Morris Township

Morris Township

Ok the 2d of March, 1812, upon petition of several citizens this to\ynship was laid off, and an order issned for an election to be held at the house of Benjamin Rush for township officers. A majority of the early settlers being natives of Morris county, ^ew Jersey, caused the name of Morris to be selected. The officers of the election, this year, were Wm. Douglass, Daniel Cooper, Wm. Thrift, judges ; James Trimble and John Wheeler, clerks. The township was listed by K. C. Boalse, who was paid a $6 county order for his services. At a special meeting of the Associate Judges, March 14, 1812, three justices were allowed to this township at the election ordered by the Commissioners. There were fifty voters. James Trimble was chosen Township Clerk ; Scott Durbin and James Miller, Constables ; and James Loveridge, Treasurer. At this period, this may be said to have been the foremost township in the county. Clinton was then in its prime, the country around was settled by the very best kind of people ; the upper branches of Owl Creek, uniting within its limits, gave them some of its richest bottom lands for cultivation, and the flow of emigration brought much substantial population. At the election of 1816 there were 83 voters. In 1819, Smith Hadley listed tlie township, and received an $8 order for the same. The foregoing names, together with those in the list of justices, rej)resent many of the most prominent families in this township from its organization. The names of Smith, Cooper, Loveridge, Douglass, Bonar, Coleman, Trimble, Thrift, Wheeler, Durbin, 'Nye, Ball, Banning and Bush, frequently occur in these pages in connection with events in our past history. Several of the families have not a single representative now in the county. The heads of families have died, and the descendants gone to other parts. The most active of the Clintonians long since left the field. Samuel H. Smith, the head of that settlement, drew around him many mechanics and laborers ; he was an energetic, intelligent business man, and has no one of his blood within the county at this time.

S. H. Smitli, of Erie co., who we observed a few days since contributed f 100 to the war fund of his township, is the only one of his children in Ohio. He is a farmer, and the largest tax-payer in that county, as we have been informed. Ichabod 'Nye, brother-in-law of Smith, is dead, as also his wife. Henry Smith, the Barneys, Glasses, Enoses, Yeomans, Marshals, Harrison and Dickinson, are also gone. Alexander Enos moved to Bichland co., and Wm. C. has gone to parts unknown. Balph Granger, who sold goods in Clinton in 1815, died long since.

The Coopers, Carey, Daniel and Elias, were brothers. In 1809 Daniel moved from Butler co., Pa., with his family, and was followed shortly after by Carey and Elias. The latter was unmarried. Carey's sons were Charles, Elias, Hugh, John and Lewis, of whom Charles and John alone survive. His two daughters are also dead. Daniel had seven children - Thompson, Wm., George, Henrietta, and Jvilia, Mrs. John Eay, in this county, Josiah living in Chillicothe, Mo., and Mrs. Sarah Bushfield. Elias Cooper, the old gentleman, is yet living ; another Cooper of the early times was "cousin Charley;" they were all natives of New Jersey. Thompson recollects how xu'osperous Clinton was in 1813, Avith its four taverns with their inviting signs swinging in the breeze - kept by Ichabod Nye, Alfred Manning, John Barney and Samuel Yeoman. In the war times whisky flowed freely down the throats and business was very brisk. "God's barn" was then the great place of gathering for devotional purposes. The old settlers have a lively recollection of the pious labors of father Scott therein ; when, in the summer time, the hogs of the whole village collected together under the floor, whicli was about two and a half feet from the ground, and Avould frequently set up such a grunting and squealing as to render inaudible the voice of the good minister. It was a great harbor for fleas, and Cai)t. Douglass was conspicuous in the meeting with his large feet, bare, endeavoring to catch the marauders who violated the sanctity of the place. He moved to the Wabash country and is dead, as also his son, Aaron ; his daughters - Sally, wife of James Rogers ; and Phoebe, wife of Richard Ewalt, are living.

for Douglass. A sister of Mc. married Enoch Ogle, who kept tavern in Bellville. John Johnson, father of Tom, the old jailor, is dead. Abednego Stevens rests with Shadrach and Meshac, and Amzie Stevens, of Amazonian frame, whose foot was sixteen inches and a quarter, died long, long ago. His skeleton he wished to be preserved as a model, and hence struck a bargain with a doctor by which he was to have the bones for his museum. About 1832, Mr. Bicking and another merchant from Philadelphia, in passing through the country, discovered his foot-prints in the snow, and got out and took the measure of the track, ha^ang never seen the like before. Yerily he was a monster, and shook the earth with his majestic tread. Grim would have been but a small boy beside him. The children of a future age may exclaim : "There were giants in those days !" William Mitchell was here in 1807. His children were Jacob, ]!^athaniel, Abigail, Mrs. John H. Mefford ; Mar}^, Mrs. John Young ; Hannah, Mrs. Wm. Meiford, Naomi, wife of Lewis Young, deceased, now Mrs. Thos. Evans ; Sarah, Mrs. Cyrus Cooper ; John, Silas and Wm. All now live but Nathaniel and Sarah. Nathaniel was one of the scouting party at the time of Copus' slaughter, and died in 1813 from disease contracted by exposure in the Indian campaign. William, sr., joined the Baptist Church in 1815, and continued a member until his death, August 12, 1818, in his 83d year. He was very sociable and much esteemed. An old heir-loom of this family is in the possession of Hannah Meiford, being a cup and saucer of peculiar construction, which belonged to her grand-mother, one of the New Jersey matrons of the revohition. The old China set of the last century was used hy General Washington when at the old homestead, near Morristown, during the revolutionary war.

James Loveridge and wife, botli living, came from Morris co., N. J., in 1805, and Eichard in 1812. The latter was an inventive genius ; he died several years since. There are many of this name now in Morris. Philip resides on the old farm of Richard. Loveridgeisms are peculiarities of expression in rhyme pertaining to this family. Richard got a patent for a plow in 1828 ; and an exclusive right to rhvme in conversation has been inherited by this family. Long may the old stock be spared to indulge their propensity for sport in verse. They have been industrious citizens. Another Jersey accession includes the Ball brothers - Hiram, Uzal, Cyrus and Timothy. Their father divided equally 1,000 acres of the best Owl Creek bottom land among them, and for a half century it has been held and cultivated by the Balls. The Ebersole family is another one of the old stock. Some of the descendants, John, Jacob, and others, have made valuable citizens. An incident of this township worthy of record occurred in the time when it was customary to warn out of townships any new comer avIio was likely to become a township charge. One of these settlers, by the name of Pope, having located within the limits, Silas Ball was ordered to warn him out. He remonstrated against doing so, saying, " God made man, and he has a right to a place on earth, and if

Pope is warned out of Morris he may be warned out of any other township he goes into, and it is contrary to God's will that he should have no abiding place." The warrant was fixed out and handed to him to serve, which he took as required, went to Pope's house, and taking it in his hand was about to read it, Avhen his feelings overcame him, and he exclaimed, " Po]3e, I warn you off the face of God's earth !" and turned around and Avent back with the writ. He was asked if he served it by reading, or by copy ; he replied, " neither," and gave the words he employed. The result was that Pope remained, and Ball's better natur'e triumphed. He was a staunch llniversalist, and a kind-hearted citizen.

Among the names of long standing is that of Bonar. In 1812, Barnet and Matthew, brothers, emigrated from Washington county, Pa. ; about the same time came a cousin of theirs, named Matthew, and a brother-in-law, Dr. John Byers. The latter-named Matthew moved some years ago to Illinois, where he was living at last accounts. The brother of Barnet was a bachelor, and died about 1815. Barnet died in May, 1811, aged 81, and his wife in 1858, aged 89. They had the following children : David, who died about 1816 ; Matthew, living in Richland county; John, who died in 1859 ; William, at the old homestead on Granny's Creek; Ann, wife of Gavin Mitchell, of Richland county, died in 1835, leaving a considerable family; Martha, wife of Adam Rinehart, living in tliis township; Sarah, wife of E. P. Young, died about 1810 ; Isabel, who died about 1828 ;

Margaret, married A. Greenlee, and died about 1850. John was a hard-working, intelligent farmer, who was highly esteemed, and died in his 51th year, from a cancer. His wife was Lucinda, daughter of Charles Cooper. She had one son - Josiah, who married a daughter of Charles Swan - and two daughters; Bell married Tliomas Swan, also in Morris, and Catharine is the wife of H. Leonard, of Wayne. William Bonar married A. L. Case, and has four children living : David ; Elizabeth, wife of Eev. J. W. White, of Marion, Whitesides county, Illinois; Sarah Jane, and Caroline. Isabel died in 1860. William Bonar's name will be found among the Senators from this district. He is the only son of the old pioneer now within our county limits.

