(RETURN TO THE TITLE PAGE) HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 447 DODSON. Dodson township was laid off from Union, Salem and New Market townships, the seventh day of June, 1830, on the petition of Michael Stroup and seventy-five other persons. The boundaries were as follows: "Beginning at the northeast corner of Brown county; thence with the line between Clinton and Highland counties, up the east fork of the Little Miami, so as to include Andrew Smith and Jacob Pitzer, esq.; thence a straight line to John Barnes, excluding him; thence as near south as will include the place where William Hibler formerly lived; thence to the Brown county line, equally dividing the swamp between White Oak and Dodson creeks; thence with the Brown county line to the beginning." On the fifth of June, 1849, a portion of Dodson was set off to the new township of Hamer. As at present constituted, Dodson contains sixteen thousand, eight hundred and fifty-nine acres of land, of which about one-fourth is woodland. SURFACE, SOIL, ETC. Dodson township lies in the northwest corner of Highland county. It has for its northern boundary Clinton county and the east fork of the Little Miami river. On the east lies Union township; on the south, Hamer and Salem, and on the west, Brown county. Its drainage is chiefly toward the "east fork," the principal stream being Dodson creek. This creek takes its rise in the southern part of Union township, and, after flowing westerly to near the center of Dodson, it turns to the north, and finds its way to the east fork, receiving on its way several small tributaries from the south and southeast. Turtle creek rises in the northeastern part of Union township, and takes a southwesterly course, till it reaches the east fork at Lynchburgh. The surface of this township is gently undulating, except remotely from the streams, where it becomes quite flat. The soil is, for the most part, a yellow or white clay, and, with intelligent tillage, produces excellent crops. Gravel is found not in the hills, as in the eastern part of the county, but in the quagmires and bogs under a foot or two of vegetable mold. The gravel obtained in these places for the various pikes is of the cleanest and purest kind—more nearly resembling the gravel of the great lakes than any we have seen in this county. ORIGIN OF NAMES. Dodson township was so called from Dodson creek, which lies almost wholly within its limits. The creek took its name from the large tracts of land near its mouth, surveyed and entered by Joshua Dodson, of Virginia, in 1796-7. Dodsonville derived its name in the same manner. Lynchburgh was first settled by Virginians, who lived near Lynchburgh, Virginia; hence the name. Allensburgh was laid off in 1839 by admirers of Hon. William Allen, then United States senator from the State of Ohio. Webertown was named after a man by the name of Weber, who kept the first and principal store in that neighborhood. There is no plat of the town. Turtle creek was probably named by the Indians, on account of the abundance of turtles found in early times in the pools and bed of the creek in the summer time. ANTIQUITIES. There are in Dodson township a few earthworks to remind one of the former presence of the Mound Builders. On the farm of Charles Stroup there is an earthwork thrown up in circular form, which was, when first seen by the whites, about five feet high. It includes about half an acre of ground, and has an opening or gate on the south side. On the farm of John Crampton there is a small mound. Another mound, now nearly obliterated by successive plowings and long exposure, may be found on the farm of Eliud Pulse. A circle containing about two and a half acres, may be found in the woods belonging to S. F. Duvall. INDIANS. In the spring of 1792 the Indians were very troublesome to the settlers on the northern frontier of Kentucky, and kept them in constant dread. Occasionally a party would cross the river, steal a lot of horses, kill some of the inhabitants and burn their houses. In April, Simon Kenton raised a party of thirty-seven men, and set out in pursuit of a marauding party of Indians, who had re-crossed the Ohio a short distance below Limestone, and started in the direction of the head of the , Little Miami. When near the east fork of the Little Miami, silently pursuing the Indian trail, he heard a bell in the distance. He immediately stopped his party, and went in person to reconnoitre. He took with him three others, among them Cornelius Washburn, a young man whose nerves were as steady while taking aim at an Indian, as when he was practicing with his rifle at a target. He had been with Kenton on several expeditions, and had always distinguished himself as a bold soldier. Kenton and his companions went cautiously forward towards the bell. After they had gone some distance they saw an Indian riding towards them. The Indian, it appeared, was hunting with his bell open, as deer are not alarmed at the sound of a bell. On the contrary, they stand in mute astonishment, and gaze at the horse on which the 448 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. bell hangs. As soon as Kenton saw the Indian approaching, he concealed his little party till the Indian came near. Washburn was selected to shoot the Indian, and when he reached an open space Kenton made a noise. The Indian, as was expected, stopped to listen. The moment he stopped his horse Washburn fired, and down fell the Indian. Kenton then returned to his main party, and a consultation was held on the subject of their future operations. They were satisfied that this Indian was not alone in the woods, and that his comrades were not far distant. Convinced that they were in the neighborhood of the enemy, circumspection in their movements was indispensable. They were still on the trail of the Indians they were in pursuit of from Kentucky. Washburn, with another, followed on the trail some distance in advance. They had not gone far before Washburn was seen returning hastily, to meet the party. He gave Kenton intelligence that about a mile ahead he had heard a vast number of bells, and that he was convinced that the bells were near the Indian camp, for they appeared to be scattered, as if the horses were feeding in different directions. A council