Etna Township

Etna Township

This is a township of good farming land, and is drained by the tributaries of the South fork of Licking and of the Scioto river. The former stream passes across the northeast corner and sends its branches through the eastern part of the township, nearly to its center. The western part is well watered by the head-waters of Black Lick creek and Sycamore creek, the latter passing entirely across the township, flowing south into the Little Walnut, whose waters join with those of the Scioto a few miles above Circleville. The tributaries of the Black Lick in this township bear to the southeast, and the waters find their way through the Big Walnut to the Scioto. Beyond the town of Etna is a ridge passing diagonally across the township from northwest to southeast, dividing the waters of the Scioto and Licking.

There are no railroads in the township, but the National road passes through it from east to west, and upon this are located two towns - Wagram and Etna - within the township limits.

This territory, lying as it did far from the usual route of pioneer travel, was not settled untill 1815. About that date John Williams settled on what has since been known as the Matthews farm. Several families of the Nelsons; John Crouch; Jacob, Peter and George Houser; Messrs. Parkinson, Bergman, Heffner, Denison, Gary, Drake, and John and David Herron, all began clearing

Settlers continued to come in slowly until 1833, when the township was organized - being the last township organized in the county - and the first election held at the house of John Henthorn, in Etna, June 2 2d of that year. R. O. Baldwin, John Nelson and Benjamin Grable were elected the first trustees; John Henthorn, clerk; N. R. Usher, treasurer; William Smith and George Wells, constables; Richard Lamson, George Wells, William Moore and Hiram Sinsabaugh, supervisors; Thomas M. Donahue and Isaac Essex, overseers of the poor, and Henry Spangler, Jonathan Grable and Dennis Smoke, fence viewers. These were all prominent and influential men in the township during their lives. -

As originally laid out, Etna was nine and a half miles long from east to west and two and a half miles wide; but some time after *1850, one-half mile was taken off the east end and added to Harrison township.

By the township records, it appears that the trustees divided the township into five school districts, and into four road districts, March 3, 1834. At that time the United States government was constructing the National road. John Henthorn was then acting justice of the peace; Ambrose Meeker, Benjamin Grable and Jonathan Glendenning, township trustees; Robert Clum, clerk; Tracy Scott, treasurer, and Henry Niswander, Hiram Buell and John Murphy fence viewers.

"We, the trustees of Etna township, found a vacancy in the office of overseer of the poor of said township ; have met, and do appoint Thomas Marshall to fill said vacancy.

"September 22nd, the trustees met at the office of John Henthorn to appoint a constable to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of John Snider, and the doctor, Hiram Buell, received the appointment.

"November nth of the same year, Moses Cheney was appointed constable as successor to Dr. Buell, who, through sickness or inability, was unable to perform the duties of the office.

"On the sixth of April, 1835, the following civil officers were elected in this township : Henry Spangler, Richard Lamson and Benjamin Grable, trustees; Robert Gum, clerk; Tracy Scott, treasurer; Moses Cheney and Thomas H. Stewart, constables. The supervisors were, No. 1, Adam Egolf ; No. 2, Basil Brown; No. 3, Moses Cheney ; No. 4, Richard Lamson ; No. 5* Henry Niswander. The overseers of the poor were John Hen - thom and Thomas Marshall, and the fence viewers were* William Mitchell, jr., George Maxfield and Jacob Shaff."

Richard Lamson was Commissioned a justice of the peace, October 19, 1835, which office he held, in connection with that of postmaster, with credit to himself and the community, until the infirmities of age obliged him to relinquish them; probably about 1848.

The town of Carthage - since called Etna - was laid out by Lyman Terrell, its original proprietor, in 1832. The National road was then in process of construction, and it was laid out upon its proposed line, it being finished to this point in 1833-4. Like many other towns laid out upon this great thoroughfare it had "great expectations," which, however, as in the case of most other towns upon the road, were not realized. Settlers followed the line of the road rapidly, and soon filled up the towns and townships along the line. It required a large amount of money to build the road, and no inconsiderable portion of this was spent among the inhabitants, and was considered almost a Godsend, that article being extremely scarce in those days. \

Great impetus was given to building in the small towns, and from the fact that it was supposed that travel would immediately become so great as to require unlimited accommodations, in Etna nearly every other house was designed for a " tavern. " It was expected much would be realized from the sale of lots, etc., the desire for money-making and speculation being about the same as that created by the new railroads of the present day.

