Walnut Township

Walnut Township

Walnut is immediately north of Pleasant. New Salem and Millersport are the villages of Walnut Township ; the former is a place of some trade, and two churches; it was first settled, and is situated on the eastern border of the township. Millersport is situated at the southern point of the "Big Reservoir," and just where the Ohio Canal enters it. Its thrift and importance is owing, in a large degree, to the fisheries of that artificial lake, which is of several miles in extent in its greatest diameter. The reservoir was formed to supply water to the canal in dry seasons; it is in the northern part of the township. Millersport has the usual churches and schools. Its commerce has been considerable, on account of the shipment of grain and other produce.

In 1806, there were not exceeding a dozen families within its borders, and they were distributed in different parts of its territory. Some of these have reached me. Of them I record, William Murphy, Asa Murphy, the Cravvfords, Hendrixes, Watsons, and David Lyly.

A man named Debold is mentioned as having preached the first sermon (of the township, I suppose), at the cabin of William Hauer. He was a Baptist, I believe.

At that early day. Walnut, in common with all the townships and other parts of the frontier country, was without roads. Old citizens speak of a trace having been blazed from the Scioto, at a point probably where Columbus now is, through to Zanesville, pushing through Walnut, which subsequently was opened into a wagon road.

[A brief explanation of what is meant by a blazed road is necessary, because not one in fifty of the present inhabitants of Fairfield County have any knowledge of them. They were a necessity of the pioneer age. They were called at first, "bridle-paths" and "foot-paths." The manner of opening them was in this wise : One or more men set out with axes from one point to another, say, from one cabin to another, and taking trees in range, and from twenty to forty feet apart, chopped or hewed the bark from the two sides facing in the two directions, thus making a "blaze" that caught the eye readily by the contrast bdtween the bark and the bare wood. Then these blazed trees were followed in both directions, on foot and on horseback, until by use a beaten track rendered the blazes unnecessary. I have known guns to be fired and horns blown, at the outcome, or at points along the way, to guide the blazers].

It is related that William Hauer built the first hewed loghouse in Walnut, in 1807, and made in it a puncheon floor, leveling them ofi" with a foot-adz.

The first hand-mill used in the township is credited to Mr. Crawford. The first crop of wheat that promised well was greatly damaged by squirrels. A Mr. Holmes has the credit of building the first brick house within the township - probably about the year 1(S12.

Dr. H. Scott - Dear Sir: The note you intended for Charles Wiseman was placed in my box, there being no man' by that name residing in the neighborhood. Not having come to this neighborhood until 1818, I have most of my information from first settlers.

The first settlement in this neighborhood commenced about 1804, by Samuel Wiseman, Edward Berry, James Miller, John Miller, John Manly, George Hill, Jacob Cagy, Robert Chalfant, Thomas McNaughton, Thomas Watson and John Goldthwait ; also, the Teals and Stevensons, about the same time. Thorn Township, then in Fairfield County, now in Perry, was settled about the same time, by Daniel Snyder, George Stinchomb, Jacob Hooper, Sr., Jacob Hooper, Jr., James Hooper, John Groves, and the Fosters.

came to a man cutting logs for a cabin, his family living in his wagon in the woods. In answer to the inquiry as to his name, he answerd, " Samuel Wiseman. " On returning to his father's cabin, in the Teal settlement, James told his mother the Joyful news, that he had found a neighbor. " What is his name?" said she. "Samuel Wiseman," James replied. " Well, " said she, "he has a wise name ; would to God he is a wise and good man. "

The citizens of Fairfield and Perry counties are indebted to John Goldthwait for the excellent variety of grafted fruit he introduced into those counties at an early day. I have visited fruit-stands in Baltimore, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and New York, and could find no better fruit than he introduced sixty-five years ago, in his nursery, two miles west of the present village of New Salem. Soon after Goldthwait's orchard began to bear, two lawyers from Lancaster came out to examine his choice varieties of fruit. Goldthwait was a peculiar little Yankee, and a strong Federalist. The lawyers were strong Jefferson Democrats. He showed them his Royal Russet, Seek-No-Further, Golden Pippins, Rhode Island Greenings, and his Federal apples. The lawyers said to him, " You have shown us j^our Federal apples, now show us your Democratic ones. " He said, " Come down this way ; " and he pointed out alittle scrubby tree with a few knotty apples on. " That, " said he, " is the Democratic apple. "

Revolutionary Soldiers

John Manly and George Hill served five years in what was then called Lee's Legion of Horse, in the Revolutionary war. Rev. John Wiseman settled in this neighborhood in 1819. He served two terms in the Revolution, and was with Washington and Lafayette through the memorable winter at Valley Forge, while the British were occupying Philadelphia.

Statement Of Thomas Jackson, Of Berne

My father, "William Jackson, came frop Frederick County, Maryland, in 1805, and settled in Berne Township, Fairfield County. He came over Zane's trace from Wheeling to Lancaster. I was four years old. He left his goods at Wheeling, and came through on horseback, he and my mother, carrying two or three small children before and behind, as was the custom then. At Lancaster he met an acquaintance who had preceded h'im. His name was Sliger. He took us all to his cabin, which was two miles south of Lancaster, on the place which has for many years been known as Clarksburg, from the name of Joshua Clark, who lived there since, and carried on the milling business, in connection with which he run a distillery. My father and Mr. Sliger then rode about the country, and found an empty cabin on the bank of Pleasant Run, on the spot now known as the Reuben Shellenbarger place. There was belonging to the cabin twelve acres of cleared land, on which the timber was deadened. This was in December. We moved into the cabin and spent the winter, I do not know how. In the spring my father planted the twelve acres in corn, and then returned to Wheeling and brought out his wagon and little stock of household goods. We remained in that cabin two years. I cannot remember how we managed to live. At that time I had one brother and two sisters - I was the fourth child. My sister Polly married Joseph Sheets. She is at this time 85 years old, a widow, and living with her daughter, who is the widow of the late John Grabill, Jr. My brother John lives near the Colonel Sharp place, below Sugar Grove, and William lives two miles below Lancaster. My age is 76 years.

My father then took a lease on the lands of Samuel Shellenbarger, embracing the place where Reuben Shellenbarger now lives, and opened a farm. We little fellows had to pick and burn brush, and worked very hard. Afterwards my father bought eighty acres of John A. Collins, and moved on it. i It was the same place now owned by the widow of David Hufifman.

Ohio

After the death of my mother, in 1836, father came and lived on my place, on the east side of Hocking, where he died about fourteen years afterwards.

