Athens Township (part 19 of 21)

"*It was then a theory of Jefferson's that the extension of slavery diluted and weakened it. He desired, or at least professed to desire, its extinction,

THe was born near Marietta, July 12, 1813; wasa member of the Ohio legislature from 1844 to 1846, officiating as speaker of the house during his last term; was a member of the constitutional convention of 1850; afterwards was for some years president of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad Company; was elected in 1860 a representative to the 37th congress, and has been for a few years past again officially connected with the above mentioned railroad.

In 1818 Judge Cutler again appeared in public life as a member of the Ohio legislature from Washington county. We regret that we can not exhibit in detail his noble services at this period of his life; we can only state the results. He succeeded in changing the land tax system from a direct tax to an ad valorem basis. Prior to 1824 the whole burden of state taxes was laid on the lands as a direct tax, levied by the acre and without reference to value. Consequently thinly populated counties like Athens and Washington actually paid more into the treasury than wealthy and populous counties like Hamilton: and Butler. The system was grossly unequal and oppressive. Judge Cutler's clear vision enabled him to perceive this, and he labored long and successfully to change it, so that taxes should be assessed on the whole property of the people according to value. |

His other great achievement at this time was the establishment of an excellent common school system. The first public allusion to education in Ohio is found in an oration by Solomon Drown, delivered at Marietta, April 7th, 1789. The first memorial on behalf of the general interest of public schools read in the Ohio legislature was offered in 1816, by the Rev. Samuel P. Robbins, of Marietta, but prior to 1820 there was no organized sentiment in the state on the subject of common schools, and no general legislation. In and support of common schools, but it did not provide any adequate revenue for their maintenance, and was by no means an efficient system. The common school question was an issue in the elections of 1824. Several ardent advocates of a thorough system were elected, among them Judge Cutler, as senator from Washington county. We do not aver that he alone deserves the credit for the success of the measure in the legislature of 1824-5, but he was the acknowledged leader of the friends of common schools, and his experience in public affairs and as a legislator rendered his services of the greatest value. On the sth of February, 1825, an excellent school bill, providing a thorough system and liberal support therefor by taxation, was passed by the legislature. When the vote in the senate was taken, Judge Cutler and Mr. Nathan Guilford (senator from Cincinnati, who was an ardent and able friend of the cause, and who drafted the bill), were standing side by side. When the result was announced, a majority for the bill of twenty-two votes, Judge Cutler turned to Mr. Guilford, and, with great solemnity and earnestness, said: ''Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

The latter years of Judge Cutler's life were spent quietly at his place in Washington county, amid the enjoyments of home and the affectionate attention of

George Ewing, commonly called during his residence in the county Lieut. Ewing, was, it is believed, the first white settler within the bounds of what is now Ames township. A native of Salem, New Jersey, he entered the continental army at the beginning of the revolutionary war, and served with credit during its whole course. For his bravery and good conduct he received, soon after entering the service, a commission as first lieutenant of the Jersey Line, which position he held till the return of peace. Shortly after the conclusion of the war he emigrated to what is now Ohio county, West Virginia, which then constituted the very frontier of civilization, and was, with the surrounding region, the scene of many a bloody conflict between the ** Long- Knives" and the red men. After a few years' residence here he removed with his wife and young family, in 1793, to the Waterford settlement, on the Muskingum river, where he passed a year or two in the block house, until the danger from Indian attacks, then imminent, had passed. In the spring of 1798, Lieutenant Ewing, encouraged and assisted by Judge Cutler, removed his family to a place seventeen miles northwest of the frontier settlements, in what is now Ames township, and became the pioneer of that section of country. He settled on what is now known as the Thomas Gardiner farm. During the period of his residence here he was an active supporter of schools and every means of developing and improving the commu- nity. He was chosen township trustee at the first election, in 1802, and in after years filled that position and the office of township clerk. He was fond of reading, possessed a bright and active mind, and a fund of sterling sense, combined with lively wit and good humor. In 1818 he removed to Perry county, Indiana, where he died about the year 1830.

Thomas Ewing, son of the last named, was born in Ohio county, West Virginia, December 28th, 1789. The following autobiographical sketch, kindly furnished for these pages by this now great and venerable man, will be read with especial interest:

My father settled in what is now Ames township, Athens county, early in April, 1798. He removed from the mouth of Olive Green creek, on the Muskingum river, and the nearest neighbor with whom he had association, was, in that direction, distant about eighteen miles. There were a few families settled, about the same time, on or near the present site of the town of Athens, but no road or even pathway led to them ; the distance was about twelve miles. There was also an old pioneer hunter encamped at the mouth of Federal creek; distant about ten miles. This, as far as I know, comprised the population statistics of what is now Athens county. I do not know the date of the settlement in what was called No. 5 - Cooley's settlement - it was early.

At the time of my father's removal; I was with my aunt, Mrs. Morgan, near West Liberty, Virginia, going to school. I was a few months in my ninth year. Early in the year 1798, I think in May, my uncle brought me home. We descended the Ohio river in a flat boat to the mouth of Little Hocking, which the rough old dame spread for me, and in the morning my uncle engaged a son of our host, a boy of eighteen, who had seen my father's cabin, to pilot us.

I was now at home, and fairly an inceptive citizen of the future Athens county. The young savage, our pilot, was much struck with some of the rude implements of civilization which he saw my brother using, especially the auger, and expressed the opinion that with an axe and an auger a man could make everything he wanted except a gunand bullet molds. My brother was engaged in making some bedsteads. He had already finished a table, in the manufacture of which he had used also an adze to smooth the plank, which he split in good width from straight grained trees. Transportation was exceedingly difficult, and our furniture, of the rudest kind, composed of articles of the first necessity. Our kitchen utensils were **the big kettle," * the little kettle," the bake oven, frying pan, and pot; the latter had a small hole in the bottom which was mended with a button, keyed with a nail through the eye on the outside of the pot. We had no table furniture that would break - little of any kind. Our meat - bear meat, or raccoon, with venison or turkey, cooked together and seasoned to the taste (a most savory dish) - was cut up in morsels and placed in the centre of the table, and the younger members of the family, armed with sharpened sticks, helped themselves about as well as with fourtined forks ; great care was taken in selecting wholesome sticks, as sassafras, spice-bush, hazel, or hickory. Sometimes the children were allowed, by way of pic-nic, to cut with the butcherknife from the fresh bear meat and venison their slices and stick them, alternately, on a sharpened spit and roast before a fine hickory fire; this made a most royal dish. Bears, deer, and raccoons remained in abundance, until replaced by herds of swine. The great west would have settled slowly without corn and hogs. A bushel of seed wheat will produce, at the end of ten months, fifteen or twenty bushels; a bushel of corn, at the end of five months, four hundred bushels, and it is used to much advantage for the last two months. Our horned cattle do not double in a year; hogs, in the same time, increase twenty fold. It was deemed almost sacrilege to kill a sheep, and I remember well the first beef I tasted. I thought it coarse and stringy compared with venison. We had wild fruits of several varieties, very abundant, and some of them exceedingly fine. There was a sharp ridge quite near my father's house, on which I had selected four or five service or juneberry bushes, that I could easily climb, and kept an eye on them till they should get fully ripe. At the proper time, I went with one of my sisters to gather them, but a bear had been in advance of me. The limbs of all the bushes were brought down to the trunk like a folded umbrella, and the berries all gone; there were plenty still in the woods for children and bears, but few so choice or easy of access as these. We had a great variety of wild plums, some exceedingly fine - better, to my taste, than the best tame varieties. I have not seen any of the choice varieties within the last thirty years.

We, of course, had no mills. The nearest was on Wolf creek, about fourteen miles distant'; from this we brought our first summer's supply of breadstuffs. After we gathered our first crop of corn my father instituted a hand mill which, as a kind of common property, supplied the neighborhood, after we had neighbors, for several years, until Christopher Herrold set up a horse mill on the ridge, and Henry Barrows a water mill near the mouth of Federal creek.

For the first year I was a lonely boy. My brother George, eleven years older than I, was too much a man to be my companion, and my sisters could not be with me, generally, in the woods and among the rocks and caves; but a small spaniel dog, almost as intelligent as a boy, was always with me. I was the reader of the family, but we had few books. I remember but but one beside " Watts' Psalms and Hymns" that a child

Our first neighbor was Capt. Benjamin Brown, who had been an officer in the Revolutionary war. He was a man of strong intellect, without much culture. He told me many anecdotes of the war which interested me, and, among other things that I remember, gave me an account of Doctor Jenner's then recent discovery of the kine pox as a preventive of the small pox, better than I have ever yet read in any written treatise, and I remember it better than any account which I have since read. He lent me a book - one number of a periodical called the * Athenian Oracle" - something like our modern ** Notes and Queries," from which, however, I learned but little. I found, too, a companion in his son, John, four years my senior, still enjoying sound health in his ripe old age.