was immediately held to make arrangements for the coming conflict. It was now late in the evening, and a drizzling rain was falling. Kenton, after placing his men in a proper situation to defend themselves should they be attacked, took Washburn, and went to ascertain by personal observation, the situation of the enemy. About dusk he came in view of the Indian encampment. With the stealthy and watchful tread of a cat he approached as near the camp as prudence would dictate. The Indians were encamped on the southeast bank of the east fork of the Little Miami, on the present farm of Lewis Gibler. They had a number of tents and marquees, which, it is probable, they had taken at St. Clair's defeat. The number of Indians could not be ascertained, but Kenton had no doubt there were three or four times as many of them as there were of the whites. He returned and reported to his company their situation and probable number, and, after consultation, it was determined to trust to fortune and attack them boldly. Kenton moved his party on near to the Indian camp, without attracting the notice of the enemy, and then divided them into parties of four men each. These parties were instructed, when the signal was given, to attack each a separate tent or marquee. He chose midnight for the attack, lest he might have to retreat, in which case he would have a portion of the night in which to secure his retreat, before he could be pursued. As soon as his arrangements were made, they moved cautiously forward to the unequal contest. So cautious and noiseless was their approach that every person was within five or six paces of the line of tents, without being discovered. They rushed upon the tents with tremendous yells, each firing his rifle against an Indian as he slept. The Indians who were uninjured broke through the backs of the tents and escaped. Tecumseh, the warrior, and leader of the Indians, when the first gun was fired was lying by the fire outside the tents. He sprang to his feet, and calling upon his warriors to follow his example, rushed forward and killed John Barr, one of the whites, with his war club. In the midst of the engagement, an Indian fell into the creek and made so much noise in his efforts to get out, as to induce the whites to believe that reinforcements were crossing the creek to assail them. Kenton's party was so small that nothing like half the tents had been fired into. After the first fire nearly all the Indians who had escaped from the tents, seeing the small numbers of the whites, boldly rallied, returned to the tents which had not been attacked, gathered up their arms and returned the fire. There was on the lower bottoms, some say, on the other side of the creek, a second line of tents, which Kenton had not discovered in his first reconnoitre. The Indians from them ran to the aid of their comrades. Kenton, perceiving the attempt of the Indians to surround him, ordered a retreat. Barr's bones were left on the battlefield. The rest of Kenton's party retreated, and after three days, during two of which the party was without food, they all, with the exception of Alexander McIntyre, reached Limestone in safety. McIntyre was captured and killed, concerning this there is no dispute. As to the manner of his capture, two versions are given. One is, that the morning after the battle, Tecumseh, with some of his men, set out in pursuit of the retreating party, and having struck the trail of McIntyre, who was separated from his party, they followed it, and at length overtook him, where he had struck a fire and was cooking some meat. When he discovered his pursuers, he fled at full speed. Tecumseh and two others gave chase, and were fast gaining on him when he turned and raised his gun. The two Indians sprang behind trees, but Tecumseh boldly rushed upon Mclnytre and made him prisoner. He was tied and taken back to the battleground, where, in the temporary absence of Tecumseh, the Indians fell upon him and killed him, much to the vexation of the chief. The other version of his capture is that he was pursued by the Indians, and killed on what is now the farm of Charles Stroup. His body was taken to the Indian camp, where, with many ceremonies, the savages divided it into quarters, which they suspended on the surrounding trees. His heart was cut out of the body and elevated on the end of a long pole in the center of the camp, in front of the marquee of Tecumseh. The exact spot upon which this battle was fought is no longer a matter of doubt. The scarred trees, the remains of camp fires, which were visible until long after the neighborhood became settled, the human bones found by the early settlers, corroborate the most authentic accounts given by men who were themselves in the battle. A gun-barrel was found on the line of the retreating party, about a mile from the scene of action, and is supposed to have been the gun of McIntyre, and the place where it was found the scene of his death. Joseph Vanmeter, who settled in the neighborhood, found the bones of the unfortunate McIntyre, some of them still hanging to the trees, and buried them. The bones of John Barr were also found and buried by Vanmeter, William Spickard, and Daniel Jones. There was cut on the bark of a large beech tree near the battle-ground, the figure of an Indian in war costume, tomahawk in hand, under which were HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 449 several deep notches, supposed to indicate the number killed in battle, and short hacks for the wounded. The direction which the Indians took is indicated by a long mark in the hark of the tree. These things have not only been seen by the old settlers in that neighborhood, who have passed away, but by many who yet live and can take one to the place, now mostly cleared of woods, to be sure and show the location of the parties in the contest. More than that, one of the Kentuckians who was in the fight, visiting the neighborhood many years after, recognized the location, and pointed out to those with him, among whom was Dr. Samuel J. Spees, now of Hillsborough, the position of the Indians, and also of Kenton's party, reciting the details of the battle with great accuracy, and giving the directions of the retreat, etc. Verses written on the battle between Simon Kenton and the