Madison Township

Madison Township

This is the extreme northeastern subdivision of Fayette county. Madison civil township was one of the original townships made at the organization of the county in 1810. Its history, then, goes back one hundred and ten years as a precinct of the county. It is bounded on the north by Madison county, on the east by Pickaway county, on the south by Marion township, and on the west by Paint township. Its population in 19 10 was reported as being one thousand two hundred and thirty-three.

Settlement

It appears that 1807 was the date of the arrival of Samuel Myers, the first settler to locate in the then wild district of what is now Madison township - that being three years prior to the organization of this county. By birth Myers was a Pennsylvanian, born on June 11, 1776. Later the family moved to Virginia, and in 1807 the son Samuel emigrated to this county, at the age of thirty years. He located on Deer creek, near the mouth of Duff's fork, in this township, and in the northern part of survey No. 463, entered in the name of Thomas Overton. After remaining until 1816, he moved to Compton's creek, in Paint township, where he became a heavy farmer and stock raiser. He drove his cattle, after fattening them on the rich grasses, to Lancaster and Chester counties, Pennsylvania. When the War of 1812 was started, he was commissioned captain of militia, November 11, 1811. During the siege of Fort Meigs, and for gallant conduct, he was elected major on the field. He represented Fayette county in the General Assembly of 1813 and again in 18 18. He was also a justice of the peace for over thirty years, and taught the first school in Madison township, near the site of present Waterloo, in the winter of 1809, walking almost three miles to and from the little hut of a school house.

John Baldwin, a native of Virginia, born in 1749, espoused the cause of the colonies in the great struggle for national independence. He was a captain of militia, which company he raised himself and also equipped it for service. He further paid his own men for the term of their enlistment, which ahnost exhausted his goodly fortune. This was returned in shape of continental money, but it was so depreciated that it was almost valueless. He recei^'ed a large tract of land in the Virginia military reservation, which he located partly in Madison county and partly in Madison township, Fayette county, Ohio. It is known as the Wallace-Baldwin survey, No. 9721. His wife died before he left Virginia. He had twelve children by her. A few of his sons accompanied him to this county ; also one of his sons-in-law, the remainder of his sons coming in a little later. Jonah settled in Madison township. He died in September, 1850. aged seventy-seven years. William, born in Virginia, settled on his father's land in Madison, soon after his father's arrix-al'here. He died in 1823, aged fifty years. Richard Carson, the son-in-law of Jolm Baldwin, born in 1781, came from Virginia with Baldwm and settled on lands given him by Baldwin.

Edmund Clarridge. born in Maryland, in 1789, moved with his father in 1798 to Ross county, Ohio. Edmund enlisted near the close of the War of 1812 and served until its close. He had just moved to Madison township before his enlistment, and at the end of his service returned and there spent the remainder of his life. He served for many terms as a justice of the peace, and was also clerk and treasurer of his township. He died in 1868, owning a finely improved farm of a hundred and sixty acres. He and his wife were the parents of sixteen children, whose names and life-work in thi& county are well known.

Col. Joel Gregory, a New Yorker, mo^-ed to Athens county. Ohio, at a very early date, bought property and started a grist mill, saw mill and carding machine just below the town of Athens. There he was made a colonel of the militia. In 181 5 he sold his property in Athens county and moved to Madison township. Fayette county. He o\\ned a large amount of land in this countv and divided it among his sons, as they desired. He was in the Revolutionary War. He was elected to the Legislature here two terms, when that body yet convened at Chillicothe. At the age of sixty-five years, he died in this county, greatly esteemed by all. Nearly everv other member of the Gregory family made their mark in this and adjoining counties, and had to do with the development and military protection of the frontier country, through and after the ^^'ar of 18 12.

James Jones, Sr., was born in Pickaway county in 1813, at a point about three miles below New Holland. In early boyhood he had the ill fortune to be bereft of his mother, and after his father's second marriage, his home becoming unpleasant, he left and began w'orking for others by the month.

W^ages were very low and capital hard to accumulate, but, in a limited way, he was able to start in a Ijusiness of his own, which eventually led to his good circumstances in life. He died in 1871, having lived in and near Yankeetown many years. He had the misfortune to have to pay the debts contracted by others to the large amount of fifty-three thousand dollars. Yet at death he left a landed estate of thirteen hundred acres of highly cultivated land to his sons. He was a devout Methodist for twenty years. He was greatly missed by his community when called by death.