In 180r, some one of my father's family being ill, Dr. Baker, who lived at Waterford, eighteen miles distant, was called in. He took notice of me as a reading boy, and told me he had a book he would lend me if I would come for it. I got leave of my father and went, the little spaniel being my traveling companion. The book was a translation of Virgil, the Bucolics and Georgics torn out, but the Æneid perfect. I have not happened to meet with the translation since, and do not know whose it was. The opening lines, as I remember them, were -

* Arms and the man I sing who first from Troy, Came to the Italian and Lavinian shores, Exiled by fate, much tossed by land and sea, By power divine and cruel Juno's rage;

Mucb, too, in war, he suffered, till he reared A city, and to Latium brought his gods - Hence sprung his Latin progeny, the kings OF Alba, and the walls of towering Rome."

When I returned home with my book, and for some weeks after, my father had hands employed in clearing a new field. On Sundays, and at leisure hours I read to them, and never had a more attentive audience. At that point in the narrative, where

Æneas discloses to Dido his purpose of leaving her, and tells her of the vision of Mercury bearing the mandate of Jove, one of the men sprang to his feet, declared he did not believe a word of that - he had got tired of her, and it was all a made up story as an excuse to be off - and it was a d d shame after what she had done for him. So the reputation of Æneas suffered by that day's reading.

Our next neighbors were Ephraim Cutler, Silvanus Ames, William Brown, a married son of the Captain; and, four or five miles distant, Nathan Woodbury, George Wolf, and Christopher Herrold - and about the same time, or a little later, Silas Dean, a rich old bachelor, Martin Boyles, and John and Samuel McCune. Mr. Cutler and my father purchased ** Morse's Geography," the first edition, about 1800, for his oldest son, Charles, and myself - it in effect became my book, as Charles never used it, and I studied it most intently. By this, with such explanations as my father gave me, I acquired quite a competent knowledge of geography, and something of general history.

About this time the neighbors in our and the surrounding settlements, met and agreed to purchase books and to make a common library. They were all poor, and subscriptions small, but they raised in all about one hundred dollars. All my accumulated wealth, ten coon-skins, went into the fund, and Squire Sam, Brown, of Sunday creek, who was going to Boston, was charged with the purchase. After an absence of many weeks, he brought the books to Capt. Ben. Brown's in a sack on a pack horse. I was present at the untying of the sack and pouring out of the treasure. There were about sixty volumes, I think, and well selected ; the library of the Vatican was nothing to it, and there never was a library better read. This, with occasional additions, furnished me with reading while I remained at home.

We were quite fortunate in our schools. Moses Everett, a graduate of Yale, but an intemperate young man, who had been banished by his friends, was our first teacher; after him,

Charles Cutler, a brother of Ephraim, and also a graduate of Yale. They were learned young men and faithful to their vocation. They boarded aiternate weeks with their scholars, and made the winter evenings pleasant and instructive. After Barrows' mill was built at the mouth of Federal creek, I being the mill boy, used to take my two-horse loads of grain in the evening, have my grist ground, and take it home in the morning. There was an eccentric person living near the mill whose name was Jones (we called. him Doctor); he was always dressed in deer-skin, his principal vocation being hunting, and I always found him in the evening, in cool weather, lying with his feet to the fire. He was a scholar, banished no doubt for intemperance; he had books, and finding my fancy for them, had me read to him, while he lay drying his feet. He was fond of - poetry, and did something to correct my pronunciation and prosody. Thus, the excessive use of alcohol was the indirect means of furnishing me with school teachers.

My father entertained the impression that I would one day be a scholar, though quite unable to lend me any pecuniary aid. I grew up with the same impression until, in my nineteenth year, I almost abandoned hope. On reflection, however, I determined to make one effort to earn the means to procure an education. Having got the summer's work well disposed of, I asked of my father leave to go for a few months and try my fortune. He consented, and I set out on foot next morning, made my way through the woods to the Ohio river, got on a keel boat as a hand at small wages, and in about a week landed at Kanawha salines. I engaged and went to work at once, and in three months satisfied myself that I could earn money slowly but surely, and on my return home in December, 1809, I went to Athens and spent three months there as a student, by way of testing my capacity. I left the academy in the spring with a sufficiently high opinion of myself, and returned to Kanawha to earn money to complete my education. This year I was successful, paid off some debts which troubled my father, and returned home and spent the winter with the new books which had accumulated in the library, which, with my father's aid, I read to much advantage. I went to Kanawha the third year, and after a severe summer's labor I returned home with about six hundred dollars in money, but sick and exhausted. Instead, however, of sending for a physician, I got Don Quixote, a recent purchase, from the library, and laughed myself well in about ten days. I then went to Athens, entered as a regular student, and continued my studies there till the spring of 1815, when I left, a pretty good though an irregular scholar. During my academic term I went to Gallipolis and taught school a quarter and studied French.* I found my funds likely to fall short,

* While pursuing his studies, Mr. Ewing was also occasionally employed by the commissioners of Athens county as a surveyor, to run country roads, and such entries as the following appear in the records of that period:

« March 7th, 1814. A petition signed by George Ewing and others, praying for a road, beginning at the Thirty-One mile tree in Ames township, on the state road; thence passing through the west part of Amos Linscott's improvement, to the mouth of Ewing's run ; thence to intersect the Lancaster road near Abel Glazier's. Read in open meeting. Order issued."

« March 8th. The commissioners appoint Thomas Ewing surveyor, and Jehiel Gregory, Jr., John White, and Stephen Pilcher viewers of said road, to meet at the house of Jno. Brown, Esq., in Ames township, on Monday, March 21, at 10 o'clock, 4. m."

« June 6th, 1815. The Board appointed George Walker, John Brown 2d, and Ezra Green viewers, and Thomas Ewing surveyor of the road petitioned for by Elisha Alderman and others, in Ames township." and went a fourth time to Kanawha, where, in six weeks, I earned one hundred and fifty dollars, which I thought would suffice, and returned to my studies; after two years' rest the severe labor in the salines this time went hard with me.

After finishing my studies at Athens, I read Blackstone's Commentaries at home, and in July, 1815, went to Lancaster to study law. A. B. Walker, then a boy of about fifteen years, accompanied me to Lancaster to bring back my horse, and I remained and studied law with Gen. Beecher. I was admitted to the bar in August, 1816, after fourteen months' very diligent study - the first six months about sixteen hours a day.

« July 17th, 1815. County of Athens to Thomas Ewing, Dr. To surveying and protracting the above road, including chain carriers, axemen, &c. - - - - - - $4 10"

Mr. Ewing says he was, on leaving college, **a pretty good, though an irregular scholar." The extent of his education is somewhat shown by the following extract from the records of the Ohio university :

* May 3d, 1815. The committee appointed by the board of trustees to examine Thomas Ewing and John Hunter, condidates for a degree of bachelor of arts and sciences, beg leave to report:

That they have examined the applicants aforesaid in the different branches of literature, viz: in grammar, rhetoric, the languages, natural and moral philosophy, logic, astronomy, geography, and the various branches of mathematics, and that they have witnessed with much gratification the proficiency made by the before named students. They therefore report the following resolutions:

1. Resolved, That the said Thomas Ewing and John Hunter merit the approbation of the board of trustees, and that they are each entitled to a degree of bachelor of arts and sciences.

2. That the president be authorized and required to inform the said Thomas Ewing and John Hunter that they are each so entitled to such degree in this sem- 'inary, and your committee recommend that the same be conferred.

Stephen Lindley

I made my first speech at Circleville, the November following. Gen. Beecher first gave me slander case to study and prepare. I spent much time with it, but time wasted, as the cause was continued the first day of the court. He then gave me a case of contract, chiefly in depositions, which I studied diligently, but that also was continued; a few minutes afterward a case was called, and Gen. Beecher told me that was ready - the jury was sworn, witnesses called, and the cause went on. In the examination of one of the witnesses, I thought I discovered an important fact not noticed by either counsel, and I asked leave to cross-examine further. I elicited the fact which was decisive of the case. This gave me confidence. I argued the cause closely and well, and was abundantly congratulated by the members of the bar who were present.

My next attempt was in Lancaster. Mr. Sherman, father of the general, asked me to argue a cause of his, which gave room for some discussion. I had short notice, but was quite successful, and, the cause being appealed, Mr. Sherman sent his client to employ me with him. I had as yet got no fees, and my funds were very low. This November I attended the Athens court. I had nothing to do there, but met an old neighbor, Elisha Alderman, who wanted me to go to Marietta, to defend his brother, a boy, who was to be tried for larceny. It was out of my intended beat, but I wanted business and fees, and agreed to go for $25, of which I received $10 in hand. I have had several fees since of $10,000 and upwards, but never one of which I felt the value, or in truth as valuable to me as this. I went, tried my boy, and he was convicted, but the court granted a new trial. On my way to Marietta at the next term I thought of a ground of excluding the evidence, which had escaped me on the first trial. It was not obvious, but sound. I took it, excluded the evidence and acquitted my client. "This caused a sensation. I was employed at once in twelve penitentiary cases, under indictment at that term, for making and passing counterfeit money, horse stealing and perjury. Asa professional man my fortune was thus briefly made.

he was appointed by the commissioners prosecutor for Athens county, and continued for many years to attend the courts of Athens regularly. His eminent abilities soon gave him a commanding position among the lawyers of Ohio, and in 1830 he was elected to the United States senate, where he remained till 1837. He was a member of President Harrison's cabinet, as secretary of the treasury, in 1841. On the accession of President Taylor, in 1849, he was invited into the cabinet, and became secretary of the interior. In 1850 he was appointed United States senator from Ohio, holding the position till 1851, when he retired from public life and"resumed the practice of law. Asa lawyer, orator, publicist and statesman, Thomas Ewing ranks among the greatest the United States has produced, and Athens county may well be proud to have nourished,

