Jefferson Township (part 1 of 15)

Jefferson Township

Was organized on the 7th day of June, 1858, being taken entirely from Silvercreek township. Previous to its formation there had been an election precinct at Bowersville, and the petitioners for the new township were mostly from that part. By the formation of this, the last township in this county, Silvercreek was reduced in size about one-half.

John P.Aul, The Founder Of Xenia, Ohio

Jdhn Paul was clerk of the courts of Greene county from 1803 to 1808. It is a source of regret that more care had not been taken to preserve the historv of the early pioneers of our county of Greene. Wt have the statement in a few words. "John Paul donated to the town of Xenia and county of Greene the ground for the public buildings," and again in answer to the question "Who was the founder of Xenia?" the answer is, "John Paul sold to the proper persons, who had been appointed to receive it, the two hundred and fifty-seven and three-fourths acres of ground which constituted the original corporation of Xenia." But who was John Paul, where did he came from, and what became of him? The compiler of this sketch had thought there would be no doubt but what our honored old townsmen, Thomas P. Townsley, could answer the aforesaid questions, but he said he could not. He said that when he made up his mind to marry he went to Pennsylvania and secured his "Paull," and that the founder of Xenia was no relation to his wife's people that he was aware of. he spelling his name Paul, whilst his wife's was Paull.

We gather the following from the records of Greene county : At the first organization of the county John Paul was at that time a resident of Beavercreek township, and at the first meeting of the associate judges at the "house of Peter Borders" for the purpose of laying off the county into townships John Paul was appointed as clerk of courts. In the minutes of said court.' which was held on the loth dav uf Mav, 1803. appears the following: "Jiihn Paul was a])])ointed to act as clerk for said cimrt, and tnok the oath of office," He continued to act as such until December 7. 1808, when we find in the minutes of a special court that liad been called the following communication from Mr. Paul : "To the Commissioners of Greene County: Mr. Josiah Grover

Captain Benoni Nesbitt (now deceased) gives us a very interesting story of John Paul. He intimates that before the selection i)t a permanent site for the cmmtv seat had been determined, Mr. Paul was then residing in a cabin "down on Beaver," and while there he learned that the point selected for the site of the county seat was at the fork of Shawnee creek. He forthwith closed his cabin, and was away to see the parties who were agents for the land that would comprise the new county seat, from whom he purchased two thousand acres, which would take in all, and more, of the aforesaid county seat. We find on an examination of the records that the story of Captain Benoni has some foundation. In Vol. I, Records of Deeds, page i6, api>ears the following under date of June 7, 1803: "Bought of Thomas Richardson and wife Elizabeth, of Hanover county, Virginia," and goes on to describe the tract. Mr. Nesbitt was mistaken in the name of the party to the story, calliiiig him Jonathan (see history of Greene county, page 425) instead of John. "Jonathan Paul entered the land that is now called the John B. Lucas farm (see Vol. No. i. Deeds, page 542) and erected his cabin near where now the home of John B. Lucas stands. Jonathan Paul bought of Thomas Parker and his wife Sallie, of Frederick county, Virginia," and the deed is dated October 8, 1808. So it can readily be seen that John and Jonathan were not one and the same person. Jonathan was the youngest brother of Colonel John. Mr. Paul in his generous gift of the one and onehalf acres of ground to the town of Xenia and county of Greene for public buildings was not exorbitant in his price for the balance of the land, which he sold to the parties representing the new county seat for the sum of two hundred and fifty dollars for the two hundred and fifty-seven and threefourths acres which constituted the original corporation of Xenia. Yet while Mr. Paul was liberal, there is evidence to show that while he was a good clerk of courts for Greene county he was also a man of good business qualifications, and had an eye to reaping benefits in the future as the new town would grow and improve. We have evidence to show that he was what is called today in the west "a town boomer," and that he had much to do in having the county seat of Greene county located at this place.

In a map of Xenia which the compiler of this sketch has in his possession a number of lots all over the town are marked as the property of John Paul. Josiah Grover, his agent, was his brother-in-law.

From the best information that can be obtained Mr. Ptul, soon after he resigned as icelrk of courts of Greene county, removed to the present site of the city of Madison, Indiana, and became the founder of that city.

Among the records of this county is a transcript taken from the courts of Jefferson county, Indiana, in the year 1816, and certified to by John Paul, clerk of courts of Jefferson county, Indiana. In comparing the hand writing- it is the same as our John Paul's, ex-clerk of courts of Greene county. In addition to this is evidence taken from the Cincinnati Gazette of some correspondent who had been a former resident of this county (and who does not give his name).

Robixsoxs History Of Greene Couxtv

but does give some very interesting pen pictures of some of tlie early residents of Xenia. Of Mr. Paul he says : "He was the original proprietor of Xenia, Ohio, and also of Madison, Indiana, and that he was a pioneer from Kentucky. A man of great enterprise, and was for several years the intelligent and active clerk of courts of Greene county, Ohio." He was also the father-inlaw of Governor \\'illiam Hendricks, who was an honor to the state in which he lived, and tilled the office of a legislator, governor, representative and senator in congress with ability and rare integrity: and who, with his pioneer father-in-law, John Paul, the proprietor of two flourishing cities in Ohio and Indiana, sleeps in death in the cemetery in Madison, Indiana.

Many of the early settlers of Greene county followed Mr. Paul to Madison and located there and in that vicinity. Major George Gordon mcn-ed him to that place in 1809.

In fixing the date when Mr. Paul first came to Greene county, Ohio, we quote from his family history: "In 1794 he was married to ]^^^ss Sarah Thomberry Grover. sister of Josiah Grover, the second clerk of courts of Greene county, at Danville, Kentucky. They had four children, the first child, Mary Berry, dying when quite young. The next child, ^Ann Parker, was born in Kentucky (Hardin county) March 18, 1799. John P.. the next child, was born in what is now Greene county, Ohio, December 23, 1800, which is near the time he first came and purchased of the United States the land known to-day (1900) as 'Trebein's,' three miles northwest of the Little Miami river. And it was Colonel John Paul who was the first to harness the waters of the aforesaid ri\er to get power to run his grist and sawmill at that point, and it was then known as "PauFs Mill." At the close of the year 1802 the territorial government was overthrown, and the state government established. Accordingly representatives were chosen to formulate a state constitution, and take steps for admission to the union of states. Mr. Paul, then living in that part of Hamilton county which was soon to be Greene county, was chosen as one of the representatives, and helped to formulate the first constitution of the state, under which we lived for nearly one-half a century. Colonel John Paul was also a member of the senate of ,the first legislature that convened at the town of Chillicothe, March i, 1803. He had also a near neighbor of his in the house of the legislature in the person of William Maxwell, who was chosen as one of the first associate judges of Greene county." This brings his history down to the time he was chosen as clerk of courts Mav 10 1803. '

Colonel John Paul was the fourth child and second son of Michael Paul and Ann Parker, who were married at Germantown, Pennsylvania, about the year 175 1 or 1752. Michael Paul was a native of Holland. The time and place of his birth are unknown, as is also the date of his emigration to this country, and the fact as to whether he came alone or with others of his family. However, it is known that he had two brothers who lived at the same place, Germantown, Pennsylvania. He left Germantown m the year 1766 or 1767 and went to Red Stone (Old Fort) now Brownsville, Pennsylvania. From there he went to \\hat is

Ann Parker, wife of Michael Paul, was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1724. She belonged to the order of Dunkards. She was a cousin to Rev. Samuel Davis, D. D., :i noted Presbyterian iireacher of that day, and president of one of the early theological schools of Pennsylvania or New Jersey, perhaps at Princeton. She died in Hardin county, Kentucky, in June. 181 3, at the age of eighty-nine. They were the parents of seven children, John, the subject of this sketch, being the fourth. He was lx>rn in Germantown, Pennsylvania, November 12, 1758. and died June 6, 1830, in Madison, Indiana. He went with his father to Brownsville and tij X'irginia, and afterward to Kentucky. In the year 1778 he went with the expedition of Gen. George Roger Clark, in the campaign against the Indians in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. The expedition went by boats from Louisville, Kentucky, to Kaskaskia, Illinois. When they debarked at Kaskaskia the soldiers had to walk for a good distance in water up to the armpits, carrying their guns and powder horns above their heads to keep them dry, before reaching the fort. In 1794 he was married to Miss Sarah Thomberry Grover, at Danville, Kentucky. She was born in or near Baltimore. Maryland. March 21. 1775, and went to Kentucky with her parents somewhere in the decade of 1780. They had four children, Mary Berry, the oldest, dying when quite young. In 1809 Col. Paul left Xenia and came to the Indiana territory, landing with his family at the point wdiere Madison now stands, October 6. 1809. Previous to this he had gone to the "Vendue" of public lands at Vincennes. where he bought the land upon which New Albany now stands. Upon' this trip home from that sale he stopped at this purchase to fix a home, but concluding that it was an unhealthy locality he prospected along the river for a more liealthv situation. He decided upnn the present site of Madison as l>eing the best suited to his wishes, and went home to Ohio to await the ojjening of the sales at Jeffersonville, where this land was to i)e sold.

In the spring of 1809 he went to the sale and bought the land, and returned home and arranged for the immediate removal of his family tn this place, where he aferward lived until his death.

Colonel Paul was a man full of the milk of human kindness. His l>enefactions in the way of property for public uses are seen all along the pathway of his life. In Xenia. Ohio, he gave the site for the courthouse. In Madison, the ground for the old graveyard, on Third street, the site for Wesley chapel, now the opera house. In Ripley countv. Indiana, the ground for the graveyard in Versailles, and ground for the academy.

