Delaware County, Ohio - Chapter 4: Settlement and Organization of Delaware Covnty, 1908

Chapter 4: Settlement and Organization of Delaware Covnty

Derivation of Title - First Settlement - Growth of Population - First Events - Pioneer Industries - Early Roads and Taverns - Organization of the County - Early Political History - County and Other Officials.

We have already traced in a former chapter the various steps by which the title to the lands of the Northwest Territory, and thereby of Delaware County, became vested in the United States Government. It now remains to say a word as to the manner in which the first settlers in Delaware County derived title from the United States. Previous mention was made of the fact that Virginia, in ceding her claims to the territory northwest of the Ohio to the general government made a condition that she was to retain the right to appropriate a certain portion of that land, if necessary, to satisfy her military bounties, issued during the Revolutionary War. In accordance with this understanding the State of Virginia ultimately appropriated a tract north of the Ohio and west of the Scioto Rivers. All that part of Delaware County which lies west of the Scioto is, in consequence, within the tract known as the Virginia Military Lands. All that part of the county which lies east of the Ssioto is within the tract known as the United States Military Lands, excepting the "salt reservation" in Brown Township, which will be mentioned later. The United States Military Lands are so called from their having been appropriated by Congress, through an act passed June. 1796, to satisfy certain claims of the officers and soldiers of the Revolution. There is a difference in the method of survey of these lands and that of the Virginia Military

Lands. The United States Military Lands were divided into townships of five miles square and these again into quarter-townships of 4,000 acres each. Further subdivisions of the quarter-township's into forty lots of 100 acres each were made in some cases. The place of each township is ascertained by numbers and ranges.

The Virginia Military District is not surveyed into townships or any regular form. Every person holding a Virginia military land warrant was permitted to locate it at any place in the district and in whatever shape he pleased, in so far it did not conflict with some else. In consequence, there has been much more litigation growing" out of a conflict of boundaries in this district than in the United States Military Lands.

It will be recalled that in the act passed by Congress through which the State of Ohio was constituted, certain tracts within the state, known as salt reservations, were granted to the State of Ohio and reserved from sale. One of these tracts was in Brown Township, in Delaware County, and consisted of 4,000 acres in the northeast section. On the failure of the reservation, however, to fulfill expectations so far as salt production was concerned, permission was granted to the State by an act of Congress of December 28, 1824, to sell the lands, and an act was likewise passed for this purpose by the State Legislature on Febru-

And Representative Citizens First Settlement

Something over a hundred years has now passed since the first white settler in Delaware County cleared the unbroken forest for the erection of his cabin. The lips that could recount from personal recollection the tale of hardship and heroism, of peril and privation, that marked this event of such prime importance to the county's present populace, have long since been sealed in death, and the story itself has, to some extent, become enshrouded in the misty uncertainties of the past. There is always a romantic interest that attaches to first occurrences, especially such as this; and had the record of toil and struggle that marked the opening up of Delaware County to civilization been carefully chronicled and preserved, it would now be read with intensest interest by those who claim the county as their home. Pioneer life here, perhaps, was different in no marked degree, from pioneer life in general; yet incidents that might be trifling to the world at large would be far from being so to us with whose present well-being and happiness they are so indissoluble linked. Everything that might concern the early struggle with the wilderness here would possess for us the interest felt in our own kith and kin. At the present day when even the poorest has comforts and luxuries that the whole world scarce dreamed of for a thousand years, when space itself presents no difficulties to easy communication with our fellow-beings, it is difficult to even imagine the lonely cahin in the great, deep forest, which gave scant shelter to the pioneer, from driving storms and winter's cold, or to think of him as being far from the sound of a friendly voice, often endangered by attack from savage beast or savage red man, and hard-pressed for even those things without which life itself could not be sustained. Yet all this was gladly assumed and cheerfully endured by those who paved the way in Delaware County for the coming of the white man's government and the white man's civilization. All this was necessary that we might enjoy our present security and comfort. And while we celebrate the heroes of the camp and the battlefield, while we applaud great achievement in every sphere of human activity, let us accord a place equal to that of any to the pioneer, and to the pioneers of our own county in particular.

Delaware County drew its early population from widely separated sources. Naturally the larger part hailed from the sta'tes in our own country already populated. Some came from beyond the seas. The restless energy that led the hardy emigrants to seek homes in our land soon after its discovery again led their descendants to move further to the westward. The battle with the wilderness was fought and won ; and the population of Delaware County today inherits the same elements of intelligence, enterprise and strength that might be expected from such an ancestry.

It is generally conceded that the first settlement in Delaware County, at least the first to have a marked influence on its further development, was in Liberty Township. The claim has not been allowed, however, to go unquestioned. It is asserted that a man by the name of Gilbert Van Dorn settled within the limits of Trenton Township as early as 1783. There is also said to have been a white settler warned Saybrook who came to Orange Township in 1798, and another in Troy in 1801. The time is now too far past, however, to determine as to the accuracy of these statements, and there would seem to be justice in claiming the honor of the first settlement for Liberty Township, inasmuch as that is the first of which we have definite knowledge, and is undoubtedly the first that had a marked influence on the subsequent development of the county.