Capt. Benjamin Brown, father of General John, and of Judge A. G. Brown, and one of the most prominent among the early settlers of Ames, was born October 17, 1745, at Leicester, Massachusetts. His grandfather, William Brown, came from England to America while a youth, was the first settler in the town of Hatfield, on the Connecticut river, and was often engaged father of Benjamin, served with credit in the colonial army during the French war, and represented the town of Leicester in the Massachusetts legislature during, and for many years after, the revolutionary war. In February, 1775, Benjamin Brown, then thirty years old, joined a regiment of minute men, and two months later was engaged in active hostilities. In May he was commissioned a lieutenant in Colonel Prescott's regiment of the Massachusetts line, and in June participated in the battle of Bunker's Hill. Two of his brothers, Pearly and John Brown, were also engaged in this battle, the latter being dangerously wounded in two places, and borne off the field during the engagement. This brother Pearly was subsequently killed at the battle of White Plains, and another brother, William, died in hospital. In January, 1777, Lieut. Brown was commissioned a captain in the eighth regiment Massachusetts line. His regiment took a very active part in the operations directed against Burgoyne during the summer of 1777, and Capt. Brown was engaged in nearly all of the battles that preceded Burgoyne's surrender, in some of which he particularly distinguished himself by his gallantry and daring. A short time after this he was offered the position of aide-de-camp on Baron Steuben's staff, but declined it, fearing that his military knowledge was inadequate. In 1779, compelled by the necessities of his family and other personal reasons, he

York, then a new settlement, whence he again migrated in the fall of 1796, and sought a home in the northwestern territory. He reached Marietta in the spring of 1797, and in 1799 came to Ames township, in company with Judge Cutler, as elsewhere stated. He was one of the prominent citizens during the time he resided in Ames, holding various township offices, and contributing largely to the advancement of the settlement. In 1817, his health becoming feeble, he went to live with his son, Gen. John Brown, in Athens, and here he died in October, 1821.

His wife, whom he married in Massachusetts in 1772, and who bore him a large family of children, died at Athens in 1840, aged eighty-six years.

John Brown (nephew of Capt. Brown), born February 10, 1774, at Leicester, Massachusetts, married Miss Polly Green, of Spencer, Massachusetts, in 1797, and set out for the Ohio Company's purchase in the autumn of 1801. He brought his young family and few effects over the mountains, with one horse, in a little wagon, and, when descending difficult places in the road, attached a small tree to the rear end of his wagon, to act as a break, or lock. When he reached Wheeling, on the Ohio river, after a most toilsome journey, he proceeded down the river toward his destination. His second son, Lemuel Green Brown, was born the day after their landing, near Marietta, and the head of the family found himself in these rather difficult circumstances, with but fifty cents in his pocket. As soon as practicable he resumed travel, and reached Ames township in March, 1802. He first settled on the farm now owned and occupied by the heirs of Stephen Green, where he lived for a short time, and thence moved to where John D. Brown now lives. He was soon elected a justice of the peace, and was frequently re-elected, holding the position, altogether, twenty-seven years. He was also at one time one of the appraisers of the college lands in this county, and of the same in Miami county. In 1811 he built a brick house on his farm in Ames (one of the first brick houses, if not the first, erected in this part of the county), where for many years he kept public house. Being situated on the principal thoroughfare from Marietta westward, it was, during fifteen or twenty years, much resorted to by travelers. The building was standing till within a few years. Of excellent business capacity, and of a kind and genial nature, Mr. Brown was always able and willing to relieve the poor and help the distressed. His house was at all times open for religious services, and a list was made of seventy-two preachers, who, at different times, had held meetings there. He was twice married,

Pearly Brown, oldest son of the preceding, was born in Massachusetts, July 24, 1798, and was four years old when brought to this county. In the year 1819 he married Eliza Hulbert (who is still living), and settled in Ames township, on a new farm, given him by his father. A hard-working and energetic man, he soon improved his circumstances, and laid the foundation for a competence. To afford some idea of the prices that - prevailed when he was a young man, Mr. Brown states that he worked a week for Judge Currier, in Athens, in 1823, at 314 cents a day, and at Saturday night was paid in two tin cups at 25 cents each; a quarter of a pound of tea, 50 cents; one pound of coffee, 50 cents, and 373 cents in money - making $1.873 - with which valuables he walked home - ten miles. While yet living with his father, in 1814 or 1815, he was hired to carry the mail, with two other riders, between Marietta and Chillicothe, the distance being about one hundred miles, and to make three trips a week, or two hundred miles a week for each rider; for which service he received $6 a month. He cultivated his farm in Ames till 1829 or 1830, when he removed to McArthurstown (then in Athens county), and engaged for many years in selling goods and dealing in live stock. In 1839 he and his markets 2,100 cattle, 1,300 hogs, 1,800 sheep and 20 horses. He was at the same time quite extensively engaged in the mercantile business with his brother, Samuel H. Brown, well known in the county for many years, and till his death in 1854, as an untiring business man. Pearly Brown has held the positions of county commissioner and justice of the peace, and is widely known in this and adjoining counties as a man of unswerving integrity. He has reared a family of three sons and six daughters. His oldest son, Pinckney Brown, is an extensive dealer in live stock.

John B. Brown, another son of John, was born in the year 1803, in Ames township, where he has lived ever since. He has been successful in life, and is

Samuel H. Brown, youngest son of John, was born in Ames township, October 8th, 1807. He became an active business man, and well known in southern Ohio and in the eastern markets as an extensive and successful cattle dealer, in which business he engaged, with little intermission, for over twenty-two years. He served as justice of the peace and associate judge in this county. He removed to Meigs county about 1850, and died there October 2d, 1854. He was an honest and capable man.

Samuel Brown, brother of John and nephew of Capt. Benjamin Brown, a native of Massachusetts, came to the northwestern territory in 1797, and settled with his family on "Round Bottom," on the Muskingum river. In the year 1800 he bought a piece of land on Sunday creek, within the limits of Ames township as soon after defined, but in the present township of Dover. In 1805 he returned to Washington county (having sold his farm on Sunday creek), and opened a new farm about eight miles west of Marietta. He lived here till 1835, when he took up his residence with his son-in-law, Mr. James Dickey, at whose house he died January 15, 1841.

William Brown, son of Capt. Benjamin Brown, settled in Ames township in the year 1800, and lived here till about 1817, when he removed to the Moses Hewitt farm, in Waterloo. In 1820 he moved to Lee township, where he lived until a short time before his death, which took place at his son, Leonard Brown's, in Athens. His son, Austin, still lives in Lee township, on a part of the old homestead. Another son, Leonard, who served one term as sheriff and two terms as treasurer of the county, now lives in the town of Albany. He is engaged in the mercantile business, and is a leading citizen.

John Brown, son of Samuel, was born in Ames township, December 23, 1801, but lived the greater part of the time, until 1840, in Washington county, about eight miles from Marietta. In that year he bought property in Albany, Athens county, where he located and engaged successfully for many years in the mercantile business. In 1867 he associated with him his son, J. D. Brown, and engaged in the banking business. During the present year they have removed from Albany to Athens, which is Mr. Brown's present residence. He is a gentleman

Silvanus Ames, long known in this county as Judge Ames, was born at Bridgewater, Massachusetts, March 26, 1771. His father, whose ancestor, William Ames, came from England in 1643, was a graduate of Harvard college, and an Episcopalian clergyman. He preached several years at Trinity church, in Taunton, Massachusetts, was afterwards a chaplain in the revolutionary army, and died in the camp at Valley Forge, during the hard winter of 1777 - 78. Silvanus Ames married Nabby Lee Johnson in 1795, and moved to the northwestern territory in 1798. They settled temporarily in Belpre, whence they removed to Ames township, in May, 1800, and settled on the farm now owned by the Henrys, and still familiarly called the «Ames farm." Mr. Ames' strong sense and solid the county, colonel of militia, trustee of the Ohio university for many years, and associate judge from 1813 to 1823. He was also several times elected representative to the state legislature, and in all of these positions evinced a capacity for public affairs, and gained the approbation of the community. Intimately connected, as he was, with the political movements of the day, Judge Ames' house became the resort of the political leaders in southern Ohio, and a favorite stopping place of public men, when making their long trips between the east and west. He was an active and liberal supporter of all educational and religious movements, and an acknowledged leader in the community for several years. He died September 23, 1823. At the time of his death his family consisted of five sons and four daughters, of whom four sons and two daughters are now living, viz: the Rev. Bishop E. R. Ames, John, in Kansas, Charles B., in the state of Mississippi, and George W., at Greencastle, Indiana. One of the daughters, Mrs. Eliza Dawes, lives at Ripon, Wisconsin, and the other, Mrs. A. B. Walker, at Athens. Another daughter, Mrs. de Steiguer, died at Athens, July 29, 1851; a son of her's, Rodolph de Steiguer, a native of the county, is a leading lawyer at Athens.

