Clinton County, Ohio - Chapter 5: Early Settlement in Clinton County, 1915

Chapter 5: Early Settlement in Clinton County

Brown-limbed and mighty were the forest trees That lifted high their giant trunks in air: Filled with sweet incense was the sighing breeze Which touched. with soft caress, wild flowers fair; The sunlight glanced among the foliage green, And vainly strove to pierce the gloom beneath; Glad swelled the heart of him who viewed the scene And breathed the fragrance of the flowery heath.

So often have descriptions been written of the appearance of this region before the white settler had made it his home that all those who read must be familiar with the phraseology commonly employed. Yet there is not enough yariety in the terms which can be used to write in a greatly different manner on the subject. A vast forest wilderness stretched north from the Ohio river. into the depths of which pushed bold pioneers from the states of North and South Carolina. Kentucky. Tennessee. Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and others. most of them coming from the Virginians and the Carolinas.

The face of the country at the beginning of the settlement in Clinton county bore a vast difference in appearance to that of the present time. The soil was extremely fertile, and upon it grew, in the utmost luxuriance, the many varieties of trees and shrubs common to this latitude. Nearly the entire surface of the county was covered with a massive forest and the tangle of shrubs which grew beneath. Spicewood and the Wild pea vine formed a mat through which the feet could push only with difficulty. From the leaves of the spicewood was made a decoetion which was used in the place of "Store tea'? when the latter could not be obtained. Sassafras tea (called '"sassafrak" in the vernacular of that day) was also used, and the sap of the sugar maple was a boon which the settlers well appreciated as an almost invaluable article in the economy of their households. Flowers in greatest variety grew and blossomed under the trees, and the rose, the wild lily, the dog wood, the red bud, and a hundred other varieties made a beautiful carpet for the magnificent forest aisles in their season.

Splendid as was the appearance of the country in the days when the "'first settler" looked upon it, the fact remained that out of the forest depths homes must be carved. The task promised to be by no means an easy one, but the man who was bold enough to venture far from the older settlements and brave all of the difficulties he must of necessity encounter, was not disheartened with the prospect before him, and began at once the work he had resolved to accomplish. The ringing strokes of his axe echoed in the thick green wood, and the trees lay prostrate where for hundreds of years they had stood in their glory. The rays of the sun streamed into the little clearing; smoke curled upward from burning logs and brusb-heaps; the rude cabin stood outlined against the dark and somber forest wall, and the new home was begun where never before the footsteps of civilization penetrated.

The land-office for the district of the Virginia military survey was opened August 1, 1787. Prior to this, in the same year this tract had been explored by Maj. John O'Bannon and Arthur Fox, two Kentucky surveyors, who wished to obtain a knowledge of the land for the purpose of making entries when the district should be opened up. O'Bannon became a prominent surveyor and did the major percentage of the surveying of this tract. He also entered considerable land himself and O'Bannon creek bears his name.

The First Settler

The honor which is due the first settler of this county is a rather disputed subject, as no definite conclusion can be reached as to who really deserves this distinction. A dispute has arisen among those who have made investigations. It is. stated by certain parties, and apparently on good authority, that the first settlement was made by William Smalley, who settled within the limits ef the present township of Vernon, west of Clarksville, in the year 1797. If this were authentic, we would give him all the praise

"which is due, but the fact has been conclusively developed that Mr. Smalley's cabin was built about fifty rods west of the line which divides this county from Warren, in the township of Washington, in the said county. His purchase, however, extended over the line into Clinton-county. Thus we are still very far from our goal.

