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GENEALOGY  COLLECTION 


\ 


"Not  to  know  what  happened  before  we  were  born  is  to  remain 

always  a  child.     For  what  were  the  life  of  man  did  we  not  combine 

present  events  with  the  recollection  of  past  ages?" 

— Cicero. 


HISTORY 

OF 


DARKE  COUNTY 

OHIO 


From  Its  Earliest  Settlement  to  the 
Present  Time 


IN  TWO  VOLUMES 


VOLUME  I 


BY  FRAZER  E.  WILSON 


Also  Biographical  Sketches  of  Alany  Representative 
Citizens  of  the  County. 


ILLUSTRATED. 


milford,  ohio. 

The  Hobart  Publishing  Company 

1914. 


Copyright 

by 

HOBAKT  PUBLISHING  CO. 

1914 


1462269 


FOREWORD 


A  comprehensive  count}-  history  must,  of  necessity,  be  a 
compilation  of  materials  gleaned  from  various  sources  and 
assembled  in  the  form  of  a  literary  mosaic,  the  design  of  which 
is  S3mmetrical — but  not  always  apparent. 

The  first  and  only  exhaustive  history  of  the  county  hereto- 
fore «vritten  was  published  by  ^^^  H.  Beers  &  Co.,  in  1880, 
from  material  compiled  and  arranged  largely  by  Judge  John 
Wharry  of  Greenville  and  by  one  Prof.  W.  H.  Mcintosh.  This 
volume  contained  about  250  octavo  pages  of  closely  printed 
matter  relating  to  the  history  of  the  county,  besides  about 
200  pages  of  general  introductory  material  and  about  300 
pages  of  biographical  sketches.  On  account  of  its  priority  and 
the  mass  of  historical  data  which  it  contains,  this  book  must 
form  the  basis  of  any  authentic  history  hereafter  written.  Per- 
haps the  most  apparent  fault  in  this  excellent  first  history  is 
the  lack  of  an  adequate  index  and  the  irregular  arrangement 
of  topics — a  condition  which  the  writer  has  endeavored  to 
overcome  in  a  measure  in  this  work. 

A  second  work  entitled  "A  Pictorial  Outline  History  of 
Darke  County,"  was  published  by  Geo.  W.  Wolfe  in  1890. 
This  work  was  largely  biographical  but  contained  some  excel- 
lent introductory  matter  and  a  few  good  topical  sketches. 

An  excellent  Biographical  History  was  published  in  1900 
by  the  Lewis  Publishing  Company  of  Chicago,  which  con- 
tained many  well-written  biographical  sketches,  but  not  much 
purely  historical  data.  To  all  of  these  works  the  compiler  of 
the  present  volume  freely  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  for 
original  material,  realizing  that  without  them  the  task  of  writ- 
ing an  authentic  pioneer  history  would  be  practically  impos- 
sible. 

Further  acknowledgment  is  made  to  x-\ttorney  Geo.  A. 
Katzenberger,  who  compiled  and  wrote  the  excellent  chapters 
on  "Miltia  Organizations."  and  "Bench  and  Bar;"  and  to  Geo. 


FOREWORD 

W.  Calderwood.  the  "Darke  County  Boy,"  whose  writings 
made  possible  the  chapter  entitled   "Random   Sketches." 

Others  who  have  assisted  materially  in  making  this  work 
possible  are  mentioned  in  the  body  of  this  book. 

The  military  campaigns  of  .St.  Clair  and  Wayne  are  treated 
somewhat  exhaustively  inasmuch  as  they  led  up  to  the  great 
treaty  of  Greene  Ville,  which  is  one  of  the  landmarks  of  state 
and  national  history. 

Aluch  space  has  also  been  devoted  to  the  interesting  geo- 
logical and  archeological  features  of  the  county,  which  have 
been  given  scant  treatment  in  former  works. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  to  give  a  brief  history  of  every 
religious  denomination  having  a  fair  constituency  in  the 
county  and  thereby  preserve  a  permanent  record  of  the  found- 
ing of  each  for  convenient  reference. 

The  writing  of  a  county  history  covering  the  numerous 
phases  of  political,  social,  religious  and  material  progress  is  a 
large  but  interesting  task,  and  it  is  the  hope  of  the  author  of 
this  work  that  the  careful  perusal  of  its  pages  will  stimulate 
greater  interest  in  local  history  than  has  been  manifested 
heretofore  and  be  a  source  of  delight  to  many. 

Probably  the  greatest  difficulty  encountered  in  the  present 
work  has  been  the  matter  of  the  arrangement  of  the  vast 
amount  of  miscellaneous  material  collected.  This  has  been 
overcome,  in  a  measure,  by  considering  the  relation  of  each 
subject  to  the  history  of  the  county  as  a  whole  rather  than  to 
a  restricted  locality. 

An  entire  chapter  is  given  to  "Xotable  Events"  as  it  is 
deemed  desirable  to  portray  these  significant  historical  hap- 
penings for  the  instruction  and  entertainment  of  future  gen- 
erations. 

The  recent  introduction  of  the  study  of  local  history  in  our 
public  schools  is  a  commendable  step  and  will,  no  doubt,  re- 
sult in  a  widespread  interest  in  and  enthusiasm  for  pioneer 
lore,  so  that  the  records  of  the  past  will  be  more  eagerly  per- 
used and  the  memory  of  early  events  more  sacredly  cherished 
b}'  coming  generations.  Instead  of  contempt  for  the  past  we 
may  expect  appreciation,  and  look  for  a  more  vivid  realization 
of  the  fact  that  the  things  of  the  past  play  an  important  part 
in  the  life  of  the  present. 

Some  one  has  aptly  said :  "The  average  American  is  con- 
tent to  let  history  begin  with  himself,"  exhibiting  thereby  an 
ignorance  and  indifference  unworthy  of  citizenship  in  a  repub- 


FOREWORD 


lie  bought  with  blood  and  sacrifice.     Such  persons  should  read 
and  ponder  on  these  beautiful  lines  by  Cora  Greenleaf : 


There  is  No   Past. 

'"They  are  not  dead,  those  happy  days  gone  by, 
They  brought  that  much  of  life  to  us.    And  I 
Know  no  part  of  our  life  can  ever  die. 

We  lived  them,  so  each  joy  or  grief  fraught  day 
Is  curs,  henceforth,  forever  and  for  aye, 
There  is  no  dead,  unknowing  yesterday. 

Our  memory  the  casket  that  shall  hold 
Experiences  worth  far  more  than  gold 
And  jewels  to  the  longing  soul  they  mold. 

I  like  to  drift  and  dream  of  times  called  past, 

Past  days  are  present  long  as  memories  last, 

Within  the  brain's  firm  mold  they're  poured  and  cast — 

Shaped  in  an  instant  by  our  heedless  will. 

To  last  forevermore,  for  good  or  ill. 

Until  this  very  universe  grows  chill." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  work  appears  in  two  volumes, 
the  first  of  which  is  historical  and  is  compiled  by  the  author, 
while  the  second  is  biographical  and  is  the  work  of  the  pub- 
lishers to  whom  credit  is  due  for  its  excellent  and  comprehen- 
sive character. 

FRAZER  E.  WILSON. 

Greenville,  Ohio,  Alay  20,  1914. 


CONTENTS 

FOREWORD. 

Page 
CHAPTER  I— PRIMEVAL  DARKE  COUNTY 17 

Early  Records — Niagara  Limestone — Later  Formations — Glacial 
Invasion — The  Laurentide  Glacier — Terminal  Moraine— Local 
Glacial  Phenomena:  (1)  Surface  Boulders.  (2)  Glacial  Till, 
(3)  Kames— Local  Moraines:  (1)  Miami  Moraine,  (2)  Union 
Moraine,  (3)  Mississinawa  Moraine — Extinct  Animals— Peat 
Bogs. 

CHAPTER  II— ACHEOLOGY  AND  TOPOGRAPHY 33 

The  Mound  Builders — Local  Phenomena — Indian  Camp  Sites  and 
Vilages — Flint  Caches — Work  Shops — Stone  Pipes  and  Imple- 
ments.    Topography:     Forests — Game. 

CHAPTER    III— THE    OHIO    COUNTRY 49 

Early  Indian  Tribes — Early  French  Explorations — Colonial  Ex- 
pansion— French  and  Indian  War — Anglo-Saxon  Ascendency — 
Clark's  Expedition — Retreat  of  the  Tribes — Raids  and  Retalia- 
tions— Ordinance  of  1787 — Settlements  North  of  the  Ohio. 

CHAPTER  IV— HARMAR  AND   ST.   CLAIR 73 

St.  Clair  Appointed  Governor — Government  Instituted — Har- 
mar's,  Scott's  and  Wilkinson's  Expeditions — Confederation  of  the 
Tribes — St.   Clair's   Expedition  and   Defeat. 

CHAPTER  V— MAD  ANTHONY   WAYNE 93 

Overtures  of  Peace — Council  of  the  Tribes — Wayne  Succeeds  St. 
Clair — Army  Reorganized — Wayne  Advances  and  Builds  Fort 
Greenville — Fort  Recovery  Attacked — Army  Advances  to  the 
Maumee — Battle  of  "Fallen  Timbers." 

CHAPTER  VI— THE  GREAT  PEACE 107 

British  Encourage  Indians — Peace  Overtures — Tribes  Assemble 
at  Greenville — Preliminary  Negotiations — Smoking  the  Pipe  of 
Peace — The  treaty  of  Greene  Ville. 

CHAPTER   VII— TECUMSEH   AND   THE   "PROPHET" 121 

Settlement  at  Prophetstown — Teaching  and  Conniving — Visit  of 
the  Shakers — Hanging  of  Blue  Jacket — Departure  for  Tippecanoe. 

CHAPTER     VIII— PIONEERS     AND     PIONEER     SETTLE- 
MENTS      139 

The  Herdman  Family — The  French  Trader — Azor  Scribner — 
Samuel  C.  Boyd — Abraham  Studabaker — John  Devor  and  Others 
—War  of  1812— Murder  of  Andrew  Rush,  The  Wilson  Children, 
Elliott  and  Stoner — Harrison's  Treaty — Early  Land  Purchases — 
Renewal  of  Emigration — Local   Settlements. 

CHAPTER  IX— CREATION  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
COUNTY    165 

Early  Trails  and  Roads — Early  Neighborhood  Settlements — 
Early  Business  Enterprises — Early  Taverns — Early  Mills — Early 
Schools. 


CHAPTER   X— THE   PLANTING  OF  THE   CHURCH 197 

Tesuit  Missionaries— Army  Chaplains— Rev.  Morgan  J.  Rhys— 
The  Denominations:  Christian.  Methodist.  Presbyterian.  Epis- 
copal. Baptist.  Catholic,  United  Brethren.  Lutheran,  German 
Baptists,  Church  of  the  Brethren.  Evangelical,  Universalist,  Re- 
formed, Church  of  Christ— Other  Denominations— County  Sun- 
day School  Association. 

CHAPTER   XI— RANDOM   SKETCHES   FROM   THE 
"DARKE  COUNTY  BOY"  253 

Social  Life:  Winter  Sports.  Singing  School.  Dancing,  Circus 
Lore,  Rowdyism,  Children's  Pastimes,  Sunday  Observance, 
Games,  Drinking,  The  Old  Band,  Early  Fairs— Domestic  Life: 
Early  Mothers,  Clothing  and  Fashions,  Household  Equiptnents, 
Early  Notables,  Early  Superstitions,  Obsolete  Trades,  Etc. 
Events  of  1856— Ancient  Landmarks:  "Kentucky  Point,"  "Arm- 
strong's Commons,"  "Spayde's  Woods,"  "Goosepasture  and  Bun- 
ker Hill,"  "Wayne  Avenue  and  Wayne's  Treaty,"  "Old  Court 
House,"  "Indian  Trail,"  "Beech  Grove"  and  "Matchett's  Corner." 

CHAPTER   XII— DARKE    COUNTY    DURING   THE    CIVIL 
WAR    293 

Local  Patriotism — Preparation  for  the  Conflict — Early  Enlist- 
ments— Departure  for  the  Front — Ohio  Regiments  Represented: 
11th  Regiment.  34th  Regiment.  40th  Regiment,  44th  Regiment, 
8th  Ohio  Cavalry,  69th  Regiment,  94th  Regiment.  110th  Regiment, 
152d   Regiment,   187th   Regiment,  and   Others. 

CHAPTER  XIII— SOME   NOTABLE  EVENTS 303 

Harrison's  Treaty  1814 — Washington's  Centenary  Celebration, 
1832 — Departure  of  the  Tribes,  1832 — Hard  Cider  Campaign  of 
1840 — Burial  of  Patsey  and  Anna  Wilson,  1871 — Dedication  of 
Court  House.  1874 — Wayne  Treaty  Centennial.  1895 — LTnveiling 
of  the  Wayne  Treaty  Memorial.  1906 — Dedication  of  the  Fort 
Jefferson   Memorial.   1907. 

CHAPTER    XIV— SOME    NOTABLE    CITIZENS 327 

Major  George  Adams — Azor  Scribner — Abraham  Studabaker — 
Edward  B.  Taylor — Dr.  I.  N.  Gard — D.  K.  Swisher — Enoch  B. 
Seitz — Barney  Collins — "Annie  Oakley,"  and  Others. 

CHAPTER  XV— POLITICS  AND  POLITICAL  OFFICES 355 

Early  Political  Conditions — "Ante  Bellum"  Days — After  the 
War — State  Senators — Legislators — County  Officials  :  Commis- 
sioners.  Treasurer,   Recorder,   Auditor,   Surveyor. 

CHAPTER  XVI— PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS 365 

Infirmary — Children's  Home — Carnegie  Library — Public  Museum 
— Henry  St.  Clair  Memorial  Hall. 

CHAPTER   XVII— RAILW' AYS   383 

Early  Means  of  Transportation — Railways  in  Darke  County: 
The  Dayton  and  Union,  The  Pennsylvania,  The  C,  C,  C.  &  St.  L.. 
The  Peoria  and  Eastern,  The  Cincinnati  Northern,  The  C.  H. 
&  D..  The  Ohio  Electric. 

CHAPTER  XVIII— THE  PRESS  395 

Influence  of  the  Press — Early  Illiteracy — First  Newspapers— 
The  Journal — The  Democrat — The  Courier — The  Tribune;  Daily, 
V/eekly — The  Advocate;  Daily,  Weekly  —  German  Newspaper  — 
Temperance  I'apers— The  Versailles  Policy— The  Versailles 
Leader — The  Arcanum  Enterprise — The  Arcanum  Times — The 
Ansonia  Herald— The  Bradford  Sentinel — The  New  Madison 
Herald — The  Hollansburg  News — Others. 


CHAPTER  XIX— FIXAX'CIAL   IXSTITUTIOXS   405 

Banks — Development  of  the  Banking  System — Early  Scarcity  of 
Money — Early  Money  Lenders — The  Farmer's  National  Bank — 
The  Greenville  National  Bank — The  Second  National  Bank — The 
Citizens  Bank — Banks  at  \'ersailles.  New  Madison,  Ansonia. 
Arcanum,  Gettysburg,  Pittsburg  and  Rossburg — Building  and 
Loan  Associations:  Greenville  Building  Company.  Citizen's 
Loan  and  Saving  Association,  Arcanum,  Versailles  and  New 
Madison  Loan  Associations. 

CHAPTER    XX— DARKE    COUNTY    AGRICULTURAL    SO- 
CIETY     415 

Agricultural  Prominence  of  Darke  County — Demand  for  a  Fair — 
The  First  Fair,  1853— Growth  of  the  Fair— Notable  Fairs— Pur- 
chase and  Englargement  of  Grounds — Present  Equipment — Com- 
prehensive  Policy — Present   Tendencies — Present   Board. 

CHAPTER        XXI— PATRIOTIC,        TEMPERANCE        AND 
OTHER  SOCIETIES  425 

Jobes  Post,  G.  A.  R.— Complete  Roster  of  Jobes  Post— W  .R.  C. 
— S.  of  V. — W.  C.  T.  U. — Pioneer  Association  —  Historical  So- 
ciety— Medical  Association. 

CHAPTER  XXII— BENCH  AND   BAR.  by  George  A.   Katzenber- 

ger,   Attornej'-at-Law   449 

First  Courts — Place  and  Manner  of  Convening — Early  Jurispru- 
dence— First  Recorded  Trial — First  Justices  of  the  Peace — First 
Jails  and  Court  Houses — First  Associate  Judges — Constitution 
of  1851 — Development  of  the  Circuit,  Common  Pleas  and  Pro- 
bate Court  System — Biographical  Sketches  of  Common  Pleas 
Judges,  Probate  Judges  and  Prosecuting  Attorneys — List  of 
Sheriffs  and  Clerks  of  the  Court  from  the  Organization  of  the 
County — Biographical  Sketches  of  Early  Attorneys — The  Pres- 
ent  Bar. 

CHAPTER    XXIII— LOCAL    MILITIA    ORGANIZATIONS,    by 

Lieutenant   George  A.   Katzenberger  ^ 503 

General  Remarks — Military  System  of  Ohio — Early  Military 
Officers  and  Organizations — Maj.  George  Adams — Brig.-Gen. 
William  Emerson — Maj. -Gen.  Hiram  Bell — Gen.  J.  H.  Hostetter 
— Capt.  Jonathan  Crainor — The  Greenville  Guards — The  Green- 
ville Jaegers — Captain  Beers — Company  C,  3d  Regiment — De- 
tailed History  of  Company  M,  3d  Regiment. 
of  Military  System. 

CHAPTER   XXIV— THE    COUNTY   SEAT 513 

Advantageous  Location — Directory  of  1857 — Development  of  the 
Town  in  1857 — Development  by  Decades — Notable  Buildings — 
Public  Utilities :  Water  Works.  Electric  Light,  Home  Tele- 
phone, Fire  Department,  Post  Office,  Cemetery.  Public  Schools, 
Lodges,  Societies  and  Clubs — City  Officials. 

BRIEF   TOWNSHIP    SKETCHES    546 

Arrangement  of  the  Townships — Treatment  by  Tiers  in  the 
Following  Order:  Mississinawa.  Jackson,  Washington,  German. 
Harrison.  Allen,  Brown,  Greenville,  Neave,  Butler.  Wabash, 
York,  Richland,  VanBuren,  Twin.  Patterson,  Wayne,  Adams, 
Franklin,  Monroe, 


LIEUT.  COL.  WILLL\M  DARKE. 


Darke  county  owes  its  name  to  Lieut.  Col.  William  Darke,  who  was 
born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1736.  At  the  age  of  five  years  he  removed 
to  the  neighborhood  of  Shepherdstown,  Virginia.  He  served  with 
the  Virginia  provincial  troops  at  Braddock's  defeat.  During  the 
Revolution  he  served  with  distinction,  being  taken  prisoner  at  Ger- 
mantown  and  commanding  as  colonel  two  Virginia  regiments  at  the 
siege  of  York,  He  was  a  member  of  the  Virginia  legislature  for 
several  successive  terms.  At  St.  Clair's  defeat  in  1791,  he  led  the 
final  charge  that  cleared  the  way  for  a  successful  retreat  of  the 
remnant  of  the  army.  He  died  November  20,  1801,  and  his  remains 
are  buried  in  the  old  Presbyterian  burying  ground  near  Shenandoah 
Junction,  Berkeley  county.  West  Virginia.  The  remains  of  his  only 
son.  Captain  Joseph  Darke,  who  died  from  wounds  received  at  St. 
Clair's  defeat,  lie  buried  near  by.  Colonel  Darke  was  a  farmer  by 
occupation,  and  is  described  as  having  a  large,  strong,  well-knit 
frame,   rough  manners,  and  being   frank  and   fearless   in   disposition. 


HISTORY  OF 

DARKE  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  I. 
PRIMEVAL  DARKE  COUNTY. 

Early  Records. 

The  earliest  records  of  Darke  county,  Ohio,  are  not  writ- 
ten upon  parchment  or  perishable  writing  material,  but  in  the 
face  of  the  underlying  Niagara  limestone.  The  encased  fossil 
crinoids  and  the  sedimentary  character  of  this  rock  plainly 
indicate  that  it  once  formed  the  bed  of  an  ancient  ocean.  The 
extent  of  this  formation  and  the  slight  westerly  inclination  of 
the  rock  toward  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi  river  suggest  that 
this  ocean  was  an  extension  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  spreading 
from  the  Appalachian  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  the 
gulf  to  the  rocky  heights  of  Canada.  This  is  the  verdict  of 
scientists,  who  have  made  careful  and  exhaustive  researches 
in  this  field,  and  we  humbly  accept  their  verdict.  It  is  useless 
to  speculate  on  the  eons  of  time  that  have  elapsed  since  this 
rock  finally  emerged  from  tiie  ancient  sea  to  form  the  landed 
area  of  the  Ohio  valley,  and  we  can  do  no  better  than  to  ac- 
cept the  simple  but  pregnant  statement  of  the  inspired  writer 
— "In  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth." 

Niagara  Limestone. 

The  rock  strata  which  generally  appear  nearest  the  surface 
here,  as  well  as  in  northern  and  western  Ohio,  and  the  states 
immediately  adjoining  on  the  north  and  west,  are  a  part  of 
one  of  the  great  limestone  formations  of  our  continent.  This 
rock  underlies  most  of  the  upper  Mississippi  valley — the  most 
fertile  continuous  section  of  the  United  States.  In  this  lo- 
cality the  rock  is  covered  with  glacial  till,  debris  and  loam  to 
(2) 


18  DARKE   COUNTY 

an  average  depth  of  probably  one  hundred  feet.  Although 
hing  for  the  most  part  in  an  approximately  horizontal  posi- 
tion some  faults  have  been  discovered  where  the  rock  appears 
to  be  entirely  missing.  Such  faults  have  been  detected  south- 
east of  the  intersection  of  the  Pennsylvania  and  Dayton  and 
Union  railways  within  the  corporate  limits  of  Greenville,  at 
the  county  infirmary  and  at  the  Pennsylvania  water  tank  some 
two  miles  south  of  Greenville  in  the  Mud  Creek  valley.  They 
may  be  simply  pre-glacial  gorges. 

Local   Exposures. 

Limestone  exposures  occur  to  a  limited  extent  in  at  least 
five  places  within  the  county,  as  follows :  On  the  Stillwater  at 
Webster,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  thirty-two  (32), 
Wayne  township,  where  the  rock  is  hard  but  unfit  for  quarry- 
ing on  account  of  its  irregular  and  massive  condition ;  near 
Baer's  (Cromer's)  mill  on  Greenville  creek,  about  four  and 
one-half  miles  east  of  Greenville,  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  twenty-seven  (27),  Adams  township,  where  the  rock 
forms  the  bed  of  the  creek  for  some  distance.  Quarries  were 
once  operated  by  Bierley,  Rosser  and  Hershey  in  the  bottom 
of  the  valley  where  the  rocks  are  covered  with  about  two  feet 
of  red  clay  or  loam,  intermingled  with  decomposed  lime  rock, 
and  strewn  with  heaps  of  granite  drift  boulders.  The  upper 
section  is  of  a  buff  color  and  is  soft  and  fragile,  while  below 
many  fossil  crinoids  appear  and  the  rock  is  darker  and  harder. 

Two  exposures  of  rock  occur  in  the  Mud  creek  valley:  one 
on  the  southwest  side  of  the  prairie,  about  a  mile  from  Green- 
ville, in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  thirty-three  (33), 
Greenville  township ;  the  other  near  Weaver's  Station  in  the 
southeast  quarter  of  section  twenty-nine  (29),  Neave  town- 
ship. At  the  former  place,  known  as  Card's  quarries,  the 
rocks  are  found  folded  with  an  inclination  to  the  south  and 
east.  Here  the  rocks  are  similar  to  those  at  Baer's  mill  and 
contain  many  fossils.  Near  Weaver's  Station  the  creek  f^ows 
over  a  horizontal  bed  of  limestone  for  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  yards.  This  stone  is  not  hard  enough  for  building  pur- 
poses and  seems  to  contain  no  fossils.  A  section  of  rock  is  ex- 
posed in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  twenty-four  (24), 
Harrison  township,  about  a  mile  south  of  New  Madison,  near 
the  headwaters  of  the  east  fork  of  the  Whitewater  river, 
where  a  limekiln  was  formerly  operated  by  one  C.  B.  North- 


DARKE   COUNTY  19 

rup.  Careful  calculations  indicate  that  the  rocks  at  Card's 
kiln  and  near  Baer's  mill  have  an  elevation  from  se\enty-five 
to  ninety  feet  abo\'e  the  corresponding  strata  underlying  the 
city  of  Greenville,  which  appears  to  be  built  on  an  immense 
glacial  drift,  deposited  in  a  preglacial  valley.  In  the  pioneer 
days,  limerock  was  quarried  at  Baer's,  Card's  and  Weaver's 
Station,  burned  in  kilns  and  used  extensively  for  plastering, 
bricklaying,  whitewashing,  etc.  The  quality  of  lime  produced 
was  of  a  very  high  grade,  but  on  account  of  the  limited  areas 
of  outcrop  and  the  obstacles  encountered  in  getting  the  rock 
out,  these  quarries  have  been  abandoned  for  several  years. 
Building  rock  is  now  secured  at  the  more  extensive  and  easily 
quarried  outcrops  in  Miami,  Montgomery  and  Preble 
counties. 

The  geological  formation  of  this  section  was  -well  shown 
while  prospecting  for  natural  gas  in  this  vicinity  in  1886-1887. 
The  first  well  bored  on  the  site  of  the  old  fair-ground  (Oak- 
view)  made  the  following  exhibit : 

"Rock  was  reached  at  a  depth  of  89  feet,  thus  showing  the 
thickness  of  the  drift  formation.  The  Niagara  limestone  ex- 
tended from  this  point  to  a  depth  of  260  feet  when  the  Niagara 
shale  was  reached.  At  a  depth  of  140  feet  this  limestone  was 
mixed  with  flint,  and  at  a  depth  of  153  feet,  dark  shale,  or 
drab  limestone,  predominated;  but  at  a  depth  of  175  feet  this 
limestone  was  quite  white  and  pure  and  much  resembled 
marble.  The  Niagara  shale  is  of  light  gray  color  and  might 
be  mistaken  for  the  Niagara  clay,  and  as  it  came  from  the  well 
was  quite  pliable,  being  easily  made  into  balls,  the  material 
becoming  hard  when  dry  and  containing  a  great  deal  of  grit. 

"From  this  point  to  1134  feet,  the  drill  passed  through  con- 
tinuous shale  of  the  Huron  formation,  but  sometimes  so  dark 
that  it  might  be  classified  with  the  Utica  shale.  This  forma- 
tion was  not  uniform  in  texture,  but  sometimes  was  quite 
compact  and  hard;  at  other  times  .soft  and  porous,  enabling 
the  drill  to  make  rapid  progress. 

"At  1134  feet  the  formation  changed  to  a  lighter  color, 
more  compact,  and  contained  much  limestone.  The  first 
Trenton  rock  was  reached  at  a  depth  of  1136  feet.  The  rock 
was  darker  than  ordinary,  quite  compact,  and  with  no  flow 
of  gas,  though  a  little  was  found  while  passing  through  the 
shale.  At  1148  feet  the  hardness  seemed  to  increase,  and  at 
1195  feet  the  limestone  became  whiter,  but  as  hard  and  com- 
pact as  before.    At  1210  feet  it  much  resembled  in  appearance 


20  DARKE   COl'NTY 

the  formation  at  140  feet,  though  finer  in  texture  and  entirely 
destitute  of  the  flinty  formation.  At  1570  feet  it  seemed,  if 
possible,  to  be  harder  than  before,  with  a  bluish  cast  of  color; 
while  at  a  depth  of  1610  feet  coarse,  dark  shale  in  loose  layers 
again  prevailed,  accompanied  by  a  very  small  portion  of  the 
limestone.  At  1700  feet  the  limestone  changed  to  its  original 
white  color  and  compact  form,  accompanied  with  sulphur ; 
and  at  a  depth  of  1737  feet  bitter  water  and  brine  were  found, 
the  water  being  blue  in  color  and  unpleasant  in  taste  and  odor ; 
but  after  being  exposed  to  the  air  for  some  time  it  became 
clear,  the  unpleasant  smell  disappeared  and  the  saline  or  salty- 
taste  alone  remained. 

"We  notice  that  the  Trenton  was  reached  at  1136  feet. 
The  surface  at  this  point  is  about  1055  feet  above  sea  level,  so 
that  the  Trenton  rock  was  here  reached  at  a  depth  of  81  feet 
below  salt  water.  This  places  it  much  higher  than  at  other 
points  in  this  part  of  the  state  where  wells  have  been  sunk 
and  gas  obtained  ;  and  this  fact,  with  the  compactness  of  the 
rock,  will  show  that  gas  can  not  be  obtained  here.  We  know 
of  no  other  point  outside  the  county  where  wells  have  been 
sunk  that  the  formations  are  the  same  as  here." 

Later  Formations. 

After  the  formation  of  the  Xiagara  limestone,  for  some 
reason,  probably  the  cooling  and  contracting  of  the  earth's 
crust,  the  bed  of  the  ocean  in  which  it  had  been  deposited  was 
partially  elevated  and  added  to  the  continental  area.  This 
occurred  in  the  upper  Mississippi  valley  and  the  region  of 
northern  and  western  Ohio  as  above  noted.  In  the  fluctuat- 
ing shallows  of  the  sedgy  sargasso  sea,  which  fringed  this 
newly  elevated  limestone  plateau  on  the  east  and  south,  a 
rank  vegetation  flourished  on  the  carbon  freighted  vapors  of 
the  succeeding  era.  During  uncounted  millenniums  forest  suc- 
ceeded forest,  adding  its  rich  deposit  of  carboniferous  ma- 
terial to  be  covered  and  compacted  by  the  waters  and  sedi- 
mentary deposits  of  many  recurring  oceans  into  the  strata  of 
coal  now  found  in  southeastern  Ohio  and  vicinity.  Finally 
the  moist  air  was  purged  of  its  superabundant  carbon  dioxide 
and  mephitic  vapors  and  a  new  age  dawned,  during  which 
bulky  and  teeming  monsters  lunged  through  theluxuriant 
brakes  and  teeming  jungles  of  a  constantly  enlarging  land. 
The  vast  ocean  gradually  retreated,  foothills  were  added  to 


UARKE   COUNTY  21 

the  primeval  mountain  ranges,  plateaus  swelled  into  shape 
and  a  new  continent  was  formed.  Thus  is  explained  the  pres- 
ence of  the  beds  of  coal  and  the  immense  stratified  deposits  of 
sandstone,  limestone,  slate  and  shale  overlying  the  Niagara 
limestone  in  eastern  Ohio,  and  thus  geologists  arrive  at  the 
conclusion  that  a  period  estimated  at  hundreds  of  centuries 
intervened  between  the  appearance  of  "dry  land"  in  western 
Ohio  and  eastern  Ohio. 

Glacial  Invasion. 

While  eastern  Ohio  was  in  process  of  formation  the  vast 
Niagara  limestone  plateau  to  the  west  was  being  deeply 
eroded  by  the  active  chemical  agents  and  the  frequent  terri- 
fic storms  of  that  far-oft",  changing  age.  The  smoothing  touch 
of  a  might}'  force  was  needed  to  fill  the  yawning  chasms  and 
deep  ravines  and  prepare  the  surface  of  this  ancient  continent 
to  be  the  fit  abode  of  imperial  man  and  his  subject  creatures. 
Such  a  force  was  soon  to  become  operative.  Evidence  has 
been  adduced  by  prominent  geologists  and  special  students 
of  glacial  action  to  show  that  part  of  the  deep  soil  of  north- 
ern and  western  Ohio  and  the  contiguous  territory  has  actu- 
ally been  transported  from  the  region  north  of  the  Great 
Lakes  by  the  action  of  glacial  ice,  and  deposited  in  its  present 
location  upon  the  melting  and  retreat  of  the  immense  frozen 
mass.  Ice,  snow  and  glacial  debris  probabl}-  covered  this 
part  of  Ohio  to  a  depth  of  several  hundred  feet  during  this 
frigid  era.  Startling  as  this  statement  may  at  first  seem  it 
has  been  arrived  at  after  a  careful  scientific  observation  and 
study  of  the  active  glaciers  of  Greenland,  Alaska,  Norway  and 
Switzerland. 

The  Laurentide   Glacier. 

The  center  of  accumulation  and  dispersion  of  this  glacial 
ice  was  probably  the  Laurentian  plateau  or  ledge  of  primi- 
tive igneous  and  granitic  rock  lying  north  of  the  Great  Lake- 
and  St.  Lawrence  river.  During  the  Tertiar}'  period,  just 
preceding  the  formation  of  this  great  glacier,  a  temperature 
similar  to  that  of  southern  Virginia  prevailed  in  the  polar 
regions.  In  course  of  time  the  northern  part  of  the  North 
American  Continent  probably  became  somewhat  elevated 
while  the  central  part  became  correspondingly  depressed. 
The  snows  of  years  and  centuries  accumulated  on  this  ele- 
vated   region,    consolidated    into    glacial    ice,    pushed    slowh- 


22  DARKE   COUNTY 

southward  along  the  lin^of  least  resistance,  filled  up  the  de- 
pressions occupied  by  the  Great  Lakes,  and  then  moved  on 
over  the  divide  until  arrested  and  counteracted  by  the  in- 
creasing heat  of  lower  latitudes.  As  in  the  case  of  modern 
glaciers,  this  vast  sheet  advanced  and  retreated  in  obedience 
to  meterologic  agencies,  carrying  on  its  surface  or  within  its 
mass  broken  fragments  and  debris  from  its  native  granite 
ledges,  scraping  and  pushing  forward  immense  quantities  of 
the  eroded  surface  of  the  limestone  rock  over  which  it  moved, 
grinding,  mixing,  kneading,  rubbing,  polishing,  sorting  and 
finally   depositing  this   material  where   it   is   now   found. 

Terminal  Moraine. 

The  southern  boundary  of  this  great  ice  sheet  has  been 
carefully  traced  from  the  New  England  states,  across  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  the  northern  Ohio  Valley  states,  and 
the  states  north  of  the  Missouri  river.  Roughly  speaking, 
this  glacial  boundary  line,  in  its  central  and  western  por- 
tion, parallels  the  Ohio  and  ■Missouri  ribers.  It  enters  east- 
ern Ohio  in  Columbia  county,  continues  in  a  westerly 
direction  to  Canton  in  Stark  county,  and  thence  a  few 
miles  beyond  Millersburg  in  Holmes  county ;  here  it 
turns  abruptly  southward  through  Knox,  Licking  and  Fair- 
field counties  and  into  Ross  county ;  thence  it  bears  south- 
westward  through  Chillicothe  to  southeastern  Highland 
county  and  northwestern  Adams  county,  reaching  the  Ohio 
river  near  Ripley  in  Clermont  county.  Following  the  north 
bank  of  the  river  to  Cincinnati,  it  here  crosses  over  into 
Boone  county,  Kentucky,  makes  a  short  circular  loop  and  re- 
crosses  the  Ohio  river  into  southeastern  Indiana,  near  Ris- 
ing Sun.  It  now  follows  approximately  the  north  bank  of 
the  Ohio  to  the  neighborhood  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  where  it 
turns  northward  to  Martinsville,  in  Morgan  county,  in  the 
south-central  part  of  the  state.  Here  it  turns  west  and  south 
and  crosses  the  Wabash  river  near  New  Harmony.  It  con- 
tinues this  course  to  near  the  center  of  the  extreme  southern 
part  of  Illinois,  then  bends  in  a  northwesterly  direction  and 
crosses  the  iMississippi  just  south  of  St.  Louis,  JMo.  The 
most  productive  soil  lies  north  of  this  line  and  within  the  gla- 
ciated area. 


DARKE   COUNTY  23 

Local  Glacial  Phenomena. 

(1)    Surface  Boulders. 

Striking  evidence  oi  glacial  action  is  found  in  Darke  coun- 
ty in  the  rounded  and  sub-angular  granitic  boulders  that  were 
encountered  in  large  numbers,  scattered  over  the  surface  in 
certain  well  defined  sections  of  the  county,  and  still  encoun- 
tered within  a  few  feet  of  the  surface  when  making  shallow 
excavations. 

A  very  noticeable  streak  of  these  boulders,  three  or  four 
hundred  yards  in  width,  formerly  extended  from  the  northern 
part  of  Van  Buren  township  in  a  southwesterly  direction, 
crossed  the  D.  &  U.  railway  a  few  miles  south  of  Jaysville, 
then  turned  to  the  southeast  through  Twin  township  near 
Ithaca,  and  followed  along  Millers  Fork  of  Twin  creek  into 
Preble  county  Boulders  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  in  diam- 
eter were  encountered  in  the  northern  part  of  this  ridge. 
Most  of  these  have  been  blasted  and  the  smaller  ones  picked 
up  and  used  in  constructing  foundation  walls  for  houses  and 
barns  or  to  fill  ravines  and  depressions,  so  that  only  slight 
traces  now  remain  of  this  distinct  moraine.  The  underly- 
ing tract  of  land  is  now  under  active  cultivation  and  pro- 
duces fair  crops. 

These  boulders,  as  well  as  those  found  in  other  localities, 
are  largely  colored  granites,  greenstones,  quartzites  and  con- 
glomerates, are  quite  distinct  in  color,  texture,  etc..  from  the 
Niagara  limestone  and  are  not  found  in  ledges  above  the  sur- 
face within  a  radius  of  several  hundred  miles. 

In  the  museum  of  Oberlin  College  the  writer  once  saw 
fragments  of  various  colored  rocks  from  the  ancient  Lauren- 
tian  and  Huronian  ledges,  beyond  Lake  Nipissing  and  Geor- 
gian Bay.  matched  with  corresponding  fragments  of  various 
surface  boulders  found  in  Lorain  county,  Ohio.  These  frag- 
ments consisted  of  granites,  gneisses,  metamorphic  and  trap 
rocks,  similar  to  those  found  in  Darke  county,  and  bore  in- 
disputable evidence  of  glacial  transportation. 

(2)   Glacial  Till. 

Another  source  of  striking  evidence  is  the  immense  de- 
posits of  unstratified  clay  and  sand,  intermingled  with 
scratched  stones  and  worn  rock  fragments.  In  the  days  when 
wells  were  dug  in  Greenville  careful  observations  were  made 


24  DARKE   COUNTY 

of  the  various  deposits  encountered  before  reaching  bed  rock 
and  the  following  very  interesting  table  was  prepared  to  in- 
dicate an  average  section  from  many  wells : 

Inches  to  feet 

Sod   or   loam 6  H 

Red    clay    0  4 

Yellow  clay 12  15 

Yellow  sand  or  gravel 6  20 

Blue  sand  or  gravel 8  30 

Blue  clay  with  pebbles 3  18 

Fine  compact  blue  clay 0  H 

Hard  pan   alternating  with  blue 

clay    -- 10  20 

Blue    clay    3  9 

Boulder   clay   10  20 

A  well  at  the  corner  of  Fourth  and  Broadway,  Greenville, 
O.,  passed  through  ninety-five  feet,  and  one  near  the  P.  C. 
C.  &  St.  L.  passenger  station  through  about  one  hundred 
and  thirt}'  feet  of  this  glacial  till.  Such  deposits  are  best 
accounted  for  as  the  result  of  glaciation. 

(3)    Karnes. 

Glacial  phenomena  of  a  distinct  and  unusual  character  ap- 
pear along  the  prairie  stretching  from  the  mouth  of  Mud 
Creek  at  Greenville  for  about  ten  miles  in  a  southwesterly 
direction  toward  New  Madison.  Near  Greenville  one  first 
notices  isolated  conical  knolls  containing  stratified  deposits 
of  sand  and  gravel  appearing  above  the  surface  of  the  sur- 
rounding prairie.  One  of  these,  known  as  Bunker  Hill,  for- 
merl}'  appeared  about  a  mile  southwest  of  Greenville  near 
the  tracks  of  the  C.  N.  R.  R.  It  was  once  about  forty  feet 
high  but  has  since  been  almost  entirel}'  removed.  A  section 
of  this  hill  showed  the  following  phenomena :  red  clay  three 
(3)  feet;  fine  yellow  sand,  four  (4)  feet;  unassorted  gravel, 
twenty-four  (24)  to  thirt,y  (30)  feet.  About  four  miles  fur- 
ther south  along  the  east  side  of  the  prairie,  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Jefferson,  a  series  of  elongated  knolls,  with  axes  running 
generally  northwest  and  southeast,  are  encountered.  They 
were  formerly  covered  with  a  beautiful  growth  of  large  tim- 
ber, mostly  oak,  and  were  known  as  the  Hills  of  Judea. 
Gravel  pits  were  opened  in  these  hills  about  thirty  years 
ago  by  the  C.   N.   R.   R.  and  vast  quantities  of  material  re- 


DARKE   COUNTY  25 

moved  to  ballast  the  tracks  and  improve  the  pikes  of  the 
counties  in  northwestern  Ohio.  The  Greenville  Gravel  Com- 
pany commenced  operations  here  in  1905  and  have  removed 
probably  more  than  fifty  thousand  carloads  of  sand,  gravel 
and  boulders  in  that  time.  It  is  estimated  that  some  twenty 
million  cubic  yards  of  gravel,  etc.,  are  still  available  from 
these  hills.  An  analysis  of  some  of  these  deposits  shows 
about  sixty  per  cent  of  granitic  material,  thirty  per  cent,  of 
lime,  and  eight  per  cent,  of  trap.  The  sand  and  gravel  ex- 
posed in  these  vast  pits  appear  in  well  defined  but  irregular 
shaped  strata,  which  bear  evidence  of  the  action  of  running 
water.  Quite  a  number  of  granitic  boulders,  mostly  from 
six  to  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  similar  in  color  and  va- 
riety to  those  found  on  the  surface,  are  scattered  in  these 
deposits.  Such  elongated  gravel  hills  are  a  rare  phenomenon 
in  Ohio,  and  are  known  as  kames.  Careful  observation  indi- 
cates that  they  were  formed  upon  the  melting  of  the  ancient 
glaciers  and  mark  lines  of  drainage,  which  commenced  under 
the  vast  ice  mass  and  continued  until  an  opening  had  been 
made  through  the  upper  surface.  In  this  manner  the  ma- 
terial enclosed  within  the  ice  mass  would  be  sorted  and  de- 
posited as  it  is  now  found.  The  trend  of  the  knolls  indi- 
cates the  probable  direction  in  which  the  subglacial  stream 
discharged,  viz :  to  the  southeast. 

A  fine  specimen  of  black  diorite  boulder  about  four  feet 
in  height  and  weighing  some  seventy-six  hundred  pounds  was 
found  in  the  bed  of  a  rivulet  on  the  Meeker  farm,  just  north 
of  Greenville  creek,  and  has  been  used  by  the  Greenville  His- 
torical Society  in  marking  the  site  of  the  Wa3nne's  Treaty  in 
1795. 

Moranic  Belts. 

(1)   Miami   Moraine. 

The  geological  survey  made  by  the  U.  S.  government  in- 
dicates three  distinctively  defined  moraines  crossing  Darke 
county.  The  southernmost  moraine  crosses  the  southwest- 
ern section  of  the  count}'  and  is  a  part  of  the  Miami  lobe  of 
the  main  moranic  system  of  the  late  Wisconsin  stage  of 
glaciation.  This  lobe,  which  is  practically  continuous  be- 
tween Lynn  and  Richmond,  Indiana,  divides  into  three  mem- 
bers near  the  state  line.  These  three  members  run  south- 
easterly in  parallel  lines  to  the  Miami  Valley,  then  tend  to 


26  DARKE   COUNTY 

unite  and  turn  northeasterly  and  continue  between  the  Mad 
river  and  the  headwaters  of  the  great  Miami.  Traces  of  this 
moraine  may  be  seen  near  Troy,  Harrisburg,  Pyrmont,  Air 
Hill,  West  Sonora,  Fort  Jefferson  and  New  Madison.  The 
ridge  of  boulders  formerly  noted  as  running  through  Van 
Buren  and  Twin  townships  seems  also  to  be  a  part  of  this 
system  as  well  as  the  isolated  gravel  hills  in  the  Mud  creek 
prairie,  and  the  remarkable  ridges  at  Fort  Jefferson,  which 
formerly  rose  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  above  the  prairie.  The 
surface  of  the  country  to  the  eastward  of  this  belt  is  more  level 
than  to  the  west.  Just  east  of  Fort  Jefferson  this  moranic 
belt  turns  abruptly  southward  and  follows  the  valley  of 
Miller's  Fork  of  Twin  creek,  passing  near  Ithaca.  West 
Sonora  and  Euphemia.  At  Arcanum,  near  the  inner  border 
of  this  moraine,  the  glacial  drift  is  about  fifty  feet  deep  and  in 
the  valley  near  New  Madison,  on  the  outward  border,  the 
debris  is  as  much  as  seventy-five  feet  in  depth. 

(2)   Union  Moraine. 

A  distinct  moraine  crosses  the  central  part  of  Darke 
county  and  is  described  as  a  part  of  the  Maumee-Miami  lobe 
of  the  late  Wisconsin  stage  of  glaciation.  It  is  a  minor 
moraine  and  has  been  traced  from  near  Muncie,  Indiana,  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  Great  Miami  river,  near  Lewistown, 
Ohio.  It  enters  Darke  county  at  Union  City,  follows  the 
north  side  of  Greenville  creek  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to 
Greenville  and  thence  runs  eastward  to  Bradford.  Its  high- 
est points  are  near  Union  City,  where  it  reaches  an  altitude 
of  1,125  to  1,150  feet  above  tide.  Its  lowest  point  is  between 
Greenville  and  the  Miami  river,  where  it  descends  to  about 
1,000  feet.  This  deposit  is  known  as  the  Union  Moraine,  and 
it  appears  in  Darke  county  as  a  bow  shaped  ridge  with  a 
gently  undulating  surface.  The  presence  of  this  ridge  ac- 
counts for  the  fact  that  there  are  no  important  branches  en- 
tering Greenville  creek  from  the  north  and  suggests  that 
this  stream  has  been  forced  to  seek  a  channel  to  the  south 
of  its  original  bed  by  these  immense  glacial  deposits.  The 
thickness  of  drift  along  this  moraine  is  seldom  more  than 
fifty  feet  and  some  rock  exposures  occur  along  its  outer  bor- 
der in  the  neighborhood  of  Baer's  Mill.  However,  a  depth  of 
165  feet  to  rock  is  reported  near  the  Union  City  pike  just 
west  of  the  township  line  in  Washington  township,  and  117 


DARKE   COUNTY 


27 


feet  on  the  Ben  Chenoweth  farm  one  mile  west  of  this  point. 
At  the  Children's  Home,  on  the  north  side  of  this  moraine, 
the  drift  is  about  110  feet  deep.  Along  the  south  side  of 
Greenville  creek  for  a  distance  of  about  three  miles  east  of 
Greenville,  are  knolls  which  contain  much  assorted  material 
and  some  till.  These  probably  belong  with  the  drift  of  the 
main  moranic  system.  From  these  hills  eastward  to  the 
county  line  small  and  well  rounded  boulders  were  formerly 
found  in  large  number,  while  many  large  angular  boulders 
are  scattered  over  the  plains  to  the  south  through  Poplar 
Ridge,  as  before  mentioned. 

"Greenville  creek  has  a  narrow  gorge  up  to  Greenville  Falls, 
about  one-half  mile  above  its  mouth.  Its  bed  above  the  falls 
is  mainly  in  the  drift  and  its  valley  is  less  restricted  and 
varies  considerably  in  width.  A  gravel  plain  extends  up  the 
creek  two  miles  or  more  and  remnants  of  glacial  gravel  are 
found  almost  the  entire  length  of  the  creek,  but  they  are  less 
conspicuous  than  the  gravel  plain  near  its  mouth.  The  phe- 
nomena seem  to  indicate  that  the  creek  adapted  its  course 
along  the  outer  border  of  the  moraine  because  of  a  valley 
opened  b}'  glacial  waters." 

(3)    Alississinawa   Aloraine. 

A  third  moranic  belt  enters  Darke  county  at  the  northwest 
angle,  trends  south  of  east  to  the  vicinity  of  Versailles,  and 
then  turns  northeasterly  into  Shelby  county.  In  Indiana 
this  moraine  follows  the  north  bank  of  the  Mississinawa  river 
for  the  greater  part  of  its  length  and,  therefore,  is  called  the 
Mississinawa  moraine.  It  also  belongs  to  the  Maumee- 
JNIiami  lobe,  before  mentioned.  This  ridge  is  about  six  miles 
wide  where  it  enters  the  northwest  corner  of  the  county.  At 
the  headwaters  of  Stillwater  creek,  near  Lightsville,  a  broad 
swampy  plain  skirts  the  southern  border  of  this  moraine. 
The  Stillwater  follows  the  southern  border  of  this  ridge  for 
several  miles  to  the  neighborhood  of  Beamsville.  Low  grav- 
elly knolls  mark  its  outer  border.  Just  north  of  Versailles  a 
gravelly  plain  extends  southward  along  Swamp  creek  from 
this  point  and  passes  through  Versailles.  This  plain  is  about 
half  a  mile  wide  and  stands  about  twenty-five  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  creek.  Borings  at  Versailles  show  this  gravel 
bed  to  be  about  thirty-four  feet  through  and  the  distance 
to  rock,  through   gravel  and  till,   from   120  to    1-K)  feet.     At 


28  DARKE   COUNTY 

Yorkshire  the  drift  is  less  than  one  hundred  feet  in  depth. 
The  tract  of  land  lying  between  this  moraine  and  the  Union 
moraine  consists  mainly  of  a  smooth  surfaced  till  plain  on 
which  the  drift  has  nearly  as  great  a  thickness  as  on  the 
latter  moraine,  in  which  it  merges  on  the  south.  The  isolated 
gravel  cairns,  before  mentioned,  are  sometimes  accounted  for 
on  the  theory  that  at  the  period  of  greatest  depression  during 
the  ice  age  the  water  shed  itself  was  submerged  and  great 
icebergs  from  the  north  became  stranded  on  the  southern 
slope.  Here  they  melted  and  deposited  their  loads  of  debris 
in  the  interlocking  wedge  shaped  layers  of  sand,  gravel  and 
yellow  clay. 

Preglacial  erosion  of  the  ancient  limestone  left  a  very  un- 
even surface  with  gorges  here  and  there  of  very  great  depth. 
A  noticeable  efTect  of  glacial  action  was  the  leveling  up  of 
the  area  which  it  covered.  The  vast  deposits  of  clay,  sand 
and  gravel  just  noted  filled  up  the  old  valleys  and  in  many 
cases  formed  new  drainage  basins,  some  of  which  were  quite 
distinct  from  the  ancient  systems.  The  erosion  of  new  chan- 
nels through  these  deposits  has  taken  a  long  time,  roughh- 
estimated  at  six  or  seven  thousand  years,  on  the  basis  of  the 
size  and  velocity  of  the  eroding  streams  and  the  amount  of 
material  removed.  The  finding  of  roughly  chipped  argillitic 
implements  beneath  gravel  river  terraces  near  Trenton,  N. 
J.,  and  near  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  have  led  some  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  man  lived  before  and  during  the  glacial  period.  One 
might  readily  conceive  that  a  type  of  man  similar  to  the 
modern  Eskimo  could  have  lived  in  some  degree  of  comfort 
during  that  far  ofif  age.  Perhaps  he  had  as  his  companion 
those  massive  animals  of  the  elephant  type  known  respec- 
tively as  the  mammoth  and  mastodon. 

Extinct  Animals. 

Remains  of  these  huge  animals  have  been  found  in  Darke 
county  from  time  to  time,  mostly  in  the  muck  or  peat  de- 
posits near  the  headwaters  of  small  streams.  A  tooth  of  a 
mammoth  and  parts  of  several  mastodons  are  exhibited  in  the 
museum  in  the  basement  of  the  Carnegie  library  at  Green- 
ville. One  huge  mastodon  jaw  measuring  33  inches  in  great- 
est length  was  found  near  the  headwaters  of  Mud  creek  in 
Harrison  township.  Mr.  Calvin  Young  describes  the  ex- 
cavation of  the  remains  of  a  mastodon  in  a  peat  bog  on  the 


DARKE   COUNTY 


29 


farm  then  belonging  to  Absalom  Shade  along  Crout  creek 
on  the  site  of  a  former  lakelet  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion thirty-four,  Washington  township,  in  1883.  Some  of 
the  bones  were  spread  out  on  the  original  gravel  bed  of  the 
pre-historic  lake  and  covered  with  about  four  and  a  half  feet 
of  peat  and  blue  mud.  The  lower  jaw  contained  the  full  set 
of  teeth,  which,  when  first  exposed  to  view,  were  glistening 
white,  but  soon  became  dark.  Almost  a  complete  skeleton  of 
mastodon  was  found  in  Neave  township  on  the  Delaplaine 
farm  near  the  head  of  Bridge  creek.  The  remains  were  well 
preserved  and  are  now  on  exhibition  in  the  public  museum. 
The  femur  of  this  animal  measures  forty  inches  in  length  and 
has  a  circumference  of  thirty-two  inches  at  the  knee  and 
seventeen  inches  between  the  knee  and  hip  ball.  The  hu- 
merus is  thirty-two  inches  long  and  thirty-four  inches  around 
the  largest  joint.  Some  of  the  bones  of  another  well-pre- 
served specimen  were  found  on  the  farm  of  Hezekiah  Woods, 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  section  nine,  Brown  township,  near 
the  upper  Stillwater. 

The  mammoth  is  descrilDed  as  having  been  a  third  taller 
and  nearly  twice  as  heavy  as  the  modern  elephant.  He  was 
covered  with  long  shaggy  hair  and  had  a  thick  mane  extend- 
ing along  his  neck  and  back.  His  coat  of  hair  comprised  coarse 
black  bristles  about  eighteen  inches  long  and  shorter  under 
coats  of  finer  hair  and  woo!  of  a  fawn  and  reddish  color  which 
fitted  him  for  residence  in  cold  climates.  No  doubt  he  ranged 
northern  Europe  and  Asia  as  well  as  America  in  large  herds 
for  his  frozen  carcass  has  been  found  in  Siberia  near  the 
Artie  ocean  and  large  quantities  of  his  curved  ivory  tusks 
have  been  gathered  and  sold  by  the  natives  of  Alaska.  His 
molar  teeth  sometimes  had  an  extreme  grinding  surface  of 
four  by  twelve  or  thirteen  inches  with  corrugations  enabling 
him  to  masticate  the  branches  and  foliage  of  northern  ever- 
green trees,  birches,  willows,  etc. 

The  mastodon  was  even  larger  than  the  mammoth,  at- 
taining a  height  of  twelve  to  thirteen  feet,  and  an  extreme 
length,  including  his  huge  tusks,  of  twenty-four  to  twenty- 
five  feet.  His  tusks  curved  downward  and  forward  while 
those  of  the  mammoth  curved  upward  in  a  circle.  His  hair 
was  of  a  dun  brown  color  and  probably  half  as  long  as  that 
of  the  mammoth.  His  teeth  were  rectangular  in  form,  with  a 
grinding  surface  of  large  conical  orojections,   which   enabled 


30  DARKE   COUNTY 

him   to   feed   on   the   twigs   of    trees    and    coarse    vegetable 
growths. 

In  hunting  such  food  he  was  often  tempted  into  marshy 
places  where  he  became  mired,  and  was  unable  to  extricate 
his  ponderous  body,  as  evidenced  by  the  attitude  in  which 
remains  are  sometimes  found.  The  mastodon  seems  to  have 
become  extinct  near  the  close  of  the  glacial  period,  while  the 
mammoth  lingered  into  post  glacial  times.  The  remains  of 
-a  giant  beaver  were  found  in  the  Dismal  Swamp  at  the  head 
of  Dismal  creek,  the  most  western  branch  of  Greenville 
creek,  about  seven  miles  southeast  of  Winchester,  Randolph 
county,  Indiana,  and  only  a  few  miles  from  the  Darke  coun- 
ty line.  This  animal  was  about  seven  feet  in  length  and  the 
remains  are  now  on  exhibition  in  the  museum  of  Earlham 
College,  Richmond,  Indiana.  This  animal  has  been  long  ex- 
tinct and  its  remains  are  rare.  The  proximity  of  this  locality 
suggest  that  the  giant  beaver  frequented  the  streams  of 
Darke  and  adjoining  counties  at  an  early  date. 

Peat  Bogs. 

Peat  bogs  are  found  in  various  localities  in  Darke  county. 
The  Mud  creek  prairie  was,  no  doubt,  at  one  time  submerged 
from  the  source  of  the  creek  near  New  Madison  to  its  junc- 
tion with  Greenville  creek  at  Greenville,  forming  a  shallow 
lake.  Peat  beds  of  considerable  size  were  formed  in  this 
marsh,  notably  near  the  C.  N.  station  at  Fort  Jefiferson  and 
near  the  crossing  of  the  C.  N.  and  P.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R., 
some  two  miles  southwest  of  Greenville.  These  deposits  run 
about  two  or  three  feet  in  depth  and  in  dry  seasons  have  been 
known  to  catch  afire  and  burn  several  days.  Shortly  after 
the  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.  was  built  and  operated  a  con- 
siderable section  of  track  disappeared  in  Brown  township 
some  distance  west  of  the  crossing  of  the  Fort  Recovery  pike. 
A  small  branch  of  the  Stillwater  drains  this  district  and  a 
peat  bog  had  formed  in  the  marsh  over  which  the  railway 
made  a  fill  of  loam  and  gravel.  The  weight  of  this  material 
broke  through  the  crust  of  peat  and  revealed  a  lakelet,  which 
had  been  filled  with  logs,  aquatic  plants,  etc.,  and  finally  cov- 
ered with  a  deposit  of  peat  formed  from  the  rank  vegetable 
growths  of  long  years.  Similar  deposits  are  found  along 
Bridge  creek,  southeast  of  Greenville,  and  small  areas  are 
found  near  the  headwaters  of  small  streams  in  various  parts 


DARKE   COUNTY  31 

of  the  count}-.  Some  of  these  peat  bogs  have  probably  been 
formed  in  wliat  are  known  by  glacial  students  as  "kettle- 
holes"  resulting  from  the  gradual  melting  of  great  masses  of 
ice  which  had  been  kept  almost  intact  for  a  long  time  by  the 
thick  covering  of  glacial  debris.  Other  bogs  may  have  been 
formed  in  shallow  lakelets  which  had  been  caused  by  the  ob- 
struction of  shallow  drainage  lines  by  glacial  deposits. 


CHAPTER  II. 

ARCHEOLOGY. 

It  is  always  interesting  to  tlie  local  archeologist  and  his- 
torian to  know  when  man  made  his  first  appearance  in  his 
locality.  Thus  far  we  have  no  evidence  that  he  appeared  in 
Darke  county  before  the  ice  age.  The  earliest  indications  of 
his  appearance  are  the  few  small  mounds,  the  vast  quanti- 
ties of  finished  and  unfinished  stone  implements,  and  the 
spawls  scattered  profusely  over  the  surface  of  the  county. 
Scientists  now  incline  to  the  view  that  the  ancient  American, 
commonly  called  the  Mound  Builder,  was  the  ancestor  of  the 
copper  colored  Indian,  who  greeted  the  first  European  explor- 
ers of  our  continent,  and  whose  descendants  are  still  with  us. 
The  coarse  black  hair,  the  high  cheek  bones,  the  swarthy 
complexion,  the  general  facial  expression,  the  cunning  handi- 
craft and  the  nomadic  habits  of  the  Indian  combine  to  indicate 
a  close  relationship  with  the  Mongoloid  tribes  of  northern 
Asia,  and  lend  color  to  the  conviction  that  America  was  peo- 
pled across  Behring  Strait  at  a  remote  date.  The  Mound 
Builder  made  his  home  in  the  Mississippi  valley  and  con- 
structed some  of  his  most  remarkable  works  within  the  limits 
of  the  present  state  of  Ohio,  especially  in  the  southern  part. 
The  most  noted  of  these  are  the  Serpent  Mounds  in  Adams 
and  Warren  counties ;  Fort  Ancient  on  the  Little  Miami  river 
in  Warren  county ;  large  conical  mound  near  Miamisburg  and 
geometrical  earth  works  at  Chillicothe,  Marietta  and  New- 
ark. It  will  be  noted  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  Ser- 
pent ^founds,  which  seems  to  have  been  secluded  sites  of 
ancient  worship,  these  works  are  located  along  the  principal 
northern  tributary  streams  of  \he  Ohio.  In  the  valley  of  the 
Great  Miami  we  find  a  great  profusion  of  geometrical  works 
in  Butler  county,  and  isolated  mounds  and  burial  sites  near 
Franklin,  Miamisburg.  Dayton  and  Piqua.  As  we  ascend  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  tributary  streams  the  works  diminish 
in  number  and  size  and  are  confined  largely  to  isolated  altar 
mounds,  camp  sites  and  burial  places.  This  was  probably 
due  largely  to  the  swampv  and  inaccessible  condition  of  the 
(3) 


34  DARKE   COUNTY 

country  near  such  small  streams,  and  we  are,  therefore,  not 
surprised  that  few  mounds  or  earth  works  of  consequence 
appear  in  Darke  county.  The  ruthless  plow  of  the  settler  and 
pioneer  have  practically  obliterated  even  these  few  and  for 
the  limited  knowledge  that  we  have  of  them  we  are  largely 
indebted  to  such  men  as  Mr.  Robert  M.  Dalrymple  (de- 
ceased) of  Baker's  store,  and  to  Air.  Calvin  Young,  of  Wash- 
ington township.  Several  years  ago  Air.  Young  opened  a 
mound  on  his  farm,  about  a  mile  west  of  Nashville,  and  found 
a  few  spears,  arrows  and  slate  implements  but  no  pipes.  Just 
east  of  Nashville,  in  the  isolated  gravel  cairns  on  the  Cable 
and  Crick  farms,  several  skeletons  and  implements  have  been 
found,  also  a  Queen  conch  shell  which  had  been  buried  a 
depth  of  some  sixteen  feet.  On  the  Martin  farm,  just  west 
of  Greenville,  two  conical  elevations,  about  twelve  feet  high, 
resembling  mounds,  formerly  appeared,  but  have  been  oblit- 
erated by  the  plow  and  gravel  excavations.  Near  New  Madi- 
son an  altar  mound,  originalh^  about  twenty  feet  high,  was 
found.  This  was  opened  at  the  center  in  earh^  days  and  re- 
vealed a  hard,  baked  clay  altar,  on  the  surface  of  which  were 
found  bone  needles,  ivory  beads,  slate  relics,  etc.,  with  traces 
of  iron  rust.  This  mound  has  also  been  leveled  by  the  plow 
which  still  turns  over  ashes  when  passing  over  this  place.  It 
is  situated  near  an  ancient  burial  ground  and  on  the  extrem- 
ity of  a  ridge  overlooking  a  prairie.  In  this  connection  we 
herewith  quote  from  the  pen  of  R.  M.  Dalrymple,  who  wrote 
several  interesting  articles  on  local  archeologj'  for  the 
Greenville  Journal  several  years  ago. 

"The  ancient  Americans  believed  in  a  future  state  of  exist- 
ence, also  that  the  character  of  the  life  beyond  the  grave 
was  very  much  like  the  life  they  had  led  here,  so  when  the}' 
buried  their  dead  the  implements,  ornaments,  etc.,  possessed 
by  the  deceased  in  life  were  buried  with  them,  and  the  cere- 
monies preceding  burial  were,  doubtless,  more  or  less  elab- 
orate, according  to  the  rank  of  the  dead. 

"The  Mound  Builders,  as  a  general  rule,  buried  their  dead 
in  the  gravel  banks  throughout  the  country,  in  graves  which 
were  generally  three  feet  deep,  but  in  some  cases  much 
deeper.  Their  remains  have  generally  been  found  either  in  a 
sitting  or  standing  position. 

"Near  North  Star  years  ago  was  a  hill  composed  of  a  fine 
quality  of  gravel.  In  making  the  pikes  in  that  ci~iuntrv  this 
hill  was  all  hauled  awaj-.     A  large  number  of  human  bones 


DARKE   COUNTY  35 

were  found  in  the  hill  and  were  hauled  out  on  the  road, 
where  they  lay  for  several  years  until  crushed  and  ground 
to  atoms  by  traveling  vehicles,  no  one  paying  any  attention 
to  collecting  and  preserving  these  ancient  remains,  ^^'e 
think  that  no  relics  were  found  in  this  cemetery. 

"At  Bishop's  crossing,  near  Greenville,  in  building  the 
pikes,  several  graves,  either  Indian  or  Mound  Builder,  were 
discovered.  With  the  bones  were  found  pipes  of  stone,  spear- 
heads and  other  relics.  An  old  gentleman,  who  helped  to  do 
this  work,  said  that  the  graves  wete^ny^  minierous,  and 
about  all  of  them  contained  relics.     A  tTXi^oZlf 

"It  is  likely  that  some  of  these  graves  were  those  of  In- 
dians. It  was  the  custom  in  this  locality  when  the  Indians 
buried  their  dead,  if  a  chief,  to  kill  his  pony  and  bury  it  with 
him  besides  the  implements  used  by  him  while  alive  ;  then 
to  build  a  pen  of  logs  around  the  small  mound  to  keep  out 
wild  animals,  which  might  dig  up  the  remains  if  not  protected 
in  this  manner.  A  chief  by  the  name  of  Blue  Jacket  was 
buried  in  Greenville  township  in  the  manner  described,  ^^'e 
are  not  able  to  tell  just  the  exact  difference  between  a  Mound 
Builder's  and  an  Indian's  grave,  but  if  the  bones  of  a  ponj- 
are  found  with  the  human  skeleton  it  w-ould  be  safe  to  call 
it  an  Indian's  grave. 

"There  is  a  grave!  hill  in  the  prairie  on  the  farm  of  George 
Reigle,  near  Fort  Jefferson,  in  which  a  single  skeleton  was 
found  but  no  relics  or  other  bones.  Near  Clark's  Station  is 
an  ancient  graveyard  in  a  gravel  ridge  also.  Gravel  is  liauled 
out  on  the  road  every  year  and  as  it  is  caved  skeletons  aie 
often  unearthed  which  were  buried  in  a  standing  position. 

"The  locality  in  and  around  Nashville,  German  township, 
furnishes  some  interesting  information.  One  or  two  mounds 
have  been  opened  yielding  a  lot  of  relics,  skeletons,  etc.  Two 
large  shells,  native  of  the  Pacific  coast,  were  taken  from  one 
of  the  mounds.  The  inside  had  beeen  cut  out  of  them  leav- 
ing a  large  cavity  capable  of  holding  about  one  gallon,  and 
making  a  very  beautiful  addition  to  the  kitchen  furniture 
of  the  ancient  people  of  the  stone  age. 

"Northwest  of  New  IVIadison,  close  to  a  mound,  is  another 
of  the  ancient  cemeteries.  It  is  situated  on  the  southern  end 
of  a  ridge  while  the  mound  is  on  the  northern  end.  The  last 
rites  were,  most  likely,  performed  at  the  altar  mound  and  the 
dead  then  carried  to  where  thev  are  found.     Several  skeletons 


36  DARKE   COUNTY 

have  been  found  in  this  place  but  they  soon  crumble  on  ex- 
posure to  the  air. 

"One  of  the  most  interesting  burial  spots  was  discovered 
on  the  farm  of  Jesse  Woods  in  German  township.  In  digging 
the  cellar  under  the  house  where  he  lives.  Mr.  Woods  dis- 
covered a  skeleton  in  a  sitting  posture.  It  was  covered  with 
plates  of  mica  and  was  the  central  figure  in  a  group  of  other 
skeletons  arranged  in  a  circle  around  it.  The  skeletons  in 
the  circle  were  lying  at  full  length.  Mr.  Woods  regrets  very 
much  that  he  did  not  preserve  the  mica  as  they  were  the  only 
relics  found  in  the  grave.  This  grave  we  consider  the  most 
interesting  yet  discovered  in  Darke  county,  but  many  more 
graves  of  the  ancient  Americans  may  yet  be  found  in  the 
county  as  it  becomes  more  thickly  settled. 

"Near  the  \\'est  Branch  church,  in  Xeave  township,  a 
skeleton  was  dug  out  in  the  caving  walls  of  a  gravel  pit.  The 
body  had  been  buried  in  a  sitting  position.  The  bones  were 
in  a  state  of  decay.     No  relics  were  found. 

"About  half  a  mile  northwest  of  Fort  Jefferson  was  found  a 
skeleton  buried  in  a  sitting  position  with  knees  drawn  up. 
In  the  grave  was  a  burned  clay  pipe  with  bowl  and  stem  in 
one  piece.  The  bowl  was  fluted  inside.  An  old  settler  in 
the  vicinity  said  that  he  had  made  many  a  pipe  just  like  it. 
.A.  stone  ax  was  also  in  the  grave. 

"^^'e  have  found  that  in  selecting  a  site  for  burial  tiie  an- 
cient savage  generally  made  use  of  an  elevated  spot  of 
ground,  mostly  a  natural  ridge,  in  about  the  same  location  as 
for  a  camp  or  village.  A  large  number  are  sometimes  buried 
in  one  place  while  in  other  instances  but  a  single  grave  is 
found." 

It  should  be  noted  that  the  conch  shells  mentioned  by  this 
writer  were  probably  from  the  Pacific  coast,  and  the  sheets 
of  mica  from  the  rare  deposits  of  this  material  in  the  moun- 
tains of  North  Carolina  and  Tennessee. 

Indian   Camp  Sites  and  Villages. 

Camp  sites  occur  at  many  places  within  the  county  as  evi- 
denced by  the  large  number  of  spawls  of  chert  and  flint  aad 
the  broken  and  unfinished  stone  implements  turned  up  bv  'he 
plow.  They  are  usually  located  near  running  springs.  The 
upper  valleys  of  Mud  creek.  West  Branch  and  Crout  creek 
were  inhabited  by  the  early  Americans  who  have  left  distinct 


DARKE   COUNTY  0/ 

traces  of  their  early  residence  along  these  branch  streams. 
Sections  thirteen,  fourteen,  twenty-three  and  twenty-four  in 
German  township,  near  the  head  of  West  Branch,  have  been 
especially  prolific  in  relics  of  the  stone  age.  Perhaps  the 
largest  camp  site  in  Darke  county  was  situated  on  the  Garst 
farm,  in  section  thirteen,  and  on  the  Ross  farm  adjoining  it 
on  the  south,  in  section  twenty-four.  This  site  covers  sev- 
eral acres  and  is  on  a  gravel  hill  which  terminates  in  a  steep 
bank  on  the  north  and  west  sides.  It  follows  the  course  of 
the  stream  and  made  a  level,  elevated  and  ideal  camping  place. 
A  large  number  of  hammers,  axes,  spear  and  arrowheads  have 
been  found  here  and  flint  chips  are  plentiful.  On  the  Metzcar 
farm,  just  south  of  the  Ross  place,  a  pile  of  burned  bricks 
were  found  by  the  first  white  settlers,  who  came  here  in  1817. 
These  bricks  were  larger  than  the  standard  size  and  the  up- 
per layer  was  somewhat  disintegrated  and  covered  with  con- 
siderable leaf  mold,  indicating  that  many  years  had  elapsed 
since  the}-  had  been  placed  in  position.  Perhaps  they  had 
been  burned  on  the  spot  to  form  the  foundation  of  a  Jesuit 
missionary  station,  late  in  the  seventeenth  or  early  in  the 
eighteenth  century ;  or  they  might  have  supported  the  cabin 
of  an  early  French  trader  who  established  himself  here  in  a 
settlement  of  friendly  Indians.  Just  east  of  the  Metzcar 
farm,  on  the  Wagner  farm,  Mr.  Dalrymple  explored  a  camp 
site  covering  about  seven  acres.  Near  the  head  of  Crout 
creek,  in  sections  three,  ten  and  fifteen  of  German  township. 
and  in  sections  thirty-three,  thirty-four  and  thirty-five  of 
Washington  township,  numerous  evidences  of  early  cccu- 
pancy  have  been  found.  Skeletons,  beads  and  various  imple- 
ments were  found  in  a  gravel  cairn  on  the  Norman  Teaford 
farm.  The  decayed  remains  of  numerous  bark  wigwams  were 
encountered  on  the  Ross  farm,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion nine,  German  township,  by  the  early  settlers.  On  the 
Bickel  and  Neff  farms,  near  the  mouth  of  Crout  creek,  re- 
mains of  an  encampment  were  found,  besides  numerous  stone 
implements.  In  fact,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  string  of 
villages  along  the  entire  course  of  this  creek  and  the  pioneers 
saw  Indians  in  this  locality  as  late  as  1831  or  1832,  when  the 
upper  Miami  valley  tribes  emigrated  beyond  the  Mississippi 
river.  On  the  Coapstick  farm,  just  south  of  Nashville,  a 
sugar  camp  had  apparently  been  operated  by  the  Indians  as 
the  trees  showed  marks  made  in  tapping  when  examined  by 
the    pioneers.     Many   stone    hammers    were   found    near   this 


38  DARKE   COUNTY 

place,  indicating  that  it  had  been  a  camp  site.  The  Young 
mound  and  the  gravel  cairns  on  the  Cable  farm,  above  men- 
tioned, were  in  this  neighborhood. 

Along  the  east  side  of  Mud  creek  prairie,  between  Green- 
ville and  Fort  Jefferson,  several  camp  sites  have  been  discov- 
ered. On  the  Benj.  Kerst  farm  and  on  the  Lamb  farm  in 
section  fifteen,  Neave  township,  adjoining  some  fine  springs 
and  overlooking  the  prairie,  numerous  unfinished  implements 
and  large  quantities  of  spawls  have  been  found,  indicating 
long  occupancy  by  the  natives. 

The  site  of  the  city  of  Greenville  itself  was  probably  one 
of  the  largest  and  most  popular  camping  grounds  in  the 
county  on  account  of  its  extensive  elevated  grounds,  over- 
looking the  Mud  creek  prairie  and  the  valley  of  Greenville 
creek.  It  is  known  that  Indian  trails  radiated  from  this  site 
in  various  directions. 

Strong  indications  of  a  camp  site  were  found  on  the  Wright 
farm  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  thirty-one,  Green- 
ville township,  on  the  north  bluff  of  Greenville  creek. 

Xo  doubt  villages  were  located  on  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Whitewater  in  Harrison  township  and  in  various  pavts  of 
the  county,  as  evidenced  by  the  large  number  of  stone  relics 
which  have  been  picked  up  from  time  to  time.  The  .^ites 
mentioned  have  been  most  carefully  explored  and  serve  to  in- 
dicate what  further  careful  investigation  may  reveal.  It  has 
been  noticed  that  village  sites  have  almost  invariably  been 
found  near  springs,  and  on  the  ridges  or  bluffs  bordering 
streams  or  prairies.  They  were  located  here,  no  doubt,  for 
convenience,  for  accessibility  and  also  on  account  of  the  im- 
passable and  unsanitary  condition  of  the  extensive  swamps 
A\hich   characterized   primitive   Darlce   county. 

Flint  Caches. 

The  ancient  Americans  obtained  flint  blocks  and  fragments 
at  an  extensive  and  well  known  outcrop  of  this  material, 
southeast  of  Newark  in  Licking  county,  Ohio,  where  signs 
of  extensive  quarrying  appear.  The  flint  was  taken  out  some 
distance  below  the  surface  where  it  was  found  to  be  more 
easily  chipped  and  worked  out.  The  material  secured  here 
was  often  carried  several  hundred  miles  to  some  camp  site. 
probabl}^  by  some  nomadic  tribe  of  traders,  where  it  was 
chipped  off  and  worked  into  the  desired  implements.     If  not 


DARKE   COUNTY  39 

needed  at  the  time  the  leaves  or  flakes  or  flint  were  buried 
a  few  inches  beneath  the  surface  for  safe  deposit  and  probably 
to  keep  them  damp  and  in  condition  for  working  when 
needed.  Such  burials  are  known  as  "caches"  and  have  been  en- 
countered in  various  parts  of  the  county.  A  few  typical  finds 
will  be  noted,  all  of  which  occured  near  streams.  A  cache 
was  found  in  German  township  near  the  upper  West  Branch 
on  the  farm  of  Ivens  Parent  and  consisted  of  about  a  peck 
of  light  lead  colored  chips  of  chert,  ranging  from  an  inch  and 
a  half  to  two  inches  in  width  and  from  two  to  three  inches  in 
length.  The  uniform  color,  texture  and  cleavage  of  these 
specimens  showed  clearly  that  they  were  all  of  the  same  ma- 
terial. A  cache,  comprising  about  three  pecks  of  gray  flakes, 
was  revealed  upon  the  uprooting  of  a  large  tree  by  the  wind 
some  forty  years  ago  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  J.  W.  Ross, 
in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  twenty-two,  Washington 
township,  near  Crout  creek.  A  cache  comprising  probably 
fifty  specimens  of  a  uniform  light  brown  color  was  found  by 
Washington  Hunt,  about  twenty  years  ago,  on  the  Jos.  Kat- 
zenberger  farm  near  Weimer's  Mill,  in  section  twenty,  Green- 
ville township,  just  north  of  Greenville  creek.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  same  creek  on  the  Judy  tract,  section  thirty-six 
Greenville  tovN^nship,  just  east  of  Greenville,  a  very  large 
cache  was  found  in  early  days  which  contained  probably  four 
hundred  specimens.  Other  instances  of  this  kind  might  be 
cited  but  these  suffice.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  specimens 
thus  found  have  been  scattered  far  and  wide  and  it  is  the 
writer's  hope  that  the  next  large  cache  will  find  its  way  into 
the  public  museum  in  Greenville,  where  it  may  be  safely 
kept  and  exhibited  for  its  educational  value. 

Workshops. 

Mention  is  made  of  an  ancient  camp  site  and  workshop  on 
the  farm  of  Robert  Downing,  in  section  nine,  Harrison  town- 
ship, near  the  head  of  West  Branch.  Here,  it  seems,  a  spe- 
cialty was  made  of  manufacturing  stone  axes,  large  numbers 
of  which  have  been  found  in  a  partly  finished  condition.  At 
this  place  an  immense  quantity  of  spawls  and  broken  stone 
is  encountered  when  turning  up  the  soil,  and  a  fine  spring- 
is  near  at  hand.  On  the  north  bluflf  of  Greenville  creek, 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  east  of  Gettysburg,  in  section  twent}'- 
nine,  Adams  township,    was  apparently  located  a  workshop 


40  DARKE   COUNTY 

where  stone  pestles  were  once  made.  Large  numbers  of 
small  granitic,  glacial  boulders  are  found  in  this  locality  and 
the  ancient  craftsmen  of  the  stone  age  had  evidently  used 
these  to  good  purpose  as  shown  by  the  quantity  of  pestles, 
finished  and  unfinished,  which  have  been  found  here.  In  the 
opinion  of  Mr.  Young  the  finding  of  such  a  large  number  of 
one  kind  of  implement  on  a  definite  site  would  tend  to  indi- 
cate that  the  artist  who  located  his  workshop  there  was  a 
specialist  in  the  shaping  and  manufacturing  of  that  particular 
tool  or  weapon,  thereby  becoming  an  expert  in  his  line.  The 
Indians  had  small,  portable  stone  mortars  in  which  to  pul- 
verize and  mix  the  pigments  for  decorating  their  bodies  and 
others  for  grinding  grain.  They  also  used  large  stationary 
boulders  for  the  latter  purpose.  One  of  these  formerly  stood 
on  the  old  Rush  farm,  now  belonging  to  R.  E.  O'Brien,  in 
section  three,  just  north  of  the  site  of  Bunker  Hill,  formerly 
mentioned.  This  old  stone  mill  has  been  badly  defaced  but 
is  still  exhibited  by  Mr.  O'Brien.  A  skeleton  was  exhumed 
in  the  sand  pit  near  this  stone,  which  seems  to  have  been 
located  along  an  old  trail  leading  diagonally  across  the  prairie 
and  joining  the  main  trail  near  Oakwood.  Another  stone 
mill  formerly  stood  near  Beech  Grove,  and  a  third  on  the 
Jenkinson  farm  south  of  Fort  Jefferson. 

Fine  specimens  of  pipes  have  been  found  in  the  following 
localities : 

Stone  Pipes  and  Implements. 

A  catlinite  pipe  was  found  on  the  south  bank  of  Greenville 
creek,  in  section  seventeen,  Washington  township,  on  the  farm 
now  owned  by  H.  M.  Oswalt.  This  is  now  in  the  Katzenber- 
ger  collection.  Another  catlinite  pipe  was  found  in  section 
five,  German  township,  on  the  Clemens  land  at  the  head  of 
Carnahan  branch  of  Greenville  creek.  (Now  in  the  collection 
of  E.  M.  Thresher,  Dayton,  Ohio.)  A  dark  bluish  green  pol- 
ished steatite  pipe  was  found  on  the  Wm.  Rentz  farm  in 
section  twenty-two,  Greenville  township.  (Now  in  the  pos- 
session of  H.  C.  Shetrone,  Columbus,  Ohio.)  A  pipe  carved 
after  the  form  of  a  sitting  man  with  a  human  face  cut  in  the 
bowl  was  found  in  a  mound.  A  carved  stone  tortoise  was 
picked  up  near  Fort  Jefferson.  It  was  about  four  inches  long, 
three  inches  wide,  and  two  inches  high,  and  was  of  a  pecu- 
liar rock,  mottled  yellow  and  black.  Effigy  pipes,  record 
pipes   and   common   pipes   have   also  been   found   in   limited 


DARKE   COUNTV 


41 


numbers.  The  list  of  implements  and  ornaments  found  at 
various  times  scattered  over  the  county  is  a  large  one  and 
includes  flint  and  chert  knives,  spears,  arrow  heads,  drills, 
slate  stone  discs,  badges,  gorges,  axes,  calling  tubes,  scrapers, 
record  tablets,  thread  shapers,  rubbing  stones,  granite  mor- 
tars, pestles,  celts,  hammers,  axes,  balls,  etc.  Large  numbers 
of  these  were  secured  in  early  days  by  Dr.  Gabriel  Miesse, 
and  by  Anthony  and  Charles  Katzenberger,  and  many  are 
now  on  exhibition  in  the  public  museum  in  Greenville. 

Topography. 

The  surface  of  Darke  county  presents  but  few  marked  fea- 
tures. As  before  suggested  it  is  known  as  a  glacial  plain  and 
is  crossed  by  three  moraine  belts  slightly  elevated  above  the 
adjoining  lands.  The  great  watershed,  or  summit  ridge,  di- 
viding the  basins  of  the  Wabash  and  Great  Miami  enters  the 
northeastern  part  of  the  county  in  Patterson  township  and 
trends  in  a  southwesterly  direction,  passing  through  the  south- 
ern part  of  Wabash  and  Allen  townships,  and  reaching  the 
state  line  near  the  middle  of  the  western  line  of  Jackson 
township.  The  land  slopes  mostly  in  a  southeasterly  direc- 
tion from  this  ridge  toward  the  Great  Miami.  The  ridge 
itself  presents  a  broad,  rounded  and  comparatively  regular 
outline.  At  a  remote  date  it  was  probably  somewhat  higher 
and  much  more  uneven,  but  the  natural  elements  have  eroded 
its  original  surface  and  the  streams  have  carried  down  this 
loosened  glacial  material  and  mixed  it  with  the  black  vege- 
table loam  of  the  upper  basins  of  the  Mississinawa,  Wabash 
and  Stillwater  streams,  thus  greatly  enriching  these  bottom 
lands  and  reducing  the  rugged  contour  of  the  ridge.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  Rosehill  the  ridge  reaches  a  height  of  eleven 
hundred  feet  above  sea  level  while  in  its  eastern  lobe  it  is 
about  a  hundred  feet  lower. 

The  highest  altitude  in  the  county,  1,225  feet,  is  in  Harri- 
son township  near  School  No.  7  on  the  ridge  separating  the 
basin  of  the  Whitewater  from  that  of  the  West  Branch. 

The  following  figures  from  the  topographic  survey  of  Ohio 
show  the  relative  height  at  various  points  in  the  count3\  It 
will  be  noted  that  the  difiference  between  the  highest  and 
lowest  points  enumerated,  viz. :  Yankeetown,  in  Harrison 
township,  and  Versailles,  in  ^^'^ayne  township,  is  two  hundred 


42  DARKE   COUNTY 

and   twenty-four   feet,   and   that   the   elevation   of  the   county 
seat  is  about  ten  hundred  and  fifty  feet : 

Yankeetovvn    1,192  Elroy     1.031 

New  Madison 1,113  Ithaca    1,032 

Savona    1,106  Rossburg    1,030 

Palestine    1,104  Pitsburg    1,028 

Clark's  Station 1,095  Woodington    1,023 

Nashville    1,093  Dawn    1,022 

Castine    1,079  New  ^^'eston 1,014 

Near   Rose   Hill 1,078  North    Star   1,006 

Jaysville   1,064  Aiisonia    1,005 

Arcanum    1,053  New  Harrison    987 

Greenville    1,050  Yorkshire     987 

Brock    1,048  Versailles 968 

Streams  and  Drainage  Systems. 

The  upper  Stillwater  rises  in  Jackson  township,  skirts  the 
southern  slope  of  the  dividing  ridge  near  Lightsville,  and 
flows  southeasterly  in  a  shallow  valley  toward  the  Great 
]\Iiami.  It  drains  the  plain  lying  between  the  Mississinawa 
and  the  Union  moraines  formerly  noted. 

Greenville  creek,  the  largest  stream  in  the  county,  arises 
in  the  Wabash  divide  a  few  miles  across  the  state  line  south- 
west of  Union  City  and  flows  in  a  southeastern  direction  along 
the  Union  moraine  to  Greenville  and  thence  easterly  to  its 
junction  with  Stillwater  at  Covington,  in  JNIiami  county.  Its 
principal  branches.  Dismal  creek,  Crout  creek,  West  Branch, 
^lud  creek  and  Bridge  creek,  are  received  from  the  south  and 
west.  It  drains  a  large  part  of  the  county  lying  between  the 
Union  moraine  and  the  moraine  passing  through  the  southern 
part  of  the  county.  The  Union  moraine  on  the  north  and 
the  glacial  cairns  along  the  central  course  break  the  monotony 
and  give  a  romantic  touch  to  its  scenic  effect.  These  two 
streams  drain  the  most  of  the  county,  but  are  supplemented 
by  other  valuable  water  courses.  The  upper  waters  of  the 
Mississinawa  and  the  Wabash  rise  within  about  a  mile  of 
each  other  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  divide  in  the  north- 
western part  of  the  county.  The  former  drains  most  of 
Mississinawa  township  and  the  western  part  of  Jackson  town- 
ship. The  latter  runs  southeasterly  into  central  Allen  town- 
ship and  thence  northeasterly  through  the  northwest  corner 
of  Wabash  and  into  Mercer  county.     After  continuina:  east- 


DARKE   COUNTY  43 

ward  it  takes  a  circuitous  course  and  returns  westward  in 
Mercer  county,  so  that  when  it  arrives  at  Fort  Recovery  after 
traveling  about  sixty  miles  it  is  only  about  four  miles  from 
its  source.  Painter  creek  and  Ludlow  creek  rise  in  what  used 
to  be  known  as  the  swamp  ash  slashes  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  county  and  drain  the  rich  level  country  now  com- 
prised mostly  in  Franklin  and  Monroe  townships,  together 
with  parts  of  Van  Buren  and  Twin  townships.  Twin  creek 
rises  in  the  northern  part  of  Butler  township  in  what  was 
formerly  known  as  Maple  Swamp,  flows  east  of  south  and 
forms  the  main  drainage  system  of  that  township.  Miller's 
Fork  of  Twin  creek  reaches  up  into  Twin  township  and  drains 
its  western  and  southern  portion.  The  East  Fork  of  White 
Water  drains  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  county.  It 
reaches  to  the  neighborhood  of  New  Madison  where  its  head- 
waters approach  within  half  a  mile  of  the  source  of  Mud 
creek,  forming  a  remarkable  continuous  prairie  which  has 
been  utilized  by  the  Panhandle  railway  from  Greenville  to 
Richmond  to  good  effect.  The  main  head  of  the  White  ^^'a- 
ter  is  in  western  German  township  within  a  mile  of  the  head 
of  Grout  creek.  This  stream  flows  almost  west  of  south, 
passing  west  of  Hollansburg  and  crossing  the  state  line  al)out 
two  miles  below  this  place. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Darke  county  is  covered  with  a 
veritable  network  of  streams  radiating  in  various  directions 
and  belonging  mostly  to  the  Miami  and  Wabash  drainage 
basins.  There  is  not  a  single  township  without  an  adequate 
drainage  system.  These  streams  and  brooks  are  fed  by 
numberless  springs  bubbling  from  the  loamy  soil,  and 
furnishing  refreshment  to  man  and  beast.  Probably  the  fin- 
est springs  are  found  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  county, 
where  they  bubble  up  from  the  underlying  limestone  freighted 
with  carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia  and  having  properties 
similar  to  the  famous  Cedar  Springs  in  the  adjoining  section 
of  Preble  county.  On  account  of  the  extensive  drainage  op- 
erations and  the  destruction  of  the  forest  in  the  county  most 
of  the  surface  springs  have  disappeared  from  sight  and  water 
is  supplied  by  wells  obtained  from  the  sand  and  gravel  de- 
posits overlying  the  glacial  clays  at  a  depth  of  from  twenty 
to  fifty  feet  below  the  surface.  !Many  wells  have  been  drilled 
deep  in  the  underlying  limestone  and  prove  an  unfailing 
source  of  fine  drinking  water.  On  the  Tillman  farm  in  sec- 
tion 20.  Brown  township,  water  was  encountered  at  a  depth 


44  DARKE  COUNTY 

of  about  180  feet  while  drilling  for  oil  or  gas  in  1899.  Water 
has  continued  to  pour  from  this  hole  ever  since,  making  one 
of  the  finest  artesian  wells  in  the  county.  Some  fine  surface 
springs  are  found  in  this  same  neighborhood  which  feed  the 
upper  Stillwater. 

This  abundant  supply  of  good  water  and  excellent  drainage 
system  have  contributed  materially  to  the  rapid  development 
of  the  county,  making  it  one  of  the  most  desirable  places  of 
residence  within  the  state.  ^ 

Forests. 

This  abundance  of  moisture  explains,  also,  the  presence  of 
the  grand  forests  which  covered  primitive  Darke  county. 
Rooted  in  a  naturally  rich  soil  the  trees  were  fed  by  an  un- 
failing supply  of  moisture  from  the  springs  and  streams. 
Judging  from  the  accounts  of  the  pioneers  and  from  the  groves 
of  timber  still  standing  one  would  be  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  the  primeval  forest  of  old  Darke  county  was  one  of  the 
finest  encountered  in  temperate  climes  in  variety  of  species, 
development  of  body,  beauty  of  foliage  and  commercial  value. 
It  seems  that  there  were  few  natural  meadows  or  prairies  and 
that  an  almost  unbroken  forest  stretched  over  the  entire  face 
of  the  county.  Sometimes  one  encountered  beautiful  groves 
of  fine  oaks,  as  along  the  ridges  skirting  the  Alud  Creek 
prairie.  In  level  wet  places  soft  maple  perhaps  prevailed  as 
in  the  extensive  maple  swamp  in  Butler  township.  Again  the 
hard  sugar  maple  predominated  to  the  delight  of  the  Indian  and 
the  pioneer  as  in  the  Hiller  settlement.  Beech  groves  were 
found  in  a  few  places,  mostly  in  the  southern  and  western  part 
of  the  county,  and  on  the  ridge  in  the  northern  part.  Along 
the  streams  grew  the  white  boled  sycamore,  the  stately 
American  elm,  the  graceful  linden  and  the  verdant  willow. 
For  the  most  part,  however,  the  predominating  trees  were 
interspersed  with  others  scarcely  less  common  and  a  remark- 
able variety  was  encountered  on  a  comparatively  small  tract 
of  land.  Besides  those  mentioned,  the  ash,  shagbark,  hickory 
and  black  walnut  were  quite  common.  While  the  following 
variety  were  encountered  with  more  or  less  frequenc}- :  yellow 
poplar,  buckeye,  locust,  cottonwood,  slippery  elm,  butternut, 
black  cherry,  mulberry,  coffee  berry,  silver  maple.  While 
among  the  smaller  varieties  were  noted  the  dogwood,  red  bud, 
black-haw,  red-haw,  sassafras,  wild  crab,  wild  plum,  persim- 
mon, papaw  and  a  large  variety  of  ornamental  and  flowering 


DARKE   COUNTY  45 

shrubbery  which  often  made  an  almost  impenetrable  growth 
of  underbrush,  such  as  the  spice  bush,  wahoo,  sumac,  hazel- 
nut, blackberry,  raspberry. 

It  should  be  noted  also  that  the  predominating  trees  were 
found  in  large  variety.  For  instance,  the  oak  which  appeared 
in  black,  red,  white,  burr  and  pin.  Individual  specimens  at- 
tained a  remarkable  size  as  shown  by  the  following  notable 
instances  mentioned  by  Mr.  Calvin  Young.  "In  the  year  1883 
there  was  cut  down  in  German  township  an  oak  that  had  a 
history.  It  measured  over  six  feet  across  the  stump,  contain- 
ing over  five  hundred  annual  rings  of  growth.  It  was  in  its 
most  thrifty  condition  between  two  and  three  hundred  years 
of  age,  from  the  fact  of  those  annual  growths  were  much  larger 
and  faster  of  growth  than  it  was  at  the  heart  or  bark  of  the 
tree.  It  was  tall  and  symmetrical,  with  a  broad  and  branch- 
ing top.  ***!(;  -^^-as  one  hundred  and  nine  years  old 
when  Columbus  discovered  America.  It  was  three  hundred 
and  ninety-three  years  old  when  our  fathers  signed  the  Dec- 
laration of  Independence.     *     *     *" 

"On  Thursday,  January  16,  1902,  at  one  o'clock  p.  m.,  one  of 
the  largest  poplar  trees  in  western  Ohio  fell  to  the  ground. 
It  was  bought  by  E.  L.  Fields,  of  Union  City,  Ind.,  for  which 
he  paid  $160,  also  $11  more  for  extra  timber  to  place  under 
the  same  to  prevent  it  from  splitting  or  breaking  in  falling 
to  the  ground.  It  belonged  to  Jacob  Ware,  section  10,  Ger- 
man township,  Darke  county,  Ohio.  It  stood  about  two  hun- 
dred yards  east  of  Crout  creek,  which  is  a  branch  of  Green- 
ville creek,  noted  by  Judge  Wharry  in  his  early  surveys  as 
one  of  the  finest  and  most  fertile  tracts  of  land  from  its  source 
to  its  mouth  to  be  found  in  Darke  county.  The  tree  was  six 
feet  across  the  stump,  18  feet  in  circumference,  74  feet  to  the 
first  limb,  attained  a  height  of  about  144  feet.  By  a  careful 
count  of  the  annual  rings  it  was  found  to  be  over  400  years 
old." 

A  large  and  rare  specimen  of  the  coffee  berry  tree  formerly 
stood  below  Fort  Jefferson  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  C.  D. 
Folkerth,  northwest  part  of  section  34,  Neave  township.  For 
years  it  was  a  notable  landmark  standing  at  the  fork  of  the 
old  trails — St.  Clair's  trace  and  the  one  leading  to  Fort  Black 
(New  Madison).  The  top  was  finally  shattered  by  the  winds 
and  the  dismantled  trunk  was  cut  down  a  few  years  ago  by 
Mr.  Folkerth.  It  is  said  that  the  bole  of  this  tree  was  about 
four  feet  across  and  that  it  was  the  largest  specimen  of  this 


46  DARKE   COUNTY 

variety  in  the  United  States.  In  its  full  maturity  it  was 
photographed  by  representatives  of  the  Smithsonian  Institu- 
tion, Washington,  D.  C,  and  furnished  an  illustration  in  one 
of  the  institution's  reports.  It  attracted  wide  attention  among 
botanists  and  was  viewed  by  many  admirers.  The  berries,  or 
beans,  were  dark  brown,  about  the  size  of  a  coffee-berry,  with 
extremely  flinty  shells  and  were  carried  in  pods  six  or  eight 
inches  long  resembling  the  pods  of  the  honey  locust  tree. 

A  white  oak  tree  was  felled  on  the  Kerst  farm  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  section  18,  Neave  township,  one-half  mile  east  of 
Baker's  store,  some  sixty  years  ago,  which  measured  about 
seven  feet  in  diameter. 

A  burr  oak  about  seven  feet  in  diameter  was  felled  in  early 
days  in  Twin  township.  Such  trees  were  encountered,  most 
probably,  in  nearly  every  section  of  the  county,  and  cause  a 
shade  of  regret  to  pass  o\'er  the  face  of  the  old  settlers  still 
living  as  they  recite  the  remarkable  instances  and  think  of 
the  marketable  value  of  such  timber  today — one  such  tree 
being  worth  an  acre  or  two  of  fine  farm  land  at  the  high  prices 
of  today.  Where  has  all  this  fine  timber  gone?  To  answer 
this  question  one  needs  only  to  think  of  the  settler's  cabin, 
the  big  log  burnings,  the  worm  rail  fence,  the  back  log  of  the 
old  fireplace,  the  corduroy  road,  the  wooden  bridge,  the  rail- 
way tie,  the  spoke,  stave  and  head  factory,  the  wagon  factor}-, 
the  saw  mill  and  the  foreign  shipment.  The  time  has  come 
when  the  headwaters  and  bottoms  of  our  streams  as  well  as 
those  all  over  the  state  might  be  reforested  for  the  general 
welfare  and  we  look  forward  to  the  time  when  communities 
will  be  forced  to  do  by  legal  enactment  what  they  have  failed 
to  do  by  private  initiative. 

Denizens  of  the  Forest. 

In  such  a  wilderness  as  covered  primitive  Darke  county. 
one  would  expect  to  find  a  great  variety  and  quantity  of  wild 
animal  life.  The  testimony  of  an  early  settler  shows  the 
character  of  the  game  and  other  animals  of  the  forest :  "There 
was  always  an  abundance  of  deer,  bear,  wild  turkeys,  pheas- 
ants and  squirrels,  the  latter  too  plentiful,  as  they  would  eat 
up  much  of  the  new  corn  in  the  fields.  Of  animals  unclean, 
and  such  as  were  not  used  for  food,  there  was  an  abundance, 
such  as  panthers,  catamounts,  wolves — the  latter  of  which 
were  very  annoying  to  the  settlers  from  their  propensitv  to 


DARKE   COUNTY  47 

steal  calves,  pigs  and  sheep.  Ground-hogs,  opossums,  por- 
cupines and  wildcats  abounded.  Of  the  fur-bearing  animals 
there  were  beaver,  otter,  mink,  muskrats  and  raccoons.  These 
fur  animals  were  trapped  and  caught  in  great  abundance,  and 
were  the  only  source  from  which  the  settlers  got  their  cash. 
These  furs  could  always  be  sold  for  money,  and  were  largely 
used  at  the  time  in  the  manufacture  of  hats  and  caps. 

"Besides  these  there  were  great  flocks  of  wild  geese,  wild 
ducks  and  wild  pigeons  almost  constantly  to  be  seen  during 
the  summer  season.  From  such  abundance  the  settlers  could 
always  keep  their  tables  well  supplied  with  a  variety  of  the 
choicest  meats." 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE  OHIO  COUNTRY. 

The  early  history  of  Darke  county  is  so  closely  interwoven 
with  that  of  the  Ohio  valley  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  a  satis- 
factory knowledge  of  the  one  without  a  brief  survey  of  the 
other. 

Between  Ft.  Pitt,  the  strongest  American  outpost,  and  De- 
troit, the  British  capital  of  the  old  northwest,  hostile  demon- 
strations were  enacted  which  disturbed  the  peace  and  threat- 
ened the  stability  of  the  early  American  government.  Raids 
were  constantly  made  on  the  new  settlements  south  of  the 
Ohio  river,  only  shortly  to  be  followed  by  retaliatory  expe- 
ditions by  the  hardy  backwoodsmen. 

After  the  Revolution  ended  in  the  east  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  subdue  the  haughty  red  man,  who  had  been  exploited 
and  encouraged  by  the  British  agents  of  the  north  since  the 
end  of  the  French  war  in  1763.  Clark.  Harmar,  \\'ilkinson, 
St.  Clair  and  Wayne  were  successively  sent  against  them 
with  varying  fortunes,  but  final  success. 

Thus  was  enacted  a  drama  of  conquest,  whose  early  scenes 
are  laid  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  and  the  region  of  the  lower 
lakes,  but  whose  final  scenes  appear  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Maumee  and  Miami.  We  have  noted  the  unmistakable  signs 
of  the  early  and  extensive  appearance  of  the  red  man  in 
Darke  county,  and  will  now  consider  his  character,  his  ethnic 
relations  and  note  the  eft'ect  of  his  contact  with  the  rapidly 
advancing  pioneer  American  settlements. 

How  long  the  various  families  and  tribes  of  the  North 
American  Indians  had  occupied  the  tracts  of  land  respectively 
claimed  by  them  at  the  advent  of  the  white  man.  it  is  impos- 
sible to  say  in  the  absence  of  any  written  records  or  authentic 
history.  The  legends  of  the  tribes  but  add  to  the  confusion 
of  the  historian  and  give  little  encouragement  to  the  hope 
that  a  true  account  of  their  past  wanderings  and  experiences 
shall  ever  be  constructed.  It  is  known,  however,  that  some 
of  the  tribes  made  extensive  migrations  soon  after  the  discov- 
ery of  the  continent  bv  European  explorers. 
(4) 


50  DARKE   COUNTY 

It  has  ever  been  difficult  for  the  staid  and  cultured  Anglo- 
Saxon  to  understand  and  delineate  the  true  character  of  the 
North  American  Indian.  Some  writers  depict  him  as  the  red 
aristocrat  of  the  forest,  possessed  of  true  virtue,  chivalry  and 
valor,  while  others  would  make  him  appear  a  fiend  incarnate, 
delighting  in  rapine  and  brutal  slaughter.  Like  all  savage 
peoples  his  character  was  unsymmetrical,  and  manifested 
many  crude  and  violent  inconsistencies.  Being  children  of 
nature,  they  reflected  nature's  changing  moods ;  now  dwell- 
ing peaceably  in  skin  tepees  or  frail  bark  huts  in  their  se- 
cluded forest  homes ;  again  making  the  wilderness  ring  with 
their  hideous  yells,  as  they  danced  in  frenzied  glee  at  the  pros- 
pect of  the  fearful  slaughter  of  their  foes.  To  them  the  natural 
world  was  an  enchanted  fairyland  whose  spirits  they  wor- 
shipped or  cajoled,  according  to  their  changing  whims,  and 
disease  was  an  evil  spirit  to  be  driven  out  of  the  body  by  the 
weird  maneuvers  of  the  Medicine  Man.  Easily  elated  by  suc- 
cess, they  were  just  as  readily  dejected  by  defeat,  causing 
them  to  waver  in  their  various  alliances  as  prompted  by  ex- 
pediency. As  a  nieans  of  personal  decoration  they  loved  to 
smear  their  sinewy  bodies  with  colored  clays  or  tint  them  with 
the  juice  of  berries,  and  wear  jangling  trinkets  and  colored 
beads.  Living  a  rude  and  simple  life  they  knew  no  law  but 
necessity,  and  no  government  save  expediency.  Their  meat 
was  the  flesh  of  the  deer,  the  bufifalo  and  the  wild  game  which 
they  chased  with  craft  and  glee  through  the  primeval  forest. 
For  a  diversified  diet  they  cultivated  small  areas  of  corn, 
beans,  melons,  etc.,  and  gathered  the  nuts  and  wild  fruits  of 
the  wood.  The  wife,  or  squaw,  together  with  the  children, 
cultivated  the  fields  and  did  the  drudgery  incident  to  the  care 
of  the  camp  or  village,  while  the  brave  or  warrior  roamed 
the  forest  in  quest  of  game,  warred  with  hostile  tribes,  con- 
structed the  tepee,  or  hut,  the  swift  gliding  canoe,  and  the 
various  implements  of  war  and  the  chase.  When  not  on  the 
chase  or  fighting  his  hereditary  foes,  he  loved  to  idle  about 
the  camp  and  engage  in  racing,  wrestling,  gambling,  chant- 
ing and  dancing,  while  incited  by  the  frenzied  yells  of  his  fel- 
low abettors.  In  feasting,  smoking,  jesting  and  repartee  he 
was  a  past  master. 

Lavish  in  hospitality  and  faithful  to  friends,  he  was,  never- 
theless, the  implacable  persecutor  of  real  or  fancied  enemies. 
Two  remarkable  traits  seemed  to  lift  him  above  the  level  of 
common  savagerv ;  his  stoicism,  which  made  him  insensible 


DARKE   COUNTY  51 

to  suffering-,  fatigue  and  physical  exposure ;  and  his  eloquence, 
which,  aided  by  a  well  trained  memory  and  keen  intellect, 
was  a  marvel  to  the  whites  who  met  him  in  council.  Freedom 
from  conventional  restraints  and  the  beauty  of  his  natural 
haunts  contributed,  no  doubt,  to  the  dex'elopment  of  his  ora- 
torical powers. 

Belonging  to  one  ethnic  group  th.e  North  American  Indians, 
ne\  ertheless,  manifested  distinct  characteristics  and  were  sep- 
arated into  well-defined  families  and  tribes,  having  distinct 
dialects,  traditions  and  definite  places  of  abode.  Two  great 
families  occupied  the  basin  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the  valle_\' 
of  the  Ohio  river  at  the  advent  of  the  whites.  The  Algonquin 
family  were  the  more  numerous,  and  were  represented  b_\-  the 
larger  number  of  tribes,  the  more  prominent  being  the  Otta- 
was,  Chippewas  and  Pottawatomies  in  the  upper  lake  region  ; 
the  ancient  and  powerful  Aliamis,  with  subject  and  related 
tribes,  along  the  JMaumee,  the  ^^'abash  and  the  upper  Miami 
river  valleys ;  the  active  and  warlike  Shawanese  in  the  valley 
of  the  Scioto  and  neighboring  territory;  the  Delawares  in  the 
valley  of  the  Muskingum  and  upper  Ohio.  The  wandering 
disposition  of  some  of  these  tribes  is  shown  by  their  various 
migrations. 

The  Shawanese  had  recently  emigrated  from  the  valleys  of 
the  Cumberland  and  Tennessee  rivers,  from  which  they  had 
probably  been  driven  by  the  hostility  of  the  neighboring 
southern  tribes.  They  were  active,  egotistic,  restless  and 
warlike  and  were  destined  to  become  more  frequently  en- 
gaged with  the  advancing  frontiersmen  than  any  other  of  the 
Ohio  tribes. 

The  Delawares  had  emigrated  from  the  Delaware  and  Sus- 
quehanna river  region,  on  account  of  the  encroachment  of 
the  whites  and  the  hostility  of  their  northern  neighbors,  the 
Five  Nations,  and  are  especially  prominent  in  colonial  his- 
torjr  because  of  their  treaty  with  William  Penn.  Their  peace- 
able disposition  won  for  them  the  contempt  of  some  of  the 
more  warlike  tribes,  who  called  them  "women."  Their  con- 
duct in  the  Ohio  country,  however,  proved  them  to  be  war- 
riors worthy  of  respect. 

The  Miamis  had  lived  "from  time  immemorial"  in  their 
secluded  abode,  and  their  title  to  the  lands  claimed  by  them 
was  probably  more  valid  than  that  of  any  of  the  northwestern 
tribes.  With  their  relatives,  the  Tawas,  the  Weas,  the  Piank- 
eshaws.and  Eel  river  Indians,  they  formed  a  powerful  nation. 


52  DARKE   COUNTY 

Their  central  and  established  location,  together  with  intelli- 
gent leadership,  gave  them  a  decided  prestige  among  their 
neighbors. 

All  of  these  prominent  tribes  had,  no  doubt,  absorbed  the 
scattered  remnants  of  the  Xew  England  and  coast  tribes 
which  otherwise  would  have  been  exterminated. 

The  other  great  family  of  Indians,  identified  with  the  ter- 
ritory under  consideration,  was  the  Iroquoian.  This  family 
occupied  the  lands  between  the  Ottawa  river  and  the  lower 
lakes,  and  a  portion  of  the  region  below  the  latter.  Their  in- 
fluence, however,  extended  from  Lake  Champlain  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  from  the  Ottawa  to  the  Ohio.  Several  of  the 
smaller  tribes  of  this  powerful  family  roamed  over  the  Ohii 
country  and  made  some  large  settlements.  Five  of  the  most 
powerful  stationary  neighboring  tribes,  the  Senecas,  Cayugas, 
Onondagas,  Oneidas  and  ]\Iohawks,  formed  a  confederacy 
known  originally  as  the  Five  Nations,  and  later,  after  being 
augmented  by  the  Tuscaroras  tribe  from  the  Carolinas.  the 
Six  Nations.  This  confederation  lived  mainly  in  central  New 
York  from  the  Hudson  river  to  the  region  south  of  Lake  On- 
tario, having  several  palisaded  towns  of  bark  huts  and  con- 
siderable orchards  and  cultivated  lands. 

\\'ithin  historic  times  they  had  practically  exterminated  the 
Fries,  who  dwelt  westward  along  the  southern  shore  cf  Lake 
Erie,  and  the  Andastes,  who  lived  to  the  south  in  the  resion 
of  the  Susquehanna,  both  belonging  to  the  same  family. 
They  had  also  driven  their  brother  tribe,  the  Huron  ^^'yan- 
dots,  from  their  ancient  abode  below  the  Ottawa  river,-  caus- 
ing them  to  retire  to  the  southwestern  shore  of  Lake  Eric. 
The  Wyandots,  however,  ultimately  became  the  leading  m- 
tion  among  the  Indians  beyond  the  Ohio  and  were  addressed 
as  "uncle"  by  the  other  tribes.  In  their  keeping  Avas  placed  the 
Grand  Calumet,  or  peace  pipe,  which  entitled  them  to  assem- 
ble the  tribes  in  general  council  and  open  all  deliberations. 

The  Five  Nations  came  into  contact  with  the  Dutch  and 
English  traders  at  an  early  date  and  were  supplied  with  fire- 
arms, which  they  used  to  advantage  in  awing  and  subduing 
the  western  tribes.  Although  their  population  probablv  never 
exceeded  twenty-five  thousand,  they  were  intelligent,  aggres- 
sive, eloquent  and  powerful,  and  continually  waged  war  on 
the  northwestern  tribes,  whose  lands  they  claimed  by  right 
of  conquest.  But  for  the  timely  appearance  of  the  Euro- 
peans, they  would  probably  have  subdued  or  exterminated  the 


DARKE   COUNTY 


53 


separate  and  poorly  organized  tribes  of  the  wandering  Algon- 
quins,  and  thus  have  formed  a  powerful  savage  nation.  It 
seems  improbable,  however,  that  they  would  ever  have  es- 
tablished a  permanent  and  prosperous  nation,  worthy  the  re- 
spect of  civilized  peoples. 

While  these  children  of  the  forest  dwelt  in  this  delightful 
land  of  virgin  rivers,  lakes,  prairies  and  woods,  unmolested 
save  by  their  own  kindred,  the  white  man  planted  settle- 
ments along  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and  commenced  a  cam- 
paign of  conquest  and  expansion  that  was  not  to  cease  until 
practically  the  whole  continent  had  come  into  his  possession. 

Centuries  of  civilization  had  prepared  the  Anglo-Saxon  for 
a  new  abode  where  he  might  have  sufficient  room  and  re- 
sources to  work  out  the  destinies  of  a  new  and  mightier  na- 
tion than  the  world  had  ever  known.  His  conquest  was  to 
be  not  merely  a  matter  of  might,  Init  of  fitness  and  greater 
service  to  the  expanding  race  of  man.  \\niere  a  few  wander- 
ing tribes  had  long  made  a  precarious  living,  millions  of  a 
civlized  people  were  soon  to  subdue  the  forces  of  primitive 
nature,  establish  the  institutions  of  a  higher  life  and  raise 
a  new  standard  for  all  the  races  of  the  world. 

In  the  carrying  out  of  this  great  enterprise  two  powerful 
nations,  who  had  met  on  many  a  field  of  battle  in  their  home 
land,  were  to  try  their  strength  on  new  fields,  in  rough  places. 
and  prove  which  was  to  be  chosen  for  the  high  and  responsi- 
ble destiny  of  leading  and  shaping  a  mighty  nation,  yet  un- 
born. 

The  circumstances  which  caused  the  English  to  settle  on 
the  James  river  in  1607  and  on  Cape  Cod  Bay  in  1620.  and  the 
French  on  the  St.  Lawrence  in  1608.  scarcely  seemed  to  fore- 
shadow the  tremendous  results  that  were  to  follow  in  less  than 
two  centuries.  Thus  two  active  forces  were  located  on  con- 
verging lines,  and  were  to  meet  and  come  in  deadly  conflict 
beyond  the  apparent  barrier  of  the  Alleghan}'  mountains.  The 
hardy  English,  inheriting  the  vigor  of  their  northern  ances- 
tors and  inured  to  the  rigors  of  the  British  Isles,  settled  the 
coast  from  Maine  to  the  Carolinas,  laid  the  foundations  of 
an  enduring  civilization  and  depended  largely  upon  the  labor 
of  their  own  hands  for  subsistence.  They  subdued  the  red 
man  or  drove  him  awa3^  and  gradually  advanced  the  frontier 
westward.  Desiring  to  extend  the  Catholic  church  and  the 
domain  of  France,  the  French  took  possession  of  the  valley 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  establishing  a  strong  base  on  the  rock  of 


54  DARKE   COUNTY 

Quebec.  From  this  advantageous  center  their  missionaries, 
fired  with  zeal  to  convert  the  savages,  and  their  explorers, 
anxious  to  find  new  lands,  followed  up  the  watercourses  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  crossed  the  upper  lakes  in  their  birch-bark 
canoes  and  passed  over  the  divide  by  easy  portages  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  branches  of  the  Ohio  and  ^Mississippi,  and 
finally  reached  the  Father  of  Waters. 

The  most  direct  route  from  Quebec  to  the  northern  lakes 
was  by  way  of  the  Ottawa  river  and  Lake  Nipissing  to  Geor- 
gian bay.  This  fact,  together  with  the  hostility  of  the  Iro- 
quois, who  dwelt  along  the  lower  lakes,  led  the  French  to 
establish  posts  at  Kaskaskia,  Vincennes  and  other  remote 
western  points,  several  years  before  Cadillac  fortified  De- 
troit, the  most  strategic  point  on  the  lakes,  in  1701.  For  the 
same  reason  the  territory  now  comprised  in  Ohio,  with  the 
exception  of  the  ]\Iaumee  valley  and  some  lake  points,  was 
the  last  explored  by  the  French. 

The  early  enmity  of  the  Iroquois,  incurred  by  Champlain, 
was  later  taken  advantage  of  by  the  British  through  the  of- 
fices of  their  invaluable  agent,  Sir  Wm.  Johnson,  and  became 
a  powerful  factor  in  directing  the  fortune  of  the  contending 
whites  in  the  Ohio  country.  On  account  of  location  and  for- 
tuitous circumstances,  the  northwestern  tribes  were  destined 
to  align  themselves  largely  with  the  French  in  opposing  the 
expansion  of  the  English  settlements  beyond  the  Alleghany 
mountains. 

The  early  water  routes  explored  by  the  French  were  sin> 
ply  those  which  the  northwestern  Indians  had  used  from  time 
immemorial.  They  led  from  the  Great  La'.^es  to  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Ohio  rivers  hv  the  most  direct  and  convenient  tribu- 
tary streams  and  were  traveled  b}'  means  of  canoes  made  of 
birch-bark,  the  skins  of  animals,  or  some  light  wn(id.  These 
canoes  were  carried  by  the  voyagers  across  the  shortest  port- 
ages between  the  headwaters  of  the  approaching  streams  and 
launched  at  well-known  landing-places,  thus  providing  the 
simplest,  swiftest  and  most  effective  means  of  travel  known 
to  primitive  man. 

By  gaining  the  friendship  of  the  northwestern  tribes  the 
French  explorers  soon  learned  their  best  routes  and  were  en- 
abled to  make  rough  maps  of  their  country  to  be  kept  for  fu- 
ture reference  and  to  support  their  later  claims  of  discoverv. 

The  more  prominent  routes  established  were:  From  Lake 
^Michigan  to  the  ^Mississippi,   (1)  by  way  of  Green  Bay.  the 


DARKE   COUNTY 


55 


Fox  and  Wisconsin  rivers;  (2)  by  the  Des  Plaines  and  Illi- 
nois rivers;  and  (3)  by  the  St.  Joseph's  and  Kankakee;  from 
Lake  Michigan  to  the  Ohio  by  way  of  tht  St.  Joseph's  and 
Wabash  rivers;  and  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  by  way  of 
the  Alaumee  and  Wabash  rivers.  Other  well-known  routes 
connected  the  Maumee  and  Great  JNIiami,  the  Sandusky  and 
Scioto,  and  the  Cuyahoga  and  Muskingum.  For  these  early 
and  important  explorations  we  are  indebted  to  the  zealous 
and  intrepid  Catholic  missionaries  and  daring  French  adven- 
turers, such  as  LaSalle,  IMarquette,  Joliet,  Nicollet,  Henne- 
pin, Brule,  and  others  who  faithfully  served  their  country  and 
their  cause  and  left  a  record  that  shall  long  add  luster  to  their 
names. 

The  Indian  mind  seems  peculiarly  susceptible  to  the  elabor- 
ate forms  and  ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  church,  which  ever 
appeal  forcibly  to  the  outward  senses  and  objectify  the 
teachings  intended  to  be  inculcated.  Thus  the  spiritual  labors 
of  the  missionaries  were  not  in  vain  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  church  and.  in  addition,  helped  to  cultivate  a  friendly  dis- 
position toward  the  French  traders  who  soon  followed. 

The  Frenchman  is  naturally  volatile,  versatile  and  viva- 
cious, making  him  responsive  to  change  and  excitement  or  ad- 
^'enture.  The  wild,  free,  and  changeable  life  of  the  savage 
appealed  forcibly  to  the  trader,  who  snon  learned  his  dialects, 
married  his  women,  adopted  his  customs,  and  finally  won  his 
affection  and  confidence.  The  influence  exercised  b)-  this  class 
is  indicated  by  the  freedom  with  which  they  penetrated  to 
the  western  plains  and  planted  a  chain  of  trading  posts  reach- 
ing from  the  region  of  the  Hudson  Bay  to  the  far  south.  They 
supplied  the  natives  with  the  things  which  they  desired  in  the 
way  of  fancy  blankets,  coarse,  iDright  cloths,  guns,  ammuni- 
tion, knives,  hatchets,  kettles,  beads,  tobacco,  intoxicating 
liquors,  etc.  AMiatever  may  have  been  France's  ulterior  mo- 
tive in  searching  out  these  lands,  her  early  representatives 
seemed  content  to  establish  posts  on  small  tracts  and  live 
peaceably  among  the  natives,  caring  onl}'  for  the  profit  to  be 
derived  from  their  extensive  trade. 

In  due  course  of  time,  however,  the  French  established 
fortified  posts  at  Frontenac  on  the  northeast  shore  of  Lake 
Ontario,  at  Niagara,  at  Presque  Isle  (Erie,  Pa.),  at  Detroit, 
at  Mackinac,  and  at  Sault  Ste.  ^ilarie,  thus  guarding  the  en- 
trances to  the  Great  Lakes  and  strengthening  their  prestige  in 
the  vast  lake  region.     They  also  established  palisaded  trading 


56  DARKE   COUNTY 

posts  on  the  St.  Joseph's  of  Lake  [Michigan,  at  Ouiatanon  on 
the  ^^■  abast,  at  the  Miami  villages  on  the  Maumee  ( Ft. 
jMiamis)  at  Saudusky,  and  at  other  advantageous  centers. 

The  English  and  Dutch  also  tried  to  plant  posts  on  the 
upper  lakes,  but  with  small  success.  They  impressed  the  In- 
dians as  being  cold,  unsympathetic,  and  avaricious,  with  an 
ill-concealed  and  excessive  lust  for  their  diminishing  lands. 
However,  the  Anglo-Saxon  possessed  a  stubborn  determina- 
tion, industrious  and  conservative  habits,  and  a  system  of  fair 
and  business-like  dealing  which  were  finally  to  turn  the  tide 
of  savage  sentiment  in  his  favor  and  win  respect  and  alliance. 

The  question  of  bouTidaries  between  the  French  and  Eng- 
lish in  America  had  not  been  definitely  settled  at  the  close  of 
King  George's  War  in  1748. 

The  colonial  frontiersmen,  however,  were  steadily  ad- 
vancing westward  and  were  climbing  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
.A.lleghanies  and  looking  wistfully  at  the  fertile  lands  beyond. 
They  were  largely  the  hardy  Scotch-Irish  whose  ancestors 
had  come  over  early  in  the  seventeenth  century,  settled  the 
Alleghany  mountain  ranges  and  were  now  pushing  forward 
and  making  considerable  settlements  southwest  of  the  moun- 
tains. They  were  extremely  hardy,  aggressive,  thrifty  and 
prolific  and  formed  an  effective  barrier  between  the  eastern 
white  settlers  and  the  retreating  Red  Man.  The  country 
south  of  the  Ohio  was  now  being  explored  and  the  Ohio 
company  was  formed  to  traffic  with  the  Indians. 

In  1749  the  French  Governor  of  Canada  sent  Celeron  de 
Bienville  to  take  formal  possession  of  the  country  drained  by 
the  upper  Ohio  river.  With  a  motley  following  of  some  two 
hundred  French  officers  and  Canadian  woodsmen  he  crossed 
Lake  Ontario,  skirted  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  crossed 
tlie  portage  to  Lake  Chautauqua,  and  followed  the  Indian 
path  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Alleghany.  Here  their  birch 
bark  canoes  were  launched  again  and  the  party  proceeded  on 
its  spectacular  journey  down  the  Alleghany  and  the  Ohio  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  thence  up  that  stream 
and  across  the  well  worn  carrying  place  to  the  St.  Mary's 
branch  of  the  Miami  of  the  Lakes  (Maumee),  and  thus  on  to 
Lake  Erie  and  back  to  Quebec, 

English  traders  were  found  at  several  of  the  prominent  In- 
dian villages  along  the  route.  These  were  admonished  to  dis- 
continue trespassing  on  territory  claimed  by  the  French,  and 
the    Indians    who    showed    partiality    to    the    English    were 


DARKE   COUNTY  C/ 

tlireatened  with  summary  treatment  shculd  they  continue  to 
trade  with  hem. 

Thus  was  completed  the  eastern  end  of  the  great  circuit 
which  comprised  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  lake  re- 
gion, the  upper  Mississippi,  and  the  Ohio  basins  and  gave 
tangible  form  to  the  extensive  claims  of  the  French  to  this  im- 
mense territory. 

The  outposts  of  the  English  colonists  were  already  being 
firmly  established  within  striking  distance  of  the  coveted  and 
disputed  lands  beyond  the  Ohio  and  the  hardy  backwoodsmen 
chafed  at  the  prospect  of  being  arbitrarily  prohibited  from 
settling  in  this  fertile  country. 

In  the  fall  of  1750  the  Ohio  Company  sent  Christopher  Gist. 
an  experienced  explorer,  from  the  Yadkin  country  of  Xorth 
Carolina,  to  explore  the  lands  along  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the 
falls  (Louisville).  At  the  Indian  village  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Musldngum  he  was  joined  by  Gorge  Crnghan.  the  veteran 
trader,  and  Andrew  Montour,  an  interpreter.  Early  in  1751 
these  intrepid  woodsmen  proceeded  to  the  Delaware  and 
Shawanese  villages  of  the  Scioto,  and,  finding  them  well  dis- 
posed, made  arrangements  for  a  friendly  conference  at  Logs- 
town  (on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  seventeen  miles  below 
the  present  site  of  Pittsburg,  Pa.)  in  the  spring.  The  explor- 
ing party  now  struck  across  country  to  the  upper  waters  of 
the  Great  ]\Iiami.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Pickawillany  (Loramie 
Creek)  where  they  arrived  February  17th,  they  found  an  ex- 
tensive settlement  of  Miami  Indians  under  chief  Old  Britain, 
who  had  recently  moved  from  the  Wabash  in  order  to  get  in 
touch  with  the  English  traders.  A  strong  stockade  had  been 
erected  here  in  the  previous  fall  and  considerable  business  was 
being  transacted  by  the  fifty  or  sixty  white  traders  who  had 
cabins  here.  A  friendh^  council  was  held  at  this  place  and 
numerous  valuable  presents  were  given  to  the  Indians,  who 
thereupon  promised  to  favor  the  English  in  the  way  of  trade. 
Gist  and  his  party  then  returned  to  the  Scioto  and  proceeded 
down  the  Ohio  to  their  destination,  returning  homeward 
through  the  beautiful  Kentucky  country  in  the  spring. 

The  French  became  jealous  of  the  rising  favor  shown  to 
the  English  traders  by  their  former  friends  and  in  June.  1752. 
Charles  Langdale.  a  Frenchman  from  Michilimackinac,  led  a 
band  of  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  Chippewa  and  Ottawa 
Indians  against  the  trading  station  at  Pickawillany.  This 
party  rowed  past  Detroit,  crossed  the  western   end  of  Lake 


58  DARKE   COUNTY 

Erie,  turned  up  the  Maumee  and  continued  up  the  St.  i\Iary's 
branch  to  the  old  Indian  portage.  They  appeared  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  on  the  morning  of  June  21st  before  the 
stockade  at  Pickawillany.  The  warriors  were  absent  on 
their  summer  hunt,  leaving  only  the  chief  and  twenty  men  and 
boys  with  eight  white  traders  who  could  be  depended  upon 
to  defend  the  place.  As  a  special  mark  of  disfavor  these 
northern  savages  boiled  and  ate  Old  Britain  who  had  shown 
marked  preference  for  the  Frenchman's  foe.  When  the  IMiami 
chiefs  returned,  it  is  said  they  retaliated  by  eating  ten  French- 
men and  two  of  their  negroes. 

By  some  historians  this  is  regarded  as  the  opening  engage- 
ment of  the  French  and  Indian  war,  inasmuch  as  the  parties 
engaged  represented  the  opposing  nations,  contending  on  dis- 
puted soil  and  kindling  a  conflict  which  was  destined  to 
scourge  the  frontier  with  blood  and  fire  for  over  forty  j^ears. 

The  time  was  ripe  to  fortif_v  the  forks  of  the  Ohio.  This 
important  step  was  delayed,  however,  on  account  of  the  con- 
tending claims  of  jurisdiction  over  this  territorv  by  the  gov- 
ernors of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  In  1733,  while  these 
disputes  were  in  progress,  the  French  Governor  of  Canada 
sent  a  mixed  force  to  seize  and  hold  the  upper  branches  of 
the  Ohio.  This  was  the  signal  for  decisive  action  and  Gover- 
nor Dinwiddle  of  Virginia  sent  Major  George  Washington  to 
remonstrate  against  this  move.  Washington  was  courteously 
received  by  the  French  commander,  but  his  message  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Governor-General  of  Canada  and  the  new  posts 
established  were  held  awaiting  the  action  of  the  latter  official. 

On  July  3,  1754,  '\\'ashington,  while  moving  towards  the 
forks  of  the  Ohio  with  a  force  of  some  three  hundred  men, 
was  intercepted  by  a  force  of  French  and  Indians  three  or  four 
times  as  large  at  Great  Meadows.  An  engagement  followed 
which  lasted  from  noon  till  dark,  when  Washington  capitu- 
lated on  favorable  terms.  The  French  now  built  Fort  Du 
Quesne  at  the  forks  of  the  Ohio  and  prepared  to  actively  resist 
the  English.  The  Indians,  having  a  natural  love  for  war  and 
realizing  their  dangerous  position,  soon  allied  themselves  ac- 
cording to  inclination  and  fancied  interest.  The  Northwestern 
tribes  mostly  joined  their  interests  with  the  French,  while  the 
six  nations  favored  the  English, 

From  a  frontier  skirmish  the  conflict  developed  into  an  in- 
ternational war.  England  sent  General  Braddock  over  with  a 
large  armv  of  regulars,  drilled  and  disciDlined  in  the  field  tac- 


DARKE   COUNTY  59 

tics  of  Europe,  but  practically  ignorant  of  the  mode  of  war- 
fare of  the  American  savage  and  unwilling  to  take  the  advice 
of  the  frontier  soldiers,  who  alone  knew  the  nature  of  their 
foe.  This  magnificent  army  was  reinforced  with  troops  from 
Virginia  and  proceeded  against  Fort  Du  Quesne.  When  near 
this  post  the  army  was  suddenly  attacked  from  ambush  by  a 
mixed  force  of  Canadian  French  and  Indians  on  July  9,  1755. 
An  obstinate  fight  followed  with  success  long  in  doubt,  but 
the  British  were  finally  forced  to  give  after  great  slaughter 
and  the  loss  of  their  commander.  Colonel  Washington  was 
aide  to  Braddock  on  this  campaign  and  rendered  valuable 
services.  Had  his  advice  been  followed  perhaps  the  day  might 
have  been  saved  and  the  war  shortened. 

During  the  opening  years  of  the  conflict  the  French  and 
their  allies  won  victory  after  victory,  and  thus  attracted  the 
wavering  alliance  of  many  tribes.  Even  some  of  the  Iroquois 
deserted  the  British  as  they  saw  them  defeated  time  after 
time,  but  when  the  scales  finally  turned  thev  resumed  their 
old  alliance. 