Capt. Sabinus Rice, son of Jason and Sarah Hibbard Rice, was born in Poultney, Vermont, December 18, 1795, and came with his father's family to Ohio in the year 1800, The journey from New England was made in the usual way at that time - by wagon to Pittsburg, and thence down the Ohio river by flat boat. His parents lived for about three years at the White Oak settlement, on the Muskingum river, a few miles north of Marietta, whence, in 1803, they removed to Ames township, where they bought and settled on an eighty acre farm. By hard work and good management they acquired a comfortable competency, and the later years of the old people were passed in ease. The Rice family will long be remembered in the community where they lived, for their hospitality, refinement and intelligence.

Jason Rice died in 1843, in his eighty-eighth year. His wife died in 1824, aged sixty-two years. Their children were Reuben, Ambrose, Jonas, Sabinus, Sally, Jason and Melona, of whom the two last only are living. Jason is a farmer in Ames township and highly respected, and the sister, now Mrs. William Corner, lives in Malta, Ohio. Jonas Rice died on the Mississippi river, near Natchez, in 1829, of yellow fever. A grandson of his, Thomas H. Sheldon, is now cashier of the National Bank at Athens. Ambrose, who possessed great mathematical talent, removed to the northern part of Ohio, where he became very wealthy, and died many years since. Sabinus Rice, a man of excellent judgment and most amiable character, was one of - the leading citizens of Ames. He died July 23, 1852. His only son, Sabinus Jason Rice, died in Ames township, in April, 1857, leaving a wife and two children. Of the daughters of Capt. Rice, Mrs. Esther Richardson lives in Spring Hill, Ohio; Mrs. Rebecca R. Hibbard in Wauseon, Fulton county, Ohio, and Mrs. Eunice M. Mower in Springfield, Ohio.

Isaac Linscott, a native of Maine, and of English extraction, came to Ames township in the year 1800, and settled with his large family on the farm now owned by George Linscott, Jun., where he lived till 1824. His descendants, mostly farmers, are very numerous, being scattered through Ames, Bern and Dover townships, and inherit the energy, thrift and strict honesty of their ancestor. The children of Isaac Linscott were Noah, Lydia, Joseph, Isaac, Miriam, Eleanor, Olive, Israel, Amos, John, Mary and Jonathan. Linscott's

Joshua Wyatt, known during his fesidence in Athens county as ** Deacon Wyatt," was a native of Beverly, Massachusetts, whence he came out as far west as Uniontown, Pennsylvania, in 1790, and from thence to Marietta, in 1799. He settled with his family in Ames township in 1801, having the year before opened a few acres of land, and got a house under way, which was finished after the family moved in. His family and goods came up the Hockhocking, in a boat, to Warren's station, in Canaan township, whence they were taken in teams across to his placeiin Ames. His effects made seventeen wagon loads, and were mostly hauled by Peter Mansfield, through the woods, without as yet any road. From the date of his settlement in the township till his death, in 1822, he was a leading citizen. He was a man of distinguished piety, and his life, both in public and in private, was singularly devout. Upon the organization of the first Presbyterian church in Athens he was chosen one of the elders, and, with Deacon Ackley and Judge Alvan Bingham, continued to act as such for several years. Soon after settling in Ames, as early as 1805, he appointed and himself conducted religious reading and prayer meetings at the school house. These meetings were kept up as long as he lived. His eldest daughter, Betsy Wyatt, married William Parker, May 13, 1802. This was the first wedding in Ames township, and supposed to be ohn McDougal, born in Schenectady county, New York, August 26, 1776, came to Athens county in July, 1817, and settled in Ames township, on the creek

Gilbert McDougal, his youngest son, was born in Ames township, June 30, 1819, and now resides on the old place owned by his late father. He is a successful farmer, has taught the district school in his vicinity seventeen quarters, held the office of justice of the peace six years, and county commissioner seven

Col. Absalom Boyles, born in Franklin county, Pennsylvania, in 1797, came with his father's family to the northwestern territory in 1799, and to Ames township. in 1801. He grew up with the community, and was largely identified with the development of the township and county during a long and active life. With fine intelligence, high sense of honor and ardent desire to benefit others, he was always one of the first and most active supporters of social reform, and of every movement that tended to the common welfare. He held various civil positions in the township and county, and, in connection with the early militia organization of the county, was commissioned, by Governor Ethan A. Brown, ensign in 1819; lieutenant in 1820; captain in 1821; by Governor Trimble, lieutenant colonel in 1822, and by Governor Morrow, colonel in 1823.

Abel Glazier was born in Massachusetts, in 1769. During early life he lived for a time in Washington county, New York, whence he removed to Athens county, and settled in Ames township in 1804. He bought of Capt. Benj. Brown the farm on which Daniel Fleming now lives, and afterward married a daughter of Capt. Brown. He lived in the township over thirty years, during which time he was one of its most prominent and useful citizens. He died in January, 1837. Numerous descendants of his are living in the county, and are highly and justly esteemed in the communities where they dwell, for their intelligence, energy, and sterling qualities. Two of his grandsons, J. H. Glazier and A. W. Glazier, are among the first citizens of

George Walker (known during his residence in the county as Judge Walker) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1774. His father, John Walker, came of an old family in Leicestershire, England, was a graduate of the university of Edinburgh, and a barrister at law, removed to America in 1753, married in Boston, and settled in Hartford, Connecticut. George received a good business education, and engaged in mercantile business in Cooperstown, New York. For several years he was highly successful, but, through the dishonesty of a partner, he became deeply involved, and was compelled to close business at a great sacrifice. Disheartened by his losses, and soured by the meanness and dishonesty of his late associates, he determined to seek his fortune in a newer country, and came to Athens county in 1804. Here he purchased and settled on a farm near the present town of Amesville, where he remained all his life. The country was almost a wilderness, and the farm uncultivated, nor had the owner any practical knowledge of the work before him. Mrs. L. W. Ryors, to whom we are indebted for the substance of this sketch, says: "I have heard my mother say that, had it not been for the aid of the man who accompanied them in their long journey as a driver of a wagon, they would have suffered. His name was William Hassey, and he continued to live with the family, a faithful friend and helper, for nearly fifty years. In this wild pioneer life this man was invaluable in every respect, assisting my mother in her new and trying duties, and instructing my father in the art of felling trees and removing brush - not greatly to the credit of his pupil, as the family tradition testifies that he never learned to perform, with skill, that first and necessary part of pioneer life." held, continuously, for about twenty-four years. He also acted as county commissioner for sixteen years, and was elected by the legislature, an associate judge of the court of common pleas, which office he held for fourteen years. He was one of the founders and principal supporters of the Western library association, of which Mrs. Ryors recalls some reminiscences. She says: ''As long as I can remember this library was kept at my father's house, and it was most highly prized by the whole family. Books, now a necessity, were then, in that isolated place, a rare luxury. The books were selected with good judgment, and comprised a little of everything - poetry, history, romance, law, medicine, and some scientific and religious works. Poems and novels were the first attraction, I am sorry to say, for the female portion of the family, but they were soon exhausted, and we were glad to turn to more substantial reading. It was no uncommon thing to find a child reading eagerly from the heavy volumes of Rollin or Hume. I was not more than ten or eleven years old, when, in the absence of any 'juvenile books,' I read, with delight, Milton's 'Paradise Lost' and the translation of Homer's 'Iliad. "

An active supporter of schools and of every movement calculated to promote the welfare of the community, Judge Walker exercised during his whole life a large and healthful influence. He died in 1856. His wife, who is still remembered by some of her contem-

Judge Walker had one son - George Walker, Jun., who was, for many years, a successful business man in Amesville. He is deceased. Of his seven daughters, the eldest was married to Col. Charles Cutler; the second to Edgar Jewett, of Athens; two of the others married physicians; one a banker, and one a merchant. Another daughter, Mrs. Ryors, relict of the Rev. Alfred Ryors, minister of the Presbyterian church, is well known in Athens. Her accomplished husband, for many years connected with the Ohio university, and subsequently president of the Indiana state university, was one of the choicest among the many rare and scholarly men, who, during its history, have been associated with the university at Athens. He died at Danville, Kentucky, May 8, 1858.

Edward R. Ames, third son of Silvanus Ames, was born in Ames township, May 20, 1806, on the farm now owned by James and George Henry. His early education, though limited, was healthful and solid, and, while still a youth, having access to the local library in Amesville, he formed a taste for reading that has largely influenced the conduct of his life. At the age of twenty he left his father's farm to attend the Ohio university at Athens, where he remained some two or

In the autumn of 1828 the late Bishop Roberts presided over the Ohio conference of the Methodist church, which was held at Chillicothe. To see their manner of doing business, and to obtain some knowledge as to the growth of the church, the young collegian attended the session. Bishop Roberts, who had a rare discernment of men, saw the youth and that there was something more than ordinary in him. The result of their acquaintance was, that, acting on the advice of the bishop to **go west," young Ames accompanied him a few weeks later to the Illinois conference, held that year in Madison, Indiana. Here he made further acquaintance with active Methodists from the western states, and, at their suggestion, he proceeded to Illinois and opened a high school at Lebanon, in the present county of St. Clair. He had fine success as a teacher, and remained here, making friends and influence, till 1830. In the autumn of this year he was licensed to preach by the Illinois conference, and was admitted and appointed to Shoal Creek circuit, embracing an indefinite extent of country.

