Troy Township (part 9 of 10)

Isaac Stull

was born in Green county, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1810, and removed with his parents to Jefferson county, Ohio, in 1818. In December, 1820, his father and family removed to Orange township, then in Richland, but now in Ashland county, and located near the farm ot Jacob Young, on lands no v owned by Mr. Saddler.

Isaac continued to reside with his parents until he became of age, and then he learned the trade of a millwright, from Colonel John Murray. At the conclusion I of his apprenticeship, he worked at the trade for several years, and then purchased a farm and made farming his occupation, until about 1S65, when he removed to Ashland and purchased a homestead, and opened a shoe store. He carried on the shoe furnishing business for I some four years, then sold out; and purchased a hardj ware store with his son-in-law, Mr. Joseph Charles, with whom he is at present engaged in active business.

The first mart was from Rowsburi'h to Jacob Yo-jnjfr., on the |e rome branch of th>- Mohican, alnny the old Indian trail, and t! > mv to Savannah lakes.

Robert Ralston, sr., was the first carpenter and cabinet-maker, in j 1820. Alanson Walker and Robert Russell, leading citizens, learned the trade of him.

The first Methodist Episcopal church, at Orange, was a frame strucrure, built in 1829; by Robert Williamson and John P. Anderson. The church was erected under the preaching oi Rev. Haney and Hazzard, local preachers.

The first Presbyterian church was the old Hopewell, west of Ashland one and one half miles. Rev. Matthews and a few members built the church. There was also occasional preaching near Philip Flukes', in Martin Hester's house, in 1828.

The first coopers were Thomas and Solomon Urie and John Y. j Burge, who also made wooden moldboards for plows, as well as plows i themselves, from 1820 to 1830.

The first tailor in Orange was Brown, in 1829, who made buckskin j breeches, moccasons, etc., and Mrs. John Murray, who also made i gloves and moccasons of deer skins.

The first gunsmith was Peter Biddinger, who had a shop north of Orange two to three miles, at Culberson's corners. He had worked in the l inked 'States armory at Harper's Ferry, and it is related that he received his pay in United States continental money, just prior to the j great depreciation of that currency. He paid forty dollars for his sup- j per, and the morning before leaving, sixty dollars for his breakfast, so ] great had been the depreciation in a few hours. Mr. Biddinger died at ! his old home in Orange township in 1842, and was buried at St. Luke's j clu : roll in the west part of the township, where many of his relatives j rest in peace.

Mr. Stull was married in 1832 to Miss Susan Kail, who deceased March 8, 1879, aged seventy -on 2 years and five J months. Mr. Stull had lived happily forty years with this ! lady, and they were blessed by three children; one son, : Mahomet II., and two daughters, J'ane A.and Mary Estelle, j Mahomet H. died at the residence of his father in South Ashland, aged thirty-three years and twenty-seven days, j Tie had been afflicted over three years, but bore all with i unusual patience and resignation, lie was a young man of rare intellectual endowments, of most amiable manners, and of unblemished reputation. If his physical powers had been equal to his mental faculties he would have made a large figure in the world, in almost any do- > partment of learning or mechanics; but the fell destroyer had marked him for his own, and neither the tics of friendship nor medical skill could rescue him from an early grave. Few parents possess such a son, and few sisters a kinder brother. His loss creates a great change in his father's house, ami many a tear of deep sorrow 1 will be shed over his departure; and often around the family circle, in evening's silent hour, will his memory be called up, and his goodness of heart, the many pleasantries of his life, and his unselfish nature be rehearsed. In their irreperable loss his parents and sisters have the sympathy of all their neighbors and friends. "So die the good and the pure." Peace to his ashes.

Jane A. married Mr. Orville Pershion, and Mary Estelle, Mr. Joseph P>. Chailes, now business partners with Mr. Stull in the hardware business, in Ashland.

was born in Delaware county, Pennsylvania, October 14, 1792. His father removed to Crawford county, in 1797. In 1812 Francis was in Erie county, and in 1814 entered the establishment of Reed A Sanford, dry goods merchants, as a clerk, in the village of Erie. In 1815, Reed A Sanford being overstocked with goods from the war, sent him west with a stock of goods intended for Detroit. These goods were transported on sleds, and when he reached Huron, Ohio, the snow disappeared and he was obliged to open a store there. He spent four years in the service of Reed, Sanford A Co., at Huron. The stock being disposed of Mr. Graham entered a new store in Portland, now Sandusky City, as a clerk for William Townsend, where he continued until October, 1821, when he purchased a new stock of goods, and located at Uniontown, Richland, now Ashland, Ashland county. He rented a room of the late Joseph Sheets (died in 1866), which contained a small stock of goods, owned by Mr. Sheets, and of which he had sold, prior to the arrival of Mr. Graham. He boarded with Mr. Sheets, at one dollar a week, for some time. He continued actively in the mercantile business until about 1844, when financial panics compelled him to wind up his business. Since that period he has been miscellaneously employed. He has served two terms as justice of the peace in the meantime. He yet (rSSo) possesses considerable mental and bodily vigor, and is spending his remaining days in domestic quiet. At the organization of the County Pioneer Association, September to, 1875, vas unanimously elected its first president, and served one year. He was married to Amelia Shepard, March 13, 1823. The family consisted of Francis A., Franklin S., Helen S., Henry C., John P., Augustus C., and Alice E. Amelia A., Helen S.. Henrv C., Augustus C., and an infant, arc dead. Mrs. Graham, although well advanced in years, retains all her bodily strength, and much mental clearness. There are only three members of the family living: Franklin S., of

The first tinner was John Croft, who was secured by the late George i Swineford, on the lot where the agricultural works of Whitney & Co. j now are. The next, the late Hugh Davis, at the east end of town.

Laban Burgan

was -bom in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, near j Mount Pleasant, August 13, 1806. He was the son of Jo- j seph Kurgan, who came to that State from the east (originally from England,) at an early day. When about eight years of age, in 1814, his father removed to Wayne county, Ohio, and settled near Wooster, where he contin ued to reside until 1 S3 3. when he removed to Medina j county, where he lo.st his wife, by death. From there he ! removed to Michigan in 1S53, and died in i860, aged | about seventy-seven years. Mrs. Burgan died in Medina j about 1840, aged about fifty years. Laban Burgan lived ! at Wooster from the time he was eight years old. He I learned the trade of a tailor, and worked, when a young i man, in Canton, Ohio.

He came to Ashland in 1829, and returned to Wooster and married Miss Jane Chubb in 1830. She survived until 1874, aged nearly sixty-seven years. Mr. Burgan continued in Ashland, as a merchant tailor, until .1856, often going to the Indian country in the west, and purchasing large quantities of Indian dressed buffalo robes, which he sold annually, from 1849. De remembers the early days in Wayne county very distinctly. He states that the pioneers had hard times, owing to the sparse- | ness of the settlers and the newness of the country. At j the period he came it was the custom of the pioneers to \ navigate the Killbuck in keel-'ooats, to convey to Coshocton and Zanesville surplus grain, whiskey, sugar, etc.

The Delaware Indians often visited the settlements to trade, and were harmless. Their old trail pasted a little south of the village, and crossed the Killbuck - near the old Warner farm, west of Wooster.

Owing to the scarcity of flesh, it was the custom of Joseph Burgan, his father, to hunt wild deer and turkey in the forest; skin the deer killed during the day, I hang up the carcass upon a sapling out of the reach of ! wolves, and carry home the skins and other game at j night, and return the next morning with Laban and his pony to- carry the game home. After being loaded he turned the pony homeward, and continued to hunt at a distance of six or eight miles. In this manner he obtained all the llesh needed to supply meat. Laban, then about nine years of age, made many trips with the pony, \ who always landed him safely at his fa tiler's cabin. Mr. Burgan remembers that the waters of the Killbuck | were often very high and dangerous in the spring of the j year, owing to the floods and freshets. At one time lie 1 remembers a keel-boat was crushed in its downward trip by large quantities of driftwood, and the owners landed on an island, where they could only get to shore by being reached by a canoe ; in fact, some of the parties saved themselves from being drowned by clinging to trees leaning over the water.

It is a common observation that ail the streams supplied more water at that period, and are gradually becoming smaller as the country becomes cleared up, and the forests disappear.

'Mr. Burgan says, in addition to a great abundance of game of every kind, the forests abounded in large quantities of wild honey, which was easily obtained..

In 1S5S Mr. Burgan entered into the erection of the lightning rod business, and continued until 1876, when he removed to Findlay, where he now is. His family consists of Isaiah, married to Miss Hogan; Mary, single; Edmund, married to Miss Kriss; Frances, married to C. P. Lewis; and Flora, married to Frank Reynolds; five in all, two boys and three girls.

Mr. Burgan is now in delicate health, owing to a chronic condition of stomach and liver. Fie is credited with ringing the old academy bell upon the announcement of the passage of the legislative bill erecting Ashland county, in the spring of 1S46. The old man was bound to make a noise over that notable event. The old bell still rings our children to their lessons in the new school-room. May it continue to ring another half century. Many endearing memories cling around that old school-room. Lorin Andrews, a name always dear to Ashland, is still held in grateful recollection.

William Fast

was born in Greene county, Pennsylvania, March 24, 1794, and went to school until he was sixteen years old. He came to Orange township when about twenty-one years old, and entered three hundred and twenty acres of land for himself and father, and moved out in the spring of 1814. The family were Martin, Nicholas. Jacob, William, Christian, David, Francis, George, John, Margaret, Barbara, Betsy, and Christena, married to a cousin in Fayette county, Pennsylvania.

William Fast married Elizabeth Fast, a cousin, in Fayette county, Pennsylvania, in 1817. His wife lived until July 1869, when she died, aged seventy four. Their children were; Trances, Elizabeth, Christena, Sarah, Levi, Jesse, John V., William, Jonas, Joshua B., and one who died in childhood. l ive of these are also dead ; Frances, Elizabeth, Christena. John N. and William. Levi, Jesse and John, live in Michigan ; the rest in Ashland county.