Indians, near Lynchburgh, Highland county, in 1798, by an old settler in the vicinity : "Ill drop you now another thought A battle here long since was fought: By Indians on Miami's shore, And white men from Kentucky, o'er. "The whites closed up on them at night, And shot them down at early light; The Indians cry of war repeat, The white men had then to retreat. "They traveled far the forest o'er, Till they reached again the Ohio shore; Then the lamentation was to all, For those two men who had to fall. "The Kentucky friends then did inquire, What became of Barr and McIntyre ; They did reply with sorrow deep, The Indians laid them long to sleep." INDIAN ENCAMPMENT. Quite a large and noted encampment of Indians was located within the present limits of Lynchburgh, when the Vanmeter's first settled in the country. It extended from the mouth of Turtle creek up the creek to the old cemetery. It was not entirely abandoned until 1806. This old cemetery was begun as early as 1817. - Ida Hendrickson was the first person buried in it. EARLY SETTLEMENT. In the spring of 1800, Joseph Vanmeter and Isaac Miller left Mill Creek, Fleming county, Kentucky, and settled, the one on what was afterward the Michael Stroup place on Dodson creek, and the other northward above Lynchsburgh, in what is now Clinton county, Mr. Vanmeter, Joseph's father and Isaac's guardian, gave each a hundred acres of land, axes, hoes; plows and corn meal enough to last them through the summer. Meat he refused, saying they might hunt for that in the woods. Joseph built a cabin a few rods to the east of where the Michael Stroup house now stands. The men who helped Vanmeter raise his cabin, were invited, and came from Deerfield on the Miami. The clearing which he made around his cabin, was not only the first on Dodson creek, but for many miles around. During the journey from Kentucky, one of the hoes was lost, so that, after Joseph and Isaac had put in their crop of corn, and it had grown sufficiently to require hoeing, They were at a loss for another hoe. It never occurred to them that one might plow while the other hoed. Their only way seemed to be for both to plow till the plowing was done, and then for both to hoe. After due deliberation it was resolved that Isaac should go to New Market, the nearest settlement, but fourteen miles away, and if possible, borrow a hoe. Accordingly, one afternoon he shouldered his rifle, and struck out through the woods for New Market. Fortunately for him, as he thought, he succeeded in borrowing a hoe of John Eversol, on condition that if it was damaged in any way it was to be paid for. These young pioneers had a hard time of it the first summer. Neither was very successful in hunting, and at times they almost starved, having nothing to eat for days together but corn bread and water. To be sure, the Indians all around them had venison and game in abundance, to sell, but they had nothing with which to buy. A little corn was raised the first season, and some potatoes, but wheat was not raised for some years after. Joseph Vanmeter, soon after, sold fifty acres of his land to his brother Peter, at a nominal price, as an inducement to him to move there for a neighbor. Peter came with his family in 1805, and settled across Dodson creek from his brother, Joseph. The following year (1806) Anthony Stroup who had emigrated from Huntington, Pennsylvania, in 1801, and had settled in New Market, bought land to the southeast of Joseph Vanmeter's on the Henry Massie survey five thousand three hundred and twenty-eight. About this time several other families of Vanmeters moved to the neighborhood, some settling on the "East Fork" to the north of Lynchburgh—forming what was known as the Vanmeter settlement. Joseph Vanmeter entertained travelers, and his house was known as the Vanmeter stand. RICHLAND. In the spring of 1808, the commissioners of Highland county ordered: "That a township be laid out of the name of Richland, and bounded as follows, to wit: Beginning at the west boundary of Highland county, on Anderson's road leading from Cincinnati to Chillicothe; thence eastwardly with said road to where the old road leading from New Market to Mad River, crosses said road; thence a straight line to Joshua Huzzey's; thence a straight line to leave Edward Curtice on the right side of the line, to a road laid out from Hillsborough to Urbana on Mad river; and thence such a course as will leave James Mills two miles west of said line, to intersect the Champaign county line, and thence westerly on the Highland county line to the beginning." The court of common pleas on the twenty-eighth of June, 1808, ordered that the township of Richland be entitled to three justices of the peace, and that the trustees of said township be notified thereof. This township was regularly organized during the summer of that year, and thenceforth for a time became one of the townships of Highland county. It embraced nearly all the territory of the present townships of Dodson and Union and a portion of Fairfield, but in the course of some years the further divisions of the county into townships, as its population and resources increased, completely annihilated the large and promising township of Richland, and long ago its very 57 450 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO. name and existence were forgotten, and it ceased to form an integral portion of the civil and political localities of Highland county. The first justices of the peace for this township were Jesse Hughs, Thomas Hinkson and Absalom Vanmeter, who were elected and qualified before October, 1808. The trustees of Richland township, 1808, were Jesse Hughs, William Noble and Thomas Hardwick; and Absalom Vanmeter was the clerk. In 1809, July 17th, when Union township was laid off, the southern part of Richland township was included within the boundaries of the new township. In 1810, Richland township disappeared altogether from Highland county, being absorbed in the county of Clinton, which was established in the spring of that year. A remnant of the township is still to be found in the northeastern part of Clinton county. It contains the town of Sabina. These first settlers, like all the others, lived chiefly on wild meat and hominy. Hand-mills for grinding, or rather cracking