Greensburg, Ohio

For many years previous to the settlement of Ohio by the whites. Green Township must have been a fiivorite resort of the aboriginal race which then inhabited the State, for in the early day, man}' remains of their handiwork were found. Gen. Bierce says : " The northwest quarter of Section 25, on land purchased by Cornelius Johnston of the United States in 1813, appears to have been a favorite huntingground of the Indians, as arrow-heads, hatchets, skinning knives and other implements have i been found there in great abundance. From ' the numerous flint chips found on that quarter j of the section, it would seem to have been a : place for manufacturing their stone hatchets I and arrow-heads. Where they found the stone is unknown. This spot seems to have been se- ! lected on account of its being light-timbered, clear from underbrush, and elevated a little above the surrounding lands. Scattered over ; this elevated plateau were found piles of stones, varying in size from a man's fist to his head, and arranged in heaps of from four to six feet to a little larger or smaller. Tradition assigns i to them the honor of holding the ashes of some ! warrior or chief, but as no bones or human remains have ever been found in them, I am inclined to think them altars, on which they sacrificed to their gods, and the spirits of their departed braves. Among all the tribes sacrifices were common. Tradition saj-s that one of the early settlers in Green attempted to desecrate one of the altars, but after throwing down three or four feet of it, and when he was, as he supposed, about to accomplish his object, he was seized with a supernatural fear, and abandoned the enterprise." Previous to the war of 1812, Indians were quite plenty in the township, but as they sided with the British the}' were compelled by the white settlers to leave, and since then an Indian has rarely been seen within the limits of Green. Man}' families who located after the war declare the red men had all left when they came from Pennsylvania. The remains of their old forts and wigwams were seen as late as 1855, according to Gen. Bierce, at the head-waters of the Nimishilla, on Sections 36 and 25. They also occupied several camps near Turkey Foot Lake, and what is now the reservoir, in 1809, when the Kepler family first located in the township. " Among the celebrated Indians who used this township for a hunting-ground was a chief called by the whites ' Beaver Hat.' He had a settlement at what is how the south part of the village of Wooster, where the Baptist burying-ground now is. His Indian name was Paupellnan, and his settlement he called ' Apple Chanquecake,' or apple orchard. He was a bitter enemy of the whites, and, when drunk, he would take out a string with thirteen white men's tongues on it, dried, and exhibit them with much pride. One day he got out his string of tongues, and began to shake them, when George Harter took his rifle and started after him, sa3ing he would go and kill a buck. The report of a rifle was soon after heard, but he brought back no game, nor was Beaver Hat ever heard of more." - Bierce. Harter lived immediately south of Section 16 land for a few years at an early day. Most of the original permanent white settlers of Green Township were Pennsylvania Dutch and their descendants, and the cast and tone of morals and society still retain a decidedl}' German character. The citizens are honest, frugal, industrious and wealth}'. Although the dialect of the Pennsj-lvania Dutch is to a great extent the medium of communication between the residents of the township, it is seldom an inhabitant is found who cannot understand when asked a question in English, and these exeepik^ tional cases are generally the aged and infirm. Many of the early settlers and their children refused to adopt the advanced ideas and new improvements advocated by the genius of the most progressive nation known to history, and many of these old fellows died still clinging to their old notions of the past, but occasionally one still living and blessed with wealth will declai'e how little he cares for those glories of the nation as shown by mighty works of architectural grandeur ; and this poor mortal will expect you to accord to him a meed of praise and make a virtue of his ignorance. But the descendants of these men have, by mingling with a different race, caught the spirit of progress which will in future years bring forth a rich harvest, for by uniting to the bone and muscle the industry and frugalit}- of the German, the refinement and progressive spirit of the Yankee, a generation will be born in Green that will i-ank with the best bone, muscle and mind of the country.

Passage source: History of Summit County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

There is considerable ignorance among many old pioneers of Green in regard to the first family that settled in the township. Gen. Bierce in his history stated that " it was John Kepler, who came in the fall of 1809." This is a slight error ; Kepler was the first person to purchase Government land and make a permanent settlement, but when he arrived in 1805), there were several families temporarily located on Section 16 land. These were John Cruzen, David Hartman, Bazil Viers, the Dixons, the Triplets, and their families. This statement is made on the authority of Jacob Kepler, son of John, Mrs. Mary Paulner and Mrs. Sarah Warner, daughters of Andrew Kepler, and John Buchtel. The former three are over seventyfive years of age, and came with their parents in 1809 and 1810. Mr. Buchtel was twelve years old when he settled in Green, shortly after the Keplers did. Both John and Andrew, sons of Andrew, deny this statement and declare that no other families were living in Green Township when the Keplers came, but Andrew was not born till 1815, and consequently obtains his knowledge through other parties, and John says he was only three years old when his fiither moved to Ohio. Very little is known of some who located temporarily on these school lands at an early day. They were generally very poor, and the Trustees of the township permitted them to live on Section 16 lands if they would each year put a certain amount of improvements upon the farms they occupied. There is some doubt in regard to which family first located on these lands. Mrs. John Hunsberger, of Greensburg, a daughter of William Triplet, relates that her father always claimed that either he or John Cruzen was the first settler of the township. The wives of these two men were cousins. Cruzen had a large family of children. He once killed an elk near a small stream which was afterward named Elk Run. This spot was one mile and a half southwest of Greensburg Village on the farm now owned by Widow Beltz. It is claimed that this was the only elk ever killed in this section of the State, but a pair of elk-horns were afterward found on old Philip Hartong's farm. Cruzen remained in Green Township