Among the early incidents of this section is the following curious hunting exploit. Deer were very abundant then on Granny's Creek, and one day Barnet shot a large doe, and as it fell, and life's current was ebbing away, he discovered that she was in the pains of parturition, when he ripped her open with his knife, and took from her two fawns, one of which he gave to Alex. Johnson, and the other he kept. They both lived for some time. His own, having lost its eyes by exposure to fire, first died ; but the other grew up a large and healthy tame deer, and was an object of peculiar interest to the neighborhood, on account of its singular birth.

Samuel H. Smith was always spry and active. During the time of his mercantile operations he received a good deal of money, and on one occasion he thrcAv a shot-bag full of sj)ecie on the counter, and said that any one who could run away from him with that hag, might have it. Taking him at his word, Henry Smith, who was a sprightly young man, grahbed it and ran, pin-sued by Sam., and, after coursing down the road some distance, finding the old gentleman gaining on him, he broke for the fence, and climbed over it into the field; but Sam. caught him, and he gave up the bag amid the shouts and cheers of Oapt. Nye's horse company, who were spectators of the ludicrous scene.

The Duhamels, Amos and Henry, in 1824, emigrated from Frederick, Md. Henry now lives near Maumee City ; Amos in Eranklin, 111., with his third wife. By his former wives he had eleven children ; number by the present not known. Of these we have the following account : Peter 0. resides in Morris township ; Emily, wife of Geo. W. Litt, in Pike township ; Prances Jane, wife of James Logsden, is in Iowa ; Louisa Ann, wife of David Spickler, in Allen county. Peter 0. learned the carpenter trade witli Pobcrt Spears, Belville, and works at it. The Cosners were very industrious citizens. Old "Uncle Philip" was noted as being one of the most successful tobacco-growers. Peter Rush is another of the old stock of farmers. The Winterbothams were a highly intelligent family, none of whom are now in Knox. Of tlie number of children is Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, the accomplished authoress, residing in New York ; John H., an energetic business man, in Port Madison, Iowa ; Robert, in Columbus ; Samuel, in Iowa ; and William, in Wisconsin. Adam Rinehart, another valued citizen, with his familv, re- sides here ; also the Cassels, Swans, Pearres, John Lamb, and Henry Johnson. Benjamin E,ush, of Morris county, ^. J., with his wife, Margaret Logan, also of said county, emigrated with their children. Job, Andrew M., Mary, Johannah and Margaret, to this township, from Morris township, Washington county. Pa. The two latter are dead ; other children, born in this township, were Eunice, Sarah Ann and Lucinda. Benjamin died in March, 1849, in his 80th year, and the old lady in October, 1858, in her 85th j^ear. They were among the best citizens. Richard Ayres, Jolm Erwin, and Mrs. Galloway, were also early settlers. Of these, the only remaining trace in this county, is Erwin's daughter, Mrs. Mary McFarland. John Wheeler, a carpenter, married a daughter of Mrs. Galloway, and moved to Sandusky, taking with him Mrs. Galloway and her son. John Sawyer, first blacksmith at Clinton, and a good horse-shoer, emigrated to Indiana, and died. His only descendant in this county is Mrs. W. O. Johnson. In 1830, the population of Morris was 812, and 13,066 acres of land were listed for taxation. In 1810, there were 1,079 inhabitants ; in 1850, 1,028 ; and in 1860, 1,013.

The Clinton post-office was the first in the county. Its various postmasters were Samuel H. Smith, Richard Fishback, Ichabod Marshal and S. H. Smith. The last known of it, Andrew Clark was acting as deputy postmaster, in 1819.

History Op

Smith's house was the first one erected in the village. Samuel Ayres and Amoriah Watson got out the timber, Loveridge and Douglass helped to raise it. They all boarded with Loveridge during the work. Douglass had Wm. McLoud put up the first stone house in the county. John Miller, the first dresser of buck-skin for breeches, hunting shirts, etc., married Patsey Zerrick ; she is living on the old farm with her sister Edna, the only representatives of the old Virginian Daniel, who died in 1851, aged 86.

Source changes here: from History of Knox County, Ohio, Its Past and Present, Containing a Condensed, Comprehensive History of Ohio, Including an Outline History of the Northwest; a Complete History of Knox County ... a Record of Its Soldiers in the Late War; Portraits of Its Early Settlers and Prominent Men ... Biographies and Histories of Pioneer Families, Etc, by Hill, N. N. (Norman Newell), Comp, published 1881; 4,911 words in this source stream.

Morris Township

AT the time of the first division of Knox county into townships, the territory now comprising Morris township was equally divided between Wayne and Clinton townships. Occupying a central position, being watered by the two principal branches of the Kokosing, and affording some of the finest agricultural lands in the county, this section naturally attracted home seekers at the earliest period in the history of this part of the State.

The western half of the township - as at present constituted - comprises two military sections of four thousand acres each; the southwest quarter of the township being known as the Canfield section, and the northwest quarter as the x\rmstrong section. The eastern half was laid out in lots of one hundred and sixty acres each. The former half is mostly level bottom land, an alluvial deposit with a gravelly substratum, and few springs, while the eastern half is moderately undulating upland, abounding in good springs.

One-half mile east of Fredericktown, on the bank of Owl creek, may be seen a mound about twenty feet high and sixty feet in diameter, surrounded by a ditch and embankment, the latter being outside the former. On the land of William Loveridge, north of the former site of Clinton, exists a relic of the Mound Builders, in the form of a circular ditch and embankment, very closely resembling a modern circus ring. It is about forty yards in diameter, the ditch being inside the embankment.

William Douglass left his home in Morris county. New Jersey, and wending his way to the far west, pitched his tent on the bank of Owl creek, just below the junction of its principal branches in 1804, the first permanent settler in Morris township. At this time the settlers in and around Mt. Vernon were obliged to go to Newark or Lancaster to mill, and Mr. Douglass determined to relieve them of that inconvenience by erecting a mill on his land above Mt. Vernon. With such a man as Douglass, to conceive an idea was equivalent to its execution; so calling to his aid his son Aaron he built a dam, dug a race and erected a saw-mill, preparatory to the erection of a grist-mill j but as that undertaking involved considerable labor, time and expense, he put a corn cracker in his saw-mill, which served a good purpose until the grist-mill proper was completed in 1806. He also built a fulling-mill and carding machine about 1808. These were of inestimable advantage to the settlers.

The utility of the cardmg and fulling establishments can hardly be appreciated to the extent of their merits at the present time, when the old-time process of domestic manufacture of clothmg material has been superceded by modern woollen and cotton factories. Each farmer kept a small flock of sheep. The wool from these was taken to the machine and carded. It was then spun and woven in the family, taken to the fulling-mill and finished into cloth, suitable for men's wear, or, if designed for women's wear, merely colored and pressed

So highly were Mr. Douglass' achievements valued by his appreciative neighbors that the county commissioners made this entry on their journal. May 2, 1809: "The tax on William Douglass' mill is ordered to be taken off as it is a public benefit."

The first grand jury impaneled in Knox county May 2, 1808, included William Douglass, and at the first election held in Clinton township on October II, 1808, he was elected county commissioner. In the War of 181 2 Mr. Douglass ren dered valua'ble service as captain of a volunteer rifle company, and in that capacity escorted the Greentown Indians beyond the lines.

