Morrow County, Ohio - Chapter 2, 1880 (part 1 of 2)

Chapter 2

THE earliest history of Morrow County, in common with that of the State, is veiled in mystery, and what share it had in the pre-historic times can be only guessed. It is the opinion of antiquarians that three distinct races have inhabited North America prior to the coming of the present inhabitants. Of these, the builders of those magnificent cities the ruins of which strew for miles the plains of Central America were the first. " The mind is startled," says an eminent writer on this subject, "at the remoteness of their antiquity, when we consider the vast sweep of time necessary to erect such colossal structures of solid masonry, and afterward convert them into the present utter wreck. Comparing their complete desolation with the ruins of Baalbec, Palmyra, Thebes and Memphis, they must have been old when the latter were being built." Of this race, no trace has been found within the limits of this country, and whether Ohio ever shook under the step of their marching, or its wilds ever echoed to their cries, is still an open question. " The second race," continues the same writer, "as determined by the character of their civilization, were the Mound-Builders, the remains of whose works constitute the most interesting class of antiquities found within the limits of the United States. Like the ruins of Central America, they antedate the most ancient records ; tradition can furnish no account of them, and their character can only be partially gleaned from the internal evidences which | they themselves afford. They consist of the remains of what were, apparently, villages, altars, temples, idols, cemeteries, monuments, camps, fortifications, etc. The farthest relic of this kind, discovered in a northeastern direction, was near

Black Eiver, on the south side of Lake Ontario. Thence they extend in a southwestern direction by way of the Ohio, the Mississippi, Mexican Gulf, Texas, New Mexico and Yucatan into South America." Some of the most interesting and extensive of these works are found in Ohio. At the mouth of the Muskingum, on Licking River near Newark, at Circleville on the Scioto, and on Paint Creek, near Chillicothe, are found some of the most elaborate of these mounds, stored with some of the most important relics ever discovered. But with all the discoveries and investigations made thus far, but little progress has been made toward a knowledge of their origin, civilization or destiny. They existed here, and built the works over which the archaeologists spend their efibrts in vain, but what was the nature of their stay here, or the character of their civilization, is as far from comprehension as ever. Col. Whittlesey, writing of this race, says : " There is no evidence that they had alphabetical characters, picture writing or hieroglyphics, though they must have had some mode of recording events. Neither is there any proof that they used domestic animals for tilling the soil, or for the purpose of erecting the imposing earthworks they have left. A very coarse cloth of hemp, flax or nettles has been found on their burial hearths, and around skeletons not consumed by fire." The more important of these mounds are found in the southern part of the State, and it is conjectured that the remains found in the northern part may have been built by portions of the race not cotemporary with the builders of the southern structures. The difference in the extent and importance of these northern structures seems to indicate a people far loss in numbers as well as industry, and whose principal occupation was to war among themselves or against their noi<:;hbors. Alonj; the wat»rshed in this State, which lies alonj:; the southern line of Wyandot and Crawford Counties, extending irregularly east and west, there is a space where but few of these ancient earthworks appear. It is conjectured, therefore, that this space was the "debatable ground" of the war-like tribes of the Mound- Builders, and that the works that are found on either side of this line were the outposts of opposing forces. Whatever the truth may be in regard to these fanciful theories, the fiict that Morrow County was the scene of the busy activities of this strange people is beyond ijuestion. The traces of their occupation are abundant in all sections of the county, but they have, unfortunately, failed to awaken an interest in the present inhabitants when it would have availed most in behalf of arch;v(>l'>gieal information. During the centuries of Indian domination in this country, these mounds were left undisturbed. They had no tradition of a preceding race, and, unvexed by the goading of inquiring science, left these relics of a curious people undisturbed until the white man wrought the mighty change. Three of these works have been found at or near Chesterville. A mound located near the old schoolhouse was plowed down in 18H7, and scraped into a hole near it, from which it was undoubtedly thrown up. When within about two feet of the level, a quantity of greasy muck was uncovered which had a strong rancid smell, but no relics or bones were found.

In 1820, when the hotel was built in Chesterville, a mound near by was made to furnish the material for the brick. In digging it away, a lArge human skeleton was found, but no measurements were made. It is related that the jaw-bone was found to fit easily over that of a citizen of the village, who was remarkable for his large jaw. The local physicians examined the cranium and found it proportionately large, with more teeth than the white race of today. The skeleton was taken to

Mansfield, and has been lost sight of entirely. Some trinkets were found in the mound, but anything like an accurate description of them cannot be had. One article was something like a mortar, holding about a half pint, made of blue clay. This was kept in the bar-room of the hotel as a curiosity, but has long since been lost sight of Just west of the village is a small earthwork, surrounded with a trench. Upon this structure are growing trees of a large growth, which have evidently sprung up since the mound was made. Some investigation has been made there, but with no result. Other mounds are found in the township of Troy, Canaan and Washington. In the former township, a circular mound of about twenty-five feet in diameter is situated on Section 7. No attempt has been made to learn of its contents. In Canaan Township, there are two that were formerly connected by an embankment, and were evidently used as a fortification, but the demands of the farm have greatly obliterated their outlines, and they are rapidly disappearing. In Washington, situated in the northeast corner, is a conical shaped mound, about twenty feet high, with a circular base covering upward of a quarter of an acre. Near it is a horseshoe-shaped fortification, some two and a half feet high, inclosing an area of about a quarter of an acre.

In the southern part of Lincoln Township is the remains of a mound of considerable interest. A cone about sixty feet in diameter was found in the center of a circle of about one hundred and twenty feet in diameter. Messrs. T. C. Cunnard and A. G. Emery at one time made some effort to investigate this relic, and employing workmen dug into the cone. In the center was found a circular wall, made of loosely laid freestone. On the outer side of this wall the dirt taken from the surrounding trench was thrown, and within the space was filled with a clay that was thought to be foreign to that locality. Considerable quantity of charcoal and ashes were found, but no relics or bones, save a fragment that was pronounced metal, but so badly disintegrated that it fell to powder on exposure to the air. The earth wall which encircled the mound, it was thought, contained more material than could be got from the trench at its fv.ot, and an examination seemed to confirm their theory that much of the material had been brought to this place. On the surface of the mound a large ash-tree was found growing, its roots^striking through the supporting wall in every direction. When cut down, some two hundred and forty concentric rings were counted, indicating an ancient origin for the mound. The largest result from this investigation has been lost, from the fact that the judgment of experts has not been had upon it.

It is to be regretted these splendid specimens of the relics of the Mound-Builders have not attracted the attention of scholars in the county. It is hardly to be doubted that, with patient investigation, some valuable relics might be discovered in some of these mounds, which would add valuable information to the fund of information on this subject. These earthworks are on the territory where archoeologists have long thought there were no traces of that ancient people, and a stray relic might do something toward establishing or refuting the various theories that have been entertained in regard to the Mound- Builders on the Ohio watershed.

The coming of the red Indian is equally obscured. They were found in full possession of the whole country so far as the first white explorers could determine, but the character of their customs and habits of life, and the uncertainty of their vague traditions, have left but little material for the use of the historian. The first explorers in Ohio found the State divided in latitudinal sections, which were occupied by the Iroquois, Delawares, Shawnees, Miamis, Wyandots and Ottawas. These nations were all subject to the warlike Iroquois or Five Nations, and occupied the territory assigned to them by their conquerors. In 1684 and 1726, the dominant nation ceded to the English all their claims west of Lake Erie, and sixty miles in width along the south shore of Lakes Erie and Ontario, from the Cuyahoga to the Oswego River. In 1 774) \ the same nation ceded to the Americans all the country claimed by that tribe west of Pennsyl vania, and on January 21 in the following year, by a treaty with the Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa and Ottawa nations, the former subjects of the Iroquois, a new boundary was fixed. In the transactions with the English, the Iroquois lost their hold on the subject nations of Ohio, and the Delawares, upon whom had been heaped the greatest indignities by their savage conquerors, suddenly assumed their former warlike prowess, and became the most powerful enemies of the whites. During the Revolutionary war as the allies of the British, and at the head of the Northwestern Confederacy of Indians to oppose the cessions made by the Iroquois, they became the terror of the whites, and defeated some of the best Glenerals of colonial times.