At my earliest recollection our neighbors were : Mr. Brooks, father of George, Jacob and John S. Brooks; David Carpenter. Peter Gundy then lived on the Prindle place, in a hewed loghouse ; William Carpenter lived near the Kuntz mill ; Sam'I Carpenter lived on the Kuntz place, the same that is now the residence of Thomas H. White, Esq. Mr. Reynolds lived between the Kuntz mill and Lancaster.

The first school I atterided was in a little log-hut near us on the south, and the teacher was John May; and after him a Mr. Adison. The nexf school-house I went to was on the sixteenth section. It was taught by a man by the name of Skennel. He was a funny Irishman, but was called an excellent teacher. This was in 1813.

The first religious meetings I remember were held in the cabins of Gundy and Reynolds, who were Methodists. Among the preachers that I remember, were Revs. Bright and Jesse Spurgeon. The Baptists preached at our school-house ; and Lewis Seits, Eli Ashbrook, Mr. Baker and Benjamin Caves preached there.

Our nearest neighbor was Mr. Crossen, when we first settled on the bank of Pleasant Run. It was some years before we began to have comfortable roads. At first we blazed the trees so as to go from one house to another. The woods were full of wild-turkeys, which, when the corii got ripe, came into the fields and preyed upon it, and it was a part of the duty of the children to go and scare them away. In the spring and fall the crows and black-birds were often very destructive to the cornfields. In the spring they pulled up the little stalks to get the grain from the root, and in the fall they eat the corn from the cob when the grains were soft. Raccoons were also troublesome. We put up scare-crows, and went round the fields continually to frighten them away. But the greatest enemies the cornfields had in the fall of the year were the squirrels, which some years came in such numbers as to absolutely defy our vigilance.

Wolves were numerous. At the sugar-camp they often came howling around in the night - so near that we could hear the bushes cracking under their feet, and we threw fire-chunks at them, which they paid little attention to.

John Carpenter killed a panther one Sunday, when we were stopping at Sliger's. It was brought to the house, where they measured it eleven feet from the point of the nose to the tip of the tail.

Deer were very abundant, and bears more or less. Venison and wild-turkey meat could be had any time, and they constituted a large part of the living of the early settlers. Turkeys were caught in pens, and taken with the rifle. A bear was occasionally killed.

Mrs. Crossen was at one time coming through the woods to our house, when she discovered a bear in the act of killing a hog. Mr. Garner and my father, with us little fellows, went out with the gun and dogs, and soon found the bear. Upon seeing us approach, he left his prej;- and climbed up a tree. If he had had a competent understanding of the range and power of the rifle in the hands of a back-woods hunter, he would probably have sought another means of safety. As it was, the leaden messenger soon brought him lifeless to the ground. His weight was over three hundred. Wild-cats sometimes carried off our pigs.

At the time of our settling there, the whole country was in a wild condition ; a condition of almost unbroken woods. In the early years breadstuflfs sometimes became scaTce, and we grated meal from the first corn that ripened. Mr. Pitcher had a small raccoon burr-mill, where Green's niill now is, down Hocking ; and Mr. Crossen had a still-house near where Reuben Shellenbarger lives.

The good old days of log-rollings, corn-huskings and houseraisings, and of the social plays of " Sister Phebe," and the country dance, and nearly everybody that had anything to do with them, revive gladness in the heart, but are never to be seen again.

Statement Of Jacob Bope, Of Pleasant

Abraham Bope, father of Gen. Jacob Bope, of this county, and of Philip Bope, of Lancaster, emigrated from Rockingham, Virginia, in the year 1803, and located six miles north of Lancaster, in Pleasant Township. His brother, Frederick Bope, and Henry Ketner accompanied him, and located in the same neighborhood. It was late in the fall, or beginning of winter when they arrived, and a camp was erected by the side of a big log, where they spent the winter. In the spring a cabin was erected, into" which they moved. It is not said whether the Ketner family shared the winter camp b^' the big log, but that is the inference.

In the following fall there came and settled in the same region John and Benjamin Feemen, Casper Walters and Jacob Weaver. The second fall after the arrival of the Bopes and Ketner, a considerable col6ny came out and settled round in the same neighborhood.

Mr. Bope, now in his seventy-ninth year, preserves distinct recollections of the times and incidents of the infant colonies which were begun there over seventy years ago, and detailed them with great readiness.

The Indians, chiefly Wyandots and Delawares, were all over the country in small hunting squads, often camping near the cabins of the white settlers. They were harmless, and the young folks often went out and looked at them while they sung and danced. The first roads through the settlements were over blazed paths. The Bopes and Ketner were two days getting from Lancaster out to their destination, having to cut their way through the thickets. The men of the early settlers were mostly hunters.

On one occasion Abraham Bope was returning from a hunt, or possibly from a trip to some neighboring cabin, when night overtook him before he reached home. He suddenly found himself surrounded with wolves. He fired upon them, but failed to scare them away. They seemed to press him, and becoming alarmed he clambered up into the top of a sapling or small tree. He loaded and fired again, but finding that his unpleasant and most unwelcome comj anions were inclined to stay by him, he set up a volley of stentorian shouts, which at last reaching the ears of some of his nearest neighbors, brought several men to his aid. But the men, on arriving near enough to communicate with the man up the tree, finding that the wolves were not inclined to give up their expected prey, they thought caution the better part of valor, and advised Mr. Bope to remain in the tree till daylight, when the wolves would go away. Which advice he took, and found, to his great joy, that with the disappearance of the darkness the wolves disappeared also.

A bear was discovered near his house. He took his favorite old Virginia dog, and his gun, and went to the attack. His first shot wounded the beast and made him savage. His dog went in, and was gathered to the embrace of Bruin, who was about to press the last breath of life out of him, when Mr. Bope went to his dog's rescue, when the bear instantly dropped the dog and made chase after the man, and was not long in fastening his teeth in the garments of the frightened hunter. At this moment Mrs. Bope arrived, and perceiving the state of affairs, advanced on the beast in a menacing attitude, which seeing, the quadruped released his hold and made for the gentler sex. There was a hickory-tree close b^', that had been broken by a storm, the upper end of the trunk still resting on the stump twenty feet from the ground, and the top lying on terra firma, thus forming an inclined plane of about forty-five degrees with the perpendicular. Mr. Bope called to his wife to run for her life ; but she being in the vigor of young womanhood, at once began the ascent of the angle of forty-five.

The dog by this time recovered his breath, and came again to the attack ; and in the meantime Mr. Bope had re-loaded, and now poured in another broadside, without, however, bringing down his game. Bruin placed his back against a tree, in an upright posture, the better to use his powerful paws; and while he was thus compelled to turn his head in all directions from which a deadly foe might be approaching, his eye caught sight of .^Irs. Bope snugly perched on the stump twenty feet above. In an instant he made for the stump, and began th^ ascent. And now the finale approached, for Abraham Bope, Esquire, comprehending that from the positions of all the actors in the drama he was absolute master of the situation, at once placed a ball in a vital part, and the bear fell dead at his feet. Seven charges were said to have been lodged in his body before he capitulated.