He was a practical surveyor and a very good judge of the (|uality of the land, as is proven by the fact that a great many tracts of the best land in this county and Ripley were bought by him from the United States Ciovernment. He was a man endowed by nature with all of the elements of a leader among men, and he was one. In this day and generation he would have been called an athlete on account of hisactivity, strength and powers of endurance. He was tall, of fine. attracti\'e physi(|ue ; he had a C(jmmanding appearance: kind-hearted: he was gentle in manner to all, tender to those in dis- tress; magnanimous, he was generous to a fault, always a friend to the poor and helpless, and ready to lift up and help forward young men. He was beloved by his friends and respected by all who knew him, even by his enemies, for like all men of positive character, he had them. He was an energetic business man, and engaged in farming, milling and real estate business.

He was the first representative in the territorial assembly from a part of Clark -county, Indiana, and was a member of the legislature after that county was organized. He was elected a senator from Switzerland and Jefferson counties, Indiana, to the first legislature of the state, which convened at Corydon, Monday, November 4, 1816. He Avas called to the chair of the senate as ohairman pro tempore, and was the first presiding officer of the senate. He was the first clerk and recorder of Jefferson county, Indiana, which office he held for many years.

Col. John \'awter, in a letter written in - 1850, says of Colonel Paul: "He was one of George Roger Clarke's men in the expedition against the British posts at Detroit, Michigan, and Kaskaskia, Illinois." He was at the capture of Vincennes, February 24, 1779.

At the time he located in this county Tiis family consisted of himself, his wife, Miss Ruth Grover, who was a niece of his wife, and who made her home with them, and their three children. The eldest, Ann Parker, was born March 18, 1799. in Hardin county. Kentucky. John P., who was "born in Greene county. Ohio, December 23, 1800, and Sarah G., who was born March 21, 1802. in Greene county. Ann Parker Avas married May 29, 1816, to William Hendricks. From this union were born nine children. She died September 12, 1887, in the eighty-ninth year of her age. John Porter Paul was a graduate of Washington College and became a surveyor. He was married to a Miss Eliza Meek. He died in Septeml:>er, 1835, in Clark county, Indiana, in the thirty-fifth year of his age. Sarah G. Paul was married three times. Her firsf husband was Dr. Robert Cravens, who died lea\ing one son, Judge John R. Cravens, of Madison, Indiana, who is now deceased. Her second husband was Dr. Samuel M. (joode, who died leaving one son, now living in Madison, Indiana, and known as Dr. Goode. Her third husband was B. C. Stevenson, a Methodist preacher. She died in September 14, 1877. Mrs. Paul, the mother of the family, died May 8, 1866, in the ninety-second year of her age.

General Joseph C. Vance

An eventful life of usefulness, filled with exciting incidents. He was on; of those sturdy old Scotch Presbyterians, and previous to emigrating to the Northwestern Territory was a resident of Washington county, Pennsylvania. A few years after the close of the war of the Revolution, he, with his family and property, embarked on a raft and commenced tiie journey down the Ohio. The trip was a dangerous one as well may be sup])osed. They were at times obliged to dodge the arrows shot at them by the wandering Indians, which came spinning Over the water and fastened themselves in the side of tlie boat. They frequently would wish themselves back in the old Keystone State, but to return would be as dangerous as to go ahead, which they did, and the southern shore of Kentucky was finally reached, and here for a time he resided. The war whoop and tomahawk and scalping knife were the greetings the savages gave to strangers, and the warmtli of their receptions was hardly such as to lend enchantment to the whites. The first matter to attend to on landing was the erection of a block house, and here the neighbors met whenever there was an attack by the red men, which was oftentimes the case. At such times the General's family would be enlarged by the gathering of his neighbors for refuge and assistance.

In the early spring of 1797 Daniel Wilson (one of the earl}- settlers in what is now Sugarcreek township, Greene county, Ohio), as he was returning to settle permanently on land near the village of Clio, which he had pre\iously entered, overtook Joseph C. Vance and John Vance in the valley south of where Lebanon now stands. They were on their way to this locality, and hence were the first settlers where now is located the town of Bellbrook. Joseph entered tlie land extending along the east side of what is now Main street, Bellbrook, being part of Sections 31, 32 (3.5). He erected a log cabin on the site that used to be occupied by Willoughby & Davis as a carriage manufactory, on the southeast corner of Main and Walnut streets. This was the first building that was erected on the site now called Bellbrook, and it was built in the year 1797. It was the building which was to become historic on account of the use that was afterward made of it. This was the building that James Clancey a few years afterward purchased of Joseph C. Vance, and ran his first tavern - the place whereon the organization of the county into townships was selected as the place of holding elections, and where on the aforesaid occasions would assemble the pioneers, from one-half mile east of the present village of New Burlington to the Montgomery county line on the west to cast their ballots for the men of their choice for the different offices. And in that cabin was the place where Rev. Robert Armstrong, the pioneer associate preacher, preached the word of life in the fall of 1804, and on that occasion was for the first time sung the beautiful songs of the sweet singer of Israel, in that part of Greene county. Among the number on that occasion was Gen. Joseph C. Vance and family, John Vance, John and James McKnight (cousins of the McKnight's that came later) ; William and James Tanner, John Gowdy, Sr., and his son, Andrew, who was the father of Alexander, who is yet living (1900) on West Main street, Xenia; two Snodgrasses, two Snowdens (Jacob and James), Capt. Robert McClellan, John Torrence, John Hutchison, Abraham Van Eaton, Capt. Nathan Lamme, James Collier and others. In the first organization of the county into townships May 10, 1803, Joseph C. Vance was the first clerk of the Sugarcreek township. He was also one of the number that was selected to sit as a grand juror "on the body of Greene county," as the old records express it. August 3, 1803, Joseph C. Vance was appointed to survey the county seat, and lay off the town of Xenia. This he did the same season, and at the December term of the Court of Associate Judges received $49.25 for his services. He furnished chain men in making the survey, made a plat of the town and sold some lots. He was selected to act as director of said town and served in that capacity until Tuesday, August 27, 1805, wlien he resigned and William A. Bcatty was appointed in liis place. Mr. Vance previous to his resignation as director must ha\e taken his departure from Xenia, for we find that according to our records Chrimpaign county was organized February 20, 1805. In the history of said county it is said that Joseph C. Vance was selected as clerk of courts, and was the founder of the city of Urbana. His military title was acquired on account of services under Gen. George Roger Clarke against the combined British and Indian forces at the time of the Revolution. He lived a useful life, died and was buried at Buck Creek churchyard, six miles southeast of Urbana, Ohio. His son, Joseph Vance, was governor of Ohio from 1836 to 1838. At the time of his canvass for that office some of his boyhood companions in Bellbrook, Greene county, remembered "Joe," who used to drive an ox cart over the Pickney road, when he was a lx)y at home on the site of where Bellbrook was afterward built.

Francis Dunlavey was born near Winchester, Virginia, December 31, 1761. His father, Anthoney Dunla\ey, came from Ireland about the year 1745. and afterward married Hannah White, sister to Judge Alexander White, of \'irginia. Of this marriage there were four sons and four daughters. Francis was the eldest of the sons. About the year 1772 the family removed from Winchester to what was supposed to be western Virginia, on the west of the Alleghany mountains, and settled near Catfish (Washington) in what is now Washington county, Pennsylvania. In this frontier settlement when the Revolutionary war broke out there was great exposure, as we have already seen, to Indian depredations. The men of the new settlements were constantly called upon to serve in longer or shorter tours of militia duty, which were considered essential to the safety of the frontiers. Mr. Dunlavey volunteered as a private on the ist of October, 1776, under Capt. Isaac Cox; his lieutenant was David Steele. His company encamped in the woods at Holliday's Cove, on the Ohio river. opix>site a large island in what is now Brooke county. West \'irginia, now known as Brown's island, above Steubenville, Ohio, but below the mouth of Yellow creek. Here the company erected a chain of log cabins, block houses, and scouted in pairs up and down the river for the distance of twelve miles. This fort or station was on the line of defense from Fort Pitt to Gravel creek, erected as a protection to the border against the Indians. Mr. Dunlavey afterward remembered that he frequently saw at this post Col. John Gibson, of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, who supervised the several stations on the river. His tour of duty expired on the 20th of December, and he was then discharged. During the latter part of the service of this tour he, with others, was detached and sent down the river about twelve miles, where Decker's Fort was erected, and where a small settlement was protected while the inhabitants gathered their corn. In July, 1777, Mr. Dunlavey served fijurteen days in the inihtia at Fort Pitt as a sul)stitute fur liis lather, Anthciney Dunlavey, wiio had been drafted for a month and had served the first half of it. General Hand had just arrived at the post. unaccomp;inied by any troops. Notwithstanding Mr. Dunlavey was a militia man. he did duty in garrison under officers belonging to the regular army. Capt. Harry Heath had command of the post upon the arrival of Hand. Col. John Gibson and some of his regiment. Thirteenth Virginia, were in the garrison a short time. Captains Scott, Bell and Steele, well known about Pittsburg before, during and after the Revolutionary war, were in Fort Pitt at this time. Simon Girty was also present, then a subaltern. He seemed wholly taken uj) in intercnurse with the Indians, many of whom were in and around the fort.

