Wolf Creek, Ohio

In March, 1802, the Palmers moved to the tract of land now under consideration. They settled on the land now occupied by Brown's Mill post office. The head of the family was Joseph Palmer, born in Windom, Connecticut, January 13, 1761, with his wife Hannah Fox, who was born in Windom August 2, 1763. His removal was from Rutland county, Vermont, where he had been a resident. The family came to King's settlement, at the head of the Allegheny river. Accompanied by Messrs. Howe, Prouty, Thaddeus, Pond, and Elijah Pond, they made their way down the rivers to Marietta in Keel-boats in the fall of 1801. On the way an accident occurred in the rapids, upsetting the boat containing the Palmers, spilling out their effects and giving the occupants a cool, but not dangerous bath. Jerusha Palmer, then a little girl, was rescued by Mr. Howe. The Palmers then consisting of the two parents and their children Joseph, Jabez, Jerusha, Isaac, and perhaps Ephraim, went immediately to the settlement at Wolf Creek mills. Winter was at hand and some place to spend it had to be found immediately. Mr. Palmer finally decided upon a building that had been used as a shelter for sheep. As might be expected, it was not in condition to suit the notions of a housekeeper who had any regard for cleanliness, but it was soon put in condition for occupation. Arriving at Palmer next spring, they found in the well known pine grove that then occupied the place, a man before them. He was one of that profession that in those days found employment in gathering knots from the pine trees and burning them for the tar they afforded. This man's name was Mallery - a singular character in some respects - well known in the Waterford settlement. He was a bachelor and had constructed a very neat lodge in the vast pine wilderness, and as he was through his work there Mr. Palmer ushered in his family and began in earnest the life of a settler. The first care was to provide a more commodious and permenent shelter for a large family than that afforded by a bachelor's shanty, which was done. In the spring of the following year, 1803, the last child of the family, Elizabeth, was born. In 1805 or 1806 another log cabin was built by Mr. Palmer, into which they soon moved. By the year 1810 Mr. Palmer had constructed a third house, of hewed pine logs, two stories in height, and in this the family lived until the death of its builder, in 1831, in his seventy-first year. Then Isaac Palmer built and lived in a two-story frame building, now remodelled and occupied by A. F. Breckenridge. Joseph Palmer, sr., was quite a prominent character in the settlement that he had helped to found. He was the first justice of the peace. In 1807 he was sent to the legislature as a representative of Washington county. Towards the close of his life his brain became affected, the general opinion being that this misfortune originated from too assiduous duties performed while at Columbus. His wife survived him five years and died at the age of seventy-three years.

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

For a period of seven years, more or less, no additional families came to the settlement. Finally, in 1813, Joseph Atkinson with his wife, a niece of Paul Fearing, moved in from Waterford. His children were John, Luan, Frank, Deborah, and a little girl whose name is not known. Atkinson was a disorderly character. Returning intoxicated from Wolf Creek mills one evening in 1818, he fell by the roadside and died from exposure. There he was found by one of his sons.

Passage source: History of Washington County, Ohio, published 1881.

Samuel Brown was a brother of General Brown, of Athens, and learned his trade of Sharp & Hunt, for whom he worked in the construction of Wolf Creek mills. Hiett had a cabin put up, in which he intended to live when his mill should be finished. Brown and his family occupied it during the building of.the mill, and continued to remain there upon his purchase of the mill. Mr. Brown did not make such a financial success of his business as a less sympathetic man would have done. Never a needy person, however, unable to pay, came to his mill and went away empty handed. After the sale of his mill, he lived with his son-in-law, a Frenchman, named Eugene Pierrot. Brown's first wife was Mary Poole, who died in Athens county. Her children were Sophia, Lucinda, Affa, and Alvina. By his second wife, Sarah Jenkins, his children were: Mary and Amy. Samuel Brown died in 1872, aged ninety-one years. His last wife died in 1856, aged sixty-four.

Passage source: History of Washington County, 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 Palmer Township - it names this place 1 more 1 time.