their corn, were for some years their chief reliance, for their nearest mills were at Deerfield or on the Scioto. Within the next ten years several additions to the neighborhood were made. William Stewart owned the land where the main part of Lynchburgh now stands. He sold, many years after, to Coleman Botts, who, with Andrew Smith, laid out the town. Zachariah Walker, a brother-in-law to Michael Stroup, occupied the Stroup farm as a tenant. William Thompson lived near the Pulse neighborhood, and John Barnes near Fairview. Mr. Barnes settled there in 1806. William Ruse's father lived to the north, where William now lives, and Mr. Liggett still further north. William Hinton, an uncle of Thomas Eaglin, settled, in 1815, a mile north of Lynchburgh, on the farm now owned by Cyrus West. On this farm is one of the largest sulphur springs, in the county. George Spickard settled, about 1810, on the farm now owned by his son, Alex. Spickard, not far from Fairview, in Dodson township. He came from Virginia. David Hays, William Spickard, and William Smith settled near where Lynchburgh stands. David Walker, an old Revolutionary soldier, settled on Turtle creek, half a mile from its mouth, about 1806. Nathan Henderson settled, before 1820, near where Allensburgh now is. The first apple trees set out in Dodson township were brought from Germantown, Kentucky, by Anthony Stroup, about the year 1810. They were three in number, and one of them grew to the great size of nine feet and ten inches in circumference. About the year 1820, Nathan Pulliam, one of the earliest preachers of the Methodist denomination, gathered a band of men and women at the house of Anthony Stroup, and there organized the first Methodist Episcopal church in that neighborhood. These early members were: Anthony Stroup, John Murrell, John Bibbens, Andrew Smith, the Terrills, and James Thompson, and their families. The Rev. Mr. Page was one of the first circuit preachers. The first white child born in Dodson township was James Stroup, son of Anthony Stroup. This event occurred in 1808. The first death and burial was that of a stranger, whose name and history were never known. He was found one winter day, near the residence of Anthony Stroup, frozen to death. He was buried in what has since become the Stroup graveyard. This event occurred soon after the Stroups settled. The first school-house was built of round logs, similar to the typical backwoods school-house, on the north side of Dodson creek, on land then owned by Michael Stroup, now by Samuel F. Duvall. It was built in 1820. William Knox taught the first school. Under the public school system, 1833–'34, William Shover was one of the first teachers; George Pulse another. Zachariah Walker, about 1820, started the first distillery in the township, on the farm of Michael Stroup. It was not a large one, consisting as it did of two small stills of ninety to one hundred gallons capacity, each. Joseph Vanmeter kept the first tavern in the township, having been granted a license for that purpose by the court of common pleas, the twentieth day of February, 1806. The first store was kept by Andrew Smith as early as 1824–'25. It was situated in the northern edge of Lynchburgh, near the Murrill graveyard. John Shafer, son of Andrew Shafer, of New Market township, was a settler in Dodson township as early as 1820. He improved the farm now owned by Eliud Pulse, and afterward the farm adjoining it on the north, and now owned by Isaac and Joshua Shafer. The first farm he bought at twenty-five cents an acre. He was a justice of the peace in 1819, in New Market township, and afterward in Salem township, and then in Dodson, as these townships were successively cut off from New Market. Colonel George Shafer was born in 1792, June 17th, near Hagarstown, Maryland. In 1805 his father, Andre* Shafer, and the family, in company with Adam Arnold and family—in all twenty persons moved to Ohio, and arrived, after a tedious journey of five weeks, in New Market on the seventh of October. Their way between Chillicothe and New Market they were obliged to cut through the woods. They settled, after a stay of eleven months in New Market, in the eastern edge of what is now Hamer township, Massie's survey, number three thousand six hundred and sixty, having bought two hundred and fifty acres of land. The names of the children were Andrew, jr., Adam, Susie, Jacob, George, John, Daniel, Jonas, and Nancy. Samuel, the tenth child, was born after the emigration to Ohio. In 1813 George and Jacob started a distillery, the apparatus for which they bought from Jacob Parrott, who lived beyond Washington Court House. The boys were at first very successful. They fatted hogs, and made bacon. This, George took to the Kanawha region and exchanged for salt. On his return, he sold this salt for a thousand dollars clear cash. In 1815 George Shafer was married to Miss Mason, whose father settled in the northeast HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 451 part of Highland county in 1805. In 1816 Mr. Shafer moved to Dodson township with his family. The farm which he owned and cleared is now owned by George Pulse. Mr. Shafer took an active part in public matters, especially military matters. Before going to Dodson he had been elected to the captaincy of a company of militia, and he held this position for ten years, being re-elected without opposition at the end of five years. He afterward raised a company of riflemen, and was captain another five years. At the close of the Mexican war he was elected without opposition to the colonelcy of the rifle corps, having for some time previous been acting lieutenant colonel. In civil life he was always a prominent citizen. He was a great reader, and won a good reputation as a pettifogger before justices of the peace. He and his wife are both still living, and have therefore passed their golden wedding by fifteen years. James Thompson moved from Kentucky to Dodson township about 182o, and settled where widow Emily Thompson now liyes. In 1824 Michael Stroup, the New Market hatter, built a large brick house in Dodson, on the farm which he had owned for some years. While building, his daughter Harriet, ten years old, and her sister Margaret, still younger, came out from New Market, and with the help of