Captain Douglass having some surplus capital in 1816 he invested the same in Owl Creek bank stock, and at the settlement in 18 18 he was found to have paid on his seventy shares the sum of six hundred dollars. Being a man of enterprise and desiring a field of operation commensurate with his ambition, the gallant captain in 1830 sold out to Anthony Banning and removed to Indiana with his son Aaron, where they have both since died.

James Walker, sr., came from Pennsylvania in 1804 and located near Douglass' mill site, just south of where Mr. Thomas Banning now lives. He occupied a little log cabin, said to have been built by Captain Fitting in 1 803. Mr. Walker was the father of Philip, Joseph, Alexander, James, Robert, and John Walker, who figured more or less in the history of the county. His daughter, Sarah, married Stephen Chapman, and Mary, his other daughter, married Solomon Geller, and subsequently moved to Morrow county. Mr. Walker and his wife died many years ago and were the first persons buried in Clinton graveyard, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, burying-grounds in the county. No stone now marks the spot where they lie. Let these hnes be their monument.

John Simpkins, with his son Seeley, arrived from Virginia in 1804, and settled temporarily about a mile above William Douglass', on the place now owned by George Cassell, between the main branches of Owl creek. He subsequently removed to Monroe township.

To Samuel H. Smith, from New England, Morris township is indebted for the first and only town laid out within its borders. With true Yankee enterprise Mr. Smith conceived the idea of laying out a town and selling lots at a considerable advance on the first cost, to those who might follow him beyond the beautiful Ohio in quest of homes. In pursuance of this idea he prospected up the Kokosing, and having, as he thought, found the land of promise, he blazed a tree - the recognized sign of possession - wended his way to Franklinton, procured compass and chain, returned and laid out the town of Clinton, in section four, township seven, and range four, of the United States Military district. The new town contained one hundred and sixty lots, streets, public square, and all the appointments of a first-class town - on paper. The plat was duly acknowldged before Abraham Wright, justice of the peace for New Lancaster, December 8, 1804, and received the name of Clinton, in honor of Governor DeWitt Clinton, of New York.

succeeded in drawing around him a colony of mechanics, laborers, and businessmen, which soon gave to Clinton not only the appearance, but the actual advantages, of a central town. The first house erected on the new town plat was Mr. Smith's. Samuel Ayres got out the timber and Amariah Watson, James Loveridge, and William Douglass, assisted in raising it. On the second day of March, 1808, Mr. Smith was appointed county surveyor; being the first to fill that office in Knox county. He was also a member of the first grand jury. In 1807 Mr. Smith opened the first store in Clinton. It was kept in a small frame building a few rods west of the present residence of Uriah Walker, a large brick building erected by Mr. Smith in 1808 for a hotel. Being a man of varied accomplishments he was not contented with being surveyor, storekeeper, and landlord, but must needs play tanner also. To this end he built a tannery in 181 2, at the junction of Clinton street with the Mt. Vernon and Frederick road, and advertised to pay two dollars and fifty cents per cord for oak bark. In July, 1813, Mr. Smith induced Mr. John P. McArdle to engage with him in the publication of a newspaper at Clinton. A press was put up in a small log building on Clinton street, west of Smith's store, and there the first newspaper ever printed in Knox county, styled The Ohio Register, made its appearance, printed and published every Tuesday by Smith & Mc- Ardle. The wanning fortunes of Clinton and the rising greatness of Mt. Vernon caused the office, with all its material, in 181 5, to be transferred to the latter place. In 1809 Mr. Smith also figures as worthy master of Mount Zion Masonic Lodge No. 9, organized at Clinton that year, and in 18 14, at a meeting of the Grand lodge at Chillicothe, Samuel H. Smith was the representative. During the time of his mercantile operations he received a good deal of money, and on one occasion he threw a shot-bag full of specie on the counter and said that any one who could run away from him with that bag, might have it. Taking him at his word Henry Smith, his nephew, an active young man, grabbed it and ran, pursued by the owner. After coursing down the road some distance, and finding the old gentleman gaining on him, the young man climbed over into the field to escape, but Samuel caught him, and he gave up the bag amid the shouts and cheers of Captain Nye's cavalry company, who witnessed the ludicrous scene. It appears that with all his energy, tact and business qualifications, Mr. Smith could not stand the enervating effects of prosperity. He became involved, failed in business, and emigrated to Texas, where he was at the outbreak of the Rebellion; engaged in surveying.

James Loveridge was a native of Morris county, New Jersey, who in 1805, in company with his wife, sought shelter at William Douglass' place until he could erect a cabin of his own. Just above Douglass' cabin a small stream put into the creek, and this Loveridge followed up until he discovered a beautiful spring, which caused him to select that spot as his future home. The only Yankee then in the country claimed to have located the land, and proposed to sell it to Loveridge at a higher price than the Government rate, which was then two dollars per acre. Concealing his intentions from all but his wife, Loveridge slipped off to the land office, examined the record and finding the land unsold entered it himself, returned with his patent in his pocket and bid defiance to speculation. In the spring of 1806 he built his first log house near the spring above mentioned, and as soon as he got a spot of land cleared he sought out Johnny Appleseed and laid in a supply of apple trees, which he planted just above the spring, and there a number of the same trees are still standing - patriarchs in Pomona's domain. One of them measures nearly eight feet in circumference, and another recently cut down exhibits seventy annual rings or growths. In the year 1807 Mr. Loveridge built the first tannery in Knox county. It stood just below the road leading from Mt. Vernon to Mansfield, and near the house now occupied by William Loveridge, son of James. The old log building was replaced by one of brick in 1822, which is still standing,; the tannery business having been carried on at the same place for seventy consecutive years. William Loveridge relates that when the prisoners taken at Hull's surrender were subsequently returning home, many of them stopped at Clinton in a destitute condition, and that his father cut up hishides and made them moccasins. James Loveridge was on the first petit jury empanelled in Knox county, May 2, 1808. Mr. Loveridge's barn, built by John Johnson, the carpenter, was the first frame structure of the kind in Morris tovrnship. His old log house was replaced by a substantial brick in 1820, which he occupied till his death, in the ninety-first year of his age. Mr. Loveridge was noted for his industry and an inveterate tendency to blossom out in rhyme in conversation. His son William, born on the eleventh of June, 1806, inherited his father's broad acres and his partiality for words that "hunt in pairs."

One of Samuel H. Smith's right hand men was Ichabod Nye, captain of a troop of horse, who acted a prominent part in the scenes of the early history of Clinton. His name first appears as a member of the first grand jury impanelled in the county. Captain Nye lived on the north side of Clinton street and just west of Smith's tavern. In 181 1 he was elected sheriff of Knox county, assisted in organizing the Masonic lodge in Chnton, served acceptably in the War of 181 2, and kept hotel in Clinton in 18 13. The captain, as well as his brother Samuel, have long since passed away.

The spring of 1806 brought with it a new elem.ent into the wilderness region, in the form of Friends, the forerunners of a large number of that society, who, by their quiet yet industrious ways, have contributed very much to the prosperity and peace of the county. The venerable Henry Roberts may be justly regarded as the head of this emigration from Maryland. In 1805 he left Frederick county, in that State, with his family, and directed his course to the far west; but on reaching Belmont county he found it necessary to winter his family there. On the seventh of April,

1806, he landed at Henry Haines', in the Ten Mile settlement, and after spending a few weeks looking for a good location, on the fourteenth of that month settled down with his family at the little prairie, five miles above Mt. Vernon, of late known as the Armstrong section. His family consisted of his wife, three sons, and one daughter. William moved to Illinois, Isaiah to Missouri, and Richard to Berlin township. His daughter, Massah, married Dr. Timothy Burr, and died at Clinton in 1814.

The Roberts family at once proceeded to farming, and with a four-horse team broke up nine acres of the prairie and planted the same in corn. It was a difficult operation, but yielded them an abundant crop, fully remunerating them for the labor expended.

