Troy Township (part 10 of 10)

I Judge Osborn received HR earlier academical instruction at Blendon. Franklin county, under the tc.-n hing of the late Rev. Lbene/ei Washburn. Alter that, he was sent to the Ohio university, at Athens, Ohio, and spent three years in study, under the direction of the late Alexander McGuffey, then president of the university, and with whom the student was upon more friendly and intimate relations than are usual between students and their teacher. After quitting the university, Mr. Osborn had partially made up his mind to enter upon a purely business career, as distinguished from a professional one. For this purpose he entered the dry goods store of his brother, the late James D. Osborn, of Columbus, and was in this employment about one year. The details of this kind of business were not congenial. Though of very soft and winning manners, and likely to be popular with customers, he could not brook the confinement and tedium of measuring cloth by the yard stick, or of tying up parcels neatly, or of putting up goods from counter to shelf. Besides this, his constitution, never very robust, was not likely to be improved in the confined- employment of a store. Of a reflecting and studious habit, he preferred the companionship of books, and when deeply immersed in the logic or narrative he had in hand, he was apt to become quite oblivious to events about him. He became convinced that his future success in life, and his own tastes and comfort, would he much more promoted in a professional life, than in the drudgery of business. Accordingly, he determined to commence the study of the law.

His elder brother, John R. Osborn, then of Norwalk, was in the practice of the law in Huron and other counties, and occasionally extending to Richland. He offered the young man a place in his office, as well as a home in Iris family.

In the course of the first winter after commencing, and while young Osborn was pursuing his studies, he felt that he could do something in the way of support by teaching school. It was not long after this determination was known that he obtained a good school in Bronson, five miles south of Norwalk. This school was in the immediate neighborhood of Alexander McPherson, a prominent, leading citizen of Huron county, and afterwards a member of the legislature from that county. Mr. McPherson took the teacher into his own family. He was a Scotchman, intelligent, industrious, quick-witted, and devout. There grew up between the two a warm friendship, which continued through life. Mr. McPherson was some years the senior of Judge Osborn, and died about two months after the latter was buried. Tim school lasted about four or five months. Mr. Osborn continued the study of the law in his brother's office for a period of something over two years, perhaps two and a half years, and was admitted to the bar at the session of the supreme court in Huron county in the year 1846.

it was in tl'.e year 1847 th.it, ponde'iing and considering the Mold of bis futme employment, he determined to locate at the village of Ashland, then recently made t : county-scat of the new county. The Hon. R. (.'. Parsejns, now ol Cleveland, had been spending about a year or so at Norwalk. The young men were nearly of the same age, and together they started out from Norwalk to Ashland. They took up quarters at Mr. Slocum's, and young Osborn soon found a room for an office, and hung out his shingle.

He was ex-judge of the court of common pleas for this district, and one of the most highly esteemed men of northern Ohio. He died at his home on Center street, Wednesday, February xr, 18S0, at two o'clock. Ills illness was of brief duration, dating from Monday, the second instant, when he was confined to his room by an attack of acute pneumonia. On the day previous he bad attended church, both morning and evening, evincing more than usual enjoyment of the communion services which distinguished that day.

At an early period of his illness he gave evidence that he had little hope of his recovery. While his suffering was not extreme, there was a feeling of utter weariness and desire for rest that shadowed the coming of the hour when he should "enter into that rest." The death of Judge Osborn was such as every good man might wish to die, and such as only a noble man could die. The last l'.our of his mortal life was a fitting close to a long, useful and honorable career. On Wednesday morning he refused to take any medicine whatever, seemingly conscious that the time of his departure was at hand. At an early hour his life-long friend, A. L. Curtis, was sent for to draw up a will. After this was done lie appeared very much exhausted, and rested quite a while before making any effort to speak. At last rousing himself he reached out his hand to his daughter, who was sitting at the bedside, and said: "I must leave you, good-bye."

As the grief-stricken family gathered around the bedside he gave each an affectionate farewell, and then, in a cone of peaceful assurance, said: "It is right, I should go irefore." Thus fell asleep William Osborn in the fifty-ninth year of Ins age; honored in public and private for the graces and virtues of character that ennoble human na fare. "Mark tire perfect man and behold the upright for the end of that man is peace."

William Osborn crime of good New England stock. He was the third son of Ralph and Catharine Osborn, and was born in Columbus, Ohio, Mav it, 1821. He received his collegiate education from the Ohio university, at Athens, when that institution w enjoying it- greatest prosperity, taking his degree about the age of twenty-one. ['hence he went to Norwalk, Ohio, and entered the law office of his brother. Hon. John Osborn, now of Toledo. Having in due course of time accomplished his legal studies and been admitted to tin: tier, he decided to begin his practice in Ashland, then a small Ullage of large expectations. He came to this place in 1 S pH, and prepared for the practice of his chosen profession, in 1853110 entered into copartnership with I. J. Sprengle to publish the Ashland Times , Mr. Osborn's name appearing as editor. From this position he retired at the end of three years in Older to devote all hi- time to the practice of law. In soon after locating, he entered into law partnership with Willard Slocum. In 1858 lie formed a copartnership with A ! Curtis. The firm of Osborn & Curtis had a large and flourishing practice for many w ars.

I lie nrm w is dissolved in i!UV>, when Mr. 0<t ni was circled i " of the court of common pleas. Alter retiring from the bench, in i \*i. he resumed practice at the bar. January t, 1875, he uwoeinied I v (irosscup, e: p, with irmself over the nnint of Osliorn tiroxscup. Owing to the rap'd grow th of their other business Mr C J I - 1 1 1 - >

As n law yer, Judge Osborn ranked very high in this section of the State. Ilis was a mind of mental grasp and power. He was ait acute thinker, a clear, conclusive reasoner. If iiis physical strength had been commensurate with his intellectual ability, his reputation anil influence would have extended far beyond the limits of northern Ohio. He was especially distinguished foi the ability of his pleadings, and an extensive knowledge of the principles anti practice of law. He was, in a pre-eminent degree, a wise and conscientious counsellor, enjoying the confidence and patronage of many corporations, commercial houses, and capitalists, to whom he held the relation of legal adviser.

