Logan County, Ohio - Chapter with an unread heading (no. 32 of those read), 1880

The Lost Child

rr^HE early settlers of this township, in _L common with all pioneers of the ccjunty, endured privations and hardships of which those of to-day can have but a faint conception. Under the most favorable circumstances their food was always coarse, often unsavory, and, if accident befell the sources from which they were supplied, scantiness as well as coarseness mingled with their meals. The two principal articles of food upon the tables of the early settlers, were bread and meat. If the bread chanced to be made of wheat flour, and the meat consisted of the flesh of domestic animals, then was the faro considered choice. If the bread was made of corn meal, and the meat was but the flesh of the deer, the bear, or the raccoon, there was no complaining, for in those days they were less concerned about the quality of the food than they were about the quantity. Coffee was scarcely known, except by the name; and tea, if drank at all, was drunk about as frequently as it was by the Whigs of Boston immediately after that article was cast into the harbor from the British ships. In respect to clothing, as well as other necessaries for which the settlers had to depend in whole or in part upon the market, they were about as well provided for as they were in respect to tea and coffee. There were no stores in the vicinity, so that whatever was required beyond what *Contrihuted by Dr. .1. H. Se Cheverell.

their own hands could supply, was entirely dispensed with, or supplied in a meager manner. The consequence was that the wardrobe of the ladies comported but miserably witli their patient and untiring industry. Still all toiled patiently on, looking hopefully forward to a future, when the wild surroundings, the rude log cabins, and the privations of pioneer life should be replaced by the cultivated fields, the substantial homes, the church and the school. That this dream has been fully realized is apparent to even the .chance visitant. Bloomfield is composed of parts of Congressional Townships numbers 2 and 7 south, ranges 7 and 8 east. Its location, the extreme west of the county. Its boundaries : north by Stokes; south by Pleasant; east by Washington, and west by Jackson and Shelby, in Shelby county. The Big Miami River passes southward along the eastern line of the township, and into this flow a number of small streams of no importance, save as affording drainage to the soil. In the north we find the Muchinippi Creek, next the Pour Mile and Brandywine, and in the extreme south Rum Creek, names which sound odd in the extreme, in a township inhabited by people among whom intemperance is unknown. The surface is undulating, alternate slight elevations, gentle slopes, and low level plains go to make up a whole which presents many attractive features. The soil is a clay, slightly mixed with gravel on the higher lands, and a black loam interveining, strong and fertile. Corn and grass are the principal crops, though the present season large quantities of wheat have been harvested with satisfactory results

The timber originally covering the surface of the land consisted largely of oak, beach and ash. with occasionally maple, walnut and wild-cherry. Deer and the smaller kinds of game was plenty, while the wolves, with which the woods fairly swarmed, were an intolerable annoyance, not only destroying the lesser domestic animals whenever opportunity afforded, but attacking travelers when caught abroad after dark. Jlr. Dillon relates an incident in which he was personally interested. In the year 1833 he had occasion to visit the Government land office at Wapakonatta. It was a long journey, yet by the aid of a fleet horse he hoped to accomplish it and return the same day; the trip out was made without incident, and in good time. At the office the press of business detained him until nearly night, and he was advised to remain until morning as a storm was coming on, and the road is a difficult one to follow even by daylight. (It was an old army trail, winding about amongst the trees, nearly impassable for teams.) However, the desire to reach home proved greater than the arguments of his friends, and after tightening the saddlegirth and making everything as secure as possible, he started on the return trip. For a few miles he traveled at a rapid pace, but at last the darkness overtook him, and, as predicted, a furious storm ensued, the trace was lost, and after some time vainly spent in trying to regain it, he dismounted to wait for the cessation of the storm and the rising of the moon. The situation was not a cheerful one - lost in the dense woods, miles from a human habitation, and surrounded by wild beasts. However, the solitude of the surroundings was soon relieved by the hoarse cries of wolves. The sounds came rapidly nearer. Cutting a stout club, he awaited the coming of the unwelcome A'isitors. It was not many minutes ere they were upon him. Planting himself firmly against a huge tree, he struck out at the nearest pair of fiery eyes. A yell, and a sudden retreat of the owner of the eyes, gave proof of the correctness of his aim. This was»repeated whenever a wolf came within reach, and in this somewhat lively manner did Mr. Dillon while away the hours, which otherwise would have been weary ones, until the rising of the moon, when, remounting his horse, the path was found and the homeward journey resumed, the wolves the while closely following behind, filling the dim echoes of the woods with their hair-lifting melody(?). They kept close upoii the heels of his horse to his very cabin door, which was rea;ched as the first faint streaks of light began to show above the tops of the trees in the east.