Mr. Dunlavey volunteered upon the ist of March. 1778, for one month's service. The rendezvous was at Cox's Station, on Peter's creek. Colonels Isaac Cox and Jnhn Canon attended to organizing the men; but in eight days the militia relinquished their arms to some recruits for the regular army, who relieved them and they returned home to attend to putting in their crops.

On the 15th of August, 1778, Mr. D'unlavey was again drafted for one month, the place of meeting was Pittsburg. He served this tour under Lieut. John Springer, the troops being attached to the command of Captain Ferrol, lately from the seaboard, who had a company detached from the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment. This body of men ranged the woods, visiting the stations on the frontier line between Pittsburg and Wheeling, and finally relieving a company of militia from Hampshire county, Virginia, at the latter place, commanded by Capt. Daniel Cressap, brother of the celebrated Mike Cressap. Mr. Dunlavey was discharged at Pittsburg at the end of the month's service.

About the 5th of October he again entered the service. He went this time as a substitute for Andrew Flood, joining the company of Capt. John Crow. His battalion commander was Capt. Hugh Stevenson ; regimental commander. Col. William Crawford. The army was then under the command of Brig.-Gen. Lachlin Mcintosh. Mr. Dunlavey afterward reinembered that Colonel Fvans was commander of one of the luilitia regiments, and that there were also present Col. John Gibson, of the Thirteenth Virginia, and Daniel Broadhead, colonel of the Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment. It was this army that built Fort Mcintosh at the mouth of Beaver creek. The army marched into the wilderness on the 5th of November, crossing the forks of the Muskingum, and building Fort Lawrence on the west bank of that river. He afterward returned to Fort Mcintosh and was discharged on the 20th of December.

Mr. Dunlavey was again drafted on the 25th of August, 1779; the rendezvous, Fort Pitt. He was in camp three days at the "King's Orchard," on the Allegheny river. He then marched up that stream under Colonel Broadhead as chief ofiicer. Colonel Gibson next in command. His captain was one Ellis. In this army were Lieuts. John Hardin, of the Thirteenth Virginia, and Samuel Brady, of the Eighth Pennsylvania, both afterwards famous in Indian warfare. John Monteur, a half-blood (son of Andrew Monteur, a Frenchman), a man of informa- tion and education, but a great savage, accompanied tlie expedition, which consisted of about seven liundred whites, inckiding some light liorse. and about sixty Indians. Proceeding up the east bank of the Allegheny they crossed the Kiskiminitas, at its mouth, and a crooked creek, and came to Kittaning, where there was a garrison. The anny lay several days at an old Indian town on the river about twelve miles above the Kittaning. They then marched up the river and crossed about fifteen miles below the mouth of French creek. They then crossed the latter stream and moved toward the Monsey towns, meeting and defeating a small body of Indians, some thirty or forty in number. Four or five of the Americans were wounded, amone them Jonathan Zane, who was acting as pilot to the expedition. The Monsey villages were deserted. The army lay in the abandoned towns nearly a week, destroying several hundred acres of growing corn on the banks of the river. On their return a young man named John Ward was badly injured by a horse falling on a rock in a creek. Tliis accident occurred in what is now Butler county, Pennsylvania, where there is a township and post office called Slippery Rock. ]Mr. Dunlavey was discharged September 29.

In the spring of 1 782 Mr. Dunlavey was a student in Rev. Thaddeus Dodd's Latin and mathematical "log cabin" school at Ten- Mile, in Washington county, near Amity. He was then considered "a young man of superior talent and amiable disposition." He did not remain long in this school, for. in April of that year, he again volunteered against hostile Indians under a call from James Marshall, lieutenant of his county.

Tlie men rendezvoused at Decker's Station, or Fort, on the east bank of the Ohio, one mile above Cross creek. After a fe\v days the men were dismissed, a sufiicient number to have undertaken any important movement not having assembled. He was absent from home only ten days. No sooner was tiie expedition against Sandusky announced than Mr. Dunlavey once more shouldered his rifle. By the 15th of May he had returned to Decker's Station. He soon after crossed the Ohio to Mingo Bottom, and. upon the organization of the army, was made a lieutenant in Capt. Craig Ritchy's company. After the return of Mr. Dunlavey from the Sandusky campaign, and as soon as the peace of the country permitted, he was sent to the Dickenson College. He was afterward a student of divinity under Rev. James Hoge, of Winchester. Virginia, and finally taught a classical school in that state, having several pupils who subsequently were distinguished for their talents and learning. About the year 1790 he moved with his father's family to W'ashington, Kentucky, or that neighborhood. In 1792 he came to Columbia, near Cincinnati, where he opened a classical school in connection with the late John Reiley. of Butler county, Ohio. This school was continued for several years. He afterward moved to Lebanon, Warren county. Mr. Dunlavey was twice a member of the legislature of the Northwestern territory. He afterward was elected to the convention that formed the first constitution of Ohio. He was a member of the first state legislature, and was subsequently chosen presiding judge of tlie court of common pleas of the first circuit, which office he held for fourteen vears. The

In the old graveyard at Lebanon, Ohio, near the middle of the north boundary line, is the grave of this old hero. A modest looking monument bears the following inscription : "In memeory of Francis Dunlavey, who died October 6, 1839. aged seventy-eight years." He was among the first white men who entered the territory now forming Ohio, was a member of the territorial legislature and of the convention that framed the constitution of Ohio.

Gen. Benjamin W'Hiteman

One of Greene county's first associate judges died July r. 1852, at his residence near Clifton, Ohio, at the age of eighty-four years. He was born on the 12th of March, 1769, in 'Philadelphia, Pennsjdvania ; in 1782, and when about thirteen years of age, he emigrated to Kentucky about seven years after the first white settlement had been made there by Colonel Daniel Boone, and settled near Limestone, or Maysville, as it is now called. He was associated with Boone in defending the white settlements from the ruthless hands of the savages, enlistinig and serving as a volunteer in General Harmer's campaign, and also in Genera! Anthony Wayne's army, after the appointment of that gentleman by Washington as a successor of General St. Clair to the command of the army engaged against the Indians on our western frontier. In the month of Jklarch, 1792, he was in a desperate engagement with a party of Indians, headed by the gallant warrior, Tecumseh, in what is now Brown county, a few miles above where the town of AX'illiamsburg is nciw situated. Some horses had been stolen from Mason county, Kentucky; a party of men numbering thirty^six, cominanded by that veteran Indian fighter, Simon Kenton, started in pursuit. General Whiteman being one of the party.

On the morning of the second day, after crossing the Ohio river, twelve of the men gave out and returned, the weather being extremely bad. About noon, the same day, they came on the Indian camp, and found them so numerous that the attack was defrayed until night. They lay concealed until midnight, when the attack was made in three divisions, but the Indians stood their ground and returned the fire. The watch word of the Kenton men was "Boone," which being familiar with the Indians the name was shouted on all sides, and the combatants became blended together, as was also the watch-word. The night was dark and the flashing and roar of the rifles, the yells of the savages and the shouts of the attacking party made the scene awfully appalling. The Indians being re-enforced from a neighboring camp, Kenton ordered retreat, which was effected with the loss of but two men. The Indians had about one hundred men lost, foinrteen killed and seventeen wounded.

In 1793. when about twenty-three, General \\'hiteman married the daughter of OAven Davis, the old miller down on Beaver creek, owner of the house of Peter Borders, Greene county, Ohio's, first court house, with whom he lived for a period of about fifty-nine years. The fruits of this marriage was a numerous and a very respectable family.

Robixsox'S History Of Greek E Couxty

young family to Greene county, Ohio, and settled near the mouth of Beavercreek, in the vicinity of what is now known as the Harbine farm. In this neighburhood he lived about five years, and in 1799 he built the house in which the first court was held in the county. In this connection it will not be amiss to introduce the testimony of General W'hiteman himself as to when he first settled in Greene county, and while it will throw light on matters that have been settled, yet from his evidence will show conclusively that errors will sometimes be accepted as truth.

A court of the master commissioner ( Josiah Grover) was being held at the house of Amassa Reid, at old Chillicothe, or Old Town, for the purpose of taking depositions of some of the oldest pioneers, to be used in suits of ejectment against different parties then pending in the court of Greene county. General Benjamin Whiteman, in answer to the question "At what time did you become acquainted with the old Chillicothe, on the Little Miami river?"- said : "In the month of October, 1790. In 1792 I, together with a detachment of militia from Kentucky, encamped on that point of land that lies just beyond Old Town, between what is now known as Massies creek and the Little Miami river. It was then ^generally spoken of as an island amongst us. and I always believed it to be an island until I became a resident of this county, in 1799. Alx)ut one year after I settled in this county I had occasion to go to the falls of the Little Miami, and, traveling up Ijetween the Little Miami and Massies creek, I found them to be separate streams, and as to the island below the mouth of Massies creek, at which I have since understood Jamison's entry commenced at or called for, I have no knowledge of nor never heard of such a one until several years after I settled in this county. I first settled on Beavercreek, about six miles from the Old Chillicothe, in what is now the bounds of (jreene county, and there was no settlement at that time above Davis' mill, above Beavercreek, except three families on the Little ]\Iiami, in the limits of what is now Greene county, and the settlement on what I then lived on Beavercreek, and it did not exceed six or eight families."

The three settlements spoken of above were those of James Galloway, Sr., George Galloway, cousin of James, Sr., and Robert Boggess, the last named near the falls of the Little Miami, and the first two spoken of were located, James Galloway, Sr., on the left of the road across the Little Miami, going north, and George Galloway on the right opposite what is now (1899) the IMiami Powder Works. General W'hiteman was asked "How often had you passed through or near Old Chillicothe?'' and he answered, "I passed through that point of land three times in three different years, between the years 1790 and 1794, once under the command of Colonel Edwards, with about four hundred volunteers, and twice on small scouts."