Mr. Jacob Bope said the first school he attended in the new settlement was German, and taught by Henry Camp. Afterward an English school was taught in the neighborhood by Abraham Winters, over on the Newark road. This was previous to 1810, and when he was eight or ten years of age.

The first preacher he remembered to have heard Avas the Rev. Mr. Stake of the Lutheian denomination, and afterward Rev. Wise, of the German Reform Church. Soon af^er this the Methodists and Albrights began their work, and established camp-meetings in some parts of the county, holding them annually.

Everybody had to work hard, but were contented with what they had, and far happier, he believed, than the majority of the people are to-day. Money was seldom seen by anybody, and it was extremely difficult to pay what little tax was levied. A majority of the men of the settlement went out in the war of 1812. Of all those who were of men's age, and entitled to be called pioneers, and who came into the settlement previous to 1810, John Zeigler alone is living, at the great age of ninety-two years.

There was little that could be sold for ca:h. The price of a day's work, from sunup to sundown, was twenty-five cents, which was always spoken of then as a '' quarter of a dollar. " Jacob Bope was a carpenter, and often worked at his trade for fifty cents a day. He referred to the corn-huskings, houseraisings and log-rollings, and other gatherings and usages of the pioneer age, and which were the same everywhere, and need not to be pai-ticularized here.

He remembered Lancaster when there were not more than balf a dozen cabins in it. He was a pupil in music of a Mr. Imboff, and himself taught music when he was sixteen years old. Mr. Bope served as Captain, Colonel and General in the Ohio Militia. He spoke at some length of the pioneer man- ners and customs, and of the social pastimes and the kindly relations that existed between all ranks and conditions, when every one was ready to help his neighbor. And when I repeated : " We're boldly marching to Quebec, where the drums are loudly beating;" and, "As oats, peas, beans and barle}- grows," his face dropped at least twenty-five years of its age.

Thus the past drifts back into the soon-to-be-forgotten, and to be buried beneath the debris of the dead ages. The merest inklings, or perhaps it were better to say scintillations, of the life and times of sixty and seventy years ago, lives to-day in the recesses of the minds and hearts of the aged. They come to the eye and the visage when referred to in speech, or song, or tune ; but with the exception of here and there a breast, no responsive chord is struck. But to the man or woman who lived on the frontier threescore, or threescore and ten years ago, there is no joy on earth so sweet as these reminiscences that come floating through the inward thoughts like angelwhispers, of childhood and youth's first young loves and innocence. There we can go for consolation, and live with our own dear associations, when the present has nothing dear for us. It is the priceless boon which thieves cannot steal, and which none but ourselves can participate in.

The first death, Mr. Bope said, that occurred in their settlement, that he could recall, was that of his grandfather Bope, which took place soon after they came. He said he was a very good man, and always prayed with the children every night before they went to bed. There are four of Abraham Bope's children living - Jacob and Philip, and two daughters.

Daniel Arnold built the first mill. It was on Fetter's Run. Jacob Weaver built the first still-house ; it stood on the land' now owned by Philip Watson, adjoining the Bope farm". The first wool they had carded into rolls was done where Baltimore now is. Name of the owner of the carding machine not remembered.

Statement Of William Murphy, Of Walnut

My father, William Murphy, came from Virginia in about 1800, and settled in the north part of what is now Walnut Township, one mile south-east of the present village of Millersport. Two brothers came with him and settled in the same neighborhood - Edward and Benjamin. My grandfather, William Murphy, was also of the same company. My uncle Edward afterwards went further east and settled one mile west of the present village of Rushville.

At the time of the arrival of our family there, the whole country wis unbroken and uninhabited, savj by wild beasts and roving bands of Indians. James Homer bought the lands lying between our settlement and where Millersport is. Soon after our settlement my father's cabin became a preaching place, and the Rev. James Quinn, of the Methodist denomination, was one of the preachers who held meetings there. At this time, June 1877, not one of the original pioneers is living.

The first school I remember was in 1824. It was kept in a little log-pen, with the usual log-cabin fixtures of that time. John Griffith was the first teacher I went to. He was followed by John Granthum in the .same house. There were no female teachers employed at that time ; at least not in that neighborhood.

The first mill I went to was on Licking Creek, and stood on the borders of the present town of Newark. It was owned by John Buskirk. Newark was then a log-cabin village. My father took his grain to the mill in a wagon with wooden wheels called "truck-wheels." They were made by sawing offj with a cross-cut saw, sections of a very large oak tree, of the thickness of about four inches, with holes made in the center for the axle-tree. If they were not kept well greased, the creaking they caused when in motion could sometimes be heard a mile or more. He generally drove a four-horse team to his truckwagon.

My father killed a panther on the Muddy Prairie, where Amanda now is. He killed sixty-three wolves and received bounties for their scalps from the State. Of raccoons, foxes and wild-cats, he killed six hundred, with also about six hundred muskrats. He took the skins to WinchesLer, Virginia, on paik-horses, realizing for them money enough to enter three quarter-sections of land, embracing the farm on which I now live. He likewise traded extensively with the Indians for their peltries. The Indians got the impression that he had cheated them, and on one occasion when they returned to the neighborhood he kept himself hid until they went away, though they made no attempt to disturb him.

Statement Op Thomas Cherry, Of Walnut

My age is seventy-nine years. I came to this neighborhood about 1810, and have lived here ever since. At the time I came the settlers in this region were :

William Hane, Samuel Crawford, Andrew Crager,' James Homes, William Bowman, William Murphy, Mathias Miller, William Pugh, Henry Eversole. This was in 1810. Soon after came Abel Williams, Peter Hauer and David Keller.

The first death that occurred in the neighborhood after I came was that of Samuel Crawford, and the next that I can remember was Andrew Crager. The first marriages after I came were Lydia and Jane Cherry ; Lydia married Robert White, and Jane married Robert McArthur.

Nearly every man in the country owned a good gun, and a great many of them were hunters. All kinds of wild game abounded in the forests. William Murphy and William Bowman were distinguished hunters.

Squirrels, crows and black-birds destroyed the corn so fearfully that it was difficult some years to save enough for bread. Raccoons, likewise, often caused a scarcity by preying upon the corn when it was in roasting-ears.

I killed a bear where Millersport stands. I had to shoot him five times before he gave in. At my last shot, he was coming at me with extended mouth, but my ball took effect, and, I believe, saved my life. I killed fifty odd deer in one winter, four of them in a single day. I caught a great many foxes by the chase. I could walk several miles and roll logs all day, and then walk home at night and not feel much tired.