The mental faculties of Mt. Fast seem to be well preserved, and he possesses line physical powers for one of his age. The old gentleman often relates incidi nts in reunion to Tom I vons. Jon.ualce, and othei - viim' with whom he was acquainted in Ins youth, He

Judge Edmund Ingmand

JUDGE EDMUND INGMAND was born at Lancaster, Fairfield county, Ohio, February 9, 1806, and removed with his parents to a farm about two miles, southeast of Jeromeville, Ashland county. At an early age he fully realized the responsibilities of life, anil strove to avail himself of every opportunity. He performed with due respect to his parents the routine of light and arduous duties of a boy's life, exerting every possible effort to secure a home.

The trials and vicissitudes incident to pioneer life [ire-, vented young Edmund from giving vent: to his natural inclinations, hence he and his sister Mary (she is now Mrs. Joshua Carr, of Bowling Green, Ohio,) received nothing more than the instructions given at common schools, the educational advantages at that time being quite limited. Part of his time was occupied in school-teaching, and at odd times did carpenter work, which trade he pursued with great success, the knowledge of which came from his own ingenuity. Thus, by his ambitious disposition and industrious habits thus formed, he devoted every hour td doing good. At the age of eighteen he united with the Methodist Episcopal church, to which helm he clung with unwaveiing steadfastness till the death sentence reached his ear, "Come up higher!" In his twenty-sixth year he was married to Miss Mary Kinsey Naylor, an amiable young lady of eighteen. Miss Mary being of a very retiring and modest temperament, as well as loving and agreeable, she adorned the home of her affianced in the most becoming manner; so mild and gentle was this "gude wife " that one of her daughters 'avers that she never heard her mother laugh aloud.

Though Mrs. Ingmatid was delicate in constitution, yet she shared the lights and shadows of "early days, " which were destined to surround her husband with a great degree of pleasure and patience.

Mr. and Mrs. Ingmand located on a farm given them by his father, which was situated one mile southwest of Jeromeville. Mr. Ingmand clerked in a dry goods store one year previous to his marriage, and two years following that event, most of his mercantile life being spent in Wavnesburgh (now Congress), Wayne county.

This youthful pair's home in the forest, of course, requited a vast amount of labor to change its rude appearance to that of ease ana comfort, as well as profit and pleasure.

A family of eight children was reared on this farm - - Almira, the eldest, dying in the year 1851, in her twenty-first year. The other seven --Samantha A. (now Mrs. J. 1). Axe), of Ashland; William, Alva, Joseph, Edmund LL, Hattie A. and Leslie survive.

On the twelfth of June, i860, Mrs. Ingmand exchanged worlds, after suffering the most excruciating pain for nearly one year, previous to her death.

Mr. Ingmand being a man of sterling qualities and unexcelled buxine. >s capacity, he was chosen many times to settle differences of minor, as cell ns of great, importance.

I !e was appointed adminisfator of fitty estates, besides protecting the affairs of many orphans. For twenty years previous to his demise he made entries in his journal of each day's proceedings, and at the close of each respect-

| ive year knew the exact outlay and income of his farm ! and household. He was a true friend of the needy and | afflicted; none went from his door hungry, or in need of ! comfort. His willing and beneficent hand was endeared in every circle in which he moved. In disposition he was 1 remarkable tor the cheerfulness and geniality which lie J possessed, and from one of his oldest children comes tire j pleasant reflection, that she has often heard him say, that several consecutive months had passed in his life without the least inclination to become angry.

After five days of extreme suffering from paralysis, after enjoying nearly sixty years of uninterrupted good j health, he closed his eyes on earthly things on the tweu- ! ty-seventh of March, 1866. to open them in Heaven.

Luke Ingmand

was born on Carroll's manor, in Frederick county, Maryland, and, a few years afterward removed to Berkeley county, Virginia, where he resided a number of years.

-About the year 1805 he removed to Ohio, locating in j Amanda township, Fairfield county. A few years later j he removed to Wayne (now Ashland) county, near j'cj romeville, where be resided until two years previous to | his decease, which occurred at the residence of his son,

I Of him it may be said that he was an lione t man, in ! every sense of the word, greatly abhoring any base prin- ] ciple in the character of his fellow-men. Being reared j under Quaker discipline, he was extremely plain in his I dress, and exceedingly courteous in his address. Ills ! plainness of speech, and marked eccentricities, called i forth many peals of laughter, wry faces, and at times,

I however, were of the purest character, disliking the idea I of coming in contact with those he could not salute corj dially. He' possessed an unusual jovial disposition and 1 affable bearing, which gained for him hosts of friends j wherever he went. He \ as a great favorite with the ! children, and was often besieged to relate anecdotes of long ago. Among the writer's happiest hours were those | spent at the feet of "grandfather," pleading him to tell a J story, when he very often leplied, jestingly "Why, no | child, I'd rather tell the truth than a story." j Thirteen years of loneliness was allotted this venerable j man before he was called to join Mother Ingmand in the spirit land. Nearly seventy-five years he adorned the I Christian profession, being a member of the Methodist j Episcopal church most of his life.

If is last days were not victimized by disease, but w.u ! merely the wearing out of life's machinery, and, on the I morning of June 25, 1S65, the white-haired patriarch w is ! railed to swell the holy ranks above.

It would he injustice to bring before the public e\e the history of this noble piorv ei w ithout mentioning the commendable qualities of his amiable companion, who

Her parentage was of the highest rank and culture, > being fortunate to receive as good an education as advantages would permit, which, in addition to their dignified bearing and mature judgment, placed them on an equality with the most respectable.

About the time Mrs. Ingmand moved to this State her brother, John Hay, moved to Kentucky, where he became a neighbor and intimate friend of the late Abraham j Lincoln. The two families, Hay's and Lincoln's, soon after removed to Illinois. As Mr. Lincoln had chosen ; the legal profession, as did also a son of Mr. Hay. the j two became fast friends, and entered into the practice of j law together.

Grandmother Ingmand was equally as lively disposed ! as uncle Lukey, as her husband was familiarly called, i Hence their home and society were often sought after, j when in quest of pleasure. This dear old lady spent sixty-five years in this world, and on the seventh of June, 1853, was transplanted to a higher, holier clime.

Louis Jefferson Sprengle

LOUIS JEFFERSON SPRENGLE was born in Frederick City, Maryland, January 26, j 1824. His father, David Sprengle, was born in York | county, Pennsylvania, in 1796, and died in Frederick ; City, Maryland, in 1032, of cholera. Captain David [ Sprengle was a soldier in the war of i.Sr2, entering the j army at Baltimore, in 1S14, at the age of eighteen j years. He was a direct descendant of the same family 1 from whom Dr. Kurt Sprengle, the celebrated German botanist, of Halle university, descended. The family | emigrated from Prussia, Germany, to this country about j the year 1 760, and settled in that part of Pennsylvania ; known as York county. His father served as a private I soldier in the Revolutionary army for American indepen- : dence. I lis mother, Caroline M. A. Ruth, was of Ger- : man descent. Her grandfather, Jacob Medart, was one ! of the staunchest supporters of the American Revolu- ! tion, and his hotel, in Frederick, Maryland, at that [ critical period, was the rendezvous of the pat lots of that j trying time General Washington always made his ; hotel his stopping place, when passing through Freder- i ick. He furnished the army of the Revolution with J many thousand dollars of supplies, taking his pay in con- ! cinental money, and leaving several barrels of it as a 1 legacy to his children. Her father was in the war of ; 18 12, and rose to the rank of captain. Having, during I his early boyhood, attended a select school in Frederick ! City, our subject came to Ohio, unto his parents, ; in 1S35, and settled in Ashland. Until 1839 he was 1 employed as a clerk in a stoic. In the public schools and in the Ashland academy he finished his education. He then learned the trade of a cabinet-maker, and woiked at it subsequently in Ashland, Mansfield, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While at Mansfield life j mg up his studies, he walked over to Ashland each Saturday for the purpose of reciting to Professor Form Andrews, afterwards professor of Kenyon college. While working at Pittsburgh, during the year of the great fire in that city, in 1845, all his books, about three hundred volumes, educational and miscellaneous, were burned. Returning to Ashland, he there worked at his tiade for two years. He was then appointed agent for that county for the old Protection Fire Insurance company, of Hartford county, in which position he remained until that company ceased to do business. He then, in connection with J. O. Jennings, Abraham Huffman, Joseph Wasson, G. W. Uric, Joseph Musgrove, Peter Resser, Hugh Burns, J. B. F. Sampsel, and B. B. Clark, on the eighth of February, 1851, as incorporators, procured a special charter from the legislature of the state of Ohio, and organized the Ashland County Mutual Fire Insurance company, of which he was elected secretary, and has retained that position ever since, and for the last six years also performing the duties of treasurer. Up to 1869 he also performed the duties of general agent and adjuster. Under his management this company has been very successful, its business being done on what is known as the twenty per cent, plan, and without making any assessment on the premium notes. For twenty-five years they took none but the safer kind of risks, and this practice has been but slightly departed from. Recently a few of the better class of special hazards arc written up by the company for small amounts. The accumulated assets of the company', July, 1S80, amount to six hundred thousand dollars, while the risks have been so carefully selected that their losses have not exceeded fifteen thousand dollars a year.