In the year 1801, on May 1st, after a journey from the State of New York lasting for two months and eighteen days, during which all the experiences incident to travel through a new and undeveloped country were encountered, Nathan Carpenter and Avery Powers landed on the east bank' of the Olentangy River, or Whetstone, as it was then called, five miles south of the site of the present city of Delaware. Carpenter was a man of wealth, of indomitable enterprise, and had been a captain in the Revolutionary War, an experience in hardship and endurance which was well calculated to tit him fur this enterprise which he undertook not many years after the war's termination. He had lived first in Connecticut, but at the close of the Revolution had removed to Chenango Count}-, New Vi >rk. It was while here that he fell under the influence of the excitement, prevalent at the time, over the opening up of the territory northwest of the Ohio to colonization, and he determined to become one of the pioneers in its settlement and development. From his home in Chenango County, in company with Avery Powers and several others, he started out in the dead of winter and when the ground was covered with snow, for the unknown and untried region which was to be his home for the future. Carpenter's family accompanied him, but the family of Powers did not come until later. On their arrival cabins were erected and the lonely life in the wilderness was begun.

It was not long, however, until others arrived. In April of the year 1802, Thomas Cellar and Josiah McKinnie established themselves on the Olentangy, two miles below Carpenter in the same township, Thomas Cellar being the owner of a tract of 4.000 acres within the present township limits. About two years later three brothers, John. Ebenezer and Aaron Welch, together with a brother-in-law, (apt. Leonard Monroe, settled in the neighborhood of the Carpenters. A few years later there was added to the Liberty Township settlement Ebenezer Goodrich, George and Seth Case, and David Thomas.

Before the Liberty settlement had received all these additions, however, colonists were beginning to erect their cabins in other parts of the county. One of the earliest after the arrival of Carpenter and Powers., was Henry Perry, who. unlike most of the others, was not a Xew Englander, but came direct from Wales and thus became the fore-runner of the Welsh colony, which has numbered among its members many of the county's most substantial citizens. He settled in the region which has since been organized into Radnor Township, and his cabin stood about three-fourths of a mile from the site of the present village of Radnor. There is an interesting story related in connection with this settlement. Perrv had brougfit his two bovs, then only nine and eleven years of age, with him. When it became necessary for him to return to Philadelphia to pilot the remainder of his family to their new home, he left the two boys all alone in the cabin in the wilderness. The winter was one of exceptional severity, the cabin open, "having neither daubing, fireplace or chimney," and food extremely scarce. Yet these boys withstood bravely all these hardships, fearlessly encountered all the clangers of the unbroken forest, and in addition made a considerable clearing- by the time their father returned. It was such courage as this which conquered the wilderness and appropriated it for the purposes of a civilization of which the native red men never so much as conceived. The ground on which Perry settled had been originally purchased by David Pugh. This man laid out a village on his land which he called Xew Baltimore and which he anticipated would some day develop into a large and flourishing town. It was not the first town, however, which was laid out in Delaware County. That honor belongs to Berkshire.

The date of Perry's settlement in Radnor Township was 1803. The next year marks the coming to the county of a man who was to have perhaps more to do with the shaping of her destinies during the early years of her history than any other. Colonel Moses Byxbe was a native of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. He was a man of exceptional energy, with great decision and force of character. He had, before his coming to Ohio, accumulated large wealth and acquired a position of commanding influence in his native town of Lenox. In his business of tavern and store-keeper he had come into possession of a number of military land warrants, which he located in what are now the townships of Berkshire and Berlin. The tract which he first owned comprised

8,000 acres. He threw all his energies into the task of colonizing his western possessions and soon succeeded in organizing a colony of emigrants who set out for their new homes in June of the year 1804, arriving at the place on Alum Creek which was afterwards called Berkshire in honor of their native county. There is said to have been a still earlier settlement within the bounds of Berkshire Township, however, in the person of Thomas Cowgill, who is reputed to have built his cabin in the southern part of the township in 1801. As was the case with the other settlements which we have mentioned as having perhaps preceded the Liberty Township settlement, however, if this one in Berkshire Township really did exist it had little influence on the later development of the county. At a point where Colonel Byxbe's colony located was laid out the ^ first town in Delaware County, preceding by a year the town which had an existence on paper, at least, in Radnor Township, and which was platted in 1805. Had Colonel Byxbe adhered to his original intentions. Berkshire would now have been, perhaps, a place of much larger .population and proportions than it is. For reasons which will appear when we come to speak more particularly of the township and of the city of Delaware. Colonel Byxbe abandoned his efforts in behalf of Berkshire and devoted himself to the building up of the town of Delaware. He made a number of journeys between his native state and his possessions in Delaware County. and many among the early settlers were induced to become such through his influence. The next township to receive the pioneer was Berlin, and here, too, the first settlement was made on a tract owned by Byxbe. The first settler was George Cowgill, who came in 1805, and he was closely followed by David Lewis, Sr., and his family, who located on a tract which had been purchased by Joseph Constant of Peekskill. New York. Not long afterward came Joseph Eaton, Sr.. and John Johnston, with their families, from Huntingdon. Pennsylvania, and later David fsaac, Philander Hoadley and Chester Lewis, from Waterbury, Connecticut.