General Whiteman resided in Beavercreek township for about five years, and there built the house in which the first courts were held in the county. In 1805 he removed to a tract of land which he had purchased in the vicinity of Clifton, and on the spot where his old mansion now stands he lived for a period of forty-seven vears. He was present at the naming of the new county seat of Greene county, when the forks of the Shawnee creek was chosen as a per- inaiieiit location, and was one of the tirst associate judges of the first court held in the county. He was associated with Generals Gano, Findley and others in first organizing the military system of Ohio, and held a commission of lieutenant colonel in the militia of Greene county in 1805, and was also at the time president of the court of inquirj- of said count}'. W hen the war hetween this country and Great Britain broke out he was appointed brigade general of this division, and having entered upon the active duties of his office he continued to serve his country to tlie end of the war.

After the war closed he retired to his country residence, in the vicinity of Clifton, where he spent the remainder of his days in educating his children, and enjoying the sweets of domestic life. He was one of the early pioneers- of Greene county, his name being associated with the earliest recollections of the old settlers. It is incorporated with our social, civil and militarv affairs in their earliest history. He lived to witness the origin, progress and development of our county and state from the time she was rocked in the cradle of infancy until she look her stand as the third state in this great confederacy. General Whiteman was both a soldier and a patriot, as well as a dignified gentleman of honest and high-minded principles, who scorned a mean action, was a good citizen, a pleasant neighbor and a kind father.

We have the assurance also from the testimony of Rev. Moses Russell, to whom we are indebted for part of this sketch, that among the last acts of his life was a distinct avowal of the principles of Christianity, and especially the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ, and the expression of a hope

How much has been Icjst to Greene county in the death of this grand old pioneer. Could his biogra])hy have been written of the many facts of local history, which he had in reference to the early times and settlement of this county, it would have made a large volume, almost priceless in value. In the cemetery at Clifton, Ohio, his body lies buried with the simple and modest inscription on his monument, "Benjamin Whiteman, born ^larch 6, 1769; died Julv i, 1852." Nothing to indicate his record as a soldier, or which W(juld lead one to think of the biave and daring life that he lived as a soldier, the stirring events that have been his to share. Ma\- he rest in peace.

On account of Mr. Maxwell's early death, which occurred in the year 1809, and his immediate friends and descendants having removed from the county, it has been a very difficult task to compile and pay anything like a just tribute to his worth as a bra\e and enterprising pioneer of Greene county. The facts that we have been enabled to gather here and there read almost like fiction. We learn from the early history of Hamilton county that he was a native of New Jersey, and not long after the organization of said county he came out and settled on the site now known as Cincinnati, Ohio. \\'e also find that Mr. Maxwell had the honor of publishing the first newspaper that was published in that city, if not the first one that was published north of the Ohio river. He came to the front in that capacity November 9, 1793, being encDurajii'ecl lie set up an office. It was a primitive affair, located in a small room in a log cabin, which stood on the corner of what is now known as Front and Sycamore streets, near the river. The settlement at that time contained not more than two hundred souls. His press was brought down the river from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. The name of the paper was "The Sentinel of the Northwestern Territory." He was also the second postmaster of Cincinnati, the ^'uccessor of Abner Dunn. It was along about this time that an event occurred which is related by his granddaughter, Mrs. Sarah Beath, of Normal, Illinois, who says : "My grandmother's (the wife of William Maxwell) maiden name was Nancy Robins. Her father was killed by Indians in Virginia, and her mother with two or three children escaping to Cincinnati took refuge in the block houses there, when the village was beseiged by the Indians." Mrs. Beath's great-grandmother afterward became the wife of Ebenezer Zane, the founder of Zanesville, Ohio. And it was under trying times, as above stated, that William Maxwell, ex-representative to the first legislature that met at Chillicothe, to formulate and enact laws for the new county of Greene and state of Ohio, ex-associate judge and exsheriff of Greene county from Deceml)er 7, 1803. until 1807, met, won and married Nancy Robins. From the old records we find that Mr. Maxwell and his little family in 1799 removed to the then more northern part of Hamilton county to what is now known as the Ma.xwell farm situated* in Beavercreek township, Greene county, Ohio. Many facts which are a mystery are made plain by the aid of which we term the "old records." Many questions never could have been answered had it not been for the light from them that is thrown backward down the road that leads back to the "long ago." For example, when the first legislature convened at Chillicothe to designate the temporary county seat for the new made county of Greene, how did they know about the house of Owen Davis on Beaver creek ? The answer to that is, William Maxwell, the subject of this sketch, and a member of that body at that time, had been living for more than five years in sight of the house of Owen Davis, or, as it is sometimes called, the house of Peter Borders. His land adjoined, and in many places was the boundary line, of the land then known as the Owen Davis farm, now the home of our honored fellow citizen, Jacob Harbine.

Mr. Ma.xwell was also an officer and an active worker in helping to establish the militia in Greene county. As far back as 1805 he held the position of major. Deceml)er 7, 1803, having resigned the office of associate judge, he was elected sheriff of the county in place of Nathan Lamme, who had resigned said office on account of his large land interests. .Among the old relics of Greene county in the way. of historical papers are three of the original bonds igiven by Mr. Maxwell for faithful performance of duty : two of said Ixrnds are for the office of sheriff, the other is for the office of collector of taxes. After Mr. Maxwell's death his widow married John White. The children of William Maxwell and wife Nancy are as follows : sons, William, John, EJias, George, Ludlow, and daughters, Nancy, who married John Sayers ; Eliza, who married Samuel Owens ; and Levina, who married Baker Butler.

Robixsox'S History Of Greexe Couxtv

of the village of Alpha, not far clown the Little Aliami river from what is known as the "Indian Riffle Bridge," on ascending the hill can be seen the stones that were placed there by the hands of him of whom we write, as the foundation of his spring house. Not far from the spring was the first cabin which he erected as his home, and not far friim the spring on a high point of land is the grave of William Maxwell. Sr., but \\here the spot is where loving hands laid him to rest in 1809 none as yet can tell.

He was a native of the state of Virginia. The first notice of Mr. Barrett as a public man we find to be that on the 6th day of .\pril, 1S03, the two houses oi the first legislature of Ohio, which had assembled at Chillicothe, met in joint cnn\'ention anrl selected three associate judges for each of the then existing and newlv organized counties. The gentlemen selected for Greene county were Benjamin ^^'hitema^, James Barrett and \\"illiam [Ma.xwell. After his appointment Mr. Barrett served as such until the }ear 1810. He was at this time well up in years and the infirmities of age were growing u])on him. He first purchased one half of a section of land in what was then known as Hamilton county, in the early part of the year i8oj. This land was in the first entire range of townships, and in the second townsb.ip and known as lot Xo. 32 in said township on the general map of the ]\Iiami purchase ; the north part of said section was set of¥ to James Barrett. Islv. Barrett's fanfily at this time consisted of his wife Elsie and four children, two sons, James and Philip, and two daughters, Eleanor and Hannah. His son James at this time was upwards of twenty-one years of age and his brother Philip was nineteen.

The family on first coming to> Ohio in iSoo resided in that part of Hamilton county that is now known as Butler county, on Dick's creek. In the fall of 1801 Mr. Barrett started out to select a location for his future home, where he and his family could go to work and open up a farm of their own. He returned and told his boys that he had found a place which suited him, and he wanted them to go with him and see it. If they were as well pleased with it as he was he would purchase a half-section, and if thev v.ould go with him and settle upon it, it should be theirs. The result was the boys came with their father to what is now known as Greene county, and he purchased the onehalf section of land in Sugarcreek township, r,ow (1900) owned by Mi'. Dinsmore Bigger, Hattie Bigger, Samuel ^^'eller and, I think, what is known as the Robert Tate farm. April u, 1802, they removed to it and commenced making improvements on the southeast half of said section, where they continued to live in common until September I, 1808; Philip was married to Miss Elizabeth Barnes. Previous to this James, the elder son, had married Xancy Mantan. September 17, i8oC). Eleanor was the first of his children to marry. She married Armstrong McCabe, April 12, 1805, and some time later they removed to Vigo county. Indiana. At a later date Hannah was married to David Wilson, son of Daniel, and tliey also remo\-ed to Montgomery count}-. After Philip's marriage he erected his liouse on the other part of said one-half section, and continued to live there until 1826, when he died. Judge James Barrett continued to make his liome with his elder son, James, until May, 1822, when he died leaving his wife, Elsie, a widow. Judge Barrett was buried on the old farm in one corner of the orchard in the rear of what is now the Dinsmore Bigger farm, and there is nothing to mark his grave. Xear by is the grave of Nancy, wife of James Barrett, Jr., who died May ig, 186^, aged seventy-seven years. Her husband, James Barrett, Jr., died in Allen county. His house taking fire, he was found dead in the yard. The first half-section of land spoken of in this sketch was near Coldrain in Hamilton county, and was set ofif in Mr. Barrett's will for Eleanor and Hannah, his daughters. In the city of Xenia, in the old part, are three streets running north and south, from \\'ater (or Third) street to Church street, that were named in honor of Greene couny's first associate judges, James Barrett, William ]\Iaxwell and Benjamin \\"hiteman. The first street east of West street is Barrett, the next street east of Barrett is Maxwell and the first street east of Detroit is W'hiteman. May their names ne\-er l:)e changed is the prayer of the compiler of this sketch.