From early manhood Mr. Osborn was a man of affairs, devoting much time and money to promoting, worthy public enterprises. Every good cause received his support, and for over thirty years he lias been identified with the industrial, commercial, and moral growth of Ashland. The years have been few in which he has not been serving his fellow-citizens in some place of public trust with marked zeal and fidelity. As a member of the board of education, he has had much influence in building up our public schools. As a public-spirited citizen, he has been identified with all public improvements. At the time of his death he was president of the Ashland County Mutual insurance company, a position which he held for ten years. He has been a member of the board of directors for a period of twenty years. He was also a director and stockholder of the First National bank.

Jn politics, Judge Osborn was an ardent and consistent Republican, loved by his party associates, and esteemed by his political opponents. He was a skilful party organizer, and trusted party leader to the day of his death; yet in the hottest political campaigns no breath of slander, or taint of dishonor, ever touched hint. His name was always above reproach. In his death the Republican party of Ashland county has sustained an irreparable loss.

But if in public and professional life he was conspicuous for ability and nobility, w ith how much more brilliant lustre does his name and character shine in private life, distinguished as he was lor unostentatious benevolence and generous helpfulness, especially to young men struggling to secure a foothold in a chosen business or profession. A man of abstraction in thought, he was yet a careful observer and, lover of the young. T here are young men who owe a lifetime of success to the counsel and substantial assistance rendered by Judge Osborn, at a time when the only security they could offer was that of personal honor. As long as gratitude springs up in the human breast, so long will the memory of this sainted lawyer be kept green in the hearts of many who have had tire blessing of his confidence and counsel. The memory of this just man "blossoms in the dust." His deeds of benevolence were done so quietly, that nut even nearest friends knew how constant and frequent were the acts which have distinguisded his private life. ''Those who knew him best loved him most."

Few men have been so happy in their home life, and few have infused such a spirit of love and happiness in the domestic circle as this husband and father, whose attention was so constantly engrossed by public and professional duties. In all the plans and pleasures of home he was a participant. The little things, which, enter so largely into home life, wore never overlooked. That ready sympathy which made the friend of the young in business, here found its free :st expression. Judge Osborn, especially at home, was a genial companion. His conversation abounded in practical observations of men and things, set off in a delightful way, by the kindly humor which pervaded all that he said. Mathematical studies had great attraction for him, and he took much pleasure in solving new problems as he formed them. lie had a wide and fantiiiar acquaintance with standard literature, and kept abreast with the best current thought and investigation of the day.

At an early period of his professional life Judge Osborn united w ith the Presbyterian church, and at once took his place as a Christian worker. Ilis loss will be especially felt in the Sunday-school, where he has been engaged as a teacher or superintendent for almost thirty years. No part of the Sunday-school escaped his attention, and many poor children have been provided with clothing, that they might attend Sunday-school, without knowing that the means were provided bv one who had seen thcii need. This was a characteristic feature of his benevolent spirit; he avoided observation and comment in his charitable work.

Even from our imperfect sketch it will be seen that the life and character of Judge Osborn was exceptionally noble and exalted. 1 here was in him a rare combination of the higher qualities of human nature. He has demonstrated that a noble Christian life is compatible with the pi active of law and th - discharge of political duties; that it is possible to lx? an active participant in public life, and yet keep ' oneseif unspotted from the world." Pure and above reproach he passed through thirty-four years of public life, a distinguished example of the highest type of Christian manhood. It was indeed befitting, that when the mortal remains of William Osborn were passing to their last resting place, that business should be suspended and the public schools closed as a tribute of respect to his memory. He rests from his labors and his works do follow him." was born in Orange township, Ashland county, Ohio, September 17, 1846. He entered the auditor's office as clerk, March 14, 1870; was elected auditor in October, 1S74, by eight hundred and thirty majority, and reelected, in October, 1S76, by seven hundred and sixty one majority. He and W. G. Heltman purchased the Ashland f'/ess, July 17, 1879, of which paper Mr. Albcrson is editor.

I was absent when your letter arrived, which accounts fo: it not being answered sooner. Your first query is, ''where did Jerome settle on Mohican." When we came to the county he was living at Jeromctown, in a smalt cabin, a short distance apart fiom the Indian houses; He cultivated some six or eigl t actes of laud ; kept a few homes, cattle, and swine; he also kept a house of entertainment. He and the in" dians did not get along very well. They wished him to divide the pioducts of his farm with them ; this he refused to do,- the consequence v.as, when they had whiskey they whipped him. When the Indians left he said he gave his squaw the privilege of going or staying with him. She chose to go with the Indians. He then bought land \vh -re jeromeville now stands, but sold to Mr. Dscrdttff. He soon after settled at Huron, in Huron county, and married a white lady, anil died shortly after. Jerome commenced trading with the Indians when seventeen years old, blit how long he continued a tiader I do nut know He was with the Indians in Wayne's campaign, but whether he was with them in Harmar's and St. Clair's, T do not know. You enquire how much cleared land the Indians .had. I n ver saw then field, but it was situated out of sight of the village; I think only a few small patches. The cleared land around the village was a lawn well set with blue grass with an occasional tree and a few shrubs, perhaps amounting to six or eight acres. I was in the village during the residence of the Indians, some three or four times. The village consist' d of some too cabins, about sixteen or eighteen feet, one storv high. The councilhouse, 1 think, was a temporary building, built lodge fashion. 1 do not recollect ever having seen it. I did see Pi pc. and his w gw. on was in Jcromctown. I have no recollection of wife and children. i ie appeared to be fifty years old; a tall, dark, straight Indian. I ra'vii talked with him ; perhaps father did, but 1 think not much, as iVv was a surly, unrelenting foe of the whites, and had but little intercour-e with them. 1 think he left with the other Indians. 1 have no knov 1 edge of Captain Ripe, junior. T he Captain 1'ipe the amhoi .<;>- aks ot must have been some other Captain Ripe. 1 know that an In ban 1 > that name resided at Jerometown in tin years r S< .. in-, ! i8tr. 1 believe there were more Captain 1'ipvs than one. i t! A ; on,: >1! the Indian.:, had been on Mohican about tenor tv.c! - >1 pie -