'Thenceforward, for some years, his was the usual history of a Methodist itinerant. He was elected as a delegate from the Indiana conference to the general conference, which met in Baltimore in 1840, and, by missionary society for the south and west. This was before the days of railroads. Traveling was slow and difficult, and the labors of his office were arduous and wide extended. During the four years that he filled it, he traveled some twenty-five thousand miles. In one tour he passed over the entire frontier line, from Lake Superior to Texas, camping out almost the whole route, and one part of the time so destitute of provisions that, for two days, the only nourishment of himself and fellow travelers, was a little moistened maple sugar.

In 1852 he was elected one of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal church, since when his official labors have been most onerous, responsible, and unremitting. Possessed of extraordinary capacity for business, and of great physical endurance, no task appals, and apparently no amount of labor fatigues him. His character and talents are so well known, both in and out of the church, as to render any analysis or description of them unnecessary in this place.

Bishop Ames is esteemed one of the most eloquent preachers in the Methodist church, as he certainly is one of the most popular. A well known minister and editor of the church says:

" As a conference debater he was always effective. We often met in the conference room, but never did we hear him make a speech ten minutes long. He listened to the discussion till he saw the strong points of a case, and these he would present in a few clear, terse statements, which could not be misunderstood, and which went far toward conviction. As a public speaker he is impressive and commanding, whether on the platform or in the pulpit. His voice is quite peculiar, and while under his management it is quite effective, yet it should never be imitated. He rises calmly, states his subject clearly, introduces it with some striking remark, which at once rivets the attention, and then by an easy, direct manner, moves along the track of thought chosen for the occasion. His sermons, though never written, are evidently carefully thought out. His style is molded by the old English classics. Many of his sentences are pure aphorisms. On he talks, till he talks up into the highest realm of thought. We think perhaps his most effective preaching was when he was presiding elder, and addressed gathered thousands on western camp grounds. 'Then we have seen his whole soul aroused, and his full tide of impassioned oratory was almost resistless. We forbear sketching some of those scenes, though they pass before us."

During the greater part of his adult life, Bishop Ames has resided in Indiana, though his official duties have required protracted absences from home, and long journeys to the most distant parts of the country. A few years since he removed to Baltimore, Maryland, which is his present place of residence. Of late years he has frequently visited Athens, where he has relatives living, and where he finds great enjoyment in meeting the friends of his youth, and in recalling early memories. He is very fond of familiar converse, and, in his *hours of ease," talks in the most genial manner, of early reminiscences or of more modern and weighty

A Wolf Hunt

"In 1822 Pitt Putnam, of Marietta, organized a grand wolf hunt, to be held on the head waters of Big run. I suppose Putnam inherited his aversion to wolves from his Massachusetts ancestor, as men sometimes inherit politics or religion; at any rate he seemed to think that he had a call to exterminate wolves. The region fixed on for the hunt lay in Washington county, not far from the borders of Ames, and a great many of the male inhabitants of Ames and Bern took part in it. A space about four miles square was surveyed in the heart of the forest, and marked all the way around by blazing the trees. General notice was given some weeks beforehand through the newspaper printed at Marietta, and I remember that a rude diagram of the country and of the line of battle was published. The plan of proceeding was well organized. The hunters were to be stationed at regular distances from each other, all the way around the tract, some supplied with guns and others with horns. Certain men were appointed captains, lieutenants, etc., and gave orders to those nearest them. On the appointed day the hunters assembled from all directions, and were soon placed. I was then only sixteen years old, and was more highly excited over the affair than I am apt to become over any event now-a-days. When all was ready, the men stationed, armed, etc., a horn was blown by the leader, and the signal in a few minutes passed around the whole circuit; whereupon they all began to march toward a common center, keeping in line. Each man was ordered to make as great a hubbub as possible, those with horns to blow them and the rest to shout and halloo. I was a pretty well grown boy of my age, and was allowed to march with the rest. Furam Soe PIA nished with a tin horn nearly as long as myself, I blew such blasts as would, I suppose, have shaken down the walls of Jericho, if they had been there, and blew till I had no strength to blow any more. The object of the noise, hooting, blowing horns and beating bushes was to scare up the wolves, and drive them before us, and, of course, when the poor doomed wolves had been thus driven closer and closer to a common center by the contracting lines, the purpose was to slay them ruthlessly, by the hundreds, that is, if they were there. As we drew near the center, where there was a running brook and a cave in the rocks, the excitement increased. Soon wild animals of different sorts were seen darting about. "There were deer in considerable numbers, and though in poor condition, as I remember, a great many were killed. In their fright and eagerness to escape, they ran directly at the lines of hunters, and I saw some of them leap clear over the heads of the men. Foxes were numerous too, and a good many were killed, with smaller game of different sorts. But we were after wolves; and after all our marching and hallooing, and beating of bushes, my recollection is that not a single wolf was captured or killed - or, if any, only one or two - and the whole affair was a laughable failure, so far as the wolf part was concerned. I think I have never wasted so much breath to so little profit as I did in blowing that tin horn. I walked home a tired boy, and very skeptical as to Pitt Putnam's having any great inspiration as a wolf hunter."

Doctor Ezra Walker, the first resident physician of Ames township, was born December 9, 1776, at Killingly, Connecticut, in which state he studied his profession, and practiced for some years. Removing from Connecticut he settled in Poultney, Vermont, about the year 1800, and from thence migrated with his family to Marietta, in the autumn of 1810. He remained on the Muskingum till the spring of 1811, when he came with his family, consisting of wife and seven children, into Ames township, and immediately resumed the practice of medicine. He pursued a general practice for more than twenty years, and, in a few families who would never excuse him, he continued to practice for almost forty years, or till near the close of his life. When he began to practice medicine in the county, and for many years later, what with bad roads or no roads at all, absence of bridges, sparse and scattered settlements, etc., his long rides, frequently of fifteen or twenty miles, were always attended with difficulties and sometimes with dangers. In one instance he had to cross the country from where the present town of Plymouth, Washington county, is situated, to another settlement at Barrows' mill, in Rome township, which took him till far in the evening, when he found himself followed by wolves. As their numbers increased the animals were emboldened to contract their circle around him, till he was obliged to climb into a tree for safety; and there he spent the night, keeping a sharp lookout for his horse beneath, and trying to frighten away the wolves, by beating with a club against the body of the tree in which he was perched. When day dawned his hungry enemies gradually drew off, and the doctor proceeded on his journey. When he reached the first cabin, not very far distant, and situated just below the present site of Big Run station, he found the wolves had taken this man's premises in their retreat, and killed a calf near his house for their breakfast. "Doctor Walker taught school in Ames, for one or two quarters in 1811 - 12, always holding himself ready, however, to attend the sick. By means of his profession, and by farming some, he gained for himself and family a comfortable subsistence, living to see his children all creditably settled in life. He died January 0: 1952.

His eldest daughter was married to John Brown (now General Brown), in 1811, and his second daughter to the late James J. Fuller, of Athens, in 1815. Mrs. Brown died in 1853, and Mrs. Fuller in 1864. His sons, William R. Walker, Archibald B. Walker, Ezra Walker, and Ralph M. Walker, were natives of East Poultney, Vermont, but were reared from boyhood in Athens county. William R., though a man of fine native talent and much refinement of character, was oppressed by self-distrust and timidity. He lived for a short time, during the early portion of his adult life, in Lancaster, Ohio, where he was highly respected for his integrity, business talent, and literary culture. Among those whose friendship he acquired at that time and always retained, was Mr. Hocking H. Hunter, who recently stated to the writer that, he "had never in all his life, seen any person who recited and acted the part of Hamlet so perfectly, in his opinion, as Wm. R. Walker." At that time fine business prospects were opened to him, and for awhile he revolved *'enterprises of great pith and moment." But melancholy overcame him. He abandoned active business and the wide fields of usefulness that were opening before him, returned to the paternal farm, and there passed the rest of his life, remote from the society which he was so well calculated to adorn. An amiable christian gentleman, he lived and died respected by the whole community. His death took place in 1855.

Summers at Charleston, West Virginia, and settled in that place. He published the Kanawha Republican for several years, and afterward was superintendent of the "James River and Kanawha Improvement" more than twenty years, and until his death in March, 1853. He was widely known and universally respected.

Ralph M. Walker, the youngest brother, graduated at the Western Reserve college. The greater part of his life has been passed as a teacher in Otterbein college, Franklin county, Ohio, and in the Grand River

David Rathburn, born in Rhode Island in 1766, removed to the state of New York, where he lived several years, and thence, in 1809, to Ames township in Athens county. Here he rented the Cutler farm ment," some five miles further north, where he tended the horse mill owned by Christopher Herrold, for about four years. This was the first mill erected in this part of the country, and was patronized by the settlers for many miles around. In 1814 he bought a farm on the little creek where Judge Walker lived, and resided there till his death, March 8, 1850. After coming on this farm, Mr. Rathburn got up an excellent hand mill that proved a great convenience to the neighborhood at times. He had great skill in trapping wild animals, and his neighbors, for miles around, would come to him for instruction in preparing bait and setting traps for wolves. He left two sons and four daughters; the sons and one daughter, wife of Judge R. A. Fulton, are still living in the same neighborhood in Ames township.