A good old-fashioned name, and strangely familiar, can there be any storv connected with that lonely grave? Such was the tbought that passed through the mind of the writer of this sketch as one day he was waiting at Harbine's Station on the Xenia and DaA'ton branch of the great Panhandle railroad for the train for Xenia. ^^'e had been conversing about the old pioneers of Beavercreek township and old graveyards.

My companion, V^r. John R. Ridenour, said, pointing in the direction of the building that was used as the first court liraise of Greene county, '"About two hundred yards south of that building are two graves that are not marked. . I do not know whose graves they are, but I have heard that one of them is the grave of one of the first settlers in Beavercreek township. Init his name I cannot recall. "

Looking at my watch, I found that I had one hour to wait, so concluded that I would go and investigate. Arriving at the place, I saw extending up the south line of the Harbine farm a strip of land apjiarently twelve feet wide by one hundred feet long, which looked as if it might have been used as a graveyard. Here and tliere were indications that someone had been Ijuried. Xo mark - save about the length and width of a bod}- - was seen. A hollow or depression of earth showed that someone was sleeping there, the long sleep of deadi. About the middle of this graveyard was the grave of our subject, Jacob Smith, and by his side that of his wife. Patience Smith. Removing the weeds and vines which grew in front of the stone, we observed at first sight that he was a Mason, on the face of the stone being engraved the square and compass, the gavel, the ()])en book and irdwel. and the following inscrii)tion : In memory of Jacob Smith, who died the I2lh of December, 1819, in tile sixty-sixth year of his age. For twelve years he represented the county of Greene in the state senate. He was a useful citizen and diefl lamented. His actions were squared by justice : he kept his passions within compass. Tn him faith, hope and charity were united." Patience Smith survived her husband till Marcli 23, 1835, when

Although these were on the margin of an open field which had been cultivated from time to time, yet from the time that the land had become the property of J\lr. Harbine, the graves had been respected. Yet there were indications showing by tlie near approach of the marks of the plow that it had been a great temptation to the different tenants to take just one more round from the rich earth which had had such a long rest. \\'hen the Masonic brethren were told of this lonely grave, and whose it was, they were not long in making arrangements to have the bodies mo\-ed to their own lot in our own beautiful W'oodlawn, Xenia, which was done October 14, 1898, by the brethren of Xenia lodge. Dr. W. GL. Galloway delivered a fine address at Woodlawn on that occasion. Never can the writer of this sketch forget the morniuig of the above date w hen the people began to assemble near the spot that will ever be historic on account of its being, as it were, the cradle of Greene county's judicial history, near the house of Peter Borders, the county's first court house. They met nut to bury Jacol) Smith, these -Masonic Ijretliren, but to remove whatever might remain of him to a more suitable place for the interment of one who had been of so much niite in the county of his choice, and which he had so highly honored. X^'early eighty years he had been buried and his wife si.xty-three. \\'ou]d there be anything remaining of what had been placed there by loving hands so long ago? And while the cold wind of that early October morning came sweeping across the Beavercreek prairie, chilling those who were standing around and warning them of the near approach of winter, the men employed contniued in silence their work. The remains of Mrs. Smith were first found at a depth of four feet and si.K inches to the bottom of the grave. Those of her illu.strious husband were soon after brought to the light at a depth of six feet. Tradition says "as was the heig-ht of a man so deep should his grave be." Nothing remained in either grave of coffin or casket, except here and there small pieces of wood and a few brass buttons from ^Ir. Smith's coat. After the remains of Mr. Smith had been carefully uncovered they were seen to be complete, a ])erfect skeleton ; the bones of the hands and arms were crossed just lielow the breast, the head turned slightly to one side and a small p\Tamid of bones at each foot. In removing the bones from the grave, of course the skeleton was taken apart. It was with peculiar emotions that the writer held the skull of Jacob Smith and gazed into the sightless eyes and at the mouth and chin which denoted that he had been a man of strong will and great firmness of character. In the "old records of the county" is to be found here and there the following story of his life in part : Jacob Smith was a native of Frederick county, Virginia. Late in the fall of 1798 he and his wife. Patience, with their family turned their footsteps from their old -Virginia home to find a new home in the then far west country. In 1800, after havin.g stopped for about two years at Red Stone and "Old Fort" in Pennsylvania, he reached the Miami valley and located his home in Beavercreek township, Greene county, near the present town of Alpha. There he reared a large family. His eldest son, John Smith, was a charter member of the Nenia lodge (Masonic) and was sheriff of

Greene county. Oliio, from 1819 to 1824. He removed to Springfield, Ohio, where he (lied Mav 4, 1S5J. and was Ijuried with Masonic honors. The other children of Jacoh Smith were: sons, Josiah B., Isaac, Seth and Jacob, Jr. His daughters were : Rachel, wife of James Collier, one of Xenia's pioneers ; Ann, who married Samuel Kyle, grandfather of Harvey and Samuel Kyle, our fellow townsmen, and he was also the great-grandfather of Wilbur O. Maddux, of Xenia. wlio is also a Mason ; Elizabeth, who married Joel Dolby, the grandfather of the Rev. Francis Clemens, who was present the day his grandparents were removed; Sarah was married to Henry Snyder ; Lydia married Jacob Staley ; Hannah married Rev. Edward Flood : Marv married George Tavlor. In all. eleven children reached adult age and all were worthy of their illustrious father and good mother.

The ptilitical life of Jacob Smith was an interesting one. At the first meeting of the court. May 10, 1803, among the number present that day was Jacob Smith. In the meeting of the court, Decemlier term, 1803, we find the names of Jacob Smith and others attached to a petition for the laying out of a road from Springfield to Yellow Springs, thence to Owen Davis' mill to intersect the Pickney road. Although this was not the first road in the county it was the first to be established by the legal authoritv of the county. The act passed by the general assembly, February 14, 1804, creating the ofifice of county commissioner. W'e find Jacob Smith one of the first commissioners chosen for Greene county. On Octo1:)er 8, 1805. Jacob Smith was chosen state senator at tlie annual election by a handsome maj(jrity. .Altogether he served Greene and

Clinton counties as senator nine terms as follows: In fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth, tenth, ele\'enth, twelfth, fifteenth and si.\- teenth general assemblies. The last canvass he made for that position was October 13, 1818. when he was defeated by the Hon. William R. Cole, of Clinton county, whn was a son-in-law of Josiah Elam, a soldier of the Revolution. This was about one year l>efore his death. He was also the owner of the Owen Davis mill, which he sold to our old townsman. James A. Scott, in 181 5.

On the early records of Greene count}-, Ohio, the first enumeration taken by James Collier of the free white male inhaliitants over the age of twenty-one years appears the names of James and Jacob Snowden. Of Jacob little can be learned, but of James Sn(j\\den there is much that has been left on record. It has been stated by one that he was one of the first associate judges of Greene county. That is a mistake, he was an associate judge, l>ut not one of the first. He was one of the first commissioners of Greene comity when that ofiice was created, and .served until 1808.

James Snowden settletl first northwest of Bellbrook about 1799. He came from Xcw Jersey and buili a cabin just n(.)rth of the present residence of Henry Harman, being southeast of center of section 2 (2.6). His lands embraced all of the east part of the above section, Ijeing then all the western liart of Bellbrook, which he in 1815 sold to Stephen Bel! and Henry Updyke. ?Ie was appointed associate judge first in 1809, and liis associates on the l^encli were Davitl Huston and James Barrett. It is said in 1810 Presiding Judge Hon. Francis Dunlavey and Mr. Snnwden differed somewhat in regard to an oalli ; ]\Ir. Snowden refused to be sworn, whereujjon the judge ordered the sheriff to lock him up. This Slieriff Colher refused to do, and thereupon the judge liad them l)iith jiut l)eliind tlie "bars" for contempt of court. It is said that he was very punctual in attending court and had an aversion to riding and would walk all the way to Xenia and back through the then unbroken forest. He was once prevailed upon to take a horse, and on starting he neglected to mount, but sli])ping the bridle rein over his arm he proceeded to walk, leading the horse. The judge, no doubt, fell into deep cogitations of legal lore, and the horse coiicludiug his comjiany more ornamental than useful slipped his bridle and turned his attention to the more pleasing prospect of the then unexplored pastures of the ?\liami bottoms. In the meantime the judge pursued his way alone, until reaching the end of his journey he found the empty bridle hanging on his arm. It is said that Mr. Smnvdcn after disposing of his land in 181 5 removed to Indiana, where he died. His trips to Xenia on foot are thus graphically described by one of the early writers of the time, John A. Taylor: "Xow James, the son of Jupiter, got him up early in the mornings, put a few unleavened cakes in his script, grasped his staff and setting his face toward the sunrising took up his march for the great city of X-Zeninia." These chronicles were at the time published in a paper printed in Xenia. and abouufled, it is said, with much genuine wit and pleasant humor. The paper of which we speak was called

"The Greene County Gazetteer." and was edited by Xathaniel JMcLain. The otiice in which it was printed stood on Main street not far from the present book store of Mr. West. It had a go(jd circulation in this ])art of the county, and was carried by a boy on horseback. When it was "muster 'day'" in Xenia, General Whiteman was there bedecked in his glittering regimaitals; and the newsboy for some unaccountable reason never arrived home until after dark.