Mr. Roberts was joined in the fall by William Y. and William W. Farquhar, and from this nucleus sprang the numerous families of Quakers in Wayne, Middlebury, and Berlin townships in after years.

John Johnson, of Chester county, Pennsylvania, found his way to Knox county in the fall of 1806, and located near a large spring on the property now owned by William Day's heirs, in Morris township. The spring spoken of was situated on an Indian trail known as the Greentown trail. The Indians journeying to and from Greentown used to camp at this spring in considerable numbers, and were a great source of annoya!v:t to Mr. Johnson. On one occasion a big Indian went so far as to enforce his demand for butter by flourishing a large knife in a very threatening manner. Mr. Johnson, who happened to be within hearing, came to the assistance of his wife, and the Indian was driven off. Soon after this the Greentown Indians were removed, much to the relief of the entire settlement. Mr. Johnson was one of the first carpenters in the country, and to his skill not a few of the better class of citizens are indebted for the comfort of the homes they occupy. He served in the War of 18 1 2, and was at the siege of Fort Meigs. His sons were Thomas, known as the jailer of Knox county for many years: William, who moved to Hardin county; John, who lived on the old homestead; Joseph, now living in Miller township; Samuel Johnson, who now lives in Polk county, Iowa, and Isaac Johnson, who resided on a farm just south of the old homestead. John Johnson, sr., died in March, 1858.

William Mitchell came to Morris township in 1807. His children were Jacob, Nathaniel, Abigail (Mrs. John H. Mefford), Mary (Mrs. John Young), Hannah (Mrs. William Mefford), Naomi (Mrs. Thomas Evans), Sarah (Mrs. Cyrus Cooper), John, Silas and William. Nathaniel was one of the scouting party that went out at the time ot the Copus massacre in 1812, and died in 1813, from disease contracted by exposure in the Indian campaign. WilUam Mitchell, sr., died August 12, 1848, in the eighty-third year of his age.

Daniel Cooper moved from Butler county, Pennsylvania, in 1809, and located west of the main branch of Owl creek, on the Philip Leveridge property, and was followed shortly after by his brothers, Carey and Elias. Carey Cooper's sons were Charles, Elias, Hugh, John and Lewis. Carey Cooper was elected justice of the peace in 1822. Daniel had seven children: Thompson, William, George, Henrietta, Julia, Josiah and Sarah. Thompson Cooper was justice of the peace in 1836, 1839, 1842, 1845, 1848 and 1851.

Hiram, Uzziel, Cyrus and Timothy Ball came from New Jersey, and located on the Owl creek bottoms where their father owned one thousand acres of land which is still owned and cultivated by their descendants.

Colonel Alexander Enos was another of Samuel H. Smith's New England coadjutors, and lived in CUnton, east of Smith. He was a private in Captain Walker's company m 181 2, and at the time of Hull's surrender, was taken prisoner. After the war Colonel Enos practiced law, being the second lawyer in the county, and in 1815 was elected representative. Later he moved to Richland county.

Samuel H. Smith having added a large stock of goods to his former assortment, will trade for butter, sugar, country linen, rye, com, hides, deer skins and furs.

In the War of 18 12 Dr. Burr was surgeon and paymaster in Colonel Alexander Enos' regiment. The above named were the more prominent of the early settlers. Prominent citizens of a later date were Jabez Beers, Joseph Coleman, Ichabod Marshall, Benjamin Barney, Joseph Rickey, John Trimble, Richard Loveridge, Barnet Bonar, Benjamin Jackson, John Wheeler, Samuel Youman, Peter Rush, John Irvine, John McAbee, Joshua Braddock, and Christian Rinehart.

Washington county, Pennsylvania, and located on Granny's creek. He died in May, 1844, aged eighty. His son, William, was elected to the State senate in 1859, and resides at present in Mt. Vernon.

The Winterbothams were a highly intelligent family, but one of whom now resides in Knox county. Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, the accompHshed authoress, residing in New York, is a descendant of this family.

May 8, 1808, a petition was presented to the county commissioners for a road from Mt. Vernon to Fredericktown, signed by Jacob Young, Nathaniel M. Young, Vv'illiam Mitchell, A. McLaughlin, Ziba Jackson, William Smith, Eliphalet Lewis, Simeon Lyons, John Kerr, Casper Fitting, Amariah Watson, John Lewis, Samuel Watson, William Y. Farquhar, Amos Yarnell, William W. Farquhar. Daniel Ayres, Richard Hale, Abram Ayres, Henry Markley, and Joshua Vennum. Viewers: W^illiam Gass, James Colville, and Matthew Merritt. Surveyor: William Y. Farquhar. Their report was approved and recorded April 7, 1809.

June 4, 1810 John Young, jr., William Evans, Jacob Young, John Haldeman, William Mitchell) Andrew Kilpatrick, John Young, sr., James Lewis' Aaron Young, Matthew Young, Adam Hand, Calvin C. Lawrence, Ephraim Lyon, and Charles Cooper petitioned for a road from Douglass' mill to the Young settlement. WiUiam Gass, Henry Haines, and Joseph Walker were appointed viewers, and John H. Millikin. surveyor. The view was returned July 9, 1 8 10, and approved Septemben 1810.

John Fish, Daniel Johnson, and William Bevans were appointed commissioners to lay out a State road from Johnstown, Licking county, through Knox county to New Haven, in Huron county, and having performed their duty, filed a copy of said survey in the office of the comissioners of Knox county, July 11, 1820. That road is now called the Mt. Vernon and Mansfield road.

Samuel H. Smith had the first store in Clinton, in 1807. Richard Fishback's store stood on Clinton street, just west of the present residence of J. B. Banning. Ralph Granger kept store in Clinton in 181 5, and J. S. Banni.ig near the old Douglass mill in 1835. The first hotel was also kept by

Samuel H. Smith. Benjamin Barney followed in 1810, and in 18 13 there were four houses of public entertainment with their inviting signs swinging in the breze, in the streets of Clinton. The respective hosts were Ichabod Nye, Alfred Manning, John Barney, and Samuel Youman.

Very early in the history of Knox county, Morris township became somewhat famous for its distilleries, in which the surplus rye and corn were converted into whiskey, or "fire-water," as the Indians aptly called it. Simeon Carpenter and his brother Freeman were amongst the first to engage in the business. William Douglass had a distillery a short distance east of his mill. Richard Philips carried on the business on the west side of the Fredricktown road, near Smith's tannery. Smith Hadley, on land now owned by James Ramsey, and Robert and James Rogers on the Harvey Cox place, east of the Fredericktown road. In addition to these there were several other distilleries in operation. The excuse for the existence of these establishments was the fact that whiskey, in those early times, was an article of almost universal consumption. The exceptions to the rule were found amongst the Society of Friends, a few of whom settled in the west part of the township.

The pioneer school-teacher of Morris township was Ichabod Marshall. In 181 2, he taught in a little log house which stood at the junction of Clinton and Main streets, where J. B. Banning now resides. The next school was taught in a house built especially for that purpose, which stood northeast of Smith's hotel. Silas Knapp was teacher. The third house stood southwest of J. B. Banning's, and the first school in it was taught by James Brown. The fourth stood on the hill was erected north of the Wooster road, at its junction with the Mansfield road, near William Loveridge's house, Milton Lewis, teacher. The sixth in succession stood on the south side of the aforesaid road, William Drake, teacher. The present house is the seventh, a fine frame structure, erected in 1873, and stands on the east side of the Mansfield road, about midway between J. B. Banning's and William Loveridge's houses, Alexander A. Hanna, teacher. William Loveridge is the only surviving pupil of the first school taught at Clinton.

Rev. James Scott, of the Presbyterian church, was the pioneer preacher in the vicinity of Clinton. As there were no churches in those early days, meetings for religious purposes were held in James Loveridge's frame barn until a house of worship could be built; hence that structure became known for miles around as "God's barn," verifying the adage that "the use sanctifies the place."