In the spring of 1794, an efibrt on the part of the State was made to retrieve the disasters in the Northwest, and Gen. Wayne, with about three thousand five hundred troops, assembled at Greenville, to subjugate the Delawares and their allies. In August of that year, the hostile forces encountered each other at the foot of the rapids in Maumee, when, after a short, but deadly conflict, the Indians were completely defeated. They were not conquered, however, and it was not until their whole country had been overrun, their cornfields destroyed, and forts erected in the very heart of their domain, that they would sue for peace. On August 3, 1795, a grand council was held at Greenville, with representatives of eleven of the most powerful tribes of the Northwest. In this council, by far the larger representation was from the tribe of the Delawares, numbering 381 braves. The treaty concluded at Fort Mcintosh fixed the line of boundary, beginning " at the mouth of the river Cuyahoga, and to extend up said river to the portage, between that and Tuscarowas branch of the Muskingum, thence down that branch to the crossing-place above Fort Laurens, then westerly to the portage of the Big Miami, which runs into the Ohio, at the mouth of which branch the fort stood which was taken by the French, 1752 ; then along said portage to the Great Miami, or Omee River, and down the south side of the same to its mouth ; then along the south shore of Lake Erie to the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, where it began." At Greenville, this boundary line was confirmed, and extended westward from Larimie's to Fort Defiance, and thence southward to the mouth of the Kentucky River. This territory thus set off was given to the Delawares and Wyandots. » The line is now known as the Greenville treaty or Indian boundary line, and passes through Morrow County, forming part of the northern boundary of Westfield, Lincoln and Harmony, and cutting through Cardington and Franklin Townships. In 18(»5, the differenc tribes relinquished their claims on all lands west of the Cuyahoga, as far west as the western line of the reserve, and south of the line, from Fort Laurens to Laramie's Fort. At the close of the treaty at Greenville, Bu-kou-ge-he-las, a Delaware chief, addressed Gen. Wayne as follows : " Father, your children all well understand the sense of the treaty which is now concluded. We experience daily proofs of your increasing kindness. I hope we may all have sense enough to enjoy our dawning happiness. Many of your people are yet among us. I trust they will be immediately restored. Last winter, our king came forward to you with two, and when he returned with your speech to us, we immediately prepared to come forward with the remainder, which we delivered at Fort Defiance. All who know me know me to be a man and a warrior, and I now declare that I will, for the future, be as steady and true a friend to the United States as I have, heretofore, been an active enemy," The promise of the warrior thus voluntarily given was faithfully maintained by the people. They resisted all the solicitations of Tecumseh's agents, and through the war of 1812, remained the stanch friends of the Americans, and frequently rendering valuable service as scouts and sharpshooters. The main body of this tribe, however, removed to the White River and its branches, after the Greenville treaty, and were not seen here in any considerable numbers afterward. The treaty of 1807 had opened up the larger portion of the territory within the present territory of Morrow County to the whites, but the Indians, loth to leave the land of their fathers, still had their camps in the territory that they had ceded to the Government. The principal camps were at Greentown and Jerometown, both then in Richland County. In Marion and Crawford Counties, then a part of the Indian reserve, were villages of minor importance, but the events which ushered in the war of 1812 wrought their removal as early as August in the latter year. There is no record of there ever being a camp or village in Morrow County. It ^as a rich hunting ground, and the Indians had resorted here from the earliest recollections, but had found a home in the surrounding counties. They continued to come here in quest of the game that was to be found in the woods in great abundance as late as 1819. A hunting party for some years kept a permanent camp in Lincoln Township, the members coming and going, as their fancy moved them. Large parties were attracted to the eastern part of the counWy on trading trips to Mt. Vernon or Chesterville, while smaller parties visited all the settlements with pelts and wild fruits to exchange for food ; but in all their relations, they maintained the friendliest attitude toward the whites. During the war of 1812, some stories of their attempts to intimidate women and children are related, but nothing more hostile, and this was probably done by such members of the tribes as were beyond the peculiar government of the Indian nations. The rapid settlement of the country, with the consequent extinction of the game, however, gradually made the country less attractive to the savages, and they, with the more willingness, accepted the propositions of the. Government to remove to more suitable habitations.

There is a tradition, quite generally believed, that Col. Crawford's command passed through Morrow County in 1782, on its way to the Wyandot village, near Upper Sandusky. So firmly bcr lieved is this tradition, that his line of march is pointed out with great particularity, the site of one of the army's camps, and the description is frequently [embellished with the account of the capture of several of his men during the retreat of the army through this county. It is a thankless task to dispel the illusion, but the facts will not warrant our passing over this tradition without suggesting its unreliability. The admirable history of " Crawford's Campaign Against Sandusky, in 1782," makes this fact perfectly plain ; and as many who cherish this tradition as a rich historical heirloom may not have access to Mr. Butterfield's valuable work, we give a condensed description of the line of march and retreat on that memorable occasion. The rendezvous was at the Mingo Bottoms, in Steubenville Township, Jeflferson County, in this State. Setting out from this point on the 25th of May, tbe little army " passed through the present townships of Cross Creek and Wayne, to the western boundary of Jefferson County, as at present defined ; crossing thence into what is now Harrison County, in German Township ; thence across the summit to the spot where the town of Jefferson now stands." From this point, the expedition made a slight detour to the south, reaching the Tuscarawas River at a point " about a quarter of a mile from Lockport, in Goshen Township. Tuscarawas County," at noon of the fourth day's march. From this point, " the guides, taking a northwest course through the wilderness from the Muskingum (Tuscarawas), brought the army to the Killbuck, some distance above the present town of Millersburg, county seat of Holmes County." Crossing the river, the line of march lay along the west bank of the stream to a large spring, near the line of Wayne County, ten miles south of Wooster, and known now as the Butler's or Jones' Spring. " From this point, the army moved westward, along the north side of what is known as Odell's Lake." Thence they passed northwesterly through the present township of Green, in Ashland County, and from here passed to the Rocky Fork of the

Mohican, " up which stream they traveled until a spring was reached, near where the city of Mansfield now stands, in Richland County ; thence a little north of west, to a fine spring five miles farther on, in what is now Springfield Township - a place now known as Spring Mills, on the line of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne' & Chicago Railroad, eight miles east of the town of Crestline, in Crawford County - where, on the evening of the 1st of June, the army halted and encamped for the night. On the following day, " the army crossed into what is now Crawford County, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon, and, about an hour after, reached the Sandusky River at a point immediately east of what is now the village of Leesville." This is, perhaps, the point nearest the boundaries of Morrow County that the line of march touched. From this point, the army passed through the township of Whetstone, near the village of that name ; through the townships of Bucyrus and Dallas, in Crawford County, into what is now Antrim Township, in Wyandot County. Crossing the Sandusky River, " Crawford's course was along the east bank of the stream, following the Indian trace in a direction a little west of north, in what is now Pitt Township." From this point, the army marched into what is now Crane Township, where they met the enemy. The line of retreat was over the same trail that they had come until they reached the Tuscarawas River, when the army took a wide detour to the south in the Williamson trail, passing through what is now Cadiz, in Harrison County, thence northerly through the site of the present town of Smithfield to the place of departure. The story of the prisoners captured in this county is equally unfounded. Crawford, Dr. Knight, PauU, Slover, and all of whom any account is given, were captured north of the line of march and principally in what are now Crawford and Wayne Counties. The early settlement by the whites followed close upon the retreating red man. The treaty of 1807 was followed by the immediate surveying of this country by the Government, a large part of the county being surveyed in the same year. Purchasers caiue upon the ground very soon after, and warrants having been issued at once to soldiers of the Revolution for some of this land, the tide of emigration at once set in. The Ohio fever took strong hold in many of the older communities, and no sooner was the " new purchase " heard of, than hundreds, anxious to secure a home with plenty of land, flocked to the new country. The early pioneers of Morrow County came close after the surveyors, and in many places found the bark still fresh on the stakes that marked the diff'erent sections. The great avenues of travel lead up from the south and east, naturally resulting in first settling the south and east sections of what is now Morrow County. The site of Mount Gilead was then near the outlying portions of Knox and Delaware Counties. These were erected in the same year (1808), and divided the jurisdiction of the territory north of them to the lakes. In 1813, Richlinid County was formed, though it had at that time but a sparse population, which was principally near the center of the county. The earliest settlement made upon territory within the present limits of Morrow County was probably made in Chester Township. The lands of the Owl Creek valley constituted some of the finest in this part of the State, and the early settlers did not hesitate to purchase where the land suited them the best, without reference to the location of the older communities. The first squatter in Knox County did not come long before 1803. In 1805, Mount Vernon was laid out, and in 1807 the first settler (Evan Holt) came to Chester. The nearest point at which these adventurous pioneers could transact their legal business was at Lancaster, in Fairfield County, and some were obliged to go this distance from Chester to pay their taxes. The bold adventurer who had pushed so far beyond the farthest boundary of civilization was not long alone. In the following year came others, and every year additions were made to the little settlement in increasing numbers, building up one of the most vigorous and enterprising communities to be found in the present county. Most of the emigrants were from the Middle States, with a few from Maryland and Virginia, and later (juite a colony of Welsh from the old country, by way of Philadelphia and Baltimore. At that time, Franklin Township had no separate organization, but its settlement was quite distinct, and was made in 1810. The Shaws came first, and young Peoples a few weeks later, both locating in the southern central part of the present township. Following these families came the Cooks, Blairs and Leverings, locating in the northeast part of the township in 1811-12. Bloomfield, though quite as accessible to immigration, did not settle up as rapidly as its sister townships from Knox. The first settlement, however, was made as early as 1808, and the central point of settlement, early called " Clark's Cross Roads," was admirably situated, being equally distant from Berkshire, Mount Vernon, Chesterville and Johnstown, the important villages of that time. The village of Sparta, situated on the old State road from Mansfield via Frederick to Sunbury and Columbus, became in late years a trading-point of considerable importance, and, about 1840, added mechanical and manufacturing enterprises to some extent. The community was made up of emigrants from the older counties of Ohio, from Pennsylvania, with a large admixture of Connecticut people. The territory drawn from Delaware County, though lying farthest from the channels along which emigration flowed into that section, had the advantage of being part of the oldest settled of any of the frontier counties in this part of the State. Delaware County was first made the permanent home of the white man in 1801, and in 1804 an enterprising and wealthy resident land speculator founded a colony at Berkshire, and spared no pains that ample means and intelligent purpose could command, to stimulate emigration. The natural consequence was that all parts of the county felt the influence of this vigorous effort, so that even the outlying portions were settled as soon as the central portions of many other counties of equal natural advantages. Of the portion set oflF to Morrow County, the earliest settled was probably Peru Township. Here, in 1809, Cyrus Benedict, anxious to find land for his growing family and a quiet place to establish his faith, came and took up a large tract of land. He was a Quaker, and each year brought an accession of those of like faith. This settlement formed a nucleus for a community that wielded a powerful influence upon that part of the country. They were the first to oppose the use of whisky at the public gatherings for house-raising, log-rolling and husking bees; they early espoused the cause of "free soil," and were a power in politics after the organization of the county of Morrow. The larger part of the settlement came from Clinton County, N. Y., but the subsequent additions came largely from Pennsylvania and Connecticut.