A beginning having been made, it was not long until every township in the county had been started on the pathway to civilization through the advent of the white settler. In 1806 Scioto was occupied, the first family here, that of Richard Hoskins. like the one in Radnor, having come originally from Wales. Genoa, Kingston, Delaware, Marlborough, Trenton, Harlem, and perhaps Porter, received their first inhabitants as early as 1807. Between this period and the year 18 12 all the remaining townships in the county were occupied, and what a few years before had been a desolate, unbroken wilderness, now began to teem with the life of the new population which was henceforth to render the region forevermore an uncongenial habitation for the native child of the forest.

Growth Of Population

It may be interesting here to note the growth of the population. The first year in which a census seems to have been taken was in 1810, before all the townships, even, had yet been occupied. In that year Delaware County had 2,000 inhabitants. It is to be remembered, however, that the extent of the county's limits were greater at that time than they were later on after a part of its territ' >ry had been taken to help in the formation of other counties, a matter which will be discussed hereafter. In 1820 there were 7,639 people in the county, in 1830. 1 1 .523. and in 1840, 22,060. At the time of the next census, in 1850, the present boundaries of the county had been fixed and the population then was 21,817. In i860 it was 23.902; in 1870, 25,- 175; in 1880. 27.381. This was the highwater mark in the county's growth in population, as the census in subsequent decades shows an actual decline. In 1890 the number of inhabitants was 27.189. and at the last ceii-us in 1900 it was only 27.401. There is nothing in this decrease of population in the past few years that would indicate an unhealthful condition of affairs, and the experience of Delaware County is not. in this respect, an exceptional one. A number of counties in the state could be cited" where an exactly similar condition exists. Yet their condition, as well as that of Delaware County, has been one of constant and unbroken prosperity. The causes which brought the early settler to the community have simply ceased, in later times, to operate, and where there has been growth in recent years, as there has been in some cases, it has been from an influx of laborers into the county seat towns, where especial facilities for the establishment of manufacturing plants are afforded.

First Events

There seems to be considerable uncertainty as to who has the honor of being the first addition to the population of Delaware Count)-, not from emigration but by birth upon its soil. There have been at least three claimants for the distinction, two of them in Liberty Township and one in Berlin. If the dates which have been handed down to us are correct, Jeremiah Gillies was born in Liberty Township on August 7, 1803. In the same township Benjamin Powers was born October 6, 1803. The "County Atlas," published in 1875, asserts that J. C. Lewis, who was born in Berlin Township, September 29, 1806, was the first white child born in the county. If either of the dates given above, however, are correct, there would appear to be little ground for the claim which is made for Lewis.

The first death, as well as the first birth, is a matter of interest. Death did not enter the pioneer settlement until three vears after its founding, and then it claimed the wife of < aptain Carpenter. She died on the 7th of August. 1804, and was buried on a knoll on the Carpenter homestead which is supposed to have been a burying ground of the ancient inhabitants of the territory. The next to succumb was one of the Welch brothers, mentioned among the early settlers of the township.

Pioneer Industries

those of us who have come on the scene of action long after the forests were cleared and all the various enterprises and industries that characterize the modern community were in full swing of their activity, the details of life in this former day are always of absorbing interest. As our particular purpose here, however, is to recount those facts which have to do exclusively with Delaware County, we must refer the reader to other works for the description of pioneer life in general. Could the facts now be obtained, through which the story of the beginning of each enterprise that is now interwoven with the social and business life of Delaware County could be written, it would possess for us an interest equal to that which we have in events of much larger importance in themselves, though not so vitally interwoven with our own personal affairs. It perhaps did not occur, however, to the humble tavernkeeper of the early times, or the pioneer merchant or miller or blacksmith, that they were making history; and the record that has come down to us of the early activities in these various lines of enterprise, are extremely meager. As regards the early store-keepers of the county we can not do better than quote the statement found in the county history published in 1880: "With all our research we have been unable to learn who opened the first sti ire in Delaware, or whether the first store in the county was in Delaware or Berkshire. We are inclined to the opinion, however, that the honor belongs to Berkshire, as it was laid out as a town sometime before Delaware, probably three or four years before, and doubtless a store was established soon after. Major Brown is said to have been the first tradesman at the place, but did not remain in business very long. Stores were not so much of a necessity then as they are now. After Brown sold out a man named Fuller brought a stock of goods to the place, but neither did he remain long. * The first merchant at Delaware of whom we have been able to learn anything was Hezekiah Kilbourn, but at what date he commenced business we could not learn. Lamb and Little were also among the pioneer merchants of Delaware, as was Anthony Walker. The latter gentleman had a store - a kind of branch concern - in Thompson Township at quite an early date, which was carried on by one of the Welches as agent of Walker. Williams & Cone were early merchants at Delhi, and a man named Dean kept a store on Goodrich's farm in Liberty Township for a number of years. In what is now Concord Township, was established one of the early stores of the county. It was owned and operated by a couple of men named Winslow,

* * and consisted of a box of cheap goods exposed for sale in a small tent, at the mouth of Mill Creek. Shortly after this mercantile venture Michael Crider opened a small store on the farm of Freshwater and eventually moved to Bellepoint." In the early days the mercantile business was no slight undertaking. Without any of our modern facilities for safe and rapid transportation, all goods had to be brought overland from points in the far distant East, principally Philadelphia, at great expense and risk, and it is not strange that we find that many a person who attempted the enterprise was compelled to abandon it after a loss. Naturally the stores were not of the specialized character that they possess, at least in the larger places, today, but contained commodities of every variety that could be used in the primitive settlements. The settlers depended, too, on providing themselves with many of the necessities for which we are now accustomed to look to our merchants.