In 1 8 14 the Presbyterians built a frame church on a lot in Clinton, where J. Blackstone Banning's barn now stands. This building was never finished as a church, and in 1820 it was moved to James Loveridge's orchard, and turned into a cider-press, the first of the kind in the county. Rev. Scott, at the time referred to, lived about one-half mile west of Loveridge's tannery. He subsequently moved to Mt. Vernon, where he died September 18, 1850, in the seventy-ninth year of his age.

About the year 1830, under the auspices of Rev. William Thrift, of the Bapnsi denomination, a frame church was built on the Fredericktown road, two miles north of Clinton. For a time this congregation grew and flourished, but the vicissitudes of time and fortune have left scarcely a trace of its history.

A third church was built as a non-sectarian edifice, and was called the Morris Union chapel. It is a neat frame structure, situated four miles northeast of Mt. Vernon, on the old Greentown road, and was erected about 1870. It is free for all denominations, but is principally used by the Methodist Episcopal church, that persuasion being the more numerous in that locality.

As heretofore stated, the mill of William Douglass was the first built in the township. In 1830, Douglass sold out to Anthony Banning, and he in 1835 sold to his son, James S. Banning, who remodelled and repaired the same. These mills did good business until 185 1, when the close proximity of the Newark & Sandusky railroad rendered them useless for custom work. A few years after this a freshet destroyed the dam, and the mills were abandoned.

Duyer built saw-mills on Owl creek, and about the year 1832 James Turner built a flouring-mill on the same stream, two and a half miles north of Mt. Vernon. This mill contained three runs of buhrs, and was subsequently owned by Eli Miller, Elias Boudinot, George W. Brown and Uriah Walker. It ceased running in 1862.

In 1825, Aaron Jackson built a saw-mill on the south fork of Owl creek, and in 1836 James Walker purchased the property and erected a gristmill, which was subsequently owned by N. M. Jackson, William Parrish, States Williams, Elias Butler, John Horner, and J. Stump. It ceased operations about 1875.

As before stated, James Loveridge was the first tanner in Morris township. He was succeeded by Samuel H. Smith, Benjamin Corwin, John Mc- Mahon, Hugh McMahon, James S. Banning, and others.

James Miller dressed deerskins and manufactured them into all kinds of buckskin goods. He was succeeded by Joseph Rickey, who added a preliminary department to the business - that of killing the deer. Mr. Riley still survives, and resides with his son-in-law, Mr. Cramer, of Liberty township. He is now in the ninely-Iifth year of his age.

The pioneer blacksmith in Morris township was John Sawyer. His shop stood about eighty rods southwest of Thompson Coopers - where Mr. Banning now Hves. Sawyer was followed by Abel Cook and others.

The first stone cutter in the neighborhood was a Welchman by the name of William George, from Chester township. It was he who cut the stone for the foundation of James Loveridge's brick house.

Daniel Zerrick came to Morris township in 18 14, and brought with him a machine for weaving stockings. He died in 185 1 aged eighty-six. His daughter Patsey married John Miller and is still living on the Mansfield road, north of the former site of Clinton.

The founder of the town of Clinton entertained a laudable ambition to make that town the permanent seat of justice for Knox county, and to all appearance Clinton's advantages were far superior to either of the other competing towns. Population, improvement, wealth and intelligence apparently preponderated in Clinton, but - and Mt. Vernon won the prize. Clinton made a gallant fight, but fate was against her, and the once flourishing town - with tanneries, mill, distilleries, shops, hotels, stores, a printing press - on which was printed the first book ever issued in the county - and other business enterprises went into a decline. One by one her business men deserted the sinking ship. The legal existence of Clinton was terminated on the seventeenth of April, 18 18, when the court heard the petition of Samuel H. Smith, Ichabod Marshall, Elihu S. Webster, Lathrop Shurtliff, John P. McArdle, Benjamin Barney and Richard Ayres for a vacation of a part of the town of Clinton, and granted the prayer. The Clinton postofifice, established in 18 10, was the first in the county. Its successive postmasters were Samuel H. Smith, Richard Fishback, Ichabod Marshall and S. H. Smith. The last known of it, Andrew Clark was acting as deputy postmaster, in 1819.

Daniel Norton bought Samuel H. Smith's interest in the real estate of Clinton, but was dispossessed in a suit at law by Hosmer Curtis. J. S. Banning bought fifty-six acres of it and Uriah Walker the residue.

On the second day of March, 181 2, upon petition of several citizens this township was laid off, and an order issued for an election, to be held at the house of Benjamin Rush, for township officers. A majority of the early settlers being natives of Morris county, New Jersey, caused the name of Morris to be selected. The officers of the election this year were WilUam Douglass, Daniel Cooper and William Thrift, judges; James Trimble and John Wheeler, clerks. The township was listed by N. C. Boalse, who received a six dollar county order for his services.

At a special meeting of the associate judges, March 14, 1812, three justices were allowed to this township. At the election ordered by the county commissioners there were fifty voters. James Trimble was chosen township clerk, Scott Dnrbin and James Miller constables, and James Loveridge treasurer.

The following is a list of the justices of the peace of Morris township: John Trimble, Benjamin Barney and Joseph Colenian, 1812; William Douglass and Joseph Coleman, 1816; James Dickson, William Douglass and Joseph Coleman, 1819; Alfred Manning, 1820; Carey Cooper, 1822; Uzziel Ball and John Trimble, 1823 and 1826; James Adams, 1830; B. H. Taylor, 1831; Uzziel Ball, 1832; James Adams, 1833; B. H. Taylor, 1835; James Adams and Thompson Cooper, 1836; B. H. Taylor, 1838; Ceorge Irwin, 1837; Thompson Cooper, 1839; George Irwin and John Durbin, 1840; B. H. Taylor, 1841; Thompson Cooper, 1842; Alexander McGrew, 18445 Thompson Cooper, 1845; B. H. Taylor, 1847; John H. Winterbotham and William Bonar, 1848; Benjamin B. Brown, 1850; Thompson Cooper, 185 1; Uzziel Bail, 1853; John Mclntyie, 1854; B. T. Smith, 1855; Allen Scott and Uzziel Ball, 1856; John Mc- Intyre, 1857; I. L. Jackson, 1859; John Mclntyre, i86ij I. L. Jackson, 1862- John Mclntyre, 1863; Adam Rinehart, 1865; John Mclntyre and Isaac L. Jackson, 1866; E. J. Mendenhall and Edward Burson, 1869; Isaac L. Jackson, 187 1; James Steele, 1872; Isaac L. Jackson, 1874; David Cosner, 1875; Thomas Banning, 1877; Edward Burson and Isaac L. Jackson, 1878.

Source changes here: from History Knox County, Ohio, by N. N. Hill., Jr, published 1881; 4,821 words in this source stream.

Morris Township

branches of the Kokosing, and affording some of the finest agricultural lands in the county, this section naturally attracted home seekers at the earliest period in the history of this part of the

The western half of the township - as at present constituted - comprises two military sections of four thousand acres each; the southwest quarter of the township being known as the Canfield section, and the northwest quarter as the Armstrong section. The eastern half was laid out in lots of one hundred and sixty acres each. The former. half is mostly level bottom land, an alluvial deposit with a gravelly substratum, and few springs, while the eastern half is moderately undulating upland, abounding in good springs.

One-half mile east of Fredericktown, on the bank of Owl creek, may be seen a mound about twenty feet high and sixty feet in diameter, surrounded by a ditch and embankment, the latter being outside the former. On the land of William Loveridge, north of the former site of Clinton, exists a relic of the Mound Builders, in the form of a circular ditch and embankment, very closely resembling a modern circus ring. It is about forty yards in diameter, the ditch being inside the embankment.