The Shaw settlement, in Westfield, was an important and early one. It dates back as early aS 1808, and contributed largely to the settlement of the townships near by it. Harmony and Lincoln were settled later, principally by the overflow emigration of Chester, Peru and Westfield. A part of Harmony was kept out of the market for some time, and was settled by emigrants from the counties of Knox, Perry and Muskingum. The contribution from Marion County was settled somewhat later, the southern portion profiting by the general circumstances that afiected the tide of emigration. Cardington, then known as Morrow Township, was not settled until about 1821. It drew its pioneers from Peru Township and the Middle States principally, though the older counties of Ohio contributed no small share to building up the community. Gilead Township drew its settlement from Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and the older settled parts of Ohio, the first settlement being made in 1817. A year later, the first settler, Benjamin Sharrock, came to Washington Township from Guernsey County, Ohio. In 1820, the first settler made his appearance in Canaan Township, from Fairfield County, Ohio. The settlement of this township was made principally by Pennsylvanians, who, by their industry and frugality, have made it one of the most prosperous townships in the county. Fiichland County was first settled about 1807, and for some years was attached to Knox as Madison Township. In 1813, it was organized as a separate county, but with very few settlers. The oldest township in- the territory which was derived from that county is Perry. It was settled about 1810, and drew principally from Pennsylvania for its community. It was a vigorous settlement and took an important position as a commercial center in that early time. The later accessions have evinced the same advanced ideas, and the School and church are of a high character, both as regards development and efficiency. Troy, settled in 1814, drew its early settlers from Pennsylvania and New Jersey ; North Bloomfield, settled about 1818, is in the hands of Pennsylvanian emigrants, and Congress, drawing its early pioneers from the same State, was settled about 1821.

The organization of Marion County in 1824, and the establishment of the county seat at Marion, was the cause of the first inception of the project to erect a new county out of the territory which is now known as Morrow. Mount Gilead was laid out in the same year, and formed a nucleus about which the discontent with the location of the seat of justice gathered. Some of the more radical ones said at once that a new county would be formed to accommodate the large population which was situated in the outlying corners of the four counties, but it was some twenty one years before this project bore the fruit of fact, and then not without a struggle that consumed the energies of the whole community, the time for years of its best citizens, and not an inconsiderable sum of money for that time. The early history of this struggle is but imperfectly known. The project awakened at the very start a determined opposition, and the operations of the active partisans in this movement were necessarily known to but a few of the leading spirits of the time. These have long since passed away, and we have but vague traditions from which to glean information in regard to this interesting event. From all the information at our command, it appears that the early efforts were confined principally to gathering petitions setting forth the case of the petitioners, and asking the Legislature for the obvious relief. Unfortunately for the early success of the project, there were a number of conflicting interests to be cdnciliated, some of which eventually commanded nearly as great strength as the Gilead claim. It was proposed by the original movers in this project to erect a county out of the outlying portions of Marion, Richland, Knox and Delaware Counties, with Mount Gilead as the county seat. The movement was strongly opposed by the Richland County people, save the few to be especially favored by the change, and the erection, in 1846, of Ashland, which took a large portion of its territory from Richland, did not make this opposition any the less determined. To this was added, about this time, the opposition of the conflicting claims of Chester and Bennington. The necessity for the erection of a new county on this territory was now generally conceded, and the contest turned on the (|uestion of the location of the county seat. The Gilead claim,a^it was known in lobby parlance, called for the erection of a county to be bounded by a line beginning at the northeast corner of Section 1, in Tully Township, Crawford County, thence east with a slight variation, taking the larger part of Bloomfield Township, then turning south on the section line of Troy Township near its northern boundary, it diverged from a straight line to take in the whole of Perry, Franklin, Chester and Bloomfield, thence west, taking the whole of Bennington, Peru, a little of the north part of Oxford (Delaware County) and all of Westfield, then, by deflecting to the east, took in only the townships of Morven, Canaan and onehalf of Tully. This left Mount Gilead the central point and the obvious county seat. The Chester claim proposed to erect a county out of the territory bounded by a line beginning in the southeast corner of Tully Township (Crawford County), passing due east to a point about a mile east of the west line of Jefferson, dividing Washington and cutting a little portion off the southern part of Bloomfield and Troy, thence south, taking about a mile off the western side of Jefferson (Richland County), passing around the whole of Middleberry (Knox County), and taking in the west half of Wayne, Liberty and Milfor J (Knox County); thence west on the southern line of Milford, Hillier (Knox County) and Porter (Delaware County), the line followed the western boundary of the last-named township to Peru ; then passing so as to take in the whole of that township, it passed due north to the boundary line, deflecting to the east to the eastern boundary of Morven and Canaan to the place of beginning, leaving Chesterville the obvious place for the county seat. The Bennington claim made Marengo the central point, and ran its lines about it, taking territory from Knox, Licking, Delaware and Marion. It was an era of county-making, and the number of projects of this nature pressed upon the attention of legislators by hired lobbyists is astonishing. The number which more or less antagonized the interests of a county to be formed on the territory now known as Morrow reached as high as nine at one time. At that time, the names of Walhonding, Bennington, Chester, Ontario, Center, Taylor, National and Johnston were the names of aspiring counties, not one of which ever crowned a successful issue, though some of the counties they introduced were established. The state of affairs at Columbus at this time is well expressed by a letter from one of the lobbyists to his principals. He writes, " The committee on new counties have not yet reported, and we have all been waiting anxiously, expecting a report every morning this week, without coming to any definite conclusion as to who would get the report. I tell you, gentlemen, there are a great many ups and downs in this brown town, and about three downs to one up, for there are so many conflicting interests here on the subject of new counties, and so much jealousy existing, that if you get a member favorably impressed, some one, for fear your tale will interfere with his interests, will go and tell him that it was all false, and the claim that has the least prospect of success has the most friends amona: the lobbyists." This was as early as January 14, 1846, and it was not until February 24, 1848, that these alternations of hope and fear were put to rest by the erection of Morrow County. The session of 1845-46 was about the first that the difi'erent claims were represented by lobbyists. During this session, Gilead was represented by Dr. Geller, John Young, Christopher Lindsay and S. T. Cunnard ; Chester delegated her interest to W. Hance, E. B. Kinsell, William Shur, Enoch and Davis Miles, and Bennington was represented by Thomas Freeman, a Mr. Morehouse and Hiram Randolph. These men were on the ground as early as the candidates for legislative offices, and did not retire until the last struggle of the session. To understand the contest between these claims, it must be remembered that according to the laws upon the subject, no county could be formed containing less than four hundred square miles, and no county could be reduced below this constitutional minumum. The problem then was, to map out a county that would answer these two requirements and receive the support of a majority of the people living within the territory thus included. It will be observed that in a spirited contest, these requirements gave plenty of work for the partisans of the different claims to do. Committees were formed to solicit signatures to petitions or remonstrances, to secure subscriptions for expenses of the lobbyists, and to keep close watch and counteract the efforts of the committees for other claims. An opponent of the Ontario or Gilead claim writes to his principals, concerning the operations of the friends of that claim, " I do not think there can be one solitary exception ; they have got their own signers, and they have every one of ours whom they could torture, tease or beg into submission. They have a great many signers who have signed our petitions. They must have nineteen hundred or two thousand petitioners in all, and some three or four hundred memorialists from Marion, Delaware and Crawford Counties. I think