At one time I took my breakfast at home, and then walked thirty miles to Columbus, or rather to Franklinton, and took dinner at two o'clock. When I first visited the site of the present Columbus, it was all in woods. At one time when there was a general squirrel-hunt, my brother Nathaniel killed eighty-four in one day.

My father died in 1863, and my mother two years before that. I had four brothers, all residing in Walnut Township, and all died in the township. Their names were : John, Nathaniel, William and James ; and five sisters : Lydia, Jane, Betsy, Rosanna and Mary. Four of my sisters were buried here, and one near Chillicothe. I was the third in age, and am the only one living.

The " Big Reservoir " was a marsh. The upper end of it was a lake and a cranberry-marsh. It was called " the lake. " It became the reservoir when the Ohio Canal was m'ade.

During the early days and years of the settlement, the people lived very much on wild meat, particularly venison and wild-turkey, and on corn-bread, vegetables and rye-coffee. They also made use of spice-wood and sassafras teas. Milk and butter were always plenty. When cows and horses were turned out to graze in the woods, bells were put on them to make it easy to find them. They seldom strayed far away.

The women spun and made all the family clothing, and the shoes were made by the men of the settlement, a few of whom were shoemakers. There were small tan-yards that furnished the leather. We dressed deer-skins and made pantaloons of them. We had hatters who made wool and fur-hats. In summer we Avent barefoot, and got our shoes about Christmas.

Source changes here: from Pioneer Period and Pioneer People of Fairfield County, Ohio, by Wiseman, C. M. L. (Charles Milton Lewis), published 1901; 352 words in this source stream.

Walnut Township

William Murphey, Sr., and his three sons, William, Benjamin and Edward, James Holmes and his family of boys, were the earliest settlers of Walnut township. Rev. John Hite, Samuel Crawford, Samuel Wiseman, Jacob Gulp and George DeBolt were ea^ly settlers.

In this township is Buckeye Lake, once a great swamp and cranberry marsh, several miles in length, running from near Millersport to Thornville, a distance of eight miles. About the center, where the county line crosses, there existed a lake of considerable size on which floated a cranberry marsh. The marsh still floats there and berries are gathered every year by the daring and fearless natives. This was the great swamp mentioned by Gist where he camped in 1751. It was on the old Indian trail leading from Duquesne to the Shawanese town of old Chillicothe, on the Scioto. This trail passed Mt. Pleasant - a trading point called the "standing stone." This trail was the great overland route from Ft. Pitt to the falls of the Ohio near Louisville.

John Goldthwait, a Yankee schoolmaster, born in Springfield, Mass., was an early settler in Walnut township. His farm was on the road half way between Pleasantville and Xew Salem. He had previously taught school, in 1801, in Athens, O., and in 1802 in Greenfield township. By some he is believed to be the first teacher in Fairfield County, but it is claimed that James Hunter, of \'irginia, taught school in Hocking township in 1801.

He brought his trees from Marietta or the Putnam nurseries. He started the first fruit nursery in this county on his Walnut township farm. He introduced the Fall Pippin, Rhode Island Greening, Wetherfield Seek No Further, Roxbury, Russett and other well known apples of New England. He lived a blameless life and was a devoted Methodist. His pride was the fine apples he had introduced into the county. There are but few names among the early pioneers deserving of greater honor than John Goldthwait. He died in 1829, and was buried in the old church yard at New Salem. His descendants are prominent people of Grant County, Indiana.

Source changes here: from History of Fairfield County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, by Miller, Charles Christian, published 1912; 5,775 words in this source stream.

Walnut Township

Walnut township was organized in 1807. It is in the northeastern part of the county, bounded on the north by Licking County, Perry County and Richland township on the east ; Pleasant township on the south and Liberty township on the west. It was named from the large amounts of walnut timber found in its primitive forests.

The surface is level or slightly undulating and the soil is exceedingly fertile. Because of low, wet, swampy lands in some parts of the township, it was settled much slower than some other parts of the county. In the northern part of the township is a large artificial body of water known as the Licking Reservoir. It was created as a feeder to the Ohio Canal in 1833 and is situated in Licking, Fairfield and Perry counties. That portion of it which is in Fairfield County is entirely in Walnut township. The Ohio Canal, commenced in 1825 and finished in 1833, enters Walnut township at the north, passes south, through Millersport, then southwest into Liberty township at Baltimore.

The first settlers of Walnut township came from Virginia and Maryland. Among them these were familiar names - Thomas and Isaac Cherry, William Murphy, William Pugh, Henry Eversole, William Bowman, Andrew Crayer, Edward Berry, John Decker, Jesse Pugh, David Lyle, John Miller, John Goldthwait, Mr. Wiseman.

The first road in Walnut township was laid out in 1810. Prior to this time a road had been blazed from the Scioto at a point probably where Columbus now is, through to Zanesville, pushing through Walnut, which subsequently was opened into a wagon road.

["A brief explanation of what is meant by a blazed road is necessary, because not one in fifty of the present inhabitants of Fairfield County have any knowledge of them. They were a necessity of the pioneer age. They were called at first 'bridlepaths' and 'foot-paths.' The manner of opening them was in this wise: One or more men set out with axes from one point to another, say, from one cabin to another, and taking trees in range, and from twenty to forty feet apart, chopped or hewed the bark from the two sides facing in two directions, thus making a blaze that caught the eye readily by the contrast between the bark and the bare wood. Then these blazed trees were followed in both directions, on foot and on horseback, until, by use, a beaten track rendered the blazes unnecessary. I have known guns to be fired and horns blown, at the outcome, or at points along the way to guide the blazers." Scott.]

Another road was early laid out leading from Newark to Lancaster. It was a great thoroughfare. In 1870 the portion of the road between New Salem and Lancaster was made a free turnpike.

John Goldthwaite of Walnut township, (according to Wiseman) was the first teacher in the county, teaching as early as 1802. He was a man of horticultural tastes and planted the first orchard in the county on the Levering farm. He started a nursery in Walnut township two miles west of New Salem in 1812. In 1833 he died and was buried in New Salem.

There are three villages in Walnut township - Millersport, Thurston and New Salem. Millersport is situated in the northern part of the township, near the Licking Reservoir and is on the T. & O. C. Railroad. The town was laid out by Mathias Miller in 1825. Soon after, the canal was completed and Millersport was a market for wheat, corn, oats and pork. There were three warehouses, all of which did a fine business in an early day.