Delivered At Ashland

Fellow-Citizen's: - This is the natal day of our inde- ! pendence. We have assembled to review the progress of a century. How amazing has been the change in these j valleys. At the close of the Revolutionary war the ter- ! ritory now constituting the great State of Ohio was in the possession of the red men of the forest, the IVyar:- \ dots, the Offawas, the Mohegans , the Senecas , the Dria- \ wares, successors to the fallen Erics, owned and hunted ! upon the headwaters of the Mohican.

In 1755, just prior to the defeat of General Braddock, j James Smith, a Pennsylvania youth, was captured and brought to the Indian village of Tullebas, on the Lake j fork of the Mohican, and adopted by the Mohegans. I He afterward ascended what has since been known as 1 the Jerome fork of the. Mohican, and passed over what j are now the townships cf Lake, Mohican, Montgomery, j Orange, and Sullivan, to the headwaters of the Canesa- I dooharie or Black river. He was, probably, the first j American who penetrated these wilds.

In 1760, after the surrender cf Canada to the English j by the French, Major Robert Rogers, of the Royal army, j was ordered to take charge of the western forts, one of ; which was situated at Detroit. On his return east, he | passed around the southwestern border of Lake Erie, by the Maumee and Sandusky, down the old trail across ! what are now the counties cf Crawford, Richland, Ash- j land, Wayne/ Holmes, and Tuscarawas, to Fort De- I Quesne, now the city of Pittsburgh. He tarried and : hunted one day at Mingo village, probably where Jeromeviile now stands, in January, 1761. He and his j red-coated soldiers were the first armed men who pene- j tratcd these valleys.

From memorials preserved by Rev. John I leek evveldcr, the Moravian missionary, it is pres' med that sometime between 1750 and 1760, Mohican John, with a remnant of the old Connecticut Afohcgans, from near j Montreal, Canada, founded a village on a bianch of the | Walhonding, on section eighteen of what is now Mohican township, and gave name to all the streams of this ! county.

In 1 7 S rr, the disastrous military expedition of Colonel William Crawford passed over this county 01 route for : Upper Sandusky. The story of that ill-fated movement | is too well remembered to need repetition. Many of his defeated, dejected, scattered, fugitive troops, as they hurried through the forests of Richland and Ashland counties, fell a p:\-y to the tomahawks and scalping knives of the exasperated red men. Thus,' on the branches of Mohican was avenged the bloody work of '' iHiamson and his men on the Tuscarawas.

Ohio. July 4, 1S76

Black fork of Mohican, was founded by an American tory from the blood-stained valley of Wyoming. After that sanguinary slaughter, Thomas Green, who had aided the fierce Mohawks to murder his countrymen, fled to the wilds of Ohio with Jelloway, Armstrong, Billy Montour, Tom Lyons, and others. The village received the name of the white fiend, and was called Greentown.

In 1 79 1-2, the Mohegans and Delawares of these valleys joined the Wyandots , Shawnees and Miamis in repelling the invasions cf Harmar and St. Clair, and disaster met our arms at every point. The Delazvares, of Greentown, were led by their chief, Thomas Armstrong, while the Dslawares upon the Sandusky and the Huron were led by Captain Pipe. In 1794, these confederate tribes met the vigilant and unconquerable Wayne, at Fallen Timbers, and were signally routed, while their military ardor was forever crushed, and their power broken.

In 1795, the treaty at Greenville gave the United States the fertile valleys, streams and forests of northern Ohio. Reservations were assigned the conquered, and they ceased to depredate upon the border settlements. The territory thus acquired was erected into one county, perhaps the largest in the world, and received the name of the hero that wrested u from the proud-spirited red man, Wayne. Soon after the treaty, Captain Pipe and a remnant of the wolf tribe of tire Delawares , with a Frenchman by the name of Baptiste Jerome, joined the Mohegans at their village, in what is now Mohican township.

In 1806-7, the territory of this county was surveyed into ranges, townships, sections and quarter-sections, by deputy United States surveyors; and a land office was established at Canton, and subsequently at the village of Wooster, for the entry of wild lands. Very soon the primitive forests of Wayne and Richland counties were penetrated by the enterprising pioneer.

On the fifteenth of April, 1809, Alexander Finley and family, from near Mt. Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, settled and erected an humble cabin on the present site of Tylcrtown, in Mohican township, \bout the middle of May, he was joined by William and Thomas Eagle and John Shinnabarger, and their families. Their nearest white neighbor was John Baptiste Jerome, a French trader, who had married a squaw, and lived in a cabin on the present site of Jcromeviiie, a village that was named after him. He bad cleared thirty or more -< u s of land, had horses, cattle and swine, and was at; ached to the band of Captain Pipe, who resided ne.u the Indian village.

through tire Indian village of Greentown, on the lilac!; fork of Mohican, and located, in a pole cabin, near the present site of the John Charles mill. Upon his arrival he found near the Indian village, a wild, rollicking, West Virginian, and his wife, who fancying the nomadic habits of the Indians, had settled in their midst and hunted with them.