Capt. Thomas $. Lovell was born in Barnstable county, Massachusetts, January 18, 1785. At the age of fifteen he went to sea as cabin boy, and, during his first cruise of three years, was advanced before the mast. Returning home he went to school for one or two terms, learned something of navigation and a little mathematics, then took to the sea again. He was successful in his calling, became master of a ship before he was twenty-one years old, and before he had reached his

«In 1812, when war began, I loaded my ship with corn in Philadelphia for a Spanish port, depending on the good sailing of my ship for safety. I went through safely, sold my cargo at a good advance, and lay in the harbor five months, waiting for an opportunity to get out, the bay of Biscay being alive with armed vessels. When I thought it was safe to come out I did so, but myself and crew were captured. My ship was ballasted with sand. The English were very anxious to know what had become of the proceeds of my cargo. I told them I had remitted it to London, but they thought that was a Yankee lie, and they probed the sand through and through to find the money, but to no effect. I was then taken before the admiral (I forget his name), and he finally cleared me and gave me a permit to St. Ubes in Portugal, there to load with salt, and I made a good voyage home."

* My brother Russell and myself were partners in business, and, as times were so very dull, we decided to emigrate to the west. So we sold our property, rigged what was called a Yankee wagon, and a small wagon and team of five horses, and - started for Ohio. We traveled by land to Redstone, Fayette county, Pennsylvania, where we separated. My brother took the teams down by land, while I, with a flat-bottomed boat, a queer kind of craft without mast, jib, or sail, took the families and most of the effects by water to Marietta. From there we came onto Athens county, and settled on Sharp's fork of Fed- eral creek, in what was then Ames township. We reached here November 18, 1814, after a journey of ten weeks. For awhile both families lived in one cabin, not a large one either, belonging to Job Phillips, and we had hard sailing to get along. I was willing to work, but did not know any more about farming than a land-lubber does about working a ship - however, we got along. Wolves were very troublesome; they killed our sheep constantly, and once they killed a yearling steer of mine. Elijah Latimer, who lived near us, was a famous hunter. I sold him thirty acres of land adjoining my farm, and took pay in hunting. He would furnish venison for my family, and also fight off the wolves whenever they invaded my sheep flock. Sugar making was quite an occupation when I came here. When I commenced I tapped trees without regard to kind - smooth-bark hickories, buckeyes, and sugar trees. The first pig I ever owned in Ohio got badly scratched by a bear. The men folks were all away from home, and the bear came into the door yard after some fresh pork, but piggy ran under the house and escaped with a severe cuff ortwo. My dogs would often tree a bear twenty or thirty rods from the cabin, when I would call Latimer and he would shoot him. They frequently weighed two hundred and fifty and three hundred pounds. Wild turkeys were very plenty. I have often set a square pen made of rails, then scattered a little corn about and into it, and caught eight or ten fine ones at a time. The pen being covered at the top the turkeys could not fly out, and they never thought of ducking their heads to get out by the same passage they came in. We had great difficulty in getting grain ground. We were far from any mill, and I have often ridden on horseback to Lancaster to get a bushel of corn ground. Before coming west I had heard that there was shipbuilding on the Ohio river, and my real object in coming to Ohio was to take out ships. There had been a few built at Marietta before I came out, but I think there was only one built after I came here, and I took that to New Orleans, where I fitted her for sea, then sailed across the gulf to Havana, and

* Came to anchor before this place (Cincinnati), on last Saturday evening, the schooner Maria, Captain Lovell, of and from Marietta, Ohio, bound to Boston, Mass., full cargo of pork, flour and lard. The Maria is 50 tons burthen, has 51 feet straight rabbit, 18 feet beam, and draws six feet of water. She was built, rigged, and loaded at Marietta, and is owned by Messrs. Moses McFarland and Edmund B. Dana - the latter gentleman on board. The Maria sailed hence yesterday at 11 o'clock. The present state of the water is favorable to her descent of the river. May prosperous gales waft her to her port of destination."

* Singular arrival. A fine schooner arrived at Baltimore last week, in 46 days from Marietta, Ohio, witha cargo of pork. It is well observed that 'the mountains have melted away before the enterprise and indefatigability of our countrymen.' "

Captain Lovell is living on the farm where he first settled in 1814. At that time it was in Ames township, Athens county, then in Homer township, and finally in. Marion township, Morgan county. Thus, living in one spot for fifty-four years, Captain Lovell has been a citizen of three different townships and two counties. He is in his eighty-fifth year and is unusually bright for one of his age.

The Lovell brothers married sisters and lived on adjoining farms for many years. Russell was a painter and was killed by the kick of a horse in the town of

Lewis Columbia, born in France in 1770, came to Ames township is 1815 and settled on the creek above the Owens settlement, whence, after a few years, he moved on to Walker's branch and settled on the farm now owned by Mahlon Kasler. Here he erected a rude tannery, the first established in this part of the country, which served a good purpose to a limited extent in tanning the skins of wild animals, with which the region then abounded. He died in 1825.

Gulliver Dean, born in Norton, Bristol county, Massachusetts, August 9, 1772, came to Athens county with his father's family in-the year 1815. In 1818 he married Miss Mary Cutler, second daughter of Judge Ephraim Cutler. He settled in Ames township where he still resides, and where his family are well

ERN was originally included in Ames township, and was not separately organized till 1828. Incorporated with Ames for thirty years, much of its early history will be found in connection with that township.

March 3, 1828, the county commissioners resolved * that the original surveyed township No. 7 in range 12 in Athens county, at present a part of Ames township, be set off, and that a township by the name of Bern be established as above described." The electors were directed to meet at the house of John Henry on the first Monday of April at 9g o'clock a. m. to elect township officers.

The lands of Bern lie exceedingly well for agricultural purposes, and her farmers compare favorably with any for thrift and enterprise. The township is well watered by the head waters of Federal creek, Sharp's fork of which traverses it from north to south. Its population in 1830 was 223; in 1840 it was 381; in 1850 it was 819; in 1860 it was 1,022. There are but

James Dickey was born of Irish parents in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, September 3, 1788, came to the northwestern territory with his father's family in 1798 and settled first in Washington county. When a young man Mr. Dickey was employed as a post rider to carry the mail on horseback, between Marietta and Chillicothe, a distance of about one hundred miles. Between 1806 and 1814 he was variously engaged in the mail service, sometimes as a sub contractor, but always doing the riding of one hand himself. At that time the mail service in this section was one of great hardship and frequently of danger, as the numerous streams along the route, all destitute of bridges, were often swollen and had to be crossed at the peril of life. From 1812 to 1814, during the war with Great Britain, the great East and West mail was sent over this route, the bag being sometimes nearly filled with government dispatches alone. The riders (three in number), each made one round trip a week from Marietta to Chillicothe and return, regardless of weather and of all obstacles. Mr. Dickey once swam the creek near Amesville in the -ight, running great risk and getting the mail thoroughly wet. On reaching John Brown's in Ames, one of his regular stopping places, he spent a short time drying the mail bag before the fire and then went on in the darkness.

During the war the contract required the mail to be carried at the rate of five miles an hour, and the government enforced the condition rigorously. Mr. Dickey became noted for his energy and fidelity in fulfilling his mail contracts, and in this, as in all other rare business capacity. At one of his stations on the route he had a rest of about two hours once a week, - and this was usually spent by him in hunting. He often killed one and sometimes two deer, or perhaps several wild turkeys, if they were soonest found, and brought them in for the family with whom he boarded, and received credit for the game on his board account ; in this way he paid nearly his whole board and horse keeping at this station.

. In 1815 Mr. Dickey married Betsy, daughter of Samuel Brown, and bought a small farm near Mr. Brown's, eight miles west of Marietta, where he lived till he removed to Bern. He came to Bern in 1821 and settled on Sharp's fork where he opened a large farm, and where he lived about thirty-four years and reared a family of three sons and two daughters. His house in Bern became a favorite and noted stopping place for travelers and there are many who still remember his hospitality and good cheer. Mr. Dickey never sought office or notoriety ; he however served as county commissioner and township trustee at different times. In 1852 or '3, after his wife's death, he disposed of his farm in Bern among his sons, and a few years later went to live with his son Mr. A. S. Dickey, in McConnellsville, where he died June 12, 1862.

He bought a section of land here and opened up the farm where his son Charles Henry now lives. On this farm he lived till his death in February, 1854. Mr. Henry was twice married. By his first wife he had four sons and five daughters, and by his second four sons and six daughters. He live to see eight sons and ten daughters married and comfortably settled, and left behind him at his death eighteen children, fifty-six grandchildren and a number of great grandchildren. He was a member of the Presbyterian church and a leading and influential citizen during the active years of his life. Several of his descendants have intermarried with the family of Abel Glazier and are well known throughout the county.

John Wickham, son of Joseph Wickham, was born in Vermont, July 1, 1784, and came to Athens county with his father's family in 1805, settling first in Rome township. Later he removed to Bern township where he died March 19, 1863. He served as a volunteer in the war of 1812, and was marching to join Hull's army (his command being yet two days' march distant), when that general surrendered.