William Douglass left his home in Morris county, New Jersey, and wending his way to the far west, pitched his tent on the bank of Owl creek, just below the junction of its principal branches in 1804, the first permanent settler in Morris township. At this time the settlers in and around Mt. Vernon were obliged to go to Newark or Lancaster to mill, and Mr. Douglass determined to relieve them of that inconvenience by erecting a mill on his land above Mt. Vernon. With such a manas Douglass, to. conceive an idea was equivalent to its execution; dug a race and erected a saw-mill, preparatory to the erection of a grist-mill; but as that undertaking involved considerable labor, time and expense, he put a corn cracker in his saw-mill, which served a good purpose until the grist-mill proper was completed in 1806. He also built a fulling-mill and carding machine about 1808. These were of inestimable advantage to the settlers.

The utility of the carding. and fulling establishments can hardly be appreciated to the extent of their merits at the present time, when the old-time process of domestic manufacture of clothing material has been superceded by modern woollen and cotton factories. Each farmer kept a small flock of sheep. The wool from these was taken to the machine and carded. It was then spun and woven in the family, taken to the fulling-mill and finished into cloth, suitable for men's wear, or, if designed for women's wear, merely colored and pressed.

So highly were Mr. Douglass' achievements valued by his appreciative neighbors that the county commissioners made this entry on their journal, May 2, 1809: 'The tax on William Douglass' mill is ordered to be taken off as it is a public benefit."

The first grand jury impaneled in Knox county May 2, 1808, included William Douglass, and at the first election held in Clinton township on October 11, 1808, he was elected county commissioner. In the War of 1812 Mr. Douglass ren dered valuable service as captain of a volunteer rifle company, and in that capacity escorted the Greentown Indians beyond the lines.

Captain Douglass having some surplus capital in 1816 he invested the same in Owl Creek bank stock, and at the settlement in 1818 he was found to have paid on his seventy shares the sum of six hundred dollars. Being a man of enterprise and desiring a field of operation commensurate with his ambition, the gallant captain in 1830 sold out to Anthony Banning and removed to Indiana with his son Aaron, where they have both since died.

James Walker, sr., came from Pennsylvania in 1804 and located near Douglass' mill site, just south of where Mr. Thomas Banning now lives. He occupied a little log cabin, said to have been built by Captain Fitting in 1803. Mr. Walker was the father of Philip, Joseph, Alexander, James, Robert, and John Walker, who figured more or less in the history of the county. His daughter, Sarah, married Stephen Chapman, and Mary, his other daughter, married Solomon Geller, and subsequently moved to Morrow county. Mr. Walker and his wife died many years ago and were the first persons buried in Clinton graveyard, one of the oldest, if not the oldest, burying-grounds in the county. No stone now marks the spot where they lie. Let these lines be their monument.

John Simpkins, with his son Seeley, arrived from Virginia in 1804, and settled temporarily about a mile above William Douglass', on the place now owned by George Cassell, between the main branches of Owl creek. He subsequently removed to Monroe township.

To Samuel H. Smith, from New England, Morris township is indebted for the first and only town laid out within its borders. With true Yankee enterprise Mr. Smith conceived the idea of laying out a town and selling lots at a considerable advance on the first cost, to those who might follow him beyond the beautiful Ohio in quest of homes. In pursuance of this idea he prospected up the Kokosing, and having, as he thought, found the land of promise, he blazed a tree - the recognized sign of possession - wended his way to Franklinton, procured compass and chain, returned and laid out the town of Clinton, in section four, township seven, and range four, of the United States Military district. The new town contained one hundred and sixty lots, streets, public square, and all the appointments of a first-class town - on paper. The plat was duly acknowldged before Abraham Wright, justice of the peace for New Lancaster, December 8, 1804, and received the name of Clin- succeeded in drawing around him a colony of mechanics, laborers, and business men, which soon gave to Clinton not only the appearance, but the actual advantages, of a central town. The first house erected on the new town plat was Mr. Smith's. Samuel Ayres got out the timber and Amariah Watson, James Loveridge, and William Douglass, assisted in raising it. On the second day of March, 1808, Mr. Smith was appointed county surveyor; being the first to fill that office in Knox county. He.was also a member of the first grand jury. In 1807 Mr. Smith opened the first store in Clinton. It was kept in a small frame building a few rods west of the present residence of Uriah Walker, a large brick building erected by Mr. Smith in 1808 for a hotel. Being a man of varied accomplishments he was not contented with being surveyor, storekeeper, and landlord, but must needs play tanner also. To this end he built a tannery in 1812, at the junction of Clinton street with the Mt. Vernon and Frederick road, and advertised to pay two dollars and fifty cents per cord for oak bark. In July, 1813, Mr. Smith induced Mr. John P. McArdle to engage with him in the publication of a newspaper at Clinton. A press was put up in a small log building on Clinton street, west of Smith's store, and there the first newspaper ever printed in Knox county, styled The Ohio Register, made its appearance, printed and published every Tuesday ty Smith & Mc- Ardle. The wanning fortunes of Clinton and the rising greatness of Mt. Vernon caused the office, with all its material, in 1815, to be transferred to the latter place. In 1809 Mr. Smith also figures as worthy master of Mount Zion Masonic Lodge No. 9, organized at Clinton that year, and in 1814, at a meeting of the Grand lodge at Chillicothe, Samuel H. Smith was the representative. During the time of his mercantile operations he received a good deal of money, and on one occasion he threw a shot-bag full of specie on the counter and said that any one who could run away from him with that bag, might have it. Taking him at his word Henry Smith, his nephew, an active young man, grabbed it and ran, pursued by the owner. After coursing down the road some distance, and finding the old gentleman gaining on him, the young man climbed over into the field to escape, but Samuel caught him, and he gave up the bag amid the shouts and cheers of Captain Nye's cavalry company, who. witnessed the ludicrous scene. It appears that with all his energy, tact and business qualifications, Mr. Smith could not stand the enervating effects of prosperity. He became involved, failed in business, and emigrated to Texas, where he was at the outbreak of the Rebellion, engaged in surveying.

James Loveridge was a native of Morris county, New Jersey, who in 1805, in company with his wife, sought shelter at William Douglass' place until he could erect a cabin of hisown. Just above Douglass' cabin a small stream put into the creek, and this Loveridge followed up until he discovered a beautiful spring, which caused him to select that spot as his future home. The only Yankee then in the country claimed to have located the land, and proposed to sell it to Loveridge at a higher price than the Government rate, which was then two dol- Jars per acre. Concealing his intentions from all but his wife, Loveridge slipped off to the land office, examined the record and finding the land unsold entered it himself, returned with his patent in his pocket and bid defiance to speculation. In the spring of 1806 he built his first log house near the spring above mentioned, and as soon as he got a spot of land cleared he sought out Johnny Appleseed and laid in a supply of apple trees, which he planted just above the spring, and there a number of the same trees are still standing - patriarchs in Pomona's domain. One of them measures nearly eight feet in circumference, and another recently cut down exhibits seventy annual rings or growths. In the year 1807 Mr. Loveridge built the first tannery in Knox county. It stood just below the road leading from Mt. Vernon to Mansfield, and near the house now occupied by William Loveridge, son of James. The old log building was replaced by one of brick in 1822, which is still standing; the tannery business having been carried on at the same place for seventy consecutive years. William Loveridge relates that when the prisoners taken at Hull's surrender were subsequently returning home, many of them stopped at Clinton in a destitute condition, and that his father cut up his hides and made them moccasins. James Loveridge was on the first petit jury empanelled in Knox county, May 2, 1808. Mr. Loveridge's barn, built by John Johnson, the carpenter, was the first frame structure of the kind in Morris township. His old log house was replaced by a substantial brick in 1820, which he occupied till. his death, in the ninety-first year of his age. Mr. Loveridge was noted for his industry and an inveterate tendency to blossom out in thyme in conversation. His son William, born on the eleventh of June, 1806, inherited his father's broad acres and his partiality for words that "hunt in pairs."