In 1853 Mr. Sprengle began the publication, at Ashland, of a weekly newspaper in the interests of the old Whig party, called the Ashland Times. This he continued with the assistance respectively of the Hon. W illiam Osborn and Josiah Locke, until the spring of 1857, when he assumed the entire control of the paper as editor and proprietor, until June, 1876, when he sold the property to his son-in-law, Joseph E. Stubbs. Under Mr. Sprengle's management the paper became one of the most influential and prosperous weeklies in the State, and was the first paper printed on a Hoe power press, and by steam, between Cleveland and Columbus. He was the author of the agents' hand-book of insurance, of which an edition of over ten thousand copies was sold to the underwriters of the different States ; also of the manuscript reader, for the use of schools and academies, printing offices and the counting-room. Its object was to learn the pupil to read readily any manuscript. Pages of manuscript for this novel work were contributed from Professor Spencer, President Andrews, of Kenyon college, President Andrews, of the Virginia university. Horace Greeley, Rufus Chote, and other eminent scholars of the day. He was also associated with all the enterprises of the place, acting as secretary of the Ashland union mills for the manufacture of (lour and woollen goods: also as president of the Ashland machine company, m.mufuct urers of agricultural implements and clover thro-. hers and hulleis. as well as an independent manufacturer of other useful implements having an extensive sale throughout the world. He had hut me brother, Hen,} Clay Sprcngle, present treasurer of Washington county. Kansas, and a prominent citizen of that Slate. Also two sisters, Frances S. Locke, wife ofjosiah Locke, of Indianapolis, a poetess and a lady of rare talent, and Mrs. I. 1'. Coates, of Chicago, Illinois. On the first of January, 1852, Mr. Sprengle married Miss Sophia W. Coffin, of Ashland, Rev. Dr. John Robinson performing the ceremony. Of this union six children, all living, have been the issue, viz.: Ella

A., wife of Joseph E. Stubbs ; Jessie F., wife of William G. Stubbs; May Caroline, William Marston, Mattie F., and David S. During the war for the union, he was a strong supporter of the government, and a member of the safety or military committee for Ashland county. In 1S62 he was appointed by President Lincoln provost marshal, with the rank of captain, which position he held until 1863. During the war his pen was eloquent in defenee of tire flag, and the union of the States.

was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, near the New Jersey line, in 1794. His father, Thomas Peer, served as a soldier in the American Revolution, and brought home from New jersey a relic highly prized by his children, and exhibited by Mr. Peer with especial interest. It was an English bayonet, and had the words, "29 reg. 5 division, King George III,'' engraved on it. It had evidently been left by one of the Pritish soldiers, wire lied or was killed during the battle. Elis father removed with his family to Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1800, where he resided twelve miles below Pittsburgh, about thirty years. Mr. Peer was of Irish descent.

In 1825 he married Miss Mary Mann, and removed to Montgomery township, Richland (now Ashland) county, in 1832, and located on a quarter of land adjoining his brother Richard. Here lie resided about forty years, and cheerfully submitted to ali the toils of a pioneer in clearing up and preparing his homestead. In 1867, he had the misfortune to lose, by death, his excellent lady. Hits family consisted of Thomas, Quincy, Henry, Calvin, Serena, Sherman W. and P. F. Peer. Mr. Peer died October 3, 1879. The entire family, except Sherman W., preceded Mr. Petr to .the grave.

Mr. Peer possessed, to the last, all his mental faculties. He was noted as retaining a most retentive memory for dates and events, and loved to dwell upon the border scenes of seventy or eighty years ago. From the gravity of his marmot and 'personal dignity, he was familiarly called "Judge.'' Indeed, he was much more worthy such a promotion than many "limbs of the law," who preside over our courts. He had long been a zealous and worthy member of the Presbyterian church, and illustrated the goqdnes of his heart by many acts of kindness to lire poor and the orphan. 1'nough called suddenly to bid adieu le time and the scenes of earth, we cannot doubt his fitness far another am], we trust, a better world. 1 1 is che-cnul fa 0 and kind words will ?

! greet us no more, but be embalmed in memory. The i tide waits for no man. Soon the bell will toll a last j farewell to the aged pioneers. May they rest in peace.

James Aeperson

| was born in Harrison county, Ohio, July 7, 1822, and moved with his parents, Thomas Alberson and wife, to Orange township the fourth of Aprii, and landed April 7,

. aged about fifty-nine years. His mother died in Novem- | ber, 1870, aged seventy-six years. Her name before ruar- | riage was Fanny Campbell. There were four boys and three girls-- -Mary, James, Sarah, Anne, William Eliz- | abeth, Robert VO, and T. C. They are all living except j Elizabeth Somers, wife of Jacob. Mr. Alberson was j married to Rachel Andrews, December 10, 1844. She I died June 4, 1853. He again married, January to. >054, j Miss Susan C. Powlby. His first wife had W. 1 . Alber- | son and A. N. Kelso; his second wife, Alice C. and j. K,, : son and daughter. Mr. Alberson is serving on his eiehth i term as justice of the peace, having been elected in Oclj ober, 1854, and again in October, 1861, and continuously since then. Elis term will expire in 1882. He also ! served as constable several terms. He now resides within

Charles Willson Richard Peer

; was born in Northampton county, Pennsylvania, November z.i, 1796. His father, Thomas Peer, of Irish ex- 1 traction, settled in that county in 1764. irr 1800 he i located in Allegheny county, '.' here he resided, engaged , in farming, twenty-one years. During this time he aided ! in clearing the Ohio river of drift, and other obstructions, i to the mouth of the Peaver. In 1821 he located in Montgomery township, about two miles southwest of Uniontown, now Ashland. lie was accompanied by a cousin. Richard Aten. He and Mr. Aten kept bachej lor's hall about six years, doing their own cooking; and housework. In the meantime, Ire made considerable improvements on hir. homestead, by erecting a comforta hie dwelling, a barn and outbuildings. ami dealing some : forty acres of land.

John Donley

John Donley was born near Orange village, Ashland county, March 20, 1817. His parents, Thomas and Susan Donley, came 'to Ohio from Washington county, Pennsylvania, in February 1817, and when he was two weeks of age, located on the farm where they passed the remainder 1 of t'neir lives, and where the subject of this sketch lived and died. John Donley attended the first subscription school in the township, which j was taught by Elijah Banning, in a log cabin situated on a corner cf the Donley farm. This school was established in 1830. He grew to manhood on the farm, in early life partaking of the hardships of 1 pioneer life, and li-. c.l to see fruitful farms take the plat e of the rugged forests of his boyhood days.

March it, 1843, he was married to Miss Sarah A. Alberson, and soon after marriage removed to Nashville, Holmes county, where they remained one tear when they returned to Ashland county, and tor the four succeeding years iived on a farm at that time owned by Major ! George W. U'rie. In 1850 Mr. and Mrs. Donley removed to the old home farm in Orange township, where they ever after lived, and where he died June 26, 1880, of genera! debility, at the age of sixty-three years, three months and six days.

A family of eight children was the resuit of this union, of whom seven are now living, as follows: Calvin, Susan, Edward, [ennie, ; Rachel, Lizzie, and Carrie. Frances died when a small churl.

John Doncly was a man of strict integrity, and or.e who loved his family well. No on,: with whom he had business or friendly association evei had 1 ,uia<- to charge t A m with double dealing. He wa> honest to a fault and scorned deception. He was widely known as a man of move than ordinary ability and intelligence, with strong like.-, and dis 1 likes, but when apologies were ofiered, was ever ready to forgive. Hi? life was that of a Christian, and he died with a Christian's hope. For many y ears he had been a leading member of the Orange Fresh', teriun church, and for the past fourteen years held the responsible office cf ruling eider. Through storm and shine he went to his beloved church, and never faltered in its support. In the course of his life he amassed a comfortable competence, which was acquired by Ins own hard labor, seconded by that of his wife, who has proved for him a helpmeet indeed. The greatest prize he left his family was that of a pure character, an unblemished reputation and an unsullied record. The -t- bv his family are more prized than all eise.

Thomas and Fannie Campliell Alberson, the parents of Mrs John Donley, were born in Pennsylvania - he in the citv of Philadelphia. .and his wife, Fannie Campbell, in Westmoreland county. The Can r.bell family removed to Harrison county, Onio, in 10:7, and about the same time Mr. Alberson came to the same place, a here they were married in 1819. They moved to Ashlan 1 county in 1837, and settlt d ia Orange township, where they passed the remainder of their lives Mr. Alberson was a ruling elder of the Presbyterian church, and by occupation was a farmer.

Sarah A. Alberson was horn in Archei township H rcis >n c unity, February 12, 1825, and wa ; married to John Donley. March n, 1843. She became a member of the Prosbvtcri 1:1 church of Ora-ge in if;:, and has since remained in it- communion. Since the death of 1 er husband, she ha 1 occupied their old huine \> it :» r live daughters and son, William Edward. Another son, 1'homas C., is married, and lives on the adjoining farm.

Amanda, Thomas M., James, and Kate. James was killed in Virginia during the late war. The remaining members of the family, most of whom are married, reside in the vicinity of Ashland.

When Mr. Beer arrived, in 1S21, his nearest neigh hors wrere Michael Thomas, C. Wheeler, Benjamin Shearer, Henry and Daniel Vantilourg, Joshua Brown, and Daniel Carter. Log-rollings, cabin-raisings, cornhuskings, flax-pullings, and scutchings, as well as linseywoolsey clothing, corn-bread, pork, and venison, were the occupations, the clothing and the food, of the hardy pioneers. It was not uncommon, the first few years, to be so occupied five or six days each w'eek at such gatherings. The nearest mill was Newman's, on the Black fork, to which Mr. Beer often resorted. He occasionally visited a mill, subsequently owned by Armstrong Meaner, in Green township. For many years wheat was cut with a sickle, and all the pioneers were expert in its use In fact, it was not uncommon to find women in the field using the same instrument. In those days the fields were carefully gleaned and very little grain was left standing. When the stumps began to disappear, sickles were invaded and were gradually substituted by the graincradle. Mr. Beer says he owned the first grain cradle used in Montgomery township, over fifty years ago, on the farm of Joseph Sheets, where South Ashland now stands. It created quite a sensation among the old reapers, because he could cut a swath, equal to that of three reapers, with much ease. The surplus grnin of this legion was hauled to Milan for a market until about 1861, when the New York, Pennsylvania & Ohio railroad was completed, and a home market furnished.