John Leavell, a native of Virginia, who served seven years in the Revolutionary War, started in 1786 with his family, from Culpeper county, to remove to Kentucky, but stopped in Greenbrier county, where, in the winter of 1786-87, he died, and in the spring his widow went on to Kentucky, where her sons erected a log cabin. While watching her son fell a tree near the cabin, she became excited for fear it w^ould fall on the house and running away w'as caught by the falling tree and instantly killed. There were eleven children in her family. One son, John Leavell, born in Culpeper county, Virginia, in 1774, came to Ross county, Ohio, and squatted on Congress land, on the east side of the Scioto, a short distance from Chillicothe. He did not remain over one year and, not being suited with the outlook, he went to Pickaway county, near Williamsport, where for a year he dealt in stock. He was collector of taxes in Ross county in the period from 1816 to 1820. In 181 6 he bought land on Duff's Fork; in 1822 he married and to this union were born nine children. He died in 1854, owning a thousand acres of valuable land.

John Nutt, an early settler in Madison township, came from near Winchester, Virginia. Shortly after arriving in this township, he bought two hundred acres of land, a half of which he gave to his son James, who, with his family, occupied the same. Mr. Nutt died aged one hundred and one years of age. The son married in Virginia and had a family of thirteen children. It will be observed that the early settlers were, for the most part, in the habit of having extremely large families; race suicide had not become a national curse, as it has in more recent years.

Robert Abernathy, a native of Virginia, was born in 1786 and when grown up he married and emigrated to Williamsport, Pickaway county. Ohio, in 181 5, rented land on Deer creek on Round Bottom, where he raised two crops. In the autumn of 181 7 he purchased ninety-seven acres of land in Overton's survey. Pie made a good farmer and capable citizen, and at death left a good property at Mt. Sterling, where he died in 1852.

settling at the mouth of Deer creek, where he rented land of Colonel Evans. After about two years he removed six miles further up the creek, near "^"ates mill, in Pickaway county, where for four years he farmed. He next moved to Williamsport, remained till the close of the war of 1812, then moved to Shelbv county, coming to Fayette county between 1820 and 1822, settling on the Batteal Harrison farm, in Madison township. Later he resided with his son at Waterloo. He had a service of twelve days in the War of 1812, when he was wounded, and hired a substitute to fill his unexpired time. He died at his son Isaac's home, aged one hundred and one years of age. He was the father of nine children.

Sometime prior to 181 5, William Morgan emigrated from Virginia and settled on land first leased and later purchased, on Duff's fork, in the Armstrong" sur\'ey. He was considered a wealthy man, owning eight hundred acres where he lived, a farm on the Big Darby, near Harrisburg, Franklin county, and another on Deer creek, one mile from Yankeetown. He made his wealth b}^ grazing cattle, which he drove to the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets. He died in 1855.

Early Stores And Shops

The first store in Aladison township was opened by Adley Gregory, in 181 5, at Yankeetown, which he conducted until another w^as opened in 1825, a half mile north of Yankeetowai, on the Mt. Sterling road. John Johnson operated the last named store in one part of his dwelling. He continued in trade until his death, some six years later. About this date, for three years, near Yankeetown, Robert Leach conducted a general store. He was succeeded by others, the same stock changing hands frequently.

Between 1864 and 1867 James Graham started a dry goods store at Madison Mills, continued a year and sold to George Franklin. The store was destroyed by an explosion of a keg of powxler in the cellar, the loss of the stock being complete. The e\'idence of a pre-arranged plan was so thorough that he never tried to collect his insurance.

David Harrison opened a grocery store at Madison Mills in i860, conducted it two years, then sold to George Ladd, an Englishman. Crow and Sons were running tlie store there in the late eighties.

The earlv blacksmiths were Joseph Withrow, 1823, near Yankeetow'n; Otho Williams, in 1834; David Saint, in 1874; Alexander Clark, i860; Thomas Scott, 1864.

At some time just prior to 1817 John Gilmore built a water-power mill <ii Deer creek, one mile to the north of Waterloo, which he operated for a number of years. He was succeeded in that project by Samuel Pancoast, vviio continued to run it fifteen years longer. The mill was then sold to Colonel Sharp, who attached a distillery to the plant. He continued eight years and sold to Samuel Pancoast, Jr., and he in turn to John Messmore, who owned the property in the eighties. After a few years he tore down the old mill, erected a three-story frame mill and put in two sets of burrs, one being intended for wheat and one for corn. In 1879 a patent purifier was added, and then "new process" was added, allowing him to produce first class patent flour, as it was termed. Both he and his son, R. W. Messmore, afterwards did aii extensive business there.