a brother, cooked for the workmen. This house is still standing, and at the time it was built it exceeded in grandeur any house for miles around. George Pulse moved from Berkely county, Virginia, in 1817, and settled with his wife and one child, near Hillsborough. In 1833 he moved to Dodson, and taught school and cultivated his farm. He has been a leading member of the Methodist church in Dodsonville. The present officers of Dodson township are: Thomas Dittey, D. L. Walker, Bartley Boyland, trustees; Lewis Dumenil, clerk; W. H. Bobbitt, treasurer; William Hill, Thomas Peale, justices; J. W. Kennedy, Frank Shaffer, constables. BOARD OF EDUCATION. Eli J. Roush, Levi Walker, Peter Vanmeter, Charles Stroup, Charles Spilker, St. Clair Thompson, P. W. Ted- rick. In the township are seven school districts, not counting Lynchburgh. These districts all have good schoolhouses. Three of them are built of brick, and four are frame buildings. METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. The organization and early members of the first Methodist Episcopal church in Dodson township has been given under the title of "First Events." After services had been held in the house of Anthony Stroup for ten or twelve years, the place of meeting was removed to Michael Garoutte's, on the east fork of the Little Miami. About the year 1844 the church, which had largely increased, divided—one part going to Lynchburgh, and the other to Dodsonville. Greenberry Jones was the first preacher at Dodsonville. A frame building was erected at the latter place, which did service till the present frame church was erected, in 1866. The old building was sold and moved to Allensburgh, where it was converted into a dwelling. The church at Dodsonville now numbers about eighty members. Revs. Ephraim Cole and Hiram DeBruin supply the pulpit once in two weeks. A flourishing Sabbath-school is connected with the church, numbering about sixty or seventy pupils. About the same time that the Dodsonville Methodist Episcopal church was built, the Lynchburgh congregation erected one on the spot where their present house stands. This was built of brick, and was about twenty-eight by forty feet in size. The brick work was done by a Mr. Hall. A parsonage was built about the same time. The principal members of the church at the time of the erection of this building were, Dr. Samuel J. Specs, Rev. John Duvall, Norman W. Cummins, "Father" Williams, Jonah Cadwallader, John Woodrow and John A. Murrell. The house was dedicated in 1844, the Rev. William H. Raper officiating. Ebenezer Chase and Jeremiah B. Ellsworth were the first preachers in this building. In 1869 the present commodious building was erected. This house is forty by sixty feet in dimensions, has a vestibule and two class rooms, beside the main audience room. It was built at a cost of about five thousand five hundred dollars, exclusive of interest. The last of the debt on it has recently been paid off. The Rev. Samuel D. Clayton was the first preacher in the new building. The pulpit is at present supplied by Revs. Ephraim Cole and Hiram DeBruin. About the same time with the building of the Methodist Episcopal churches in Lynchburgh and Dodsonville a log church was erected to the westward, just over the line in Brown county. Michael Garroutte, John Adams, Joel Judkins, Alexander Liggett, Joseph Leonard and Tavner Laymon were prominent in the erection of this building. Joel Judkins gave the lot on which it stood. This church was connected with the Lynchburgh circuit, and has usually been supplied by the same preachers as Lynchburgh and Dodsonville. The house becoming old and poor, a new church, of brick, was built at Webertown, in 1870. This house was built by the aid of the Lutherans, of whom there is quite a congregation in the neighborhood, and the two denominations use it alternately for service. The membership of the Methodist church is about forty. CHRISTIAN CHURCH. The Christian church at Lynchburgh was organized in the woods, about a quarter of a mile south of the town, in August, 1838. The place was then owned by Abraham Gibler, and now by Daugherty Hague. The preachers at the organization were Revs. Walter Scott and L. H. Jameson. The following are the names of the early members who made up the organization: Milligan Clark and wife, Alfred McDaniel and wife, Martha Eaglin, Ruth Burton, Christopher Bisher, Betsey Vanmeter and her daughter, Mary Vanmeter. After thus organizing the church the preacher went to Mount Olivet, and returning after eight or ten days held a meeting in the house of Milligan Clark. At this meet- 452 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO ing Mrs. Lewis Gibler came forward to join the church, and then her husband. The next day, Abraham Gibler and his wife, Mary, presented themselves and were baptized. On the second Lord's Day following these events, the Lord's supper was instituted, Milligan Clark officiating. On this occasion Samuel Agnew and his wife joined the church and were baptized. The meetings of the church were held, for the most part, in a cooper- shop belonging to Charles Bisher, a short distance south of Turtle creek. The church erected a house of worship in 1841, and the cooper-shop was afterward converted into a dwelling house. It still stands. The church erected in 1841 was a frame building, and stood on the west side of Main street, near where the Marietta and Cincinnati railroad crosses. The dimensions of the house were twenty-six by forty feet, and cost about five or six hundred dollars. In 1851 it was burned. On the same spot was erected another church of about the same size, but made of brick, at an expense of one thousand five hundred dollars. When the Marietta and Cincinnati railroad was built, in 1852, it passed so near the building as to make it undesirable for the purpose of a church. It was accordingly sold to Absalom Steele and Abraham Duceman, who agreed to erect a new church on Sycamore street, on a lot already owned by the society, in return for the old house and lot, This transaction was carried out and the old church, with an addition built on in front to the sidewalk, became a business house. It is now owned by Daniel Harvey. The church at the present time has a membership of about seventy. LUTHERAN CHURCH. The