Passage source: History of Summit County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

William Triplet, who was the second settler of the township if Cruzen was the first, appeared about 1807. By the statements of John Buchtel and Mrs. Sarah Warner, he came several years previous to 1809 (the year John Kepler located in the township). William was the son of Joseph Triplet, who also settled in Grreen with his family' a short time after his son did. Joseph was born in England, and for many years followed the sea as a captain's cook. By his first wife he had three children - Hetty, John and Charles ; they did not remove to Green with the father. The two sons left for the West before their father did, and were never heard of afterward. Joseph's second wife was a Miss Drake, of Mar^^land. He followed butchering in Baltimore, then moved to South Branch, Ya., where his daughter Hett}' married a man named Wolf Joseph removed to Pennsylvania, then located for a short time in Ohio, near Steubenville, and afterward in Green Township. This old gentleman must have spent much of his time moving ; he finally died about the year 1825, aged seventy-one, at the residence of his son William, in Coventry Township. He dressed in buckskin, with coat, pantaloons and vest of that material ; wore moccasins on his feet and a fur cap, made from wild-cat, otter or raccoon skin, on his head. Bj' his second wife, Joseph had eight children, all of these were early settlers of Green Township. They were William, the first or second settler of Green ; James died in Coventr}^ ; Polly, married Simeon Payne and removed to Licking County ; Abraham, settled inDe Kalb County, Ind.; Betsy, married Jonathan Potts, and they moved West ; Sallie, married Samuel Hanes, they settled in Brimfield Township ; Solomon, who traveled with a circus at an early da}', and afterward located in Licking County ; Jacob moved to Indiana. These eight children of Joseph Triplet are all dead. Many incidents are related in regard to this family. When they first located in Green Township, they had to secure all supplies at Steubenville, and secured their grist at a mill on the Sandy Biver, until the old '' tub-mill " was built at Middlebury. It is said that William Triplet would plow all day with his horse, and turn it out to pasture at uight, but the wolves being very troublesome, it was necessary to guard the animal, and Triplet would lay down near the animal with his rifle, remaining all night near the faithful beast, in order to protect it. One day the Triplets heard their pigs squealing, and when William visited the pen to investigate matters, he discovered a bear walking off with a fine article of bacon ; Bruin alwaj's relished pork meat, and never failed to make the settlers uneasy in regard to the safety' of their winter supply. An Indian squaw paid a visit to the Triplet family on one occasion, and greatly admired the dress worn by little John Triplet ; the effect of her covetousness was that she stripped the white child, and adorned her own papoose with the stolen clothing. William once shot at a deer and missed it ; he followed the animal for a short distance, and was suddenly confronted by an Indian, who exclaimed, " Whoa ! see me buck ? " This unexpected appearance of the native who desired information in regard to ' his buck " cooled the ardor of the white deer- hunter, and he relinquished all claim to the animal he desired to capture. The Indians claimed all the game in the forests, and when the whites commenced to settle the county, the red men appeared moi'e frequentl}' on this portion of their hunting-ground, in order to secure as much of their '' own property " as they could. W^illiam Triplet was drafted during the war of 1812 ; that is, ever}' able-bodied man was expected to turn out and })rotect the settlement fi'om the British and Indians. Triplet visited Canton, but was so sick that the doctor exclaimed, " We don't want any such looking men as you are ! '" and William was sent home. The Triplets lived on Section 16 land for six or seven years, then moved to Coventry Township, where Joseph and his son William died. The latter married Mary Dixon, daughter of Thomas Dixon, an early settler of Green Township. William Triplet was the father of nine children - John, Hetty, Cynthia, Joshua, Eliza, William, Amanda, Marian and Sophia. The eldest, John, is now a resident of Coventry Township ; Cynthia is now living in Greensburg, the wife of John Hunsberger. These are the onl}' two of Triplet's children now living in Summit County. Another early settler on Section 16 land was Thomas Dixon. John Buchtel thinks that the Dixons were the first settlers of Green Township. They appeared about the same time the Triplets did, and the two families were connected by marriage. Thomas was a weaver by trade, and his daughter Ann assisted him at this occupation. The Dixons had previously lived near Steubenville, Ohio. Thomas had five daughters and four sons - Marj' Dixon married William Triplet ; Ann married Bazil Viers ; Betsy married Jacob Smith ; Margaret married David Hartman ; the fifth daughter, Jane, died, being unmarried. Triplet, Viers, Hartman and Smith were early settlers in Green ; the first three lived on Section 16 land, near their father in-law. Very little is known in regard to Hartman and Viers, but it is related of old " Grann}' " Viers, possibly the mother of Bazil, that she was a good hand to call on in case of sickness, and once, when a cow in the neighborhood was bitten bj' a snake, old granny collected some herbs and cured the valuable beast. It is to be hoped that many other good deeds were recorded for this old lady in the " good book above," for she passed over the river fifty years ago. Thomas Dixon afterward removed to Coventry Township, with his two sons-in-law, Triplet and Viers, and died about the year 1822. Dixon's four sons were Liberton, Michael, James and John ; the latter died at New Portage ; James and Michael removed to Richland Count}-.

Passage source: History of Summit County, with an Outline Sketch of Ohio, published 1881.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Green City - it names this place 10 more 10 times.