Mrs. Beer died in 1859, and Mr. Beer, now (1S75,) aged seventy-nine years, resides in Ashland. He is quite vigorous; his mind is clear and vivacious; he loves a joke and abounds in humor. Like all his Scotch Irish ancestors, he is much attached to the Presbyterian church, of which he is a member.

was born in Orange township, March 20, iS 7, on the old Wertz farm, and married Miss Sarah A. Alberson, March it, 1845. He then removed to near Nashville, Holmes county, where he remained one year and came bark to Ashland county. He moved to his present home in 1850, and has resided there ever since - thirty years. He was the father of eight children. Seven of them, Calvin, Susan, Edward. Jennie, Rachel, Lizzie and Clara are living. Francis died when but a small child.

In 1S30 the school-house was built in Donley's district, and he and his brother Thomas were the first scholars ; Elijah Banning the first teacher.

The principal old citizens in the district were the Mc- Connells, the Clarks, tiic Flukes, the Hesters, the Murphys, the Mackerels, Robert Mickey, Peter Bidding 1, William McConnell, Thomas McConnell, |olm Burge, Isaac Mickey, Daniel Summers, Thomas Donley, Robert Culberson, John Bishop and Jacob Hi finer.

John Donley died June 26, tSSo. He was a man of strict integrity, and a man who loved his family. No ! man, with whom he associated, ever had cause to charge him with double-dealing. He was honest to a fault, and scorned deception. He was widely known, for he was a man of more than ordinary ability and intelligence. He had strong likes and dislikes, but when apojogics were made none forgave more quickly. FI is life was | that of a Christian. For many years he had been a leading member of the Orange Presbyterian church, and for the past fourteen years has been a ruling elder. Through storm and shine he went to his beloved church,

| and never faltered in its support. He amassed a good j competency by his own hard work. But the greatest i prize he left was that of a pure character, an unblemished reputation and an unsullied record. These, to his sorrowing wife and children, are far more prized than all else. He was followed to his last resting place by all ; his neighbors and friends, who thus testified their appreciation of his goodness and worth. Funeral services j were conducted by Rev. Kelly, of Savanna!), assisted by Revs. Cummings and Jones. Peace to his ashes.

Thomas Donley

j was born in Washington county, Pennsylvania, in 17S0, j and deceased, on his homestead in Orange township, | Ashland county, Ohio, October 21, 1850. He came to j the township in 1817, and resided there until his dei cease. His first wife died before he did, when he mar- ! ried, in 1844, Miss Mary McKinney, of Milton township,

1 who still survives at an advanced age, supposed to be ! near one hundred years, there being no record of her birth. Her health is good, and she retains a good memory of the past. Her sight and hearing are gradually | failing. Her father. Patrick McKinney, died when she was young, in Cumberland county. Pennsylvania. She emigrated with her mother and Ross McKinney to Milton township, 1 S 1 6, and resided near the old Hopewell church, where she deceased and was buried many years ago.

Captain Robert Beer

In the correspondence of the Pittsburgh Herald, we : find the following concerning Captain Beer, who accom- : panied the expedition of Colonel Robert Crooks, in the war of 1S12, to Upper Sandusky. The captain died j about May 4, 1880, aged nearly ninety years.

I've just had a conversation with Captain Robert lieer, one of our I oldest and most respected citizens, who served his country in the war of 1812. In answer tu my inquiries, he gave the following aecount of his trip from this city to upper Sandusky, Ohio, and his return , f, .. ,( the following winter of 1812-13:

"About the fust of November, 1812. the Government advertised for 1 volunteer team tors, having some thirty carriages (without cam it , however) and forty covered wag, ms to apply with drivers. A, . ,,ui a volunteer would sign lire roll, he was ordered to go imo a 'are" vard, on Garrison alicy, and bridle vrr horse- ! u.e, among the \ali uniters, being then au un o|.h..ii and country boy <>f twenty years (You will obsetvc that I am now old enough to vote.) I was directed to hitch a team to a cannon-carriage, and drive over to the ground j where the western penitentiary now stands. Here we were encamped ; for three weeks before we were ready to start. The road wagons were j loaded with cannon-powder, clothing, and ail kinds of government ! stores, 'llii.se wagons were drawn by five, and soiiietim.es by six, horses. All being in readiness, we started for General Harrison's winter quarters, at Upper Sandusky, Ohio. Colonel James Anderson was wagon-master; James McHenry, a bricklayer of our city, assistant wagon-master; i'.ntl Anderson, forage-master; and Captain Gratiot . had command of the train. To guard the teams and property, we had | Captain Johnson and his company, from Greensbttrgh, now called j Darlington, and half a company from Beaver county, under command j of Lieutenant Walker, w ho was subsequently killed by the Indians.

"The journey was through an almost unbroken wilderness, and its j difficulties cannot lie appreciated by the people of to-day. Ten miles | was considered a good day's travel, and when the route was bad, as j was frequently the case, we did not make more than six miles. It took ! us three days to go through Hahn's swamp, and had hard work to do j. it in that time. We would often stop fur a day, and, mounting our j horses, go miles aw ay along paths, there being no wagon road, and re- j turn with our horses loaded with forage.

"At. Canton we lay a whole week, repairing the wagons, shoeing the horses, and giving them much needed rest, and procuring a supply of foliage.

"From Canton to Wooster it was thirty-five miles. At the latter place we found the first picketed fort. Mansfield, it may be said, ended the settlements in this direction. The only buildings were a fort, one tavern, one store, and one private house. We remained three days in Wooster to recruit our horses, repair damages and gather forage. Between Wooster and Mansfield we had a good deal of new road to cut, the oid one being impassable for the train. This was slow work, as you can judge.

''We were about two months on the road, and finally reached Upper Sandusky on New Year's day - and as cold a day, bv the way, as I ever experienced. We never saw a fire from sunrise tiil sunset, and to make the matter worse, we were but thinly clad at best. On our arrival we were ordered to ungear our horses and start with' them for a small town on the Scioto river, called Franklinton, just across the river from Columbus. Corn was plenty and cheap in that neighborhood, and they wanted their horses to recruit there for the spring service.

"Next day we started back to Upper Sandusky to get our money and lie discharged from the service. There was no money there to pay 11s with - not a dollar in the treasury - so they furnished us with tents and rations. We pitched our tents just outside the military lines, and for three weeks had nothing to occupy our time but eating and sleeping. At the end of this time Colonel Piatt, of Cincinnati, who was treasurer of the arm , gave us our discharge and an order for our pay at the barrack ; in Pittsburgh. We hadn't a dollar towards paying our way home. 1 hey gave us rations to put in our knapsacks, but they got stale and unfit for use.

"Of course, after wc left our horses a; Franklinton, we did all our traveling on foot. I cannot tell the distance from Franklinton to Upper Sandusky, but from the Latter place to Mansfieid was thirty-five miles. We all arrived in Pittsburgh safe and well, after a very fatigu- | ing journey.

'The Captain Gratiot 1 have mentioned was one of the engineer I cotpsof the regular army, and an officer of high standing. Captain j Wheaton was the paymaster; and a cross old chap he was. He carried | a canteen of brandy slung round his neck, and sometimes lie absorbed the brandy too freely.

" 1 suppose 1 am entitled to a pension for my services in 1812, but I have not yet applied for one. I observe that some arc drawing pensions whose term of service lasted only fourteen days. In 1356 ! got a | land warrant for one hundred and sixty acres of land."

During a great pari of his lif - he was engaged in building and running steamboats, and it is hardly necessary to say that his long record was spotless and unblemished, lie retired from active businees several years ago, and since then devoted his time to his private affairs.

John Smith

was horn in Columbiana county, Ohio. October 1, 1S22. j lie learned the trade of a carpenter in Stark county, in 1S43 4. 1,1 'S-!5 he married Rebecca Fettehoff, and in

1849 removed to Troy township, Ashland county, and purchased a small farm. He became a farmer-mechanic for some years, and finally abandoned his trade to become an agriculturalist.

Mr. Smith is of German descent. His father, Frederick Smith, came from Germany in 1821. He died in Stark county, Ohio, in 1854, at an advanced age. His children were: Frederick, who died in Troy township, Ashland county, in 1864; John, of Troy; Sa villa, wife of Jacob Hipp, of Troy; Mary, wife of Michael Auer, of Indiana; Christian and Andrew, of DeKalb, Indiana.

The family of John consists of Elizabeth, wife of Michael Merkel, of Michigan; Jacob T., married to Sephrona Fast, of Huron county, Ohio; James Smith : Hannah, wife of Oran Chapman, of Lorain county; and Mary, William, Loretta, Pheba, Lydia, and Emma, unmarried.

Mr. Smith is a good business man, and noted for his strong common sense and frankness. He has been elected trustee of Troy township five times, although the party with which he affiliates is in the minority. At the spring election of 1876, he was elected a justice of the peace. He is very active in propagating his political ideas, though always courteous to his political opponents.

When he entered Troy township, the primitive forest, with here and there a small clearing, and a few cabins, covered the township. It is now greatly improved.