From 1809 to the spring of 1812, as near as now can be ascertained, the following families located within the present limits of this county; On the Clear fork: Samuel Lewis, James Cunningham and Peter Kinney. On the Black fork: Henry McCart, Thomas Coulter, Allen Oliver, George Crawford, David Davis, Edward Haley, John Davis, Mel/.er Charles, and Baz.el Tannehill, Joseph Jones, Ebenezer Rice, Joseph Hill, Lewis Hill, Calvin Hill, Harvey Hill, MosesAdz.it, Jeremiah Conine, Sylvester Fisher, Otlio Simmons, Frederick Zimmer, John Lambright, Martin Ruffner, Melzer Coulter, John Coulter, and Abraham Baughman. On the Lake and Jerome forks: James Loudon Priest, William Greenlee, Thomas and Joshua Oram, Mordecai Chilcote, Vachtel Metcalf, Jacob Lybarger, William Bryan, James Conley, Benjamin Bunn, James Slater, James Bryan, Elisha Chilcote, James Collyer, George Eckley, Jonathan Palmer, James Wallace, Ezra Warner, John Carr, David Nogglc. And in what is now Montgomery township: Robert Newell, Daniel Carter, Jacob Fry, Benjamin Cuppy, and Christopher Trickle. These families, by reciprocal aid, had succeeded in erecting comfortable cabins and in clearing and cultivating a few acres in Indian corn, the first year of their settlement.

Early in the spring of the year 1812 the Indians on the branches of the Mohican began to be uneasy, and frequent visits to Sandusky and Detroit were made. It was noticed when they returned they were in possession of new blankets, guns and tomahawks. The seductive influence of British agents was brought to bear, and the demeanor of the Delawares evinced their readiness for the fray.

In June the United States declared war against Great Britain. The events of the Revolution forcibly constrained her to admit the independence of the colonies; yet she refused to execute the treaty in good faith, and availed herself of every equivocation to justify her perfidy. She refused to vacate the western forts, and paid a price for human scalps in the campaigns of Harmar, St. Clair and Wayne, and claimed the right to impress our sailors and seamen into British service.

Governor Meigs, of Ohio, was required to furnish twelve hundred militia for the defence of the northwest and the border settlements. These, with other troops, were placed under the command of Brigadier General William Hull, of Dayton, Ohio, and marched to the Maumee, and thence to EVtroit, where, without a struggle, on the sixteenth of August, he surrendered his army to the British commander, Major General Isaac Brock. The army of Hull contained about twenty-five hundred men, well armed, with an abundance of fixed ammunition, and plenty of rations. The circumstances attending the surrender were of the most suspicious ch.uacter.

Hull, stupefied from intoxication, was believed tn be a venal coward, and was doubtless bribed with British gold. The surrender was execrated by the brave officers and men who had thus been treacherously betrayed i n t . . the hands of the enemy.

Upon the reception of the news of the surrender, alarm and consternation spread throughout the border settlements of Ohio. It was apprehended that Tu urnseh, with his red fiends, flushed by the late disaster, would immediately begin a war of extermination upon the defenceless people of this region. By order of the governor, the citizens of the border counties were enrolled in the home guards, to defend their firesides against invasion from the relentless savage. In a few days General Payne and Colonel Johnson arrived at Dayton with two thousand Kentucky militia, and were joined by Tupper and Winchester with one thousand regulars, who hastened forward and held Tecumseh and his bloodthirsty bands in check. In the meantime, Colonel Samuel Kratzer, from Mt. Vernon, received orders to remove the Jerome and Greentown Indians to Urbana, where they could be restrained from joining the hostile Indians under British influence.

A few days after the removal of the Greentown Indians, the cabin of Frederick Zimmer, near the Black fork, was attacked, and he and his wife and daughter, and Martin Ruffner, killed and scalped by a band of hostile Greentown Indians, from Sandusky; and on Tuesday morning, September 15th, the guard at the cabin of James Copus was surprised and he and a part of the guard killed. Immediately thereafter there was a general flight of the pioneers to the block-houses at Beam's, on the Rocky fork; Samuel Lewis's, on the Clear fork; James Loudon Priest's, on the Lake fork; Jerome's Place, on. the Mohican; Clinton, in Knox: county, and to Wooster. In a few days most of the pioneers of Green township returned, and a block-house was prepared on the lands of Thomas Coulter, and another of the cabin of Allen Oliver, in which several families quartered during apprehended danger. In the meantime a stockade was erected by James Loudon Priest, in Lake, and another by Vachtel Metcalf, in Mohican, and a cabin defence by John Shinnabarger, u> which several families retreated for safety.

During the panic there were many adventures and amusing occurrences. We have room for but one or two: The family of Alexander Finley sought safety at

Wooster, which was about eleven miles away. Arranging his cabin, and concealing such articles of value as could not be carried along, he and his family crossed the Mohican and proceeded as rapidly as possible &' >ng the Indian paths. Suddenly recollecting that he had several young calves in a pen, he returned to let them out lest they might starve in his absence. Having done so lie again turned toward the fort at Wooster ; bm. supposing he could save distance, attempted to j straigl t through the forest. IK became confused, traveled in a ciicle, had to sleep upon the leaves and die rot tv;;; !i the fort until he had been out over thirty hours and serenaded by the wolves. Jacob Lybarger, a neighbor, al-o fled to the Wooster block-house. In his haste he gathered his only child from the cradle, wrapped in a blanket which he swung across his back, and started along the paths, directing his wife to follow. The shades of evening made the forest gloomy; Mr. J.ybarger exerted him self lest night and darkness might prevent his escape. His wife followed for a time near by, but at last becoming quite fatigued hallooed to her husband: ''Jake,

Jake, are you afraid!" The brave husband, being somewhat nettled at the curiosity of his wife, exclaimed: "No, lam not afraid !" The journey was continued, and Mr. Lybarger failed to slacken his pace. In his haste along the winding paths he was considerably embarrassed by the brush and brambles. Suddenly stumbling upon the child, his wife again exclaimed: "Take, you need not say you arc not afraid - you have dropped Maria and did not know it!" The little daughter was speedily replaced, survived the war, and upon reaching womanhood became the wife of the late Justus S. Weatherbee.