early Lutheran church was composed mainly of the various families of the Shafers. John Surface, a Lutheran preacher, organized at Dodsonville a church in 1839. The names of George, Daniel, John, and Jonas Shafer, and Adam Orebaugh are given as the earliest and principal members. The church edifice, which they built about 1842, stood on the west side of the pike leading to Lynchburgh, and north of the town. It was a frame building, and was used until the close of 1879. A new church of brick has been erected. It stands on the Milford and Chillicothe turnpike, west of the town. Its dimensions are thirty-two by fifty feet, and its cost about two thousand dollars. It was dedicated February 29, 1880, after a week of preparatory religious services, held by Rev. R. F. Delo of Springfield. The dedicatory sermon was preached by Rev. Shafer. The membership of the church is now about two hundred. A large Sabbath-school is connected with the church. BAPTIST CHURCH. George McDaniel, a Baptist preacher, organized a Baptist church at Vanmeter's, north of Lynchburgh, about 1815. The organization was kept up eight or ten years. About that time (1825) Robert McCoy, a preacher of the New Light denomination, preached in the neighbOrhood, and most of the Baptists joined the new organization that was formed. The first members of this church were William Stewart and six seven of his children, and the Vanmeters. The preaching was still mostly at the house of the Vanmeters. Some years later another organization of Baptists was formed. Their church stood above Lynchburgh, northeast of the Murrill graveyard. It was a log house, and was built in 1836. The Rev. Jacob Laymon was their principal preacher. The prominent members were Henry Clouds, Rachel Calloway, Mrs. Rhoda Carpenter, Mrs. William Liggett, and a family of Sharps. The organization was kept up till the death of Mr. Laymon, which occurred about 1858. The "Liggett mill," near Webertown, on the east fork of the Little Miami, was built about 1825. It was owned, and perhaps built, by a Mr. Kilbreth. He sold it to Benjamin and Joseph Jenny, and they to William Liggett, by whose name it has since been known. About 1852, Bales and Deniston entered into partnership and built, in Lynchburgh, the best grist-mill that has existed in the township. The mill contained all the most improved machinery, and cost upwards of fifteen thousand dollars. The flour produced was of superior quality. In 1862, the mill burned to the ground. Another mill has since been built upon the same spot, by Mr. J. W. Bobbett, and now stands. It is not so large as the previous one. It is owned by G. J. Minster. DISTILLERIES. The erection of the first distillery in the township has been already mentioned among the first events. The next distillery was started, by Michael Stroup, about 1833, and was considerably larger than John Walker's. It was operated about ten or twelve years. About 1835, Joseph and Charles Stroup, sons of Anthony Stroup, started a distillery, which they operated about four years, when they sold to Thomas Peale, in Lynchburgh. Mr. Peale continued the enterprise for several years. In 1857, the Bowen distillery, at Lynchburgh, owned by Freiberg & Workum, of Cincinnati, was started. The company obtained the privilege from the proprietors of the Bowen distillery, in Kentucky, of branding the first one hundred barrels of spirits made, with the Bowen brand, in order to give the new distillery a start and a reputation. The capacity of the distillery at the beginning, in 1857, was one hundred bushels of grain per day. It has since been enlarged to the capacity of five hundred bushels. A large cooper shop is connected with the establishment. About forty men, all told, are employed. There are twelve thousand barrels of spirits in the bonded warehouse at the present time. LYNCHBURGH. Lynchburgh lies in the northern part of Dodson township, on the left bank of the east fork of the Little Miami. William Stewart originally owned the farm where the town now stands. The town was laid out July 31, 183o, by Andrew Smith and Coleman Botts. Mr. Smith lived in the northern part of the town. The first newcomer after the town was laid out was William Hughey. He built a house on High street, east of Main. The next house was built by Benson Golds- HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 453 berry, on Main street, north of High. These two men, Hughey and Goldsberry, were preachers of the Protestant Methodist denomination. The third house belonged to Jane Connell. It was on Main street, north of High. The fourth house was built by Andrew Smith, on the lot next north of Jane Connell's. It still stands. The fifth house was also built by Andrew Smith. It stood on the corner of Main and High streets. A part of it was devoted to the first store kept in the town. In it Mr. Smith sold goods for Joshua Wright, of Martinsville, on commission. The next (the sixth) house was built by John McManama, near where the distillery now stands. It is still used as a dwelling house. John W. Smith, son of Andrew Smith, lives in it. The next house was on the corner of Main and High streets, west from the store, and was built by Andrew Smith. The eighth house was built by Michael Ruse, south of High street. George Holliday now lives in it. About the time the town was laid out, Mr. Smith erected a saw- and grist-mill, to be run with water power. It was in the northwest part of the town, and was a very excellent mill. It passed into the hands of John Bevans. In 1832 William Haynes sunk tan-vats just south of the mill spoken of above, and began the first tannery. It lasted about two years. A Mr. Coffman opened the first blacksmith shop about the same time. John Duvall was the first shoemaker in the town, .and opened the first shoe-shop in 1836. He was known as Judge Duvall; he was one of the associate judges of the district before the present constitution of Ohio was adopted. He also had a tannery a more extensive one than Mr. Haynes'—which was afterward carried on by his son Samuel. O. C. Collins opened and kept the first tavern in the town, on Main street. Dr. Samuel J. Spees was the first resident physician; he located there in 1834; he removed to Hillsborough in 1866. The first schools were held in a log school-house