mr. John A. Trimble, a dry' goods merchant. lie was afterwards employed by an uncle, Joseph Glasscock, in the same line of duty, and at the close of his engagement with him, young Rodes entered upon business for himself as a grocer., in partnership with Jan W. Higgins, muter the firm name of Higgins & Rodes. Gradually getting also into grain operations and a general commission business, he presently bought out his partner, sold the stock and good will of the establishment to Messrs. Ridings & Work, and devoted himself to the former more stirring and profitable business. While so engaged he contracted an engagement of a more tender character, and was married January 17, 1854, in Twin township, Ross county, to Eliza Moore, only daughter and third child of George J. and Rachel (Umstead) Moore, of that locality. They lived two years after marriage in Hillsborough, Mr. Rodes continuing business as before, and then, in 1856, removed to the vicinity of the Judge Marrs place, which afterwards became his propetty, and where his widow and her family continue to re- 302 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. side. He made his first venture here as a farmer, and conducted his estate successfully until, add for about three years after, the outbreak of the war of the Rebellion. This led to his enlistment in the National Guard in the spring of 1864, and when his regiment volunteered for active service, he accompanied it to the field as commander of Company I, in the One Hundred and Forty-ninth regiment, Ohio national guard. He participated with it through the battle of Monocacy and the occupation of the fortifications about Washington, and safely passed the various ordeals of the hundred-days' service for which the regiment was called out. He then returned and resumed the management of his farm, which he continued until his death, June 20, 1876, of inflamation of the bowels, at the mansion house upon his farm, after a short and painful illness. The Chillicothe Register of the next week, in a notice of his demise says, "he was a gentleman perhaps as widely known as any member of our agricultural population, and a man who, a 'week ago, stood in the very prime of life, the impersonation of vigorous health. * * Captain Rodes was a clever, genial, whole-souled, enterprising gentleman, was generally liked, and had few, or no, enemies. He was one whom this community can ill afford to lose. * * The procession was one of the largest we have seen in Chillicothe for years." He had been for many years a member of, and, at times, an officer of the Methodist Episcopal church. He was originally a Douglass Democrat, but became a Republican upon the renomination of President Lincoln. He was a Free and Accepted Mason, had advanced to, but not including the Thirty- second rite, and was a member of Chillicothe commandery, No. 8, of Knights Templar. He had also taken most, if not all, of the degrees in Odd Fellowship. He had great business energy and ability, and left his family possessed of a very handsome property, including twelve hundred acres of choice land in or near the rich Paint Creek valley. He stood high in the regards of his fellowmen, and was popular with all classes. Cut off in the prime of his life and usefulness, his death was universally regretted by those who knew him. His widow survives him, and resides, as before mentioned, upon the old homestead, with her three children—Norris, Will Arthur, and Mary Catharine Rodes. DR. A. L. CHENOWETH. This gentleman, the leading physician of Bourneville, in Twin township, was the fifth son, and youngest child, of Absalom and Mary (Brown) Chenoweth, born in Pee Pee township, near Piketon, July ro, 1833. He was one of a family of fifteen. His father was of Scotch descent, and an emigrant from Kentucky to Ohio early in the century. His mother was a native of Loudoun county, Virginia. Young Chenoweth remained upon his father's farm during his boyhood and youth, at attending school at intervals in the neighborhood, and in Piketon, also Salem academy one year, and at the Ohio Wesleyan university, Delaware, for three years. At the age of twenty-five he began to read medicine with Drs. A. J. & O. J. Phelps, in Piketon, remaining with them two years, and then attending lectures at the Ohio Medical college, Cincinnati, for one year. He made a prosperous beginning of practice in Waverly, but in the first year of the war aided to raise a company of infantry (company I, Fifty-sixth Ohio volunteers), of which he was commissioned second lieutenant, October 3, 1861, and went with it to the field. December 13, 1861, he was promoted, at one bound, to the grade of captain. In February, following, the regiment left Portsmouth, where it was organized, for Paducah, Kentucky, and in a few days was on the line of battle at Fort Donelson, but did not become engaged. He shared its fortunes subsequently at Pittsburgh Landing and Corinth, on the march to Memphis, at Helena, Arkansas, in the Gazer Pass movement, the battles of Port Gibson, Champion Hills (where he lost thirteen out of a company of thirty-six, that went into the fight), and Jackson, at Natchez, and the Teche campaign, but was not in the unfortunate Red river movement under Banks, at that time, and subsequently, during the history of the regiment, being on detached duty. He was for a time upon the staff of General McGinnis, was placed in charge of property guards in New Orleans, and performed other important duties. His medical knowledge occasionally stood him in good stead, and he was for some months detailed to duty as chief surgeon of his regiment. Getting out of the war without permanent injury, Captain Chenoweth managed a cotton plantation in Louisiana in 1863, and escaped without material loss amid the general disasters of that business that year He came home in the fall, and in June, 1866, removed to Bourneville for the practice of his profession, where he has since resided, except during the winter of 1868-9, when he completed his course at the Ohio Medical college, and took his diploma. He has since been in straight and successful practice, doing a large business yearly, and bearing a high reputation as a physician, and in the more private walks of life. He is a member of the Methodist church in Bourneville, and an active Democrat, heretofore, in local politics, but now measurably retired. In 1859, June zo, he was married to Miss Emily, daughter of Elisha Kelly, of Bainbridge, by whom he had children--Harriet Kelly, William Fitz Williams, and Mary Lillian. He lost his wife by death in 1869, and was remarried January 8, 1872, to Miss Alice, daughter of Robert Wilcox, of Bourneville. They have children: Charles, Walter, Robert, and Joseph Edwin.