Mr. Samuel Smith

was born in New Milford township, Litchfield county. Connecticut, May 23, 1S00. At the age of fifteen years he was apprenticed to learn the trade of carpenter and house joiner, and served six years. At the expiration of his apprenticeship he married, and followed his trade for ten years, in his native State. In 1S32 he removed to 1 orain county, Ohio, where he again resumed his trade. While a citizen of Lorain county, he took an active part in military organizations, and was elected captain, and subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel, and finally colonel of his regiment. In 1S37 he located in Mil'on township, Pichland, now Ashland, county. While a citizen of Mi. ton, he served twelve years as justice of the peace, and acquitted himself to the satisfaction of his friends. Milton was largely Democratic, and Colonel Smith was an old Whig. His integrity and uprightness elevated him above party bias, rendered him personally popular, and hence, lie was re-elected to the same position twice. In 1 860 he disposed of his farm and removed to Ashland, where in 1S63, his excellent lady deceased, aged sixty-three years. He again married. Mr. Smith for many years was an active and influential member of the Presbyterian church. 1 1 i s family consisted of Orlow, Riley, Charles, Nelson, August us, Lemon and three daughters. Orlow served in the late war, and was promoted to brigadier-general. Nelson fell at the sanguinary battle of Chickamauga. The rest of the family, we believe, all survive.

services were conducted by Elder N. P. Lawrence, of the Disciple or Christian church, at the late residence of Colonel Smith, South Ashland, at two o'clock p. in., Sabbath, September 24th, when his remains were conducted to and deposited in the cemetery of Ashland.

Isaac Davis

was born in New Holland, Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, August 10, i 802. When quite young he was apprenticed to learn the art of weaving. In consequence, his education was neglected, and he could neither read nor write. At the age of nineteen years he went to Juniata county, where he remained some years working at his trade. In the year 1823 he married Miss Fanny Stoner, of that county. That lady survived until 1876, when she deceased, aged about eighty years. In 1S34 Mr. Davis came to Mifflin township, then in Richland county, and purchased a farm of eighty acres in section one, of Benjamin Hershey. The land at that time was nearly all in its native forest. He and his sons in after years cleared the land and reduced it to a state of excellent culture. Mr. Davis made weaving a business for many years. In this respect he was a useful citizen. He was a good weaver, and by his industry and skill made sufficient to support and educate his sons and pay for his farm. When he arrived at Mifflin township he found John Hewey, William Hewey, Henry Roland, Peter Brubaker, John Brubaker, Solomon Wertman, Abraham Doty, James Andrews, Leonard Croninger, Benjamin Hershey, and Father Gongwer, who had preceded him as pioneers. Nearly half a century has passed since he arrived. Great changes have taken place. Nearly all these pioneers have paid the debt of nature. Only one or two of his old neighbors yet live. For several months the health of Mr. Davis has been gradually failing, and finally terminated in consumption of the lungs. In his prime he weighed about three hundred pounds. He became greatly emaciated before death. He was a member of the River Brethren church, about thirty-five years, and was an exemplary Christian. He died on Friday, evening, Decembcr 18, 1879, and was buried at the Mennonite church, in Mifflin township, on Saturday, December 20th.

The family of Mr. Davis consisted of nine children - Susannah, single; Samuel, married to Catharine Roland; Mary, wife of Dillman Switzer; George, single; John, married to Margaret C. Day; Isaac, married to Sarah Hilburn; Abraham, married to Mary Kagey; William, married to Rebecca Sechrist, who is deceased, and again to Barbara Callcn; Fanny, married to jacob Hetler. Mr. Davis had forty-four grandchildren, and nine great grand- of Baltimore, and the coasts of Maryland and Virginia. When invading Maryland, volunteers were called upon to defend the capita! at Washington and other points. Mr. Cordell, youth as he was, entered the army and served in the defence of Baltimore. For this service he recently obtained a pension. He was in the company commanded by Captain George Huff, Virginia militia, regiment of Colonel Mason, of the brigade of General Douglas, in the war of 1S12. Upon his discharge Ire returned to Loudoun county, Virginia, where he married Miss Catharine Carnes, and in 1833 removed to Orange township, Richland, now Ashland, county. Here he remained one year upon the farm of John Mason. He then removed to Milton township and lived about two years upon what was subsequently the McDonald farm, one mile west of Ashland. He then purchased the Hoover farm, where he lived until his decease, a period of about forty-six years. During this time he was recognized as a quiet, prudent, and industrious man. He was a plain farmer, fully devoted to the culture of the soil, in which he succeeded in accumulating enough of this world's goods to render himself and family comfortable. In 1859 he had the misfortune to lose, by death, the wife of his youth, aged about sixty years. Since then he has resided with his family. He and his wife united with Rahobeth Methodist Episcopal church, in Loudoun county, Virginia, about 1 Syr, since which time he has remained a faithful member. His family consisted of eleven Children, nine of whom survive: Emeline, wife of Samuel Doty, of Crawford county; Cornelia, wife ot Rev. Jacob Fry, deceased; Anne Elizabeth, wife of Ezekiel Moore, of Lake township; Mary Margaret, who resides at home; Washington, deceased; Catharine, wife of George Hail; John Francis, deceased; James L. and Jane L., twins, the latter the wife of Dr. Harkins, deceased; Rebecca, wife of Cyrus Blank, of Ashland; Cordelia, wife of John W. Oswald, of Toledo.

Mr. Cordell took but little interest in politics. He was an original Whig, and elected to the office of trustee of Milton, two or three times, and school director occasionally. He was a strong friend of the school system, and was always desirous of giving proper instructions to the rising generation. He often related an incident that occurred to him in Loudoun county, Virginia. Some years before he left, one day an old colored man came and made an appeal to his feelings. He said, "Mr. Cordell, I think you are a friend of mine. I have to be sold to a stranger, and go south. I want you to buy me." Mr. Cordell said, "I would do so, but I am too poor to spare the money at present." "I pledge my honor, said the colored man, if you will do so, I will hunt a master who will keep me in Virginia, and treat me kindly." Mr. Cordell's feelings were touched, and he consented to buy him. This deed of kindness was fully reciprocated. The colored man in due lime found a new master, and kept his word with Mr. Cordell. That was the only time he ever owned a eoloved man, ami he was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, October 15, 17*;;. During bis boyhood, war was declared against Great Britain. The English forces were beleaguering the city

1 often stated "his conscience approved of what he iiad done." He passed through much pioneer experience in Ashland county - was always found kind and obliging to was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, February 2°> T 7 95, and was the son of John Brubaker, of German descent. He grew to manhood and married in his native county. Tie 'married Miss Mary Brubaker, though J of no relation, in 1818, and remained in Lancaster until j the year 1823, when he came to Milton township, Rich- | land, now Ashland, county, Ohio, and settled upon the ! farm upon which he died, adjoining that of Joseph Charles. When he entered the land, he found it covered by an almost unbroken forest of large timber. By long-continued labor, he subdued the wild luxuriance of ! nature, and made a desirable farm for his homestead. When he settled in the wilds of Milton, he found that the Croningers, John Hazlet, James Andrews, and others | had preceded him. At that early period, wolves, deer, | wild turkey, and an occasional bear, ranged the forests I of the township. Mr. Brubaker lived to see a great | change in the appearance of the native forests of the i township, his neighbors, like himself, having by industry ! and economy accumulated a desirable property. j homestead, near Mr. Charles, until his death, April 2 1 , ! rS79. He had been a member of a branch of the i Tanker church, known as the River Brethren, about for- j ty five years, at Chestnut grove, near his home, where he j was buried.

of Christian Rowland; John; Elizabeth, wife of Nathan j Stirewalt; Maria, wife of John Gongwer;' Fannie, wife of Jacob Barr, deceased; Benjamin; Nancy, wife of ! William Stauffer; Lydia, deceased; and Christian. [ These ail reside in Ashland county. It is estimated he j had sixty-eight grandchildren at the time of his decease. |

Mr. Brubaker was known among his neighbors as an | industrious, economical, conscientious Christian, always j desirous of peace and good will among men. "By their ! fruits ye shall know them." A good man has gone to J his rest, and his works will follow him. Funeral services j were conducted by the Rev. J. I). Parker, assisted by i Rev. H. Davison.

William Westheffer

WILLIAM WESTHEFFER was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in 1 797, and, when twenty years of age, removed to Cumberland county, in the same Slate, where he married Miss Youne, about 1823. She deceased in 1834, in the same rountv, In 1844 Mr. Westheffcr emigrated to Moutgomcrv township, then Richland, now Ashland county, Ohio, and purchased a farm in section two. Since the death of Mrs. Westheffer he has remained single, and has resided with members of his family on his late homestead. His occupation was that of a plain farmer. He was warmly attached to his family, and was an exemplary Christian - having been a member of the Lutheran church for sixty years. One year ago (in 1878) he became a member of the Ashland CountyPioneer ar.d Historical society, and took a deep interest in the attempt, by his fellow members, to record the incidents of the past and preserve the memory of those who cleared and improved our beautiful county. Now, he too has been called over the great river to join the millions who have been summoned home, having died April 21, 1879. He was a quiet, industrious, Christian gentleman, and we trust his account will be found approved by the Great Author of our being.

The members of Iris family consisted of five children, all grown: George, Mary M., wife of Daniel Ambrose, of Montgomery ; Elizabeth, wife of James McDermot, of Iowa; Sarah, wife of Daniel Kramer, of Iowa; and Margaret, wife of Jeremiah Deardorf, deceased, of Indiana.

Mr. Westheffer was buried at the White church, six miles east of Ashland, and his funeral sermons were preached by Revs. Roseberry and Keiffer. May lie rest in peace.

Michael Thomas

was born in Somerset county, Pennsylvania, in the year 1802, and was of German descent. When about eighteen years of age he married Elizabeth Myers, and in the spring of i8~i, he and his brother-in-law, Samuel Myers, removed to the southeast quarter of section thirty, in Montgomery township, then of Richland county, but now of Ashland county, Ohio, where ire pui chased, and since improved the farm upon which he resided until his death.

When he erected his first cabin there were but few settlers in that part of the township, and he states that of those present, he remembers .Daniel Carter, sr., Joshua Brown, Mr. Wheeler, Joseph Sheets, David Markley, Captain Andrews, Henry Gamble, and possibly Richard Beer, and a few others, including Samuel Myers, his brother-in-law, who was to occupy the same cabin, a double one.