Some weeks after the flight of the pioneers General R. Teall, with an army of about one thousand seven hundred soldiers, passed bv Jerome's Place, and cut, on the old Wyandot trail, a wagon path through the townships of Vermillion, Montgomery and Milton, and thence over Richland county to Sandusky. This army was followed by General Robert Crooks, from Pittsburgh, with a large army train, and about two thousand two hundred soldiers. From Jerome's Plo.ce he cut a trail southwest by the Indian village of Grecntown, known as the old Portage road, and quartered some weeks at the village of Mansfield. Troops from these armies were detailed at various points to defend the block-houses of the pioneers.

During the continuance of the war the following families quartered in the Priest stockade when menaced bydanger from the savages: James L. Priest, 'William Greenlee, William Hendrickson, Nathan Odell, John Oram, Thomas Oram, Joshua Oram, and Mordecai Chilcote; at Shinnabarger's - William and Thomas Eagle, Jacob Lay burger, and Alexander Finley; at Metcalf's - William Bryan, James Conley, Elisha Ghilcote, Benjamin Bunn, James Slater, and James Bryan; at the Jerome block-house- Robert Newell, Jacob Fry, Berjamin Guppy, George Eckley, Jonathan Palmer, James Wallace, Christopher Trickle, James Bryan, Daniel Carter, John Carr, Ezra Warner, and David Noggle; but Messrs. Guppy, Fry and Carter did not remain. Mr. Carter and family passed on to Tuscarawas county, and returned in a few months to their cabin in Montgomery, and again entered the fort, where Mrs. Carter died. Those who forted at Beam's, Lewis's, Coulter's, Oliver's, and Clinton's, were Lite Olivers the Coulters, the Tannehills, the Rices, the Chapels, the Crawfords, the Ad/its, the Baughmans, the Kinney.:, the Conines, the Lambrights. the Copuses, and the Hills. About eighteen of the Green township block house pioneers, ranging from sixty-eight to eighty-ihree years of age, yet survive. Of those who gathered at the l'riest fort, John Greenlee, and of those of the Jerome fort, Daniel Carter, j r. . and Joshua Carr are believed to be the only survivors.

The inmates of the block-houses succeeded in cultivating vegetables and small fields of corn in 1813, while several families returned to their cabins and were undisturbed. Indeed, the danger was probably considerably I exaggerated from the beginning. The treachery of the Indians and the disasters that befell our army in the j northwest kept the border settlements constantly in a state of anxiety. By the aid of hominy-blocks and hand- , mills the pioneers were enabled to provide, by the ex- ! penditure of considerable labor, for their families.

Upon the declaration of peace, the tide of emigration : again set in, and hundreds of families pressed forward in j search of homes in the wilderness. The woodman's axe i re-echoed through the forests, and cabins sprang up in i every quarter. A glance at the method of raising cabins,

| which were cut in suitable lengths and dragged by oxen | to the spot selected for the erection of a house. The 1 pioneers for miles around, gathered with cx-teams and I hauled the logs as the axe-men cut them in proper lengths.

| While this was being done others were riving clapboards ! for the roof. A good axe-man was placed at each corner ; to notch the logs as the hands shoved them into posi- ' tion. When the main building had been erected the 1 roof was rapidly constructed. A section of logs was cut out for a chimney, a door, and a small window, the floor being of huge puncheons or the ground. Having brought a lunch along, each hand exerted himself until the completion of the cabin, and then all congratulated the owner on his new home and dispersed. In such rude cabins ! hundreds of those present to-day lived fifty or sixty years ago. ITey were warm-hearted, whole-souled people, and though some of them possessed rough exteriors, they I were noted fer their hospitality and manhood. The loe- 1 rollings, corn-huskings, flax-pullings, road-making, ancient I militia musters, bear and deer hunting need no detail at j my hands. They will never be forgotten.

While the sturdy pioneer was thus cutting away the j forest, and opening and fitting for culture a homestead, j how were tire mothers, wives and daughteis of the pio- | neers employed? They, too, toiled, and were not ; clothed in costly garments. Woollens, calicoes, cottons, j and other goods of eastern manufacture, were scarce ! and expensive. The deficiency was supplied by home j industry. Attention was given to the coloring properties of roots, barks and berries, combined with alum, copperas, soda, and other alkalies used in dveing flax and wool for domestic manufacture. Flax was extensively cultivated, and the hum of the spinning-wheel ! was heard in almost every cabin. When woven into | linen, it was much used for shirting, pantaloons, shect- ! ing, and other uses. When combined with wool, it was j called "linsey-woolsey," and was very generally worn by skilful hands, instead of the piano, made music for the cabin. These good mothers have long since gone to rest. Monuments and gratitude should preserve their memories.