The sessions of 1845-46 passed without prejudice to either of the claims. By the illness of two Whig Senators, the Democrats had a majority in that branch of the Legislature, and being opposed to the erection of new counties, the matter made but little stir save among the anxious lobbyists. In the following session, the forces were early on hand. The Gilead claim had been put in the hands of a committee during the previous session, but not acted upon, and early in this session Chester submitted its claim, with a good prospect of seeing the matter brought to a vote. But they were all doomed to disappointment by the death of Mr. Horr, the representative from Marion and Delaware, which deferred all consideration of county claims taking territory from this district. The Governor appointed a new election to fill the vacancy, and Messrs. Eaton and Reynolds were nominated. This election was of vital importance to the new county lobbyists, and one writes that would be in favor of new counties. Now, my boys, go into Harmony and get them to vote for Eaton." It is hardly necessary to add that he was elected.

The Bennington claim was introduced late in the session, and although it gained no prominence in the fears of the lobbyists or discussions of the committees, it served to balk the hopes of the other contestants. During the previous session, the Gilead claim was decidedly in the lead ; at the present, the prospect had changed, sending Chester to the front and its supporters had strong hopes of bringing it to a favorable vote when Eaton took his seat. But Bennington was thrust forward and disturbed all their well-laid plans. The bill to erect this county was brought to a vote, but it was indefinitely postponed, January 29, 1847, and though strenuous efibrts were made on the part of its friends to resuscitate it by a vote to reconsider, it was efiiectually laid out. Gilead came before the House, and at the request of its friends was referred to a select committee, and Chester, after passing two readings successfully, was postponed by the request of its friends to the first Monday in December of 1847. Thus another winter of anxiety had passed and the county of Morrow was no nearer completion than at the beginning of the session. ()ne thing had been gained ; the members had become disgusted with the whole subject and were in a mood to finish the business one way or another, if it ever came before them again.

The final campaign opened in December, 18-17. The lobbyists were in full force, early on the ground. A letter dated December 8, 1847, from William Hance, at Columbus, to the Chester committee, gives the outlook at the beginning of the session, as follows: "Judging from present appearances and circumstances, the contest will be between Chester and Gilead, and in it Gilead has an advantage. The chairman of the committee in the House is believed to be a friend to that claim. The two Democrats, Smith, of Hamilton, and Coe, of Sandusky, voted for it last year, hence they may have a majority report in their favor, which will be an advantage to them, as the dereliction of Gilead seems not to be thought of only when we mention it; and many members appear anxious to settle the matter in some way. On the other hand, we have Mr. Parks, of Lorain, and Mr. Taylor, of Franklin, on the committee, from whom we expect anything but a report favorable to either Bennington or Gilead. The Chairman, Mr. Hurdisty, is from Carroll, and appears to be in the keeping of Mr. Watt, who has been engaged here for Gilead, for two or three years past, and is from Carroll County. In the Senate, the committee is composed of King, Hortonand Beaver; King is a Democrat and is Chairman, the other two are Whigs. Horton was last year in the House and voted for the indefinite po-itpouement of both Bennington and Gilead, and I think was favorable to Chester." It became generally understood that this session would bring the matter to an issue, and most strenuous eflForts were made on all hands to place their claims in the most favorable light. The (iilead claim had changed in name from Ontario to Gilead, and then to Marshall, to conciliate the various prejudices. Chester had secur 'd the services of the man that had successfully engineered Ashland's interest, and the lobbies were everywhere strongly re-enforced. One of the Chester lobbyists writes : " It is doubtless the fact that more lobbies are employed at this time in Columbus than ever before since the formation of the State." With these preparations mad'', there was nothing left but to hope fcr the rest with an anxiety that few, who have not had the experience, can well comprehend. It is almost distressing, at this late date, 'to read these letters from the lobbyists to their friends at home, informing them of the progress of affairs. Letters are written twice a week and they prcs3nt a pioture of shifting shadows where the scene changes in a breath, with the alternations of hope and despair.

On December 13, 1847, the House Committee is informed that '' Gilead, at least, if not Bennington, is moving heaven and earth to accomplish her purpose, having all the doorkeepers and clerks in both branches, and many others employed in her bjhalf"' Notwithstanding this array of opposition, the writer has great confidence that the Chester claim is likely to succeed. He adds that " there is a strong repugnance with the Whigs to make Bennington, and, also, to a considerable extent, against Gilead. Chester, in all that should be looked at as requisite in making a new county - such as remoteness from old county seats, contiguity of territory to the new county seat as compared with the old ones, compactness of territory, and consequent accommodation of the inhabitants taken into the new county - is a much better claim than either Bennington or Gilead. We have the direct expression of a number of members of a preference for Chester. We are satisfied beyond doubt that at least one member of each committee is decidedly in our favor ; and no reason to doubt the friendship of one other member of each committee, making a majority in one committee, with strong hopes that the o her Whig and Democrat will go for us on the other committee."

bonding fanother new county project) is playing the deuce with all our new counties, and whilst she cannot be made herself, will do much toward preventing all others being made." In another letter of about the same date, the same writer says : '' We thought we had two of the Senate Committee safe, and were disposed to push our claim with them, but the Chairman declined calling the committee together until all the petitions from the conflicting claims were in. We then turned our a'ttention to the House, where we felt pretty sure of two members of the committee, but to-day there seems to be an undercurrent at work, which, I fear, renders it uncertain whether we shall have a single one on the Senate, and but one on the House Committee. If I am correct in my suspicion relative to the committees, it is all owing to the influence of the foreign friends of Walhonding." A letter of December 23, 184-7, brings news of a re-action. It says : " A majority of the committee has reported Gilead. Johnstown is gone by the board - scarcely a grease-spot left. National and Cumberland reported. The committee goes on rapidly this winter, disposing of five claims at one sitting. To-day a bill was reported by the committee for the erection of Gilead. Chester, of course, was reported against by the majority, but we have two fast friends (Park and Taylor), who will make a minority report. The majority is one Whig and two Democrats ; the minority is two Whigs. We have high hopes yet ; we have now 1660 petitions, all told. Gilead has only 1259 legal ones within the territory, and 280 out of the territory, with 77 illegal ones. We expect the minority report will tear the report of the majority all to pieces. Bennington, once proud and lofty Bennington ! How are the mighty fallen ! * * Poor fellow! (referring to the gentleman who headed that claim) he sold his birthright for a mess of pottage."

Notwithstanding the favorable action in favor of the Gilead claim, there was a very strong feeling on the part of all that it was likely to be finally defeated. The Whigs manifested considerable opposition to it on the ground that it would strengthen their adversaries, and unless the Democrats could be induced to forego their party opposition to all new counties, there was, indeed, no hope for its success. The Chester adherents strongly urged that the Whigs of the western part of Knox County were the only ones that had increased their majority, and that they should be encouraged. All this was not without its effect, and the prospects of Chester, though not ostensibly so bright as Gilead, were in reality much more hopeful. On December 27, 18-47, the minority of the House Committee on New Counties presented the grounds of its dissent from the finding of the majority. The report of the majority we have not been able to seizure, but as that of the minority, as a matter of necessity, goes over the same ground, we shall trespass upon the patience of the reader so far as to give this paper, trusting that the importance of preserving a document of such historical value may be found a sufficient warrant for its introduction here.