The settlement of the township was begun in the southwest corner, on Rum Creek. Along: this stream were some small Indian improvements, and upon these two farmers, named Keith and Stewart, removed with their families, not far from the year 1830. As none of the pioneers, who first located in the township, now live here, the writer has depended upon those who came next for the data from which this history is written. Mr. James Dillon and Henry Hone are entitled to our thanks for many items of interest. Mr. Dillon built his log cabin upon the farm he still occupies during the fall of 1833. At this date the following families were living in the township : William Rogers and William Campbell had small improvements in the northeast part. Mr. Campbell lived on the farm now owned by the Huber heirs, his log cabin was near the river, where he kept a rude ferry. In the, southeast corner of the township, along Rum Creek, lived Isaac Stockwell, Benjamin Nichols and William Smith. To the westward lived Richard and Isaac Dillon, Thomas Tong, Edward Timmons, Jacob and William Keith, David and William Ashbrook, William and John Schuler, "William Moore and Caleb Wright.

These were all the settlers in the township in the year 1833. William Dillon and family, consisting of a wife and five children, arrived in 1834, and made a beginning on the farm now owned by M. Smith. The entire northwestern portion of the township was at this time an unbroken forest. Henry Hone'purchased lands in the township in December, 1835 ; cleared a small piece and built a log cabin during the summer of 1836, and in March, 1837, moved his family into it. Mr. Hone still lives on this property. The forest has, however, disappeared, and by well-directed efforts, broad fields, rich in their wealth of waving grain, have taken its place. The additional settlers who arrived prior to 1830 were: Edward Wren, whose lands adjoined Hone's on the northwest. Immediately south of Campbell's, on the river, lived William Donaldson and Joseph Danielson. John Price occupied the James Spellman farm; John Woodfield and Philip Hoy lived near. John Ellis, George Wolf, the Archers and the Downings, had located near the Rum Creek settlement. William McKinnon subsequently purchased the Campbell farm. Mr. Hone states that when he- reached the Miami River, he found it very high, and no other means of crossing than the trunk of a fallen tree; the prospect of reaching the other shore was not particularly flattering. On the bank were a few huts, in which lived a number of half-breed Indians, who came out, but manifested no interest until, on inquiry, they learned that Mr. Hone had a small quantity of spirits in the wagon; this being produced, they assisted readily in effecting a crossing. The goods were unloaded and carried over, the horses swam across, and tieing a bed-cord to the end of the wagon-tongue, it was pulled through, the goods reloaded, and the journey resumed. No charge was made, except a few drinks of of the "whisk,'' as theyitermed it. At this time there were no roads, each settler ^cutting his own, and being governed by the condition of the land, it mav be imagined that little attention was paid to the points of the compass. The first. duly authorized road was from Bellefontaine to Muchinippi, passing through the northern part of the township. Now wellgraded and graveled pikes traverse the township in all directions. The citizens of Bloomfield have depended upon the surrounding country for mills and other needed industries until a recent date. The steam flouring-mill, at Bloom Center, was built by A. Connelly, in 1878. It has two run of stone and is furnished with all the modern appliances. A tile manufactory, at the same point, owned by Bayer & Brother, completes the list of manufao- ' tories. As early as 1840, Jonah McFarling, began merchandising, in a little log hut, standing about one mile to the westward of the present hamlet, known as Bloom Center. The stock in trade was mainly whisky,, tobacco and tea. A few years subsequent, he erected a small frame building, near the site of the log cabin, and putting in a respectable stock, soon acquired a large patronage. Since this period, the township has not been without a store of some kind. Quite a settlement sprung up at this point. The location of a ppstoffice was secured over which John Freeman presided. The location was inconvenient, and yet nothing was done toward a better until the fall of 1858, when Andrew Halboth purchased lands and erected the buildings he now occupies as a store and dwelling. Others built near, and- Bloom Center became a certainty. At this t^me it embraces a general store, drug store, two blacksmith shops, flouring mill, tile manufactory, two churches, a school, and three physicians. The present Postmaster is Dr. William McK. Houseman, a rising young physician of the place. Bloom Center Lodge, No. 621, I. O. 0. F., which is located here, began work under Dispensation in the summer of 1ST5, with S. P. Wood, A. Halboth, G. M. Shafer, AT. H. AYAtkios, J. G. Smith andC. W. Davis, as charter members, who became the first officers. The present membership is small. Two societies of the order known as Patrons of Husbandry, or Grangers, have had an existence in the township, but of these the writer has no date.