In about 1832 or 1833, John Gilmore. after losing the above pioneer mill, by litigation with Mr. Pancoast, erected a mill two and a half miles above, on w^hat is called Island branch of Deer creek, in the Overton survey. No. 463. After a dozen years he was succeeded by a colored man named Sylva, and very soon thereafter it was abandoned altogether.

in 1859. After doing a thri\'ing business five years, he sold it and eight acres of ground to Andrew Shriver, of Ross county, who, failing to meet his payments, was relieved by John Harrison, who took the property over. A few years longer and the mill was dismantled and the machinery removed to Stuckey's mill, at Washington C. H. At the same time the grounds and buildings were sold to Abraham Lindsey, whose son, A. C. Lindsey, in 1880, bought new machinery at a cost of fi\'e thousand dollars and opened up, doing an extensive and profitable milling business.

Thomas Lindsey located a portable saw-mill on East fork of Paint creek, one mile southeast of Madison Mills, in March, 1881. Later the mill was moved a mile northwest of White Oak.

In 1822 Samuel Pancoast started a single carding-mill at Pancoastburg and operated the same about seven years. About 1829 he secured a partner,, a Mr. Muzzy, from Springfield, Ohio, who added fulling and finishing machinery. Then they secured John Messmore. an expert in such work, and another carding machine was added. Ten years later hand-spinning machinery was put in - tiiese w^ere known as "Billie and Ginnie." It was not many years before John Messmore was sole owner, and he, in 1835, added a condenser and spinning-jack, thus continuing to card, spin, do the fulHng process, dving. and finishing, until 1800. when steam power was added to run the machinery in dry and low-water seasons. Five years later his son succeeded him. and soon it became the property of Appleton Mowry, who, finding the larger mills and factories too much to compete with, sold off most of the- machinery for old iron, and was content at manufacturing stocking yarn.

There are now a number of ^-ery small hamlets within this township, the larger of which has less than three hundred population. These villages are Pancoastburg (old Waterloo), with about tw^o hundred and fifty people; Cook, with seventy population; Madison Mills, with less than a hundred and fifty people.

What was originally called Waterloo is in the extreme southeastern part of the township, on the road leading from Chillicothe to Urbana. Tt w^as laid out June 20, 1816, by Isaac Pancoast and Jesse Woodson, and occupies a part of the James survey. No. 470. The first lots, ten in number, were auctioned off in September of the year of the platting. This was the second, or re-platting, as no lots were sold at first, so in 1829 Pancoast again platted his town over. The first house was erected by Nathan Loofborrow', after the re-survcv had been effected. Prior to that there had been a log cabin on the site. The second house was erected by John Messmore in 1833-34. This Avas a brick building.

Nathan Loofborrow opened a store in part of his dwelling soon after the last surveying. He continued five or six years and sold to Rowland Wilson and a Mr. Jackson, of Mt. Sterling. They were short-lived. Prior to this store was that of Thomas Littleton, who began merchandising and kept it up until his death, about twelve years later. J. W. Blizzard closed out this stock in i860. \\'ith the llight of years many have been engaged in trade at this village, and their names may appeal to some reader, who may know of or be related thereto, hence they are subjoined: Vance & Bailey, Girt on & Phebus, J. W. Moore, Shreve Gaskill, A. P. Littleton, Daniel Kelley, J. W. Smith, Wharford Young, J. W. Gaskill, B. T. Corkwell, George D. Ladd, W. H. H. Timmons. James Lewis, Wesley Geoley, R. W. Messmore, Wickman & Leach and E. A. Peasley. The last named opened a dry goods store in 1879, when J. W. Moore started in the grocery trade.

The earliest blacksmith of Waterloo was in 1830, in the person of Mr 1 racy, who at that date was eighty years of age. hence only wielded the sledo-e a few years longer. Others of that trade were Messrs. McClelland, John Tmimons. Adley Bostwick, who was killed by the falling of a pile of native lumber. Also William Scott ran a shop later than this. Bostwick patented a plow w^hich his apprentice manufactured.

At the present date, summer of 1914, the business at this point is chiefly in the hands of: R W. Hatfield, hardware: C. A. Richardson, groceries- M R. Scott, general dealer; R. L. Hutchison, general dealer: D M Norris' blacksmith; J. H. Richardson, postmaster.