In  1758  the  British  gained  the  ascendency,  taking  Louis- 
burg,  and  Fort  Du  Quesne,  two  of  the  most  cherished  strong- 
holds of  the  enemy.  In  1759  AA'olfe,  by  a  bold  and  hazardous 
stroke,  reduced  Quebec,  the  backbone  of  Canada  and  seat  of 
government  of  the  French.  This  was  the  climax  of  the 
struggle  on  the  American  continent  that  won  for  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  the  supremacy  in  the  new  world  and  deprived  France 
of  her  American  possessions.  Measured  bv  results,  it  has 
proven  to  be  one  of  the  most  decisive  struggles  in  recent  his- 
tory. The  valley  of  the  Ohio  was  not  destined  to  be  governed 
from  Quebec,  neither  were  the  language,  laws,  customs  and 
religion  of  a  Latin  race  to  be  engrafted  on  the  hardy  stock  of 
the  virile  pioneers  and  mould  the  destiny  of  a  budding  nation. 
In  1760  the  surrender  of  ^Montreal  virtually  ended  the  war  on 
the  continent  but  the  conflict  continued  two  or  three  years  on 
the  ocean.  A  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Paris  in  1763,  and 
nearly  all  the  French  possessions  east  of  the  ^Mississippi 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  At  this  time  the  AIo- 
hawk  Valley  in  New  York  and  the  Susquehanna  Valley  in 
Pennsylvania  formed  the  outskirts  of  connected  English  set- 
tlements. Beyond  were  the  scattered  homes  of  the  hardy, 
reckless,  and  venturesome  bordermen,  always  exposed  to 
savage  caprice,  but  forming  a  protective  fringe  to  the  older 
settlements. 


60  DARKE   COUNTY 

Fearing  the  encroachments  of  the  English,  the  destruction 
of  their  fur  trade,  and  the  curtailment  of  their  supplies  of  food 
and  firearms,  the  savages  formed  a  confederacy  under  the 
leadership  of  Pontiac,  a  crafty  Ottawa  chief,-  and  planned  the 
simultaneous  capture  and  destruction  of  all  their  forts  west  of 
the  Alleghany  mountains.  The  eloquence  of  this  resourceful 
chief  stirred  the  latent  resentment  of  the  northern  tribes  and 
fanned  their  savage  fury  against  the  English  invaders  to  a 
white  heat.  The  friendship  and  active  co-operation  of  the 
French  were  counted  upon  in  this  desperate  coup  but  the  sav- 
ages soon  realized  that  they  too  divided  their  allegiance. 
Although  acknowledged  subjects  of  the  English  by  recent 
treaty,  they  still  deceived  the  Indians  with  the  hope  that  the 
Great  French  King  would  surely  send  them  aid.  The  plot 
against  Detroit  was  revealed,  but  before  the  middle  of  the 
summer  of  1763,  all  the  posts  except  Niagara,  Fort  Pitt  and 
Detroit  had  been  taken.  Early  in  1764  Pontiac  again  laid 
siege  to  Detroit,  but  the  handful  of  stubborn  English  held  out 
against  great  odds  and  finally  wore  out  the  patience  of  the 
Great  Chief,  who  now  sought  peace  and  withdrew  his  dispir- 
ited warriors.  While  Pontiac  was  conducting  his  campaign 
in  the  lake  region,  the  Delawares  and  Shawanese  furiously 
assaulted  the  scattered  frontier  settlements  in  western  Penn- 
sylvania. Fort  Pitt  was  attacked  and  the  defenseless  border 
settlers  were  forced  to  flee  or  be  butchered  by  their  infuriated 
foes.  In  order  to  counteract  these  movements,  subjugate  the 
Indians  and  force  them  to  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of 
England,  General  Gage  of  the  Colonial  army  sent  Colonel 
Bradstreet  with  a  large  force  against  the  lower  lake  tribes  of 
Ottawas,  Chippewas  and  Wyandots,  and  Colonel  Bouquet 
against  the  Delawares  and  Shawanese  near  the  forks  of  the 
Muskingum.  Bradstreet  proceeded  toward  Sandusk}-  and  met 
with  indififerent  success.  Ijut  Bouquet,,  l^y  decisi\e  action, 
caused  the  tribes  against  whom  he  had  been  sent  to  deliver 
up  a  large  number  of  prisoners  and  make  arrangements  for 
peace. 

England  now  attempted  a  new  policy  in  reference  to  her 
newly  acquired  western  and  northern  lands,  with  a  view  of 
retaining  them  for  the  benefit  of  the  crown  and  thereby  ex- 
cluding the  American  colonists  from  settling  them.  Peaceful 
relations  with  the  Indians,  the  extension  of  the  fur  trade  and 
the  safety  of  the  colonies  were  the  reasons  assigned  for  this 
policy.     To  Sir  William   Johnson  was  entrusted  the  task  of 


DARKE   COUNTY  61 

carrying  out  this  policy  of  conciliation.  In  the  spring  of  1764 
he  kindled  the  council  fire  at  Niagara  and  induced  the  tribes 
to  make  peace  separately,  thus  accomplishing  the  disruption 
of  the  great  confederation  formed  by  Pontiac. 

By  a  treaty  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  the  English  had  en- 
gaged not  to  settle  west  of  the  mountains.  Colonel  Bouquet 
at  Fort  Pitt  endeavored  to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this 
treaty,  but  Colonel  Michael  Cresap  and  the  agents  of  the  Ohio 
Company  eagerly  tried  to  trade  with  the  Indians  and  to  es- 
tablish the  settlements  planned  before  the  war.  The  eager 
frontiersmen  were  not  to  be  easily  restrained,  however,  and 
soon  began  to  cross  the  mountains  and  irritate  the  Indians. 
In  order  to  conciliate  the  latter,  Colonel  Johnson,  the  British 
Indian  agent,  held  a  treaty  with  them  at  Fort  Stanwix 
(Rome,  New  York)  in  1768,  at  which  ail  the  country  south  of 
the  Ohio  to  which  the  Iroquois  had  any  claim  was  transferred 
to  the  British  for  $6,000  in  money  and  goods.  It  was  further 
stipulated  here  that  the  Ohio  river  should  be  the  boundary 
betwen  the  red  and  white  man.  This  region  was  being 
explored  but  it  was  twenty  years  before  the  lines  of  emigra- 
tion were  directed  north  of  the  Ohio. 

The  opening  of  the  Revolution  in  the  east  soon  attracted 
attention  in  that  direction.  The  west  was  also  the  scene  of 
conflicts  of  momentous  import.  The  hardy  Scotch-Irish  moun- 
taineers of  the  border  states  pressed  into  Kentucky,  and  the 
region  from  Pittsburg  to  the  southwest  was  the  scene  of  great 
activity.  Boone,  Harrod,  Logan  and  other  pioneers  built  for- 
tified stations  near  the  upper  Kentucky  river  and  the  romantic 
days  of  old  Kentucky  were  ushered  in.  The  Ohio  Indians  did 
not  consider  themselves  bound  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix 
and  were  not  disposed  to  allow  this  valuable  portion  of  their 
ancient  domain  to  be  quietly  taken  from  them.  When  they 
.saw  the  white  emigrants  floating  down  the  Ohio  in  constantly 
increasing  numbers  they  decided  to  dispute  their  advance. 
The  murder  of  the  relatives  of  Logan,  a  prominent  Mingo 
chief,  hastened  hostilities. 

Matters  soon  assumed  such  a  serious  turn  that  the  Earl  of 
Dunmore,  the  royal  governor  of  Virginia,  called  out  the  mili- 
tia, and  raised  an  army  to  check  the  hostile  demonstrations  in 
territory  claimed  by  that  colony.  The  troops  were  finally 
collected  in  two  divisions,  one  of  some  fifteen  hundred  men 
under  Dunmore.  the  other  of  some  eleven  hundred  men  under 
General  Andrew  Lewis.     The  former  collected  at  Wheeline, 


62  DARKE   COUNTY 

proceeded  down  the  Ohio  and  crossed  to  the  Scioto  plains. 
Lewis'  division,  composed  of  \'irginia  backwoodsmen,  pro- 
ceeded along  the  Great  Kanawha,  intending  to  cross  the  Ohio 
and  join  Dunmore.  On  October  10,  1774,  however,  Lewis 
was  intercepted  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha  by  the  com- 
bined Indian  forces  under  Cornstalk,  the  famous  Shawanese 
chief.  A  spirited  all-day  battle  ensued,  in  which  the  back- 
woodsmen adopted  the  tactics  of  the  savages,  flitting  from 
tree  to  tree  and  fighting  hand  to  hand.  The  Indians  were 
aljout  equal  in  numbers  to  the  whites  and  had  among  them 
some  of  their  best  chiefs  and  warriors.  They  had  found  their 
superiors  in  the  "Longknives,"'  however,  and  were  forced  tu 
retreat  across  the  Ohio  at  dusk,  taking  their  dead  and 
wounded  with  them. 

This  was  probabl}-  the  most  severe  whipping  ever  admin- 
istered to  the  Red  Men  at  the  hands  of  the  whites.  A  treaty 
was  soon  consummated  in  which  the  Shav.-anese  agreed  to 
surrender  all  prisoners  ever  taken  in  war,  and  to  cease  hunting- 
south  of  the  Ohio.  Besides  driving  them  back  to  their  re- 
treats and  causing  them  to  sue  for  peace,  this  engagement 
showed  the  temper  of  the  Americans,  and,  no  doubt,  deterred 
the  Indians  from  harassing  the  hardy  and  adventurous  pio- 
neers who  held  the  land  beyond  the  mountains  during  the 
Revolution. 

Considering  the  encouragement  given  to  the  Indians  from 
the  British  in  the  north  and  the  failure  of  Dunmore  to  take 
part  in  this  engagement,  along  with  the  magnificent  conduct 
of  the  backswoodsmen,  this  might  be  regarded  the  opening 
conflict  of  the  great  contest  between  the  mother  country  and 
her  colonies.  No  doubt  it  nerved  many  a  patriot  for  the  great 
battles  in  the  south  during  the  Revolution  and  will  always 
be  looked  to  with  patriotic  pride  by  coming  generations  of 
Americans. 

In  1774  the  Quebec  Act,  establishing  civil  government  in  the 
northwest,  was  passed  by  Parliament.  By  its  provisions  De- 
troit, then  a  place  of  some  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  was 
made  the  capital  of  this  immense  territory,  north  and  west  of 
the  Ohio  river,  and  Henry  Hamilton  was  appointed  lieuten- 
ant-general with  civil  and  militar}^  powers.  Upon  assuming 
office  in  1775  he  proceeded  to  use  heroic  measures  in  dealing 
with  the  Americans,  emplo}-ed  the  notorious  renegades, 
Simon  Girty,  Alexander  McKee  and  Mathew  Elliott,  and  sent 
war  parties  against  the  border.     To  check  these  incursions. 


DARKE   COUNTY  63 

George  Rogers  Clark,  a  dashing  young  surveyor,  who  had 
been  appointed  commander  of  Kentucky  militia  by  Governor 
Patrick  Henry  of  Virginia,  was  sent  on  a  secret  expedition 
against  Kaskaskia.  With  some  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
men  he  proceeded  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  to  a  point  oppo- 
site the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  river  and  followed  the  trail 
tu  Kaskaskia,  which  place  he  took  by  a  bold  stroke  on  July 
4.  1778.  He  then  proceeded  to  subdue  the  neighboring  tribes 
and  sent  Captain  Helm  with  a  guard  to  hold  Vincennes.  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton  then  advanced  from  Detroit  by  the  Maumee 
and  Wabash,  with  a  mixed  force,  enlisted  some  savages,  pro- 
ceeded to  Vincennes  and,  with  their  assistance,  dislodged 
Helm  on  December  17th.  Early  in  February,  1779,  Clark  left 
Kaskaskia  with  about  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  made  a 
hazardous  forced  march  across  the  frozen  and  inundated  plains 
of  the  Illinois  country,  and.  after  great  hardships,  appeared 
before  Vincennes.  \\  ith  his  brave  and  determined  men  he 
invested  the  town  on  the  night  of  February  23d.  and  forced 
Hamilton  to  surrender  on  the  24th. 

The  whole  country  along  the  Mississippi  and  \Vabash  was 
now  in  the  possession  of  Virginia.  This  state  anticipated  the 
results  of  Clark's  expedition  by  creating  the  county  of  Illinois 
in  C^ctober,  1778,  and  now  claimed  by  conquest  what  she  had 
formerly  claimed  by  virtue  of  her  colonial  charter.  This  con- 
quest was  the  death  blow  to  British  ambition  in  the  country 
between  the  mountains  and  the  Mississippi.  Hamilton  was 
planning  to  lead  the  united  western  and  southern  trilaes  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  terrible  Iroquois,  drive  the  Ameri- 
cans beyond  the  Ohio,  thus  making  that  beautiful  and  well- 
known  stream  the  ultimate  boundary  between  Canada  and  the 
United  States.  Especially  does  the  significance  of  this  con- 
quest appear  when  viewed  in  the  light  of  the  Quebec  Act, 
which  aimed  to  establish  interior  colonies  dependent  upon  a 
government  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  instead  of  on  the  Atlantic 
coast.  This  act  also  deprived  the  colonies  of  their  charter 
lands  in  the  west  and  was  one  of  the  causes  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. During  the  years  1777  and  1778  the  Indians  attacked 
the  new  Kentucky  stations  established  by  Boone,  Harrod  and 
Logan. 

In  the  fall  of  1778,  Brigadier-General  Mcintosh  of  the  Con- 
tinental Army  built  Ft.  Mcintosh  (Beaver,  Pa.),  some 
thirty  miles  below  Fort  Pitt.  He  then  proceeded  with  a  force 
of  one  thousand  men  to  attack  Sandusky,  but  stopped  upon 


64  DARKE   COUNTY 

reaching  the  Tuscarawas  and  built  Fort  Laurens  (near  Bol- 
ivar, Ohio).  Both  of  these  posts  were  afterwards  abandoned, 
owing  to  frequent  attacks,  the  severity  of  the  ensuing  winter, 
and  the  extreme  difficulty  of  maintaining  a  sufficient  garrison, 
leaving  no  American  defenses  in  the  west  except  Fort  Pitt. 
Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes. 

Late  in  ]\Iay,  1779,  Colonel  John  Bowman  led  an  expedition 
of  some  three  hundred  Iventucky  volunteers  against  the 
Shawanese  village  o:  Chillicothe  on  the  Little  Miami  (near 
Xenia,  Ohio).  The  Indians  were  surprised  early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  30th,  their  town  was  burned  and  sacked  and  a  large 
amount  of  plunder  secured.  The  Americans  lost  eight  men 
and  secured  one  hundred  and  sixty  horses.  The  aggressive- 
ness of  the  hardy  pioneers,  who  had  settled  south  and  east 
of  the  Ohio,  had  gradually  driven  the  Indians  toward  the 
northwest,  so  that  by  1779  they  had  retreated  in  large  num- 
bers to  the  headwaters  of  the  Scioto,  the  two  Miamis,  and  the 
watershed  between  these, streams  and  the  Maumee.  This  was 
a  beautiful  tract  of  land,  with  fine  timber  and  rich  meadows, 
affording  ideal  hunting  grounds  and  fertile  fields  for  the  rem- 
nants of  the  dwindling  tribes.  ]\Iany  of  the  discouraged 
Shawanese  retreated  across  the  Mississippi. 

The  principal  seat  of  the  ancient  Aliamis  was  at  the  junc- 
tion of  the  St,  Joseph  and  St.  jMary's,  and  from  this  important 
center  trails  radiated  in  many  directions.  It  was  well  located 
with  reference  to  the  lake  region  and  the  headwaters  of  the 
Wabash  and  Miamis.  Important  villages  were  also  located 
along  the  !Maumee,  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Auglaize  and 
the  Great  Miami,  and  on  the  portages  between  these  streams. 
The  ^^'eas  and  Piankeshaws  dwelt  along  the  Wabash  and 
were  in  intimate  relation  with  the  mother  nation  on  the 
Maumee. 

In  the  summer  of  1780,  Colonel  Byrd,  of  .Detroit,  invaded 
Kentucky,  by  way  of  the  Miami  and  Licking  rivers,  with  a 
mixed  force  of  Canadians  and  Indians.  He  attacked  and  took 
^Martin's  and  Ruddle's  stations  but  soon  abandoned  the  in- 
vasion. In  order  to  retaliate  for  this  raid,  Colonel  Clark  raised 
a  large  force  of  frontiersmen,  including  Boone,  Kenton  and 
some  of  the  most  noted  Kentucky  fighters,  crossed  the  Ohio 
and  proceded  against  the  Indians  of  the  upper  Miami  valley. 
He  destroyed  the  old  Shawanese  town  of  Piqua,  the  bovhood 
home  of  Tecumseh,  on  Mad  river,  and  several  other  villages, 
together  with  considerable  standing  corn.     This  raid  greatly 


DARKE   COUNTY  65 

discouraged  the  Indians  and  their  British  abettors  at  Detroit 
and  brought  security  to  the  Kentuckians  until  the  following 
year,  when  attacks  on  the  exposed  pioneer  stations  were  re- 
newed. In  April,  1781,  Colonel  Brodhead  of  Fort  Pitt  led  an 
expedition  against  the  Delaware  tribes  on  the  Muskingum, 
destroyed  several  villages,  and  killed  and  captured  a  few  In- 
dians. In  August,  Colonel  Lochry  with  a  force  of  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  mounted  Pennsylvanians,  was  surprised  by 
a  large  body  of  Indians  near  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  while 
on  his  way  to  aid  Clark  in  the  west.  Several  of  his  men  were 
killed  and  the  balance  captured. 

The  Moravians,  a  Christian  sect  of  marked  missionary  zeal, 
who  had  followed  the  Delaware  Indians  from  their  former 
home  in  Pennsylvania,  settled  in  the  valleys  of  the  Tuscar- 
awas and  Muskingum  rivers  in  1768.  Here  they  purchased 
small  tracts  from  the  natives,  cultivated  a  portion  of  them, 
founded  four  substantial  villages,  and  established  places  of 
worship  under  the  leadership  of  Zeisberger  and  Heckewelder. 
They  were  peaceable  and  industrious,  being  opposed  to  war 
and  aggression.  Many  of  the  neighboring  Indians  of  various 
tribes  were  converted  to  their  doctrines.  Being  on  important 
Indian  trails,  leading  from  Fort  Pitt  and  the  frontier  settle- 
ments to  Sandusky  and  the  northwest,  their  position  became 
more  hazardous  as  the  American  settlements  advanced,  on 
account  of  the  opposing  war  parties  which  passed  through 
their  villages.  Trying  to  be  hospitable  to  all,  they  naturally 
incurred  the  suspicion  of  the  turbulent  frontiersmen.  In  1781 
Colonel  Brodhead  urged  these  Christian  Indians  to  move  to 
Fort  Pitt  in  order  to  be  under  the  protection  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. This  they  refused  to  do,  but  later  in  the  same  year  were 
forced  to  settle  near  Upper  Sandusky  by  orders  from  the  Brit- 
ish authorities  of  Detroit.  The  winter  of  1781-82  was  a  hard 
one  on  the  exiled  Moravians  and  earlv  in  the  spring  a  party 
of  them  returned  to  the  towns  of  Ghadenhutten  and  Salem  to 
harvest  the  corn  left  ungathered  the  previous  fall.  While 
engaged  in  this  work,  a  band  of  some  eighty  or  ninety  militia- 
men under  Colonel  David  Williamson  stealthily  captured  and 
deliberately  murdered  ninety-six  men,  women  and  children, 
thus  perpetrating  one  of  the  most  pitiable  and  atrocious  crimes 
of  frontier  history.  Williamson's  party  was  composed  largely 
of  the  brutal  and  rufifianh'  frontier  bordermen  and  their  atro- 
cious deed  caused  a  storm  of  protests  from  the  better  class 
along  the  border. 
(5) 


66  DARKE   COUNTY 

On  May  25,  1782,  an  expedition  of  some  five  hundred  Penn- 
sylvania and  Virginia  volunteers  set  out  from  the  ^lingo  Bot- 
toms (near  Steubenville,  Ohio),  under  the  leadership  of  Col- 
onel William  Crawford  to  chastise  the  Indians  of  the  San- 
dusky plaints  (near  Upper  Sandusky.  Ohio),  who  had  been 
harassing  the  borders.  On  account  of  its  location  on  one  of 
the  most  traveled  routes  leading  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Upper 
Ohio,  and  the  ease  of  access  from  Detroit,  this  was  a  strategic 
center  and  a  favorite  rendezvous  of  the  savages  friendly  with 
the  British.  Hearing  of  this  move,  the  commandant  of 
Detroit  sent  Captain  Caldwell  with  a  troop  of  Rangers,  and 
Colonel  McKee  with  some  Canadians  to  intercept  the  Ameri- 
cans. The  Indians,  comprising  many  doughty  warriors  of  the 
Delawares,  \\'yandots  and  Shavvanese.  met  the  Americans  in 
a  grove  near  Upper  Sandusky  on  June  4th.  Crawford  dis- 
lodged the  advance  party  from  the  timber.  The  Indians  then 
took  a  sheltered  position  in  the  low,  grassy  ground,  which 
surrounded  the  grove  and  were  reinforced  on  the  5th  by  other 
tribes  and  the  Rangers.  The  fight  was  continued  and  the 
Americans  held  their  position  throughout  the  day  but  were 
forced  to  retreat  under  cover  of  the  night  with  a  loss  in  killed, 
wounded  and  captured  of  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
Colonel  Crawford  was  captured,  and  on  the  following  day  Col- 
onel Williamson  drove  back  the  pursuing  savages  in  a  rain 
storm.  The  Indians,  still  smarting  under  the  cowardly  and 
inhuman  massacre  of  their  Moravian  brethren,  wreaked  ven- 
gence  on  Colonel  Crawford  in  lieu  of  Williamson,  the  real 
oft'ender,  by  burning  him  at  the  stake.  Simon  Girty  was  with 
the  savages  and  witnessed  this,  one  of  the  most  revolting  tor- 
tures in  the  annals  of  Indian  warfare.  Partly  because  of  its 
spectacular  and  revolting  features,  this  was  probabh^  the  most 
noted  Revolutionary  engagement  within  the  territory  later 
comprising  Ohio.  Crawford  was  an  intimate  friend  and  com- 
patriot of  Washington  during  the  Revolution  and  was  highly 
esteemed  by  his  people. 

In  August,  1782,  Simon  Girty  was  sent  from  Detroit  with 
Cald\vell  and  a  party  of  Indians  and  British  Rangers  against 
Bryant's  station  near  the  upper  Kentucky  river.  Failing  to 
take  this  place  they  were  pursued  by  a  force  of  Kentuckians 
under  Boone  and  other  noted  backwoodsmen,  whom  they  de- 
feated in  a  hard  fight  at  the  Blue  Licks.  The  Americans 
lost  seventy  men  in  this  engagement  and  the  Canadians  only 
seven.     Aroused  at  this  raid,  a  thousand  Kentucky  riflemen 


DARKE   COUNTY  67 

assembled  under  Clark  at  the  mouth  of  the  Licking,  crossed 
the  Ohio  and  desolated  the  Miami  valley.  They  destro_yed  an 
Indian  town  on  the  present  site  of  Piqua,  Ohio,  also  Upper 
Piqua(Pickawillany),  three  miles  above,  and  burned  Loramie's 
store,  fifteen  miles  beyond  at  the  head  of  the  portage  leading 
to  the  St.  Mary's  river.  This  punishment  cooled  the  ardor  of 
the  savages  who  now  began  to  realize  the  growing  numbers 
and  strength  of  the  Americans.  The  frontiers  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  western  ^'^irginia  were  still  harassed  somev^'hat,  but 
the  close  of  the  Revolution  soon  caused  these  incursions  to 
abate. 

After  Great  Britain  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the 
Colonies  she  still  retained  possession  of  the  principal  lake 
posts,  including  Mackinac,  Detroit,  Niagara,  Presque  Isle,  and 
those  on  the  Sandusky  and  Maumee  rivers,  contrary  to  the 
express  specifications  of  the  treaty  of  1783.  To  justify  this 
policy,  she  pointed  out  that  the  United  States  had  violated 
certain  articles  of  this  treaty  referring  to  the  payment  of  debts 
due  British  subjects  and  had  even  permitted  the  confiscation 
of  many  of  her  subjects'  estates.  The  Americans  contended 
that  they  had  done  all  that  they  had  promised  in  enforcing 
these  provisions  but  that  difficulty  had  arisen  in  trying  to  get 
the  various  states  to  change  their  laws  to  conform  to  the  order 
recently  inaugurated. 

In  the  eyes  of  the  mother  countrv  the  new  government  was 
considered  somewhat  of  an  experiment  and  was  to  be  con- 
fined, if  possible,  between  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Atlantic. 
The  great  struggle  had  bound  the  colonies  together  in  a  com- 
mon cause,  but  that  being  over,  the}^  were  loosely  held  by  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  until  the  adoption  of  the  constitu- 
tion in  1787.  Moreover,  the  lake  posts  were  the  receiving  sta- 
tions for  the  very  valuable  fur  trade  and  decided  points  of 
vantage  for  equipping  the  Indians  and  influencing  them 
against  the  Americans. 

The  French  had  concerned  themselves  mostly  with  trade 
and  religious  propagandism  during  their  ascendency  and  had 
purchased  only  small  tracts  about  their  posts  from  the  natives. 
At  the  peace  of  1763  these  had  been  transferred  to  Great  Bri- 
tain and  finally,  in  1783,  to  the  United  States.  Congress,  how- 
ever, regarded  all  the  lands  north  of  the  Ohio  as  forfeited  on 
account  of  hostilities  during  the  Revolution  and  by  virtue  of 
the  British   cession.     Peace  was   accordingly   granted  to  the 


68  DARKE   COUNTY 

Indians  aiul   their  bounds  fixed  without   further  purchase  of 
lands. 

In  October,  1784,  the  Six  Nations  held  a  treaty  with  the 
United  States  at  Fort  Stanvvix  (Rome,  Xew  York).  These 
powerful  tribes  had  aided  the  British  materially  during  the 
recent  war  but  had  been  somewhat  weakened  by  the  expedi- 
tion of  General  John  Sullivan  against  them  in  1779.  Oliver 
^^'olcott,  Richard  Butler  and  Arthur  Lee  represented  the  new 
government  in  the  negotiations,  while  Cornplanter  and  Red 
Jacket  took  the  chief  part  on  behalf  of  the  Indians.  The  latter 
desired  to  have  a  general  council  in  which  the  principal  tribes 
living  northwest  of  the  Ohio  might  participate  but  the  govern- 
ment desired  to  deal  directly  with  the  Six  Nations  who  had 
most  actively  aided  the  British  in  the  late  war.  Red  Jacket 
urged  the  assembled  tribes  with  great  spirit  and  eloquence  to 
continue  to  fight  the  Americans.  The  saner  counsel  of  the 
older  chiefs  finally  prevailed,  however,  and  a  treaty  was  signed 
establishing  peace  with  the  hostile  nations  and  securing  them 
in  the  possession  of  the  lands  then  actually  occupied  by  them 
in  return  for  the  release  of  all  prisoners  then  in  their  posses- 
sion and  the  relinquishment  of  all  claim  to  the  country  west 
of  an  irregular  line  beginning  near  Niagara,  extending  to  the 
intersection  of  the  western  boundary  of  Pensylvania  by  the 
Ohio  river,  thence  down  that  river. 

Red  Jacket  was  dissatisfied  with  the  terms  of  this  compact 
and  continued  to  spread  disaffection  among  his  tribesmen. 
Chief  Brant,  who  was  absent  in  Canada  at  the  time  of  the 
treaty,  was  highly  displeased  when  he  heard  some  of  its  pro- 
visions. This  courageous  chief  cherished  the  plan  of  forming 
a  grand  confederacy  of  all  the  prominent  northwestern  tribes, 
together  with  the  Six  Nations,  probably  expecting  to  be  made 
the  great  chief  of  the  united  tribes.  For  this  purpose  he  now 
went  here  and  there  in  the  upper  lake  region  and  held  coun- 
cils with  the  tribes.  Late  in  1785  he  made  a  trip  to  England, 
partly  with  the  purpose,  no  doubt,  of  sounding  that  govern- 
ment concerning  its  attitude  in  case  of  a  general  uprising  of 
the  confederated  tribes.  Fie  bore  a  captain's  commission  in 
the  British  army,  and  being  intelligent,  tactful  and  refined 
was  received  with  marked  favor  by  the  people  whose  govern- 
ment he  had  so  zealously  served.  From  this  time  until  the 
end  of  the  Indian  wars  he  played  an  important  part  in  leading 
and  influencing  his  people. 

In    Tanuarv,    1785.    a    treatv    was    held    at    Fort    Mcintosh 


DARKE   COCXTV  69 

(Beaver,  Pennsylvania),  with  the  Wyandot,  Delaware,  Chip- 
pewa and  Ottawa  nations,  at  which  these  Indians  agreed  to 
relinquish  their  claim  to  lands  lying  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  river 
and  south  of  a  line  running  near  the  fortieth  parallel  to  Lora- 
mie's  store  on  the  headwaters  of  the  Miami,  together  with 
small  tracts  about  Detroit  and  Michilimackinac,  some 
30,000,000  acres  in  all.  These  tribes,  however,  were  to  retain 
their  right  of  hunting  as  far  south  as  the  Ohio  river.  With 
some  modifications  this  treaty  was  the  basis  of  later  negotia- 
tions with  the  new  government. 

At  Fort  Finney  (mouth  of  the  Great  ]\Iiami),  the  United 
States  held  a  treaty  with  the  Shawanese,  Delawares  and 
Wyandots  in  January,  1786.  The  Shawanese  agreed  to  con- 
fine themselves  between  the  Great  j\Iiami  and  Wabash,  but 
paid  small  attention  to  carrying  out  its  provisions.  A  very 
bad  spirit  was  manifested  at  this  treaty  and  the  Wabash 
tribes,  whose  presence  was  especially  desired,  absented  them- 
selves, probably  being  influenced  by  the  British  agents.  The 
remoter  Indians,  however,  did  not  cease  their  depredations. 
Two  expeditions  were  accordingly  sent  against  them  ;  one  in 
command  of  General  Clark  against  the  towns  of  the  Wabash  ; 
the  other,  under  Colonel  Logan,  against  the  Shawanese  be- 
tween the  Miami  and  Scioto  rivers.  On  account  of  the  delay 
in  the  arrival  of  provisions,  the  discontent  of  the  soldiers,  and 
the  desertion  of  a  large  body  of  troops,  Clark's  expedition 
was  abandoned.  Logan,  however,  destroyed  several  towns 
(in  Logan  county,  Ohio),  a  lot  of  corn,  and  killed  and  cap- 
tured some  of  the  enemy. 

In  December,  1786,  a  grand  council  of  the  tribes  was  held 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river.  Together  they  formu- 
lated an  address  to  Congress  expressing  surprise  that  they 
had  not  been  considered  in  the  treaty  of  peace  with  Great 
Britain ;  stated  their  desire  for  continued  peace  provided  the 
United  States  did  not  encroach  upon  their  lands  beyond  the 
Ohio :  and  recommended  that  the  government  make  no 
treaties  with  separate  Indian  tribes  or  nations,  but  with  the 
Confederation  alone.  This  was  the  grand  ultimatum  delivered 
to  the  LTnited  States  by  the  Confederated  Tribes  prior  to  the 
general  war  that  came  later  and  it  shows  the  true  points  of 
contention  between  the  Indians  and  the  new  government. 
Great  Britain,  through  her  Indian  agent.  Sir  William  Johnson, 
kept  in  close  touch  with  the  movements  of  her  former  allies 
and  took  advantage  of  ever}'  rupture  with  the  new  govern- 


70  DARKE   COUNTY 

ment  to  show  lier  continued   friendly  attitude  toward  them. 

During  the  course  of  the  RevoUition,  Congress  offered 
grants  of  land  to  volunteers  in  the  American  service,  but  Vir- 
ginia, New  York,  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  claimed  por- 
tions of  the  west  by  virtue  of  their  old  colonial  charters, 
and  purchase  from  the  Indians. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  and  the  reawakened  interest  in 
the  western  country.  Congress  decided  to  open  up  these  west- 
ern lands  for  settlement,  but  was  confronted  by  the  conflicting 
claims  of  these  states.  The  old  colonial  charters,  given  when 
the  extent  of  North  America  was  unknown,  extended  the 
grants  of  land  "from  sea  to  sea."  The  crown,  however, 
claimed  the  country  between  the  Alleghanies  and  Mississippi 
after  the  French  and  Indian  War,  and  the  United  States  after 
the  Revolution,  by  virtue  of  conquest.  Maryland,  and  other 
states  having  no  western  claims,  contended  that  all  such 
claims  should  be  ceded  to  the  United  States  government  for 
the  general  welfare.  A  lengthy  controversy  ensued  which 
threatened  the  stability  of  the  Confederation,  but  the  whole 
matter  was  settled  satisfactorily  in  1786  when  Connecticut 
followed  the  example  of  the  other  states  interested  and  com- 
pleted the  cession  of  these  western  claims,  excepting  a  tract 
between  the  forty-first  parallel  and  Lake  Erie,  reserved  by 
this  state,  and  one  between  the  Scioto  and  the  Little  Miami 
rivers,  reserved  by  \'irginia  for  her  soldiers,  together  with  a 
small  tract  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio. 

In  1787,  while  the  last  Congress  under  the  articles  of  con- 
federation was  in  session,  a  petition  was  presented  b}-  Dr. 
^lanasseh  Cutler  in  behalf  of  a  company  of  New  Englanders, 
organized  to  purchase  lands  and  make  a  settlement  north  and 
west  of  the  Ohio.  In  the  meantime  the  famous  "Ordinance 
of  1787,"  one  of  the  wisest  and  farthest  reaching  charters  ever 
given  to  anj^  people,  was  passed.  It  provided  for  the  organiza- 
tion and  government  of  the  "Territory  Northwest  of  the  River 
Ohio."  Among  its  wise  provisions  were:  the  prohibition  of 
slavery;  the  promotion  of  education,  morality  and  religion; 
and  the  formation  of  not  less  than  three,  nor  more  than  five 
states,  as  conditions  suggested. 

The  grant  of  land  asked  for  was  made  to  the  New  England 
Company,  and  soon  afterward  John  Cleves  Symmes  negoti- 
ated for  the  purchase  of  land  between  the  Little  and  Great 
!Miami  rivers.  In  1788.  a  company  of  emigrants,  including 
many  distinguished  Revolutionarv  soldiers,  floated  down  the 


DARKE   COUNTY  71 

Ohio  from  Pittsburg  to  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum  and 
founded  Alarietta,  which  became  the  capital  of  the  new  coun- 
try. Thus  the  initial  step  was  taken  and  from  this  time  a 
steady  flow  of  emigration  set  in.  In  a  few  years  Gallipolis, 
^Manchester,  Columbia  and  Fort  Washington  (Cincinnati) 
dotted  the  northern  shore  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  soldiers  of  the 
Revolution,  whose  fortunes  had  been  lost  in  the  struggle  for 
freedom,  found  a  new  home. 

Thus  was  inaugurated  a  new  era  in  the  old  northwest, 
Xew  forces  were  being  set  in  motion  which  were  destined  to 
change  the  current  of  the  ancient  order  and  set  up  in  the 
matchless  forests  and  sacred  hunting  grounds  of  this  western 
country  a  new  and  better  civilization.  With  Fort  Washing- 
ton as  a  base,  the  new  government  was  about  to  engage  in  a 
series  of  hazardous  conflicts  with  a  savage  foe,  goaded  on  and 
assisted  by  the  subtle  agents  of  the  British  at  Detroit. 

Only  time  could  tell  whether  the  Anglo-Saxon  settlers  were 
to  be  confined  east  of  the  mountains  or  spread  indefinitely  to 
the  far  west.  The  great  White  Chief  AA^ashington  desired 
peace,  but  was  schooled  in  the  art  of  war,  and  directed  a  free, 
hardy  and  vigorous  constituency  who  would  brook  no  inter- 
ference from  a  vanquished  adversary  without  severe  and  pro- 
tracted resistance.  The  battlefields  of  the  Revolution  had 
schooled  a  host  of  warriors  who  knew  how  to  reckon  with  a 
stalwart  foe  and  these  were  to  show  their  mettle  on  many  a 
new  field  of  conflict. 


MAJOR  GENERAL  ARTHUR  ST.  CLAIR 


CHAPTER  IV. 

HARMAR  AND  ST.  CLAIR. 

Arthur  St.  Clair  was  appointed  governor  of  the  new  North- 
west Territory.  Juh'  13,  1788,  and  immediately  became  ac- 
tively engaged  in  the  great  work  entrusted  to  him.  A  Scotch- 
man by  birth,  he  had  emigrated  to  North  America  in  1755  and 
rendered  valuable  service  with  the  British  during  the  French 
and  Indian  war.  Settling  in  Pennsylvania,  he  espoused  the 
cause  of  the  colonies  during  the  course  of  the  Revolution  and 
was  prominently  engaged  at  Three  Rivers,  Trenton.  Prince- 
ton, Hubbardstown  and  Ticonderoga.  Washington  and 
Lafayette  were  his  warm  friends  and  a  large  and  prominent 
circle  enjoyed  his  polished  attainments.  His  adopted  country 
appreciated  his  loyal  service  and  distinguished  talents,  and  in 
1786  he  was  elected  president  of  Congress.  Thus  equipped, 
he  was  soon  to  receive  even  greater  honors  and  direct  the  ener- 
gies of  an  expanding  people.  On  January  9,  1789,  Governor 
St.  Clair  concluded  two  separate  treaties  of  confirmation,  one 
with  the  Five  Nations,  the  Mohawks  excepted ;  the  other  with 
the  Wyandots.  Delawares,  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pottawat- 
tomies  and  Sacs,  at  Fort  Harmar,  opposite  Marietta,  thus 
counteracting  the  formation  of  a  grand  Indian  confederacy 
which  had  been  agitated  by  some  of  the  far-seeing  chiefs  of 
the  various  tribes.  At  the  grand  council  of  the  northwestern 
tribes,  held  on  the  Maumee  in  the  previous  fall,  the  general 
sentiment  was  for  peace.  The  Miamis,  Shawanese,  and  tribes 
of  the  Wabash,  however,  failed  to  concur  and  desired  to  make 
the  Ohio  river  the  final  boundary  separating  them  from  the 
Anglo-Saxon  invaders.  This  sentiment  was  especially  strong 
among  the  younger  warriors  who  could  scarcely  be  restrained 
by  the  wise  counsels  of  the  older  chiefs.  Many  successful  war 
parties  were  sent  against  the  exposed  settlements  or  waylaid 
the  immigrants  floating  in  open  boats  or  upon  rafts  down  the 
Ohio.  The  brutal  atrocities  committed  by  the  Indians  and 
the  retaliatory  raids  of  the  rough  settlers  during  this  period 
are  recited  in  the  romantic  and  patriotic  tales  of  the  back- 
woodsmen, many  of  whom  experienced  extended  captivity. 


74  DARKE   COUNTY 

Early  in  1790,  Governor  St.  Clair  went  to  Fort  Washington, 
Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia  to  set  in  motion  the  new  govern- 
ment. This  was  the  signal  to  the  British  and  Indians  to  co- 
operate in  opposing  the  advance  of  the  frontier  settlements, 
and  attacks  were  accordingly  commenced.  At  this  time  the 
northwest  tribes  could  probably  rally  some  fifteen  thousand 
effective  warriors,  about  one-third  of  whom  were  openly  hos- 
tile to  the  new  government.  They  no  longer  depended  upon 
the  bow  and  arrow  and  other  crude  implements  of  earlier  sav- 
age warfare,  but  had  become  expert  in  the  use  of  firearms 
through  association  with  the  French  and  British  in  the  recent 
wars.  Their  courage,  discipline  and  power  of  endurance  were 
good  oflfsets  to  the  intelligence  and  strength  of  the  Americans. 
The  Wabash  tribes  became  especially  aggressive  and  Major 
Hamtramck,  of  Vincennes,  tried  to  pacify  them,  but  in  vain. 
Hearing  of  these  movements,  St.  Clair  hastened  to  Fort 
Washington,  in  July,  consulted  with  General  Josiah  Harmar, 
a  Revolutionary  soldier,  commanding  the  United  States  In- 
fantry, and  decided  to  send  an  expedition  against  the  hostile 
tribes.  He  requested  the  militia  of  western  Pennsylvania,  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky  to  co-operate  with  the  federal  forces  and 
notified  the  British  commandant  at  Detroit  that  the  proposed 
expedition  was  not  directed  against  any  British  post  but  in- 
tended solely  to  punish  the  Indians  who  had  been  attacking 
the  frontiers.  A  mixed  force  was  assembled  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington, which,  when  ready  to  move,  was  composed  of  three 
battalions  of  Kentucky  militia,  under  Majors  Hall,  McMullen 
and  Ray,  with  Lieutenant-Colonel  Trotter  in  command  :  one 
battalion  of  Pennsylvania  militia  under  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Truby  and  Major  Paul ;  one  battalion  of  mounted  riflemen, 
commanded  by  -\Iaj.  James  Fontaine,  together  with  two  bat- 
talions of  regulars  under  ]\Iajors  P.  Wyllys  and  John  Doughty, 
and  a  company  of  artillery  commanded  by  Captain  William 
Ferguson.  The  entire  force  numbered  fourteen  hundred  and 
fifty-three,  including  many  boys  and  infirm  men  who  had  been 
sent  as  substitutes  and  were  unfit  for  the  hard  service  before 
them.  This  army,  being  hastily  assembled,  was  necessarily 
poorly  equipped  and  disciplined,  and,  as  usual  where  mixed 
troops  are  employed,  jealousy  soon  arose  betwen  the  militia 
and  regulars.  The  season  being  late,  it  was  impossible  to 
properly  drill  and  discipline  the  awkward  and  insubordinate 
troops — thus  increasing  the  hazard  of  the  projected  campaign. 
Harmar,  who  had  served  with  merit  in  the  Revolution,  was 


DARKE   COUNTY  /T 

first  in  command,  and  Colonel  John  Hardin  led  the  militia, 
subject  to  his  orders.  Alajor  Ebenezer  Denny  was  appointed 
aide-de-camp  to  Harmar :  Mr.  Stephen  Ormsby,  brigadier- 
major  to  the  militia ;  and  ^h.  John  Bellie,  quartermaster. 

The  militia  advanced  up  the  Mill  Creek  valley  on  September 
26th,  and  the  main  army  followed  on  the  30th.  The  forces 
were  united  on  the  3d  of  October  and  took  the  trace  made  by 
George  R.  Clark  up  the  Little  Miami  valley,  passing  near  the 
present  sites  of  Lebanon  and  Xenia,  Ohio;  crossing  Mad  river 
at  old  Piqua  town  (between  Dayton  and  Springfield,  Ohio)  ; 
proceeding  northwesterly  and  crossing  the  Great  Miami  above 
the  present  site  of  Piqua,  Ohio ;  thence  to  the  site  of  Loramie's 
store  (Berlin,  Ohio),  across  the  old  Indian  and  French  port- 
age to  the  St.  Hilary's  river(near  St.  Mary's,  Ohio),  and  on 
toward  the  Miami  villages  (Fort  ^^'ayne,  Ind.).  These  towns 
comprised  a  large  number  of  wigwams  of  the  Miamis,  Shaw- 
anese  and  Delawares,  and  some  log  huts  formerly  occupied  by 
British  traders.  This  was  the  center  from  which  the  hostile  and 
renegade  Lidians  had  sent  many  war  parties  to  harass  the 
borders.  The  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary's  branches  meet  here  to 
form  the  Maumee  river  and  along  their  banks  v.-ere  several 
small  villages  and  the  capital  town  of  the  confederacy  sur- 
rounded by  gardens,  orchards  and  extensive  cornfields  which 
indicated  long  continued  occupancy. 

Learning  of  the  approach  of  a  large  army  the  Indians  hast- 
ened to  desert  these  villages.  General  Harmar  was  apprised 
of  their  movements  by  a  captive  and  accordingly  sent  forward 
a  detachment  of  six  hundred  light  troops  under  Colonel  Har- 
din on  the  14th  to  surprise  the  stragglers,  which  he  failed  to 
do.  The  main  army  arrived  at  the  deserted  villages  about 
noon  on  the  17th  having  accomplished  a  march  of  nearly  one 
hundred  and  seventy  miles  from  Fort  A\''ashington.  On  the 
18th  Harmar  sent  Colonel  Trotter  with  three  hundred  men, 
including  militia  and  regulars,  to  reconnoiter  the  country  and 
ascertain  the  location  of  the  enemy.  This  detachment 
marched  a  few  miles  but  soon  returned,  reporting  the  slaying 
of  two  Indians.  Colonel  Hardin,  displeased  with  Trotter's 
failure  to  accomplish  his  orders,  was  next  dispatched  with  the 
same  detachment.  The  men  were  given  two  days'  provisions 
and  marched  on  the  19th  with  great  reluctance.  About  a  third 
of  the  militia  deserted  before  attaining  three  miles  and  re- 
turned to  camp.  Some  ten  miles  out  the  balance  of  the  troops 
were  surprised  by  a  party  of  about  one  hundred  of  the  enemy 


76  DARKE   COUNTY 

under  the  celebrated  [Miami  chief,  Little  Turtle.  The  Indians 
commenced  firing  at  a  distance  of  about  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years  and  advanced,  steadily  driving  the  panic-stricken  militia 
before  them.  Some  few  of  the  latter  with  about  thirty  of  the 
regulars,  however,  stood  firm  and  were  cut  to  pieces. 

The  main  army  advanced  from  the  Miami  village  to  Chilli- 
cothe,  a  Shawanese  town  two  miles  east,  and  proceeded  to 
burn  all  property  in  sight,  including  corn,  beans,  hay,  cabins, 
etc.  Five  villages  and  the  capital  town,  besides  some  twenty 
thousand  bushels  of  corn  in  ears  having  been  destroyed,  the 
army  took  up  an  orderly  retreat  for  Fort  Washington  on  the 
21st  and  marched  eight  miles.  Thinking  that  the  enemy 
would  immediately  return  to  the  site  of  their  destroyed  vil- 
lages, Harmar  sent  back  Major  Wyllys  with  four  hundred 
picked  men,  including  sixty  regulars,  to  surprise  them.  This 
detachment  was  in  three  divisions  under  Wyllys,  Hall  and 
McMullen.  Major  Hall  was  sent  with  part  of  the  militia  by 
a  circuitous  route  to  gain  the  enemy's  rear,  while  the  other 
troops  were  to  engage  them  in  front.  On  account  of  the  im- 
prudence of  some  of  Hall's  men,  this  plan  failed.  The  other 
militia  now  began  the  attack  before  the  arrival  of  the  regu- 
lars. Little  Turtle,  grasping  the  opportunity,  threw  his  en- 
tire force  first  against  the  militia  and  then  against  the  regu- 
lars with  disastrous  results.  Most  of  the  regulars  were  slain 
and  the  brunt  of  the  fight  fell  on  the  remaining  militia,  who 
now  fought  desperately  but  were  soon  scattered  and  forced  to 
retreat.  The  savages  had  lost  heavily  and  did  not  pursue  the 
retreating  troops.  When  the  main  encampment  was  reached 
Hardin  requested  Harmar  to  send  back  the  main  army  in  order 
to  finish  the  work  on  the  site  of  the  village.  Harmar,  it 
seems,  had  lost  confidence  in  the  militia,  and,  in  view  of  the 
lack  of  forage  and  proper  transportation  facilities,  refused  this 
request.  The  Americans  lost  one  hundred  and  eighty-three 
men  including  brave  Major  Wyllys  and  several  valuable  ofifi- 
cers  on  this  expedition. 

The  shattered  and  dispirited  army  resumed  its  dreary  re- 
treat toward  Fort  Washington  on  the  23d.  Bad  feeling  de- 
veloped between  Harmar  and  Hardin  on  account  of  the  unsat- 
isfactory action  of  the  troops.  Both  were  court-martialed 
later  and  acquitted,  but  Harmar  soon  resigned  his  commission 
in  the  army  and  retired  to  private  life. 

The  government  seeing  the  inefficienc}^  of  its  first  attempt 
in  dealing  with  the  Indians,  adopted  stronger  measures.     It 


DARKE   COUNTY  // 

was  decided  to  offer  peace  to  the  western  Indians;  to  organize 
expedieitions  in  the  west  against  the  villages  of  the  ]\liamis, 
Shawanese  and  \\'eas,  should  they  refuse  to  make  peace;  and 
to  send  a  large  force  to  build  forts  and  take  possession  of  the 
enemy's  land.  The  British,  who  now  seemed  disposed  to  a 
peaceful  settlement,  urged  Joseph  Brant,  the  intelligent  chief 
of  the  Mohawks  and  moving  spirit  of  the  Six  Nations,  to  use 
his  influence  among  his  people  for  peace,  thinking  that  the 
United  States  would  allow  the  tribes  to  retain  their  posses- 
sions along  the  Maumee. 

On  the  night  of  January  2,  1791,  a  l)and  of  savages  stealthily 
massacred  a  number  of  friendly  New  England  settlers  at  Big 
Bottom  blockhouse  on  the  Muskingum,  forty-six  miles  above 
Marietta. 

The  government  still  hoped  for  peace,  however,  and  in 
]\Iarch  sent  Col.  Thomas  Proctor  to  placate  the  Senecas  and 
proceed  with  their  friendly  chief,  Cornplanter,  to  the  council 
of  the  Mianiis  on  the  Maumee.  In  April,  Col.  Timothy  Pick- 
ering was  also  sent  to  the  Senecas  on  a  like  mission. 

Soon  after  Harmar's  expedition  the  frontier  settlements  of 
western  Pennsylvania  and  along  the  Ohio  river  were  again 
attacked  and  terror  spread  among  the  people  south  of  the 
river.  It  is  estimated  that  the  population  of  the  west  at  this 
time  was  between  one  hundred  and  fifty  and  two  hundred 
thousand,  scattered  in  groups ;  one  in  southwestern  Pennsyl- 
vania :  two  in  western  \"irginia,  about  Wheeling  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Ivanawha  ;  and  one  in  Kentucky,  below  the  Lick- 
ing river.  These  settlers  had  poured  in  from  the  eastern 
states  as  well  as  from  several  European  countries  since  the 
close  of  the  Revolution,  being  attracted  largely  by  the  great 
fertility  of  the  land  and  the  exceptional  business  opportunities, 
For  the  most  part  they  had  floated  down  the  Ohio  in  crude 
flat  boats,  but  many  had  come  overland  b}'  Boone's  celebrated 
wilderness  road.  To  the  hardships  of  their  life  in  a  new  and 
exceedingly  rough  country  were  added  the  terrors  of  Indian 
attacks,  inspired  by  the  killing,  wounding,  and  capturing  of 
more  than  fifteen  hundred  men,  women  and  children  in  Ken- 
tucky and  vicinity,  since  the  peace  of  1783. 

Delegates  from  several  of  the  exposed  counties  of  Virginia 
petitioned  the  governor,  and  the  legislature  of  that  state 
authorized  him  to  make  temporary  provision  for  the  protec- 
tion of  the  frontier  until  the  United  States  government  should 
take  proper  steps  in  the  same  direction.     Charles  Scott,  who 


78  DARKE   COUNTY 

had  served  in  the  Revokition,  was  appointed  brigadier-general 
of  the  militia  of  Kentucky,  then  a  part  of  Virginia,  and  was 
ordered  to  raise  a  volunteer  force  to  co-operate  with  several 
companies  of  rangers  from  the  western  counties,  and  proceed 
against  the  Wea  villages  on  the  Wabash  (near  Lafayette, 
Ind.).  Scott  chose  two  Revolutionary  compatriots  to  accom- 
pany him  on  this  raid — Col.  James  \A'ilkinson  being  placed 
second  in  command  and  Col.  John  Hardin  in  charge  of  the 
advance  guard.  The  expedition  was  delayed  until  Alay  2i, 
1791,  awaiting  the  return  of  Proctor,  but,  hearing  nothing 
from  him  by  that  time,  Scott  crossed  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Kentucky  with  some  eight  hundred  mounted  men  and 
arri\ed  at  Ouiatenon  (Lafayette,  Ind.),  June  1st.  Here  he 
found  a  village  of  some  se\'enty  houses  with  a  number  ot 
French  inhabitants  living  in  a  state  of  civilizatinn.  The  vil- 
lage was  burned  and  a  large  quantity  of  corn  and  household 
goods  destroyed.  A  detachment  was  sent  on  foot  against  Tip- 
pecanoe, the  most  important  village,  which  it  also  destroyed. 
The  army  returned  with  several  prisoners,  reaching  the  Ohio 
in  twelve  days  with  the  loss  of  only  two  men. 

On  August  1,  1791,  Colonel  AA'ilkinson  was  sent  against  the 
Indians  of  the  Eel  v'xyqv  with  a  command  of  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five  mounted  men.  He  encountered  much  difficulty 
in  his  march  from  Fort  ^^'ashington  on  account  of  the 
boggy  land.  Arriving  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eel  river  he 
attacked  the  village  located  there,  killed  a  few  Indians  and 
captured  others.  Proceeding  to  Tippecanoe  and  Ouiatenon, 
the  army  destroyed  the  corn  which  had  been  planted  since 
Scott's  raid.  The  army  reached  the  rapids  of  the  Ohio  on 
the  21st,  having  marched  some  four  hundred  and  fift}^  miles. 

The  results  accomplished  by  these  desultory  raids  were 
similar  to  those  of  Harmar's  expedition  and  left  the  savages 
in  an  enraged  state  of  mind  ready  for  the  'intrigues  of  the 
British  agents  of  Canada  and  the  lake  posts.  Colonel  Johnson 
of  the  British  Indian  service,  especially  encouraged  the  In- 
dians in  the  idea  that  the  Americans  had  no  valid  claim  to  any 
of  their  lands  beyond  the  line  established  at  the  treat}'  of  Fort 
Stanwix  after  the  French  and  Indian  war.  The  actions  of  the 
Americans  in  assembling  councils  in  various  places  for  the 
apparent  purpose  of  making  peace  and  at  the  same  time  in- 
viting the  Six  Nations  to  espouse  their  cause  against  the  west- 
ern tribes  added  to  the  confusion  and  gave  the  British  agents 
a  pretext  to  renew  friendly  relations  with  their  old  allies. 


DARKE   COUNTY  79 

The  American  peace  commissioners  who  had  been  sent  out 
in  the  spring  carried  on  negotiations  with  the  Six  Nations. 
Colonel  Pickering  held  a  successful  council  with  all  except  the 
Mohawks  in  June,  1791.  Colonel  Proctor  and  Cornplanter  had 
tried  to  promote  friendly  relations  with  them  in  the  spring, 
but  Brant  and  Col.  John  Butler,  of  the  British  Indian  service, 
had  previously  warned  t.hem  against  the  American  agents.  A 
long  conference  was  held  at  Buffalo,  but  Brant  had  been  sent 
on  to  the  council  of  the  JNIiamis  in  the  meantime  and  the  In- 
dians would  do  nothing  definite  in  his  absence,  inasmuch  as 
the  sentiment  of  their  people  was  much  divided.  The  British 
commandant  at  Fort  Niagara  refused  to  allow  the  use  of  a 
schooner  to  carry  Proctor.  Cornplanter  and  some  friendly 
warriors  across  Lake  Erie  to  Sandusky  thus  defeating  the 
purpose  of  their  mission.  While  Brant  was  inflaming  the 
Miamis,  Proctor  returned  to  Fort  Washington  without  hav- 
ing reached  them  with  his  message  of  peace. 

Little  Turtle,  chief  of  the  ]\Iiamis,  a  warrior  of  great  intelli- 
gence, craft  and  courage,  who  led  the  attack  against  Harmar 
and  who  had  great  influence  among  the  western  tribes,  to- 
gether with  Blue  Jacket,  the  great  chief  of  the  Shawanese, 
and  Buckongehelas,  chief  of  the  Delawares,  formed  a  confed- 
eracy of  the  northwestern  savages  to  drive  the  white  settlers 
be}-ond  the  Ohio.  These  chiefs,  with  the  assistance  of  Simon 
Girty,  Alexander  McKee  and  Matthew  Elliot,  the  renegades, 
headed  a  band  of  warriors  whose  discipline  has  probably 
never  been  equaled  in  Indian  warfare.  Nothing  but  a  decisive 
blow  Ijy  a  large  and  w^ell  disciplined  force  could  quell  the  up- 
rising being  stirred  up  by  these  leaders.  What  the  border 
states  had  attempted  to  do  in  a  crude  and  spasmodic  way  the 
new  government  now  decided  to  essav  in  an  orderlv  and  or- 
ganized manner.  Accordingly  Governor  St.  Clair,  who  had 
been  appointed  a  major-general  in  the  L''^.  S.  army  March  4. 
1791,  and  placed  in  chief  command  of  the  forces  to  be  employed 
against  the  Indians  was  instructed  to  speedily  assemble  his 
forces.  The  object  of  the  main  expedition  planned  by  the 
government  was  to  establish  a  post  at  Ke-ki-on-gay,  the 
Miami  (Maumee)  village  (Fort  Wayne)  for  the  purpose  of 
awing  and  curbing  the  Indians  in  that  region,  and  preventing 
future  hostilities.  This  village  had  been  the  seat  of  the  pow- 
erful Miami  nation  from  time  immemorial  and  it  was  called 
by  Little  Turtle  at  the  treaty  of  Greenville  in  1795,  "That 
glorious  gate  through  which  all  the  good  words  of  our  chiefs 


80  DARKF.   COUNTY 

had  to  pass  from  the  north  to  the  south  and  from  the  east  to 
the  west."  The  troops  were  to  consist  of  two  small  regiments 
of  regular  infantry,  two  regiments  of  levies  and  three  hun- 
dred or  four  hundred  Kentucky  militia.  "The  mounted  men 
were  to  receive  two-thirds  of  a  dollar  per  day  and  to  be  under 
command  of  their  own  officers,  while  footmen  were  to  receive 
three  dollars  per  month  and  be  subject  to  military  law."  It 
proved  a  difficult  task  to  preserve  harmony  among  the  regu- 
lars and  volunteers,  as  the  latter  would  scarcely  submit  either 
to  the  discipline  of  the  army,  or  to  the  slow  movements  which 
one  having  a  road  to  cut  every  step  he  advanced,  and  forts  to 
build  was  necessarily  subjected  to — neither  would  they  labor. 
St.  Clair  found  himself  confronted  by  the  same  problems  that 
had  vexed  poor  Harmar.  The  small  pay  and  unattractive 
conditions  of  service  filled  the  ranks  of  the  regulars  with 
many  weak,  diseased  and  unfit  men  from  the  streets  of  the 
Eastern  cities.  The  best  of  the  troops  were  trained  only 
in  regulation  mass  movements  which  were  totally  inadequate 
for  fighting  a  stealthy  savage  foe  concealed  in  the  fastness 
of  a  dense  forest.  The  experienced  backwoodsmen  with  the 
militia  were  better  trained  for  meeting  the  Indians  on  their 
own  ground,  but  they  were  in  the  minority.  The  Indians 
on  the  other  hand  were  unencumbered  with  baggage,  free, 
stealthy  and  elastic  in  their  movements,  were  thoroughly 
acquainted  with  the  shadowy  recesses  of  the  forest  and  in- 
ured to  hardship  and  deprivations. 

Preparations  for  the  expedition  were  now  pushed  vigor- 
ousl}-  but  at  a  great  disadvantage.  The  Secretary  of  War 
was  just  getting  initiated  in  a  newly  created  office  and  suf- 
fared  for  want  of  adequate  equipment.  I\Iaj.-Gen.  Richard 
Butler,  an  officer  of  the  Pennsylvania  line  in  the  Revolution 
who  had  served  in  Harmar's  expedition,  had  been  placed 
second  in  command  with  orders  to  remain  in  Pennsylvania 
to  recruit  and  forward  troops.  Two  thousand  levies  were 
to  be  raised,  marched  to  Fort  Pitt  (Pittsburg)  in  companies 
as  soon  as  collected ;  and  there  receive  orders  from  St.  Clair. 
They  could  be  safely  sent  in  small  companies,  but  were  held 
back  by  Butler  to  protect  the  frontiers  according  to  orders 
from  the  ^^'ar  Department,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  St. 
Clair,  who  kept  urging  that  they  be  sent  to  Fort  Washington 
'Sir.  Samuel  Hogdon  had  been  appointed  Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral of  the  army  and,  although  zealous,  seems  to  have  been 
totally    unfit    for    the    responsibilities    of    the    position.     The 


DARKE   COUNTY  81 

delay  in  forwarding  troops  was  also  partly  due  to  his  failure 
in  furnishing  horses,  supplies,  provisions,  and  the  necessary 
boats  for  transportation.  St.  Clair  arrived  at  Fort  Wash- 
ington on  the  15th  of  May  after  passing  through  Lexington 
to  arrange  for  the  forwarding  of  the  Kentucky  militia.  Here 
he  found  a  garrison  of  but  eighty-five  men  fit  for  duty.  The 
arms  and  accoutrements  left  from  Harmar's  expedition  were 
in  bad  condition  and  the  supplies  forwarded  later  by  the 
quartermaster  from  time  to  time  were  deficient  both  in  quan- 
tity and  quality.  Xew  gun  carriages  had  to  be  made ;  the 
deficiencies  of  the  camp  equipage  supplied ;  nearly  all  ot 
the  ammunition  had  to  be  made  up  and  a  laboratory  equipped 
for  this  purpose.  Alusket  shells,  artillery  cartridges,  and 
shells  for  the  howitzers  had  to  be  filled — a  tedious  and  labor- 
ious business.  Not  only  ammunition  for  the  campaign  but 
also  for  the  garrison  of  1,200  or  more  for  the  projected  post 
at  the  Maumee  and  intermediate  posts  must  be  prepared. 
Workshops  and  an  armorj^  had  to  be  built  and  tools  con- 
structed. In  his  report  the  general  said :  "A  great  number 
of  axes,  camp  kettles,  knapsacks,  kegs  for  the  musket  cart- 
ridges, and  spare  cannon  ball,  and  boxes  of  ammunition  had 
to  be  made ;  and  cordage  of  various  kinds,  and  the  cartridge 
boxes  to  be  repaired.  Splints  for  the  wounded  were  to  be 
made  of  half-jacked  leather  prepared  on  the  spot.  In  short, 
almost  every  art  was  going  forward,  and  Fort  \\'ashington 
had  as  much  the  appearance  of  a  large  manufactory  on  the 
inside,  as  it  had  of  a  military  post  on  the  outside."  To  per 
form  all  this  labor  smiths,  carpenters,  harnessmakers,  col- 
liers, wheelwrights,  etc.,  had  to  be  drafted  from  all  that  could 
be  found  among  the  troops  as  they  slowly  arrived.  Consid- 
erable cattle  and  horses  for  the  use  of  the  army  had  to  be 
cared  for  and,  on  August  7th,  the  country  near  the  fort  being 
eaten  ofT,  all  the  troops  that  had  arrived,  except  the  artificers 
and  a  small  garrison,  advanced  about  six  miles  northward  to 
Ludlow's  station.  On  the  1st  of  September  the  Secretary  of 
War  wrote  to  St.  Clair:  "The  President  enjoins  you  by  ev- 
ery principle  that  is  sacred  to  stimulate  your  operations  in 
the  highest  degree,  and  to  move  as  rapidly  as  the  lateness  of 
the  season  and  the  nature  of  the  case  will  possibly  admit. '" 
The  balance  of  the  troops,  however,  had  not  yet  arrived  at 
the  above  date,  but  soon  came  on  and  joining  those  at  Lud- 
low's station,  moved  northward  on  the  17th  toward  the  cross- 
ing of  the  Great  Miami  river  about  twentv  miles  distant. 
(6) 


82  DARKE   COUNTY 

where  a  fort  was  built  to  command  the  river  crossing,  to 
serve  as  a  place  for  depositing  provisions,  and  to  form  the 
first  link  in  the  chain  of  forts  projected  between  Ft.  Wash- 
ington and  the  Indian  village  on  the  ^tlaumee.  St.  Clair  de- 
scribed this  post  in  the  following  very  interesting  manner: 
"A  stockade  fifty  yards  square,  with  four  good  bastions,  and 
platforms  for  cannon  in  two  of  them,  with  barracks  for  about 
two  hundred  men,  with  some  good  storehouses,  etc."  "The 
circuit  of  that  fort  is  about  one  thousand  feet,  through  the 
whole  extent  of  which  a  trench  about  three  feet  deep  was  dug 
to  set  the  picquets  in,  of  which  it  required  more  than  two 
thousand  to  enclose  it ;  and  it  is  not  trees,  taken  promis- 
cuously, that  will  answer  for  picquets ;  they  must  be  tall 
and  straight  and  from  nine  to  twelve  inches  in  diameter  (for 
those  of  a  larger  size  are  too  unmanageable).  Of  course  few 
trees  that  are  proper  are  to  be  found  without  going  over 
a  considerable  space  of  woodland.  \\'hen  fmmd  they  are 
felled,  cleared  of  their  branches,  and  cut  into  lengths  of 
about  twenty  feet.  They  were  then  carried  to  the  ground 
and  butted,  that  they  might  be  placed  firm  and  upright  in 
the  trench,  with  the  axe  or  cross-cut  saw ;  some  hewing 
upon  them  was  also  necessary,  for  there  are  few  trees  so 
straight  that  the  sides  of  them  will  come  in  contact  when 
set  upright.  A  thin  piece  of  timber,  called  a  ribband,  is  run 
round  the  whole  near  the  top  of  the  picquets.  to  which  every 
one  of  them  is  pinned  with  a  strong  pin,  without  which  they 
would  decline  from  the  perpendicular  with  every  blast  of 
the  wind,  some  hanging  outward,  and  some  inward,  which 
would  render  them  in  a  great  measure  useless.  The  earth 
thrown  out  of  the  trench  is  then  returned  and  strongly 
rammed  to  keep  the  picquets  firmly  in  their  places,  and  a 
shallower  trench  is  dug  outside  about  three  feet  distant,  to 
carrj'  off  the  water  and  prevent  their  beiiig  moved  bv  the 
rains ;  about  two  thousand  picquets  are  set  up  inside,  one 
between  every  two  others :  the  work  is  then  inclosed.  But 
previously  the  ground  for  the  site  of  the  fort  had  to  be  cleared 
and  two  or  three  hundred  yards  round  it,  which  was  very 
thickly  wooded  and  was  a  work  of  time  and  labor.  (The 
ground  where  this  fort  stands  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  Miami 
river,  on  the  first  bank;  but  there  is  a  second  bank  consid- 
erably elevated,  within  point  blank  shot,  which  rendered  it 
necessary  to  make  the  quicquets,  particularly  along  the  land 
side,  of  a  height  sufficient  to  prevent  an   enemy  seeing  into 


DARKE   COUNTY  83 

the  area,  and  taking  the  river  in  reverse,  and  a  high  platform 
was  raised  in  one  of  the  bastions  on  the  land  side  to  scour 
the  second  bank  with  artillery.  Another  made  with  the 
trunks  of  trees,  and  covered  with  plank,  as  that  was,  was 
raised  in  one  of  the  bastions  toward  the  river,  in  order  to 
command  the  ford,  and  the  river  for  some  distance  up  and 
down.  Plank  was  sawed  for  the  platform  and  the  gate,  and 
barracks  for  one  hundred  men ;  a  guardroom,  two  storehouses 
for  provisions,  and  barracks  for  the  officers  were  constructed 
within  it,  and  all  this  was  done  in  abijut  fourteen  da}-s,  al- 
most entirely  by  the  labor  of  the  men ;  though  some  use  was 
made  of  oxen  in  drawing  timber ;  the  woods  were  so  thick 
and  encumbered  with  underwood,  it  was  found  to  be  the  most 
expeditious  method  to  carry  it.)"  'This  post  was  named  Fort 
Hamilton. 

The  main  part  of  the  amy,  consisting  of  two  small  regi- 
ments of  regular  infantry,  and  the  levies,  about  two  thou- 
sand in  all,  left  this  place  October  4,  and  were  followed  on 
the  5th  b}'  some  three  hundred  and  fifty  Kentucky  militia. 
Many  of  the  regulars  had  rendered  distinguished  service 
during  the  Revolution  and  the  militia  included  a  number  of 
the  hardy  pioneers  who  had  engaged  in  the  recent  raids  and 
expeditions  of  the  exposed  border.  St.  Clair,  in  describing 
the  marching  order  of  the  troops,  observes :  "When  the 
army  was  in  march,  it  was  preceded  by  a  small  party  of  rifle- 
men, with  the  surveyor,  to  mark  the  course  of  the  road ;  for 
we  had  no  guides,  not  a  single  person  being  found  in  the 
country  who  had  ever  been  through  i.t,  and  both  the  geog- 
raphy and  the  topography  were  utterly  unknown  ;  the  march 
was,  therefore,  made  up  on  a  compass  course,  conjectural  in- 
deed, but  which  proved  to  be  suificientlv  correct,  as  it 
brought  us  into  a  large  path  leading  to  the  Miami  towns  about 
twenty  miles  from  them  ;  from  that  party  scouts  were  sent  out 
to  scour  the  country  every  way.  Then  followed  the  road  cut- 
ters with  a  party  to  cover  them  ;  then  the  advanced  guard,  and 
after  them  the  army  in  two  columns,  with  one  piece  of  artillery 
in  front,  one  in  the  center,  and  one  in  the  rear  of  each.  In  the 
space  betwen  the  two  columns  marched  the  remaining  artil- 
lery, destined  for  the  fort  at  the  ]\Iiami  towns  ;  then  the  horses 
with  the  tents  and  provisions,  and  then  the  cattle  with  their 
proper  guard,  who  were  to  remove  them  in  case  of  the  enemy 
appearing.  '\\^ithout  the  columns,  at  a  distance  of  about  one 
hundred  vards,  march  the  cavalrv  in  file,  and  without  them  at 


84  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  same  distance,  a  party  of  riflemen,  and  scouts  without 
them ;  then  followed  the  rear  guard  at  a  proper  distance." 
Roads  for  the  artillery  had  to  be  cut  through  the  thick  tim- 
ber nearly  all  the  waj^  and  some  considerable  bridges  built. 

Progress  was  necessarily  very  slow  and  by  the  evening  of 
the  9th  the  army  had  advanced  but  twenty  miles  from  Ft. 
Hamilton  through  a  level,  well  watered  and  fertile  country. 
On  the  10th  an  open  beech  country  was  reached  (near  Eaton, 
Ohio)  and  about  eight  miles  made.  Progress  continued  fair 
until  the  following  afternoon  when  the  army  was  forced  to 
encamp  on  the  margin  of  an  extensive  wet  prairie  (Maple 
Swamp),  at  the  headwaters  of  Twin  creek  (near  Castine, 
Ohio),  some  thirty-eight  miles  in  advance  of  Ft.  Hamilton. 
Two  parties  were  sent  out  to  reconnoiter  on  the  morning  of 
the  12th,  one  to  the  westward  under  iMajor  Denny,  the  other 
eastward  under  Maj.  Butler.  It  was  ascertained  that  the 
arm}'  could  not  continue  on  its  regular  course  west  of  north 
without  constructing  a  causeway  of  about  a  thousand  feet.  A 
suitable  passage  was  found  around  the  swamp  to  the  eastward 
which  soon  led  into  a  well  worn  Indian  path  leading  through 
and  avoiding  the  wet  places.  Bv  following  this  the  army 
advanced  some  six  miles  and  encamped  in  an  excellent,  well- 
watered  spot. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13th.  St.  Clair  reconnoitered  the 
country  and  selected  a  site  for  a  fort  of  deposit  a  mile  in 
advance  of  camp  on  one  of  the  gravel  knolls  of  this  beautiful 
rolling  region.  (Hills  of  Judea.)  A  fort  one  hundred  feet 
square  with  four  good  bastions  was  soon  laid  out  and  the 
work  of  building  commenced.  The  weather  now  became  cold 
and  wet  and  the  work  progressed  slowly.  Provisions  for 
the  army  were  inadequate,  the  terms  of  enlistment  of  many  of 
the  levies  expired, and  great  discontent  developed.  Some  of 
the  levies  were  discharged,  and  several  of  the  militia  deserted. 
Two  artillery  men  were  hanged  for  desertion  and  one  of  the 
levies  for  shooting  a  comrade. 

At  this  critical  time  Gen.  Butler,  who  was  second  in  com- 
mand, proposed  to  St.  Clair  that  he  be  allowed  to  take  one 
thousand  picked  men  and  go  to  the  Maumee  villages,  and 
there  establish  the  projected  post,  leaving  the  commander-in- 
chief  to  finish  the  fort  and  follow  at  his  leisure.  The  season 
was  late,  and  as  St.  Clair  was  advanced  in  3'ears  and  very 
much  indisposed  at  times  by  attacks  of  the  gout,  this  was  pro- 
posed ostensibly  to  relieve  him  and  hasten  the  consummation 


DARKE   COUNTY 


85 


of  the  campaign.  The  general,  however,  was  very  disagree- 
ably surprised  by  the  proposition  and  refused  the  proli'er. 
Butler  seems  to  have  taken  offense  at  the  rebuff'  and  grown 
more  reserved  in  his  relations  with  St.  Clair,  although  the 
latter  thought  that  his  own  action  was  a  proper  exercise  of 
his  power  as  head  of  the  army.  After  much  delay  the  little 
log  fort  was  completed,  garrisoned  with  a  small  detachment, 
equipped  with  two  pieces  of  artillery  and  named  Fort  Jeffer- 
son. 

On  the  24th  the  army  took  up  the  line  of  march  northward 
following  the  Indian  trail  along  the  high  ground  on  the  east 
side  of  the  prairie.  A  fine  country  with  rich  soil  and  beauti- 
ful oak  woods  was  now  encountered.  After  proceeding  some 
five  miles  an  excellent  elevated  camp  site  with  a  wide  Lreek 
in  front  and  a  large  prairie  on  the  left  was  discovered.  Here 
(Greenville,  Ohio)  the  army  halted  a  week,  grazing  the 
horses,  awaiting  tlie  delayed  supplies  and  preparing  for  the 
advance. 

Gen.  St.  Clair  continued  ill,  the  weather  inclement  and  dis- 
content prevailed  among  the  troops.  On  the  29th.  a  bridge 
was  thrown  across  the  creek,  and  a  corps  of  road-cutters  sent 
forward  under  a  strong  guard  of  militia.  The  friendly  chief 
Piomingo,  with  nineteen  warriors,  and  Capt.  Sparks,  with 
four  riflemen,  were  sent  oitt  to  ascertain  the  location  and 
strength  of  the  enemj^  The  army  broke  camp  on  the  30th 
and  proceeded  on  a  course  twenty-five  degrees  west  of  north, 
^^'ith  much  difficulty  seven  miles  were  gained  this  day  and 
the  troops  were  forced  to  encamp  in  a  very  thick  woods. 
(Probably  in  section  20,  Brown  township,  Darke  county.) 
During  the  night  a  heavy  storm  arose,  precipitating  much 
timber  in  the  camp  and  causing  considerable  confusion.  While 
the  troops  remained  encamped  here  awaiting  provisions  sixty 
of  the  disgruntled  militia  marched  off  threatening  to  plunder 
the  second  convoy  of  provisions  which  was  then  thought  to 
be  within  twenty  miles  on  the  trail.  In  order  to  save  ihe 
supplies,  which  were  necessary  for  the  sustenance  of  the 
army,  and  to  prevent  further  desertions,  the  whole  of  the 
First  regiment  of  regulars,  the  flower  of  the  army,  was  de- 
tached and  sent  back.  The  quartermaster  had  failed  to  start 
the  convoy  at  the  appointed  time,  however,  and  this  regiment 
became  separated  from  the  main  body  by  a  greater  distance 
than  anticipated,  thus  reducing  the  effective  fighting  force 
to  about  1,400  men.     The  first  convoy  of  some  two  hundred 


86  DARKE   COUNTY 

horses  loaded  with  flour  arrived  in  the  evening  of  the  olst. 
The  road  cutters  advanced  on  Nov.  1st,  and  the  army  followed 
on  the  2d,  after  depositing  the  heavy  and  superfluous  baggage. 
The  troops  now  labored  through  the  flat,  marshy  country, 
near  the  "spreads  of  Stillwater,"  which  creek  they  crossed 
about  noon.  In  the  afternoon  their  trail  was  joined  by  an- 
other Indian  path,  indicating  that  the  right  course  was  being 
followed.  The  direction  this  day  was  north,  twenty-five  de- 
grees east  and  the  army  encamped  after  gaining  eight  miles. 
On  the  3d  the  troops  broke  camp  at  nine  o'clock  and  gained 
nine  miles  on  a  course  thirty  degrees  west  of  north.  The 
first  four  miles  continued  very  flat  and  wet  but  at  noon  the 
ridge  which  divides  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  from  those  of 
Lake  Erie  was  passed  over  and  descent  made  to  a  small  creek 
three  miles  further  on.  A  few  Indians  had  been  observed 
hanging  about  the  flanks  of  the  army  and  on  the  3d  a  larger 
number  than  usual  were  noticed.  After  a  hard  march  through 
the  cold  on  short  rations  the  army  arrived  about  sunset  on 
that  day  at  a  small  stream  about  60  feet  wide  flowing  south- 
ward, which  was  supposed  to  be  the  St.  Mary's  branch  of  the 
]\Iaumee,  but  was  in  fact  a  branch  of  the  east  fork  of  the 
A\'abash.  Here  an  encampment  was  made  in  two  lines  on  a 
slightly  elevated  piece  of  timbered  ground,  barely  large 
enough  to  accommodate  the  army.  To  the  north  and  east 
the  view  was  obstructed  by  the  thick  forest.  On  the  south  a 
prairie  bordered  by  a  fringe  of  low  marshy  ground,  thickly 
studded  with  trees  and  low  brush  skirted  the  camp.  Along 
the  west  side  or  front  of  the  camp,  the  east  bank  of  the  Wa- 
bash was  some  twenty-five  feet  above  the  river,  which  was 
probabh'  thirty  or  forty  feet  wide  and  knee  deep  at  this  place. 

The  blufif  was  also  thickly  set  with  forest  trees  and  under- 
brush. Across  the  stream  to  the  west  the  bottom  land  par- 
took of  the  nature  of  a  low,  wet  prairie  about  sixty  rods  wide, 
covered  with  tall,  rank  grass,  and  clumps  of  willow  and  spice 
brush. 

The  first  line  of  the  encampment  was  composed  of  Butler's, 
Clark's  and  Patterson's  battalions  of  levies,  and  commanded 
by  Gen.  Butler.  The  second  consisted  of  Bedinger's  and 
Gaither's  battalions  and  the  Second  regiment  of  regulars  com- 
manded by  Lieut-Col.  Darke,  and  was  about  200  feet  to  the 
rear  of  and  parallel  with  the  first.  The  right  flank  was  pro- 
tected by  the  creek :  the  left  by  a  steep  bank,  Faulknor's  corps 
and   some   of  the   infantrv.     The   militia    advanced    about    a 


DARKE   COUNTY  87 

fourth  of  a  mile  across  the  creek  bottom  and  camped  on  high 
ground.  It  had  been  a  hard  day"s  march  and  it  was  near  8 
o'clock  before  the  scanty  mess  was  cooked.  The  soldiers, 
tired  and  worn,  were  soon  sleeping  heavily.  Capt.  Slough  of 
the  First  battalion  of  levies  was  sent  out  with  some  thirty 
picked  men  with  instructions  to  advance  one,  two  or  three 
miles  along  the  trail  in  search  of  Indians.  About  midnight 
they  returned,  with  the  report  that  they  had  fired  on  a  party 
of  six  or  seven  savages,  killing  one,  and  had  been  passed  by 
a  much  larger  party  later  going  toward  the  camp.  The  re- 
port, according  to  Capt.  Slough's  testimony,  was  made  to 
Maj.-Gen.  Butler,  w'ho  then  dismissed  him  for  the  night  with- 
out instructions  to  inform  St.  Clair.  Col.  Oldham  of  the 
militia  also  predicted  an  attack  in  the  morning.  Gen.  St. 
Clair  had  observed  on  the  afternoon  previous  that  he  did  not 
expect  an  attack  yet  and  in  the  evening  concerted  plans  with 
Major  Ferguson  of  the  artillery  for  throwing  up  a  small  earth- 
work, wherein  to  have  deposited  the  knapsacks  and  heavj- 
luggage.  He  then  intended  to  make  a  forced  march  to  the 
Maumee  village,  which  he  thought  to  be  about  fifteen  miles, 
but  which  was,  in  fact,  some  fifty  miles  distant,  as  soon  as 
the  First  regiment  came  up.  He  was  permitted  to  do  neither, 
for  on  the  4th  about  sunrise,  just  after  the  regular  morning- 
parade,  and  while  the  soldiers  were  preparing  breakfast,  the 
swarming  savages,  who  had  been  camping  but  a  short  dis- 
tance beyond  the  militia,  made  a  sudden  attack  on  the  pickets 
of  the  militia  across  the  creek.  A  few  shots  were  exchanged, 
but  fear  seized  the  Kentuckians,  and  thev  rushed  pell  mell 
into  the  main  camp,  pursued  by  a  large  party  of  Indians, 
whooping  and  yelling  fiercely.  A  volley  from  the  artillery  in 
the  front  drove  the  latter  back  to  cover  but  they  soon  renewed 
their  fire  and  gradually  encircled  the  encampment,  conceal- 
ing themselves  behind  trees,  brush  and  logs  and  pouring  in 
a  galling  fire.  The  soldiers  were  cramped  for  room  and  ex- 
posed because  of  the  nature  of  the  ground  on  which  they  were 
encamped  and  made  an  easy  target  for  the  savages,  who  were 
expert  marksmen.  The  main  fire  was  directed  against  the 
men  at  the  guns  in  the  center  of  the  encampment  and  they 
were  driven  away  again  and  again  with  great  slaughter.  This 
was  kept  up  for  perhaps  an  hour  and  a  half  until  nearlv  every 
officer  of  the  artillery  had  been  killed  or  wounded  and  all  the 
guns  silenced.  The  roar  of  the  artillery  and  rattle  of  the 
muskets  of  the  regulars  may  have  tended  to  awe  the  savages. 


65  DARKE   COUNTY 

but  much  ammunition  was  wasted  by  the  random  shooting 
of  the  untrained  troops.  Alen  were  falling  in  great  numbers 
in  all  parts  of  the  camp,  confusion  was  spreading,  and  the 
Indians,  becoming  emboldened,  swarmed  forward  to  seize  the 
guns.  Previously  they  had  flitted  from  cover  to  cover  under 
the  pall  of  smoke,  but  now  they  became  more  exposed  at  close 
quarters.  A  spirited  charge  was  made  against  them  under 
Col.  Darke  and  they  were  driven  back  across  the  creek  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet.  For  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of 
riflemen  to  follow  up  this  charge,  they  were  forced  to  return 
and  were  gradually  followed  by  the  Indians,  who  pressed  for- 
ward from  tree  to  tree  and  soon  came  into  camp  on  the  left 
flank.  Here  they  were  met  by  a  spirited  charge  from  the  Sec- 
ond regiment,  Butler's  and  Clark's  battalions,  and  pushed 
back.  Again  and  again  this  was  repeated,  but  with  great  loss, 
especially  of  the  officers,  who  had  to  expose  themselves  to  rally 
the  raw  and  undisciplined  troops.  Early  in  these  charges 
Major  Butler  was  dangerously  wounded  and  all  the  officers 
of  the  Second  regiment  fell  except  three.  Both  St.  Clair  and 
Butler  exhibited  great  bravery  throughout,  the  latter,  al- 
though indisposed,  having  Ijeen  mortally  wounded,  continued 
to  give  orders  while  propped  up  in  the  center  of  the  camp. 
In  spite  of  his  advanced  age  and  enfeebled  condition,  St.  Clair 
rode  up  and  down  the  lines  attempting  to  rally  and  reassure 
the  fearful  troops.  The  fire  was  continued  nearly  three 
hours  on  front  and  flank  until  the  majority  of  the  officers  and 
half  of  the  army  were  either  killed  or  wounded.  The  terri- 
fied soldiers  now  crowded  to  the  center  of  the  camp,  where 
the  wounded  had  previously  been  taken  for  safety,  being 
pressed  gradually  closer  from  all  sides  by  the  exulting  sav- 
ages. The  remnant  of  the  army  became  stupefied  and  be- 
wildered and  it  became  necessary  to  order  a  retreat.  Accord- 
ingly, about  9  o'clock  Col.  Darke  was  ordered  to  make  a 
charge  and  with  a'number  of  the  best  men  made  a  feint,  driv- 
ing the  Indians  beyond  the  road  and  thus  making  an  opening 
through  which  the  balance  of  the  troops  hurried  pell  mell 
with  the  militia  in  front.  The  Indians  had  been  thrown  into 
confusion  by  the  charge,  but,  discovering  its  object,  soon 
pursued  the  straggling  army  along  the  trail  and  harassed  the 
rear  for  four  or  five  miles.  Attracted  by  the  rich  booty,  how- 
ever, they  soon  returned  to  plunder  the  camp  and  mutilate, 
torture  and  kill  those  of  the  wounded  who  had  been  left  on 
the  field.     Here  a  sickening  sight  presented  itself.     Huddled 


GRANITE     EFFIGY     uF     FRONTIERSMAN     ON     MEMORIAL     MONUMENT 
AT   FORT   RECOVERY.    OHIO 


DARKE   COUNTY  SV 

in  a  comparatively  small  space  were  piles  of  the  slain  on  the 
frozen  ground,  the  silent  cannon,  the  deserted  tents  and  val- 
uable camp  equipments  all  abandoned  in  the  flight  for  life. 
\\'hile  the  Indians  were  carousing,  securing  their  plunder, 
scalping  and  disfiguring  the  slain,  and  gloating  over  their 
victims,  the  routed  army  continued  its  retreat  and  kept  throw- 
ing away  arms  and  equipments  in  the  panic  of  fear.  Nearly 
all  the  horses  had  been  taken  or  killed  and  St.  Clair,  mounted 
on  a  slow  pack-horse,  was  unable  to  reach  the  front  himself 
and  the  other  officers  found  it  impossible  to  establish  order 
and  check  the  flight.  The  rout  continued  along  the  rude  trail 
to  Fort  Jefferson,  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles  through 
the  dense  wilderness,  where  the  men  arrived  just  after  sun- 
set. Here  the  First  regiment,  which  had  been  sent  back  to 
intercept  the  deserters,  was  met,  but  in  view  of  the  broken 
condition  of  the  troops,  the  lack  of  provisions  in  the  fort,  and 
the  strength  of  the  enemy,  it  was  decided  to  leave  the  wound- 
ed here  and  continue  the  march  toward  Fort  Washington. 
-Accordingly  the  advance  troops  set  out  about  ten  o'clock, 
marched  until  nearly  daylight  of  the  5th,  and  halted  until  the 
rear  came  up.  The  army  moved  on  about  9  o'clock  and  soon 
met  the  convoy,  arrived  at  Fort  Hamilton  on  afternoon  of 
6th.  and  at  Fort  Washington  in  afternoon  of  8th. 

The  number  of  Indians,  Canadians  and  half  breeds  in  this 
engagement  has  been  variously  estimated  at  from  700  to  2,500 
or  3,000,  but  1.000  or  1,500  is  considered  a  conservative  figure, 
and  the  amount  of  government  property  either  lost  or  de- 
stroyed is  put  at  about  $34,000.  The  principal  tribes  engaged 
were  the  Delawares,  Shawanese,  Wyandots,  Miamis,  Otta- 
was.  Chippewas  and  Pottawatomies.  Litte  Turtle,  chief  of 
the  JMiamis,  was  their  leader,  and  was  ably  assisted  by  Blue 
Jacket,  Bukongehelas,  Black  Eagle,  and  the  renegades  Simon 
Girty  and  Blackstaffe.  The  warriors  had  poured  in  from  the 
Wabash  and  the  far  north  ;  and  it  is  even  asserted  that  Captain 
Brant  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  select  Mohawk  warriors 
took  part  in  this  rem.arkable  engagem.ent. 

Their  loss  was  estimated  at  about  150  killed  and  several 
wounded,  but  because  of  their  custom  of  carrying  away  or 
concealing  the  slain  it  is  difficult  to  ascertain  their  exact  num- 
ber. The  Americans  had  thirty-nine  officers  killed  and  twen- 
ty-one wounded,  and  their  entire  loss  was  estimated  at  677 
killed,  including  thirty  or  more  women,  and  271  wounded,  a 
loss  probably  as  great  as  any  suiTered  in   a  single  battle  of 


90  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  Revolution.  The  remarkable  number  of  officers  killed 
bears  unmistakable  testimony  to  the  braver)-  and  patriotic 
devotion  of  these  men.  The  list  is  as  follows:  Gen.  Rich- 
ard Butler,  Col.  Oldham,  of  the  militia;  Majors  Ferguson, 
Hart  and  Clark ;  Captains  Bradford,  Phelan,  Kirkwood,  Price, 
Van  Swearingen,  Tipton,  Purdy,  Smith,  Piatt,  Gaither,  Crebbs 
and  Newman;  Lieutenants  Spear,  Warren,  Boyd,  McMath, 
Burgess,  Kelso,  Read,  Little,  Hopper  and  Likens ;  Ensigns 
Cobb,  Balch,  Chase,  Wilson,  Brooks,  Beatty  and  Purdy,  be- 
sides two  quartermasters  and  two  adjutants.  Among  the 
wounded  were:  Col.  Sargent  (the  Adj.-General)  ;  Lieut-Col. 
Gibson  (who  died  later  at  Ft.  Jefferson)  ;  Major  Thomas  But- 
ler and  Viscount  ]\Ialartie,  volunteer  aide-de-camp  to  St. 
Ciair.  It  was  Maj.  Denny's  opinion  that  Gen.  Butler  might 
ha\e  been  saved  if  he  could  have  been  gotten  off  the  field,  but 
his  size  precluded  this  action.  On  account  of  the  indispo- 
sition of  both  general  officers  the  brunt  of  the  campaign  had 
fallen  on  the  Adjutant-General.  Col.  Sargent,  who  assumed 
this  difficult  and  serious  task  with  alacrity.  General  Har- 
mar  had  predicted  defeat  before  the  army  set  out  because  of 
the  poor  material  which  composed  the  buk  of  the  army,  the 
inexperience  of  the  officers  in  fighting  Indians,  and  the  haste 
in  preparation.  The  ignorance  of  the  presence  of  a  large  body 
of  the  enemy  also  contributed  materially  to  the  result.  Add- 
ed to  this  was  the  Indian's  advantage  of  fighting  on  his  own 
ground  and  in  his  own  way. 

The  new  government  was  experimenting  in  Indian  war- 
fare and  had  much  to  learn.  Washington  recalled  Braddock's 
defeat  and  had  warned  St.  Clair  before  departing.  The  latter 
sent  his  aide,  Maj.  Ebenezer  Denny,  with  the  news  of  the  de- 
feat to  the  President  at  Philadelphia.  On  account  of  high 
waters  and  ice  in  the  Ohio  river  and  the  .bad  condition  of 
roads  it  took  twenty  days  to  reach  \Anieeling  from  Fort  Wash- 
ington and  ten  more  to  reach  Philadelphia.  President  Wash- 
ington received  the  dispatch  while  eating  dinner,  but  contin- 
ued his  meal  and  acted  as  usual  until  all  the  company  had 
gone  and  his  wife  had  left  the  room,  leaving  no  one  but  him- 
self and  Secretary,  Col.  Lear.  He  now  commenced  to  walk 
back  and  forth  in  silence  and  after  some  moments  sat  down 
on  a  sofa.  His  manner  now  showed  emotion  and  he  ex- 
claimed suddenly :  "St.  Clair's  defeated — routed ;  the  offi- 
cers nearly  all  killed,  the  men  by  wholesale,  the  rout  com- 
plete!    Too  shocking  to  think  of — a  surprise  in  the  bargain." 


DARKE   COUNTY  91 

Pausing  again,  rising  from  the  sofa,  and  walking  back  and 
forth,  he  stopped  short  and  again  broke  out  with  great  vehe- 
mence :  "Yes !  here  on  this  very  spot  I  took  leave  of  him ; 
I  wished  him  success  and  honor.  You  have  j-our  instruc- 
tions,' I  said,  'from  the  Secretary  of  War.  I  had  a  strict  e3"e 
to  them,  and  will  add  but  one  word,  beware  of  a  surprise ! 
You  know  how  the  Indians  fight  us !"  He  went  off  with  that 
as  my  last  solemn  warning  thrown  into  his  ears.  And  yet, 
to  suft'er  that  army  to  be  cut  to  pieces — hacked  by  a  surprise, 
the  very  thing  I  guarded  against!  O  God!  he's  worse  than 
a  murderer.  *  *  *''  The  President  again  sat  down  on  the 
sofa  and  his  anger  subsided.  At  length  he  said:  "This  must 
not  go  beyond  this  room."  After  a  while  he  again  spoke  in 
a  lower  tone:  "General  St.  Clair  shall  have  justice.  I  looked 
hastily  through  the  dispatches,  saw  the  whole  disaster,  but 
not  all  the  particulars.  I  will  hear  him  without  prejudice: 
he  shall  have  full  justice."  A  committee  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  investigated  the  cause  of  St.  Clair's  defeat 
and  acquitted  him  with  honor  because  of  the  stupendous  ob- 
stacles encountered  in  forwarding  the  expedition  and  the 
marked  courage  shown  bj'  St.  Clair  and  the  ofificers  during 
the  terrible  engagement.  St.  Clair  retained  the  confidence  of 
AVashington  to  the  last  and  continued  to  serve  as  Governor 
of  the  new  territory  until  the  admission  of  Ohio  as  a  state  in 
1803.  He  served  his  country  well  at  his  own  personal  loss 
and  died  at  Greensburg,  Pa.,  in  1818  at  an  advanced  age  and 
in  comparative  poverty,  having  seen  the  final  overthrow  of 
the  hostile  tribes  and  the  permanent  founding  of  civilization 
in  this  matchless  region  of  the  northwest.  It  has  been  pro- 
posed by  the  Ohio  State  Historical  Society  to  erect  a  suitable 
memorial  to  his  memory  in  the  state  house  grounds  at  Colum- 
bus, and  such  action  deserves  the  hearty  co-operation  and 
approval  of  all  patriotic  .Americans. 


CHAPTER   \'. 
"MAD  ANTHONY"  WAYNE. 

The  defeat  of  St.  Clair  cast  a  gloom  over  the  frontiers  of 
Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  Kentucky  and  along  the  Ohio, 
causing  immigration  to  the  northwest  territory  to  cease  ab- 
ruptly. The  tribes  did  not  seem  immediately  disposed  to 
make  a  united  stand,  but  predatory  bands  lurked  about  the 
stations  and  attacked  the  scattered  settlements  north  of  the 
Ohio.  It  was  even  found  diiificult  to  hold  and  supply  the 
chain  of  army  posts  established  by  St.  Clair  because  of  the 
marauding  bands  of  savages,  constantly  interfering  with  the 
operations  of  the  few  regular  American  troops  stationed  at 
Fort  Washington.  The  shock  of  defeat  was  also  felt  in  the 
new  nation  at  large  and  the  Eastern  people  were  especially 
conservative  on  the  question  of  financing  and  equipping  an 
army  to  fight  the  Indians  of  the  western  border.  The  fron- 
tier men  naturally  resented  this  indifl^erent  policy  and  harassed 
the  federal  authorities. 

President  Washington,  however,  sincerely  desired  peace, 
and  early  in  1792  made  overtures  and  took  proper  steps  to 
make  the  friendly  disposition  of  his  government  known  to  the 
sulking  savages.  In  response  to  his  urgent  invitation  fifty 
warriors,  representing  the  Six  Nations,  came  to  Philadelphia, 
the  new  capital,  early  in  March.  The  President  and  Com- 
missioner Pickering  addressed  them,  setting  forth  the  just  and 
humane  disposition  of  the  Americans  and  urging  them  to  use 
their  potent  influence  with  the  western  tribes  in  order  to  con- 
ciliate them  and  bring  about  peace  without  resort  to  arms. 
This  they  promised  to  do,  but  did  not  set  out  for  the  of- 
fended tribes  until  September. 

Major  Alexander  Truman,  of  the  First  United  States  reg- 
ulars, and  Col.  John  Hardin,  of  the  Kentucky  Horse,  were 
dispatched  to  the  Miami  village  (Fort  Wayne)  by  way  of 
Fort  Washington.  Captain  Hendrick,  a  Stockbridge  Indian, 
and  Captain  Brant,  of  the  Mohawks,  Avere  urged  to  attend  the 
grand  council  of  the  tribes,  to  be  held  during  the  summer  on 
the  Maumee,  and  make  known  the  friendly  attitude  of  the 
new   government   with   a   view  to   peaceful   negotiations. 


94  DARKE   COUNTY 

Brigadier-General  Rtifus  Putnam  was  sent  to  the  ^^'abash 
tribe  with  an  exceptional  commission.  He  was  given  copies 
of  all  the  treaties  which  the  new  government  had  consum- 
mated with  various  tribes  and  nations  and  instructed  to  con- 
vince the  Indians  that  peace  is  desired,  all  unjust  land  claims 
renounced,  to  urge  the  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar  as  a  fair  basis 
of  negotiations,  insist  on  the  safety  of  the  outposts,  and  in- 
sure the  just,  liberal  and  humane  co-operation  of  the  govern- 
ment in  all  matters  pertaining  to  their  welfare.  Captain 
Feter  Pond  and  William  Steedman  were  sent  as  secret  spies, 
with  instructions  to  mingle  with  the  tribes  on  the  ]\Iaumee 
and  Wabash  in  the  guise  of  traders,  ascertain  their  views  and 
intentions,  and,  if  practicable,  openly  announce  the  peaceable 
and  benevolent  intentions  of  the  Great  Father  at  Philadelphia. 

The  well  laid  plans  of  the  new  goverrnnent  were  doomed  to 
miscarry.  The  spies  were  intercepted  at  Niagara ;  Truman 
and  tiardin  were  treacherously  murdered.  Brant  arrived  at 
his  destination  after  the  council  had  broken  up,  and  Hendrick 
yielded  to  the  wiles  of  the  British  agent,  McKee,  and  failed 
to  attend  the  council. 

Putnam,  however,  proceeded  to  Fort  Washington,  where 
he  met  the  Commandant,  Brigadier-General  James  ^^'ilkinson, 
who  reported  that  a  band  of  Indians  had  made  an  attack  upon 
a  body  of  men  near  Fort  Jefi'erson,  capturing  and  killing  six- 
teen of  the  latter.  This  advanced  post  was  closely  watched 
by  the  Indians  who  continually  harassed  its  small  garrison. 
The  murder  of  four  other  whites  was  reported  and  Putnam 
hastened  to  Vincennes  accompanied  by  Heckewelder,  the 
^Moravian  missionarj'.  Here  he  concluded  a  treaty  with  the 
Wabash  and  Illinois  tribes  on  September  27th,  which,  how- 
ever, was  not  ratified  by  the  Senate  because  it  provided  that 
the  tribes  should  retain  all  the  lands  to  which  they  had  a  just 
claim.  It  probably  restrained  the  restless  elements  in  these 
tribes   from   engaging  in  the  opening  histilities. 

In  October,  1792,  a  grand  council  was  held  at  Grand  Glaize 
(Defiance,  Ohio).  It  was  attended  by  the  chiefs  of  all  the 
northwestern  tribes,  about  fifty  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  be- 
sides many  from  remoter  tribes.  .\s  usual,  the  Shawanese 
chiefs  clamored  for  war  and  then  requested  an  explanation 
of  the  instructions  of  Congress.  Red  Jacket,  on  behalf  of  the 
Six  Nations,  plead  for  peace  and  reminded  the  Shawanese 
that  the  Indians  had  sold  all  of  their  lands  lying  east  o'  the 
Ohio   to  the   British,   and   that   they   had   assisted   the   latter 


DARKE   COUNTY  95 

during  the  Revolution,  at  the  termination  of  which  the  States 
took  possession  of  all  the  lands  which  the  English  had  for- 
merly taken  from  the  French.  The  Shawanese  then  recalled 
St.  Clair's  expedition  and  defeat;  stated  that  peace  messen- 
gers, who  had  been  treacherously  killed  on  the  way,  had  been 
sent  by  this  bloody  road,  and  that,  consecjuently,  the  voice  of 
peace  must  now  pass  through  the  Six  Nations.  They  consent- 
ed to  treat  with  the  President  early  in  the  following  spring 
and  to  lay  aside  the  tomahawk  until  they  should  hear  from 
him  through  the  Six  Nations.  The  latter  promptly  informed 
the  President  of  these  proceedings  and  urged  him  to  send 
suitable  men  to  the  coming  council  and  to  forward  a  mes- 
sage to  the  western  tribes  without  delay. 

The  armistice  agreed  upon  was  not  kept,  for  at  dawn,  on 
November  6th,  1792,  a  large  party  of  Indians  furiously  at- 
tacked a  detachment  of  mounted  Kentucky  volunteers  under 
-Major  John  Adair,  encamping  near  Fort  St.  Clair  (Eaton, 
Ohio),  a  post  recently  established  between  Forts  Hamilton 
and  Jefferson,  to  assist  in  the  transportation  of  forage  and  sup- 
plies to  the  latter  post.  A  desperate  conflict  followed  in 
which  the  Indians  were  severely  punished  and  the  Americans 
lost  ten  men,  six  being  killed  and  four  missing,  besides  five 
wounded.  Adair's  riflemen  sought  shelter  in  the  fort  and  the 
Indians  retreated,  carrying  oS  most  of  the  horses  belonging 
to  the  detachment. 

In  spite  of  these  hostile  demonstrations  the  government  still 
confidently  hoped  to  establish  peace,  and  for  this  purpose  sent 
three  distinguished  commissioners.  General  Benjamin  Lin- 
coln, Beverly  Randolph  and  Timothy  Pickering,  to  meet  the 
tribes  at  the  Maumee  rapids  early  next  spring.  They  were 
instructed  to  insist  on  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Harm.ar,  demand  the  relinquishment  of  certain  posts  estab- 
lished beyond  the  stated  boundary,  and  agree  to  pay  to  the 
several  tribes  proportionately  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, besides  ten  thousand  dollars  annually  forever  in  case 
an  amicable  agreement  should  be  reached. 

Proceeding  to  Niagara  in  May,  1793,  the  commissioners 
were  detained  until  late  in  June,  when  they  embarked  for  the 
Detroit  river  to  await  the  meeting  of  the  Indians.  They  were 
again  detained  at  Erie  b}'  contrary  winds,  and  on  July  5th 
Col.  Butler,  of  the  British  Indian  service,  and  Captain  Brant, 
with  some  fifty  Indians,  arrived  from  the  !Maumee.  The  lat- 
ter had  been  deputized  by  the  assembled  tribes  to  confer  with 


96  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  commissioners  in  the  presence  of  the  Governor  of  Upper 
Canada.  Brant  stated  that  the  tribes  had  not  assembled  at 
the  time  and  place  appointed  because  of  their  distrust  of  the 
warlike  movements  of  the  United  States  and  asked  an  ex- 
planation of  the  same.  He  also  inquired  if  the  commission- 
ers were  properly  authorized  to  establish  a  new  boundary  line 
between  the  Americans  and  the  Indians. 

The  commissioners  replied  that  all  hostilities  had  been  for- 
bidden until  the  result  of  the  proposed  treaty  at  Sandusky 
should  be  known ;  that  peace  was  desired  and  that  they  were 
authorized  to  establish  boundaries.  They  further  assured  the 
British  agents  that  they  would  promptly  inform  the  President 
of  the  proceedings  and  request  him  to  restrain  the  military 
commanders,  w'ho  were  at  that  time  actively  engaged  in 
strengthening  and  supplying  the  frcmtier  posts  and  preparing 
for  contingent  hostilities. 

Being  assured  by  the  statements  of  the  commissioners. 
Brant  agreed  to  deliver  their  peaceful  message  to  the  chiefs 
in  council  on  the  ^lanmee  and  then  accompanied  them  across 
Lake  Erie  to  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river.  From  this  place 
the  commissioners  communicated  with  the  assembled  tribes 
and  patiently  awaited  their  reply. 

The  Indians  were  suspicious  of  the  Vvarlike  preparations  of 
the  Americans,  of  which  they  kept  well  informed  by  runners 
and  spies,  and,  after  much  serious  deliberation  and  spirited 
debate,  delivered  their  grand  ultimatum  through  Elliott  and 
Simon  Girty,  asserting  that  the  tribes  had  not  been  properly 
represented  at  former  treaties,  and  insisting  that  the  Ohio 
river  must  be  the  final  boundary  line  separating  them  from 
the  whites,  as  provided  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix. 

In  answer  the  commissioners  called  their  attention  to  the 
inconsistency  of  their  position  in  insisting  on  the  first  treaty 
of  Fort  Stanwix  as  a  basis  of  final  adjustment,  inas- 
much as  several  treaties  had  been  held  since,  at  which  large 
tracts  of  land  had  been  purchased  in  good  faith  and  later 
opened  for  settlement.  Thev  stated  further  that  the  treaty 
with  Great  Britain  in  1783  made  the  boundary  run  through 
the  center  of  the  Great  Lakes,  instead  of  down  the  Ohio,  but 
that  in  spite  of  this  fact  the  Americans  were  willing  to  make 
reasonable  concessions  in  boimdaries.  give  liberal  hunting 
privileges,  and  deliver  annually  large  quantities  of  valuable 
goods  suited  to  the  needs  of  the  Indians,  provided  that  the 
terms  could  be  arranged  in  a  proper!}^  called  general  council. 


DARKE   COUNTY  97 

After  much  delay,  due  to  the  divided  sentiment  of  the 
tribes,  and,  no  doubt,  to  the  machinations  of  ^NIcKee,  Elliott, 
Girty  and  the  British  agents,  acting  under  the  inspiration  of 
the  Governor-General  of  Canada,  the  Indians  finally  replied 
that  the  recent  treaties  had  been  held  with  a  few  irresponsi- 
ble chiefs,  representing  only  part  of  the  tribes,  and  were, 
therefore,  not  binding  on  the  great  confederacy ;  that  the 
money  offered  did  not  appeal  to  them,  but  should  be  given  to 
the  poor  whites  who  had  settled  north  of  the  Ohio  to  make 
their  homes  on  the  Indians"  lands ;  that  Great  Britain  had  no 
right  to  cede  their  lands  to  the  Americans ;  that  they  had  al- 
ready retreated  to  the  last  ditch  :  and  that  no  agreement  could 
be  reached  unless  the  Ohio  river  was  made  the  final  boundary 
between  themselves  and  the  United  States,  and  all  the  whites 
now  settled  north  of  that  river  moved  south  of  it. 

The  commissioners  replied  that  it  was  impossible  to  con- 
cede this  unreasonable  demand  and  thus  put  an  end  to  the 
negotiations,  which  had  occupied  over  three  months  of  very 
precious  time. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  Americans,  the  second  treaty 
of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  1784.  and  those  that  followed  at  Forts 
Mcintosh,  Finney  and  Harmar,  were  xaUd  and  binding,  and. 
talcen  in  connection  with  the  offer  of  further  negotiations, 
seemed  reasonable  ground  for  the  procedure  which  followed. 

With  the  exception  oi  the  ^^'_vandots,  Shawanese,  jNIiamis 
and  Delawares,  the  tribes  seemed  mostly  disposed  toward 
peace,  and  it  seems  very  probable  that  a  mutually  satisfac- 
tory treaty  might  have  been  made,  but  for  the  continued  pres- 
sure exerted  on  the  savages  by  the  scheming  and  aggressive 
British   agents   from    Detroit   and   Canada. 

All  hope  of  agreement  being  ended  the  commissioners  re- 
turned to  Erie  and  dispatched  messengers  to  the  Secretary 
of  W'ar  and  the  new  commander  of  the  American  forces,  in- 
forming them  concerning  the  results  of  their  negotiations 
with   the   northwestern   tribes. 

In  order  to  understand  the  fears  and  the  final  decision  of 
the  tribes,  it  is  necessary  to  take  note  of  the  movements 
of  the  Americans  just  prior  to  and  during  the  peace  nego- 
tiations. Upon  withdrawal  of  St.  Clair  after  the  defeat,  the 
President  recommended  Maj.-Gen.  Anthony  Wavne,  of 
Pennsylvania,  to  succeed  him,  and  Congress  confirmed  the 
selection.  As  usual  in  such  cases  the  appointment  caused  some 
dissatisfaction  and  disgust,  especiallv  in  Virginia,  among  the 
(7) 


98  DARKE   COUNTY 

friends  of  Lee,  ]\lorgan,  Scott  and  Darke,  who  seem  to  have 
figured  as  possible  appointees.  The  sequel  of  the  appoint- 
ment, however,  proved  the  sagacity  of  Washington,  who  had 
profited  by  his  association  and  experience  with  these  various 
officers  during  the  course  of  the  Revolution. 

Wayne  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  was  about  forty- 
seven  years  of  age.  He  came  of  old  fighting  stock  and  was 
naturally  bold,  dashing  and  courageous.  In  build  he  was  of 
medium  height,  with  an  inclination  to  stoutness.  His  fore- 
head was  high  and  finely  formed,  his  nose  slightly  aquiline, 
his  face  well  proportioned,  his  hair  was  dark,  his  eyes  were 
dark  hazel,  bright,  keen  and  expressive,  giving  him,  on  the 
whole,  a  fine  and  animated  expression. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  Wayne  raised  the  Fourth 
Pennsylvania  regiment  and  was  commissioned  colonel.  Dur- 
ing the  course  of  war  he  attained  the  rank  of  Brigadier-Gen- 
eral, and  at  its  close  was  brevetted  I\Iajor-General.  He 
served  his  country  well  at  Three  Rivers,  Brandywine,  Ger- 
mantown,  Valley  Forge,  Green  Springs,  Monmouth  and  York- 
town.  His  most  popular  service,  however,  was  at  Stony 
Point,  a  rocky  promontory  on  the  Hudson,  commanding  an 
important  crossing  place.  On  the  night  of  July  15th,  1779, 
he  surprised  this  place  and  forced  his  way  into  the  citadel 
by  a  bold  bayonet  charge,  for  which  he  was  afterward  famil- 
iarly called  "Alad  Anthony."  This  was  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant exploits  of  the  war  and  won  for  Waj'ne  eminent  and 
lasting  distinction  as  a  soldier.  His  experience  in  fighting 
Indians  was  confined  to  a  successful  campaign  again;t  the 
Creeks  in  Georgia  after  the  Revolution. 

At  about  the  time  of  Wayne's  appointment  Congress  de- 
cided to  thoroughly  reorganize  the  military  establishment, 
increasing  the  army  enlistment  to  some  five  thousand  men. 
The  organization,  when  completed,  was  to  consist  of  one 
squadron  of  cavalry,  of  four  troops ;  one  battalion  of  e,rtillery, 
organized  on  the  same  plan,  and  five  regiments  of  infantry, 
each  of  three  battalions,  as  above,  with  one  regiment  com- 
posed entirely  of  riflemen.  In  addition  provision  was  made 
for  the  employment  of  mounted  militia  and  scouts. 

Xo  doubt  President  Washington  had  a  lengthy  conference 
with  Wayne  before  the  latter  left  Philadelphia,  in  which  the 
peculiar  methods  of  Indian  warfare  and  the  exigencies  which 
might  arise  in  fighting  in  the  western  forests,  were  thorough- 
Iv   discussed. 


DARKE   CULMV  99 

rroceeding  to  Pitlsburg  in  June,  1792,  Wayne  promptly 
began  to  organize  his  army  with  a  number  of  the  survivors 
of  St.  Clair's  unfortunate  troops  as  a  nucleus.  Raw  recruits 
were  rapidly  enlisted  from  Pennsylvania,  Mrginia,  New  Jer- 
sey and  Maryland,  and  in  the  winter,  these  forces  were  col- 
lected near  Fort  Mcintosh  (Beaver,  Pa.),  some  twenty-seven 
miles  down  the  Ohio.  Here  the  troops  were  thoroughly  and 
rigorously  drilled,  organized  into  a  "legion"  and  prepared 
for  the  hardships  incident  to  savage  warfare. 

By  spring  the  new  commander  had  a  well  organized  army 
of  some  twenty-five  hundred  troops.  Descending  the  Ohio 
late  in  April,  1793,  the  infantry  and  artillery  encamped  be- 
tween Fort  Washington  and  Mill  Creek,  which  place  was 
selected  on  account  of  the  high  stage  of  the  water  and  was 
appropriately  called  "Hobson's  Choice."  The  cavalry,  com- 
posed of  one  company  each  of  sorrels,  grays,  bays  and  chest- 
nuts, found  a  more  suitable  camp  for  their  purpose  south  of 
the  river,  where  they  practiced  throughout  the  summer  for 
the  coming  campaign. 

From  Fort  Washington  a  military  road  was  cut  through 
the  dense  wilderness  to  a  tributary  of  the  Stillwater  branch 
of  the  Great  Aliami  (site  of  Greenville,  O.),  some  six  miles 
in  advance  of  Fort  Jefferson ;  the  intermediate  posts,  Hamil- 
ton, St.  Clair  and  Jefferson,  were  supplied  with  large  c^uanti- 
ties  of  provisions,  and  herds  of  horses  and  cattle  were  gath- 
ered beyond  the  advanced  post  under  protection  of  troops. 

When  Wayne  received  news  of  the  failure  of  the  negotia- 
tions of  the  commissioners,  about  September  1st,  1793,  he 
repaired  to  Fort  Washington  with  the  balance  of  his  troops. 
The  quiet  condition  of  the  frontier  convinced  him  that  the 
Indians  were  at  that  time  gahering  ni  force  to  oppose  his 
advance  to  the  Alaumee.  Accordingly  he  took  time  by  the 
forelock  and  decided  to  advance  with  the  troops  then  avail- 
able and  fortify  the  strong  position  beyond  Fort  Jefferson, 
hoping  thereby  to  keep  the  Indians  in  check  until  he  might 
strike  with  greater  assurance  of  success. 

Breaking  camp  at  Fort  Washington  Wayne  marched  north- 
waid  on  the  seventh  of  October  with  a  force  of  twenty-six 
hundred  regulars,  thirty-six  guides  and  spies  and  three  hun- 
dred and  sixty  mounted  militia.  The  army  advanced  in  par- 
allel lines  with  a  strong  front  guard  in  addition  to  the  usual 
sentinels,  and  was  arranged  in  such  a  manner  that  a  fighting 
line  might  be  readily  formed  without  confusion.     This  proved 


100  DARKE   COUNTY 

to  be  an  excellent  arrangement,  and  was  adopted  by  Gen. 
\Vm.  Harrison  in  his  later  expeditions  against  the  north- 
western tribes  with  much  success. 

The  rate  of  advancement  was  about  twice  that  of  St.  Clair's 
undisciplined  army  and  the  camp  was  duly  fortified  each 
evening  to  forestall  a  surprise.  On  the  thirteenth  of  October 
a  beautiful  high  plain  on  the  south  bank  of  the  southwest 
branch  of  Stillwater  (Greenville  creek)  was  reached  (Green- 
ville, O.),  the  army  now  being  some  eighty  miles  in  advance 
of  Fort  Washington  and  about  six  miles  beyond  the  advanced 
post.  Fort  Jefiferson.  This  was  the  same  spot  where  St.  Clair 
had  camped  two  years  previously  while  awaiting  the  arrival 
of  supplies.  For  a  similar  purpose  Wayne  decided  to  halt 
and  encamp  on  this  opportune  site  where  the  council  fires 
of  two  important  treaties  were  later  to  be  kindled,  and  where 
Teciimseh  and  his  brother  "The  Prophet"  were  to  inflame 
the  northwest  tribes  for  a  second  attempt  to  drive  the  whites 
beyond  the  Ohio.  From  this  place  he  wrote  the  Secretary  of 
War  complaining  of  the  difificulty  experienced  in  furnishing 
a  sufficient  escort  to  guard  the  provision  and  supply  trains 
from  sudden  assaults,  and,  at  the  same  time,  keeping  a  suf- 
ficiert  force  in  camp  to  properly  sustain  his  advanced  position. 
He  then  related  the  unfortunate  experience  of  one  of  the 
convoys,  consisting  of  twenty  wagons  of  grain  and  one  of 
supplies,  which  was  attacked  on  the  morning  of  October  17th, 
at  a  place  known  as  "The  Forty  Foot  Leap,"  about  seven 
n  iles  in  advance  of  Fort  St.  Clair  ("Eaton,  O.).  The  escort 
was  in  charge  of  Lieutenant  Lowery,  of  the  Second  sub- 
legion,  and  Ensign  Boyd,  of  the  First,  and  consisted  of  some 
nmety  men.  The  attacking  savages,  far  outnumbering  the 
escort,  soon  drove  the  latter  from  the  field,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  small  party  who  offered  an  obstinate  resistance.  As 
the  result  of  this  engagement  the  commanding  officers,  to- 
gether with  thirteen  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates, 
were  killed  and  some  seventy  pack  horses  either  killed  or 
carried  ofif.  The  wagons  and  supplies  were  left  standing  in 
the  road  and  were  later  brought  to  camp  with  small  loss. 

This  incident  caused  Wayne  to  increase  and  strengthen  the 
escort  recently  sent  out  under  Col.  Hamtramck  and  fore- 
warned him,  no  doubt,  of  the  constant  danger  which  menaced 
his  further  progress  at  that  time. 

The  season  being  well  advanced,  and  a  large  number  of 
men  on  the  sick  list,  Wavne  dismissed  the  Kentuckv  militia 


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DARKE   COUNTY  101 

u'.itil  the  following  spring,  and  prepared  to  go  into  -.vinter 
quarters  at  the  place  of  his  encampment.  Accordingly  a 
large  fortification  was  constructed  overlooking  the  extensive 
prairie  to  the  southwest  and  the  creek  in  front,  and  was 
iiamed  Greene  Ville,  in  honor  of  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene,  a  fel- 
low officer  of  Wayne  in  the  Revolution.  This  post  covered 
some  fifty  acres  and  was  fortified  to  resist  any  attack  that  the 
savages  and  their  allies  might  make  against  it.  The  soldiers 
were  quartered  in  commodious  log  huts,  each  sheltering  six 
men,  and  extensive  provisions  were  made  for  the  convenience 
and  comfort  of  the  entire  army.  Storehouses,  artificers' 
shops,  mess  rooms,  officers'  headquarters,  and  a  magazine 
were  also  erected  at  suitable  places. 

Late  in  December  Wayne  sent  a  strong  detachment  to  the 
site  of  St.  Clair's  defeat,  twenty-three  miles,  on  which  they 
built  Fort  Recovery.  The  detachment  arrived  on  the  23d  and 
soon  collected  and  interred  some  600  skulls  and  skeletons  of 
St.  Clair's  unfortunate  soldiers.  Tradition  says  that  all  but 
one  of  St.  Clair's  cannon,  which  were  found  hidden  under 
logs,  were  recovered  and  mounted  in  the  new  fort.  The  oth- 
er cannon  was  found  about  1830  and  came  into  possession  of 
an  artillery  company  in  Cincinnati,  O.  This  post  was  soon 
completed,  garrisoned  and  placed  in  charge  of  Captain  Ale.x 
Gibson.  Early  in  1794  painted  scouts  and  spies  were  sent 
among  the  savages  and  kept  informed  of  their  movements  and 
designs.  Some  twenty  or  thirty  of  these  were  attached  to 
the  army  and  included  such  noted  characters  as  Wm.  \^^ells, 
Wm.  Miller,  Robt.  McClellan  and  a  few  southern  Indians. 
The  road-cutters  were  also  working  in  various  directions. 
leaving  the  Indians  in  doubt  as  to  the  route  to  be  followed  in 
the  advance  march,  because  of  which  they  called  Wayne 
"The  Black  Snake."  Early  in  Tune  it  was  reported  by  some 
Indians  captured  on  the  Maumee  that  probably  two  thousand 
warriors  of  the  Chippewas,  Wyandots,  Shawanese,  Tawas, 
Delawares  and  Miamis  were  then  collected  on  the  Maumee, 
and  if  joined  by  the  Pottawatomies  the  numbers  would  be 
augmented  to  over  three  thousand;  also,  that  the  British  to 
the  number  of  400,  besides  the  Detroit  militia,  were  at  the 
foot  of  the  Maumee  Rapids  on  their  way  against  the  Ameri- 
cans. Gov.  Simcoe  of  Canada,  had  recently  built  Fort  ]\Iiami, 
at  the  rapids,  on  American  soil  and  from  this  base  was  aiding 
and  inciting  the  tribes.  Later  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
warriors   of  seven   nations   were   assembled   at   Grand    Glaize 


102  DARKE   COUNTY 

(Defiance)  with  the  chiefs  in  council,  and  that  war  or  peace 
depended  upon  the  conduct  of  the  British  assembled  at  the 
rapids.  These  reports  were  soon  credited,  for  on  June  30tli 
an  escort  of  ninety  riflemen  and  fifty  dragoons,  commanded 
by  the  redoubtable  Major  McMahon,  and  encamped  just 
without  the  walls  of  Fort  Recovery,  was  attacked  by  a  very 
numerous  body  of  the  above  Indians.  The  escort  was  about 
to  return  to  Fort  Greenville  from  which  post  it  had  brought 
a  brigade  of  laden  pack  horses  on  the  day  previous.  On  ac- 
count of  the  superior  number  of  the  savages  and  their  sudden 
onslaught  the  men  were  soon  driven  into  the  Fort  and  the 
horses  captured.  This  successful  attack  was  followed  by  a 
general  assault  upon  the  post  and  garrison  in  every  direc- 
tion. The  savages,  however,  were  soon  repulsed  with  great 
slaughter,  but  renewed  the  attack  and  kept  up  a  heavy  and 
constant  fire,  at  a  good  distance,  for  the  remainder  of  the 
day.  They  again  renewed  the  attack  with  vigor  on  the  fol- 
lowing day,  but  were  finally  compelled  to  retreat  with  dis- 
grace from  the  same  field  where  they  had  formerly  gained 
such  a  signal  victory  over  unfortunate  St.  Clair.  Wayne  es- 
timated the  number  of  savages  in  this  engagement  at  from 
1,500  to  2,000.  The  Americans  lost  twenty-two  men  and  had 
thirty  wounded,  including  Major  ]\IcMahon,  Capt.  Hartshorn 
and  Lieut.  Craig.  The  Indian  loss  was  much  heavier,  and 
was  greatly  deplored  by  the  chiefs  who  mentioned  it  with  re- 
gret at  the  treaty  of  Greenville  in  the  following  year. 

Major-General  Scott,  of  Kentucky,  arrived  at  Greenville 
on  July  26th  with  1,600  mounted  volunteers.  William  Lewis 
and  Meriwether  Clark,  who  explored  the  far  west  in  1804, 
were  with  Scott.  The  army  commenced  to  advance  on  the 
28th,  marching  some  twelve  miles  per  day.  Wayne  wished 
to  deceive  the  enerny  and  had  previously  made  such  demon- 
strations as  would  induce  the  savages  to  expect  his  advance 
by  the  route  of  the  Miami  villages  to  the  left  or  toward  the 
rapids  of  the  Maumee  by  the  right.  Instead  he  took  a  cir- 
cuitous  route  in  a  central  direction,  while  their  attention  was 
directed  to  the  above  points. 

On  the  thirtieth  Beaver  Swamp  (near  Coldwater,  O.)  was 
reached  and  two  days  were  spent  for  construction  of  a  sev- 
enty foot  bridge  of  logs  over  this  swale.  On  August  1st  the 
army  arrived  at  the  St.  Mary's  river,  twenty-four  miles  be- 
yond Recovery,  where  a  small  fort  was  erected,  provisioned, 
garrisoned    and    named    Fort    Adams    (near    Rockford,    O.). 


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SOLDIER'S    DISCHARGE    FROM    WAYNE'S    LEGION,     ISSUED    AT    EORT 
GREENVILLE    IN    1795 


DARKE   COUNTY  103 

Crossing  that  stream  the  march  was  directed  toward  the 
northeast,  and  on  the  7th  the  "Oglaize  Town,"  on  the  Au- 
glaize river,  was  reached.  The  army  reached  the  junction 
of  that  stream  with  the  Alaumee  on  the  Sth,  some  sevent}-- 
seven  miles  beyond  Recovery. 

Referring  to  this  spot  in  his  report  to  the  Secretarj-  of 
War,  Wayne  says :  "Thus,  sir,  we  have  gained  possession 
of  the  grand  emporium  of  the  west,  without  loss  of  blood. 
The  very  extensive  and  highly  cultivated  fields  and  gardens 
show  the  work  of  many  hands,  the  margins  of  these  beauti- 
ful rivers,  the  Miamis  of  the  lake,  and  Auglaize,  appear  like 
one  continued  village  for  a  number  of  miles,  both  above  and 
below  this  place ;  nor  have  I  ever  before  beheld  such  immense 
fields  of  corn  in  any  part  of  America,  from  Canada  to  Florida." 

Here  a  strong  garrison  was  established  and  called  Fort 
Defiance.  A  last  o^•erture  of  peace  was  now  made  to  the 
assembled  Indians,  who  thereupon  sent  word  that  they  would 
decide  for  peace  or  war  if  the  Americans  would  wait  ten  days 
at  Grand  Glaize  (Defiance).  Impatient  of  delay,  Wayne 
nio\'ed  forward  and  on  August  20th  arrived  in  sight  of  Fort 
[Miami,  the  British  garrison  at  the  rapids  of  the  Alaumee.  150 
miles  from  Greenville,  having  previously  deposited  all  the 
heavy  baggage  and  prepared  for  light  action.  The  enemy 
nere  encamped  behind  the  thick,  bushy  wood  and  the  British 
fort.  Advancing  about  five  miles  down  the  west  bank  of 
the  river,  the  front  guard  of  mounted  volunteers  under  Major 
Price  were  suddenly  fired  upon  by  the  enemy  at  about  11 
o'clock  and  put  to  confusion,  retreating  through  the  front 
guard  of  the  regulars.  A  stand  was  soon  made,  however,  and 
the  position  held  until  joined  by  a  battalion  of  riflemen  about 
fifteen  minutes  later.  The  Americans  immediately  formed  in 
two  lines,  principally  in  a  close  thick  wood  of  fallen  timber, 
where  the  Indians  had  sought  refuge,  hoping  to  find  shelter 
for  fighting  after  their  usual  manner.  The  savages  were 
formed  in  three  lines  within  supporting  distance  of  each  other 
and  extending  for  nearly  two  miles  at  right  angles  with  the 
river.  They  made  a  strong  attack  on  the  front  of  the  Ameri- 
cans and  were  endeavoring  to  turn  their  left.  Seeing  their 
purpose  Wayne,  realizing  the  insufficiency  of  a  cavalry 
charge  or  a  standing  fire,  ordered  a  charge  made  by  the  front 
line  with  trailed  arms,  to  rouse  the  enemy  from  their  coverts. 
This  was  to  be  followed  by  a  well  directed  fire  on  the  backs 
of  the  enemy  when  aroused,  and  a  brisk  charge  so  as  not  to 


104  DARKE   COUNTY 

give  them  time  to  reload.  The  second  line  was  ordered  to 
support  the  first;  the  mounted  volunteers  under  Major-Gen- 
eral  Scott  on  the  left  flank  were  directed  to  turn  the  enemy's 
right  by  a  circuitous  route;  and  the  cavalry  under  Capt. 
Campbell,  were  ordered  to  advance  along  the  river  to  turn 
the  left.  These  orders  were  obeyed  with  spirit  and  prompt- 
ness and  with  such  impetuosity  that  the  first  line  drove  the 
Indians  and  Canadians  from  their  positions  so  quickly  that 
the  second  line  could  scarcely  get  up  to  participate  in  the 
action,  the  enemy  being  driven  in  one  hour  more  than  two 
miles  through  the  high  grass  and  thick  woods  by  half  their 
numbers.  The  savages  with  their  Canadian  allies  fled  and 
dispersed  with  terror  and  dismay,  leaving  the  victorious 
Americans  in  full  and  quiet  possession  of  the  field  of  battle. 
In  this  engagement  the  official  loss  of  the  Americans  was 
thirty-three  officers  and  privates  killed  and  104  wounded. 
The  enemy,  who  were  estimated  at  from  1,500  to  2,000.  prob- 
ably lost  twice  the  number.  The  American  troops  actually 
engaged  in  this  decisive  battle  were  less  tlian  nine  hundred. 

On  the  night  before  the  battle,  it  is  said,  the  Indians  held 
a  council  to  decide  what  action  should  be  taken,  and  Blue 
Jacket,  the  chief  of  the  Shawanese,  because  of  former  suc- 
cesses, spoke  in  favor  of  an  engagement,  liut  Little  Turtle 
was  inclined  to  peace.  The  latter  is  credited  with  spea'cing 
thus :  "We  have  beaten  the  enemy  twice  under  separate 
commanders ;  we  cannot  expect  the  same  good  fortune  al- 
ways to  attend  us.  The  Americans  are  now  led  by  a  chief 
who  never  sleeps;  the  night  and  day  are  alike  t(T  him.  and 
during  all  the  time  that  he  has  been  marching  upon  our  vil- 
lages, notwithstanding  the  watchfulness  of  our  young  men, 
we  have  never  been  able  to  surprise  him.  Think  well  of  it. 
There  is  something  whispers  me,  it  would  be  prudent  to  listen 
to  his  ofifers  of  peace." 

Being  reproached  for  cowardice,  which  was  foreign  to  his 
nature,  he  laid  aside  resentment  and  took  part  in  the  battle, 
but  left  the  leadership  to  his  opponent.  The  result  proved 
his  sagacity. 