One of Samuel H. Smith's right hand men was Ichabod Nye, captain of a troop of horse, who acted a prominent part in the scenes of the early history of Clinton. His name first appears as a member of the first grand jury impanelled in the county. Captain Nye lived on the north side of Clinton street and just west of Smith's tavern. In 1811 he was elected sheriff of Knox county, assisted in organizing the Masonic lodge in Clinton,

The spring of 1806 brought with it a new element into the wilderness region, in the form of Friends, the forerunners of a large number of that society, who, by their quiet yet industrious ways, have contributed very much to the prosperity and peace of the county. The venerable Henry Roberts may be justly regarded as the head of this emigration from Maryland. In 1805 he left Frederick county, in that State, with his family, and directed his course to the far west; but on reaching Belmont county he found it necessary to winter his family there. On the seventh of April, 1806, he landed at Henry Haines', in the Ten Mile settlement, and after spending a few weeks looking for a good location, on the fourteenth of that month settled down with his family at the little prairie, five miles above Mt. Vernon, of late known as the Armstrong section. His family consisted of his wife, three sons, and one daughter. William moved to Illinois, Isaiah to Missouri, and Richard to Berlin township. His daughter, Massah, married Dr. Timothy Burr, and died at Clinton in 1814.

The Roberts family at.once proceeded to farming, and with a four-horse team broke up nine acres of the prairie and planted the same incorn. It was a difficult operation, but yielded them an abundant crop, fully remunerating them for the labor expended.

Mr. Roberts was joined in the fall by William Y. and William W. Farquhar, and from this nucleus sprang the numerous families of Quakers in Wayne, Middlebury, and Berlin townships in after years.

John Johnson, of Chester county, Pennsylvania, found his way to Knox county in the fall of 1806, and located near a large spring on the property now owned by William Day's heirs, in Morris township. The spring spoken of was situated on an Indian trail known as the Greentown trail. The Indians journeying to and from Greentown used to camp at this spring in considerable numbers, and were a great source of annoyance to Mr. Johnson. On one occasion a big Indian went so far as to enforce his demand for butter by flourishing a large knife in a very threatening manner. Mr. Johnson, who happened to be within hearing, came to the assistance of his wife, and the Indian was driven off.. Soon after this the Greentown Indians were removed, much to the relief of the entire settlement. Mr. Johnson was one of the first carpenters in the country, and to his skill not a few of the better class of citizens are indebted for the comfort of the homes they occupy. He served in the War of 1812, and was at the siege of Fort Meigs. His sons were Thomas, known as the jailer of Knox county for many years; William, who moved to Hardin county; John, who lived on the old homestead; Joseph, now living in Miller township; Samuel Johnson, who now lives in Polk county, Iowa, and Isaac Johnson, who resided on a farm just south of the old homestead. John Johnson, sr., died in March, 1858.

William Mitchell came to Morris township in 1807. His children were Jacob, Nathaniel, Abigail (Mrs. John H. Mefford), Mary (Mrs. John Young), Hannah (Mrs. William Mefford), Naomi (Mrs. Thomas Evans), Sarah (Mrs. Cyrus Cooper), John, Silas and William. Nathaniel was one of the scouting party that went out at the time of the Copus massacre in 1812, and died in 1813, from disease contracted by exposure in the Indian campaign. William Mitchell, sr., died August 12, 1848, in the eighty-third year of his age.

Daniel Cooper moved from Butler county, Pennsylvania, in 1809, and located west of the main branch of Owl creek, on the Philip Leveridge property, and was followed shortly after by his brothers, Carey and Elias. Carey Cooper's sons were Charles, Elias, Hugh, John and Lewis. Carey Cooper was elected justice of the peace in 1822. Daniel had seven children: Thompson, William, George, Henrietta, Julia, Josiah and Sarah. Thompson Cooper was justice of the peace in 1836, 1839, 1842, 1845, 1848 and 1851.

Hiram, Uzziel, Cyrus and Timothy Ball came from New Jersey, and located on the Owl creek bottoms where their father owned one thousand acres of land which is still owned and cultivated by their descendants.

Colonel Alexander Enos was another of Samuel H. Smith's New England coadjutors, and lived in Clinton, east of Smith. He was a private in Captain Walker's company in 1812, and at the time of Hull's surrender, was taken prisoner. After the war Colonel Enos practiced law, being the second lawyer in the county, and in 1815 was elected representative. Later he moved to Richland county. '

Dr. Timothy Burr was the first physician in Morris township. In December, 1813, the following advertisement appeared in the Ohio Register: Samuel H. Smith having added a large stock of goods to his former assortment, will trade for butter, sugar, country linen, rye, corn, hides, deer skins and furs. Dr. T. Burr is duly authorized to attend to his business, and will prescribe gratis to purchasers of drugs and medicines.

In the War of 1812 Dr. Burr was surgeon and paymaster in Colonel Alexander Enos' regiment. The above named were the more prominent of the early settlers. Prominent citizens of a later date were Jabez Beers, Joseph Coleman, Ichabod Marshall, Benjamin Barney, Joseph Rickey, John Trimble, Richard Loveridge, Barnet Bonar, Benjamin Jackson, John Wheeler, Samuel Youman, Peter Rush, John Irvine, John McAbee, Joshua Braddock, and Christian Rinehart.

Washington county, Pennsylvania, and located on Granny's creek. He died in May, 1844, aged eighty. His son, William, was elected to the State senate in 1859, and resides at present in Mt. Vernon.

The Winterbothams were a highly intelligent family, but one of whom now resides in Knox county. Mrs. Ann S. Stephens, the accomplished authoress, residing in New York, isa descendant of this family.

May 8, 1808, a petition was presented to the county commissioners for a road from Mt. Vernon to Fredericktown, signed by Jacob Young, Nathaniel M. Young, William Mitchell, A. McLaughlin, Ziba Jackson, William Smith, Eliphalet Lewis, Simeon Lyons, John Kerr, Casper Fitting, Amariah Watson, John Lewis, Samuel Watson, William Y. Farquhar, Amos Yarnell, William W. Farquhar, Daniel Ayres, Richard Hale, Abram Ayres, Henry Markley, and Joshua Vennum. Viewers: William Gass, James Colville, and Matthew Merritt. Surveyor: William Y. Farquhar. Their report was approved and recorded April 7, 1809.

June 4, 1810 John Young, jr., William Evans, Jacob Young, John Haldeman, William Mitchell Andrew Kilpatrick, John Young, sr., James Lewis: Aaron Young, Matthew Young, Adam Hand, Calvin C. Lawrence, Ephraim Lyon, and Charles Cooper petitioned for a road from Douglass' mill to the Young settlement. William Gass, Henry Haines, and Joseph Walker were appointed viewers, and John H. Millikin. surveyor. The view was returned July 9, 1810, and approved September 1810.

John Fish, Daniel Johnson, and William Bevans were appointed commissioners to lay out a State road from Johnstown, Licking county, through Knox county to New Haven, in Huron county, and having performed their duty, filed a copy of said survey in the office of the comissioners of Knox county, July 11, 1820. That road is now called the Mt. Vernon and Mansfield road.

Samuel H. Smith had the first store in Clinton, in 1807. Richard Fishback's store stood on Clinton street, just west of the present residence of J. B. Banning. Ralph Granger kept store in Clinton in 1815, and J. S. Banning near the old Douglass mill in 1835. The first hotel was also kept by

Samuel H. Smith. Benjamin Barney followed in 1810, and in 1813 there were four houses of public entertainment with their inviting signs swinging in the breze, in the streets of Clinton. The respective hosts were Ichabod Nye, Alfred Manning, John Barney, and Samuel Youman.

Very early in the history of Knox county, Morris township became somewhat famous for its distilleries, in which the surplus rye and corn were converted into whiskey, or "fire-water," as the Indians aptly called it. Simeon Carpenter and his brother Freeman were amongst the first to engage in the business. William Douglass had a distillery a short distance east of his mill. Richard Philips carried on the business on the west side of the Fredricktown road, near Smith's tannery. Smith Hadley, on land now owned by James Ramsey, and Robert and James Rogers on the Harvey Cox place, east of the Fredericktown road. In addition to these there were several other distilleries in operation. The excuse for the existence of these establishments was the fact that whiskey, in those early times, was an article of almost universal consumption. The exceptions to the rule were found amongst the Society of Friends, a few of whom settled in the west part of the township.