Warren W. Wickham, son of John, lives on the farm of his late father at the mouth of Marietta run in Bern township - has been a justice of the peace and

William Rardin, born near Pittsburg, April 29, 1797, came here in 1822 and settled on the state road between Marietta and Athens. For many years the wolves were a great scourge, and the secluded valley of the Marietta run, at the head of which he lived, was about their last retreat. Mr. Rardin has been a farmer all his life and his descendants are well known in the

Dyar Selby, born in New York in 1784, came to Ohio at an early day, and about 1833 settled in Bern township - has been township trustee and justice of the

Edmund Perry, David Parkins, and John E. Vore, all settled in Bern at an early day, and were among the most respected citizens. Mr. Vore is known as an extensive stock dealer and was county commissioner for

Thornton Swart, born in Loudoun county, Virginia, in 1793, settled in this township in 1838 on Possum run, adjoining Owen Gifford's place. Mr. S. served in the

David and Daniel Fames and Philip W. Lampson, well known citizens, settled here in 1820. The James family still live in Bern. Mr. Lampson went to Kansas in 1864.

Chap Eer Za L.

T is difficult to separate the first settlement of Canaan township from that of Athens, of which Canaan was originally a part. It will have been noticed that the pioneer settlements clung pretty closely to the water courses. In the absence of roads or any other means of communication, the navigable streams always decide the movements of emigration. The Hockhocking was, from all accounts, a considerably deeper stream and carried much more water seventy-five years ago than now, and was easily navigable for heavily laden barges. It thus became valuable as a means of communcation and supplies, and the regions accessible by it were the first to be settled in the county. Accordingly, many of the first settlers of Athens township located within the present limits of Canaan, whose rich bottom lands proved very attractive. The township was organized in 181g. The first election for township officers was held at the house of Edward Pilcher, on the first Monday of April in that year. by Judge Walker, of Ames township, one of the county commissioners at this time.

The first election for township trustees was held at the house of Edward Pilcher, April 5, 1819. John C. Carico and Stephen Pilcher were judges, and Joshua

1851 A. Buckley, George Mansfield, Peter Stalder. 1852-53 Peter Davis, David Jordan, Nathan S. Pilcher. 1854 be Peter Stalder, Peter Finsterwald. 1855 as «c Peter Finch.

1854 - Elijah Tucker and Thomas Grosvenor. 1856 - Joseph Border, Charles C. Pruden, and Peter Davis. 1859-1865 - David Love and J. Warren Baird.

William Jackson settled in what is now Canaan township in 1799. A native of Ireland, he came to this country with his father's family when nine years old, and lived for twelve or fifteen years in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, whence, after his marriage, he removed to the northwestern territory, and settled near the site of the present village of New England in Canaan township. He was a man of fine natural ability, good education, and considerable culture. In 1800 he surveyed the first road through the woods from Marietta to Chillicothe. In January, 1803, he was elected representative from this (then Washington) county to the state legislature, in opposition to Ephraim Cutler, and was an influential member of that body. In the fall of 1803 he was re-elected, and in the session of 1803-4, by a well-timed speech, defeated a bill offered by Philemon Beecher, requiring a property qualification for office holders. In 1804 he declined a renomination, the government to survey a large district of country on the Wabash river. In the discharge of this duty he went to Vincennes, Indiana, and died there soon after his arrival. Mr. John Jackson, of New England village, who died in the winter of 1867, was a son of his.

The Barrows brothers, William, George, and Henry, came to what is now Canaan township in 1797, and settled near where N. O. Warren now resides. During the next year they brought out their father, Ebenezer Barrows, and the rest of the family from the east. The old man had been a soldier in the French and revolutionary wars. His descendants are widely scattered through Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa. One of his daughters, Mrs. Ebenezer Culver, is living in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, aged ninety years. Two of his grandsons, Voltaire and Massena, own the old Barrows' mill on Federal creek. Perry Barrows has a farm near the mill tract. These are sons of Henry Barrows. Several of the children of George Barrows survive. Parker, now seventy years old, is a respectable farmer of Canaan township. Orange and George, also farmers, live in Rome township, the latter on the old farm. Between seventy-five and eighty of the descendants of Ebenezer Barrows, are known to have served in the

« The forests were full of game, and we could kill all the wild meat we wanted, but salt was the great need. However, we had to have it, and used to pack it on horses from the salt licks (over forty miles), at the rate of $4.00 a bushel, bitter water included. We raised corn, and we had a little hand mill to grind our hominy and meal for mush. There was a little tub mill on Margaret's creek and one on Duck creek (Washington county), but none on Hockhocking. The number of males within the present limits of the township was six or seven, during the year after I came here."

Martin Mansfeld, born in New Jersey in 1779, settled in Canaan township in 1797, died August 7, 1860. His descendants are numerous and highly respected in the county. His brother Peter settled in Canaan on Willow creek about the same time, and was a leading man among the pioneers. Three of his sons, George,

Peter Boyles, a native of Bedford county, Pennsylvania, settled in what is now Canaan township in 1795. He was probably the first white settler within the present county of Athens. This was the year of the treaty of Greenville, and the close of the Indian war. Athens county was the very frontier at that time, and Mr. Boyles, in settling here, took his life in his hand, for this section was by no means safe in that year from Indian outrages. He lived in Canaan township till 1827, when he removed west, and died in Missouri in 1843. The date of his settlement here is accurately fixed by his son, George Boyles, who is still living in Andrew county, Missouri, and who was born in Canaan township June 5, 1795. He was, beyond doubt, the first white child born in Athens county. He says he was born **on the school section between the graveyard and the river." Mr. Hocking H. Hunter, of Lancaster, Ohio, has frequently been accorded the distinction of having been the first white child born in the Hockhocking valley. He was not born till August 23, 1801. It hardly admits of a question that George Boyles, a native of Canaan, was the first white child born on the waters of the Hockhocking.

Fohn Boyles, son of Peter, was born in Pennsylvania in 1791, came to Canaan township with his father's family in 1795, and lived there till his death in 1849. Some of his descendants still reside in the county.

Peter W. Boyles, son of John Boyles, was born in Canaan township, December 20, 1820, and has since passed his life in this county. He now owns and lives on the * Daniel Stewart farm" in Rome township - probably the best farm in the county. Samuel S. Boyles, another son of John, lives in Lodi township. Both he and Peter W. are prosperous and highly county in 1818. He first settled in Ames, where in 1819 he established a tannery, which was located near where the old brick church stood in after years. He frequently tanned the skins of wild animals, panthers, bears, etc., which were, even as late as that, sometimes used for clothing or household purposes. In 1823 he removed to Canaan township, and settled on Stroud's run, about four miles east of Athens. He and his

Abel Miller came to Athens county in 1802 from Middletown, Connecticut. In 1803 he purchased land two miles below the town of Athens in what is now Canaan township, and built a log cabin the same year. In a few years he had opened a fine farm, which is still known as among the best in the valley. Mr. Miller was for along time county surveyor. He surveyed the two college townships at one time, preparatory to a leasing of the lands. He was appointed a trustee of the Ohio university in 1808, and served in that capacity till 1825 when he resigned. He was several times elected a justice of the peace, and served seven years as an associate judge. He died April 23, 1827, at the age of fifty years. Judge Miller was a man of large acquaintance, and deserved popularity through this and adjoining counties. He was a superior judge, a good

Captain Parker Carpenter, a native of Killingly, Connecticut, came to this township in 1817, and settled on a new farm a little north of the present village of New England. He served in the war of 1812, before leaving Connecticut. A few years before his death he removed to Athens township and settled on a fine farm about two miles from Athens, where he died November 6, 1852, aged seventy-three years. He was an excellent citizen. Some of his descendants still live in the

Joshua Hoskinson was born in Maryland in 1791, and settled with his father's family in Canaan township in 1810. Deer, bears, and wolves were quite plenty in this region at that time. In his younger days Mr. Hoskinson was fond of hunting, though he says ** Peter Mansfield and William Burch were the best; they caught and killed more wolves than any men we had." Mr. Hoskinson volunteered in the war of 1812, and entered the service under Captain Jehiel Gregory of

* We went into winter quarters on the head waters of the Scioto, about the time that the British and Indians took possession of the French settlement on the Maumee river. General Tappan called for volunteers from his brigade to go on an expedition against the British on the Maumee, and I volunteered. There were about seven hundred officers and men. We took five days' rations and started, I think, on the 7th of November, 1812. On the 13th, we came to the rapids of the Maumee.

That night our scouts reported that the river was rising. Captain Gregory led the battalion forward, and with great difficulty we waded the river. But we went no further nor met the enemy. The failure of our provisions was, I suppose, the reason of our hasty return. On our march back to camp we were three days without anything to eat except spice-bush and slippery-elm bark. When we were about a day and a half's march from camp, and nearly starved, we were met by pack horses with flour."

William Henry was born in Newport, eight miles above Marietta, October 18, 1804, and came to Athens county with his father's family when sixteen years of age. He married a daughter of Captain Parker Carpenter, and ultimately settled in Canaan township on the farm formerly owned by Colonel William Stewart, on the Hockhocking, about eight miles below Athens. Mr. Henry is an excellent citizen and highly respected.