After  the  battle  the  armv  encamped  near  Fort  ]\liaini.  a 
post  built  by  order  of  the  British  Governor  of  Canada  in  1794 
and  commanded  by  Major  ^^^ilIiam  Campbell,  who  was  or- 
dered to  withdraw  and  remove  to  the  nearest  military  post 
occupied  by  the  British  at  the  peace  of  1783.     This  he  refused 


DARKE   COUNTY  105 

to  do,  and  Wayne  contented  himself  with  burning  everything 
within  reach  of  the  fort. 

The  army  returned  to  Fort  Definance  on  the  27th  after 
laying  waste  the  villages  and  cornfields  on  both  sides  of  the 
Maumee  along  the  route. 

Referring  to  this  engagement  Rufus  King  said :  "The  bat- 
tle at  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee  opened  the  land  for  the  Ordi- 
nance of  1787.  Measured  by  the  forces  engaged  it  was  not 
a  great  one,  nor  was  that  which  had  been  fought  on  the  heights 
of  Quebec.  But  estimated  by  the  difficulties  overcome  and 
the  consequences  which  followed,  both  were  momentous.  To 
the  bold  spirit  of  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chatham,  is  due  presumably 
that  the  people  of  the  Mississippi  valley  are  not  today  Cana- 
dian-French. Next  in  honor  with  the  people  of  the  north- 
west, as  among  their  founders,  might  well  be  placed  the  lion- 
hearted  Anthony  Wayne,  who  opened  the  glorious  gates  of 
the  Ohio  to  the  tide  of  civilization  so  long  shut  ofif  from  its 
hills  and  valleys." 

Roosevelt  says  of  the  Battle  of  Fallen  Timbers:  "It  was 
the  most  complete  and  important  victory  ever  gained  over 
the  northwestern  Indians  during  the  forty  years'  warfare 
to  which  it  put  an  end ;  and  it  was  the  only  considerable 
pitched  battle  in  which  they  lost  more  than  their  foes." 

This  expedition  has  been  aptly  compared  with  Caesar's 
campaign  against  the  Gauls  on  account  of  the  gigantic  tasks 
accomplished,  the  rude  condition  of  the  country  and  the  sav- 
age ferocity  of  the  foe.  When  it  is  recalled  that  the  field  of 
action  was  some  five  hundred  miles  from  Fort  Pitt  by  the 
route  taken  ;  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  cut  a  road  for  near- 
ly half  that  distance  through  howling  wilderness,  inhabited 
by  enraged  savages,  the  stupendous  task  accomplished  is 
faintly  realized. 

After  the  return  to  Defiance  this  post  was  greatly  strength- 
ened and  a  road  cut  along  the  Maumee  to  the  Indian  villages 
at  the  confluence  of  the  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph,  forty-seven 
miles  distant.  The  army  left  Defiance  on  September  14th 
and  arrived  at  the  Miami  villages  on  the  17th,  where  it  en- 
camped until  a  suitable  fort  was  erected,  provisioned,  gar- 
risoned and  called  Fort  Wayne.  Several  weeks  were  spent 
here  during  which  the  troops  destroyed  the  Indian  towns, 
cornfields  and  stores.  The  term  of  service  of  the  mounted 
Kentuckians  having  expired  they  were  dismissed  and  soon 
left  for  their  homes. 


106  DARKE   COUNTY 

On  October  28th  the  march  for  Greenville  was  taken  up, 
by  the  regulars,  and  the  army  arrived  at  this  post  November 
2d,  saluted  with  twenty-four  rounds  from  a  six  pounder. 
Wayne  re-established  headquarters  here  and  sent  out  detach- 
ments to  build  forts  at  Upper  Piqua,  Loramie's  Store  and  St. 
Mary's  guarding  the  portage  betwen  the  Great  Miami  and 
St.  Mary's  rivers  and  at  the  old  Tawa  towns,  at  the  head  of 
navigation  on  the  Auglaize.  These  posts  were  established 
(some  say  in  1794)  for  the  storage  of  supplies  to  facilitate 
their  transportation  by  water  in  proper  seasons,  and  also 
with  the  view  of  abandoning  the  old  overland  route  and 
adopting  this  one,  "as  the  most  economical,  sure  and  certain 
mode  of  supplying  those  important  posts,  at  Grand  Glaize 
and  Miami  villages,  and  to  facilitate  an  eiifective  operation 
toward  the  Detroit  and  the  Sandusky,  should  that  measure 
eventually  prove  necessary ;"  also  to  "afiford  a  much  better 
chain  for  the  general  protection  of  the  frontiers,"  etc. 


PIjAN  of  WAYNE'S  ENCAMPMENT  AT  GREENVILLE 


Lieut.    Massie's    Bastion. 
Lieut    Pope's    Bastion. 
Capt.    Porter's    Bastion. 
Capt.   Ford's  Bastion. 
Headquarters. 
Park   of   Artillery. 
Second    ti'oop    of    Dragoons. 
First    troop   of   Dragoons. 
Fourth    troop    of   Dragoons. 


10.      Third    troop    of    Dragoons 
11-12.     Ciateways. 
13-14.      Third    Sub   Legion. 
15-16.      First    Sub    Legion. 
17-18.      Second   Sub   Legion. 
lH-20.      Fourth    Sub    Legion. 
21    to   28.      Picket   Guards. 

29.  Advance. 

30.  Rear    Guard. 


GREENVILLE    TREATY   MEDAL 

(Courtesy   C.    &   N.   W.    Railway) 


MAP    OF    OHIO,    SHOWING    GREENVILLE    TREATY    LINE 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  GREAT  PEACE. 

After  the  battle  of  the  Alaumee  the  Indians  of  the  north- 
west still  hesitated  to  seek  peace.  The  British  agents,  Sim- 
coe,  McKee  and  Brant,  stimulated  them  to  continued  hos- 
tilities. They  strengthened  Fort  Miami,  supplied  the  savages 
from  their  magazines,  called  a  council  and  urged  them  to 
propose  a  truce  or  suspension  of  hostilities  until  spring,  in 
order  to  deceive  the  Americans,  that  the}-  might  neglect  to 
keep  sufficient  troops  to  retain  their  position.  They  a,dvised 
the  savages  to  convey  their  land  to  the  king  in  trust,  so  as 
to  give  the  British  a  pretext  for  assisting  them,  and,  in  case 
the  Americans  refused  to  abandon  all  their  posts  and  posses- 
sions on  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio,  to  make  a  general  attack 
and  drive  them  across  the  river.  Notwithstanding  all  this 
advice  the  Indians  began  to  understand  their  critical  condi- 
tion and  to  lose  faith  in  the  British.  Some  in  despair  crossed 
the  Mississippi,  but  the  humane  disposition  of  the  Americans 
finally  won  their  confidence. 

Late  in  December  the  chiefs  of  several  tribes  manifested 
their  desire  for  peace  to  the  commandant  at  Fort  Wayne. 
Proceeding  to  Greenville  representatives  of  the  Chippewas, 
Ottawas,  Sacs,  Pottawatomies  and  JXIiamis  entered,  together 
with  the  Shawanese,  Delawares  and  Wyandots,  into  prelim- 
inary articles  with  General  Wayne,  January  24th,  1795.  It 
was  agreed  that  all  the  sachems  and  war  chiefs  representing 
the  above  nations  should  meet  Wayne  at  Greenville  on  or 
about  June  15th,  to  consult  and  conclude  such  a  peace  as 
would  be  for  the  interest  and  satisfaction  of  both  parties. 
In  the  meantime  hostilities  ceased,  prisoners  were  exchanged 
and  the  Indians  were  preparing  to  meet  in  June  as  agreed. 
The  first  to  arrive  were  a  large  number  of  Delawares,  Otta- 
was, Pottawatomies  and  Eel  River  Indians.  On  June  16th, 
Wayne  met  these  in  general  council  for  the  first  time. 

Parkman,  the  historian,  says : 

"An  Indian  council,  on  solemn  occasions,  was  alwavs  op- 
ened with   preliminary  forms,  suflicientlv  wearisome  and  te- 


108  DARKE   COUNTY 

dious,  but  made  indispensable  by  immemorial  custom ;  for 
this  people  are  as  much  bound  by  conventional  usages  as 
most  artificial  children  of  civilization.  The  forms  were  var- 
ied, to  some  extent,  according  to  the  imagination  of  the  speak- 
er; but  in  all  essential  respects  they  were  closely  similar, 
throughout  the  tribes  of  the  Algonquin  and  Iroquois  lineage. 

"An  Indian  orator  was  provided  with  a  stock  of  metaphors, 
which  he  always  made  use  of  for  the  expression  of  certain 
ideas.  Thus,  to  make  war  was  to  raise  the  hatchet;  to  make 
peace  was  to  take  hold  of  the  chain  of  friendship ;  to  deliber- 
ate was  to  kindle  the  council  fire ;  to  cover  the  bones  of  the 
dead  was  to  make  reparation  and  gain  forgiveness  for  the  act 
of  killing  them.  A  state  of  war  and  disaster  was  typified 
by  a  black  cloud ;  a  state  of  peace  by  bright  sunshine,  or  by 
an  open  path  between  two  nations. 

'"The  orator  seldom  spoke  without  careful  premeditation  of 
what  he  was  about  to  say ;  and  his  memory  was  refreshed  by- 
belts  of  wampum,  which  he  delivered  after  every  clause  in  his 
harangue,  as  a  pledge  of  the  sincerity  and  truth  of  his  words. 
These  belts  were  carefully  preserved  by  the  hearers,  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  written  records ;  a  use  for  which  they  were  the  bet- 
ter adapted,  as  they  were  often  in  hieroglyphics  expressing 
the  meaning  they  were  designed  to  preserve.  Thus,  at  a 
treaty  of  peace,  the  principal  belt  often  bore  the  figure  of  an 
Indian  and  a  white  man  holding  a  chain  betwen  them." 

Accordingly,  when  addressing  the  council  on  June  16th, 
Wayne  first  passed  around  the  calumet,  to  be  smoked  by  the 
assembled  chiefs,  after  which  he  said :  "I  have  cleared  the 
ground  of  all  brush  and  rubbish,  and  opened  roads  to  the  east, 
to  the  west,  to  the  north  and  to  the  south,  that  all  nations 
may  come  in  safety  and  ease  to  meet  me.  The  ground  on 
which  the  council  house  stands  is  unstained  with  blood  and 
is  as  pure  as  the  heart  of  General  Washington,  the  great  chief 
of  America  and  of  his  great  council^as  pure  as  my  heart, 
which  wishes  for  nothing  so  much  as  peace  and  brotherly 
love.  I  have  this  day  kindled  the  council  fire  of  the  United 
States :  we  will  now  cover  it  up  and  keep  it  alive  until  the 
remainder  i.^f  the  dififerent  tribes  assemble,  and  form  a  full 
meeting  and  representation.  I  now  deliver  to  each  tribe 
present  a  string  of  white  wampum  to  serve  as  record  of  the 
friendship  that  is  this  day  commenced  between  us." 

Owing  to  the  great  distance  of  some  of  the  tribes  and  the 
difficulty  of  traveling,  also  to  the  interference  of  the  British 


DARKE   COUNTY  109 

agents,  the  Indians  kept  arriving  in  small  bands  from  their 
homes  on  the  Maumee,  the  Wabash  and  the  Great  Lakes. 
These  were  the  chief  men,  the  scions  of  many  a  proud  and 
noted  tribe.  Some  had  met  in  former  treaties  and  had  fought 
the  Americans  on  many  a  blood}'  field ;  many  had  helped  to 
rout  the  armies  of  Harmar  and  St.  Clair,  and  all  had  been  de- 
feated by  the  troops  of  Mad  Anthony.  As  they  arrived  they 
were  cordially  received  and  expressed  sentiments  of  peace. 
On  the  15th  of  July,  Wayne  addressed  the  council  at  length, 
explaining  his  powers  and  urging  the  treaty  of  Fort  Har- 
mar as  a  basis  for  lasting  peace.  Time  was  given  for  de- 
liberation, and  discussion  followed  on  the  18th,  relative  to  the 
merits  and  force  of  this  treaty,  of  which  some  of  the  chiefs 
pleaded  ignorance. 

On  the  20th  Wayne  read  to  the  assembled  warriors  the 
offer  of  peace  sent  to  them  just  before  the  battle  on  the  Mau- 
mee. He  also  read  and  explained  the  treaty  of  Fort  Har- 
mar and  pointed  out  a  number  of  chiefs  who  were  present 
and  had  signed  both  that  and  the  previous  treaty  at  Fort  Mc- 
intosh, and  asked  them  to  consider  seriously  what  he  had 
said  and  make  known  their  thoughts  at  their  next  meeting. 
On  the  21st  the  discussion  was  continued,  several  prominent 
warriors  took  part,  and  were  followed  by  Me-she-kun-no-quo, 
or  Little  Turtle,  the  great  chief  of  the  JMiamis,  who  claimed 
ignorance  of  the  lands  ceded  along  the  Wabash  and  expressed 
surprise  that  these  lands  had  been  ceded  by  the  British  to  the 
Americans  when  the  former  were  beaten  by  and  made  peace 
with  the  latter.  On  Wednesday,  the  22d,  this  tall  and  crafty 
warrior  made  a  shrewd  and  eloquent  address  before  the  great 
council,  setting  forth  in  a  touching,  forceful  and  statesman- 
like manner  the  claims  of  his  offended  nation.  Let  us  im- 
agine this  tall  and  swarthy  chieftain  stepping  majestically  to 
the  center  of  the  assembled  council.  Thoughts  of  the  past 
power  and  prestige  of  his  waning  nation  and  the  early  vic- 
tories over  the  advancing  Americans  throng  his  brain  as  he 
casts  his  eagle  eyes  toward  the  blazing  July  sun  and  then 
turns  impressively  toward  his  large  and  picturesque  audience. 
On  the  one  side  he  beholds  the  somber,  but  sympathetic, 
faces  of  a  hundred  bronzed  warriors  who  have  figured  in  ev- 
ery raid  and  engagement  of  the  tribes  throughout  the  border 
wars:  on  the  other  side  he  sees  the  Great  Chief  who  defeated 
his  people  on  the  Maumee,  a  young  aide  who  will  one  day 
lead  the  victorious  Americans  asfainst  the  combined   British 


no  DARKE   COUNTY 

and  Indian  foe  and  finally  sit  in  Washington's  chair,  besides 
a  motley  assembly  of  ofificers,  interpreters  and  spies  required 
to  properly  conduct  the  important  deliberation  of  the  occa- 
sion. 

On  this  interesting  occasion  he  arose  with  dignity  and  said ; 
"General  Wayne!  I  hope  you  will  pay  attention  to  what  I 
now  say  to  you.  I  wish  to  inform  you  where  my  younger 
brothers,  the  Miamis  live,  and  also  the  Pottawatomies  of 
St.  Joseph,  together  with  the  Wabash  Indians.  You  have 
pointed  out  to  us  the  boundary  line  between  the  Indians  and 
the  United  States:  but  I  now  take  the  liberty  to  inform  you 
that  that  line  cuts  off  from  the  Indians  a  large  portion  of  coun- 
try which  has  been  enjoyed  by  my  forefathers,  time  imme- 
morial, without  molestation  or  dispute.  The  prints  of  my 
ancestor's  houses  are  everywhere  to  be  seen  in  this  portion. 
I  was  a  little  astonished  at  hearing  you  and  my  brothers,  who 
are  now  present,  telling  each  other  what  business  you  had 
transacted  together,  heretofore,  at  Muskingum,  concerning 
this  country.  It  is  well  known  that  my  forefather  kindled 
the  first  fire  at  Detroit ;  from  thence  he  extended  his  lines  to 
the  headwaters  of  the  Scioto ;  from  thence  to  its  mouth  ;  from 
thence  down  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  and 
from  thence  to  Chicago,  on  Lake  Michigan.  At  this  place  T 
first  saw  my  elder  brothers,  the  Shawanese.  I  have  now  in- 
formed you  of  the  boundaries  of  the  Miami  nation,  where  the 
Great  Spirit  placed  my  forefather  a  long  time  ago  and  charged 
him  not  to  sell  or  part  with  his  lands,  but  to  preserve  them 
for  his  posterity.  This  charge  has  been  handed  down  to  me. 
I  was  much  surprised  to  hear  that  my  brothers  differed  so 
much  from  me  on  this  subject ;  for  their  conduct  would  lead 
me  to  suppose  that  the  Great  Spirit  and  their  forefathers 
had  not  given  them  the  same  charge  that  was  given  me.  but 
on  the  contrary,  had  directed  them  to  sell  their  lands  to  an_v 
white  man  who  wore  a  hat,  as  soon  as  he  should  ask  it  of 
them.  X'ow,  elder  brother,  your  younger  brothers,  the 
Miamis,  have  pointed  out  to  you  their  country  and  also  to 
your  brothers  present.  \\'hen  I  hear  your  proposals  on  this 
subject,  I  will  be  ready  to  give  an  answer.  I  came  with  an 
expectation  of  hearing  you  say  good  things,  but  I  have  not 
yet  heard  what  I  expected. 

"Brothers,  the  Indians!  I  expected,  in  this  council  that 
our  minds  would  have  been  made  up.  and  we  should  speak 


UARKE   COUXTY  1  1  1 

with  one  voice.  I  am  sorry  to  observe  that  yuu  are  ratlier 
unsettled  and  hasty  in  your  conduct." 

After  the  great  chief  of  the  Miamis  had  spoken,  Tar-he,  the 
Wyandot,  arose  and  said  that  the  ground  belonged  to  the 
Great  Spirit  above,  and  that  they  had  an  equal  right  to  it ; 
that  he  always  considered  the  treaty  of  Muskingum  as  found- 
ed upon  the  fairest  of  principles,  as  being  binding  upon  the 
Indians  and  the  United  States  alike ;  and  that  peace  was  now 
desired  by  all.  During  the  following  days,  discussion  con- 
cerning the  boundaries  and  terms  were  continued  and  on  the 
24th,  General  \\'ayne  arose  and  spoke  in  part  as  follows : 

"Brothers,  the  Miamis !  I  have  paid  attention  to  what  the 
Little  Turtle  said,  two  days  since,  concerning  the  lands  which 
he  claims.  He  said  his  father  first  kindled  the  fire  at  De- 
troit and  stretched  his  line  from  thence  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  Scioto  ;  thence  down  the  same  to  the  Ohio ;  thence  down 
that  river  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash,  and  from  thence  to 
Chicago,  on  the  southwest  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  ob- 
served that  his  forefathers  had  enjoyed  that  country  undis- 
turbed from  time  immemorial. 

"Brothers!  These  boundaries  enclose  a  very  large  space 
of  country  indeed ;  they  embrace,  if  I  mistake  not,  all  the 
lands  on  which  all  the  nations  now  present  live,  as  well  as 
those  which  have  been  ceded  to  the  L^nited  States.  The  lands 
which  have  been  ceded  have  within  these  three  days  been  ac- 
knowledged by  the  Ottawas,  Pottawatomies.  Wyandots, 
Delawares  and  Shawanese.  The  Little  Turtle  says  the  prints 
of  his  forefathers'  houses  are  everywhere  to  be  seen  within 
these  boundaries.  Younger  brother!  It  is  true  these  prints 
are  to  be  observed,  but  at  the  same  time  we  discover  marks 
of  French  possessions  throughout  this  country  established 
long  before  we  were  born.  These  have  since  been  in  pos- 
session of  the  British,  who  must,  in  their  turn,  relinquish 
them  to  the  United  States,  when  they,  the  French  and  the 
Indians,  will  be  all  as  one  people. 

"I  will  point  out  to  you  a  few  places  where  I  discover 
strong  traces  of  these  establishments ;  and  first  of  all,  I  find 
at  Detroit,  a  very  strong  print,  where  the  fire  was  first  kind- 
led by  your  forefathers ;  next  at  Vincennes  on  the  Wabash  ; 
again  at  Musquiton  on  the  same  river ;  a  little  higher  up  on 
that  stream,  they  are  to  be  seen  at  Ouiatenon.  I  discover 
another  strong  trace  at  Chicago,  another  on  the  St.  Joseph's 
of  Lake  ^lichigan.     I  have  seen  quite  distinctly  the  prints  of 


112  DARKE   COUNTY 

a  French  and  of  a  British  post  at  the  Miami  villages,  and  of 
a  British  post  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  now  in  their  posses- 
sion. Prints,  very  conspicuous,  are  on  the  Great  !Miami, 
which  were  possessed  by  the  French  forty-five  years  ago ; 
another  trace  is  very  distinctly  to  be  seen  at  Sandusky. 

"It  appears  to  me  that  if  the  Great  Spirit,  as  you  say, 
charged  your  forefathers  to  preserve  their  lands  entire  for 
their  posterity,  they  have  paid  very  little  regard  to  the  sacred 
injunction,  for  I  see  they  have  parted  with  those  lands  to 
}'our  fathers,  the  French,  and  the  English  are  now,  or  have 
been,  in  possession  of  them  all ;  therefore,  I  think  the  charge 
urged  against  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas  and  other  Indians, 
comes  with  bad  grace  indeed,  from  the  very  people  who,  per- 
haps, set  them  the  example.  The  English  and  French  both 
wore  hats ;  and  yet  your  forefathers  sold  them,  at  various 
times,  portions  of  your  lands.  However,  as  I  have  already 
observed,  you  shall  now  receive  from  the  United  States  fur- 
ther valuable  compensation  for  the  lands  you  have  ceded  to 
them    by   former  treaties. 

"Younger  brothers !  I  will  now  inform  you  who  it  was 
who  gave  us  these  lands  in  the  first  instance ;  it  was  your 
fathers,  the  British,  who  did  not  discover  that  care  for  your 
interests  which  you  ought  to  have  experienced.  This  is  the 
treaty  of  peace,  made  between  the  United  States  of  America 
and  Great  Britain  twelve  years  ago,  at  the  end  of  a  long  and 
bloody  war,  when  the  Frencli  and  Americans  proved  too 
powerful  for  the  British  ;  on  these  terms  thev  obtained  peace."' 
Here  part  of  the  treaty  of  1783  was  read. 

"Here  you  perceive  that  all  the  country  south  of  the  Great 
Lakes  has  been  given  up  to  America ;  but  the  United  States 
never  intended  to  take  that  advantage  of  you,  which  the  Brit- 
ish placed  in  their  hands.  They  wish  you  to  enjoy  your  just 
rights,  without  interruption,  and  to  promote  your  happiness. 
The  British  stipulated  to  surrender  to  us  all  the  posts  on  this 
side  of  the  boundary  agreed  on.  I  told  you  some  time  ago 
treaties  should  ever  be  sacredly  fulfilled  by  those  who  make 
them ;  but  the  British  on  their  part  did  not  find  it  convenient 
to  relinquish  those  posts  as  soon  as  they  should  have  done, 
but  a  precise  period  is  now  fixed  for  their  delivery.  I  have 
now  in  my  hand  a  copy  of  a  treaty,  made  eight  months  since, 
between  them  and  us,  of  which  I  will  read  you  a  little.  (First 
and  second  articles  of  Mr.  Jay's  treaty  read.) 

"By  this   solemn    agreement   they   promise   to   retire    from 


DARKE   COUNTY  113 

Michilimackinac,  Fort  St.  Clair,  Detroit,  Niagara  and  all  other 
places  on  this  side  of  the  Lakes  in  ten  moons  from  this  per- 
iod, and  leave  the  same  to  the  full  and  quiet  possession  of 
the   States. 

"Crothers!     All  nations  present,  now  listen  to  me! 

"Having  now  explained  those  matters  to  you  and  informed 
j-ou  of  all  things  I  judged  necessary  for  your  information, 
we  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  bury  the  hatchet,  and  draw  a 
veil  over  past  misfortunes.  As  you  have  buried  our  dead, 
with  the  concern  of  brothers,  so  I  now  collect  the  bones  of 
your  slain  warriors,  put  them  into  a  deep  pit  which  I  have 
dug,  and  cover  them  carefully  over  with  this  large  belt,  there 
to  remain  undisturbed.  I  also  dry  the  tears  from  your  eyes, 
and  wipe  the  blood  from  your  bodies,  with  this  soft,  white 
linen.  Xo  bloody  traces  will  ever  lead  to  the  graves  of  your 
departed  heroes  ;  with  this  I  wipe  all  such  away.  1  deliver 
it  to  your  uncle,  the  ^^'yand<Jt,  who  will  send  it  around 
amongst  you.     (A  large  belt  with  a  white  string  attached. ) 

"1  now  take  the  hatchet  out  of  3'our  hands,  and  with  a 
strong  arm  throw  it  into  the  center  of  the  great  ocean,  where 
no  mortal  can  ever  find  it ;  and  I  now  deliver  to  you  the  wide 
and  straight  path  to  the  Fifteen  Fires,  to  be  used  by  you  and 
your  posterity,  forever.  So  long  as  you  continue  to  follow 
this  road,  so  long  will  you  continue  to  be  happy  people.  You 
see  it  is  straight  and  wide,  and  they  will  be  blind  indeed,  who 
deviate  from  it.  I  place  it  also  in  your  uncle's  hands  for  j-ou. 
(A  large  road  belt.) 

"I  will,  the  dav  after  tomorrow,  show  you  the  cessions 
which  you  have  made  to  the  United  .States,  and  point  out  to 
you  the  lines  which  may  for  the  future  divide  your  lands  from 
theirs :  and,  as  3'ou  will  have  tnmorrovi-  to  rest,  I  will  order 
you  a  double  allowance  of  drink,  because  we  have  buried  the 
hatchet  and  performed  every  necessary  ceremony  to  render 
propitious  our  renovated  friendship. 

Discussion  and  explanation  continued  until  the  3d  of 
August,  various  noted  chiefs  acting  as  sopkesmen  for  their 
respective  tribes.  On  that  day  the  general  read  for  the  third 
time  the  articles  of  the  proposed  new  treaty,  which  was  then 
signed  by  some  ninety  chiefs  and  tribal  representatives  on 
the  part  of  the  Indians,  by  General  Wayne,  several  ofificers, 
his  aides-de-camp,  interpreters,  and  guides  on  behalf  of  the 
United  States.  A  large  number  of  belts  and  strings 
of  wamptim  were  passed  bv  the  various  tribes  during 
(8) 


114  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  deliberations ;  mention  being  made  of  road  belts, 
mixed  belts,  a  blue  helt,  a  belt  with  nine  white  squares, 
a  large  belt  with  men  and  a  house  designated  upon  it,  a  war 
belt,  numerous  white  and  blue  and  white  belts  and  strings  of 
wampum.  Some  of  these  belts  probably  contained  a 
thousand  or  more  beads  of  wampum,  and,  as  each  bright 
flinty  bead  is  said  to  have  represented  a  day's  labor  for  these 
primitive  people,  we  readily  conclude  that  they  meant  more 
than  a  great  sum  of  money  might  mean  to  the  whites,  and 
were,  indeed,  a  striking  pledge  of  good  will.  The  Indians  re- 
mained a  few  days  at  Fort  Greenville ;  speeches  were  deliv- 
ered and  the  calumet  of  peace  was  fially  passed  to  those  who 
had  not  yet  smoked  it.  Thus  was  consummated  a  treaty  of 
far-reaching  importance,  concerning  the  effectiveness  of 
which  King,  the  historian,  testifies :  "Never  after  that  treaty, 
to  their  honor  be  it  remembered,  did  the  Indian  nations  vio- 
late the  limits  which  it  established.  It  was  a  grand  tribute  to 
General  Wayne  that  no  chief  or  warrior  who  gave  him  the 
hand  at  Greenville  ever  after  lifted  the  hatchet  against  the 
United  States.  There  were  malcontents  on  the  Wabash  and 
Lake  ^lichigan  who  took  sides  with  Tecumseh  and  the 
Prophet  in  the  A\^ar  of  1812,  perhaps  for  good  cause,  but  the 
tribes  and  their  chiefs  sat  still." 

The  tribes  were  represented  as  follows  at  the  treaty:  Dela- 
wares.  381;  Pottawatomies,  240;  Wyandots,  180;  Shawanese, 
143;  Miamis  and  Eel  Rivers,  72>;  Chippewas,  46;  Ottawas, 
45;  Weas  and  Piankeshaws,  12;  Kickapoos  and  Kaskaskias, 
10;  in  all,  1,130. 

The  following  chiefs  and  representatives  signed  the  docu- 
ment for  the  tribes : 

Wyandots. 

Tar-he  (or  Crane). 

William  Sur  (?) 

Tey-yagh-taw. 

Ha-re-en-}-ow   (or  Half  King's  Son). 

Te-haaw-te-rens. 

Aw-me-3'ee-ray. 

Laye-tah:  .    , 

Sha-tey-ya-ron-yah  (Leather  Lips). 

Daugh-shut-tay-ah. 

Sha-aw-run-the. 


^4(*^^"t 


1  > 


k 


.^ 


DARKE   COUNTY  115 

Delawares. 
Moses. 

Bu-kon-ge-he-las. 
Pee-kee-lund. 
W'elle-baw-kee-lund. 

Pee-kee-tele-mund   for  Thomas  Adams). 
Kish-ke-pe-kund  (or  Captain  Buffalo). 
Ame-na-he-han  (or  Captain  Crow). 
Oue-shawk-sey  (or  George  Washington). 
Wey-win-quis  (or  Billy  Siscomb). 
Teta-boksh-ke  (or  Grand  Glaize  King). 
Le-man-tan-quis   (or  Black  King). 
Wa-bat-thee. 

Magh-pi-way  (or  Red  Feather). 
Kik-tha-we-nund  (or  Anderson). 
Haw-kin-pum-is-ka  (from  Sandusky). 
Pey-a-mawk-sey  (from  Sandusky). 

Six  Nations. 

Reyn-two-co  f living  at  Sandusky). 
Shawanese. 

^lis-qua-coo-na-caw  (or  Red  Pole).  ■ 

Cut-the-we-ka-saw  (or  Black  Hoof). 

Kay-se-wa-e-se-kah.  , 

Wey-tha-pa-mat-tha.  , 

Nia-nym-se-ka. 

^^'ay-the-ah   (or  Long  Shanks). 

Wey-a-pier-sen-waw  (or  Blue  Jacket). 

Xe-que  taugh-aw. 

Hah-goo-see-kaw  (or  Captain  Reed). 

Miamis. 

A^a-goh-quan-gogh   (or  Le  Gris). 

Ale-she-kun-nogh-quoh   (or  Little  Turtle).  i 

Pee-jee-wa  (or  Richardville). 

Coch-ke-pogh-fogh.  ^ 

Wa-pa-man-gwa  (or  AVhite  Loon). 

She-me-kun-ne-sa   (or  Soldier)  of  the  Eel  river  tribe. 

Weas  (for  Themselves  and  the  Piankeshaws.) 

A-nia-cun-sa   (or  Little  Beaver). 


116  DARKE   CX5UNTY 

A-coo-la-tha  (or  Little  Fox). 
Francis. 

Kickapoos  and  Kaskaskias. 

Kee-aw-hah. 

Ne-nugh-ka   (or  Reynard). 

Pai-kee-ka-nogh. 

Pottawatomies   (From  the  St.  Joseph   River). 

Thu-pe-ne-bu. 

Naw-ac  (for  himself  and  brother  Et-si-me-the ). 

Ne-nan-se-ka. 

Kee-sass  (or  Sun). 

Ka-ba-ma-saw  (for  himself  and  brother  Chi-sau-gaii). 

Sug-ga-nunk. 

Wap-me-me  (\\'hite  Pigeon). 

'\^'a-che-ness  (for  himself  and  brother  Pe-dar-go-shak). 

Wal-shi-caw-naw. 

La-Chasse. 

Me-she-ge-the-nogh   (for  himself  and  brother  W'a-wal-sek). 

Hin-go-swash. 

A-ne-wa-saw. 

Naw-budgh. 

Mis-se-no-go-maw. 

Wa-we-eg-she. 

Thaw-me  (or  Level  Plane). 

Gee-que  ffor  himself  and  brother  She-win-seV 

Pottawatomies  (From  Huron). 
O-ki-a. 

Chamung. 

Se-ga-ge-wan. 

Na-naw-me  (for  himself  and  brother  A-gin). 

Mar-chand. 

We-na-me-ac. 

Ottawas. 
Au-goosh-away. 
Ivee-no-sha-meek. 
La-Malice. 
Ma-chi-we-tah. 
Tho-\va-na-wa. 
Se-caw. 
Che-go-nick-ska  (from  Sandusky). 


V^f^-^  :Cv^^  "^yUL 


va<*€io 


-/-  -io/rU^ 


1^  (/r^^^i^!^'^^'^^^ 


/y?^ur/^ 


t^^-^^^z^ 


SLIGHTLY    REDUCED    FACSIMILES    OF    THE    AMERICAN    SIGNATURES 
TO   THE    TREATY   OF    GREENVILLE 

(Courtesy   Ohio   Arch.   &   Hist.   Society) 


DARKE   COUNTY  117 

Chippewas. 

Mash-i-pi-nash-i-wi5h   (or  Bad   Bird). 

Xah-sho-ga-she   (from   Lake  Superior). 

Ka-tha-wa-sung.  ^ 

Ma-sass.  : 

Ne-me-kass  (or  Little  Thunder). 

Pe-shaw-kay  (or  Young  One). 

Nan-guey. 

Alee-ne-doh-gee-sogh. 

Pee-wan-she-me-nogli. 

Wey-me-gwas. 

Gol-ma-a-tick. 

Among  the  chief  speakers  were  Blue  Jacket,  the  Shaw- 
anese ;  Massas,  the  Chippewa ;  Tarhe,  or  Crane,  the  Wyandot, 
and  Augoosh-avvay,  the  Ottawa.  Besides  the  signatures  of 
George  Washington  and  Anthony  Wayne,  the  names  of  Wil- 
liam H.  Harrison,  aide-de-camp,  and  several  officers,  inter- 
preters and  scouts  appear  on  the  treaty.  Among  the  latter 
were  William  Wells,  Christopher  Miller  and  Isaac  Zane.  The 
treaty  was  neatly  engrossed  in  the  legible  penmanship  of  the 
day  on  two  pieces  of  parchment  about  twenty-six  inches 
square,  one  of  which  was  inscribed  on  both  sides. 

An  excellent  photographic  copy,  exact  size  of  the  original, 
is  today  framed  and  exhibited  on  the  walls  of  the  public  mu- 
seum in  the  basement  of  the  Carnegie  Library,  Greenville, 
Ohio. 

The  preamble  states  the  purpose  of  the  treaty  "to  put  an 
end  to  a  destructive  war.  to  settle  all  controversies  and  to 
restore  harmony  and  friendly  intercourse  between  the  L^nited 
States  and  Indian  tribes." 

The  nine  articles  provide  for  the  cessation  of  hostilities, 
exchange  of  prisoners,  definite  description  of  boundaries,  the 
delivery  of  $20,000  worth  of  goods  at  once  to  the  Indians  and 
the  promise  of  $9,500  worth  of  goods  yearly  forever  there- 
after. 

The  respective  rights  and  privileges  of  the  Indians  and 
Americans  within  the  lands  and  reservations  ceded  and  the 
penalties  for  violation  are  also  explicitly  set  forth.  The  boun- 
dary line  established  began  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cuyahoga 
river,  ran  up  that  stream  to  the  portage  crossing  to  the  Tus- 
carawas across  this  portage  (which  was  a  part  of  the  ancient 
boundarv  between  the  Six  Nations  and  the  lands  of  the  North' 


118  DARKE   COUNTY 

west  tribesj,  down  that  stream  to  Fort  Laurens  (near  Bolivar, 
Ohio),  thence  westerly  to  near  Loramies  (Fort  Loramie, 
Ohio),  (on  a  branch  of  the  Miami  at  the  beginning  of  the  port- 
age to  the  St.  Mary's),  thence  to  Fort  Recovery  and  thence 
southwesterly  to  a  point  on  the  Ohio  opposite  the  mouth  of 
the  Kentucky  river,  embracing  about  two^thirds  of  the  pres- 
ent state  of  Ohio,  and  a  triangular  piece  of  southeastern  In- 
diana. Besides  this  large  and  valuable  tract,  numerous  small 
but  invaluable  tracts,  mostly  from  two  to  twelve  miles  square, 
were  included,  among  them  being  the  present  sites  of  Defi- 
ance, Ohio,  Fort  Wayne,  Ind.,  Toledo,  Ohio,  Fremont,  Ohio, 
Detroit,  Mich.,  St.  Mary's,  Ohio.  Sandusky,  Ohio,  Mackinac, 
Chicago,  111.,  Peoria,  111.,  Vincennes,  Ind.,  and  150,000  acres 
above  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  opposite  Louisville,  Ky.,  to  Gen- 
eral George  R.  Clark  and  his  soldiers.  The  privileges  of  trad- 
ing between  these  posts  was  also  granted  to  the  Americans, 
and  this  proved  to  be  an  entering  wedge,  which  was  finally  to 
help  split  up  the  tribal  confederacy  and  counteract  its  power. 

It  is  now  impossible  to  estimate  the  value  of  these  conces- 
sions. At  the  centennial  celebration  at  Greenville,  August 
3,  1895,  Governor  AVilliani  McKinley  said,  "The  day  thrills 
with  historic  interest.  It  is  filled  with  stirring  memories  and 
recalls  the  struggles  of  the  past  for  peace  and  the  majesty  of 
constitutional  government.  It  is  most  fitting  to  celebrate 
this  anniversary.  It  marks  an  epoch  in  our  ci^■ilization.  One 
hundred  years  ago  Indian  hostilities  were  suppressed  and  the 
compact  of  peace  concluded  between  the  government  and  the 
Indians,  which  made  the  northwest  the  undisputed  territory 
of  the  LTnited  States,  and  what  was  once  a  dense  wilderness, 
inhabited  by  barbarous  tribes,  is  now  the  home  of  a  happv 
and  progressive  people  and  the  center  of  as  high  an  iirder  of 
civilization  as  is  to  be  found  an}-where  in  the  world." 

The  pledge  of  security  given  by  this  treat}-  encouraged  im- 
migration. A  hardy  population  soon  settled  in  the  fertile  val- 
leys, and  gained  a  foothold  which  has  never  been  relinquished, 
and  today  millions  of  people  live  and  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
civilized  life  where,  but  a  short  time  since,  a  few  untutored 
savages  dwelt.  A  forcible  change  in  stewardship  had  taken 
place  by  which  the  one  talent  man  was  supplanted  by  the  ten 
talent  man.  thus  forwarding  the  cause  of  humanitv  and  civ- 
ilization. 

The  importance  of  this  peace  is  not  measured  simplv  by 
the  amount  of  land  ceded  but  comprehends  also  its  effect  in 


DARKE   COUNTY 


119 


opening  up  the  Ohio  valley  for  settlement.  In  fact,  viewed 
in  one  light,  it  may  be  considered  the  end  of  the  Revolution- 
ary war.  It  is  also  true  that  this  was  not  the  last  treaty  with 
the  northwestern  Indian  tribes,  but  measured  by  results  it 
stands  pre-eminent.  The  fact  that  Ohio  was  applying  for 
admission  to  the  Union  in  seven  years  from  this  treaty  is 
forcible  testimony  to  its  significance. 

On  August  3,  1906,  the  Greenville  Historical  Society  un- 
veiled a  beautiful  bronze  tablet  with  this  inscription:  "Placed 
to  commemorate  the  Treaty  of  Greenville,  signed  August  3, 
1795,  by  General  Anthony  Wayne,  representing  the  United 
States  government,  and  the  chiefs  and  agents  of  the  allied 
Indian  tribes  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river." 

This  inscription  is  enclosed  in  a  circle  surrounded  by  em- 
blems of  savage  war  and  peace.  The  tablet  is  attached  to  a 
large  diorite  boulder  standing  nearly  five  feet  high,  near  the 
spot  where  the  treaty  was  signed. 

The  hero  of  Fallen  Timbers  lies  buried  in  Pennsylvania. 
After  leaving  Greenville  he  returned  to  that  State  fatigued 
in  mind  and  body,  and  was  later  appointed  sole  commissioner 
to  treat  with  the  Indians  of  the  northwest,  and  to  take  posses- 
sion of  all  the  British  forts  in  that  territory.  In  the  autumn 
of  1796,  after  receiving  the  surrender  of  Detroit,  he  embarked 
on  Lake  Erie  for  home,  but  was  seized  with  a  severe  attack 
of  the  gout  and  died  at  Erie,  Pa.  Here  his  remains  were  in- 
terred, but  in  1809  his  bones  were  transferred  to  the  family 
burj'ing  ground  in  the  village  of  Radnor,  Pa.  Over  this  grave 
the  Pennsylvania  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  erected  a  small 
marble  monument,  which  was  dedicated  with  appropriate 
ceremonies,  July  4,  1809. 

Thus  ended  the  forty  years  of  war  which  had  scourged  the 
frontiers  with  blood  and  fire,  and  reduced  the  power  and  pres- 
tige of  the  brave  and  war-like  tribes  of  the  old  northwest, 
opening  the  flood-gates  through  which  the  sons  of  western 
Europe  were  to  pour  into  and  subdue  the  mighty  unbroken 
forests  with  ax  and  plow.  Henceforth  the  remnants  of  the 
once  powerful  tribes  must  seek  shelter  in  the  remoter  west, 
retreating  before  the  ever  advancing  whites.  As  descendant,? 
of  the  hard}-  pioneers  who  occupied  their  lands,  we  ought  not 
lightly  to  forget  their  heroic  traits  and  the  bitter  regret  with 
which  they  reluctantly  left  one  of  the  richest  and  most  beau- 
tiful tracts  of  land  that  the  sun  ever  shone  upon.  Neither 
should    we     disregard     the     inestimable     services    of     Clark, 


120  DARKE   COUNTY 

Harmar,  St.  Clair,  \\'ayne  and  the  host  of  less  prominent 
soldiers,  who  blazed  the  way  for  all  that  followed.  Harmar 
was  chagrined  by  his  reverses  and  soon  retired  to  private 
life,  dying  in  obscurity ;  St.  Clair  was  maligned  in  the  east 
and  passed  the  declining  years  of  his  life  amidst  turmoil  and 
vituperation  and  died  at  an  advanced  age  stinging  from  the 
poor  appreciation  of  his  countrymen ;  Wayne  passed  away  in 
the  prime  of  life  performing  the  arduous  labors  appointed 
by  his  government.  Let  us  raise  suitable  memorials  to  all 
these  servants  of  the  state,  at  the  places  of  their  most  noted 
labors,  that  the  fire  of  patriotism  be  not  allowed  to  go  "out  in 
the  hearts  of  coming  venerations. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TECUMSEH  AND  THE  PROPHET. 

About  ten  3'ears  after  Wayne's  treaty  an  attempt  was  made 
to  unite  the  scattered  bands  of  Shawnee  Indians  then  living 
at  the  old  Tawa  towns  at  the  head  of  the  Auglaize  river, 
Tecumseh's  party  on  the  White  Water  and  another  party  on 
the  ilississinewa.  Deputations  were  sent  out  from  the  Tawa 
towns  inviting  the  other  bands  to  join  them  and  live  together 
there.  Both  bands  responded  promptly  to  the  invitation  and 
met  at  Greenville,  the  "Big  Ford,"  at  which  their  trails  con- 
verged. Through  the  influence  of  Tecumseh's  twin  brother, 
Lau-le-wa-si-kaw,  it  is  said,  the  Indians  were  persuaded  to 
remain  at  that  place.  Accordingly  a  large  council  house  of 
hewn  timbers  and  a  village  of  huts  were  erected  on  the  low 
bluflf  skirting  the  west  side  of  the  Mud  Creek  prairie  some 
two  miles  below  the  site  of  the  old  Fort  Greenville,  on  land 
now  owned  by  James  Bryson,  A.  D.  Shell  and  Ida  E.  Cash- 
man,  in  section  nine,  range  two  east,  Greenville  township. 
About  three  miles  to  the  southeast  of  this  site  arose  the 
gravel  knolls  about  Fort  Jefferson,  later  called  the  "Hills  of 
Judea."  To  the  northeast,  at  a  similar  distance,  could  be  seen 
the  elevated  plain  on  which  the  city  of  Greenville,  Ohio,  now 
stands.  From  this  point  trails  radiated  in  various  directions 
through  the  primitive  forest  and  across  the  prairie.  From  the 
first  the  gifted,  crafty  and  eloquent  Tecumseh  and  his  cun- 
ning, cruel  and  boastful  but  extremely  graceful  and  eloquent 
brother  Lau-le-wa-si-kaw  (the  "Loud  Mouth")  were  the  mov- 
ing spirits.  One  hundred  and  forty-three  members  of  the 
Shawnee  tribe  had  signed  W'ayne's  treaty,  but  Tecumseh 
never  becam.e  reconciled  to  their  action  and  used  his  influence 
to  counteract  its  effect  among  his  people.  The  twin  brothers 
had  brooded  long  over  the  degradation  and  declining  power 
of  their  people  and  the  rapid  advance  of  the  white  settlements. 
In  one  of  his  moods  of  despondency,  it  is  said,  the  cruel, 
crafty,  egotistical  boaster  "Loud  ]\Iouth"  fell  in  a  swoon  and 
became  quite  rigid.  Thinking  him  dead  his  tribesmen  were 
preparing  to  remove  him  to  his  grave  when  he  revived  and 


122  DARKE   COUNTY 

said,  "Be  not  fearful,  I  have  been  to  the  land  of  the  blessed. 
Call  the  nation  together  that  I  may  tell  them  what  I  have 
seen  arid  heard.  Two  beautiful  young  men  were  sent  by  the 
Great  Spirit  who  said :  'The  ^Master  of  Life  is  angry  with  3'ou 
all.  He  will  destroy  you  unless  you  refrain  from  drinking, 
lying,  stealing,  and  witchcraft  and  turn  yourselves  to  Him." 
Richard  McNemar,  one  of  the  Shaker  missionaries,  mentioned 
later  in  this  article,  gives  this  version  of  Laulewasikaw's  pre- 
sumptive call  to  the  prophetic  office  at  this  time.  He  had  been 
a  doctor,  and  a  very  wicked  man,  and  while  attending  the  sick 
among  his  people  at  Attawa,  in  the  White  river  settlement, 
about  1805,  was  struck  with  a  deep  and  awful  sense  of  his  sin 
and  cried  mightily  to  the  Good  Spirit  to  show  him  some  means 
of  escape.  In  his  distress  and  confusion  he  fell  into  a  vision 
in  which  he  appeared  to  be  traveling  along  a  road  and  came 
at  length  to  where  it  forked.  The  road  to  the  right,  he  was 
advised,  led  to  happiness  while  that  to  the  left  was  the  way 
to  misery.  By  both  of  these  paths,  he  said,  the  Great  Spirit 
had  led  him  and  finally  instructed  him  to  build  his  fire  at  the 
"Big  Ford"  (Greenville,  Ohio),  and  there  preach  to  his 
people  what  he  had  seen  and  heard  and  instruct  all  who  might 
come  to  him  from  the  diiiferent  tribes.  It  was  a  remarkable 
experience,  real  or  assumed,  psychological  or  religious,  and 
from  this  time  "Loud  Mouth"  assumed  the  name  "Tens-kwa- 
ta-wa,"  meaning  "The  Open  Door,"  and  became  known  among 
his  people  as  "The  Prophet."  His  sj^stem  of  religion  was  a 
jumble  of  the  superstitions  and  prejudices  of  his  own  people 
intermingled  with  many  of  the  teachings  of  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries with  whom  he  had  probably  come  into  contact  dur- 
ing his  wanderings.  In  spite  of  his  former  disrepute,  large 
numbers  of  his  people  came  from  their  scattered  settlements 
in  Ohio  and  Indiana,  and  many  from  distant  tribes  of  other 
Indians,  to  hear  his  eloquent,  and  apparently  sincere,  plead- 
ing for  a  return  to  the  simple  life  of  their  forefathers.  Ap- 
parentl}-  there  was  nothing  very  objectionable  in  his  system 
of  morals  and  religion  and  it  seemed  at  first  that  he  had  the 
good  of  his  people  at  heart.  In  this  connection  we  quote  from 
his  reputed  speech  to  General  Harrison  at  Vincennes : 

"Father,  it  is  three  years  since  I  first  began  the  system  of 
religion  which  I  now  practice.  The  white  people  and  some 
of  the  Indians  were  against  me,  but  I  had  no  other  intention 
but  to  introduce  among  the  Indians  those  good  principles  of 
religion   which   the  white  people  profess.     The   Great   Spirit 


DARKE   COUNTY  123 

told  me  to  tell  the  Indians  tliat  he  made  them,  and  made  the 
world,  that  He  had  placed  them,  on  it  to  do  good,  and  not  evil. 
I  told  the  redskins  that  the  way  the)'  were  in  was  not  good, 
and  they  should  abandon  it ;  that  we  ought  to  consider  our- 
selves as  one  man,  but  we  ought  to  live  agreeable  to  our  sev- 
eral customs,  the  red  people  after  their  mode  and  the  white 
people  after  theirs ;  particularly  that  they  should  not  drink 
whisky ;  that  it  was  made  for  the  white  people,  who  knew 
how  to  use  it,  and  that  it  was  the  cause  of  all  the  mischief  the 
Indians  sufifer;  and  that  they  must  listen  to  Him,  as  it  was 
He  who  made  us.  Determine  to  listen  to  nothing  bad ;  do  not 
take  up  the  tomahawk,  should  it  be  ofi'ered  by  the  British  or 
bv  the  Long  Knives ;  do  not  meddle  with  anything  that  does 
not  belong  to  you,  but  mind  your  own  business  and  cultivate 
the  ground,  that  your  women  and  children  may  have  enough 
to  live  upon." 

\\"hatever  may  have  been  his  original  motive  he  seems  to 
have  departed  somewhat  from  his  good  intentions  and 
allowed  his  shrewd  and  talented  brother  to  develop  the  politi- 
cal side  of  this  semi-moral  and  religious  revival,  and  mightily 
increase  his  prestige  as  chief.  This  Tecumseh  did  by  urging 
his  numerous  visitors  to  lay  aside  former  tribal  animosities, 
unite  in  one  great  confederacy,  on  the  order  of  that  formed 
by  Pontiac,  and  thus  make  a  united  stand  against  the  further 
advance  of  the  whites. 

For  some  reason,  probabl)'  in  order  to  keep  the  secrets  of 
their  many  conferences  and  connivances  from  their  fellow 
tribesmen,  the  twin  brothers  soon  left  Prophetstown  and  es- 
tabHshed  themselves  on  a  knoll  at  the  junction  of  Greenville 
and  ]\Iud  Creeks,  just  opposite  the  old  fort  and  fording  place, 
now  known  as  Tecumseh's  Point. 

The  spread  of  witchcraft  and  the  fear  of  "The  Prophet" 
among  the  neighboring  tribes  had  such  a  detrimental  influ- 
ence that  Governor  Harrison  sent  a  special  message  to  the 
Delawares  warning  them  against  his  false  doctrines.  Among 
other  things  he  said,  "Who  is  this  pretended  prophet  who 
dares  to  speak  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Creator?  Examine 
liim.  Is  he  more  wise  and  virtuous  than  you  are  yourselves, 
that  he  should  be  selected  to  convey  to  you  the  orders  of  God. 
Demand  of  him  some  proofs  at  least  of  his  being  the  mes- 
senger of  the  Deity.  If  God  has  really  employed  him.  He  has 
doubtless  employed  him  to  perform  miracles  that  he  may  be 
known  and  received  as  a  prophet.     If  he  is  really  a  prophet. 


124  DARKE   COUNTY 

ask  of  him  to  cause  the  sun  to  stand  still,  the  moon  to  alter 
its  course,  the  rivers  to  cease  to  flow,  or  the  dead  to  rise,  from 
their  graves.  If  he  does  these  things,  you  may  believe  that 
he  has  been  sent  from  God."  This  challenge  came  at  an  un- 
fortunate time.  An  eclipse  of  the  sun  was  to  occur  in  1806, 
and  the  prophet  seems  to  have  heard  of  this  fact  from  the 
whites.  Taking  advantage  of  the  ignorance  and  superstition 
of  his  people  he  boldly  announced  that  he  would  darken  the 
sun  on  the  appointed  day,  and  when  the  event  occurred  he 
stood  in  the  midst  of  his  affrighted  brethren  and  reminded 
them  of  his  recent  prophecy.  This  stroke  convinced  the  In- 
dians of  his  supernatural  power  and  greatly  increased  his 
prestige.  In  the  spring  of  1807,  it  is  said,  the  Prophet  had 
gathered  some  four  hundred  Indians  about  him,  who  were 
greatly  stirred  by  religious  fanaticism  and  liable  to  carry  out 
the  instructions  of  the  twin  brothers,  whatever  they  might  be. 

About  this  time  William  Wells,  the  Indian  agent  at  Fort 
Wayne,  dispatched  Anthony  Shane,  a  half-blood  Shawnee,  to 
Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet,  requesting  them  and  two  of  their 
chiefs  to  visit  him  that  he  might  read  to  them  a  letter  which 
he  had  just  received  from  the  Great  Father,  the  President  of 
the  United  States. 

Shane  delivered  his  message  to  the  council,  at  which  Te- 
cumseh arose  with  characteristic  haughtiness  and  said,  "Go 
back  to  Fort  Wayne  and  tell  Captain  Wells  that  my  fire  is 
kindled  on  the  spot  appointed  by  the  Great  Spirit  above;  and 
if  he  has  anything  to  commimicate  to  me,  he  must  come  here. 
I  shall  expect  him  in  six  days  from  this  time."  Shane  returned 
with  this  message  but  was  sent  back  at  the  appointed  time 
with  a  copy  of  the  President's  letter  requesting  them  to  move 
beyond  the  boundary  agreed  upon  at  the  treaty  of  Greenville, 
and  promising  the  assistance  of  the  government  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  this  enterprise.  Because  Captain  Wells  had  not 
delivered  the  message  in  person,  Tecumseh  showed  great 
indignation  and  addressed  the  council  in  a  long,  fiery  and 
eloquent  speech,  at  the  conclusion  of  which  he  turned  to  Shane 
and  said :  "If  my  father,  the  President  of  the  Seventeen  Fires, 
has  anvthing  more  to  say  to  me,  he  must  send  a  man  of  note 
as  his  messenger.  I  will  hold  no  further  intercourse  with 
Captain  Wells." 

Much  activity  was  now  manifested  among  distant  tribes 
and  the  Prophet's  headquarters  were  thronged  with  visitors. 
Speaking  of  this  time  Eggleston  says: 


DARKE   COUNTY  125 

''The  stir  among  the  Indians  went  on  increasing  and  at  the 
last  of  May  it  was  estimated  that  as  man^-  as  fifteen  hundred 
Indians  had  passed  and  repassed  Fort  Wayne  on  visits  to  the 
Prophet.  Many  of  these  were  from  remote  nations.  There 
was  a  great  assembling  of  councils ;  messengers  were  sent 
from  tribe  to  tribe  with  pipes  and  belts  of  wampum,  and.it 
was  evident  that  some  uncommon  movement  was  afoot.  Eng- 
lish agents  were  also  known  to  be  very  active  in  assisting  in 
the  excitement  while  the  object  was  kept  entirely  secret  from 
the  Americans  and  friendly  Indian  chiefs.  It  was  estimated 
by  those  familiar  with  Indian  affairs,  that  in  the  month  of 
August  the  Prophet  and  Tecumseh  had  gained  the  leadership 
of  seven  or  eight  hundred  Indians  at  Fort  \\'ayne  and  Green- 
ville.   Many  of  these  were  armed  with  new  rifles.'" 

These  facts  moved  the  governor  of  Ohio  to  send  Thomas 
^^'orthington  and  Duncan  JNIacArthur  to  hold  a  council  with 
Tecumseh  and  the  Prophet  that  they  might  ascertain  their 
motives  in  assembling  so  many  Indians  on  forbidden  ground. 
These  messengers  were  courteously  received  and  a  great 
council  held,  at  which  Stephen  Ruddell,  who  understood  the 
Shawnee  dialect,  acted  as  interpreter.  During  the  course  of 
the  deliberation  Blue  Jacket  delivered  a  conciliatory  speech 
and  the  Prophet  endeavored  to  explain  why  the  Indians  had 
settled  at  Prophetstowm.  In  this  speech  he  said.  "The  In- 
dians did  not  remove  to  this  place  because  it  was  a  pretty 
place  or  very  valuable,  for  it  was  neither,  but  because  it  was 
revealed  to  him  that  the  place  was  a  proper  one  to  establish 
his  doctrines."  Responding  to  the  governor's  request,  Te- 
cumseh, the  Prophet,  Blue  Jacket,  Round  Head  and  Panther 
went  to  Chillicothe,  then  the  Capital  of  the  state.  Here 
Tecumseh  eloquently  recited  the  woes  of  his  people  and  de- 
nied any  secret  conspiracy  against  the  whites.  In  spite  of  all 
outside  interference  the  influence  of  the  gifted  brothers 
seemed  to  increase  and  the  tribes  became  more  restless  at 
this  juncture.  Governor  W.  H.  Harrison,  of  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, wrote  them  a  letter  reminding  them  of  the  treaties  of 
peace  which  they  had  made.  Among  other  things,  he  said : 
"My  children,  I  have  heard  bad  news.  The  sacred  spot  where 
the  great  council  fire  was  kindled,  around  which  the  Seven- 
teen Fires  and  ten  tribes  of  their  children  smoked  the  pipe  of 
peace — that  very  spot  where  the  Great  Spirit  saw  his  red  and 
white  children  encircle  themselves  with  the  chain  of  friend- 


126  DARKE   COUNTY 

ship- — that  place  has  been  selected  for  dark  and  bloody 
councils. 

"Aly  children,  this  business  must  be  stopped.  You  have 
called  in  a  number  of  men  from  the  most  distant  tribes  to 
listen  to  a  fool,  who  speaks  not  the  words  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
but  those  of  the  devil  and  of  the  British  agents.  My  children, 
your  conduct  has  much  alarmed  the  white  settlers  near  you. 
They  desire  that  you  will  send  away  those  people,  and  if  they 
wish  to  have  the  impostor  with  them  they  can  carry  him.  Let 
him  go  to  the  lakes,  he  can  hear  the  British  more  distinctly." 

The  Prophet  answered  this  letter  in  a  spirit  of  regret,  deny- 
ing the  allegations  of  General  Harrison,  and  insinuating  that 
he  had  been  misinformed  by  evil  minded  men.  However,  in 
the  spring  of  1808  they  deserted  their  village  and  established 
a  new  Prophetstown  among  some  kindred  spirits  on  the  Tip- 
pecanoe, a  branch  of  the  Wabash,  in  northern  Indiana,  to 
which  place  they  had  been  invited  by  some  friendly  Kicka- 
poos  and  Pottawatomies. 

While  the  Shawnees  were  living  in  the  Mud  Creek  settle- 
ment they  were  visited  by  a  small  delegation  of  Shakers  from 
Turtle  Creek  (later  Union  village),  Warren  county,  Ohio, 
whose  object  it  was  to  investigate  the  feasibility  of  estab- 
lishing a  mission  among  them.  The  missionaries,  Darrow, 
McNemar  and  Youngs,  arrived  at  Prophetstown  on  ^larch  25, 
1807.  They  afterwards  made  a  detailed  report  of  their  ex- 
periences, from  which  the  following  interesting  extracts  are 
taken.  "\Mien  we  came  in  sight  of  the  village,  the  first  object 
that  attracted  our  view  was  a  large  frame  house,  about  150 
by  34  feet  in  size,  surrounded  with  fifty  or  sixty  smoking 
cottages.  We  rode  up  and  saluted  some  men  who  were  stand- 
ing before  the  door  of  a  tent,  and  by  a  motion  of  the  hand 
were  directed  to  another  wigwam  where  we  found  one  who 
could  talk  English.  We  asked  him  if  their  feelings  were 
friendly. 

A.     O,  yes,  we  are  all  brothers. 

O.  Where  are  your  chiefs?  We  wish  to  have  a  talk  with 
them. 

A.     They  are  about   four  miles  off  making  sugar. 

O.     What  are  their  names? 

A.     Lal-lu-e-tsee-ka   and  Te-kum-tha. 

O.     Can  any  of  them  talk  English. 

A.  No  :  but  there  is  a  good  interpreter  there ;  George  Blue 
Jacket.    He  has  gone  to  school,  and  can  read  and  talk  well. 


DARKE   COUNTY  127 

O.     \Miat  is  that  big  house  for? 

A.     To  worship  the  Great  Spirit. 

y.     How  do  you  worship? 

A.     Alostly  in  speaking. 

Q.     Who  is  your  chief  speaker? 

A.  Our  prophet,  Lal-lu-e-tsee-ka.  He  converses  with  the 
Great  Spirit,  and  tells  us  how  to  be  good. 

Q.     Do  all  that  live  here  believe  in  him? 

A.     Yes ;  we  all  believe ;  he  can  dream  to  God. 

Conducted  by  a  pilot,  we  repaired  to  the  sugar  camp,  where 
thirty  or  forty  were  assembled  with  the  Prophet,  who  was 
very  sick  and  confined  in  his  tent.  We  expressed  our  desire 
of  having  a  talk  with  him.  But  George  informed  us  that  he 
could  not  talk  to  us,  that  ministers  of  the  white  people  would 
not  believe  what  he  said,  but  counted  it  foolish  and  laughed 
at  it.  therefore  he  could  not  talk ;  besides,  he  had  a  pain  in 
his  head,  and  was  very  sick.  After  informing  him  we  were 
not  such  ministers,  he  asked: 

Do  you  believe  a  person  can  have  true  knowledge  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  in  the  heart,  without  going  to  school  and  learn- 
ing to  read? 

A.  We  believe  they  can  ;  and  that  is  the  best  kind  of 
knowledge. 

After  some  talk  of  this  kind  with  George,  he  went  into  the 
Prophets's  tent,  where  several  chiefs  were  collected,  and  after 
continuing  their  council  there  about  an  hour,  Lal-lu-e-tsee-ka 
came  out  and  took  his  seat  in  a  circle  of  about  thirty  persons 
who  sat  round  the  fire.  All  were  silent — every  countenance 
grave  and  solemn,  when  he  began  to  speak.  His  discourse 
continued  about  half  an  hour,  in  which  the  most  pungent  elo- 
quence expressed  his  deep  and  heartfelt  sense  of  what  he 
spoke,  but  in  language  which  George  said  he  could  not  cor- 
rectly translate  into  English.  However,  the  general  sense 
he  occasionally  communicated   during  our  stay.     *     *     *     * 

They  asked  us  several  questions  concerning  our  people,  and 
particularly  whether  they  drank  whisk}^ ;  and  appeared  not  a 
little  rejoiced  to  learn  that  there  were  some  among  the 
whites  so  far  reclaimed  as  to  lay  aside  the  use  of  that  per- 
nicious liquor.  We  inquired  how  they  made  out  for  pro- 
visions. They  answered  they  had  none.  So  many  people 
came  there — eat  up  all  they  had  raised. 

The  only  meal  we  saw  them  eat  was  a  turkey  divided  among 


128  DARKE   COUNTY 

thirty  or  forty.  And  the  only  relief  we  could  afford  them 
was  ten  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  buying  corn. 

After  the  evening  conversation  closed  we  concluded  to  re- 
turn to  the  village,  with  George  and  several  others ;  and 
mounted  our  horses.  It  was  now  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening, 
and  the  full  moon  just  rising  above  the  horizon,  when  one 
of  their  speakers  stood  up  in  an  alley,  between  the  camps,  and 
spoke  for  about  fifteen  minutes,  with  great  solemnity,  which 
was  heightened  at  every  pause,  with  a  loud  Seguoy  from  the 
surrounding  assembly.  On  this  occasion  our  feelings  were 
like  Jacob's  when  he  cried  out,  "How  dreadful  is  this  place! 
Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this  place!"  And  the  world  knew  it  not. 
\\'ith  these  impressions  we  returned  to  the  village,  and  spent 
the  night. 

Next  morning,  as  soon  as  it  was  day,  one  of  their  speak- 
ers mounted  a  log,  near  the  southeast  corner  of  the  village, 
and  began  the  morning  service  with  a  loud  voice,  in  thanks- 
giving to  the  Great  Spirit.  He  continued  his  address  for 
near  an  hour.  The  people  were  all  in  their  tents,  some  at 
the  distance  of  fifteen  or  twenty  rods ;  yet  they  could  all  dis- 
tinctly hear,  and  gave  a  solemn  and  loud  assent,  which  sound- 
ed from  tent  to  tent,  at  every  pause.  While  we  stood  in  his 
view,  at  the  end  of  the  meeting-house,  on  rising  ground,  from 
which  we  had  a  prospect  of  the  surrounding  wigwams,  and 
the  vast  open  plain  or  prairie,  to  the  south  and  east,  and 
which  looks  over  the  big  fort,  toward  the  north,  for  the  dis- 
tance of  two  miles,  we  felt  as  if  we  were  among  the  tribes 
of  Israel,  on  their  march  to  Canaan.  Their  simplicity  and 
unaffected  zeal  for  the  increase  of  the  work  of  the  Good  Spir- 
it— their  ardent  desires  for  the  salvation  of  their  unbelieving 
kindred,  with  that  of  all  mankind — their  willingness  to  un- 
dergo hunger,  fatigue,  hard  labor  and  sufferings,  for  the  sake 
of  those  who  came  to  learn  the  way  of  righteousness,  and  the 
high  expectations  they  had,  of  multitudes  flocking  down  to 
hear  the  prpohet  the  ensuing  sujnmer,  etc.,  were  considera- 
tions truly  affecting;  while  Ske-law-wa  hailed  the  opening 
day  with  loud  aspirations  of  gratitude  to  the  Good  Spirit,  and 
encouraged  the  obedient  followers  of  Divine  light  to  persevere. 

They  showed  us  several  letters  of  friendship  from  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Ohio,  Gen.  Whiteman  and  others,  from  which  it 
appeared  that  the  Americans  believed  their  dispositions  to  be 
peaceable  and  brotherly.  Their  marks  of  industry  were  con- 
siderable, not  only  in  preparing  ground   for  cultivation,  but 


DARKE   COUNTY  129 

also  in  hewing  and  preparing  timber  for  more  commodious 
buildings.  From  all  we  could  gatlier,  from  their  account 
of  the  work,  and  of  their  faith  and  practice,  what  we  heard 
and  felt  in  their  evening  and  morning  worship,  their  peace- 
able dispositions  and  attention  to  industry,  we  were  induced 
to  believe  that  God,  in  very  deed,  was  mightily  at  work 
among  them.  And  under  this  impression,  we  invited  three 
or  four  of  them  to  come  down  and  see  us,  as  soon  as  they 
found  it  convenient." 

The  stay  of  the  deputation  was  short,  for  on  March  27 
they  returned.  The  time  actually  at  Greenville  is  nowhere 
stated,  but  in  all  probability  it  was  not  more  than  five  days. 

The  sugar  camp  mentioned  above  was  probably  either  in 
what  was  later  known  as  the  Hiller  settlement,  or  along  the 
blufif  of  Greenville  creek  a  short  distance  above  the  present 
site  of  Weimer's  mill,  in  western  Greenville  township.  It 
is  said  that  some  plague,  probably  smallpox,  visited  the  In- 
dians while  at  Prophetstown.  As  noted  before  a  number  of 
graves  were  encountered  while  constructing  the  pike  at  Bish- 
op's crossing  adjoining  this  site  which  would  seem  to  lend 
color  to  the  above  statement.  The  reputed  site  of  Chief  Blue 
Jacket's  burial  is  pointed  out  in  a  field  just  west  of  the  old 
orchard  which  occupies  the  site  of  the  Council  house  on  the 
Bryson  farm.  This  also  corresponds  with  the  old  tradition 
that  Blue  Jacket  was  assaulted  and  hanged  on  this  spot  after 
his  v>'ife  and  daughter  had  been  murdered  through  the  treach- 
ery of  Tecumseh.  Blue  Jacket  it  seems  was  friendly  to  the 
whites,  and  taught  his  people  that  their  best  interests  would 
be  conserved  by  living  on  friendly  terms  with  the  latter  and 
conforming  to  the  requirements  of  civilized  life.  Tecumseh, 
on  the  other  hand,  was  disturbed  by  the  rapid  advance  of  the 
white  settlements  and  the  insidious  dififusion  of  civilized  ways 
among  his  people.  He  thought  that  the  Indian's  only  salva- 
tion lay  in  resisting  the  whites,  and  throwing  off  their  in- 
fluence. In  this  he  was  probabh^  sincere,  consequentlv,  we 
can  understand  the  jealousy  and  enmity  which  is  said  to  have 
existed  between  the  two  warriors,  and  to  have  finally  caused 
the  brutal  murder  of  the  older  and  more  peaceable  by  the 
younger  and  more  unscrupulous.  This  tradition,  however,  is 
challenged  by  the  statement  that  the  old  chief  Blue  Jacket 
is  buried  in  Illinois,  which  makes  it  appear  probable  that  the 
chief  who  was  buried  at  Prophetstown  was  the  George  Blue 
(9) 


130  DARKE   COUNTY 

Jacket,  above  mentioned,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  son  or 
a  nephew  of  the  old  chief. 

Tradition  also  says  that  Tecumseh  buried  twin  children  on 
the  spot  of  his  later  machinations  and  the  supposed  site  ot 
their  grave  is  still  pointed  out  by  the  ^klorningstar  descend- 
ants in  the  rear  of  the  old  Morningstar  home  on  the  knoll, 
near  the  junction  of  ^lud  and  Greenville  creeks. 

The  incidents  connected  with  the  reputed  tragic  death  of 
Blue  Jacket  at  Prophetstown  throw  some  interesting  side- 
lights on  the  character  of  Tecumseh  and  his  associates,  and 
make  an  interesting  addition  to  the  traditional  lore  of  this 
community. 

Fortunately  a  local  chronicler  published  an  account  of  this 
tradition  which  we  herewith  incorporate  because  of  its  his- 
torical value.  Although  the  date  and  reputed  relation  with 
the  early  settlers  do  not  correspond  with  what  has  already 
been  written,  the  affair  contains  enough  dramatic  and  his- 
toric features  to  justify'  a  record  in  this  work. 

"The  war  of  1812  was  a  new  source  of  trouble  and  trials  to 
the  new  settlers.  Those  who  had  settled  here  as  early  as 
1810,  found  the  Indians  were  alreadv  treacherous  and  steal- 
thy. There  were  some  indeed  who  preserved  friendly  rela- 
tions with  the  settlers,  but  the  great  majority  of  them  were 
gruff  and  insolent.  Xot  that  they  were  as  yet  regarded  as 
dangerous,  but  annoying,  going  into  houses  and  demanding 
something  to  eat,  and  refusing  to  leave  until  the  demand 
was  complied  with.  Tomahawks  and  butcher  knives 
were  frequently  used  to  coerce  compliance,  ^\'hen  they  had 
eaten  at  one  house  they  would  go  to  the  next  and  demand  in 
the  same  way,  eating  six  or  eight  times  in  less  than  a  day,  so 
that  they  would  often  become  sick  from  over-gorging.  Among 
those  who  proved  particularly  friendly  to  the  whites  and 
seemed  to  court  good  understanding  with  them,  was  the  old 
prophet  Blue  Jacket.  He  seemed  to  be  a  really  good  Indian. 
Bad  feeling  existed  between  him  and  the  rival  prophet  Te- 
cumseh, so  that  Blue  Jacket  was  to  a  considerable  degree, 
through  the  influence  of  Tecumseh,  persecuted  by  his  tribe. 
Tecumseh  was  the  shrewdest  or  more  dishonest  of  the  two. 
Had  an  inveterate  hate  against  the  whites,  was  stirring  up 
his  tribe  to  the  war  paint  against  them,'  while  Blue  Jacket 
contended  with  him,  that  war  with  the  whites  only  meant 
their  decimation  and  ruin.  That  the  Great  Spirit  had  set  his 
face  against  the  red  man,  and  that  to  prohibit  the  progress 


DARKE   COUNTY  131 

of  the  settlement  of  the  country  i)y  the  white  man,  was  be- 
yond the  combined  power  of  all  the  tril^es,  and  as  for  him, 
he  was  maintaining  friendly  relations  with  them.  He  had 
been  with  tht  whites  a  good  deal  and  always  found  them 
friendly  disposed,  and  not  averse  to  living  in  the  country  with 
the  red  man,  and  he  believed  the  white  man's  method  of  liv- 
ing was  the  best,  and  that  in  time  the  red  man  could  live  as 
comfortable  as  the  whites.  This  reasonable  logic  took  deep 
effect,  and  for  a  time  the  Pottawatomies  and  Miamis  seemed 
to  be  content  with  it.  Tecumseh  was  now  in  some  dispute 
with  these  tribes  and  being  deeply  chagrined  left  the  coun- 
try and  was  no  more  heard  of  for  several  months.  He  had 
traveled  south,  west  and  north  and  had  succeeded  in  persuad- 
ing many  tribes  to  join  in  a  general  war  against  the  whites. 
With  this  success  he  now  returned  to  renew  his  efforts  with 
his  own  tribes.  These  he  found  still  peaceably  disposed  and 
mainly  under  the  influence  of  Blue  Jacket.  He  now  openl}'- 
made  the  charge  against  him,  that  he  was  no  true  prophet, 
and  inaugurated  a  system  of  trial  by  which  it  should  be  de- 
termined which  of  the  two  was  the  true  one,  as  holding 
different  opinions  about  the  same  thing  one  must  surelv  be 
wrong. 

To  test  this  matter  Tecumseh  demanded  that  ten  young 
men  should  be  selected,  five  from  each  tribe,  as  a  hunting 
party.  That  they  should  go  out  from  the  village  to  hunt  ev- 
erv  dav  for  ten  days  and  always  return  at  night  with  what- 
ever game  they  had.  That  each  morning  he  and  Blue  Jacket 
should  prophesy  in  the  presence  of  three  old  men,  but  not  in 
the  presence  of  each  other,  the  result  of  the  day's  hunt.  To 
this  Blue  Jacket  readily  agreed.  Three  old  men  were  se- 
lected who  went  into  a  tent  to  themselves  and  sent  for  the 
prophet.  Blue  Jacket.  He  soon  appeared  wrapped  in  his 
sacred  shawl,  which  was  a  very  bright  red,  except  a  blue 
border.  He  entered  the  tent,  sat  down  upon  a  wolf  skin, 
drew  his  shawl  over  his  head,  and  after  a  silence  of  one  or 
two  minutes  spoke  in  a  rough  wavering  voice,  "I  see  only 
a  few  turkeys  and  two  or  three  deer."  He  arose  and  retired 
from  the  tent.  In  the  meantime  Tecumseh  had  employed 
a  spy  to  listen  at  a  crack  in  the  tent,  and  immediately  report 
to  him  the  conduct  of  Blue  Jacket,  and  what  he  said.  This 
spy  performed  his  duty.  Tecumseh  was  now  sent  for.  He 
repaired  to  the  tent  without  any  marks  of  humiliation  but 
rather  in  a  pompous  way,  stood  erect  in  the  presence  of  the 


132  DARKE   COUNTY 

old  men,  and  without  hesitation  said,  "I  see  six  deer  and  a 
load  of  turkeys." 

The  young  men  were  now  armed  and  equippel  ready  for 
the  hunt.  Tecumseh  sent  his  spy  with  them,  .with  instruc- 
tions to  be  sure  to  get  six  deer  and  as  many  turkeys  as  they 
could  carry.  The  result  of  this  day's  hunt  was  awaited  with 
considerable  interest  and  anxiety.  The  evening  at  length 
came,  and  the  hunters  began  to  gather  in  with  their  game, 
which  was  carried  to  the  middle  of  the  village  and  lain  down. 
When  the  old  men  came  to  inspect  and  count  the  game,  they 
found  as  the  result  of  the  da)^  six  deer  and  eight  turkeys. 
The  next  morning  at  sunrise  the  old  men  had  reassembled 
at  the  tent,  and  Blue  Jacket  again  sent  for.  He  entered  the 
tent  with  greater  humiliation  than  before,  having  caused  his 
nose  to  bleed  profusely,  and  his  whole  face  daubed  with  blood 
and  paint,  was  quite  a  disgusting  object.  The  old  men  looked 
at  him  with  pity.  He  sat  down  as  before,  drawing  his  shawl 
still  closer  about  him.  He  now  gave  a  long  groan  and  said, 
"I  see  the  young  men  grappling  with  the  game,  five  deer  and 
seven  turkeys,  with  some  other  small  game."  He  then  arose 
and  retired.  Tecumseh"s  sp}^  was  instructed  this  day  to 
bring  in  no  game  except  one  deer,  but  be  sure  to  have  that. 

The  hunters  again  returned  at  the  close  of  day,  the  old  men 
went  to  see  and  count  the  game,  and  were  astonished  to  find 
but  one  deer.  The  tribes  now  began  to  look  upon  Tecumseh 
with  more  than  usual  wonder  while  poor  Blue  Jacket  was 
almost  entirely  neglected.  This  heightened  the  arrogance  of 
Tecumseh,  but  was  quite  depressing  on  Blue  Jacket. 

Tecumseh  had  instructed  his  spy  that  if  any  young  men 
should  kill  any  other  kind  of  game  such  as  bear,  elk,  wolf 
or  panther,  they  should  not  bring  that  in  till  the  next  day, 
but  that  he  should  inform  him  of  the  fact.  The  morning  of 
the  third  day  now  came.  Blue  Jacket  now  entered  the  tent 
with  still  greater  humiliation  and  dejection,  crawling  into 
the  presence  of  the  old  men  on  his  hands  and  knees,  portions 
of  his  hair  torn  from  his  head,  and  hanging  on  his  shoulders, 
daubed  with  blood  and  dirt,  his  head  covered  with  his  shawl, 
which  was  also  daubed  with  blood.  The  old  men  reviewed 
his  condition  with  more  levity  than  pity,  which  Blue  Jacket 
discovered,  and  threw  himself  flat  upon  the  groimd,  gave  a 
heavy  groan,  and  said :  "T  see  the  young  men  in  their  wav 
but  the  game  has  grown  wild  and  timid — the  hunt  will   not 


DARKE   COUNTY  133 

be   good   today,   two   deer   and   no   other   game."     He   arose 
and  left  the  tent. 

Tecumseh's  spy  in  the  meantime  had  told  him  that  in  yes- 
terday's hutit  he  had  seen  a  bear  crawl  into  a  hollow  log,  and 
had  run  quickly  to  the  place,  and  with  other  logs  stopped  the 
hole  so  that  he  could  not  get  out,  that  he  could  easily  kill 
and  bring  him  in  the  next  day.  He  having  been  informed 
of  what  Blue  Jacket  had  said  now  repaired  to  the  tent. 
Standing  erect  he  closed  his  eyes  and  said:  "It  is  good  to 
understand  the  ways  of  the  Great  Spirit  and  to  be  led  by 
him.  What  more  evidence  of  his  power  can  we  have  than 
this,  that  he  enables  us  to  tell  in  advance  what  will  happen 
to  our  benefit  in  the  future?  I  see  four  deer,  yes,  and  a  bear 
and  turkeys.  The  game  runs  into  the  way  of  our  young 
men  and  stands  to  be  captured.  Tecumseh  now  sat  down 
and  had  a  long  talk  with  the  old  men.  telling  them  of  various 
dreams  he  had,  and  how  they  had  become  true ;  that  nothing 
affecting  the  interests  of  the  tribes,  even  remotely,  but  that 
he  had  a  premonition  of  it — that  he  had  a  dream  last  night,  in 
which  he  plainly  saw  Blue  Jacket  hanging  on  a  tree,  because 
he  was  a  false  prophet,  a  traitor  and  the  friend  of  the  white 
man.  This  conversation  deeply  affected  the  old  men,  and  was 
soon  whispered  about  the  camp.  The  result  of  this  day's 
hunt  was  still  more  eagerly  looked  for,  and  when  the  hunt- 
ers came  in  bearing  on  a  stretcher  a  black  bear,  four  deer, 
and  several  turkeys,  the  excitement  was  unbounded.  It  was 
announced  that  the  young  men  would  not  hunt  on  the  mor- 
row, but  that  they  would  have  a  feast  of  bear's  meat.  The 
old  men  now  gathered  Tecumseh  upon  their  shoulders  and 
amidst  great  shouting  carried  him  to  his  tent.  Poor  Blue 
Jacket  rather  skulked  than  walked  away  to  his  tent,  unno- 
ticed, except  by  Tecumseh's  spy,  who,  hopping  after  him  in 
a  stooping  posture,  cried  out  in  a  harsh  guttural  tone,  "the 
game  is  wild  toda}%  I  see  but  two  deer."  The  conduct  of  the 
spy  being  now  noticed  by  others,  a  great  shout  of  merriment 
and  derision  was  raised  and  followed  Blue  Jacket  to  his  very 
tent  door.  The  old  prophet  crawled  into  his  tent,  threw  him- 
self down  on  his  buffalo  robe,  and  refused  to  be  consoled 
by  his  family.  He  lay  till  near  the  hour  of  midnight  when 
he  arose,  told  his  wife  that  he  feared  some  great  evil  fore- 
boded them  :  that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  flee  to  the  white 
settlement,  and  ask  them  to  conceal  him  for  a  time.  His 
wife  now  did  everything  in  her  power  to  reconcile  him  and 


134  DARKE   COUNTY 

banish  his  apprehensions,  but  to  no  effect.  He  got  up,  put 
on  his  belt,  adjusted  his  tomahawk  and  butcherknife  in  it, 
took  up  his  medicine  bag,  and  as  the  camp  by  this  time  had 
become  quiet,  stealthily  walked  away.  He  traveled  six  or 
seven  miles,  and  as  daylight  was  not  yet  apparent,  and  not 
wishing  to  approach  the  settlement  in  the  night  season,  lay 
down  behind  a  log,  which  was  well  covered  with  brush,  and 
concealed  himself  within,  having  neither  ate  nor  slept  much  for 
several  days,  and  being  worried  from  travel,  he  unconsciously 
fell  asleep.  At  an  early  hour  the  camp  was  astir,  and  some 
having  supposed  the  prophet  may  not  have  understood  the 
arrangements  for  the  day  called  at  his  tent  to  inform  him 
that  there  would  be  no  hunting  that  day.  But  upon  making 
inquiry  for  him  found  he  had  left  the  camp  during  the  night. 
This  was  soon  noised  about,  and  the  whole  camp  was  in  an 
uproar.  Tecumseh  now  rushed  to  the  middle  of  the  camp, 
and  cried  with  a  loud  voice  to  the  old  men.  ■'^^'hat  now  is  my 
dream,  is  it  so  soon  to  be  made  true?" 

The  dream  was  soon  rehearsed  by  Tecumseh,  whereupon 
his  spy.  with  several  others,  ran  to  the  prophet's  tent  and 
demanded  of  his  wife  where  he  was.  To  this  she  replied 
that  she  did  not  know  at  which  answer  the  spy  flew  into  a 
great  rage,  and  with  one  blow  of  his  hatchet  almost  cleft  her 
head  in  two.  He  now  turned  to  the  prophet's  daughter,  a 
verv  fair  voung  squaw  about  sixteen  years  old,  and  demand- 
ed of  her  where  the  prophet  was.  She  answered  that  he  had 
left  in  the  night  while  she  was  sleeping,  and  she  did  not 
know  where  he  had  gone.  "Lying  creatures,  as  your  parents 
tell  me,  now  this  hatchet  will  also  do  its  work  on  you.  For 
a  moment  she  was  silent,  then  looking  imporingly  up,  she 
said,  "I  do  not  know."  Quick  as  lightning  the  hatchet  fell 
on  her  defenseless  head,  splitting  it  to  her  very  ears. 

These  atrocities  were  quickly  made  known  to  the  camp,  and 
a  party  under  the  directions  of  Tecumseh  were  soon  upon 
the  track  of  the  prophet.  Xor  had  they  much  trouble  in  find- 
ing him,  as  he  did  not  expect  to  be  pursued,  and  had  taken  no 
pains  to  conceal  his  trail.  He  was  found  still  asleep  and 
within  half  a  mile  of  the  settlement.  This  party  had  been 
instructed  by  Tecumseh  to  pursue  him  into  the  white  settle- 
ments, and  if  they  refused  to  give  him  up,  not  to  leave  one  of 
them  alive.  It  is  well  the  prophet  had  not  gone  into  the  set- 
tlement as  the  worst  of  calamity  would  have  befallen  them.  The 
prophet  was  dragged  from  his  couch,  placed  in  the  midst  of 


DARKE   COUNTY  135 

the  party  and  forced  back  tu  camp.  Here  a  ring  was  soon 
formed  and  the  prophet  placed  in  the  center,  three  or  '"our 
steps  from  the  inner  portion  of  the  ring.  It  was  now  de- 
manded of  him  that  he  should  explain  his  conduct,  and  prom- 
ised that  he  might  make  a  short  speech. 

He  then  said:  "My  conduct  is  not  so  bad  and  so  full  of 
mi.'-chief  as  to  justify  all  tiiis  sus-)icion.  Some  e\"ii  ^iiirit 
seems  to  have  taken  hold  of  me,  and  compelled  me  to  lie  to 
th.e  old  men.  and  rather  than  lie  and  deceive  I  gave  up  the 
prophesying  and  to  avoid  the  disgrace  left  the  camp. 

You  should  have  remembered  that  I  have  always  been  a 
good  and  true  man,  that  my  nation  has  always  been  dear  to 
me,  and  my  life  has  l^een  devoted  to  it.  I  had  four  sons, 
r;ood  and  true,  who  brought  much  provisions  to  my  tent, 
enough  for  us  and  much  to  spare  which  your  children  ate. 
Where  now  are  those  four  sons?  Their  bodies  a  prey  to 
ivolves  and  wild  beasts,  and  their  bones  bleaching  on  that 
last  disastrous  battlefield  ('^^'ayne's  victory  on  the  Maumeej. 
My  family  are  now  all  taken  away  from  me.  \Miat  have  I 
to  live  for?  You  can  kill  me.  as  I  expect  you  will,  but  first 
I  demand  to  know  who  has  killed  my  defenseless  and  inno- 
cent wife  and  daughter.  Does  no  one  speak?  Are  you  al- 
ready ashamed  of  the  deed  that  yoti  hide  it?  Let  the  cow- 
ardly brute  who  has  performed  this  perfid'ous  deed  acknowl- 
edge it.  Coward,  you  dare  not  say,  "I  am  the  man."  The 
spy  now  advanced  a  few  inches,  and  said,  "False  prophet,  I  am 
the  man."  Quick  as  lightning  the. prophet  drew  his  hatchet, 
and  with  unerring  aim  and  terrific  force  threw  it,  striking  the 
spy  full  in  the  breast,  where  it  was  buried  to  the  poll.  The  spy 
fell  dead  at  his  feet.  He  now,  v\'ith  dexterous  like  motion 
drew  his  knife,  and  with  full  force  made  a  plunge  at  Tecum- 
seli.  At  this  instant  a  savage  from  behind  struck  him  with  a 
heavy  club  on  the  side  of  his  head,  which  felled  him  stunned 
to  the  ground.  His  knife  was  now  taken  from  him.  his  hands 
tied  firmly  behind  his  back,  when  Tecumseh  cried  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  "Let  him  be  hanged  to  that  tree."  A  piece  of  raw 
iiuft'alo  hide  was  soon  procured,  and  fastened  round  his  neck. 
Several  now  caught  and  lifted  him  up  while  another  in  the 
tree  made  him  fast  to  a  limb.  Thev  then  walked  away  from 
under  him  and  the  prophet  was  left  kicking  and  dangling  in 
the  air. 

"Thus  is  recorded  the  tragic  end  of  one  of  the  great  men  of 
the  Miami  nation.     He  did  not  die  as  the  coward,  vet  he  was 


136  DARKE   COUNTY 

not  entirely  satisfied.  He  knew  that  Tecumseh  had  brought 
on  his  ruin.  If  the  unfortunate  blow  on  his  head  had  been 
delayed  but  for  a  single  second  his  knife  would  have  cut  the 
heart  of  Tecumseh  and  he  would  have  been  satisfied.  As  it 
was  Tecumseh  still  lived  to  bring  great  calamity  upon  both 
his  friends  and  foes.  All  the  day  long  Blue  Jacket  hung  upon 
the  tree,  for  a  while  the  jilt  and  sport  of  the  camp.  But 
toward  night  a  reaction  took  place.  They  remembered  his 
speech  and  his  family,  and  the  many  kind  acts  he  had  per- 
formed. They  had  been  cured  of  sickness  by  his  medicines, 
shared  his  sumptuous  fare,  and  his  spritely  conversation.  He 
was  now  taken  down  from  the  tree,  his  property  gathered 
about  him,  and  early  next  morning  nearly  the  whole  tribe  ac- 
companied his  remains  to  the  burial  ground  at  the  council 
house,  which  was  situated  on  the  lands  now  owned  by  Joseph 
Bryson,  Esq.,  where  his  grave  remains  to  this  day." 

We  close  this  chapter  with  an  appropriate  descriptive  and 
narrative  poem  by  the  late  Barney  Collins,  formerly  of  Darke 
county.  This  poem  was  published  in  the  Greenville  Courier, 
edited  by  ]Mr.  John  Calderwood,  a  brother  of  Mrs.  Collins, 
and  should  be  treasured  as  the  work  of  one  of  the  best  lit- 
erary geniuses  that  the  countv  ever  produced. 

A\"ithin   these   lovely   vales,  these  hills  around, 
There  still  remains  of  former  times  the  trace 

When  great  Tecumseh  and  his  brother  bound 
By  oaths  in  common  league  their  war-like  race, 
To  drive  from  hence,  their  favorite  hunting  place. 

The  pioneers,  and  boldly  strike  a  blow 

That  would  them  crush  and  ev'ry  line  eilface 

They  had  established  here,  so  that  no  foe 

Could  tempt   again  these  haunts   so  sacred  to  the  bow. 

Where  form  our  tranquil  streams  their  confluence. 

The  mighty  Shawnee  had  his  cabin  reared ; 
And  oft  upon  their  shores  his  eloquence 

To  wildest  rage  his  dusky  warriors  stirred, 

And  gathered  chiefs  and  tribes  that  list'ning  heard 
Their  common  cause  his  voice  persuasive  plead, 

His  counsels  chose,  and  him  as  chief  preferred. 
Their  restless  bands  to  fields  of  war  to  lead, 
\\'here  ev'rv  home  should  blaze  and  ev'rv  inmate  bleed. 


DARKE   COUNTY  137 

Then  he  who  rulVl  with  more  than  regal  power, 

No  less  did   Laulewasikaw  the  Seer 
Who  here  foretold  the  time — the  day — the  hour — 

When  in  deep  gloom  the  sun  would  disappear, 

And  black,  obscuring  shades  o'erspread  this  sphere! 
And  where  our  hill  embosomed  waves  unite, 

The  prophet  waiting  stood  with   air  severe, 
'Till  Luna's  shadow  hid  the  orb  of  light 
And  cried:  "Have  I  not  veiled  that  burning  world  from  sight? 

Behold!  ye  tribes!  the  truth  behold  at  last! 

Yon  sun  is  rayless  at  the  noon  of  day! 
O'er  it  his  frown  great  Manito  has  cast 

That  you  might  doubt  no  more  but  me  obey! 

The  time  will  come !  It  is  not  far  away  I 
When  he,  will  you,  ye  braves !  to  victory  call ! 

But  here  your  chief  must  first  his  bands  array 
In  these  deep  wilds  so  sacred  to  us  all. 
Ere  yet,  war's  path  we  take  where  ev'ry  foe  shall  fall !" 

They  could  not  doubt — with  awe  their  breasts  were  flll'd 
As  to  the  darkened  earth  they  trembling  bent ; 

Nor  were  their  souls  that  shook  with  terror  stilled. 
Until  this  sun  encumb'ring  gloom  was  rent. 
No  more  to  his  commands  they  urg'd  dissent. 

But  what  their  proven  prophet  did  direct 
They  chose  to  do,  and  gave  their  full  assent 

To  ev'ry  scheme  of  war  that  he'd  project. 

And  though  they  failed,  on  him  they  never  would  reflect. 

From  here  his  hostile  bands  Tecumseh  led 

To  join  that  no  less  savage,  heartless  foe 
That  Britain  sent  upon  our  shores  to  spread 

Ruin  and  war's  infinity  of  woe ! 

A  few  there  are  who  yet  survive  that  know 
The  perils  that  did  the  pioneers  invest 

When  tomahawk  and  torch  and  bended  bow 
Their  work  of  death  perform'd  with  horrid  zest. 
Nor  age  was  spared,  nor  babe  that  clasp'd  the  mother's  breast ! 

But  when  at  Thames  the  red  man's  hopes  were  crushed. 
And  with  him  here  a  final  treaty  was  made — 

Here,  a  broad  tide  of  emigration  rush'd 

Which  to  improvement  gave  its  needed  aid, 


138  DARKE   COUNTY 

Where  through  the  wildreness  the  footpath  stray'd 
O'er  which  the  foliage  of  the  forest  spread 

Broad  avenues  of  enterprise  and  trade 
Were  built — and  progress  forward  swiftly  sped 
Until  these  vales  were  filled  with  wealth  unlimited. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
PIONEERS  AND  PIONEER  SETTLEMENTS. 

After  the  peace  of  Greenville  in  1795,  and  the  occupancy  of 
Detroit  by  the  Americans  in  1796,  a  feeling  of  security  came 
over  the  settlers  along  the  Ohio.  They  soon  left  their  pali- 
saded forts  and  blockhouse  stations  and  advanced  into  the 
beautiful  valleys  of  the  Muskingum,  Scioto  and  the  two 
Miamis  to  establish  new  homes,  and  reclaim  the  land.  In 
1796  the  advance  guard  of  the  Miami  valle_y  settlers  arrived 
at  the  junction  of  Mad  river  with  the  Miami  and  established 
the  settlement  of  Dayton.  In  order  to  secure  nails  and  hard- 
ware for  their  log  cottages  thej-  burned  the  log  fort  and 
buildings  at  Greenville,  which  had  been  evacuated  in  the 
spring  of  that  year.  On  account  of  accessibility  by  water, 
no  doubt,  also  probably  because  of  the  more  open  condition 
of  the  country,  the  land  immediately  adjacent  to  the  Miami 
river  first  became  sparsely  settled,  with  nucleii  at  Hamilton. 
Dayton  and  other  well  located  sites.  The  swampy  and  less 
accessible  lands  about  the  headwaters  of  the  branch  streams 
awaited  the  establishment  of  a  larger  population  in  the  more 
open  and  better  known  countrj'  before  bra\'e  hearts  essayed 
to  explore  their  mysteries. 

Prof.  W.  H.  Mcintosh  speaks  of  conditions  at  this  time, 
as  follows :  "At  the  close  of  the  Greenville  treaty,  the  coun- 
ty to  the  westward  was  a  wilderness ;  but,  in  addition  to  the 
Indian  traces  leading  from  the  Miami  to  the  Maumee.  and 
threading  their  devious  way  to  other  savage  villages,  there 
were  the  broad  trails  cut  by  pioneers,  trodden  by  horsemen 
and  footmen,  and  marking  the  route  of  armies  and  the  forays 
of  detachments.  The  soldier  was  also  the  citizen  and  the 
settler,  and  his  quick,  appreciative  glance  took  in  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  countries  he  had  traveled.  For  him  the  woods 
of  Darke  had  no  charm.  The  conditions  elsewhere  were  here 
wanting.  Contrast  the  statement  made  concerning  the  Miami 
settlement  to  the  east  with  the  actual  condition  of  the  lands 
of  this  county.  There  the  country  was  attractive  all  about 
the   settlement.     Nature   presented   her  most  lovely  appear- 


140  DARKE   COUNTY 

ance ;  the  rich  soil,  mellow  as  an  ash-heap,  excelled  in  the 
exuberance  of  its  vegetation.  Cattle  were  lost  from  exces- 
sive feeding,  and  care  was  required  to  preserve  them  from 
this  danger.  Over  the  bottom  grew  the  sweet  annis,  the 
wild  nettle,  the  rye  and  the  pea  vine,  in  rich  abundance, 
where  the  cattle  were  subsisted  without  labor,  and  these, 
with  nutritious  roots,  were  eaten  by  swine  with  the  greatest 
avidity.  In  Darke  lands  there  were  found  the  woods,  the 
endless  variety  of  vine  and  shrub,  impassable  swamps,  lack 
of  roadway,  and  the  great  difficulty  of  making  passable  roads. 
Nor  were  the  forests  the  only  or  most  formidable  barrier  to 
early  settlement.  We  have  seen  the  woods  to  be  filled  with 
Indians.  Their  principal  town  was  at  Piqua,  distant  but 
eighteen  miles ;  their  camps  were  along  the  creeks.  In  the 
neighborhood  of  larger  settlements  they  were  treated  rough- 
ly, and  are  entitled  to  little  consideration,  and  it  was  known 
from  bitter  experience  that  lone  families  were  in  constant  dan- 
ger of  the  sudden  wrath  of  the  savage."  *  *  *  "Some  por- 
tions of  the  county  abounded  in  game,  and  among  those  timid 
and  harmless  anim.als  were  found  those  fierce  and  dangerous, 
as  might  be  judged  from  the  names  of  creek  and  locality. 
Still  this  might  be  regarded  more  as  an  annoyance  than  as 
a  dread,  and,  later,  premiums  for  scalps  of  wolf  and  panther 
supplied  the  settler  with  means  of  paying  tax  or  buying 
necessaries.  There  existed  a  still  more  potent  influence  de- 
barring occupation,  and  this  was  ill  reports  of  health  and  cli- 
mate. The  men  of  that  day  were  little  afraid  of  labor ;  they 
knew  the  Indian  must  give  way,  but  they  were  peculiarly 
influenced  by  whatever  partook  of  the  mysterious,  and  ru- 
mor's many  voices  soon  changed  the  natural  to  the  marvel- 
ous, and  Darke  county  was  shunned  as  the  haunt  of  a  plagu*^, 
designated  "milk  sickness.''  Some  implicitly  believe  in  its 
prevalence  to  this  day.  while  others  assert  that  it  is  a  myth, 
undeserving  of  credence.  Endeavors  to  find  a  case  have  al- 
ways proved  futile.  It  is  heard  of  "just  "over  in  the  next 
township,"  but,  going  thither,  report  placed  it  further  on  in 
the  next  township,  or  perhaps  in  the  one  just  left,  and  the 
phantom  always  places  the  breadth  of  a  township  between  its 
locality  and  the  curious  investigator.  But  whether  a  myth 
or  a  reality,  the  report  spread  along  the  Miami  and  be^-ond ; 
the  settlers  believed  it,  and,  what  was  worse,  regarded  it  with 
dread.  Even  the  Indians  asserted  that  certain  districts  were 
infected  with  an  air  freighted  with  the  odors  of  disease,  and 


DARKE   COUXTY  141 

gravely  told  the  whites,  "Not  live  much  here — too  much  bel- 
ly sick,"  and,  whatever  the  cause,  there  was  sickness  where 
they  gave  this  word  of  warning.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that 
the  territory  which  afterward  became  Darke  county  had  won 
an  unenviable  reputation,  and  land  titles  were  held  at  low 
rates,  with  few  bidders.  These  things  undoubtedly  dela\'ed 
settlement  and  caused  a  tardy  growth,  while  they  gave  in 
compensation  a  class  of  men  possessed  of  pluck  and  energy, 
well  qualified  to  leave  their  impress  on  the  soil. 

"In  the  settlement  of  Darke  county,  which  for  eight  years 
was  a  dependency  of  ]\Iiami,  two  classes  of  land  occupants 
were  recognized — the  transient  and  the  permanent.  The  his- 
torian called  to  do  justice  to  the  worthy  class  finds  but  few 
of  their  descendants  resident  citizens  of  the  county,  and  it 
is  not  till  1816  and  later,  that  families  came  to  stay  and  make 
their  fortune  blend  with  that  of  their  future  home. 

"Coming  up  the  army  roads,  striking  across  the  country,  eli- 
gible locations  caught  the  eye,  and  established  the  hunter  at 
a  creek-side  home,  while  an  unusual  hard  time  in  sickness  and 
losses  impelled  the  intended  resident  to  move  away.  Thus 
theie  were  conversions  from  one  class  to  another,  and  all 
shared  in  a  certain  degree  of  restlessness  while  in  search  of 
a  home,  but  a  strongly  marked  distinction  between  the  two 
di\isions  existed.  There  was  seen  to  be  here,  as  elsewhere, 
a  border  class  of  trapper  and  hunter  affiliating  with  the  sav- 
ages, only  endured  by  genuine  settlers  and  hanging  upon  the 
outmost  fringe  of  advancing  occupation.  It  matters  little 
who  they  were,  these  openers  or  beginners,  who  held  aloof 
from  neighbors,  occupied  miserable"  huts,  raised  small  patches 
of  corn,  and  left  when  the  clearings  became  too  numerous. 
Many  poor  men  came  into  the  county,  put  up  small  log  cab- 
ins, cleared  somewhat  of  ground,  then,  disheartened  by  pri- 
vation, sickness  and  inabilitj'  to  make  payments,  gave  way  to 
others,  who  built  with  better  success  upon  their  broken  for- 
tunes. An  old  Darke  count}'  settler,  located  not  far  from 
Greenville,  thus  speaks  of  the  actual  pioneers  as  a  class :  "The 
place  for  the  squatter  is  not  quite  among  the  Indians,  for 
that  is  too  savage,  nor  yet  among  good  farmers,  who  are  too 
jealous  and  selfish,  but  in  the  woods,  partly  for  clearing  it  up 
and  partly  for  hunting."  The  histories  of  townships,  dealing 
with  the  first  settlers,  often  speak  of  the  unknown  squatter, 
whose  abandoned  claims  gave  brief  home  to  the  settler,  and 
whose  ill-cleared  vegetable  patch,  growing  up  to  weeds  and 


142  DARKE   COUNTY     . 

bush,  made  the  spot  seem  yet  more  wild  than  the  woods  sur- 
rounding."    *     *     ''' 

"In  recounting  the  incentives  to  ^Vestern  emigration,  the 
ruling  motive  was  the  hope  of  improving  the  condition.  The 
land  was  cheap,  undoubtedly  fertile,  and  the  prospects  of  a 
rise  in  values  certain.  There  were  those  who  expected  to 
find  a  'paradise  in  the  ^^"est,■  and  journeyed  thither  only  to 
suffer  from  disease,  want  and  discouragements.  Some  went 
back,  telling  of  suffering,  and  dissuaded  those  lightly  influ- 
enced; others,  with  inherent  manhood,  resolved,  since  they 
were  here,  to  make  the  best  of  it,  and  gradually  won  their 
way  to  affluence  and  comfort."     *     *     * 

So  far  as  we  know,  no  white  men  penetrated  the  forests 
of  Darke  county  after  the  burning  of  the  fort  except  the 
government  surveyors — the  Ludlows,  Cooper,  Nelson  and 
Chambers  and  their  assistants — until  early  in  the  nineteenth 
century. 

In  a  former  chapter  it  has  been  noted  that  a  large  num- 
ber of  women  were  with  St.  Clair's  army,  many  of  whom  were 
either  killed  or  captured.  It  is  supposed  that  these  were 
wives  and  members  of  the  families  of  men  with  the  army 
who  intended  to  settle  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fort  which 
St.  Clair  intended  to  build  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary's 
and  St.  Joseph  rivers.  According  to  the  following  article  by 
Mr.  James  O.  Arnold,  a  prominent  member  of  the  Dayton 
Historical  Society,  an  attempt  at  settlement  was  made  by 
at  least  one  family  during  AVayne's  occupancy  at  Fort  Green- 
ville. AA'e  herewith  quote  the  article  because  of  its  apparent 
authenticity,  and  because  it  paints  a  vivid  picture  of  life  i-i 
the  wilderness. 

"Four  walls  of  wood  growth  of  hickory,  walnut,  oak,  ash 
and  elm,  mingled  with  maples  and  undergrowth,  so  dense 
that  a  horseman  could  not  pass,  so  tall  that  its  shade  cast  a 
gloom  around  about,  and  between  these  walls  a  clearing  and 
military  fort.  Beyond,  another  clearing  and  a  cabin  built  of 
logs,  lighted  by  a  little  window.  The  heavy  oaken  door 
swung  on  wooden  hinges ;  the  curling  smoke  from  the  chim- 
ney made  of  lath,  grass  and  clay,  and  'the  latchstring  out,' 
bid  welcome  to  the  guest  without,  an  invitation  to  enjoy  the 
open  fire  and  the  hospitalities  of  the  host.  A  veritable,  typi- 
cal home  of  the  pioneer  in  the  countv  of  Darke,  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Greenville,  O. — 'a  U.  S.  military  fort,'  in  the  latter  davs 


DARKE   COLNTV  143 

vi  tile  se\ciiteentli  ceinury,  where  General  Wayne  bid  the  In- 
dians all  adieu. 

"The  military  engineers  then  laid  their  roads  on  the  'high- 
ways' abo\e  the  lowlands,  swamps  and  fallen  timbers,  and  so 
narrow  that  the  wheels  of  the  connestoga  wagons  would 
touch  the  undergrowth  and  trees  in  passing  to  the  fort. 
Through  lands  so  wet  and  ruts  and  mud  so  deep  that  to  ride 
the  saddle  horse  of  the  team,  and  the  family  on  horseback,  in 
the  trail  was  a  lullaby  in  comparison  to  the  rocking,  jolting 
wagon  that  sheltered  the .  mother  and  her  babes  on  their 
journey  to  the  clearing  in  the  forest  wild.  Grandfather  Hard- 
man  (Herdman)  of  Pennsylvania,  his  heroic  wife  and  two 
sons,  one  son  and  his  wife  !M&ry,  and  her  babe,  were  the  pion- 
eers in  such  a  home.  True  to  family  tradition,  often  told  in 
later  years,  that  made  the  small  boy  tremble  with  fear  as  he 
heard  it  before  the  great  open  fire  in  the  home  yet  standing 
in  Dayton  View,  The  story  of  the  hostile  Indians,  who 
were  jealous  of  their  rights,  and  would  have  scalped  the 
family  long  before  but  for  the  mother,  Mary  Hardman,  who 
knew  their  habits  from  a  child  and  her  mother's  way  of 
pleasing  them  by  'putting  the  kettle  on'  to  make  them  soups 
whene'er  she'd  see  them  come,  thus  to  appease  their  wrath 
and  to  afford  protection.  The  son  was  doing  duty  as  a  sol- 
dier at  the  fort  and  pleaded  and  pleaded  in  vain  to  have  them 
come  within  the  lines  and  not  expose  themselves  to  fate. 
But,  heeding  not,  they  held  their  own  opinion,  determined 
to  carve  a  home  in  the  forest  for  themselves  and  children. 

"The  morning  dawned,  the  atmosphere  so  dense  that  smoke 
from  all  the  clearing  around  seemed  so  depressing  that  boded 
the  coming  of  the  foe,  and  she  often  looked  through  the 
chinks  toward  the  wagon  road  to  sight  them  first,  that  they 
might  be  ready  in  defense.  Grandfather  said  in  niuttled 
tones:  'It  is  one  of  the  old  woman's  scares  that  she  cooks  up 
on  gloomy  days."  But  hark!  Behind  the  cabin  footsteps  of 
no  uncertain  sound  to  the  practiced  ear.  reassured  the  mother 
of  her  alarm,  and  she  hastened  to  place  the  kettle  on  the 
fire,  for  well  she  knew  their  stealthy  tread  on  mischief  bent. 
And  when  she  saw  the  swarthy  face  between  the  cabin  chinks- 
she  knew  their  fate  was  sealed  and  called  her  son  and  bade 
him  hasten  to  escape  and  alarm  the  soldiers  at  the  fort,  for 
all  her  hope  was  gone.  The  mother  clasped  her  babe  to  run 
for  life.  Each  must  seek  themselves  a  place  of  safety  and 
ere  the  father  crossed  the  fe-ice.  an  arrow  swiftly  sped,  had 


144  DARKE   COUNTY 

laid  him  cold  in  death.  The  mother  ran,  hid  by  bushes,  with 
her  babe,  until  faint  and  wear}'  with  her  load  and  finding  they 
were  on  her  trail,  concealed  her  babe,  thinking  they  might 
spare  it,  and  ran  to  hide  herself  in  a  place  of  safety.  So  well 
she  knew  the  woods  and  dens  to  trap  the  fox,  she  jumped  in 
one  of  these  and  covered  with  leaves  she  lay  hiding  until 
the  night  passed.  They  had  found  the  babe  and  by  torture 
cruel,  so  that  she  could  hear  it  cry,  exclaiming  as  they  passed, 
'Calf  cry,  cow  come.'  This  too  heartrending  for  a  mother's 
love  she  raised  her  head  and  thus  exposed  to  sight,  when  a 
warrior  active,  yet  quite  young,  turned  back  to  cleave  her 
skull,  but  touched  with  pity  followed  on  and  left  the  babe  i;nd 
mother  to  their  fate,  in  answer  to  her  prayer.  \\'hen  all  was 
quiet  she  went  her  solitary  way  toward  the  fort  and  there 
found  help  and  started  to  their  forest  home.  O,  what  a 
scene.  Her  father,  mother,  slain,  her  husband  dead  beside 
the  bush  fence,  and  the  son  beyond." 

"They  gathered  all  and  carried  them  to  the  fort,  leaving  the 
desolated  home.  The  soldiers  swore  in  wrath  their  vengeance 
and  pursued  the  Indians  to  their  death  and  captured  many 
who  paid  the  penalty,  "save  one."  And  she  who  never  forgot 
the  face  of  him,  so  young,  who  saved  her  life  and  babe,  when 
he,  a  captive  taken,  she  in  turn  saved  him  from  death  with 
pleading  tears.  He,  then  unknown  to  fame,  was  the  future 
great  Tecumseh,  born  on  the  shores  of  Mad  river,  in  the 
northwest  territory,  now  the  state  of  Ohio,  U.  S.  A.  The 
child  thus  saved  was  named  INIar}-,  after  her  mother,  and  lived 
to  be  a  strong  healthy  woman  of  fine,  large  stature,  nearly 
twenty  stone  in  weight.  She  married  James  Bracy  Oliver,  of 
Augusta  Springs,  Va.,  who  came  to  Dayton  in  1802.     *     *     * 

"Mary  Hardman  and  James  Bracy  Oliver,  her  husband,  lived 
a  prosperous  and  happy  life,  raised  six  sons  and  five  daugh- 
ters and  left  a  large  estate.  His  first  farm  he  sold  to  the 
Montgomery  county  commissioners  for  an  infirmary,  after 
A.  D.  1820.  and  purchased  lands  north  of  the  soldiers'  home, 
where  the  brick  house  and  log  barn  is  standing,  owned  by 
^^^illiam  King.  And  they  are  buried  in  the  family  lot  along- 
side the  road.  The  graves  are  marked  by  four  large  stone 
ashlers  set  on  edge,  hooped  with  iron,  marking  the  spot  where 
the  once  little  babe,  who  lived  to  see  her  grandchildren,  was 
once  saved  from  death  b}'  Tecumseh,  near  Fort  Greenville,  O. 
Many  pass  the  spot  thinking  little  of  its  historic  lore.  Uncle 
Jinimy  and  his  wife  passed  away  a  full  half  centur}'  ago,  and 


DARKE    COUNTY  143 

this  story  has  lain  in  manuscript  fully  thirty  years,  written  in 
memory  by  the  oddest  grandson,  who  now  resides  at  629  Su- 
perior avenue,  Dayton,  O.,  in  the  same  house  where  he  stood 

when  a  child  of  12,  between  the  jams  in  the  chimney,  nine 
feet  square,  more  than  SO  years  ago,  listening  with  fear  and 
trembling  to  the  Indian  stories  told,  as  "Granny's  tales  about 
the  Injuns,"  by  Granny's  own  self  as  she  knit  and  knit  from 
morn  till  night."     *     *     * 

Likewise  the  first  attempt  to  establish  a  business  in  old 
Darke  county  was  unsuccessful.  About  the  year  1805  a 
Frenchman  built  a  little  log  cabin  north  of  the  creek,  on  the 
present  site  of  Minatown  (probably  near  the  present  inter- 
section of  N.  Main  and  N.  Broadway)  and  started  to  traffic 
with  the  Indians.  It  is  said,  that  he  was  compelled  to  leave 
in  the  summer  of  1806  as  the  Indians  associated  with  the 
"Prophet''  had  stolen  his  entire  stock.  Probably  in  the  fall 
of  the  same  year,  or  not  later  than  the  spring  of  1807,  Azor 
Scribner,  leaving  his  family  temporarily  near  Middletown,  O., 
established  himself  in  the  cabin  deserted  by  the  Frenchman 
with  a  stock  of  merchandise  suited  for  trading  with  the  In- 
dians, including,  no  doubt,  powder,  lead,  gun-flints.  Icnives. 
hatchets,  rifles,  tobacco,  rum  and  fancy  calicoes.  These 
goods  were  hauled  over  Wayne's  trace  from  Fort  \\'ashing- 
ton  on  a  crude  drag  or  "mud  boat"  by  a  yoke  of  oxen  and 
the  trip  is  said  to  have  taken  usually  from  three  to  six  weeks. 
In  the  spring  of  1808  Scribner  brought  his  family,  consisting 
of  his  wife  Xancy  and  daughters,  Sarah,  Elizabeth  and  Rhodn. 
from  Middletown  and  established  them  in  this  little  cabin. 
On  the  night  before  the  arrival  of  the  family,  it  is  said,  the 
Indians  burned  Prophetstown  and  started  for  their  new  home 
in  Indiana.  Scribner  soon  abandoned  the  Frenchman's  cabin 
and  moved  into  one  of  the  buildings  of  old  Fort  Greenville, 
which  had  escaped  the  fire  of  the  plunderers  in  1796.  This 
building  was  located  somewhere  near  the  present  intersection 
of  West  Water  and  Elm  streets,  overlooking  the  old  ford- 
ing place.  Here  he  enjoyed  a  monopoly  of  the  frontier  trade 
until  1811  or  1812  when  David  Connor  set  up  a  store  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  West  Water  and  Sycamore  streets,  where 
he  remained  until  after  the  British  and  Indian  war.  Connor 
then  moved  to  Fort  Recovery  and  later  to  the  Mississinawa 
region,  following  up  the  migrating  tribes  with  whom  he 
gained   considerable   influence. 

The   savages   had   this   peculiar   manner   of  trading   which 
(10) 


146  DARKE   COUNTY 

could  best  be  learned  by  experience.  They  would  enter  the 
trader's  cabin,  each  with  a  roll  of  furs,  hunt  convenient  seats 
and  await  the  hospitality  of  the  trader,  who  soon  presented 
each  with  some  tobacco.  Pipes  were  then  lighten,  and  smoking 
and  conversation  leisurely  indulged  in  among  themselves. 
Finally  one  arose,  secured  a  stick,  pointed  out  the  desired 
article  and  asked  the  price.  If  the  price  and  article  suited 
him  he  would  unroll  his  pack  of  furs  and  pay  for  it  forth- 
with, the  muskrat  skin  being  accepted  for  a  quarter  of  a 
dollar,  the  raccoon  for  thirty-three  and  a  third  cents,  the  doe- 
skin for  fifty  cents  and  the  buckskin  for  one  dollar.  This  op- 
eration would  be  repeated  after  the  selection  of  each  ar- 
ticle until  the  first  customer  had  completed  his  purchases. 
Each  one  now  quietly  took  his  turn  and  bought  what  he 
wanted  without  needless  parley  and  when  all  were  through 
they  departed  as  they  had  come. 

Just  how  long  Azor  Scribner  occupied  the  old  soldiers' 
cabin  is  not  now  known,  but  from  circumstantial  evidence  it 
would  appear  to  have  been  until  after  the  war.  From  the 
testimony  of  his  oldest  daughter  it  was  learned  that  he  lived 
in  a  double  log  cabin  on  the  northeast  corner  cif  Main  and 
Elm  streets.  This  cabin  was  constructed  in  sucli  a  manner 
that  a  team  could  be  driven  between  the  two  lower  sections 
of  the  building,  while  a  loft  or  second  story  extended  entirely 
across  and  joined  together  the  separate  cabins.  The  family 
lived  in  one  end  of  the  building  and  the  store  or  tavern  was 
located  in  the  other  end,  while  one  of  the  rooms  upstairs  was 
used  as  a  jail.  It  is  probable  that  this  was  the  building  in 
which  the  first  session  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was 
held  in  1817,  as   mentioned  elsewhere. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  1812,  Scribner  enlisted  in 
Captain  Joseph  Ewing's  company,  Lanier's  Independent  Bat- 
talion of  Ohio  militia.  His  service  began  Aug.  9th,  1812.  and 
expired  Feb.  8th,  1914.  He  participated  in  the  important  bat- 
tle of  the  Thames  (sometimes  called  the  battle  of  Fallen 
Timbers)  in  the  fall  of  1813,  in  which  Tecumseh  was  killed 
and  the  British  General  Proctor,  signally  defeated  by  the 
Americans  under  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Harrison.  To  General  John- 
ston, of  Kentucky,  was  given  the  credit  of  shooting  the  great 
Shawnee  chief.  However,  it  has  been  handed  down  in  Azor 
Scribner's  family  that  he  himself  shot  Tecumseh  from  am- 
bush and  refused  to  reveal  the  fact  to  anybody  during  his 
lifetime,  except  to  his  wife,  whom  he  straitly  charged  with 


DARKE   COUNTY  147 

secrecy.  He  knew  Tecumseh  personally,  having  traded  with 
him  many  times  at  Greenville,  no  doubt,  and  feared  the  con- 
sequences should  it  be  revealed  to  his  old  dusky  customers 
that  he  had  done  the  awful  deed.  His  wife,  who  survived 
him  several  years,  revealed  the  secret  after  his  death  to  her 
second  daughter,  Elizabeth,  who  in  turn  revealed  it  to  her 
daughter,  Mrs.  Marcella  Avery,  now  living  at  an  advanced 
age  with  her  son  Ira  and  daughter  Prudence  on  North  Alain 
street  (Minatown)  near  the  site  of  Scribner's  first  trading  post. 

Scribner  seems  to  have  made  money  in  his  traffic  with  the 
Indians,  but  after  he  opened  his  tavern  competition  arose  and 
he  had  to  be  satisfied  with  his  share  of  the  trade.  He  died 
in  1822  in  the  prime  of  life,  leaving  a  wife  and  several  daugh- 
ters. Dr.  C.  F.  McKhann,  of  Greenville,  is  a  descendant  of 
his  oldest  daughter,  Sarah.  He  has  numerous  other  de- 
scendants in  Darke  county  today,  who  are  numbered  among 
her  best  citizens.   (See  sketch  in  Vol.  II.) 

Samuel  C.  Boyd  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  first  white 
man  who  settled  with  a  family  within  the  present  limits  of 
Darke  county.  He  came  in  1807,  probably  in  the  fall,  and 
established  himself  on  a  knoll,  on  a  branch  of  Stillwater,  now 
known  as  Boyd  creek,  near  the  present  site  fo  the  Children's 
home  in  section  14,  southeast  quarter,  Greenville  township, 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Perry  Bachman.  Boyd  was  born 
in  Maryland,  but  moved  to  Kentucky,  where,  it  is  supposed, 
he  married.  Later,  it  seems,  he  came  to  Ohio  and  stopped  a 
year  or  two  in  Butler  county,  from  which  place  he  moved 
to  Darke  county  as  above  noted. 

The  presence  of  Indians,  the  news  of  occasional  murders, 
and  the  continual  fear  that  distressed  the  exposed  pioneers 
just  prior  to  the  War  of  1812,  caused  Boyd's  family  first  to 
find  refuge  in  a  blockhouse  and  later  to  return  to  southwest- 
ern Ohio,  ^^'hen  the  war  was  over  they  returned  and  im- 
proved their  land.  Airs.  Boyd  died  about  1816  and  was  buried 
in  the  old  graveyard  on  East  Water  street,  Greenville,  being 
the  first  person  interred  at  that  place.  Boyd  died  in  1829  or 
1830. 

In  the  spring  of  1808  Abraham  Studabaker  came  with  his 
wife  and  one  or  two  children  and  settled  on  the  south  side  of 
Greenville  creek  (in  section  25,  Adams  township)  below  the 
bridge  at  Gettysburg  on  land  now  belonging  to  A.  M.  Cromer. 
Mr.  Studabaker  was  a  strikinar  figure  in  the  early  history  of 


148  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  county,  as  will  be  noted  more  fully  in  the  sketches  of  not- 
able citizens. 

John  Devor  purchased  from  the  U.  S.  government  the  half 
section  of  land  on  which  Fort  Greenville  had  been  located 
and  together  with  his  son-in-law,  Robert  Gray,  surveyed  and 
platted  the  original  town  of  Greenville  in  the  summer  of  1808. 
This  plat  included  the  territory  now  embraced  between  Elm 
street  and  Ash  street,  and  betwen  Water  and  Fourth  streets, 
being  about  half  within  and  half  without  the  old  fort. 
The  plat  was  executed  on  August  14th,  1808,  and 
sent  to  Miami  county,  of  which  Darke  was  then  a  part, 
to  be  recorded.  The  principal  streets  in  this  plat — Water, 
Main  and  Third — ran  practically  northeast  and  southwest,  be- 
ing approximately  parallel  to  the  general  course  of  the  creek. 
Accordingi  to  the  custom  of  the  times  for  county  seats,  a  large 
space  was  set  aside  for  a  public  square  at  the  interestction  of 
Broadway  and  Main  street,  near  the  center  of  the  plat,  in 
which  space  was  reserved  for  a  court  of  justice.  Main  street, 
which,  no  doubt,  was  intended  for  the  main  business  thor- 
oughfare, was  m.ade  six  rods  wide,  and  the  other  streets  were 
all  of  ample  width.  The  lots  were  six  rods  wide  and  ten 
rods  long.  The  plat  possessed  many  commendable  features, 
and  as  a  practical  application  of  the  old  rectangular  system 
to  the  peculiarities  of  the  ground  platted  could  scarcely  be 
improved  upon.  Landscape  gardening  as  applied  to  city  plat- 
ting was  not  much  in  vogue  in  those  days,  however,  and  the 
remarkable  natural  beauty  of  the  site  was  largely  overlooked 
for  purposes  of  expediency  and  utility.  In  these  days  we 
look  at  the  beautiful  high  bluff  facing  the  creek  and  prairie 
and  regret  that  a  driveway  was  not  laid  out  overlooking  the 
valle}',  with  avenues  leading  at  convenient,  but  regular  dis- 
tances toward  a  civic  center,  and  park  spaces  left  at  various 
intersections. 

John  Devor,  like  the  practical  pioneer  of  his  day,  was  in- 
terested in  cutting  down  the  timber  and  making  as  large  an 
opening  for  the  sunlight  as  possible,  and  probably  thought 
little  and  cared  less  for  natural  scenery  and  parks.  He  re- 
mained a  citizen  of  Montgomery  county,  to  which  he  had 
come  from  Pennsylvania,  imtil  1816,  at  which  time  he  moved 
his  family  to  Darke  county,  and  became  an  active  citizen. 

At  this  late  date  it  is  impossible  to  state  the  names  of  all 
the  pioneers  of  Darke  countv  and  the  order  of  their  coming. 
Especially  is  this  true  of  those  who  afterward  left  the  county 


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DARKE   COUNTY  149 

for  more  alluring  lands  farther  west.  Among  those  substan- 
tial emigrants  who  stayed  were  Thomas  McGinnis  and  fam- 
ily, and  his  wife's  stepfather,  Barnabus  Burns,  all  of  whom 
emigrated  from  Tennessee  and  came  to  Greenville  in  1808. 
They  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  the 
prairie  between  Greenville  and  the  recently  abandoned 
Prophetstown. 

About  this  time  Enos  Terry  entered  the  quarter  section 
northeast  of  Devor's  town  site  and  laid  off  another  town  plat 
which  he  called  Greeneville.  This  plat  comprised  some  twen- 
ty acres  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  quarter  section.  It 
was  established  as  the  county  seat  for  a  brief  period,  although 
no  one  built  a  house  within  its  limits  at  that  time. 

The  Wilson  brothers,  William  and  Joseph,  came  in  1809. 
William  located  on  a  quarter  section  half  a  mile  north  of  De- 
vor's town,  and  Joseph  on  a  quarter  section  one  mile  further 
north.  These  men  were  natives  of  Ireland,  but  had  emigrat- 
ed to  Pennsylvania  and  later  to  the  valley  of  the  Little  Miami 
from  whence  they  came  to  Darke  county,  bringing  families  of 
children  with  them.  On  this  account  the  vicinity  in  which 
they  settled  was  long  known  as  "Ireland." 

Shortly  after  the  laying  off  of  the  town  plat  of  Greenville 
by  Devor  and  Gray,  the  latter  sold  his  interest  to  an  aunt, 
Mrs.  Rachel  Armstrong,  a  widow  with  four  young  children, 
who  removed  to  and  settled  in  Greenville  late  in  1809.  Mrs. 
Armstrong  died  in  1812,  leaving  an  estate  which  remained  in 
the  hands  of  her  heirs  and  descendants  for  many  years,  until 
after  the  Civil  ^^'ar — the  Armstrong  commons  extended 
southward  in  an  almost  unbroken  stretch  from  near  the  pres- 
ent location  of  IMartin  street,  and  a  line  extending  to  the  in- 
tersection of  Fourth  street,  near  Sycamore,  to  the  south  line 
of  section  35  (Sater  street),  and  from  the  present  location 
of  Central  avenue  to  the  D.  &  U.  railway,  comprisino-  lOS 
acres  now  entirely  within  the  city  limits,  and  almost  solidly  , 
covered  with  substantial  residences,  schools,  churches,  etc. 

The  creation  of  the  county  of  Darke  in  1809  seems  to  have 
stimulated  emigration  somewhat.  Several  families  settled  in 
Greenville  and  vicinity  about  this  time,  some  of  whom  re™ 
mained  but  a  short  time,  whilst  others  lingered  a  few  years 
until  attracted  further  westward  by  the  promise  of  richer 
lands.  These  helped  to  clear  the  forests  and  open  up  the  land 
for   the   permanent    settlers,   thereby    contributing   materially 


150  DARKE   COUNTY 

toward  the  early  development  of  the  countrj',  but  leaving  no 
name  or  record  for  the  chronicler. 

Among  the  settlers  of  1809-10  were  Aloses  Scott  and  fam- 
ily, who  purchased  two  lots  adjoining  the  public  square  in 
Greenville  and  erected  a  two-story  log  house  in  which  he 
conducted  a  first  class  tavern  for  twelve  years  or  more.  Scott 
and  his  son  William  were  the  first  sheriffs  of  Darke  county, 
filling  the  first,  second  and  third  regular  terms  of  that  office 
after  the  organization  of  the  county.  This  family  emigrated 
to  Fort  Wayne  in  1824. 

Charles  Sumtion  and  family,  comprising  wife,  two  sons  and 
four  daughters,  came  to  the  county  about  the  time  of  Scott's 
advent.  Later  he  settled  along  Greenville  creek  in  Wash- 
ington township  and  died  in  1825  near  the  present  site  of 
Coletown. 

The  Rush  brothers,  James,  Henry  and  Andrew,  came  from 
near  Circleville,  O.,  in  1810,  accompanied  by  their  brothers- 
in-law.  John  Hiller  and  Henry  Creviston.  James  and  Henry 
settled  on  and  near  the  site  of  Prophetstown,  probably  be- 
cause they  found  several  acres  of  land  cleared  for  their  com- 
ing. Andrew  and  Hiller  settled  on  the  West  branch  near 
what  was  later  known  as  the  Hiller  settlement. 

Shortly  afterward  Matthew  Young  came  from  Pickaway 
county,  and  in  conjunction  with  Creviston,  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  northeast  of  Coletown,  where  the  latter  resided  until 
1825,  when  he  moved  to  Washington  township.  James  Rush 
served  as  one  of  the  first  Associate  Judges  of  the  Common 
Pleas  Court  for  fourteen  years,  being  chosen  by  the  legisla- 
ture in  1817  and  again  in  1824.  He  moved  to  Indiana  about 
1831,  leaving  a  daughter,  a  Mrs.  John  Deardorff. 

Henry  Rush  died  in  1813,  leaving  a  wadow,  three  sons  and 
one  daughter.  Mrs.  Rush  later  married  James  Bryson,  who 
has  several  descendants  now  living  in  Darke  county.  Andrew 
Rush  was  murdered  by  the  Indians  in  1812,  as  will  be  noted 
elsewhere. 

Linus  Bascom  settled  north  of  Greenville  about  1811 
and  he  opened  a  trading  station.  After  the  murder  of  An- 
drew Rush  in  the  spring  of  1812  he  abandoned  his  store  and 
came  to  Greenville,  where  he  opened  a  store  on  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  public  square,  and  became  one  of  the  prosper- 
ous citizens.    (See  sketch  of  J.  L.  Bascom  in  Vol.  II). 

Probably  the  most  notable  addition  to  the  new  settlement 
in  1811  was  Abraham  Scribner.  a  brother  of  Azor  Scribner.  the 


DARKE   COUNTY  151 

pioneer  merchant  of  the  town.  He  was  about  thirty  years 
old  at  this  time,  almost  deaf,  and  of  a  singular  disposition. 
In  1813  he  enlisted  in  the  war  and  later  participated  in  the 
battle  of  the  Thames  with  Harrison.  In  1814  he  married 
John  Devor's  daughter.  About  this  time  he  entered  some 
prairie  land  near  the  mouth  of  Mud  creek,  erected  a  log  house 
on  it,  and  brought  his  wife  up  from  her  home  in  ^lontgom- 
ery  county.  In  probably  two  years  he  traded  his  land  to 
John  Compton,  of  Dayton,  for  a  stock  of  goods,  estimated  to 
be  worth  $1,600  at  retail,  and  opened  shop.  He  later  built 
a  small  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  West  Main  and 
and  Elm  streets,  and  still  later  purchased  the  brick  build- 
ing on  lot  Number  59.  \\  ith  the  exception  of  a  few 
months'  residence  in  Henry  county,  Indiana,  he  car- 
ried on  business  in  Greenville  until  his  death  in  1846  or  1847. 
He  was  married  three  times  and  raised  a  large  family  includ- 
ing several  sons.  Prominent  mention  is  given  to  his  name 
as  he  was  closely  identified  with  the  early  life  of  Greenville, 
being  especially  active  in  party  politics  as  the  autocrat  of  the 
Democratic  party  for  several  years.  Speaking  nolitically, 
"Whom  he  would  he  slew,  and  whom  he  would  he  kept  alive." 