When he and Mr. Myers came on. they stopped a few days in Uniontown (now Ashland), where they became acquainted with the late Henry Gamble, Joseph Sheets, and the Markleys.

He cut a path to his land, wide enough W permit im wagon, a covered one, and four horses *0 pass, and obtained lye straw of Mr. Gamble to feed his horses until they could live on wild grass, and sprinkled a little salt on it as an "appetizer." Of nights, the horses were tied around the wagor, exposed to the cold rains until lie could cut logs, and by the aid of pioneers erect a sub'e. At first the only floor in his cabin was provided by nu ture the bare ground. It snowed freely a ni:;hi or two after he anil his family entered the new cabin, and melted quite rapidly, flooding the floor, when, to procure a dry resting place, he cut a lot of brush, and piled it up a bed in the middle of the cabin. Being remarkably rugged, and ambitious to have a home, he set to work at once to remove the forest, and prepare for planting his first crop of corn, and succeeded in raising a small field the first summer.

Near where he and Mr. Myers erected their cabin, was a fine mineral spring, a resort of deer as a lick. Near this an Indian had erected and deserted a neat wigwam or pole cabin, which was still standing, covered with bark. He was of opinion that the hut had been built by the noted Indian hunter, Jonacake, who often visited tire pioneers of the township.

At that time, his music consisted of almost nightly serenades by the wolves, which were quite numerous, but dangerous only to the small flocks of sheep brought on by the pioneers.

Mrs. Thomas, though formerly occupying a comfortable home in Pennsylvania, consented to accompany him to the wilds of the new country, that they might obtain a property of their own, and entered heartily into the task of assisting him in the preparation of a log cabin home in the forest, consenting to encounter all the privations incident to such an undertaking, and survived to share his toils and anxieties until 1863, when sire deceased at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. Thomas subsequently married Barbara Myers, a sister of his first wife. His death occurred August 9, 1878.

Mr. Thomas was an honest, hard-working farmer, and by his strict integrity and thrift, had accumulated a fine fortune, which he shared with his children. He had experienced many privations in early life, but submitted to them like a brave man, that he might enjoy better things in the future.

When a young man he became a member of what is now known as the Dunkard or Brethren church, and was an exemplary member thereof about fifty-four years, and at his decease expressed a willingness to die and go home to a better world.

Philip, Michael, jr., and John ; the daughters, Sarah, wife of David Bolyeat; Elizabeth, wife of Jesse' Vanosdali; Fannie, wife of Jacob Bolyeat; Nancy, wife of David Artet; and Catharine, wife of John Benigoff. The majority of the foregoing reside in Ashland county.

The obituary committee of the Ashland County Historical and Pioneer society upon learning the death of Mr. Thomas adopted the usual resoutions.

Thus, in a few years, at most, the last of the pioneers will have been gathered home. We are indebted to them for having penetrated the forest wilderness of Ashland county, and for rescuing it from its original uccu pants. Let us honor them for what they have accomplished, and preserve their memory by continuing the improvements they began.

Robe Rt C U 1 ,B E Rson

I was born in Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, March j 19, 1796, where he grew to manhood, attending the j common schools of his neighborhood; and married j Miss Elizabeth Sharp, December 13, 1818, and removed j to Harrison county, Ohio, where he remained about five | years, and then purchased his homestead in Orange | township, then in Richland, but now in Ashland county, native forest. A few Delaware Indians from the Fire Lands, on the Western Reserve, continued to hunt annually in the township, and often visited the cabins of the settlers, and were then thought to be an inoffensive and harmless race. Mr. Culberson, with other neighbors, at one time became somewhat alarmed for the safety of Mr. Biddinger, a gunsmith-, up the stream, who had unfortunately offended some of the Dehnvares. A noted hunter, named Jim J irk, was observed to be skulking in the settlement. Mr. Culberson and others were put on the alert, but no harm resulted from the Indian.

The ancient trail leading from Mohican Johnstown, near Jeromeville, to the Canesadooharie or Black river, passed near the residence of Mr. Culberson. It is supposed that the captive, James Smith, was led up this part in 1755, by his Delaware captors, on his way to Lower Sandusky. The route was a favorite one of the ancient Afohegans in 1 7^5) to the close of the border wars, and many tragic scenes have, doubtless, occurred along this trail.

Mr. Culberson improved his fine homestead, residing there over half a century, and was much respected by the old pioneers, and always regarded as a kind-hearted, Christian gentleman, ever ready to reciprocate the kind acts of his neighbors. In 1845 'ie was elected justice of the peace for Orange township, and acquitted himself so well that, in 1846, he was re-elected for another term.

At tire organization of the Presbyterian congregation in Orange, in 1832, Mr. Culberson became one of the ruling elders, and was one of the early members who survived to the present time. He was always esteemed as an exemplary, high-minded, Christian gentleman, ever living with his neighbors in great peace and contentment, and conforming to the requirements and usages of his church, and presiding ir. his family in an humble, Christian spirit; and his death evinced the fact of his readiness to depart to the better land, the home of the Christian.

In 1875, he became an active member of the Ashland County Pioneer arid Historical society, and took much pleasure in relating the early scenes and occurrences of his part of the county.

He died February 23, rSSo. The wife of his youth had preceded him to the grave about one year. Two sons, Joseph and John, had also gone home. The surviving members of his family were four daughters and one son, 1 homas, who resides on the homestead.

was born in Green township, Columbiana county, Ohio, November 14, 1S07. His father, Daniel Stentz, emigrated to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, when he was six months old.

In 1829 lie was united in marriage to Mary Ranshaw. In 1S32 they moved to New Lisbon, Ohio, and from thence to Orange township, Ashland county. He purchased the premises owned respectively by Edward Wheeler, Jacob Cline, and John Richards. lie enjoyed the acquaintance and friendship of Daniel Summers, James Clark, Samuel and John Richards, Joseph and George Fast, Henry Reiffner, Philip Biddinger, and others, whom he esteemed very highly.

Mr. Stentz was the father of nine children, all of whom are living, except one, and are settled in life. He also had two brothers and three sisters - all but one have left the shores of time.

Mr. Stentz was. for many years, a member of the Presbyterian church in Savannah, Ohio; subsequently he united with i the Methodist Episcopal church at Troy center, and, as far as circumstances would permit, attended the means of grace at that place.

In his last sickness his sufferings were intense, but he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. A short time before his death, when asked in reference to his spiritual enjoyment, he said: "I amtrusting and resting in Jesus." He gave clear evidence to the last that the messenger of death found him prepared and ready to depart in peace. The funeral services were conducted by Rev. George W. \\ alker, assisted by Rev. S. Z. Kaufman, in the Methodist Episcopal church at Troy. After the services his remains were laid hyr the side of kindred forms, in the cemeteiy north of that place.

Peter Burns

was nearly a hundred years oid at the time of his death. Upon visiting him in 1879, the following notice was published in the Ashland J'ress:.

Some days since we had the pleasure of visiting, perhaps, the oldest man in Ashland county, in the person of the venerable Peter Burns, of Milton township, at the home of Mr-. John Brindle, near the Black fork. Mr. Burns was born in Frederick county, Maryland, in luly, 17S2, just before, the termination of the American war of iiuk pendencr. His father resided about twenty-eiglii milt s west of the eitv of Belli more, and died near Gcttysburgh in lZtj, aged about eighlv-seven, and his mother near the same place at an advanced age. His father was from Seotl.uid, and his mother of Herman descent. Mr. Burns had reached the ago of di"U; Burty wars when the war of tSt-j was declin'd Iwlweetl the I nner Slater anti Hu nt Britain. He was enrolled in the Maryland militia, and served in the company commanded by I Apt lin William Detbius, in the defen.e. of 'Baltimore and North Point, as well a : Fort McHenry. About the middle of August, tHig.

I the British fleet passed up the Chesapeake with about six thousand ! troops, under the command of General Ross, destined for the capture i of Washington city. It landed on the Patuxant, twenty-five miles from its mouth, five thousand men, and marched across to the Federal city, by way of Bladensburgh, where Commodore Barney confronted I the British army, but failed to repel their march, General Winder, at the head of three thousand raw militia having made but a feeble stand,

| fleeing to Washington city, pursued by the exultant British, who burned the cn pilot, the president's house, and other public buildings, ami then i fled to their shipping. General Ross was greatly elated over this I achievement, although the act was denounced in the English House of l Commons, and bv all civilized Europe. It was regarded as the act of a marauder and a vandal. General Smith prepared to meet Ross at ! Baltimore. General Strickler rallied the militia, numbering about j fifteen thousand, and prepared to defend the town. Ross landed eight | thousand soldiers at North Point, fourteen miles from the city, and ] part went up the Patapsco to bombard Fort McHenry. General | Strickler repelled the advance of General Ross in a heavy shirnnsh, in | which Ross was killed, and after his army continued to bombard the garrison for many hours the enemy withdrew, and the body of Ross was carried, as reported, to England in a hogshead of rum to be buried. After the withdrawal of the British, Mr. Burns and other soldiers from Frederick county, returned to their homes.

About 1825 Mr. Burns commenced to learn the trade of a. stonecutter and bricklayer, at which he informs me he worked industriously until he was over ninety-one years oid, a period of nearly sixty years.

About the year 1845 he came to Ashland county with his wife, and was joined bv his son-in-law, the late John Brindle, who settled on the farm where the surviving members of his family row reside, near the Black fork. Mr. Brindle continued to reside there until 1877, when he deceased, aged about sixty- two years. Mr. Burns and his lady, being well advanced in years, became a part of the family of Mrs. Brindle. Mrs.jBurnsjJie dat iliejresidcnce of her daughter on Christmas day, 1878, aged about eighty years. Mr. Burns is the father of four living children - Emanuel, Samuel, Jacob, and Susan, wife of the laic } oh 11 Brindle.