In 1834 this little town was visited by the cholera, which made sad havoc, nearly or quite depopulating the place. Among its victims were Daniel Warner, who was then keeping store; O. R- Baldwin, also a merchant ; Dr. Buell, Mr. Smith, and others. The towns along this road, on account of the great travel by all classes, nations, and conditions of people, were more liable to be visited by contagious diseases than those away from the line of the road. Etna received another terrible visitation in 1845, at time fr°m ihe small-pox, the treatment of which, at that time, was not as well understood as at the present day. Much suffering and a number of deaths resulted. It was much to the credit of Jacob Shaff and Henry Warner that they exerted themselves with considerable success in relieving this suffering.

The coming of the railroad stopped the growth of Etna and all other towns along the National road. It now has something less than three hundred inhabitants.

Wagram, first called Cumberland, was laid out by Jerry Armstrong about the same time Etna came into existence, or a little before. He tried hard to make something out of it by leading roads from many directions into it, but failed. A few dwellings, a store and post office, were about the sum of what was accomplished toward building a town.

A respectful deference has always been paid to the subject of religion ; harmony and good will always exisiting between the different denominations, and reasonable support given to each. In fact, the township, for its size, is better supplied with churches than most others in the county*

The Methodists were the earliest to hold services in this township, as in most other townships in the county. It is believed that the first religious services in the township were held by this denomination in the cabin of Mr. Jacob Conine, about 1819 or 1820. A society was organized here, which continued its meetings, mostly in Mr. Conine's cabin, until Etna was laid out in 1832, when the meeting place was transferred to the schoolhouse in that place. Mr. Conine's cabin stood near to and on the south side of the South fork of Licking, and in the northern part of the township.

Among the first members of this organization were Thomas Donahue, Esquire Swain, Jacob Conine, wife and daughter, Sarah Herron, and a few others. From this small beginning sprang the present Methodist church of Etna village. The old frame church in the village, in which meetings were held more than thirty-five years, was erected about 1835, or not l°n& at least, after the town was laid out. The present church, a fine brick edifice, was erected in 1871, and cost about seven thousand five hundred dollars. At present the membership of this church is about thirty-five. Mr. Jacob F. Conine thus writes regarding this church. He probably refers to the first organization in the town of Etna.

"The Methodist Episcopal chnrch must have had a society formed here as early as 1830. I find minutes of a first organization in July 13, 1836, when Thomas Donahue, Jonathan Grable, and Edward Brown, a majority of the old board present, and Uriah Heath, jr., preacher, bnng present by appointment of the preacher in charge. At this meeting John D. Shank, David Anderson, Lyman Terrel, Amos Hart, and Edwin Adams, were nominated and approved trustees of the Methodist Episcopal meeting house lot ; and Dr. David Anderson was appointed as secretary to the board, or recording trustee. At the same meeting Thomas Donahue, Lyman Terrel. and Amos Hart were appointed a building committee. On the eleventh of July following, at a meeting of the trustees it was moved and seconded, 'That any two of the trustees of this meeting-house shall have power to grant the liberty of the house to any minister of the gospel, of good and regular standing in his own church, who holds to the divinity of Jesus Christ and the direct influence of the Holy Spirit, and only to the commonly received Bible as the revelation of God, and who believes in future rewards and punishments, at such time as there is no Methodist appointment.* Lyman Terrel was the author of this resolution, and it was carried by a unanimous vote."

The first Sabbath-school in Etna was a union school, organized in Etna village. Children of all denominations attended it, but, about 1841, the Methoclists organized a school of their own, which has been continued ever since. This school is active and vigorous at present, with a membership of fifty or more.

Although there is no Presbyterian church in this township, Presbyterianism had a start here soon after Etna was laid out. Rev. Timothy W. Howe, who was for many years a resident of this township, in his paper upon the Presbyterian churches in this part of the county, thus writes of early Presbyterianism in this township:

"Rev. C. Putnam, of Jersey, preached in Carthage (Etna), November 18, 1832, in a hewed log house a few rods north of the village. This was unquestionably the first sermon by a Presbyterian in Etna. Rev. Jacob Tuttle came from New Jersey in 1832, and commenced preaching in Lima, Harrison and Etna in the spring of 1833, and continued to do so more or less regularly until the spring of 1837. He was highly esteemed, and his memory is cherished by his neighbors and friends.

"From Mr. Putnam's diary, I learn that March 10, 1833, he preached at Lima in the morning and at Etna in the evening. Again, September 2, 1834, Mr. Putnam attended the funeral of Messrs. Daniel Warner and Oliver K. Baldwin, in Etna, of the irm of Warner, Baldwin & Co., who died the day previous within twelve hours of each other, and were buried at the same *ime.

"Another note, under date of January 26, 1835, says: 'Funeral at Etna of Freeman Howe; aged twenty-four; sick nine days; friends all in New Hampshire. His made the twentyseventh grave in a yard where there were only three graves before the bunal of Messrs. Warner and Baldwin, in September previous. * That was the year in which the cholera swept off so many in Etna.