The schools of Millersport are well conducted and efificient. The following are the teachers: M. E. Osborne, superintendent of the township; Miss Florence Miller, the principal of the Millersport schools (1912) and in charge of the 2d and 3d years of the high school; Henry McLaughlin, assistant principal, who teaches first year high school and seventh and eighth grades; Bertha Outcalt, the teacher of the fourth and fifth grades; Ina Hoover, third grade; and Mildred Miller, first and second grades.

The other business enterprises are as follows: Benidem & Peters, merchants and dry goods; Rev. Massy, notion store and meat market; Thomas Murphy, notion store and meat market ; E. R. Holmes, postmaster and merchant ; Turner & Allen, Millersport Hardware Co. ; C. A. Swisher, dealer in hay, grain and coal ; Levi Bright, dealer in grain, coal and tile; Hartman <& Son, restaurant and notion store ; Raymond Turner, restaurant and notion store ; George Dilger, restaurant and notion store; Millersport Building and Improvement Co. ; Summerland Beach Improvement Co. ; Perry Bowers and Edson Petty, blacksmith shops; Thomas Smith, ice cream manufacturer.

There are three churches, viz. : Methodist Episcopal church. Rev. George Marshall; Bible Christians, Rev. Henry Leytle; and Antioch Mission, Rev. Jennie Lynn. The physicians of the town are: Dr. Frank P. Atkinson, Dr. Henry P. Bigony and Dr. H. Clay Brison.

And Representative Citizens

lersport, Ohio. The officers are : Worshipful Master, F. P. Atkinson ; Senior Warden, W. C. Smith ; Junior Warden, H. P. Bigony ; Secretary, C. A. Swisher; Treasurer, James Smith; Senior Deacon, Robert Taylor; Junior Deacon, J. R. Brison; and Stewards, Charles Benidem and P. Bowers.

The officers of the Knights of Pythias lodge are : Chancellor Commander, Clay Bright; Vice Chancellor, Hugh Hawlow; Prelate, Charles Parish ; Master of Works, Will Fisher; Master of Arms, Fred Murphey; Keeper of Records and Seals, Murray McMahan; Master of Finance, Gid. Foster; Master of Exchequer, George Shell; Inner Guard, Stanley Miller; Outer Guard, Edgar Ross; Representative to Grand Lodge, Vane Ross.

The officers of the Pythian Sisters are : Most Excellent Chief, Faye Belt; Past Chief, May Shelenbarger ; Ex. Senior, Beatrice Belt; Manager, Ada Bright; Ex. Junior, Mrs. Stamler; Mistress of Finance, Clara Ensor; Mistress of Records, Maggie Eder; Inner Guard, Jessie Ross; Outer Guard, Stella Ross; Organist, Ida Fisher;

H. F. Bigony, M. D., of Millersport, Ohio, was graduated from the Medical College of Virginia, May 16, 1905. He began practice at Millersport, October i, 1909.

F. P. Atkinson, M. D., of Millersport, Ohio, graduated from the Ohio Medical University of Columbus, Ohio, April 16, 1903. He has been practicing in Millersport and vicinit}' since July i, 1903.

New Salem

New Salem was laid out in 1832 by Abram Harshbarger. It is in the southeastern part of the township near the Perry County line. The first residence in the village was built by John Pride. In an early day John Spitler's hotel enjoyed a good patronage, for it was on the route of the stage coach from Newark to Lancaster. The first doctors were Drs. Buck and Loomis and David Sweazy was the first postmaster. Christopher Trovinger was the first teacher.

New Salem Station is three-quarters of a mile north of New Salem village and is on the Zanesville and Western, a railroad from Thurston to Zanesville.

There are three churches in New Salem : The Methodist Episcopal, over which Rev. Geo. A. Marshall is pastor (he also preaches at Millersport and Thurston) ; the Methodist Protestant, with Cornelius Allen, pastor (he preaches at Thurston and Pleasantville) ; the Reform church with C. E. Stine as pastor, who also preaches at Thornville.

New Salem, whose population in 191 2 was about 200, was formerly incorporated, but a few years ago for school purposes it was voted to change it to a special school district. There are two teachers, Miss Mae Alt and Miss Johnson, and this school forms a part of the system of schools of Walnut township, which is under the care of Supt. M. E. Osborne of Thurston.

Thurston was laid out in 1881 by George W. Bush. It is situated at the junction of the Toledo and Columbus divisions of the Toledo and Ohio Central R. R. It was first called Bush City, in honor of its founder; later the officials of the railroad changed it to Hadley Junction and still later to Thurston. It is now a village of about 300 people. The following stores are in Thurston: general store of George H. Huhn; general store and postoffice, George Haver and Adam Friedly. Dr. C. M. Fishel has been in Thurston two years.

There are four churches in Thurston : The "Old School" or Primitive Baptist church, the New School Baptist church, the Methodist Protestant and Methodist Episcopal.

The Thurston church is one of the four appointments of the Pleasantville Circuit. The pastors in succession were : Revs. T. J. Wert, R. D. Shepherd, W. W. Gadd, C. Stansbury, T. J. Wert, S. S. Fisher, C. O. Harvey, H. M. Peebles, M. V. Shuman and C. P. Allar. It was under the pastorate of Rev. C. O. Harvey that the church was rebuilt and dedicated in June, 1905. The present membership is about fifty.

The Thurston M. E. church was organized March 11, 1892. The building which was erected was dedicated August 15, 1892, with a membership of twenty-three. The following pastors have served the charge : Rev. Sparks, Rev. Mark, Rev. Prior, Rev. Jackson, Rev. Hixon, Rev. Westervelt, Rev. Pfaltzgraf, Rev. Morrison, Rev. Crooks, Rev. Jewett and Rev. Marshal. The church has at the present time about sixty members and is in a prosperous condition .

The Primitive Baptist church at Thurston was constituted in January, 1816 and since then has had pastors as follows: Elders Parker, Jesse Stith, Bevers Johnson, David Scofield, G. N. Tusing, E. Barker, Z. K. Holliday, W. A. Chastain, L. V. Kite and C. P. Beadle. The present pastor is N. L. Ford. There is a good congregation.

The public schools of Walnut township through their Board of Education first elected a superintendent of schools for the whole township in 1897 in the person of W. M. Wikoff, who served two years. Mr. Wikofif was succeeded by M. E. Osbourne, who served two years. In 1901 the township high school was organized at Thurs- ton with W. M. Wikoff as superintendent, who served two years. He was followed by Mr. A. F. Darbey in 1903, J. Q. Leckrone in 1904, W. A. Matheney in 1905, and Mr. M. E. Osborne in 1906, and who still is in charge of the schools. The school was rated third grade until 1907, when it was made second grade. In 1908 the schools were made first grade bv State School Commissioner, E. A. Jones. The class of 1909 was the first to receive a diploma as a first grade high school.

The school was placed on the recognized list of the State University in 1910. Since 1908 Millersport has been doing three years work at that place.