The food of the early settlers was exceedingly plain, and consisted, for the first year or two, of hominy, cornmeal, and wild meat. The majority of the pioneers possessed one or two cows which fed on sedge-grass and browse. Milk was abundant, but sometimes tainted with wild onions and the buckeye. Mush and pone were the standard food. Almost every cabin was adorned by the primitive hominy block ; the prepaTtion of food by such instruments was tedious and quite laborious. The handmill, constructed of a bowlder, after the fashion of a coffee-mill, came into extensive use. The hopper was an inverted cone, with a cylinder of the same material exactly fitting the hopper, perforated by a shaft and regularly grooved, was placed on a pivot and propelled by the aid of a lever by one or two hands ; this was a slow process. Horse-mills soon followed, and then watermills, and, at a later period, the steam grist-mill. The first water-mill was built by Benjamin Cuppy, near Ashland, in the spring of i S r 6. The next mill was built by Martin Mason (now Leidigh's), in March, 1816; the next by John Raver, near the present site of Rowsburgh, in 1817; the next by Constance Lake, on what is now Goudy's run, in ATrmillion township, in the fall of 1S17. Prior to the erection of these mills, the pioneers obtained grists at Shrimplin's mill, on Owl creek, and at Stibbs', one or two miles below Wooster. The trip, by the Indian paths, was difficult and attended with danger, as several streams had to be forded, and the forests abounded with wolves, panthers, and other wild animals. The trip consumed from two to four days, and had to be made on the pack-saddle. Many of the mill-boys of sixty years ago are here to-day. How great the change in a single generation!

Organization seems to be the highest characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon. Wherever enough adventurers or pioneers are found to locate, the first prominent idea is to call a meeting and organize for self-government. In the midst of the war-like excitements of 1S12-15, the pioneers of the branches of the Mohican, failed not to remember that self-government was the boon for which their revolutionary fathers contended. As rapidly "as the population would permit, they began to organize townships and elect magistrates to enforce the laws and preserve order. In range fifteen, Lake township was organized in 1 8 r 4, Mohican in 1812, Perry in 1 S 1 4, and Jackson in 1819. In range sixteen, Hanover was organized in 1 S 1 8, Green in 1812, Vermillion in 1814, Montgomery in rSi6, and Orange in 1S18. In range seventeen, Mifflin was organized in 1815. Milton in 1816, and Clearcreek in 1818. Of the Reserve townships, Ruggles was organized in 1826, Sullivan in 1S19, and Troy in 1835. The earlier settlers after the war, orr the north half of range fifteen were: John Carr, John Ewing,

The earliest settlers in Ruggles, Troy and Sullivan were: Bradford Slurtevant, Daniel Beach, James Poag, Harvey Sackeit, Aldrich Carver, Norman Carter, Reuben Fox, Jacob Roorback, Perry Durfee, Joseph Parker, Nathaniel Clark, Benjamin Moore, Christian Bush, David Mason, Ralph Phelps, Sanford Peck, Nicholas Fast, Philip Biddinger, As'nael Parmely, Jesse Chamberlin, Abijah Chamberlain, T homas Rice, James Palmer, and one or two other families.

Next to the organiz tion of townships came the founding of villages. The order of their survey and plat is as follows: Loudon vilie by Janies Loudon Priest, in 1814; Perrysville, by Thomas Coulter, in 1813; Jeromcviiie, by Christian Deaidcrf and William Vaughn, in '.8:5; Uniontown, now Ashland, by William Montgomery, in 1815: Petersburg!!, now Mifflin, by William B. James and Peter Deardorf, in 1816; Savannah, by John Haney, in iSj8; Orange, by Amos Norris and John Chilcote, in iSaS;. Hayesville, by Thomas Cox and Linus Hayes, in' 1830; Pemsburgh, by Josiah Lee, in 1830; Mohican vilie, by Simeon Beall and Henry Shcrraddeii, in 1833 ; Sullivan, by Sylvanus Parmely, Jose pit Painter, Ira Palmer, and |oscph Carlton, in 1836; Roue-burgh, by Michael 1). Row, in 1835; Lafayette, by Willi, mi Hamilton and |ohn Zimmerman, in 1835; l'olk, by John Kuhn, in 1849; Troy Center, by lh. Norris, in 1851 , and Ruggles Center in 1800.

In the first settlement, of this county, tiie interests of education were not forgotten. The earlier schools were taught in lug cabins, and teachers paid by subscription.

* They received lo-v wages for their services. Many of the pioneers, owing to the sparseness of the settlements, instructed their own children. The first school-houses were of the most, primitive character. They had large fire-places, rude benches, and light was reflected through oiled paper, instead of glass. The earlier teachers were generally from New York, Pennsylvania, New England, and Ireland; the reading books were few, and spelling, reading, writing, geography and arithmetic constituted the course. Rigid rules were adopted and enforced, sometimes by birch. On the approach of the holidays, boys and girls expected to be treated by the teacher, and the expectation was generally gratified. Elizabeth Rice, subsequently Mrs. John Coulter, is believed to have taught the first school, near Perrysville, in 1814. She now resides at Congress, Wayne county. Asa Brown taught in 1816. Mrs. Nancy Elliott taught in Gearcreek, in 1S1 7. Robert Nelson taught in Milton and Cienrcreek, in 1 S 1 7 ; Rev. John Hazard, in Montgomery township, in 18x8 ; John Swaggart and Sage Kellogg, in Orange, in 1819; John G. Mosier, in Perry, in 1820; L. Parker, in Lake, in 1S20; John tbyte, in Cienrcreek, in 1823; William Irvin, in Vermillion, in 1823 ; Therygood Smith, in Ashland, in 1824; Chandler Foot, in 1825, and Daniel Austin, in Sullivan. Up to that period, ail schools were paid by subscription. At a later day, a fund was collected by taxation, for the erection of schoolhouses, and to pay tuition ; since which, school-houses and schools have kept pace with modern improvements.

In 1839 an academy was founded at Ashland and successfully conducted until about 1830, when it was merged, into the union school system. It acquired an extended reputation under the management of the late lamented president, Lorin Andrews, than whom Ohio never produced an abler educator nor a more estimable citizen.