The minority of the Committee on New Counties, dissenting from the majority in their recommendation of the Gilead and rejection of the Chester claim - both claims occupying, to a considerable extent, the same territory - submit their views :

The minority cannot assent to all the general principles \aid down by the majority, in regard to the erection of new counties, as they do not feel in duty bound, constitutionally or otherwise, to erect new counties, unless the general good requires it, and that by so doing the rights of others are not impaired. And they are not willing that, by any act of theirs, censure should be cast upon any preceding Legislature for not granting new county claims, which they believe were not meritorious.

Many considerations should be brought into view in deciding upon the merits of any new county that it might be proper to erect, which it is the duty of such Legislature carefully to weigh, before such question is settled. For instance, in the very case now before the committee, there are remonstrances from Knox County against any division of the same, because of that county having.

by an overwhelming; majority, incurred a heavy responsibility for the construction of a railroad, which responsibility, it is supposed, will devolve upon that portion of the people who may remain in that county. The minority believe that if said result would necessarily follow dismemberment, it would be an act of injustice which this minority could not sanction. But, wliether those who might thus be severed from Knox would be legally released from their proportionate share of the debt thus incurred, the minority do not feel competent to decide.

There are, also, many reasons of a general nature which have an important bearing against the making of new counties, and which ought to have their proper influence in the decision of a question of this kind, but which the minority do not deem it necessary now to enumerate.

It is, perhaps, true, as is asserted by the report of the majority, that Gilead is an old applicant, but, in view of all the facts of the case, this should weaken rather than strengthen its claim to the favorable consideration of the Legislature, as, had it possessed ordinary merit, with the advantages it has employed - having been before the Legislature without competitors, and having had representatives from its own territory who were especially charged with its interests - it ought long since to have been erected into a county. But it would appear that past Legislatures, which have evinced a favorable disposition toward the erection of new counties, have never been impressed with the advantages of this claim ; and the undersigned confess that they are unable, after a full investigation of all the facts touching it, to dissent from the conclusion arrived at by previous Legislatures. One reason, as we learn, for these repeated failures, is the fact, that during the time above referred to, the citizens residing in the territory taken by Gilead from the counties of Knox and Richland, have been constantly opposed to being thus cut off from their connection with those counties, and attached to one which is, as they assert, directly hostile to their interests and advantages. Those citizens are not entirely opposed to the erection of a new county, of which they might form a part, but they object to being taken into a county which would render their situation worse than it now is, and, hence, they have now united with those whom they have heretofore opposed, and favor the erection of the new county of Chester - a county in which they can enjoy equal advantages with theis western neighbors.

more equally distributed by the erection of Chester than by the erection of Gilead. But, before giving their reasons for this opinion, they would state that they are both personally acquainted with the territory out of which it is proposed to make one or the other of these new counties, and can, therefore, speak with more confidence.

The minority will first notice the fact, that the general business of that region tends northeasterly and easterly, to Mansfield, Fredericktown and Mount Vernon. The first-named place being the present termination of the railroad which is rapidly progressing toward the latter places, and to which points the people are drawn, as well on account of a market for their agricultural products, as for the purpose of milling, and of furnishing themselves with what their wants require, in either the mechanical or mercantile line. And to these points, from a large portion of the country in view, the business must not only continue to flow, but must very much increase, especially on the completion of the railroad to Fredericktown and Mount Vernon.

It is almost needless to say, that the people of any county are best accommodated by having their civil and judicial business transacted where their mercantile and other business concentrates. Gilead, as its location indicates, cannot aflford such accommodation. These facts will show that the people of the territory embraced in Chester, or that ought to be embraced in any new county in that region, will be better accommodated at Chesterville, as the county seat, than at Gilead.

It will be perceived that the proposed county of Gilead requires so much territory from Marion as to reduce that county below its constitutional area - a fact not noted in the report of the majority. As the constitution of the State declares that " no new county shall be established by the General Assembly which shall reduce the county or counties, or either of them, from which it shall be taken, to less extent than 400 square miles" - a declaration to which no two constructions can be given - the minority of the committee, in common with others, are of the opinion that it would be doing violence to that instrument to erect Gilead, or any other new county, which does so reduce an existing county. Aside from this constitutional view of the matter, the expediency of thus reducing a county below its constitutional area, and attaching fragments of territory taken from its neighbor to restore

But, however this may be, it is an objection which can be easily obviated by the erection of Chester - as there is contiguous territory enough in the counties of Delaware, Marion, Richland and Knox to make a new county, without cutting Marion down below 400 square miles. Then why resort to a doubtful measure, when the means are not only ample for avoiding it, but the people interested might at the same time be accommodated much better thereby.

When to all this is added, what the minority believe is a fact, that the territory detached from Union and attached to Marion County reduces Union below its constitutional area, there no longer remains a doubt with the minority thatGilead cannot - ought not - to be made.

But there is another fact which should not be overlooked in comparing the merits of the two claims; and which, as the minority think, places beyond controversy the question as to which of them ought to be made. According to what the minority believe to be a con-ect estimate, there are about thirty-six square miles of territory in Chester which is nearer the county seats of the counties in which said territory now lies than it will be in Chester, if that county is erected. This seems to be a sufficient amount of territory to be thus incommoded by the making of any new county. But in Gilead there are within its advertised bounds seventyeight square miles of territory similarly situated. To this may also be added six miles in the parts proposed to be attached to Marion, making a total of eighty-four square miles incommoded on account of increased distance from the county seats. This is equal to one-fifth of the whole territory embraced within the bounds of Gilead. And when to this is added the fact that many of those who may be brought nearer to the new than they now are to the old county seat, but would nevertheless be incommoded by having to transact their civil and judicial business in one direction and their other business in another, there will probably be two-fifths of the population of Gilead who would feel themselves injured by the erection of said county.

In alluding to the petitions, the majority say that they are " from citizens of Richland, Crawford, Marion, Delaware and Knox." The minority on examination find petitions from Richland, Marion, Delaware and

Knox, but none from Crawford. This may by some be regarded as a matter of small moment. Be it so ; but in all things, especially official matters, everything, however unintentional, calculated to deceive, should be carefully avoided.

The majority a^so say "that there is in the counties from which the proposed county is to be taken an abundance of tei'ritory out of which to erect a new county without reducing either of the counties from which territory is taken below the constitutional amount.'" The minority, not having seen the bill reported by the majority for the erection of Gilead, do not, of course, know its provisions; but judging from the terms of the petition, it cannot be doubted that provision is therein made for attaching to Marion territory for the purpose of restoring 'it to its constitutional area.

The majority further say, that in making Gilead, there is left " in the county of Richland four hundred and eighty square miles ; in the county of Crawford, four hundred and five square miles ; in the county of Delaware, four hundred and sixty-six square miles ; in the county of Knox, five hundred and twenty-four square miles;" but most singularly omit to tell how much is left in the county of Marion, which, it will be borne in mind, is reduced below the constitutional limits.

The minority will next notice the comparison made by the majority of the number of petitioners with the number of voters in the territory embraced by Gilead. The report says that the number of voters amounts to about three thousand - "a large majority of which number have petitioned for the erection of the proposed new county."

The minority have made a hasty estimate of the number of votes polled at the gubernatorial election in 1844, and find they amount to about three thousand five hundred. It is well known that more or less voters in all elections do not attend the polls. These, added to the natural increase since that time, would doubtless swell the number to nearly or quite four thousand. The minority have also carefully counted all the petitioners for Gilead, and find that the number of those within the bounds of that claim amounts to one thousand four hundred and thirty-six - being only a little more than one-third of the estimated number of voters in said territory.

In addition to the foregoing petitioners, the minority find of those out of the Gilead territory, ninety-four in Marion County and one hundred and eighty-six in Delaware County, making in all two hundred and eighty. To such petitions, however, coming from persons not residing in territory included in the new county, the minority attach but little weight - knowing, as they do, how readily many persons sign petitions for objects in which they have little or no interest.