There were two commodities which, to most, are almost absolute essentials to existence and which the early settlers had the greatest difficulty in obtaining. These were flour and salt. In consequence we find among the earliest activities of the Delaware County pioneer, an effort to provide a supply of these articles. It will be remembered that mention has already been made of the fact that there was supposed to be a "Salt Lick" in Brown Township, and that by reason of this very impression a whole quarter section of land therein was reserved to the State.

One of the earliest attempts to produce salt in the neighborhood was by Dr. John Loofbourrow, one of the first settlers of Brown Township. Having learned from the Indians where they obtained their salt, he, in company with a colored servant, began the manufacture of the commodity and, for several years, succeeded in obtaining a moderate quantity. Some years later, however, some other parties who thought they saw possibilities of salt production greater than those which were being used, leased a larger area of land in this section from the State and commenced boring wells. They failed to find salt water in paying quantities, however, and the em ire tract which bad been reserved was ultimately sold by the State as has already been stated. An effort was made near the present village of Stratford, at one time, to find salt water. A shaft was sunk and there really was found to be salt water in the vicinity. As the digging had to be done by hand, however, without any of our modern facilities, the attempt was soon abandoned. It was likewse thought at one time that salt could be obtained in the region which is now Porter Township, but here too the expectations proved to be ill founded. The price of salt ranged from $5.00 to $6.00 per bushel. As illustrating the difficulties encountered and the hardships which the early settlers were compelled to undergo in order to obtain this article we quote the following incident from the "County Atlas" : "David Lewis, Jr., (a resident of Berkshire) dug out a canoe and prepared for a voyage in quest of of salt. From the time of leaving until his return his chances for a fire with which to cook food depended on his flint in the musket-lock and his 'punk' which he carried with him. The tiny craft completed, he loaded it with deer, raccoon and other skins, shoved out into Alum Creek and started down stream. The first night found him at Worthington. He went to Chillicothe and. selling his load, bought a bushel of salt for which he paid five dollars. Lewis could not ascend the current and. abandoning his canoe, shouldered his purchase, and started by way of Indian trail and bridle path for home. His shoulders were worn by the weight of his precious burden, but he was near home, when, in crossing a stream on a log, unfortunately his feet slipped and he fell into the water. The salt was gone and he

Flour was just as difficult to obtain as salt. The even greater necessity for its production led the early settlers to turn their attention first of anything, so far as manufacturing enterprises were concerned, to the establishment of mills. It is related of Jacob Foust, one of the earliest settlers of Troy Township that, when his wife was sick and could obtain nothing to eat which she relished, he shouldered a bushel of wheat and carried it all the way to Zanesville, seventy-five miles distant, to have it ground. Owing to the limited capacity of the few mills that really did exist in the earlv times great hardship was entailed on the pioneers. It is recounted of one man that he traveled a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, from mill to mill, in a vain effort to have a sack of wheat ground, finally returning with the wheat. The rude block and pestle served the purpose of the pioneer before the erection of mills, but it was a very imperfect and laborious method of obtaining meal and hominy.

Early Roads

Another matter to which the settlers early gave attention was the construction of road-. At first there were nothing but the "blazed" pathways and the old Indian trails. These could suffice, however, for but a short time as the population increased. Accordingly we find that the first business transacted by the count)- commissioners on the organization of the county related to the construction of a road. The entry on the commissioners' record is as follows: "June 15. [808. A petition for a county road on west side of Whetstone (Olentangy) River, beginning at the Indian line; thence t<> south lines of the county, as near the river as ground and river angles will permit. Petition granted, and Messrs. Byxbe, Nathaniel Wyatt and Josiah McKinnie appointed viewers, and Azariah Root, surveyor." This road was afterward abandoned when the Columbus and Sandusky Pike Road was given a charter. The road as fust constructed was used as a military road during the War of 181 2, the supplies to our army at Fort Meigs being transported over it. The road constructed later by the Columbus and Sandusky Pike Road Company runs a little west of this road and about where the present pike is located. The old road is still made use of by some of the farmers as a lane. The first road company chartered in central Ohio by the legislature was this Columbus and Sandusky Pike Road Company, and Delaware County had several of the incorporators - William Little, Reuben Lamb, Hosea Williams, Ezra Griswold and Milo Pettibone. In about a decade, however, the charter was revoked, as the road was not constructed according to specifications, and the matter was placed in the hands of a Board of Commissioners. The toll gates were done away with, but for a long- time the road was in a very unsatisfactory condition. It is hard to realize, in this modern era. the annoyance to which travelers were subjected by the toll gates. It is easy to understand, however, the mood which led many a one to evade them, when possible, and to appreciate the state of mind which would be experienced when the traveler, after floundering through the mud would be compelled to pay directly for the privilege. The stagecoach was the only public means for transpi >rtation of passengers and, in the palmy days of this institution the fare was five cents per passenger.