Mr. Burns ha> been drawing a pension of ninety-six dollars, since 1872, for services performed in the war of j8i 2. IBs mind is quite clear, though his powerful frame is greatly broken by hard work. He is now content with ordinary exercise. In his prime he weighed about two hundred and ten pounds. His average weight is now about one hundred and eighty pounds, and his height, about six feet two inches He eats and sleeps well, though at this time he is harassed by a bad cough. His remarkable age must be attributed to a fine constitution. His mother and father died at advanced ages. In fact, longevity has been characteristic of his family, and he may survive to reach one hundred years. He has never been compelled to pay many doctor bills. Temperate eating and living have done more than medicine to give him long hfe and vigor. Though his sight is failing, his senses remain unimpaired. He has always been a man of peace, and strongly attached to justice and integrity, and opposed to the desolating march of war and internal strife. May his remaining year- glide peacefully away, and happiness crown his cventfi 1 days." usual health until near his decease. IJe had lived under I the old colonial government, and met many of the fathers of the Revolution He has now gone to his rest, where \se trust he will find the peace of a patriot and a just man. Soon we will see the last of the patriots of j 1 8 1 2. All honor to them.

The l cinains of Mr. Turns were buried in the come- | tery of Ashland, on Thuisday, March iSth, by the com- 1 panv of Captain Finger, with military honors. With the i exception of the late Patrick Murray, who lacked 1 few | months of one hundred years of age, Mr. Turns was j probably the oldest man in the county, and near the last of the 1 S 1 7 soldiers.

Philip Fluke

Philip Fluke was born in Bedford rountv, Pennsylvania, in I79T. In \ about i3io he was married to Mary Summers, who became his companion | for a lifetime. They raised a family of eleven children, seven sons and ! four daughters, as follows: Henry, Lewis, Samuel. Philip, Catharine, j

Jacob, David, Eliza, Lucinda, Margaret, and John. Some few years after his marriage he emigrated to Ohio, and settled in what is now j Orange township, Ashland county, - in that day a wilderness of heavy ; timber, with few if any settlers. Hard work was to be done, as was expected, before a comfortable heme could be had, but neither Mr. ' nor Mrs. Fluke were persons to flinch from an undertaking they had ( commenced. The first work to be done was the erection of a small j log cabin to shelter the family from the storms and protect them from j the attack of wolves and other wiki animals, which nightly prowled about th.e lonely cabin. As soon as a home was built, the sturdy !

father made an onslaught on the forest, and every blow of his ringing j axe accomplished something toward removing the heavy timber and I preparing a. place where could be planted corn and the future subsist- j ence of the family provided for. In time, the land was cleared and improved, but during the most of his long life there was still hard work to be done.

As soon as Mr. fluke had improved the land included ia his first purchase, he added to it acre by acre, until he possessed eight hundred acres of valuable lands. Ills family gradually increased, but soon the elder children became his assistants, and as they grew to maturity and i desired to have homes of their own, 'ne gave to each son one hundred acres of improved land, on which to commence life. His aim in life had been accomplished, and his children would never be compelled to begin, as hr had done, in an unbroken wilderness. He departed this life in 1870, surviving his beloved wife but six weeks. Both sleep their last sleep side by side in St. Luke's cemetery, their names and virtues being held in loving remembrance by their children and other relatives who are Lft behind.

Henry Fluke, the eldest child of Philip and Mary Fluke, was born in Pennsylvania in iSu, and when a small boy accompanied his parents to their now home in Ohio, where he grew to manhood, and performed Ids part in the pioneer work of the county. Me was married in 1836 to Margaret rivvitzer, and raised four children: Mary Ann. Wilson,

Amanda ..ml Kaos, all of win a; 1. tin p. rental roof except tin- elder .am, Wilson. I le was .. 1 etn-rgeiii r -i >*--t iutis md ft iga! . esteemed by all who know him. He died in December, 1873, leaving liis widow and In:: son Wilson, who c ues for his mother in h-r declining years', on the home farm in Orange township.

Mary Fluke

Samuel Fluke was born in 1814, and lived in the vicinity of his fathers family until 1874 01 '75, when he removed to Iowa, where he new resides.

Philip Fluke, jr. , was born in 1816, and removed to Indiana about 1845, when that' State was new and almost unsettled. He was by trade a tanner , and in that business accumulated a good property, but is now retired, and still lives in Indiana.

Catharine- Fluke was born in 1819, April 1st, at the old homestead, where she lived until the time of her marriage to Abraham Fast, January 23, 1840, when she removed to his home on the Troy and Ashland road, where she now resides with her son Byron, who manages the farm and cares for his mother. She raised a. family of three sons and two daughters, who are now living: Wilson A., Jennie E., Jenson L., Byion F., and Mary 3. The daughters are married arid live in the west. Judson lives in Nevada, unmarried, and Byron remains at home; also single. Three other children of Mrs. Fast - Melissa A., James I., and Rollin, - died in infancy. Mr. Fast, her husband, died j November 28, 1862, aged forty-six years.

David Fluke was born in Orange township in the year 1822, and lived on the home farm until his marriage, in 1845, to Miss Hannah Stine. They had five children: Lucinda, Celia Ann, Laura Jane,

I Perry M., and a son who died in infancy, unnamed. Mr. Fiukc died in the fall of 18O6, and his widow remains 011 the farm with her children, Laura and Perry, who care for their mother in he; declining years.

David Fluke Henry Flunk

was horn m Huntingdon county, Pennsylvania, December 20, 1811. His father, the late Philip Fluke, emigrated with his family to Orange township, Richland, now Ashland, county, in October, 1S16. Mr. I'luke grew up on the old homestead, north of the village of Orange, married Miss Switzer, daughter of Jacob Switzer, and located a short distance south of the residence of his father, where he had been an active and prosperous farmer for many years. At the pioneer organization in September, 1875, at Ashland, he became a member of the society. When his father's family located on a branch of the Mohican, in Orange township, and for several years afterwards, if was the custom of the Delaware Indians, from Flack river, and the Fire Lands, on the Western Reserve, to pass up and down the old trail, which ran near his father's cabin, with peltry and furs, on their way to Pittsburgh and other trading points, to exchange the same for blankets, amunition, and other necessaries. They often camped on the bottom, in the fall to hunt, and pi the spring to make sugar. At that period they were, harmless of any intent to injure their white neighbors. They occasionally poached upon the swine and fowls of the pioneers, but this was of rare occurrence. Mr. Fluke stated that on such visits it was the habit of his mother, on seeing the approach of the savages, to draw in the latch stiing of the cabin door, that no temptation to enter might be given the Indians. They were never disturbed in any way, except by the loss of a few fine shouts.

He died December 17, 1875. Air. Fluke was a citizen of excellent habits, moral, intelligent, industrious, and. upright. Though not a member of any church, no citizen sustained a better record for integrity and manly bearing than he. It will be difficult to till the station in society vacated by his decease.

Michael Morr

was born in Center county, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1796. He was of German descent. He resided in his native county until manhood, when he married, arid in the year 1S27, with his wife and one child removed to j section seven, in Fern township, Wayne (new Ashland) county, Ohio, where he continued to reside until his dej cease, . which occurred Sunday, June 10, 1S77, at the advanced age of eighty years and eight months. The immediate cause of his death was dropsy, of which he suffered for many months.

When lie landed in the woods, his neighbors were: Charles Wilson, William Lash, Jonas II. Gierhart, William Laua, Samuel Sheets, James Foots, Frederick Wise, Jacob and Uenjamin Myers, Hugh Carr, William Shisler, and Jacob Onstott ; most of whom have long since been called, home to rest.

tie entered tin. forest as a pioneer, cleared a farm of ! ninety acres, and erected substantial ami valuable buildj ings thereon. Ho passed through all the hardships and in opening highways through the dense forests, in logrolling, erecting cabins, school-houses and churches, and lived to see his township and county thickly populated, and dotted with villages, towns and happy homes.

He assisted in the erection of the first Lutheran church, on the old Meng farm, east of Jeromevillc, as far back as 1833, and attended the same until about 1840, when a small class of the Evangelical church was formed in his neighborhood, and occasional preaching took place at the houses of the members for six or seven years.

About the year 1847, steps were taken for the erection of the Evangelical church located in the neighborhood of Mr. Mori, and he became an active member of the same, and has ever since sustained hrs professions by a devout life:

He was an industrious, frugal, honest, exemplary Christian, and died in great peace. The members of his family consist of four sons: George, Michael, Jacob, and Henry; and four daughters: Julia Ann, wife of William Clapper; Sarah, wife of Reuben Kramer; Harriet, wife of William Holmes; and Christens, wife of John Clouse.

The remains of Mr. Morr were deposited in the cemetery attached to the Evangelical church, of which he was a member, arid the funeral services were conducted by the pastor, Rev. Crouse.

son of Samuel McClain, was born m Washington county, Pennsylvania, August 20, 1796. He attended the common schools, and grew to manhood in his native county. The McClains were of Irish extraction, and all large, tall men. They were Protestants, and, like most of the Scotch-Irish, were Presbyterians in faith and practice.

Mr. McClain married Miss Mary Lash, of Washington county, Pennsylvania, and removed to, and located in, Perry township, then in Wa\ne, hut now in Ashland county, in 1817, and settled near the present site of die village of Rc-wsburgh. He has, therefore, resided in Ashland county about sixty-two years. When he entered Perry township, it was almost an unbroken fores l, abounding in large numbers of deer, wolves, and otliei wild animals, The Delaware Indians, former inhabitants of Greentown and jerometown, still continued to return to the township in the spring and fall, to make sugar and hunt The township at that time was but sparsely settled, anti Mr. McClain was often solicited by pioneer neighbors to assist .in the erection of cabin , at log-rollings, and to prepare fields for culture, and most cheerfully responded to all such invitations. He resided in Perry township for many years, and saw it gra. Ir.ai'y change from a dense loicst to cultivated lieUls, am blessed w i 1 1 v an industrious and intelligent population. 1-Jeing remarkably ingenious in working wood, though never having learned a trade, he could frame a building, construct a saw- or grist-mill, make the woodwork of a ! plow, or do almost any other species of work needed by I the early farmers of his neighborhood. Naturally inclus- j trious, his services were often brought into requisition by i the pioneer farmers of Perry and Mohican townships.