The majority say further in their report that they have "taken into consideration the various other claims which conflict with this (Gilead), and find that the largest number of legal petitioners are in its favor." The minority have also been attentive to this matter, but have arrived at a different result. The petitioners which the minority think should have any influence in the case, being those only who are within the territory of the proposed county of Gilead, amount, as before stated, to one thousand four hundred and thirty-six, while those for Chester number one thousand six hundred and thirty five, all of whom are within the ter"

This attack was followed up by the presentation of a bill to erect the county of Chester, and both bills passed successfully to the third reading in the House. In the mean while, Gilead had narrowly escaped utter defeat, and was saved from a hostile vote only by recommitting it to the committee. On the other hand, the lobbyists of that claim had, after an unsuccessful attempt to buy out Chester for $1,000, purchased the aid of the Bennington champions - Freeman for cash, and Randolph by a promise of ofl&ce in the new county, and thus re-enforced were making up in shrewd management what they were losing in popularity. A letter from Dr. Hance, early in January, 1848, gives the status of the rival claims as follows :

" Just before adjournment, the new county committee reported back the Gilead bill with some amendments, when Mr. Blake moved its recommitment to a committee of one, which finally resulted in recommitting it to a committee of three, to wit, Blake, McWright and Cotton. A division being called for, thirty-seven members arose in favor of its recommitment, being a majority of the whole House, two, at least, of the enemies of Gilead being absent, who, had they been present, would have voted for recommitment. This vote, I think, decides the vote of Gilead. The Gilead folks feel a good deal excited about the result of this vote.

Well, I wish they were worse crippled than they are ; though I think they will be killed when they come up again. Since the report of the committee, 170 petitions have been presented for Gilead. These I examined to-night, and find 57 of them from Harmony, 89 from Marlborough and 24 from Marion Township. At the time of the report, Gilead had 1,436 petitioners, to which add the above 57 from Harmony, being the only ones within the territory, and they have 1,493, while we have now here 1 ,85 1 , being 358 more than they have within the territory. They had, at the time of the report, 280 out of the territory, to which add the above 113, and it makes them 393, being in all, in and out of the territory, 1,886. Counting what we have out of the territory, being about 60, and we have 1,911, being 25 more than they have."

On the 4th of January, the Gilead claim was reported back to the Committee of the Whole House, and was indefinitely postponed. On the following day, this vote was reconsidered and the bill recommitted, and, by one of those freaks of fortune, "that no man can find out," the fortunes of Gilead began to pick up. A letter from the lobby at Columbus writes on January 5, 1848 :

" I have no doubt that the Walhonding demonstration has made friends for Gilead among the Democrats, and this indirectly injures Chester. A wonderful change has certainly taken place among the Democrats in regard to new counties. Heretofore, they have, as a party, been opposed, but the vote on Gilead shows a different feeling. On the vote to indefinitely postpone Gilead, there were for it 26 Whigs and 8 Democrats; against it, 21 Democrats and 12 Whigs."

Not to go into further tedious details, the exctillent management of the Gilead claim was exhibited by its passing one day in the absence of some of its enemies by a majority of one, and went into the Senate. To recover the ground lost, the Chester managers had a new bill introduced in the Upper House, and proposed to contest every foot of ground. Here Gilead found it necessary to rely more upon the skill of its management than upon its friends in the Senate. As late as the 21st of February, it was indefinitely postponed by a vote of 17 to 15, a vote that would have been the death of any ordinary project, but the lobby influence was indefatigable, and the bill was resuscitated and passed February 24, 1848. It is difficult to determine whether its friends or its foes were the most surprised by this denouement, and just how it was done has long been a puzzle. One vote was gained by changing the name of the proposed county. A Senator from Morrow, in the southern part of the State, who had been instructed to vote against Marshall County, said that if the Gilead people would change the name to Morruw, after the ex-Governor of that name, he could vote for it. This was accordingly done. But after waiting in vain for a favorable opportunity to catch their opponents napping, they devised a plan by which they hoped to secure a favorable vote. So, one day, when it was found that the absence of a single adverse vote would give the Gilead claim a clear field. Senator Olds, of Pickaway, who was very fond of a game of cards, was inveigled into a back room by the Gilead retainers, and got so interested in a game that he forgot his interests at the Capitol. To make his absence from the Senate certain, George N. Clark, who was one of the Gilead lobby at that time, slipped up to the door and locked it, the key being on the outside by a previous arrangement. When the bill was presented, the opposition at once sought for the missing member, but without avail, and Morrow County was erected by barely enough votes to insure success. This was done in the afternoon, and, as soon as possible thereafter, George N. Clark mounted Dr. Geller's horse to carry the news to Mount Gilead. He reached Sunbury about midnight, where he stopped to rest until morning. The people here were favorable to the Gilead claim, the cannon was brought out, fires were lighted and an impromptu jollification was held. The .next morning, Clark came on to Woodbury, where he lived. Here the cannon was brought into requisition, and after tiring themselves out they turned in and escorted the messenger to Mount Gilead. The news had preceded him along the road, and as the procession passed it gained accessions, so that in spite of the almost imp;'ssable mud, the cannon and a large concourse of people came bringing the news to the new county seat. That night the little town went wild with excitement. The cannon boomed, fires blazed and the crowds yelled themselves hoarse, while all the oratorical talent of the place was placed under tribute to add to the general cheer. The rejoicing was of a generous character, and the exultation was not so much ovt r the defeat of their opponents, as that the hope, so long deferred, had at last been realized. The Chester people, while regretting the defeat of their own measure, could, and did, heartily join in the general congratulation on the erection of the new county of Morrow.

"That so much of the counties of Marion, Delaware, Knox and Richland as are embraced within the boundaries hereinafter described be and the same are hereby erected into a separate and distinct county, which shall be known by the name of Morrow ; and the seat of justice within and for said county shall be and is hereby fixed and established at Mount Gilead, to wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of TuUy Township, in Marion County ; thence east on the township line to the southeast corner of said township, thence north on the township line to the northeast corner of said township, thence north one mile, thence east on the nearest line of lots to the northeast cornerof Section 9, in Troy Township, Richland t'ounty, thence south on the nearest line of lots with the eastern boundary lines of Franklin, Chester and Bloomfiekl Townships, in Knox County, to the southeast corner of said township of Bloomfield ; thence west with the south line of Bloomfield Township, Knox County, and Bennington and Peru Townships, Delaware County, to the southwest corner of said township of Peru ; thence north four miles, thence west along the nearest liue of lots to the west line of Oxford Township, Delaware County; thence north along the township line to the Greenville treaty line ; thence easterly along said Greenville treaty line to the southwest corner of Morven Township, Marion County ; thence north along the west line of said Morven and Tanaan Townships, Marion County, to the place of beginning, and also attaching to the county of Marion so much of tlie county of Delaware as is contained in the following boundaries, to wit : Beginning on theGrecnville treaty line at the northeast corner of Marlborough Township, Delaware County, thence south along the line between Marlborough and Westfield Townships, Delaware County, to the sonthwest corner of said Westfield Township ; thence westia a straight line to the boundary between Union and Delaware Counties ; thence north on said boundary line to the Greenville treaty line."

8Kr. 2. Provides that suits and pro.secutions pending in those portions of the several counties set off to Morrow or Marion previous to the 1st day of March, 1848, shall be prosecuted to the final judgment and execution in the same manner as if the county of Morrow had not been erected, and that all officers should so act until the first Monday in March, 1848.

Sec. .S. Provides that all Justices of the Peace, Constables and other officers in those parts of the counties set off to .Morrow and Marion Counties shall continue to discharge their duties until their term of service expires or their successors are elected.

Sec. 4. That all writs and legal processes issued in the territory recently erected the county of Morrow shall be styled of Morrow County after the 1st day of March, 1848.

Sec. 5. "That the legal voters residing within the limits of the county of Morrow shall, on the first Monday in April, 1848, assemble in their respective townships, at the usual jdaces of holding elections, and proceed to elect the different county officers (except Sheriff and Coroner, who shall be elected according to the 39th section of an act regulating elections, passed February 18, 1831), in the manner prescribed in the act regulating elections, who shall hold their offices until the next annual election, and until their successors are chosen and qualified."

Sec. 7. "That no tax shall be levied upon the property, either real or personal, of the citizens of Morrow County, for the erection of acourthouse and jail within and for said couoty until the sum of $7,000 shall liave been subscribed and paid to or expended by the County Commissioners, as donations from the citizens of said county, for the erection of public buildings; provided that if said sum of $7,000 shall not be subscribed and paid within two years from and after the passage of this act, it shall be the duty of the Commissioners of the said county of Morrow, within twenty days after the expiration of said term of two years, to give notice of such fact in some newspaper of general circulation in said county, and the ([ualified electors of said county may, at the annual spring election then ensuing, determine by ballot the location of the seat of justice for said county, and that place having in its favor a majority of all the ballots cast at such election shall thereafter be established as the seat of justice for the said county of Morrow."

Sec. 8. "Nothing in this act shall be so construed as to exonerate that portion of Knox County, hereby included in the county of Morrow, from any liability on account of any railroad subscription heretofore made by the said county of Knox, but their due proportion of said subscription shall be levied upon all property within said territory, and collected by the Treasurer of Morrow County, and be by him paid over to the Treasurer of Knox County, or such other officer or person as may be authorized by law to receive the same."