Delaware County is abundantly blessed with good roads at the present time, having approximately 1600 miles of road, at least onefourth of which is already piked or in the process of being so. The pikes have, until recently, been largely confined to the western part of the county, their cost of construction here being much less than in the east. At the present time, however, in accord with the general movement for good roads that is asserting itself throughout the State, many miles of road in the eastern part of the county are being piked and it will not be long until this portion nt the count_\- will compare favorably with any other.

The pioneer tavern was an institution of great importance, just as it is in later times, though in lesser degree, under another name. It was not long after the county began to be settled until we find these hostelries being established in various parts of the county as the need for them arose. They were compelled to pay a license in early times and, among the first records of the county commissioners is to be found an order fixing the price of licenses at $6.00 for the town and $4.00 for the country. It was afterwards raised, in 1814, to $13.00 and S7.00. As descriptive of the first tavern established in the town of Delaware and typical of the institution itself, we quote from, an article by Dr. Ralph Hills in the Western Collegian, a paper formerly published in Delaware : "The Pioneer Tavern was a few rods south-east of the 'Medicine Water." It was on the plateau just east of the ridge that lies south of the spring, and terminated near there, some three or four rods om\ ard from the present street. The first house was a double roomed one, with a loft, standing north and south, facing the east, and was built of round logs, 'chinked and daubed.' In course of time, a second house, two stories high, was added, built of hewed logs, and placed east and west, at right angles with the south end of the first building, with a little space between them. In this space was the well with its curb, and its tall, old-fashioned, but easy-working 'wellsweep.' Around at the southwest of this was the log barn and the blacksmith shop, and a double granary or corn-crib, with a space between for its many purposes, as necessary, indeed, as the kitchen is for household purposes. Here was the grind-stone, the shaving-horse, the hewing block, the tools of all kinds and the pegs for hanging up traps of all sorts. Here the hog was scalded and dressed, the deer, raccoon and 'possum were skinned, and their skins stretched and dried, or tanned. Here also were the nuts cracked and dried. For many reasons it has a bright place in the memories of boy-hood. How few know the importance of the pioneer tavern in early days. It was, of course, the place of rest for the weary traveler, whether on foot or on horse.

It was many a day before a 'dearborn' or a 'dandy-wagon' was known on the road. But it was much more than this and seemed the emporium of everything. It was the market place for all; the hunter with his venison and turkeys ; the trapper with his skins and furs ; and the knapsack peddler - the pioneer merchant - here gladdened the hearts of all with his 'boughten' wares. At this tavern, too, were all public gatherings called, to arrange for a general hunt, to deal out justice to some transgressor of the unwritten but well known pioneer laws. In fact it was here, at a later period, that the first organized county court was held, with the grand jury in the tavern loft and the petit jury under a neighboring shade tree."

It was only seven years after the Liberty settlement was started that Delaware County was organized into a separate civil subdivision of the state. It is interesting to trace the evolution of the Ohio counties. We have already mentioned the fact in a former chapter that the first county to be established in the present territory of Ohio was Washington, which, in the beginning, embraced about onehalf of the present area of Ohio. The second county to be established was Hamilton. Although it included, at the first, only a strip between the two Miamis, it was afterwards enlarged to include an area extending to the Scioto River which was the western boundary of Washington. It would seem that the territory which is now Delaware County was on the boundary line between these two original counties, portions of it lying in both of them. It had likewise been included within the boundaries of several other counties before it was set off as a separate division. The sixth county to be formed was Ross, which included Delaware. Franklin was formed from Ross and Delaware was taken off of Franklin. The original boundaries of Delaware County, however, were originally more extensive than they are now. Three different times has its territ< try been taken to form other counties. Tn 1820 a large part of Delaware County went to the formation of Union County. In 1824 Marion County took a slice off of the northern

The Act of the Legislature creating Delaware County was passed February 10. 1808. It provided that from and after the first day of the next April the county of Delaware should be vested with all the privileges, powers and immunities of a separate and distinct county. and stipulated that an election should be called for the first Monday of the next May. At this election the following officers were chosen, viz.: John Welch, Ezekiel Brown and Avery Powers, commissioners; Rev. Jacob Drake, treasurer; Dr. Reuben Lamb, recorder; Solomon Smith, sheriff, and Azariah Root, surveyor.

The first thing necessary after the passage of the act establishing the county itself, was the location of the county seat; and for this purpose special commissioners were appointed by the General Assembly. Only a short time previous to the organization of the county the town of Delaware had been laid out by Moses Byxbe and Henry Baldwin, a resident of Pittsburg. By the act which created the county, Delaware was made the temporary seat of justice, pending the choice of a permanent location; and both Delaware and Berkshire, laid out some years before, as has already been mentioned, now became contestants for the honor. Had Moses Byxbe retained the early interest which he had in Berkshire, perhaps it might have been successful, but he had now devoted all his energies to building up the town of I lelaware and this, together with its natural advantages, decided the matter in its favor. The inhabitants of Berkshire, however, persisted in their efforts fur a number of years, in the hope thai the) might still secure the honor.