^^'e  are  now  at  the  threshold  of  the  War  of  1812.  At  this 
time  a  stockade  was  erected  at  Greenville  which  was  then  a 
small  outpost  well  known  for  its  previous  connection  with 
the  Wayne  campaign  from  1793  to  1796.  It  seems  that  four 
blockhouses  were  erected  to  protect  the  budding  settlement ; 
one  on  the  northern  outskirts  of  the  town,  on  the  north  side 
of  East  Water  street  between  \\'alnut  street  and  the  ravine, 
formerly  skirting  the  vv'est  side  of  the  old  cemetery ;  one  to 
the  south  near  the  present  southeast  corner  of  Wayne  avenue 
and  Armstrong  street;  one  on  lot  59  West  Main  street  (oppo- 
site the  Wayne  memorial  tablet)  ;  another  probably  on  West 
Water  street  just  north  of  the  intersection  of  Elm  street,  on 
the  east  side  of  the  old  ravine  overlooking  the  old  fording 
place.  It  was  garrisoned  first  by  a  few  men  under  Captain 
Wolverton  and  Lieutenant  Fish,  the  soldiers  being  mostly 
from  the  neighboring  counties  of  Miami,  Montgomery, 
Greene.  Warren.  Butler  and  Preble,  together  with  some  who 
were  prospective  settlers.  Later,  Mayor  Geo.  Adams  took 
command. 

"Among  these  soldiers  can  be  enumerated  John  and  Sam- 
uel Loring,  James  Cloyd,  David  and  Peter  Studabaker 
(brothers   of   Abraham    and    John    Studabaker,   alreadv   men- 


152  DARKE   COUNTY 

tionedj,  Jacob  Aliller  (who  for  many  years  was  known  by 
the  cognomen  of  'Proaps'),  Joseph  Gass,  Asa  Spencer,  Thom- 
as Briggs,  David  Riffle,  Hezekiah  and  Lewis  Phillips,  and 
John  Ellis.  Some  of  these  men  were  married,  but  for  the 
time  being  had  left  their  wives  and  children  'below  in  the 
settlement,'  as  the  common  phrase  then  was,  and  others, 
either  during  the  war  or  at  its  close  married  in  the  vicinity. 
John  Loring  had  entered  a  quarter  section  adjoining  Devor, 
as  early  as  1809,  but  had  sold  to  John  Stoner.  A  consider- 
able part  ot  the  Loring  quarter  section  is  now  part  of  the 
town  of  Greenville.  Sam  Loring  brought  his  family  to 
Darke  county  after  the  war,  and  located  on  the  quarter  sec- 
tion on  Vi^hich  a  portion  of  the  village  of  Palestine  is  laid  out. 
James  Cloyd,  at  the  return  of  peace,  married  a  daughter  of 
Andrew  Noffsinger,  and  remained  a  resident  of  German 
township,  until  his  decease,  some  four  or  five  years  ago,  at 
which  time  he  was  president  of  the  Pioneer  Association  of 
Darke  county.  John  Ellis  was  in  St.  Clair's  army  at  the  time 
of  the  defeat  at  Recovery,  in  1791 ;  was  with  Wayne  from 
1793  to  1796,  and  participated  in  the  defense  of  Recovery,  at 
the  time  of  the  Indian  attack,  and  in  the  rout  of  the  Indians 
at  Rouge  de  Bout,  in  1794.  After  the  second  treaty  of  Green- 
ville, in  August,  1814,  he  brought  his  family  and  settled  at 
Castine,  where  he  resided  for  a  number  of  years,  and  sub- 
sequent to  1840,  he  removed  to  Mercer  county  near  Recovery, 
where,  after  some  years'  residence,  he  died,  at  the  age  of  over 
ninety.  Ellis,  in  his  youth,  had  been  a  prisoner  with  the 
Indians,  and  exhibited,  ever  after  through  his  long  life,  many 
Indian  characteristics.  David  Studabaker  was  killed  in  the 
army,  during  the  war  of  1812.  Peter  Studabaker,  between 
1825  and  1830,  removed  to  the  Wabash,  below  Recovery,  and 
some  years  later,  farther  down  the  river  in  Indiana,  where  his 
death  occurred  some  twenty  years  since. 

"The  Phillips  brothers,  about  1816,  located  on  Miller's  Fork, 
near  the  south  boundary  of  Darke  county,  where  both  died  in 
their  old  age.  Joseph  Gass,  who  was  a  near  relation  of  the 
compiler  of  the  journal  of  Lewis  and  Clark's  expedition  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river,  at  the  commencement  of 
this  century,  married  a  daughter  of  William  Wilson,  resided 
in  several  localities  in  Greenville  township,  until  about  1833, 
when  he  left  and  went  to  Wisconsin.  David  Riffle,  after  the 
war,  purchased  land  on  Stillwater,  above  where  Beamsville 
now  is,  and  removed  there  in  1814,  and  after  the  lapse  of  a 


DARKE   COUNTY  153 

few  3-ears,  died  there  about  1820.  Thomas  Uriggs  married 
the  Widow  Wilson,  relict  of  the  William  Wilson  who  was 
distinguished  b}'  the  name  of  "Little  Billy  Wilson."  His  un- 
cle, William  Wilson,  the  father  of  the  children  murdered  by 
the  Indians,  being  known  as  'Old  Billy."  '' 

During  the  progress  of  the  war  emigration  practically 
ceased  and  many  of  the  early  settlers  returned  to  their  former 
homes  in  the  ^Nliami  valley.  Block  houses  were  erected 
in  various  parts  of  the  county  at  about  this  time,  among  them 
Ft.  Rush,  near  Prophetstown ;  Ft.  Brier  on  the  bend  of  the 
Stillwater  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  27,  Richland 
township  (probably  named  after  Captain  Samuel  Brier,  of 
Price's  regiment  of  Ohio  militiaj  ;  Ft.  Black  (now  New  Madi- 
son) and  Ft.  Studabaker  on  the  south  of  Greenville  creek  be- 
low the  present  site  of  Gettysburg.  Besides  these,  Ft.  Nesbit, 
a  military  supply  station,  was  built  in  section  29,  Harrison 
township.  These  afforded  a  measure  of  security  to  the  scat- 
tered settlements,  but  the  hostile  Indians,  for  the  most  part, 
remained  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  lakes.  A  few  lamentable 
atrocities  occurred,  however,  which  sent  thrills  of  terror 
through  the  community.  Accounts  of  these  have  been  pre- 
served and  serve  to  illustrate  the  temper  of  the  time. 

An  Indian  family  comprising  father,  mother  and  a  son 
about  fourteen  years  of  age,  came  from  the  direction  of  Ft. 
Recovery  and  camped  at  a  spring  (now  on  the  Clate  Rahn 
farm)  about  a  mile  northwest  of  the  fort.  Their  presence 
was  made  known  to  the  garrison  by  a  white  man  who  had 
traveled  with  them.  Early  the  next  morning  Lieutenant 
Fish,  with  three  or  four  men,  stealthily  approached  the  camp 
and  shot  the  man  and  woman  while  engaged  in  preparing  for 
the  morning  meal.  The  boy  escaped  after  being  wounded 
and  the  news  of  the  cowardly  act  spread  like  wildfire  among 
the  Indians.  As  a  result  Ft.  Meigs,  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  state,  was  beseiged  by  a  large  body  of  enraged  savages 
before  the  middle  of  the  following  afternoon  and  fuel  was 
added  to  th^  smoldering  discontent  of  the  northwest  tribes. 

A  large  body  of  friendl}/  Indians,  probably  mostly  of  the 
Delaware  and  Shawnee  tribes,  were  located  on  the  Miami 
river  above  Piqua  under  the  protection  of  the  United  States 
agent.  Col.  Johnston.  These  were  supplied  with  white  flags 
when  desiring  to  pass  outposts  in  safety.  On  one  occasion 
a  number  of  these  Indians  were  fired  upon  while  approaching 
a   party   of  whites   with   unfeigned    confidence.     Two   of   the 


154  DARKE   COUNTY 

Indians  were  killed,  one  wounded,  the  rest  taken  captive  and 
their  property  confiscated.  Such  dastardly  deeds  were,  no 
doubt,  largely  committed  by  the  rougher  class  of  backswoods- 
men  who  thought  that  there  was  no  good  Indian  but  a  dead 
one,  and  we  are  not  surprised  at  the  consequent  reprisals  by 
the   savages. 

About  the  last  of  April,  1812,  Andrew  Rush  set  out  on 
horseback  from  his  home  on  the  ^^'est  Branch  for  Terry's  mill 
on  Greenville  creek  at  the  bend  above  the  present  site  of 
the  Main  street  bridge.  After  getting  his  grist  he  started 
for  home  but  lingered  a  while  at  the  home  of  Daniel  Potter 
and  Isaac  Vail,  who  lived  over  a  mile  up  the  creek  on  the 
north  side.  Here  he  was  warned  of  the  impending  danger  of 
savage  depredations.  Rush  joked  about  their  solicitude  and 
proceeded  on  his  way  at  about  4  p.  m.  It  seems  that  the  road 
or  trail  which  he  traveled  lay  between  the  present  Union  City 
pike  and  Greenville  creek,  following  in  and  out  along  the 
blufif.  Before  he  had  proceeded  half  a  mile  further  he  was 
shot,  tomahawked  and  scalped  just  above  the  later  site  of 
Rush's  or  Spiece's  mill  in  section  28,  Greenville  township. 
His  mutilated  body  was  discovered  by  relatives  on  the  fol- 
lowing afternoon  lying  on  his  precious  bag  of  meal.  The 
alarm  was  spread  throughout  the  neighboring  settlements, 
houses  were  barricaded  and  many  found  refuge  in  the  bloc'> 
houses.  The  news  spread  to  Troy  and  Lexington.  Preble 
county,  and  by  the  night  of  the  third  day  two  companies  of 
militia  were  camped  at  Greenville.  On  the  following  day  the 
Preble  county  militia  advanced  about  two  miles  to  the  site 
of  the  tragedy  and  buried  the  body  of  Rush.  After  this  they 
proceeded  to  Ft.  Rush,  to  protect  and  relieve  the  families  of 
the  settlers  who  had  taken  refuge  there,  and  to  escort  the 
women  and  children  back  to  the  older  settlements,  where  they 
remained  until  hostilities  ceased. 

In  the  early  fall  of  1812  the  garrison  at  Greenville  was 
small,  comprising  but  three  companies  of  militia  under  ]\Iajor 
Lanier.  Several  of  the  men  had  enlisted  for  service  in  the 
w-ar  with  the  British  and  Indians  and  were  with  the  army 
waiting  for  orders  to  advance  to  the  aMumee.  At  this  juncture 
the  Indians  from  the  region  of  the  Mississinawa  became  trou- 
blesome to  the  pioneer  settlements  of  western  Ohio,  murdering: 
any  whom  they  found  outside  of  the  blockhouses  and  steal- 
ing horses  and  cattle.  Combining  various  accounts  it  seems 
that  on   October  2d,  Patsv  and   Anna  Wilson,   daughters  of 


DARKE   COUNTY  155 

"Old  Billy  Wilson,"  living  north  of  town  and  aged  respective- 
ly fourteen  and  eight  years,  accompanied  by  an  older  broth- 
er, had  gone  to  the  woods  on  the  north  side  of  Greenville 
creek  to  gather  berries  or  wild  grapes.  When  near  the  pres- 
ent site  of  the  pond  in  the  Meeker  woods  the  girls  were  at- 
tacked by  two  or  three  prowling  Indians,  within  gunshot  of 
Terry's  stockade  which  was  located  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  creek.  While  the  children  were  separated  they  were 
fired  upon  by  the  Indians,  without  effect.  The  girls  became 
too  terrified  to  make  their  escape  and  were  soon  dispatched 
by  the  tomahawk.  The  boy  ran  for  Terry's  mill  pond,  formed 
by  the  darning  of  Greenville  creek  near  the  foot  of  East  Water 
street,  whither  he  was  pursued  by  one  of  the  Indians  armed 
with  a  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife.  One  account  says  that  the 
boy  had  laid  his  gun  down  and  was  unable  to  secure  it;  an- 
ther says  that  he  had  a  shotgun  with  him,  loaded  with  small 
pigeon  shot,  and  that  he  wheeled  and  aimed  at  the  Indian 
who  instantly  retreated,  allowing  him  to  swim  the  mill  pond 
and  spread  the  alarm.  Abraham  Scribner  and  A\'m.  Devor 
were  attracted  to  the  scene  of  the  murder  by  the  cries  of  the 
boy  and  the  screams  of  the  girls.  Here  they  found  the  mu- 
tilated bodies,  and  carried  them  to  the  fort.  The  scalp  had 
been  taken  from  the  head  of  the  eldest  and  a  long  cut  made 
on  the  head  of  the  j^ounger  in  an  attempt  to  scalp  her.  Both. 
apparently,  had  been  killed  by  the  blows  on  the  head  with  the 
back  of  a  tomahawk.  Their  bodies  were  buried  under  a  tree 
near  the  site  of  their  murder,  where  they  remained  until 
July  4th,  1871,  when  they  were  disinterred  and  transferred 
to  the  new  cemetery  with  imposing  ceremonies,  as  elsewhere 
set   forth   in  this  volume. 

In  the  summer  of  1813  another  tragedy  occurred  in  con- 
nection with  the  military  operations  in  western  Ohio.  It 
seems  that  one  Gosbary  Elliot,  a  private  in  Capt.  Sunderland's 
company,  Second  (Price's)  regiment,  of  Ohio  militia,  was 
carrying  a  dispatch  from  Fort  Greenville  to  Major  Price,  who 
was  stationed  at  Lexington  (near  West  Alexandria)  in  Preble 
county.  He  probably  followed  the  trace  leading  through  Fort 
Jefferson  and  on  in  the  direction  of  the  present  pike  to  Ithaca 
and  Lewisburg,  and  when  near  Beech  Grove  was  attacked  b}^  a 
roving  band  of  Indians.  Tradition  says  that  he  took  refuge  be- 
hind a  beech  tree  and  dispatched  two  or  three  of  his  assail- 
ants with  a  rifle,  and  when  his  ammunition  was  exhausted 
engaged  in  a  hand  to  hand  tomahawk  fight  until  finally  slain 


156  DARKE   COUNTY 

by  one  of  the  remaining  redskins.  His  remains  were  interred 
nearby,  but  were  disinterred  some  years  later  and  placed  in 
the  old  cemetery  at  Fort  Jefferson,  where  they  now  lie  un- 
der the  shadow  of  the  new  M.  E.  church,  unmarked  save 
by  a  broken  fragment  of  slate  stone.  The  tomahawk  marks 
on  the  beech  tree  behind  which  he  fought  could  be  seen  from 
the  road  until  the  decay  of  the  tree  about  thirty  years  ago. 
Elliot's  army  record  is  as  follows : 

"Commencement  of  service,  Feb.  16th,  1813:  expiration  of 
service,  Aug.  15th,  1813;  term  of  service  charged  4  months 
29  days ;  for  Andrew  Zellar  killed  by  the  Indians  July  14th, 
1913." 

One  tradition  is  that  Elliot  was  accompanied  by  John 
Stoner,  who  was  chased  some  three  miles  further  along  tiie 
trace  to  the  first  crossing  of  Miller's  Fork,  where  he  also  was 
slain.  It  is  generally  thought,  however,  that  Stoner  was 
slain  later  in  the  season.  Stoner's  army  record  shows  that  he 
served  in  Capt.  Samuel  Brier's  company,  Second  regiment, 
Ohio  militia,  from  April  12th,  1813,  to  Oct.   11th,  1813. 

This  shows  that  he,  like  Elliot,  enlisted  for  a  term  of  six 
months.  However,  it  is  probable  that  tradition  is  right  and 
that  the  date  of  his  death  was  either  not  reported  or  through 
some  error  was  not  entered  on  the  record.  Stoner's  remains 
were  buried  near  the  spot  where  he  was  killed,  but  were  taken 
up  in  the  fall  of  1836  and  reinterred  in  the  Ithaca  cemetery, 
where  they  still  lie. 

The  defeat  of  the  British  and  Indians  and  the  death  of  Te- 
cumseh  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  in  the  fall  of  1813,  damp- 
ened the  ardor  of  the  hostile  Indians  and  made  them  desir- 
ous of  peace  with  the  Americans. 

Overtures  were  made  to  the  representatives  of  the  United 
States  Government  by  some  of  the  hostile  tribes.  The  chiefs 
and  head  men  began  to  assemble  at  Greenville  in  the  spring  of 
1814  and  on  July  22  signed  a  compact  with  General  Harrison, 
as  noted  in  Chapter  13  of  this  book.  Concerning  conditions  at 
this  time  Judge  Wharry  says : 

"There  was  in  attendance  at  Greenville  during  the  time  of 
the  negotiations  preceding  the  treaty  and  until  it  was  signed, 
a  large  concourse  of  white  men  as  well  as  Indians,  ^len 
were  here  from  Cincinnati,  Dayton,  Hamilton,  Chillicothe 
and  various  other  places  in  Ohio ;  Maysville,  Lexington, 
Frankfort  and  other  places  in  Kentucky :  from  points  on  the 
Ohio  river,  and  even  from  Marvland  and  Pennsvlvania.  Many 


DARKE   COUNTY  157 

of  these  came  to  look  at  the  country  with  a  view  to  a  settle- 
ment in  it  if  they  were  pleased  with  it,  and  the  Indian  ques- 
tion so  settled  that  they  could  emigrate  to  it  and  be  freed 
from  Indian  disturbances;  others  to  look  out  lands  that  it 
would  be  safe  to  buy  as  an  investment  of  their  surplus  money ; 
others  to  see  what  was  to  be  seen,  and  make  money  if  they 
could  out  of  either  Indians  or  white  men  as  opportunity 
should  offer,  and  many  came  with  no  defined  object.  Be- 
tween the  time  of  the  treaty  and  the  opening  of  the  year  1816, 
many  entries  of  land  in  Darke  county  were  made  at  the  land 
office  in  Cincinnati.  The  lands  were  sold  by  the  government 
on  a  credit  of  one-eighth  down  and  the  residue  in  seven  annual 
installments.  A  number  of  tracts  in  the  vicinity  of  Green- 
ville were  taken  up  on  speculation  that  did  not  change  hands 
for  many  years,  and  were  kept  unimproved.  Among  those 
who  thus  purchased,  and  probably  never  saw  the  lands  they 
bought  were  Gen.  James  Taylor,  of  Newport ;  Gen.  James 
Butler,  of  Frankfort,  Ky. ;  George  P.  Torrence,  David  K. 
Este,  David  Wade  and  William  Burke,  of  Cincinnati ;  Nathan 
Richardson,  of  Warren  county ;  Joseph  Hough,  of  Chillicothe ; 
Talbot  Iddings,  Andrew  Hood  and  John  Devor,  of  Mont- 
gomery county,  and  some  others,  whose  purchases  many  of 
them  long  remained  an  eyesore,  withheld  from  improvement, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Greenville.  Many  of  these  tracts,  none  of 
which  were  less  than  a  quarter  section,  remained  in  first  hands 
from  twenty  to  forty  years,  brought  in  the  end  but  little  more 
than  the  purchase  money  and  interest  to  those  who  had  pur- 
chased them,  and  added  proof,  if  proof  were  necessary,  that 
the  well-being  and  progress  of  society  in  this  nation  demands, 
that  the  title  of  the  soil,  vested  in  the  national  government  or 
the  states,  should  not  be  transferred  save  to  actual  settlers. 

"]\Iany  other  purchases  were  made  on  credit,  by  men  who 
failed  to  pay  out.  and  were  compelled  in  the  end  to  relinquish 
part  to  save  the  residue,  or  entirely  forfeit  their  purchases. 
The  United  States  was,  in  the  end.  under  the  pressure  of  the 
debt  entailed  by  the  war  of  1812  and  other  causes.  compelle<l 
to  abandon  the  system  of  selling  the  national  demand  upon 
credit. 

"Congress,  however,  in  a  year  or  two  after  the  forfeiture. 
authorized  the  issue  of  what  was  termed  land  scrip,  to  those 
who  had  lost  their  purchases,  equal  in  amount  to  what  thev 
had  paid,  which,  being  receivable  at  any  government  land 
office  in  payment  for  the  lands  of  the  United  states  became 


158  DARKE   COUNTY 

for  some  years  a  part  in  some  measure  of  the  business  cur- 
rency of  the  country,  as  the  scrip  could  pass  fron  hand  to 
hand  until  it  was  canceled  at  the  land  office. 

"The  emigration  to  the  town,  township  and  county,  frcmn 
the  time  of  the  'stampede'  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Indian 
troubles,  and  until  after  the  treaties  between  the  United 
States  and  both  the  Indians  and  England,  was  scarcely  no- 
ticeable. Although  many  people  came  here,  they  did  not 
come  to  stay,  and  were  here  for  transient  purposes  only,  and 
the  population  of  the  town,  township  and  county,  after  the 
departure  of  the  crowd  who  were  here  at  the  treaty,  and  after 
the  withdrawal  of  the  garrison  at  Greenville  and  from  the 
other  small  stockades  erected  for  protection  in  the  evil  days 
at  Fort  Nesbit,  Fort  Black  and  Fort  Brier,  was  little,  if  any, 
greater  than  in  the  spring  of  1812. 

"It  may  not  be  amiss  here  to  recapitulate,  as  well  as  can 
be  done,  who  were  as  residents  within  the  limits  of  the  town- 
ship of  Greenville  after  the  treaty  was  signed  in  1814,  and 
by  the  term  limits  of  the  township  confine  the  enumeration 
to  the  bounds  of  what  is  now  Greenville  township,  and  not, 
as  then  the  whole  county  of  Darke.  In  the  town  were  Moses 
Scott,  Azor  Scribner,  David  Connor  and  John  Loring,  and 
the  wife  of  the  murdered  John  Stoner  and  his  orphaned  chil- 
dren. \\'ith  these,  as  boarders  or  employers  ofif  and  on,  were 
Abraham  Scribner,  James  Cloyd,  Philder  G.  Lanham.  Silas 
Atchison  and  probably  some  others  whose  residence  cannot 
be  definitely  stated.  North  of  the  town,  in  Ireland,  dwelt 
Enos  Terry,  Joe  Wilson,  "Old  Billy"  Wilson,  "Little  Billy" 
Wilson,  Asa  Spencer  and  in  their  families  as  dependents  and 
hangerson,  John  Mooney,  Joe  Gass,  and  probably  others  not 
now  remembered.  Down  the  creek,  below  the  town,  and 
within  a  mile  of  it.  was  David  Briggs,  with  whom  resided  his 
brother  Thomas.  Up  Greenville  creek,  Aaron  and  Mathias 
Dean  had  commenced  the  erection  of  the  mill  in  manv  years 
afterward  designated  Dean's  mill,  but  on  the  murder  of  Rush, 
the  work  ceased,  and  they  left  for  the  !Miami,  near  Middle- 
tOA\n,  and  did  not  return  and  complete  it  until  after  the  war. 
Up  Mud  creek,  on  the  west  side,  were  Thomas  McGinnis. 
Barney  Burns,  Henry  and  James  Rush.  The  widow  of  An- 
drew Rush,  with  her  two  children,  the  oldest  of  whom  was 
born  November  28th.  1809,  lived  on  the  West  Branch  where 
it  was  crossed  by  the  'Squaw  Road.'  David  Miles  was  on 
the  knoll  where   Mr.   Griffin  now  resides,  about  a  half  mile 


DARKE   COUNTY  159 

southwest  of  the  mouth  of  ^lud  creek.  On  the  east  side  of 
Mud  creek  were  Abraham  Miller  and  John  Studabaker,  and 
just  above  the  last,  but  outside  the  present  township  boun- 
dary, Zadok  Reagan  had  located  in  the  edge  of  the  prairie, 
at  what  was  known  in  after  years  as  the  'Burnt  Cabin.'  On 
Bridge  creek  were   David  Thompson   and   George   Freshour. 

"Betwen  the  sii;ning  of  the  treaty  of  1814  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county  in  the  spring  of  1817,  under  the  law  of  the 
preceding  winter,  the  emigration  to  the  township,  as  well  as 
to  the  residue  of  the  county,  taking  into  view  the  sorry  pros- 
pect of  making  a  living  in  it,  had  increased  the  population 
more  than  threefold.  In  these  two  and  a  half  years,  George, 
Peter,  John,  Moses  and  Aaron  Rush,  brothers  of  the  three 
who  came  in  1810.  ?Ienry  Hardy  and  Archibald  Bryson,  who 
had  married  their  sisters,  came  to  the  county;  James  Bryson, 
who  married  the  widow  of  Henry  Rush,  came,  and  John  Hil- 
ler  returned  from  j\Iiami  county,  to  which  he  fled  three  years 
before  on  Indian  account.  Some  of  these  parties  settled  out- 
side of  Greenville  township,  and  others  remained  but  for  a 
brief  period.  On  the  West  Branch  and  Greenxille  creek 
were  settled  John  McFarland.  Daniel  Potter,  Da\id  \\'illiam- 
son,  Joseph  Huflfman  and  Isaac  Dunn.  \\'ith  Williamson 
came  his  brothers  James  and  John,  who  remained  but  for  a 
brief  period ;  one  went  to  Butler  county,  and  the  other  re- 
turned to  his  father's  house  in  Greene  county  to  die  of  con- 
sumption. On  the  south  of  Greenville,  between  town  and 
Abraham  Miller's,  Henry  House,  an  old  soldier  of  Wayne's 
army,  with  a  family  of  sons  and  daughters,  was  located.  In 
the  southeast  was  located  on  Bridge  creek,  Nathan  Popejoy ; 
between  him  and  David  Thompson  was  settled  William  Ar- 
nold, and  south  of  Thompson,  now  came  Abraham  Studa- 
baker from  his  first  location  below  Gettysburg.  Down  the 
creek  were  located  William,  George,  Jacob,  Andrew  and  Joel 
Westfall,  on  the  north  side ;  and  William  Hays,  Sr.,  and  Wil- 
liam Hays,  Jr.,  on  the  south  side.  Ebenezer  Byram  first  set- 
tled up  Greenville  creek  above  Dean's  mill,  which,  on  their 
return,  was  completed  in  a  year  or  about  that  after  the  war, 
but  soon  removed  out  of  the  township  down  the  creek  to 
New  Harrison,  as  his  place  is  now  termed,  but  which  had  no 
existence  until  years  after  his  death.  To  Ireland  came  David 
Douglass,  James  Stephenson,  or  Stinson,  as  the  name  was 
usually  pronounced,  and  Robert  Barnett.     Over  the  creek,  on 


160  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  Recovery  trace,  was  located  David  Irwin,  and  southwest 
of  him,  on  the  creek,  David  Ullery.  East  of  Terry's  place 
was  located  Alexander  Smith,  the  first  temporary  sheriff  of 
the  county.  Justice  of  the  Peace  of  Greenville  township  for 
several  years  and  once  for  a  few  days,  owing  to  the  non-re- 
ceipt of  election  returns  from  some  locality  between  Green- 
ville and  Maumee  bay,  had  a  seat  in  the  state  legislature,  from 
which  he  was  ejected  on  a  contest  with  the  far-famed  Capt. 
Riley,  who  a  few  years  previous,  had  been  a  prisoner  riding  a 
camel  from  Timbuctoo  to  Mogadore  across  the  desert  of  Sa- 
hara, in  Africa.  Smith  was  afterward  a  candidate  for  the 
lower  house  of  the  state  legislature,  but  was  defeated  by  Gen- 
eral James  Mills.  Riley  also  again  was  before  the  people  of 
the  district,  which  then  included  nine  or  ten  counties  of 
northwest  Ohio,  for  a  seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
but  failed.  Subsequently,  becoming  more  ambitious,  he  ran 
for  congress,  but  was  badly  beaten  by  William  McLean,  a 
brother  of  the  late  Judge  McLean,  of  the  United  States  Su- 
preme Court.  Archibald  Bryson  settled  on  the  east  side  of 
West  Branch,  above  and  south  of  the  'Squaw  Road'  and 
east  of  him,  toward  Mud  creek,  were  located  John  Whitacre, 
John  Embree,  who  was  better  known  by  the  nickname  of 
'Swift,'  and  David  Marsh,  the  first  peddled  of  'wallsweep' 
clocks  in  the  county."     *     *     * 

Concerning  the  character  of  the  settlers  in  the  county  gen- 
erally the  same  writer  says : 

"The  character  of  the  first  settlers  cannot  be  said  to  be 
either  good  or  bad.  There  was  no  disposition  among  them 
to  do  any  great  wrong,  but  the  small  vices,  such  as  drunken- 
ness, when  liquor  could  be  obtained,  disregard  of  religious 
sentiments,  and  a  great  disposition  to  idleness.  That  there 
was  any  lack  of  honor  or  honesty  or  hospitality  among  these 
settlers,  from  anything  said,  must  not  be  inferred.  On  the 
contrary,  from  what  we  can  learn  of  them,  they  were  never 
excelled  in  these  qualities  by  any  people.  There  were  one  or 
two  natural  thieves,  or  kleptomaniacs  in  the  county,  but  they 
were  detested  exceptions  to  the  mass.  Defamation,  and  the 
biting  tongue  of  slander  was  never  heard  nor  felt.  Casts,  or 
quality,  were  not  formed  or  regarded.  One  man  was  as  good 
as  another,  and  one  woman  was  no  better  than  another.  All 
honest  people  were  honorable  among  them.  The  traveler 
with  his  saddlebags  fillfed  with  gold  and  silver  could  rest  se- 
curely in  any  cabin  at  which  he  stopped." 


DARKE    COUNTY 


161 


In  the  year  1909  a  document  was  discovered  in  the  sheriff's 
office  in  the  county  court  house  giving  what  it  purports  to  he 
a  complete  enumeration  of  the  white  male  inhabitants  above 
21  years  of  age,  some  four  hundred  in  number,  of  Darke 
county  in  1825.  It  was  compiled  by  Archibald  Bryson  and 
certified  to  the  associate  judges  of  the  county.  The  docu- 
ment is  of  old  style  parchment,  yellow  with  age,  l5ut  tough 
and  legible.  A  careful  perusal  will  reveal  the  fact  that  nearly 
every  name  is  perpetuated  by  descendants  still  living  here  and 
numbered  among  the  most  prosperous  families.  The  list  is 
as  follows :  Abraham  Studebaker,  David  Cole,  John  Jett. 
James  Burkhannon,  David  Douglas,  Archibald  Bryson.  Chris- 
tian Levingood,  Peter  Levingood,  Andrew  Perkins,  John  Hil- 
ler,  David  Michael.  Andrew  Westfall,  Joseph  HuiTman,  Dan- 
iel Patten,  Xathaniel  Gillum,  John  Dean,  Permelia  Elsbury, 
David  Fisher,  David  Cole,  Mathew  Young,  Janet  Barnes, 
Thomas  Barnes,  Isaac  Elsbury,  Samuel  Cole,  Jonathan  Parks, 
Ranna  Perrine,  Thomas  ]McGinnis,  George  Sumption,  Jacob 
Keller,  Eleyer  Sharp.  James  Bryson,  James  Rush,  David 
]\Iiller.  John  Rupel,  John  Sheets,  Jacob  Rupel,  Michael  Em- 
rick,  \\illiam  Folkerth,  Cornwall  Stephens,  John  Rool,  James 
Howard,  Vockel  Clery.  Selby  Sumter,  James  Hayes,  \\'illiam 
Martin,  John  i\Iartin,  William  T.  Carnahan,  Richard  Lyons, 
\\'illiam  Hayes.  Sr.,  A\'illiam  Hayes,  Plenry  D.  Williams, 
Robert  Mclntire.  David  Thompson,  Jeremiah  Mathewson. 
Abraham  Miller.  Isaac  House,  David  Briggs,  Lyra  Thorp. 
Simeon  Chapman,  Cornelius  I.  Ryeson,  W'illiam  ^^'estfall. 
George  Xaus.  Margnet  \\'estfall,  Philip  Manuel,  Samuel  Sut- 
ton, S.  Laurence.  xAbraham  Scribner.  Isaac  Clay,  \\'illiam 
McKhann,  John  Armstrong,  David  Moriss,  William  W'iley, 
Hugh  Merten,  A\'illiam  Sape,  John  Brady,  Lewis  Passon,  Sam- 
uel Oliver,  David  Potter,  David  Irwin,  Joseph  Guess.  Samuel 
Wilson,  Daniel  Halley  Nathan  Terry,  William  Wilson,  Samuel 
\\'ilson,  Benjamin  Thompson,  Joseph  ^^'ilson.  John  Wilson, 
Robert  Barnet,  George  Westfall,  Peter  Crumrine,  Mass  Rush, 
Richard  Martin,  Peter  Smith,  Samuel  Reed,  John  Rupel,  Sr.. 
Charles  Hapner,  \\'illiam  Chapman.  Jacob  Shafer,  Adam  Bil- 
lows, Hezekiah  \^eits,  Henry  .Steinberger,  Jacob  Steinberger, 
Moses  Rush.  Isaac  Joy,  John  Briggs,  Abraham  Smith,  Abra- 
ham Weaver.  John  Weaver.  George  A\\  Fryer.  Isaac  Jones. 
James  McGinnis.  William  \'ail.  Thomas  Stokeley.  Hezekiah 
Viets.  Robert  Taylor.  Jacob  Puterbaugh.  Christian  Sleighty. 
Thomas    Campbell.    Henrv   Wertz.    George    Huntsman.    John 

an 


162  DARKE   COUNTY 

Miller,  John  Phillips,  William  Decamp,  Job  Decamp,  Charles 
Harriman,  Thomas  Phillips,  James  Wood,  William  Town- 
send,  John  Culberson,  Elisha  Byers,  Isaac  Joy,  Johnston  Den- 
niston,  Jacob  Cox,  Daniel  Harter,  Peter  Kember,  Joseph 
Dixon,  Ignatius  Barnes,  Eli  Coble,  Samuel  Fisher,  John  Cox, 
Thomas  Coapstick,  Isaac  Sweitzer,  William  Brady,  John 
Chenoweth,  Ludwick  Clap,  John  Cable,  Thomas  Hynes.  Sam- 
uel Touring,  Donovan  Reed,  Smith  Masteson,  Samuel  Bourk, 
Frederick  Bowers,  Daniel  Harter,  John  Crumrine,  Abraham 
Cox,  Henry  Cox,  Daniel  Waggoner,  Jacob  Neff,  John  Hilde- 
bran,  Peter  Harter,  Peter  Weaver,  Peter  Crumrine,  Ebenezer 
Westfall,  Job  Westfall,  Daniel  Crawn,  Jacob  Westfall.  Wil- 
liam Shoneson,  David  Ullery,  Abraham  Wells,  Harrison 
McConn.  James  Craig,  Hezekiah  Fowler,  Nathaniel  Scidnore, 
Benjamin  Murphy,  James  Brady,  Isaac  Vail,  John  Miller, 
Joseph  Foster,  Josiah  Elston,  John  Snell,  Jacob  Chenoweth, 
Leonard  ^^^intermote,  John  Clap,  Philip  Rarook,  Daniel 
Shiveley,  Abraham  Miller,  James  Cole,  Jeremiah  Rogers, 
Susannah  Miller,  David  Wasson,  Samuel  W^asson,  Edward 
Baldin,  Robert  Cain,  Charles  Sumption,  Thomas  Beasley, 
John  A.  Addington,  Jesse  Gray,  Samuel  Martin,  Ephriani 
Flemming,  Isaac  Byers,  John  C.  Marquart,  Julian  Brown, 
Philip  Brown,  Benjamin  Brown,  Josiah  Hall,  John  Thomas, 
John  Robeson,  Samuel  Eddington,  Charles  Eddington,  Philip 
Eddington,  George  Walker,  Joseph  W^inegardner,  Daniel 
]\Ionbeek,  Jacob  Winegardner,  Stoffle  Shafer,  John  Ellis, 
Edward  Edger,  William  Edger,  Archibald  Edger,  Thomas 
Edger,  Henry  Keck,  Barbery  Myers,  Christopher  Borden, 
David  Thomas,  George  Wilt.  David  W^ilt,  George  Wilt,  John 
Wilt,  Samuel  Harter,  John  Harter.  Francis  Harter,  Philip 
Wiggens,  David  Harter,  Jacob  Harter,  Cornelius  Higgings, 
John  Baird,  John  Arthur,  Andrew  INIiller,  William  Terry, 
Jacob  Puderbaugh,  Mark  Mills,  James  Mills,  Christopher 
Hood,  Elijah  Stackenas,  John  Mikesel,  Michael  Kenell,  Wil- 
liam Holt,  Thomas  Godfrey.  Timothy  IMote,  George  Knee, 
John  Waggoner,  Ernestus  Putnam,  Jacob  Ullom,  Bingham 
Simons,  Christopher  Bordins,  Daniel  Ullom,  John  Wade, 
William  W^ade,  John  Ullom,  John  Williamson,  William  :\Ic- 
Farland,  Elijah  Simons.  John  French.  Isaac  Cherry,  Henry 
Creviston.  Jacob  Sutton,  Nicholas  Tinkel,  Thomas 
Lake.  Caleb  Vail,  Eli  Edwards,  Hugh  Laurimore, 
i\Ioses  Arnold,  John  Ketring,  John  Teaford,  George  Teaford, 
John  Knee,  David  Stephens,  Samuel  Guier,  Spencer  Edwards, 


DARKE   COUNTY  163 

\\illiam  Eaker,  Daniel  Edwards,  John  Dixon,  Jacob  Sebring, 
Marshall  Falor,  Jonathan  Pierson,  Samuel  Rhoades,  James 
Woods,  Henry  Ross,  Nathaniel  Ross,  Lewis  Aukerman, 
James  Reed,  James  Barney,  Henry  Williams,  John  Puter- 
baugh,  John  Clark,  John  Kendle,  William  Jones,  Joseph 
Burdge,  Jonathan  Alote,  John  Fetters,  Samuel  Owens,  Wil- 
liam Stone,  Andrew  Stone,  John  Rush,  James  Baird,  Samuel 
Fisher,  Jonathan  Thomas,  John  Stephenson,  Christopher 
Rush,  Zachariah  Fryon,  Asa  Rush,  Aaron  Rush,  Henry 
Hardy,  Jacob  Hensler,  Reed  Risley,  David  Scott,  John  Doug- 
las, Alexander  Smith,  Alexander  Irwin,  Henry  House,  Linus 
Bascom,  John  Briggs,  John  Beers,  John  McNeil,  Nancy 
Smith,  David  Cole,  John  Devor,  James  Craig,  Abner  Aleeks, 
Henry  Lawrence,  Richard  Lowring,  Judson  Jaqua,  Nathaniel 
Edsel,  Richard  Miller,  Dennis  Hart,  Samuel  Drove,  Obediah 
Stephens.  John  Huston,  Henry  Woods,  Benjamin  F.  W'oods, 
Robert  Thompson,  John  Wooden,  Moses  Woods,  John  Braw- 
ley,  John  Purviance,  Anthony  Woods,  William  Wiley,  Na- 
thaniel S.  McClure,  Xeal  Lawrence,  John  McClure,  Jacob 
Miller,  William  Brodrick,  John  A.  Brodrick,  George  Miller, 
John  AL  Foster,  Samuel  McClure,  John  Wiley,  Alexander 
AlcClure,  Abraham  Murray,  George  Roberts,  Samuel  Jones, 
Lloyd  James,  Mark  Buckingham,  David  Gibbs,  bamuel 
Roberts,  Robert  Campbell,  Gersham  P.  Tiesen,  Benjamin 
Snodgrass,  George  Gates,  Moses  Moore,  James  Harland, 
James  B.  Edwards,  William  Thompson,  Thomas  Sullivan, 
Thomas  Wiley,  John  Brown,  Nathan  Harland,  William  Polly, 
Leonard  Titsen,  Aquillas  Loveall,  Josiah  Guess,  Jacob  Guess, 
John  Wilson.  James  Skinner,  James  Reeves,  Amos  Smith, 
William  Hill,  David  Nockum.  John  Downy,  Jesse  Bell, 
Francis  Spencer.  John  Cassady.  Hankason  Ashby,  Benjamin 
Eakens.  Samuel  Ketring. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
CREATION  AND  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  COUNTY. 

Thus  far  this  narrative  has  dealt  mostly  with  the  pioneers 
who  settled  in  and  around  the  county  seat  and  in  our  desire 
to  make  due  mention  of  the  first  families  we  have  failed  to 
notice  the  development  of  the  county  as  a  political  unit. 

On  January  3,  1809,  the  General  Assembly  of  Ohio  created 
the  county  of  Darke  from  territory  then  belonging  to  Miami 
county.  The  original  boundaries  of  the  county  were  the  same 
as  at  present  with  the  exception  of  the  northern,  which  ex- 
tended to  the  Greenville  treaty  line,  thus  including  that  por- 
tion of  the  present  county  of  Mercer  which  lies  south  of  a 
line  extending  from  Fort  Recovery  to  a  point  a  few  rods  north 
of  the  present  northeast  corner  of  Darke.  As  noted  before 
rival  claimants  laid  out  town  sites  which  they  desired  to  have 
acknowledged  as  the  official  county  seat.  By  "pull  and  per- 
suasion," it  seems,  Terry's  plat  on  the  northeast  side  of  the 
creek  was  first  accepted  and  remained  the  official,  though 
unoccupied,  site  for  two  or  three  years.  At  the  next  session 
of  the  Legislature,  strong  pressure  was  brought  to  repeal  the 
previous  unpopular  act  and  a  new  commission  was  created  to 
relocate  the  seat  of  justice.  Besides  the  Devor  and  Terry 
sites  this  commission  was  asked  to  consider  another  located 
at  what  is  now  known  as  Cedar  Point,  at  the  junction  of  the 
Milton  and  Gettysburg  pikes.  .A.t  this  juncture  Devor  and 
Mrs.  Armstrong  made  a  proposition  to  the  commissioners  to 
convey  thirty-two  lots,  or  one-third  of  the  entire  number  of 
their  original  plat,  to  the  commissioners  of  ]\Iiami  county,  in 
trust  for  the  county  of  Darke,  when  it  should  thereafter  be 
organized,  "for  such  public  uses  as  might  be  deemed  desir- 
able in  the  future,  whether  as  sites  for  public  buildings,  or  as 
land  for  sale  outright,  upon  which  to  realize  funds  for  county 
purposes."  This  proposition  was  accepted,  the  lots  duly  con- 
veyed to  the  county  of  Darke  and  the  county  seat  established 
on  the  beautiful  and  historic  site  of  Fort  Greenville  and 
Wayne's  famous  treaty,  where  it  remains  to  this  day. 

On  account  of  the  war  of  1812,  the  larse  amount  of  wilder- 


166  DARKE   COUNTY 

ness  and  swamp  land,  the  holding  of  titles  by  non-residents, 
who  refused  to  improve  or  sell  their  claims,  and  other  simi- 
lar causes,  final  organization  was  postponed  until  December 
14,  1816,  when  the  population  justified  an  independent  gov- 
ernment, and  Darke  county  was  then  separated  from  Miami. 
The  organization  was  not  completed,  however,  until  March 
1,  1817.  John  Purviance,  Enos  Terry  and  James  Rush  were 
elected  the  first  associate  judges  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas,  and  Archibald  Bryson,  Abraham  Studabaker  and  Silas 
Atchison  the  first  commissioners  of  the  new  county.  The 
latter  held  their  first  meeting  in  June,  1817.  John  Beers  was 
appointed  clerk,  and  John  Devor  tax  collector.  Moses  Scott 
was  appointed  sheriff  and  William  Montgomery,  coroner  in 
August,  1817.  The  first  session  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas  was  held  March  13,  1817.  The  next  session  was  held 
on  April  7,  1817,  at  which  Linus  Bascom  was  appointed  clerk 
pro  tem.  and  Abraham  Scribner,  recorder.  The  first  regular 
term  of  this  court  was  in  June,  1817,  and  was  presided  over 
by  Joseph  H.  Crane  of  Dayton  with  the  associates  before 
mentioned.  At  this  session  Moses  Scott  was  duly  em- 
powered, authorized  and  commanded  to  summon  fifteen  good 
and  lawful  men  to  appear  forthwith  and  serve  as  grand  jurors. 
The  first  jury  summoned  by  him  was  constituted  as  follows: 
John  Loring,  John  Andrews,  James  Cloyd,  Daniel  Potter, 
Robert  Douglas,  Abraham  Miller,  Filder  G.  Lenham,  Daniel 
Holley,  Joseph  Townsend,  James  Williamson.  John  Ryerson, 
David  Briggs,  Levi  Elston,  Martin  Ruple  and  Peter  Rush. 
Henry  Bacon  was  appointed  prosecutor  at  this  term.  The 
grand  jur}'  found  several  indictments  and  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  summon  twelve  men  to  act  as  petit  jurors.  Accord- 
ingh'  the  following  men  were  summoned :  Charles  Sumption, 
John  McFarlin,  James  Williamson,  John  Break,  Charles  Read, 
Jacob  Miller.  William  Montgomery,  Robert  Mclntyre,  James 
Perry.  Aaron  Dean,  Alexander  Smith  and  Zachariah  Hull  to 
act  as  the  first  petit  jury.  The}'  were  in  session  a  day  or 
two  of  this  court  each  j-ear.  The  first  prosecutor  received 
ten  dollars  for  his  services  at  the  first  term,  the  grand  jurors 
seventy-five  cents  per  day.  and  the  petit  jurors  fifty  cents, 
which  latter  was  paid  by  the  winning  party.  The  first  session 
was  held  in  the  bar-room  of  Azor  Scribner ;  the  next  one  was 
called  for  November  14th  in  the  bar-room  of  Scott's  Tavern. 
By  this  arrangement  the  building  of  a  county  court  house 
was   postponed  several   years.     A  jail   was   needed,   however. 


DARKE   COUNTY  167 

ami  the  commissioners  entered  into  contract  with  Matthias 
Uean  for  the  erection  of  the  same  in  1818  for  the  sum  of 
$300.00,  one-half  down  and  the  remainder  on  completion.  As 
it  was  paid  for  in  county  orders  which  were  worth  but  about 
sixty  per  cent,  of  the  face,  Dean  probably  got  less  than 
$200.00  actual  cash  on  his  contract.  This  jail  was  located  nn 
the  public  square,  about  thirty  feet  from  the  mirth  corner  nf 
the  present  city  hall.  It  was  about  fifteen  by  thirty  feet  in 
size,  with  two  compartments,  and  was  built  with  double  out- 
side walls  of  sound  oak  timbers  hewed  one  foot  square.  This 
modest  structure  answered  the  needs  of  the  community  at 
that  time  and  might  even  be  considered  a  costly  structure  as 
the  commissioners  had  sold  six  valuable  lots,  Nos.  36,  62,  20, 
56,  39  and  52  out  of  the  thirty-two  donated  by  Devor  and  Mrs. 
Armstrong  for  the  sum  of  $47.75  to  be  applied  on  its  erection. 
This  was  considered  a  fair  price  for  the  lots  at  that  time  and 
a  comparison  with  the  present  ^•alue  of  the  same  real  estate 
today  will  indicate  the  progress  that  has  been  made  in  less 
than  a  century.  This  building  was  consumed  by  fire  on  the 
morning  of  Sunday,  May  2,  1827.  A  new  jail  and  jailor's  resi- 
dence combined,  was  erected  of  brick  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  Broadway  and  Third  street  in  1827-28  by  John  Armstrong 
at  a  cost  of  $520.00.  The  second  bastile  was  not  found  satis- 
factory from  the  standpoint  of  security  and  was  demolished 
upon  the  erection  of  the  third  structure  on  the  southeast  half 
of  lot  25,  in  1845.  by  Allen  La^Motte  and  Israel  Reed  for  ap- 
proximately $4,000.  This  building  was  disposed  of  after  the 
erection  of  the  present  jail  in  1870.  It  has  been  extended  to 
the  sidewalk,  remodeled  and  used  as  a  place  of  business  evet 
since,  being  now  occupied  by  E.  R.  Font's  Millinery  Emporium 
and  the  Earhart  and  Meeker  saloon  and  is  known  as  Nos.  418 
and  422  Broadway. 

John  Craig  erected  the  first  court  house  on  the  south  cor- 
ner of  the  public  square  in  the  spring  of  1824.  It  was  a  two- 
story  frame  structure  about  twenty-two  by  twenty-eight  feet, 
wnth  a  court  room  occupying  the  entire  first  floor,  and  a 
clerk's  office  and  jury  room  on  the  second. 

The  second  court  house  was  erected  in  1834  in  the  center 
of  the  public  square  by  James  Craig  for  $2,524.63.  upon  plans 
drawn  by  Allen  LaMotte.  It  was  constructed  of  brick  two 
stories  high  with  roof  four  square  and  surmounted  bv  a  cu- 
pola looking  very  much  like  the  present  city  hall  with  the 
front  tower  removed.    It  is  said  that  Craig  lost  from  $1,500  to 


168  DARKE   COUNTY 

$2,000  on  the  structure  by  bidding  too  low.  It  stood  for 
nearly  forty  years  and  was  the  scene  of  many  a  stormy  and 
picturesque  legal  combat  between  the  early  legal  lights  of 
Darke  county.  The  site  was  given  by  the  Devor  heirs  as  it 
had  been  set  aside  by  John  Devor  as  a  place  for  holding  court. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  remodel  this  structure  for  a  city  hall 
upon  the  erection  of  the  iiresent  court  house  in  1873  or  1874 
but  it  resulted  in  failure  and  the  structure  was  demolished  to 
allow  the  construction  of  the  present  city  building. 

Early  Trails  and  Roads. 

One  of  the  big  problems  that  confronted  the  first  commis- 
sioners was  the  construction  of  public  roads.  Accordingly 
we  are  not  surprised  to  note  that  they  considered  the  matter 
at  their  first  meeting  and  ordered  a  road  to  be  viewed  and  sur- 
ve}"ed  from  the  county  seat  "across  the  bridge  at  En.:s  Terry's 
(East  Water  street)  and  thence  by  the  nearest  and  best  route 
in  a  direction  toward  Fort  I^oramie  until  it  stri'.ces  the  county 
line. 

John  Beers  was  appointed  surveyor  and  David  Briggs, 
David  Thompson  and  Moses  Scott  viewers  with  instructions 
to  begin  work  on  June  26.  1817.  This  was  the  veritable  be- 
ginning of  systematic  road-building  which  has  continued  to 
this  day  and  given  Darke  county  first  place  among  the  eighty- 
eight  shires  of  Ohio  with  abmit  1,700  miles  of  roads  and  pikes. 
.•\t  this  time  the  o'llv  rnads  were  the  Indian  trails,  the  army 
traces  and  the  narrow  winding  driveways  cut  to  the  various 
scattered  settlements  and  the  cabins  of  the  pioneers.  \\'e  have 
noted  that  St.  Clair  came  into  a  distinct  Indian  trail  near 
"Matchett's  Corner,"  which  he  followed  to  Fort  JelTerson, 
thence  to  Greenville  and  on  to  Fort  Recovery,  and  that  a  large 
trail  came  into  this  one  near  Lightsville,  from  the  east.  It  is 
also  a  matter  of  tradition  that  a  well-known  trail  led  from 
Pickawillany  to  Greneville  creek  and  along  that  stream  to  the 
site  of  Greenville  and  thence  on  to  the  headwaters  of  \\"hite- 
water  river.  Also  that  a  trail  led  from  Greenville  in  a  west- 
erly direction  to  the  neighborhood  of  Nashville  and  thence 
on  to  the  Indian  settlement  of  Delaware  county,  Indiana. 
Probably  other  minor  trails  centered  here  about  the  ancient 
fording  place  just  below  the  junction  of  Mud  and  Greenville 
creeks.  It  is  known  that  Wayne  during  his  occupancy  of  the 
fort  here,  cut  a  road  along  the  south  side  of  Greenville  creek 


DARKE  COCNTY  169 

to  its  mouth  at  Covington  i  I'ort  Rowdy  i  to  assist  in  the 
transportation  of  supplies  iwm  the  latter  jilace  which  ha<l 
been  brought  from  Fort  Washington  by  boat  up  the  Miami 
and  Stillwater.  It  seems  that  he  also  cut  a  trail  to  Fort 
Loramie  approximating  the  direction  of  the  present  Versailles 
pike  except  that  it  probably  kept  east  of  the  Stillwater  to  the 
crossing  at  Fort  I'.riar,  liefore  mentioned.  He  also  straight- 
ened and  improved  the  trails  cut  by  St.  Clair.  These  trails 
were  used  by  the  pioneers  and  were  later  straightened,  par- 
tially relocated,  and  improved,  giving  us  the  present  pikes  to 
Troy,  Versailles  and  Fort  Recovery,  and  showing  that  in  a 
large  measure  the  crafty  savage  selected  the  best  and  most 
direct  routes  and  located  our  best  thoroughfares. 

In  the  pioneer  days  of  Darke  county  all  state  roads  were 
surveyed  and  established  by  special  acts  of  the  Legislature. 
The  first  road  laid  out  in  this  way  was  the  old  Troy  pike. 
which  was  cut  through  about  1811  from  Hroy  in  Miami 
county.  This  road  also  became  the  first  toll  pike  in  1853. 
This  road  ran  south  of  Greenville  creek  to  Gettysburg  where 
it  crossed  and  kept  on  the  north  side  to  Greenville,  crossing 
at  Boomershine  fording — East  Fifth  street.  A  little  later  it 
was  altered  and  crossed  near  the  present  Main  street  bridge. 
A  road  was  located  from  Piqua  to  Greenville  about  1817. 
which  intersected  the  Troy  road  at  the  present  site  of  Gettys- 
burg. A  "Directory  of  Cincinnati,"  published  in  1819,  shows 
a  road  running  from  that  place  to  Greenville  by  the  way  of 
Reading.  Franklin  and  Dayton,  a  total  distance  of  ninety-two 
miles.  From  Da^'ton  to  Greenville,  the  distance  was  forty 
miles,  with  the  following  stations :  Razor's  Mills,  twelve  miles  : 
William's  Block  House,  eleven  miles;  Studdybaker's  Block 
House,  nine  miles;  Greenville,  eight  miles.  The  Milton, 
Shanesville  (Ansonia).  Fort  Recoverv  and  Fort  Jefferson 
pikes  were  laid  out  shortly  after  the  organization  of  the 
county,  on  routes  approximately  the  same  as  at  present.  Sev- 
eral roads  were  laid  out  by  the  county  commissioners  at  the 
request  of  the  settlers  in  various  neighborhoods  to  suit  their 
convenience.  Such  roads  usually  followed  the  ridges  and 
avoided  the  ponds  and  marshes,  and  went  far  afield  to  accom- 
modate isolated  settlers.  As  the  county  became" more  thickly 
settled  these  roads  were  either  vacated  or  straightened  up  as 
far  as  feasible.  The  policy  has  been  to  locate  the  new  roads 
on  section  lines  as  far  as  possible.  As  a  result  of  these  early 
and  later  road  building  enterprises  Darke  county  has  a  sys- 


170  DARKE   COUNTY 

tem  of  direct  diagonal  pikes  leading  from  the  county  seats  and 
principal  cities  of  the  surrounding  counties  to  Greenville,  sup- 
plemented by  cross  roads  and  pikes  on  most  of  the  section  lines. 
This  makes  almost  an  ideal  road  system  and  knits  the  various 
sections  of  the  county  to  each  other  and  all  to  the  county 
seat  in  a  very  efficient  manner. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem  no  turnpikes  were  built  before  a 
railway  was  constructed  in  the  county.  The  Greenville  and 
Gettysburg  pike  was  the  first  built,  being  completed  about  the 
same  time  as  the  G.  &  M.  railway.  The  "Ithaca  Free  Turn- 
pike Road"  was  granted  on  petition  in  June,  1858.  Ten  other 
free  pikes  were  ordered  built  between  that  date  and  1868. 

By  the  year  1870  such  remarkable  progress  had  been  made 
in  road  building  as  to  call  forth  the  following  article  in  the 
"Ohio  Farmer:"  "Who  would  have  thought  thirty-seven 
years  ago.  when  the  writer  first  saw  "old  Darke  county,"  that 
it  would  ever  stand  foremost  among  the  counties  of  its  state 
for  its  road  enterprise.  Why  the  county  should  have  sur- 
passed every  other  in  the  State  in  this  regard,  I  am  unable 
to  explain.  It  may  be  accounted  for  on  the  theory  of  extremes 
— the  roads  were  very  bad,  they  are  very  good.  Perhaps  the 
people  thrown  upon  their  own  resources  pushed  their  way  in 
this  direction.  It  is  certain  that  the  pike  business  became  in 
time  a  local  epidemic.  The  many  rival  stations  fostered  a 
spirit  of  rivalry.  A  condition  of  things  that  favored  the  en- 
terprise of  turnpike  construction  was  the  tendency  of  the 
people  to  invest  in  what  promised  to  be  a  permanent  im- 
provement. Whatever  may  be  the  explanation,  the  secretary's 
report  for  1868  puts  down  393  miles  of  turnpike  roads  for 
Darke  county ;  Warren  follows  with  224 ;  Clermont  and 
Wood,  200  each:  Hamilton.  195;  Montgomery,  152:  Cham- 
paign, 136;  Greene,  117;  Butler,  112,  etc. 

"Of  course  the  burden  of  taxation  is  heavy  and  not  every 
farmer  is  in  condition  to  pay  $4  an  acre  road  tax.  Some  were 
obliged  to  sell  off  the  land  to  enable  them  to  meet  assess- 
ments, but  hard  as  it  was,  even  such  gained  in  the  end  by  the 
rise  in  local  values.  It  is  quite  a  genera!  feeling  among  the 
people  that  they  have  taken  too  much  upon  their  hands  at 
once.  And  as  wheat  is  their  staple  product,  the  county  rank- 
ing fifth  in  the  state,  the  low  price  at  which  their  surplus  will 
probably  have  to  be  sold,  may  operate  somewhat  discourag- 
ingly :  but  the  resources  of  the  county  are  abundant,  and  the 
people  will  no  doubt  come  out  all  right,  and  all  the  better  for 


DARKE   COUNTY  171 

their  excellent  system  of  roads.  Parts  of  the  county  witli 
which  I  was  perfectly  familiar  ten  years  ago,  I  did  not  recog- 
nize when  passing  through  them  last  summer."     *     *     * 

It  is  readily  seen  and  is  generally  acknowledged  that  the 
opening  and  systematic  improvement  of  roads  is  one  of  the 
most  important  projects  in  the  development  of  any  new  com- 
munity, and  Darke  county  has  not  proven  an  exception  to 
this  statement.  Today  we  have  some  thirteen  hundred  miles 
of  improved  pikes  and  about  seventeen  hundred  miles  of  roads 
of  all  descriptions — enough,  if  placed  end  to  end  in  a  continu- 
ous stretch,  to  reach  from  New  York  City  almost  to  Den- 
ver. Colo. 

Early  Neighborhood  Settlements. 

W'e  have  noted  previously  that  a  large  per  cent,  of  the  area 
of  primitive  Darke  county  was  covered  with  swamps,  making 
large  sections  unfit  for  habitation  until  properly  drained  and 
cleared.  The  settlers  naturally  selected  the  driest,  healthiest 
and  most  promising  sections,  and  from  these  points  of  vantage 
gradually  worked  out  the  problems  of  drainage,  clearing  and 
cultivation,  etc.  It  seems  appropriate  here  to  note  the  pro- 
gress of  settlement  by  1825  and  enumerate  some  of  the  first 
families  as  noted  by  Prof.  Mcintosh. 

"Below  Ithaca,  in  the  southeast,  lived  Lucas  and  Robbins. 
At  intervals  along  ^Miller's  Fork,  near  Castine.  were  Ellis, 
Freeman,  Park  and  Robert  Phillips  and  J.  F.  Miller.  On  the 
east  bank  of  the  ^^^^itewater  stood  the  cabins  of  Pirawley. 
Purviance,  the  McClures,  Broderick  and  Jacob  Miller,  Zadoc 
Smith  and  the  Wades.  Near  Fort  Black,  by  the  lake,  were 
the  Rushes,  Henry  Hardy,  Tibbs,  Falknor,  and  possibly  the 
Kunkles.  On  the  Middle  Fork  were  the  Tilsons,  Harlans, 
Emerson,  Helpenstein  and  Gert.  Approaching  the  town,  we 
find  Spencer,  the  Edwards  families,  Wilsons  and  others.  Fur- 
ther to  the  north  we  come  to  Cloyd,  Pearson,  Cassaday  and 
Kettring.  About  Palestine  dwelt  Samuel  Loring.  In  the 
northern  part  of  German  township  lived  Ludwig  Clapp,  re- 
puted credulous  and  superstitious,  William  Asher,  of  the 
same  mind,  Moores  and  Rush  and  John  McNeil,  Rarick.  Snell 
and  Miller,  on  Crout  creek  and  its  vicinity.  East  of  the 
West  Branch  dwelt  Martin  Ruple,  Archibald  Bryson  and 
John  Whittaker.  while  lower  down  were  the  small  clearings 
made  by  John  Hiller  and  Daniel  Potter.  I\Iud  creek  passed 
by  the  cabin  homes  of  Peter  Weaver,  Andrew  NofFsinger,  his 


172  DARKE   COUNTY 

son  Joseph,  James  and  Henry  Rush.  Sumption.  McGinnis, 
burns  and  Wertz.  East  of  the  prairie,  Zadoc  Reagan 
had  located,  and  traveling  the  stream  brought  in  sight  the 
homes  of  Abraham  Studabaker  and  Abraham  Miller.  James 
Hay  dwelt  at  Jeflferson,  and  below  were  Ryerson  and  Wine 
gardner.  On  Greenville  creek,  above  town,  stood  three  cab- 
ins occupied  by  Ullery,  Dean  and  David  ^^'illiamson,  and 
below  on  the  creek  were  those  of  Squire  Briggs.  Westfall, 
^lajor  Adams,  Br}an,  Cunningham  and  Studabaker.  On  the 
south  bank  of  the  creek,  at  intervals,  the  enumeration  finds 
Popejoy,  Esq.,  Hayes,  James  Gregory  and  Carnahan.  Chris- 
topher Martin,  Alexander  Fleming,  James  Roff,  David  Rifl'le 
and  his  sons  and  son-in-law,  Hathaway,  on  Stillwater,  near 
Beainsville.  Conlock  was  at  ^^'ebster,  and  McDonald,  Mote 
and  Ludwig  Christie  below.  Ward  Atchison  was  on  the 
A-erge  of  the  Black  swamp,  and  Lewis  Baker  on  Indian  creek. 
From  Bridge  creek  on  to  the  dividing  branch,  were  scattered 
Arnold,  Townsend.  the  Thom]:>sons  and  Clay.  These  men  had 
settled  here  under  many  difficult  circumstances,  but  they  had 
eiTected  a  lodgment  and  formed  a  center  by  which  others 
could  be  guided  and  assisted.  Persistent  in  labor,  patient 
under  afflictions  of  disease  were  these  plain  men  with  un- 
affected manner  and  kindly  greetings.  As  the  country  be- 
gan to  be  settled,  families  were  moving  on  to  different  loca- 
tions in  the  central  part  of  the  county.  There  was  a  large 
portion  of  the  county  that  seemed  so  much  of  a  swamp  as 
to  make  a  final  occupation  problematical.  Along  Greenville 
creek,  as  above  named,  one  found  at  varying  distances  the  log 
cabins  of  a  few  families,  and  there  were  others  on  the  West 
Branch.  There  were  cabins  on  the  branch  known  as  Crout 
creek,  and  yet  others  upon  Mud  creek.  These  scattered  clear- 
ings were  the  oldest  in  the  county,  and  northward  there  were 
few,  if  any.  And  from  there,  so  far  as  means  would  permit, 
the  newcomers  received  their  supplies  and  assistance."  *  *  * 
"In  1818,  there  was  the  commencement  of  a  settlement  on 
the  east  fork  of  Whitewater,  and  on  Twin  creek,  near  Ithaca, 
and  several  families  had  settled  near  Fort  Black,  now  known 
as  New  Madison.  During  this  year,  Minatown  and  Fort 
JeiTerson  were  laid  out,  and,  in  the  year  following,  Versailles 
was  platted,  making  in  all  five  villages,  the  germs  of  future 
business  towns,  and  the  only  ones  for  full  a  dozen  years — 
practical  proof,  in  so  large  a  county,  of  sparse  and  tardj'  oc- 
cupation. 


DARKE   COUXTY  173 

"During  the  year  when  Fort  Jefferson  was  platted,  a  ta\-- 
ern  stand  was  occupied  there,  and,  while  the  conveniences 
were  far  from  equal  to  the  Turpen  or  Wagner  houses  of  to- 
day, yet  there  was  an  abundance  of  plain,  palatable  food  and 
little  ceremony.  During  1818,  A.  Studabaker  left  his  former 
entry,  near  Gettysburg,  and  reraoved  to  the  farm  more  re- 
cently the  property  of  his  son  George.  AA'illiam  Arnold  and 
others  were  residing  on  Bridge  creek.  The  settlements  now 
became  known  by  various  names  to  distinguish  them,  such 
as  'Yankee  Town ;'  one  called  Ireland,  located  north  of 
Green\ille,  and  a  third  is  mentioned  here  as  suggestive  of  the 
section,  known  as  the  Black  Swamp  Settlement.  These  nu- 
clei of  the  clearings  in  Darke  each  formed  a  distinct  neighbor- 
hood and  had  their  leading  men,  respected  for  honesty,  good 
faith,  and  frugality  in  public  as  well  as  private  affairs."  *  *  * 

At  this  time  but  little  progress  had  been  made  in  clearing 
off  the  dense  forest  and  rank  growth  of  underljrush.  The 
only  openings  were  the  garden  patches  and  small  clearings 
of  a  few  acres  each  around  the  settlers'  cabins.  These  rude 
habitations  were  "hand  made"  from  foundation  to  the  stick 
chimney  top,  and  in  their  construction  typified  the  homely 
virtues  of  the  pioneers — simplicity,  strength,  sacrifice,  hard- 
ness, industry,  hospitality  and  love  of  home  and  neighbors. 
When  a  cabin  was  to  be  "raised"  the  settler  first  selected 
a  favorable  site,  probably  on  a  -knoll  or  ridge,  then  felled 
the  timber  growing  upon  it,  picked  out  the  choicest  logs  and 
cut  them  in  proper  lengths.  When  all  was  ready  he  notified 
his  scattered  neighbors  and  at  the  appointed  time  all  assem- 
bled for  a  "raising  bee."  Some  help  to  carry  the  logs  where 
they  will  be  hand}'  for  the  builders,  while  the  others  watch 
them  at  the  ends  and  raise  and  place  them  into  position  until 
the  proper  height  is  attained.  The  hea^•v  work  being  finished 
the  helpers  return  to  their  homes  leaving  the  proprietor  to 
cut  and  place  the  clapboards  on  the  roof,  to  split  and  place 
the  puncheons  for  a  f^oor,  to  cut  and  face  the  openings  for 
the  door  and  fireplace,  to  fill  the  chinks  with  chips  and  mor- 
tar and  to  build  the  huge  chimney  of  sticks  and  mud.  After 
this  he  hewed  out  a  door  and  table  and  a  few  three  legged 
stools  and  made  a  bed  of  clapboards  and  poles  supported  at 
the  outer  corner  by  a  forked  stick  and  resting  at  the  inner 
ends  on  the  walls  of  the  cabin  at  the  cracks  between  the  logs. 
The  door  was  hung  on  wooden  hinges  and  a  wooden  latch 
stuck  on  the  inside,  with  a  hook  pin  driven  into  the  door  cas- 


174  DARKE   COUNTY 

ing  for  a  fastening.  A  strong  leather  string  was  then  at- 
tached to  the  latch  on  the  inside  with  one  end  run  through  a 
hole  made  in  the  door  for  the  purpose,  so  as  to  hang  down 
on  the  outside.  When  the  latch  string  hung  out  the  door 
could  be  opened  by  pulling  on  it.  To  secure  the  door  the 
string  was  pulled  back  through  the  hole.  Some  clapboard 
shelves  supported  on  pins  at  the  back  of  the  cabin,  a  few 
pegs  at  convenient  places  for  supporting  garments,  and  two 
small  forks  of  wood  or  deer  horn  placed  over  the  fireplace 
to  support  the  shot  pouch  and  rifle  put  a  finishing  touch  on 
the  job  ready  for  the  housewife  and  famil}'. 

"In  houses  thus  built,  and  unplastered  within  and  entirely 
devoid  of  adornment,  our  ancestors  lived  with  a  comfort  un- 
known to  the  opulent  occupant  of  many  a  palatial  residence 
of  today.  Coal  stoves  or  wood  stoves  were  unknown,  but  in 
the  wide  fireplace  were  found  hooks  and  trammel,  and  and- 
irons. Nearby  were  the  bake-pan  and  the  kettle ;  and  as 
homes  varied  there  were  to  be  seen  in  many  a  log  house  the 
plain  deal  table,  the  flag  bottom  chair,  and  the  easy,  straight, 
high-backed  rocker.  Carpets  there  were  none.  The  beds 
contained  no  mattress,  springs,  or  even  bed-cord,  the  conch 
was  often  spread  upon  the  floor,  and  sleeping  apartments  were 
separated  by  hanging  blankets.  Not  infrequently,  the  emi- 
grant neighbor,  and  occasionally  Indian  visitor,  hy  upon 
blankets  or  robes  before  the  huge  open  fireplace,  with  s^'ock- 
inged  or  moccasined  feet  before  the  constant  fire.  \\'ooden 
vessels,  either  turned  or  coopered,  were  commonly  used  for 
the  table.  A  tin  cup  was  an  article  of  luxury  almost  as  rare 
as  an  iron  fork.  Gourds  were  used  at  the  water  bucket,  and 
there  were  not  always  knives  enough  to  go  around  the  familj-. 
The  immigrant  brought  with  him,  packed  upon  the  horse,  or 
later  on  the  wagon,  some  articles  of  better  sort.  Upon  the 
kitchen  drawers  were  set  forth  a  shiny  row  of  pewter  plates, 
buck-handled  knives,  iron  or  pewter  spoons,  or  there  were 
seen  a  row  of  blue-edged  earthenware,  with  corresponding 
cups  and  saucers,  with  teapot — articles  then  to  grace  the  table 
at  the  quilting,  social  afternoon  visit,  or  preacher's  call :  but 
advancing  civilization  has  sent  the  plates  and  spoons  to  the 
melting  pot,  while  knives  and  forks  have  taken  less  substance 
but  more  shapely  form.     *     *     * 

"The  subject  of  food  was  all  important  with  the  settler, 
and  hard  labor  in  the  open  air  created  a  keen  appetite  which 
made  of  much   account  the   feasts  of  merrymakings,   parties 


DARKE   COUNTY  175 

and  public  meetings.  Quality  was  not  so  much  regarded 
as  quantity.  Fish  from  the  creek,  venison  and  bear  meat, 
bacon  and  even  the  raccoon's  carcass  were  made  available 
for  food.  Enormous  potpies  were  baked  containing  fowls, 
squirrels  and  due  proportions  of  other  meats.  The  food  was 
generally  most  wholesome  and  nutritive.  There  was  a  boun- 
teous supply  of  the  richest  milk,  the  finest  butter  and  most 
palatable  meat  that  could  be  imagined,  and  meals  were  eaten 
with  all  the  relish  which  healthful  vigor,  backed  by  labor, 
could  bestow. 

"The  clothing  worn  in  early  days  was  generally  the  same 
in  all  seasons.  The  settler,  standing  upon  the  prostrate 
trunk  of  a  huge  tree,  stroke  following  stroke  of  his  keen  axe, 
and  chip  after  chip  whirring  out  upon  the  snow,  little  regarded 
the  winter  temperature,  and  coatless  and  barefooted,  the  sum.- 
mer  heat  was  not  oppressive.  The  garments  worn  were 
mainly  the  product  of  home  manufacture,  where  necessity  in- 
sured effort  and  practice  gave  skill.     *     *     *" 

Social  and  industrial  conditions  in  early  days  are  vividly 
described  by  Jesse  Arnold  in  "Recollections  of  the  Arnold 
Family,"  published  in   1889. 

"Nor  would  we  forget  the  old  spinning-wheel — the  larger 
one  for  wool,  and  the  smaller  one  for  flax  and  tow.  For 
months  and  months  have  w'e  seen  the  girls  busv  with  their 
rude  articles  of  domestic  economy,  keeping  up  a  continuous 
whirl  from  sun  up  till  dark,  perhaps  omitting  fifteen  minutes 
for  each  meal ;  and  then,  after  the  spinning  is  done,  the  web 
is  transferred  to  an  old  loom,  in  some  lonely  and  desolate  out- 
house, to  be  made  up  in  cloth  of  some  kind,  where  a  continu- 
ous batting  was  kept  up  the  live  long  day. 

"For  this  laborious  work  these  girls  would  receive  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  cents  per  week,  and,  if  at  the  end  of  the 
month  she  had  received  enough  money  to  buy  a  calico  dress, 
she  was  very  fortunate  and  became  the  subject  of  neighbor- 
hood talk  for  being  able  to  sport  a  new  calico  dress  in  place 
of  the  linsey-woolsey  usually  worn." 

"Many  a  day  have  we  seen  the  sturdy  toiler  go  into  the 
harvest  field  at  sun  up  and  with  sickle  or  cradle  work  the 
live  long  day  till  sun  down  for  fifty  cents  per  day,  with  onlv 
an  hour  for  nooning.  Thirty-five  and  thirty-seven  cents  per 
day  was  the  usual  price  for  eleven  and  twelve  hours'  work, 
with  goods  of  all   kinds  twice   their  present  prices — calicoes 


176  DARKE   COUNTY 

twenty-five  cents,  muslin  tuenty-fix'e  cents,  and  all  else  in 
proportion." 

The.  pioneers  generally  wore  home-made  clothing  of  linen 
or  wool  as  these  could  be  made  from  raw  material  produced 
at  home  or  secured  nearby.  With  coarse  wool  at  fifty  cents 
a  pound,  calico  at  forty  to  fift)-  cents  per  yard  and  cowhide 
boots  selling  at  seven  dollars  per  pair,  while  farm  produce 
brought  very  low  prices,  and  girls  ran  the  spinning  wheel  for 
seventy-five  cents  a  week,  it  is  readily  seen  why  the  dames 
of  these  da3's  dressed  much  more  plainly  and  modestly  than 
they  do  today.  Neither  do  we  think  of  their  dress  as  being 
less  becoming  or  the  conditions  of  their  life  less  conducive  of 
happiness  than  are  the  prevailing  fashions  and  conditions 
of  today.  Labor  and  pleasure  were  often  combined  in  the 
corn  huskings,  quiltings,  wood-choppings,  loggings  and  house 
raisings,  and  as  much  real  enjoyment  found  by  the  lads  and 
lassies  at  the  special  celebrations  and  big  militia  musters  as 
is  now  provided  by  the  county  fair.  It  is  needless  to  contrast- 
further  the  conditions  of  life  today  with  those  of  a  century 
ago.  On  the  foundations  laid  bv  these  pioneers  we  have  built 
a  superstructure  called  civilization. 

The  increase  of  population,  the  advance  in  education  and 
invention  and  the  changed  condition  under  which  we  live 
and  labor  have  enlarged  our  field  of  enjoyment,  smoothed 
many  of  the  rough  places  along  the  way  of  life  and  appar- 
ently made  life  the  more  worth  living.  However,  it  is  doubt- 
ful whether  the  overfed,  overdressed,  overstrained  and  pam- 
pered youth  of  today  are  capable  of  extracting  that  true 
pleasure  from  life  which  came  to  the  pioneers  through  rough 
labor,  sacrifice  and  mutual  burden  bearing.  \\'e  turn  with 
loathing  from  the  daily  newspaper  of  todav  with  its  accounts 
of  crimes,  accidents  and  misdoings,  its  stories  of  high-life, 
infelicity,  incompatibility  and  divorce  to  the  simple,  quiet, 
contented,  industrious  life  o""  the  pioneer  in  the  rude  log 
cabin,  and  long  for  a  return  to  the  pioneer  and  more  rational 
li\'ing  of  early  days. 

These  lines  from  Darke  county's  gifted  poet,  Barney  Collins, 
are  not  inappropriate  here: 

Here  fertile  fields  upon  the  prospect  swell, 
\\  hose  forests  once  in  primal  grandeur  rose. 

And  sounds  of  peace  are  heard  where  once  the  yell 
( )f  savage  broke  and  chilled  the  blood  of  those 


DARKE   COUNTY  177 

\\'ho  came  in  early  life  or  at  its  close 
To  clear  the  wilderness  and  till  the  ground ; 

And  though  they  were  beset  by  cunning  foes 
Whose  stealthy  tread  of  danger  gave  no  sound. 
Still,  yet  they  dar'd  and  gave  the  sa\-age  wound  for  wound. 

Where  with  a  single  room  the  hut  was  rear'd, 

Which  turned  but  ill  the  winter's  cold  and  snow; 
New  structures — spacious  temples — have  appear'd. 

With  halls  commodious  that  richly  glow 

With  all  that  art  can  bestow. 
.-Mas!  the  hardships  of  the  pioneer! 

His  wants  and  struggles  we  can  never  know; 
But  whilst  his  fruits  we  are  enjoying  here 
If  he  be  dead  or  living — him — let  us  revere. 

Here  roamed  in  herds  the  elk  and  timid  deer, 

•    Here  howl'd  the  wolf  and  wild  the  panther  screamed ! 

And  with  them  bloody  conflicts  happened  here 

That  even  now  are  tales  of  fiction  deemed ; 

By  us  too  lightly  is  the  truth  esteemed, 
For  with  us  yet  are  those  who  in  the  strife 

From  wounds  of  deep  infliction  stream'd  : 
They  could  not  know  the  sweets  of  peaceful  life 
Where   prowl'd   the  savage  beast   and   gleamed   the   scalping 
knife. 

Contrasted  with  the  rapid  development  of  certain  choice 
sections  of  the  far  west  today  the  early  development  of 
Darke  county  seemed  painfull}-  slow.  The  census  of  1820 
showed  the  population  of  the  county  as  then  constituted  to 
be  3,717.  Mercer  county,  which  then  embraced  parts  of  Shel- 
by and  Auglaize,  was  included  in  this  enumeration,  making 
the  probable  population  of  Darke  county  two  thousand  or 
less.  Four  years  later  the  count}'  seat  had  a  population  of 
one  hundred  or  less,  including  thirteen   families. 

In  1830  the  census  of  the  county  still  in  its  original  form, 
was  6,204,  while  the  county  seat  contained  204  inhabitant?. 
Several  conditions  retarded  growth  and  development  among 
which  we  note  the  large  amount  of  swamp  land,  the  preva- 
lence of  malarial  and  kindred  diseases,  and  the  "farther  west" 
movement  which  enticed  many  to  the  region  of  the  Missis- 
sippi a  few  years  later.  In  the  strenuous  work  of  clearing  the 
(12) 


178  DARKE   COUNTY 

land  much  hard  labor  and  exposure  were  undergone  and  l>ut 
few  escaped  attacks  of  fevers  and  chills,  ague,  etc. 

Doctors  Stephen  Perrine,  John  Briggs,  J-  M.  P-  Bas'.cerville, 
I.  N.  Gard  and  Alfred  Ayers  were  kept  busy  attending  the 
sick  and  during  the  scourge  of  flux  in  1829-1830  this  force 
was  found  inadequate,  it  being  found  necessary  to  summon 
several  physicians  from  Preble  and  ]\Iiami  counties.  Bilious 
complaints  prevailed  until  about  the  middle  of  the  century 
by  which  time  the  area  of  swamp  lands  had  been  greatly 
reduced  and  the  environment  of  the  settlers  made  more 
healthy  generally.  Vital  statistics  today  show  that  Darke 
county  is  one  of  the  healthiest  communities  in  the  state. 

Early  Business  Enterprises. 

Trade  and  commerce  kept  pace  with  the  slow  agricultural 
development.  Greenville  was  naturally  the  center  of  trade 
and  here  the  first  merchants  opened  up  their  shops.  Men- 
tion has  been  made  of  the  pioneer  French  trader  who  was 
"cleaned  out"  by  the  Indians ;  of  Azor  Scribner  and  Abraham 
Scrihner ;  of  Connor,  who  located  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
\^'ater  and  Sycamore,  of  the  Hood  brothers  on  the  north  side 
of  ^^'ater  between  Elm  and  Vine  streets,  and  of  Basconi  and 
Scott,  the  tavern  keepers.  Connor's  place  was  later  occupied 
b}-  Nicholas  Greenham  of  Piqua ;  the  Hoods  were  succeeded 
b}'  Delorac  and  then  later  by  Chas.  Neave.  L.  R.  Brownell, 
of  Piqua,  opened  a  store  on  the  south  side  of  Main  street,  be- 
tween Sycamore  and  Ehn  street,  in  1826,  later  he  moved  to 
the  east  corner  of  public  square,  and  continued  in  business 
until  about  1833.  He  v/as  succeeded  bj'  James  M.  Dorsey  and 
'  Henry  Arnold.  Later  Dorsey  withdrew  and  Henry  Arnold 
carried  on  the  business  alone  for  several  years. 

In  1830  W.  B.  Beall  purchased  a  store  which  had  been  es- 
tablished by  John  McNeal  in  1827.  Beall  was  soon  joined  by 
Francis  Waring,  who  several  years  later  took  over  the  entire 
business  and  continued  the  same  until  1876.  Their  place  of 
business  was  first  on  the  corner  of  the  public  square  opposite 
the  present  site  of  the  James  hotel,  and  later  on  the  present 
site  of  the  Masonic  Temple  on  the  east  corner.  .Vllen  LaMott 
and  Josiah  D.  Farrar  formed  a  partnership  and  opened  a 
store  about  1830  on  West  Main  street,  moved  later  to  the  west 
corner  of  Third  and  Broadway  and  continued  until  1840. 
John  C.  Potter  opened  a  store  in  1834  on  the  west  side  of 


ABRAHAM    SCRIBNER,    PIONEER    MERCHANT 


DARKE   COUNTY  179 

Main  street  between  the  public  square  and  Sycamore  street. 
Later  he  built  a  substantial  brick  building  on  the  public 
square  where  the  postoffice  now  stands  and  continued  until 
1849,  when  he,  his  wife  and  daughter  died  of  cholera.  His 
brother  Hiram  formed  a  partnership  with  Samuel  Davis  in 
1835  and  opened  a  store  on  the  present  site  of  the  fire  de- 
partment. Later  this  firm  moved  to  East  Main  street  between 
the  square  and  Walnut  street.  Davis  soon  sold  out  and  Pot- 
ter continued  until  his  death  in  1845.  Abraham  Scribner,  be- 
fore mentioned,  started  a  store  on  the  present  site  of  the  arti- 
ficial gas  plant,  then  moved  to  the  southwest  corner  of  Main 
and  Elm  streets  and  finall)'  to  lot  59  between  Sycamore  and 
the  square  where  J'lhn  .Schu1)ert  lately  had  a  grocery  and 
where  Hezekiah  Woods  now  lives. 

Besides  those  mentioned  above  others  started  stores  and 
carried  on  business  for  a  few  months  but  were  unable  to 
become  established.  Stores  in  those  days  did  not  specialize 
on  one  line  of  goods,  as  the  population  was  not  sufficient  to 
justify  this,  but  carried  a  general  line,  including  groceries, 
hardware,  dry  goods,  drugs,  boots  and  shoes,  quensware,  etc. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  about  this  time  corn  sold  for 
15  cents  per  bushel;  pork  and  beef,  when  it  could  be  sold, 
at  two  or  three  cents  a  pound ;  maple  sugar  at  6  to  8  cents 
per  pound,  while  wages  ranged  from  two  to  three  shillings 
a  day.  To  a  large  extent  cloth  was  manufactured  and  cloth- 
ing made  at  home,  and  the  farmer  depended  on  the  local  mar- 
ket to  dispose  of  his  produce.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  first 
stores  were  on  West  Water  and  Main  streets,  later  they 
grouped  about  the  public  square,  and  finally  invaded  Broad- 
way, which  has  become  the  main  business  thoroughfare.  Men- 
tion should  be  made  here  of  other  business  enterprises  which 
flourished  in  early  days,  but  in  later  years  practical!}'  became 
extinct.  Wm.  Sipe  conducted  a  pottery  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Fourth  and  Walnut  streets,  where  he  made  crocks 
and  jugs  for  many  years.  Another  pottery  was  located  on 
the  rear  of  the  lot  now  occupied  by  M.  B.  Trainor's  residence 
on  Vine  street  near  Water,  and  a  third  on  West  Fourth 
street,  just  beyond  the  present  site  of  the  M.  E.  church. 

Early  attempts  were  made  to  establish  tanneries,  one  above 
the  present  site  of  the  Mud  creek  bridge,  and  the  other  on  the 
site  of  the  O'Brien  greenhouses,  in  Minatown,  but  both 
proved  abortive. 


180  DARKE   COUNTY 

About  1820  a  tannery  was  started  on  the  southeast  corner 
of  Water  and  Walnut  streets  by  Baldwin  and  AIcGregor, 
which  continued  under  ^•arious  management  and  with  little 
or  no  profit  until  1855.  A  tannery  was  established  between 
Greenville  creek  and  West  Water  street  just  west  of  Sycamore 
street  by  Jacob  Herkimer  in  1831  or  1832,  which  continued 
in  operation  for  some  fifty  years  under  different  owners.  The 
last  operators  were  Thos.  B.  Waring  and  F.  i\I.  Eidson.  \\'iii. 
W.  Jordan  started  a  tannery  on  the  west  side  of  North  Broad- 
way, just  south  of  the  present  site  of  the  O'Brien  greenhouses, 
whose  history  covered  about  the  same  period  as  the  above 
mentioned  enterprises.  This,  also,  changed  hands  until  it 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  Porters,  who  operated  it  for 
quite  a  period.  Fine  springs  were  found  on  both  the  latter 
sites,  which  were  valuable  assets  in  the  business. 

Mention  should  be  made  of  David  and  Alexander  Craig, 
twin  brothers,  who  were  blacksmith  and  wagonmaker  re- 
spectively ;  Wm.  McKhann,  St.,  and  Jesse  McGinnis,  cabinet- 
makers; Benj.  Brown,  wheelwright;  Wm.  Lipp  and  Sam 
Pierce,  fur  and  skin  dressers ;  Philip  Stoner,  basketmaker,  and 
Rural  Risley,  wool  carder,  as  representing  occupations  either 
defunct  or  declining. 

Early   Taverns. 

In  the  way  of  taverns  early  Greenville  seems  to  have  been 
well  supplied.  As  will  be  noted  these  were  mostly  grouped 
about  the  public  square  for  the  convenience  of  travelers  and 
the  general  public.  Early  writers  mention  the  Bascom  hos- 
tlery  on  the  present  site  of  the  fire  department ;  a  public  house 
on  the  opposite  corner  to  the  west,  originally  built  by  Dr. 
Perrine  as  a  residence,  later  occupied  by  Jno.  Hufnagle  as  a 
residence ;  the  Wayne  House  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the 
square,  built  by  Jas.  Craig  about  1830,  later  occupied  by 
Dr.  Aliesse,  still  known  as  the  Wagner  House  and  now  in  an 
enlarged  and  extensively  remodeled  condition  as  the  Hotel 
James ;  the  Broadway  House,  built  by  Chas.  Hutchin  on  the 
southwest  corner  of  the  square  (Farmers'  Bank  site)  in  1837, 
and  operated  by  various  proprietors  for  some  forty  years 
thereafter;  "Travelers'  Rest,"  erected  by  Joshua  Howell  in 
1830  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Broadway  and  Fourth 
streets  and  continued  for  a  similar  period  of  time ;  Hamilton 
House,  erected  in  1830  by  Francis  L.  Hamilton  on  the  corner 
of  Main  street  and  the  square,  across  from  the  Wayne  House. 


DARKE   COUNTY  181 

The  bar  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  principal  features  of 
these  establishments,  when  practically  everybody  drank 
liquor.  They  were  a  place  of  general  resort  and  discussion, 
where  free  exchange  of  ideas  on  politics  and  public  questions 
took  place  and  where -the  news  and  gossip  of  the  community 
was  made  public. 

Fur  Trade. 

Hunting  and  trapping  wild  animals  for  their  valuable  furs 
was  the  employment  of  several  men  about  town  for  at  least 
part  of  the  year.  Wm.  Sipe,  the  potter  before  mentioned, 
was  also  a  professional  hunter.  In  1829  all  the  buildings  in 
town,  about  thirty  in  number,  were  on  Water  and  Main 
streets,  including  the  public  square,  except  the  log  house  of 
Sipe  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Fourth  and  Walnut,  where 
he  enjoyed  the  seclusion  coveted  by  the  typical  hunter.  The 
farmers,  no  doubt,  also  did  much  hunting  and  trapping,  as 
the  woods  and  creeks  abounded  in  fur  producing  animals,  and 
the  local  merchants  were  eager  to  take  furs  and  skins  in  ex- 
change for  merchandise.  Speaking  of  LaMotte  and  Farrar's 
store,  an  early  writer  says :  "They  sold  goods,  bought  furs 
and  skins,  and  for  many  years  packed  a  large  quantity  of 
pork.  It  was  a  wonderful  sight  to  be  taken  into  the  fur  room 
of  these  men,  a  whole  room  twenty  by  fifty  feet  nearly  stacked 
full  of  bales  of  raccoon,  mink,  muskrat,  deer  skins,  etc." 

For  a  true  pictur>;  of  the  life  and  men  of  Greenville  prior 
to  1830  we  herewith  quote  the  words  of  an  old  resident : 
"About  one-half  of  them  were  very  good  and  decent  men  for 
the  rough  times  in  which  they  lived.  The  other  half  were  of 
the  lewder  sort,  drinking,  carousing  and  quarreling,  with  oc- 
casional fights,  and  as  it  cost  but  little  to  live  in  those  days, 
one-half  their  time  was  spent  about  the  taverns  in  gambling, 
telling  hard  stories,  pitching  quoits,  throwing  large  stones 
from  the  shoulder,  kicking  the  pole,  wrestling,  jumping,  run- 
ning foot  races,  horse  races,  fishing,  hunting,  desecrating  the 
Sabbath  with  all  these  practices,  irreligious  and  semi-civilized. 
These  were  the  men  of  which  strangers  took  their  idea  of  the 
character  of  Greenville,  and  always  scored  it  on  the  bad  side. 
The  good,  the  industrious,  did  not  go  about  to  see.  The  vicious 
they  could  not  avoid ;  they  were  like  yellow  jackets  at 
the  cider  barrel,  buzzing  gener?lly  a  little  too  close,  putting 
in  dread  of  being  stung  and  hasting  the  time  of  departure,  and 
retarding  the  progress  and  improvement  of  the  town." 


182  DARKE   COUNTY 

No  doubt  the  testimony  of  this  earl\'  observer  is  correct 
as  the  reputation  for  gambling  and  hard  drinking  in  Green- 
ville lingered  to  almost  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury. Neither  is  the  biblical  saying  inappropriate  even  in 
these  days :  "The  fathers  have  eaten  the  sour  grapes,  and  the 
children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge,"  as  testified  to  by  a  host  of 
temperance  workers  who  have  struggled  long  and  desperately 
to  improve  the  public  sentiment  and  reduce  the  evil  connected 
with  these  ancient  practices. 

Early  Mills. 

In  these  days  of  good  roads  and  raihvays,  of  easy  communi- 
cation and  quick  transportation,  when  the  physical  needs  of 
the  community  are  readily  supplied,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
of  the  hardships  encountered  by  the  pioneers  in  securing  flour 
and  meal  for  their  daily  bread.  The  earliest  settlers  were 
compelled  to  go  to  Montgomery  or  Miami  county  to  mill  on 
horseback  as  there  were  no  roads  suitable  for  wagons.  It  was 
a  common  practice  to  travel  thirty  or  forty  miles  to  mill 
seated  on  top  of  a  two  bushel  sack  of  corn  thrown  across  the 
animal's  back.  Such  a  trip  would  often  require  two  or  three 
days  of  travel  through  an  almost  unbroken  ."orest,  during 
which  time  the  traveler  would  probably  not  see  over  five  or 
six  houses  or  clearings. 

The  first  mill  in  the  county  was  built  by  Enos  Terry,  for- 
merly mentioned,  on  his  land  at  the  bend  of  Greenville  creek 
a  short  distance  above  the  present  site  of  Main  street  bridge. 
A  grist  and  saw  mill  were  attached  to  the  same  power. 
It  is  said  that  this  little  mill  ground  corn  for  the  Indians 
who  attended  the  ceremonies  attendant  on  Harrison's  treaty 
in  1814,  and  that  the  dam  was  destroyed  by  the  garrison  at 
the  fort  on  the  pretext  of  military  necessity,  inasmuch  as  it 
backed  water  and  caused  the  Mud  creek  prairie  to  overflow, 
thus  creating  a  shallow,  stagnant  lake  which  bred  disease. 

After  the  war  John  Dean  erected  a  mill  about  three  and  a 
half  miles  above  Greenville  on  the  creek  (now  Weimer's)  and 
John  Devor  started  a  saw  mill  on  the  West  Branch  half  a 
mile  to  the  south  of  it.  Major  Adams  built  a  little  mill  on 
the  creek  five  or  six  miles  below  Greenville  about  this  time. 
This  was  later  known  as  Baer's  mill  and  now  as  Cromer's. 

Samuel  Kelly  built  the  first  wool-carding  mill  about  1824 
just  above  the  site  of  Terry's  destroyed  mill  and  in  about  a 


DARKE   COUNTY 


183 


year  prepared  to  grind  grain  also.  About  1828  he  sold  out 
to  John  Swisher,  who  continued  it  until  1835  or  1836,  when 
the  dam  was  destroyed  by  a  mob  under  the  same  pretext  that 
Terry's  mill  had  been  destroyed  before,  and  at  a  loss  of  some 
four  thousand  dollars  to  the  owner.  Dr.  Perrine,  who  was  a 
very  eccentric  character,  owned  land  on  Mud  creek  about  a 
mile  south  of  town  and  was  induced  to  commence  a  suit  for 
damages  on  account  of  back  water.  The  jury  in  this  case- 
rendered  a  verdict  of  fifty  dollars'  damages  in  favor  of  Perrine 
and  immediately  a  mob  leveled  the  dam,  showing  the  state 
of  lawlessness  prevailing  at  that  time. 

David  Briggs  erected  a  mill  about  a  mile  and  a  half  below 
Greenville  in  1825  or  1826,  which  was  operated  by  different 
proprietors  until  1880,  when  it  was  decided  to  remove  the 
dam  to  allow  the  proper  drainage  of  the  Mud  creek  bottoms. 
William  ]\Iartin  built  a  saw  mill  near  the  mouth  of  the  Dividing 
Branch  about  1822,  and  operated  a  tan  yard  nearby.  This 
mill  was  rebuilt  several  times  and  operated  on  and  off  over 
fifty  years.  John  W.  Harper  built  a  saw  mill  about  half  a 
mile  further  up  some  fifteen  years  later.  About  1830  Jas. 
and  Benj.  Devor  erected  a  fulling  mill  un  the  West  Branch  on 
the  site  of  their  father's  saw  mill.  They  afterward  sold  to 
Wm.  Akins,  who  greatly  enlarged  and  improved  it  by  adding 
a  spinning  jack  and  several  powen  looms.  This  mill  did  a 
large  business  and  relieved  the  women  of  the  community  of 
the  former  drudgery  of  hand  carding. 

About  1841  Mane  Flora,  Sr.,  erected  a  saw  mill  on  the  West 
Branch  just  north  of  the  crossing  of  the  present  W^inchester 
pike.  Later  John  Fox  bought  this  property  and  added  a 
grist  mill. 

A  mill  was  erected  on  Stillwater  in  Wayne  township  called 
Webster's  mill ;  one  near  the  head  of  Mud  creek  in  Neave 
township  by  Ernestus  Putnam  ;  one  on  Crout  creek  in  W^ash- 
ington  township  by  Ludlow  Clapp,  who  sold  it  to  John  Mc- 
Clure.  At  a  later  date  John  C.  Potter  erected  a  substantial 
mill  on  Greenville  creek  a  mile  and  a  half  above  town  which 
was  operated  afterward  by  Odlin  Spiece,  and  John  Hershey 
built   one  at   Gettysburg. 

In  1880  there  were  in  operation  in  the  county  twe.ntA^-one 
grist  mills  with  sixty-two  run  of  buhrs,  and  valued  at  about 
$100,000. 

The  law  enacted  to  clean  up  the  streams  of  Ohio,  no  doubt, 
sounded  the  death  knell  of  manv  an  old  mill  as  witness  the 


184  DARKE   COUNTY 

Knouff  mill  on  the  creek  about  a  mile  below  Greenville.  This 
mill  caused  the  water  to  "back"  up  to  the  town  and  probably- 
created  an  unsanitary  condition  by  interfering  with  the  cur- 
rent and  choking  the  channel. 

The  old  water  power  mills  have  long  since  been  discon- 
tinued or  remodeled  and  have  given  way  to  the  steam  roller 
flouring  mills  located  in  the  larger  towns  which  have  a  daily 
capacity  far  beyond  those  of  early  times.  In  a  few  years  even 
the  sites  of  most  of  the  first  mills  will  be  practically  unknown. 

Early  Schools. 

It  is  difficult  in  these  days  of  compulsory  education  and 
expensive  school  equipment  to  form  a  proper  estimate  of 
pioneer  educational  conditions,  to  conjure  up  a  mental  picture 
of  the  settlers'  attitude  toward  culture  and  refinement.  A 
hasty  survey  of  the  situation  would  probably  lead  the  average 
student  to  the  conclusion  that  the  pioneers  knew  little  and 
cared  less  for  such  matters.  This  conclusion,  however,  is 
scarcely  just  when  we  reflect  that  life  in  those  days  was,  per- 
force, a  constant  struggle  with  the  forces  of  nature,  a  round 
of  coarse,  hard  labor  to  fell  the  thick  timber  and  wrest  a  decent 
living  from  the  newly  plowed  clearings. 

Xo  doubt  many  of  these  settlers  came  from  homes  in  the 
east  where  the  school  teacher  and  the  school  house  were  con- 
sidered prime  factors  in  the  life  of  the  community,  and  longed 
to  see  the  day  when  their  children  could  enjoy  educational 
privileges  at  least  equal  to  their  own.  In  this  connection  the 
following  brief  quotation  from  the  pen  of  the  late  J.  T.  Martz, 
one  of  Darke  county's  most  noted  educators,  is  of  interest : 
"While  the  early  settlers  of  Darke  county  did  not  neglect  edu- 
cation, the  date  of  the  first  establishment  of  schools,  and  the 
building  of  school-houses  is  not  accurately  known. 

"The  first  teachers  in  Greenville  township  were  John  Beers, 
who  taught  in  the  Thompson,  Studabaker  and  William  Arnold 
settlement  from  1818  or  20  to  1830  or  32 ;  John  Talbert,  who 
taught  near  Prophetstown.  on  the  Bishop  farm  from  1820- 
1832;  and  Henry  D.  Williams,  who  taught  in  the  Hayes- 
\\'estfall-Carnahan  neighborhood  from  1820-1830.  and  in  Dis- 
trict Number  14  in  1835-1838.  The  first  teachers  in  the  county 
were  Dow  Roll,  Mrs.  Mclntire,  John  Townsend  and  Noah 
Arnold.  These  must  be  considered  the  pioneer  teachers  in 
the  countv 


DARKE   COUNTY  185 

"At  this  time  there  was  no  public  school  fund.  The  schools 
were  supported  by  individual  contributions  from  parents  who 
sent  their  children  to  school.  The  teacher  received  a  salary 
of  about  ten  dollars  per  month,  and  boarded  himself.  The 
school  would  continue  in  session  about  three  months  in  the 
year  and  this  amount  of  thirty  dollars  was  apportioned  among 
the  heads  of  families  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  children 
sent,  the  teacher  holding  each  parent  individually  responsible 
for  the  amount  of  his  tuition. 

"In  1821  a  law  was  passed  by  our  legislature  which  left  it 
to  a  vote  of  each  township  whether  school  districts  should  be 
formed,  and,  perhaps  four  years  later,  action  in  this  respect 
was  changed,  and  township  trustees  were  required  to  divide 
the  townships  into  school-districts,  and  a  tax  was  levied  by  the 
county  commissioners  for  school  purposes,  which  provided  a 
fund  of  about  ten  dollars  yearly  for  each  school  district.  This 
amount  would  continue  the  school  in  session  for  about  one 
month,  and  the  remaining  two  months'  services  of  the  teacher 
was  paid  by  individual  contributions  as  above  stated. 

"During  this  time  the  teacher  should  be  found  qualified  to 
teach  penmanship,  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  A 
board  of  county  examiners  for  teachers'  certificates  was  re- 
quired under  the  law.  In  1849  the  law  added  geography  and 
English  grammar  to  the  required  qualifications  of  the 
teacher." 

Referring  to  the  earliest  schools  in  the  Studabaker  neigh- 
borhood, Air.  Jesse  Arnold  wrote  : 

"AVilliam  Studebaker  commenced  teaching  in  a  caliin  in 
the  old  Wyllis  field,  just  south  of  the  old  Arnold  horhestead, 
about  1823.  This  cabin  school  burned  about  1824  and  school 
was  opened  up  in  a  similar  rude  cabin  adjoining  the  residence 
of  Abraham  Studabaker.  This  was  continued  till  about  1829 
when  it  was  removed  to  the  end  of  the  Arnold  lane  and  Henry 
D.  Williams  was  employed  to  teach  during  the  winter,  having 
taught  one  or  two  winters  before  its  removal,  then  as  follows : 

In   1830-31  William  S.  Harper,  teacher. 

In   1831-32  Henry  D.  Williams,  teacher. 

In   1832-34  David  Townsend,  teacher. 

In   1835-6-7  Noah  Arnold,  teacher. 

"A  little  later  the  school  was  removed  to  a  new  brick  school 
house  at  Studabaker's.  Abraham  Studebaker's  brick  house, 
but  partially  finished,  was  used  as  a  school  house  in  1837  or 
1838  for  a  school  taught  bv  Conrad  Burgner.    The  little  brick 


186  DARKE   COUNTY 

school  house  near  Studebaker"s,  hiuh  by  him  at  this  time,  was 
from  this  on  my  only  place  of  school  attendance  in  our  own 
district.  The  teachers  whom  I  recall  in  this  school  house 
were  Daniel  Hewitt,  'Master'  Jelleff,  Sanford  Harper,  M. 
Spayde  and  David  Beers." 

"The  principal  books  used  were  Webster's  spelling  book, 
the  New  Testament,  the  English  reader  and  its  introduction, 
and  Talbot's  arithmetic.  Ray's  arithmetic  was  introduced 
about  the  time  I  left  school." 

The  Arnold  homestead  referred  to  above  was  lo- 
cated on  the  present  site  of  the  brick  house  on  the  J.  R. 
Stocker  farm  just  north  of  the  infirmary  farm.  The  first 
school  house  mentioned  was  probably  at  the  turn  of  the 
JaA'sville  pike  just  south  of  the  Stocker  house.  The  brick 
school  house  mentioned  is  still  standing  on  the  east  side  of 
the  Eaton  pike  at  the  turn  of  the  Ohio  Electric  railway  about 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  south  of  the  fair  grounds  and  is  said 
to  be  the  first  brick  building  constructed  in  the  county  for 
school  purposes. 

It  seems  incredible  at  this  date  that  a  man  could  afford  to 
teach  school  at  ten  dollars  per  month,  but  we  find  that  the 
necessities  of  life  were  much  cheaper  in  those  days,  clothing 
seldom  changed  in  style  and  could  be  worn  with  good  form 
until  threadbare,  and  the  teacher  was  employed  nine  months 
of  the  year  at  other  labor.  Money  was  scarce  in  those  da3'S 
and  the  teacher  was  sometimes  paid  in  provisions  as  in  the 
case  of  Dennis  Hart,  who  located  on  Bridge  creek  in  1819.  In 
the  winter  of  that  year  he  opened  a  rate  school  in  an  old  log 
cabin  belonging  to  Joseph  Townsend.  In  the  following  winter 
he  taught  in  a  new  log  school  house  which  had  been  erected 
on  the  Eaton  pike  some  distance  south  of  the  present  site  of 
the  infirmary.  This  man  was  married  and  agreed  to  accept  his 
wages  in  corn,  meat,  potatoes  and  other  produce.  Needing 
some  clothing  to  protect  him  from  the  winter's  cold,  he  pro- 
posed to  exchange  some  of  his  surplus  produce  with  Abra- 
ham Scribner  for  the  desired  articles,  but  found  that  this  mer- 
chant was  well  supplied  with  such  things.  Scribner  informed 
him  that  he  would  exchange  the  clothing  for  whisky,  however, 
whereupon  Hart  proceeded  to  a  little  distillery  between 
Greenville  and  Minatown  and  traded  his  corn  at  less  than 
market  price  for  firewater  which  he  disposed  of  in  turn  to 
Scribner  at  a   reduced   price,  thus  paying  his  account.  "Oh, 


DARKE   COUNTY  187 

times.  Oh,  customs!"  Surely  things  have  changed  since  then, 
and  apparently  for  the  better. 

Professor  Mcintosh,  writing  in  18S0,  gives  a  vivid  descrip- 
tion of  early  educational  conditions  in  the  settlement  about 
Prophetstown  as  follows :  "Many  settlers  had  large  families 
— as  many  as  ten  children  were  found  in  a  single  cabin — and, 
to  provide  for  the  future  of  these  young  people,  the  parents 
came  to  this  county.  There  was  alwaj's  work  to  be  done,  and 
the  services  of  all  hands  were  needed  ;  it  was  only  during  the 
winter  months  that  schools  could  be  attended.  At  these,  only 
the  elementary  branches  were  taught,  and  the  predominant 
idea  of  the  school  master  was  discipline  first,  learning  a.'ter- 
ward.  No  grammar  nor  geography  were  taught.  Few  studied 
arithmetic,  and  these  did  not  proceed  much  beyond  the  rudi- 
ments; and  when,  at  length,  grammar  was  introduced,  such 
pupils  were  thought  well  advanced.  In  any  locality,  when- 
ever sufficient  families  had  moved  in  to  form  a  school,  the  set- 
tlers stood  ready  to  build  a  house  and  engage  a  teacher.  Tall, 
strapping  youths  attended  school,  and  the  master  had  need 
of  decision  and  courage  as  well  as  method  and  erudition.  It 
was  customary  for  the  person  applying  for  the  school  to  call 
upon  the  parties  within  sending  distance  and  canvass  for 
scholars.  If  enough  were  secured,  school  opened.  .\n  illus- 
tration of  the  old-time  method  is  g'i\-en  as  follows:  ".\bout 
the  year  1815,  a  man  came  into  the  Rush  neighborhood,  and 
offered  his  services  as  teacher.  The  settlers  located  along 
]\Iud  Creek,  \^'est  Branch  and  Bridge  Creek  talked  the  matter 
over,  and  concluded  to  employ  him.  It  was  a  light  labor  for 
ali  to  turn  out  with  axes,  handspikes  and  o.xen,  upon  the  day 
appointed,  to  chop  and  draw  the  logs  to  a  chosen  site  for  the 
purpose  of  putting  up  a  schoolhouse.  The  location  was  near 
Rush  Fort,  on  i\Iud  Creek.  While  some  put  up  round  logs, 
notched  down,  one  layer  upon  another,  until  they  were  of 
sufficient  elevation  to  form  a  story,  split  clap-boards  for  the 
roof,  chamber  floor  and  door,  and  puncheons  for  the  floor, 
others  drew  stone  for  the  fireplace  and  prepared  sticks  and 
mud  for  the  chimney.  The  floor  being  laid,  next  came  desks 
and  seats.  Large  holes  were  bored  in  a  log  on  each  side  of 
the  room,  wooden  pins  were  driven  *in.  and  a  slab  of  un- 
planed  plank  laid  on  these  pins.  For  seats,  holes  were  bored 
in  puncheons  and  legs  driven  in,  two  at  each  end.  ^^'indows 
were  made  by  cutting  out  a  log  nearl}'  the  whole  length  of 
the  house,  leaving  a  hole  a  foot  wide.    Into  this  was  filled  a 


188  DARKE   COUNTY 

sort  of  lattice  work  of  sticks,  and  upon  this  greased  paper  was 
pasted  to  transmit  the  light.  Such  was  the  school  house  of 
sixty-five  years  ago.  It  was  not  much  of  a  structure,  but 
there  was  no  great  contrast  between  it  and  the  homes  of  its 
builders.  There  was  no  lack  of  ventilation,  and  the  wood 
was  not  too  long  for  the  fire-place.  School  opened  in  charge 
of  W.  H.  Jones,  of  whom  mention  has  been  made  in  a  pre- 
vious chapter,  his  services  having  been  secured  at  a  salary 
of  $7  per  month.  He  was  severe  and  exacting;  punishments 
were  the  order  of  the  day.  Whispering  and  other  indiscre- 
tions subjected  the  olTender  to  blows  with  a  rule  upon  the 
palm  of  the  hand ;  and  so  freely  did  Mr.  Jones  administer 
chastisement,  that  the  patrons  were  obliged  to  request  him  to 
moderate  his  punishment,  as  the  hands  of  their  boys  were  so 
sore  from  repeated  feruling  that  they  were  unable  to  use  the 
ax.  It  was  a  species  of  torture  to  strike  the  tips  of  the  gath- 
ered fingers  with  the  ferule,  and  this  was  disapproved  by  the 
settlers,  indurated  to  rough  usages  as  they  were.  Only  two 
branches  of  education  were  taught — reading  and  writing.  The 
example  of  this  neighborhood  was  contagious,  and  soon  a 
house  was  built  near  the  place  of  David  Studabaker,  and  a 
man  named  Montgomery  was  hired  to  teach.  Gradually 
school  houses  became  more  numerous,  and  the  demand  for 
teachers  in  some  measure  induced  a  supply.  Summer  schools 
were  rare.  Females  made  no  application  till  an  adventurous 
woman,  named  Anna  Boleyn,  attempted  a  three  months"  term 
during  the  summer  of  1825,  but  quit  in  disgust  before  the  ex- 
piration of  that  time.  Despite  liberal  provisions  favorable  to 
education,  little  had  been  done  up  to  1838  toward  perf^ecting 
a  system  of  common  schools,  the  result  of  the  scanty  means 
and  constant  toil  incident  to  pioneer  life. 

In  many  of  the  schools,  pupils  were  required  to  studv  in  a 
loud  tone,  and  hence  called  a  loud  school,  the  object  being  to 
let  the  teacher  know  they  were  engaged  upon  their  lessons, 
and  not  in  mischief.  Classes  in  arithmetic  and  writing  were 
never  formed,  but  each  pupil  '"ciphered  away  at  will,"  and 
received  personal  assistance  from  the  teacher  when  the  same 
was  needed.  Writing  was  taught  by  the  teacher  "setting  the 
copy,"  and  the  pupil  trying  to  imitate  the  same.  The  "quill 
pen"  was  used  by  the  pupil,  and  the  "master"  was  expected 
to  make  the  pen.  and  mend  the  same  when  the  pupil  thought 
it  unfit  for  use.  The  custom  of  "barring  out"  the  teacher  and 
compelling  him  to  "treat,"  about  the  holidays,  was  indulged  in 


DARKE   COUNTY  189 

by  the  pupils  as  a  g-eneral  custom,  and  sanctioned  Ijy  the  pa- 
rents ;  but  this  relic  of  barbarism  has  almost  entirely  disap- 
peared from  our  schools." 

Despite  these  untoward  outward  conditions  our  early 
schools  educated  some  grand  and  stalwart  men  who,  in  ater 
life,  looked  back  to  their  early  school  days  with  the  longing  so 
touchingly  expressed  bv  the  poet : 

"Gimme  back  the  dear  old  days — the  pathway   through   the 

dells, 
To  the  schoolhouse  in  the  blossoms — the  sound  of  far-off  bells 
Tinklin'  'crost  the  meadows ;  the  song  of  the  bird  an'  brook, 
The  old-time  dictionary  an'  the  blue-back  spellin'  book. 
Gone  like  a  dream  forever!     A  city  hides  the  place. 
Where  stood  the  old  log  schoolhouse,  an'  no  familiar  face 
Is  smilin'  there  in  welcome  beneath  a  morning  sky — 
There's  a  bridge  across  the  river,  an'  we've  crossed  an'  said 

good-bye !" 

Going  now  to  the  county  seat  we  find  that  one  of  the  earliest 
schools  in  this  hamlet  was  conducted  in  a  log  building  on  the 
east  side  of  Elm  street  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets  (site 
of  old  Catholic  church).  This  building  also  served  as  a  room 
for  the  grand  jury  and  once  for  the  sitting  o  fthe  court.  Green- 
ville township  was  divided  into  school  districts  in  1827  and 
Greenville  district  chose  John  Beers,  David  Briggs  and  Linus 
Bascom  as  school  directors  in  conformity  to  Guilford's  law, 
recently  enacted.  As  these  men  were  not  on  friendly  terms 
with  each  other  they  refused  to  co-operate  and  did  nothing  in 
the  interest  of  education.  In  1828  a  new  board  was  elected 
and  proceeded  to  dismantle  the  old  building  and  remove  the 
logs  to  lot  No.  3  on  Fourth  street  (near  the  present  site  of  the 
M.  E.  parsonage)  which  site  had  been  deeded  to  the  school 
district  by  \^'illiam  ^^'iley  in  payment  of  a  fine  for  assault 
and  battery. 

An  altercation  between  Abraham  Schibner  and  Isaac  Schid- 
eler  prevented  the  erection  of  a  building  on  this  lot  at  this 
time.  About  1839  or  1840  a  brick  schoolhouse  was  erected  on 
lot  No.  3,  which  was  afterwards  remodeled  and  used  as  a  resi- 
dence by  Judge  Sater  and  is  still  in  a  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion. Another  two  story  brick  school  house  was  erected  about 
the  same  time  on  the  rear  of  lot  13,  on  the  east  side  of  Walnut 
street  betwe^  Third  and  Fourth  streets.  After  j^ears  of  service 


190  DARKE   COUNTY 

this  building  was  used  as  a  blacksmith  shop  and  linally  torn 
down  about  1900.  The  building  of  two  such  ordinary  school 
buildings  instead  of  one  good  structure  in  a  village  like 
Greenville  was  in  1840,  showed  a  lack  of  judgment  which  in- 
terfered with  the  proper  development  of  the  school  system 
for  several  years. 

"In  1851  the  first  effort  was  made  to  grade  the  Greenville 
school  by  Ebenezer  Bishop,  who  was  employed  at  $400.00  a 
year  to  take  general  charge  of  the  school.  This  effort  was 
only  partially  successful  and  the  schools  were  afterwards  or- 
ganized in  four  grades,  and  for  a  number  of  years  were  suc- 
cessfully conducted  by  A.  T.  Bodle,  L.  S.  B.  Otwell,  F. 
2\Iatchett  and  G.  H.  Martz,  all  efffcient  teachers.  Mr.  ]\Iays, 
of  Troy,  Ohio,  was  afterwards  employed  as  superintendent, 
the  school  was  graded  and  has  been  conducted  as  a  graded 
school  in  charge  of  a  superintenent  to  date." 

The  erection  of  a  three-story  brick  school  house  on  a  newly 
purchased  lot  south  of  Fourth  street  between  Central  avenue 
and  Sycamore  street  and  the  organization  of  a  high  school  in 
1868  properly  marks  the  end  of  the  old  regime  and  the  be- 
ginning of  the  modern  era  of  education  which  will  be  noted 
more  fully  at  another  place. 

Before  the  Civil  war,  private  schools  were  taught,  some- 
times by  educated  women,  which  provided  opportunity  for 
those  who  desired  to  take  advanced  studies,  not  pursued  in  the 
public  schools.  These  were  generally  attended  by  children 
of  the  prominent  families  and  were  quite  successful  as  shown 
by  the  number  of  pupils  who  in  later  life  became  leaders  in 
the  community. 

George  Calderwood  in  the  "Darke  County  Boy,"  published 
in  the  Courier,  June  18,  1910,  gives  a  vivid  picture  of  his  school 
da3'S  a  few  years  before  the  war.  The  article  seems  to  have 
been  inspired  by  the  prospective  coming  of  Judge  Alex.  T. 
Bodle  to  Greenville  after  long  years  of  absence,  to  address  the 
Pioneer  Association.  As  noted  above  Mr.  Bodle  was  a  teacher 
in  the  Greenville  schools  during  the  fifties  and  had  won  the 
affection  of  his  scholars.  Calderwood's  article  reads  in  part 
as  follows : 

"Of  course  we  will  have  'Alex'  open  school,  call  the  roll, 
send  Ed  Waring  and  Volney  Jenks  for  a  bucket  of  water,  have 
the  classes  recite,  and  then  close  with  the  spelling  class,  in 
which  every  pupil  has  to  'toe  the  mark.'  The  best  speller  will 
soon  go  'up  head,'  and  then  go  to  the  foot  again,  then  work 


1^       Greenville,  Ohio. 

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OLD   WEST    SCHOOL    BUILDING,    GREENVILLE.    OHIO 


DARKE   COUNTY  191 

Up  head  again.  When  he  or  she  does  so  three  times  the  prize 
shall  be  a  'Reward  of  ^lerit."  printed  in  blue  ink  on  a  card 
three  by  five  inches.  I'll  bet  Helen  Gilbert-Peyton  gets  the 
card,  if  she's  present. 

When  the  class  in  arithmetic  is  called  for  ([uick  action  in 
Stoddard's   ^Mental,   'Alex'   will   take   up   the   liook   and   read : 

"If  a  wolf  can  eat  a  sheep  in  seven-eighth  of  an  hour,  and  a 
bear  can  eat  it  in  three-fourths  of  an  hour,  how  long  will  it 
take  both  of  them  to  eat  it.  after  the  bear  has  been  eating 
one-half  an  hour?" 

I'll  bet  a  peach  against  a  plum  that  Celia  Lavender-Helm 
will  solve  it  quicker  than  Jim  Ries. 

Then  the  class  in  Bullion's  grammar  will  be  called  to  parse 
this  sentence : 

"John  Smith  is  now  here  in  this  citv." 

Everybody  will  write  it  down,  and  Belle  McGinnis  will 
parse  it  correctly.  But  Jim  Wharry  will  say :  "It  isn't  right !" 
He  will  parse  it  differently,  and  yet  will  do  it  correctly,  from 
his  standpoint.  But  what  is  his  standpoint?  He  reads  his 
slip  of  paper,  and  it  reads  word  for  word  as  given  out,  but  has 
blended  two  words  together,  to-wit : 

"John  Smith  is  nowhere  in  this  city." 

The  joke  is  on  Jim  ;  and  then  Taylor  Dorman  will  be  called 
forward  from  the  second  class  to  read  a  poem  on  "Xine  Parts 
of  Speech."  Of  course  he  will  be  barefooted  ;  his  pants  will 
be  rolled  up  to  his  knees ;  a  round-about  button  at  the  bottom 
and  open  at  the  top :  his  hair  combed  down  in  front  of  his 
ears  and  curled  on  top.  With  his  right  hand  behind  his  back, 
book  in  his  left  hand,  he  will  read  in  a  piping  voice : 

Three  little  words  vou  often  see 
Are  articles — a  or  an  and  thee. 

A  noun's  a  name  of  anything, 

As  school  or  garden,  hoop  or  swing. 

Adjectives  tell  the  kind  of  noun — 

As  great,  small,  pretty,  white  or  brown. 

Instead  of  nouns  the  pronouns  stand — 
Her  head,  his  face,  j^our  arm,  my  hand. 

Verbs  tell  of  something  to  be  done — 

To   eat,   count,  sing,   cough,  jump  or   run. 


192  DARKE   COUNTY 

How  things  are  done  the  adverbs  tell. 
As  slowly,  quickly,  ill  or  well. 

Conjunctions  join  the  words  together. 
As  men  and  women,  wind  or  weather. 

The  preposition  stands  before 

A  noun,  as  of  or  through  the  door. 

The  interjection  shows  surprise. 
As — Ah,  how  pretty!  Oh.  how  wise! 

The  whole  are  called  nine   parts  of  speech, 
\Miich  reading,  writing,  speaking  teach. 

Then  Mollie  LaMotte-AIartin  will  be  expected  to  come  for- 
ward, dressed  in  checkered  ginghan.i,  her  hair  combed  back 
and  plaited  and  tied  with  a  blue  ribbon,  and  read  the  soul- 
inspiring  poem  that  has  thrilled  admiring  millions  of  school 
children  all  over  the  United  States. 

Twinkle,  twinkle,  little  star, 
How  I  wonder  what  you  are — 
Up  above  the  world  so  high, 
Like  a  diamond  in  the  sky. 

When  the  blazing  sun  is  set. 

And  the  grass  with  dew  is  wet. 

Then  you  show  your  little  light 

By   twinkling,    twinkling   all   the   night. 

Then  school  will  close  by  all  the  pupils  singing: 

Ohio.  Columbus.  Ohio,  Columbus — on  Scioto  river! 
Indiana,  Indianapolis,  Indiana,  Indianapolis — on  \\'hite  river. 
Illinois.  Springfield,  Illinois,  Springfield — on  Sangamon  river. 
Pennsylvania,  Harrisburg.  Pennsylvania,  Harrisburg — on  Sus- 
quehanna  river. 
And  so  on  through  all  the  states  in  the  imion. 


You  see  that  kind  of  geography  has  some  class  to  it.    I  think 
that  any  child  that  goes  to  school  knows  what  an  isthmus. 


DARKE   COUNTY  193 

island,  inlet,  bay,  river,  creek  or  cape  is  as  well  as  it  knows 
the  streets  of  the  town  it  lives  in. 

Oi"  course  it  will  add  to  the  pleasure  of  the  occasion  by  play- 
ing "Ring  around  the  rosy,"  "Come  Philander,  let  us  be  a 
marching;"  "Green  gravel,  green  gravel,  the  grass  is  so  green;" 
"How  oats,  peas,  beans  and  barley  grow,  neither  j-ou  nor  I, 
nor  anybody  know;"  etc. 

Of  course  it  wouldn't  be  "school"  at  all  unless  we  sang  those 
songs  the  same  as  we  did  m  our  childhood  days.  \Miat  is  the 
use  of  being  young  again  unless  we  act  young? 

Another  thing  I  move  you,  Mr.  President,  and  that  is  to 
have  "Alex"  whip  Al  Gilbert,  Chester  Fletcher  and  Volney 
Jenks.  I  never  saw  such  naughty  boys  in  my  life  as  they 
were.  Lick  'em,  and  lick  'em  good,  teacher!  They  were  so 
devilish  that  they  often  tempted  me,  but  I  was  too  nice  a  boy 
to  ever  get  a  licking — more  than  once  or  twice  a  day. 

And  another  thing,  teacher,  if  you'll  let  me  carry  a  bucket  of 
water  for  the  pupils,  I  will  promise  not  to  put  any  salt  in  it — 
that  is,  very  much  more  than  I  used  to.  I  just  bet  we'll  have 
a  good  time.  Won't  3^ou  ccme,  Mr.  Bodle,  and  hold  school  for 
us  just  one  more  day?  We'll  all  be  awfully  nice;  none  of  us'll 
shcot  paper  wads  across  the  room,  nor  make  faces  at  you  be- 
hind your  back,  nor  write  "love  missives"  to  the  girls.  \\'e've 
forgotten  all  about  such  things.  In  fact,  we  never  bother  our 
heads  about  "love."  No.  indeed!  We  just  let  it  bother  us. 
and  that's  all  it  ever  does  to  any  one.  It  just  bothers  them 
and  they  never  bother  about  it  at  all." 

*  *  Sc 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter  written  by  the  same 
writer  to  James  W.  ]\Iartin,  secretary  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed to  invite  ]\Ir.  Calderwood  to  the  annual  meeting  of 
the  Darke  County  Pioneer  Association,  September  5,  1909, 
are  not  inappropriate  here: 

Oh,  those  school  days !  Think  of  the  "classics"  we  had  to 
recite  to  Alex.  Bodle,  Caroline  Hinkle— God  bless  her  mem- 
ory!—Rachel  Collins,  I.  W.  Legg,  J-  T.  Martz,  Em.  Otwell, 
Bart  Otwell,  Bill  Otwell,  and  other  teachers  from  1856  to 
1860. 

Those  "classics"  have  been  ringing  in  my  ears  for  over  half 
a  century.  (But  say,  Jim,  right  here  is  where  I  don't  want  you 
to  tell  any  of  the  pupols  how  old  I  am,  for  I  want  them  to 
think  I  am  still  a  "school  boy.") 
(13) 


194  DARKE   COUNTY 

Xow  to  the  recitations: 

Do  you  remember,  Jim.  that  one  Alvin  Gilbert  used  to  re- 
cite?    It  began  with  something  like  this: 

"Marj'   had   a    little   lamb." 

Then  A'olney  Jenks  would  follow  with  * 

"You'd  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age." 

Then  Taylor  Dorman  would  step  forward  with  the  dignity 
of  one  of  Sam  Cable's  watermelons,  and  boldly  and  auda- 
ciously look  into  the  eyes  of  the  pupils  and  say : 

"Twinkle,  twinkle,  little  star." 

You  remember  how  Harrv  Knox  would  stand  pigeon-toed, 
and  with  his  hands  behind  his  back,  and  in  a  voice  that 
sounded  like  an  apple  falling  from  one  of  the  trees  in  Sam 
Pierce's  public  orchard,  say: 

"The  boy  stood  on   the  burning  deck." 

I  think  Harry  believed  everv  word  of  that  story,  for  he  soon 
after  went  to  sea  in  search  of  Cassabianca.  The  prelude  to 
that  story  was  beautiful — historically  so;  and  history  never 
lies  unless  I  write  it.  The  words  read :  "There  was  a  little 
boy,  about  thirteen  years  of  age,  whose  name  was  Cassa- 
bianca." 

There's  exactly  where  you  get  your  Cassabianca  :  but  how 
Mrs.  Hemans  discovered  that  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age, 
history  doesn't  say,  and  I'll  be  "blowed"  if  I  will  ever  say  that 
I  ever  saw  a  boy  thirteen  years  of  age. 

I  would  give  a  whole  lot  to  see  McGuffey's  primer, 
McGufFey's  first,  second  and  third  readers.  Think  of  James 
Bland  letting  that  little  bird  out  of  the  cage :  of  George  Rolfe 
drowning  that  cat  in  the  well :  of  Albert  Ross  and  Dash,  and 
the  wagon  that  Dash  was  hitched  up  to  (I  always  wanted  to 
steal  that  wagon)  ;  of  Richard  and  Robert,  the  lazy  boys,  who 
laid  in  bed  until  the  clock  struck  ten  ;  of  the  three  brothers — 
one  went  to  heaven,  one  went  to  hell,  and  the  third  one  got  a 
job  and  went  to  work  ;  of  the  farmer  and  his  wheat  field,  and 
how  he  drove  a  mother  quail  and  her  little  brood  out  of  the 
field.  Many  of  those  stories  will  live  with  me  to  the  end  of 
mv  davs. 


DARKE   COUNTY  195 

We  sat  on  benches  in  those  days. 

There  were  two  kinds — those  with  backs  and  those  without. 

The  big  boys  and  girls  got  the  former. 

There  were  two  great  blessings  afforded  us.  One  was  to 
pass  the  water,  and  the  other  to  carry  in  the  wood.  I  always 
wanted  to  pass  the  water!  Come  to  think  of  it,  we  carried 
the  water,  too.  Sometimes  from  Turpen's,  sometimes  from 
Gilbert's,  often  from  Gary's. 

Ah,  me,  but  didn't  we  have  some  games ! 

"Blackman,"  "bullsoup,"  and  "tag." 

We  had  slates,  too;  but  I  haven't  see  one  for  so  long  that  I 
have  forgotten  whether  they  were  square,  oblong,  or  round. 

And  the  spelling  class — I  can't  forget  that.  How  proud 
the  boy  or  girl  was  who  'went  head,"  and  then  down  to  the 
foot  again,  then  up  to  the  head  again,  and  received  a  card 
called  "Reward  of  Merit." 

When  you  got  five,  they  were  exchanged  for  another  five. 

Five  of  the  others  assured  you  of  a  prize — a  little  book. 

No  "promotion  cards"  in  those  days.  It  was  left  to  the 
teacher  to  put  you  into  another  class,  if  desired. 

Those  were  the  days  of  curls  for  girls.  A  girl  without  a 
curl  wasn't  in  style. 

Bullion's  grammar  was  the  text  book  on  correct  speech,  but 
I  couldn't  understand  it.  and  I  have  let  grammar  alone  ever 
since  and  confined  my  manner  of  speech  to  the  vocabulary  of 
my  associates. 

Another  subject  that  puzzled  me  was  algebra.  I  couldn't 
comprehend  it  then,  and  I  know  less  of  it  now. 

The  best  reader  in  my  class  was  Belle  McGinnis.  The  best 
m.athematician  was  Jim  Ries — next  to  him,  Dave  Girard. 

In  those  days,  the  teacher  wrote  the  text  for  the  copy  books, 
v;hich  consisted  of  two  phrases : 

"Many  men  of  many  minds; 
Many  beasts  of  many  kinds." 

The  other  was : 

"Tall  oaks  from  little  acorns  grow." 