Revolution

James Galloway was born in Pennsylvania, May 2, 1750. He emigrated to Kentucky shortly after the commencement of the war of the Revolution and to Ohio in the year 1797. settling in Greene couny. al)oul five miles north of Xenia, and west of the Little Miami river, opposite the present Miami Powder Mills. He died August 6, 1838, at the good old age of eighty-eight years, and was buried in the old Massies creek church yard, four miles northeast of Xenia. He was in the service of the United Stales during the I\evolutionary war eighteen months in the capacity of hunter for the army to procure game. Mr. Galloway is said to have possessed many of the traits of Daniel Boone. He was also with General Roger Clarke in his second expedition against the Indians at Old Chillicothe in 1782. Daniel Boone was also along with this expedition and in his narration states: "When General Clarke, at the falls of the Ohio, heard of it (the defeat of the whites at the Blue Licks), he ordered an expedition to pursue the savages. We overtook them within two miles of their town and we would have obtaned a great \ictory had not some of them met us wlien about two luuidred poles from tlieir cam]3. The savages tied in the utmost confusion and disorder and evacuated all their towns. We burned Old Chillicotlie to ashes, Piqua, Xew Chillicothe. Willstown. entirely destroying their corn ?nd fruits, and spread desolation through their country. We took seven prisoners, ten scalps and two whites." One time he came face to face with that arch traitor to his race, Simon Girty, who, observing that Gallowav was unarmed, accosted him thus : "Xow, Galloway, d - n you, we've got you," and instantly fired. Galloway received a dangerous wound, and was supposed by Girty to have been killed. He, however, wheeled his horse and made for camp, a 'inile distant, which he reached in safety, but in a fainting condition. The ball passed through his shoulder and lodged some place near the back of his neck. He carried the ball manv years and it was extracted by Dr. Josiah Martin.

Mr. GalJDway was first married to Miss Rebecca Junkin, in Cumberland count\-. Pennsylvania, November 2^,. 1778. and to them were given the following children : James. Samuel. \\'iiliam. Andrew, Anthonv, ar.d two daughters, Rebecca and Ann. Anihnny and Ann were born after he came to Ohio. His first wife dying, he afterward married ]\Iiss Tamar Wilson, April 13, 1817. Of this later marriage there was no issue. He was honored bv bis fellow pioneers to an office of trust in the county, that of county treasurer, wliich he continued to fill fr(jm the first organization of the county in 1803 until the middle iif June, i8iy. when he g'lve way to Mr. I^tyan Gowdy. In the year 1810 he erected the old stone house that used to be on the hillside near the powder mills, and which many yet living remember to have seen. He was a man of deep religious convictions, and those convictions he carried out in life by doing acts of kindness to his neighbors and in workuig f(jr the good of humanity. To him is the psalm singing portion of the communit}' under obligation for his untiring efiforts in bringing first to this county the Rev. Robert Armstrong and other preachers of that faith, and making his home theirs. During his long and useful life he was ever ready to help those deserving of help.

The granting of licenses for keeping ta\-ern and selling merchandise was still retained as tl.ie duty of the associate judges, and at the first court of associate judges held in Xenia on the 15th day of Xo\'ember, 1804, four tavern licenses were granted, one to A\'illiam A. Beatty for keeping a ta\-ern in the town of Xenia, "for one year from the first day of October last past, on his paying eight dollars and fees." This was the first tavern in Xenia. and seems to have been opened on the 1st day of October, 1804. This house was a hewed-log, double structure, tw^i stories high. It stood on the south side of Main street, very nearly opixisite the middle point of the pulilic square. The length was from east to west, and width from north to south, and its west end was about forty-five feet east of the southeast corner of Main and Detroit streets, where the Xenia Xational Bank now (190Q) stands. This building was nut iinlv a dwelling house and tavern, but it was also Greene county's second place of holding- court. Courts were held in it from the 15th of Xovember, 1S04, till the completion of the first court house proper on the 4th day of August, 1809. The court was held in the west mom of the second story. August 20. 1805. Xenia township was organized, and the first election for Xenia township and the town was held at the house of William A. Beatty. Previous to this Xenia was in L'aesarscreek township and the few voters then in the town voted at Caesarsville, which was located near the home of the late Paris Peterson, southeast of Xenia. The first court was held in this building X'ovembcr 15, 1804. and continued to be used as such until the completion of the building that had been commenced by Mr. William Kendall in 1806, and wcis completed August 14, 1809.

jNIr. Beatty was also director of the town of Xenia, being the successor of General Joseph C. \'ance, who removed to Champaign county in 1S05. at the organization of said county, and continued to act as sucli until 18 1 7, at v.-hich time lie removed ti.: Brownstuwn, Jackson county. Indiana. He died intestate and insolvent in Xovember, 182 1, leaving, at the time of his death, his widow, Jane Beatty, who afterward married Robert Holmes, a resident of Scott county, Kentucky, also the following children, towit : John A., who died without issue; James F. ; \\'illiam S. : Josiah G. : Samuel M. ; ]\Iarv L. : and Francis. Josiah and James F. remained in Xenia for some years. The balance of the famiy went to Kentucky after the marriage of their mother to Mr. Holmes. William A. Beatty came from Georgetown', Kentucky, to Xenia, Ohio, some time in the summer of 1803.

Owex D.Wis, The Old Miller On Beaver Creek

Xo name is perhaps of more historic interest than that of Owen Davis. In the early settlement of Greene county came men who had the courage and hardihood to face danger and even death, if need be, that this garden spot of the state that we now call Greene county might be reclaimed from its wild and primitive state in its condition as a wilderness and be made to bloom and blossom as a rose. They came, they saw, and as a result of their courage and perseverance we see the forest has disappeared and in its jjlace we belli ild waving fields of grain, beautiful homes, towns grown into cities, with the sounds of industry on every hand, where used to be the solitary path of the Indian. We now liehold roads, pikes, railroads and electric car lines leading from cities to towns and hamlets, and the surface of the earth that less than one hundred years ago was a wilderness, the habitation of wild animals, and a more savage race of ]>eople, now traversed by a net work of impro\'enients, onlv excelled l.iy that which we can see at night in the starry firmament above, which God, the creator of all, has placed there for our admiration and wonder.

Before the organization of the county came Owen Davis, and settled in what is now known as Beavercreek township. The earliest date that we find of the Davis family (those from W'ales, who were related to the subject of this sketch) we find in Mr. John F. Edgar's '"Pioneer life in Dayton and vicinity from 1796 to 1840." It is an able and interesting work of the pioneers of that section. On page 22 he says : "During the winter of 1795 and 1796 forty-six men agreed to settle in Dayton. In the spring of 1796, wlien the time came to start, only nineteen responded, and they set out in three sections, two overland and one by water. On March 21, 1796, the party in which was the Davis family started overland and were about two weeks on the road. Thomas Davis, the senior member of the family, was a native of Wales. He was in the Revolutionary war. was taken prisoner and was exchanged at Philadelphia. He settled near the bluffs two miles south of Dayton, where he died in the fall of 1803, and Hannah Davis, his widdw, was appointed to settle his estate. This Thomas Davis was a brother of Owen Davis, the old miller, who came later in the fall of 1799 and settled in Beavercreek township, Greene county. Owen Davis had married Letitia Phillips, and had but two children, a son, Lewis, who never married, a short sketch of whom will be found in tliis l:)ook, and a daughter, Catherine, who was the wife of General Benjamin Whiteman. They were married in Limestone (or Maysville), Kentucky, in 1793. Mr. Whiteman at tliat time being twenty-three years of age. Thomas Davis had a son. 0\\en Davis, named after his brother Owen, who was married ^larch 16, 1809. to ^liss Jane Henderson, by Rev. Joshua Carman, who was a Baptist preacher and lived in Sugarcreek township, Greene county. Tliis Owen Davis was the grandfather of Mrs. Fredrick Beaver and ifrs. Stillwell. of Dayton, and James Popenoe, senior's, first wife, who died in i8jo, was also of this branch of the family. After the coming of Mr. Davis and his son-in-law, Benjamin Whiteman, in J 799, it was not long uiuil he had his historic mill erected on I>ca\cr creek, and it is said that this mill drew custom from a radius of thirty miles, and we know that the members of the Dutch Station in ^liami county brought their corn here through the woods, camping out at night. Mr. Davis is spoken of by them as having been a genial, accommndating man. often remaining up all night to oblige them. This mill was finished in the winter of 1799. Two block houses were built a little east of the mill with the intention, should danger necessitate, to connect by a Wy.e of i)ickets so as to include the mill. Mr. Davis often started his mill on the Sabbath and ground corn for the customers who had come a long distance. To this some of his extremely religious neighbors protested, even threatening him with prosecution. Mr. Davis replied that as soon as steps were taken in this direction they would gcj without their meal and fiour. This argument proved effective and the subject was dropped. The building known as the house of Peter Borders. where the first courts of Greene county were held, was erected by his son-in-law. Mr. Whiteman, a short distance south of the mill and about one hundred from the south line of what is now known as the Harbine farm, and about two hundred yards east of Beaver creek. A little to the northeast of this building was a small ten by twelve house. which was in the time of holding court used as a jury room. About two hundred yards northeast of the old court house stood the block house, which on the 19th day of August. 1803, was made use of for a jail, the first institution for that ])urpose in the county. Owen Davis and his son-in-law. General Benjamin Whiteman. in the year 1805 disposed of their property in Beavercreeic township and removed to Miami township, where thcv spent the balance of their da\s. Mr.