HIS township, originally a part of Troy, was separately organized in 1819. The following appears in the records of the county commissioners :

* November 10tb, 1819 - Resolved, that all that part of the township of Troy included in township No. 5, in the 12th range and the east half of township No. 4, in the 13th range, be a separate township by the name of Carthage."

The first justice of the peace in Carthage was Milton Buckingham. Joseph Guthrie and Francis Caldwell were also among the earliest. Among the early township trustees were Stephen Buckingham, Joseph Guthrie, Francis Caldwell, Alexander Caldwell, Moses Elliott, and B. B. Lottridge.

himself, and which still retains the name of Guthrie creek. Since that time there have been two or three small grist mills built on a little stream in the northeast corner of the township formerly called Lizzie run but now called Little Jordan. There have also been several saw mills built in the township in later years, but all have fallen into disuse, and at present there is not a mill in the township worth mentioning. There are nine school districts in Carthage, with nine good country school houses and five churches - two Methodist, one Presbyterian, one United Brethren, and one Christian or Campbellite. The Methodists, as usual, were the pioneers, their society having been organized about the year 1812; the Christian church was organized about 1835, the United Brethren about 1840, and the Presbyterian in 1850.

The early records of the township are lost, and there is no list of its officers prior to 1855. The population in 1820 was 320; in 1830 it was 395; in 1840 it was

Justices of the Peace since 1852. 1852 - Daniel Tubbs, S. W. Lottridge, and John Elliott. 1855 - Isaac and Richard M. Wilson. E itso. a if 1858 - Richard M. Wilson. 1860 - John Whittington. 1861 - Jacob S. Coen. 1863 - John Whittington. 1864 - Jacob S. Coen.

The first white settler within the limits of what is now Carthage township was Asahel Cooley, Sen. He came from near Springfield, Massachusetts, to Belpre in 1797, moved to what is now Athens county in 1799, traversing a dense wilderness between the Muskingum and of Carthage. With the aid of his grown up sons he had soon cleared a piece of land and prepared a home which was known long afterward for its good cheer and genuine hospitality. Esquire Cooley was a man of well-informed mind, active business habits and gentlemanly manners. He was for many years justice of the peace and county commissioner, and held other offices of trust in the very early history of the county. His oldest son, Simeon Cooley, built the Coolville mills in 1815, and, in connection with them, what was then considered a large distillery. He laid out near his mills the now neat and thriving village of Coolville which, with a slight abbreviation, bears his name. The youngest and only surviving son of Esquire Cooley, Heman Cooley, is a respectable farmer living near Coolville in Troy township, and is now seventy-three years of age. 7

The next year after Asahel Cooley came, his brotherin-law, Mr. Abram Frost, and settled in Carthage with a large family. Many of his descendants have removed to western states. One of his sons, Heman Frost, settled as a farmer in Rome township, where he was highly respected, and, during his long residence there of about forty years, ranked as one of her best citizens. He died June 5, 1868, aged seventy-eight years. His last illness was caused by a severe fall from a scaffold in his barn.

Bernardus B. Lottridge, born in New York in 1779, came to Athens county and settled in Carthage township in 1805 asa farmer. Like most of the pioneers he had but slender means, and depended chiefly on his energy, industry, and muscle. These soon won him a good farm, and placed his family on a comfortable footing. He held different local offices, and was an excellent citizen. He died in 1849. One of his sons, the late Isaac Lottridge, represented Athens county for one session in the state legislature. Another, Simon H. Lottridge, born in Carthage township in 1807, lives on the farm that his father owned. He is now a justice of the peace and highly respected. The widow of Bernardus B. Lottridge still livés, aged eighty-seven years. She thinks that there were not more than ten or twelve persons living within the present bounds of Carthage when she and her husband settled here. The forests were full of game and wild animals. She remembers that one evening a large panther walked into their house and stood before the fire. His rifle not being in the house Mr. Lottridge seized the butcher knife and would have attacked the animal instantly but for the entreaties of his wife. She supposes that her screams frightened the panther, for in a few moments he darted out at the door and made off. Her husband frequently killed panthers and bears - the meat of the latter being a favorite article of diet. She remembers that nearly the last, if not the very last,

Ebenezer Buckingham, Sen., settled in what is now Carthage township in 1801, near to Esquire Cooley. He was the father of the late Ebenezer Buckingham of Muskingum county, who was at one time esteemed one of the wealthiest men of southern Ohio. Stephen Buckingham, his brother, settled near him and about

William 'feffers, born in Chester county, Pennsylvania, in 1786, settled in Carthage township as a farmer in 1807. He has lived in the township continuously for over sixty years, and is a highly respected citizen. His oldest son, A. P. Jeffers, was born in 1810 in Carthage, where he still lives. He was for several years one of the township trustees. Two of the sons of A. P. Jeffers served in the 53d regiment O. V. I.

Alexander Caldwell was born in Ireland in 1791, came to the United States in 1804 and to Carthage township in 1816, where he settled as a farmer and still lives. He served one term as justice of the peace and several years as township trustee. His descendants are numerous and respectable.

Moses Elliott, born February 1, 1784, in the county of Donegal, Ireland, came to the United States in 1819, and settled as a farmer in Carthage township in 1823. He lived on the farm where he first settled, till his death in 1854. He was a justice of the peace for twelve years, and was highly respected as a citizen. His family, two sons and five daughters, are all living.

Fohn Elliott, his oldest son, born in Ireland in 1816, came to Carthage with his father's family in 1823, and lived here till 1859. He was county commissioner several years and much esteemed. In 1859 he removed to southwestern Missouri, where he still resides. During the late war he was driven away from his farm on account of his Union sentiments, and was absent several years, but since the return of peace has resumed his

James Elliott, youngest son of Moses, was born in Carthage in 1826, and has lived ever since on the farm where he was born. He has been township clerk for many years, and is held in high esteem by the whole

James Baker was born in Coshocton county, Ohio, in the year 1805, and came to Carthage in 1826, where he has followed the joint vocation of farmer and miller. Six of his sons and one son-in-law were in the Union

Daniel Boyd was born in Ireland in 1794, emigrated to the United States in 1819, and settled in Carthage 2 township as a farmer in 1838. He was an active member of the Methodist church and an excellent citizen. He died August 20, 1867. His oldest son, Dr. John E. Boyd, died in West Virginia in 1855. His other two sons, Hugh and William F., graduated at the Ohio university in 1860 and 1866, respec veu and have engaged m in E

Peter Hammond was born in York county, Pennsylvania, in 1794, and settled in Carthage township as a farmer in 1845. His oldest son, John Hammond, is now a justice of the peace. Three of his sons served in the Union army.

Nathaniel Martin was born in Massachusetts in 1789, and came to Carthage in 1836, where he has since lived afarmer. He served as township treasurer for twentytwo years consecutively.

Caleb P. Wells was born in New Hampshire in the year 1800. He married the only daughter. of Mr. Martin, and moved to Carthage with his father-in-law

Walter Glazier was born in Ames township, in this county, in 1807, and removed to Carthage in 1837. He has served as justice of the peace five years, township assessor seven years, and township trustee twelve years. Two of his sons and a step-son served in the

John Lawrence was born in New Hampshire in 1808, and settled as a farmer in Carthage township in 1837, where he has since lived. His oldest son, John W. Lawrence, an excellent man and citizen, served faithfully in the Union army, and was killed in battle near

Edward Lawrence, born in New Hampshire in 1810, settled in Carthage in 1841. His occupation is farming. He was appointed postmaster at Lottridge, when the office was established, in 1851, and still holds the

William Mills. was born. in. Washington | county, Pennsylvania, in 1808, removed to Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1812, and to Carthage township in 1839, where he still lives. By occupation he is a farmer. He served one year as township trustee, and one year

Chapter Xiii

HE township of Dover originally formed a part of Ames, and as such was settled as early as 1799. It was not, however, separately organized as a township till 1811. On the 4th of April, 1811, the

** Ordered, further, That the clerk of the eae notify the inhabitants of the township of Dover to meet at the house of Othniel Tuttle in said township, on Saturday, the 20th of April, instant, for the purpose of electing township officers."

Thus Dover, as originally organized (including all that part of Ames lying west of the thirteenth range), comprised the present townships of Ward, Green, and Starr, in Hocking county, and Trimble, York, and Dover, in Athens. The main settlements were on Sunday creek and near the waters of the Hockhocking, and it was many years before the forests of the remote parts of the township were invaded by any but the solitary hunter and trapper, or the hardy frontiersman who could not brook near neighborhood.

Among the early settlers of Dover were Daniel Weethee, Josiah True, Abraham Pugsley, Azel Johnson, Henry O'Neill, Samuel Tannehill, Barney J. Robinson, Cornelius Shoemaker, Nehemiah Davis, James Pickett, Jeremiah Cass, Jonathan Watkins, the Nye family, Reuben J. Davis, the Fullers, Luther Danielson, George Wilson, Benjamin Davis, Uriah Nash, Eliphalet Wheeler, Reuben Hurlbut, Samuel Stacey, Thomas A. Smith, Uriah Tippee, Abner Connett, and others mentioned 'elsewhere.