However,  about  that  time  Peyton's  copy  books  came  out 
and  the  teachers  were  relieved  ;  but  they  had  one  task  left — 
they  used  to  walk  around  among  the  pupils  and  look  over 
their  shoulders  to  see  if  they  were  making  any  progress. 

Very  few  boys  had  coats  in  those  davs ;  most  of  them  wore 


196  DARKli   COUNTY 

"roiidabouts."  Few  ,if  an}-,  of  the  boys  wore  shoes ;  boots 
prevailed.  The  little  boys  had  red  leather  tops  to  their  boots, 
and  the  poor  little  "tad"  without  red  tops  to  his  boots  always 
felt  humiliated. 

Ray's  ]\Iental  Arithmetic  was  as  far  as  I  went  in  figures.  I 
never  learned  how  to  calculate  interest,  as  I  forgot  all  tlie 
rules  the  next  day.  Now  I  am  glad  of  it.  Xo  one  will  take 
my  note,  so  what's  the  use  in  knowing  anything  about  in- 
terest? 

1  must  not  forget  Webster's  Spelling  Book !  I  never  saw 
one  that  didn't  have  a  blue  cover.  Up  to  1858,  it  contained  no 
definitions.  Nothing  but  words,  words,  words.  Then  to  pre- 
pare the  public  mind  for  the  sale  of  Noah  Webster's  Dic- 
tionary, they  put  a  few  definitions  in  the  speller,  so  as  to  stim- 
ulate the  mind  to  buy  the  book.  It  was  a  great  business 
stroke.  Of  course,  there  was  the  small  school  dictionary,  but 
they  wanted  to  sell  the  big  one,  and  if  they  had  embodied 
definitions  to  any  great  extent  in  the  Speller,  the  sale  of  the 
big  book  would  have  been  endangered.  But  as  an  educational 
proposition,  the  speller  wojild  have  had  far  the  advantage  and 
the  pupils  of  1850-1860  would  have  been  greatly  benefitted. 
*         *         * 

But  what  I  started  in  to  say  was  that  some  of  us  Greenville 
folks — boys  and  girls — thought  that  we  were  "sum  punkins" 
at  spelling,  and  were  eager  to  go  into  the  country  and  "spell 
down"  our  country  cousins.  I  don't  know  of  a  single  instance 
where  we  won  out.  They  knew  as  much  about  Webster's 
Spelling  Book — and  a  little  bit  more — than  we  did. 


METAL  CROSS. 
Probably  of  Jesuit  Origin.     Found  in  Washington  Township. 


CHAPTER  X. 
THE  PLANTING  OF  THE  CHURCH. 

To  the  French  Catholic  missionaries  probably  belongs  the 
honor  of  heralding  the  gospel  among  the  Indian  settlements 
of  primitive  Darke  county.  As  before  noted  it  is  well  known 
that  they  planted  mission  stations  at  strategic  points  in  the 
wilderness  between  the  great  lakes  and  the  Ohio.  It  is  more 
than  probable  that  they  had  stations  at  Loramie's  store  and 
Pickawillany,  and  at  these  places  learned  about  the  villages 
on  the  headwaters  of  Greenville  creek  and  the  upper  Still- 
water. The  finding  of  two  double  silver  crosses  of  the  style 
worn  by  members  of  the  Jesuit  order  on  the  farm  now  belong- 
ing to  Ira  G.  Blocker,  in  section  23,  Washington  township, 
lends  color  to  this  supposition.  These  crosses  were  about 
three  inches  in  length  and  were  plowed  up  by  Mr.  Philip  L. 
Rogers  near  the  site  of  a  fine  flowing  spring — one  about  1879 
and  the  other  about  1884.  Numerous  arrow  points,  stone 
hammers  and  Indian  relics  were  found  from  time  to  time  on  a 
knoll  located  near  by,  indicating  that  a  camp  or  village  had 
formerly  been  located  hhere.  One  cross  is  now  in  the  Katzen- 
berger  collection  in  the  Public  Museum.  The  other  has  been 
lost. 

The  ne.xt  religious  teachers  that  penetrated  Darke  county 
were  probabl}'  the  chaplains  or  preachers  with  the  armies  of 
St.  Clair  and  Wayne.  Fortunately,  we  have  a  printed  ser- 
mon entitled  "The  Altar  of  Peace,"  being  the  substance  of  a 
discourse  delivered  in  the  council  house,  at  Greenville,  July 
5,  1795,  before  the  officers  of  the  American  army  and  Major 
General  Wayne,  commander-in-chief  and  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary from  the  United  States,  to  treat  with  the  Indian  tribes, 
northwest  of  the  Ohio,  by  the  Rev.  Morgan,  John  Rhys  (or 
Rhees)  representing  the  Missionary  Society  of  Philadelphia, 
an  organization  whose  members  "renounced"  all  sectarian 
names  and  adopted  simply  that  of  "Christian,"  and  whose  mis- 
sionaries were  supposed  to  be  "capable  of  practicing  or  teach- 
ing some  useful  art  as  well  as  a  rational  system  of  religion." 

At   this  time   many  representatives   of  distant  tribes  were 


198  DARKE   COUNTY 

present  at  Greenville  and  preparations  were  being  made  .or 
peace  negotiations.  Accordingly  Rev.  Rhees  appropriately 
chose  as  his  text  Judges  6:24.  "Then  Gideon  built  an  altar 
unto  the  Lord,  and  called  it  Jehovah  Shalom ;  i.  e.,  the  Lord 
give  peace."  Among  other  things  he  said :  "All  the  precepts 
of  Jehovah  center  in  one  syllable — Love.  The  laws  and  the 
prophets,  like  the  rays  of  the  sun  collected  to  a  focus,  here 
shine  and  burn.  The  man  who  loves  God  as  the  Supreme 
good,  and  his  neighbor  as  himself,  surmounts  every  obstruc- 
tion with  ease,  because  he  is  borne  above  earth  on  the  wings 
of  love ;  the  philanthropist  is  every  person's  neighbor,  the 
white,  the  black  and  the  red  are  alike  to  him ;  he  recognizes  in 
each  a  brother,  a  child  of  the  same  common  parent,  an  heir  of 
immortality,  and  a  fellow  traveler  to  eternity.  He  knows  how 
to  make  allowance  for  the  prejudices  of  nations  and  individ- 
uals ;  instead  of  declaiming  and  tyrannizing,  he  endeavors  to 
lead  (with  the  cords  of  love  and  the  bands  of  men)  all  his 
fellowmen  to  think  and  judge  for  themselves  what  is  right." 
*         *         * 

"In  order  to  establish  a  durable  peace  some  sacrifices  must 
be  made  on  both  sides.  The  love  of  conquest  and  enlargement 
of  territory  should  be  sacrificed — every  nation  or  tribe  having 
an  indefeasible  right  of  soil,  as  well  as  a  right  to  govern 
themselves  in  what  manner  they  think  proper,  for  which  rea- 
son the  United  States  purchased  the  right  of  soil  from  the  In- 
dians. Self-interest  and  avarice,  being  the  root  of  all  evil, 
ought  to  be  sacrificed  as  a  burnt  offering,  for  the  good  of  man- 
kind. The  desire  of  revenge  should  be  immediately  offered  on 
the  altar  of  forgiveness,  although  th}^  brother  transgress 
against  the  seventy  times  seven  in  a  day.  Dissimulation  and 
intrigue  with  every  species  of  deceptive  speculation  and 
fraudulent  practice  ought  to  be  sacrificed  on  the  altars  of 
strict  honor  and  inflexible  justice."     *     *     * 

"Let  us  therefore,  in  the  first  place,  follow  the  example  of 
Gideon  by  erecting  an  altar,  and  offer  the  necessary  sacrifices 
to  obtain  peace  ;  let  us  by  acts  of  righteousness  and  deeds  of 
mercy  make  that  peace  permanent ;  let  ever}'  probable  means 
be  made  use  of  to  enlighten  the  poor  heathens,  that  they  may 
quit  their  childish  and  cruel  customs,  and  add  to  their  love  of 
liberty  and  hospitalit3^  piety,  industry,  mechanical  and  lit- 
erary acquirements ;  let  us  join  them  in  the  prayer  that  the 
'Great  Spirit'  may  enlighten  their  eyes  and  purify  their 
hearts,  give  them  a  clear  sky  and  smooth  water,  guard  them 


DARKE   COUNTY  199 

against  the  bad  birds,  and  remove  the  briars  from  their  paths  ; 
protect  them  from  the  dogs  of  war,  which  are  ever  exciting 
them  to  acts  of  barbarous  cruelty,  that  they  may  never  attend 
to  tlieir  barking,  but  contiiiue  to  keep  the  bloody  hatchet  in 
the  ground  and  smoke  the  calumet  of  peace  until  its  odors  per- 
fume the  air." 

"Sweet  peace!  source  o.  joy,  parent  of  plenty,  promoter 
of  commerce  and  manufactures,  nurse  of  arts  and  agricul- 
ture. Angelic  Peace !  Could  I  but  set  forth  thy  amiable  qual- 
ities, who  would  but  love  thee?  O,  daughter  of  Heaven,  first 
offspring  of  the  God  of  Love  hasten,  to  make  thy  residence 
with  us  on  earth."  Rev.  Rhys  is  described  as  "The  Welch 
Baptist  hero  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  of  the  eighteenth 
century"^ — and  from  the  tone  of  the  above  sermon  we  judge 
that  the  epithet  is  not  inappropriate. 

Christian. 

After  the  settlement  of  the  county  it  seems  that  the  recently 
formed  and  rapidly  growing  sect  then  and  long  after  known 
as  "New  Lights,"  but  now  known  as  Christians,  furnished 
the  first  accredited  preachers.  This  sect  originated  in  Ken- 
tucky during  the  great  religious  revival  of  the  first  years  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  and  naturally  extended  its  influence 
and  gained  many  early  converts  in  the  Miami  valley. 

The  Kentucky  revival,  above  mentioned,  also  caused  the 
starting  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  and  the  Shaker  de- 
nominations. Had  it  not  been  for  this  manifestation  it  seems 
probable  that  Presbyterianism  in  the  Miami  valley  would  now 
be  as  strong  as  it  is  in  western  Pennsylvania,  from  which 
locality  so  many  of  the  early  pioneers  came.  Of  these  sects 
the  Christian  has  exerted  the  most  power  in  the  Aliami  valley ; 
the  Shaker  is  now  practically  extinct,  and  the  Cumberland 
Presbyterian  has  united  with  the  main  body  of  Presbyterians. 

David  Purviance  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Chris- 
tian denomination.  His  son  John  settled  in  the  AVhitewater 
valley  near  Braflfetsville  with  Elder  Nathan  Worley,  an  illit- 
erate but  zealous  worker  from  Montgomery  county,  and  a 
number  of  like  faith,  where  they  established  a  communit}'  of 
kindred  spirits. 

To  Judge  John  Purviance  is  given  the  credit  of  deli^•ering 
the  first  sermon  to  a  civil  congregation  within  the  bounds  of 
Darke  county.     This  event  is  said  to  have  happened  at  the 


200  DARKE   COUNTY 

house  of  Judge  Rush  (Prophetstown)  in  1811.  Greenville 
early  became  the  strategic  center  of  the  various  competing 
denominations.  Here  many  of  the  first  churches  were  estab- 
lished and  from  this  point  proceeded  to  establish  missions  in 
various  parts  of  the  county  and  encourage  their  develop- 
ment. On  October  15,  1833,  it  seems  that  Solomon  Riffle 
and  wife  deeded  to  William  Martin,  John  Swisher,  Alexander 
Craig,  David  Potter  and  John  N.  Parcell,  trustees  in  trust,  lot 
Xo.  23,  on  the  south  side  of  Third  street,  between  Broadway 
and  Walnut  street,  where  the  Hunt  house  now  stands,  "for 
the  use  and  benefit  of  the  first  Christian  church  that  might 
be  organized  in  the  town  of  Greenville  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  thereon  a  meeting  house."  A  low  brick  edifice  with 
sidewalls  about  eight  feet  high  and  two  front  doors  opening 
into  separate  iasles,  and  a  floor  on  a  level  with  the  ground, 
was  erected  here  about  1836.  Services,  no  doubt,  were  held 
here  with  more  or  less  regularity,  until  on  January  3,  1841, 
the  Christian  church  was  properly  organized  by  Elders  Elijah 
A\'illianison,  John  B.  Robertson,  Hallet  Barber  and  Elisha 
Ashley.  On  July  31,  1841  it  voted  to  become  a  member  of  the 
Eastern  Bluffton  conference.  The  charter  members,  who 
signed  the  original  declaration  of  principles  were:  Elijah  Wil- 
liamson, Charlotty  Williamson,  James  R.  Brandon,  Anna 
Brandon.  Alexander  Brandon,  Thomas  Brandon,  Rhoda  Bran- 
don, Lucretia  Brandon,  Ma*-y  Scribner  aiid  Ruhannah 
Shannon. 

From  the  time  of  the  cjrganization  the  n^embership  in- 
creased in  seven  months  from  ten  to  eighty-eight.  The  fol- 
lowing elders  served  as  pastors  up  to  August,  1841 :  J.  B. 
Robertson,  N.  Barber,  D.  Purviance,  L.  Purviance,  E.  Ashley, 
I.  Guston  and  E.  W.  Williamson ;  John  Stevenson  and  John 
Van  Meter  were  appointed  deacons.  August  18,  1846,  Elder 
\\'iIliamson  was  chosen  pastor  for  one  year.  In  April.  1848, 
the  enterprise  of  erecting  a  new  meeting  house  was  launched 
as  the  original  structure  was  considered  unsafe.  In  1850  the 
church  procured  a  quitclaim  deed  from  Solomon  Riffle  and 
wife  at  a  cost  of  $24.00.  so  as  to  authorize  the  trustees  to  sell 
the  property.  It  seems  that  John  Vanmeter  proposed  to  pay 
them  $105.00  for  the  lot  and  to  donate  a  strip  of  ground  front- 
ing on  the  west  side  of  Walnut  street,  between  Third  and 
Fourth  streets,  for  the  site  of  a  new  church  building.  This  ex- 
change was  effected  and  a  substantial  brick  structure  thirty- 
six  by  fiftv  feet  with  two  front  doors  and  black  walnut  wood- 


DARKE   COUNTY  201 

work  was  soon  erected.  In  1853  the  church,  by  request,  was 
dismissed  from  the  Bluti'ton  conference  and  applied  for  ad- 
mission to  the  Miami  conference.  Elder  Purviance  preached 
about  one  year.  Rev.  James  Elliott  was  pastor  in  1850,  Elder 
J.  W.  Marvin  was  pastor  in  1853  and  ended  his  work  Septem- 
ber 1,  1854,  H.  K.  McConnell  was  called  as  pastor  May  25, 
1856,  resigned  August  14,  1860,  and  was  re-elected  September 
11,  1860.  In  1857  there  were  sixty-one  additions,  and  on  Au- 
gust 25,  1859,  there  were  one  hundred  and  fourteen  members. 
In  the  interval  from  1861  to  1868  it  appears  that  no  regular 
pastorate  was  maintained.*  During  these  years  there  was  oc- 
casional but  not  continuous  preaching.  As  a  consequence  the 
members  became  somewhat  scattered  although  the  church  did 
not  disband,  nor  cease  to  have  its  regular  trustees.  In  1868 
Jonathan  Gilbert,  Joseph  ^\'illis  and  George  Ullery  were  trus- 
tees, religious  services  were  restored  and  a  pastor  supplied 
f(jr  a  while  in  the  person  of  I.  S.  Palmer,  whose  pastorate 
closed  April  28,  1868.  T.  M.  Mc^^'hinney  and  D.  K.  McCon- 
nell both  occupied  the  pulpit  for  probablj^  eighteen  months 
each.  The  church  record  for  April  6,  1874,  reads  as  follows : 
"It  was  thought  not  more  than  six  or  eight  members  could  be 
relied  on  to  engage  in  the  work  of  the  church  immediately 
though  many  more  would  join  in  the  work  as  soon  as  it  ad- 
vanced." Among  the  active  and  faithful  workers  during  this 
period  of  depression  were  James  Markwith,  Henry  Tillman, 
Mrs.  Tillman,  Martha  Ford,  E.  S.  Reed,  Mrs.  Reed,  Mrs.  D.  H. 
R.  Jobes  and  Harvey  Howard.  These  were  times  of  testing, 
but  the  handful  of  members  called  Elder  I.  T.  Lynn  to  the  pas- 
torate in  June.  1874.  He  served  a  few  months  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Elder  Sample.  From  January  16,  1875,  to  July,  1876, 
there  was  no  regular  pastor,  but  the  church  was  repaired  at 
this  time  and  rededicated  on  the  fourth  Sunday  in  July,  1876, 
by  Rev.  N.  Summerbell,  assisted  by  Elder  McCulia.  The 
former  was  called  as  pa.stor  to  serve  one  year  from  October, 
1876,  but,  being  called  to  Dayton  to  assume  the  editorship  of 
the  "Herald  of  Gospel  Liberty,"  he  was  succeeded  by  Elder  C. 
W.  Choate,  a  j^oung  student,  who  served  acceptably  until 
September,  1878.  During  his  pastorate  the  church  debt  was 
nearly  paid  off,  the  membership  increased  to  seventy-eight 
(of  whom  fifty-one  had  joined  since  the  rededication).  a  fair 
Sabbath  school  built  up,  regular  prayer  meetings,  services 
maintained  and  preaching  services  held  twice  a  month.  Elder 
William  A.   Gross  was  called  to    succeed    Choate.     He  first 


202  DARKE   COUNTY 

preached  half  of  the  time,  but  in  1880  was  engaged  to  preach 
three  Sundays  in  the  month  for  the  conference  3'ear  for  five 
hundred  dollars.  Rev.  Gross  served  until  1882,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Elder  Furniss.  who  served  a  few  months.  Rev.  C. 
W.  Garoutte  was  called  to  the  pastorate  in  the  winter  of  1883- 
84  and  served  until  the  fail  of  1900.  During  his  pastorate  a 
great  revival  took  place,  the  church  increased  in  numbers  and 
the  work  was  carried  on  with  zeal.  The  congregation  was 
outgrowing  the  building  on  ^^'alnut  street  and  it  soon  became 
apparent  that  a  new  edifice  was  needed  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  the  membership.  Accordingly  on  April  4,  1887.  a 
liuilding  committee  was  appointed  consisting  of  the  following 
members :  Samuel  Ullery,  W.  E.  Moore,  Samuel  Ludy  and 
David  Beanblossom.  A  large  new  lot  was  purchased  for 
$4,000.00  on  the  south  side  of  ^^'est  Fifth  street  just  off  of 
Broadway  and  the  work  of  erecting  the  new  church  was  soon 
begun  with  Mr.  Beanblossom  as  contractor.  The  structure, 
when  completed,  cost  about  $7,000.00  and  was  at  that  time 
probably  the  largest  and  best  church  structure  in  the  town. 
C.  A.  Beck  succeeded  Garoutte  in  the  pastorate  and  was  in 
turn  succeeded  by  T.  A.  Brandon ;  C.  W.  Hoeffer  served  from 
September,  1895,  to  1896.  G.  W.  Shane  commenced  a  short 
pastorate  in  Januar}^,  1897,  and  was  soon  succeeded  by  W.  A. 
Gross.  Dissatisfaction  and  dissension  arose  during  this 
period  suceeding  the  erection  of  the  new  church,  with  the 
result  that  the  membership  and  interest  decreased  greatly. 
Under  the  preaching  of  S.  G.  Palmer.  H.  A.  Smith,  Omer 
Thomas,  E.  A.  Watkins.  P.  H.  Fleming  and  W.  D.  Samuels, 
the  church  has  again  been  revived  and  has  now  one  of  the 
largest  congregations  and  most  prosperous  Sunday  schools 
in  the  city. 

In  April.  1904,  IMrs.  Frank  Mc^^'hinnev  purchased  for  and 
donated  to  the  church,  a  nev^'ly-built  two  story  frame  house 
on  East  Fifth  street  between  Walnut  and  Ash  streets  for  a 
parsonage.  The  church  has  been  remodeled  and  redecorated 
twice  in  late  years,  in  order  to  accommodate  the  growing  Sun- 
day school,  and  provide  a  better  auditorium.  The  enroll- 
ment on  the  church  record  at  this  time  is  438,  which  the 
Sunday  School  shows  677  members  at  the  close  of  1913.  Rev. 
J.  J-  Douglass  is  pastor  of  the  church  and  J.  A.  Cottrell  is 
superintendent  of  the  Sunday  School  and  the  church  is  in  a 
prosperous  condition.  The  Christian  denomination,  partly 
because  of  its  free  and  informal  mode  of  worship,  its  simple 


DARKE   COUNTY  203 

Statement  of  belief,  its  claim  that  the  Bible  alone  is  its  creed, 
and  its  easy  educational  requirements  for  admission  to  the 
ministry,  appealed  to  the  pioneers  "who  sought  freedom  from 
restraint,  and  independence  of  thought  and  action,  and  deliv- 
erance from  formal  customs."'  Thus  it  became  established  in 
the  villages  and  rural  districts  at  an  early  date,  where  it  is 
today  in  a  thriving  condition,  and  exerting  a  powerful  influ- 
ence for  righteousness.  Probably,  for  the  same  reason,  this 
denomination  has  never  become  verj^  strongly  entrenched  in 
the  cities,  as  witness  the  neighboring  city  of  Dayton, 
where  but  one  small  congregation  ■existed  until  with- 
in the  last  few  years.  In  Darke  county,  it  has  today  good 
sized  congregations  at  Versailles,  Ansonia,  Hollansburg, 
Beamsville,  Coletown,  Woodington,  Dawn,  Teegarden  (north- 
west of  Woodington),  besides  active  churches  at  Stelvideo, 
Brock,  Walnut  Grove  (Willow  DelO,  The  Beach,  North  Star, 
Sugar  Grove  (one  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Rossburg). 

Methodist. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which  originated  in  Eng- 
land in  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  grew 
rapidly  under  the  preaching  of  the  Wesleys  and  ^^^litf^eld. 
early  become  an  active  and  powerful  factor  in  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  Ohio  valley.  At  the  time  of  the  settlement  at 
Marietta  it  was  in  the  strong  vigor  of  its  youth,  and  its 
zealous  and  aggressive  preachers  soon  established  themselves 
in  the  earliest  communities  of  pioneers  and  eagerly  braved  the 
dangers  and  hardships  of  riding  the  circuits  between  the  set- 
tlements. The  story  of  their  earlj^  privations  and  experiences 
would  make  many  volumes  of  interesting  reading,  and  the  re- 
sults of  their  labors  are  readily  seen  today  in  the  prosperous 
churches  which  ever3'where  greet  the  traveler  in  the  Ohio 
valley,  and  in  the  large  and  influential  educational  institu- 
tions in  the  states  formed  out  of  the  old  northwest  territory. 

The  great  revival,  which  originated  largely  among  the  Cal- 
vinistic  settlers  of  Kentucky,  and  which  was  fostered  by 
Presbyterian  clergymen,  soon  affected  the  Methodist  church, 
which  was  drawn  almost  bodily  into  it.  This  revival  was 
characterized  by  some  of  the  most  remarkable  physical  phe- 
nomena known  in  the  history  of  Christendom.  Great  outdoor 
meetings  were  held  in  various  localities  for  periods  of  a  week 
or  more  which  were  attended  bv  multitudes   from   near  and 


204  DARKE   COUNTY 

far.  Strong  men,  as  well  as  women  and  children,  were  greatly 
affected  and  manifested  their  agitation  by  jerking,  dancing, 
failing,  singing  from  their  breasts  and  in  other  remarkable 
wa3'S. 

The  Methodist  church  readily  accepted  and  incorporated  the 
camp  meeting  and"  the  revival,  and  adapted  itself  to  the 
needs  and  conditions  of  pioneer  life.  It  is  said  that  Methodist 
sermons  were  preached  in  Greenville  as  early  as  1812.  Rev. 
John  Brown  preached  in  the  county  in  1817.  About  1818  it 
became  a  point  in  the  Eaton  circuit,  which  included  Camden, 
and  Eaton,  in  Preble  county;  Greenville  and  Killer's  (four 
miles  west)  in  Darke  county;  Covington,  in  Miami  county; 
and  Union,  Concord  and  Germantown,  in  ^Montgomery 
county,  besides  parts  of  Wayne  and  Randolph  counties,  in 
Indiana.  At  this  time,  it  is  said,  there  was  not  a  Methodist  in 
Greenville.  John  P.  Durbin,  who  was  the  first  preacher,  held 
services  in  the  house  of  Abraham  Scribner,  who,  though 
favorable  to  the  Unitarian  doctrine,  tendered  his  friendship 
and  hospitality  to  the  followers  of  Wesley.  "Many  manifested 
a  deep  interest  in  the  new  doctrine,  as  it  was  called,  but  Dur- 
bin had  preached  here  only  a  short  time  when  limits  of  the 
circuit  were  lessened  and  regular  preaching  was  discontinued 
at  Greenville  by  the  Methodists  until  the  year  1832,  though 
during  this  interval  sermons  were  occasionally  preached  in 
the  court  house,  dwelling  houses  and  such  other  buildings  as 
could  be  procured  for  that  purpose."  Rev.  Durbin  became 
one  of  the  most  prominent  preachers  in  the  early  histiiry  of 
the  church. 

About  1818  the  Methodists  erected  the  first  meeting  house 
of  the  county  in  Washington  township,  just  across  the  Green- 
ville township  line,  about  four  miles  west  of  Greenville,  and 
a  half  mile  south  of  the  Winchester  pike.  It  was  carefully 
and  substantially  constructed  of  hewed  logs,  and,  no  doubt, 
had  the  typical  clapboard  roof,  puncheon  floor,  rough  board 
pulpit  and  slab  seats.  It  was  still  used  on  funeral  occasions 
as  late  as  1880,  but  has  since  been  torn  down.  Many  of  the 
pioneers  of  A\'ashington  and  Greenville  townships  lie  buried 
in  the  adjoining  cemetery.  This  pioiieer  house  of  worship 
was  dedicated  by  Rev.  Durbin  and  during  early  days  was 
visited  by  the  following  presiding  elders:  Alexander  Cum- 
mins, John  Strange,  John  Collins,  J.  P>.  Finley,  John  F. 
Wright,  William  H.  Raper  and  ^^'illiam  B.  Christie.  The 
"Hiiler  and  Livergood  Class."  the  first  "formed  in  the  countv, 


DARKE   COUNTY  205 

was  organized  at  this  church  in  1818.  Today,  except  for  the 
neglected  burial  ground,  the  passerby  would  not  suspect  that 
a  church  was  ever  located  here. 

The  Methodist  churches  of  Darke  county  ought  to  secure 
and  mark  this  site  with  an  appropriate  tablet  or  memorial  for 
the  instruction  and  inspiration  of  coming  generations. 

"In  1833  William  Oliver,  living  about  six  miles  north  of 
Greenville,  formed  the  second  Methodist  class  in  Darke 
county,  which  comprised  the  following  members :  Mrs.  M.  H. 
Turpen  and  daughter,  Emeline,  Mrs.  L.  R.  Brownell,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  William  Barrett  (nee  Maria  Turpen)  and  Mr.  and  JNIrs. 
William  J.  Birely.  Francis  Timmons  and  Ira  Chase  were 
the  circuit  preachers  at  this  time  and  Greenville  became  the 
leading  point  on  the  "Greenville  circuit"  which,  at  times, 
comprised  from  ten  to  sixteen  preaching  places.  A  class  was 
also  formed  at  Greenville  in  1833.  I\Iuch  opposition  was  ex- 
perienced by  the  Methodists  at  this  time,  as  they  were  looked 
upon  by  some  as  fanatics  and  hypocrites,  their  meetings  were 
disturbed  and  their  ministers  attacked. 

Jesse  Prior  was  on  the  circuit  in  1834.  Under  his  ministry 
Dr.  J.  M.  P.  Baslcerville,  Lovina  Houp,  Hiram  Bell,  Jane  and 
Lemuel  Rush  and  Eliza  McGinnis  were  added  to  the  church 
in  the  county.  Steps  for  the  building  of  the  first  M.  E.  Church 
in  Greenville  were  taken  this  year.  The  work  was  begun  in 
1835  and  completed  in  1836.  In  this  year  the  Greenville 
charge  was  admitted  to  the  Ohio  conference,  Stephen  F. 
Conry  and  Adam  Miller  being  on  the  circuit.  The  location  of 
this  church,  it  is  said,  was  determined  in  this  way:  Isaac  Jay,  a 
Quaker,  identified  himself  with  the  Methodists,  and  deter- 
mined to  buy  the  northwest  half  of  lot  No.  5  on  the  east  side 
of  Sycamore  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets,  in  Greenville, 
and  upon  it  to  erect  a  suitable  building,  claiming  that  he  was 
moved  to  do  this  as  the  outcome  of  a  dream  in  which  he  saw- 
sheep  surrounded  by  wolves  make  a  successful  stand  on  this 
site,  which  was  then  a  thicket  of  thorn  bushes.  He  purchased 
this  plot  February  22,  1835,  of  Hiram  and  John  C.  Potter  for 
forty  dollars.  The  building  erected  here  was  a  low  frame, 
which  cost  about  $600.00,  Isaac  Jay,  William  Oliver,  Chris- 
topher Martin,  William  Folkerth,  William  W.  Jordan,  Jacob 
Chenoweth  and  Hiram  Bell  being  the  building  committee. 
When  the  building  was  completed  there  remained  a  debt  of 
seventy  dollars,  which  was  liquidated  by  each  member  of  the 


206  DARKE  COUNTY 

above   committee   paying  ten    dollars.     D.   D.   Davidson    and 
Martin  Wolf  were  on  the  circuit  in  1836. 

Following  the  erection  of  this  building  thirty-seven  mem- 
bers were  added  to  the  church.  In  1837  Jesse  Prior  again 
followed  the  circuit.  A  revival  of  religious  enthusiasm  be- 
came manifest  in  public  and  private  life  and  the  church  pros- 
pered. Eli  Truitt  was  on  the  circuit  in  1838  and  Edward 
Williams  in  1839.  In  1840-1841  Wm.  Morrow  and  Jas.  Mc- 
Nabb  were  on  the  circuit  which  had  been  reduced  on  the  ac- 
count of  increasing  population  to  the  limits  of  the  county. 
Their  labors  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  some  three  hun- 
dred persons,  and  the  addition  of  a  like  number  to  the  church. 
Many  incidents  of  the  power  of  the  spirit  were  witnessed 
during  the  revival.  In  1840  the  Greenville  church  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  North  Ohio  Conference. 

In  1842  and  1843  Samuel  M.  Beatty  and  Eliakin  Zimmer- 
man labored  on  the  circuit.  Jacob  Brown  and  Cadwallader 
Owens  labored  in  1844;  G.  S.  Phillips  with  C.  Coleman  in 
1845;  and  with  C.  B.  Brandeburg  in  1846;  Jos.  Wykes  and 
P.  R.  Roseberry  in  1847-48 :  Alexander  Hammond  in  1849-50. 

The  first  M.  E.  parsonage,  on  West  Fourth  street,  was  pur- 
chased in  1848.  David  Rutledge  and  Gershom  Lease  had 
charge  of  the  circuit  in  1851  and  it  was  determined  to  erect 
a  larger  meeting  house  as  soon  as  practicable.  Jacob  Burk- 
holder  and  Franklin  Mariott  labored  on  the  circuit  in  1852 
and  1853.  In  1852  the  little  frame  church  was  sold  to  Wm. 
J.  Birely  for  $50.  Subscriptions  were  taken  for  the  purpose 
of  buildirig  a  new  brick  church  at  an  estimated  cost  of  $5,003. 
About  $2,000  was  subscribed  at  this  time,  only  part  of  which 
was  paid  when  work  was  commenced.  Backwardness  in 
paying  subscriptions  retarded  the  work.  The  trustees  were 
compelled  to  borrow  $1,500  to  complete  the  work,  and  mort- 
gaged the  property  for  that  amount.  This  debt  lingered  and 
embarrassed  the  congregation  for  ten  years,  when  it  was  as- 
sumed by  members  of  conference  in  the  fall  o^  1862.  The 
mortgage  was  not  canceled,  however,  until  1865.  Franklin 
Mariott  and  Loring  C.  Webster  were  ministers  in  1853  ;  W. 
W.  Winters  and  Patrick  G.  Good  in  1854-55;  Oliver  Kennedy, 
L.  C.  Webster  and  P.  B.  Lewis  preached  on  the  circuit  in  1856; 
A\\  J.  Peck  and  John  T.  Bowers  in  1858;  during  which  year 
the  congregation  at  Greenville  was  visited  by  one  of  the 
most  powerful  revivals  it  had  witnessed  previous  to  this  time, 
and  a  large  number  were  added  to  the  church.     The  church 


DARKE   COUNTY 


207 


was  transferred  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Central  Ohio  Confer- 
ence in  1856.  Isaac  Newton  and  P.  B.  Lewis  labored  as  min- 
isters in  1858-59.  In  1860  Greenville  was  made  a  station  with 
one  appointment  at  Coletown.  Jas.  W.  Alderman  served  this 
charge  in  1860;  Jacob  Feghtby  in  1861-62;  Fielding  L.  Harper 
1863 ;  during  whose  short  pastorate  the  appointment  at  Cole- 
town  was  discontinued.  Chas.  Reynold,  1864;  Henry  E.  Pil- 
cher.  1865  ;  during  this  year  the  old  parsonage  was  sold  for 
$800,  and  another  on  lot  No.  1,  of  the  same  street,  purchased 
for  $2,500.  Rev.  L.  C.  Webster  was  the  pastor  in  1866  and 
1867.  The  parsonage  purchased  in  1866  was  exchanged  for 
one  on  part  of  lot  No.  2,  the  trustees  receiving  $100  in  addi- 
tion to  same. 

Amos  Wilson  served  the  charge  in  1868-70;  H.  J.  Bradley 
came  in  the  fall  of  1870  and  served  one  year.  During  his 
administration  the  Sabbath  school  had  an  attendance  of  over 
two  hundred  and  at  one  time  had  341  members.  Rev.  A. 
Berry  was  pastor  from  1871-74.  During  Rev.  Berry's  pas- 
torate a  movement  was  started  to  remodel  the  church  build- 
ing. A  contract  was  entered  into  with  Robison  &  Fryber- 
ger  to  remodel  the  church  for  $2,916,  making  the  Sunday 
school  ro(im  separate  from  the  main  auditorium,  and  rais- 
ing the  roof  five  feet.  Rev.  A.  J-  Fish  served  from  1874  to 
1877.  During  his  pastorate  the  remodeling  was  completed 
and  the  church  redecorated  with  a  large  new  bell  in  the  tower 
donated  by  Wm.  Allen. 

Rev.  L.  M.  Albright  was  pastor  from  1877  to  1879,  and  suc- 
ceeded after  much  labor  in  paying  off  the  debt  due  on  the 
last  improvement.  Rev.  J.  A.  Ferguson  served  from  1879  to 
1882  and  was  suceeded  by  J.  L.  Rushbridge,  during  whose 
pastorate  the  parsonage  was  enlarged,  remodeled  and  en- 
closed with  brick,  and  the  church  building  remodeled  by  re- 
moving the  partition,  erecting  a  large  gallery  with  enclosed 
rooms  beneath  for  separate  Sunday  school  classes  and  repair- 
in?  the  building  in  a  suitable  manner. 

Rev.  David  Bowers  succeeded  Rev.  Rushbridge  in  1884. 
This  charge  was  attached  to  the  Cincinnati  Conference  in 
1886  and  Rev.  J.  W.  Cassatt  became  the  pastor.  The  parson- 
age was  now  provided  with  heavy  furniture.  A  protracted 
meeting  was  held  in  the  early  part  of  1887  during  which 
scores  were  added  to  the  church.  ^Most  of  the  latter  became 
earnest,  efificient  workers  and  have  proved  a  tower  of  strength 
to  the  church.     Rev.  Cassatt  served  until   June.  1891,  his  be- 


208  DARKE   COUNTY 

ing  the  longest,  and  one  of  the  most  efficient  pastorates  to 
that  date.  On  account  of  age  and  declining  health,  he  with- 
drew from  the  ministry,  and  passed  his  remaining  days  in 
Greenville,  where  he  expired,  greatly  beloved  by  the  com- 
munity. 

On  the  evening  of  June.  16th,  1895,  the  city  of  Greenville 
was  visited  by  the  largest  conflagration  ever  occurring  in  its 
history.  The  fire  seemed  to  be  of  incendiary  origin  and  be- 
gan in  a  stable  belonging  to  Mrs.  Winner,  about  the  middle 
of  the  alley  running  from  Broadway  to  Sycamore  street,  be- 
tween Third  and  Fourth  streets.  The  flames  spread  rapidly 
to  the  rooms  of  Dr.  Wm.  Matchett,  the  Mozart  Hall,  the 
Huddle  Block  on  Fourth  street  and  the  M.  E.  church.  The 
latter  soon  became  a  sea  of  flames,  the  roof  yielded  to  the 
fire  fiend,  fell  and  the  interior  became  a  caldron  of  flame ;  the 
tower,  serving  as  the  chimney  to  a  furnace,  was  soon  an  area 
of  white  flame :  the  bell,  yielding  to  the  intense  heat,  was  soon 
burned  from  its  moorings,  and  being  partially  melted  fell 
with  a  crash.  After  the  fire  was  subdued  nothing  but  the 
bare  walls  remained  to  mark  the  spot  where  the  devoted 
members  of  this  congregation  had  met  so  often  for  praise 
and  devotion.  The  pulpit,  stand,  organ  and  a  few  books  were 
all  that  were  saved  from  the  general  ruin.  Perhaps  nothing 
better  could  illustrate  the  undaunted  faith  and  zeal  of  this 
congregation  than  what  happened  immediately.  "The  official 
board  met  on  the  following  morning,  communications  of  sym- 
pathy and  a  desire  to  assist  us  in  our  time  of  need  were  freely 
tendered  us  by  the  Presbyterian,  Lutheran  and  other  church- 
es, which  were  received  in  the  spirit  in  which  they  were  ten- 
dered. The  Board  resolved  at  once  to  build  a  new  church,  but 
to  locate  it  on  lot  No.  4,  if  the  same  could  be  purchased  on 
favorable  terms.  Those  terms  were  at  once  secured,  a  com- 
mittee appointed  to  secure  the  insurance  ($2,500.00)  from  the 
fire  insurance  company ;  a  subscription  list  was  at  once  cir- 
culated, a  respectable  amount  secured,  and  a  contract  en- 
tered into  for  a  new  church.  The  work  progressed  rapidly 
and  on  April  21,  1896,  the  cornerstone  of  the  new  edifice  was 
placed  in  position.  Work  was  pushed  rapidly  and  the  build- 
ing was  dedicated  on  Sunday,  Feb.  20,  1897.  Dr.  J.  F.  JMarly, 
of  Springfield.  Dr.  C.  H.  Payne  of  New  York,  and  Dr.  D.  H. 
JMoore  of  Cincinnati,  were  present  and  participated  in  the 
ceremonies  of  the  occasion.     The  sermon  bv  Dr.  Pavne  was 


DARKE   COUNTY  209 

said  to  have  been  one  of  the  finest  ever  heard  in  Greenville. 
During  the  forenoon  services  it  was  announced  that  the  build- 
ing and  grounds  had  cost  $27,025.10  and  that  all  had  been 
paid  except  $7,020.  Dr.  Payne  succeeded  in  raising  a  little 
over  $9,000,  putting  the  church  completely  out  of  debt  and 
having  a  surplus  of  nearly  $2,000.  The  new  structure  is  one 
of  the  largest  and  finest  churches  in  Darke  county.  It  is 
built  of  pressed  brick  with  slate  roof  and  stained  glass  win- 
dows. Besides  a  large  and  well  fitted  basement,  it  has  a 
finely  appointed  auditorium  with  a  seating  capacity  of  about 
600,  a  large  Sunday  school  with  separate  class  rooms,  bal- 
cony and  assembly  room,  which  may  readily  be  thrown  to- 
gether, besides  a  Board  room.  The  large  church  auditorium 
is  nicely  furnished  with  pews,  body  brussels  carpet  and  a 
large  pipe  organ,  and  has  beautiful  art  glass  windows.  It  is 
lighted  by  electricity  and  heated  with  a  furnace.  In  the 
tower  hangs  a  peal  of  three  bells,  a  bequest  of  Mrs.  Sophia 
Koop,  placed  in  1907.  Rev.  Conger,  who  had  been  largely  in- 
strumental in  building  and  financing  the  new  church,  finished 
his  seven  years'  pastorate  in  September,  1901  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Alpheus  B.  Austin,  who  served  aceptably  until 
September,  1904.  Calvin  W.  Elliott  served  from  this  time 
until  September,  1906,  and  was  followed  by  Charles  H. 
HaA'nes,  who  served  four  months.  A.  L.  Brokaw  served  from 
January,  1907,  until  the  summer  of  1910,  and  was  suceeded 
by  Charles  CliiTord  Peale,  who  remained  three  years.  The 
present  pastor,  Alerrick  E.  Ketcham,  was  assigned  this  charge 
in  1913  by  the  ^^'est  Ohio  Conference,  which  had  just  been, 
formed  by  the  consolidation  of  the  Cincinnati  and  Central 
Ohio  Conferences. 

The  following  persons  have  acted  as  superintendent  since 
1859:  George  H.  Martz,  1859  to  1870;  Henry  A.  Webb,  1870 
to  1874:  Jacob  T.  Martz,  1874  to  1884;  Wm.  B.  Hough,  1884 
to  1894 ;  Ammon  J.  Mider,  1894  to  1897 ;  Geo.  W.  Rosser,  1897 
to  1899;  W.  B.  Hough,  1899  to  1900;  Chas.  M.  Davenport. 
1900  to  . 

At  the  Rally  Day  services,  Sunday,  October  30,  1910,  all 
of  these  superintendents  were  present  and  took  an  active  part 
in  the  exercises. 

The  present  church-  officials  are:  Recording  secretary. 
John  H.  Martz ;  financial  secretarv.  Chas.  ^I.  Davenport : 
treasurer.  R.  R.  Winters ;  treasurer-secretary  benevolences, 
(14) 


210  DARKE   COUNTY 

Frank  H.  Jobes ;  organist,  }iliss  Lottie  Leas:  chief  usher.  Z. 
T.  Dorman ;  janitor,  C.  Stubbs. 

Trustees:  President.  John  Whiteley  :  Juhn  H.  ]\lartz,  Geo. 
\V.  ^[ace,  J.  L.  Selby.  \\'.  A.  Xewby,  R.  T.  Humphreys,  S. 
C.  Reigle,  C.  M.  Da\  enport,  A.  G.  Keighley. 

Stewards:  Jas  J.  Martz.  A.  J.  Mider.  Edward  Martin, 
Enoch  Westerfield,  Geo.  F.  Taylor,  Geo.  W.  Rosser,  Frank 
H.  Jobes,  J.  A.  Folkerth,  E.  D.  Irwin,  F.  U.  Schreel,  Floyd 
Kerwood. 

Superintendent  of  Sunday  school,  Chas.  'SI.  Davenport ; 
president  of  Epworth  League,  Floyd  Kerwood ;  superintend- 
ent of  Junior  League,  Miss  Hazel  Folkerth ;  president  of 
Home  and  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Ketcham ; 
president  of  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  Mrs.  Ed  Mong. 

This  church  now  has  a  membership  of  530  and  the  enroll- 
ment in  the  Sunday  school  is  428.  The  current  expenses  of 
the  church  for  the  year  1913  were  $2,295.00  and  the  amount 
contributed  for  missions,  $1,636.00,  making  the  total  budget 
for  the   year  $3,931.00. 

Probably  no  other  church  in  Greenville  has  exercised  a 
more  steady  and  powerful  influence  for  good  than  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal,  ^^■ith  its  present  large  membership  and 
excellent  equipment  it  promises  to  continue  in  the  forefront 
of  local   denominations   for  many  years. 

Other  congregations  of  this  denomination  are  located  at 
the  following  points :  Versailles,  Arcanum,  Ansonia,  Pitts- 
burg, Gettysburg,  Rossburg,  Lightsville,  Gordon,  A\^ebster, 
Jaysville,  Fort  Jefferson,  Shock's  Chapel  (\\'abash  town- 
ship), the  German  ^I.  E.  church,  Greenville,  O.,  which  was 
organized  in  1852,  under  the  pastorate  of  Re\-.  ^^'m.  Floerke, 
erected  a  frame  church  building  on  Ash  street  near  ^^'ater 
street  in  1855  and  a  parsonage  on  Water  street  in  1857.  Sun- 
day school  and  preaching  services  have  been  conducted  here 
with  regularity  since  its  organization  but,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  the  present  generation  of  members  all  speak  English  flu- 
ently, it  is  generally  recognized  that  this  congregation  will 
discontinue  or  merge  with  the  First  M.  E.  church  within  a 
few  years. 

The  Presbyterian  Church. 

About  1818  Greenville  and  vicinity  became  a  missionary 
field  for  the  Presbyterian  church.  Nicholas  Pittenger  and 
John   Ross  are   credited   with   holding  meetings   here  at  this 


DARKE   COUNTY  211 

period.  In  that  year  Rev.  Shannon,  who  had  served  as  chap- 
lain in  one  of  Harrison's  Kentucky  regiments,  preached  at 
the  residence  of  Wm.  Martin.  A  Presbyterian  society  was 
formed  as  early  as  Feb.  14,  1821,  at  which  time  the  following 
persons  signed  a  call  for  the  formation  of  a  corporate  body : 
L.  Bascom,  James  Craig,  William  L.  Wilson,  John  Craig, 
William  McKhann,  Jesse  McGinnis,  John  Armstrong,  John 
Devor,  Benjamin  Murphy,  David  Fisher,  John  McFarland, 
William  Clark,  John  Beers,  Robert  Hood,  James  Buchanan, 
Heman  L.  Aiken,  Stephen  Perrine,  William  jNIartin,  David 
Irwin,  James  Devor,  A.  Scribner,  Easton  Norris,  James 
Stevenson  (senior  and  junior),  H.  McCune,  George  I.  Isham, 
Erastus  Putnam,  John  Miller,  William  Lipe,  Thomas  Stoke- 
]y,  Charles  Steward,  George  W.  Hight  and  John  Briggs. 
Agreeably  to  legal  notice,  the  above-named  met  at  the  house 
of  Linus  Bascom  on  ]\Iarch  10,  1821,  and  elected  Easton  Nor- 
ris, clerk,  and  for  trustees,  Benjamin  Murphy,  William  Mar- 
tin and  Linus  Bascom,  and  they  also  placed  the  organization 
on  record  as  the  "Greenville  Presbyterian  Society."  Septem- 
ber 9,  1825,  a  congregation  collected  at  the  house  of  Benja- 
min Murphy  for  the  purpose  of  being  organized  into  a  church. 
The  Rev.  John  Ross  officiated,  and,  having  concluded  relig- 
ious exercises,  he  set  apart  Benjamin  Murphy  and  Linus  Bas- 
com as  elders,  and  Robert  Robinson  was  re-elected  as  elder. 
John  Ross  commenced  preaching  in  1825  and  remained  with 
the  congregation  till  1831.  In  1833,  the  society,  at  a  called 
meeting,  detached  a  portion  of  their  number  living  in  Adams 
township  to  form  the  Mount  Pleasant  church,  now  the  Gettys- 
burg Presbyterian,  whose  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Isaac  Ogden. 
The  society  at  Greenville  did  not  have  regular  preaching  for 
some  time  previous  to  October,  1841,  when  Alexander  Gulick 
was  installed  pastor,  and  divided  his  time  between  the  two 
societies  named,  remaining  two  years.  November  31,  1844, 
Rev.  Badeau  was  engaged,  and  served  four  years.  May  12. 
1849,  Rev.  John  A.  Weeks  commenced  preaching,  and  was 
succeeded  in  1853  by  Rev.  R.  M.  McCullough,  who  was  pas- 
tor but  one  year.  Rev.  Orlando  Clark  was  secured  for  the 
year  1857.  Two  years  later  D.  B.  WycofT  served  six  months, 
previous  to  departure  for  India  as  a  missionary.  In  June, 
1860,  Rev.  C.  B.  H.  Martin  became  pastor,  and  served  a  year 
acceotably.  Next  came  John  W.  Drake,  from  1862  to  August, 
1864. 
This    denomination    worshipped   in  the  court    house    until 


212  DARKE   COUNTY 

1850,  when  a  substantial  brick  structure  with  four  immense 
pillars  on  the  front  facade  was  begun  on  lot  No.  10,  on  the 
north  side  of  Fourth  street,  between  Broadway  and  Walnut 
streets.  This  structure  was  not  completed  until  about  1832. 
It  served  the  congregation  until  late  in  the  eighties,  when 
a  new  building  was  determined  upon. 

On  account  of  an  unfortunate  division  in  the  main  Presby- 
terian body  in  1837.  dissension  prevailed  for  many  years, 
which  resulted  in  the  establishment  of  competing  churches  in 
various  localities.  As  a  result  of  this  divsion  a  Second  or 
"New  School"  Presbyterian  church  was  organized  in  Green- 
ville, June  21,  1843. 

A  small  but  substantial  frame  house  of  worship  was  erected 
on  the  south  side  of  East  Fourth,  street,  a  short  distance  west 
of  Walnut  street,  on  the  present  site  of  the  Lutheran  church. 
Rev.  Franklin  Putnam  was  one  of  the  early  pastors  in  this 
church.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  P.  Kumler,  under 
whose  preaching  the  congregation  increased  in  numbers  and 
erected  a  substantial  brick  building  on  the  northeast  corner 
of  Broadway  and  Fourth  streets.  Here  they  continued  to 
worship  under  the  pastorates  of  Revs.  Jamison,  Lyman  and 
L.  E.  Jones  until  the  spring  of  1865,  at  which  time  the  official 
■bodies  of  the  old  school  and  the  new  school  churches,  after 
due  deliberation,  agreed  to  unite  into  one  organization,  and 
to  call  a  pastor.  Dr.  Thomas  of  the  First  church,  Dayton, 
Ohio,  representing  the  old  school,  and  Rev.  L.  E.  Jones,  pastor 
of  the  Second  churcii  at  Greenville,  representing  the  new 
school,  were  authorized  by  their  respective  Presbyteries  to 
form  a  union  of  the  two  bodies  in  Greenville,  which  union 
was  consummated  on  the  first  Sunday  in  May,  1865.  by  unan- 
imous vote  of  both  congregations.  On  May  8,  an  election 
of  trustees  was  held  which  resulted  in  the  choice  of  James 
B.  Avery,  A.  Gaskill,  M.  Creager,  Stephen  Baird,  Charles 
Tate  and  David  B.  John  to  constitute  the  Board.  The  unit- 
ed church  called  Rev.  H.  A.  Newell,  a  man  of  attractive  per- 
sonality, and  a  fine  speaker  as  its  first  pastor,  under  whose 
ministry'  it  revived  and  made  great  progress.  The  Second 
church  building  was  used  as  a  place  of  worship  for  a  few 
months  after  the  union,  but  was  afterward  sold,  as  it  was 
feared  that  the  title  to  the  property  of  the  Old  School  church 
would  revert  to  the  heirs  of  the  donor,  who  gave  it  as  a  site 
for  the  erection  of  the  house  of  worship.  Rev.  Newell  served 
the  united  church  until   1868,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  S. 


DARKE   COUNTY  213 

Gourlay,  who  served  until  March  26,  1871.  J.  C.  Eastman 
came  as  a  temporary  supply  in  the  spring  of  1872  and  re- 
mained until  1880. 

The  contract  for  the  present  structure  was  given  in  1889 
to  Z.  Benfeldt,  of  Richmond,  Ind.,  for  $14,989,  and  it  was 
expected  that  the  additional  expense  for  furniture,  furnace, 
glass,  etc.  would  bring  the  total  up  to  $17,000.00.  The  plans 
and  specifications  were  furnished  by  John  A.  Hosacoster,  and 
called  for  a  structure  84  feet  deep,  with  a  vestibule  under  the 
central  tower,  opening  into  the  reception  room,  the  primary 
class  room,  the  main  Sunday  school  room  and  the  auditorium. 
The  Sabbath  school  rooms  occupy  the  eastern  part  of  the 
building,  and  consist  of  a  lecture  or  assembly  room  28x32 
feet,  and  six  class  rooms,  opening  by  movable  partitions  into 
it.  This  department  is  separated  from  the  church  auditorium 
by  roller  blinds,  which  are  readily  raised,  throwing  all  into 
one  audience  room.  The  auditorium  is  on  the  west  side  of 
the  building  and  has  a  seating  capacity  of  about  450  with  a 
gallery  on  the  east,  seating  about  125.  The  pulpit  is  in  the 
northwest  corner  with  a  large  pipe  organ  immediately  back 
of  it.  The  pastor's  study  adjoins  the  pulpit  in  the  rear. 
The  auditorium  is  nicely  furnished  with  body  brussels  car- 
pet, and  adjustable  seats,  is  beautifully  frescoed,  lighted  with 
stained  glass  windows  and  heated  and  ventilated  by  a  modern 
plant.  The  high  ceiling  with  exposed  beams  adds  to  the 
beauty  and  harmony  of  the  whole. 

The  building  committee  was :  Henry  St.  Clair,  J.  H.  Mar- 
tin and  Alex.  Kerr.  Rev.  J.  P-  Hutchinson  was  pastor  at 
this  time. 

The  pastors  since  1880  were:  Jas.  Crawford,  1880-1887; 
J.  P.  Hutchinson,  1887  1890;  C.  E.  Tedford,  1890-1894; 
^^^  C.  Helt.  1894-1897;  W.  L.  Swan,  1898-1903;  J.  R.  Tones, 
1903-1908;  C.  C.  McKinney,  1908. 

Elders  or  Sessions:  I.  'SI.  Pierson,  clerk;  B.  F.  :Metcalf, 
.M.  G.  Demorest,  B.  T.  Hughes,  W.  L.  Reece,  E.  :\I.  Welker, 
W.  M.  Limbert,  W.  D.  Craig,  J.  J.  Matthews. 

Trustees:  M.  W.  Westeriield,  president;  Gales  Helm, 
clerk;  Chas.  J.  Herr,  C.  C.  Pitts,  C.  R.  Leftwich  and  D.  L. 
Gaskill. 

Treasurer,  J.  G.  Reid. 

Women's  Missionary  Society:  Mrs.  M.  W.  Limbert,  pres- 
ident ;  Mrs.  A.  B.  Craig,  vice-president ;  Mrs.  M.  G.  Demorest, 
secretary;  Mrs.  I.  M.  Pierson,  treasurer. 


214  DAKKE   COUNTY 

The  church  now  has  an  enroUment  of  aboiit  385,  with  240 
in  the  Sunday  school.  The  annual  budget  for  all  purposes 
for  the  last  fiscal  year  was  about  $4,000.00. 

St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church. 

St.  Paul's  Protestant  Episcopal  church  dates  from  the 
year  1832.  In  that  year  Rev.  Alva  Guion,  recently  located 
at  Piqua,  visited  Greenville  to  address  the  people  on  the  im- 
portance of  sustaining  a  Sunday  school,  and  of  establishing  a 
library  of  religious  books  for  children.  This  was  done,  al- 
though at  this  time  there  was  not  an  Episcopalian  in  the  vil- 
lage. In  the  spring  of  1833,  Rev.  Guion.  on  a  visit,  was 
pleased  to  find  a  convert  in  the  person  of  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Briggs. 
In  1835,  an  article  of  association  was  drawn  up  and  circulated 
in  Greenville,  twelve  persons  subscribed  their  names  to  it, 
and  in  1836.  nine  more  were  added,  and  the  next  spring  the 
number  increased  to  twenty-five.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  the  article,  and  of  the  names  attached.  May  29,  1837:  "We 
whose  names  are  herewith  affixed,  do  hereby  associate  our- 
selves together  under  the  name  of  the  Parish  of  St.  Paul's 
church.  John  and  Eliza  A.  Briggs,  \V.  B.  and  Mary  A.  Beall, 
Jane  E.  Ross,  Evaline  Dorsey,  Margaret  Kilbourne,  Daniel 
R.  and  Ann  B.  Davis,  Margaret  Baird,  Joseph  Ross,  Thomas 
F.  Kilbourne,  Stephen  Perrine,  ^^'.  M.  \\^ilson,  Eliza  Duncan, 
Elisha  Dawes,  Hiram  Potter,  Francis  Waring,  \\"illiam  j\I. 
Crane,  William  McKhann,  A.  L.  Northrop,  John  Wharry,  H. 
Arnold,  H.  D.  \\'illiams  and  Chloe  Herkeiner." 

Pursuant  to  canonical  notice,  members  assembled  l\Iav  29, 
1837.  at  the  dwelling  of  Dr.  John  Briggs,  to  organize  a  parish, 
and  the  following  names  were  elected  to  the  vestry:  John 
Briggs,  W.  B.  Beall,  Thomas  F.  Kilbourne.  Joseph  Ross  and 
A.  L.  Northrop.  A  building  committee  was  chosen  January 
13,  1840.  which  consisted  of  \A'illiam  M.  Wilson,  W.  B.  Beall 
and  Hiram  Potter.  In  due  time,  the  building  was  erected, 
completed  and  properly  furnished. 

The  original  building  was  a  small  frame  located  on  the 
northeast  corner  of  Third  and  Walnut  streets  with  front  on 
the  latter  street.  It  was  built  in  1840  at  a  cost  of  some 
$600.00  and  served  the  congregation  until  1879  or  1880.  when 
it  was  remodeled  into  a  larger  and  more  suitable  frame 
structure  facing  on  Third  street.  ]\Irs.  E.  Briggs  and  Eva- 
line  Dorsey  superintended  the  Sabbath  school  from   1832  to 


DARKE   COUNTY  215 

1853,  and  B.  Hubbard  from  about  that  time  until  1851.  As 
in  many  other  churches  to  a  few  zealous  women  must  be 
given  a  large  share  of  the  credit  for  establishing  and  nourish- 
ing the  infant  congregation.  Mrs.  Dr.  Briggs  was  the  leader 
of  a  coterie  of  workers  and  to  her  energy,  tact  and  perse- 
verance, aided  by  her  daughters,  Mrs.  Knox,  Mrs.  Workman 
and  :\Irs.  Black,  together  with  Mrs.  Beall,  Mrs.  Dawes,  Miss 
Evaline  Dorsey  and  others  was  due  the  building  up  of  the 
early  church.  The  fairs,  suppers  and  entertainments  planned 
and  executed  by  this  band  along  in  the  forties  are  referred 
to  as  enjoyable  and  remarkable  occasions. 

The  Sunday  school  was  reorganized  in  1874  by  Mr.  Henry 
A.  Webb.  At  that  time  it  had  but  twelve  members.  Under 
his  direction  it  grew  in  numbers  and  efficiency  until  today 
it  is  known  as  one  of  the  live  schools  of  the  city.  J\lr.  Webb, 
although  now  past  ninetv  years  of  age,  is  still  the  nominal 
superintendent,  having  served  nearly  forty  years.  In  recent 
years  he  has  been  ai)ly  assisted  by  Mr.  Frank  S.  Gordon 
and  Judge  Jas.  B.  Kolp. 

The  Episcopal  church  is  not  relatively  strong  in  Ohio  and 
seems  to  thrive  best  in  the  cities.  It  was  a  common  practice 
among  Protestant  churches  for  years  to  decry  its  formal  mode 
of  worship  but  in  recent  years  these  same  sects  are  gradually 
introducing  some  of  the  same  practices  and  the  future  of  the 
Episcopal  church  in  the  more  populous  centers  seems  secure. 
Up  to  March,  1868,  forty-three  persons  had  been  confirmed. 
The  church  in  Greenville  made  but  slow  growth  until  re- 
cently as  shown  bv  the  fact  that  in  1880  the  membership  was 
only    about    forty. 

Under  Rev.  Chas.  H.  Lee's  pastorate  a  large  and  very  de- 
sirable lot  was  purchased  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broad- 
way and  Water  street. 

A  building  committee  was  appointed  comprising  the  fol- 
lowing named  persons :  J.  C.  Turpen,  Frank  S.  Gordon,  A. 
C.  Robeson.  The  cornerstone  was  laid  with  appropriate  Ma- 
sonic ceremonies  under  Grand  Master  M^'m.  Belt,  and  the 
new  edifice  onsecrated  in  ]\Iay,  1906,  by  Bishop  Vincent. 

This  structure  is  built  of  rough  faced  limestone  on  a  con- 
crete foundation,  and  cost  about  $20,000.00.  It  is  Gothic  in  style 
with  high  pitched  slate  roof,  buttresses,  pointed  arch  win- 
dows, substantial  corner  tower  and  is  arranged  inside  to  suit 
the  mode  of  worship  practiced  in  this  church.  A  wing  ex- 
tends on  the  southeast  side  which  is  used  for  parish  house 


216  DARKE   COUNTY 

and    Sunday   school   room.     It    is   one  of   the   best   furnished 
churches  in  the  city,  and  in  exterior  appearance  has  no  peer. 

The  present  rector  is  Rev.  Chas.  H.  Gross,  who  has  served 
since  1906.  Under  his  pastorate  the  church  has  made  a  sub- 
stantial growth  in  membership,  is  well  organized,  has  made 
good  progress  in  paying  off  the  debt  incurred  in  building  the 
new  church,  and  is  now  recognized  as  one  of  the  strong 
churches  of  the  county.  The  church  now  has  22^  communi- 
cant members  and  the  Sunday  school  117  members. 

The  annual  financial  budget  is  about  $2,500.00.  The  vestry 
is  composed  of  the  following  persons :  Henry  A.  Webb,  sen- 
ior warden;  J.  C.  Turpen,  junior  warden;  E.  A.  Grubbs,  F. 
S.  Gordon,  Jas.  B.  Kolp,  A.  C.  Robeson,  D.  Robeson,  D.  W. 
Bowman,  H.  C.  Helm,  Conrad  Kipp,  Joseph  ]\Ienke,  Jacob 
^lenke,  G.  A.  Katzenberger. 

The  Greenville  church  is  the  only  one  of  this  denomination 
in  Darke  county. 

The    following    rectors    have    served    St.    Paul's    Episcopal 
church   since   its   organization:     Rev.   Alvah    Guion,   mission- 
ary, 1833,  became  rector  on  establishment  of  parish  in   1837 
Rev.  Norman  Badger,  1838-1841 ;  Rev.  J.  J.  O'Kill,  1841-1844 
Rev.  D.  W.  Toiford,  184-1-1848;  Rev.  Wm.  Miller,  1848-1852 
Rev.    Mr.    Wiggins.    1852-1855;   Rev.    Mr.    Whittinter,    1855- 
1857;  Rev.  Daniel  E.  Brown.  1857-1860;  Rev.  J.  N.  Lee.  1860- 
1862;  Rev.  Mr.  McElroy,  1865-1867;  Rev.  Mr.   Butler  (died 
30  days  after  arrival),  1867;  Rev.  Richard  Wainwright,  1871- 
1875;  Rev.  Geo.  B.  Sturgis,  1875-1877;  Rev.  D.  W.  Cox,  1877- 
1881;  Rev.  Lewis  Brown,  1882-1883;  Rev.  J.  H.  Logic,  1883- 
1885;   Rev.   Christian   M.   Young,   1887-1888;  Rev.  John  W. 
Sykes,  1888-1895;  Rev.  J.  P.  Tyler,  1895-1896;.  Rev.  Chas.  H. 
Lee,  1897-1906;  Rev.  Chas.  H.  Gross,  1906-. 

Baptist  Church. 

In  the  early  days  of  Ohio  history  the  three  denominations 
having  the  greatest  number  of  adherents  among  the  settlers 
were  the  Presbyterian,  Methodist  and  Baptist.  We  have  no- 
ticed how  the  former  two  got  an  early  start  in  Darke  county 
and  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  the  Beptists  likewise 
sought  to  get  a  footing  here.  John  Childers  and  John  Win- 
termuth  were  pioneer  preachers  of  that  flenominaticm  in 
Greenville  and  vicinity,  where  they  held  services  at  long  in- 
tervals, beginning  in  1819  to  1820.     Childers  is  credited  witli 


DARKE   COUNTY  217 

preaching  the  first  sermon  delivered  in  Richland  township, 
and  mention  is  made  of  a  Baptist  church  in  Versailles  in 
early  days.  An  early  writer  tells  an  interesting  anecdote 
about  one  of  these  early  preachers,  as  follows:  Elder  John 
Wintermuth  was  an  old  school  Baptist,  and  had  organized 
several  churches  in  the  county,  with  a  tolerable  number  of 
members.  He  was  an  excellent  man  of  great  piety  for  the 
times  and  country  in  which  he  lived,  and  though  in  compari- 
son with  many  others  was  a  very  poor  preacher,  that  is,  he 
could  not  speak  fluently,  being  no  orator,  but  his  great  learn- 
ing in  the  scriptures,  and  excellent  character,  carried  great 
weight  among  the  people,  and  through  a  long  time  he  did 
much  good.  He  lived  and  died  on  his  farm  about  five  miles 
northeast  of  Greenville,  in  the  year  1846.  He  had  some  pe- 
culiarities. It  is  recollected  of  being  said  of  him  that  on  one 
occasion  he  was  called  to  marry  a  couple,  about  ten  miles 
from  his  home.  He  answered  the  call,  married  the  couple, 
and  on  his  taking  leave  of  them  to  go  home  the  young  mar- 
ried man  handed  him  a  bill  of  paper  money  folded  up,  which 
the  reverend  gentleman  without  looking  at  stuck  into  his  vest 
pocket,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  home.  He  then  thought 
he  would  look  at  it  and  show  his  wife  the  dollar,  which  was 
the  usual  fee  (dollars  were  scarce  in  those  days),  but  great 
was  his  surprise  when  he  unfolded  the  bill,  he  saw  that 
instead  of  a  dollar,  it  was  a  ten-dollar  bill.  Filed  with  mor- 
tification, and  chagrined  at  his  carelessness  and  lack  of 
thought  in  not  looking  at  the  money  he  immediately  saddled 
his  horse,  rode  back,  found  the  young  man,  presented  him  the 
bill,  and  began  making  the  best  apology  he  could,  when  the 
young  man  said:  "I  need  no  apology,  there  is  no  mistake, 
I  intended  to  give  a^ou  that  bill  and  did  not  look  for  any 
change.  He  mounted  his  horse  again  and  rode  back  home. 
In  those  days  there  were  few  church  buildings  in  the  county, 
meetings  were  held  at  private  houses  and  in  the  green  woods. 
Many  preachers  from  a  distance  of  various  denominations 
visited  and  preached  to  the  people  in  various  parts  of  the 
county. 

An  old  school  Baptist  church  was  organized  in  Greenville 
in  early  days,  and,  it  seems,  worshipped  in  a  log  meeting 
house  on  the  rear  of  lot  No.  32  on  Elm  street  in  the  rear  of 
the  new  Catholic  church.  Seymour  Craig  was  one  of  the  early 
preachers  in  this  church,  where  he  held  occasional  services 
along   the    forties.       Rev.     Cottrell     served    the   congregation 


218  DARKE   COUNTY 

for  a  while.  Herman  Rush,  a  brother  of  Isaac  Rush,  and 
member  of  one  of  the  pioneer  families,  preached  in  this  church 
in  the  fifties.  The  congregation  was  very  small,  being  com- 
prised largely  of  the  Rush.  Potter  and  Bishop  families.  The 
Baptists  and  the  United  Brethren,  it  is  said,  built  a  union 
church  here  about  1856,  which  they  were  unable  to  continue. 
The  building  was  sold  to  George  H.  Martz  and  J.  W.  Legg. 
who  opened  up  a  "select"'  school  here  for  pupils  who  wanted 
to  take  advanced  studies  not  included  in  the  curriculum  of  the 
grade  schools  maintained  by  the  city.  This  school  was  the 
forerunner  of  the  high  school. 

These  early  Baptists  belonged  to  the  old  order,  and  were 
commonly  called  "Hardshells."  They  believed  in  predesti- 
nation, were  opposed  to  foreign  missionaries,  and  on  the 
whole,  seemed  to  be  opposed  to  advanced  education  and  pro- 
gression. About  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  or 
before,  a  split  occurred  in  this  body,  and  those  who  w^ere  op- 
posed to  predestination  and  believed  in  missions  formed  a  new 
denomination,  called  the  Missionary  or  New  Order  Baptists. 
As  a  result  the  Old  Order  decreased  rapidly  in  numbers  and 
influence,  and  are  now  almost  extinct,  while  the  Xew  Order 
made  rapid  strides  and  are  today  one  of  the  strongest  relig- 
ious bodies  in  the  United  .States.  The  Hardshells  disap- 
peared from  Darke  county  at  an  early  date. 

The  first  Missionary  or  Regular  Baptist  church  in  Darke 
county  was  established  at  Gordon,  and  the  organization  is 
still  in  existence.  S.  M.  Brower  was  the  first  preacher  who 
conducted  Baptist  services  in  the  Union  church  at  this  place 
about  1860.  On  Saturday,  August  10,  1867.  a  number  of 
brethren  and  sisters  of  the  Baptist  faith  from  the  Gordon. 
Middletown.  Caesar's  Creek  and  Centerville  churches  met  at 
the  Union  church  four  miles  north  of  Greenville,  and  a'ter 
prayer  and  exhortation,  by  Elder  W.  R.  Thomas,  organized 
into  council  b}'  appointing  Elder  Thomas,  moderator,  and 
William  Hicks,  secretary.  At  this  meeting  a  "Baptist  Church 
of  Chirst"  was  organized  and  called  the  "Regular  Baptist 
church  of  Greenville."  Jeremiah,  John  and  Peter  Deardofif 
were  elected  deacons.  Jeremiah.  John  and  Peter  Deardofif. 
Thompson  L.  Bishop  and  Wm.  Hicks  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  procure  a  house  of  worship  in  Greenville.  The 
charter  members  of  the  society  were:  Jeremiah.  John  and 
Peter  DeardofT,  Wm.  Hicks,  Jas.  DeardoflF,  Wm.  DeardofT. 
Henry  Collet.  Thompson  L.  Bishop.  Mary  John,  Hannah  A. 


DARKE   COUNTY  219 

Hicks,   Debbie   Deardoft',  Deardoff,  Sarah   Collet,  Sarah 

Deardoff,  ^laria  Bishop,  Cynthia  A.  Bishop.  Elder  Thomas 
was  called  as  the  first  pastor.  First  meetings  were  held  in 
private  residences  and  at  the  court  house.  In  1868  the  Chris- 
tian church  was  rented  and  became  the  place  of  meeting. 
About  this  time  the  church  became  a  member  of  the  Mad 
River  Association.  Services  were  also  hold  at  times  in  the 
Union  meeting  house.  From  1872  to  1874  meetings  were 
held  in  the  Evangelical  church.  In  early  days  Elder  Thomas 
was  engaged  to  preach  on  one  Saturday  and  the  Sabbath 
following  for  $150.00  per  year.  $100.00  being  furnished  by 
the  congregation  and  $50.00  by  the  JNIissionary  Board  of  the 
]\Iad  River  Association.  Many  hardships  were  experienced 
in  these  days.  Sickness  in  the  family  of  Elder  Thomas  spe- 
cial meetings  in  other  charges,  the  late  arrival  of  trains,  and 
extreme  cold  often  prevented  or  interfered  with  regular 
meetings.  The  membership  increased  slowly  and  some  mem- 
bers were  expelled  for  misconduct.  Elder  Thomas  served  un- 
til 1874,  when  Elder  James  Simpson  accepted  a  call,  and 
served  until  1878.  St.  Paul's  Reformed  church  was  rented 
for  monthly  meetings  on  Saturdays  and  on  Sundav  after- 
noons in  1875,  and  services  were  held  here  until  Jan.,  1881. 

The  church  was  without  a  regular  pastor  from  March,  1878, 
to  October,  1880,  when  Elder  B.  J.  George  of  Urbana,  was 
called.  Services  were  then  resumed  in  the  Evangelical 
church  on  the  first  and  third  Sabbaths  of  each  month.  A  lot 
was  purchased  on  the  southwest  corner  of  \\^ayne  avenue  and 
Cypress  street  for  $500.00  in  the  spring  of  1881  and  a  frame 
church  building  about  32x48  feet  was  erected  thereon  during 
the  summer,  at  a  cost  of  some  thirteen  hundred  dollars.  The 
dedication  of  this  church  took  place  on  the  first  Sabbath  in 
November,  1881.  The  dedicatory  sermon  was  preached  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher  of  Piqua,  Ohio,  in  the  morning,  to  a 
crowded  congregation.  A  Sunday  school  was  organized  in 
the  afternon,  with  T.  L.  Bishop  as  superintendent,  and  the 
evening  sermon  was  delivered  by  Rev.  T.  P.  Childs  of  Troy, 
Ohio.     Rev.   George  served   until  the  third  Sunday  in   Sept., 

1882.  Elder  Childs  served  the  church  at  intervals  until  Jan., 

1883,  when  Rev,  J.  L.  Wyley  was  sent  by  the  Ohio  Baptist 
convention  and  was  called  to  fill  the  pulpit  one  year,  the  state 
convention  furnishing  three  hundred  dollars  per  year  toward 
his  salary.  In  1883  the  church  was  dismissed  from  the  Mad 
River  Association  by  request,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Day- 


220  DARKE   COUNTY 

Ion  Association.  Evangelistic  services  were  held  in  Feb., 
1886,  by  Rev.  Palmer,  which  greatly  revived  the  church  and 
resulted  in  several  additions.  Rev.  Wyley  finished  his  pas- 
torate in  April,  1886.  There  was  no  regular  pastor  until 
July.  1887,  when  Rev.  Sherwood  Fison  preached  his  first 
sermon.  He  served  until  Jan..  1890.  During  his  pastorate 
of  two  and  one-half  years  the  church  grew  in  numbers  and 
organization.  Rev.  J.  H.  Smith  entered  on  his  ministry  in 
the  summer  of  1891  and  continued  as  pastor  until  October  1. 
1892. 

B.  Y.  P.  U.  organized  in  Dec,  1892.  Rev.  J.  E.  Lee  ac- 
cepted call  in  Oct..  1893,  served  until  Oct.,  1895.  Pulpit  va- 
cant until  May,  1897,  when  Rev.  T.  P.  James  accepted  call. 
During  his  pastorate  of  nearly  five  years  the  church  made 
substantial  progress,  several  members  were  added,  a  new  lot 
was  purchased  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Washington  avenue 
and  Devor  street  for  $1,600.00,  and  the  church  was  moved. 

A  substantial  frame  parsonage  was  built  on  Devor  street 
adjoining  the  church  about  1904.  The  following  pastors  have 
served  the  congregation  since  the  moving  of  the  church  to 
Washington  avenue :  W.  L.  Lemon,  January,  1902,  to  October, 
1902;  E.  M.  Kessler,  November,  1903,  to  July,  1905;  E.  L. 
Clevenger,  October,  1904,  to  September,  1905 ;  B.  J.  George, 
March,  1906,  to  October  1906:  L.  E.  Smith,  January,  1907,  to 
July,  1908;  Frederick  Fisher,  November,  1908,  to  April,  1911; 
T.  J.  Hall,    November,    1911,    to    November    1912;  William 

Pieffer,  November,  1912,  to . 

The  present  membership  of  the  church  is  about  100  and  the 
Sunday  school  enrollment  about  80. 

John  A.  Miller  succeeded  T.  L.  Bishop  as  superintendent  of 
Sunday  school.  A.  B.  Maurer  served  as  superintendent  of 
the  Sunday  school  from  1887  to  1908.  C.  O.  Howell  has 
served  since  1911. 

Trustees:  W.  G.  Bishop,  treasurer;  .A.  R.  Guthridge, 
clerk;  C.  O.  Howell,  A.  J.  Klinger,  A.  J.  Miller,  G.  A.  Beam. 

The  church  is  well  organized,  has  an  excellent  site  on 
which  it  is  expected  that  a  substantial  church  and  Sunday 
school  building  will  be  built  at  no  very  distant  day,  and  has 
exhibited  a  vitality  and  perseverance  which  promises  to  make 
it  one  of  the  strong  congregations  of  the  city. 


DARKE   COUNTY  221 

The  Catholic  Church. 

On  account  of  the  fact  that  the  earliest  settlers  in  Darke 
county  were  almost  exclusively  of  native  American  stock  the 
Catholic  church  did  not  become  established  here  until  a  few 
French  families  settled  in  the  northeastern  section  about  the 
year  1836.  At  first  they  fanned  the  flame  of  faith  and  devo- 
tion in  their  own  private  homes  and  met  at  stated  times  for 
the  public  reading  of  the  scriptures,  and  the  recitation  of  mass 
prayers.  This  sufificed  for  but  a  short  time  when  the  zealous 
pioneer  missionary,  Father  Louis  Navarron.  a  priest  from 
the  French  domains  of  Canada,  came  into  their  midst  to  min- 
ister to  their  spiritual  wants.  Shortly  after  his  appearance 
the  rude  log  hut  inhabited  by  Joseph  Smith,  on  the  present 
site  of  Frenchtown,  was  used  as  a  temporary  chapel  for  about 
a  year  by  the  dozen  families  who  had  recently  come  into  this 
neighborhood.  Later  the  home  of  Mr.  Marchal,  some  three 
miles  eastward,  was  used.  About  this  time  other  small  col- 
onies of  Frenchmen  settled  at  Russia,  some  six  miles  east, 
just  across  the  line  in  Shelby  county,  and  at  Versailles. 
Neither  of  these  communities  was  large  enough  to  maintain 
a  resident  pastor,  so  they  agreed  that  all  three  should  share 
the  burden.  It  was  then  resolved  to  erect  a  church  which 
would  be  of  easy  access  to  all.  A  committee  chosen  from. 
each  community  examined  various  suggested  sites  and 
finnally  agreed  to  erect  a  house  of  worship  where  the  present 
St.  Valberts  cemetery  is  located,  some  two  miles  north  of  the 
present  site  of  Versailles.  Here  a  log  church  was  soon  erect- 
ed and  in  the  spring  of  1838  the  first  services  were  held 
within  its  rude  walls.  Daily  mass  was  still  said  at  French- 
town,  but  the  Sunday  services  for  Russia,  Versailles  and 
Frenchtown  were  held  at  St.  Valberts,  in  the  French  lan- 
guage. A  church  was  finished  at  Frenchtown  in  1848,  and 
one  in  Russia  about  this  time,  and  St.  Valberts  lost  some  of 
its  early  popularity.  On  Easter  Sunday,  1849,  it  is  said,  the 
great  Archbishop  Purcell  preached  in  the  English  tongue. 
using  the  stump  of  a  great  oak  as  a  pulpit.  The  devoted. 
saintly  and  faithful  pastor  Navarron  served  this  parish  until 
the  above  year.  Desirous  of  having  their  church  nearer  their 
homes  the  Catholics  of  Versailles  bought  an  old  Baptist 
meeting  house  in  1864,  and  remodeled  it  for  their  first  chapel, 
leaving  St.  Valberts  at  last  as  a  burial  site. 

The    further   historv    of   the     Frenchtown     and     Versailles 


211  DARKE   COUNTY 

churches,  as  well  as  that  of  those  established  in  more  recent 
years  at  Delvin  and  Osgood,  will  be  found  in  the  history  of 
those  villages  under  the  proper  township  heads,  and  we  will 
now  consider  briefly  the  story  of  the  founding  o.  St.  Mary's 
church  at  the  county  seat. 

The  members  o:  the  Cathnlic  church,  who  were  the  first 
to  come  to  the  central  part  of  the  county,  settled  on  farms 
along  the  Versailles  pike  about  two  miles  from  the  city  of 
Greenville.  They  built  a  small  log  church  on  a  tract  of  land 
donated  for  the  use  of  a  cemetery  by  Mr.  Caron  on  the  east 
side  of  the  pike  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  19,  range 
3  east,  Greenville  township.  The  priests  of  the  neighboring 
cities  of  Springfield,  Dayton,  Piqua  and  Minster  occasionally 
visited  them  and  held  services  for  them.  When  the  city  of 
Greenville  grew  in  population,  several  Catholic  families  came 
here,  and  religious  services  were  at  times  held  in  one  or 
other  of  the  private  homes.  Among  the  first  families  re- 
called were  the  Carons,  the  Kuntzs.  the  O'Briens  and  the 
Lynchs.  This  was  in  1854  and  the  succeeding  years.  In 
the  year  1863  their  number  had  so  far  increased  that  they 
decided  to  have  a  church  in  the  city  and  to  secure  a  resi- 
dent pastor.  Accordingly,  they  bought  a  small  brick  church 
situated  on  Elm  street  betwen  Third  and  Fourth  streets, 
which  had  formerly  been  used  by  the  U.  R.  congregation. 
This  structure  was  enlarged,  remodeled,  and  dedicated  by 
Archbishop  Purcell  in  the  summer  of  1863.  About  the  same 
time  they  purchased  the  vacant  lot  on  the  northeast  corner 
of  Third  and  Elm  streets,  on  which  they  erected  a  parson  • 
age  under  the  administration  of  the  first  pastor,  the  Re\-. 
Charles  F.  Schellhamer.  To  accommodate  the  growing  num- 
ber of  members  this  church  building  was  in  1871  or  1872  en- 
larged under  the  direction  of  Rev.  John  F.  Kalenburg,  their 
second  pastor.  In  a  few  ve?4rs  after  the  vacant  lot  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Third  and  Elm  streets  and  adjoining  the 
church  was  also  secured.  During  the  subsequent  years  the 
congregation  prospered  and  became  established  on  a  firm 
basis.  The  members  felt  that  they  were  in  condition  to 
support  a  parochial  school  for  the  better  instruction  of  their 
children  in  religion  and  morality.  Conse(|uently.  in  1888  a 
substantial  school  building  on  the  lot  adjoining  the  parson- 
age, and  a  new  parish  house  on  the  opposite  lot  were  erected 
at  the  cost  of  some  S5.000.     In  Sentember  of  the  same  vear 


DARKE   COUNTY  223 

tlie  school  -was  opened  under  the  charge  of  the  sisters  of 
charity  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

In  the  year  1899  it  was  found  that  the  old  church  building 
was  in  need  of  extensive  repairs.  Upon  deliberation  it  was 
determined  to  erect  a  new  edifice  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
Third  and  Elm  streets.  In  the  same  year  active  preparations 
were  begun,  and  in  June  of  1900  the  cornerstone  was  blessed 
and  set  in  position.  Thereupon,  thanks  to  the  united  efforts 
of  the  parish  members  and  the  generous  help  of  several 
citizens  of  Greenville,  the  work  of  building  could  be  success- 
fully prosecuted  and  completed  in  the  following  years  of 
1901  and  1902.  The  solemn  dedication  of  the  new  church 
took  place  on  the  19th  of  October,  1902.  This  stately  pile 
of  gray  brick  with  its  two  large  towers,  its  mellow  chimes, 
its  stained  glass  windows,  its  interior  decorations  and  fur- 
nishings cost  about  $26,000.00  and  is  a  worthy  monument 
to  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  the  Catholic  families  of  the  coun- 
ty seat.  Mr.  Dennis  Dewyr,  one  of  the  parishioners,  was  the 
contractor. 

Since  then,  though  the  membership  has  somewhat  decreased, 
owing  to  the  demise  of  some  older  members  and  the  removal 
to  dififerent  localities,  the  congregation  still  continues  in  an 
active  and  prosperous  condition.  Rev.  J-  H.  Brummer  has 
been  the  faithful  resident  pastor  since  1882,  and,  as  above 
noted,  the  new  school,  parsonage  and  church  have  all  been 
erected  during  his  pastorate. 

The  United  Brethren  in  Christ. 

The  denomination  known  as  the  Church  of  the  United 
Brethren  in  Christ  was  founded  by  Philip  William  Otterbein, 
a  German-American  preacher,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  In  doctrine  it  is  Arminian  and  evangelical, 
and  in  polity  it  is  much  like  that  of  the  Alethodist  Episcopal 
church.  Numerically  it  stood  ninth  in  the  denominational 
families  of  the  U.  S.  m  1912,  having  some  three  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  members  in  the  two  affiliated  bodies.  Like 
the  Reformed  church  it  is  strong  in  Pennsylvania  and  is  well 
represented  in  the  upper  Miami  valley,  having  a  large  pub- 
lishing house  and  a  vigorous  theological  seminary  at  Dayton. 
Ohio.  Besides  this  denomination  has  recently  purchased  the 
large  and  valuable  Shaker  community  farm  in  Warren  coun- 
ty with  the  view  of  establishing  thereon  a  home  for  the  aged. 


224  DARKE   COUNTY 

Although  it  now  stands  second  in  the  number  of  churches 
in  Darke  county,  it  seems  to  have  appeared  on  this  field  com- 
paratively late.  The  oldest  churches  mentioned  are  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county,  the  Ithaca  church  having  been 
founded  about  1830 ;  Otterbein  about  1840 ;  Castine,  about 
1849;  Abbotsville,  about  1850  and  Caylor's  Chapel  (Van 
Buran  township)  about  1868.  Zion  Chapel  near  ^^'eaver■s 
is  one  of  the  oldest  crurches. 

A  United  Brethren  society  was  organized  in  Greenville  a 
few  years  before  the  war  and  built  a  brick  church  on  \''ine 
street  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets.  This  building  was 
afterward  sold  and  finally  purchased  by  the  Catholics,  who 
remodeled  and  improved  it  in  1863  as  noted  elsewhere.  The 
history  of  the  present  church  dates  from  August  22.  1883, 
when  Rev.  H.  A.  Secrist  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  Green- 
ville Mission  by  the  JMiami  Conference  with  stations  at 
Greenville,  Hillgrove,  Coletown  and  Abbotsville.  Rev.  Se- 
crist preached  his  first  sermon  on  Sunday,  Sept.  16.  1883,  in 
the  Evangelical  church  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Fourth 
and  Ash  streets.  His  text  in  the  morning  was  Psalm  84:1. 
"How  amiiable  are  thy  tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  hosts."  His 
evening  text  was  Hebrews  10:9. 

At  first  services  in  Greenville  were  held  twice  a  month. 
Class  was  organized  on  October  14.  1883,  with  nine  members, 
as  follows :  J.  M.  Klefeker  and  wife  Sarah ;  Samuel  Klefe- 
ker  and  wife  Lucy ;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Worshing ;  Mrs.  Sarah 
Guy,  Mrs.  Hannah  Felton  and  Mrs.  Sarah  Fuller.  The  first 
superintendent  of  its  Sunday  school  was  J.  A.  Gruver.  A 
great  revival  was  held  in  the  Evangelical  church  in  February 
and  ]\Iarch,  1884,  as  a  result  of  which  one  hundred  and  twen- 
ty-eight conversions  were  reported,  and  one  hundred  persons 
united  with  the  church.  With  such  an  impetus  the  church 
went  forward  with  rapid  strides,  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  a 
lot  was  purchased  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Wayne  avenue 
and  Devor  street  in  the  new  section  of  the  growing  city,  and 
the  erection  of  a  good  sized  brick  church  edifice  begun  in 
July.  1884.  This  church  building  was  finished  in  the  spring 
of  1885.  and  dedicated  on  July  12,  1885,  by  Bishop  Jonathan 
Weaver,  D.D.  The  site  was  well  chosen,  as  it  is  now  lo- 
cated at  a  strategic  point  in  reference  to  the  new  south  side 
of  the  city.  The  cost  of  the  building  and  grounds  was  about 
six  thousand  dollars.  The  building  committee  was  Hender- 
son Albright,  Daniel  Reasoner,  J.  M.  Klefeker,  J.  A.  Gruver, 


DARKE   COUNTY  ^^0 

and  N.  G.  Karns.  A  substantial  frame  parsonage  was  erect- 
ed on  the  lot  adjoining  the  rear  of  the  church  during  the  pas- 
torate of  Rev.  Klinefelter  in  1900.  The  church  property  has 
been  considerably  improved  from  time  to  time  and  a  pipe  or- 
gan added  to  the  equipment,  the  gift  of  Mr.  George  Hartzell. 
a  lumber  merchant  of  Greenville  and  active  worker  in  the 
church  at  that  time.  The  church  now  has  an  enrollment  of 
about  three  hundred,  including  several  substantial  farmers 
from  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  Greenville. 

The  trustees  in  January,   1914,  were :     Chas.   Minnich,  W. 

D.  Brumbaugh,  O.  E.  Young,  Alvin  Pierce  and  J.  Joseph 
O'Brien.  Treasurer,  Jacob  Young.  A  very  efficient  and  ac- 
tive Sunday  school  is  held  in  connection  with  the  church,  of 
which  Mr.  Oscar  Vannoy  is  the  superintendent.  The  en- 
rollment in  this  organization  is  212  (Jan.,  1914).  The  num- 
ber of  organized  classes,  six. 

The  president  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  is  Mrs.  Margaret 
Snell ;  of  the  Woman's  ^lissionary  Association,  Mrs.  J.  H. 
Vance ;  of  the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.,  Miss  Beryl  Stephens.  The 
latter  organization  was  the  first  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
organized  in  the  county  and  has  had  a  continuous  history 
since  its  establishment,  Oct.  18.  1887.  It  was  first  organized 
as  a  Young  People's  Society  in  1884.  J.  B.  Long  is  president 
of  the  Otterbein  Brotherhood. 

The  pastors  who  have  served  this  church  to  date  are :  H. 
A.  Secrist,  Sept..  1883-188.=; :  S.  W.  ]\IcCorkle,  Sept.,  1885-July. 
1887;  G.  P.  Macklin,  Sept.,  1887-1889;  W.  L.  Byers.  1888- 
1889;  G.  P.  Macklin,  1890-1891:  J.  W.  Kilbourn.   1891-1894; 

E.  W.  Bowers,  1894-1895:  W.  J.  Pruner,  1895-1897;  H.  H. 
Klinefelter,  1897-1901;  F.  G.  Grigsby,  1901-1906;  E.  C.  Petry, 
1906-1907;  J.  M.  Replogle,  1907-1910;  G.  W.  Self  and  H.  F. 
White,  1910-1911 ;  D.  R.  Wilson,  1911-1913;  W.  M.  VanSickle, 
1913—. 

This  denomination  now  has  nineteen  churches  in  the 
county,  making  it  first  in  the  number  of  stations.  A  late  re- 
port shows  the  following  charges,  pastors  and  preaching  sta- 
tions : 

Rossburg  Charge,  C.  Plack,  pastor,  including  Rossburg, 
Heistand,  New  Weston,  Rose  Hill  and  Zion  churches ;  Sa- 
vona  Charge,  F.  H.  Linville,  pastor,  including  Mt.  Zion  (near 
Weaver's  Station),  Caylor  Chapel  (north  of  Arcanum).  Ab- 
botsville  and  Savona ;  Waterhouse  Charge,  M.  Stein,  pastor, 
including  Waterhouse,  Pleasant  Grove  and  Hillgrove  church- 
CIS) 


226  DARKE   COUXTY 

es;  New  Madison  charge,  including  New  Madison  and  Yan- 
keetown ;  besides  separate  stations  at  Greenville,  Union  City, 
Arcanum,  Ithaca  and  Castine.  The  above  data  indicate  that 
this  is  one  of  the  most  active  denominations  in  the  county  and 
bids  fair  to  exercise  a  strong  and  salutary  influence  for  many 
years. 

St.  Paul's  Lutheran  Church. 

(Courtesy  Mrs.  Hildegarde  K.  Schopp.) 

About  the  year  1850  a  small  number  of  Lutherans  in  Green- 
ville, O.,  all  Germans,  feeling  the  need  of  religious  worship  in 
the  town,  called  a  meeting  at  the  home  of  Gottfried  Brom- 
bacher  on  Walnut  street,  where  the  Rev.  Reichardt,  who  was 
preaching  in  this  part  of  the  state  for  the  Lutheran  church 
at  that  time,  conducted  the  services.  Subsequent  meetings 
were  held  at  the  home  of  William  Boeger  on  Fourth  street 
and  others.  These  meetings  continued  and  as  there  was  need 
of  administering  the  holy  sacraments,  this  handful  of  Luth- 
erans decided  to  organize  and  did  so  as  "The  Evangelical 
Lutheran  St.  Paul's  congregation  of  Greenville,  O." 

Among  the  charter  members  were :  William  Boeger,  Gott- 
fried Brombacher,  Lewis  Foutz,  Wm.  Hiddeson,  John  Her- 
ter,  Wm.  Ollmetzer  and  Frederic  Reinhart,  Sr. 

Others  of  early  membership  were :  Christian  Gerstner, 
John  ^^'eitb^echt,  Chas.  Hiddeson,  Bernard  Renz,  Henry 
Klemine. 

As  the  homes  became  inadequate  to  accommodate  the  peo- 
ple, the  old  court  house  on  public  square  was  used  for  the 
meetings.  Eventually  the  frame  building  situated  on  the 
site  of  the  present  church  on  East  Fourth  street,  and  used 
by  the  Presbyterians  as  their  church,  was  purchased  from 
them,  and  there  the  German  Lutherans  worshipped  for  forty 
years.  The  Presbyterians  taking  their  church  bell  with  them 
and  the  Lutherans  being  too  poor  to  purchase  one,  caused 
the  removal  of  the  little  belfry  and  thus  the  plain  white,  un- 
assuming frame  structure  had  to  serve  as  a  church  until  in 
1889  the  congregation  secured  in  the  person  of  Rev.  E.  E.  Ort- 
lepp  a  man  who  set  about  at  once  to  prepare  for  a  new  church 
building. 

The  Rev.  A.  Reichardt  and  Rev.  J.  Lehnert  preached  for 
the  congregation  until  in  1839  Rev.  John  Lautenschlaeger  was 
called,  and  most  efficiently  and  faithfully  served  the  congre- 
gation for  ten  years,  when  he  was  relieved  bv  Rev.  K.  Koe- 
berlin,  who  was  pastor  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  oc- 


SOME    GREENVILLE    CHURCHES 


DARKE   COUNTY  227 

curred  in  1876.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  John  Hinderer, 
who  also  served  until  his  death  in  the  year  1881.  His  suc- 
cessor was  Rev.  \N'ni.  Funkey,  who  served  the  congregation 
four  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Wm.  Gettle,  who  also 
served  four  years,  as  did  Rev.  B.  Lederer  three  years. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  John  Lautenschlaeger  a 
Sunday  school  and  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  were  organized, 
the  latter  in  1864.  For  many  years  Mr.  John  Baus  was  the 
faithful  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school,  whilst  the  work 
of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  has  been  far-reaching. 

On  December  20,  1891,  the  congregation  dedicated  the  first 
and  only  church  they  ever  built,  on  the  site  of  the  old  frame 
structure  occupied  for  forty  years.  The  cost  of  the  building 
was  about  $7,500.00,  which  sum  included  the  bell.  Through 
the  generosity  of  one  of  its  members,  Mr.  Daniel  Henne,  Sr., 
the  congregation  has  never  carried  any  debts.  Six  years 
later,  on  June,  20,  a  splendid  pipe  organ  of  the  Moeller  firm 
of  Hagerstown,  Md.,  was  installed.  Also  furnishings  of  white 
San  Diego  mahogany  in  the  chancel,  namely :  pulpit,  baptis- 
mal font,  and  a  memorial  altar  and  crucifix  were  added.  The 
walls  were  beautifully  frescoed.  All  this  represented  an  out- 
lay of  $3,500.00.  The  congregation  next  bought  an  additional 
lot  adjoining  the  church  in  the  rear  at  an  expense  of  $1,900. 
In  1900  a  general  restoration  of  the  church  building  took 
place  and  besides  a  modern  steam  furnace,  a  slate  roof,  and 
other  necessary  improvements  there  were  added  two  memo- 
rial electric  candelabra  right  and  left  of  the  altar,  four  oil 
paintings  on  the  walls  being  the  work  of  an  artist  in  Wis- 
consin, and  floors  and  walls  were  covered  at  great  expense 
in  a  tasteful  manner.  A  door  paneled  in  cut  glass  leads  from 
the  modest  exterior  to  the  interior.  Beautiful  electric  light 
effects  about  the  altar,  and  its  niche,  were  a  donation  as 
were  the  electric  light  chandeliers;  $5,400.00  was  expended 
for  these  improvements,  making  of  the  interior  of  St.  Paul's 
Lutheran  church  a  beautiful  place  of  worship. 

The  congregation,  though  not  a  large  one,  is  active,  and 
under  the  guidance  of  its  beloved  and  able  pastor,  Dr.  E.  E. 
Ortlepp,  has  been  singularly  blessed. 

As  early  as  1883  occasional  English  services  were  held,  and 
as  the  ranks  of  the  German  members  are  being  thinned  out 
by  the  hand  of  time,  the  work  is  being  conducted  mostly  in 
English,  services  in  German  being  held  only  every  two 
weeks.    There  is,  however,  still  a  choir  which  can  sing  in  the 


228  DARKE   COUNTY 

German  language,  having  been  organized  in  the  eighties  by 
IMrs.  Wm.  Furkey  and  at  present  conducted  by  Mr.  \\'m. 
Kurz.  Mrs.  Anne  Lecklider  has  been  organist  at  St.  Paul's  for 
many  years,  as  was  her  father  before  her  in  early  days. 

The  Sunday  school  is  altogether  English,  and  has  for  a 
number  of  years  had  a  woman  superintendent  in  Miss  Ame- 
lia Koeberlin.  The  Luther  League,  a  society  of  young  peo- 
ple, organized  in  1893  by  Rev.  Ortlepp.  who  is  also  its  presi- 
dent, does  valiant  work  for  the  church,  and  is  in  a  flourishing 
condition.  Mission  work  has  no  special  organization,  there 
being  only  a  children's  mission  band  at  present. 

Mrs.  Minnie  Buechy  is  president  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  So- 
ciety, and  the  following  are  the  names  of  church  officials  in 
1913:  Elders,  Andrew  Renz,  William  Schaefer,  L  H.  Miller: 
trustees,  Wm.  Kurz,  Oscar  Gross,  Henry  Leas :  deacons, 
James  Schwartz,  Fred  Steft'en,  Albert  Suter. 

The  congregation  with  its  societies  raised  for  congrega- 
tional and  beneficent  purposes  during  the  year  1913  the  sum 
of  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  dollars  ($2,153), 
and  it  hopes  to  be  an  influence  for  moral  good  that  cannot  be 
reckoned  in  dollars  and  cents  in  the  future. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  St.  Johns  Church. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  rural  congregations  in  the 
county  is  the  E\'angelical  Lutheran  St.  John's  church,  situated 
about  two  and  one-half  miles  north  of  Greenville  on  the  Ver- 
sailles pike.  The  early  history  of  the  German  people  of 
Darke  county  is  closely  interwoven  with  the  history  of  this 
church.  About  1838  or  1839  German  immigrants  began  to 
settle  in  this  neighborhood.  Being  poor  in  this  world's 
goods  some  took  up  lands  that  had  been  passed  over  or  re- 
jected by  the  earlier  settlers  and  others  purchased  partly  im- 
proved lands  at  $12.00  to  $16.00  per  acre.  They  were  ac- 
customed to  hard  manual  labor  in  the  Fatherland,  however. 
and  took  up  the  task  of  reclamation  with  brave  hearts  and 
the  stoic  determination  characteristic  of  the  t3'pical  German 
stock.  Many  obstacles  were  encountered,  and  hardships,  ex- 
posure and  sacrifice  experienced  in  the  early  years,  but  time 
wrought  marvelous  changes  and  today  this  section  is  one  of 
the  best  farming  communities  in  the  county.  A  visitor  writ- 
ing of  this  section  in  1890,  said ;  "We  passed  a  beautiful 
church  and  parsonage    of    the    very  latest  pattern,  with  its 


DARKE   COUNTY 


229 


fine  painted  fences  and  beautiful  lawn  well  kept.  Going  up  a 
slight  ascent  we  came  in  full  view  of  the  Lutheran  settle- 
ment as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  \\'e  saw  one  of  the 
grandest  parts  of  Darke  county.  The  improvements  are 
very  fine,  the  houses  fit  to  adorn  Avondale  or  Clifton.  The 
tobacco  sheds  and  barns  were  of  the  very  latest  pattern  and 
well  painted.  This  part  is  very  thickly  settled,  the  most  of 
the  farms  being  about  forty  to  eighty  acres,  under  a  very 
high  state  of  cultivation." 

During  the  early  years  of  the  settlement  the  people  wor- 
shipped at  Wakefield,  then  known  as  Clapboardtown,  just 
north  of  the  present  site  of  the  children's  home.  Emigrants 
kept  coming  and  in  a  few  years  there  were  enough  families 
to  establish  a  more  conveniently  located  church,  where  they 
might  worship  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  consciences. 
Accordingly  a  congregation  was  organized  in  1851  by  the  fol- 
lowing persons:  John  G.  Deubner,  Ferdinand  Prashnn,  Fred- 
erick Meier,  Frederick  Dohme,  Christian  Kruckenburg,  Ferd- 
inand Krueckeberg,  Henry  Koester,  George  Ruess,  Frederick 
Krueckeberg  and  George  Martz. 

In  1852  the  first  church  was  erected  of  logs  and  furnished 
with  split  plank  pews,  It  was  a  rude,  plain  structure,  but  as 
the  historian  says,  "This  old  log  church  was  the  place  of 
worship  for  the  Lutherans  until  1876,  and  though  it  was  a 
rude  tabernacle,  visited  by  a  plain,  unpretentious  people,  it 
was  the  house  of  God,  and  the  place  where  He  recorded  His 
name,  and  the  worshippers  were  happy  in  it  and  loved  to 
meet  and  greet  each  other  after  the  trials  and  tribulations  o" 
a  week  of  hard  labor ;  they  felt  God's  nearness."  Revs.  Paul 
Heit,  Gotthilf  Reichert  and  Joseph  Lehner  were  the  first 
pastors,  each  serving  two  years.  They  were  succeeded  by 
Rev.  J.  Lautenschlager  and  Rev.  C.  H.  Althofif,  each  of 
whom  served  eleven  years.  During  the  period  of  their  pas- 
torates the  church  had  a  slow  but  steady  and  substantial 
growth  and  the  time  came  when  a  new  edifice  was  needed  to 
accommodate  the  overflowing  congregation.  Accordingly,  in 
1876,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Althofif,  a  beautiful  struc- 
ture was  erected,  which  stands  today  as  a  monument  to  the 
thrift,  zeal  and  devotion  of  these  people.  This  building  is 
fronted  by  a  tower  one  hundred  feet  in  height,  has  a  beau- 
tifully decorated  interior,  a  large  altar-niche,  with  two  beau- 
tiful high  altars,  two  sacristies  and  side  pulpit  and  organ  loft 
with  a  fine  pipe  organ.     Rev.  C.  H.  Alayer  was  called  to  sue- 


230  DARKE   COUNTY 

ceed  Rev.  Althoff  in  1880,  and  served  until  his  death  in  1904 
— a  period  of  twenty-four  years.  He  was  a  well  beloved 
pastor,  acceptable  to  his  people,  fond  of  the  things  they  cher- 
ished and  his  demise  was  sincerely  mourned  by  them.  Dur- 
ing his  pastorate  the  church  increased  greatly  in  membership, 
the  old  church  debt  was  paid  off,  a  beautiful  and  substan- 
tial parsonage  and  a  parochial  school  built  beside  the  church, 
and  many  improvements  made  about  the  site.  Rev.  \\  .  P. 
Benzin  succeeded  pastor  Mayer  in  June,  1904,  and  served 
acceptably  until  the  fall  of  1911,  and  was  succeeded  in  No- 
vember, 1911,  by  Rev.  August  W.  Zell,  the  present  faithful 
pastor. 

Among  the  membership  have  been  enrolled  many  of  the 
best  known  German  families,  including  such  names  as  Beis- 
ner,  Brand,  Duebner,  Dismeir,  Dohse,  Glander,  Glase, 
Grewe,  Grote,  Hollscher,  Hiddeson,  HolTman,  Hupe,  Klopfer, 
Knick,  Koester,  Krueckeberg,  Meier,  ^lergler,  Peters,  Piit- 
zer,  Prasuhn,  Requarth,  Roebke,  Roesser,  Sander,  Schafer, 
Schwier,  Schnell,  Strotner.  The  members  of  the  church 
council  are:  Rev.  Zell,  chairman;  elders,  Frank  Baldschun, 
Sr.,  Christ  Kester;  deacons,  Wm.  Beisner,  Wm.  Schafifer; 
trustees,  John  Schafifer,  Harmon  Hupe,  Henry  Brand,  John 
Ivruckeberg,  Louis  Dohse.  The  pastor  is  the  superintendent 
of  the  Sunday  school  in  which  there  are  six  teachers,  three 
classes  being  taught  in  English  and  three  in  German.  A 
young  people's  meeting  is  held  in  which  all  the  young  people 
participate.  The  communicant  members  number  about  220, 
and  the  baptized  some  300.  The  morning  services  are  ao^^' 
conducted  in  the  German  language  and  the  evening  in  Eng- 
lish. This  church  belongs  to  the  Joint  Synod  of  Ohio.  Other 
churches  belonging  to  this  synod  are  located  at  Arcanum, 
Ansonia,  Pittsburg  and  Ithaca  besides  Grace  Lutheran 
church. 

This  latter  church  is  located  on  the  corner  of  Water  and 
Boston  streets  in  Greenville,  and  was  built  in  1909.  under 
the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Benzin,  who  was  then  also  serving 
St.  John's  church,  at  a  cost  of  some  three  thousand  dollars. 
The  present  elders  are  Wm.  Grote  and  Henry  Schake ;  the 
deacons,  Henry  Dismeier  and  Carl  Dininger;  trustees,  John 
Meier,  Harley  Dininger,  Henry  Dismeier,  Walter  Stahl  and 
Wm.  Stevens.  Rev.  Paul  Schillinger  was  pastor  from  the 
fall  of  1910  to  fall  of  1913.  Rev.  Edgar  Ebert,  a  graduate  of 
Capitol  University.  Columbus,  Ohio,  began  his  pastorate  on 


DARKE   COUNTY  231 

Easter,  1914.  There  is  a  Ladies"  Aid  Society  in  tliis  consjre- 
gation,  of  which  Airs.  Frank  Stauffer  is  president.  There 
are  about  eighty-five  communicants  and  about  130  baptized 
members.  This  church  was  formed  by  English  members  of 
St.  John's  and  Emmanuel's  (Dininger)  congregations  who  de- 
sired to  have  a  church  in  Greenville  where  the  services  could 
be  held  exclusively  in  the  English  language.  The  Sunday 
school  has  about  fifty  members,  in  four  classes.  The  pastor 
is  the  superintendent. 

Old  Order  German  Baptist  Brethren. 

This  body  is  one  of  three  now  comprising  what  is  common- 
ly known  as  the  Dunkers,  or  Dunkards,  a  name  derived  from 
the  German  word,  "Tunken,"  meaning  to  baptize,  or  more 
specifically  "to  dip."  This  body  arose  in  Germany  at  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  its  followers  were 
driven  from  that  country  by  persecution  between  the  years 
of  1719  and  1729.  They  fled  to  America  where  they  expected 
to  be  accorded  the  privilege  of  worshipping  God  according 
to  the  dictates  of  their  own  conscience,  and  settled  in  eastern 
Pennsylvania.  Here  they  encountered  many  obstacles  inci- 
dent to  pioneer  life  on  the  border  and  suffered  severe  hard- 
ship and  exposure  during  the  early  Indian  A\'ars  and  the 
Revolution.  Progress  was  necessarily  slow,  but  we  note 
signs  of  growth  in  the  organization  of  their  first  Sabbath 
school  in  1738,  their  first  annual  conference  in  1742,  and  the 
printing  of  the  first  German  bible  in  America  in  1748.  In 
these  pioneer  days  meetings  were  evidently  held  in  the  homes 
of  the  members,  as  the  first  meeting  house  mentioned  was 
built  in  Franklin  county.  Pa.,  in  1798.  They  believe  in  bap- 
tism by  triune  forward  immersion,  oppose  war  and  litiga- 
tion, resemble  the  Society  of  Friends  in  requiring  extreme 
plainness  of  language  and  dress,  and  practice  feet  washing 
and  the  kiss  of  charity.  They  are  temperate,  industrious, 
economical  and  thrifty  and  insist  on  the  payment  of  financial 
obligations.  As  the  natural  consequence  of  their  exemplary 
manner  of  living  they  have  prospered  wherever  they  have 
settled,  and  commanded  the  respect  of  their  neighbors. 

As  large  numbers  of  the  early  emigrants  to  the  Miami  val- 
ley came  from  Pennsylvania,  Virginia  and  Maryland,  there 
were  among  them  a  goodly  number  of  German  Baptists. 
Jacob  IMiller,  who  settled  near  Dayton  in  1800,  is  credited  with 


232  DARKE   COUNTY 

being  the  first  brother  of  this  order  to  establish  himself  west 
of  the  Miami  river.  He  raised  an  exemplary  family  of  three 
daughters  and  nine  sons,  three  of  the  latter  becoming  able 
ministers,  and  was  in  this  respect  the  forerunner  of  a  host 
of  brethren  who,  by  industry,  morality,  frugality  and  tenacit}' 
of  purpose,  have  made  numerous  prosperous  settlements  and 
dotted  the  \-alley  with  their  homes  and  meeting  houses.  As 
the  result  of  a  progressive  movement  in  the  church  a  division 
was  caused  in  1881,  and  all  the  meeting  houses  and  property 
went  to  the  New  Order.  The  Old  Order  now  has  the  fol- 
lowing meeting  houses  in  Darke  county,  all  built  since  the 
separation  above  mentioned :  Union  City  District — Jackson 
township,  three  miles  east  of  Union  City  on  ^^'enrick  pike ; 
Pleasant  Grove,  German  township,  one  mile  east  of  Palestine : 
Oak  Grove,  Adams  township,  two  miles  north  of  Gettysburg ; 
Miller's  Grove,  Franklin  township,  two  miles  south  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Painter  Creek  ;  Fourman  Meeting  House,  two  miles 
east  and  two  north  of  Arcanum.  Besides  these  a  number  of 
members  living  in  the  neighborhood  of  Castine  attend  Price 
Creek  Meeting  House,  two  miles  south  of  Castine  in  Preble 
county. 

The  Church  of  the  Brethren. 

At  the  conference  held  in  Des  ]\Ioines,  Iowa,  in  1908,  the 
conservative  branch  of  the  German  Baptists  who  had  l^een 
separated  from  the  Old  Order  in  1881,  as  before  noted,  changed 
her  name  to  "The  Church  of  the  Brethren."  This  body  is 
numerically  strong  in  Darke  county  and  has  a  thriving  church 
and  home  for  the  dependent  children  and  old  folks  at  Green- 
ville, besides  several  rural  congregations.  The  following  very 
interesting  and  instructive  sketch,  prepared  by  Levi  Minnich, 
of  Franklin  township,  the  vice-chairman  of  the  General  Sun- 
day School  Board  of  this  body,  gives  a  brief  history  of  this 
organization  and  shows  its  present  status  in  Darke  county 
and  elsewhere.  What  is  said  in  this  article  about  the  Breth- 
ren church  in  Darke  county  prior  to  1881  applies  likewise 
to  the  Old  Order. 

"Probably  the  first  member  of  the  Church  of  the  Brethren 
locating  in  Darke  county  was  Wm.  K.  ]\Iarquis,  of  French 
parentage.  He  came  from  Virginia  and  settled  near  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Union  City  in  1821.  Soon  thereafter  others  fol- 
lowed and  in  1833  the  little  band  of  pioneers  elected  John 
Crumrine  and  Wm.  K.  Marquis  as  their  first  ministers.  Fred- 


DARKE   COUNTY  233 

erick  Roe  and  John   Zumbrum  were  the   first  deacons.     Re- 
ligious servics  were  held  in  the  homes  of  the   members. 

In  1851  a  more  definite  organization  was  efifected  and 
christened  "The  Greenville  Creek  Church."  This  body  con- 
sisted of  about  seventy  members.  There  are  at  present  six 
church  houses  and  four  congregations  in  this  territory. 

About  the  year  1833  members  of  the  church  of  the  Breth- 
ren from  Pennsylvania  began  to  settle  in  Franklin  and  Mon- 
roe townships  and  formed  what  has  ever  since  been  known 
as  the  Ludlow  congregation.  This  includes  four  chuich 
houses ;  one  near  Painter  Creek  village,  one  at  Pittsburg, 
one  at  Red  River  and  one  at  Georgetown  in  Miami  county. 
Among  the  first  members  of  this  church  were  Jacob  Stauffer 
and  wife,  Barbara  Brandt,  Sallie  Finfrock,  David  Kinsey  and 
wife,  Frederick  Holsopple  and  wife,  David  Mishler  and  wife. 
At  this  time  there  were  seventeen  members  living  in  the 
above  townships. 

"Philip  Younce  was  the  first  minister  to  conduct  religious 
services  in  this  part  of  the  county.  He  lived  about  five  miles 
southeast  of  West  j\Iilton,  nearly  twenty  miles  distant,  and 
made  his  visit  on  horseback  every  eight  weeks.  Services 
were  held  in  the  homes  of  the  people,  except  in  midsummer, 
when  a  well  shaded  spot  in  the  forest  was  selected.  At  the 
time  of  one  of  these  appointments  Painter  Creek  had  risen  to 
abnormal  size.  A  friend  of  Rev.  Younce  living  east  of  the 
creek,  desiring  to  spare  the  veteran  minister  this  long  jour- 
ney, sent  a  messenger  the  day  previous  to  inform  him  he 
could  not  cross  the  raging  stream.  The  elder,  who  was  al- 
ready en  route,  hesitated  a  moment,  and  then  replied,  'My 
horse  can  swim,  and  I  shall  try  and  reach  my  appointment.' 
On  he  went  and  sure  enough  the  faithful  horse  did  take  him 
safely  through  the  deep  water  full  of  floating  logs,  and  his 
appointment  was  filled  according  to  previous  announcement. 
"In  1850  the  young  men  of  this  community,  having  a  desire 
for  greater  social  and  educational  development,  erected 
through  subscription  for  material  and  labor,  a  building  made 
of  logs  one  mile  east  of  the  village  of  Painter  creek  on  the 
farm  owned  by  Samuel  Beane.  This  was  first  used  only  for 
singing  schools  and  debates,  but  soon  after  its  use  was  also 
tendered  the  church  in  which  to  hold  religious  services.  A 
few  years  later  the  building  was  given  wholly  to  the  church, 
and  thus  it  became  the  first  church  building  in  this  part  of 
Darke    county.     With    such    ministers    as    Philip     and     John 


234  DARKE   COUNTY 

Younce,  David  Mishler,  Abraham  Younce,  Eli  Swank,  Henry 
Jones,  Frederick  Stauffer,  Absolem  Hyer  and  other  conse- 
crated leaders,  Ludlow  church  grew  in  influence  and  numbers 
until  it  reached  a  membership  of  four  hundred.  For  a  third 
of  a  century  its  membership  has  remained  about  the  same. 
Within  this  time  even  a  greater  number  of  members  removed 
from  its  borders  and  became  pioneer  settlers  in  the  west  and 
northwest.  Believing  that  with  less  territory  and  more  con- 
centrated effort  a  church  organization  can  accomplish  more 
efficient  work,  Ludlow  district  in  December,  1913,  decided  to 
divide  itself  into  two  congregations  with  Painter  creek  and 
Red  river  comprising  one  congregation  and  Pittsburg  and 
Georgetown  the  other.  In  German  township  there  were  early 
organizations  of  this  church,  likewise  in  Adams  township, 
where  the  early  settlers  organized  a  congregation  known  as 
the;  Upper  Stillwater  congregation'.  This  also  included  a 
part  of  Miami  county.  The  first  church  house  built  for  this 
congregation  was  in  the  autumn  of  1844  and  the  spring  of 
1845,  about  one  mile  north  of  Bradford,  on  the  Miami  cnunty 
side.  The  ground  was  donated  by  Jacob  Bashore  and  John 
Beanblossom.  The  ministers  were  Eld.  Michael  Etter,  John 
Brumbaugh  and  John  Cable.  Deacons,  Daniel  Morgan,  Isaac 
Hoover,  David  Minnich  and  Adam  Brandt.  Later  Oakland 
congregation  in  Darke  county  and  Covington  and  Newton 
congregations  in  Miami  county  were  formed  from  this  ter- 
ritory. 

In  1868  the  first  church  building  was  taken  down  and  the 
present  large  and  substantial  building  erected.  In  1908 
this  building  was  remodeled  so  as  to  provide  better  Sunday 
school  facilities. 

Amongst  other  ministers  who  were  leaders  in  this  congre- 
gation were  Joseph  Risser.  S.  S.  Mohler,  John  Hershey,  Adam 
Helman,  Emanuel  Hoover  and  Wm.  Boogs.  Ministers  hav- 
ing the  work  in  charge  at  present  are  Eld.  J.  C.  Bright,  Eld. 
J.  M.  Stover,  Devolt  Crowel,  S.  D.  Royer,  S.  E.  Porter  and 
John  Eikenberr}'. 

The  Oakland  congregation  is  mostly  in  Adams  township 
and  has  a  membership  of  184.  Its  ministers  are  Eld.  John 
Christian,  Henry  Smith  and  Elmer  Ikey. 

There  are  nearly  ICX)  members  of  the  church  of  the  Breth- 
ren living  in  Bradford.  An  efifort  is  being  made  at  present 
to  raise  sufficient  subscription  to  erect  a  church  buildinp 
there. 


DARKE   COUNTY  235 

There  are  at  present  twelve  church  houses  located  in  Darke 
county  at  the  following  places :  Beech  Grove,  Castine,  Green- 
ville, Jordan,  North  Star,  Oakland,  Painter  Creek,  Pittsburg, 
Poplar  Grove,  Pleasant  Valley,  Red  River  and  West  Branch. 
Union  City  and  Upper  Stillwater  congregations  are  partly  in 
Darke  county.  The  church  membership  of  Darke  county  is 
about  1,200,  and  the  number  of  ministers  twenty-three.  These 
are  largely  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  parentage.  There 
are  organized  churches  in  38  of  the  states  of  the  Union  with 
a  membership  of  about  100,000. 

The  Gospel  Messenger  is  the  official  organ  of  the  church, 
and  is  published  weekly  at  Elgin,  Illinois. 

In  recent  years  the  church  has  greatly  increased  its  ac- 
tivity in  missions,  Sunday  school  work,  education  and  tem- 
perance. Each  of  these  departments  has  a  general  board. 
Under  the  supervision  of  the  General  Mission  Board,  for- 
eign missions  have  ben  established  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  In- 
dia and  China,  with  other  fields  under  consideration.  The 
Missionary  Visitor  is  the  official  paper  published  monthly  at 
Elgin,   Illinois. 

Under  the  supervision  of  the  Educational  Board  there  are 
nine  denominational  schools  located  as  follows :  Juniata  Col- 
lege, Huntingdon,  Pa. :  Blue  Ridge  College,  New  Windsor, 
Md. :  Bridgewater  College,  Bridgewater,  Va. ;  Daleville  Col- 
lege, Daleville,  Va. :  Manchester  College,  Nj^rth  AIaiichestei%_ 
Ind. ;  Mt.  Morris  College.  Mt.  Morris,  111.;  Bethany  Bible 
School,  Chicago,  111. ;  McPherson  College,  McPherson,  Kan. : 
Palmers  College,  Lordsburg,  Cal. 

Under  the  supervision  of  the  General  Sunday  School  Board 
with  headquarters  at  Elgin,  111.,  there  has  been  eflfected  a  more 
thorough  organization  of  the  Sunday  schools  of  the  church. 
I.  B.  Trout  is  secretary  of  the  board,  and  is  editor-in-chief 
of  the  various  Sunday  school  publications  of  the  church.  The 
enrollment  of  the  Sunday  school  exceeds  her  membership. 

Ever  since  the  organization  of  the  church  she  has  stood 
against  the  open  saloon  and  the  manufacture  of  intoxicatinL; 
liquor.  She  believes  in  the  simplicity  of  life  as  found  in  the 
teaching  of  Christ  in  the  New  Testament. 

She  represents  a  people  who,  as  little  children  (Luke  18:17), 
accept  the  word  of  the  new  testament  as  a  message  from 
heaven  ("Heb.  1 :1.  2),  and  teach  it  in  full  (2  Tim.  4:1,  2:  Alatt. 
28:20). 

Who  baptize  believers  by  triune  immersion   fMatt.  28:19) 


236'  DARKE   COUNTY 

with  a  forward  action  (Rom.  6:5),  and  for  the  remission  of  sins 
(Acts  2:38),  and  lay  hands  on  those  baptized,  asking  upon 
them  the  gift  of  God's  spirit  (Acts  19:5,  6). 

A\'ho  follow  the  command  and  example  of  washing  one  an- 
other's feet   (John   13:4,   17). 

Who  take  the  Lord's  Supper  at  night  (John  13:20),  at  cue 
and  the  same  time,  tarrying  one  for  another  (1  Cor.  11  -.53.  34) 

Who  greet  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss  (Acts  20:37;  Rimii, 
16:16). 

Who  take  the  Communion  at  night,  after  supper,  as  did  the 
Lord  (Mark  14:17,  23). 

Who  teach  all  the  doctrines  of  Christ,  peace  ( Heb.  12:14), 
love  (1  Cor.  13),  unity  ( Eph.  4),  both  faith  and  works  (James 
2:17,   20). 

^^"ho  labor  for  nonconformity  to  the  world  in  its  vain  and 
wicked  customs  (Rom.  12:2). 

Who  advocate  nonswearing  (I\Iatt.  5:34.  37).  anti-secretism 
(2  Cor.  6:14,  17),  opposition  to  war  (John  18:36),  doing  good 
unto  all  men   (Matt.  5:44,  46). 

Who  anoint  and  lay  hands  on  the  sick  (James  5:14,  15). 

Who  give  the  Bread  of  Life,  the  message  of  the  common 
salvation,  unto  all  men  without  money  or  price  (^latt.  10:8). 

The  Church  of  the  Brethren  in  Greenville. 

In  our  sketch  of  the  Brethren  church  it  has  been  noted 
that  its  early  meeting  houses  were  established  in  the  rural 
communities.  On  account  of  their  plain  manner  of  living  and 
industrious  habits  these  people  devote  most  of  their  energies 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil.  However,  on  account  of  ad- 
vancing age,  a  number  of  the  brethren  retired  from  active  life 
on  the  farm  and  settled  in  the  county  seat,  during  the  latter 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Being  accustomed  to  the 
regular  worship  of  God  these  devout  people  commenced  to 
hold  services  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Hardman  on  the  northwest 
corner  of  Pine  street  and  Central  avenue  about  the  year  1889, 
under  the  preaching  of  Elder  Henry  Baker.  The  iMission 
Board  of  the  .Southern  District  of  Ohio  soon  perceived  the  im- 
portance of  establishing  a  church  in  Greenville,  and  lent  en- 
couragement and  financial  aid  to  this  enterprise.  With  its 
assistance  it  was  then  decided  to  erect  a  house  of  worship 
in  the  near  future.  Services  were  then  held  in  the  city  hall, 
a  lot  was  purchased  on  the  east  side  of  Central  avenue  be- 


DARKE   COUNTY  237 

tween  Walker  and  Pine  streets,  and  the  erection  of  a  church 
commenced.  This  building  was  pushed  to  completion  and 
dedicated  in  January,  1901.  It  was  a  substantial  brick  struc- 
ture with  pointed  slate  roof  38x60  feet  in  size,  and  was  the 
first  church  located  in  the  rapidly  growing  section  of  the  city 
south  of  the  Pennsylvania  railway.  At  this  time  a  society 
of  twenty-four  members  was  organized,  among  whom  were 
the  following:  Henry  Beck  and  wife,  I.  K.  HoUinger  and 
wife,  David  Marker  and  wife,  John  Marker  and  wife,  George 
Puterbaugh,  Sr.,  and  wife,  David  Hollinger  and  wife.  Mrs. 
Daisy  Hollinger,  Airs.  Catharine  Hopkins,  Mrs.  Susie  Mi- 
chael, Mrs.  Marg.  Murphy  and  daughter  Laura.  The  society 
grew  in  numbers  and  influence  and  in  1911  the  original  church 
structure  was  enlarged  and  remodeled,  the  roof  being  raised 
about  ten  feet,  a  tower  added  in  front,  three  Sunday  school 
rooms  attached  to  the  east  end  and  a  gallery  constructed,  giv- 
ing the  property  a  value  conservatively  estimated  at  $7,000.00. 
Special  emphasis  has  been  placed  on  the  work  of  the  Sun- 
day school  with  the  result  that  it  now  has  an  enrollment  of 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  members.  George  D.  Puter- 
baugh was  superintendent  of  this  department  for  se\'eral 
years  and  was  recently  succeeded  by  Allen  Weimer.  The 
school  is  well  organized,  has  seven  separate  class  rooms,  be- 
sides the  main  assembly  room,  and  supports  a  teachers' 
training  class.  The  young  people  support  a  flourishing  Chris- 
tian Workers'  Societ}'  of  which  Chas.  Forror  is  president. 
The  women  of  the  church  maintain  a  strong  auxiliary  organ- 
ization, nown  as  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  of  which  Mrs.  David 
Hollinger  is  the  head.  The  official  board  is  constituted  as 
follows:  Elders,  Abraham  Brumbaugh,  Granville  Minnich,  A. 
W.  Weimer;  deacons,  Henry  Beck,  George  Puterbaugh,  Sr.. 
Elam  Forror,  Geo.  D.  Puterbaugh,  Jr..  I.  N.  Rover,  A'incent 
Halliday.  Henry  Hovatter,  Chas.  Fryman  and  Chas.  Forror. 
Rev.  David  Hollinger  has  been  pastor  of  this  congregation 
most  of  the  time  since  its  organization,  freely  giving  of  his 
time  and  talents  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  without  financial 
remuneration  at  his  own  request.  The  church  now'  has  about 
170  members  and  on  account  of  the  need  of  a  central  church 
of  this  denomination  in  Darke  county,  the  character  of  its 
membership  and  its  strategic  location,  promises  to  grow  stead- 
ilv   in  numbers  and  influence. 


238  DARKE   COUNTY 

The  Brethren's  Home. 

In  the  year  1902  the  Brethren  churches  of  the  southern 
district  of  Ohio  secured  a  charter  to  erect  a  home  for  depend- 
ent orphan  children  and  the  old  people  under  their  care. 
After  a  careful  inspection  of  eligible  locations  for  the  proposed 
benevolent  institution,  the  locating  committee  chose  a  beau- 
tiful site  on  the  east  blufif  of  the  Mud  creek  valley,  just  south 
of  Oakview  addition  to  the  city  of  Greenville.  The  central 
location  of  Greenville,  and  its  exceptional  railroad  facilities 
were  determining  factors  in  the  decision  of  the  committee. 
This  site  comprises  forty  acres  of  fertile  prairie  and  upland, 
formerly  known  as  the  Rush  farm,  lying  between  the  Fort 
Jefierson  pike  and  the  Pennsylvania  railway,  and  commands 
a  fine  view  of  the  country  to  the  south  and  west.  On.  ac- 
count of  proximity  to  Greenville  and  its  natural  advantage 
this  site  was  well  chosen  and  reflects  credit  upon  the  wisdom 
of  its  purchasers.  Here  two  substantial  pressed  brick  build- 
ings encircled  with  wide  porches  were  erected  at  an  approx- 
imate cost  of  $25,000.00,  and  dedicated  in  July,  1903,  with  ap- 
propriate exercises. 

The  buildings  are  two  stories  in  height  with  cemented 
basements  under  the  entire  structure,  are  35x70  feet  in  size, 
and  are  equipped  with  electricity,  city  water,  sanitary  sewers, 
natural  gas  pipes  and  a  good  heating  plant. 

The  north  building  was  constructed  for  the  use  of  the  old 
folks,  and  has  a  hallway  running  east  and  west  entirely 
through  its  length.  On  the  right  side  of  this  hall,  down- 
stairs, are  located  the  superintendent's  office,  four  bedrooms 
and  a  sewing  room.  On  the  left  side  are  located  the  old  peo- 
ples' sitting  room,  dining  room,  kitchen,  pantry  and  store 
room.  Upstairs  there  are  six  rooms  on  each  side  for  bed- 
rooms. At  the  west  end  are  toilet  rooms,  and  lavatories, 
with  hot  and  cold  water. 

The  south  building  is  located  about  sevent}'-five  feet  from 
its  companion,  with  which  it  is  now  connected  by  a  brick 
building  erected  for  a  laundry  and  furnace  house.  Like  the 
northern  building  it  is  intersected  by  longitudinal  hallways 
downstairs  and  up.  On  the  north  side  of  this  hall  down- 
stairs are  located  the  rooms  for  the  governess,  and  little 
girls,  children's  toilet  room,  a  large  dining  room  and  kitchen 
for  the  accommodation  of  the  superintendent's  family,  the 
help   and   the   children.     On   the   south   side   o*   the    hall    are 


DARKE   COUNTY  239 

located  a  large  sitting  room,  chapel,  boys"  room,  and  dairy  and 
supply  room  equipped  with  cream-separator,  refrigerator,  etc. 
Upstairs  are  located  the  women's  hospital,  the  men's  hospital 
and  four  bedrooms. 

Twenty-nine  adults,  ranging  in  age  from  55  to  87  years, 
were  admitted  during  the  first  year.  Xo  children  were 
admitted  until  1905,  when  eleven  came. 

Since  its  establishment  the  following  persons  have  served 
as  superintendent:  A.  G.  Snowberger,  about  six  months;  E. 
P.  Longenecker.  one  year;  Joseph  Brant,  one  year;  M.  X. 
Rensbarger.  three  years ;  Granville  W.  Minnich,  the  present 
efficient  incumbent,  has  served  continuously  since  1909. 