"October 14, 1838, Rev. T. W. Howe commenced his labors in the South Fork church. No house of worship was owned by the Presbyterians at that time; only one family connected with the Presbyterian church at that time lived in a frame dwelling house; the others lived in cabins. The meetings were held the first year in the Methodist Episcopal church in Etna, in the frame school-house at the northwest corner of Kirkersville, and at the log school-house near Mr. S. D. Alward's. After the first year in Etna, Presbyterians used the house built by the United Brethren, because the Presbyterians assisted them in building it. For eleven years it was thus occupied eveiy other Sabbath in the afternoon.

"The Presbyterians and United Brethren in Christ, in 1842, formed a union Sabbath-school in Etna. The first ,ear that school averaged seventy-five pupils the year round. The school continued in a very prosperous state for nine years, while the Presbyterians preached in the United Brethren church. This school is still sustained."

Presbyterians, however, did not get a sufficient hold in Etna to enable them to erect a church or continue their organization within its limits. Gen- erally, the few Presbyterians followed Mr. Howe over to the South Fork church. Mr. Howe is still living in Pataskala, having retired from ministerial labor. He is much respected by the community.

The United Brethren church, of which Mr. Howe speaks, is located in Etna. It is a frame building and was erected in 1838, by the united efforts of the United Brethren and Presbyterians. The latter, however, owned no share in it, but had the use of it by contract when not in use by the United Brethren. Rev. David Edwards was probably the first minister to preach in this church for the United Brethren, and Samuel Hively, Daniel Snyder, and James and Ebenezer Drake and their mother, Mrs. Drake, were among the first members of this church.

The Reformed church of Etna is located on what is known as the "Basil road," in the southern part of the township, about three miles southwest of Kirkersville, and the same distance southeast of Etna village.

Prior to 1834, the few members of this denomination, mostly Germans, held meetings in their houses, but sometime during that year, the Rev. David Wise came into the neighborhood, and, assisted by Jacob Reef, Jacob Shearer, David Keller and a few others, organized a church. Jacob Reef and Jacob Shearer were the first elders. In the fall of this year the society erected a log church upon the site of the present building, and the dedicatory sermon was preached by Mr. Wise, who continued as pastor of this church until 1854. The old church was taken away and the present comfortable building erected in 1869. The pres ent membership of this society is about seventy. The Sunday-school was organized in 1840, and is yet sustained, with a membership of forty-five.

Near the above church is located the Albright, or "The Emanuel Church of the Evangelic Order." This church was organized in 1875, by Rev. S. E. Rife, in a school-house on the same road upon which the church building stands. The following are among the original members of this organization: John Hoffer and wife, John N. Born and wife, Samuel Ammon and wife, Miss Susan Ammon and Miss Pauline Ammon, Jacob Scheidger and wife, Father Switzer, Mrs. Phipps and two daughters, and a few others. Prior to the erection of the church, meetings were held in the Rees school-house every four weeks. The present ei cellent church edifice was erected during the sum mer and fall of 1875, at a cost of two thousand dollars; and was dedicated by Bishop Yost, No vember 21, 1875. Rev. Rife continued to hold services until the spring of 1877, when he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. Hankey, who, in turn, was succeeded, in 1879, by the present pastor, Rev Mohn. The present membership of this church is about fifty-four. The Sunday-school was organized in the spring of 1876, with about seventy pupik It has been continued since, and now averages about seventy members. Jacob Smoke is superintendent.

The Campbellite or Disciple church is located on what is called York street, two-and-a-half miles east of Kirkersville, near the northern line of the township, on the South fork. In May, 1853, the congregation was organized by William Hayes and John C. Winter; it consisted of sixteen members, who met every Sabbath in the "Pine schoolhouse," on York street. The members of this organization were Jacob and Eliza Winter, Abraham and Jane Morrow, Jacob and Isabella Stoolfire, Noah and Mary Morrow, Nathan and Mary Mc- Vay, John and Eliza Crow, Daniel Stoolfire, Cath arine McVay, Elizabeth Hoyt and Hannah Crow. The officers chosen for this organization were Jacob Winter and Abraham Morrow, elders; Jacob Stoolfire and Noah Morrow, deacons, and, April 15, 1854, Nathan McVay, Jacob Stoolfire and David Stoolfire, trustees. The present church edifice was erected in the spring of 1855, and in September of the same year the building was dedicated by Alexander Campbell.

The first preaching in this vicinity by a Disciple was by the Rev. A. E. Myers, a graduate of Bethany college, Virginia, in August, 1852. The present membership! of this church is about sixty-five. The society supports an active Sunday-school, with a membership, at present, of fifty-five.