A court house was not provided for until the year 1815, when the commissioners let a contract for the building of .me at a cost of $8,000. This structure was afterwards burned and business, as well as eourt. was conducted in various rooms in the town until the erection of the present structure in 1870. at a cost of $81 1.000. The Court House is a substantial brick building, well adapted to the requirements of such a building. The first session of the Common Pleas Court was held in the tavern of Joseph Barber, already mentioned, and was conducted by Judge Belt, of Chillicothe. Owing to the diminutive character of the building, the grand jury were under the necessity of conducting their deliberations under a shade tree nearby, while the petit jury occupied similar quarters in the neighborhood, both under the espionage of constables. The first civil case was an action brought by Jacob Drake against Elias Palmer for boarding, money loaned, and other claims. The first case to be considered by the grand jury was that of the State of Ohio against Valentine Martin.

The first jail was built of logs and was located on the hill overlooking the Delaware run at the corner of Franklin and what is now University Avenue. It was twelve by twenty-four feet and a rather crude affair. The prisoners showed their contempt for it by securing an exit to the roof and then crowing lustily before taking their departure. There have been three other jails built since then, one- in 1814 and another in 1850. The present jail, which is not without claims to architectural beauty, was erected in 1878. The contract for the building was let at $22,000, but extras were added until the total cost amounted to authorized the Associate Justices to divide the c< unity into such townships as were necessary. The first division was into three townships, as follows : "All east of the eighteenth range was made the township of Berkshire; all west and north of the north line of the fourth tier of townships, and a continued line west was made the township of Radnor; all south of Radnor and west of Berkshire was made the township of Libert}-. As the population increased, however, other divisions were found necessary. Townships were established from time to time by the commissioners until the county, at one time, contained as high as twen- ty-four. The names of these were: Berkshire, Bennington, Berlin, Brown, Concord, Delaware, Genoa, Harlem, Harmony, Kingston, Liberty, Lincoln, Marlborough, Orange, Oxford, Peru, Porter, Radnor, Scioto, Sunbury. Thompson, Trenton, Troy and Westfield. As has already been mentioned, a number of these townships have gone to form other counties, and one. Sunbury, has been entirely obliterated in the re-arrangement of township lines, though its territory still remains within the county.

We have already mentioned the towns of New Baltimore and Berkshire as having been laid out during the first years in which settlers came to the county, the former, however, never having had any existence except on paper. The next town to be platted was Norton, laid out by James Kilbourne, and the next, the present county seat, which was laid out by Henry Baldwin and Moses Byxbe, the first site having been on the east side of the Olentangy, but afterwards removed to the west side of the river. This was on March 10, 1808. We give herewith a tabular statement of the towns which have since been laid out within the county :

The following excellent review of the early political history of the county was written a number of years ago by Hon. James R. Hubbell, a sketch of whose notable career will be found in the chapter on the "Bench and Bar" :

"In the early history of Delaware County there was but little party strife. The act of the General Assembly creating the county was passed the last year of the administration of Thomas Jefferson, and the exciting events of the War of 1812, which soon followed, wiped out the old Federal party which so bitterly assailed Mr. Jefferson. The war treasures of Mr. Madison and the Republican party in Congress were earnestly supported by the citizens generally throughout the county. The scramble for the 'loaves and fishes' of office, compared with a later date, was almost nothing. But few offices were sought for their emoluments. The most lucrative offices were filled by appointment and not by popular election. The most important offices, then as now, was that of county auditor, which was filled by appointment of the county commissioners. It was not until the year 1821 that the office was made elective by the popular vote. The county treasurer, surveyor and recorder of deeds were also appointed by the commissioners. The pn >secuting attorney and clerk of the cdtirt were appointed by the court. . These officers were made elective by the law of 1833. In most cases the offices were filled by faithful and competent men. The appointing power conferred by the legislature upon the commissioners and the court, although anti-Republican in principle, seems to be, judging from the experience of the past, the best calculated to secure efficiency and competency in office. Experience has shown that the less frequently changes are made, the better it is for the public service. The early records of the county show, under the appointing power, but few changes. From 1820 until [830, the duties of the county auditor were faithfully discharged by Solomon Smith, an honest and competent officer, and he was succeeded by General Sidney Moore, who efficiently and satisfactorily performed the duties of the office during the period of another decade.

"In 1822 Thomas Reynolds succeeded his brother-in-law, the Rev. Joseph Hughes, in the office of clerk of the court, which he retained until 1838, when he voluntarily resigned. Mr. Reynolds was a man remarkable for his pergonal attractions, and possessed qualifications for public and official duties of a high order, and his resignation of the office was a matter of universal regret with both bench and bar, as well as the public. The office of county surveyor, for about twenty years (from 1822 to 1842) was filled by James Eaton, a skilful and accurate officer: he was subsequently promoted to the office of county auditor and State senator. Of those who figured most conspicuously in early politics and on official stations were Joseph Eaton, Azariah Root, Solomon Smith. Elias Murray, 1 'anion Sprague and Sidney Moure ami his brother, Emery Moore. During the eight years of the administration of James Monroe (the fifth President), between the years 1817 and 1S25. there was no party politics. This period in our national history has been called the "era of good feeling," and during this time Delaware County seemed peculiarly favored and exempt from political animosity and strife.