The  lawns  in  front  of  the  buildings  have  been  nicely  graded 
and  planted  with  trees  which,  in  time,  will  add  greatly  to  the 
pleasing  and  home-like  appearance  of  the  grounds.  The  aver- 
age number  of  inmates  has  been  about  thirty.  At  present 
there  are  twenty-six  adults  and  six  children  in  the  home. 

The  location  of  this  institution  in  Darke  county  indicates 
that  the  Brethren  church  is  strong  and  influential  here  and  is 
growing  in  prestige  and  good  works.  It  also  adds  one  to  the 
high  class  benevolent  institutions  located  in  the  county,  and 
tends  to  attract  and  bind  together  the  members  of  a  church 
valued  highly  for  their  contribution  to  the  social,  moral  and 
religious  affairs  of  our  people. 

First  Evangelical  Church. 

On  account  of  the  goodly  proportion  of  German  emigrants 
to  Greenville  and  vicinity  about  1830  to  1850  three  diiTerent 
denominations  were  early  established  in  Greenville,  viz..  the 
Evangelical,  German  M.  E.  and  Lutheran.  Although  the 
former  denomination  has  lost  its  distinctive  German  character 
in  late  years,  it  was  established  by  Germans,  as  shown  by  the 
records  and  the  names  of  the  early  families  who  supported  it. 
Among  these  were  the  Renschlers,  Koenigs,  Lutzs.  Kecks  and 
Schwartzs,  The  first  services  were  held  in  private  homes  bv 
visiting  ministers  from  Dayton,  Cincinnati  and  neighboring 
places.  Although  a  small  class  was  formed  as  early  as  1842, 
the  membership  increased  slowly,  and  did  not  erect  a  house 
of  worship  until  1858.  when  a  substantial  brick  church  build- 
ing was  erected  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Fourth  and  Ash 
streets,  where  the  congregation  Jias  continued  to  worship 
ever  since.     The  early  growth  of  the  church  was  quite  slow 


240  DARKE   COUNTY 

as  indicated  by  the  fact  that  Inu  twenty-eight  members  were 
reported  in  1880,  at  which  time  regular  preaching  services  were 
held  only  once  in  two  weeks.  Under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
Geo.  D.  Eastes  in  1911.  the  church  was  remodeled  at  a  cost 
of  about  $4,000.00.  At  this  time  a  Sunday  school  room  was 
added,  the  basement  enlarged,  the  auditorium  decorated  and 
refurnished  and  other  improvements  made.  Plans  have  re- 
cently been  adopted  whereby  the  society,  by  action  of  the 
annual  conference,  expect  to  build  a  new  parsonage  on  the 
present  site  adjoining  the  church,  in  the  near  future. 

The  trustees  in  1913  were:  Irvin  Smith,  president:  C.  M. 
Dunn,  secretary :  Henry  Flurkey.  treasurer :  Anna  Flurkey, 
president  Young  Peoples'  Alliance :  Mr.  Frank  Slade,  superin- 
tendent of  Sunday  school.  The  enrollment  in  the  Sunday 
school  in  1913  was  about  140,  and  the  church  membership 
about  100.  The  present  zealous  pastor  is  Rev.  Ernest  R. 
Roop.  who  is  entering  on  the  third  year  of  his  pastorate.  This 
ctiurch  is  exceptionally  well  located  and  in  a  position  to  serve 
a  large  number  of  people  in  the  eastern  central  section  of  the 
city. 

The  Universalist  Church. 

As  suggested  l^y  it.s  title,  this  denomination  stands  for  the 
universal  fatherhood  of  God,  the  brotherhood  of  all  mankind, 
and  the  ultimate  harmony  of  all  souls  with  God.  Its  members 
accept  the  Bible  as  containing  a  revelation  of  the  character  of 
God  and  of  the  duty,  interest  and  final  destination  of  man- 
kind, and  believe  tliat  God  is  revealed  in  Christ  by  the  Holy 
Spirit.     Both  modes  of  baptism  are  practiced. 

The  local  congregation  is  independent  in  the  management 
of  its  affairs.  This  denomination  became  established  in  the 
New  England  states  over  a  hundred  years  ago.  Although  it 
has  never  attained  a  large  membership  it  has  exercised  con- 
siderable influence  on  the  religious  thought  of  the  Protestant 
denominations  since  its  organization.  From  the  meager 
records  extant  it  appears  that  the  first  Universalist  society  in 
the  county  was  organized  in  New  Madison  in  1859  with 
thirty-one  members  under  the  preaching  of  Henry  Gifford. 
A  large  lot  was  purchased  of  John  B.  Schriber  on  the  south 
side  of  the  village  in  June,  1859,  for  $75.00  and  subscriptions 
were  received  for  a  building.  A  stibstantial  frame  structure 
about  forty  by  fifty  feet  in  size  was  soon  erected  and  dedi- 
cated in  Januar}',  1860.    Here  the  denomination  has  maintained 


DARKE   COUNTY  241 

an  organization  ever  since,  placing  special  emphasis  on  Sun- 
day school  work,  and  is  now  probably  stronger  than  at  any 
other  point  in  the  county.  Under  the  pastorate  of  the  late  J.  A. 
Stoner  and  wife,  of  Eaton,  Ohio,  a  beautiful  modern  briclc 
church  building  was  erected  in  1903  at  a  cost  of  some 
$8,000.00.  This  church  now  has  a  membership  of  over  one 
hundred,  a  large  active  and  well  organized  Sunday  school,  a 
junior  Young  Peoples'  Christian  Union  and  a  Ladies'  Aid 
Society. 

The  second  Universalist  church  in  the  county  was  organ- 
ized at  Palestine  by  Rev.  Elihu  Moore,  a  noted  theologian  and 
protagonist  of  the  faith,  with  ten  members,  on  June  18,  1868. 
Meetings  were  first  held  in  the  old  Palestine  school-house  but 
in  a  few  years  a  substantial  frame  church  building  was  erected 
at  a  probable  cost  of  $3,000.00  on  a  fine  lot  situated  on  the 
north  side  of  the  village,  which  had  been  given  by  Mrs.  \'iola 
Kester.  Harvey  L.  Hill,  George  Kester  and  M.  M.  Jefifries 
were  the  first  deacons,  and  Harrod  Mills  the  first  clerk.  This 
church  has  had  as  pastors  some  of  the  strongest  Universalist 
preachers  in  this  part  of  the  field,  including  such  men  as  S.  P. 
Carlton,  Thomas  Guthrie,  John  Blackford,  J.  P.  ^lacLean, 
John  Richardson,  Lotta  D.  Crosley,  J.  A.  Stoner  and  wife,  and 
the  present  pastor,  O.  G.  Colegrove. 

Associations  and  other  important  meetings  have  been  held 
here  and  this  church  might,  with  propriety,  be  called  the 
mother  of  the  Greenville  church.  At  present  it  has  a  mem- 
bership of  seventy-five,  a  "Front  Line"  Sunday  school  and  an 
active  Ladies'  Aid  Society. 

About  the  years  1891  and  1892  occasional  Lhiiversalist  ser- 
vices were  held  in  the  opera  house  in  Greenville  by  Rev.  S.  P. 
Carlton  and  Rev.  J.  P.  ]\IacLean.  Considerable  interest  de- 
veloped which  resulted  in  the  organization  of  the  "First  Uni- 
versalist Church,"  at  a  meeting  held  in  the  city  hall,  on  Thurs- 
day evening,  January  26,  1893,  at  which  the  following  named 
persons  entered  themselves  on  the  roll  as  members :  L  O. 
Sinks,  William  P.  Espy,  I.  N.  Eakins,  T.  J.  Dowlar,  Charles 
M.  Kates,  A.  N.  Van  Dyke,  A.  P.  Sawyer,  Mrs.  Nina  Emer- 
son, Mrs.  Retta  Ketring,  Mrs.  Jane  Eakins,  Mrs.  Harriet  K. 
Dowlar,  Mrs.  Belle  L.  Kates,  Mrs.  America  Sinks,  Mrs.  L.  A. 
Eidson,  Mrs.  A.  P.  Sawyer,  Mrs.  A.  E.  Shepherd,  [Mrs.  Sarah 
C.  Wilson,  Mrs.  Amanda  Miller  and  Miss  Rettie  Sinks. 

Rev.  MacLean  was  called  to  the  pastorate  in  February  and 
the  opera  house  was  soon  rented  as  a  place  for  holding  ser- 
(\6) 


242  DARKE   COUNTY 

vices.  Meetings  were  held  here  on  the  first  and  third  Sun- 
days of  each  month  for  over  two  years.  In  the  meantime  the 
society  decided  to  secure  a  lot  and  erect  a  church  building. 
Various  sites  were  considered  but  before  a  decision  was  made 
^Ir.  and  Airs.  Martin  \'.  Emerson  purchased  the  southwest 
part  of  lot  139  on  the  north  side  of  East  Fifth  street  near 
Broadway  early  in  1895  and  donated  the  front  portion  for  the 
use  of  the  church.  An  active  canvass  for  a  church  building 
fund  was  now  made  with  the  result  that  the  corner  stone  of 
the  new  building  was  laid  on  Sunday  afternoon,  July  7,  1895, 
in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people.  The  services 
were  participated  in  by  Rev.  L.  E.  Jones,  Presbyterian  ;  Rev. 
^^'.  E.  Ludwick,  Reformed ;  Rev.  J.  P.  Tyler,  Episcopalian, 
besides  the  pastor,  and  were  quite  impressive. 

The  structure  erected  was  of  brick  and  cost  about  $3,503.09. 
Rev.  AlacLean  served  this  congregation  about  four  years  and 
was  succeeded  by  John  Richardson,  who  served  about  twn 
years.  Lotta  D.  Crosley  came  about  1900  and  served  some 
three  years.  Thomas  S.  Guthrie  followed  with  a  three-year 
pastorate.  Leon  P.  and  ]\Iartha  Jones  acted  as  joint  pastors 
from  1906  to  1908,  and  were  followed  by  E.  H.  Barrett.  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  O.  G.  Colegrove  began  their  pastorate  in  October, 
1910,  and  are  still  serving  acceptably  in  that  capacity,  preach- 
ing here  on  the  first  and  third  Sundays  of  eacli  month.  B.  M. 
AlcCabe  is  moderator;  Mrs.  Lola  Aukerman,  clerk:  Mrs. 
Alary  Horn,  treasurer.  The  trustees  are:  L.  C.  .Au'erman, 
B.  AI.  AlcCabe,  Robert  Davidson.  J.  E.  Rush  and  J.  E.  Owens. 

This  church  maintains  a  "Front  Line"'  Sunday  school,  an 
active  Y.  P.  C.  L^.  and  a  A\'<T-nan's  Universalist  Missionary 
-Alliance. 

The  Reformed  Church. 

The  Reformed  churcli  in  the  United  States  is  an  oft'-shoot 
of  one  of  the  oldest  Protestant  Christian  bodies  having  a  con- 
tinuous history  since  its  organization,  being  contemporaneous 
with  the  Lutheran  church.  It  arose  out  of  the  Reformation 
in  Switzerland,  but  soon  became  planted  in  Germany,  espe- 
cially in  the  Palatinate,  where  it  secured  control  of  Heidel- 
berg Laiiversity  and  exerted  a  powerful  influence  during  the 
reformation.  As  a  symbol  of  faith  it  adopted  the  Heidelberg 
catechism  in  1563.  In  policy  it  is  Presbyterial  as  the  Pres- 
byterian church  is  Reformed  in  doctrine.  Therefore,  these 
two   churches  are  closely  related  and  have  been   kept  apart 


DARKE   COUNTY  243 

chiefly  by  difference  of  language  and  tradition.  However, 
these  influences  have  grown  less  with  time  and  the  two  com- 
munions are  now  negotiating  a  union.  The  local  governing 
body  in  this  denomination  is  called  a  consistory ;  the  district 
body  a  classis ;  a  group  of  classes,  a  synod ;  the  highest  body, 
a  general  synod. 

The  first  Synod  organized  in  the  United  States  was  among 
the  German  settlers  of  eastern  Pennsylvania  in  1743.  Here 
this  denomination  largely  became  entrenched  and  from  this 
center  has  followed  the  Pennsylvania  emigrants  to  Ohio  and 
other  states.  It  places  great  stress  on  the  educational  method 
in  implanting  religion,  has  an  educated  ministry  and  a  strong- 
denominational  consciousness.  It  now  has  over  300,000  mem- 
bers in  the  United  States  and  maintains  important  schools 
and  missions  in  Japan  and  China.  Its  principal  educational 
institutons  in  Ohio  are  Heidelberg  University,  at  Tiiifin,  and 
Central  Theological  Seminary  at  Dayton.  It  is  well  repre- 
sented in  the  latter  city  and  in  the  upper  Aliami  valley,  but 
did  not  get  a  footing  in  Darke  county  until  about  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  records  of  1853  show  at  least 
four  congregations  in  this  county,  viz. :  Zion  (near  Baker's 
Store),  St.  John's  in  German  township,  Beamsville  and  Gettys- 
burg. At  a  meeting  of  the  joint  consistories  held  in  Beams- 
ville, August  6,  1853,  Jesse  Prugh  was  president ;  John  L. 
Darner,  secretary;  Philip  Hartzell  and  Jesse  Prugh,  delegates 
to  Synod  and  Classis.  Rev.  J.  Vogt,  Rev.  John  Stuck  and 
Rev.  William  ]\IcCaughey  were  prominent  early  ministers  in 
this  denomination.  Besides  the  above  mentioned  churches 
congregations  were  established  in  the  course  of  a  few  j^ears, 
largely  under  their  influence,  at  Beech  Grove  (on  Ithaca 
pike);  Xew  Madison,  ^It.  Pleasant  (at  intersection  of  Xash- 
ville  pike  and  Greenville  township  pike),  Bethel  (on  Bethel 
pike  about  one  mile  southwest  of  Woodington)  ;  Hillgrove ; 
East  Zion  (two  miles  east  of  Greenville  on  Gettysburg  pike), 
also  at  Bradford  and  Arcanum.  Rev.  Reuben  Good  and  Rev. 
Jacob  AI.  LeFever  were  also  early  preachers  in  ^•arious 
charges. 

Zion's  congregation  withdrew  from  the  original  charge  in 
1856,  and  the  Beamsville  and  Creager  (Xew  Harrison) 
churches  became  attached  to  the  Dallas  charge  in  1862.  By 
this  time  the  leaders  in  the  denomination  had  awakened  to 
the  importance  of  establishing  a  mission  in  the  county  seat 
as  a   strategic   center  of  the   church's  activity.     Accordingly 


244  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  Old  School  Presbyterian  church  was  secured  ami  in 
September,  1864,  Rev.  T.  P.  Bucher  of  Dayton,  preached 
here  to  a  large  congregation.  This  meeting  was  followed  by 
others  conducted  by  Rev.  \\'illiam  McCaughey  and  Rev.  A. 
Wanner,  and  on  September  19,  1864,  a  society  was  organized 
at  the  home  of  Mrs.  Clara  Bartling  on  East  Main  street  with 
the  following  members :  Philip  Hartzell  and  wife,  Mrs.  Clara 
Bartling.  Solomon  Creager,  Mrs.  E.  E.  Baer  and  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Webb.  Rev.  William  ^IcCaughey  was  called  as  the 
first  pastor.  In  the  spring  of  1866  a  building  committee  was 
appointed  and  in  October  of  that  year  the  old  Christian 
church  on  Walnut  street  was  rented  for  six  months.  In  1869 
the  Old  School  Presbyterian  church  building  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  Fourth  and  Broadway  was  purchased  for. 
$4,000.00.  This  seems  to  have  been  a  premature  venture  as 
most  of  the  purchase  money  had  been  borrowed  and  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1870,  this  property  was  sold  at  auction.  Previous  to 
this  the  lot  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Third  and  Vine  streets 
had  been  purchased  from  John  Harper.  This  also  was  dis- 
posed of  and  on  May  30,  1870,  some  forty-five  feet  by  seventy 
feet  ofif  the  rear  of  lot  29  on  the  west  side  of  Sycamore  street 
between  Third  and  Fourth  streets  was  purchased  for  $1,000.00. 
An  active  canvass  for  funds  was  soon  commenced  and  the 
building  of  a  church  edifice  pushed.  In  1872  the  new  building 
was  completed  at  a  cost  of  some  $5,400.00,  and  the  Rev.  David 
Winters  of  Dayton  and  others  assisted  the  pastor  in  the  dedi- 
catory services.  The  building  was  constructed  of  brick  on  a 
stone  foundation,  with  tower,  pitched  roof,  buttresses  and 
pointed  art  glass  windows  in  the  Gothic  style  of  architecture, 
was  frescoed,  carpeted  and  neatly  furnished,  making  it  prob- 
ably the  best  appointed  church  in  the  town  at  that  time. 

On  February  16,  1873,  the  first  communion  was  observed  in 
this  church.  Rev.  McCaughey  served  this  church  for  a  period 
of  ten  years,  preaching  his  farewell  sermon  on  September  6, 
1874.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  R.  B.  Reichard  who  served 
from  December,  1874,  till  July,  1876.  Other  pastors  were  Rev. 
Jesse  Steiner,  spring  of  1876  to  the  fall  of  1877 ;  Rev.  Samuel 
Mease,  1880  and  1881 :  Rev.  G.  H.  Sonder,  1882  and  1883 :  Rev. 
J.  C.  Beade,  1883  to  1886;  Rev.  J.  M.  Kessler,  July,  1886,  to 
February.  1887;  Rev.  William  E.  Ludwick,  April,  1887.  to 
June.  1898;  Rev.  ■\^'illiam  H.  Shults,  November,  1898,  to  spring 
of  1900;  Rev.  J.  Wolbach.  December,  1900,  to  October,  1901. 

During  this  period  of  the  church's  existence  many  difficul- 


DARKE   COUNTY 


245 


ties  were  encountered  and  its  growth  and  progress  were  com- 
paratively slow  until  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  W.  E.  Ludwick, 
vsfhen  the  church  made  considerable  gain  financially  and 
numerically. 

Rev.  Joseph  Pierce  Alden.  a  graduate  of  Ursinus  School  of 
Theology,  was  called  to  the  pastorate  and  in  July,  1902,  came 
to  the  church.  He  is  still  filling  that  position  in  a  very  ac- 
ceptable manner.  During  his  incumbency  the  membership 
has  increased,  the  organization  of  the  church  and  Sunday 
school  has  been  greatly  strengthened  and  a  feeling  of  har- 
mony and  co-operation  has  prevailed.  In  June,  1910,  the  west 
half  of  lot  No.  37  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Third  and  Syca- 
more streets  was  purchased  for  six  thousand  dollars.  A  good 
eight  room  parsonage  with  modern  improvem.ents  is  situated 
on  the  rear  of  this  lot,  facing  on  Sycamore  street.  Lot  No. 
28  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Third  and  Sycamore  streets, 
was  purchased  from  Miss  McCaughey  in  May,  1914,  for 
$8,250  and  with  a  $5,000.00  gift  set  aside  by  Mr.  Jacob  New- 
baurer  in  memory  of  his  wife,  Emma,  recently  deceased,  who 
was  a  devoted  member  of  the  congregation,  as  a  nucleus,  it  is 
proposed  to  commence  the  erection  of  a  modern  and  con- 
venient church  and  Sunday  school  on  this  site  this  year,  it 
being  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the 
church.  The  building  committee  appointed  for  hhis  purpose, 
comprises  the  following  members :  C.  M.  White,  E.  T.  Wag- 
ner, F.  E.  Wilson,  H.  P.  Hartzell,  Chalmer  Brown,  Mrs.  W. 
W.  Teegarden  and  Gertrude  Ditman. 

The  present  members  of  the  Consistory  are :  Rev.  J.  P. 
Alden,  president ;  Elders  S.  C.  Vantilburg,  L.  S.  P.roAvn  and 
C.  M.  White ;  Deacons,  C.  O'Brien,  Jesse  Bruss  and  F.  E. 
Wilson  (clerk)  ;  church  treasurer,  Gertrude  Ditman. 

President  of  the  Ladies  Aid  Society,  Mrs.  E.  T.  Wagner. 

President  of  the  Woman's  Missionary  Society,  Mrs.  J.  E. 
Turner. 

President  of  the  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.,  Omer  Brodrick. 

The  present  church  membership  is  158. 

The  Sunday  school  has  an  enrollment  of  about  150  mem- 
bers and  has  been  largely  instrumental  in  building  up  the 
church  and  strengthening  its  finances.  It  is  graded  according 
to  modern  standards,  and  has  also  three  regularly  organized 
classes,  a  cradle  roll,  a  home  department,  a  missionary  and  a 
temperance    superintendent       Jesse    Bruss    is    superintendent 


246  DARKE   COUNTY 

of  the  school ;  Elsie  Black,  secretary ;  Paul  Warner,  treasurer 
and  ^Myrtle  Slonaker,  missionary  superintendent. 

There  are  now  (1914)  congregations  at  East  Zion  (two 
and  one-half  miles  east  of  Greenville),  West  Zion  (near 
Baker's),  Hill  Grove  and  Beech  Grove  (three  and  one-half 
miles  west  of  Arcanum),  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Scott  V. 
Rohrbaugh  of  Greenville.  There  is  also  a  church  at  Arcanum. 
Like  other  denominations,  the  Reformed  church  attempted 
to  plant  congregations  in  ill-advised  localities,  with  the  result 
that  these  have  been  discontinued  after  a  short  history  of 
struggle  and  sacrifice.  Among  these  were  the  congregations 
at  Beamsville,  Pikeville,  St.  John's,  j\lt.  Pleasant,  Bethel  and 
New  ^Madison.  An  efifort  is  now  being  made  to  retrieve  these 
losses  by  a  stronger  and  more  efificient  organization  of  the 
remaining  rural  churches.  By  a  careful  survey  and  canvass  of 
the  field  of  the  East  Zion  church  this  congregation  has  been 
reorganized  and  strengthened  and  is  attempting  to  solve 
some  of  the  pressing  problems  which  now  confront  the  rural 
churches,  here  and  elsewhere,  and  threaten  their  existence. 
These  problems  have  arisen  largely  on  account  of  the  moving 
of  the  land  owners  to  the  county  seat,  and  their  sons  to  the 
cities,  leaving  the  affairs  of  the  church  to  disinterested  ten- 
ants, and  also  to  the  ill-advised  competition  of  various  denom- 
inations endeavoring  to  plant  churches  where  thev  are  not 
needed.  These  facts  are  being  carefully  considered  b}-  va- 
rious denominations  which  are  now  advocating  co-operation 
instead  of  competition,  and  are  strixing  to  meet  the  changed 
conditions  of  rural  life. 

The  Church  of  Christ. 

This  denomination,  sometimes  called  Disciples,  at  others 
Campbellites,  and  in  the  west  known  as  Christian,  challenged 
the  attention  of  the  Christian  world  about  one  hundred  3'ears 
ago  under  the  preaching  of  Alexander  Campbell,  who  had  orig- 
inally been  a  Presbyterian,  as  a  protest  against  sectarianism 
and  the  extreme  doctrines  of  Calvinism. 

The  church  has  no  regularly  formulated  or  written  creed, 
except  the  Bible,  but  requires  of  candidates  for  admission  a 
statement  of  belief  in  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified  as  a  per- 
sonal and  all  sufficient  Sa\ior.  Baptism  by  immersion  is  also 
required  and  the  members  partake  of  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  frequently. 


DARKE  COUNTY  247 

The  local  church  was  organized  early  in  1898  when  services 
were  held  in  the  city  hall.  Among  the  charter  members  were 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  M.  Smith.  ]\Ir.  and  Mrs.  F.  M.  Payne,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Mile  Smith,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  F.  Beanblossom,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Nelson  Batten.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  W.  W.  Hindsley,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  S.  Victor  and  daughter  Elsie,  Mrs.  Morton  and  sons  For- 
est, Walter  and  Earnest,  iNIr.  and  Mrs.  Geo.  B.  Dively  and 
daughter  Lou,  Mrs.  Geo.  \\'.  McClellan,  Emma  Deardoff, 
Sarah  Martin,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Samuel  Harnish. 

Rev.  P.  O.  Updike,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  State  [Mis- 
sionary Board,  organized  this  church  and  became  its  first  pas- 
tor, serving  about  two  years.  A  lot  was  purchased  September 
9,  1898,  on  the  south  side  of  East  Main  street,  between  Ludlow 
and  Locust  streets,  and  a  substantial  brick  church  erected 
thereon  and  dedicated  Sunday,  January  1.  1899. 

The  pastors  who  have  ser-\-ed  this  church  since  L'pdike 
were:  W.  B.  Slater,  A.  T.  Shaw,  ^^"illiam  Hough,  A.  Baker, 
Clarence  Baker.  Gerry  Cook,  W.  A.  McCartney,  Adam  Adcock, 
Rev.   Hill  and   Charles  W.   Perry. 

The  present  membership  is  about  seventy-fi\'e. 

The  superintendent  of  the  Sunday  school  is  Bon  Logan. 

The  trustees  in  1913  were:  J-  ^^^  Browder,  president:  F.  M. 
Payne,  clerk:  W'illiam  'SI.  Wenger.  Xelson  Batten,  Aaron 
Kerst,  Samuel  Harnish. 

Elder,  J.  A.  Deweese. 

Deacons :  W.  M.  Wenger,  J.  H.  Hoover,  Perry  Stonerock, 
Albert  Batten. 

Other  churches — Carnahan  ( on  the  Winchester  pike,  one 
and  one-half  miles  west  of  Sharpeye).  The  original  Carnahan 
church  was  built  by  John  Carnahan.  a  farmer  and  preacher  of 
the  Campbellite  faith,  who  settled  in  the  neighborhood  about 
1830.  It  was  built  of  logs  and  was  located  about  one-fourth  of 
a  mile  west  of  the  present  structure,  which  was  erected  in 
1867.    Palestine,  Burkettsville,  Yorkshire. 

The  Mennonite  Church. 

One  of  the  latest  denominations  to  enter  the  Darke  county 
field  was  the  Mennonite,  and  as  a  consequence  its  doctrines 
and  customs  are  not  as  well  known  here  as  are  those  of  other 
sects.  This  body  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  Anabaptist  movement 
which  followed  the  Reformation  and  now  numbers  in  its  vari- 
ous branches  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  adherents  of  whom 


248  DARKE   COUNTY 

some  55,000  are  in  the  United  States,  being  mostly  located  in 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Maryland  and  Virginia.  They  hold  to 
the  cardinal  Protestant  doctrines,  but  are  opposed  to  taking 
oaths,  to  military  service,  to  theological  learning  and  to  infant- 
baptism,  and  practice  simplicity  in  life  and  worship.  The  local 
church  governs  itself. 

The  Greenville  church  was  organized  by  Rev.  D.  Brenne- 
man,  the  presiding  elder,  in  February,  1900,  as  the  outgrowth 
of  a  mission  which  had  been  held  for  three  or  four  years  pre- 
vious on  South  Broadway. 

Among  the  charter  members  were,  Robert  \\'right  and  wife, 
Curtis  Swabb  and  wife  and  Wesley  Gorsuch.  Rev.  F.  C.  Rudy 
was  the  first  pastor.  A  neat  brick  church  was  built  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Warren  and  Hall  street,  convenient  to  the 
residents  of  the  east  end  of  the  city.  Several  pastors  have 
served  this  church  for  brief  periods  since  its  establishment, 
among  whom  were  William  Huffman.  J.  J.  Hostetter,  H.  F. 
Beck  and  the  present  incumbent,  Clarence  F.  Moore.  The  pres- 
ent church  enrollment  is  about  seventy,  and  the  membership 
of  the  Sunday  school  about  one  hundred.  S.  D.  Hinegardner 
is  the  superintendent  of  the  latter  organization.  There  is  an- 
other church  of  the  Alennonite  Brethren  in  Christ  which  holds 
services  in  the  Union  church  at  the  Beech,  a  few  miles  south 
of  Gettysburg. 

Other  Denominations. 

Besides  these  more  or  less  well  established  denominations, 
there  are  representatives  of  the  Christian  Alliance,  the  Holi- 
ness Sect,  Christian  Science,  and  the  Old  Order  River  Breth- 
ren (sometimes  called  Yorkers).  The  latter  live  in  a  well  de- 
fined community  between  Horatio  and  Bradford,  where  they 
commenced  to  settle  at  an  early  date.  They  are  the  most  con- 
servative in  practice  of  all  the  various  denominations,  living  a 
simple,  primitive  life,  and  having  no  church,  building.  Among 
the  early  families  of  this  sect  were  the  Etters  and  Boyers.  At 
present  there  are  only  about  fifteen  families  in  the  county. 
The  colored  peoj-.k  also  have  two  churches  in  their  settlement 
in  western  German  townslii])  near  the  state  line. 

County  Sunday  School  Association. 

The  first  recorded  Sunday  school  in  the  history  of  Darke 
county  was  organized  early  in  1834  at  the  home  of  Abraham 
Scribner,  later  called  "Scribner's  AMiite  House,"  on  West  Main 


DARKE   COUNTY  249 

Street.  Eleven  persons  enrolled  representing  three  or  four  de- 
nominations. Several  accessions  were  soon  made  and  within 
three  years  the  number  of  members  had  increased  to  probably 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five.  About  this  time  separate  de- 
nominations began  to  organize  their  own  schools  and  the 
school  was  disbanded.  William  Barrett,  a  Methodist,  was  the 
first  superintendent ;  Herman  Searles.  a  Congregationalist,  was 
the  first  secretary;  and  the  Presbyterian  and  Episcopalians 
were  also  represented  in  the  teaching  force,  which  included 
such  workers  as  Mrs.  Bell.  Mrs.  Sexton,  Mrs.  Briggs,  Mrs. 
Barrett  and  Miss  Evaline  Dorsey.  As  noted  in  the  separate 
church  sketches,  each  denomination  later  strove  ^to  develop  a 
denominational  consciousness.  This  condition  continued  until 
about  1870  when  some  of  the  most  enthusiastic  Sunday  school 
workers  saw  the  propriety  of  holding  annual  conventions  and 
promoting  co-operation  among  the  schools  of  the  county,  re- 
gardless of  denominational  affiliation.  W.  J.  Birely  was  presi- 
dent ;  J.  R.  Robinson,  secretary ;  and  William  McCaughey,  H. 
S.  Bradley,  J.  L.  Gourlay,  J.  T.  Martz,  J.  T.  Lecklider.  John 
H.  Martin,  Rev.  Wainwright,  John  Clark  and  P.  H.  Davis 
prominent  workers  in  1871.  Conventions  were  held  at  Ver- 
sailles and  Arcanum  during  that  year.  j\Iuch  enthusiasm  pre- 
vailed for  awhile  but  the  organization  finally  discontinued. 
Darke  county  was  reorganized  February  11,  1882.  by  S.  E. 
Kumler,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  and  held  its  first  convention  at 
Greenville,  May  18-19,  1882.  The  Rev.  William  :McCaughey 
was  the  first  president,  and  H.  K.  Frank  the  first  secretary. 
The  interest  lapsed  until  1885,  when  \\'.  B.  Hough  became 
president,  no  convention  being  held  in  1883-4.  During  the 
Hough  administration  from  1885-88,  there  was  an- awakening 
and  several  townships  were  organized.  L.  F.  Limbert,  of 
Greenville,  was  district  secretary  in  1888-9.  In  1890,  Superin- 
tendent John  S.  Royer,  of  the  Gettysburg  public  schools,  came 
upon  the  scene  and  organized  all  the  townships  in  the  county, 
except  Adams,  which  had  not  lapsed,  and  York,  which  had  but 
one  school  in  it,  but  he  and  James  Stewart  organized  York  in 
1894.  This  enthusiastic  worker  drove  all  over  the  countv  in 
the  summer  of  1890,  enduring  exposure  and  hardships,  paying 
his  own  expenses  and  receiving  no  pav  for  services.  In  1893 
he  organized  eleven  counties  in  southern  Ohio,  under  the  di- 
rection of  Marion  Lawrence,  and  that  made  Ohio  a  banner 
state. 

In   1910  Mr.  Royer  reached  the  climax    in    bringing  Darke 


250  DARKE  COUNTY 

countv  into  the  front-line  rank  ahead  of  all  the  other  counties 
in  the  state.  We  quote  from  the  general  secretary's  report  to 
the  State  convention  at  Dayton  in  June.  1911 : 

"Of  the  373  front-line  schools  in  Ohio.  243  are  in  twelve 
counties  and  about  one-sixth  of  these  are  in  Darke  county, 
which  has  seventy-four  schools,  and  forty-one  are  proven-up 
front-line.  This  remarkable  record  has  been  achieved  largely 
through  the  plans  and  labors  of  Professor  Royer,  who  philo- 
sophically reasoned  that  the  pathway  to  front-line  townships 
and  to  front-line  county  was  bv  making  all  the  schools  front- 
line. It  is  therefore  not  surprising  to  find  that  of  Darke 
county's  twenty  townships,  ten  are  front-line.  This  record 
could  be  duplicated  in  every  county  in  Ohio  if  the  county  offi- 
cers would  seek  to  make  both  the  townships  and  the  county 
front-line  by  working  the  problem  from  the  end  of  the  front- 
line school." 

Some  Workers  in  the  Revival  of  1890. 

Adams— S.  D.  Kissel.  J.  T.  Hershey.  P.  B.  Miller.  James  H. 
Stoltz,  J.  C.  Harmon. 

Allen — A.  J.  Bussard,  S.  A.  Ross,  Philip  Heistand.  William 
Ewry,  Joseph  Zerbe. 

Butler — Calvin  Xorth,  Jose])h  Jordon,  r\[rs.  Harvev  Fellers. 

Brown — O.  F.  Johnson,  R.  P.  \'ernier.  P.  C.  Zemer,  E. 
Schmidt.  George  Rahn,  John  Gauge. 

Franklin-^Monroe — .\.  A.  Penny.  E.  E,  Beck,  Levi  Minnich. 

Greenville— A.  J.  Mider,  I.  X.  Smith.  ^^'.  D.  Brumbaugh,  A. 
B.  Maurer,  Lloyd  Brown. 

German — William  Ludy,  H.  H.  ^^'ebb.  Elijah  Wilco.x,  Lee 
Woods,  Ellen  Perry. 

Harrison — Isaac  Wenger.  R.  E,  Thomas.  ^^■.  C.  Mote.  D. 
W.  Threewits,  J.  W.  Ketring. 

Jackson — William  B.  Foutz,  M.  F.  Oliver,  A.  A.  Hoover. 
William  Arnold. 

Mississinawa— Ed  Miller.  Gabriel  Reigle.  C.  R.  Reprogle. 
David  Minnich. 

Neave — Fred  Wagner,  John  North. 

Patterson— J.  W.  Keckler,  Dottie  Meek  (Miller),  H.  Swal- 
low, J.  N.  Supinger. 

Richland— M.  L.  Shafer.  James  Reed,  G.  H.  Mills,  B.  F. 
Beery,  Dennis  Shafer. 

Twin — Ezra  Post,  S.  Rynearson.  B.  F.  Keller,  Ella  Town- 
send. 


DARKE   COUNTY  251 

Van  Buren — V\'illiam  Albright.  J.  C.  Trick,  James  Routsong. 

Washington — E.  C.  \Miite,  C.  E.  Daubenmire.  B.  F.  Skid- 
more,  William  Weidman. 

Wayne — J.  S.  Wade,  M.  A.  Stover,  Horatio  D3-e,  James  T. 
Stewart. 

Wabash— C.  A.  Sebring.  L.  M.  Carter,  F.  M.  Birt,  Job 
Goslee. 

Since  the  revival  of  1890,  J.  S.  Royer,  I.  S.  Wenger,  Ezra 
Post.  W.  D.  Brumbaugh,  C.  B.  Douglas,  F.  M.  Shuks,  D.  T. 
Bennett,  J.  A.  Pantle,  William  Underwood,  A.  L.  Detrick  and 
others  have  acted  as  superintendent ;  while  Mrs.  J.  C.  Turpen, 
Mrs.  John  H.  Martin,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Miller,  O.  E.  Harrison.  Ella 
Calderwood,  Norman  Selby,  Mrs.  E.  Foutz  and  Fannie  Hayes 
acted  as  secretary.  Annual  meetings  have  been  held  mostly 
in  the  towns  throughout  the  county,  in  which  state  workers 
have  taken  a  prominent  part.  Mrs.  C.  J.  Ratcliff  of  Greenville 
has  been  the  efficient  and  enthusiastic  secretary  for  several 
years.     The  officers  at  present  are: 

President — A.  L.  Detrick,  Rossburg. 

Vice-President — A.  F.  Little.  Bradford. 

Secretary— Mrs.  C.  J.  Ratcliff. 

Treasurer — P.  B.  Moul,  Gettysburg. 

Superintendents  of  Departments — Elementary :  Airs.  M.  M. 
Corwin,  Savona.  Intermediate :  Odessa  Bussard,  Ansonia. 
Adult:  J.  A.  Westfall,  Bradford.  Teacher  Training:  Dr.  J.  A. 
Detamore,  Hill  Grove.  Missionary:  Airs.  Lewis  Erisman, 
Gettysburg.  Home  and  Visitation :  Mrs.  A.  L.  Neff,  Green- 
ville.   Temperance :  Dr.  W.  B.  Graham,  Arcanum. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

RANDOM  SKETCHES 
From  the  "Darke  County  Boy." 

The  editor  of  this  work  has  been  led  to  compile  a  chapter 
under  the  above  heading  from  the  voluminous  contributions  of 
George  W.  Calderwood,  the  far-famed  "Darke  County  Boy," 
who  has  written  articles  for  the  Greenville  Courier,  of  which 
he  was  once  editor,  at  irregular  intervals  for  over  thirty  years, 
writing  probably  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  columns  to 
date. 

Mr.  Calderwood  is  the  son  of  the  late  Judge  A.  R.  Calder- 
wood, a  brother  of  Mayor  E.  E.  Calderwood  of  ^Greenville,  and 
of  John  Calderwood,  editor  of  the  Courier,  and  a  brother-in- 
law  of  the  late  Barney  Collins  and  Samuel  R.  Kemble.  He 
was  born  in  1848  at  Matchetts'  Corner,  about  seven  miles 
south  of  Greenville,  and  was  raised  in  the  county  seat.  He 
was  a  vigorous  and  jolly  boy,  keenly  enjoying  the  sports  of 
the  days  of  his  youth,  and  a  close  observer  of  the  people  and 
customs  of  those  interesting  times  before  the  war.  He  pos- 
sesses a  versatile  mind,  is  gifted  with  humor,  pathos  and  a 
remarkable  and  retentive  memor3%  making  his  writings  a  ver- 
itable mine  of  information  and  a  source  of  much  sentimental 
enjoyment  to  others.  George  was  a  drum-major  when  but 
thirteen  years  old  and  acompanied  his  father  with  the  Fortieth 
Ohio  which  was  largely  recruited  in  Darke  county.  He  also 
served  in  the  One  hundred  and  fifty-second  and  One  hundred 
and  ninety-third  regiments,  and  knows  the  ups  and  downs  of 
soldier  life. 

As  a  temperance  orator  for  the  National  Prohibition  organi- 
zation he  attained  an  extended  reputation. 

In  build  he  is  stout  and  stalky  and  bears  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  his  distinguished  father. 

As  a  sentimental  lover  of  the  comrades  and  associations  of 
bygone  days,  and  a  fluent,  ready  and  persistent  writer  of  pio- 
neer lore  he  has  no  equal  in  the  county. 

Accordingly  this  chapter  is  dedicated  to  him  by  one  who 
knows  the  meager  appreciation  accorded  the  unselfish  chron- 
icler of  local  history. 


254  DARKE   COUNTY 

On  account  of  the  diversity  of  topics  treated,  the  matter 
selected  can  only  be  roughly  classified  and  is  accordingly  ar- 
ranged under  the  following  heads: 

SOCIAL  LIFE. 
Winter  Sports. 

We  will  now  have  an  old-time  winter  talk : 

All  Mud  creek  is  overflowed  and  frozen  up  from  Tecumseh's 
Point  to  far  above  Bishop's  crossing. 

Hundreds  of  muskrat  houses  are  to  be  seen  stretched  along 
the  way.  The  ice  is  covered  with  snow,  and  rabbit  tracks  are 
seen  galore.  Greenville  creek  is  also  frozen  up  from  Dean's 
mill  to  Knouflf's  dam  and  beyond. 

Skaters  everywhere.  The  snow  isn't  deep  enough  to  annoy 
any  one. 

Pete  Marks  leads  off,  because  he  is  the  "champion  skater  of 
the  west."  George  Smith  is  next,  then  comes  his  brother  Ben. 
Hen  Tomlinson  swings  in  fourth,  followed  by  Bill  Creager, 
Tip  King,  Dave  and  Bob  Robey,  George  Coover,  Les  Ries, 
Clay  Helm,  Ed  Connor,  Ike  Kline,  Jerry  Tebo,  "Jont"  Gor- 
such.  Jack  Clark,  Ike  Lynch,  Ed  Tomlinson,  Gus  Rothaas,  Bill 
Collins,  Frank   (Alex)   Hamilton,  and  a  dozen  others. 

Every  muskrat  house  is  assaulted  and  several  animals  are 
dead  and  lying  on  the  ice.  Bonfires  are  blazing  and  rabbits 
are  being  roasted.  A  lot  of  fish  have  been  killed  either  by  the 
snare,  or  stunned  by  the  pole  of  an  ax.  The  day  is  one  of 
feasting,  and  fun  of  all  kinds  is  on  tap. 

Supper  time  finds  everybody  at  home,  but  none  so  tired  but 
that  they  can  take  in  the  Thespian  or  the  dance  in  \\'eston  & 
Ullery's  hall. 

If  the  snow  is  deep  enough,  the  older  boys  will  be  out  sleigh- 
riding  with  the  girls,  while  we  smaller  kids  can  be  seen  coast- 
ing down  the  hill  towards  Greenville  bridge,  but  scooting  off 
to  the  right  of  it  and  plunging  down  onto  the  ice  in  Greenville 
creek. 

On  moonlight  nights  the  hill  behind  Robey 's  house  (now  the 
Bause  home  on  Sweitzer  street),  found  us  coasting  down  it, 
the  sleds  often  running  as  far  nut  in  the  prairie  as  the  old  race 
track. 

One  thing  the  boys  wore  in  those  days  that  I  seldom  see 
now,  and  that  is  knit  comforts  of  red,  yellow,  green  and  blue. 


DARKE   COUNTY  ^:0 

The  boy  that  had  the  most  colors  in  his  neck  com'ort  was  en- 
vied by  all  other  boys.     Neither  do  I  see  so  many  fur  caps. 

A  rabbit  skin  cap  or  a  squirrel  skin  cap  was  not  to  be  sneezed 
at  in  those  days. 

The  boy  whose  parents  were  rich  enough  to  buy  him  a  pair 
of  buckskin  gloves,  or  "mits"  was  envied  by  all  boys  who  had 
to  wear  the  "mits  that  mother  knit'"  or  go  without. 

The  "holidays"  in  the  50"s  lasted  from  Christmas  until  New 
Year.  That  was  the  great  dance  and  "festival"  week — oyster 
suppers  at  the  churches  and  other  places.  It  was  the  great 
coming  out  season  for  boys  who  could  afiford  overcoats,  fur 
caps,  skates  and  neck  comforters.  Later  on  it  became  fashion- 
able or  rather  aristocratic  for  boys  to  wear  gloves — tur  gloves 
at  that — and  the  way  they  would  put  on  style  was  a  caution. 
Bear's  oil  was  the  favorite  grease  for  the  hair,  provided  it  had 
plenty  of  cinnamon  drops  in  it.  Nearly  every  boy  in  town 
wore  a  round-a-bout.  Long-tailed  coats  were  for  men  only. 
Not  every  boy  in  town  was  accustomed  to  a  pocket  handker- 
chief. His  coat  sleeve  was  good  enough.  He  would  use  first 
one  sleeve  and  then  the  other.  That  kind  of  boy  seems  to  have 
gone  out  of  fashion. 

Singing  School. 

Every  community  in  Darke  county  had  a  "singing  teacher" 
and  O-  course  a  "class"  of  singers — or  those  who  felt  that  they 
had  voices  that  should  be  heard  around  the  world. 

The  first  thing  to  learn  was  the  scale : 

"Do-ra-me-fa-la-se-do 
Do-se-la-fa-me-ra-do." 

That  was  about  all  they  sang  the  first  night.  Most  of  the 
teachers  had  a  little  steel  prong  that  they  would  tap  on  a  ta1)le 
in  order  to  get  the  right  "pitch."  Holding  this  to  his  ear  the 
teacher  would  open  his  mouth  as  wide  as  the  room  would  per- 
mit and  then  out  would  come  his  voice  until  the  whole  room 
was  full  of  music.  Organs  and  pianos  were  scarce  in  those 
days  but  melodious  were  plenty.  As  soon  as  the  class  was 
drilled  sufficiently  a  concert  would  be  given,  the  receipts  of 
which  went  to  the  teacher  as  payment  for  his  valuable  ser- 
vices. He  would  then  visit  another  neighborhood  and  "get  up 
a  class"  and  so  on  throughout  the  county.  These  teachers  did 
lots  of  good  and  seldom  anv  harm. 


256  DARKE   COUNTY 

"School  Brats." 

All  those  who  were  "school  brats"  from  1865  backward  are 
requested  to  brmg  their  "McGuffey's  Readers,"  "Webster's 
Elementary  Speller,"  "Ray's  Third  Arithmetic,"  "Stoddard's 
Mental  Arithmetic,"  "Mitchell's  Geography,"  "Bullion's  Gram- 
mar," and  "Payson's  Copy  Book."  Of  course  each  one  is  ex- 
pected to  bring  a  slate  and  a  pencil.  Don't  forget  your  lunch 
baskets.  See  that  they  are  well  filled,  as  you  may  want  to  eat 
a  bite  at  recess. 

The  "girls"  will  be  expected  to  wear  sunbonnets,  gingham 
aprons,  short  dresses  (ladies',  or  course)  and  pantalettes  with 
ruffles  at  the  bottom.  Those  that  have  coppertoe  shoes  should 
wear  them.  Mohair  garters  are  always  in  style — so  that  those 
who  can't  get  coppertoe  shoes  should  wear  garters  with  rub- 
ber stretchers  on  each  side.  The  "boys"  should  come  bare- 
footed, if  possible,  but  in  case  thev  ha\-e  bunions  they  should 
wear  red  top  boots. 

^^'hen  the  spelling  class  is  called  every  one  should  be  pre- 
pared for  it.  There  will  be  some  jaw-breaking  words,  I  know, 
such  as  Lat-i-tu-di-na-ti-on,  In-com-pat-i-bil-i-ty.  In-com-pre- 
hen-si-bil-i-ty,  O-pom-po-noo-sol.  Con-sti-tu-ti-on-al-i-ty,  and 
Ir-re-spon-si-bil-i-ty. 

Dancing. 

^^'hen  I  was  a  boy  everyliody  knew  what  a  fiddle  was,  but 
nowadays  they  call  them  violins — a  name  that  was  too  hi-fa- 
loo-tin  for  the  pioneer  dances  in  Darke  county.  It  was  a  com- 
mon thing  in  early  days  at  a  countrv  dance  for  one  fellow  to 
lead  as  chief  fiddler  and  one  or  two  others  to  play  "second 
fiddle."  Later  on  the  big  bass  fiddle  was  added,  as  was  also 
a  horn,  and  then  the  outfit  was  called  the  "orchestra."  The 
orchestra  business  killed  off  the  old  country  fiddlers,  and  as  a 
feature  at  country  dances  they  have  passed  into  history. 

I  don't  know  where  the  folks  kick  up  their  heels  in  Green- 
ville of  late  years,  but  when  I  lived  there,  Weston  &  Ullery's 
hall  was  the  most  popular  assembly  room  in  the  town.  It  was 
as  cold  as  a  barn  in  the  winter,  although  two  stoves  were  kept 
red  hot  all  the  time.  Still,  everybody  enjoyed  themselves, 
whether  the  ocasion  was  a  dance,  church  festival  or  magic  lan- 
tern exhibition.  I  was  most  interested  in  the  dances,  for  my 
girl  was  always  there — about  six  of  her.  But  I  couldn't  dance 
at  all  compared  to  "Yune"  Bowman,  Bill  Studabaker  and  Jim 
Devor  (Big  Jim").    Taylor  Fitts  was  an  excellent  dancer,  and 


DARKE   COUNTY  ^r"/ 

SO  was  Alf  Hyde,  John  Deardourff,  Pete  Lavin,  Lew  Elliott. 
Tip  King  and  several  others.  Among  the  girl  dancers  were 
Mollie  King,  "Node"  Craig,  Susan  Minser,  Mary  Scribner, 
Julia  Burge,  Susan  Gorsuch,  Nettie  Martin  and  Molly  Sebring. 
Of  course  there  were  many  others,  but  I  name  the  above  as 
the  constantly  "engaged"  set. 

Then  take  the  dances  in  Ullery  &  Emrick's  hall.  Those  were 
the  jolliest  dances  ever  held  anywhere.  The  Greenville 
"Crumrine  Club"  v/as  composed  of  men  of  mark,  viz. :  Moses 
Hart,  Michael  Spayd,  Ed  Putnam,  Charley  Calkins,  Eli  Helm, 
Jack  Sweitzer,  Eli  Hickox,  Henry  Horning,  Dan  King,  John 
King,  Enos  Shade  and  General  Spiece.  Soup  for  everybody. 
Toasts  and  speeches.  Frogs'  legs  and  catfish.  "Yum,  yum."  T 
wasn't  old  enough  to  be  a  member,  but  I  was  old  enough  to 
eat  at  many  of  their  feasts. 

Circus  Lore 

Nearly  every  circus  that  came  to  Greenville  in  those  daj's 
came  from  Winchester,  Ind-.,  and  we  boys  would  get  up  early 
in  the  morning  to  see  the  elephant.  Sun-up  generally  found  a 
dozen  or  more  of  us  (no  breakfast,  mind  you,  for  boys  in  those 
days  hadn't  time  to  eat  on  circus  day)  out  on  the  pike  by  John 
H.  Martin's  setting  on  the  fence  waiting  for  the  procession  to 
form.  We  followed  close  to  the  elephant  and  when  he  got  to 
the  Mud  Creek  bridge  he  would  refuse  to  cross  it,  but  pre- 
ferred to  wade  through  the  water  instead.  When  he  got  in 
the  middle  of  the  stream  he  would  stop  and  squirt  water  for 
several  minutes  and  then  meander  up  the  bank  and  into  the 
procession.  We  boys  would  trail  after  the  elephant  or  band 
wagon  all  over  town  and  then  hurry  back  to  the  show  ground 
and  ride  the  horses  to  water.  This  would  insure  us  admis- 
sion to  the  show.  We  all  "belonged  to  the  show"  for  that  day 
at  least.  The  next  morning  we  would  be  on  the  ground  bright 
and  earh^  hunting  for  money,  which  we  never  found.  I  have 
never  found  any  since. 

The  Buckeye  Hotel  burned  down  in  1856.  The  following 
year  Spalding  &  Rogers'  circus  and  \^an  Amburgh's  menagerie 
exhibited  in  Greenville  on  the  same  day.  The  circus  was 
given  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Elm  streets,  on  the  corner 
where  the  late  Michael  Miller  erected  his  residence.  The 
menagerie  canvass  was  stretched  on  the  ground  where  the 
high  school  stands  on  Fourth  street. 
(17) 


258  DARKE   COUNTV 

With  one  of  these  shows  was  a  side-show  that  opened  on 
the  lot  where  the  Buckeye  Hotel  had  stood  and  on  the  present 
site  of  William  Kipp's  Sons'  drug  store,  Broadway  and  Public 
Square.  The  first  Japanese  I  ever  saw  was  with  this  show. 
His  "Skit"  was  to  throw  a  number  of  daggers  and  stick  them 
into  a  board  close  to  the  neck  and  head  of  a  man  who  stood 
up  in  front  of  the  board. 

The  man  had  his  back  to  the  board  and  the  Jap  would  take 
up  a  dagger  and  throw  it  and  stick  it  "Ker  chuck"  close  to  one 
side  of  the  man's  neck.  .Another  dagger  was  stuck  into  the 
board  close  to  the  other  side  of  the  man's  neck.  .-K  third  and 
fourth  dagger  was  fastened  into  the  board  above  the  man's 
ears,  while  the  fifth  dagger  was  driven  into  the  board  close  to 
the  top  of  the  man's  head.  Eli  Bowman,  the  legless  man.  was 
another  feature  of  the  show,  and  the  third  one  was  John  .Allen, 
the  armless  man  who  wrote  with  his  toes. 

Rowdyism. 

.-\nother  important  event  took  place  in  Greenville,  a  year  or 
two  after  the  completion  of  the  Greenville  &  Miami  Railroad. 
A  crowd  of  Dayton  roughs  came  up  to  Greenville  for  the  pur- 
pose of  licking  the  "backwoodsmen"  of  Darke  county.  In- 
stead of  licking  them  they  got  most  beautifully  pummelled 
themselves.  Theodore  Be-ers,  Ed.  Potter  and  Bill  Dewire 
licked  about  16  apiece  and  sent  them  back  to  Dayton  with 
black  eyes  and  sore  bones,  .\bout  17  or  18  years  later  the 
"Dayton  Rounders,"  headed  by  Lum  Cathcart,  came  up  to 
get  revenge.  Cathcart  got  shot  in  the  neck,  and  a  stray  shot 
hit  Dave  Wise  (proprietor  King's  Hotel)  in  the  neck  also. 

A  third  important  event  took  place  when  several  soldiers 
were  at  home  on  a  furlough,  and  taking  umbrage  at  the  atti- 
tude of  the  Darke  County  Democrat  on  the  war  question, 
threw  the  material  of  that  ofifice  out  of  the  window  on  to  the 
sidewalk  in  front  of  Weston  &  Ullery's  hardware  store,  corner 
Third  and  Broadway. 

Still  another  "important  event"  might  be  mentioned.  The 
old  "Butternut  Corner,"  a  building  on  the  corner  where  Weis- 
enberger's  drug  store  now  is,  was  the  rendezvous  of  the  Darke 
County  "Copperheads."  A  lot  of  .soldiers  went  out  "skvlark- 
ing"  one  night  when  it  occurred  to  them  that  it  would  be  a 
good  idea  to  "bombard  the  fort."  Preliminary  to  the  attack  a 
line  of  boxes  was  extended  across  Broadway,  from  Jim  Sum- 


DARKE   COUNTY 


259 


nierville's  corner  (now  Koester's  block.  Third  and  Broadway) 
to  Moore's  corner.  The  sharpshooters  crouched  behind  the 
boxes  and  at  the  word  of  command  the  fusilade  began.  Brick- 
bats, stones,  clubs,  and  tin  cans  were  fired  at  the  "fort"  until 
those  on  the  inside  began  to  escape  by  twos  and  threes.  An 
occasional  shot  was  fired  into  the  air  by  some  fellow  for  pure 
devilment,  and  some  cuss  had  the  audacity  to  scalp  wound  Bill 
Barwise  with  a  half  spent  bullet.  It  was  fun  for  the  soldiers 
but  it  was  a  close  call  for  Barwise. 

Fall  Pastimes. 

In  the  fall  of  the  year  we  hunted  red  and  black  haws,  hick- 
ory and  walnuts,  yes,  and  hazelnuts  galore.  The  roof  of  our 
kitchen  was  covered  with  nuts  laid  out  to  dry.  The  walnut 
stain  stuck  to  our  hands  tmtil  the  "cows  came  home"  and 
longer. 

Cider  making  time  was  here,  and  often  we  would  walk  out 
to  Billy  Bishop's  and  suck  cider  through  a  straw.  Then  came 
applebutter  making  and  more  cider  to  drink.  When  corn  cut- 
ting season  was  over  and  the  pumpkins  were  gathered,  we 
would  go  to  the  woods  with  our  little  wagon  and  gather  hick- 
ory bark  for  morning  kindling.  I  yet  can  hear  it  cracking 
under  the  back-logs.  Soon  the  apples,  potatoes,  cabbage  and 
turnips  would  be  unloaded  in  my  father's  garden,  and  us  boys 
were  put  to  work  burying  them  for  winter.  But  when  we 
saw  load  after  load  of  wood  being  corded  up  in  the  lane  we 
would  become  seriously  afiflicted  with  mental  rheumatism. 
Oh !  the  excuses  we  did  make !  The  sawbuck  was  always 
broke  and  the  saw  needed  filing.  New  saws,  new  bucks  and 
new  axes  every  fall,  and  still  it  was  a  difficult  job  to  get  us  to 
saw  enough  wood  at  one  time  to  cook  breakfast  and  to  keep 
the  family  warm  during  the  day. 

Cabbage  enough  was  always  saved  out  to  make  a  barrel  of 
sourkraut,  and  the  man  that  made  ours  was  "Old  Dutch 
Thomas,"  as  we  boys  knew  him.  That  work  done,  "Pap"  as 
we  called  our  father,  was  ready  to  kill  his  hogs.  He  never 
failed  to  kill  from  two  to  four  every  year,  ^^^hen  the  butch- 
ering was  over  then  came  sausage  making  and  the  salting 
down  of  a  barrel  or  two  of  meat.  The  hams  were  "smoked"  in 
the  smoke  house  near  the  well.  We  boys  who  helped  (?) 
do  so  much  (?)  work  scrambled  hard  for  the  pig  tails.  These 
we  roasted  on  the  stove  and  the  feast  of  eating  them  was 


260  DARKE   COUNTY 

most  enjoyable.  \Mien  there  wasn't  pig  tails  enough  to  go 
around,  the  thought  would  come  to  me  that  if  ever  I  became 
a  farmer  I  wouldn't  raise  any  pigs  but  two-tailed  kind. 

Butchering  time  was  when  mother  saved  up  fat  for  soap. 
We  had  an  ashhopper  in  our  yard  and  a  big  iron  kettle  to 
boil  the  fat  out  of  the  meat.  Then  came  the  "cracklings."  I 
am  not  so  fond  of  them  as  I  once  was,  but  many  is  the  crack- 
ling I  have  "scratched,"  as  mother  used  to  say.  Soft  soap 
was  all  the  go  in  those  days  and  our  folks  always  made 
enough  to  last  a  year. 

Children's  Pastimes. 

The  children  in  those  early  days  who  were  too  small  to  at- 
tend the  revivals  were  left  at  home  sitting  in  front  of  the  old 
fireplace,  cracking  nuts  and  eating  apples. 

Methinks  I  can  hear  those  little  tads  singing  at  times : 

"\Mien  the  north  winds  do  blow. 

Then  we  shall  have  snow. 

Oh!  what  wnll  the  pour  roliin  do  then,  poor  thing? 

It   will  sit   in  a  barn 

To  keep  itself  warm."  etc.,  etc. 

Or  they  may  sing  : 

"I  want  to  be  an  angel 
And  with  the  angels  stand ; 
A  crown  upon  my  forehead. 
And  a  harp  within  my  hand." 

That  was  about  the  onlv  religious  song  children  knew  in 
those  days. 

When  we  got  tired  of  singing  we'd  play  "Button,  l)utton. 
who's  got  the  button,"  or  we'd  recite  some  pieces.  "Mary  had 
a  little  lamb"  wa.-^  a  good  one.  "Albert  Ross  and  his  dcg 
'Dash'  ''  never  failed  to  bring  down  the  house.  "Jack  and 
Gill  went  up  the  hill"  was  never  lost  sight  of. 

Another  one  of  our  "classics"  was: 

"I  wish  I  had  a  little  dog, 
I'd  pat  him  on  the  head. 
And  so  merrily  he'd  wag  his  tail 
Whenever  he  was  fed." 


DARKE   COUNTY 


261 


Next  a  boy  and  girl  would  stand  out  on  the  floor  facing 
the  others  and  the  boy  would  take  a  sugar  kiss  (3  for  a  cent) 
out  of  his  pocket  and  slowly  unwrap  the  paper  and  pick  out 
the  little  verse  and  read  to  his  girl  this  beautiful  two-line 
stanza : 

"As  the  vine  grows  'round   the   stump, 
You  are  my  darling  sugar  lump." 

Then  the  little  girl  would  blush  and  wiggle  her  body  a  bit 
and  take  a  verse  from  her  sugar  kiss  and  read  it : 

"If  you  love  me  as  I  love  you — 
No  knife  can  cut  our  love  in  two." 

That  was  a  clincher.  Every  boy  in  the  room  was  envious 
of  that  one  boy. 

Then  would  come  this,  that  and  the  other  until  bedtime. 
The  other  would  be: 

"^Monkey,  monkey,  barrel  of  beer, 
How  many  monkeys  are  there  here? 
One,  two  three — out  goes  he!" 

Then  this: 

"Hick-o-ry,  Dick-o-ry,  Dock 
The  mouse  ran  up  the  clock, 
The  clock  struck  one, 
The  mouse  ran  down, 
Hick-o-ry,  Dick-o-ry,  Dock." 

Of  course  larger  boys  and  girls — girls  who  were  big  enough 
to  have  beaus — would  sing  one  or  more  of  the  following:  Ben 
Bolt,  Suwanee  River,  Nellie  Gray,  Mocking  Bird,  Annie 
Laurie,  Comin'  Through  the  Rye.  Little  Brown  Jug,  The  Last 
Rose  of  Summer,  Willie,  We  Have  Missed  You,  Paddle  Your 
Own  Canoe,  Swinging  in  the  Lane,  The  Girl  I  Left  Behind 
Me,  Wait  for  the  Wagon,  etc.,  etc. 

When  it  came  to  recitations  the  big  boys  and  girls  could 
beat  us  little  folks  every  time.  Their  favorite  pieces  were :  The 
Burial  of  Sir  John  Moore,  Cassabianca,  Old  Grimes  is  Dead, 
That  Good  Old  Soul,  Charles  D.  Moore's  Remorse,  Lord 
Ullom's  Daughter,  etc.,  etc. 


262  DARKE   COUNTY 

Sunday  Observance. 

What  a  quiet  town  Greenville  used  to  be  on  Sunday !  There 
was  nothing  to  do  but  drink  whisky,  play  poker,  fight  roosters, 
go  fishing,  swimming  or  skating  (according  to  weather),  run 
horses,  pitch  horse  shoes,  or — go  to  church.  I  almost  forgot 
the  latter.  And  yet  the  churches  were  well  filled — more  so 
than  they  are  today,  considering  population.  After  the  roads 
were  graveled  there  was  considerable  buggy  riding.  In  the 
spring,  Sunday  was  a  great  day  to  gather  "greens,"  and  at 
other  seasons  of  the  year  go  to  the  woods  for  haws  and  wild 
plums. 

Sassafras  diggers  were  also  plentiful  at  times.  I  suppose 
that  the  mania  toda}^  is  auto-riding. 

Games. 

Townball  used  to  be  a  great  game.  The  "commons"  was  the 
ball  ground.  "Anthony"  over  was  another  game,  the  "mumb- 
bly"  peg,  quoits,  seven-up  in  the  hay  mows,  matching  big  cop- 
per cents,  plump  for  keeps,  hully  gull,  hop-scotch,  and  jumping 
the  rope.  At  school  it  was  "Ring  around  the  rosy,"  "Black- 
man,"  "King  William  was  King  James'  Son,"  and  "Come  Fil- 
ander." 

I  pine  for  just  one  minute  of  those  old  days  again. 

Drinking. 

\Miisky  in  the  '50s  was  very  cheap — only  twelve  and  one- 
half  cents  a  gallon — good  whisky  at  that.  Farmers  bought  it 
by  the  barrel — especially  in  harvest  or  log  rolling  time.  The 
best  of  whisky  cost  from  $5.25  to  $8  a  barrel. 

In  those  days  Darke  county  had  a  large  crop  of  drunkards. 
For  ten  cents  a  man  could  stay  drunk  a  whole  week,  but  now 
a  "week's  drunk"  would  cost  from  $25  up.  I  don't  think  there 
were  as  many  "crazy"  drunkards  in  early  days  as  there  are 
now,  because  whisky  in  those  days  was  pure,  while  the  whisky 
of  today  never  saw  a  still  house. 

The  Old  Band. 

There  are  some  things  about  Greenville  that  I  never  fail  to 
recall  with  a  recollection  born  of  boyhood  sentiment.  Take 
the  old  band,  for  instance :  There  was  none  better  in  Ohio. 
Henrv   Tomlinson   was   the   leader — great   big-hearted,   noble 


DARKE   COUNTY  263 

man.  Alf  Hyde,  his  assistant — good  as  they  made  cornet 
players  in  those  days;  Tip  King,  Major  Hickox,  Dan  Zimmer- 
man, Isaac  Leonard,  Ike  Lynch,  Billy  Waggoner,  Ed  Tonilin- 
son,  John  Deardourff,  Les  Ries,  John  Fryberger,  Dave  Vantil- 
burgh,  Abe  Huffman  and  the  writer.  Ah,  me,  but  those  were 
happy  days !  Sometimes  Jack  .Sweitzer  and  Colonel  Frizell 
would  meet  with  lis  in  the  room  over  Hufnagle's  store,  and 
then  out  would  go  the  big  water-can  over  to  King's  Hotel  (now 
the  Wagner  House)  and  when  it  came  back  we  would  sing, 
"Sliould  Auld  Acquaintance  be  Forgot,"  etc. 

Early  Fairs. 

It  hardly  seems  a  fact,  but  it  is,  that  the  first  "Darke 
county  fair"  was  held  forty  years  ago.  What  an  insignificant 
thing  it  was  then,  compared  with  the  exhibits  of  the  present 
day!  Then  a  few  hundred  people  made  up  the  attendance; 
now  they  come  by  thousands.  Then  the  sheds,  halls,  stables 
and  fences  were  made  of  wide  pine  board  and  sold  to  the  high- 
est bidder  after  the  fair ;  now  everything  in  that  line  is  of  a 
permanent  nature,  and  in  some  instances  the  buildings  are 
substantial  and  becoming.  Then  the  cattle  were  of  the  "old 
brindle  cow"  stripe ;  now  the  exhibit  contains  the  finest  in  the 
land — Shorthorns,  Herefords,  Jerseys,  Gallaways,  Polled  An- 
gus, Holsteins,  Durhams,  etc.  The  old  elm-peeler  hog  has 
been  superseded  by  the  Poland-China,  the  Berkshire,  Ches- 
ter White,  Victorias,  Duroc  Jerseys,  Essex,  Suffolk  and  other 
breeds.  Sheep  likewise  have  been  wonderfully  improved 
since  the  days  of  1855.  The  chicken  flocks  have  undergone 
wonderful  changes,  especially  in  varieties,  but  it  is  doubtful 
whether  any  of  the  new  breeds  surpass  the  old  "dunghill"  for 
eggs  and  good  meat.  The  rest  of  the  fowl  creation  has  kept 
pace  with  the  improvement  spirit  in  other  lines,  and  contrasts 
most  admirably  with  the  "bloods"  of  forty  years  back. 

In  farm  implements  the  advance  has  been  astonishing. 
From  the  old  man-killing  cradle  mode  of  harvesting  advance 
was  made  to  the  reaper  without  a  rake-off;  then  came  the  auto- 
matic rake-off,  followed  by  the  wonderful  self-binder.  The 
sulky  corn  plow,  the  revolving  and  various  other  styles  of  har- 
row, corn  planter,  hay  baler,  hay  carrier,  hay  loader,  and  many 
other  like  improvements  for  the  farmer.  The  improvements 
in  grain,  in  fruits,  in  potatoes,  etc.,  have  been  as  great,  but  in 
nothing  has  improvement  and  genius  been  so  extensive  and  so 
surprising  as  in  farm  implements  and  machinery. 


264  DARKE   COUNTY 

With  all  this  for  the  present  day,  the  people  enjoyed  the 
"Darke  county  fair"  of  forty  years  ago  quite  keenly.  Twas 
the  best  they  had  ever  witnessed,  and  the  exhibits  were  up  to 
the  times — better,  perhaps,  considering  the  comparative  ad- 
vantages, than  those  of  today.  The  two-forty  trotter  was  a 
wonderful  nag  in  those  days,  and  he  was  groomed  and  praised 
as  must  as  the  two-ten  horse  is  of  today.     . 

The  forty  years  have  not  diminished  the  ambition  among' 
the  people  for  county  fairs  in  the  least.  The  season  is  one  of 
recreation  and  pleasure  to  farmers  especially,  and  they  enjoy 
these  annual  exhibitions,  and  thev  come,  regardless  of  the 
weather.  They  have  kept  pace  with  the  world  of  improvement, 
and  their  lands,  their  crops,  stock,  farm  implements  and  build- 
ings evidence  the  universal  ambition  to  keep  up  with  the  pro- 
cession. 

Log  Rollings  and  Hooppoles. 

It  won't  lie  many  years  before  the  timber  will  be  thinned 
out  so  that  the  wild  game  will  be  scarce.  Go  into  the  country 
in  any  direction  and  you  will  see  gangs  of  men  at  work  burn- 
ing down  trees  so  as  to  get  them  out  of  the  way.  Timber  is 
an  awful  nuisance  in  this  county,  and  it's  so  thick  down  around 
Arcanum  that  cattle  and  hogs  get  lost  for  days  at  a  time.  Then 
it's  awful  muddy  down  there,  too,  but  they  will  have  good 
roads  one  o'  these  days,  for  I  understand  they  are  cutting 
down  all  the  small  trees  and  making  corduroy  roads  with 
them.  There  is  some  talk  of  the  sawmill  at  Sampson  doing 
nothing  but  saw  heavy  boards  to  pin  down  along  the  roads, 
and  then  there  will  be  nothing  but  plank  roads  all  over  the 
county.  There  is  a  nice  corduroy  road  between  Dallas  and 
Lightsville.  It  was  thought  here  at  a  time  that  there  was 
plenty  of  gravel  to  be  had  in  this  county,  but  it  was  all  they 
could  do  to  get  enough  to  build  the  Winchester  and  Gettys- 
burg pikes.  There  is  timber  enough  in  this  county  to  make 
plank  roads  everywhere.  They  will  be  much  ''smoother"  and 
cheaper  than  gravel. 

Was  you  ever  at  a  log  rolling?  Well  you  ought  to  go  once 
and  see  what  an  amount  of  work  neighbors  will  do  for  one 
another.  When  a  settler  gets  hold  of  a  quarter  section,  or 
even  forty  acres  of  timber  land  and  wants  to  build  a  house 
or  a  barn,  or  both,  all  he  has  to  do  is  to  let  his  neighbors  know 
it,  and  they  will  come  even  ten  miles  to  help  him. 


DARKE   COUNTY  265 

Xearly  all  the  log  houses  in  Darke  county  were  built  in  that 
way — neighbor  helping  neighbor. 

Look  yonder!  There  comes  a  half  dozen  teams  down  the  hill 
over  there  by  "Squire  Doty's,  every  wagon  loaded  with  hoop- 
poles.  They  are  taking  them  to  Cincinnati  to  the  big  cooper- 
shops  where  they  make  the  pork  barrels  for  the  big  packing 
houses  there.  Those  hooppoles  come  from  away  up  in  Mis- 
sissinawa  and  Allen  townships,  where  young  hickory  trees  are 
so  thick  that  a  deer  can't  get  through  them.  Those  teams  will 
all  be  driven  into  Mark's  barnyard,  corner  of  Fourth  and 
Broadway,  and  rest  up  tonight,  and  early  tomorrow  morning 
resume  their  journey.  They  will  drive  to  Eaton  tomorrow,  and 
the  next  day  to  Hamilton,  and  the  following  day  they  wmII  land 
in  Cincinnati.  They  could  easily  make  the  trip  in  two  days  if 
they  could  travel  on  corduroy  roads,  and  if  on  plank  roads 
they  could  do  it  in  less  time.  I  expect  to  see  the  day  when 
there  will  be  a  plank  road  from  Greenville  clear  to  Cincinnati. 
There  is  timber  enough  in  Darke  county  to  do  it,  and  it 
wouldn't  be  missed.  A  good  plank  road  from  Greenville  to 
Cincinnati  would  bust  up  that  railroad  that  was  built  from 
Dayton  up  here  a  few  years  ago.  Railroads  will  never  amount 
to  much  in  this  country.  They  are  very  unpopular  and  ex- 
travagant ;  besides  the  whistle  on  the  engine  scares  all  the 
horses,  and  not  long  ago  the  engine  ran  into  a  drove  of  cattle 
belonging  to  the  Studabakers  and  killed  about  $100  worth  of 
steers. 

An  Old  Huckster. 

You  see  if  we  had  plank  roads  in  this  county,  Huggins' 
huckster  wagon  (he  has  four  oi  'em)  could  travel  all  over 
Darke  county  and  gather  in  eggs,  tallow,  beeswax,  calamus 
root,  coon  skins,  deer  hides,  sassafras  bark,  and  leave  with  the 
settlers  coiifee,  tea,  sugar,  thread,  pepper,  salt,  calico,  and 
other  store  goods  in  exchange.  With  plank  roads  running  all 
over  the  county  we  won't  have  any  use  for  railroads. 

There  comes  a  four-horse  team  down  Main  street.  The 
wagon  is  loaded  with  lumber.  It  came  all  the  way  from  Spar- 
tansburg,  Indiana.  The  fellow  sitting  on  the  saddle  horse 
jerking  the  rein  is  J.  Wesley  Clemens,  from  near  Tampico  out 
in  the  colored  settlement.  He  is  hauling  that  lumber  down  to 
the  fair  ground  ("you  can  see  it  yonder  in  that  bunch  of  oak 
trees  on  the  Jefiferson  road)  to  build  the  fence.  Allen  LaMotte 
has  the  job  of  building  the  fence,  and  when  the  fair  is  over 


266  DARKE   COUNTY      ' 

they  sell  the  lumber  to  Xick  Kuntz  who  has  that  saw  mill  you 
see  yonder  on  the  banks  of  Green^■ille  creek. 

Kerosene  and  Telegraph. 

Did  you  see  that  stuff  they  had  at  Burtch's  grocery  the  other 
night  for  making  light?  It's  a  fluid  of  some  kind  that  soaks 
into  a  wick  and  you  get  it  afire  and  it  burns  very  bright ;  but  it 
is  dangerous  and  expensive  stuff.  There  has  been  a  great  im- 
provement on  candles  here  of  late.  They've  got  candle  moulds 
down  at  Carter's  candle  factory  in  Huntertovv^n  that  will  turn 
out  twelve  candles  at  a  pop.  I  understand  the  Studabakers 
and  other  rich  people  have  moulds  of  the  same  size.  They  cost 
about  $2.50  and  poor  folks  who  are  unable  to  own  even  a  four 
candle  mould  can  get  along  very  well  with  the  tallow  dip.  A 
person  can  buy  a  dip  at  Allen's  tin  store  for  twenty  cents  that 
has  a  spout  on  it  for  the  wick  to  come  through  and  a  handle 
on  it  the  same  as  some  tea  cups  have.  There  is  an  oil  used  in 
some  of  the  big  cities  that  is  called  kerosene,  but  it  blows  up 
and  kills  people.  There  ought  to  be  a  law  against  selling  such 
dangerous  stuff.  I  heard  Thomas  P.  Turpen  say  that  when  he 
stopped  in  New  York  city  on  his  way  home  from  South  Amer- 
ica that  he  saw  lights  on  the  corners  of  the  streets  that  were 
made  out  of  some  kind  of  gas,  and  even  some  of  the  big  hotels 
had  it  to  light  the  dining  rooms. 

Have  3'OU  ever  been  to  that  telegraph  office  over  Workman's 
and  Daily's  dry  goods  store?  There's  a  machine  up  there  that 
a  long  strip  of  paper  runs  through  and  it  has  a  lot  of  dots  and 
dashes  on  it  that  take  the  place  of  letters.  They  are  getting 
pretty  hard  up  when  they  have  to  use  signs  instead  of  the  plain 
a,  b,  c's.  I  heard  Dan  R.  Davis  say  that  when  he  was  in  Day- 
ton not  long  ago  he  saw  a  man  that  could  tell  what  message 
was  coming  over  the  wire  just  by  the  sound  it  made;  he  did 
not  have  to  look  at  the  strip  of  paper  at  all.  Well,  when  they 
get  to  doing  that  it  will  be  pretty  near  time  for  the  world  to 
come  to  an  end. 

An  Old  Fiddler. 

One  of  the  old  "land  marks"  of  Greenville  yet  remains  in  a 
log  cabin  standing  at  the  extreme  south  end  of  Euclid  avenue, 
a  little  to  the  east.  The  writer  first  saw  the  cabin  forty-five 
years  ago,  and  it  was  then  an  old  structure  in  appearance.     A 


DARKE   COUNTY 


267 


family  by  the  name  of  Quick  lived  in  it,  the  father  and  two 
sons  earning  a  livelihood  by  cutting  cord  wood  and  splitting 
rails  for  the  farmers  nearby,  this  part  of  the  country  being 
then  a  comparative  wilderness.  Nine-tenths  of  Greenville  of 
today  was  at  that  time  "in  the  woods."  One  of  the  Quicks, 
Aaron,  was  a  "fiddler"  (called  violinists  now),  and  he  made 
the  "wild  west"  resound  with  "Old  Dan  Tucker,"  "Old  Rosin 
the  Bow,".  "Jennie  Put  the  Kettle  On,"  and  the  Arkansaw 
Traveler.  Aaron  was  a  cripple,  and  he  done  little  else  but  play 
the  fiddle  in  a  genuine  old  backwoodsman  style.  He  had  no 
fiddle  "larnin."  but  nevertheless  he  could  find  an  audience  of 
considerable  size  whenever  he  would  come  up  to  town — 
Greenville  was  then  a  "town."  Aaron  made  many  a  quarter 
playing  to  a  street  audience  and  was  in  great  demand  at  the 
numerous  country  dances  of  those  days.  The  old  cabin  ought 
to  be  photographed  as  a  relic  before  it  gives  way  to  "fate."  It 
is  not  improbable  that  the  structure  is  nearly,  if  not  quite,  sixty 
years  old,  as  that  part  of  Greenville  is  quite  "aged,"  and  was 
"organized"  by  a  Mr.  George  Hunter,  an  Englishman,  house 
painter  by  trade,  that  part  of  the  town  bearing  his  name  to  this 
da}',  as  "Huntertown." 

"Coonskin"  Brown. 

While  we  are  sitting  here  in  this  belfry,  we  might  as  well 
look  at  some  of  the  persons  who  cross  the  public  square  or 
come  in  or  go  out  of  town.  We  can't  find  a  better  place  to  see 
what  is  going  on.  There  comes  a  man  on  horse-back  around 
the  corner  at  Fitts'  tavern,  corner  of  Broadway,  that  used  to  be 
called  Mark's  Tavern.  That's  "Coonskin"  Brown ;  you've 
heard  of  him,  haven't  you?  He's  one  of  the  odd  characters 
of  Darke  county.  I  guess  he's  got  about  a  hundred  coonskins 
strapped  to  his  horse.  He  traps  them  down  there  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  New  R-Iadison  and  when  he  gets  one  hundred  or 
so  he  fetches  them  to  town  and  sells  them  to  Allen  LaMotte. 
That's  Allen's  place  right  down  there  to  the  left  on  Broadway, 
where  you  see  that  pile  of  pelts.  You  see  this  county  is  nearly 
all  woods  and  wild  game  is  plentiful.  Up  around  Dallas 
there's  lots  of  deers  and  wild  turkeys — in  fact  there  are  wild 
turkeys  all  over  the  county.  Then  there  are  lots  of  mink. 
muskrats.  foxes,  and  a  few  wildcats,  and  as  fast  as  the  settlers 
can  kill  them  ofT  they  bring  their  pelts  into  Greenville  and  seF 
them  to  LaMotte. 


268  DARKE   COUNTY 

While  "Coonskin"  was  a  great  coon  hunter — the  most  suc- 
cessful in  the  county — he  was  also  fond  of  honey.  "Joe"  Bloom 
owned  a  good  bunch  of  trees  not  far  from  New  Madison  and  in 
one  of  these  trees  was  a  nest  of  bees.  Bloom  made  up  his 
mind  to  get  hold  of  that  honey  in  some  way,  but  he  w^as  a  little 
slow  in  doing  it.  However,  the  time  came  when  he  concluded 
to  make  an  eflfort  and  engaged  a  couple  of  men  to  assist  him. 
The  three  of  them  went  to  the  woods  to  find  that  some  one 
had  chopped  the  tree  down  the  night  before  and  robbed  the 
bees'  nest  of  the  honey.  Bloom  ripped  and  snorted  and  pos- 
sibly cussed  a  little — not  because  the  honey  was  gone — but 
because  the  tree  had  been  cut  down.  He  had  his  suspicion 
as  to  who  the  guilty  person  was,  but  he  couldn't  prove  it,  and 
being  a  responsible  man,  he  kept  quiet  for  fear  of  a  libel  suit 
in  the  event  he  might  be  mistaken.  One  day  he  met  Brown 
and  said  to  him:  "Coonskin,"  somebody  cut  down  a  bee  tree 
of  mine  a  few  nights  ago,  and  if  you  will  find  out  who  it  was 
I  will  give  you  $5." 

"Give  me  your  S5,  Mr.  Bloom,  and  I  will  tell  you  right  now 
who  cut  it."' 

"Are  you  certain,  'Coonskin?'  I  want  3'ou  to  be  sure  because 
I  don't  want  to  cause  an  innocent  man  any  trouble,"  said  I\Ir. 
Bloom. 

"Oh,  I  am  as  certain  as  certain  can  be,  [Mr.  Bloom,  and  I 
wouldn't  tell  you  a  lie  for  $50,"  said  Brown. 

"Well,  here's  your  $5,  now  tell  me  who  it  was." 

"Coonskin"  took  the  $5  and  slowly  folded  it  up  and  after 
putting  it  into  his  pocket  looked  at  ^Ir.  Bloom  and  laughed. 

"Well,  who  was  it?"  said  Bloom. 

"I  tut  your  bee  tree,  Mr.  Bloom — now  prove  it,"  said  "Coon- 
skin." 

Brown  couldn't  talk  very  plain  but  'Sir.  Bloom  understood 
him  and  then  the  matter  dropped. 

DOMESTIC  LIFE. 

Early  Mothers. 

The  hou'^ewives  of  Greenville  "before  the  war"  davs,  had 
their  full  share  of  hard  work  as  well  as  their  husbands.  Xo 
sewing  machines,  no  washing  machine,  no  laundries,  no  dress- 
makers, no  milliners,  no  bar  soap  made  lots  of  hard  work  for 
them.  They  couldn't  phone  to  the  grocery  or  store  and  have 
goods  delivered  to  them  on  the  double  quick.     Some  one  had 


DARKE   COUNTY  269 

to  "go  up  town"  with  the  market  basket  and  tote  home  all  the 
supplies  for  the  family.  No  gas  or  coal  stoves — all  used  wood, 
and  sometimes  when  there  was  no  wood,  they  had  to  gather 
chips,  and  when  the  chips  were  all  gone  they  had  to  carry 
wood  or  chips  from  the  woods  near  by.  I  don't  say  that  all 
had  to  sit  up  late  at  night  mending  her  children's  clothes,  or 
might  run  short  of  capital  letters.  Many  and  many  a  mother 
had  to  sit  up  late  at  night  mending  her  chiidren's  clothes,  or 
making  new  ones  for  them  to  wear  to  school  next  day.  She 
would  work  until  late  in  the  night — husband  and  children 
asleep — and  then  be  the  first  one  out  of  bed  in  the  morning  to 
get  breakfast  and  get  the  children  ofif  to  school,  then  she 
turned  her  attention  to  dishes  and  washed  them.  Next  she 
had  to  make  the  beds,  sweep  the  house,  feed  the  chickens,  slop 
the  pigs  (of  course  she  milked  the  cow  while  the  water  in 
the  tea  kettle  was  heating),  darn  stockings  awhile,  sew  a  little 
on  her  new  calico  dress,  then  hurry  and  peel  potatoes  and  get 
other  things  ready  for  dinner  for  the  children  will  soon  be 
home  from  school.  About  this  time  she  discovers  that  there 
isn't  a  bit  of  lard  or  sugar  or  coflfee  in  the  house.  She  can't  go 
to  the  grocery  and  she  can't  find  any  one  to  send ;  what  does 
she  do?  She  borrows  coffee  from  one  neighbor,  lard  from  an- 
other and  sugar  from  another.  You  see  those  days  neighbors 
were  neighbors,  and)  not  mere  "howdy-do"  acquaintances. 
Friendship  was  door-wide  in  every  house  in  the  town,  ^^^^en 
the  children  got  home  from,  school  they  were  dispatched  to  the 
grocery  immediately  for  sugar,  cofifee  and  lard  and  the  neigh- 
bors were  paid  back  in  full ;  and  thus  it  went  until  after  the 
war.  Then  strangers  began  pouring  into  town.  Some  were 
good  and  some  weren't ;  some  were  honest  and  some  weren't : 
and  an  atmosphere  of  suspicion  and  distrust  prevailed  the 
whole  community. 

*  :^  s{<  ^  * 

In  the  boyhood  days  in  my  homeland  it  was  the  custom  for 
women  to  smoke  Of  course  there  were  exceptions,  but  my 
recollection  is  that  the  majority  of  the  older  women  in  Darke 
county  in  those  days  smoked  pipes.  If  I  should  tell  you  their 
names  you  would  be  surprised,  and  yet  I  could  name  a  dozen 
or  more  of  them  within  yelling  distance  of  our  old  home. 
Women  have  as  much  right  to  smoke  as  men  have.  I  do  not 
think  it  a  bit  becoming  for  a  wom^an  to  chew  tobacco  and  let 
tlie  "juice"  run  out  of  the  corners  of  her  mouth  and  trickle 
down  her  chin,  yet  I  can  see  no  harm  in  it,  if  her  husband  or 


270  DARKE   COUNTY 

lover  chews.  A  man  who  smokes  or  chews  should  never 
marry  a  woman  who  neither  smokes  nor  chews,  and  vice  versa. 
I  hold  the  same  opinion  as  to  drinking  or  gambling.  A  to- 
bacco-using or  whisky-drinking  woman  is  generally  as  clean 
as  a  man  with  like  habits. 

Clothing  and  Fashions. 

You  see  there  were  no  dressmakers  in  Greenville  before 
1860,  and  the  fact  of  the  matter  was  that  it  was  cheaper  and 
better  in  every  way  to  engage  a  dressmaker  from  Dayton  or 
Cincinnati  to  cut  and  fit  garments  for  all  these  families,  than 
for  them  to  go  to  the  city  at  the  expense  of  car  and  hotel  bills. 
But  because  they  hired  city  dressmakers  they  were  called  "big 
bugs."' 

The  first  Greenville  dressmaker,  to  my  recollection,  was 
Sarah  Shade,  sister  of  Enos  Shade,  and  it  was  along  about 
1860  that  she  opened  a  shop.  The  first  milliner  of  my  recol- 
lection was  I\Irs.  Long — wife  of  Sheriiif  Ol  Long.  After  she 
began  trimming  hats,  Sarah  Shade  added  millinery  to  her 
dressmaking  business. 

In  those  days  there  were  nri  such  things  as  ladies'  coats  or 
jackets — no,  indeed.  Every  woman  in  town  wore  either  a 
shawl  or  mantello.  Another  thing  I  remember  very  distinctly, 
and  that  was  the  women  had  but  two  ways  of  fixing  up  their 
hair.  One  way  was  to  part  it  in  the  middle  and  comb  it  down 
as  flat  as  a  pancake  over  the  ears,  hiding  them  completely ;  the 
other  way  was  to  curl  it  in  spiral  rolls  and  let  it  hang  all 
around  the  head  like  icicles  from  a  rain  spout. 

One  thing  I  forgot  to  mention  about  the  style  of  dresses  is 
that  in  those  days  styles  did  not  change  from  season  to  season, 
as  manv'  styles  lasted  two  or  three  years,  and  few  women  were 
so  curious  as  to  have  their  hats  retrimmed  more  than  once  a 
year ;  so  you  see  there  was  no  flubdubbery  in  the  "fifties" 
about  headgear  or  wearing  apparel. 

It  used  to  be  the  custom  in  Darke  county  for  newly-mar- 
ried Dunkard  women  to  wear  capes  to  distinguish  them  from 
the  unmarried.  I  don't  now  whether  that  custom  prevails 
today  or  not.  Darke  county  was  blessed  with  a  large  number 
of  Dunkard  families.  Better  farmers,  better  citizens  never 
lived  than  the  Dunkards.     Hundreds,  ves  thousands,  of  these 


DARKE   COUNTY 


271 


thrifty  people  have  recently  located  in  California.     The  more 
the  better  for  the  state. 

******* 
There  were  no  store  clothes  in  those  days,  and  Sunday  suits 
were  a  variety.  "Lintsey  woolsey''  for  the  women  and  home- 
spun jeans  for  the  men,  constituted  the  clothes  of  the  realm. 
Coonskins  were  currency,  and  butter  and  eggs  were  a  drug 
on  the  market.  The  young  men  all  wore  "wamuses"  and 
galluses  of  the  home-made  variety.  Only  '"  dudes"  wore  white 
shirts,  and  they  weren't  always  starched.  Husking  bees,  log 
rollings,  quilting  parties  and  apple-butter  making  were  the 
amusements  of  those  days.  Log  barns,  log  houses,  log 
churches  and  log  school  houses— all  patterned  after  one  style 
of  architecture.  In  school  or  church  the  females  sat  on  one 
side  and  the  males  on  the  other.  Some  of  the  children  had  to 
go  miles  and  miles  to  school,  and  many  had  to  go  the  same 
distance  to  church.  There  were  no  county  roads — but  here 
and  there  logs  were  laid  down  in  the  muddy  spots  (and  in  the 
winter  and  spring  all  spots  were  muddy)  and  over  these  cor- 
duroys, it  was  jolt,  jolt,  jolt. 

Household  Equipment. 

That  was  the  period  of  big  iron  kettles  used  by  nearly  every 
farmer  for  cooking  feed,  food,  and  boiling  clothes.  There  were 
a  few  copper  kettles  in  the  county  and  these  were  usually 
rented  out  at  twenty-five  cents  a  barrel  for  cider  in  apple  but- 
ter seasons.  They  were  also  used  for  cooking  fruit  for  canning 
purposes.  The  cans  were  made  of  tin  by  either  a  ]\Ir.  Allen, 
I.  N.  Beedle,  Billy  Stokeley.  or  Fred  Rehling.  The  latter,  T 
think,  struck  Greenville  in  1854.  These  cans  were  closed  with 
red  sealing  wax. 

Those  were  also  the  days  of  sickles,  scythes  and  grain  cradles 
— the  days  of  back-logs  and  andirons — the  days  of  the  spinning- 
wheel — the  davs  of  candles  and  tallow  dips — the  days  of  the 
knitting  needle,  when  every  mother  knit  socks,  stockings,  and 
mittens  for  the  whole  family — the  days  of  quilting,  when  the 
neighbor  women  all  congregated  at  some  house  and  helped 
the  wife  make  her  quilts.  Many  top  quilts  in  variegated  colors 
were  woven  by  some  women  who  owned  a  loom.  That  was 
the  time  when  wool  was  taken  to  some  woolen  mill  and  carded 
into  strings  two  or  three  feet  in  length,  and  these  strings  would 
be  attached  to  the  spinning  wheel  and  converted  into  yarn. 


2/2  DARKE   COUNTY 

There  were  very  few  stoves  in  Darke  county  up  to  1854. 
Many  farmers'  wives  had  to  cook  in  the  fireplaces.  Pork, 
beans,  hominy,  potatoes,  onions  and  mush  constituted  the 
"grub"  leaders  in  many  homes. 

Soon  after  out-door  ovens  became  popular  and  numerous. 
Nearly  every  family  had  an  ashhopper  from  which  they 
drained  lye  to  make  soft  soap  with,  and  this  was  used  for  all 
purposes. 

V\'ild  turkeys,  wild  geese,  wild  pigeons  and  pheasants  were 
plentiful,  and  every  Sunday  game  would  be  found  on  the 
tables.  There  were  plenty  of  deer  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Dallas  (Ansonia).  Lots  of  coons,  minks,  foxes,  muskrats,  rab- 
bits and  squirrels  in  all  parts  of  the  county,  and  their  hides 
could  be  seen  nailed  to  nearly  every  barn. 

The  woods  were  full  of  hickorv  nuts,  walnuts,  butternuts, 
haws,  wild  cherries,  plums,  Mayapples,  mulberries,  blackber- 
ries, hazelnuts,  etc.  ^^'ild  flowers,  roses  especially,  were  abun- 
dant. All  these  are  gone  I  understand — nothing  but  a  sweet 
memory  of  them  remaining. 

Log  houses,  log  barns,  log  schoolhouses  and  log  churches, 
once  prevalent  in  the  county  have  all  passed  into  history. 

So  have  the  flintlock  guns,  the  smciothbore  rifle  and  the  tul;)e 
guns  that  were  fired  with  "SB"  caps. 

The  old  crane  wells  have  gone  the  same  way.  Boots  are  no 
longer  in  style,  and  the  fish  oil  with  which  they  were  greased 
is  seldom  seen  nowadays. 

The  only  outside  newspapers  coming  to  Greenville  in  those 
days  were  Greeley's  New  York  Tribune,  Sam  Medary's  Ohio 
Statesman,  and  the  Cincinnati  Weekly  Gazette. 

Could  the  pioneers  of  the  days  I  have  recalled  gaze  upon 
Greenville  and  Darke  county  today  they  would  say: 

"F.volution,  hast  thou  no  end!" 

There  were  no  restaurants  or  laundries  in  those  days. 
Housewives,  as  a  rule,  done  their  own  washing  every  Mondav. 
Nearly  every  yard  had  a  well  or  cistern,  and  there  were  many 
ash  hoppers  scattered  over  the  town.  Bar  soap  was  a  rare 
article,  but  soft  soap  was  abundant.  There  were  possibly  100 
or  more  soap  kettles  in  town.  Very  few  persons  were  able  to 
buy  petroleum  oil,  but  nearly  every  family  in  town  owned  a 
pair  of  candle  moulds.  Many  of  the  aristocratic  families  were 
able  to  own  brass  candle  snuffers.  Some  didn't  own  any 
snuffer  at  all— they  either  snufFed  the  candle  with  a  pair  of 
scissors  or  wet  their  thumb  and  finger  and  snapped  off  the 


DARKE   COUNTY  273 

wick.  Candlesticks  were  plentiful — most  of  them  were  made 
of  tin,  some  of  brass  and  a  few  were  coated  with  German  sil- 
ver. There  were  one  or  two  families  that  owned  candlesticks 
that  held  two  or  more  candles.  Such  were  considered  extrav- 
agant people. 

There  were  no  wood  or  coal  yards  in  Greenville  in  the 
fifties.  I  don't  think  I  ever  saw  a  load  of  coal  in  Greenville 
until  after  the  war.  The  family  that  didn't  own  an  ax,  a  saw- 
buck  and  saw  with  a  woodpile  in  front  of  the  gate,  wasn't  in 
style  in  those  days.  It  became  fashionable  later  on  to  ha^■e 
woodsheds.  Horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs  used  to  roam  the 
streets  and  often  break  into  a  garden  and  get  a  "belly  full"' 
of  garden  truck  before  they  were  discovered.  It  used  to  be 
the  custom  for  the  owner  of  the  garden  to  hold  the  stock  in 
"hock"  until  the  owner  came  and  paid  the  damages  and  took 
his  animal  away. 

There  used  to  be  a  fluid  sold  in  Greenville — the  name  of 
which  puzzles  me.  It  was  for  lighting  purposes,  and  was  used 
in  lamps  before  I  ever  heard  of  gasoline,  petroleum,  kerosene 
or  coal  oil.  I  know  that  people  were  afraid  of  it,  although  I 
never  heard  of  it  exploding.  It  was  soon  taken  off  the  market 
when  kerosene  came,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  smell  I 
would  have  said  that  it  and  kerosene  were  one  and  the  same. 

The  kerosene  lamps  were  made  beautiful  to  behold  by  put- 
ting different  colors  of  yarn  in  the  bowl  of  the  lamp.  The 
family  that  could  afford  most  colors  got  the  most  praise. 
Then  along  came  the  lamp  shades.  My.  but  they  were  pretty 
— all  colors  and  many  of  them  escoloped  around  the  edges. 
Of  course  there  was  one  way  to  make  them  safe  from  explo- 
sion and  to  make  them  burn  brighter,  and  that  was  by  putting 
a  little  salt  in  the  bowl  of  the  lamp. 

When  kerosene  lamps  and  kerosene  lanterns  became  pop- 
ular in  Darke  county  it  made  the  candle-makers  mad  and 
Greenville's  only  candle-maker — Thomas  Carter — got  dis- 
gusted and  moved  back  to  Kentucky  where  he  learned  the 
candle-making  business. 

******* 

There  were  a  great  many  teams  of  oxen  in  Darke  county  in 
the  fifties.  It  was  always  claimed  that  a  team  of  oxen  could 
pull  a  heavier  load  than  a  span  of  horses.  I  don't  know 
whether  than  was  so  or  not,  but  I  do  know  that  a  good  team 

(18) 


274  DARKE   COUNTY 

of  oxen  was  kept  at  much  less  expense  than  a  team  of  good 
horses.  There  was  no  trouble  to  yoke  up  a  pair  of  oxen.  All 
you  had  to  do  was  to  hold  up  one  end  of  the  yoke,  and  say 
"Come,  Buck,''  and  the  near  ox  would  juke  his  head  under  the 
yoke,  and  all  you  had  to  do  was  to  slip  the  little  "neck"  yoke 
up  through  the  holes  m  the  big  yoke — stick  in  the  wooden  pin 
and  Buck  was  "hitched."  Then  you  called  "Breck,"  the  "ofif" 
ox.  and  he  went  through  the  same  program. 

Of  course  every  driver  used  an  ox  gad,  that  is  the  whip 
ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  length  often,  and  mounting  the  wagon 
away  you  went.  The  team  was  guided  by  the  voice:  "Gee 
Buck — gee  there!"  or  "haw.  Buck,  whoa  haw!"  that  is  all 
there  was  to  it. 

It  always  paid  to  give  A'our  oxen  plenty  of  water,  for  if  }ou 
didn't,  they'd  get  it  if  they  had  to  run  off  the  road  with  the 
wagon,  load  and  all,  and  rush  down  hill  into  the  creek. 

When  a  farmer  had  a  lot  of  "clearing"  to  do  he  generally 
used  two  or  three  yoke  of  oxen  to  haul  the  logs  to  the  log 
heap  where  they  were  burned  to  get  them  out  of  the  way.  I 
guess  there  are  mit  many  log  heaps  burning  in  Darke  county 
today. 

X^earlv  every  wagon  in  those  days,  '54  to  '60,  had  a  coupling- 
pole  that  usually  stuck  out  behind  from  three  to  six  feet,  and 
on  this  pole  hung  the  tar  bucket  which  was  used  to  grease 
the  wagon  wheels.  I  haven't  seen  a  tar  bucl-et  on  a  wagon  in 
an  old  coon's  age.  Some  of  the  Pennsylvania  Germans,  espe- 
cially the  Dunkards  of  early  days,  owned  big  wagons  with 
beds  on  them  large  enough  to  hold  the  furniture  of  an  ordi- 
nary hotel.  The  tires  on  the  wheels  were  broad,  and  each 
wagon  bed  had  a  feed-box  on  the  rear  end  of  the  bed  and  a 
tool  box  on  each  side,  and  also  a  box  in  front  for  curry-comb, 
harness  grease  and  brushes.  All  such  wagons  were  made  in 
Reading,  Pennsylvania. 

Those  were  the  days  for  elderberry  and  dried  apple  pies. 
Many  times  I  have  seen  the  roofs  of  houses  covered  with 
elderberries  and  apples  dr3'ing  in  the  sunshine.  Applebutter 
pies  were  also  quite  popular.  But  the  great  royal  dish  for 
children  was  mush  and  milk.  Alany  was  the  time  I  made  my 
supper  on  mush  and  milk  and  my  breakfast  on  fried  musli  and 
cane  molasses. 

I  made  many  a  five-cent  piece  digging  sassafras  root  and 
selling  it  to  families  for  tea. 

Speaking  of  dried  apples:    It  used  to  be  the  fashion  to  give 


DARKE   COUNTY  275 

an  apple-cutting  party  at  some  house  where  all  the  girls  and 
boys  of  the  neighborhood  would  gather  and  make  love,  tell 
stories  and  peel  apples.  An  apple  would  be  sliced  into  several 
pieces,  and  the  pieces  would  be  strung  on  thread  or  cotton 
string  in  bunches  about  six  feet  long,  and  these  bunches  would 
be  laid  on  the  roof  to  dry  or  hung  up  in  some  out-of-the-way 
spot.  I  have  seen  them  strung  from  wall  to  wall  in  bed- 
rooms, kitchen  and  garret.  Perhaps  that  was  what  made 
dried  apple  pie  such  a  favorite  in  the  way  of  "dessert." 

Early  Notables. 

For  a  little  town — a  town  in  the  backwoods — a  stuck  in  the 
mud  town,  Greenville  had  more  lively  boys  and  girls  than 
many  towns  double  its  size.  It  had  a  Thespian  club,  a  mili- 
tary company,  a  debating  society  and  several  mite  societies. 
There  were  some  mighty  good  lawyers  in  Greenville,  too : 
Judge  Beers,  Judge  Wilson,  Judge  Meeker,  Judge  Calder- 
wood,  Judge  Wharry,  Judge  Allen,  Riley  Knox  and  Charley 
Calkins,  either  of  whom  would  have  ranked  high  with  the 
best  lawyers  in  any  large  city.  There  were  also  several  "long 
headed"  men  in  Greenville  who  did  not  belong  to  any  of  the 
professions,  namely:  Moses  Hart,  Manning  Hart,  John  Huflf- 
nagle,  Enos  Shade,  Allan  LaMotte,  Eli  Helm,  Wash.  Weston, 
Sam  Ullery,  Henry  Arnold,  Henry  Garst,  William  Morning- 
star,  the  Katzenberger  brothers,  George  W.  Moore,  Michael 
Miller,  John  Spayde,  Isaac  Rush  and  T.  P.  Turpen.  And 
where  will  you  find  better  physicians  than  Dr.  Gard,  Dr. 
Otwell,  Dr.  Lynch,  Dr.  Licklider,  the  Drs.  Matchett  and  Dr. 
Miesse?  The  latter  paid  no  attention  to  local  practice,  but 
his  name  and  fame  was  scattered  all  over  the  country  and  he 
grew  rich  while  few  persons  in  Greenville  had  but  little  idea 
of  his  extensive  practice  abroad. 

Gavin  Hamilton  was  the  best  auctioneer. 
Bill  Williamson  was  the  best  horse-trader. 
Ezra  Sharpe  was  the  best  constable. 

William  Laurimore  was  the  best  squire.  (Nobody  knew 
what  J.  P.  meant  in  those  days.) 

Linus  Purd^r  was  the  best  bricklayer. 
Hezekiah  Owings  was  the  best  marshal. 
John  ^^^harrv  was  the  best  survevor. 


276  DARKE   COUNTY 

Old-Time  Carpenters. 

1854-1876 — Washington  and  ^lathias  McGinnis,  Enos 
Shade,  Harve  House,  Fred  Kissel,  John  Frybarger,  David 
Hoovler,  Luther  Robinson,  Leonard  Stebbins,  Al  Hardman, 
Reuben  Kunkle,  Jacob  ^leybrun,  Daniel  Lecklider,  Daniel 
Larimer,  Jack  Scribner,  William  Tate,  Alexander  and  ^^'illiam 
Kerr,  Manning  F.  Hart,  Alonzo  Shade,  Daniel  Xeiswonger, 
Harve  Robinson  and  Jerry  Sanson.    Who  have  I  left  out? 

Old-Time   Painters. 

The  back  yonder  painters  of  Greenville  were :  George  Hun- 
ter, Bob  Brown,  Henry  Shamo,  John  Cox,  Bill  Cox,  Hen  Low, 
D.  O.  Ma}',  L.  O.  Galyan,  Dr.  J.  L.  Garber,  Joe  Nickodemus, 
John  Boyd,  Lum  Clawson  and  Bill  Knight.  Who  have  I 
missed? 

Old-Time  Bricklayers. 

From  1854  to  1876  I  recall  Linus  Purdy,  Thomas  Stokeley, 
Benjamin  and  Egbert  Reed,  John  Krause,  John  Hamilton, 
Cash  Baxter  and  Ike  Smith.    Who  have  I  missed? 

An  Early  Shoemaker. 

Talking  about  early  shoemakers,  it  is  well  to  remember  that 
^^'illiam  J.  Bireley  came  here  as  a  cobbler  in  1830  and  worked 
for  ^^'illiam  IMartin,  Sr. 

Early  Superstitions. 

I  didn't  hear  of  any  ghosts,  haunted  houses  or  Jack  O'Lan- 
terns  when  I  was  in  Darke  county  last  summer.  There  used 
to  be  lots  of  them  there  when  I  was  a  boy.  I  didn't  see  or 
hear  of  any  witches  either.  They  used  to  be  very  plentiful 
too — to  hear  about.  I  don't  think  the  county  was  any  more 
superstitious  than  other  counties  in  early  days,  but  there  was 
a  plenty  of  it  just  the  same.  I  will  note  a  few:  To  kill  a  snake 
and  leave  it  belly  up  to  the  sky  was  sure  to  fetch  rain.  To 
tramp  on  a  toad  and  crush  it  would  cause  the  cows  to  give 
bloody  milk.  To  spill  salt  was  sure  to  bring  disaster.  To 
pick  up  a  pin — head  toward  you — was  bad  luck.  To  hear 
a  rooster  crow  at  the  door,  or  drop  a  dish  rag  was  a  sure 
sign  of  some  one  coming.  To  hear  a  dog  howl  under  the  win- 
dow was  a  sign  that  some  one  near  was  going  to  die  soon.    To 


DARKE   COUNTY  277 

leave  the  house  and  forget  something  and  go  back  after  it, 
denoted  misfortune  of  some  kind.  To  hoist  an  umbrella  in 
the  house  was  serious  disappointment  if  not  worse.  To  see 
the  new  moon  over  your  left  shoulder  was  bad  luck,  but  to 
see  it  over  the  right  shoulder  was  good  luck.  To  dream  of  the 
dead,  denoted  a  wedding.  To  put  on  socks  or  stockings 
wrong  side  out  and  not  know  it  at  the  time  was  sure  to  bring 
the  best  sort  of  luck.  To  sing  before  breakfast  denoted  sick- 
ness. To  spit  on  fish  worms  and  give  them  "dutch  hecks" 
insured  a  good  catch  of  fish.  To  plant  potatoes  in  the  "dark 
of  the  moon"'  was  sure  to  impair  them  with  "dry  rot."  The 
above  were  some  of  the  "superstitions"  that  once  prevailed 
in  Darke  county.     Others  I  may  take  up  at  another  time. 

Here  are  a  pair  of  superstitions  that  people  believed  in  fifty 
years  ago  and  in  many  places  outside  of  Darke  county  they 
still  believe  in  them,  namely :  If  a  ground  hog  sees  his  shadow 
there  will  be  six  weeks  more  of  winter.  This  superstition  is 
proverbial  in  many  states,  so  much  so  that  "groundhog  day" 
is  a  fixture  in  the  vocabulary  of  each  community.  The  other 
superstition  that  has  hung  fast  to  so  many  persons  all  these 
years  is  this :  "Look  out  for  a  long  and  severe  winter  when 
the  squirrels  begin  to  carry  nuts  and  corn  to  their  dens  in  the 
trees  or  ground." 

It  was  a  bad  sign  for  any  one  to  make  you  a  present  of  a 
knife,  for  it  always  "cut  friendship." 

It  was  a  bad  sign  to  drop  your  fork  at  the  table,  unless  the 
point  happened  to  stick  into  the  floor.  In  that  case  you  would 
have  "sharp  luck  all  day."  It  was  generally  good  luck  to  put 
on  your  left  boot  first,  but  if  you  happened  to  put  on  your 
hat  wrong  end  first  "great  disappointments"  were  ahead  of 
you.  It  was  dangerous  to  wear  hoopskirts  with  steel  springs 
in  them  in  rainy  weather  as  they  were  "sure  to  draw  light- 
ning," and  many  was  the  time  that  the  "belles"  of  Darke 
county  would  jerk  oiT  their  skirts  on  the  double  quick  and 
hide  them  somewhere  if  a  rain  storm  was  approaching.  And 
often  and  often  when  visiting  friends  of  an  evening,  if  a  streak 
of  lightning  appeared  or  a  roll  of  thunder  was  heard,  the  vis- 
iting ladies  were  sure  to  leave  their  hoopsirts  with  their 
friends  and  go  home  without  them. 

When  anything  was  lost  it  was  best  to  spit  in  the  palm  of 
your  left  hand,  hit  it  with  the  forefinger  of  your  right  hand, 
and  in  whatever  direction  the  spit  flew  there  you  would  find 
your  lost  article. 


278  DARKE   COUNTY 

When  fishing  it  was  always  good  policy  to  throw  the  very 
small  fish  back  into  the  creek  as  soon  as  you  took  them  off  of 
the  hook,  for  if  you  didn't  the  big  fish  wouldn't  bite  at  all. 

Obsolete  Trades,  Customs,  etc. 

There  is  not  a  cooper  in  Greenville — that  is,  a  hoop-pole 
cooper.  When  wooden  hoops  gave  way  to  iron  ones,  the  draw- 
knife  cooper  went  out  of  business. 

Brick  moulders  are  just  as  scarce  and  with  them  went  the 
"off-bearers."  Greenville  used  to  have  quite  a  number  of 
brick  moulders. 

The  hotel  gongs  and  dinner  bells — first  and  second — are  no 
longer  heard  in  Greenville.     It's  lonesome  without  them. 

Cows  no  longer  march  single  file  through  Broadway  on  their 
way  to  the  creek  to  drink  as  they  used  to. 

Even  the  "town  pump"  is  no  more.  The  squeaking  of  the 
handles  was  exceedingly  musical  (?)  in  days  gone  by. 

Boys  no  longer  play  marbles  on  the  public  square  nor  do 
men  get  out  and  pitch  horse  shoes  there  as  they  used  to. 

Greenville  has  "society"  now  but  there  was  a  time  there 
when  "we  uns  were  just  as  good  as  you  uns"  and  a  darned 
sight  better.  Greenville  is  very  much  cityfied  now  and  socie- 
tyfied  as  well. 

During  my  last  visit  to  Greenville  I  missed  hearing  any  one 
sing: 

"Oh  landlord  fill  the  flowing  bowl 
Until  it  does  run  over. 

For  tonight,  tonight,  we'll  merry,  merry  be, 
And  tomorrow  we'll  get  sober." 
Or: 

"We'll  harness  up  our  bosses, 
Our  business  to  pursue  , 

And  whoop  along  to  Greenville 
As  we  used  for  to  do." 
Or: 

"From  Waddleton  to  Widdleton  it's  eighteen  miles. 
From  Widdleton   to  ^^^addleton   it's   eighteen   miles." 


Or: 


"We're  bound  to  run  all  night. 
We're  bound  to  run  all  day; 
I'll  bet  my  money  on  that  bob-tail  hoss, 
Who'll  bet  on  the  bay?" 


DARKE  COUNTY 


279 


Or: 


Or: 


"It's  many  days  you've  lingered 
Around  my  cabin  door. 
Oh.  hard  times,  hard  times, 
Come  again  no  more." 

Roll  on  silver  moon, 
Guide  the  traveler  on  his  way — 
Roll  on,  roll  on,  roll  on." 
Or: 

"There  is  the  landlord 
Who'll  feed  your  horse  oats,  corn  and  hay — 
And  whenever  your  back  is  turned 
He'll  take  it  all  away — 
In  these  hard  times." 

I  didn't  see  a  yoke  of  oxen  during  the  whole  of  my  stay  there. 
There  used  to  be  scores  of  ox  teams  in  Darke  county.  I  didn't 
hear  the  crack  of  an  ox  whip,  and  not  once  did  I  hear  any  one 
say: 

"^^'hoa  there,   Buck. 
Gee  there,  Bessy." 

Not  a  boy  in  the  whole  town  did  I  see  walking  on  a  pair  of 
stilts. 

Nor  did  I  see  a  game  of  mumble-dy  peg. 

Nor  a  game  of  horse-shoes. 

I  did  not  see  a  single  tin  lantern  with  holes  punched  through 
it. 

I  didn't  see  a  candle  stick  nor  a    tallow  dip. 

Not  even  a  pair  of  candle  moulds  could  be  seen. 

I  didn't  see  a  cooper  shop  in  the  town. 

Nor  a  gunsmith  shop. 

I  didn't  see  a  pair  of  red-top  boots  on  the  feet  of  any  boy  or 
anywhere  else. 

I  didn't  hear  a  Jew's-harp. 

I  didn't  see  a  package  of  saleratus. 

Nor  a  plug  of  dog-leg  tobaco. 

I  didn't  see  a  goose-quill  pen. 

There  were  lots  of  things  I  didn't  see  that  used  to  be  plen- 
tiful. 


280  DARKE   COUXTY 


Events  of  1856. 


The  Courier  was  not  in  existence  then,  but  the  editor,  John 
Calderwood,  was  and  had  been  here  some  nine  years. 

He  remembers  two  big  events  in  that  year  (1856).  One  of 
them  was  a  Democratic  barbecue,  held  in  Armstrong's  "big 
woods,"  near  the  spot  where  Mrs.  William  Schnouse  now 
resides  (314  Washington  avenue,  near  Cypress  street).  There 
was  a  big  ox  roasted  that  day  and  there  was  a  big  crowd  to 
eat  it.    One  of  the  "big"  speakers  was  Samuel  Medary. 

The  other  big  event  was  a  sort  of  double  show  day,  that  is 
to  say,  two  shows  were  held  here  on  the  same  day,  namely, 
Spaulding  &  Rogers'  circus  and  Van-Amburg's  menagerie. 
The  circus  was  held  where  the  Michael  ]\Iiller  residence  now 
stands,  and  the  menagerie  was  held  near  where  the  high 
school  building  now  stands. 

That  year,  1856,  was  a  great  year  for  noted  events.  The 
presidential  election  was  held  that  year,  and  John  C.  Freemont 
was  the  republican  candidate,  and  James  Buchanan  the  dem- 
ocratic candidate.  Among  the  "big"  men  who  spoke  here 
during  that  campaign  were  Tom  Corwin,  Salmon  P.  Chase 
and  Sam  Galloway.  Corwin  was  the  leader — the  most  popu- 
lar. Ohio  never  produced  his  equal  as  a  stump-speaker.  For 
that  matter,  no  other  state  could  show  an  equal  to  Corwin. 
Ingersoll,  the  greatest  orator  that  ever  belonged  to  the  United 
States,  said  of  Corwin:  "He  stood  peerless  and  alone  in  a 
class  by  himself." 

ANCIENT  LANDMARKS  AND  LOCALITIES. 
"Kentucky  Point." 

Where  is  Kentucky  Point?  Gone!  \Miere  was  it?  It  was 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  old  fair  grounds,  and  the 
waters  of  Mud  creek  surrounded  it  on  three  sides  when  the 
floods  come. 

I  do  not  know  who  gave  it  the  name  of  "Kentucky  Point," 
but  I  do  know  that  no  spot  of  land  in  Darke  county  produced 
more  grapes  than  those  few  acres  of  land.  There  was 
prairie  on  three  sides  of  it  full  of  mud  and  tussicks.  but  on 
the  south  side  was  dry  walking  to  the  top  of  "Bunker  Hill,"  a 
quarter  mile  south.  I  suppose  half  of  the  wedding  engage- 
ments in  those  days  were  first  "whispered"  on  that  hill.  It 
was   the  one — and   the   only   one — romantic   spot   near   town. 


DARKE   COUNTY  281 

The  hill  was  probably  one  hundred  feet  high,  which  was  verj' 
"mountainous"  to  we  boys  then.  Lovers  could  climb  to  the 
top  and  gaze  up  the  prairie  many  miles,  and  see  the  big  hill 
on  Peter  Weaver's  farm,  four  miles  away,  and  then  they  could 
"see  all  over"  Greenville,  and  see  "Turner's  mill  on  Martin's 
Hill."  This  "mountain"  was  densely  wooded  and  "lovers' 
paths"  leading  hither  and  thither  to  ideal  spots  in  which  to 
tell  to  each  other  as  to  "how  happy  my  love  will  make  you." 

Another  wild  pigeon  roost  was  over  on  "Kentucky  Point," 
in  Mud  Creek  prairie.  That  "point"  was  about  one-half  mile 
due  west  of  the  south  end  of  the  old  fair  ground.  Enos  Shade 
and  Jack  Switzer  used  to  kill  pigeons  by  the  hundreds  at  that 
place.  That  prairie  used  to  be  full  of  rabbits  in  the  winter 
time,  and  the  creek  used  to  be  full  of  muskrats.  I  think  I  have 
seen  as  many  as  fiffty  muskrat  houses  projecting  through  the 
ice  from  Mud  creek  bridge  to  Bishops  Crossing.  There  used 
to  be  lots  of  mink  in  those  days.  I  can  remember  seeing  the 
pelts — several  of  them — of  otters  killed  in  Darke  county. 
Allen  LaMotte  had  them  in  a  huge  pile  of  other  pelts  that  he 
had  stacked  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  of  his  store  on  Broad- 
way. "Big  Jack"  Smith,  who  lived  in  the  "Beach,"  told  me 
that  he  killed  a  prairie  wolf  on  his  father's  place  when  he  was 
a  boy.  There  used  to  be  lots  of  foxes  in  Darke  county.  Yes, 
and  lots  of  deer,  too.  There  were  wild  deer  in  that  county 
when  I  was  a  boy.  '  Wild  turkeys  were  also  plentiful.  There 
were  lots  of  wild  geese  and  wild  ducks  flying  all  over  the 
county  no  so  many  years  ago.  I  don't  think  there  ever  were 
any  bear  in  Darke  county — at  least  during  my  boyhood. 

"Armstrong's  Commons." 

"What  a  little  bit  of  a  Jim  Crow  town  Greenville  was  in 
'65 !  Now  it  is  putting  on  city  airs  with  several  kinds  of  gas, 
electric  lights,  fire  department,  water  works,  telephones,  and  a 
street  railway — electric  line,  I  believe. 

"All  that  part  of  town  south  of  Fifth  street  was  a  barren 
tract  of  land,  known  as  'Armstrong's  Commons.'  Before  the 
war  of  the  rebellion,  it  was  covered  with  a  thick  forest.  At 
the  left  of  Central  avenue,  before  it  crosses  the  railroad,  was 
a  huge  pond  of  water — now  filled  up  and  I  undertand  cov- 
ered with  dwelling  houses.  West  of  that  street,  where  there 
is   now  a  long  row  of  houses,   w^as  Jonathan   Gilbert's  brick 


282  DARKE   COUNTY 

yard,  afterwards  leased  by  Manning  Hart  and  later  to  John 
Harry  for  brick-making.     Mr.  Hart  finally  sold  it  ofi  in  lots." 

"I  can  look  back  to  the  time  that  all  that  part  of  Greenville 
was  a  dense  woods.  I  can  remember  when  Ed  Cline  and  Bill 
Creager  shot  a  pheasant  at  about  where  the  Pennsylvania 
depot  stands.  I  give  both  of  them  credit  for  killing  it  as  both 
shot  at  it  at  the  same  time.  A  little  north  of  that  stood  se- 
veral dead  trees  in  a  bunch  where  wild  pigeons  by  the  hun- 
dreds used  to  roost.  It  was  great  sport  for  the  Greenville 
sports  in  the  '50s  to  shoot  the  pigeons  on  their  roost. 

"There  were  but  two  kinds  of  guns  in  those  days — the 
smooth  bore  rifle  and  the  single  barrel  shotgun.  The  double 
barrel  shot  gun  was  a  rare  article.  The  possessor  of  a  double 
barrel  shot  gun  was  envied  on  all  sides.  There  were  quite  a 
number  of  flint  locks  too  in  those  days.  Wooden  ramrods 
were  in  time  displaced  by  iron  ones.  A  gun  with  an  iron  ram- 
rod was  worth  twice  as  much  as  it  would  be  if  it  had  a  wooden 
rod.  Just  why  I  can't  say,  but  a  fellow  with  an  iron  ramrod 
to  his  gun  wouldn't  trade  that  gun  off  for  a  gun  with  a 
wooden  rod  unless  he  got  the  worth  of  the  other  gun  in  cash 
to  'boot.' 

All  that  section  of  territory  south  of  Martin  street  and  east 
of  Central  avenue,  was  a  dense  forest  at  that  time,  and  many 
times  did  I  carry  the  game  sack  for  hunters  in  that  woods. 
There  used  to  be  a  brick  yard  on  that  plat  of  ground  now  oc- 
cupied by  the  residences  of  Manning  Hart,  George  Ullery  and 
the  Widow  Meeker  (200  Central  avenue,  opposite  Fifth 
street)  and  more  than  once  have  I  tracked  rabbits  in  and  out 
of  that  yard.  Jim  Collins  was  my  running  mate  in  those  days, 
and  while  we  were  both  good  hunters,  we  never  caught  a 
single  rabbit  to  my  recollection.  Yet  the  sport  was  great,  and 
I  look  back  upon  those  rabbit  tracks  with  a  fond  memory.  I 
was  considered  some  "punkins"  in  those  days  as  a  wood- 
sawyer,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the  day  I  was  sawing  wood 
for  Mr.  Dorman  and  succeeded  in  sawing  one  of  my  big  toes 
nearly  oflf.  Taylor  Dorman  and  \^olney  Jenks  assisted  me 
in  bandaging  up  the  toe  and  then  helped  me  home,  where  I 
remained  for  several  weeks. 

"Old  Orchard"  and  "Spayde's  Woods." 

By  the  way,  how  many  of  the  boys  and  girls  of  Greenville 
have  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  all  that  block  west  of  Mrs. 


DARKE   COUNTY 


283 


Judg-e  Sater's  house  (218  West  Fourth  street)  was  once  an 
orchard? 

Another  thing  the  school  children  of  1856-1860  will  recall  is 
the  fact  that  from  Lucas's  corner  (southwest  corner  of  Fourth 
street  and  Central  avenue)  to  the  railroad  on  Central  avenue, 
there  wasn't  a  house,  but  back  a  bit  from  the  street  was  a 
huge  brick  yard. 

And  right  (about)  where  Mrs.  Lizzie  Shepherd  lives  (201 
Euclid  avenue)  was  the  center  of  Fletcher's  nursery.  And 
about  one  hundred  feet  south  of  the  residence  of  Charles 
Roland,  Sr.  (corner  Fourth  street  and  Switzer  street),  was 
a  tombstone  factory,  also  owned  by  Mr.  Fletcher. 

There  was  a  grove  of  trees  that  extended  along  the  side  of 
the  hill  in  the  rear  of  the  residence  of  the  editor  of  the  Cour- 
ier, where  the  boys  and  girls  of  1856-1860  used  to  assemble 
in  winter  time  and  coast  down  hill.  In  summer  time  it  was  a 
great  place  for  picnics  and  political  meetings.  Corwin,  Chase, 
Galloway,  and  many  other  distinguished  orators  addressed 
large  audiences  there. 

Another  picnic  and  public  meeting  ground  was  "Spayde's 
Woods,"  a  little  east  of  where  T^ee  Chenoweth  and  Newt 
Arnold  live  (I  am  taking  it  for  granted  that  they  are  still 
living  where  they  built  many  years  ago). 

"Goosepasture"  and  "Bunker  Hill." 

But  one  house  existed  east  of  the  D.  &  LT.  railroad — 
south  of  Martin  street.  "Martin's  Hill"  rose  fifty  or  seventy- 
five  feet  and  opposite  the  old  IMartin  tavern  stood  Turner's 
distillery — all  gone!  There  was  no  "Mackinaw"  railroad  in 
those  days.  No  LTnion  school  house  or  high  school.  No  city 
hall,  no  free  turnpikes,  no  opera  house,  no  daily  papers,  no 
stenographers  or  typewriters  or  telephone  girls.  The  pret- 
tiest part  of  Greenville  today  was  known  as  "Goosepasture" 
in  '65.  The  bridge  at  Broadway  over  the  Greenville  creek  and 
the  one  over  the  same  stream  at  East  Main  street  were  both 
covered.  The  latter  was  called  the  "Dutch"  bridge,  because 
so  many  Germans  crossed  it  to  and  from  their  homes  a  few 
miles  east  of  town.  Mud  creek  was  not  ditched  in  those  days, 
and  every  spring  the  water  overflowed  the  whole  prairie  from 
Morningstar's  tO  Weaver's  Station.  "Bunker  Hill"  was  the 
only  real  "mountain"  in  the  coimty,  but  now  it  is  no  more 
forever — only  as  it  lies  spread  on  the  streets  of  Greenville  and 


284  DARKE   COUNTY 

on  the  railroad.  At  the  head  of  the  prairie  was  another  large 
hill,  near  the  Peter  Weaver  farm,  but  it  was  chopped  down 
and  hauled  away  to  ballast  the  Panhandle  railroad. 

Wayne  Avenue  and  Wayne's  Treaty. 

W'hat  is  now  called  \\"ayne  a\-enue  in  Greenville,  was  the 
outpost  of  the  old  fort.  \\'hat  was  known  for  years  as  Arm- 
strong's Commons  was  once  heavily  timbered,  but  was 
"cleared"  off  by  citizens  of  Greenville  for  firewood,  etc. 

The  Indians  were  very  treacherous  in  those  days,  and  had 
sneaked  in  and  murdered  a  number  of  persons  throughout 
the  county,  who  had  been  working  in  their  cleared  patches  of 
ground. 

Abraham  Studabaker  never  went  into  his  cornfield  without 
his  flint  lock  rifle. 

When  I  left  Greenville  in  1877,  the  trenches  dug  by 
Wayne's  soldiers  were  still  in  evidence  along  what  is  known 
as  Wayne  avenue,  and  the  huge  rock  that  I  spoke  of  in  former 
letter  as  having  been  buried  at  the  crossing  of  Fifth  and  Syca- 
more streets,  was  one  of  "Mad  Anthony"  W^ayne's  landmarks. 

I  went  over  this  ground  pretty  thoroughly  in  1873,  in  com- 
pany with  David  Baker  of  Mercer  county.  Mr.  Baker  was 
then  abotit  eighty  years  of  age,  and  he  had  the  benefit  of  his 
parents'  personal  knowledge  of  what  he  told  me,  and  which  he 
afterwards  published  in  The  Courier  in  1875.  I  think  Mr. 
Baker  was  a  grand  uncle  to  Jake,  Van  and  Evan  Baker.  I 
asked  him  to  point  out  to  me  the  exact  spot  where  Wayne 
held  his  treaty  with  the  Indians,  in  1795  ;  he  walked  about  for 
awhile,  and  finally  struck  his  cane  on  the  ground  and  said : 
"This  looks  to  me  as  the  spot  my  father  declared  that  he  saw 
the  Indian  chiefs  and  their  tribes  sitting  in  a  circle  when  Gen- 
eral Wayne  and  his  aids  came  down  from  the  creek  bank  or 
the  old  fort,  I  can  not  now  say  which.  But  father  said  all  the 
chiefs  were  smoking  long  pipes  filled  with  tobacco  General 
Wayne  had  given  them." 

In  company  with  my  son  George  to  Greenville  in  1904.  I 
took  him  down  to  show  him  where  the  treaty  of  Greenville 
was  held,  and  found  the  ground  was  occupied  by  the  resi- 
dence of  Monroe  Phillips  fSycamore,  Fifth  and  Devor 
streets).  That  is  the  spot  where  Mr.  Baker  said:  "Greenville 
will  some  day  build  a  monument  to  General  Wavne,  and  I 
hope  it  will  be  done  during  mv  lifetime." 


DARKE   COUNTY  285 

;\Ir.  Baker  died  the  following  year,  I  believe,  near  Cold- 
water,  Mercer  county. 

Old  Court  House  and  Market  House. 

The  entrance  of  the  old  court  house  of  my  childhood  faced 
Main  street  on  the  west.  Originally  a  wide  hall  passed 
through  it  from  east  to  west,  but  the  east  end  was  shut  ofif  to 
make  room  for  the  auditor's  office.  Immediately  on  the  left 
as  you  entered  the  building  was  the  stairway  leading  to  the 
court  room  above.  The  front  door  to  the  left  as  you  entered 
the  hallway  was  the  treasurer's  office.  Jim  McKhann,  George 
Martz,  Thos.  P.  Turpen,  Eli  Helm  were  the  treasurers  in 
those  days.  The  recorder's  office  was  entered  by  a  door 
facing  on  the  north  side,  east  corner  of  the  building,  and  the 
recorders,  as  I  remember  them,  were  Edington,  Robison,  Shep- 
herd, Beers  and  Medford.  The  auditor's  office,  facing  on  the 
east  side  of  Broadway,  was  presided  over  in  succession  by 
George  Coover,  D.  B.  Clew,  E.  H.  Wright,  O.  C.  Perry  and 
Dr.  John  E.  Matchett.  The  clerk's  office  faced  Broadway  on 
the  west  side  and  Doc  Porterfield,  Henry  Miller  and  Ham. 
Slade  were  from  time  to  time  the  occupants,  Slade,  I  think, 
going  from  there  into  the  new  building. 

The  east  side  of  the  old  court  house  was  always  a  shady 
spot  in  the  summer  afternoons  and  many  a  political  meeting 
was  held  there.  I  have  heard  such  men  speak  there  as  Sal- 
mon P.  Chase,  Thomas  Corwin.  George  H.  Pendleton.  Sam 
Cary,  Sam  Hunt,  C.  L.  Vallandigham.  Durbin  Ward,  Senators 
Thurman  and  Sherman,  Lewis  D.  Campbell,  George  A.  Sheri- 
dan, General  Gibson,  Governor  Tod,  Governor  Dennison, 
General  Noyes  and  many  other  orators  of  national  reputation. 
Corwin,  of  course,  was  the  greatest  of  them  all,  America 
never  having  produced  his  equal  on  the  stump.  Great  as  In- 
gersoll  was  in  his  prime,  he  could  not  sway  the  masses  as  Cor- 
win did. 