The Alumni list of this school is as follows: 1901 - E. A. Kuhn, P. H. Snyder; 1902 - Geo. Schaertzer, Roy Elder, Pearl Rudisill, Eldon Rogers and Charles Boyer; 1903 - Lesta Marlowe, Alma Hood, John Fenstermaker, Stanley Patterson, Earl Jenkins, Harry Turner, Lawrence Miller and Grace Schaefifer ; 1904 - Mable Bope, William Bope, Jr., Fred Ortman, Kathryn Haver, Mary Bauer, Efiie Peters, and Florence Miller; 1905 - Carl Berry, Nannie Shell, Bessie Taylor, Pearl Leach, Joe Bowman, John Q. Miller, Carrie Dauterman and Orrin Mast; 1906 - Arthur Smith, Will Harshbarger, Lee Bibler, Lester Dauterman, Alice Mast, Stanley Miller, Annie Musheter, Lola Frye and Charles Fenstermaker; 1907 - Leslie Braley, Wilbur Schaefifer, Dora Miller, Dewitt Sperry, Russel Bope, Oliver Bope, Clara Hofifman, Verah ^Miller, Faye Sperry and Mildred Miller; 1909 - Haver Brison, Ethel Murphy, Chester Thomen, Nellie Smith and Grace Miller; 1910 - Geraldine Braley, Rhea Bope, Bessie Hood, Blanche Bibler, Treolyn Click, Ara Miller and Whitmer Hoover; 1911 - Neal Bibler, Gertrude Click, Maggie Eder, Leon Fenstermaker, Ralph Miller, Helen Parash, Viola Reinchild, Merl Hamm, Edna Bope and Benton Spurgeon; Seniors, 1912 - Birdie Haver, Wert Bauer, Ralph McGill, Laverne Mast, Florence Gill, Nellie Miller, Geo. Shell. Jr., Clearland Haver, Homer Hite and Ethel Watson.

Township Officers The township officers of Walnut township are: L. H. Solilay, clerk; trustees: George H. Miller, president, J. H. Welker, W. E. Zollinger, treasurer; Denna Trigg, constable: Stanley Hartman, assessor; John Foust. Members of the Board of Education: W. H. Shafifer, C. C. Bendium, G. N. Taylor, J. H. Smith. E. E. Norris. Ditch supervisor, L. P. Huffman. Justices of the peace - B. F. Turley, Mathias Miller and Peter Dauterman.

May, 1890, with the following charter members : W. F. Hood, B. T. Belt, W. H. Warner, Thomas Murphy, E. D. Snyder, F. F. Stokes, W. W. Bope, H. E. Miller, W. M. Snyder, P. Howard, G. W. Seifert, L. B. Spang, Nathan Tooker, W. W. Marlow, W. Hiles, Kirk Seifert, E. E. Miller, S. M. Miller, L. C. Smith, Ambrose Miller and John Gulp. The present officers are S. R. Hartman, Ghancellor Gommander; Ray Snyder, Vice Ghancellor; D. N. Miller, Prelate; A. D. Friedley, Master of Work; Glifif Foulk, Master of Arms; P. G. Wright, Inner Guard; Dan Hiles, Outer Guard; W. M. Shafifer, Keeper of Records; J. R. Shaffer, Master of Finance ; J. E. Foust, Master of Exchequer. Total number of members, 58. Ghickasaw Tribe, No. 100, I. O. R. M., was instituted in Thurston, Ohio, on January 5, 1895, with the following charter members : P. Aimer Howard, S. E. Gripps, G. M. Rowley, R. Norris, E. E. Hile, J. G. Hartman, Herb Bope, John Plummer, J. M. Weaver, L. D. England, L. F. Stokes, W. W. Bope, Frank Washburne, Arthur Peters, E. E. Montgomery, J. W. Walker, John Palmer, E. W. Proctor, E. N. Heston, G. D. Hile, H. E. Benton, D. N. Belt, \Y. L. Buchannon, James Walters, D. W. Hilliard, W. A. Rudesill, W. F. Hood, D. D.

The Degree of Pocahontas, Ghickopee Gouncil, No. 140. - The present officers are: Prophetess, Maude Bope; Pocahontas, Agnes England; Wenona, Goldie Snyder; Powatan, Ivan Miller; Keeper of Records, Flora Snyder ; Keeper of Wampum, Garoline Looker.

I. O. of R. M. - Ghickasaw Tribe, No. 100, of Thurston, Ohio. - Prophet, Stanley Hartman ; Sachem, Guy Hite ; Sr. Sagamore, J. E. Foust ; Jr. Sagamore, Elmer Foust; Ghief of Records, J. R. Snyder; Keeper of Wampum, L. L. Norris.

Then And Now

Along about 1856 was a time for many developments. I remember that an old grayheaded minister in conversation with my father made this remark, 'Well Henry, if the next fifty years produces as many changes in way of advancement as the past fifty years have, I would just like to be here and see the change.' They have both long since, passed over to 'the beyond.'

"It is just fifty years since that conversation took place. I, then a small boy, heard it and am here today to see what they would like to have seen. About this time, (1856) steel pens made their appearance and the goose-quill was doomed as an article for writing purposes. However the change was not made at once, from the fact that steel pens when first put on the market, sold at five cents each, later at three cents, or two for five cents, but within three years from the time they were first used in this vicinity they were selling at a penny.

"Goose-quills could be bought in the stores at ten cents a dozen, no sale for turkey quills as they made poor pens. Buzzard quills brought twenty-two cents a dozen very readily, as they were very superior for pen purposes.

"About this time there were taxes levied for school contingent purposes as' well as for tuition. This was done by school districts which enabled districts to be economical or extravagant as they chose, however, then as now, there was a law limit. Instead of the patrons furnishing the wood for fuel gratis there was sold at the time of holding the annual district school election to the lowest bidder the privilege of furnishing fuel for the next winter school usually at a price per cord of wood.

"In 1856 District No. 11 built a beautiful new frame school house, the best country school house in Liberty Township up to that date. District No. i, original district No. 2, having built frame houses several years previously. The house that District No. 1 1 built was sold and moved to Basil during the 'Brick School House Craze' and is now owned and occupied by Mr. Henry Bigony.

"In 1857 the patrons of District No. 12 decided by vote to purchase school ground and build a school house a little better than any yet erected; a tax was levied on all the taxable property in the school district; not a township tax. I do not know what the rate was, but I do know that the school tax on one hundred and sixty acres of land was thirty dollars in 1857.