So soon as the little colony on Rum Creek had provided themselves with comfortable habitations, their attention was directed to the formation of a school, the result of which was the erection of a log building of quite respectable proportions, and a teacher being- found, school duly convened. Two or three years later a second schoolhouse was built in the township. This stood on lands now owned by James Spellman. Eber Hodge taught a number of terms in this building. At last the territory was divided into school districts, and a better class of buildings erected. The report of the Board of Education for the school year ending iVugust 31, ISTil, gives the following data:

In the little log schoolhouse first mentioned, late in the fall of the year 1832, a luissionary of that faith who are, as a rule, the advance guard of Christianity in all new countries - Methodism - held the first religious service in the township. The families of David and William Ashbrook, William Keith and Mrs. Timmons soon after united in the formation of a class. In about 1836 a hewed loo- meeting-- house was built, and this was occupied until the completion of the present frame building in 18(iO. The Methodist Episcopal Church at Bloom Center was formed early in the settlement. The members composing the first class were Michael Rawdon and wife, William and wife. This society met in schoolhouses for several years, eventually erecting the frame church building just west of Bloom Centre, now unused. The society, we learn, have in contemplation the erection of a larger house of worship at an early day.

Early in the year 1854, Rev. Adam Stump, of the German Refornaed Church, began a series of meetings at the dwellings of the settlers west of Bloom Center, and about one year subsequent the following persons united in the formation of a church of this denomination: Peter Bruner and family, Henry Smith and wife, Abraham Griffey and wife, John Wagoner and wife, Solomon Garling, and wife and J. M. Smith and wife; two years later they united in the erection of the church edifice at Bloom Centre. This has been recently refitted. The membership of this society now numbers forty. A Sabbath School was organized some years since in connection with this church. This has now a goodly attendance. Some years subsequent to James Dillon's arrival in Bloomfield Township, a hewed log schoolhouse was built on the southwest corner of his farm, and in this, a few years later, the settlers of the different Baptist and Christian denominations, residing in the vicinity, inaugurated a series of union meetings. These were continued for a number of years with a gradually increasing membership. In about 1854, all united in the erection of a meeting-house in the northeast part of the township on the Muchinippi. For a time the society flourished and the membership gradually increased, but of late, from various causes, the interest has abated, and at this time the society has but a small membership and no regular Pastor, local talent occupying the pulpit.

The following account of one of those thrillingly sad incidents so common in all pioneer settlements, is from Joshua Antrim's history of Champaign and Logan Counties: "About two miles directly west of Lewistown, on the farm now own e d by the heirs of Manassas Huber, in Bloomfield Township, lived Harrison and Christiana Hopkins. Their son, aged about five years, was lost on November 13, 1838.

* * * * Everything passed off pleasantly till about two o'clock, when Mrs. Hopkins started with her little son to visit a neighbor, a iMr. Rogers, living about a half mile distant. She had to pass by a new house, being built by Charles Cherry, an uncle to the boy. Arriving there, they stopped for a few minutes, and as the boy wished to remain here, the mother passed on. Soon the boy became tired of playing about the house and started to rejoin his mother. As only a dim path led through the intervening timber, Mrs. Che r/ cautioned the little fellow to be careful, and not get lest. A little way into the woods, and he sang out: "I can go it now; I have found the patli." These were the last words he was ever heard to say. * * * Mrs. Hopkins soon after returned, and enquired for the boy, and learned, to her surprise and terror, that he had followed her. Immediate search was made by the frantic mother and father, and Mr. Cherry, going first to Mr. Rogers' and to another neighbor living but a short distance from him, but no tidings could be had of him. They could see the tracks of his bare feet in the path near the house. * * * Soon the alarm spread far and near, and people collected from all parts of the country to hunt for the child. There were at times over a thousand people engaged in the search, which was continued for three weeks. Every foot of ground for three miles around was scanned. Even the Maimi river was dragged for miles, but in vain - not a trace of him - not even a shred of his clothing could be found anywhere, and to-day his fate remains a profound and melancholy mystery. The opinion generally prevails, however, that the child was stolen by the Indians. Mr. Cherry states that an Indian, who, for many years, had been in the vicinity, engaged in trapping, disappeared about this time and never returned. He was afterwards found, and accused of the abduction of the child, but he resolutely denied all knowledo-e of the matter.