Sec. 9. " And it is hereby made the duty of the Auditor of Knox County, on or before the 1.5th day of June in each year, as long as the above tax shall be claimed, to furnish the Auditor of Morrow County with the rate per centum of the tax levied in Knox County for the purpose above named ; and upon receipt of said rate, the said Auditor of Morrow County shall add such rate to all the property, personal and real, within the above-named territory detached from Knox County, according to the value of said property as entered upon his duplicate."

Joseph S. Hawkins Chahlks B. Goddard

It is a curious study to review the history of this struggle for a new county - to note the thousand and one influences that afll'ected the general issue, to measure the power of the contestants, and mark the means used to accomplish their purposes. The contest was substantially between Chester and Gilead claims. Bennington, though supported by sufficient funds and adroitly managed by Freeman, Randolph and Morehouse, was intrinsically weak, and ignominiously collapsed when closely scrutinized. Gilead, evidently, had the largest purse, and expended, from first to last.

not far from $15,000. She had the largest force in the lobby, maintaining during the last session of the contest, six hired lobbyists, besides eight of her own citizens. The support of the Gilead claim was steady, and the burden, divided among a comparatively large number, was more easily borne. Money, when necessary, was readily secured, one or two persons contributing as high as $1,000, and some considerably more. Chester spent much less money, for the very satisfactory reason that there was less to spend. The burden of the contest fell upon a few individuals, and remittances to the lobby were made in sums of $15 to $50, and during the crisis of the contest, it was only by the indomitable courage of the managers of the claim at Columbus that Chester was kept before the Legislature. At no time did the number of their lobbyists exceed ten, and frequently, because of sickness or other causes, their number was reduced to a single representative. While their opponents dispensed a lavish hospitality, they were obliged to scan their outlays with the closest economy to pay their board at $2.50 and $3 per week. In the matter of communication with the home committees at Chesterville and Mount Gilead, during the season when the mud was almost impassable, the lobby at Columbus was often put to their wit's ends. The mail went out twice a week, but was often delayed for days at a time. Here the Gilead people, who had horses in waiting, could accomplish what the Chester people were obliged to forego, or take advantage of such opportunities as a chance visitor at the capital afforded. Other things being equal, these facts must have told strongly in favor of the Gilead claim, but it must be conceded that the Chester lobby handled their case with admirable tact, and were finally defeated by other than diplomatic means. Chester undoubtedly had the strongest prima facie showing, and commanded the strongest vote in both Houses of the Legislature, but it failed till late in the contest to get an able champion in the House. On the other hand, Gilead, though having less friends among the members of the Legislature, had an

It would naturally be supposed that, after a contest that exhausted every resource and device of the contestants, the victor would be allowed to wear its prize unchallenged forever after. Since then, however, a new aspirant for metropolitan honors has come upon the field, and has disputed the right of Mount Gilead to sit upon the seat of power. In 1873-74, a considerable agitation was begun by the people of Cardington to secure the removal of the county seat to that village. Petitions were circulated asking the Legislature to submit the subject to a vote of the people. It was claimed by the leaders in this movement that while " Mount Gilead might be a good place for the sale of dry goods, groceries, etc., it could never be made available to the farmer or mechanic as a place for heavy trade, as Mount Gilead had not got equal railroad advantages with Cardington." It was also represented that Cardington was ready to invest $50,000 in public buildings, should the county seat be moved there. The effort, though gaining considerable notoriety in the papers, fell flat upon the ear of the people, and ambition's labor was lost. The people could not see how " heavy trade ' would benefit a " seat of justice," and simply ignored the movement. The new railroad facilities that have recently been brought to Mount Gilead through the enterprise of its citizens have removed even that pretense, and the city " set upon a hill " bears her honors with unruffled serenity.

Under the act recited above. Morrow County was made up of sixteen townships of irregular shapes and sizes, varying in area from fifteen to thirty-six square miles. In the legislative sesson of 1848- 49, the smallest township was further reduced to thirteen square miles, and the regular line of the county's eastern boundary broken, by a successful effort on the part of a few discontented persons in Troy and Franklin Townships, to be set back to their original counties. The population of the county, as given in the census of two years later, is 20,280 ; in the following decade, there was a gain of only 155, and in the second decade this gain was turned into a loss of 1,789. The result of the census now being taken, il is be^ lieved, will show no appreciable gain on that of 1870. The reason for this retrograde movement in the population is not well defined. A suggestive fact is found in the change in the size of the farms in the county. At an early date, the average farm was very much smaller than now, and a large family was raised on fifty acres. This was especially true of a part of Chester Township, where this fact gave the title of "fifty-acre section" to that part of the township. The county was thus over-populated in the early settlement, and as the Western lands have come into market, the younger part of the people have gone West to find more room. The farms have gradually grown larger, and the numbers less. The census of the various townships and villages for the last three decades ending 1870 is as follows:

The first election held according to the requirements of the act erecting the county resulted in the election of Hiram T. Randolph, Auditor ; Dr. William Geller, Treasurer ; Ross Burns, Sheriff-

William S. Clements, Clerk ; William Hanna, John Doty and John T. Creigh, County Commissioners. Messrs. S. T. Cunnard, Richard Hou.se and E. B. Kinsell were appointed Associate Judges, and two years later George N. Clark was elected the first Representative from this county. These gentlemen were all prominent in the various schemes to erect a new county, and considering the antagonism between the various claims, there was a very fair division of the honors. The first meeting of the Commissioners was held in Mount Gilead, April 10, 1848, when but little was done save to give notice that several matters would come before the board in their June session, and to instruct the Auditor to settle with the Treasurers of the different original counties in regard to the new county's share of the funds in their several treasuries. The investigation showed a balance in favor of Morrow in only one instance. Marion turned over $350.77, while Knox had the balance on the other side of the ledger. During this first session of the Commissioners, a contract was concluded for the county with the Trustees of the old Baptist Church, standing on the lower square, for the use of the building for the court ; the sum of ten dollars being agreed upon for each regular term, and a dollar per day for each special session, the owners to be at all necessary expense of fitting it for the use of the court. In the June session, the Board of Commissioners heard the petitioners of certain householders living in the different fractional townships set off to form Morrow County, and, in accordance with these petitions, erected the half townships of Troy and Perry into separate organizations with their original names. Sections 10, 11 and 12, taken from Polk Township, Crawford County, were incorporated with Washington Township, and sections 7, 8 and 9, of the same township were added to North Bloomfield. The sections that were cut oft' from Oxford Township, Delaware County, were incorporated with Westfield, and the Shaw sections, of the latter township, were attached to Morven Town.ship. These are all the changes that have been made since Morrow County was formed, save in the case of Gilead and Morven, or, as now known, Cardington. The former township has ' recently received a large addition from Congress Township, and a smaller addition from Lincoln Township on thie south. Cardington has received a small addition from the northwest corner of Lincoln Township, to give the village of that name space to expand. The townships as they now stand, with their villages and post offices, with the date of their establishment, will be found in the accompanying table :

Apropos of this table, it may be said that there are now three money-order offices in this county, Mount Gilead, Cardington and Chesterville. In 1831, we find from an old post-office directory, that there were but five post offices within the territory that now belongs to Morrow County. These were VVhetsone, John Roy, Postmaster ; Cardington, Slocum H. Bunker, Postmaster ; Shauck's, John Shauck, Postmaster; Bennington, Jacob Vandeventer, Postmaster ; Westfield, George Claypool, Postmaster. The rates of postage were, according to the acts of March, 1825 and 1827, then in force, " on a letter composed of otie piece of paper" for any* distance not exceeding 30 miles, 6 cents ; over 30 miles and not exceeding 80 miles, 10 cents; over 80 miles and not exceeding 150 miles, 12J cents; over 150 miles and not exceeding 400 miles, I84 cents ; over 400 miles, 25 cents. "A letter composed of tivo pieces of pajjer was charged with double these rates ; of three pieces, with triple^ and of four pieces, with quadruple. One or more pieces of paper, mailed as a letter, and weighing an ounce, shall be charged with quadruple postage ; and at the same rate should the weight be greater." The contrast between that day and this needs no learned homily to set it forth.