The pioneer school-teacher of Morris township was Ichabod Marshall. In 1812, he taught in a little log house which stood at the junction of Clinton and Main streets, where J. B. Banning now resides. The next school was taught in a house built especially for that purpose, which stood northeast of Smith's hotel. Silas Knapp' was teacher. The third house stood southwest of J. B. Banning's, and the first school in it was taught by James Brown. The fourth stood on the hill south of Clinton, Hill, teacher. The fifth was erected north of the Wooster road, at its junction with the Mansfield road, near William Loveridge's house, Milton Lewis, teacher. The. sixth in succession stood on the south side of the aforesaid road, William Drake, teacher. The present house is the seventh, a fine frame structure, erected in 1873, and stands on the east side of the Mansfield road, about midway between J. B. Banning's and William lLoveridge's houses, Alexander A. Hanna, teacher. William Loveridge is the only surviving pupil of the first school taught at Clinton.

Rev. James Scott, of the Presbyterian church, was the pioneer preacher in the vicinity of Clinton. As there were no churches in those early days, meetings for religious purposes were held in James Loveridge's frame barn until a house of worship could be built; hence that structure became known for miles around as ''God's barn," verifying the adage that "the use sanctifies the place."

In 1814 the Presbyterians built a frame church on a lot in Clinton, where J. Blackstone Banning's barn now stands. This building was never finished as a church, and in 1820 it was moved to James Loveridge's orchard, and turned into a cider-press, the first of the kind in the county. Rev. Scott, at the time referred to, lived about one-half mile west of Loveridge's tannery. He subsequently moved to Mt. Vernon, where he died September 18, 1850, in the seventy-ninth year of his age.

About the year 1830, under the auspices of Rev. William Thrift, of the Baptist denomination, a frame church was built on the Fredericktown road, two miles north of Clinton. Fora time this congregation grew and flourished, but the vicissitudes of time and fortune have left scarcely a trace of its history.

A third church was built as a non-sectarian edifice, and was called the Morris Union chapel. It is a neat frame structure, situated four miles northeast of Mt. Vernon, on the old Greentown road, and was erected about 1870. It is free for all denominations, but is principally used by the Methodist Episcopal church, that persuasion being the more numerous in that locality.

As heretofore stated, the mill of William Douglass was the first built in the township. In 1830, Douglass sold out to Anthony Banning, and he in 1835 sold to his son, James S. Banning, who remodelled and repaired the same. These mills did good business until 1851, when the close proximity of the Newark & Sandusky railroad rendered them useless for custom work. A few years after this a freshet' destroyed the dam, and the mills were abandoned.

Duyer built saw-mills on Owl creek, and about the year 1832 James Turner built a flouring-mill on the same stream, two and a half miles north of Mt. Vernon. This mill contained three runs of buhrs, and was subsequently owned by Eli Miller, Elias Boudinot, George W. Brown and Uriah Walker. It ceased running in 1862.

In 1825, Aaron Jackson built a saw-mill on the south fork of Owl creek, and in 1836 James Walker purchased the property and erected a gristmill, which was subsequently owned by N. M. Jackson, William Parrish, States Williams, Elias Butler, John Horner, and J. Stump. It ceased operations about 1875.

As before stated, James Loveridge was the first tanner in Morris township. He was succeeded by Samuel H. Smith, Benjamin Corwin, John Mc- Mahon, Hugh McMahon, James S. Banning, and others.

James Miller dressed deerskins and manufactured them into all kinds of buckskin goods. He was succeeded by Joseph Rickey, who added a preliminary department to the business - that of killing the deer. Mr. Riley still survives, and resides with his son-in-law, Mr. Cramer, of Liberty township. He is now in the ninety-fifth year of his age.

The pioneer blacksmith in Morris township was John Sawyer. His shop stood about eighty rods southwest of Thompson Coopers - where Mr. Banning now lives. Sawyer was followed by Abel Cook and others.

The first stone cutter in the neighborhood was a Welchman by the name of William George, from Chester township. It was he whocut the stone for the foundation of James Loveridge's brick house.

Daniel Zerrick came to Morris township in 1814, and brought with him a machine for weaving stockings. He died in 1851 aged eighty-six. His daughter Patsey married John Miller and is still living on the Mansfield road, north of. the former site of Clinton.

The founder of the town of Clinton entertained a laudable ambition to make that town the permanent seat of justice for -Knox county, and to all appearance Clinton's advantages were far superior to either of the other competing towns. Population, improvement, wealth and intelligence apparently preponderated in Clinton, but - and Mt. Vernon won the prize. Clinton made a gallant fight, but fate was against her, and the once flourishing town - with tanneries, mill, distilleries, shops, hotels, stores, a printing press - on which was printed the first book ever issued in the county - and other business enterprises went into a decline. One by one her business men deserted the sinking ship. The legal existence of Clinton was terminated on the seventeenth of April, 1818, when the court heard the petition of Samuel H. Smith, Ichabod Marshall, Elihu S. Webster, Lathrop Shurtliff, John P. McArdle, Benjamin Barney and Richard Ayres for a vacation of a part of the town of Clinton, and granted the prayer. The Clinton postoffice, established in 1810, was the first in the county. Its successive postmasters were Samuel H. Smith, Richard Fishback, Ichabod Marshall and S. H. Smith. The last known of it, Andrew Clark was acting as deputy postmaster, in 1819.

Daniel Norton bought Samuel H. Smith's interest in the real estate of Clinton, but was dispossessed in a suit at law by Hosmer Curtis. J. S. Banning bought fifty-six acres of it and Uriah Walker the residue.

On the second day of March, 1812, upon petition of several citizens this township was laid off, and an order issued for. an election, to be held at the house of Benjamin Rush, for township officers. A majority of the early settlers being natives of Morris county, New Jersey, caused the name of Morris to be selected. The officers of the election this year were William Douglass, Daniel Cooper and William Thrift, judges; James Trimble and John Wheeler, clerks. The township was listed by N. C. Boalse, who received a six dollar county order for his services.

At a special meeting of the associate judges, March 14, 1812, three justices were allowed to this township. At the election ordered by the county commissioners there were fifty voters. James Trimble was chosen township clerk, Scott Dnrbin and James Miller constables, and James Loveridge treasurer.

The following is a list of the justices of the peace of Morris township: John Trimble, Benjamin Barney and Joseph Coleman, 1812; William Douglass and Joseph Coleman, 1816; James Dickson, William Douglass and Joseph Coleman, 1819; Alfred Manning, 1820; Carey Cooper, 1822; Uzziel Ball and John Trimble, 1823 and 1826; James Adams, 1830; B. H. Taylor, 1831; Uzziel Ball, 1832; James Adams, 1833; B. H. Taylor, 1835; James Adams and Thompson Cooper, 1836; B. H. Taylor, 1838; Ceorge Irwin, 1837; Thompson Cooper, 1839; George Irwin and John Durbin, 1840; B. H. Taylor, 1841; Thompson Cooper, 1842; Alexander McGrew, 1844; Thompson Cooper, 1845; B. H. Taylor, 1847; John H. Winterbotham and William Bonar, 1848; Benjamin B. Brown, 1850; Thompson Cooper, 1851; Uzziel Ball, 1853; John McIntyre, 1854; B. T. Smith, 1855; Allen Scott and Uzziel Ball, 1856; John Mc- Intyre, 1857; I. L. Jackson, 1859; John MclIntyre, 1861; I. L. Jackson, 1862; John McIntyre, 1863; Adam Rinehart, 1865; John McIntyre and Isaac L. Jackson, 1866; E. J. Mendenhall and Edward Burson, 1869; Isaac L. Jackson, 1871; James Steele, 1872; Isaac L. Jackson, 1874; David Cosner, 1875; Thomas Banning, 1877; Edward Burson and Isaac L. Jackson, 1878.