It seems to be a difficult matter to really place the first actual settler who located within the territory now comprising Clinton county. The evidence seems to point to the fact that three persons came about the same time, and located at widely different points in the county. These were Morgan Van Meter, of Green township; Amos Wilson, of the township which bears his name and David Sewell, of Vernon township. There is trouble in ascertaining the date at which each of these men came to the county, but the latest investigation seems to fix them all in the year 1799. Morgan Van Meter has generally been accorded the honor of being the first arrival, although Squire C. C. Bowers, in writing the history of Green township, fixes the date of Van Meter's arrival at about 1800; however, this is not altogether authentic and was in all probability a year too late. The late Judge Harlan prepared the following sketch of Mr. Van Meter:

"Morgan Van Meter was the first settler within the limits of Clinton county as it now exists, having come here in 1798 or 1799. He was also the first tavern keeper within the same limits. His tavern was the first opened on any of the first roads, traces or paths leading from Chillicothe to Cincinnati. 'Van Meter's' was made a conspicuous point in the road guides published in the Pittsburg almanac of seventy years ago, for the information and direction of travelers by land from that town to Cincinnati. General Cass, in a conversation with one of our citizens a few years ago, made inquiries about this early public house, and stated that, having lain out all night in the woods a few miles southwest from Van Meter's, he was glad to find it in the morning in time for a late breakfast. This was in very early days.

"Morgan was the first of five sons of Joseph Van Meter. His brothers were Joseph, Isaac, Abraham and William, all of whom, except William, were at one time residents of the state of Ohio, and, we believe, of the old town of Deerfield, on the Little Miami river, in what is now Warren county. The brothers who came to Deerfield were said to have had families. Morgan lived in the lower part of the little town, not far from the river, in one end of a double cabin, or a cabin divided into two rooms, the other room being occupied by the family of the late Judge Michael H. Johnson, a well-known resident of the Hopkinsville neighborhood, Warren county. He (Van Meter) removed directly from Deerfield to the head of the east fork of the Little Miami, near where Snow Hill now is, in Clinton county. The point where he settled is a little east of south, and a distance of about two hundred yards from the present residence of Zephaniah Spears. Here, it is said, he found an unoccupied Indian wigwam. With the exception of this hut, there was not a human habitation within a radius of ten miles. Here he built his cabin and opened it to the publie as a tavern. Here Morgantown was afterward laid out. His father, Joseph Van Meter, was a native of the state of Maryland. He was born upon the frontier, and, though frequently changing his residence, died upon the frontier. He seems to have belonged to that class of men, once quite numerous, who kept constantly on the border of civilization and followed close upon the footsteps of the Indians as they retired further west at the advance of the white man. He had removed from Maryland several years before the Revolutionary War and was living on the south _bank of the Potomac river in Virginia, when his son, Morgan, his first child, was born. The family record of Morgan Van Meter's family, furnished by Mrs. James Van Meter, of Wiota, Lafayette county, Wisconsin, shows the year of Morgan's birth to be 1765. Between the birth of Morgan and of Joseph, his second son,. he crossed the Alleghany mountains, descended the Monongahela, and settled at the forks of that river. 'At this point, Joseph and perhaps others of the family were born.