Davis had not more than settled in his new home, the present site of the town of Chiton, Ohio, until he commenced to erect the first mill in Miami township, the stone foundation of which ( 1900) can be seen near the sawmill east of the present Clifton mill. Previous to his removing from Beavercreek townshi]) he had suld his mill propertv to Jacob Smith, who in 1815 sold the same to our old townsman, James A. Scott, and his brother John. Owen Davis was a soldier of the Revi'lution ;uid a fearless Indian lis;hter, and at a meeting of the first court of common pleas proper, August 2, 1803, we find that he jileads guilty to a charge of assault, and is duly fined eight dollars for the same. The cause of the fight was Air. Davis had charged a man from Warren county of stealing hogs. After the fight he went into the court room and addressing his illustrious son-in-law. General Benjamin Whiteman. who was one of the associate judges, .said: "Well, Ben, Tve v>hi])ped that hog thief; what's the damage?" and farther added, shaking his fist at the judge, "Yes, Ben. if you'd steal a hog. I'd whip you, too."

In enumerating the early settlers of Miami township. Greene county, the name of Owen Davis should not be forgotten. In the old historic graveyard'. Clifton, Ohio, not far from the north line and near the middle of said graveyard, is the grave of Owen Davis, who was a native of Wales, and was born October 13, 1751. and died at his Imme near Clifton. Ohio, t'ebruary 18, 1818, aged sixty-six years, four months and five days. And by his side his wife, I.etitia Phillips Dax'is. who died September 8. 1824. in the :seventv-hfth vear of her age.

The first, trace of the Grover family, the ancestors of Josiah Grover. clerk of courts from 1808 till 1829, was when Josiah and Benjamin (irover had settled and were living near Plarper's Ferry. Virginia. The former was the father of Josiah and Benjamin Grover, who in the year 1804 came and settled in Xenia. Their parents had emigrated to the state of Kentucky and had located near nan\'ille.

Josiah Gro\-er, Sr.. married Aliss Mary Anderson about the year 1720, and to them were given five chidren, two daughter and three sons. The eldest of these was Sarah T., who married Colonel John Paul, the founder of Xenia, Ohio, and Madison, Indiana (a sketch of whom appears in this book). The second, a daughter. Jemima, who married a Mv. Mockley. The third, a son, Josiah. who married Martha Mc- Clure. And in adilition to these were two sons, Benjamin and .\braham. Benjamin came to Xenia with his brother J(_)siah. and was a useful man in the new town. On the lot now owned bv Mrs. James Kvle (mother of Charles Kyle. Escp j. he erected the first school house of logs in 1805, and was the first to teach school in Xenia. He afterward served the county as commissioner in 1813 and 1814. Josiah Grover, the third child and first son ofjosiah and Mary Anderson Grover, was born near Baltimore. Maryland, in 1 770. Josiah Grover and his wife, Martha McClure Grover, had given to them eight cliildren : Abraham, who married Miss Dunham: John Paul, who married Miss Juliet Beall : James Liggett, who married Miss Nancy Ann. youngest daughter of Hon. John Alexander, and who also was the successor in office to his father as clerk of courts of Greene county, Ohio, for seven years, and was a minister of the gospel in the Methodist Episcopal church,' where he was a man of note and loved by all. He was for years the efficient lil)rarian of the state library at Columbus from 1872 until the day before his death, which occurred l\Iay 5, 1897, at the age of ninety-one years. He was born in Xenia, Decemljer u, 1806. His youth and early manhood were spent in Xenia ; at the age of eig-hteen he had graduated from the Xenia Academy. The fourth child was a daughter, Sarah Paul, who was born in Xenia in 18 10 and died at X'ew Albany in 1873, aged sixty-three years. She married George H. Harrison, who was a native of Harrisonburg, Virginia, and who was born in February, 1809, died at Xew Albany in 1854. He is said to have been a teacher of rare ability. He was for some years a resident of Xenia, as his son, James G., was born here September 29, 1834, and they removed to X^w Albany in 1839. The fifth child was a son, Oliver Hazard Perrv. who was killed in the Mexican war. The sixth child, a son, Benjamin Whiteman, married Letitia Sheets. The seventh and eighth sons were twins, Xelson Ira and Reade Ellis.

Josiah Grover is sometimes mentioned as Judge Grover. The reason for that was, under the old constitution of the state, the clerk of courts had all the work to do whicii the probate judge has to do to-day under the new constitution. In addition to the work of clerk of courts he was count\' recorder, master commissioner, that is held court at different points to take depositions, etc. And he was also one of the associate judges for the years 1806, 1807 and 1808. The old Josiah Grover home is yet (^1900) still standing, the house now occupied by Coleman Heaton. Mr. Grover removed from Xenia to Aladison, Indiana, in 1830, to the city on the Ohio river which his honoretl brother-in-law, John Paul, had founded. On the hilltop near Malison is resting all that is mortal of this illustrious man and his loving helpmate, and by his side Colonel John Paul, the founder of the two cities, Xenia, Ohio, and Madison, Indiana.

Rememlirance Williams was born near the Potomac river, Harrison county, \'irginia. He was a soldier of the Revolution, and was with Washington during that distressing winter at Valley Forge. After the close of the war in 1790, he, together with his family, emigrated to Kentucky, settling a few miles back of Louisville, in Xelson county, where he continued to reside until the year 1800, when he removed to Ohio, crossing- the Ohio river at the mouth of Licking river, and from that point came direct to what is now Xenia, and entered a section of land, what is now known as the Silas Roberts' farm, and near what is called the middle spring he built his cabin. That was three years before Xenia was surveyed and laid out as a town. In the fall of 1803, when Joseph C. Vance came to survey and lay off the new county seat for Greene cotmty, part of the niiith line of the new town was the south line of the land of this old pioneer. His family at this time consisted of his wife, Eleanor, and sons John, Remem- brance, Garrett, Jesse and Robert. They had but two daughters, Margaret, who married Thomas Branliam, and Hannah, who married Sidion JNlericreif. In 1814 he removed with his family, with the exception of his eldest son, John, tO' Jefferson county, Indiana, and settled near Dupont. He had disposed of part of his land in Greene county, previous to removing, some to his son John, R}-an Gowdy, Samuel Gamble, and in 1817 he sold the remaining two hundred and sixty-nine acres to David Connelly. His son Rememljrance, Jr., and Jesse later returned to Ohio and settled near Mechanicsburg, Champaign county. Remembrance \Villiams, Sr., died on his farm in Indiana l^ebruary 2, 1843. J'^'^ii ^^ ihiams, liis eldest son, was born in Virginia, April 4, 1783, and died in Xenia, Ohio, April 6, 1826. He was the father of the following children: Alary, who was married to Samuel Gano ; Eleanor, wife of David Medsker : Cassandra; Catlierine, wife nf Wilson B. Mc- Cann ; Margaret, wife of James AlcCarty ; Elizabeth, wife of \\'illiam B. Fairchild. The last named is the only one now ( 1900) living. Four sons of the old pinneer were soldiers in the war of 1812, namely: John, Remembrance'. Garrett and Robert.

James Popexoe, Sr

His first visit to the present site of Xenia was in the year 1799. when he was one of a number of daring explorers and Indian hgliters from Kentucky who paid this part of the country a visit and passed over the ground where Xenia is now located. ]\Ir. Popenoe, with his l^rother, Peter, came to Greene county to locate permanently some time previous to 1803 and settled in Beavercreek townsliip. His brother Peter took the fij'st enumeration of all free white males over the age of twenty-one in 1803. Peter settled in what is now Clark county and afterward removed to the state of Missouri in 1806, and was killed by the Indians.

James Popenoe's political life was an interesting one. The first elective office w hich he held was that of coroner of Greene county, he being the first to occupy that position, which was in the year 1805. He was also a soldier in the war of 18 12 under General' Harrison. In the year 1815 he was elected sheriff of Greene county, being the successor of Ca])tain John Ilivling, which office he filled with acceptance until 18 19, when he gave way to John Smith, son of Jacob, Smith, who had bought of Owen Davis the first mill that was built in the county, and who was also owner of the house of Peter Borders, where the first courts of Greene county were held. While he was acting as sheriff' in 1816 Mr.- Popenoe built the well known home of Hon. R. F. Howard, which was located on Main street, lot Xo. 19, and which place, April 2, 183 1, he sold and conveyed to Dr. Joseph Templeton. That house was the birthplace of many of his cliildren, and is yet, in 1900, standing and in gnod condition. In the years 18 19 and 1820 Mr. Popenoe represented Greene county in the Ohio legislature (in the house). In the year 1824 he was again elected sheriff' of the county and continued to act as such until 1829. when he gave over the office to James A. Scott. It is said in history that Captain John Hivling and Mr. Popenoe were treasurers of the county. That is a mistake. The sheriff ofttimes acted as collector of taxes, for which he received a percentage in addition

Mr. Poi)enoe reiinived to Centerville in 1830. Peter, his eldest son, removed to Lawrence, Kansas, where many of his descendants are yet living. James Popenoe, Jr., is yet living at Centerville. Ohio, a hale, hearty, old man, aged eighty-two. And still another son, \\'illis Parkison Popenoe, resides at Topeka, Kansas, a,ged eiglityseven, who was born in the house before mentioned.

Mr. Popenoe in addition to other property owned what was called the "Indian Riffle farm." west of Xenia on the Little iliami. He was born August 20, 1777. and died at his home near Centerville, Montgomery ci^unty, Ohio. August 19. 1848, and is buried in the old graveyard near that place.