In 1S44, he had the misfortune to lose the companion j of his youth by death. He subsequently married Mar- ; garet Noble, who still survives to mourn his loss.

He resided some time at Jeromeville, and then removed to a farm in the south part of Montgomery township, where he continued to reside for some years, and then sold out and removed to his late residence in Ashland.

Of late years his habits have been retiring; but his tall form, erect, and 'apparently, until of late, quite vigorous, with long flowing beard, white as snow, made him noticeable on the streets or at his place of public worship. He was always diffident, and never sought the emolu- | ments or distinctions of office. He was careful and con- I scientious as a voter, and desired to cast his suffrages for j honest and competent officers.

in religious opinion and faith Mr. McClain was an exemplary and devoted member of the Presbyterian church. He became a member of that denomination in his younger years, and was often chosen to fill leading positions, such as deacon and elder. Up to the close of his life, it was nire that his venerable form was not seen in his pew, at -the proper hour, on the Sabbath.

He was in possession of all his faculties to the close of life. On Tuesday morning, the" day of his decease, he was quite cheerful and walked, to and from the post-office, as was his daily custom. After the middle of the day he engaged for a short time in preparing wood, and as is supposed, became faint and attempted to return to his room, but fell, and after a renewed struggle, entered the kitchen gasping for breath, attracting the attention of Mrs. McClain, who hastened to his aid; but died in a few moments without uttering a word. His decease occurred February 12, 1876.

Mr. McClain was an honest man, a good neighbor, and a sincere Christian. He has passed over the dark river, we hope, to a happier land, the home of the good and the pure. He died childless; and leaves but the companion of his riper years to mourn his loss; but not without hope of joining him in that eternal home prepared for the righteous.

The funeral services were preached at the residence of Mr. McClain by Rev. John Robinson, Lb 1)., and some reminiscences of the deceased were related by Rev. Thomas Peer, A. M., and his body borne to the grave by the deacons and elders of the Presbyterian church, February 14, 1876, followed by his neighbors and friends.

Jos Fit I Bechtel

was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, August 28, 1 .8 n , and came with his father's family, Peter IJechtcl, sr.. to Milton township, Richland, now Ashland, county, in 1824. His father located on the southeast quarter of section eighteen. 'There were but fifty or sixty families in the township at that time. 'The mother of Joseph "Bechtel died in 1S22 in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, and his father remained single. He died in 1861, aged about eighty-five* years. His family consisted of Joseph, Barbara, wife of Jacob Storcr, and Jacob, who resides in Indiana. Joseph married Magdalena Bauer in 1S31, by whom he had the following children : Susannah,

Peter, Mary, Catharine, and two sons and one daughter deceased. One son died in company K, One Hundred and Second regiment, Ohio volunteer infantry, in the late war. When the Bechtels located in Milton wild game, such as deer and turkeys, was abundant. There was an occasional black bear to be found, and the shrill shriek of the panther was frequently heard in the forest. Wolves were plenty, and very destructive upon sheep. Wild hogs, springing from the domestic race, and escaping from their owners in search of mast were quite numerous, and when disturbed, very ferocious. Mr. Bechtel states that about 1830 he was pursued in the night season through the forest by a panther, and it did not desist, although he carried a torch a "good part of the way, until he was safely in his father's cabin. He had, also, a fight in which lie was severely wounded in the knee by a frantic boar, and will carry the scar to his grave. He is now sixty-five years old and quite vigorous. He states, in 1829, while wild game was yet plenty, he offered Frank Graham, then the principal merchant in Ashland, sixty pounds of good wheat for one-fourth of a pound of powder, and was refused. Wheat had no market, but ammunition was cash. About the same time, he hauled twenty -four bushels of good wheat, with a wagon and three horses, to Portland, now Sandusky, and was gone seven days, and stuck in the mud eight times, and obtained but three shilling - thirtyseven and one-half cents per bushel for his wheat. About 1870 he sold his homestead and removed to Ashland, where he now resides. He has been an active member of the United Brethren church about twentytwo years. As a citizen, he is industrious, frugal and upright. He has passed through all the stages of pioneer iife, and is now ready to be garnered with his fathers. In 1879 Mr. Bechtel and lady removed to the State of Kansas to reside with a married daughter, and are enjoying fine health ai the present writing, 1880.

Henry Shelter

was born in the city of Philadelphia in 1760 His parents were of German and English descent. \\ hen sixteen years of age, he was apprenticed to an uncle in Lancaster county to learn the trade of a shoemaker. After the close of the Revolutionary war he located in Westmoreland county, where ho remained until 1805, in the meantime manning. In that year he removed with his family t.> Columbiana county, Ohio, where he remained until 1814, when lie removed to Canton. Statk county, and in 1.S20 located in Miftlin, Richland county,

Ohio. Here he deceased ir. 18.15, aged about eightyfive years. His family consisted of Samuel, who enlisted in the war of 1812, and was captured at the surrender of General Hull, and taken to Montreal, and never returned; Jacob, who died in 1838; John, who resides in Vermillion township, Ashland county ; and three daughters.

John Shelter was born in Westmoreland county, Pennsylvania, March 4, 1805, and was an infant when his father removed to Columbiana county. He has passed through all the pioneer scenes of the early settlers of this county, and is remarkably vigorous for a man of his age.- He is a prosperous and thorough-going farmer. His homestead is valuable, and he is surrounded by a thrifty community. He is a man of few words, unflinching in his integrity, and inflexibly opposed to prevarication and shams. His family consists of three sons - William, Henry and Manuel ; and three daughters, Ellenora, Sarah and Mariah - all married but the youngest daughter. His wife had been married to John Brubaker, who deceased. She became the wife of Mr. She'.ler in 1S40.

Mrs. Sarah H. Andrews

MRS. SARAH H. ANDREWS was born in Massachusetts in August, 1796. She was the daughter of Levi Gates, one of the early families of that State. She married Mr. Andrews, having lost a former husband, when quite young. She accompanied her husband to Ohio in 1817, and located in Uniontown, now Ashland, in the spring of that year. When they arrived the present site of Ashland was nearly covered with the primitive forest, there being but about five houses in the town. It is remembered that the owners or occupants of these residences were Joseph Sheets, nearly opposite the present hardware store of Isaac Stull, on Main street; William Montgomery, near where Mrs. Wages resides; David Markley, where the town hall now stands, and John Croft, a tanner, who resided just south of that point. These constituted the population of Uniontown. Mrs. Joseph Sheets, we believe, is the onlyperson of this number known to be alive, and present at the funeral of her old and esteemed friend, on the fourteenth of February, who was brought to Ashland to be interred beside her husband, Aianson Andrews, who died May 20, 1S50.

During the lifetime of Mr. Andrews, he and his familyresided on what was formerly known as the David Markley farm, bounding Ashland on the southwest, having purchased the same from Mr. Markley. Some time in 1830, Mr. Levi Cates, father of Mrs. Andrews, became a citizen of Ashland, residing with his daughter, and died September 6, 1837, aged about sevency-two years. Her mother died in Massachusetts, some years prior to his decease. Mrs. Andrews was the mother of the gifted and scholarly Form Andrews, v.-ho died president of Kenyon coliege, and is believed to have been the second child born in Ashland, in 1 S 1 9. Some years since Mrs. Andrews removed to Ceneseo, Illinois, to reside with a i structed our highways, and caused the country to blos- : som as the iose, a new people now cultivate our fields and possess the homes of the hardy pioneers who have been gathered to the tomb. Here and there may be found a surviving pioneer, with tottering gait and trernb- ; ling hand, frosted with years, to remind us that all must 1 bid adieu to the scenes of time sooner or later.

Mrs. Andrews died at Geneseo, Illinois, February 9, 1879. She had many friends in Ashland, and their sympathies are extended to those who have been bereaved in her death. She was an exemplary member of the Presbyterian church for many years, and evinced due prenara- | tion and fitness for another and better world. Her death , brings to remembrance many reminiscences of the past.

! call to recollection the scenes of other davs, and their ! early experiences in the forests of this county. In her j decease they are reminded of the certainty of death, and preparation that fits all mankind for another and better ( world, where all pain and trouble shall cease.

Judge William Osborn

JUDGE WILLIAM OSBORN was the third son of Ralph and Catharine Osborn, late of the city of Columbus, at which place he was born May 1, 1821, and -was fifty -eight years old at his decease.

His father, Ralph Osborn, was a native of Waterbary-, Connecticut, who, after studying law at Litchfield. Coni necticut, and Albany, New York, moved to the west in the year 1806, and at first settled in Franklinton, but afterward removed to Jefferson, then county-seat of i Pickaway county. He was elected clerk of the house of 1 representatives of the Ohio legislature, in the session of 1810, and consecutively until 1814: and during the winter succeeding, he was elected auditor of State. This office he held until the winter of 1 S33 -4, when he was > succeeded bv the late John A. Bryan, i The mother of Judge Osborn was of the family of John Renick, of the south branch of the Potomac, in Hardy county, Virginia, who moved to Ohio and settled ! upon the rich lands of Pickaway county', lying west of the Scioto river, about the year 1803 or 4. The family of which Judge Osborn was a member, consisted of four sons and four daughters. After the death of his mother, his father was married to Mrs. Jane Turney, of Columbus, the widow of Dr Daniel Turney, a very eminent and skilful physician of that city. By his second wife, lie had three daughters.