"In 1770,-Joseph Van Meter, the elder, in company with three of the Zane brothers, removed with his family to the Ohio river, where the city of Wheeling now is. The Zanes settled at the mouth of Wheeling creek, while Mr. Van Meter settled a few miles above, on Short creek. Other settlements were commenced near by soon afterward. Block houses, being works of prime necessity on the frontier at that day were erected at several places in the settlements, as some protection against the Indians, though seldom adequate when assailed by a strong party. Near to these, the settlers built their cabins, as far as convenient, such a plan being considered as some protection against surprise attacks by small parties of the Indians. In 1774, a small military work was erected, under British authority, on the south bank of the Ohio river, not far above the mouth of Wheeling creek. The plan upon which it was built was said to have been drawn by the celebrated Gen. George Rogers Clark. It was called at first Ft. Fincastle, the name of the county in which it was located, but two years later, 1776, the name was changed to Ft. Henry, from the celebrated Patrick Henry, then governor of the state of Virginia. This was the only fort between Pittsburg and the south of the Great Kanawha, which was at that time considered tenable against a force of any great number. A stockade was in process of construction near West Liberty, on Short creek, in September, 1777, but was not yet complete when the Indians attacked Ft. Henry, late in September of that year. This stockade was intended to serve the double purpose of' protecting the lives and property of the settlers and as county buildings, West Liberty at that time being the seat of justice for Ohio county. This rude structure was named Van Meter's fort, from Joseph Van Meter, the elder. Late in September, 1777, notice was given the settlers at and in the neighborhood where Wheeling now stands that a large Indian army was collecting on the Sandusky river to march against Ft. Henry and the settlements in the neighborhood. This friendly warning is said to have been sent by the brother of the Zanes, who had taken up his residence with the Indians, had adopted their dress and mode of living, and had married an Indian woman. The messenger had scarcely brought the direful news to the garrison before the Indians were before the walls of the fort, under the leadership of the renegade white man, Simon Girty. The Indians had gone to and crossed the Ohio unperceived, though a considerable force of the most capable and experienced scouts and Indian fighters on the frontier had teen sent out 'into the woods on the north side of the Ohio, through which the enemy wss expected to eome, to discover, if possible, the force of the latter, and the time at which they would probably arrive. Girty, however, succeeded in bringing his warriors before the very walls of the fort before his approach was discovered. The force of the Indians was computed at from four to five hundred men. The entire force of the garrison and settlers was forty-two, all told, many of whom were old men and boys. In the course of the first night after the arrival of the Indians, the settlers and their families either took shelter in the fort.or were brought in. The next morning, the Indians succeeded in killing one of the men belonging to the garrison. Fourteen men, sent out in pursuit of a small party of Indians, were surrounded, twelve of them were killed and one badly wounded. Twelve volunteers from the fort were sent to the relief of the first party, but were surrounded and eight of them killed. Two or three men were severely wounded, but were able to conceal themselves from the Indians, and came in or were brought in after the Indians withdrew. Not a man was killed or wounded inside the fort. On the third day of the siege, forty mounted men from Short creek and fourteen from Cross creek arrived at the fort and were admitted. These timely reinforcements so- discouraged the Indians that they raised the siege and engaged in killing the cattle and burning the cabins and fences of the settlers.

"Two accounts are given of the part acted by Joseph Van Meter and his son, Morgan. One is that Joseph and his family took refuge in the fort without loss of time. The other is that father and son, on the second day of the siege, composed a part of the company of forty, who, on hearing of the dangerous condition of the people and garfison in the fort, left the settlement on Short creek, went to their relief, and were fortunate enough to be able to enter the fort without the loss of a man. Both accounts agree that Joseph and his son, Morgan, were in the fort while it was besieged by the Indians and participated in its defense. At one time during the siege, it is said, the rifles used by the men in the fort became so heated by the rapid fire as to become dangerous and, te some extent, useless, and recourse was then had to a lot of muskets, of which a sufficient number was found in the store house of the garrison. If this account be true - and it is credited in the history of the siege - it clearly shows that, if a party of the garrison was composed of old men and boys, they were at least acquainted with the use of the rifle. i

"Joseph Van Meter, the elder, continued to reside on Short creek until his death. The manner of his death was never certainly ascertained. He went from home to fish, and never returned, nor was any vestige of him ever found. Some supposed that he had been drowned, while others were of the opinion that he had been taken prisoner by the Indians and burned at the stake.

"Morgan Van Meter came to Clinton county as early as 179S or 1799. It is believed that he was settled at Deerfield. Warren county, with his brothers, Joseph and Isaac, as early as 1796, or at least 1797, having come here from Harrison county, Kentucky. Joseph could not have remained long at Deerfield if he came there in 1797, for in that year there is the most satisfactory evidence that be was located at the mouth of Doason's creek, on the south side of the East fork of the Little Miami. a mile or so below Lynchburg, in what is now Highland county. Morgan Van Meter did not leave Deerfield, as is claimed, for a year or two after his brother did. William Van Meter, a very intelligent gentleman, a distant relative of the Van Meter brothers, who settled, when a boy, on the East fork, near Isaac and Joseph, is of the opinion that Morgan settled near where Snow Hill now is, in 1798. But Mrs. Leggett said he made his settlement in the year which she was married. Her family record, being produced, shows that her marringe occurred in 1799, Mrs. Leggett was a Shawhan, a sister of the late John Shawhan, Esq., long a resident near Deerfield, and of Amos Shawhan, of Morrow, and knew the three Van Meter brothers when she was a young woman and they were residing at Deerfield. Deerfield at that time was simply a cluster of houses. It was not laid off as a town until several years afterward. The houses were of a very rude construction being designed for temporary shelter more than for permanent abode. On the arttat of any new emigrant, if he found an empty house, he took possession of it. If there was no vacant house, one was put up for him. Deerfield was simply a place to stop and stay until a selection for a permanent settlement could be made.