In 1045, Vermillion institute, ar Hayes vilie, was chartered and authorized to confer degrees. It originated through the efforts of Rev. Lewis Granger, J. L. McLain and the citizens of the town. It has had. thus far, a career of varied success. It is handsomely situated and should command a liberal support.

In 1S5S an academy was established at Savannah. It has had able teachers, and has sent forth many young men and ladies, who have made their mark, in various localities, as instructors.

In 1S71 an academy was established at Perrysville, under the management of Professor J. C. Sample, an able educator. It is in a prosperous condition.

Believing that integrity, uprightness, coinage, intelligence and morality should constitute the foundation of society, as well as the State, our fathers failed not, in their new homesj to inculcate those ideas. An oc a sional minister - from the older settlement punched in the cabins ol (he pioneer-, or to people assembled in the forest. Religious societies we»o organized, and hewed 1 jg churches erected by the voluntary contributions of

; formed the nucleus from which Presbyterianism and 1 Methodism radiated in this county. The German Reformed and Evangelical Lutherans began to organize congregations as early as 1 82 5-30. The Baptists in 1824, the Disciples in 1830. the German Baptists in 1845, the United Brethren in 1S4S, the German Methodists in 1S32, and the Congregational!- ts in 1838.

The healing art is the custodian of the highest iriter- 1 esis of the people, and the educated physician, property devoted to his profession, has it within his power to contribute largely to the health and elevation of society, for healthy minds must come from healthy bodies. Diseased bodies rarely contain minds that are not affected with eccentricities, depression, and melancholy; and so ; long as people place more value upon a horse or a cow than upon the life of a human being, men1 .i deficiencies and bodily frailties will be transmitted. For the first six or eight years after these valleys began to be set vied, the nearest phvsicians were at Ml. Vernon, Mansfield, and Wooster. The prevailing diseases weic agues and bilious fevers, caused by the exhalations of decaying veget. file matter in marshes and ponds, during the summer and autumnal months. Tuey rarely proved lata!. Butternut l ilts, bitters of wild cherry bark, boneset tea, and Mack alder, were freely used. "Blood-letting ' was cn ci.-.d a sovereign lemedy fur many ills. "Turnkeys" and 'he lancet were used by the surgically inclined pioneer. The , eat Her physicians were: Joel Luther, J seph L. Chib Harrison Armstrong, J\ B. Fuller, Thomas Have

Eagle, J. S. Irwin, Robert Irwin, John Hanna, George ' W. Paddock, Gustavos Oestcrlin, W. C. Moore, O. C. McCarty, William Mead, William B. Young, J. L. Me- : Cully, Joseph Hildreth, and Constance Lake. The leading physicians of a later date are : Willard Slocum, ! N. S. Sampsel, Bela B. Clark, j. W. Kinnimam, I. L. Crane, J. P. Cowan, 1). S. Sampsel, David Armstrong, Andrew J. Scott, James Yocum, Samuel Glass, John In- ; gram, John Lambert, S. Z. Davis, Amos B. Fuller, J. W. Griffith, J. Chandler, H. Buchanan, O. L. Andrews, George Weedman, George Gregg, A. B. Sampson, and many others. ' 1

The legislative act creating this county was passed February 24, 1846. It was formed of the territory of ! Richland, Huron, Lorain and Wayne counties. The fractional townships of Mifflin, Milton and Clearcreek, and the full townships, of Hanover, Green, Vermillion, j Montgomery and Orange were from Richland county; while Ruggles was from Huron; and Sullivan and Troy, ! from Lorain; and the fractional townships of Jackson, Perry, IVJohican and Lake, were from Wayne county. On j the first Monday of April. 3846, the county-seat was located at Ashland by a vote of the electors. In 1.847-8 j the present jail was erected by O. S. Kinney, architect, j and cost the county about fourteen thousand dollars. ! An old stone church, purchased on the site of the grounds ; selected for the erection of county buildings, was occu- \ pied some seven years as a court house. In 1851 the j present court house was commenced by O. S. Kinney, architect, and completed in 1853 It cost about twenty 1 thousand dollars. In 1849 Sylvester Alger and George ; W. Urie, architects, constructed the county infirmary in ! Vermillion township. It cost about four thousand del- ' lars. Topographically, this county is admirably situated, j It contains two principal slopes or water-sheds, one-half I of the streams flowing north and the other south. The j uplands, south of the dividing ridge, slope gently to the j south, presenting fine views for residences, and are most I desirable lands for culture. At many points a landscape ! of eight or ten miles sweeps before the vision, giving as ! lovely a view of valley, stream and gentle slope, dotted i with farms and villages, as can be found on the globe. ! T he soil is of clay, second bottom loam, and rich alluvi- I urn along the streams, giving every variety of soil. North l of the dividing slope the lands are of stiff clay, and bet- ! tor adapted to grazing and stock ; and many fine cattle | are produced for the eastern market. It is also noted j for its fine dairies, butter and cheese. The people north 1 are from New England ; south, from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Germany.

In 1812 the land constituting this county was valued at about three hundred and thirty thousand dollars. In 1 S 7 6 the same lands, with their improvements, are valued at about seventeen million dollars.

In r8i2 the chattle property would not exceed the 1 meagre sum of six thousand d /liars. In 187/1 the chat- ! tie property of this county, appraised at iis money value, will reach six million dollars.

In the constitutional convention of 185 1, delegates j were elected by Ashland and Wayne counties as a dis- j trict. Ashland county elected fohn J. Hodman; and 1 Wayne. Ezra Wilson and Dr, Leander Firestone, and upon his resignation, John Larwill.