"Mr. Jacob Roley of the school district, a carpenter and contractor than whom there never was a more honest contractor breathed the pure air of Liberty township, took the contract to erect the building and furnished it for the sum of five hundred and ten dollars. The same year he erected a frame church building for the St. Michael's Reformed church for the sum of eight hundred dollars. This same building is now used for residence purposes and owned by Mr. Osbourne, north of Baltimore. The new school house in District No. 12 was built twenty-six feet square, of good material, the wainscot, desks and rostrum were all made of the best walnut lumber; two doors for entrance, one for boys and one for girls and a black-board that extended from door to door. What a contrast from the one 2x4 in the old log school house which we were now about to vacate. The house was painted a bright red.

"There were no planing mills in the vicinity then, so that nearly all the work had to be done by hand which delayed the completion of the house until about Dec. 15th, which was the date named for the school to move across the road into the new building and a gala day it was. As an advance step was now about to take place, adding 'two Gs' to the 'three Rs.' The teacher decided to have special exercises that afternoon. Patrons were invited to be present to inspect the 'Grand Structure' and see and hear their children 'speak their pieces.' The orator of the day was a large overgrown boy who took his place behind the high rostrum on the platform and commenced by saying 'Not many generations ago, where you now sit encircled with all that exalts and embellishes civilized life, the rank thistle nodded in the wind and the wild fox dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another race or beings. Beneath the same sun that rolls over your head, the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer, gazing on the same moon that smiles for you, the Indian lover wooed his dusky mate. Here the wigwam blaze beamed on the tender and helpless and the council fire glared on the wise and daring. But what now? why sirs! the scenes are so changed that we this day have moved across the highway from a log cabin school house, into a commodious frame building, beautifully finished interior, as well as exterior.'

"He continued in this train of thought for some time when at last he made his big bow to the audience and left the platform amidst a shout of applause. It must be understood that in those days the 'Literary shops' were not so filled with 'Literary wares' as is the case at the present time.

"The* gems of oratory then were such as 'I Met a Little Cottage Girl,' 'Oh Were You Ne'er a School Boy,' 'The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck,' 'Lazy Sheep Pray Tell Me Why,' 'I Like to See a Little Dog and Pat Him on the Head,' and never-to-be-forgotten 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,' and many more of like calibre. Having now been provided with a play ground, it would not be amiss to name some of the games played, which were with ball, bull-pen, sockball, town-ball, ante-over and Rolley-holey. Also, blackman, prisoner's base. Pussy wants a corner, poison, ring and sling, and no doubt others that have passed from my memory.

"When the weather was too inclement to play out doors, 'a good teacher' allowed the more quiet games played in the house such as blind-man's bufT, button, oats, peas, beans and barley grows. Sometimes a mischie- vious boy would place red pepper and snuff on top of the plate stone, which set scholars and teacher to sneezing and usually broke up the game. About that time the teacher 'got busy' to find the culprit who committed the act, but the task proved to be almost as hard to find the guilty one as Roosevelt had to find who the guilty soldiers were that 'shot up' Brownsville, Texas. The patrons of the district were ordinary farmers wdio never had the privilege of attending a farmers' Institute."

Seven o'clock, the hour for spelling, having arrived, as well as the scholars dressed in their best, - the girls with their hair curled so tight they could scarcely close their mouths and with their highly colored plaid shawls and clothing heavily laden with the perfume of burgamot and musk that made them quite enchanting by the dim light of the candle power.

The young man then cutting the greatest figure was the one having the most hair oil on his hair. . There was no chewing gum there, but the girls chewed cinnamon bark, clover, wintergreen or parched corn, while the young man that could munch candy cut quite a figure. This was the place of all places to get a beau, which truth made some young man very bold with his attentions, so much so, that he went home with "a mitten" for both hands, while the other fellow trotted along by the side of his girl with a lordly air, as you must remember they all walked to these places, which made the journey last longer.

Then the persons previously chosen to choose up, took their places in the middle of the room on the high seats which extended around on the three sides of the room. As the captains would choose and call the name of the person chosen, he or she would take their place and this continued until the supply was exhausted. Then the battle of words began, usually with "balcony" or "bacon," the teacher standing out in front holding a candle-stick in one hand and the spelling-book in the other, pronouncing the words. At the evening spellings, two were chosen to keep tally of all the words missed and after spelling in this way for quite a while, a report was made of which side beat, then recess came.

This was the drawing card, as everybody went out to play ring for one half hour or longer. Sometimes they appointed a committee to call on the teacher to have the time extended when they were having such a fine time. I need not stop to explain the game of ring, as every little child fully understands it. Then, after recess, order having been restored, they were asked to take their places on the floor just as they had been chosen, and then the crossfiring in spelling began in earnest, after having been told to pronounce each syllable, though the word might be such a one as incommunicability. The "spelling-down" sometimes lasted until quite late. This having been accomplished, the patrons in attendance were called on to make some remarks, after which the spelling school came to an end, which was one of the most interesting events of a country scholar's life.

Exoch Berry Seitz

This renowned son of Fairfield county was born near Lancaster in 1846. He was the son of a farmer and was educated in the country schools, and in 1870 completed a course at the

Ohio Wesleyan University. He early showed an aptitude for difficult problems in mathematics. His friend, Prof. John S. Royer, says of Mr. Seitz, "Having a fondness for mathematics, he devoted his leisure hours to the broad fields and hidden beauties of its higher branches, delving deep into the mine of original investigation, and astonishing the world by the aptness with which he unfolded the beautiful and mysterious relations of numbers.

"Years ago he was a subscriber to the School- Day Magazine, which had a mathematical department edited by the great mathematician, Artemus Martin. He displayed great ingenuity and ability in solving difficult probability problems, and when asked what works he had on that difficult branch of mathematical science, Mr. Seitz, to the great astonishment of his friend, replied : 'I have no books on that subject, but what I know of it I learned by studying the problems and solutions in your magazine.' Here was the secret of his success. He first studied the principle, laid a sure foundation, upon which he afterward reared the magnificent edifice. He furnished over five hundred model solutions to the 'School Visitor,' which evinced those striking characteristics of his mathematical work - originality, accuracy, beauty. Many readers have gathered inspiration and taste for the science by his labor of love in this behalf. He was also a regular contributor to the Analyst, the Mathematical Visitor and the Educational Times of London, England. The latter has a department sustained by the greatest mathematicians in Europe and America. In this everything is found star light, but our lamented friend represented a most brilliant star, standing upon the eminent plane side by side with Woolhouse, England's acknowledged mathematical champion, and in his especial branches. Professor Seitz had no superior in the world."

In 1880 he was elected a member of the London Mathematical Society, being the fifth American so honored. He became professor of mathematics at the State Normal School of Kirksville, Missouri, and at the early age of thirty-seven, in 1883, he died, leaving an enduring monument in the work that he accomplished. He was buried at Greenville, Darke county. Ohio.