"The farm of Joseph Van Meter was on the southeast side of the East fork of the Little Miami, and is now generally known as the Michael Stroup farm. Mr. Van Meter removed to Illinois any years si yher : early day in Ad sel ghtbo HARE eA al 3 sth "as HE -GRURIOLL, Sa HO a fork of the Little Miami, about one and a half miles north of where Lynchburg now is, in Clinton county. The farm owned by him was the old homestead of the late Hiram Connell and later owned by Mr. Connell's son, William. Mr. Van Meter sold the farm in 1814, and removed to Illinois.

"The College township road, which led from Chillicothe to College township, near where Oxford College has since been established, was, as far as where Clarksburg now is, the road from Chillicothe to Cincinnati. It is believed that it was surveyed and established in 1799, and, being blazed through, soon became a road much' used by travelers. This road was not cut out or improved, at least in some parts of it, until 1804 - although it was provided for by an act of the Legislature of 1802-03. Horsemen, guided by blazes made on the trees, followed the line of the road, and were thankful for this help.

"Morgan Van Meter has now lain in his grave more than eighty years. The son of a frontiersman, he had 'but little, if any, education. So far as we know, he never held an office or aspired to one, civil or military. The house he lived in has disappeared, and his grave is covered by a stable, or is in the public highway with no stone to mark it. But his name is perhaps more frequently spoken of by our people than that of any citizen of Clinton county who has been dead twenty-five years, with perhaps a few exceptions.

"Amos Wilson, from whom Wilson township, Clinton county. was named, was one of three sons of John Wilson, a member of the first constitutional convention of Ohio, who was the son of John Wilson, an Irishman. Amos Wilson and his father before him, and several of his brothers and sisters were born in New Jersey. From that state his father removed with his family to the Redstone country in Pennsylvania, and from there to Washington county, Kentucky. He lived for several years in Washington and Green counties. His next removal was to Mill creek, in Hamilton county, Ohio, near Cincinnati. John Wilson, named for his grandfather, born December 29, 1786, informed the writex, on March 13, 1876, that his grandfather, after he sold his possessions in Kentucky, supposing that he woull get his money in silver, took his grandson, then nine years of age, on a separate horse to Lexington, to bring the money home. Me, however, was not paid cash, as he expected, but was given a draft on Cincinnati. on which he received his payments when they arrived there. This was in 1795. In 1796, John Wilsen, with his family, and his sons and their families, left Kentucky and came to Cincinnati. 'That year, the party raised a crop on Mil creek. In the spring of that year George and Amos went to Middle run, in what is now Greene county, Ohio, and cleared a few acres of land, on part of which hemp was sown, and on the rest corn was planted. No fence was put up around the little clearing. The corn made a good crop; the deer took part of it, but the squirrels seemed shy of it, as if doubtful of its fitness for food. These young men returned to Mill creek and remained until fall, when each mounted on a horse and returned to their newly-opened farm to secure their crops. One night three Indians came and stole their horses. On discovery of their losses, the Wilsons, each armed with a rifle, started in pursuit. They traced the Indians by a devious and circuitous route, taken evidently to avoid pursuit, to the old site of the famous town of Chillicothe, on the Little Miami, north of where the town of Xenia now is. Here the Indians, three in number and all armed, were found encamped for the night. The pursuing party had, up to this time, supposed that there were only two Indians, with no advantage in numbers on either side; but here were three to two.. The Indians watched their adversaries closely, and were constantly ready for action if a fight should be brought on. The Wilsons were not less vigilant and were ready, but by no means courting a combat. The Indians, after a time, offered them something to eat. This, however, was the only friendly act performed by either side. Sleep on neither side was taken. It is believed that neither party even nodded. At last the light of morning came, and the white men mounted their horses and rode rapidly away without molestation.