in the southern part of the town, on John Morrow's place. The house had been built a little before the town was laid out. A brick house owned by James P. Bobbett now stands on the spot. Mr. S. S. Liggett was the first justice of the peace after the town was laid out. The second store was opened by Thomas Johnson in 1833. The growth of the town was not rapid in its earlier years, but in 1851 it had grown to such size as to become an incorporated village. At the first election after the incorporation, held in April, 1851, St. Clair Liggett was elected mayor, and Abraham Gibler, Wyatt C. Hundley, Peter Marshall, John Bayless and John Torrey were elected councilmen. After the building of the Hillsborough & Cincinnati railroad, which was begun in 1852, the town began to grow more rapidly than the neighboring towns. Its most prosperous season, perhaps, was during the years of 1866-7-8, at which time most of the present brick stores and public buildings were erected. The advent of the large distillery in 1857 made a market for grain, and gave employment to workmen. The New York store was established, in connection with the distillery, and operated in the interests of the workmen and of the town, and did a very flourishing business. SCHOOLS. After the town of Lynchburgh was laid out, the first school-house built stood on Main street, south of the railroad. This was a frame building, and stood on the same spot on which the log school-house, previously spoken of; stood. In 1856 a new brick school-house was built by J. M. Whitaker, for the town. It stood on the northeast corner of Sycamore and Pearl streets. It had two schoolrooms, was one story high, and was built at an expense of sixteen hundred dollars. The board of education, at the time this school-house was built, consisted of Norman W. Cummins, Peter Marshall and Jesse S. Hundley. In 1866 the school-house had become so crowded as to make it necessary to enlarge it. Accordingly, a second story was added, at an expense of fifteen hundred dollars, and a wing containing a stairway and cloak rooms. These additions have been found sufficient for the accommodation of the schools. The entire cost of the building has been about three thousLd eight hundred dollars. The present board of education are W. R. Gaddis, William Fields and A. J. Bering; Isma Troth, clerk. The present teachers are Perry King, superintendent; Wyatt Cashatt, Maggie Whitaker and Dada Murphy. The following are the present officers of the village of Lynchburgh: Daniel Murphy, mayor; Bartley Bayland, James Schwartz, George Kessinger, A. J. Fields, James W. Bobbitt, councilmen; Perry Whitaker, marshal. There are at the present time, in Lynchburgh, three hotels, three dry goods stores, two drug stores, four groceries, two hardware stores, two blacksmith shops, two tin shops, two shoe shops, one cooper shop, one harness shop, besides numerous other stands where miscellaneous goods are for sale. MASONS. Lynchburgh Lodge, No. 178, was organized in 1849. The petitioners were David Scott, John Woodrow, N. W. Cummins, John Torrey, Gideon Dunham, John Duvall, O. C. Collins, D. G. Porter, Alvin Washburn, A. S. Bundy, Jonah Britton, and Augustus McCoy. The first officers were: David Scott, W. M.; John Woodrow, S. W.; N. W. Cummins, J. W.; M. Z. Kreider, M. W. G. M.; F. M. Reith, R. W. D. G. M.; Henry H. Dodge, R. W. S. G. W.; Hugh Trever, R. W. J. G. W. The present officers are: J. W. Thornburg, W. M.; Andrew Bishir, S. W.; Samuel Elkeles, J. W.; C. A. Stewart, treasurer; Alfred Smith, S. D.; Joseph Miller, J. D.; Daniel McCann, tyler; Cyrus Noble, property trustee. ODD FELLOWS. Lynchburgh Lodge, No. 15i, was instituted March 5, 1850. The petitioners were Z. O. Connell, H. Davis, W. 454 - HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO C. Hundley, James Murrill, James Johnson, D. F. Cash att, B. R. Hundley, William Fields, Samuel Agnew, S. Murdey, and Aaron H. Ruse. The first officers were: Alexander E. Glenn, M. W. G. M.; Thomas C. McEwen, M. W. D. G. M.; Richard Williams, S. G. warden; Isaac 'Tetley, G. secretary; Mark P. Taylor, G. treasurer. The present officers are: William M. Dumenil, N. G.; John McCright, V. G.; C. A. Stewart, R. S.; C. Noble, P. S.; A. Bishir, treasurer; Thomas Dumenil, W.; W. V. White, conductor; G. G. Taylor, 0. S. G.; Godfrey Minzler, J. S. G. Lynchburgh Encampment of Patriarchs, No. 172, was instituted June 17, 1872. The charter was issued by B. F. Cunningham, M. W. C. P.; Joseph Dowdall, R. W. C. S. The petitioners were J. H. Deniston, David Troutwine, J. F. Holliday, James McCann, Daniel McCann, J. F. Murphy, John W. Moon, Charles Spilker, John Bogart, Sylverius Puckett, A. F. Deniston, T. F. Cashatt, J. H. Johnston, Joseph Hixon. On the sixteenth of May, 1874, a lodge of the Daughters of Rebekah was instituted by J. H. Kinkead. A. C. Deuel, M. W. G. M.; W. C. Earl, R. W. G. S. ANCIENT ORDER OF UNITED WORKMEN. A lodge of this order was instituted in Lynchburgh March 8, 1876. The charter was issued by G. C. Forsinger, G. M. W., and A. Loebenberg, G. R. SETTLEMENT. John Torrey was born in Scotland, in the county of Banff, in 1811. He was educated at the university of Aberdeen, where he graduated in 1828. Soon after his graduation he went to the island of Trinidad, West Indies, as a teacher in a private family. In 1837 he returned to Scotland, whence, the following year, he came to America, by way of New Orleans. Soon thereafter he found his way to New Market, in Highland county, near which place he taught school. He settled in Lynchburgh, in 1839. In 1846 he was admitted to the bar in Ross county, and has since borne an excellent reputation as a lawyer. He was a member of the first town council of Lynchburgh in 1851, and was prosecuting attorney for the county of Highland from 185o to 1853. He has been the mayor of the village of Lynchburgh ten years. Mr. W. R. Gaddis came from Pennsylvania to New Market in 1847. Remaining there one year he removed to Hillsborough, where he remained till 1855. During this time he worked at whatever honorable work offered itself. In 1855 he removed to Sharpville, in Union township, where he opened a small country store. Here he remained two years, and in 1857 removed to Lynchburgh, where he has since that time been established. In Lynchburgh