"The Presidential election of 1824 was attended with unusual excitement - probably the most exciting of any election that has ever taken place in the country, with the exception of the Presidential election of 1800, which resulted, in the success of Mr. Jefferson over the elder Adams. At this election the Presidential candidates were General Jackson, of Tennessee ; Henry Clay, of Kentucky ; John O. Adams, of Massachusetts, and William H. Crawford, of Georgia. Each of these distinguished gentlemen had his friends, who supported their favorite candidates from personal preference and not from considerations of party. At that election Mr. Clay was the choice of a majority of the voters of Delaware County, as he was of a majority of the voters of the State of Ohio, but he was not elected. In the Electoral College General Jackson led Mr. Adams by a small plurality, and Mr. Crawford was in number the third on the list of candidates and Mr. Clay was dropped fn >m the canvass. Neither candidates having a majority of the electoral vote under the constitutional rule, upon the House of Representatives devolved the duty of making choice of President, each state by its delegation in Congress casting one vote. Mr. Adams was chosen by the casting vote of the State of Kentucky. Mr. Clay was a member of the House of Representatives, and its speaker, and it was doubtless owing to Ohio's great influence and popularity that the delegation from Kentucky was induced to cast its vote of that state for Mr. Adams, an Eastern man. in preference to General Jackson, a Western and Southern man. By that act Mr. Clay was instrumental in organizing political parties that survived the generation of people to which he belonged, and ruled in turn the destinies of the Republic for more than a quarter of a century. In the new Cabinet Air. Clay was placed by Mr. Adams at the head of the State Department, which gave rise to the charge of 'bargain and sale' between the President and his chief secretary, that threw the country into a blaze of excitement from center to circumference. At this nine no one doubts the patriotism and honesty of Henry Clay, but the charge was so persist- ently made by the partisians of General Jacksun, it greatly injured Mr. Clay in the public estimation, and contributed largely to the general's success in the Presidential race of 1828. At the Presidential election following party lines were closely drawn between General Jackson and Mr. Adams, but the result of a hot and bitter contest was a small majority for the Adams electoral ticket in the county, as there was in the State. General Jackson, the hero of Xew Orleans, was most triumphantly elected both by the electoral and popular vote, and on the following 4th of March the political power and official patronage of the

1 lUt the country, as the Jackson and anti-Jackson party. Delaware was almost uniformly classed by her vote as anti-Jackson. In 1S24 Governor Jeremiah Morrow. anti-Jackson, was re-elected Governor of Ohio, receiving a small majority over Allen Trimble, of the same political faith and his principal competitor. Captain Elias Murray. anti-Jackson, was. at the same election, returned to the House of Representatives in the State Legislature, and reelected in 1825. Allen Trimble was elected at the October election in 1826 to succeed Governor Morrow, receiving quite a large majority in the county and State ; Pardon Sprague, anti-Jackson, was chosen successor to Captain Murray in the State. Legislature, and re-elected in 1827. In 1828 Governor Trimble was reelected over Hon. John W. Campbell, the Jackson candidate, long a distinguished member of Congress from Ohio. Governor Trimble's majority was little less than three thousand in the popular vote, and a little over two thousand in the county. Milo D. Pettibone. anti- Jackson, at the same election, was elected Mr. Sprague's successor in the Legislature. Mr. Campbell was a member of Congress when Mr. Adams was chosen President by the House of Representatives, and was known to be opposed to Mr. Adams and for General Jackson. Immediately upon the accession of General Jackson to the Presidency, Mr. Campbell was rewarded for his friendship and fidelity to the General's fortunes with the appointment of

United States District Judge for the District of Ohio. While holding a term of his court in Columbus, in the summer of 1833, he was taken suddenly ill, came to Delaware for the benefit of the sulphur spring water, and in a few days died - we believe, of cholera. At the election of 1829, Col. B. F. Allen, who was known as a friend of the Administration, was returned to the Legislature. He was succeeded by Amos Utley, of Berkshire, in 1830. The senatorial district, of which Delaware County was a part, was composed of Crawford. Marion and Delaware Counties during this period. and from about the year 1828 to the year 1832. Charles Carpenter, anti-Jackson - a merchant living in Sunbury - then quite a young man. represented the district. He was from Luzerne County, in the Wyoming Valley, and the family connection in the eastern part of the county was quite numerous and influential in its early history. Senator Carpenter subsequently moved West - we think to Missouri - where he held several official positions and died soon after the close of the late Civil War.

"In 183 1. General Storm, who was anti- Jackson, was elected to the Legislature by a small majority, over B. F. Allen, the Jackson candidate. General Sti >rm obtained his military title by being elected by the Legislature to the office of Major General in the 'Peace Establishment.' He died before the close of his legislative term, greatly lamented by his constituents and a numerous family connection. He was quite young and his friends had predicted for him a successful political career.