"In the spring of 1797 John Wilson commenced a settlement on Middle run. His improvement was immediately upon the road now leading from Waynesville to the town of Centerville, in Montgomery county, Ohio. His first dwelling, a rude structure, has disappeared, but near its site the house long his residence, still stands. It is situated on the south side of the road, and is in Greene county, though but a short distance from the line dividing the counties of Greene and Warren.

"The Wilsons came to Cincinnati in 1796, from Kentucky; 1797, they cropped on Mill creek, near Cincinnati; 1797, George and Amos, sons of John Wilson, raised a small crop of hemp and corn on Middle run, Greene county; 1797, George and John came up from Mill creek to look after their crops, and had their horses stolen by the Indians; 1797, John Wilson, in the fall of the year, moved to Middle run, in Greene county. In 1799, a Baptist church was organized at Middle run. About 1803 Amos Wilson began to preach in the Baptist church.

"Tt is claimed by some that the first permanent settlement in Clinton county was made by Amos Wilson and James Mills in what is now Wilson township, in 1799. They were brothers-in-law and came to the county together, but it seems to be clearly established that their settlement was not earlier than the fall of 1801, and possibly not until the spring of 1802. Amos Wilson, up to 1801, was living upon a preempted right about three miles northwest of where Waynesville now is. This pre-empted right he exchanged with the Rey. Joshua Carmen, well known to many of our citizens, for one hundred acres of land in the eastern quarter of the county. Mr. Carmen was, at that time, living in the state of Kentucky, near Louisville, and had come out into the Miami country on an exploring expedition. Having secured Mr. Wilson's claim, he returned to Kentucky for his family and, in the fall of the same year, brought them out to the Waynesville neighborhood. On his arrival Mr. Wilson vacated the house on the preemption, and Mr. Carmen entered into possession. Whether Mr. Wilson at once came up to settle on the land he had thus acquired, or not until the following spring, has not been ascertained with certainty.

"That Timothy Bennett made his settlement as early as March, 1801, is clearly established, and we have the best authority for believing that Morgan Van Meter had made his settlement where Snow Hill now is at least two, and perhaps three, years previous. Mr. Wilson was married four times. His first wife was Anna Mills, to whom he was married on the 22d day of June, 1791. In March, 1807, Mrs. Wilson died, and on September 27, 1807, he married Rachel James, with whom he lived until her death, in May, 1818. On July 12, 1818, he was married to Mary Coulter, who died in 1839. Mr, Wilson was married the last time in 1848, to Elizabeth Dowden, who survived him twenty years."

From data since obtained, it is evident that Judge Harlan was misled as to the actual time of the settlement of Mr. Wilson in this county. The latter's son, Amos Wilson, Jr., furnished information, which is confirmed by a record in the old family Bible, to the effect that Amos Wilson, Sr., located in Clinton county in 1799. The circumstances are these: He (Amos Wilson, Sr.) purchased two hundred acres (instead of one hundred) in the northeast corner of W. Taylor's survey, in what is now Wilson township, and, in order to find it, was directed to go to the locality of the Deserted Camp, and follow the survey line due northeast from there until he should cross Anderson's fork and Anderson's prairie, and reach the ridge land, or white oak land beyond He followed these directions, and, supposing he had reached his own land at tite began improving it. After two years' labor at this spot he found that he il upon what is known as the Hinkson farm, in the R. Eggleston survey, No. S86, and, moving south to the adjoining farm, began anew to improve. A year was spent there, when he was chagrined to learn that again he was on the wrong land, it being in W. Lindsay's survey, No. 732, on what is now known as the Reed farm. Being now discouraged, and having wasted three years in improving land not his own, he avowed his determination _to return to the older settlements: but Joshua Carmen, from whom he had purchased the land, came along and showed him his own, and, to partially compensate him for his pains and to induce him to stay. donated to him a strip of land containing fifty acres, lying on the west side of the original-two hundred acres. At this time, which was in the early spring of 1802, Mr. Carmen was accompanied by Mr. Wilson's brother-in-law, James Mills, who had purchased a farm immediately south of Wilson's, in the same survey. These two men proceeded at once to érect log cabins on their farms, and both structures were raised-on the same day. The families occupied them, and on these farms lived Amos Wilson and James Mills until their death. In 1827, Mr. Wilson erected on his place the first brick house in the northeastern part of the eounty. Of the family of Mr. Wilson, not a representative is left in the county. The Mills farm is still owned by the. descendants of the man who made the first improvements upon it in the spring of 1802.