he has held a high position as a business man, and has been several times honored with office by his fellow-citizens. He was a member of the town council fifteen years, and has been a member of the board of education, of which body he is, at this writing, the president. He was a United States gauger in the distillery while Andrew Johnson was president. Afterwards he became the superintendent of the "New York store," and so continued till 1877, when he purchased the store. He married Eliza Vance, in New Market. They have had four children, of whom only one is now living. Thomas Peale was born the second day of January, 1805, in Pennsylvania. In 1835 he removed to Ohio, and the following year to, Lynchburgh, where he opened a dry goods and general store. This store he continued for about fifteen years, when he gave the business into the hands of his sons, and went himself to farming. Mr. Peale, during the days of the militia, was for two years first lieutenant, and for five years was captain of a company. He has served his township in the capacity of justice of the peace for twenty years, and has a year more to serve. How successful he has been in this office is shown by the fact that he differs in politics from the majority of the voters in the township. He has been married three times, his present wife being his third. By his first wife, Margaret Robison, he had five children, of whom two are in business in Lynchburgh. By his second wife, Mary Townsend, he had three children. His present wife was Eliza J. Lemon. Her father, Samuel Lemon, moved to New Market before the county seat was removed to Hillsborough (18o8). J. A. Bering was born and educated in Cincinnati. When the Rebellion broke out he enlisted in the army as a private. In January, 1863, he was promoted to the captaincy, and in February, 1864, to the position of major, of the Forty-eighth Ohio volunteer infantry. He was captured during Banks' Red River expedition, in April, 1864. He made his escape, and made a journey of over two hundred miles—within fifty miles of the Union forces—when he was re-captured. Upon his return to prison he found the others of his regiment had been exchanged during his absence. He remained a prisoner until about two months after the close of the war. In 1866, he moved to Webertown, Highland county, kept a general store, and, at the end of three years, moved to Lynchburgh and opened a stock of merchandise. In 1871 he was appointed a revenue officer, and, in 1879, sold his store to his brother, and became deputy collector. He holds a prominent place in the esteem of his fellow citizens as a man of ability and integrity. Cyrus Noble is a native of Clinton county, Ohio. During the gold excitement in California he, in 1853, went there to dig for gold. Upon his return to Ohio, which occurred about four years thereafter, he removed to Lynchburgh. There he was superintendent of Freiberg & Workum's distillery for fifteen years. He is known as a generous and public-spirited man, and has accumulated a fine property. He was twice married. His first marriage took place before going to California; his second in 1874. Jonas Shafer, when four years old, accompanied his father, Andrew, from Maryland to New Market in 1805. He moved to Dodson township in 1835, where he has since resided. When a young man, he was engaged to some extent in teaching school, receiving at times at the rate of fifty cents a month per scholar. John Murphy came from Pennsylvania, and settled about half a mile east of Russell's station, in Highland county, about 1820, on the farm now owned by the Rev. HISTORY OF ROSS AND HIGHLAND COUNTIES, OHIO - 455 Mr. Urmstead. He married Nancy White, who lived near Greenfield, and had ten children, eight of whom are still living. About 1836 the family moved to near Sharpsville, where, in 1846, January 9th, Mr. Murphy died. Susan, his daughter, married George W. Pitzer, and is now dead. Hugh, a son, lives near Lynchburgh, and Andrew, also. Daniel lives in Lynchburgh. Martha married George C. Pitzer, a physician in St. Louis, Missouri, and dean of the medical college. F. M. Murphy lives in Lynchburgh, John W. is a physician in Chambersburgh, Illinois. Daniel, above mentioned, married Mary Isabel Cashatt. He has held a prominent place in the local affairs of Lynchburgh and vicinity. He has been elected to the offices of town clerk, councilman and mayor, which latter office he now holds. He has also held the office of township clerk. In 1868 he was elected by the county as auditor, and held the position two full terms. In politics he has differed from the majority of voters in his town and township, but such is his popularity that he has often been elected over the regular candidate of the party in power. Mr. Murphy is a plasterer by trade. He learned the trade of his brother, Hugh. During the war of the rebellion he was in the army, attached at first to the Eighty-eighth regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry. Afterward he accepted a commission as lieutenant in the Twenty-seventh United States colored regiment, and was promoted to adjutant of the same. John Bogart was born in Hamilton county, Ohio, June 17, 1818. His father was from the State of New Jersey, and settled in Anderson township, in Hamilton county, Ohio, in 1814. In 1869 John removed to his present place of residence in Dodsonville, Highland county. In the short time of his residence in Highland county, he has been honored by his fellow-citizens with the office of township trustee, which he held two years, and of county commissioner. To the latter office he was elected in 1874, and again in 1877. DODSONVILLE. Dodsonville is on the Milford and Chillicothe turnpike, about ten miles west of Hillsborough. The town was laid out by Daniel Shafer, April 29, 1839, and added to by L. Cartwright, June lth, the same year. Daniel Shafer made another addition March 1, 1845. There are, at the present time, two stores, three blacksmith shops, one steam saw-mill, one school-house and two churches. ALLENSBURGH. Allensburgh was laid out on lands belonging to Robert Pugh and Charles Henderson, October 28, 1839. Hon. William Allen was then senator from Ohio, and being greatly admired by the proprietors of the town, the name Allensburgh was applied to it.