The legal profession of Ashland county will compare favorably with the younger counties of the State. Our people are not noted fora tendency to litigation. Their occupation is mostly agricultural, and calculated to conciliate and encourage integrity and uprightness in dealing. Crime has been quite limited, and but one execution for a -capital offence has taken place since the organization of the county - that of Charles Steingravcr, for murder. The attorneys who have practiced at the Ashland bar are : Nicholas M. Donaldson, Janies W.

The bulwark of liberty is an enlightened press. Neither tyrants, venality, nor the frowns of the ambitious can put down an independent, high-toned journal. Ii is the vanguard of progress and civilization. It is the foe of corruption, the friend of truth and of science. As long as we have an ncorruptible press, the lights of mankind will be safe.

The newspapers of this county have been the J/oh/vr1 Advocate and 'J'onrna /, at Loudonville, established in 1834, by Mr, Rogers; its career was b;ief. The As!; land Herald appeared in 1S34, and was published by j G Gilkison; it lived about eight months. The Ohio , by Joshua H. Ruth, appeared In 1830. It was a Van Buren organ, and survived about one year. The Ji'.Oern Pho'nix , by Thomas White and Samuel McClure,' appeared in 1S40. It was a Harrison organ. It lived about ten months. The Ashland Standard, by It. V Kennedy, appeared in 1849. It was for paper mourn , and lived about two yen.' The Ashland 1 mao at, by W. A. Hunter and Jonathan Martel, appeared in iS.p. H. S. Knapp succeeded as coho; of tiic Dee. rat in 1 8.(8, and purchased and merged tin -at and

History Of Ashland Coun Ly, Ohio

John Sheridan, he by Collins D. Bushnel!, he again by H. S. Knapp, he by John J. Jacobs, he by J. M. & J. II. Landis, they by George W. Hill, and he by Benjamin F. Nelson and William H. Gates. The paper in the meantime having changed in name to States and Union, and the Ashland Press. The Ashlander, by William B. : McCarty, appeared in 1850. It was a Whig journal. ; In 1S52 it passed into the possession of L. J. Sprengle, j and the name was subsequently changed to the Ashland ; Times. Mr. Sprengle was publisher and William Osborn editor. Mr. Osborn retired in 1 S 5 5 , and Josiah Locke became editor. In '857 he retired, since which Mr. Sprengle remained editor and proprietor until November, 1875, when he sold the paper to J. I). Stubbs & Co., with J. E. Stubbs as editor. The Independent of Loudonville, by Robert Lockhart, appeared as a temperance organ in 1867, and ceased to exist in 1874. The Loudomdlle Advocate , by Joshua H. Ruth, appeared in 1872.

Of the brave soldiers of the Revolution, John Tilton, Jacob Hiffner, Jacob Shaffer, Frederick Sultzer, John Davis, and Adam Link, were citizens of this county. John Wheeler was killed in Orange township about 1S19. Abraham Decker, of Milton township, died about 1S2S.

James Compbeil, Joseph Parker, Nathaniel Clark, Abraham Armen trout, Jacob Shopbell, R. .D. Emerson, Francis Graham, James Kilgore, and E. Halstead. The balance of the list, one hundred and ten, have been gathered to their place of rest.

My friends, let us preserve these memorials while we may. Ere long the last of the pioneers will have been garnered by the relentless reaper. Even now they are rapidly departing, and soon the village bell will have tolled the knell of the last tottering frontiersman. The red men who met and welcomed them to these fertilevalleys have long since gone to the great hunting-grounds, or now roam, old and feeble, toward the setting sun. Of the teeming millions that people this vast continent, not one will see the grand display of the centennial anniversary of 1976. At least three generations of man will have come and gone before the close of the second century of our independence. In the first, how grand has ! been our march in the paths of prosperity and greatness.

: Nothing but national suicide can arrest our onward ca i reer in all that renders a people free and happy. With pleasing emotions we look forward to the period when the Republic shall stretch ali over the continent, and our banner wave triumphantly over one hundred capitals.

Source changes here: from History of Ashland County, Ohio, by Baughman, A. J. (Abraham J.), published 1909; 196 words in this source stream.

Troy Township

For many years the settlement of Troy was retarded to a greater degree than the adjacent townships on the north, east and west, in consequence of the ownership of the land by Eastern speculators. For some years prior to 1845, the system of legislation prevailed in Ohio, the effect and probably the design of which was to confiscate lands of non-resident owners, or cause them to sell the same. For some years the lands of non-residents were valued for taxation the same as improved farms. The roads were made and improved by a tax of a certain amount per acre, the wilderness lands of the speculators being taxed the same per acre as were the best and most improved farms of the settlers. The same rule applied in the erection of schoolhouses and in the support of the schools. This legislative policy soon brought the lands of non-residents into the market, and the lands were taken up by actual settlers and improved, adding much to the wealth and increasing the population of the township. The only town in the years agone in Troy township was Troy village, the name of which has been changed to Nova.

Source changes here: from History of Ashland Country Ohio, by A.J.Baughman, published 1909; 195 words in this source stream.

Troy Township

For many years the settlement of Troy was retarded to a greater degree than the adjacent townships on the north, east and west, in consequence of the ownership of the land by Eastern speculators. For some years prior to 1845, the system of legislation prevailed in Ohio, the effect and probably the design of which was to confiscate lands of non-resident owners, or cause them to sell the same. For some years the lands of non-residents were valued for taxation the same as improved farms. The roads were made and improved bya tax of a certain amount per acre, the wilderness lands of the speculators being taxed the Same per acre as were the best and most improved farms of the settlers. |The same rule applied in the erection of schoolhouses and in the support of the schools. This legislative policy soon brought the lands of non-residents into the market, and the lands were taken up by actual settlers and improved, adding much to the wealth and increasing the population of the township. The only town in the years agone in Troy township was Troy village, the name of which has been changed to Nova.