The present demands of the county having been accommodated, as recounted above, the Commissioners turned their attention to providing the necessary buildings to accommodate the business of the county. Advertisements, asking for sealed proposals for the building of a brick jail building, were authorized to be inserted in the Democratic Messenger^ the only paper then published in the county; and July 7, 1849, a contract was entered into with Auld & Miller. The specifications are not given in the Commissioners' journal, but

I the structure itself suflBciently sets forth what was desired by the authorities, as it had their approval in the various stages of its building. It is a twostory, rectangular brick building, standing in the rear of the court house lot, looking very much like a dormitory attachment to a country academy. The barred windows, however, give it an ominous look on a near inspection, but from its general reputation it is not considered, by the experienced rogue, a hopeless doom to be incarcerated therein. In the latter part of 1850, it was ready for business, and has been, more or less, actively engaged ever since. The stipulated $7,000 had been paid in, partly in real estate and partly in cash ; but the Commissioners did not feel prepared to commence the work of building a court house until 1852. In the March session of that year, proposals were advertised for, and later a contract was entered into with Messrs. Auld & Miller for $10,800, the building to be completed by Janura-y 1,1854. Lots 121 and 122, of Ustic's Addition, had been selected, and on this site the building went up. In the mean while, the offices of the court and county were scattered about the town. A long, barrack-like frame building, standing where the probate office now is, accommodated the Clerk and SheriiF, the old town hall others, and a building on the west side of the upper square the rest. On January 1, 1854, the limit of the contract, the new court house was nearly completed, and in July it was accepted by the Commissioners, the contractors being paid in full the 15th of that month. The same contractors took the job of grading the yard and building the stone wall about it. The iron fence was supplied by Seaman & Benjamin Taber, at $1.25 per foot, and manufactured at their foundry, situated where the Short Line Depot now stands. The court house is a plain brick, rectangular building, standing upon a natural plateau, about four feet above the grade of the street. The end fronts on the main street, and on either side of the hall, which runs lengthwise of the building, are the offices of Sheriff, Auditor, Treasurer, Prosecuting Attorney, Clerk and Recorder. The Probate Judge shared the office of the Recorder, but it proved so inconvenient that, about 1861, the county purchased the brick law office of James Olds, built just east of the court house, where the Probate Court has since been held. The upper story of the court house is reached by a double flight of stairs in the front end of the building. Here, a good-sized court room, divided in nearly equal proportions for the accommodation of the bar and public, takes up the principal part of the building. Over the stairways on either side are comfortable jury-rooms. The accompanying cut shows the court house from the southwest corner, with the Probate Judge's office on the right, and the jail on the left.

The purchase of the " poor farm " and the erection of an infirmary is of a more recent date. The poor were originally cared for by a township tax - such care as they had. In 1848, but two townships made any such provision. Congress levying two-thirds of a mill, and Peru levying one-half a mill for this purpose. An agitation was begun as early as 1866, to provide better accommodations for this class of the community, and, under the law then existing, the proposition of purchasing land for a " poor farm " was submitted to a vote of the people. Owing to the natural jealousy or carelessness of the people, this proposition was defeated by a vote of 1612 to 927. This vote can hardly be taken as a fair expression of the people on the subject, as it is almost impossible, when the vote is by " yes " or " no," appended to a regular ticket, to get everybody to register an opinion. It is so easy to say nothing, and, as the blanks count in the negative, thereby save their conscience and money at the same time. The law on this subject was soon after changed, authorizing the Commissioners to purchase land for this purpose at their discretion, and in 1869, the subject was again made prominent. The Commissioners hesitated somewhat, in face of the vote of 1867, although heartily in favor of establishing an infirmary. They finally invited a few of the prominent citizens from each of the townships to meet at the court house, to confer on the subject. The meeting thus convened, with but a single exception, approved of the proposition, and in January, 1870,the Board boughtthe farm of W.Smith Irwin, situated two miles northeast of Mount Gilead, in Gilead Township. The farm consisted of 207 acres, situated on high, rolling ground, and admirably adapted for farming purposes. A one story and a half brick house was enlarged by the addition of a mansard roof, and in March, 1870, aeontract was made with Miller & Smith, to erect across the end of the original structure a main building of brick, three stories high, 30x50 feet, at a cost of $6,990. The building thus forming a large " T " was further enlarged in 1878, by the addition of an " L " to the original part of the building. Considerable expense has been put upon the farm in the way of i-epairs, bringing up the gross expense of the institution to about $23,000. The farm has two old orchards, beside a young orchard, containing 200 apple-trees and 100 pear-trees, which have now begun to bear fruit. A plat devoted to the culture of small fruit yields an abundant supply of blackberries and raspberries, while a herd of thirteen grade Durham cows supplies the " home " with butter, milk and cheese. The latter article is obtained from the surplus milk, that is taken to the factory recently started in Gilead. Two years ago, a thoroughbred Short-horn Durham bull was added to the stock of the place, which will prove a valuable addition. The calves are all reared for sale or use on the place. The product of the farm last year was 300 bushels of corn, 278 bushels of potatoes, 1692 bushels of wheat, 367 bushels of oats, 51 bushels of buckwheat, 30 tons of hay, 3,920^ pounds of pork, and 1,873 pounds of beef, besides the fruit, butter and milk. There are about thirty-nine inmates of the infirmary, three of whom are insane, and some seventeen are children, most of whom are natives of Morrow County. Burials from the home have been made heretofore in the "potters' field" in the cemetery at Mount Gilead, but of late the cemetery belonging to the Old School Baptist Church, at Whetstone, has been donated to the county for this purpose, and it is now being put in order by G. E. Miller, the present efficient Superintendent of the Infirmary. It is proposed to make it attractive as a cemetery, and to number each grave to correspond with the number of the deceased on the register, so that the occupant of any grave may be identified at any time.

In the accompanying table is shown the number of inmates for each year since the beginning, the townships from which they came and the totals. It will be observed that the total for 1877 far exceeds that of any other year. This is accounted for by the fact, that the pressure of the hard times had just then reached Morrow County, and there was a general disposition in all parts of the county on the part of each community to rid themselves of every burden possible. The number who have died in the infirmary is twenty-one ; the number born, six.

One of the old orchards on this place, tradition has it, was planted by that eccentric frontierphilanthropist," Johnny Appleseed." This tradition is very generally believed, and others in Chester and Washington Townships are pointed out to the stranger as originating in that way.

It ifl certain that he was a frequent visitor in this county at an early, and is well remembered by a number of persons still living in the county.

But little is known of the history of this strange character.* His proper name was Jonathan Chapman, and he was, it is supposed, a native of New England. He was a Swedenborgian in religious faith, and, it seems, became crazy on this subject, his eccentricity consisting in a peculiar gentleness toward all living creatures, and the planting of apple-seeds on the frontier far in advance of the white settlements. It was his custom to go into the older settlements of Pennsylvania at the time of making cider, and carefully gathering a peck or more of apple-seeds from the pomace, place them in a bag and start on foot for the western wilds. He was familiar with all the trails, and seemed as welcome with the Indians as with the whites. Whenever, in his wanderings, he found a fit opening, he would plant his seed, sometime in the villages of the natives, sometimes in the villages of whites, but more often in some loamy land along the bank of a stream where an open space gave promise of their growing. These plantings he frequently revisited to insure their triumph over the choking influence of grass and underbrush. The traditions of his operations are found from Wayne County in Ohio, to Fort Wayne, Indiana, a space of some two hundred miles long and fifty or sixty miles wide forming the principal scene of his labors. He was quite as earnest in the propagation of his religious views as of his apple-trees. Wherever he went, he carried and distributed books relating to his sect's peculiar tenets, and when his stock ran low he would tear a book in two, giving each part to a different person. His aim was to follow the life of the primitive Christians, taking no thought for to-morrow, and lead a moral, blameless life. " His personal appearance was as singular as his character. He was a small, chunked' ujan, quick and restless in his motions, and conversation. His beard and hair were long

* We learned, somewhat indefinitely, tJiat there is in existence a printed work supposed to be an autobiography of tliis man, but we were uniible to find it.

and dark, and his eye black and sparkling." This is hardly the picture of him remembered at the present day in Morrow County, but it may be accounted for from the fact that age had probably "dimmed the fire of his eye" before the living generation knew him. He lived the roughest kind of a life, sleeping a large part of the year in the woods with such accommodations as the bare ground or hollow log afforded. During the most severe weather of the winter, he usually spent his time in the white settlements, but even then, though barefooted, the rigor of the weather could not restrain* him from taking, short journeys here and there. In the matter of dress, he carried his eccentricity to the farthest extreme. He exchanged his seedlings for old garments, and donned them without regard to their size or design, and frequently had nothing but an inverted coffee-sack, through which he thrust his head and arms, for an outer garment. In the matter of head covering he was especially careless. At times he wore a cap fashioned from the skin of some animal or cloth, and frequently a cast-off tin can did service in preserving his head from exposure to the elements.