"David Sewell, the first settler of Vernon township, is the third man claimed by some, and with perhaps equal evidence, to have been the first settler in Clinton county. Judge Harlan's account of him states that he bought land in the Archibald Campbell survey, No. 2250, early in 1798, and arranged to move upon it. his sons to go at once. One son, Aaron, was married, in April, 1798, in Frederick county, Virginia, and, with his wife, brother John and family, and their father and mother, started west, arriving at due time at Bedle's Station, in Warren county, Ohio. The Judge then states that they could not then find the land which had been purchased, nor a surveyor who could show it to them. The Judge places their arrival in this county in 1801, or later. giving reasons for his conclusions. which appear in another place. Cyrus L. Sewell made statements founded on what seems to be conclusive evidence showing that the Sewell families settled here in 1799, and that a division of the land was made in 1801.

Clark Township. - The first settler was Thomas Johns, who located three miles southeast of Martinsville, on the east fork of the Little Miami. The date of his arrival is not known, but it must have been as early as 1800, or in the first part of 1801, as Isaac Miller, Joseph McKibben and Gideon McKibben all arrived in the latter year, and Mr. Johns had preceded them.

Union Township. - Vimotby Bennett is credited with being the first to locate a home within the limits of what is now Union township, having settled east of the site of Wilmington in the month of March, 1801. No other family arrived for over two years, or until the fall of 1803, when George Haworth became the second settler in the township.

Chester Township. - The first actual settler in this township was Caleb Lucas, originally from New Jersey, and later a resident of Kentucky, who located here in 1802. Asa Jenkins had arrived in 1799 and George Mann in March, 1801, but, although both men owned land in Chester township, their dwellings were across the line in Greene county. They subsequently moved to Chester. The first brick house in Clinton county was built near Oakland, in Chester township, in 1807 by James Birdsall, and was standing as late as 1890. The bricks in its walls were manufactured on the place, by Mr. Birdsall, and it ean readily be imagined the task in that day was not an easy one.

Wayne, Richland and Washington Townships. - These three townships were all settled in 1803. John Jackson, a native of Pennsylvania, located in Wayne in the spring of that year. Sometime during the year, Absalom and Samuel Reed, from Bourbon county, Kentucky, took up their abode in Richland township, while Isaac Wilson, from Virginia, settled on Colonel Carrington's survey, in Washington township, before the close of the year. Jonas Seaman and a man named Armstrong arrived soon after, and in 1805 opened, upon the present site of Cuba, the first house for the public entertainment in the township, and one of the earliest in the county, probably Morgan Van Meter's, in Greene township, being the only one to antedate it, if Armstrong's was not opened first.

Adams Township. - The first settler in this portion of the county was Samuel Lee, who came in 1804 and made his home near the present site of Springfield meeting house.

Jefferson Township. - This. township was settled considerably later. The first cabin within its limits was built by Samuel Jackson, about 1812. Mr. Jackson came from Tennessee, and was a noted hunter. It is recorded that, during his life time, he killed two panthers, three hundrec and sixty deer and.eighty bears. Joseph Hockett built the first hewed-log house in this township, but it is unfortunate that no date can be given.

Marion Township. - The *erritory which latest received the attention of settlers in Clinton county is included in what is now Marion township. According to the statements of Squire J. W. Rice, who was the township historian, the first settlement was made in 1814, by Jonathan Baldwin, a native on Monongalia county, Virginia, who had located in Guernsey county, Ohio, in 1804, and in Warren county in 1806. He served under General Harrisoa in the War of 1812.

Mary Collett, born in Loudoun Co., Va., Dec. 11, 1789. Nelly Wilson, born in Scott Co., Ky., Sept. 22, 1800. Elizabeth Shepherd, born in Monongahela Co., Penn.,