Settler

In the history of Jefferson county. Indiana, is found th.e following history of Lewis Davis, which says that "he was one of the original proprietors of the town of Madisnn, Indiana; was a man of middle age when he met John Paul at the sale of lands at Jeft"ersonville in the spring of 1809. Where he was born or where he died is not known. Pie left Madison some time in 1812 or 181 3 and went to Xenia. Ohio, lo reside. Afterward he resided in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1817 he was there, as- is found by a deed conveying his entire remaining interest of lands in ]^Iadison, Indiana, to Lewis Whiteman. bearing date of X'ovember 24, 1817. On October 8. 1813. Davis had sold onehalf of his interest in Madison to 'Sh. Jacob Burnett, of Cincinnati, he then being a resident of Greene county, Ohio."'

From the history of Greene county, Ohio, and old records we gather the following about Miami township:. Lewis Davis was perhaps the first settler in this township, as he came in the early days of this century. While at Dayton, then a small hamlet, he met an Indian just arrived from the Yellow Springs, by whom he was informed of the extraordinary natural advantages in its immediate \icinity. The sa\age further explained to him that the springs were located near a branch of the Little Miami river. Accompanied by a friend, he followed the instructions gi\-en by his dusky infortuant, and upon the discovery of the springs went to Cincinnati and entered tlie land. He was frequently engaged in surve}'ing land, accumulated consiilerable property, and was considered an upright and enterprising citizen. L'n fortunately he fcil a prey to the wiles of King Alcohol and was completely ruined thereby. He finally removed to Bellfontaine, Ohio, wliere he ended his days. His last resting place is thus described by one who discovered it accidentally: "On the left hand side of the state road, six miles west of Pellfontaine in an open forest, in a sandy knoll surrounded by a rail enclosure and covered by an oval shaped liowlder perhaps six feet in diameter ; beneath this stone reposes all that remains of Lewis Davis, unhonored. unwept and unknown." For years he had lived the life of a pauper, and when he saw the grim vision of death approaching he expressed a desire that this s]X)t should be his last resting place. He was the only son of Owen Davis, the old miller on Beaver.

Robixsox'S History Of Greene Couxtv James Towler And John Mills

Rev. James Towler was born in Prince Edward county. \'irginia. April i8, 1768, and died on his farm nortliwest of Xenia. July I). 1836, aged si.xty-eight years. .\ pinneer in tlie wilderness, he l)uilt the second hiiUse that was erected in Xenia, what was known as the old Cruiubaugh house, where now stands the wholesale grocery of Eavey & Company. Fredrick liimner doing the carpenter work for the same in the fall of 1804. At the recent centennial of the settlement of Greene county held in Xenia in J 897 there were tools that had belonged to Frederick Bonner. Sr., on exhibition as relics, and some of them he had used in finishing this house. The records of the counl\- show that James Towler. of Petersburg. Virgnia. bought of John Cole, of Dinwiddie county. \'irginia. three thousand acres of land situated on the waters of Shawnee creek, and at his coming to Greene county soon after he purchased of Joseph C. Vance lot Xo. 39, on which the aforesaid house was built. Mr. Towler was an earnest Methodist, and in the early records of the First Methodist Episco])al church, Xenia. his name appears as a member of the official Ixjard of said church. He afterward connected himself with what was known as the Radical or Protestant church. He was a preacher in that denomination, and used to go among the Indians, and at one time brought a couple of Indian boys home with him to h.ave diem educated. They remained in Xenia for some time, forming many ac- ([uaintances. and then returned to their tribes. Mr. Towler donated to the Radical church a strip of land for a graveyard, situated near the present residence of Norman Tiffan\-. and nearly two hundred of the residents of Xenia were Inirietl here.

He was the first postmaster of Xenia, Ohio. The following is a copy of a letter th.at was written bv Mr. Towler to an eastern friend and is in the iiossession of Mr. Ira C. Harper, of Allegheny. Pennsylvania. A copy was procured by ]\Ir. Warren K. Moorehead. our youn,g friend, who is searching around for all sorts of antiquities. ]Mr. Towler was at that time postmaster of Xenia :

"This town is the seat of justice of Greene county. It was laid out in the fall of 1803 by Joseph C. Vance, and contains at this time twenty-eight families and one htmdreil and fifty souls, a court house of brick, forty feet square, with a cupola. The town is washed by Shawnee creek, a branch of the Little ]\Iiami ri\-er, from whose mouth we are three miles, and fifty-five miles from Chillicothe. In the county are nine grist mills, nine sawmills, one fulling mill and one nail factorv. Xe\-er failing and excellent springs are numerous. The Yellow Springs, ^\hich are deemed a natural curiosity, are nine miles north of this place. It takes its name from a vellow or pale red sedimenr, which it emits from the water, and of which a large bank in found below the spring, over which the water has a fall of seventy feet into a hollow. It is believed the spring affords a sufficiency of water to turn a grist mill the year round, and is said to be impregnated with copper, copperas and iron. It is considerably visited during the summer season, and afTords relief for sore eyes, rheumatism, etc. It is diuretic, and the sedi- ment when ground in oil. paints as well as Spanish brown. The falls of the Little Miami (which is about three miles distant, falls over a rock twelve feet perpendicular, and the whole distance, two hundred feet) are of considerable importance to this county. There are remains of artificial walls, and mounds, in several parts of the county.

"Our trade is chiefly in hogs and cattle, which are purchased by drovers for the eastern markets and Detroit. There are two stores in the town, which I consider a great -evil, as they keq> our neighborhood drained of cash. We have e.xtensive prairies. Wolves have been bad on our sheep. Corn, wheat and rye are our principal crops. The soil is generally good and pretty equall}- divided into upland and bottom. The settlers are principalh- frcmi I'cnnsyhania, Xew Jersey, Virginia and Kentucky. Religion, Methodist, Seceders and Baptist. The county is twenty miles long, twenty miles broad, and is about one hundred and ten miles from Lake Erie."

In connection with what has been said by Mr. Towler, of Xenia and Greene county at that date (1809) we will add yet another testimony, that of John Mills. His father, Jacob, was one of the first to settle near what is now called Greene county, whose coming was in the year 1796. The land he first entered was over the line in \\'arren county. He came from Kentucky with John \\'ilson, and his sons, Amos, Daniel and George, where they located as a colony. \n the subsequent division into states and counties the purchase was found to be in the southwest corner of Greene <:ounty, near Clio, or Ferry, as it is now (1899) called, while the purchase of Daniel fell into Montgomery, and Jacob Mills' into

^^'arren county. And yet they worked together, assisting one another in providing themselves homes. In 1809 Jacob ^lills came with his family from \\'arren county to near where Clifton is now located in Miami township, Greene county, bringing with him his three sons-, John, Daniel and Thomas. History is silent in regard to his parting with his old friends, John Wilson and his sons, and why he had left that part of the state where lie had spent s<ime thirteen years of pioneer life. And yet the distance was not so great but what they could visit one another. We find that shortly after the coming of Jacob ?klills to Miami township in 1809 a singing school had been organized in Xenia, and the teacher of said school was David \\'ilson, oldest son of Daniel Wilson, their old neighbor, and it was no wonder tb.at John Mills, then a lad of fifteen, wanted to go; for three reasons, first, to see his okl playmate, David ; second, to see the Xenia girls: and lastly, to see the ti-iwn. which was ])retty much of a town at that time, with its about thirty log cabins and a brand new court house. The singing school was to be held in that new court house, and as John wanted to go he went. .\nd we are very glad that he did, for it is to him that we are under obligations for furnishing us a descriptif)n of Xenia as he saw it in the year 1809. He must have had a splendid time. Youngfolks in this age think that they have good times, not more so than they, - don't know whether John took his best girl along or not, but we will let him tell his nwn story. Ho says :

"The singing school was held in the new court house, and the girls came with their beau.x on horseback, dressed in linsev. and a few of the elite appeared in calico, then the extreme of fashion, aspired to by a few. And the boys arrived there all right, for the girls who had acted as guards of honor (rear guards) would not let them fall off. 'Oh blessed days' when horses, were made that would carr\- double."' John said that they had a grand time and returned home o\-er about Clifton with enlarged views of life and creation generally. Years afterward, at his home in Jamestown, Ohio, Jiihn, then a stead}- (ild man, gives us from memory his recollections of the long ago. He says : "During the winter of this same year, 1809. while in Xenia, I saw a man selling cider at tweh'e and one-half cents a quart, in front of the court house. A large stump was standing in the street, by the side of which he had a lire, in which he heated several rods of iron, and when he would make a sale he would hold the iron rod in the cider to bring il to a drinkable temperature." He states also at that time all houses in Xenia were built of l<-)gs, except one frame dwelling that stood where now is located the grocerv of Harner & Wolf, the property of James Gowdy. and the brick courthouse. In front of v.hat used to be the Second National Bank, on the southwest corner of Greene street, fronting on Main, was a stag'nant pool of water, a general rendezvous for geese, ducks and hogs. Opposite the courthouse was a two-story hewed log house kept by !vlaj. William A. Beatty as a tavern. On East Main street, on the present site of Trinity church. Henry Barnes, Sr., had built a logcabin in the woods.

In ciMitrast v.ith the price that dry goods are now selling for, and what they cost then, young men of this age are favored. 'Sir. Mills savs the material of which his wedding shirt was made cost a dollar a yard; same material can be bought to-day for six or eight cents per yard. The highest price paid for labor then was fr(jm fifty to seventy-five cents per day, and scarce at that, while every species of merchandise was from ten to twentyfold higher than at present. Salt hauled from Cincinnati was (four barrels by a four-horse team) four dollars per bushel.