Then  the  old  market  house  stood  north  of  the  old  court 
house  (now  the  site  of  the  city  hall). 

"Many  were  the  nights'"  I  played  "London  Loo"  on  that 
historic  square  and  around  that  old  market  house.  Well  do  I 
remember  the  great  bonfires  we  used  to  build  there  on  elec- 
tion nights. 


286  DARKE   COUNTY 

"Quicks'  Spring"  and  "Big  Woods." 

I  suppose  that  "Quicks'  Spring"  has  been  dry  many  years. 
Where  was  it  located?  Just  take  a  walk  to  the  foot  of  the 
hill  on  the  Jefferson  pike  to  where  it  crosses  a  ravine,  south 
of  the  old  residence  of  the  late  Isaac  Rush,  south  of  the 
Brethrens'  Home,  and  follow  the  rivulet  in  that  ravine  east- 
ward to  its  source,  and  you  will  come  to  the  Quick  Spring,  or 
where  it  used  to  be  when  I  was  a  boy. 

Many  and  many  a  time  have  I  rolled  up  my  pants  and 
waded  in  that  stream,  from  Rush's  culvert  to  the  Eaton  road. 
Great  place  that  was  for  boys  to  build  small  dams  and  ope- 
rate "flutter  mills"  made  of  cornstalks.  I  can  remember  when 
it  was  all  "woods"  from  our  home  (where  Smith  O'Brien  now 
lives),  to  the  present  fair  grounds,  and  on  to  Fort  Jefferson, 
with  very  slight  breaks.  In  later  years,  when  the  trees  were 
all  cut  away,  mullein  stalks  grew  up  there  so  thick  that  we 
boys  often  "charged  upon  them"  with  sticks  and  beat  them  to 
the  ground — mowing  them  right  and  left,  as  we  "moved  for- 
ward in  solid  phalanx  upon  the  foe." 

Then  House's  "thicket,"  where  the  fair  grounds  are  now 
located.  There  is  where  we  boys  of  18.^7-8-9  and  '60  used  to 
go  hunting  rabbits. 

Bishop's  mill-pond  (north  of  Prophetstown)  was  always  an 
objective  point  in  winter  when  the  skating  was  good.  I  think 
Noah  Helm  was  the  best  skater  in  Greenville  after  Bob  Roby 
left.  Bob  was  the  champion,  if  my  memorv  is  correct.  Henry 
Tomlinson  and  his  brother  Ed  were  both  good  skaters. 

Indian  Trail. 

(By  JMrs.  Barney  Collins.) 

"One  of  the  last  spots  I  visited  about  old  Greenville,  in  com- 
pany with  two  of  my  children,  was  to  follow  the  old  Indian 
trail  as  far  as  I  could  trace  it,  out  the  Panhandle  railroad 
tracks,  which  followed  and  destroyed  the  trail  for  a  long  dis- 
tance, just  west  of  what  is  now  Oak  View.  The  trail  then 
was  as  plainly  to  be  seen  as  the  public  road,  worn  deep  into 
the  foot  of  the  hill  that  skirts  Mudcreek  prairie  by  many 
Indian  feet  that  trod  it.  single-file,  as  the  tribes  traveled  from 
point  to  point  in  those  wild  days. 

"From  the  hillside  trail  we  crossed  over  past  the  spring 
(yet  bubbling  from  the  earth  just  below  Oak  View.  I  am  told 


DARKE   COUNTY 


287 


north,  on  edge  of  prairie)  and  found  the  old  bridge  and  road 
built  across  the  prairie  by  General  Wayne's  men  to  reach  the 
block-house  on  the  old  Devor  farm,  just  west  of  the  prairie. 
The  logs  in  the  house  were  (1850)  in  a  good  state  of  preser- 
vation. Some  of  them  were  deeply  imbedded  in  the  soil, 
while  others  lay  out  plainly  as  though  but  recently  put  there. 
That  old  trail  led  on  north  along  the  brow  of  the  hill  a  few 
steps  west  of  where  Sweitzer  street  now  is,  ending,  as  far  as 
I  recollect,  at  what  is  known  as  Tecumseh's  point,  at  junction 
of  Greenville  and  Mud  creeks." 

"Beech  Grove"  and  "Matchett's  Corner." 

^^'hen  in  Darke  county  last  summer  I  looked  in  vain  for 
the  "Reech."  It  was  gone — cleared  off  into  farms  of  the  most 
productive  kind.  Even  the  corduroy  road  was  gone  that 
stretched  for  two  miles  below  IMatchett's  Corner,  toward 
Twinsboro.  Even  Twinsboro  is  gone.  Sampson  is  gone  and 
Karn's  school  house  is  no  more.  Judge  D.  H.  R.  Jobes  used 
to  teach  school  in  that  old  log  building.  I  can  see  it  now  with 
its  two  big  windows  on  one  side  and  its  big  fire  place  in  the 
center.  And  the  benches — wooden  ones  without  a  back,  lined 
up  in  front  of  two  long  tables  that  sloped  to  one  side.  I  don't 
remember  whether  there  was  a  blackboard  in  the  house  or  not, 
but  I  do  know  that  there  were  slates  galore. 

Somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  Matchett's  Corner, 
crossing  of  Eaton  and  Ithaca  pikes,  in  the  Reigle  district.  I 
think— -was  an  old  church  that  had  been  converted  into  a 
"college,"  by  the  ]\Iartz  Brothers — George  H.  and  Jacob  T., 
— and  for  the  life  of  me  I  can't  remember  the  name  of  that 
college.  Perhaps  it  was  Otterbein.  Xo,  that  can't  be,  for 
there  was  a  college  at  \\'esterville  by  that  name. 

That  was  in  the  days  when  Hen.  Wikle  drove  stage  (hack) 
from  Lewisburgh  and  Euphema  to  Greenville  twice  a  week. 
Several  Greenville  girls  attended  that  college — among  them 
my  sister  Lucinda — and  these  girls  always  rode  to  and  from 
college  in  \\'ikle's  hack.  When  the  roads  were  good  the  hack 
reached  Greenville  about  five  in  the  afternoon,  but  in  bad 
weather  it  seldom  got  in  before  ten  or  eleven  at  night. 

From  the  time  these  girls  would  leave  the  college  until  they 
reached  Greenville  they  would  sing  such  songs  as: 


288  DARKE   COUNTY 

Roll  on,  silver  moon, 

Guide  the  traveler  on  his  way, 

Roll  on,  roll  on,  roll   on,  etc. 

"Where  was  JMoses  when  the  light  went  out?"  "Home, 
Sweet  Home,"  "A  life  on  the  ocean  wave,"  "Annie  Laurie," 
"I'll  hang  my  harp  on  a  willow  tree,"  "Nellie  Gray,"  "Suwanee 
River,"  "The  last  rose  of  summer,"  "Wait  for  the  wagon," 
"Willie,  we  have  missed  you,"  and  many  other  old-time  songs. 

I  wish  some  reader  of  The  Courier  would  send  me  the 
words  to  the  following  sons:  "Welcome,  old  rosin,  the  bow," 
"Pat  Malloy,"  "Roll  on,  silver  moon,"  "Kitty  Wells,"  and 
"Daisy  Dean."  I  have  tried  a  number  of  places  to  get  those 
songs,  but  failed. 

Neimeier's  Pottery. 

^^'hile  we  are  standing  on  this  corner  (Vine  and  Main 
streets)  let's  take  a  peep  up  and  down  this  (Vine)  street. 
That  house  you  see  standing  across  Mud  Creek  yonder  is 
where  'Squire  Morningstar  lives.  He  is  one  of  the  best  fid- 
dlers in  town.  He  calls  oft  the  dances  while  he  is  fiddling 
and  dancing  himself.  That's  gretty  good,  isn't  it?  That's  a 
steep  hill  that  goes  down  to  the  bridge.  The  farmers  often 
get  stuck  there  when  they're  hauling  in  wood  or  maybe  pump- 
kins. That  little  house  to  the  left  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  is 
where  Sam  Musser  lives.  He's  a  tailor  and  he  can  swear  like 
sixty;  but  he's  so  "Dutch"  nobody  can  understand  his  cuss 
words,  and  they  are  more  amusing  than  profane.  That  frame 
house  standing  away  back  there  to  the  left  is  Neimeier's  pot- 
tery, and  if  we  had  time  we'd  go  over  there  and  see  him  make 
crocks.  He's  got  lots  of  clay  over  there  and  he's  got  an  iron 
rod  that  stands  up  about  a  yard,  and  on  top  of  that  rod  is  the 
top  of  a  table,  which  isn't  over  a  foot  and  a  half  in  diameter. 
Then  he  has  two  dogs,  and  he  keeps  'em  in  a  box  that  tips  up 
at  one  end.  There's  a  floor  in  the  box  that  moves  under  the 
dogs'  feet  every  time  they  try  to  walk.  There  is  a  big  strap 
that  is  fastened  to  a  big  wheel  on  the  side  of  the  box  and  it 
runs  over  to  a  small  wheel  that  turns  the  little  table-top 
around  about  a  hundred  times  a  minute.  Then  he  pulls  a 
wedge  out  of  the  side  of  the  dog-house  and  the  weight  of  the 
dogs  makes  the  floor  move  under  their  feet  and  the  dogs  just 
keep  a  runnin'  their  legs  so's  they  won't  fall  down.  An'  when 
the  table  gets  to  spinnin'  real  good.  Mr.  Neimeier  picks  up  a 
"hunk"  of  clay  about  as  big  as  a  brick  and  he  puts  it  on  the 


DARKE   COUNTY 


289 


table.  Then  he  pushes  his  fingers  into  the  center  of  the  mud 
and  the  sides  of  it  begin  to  grow  right  up  as  high  as  a  crock. 
He  puts  a  little  paddle  inside  this  hollow  place  he's  made  in 
the  mud,  and  he  makes  it  as  smooth  as  this  board  here  on  the 
fence.  He  makes  about  one  hundred  and  mebbe  more  of  'em 
in  a  day,  and  then  he  puts  them  in  a  furnace  and  bakes  them 
as  women  do  bread  in  their  ovens  in  the  yard.  When  they 
are  baked  real  hard  he  takes  them  out  one  at  a  time  and  dips 
them  in  some  red  -stuff  in  a  big  box,  and  they  come  out  all 
colored  up. 

I'll  bet  them  dogs  get  awful  tired,  for  when  he  lets  them  out 
their  tongues  lall  out  of  their  mouths.  I  heard  he  was  going 
to  get  a  horse  machine  that  will  beat  that  dog  machine  all  hol- 
low.   I  hope  he  will,  so's  to  give  the  dogs  a  rest. 

You  see  there  are  no  more  houses  on  that  vacant  lot.  but  I 
heard  that  Lawyer  Devor,  who  lives  down  in  Huntertown, 
was  going  to  build  a  frame  house  right  there  on  that  corner. 

"Huntertown." 

It  was  the  opinion  of  many  folks  in  Greenville  that  the 
"tribe"  living  in  Huntertown  didn't  amount  to  much.  But  do 
you  know,  my  dear  reader,  that  right  in  that  one  spot  of 
Greenville,  more  young  men  and  boys  responded  to  their 
country's  call  in  its  hour  of  need  than  any  other  one  spot  per- 
haps in  this  whole  country  of  ours.  Think  of  it,  will  you, 
and  then  count  them  over? 

Stewart  Buchanan,  Melvin  Shepherd,  ^^'ikoff  Marlatt,  Billy 
Marlatt,  Jerry  Tebo,  William  Stokeley,  Henry  Shamo,  George 
Perkins,  Thomas  Hamilton,  Frank  Pingrey,  Philip  Ratlift', 
Warren  Ratliff.  David  Ratliff,  Elijah  Ratliff,  Firman  Sebring, 
Lafayette  HufF,  George  Calderwood,  John  Calderwood,  Enos 
Calderwood,  Andrew  Robeson  Calderwood,  Willard  Pember, 
Daniel  Nyswonger,  William  Musser,  Isaac  Briggs.  Thomas 
McKee,  William  Miller,  Barney  Collins,  Adam  Sonday,  John 
Hutchinson,  Fred  Reinhart,  Mayberry  Johnson,  William 
I\lusselman,  James  and  Isaac  Pierce:  John  Hamilton,  Tom 
McDowell  and  Thomas  F.  Boyd.  Fourteen  of  the  above 
named  belonged  to  the  Fortieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  The 
only  men  left  behind  were  John  Wilson  and  Wallace  Shep- 
herd, Thomas  Stokeley  and  his  father  (too  old  for  war),  John 
Kahle,  "Dutch"  Thomas,  Linus  Purdy.  David  Welch,  Bob 
Brown  and  George  Tebo. 
(19) 


290  DARKE   COUNTY 

John  Schiiaiise  would  have  been  credited  to  the  list  of  vol- 
unteers above  named,  but  he  enlisted  in  an  Iowa  regiment, 
and  at  that  time  was  a  resident  of  the  Hawkeye  state.  I  doubt 
if  any  other  town  can  show  the  same  percentage  of  enlistment 
as  that  one  little  spot  in  Darke  county. 

:le  ;}:  :lf  J}:  *  *  * 

Then  why  shouldn't  I  always  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  I 
was  a  member  of  the  "tribe  of  Huntertown."  The  founder  of 
the  "town"  himself  (George  Hunter)  had  been  a  soldier  in 
Great  Britain.  So  as  a  military  center  "Huntertown"  is  not  to 
be  "sneezed"  at. 

Studabaker  School  House. 

No  one  has  dared  to  tear  down  that  old  school  house — a 
brick  one  at  that,  and  the  first  brick  school  house  in  Darke 
county.  Where  are  the  boys  and  girls  who  once  learned  to 
"figger"  there  as  far  and  no  farther  than  the  "Rule  of  three?" 
Webster's  Elementary  Speller,  with  its  "in-com-pre-hen-si- 
bil-i-ty"  words — to  all  but  the  older  schloars — was  the  great- 
est book  of  its  day  in  any  school.  The  spelling  matches  of 
fifty  years  ago  are  as  potential  in  my  mind  now  as  they  were 
then.  The  recollection  of  those  days  has  found  a  tender  spot 
in  the  heart  of  George  Studabaker  and  he  has  kept  them  in- 
tact. Money  can  not  buy  them  nor  modern  ideas  efface  their 
historic  caste  as  long  as  he  lives.  I  hope  he  will  make  a  hun- 
dred years  beg  his  pardon  as  they  pass  by. 

The  Old  "Fordin'." 

There  isnt'  one  of  the  "old  boys"  of  Greenville  but  will  re-- 
gret  to  learn  that  the  old  sycamore  tree  that  stood  on  the 
north  side  of  Greenville  creek  at  the  "fordin' "  was  blown 
down  by  a  storm  this  week,  and  floated  down  creek.  Under 
the  shade  of  that  old  tree  the  "kids"  of  the  town  used  to  go  in 
swimming,  piling  their  "duds"  on  the  beautiful  lawn  on  the 
bank.  In  that  old  swimmin'  hole  about  all  the  boys  in  Green- 
ville in  the  days  of  forty  years  ago.  learned  to  swim.  The 
bottom  of  the  creek  was  always  delightful  at  this  point,  and 
the  depth  of  water  varied  from  "knee  deep  to  neck,"  just  the 
sort  of  place  for  amateur  swimmers.  Fifty  yards  down  the 
stream  is  where  they  would  go  for  "crawdads,"  after  swim- 
ming was  over  for  the  day;  and  just  above  the  "swimmin' 
hole"  was  a  small  district  that  was  literally  lined  with  stone 
toters,  sucker  fish  and  leeches;  and  it  was  always  the  "un- 


DARKE   COUNTY  291 

tutored"  lad  who  ventured  into  that  district ;  and  when  he  did 
he  invariably  came  out  calling  for  help.  "Come  take  these 
leeches  off'n  me  quick !"  After  two  or  three  years'  sojourn  in 
this  place,  the  boys  who  had  become  expert  swimmers — that 
is,  could  "float  with  both  feet  off  the  bottom,"  why  they  would 
move  on  up  creek  a  few  rods  further,  to  the  Morningstar  and 
Seitz  swimmin'  holes,  and  their  places  at  the  old  fordin'  would 
be  taken  by  the  ever-coming  and  anxious  new  kids.  Several 
limbs  of  the  old  tree  hung  out  over  the  deep  water,  and  the 
just-learning-to-swim  boy  would  grab  a  limb  and  use  it  as 
a  derrick  to  lift  him  up  and  down  in  the  deep  water.  It  was  a 
brave  lad  who  could  make  his  own  way  out  to  these  limbs 
from  the  shallow  water  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek.  My, 
how  many  changes  have  taken  place  around  that  old  swim- 
min' hole ;  in  fact  all  along  the  old  creek's  banks  in  that 
neighborhood!  The  sites  of  the  old  ice  house,  slaughter- 
house, tannery,  etc.,  have  given  way  to  cozy  homes  and  beau- 
tiful streets. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

DARKE  COUNTY  DURING  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

We  have  noted  the  mixed  character  of  Darke  county's 
early  population,  its  early  isolation,  and  backward  develop- 
ment. By  1860,  however,  great  improvements  had  been  made, 
railway  and  telegraphic  communications  had  been  established 
with  the  older  communities  and  the  weekly  "Democrat"  and 
"Journal"  kept  the  people  well  informed  on  the  happenings 
of  the  outside  world  as  well  as  on  those  of  a  local  nature. 
The  firing  on  Fort  Sumpter,  on  April  12,  1861,  and  Lincoln's 
first  call  for  volunteer  troops  on  April  15,  1861,  were  soon 
heralded  in  Greenville.  Had  the  inhabitants  been  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  national  patriotism,  and  would  they  respond 
to  the  President's  appeal?"  An  extract  from  Beer's  "His- 
tory of  Darke  County''  answers  these  questions  and  gives 
a  graphic  description  of  the  enthusiasm  of  the  times.  "The 
response  from  Darke  county  was  prompt,  determined  and 
practical.  Union  meetings  were  held  at  Greenville,  Union 
and  Hill  Grove.  Speeches,  fervent  and  patriotic,  were  de- 
livered, and  within  a  few  days  three  full  companies  of  volun- 
teers had  been  raised.  On  Wednesday  afternoon  of  April 
24,  three  companies  had  left  the  county — two  from  Green- 
ville, led  by  Capts.  Frizell  and  Newkirk,  and  one  from  Union, 
under  Capt.  Cranor,  aggregating  full  three  hundred  men. 
These  troops  were  mustered  into  the  United  States  service 
as  Companies  C,  I  and  K  of  the  Eleventh  Ohio,  and  on  April 
29,  went  into  Camp  Denison,  where  they  rapidly  learned  the 
discomforts  and  expedients  of  military  life,  shouting  and 
cheering  as  they  marked  the  arrival  of  fresh  bodies  of  im- 
provised troops.  At  home,  the  people  manifested  their  zeal 
by  generous  contributions  for  the  support  of  soldiers'  fami- 
lies. One  hundred  and  sixty  citizens  of  Darke  are  named 
in  the  Greenville  Journal  of  May  8,  for  a  sum  subscribed  to 
that  end  of  $2,500.  The  mothers,  daughters  and  sisters  sent 
to  camp  boxes  of  provisions ;  the  men  freely  contributed  of 
their  means  to  aid  the  loyal  cause.  Bull  Run  was  fought,  and 
soon  three  months  had  gone  by  and  the  volunteers  return- 
ing to  Greenville  were  discharged  only  to  re-enter  the  ser- 
vice for  a  longer  term.     Two  companies  were  soon  ready  for 


294  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  field.  As  the  magnitude  of  the  struggle  developed,  the 
people  of  Darke  county  became  yet  more  resolute  in  their  de- 
sire to  assist  in  restoring  the  union  of  the  States.  ^Meetings 
continued  to  be  held ;  addresses  full  of  fervid  appeals  were  ut- 
tered, and  a  continuous  stream  of  men  gathered  into  camps, 
were  organized  and  moved  southward.  The  enlistments  in 
the  fall  of  1861  were  for  three  years.  The  Fortieth  Regiment 
contained  about  two  hundred  men  from  Darke.  In  the  Thir- 
ty-fourth was  a  company  of  eighty-four  men  who  were  sent 
with  their  regiment  to  \\'estern  \'irginia.  In  the  Forty- 
fourth,  a  company  went  out  under  Capt.  J.  AI.  Xewkirk.  On 
October  28,  the  ladies  of  Greenville  met  at  the  court  house 
and  organized  as  "The  Ladies'  Association  of  Greenville  for 
the  relief  of  the  Darke  County  Volunteers."  They  appoint- 
ed as  ofificers,  President,  Mrs.  A.  G.  Putnam ;  secretary,  Mrs. 
J.  N.  Beedle,  and  treasurer,  Mrs.  J.  L.  \\'inner,  and  formed 
a  committee  to  solicit  donations  of  money  and  clothing. 
Public  meetings  continued  to  be  held  at  various  points ;  re- 
cruiting was  stimulated,  and  on  November  6,  it  was  reported 
that  the  county  had  turned  out  200  volunteers  within  twenty 
days.  Letters  came  from  men  in  the  field  descriptive  of 
arms,  tents,  rations,  incidents  and  marches.  Novelty  excited 
close  observation,  and  there  were  reports  of  duties,  health, 
and  all  too  soon  came  back  the  news  of  death.  Heavy  tidings 
is  always  that  of  death,  and  a  sad  duty  to  the  comrade  to 
tell  it  to  the  one  watching  and  waiting  at  home.  This  was 
often  done  with  a  tact,  a  kindness,  a  language  that  honored  the 
soldier  writer,  and  tended  to  assuage  the  grief  of  the  recip- 
ient. Such  was  the  letter  penned  by  Thomas  R.  Smiley,  of 
the  Thirt3'-fourth,  from  Camp  Red  House,  West  Virginia, 
to  Mrs.  Swartz,  telling  of  her  son's  death,  by  fever,  and  clos- 
.ing  with  these  words:  "Hoping  and  praying  that  God  will 
sustain  you  in  your  grief,  I  most  respectfully  subscribe  myself 
your  friend  in  sorrow."  No  wonder  the  right  triumphed,  up- 
held by  men  of  such  Christian  and  manly  principles. 

"The  families  of  soldiers  began  in  midwinter  to  suffer,  and 
the  following  extract  from  the  letter  of  a  wife  to  her  hus- 
band, a  volunteer  from  Darke  county,  will  show  a  trial  among 
others  borne  by  the  soldier  in  the  sense  of  helplessness  to 
aid  his  loved  ones.  It  is  commended  to  the  perusal  of  any 
who  think  war  a  pastime.  She  wrote:  "I  have  so  far  been 
able  to  support  myself  and  our  dear  children,  with  the  help 
that  the  relief  committee  gave  me  :  hut  I  am  now  unable  to 


DARKE   COUNTY  295 

work,  and  the  committee  has  ceased  to  reliexe  me.  I  am 
warned  that  I  will  have  to  leave  the  comfortable  home  which 
you  left  us  in,  and  I  will  have  to  scatter  the  children.  Where 
will  I  go  and  what  will  become  of  me?  Don't  leave  without 
permission,  as  it  would  only  be  giving  your  life  for  mine.  I 
will  trust  to  God  and  live  in  hope,  although  things  look  very 
discouraging.  Do  the  best  you  can,  and  send  money  as  soon 
as  possible."  During  the  earlier  part  of  the  war,  letters  told 
of  minor  matters,  but  later  accounts  were  brief  and  freighted 
heavily  with  tidings  of  battles,  wounds  and  deaths. 

"In  July,  1862,  the  clouds  of  war  hung  heavy  with  disaster. 
East  and  West,  terrible  battles  were  fought,  and  the  South- 
erners, with  a  desperate,  honorable  courage,  forced  their  way 
into  Alaryland  and  Kentucky.  New  troops  volunteered  by 
thousands,  and  joined  the  veterans  to  roll  back  the  tide  of  in- 
vasion. At  the  time,  John  L.  A\'inner  was  Chairman  of  the 
Military  Committee  of  Darke  county,  whose  proportion  of 
the  call  for  40,000  men  from  the  State  was  350  men  for  three 
years.  The  following  shows  by  townships  the  number  of 
electors,  volunteers  and  those  to  raise : 

Electors.    Volunteers.  To  raise. 

Greenville     925  175  10 

German     265  27  27 

Washington     255  38  13 

Harrison   370  40  34 

Butler    310  21  43 

Neave    200  17  23 

Richland     193  12  27 

Wayne    325  65 

Twin    350  32  38 

Adams    320  37  27 

Brown    215  27  16 

Jackson    260  31  21 

Monroe   175  24  11 

York    120  9  15 

Van  Buren 200  32  8 

Allen    95  10  9 

Mississinewa    130  15  11 

Franklin    170  29  5 

Patterson    125  32 

Wabash     110  12  10 

Total 5,113  6S5  348 


296  DARKE   COUNTY 

This  table,  while  creditable  to  all.  is  especially  so  to  Wayne 
and  Patterson.  Mass  meetings  were  called,  volunteers  urged  to 
come  forward,  bounties  were  offered,  and  responding  to  call 
by  Gov.  Tod,  the  militia  was  ordered  enrolled.  Along  in 
August,  recruiting  proceeded  rapidly ;  young  and  middle-aged 
flocked  to  the  camps,  and  soon  four  companies  (three  of  the 
94th  and  one  of  the  110th)  were  off  to  the  camp  at  Piqua.  On 
September  3.  1862,  eight  townships  had  exceeded  their  quota. 
There  were  4,903  men  enrolled  and  201  to  be  raised  by  draft. 
Successive  calls  found  hearty  responses.  In  May.  1864,  three 
townships  had  filled  their  quotas,  and  the  draft  called  for  185 
men. 

"The  services  of  the  military  committee  of  Darke  deserving 
of  honorable  record  is  hereby  acknowledged  by  a  list  as  it 
was  at  the  close  of  1863 :  Daniel  R.  Davis,  Capt.  Charles  Cal- 
kins, Capt.  B.  B.  Allen  and  W.  M.  Wilson,  secretary. 

How  well  Darke  county  stood  at  the  close  of  the  war  may 
be  learned  from  the  following  statistics :  The  quota  of  the 
county  in  December,  1864,  was  455.  Of  these,  384  volun- 
teered, 24  were  drafted,  and  408  furnished.  Over  1.500  vol- 
unteers were  out  from  the  county.  It  is  a  pleasing  duty  to 
briefly  place  upon  the  pages  of  home  history  a  record  of 
those  regiments  wherein  Darke  county  men  rendered  service 
to  their  country.  Brief  though  it  be.  it  is  a  worthy  meed  of 
honor." 

The  demonstrations  attending  the  de])arture  and  return 
of  the  troops  during  the  war  can  scarcely  be  imagined  by 
one  who  has  never  witnessed  such  a  scene.  On  the  day  of 
departure  the  soldiers  from  various  parts  of  the  county  would 
assemble  in  the  public  square  around  the  old  court  house. 
Fathers,  mothers,  wives,  sweethearts  and  large  numbers  of 
children  accompanied  them  and  bid  them  "good  bye"  with 
hugs,  kisses,  tears  and  "God  bless  you."  AVhen  the  time 
for  departure  arrived  the  companies  fell  in  and  marched  south 
on  Broadway  to  Third  street  and  then  east  on  the  latter 
street  one  block  to  the  station  of  the  Dayton  &  Union  rail- 
way, on  the  southwest  corner  of  Third  and  Walnut  streets, 
where  they  embarked  for  Columbus,  or  the  place  of  encamp- 
ment. 

The  history  of  the  various  regiments  which  were  com- 
posed partly  of  companies  from  Darke  county  would  make 
intensely  interesting  reading,  but.  on  account  of  the  volume 
of  such  material  and  the  limited  space  at  the  disposal  of  the 


DARKE   COUNTY 


297 


writer  the  reader  must  be  content  with  a  brief  s'.:etch  of  each 
regiment. 

Eleventh    Ohio    Volunteer    Infantry. 

Three  companies  of  this  regiment  were  recruited  in  Darke 
county,  in  response  to  the  first  call  in  April,  1861,  to  serve 
three  months.  Company  C  was  first  commanded  by  Capt. 
J.  W.  Frizell,  who  was  succeeded  by  R.  A.  Knox,  with  C.  Cal- 
kins and  Thos.  McDowell  as  lieutenants.  Company  K  was 
organized  by  M.  Newkirk  with  H.  C.  Angel  and  Wesley  Gor- 
such  as  lieutenants.  They  joined  the  regiment  at  Camp 
Jackson  (now  Goodale  Park),  Columbus,  O.  Co.  I  was  or- 
ganized at  Union  City,  Ohio,  under  Captain  Jonathan  Cranor. 
Before  seeing  service  the  regiment  was  re-organized  on  June 
20th,  mustered  in  for  three  years,  and  sent  in  July  on  a 
scout  up  the  Kanawha  during  which  the  Colonel  of  the  regi- 
ment was  captured.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Frizell,  of  Greenville, 
then  took  charge  of  the  regiment  and  soon  set  out  for  Charles- 
Ion.  On  the  advance  they  drove  the  enemy  from  their 
works  at  Tyler  Mound,  and  with  much  difficulty  pursued 
them  to  Gauley  Bridge.  They  participated  in  two  skirmishes, 
near  New  River  in  August,  during  which  one  man  was  killed 
and  several  wounded.  Winter  quarters  were  established  at 
Point  Pleasant  early  in  December  and  here  the  troops  remained 
until  April  16,  1862,  when  an  advance  was  made  to  Gauley 
Bridge.  In  August  the  Eleventh  was  moved  to  Parkers- 
burg,  and  took  rail  for  ^^^ashingto^,  D,  C.  going  into  camp 
near  Alexandria.  From  this  point  they  proceeded  beyond 
Fairfax  Station  in  an  attempt  to  stay  the  Confederate  ad- 
vance from  Manassas,  but  were  compelled  to  fall  back  within 
the  defenses  at  Washington.  In  September  the  Eleventh 
advanced  into  Maryland,  where  they  successfully  engaged 
the  enemy  near  Frederick  City,  Sharpsburg  and  Antietam 
Creek.  On  October  8,  they  began  a  rough  march  to  Hagers- 
town,  Md.,  from  which  point  they  were  transported  to  Clarks- 
burg. Here  they  suffered  from  exposure  in  November  on 
account  of  shortage  in  tents,  blankets  and  clothing.  Later 
they  were  sent  to  an  outpost  in  the  Kanawha  valley  where 
they  erected  good  winter  quarters  and  recovered  strength 
for  the  coming  campaign.  Part  of  the  regiment  remained 
stationed  at  this  post  while  another  part  guarded  the  Gauley 
fords.  In  January,  1863,  the  command  under  Gen.  Cook  was 
transferred  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  via  the  Ohio  and  Cumberland 


298  DARKE   COUNTY 

rivers.  From  this  point  tiiey  proceeded  to  Carthage,  forti- 
fied their  position,  endeavored  to  counteract  the  advance  of 
the  Confederates  in  that  region.  On  May  27,  they  marched 
to  Murfreesboro,  and  were  placed  in  the  Third  Division, 
Fourteenth  Army  Corps,  under  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas. 
From  this  time  the  regiment  bore  an  honorable  part  of  the 
following  engagements:  Hoover's  Gap,  Tenn.,  June  25,  1863; 
Tullahoma,  Tenn.,  July  1,  1863;  Chickamauga,  Ga.,  Sept.  19-20, 
1863 ;  Lookout  Mountain,  Tenn.,  Nov.  24,  1863 ;  Mission 
Ridge,  Tenn..  Nov.  25.  1863;  Ringgold.  Ga.,  Nov.  27,  1863; 
Buzzard  Roost,  Ga.,  Feb.  25,  1864;  Resaca,  Ga.,  May  16,  1864. 
The  original  members  of  this  regiment  (except  veterans) 
were  mustered  out  in  June,  1864,  by  reason  of  expiration  of 
term  of  service.  The  veterans  and  recruits  consolidated  into 
a  battalion  and  remained  in  service  until  June  11.  1865. 

The   Thirty-Fourth   Regiment. 

Company  K  composed  of  eighty-four  men  was  enlisted  by 
Capt.  Thos.  R.  Smiley  from  Darke  county,  and  regularly 
mustered  into  service  at  Camp  Dennison,  Sept.  10,  1861,  for 
a  term  of  three  years.  The  regiment  was  ordered  into  West- 
ern Virginia,  and  posted  at  Gauley  Bridge.  It  was  engaged 
in  the  following  battles :  Princeton,  Fayetteville,  Cotton 
Hill,  Charlestown.  Buffalo,  Wytheville,  Averill's  Raid,  Pan- 
ther Gap.  Lexington  and  Beverl}'  in  West  Virginia ;  ^Manassas 
Gap,  Cloyd's  Mountain.  Clove  IMountain,  Piedmont,  Buchanan, 
Otter  Creek,  Lynchburg,  Liberty.  Salem.  Snicker's  Gap, 
Winchester,  Kernstown.  Summit  Point,  Halltown,  Berry- 
ville,  Martinsburg,  Opequan,  Fisher's  Hill,  Strasburg  and 
Cedar  Creek  in  A^irginia  and  Monocacy  Gap,  Md. 

The  Fortieth  Ohio   Infantry. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp  Chase  in  the  fall  of 
1861  to  serve  three  years.  All  of  Companies  E  and  G,  the 
greater  portion  of  Company  I,  and  parts  of  F  and  K  of  this 
organization  were  recruited  from  Darke  county.  The  fol- 
lowing men  from  this  county  served  as  officers  in  this  regi- 
ment: 

Jonathan  Cranor,  colonel ;  resigned. 

James  B.  Creviston,  adjutant;  resigned. 

Harrison  E.  McClure,  adjutant;  mustered  out. 

William  H.  Matchett,  assistant  surgeon ;  mustered  out. 


DARKE   COUNTY  299 

John  D.  Gennett,  captain  of  Company  E;  resigned. 

Charles  G.  Alatchett,  captain  of  Company  G;  mustered  out. 

Andrew  R.  Calderwood,  Captain  of  Company  I ;  resigned. 

Wm.  C.  Osgood,  first  lieutenant  of  Company  E,  promoted 
to  captain;  resigned. 

James  Allen,  promoted  to  captain  from  sergeant ;  mustered 
out. 

Clement  Snodgrass,  promoted  to  captain  from  sergeant ; 
killed  at  Peach  Tree  Creek,  July  21,  1864. 

Benjamin  F.  Snodgrass,  promoted  to  first  lieutenant  from 
sergeant :  killed  at  Chickamauga.  September  20,  1864. 

Cyrenius  Van  ^^later,  first  lieutenant  of  Company  G  ;  killed 
at   Chickamauga. 

John  T.  Ward,  second  lieutenant  of  Company  E ;  resigned. 

William  Bonner,  second  lieutenant  of  Company  G ;  re- 
signed. 

J.  W.  Smth,  second  lieutenant  of  Company  I,  promoted  to 
first  lieutenant,  then  to  Captain ;  mustered  out. 

John  P.  Frederick,  first  lieutenant  of  Company  F ;  re- 
signed. 

John  M.  Wasson,  promoted  to  second  lieutenant ;  mustered 
out. 

David  Krouse,  second  lieutenant  of  Company  F.  promoted 
to  first  lieutenant ;  mustered  out. 

Isaac  N.  Edwards,  sergeant,  promoted  to  lieutenant :  mus- 
tered out. 

James  A  Fisher,  sergeant,  promoted  to  lieutenant ;  mustered 
out. 

This  regiment  left  Camp  Chase  for  Kentucky  December 
17,  1861.  During  the  war  it  bore  an  honorable  part  in  the 
following  conflicts :  Middle  Creek,  Ky.,  Pound  Gap,  Ky., 
Franklin  River,  Tenn.,  Tullahoma  Campaign,  Tenn.,  Chick- 
amauga, Ga.,  Lookout  Mountain,  Tenn.,  Mission  Ridge, 
Tenn.,  Ringgold,  Ga.,  Resaca,  Ga.,  Dallas,  Ga.,  Kenesaw 
Mountain,  Ga.,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Ga.,  siege  of  Atlanta,  Ga., 
Jonesboro,  Ga.,  Lovejoy  Station,  Ga.,  and  Franklin,  Tenn. 

The  Forty-Fourth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 

Capt.  John  M.  Newkirk  who  had  organized  Companv  K  of 
the  Eleventh  Regiment  for  three  months'  service,  as  before 
noted,  left  that  organization  when  it  was  reorganized  and  later 
became   Captain   of   Company   G  of  the   Forty-Fourth    Regi- 


300  DARKE   COUNTY 

ment.  which  was  mustered  into  service  at  Camp  Clark, 
Springfield,  Ohio,  in  October,  1861,  to  serve  three  years.  It 
soon  began  service  in  West  Virginia,  where  winter  quarters 
were  established.  The  principal  engagements  in  which  this 
regiment  took  part  were  Lewisbnrg,  W.  Va.,  May  23,  1862, 
and  Button's  Hill,  Ky.,  March  30,  1863. 

In  January,  1864,  its  designation  was  changed  to  the  Eighth 
Regiment  Ohio  Cavalry. 

Eighth  Ohio  Volunteer  Cavalry. 

As  above  mentioned,  this  organization  was  the  successor 
of  the  44th  Regiment  O.  V.  I.,  from  which  it  was  formed  in 
January,  1864.  This  regiment  was  retained  in  service  until 
Julv  30,  1865.  During  its  short  term  of  existence  it  took  part 
in  the  following  engagements ;  Covington,  Otter  Creek, 
Lynchburg,  Liberty,  Winchester,  Fisher's  Hill,  North  Shen- 
andoah and  Cedar  Creek,  Virginia ;  ]\Iartinsburg  and  Beverly, 
W.  Va.     It  was  mustered  out  at  Clarksburg,  W.  Va. 

Sixty-Ninth   Ohio    Volunteer   Infantry. 

Two  companies  of  this  regiment  were  recruited  in  Darke 
county.  Company  D  under  Capt.  Eli  Hickcox,  and  Company  E 
under  Capt.  David  Putnam.  Jas.  Devor  and  Jas.  Wharry  also 
served  as  Captain  of  Company  D  during  the  course  of  the 
war :  Jas.  Tip  King  and  Wm.  S.  Mead  as  first  lieutenants ; 
J.  \\'.  Shively  and  Wm.  J.  Faulkner  as  second  lieutenants. 
Geo.  W.  Moore  and  Nelson  T.  Chenoweth  served  as  Captains, 
John  M.  Boatman,  Jacob  J.  Rarick  and  Jacob  Leas  as  first 
lieutenants  in  Company  E.  Captain  Hickcox  was  promoted 
to  Major.  L.  E.  Chenoweth  was  promoted  from  private  in 
Company  E  to  quartermaster  sergeant.  J.  T.  King  to  first  lieu- 
tenant ;  A.  N.  Wilson  from  private  to  Hospital  Steward.  This 
regiment  was  organized  in  the  state  of  Ohio  at  large,  from 
October,  1861,  to  April,  1862,  to  serve  three  years.  On  the 
expiration  of  its  term  of  service  the  original  members  fexcept 
veterans)  were  mustered  out,  and  the  organization  composed 
of  veterans  and  recruits,  remained  in  the  service  until  July 
17,   186.=;. 

This  organization  took  creditable  part  in  the  following  en- 
gagements :  Gallatin,  Stone  River,  Chickamauga  and  Mis- 
sion Ridge,  Tenn. ;  Resaca,  Dallas,  Pumpkin  Vine  Creek, 
Kenesaw    Mountain,    ^Tarietta.    Chattahoochie    River.    Peach 


DARKE   COUNTY  301 

Tree  Creek,  Atlanta  and  at  Jonesboro  and  Savannah.  Ga.,  on 
Sherman's  march  to  the  sea.  Their  last  engagement  was  at 
Bentonville,  N.   C. 

The   Ninety-Fourth   Ohio   Volunteers. 

This  regiment  was  organized  at  Camp  Piqua,  some  three 
miles  above  Piqua,  Ohio,  on  the  farm  originally  owned  by 
Col.  John  Johnson,  to  serve  three  years  with  Col.  Joseph  \\'. 
Frizell,  of  Greenville,  as  commander.  Three  companies  were 
enrolled  from  Darke  county  as  follows :  Company  F,  with 
Thos.  H.  ^^'orkman  as  captain,  W.  H.  Snyder,  first  lieutenant 
and  H.  A.  Tomilson,  second  lieutenant;  Company  I,  with 
Wesley  Gorsuch  as  captain,  G.  D.  Farrar,  first  lieutenant, 
Chas.  R.  Moss,  second  lieutenant ;  Company  K,  with  Chaun- 
cy  Riffle  as  captain,  Samuel  T.  Armold,  first  lieutenant,  ]\I.  G. 
Aladdox,  second  lieutenant.  Before  being  equipped  they  were 
hurried  to  Lexington,  Ky.,  late  in  August,  1862,  and  on  Au- 
gust 31,  became  engaged  at  Tate's  Ferry.  During  the  course 
of  the  war  they  engaged  creditably  in  the  following  battles : 
Perryville,  Ky. ;  Stone  River,  Tenn. ;  Tullahoma  Campaign, 
Tenn. ;  Dug  Gap,  Chickamauga,  Ga. ;  Lookout  Mountain,  Mis- 
sion Ridge,  Tenn. ;  Buzzard's  Roost,  Resaca,  Pumpkin  Vine 
Creek,  Dallas,  Kenesaw  jMountain,  Smyrna  Camp  Ground, 
Chattahoochie  River,  Peach  Tree  Creek,  Atlanta  and  Jones- 
boro,  Ga. ;   Bentonville,  N.   C. ;  and  Johnson's  Surrender. 

One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 

\\'as  organized  at  Camp  Piqua.  in  August,  1862.  and  con- 
tained two  companies  from  Darke  county,  Joseph  C.  Snod- 
grass  being  captain  of  one.  Col.  J.  W.  Keifer  was  in  com- 
mand. This  regiment  was  ordered  to  Parkersburg,  Va.,  Oc- 
tober 19th.  It  served  honorably  in  the  following  battles : 
LInion  Alills,  Winchester  Heights,  Stevenson's  Depot,  Wap- 
ping  Heights,  Brandy  Station,  Orange  Grove.  Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania  C.  H.,  New  River,  Cold  Harbor,  Petersburg, 
Ream's  Station,  Snicker's  Gap,  Charleston,  Halltowai,  Smith- 
field,  Opequan.  Fisher's  Hill,  Cedar  Creek,  Cedar  Springs, 
Petersburg,  Jetlersville,  Sailor's  Creek  and  Appomattox  in 
'N'irginia  and  Alonocacv,  Md. 


302  DARKE   COUNTY 

One  Hundred  and  Fifty-Second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry. 

This  regiment  was  recruited  largely  in  Darke  county,  eight 
companies  being  comprised  of  local  men.  Col.  David  Put- 
nam, who  had  formerly  served  as  Captain  in  the  69th  Regi- 
ment, was  the  commanding  officer,  and  John  Beers  was  Ser- 
geant-Major. This  regiment  left  Greenville  May  2,  1864,  and 
was  discharged  Sept.  1,  1864,  having  been  employed  on  the 
skirmish  line  in  Virginia,  to  guard  wagon  trains  and  relieve 
the  veteran  soldiers,  who  were  needed  at  the  front.  They 
were  not  in  any  important  engagement.  In  Hunter's  raid 
down  the  Shenandoah  valley  this  regiment  had  charge  of  a 
provision  train  of  214  wagons,  and  marched  from  Martins- 
burg  to  Lynchburg,  on  the  old  Cumberland  pike.  It  then 
marched  over  the  Blue  Ridge  mountains  to  White  Sulphur 
Springs,  where  it  had  its  main  engagement.  From  this  point 
it  marched  to  Webster,  Va.,  a  total  distance  of  about  535 
miles  entirely  on  foot.  After  this  the  regiment  went  to  Cum- 
berland, Md.,  where  it  remained  until  the  return  to  Camp 
Dennison  and  discharge. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SOME  NOTABLE  EVENTS. 

There  are  a  few  outstanding  events  in  Darke  county  his- 
tory which  should  be  known  and  cherished  by  every  patriotic 
citizen  and  kept  on  record  for  the  instruction  and  inspiration 
of  coming  generations.  Prominent  mention  has  been  made 
of  Wayne's  treaty  and  its  significance  as  a  national  afifair. 

Harrison's  Treaty. 

The  next  event  of  vital  importance  was  the  treaty  held  by 
Gen.  Wm.  H.  Harrison  and  Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  on  July  22.  1814. 
The  defeat  of  the  British  and  Indians  and  the  death  of  Te- 
cumseh  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  in  the  fall  of  1813  damp- 
ened the  ardor  of  the  hostile  tribes,  and  made  them  desirous 
of  peace  with  the  Americans.  At  their  solicitation  arrange- 
ments were  made  for  a  conference  and  council  at  Greenville, 
early  in  the  spring  of  1814.  Some  difficulty  was  experienced 
in  getting  the  tribes  together  as  in  the  former  extended 
treaty  negotiations  of  Wayne  in  1795.  The  British  still  held 
out  strong  inducements  which  it  was  hard  for  the  wavering 
savages  to  resist.  However,  it  is  said,  that  by  the  latter  part 
of  June,  1814,  some  three  or  four  thousand  Indians  were 
encamped  around  Greenville  and  its  vicinity  awaiting  the 
final  assembling  of  the  council. 

The  government  was  represented  by  Gen.  Wm.  H.  Harrison 
and  Gen.  Lewis  Cass,  then  governor  of  Michigan  territory, 
together  with  Little  Turtle,  Capt.  Pipe,  Tarhe,  Black  Hoof 
and  other  chiefs  acting  on  behalf  of  the  friendly  Delawares, 
Wyandots,  Shawnees  and  Senecas.  After  much  diplomacy 
all  differences  were  reconciled  and  on  July  22,  1814,  the  gov- 
ernment agents  named  above  gave  peace  to  the  Miamis,  Weas, 
and  Eel  River  Indians  and  to  certain  of  the  Kickapoos, 
Ottawas  and  Pottawatomies.  All  agreed  to  espouse  the 
cause  of  the  Americans  in  case  of  a  continuance  of  the  war 
then  in  progress.  The  scene  of  the  principal  negotiations 
was  a  little  grove  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Main  and  Elm 


304  DARKE   COUNTY 

Streets.  A  large  number  of  people  were  present  for  this 
early  date  and  the  occasion  was  enlivened  by  the  picturesque 
costumes  and  decorations  of  the  Indians,  who  donned  their 
head  dresses  and  painted  their  bodies  according  to  the  tradi- 
tions of  their  respective  tribes. 

Departure  of  the  Tribes. 

The  removal  of  the  Indian  tribes  from  northwestern  Ohio 
in  1832  was  an  event  of  stirring  interest  and  pathos.  To  the 
Redmen  the  final  leaving  of  old  haunts  and  the  hunting 
grounds  of  their  ancestors  is  a  sad  and  pathetic  aiTair.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  the  government  decided  that  the  welfare  of 
the  tribal  remnants  of  Ohio  as  well  as  that  of  the  pioneers 
would  be  best  conserved  by  removing  the  former  to  a  new 
and  more  congenial  home  be3-ond  the  Mississippi  the  Indians 
expressed  a  desire  to  take  a  last  and  longing  look  at  their  old 
stamping  ground.  As  this  spot  was  near  the  shortest  route 
this  request  was  granted  and  in  1832  the  Miamis  and  Potta- 
watomies  living  on  the  reserves  about  Sandusky,  started  on 
their  long  journey  to  Indian  Territor}-.  Several  of  these  peo- 
ple had  lived  at  Tecumseh's  Point  and  desired  to  see  the 
place  again.  They  arrived  here  on  a  fine  afternoon  in  May 
on  horseback  under  the  leadership  of  a  government  agent, 
togged  out  in  their  picturesque  native  garb,  the  bucks  in  their 
feathers  and  their  gaudy  attire,  and  the  squaws  with  their 
papooses  tied  on  their  backs.  Their  arrival  was  the  signal 
for  great  excitement,  especially  among  the  children,  who  had 
never  seen  it  on  this  fashion.  There  were  five  or  six  hun- 
dred in  this  motley  and  grotesque  band,  who  camped  on  the 
point,  remaining  three  or  four  days.  For  the  most  part  they 
were  orderly  and  well  behaved,  and  furnished  much  entertain- 
ment for  the  curious  populace.  It  was  especially  amusing  to 
observe  the  culinary  operations  of  the  squaws  and  one  of  the 
white  boys,  who  was  doubtless  present  when  some  of  their 
meals  were  prepared,  has  left  the  following  interesting  de- 
scription of  the  proceedings :  "The  squaw  would  go  to  a 
ham  of  beef,  laying  on  the  ground  in  the  back  end  of  the 
tent,  chase  off  the  dogs  that  were  gnawing  at  it,  cut  off  a 
slice  from  the  same  place,  take  it  to  the  fire  and  place  it  in  a 
skillet,  return  for  another,  again  chase  ofT  the  dogs,  and  so 
on  till  her  pot  was  full. 

"^^'hen   the  meal  was  cooked,  or  partially  so,  they  would 


DARKE    aiUNTY  305 

begin  to  eat,  but  without  table  or  dishes,  or  even  any  other 
ceremony  than  that  of  helping  themselves.  They  seemed 
to  be  merry,  pleasant  and  jolly,  and  respectful  to  visitors, 
but  no  white  folks  were  seen  eating  with  them. 

"During  their  stay  the  old  folks  spent  their  time  in  look- 
iiig-  about  the  country,  here  and  there  recognizing  a  familiar 
object,  dra\\ing  a  sigh  as  of  regret  and  moving  away  to  some- 
thing else.  .Some  of  them  went  to  visit  the  grave  of  Blue 
jacket  and  another  chief,  at  the  council  house  about  three 
miles  southwest  of  this  point,  but  were  disappointed  in  find- 
ing them,  as  a  party,  said  to  be  from  New  York,  many  years 
before  had  robbed  the  grave  of  the  old  chief,  and  the  plow- 
share had  passed  many  times  over  that  of  Blue  Jacket.  No 
trace  of  the  council  house,  which  was  thirty  or  forty  feet 
wide  and  seventy-five  feet  long,  now  remained.  But  the 
llash  of  a  retentive  memory  stirred  the  countenances  of  these 
old  men  as  the  stirring  events  of  their  youthful  days,  one  by 
one.  arose  and  passed  before  their  recollection.  The  young 
Indians  amused  themselves  by  sauntering  around  town, 
jumping  and  running  foot  races  with  the  whites.  These  were 
sports  they  were  accustomed  to  and  at  which  they  were  hard 
to  beat." 

The  Wayne  Treaty  Centennial   1895. 

As  the  centennial  3-ear  of  \\'ayne's  treaty  approached  pub- 
lic minded  citizens  began  to  advocate  the  proper  celebration  of 
this  notable  event.  The  daily  and  weekly  press  responded 
to  the  growing  public  sentiment  and  urged  that  fitting  cere- 
monies mark  the  passing  of  the  centenary  of  the  peace  of 
^fad  Anthony.  Meetings  were  held  and  an  executive  com- 
mittee was  appointed  consisting  of  J.  T.  Martz,  Daniel  Hun- 
ter and  A.  C.  Robeson,  all  patriotic,  capable  and  public  spir- 
ited citizens,  who  represented  three  pioneer  families,  and  had 
been  identified  with  the  history  of  Darke  county  for  many 
years.  Extensive  preparations  were  made  and  when  the  glad- 
some day  arrived,  Saturday,  August  3,  1895,  the  streets,  stores 
and  public  buildings  appeared  arrayed  in  lavish  and  gorgeous 
decorations.  The  booming  of  cannon  and  the  ringing  of 
bells  heralded  the  dawning  day.  People  began  to  arrive  from 
the  surrounding  towns  and  countrv  nt  an  earlv  hour  and  all 
the  morning  trains  were  crowded  with  curious  and  patriotic 
visitors.  The  crowd  that  assembled  was  estimated  at  about 
thirty  thousand  people.  The  feature  of  the  morning  was  an 
'  (20-) 


306  DARKE   COUNTY 

industrial  parade  worthily  representing  some  fifty  business 
firms.  This  was  followed  by  a  line  of  horsemen,  various 
lodges,  societies,  etc.  Several  bands,  including  the  noted 
military  band  of  the  Dayton  National  Soldiers"  Home,  fur- 
nished music  for  the  occasion.  A  small  band  of  Indians, 
descendants  of  some  of  the  tribes  who  participated  in  the 
treaty,  were  present  and  attracted  much  attention.  The 
afternoon  program  was  rendered  at  the  fair  ground  where 
Gov.  Wm.  McKinley,  Hon.  Samuel  Hunt  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
Judge  Gilniore  of  Columbus,  and  Hon.  Samuel  H.  Doyle  of 
Indiana,  made  notable  addresses.  McKinley  had  made  a 
strong  and  convincing  address  on  the  18th  of  September, 
1891,  at  iMorningstar's  Park  during  his  gubernatorial  cam- 
paign, and  his  presence  at  the  Wayne  celebration  was  greatly 
appreciated.  Among  his  pregnant  utterances  were :  "The  cen- 
tennial anniversary  we  meet  to  celebrate  is  of  far  more  than 
local  or  mere  state  interest.  If  we  may  judge  events  by  their 
subsequent  results,  we  can  heartily  agree  with  the  historians 
that  the  signing  of  the  peace  at  Greenville  on  August  3,  1795, 
was  the  most  important  event  necessary  to  permanent  set- 
tlement and  occupation  in  the  existence  of  the  whole  north- 
west territory.  Indeed,  its  good  effects  far  outstretched  even 
the  boundaries  of  that  great  domain.  *  *  *  To  me  one 
of  the  greatest  benefits  of  the  treaty  of  Greenville  has  seemed 
that  it  opened  wide  the  gateway  of  opportunity'  to  the  free 
and  easy  settlement  of  the  great  west.     *     *     * 

"Greenville  may  justly  congratulate  herself  that  she  is  the 
site  where  the  treaty  was  signed,  that  her  name  and  fame 
are  forever  linked  with  its  history.  Let  us  keep  alive  those 
precious  memories  of  the  past  and  instill  into  the  minds  of 
the  young  the  lessons  of  the  stirring  patriotism  and  devotion 
to  duty  of  the  men  who  were  the  first  to  establish  here 
the  authority  of  the  Republic  and  founded  on  eternal  prin- 
ciples its  free  and  notable  institutions.  The  centuries  may 
come,  the  centuries  may  go.  but  their  fame  will  survive  forever 
on  this  historic  ground.     *     *     * 

"It  is  a  great  thing  to  make  history.  The  men  who  par- 
ticipated in  the  Indian  wars  won  victories  for  civilization  and 
mankind.  And  these  victories  all  of  us  are  enjoying  today. 
Nothing,  therefore,  could  be  more  appropriate  than  that  this 
great  section  of  the  country,  which  a  centurv  ago  was  the 
theater  of  war.  should  pause  to  celebrate  the  stirring  events 


DARKE   COUNTY  307 

of  those  times  and  the  peace  which  followed,  and  do  honor 
to  the  brave  men  who  participated  in  them. 

"It  is  a  rich  inheritance  to  any  community  to  have  in  its 
keeping  historic  ground.  As  we  grow  older  in  statehood,  in- 
terest in  these  historical  events  increases,  and  their  frequent 
celebration  is  calculated  to  promote  patriotism  and  a  spirit 
of  devoted  loyalty  to  country.     *     *     * 

"We  cannot  have  too  many  of  these  celebrations  with  their 
impressive  lessons  of  patriotism  and  sacrifice.  Let  us  teach 
our  children  to  revere  the  past,  for  by  its  examples  and  les- 
sons alone  can  we  wisely  prepare  them  for  a  better  and  nobler 
future.  The  city  of  GreenvUle,  the  people  of  Ohio,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  country,  should  see  to  it  that  at  no  distant  day 
a  great  monument  shall  be  erected  to  celebrate  this  great 
event." 

In  concluding  his  long  and  masterful  review  of  the  events 
leading  up  to  the  great  treaty  Judge  Hunt  said :  "The  treaty 
of  Greenville,  following  the  spirit  of  the  imperishable  prin- 
ciples of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  extended  the  hand  of  friend- 
ship toward  the  Indian,  respected  his  liberty,  paid  full  com- 
pensation for  his  lands  and  protected  his  property.  It  estab- 
lished a  code  of  morals  for  a  free  people.  When  some  future 
Bancroft  shall  write  the  history  of  this  people,  he  will  speak 
of  the  great  Ordinance  as  the  first  attempt  in  the  northwestern 
states  and  then  of  the  treat_y  here  proclaimed,  which  sup- 
plants the  harsher  tones  of  military  strife  with  the  softer 
syllables  of  charity  and  love.  If,  too,  the  victories  of  peace 
are  not  less  renowned  than  those  of  war,  then  the  day  will 
surely  come  when  a  grateful  people,  revering  their  traditions, 
and  conscious  of  the  maxims  imperial  of  their  glory,  will  erect 
on  this  historic  ground  a  majestic  monument,  having  an  out- 
stretched hand  rather  than  a  fixed  bayonet,  and  with  the 
simple  yet  immortaMnscription,  "The  Treaty  of  Greenville." 

Judge  Gilmore  said  among  other  things  in  his  very  inter- 
esting speech:  "The  Treaty  of  Greenville  became  a  prece- 
dent, and  the  principles  it  established  were  those,  substan- 
tially, that  were  subsequently  applied  in  extinguishing  the 
Indian  title  to  the  residue  of  the  great  Northwest  Territory, 
which  is  now  sufficient  in  itself  to  constitute  an  empire  in 
population,  and  in  all  things  else  that  constitute  goodness  and 
greatness  in  government ;  lying  at  the  bottom  of  which  are 
the  lasting  effects  of  the  Treaty  of  Greenville." 


308  DARKE   COUNTY 

Washington's  Centenary. 

Another  interesting  and  stirring  event  took  place  at  the 
county  seat  early  in  1832,  the  memory  of  which  would,  no 
doubt,  have  been  consigned  to  oblivion  but  for  the  public 
spirit  and  facile  pen  of  D.  K.  Swisher,  who  wrote  the  follow- 
ing readable  account  of  the  occasion  for  the  June  12,  1880, 
issue  of  the  Greenville  "Courier  (for  Mr.  Swisher's  biography, 
see  Chapter  XXII  "Bench  and  Bar") :  "At  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1832,  great  preparations  were  made  all  over  the  United 
States  for  the  proper  observance  of  the  100th  anniversary 
of  the  birth  of  Gen.  George  Washington,  which  occurred  on 
the  22d  day  of  February,  of  that  year.  The  day  was  gener- 
ally observed  by  military  demonstrations,  orations  and  pro- 
cessions. The  roar  of  cannon  on  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic 
was  heard  and  imitated  by  the  contiguous  interior  and  south- 
western towns,  till  the  whole  populated  union  reverberated 
witli  the  sound.  The  day  was  observed  by  the  citizens  of 
Darke  county,  hundreds  of  whom  assembled  at  Greenville. 
The  day  was  pleasant  for  the  season  of  the  year,  and  the  ex- 
ercises were  chiefly  outdoor.  A  few'  months  previous  to 
this  a  small  brass  cannon,  about  a  four  pounder,  had  been 
found  by  some  boys  at  Fort  Recovery,  by  the  name  of  Mc- 
Dowell. They  had  been  digging  along  the  margin  of  the 
Wabash  river,  and  fortunatel}-  struck  upon  it.  The  gun  had 
lain  there  since  the  battle  and  defeat  of  St.  Clair  at  that  place, 
had  sunk  into  the  mud  and  became  concealed  so  that  it  was 
not  found  by  the  soldiers,  who  afterward  went  there  and 
brought  away  the  property  left  by  him,  which  the  Indians 
had  not  carried  oflf  or  destroyed. 

This  little  cannon,  which  was  about  5j^  feet  long,  6  inches 
in  diameter  at  the  muzzle,  and  ten  at  the  breech,  with  4  inch 
arms,  about  14  inches  long,  and  a  knob  on  the  breech,  weighed 
about  400  pounds.  It  seemed  not  to  be  damaged  in  the  least 
by  corroding,  and  with  little  rubbing  became  smooth  and 
bright. 

The  finders  of  it  hauled  it  to  Greenville  and  offered  it  for 
sale.  But  as  money  was  very  scarce  here  at  that  time,  they 
were  unable  to  sell  it  for  cash,  but  Jacob  Rush,  a  farmer  just 
at  the  south  of  town,  owner  of  the  farm  now  owned  and  oc- 
cupied by  his  son,  Isaac  Rush,  hearing  of  the  matter,  offered 
to  give  them  a  yoke  of  oxen  he  then  had,  valued  at  $60,  for 
the  cannon,  which  they  accepted,  and  ATr.  Rush  became  the 


DARKE   COUNTY  309 

owner  of  the  gun.  He  afterward  sold  it  to  the  citizens  of 
Greenville  for  the  sum  of  $60,  the  money  to  be  raised  by  sub- 
scription. But  when  the  effort  was  made  to  collect  the 
money  in  that  way  it  was  found  that  but  few  were  willing 
to  subscribe  anything.  Frank  L.  Hamilton  having  been 
the  chief  contractor  with  Air.  Rush  for  the  gun,  and  not  being 
able  to  raise  the  money  otherwise,  sold  the  gun  to  some  citi- 
zens of  Cincinnati  for  the  sum  of  $100,  as  it  was  understood. 
Thus  for  the  want  oi  a  little  patriotism  and  money  in  our 
people,  they  lost  a  very  interesting  relic.  It  seems  to  have 
been  the  historj'  of  this  little  gun,  that  it  was  founded  in 
one  of  the  great  establishments  of  Great  Britain,  sent  over  to 
this  country  to  knock  the  liberty  out  of  the  people,  but  was 
captured  at  Yorktown,  and  held  by  the  captors,  sent  west  by 
the  government  of  the  United  States  to  defend  her  people 
against  savage  encroachments,  but  lost  as  before  stated.  And 
though  it  was  a  very  pretty  piece  of  ordnance,  its  misfor- 
tunes were  greater  than  its  beauty.  It  is  understood  the  citi- 
zens of  Cincinnati  highlv  prized  the  little  unfortunate,  burn- 
ished it,  and  engraved  its  history  upon  it,  mounted  it  upon  a 
splendid  carriage,  and  honored  it  by  a  front  position  in  all 
her  civic  military  demonstrations. 

This  gun  formed  one  of  the  chief  attractions  of  the  cele- 
bration here.  A  four  pound  shot  had  been  found  here,  with 
which  the  gun  was  charged  on  that  day,  John  Wharry  and 
Allen  LaMotte  and  Benjamin  Devor  being  the  chief  gunners, 
but  very  bad  shots.  Four  shots  were  made  at  a  large  burr 
oak  tree  which  stood  just  upon  the  north  side  of  the  creek, 
and  was  about  three  feet  in  diameter,  at  a  distance  of  about 
150  yards.  Three  shots  missed  the  tree,  but  the  fourth  struck 
it  about  twelve  feet  from  the  ground.  The  ball  struck  on 
the  side  of  the  tree  but  entered,  and  split  the  tree  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet  up,  and  down,  to  the  roots.  It  was  amusing,  and 
constituted  one  of  the  excitements  of  the  da}',  to  see  the  men 
and  boys  run  at  each  discharge  to  hunt  up  and  bring  back 
the  ball.  Small  bushes  stood  very  thick  along  the  creek  in 
the  bottom  land  and  the  ball  could  be  easily  traced  by  the 
limbs  and  brush  it  cut  ofif.  The  ball  generally  went  about 
the  fourth  of  a  mile.  Once  it  struck  the  bank  that  a  fallen 
tree  had  turned  up,  which  was  about  three  feet  thick  and 
frozen  hard :  it  went  through  the  bank,  but  was  entirely 
spent  so  that  it  lay  just  on  the  other  side.  The  ball  hitting 
the  tree  finally,  buried  itself  so  that  it  could  not  be  obtained. 


310  DARKE   COUNTY 

Stopped  that  fun.     But  still  the  gun  was  charged  with  pow- 
der and  continued  to  be  shot  for  perhaps  100  times. 

At  that  day  Darke  county  had  no  orators,  no  man  stood  up 
to  speak  and  stir  the  patriotic  heart,  so  that  the  pleasures  of 
the  day  were  chiefly  confined  to  the  booming  of  the  cannon. 
No  procession  was  formed  or  order  observed ;  no  military  dis- 
play, not  even  the  enlivening  fife  nor  the  rattling  drum  was 
heard;  no  song  to  arouse  the  slumbering  echoes,  or  stir  and 
quicken  the  fagging  memory ;  nor  flags,  nor  war  tattered 
banners;  nor  indeed  were  these  things  necessary.  The  tale 
of  the  wondrous  chief,  his  great  struggle  with  his  little  strag- 
gling army  of  heroes  for  the  national  independence,  against 
the  awful  power  of  the  most  warlike  and  potent  nations  on 
earth,  was  not  forgotten,  but  with  each  boom  of  the  cannon 
fresh  memories  were  enkindled  and  the  heart  swelled  to  full- 
ness. At  that  day  no  disturbing  element  had  awakened  a 
feeling  of  sectional  jealousy,  a  spirit  of  national  pride  alike 
in  Maine  and  Louisiana  was  buoyant  in  every  heart.  No 
thought  of  a  dissolution  of  the  union,  nor  the  establishment 
of  a  plurality  of  governments,  nor  of  independence  of  one 
section  or  the  other,  but  as  members  of  one  body  all  living 
on  the  pulsations  of  the  one  great  national  heart.  Nor  had 
the  root  of  all  evil,  "the  love  of  money,"  grown  superior 
to  the  love  of  republican  government,  nor  had  labor  grown 
weary  and  dissatisfied  with  its  wages,  nor  looked  on  with 
evil  eye  upon  prosperity  and  wealth,  nor  ballot  boxes  stuft'ed, 
or  privilege  at  the  polls  violated.  All  these  are  new,  dan- 
gerous and  disturbing  elements  now,  requiring  steady  vigi- 
lance and  watchful  care.  The  pride  of  the  patriot  today  is 
not  the  pride  of  the  patriot  of  which  we  write ;  "that  all  are 
patriots,"  but  that  a  great  and  overwhelming  majority  of  the 
people  are  patriotic,  and  looking  for  the  perpetuation  of  the 
union,  and  the  maintenance  of  our  republican  institutions, 
till  the  sun  approaches  his  western  setting  on  the  last  day 
of  time.  Till  then  may  our  republican  institutions  be  pre- 
served, and  only  destroyed  by  the  general  wreck  of  nature. 

No  accident  happened,  or  other  unpleasant  circumstances 
during  the  day,  and  the  people  retired  to  their  respective 
homes,  well  pleased.  This  was  48  years  ago.  In  52  years 
from  now,  on  the  22d  day  of  February,  1932,  the  200th  anni- 
versary of  Washington's  birth  will  occur. 

Will  the  people  of  Greenville  and  Darke  county  then  cele- 
brate the  day?     Will  they  go  over  the  creek  into  the  same 


DARKE   COUNTY  311 

bottom,  and  let  the  roar  of  cannon  be  heard  from  the  place? 
Will  they  then  read  this  little  scrap  of  the  history  of  Darke 
county?  I  hope  they  will  do  all  these  things.  And  if  we 
surelv  know  they  would,  how  greatly  paid  we  should  be  for 
making  this  record. 

At  that  day  there  was  about  100  souls  living  in  Greenville 
and  about  1,000  in  the  county.  When  our  children  meet  to 
celebrate  the  day.  52  years  from  now,  they  will  not  see  any 
here  who  celebrated  the  day  48  years  ago.  They  will  not  see 
the  large  tree  used  by  us  as  a  target  (it  has  already  passed 
away),  the  fill  of  the  Dayton  &  Union  R.  R.  covers  the 
stump.  They  will  not  use  the  little  brass  cannon,  nor  the 
thick  brush  woods.  But  the  creek  will  be  there,  and  the  bot- 
tom land  will  be  there.  The  town  will  still  be  here ;  not  the 
town  of  100  souls,  but  a  city  of  30,000;  not  a  county  of  1,000 
souls,  but  a  vast  community  of  75,000.  They  will  celebrate 
the  day  greater  in  proportion  as  their  number  exceed  ours,  by 
orations,  speeches  and  songs,  and  processions  and  flags  amidst 
the  roar  of  many  cannon  and  the  enlivening  strains  of  music." 

The  Hard  Cider  Campaign  of  1840. 

No  other  man  has  thus  far  been  elected  President  of  the 
United  States,  who  had  been  so  vitally  connected  with  the 
early  history  of  western  Ohio  as  Gen.  Wm.  Henry  Harrison. 
His  memory  is  especially  dear  to  the  citizens  of  Darke  coun- 
ty as  he  bore  a  prominent  part  in  the  campaign  of  Wayne 
and  the  Treaty  of  1795  as  a  young  man,  led  the  forces  which 
gave  the  final  blow  to  the  redskins  in  northwestern  Ohio  and 
Indiana  during  the  second  British  war,  and  negotiated  the 
treaty  here  in  1814  as  before  noted.  No  wonder  that  the 
announcement  of  his  candidacy  for  the  presidency  in  1840 
was  received  with  such  an  outbreak  of  enthusiasm  in  Ohio 
and  Indiana  as  will  probably  never  be  accorded  another  as- 
pirant for  this  exalted  position  in  this  locality.  The  senti- 
ment of  the  people  was  expressed  by  the  construction  of  log 
cabins,  typifying  the  hardships  of  pioneer  life,  and  large 
canoes  suggesting  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  The  shibboleth 
of  the  hour  among  the  enthused  admirers  of  the  heroic  Whig 
was  "Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too."  A  strong  appeal  was  made 
to  the  patriotic  feelings  of  the  general  populace  and  with 
telling  effect,  as  shown  by  the  result  of  the  election.  While 
campaigning  in   western   Ohio  Harrison  was  enthusiastically 


312  DARKE   COUNTY 

received,  and  it  is  pleasant  tu  note  that  he  did  not  overlook 
the  site  of  old  Fort  Greenville  on  this  occasion.  He  had 
come  by  boat  from  Cairo,  111.,  and  had  made  speeches  at 
Louisville,  Ky.,  Newport,  Ky.,  and  at  Cincinnati.  From  this 
point  he  traveled  overland  through  Hamilton,  where  he  also 
spoke,  and  then  came  to  Greenville.  The  22d  o:  July.  1840, 
being  the  twenty-sixth  anniversary  of  his  celebrated  treaty 
was  happily  selected  as  the  time  of  his  appearing.  The  unique 
and  spectacular  features  connected  with  this  event  have  been 
aptly  described  by  at  least  two  writers,  and  we  take  pleasure 
in  quoting  again  from  the  pen  of  D.  K.  Swisher  "The  memor- 
able and  lengthy  campaign  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States  between  Martin  Van  Buren  and  Gen.  Wm.  Henry  Har- 
rison, was  conducted  with  great  zeal  by  politicians  of  both 
political  parties  (Whigs  and  Democrats)  all  over  the  country, 
and,  of  course,  the  citizens  of  Darke  county  and  Greenville 
did  not  remain  silent  spectators  at  the  huge  combat.  Not  by 
any  means.  General  Harrison  was  invited  to  return  to  Green- 
ville, where  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  he  had 
held  council  with  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  northwest.  The 
invitation  was  accepted  and  great  preparations  were  made  ior 
his  reception.  The  dav  for  his  reception  came.  The  town  be- 
gan -to  overflow  with  thousands  of  visitors  from  all  parts  of 
the  country.  Some  had  come  hundreds  of  miles  from  sur- 
rounding states  to  see  and  hear  the  old  general  and  future 
president. 

A  committee  of  reception  had  been  appointed,  among  whom 
was  the  writer.  \\-Iiich  at  the  hour  of  10  o'clock  a.  m.  proceeded 
out  on  the  road  leading  to  Fort  JefTerson,  followed  by 
thousands  of  others  on  horseback,  and  in  all  kinds  of  vehicles, 
met  the  general  and  his  party  one  mile  north  of  Fort  TefFer- 
son  and  escorted  him  into  town.  The  general  was  seated  in 
a  carriage  accompanied  bv  three  other  gentlemen  and  loo'^C'! 
very  much  tired  and  worried  l)v  the  trip.  Xobodv  expectccl 
to  see  such  a  common  and  plain  old  gentleman  as  he  was. 
but  instead  of  this  dampening  the  enthusiasm  of  his  reception 
it  only  seemed  to  inflame  it.  When  it  was  known  surely  that 
we  had  met  the  general,  and  heard  him  relate  in  a  few  words 
how  glad  he  was  to  see  so  many  at  his  reception  in  Green- 
ville, one  long  and  continued  shout  of  applause  rent  the  air 
and  shook  the  surrounding  foliage  as  will  never  occur  again 
on  the  road  from  Fort  Jefferson  to  Greenville,  for  the  road 
all  the  way  was  full  of  people.     It  has  been  estimated  that 


DARKE   COUNTY 


313 


more  than  ten  thousand  people  heard  General  Harrison  speak 
that  da}-.  General  Harrison  remained  in  town  over  night, 
and  was  the  guest  of  Abraham  Scribner,  who  was  one  of  his 
soldiers  in  the  war  of  1812.  In  the  evening  of  that  day  Har- 
rison went  with  others  to  the  top  of  the  house  of  Hiram 
Potter  (now  the  Farmers'  Hotel,  on  lot  54),  which  was  a  two- 
story  with  flat  roof  with  banisters  all  round.  Here  he  re- 
ceived and  was  introduced  to  several  ladies  of  the  town,  and 
took  quite  a  long  view  of  the  surroundings,  in  search  of 
something  he  might  recognize.  The  ground,  indeed,  was  still 
here,  the  creek  still  flowed  at  his  feet,  the  surrounding  forest 
trees  still  stood,  and  the  blue  sky  looked  calmly  down,  but  no 
trace  of  the  dusky  savage,  no  resounding  of  the  clamor  of  war 
could  be  seen  or  heard.  All  was  changed.  Where  the  sol- 
dier boy  had  brightened  up  his  arms  and  accoutrements  in 
the  former  days,  and  where  the  savage  had  strolled,  there 
stood  the  peaceful  hamlet,  calm  as  the  great  soul  that  sat 
upon  and  moved  his  own  great  heart." 

We  append  herewith  another  interesting  account  of  Harri- 
son's reception  from  "Beer's  History  of  Darke  County" 
(1880): 

"Up  to  this  time,  political  enthusiasm  had  never  reached 
a  ver}^  high  pitch  among  the  hardy  settlers,  but  now  the  ex- 
citement was  as  great  in  the  woods  of  Darke  county  as  it 
was  in  Hamilton  county,  Ohio,  or  in  any  of  the  older  states, 
and  when  it  was  announced,  weeks  in  advance,  that  'Old 
Tip'  would  address  the  people,  the  surrounding  country  went 
wild.  Immense  delegations  came  from  Kentucky,  Indiana 
and  [Michigan.  There  were  more  than  three  hundred  ladies 
present  from  Kentucky,  and  the  gallants  of  the  backwoods 
were  so  much  smitten  by  their  graces  of  person,  manners  and 
apparel  that  from  that  time  till  after  the  election  all  the  young 
men  were  Whigs,  and  'log  cabins,  canoes  and  coonskins'  be- 
came the  SA^mbols  of  their  faith,  and  'hard  cider'  the  favorite 
libation.  Many  of  the  delegations  were  headed  by  log  cab- 
ins on  wheels,  drawn  by  horses,  and  in  one  or  two  instances 
by  oxen.  One  delegation  from  one  of  the  river  counties  was 
headed  by  a  monster  canoe  mounted  on  wheels,  in  which  were 
twenty-seven  young  ladies,  representing  the  twenty-six 
states  and  the  Goddess  of  Liberty.  This  canoe  was  drawn  by 
ten  white  horses.  The  meeting  was  held  just  west  of  town 
in  a  beautiful  grove.  Facing  the  speaker's  stand,  or  rather 
encircling  it  on  three  sides,  was  a  liank,  well  shaded  and  af- 


314  DARKE   COUNTY 

fording  comfortable  seats  for  the  vast  throng.  This  natural 
amphitheater  could  not  have  been  improved  had  it  been  de- 
signed for  this  special  occasion.  The  various  delegations  as 
they  approached  the  town  were  met  by  one  of  the  'Greenville 
bands'  and  escorted  in  with  honor.  A  brief  description  of 
these  musical  companies  will  not  be  without  some  degree  of 
interest.  The  'band'  par  excellence  consisted  of  William 
Morningstar,  mounted  on  a  fine  horse,  and  his  instrument  a 
violin,  upon  which  he  was  no  mean  performer.  He  met  each 
delegation  in  turn,  and  gave  them  a  medley  comprising  sev- 
eral of  the  rollicking  airs  to  which  the  campaign  songs  were 
sung:  "Hail  to  the  Chief.'  'Bonaparte's  March.'  with  the  more 
inspiring  strains  of  'Soldier's  Joy'  and  'Money  Musk,'  and 
thus,  with  the  booming  of  cannon  and  the  cheers  of  the  ex- 
cited multitude,  the  delegations  were  welcomed.  The  other 
bands,  consisting  of  drums  and  fifes,  although  less  singular, 
were  much  more  noisy,  and  far  and  near  the  martial  music 
resounded,  stimulating  the  feeling,  accelerating  pulsation,  and 
with  rattle  and  roll  of  drum  and  shrill,  clear  shriek  of  fife, 
performing  the  air  of  'Yankee  Doodle,'  and  intensifying  the 
excitement  with  the  'double  drag.'  The  principal  speakers 
were  Tom  Corwin  and  Gen.  Harrison.  Corwin  argued  that 
tlie  re-election  of  VanBuren  would  be  the  signal  for  a  reduc- 
tion in  the  prices  of  labor  and  all  American  products,  and,  in 
support  of  his  plea,  read  several  advertisements  of  well-known 
produce  dealers  from  Whig  newspapers,  somewhat  after  the 
following  effect:  'On  and  after  the  1st  of  December.  1840, 
the  subscriber  will  pay  $1  per  bushel  for  wheat  if  Harrison 
be  elected  and  40  cents  if  the  election  "favors  Van  Buren.' 
Similar  notices  concerning  corn  and  hogs  were  also  read  from 
the  advertising  columns  of  the  partv  press.  Various  argu- 
ments were  presented  by  Corwin  in  a  way  and  with  a  force 
that  brought  conviction  to  many  a  close  listener.  The  speech 
of  Harrison  was  characterized  as  an  able  and  eloquent  states- 
manlike eflfort  in  support  of  republican  institutions.  He  also 
devoted  considerable  time  to  personal  reminiscence,  and  won 
over  many  warm  friends  from  the  opposing  party.  He  re- 
mained two  nr  three  days  in  Greenville,  the  guest  of  Mr. 
Scribner,  and.  in  company  with  his  host  and  neighbors,  vis- 
ited many  points  of  interest  in  the  town  and  its  environs. 
The  old  merchant  and  tavernkeeper  had  been  a  staunch 
Democrat,  but  from  this  time  on.  became  and  continued  an 
ardent  supporter  of  the  hero  of  Tippecanoe."     From   Green- 


DARKE   COUNTY  315 

\ille  Gen.  Harrison  went  to  Dayton,  Chillicothe  and  Colum- 
bus, O.,  wliere  he  received  similar  enthusiastic  receptions. 

The  Burial  of  Patsy  and  Anna  Wilson. 

In  the  summer  of  1871  the  Darke  County  Pioneer  Associa- 
tion prepared  to  observe  the  nation's  Natal  day  in  a  most 
fitting  manner.  As  a  special  feature  of  the  day's  program 
it  had  been  decided  to  exhume  the  remains  of  the  Wilson 
children,  who  had  been  tomahawked  by  the  Indians  in  Oc- 
tober, 1812,  and  to  re-bury  them  in  the  new  cemetery  with  im- 
pressive ceremonies.  Accordingly,  good  speakers  were  in- 
vited, an  attractive  program  arranged  and  preparations  made 
on  a  large  scale  for  the  event.  The  pioneer  associations  of 
Preble,  Miami,  Montgomery  and  other  counties  were  invited 
to  be  present  on  this  occasion,  and  a  speakers'  stand  was  con- 
structed in  X.  Hart's  grove  (Meeker's  woods)  on  the  north 
side  of  the  creek  near  the  site  of  the  children's  burial.  In 
spite  of  the  rain  on  the  afternoon  of  ^Monday,  July  3d,  and 
in  the  early  forenoon  of  the  4th,  the  people  came  from  all 
directions,  and  by  10  o'clock  a.  m.  the  main  streets  were 
thronged  with  people.  At  11  o'clock  a.  m.  a  large  procession 
formed  in  front  of  the  Wagner  House  (Public  Square)  es- 
corted by  Col.  D.  Putnam,  Maj.  Eli  Hickox,  Capt.  J.  W. 
Smith.  Capt.  Jas.  Creviston  and  Maj.  Frank  E.  Moores,  the 
officers  of  the  day,  and  the  Arcanum  band,  and  proceeded  to 
the  grove.  Upon  arrival  at  that  place,  the  singers,  orators 
and  invited  guests  mounted  the  platform  and  rendered  the 
following  program : 

Prayer — Rev.   Levi  Purviance. 

Music — Choir. 

Declaration  of  Independence — T.  Riley  Knox. 

Music — "Hail,  Columbia" — Band. 

Oration — Hon.  G.  Volney  Dorsey  (of  Piqua,  O.). 

Music — "Red,  White  and  Blue" — Choir. 

Address — Hon.  George  B.  Holt. 

Music — "Star  Spangled  Banner." 

Address — Hon.   George  D.   Hendricks   (Eaton,   O.). 

Music — By   Choir. 

Remains  of  children  presented  to  young  ladies  for  re-in- 
terment by  Col.  J.  W.  Frizell. 

Music — Dirge. 

The  address  of  Dr.  Dorsev.  which  lasted  over  an  hour,  was 


316  DARKE   COUNTY 

pronounced  a  most  sound,  able,  eloquent  and  brilliant  ef- 
fort and  was  listened  to  with  profound  attention  and  eager- 
ness  by  the   assembled   throng. 

•After  the  dirge,  Barney  Collins,  the  local  poet,  read  the 
following  beautiful  and  appropriate  poem  which  he  had  writ- 
ten especially  for  the  occasion : 

"When  Autumn  tints  had  tinged  the  woods 

And  dyed  the  grape  with  blue. 
By  Greenville's  stream  two  maidens  stood 

\\'ith  cheeks  of  ruddy  hue ; 
Beyond  the  farther  shore  they  knew 

Deep  in  a  shady  dell. 
The  grape  in   wild  profusion   grew — 

The  grape  they  lov'd  so  well. 

To  reach  these  grapes  their  young  hearts  sigh'd, 

Nor  could  they  brook  delay  ; 
Together  they  stepped  in  the  tide 

That  flashed  the  morning's  ray, 
Xor  dream'd  they  then  that  on  that  day 

Ere  yet  their  sports  were  o'er. 
Another  stream  of  darksome  way 

Their  sports  would  explore. 

"With  mirthful  laugh  and  joyous  song 

They  through  the  forest  strayed, 
Xor  thought  that  they  were  doing  wrong 

In  being  vindismayed ; 
But,  ah  !  in  deep  and  somber  shade 

Two  dread  Wyandots  stood ; 
Who  had  their  every  act  surveyed. 

Yet  did  their  sight  elude. 

"^^'ith  a.xe  upraised  and  gleaming  eyes 

They  from   their  covert  sprung; 
In  vain  were  uttered  mercy's  cries 

And  hands  in  vain  were  wrung — • 
In   vain  the  two  together  clung 

.\n(l    called   their  mother's   name — 
The  whetted  axe  that  o'er  them  swung 

Fell    swift   with    deadlv   aim. 


DARKE   COUNTY  317 

"Their  golden  locks  that  in  the  morn 

A  mother's  pride  had  shone, 
Red  dripping  from  their  heads  were  torn 

To  deck  an  Indian  zone ; 
Beside  a  gray  primeval  stone 

Their  mangled  forms  were  laid, 
Where  oft  in  sadness  and  alone. 

The  mother  wept  and  pray'd. 

"Yes !  on  yon  hill  of  gentle  rise, 

Whose  base  yon  brook  flows  round — 
The  gallant   Cloyd,   with    streaming  eyes 

Low  placed  them  in  the  ground ; 
And  now,  though  time  with  lengthen'd  bound 

Has  measured  sixty  years — 
He  comes  to  view  this  spot  renowned 

And  shed  again  his  tears. 

"But  O !  what  changes  time  has  wrought. 

Since   here   amid   alarms. 
These  murder'd  ones  he  bravelj'  caught 

Within    his    stalwart    arms ; 
And  braving  death  in  all  its  forms. 

Wiped  from  each  lovely  face 
The  gore  that  veil'd  those  youthful  charms 

That   death   could   not   efiface. 

"No  mother  smoothed  their  silken  hair, 

Nor  deck'd  the  pulseless  breast ; 
No  funeral  hymn  rose  on  the  air 

When  they  were  laid  to  rest ; 
No  words  of  solace  were  express'd 

When  closed  the  lonely  grave. 
All  sounds  save  sighs  were  there  repress'd — 

The  sighs  of  soldiers  brave. 

"Alas!  the  breast  with  grief  must  swell, 

The  eyes  with  tears  must  flow ; 
The  heart  must  ache,  and  bid  farewell 

To  cherish'd  ones  below; 
But  who  that  mother's  grief  could  know,  ^ 

Could  feel  her  heart's  deep  pain,  i 

When,  wild  with  tears  and  nameless  woe, 

She   mourned   her   children   slain." 


318  DARKE   COUNTY 

The  poem  was  well  read  and  made  a   decided  impression. 

After  a  dinner  a  procession  was  formed  and  a  committee 
of  the  following  representative  young  ladies  escorted  the 
coffin  containing  the  few  remains  of  the  unfortunate  children 
to  the  new  cemetery:  Lilly  Perry,  Adda  Benham,  Euma 
McGinnis,  Cora  VanTilburg.  Isleoel  Blessing,  Edna  Comp- 
ton,  Mary  McConnell,  Flora  Tomilson,  Clara  Crider,  Ella 
Helm,  Lizzie  Biltimier  and  Fannie  Frizell. 

A  few  brief  and  well  chosen  remarks  were  made  at  the 
grave  by  Rev.  H.  K.  McConnell  of  the  Christian  church,  ufter 
which  an  appropriate  selection  was  sung  by  the  little  pall- 
bearers and  the  benediction  pronounced  by  Levi  Purviance. 

On  the  same  day  a  large  field  boulder,  weighing  about  four 
tons,  was  swung  under  a  wagon  drawn  by  six  horses,  and 
transported  to  the  cemetery  where  it  was  placed  over  the 
new  grave,  where  it  may  be  seen  today  inscribed  with  the 
brief  but  impressive  words :  "In  memory  of  Patsey  and 
Anna  Wilson,  killed  by  the  Indians  at  Greenville,  O.,  in  1812, 
aged  14  and  8  years." 

Dedication  of  New  Court  House  in  1874. 

Many  notable  scenes  took  place  in  the  county  seat  dur- 
ing the  stirring  days  of  the  Civil  War  as  described  and  sug- 
gested eleswhere.  After  the  close  of  this  conflict,  the  resi- 
dents of  western  Ohio,  who  were  tired  of  accounts  of  camps 
and  battles,  of  slaughter,  misery  and  hardships,  eagerly  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  arts  of  peace,  and  took  up  the  prob- 
lems of  life  with  renewed  determination.  Years  of  hard 
labor  and  sacrifice  ensued,  but  before  another  decade  had 
closed  old  "Darke"  had  forged  ahead  and  was  assuming  an 
enviable  position  among  the  counties  of  the  state.  Her  prog- 
ress was  well  typified  by  the  substantial  new  court  house 
in  1874.  The  dedication  of  that  structure  is  aptly  described 
by  a  former  attorney  and  historical  chronicler. 

"It  has  been  mentioned  before  that  in  the  year  1874  the 
new  court  house  was  finished.  In  the  summer  of  that  year 
the  business  of  the  courts  was  transferred  from  the  old  to 
the  new  court  house.  This  proceeding  was  done  with  con- 
siderable ceremony.  Notice  had  been  given  that  on  a  certain 
day  the  new  court  house  would  be  dedicated.  Quite  a  con- 
course of  people  collected  in  town.  At  one  o'clock  p.  m.  the 
people    collected    in    the    old    court    house,    which    was    soon 


DARKE   COUNTY  319 

crowded,  when  \Vm.  Gilmore,  of  Eaton,  a  prominent  lawyer, 
and  the  same  year  elected  one  of  the  Supreme  Judges  of 
Ohio,  and  who  had  practiced  his  profession  a  great  many 
years  at  this  bar,  and  who  had  also  been  judge  of  this  court, 
as  orator  of  the  day,  ascended  to  the  judge's  seat,  when  he 
made  the  following  remarks  as  well  as  can  now  be  remem- 
bered :  'Forty  years  ago  this  very  year,  this  old  house 
then  new  was  dedicated  to  the  use  of  the  courts  as  a  tem- 
ple of  justice.  Here  used  to  assemble  in  those  early  days 
of  your  county  when  this  house  was  new  such  eminent  judges 
and  jurists  as  Joseph  H.  Grain  and  William  Holt,  who  in 
succession  first  occupied  the  seat  and  dispensed  even-handed 
justice  to  all.  In  1840  and  1841,  the  seat  was  occupied  by 
Judge  Holt,  then  by  John  Beers,  and  in  succession  by  Clark 
and  Hume,  of  Hamilton,  then  by  Judge  Haines,  of  Eaton, 
then  by  W.  M.  Wilson  and  William  Allen,  of  your  own  coun- 
ty, then  by  your  humble  servant,  then  by  Jas.  McKema,  and 
last,  though  not  least,  by  David  L.  Meeker,  your  present 
judge. 

"  'Of  the  legal  gentlemen  who  attended  this  bar  from 
abroad  were  Joseph  H.  Grain,  Wm.  Holt,  David  Stoddard, 
Charles  Anderson,  of  Dayton ;  William  McNut,  Joseph  S. 
Hawkins,  David  Heaton,  Abner  Haines  and  your  humble 
servant,  of  Eaton ;  John  Beers,  Hiram  Bell,  W.  M.  Wilson,  C. 
F.  Dempsey  and  others  of  your  own  county.  Besides  these, 
as  accasional  visitors  on  special  legal  business,  your  bar  has 
been  honored  by  the  name  of  L.  D.  Campbell,  Thomas  Cor- 
win  and  C.  L.  Valandigham,  whose  stirring  eloquence  has 
reverberated  around  and  through  this  room  and  shook  and 
caused  to  tingle  every  nerve  in  your  system. 

"  'Of  those  renowned  judges  and  jurists,  whom  we  were  so 
glad  to  meet  and  see,  J.  H.  Crain,  David  Stoddard.  Thoiiias 
Corwin,  C.  L.  Valandigham,  Wm.  McNut,  J.  S.  Hawkins, 
Abner  Haines,  John  Beers,  Hiram  Bell  and  W.  M.  WilNon 
have  passed  away  and  entered  the  silent  shades.  AVe  jsliall 
hear  them  no  more.  Their  eloquence  will  not  again  thrill  our 
bosoms,  but  a  voice  they  left  in  our  hearts  and  affections  is 
still  felt,  and  long  may  their  memories  live.  While  remem- 
bering these  legal  gentlemen  we  would  not  forget  another 
frequenter  of  this  house,  and  though  he  was  neither  judge 
nor  juist,  but  an  humble  page  and  constable,  who  so  fully 
attended  to  our  wants  and  comforts  about  the  court  house 
for  so  many  years,  and  greatly  endeared  to  us  all.     I  allude 


320  DARKE   COUXTV 

to  Eleazer  Sharp.  He,  too,  has  passed  away  to  that  home 
from  which  no  traveler  returns,  and  which  we  are  all  nearing 
with  each  revolving  year.  These  were  the  tenants  and  the 
life  of  this  house  and  its  business.  Some  of  whom  have 
grown  old,  and  worn  down  by  the  cares  of  business,  ha\e 
fell  by  the  wayside.  The  tenement  they  occupied  has  also 
grown  old  and  must  soon  give  way  for  another.  We  have  not 
met  here  at  this  hour  to  bid  farewell  to  this  old  house,  not 
the  memories  and  pleasant  incidents  kindled  here  but  to  these 
old  walls.  And  now,  farewell,  old  court  house,  the  honors 
that  belonged  to  you  we  this  day  transfer  to  another.  Your 
halls  will  henceforth  be  silent.  No  eloquent  appeals  will 
any  more  resound  within  you  to  listening  jurors  and  audi- 
tors. No  strife  nor  bickerings.  No  heart  burnings  nor  back- 
bitings.  No  more  efforts  of  crime  to  conceal  itself  behind  a 
legal  dodge  or  false  statements  of  perjured  witnesses.  Nor 
will  •  wrong  and  oppression  any  more  drive  innocence  and 
virtue  to  the  wall.  These  latter  we  would  leave  and  bury 
forever,  and  ever  forget  them  if  we  could,  but  like  the  fatal 
ignatus  fatuis,  unbidden,  feared  and  loathed,  undesired,  they 
will  follow.  Farewell,  old  court  house,  forever,  farewell.' 
The  people  now  left  the  old  court  house  and  re-assembled 
in  the  new  house.  Air.  Gilmore  again  took  the  judge's  stand 
and  spoke  somewhat  as  follows : 

"  'My  friends,  we  are  now  in  the  new  court  house  of  Darke 
county,  and  Darke  county  needed  a  new  court  house.  Here 
you  have  one,  large  and  finished  in  all  its  compartments.  I 
see  no  marks  of  either  poverty  or  stinginess  about  it,  nor 
yet  of  useless  expenditures.  A  house  suitable  to  the  greai 
and  growing  country  of  Darke  county  and  an  honor  to  yru 
who  have  furnished  the  means  to  build  it.  This  grand  and 
magnificent  building  we  now  dedicate  and  to  the  purposes 
for  which  you  have  intended  it.  In  this  beautiful  building 
you  intend  your  courts  to  assemble.  Here  you  intend  that 
justice  shall  be  administered,  and  the  public  business  of  your 
county  be  transacted.  Here  is  your  Recorder's  office,  the 
Probate  office,  the  Treasurer's  office,  the  Auditor's  office,  the 
Commissioner's  office,  the  Clerk  of  the  Court's  office  and 
Sheriff's  office,  with  large  and  commodious  rooms  for  the 
use  of  jurors,  a  council  room,  with  several  other  rooms  an- 
ticipating any  further  need — and  this  great  court  room,  ca- 
llable of  accommodating  1,000  persons,  all  of  these  are  now 
set  apart  to  their  appropriate  uses,  and  will  henceforth  he 
occupied   by  the   proper  officers,   and   that   pertaining  to  his 


DARKE   COUNTY  321 

office.  This  court  room  is  made  large  and  commodious  that 
the  people  may  from  time  to  time  assemble  here  to  see  and 
hear  the  manner  in  which  the  courts  are  conducted,  and  that 
they  may  keep  a  watchful  eye  upon  the  manner  in  which 
justice  is  administered.  This  is  one  of  your  great  safe- 
guards, for  no  court  nor  jurors,  however  corrupt  in  secret 
transactions,  are  willing  to  commit  a  flagrant  outrage  against 
right  and  justice  in  the  face  of  the  people.  In  these  times  of 
general  intelligence  it  can  no  longer  be  presumed  that  the 
people  will  not  see  partiality  or  an  attempt  to  evade  the  law 
by  either  court  or  juries.  Justice  is  easily  wounded,  and  like 
oppression  will  cry  out,  and  it  is  woe  to  the  man  who  stifles 
justice  or  puts  the  heel  of  oppression  on  innocence.  The  day 
was  when  the  word  of  a  jury  court  was  law,  and  the  verdict 
of  a  jury  was  not  to  be  gainsaid,  but  those  days  have  passed 
away  and  the  decisions  of  courts  and  the  verdict  of  juries 
are  as  freely  mooted  and  criticized  at  this  day  as  the  conduct 
of  a  general  in  the  field,  or  any  other  public  officer.  I  would 
not  intend  to  create,  or  even  leave  an  impression  that  courts 
in  any  age  of  the  world  have  been  generally  corrupt.  But 
on  the  contrary  history  will  bear  me  out  in  the  broad  asser- 
tion that  no  part  of  the  public  administration  of  any  nation, 
ancient  or  modern,  has  sustained  a  better  reputation  for  honor 
and  honesty  than  the  judiciary.  It  has  been  the  good  fortune 
of  mankind  for  the  ages  past,  as  we  may  hope  it  will  be  for  ages 
to  come,  to  be  as  a  general  thing  blessed  with  honest  and 
competent  judges.  Indeed  much-  of  the  civilization  and  lib- 
erty enjoyed  by  the  world  at  this  time  is  due  to  the  con- 
struction of  the  laws  by  the  judges  of  the  past.  And  great 
things  will  yet  be  done  in  the  future  to  uphold  and  perpet- 
uate Christianity,  civilization  and  liberty.  The  life,  liberty 
and  reputation  of  man  is  often  held  and  treated  by  the  rabble 
as  things  of  small  importance,  and  tyrants  may  and  have 
ground  to  the  dust  the  innocent  who  have  fell  into  their 
power.  But  not  so  with  the  courts  of  justice.  The  great  and 
leading  principle  with  them  is  now  and  always  has  been  to 
shield  the  innocent,  guard  the  reputation  and  preserve  the  life 
and  liberty  of  all. 

"  'Away  back  in  the  infancy  of  courts  and  of  civilization 
justice  was  sculptured  in  marble  in  the  habiliments  of  a  fe- 
male, as  less  liable  to  corruption  than  the  male,  with  a  pair 
of  evenly  balanced  scales  in  her  hand,  and  blind  that  she 
might  not  be  prone  to  favor  by  her  sight.  Such  a  figure  you 
have  affixed  to  the  external  front  of  your  court  house,  not  that 

(2n 


322  DARKi:  couxrv 

you  would  thereby  intimate  that  you  would  have  your  juclge.s 
blind,  but  as  a  hint  that  they  should  see  no  favor  on  either 
side,  and  that  they  be  moved  neither  by  pity  nor  passion  to 
the  prejudice  of  justice,  and  right  here  in  this  house  as  year 
after  year  shall  drop  into  the  great  reservoir  of  eternity,  right 
here  as  your  county  shall  year  after  year  rise  in  her  greatness 
and  her  commercial  interests  increase  with  her  growth,  may 
justice  be  done.'  " 

Unveiling  of  the  Wayne  Treaty  Memorial. 

In  February,  1906,  the  Greenville  Historical  Society  de- 
cided to  select  a  suitable  site  and  place  thereon  a  large  me- 
morial boulder  commemorating  Wayne's  Treaty  of  1795. 
Frazer  E.  Wilson,  Jacob  W.  Morrison  and  Wm.  I.  Swartz 
were  appointed  as  a  committee  to  carry  this  decision  into 
effect.  A  search  was  soon  begun  for  a  granite  boulder  large 
and  shapely  enough  for  this  purpose.  After  diligent  searcli 
a  fine  specimen  of  black  diorite  boulder  was  located  in  the 
Meeker  woods  north  of  Greenville  creek,  near  the  site  of  the 
killing  of  the  Wilson  children  before  mentioned. 

On  the  fourteenth  day  of  March  considerable  snow  fell, 
a  'mud  sled'  was  improvised  and  the  huge  boulder,  weighing 
nearly  four  tons,  was  transported  to  the  lot  belonging  to 
Chas.  Katzenberger  (No.  70)  on  West  Main  street  opposite 
the  reputed  site  of  the  treaty,  through  the  generosity  of  Mr. 
Geo.  A.  Katzenberger.  then  president  of  the  soceity. 

By  dues  and  special  subscriptions  the  society  then  secured 

a  beautiful   bronze  tablet  20x28  inches   in   size,  bearing    the 

following    appropriate    inscription,    inclosed    in    a    circle    and 

surrounded  bv  the  emblems  of  savage  warfare  and  peace : 

"Placed 

to  commemorate  the 

Treaty  of  Greeneville, 

Signed  August  3,   1795,  by 

General  Anthony  Wayne 

representing  the 

United  States  Government 

and  the  Chiefs  and  agents  of  the 

Allied  Indian  Tribes 

of  the 

Territory  Northwest 

of  the  Ohio  River 

MCMVI." 


"WAYNE     TREATY     MEMORIAL,     GREENVILLE.     OHIO.     UNVEILED 
THE   HISTORICAL  SOCIETY^   AUGUST    3.    1906 


DARKE   COUNTY  323 

This  tablet  was  firmly  attached  to  the  front  face  of  the 
boulder  and  unveiled  with  appropriate  ceremonies  on  August 
3,  1906,  the  one  hundred  and  eleventh  anniversary  of  the 
signing  of  the  treaty. 

President  Katzenberger  delivered  the  speech  of  presenta- 
tion on  behalf  of  the  Historical  Society ;  Mayor  Thos.  C. 
Maher  accepted  the  monument  on  behalf  of  the  city,  and  S. 
M.  Gorham,  Grand  Sachem  of  the  Ohio  Red  Men,  and  Hon. 
E.  O.  Randall,  secretary  of  the  Ohio  State  Archaeological 
and  Historical  Society,  Hon.  C.  R.  Gilmore,  of  Dayton,  and 
Mrs.  Edward  Orton,  Jr.,  Regent  of  the  Columbus  Chapter  of 
the  Ohio  Society.  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution, 
delivered  appropriate  addresses. 

The  unveiling  was  done  by  Masters  Sanford  Irwin  and  Os- 
car Kerlin,  Jr.,  descendants  of  Thos.  Irwin  and  Major  Adams, 
respectively,  who  served  in  the  Indian  wars. 

Music  was  furnished  by  the  Greenville  band  and  a  salute 
fired  by  Company  M,  Third  Regiment,  O.  N.  G. 

The  preliminary  parade  was  participated  in  by  the  Green- 
ville band,  Jobes  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  Little  Turtle  Tribe  and  visit- 
ing Red  Men,  Company  M,  Third  Regiment,  members  of  the 
Historical  Society,  Reppeto's  drum  corps  and  an  improvised 
troop  of  "Redskins"  led  by  Mr.  Alvin  Kerst. 

Although  the  day  was  quite  sultry  and  a  small  circus  ut- 
fered  a  counter  attraction,  a  goodly  sized  crowd  witnessed 
the  parade  and  listened  attentively  to  the  dedicatory  speeches, 
which  were  pronounced  interesting,  instructive  and  appro- 
priate  to  the   occasion. 

The  total  cost  of  securing  and  placing  the  boulder  and  tab- 
let and  conducting  the  dedicatory  exercise  was  only  aDout 
$175.00,  showing  what  a  modest  sum  will  do  toward  marking 
a  historic  site  when  expended  by  those  who  are  actuated  by 
feelings  of  patriotism  and  local  pride. 

Dedication  of  the  Fort  Jefferson  Memorial. 

Encouraged  by  the  success  of  the  enterprise  of  placing  the 
Wayne  Treaty  Memorial,  the  Greenville  Historical  Society 
next  determined  to  erect  a  suitable  memorial  on  the  site  of 
old  Fort  Jefferson,  the  most  advanced  post  established  by  St. 
Clair  on  his  unfortunate  campaign.  Accordingly,  the  own- 
ers of  the  site.  Messrs.  Patty  and  Coppock,  of  the  Greenville 
Grave!  Company,  were  persuaded  to  donate  and  transfer  two 


324  DARKE   COUNTY 

lots  adjoining  the  Neave  Township  House  lot  on  the  west 
to  the  Township  Trustees  in  trust  for  a  park  and  monument 
site.  On  September  12,  1907,  ground  was  broken  for  the 
monument  by  the  citizens  of  Fort  Jefferson,  granite  field 
boulders  were  soon  collected  from  the  neighborhood  and  on 
October  7th  the  work  of  erection  began.  The  shaft  was 
erected  by  Mr.  Fritz  Walter,  of  carefully  selected  boulders, 
faced  on  one  side,  laid  in  Portland  cement  and  pointed  black. 
When  completed  it  was  six  feet  and  six  inches  square  at  the 
ground  line,  with  a  shoulder  about  two  feet  high,  surmounted 
by  a  tapering  shaft  with  a  total  height  of  about  twenty  feet. 
To  the  north  side  of  this  shaft  facing  the  road,  was  attached 
a  neat  bronze  tablet  secured  from  Paul  E.  Cabaret  &  Co., 
of  New  York,  and  bearing  this  inscription: 

"Fort   Jefferson 

built  by  the  army  of 

General  Arthur  St.  Clair 

in  October,  1791, 

and  used  as  a  military  post 

during  the  expedition  against 

the  Northwestern  Indian  Tribes 

]\ICMVII." 

The  school  children  of  the  neighborhood  erected  a  fifty 
foot  flag  staff  near  the  shaft.  The  dedication  took  place  on 
Ocfober  24,  1907,  the  one  hundred  and  sixteenth  anniversary 
of  the  naming  of  the  fort,  when  the  following  program  was 
rendered : 

"Hail,    ColumlDia" — Deubner's    Drum    Corps. 

"America" — Audience. 

"Invocation" — Rev.  C.  H.  Gross. 

Address  on  Ijehalf  of  Committee  on  Erection — Frazer  E. 
Wilson. 

Address   of   Presentation — Geo.   A.    Katzenberger. 

Unveiling — Elizabeth  D.  Robeson. 

Military  Salute — Gun  Squad  Co.  M. 

"Star   Spangled    Banner" — Drum    Corps. 

Address  of  Acceptance — Prof.  Jacob  T.  Martz. 

Historic  Address — Judge  Jas.  I.   Allread. 

"Yankee   Doodle" — Drum   Corps. 

Address  on  behalf  of  the  Red  Men — Lewis  E.  Wills. 

Reminiscenes — Wesley  Viets. 

Benediction — Rev.   G.  ^^'.  Berrv. 


•    M 

V, 

Hl^B 

BOULIiER     rvIEMORIAI.     OX     THE     SITE     OF     FORT     .1  SFF.TIIISON.       UN- 

VEILEP    BY    THE    GREENVILLE    HISTORICAL 

SOCIETY'  OCTOBER   24.    1907 


DARKE  COUNTY  325 

The  weather  was  crisp  and  clear  and  the  exercises  were  a 
success  in  every  way. 

A  novel  scene,  not  on  the  program,  was  enacted  when  an 
improvised  band  of  motley  attired  "redskins"  under  Chief 
Scout  Alvin  Kerst,  "attacked  the  fort"  from  the  low  ridge  to 
the  south.  Flitting  from  bush  to  bush  they  fired  random 
shots  and  took  the  crowd  by  surprise,  making  a  very  realistic 
performance. 

The  cost  of  the  tablet  was  ninety  dollars  and  the  entire 
cost  of  the  shaft,  tablet  and  dedication  about  one  hundred  and 
ninety  dollars. 

Since  the  erection  of  this  appropriate  memorial  the  ground 
has  been  fenced  and  nicely  planted  with  trees,  providing  a 
nice  park  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  St.  Clair  and  his  brave 
soldiers  who  suffered  in  the  primitive  wilderness. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
SOME   NOTABLE  CITIZENS. 

Every  established  comnninity  has  produced  or  nurtured 
men  of  exceptional  energy  and  ability,  who  by  their  activity, 
local  pride  and  steadfast  devotion  have  made  a  worthy  record 
for  themselves  which  should  be  preserved  for  the  instruction 
and  inspiration  of  future  generations. 

Darke  county  is  no  exception  and  should  enroll  on  her 
scroll  of  fame  the  names  of  her  citizens,  who  have  blazed  the 
way  in  husbandry,  business,  education,  medicine,  law,  politics 
and  the  active  affairs  of  men.  Among  the  pioneers  we  have 
especially  mentioned  the  names  of  Azor  Scribner  and  Linus 
Bascom,  the  frontier  merchants ;  Abraham  Scribner,  the  poli- 
tician ;  John  Devor,  the  surveyor ;  Abraham  Studebaker,  the 
stalwart  farmer,  besides  many  others  of  less  prominence. 
To  this  notable  list  should  be  added  the  name  of 

Major  George  Adams." 

This  man  was  born  in  Virginia,  Octolser  26.  1/67;  served 
as  a  drummer  boy  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Revolution,  and 
was  sent  in  1790  with  important  dispatches  to  General  Har- 
mar,  then  in  command  of  Ft.  Washington.  Adams  came 
down  the  Ohio  river  from  Pittsburg  in  a  canoe  and  when 
he  arrived  at  Ft.  Washington  learned  that  General  Harmar 
had  started  with  an  army  for  the  ]\Iaumee  town  a  few  days 
before.  Governor  St.  Clair,  wishing  Harmar  to  get  the  ex- 
press, fitted  Adams  out  with  a  good  horse,  saddle,  bridle, 
rifle,  ammunition  and  rations  and  sent  him  forward.  He 
overtook  the  army  at  the  old  Indian  town  of  Chillicothe,  near 
Xenia,  some  fifty  miles  out.  on  the  fourth  day.  Here  he  de- 
livered the  despatches  to  Harmar,  joined  the  Kentucky 
mounted  men  and  proceeded  with  the  army  on  its  eventful 
campaign,'  described    elsewhere    in    this    volume.     AMien    the 


*The  main  points  of  this  sketch  are  derived  from  an  article 
by  George  .-\.  Katzenberger  in  \'(iUr"c  XXIT  of  Ohio  His- 
torical .Societv  Reports. 


328  DARKE   COUNTY 

whites  and  Indians  met  in  combat  on  the  22d  of  October, 
near  the  present  site  of  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind.,  a  spirited  engage- 
ment took  place  in  which  Adams  exhibited  marked  bravery 
and  was  severely  wounded.  On  this  expedition,  it  is  said,  he 
killed  five  Indians  and  received  four  or  five  severe  wounds ; 
one  ball  entering  his  thigh,  one  breaking  his  arm,  another 
lodging  under  his  arm,  while  the  fourth  cut  his  breast  and 
lodged  under  his  shoulder  blade.  The  arm}-  surgeons  found 
him  in  a  very  weak  condition  on  the  evening  after  the  fight, 
dressed  his  wounds,  but  said  that  he  could  not  live  until 
morning  and  ordered  his  grave  dug.  On  the  retreat  he  was 
carried  on  a  litter  betwen  two  horses  and  a  grave  was  dug 
for  him  three  evening  in  succession.  However,  Adams,  who 
is  described  as  being  about  five  feet,  eight  inches  tall,  with 
a  shock  of  red  hair,  had  a  robust  constitution,  and  arrived 
safely  at  Ft.  Washington  where  he  recovered  completely. 
Not  daunted  by  these  experiences  he  continued  in  the  ser- 
vice of  his  country  as  a  scout  and  was  with  St.  Clair  in  his 
disastrous  expedition.  On  this  occasion  he  was  with  Captain 
Slough  and  party,  who  were  sent  along  the  trace  ahead  of 
the  army  on  the  evening  before  the  battle  to  ascertain  wheth- 
er any  Indians  were  near.  At  the  beginning  of  the  retreat 
lie  endeavored  to  form  the  panic  stricken  troops  in  line  but 
without  success. 

On  January  26,  1792,  he  married  Elizabeth  Ellis,  probably 
of    Limestone,   K3^ 

On  Wayne's  expedition,  it  is  said,  Adams  acted  as  Captain 
of  scouts,  disguised  himself  in  full  Indian  rig,  and  with  painted 
face  hung  about  their  encampments  where  he  secured  infor- 
mation of  value  for  his  commander.  It  is  probable  that  he 
continued  with  \\'ayne  throughout  his  campaign  and  was 
present  during  the  negotiations  which  resulted  in  the  treaty 
at  Greenville  in  1795. 

After  the  wars  he  settled  for  a  short  time  on  a  hundred-acre 
tract  south  of  Hamilton,  which  he  secured  on  a  warrant  issued 
by  the  government  for  his  services  in  the  re\'olution.  Later 
he  entered  four  hundred  acres  of  fine  land  further  up  the 
Miami  near  Silver  creek  (Hale's),  about  five  miles  from  the 
site  of  Dayton,  which  he  secured  on  account  of  his  services  in 
the  Indian  war.  Here,  in  1797,  he  established  himself  with  his 
famih'  in  a  cabin  equipped  with  scanty  furniture  and  supplies, 
including  his  trusty  axe  and  rifle,  which  he  considered  pre 
requisites. 


DARKE   COUNTY 


329 


"In  the  river  were  fish  in  abundance,  and  in  the  woods, 
game  and  wild  honey,  so  that  even  in  the  first  year  there  was 
but  little  privation  for  his  family.  With  each  year  his  farm 
was  improved  and  the  furniture  and  the  cabin  were  made  more 
comfortable.  In  the  fields  were  cattle  and  hogs,  and  the  fer- 
tile soil  yielded  abundant  crops.  The  farmer  and  his  family 
had  bread  and  butter,  milk,  meat  and  vegetables  in  plenty 
for  themselves  and  gave  freely  of  it  to  hungry  travelers  and 
wandering  Indians."  During  these  peaceful  years  of  his  life 
his  home  was  used  for  various  meetings,  and  the  major  pro- 
fessed a  religious  quickening  and  joined  the  Xew  Light 
church.  In  1806,  probably  after  the  experience,  he  and  his 
wife  united  with  the  Baptist  church,  called  the  Union  church, 
near  Dayton  on  the  Great  Miami  river. 

In  this  primitive  Arcady,  under  his  own  vine  and  fig  tree, 
enjoying  for  most  of  the  time  peace,  prosperity  and  plenty, 
he  lived  until  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  1812,  when  he  again 
•responded  to  the  call  of  his  country  and  enlisted  for  service. 
On  account  of  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians  several 
block  houses  were  at  this  time  built  in  Montgomery  county 
as  rallying  places  for  the  exposed  and  scattered  settlers  of 
Preble,  Darke  and  Miami  counties.  Troops  assembled  at 
Dayton  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1812,  upon  the  urgent 
call  of  Governor  Meigs,  and  on  August  26th,  six  companies, 
consisting  of  over  four  hundred  men.  were  organized  into  a 
battalion  and  chose  Major  Adams  as  their  commander. 
"Shortly  after  this  time  two  regiments  of  Montgomery 
county  militia  were  stationed  at  Piqua,  Major  Adams'  bat- 
talion was  ordered  to  St.  Mary's  and  Col.  Jerome  Holt,  and 
his  regiment  to  Greenville,  where  they  were  directed  to  build 
a  block  house  and  stockade.  Later  as  the  Indians  were 
threatening  Fort  Wayne,  it  became  necessary  to  obtain  re- 
inforcement for  Major  Adams'  battalion,  who  were  about  to 
march  to  St.  Mary's  for  the  relief  of  that  post."  At  St.  Mary's, 
Adams'  volunteers  awaited  reinforcements  which  soon  ar- 
rived from  Piqua.  The  troops  thus  collected  at  St.  Mary's 
are  said  to  have  numbered  four  thousand  and  were  led  by  Gen. 
William  H.  Harrison  from  that  place  on  September  9th.  On 
the  12th.  they  arrived  at  Fort  Wayne,  where  thev  soon  de- 
stroyed the  villages  of  the  hostile  Indians.  Here  Adams'  reg- 
iment was  discharged  on  the  23d  of  September  after  one 
month's  prompt  and  effective  service,  which  was  highly  ap- 
preciated by  the  people    of    Dayton    and  the    Miami  valley. 


330  DARKE   COUNTY 

Early  in  October  Major  Adams  raised  a  company  of  mounted 
riflemen  whom  he  expected  to  take  to  Fort  Defiance.  On  the 
2d  or  3d  day  of  that  month  Patsey  and  Anna  Wilson  were 
murdered  by  the  Indians  near  Greenville  and  reports  of  de- 
predations and  hostile  demonstrations  by  the  Indians  of  the 
'^Mississinawa  region  kept  coming  in.  Accordingly,  the  new 
Dayton  company  was  ordered  to  Fort  Greenville,  where  they 
soon  arrived  and  garrisoned  the  stockade.  On  December 
11th,  a  detachment  of  regular  troops  left  Dayton  in  a  north- 
westerly direction  and  proceeded  against  the  hostile  Miami 
Indian  villages  near  Muncie  town  on  the  Mississinawa.  As  a 
result  of  this  expedition  thirty  Indians  were  killed,  some  sixty 
wounded  and  forty-three  taken  prisoner.  Great  hardships 
were  suffered  on  the  return  on  account  of  the  severe  cold, 
insufficient  provisions  and  forage  and  almost  impassable 
roads.  Major  Adams  went  to  their  relief  with  ninety-five 
men  and  on  the  22d,  met  and  supplied  them  with  half  rations. 
Colonel  Flolt  also  assisted  them  on  the  23d  and  enabled  them 
to  march  to  Greenville,  where  they  arrived  on  the  24th,  with 
forty-one  prisoners.  Colonel  Campbell  soon  marched  toward 
Dayton  with  his  regulars,  where  he  arrived  on  the  27th,  and 
after  resting  several  days,  proceeded  to  headquarters  at 
Franklinton  (Columbus,  O.).  The  Indians  taken  on  this  oc- 
casion were  sent  to  Piqua  on  December  26th,  under  a  guard 
of  twenty-five  men. 

Major  Adams,  it  seems,  remained  in  command  of  Fort 
Greenville  until  after  Harrison's  treaty  July  22,  1814,  and  the 
conclusion  of  peace  with  Great  Britain  later.  During  his  two 
years'  occupancy  of  the  stockade  Adams,  no  doubt,  recon- 
noitered  the  country  for  many  miles  and  selected  a  site  for 
future  residence.  Accordingly,  it  is  stated  that  he  entered 
land  at  this  time  about  five  miles  east  of  Greenville  on 
Greenville  creek,  where  he  built  a  cabin  and  moved  his  fam- 
ily. Later  he  erected  a  little  mill  here  where  he  turned  out  a 
coarse  grade  of  cornmeal  and  flour.  A  little  grocery  was  soon 
established  here  where  whisky  and  tobacco  could  be  secured, 
and  the  place  became  a  popular  resort,  where  shooting 
matches,  quoit  throwing,  and  fist  fights  were  participated  in 
by  the  pioneers.  ".^dams  was  a  genial,  fun-loving  man, 
widely  known  and  deservedly  popular :  a  crowd  of  congenial 
spirits  gathered  around  him  and  the  little  settlement  took  the 
name  of  "Adams'  Mill,"  and  when  the  township  was  finally 
orcanized    nBlQl    it  was  named  in  his  honor.     That  .Adams 


DARKE   COUNTY  331 

chose  a  good  site  for  a  mill  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  a  hour 
mill  is  still  located  there  (Cromer's)  after  nearly  a  century,  it 
being  one  of  the  few  remaining  in  the  county.  Besides  his 
large  circle  of  local  acquaintances  Adams  retained  the  friend- 
ship of  old  comrades  of  the  late  wars,  including  Col.  Robert 
Patterson,  of  Dayton,  and  his  sons-in-law,  Captain  Nesbit  and 
Henry  Brown.  In  the  winter  of  1826-27  the  Major  was  ap- 
pointed as  associate  judge  for  Darke  county  and  served  ac- 
ceptably in  this  position  until  his  death,  November  28,  1832, 
in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  Major  Adams  and  his  wife 
Elizabeth  were  the  parents  of  twelve  children,  probably  half 
of  whom  died  in  infancy,  or  before  the  age  of  thirty-five. 
The  record  of  these  children's  lives  is  quite  incomplete,  but  it 
is  known  that  Elizabeth,  the  first  daughter,  was  born  in  1796, 
in  or  near  Cincinnati.  She  married  Caleb  Worley  about  1816 
and  in  1823  moved  to  Covington,  Ohio,  where  she  resided 
until  she  was  past  ninety  years  of  age.  Her  granddaughter, 
Avarilla  Fahnestock,  of  Versailles,  Ohio,  married  Dr.  O.  C. 
Kerlin,  of  Greenville,  where  she  still  resides.  They  have  two 
sons,  Oscar,  Jr.,  and  Worley  and  a  daughter  Doris.  On 
account  of  his  descent  from  Major  Adams,  Oscar,  Jr.,  was 
chosen  to  assist  in  the  unveiling  of  the  Wayne  Memorial  tab- 
let in  Greenville,  August  3,  1906. 

Nancy  Adams,  who  was  born  in  1803,  lived  until  near  the 
close  of  the  Civil  war.  Martha  Adams,  the  last  daughter, 
born  in  1816,  married  Robert  L.  Harper  and  lived  until  1894. 
The  time  of  the  death  of  two  sons,  George,  born  in  1794,  and 
William,  born  in  1806,  seems  to  be  generally  unknown. 

The  remains  of  Major  Adams  lie  buried  under  a  humble 
headstone  in  the  Martin  cemetery  about  three  miles  east  of 
Greenville,  and  it  is  hoped  that  patriotic  citizens  will  soon 
erect  a  fitting  monument  here  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
his  heroic  life  of  service. 

Abraham  Studabaker. 

As  an  illustrious  example  of  the  stalwart  pioneer,  perhaps 
no  better  example  could  be  taken  than  Abraham  Studabaker. 
Born  in  'V\'estmoreland  county,  Pennsylvania,  about  the  year 
1785,  he  came  in  the  vanguard  of  civilization  with  his  father's 
family  to  Scioto  county,  Ohio,  and  later  to  Clinton  or  War- 
ren county,  Ohio,  where  they  settled.  Here  his  parents 
remained  until    death,    and    in    1808    Abraham,    then    some 


332  DARKE   COUNTY 

twenty-three  years  of  age,  with  his  wife,  settled  on  Congress 
land  on  the  south  bank  of  Greenville  creek,  opposite  the  pres- 
ent site  of  Gettysburg,  in  section  25  of  Adams  township.  He 
is  credited  with  being  the  first  permanent  settler  in  Adams 
township,  and  the  third  in  the  county.  His  nearest  neighbor 
was  Azor  Scribner,  the  pioneer  Indian  trader  at  Greenville, 
about  eight  miles  distant  through  the  forest.  He  had  other 
neighbors  in  Miami  county  on  the  Stillwater,  some  fourteen 
miles  east.  When  he  built  his  cabin  he  was  compelled  to  use 
logs  of  such  size  as  he  could  handle  himself.  The  great  In- 
dian trail  connecting  Piqua  and  the  Whitewater  Indian  set- 
tlement passed  near  his  door  and  brought  him  occasional 
dusky  visitors.  For  the  first  three  or  four  years  these  were 
mostly  friendly  but  at  times  became  troublesome.  On  one 
occasion  two  Indians  appeared  at  the  cabin  door  and  de- 
manded some  bacon  which  Mrs.  Studabaker  was  cooking. 
Refusing  to  give  up  the  precious  meat  which  had  been 
brought  from  the  Stillwater  settlement  the  day  before,  she 
held  fast  to  one  end  while  one  of  the  redskins  pulled  at  the 
other  end  and  his  companion  cut  the  meat  oflF  near  her  hand. 
Her  cries  attracted  her  husband  who  was  preparing  ground 
for  corn  planting,  but  he  arrived  too  late  to  save  the  bacon  as 
the   Indians  had   disappeared. 

It  is  said  that  Tecumseh,  the  Prophet,  Little  Turtle,  Black 
Hoof  and  other  noted  warriors  frequently  visited  Studa- 
baker's  cabin  and  that  he  had  visitors  almost  daily  whom  he 
treated  with  kindness  and  hospitality  and  therebj^  made  his 
life  secure  in  the  lonely  wilderness  prior  to  the  war  of  1812. 

When  Studabaker  came  to  this  spot  he  brought  along  a 
horse  and  a  cow,  and  his  stock  was  augmented  before  long 
by  the  birth  of  a  calf.  Shortly  after  he  had  harvested  his  first 
small  crop  of  corn  his  faithful  horse  died  of  the  then  prevalent 
disease  commonly  called  "milk-sickness."  Not  long  after  this 
the  wolves  killed  the  precious  calf.  •  Desiring  to  catch  some 
of  the  volves  he  baited  a  trap  with  the  carcass  of  the  calf 
with  the  sad  result  that  the  cow  stuck  her  head  in  the  trap, 
thereby  causing  it  to  spring  and  break  her  neck.  On  another 
occasion  Mr.  Studabaker  had  gone  to  mill  at  Milton  in  Miami 
county,  leaving  his  family  alone  over  night.  Having  butch- 
ered a  hog  the  day  before  the  scent  seems  to  have  attracted  a 
pack  of  hungry  wolves,  who  created  pandemonium  about  the 
lonely  cabin  in  the  night  until  a  sudden  smothered  cry  of 
pain  from  a  single  wolf  was  followed  bv  a  chorus  of  svmpa- 


DARKE   COUNTY 


333 


thetic  snarls  and  yells  for  a  moment  when  all  became  quiet 
again.  The  cause  of  this  strange  procedure  was  discovered  in 
the  morning  when  a  large  wolf  was  found  within  a  few  feet 
of  the  door  with  his  tongue  frozen  to  the  blade  of  the  axe, 
from  which  he  had  attempted  to  lick  the  blood  and  bits  of  hog 
fiesh  which  had  adhered  to  it  in  the  butchering  operations. 
It  is  supposed  that  his  companions  turned  upon  him  when  he 
uttered  the  cry  of  pain  and  soon  ended  his  misery.  The 
wolves  never  returned  after  this  occasion  to  molest  the  cabin. 
The  American  panther  inhabited  this  region  and  has  left  his 
name  in  "Painter"  creek  which  drains  the  county  a  short  dis- 
tance to  the  southeast.  Mr.  Studabaker  had  many  thrilling 
and  dangerous  experiences  with  this  stealthy  animal  and 
killed  many  of  them  during  his  residence.  One  specimen 
which  he  killed  with  his  rifle  after  a  very  narrow  escape,  had 
an  extreme  measure  of  eight  feet.  Soon  after  the  outbreak  of 
the  war  of  1812,  Studabaker  built  a  block  house  on  his  land 
and  made  such  defensive  preparations  as  he  could  to  resist 
any  possible  attack  that  might  be  made  on  the  place.  Six 
soldiers  with  arms  and  ammunition  were  soon  sent  to  protect 
his  family  and  this  out  station  became  an  inn,  a  citadel  and 
official  quarters  for  the  small  garrison.  It  is  said  that 
upon  one  occasion  he  captured  five  armed  Indians  and  turned 
them  over  to  the  government,  but  that  they  subsequently 
escaped  and  killed  Elliot  and  Stoner  in  the  summer  of  1813, 
as  before  mentioned.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  war,  Mr. 
.Studabaker  furnished  cattle  for  the  government  to  feed  the 
Indians,  who  had  gathered  around  Greenville  awaiting  peace 
negotiations.  About  1816  he  settled  on  a  tract  of  some  eight 
hundred  acres  located  about  two  miles  south  of  Greenville 
in  the  Bridge  creek  valley,  which,  it  is  said,  was  ceded  to  him 
by  the  United  States  government  in  payment  for  these  cattle. 
Although  his  early  education  was  very  meager  his  natural 
talents  and  business  qualifications  early  won  recognition,  as  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  he  was  placed  upon  the  first  board  of 
county  commissioners  and  served  thirteen  years  in  this  ca- 
pacity ;  that  he  was  a  captain  in  the  early  militia  ;  that  he  did 
much  toward  securing  the  Greenville  and  Miami  railroad  for 
the  county:  that  he  advanced  the  money  to  build  the  first 
court  house  in  the  county,  raised  a  large  family  and  accumu- 
lated a  competence.  He  is  described  as  a  man  of  excellent 
judgment,  great  sagacity,  large  hospitality,  unquestioned  in- 
tegrity and  decided,  outspoken  convictions.     He  was  married 


334  DARKE   COUNTY 

twice,  was  the  father  of  twelve  children  and  died  March   16, 
1852,  leaving  a  long  record  of  constructive  accomplishments. 

Dr.  Isaac  Newton  Gard. 

A  history  of  Darke  county   would    scarcely    be    complete 
without  a  sketch  of  the  life  of  the  veteran  pioneer  physician, 
Dr.  Isaac  Newton  Gard.      \\'hile  not  the  first,  he  was  among 
the  first  physicians  locating  in  the  county,  where  he  remained 
during  a  long,  eventful   and  eminently  useful  life.     His  pa- 
rents,  Stephen   and   Rachel    (Pearce)    Gard,   were   natives   of 
New  Jersey,  but  migrated  to  Ohio    early  in  the  last   century. 
Stephen  Gard  was  a  Baptist  minister  and  organized  many  of 
the  churches  of    this    denomination    in    the    Miami    valley. 
Rachel  Gard,  the  mother  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  died  in 
Butler  county  in  1816.     Rev.  Gard  married  a  second  time  and 
died  in  1839.     Dr.  I.  N.  Gard   was    born  March   20,  1811,  in 
Butler   county,    Ohio,   and    was     educated    in    the    common 
schools,  Miami  University  and  the  Ohio  Medical  College,  Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1831.  At  first 
he  practiced  in  his  native  county,  but  in  1834  came  to  Green- 
ville where  he  resided  until  his  death  on  April  24,  1905,  a  pe- 
riod of  seventy-one  years.  At  the  time  of  his  arrival  there  were 
but  few  physicians  in  the  county  and  his  associates  were  prob- 
ably Drs.  Briggs,  Perrine  and  Baskerville.     The  county  was 
very   sparsely   settled   at   that    time    and  was    covered    with 
swamps,  ponds  and  pools  which  bred  nausea.     Sickness  was 
quite  prevalent  and  the  few  roads  were  in  a  miserable  condi- 
tion.    Bilious  complaints  were  especially  prevalent.    The  doc- 
tors of  those  days  rode  horse  back  and  carried  their  medicines 
in  saddle  bags.    As  an  illustration  of  the  manner  of  practice,  a 
good  story  is  told  in  Beer's  "Historj'  of  Darke  County,"  as 
follows :  "Dr.  Gard  was  called  in  as  a  family  physician  to  min- 
ister to  the  wants  of  a  sick  child.     Cold  water  was  forbidden 
and   calomel,   as   was   usual,   was   administered.    The   doctor 
then  retired  with  promise  of  a  return  next  day.  Cold  water 
was  barred;  the  boy  begged  for  a    drink,  but    entreated   in 
vain,  as  the  doctor's  orders  were  immutable  law.     He  then 
resorted  to  strategy.     Feigning  a  desire  for  rest  and  repose, 
the   family  retired   to  permit   their  indulgence.     Soon   heavy 
breathing  annotmced   that  all   were  asleep,    and   the    patient 
arose  from  bed.  staggered  to  the  water  bucket,  and  to  his  dis- 
may, found  it  empty.    This  discovery  would  ha\"e  been  hailed 


DARKE   COUNTY 


335 


with  imprecations  that  would  have  roused  all  in  the  house 
had  not  the  necessity  of  the  case  demanded  control.  Water 
must  be  had,  although  the  spring  was  at  quite  a  distance.  The 
coffee-pot  was  found,  and  the  patient  set  out  to  assuage  his 
consuming  thirst.  He  rested  several  times  in  the  wet  grass, 
but  finally  arrived  at  the  spring,  drank  heartily,  and  undis- 
covered, returned  to  his  bed,  having  placed  the  well  filled 
coffee-pot  at  the  bedside.  This  was  two-thirds  emptied  be- 
fore the  suicidal  act  was  known,  when  the  doctor  was  hur- 
riedly summoned  and  soon  stood  with  astonished  and  omin- 
ous look,  awaiting  serious  results  that  did  not  happen.  In  a 
few  days  the  patient  had  recovered." 