"In the Presidential campaign of 1832 such was. or had become, the popularity of General Jackson, he swept everything before him. Colonel James W. Crawford, who was a lieutenant in the company commanded by Captain Elias Murray in the War of 18 12. was elected as the Administration candidate, the successor of Senator Carpenter, and Captain John Curtis, Administration candidate, was returned to the House of Representatives and re-elected in 1833. General Sidney Moore was re-elected auditor and his brother, Emery.

re-elected sheriff. The entire anti-Administration county ticket was elected, except the Whig candidate for the Legislature. At the election in 1832, Robert Lucas, the Jackson candidate, was elected governor over Darius Lyman, the candidate on the Clay ticket, by several thousand majority, although Delaware County cast a majority of her votes for Mr. Clay for President and Mr. Lyman for Governor. It was about this time that the two great parties assumed distinctive names. The Administration party took the name of Democrat, and the opposition that of Whig. Delaware County was a Whig county. In 1834 Emery Moore was elected to the State Legislature, and General Andrew H. Patterson, then postmaster at Delaware and a Democrat, was elected sheriff as the successor of Mr. Moore. General Patterson was a most remarkable man in many particulars. He was a saddler by occupation and his education in early life had been neglected, but he had great tact and shrewdness in the management of men, and was the most successful electioneer Delaware County ever had. He was re-elected sheriff in 1836, and in 1838 was elected to the Legislature over Judge Hosea Williams, Whig, by a majority of twelve votes, and in 1839 was elected by a majority of several hundred votes over Hon. T. W. Powell, the Whig candidate. General Patterson met with pecuniary losses in late life, moved West, and it is believed he never retrieved his fortune.

"The Whigs carried the county in 1836 for General William H. Harrison for President, and Joseph Vance, Whig, for Governor, over their opponents, by large majorities, and the entire Whig ticket was elected, except Dr. Carney, the Whig candidate for the Legislature, who was defeated by Colonel B. F. Allen, Democrat, by a majority of nine votes. The importance of one vote is to be seen in the result of this election. Upon the Legislature chosen at this election devolved the duty of electing a senator in Congress to succeed the Honorable Thomas Ewing, whose term would expire the 4th of March following. Mr. Ewing was a candidate for re-election and was the favorite of his party in Ohio and the West.

Colonel Allen had known Mr. Ewing in early life and his friends claimed, or represented in all parts of the county, that he would support Mr. Ewing if he were the choice of the county. On election day printed petitions were presented at every election precinct for names, asking the Representative to support Mr. Ewing for re-election. The ruse accomplished its object. Colonel Allen was elected by a majority of nine votes and his vote elected the late Governor William Allen over Mr. Ewing. To whit extent, if at all. Colonel Allen was a party to the fraud, it is not known. He was a man of great firmness, but he was a zealous partisan, and possibly he may have yielded to the influence and demands of his party, his conviction of duty, against his will, although ordinarily an honest man. At the following election in 1837, Dr. Carney, on the 'Ewing Fraud,' as it was called, was elected over Colonel Allen by over a hundred; and, in 1838 Allen was elected to the State Senate. It was at this election the late William Shannon, of Lawrence, Kansas, was elected Governor of Ohio over Governor Joseph Vance, Whig, but the Whig ticket for the county offices was elected, except Judge Williams, who was defeated by General Patterson for Representative. In 1839 the entire Democratic ticket, for the first time after its organization, was elected, viz. : William W. Warner, commissioner; Albert Pickett, Jr., recorder; George W. Stark, treasurer, and Morgan Williams, assessor. The average majority for these candidates was 300. The 'hard cider' campaign of 1840 greatly increased the forces of the Whig party, and the Whig ticket was elected by an average majority of over 600, viz.: Emery Moore was again chosen, to the State Legislature; Colonel John F. Dunlap, county auditor; Peleg Banker, re-elected sheriff; Horatio P. Havens, commissioner, and D. T. Fuller, prosecuting attorney. It was during the memorable campaign of 840, the (Liberty Party' was organized, and a ticket for. President and Vice-president nominated. For several years previous the anti-slavery agitation had been making, slowly but unmistakably, it*- deep impressions on the public mind, and more especially the minds of the religious portion of the people, but it was not until about this period that the friends of the cause of emancipation proposed political action. James G. Birney, a former slave-holder of Kentucky, but then a resident of Michigan, was at the head of the ticket, and Thomas Morris, of Ohio, placed second. The electoral ticket for the candidates received about one hundred votes in the county. This vote was taken principally from the Whigparty. Four years later the vote of the party was largely increased. This organization was possibly premature and misguided, but no party was ever actuated by loftier and purer motives. The Anti-slavery movement was not. at that time, larger than the cloud the Hebrew prophet saw, that so rapidly spread over the whole heavens, and filled the earth with refreshing showers. At this time no one expected to live to see the institution of negro slavery in America abolished, but in less than the period allotted by Providence to a generation of men, by an amendment to the Federal Constitution, slavery and involuntary servitude of every species, in all the States and territories belonging to the American Union, was forever abolished.

"But notwithstanding the drafts the Anti-slavery party, the Temperance party and other parties from time to time, made upon the Whigs, they continued to be the dominant party until the repeal of the Missouri Compromise in 1854, which led to the organization of the Republican party which then was, and still is, in the ascendency in Delaware County."

Axd Representative Citizens

(In 190") a constitutional amendment was passed making all National, State and County elections come in the eveD-numbered years, and the terms of all State and County Officials were extended until after the 1908 election.)

Voting

MEMBERSHIP OF THE OHIO SENATE FOR DELAWARE COUNTY, DELAWARE DISTRICT, COMPOSED OF DELAWARE, MUSKINGUM, FRANKLIN, MADISON AND UNION COUNTIES.