George W. Welsh

George W. Welsh, for many years the efficient superintendent of the Lancaster public schools, was first appointed in February, 1869. Mr. Welsh had been a popular and successful teacher in the grammar school for the preceding two years. His high moral character, liis kindness and unobtrusive manner, and his ambition to excel in his chosen field of labor, strongly recommended him to the board of education as a suitable person for superintendent of the schools. He was therefore elected to that position by a unanimous vote of the board. His successful management of the schools and the advancement and proficiency of teachers and pupils indicate the wisdom of the board in his election. Impressed with a sense of the responsibility of his charge, he exerted to the utmost all his energies in qualifying himself for the duties imposed upon him. Possessing an ardent love of literary and scientific pursuits, he, by assiduous study, attained an eminence as an educator, alike honorable to himself and the schools under his charge.

Professor Welsh loved the study of science. He would risk his health to secure specimens of animal and vegetable life from marsh and rugged hillside. He loved astronomy and was a constant student of the glorious heavens. Lender his administration the schools steadily advanced.

Mr. Welsh resigned in 1879 to accept a position with the publishing house of Harper Brothers of New York. He remained with this firm one year and then resigned and was elected superintendent of the schools of Xenia, Ohio. After two years of successful work in the Xenia schools, he resigned to accept again the superintendency of the Lancaster schools, succeeding Mr. Knabenshue, who had efficiently filled the place since February, 1879. After one year's service, Mr. Welsh's health having failed, he was succeeded by Mr. J. J. Burns, former state commissioner of the common schools. In 1884 Mr. Burns resigned to accept the superintendency of the schools of Dayton, Ohio. Superintendent J. J. Burns was one of Ohio's most gifted school men. He died at his home in Defiance in the autumn of 191 1. Mr. Welsh was appointed as his successor and remained in charge of the schools for eight years. In 1892 he was succeeded by Mr. Elijah Burgess, who held the position until 1898. For one year following the principal of the high school, Mr. F. C. Coates, was acting superintendent. In 1899 Mr. Welsh was again chosen to take charge of the schools.

Mr. Welsh was born at Royalton, August 19, 1832, and was reared in Fairfield county. He was married in 1852 to Miss Sarah A. Clemens of Pickaway county. At the beginning of the Civil war he was teaching in Royalton, the place of his birth. In July, 1862, on the recommendation of the military committee of this county, he received a lieutenant's commission from Governor David Tod and with Alvah Perry and J. M. Sutphen recruited a company for the Nineteenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His regiment was sent to Kentucky in August, 1862, and was attached to the Army of the Cumberland, with which it marched and fought until the close of the war. Mr. Welsh was severely wounded at the battle of Stone

Mr. Welsh served on the board of county examiners for a number of years, and his kindly helps and encouraging smile will not soon be forgotten. No one in Lancaster had more friends and no one deserved them more than he did.

Professor Welsh and wife reared an interesting family, consisting of Dr. Millard Welsh, a successful physician of Columbus, C. E. Welsh, Misses Clara, Maggie (who is Mrs. Dan Danehy of New York city), Flora and Maude.

The writer of this sketch in his boyhood was honored by the friendship of Professor Welsh, and all through the years he has not forgotten his kindly interest. Professor Welsh died in Lancaster, May 2, 1904.

Mr. W. C. Brashares, the principal of the Lancaster high school, was born in 1876 in the little town of Gibonsville, Hocking county. His father was a minister, and lived in Rushville, Fairfield county, from 1886 to 1888. Mr. Brashares attended Otterbein University for several years, then taught for two years at King's Creek, Champaign county. Following this, he attended the Ohio Wesleyan University at Delaware, Ohio, and received the B. A. degree from that institution in 1901. After graduation he served one year as superintendent of Salem township, Champaign county, one year in the high school at Miamisburg, three years as teacher in the high school at Lancaster and six years as principal. He married Miss Mayme Ambrose and they have two children. (See article on Lancaster schools in this chapter.)

that famous old Literary Society of Lancaster - almost as famous as "The Literary Club" of Dr. Johnson, Garrick, Goldsmith, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Boswell.

But we are unable to find the roster of that distinguished group of people before whom, in 1844, General George Sanderson delivered his famous address - the basis for so much of Fairfield's early history. General Sanderson wore a wig, with hair in long cue, full dress, high collar and stock - was tall, stately and of military bearing - he must have been an interesting and imposing sight as he appeared before that literary body. It is reasonable to suppose that the society was composed of the leading men of Lancaster and of the county - such names as Hocking H. Hunter, John T. Brasee, Newton Schleigh, John M. Connel, P. Van Trump, Thomas Ewing, Henry Stanberry, Thomas Ewing, Jr., and the two Shermans - John and William T. - and a long list of other distinguished members, and guests of the evening.

On one occasion, it is related, the society devoted the entire evening to the discussion of the question "What is the most beautiful single sentence in the English language?" As the members had made ample preparation, the discussion was animated, earnest' and eloquent. Each member argued for the merits of some sentence that had enlisted his interest and charmed his fancy. The final decision was in favor of Dr. Samuel Johnson's "Rassclas." For those who may not be able to refer conveniently to the book, w'e give the sentence which reads as follows : "Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope; who expect that age will perform the promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow ; attend to the history of Rasselas, prince of Abyssinia."

The author of this volume would be ungrateful indeed, were he not to acknowledge his indebtedness to those who have written the history of the years long gone by. All honor to those men who rescued from oblivion the names, the deeds and the very lives of those noble pioneers who felled the forest and bridged the stream, and who made mountain plain and valley bring forth the fruits of the earth.

These early writers worked under very great disadvantages. They had no turnpikes, railroads, telegraphs or telephones ; neither libraries nor books of reference, yet their achievements have placed all succeeding generations under obligations to them. In this connection, especially helpful to the writer have been the Historical Notes of Gen. George Sanderson, who was himself a part of all he describes, and

Henry Howe

The pioneer of historians of Ohio was the well known and well beloved Henry Howe. His histories were most remarkable in that the first was written in 1847 in the vigor of his young manhood after having spent more than a year travelling over the eighty-eight counties of Ohio in company with John W. Barber who assisted in this early history. The second was written forty years later when Mr. Howe was seventy years old. He travelled over the same ground, made sketches of the same scenes, and what a contrast there was in everything in forty years ! This second edition was published in 1889 and is so valuable to Ohio, that the plates were purchased by the state, and each legislature has the right to print as large an edition (usually ten thousand) as they see fit. These books are distributed over the entire state through the senators and representatives, an effort being made to reach every school district in the state, thus fulfilling the dream of the author that a copy of his history should be available to every child in Ohio.