The  doctor  often  had  to  ride  long  distances  but  he  was  a 
man  of  powerful  physique  and  withstood  the  years  of  ex- 
posure and  fatigue  in  a  wonderful  manner.  The  doctor  was  a 
big  man,  mentally  as  well  as  physically,  and  was  called  upon 
by  a  confiding  public  to  serve  in  various  important  capacities. 
He  organized  the  first  medical  society,  as  well  as  the  first 
agricultural  society,  and  acted  as  the  first  president  of  each. 
He  was  also  president  of  the  Greenville  and  Miami  railroad 
during  the  period  of  its  construction.  He  represented  his  dis- 
trict in  the  state  legislature  in  1841  or  42,  and  in  the  senate  in 
1858-59.  About  1862  he  was  appointed  by  the  Governor  as 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Dayton  State  Hospital  (insane  asy- 
lum) and  held  that  office  for  sixteen  years. 

On  January  6,  1835,  he  married  Lucy  Tod,  of  Kentucky, 
and  to  them  five  children  w^ere  born,  two  of  whom  are  now 
living,  Mrs.  A.  Wilson  Arnold  and  Mrs.  Harry  Knox.  In  pol- 
itics he  was  a  Republican.  He  was  a  very  sociable  man  upon 
all  occasions  and  an  enjoyable  conversationalist. 

Dr.  Gard  died  April  23,  1905.  full  of  years  and  honors. 

Edward  B.  Taylor. 

On  October  21,  1821,  there  w^as  born  in  Lewis  county,  Ken- 
tucky a  lad  who  was  destined  to  play  an  important  part  in  the 
councils  of  a  political  party  then  unborn  and  to  wield  a  power- 
ful influence  in  another  state  during  the  decade  just  preced- 
ing the  Civil  war.  I  refer  to  Edward  B.  Taylor,  who,  it  seems, 
was  descended  from  the  Scotch-Irish  settlers  of  Virginia,  a 
race  remarkable  for  patriotic  zeal,  intelligence  and  strife.  From 
the  meager  records  that  we  have,  it  appears  that  the  Tavlor 
family   moved  to  Piqua,  Ohio,  when   E.   B.  was  a  small  bov 


336  DARKE   COUNTY 

and  his  father  died  not  long  afterwards,  leaving  him  a  waif 
wandering  about  the  streets.  One  of  the  newspaper  men  of 
Piqua  employed  him  to  run  errands  for  a  mere  pittance,  and 
later  discovered  that  he  was  a  boy  of  exceptional  feeling  and 
intelligence.  His  schooling  from  this  time  was  probably  neg- 
lected but  by  dint  of  application  he  learned  the  printer's  art 
and  educated  himself  while  he  labored  for  a  living.  His 
progress  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  before  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-nine he  had  become  editor  and  publisher  of  the  Piqua  Reg- 
ister. About  1848  or  1849  he  removed  to  Greenville,  Ohio, 
and  soon  purchased  the  Greenville  Journal,  of  which  he  took 
charge  on  April  19,  1850.  This  paper  was  the  ablest  defender 
of  Whig  principles  at  that  time  in  the  county  and  at  the  or- 
ganization of  the  new  Republican  party  in  1856  took  up  the 
defense  of  its  platform.  During  this  critical  period  Colonel 
Taylor  gave  free  utterance  to  his  personal  convictions  and 
became  prominently  identified  with  local  Republican  politics. 
During  the  historical  Lincoln  and  Douglass  campaign  of  1860 
he  acted  as  chairman  of  the  Republican  Central  Committee 
and  on  November  1st  issued  the  following  ringing  call: 

"Dear  Sir : — 

"Tuesday,  November  the  sixth,  is  the  day  of  the  presiden- 
tial election.  We  enclose  you  this  circular,  containing  a  gen- 
uine Republican  ticket,  for  the  purpose  of  reminding  you  that 
we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  great  contest,  and  at  the  same  time 
guarding  against  the  possibility  of  fraud.  It  has  been  an- 
nounced that  our  opponents  are  circulating  spurious  tickets 
throughout  the  state,  containing  the  names  of  Lincoln  and 
Hamlin  for  President  and  Vice-President,  with  the  Douglass 
and  Johnson  electors,  for  the  purpose  of  imposing  upon  unsus- 
pecting and  honest  voters.  Enclosed  is  a  genuine  ticket — take 
it  to  the  polls,  put  it  in  the  ballot-box  and  you  are  safe  against 
imposition. 

'■^^'e  carried  Ohio  in  October  by  25.000  majority  ;  and  we  can 
carry  it  again,  if  we  all  vote  on  the  6th  day  of  November. 
There  are  fifteen  thousand  school  districts  in  Ohio — and  two 
votes  lost  in  each  will  lose  us  the  state  and  decide  the  presi- 
dential election  against  us !  Will  your  district  be  one  of  the 
delinquents?     'One  more  fire  and  the  day  is  ours!' 

"Vote  early  and  see  that  your  Republican  neighbors  vote. 
By  order  of  the  Republican  Central  Committee. 

"E.  B.  TAYLOR,  Chairman." 


DARKE    COUNTY  337 

Taj-lor's  patriotism,  loyalty  and  ability  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  the  new  party's  leaders  and  in  1861  Lincoln  appointed 
him  register  of  the  land  office  at  Omaha,  Neb.,  to  which  city 
he  soon  moved.  Here  he  purchased  the  Omaha  Republican 
and  in  1866  became  its  editor.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Na- 
tional convention  that  nominated  Grant  for  president  in  1868, 
was  a  member  of  the  State  senate  of  Nebraska  during  its  first 
two  terms,  serving  most  of  the  time  as  speaker.  Upon  the 
death  of  the  Governor-elect  he  served  a  short  time  as  Gov- 
ernor of  Nebraska.  At  this  formative  period  in  the  state  he 
is  said  to  have  exerted  much  influence  on  its  progressive  leg- 
islation, especially  in  framing  the  school  laws,  which  were 
modeled  after  those  of  Ohio. 

Taylor's  career  was  now  reaching  its  climax,  but  before 
closing  this  brief  sketch  of  his  eventful  life  we  desire  to  revert 
to  the  period  of  his  residence  in  Darke  county. 

This  was  the  time  of  the  building  of  the  Greenville  and 
Miami  railway  and  Colonel  Taylor  took  such  interest  in  the 
enterprise  that  he  was  made  president  of  the  company,  and 
sent  to  New  York  where  he  negotiated  a  loan  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  dollars  with  which  to  purchase  rails  and 
rolling  stock.  The  farmers,  who  had  been  hauling  their  grain 
over  bad  roads  to  the  markets  at  Piqua  and  Dayton,  freely 
donated  labor  and  ties  toward  the  construction  of  the  road. 
The  county  voted  a  tax  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  Green- 
ville an  extra  ten  thousand  dollars  to  subsidize  the  project, 
which  turned  out  to  be  a  great  benefit  to  the  county. 

Taylor  continued  to  be  president  of  this  road  from  1850  to 
1859,  filling  tliis  office  acceptably  while  at  the  same  time 
publishing  his  influential  paper  and  engaging  in  politics.  His 
was  indeed  an  active  life  and  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn 
that  his  li'e  was  cut  short  before  he  completed  his  fifty-first 
year.  lie  died  at  Omaha,  May  21,  1872,  after  sufifering  sev- 
eral strokes  of  paralysis. 

In  a  sketch  written  for  the  Historical  Society  in  1907,  Mr. 
Calvin  Young  made  the  following  thoughtful  analysis  of  his 
character:  His  most  striking  characteristic,  we  should  say, 
was  a  strong,  clear,  fertile  brain,  that  grasped  subjects  with 
the  strength  of  a  giant,  and  analyzed  them  with  the  most  per- 
fect clearness  and  precision.  To  know  anything-  with  him  was 
to  know  all  about  it,  and  no  subject  which  attracted  his  atten- 
tion was  left  until  he  had  mastered  it,  not  only  in  a  general 
way  but  in  the  minutest  detail,  ^^'he;^  he  stated  a  fact  he 
1 22) 


338  DARKE   COUNTY 

always  had  a  reason  at  his  command,  and  in  times  of  excite- 
ment in  national  or  political  affairs,  his  wonderful  command  of 
facts  and  statistics  rendered  his  opinion  of  very  great  value. 
He  seemed  never  to  forget  anything,  and  his  memory  was  so 
tenacious  that  he  could  refer  to  the  minutest  facts  and  occur- 
ences, although  years  had  intervened  since  he  had  studied 
them,  or  had  been  an  actor  in  the  scene.  As  a  writer  he  had 
few  equals ;  his  copy  was  the  pride  and  boast  of  the  printer, 
being  almost  as  plain  as  the  print  it  was  to  appear  in,  and  his 
points  were  made  with  the  greatest  clearness  and  accuracy. 
He  went  right  forward  with  sis  subject  like  a  commander 
with  his  men,  and  when  his  editorial  or  important  document 
was  finished,  or  his  resolution  drawn,  they  covered  the  ground 
completely.  There  was  no  loop-hole  of  escape  for  his  adver- 
sary and  nothing  wanting  to  make  the  whole  matter  he  had  in 
hand  perfectly  plain,  reasonable  and  intelligible.  He  wrote 
with  equal  facility,  whether  surrounded  bj^  a  crowd  or  alone 
in  his  room,  and  seemed  fixed  to  nothing  but  his  subject, 
though  there  might  be  disturbances  enough  to  distract  a  man 
less  cool  and  self-possessed.  His  power  of  concentrating 
ideas  was  most  remarkable.  As  a  public  officer  he  was  always 
efficient,  energetic  and  successful,  and  his  course  met  the  ap- 
proval of  those  by  whom  he  was  appointed,  and  the  sober  sec- 
ond thought  of  the  people.  When  he  held  the  position  of 
president  of  the  senate,  the  efficiency  of  his  work  was  the 
constant  theme  of  those  associated  with  him  in  those  ardu- 
ous and  perplexing  duties.  His  decisions  were  correct,  his 
views  on  all  political  matters  well  digested,  eminently  prac- 
tical, and  his  course  manly,  able  and  impartial.  For  these 
reasons  the  people  learned  to  admire  his  ability,  to  respect 
his  judgment,  and  to  feel  for  him  a  friendship  that  has  never 
waned,  but  grown  stronger  with  the  lapse  of  time.  His 
friends  were  perhaps  as  strongly  attached  to  him  as  to  any 
public  man  in  the  state,  and,  consequently,  he  could  rally 
them  whenever  he  needed  their  aid  or  council  for  anv  enter- 
prise in  which  he  was  engaged.  It  is  a  source  of  consolation, 
that  Col.  E.  B.  Taylor  died  surrounded  by  his  family  and 
friends,  who  administered  to  him  all  the  comforts  that  it  was 
possible  as  he  went  down  into  the  valley  of  death." 

Colonel  Taylor  was  married  on  March  23,  1843.  to  Jane  B. 
McClure.  Five  children  were  born  as  a  result  of  this  union. 
Of  these  one  son,  Edward  A.,  was  recently  living  in  Portland. 
Ore.,  and  one  daughter,  Mrs.  George  Arnold,  in  Indianapolis, 


DARKE   COUNTY  339 

Ind.     Airs.   Blanche   Hughes,   wife    of    Attorney    Thomas  J. 
Hughes,  of  Greenville,  is  a  daughter  of  Mrs.  Arnold. 

Enoch   Beery   Seitz   and   Family. 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  who  ever  lived  in 
Darke  county  was  Enoch  Beery  Seitz,  of  whom  one  writer 
said:  "He  was  in  mathematics  what  Demosthenes  was  in  ora- 
tory, Shakespeare  in  poetry  and  Napoleon  in  war;  the  equal 
of  the  best,  the  peer  of  all  the  rest." 

This  man  was  born  in  Fairfield  county,  Ohio,  August  26, 
1846,  and  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Seitz,  a  native  of  Rockingham 
county,  Virginia,  where  he  was  born  December,  1791.  Daniel 
Seitz  was  twice  married,  his  first  wife  being  Elizabeth  Hite, 
by  whom  he  had  eleven  children ;  and  his  second  wife,  Cath- 
arine Beery,  by  whom  he  had  four  sons  and  three  daughters. 
He  died  near  Lancaster,  Ohio,  October  14,  1864.  Enoch,  the 
third  son  of  Catharine  Beery  Seitz,  was  raised  on  his  father's 
farm  and  had  the  advantage  of  a  common  school  education 
supplemented  by  a  course  in  a  private  school  in  Lancaster. 
He  took  a  mathematical  course  in  the  Ohio  Wesleyan  Univer- 
sity. Delaware,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1870.  His 
mother  had  moved  with  her  family  to  Greenville,  Ohio,  in  the 
fall  of  1866,  where  she  lived  on  West  Fourth  street  until  her 
death  in  February,  1904,  at  the  advanced  age  of  almost  ninety- 
six  -^-ears.  It  is  said  that  while  a  boy  on  the  farm  Mr.  Seitz 
exhibited  great  talent  and  liking  for  mathematics  and  that  he 
mastered  and  completed  algebra  alone  at  the  age  of  fifteen. 
His  mathematical  talent  early  became  known  in  Darke 
Cdunty,  where  he  had  been  teaching  summer  school  during 
his  course  at  Delaware  and  he  was  elected  to  the  professor- 
ship of  mathematics  in  the  Greenville  high  school  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1872,  which  position  he  occupied  until  the  summer  of 
1879.  On  June  24,  1875,  he  was  united  in  marriage  with  Anna 
E.,  daughter  of  William  K.  Kerlin,  at  that  time  treasurer  of 
Darke  county,  and  later  president  of  the  Second  National 
bank.  Miss  Kerlin  had  been  teaching  in  the  public  schools 
for  some  time  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  Greenville's  most 
refined  young  ladies.  During  the  period  of  his  tutorship  in 
Greenville  he  contributed  solutions  to  different  problems 
proposed  in  some  of  the  best  known  mathematical  magazines, 
including  the  School-day  Magazine,  the  Analyst,  the  Mathe- 
matical Visitor  and  the  Educational  Times,  of  London,  Eng- 


340  DARKE   COUNTY 

land.  His  specialty  was  average  and  probability  problems, 
the  solution  of  which  required  untiring  patience,  energy  and 
perseverance.  A  great  problem  had  been  proposed  by  Pro- 
fessor Woolworth,  the  great  English  mathematician,  in  1864, 
which  he  had  solved  with  great  labor  and  lengthy  demon- 
stration. His  solution  stood  unchallenged  until  Professor  Seitz 
mastered  the  same  problem  and  demonstrated  it  clearly  in  a 
fraction  of  the  space  required  by  the  great  English  professor 
and  thereby  won  the  plaudits  of  the  mathematicians  of  Eng- 
land and  America.  Speaking  of  his  methods  a  mathematical 
writer  said:  "In  studying  his  solutions,  one  is  struck  with  the 
simplicity  to  which  he  has  reduced  the  solutions  of  some  of 
the  most  intricate  problems.  When  he  had  grasped  a  prob- 
lem in  its  entirety,  he  had  mastered  all  problems  of  that  class. 
He  would  so  vary  the  conditions  in  thinking  of  one  special 
problem  and  in  effecting  a  solution  that  he  had  generalized  all 
similar  cases,  so  exhaustive  was  his  analysis.  Behind  his 
words  he  saw  all  the  ideas  represented.  These  he  translated 
into  symbols,  and  then  he  handled  the  symbols,  with  a  facil- 
ity that  has  never  been  surpassed."  *  *  *  Professor 
Seitz  did  not  gain  his  knowledge  from  books,  for  his  library 
consisted  of  only  a  few  books  and  periodicals.  He  gained 
such  a  profound  insight  in  the  subtle  relations  of  numbers  by 
close  application,  with  which  he  was  particularly  gifted.  He 
was  not  a  mathematical  genius,  that  is,  as  usually  understood, 
one  who  is  born  with  mathematical  powers  fully  developed. 
But  he  was  a  genius  in  that  he  was  especially  gifted  with 
the  power  to  concentrate  his  mind  upon  any  subject  he  wished 
to  investigate.  This  happy  faculty  of  concentrating  all  his 
powers  of  mind  upon  one  topic  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others, 
and  viewing  it  from  all  sides,  enabled  him  to  proceed  with 
certainty  where  others  would  become  confused  and  disheart- 
ened. Thread  by  thread  and  step  by  step,  he  took  up  and  fol- 
lowed out  long  lines  of  thought  and  arrived  at  correct  con- 
clusions. The  darker  and  more  subtle  the  question  appeared 
to  the  average  mind,  the  more  eagerly  he  investigated  it.  No 
conditions  were  so  complicated  as  to  discourage  him.  His 
logic  was  overwhelming." 

As  a  teacher  few  were  more  successful.  In  the  class-room 
as  well  as  in  society  he  was  a  man  of  few  words  but  his  con- 
versation vvas  to  the  point.  "His  commanding  appearance  and 
amiable  disposition  endeared  him  to  the  heart  of  every  stu- 


DARKE   COUNTY 


341 


dent  while  the  purity  of  his  motives,  soundness  of  his  judg- 
ment, and  wisdom  of  his  instruction  was  not  doubted." 

In  March,  1880,  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  London 
Mathematical  Soiety,  being  the  fifth  American  so  honored. 
Greenville  was  highly  honored  in  having  such  a  distinguished 
man  as  a  teacher  in  the  public  schools  for  several  years,  but 
his  unsurpassed  talent  recommended  him  to  a  much  higher 
position  and  in  the  summer  of  1879  he  moved  with  his  family 
to  Kirksville,  Missouri,  where  he  assumed  a  professorship  in 
the  State  Normal  School.  This  position  he  occupied  with 
distinction  and  was  marked. for  a  higher  and  more  remunera- 
tive position  when  he  was  prostrated  with  a  fever  in  Septem- 
ber, 1883,  and  died  on  October  8th,  after  an  illness  of  twenty- 
four  days,  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  His  death 
caused  a  profound  sensation  among  the  students  and  profes- 
sors of  the  State  Normal  school  by  whom  he  v^^as  highly  hon- 
ored and  respected.  After  appropriate  and  impressive  ser- 
vices at  Kirksville,  his  remains  were  brought  to  Greenville, 
Ohio,  whither  they  were  accompanied  by  President  Blanton, 
who  had  been  appointed  for  this  purpose  by  the  faculty,  and 
by  W.  T.  Baird  acting  in  behalf  of  the  regents  of  the  college 
and  the  citizens  of  Kirksville. 

The  following  extract  from  President  J.  P.  Blanton's  trib- 
ute which  was  oiifered  at  the  funeral  service  indicates  the 
character  and  disposition  of  Professor  Seitz :  "Enoch  Beery 
Seitz  was  an  etraordinary  man.  He  commanded  without 
efifort  the  respect  of  everybody.  He  was  a  man  of  the  most 
singularly  blameless  life  I  ever  knew.  His  disposition  was 
amiable,  his  manner  quiet  and  unobtrusive,  and  his  decision, 
when  circumstances  demanded  it,  was  prompt,  and  firm  and 
unmovable  as  the  rocks.  He  did  nothing  from  impulse ;  he 
carefully  considered  his  course,  and  with  almost  infallible 
judgment  came  to  the  conclusions  that  his  conscience  ap- 
proved and  then  nothing  could  move  him.  While  he  never 
made  an  open  profession  of  religion,  he  was  a  profoundly 
religious  man.  He  rested  his  hopes  of  salvation  in  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  tender  and  loving  Savior,  and  I  am  thoroughly 
convinced  he  has  entered  that  rest  which  remains  for  the 
people  of  God."  Also  this  tribute  from  Prof.  John  S.  Royer: 
"Professor  Seitz's  external  life  was  that  of  a  modest,  deep- 
hearted,  perfect  gentleman.  His  great  ambition  was  to  be 
good  and  true — true  to  himself,  true  to  his  family,  true  to  his 
friends,  and  true  to   his  countrv's  welfare.     He  had  a  thor- 


342  DARKE   COUNTY 

oughly  health}-,  well  balanced,  harmonious  nature,  accepting 
life  as  it  came,  with  its  joys  and  sorrows,  and  living  it  beau- 
tifully and  hopefully  without  a  murmur.  Though  the  grim 
monster  Death  removed  him  from  this  sphere  of  action 
before  he  fully  reached  the  meridian  of  his  greatness,  yet  the 
work  he  performed  during  his  short  but  fruitful  life  will  be  a 
lasting  monument  to  his  memory,  amply  sufficient  to  immor- 
talize his  name." 

Professor  Seitz  was  the  father  of  four  sons,  one  of  whotn, 
Clarence,  died  at  the  age  of  five  years.  The  other  three 
sons,  William  K.,  Raymond  and  Enoch  B.,  have  all  been  care- 
fully reared  under  the  guiding  hand  of  their  devoted  and  tal- 
ented mother.  All  three  of  the  surviving  sons  graduated  from 
the  Ivirksville  school.  William  K.,  who  inherited  his  father's 
talent,  made  the  highest  average  grades  in  mathematics  in 
the  University  of  Missouri  of  any  student  up  to  the  time  of 
his  graduation  on  June  4,  1906.  He  was  an  assistant  profes- 
sor of  mathematics  for  two  years  after  his  graduation.  Then 
he  went  to  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  where  he  acted  as  first  assistant 
city  engineer,  and  engineer  of  the  utility  commission,  having 
in  charge  the  parks  and  boulevards  of  that  progressive  city. 
In  1913,  he  went  to  St.  Louis  where  he  is  now  at  the  head  of 
the  Missouri  Valley  Construction  Company,  in  which  he  is 
associated  with  his  brothers. 

Raymond  E.  Seitz  was  born  October  30.  1876,  in  Green- 
ville, Ohio.  He  moved  with  his  parents  to  Missouri  in  1879, 
and  returned  to  Greenville  some  time  after  his  father's  death, 
continuing  in  the  public  schools  until  he  had  completed  the 
freshman  year.  He  then  returned  to  Kirksville  in  1894,  and 
completed  the  course  in  the  State  Normal  in  1898.  After  this 
he  taught  history  and  literature  in  the  high  school  at  Park 
City.  Utah.  He  then  attended  the  University  of  Cincinnati, 
Ohio.  Returning  to  Missouri  he  taught  four  years  in  the 
high  school  at  Unionville  and  later  was  elected  superintendent 
of  the  schools  at  Jackson,  Mo.,  where  he  remained  four  years. 
Then  he  served  as  superintendent  at  Caruthersville,  Mo., 
for  two  years,  after  which  he  became  a  member  of  the  con- 
struction company  above  mentioned,  which  is  now  undertak- 
ing a  large  contract  for  constructing  terminal  facilities  at 
East  St.  Louis  for  a  large  railway  company.  This  company 
operates  a  large  quarry  at  Alton,  TIL.  where  they  secure  rock 
for  construction  purposes. 

Enoch   Beerv  Seitz.  voungcst    son  of  E.   R.    and  .\nna   E. 


DARKE   COUNTY  343. 

Seitz,  was  born  July  26,  1883,  graduated  from  the  Missouri 
State  Normal  School  at  Kirksville,  Mo.,  in  June,  1901  and 
taught  the  next  four  years  in  the  high  school  and  for  two 
years  acted  as  superintendent.  From  1905  until  March  15, 
1913,  he  was  superintendent  of  the  school  at  Milan,  Mo. 
which  position  he  resigned  to  engage  in  construction  work 
with  his  brother,  W.  K.  Seitz. 

Enoch  B.  Seitz  was  married  to  Miss  Hazeldean  Bolt, 
August  20,  1907,  and  has  one  child,  Ruth,  aged  five  years.  He 
lives  at  Alton,  111. 

Dr.  Anna  E.  Seitz,  the  widow  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
and  mother  of  three  exceptionally  able  sons,  is  a  woman  of 
unusual  ability.  After  the  death  of  her  husband  she  became 
principal  of  the  Teacher  Training  Department,  in  the  Mis- 
souri State  Normal  School  at  Kirksville,  in  which  capacity 
she  served  very  ably  for  four  years,  advising,  criticising  and 
supervising  the  work  of  a  corps  of  teachers.  At  about  this 
time  the  field  of  osteopathy  was  enlarging  rapidly  and  a  great 
demand  developed  for  competent  practitioners  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  In  response  to  this  demand  and  her 
own  ambitious  promptings,  Mrs.  Seitz  gave  up  her  work  in 
the  State  Normal  and  entered  the  Columbian  School  of  Osteo- 
pathy at  Kirksville,  from  which  she  graduated  in  1899.  She 
then  practiced  her  profession  at  Richmond,  Indiana,  and  later 
at  Cape  Girardeau,  Mo.,  and  Phoenix,  Ariz.  Early  in  1904 
she  completed  a  post  graduate  course  in  the  American  School 
of  Osteopathy  at  Kirksville,  and  in  February  of  that  year 
established  herself  in  Greenville,  Ohio,  her  home  town,  where 
she  has  remained  in  the  successful  practice  of  her  profession 
ever  since,  being  first  and  only  lady  osteopathic  practitioner 
in  Darke  county. 

Barnabas   Collins  and    Family. 

The  old  saying,  "Poets  are  born,  not  made,"  was  well  ex- 
emplified in  Barnabas  Collins,  the  son  of  \Ym.  Collins,  a  law- 
yer and  clergyman  of  high  standing.  The  father  had  ob- 
tained a  good  English  education  although  handicapped  by 
poverty  and  adverse  early  conditions  and  became  one  of  the 
clearest  thinkers,  strongest  reasoners  and  finest  speakers 
of  his  day.  He  settled  in  Randolph  county,  Indiana,  in  1831, 
where,  in  1832,  he  married  Margaret  Burres  (who  was  born 
in   Cecil   county,   Md.,  in   1811).     About   1835   he  located  in 


344  DAUKli    COUjN'IY 

Euphemia,  Preble  county,  O.  A\  hen  quite  a  young  man  lie 
began  preaching  in  the  United  Brethren  denomination,  but 
was  condemned  for  joining  the  Masons  and  subsequently  be- 
came a  Methodist.  In  1849,  he  moved  to  Greenville,  Ohio, 
where  he  built  up  an  extensive  law  practice  and,  at  the  same 
time,  officiated  in  the  pulpit.  He  died  in  1855,  leaving  a 
family  of  six  children,  viz.:  Ad,  Barnabas,  William,  James, 
Lafayette  and  Rachel.  Barnabas,  the  seccnd  son,  was  born 
May  26,  1836.  He  became  a  printer  when  a  boy  and  worked 
at  this  trade  several  years,  thus  supplementing,  no  doubt, 
the  meager  education  which  he  had  acquired  b}  a  few  years' 
study  in  the  common  schools.  After  a  brief  pupilage  under 
the  well  known  Calvin  Parker,  he  attended  the  Ohio  Wes- 
leyan  University  at  Delaware  for  a  short  time.  Nothing 
daunted  b}'  early  difficulties,  he  continued  to  read  extensively 
in  literature  and  in  science  until  he  became  noted  for  his 
marked  literary  attainments.  After  his  schooling  he  read 
law  under  Calderwood  and  Calkins  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1857,  when  twenty-one  years  of  age.  On  March  15, 
1858,  he  married  Mar}'  J.  Calderwood,  a  daughter  of  A.  R. 
Calderwood  of  the  above  named  firm.  In  1861  he  located  in 
Adams  county,  Indiana.  He  was  soon  called  to  his  country's 
service  and  enlisted  in  the  89th  Indiana  Regiment  of  ^''olun- 
teers,  in  which  he  acted  as  quartermaster.  A'ter  his  return 
from  the  armv  he  again  settled  in  Greenville  and  iiracticed 
law.  He  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  as  a  candidate 
for  the  Ohio  Constitutional  Convention  of  1874.  In  1876 
he  represented  the  Fourth  Congressional  District  in  the  Re- 
publican National  Convention  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  that  nom- 
inated R.  B.  Hayes  for  president.  Being  of  a  decided  liter 
ary  turn  of  mind  he  gratified  his  tastes  at  the  expense  of  his 
profession  and  produced  considerable  literature  of  a  decidedly 
high  class,  in  the  way  of  historical  articles,  poems  and  es- 
says. Some  of  his  most  cherished  proems  were  on  local 
themes,  and  are  quoted  in  this  volume.  Others  were  espe- 
cially metrical 'and  have  been  set  to  music.  Barney  Collins 
was  a  lover  of  the  beatitiful  in  nature  and  art,  a  fine  reader 
and  reciter  and  an  excellent  lecturer  and  an  impressive  ex- 
tempore sepaker,  with  a  fine  command  of  the  English  lan- 
guage. His  voice  is  described  as  strong,  yet  soft  and  mus- 
ical, and  his  personal  appearance  as  fine  and  attractive.  He 
had  a  florid  complexion,  heavy,  light  cohered  evebrmv^.  light 
silken    hair   and    weighed    about    one     hundred     and     ciehtv 


DARKE   COUNTY  345 

pounds,  making  a  commanding  appearance  on  the  platform. 
His  lecture  on  "The  Rise,  Progress  and  Influence  of  Poetical 
Literature"  and  his  defense  of  Shakespeare  in  the  Baconian 
controversy  are  classed  as  fine  pieces  of  literature.  About 
1879  the  Collins  family  moved  to  California,  where  the  sous, 
William,  Ulric  and  Enos,  all  made  their  mark. 

VVm.  C.  Collins,  later  known  as  "VVilkie,"  was  born  at 
Decatur,  Indiana,  February  10,  1862,  and  came  to  Greenville 
with  his  father  shortly  afterward.  Here  he  received  his  ed- 
ucation, and  like  his  distinguished  father,  learned  the  print- 
er's trade  when  a  boy  of  thirteen,  setting  type  in  the  office 
of  the  Courier  and  writing  locals  for  that  paper.  He  went 
with  the  family  to  Chico,  Cal.,  in  1879,  and  soon  found  em- 
ployment in  the  newspaper  offices  of  that  city.  In  1884,  he 
edited  a  campaign  paper  at  Biggs,  Cal.,  but  soon  returned  to 
Chico,  where  he  remained  until  1886,  when  he  accepted  a 
position  on  the  editorial  staflf  of  the  Sacramento  Daily  Bee. 
While  at  Chico  he  wrote  articles  that  attracted  the  attention 
of  newspaper  men  all  over  the  state,  and  wrote  three  strik- 
ing stories  that  were  published  and  illustrated  in  eastern 
newspapers.  He  was  the  dramatic  critic  of  the  Bee  for  many 
years  and  his  "Green  Room  Gossip"  was  one  of  the  most 
readable  portions  of  the  paper.  It  is  said  that  he  knew  every 
distinguished  man  in  California  and  was  especially  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  great  actors  who  played  in  his  city.  He 
remained  on  the  staflf  of  the  Bee  until  his  death  on  December 
30,  1908.  It  was  said  of  him  by  a  contemporary  newspaper 
man:  "I  always  regarded  him  as  one  of  the  best  equipped, 
squarest  and  most  lovable  men  in  the  newspaper  profession." 
The  editor  of  the  Bee,  in  the  first  issue  following  his  death, 
uttered  the  following  beautiful  sentiments  concerning  him : 
"To  those  who  had  known  him  so  long  and  loved  him  so 
well,  his  death  was  not  so  much  of  a  blow  as  a  relief.  They 
had  seen  that  staunch  heart,  that  noble  soul  sufl^ering  intense 
tortures  daily,  and  yet  never  complaining — never  a  cross 
word — never  a  murmur  from  his  tongue.  *  *  *  True 
friend,  courageous  soul,  loyal  heart,  your  brothers  left  behind 
stand  at  salute  and  bid  you  Hail  and  Farewell !  God  rest 
you,  Christ  receive  vou!"  .^mong  his  noblest  traits  were  de- 
votion to  duty,  sacrificing  loyalty  to  his  profession,  and 
love  of  his  family  and  kin.  He  left  a  son,  Ray,  who  also 
became  an  actor. 

Ulric  Collins,  brother  of  Wilkie,  also  manifested  a  decided 


346  DARKE   COUNTY 

talent  for  tlie  theatrical  profession  and  has  become  a  well 
known  playwright  and  actor.  He  wrote  "Hearts  of  Tennes- 
see" and  other  plays  of  merit  and  has  appeared  as  leading 
man  in  various  popular  plays,  starring  in  New  York,  Chica- 
go and  the  largest  cities  of  the  country  and  keeping  at  the 
top  notch  of  his  profession. 

Enos  Collins,  another  brother,  has  given  his  attention  to 
railway  business,  being  several  years  in  the  employment  of 
the  Western  Pacific  at  Beekville,  Cal. 

Mrs.  Bessie  Dorritt.  a  sister,  lived  for  several  years  at 
W.  Berkeley,  Cal. 

The  mother,  Mary  J.  Collins,  is  a  woman  of  considerable 
ability,  taste  and  refinement  and  is  much  devoted  to  her  fam- 
ily. We  close  this  article  by  an  appropriate  tribute  from  the 
pen  of  George  Calderwood,  a  brother-in-law  of  Barney  Col- 
lins, and  a  poem  composed  and  recited  by  the  latter  brilliant 
genius  and  poet  at  the  opening  of  the  Greenville  (now 
Trainor's)  Opera  House  in  1873,  the  building  having  been 
just  erected  by  Greenville  Lodge  I.  O.  O.  F.  Xo.  195  at  con- 
siderable expense  and,  as  proved  later,  an  improfitable  ven- 
ture : 

"Darke  county  prodticed  some  very  good  advocates  at  the 
bar — some  fairly  good  stump  speakers,  but  in  my  judgment 
but  one  orator — Barney  Collins.  The  unfortunate  thing 
about  Barney  was  his  timidity.  He  was  afraid  to  unfold  him- 
self. He  had  the  voice,  the  magnetism,  the  platform  demean- 
or, the  poetry  of  words,  the  abundance  of  information  on 
many  topics,  the  sincerity  of  his  convictions,  but  it  was  hard 
to  get  him  started.  But  when  he  did  start  and  got  thorough- 
ly warmed  up  he  was  a  giant.  Art,  science,  literature,  poli- 
tics, history,  law  and  progress,  each  in  its  place,  were  handled 
in  masterly  grandeur.  Had  he  left  Greenville  in  his  youth 
and  gone  to  some  large  city  and  remained  there  he  would 
have  had  opportunities  to  imfold  himself  dav  and  night  and 
weave  into  his  mannerism  readiness  of  action.  There  was 
nothing  in  Greenville  for  a  man  of  his  intellect  to  do  and  so 
he  just  waited  and  waited  and  waited  for  something,  he  knew 
not  what.  He  was  induced  to  come  to  California  and  locate 
in  a  sparsely  settled  county  where  the  people  talked  about 
mining,  fruit  culture,  wheat  raising  and  stock  raising.  What 
did  Barney  Collins  know  about  such  things?  Nothing,  and 
he  cared  less.  His  wasn't  the  kind  of  mind  that  was  meas- 
ured bv  the  metes  and  bounds  of  a  vallev  ranch  or  a  600  foot 


DARKE   COUNTY  347 

ledge.  No  one  seemed  to  know  him  and  for  a  long  time  after 
he  came  out  here  he  kept  aloof  from  public  gatherings.  He 
appeared  a  few  times  at  the  county  conventions  and  was  a 
delegate  to  one  of  two  state  conventions.  About  the  time 
that  his  fame  began  to  spread  as  an  orator  lie  was  elected 
to  the  Assembly  and  died  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
address  the   Speaker." 

I'm  no  actor!     Greet  me  with  no  applause! 

Nor  hiss — unless  you  first  shall  find  a  cause. 

No  prompter  I,  behind  the  scenes  to  call, 

When  speaking  ill,  or  failing  not  at  all. 

No  love  of  praise  commands  me  here  to  rise; 

What!  brave  the  critic's  test  and  beauty's  eyes? 

Proud  of  this  temple  and  pleased  with  this  stage. 

Where  soon  the  drama  will  our  thoughts  engage. 

I.  midst  its  richly  painted  scenes  appear, 

To  welcome  wit  and  playing  talent  here ! 

Icarian  Thespis,  first  in  his  day. 

Performed  his  plays  upon  a  Grecian  dray. 

A  generous  "Order"  patronizing  art, 

Builds  here  this  stage  to  glad  the  public  heart ! 

Our  people  need  travel  now  no  more  abroad 

To  shed  tears,  to  laugh,  condemn — applaud. 

For  now,  at  home,  a  place  has  been  supplied 

Where  virtue  may  be  praised  and  vice  decried  ! 

Where  we  may  weep  when  pity  wounds  the  breast. 

Beholding  passion's  burst,  or  grief  represt. 

Yes,  here  tonight  the  rightly  acted  part 

May  swell  the  breast  with  joy,  or  melt  tlie  heart. 

Here  may  our  youth  life's  follies  learn  to  shun, 

And  riper  age  reverse  its  faults  begun ! 

Happy,  some  breast,  which  Nature  has  inspired 

With  Shakespeare's  art,  may  here  this  night  be  fired ! 

Taste,  that  law  which  raises  art,  refines  the  senses, 

Turns  fools  to  wits  and  gives  them  elegance. 

Which  damns  a  play  and  ridicules  the  line — 

Though  sprung  from  Genius,  lest  they  purely  shine. 

May,  from  this  date,  to  us  her  pleasures  bring. 

Teach  us  to  judge — avoid  the  critic's  sting ! 

To  give,  when  she  shall  here  her  standard  raise. 

To  sterling  worth  the  recompense  of  praise! 

Teach   to  distinguish  quickly  truth  from   fratid. 

So  we   may   see  the  point,  and  then   applaud ! 


348  DARKE   COUNTY 

For  if  the  chaste,  the  learned,  would  have  to  act. 
We  must  be  critics,  not  in  name — in  fact! 
The  modern  stage,  of  modern  life  the  school. 
Paints  nature  true,  nor  varies  in  the  rule ! 
All  follies,  vices,  shams  and  things  "too  thin," 
With   manners,  fashions,  worldly  ways  and  din ; 
Before  our  eyes,  on  colors  strong  and  bright. 
She  spreads,  that  we  may  see  and  choose  the  right. 
The  Stage  explodes  the  vile  imposter's  claim. 
And  fraud  and  falsehood  boldly  drags  to  shame. 
The  arts,  letters,  eloquence,  culture,  lore. 
Rose  with  the  Stage  in  Greece,  nor  rose  before ! 
The  hero's — patriot's — cause  in  every  age 
Has  found  a  friend  and  ally  in  the  Stage! 
This  neight  behold  the  scene  where  Emmett  stood, 
Who  gave  to  Erin  and  Libert}'  his  blood. 

"Annie    Oakley." 

At  this  time  when  much  is  being  said  and  written  con- 
cerning "woman's  sphere"  of  activity  in  the  various  enter- 
prises of  the  world,  it  is  refreshing  to  study  the  career  and 
note  the  opinions  of  one  who  has  achieved  distinction  in  a 
unique  profession.  The  use  of  firearms  is  not  usually  asso- 
ciated with  the  gentler  sex,  yet  who  "will  question  the  right 
of  developing  talent  or  skill  nowadays  wherever  found?  In 
fact,  is  not  ideal  success  that  which  allows  the  freest  and 
fullest  realization  of  personality  consistent  with  the  welfare 
of  the  individual  and  the  greatest  good  of  society?  As  civil- 
ization advances  a  wider  scope  is  given  to  the  cultivation  of 
special  talent,  and  a  keener  appreciation  of  merit  is  developed. 
The  man  or  woman  who  can  do  one  thing  better  than  any 
one  else  is  the  person  in  demand  at  this  hour,  and  the  ques- 
tion of  age  and  sex  is  given  less  consideration  than  formerly. 

With  these  reflections  we  study  the  life  of  "Annie  Oak- 
ley" (Mozee),  who  has  attained  international  fame,  as  a  rifle 
and  pistol  shot.  Along  in  the  '50's  her  parents  left  the 
mountains  of  Pennsylvania  and  settled  in  the  northeastern 
part  of  Darke  county.  Here  in  a  wild  tract  of  land  known 
as  the  "fallen  timbers"  Annie  was  born  in  the  early  "sixties." 
Her  mother  was  a  Quaker  and  exhibited  some  talent  for  art, 
which  was  expressed  in  pencil  sketches  and  a  few  paintings, 
but  limited  by  circumstances  of  poverty  and  hard  work.  Her 
father  was  a  natural  athlete,  fond  of  shooting  wild  game,  but 


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•AXXIE  OAKLICY" 


DARKE   COUNTY  349 

not  an  expert  shot.  From  one  she  probably  inherited  skill 
and  a  generous  disposition ;  from  the  other  agility  and  a  love 
of  out-door  sports. 

It  is  said  that  when  but  a  small  child  she  would  secretly 
follow  her  brother  on  his  hunting  expeditions,  and  when  dis- 
covered and  reprimanded,  would  plead  to  remain  with  him 
and  help  shoot.  One  day,  when  a  little  over  eight  years  of 
age,  while  her  brother  was  away  from  the  house,  she  caught 
sight  of  a  fox  squirrel  frisking  along  the  fence,  and  taking  his 
muzzle  loading  rifle,  she  rested  it  on  the  rail  of  the  porch, 
fired  and  cut  the  animal's  throat.  When  the  brother  re- 
turned he  was  surprised,  and  in  order  to  wreak  vengeance  on 
his  offending  sister  he  secretly  put  a  double  load  in  his  shot- 
gun, and  giving  her  the  weapon,  threw  up  his  hat  as  a  target. 
To  his  surprise  this,  too,  was  quickly  pierced,  and  the  sister, 
undaunted,  won  the  day.  From  this  time  on  she  progressed 
in  marksmanship,  and  at  twelve  years  of  age  was  given  a 
light  muzzle  loading  shotgun  and  a  breech-loading  rifle  as 
a  tribute  to  her  skill. 

Anna's  early  education  was  limited,  and  before  her  ninth 
birthday  she  commenced  to  work  for  a  living.  The  father 
died,  leaving  a  family  of  small  children,  and  a  small,  heavily 
mortgaged  farm.  By  hunting  and  trapping  quail  and  pheas- 
ants and  other  game  and  doing  manual  labor  she  saved 
enough  to  pay  ofif  the  mortgage  before  her  fourteenth  year. 
Being  variously  employed  at  housework  for  a  couple  more 
years  she  finally  went  to  live  with  a  sister  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio, 
where  she  married  Mr.  Frank  E.  Butler,  a  frank,  genial  gen- 
tleman and  an  expert  shot,  whom  she  met  at  a  shooting  con- 
test, and  with  whom  she  later  visited  professionally  nearly  all 
civilized  countries.  Mr.  Butler  was  at  that  time  about  $1,500 
in  debt.  Many  interesting  anecdotes  might  be  told  of  their 
early  trials  and  struggles. 

During  the  first  year  of  her  public  life  she  played  with 
vaudeville  companies,  probablv  doing  feats  of  fancy  marks- 
manship. The  two  years  following  she  exhibited  with  Sells 
Brothers  circus,  shooting  from  horseback.  Then  followed 
a  long  engagement  with  Buflfalo  Bill's  Wild  West,  beginning 
in  the  early  spring  of  1885,  during  which  she  shot  at  the 
London  and  Paris  expositions,  and  the  world's  fair  at  Chica- 
go, and  exhibited  before  nearlv  all  the  crowned  heads  and  the 
aristocracv  of  Europe.  She  remained  with  this  world  famed 
show  seventeen  years,  seven  of  which  were  spent  abroad, 
during  which  she  visited  fourteen  countries. 


350  DARKE   COUNTY 

She  gave  five  exhibitions  before  the  Prince  of  \\'ales  and 
shot  game  on  his  estate  at  Sandringham,  for  which  she  was 
richly  paid.  At  Earl's  Court,  London,  she  exhibited  before 
three  kings,  two  princes  and  five  other  titled  people.  Prob- 
ably no  American  lady,  except  Mary  Anderson,  ever  received 
as  generous  and  enthusiastic  reception  in  high  European  cir- 
cles and  her  impression  is  that  the  educated  classes  of  Eu- 
rope are  lavish  in  the  recognition  of  talent  when  shown, 
while  Americans,  though  more  ready  to  hail  aspiring  genius, 
are  less  enthusiastic  in   applause. 

Her  autograph  album  contains  the  names  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  noted  persons,  among  which  are  noticed  the  following: 
Princess  May  of  Teck,  the  Duchess  of  Cumberland,  Hilde  de 
ClifTord,  the  famous  English  beauty ;  I.adv  Paget,  Lord 
Windsor,  Due  de  Orleans,  Seignor  Crispi,  Count  Spaletti,  the 
Chinese  Embassy  at  London,  Dinah  Salifou,  Sitting  Bull, 
Rain  in  the  Face  and  Curly,  the  Crow  Indian  Scout  and  sole 
surviving  member  of  Custer's  famous  braves.  The  names  of 
Lillian  Lewis,  Ellen  Terry,  Henry  Irving,  Chauncey  Depew 
and  Thomas  A.  Edison  appear,  not  to  mention  a  great  host 
of  others.  One  of  the  most  prized  is  that  of  H.  C.  Bonner, 
deceased,  the  founder  of  Puck.     It  reads  as  follows : 

"It  was  a  pleasant  day 
As  near  the  first  of  May 
As  days  come  in  pleasant  April  weather. 
That  Miss  Anna  Oakley  shot 
Her  hundred  pigeon  pot. 
And  the  record  on  the  clays  broke  together. 
And  may  all  the  days  she  knows, 
As  through  the  world  she  goes. 
Be  as  lucky  for  her  all  time  through, 
As  that  pleasant  day  in  spring. 
When  she  showed  us  she  could  wing. 
One  hundred  birds  in  miutes  six  and  seconds 
thirty-two !" 

Besides  being  feted  by  Queen  X'ictoria,  she  has  received 
jewels  and  presents  from  nearly  all  the  crowned  heads  of 
Europe,  and  her  collection  of  trophies  in  the  way  of  jewels, 
firearms  and  mementoes  is  quite  elaborate.  Her  salary  as 
early  as  1900  when  with  the  Wild  West  was  $150  per  week 
with  expenses  paid,  and  it  is  said  she  gave  generously  of 
this   for  charity,  being  mindful  of  her  own   early   struggles. 


DARKE   COUNTY  351 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  she  is  not  fond  of  public  exhibition 
and  social  life,  but  prefers  out  of  door  sport,  and  yearns  for 
the  time  when  she  can  enjoy  the  seclusion  of  private  life. 

Some  of  her  best  records  with  the  rifles  are  945  tossed  balls 
out  of  1,000;  96  small  clay  pigeons  out  of  100;  50  straight 
double  clays;  49  live  birds  out  of  50. 

With  5,000  balls  she  broke  4,772  in  one  day's  shooting; 
and  on  the  second  thousand  her  best  record  of  984  was  made. 
She  is  fond  of  swimming,  walking,  running  and  bicycle  rid- 
ing', and  makes  a  point  of  getting  plenty  of  outdoor  exercise, 
to  which  custom  may  be  attributed  her  remarkable  vitality 
and  sustained  good  health.  Her  guns  weigh  about  seven 
pounds,  and  she  sometimes  shoots  150  shots  in  a  day.  thus 
lifting  over  1,000  pounds.  She  has  shot  wild  deer  in  Amer- 
ica, wild  boar  in   Germany,  and  roebuck  in  Austria. 

In  personal  appearance  she  is  slight,  below  average  height, 
with  black  flowing  hair,  keen,  blue-gray  eyes,  clear-cut  ex- 
pressive features,  and  a  rather  piquant  face.  One  might  ex- 
pect that  such  a  life  as  hers  would  produce  coarseness  and 
lack  of  refinement,  but  Miss  Annie  has  certainly  resisted 
such  an  effect,  and  possesses  a  rare  modesty  and  a  charming 
personality.  Unaffected,  simple  and  sincere,  she  exhibits  a 
grace  and  tact  rarely  met.  With  a  girlish  voice,  a  genial 
vivacious  disposition  and  winning  ways  she  is  a  ready  con- 
versationalist and  is,  withal,  charitable,  thoughtful  and  re- 
fined. Caring  naught  for  the  privileges  of  suffrage  she  only 
asks  a  fair  chance  for  her  sex  to  develop  such  talents  as 
nature  and  education  gives. 

In  1893  she  built  a  handsome  residence  in  Xutley,  New 
Jersey,  not  far  from  New  York  City,  where  she  spent  several 
enjoyable  vacation   seasons. 

On  October  30,  1901,  the  Wild  West  show  suffered  a  dis- 
astrous wreck  in  which  Annie  Oakley  was  severely  wound- 
ed, having  to  undergo  five  operations  in  order  to  save  her 
life.  This  ended  her  engagement  with  the  big  show  and  in 
the  fall  and  winter  of  1902  she  starred  in  a  play  written  es- 
pecially for  herself,  and,  if  possible,  made  a  greater  artistic 
success  than  she  had  in  the  shooting  field.  Then  came  the 
great  libel  suit  against  her  in  which  fifty-seven  newspapers 
participated.  Two  of  these  made  immediate  apology,  but  the 
other  fifty-five  were  sued  with  the  result  that  fifty-five  ver- 
dicts were  rendered  in  favor  of  Annie  Oakley.  Most  of  these 
cases  were  settled  soon  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  plain- 


352  DARKE   COUNTY 

tiff,  but  one  suit  dragged  on  for  nearly  seven  years.  This 
closed  probably  the  greatest  chain  of  suits  on  record  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  costing  the  plaintiff  about  $90,009.00 
and  the  defendants  about  half  a  million  dollars.  Thus  one 
little  frail  woman  with  a  few  thousand  dollars  that  she  had 
earned  by  her  skill  put  up  a  wonderful  fight  against  several 
of  the  most  prominent  newspapers  in  the  United  States  rep- 
resenting a  capital  of  several  million  of  dollars,  and  manned 
by  some  of  the  brainy  men  of  the  country,  and  won  prac- 
tically a  unanimous  verdict  in  justification  of  her  character. 

Annie  Oakley  joined  the  "Young  Buft'alo  Wild  West"  in 
April,  1910,  continuing  with  them  three  years  during  the 
summer  seasons,  and  spending  the  winters  with  her_  husband 
in  central  Florida,  shooting  game  and  riding  after  the  hounds. 

Having  sold  their  former  home  at  Nutley,  N.  J-.  they  are 
now  in  Cambridge,  Md.,  where  they  are  erecting  a  new  home 
on  Hambrooks  Bay,  near  the  Great  Choptauk  river.  They 
are  planning  to  spend  their  summer  fishing  and  boating  over 
this  beautiful  river  and  the  Chesapeake  Bay — going  occa- 
sionally to  Florida  or  returning  to  Annie's  former  home  in 
Darke  county,  Ohio,  where  is  the  resting  place  of  her  be- 
loved little  mother  and  the  homes  of  her  sisters,  ]\Irs.  Hulda 
Haines  and  Mrs.  Emily  Patterson. 

Henry  Black. 

Henry  Black  was  born  in  Harrison  township,  Preble  coun- 
ty, Ohio,  August  25,  1832,  and  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and 
Sarah  Black.  On  October  6,  1853,  he  married  Catherine 
Weaver,  of  Lewisburg,  Ohio,  who  died  August  3,  1891.  In 
1880  Mr.  Black  came  to  Darke  county  and  located  on  the 
Old  Sam  Cable  farm  in  section  six.  Western  Greenville  town- 
ship, along  the  township  road.  His  education  was  very  lim- 
ited but  he  was  of  a  practical  turn,  of  mind  and  used  his 
meager  schooling  to  good  advantage.  He  early  manifested 
a  strong  inclination  toward  mechanics  and  did  much  original 
experimenting  which  eventuated  in  various  practical  inven- 
tions. Probably  his  first  patent  was  for  a  flax  scutching  ma- 
chine which  was  registered  June  5,  1866.  One  of  his  most 
tiseful  inventions  was  a  railroad  switch  which  he  patented 
February  25,  1873,  and  from  which  he  received  very  little 
financial  remuneration.  It  is  said  that  the  principle  of  this 
switch  was  seized  upon  by  other  mechanics,  who  by  slight 


DARKE  COUNTY 


353 


adaptations  made  it  one  of  the  best  ever  produced,  with  the 
result  that  it  was  adopted  by  some  of  the  large  railways  and 
part  of  it  incorporated  in  the  most  successful  switches  now 
in  use  on  nearly  all  railways. 

While  living  in  Darke  county,  Mr.  Black  devoted  much  of 
his  time  to  experimenting  on  a  mower-  and  binder  that  would 
cut  the  grain  close  to  the  ground  with  the  result  that  he  se- 
cured a  patent  for  a  low  down  binder  in  1885.  This  inven- 
tion attracted  wide  attention  and  promised  to  be  a  decided 
improvement  on  the  ordinary  binder.  Mr.  Black  moved  to 
Greenville  where  he  equipped  a  machine  shop  in  1893  with- 
out outside  financial  aid.  Although  advanced  in  age  he 
strove  against  large  odds  to  introduce  his  promising  inven- 
tion, but  met  with  much  discouragement  and  the  machine 
never  reached  a  degree  of  perfection  to  justify  its  general 
adoption.  However,  the  drive  chain  used  extensively  today 
was  a  part  of  this  invention.  Undaunted  by  age  and  great 
obstacles  Henry  Black  continued  his  labors  and  was'  ex- 
perimenting with  an  improved  electric  and  gasoline  engine 
when  called  from  the  scene  of  his  earthly  labors  on  August 
19,  1901.  He  was  a  man  of  tender  heart,  great  patience  and 
forbearance,  and  attained  much  of  his  success  by  following 
the  homely  old  rule,  "If  at  first  you  don't  succeed,  try,  try, 
again."  By  unselfish  devotion  to  his  ideals  he  helped  others 
with  their  inventions,  left  the  world  richer  in  useful  mechan- 
ical appliances,  and,  no  doubt,  indirectly  saved  many  lives 
by  his  improved  switch.  He  left  a  son,  Horace  C,  and  three 
grandchildren,  one  of  whom.  Elsie,  has  for  several  years  been 
a  successful  teacher  in  the  Greenville  public  schools. 

Other  Notables. 

These  are  the  names  of  only  a  few  of  the  residents  of  Darke 
county  who  have  wrought  out  exceptional  careers  at  home 
or  attained  wide  fame  for  their  accomplishments.  The  legal 
profession  has  furnished  several  men  of  note  whose  names 
and  accomplishments  are  recorded  in  the  chapter  on  the 
"Bench  and  Bar"  in  this  volume.  Others  appear  among  the 
family  biographical  sketches  in  volume  two,  including  John 
T.  Lecklider,  the  poet;  Jacob  T.  Martz,  the  educator;  Frank 
Conklin,  the  financier ;  Harvey  C.  Garber,  the  politician ;  L. 
C.  Anderson,  the  physician  ;  Howard  W.  Swope,  Frank  and 
Carl  W'ilson,  the  musical  composers;  Judge  James  I.  Allread, 
(23)  i 


354  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  jurist;  Orla  Harrison  and  Clement  Brumbaugh,  the  leg- 
islators ;  Guy  C.  Baker,  the  writer  of  short  stories,  besides 
Lohmann  brothers,  the  telescope  makers  and  Frances  Katzen- 
berger  Ratliff,  the  author  of  "He  Would  Have  Me  Be  Brave"' 
and  "The  Three  Verdicts."  Besides  all  these  might  be  men- 
tioned a  host  of  painters,  readers,  educators  and  musicians, 
who  have  helped  to  place  Darke  county  in  the  front  rank  for 
native  talent  and  worthy  accomplishments. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
POLITICS  AND   POLITICAL  OFFICES. 

The  people  of  Ohio  have  been  noted  for  their  genius  for 
politics  ever  since  their  organization  as  a  state  in  1803. 
Probably  the  most  stirring  activity  in  early  days  was  that 
caused  by  the  '"Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too"  log  cabin  cam- 
paign in   1840,  as  previously  noted. 

In  earlier  days  the  people  of  Darke  county  were  isolated 
and  mostly  interested  in  clearing  the  land  and  laying  the 
foundation  for  future  prosperity.  After  the  middle  of  the 
nineteenth  century  interest  increased  and  politics  became  an 
important  theme  in  public  and  private  life.  Political  dis- 
cussion often  waxed  warm  in  the  taverns  and  public  places 
and  many  brawls  ensued. 

The  "Darke  County  Boy"  pictures  the  political  condition 
at  that  period  in  the   following  vivid  words : 

"I  never  hear  of  a  Republican  or  a  Democratic  pole  raising 
in  Darke  county  any  more.  Those  were  great  events  in  their 
day.  The  Republicans  always  raised  ash  poles,  while  the 
Democrats  raised  hickory  poles.  Noted  speakers  were  had 
by  both  parties.  The  higher  the  pole,  the  greater  the  event. 
These  poles  were  always  spliced  once  or  twice,  and  a  flag 
and  streamer  were  always  hoisted  to  the  top.  While  this 
was  going  on  the  band  would  play,  the  crowd  would  cheer, 
and  everybody  would  feel  good. 

"After  the  flag  raising  the  speaker  would  talk  about  the 
'great  fundamental  principles'  of  the  party  to  which  he  be- 
longed, when  there  would  be  more  yelling  and  handclapping, 
'to  beat  the  band.' 

"There  would  sometimes  be  a  fist  fight  or  two  before  the 
day  was  over,  but  that  was  to  be  expected.  AVhiskey  was 
good  and  cheap  and  plentiful,  and  consequently  it  always  had 
its  innings  on  such  occasions. 

"If  it  was  a  Democratic  pole  raising,  the  old  faithfuls  of 
the  party  would  drive  into  town  good  and  early.  As  they 
drove  in  one  would  see  David  Edwards  and  his  family,  Wm. 
Jenkinson,  William  Marshall,  David  Thompson,  John  Town- 


356  DARKE   COUNTY 

send,  'Big'  John  Coppess,  Joe  Brush,  Mike  and  Andy  Zeek, 
George  Dively,  Sam  Love,  and  Christian  Schlechty,  , Uncle 
Jimmy'  McCoy,  Johnathan  Matchette,  Alfred  Wolf,  Wm. 
Lecklider,  and  hundreds  of  others,  with  their  families. 

"I  never  saw  a  load  of  Democrats  in  my  life  that  didn't 
look  to  have  twice  as  many  in  the  wagon  as  there  actually 
were.  They  were  so  discouraging  for  Republicans  to  look 
at  that  it  gave  them  the  shivers — and  sometimes  worse. 

"On  such  occasions  the  speakers  would  be  either  Sam 
Medary,  Frank  iMc Kinney,  P'rank  Le  Blond,  C.  L.  Valland- 
ingham,  Geo.  E.  Pugh,  Geo.  H.  Pendleton,  Wm.  Allen, 
Thomas  Ewing,  or  local  talent,  such  as  D.  L.  Meeker,  Evan 
Baker,  Valentine  Whitmore,  John  L.  Winner,  Thos.  D.  Stiles 
and  Joseph  McCord.  These  were  'before  the  war'  days.  At 
night  there  would  be  speaking  up  town  in  front  of  the  court 
house,  where  a  bonfire  as  large  as  a  logheap  would  make 
light  enough  to  read  a  newspaper  across  the  public  square. 

"Whence  came  the  fuel  for  the  bonfire?  Every  merchant 
in  town  knew — for  the  next  morning  they  would  discover  that 
all  empty  barrels  and  boxes  had  suddenly  disappeared.  Who 
'nipped"  them  ?  We  boys,  of  course — sons  of  Democrats  and 
sons  of  Republicans,  and  every  one  of  us  a  'son  of  a  gun,' 
according  to  the  merchant's  opinion  of  us. 

''Pole  raising  day  for  Republicans  fetched  into  town  the 
families  of  David  Craig,  John  and  Aaron  Hiller,  Lemuel 
Rush.  Henry  McEowen,  J.  J.  Markwith,  Sipio  Myers,  Joseph 
and  Samuel  Cole,  A.  L.  Northrop,  Wm.  Leas,  Harrod  Mills, 
Wm.  Bishop,  Morris  and  Joe  Bryson,  James  McCabe,  David 
Putnam,  Jacob  Shiveley,  Reuben  Lowery,  and  100  other  stal- 
warts and  their  families. 

"After  the  pole  raising,  speeches  would  be  made  by  either 
Thomas  Corwin,  Salmon  P.  Chase,  Louis  D.  Campbell  (then 
a  Republican),  Robt.  Schenck,  Samuel  Galloway,  Samuel 
Cary,  William  Gibson,  James  Hart,  Samuel  Craighead,  Thos. 
M.  Browne,  or  other  distinguished  non-residents  of  the  coun- 
ty. At  night  the  local  speakers  would  be  one  or  more  of  the 
following:  J.  R.  Knox,  Dr.  L  N.  Gard,  Charles  Calkins,  E. 
B.  Putnam.  A.  R.  Calderwood,  E.  B.  Taylor,  Joseph  Frizell. 
The  usual  bonfire  would  be  blazing  as  brightly  as  at  any 
Democratic  meeting. 

"But  pole  raising  is  no  longer  fashionable.  Perhaps  the 
scarcity  of  ash  and  hickory  trees  may  be  the  fault  of  it." 

Feeling   ran    high    during   the     Buchanan     campaign     and 


DARKE   COUNTY 


357 


throughout  the  Civil  War,  when  the  epithets  of  "Butternut" 
and  "Copperhead"  were  contemptuously  applied  to  those 
who  sympathized  with  the  south,  while  the  Republicans  in 
turn  were  called  "Woolyheads.'"  It  was  the  delight  of  the 
Democrats  to  aggravate  the  Republicans  by  wearing  "butter- 
nut" clothing  similar  to  that  worn  in  the  Confederacy.  Such 
conditions  often  resulted  in  severe  fist  fights.  Vallanding- 
ham  and  Prugh,  who  were  running  on  the  state  ticket,  were 
stigmatized  as  "Vomit  and  Puke."  Fire-eating  and  backbit- 
mg  were  the  order  of  the  day.  Stump  speakers  and  editors 
vied  with  each  other  in  the  use  of  caustic  and  vile  adjec- 
tives, and  the  public  mind  was  highly  inflamed.  At  this  period 
the  office  of  the  "Democrat"  was  raided,  and  the  type  thrown 
into  the  street. 

"The  Dayton  Rounders,"  a  band  of  rowdies,  participated 
in  a  Democratic  meeting  held  in  Greenville  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  Their  presence  inflamed  the  returned  soldier  boys, 
who  drubbed  several  of  them  severely  and  drove  them  out 
of  town  after  frightening  them  by  the  discharge  of  firearms. 
This  escapade  brought  down  on  them  the  derision  of  their 
friends  at  home  and  broke  up  their  organization. 

After  the  war  a  calmer  and  more  sensible  spirit  prevailed 
and  enthusiasm  was  expressed  by  barbecues,  mass  meetings 
and  torchlight  processions.  This  condition  prevailed  dur- 
ing the  campaign  of-  Hayes  and  Tilden,  Garfield  and  Han- 
cock. In  recent  years  a  calmer  and  more  deliberate  spirit 
has  prevailed  and  more  enlightened  methods  are  used.  To 
day  the  appeal  is  to  the  reason  rather  than  the  emotions. 

From  1836  to  1846,  the  congressional  district  was  com- 
posed of  Darke,  Preble  and  Butler  counties,  with  the  result 
that  Democrats  were  elected  each  term.  In  1846  the  district 
was  changed  to  comprise  Darke,  Montgomery,  Greene  and 
Preble  and  continued  so  until  1852,  during  which  time  all  the 
successful  candidates  were  Whigs,  including  Hiram  Bell  of 
Greenville,  elected  in  1850.  In  1852  the  district  was  again 
changed  to  include  Darke,  Miami,  Shelby,  Auglaize,  Allen 
and  Mercer,  with  the  result  that  a  Democrat  was  elected  in 
1852;  a  bolter  in  1854;  a  Republican  in  1856;  William  Allen, 
of  Greenville,  a  Democrat,  in  1858  by  78  majority.  In  1862 
the  district  was  composed  of  Darke,  Warren,  Shelby,  Logan 
and  Champaign  and  elected  a  Democrat  that  year,  a  Repub- 
lican in  1864,  1866  and  1868:  and  a  Democrat  in  1870.  In 
1872  the  district  was  composed  of  Darke,  Preble,  Greene  and 


358  DARKE   COUNTY 

Montgomery  counties,  and  elected  a  Republican  in  that  year; 
a  Democrat  in  1874  and  1876.  In  1878  the  district  was  com- 
posed of  Darke,  Shelby,  Warren,  Preble,  Auglaize  and  Mercer 
and  elected  B.  S.   Lesser,  of  Sidney. 

State   Senators. 

Before  the  separation  of  Darke  county  from  Miami  the  sen- 
atorial district  included  Miami  and  Preble  counties,  and  was 
known  as  Champaign  District.  David  Purviance  represented 
these  counties  from  1812  to  1815  inclusive;  Thos.  Furnas 
from  1816  to  1819 ;  Wm.  K.  Henderson  in  1820,  and  W.  Buell 
in   1821. 

In  1822  Darke  county  was  included  in  the  Preble  District 
with  Mercer,  Van  Wert,  Paulding  and  Williams.  John  Alex- 
ander represented  this  district  at  the  special  session  in  1821. 
It  seems  that  there  was  no  representative  at  the  regular  ses- 
sions of  1822  and  1823.  David  F.  Heaton  was  the  represen- 
tative in  1825 ;  John  G.  Jamison  in  1826  and  1827.  Van  Wert 
and  Paulding  counties  were  dropped  from  the  district  in 
1828,  and  David  F.  Heaton  again  represented  the  district 
in  1828  to  June,  1832,  inclusive,  and  John  M.  W.  McNutt  in 
December,  1832. 

In  1833  the  district  comprised  Allen,  Miami,  Darke,  Shel- 
by, Wood,  Mercer,  Williams,  Lucas,  Van  Wert,  Paulding, 
Putnam  and  Henry  counties  and  was  represented  from  1833 
to  June,  1835,  by  Jas,  Johnson ;  in  the  regular  sessions  of 
1835  and  1836  by  John  E.  Hunt,  and  in  1837  by  Curtis  Bates. 

In  1838  the  district  included  Miami,  Darke  and  Mercer 
counties.  In  1840  Shelby  was  added  and  in  1844  Mercer  was 
detached,  making  the  district  decidedly  Whig.  Wm.  I. 
Thomas  represented  the  district  from  1838  to  July,  1842,  in- 
clusive ;  Jos.  S.  Updegrafif  in  1842  and  1843 ;  John  O'Ferral 
in  1844  and  1845 ;  Wm.  W.  Wilson  in  1846  and  1847 :  Jacob 
S.  Conklin  in  1848  and  1849 ;  Jas.  H.  Hart  in  1850. 

The  constitution  of  1851  made  the  sessions  biennial  in- 
stead of  annual.  Darke  county  was  then  included  in  the 
Twelfth  District  with  Miami  and  Shelby,  and  was  repre- 
sented by  Rankin  Walkup,  in  1852;  John  McClure,  in  1854; 
Wm.  H.  Lowder,  in  1856;  Isaac  N.  Card,  in  1858;  Hardesty 
Walker,  in  I860:  Wm.  B.  McLung,  in  1862:  L.  B.  Gunckel, 
in  1864;  J.  E.  Cummins,  in  1866;  John  L.  Winner,  in  1868  and 
1870:  John  W.  Morris,  in  1872;  Jno.  D.  A'Torris,  in  1874: 
Nathan  P.  Burress,  in  1876;  J.  M.  Carson,  in  1878:  Geo.  W. 


DARKE   COUNTY  359 

Moore,  in  1880;  Jennison  Hall,  in  1882;  A.  C.  Cable,  in  1884- 
1886;  A.  J.  Robertson,  in  1888-1890;  Thos.  A.  Burns,  in  1892; 
McPherson  Brown,  1894-1896;  Geo.  S.  Long,  1898-1900;  Orla 
E.  Harrison,  H.  L.  Yount. 

Edward  T.  \\'agner,  represented  Darke  county  in  the  Con- 
stitutional Convention  of  1912.  which  drafted  the  new  Con- 
stitution. 

Representatives. 

The  members  o:  the  Ohio  House  of  Representati\'es  since 
1820,  have  been:  Jas.  Mills,  Jacob  Miller,  Jas.  Riley,  Joll 
Wood,  Mark  T.  Mills,  Justin  Hamilton,  P.  G.  Goode,  Stacy 
Tavlor.  These  persons  represented  the  various  districts  of 
which  Darke  county  was  a  part  up  to  and  including  1836.  In 
1837,  Darke,  Mercer  and  Miami  were  included  in  a  district 
which  was  represented  by  Hiram  Bell.  Justin  Hamilton,  Jno. 
Briggs,  Thos.  Shidler,  M.  Purviance  and  I.  N.  Gard  during 
the  period  from  that  time  to  1841  inclusive.  Darke  alone 
was  represented  by  Jacob  Counts  and  John  McClure  in  1842, 
and  by  D.  Alexander.  Jas.  Bryson  and  Jas.  W.  Riley  in  1843  ; 
D.  J.  Hostetter,  in  1844 :  Ezek.  Thomas,  in  1845  ;  J.  S.  Pur- 
viance, in  1846;  Jacob  S.  Conklin.  in  1847;  Luther  Monfort, 
1848;  Geo.  Ward,  1849;  Jno.  Lenox,  1850;  Peter  V.  Banta, 
1852;  Evan  Baker,  1854;  J.  C.  Williamson,  1856;  J.  L.  Winner, 
1856-1860;  Louis  B.  Lott,  1862-1864;  Scipio  Myers,  1866; 
Jacob  Baker,  1868;  E.  M.  Walker,  1870;  Thos.  D.  Stiles, 
1872;  E.  M.  Walker,  1874;  S.  A.  Hostetter.  1876-1878;  Chas. 
Negley  and  W.  Long.  1880;  Chas.  Negley.  1882;  David  Baker, 
1884-1886.  Harvey  C.  Garber  was  the  representative  in  the 
sessions  of  1890  and  1892:  C.  A\'.  Hoefifer.  in  1894:  W.  E. 
Ludwick,  in  1896  and  1898;  Clement  L.  Brumbaugh,  in  1900- 
1902;  A.  H.  Judy.  Chris  Appenzeller. 

The   County   Commissioners. 

are  now  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years,  beginning  Sep- 
tember 15.  They  are  three  in  number,  one  being  elected 
each  year,  and  their  salary  is  $1,704.24  with  an  allov^'ance  of 
$3.00  per  diem  on  ditches  up  to  $500.00. 

The  first  Commissioners  elected  in  1817  were  .Archibald 
Rryson,  Abraham  Studabaker  and  Silas  .Atchison.  Those 
who  have  served  in  this  capacity  since  the  abuve  mentioned 
during  the  entire  history  of  the  county  are  Jacob  Miller.  AVm. 
Curry,   John    McNeill,   Joshua    Howell,    Dennis   Hart.   James 


360  DARKE   COUNTY 

Bryson,  Robert  Robeson,  David  Briggs,  Jacob  Harter,  Solo- 
mon Riffle,  John  Swisher,  Richard  Lucas,  Moses  Woods, 
Wm.  B.  Ludd,  George  Ward,  John  McGriff,  Jr.,  John  Col- 
ville,  Henry  Lipp,  Wm.  Arnold,  John  Miller,  Christian  Har- 
shey,  Adam  Baker,  Samuel  C.  Baker,  Isaac  Reed,  Daniel  Rie- 
gel,  David  Studabaker,  Abel  Slonaker,  Stephen  A.  Greer, 
Wm.  Kerr,  Michael  Zeek,  William  Wright,  Riley  Gard,  John 
Stoltz,  George  Ivester,  Samuel  Alexander,  David  Oliver, 
Jesse  Woods,  Jas.  Auld,  J.  R.  Holland,  Elisha  Berry,  John 
Antonides,  Geo.  D.  Miller,  Wm.  Archard,  Samuel  Wilson, 
John  Frederick,  Jno.  G.  Deubner,  John  H.  Corwin,  Wm. 
Archard,  R.  K.  Beem,  S.  J.  Stapleton,  Chris  Appenzeller,  A. 
Kercher,  Jacob  Eberwine,  P.  J.  Plessinger,  John  H.  Noggle, 
Jacob  Zacharias,  Geo.  E.  Niswonger,  Jos.  Alexander,  Thos. 
L.  Brewer,  N.  D.  Sipple,  W.  H.  Townsend.  D.  F.  Amspaugh, 
Oscar  Moist,  A.  B.  Craig,  Reuben  Hannah,  John  Coblentz 
and  John   Wondle. 

The  following  is  the  first  report  of  the  County  Commission- 
ers filed  in  1818,  for  the  year  commencing  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  June,  1817,  and  ending  on  the  first  Monday  in  June, 
1818: 

Expenditures. 

Cash  for  orders  redeemed  $456.44| 

Paid   the   Treasurer's   commission 18.24f 

$474.69i 
Receipts. 

In  full  of  the  county  tax  for  the  year  1817 $171.00 

Store  and  tavern  license  and  permits 76.57 

On  account  sale  of  county  lots 177.00 

Fines    1 36.00 

On    roads    not    established 2.25 


$462.82 

Leaving  a  balance  due  the  Treasurer  on  the  first  Monday 
in  June.   1818,  of  $11.77. 

The  first  commissioners  received  a  total  of  $40.50  for  their 
services. 

The  three  Associate  Judges  drew  $25.00  for  their  labor, 
and  less  than  fifty  dollars  was  paid  for  all  the  expenses  of 
the  court. 


DARKE   COUNTY 


361 


The  grand  jury  was  the  most  expensive  item,  drawing 
$57.00. 

The  cost  of   road   improvement   for  that   year   was  $20.00. 

It  is  intensely  interesting  to  note  that  of  the  amount  re- 
ceived $47.75  was  for  six  of  the  lots  comprising  the  original 
plat  of  the  city  of  Greenville,  out  of  the  thirty-two.  which 
had  been  conveyed  to  the  County  Commissioners  by  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  plat  for  such  public  uses  as  might  be  deemed 
desirable.  The  lots  were  mostly  99  feet  by  165  feet,  and 
comprised  the  present  very  valuable  sites  of  the  Sellman  and 
Hopkin  homes  on  West  Third  street ;  the  Dorman  and  King 
properties  on  West  Main  street;  Spidel  feed  and  sale  barn 
on  East  Third  street ;  the  Opera  House  and  saloon  property 
adjoining  on  Third  street ;  the  Kipp  corner  on  the  public 
square,  extending  probably  to  Laurimore's  restaurant  on 
Broadway,  and  the  Cole  property  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
East  Main  and  Walnut  streets.  At  that  time  a  tax  of  thirty 
cents  a  head  was  levied  on  horses  and  ten  cents  a  head  on 
cattle.  Tavern  keepers  paid  a  license  of  $8.00  and  storekeep- 
ers $10.00.     John  Devor  was  the  tax  collector. 

The  County  Auditor 

transacts  a  large  amount  of  important  business,  including  the 
issuing  of  Commissioners'  and  other  warrants  on  the  County 
Treasurer,  making  out  the  tax  duplicate,  auditing  the  ac- 
counts of  all  the  district  and  village  and  city  schools,  etc. 
He  is  now  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years,  beginning  in 
October,  and  his  salary  is  $3,135.00  per  year. 

Those  who  have  filled  this  important  position  since  the 
establishment  of  the  office  in  1821,  were  Jas.  Devor,  H.  D. 
Williams,  John  Craig,  John  Beers,  David  Cole,  Hiram  Bell, 
David  Angel,  C.  C.  Craig,  Wm.  M.  Wilson,  David  Stamm, 
John  S.  Winner,  A.  R.  Doty,  A.  L.  Northrop,  Geo.  W.  Coo- 
ver,  Joseph  C.  Shepherd,  John  E.  Matchett,  D.  B.  Clews,  E. 
H.  Wright,  O.  C.  Perry,  John  D.  Matchett,  W.  J.  Kelly,  John 
C.  Turpen,  Cyrus  Minnich,  L.  C.  Klipstine,  George  Sigafoos, 
J.  W.  Ditman,  Ed.  Culbertson,  Frank  Snyder  and  the  present 
incumbent,  John  L.  Morgan. 

The  County  Treasurer 

is  elected  for  a  period  of  three  years  beginning  in  September. 
His  salary  at  present  is  $3,135.00.     John  Devor  was  the  first 


362  DARKE   COUNTY 

Treasurer,  being  appointed  in  1818.  Others  who  served 
since  him  were :  David  Briggs,  Linus  Bascom,  John  Beers, 
A.  Scribner,  Loring  R.  Brownell,  Henry  D.  Williams,  Jas. 
M.  Dorsey,  Daniel  Irwin,  James  Devor,  Chas.  Hutchins,  Jas. 
Irwin,  AA'm.  Schmidt,  Jas.   McKhann,   Geo.   H.   JMartz,  Thos. 

P.  Turpen,  Eli  Helm,  John  Simon,  Bickel,  H.  C.  Helm, 

J.  P.  ]\Ieeker,  T.  F.  Rogers,  John  C.  Burns.  John  Suter  is  the 
jiresent   incumbent. 

The  County  Recorder 

is  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years,  beginning  in  September. 
His  salary  is  now  $2,130.00.  Abraham  Scribner  was  appoint- 
ed the  first  County  Recorder  in  1817,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Easton  Morris.  Those  serving  since  were :  Joseph  D.  Far- 
rar,  Thomas  Rush,  John  Wharry,  Elias  Brumminger,  John 
S.  Shepherd.  S.  C.  Eddington,  Daniel  Stevenson,  A.  F.  Med- 
ford,  Benj.  Beers.  P.  H.  ]\Iaher,  Richard  Hunt,  Daniel  Sny- 
der, James  W.  Martin,  Wm.  Townsend,  Louis  Gruber.  The 
present  incumbent  is  Alva  Binklev. 

The  County  Surveyor  or  Engineer 

is  elected  for  a  period  of  three  }'ears,  his  term  beginning 
in  September.  His  salary  is  five  dollars  per  working  day. 
Those  elected  in  recent  years  to  this  office,  where  accuracy 
of  detail  and  mathematical  preci=;ion  are  prime  requisites. 
were:  Eli  Armacost,  W.  D.  Brumbaugh,  German  Warner, 
Jas.  R.  Marker,  Chas.  Slade.  The  present  incumbent  is  Harry 
Miller,  who  assumed  office  this  year. 

The  first  surveyor  was   probably   John   Devor,   who   made 
the  original  plat  of  Greenville  in  1808. 

The   Infirmary   Superintendent 

has  a  difficult  and  responsible  position  in  caring  for  the  de- 
ficient, aged  and  infirm  members  of  the  county  house,  and  in 
taking  care  of  the  large  farm  attached  thereto.  This  officer 
was  formerly  appointed  yearly  by  the  Infirmary  Directors, 
who  in  turn  were  appointed  by  the  Commissioners.  Recent- 
ly they  have  been  appointed  by  the  Commissioners  direct, 
thus  eliminating  a  superfluous  office. 


DARKE   COUNTY  363 


Court   Officials. 


The  Probate  Judge  is  elected  for  a  term  of  four  years, 
which  begins  in  I'ebruary.     His  salary  is  $3,135.00  per  year. 

The  Prosecuting  Attorney  is  elected  for  a  period  of  two 
years,  beginning"  in  January.  His  salary  is  $2,370.00  per 
year. 

The  Clerk  of  the  Courts  is  elected  for  a  term  of  three  years 
beginning  in  August  with  a  salary  of  $2,785.00  yearly. 

The  Sheriff  holds  for  a  period  of  two  years,  beginning 
January  1,  and  receives  a  salary  of  $2,300.00  per  year. 

In  Chapter  XXH,  entitled  "Bench  and  Bar,"  will  be  found 
a  complete  list  of  those  serving  in  the  above  court  ofHces 
since  the  organization  of  the  county,  with  biographical 
sketches  of  all  Probate  and  Common  Pleas  Judges. 

Darke  county  is  now  in  the  Fourth  Congressional  District, 
which  includes  also  the  counties  of  Allen,  Auglaize,  Shelby 
and  Mercer.  Since  1891,  the  following  Democrats  have  rep- 
resented this  district  at  Washington :  F.  C.  Layton  (Au- 
glaize), 1891-1896; Marshall  (Shelby),  1897-1898;  Robert 

Gordon  (Auglaize),  1899-1902;  Harvey  C.  Garber  (Darke), 
1903-1906;  W.  E.  Touvelle  (Mercer),  1907-1910;  J.  H.  Goeke 
(Auglaize),  191 1-. 

The  county  has  uniformly  gone  Democratic  on  presidential 
elections  for  several  years,  except  that  it  gave  Theodore 
Roosevelt  (Republican)  a  majority. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
PUBLIC  INSTITUTIONS. 

The  County  Infirmary. 

Probably  no  public  institution  better  illustrates  the  pro- 
gressive and  philanthropic  disposition  of  the  people  of  Darke 
county  than  the  beautiful  new  infirmary  building,  situated  on 
a  commanding  hillside  some  two  miles  south  of  Greenville  on 
the  Eaton  pike.  Before  the  middle  of  the  last  century  it  was 
customary  in  Darke  and  other  Ohio  counties  to  place  their 
weak,  unfortunate  and  incompetent  citizens  in  the  homes  of 
residents  who  hoped  to  profit  by  their  keeping.  It  can  read- 
ily be  imagined  that  many  abuses  attended  this  pernicious 
custom  and  that  the  growing  spirit  of  charity  and  humanity 
demanded  a  home  maintained  by  a  county  tax  where  these 
poor  people  might  have  proper  care  and  attention. 

Accordingly,  on  March  18,  1854,  the  County  Commissioners 
purchased  a  farm  of  248  acres  located  in  townships  11  and  12 
in  Greenville  township  on  both  sides  of  the  Eaton  pike  for 
the  sum  of  $6,000.00.  The  object  of  this  purchase  was  to 
locate  a  home  for  the  care  of  the  infirm;  sick  and  disabled 
poor  of  the  county.  The  contract  for  an  infirmary  building 
was  let  on  May  17,  1854,  and  the  structure  was  completed 
in  January,  1856,  at  a  total  cost  of  about  $8,500.00.  This 
structure  was  built  of  brick,  three  stories  in  height  and  was 
40x84  feet  in  dimensions.  The  building  was  doubled  in  size 
by  an  addition  built  in  1875-76,  when  it  contained  seventy- 
two  rooms  ;  substantial  separate  buildings  were  also  erected 
for  a  laundry  and  engine-house.  The  site  chosen  was  on  the 
slope  of  a  hill  overlooking  Greenville  and  the  valley  of  Bridge 
creek.  This  institution  was  opened  for  the  reception  of 
inmates  March  1,  1856,  and  an  average  of  eighteen  inmates 
was  maintained  during  that  year.  In  March,  1880,  the  num- 
ber of  inmates  was  106,  including  fourteen  idiotic  persons. 

By  a  law  enacted  in  recent  years  most  of  the  insane  patients 
are  sent  to  the  district  state  hospital  at  Dayton,  O.,  for  treat- 
ment and  confinement.  It  has  been  estimated  that  about 
ninety  per  cent,  of  all  inmates  confined  in  the  infirmary  are 
there  as  a  result  of  intemperance,  directlv  or  indirectly.     A 


366  DARKE   COUNTY 

cursory  glance  convinces  even  the  superficial  observer  that  a 
large  per  cent,  suffer  from  senility  or  some  form  of  mental 
or  physical  weakness  which  incapacitates  them  for  the  ard- 
uous duties  of  the  normal  citizen. 

The  original  building  was  consumed  by  fire  on  the  morn- 
ing of  June  2,  1897.  At  that  time  there  were  some  seventy- 
five  or  eighty  inmates  confined  in  the  building,  all  of  whom 
escaped  and  found  refuge  in  the  large  barn  across  the  road. 
They  were  soon  removed  to  the  fair  grounds  until  suitable 
temporary  quarters  had  been  erected  just  south  of  the  site 
of  the  burned  building.  At  this  time  the  Count}-  Commis- 
sioners and  Infirmary  Directors  took  prompt  action  to  secure 
the  erection  of  a  new  building.  The  contract  was  soon  let 
to  Hosacoster,  of  Richmond,  Indiana,  at  about  $75,000,  who 
pushed  the  work  during  the  following  winter  and  spring  and 
had  it  ready  for  occupancy  in  the  fall  of  1898. 

John  Studebaker,  L.  G.  Turner  and  G.  F.  Trittschuh  were 
the  directors ;  John  Noggle,  Philip  Plessinger  and  Chris  Ap- 
penseller  the  commissioners ;  T.  B.  Miller,  the  superintend- 
ent, and  Dr.  W.  A.  Rush  the  visiting  physician  at  the  time 
of  the  fire,  and  to  these  officers  must  be  given  much  credit 
for  the  efficient  manner  in  which  they  met  the  critical  situa- 
tion. 

The  new  building  is  built  of  red  pressed  brick  on  a  stone 
foundation,  has  a  slate  roof  and  is  two  stories  above  the  base- 
ment. The  front  facade  is  ornamented  with  towers 
and  dormers  and  presents  a  pleasing  and  homelike  appear- 
ance. The  front  part  of  the  building  is  built  for  the  use  of 
the  superintendent  and  family,  and  contains  an  office,  sitting 
room,  bed  room,  reception  room  and  pantry  on  the  first  floor, 
five  bed  rooms  and  a  bath  room  upstairs  and  a  kitchen  in  the 
basement.  There  is  an  offset  in  the  building  between  the 
superintendent's  department  and  that  of  the  inmates  a  short 
distance  to  the  rear.  The  main  hall  runs  entirely  through 
the  building  from  east  to  west.  On  the  south  side  of  this 
hall  downstairs  is  the  male  inmates'  department,  comprising 
a  large  sitting  room,  dormitory,  with  some  eighteen  beds, 
two  separate  bed  room,  three  closets,  three  lavatories  and  a 
large  bath  room,  besides  three  other  bed  rooms  on  the  ex- 
treme east.  Upstairs  above  these  roms  are  a  large  hospital 
room,  dormitory,  three  or  four  bed  rooms  with  four  beds 
each,  bath  and  sanitary  and  three  additional  bed  rooms  as 
below.     The  female  department  is  situated  on  the  north  side 


INFIRMARY    BUILDING 
(Courtesy    "Advocate") 


DARKE   COUNTY  367 

oi  the  building  and  is  arranged  in  abijut  the  same  manner  as 
that  of  the  males.  A  large  dining  room  and  two  kitchens 
occupy  the  rear  of  the  main  building.  There  is  a  basement 
under  the  entire  building  containing  furnace,  coal  and  food 
storage  rooms  besides  the  superintendent's  kitchen. 

A  short  distance  east  of  the  main  building  is  located  the 
annex  built  to  house  the  incurable  insane.  It  is  of  brick, 
two  stories  high,  and  contains  eighteen  cells,  one  large  bath 
room  and  nine  separate  cells  with  sanitary  closet  attached 
on  each  floor.  North  of  the  annex  is  a  brick  laundry  build- 
ing equipped  with  modern  machinery.  Besides  these  there 
is  a  slaughter  house,  an  ice  house,  a  large  bank  barn  capable 
of  accommodating  about  forty  head  of  cattle,  ten  horses,  a 
silo  with  a  capacity  of  probably  seventy-five  tons  of  ensil- 
age, a  crib,  a  wagon  shed  and  a  hog  pen.  A  twenty-five 
horse  power  gas  engine  with  a  six-inch  duplex  pump  draws 
the  water  from  a  wonderful  natural  spring  located  just  below 
the  edge  of  the  hill  on  the  west  side  of  the  pike  some  five 
hundred  feet  from  the  engine  house.  This  spring  has  been 
enclosed  by  a  wall  sixteen  feet  square  and  the  water  stands 
about  five  feet  deep  throughout  the  year.  It  is  seemingly 
inexhaustible  as  from  five  hundred  to  seven  hundred  barrels 
of  water  have  been  pumped  from  it  in  one  day  in  the  summer 
season  to  sprinkle  the  lawn,  etc.,  -without  visibly  diminish- 
ing the  supply. 

The  cost  of  the  entire  group  of  buildings  is  estimated  at 
approximately  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  the  land 
comprising  the  farm  is  now  probably  worth  thirty  thousand 
dollars. 

Shortly  after  the  completion  it  was  inspected  bv  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  who  pronounced  it  the 
best  arranged  and  most  complete  infirmary  of  its  size  in  Ohio. 

Until  recently  this  institution  was  conducted  by  a  super- 
intendent and  three  directors,  appointed  by  the  County  Com- 
missioners. By  a  new  law  the  directors  have  been  eliminat- 
ed, and  the  Commissioners  control  it  directly.  Since  its  or- 
ganization the  following  persons  have  served  in  the  difficult 
and  responsible  position  of  superintendent:  Jacob  Shively, 
three  years ;  David  Thompson,  six  years ;  Wm.  Thompson, 
five  years ;  Crawford  Eddington,  seven  years ;  J.  N.  Braden, 
three  years ;  John  Brandon,  ten  years ;  T.  B.  Miller,  eleven 
years:   I.   F.   St.    Tohn.   three   vears :   Wm.   .Smith,   five   vears. 


368  DARKE  COUNTY 

The  present  very  efficient  and  popular  incumbent  is  G.  Fred- 
erick Trittschuh,  who  has  served  since   1910. 

The  following  extract  from  the  report  of  the  Board  of 
County  Visitors  filed  with  the  Probate  Judge,  December  14, 
1913,  shows  the  present  condition  of  this  very  important 
county    institution : 

"The  Darke  County  Infirmary,  situated  about  two  miles 
south  of  Greenville  on  the  Dayton  &  Northern  Traction, 
comprises  a  farm  of  241  acres,  of  which  140  acres  is  tillable, 
25  acres  is  in  timber,  55  acres  in  pasture,  10  acres  in  orchard, 
5  acres  in  lawn  and  barnyard,  and  one  acre  in  cemetery.  The 
farm  land  is  in  good  condition  and  is  valued  at  $125  per  acre. 

"This  season  the  farm  produced  457  bushels  of  wheat,  409 
bushels  of  oats,  204  bushels  of  rye,  3,000  bushels  of  corn,  50 
tons  of  hay,  75  tons  of  ensilage,  448  bushels  of  Irish  potatoes, 
69  bushels  of  sweet  potatoes,  75  bushels  of  onions  and  an 
abundance  of  vegetables  of  all  kinds. 

The  cellar  contains  over  a  thousand  cans  of  fruit  and  85 
gallons  of  apple  butter. 

On  the  farm  at  the  present  time  are  the  following:  Forty- 
six  cattle,  seven  horses,  two  hundred  and  twenty  swine,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  chickens.  The  stock  is  in  good  condition, 
and  the  barn  is  well  filled  with  feed  for  winter  use.  The  total 
value  of  the  products  for  the  year  was  $6,766.72. 

The  estimated  net  annual  expense,  beside  products,  was 
$12,618.06. 

Supt.  G.  F.  Trittschuh  and  wife  formerly  received  $1,200 
per  year,  and  now  $1,400  per  year. 

The  management  of  the  farm  and  institution  requires  the 
assistance  of  the  following  help :  Two  farm  hands  at  $26.00 
each  per  month ;  an  engineer  at  $50.00  per  month ;  six  girls  at 
$17.50  each  per  month.  Dr.  S.  A.  Hawes  is  emplo^^ed  as 
physician  for  the  institution  at  $150.00  per  year. 

The  capacity  of  the  infirmary  is  two  hundred,  and  the  popu- 
lation is  eighty-six.  Of  this  number  one  is  an  epileptic, 
six  are  blind,  three  are  insane,  and  the  majority  of  the 
remainder  are  disaljled  by  old  age.  All  the  inmates  who  are 
able  assist  with  the  work  of  the  institution.  The  women  are 
employed  with  house  work,  quilt  piecing,  and  sewing  carpet 
rags  while  the  men  are  engaged  in  care  of  the  buildings  and 
labor  on  the  farm.     The  inmates  seem  contented  and  happy. 

The  insane  are  quartered  in  separate  rooms  in  the  annex. 


DARKE   COUNTY  369 

The  sexes  occupy  separate  wings  ol'  the  building.  Aged 
couples  are  also  separated. 

There  are  no  soldiers  or  soldiers'  widows  at  the  infirmary. 

The  buildings  are  in  excellent  condition  and  are  well  kept. 
The  basement  of  the  main  building  looks  clean  and  sanitary, 
with  all  the  walls  newly  whitewashed.  The  buildings  are  all 
lighted  by  electricity  and  heated  by  steam.  The  rooms  are 
ventilated  by  raising  and  lowering  the  windows. 

The  door  yards  are  especially  neat  and  clean  in  every  part. 
The  lawn,  with  its  artistically  arranged  shrubs  and  flowers, 
]-)resent  an   attractive  appearance. 

Industry,  care  and  thrift  are  in  ex'idence  throughout  the 
institution. 

The  water  supplv  is  obtained  from  a  spring  and  a  driven 
well. 

Protection  against  fire  is  provided  by  chemical  fire  ex- 
tinguishers and  water  furnished  by  the  tower  system. 

The  inmates  have  access  to  daily  and  weekly  papers." 

The  report  of  1879  showed  114  inmates  on  August  31st  of 
that  year:  193  persons  admitted  during  the  year;  total  cost  of 
ii-aintenance  $8,314.49.  The  farm  itself  is  now  worth  about 
five  times  its  original  cost  and  the  total  value  of  ground  and 
buildings  approximates  $130,000.00. 

The  Children's  Home. 

The  word  home  is  one  of  the  most  sacred  and  suggestive  in 
the  English  language,  calling  up  ties  and  associations  dear  to 
the  heart  nf  humanity — ties  that  bind  old  and  young  around 
the  common  hearthstone — associations  that  cast  a  potent 
spell  over  the  entire  earthly  life  of  normal  man. 

To  establish  and  maintain  a  home  for  the  unfortunate 
children  of  a  large  county  is  a  work  worthy  of  sincere  com- 
mendation. In  early  days  such  children  were  placed  in  the 
infirmaries  with  the  idiotic,  the  delinquent,  the  aged  and  in- 
firm and  brought  under  the  depressing  influences  of  such  an 
un~a\-ory  environment. 

Benevolent  minded  citizen'^  early  saw  the  revolting  fea- 
tures of  this  custom  and  stirred  up  sentiment  asjainst  it.  In 
response  to  this  sentiment  the  county  commissioners  ordered 
that  the  proposition  of  establishing  a  children's  home,  and  of 
issuing  bonds  in  a  sum  not  in  excess  of  S2S.0O0  to  oav  for  the 
requisite  site  and  erect  suitable  buildings  thereon,  be  sub- 
r24'i 


370  DARKE   COUNTY 

milted  to  the  qualified  electors  of  the  county  at  a  public  elec- 
tion in  April,  1882.  The  proposition  was  accordingly  voted 
on  arid  carried  by  a  large  majority.  Taxes  were  levied  for 
this  purpose  in  1882,  1883  and  1884.  The  commissioners 
then  invited  proffers  of  suitable  tracts  and  after  the  consid- 
eration of  various  propositions  from  owners  of  farms  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  count}'  finally  decided  upon  a  tract  of 
about  fifty-two  and  one-half  acres  situated  in  adjoining  cor- 
ners of  sections  thirteen  and  fourteen,  township  twelve, 
range  two  east,  on  the  Beamsville  pike  about  two  and  three- 
fourths  miles  north  of  the  county  seat.  This  property  was 
purchased  from  George  W.  Manix,  Sr.,  November  27,  1883 
for  $7,357.63.  This  site  is  centrally  located,  is  sufficiently  re- 
mote from  Greenville  to  insure  quiet  and  home-like  condi- 
tions, but  not  being  situated  on  any  railway  or  traction  line 
necessitates  the  incurring  of  extra  expense  for  the  transpor- 
tation of  fuel  and  supplies. 

The  Dorman  farm,  nicely  situated  on  a  rising  knoll  skirt- 
ing the  north  bank  of  Greenville  creek  and  facing  the  same 
pike,  had  been  offered  as  a  site,  but  considerable  objection 
was  raised  on  account  of  its  proximity  to  the  county  seat,  an 
objection  which  is  not  now  considered  sufficiently  valid. 

On  November  26,  1884,  the  commissioners  appointed 
three  trustees :  S.  A.  IHlostetter,  to  serve  three  years :  John  H. 
Martin,  two  years;  and  Thomas  McCowen,  to  serve  one 
year.  By  joint  action  of  the  commissioners  and  trustees  it 
was  decided  to  build  a  structure  of  ample  proportions  with 
all  modern  conveniences.  The  contract  for  the  main  building 
was  let  June  8,  1888,  for  $17,000.  The  boiler  house  cost 
about  $2,000.00.  the  gas  fitting,  heaters  and  radiators  about 
$4,000.00  and  the  grading  of  yard  and  making  of  roads  and 
walks  about  $800.00  in  addition  to  the  above. 

The  main  building  is  two  stories  high  above  the  basement, 
is  built  of  red  brick  on  a  stone  foundation,  is  one  htmdred  and 
sixteen  feet  front  length,  ninety-one  feet  deep  on  the  wings, 
about  sixty  feet  above  grade  to  square,  has  tower,  steep 
pitched  slate  roof  and  dormers.  The  basement  is  cemented 
and  contains  a  large  kitchen,  dining  room,  pantries,  grocery, 
fireman's  work  room,  besides  fruit  and  coal  rooms,  and  a 
large  furnace.  An  eight-foot  hall  penetrates  this  floor  for 
eighty  feet.  The  first  floor  is  intersected  by  halls  running 
both  ways,  has  a  large  sitting  room,  dining  room  and  pan- 
tries, a  commodious  office  with  parlor  and  bed-room  attached. 


DARKE   COUNTY  371 

Girls  and  boys  have  separate  large  play  rooms  with  attached 
wash,  bath,  sanitary  closet  and  press  room,  besides  two  sep- 
arate bed  rooms  and  closets,  contains  a  large  room  used  for 
nursery  and  dormitory,  a  serving  room,  sev-en  bed  rooms,  one 
large  bath  room,  and  boys'  and  girls'  dormitories  each  with 
wash,  toilet  and  bath  room  attached,  and  all  connected  by 
cross  halls.  A  hospital  room  was  furnished  in  the  attic  but 
has  been  condemned  by  the  state  inspector  of  public  build- 
ings. Besides  the  main  building  there  is  a  two-stor}'  brick 
laundry  building  with  slate  roof,  size  twenty-four  by  forty 
feet,  equipped  with  steam-washer,  extracter  and  drying  room; 
a  brick  slaughter  house  size  fourteen  by  twenty-two  feet ;  a 
two-story  frame  building,  size  eighteen  by  thirty-four  feet, 
built  for  a  manual  training  shop  ;  a  good  barn  forty  by  eighty 
feet  on  the  fondation,  with  basement,  in  which  are  kept 
horses  and  cattle ;  a  hog  house,  and  four  large  hen  houses. 
Uesides  these  buildings,  a  neat  and  commodious  brick  school 
house  with  tower  and  two  rooms,  size  twenty-five  by  thirty- 
four  and  twenty-eight  by  forty,  respectively,  was  built  in  1895, 
some  distance  north  of  the  main  building.  On  December  18, 
1913,  there  were  sixty-three  children  in  the  home,  thirty-five 
boys  and  twenty-eight  girls,  and  eleven  assistants  were  em- 
ployed. 

Thomas  Teal  was  the  first  superintendent  of  the  home  and 
served  from  April,  1889,  to  March,  1892.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Thomas  Monger  and  wife,  who  served  as  superintendent 
and  matron  respectively  until  1912,  a  period  of  twenty  years, 
in  a  very  efficient  and  satisfactory  manner.  Mr.  Albert  Wag- 
ner and  wife  served  from  ^larch  5.  1912.  to  March,  1913,  and 
were  succeeded  by  Air.  Alvin  Gilbert  and  wife  who  are  the 
present  incumbents. 

S.  A.  Hostetter  served  as  trustee  for  seventeen  years,  and 
was  succeeded  by  John  Suter,  who  served  eight  years,  who  in 
turn  was  succeeded  by  Elmer  Studebaker,  who  now  occupies 
this  office.  John  H.  Martin  served  a  short  time,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  C.  Turpen,  who  served  six  or  eight  years,  and 
was  succeeded  by  J.  C.  Elliott,  who  served  eiight  years, 
since  whose  term  the  office  has  been  filled  for  brief  periods 
by  James  W.  Martin,  and  W.  B.  Hough,  both  deceased,  and  is 
now  filled  by  Ed  Culbertson  who  was  recently  appointed. 
Thomas  McCowen  was  succeeded  by  Judge  J.  A.  Jobes.  who 
was  appointed  to  fill  his  unexpired  term.     Jacob  M.   Brown 


372  DARKE   COUNTY 

succeeded  Jobes  in  1892,  served  eleven  years,  and  was  in  turn 
succeeded  by  W.  D.  Rush,  who  has  served  ever  since. 

When  the  number  of  trustees  was  increased  from  three  to 
four  in  order  to  make  the  board  bi-partisan,  Henry  Bish  was 
appointed  to  this  position  and  served  probably  six  years, 
being  succeeded  by  John  A.  McEowen,  who  served  about  ten 
years.  The  latter  resigned  in  1912  and  was  succeeded  by  J. 
H.  Dunham,  the  present  incumbent. 

During  the  quarter  of  a  century  of  the  home's  history  over 
six  hundred  children  have  gone  through  its  course  of  training 
and  been  placed  with  responsible  families  or  in  promising 
employment.  The  children  are  now  kept  in  the  home  until 
they  are  eighteen  years  of  age. 

The  amount  of  service  rendered  to  these  unfortunate  chil- 
dren, and  through  them  to  society,  is  incalculable  and  justi- 
fies, no  doubt,  all  the  care  and  expense  invested  in  them. 
The  following  extract  from  the  report  of  the  Board  of  County 
Visitors  filed  December  14,  1913,  with  Probate  Judge  James 
B.  Kolp  furnishes  some  interesting  data : 

Children's   Home. 

The  Children's  Home  is  situated  two  and  three-fourths 
miles  northeast  of  Greenville  on  a  farm  of  fifty-two  and  one- 
half  acres.  Thirty-five  are  tillable,  eight  acres  are  in  tim- 
ber, and  the  remainder  in  orchard,  garden,  barn-yard  and 
lawn.     The  farm  is  valued  at  $125.00  per  acre. 

The  products  this  year  were  twelve  tons  of  hay,  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-four  bushels  rye,  a  silo  of  ensilage,  one  hun- 
dred twenty-five  bushels  of  potatoes,  ten  bushels  of  beets, 
ten  bushels  of  onions,  five  bushels  of  sweet  potatoes  and  the 
usual  garden  supplies. 

On  the  farm  at  the  present  time  are  the  following;  Eight 
cattle,  four  horses,  twenty-two  swine,  seven  turkeys  and  two 
hundred  chickens. 

The  value  of  the  products  from  this  farm  were  estimated 
at  $1,100.00. 

The  estimated  net  annual  expense,  besides  products,  was 
$11,873.29. 

The  management  of  the  home  was  changed  in  March.  1913. 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  Gilbert,  who  receive  $1,000  per  year  sal- 
ary, are  now  in  charge. 

A  physician  is  employed  at  a  salary  of  $100.00  per  year. 

While   there    are   accommodations    for   one   himdred    chil- 


UAKKi:   COUNTY  373 

dren,  there  are  now  only  sixty-one  children  in  the  home.  Of 
these  there  is  one  crippled  and  one  feeble-minded.  The  boys 
and  girls  occupy  different  parts  of  the  same  building  and  each 
department  is  in  charge  of  a  governess. 

The  girls'  dormitory  is  fitted  up  with  white  iron  beds  and 
the  boys  with  wooden  beds.  These  beds  are  equipped  with 
sheets,  pillows,  blankets,  comforts  and  spreads. 

A  seamstress  is  employed  to  do  the  sewing  for  the  inmates. 

The  older  children,  when  out  of  school,  assist  with  the  work 
of  the  institution.  Some  of  the  girls,  who  are  musically  in- 
clined, are  given  instrumental  lessons. 

One  teacher  is  employed  to  teach  the  home  school. 

The  children  have  access  to  a  library,  the  Youth's  Com- 
panion and  Sunday  school  papers. 

The  children  attend  Sunday  school  at  a  church  near  the 
home. 

The  clothing  of  the  children  is  good  and  plentiful. 

The  brick  building  occupied  by  the  superintendent  and 
family,  the  helpers  and  the  inmates,  is  lighted  by  electricity, 
heated  by  steam,  and  ventilated  by  windows. 

The  trustees  have  improved  the  building  this  year  by 
making  a  board  floor  in  the  children's  dining  room  and  the 
kitchen,  and  by  building  fire  escapes  to  the  boys'  and  girls' 
dormitories  and  children's  dining  room.  They  have  repaired, 
roofed  and  repainted  the  barn. 

Carnegie  Library. 

One  of  the  most  popular  and  useful  institutions  in  the 
cotmty  is  the  Carnegie  library,  located  on  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  Fifth  and  Sycamore  streets,  Greenville,  Ohio,  on 
grounds  formerly  comprising  a  portion  of  the  West  School 
play  grounds.  The  beginning  of  this  excellent  library-  prop- 
erly dates  from  the  administration  of  Prof.  F.  Gillum 
Cromer  as  superintendent  of  the  public  schools.  Professor 
Cromer  became  superintendent  in  1888  and  soon  began  to 
plan  for  a  library  for  the  use  of  the  school  children.  Wash- 
ington's birthday  entertainments  were  given  by  the  scholars  of 
the  public  schools  ("which  then  comprised  the  East  (high) 
school  and  West  school)  and  the  money  thus  earned  was 
used  to  purchase  books  and  maintain  the  library,  which  was 
then  called  the  "Free  School  Library."  As  the  library  in- 
creased in  size  it  was  deemed  desirable  to  equip  a  centrally 
located  room  and  open  up  the  library  to  the  general  public. 


374  DARKE   COITNTY 

Appreciating  the  benefit  conferred  upon  a  community  by  the 
possession  of  such  an  institution,  Mr.  Frank  M.  McWhinney, 
a  public  spirited  citizen,  donated  the  use  of  the  lower  floor  of 
his  brick  business  room  on  West  Fifth  street,  opposite  the 
Christian  Tabernacle,  for  the  housing  of  the  growing  library. 
This  room  was  nicely  furnished  by  the  board  of  education 
and  in  1892  the  books  were  moved  into  it.  Mr.  Henry  St. 
Clair,  a  wholesale  grocer  and  far-seeing  citizen,  added  an  ex- 
cellent reference  library,  comprising  dictionaries,  atlases,  cy- 
clopedias, theological,  historical  and  reference  books  gen- 
erally and  furnished  a  secluded  alcove  for  the  especial  use  of 
the  ministers,  professional  men  and  literary  club  women. 
Miss  Josie  Ford  was  employed  as  the  first  librarian.  She 
was  succeeded  bv  Aliss  Callie  Biltemier.  The  library  in- 
creased in  size  and  usefulness  and  in  the  early  spring  of  1901, 
Mr.  D.  L.  Gaskill,  representing  the  board  of  education  of  the 
city  of  Greenville,  wrote  Andrew  Carnegie  asking  whether, 
if  the  city  of  Greenville  would  pledge  itself  for  the  support 
of  a  library,  he  would  not  make  a  donation  for  a  library  for 
that  city.  Within  three  days  an  answer  came  back  from  Mr. 
Carnegie  stating  that  if  the  city  of  Greenville  would  provide 
for  its  support  in  the  sum  of  $1,500.00  per  year,  he  v>-ould  be 
glad  to  give  $15,000.00  for  the  erection  of  a  library.  Imme- 
diate steps  were  taken  by  the  board  of  education  and  the  city 
council  of  Greenville  to  pledge  that  amount  of  support  for  the 
library  and  Mr.  D.  L.  Gaskill,  Mr.  L.  C.  Anderson  and  Mr.  A. 
H.  Brandon  went  to  Pittsburgh  to  .get  ideas  on  library  con- 
struction. After  looking  over  libraries  in  that  city  and  con- 
sulting with  Mr.  Anderson,  librarian  of  the  libraries  of 
Pittsburgh,  the  latter  advised  that  Greenville  should  have  a 
better  library  than  $15,000.00  would  build,  and  in  reply  to  a 
question  put  to  him  by  Mr.  Gaskill,  he  .stated  he  would  be 
very  glad  to  write  a  letter  advising  Mr.  Carnegie  to  that 
efTect.  He  ga\'e  the  committee  such  a  letter  and  upon  their 
return  ^Ir.  Henry  St.  Clair  gave  the  committee  another  let- 
ter stating  he  intended  to  maintain  the  reference  library  as  he 
had  been  in  the  past.  These  letters  were  forwarded  to  Mr. 
Carnegie  in  Xew  York,  but  owing  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Car- 
negie had  gone  to  Scotland,  they  were  forwarded  to  Skibo 
Castle  and  in  about  two  months  an  answer  was  received 
from  Mr.  Carnegie  that  if  the  citv  of  Greenville  would  in- 
crease the  amount  which  they  pledged  for  its  support  to 
$2,500.00  he  would  be  glad  to  give  $25,000.00  for  the  library. 


DARKE   COUNTY 


375 


The  board  of  education  immediately  altered  the  plans  and 
called  for  bids  on  a  library  that  could  be  built  for  $25,000.00. 
When  the  bids  were  received,  however,  it  was  found  that  it 
would  require  close  to  $30,000.00  to  construct  a  library  in 
accordance  with  the  plans  as  made  and  Mr.  W.  S.  Kaufman, 
who  was  the  architect  of  the  building,  was  instructed  to 
modify  the  plans.  A  few  days  later  Mr.  Gaskill,  when  in  con- 
versation with  Mr.  St.  Clair,  stated  that  the  plans  had  to  be 
modified  in  order  to  reduce  the  cost  and  Mr.  St.  Clair,  who 
was  familiar  with  the  plans,  stated  that  it  would  be  a  great 
pity  to  alter  the  plans  from  what  had  been  originally  in- 
tended and  that  if  the  board  of  education  would  proceed  to 
build  it  as  originally  planned,  he  would  make  up  what  mone}' 
Mr.  Carnegie  lacked  in  building  it.  The  architect  was  imme- 
diately notified  not  to  change  the  plans  and  the  work  was 
undertaken  on  the  original  plans.  Mr.  D.  L.  Gaskill  was 
chairman  of  the  building  committee,  and  took  personal 
charge  of  the  construction.  The  members  of  the  school  board 
at  that  time  were:  L.  C.  Anderson,  D.  L.  Gaskill,  George  W. 
Mannix.  Jr.,  H.  C.  Jacobi,  A.  F.  Markwith  and  F.  T.  Conklin. 

There  is  no  building  in  the  city  for  beauty  and  excellence 
and  benefit  to  the  citizens  that  exceeds  the  Carnegie  library.' 
Mr.  St.  Clair  contributed  to  its  building  and  erection  the 
sum  of  $3,610.50.  Mr.  Carnegie  gave  $25,000.00,  and  the 
board  of  education,  from  the  library  fund,  contributed  suffi- 
cient to  make  up  the  remaining  cost,  which  totaled  $31,177.50. 
At  the  time  the  construction  was  made,  building  material  and 
labor  was  low,  and  the  same  building  to  be  constructed  ten 
years  later  would  have  cost  probably  $45,000.00. 

This  building  is  about  ninety  feet  in  length  and  seventv 
feet  in  width,  and  is  two  stories  in  height.  The  outside  con- 
struction of  the  first,  or  basement  story,  is  of  Bedford  stone, 
while  the  second  story  is  of  bufif  pressed  brick,  trimmed  in 
oolitic  stone,  and  the  roof  is  covered  with  red  tile.  The  li- 
brary' is  entered  by  wide  steps  under  a  portico.  A  dnorwav 
leads  from  the  portico  into  a  vestibule  finished  in  marble. 
A  rise  of  ten  steps  leads  to  the  lobby,  finished  in  quartered 
oak  and  encaustic  Mosaic  tile.  The  librarian's  desk  is  placed 
midway  in  the  lobby  and  is  octagonal  in  form.  The  chil- 
dren's reading  room,  twenty-five  by  thirty  feet,  is  situated 
on  the  right  of  the  lobby:  the  adult's  reading  room,  of  the 
same  size,  on  the  left.  The  St.  Clair  reference  room  is  in 
the  rear  of  the  adult's  reading-  room,  and  the  stack  room  in 


376  DAKKIC   CdUNIV 

the  rear  of  the  children's  reading  room.  In  the  rear  of  the 
lobby  is  the  librarian's  office.  Large,  plate-glass  panels  sep- 
arate these  rooms  from  the  lobby,  but  give  excellent  vision 
from  the  librarian's  desk  over  the  whole  of  the  library.  Cases 
are  arranged  around  the  wall  with  alcoves  in  stack  room. 
The  St.  Clair  room  is  elegantly  furnished  in  Vvalnut,  has  a 
beautiful  Shakespeare  memorial  window  separating"  it  from 
the  adult's  room,  a  stained  memorial  window  of  the  donor,  a 
beautiful  marble  statuette  from  Paris,  besides  heavy  and  cost- 
ly furnishings  and  a  tile  floor.  The  whole  interior  is  taste- 
fully and  appropriately  frescoed,  the  librarian's  office  being 
done  in  quaint  Egyptian  design  and  colors,  while  the  lobby 
shows  portraits  of  distinguished  literary  men  and  appropriate 
mottoes. 

The  first  floor  is  occupied  by  the  public  museum,  stack 
room  for  government  reports,  etc.,  heating  plant  and  janitor's 
work  room.  Toilet  rooms,  finished  in  marble  and  tile  are  on 
both  floors. 

The  corner  stone  was  laid  with  impressi^■e  ^lasonic  exer- 
cises on  October  30,  1901,  and  the  new  building  was  dedicated 
March  19,  1903,  the  books  having  been  transferred  from  the 
"McWhinney  building  by  the  school  children.  Miss  Isabelle 
M.  Rosser  and  Miss  Lucy  Gard  Arnold  served  as  librarians 
for  several  years.  Miss  ]\Iinnie  J.  Routzong  has  been  librar- 
ian and  ]\Iiss  Minnie  Bertram,  assistant  librarian,  for  some 
time.  Besides  the  two  librarians,  a  janitor  and  museum  at- 
tendant are  employed  with  a  monthly  pay  roll  of  .?145.00. 
The  library  and  museum  are  under  the  control  of  the  city 
board  of  education,  being  regarded  as  an  adjunct  to  the  city 
schools,  and  are  maintained  largely  by  a  local  tax  le\y.  The 
librarian's  report  for  the  year  ending  December  31,  1913, 
shows  a  total  of  13,731  volumes,  of  which  11.631  are  for 
adults  and  2,100  for  children.  Besides  these  boo'cs  sixty-five 
current  periodicals  are  received.  Two  thousand  one  hundred 
and  twelve  patrons  have  cards  on  file.  A  charge  of  one  dol- 
lar per  year  is  made  for  non-residents  and  twenty-one  cards 
are  held  by  country  borrowers.  The  pupils  in  the  public 
schools  are  the  largest  patrons  and  probably  derive  greatest 
benefit  from  this  institution,  although  professional  men,  ckib 
women  and  the  public  generallv  constantly  patronize  it  also. 


DARKE   COUNTY  Z77 


The  Public  Museum. 


The  building  of  the  Carnegie  library  in  the  count}-  seat 
suggested  the  propriety  of  establishing  a  puldic  nuiseum 
wherein  might  be  gathered  and  properly  exhibited  the  relics 
of  Indian  occupancy,  and  the  St.  Clair  and  Wayne  campaigns, 
pioneer  implements,  minerals,  manuscripts  and  other  mate- 
rial of  an  educational  nature.  For  probably  thirty  years  pre- 
vious to  this  time,  Messrs.  G.  Anthony  and  Charles  Katzen- 
berger  had  purchased  and  secured  a  large  number  of  the  most 
valuable  stone  and  iron  implements  of  early  days,  firearms, 
coins,  and  curios  which  they  kept  displayed  in  a  room  above 
their  brick  grocery  on  the  public  square  where  the  new  post- 
office  building  is  now  located.  Upon  the  death  of  Anthony 
Katzenberger  in  1894,  the  collection  became  the  property  of 
his  brother  Charles,,  who  in  response  to  public  sentiment, 
agreed  to  transfer  the  same  to  the  new  librarv  building  upon 
its  completion,  where  the  public  might  have  free  access  to 
same.  The  Greenville  city  board  of  education  gladly  ac- 
cepted the  generous  ofifer  of  this  public  spirited  citizen  and  in 
the  fall  of  1901  appointed  three  trustees  to  take  charge  of  this 
collection,  solicit  and  receive  other  similar  collections  and 
objects  and  provide  for  their  proper  exhibition.  These  trus- 
tees organized  in  October,  1901,  by  electing  Frazer  E.  Wilson, 
president ;  George  A.  Katzenberger,  secretary,  and  A.  C. 
Robeson,  treasurer.  These  trustees  petitioned  and  secured 
from  the  board  appropriations  for  constructing  and  securing 
neat  and  substantial  oak  and  glass  wall  cases,  flat  cases  and 
tables  from  time  to  time  in  which  the  collections  were  neatly 
arranged  according  to  kind  and  classification  so  that  upon  the  ■ 
dedication  of  the  librar}'  in  March,  1903,  a  fine  exhibition  was 
made  of  articles  collected  at  that  time.  Since  that  time  the 
museum  has  grown  steadily.  New  collections  have  been 
added,  new  cases  installed  and  the  collections  arranged  and 
rearranged  many  times  by  the  hand  of  the  veteran  collector, 
Mr.  Charles  Katzenberger,  who  has  constantly  donated  his 
services  for  that  purpose  without  charge.  Among  the  rarest 
and  most  valuable  collections  added  was  that  formerly  belong- 
ing to  John  Slife,  an  old  citizen  of  Mercer  county,  who  li\-ed 
a  short  distance  out  of  Fort  Recovery  near  the  site  of  the 
encampment  of  the  I^Zentucky  Militia  on  November  3,  1791. 
This  man  had  been  an  energetic  and  tireless  collector  frr 
years  and  had  assembled  the  largest  and  most  vakial)le  ml- 


378  DARKE   COUNTY 

lections  of  firearms  and  military  relics  of  St.  Clair  and  Wayne 
armies  ever  gotten  together  on  the  site  of  St.  Clair's  defeat. 
Upon  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Calvin  Young  and  Mr.  F.  E.  Wil- 
son, Mrs.  F.  M.  McWhinney  generously  agreed  to  donate 
$125.00  for  the  purchase  of  these  relics  which  are  now  con- 
sidered worth  many  times  the  price  as  they  represent  prob- 
abh-  the  most  disastrous  conflict  that  ever  took  place  on  Ohio 
soil.  On  Tuesday,  January  10,  1905,  Mr.  George  Katzen- 
berger,  Mr.  Wilson  and  j\Ir.  Allen  Murphy  drove  to  Fort  Re- 
covery and  secured  this  priceless  collection  which  comprises 
several  flint  lock  muskets,  separate  locks,  musket  barrels, 
bayonets,  knives,  tomahawks,  musket  balls,  small  shot,  can- 
non balls,  military  buttons,  stirrups,  a  camp  kettle,  United 
States  steel  yard,  besides  many  small  but  intensely  interest- 
ing pieces.  One  of  the  most  highly  prized  objects  in  this 
collection  is  a  United  States  officer's  sword,  said  to  have  been 
found  in  an  old  log  in  1859.  and  having  the  name  Arthur  But- 
ler scratched  on  the  blade.  Dr.  George  I.  Gunckel,  an  oral 
surgeon  in  the  United  States  army,  former^  of  Greenville, 
where  he  married  Miss  Rome  Turner,  a  descendant  of  Dr. 
Gabriel  Miesse,  the  veteran  collector,  has  made  valuable 
loans  of  local  relics  from  time  to  time,  besides  a  wonderful 
collection  of  implements  and  curios  from  the  Philippine 
Islands,  largely  pertaining  to  the  Spanish-American  war.  This 
is  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  valuable  collections  of  the  kind 
in  the  United  States,  and  occupies  some  six  or  eight  of  the 
three  by  eight  foot  cases.  In  addition  Dr.  Gunckel  has  loaned 
a  Revolutionary  cannon  and  numerous  relics  of  the  Civil 
war,  including  the  cannon  from  Mobile  harbor,  four  large 
pointed  shells  fired  at  Fort  Sumpter  and  a  large  mortar  shell 
fired  from  Fort  Pickens,  the  latter  objects  now  being  mounted 
and  displayed  on  the  library  lawn. 

In  the  Katzenberger  collections  are  included  a  very  select 
case  of  rare  polished  stone  implements,,  a  case  of  iron  imple- 
ments and  relics  of  the  St.  Clair  and  Wayne  expeditions,  a 
fine  case  of  old  and  new  firearms,  a  case  of  old  books  and 
manuscripts,  a  case  of  rare  and  old  coins,  besides  mixed  col- 
lections of  rare  and  interesting  objects.  Portions  of  the  re- 
mains of  various  mastodons  discovered  in  recent  years  in 
various  localities  in  the  county  and  the  tooth  of  a  mammoth 
are  shown,  besides  a  large  and  representative  assortment  of 
pioneer  implements,  selected  mineral  specimens,  collections 
of  local  insects,  and  bird  nests,  collections  from  Mexico  and 


DARKE   COUNTY  379 

the  Holy  Land,  etc.,  etc.  On  the  walls  are  exhibited  various 
interesting  pictures  and  prints  including  fine  oil  paintings  of 
St.  Clair,  Wayne  and  Little  Turtle,  painted  and  donated  to 
the  Historical  Society  by  Kitty  Matchett  Vaughan,  a  photo- 
graph of  the  original  document  of  the  treaty  of  Greenville, 
and  a  deed  for  the  townsite  of  Greenville.  The  museum  now 
occupies  three  of  the  largest  rooms  besides  the  wide  hall  in 
the  basement  of  the  library,  and  probably  contains  three  or 
four  thousand  separate  articles  exhibited  in  some  forty  glass 
cases.  It  is  probable  that  this  is  the  finest  local  museum 
operated  by  anv  city  of  the  size  in  Ohio  or  even  in  the  United 
States.  Its  value  to  the  students  in  the  schools  of  the  county 
and  to  the  public  generallv  as  a  stimulant  to  the  study  of 
local  history  and  traditions  is  almost  inestimable.  For  its 
educational  and  sentimental  value  it  should  continue  to  re- 
ceive the  hearty  support  and  patronage  of  our  citizens  for 
many  years. 

At  this  time  Mr.  Charles  Katzenberger  is  still  acting  as 
Curator,  in  which  capacity  he  exhibits  decided  talent  and  a 
fine  enthusiasm.  Prof.  Frank  M.  White,  for  many  years  in- 
structor in  German  and  Latin  in  the  high  school,  is  acting  as 
usher  in  the  afternoons,  and  Messrs.  George  A.  Katzenberger 
and  F.  E.  Wilson  are  trustees. 

Henry  St.  Clair  Memorial  Hall. 

Through  the  kindness  and  public  spirit  of  the  late  Henry 
St.  Clair,  the  people  of  Greenville  and  the  citizens  of  Darke 
county  have  received  one  of  their  most  valuable  public  insti- 
tutions in  the  way  of  a  fine  modern  building  in  wdiich  are 
housed  the  new  departments  of  the  public  schools  and  in 
which  is  provided  a  large,  finely  constructed  and  equipped 
auditorium  for  all  sorts  of  public  gatherings.  For  some  years 
prior  to  his  decease,  Mr.  St.  Clair  had  in  mind  the  construc- 
tion of  just  such  a  building  as  this,  which  he  hoped  to  com- 
plete and  present  to  the  city  of  Greenville  during  his  life- 
time. His  untimely  death  on  October  7,  1908,  however,  in- 
terfered with  these  plans  as  far  as  his  personal  participation 
was  concerned.  When  his  will  was  read,  among  the  manv 
benefactions  therein  contained  was  the  following: 

"I  will  and  bequeath  to  the  board  of  education  of  the  citv 
of  Greenville.  Ohio,  and  its  successors  in  office  perpetually, 
Ihe  sum  of  $100,000.00,  to  be  used  hv  said  board  of  education 


380  DARKE   COUNTY 

and  its  successors  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  memorial 
hall  for  the  use  of  large  and  small  assemblies  and  for  the  use 
and  betterment  of  the  public  schools  in  any  manner  in  which 
said  board  mav  think  most  practicable  and  beneficial  to  the 
public." 

Acting  upon  this  generous  bequest  the  board  of  education, 
of  which  Mr.  St.  Clair  had  been  a  member,  planned  a  building 
in  conformity  to  his  expressed  wish,  which,  when  completed, 
was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  best  equipped  of  its  type 
in  the  state  of  Ohio.  Before  erection  various  sites  were  dis- 
cussed and  considered,  and  it  was  finally  decided  to  place  the 
building  near  the  center  of  the  West  school  grounds  on  ac- 
count of  its  central  location  and  proximity  to  the  Carnegie 
library  and  the  high  school  building,  to  which  latter  institu- 
tion it  was  to  be  a  valuable  adjunct.  In  order  to  place  it  on 
this  site  it  was  necessary  to  move  the  three-story  brick  high 
school  building  which  had  stood  partially  on  this  spot  since 
its  erection  in  1868  and  originally  contained  over  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  bricks.  This  building  had  originally  cost 
$25,000.00,  exclusive  of  the  heating  plant  and  gas  fixtures,  and 
had  recently  been  remodeled  at  a  cost  of  some  $20,000.  The 
gigantic  task  of  successfully  moving  this  building  some  dis- 
tance to  the  southwest  of  its  original  site  was  accomplished 
by  a  Pittsburg  contractor  in  the  summer  of  1909  at  a  cost  of 
some  $7,000.00,  which  sum  was  furnished  by  ^Irs.  St.  Clair. 
The  school  board  erected  a  new  foundation  on  which  to  place 
the  building  and  this  with  other  improvements  cost  probably 
$10,000.00,  making  the  cost  of  the  high  school  building  with 
its  various  improvements  from  time  to  time  probably 
$75,000.00.  In  the  spring  of  1910  the  work  of  excavation  for 
the  memorial  hall  was  prosecuted  and  on  Thursday,  June  30, 
1910,  the  corner  stone  was  laid  with  impressive  ]\Iasonic  cer- 
emonies. The  dav  was  intensely  sultrv  and  the  services 
were  performed  under  a  canvass  canopy  in  presence  of  a 
large  throng.  Charles  J.  Pretzman,  right  worshipful  grand 
orator  of  the  grand  lodge  of  Ohio  Free  and  Accepted  Ma- 
sons, was  the  orator  of  the  day.  Mrs.  Clara  Turpen  Grimes, 
of  Dayton,  Ohio,  was  the  soloist  of  the  day  and  instrumental 
music  was  furnished  b}'  the  National  Military  Home  band,  of 
Dayton,  Ohio,  under  the  leadership  of  Pearl  Culbertson,  both 
being  descendants  of  pioneer  Darke  countv  families,  ^^'or': 
on  the  building  progressed  slowlv  and  it  was  not  dedicated 
until    Friday,   !May   3,    1912,   on   which   occasion   the   principal 


DARKE   COUNTY 


381 


address  was  made  by  George  W.  Manix,  Jr..  an  orator  of  the 
Greenville  bar,  and  vocal  music  was  rendered  by  the  well 
tramed  Girls'  Chorus  of  the  Greenville  high  school.  The 
members  of  the  board  of  education  when  the  construction  of 
the  building  was  begun  were:  D.  W.  Bowman,  president;  W. 
T.  Fitzgerald,  clerk;  John  Mong,  F.  T.  Conklin,  Charles  J. 
Herr  and  Harry  Vance.  James  J.  Martz  was  superintendent 
of  the  public  schools.  Mr.  Bowman  was  given  charge  of  the 
construction  on  behalf  of  Mrs.  St.  Clair  and  carefully 
watched  the  progress  of  the  building  and  insisted  that  the 
work  be  carried  out  in  detail.  The  original  plans  were  al- 
tered, a  fine  stone  coping  displacing  the  metal  trimmings  and 
a  beautiful  green  tile  roof  being  substituted.  Other  improve- 
ments were  made  and  a  fine  two  manual  organ  with  chime 
attachments  installed  at  a  cost  of  some  seven  thousand  dol- 
lars, making  the  total  expense  of  constructing  and  furnishing 
this  building  and  moving  the  high  school  building  approxi- 
mate $135,000.00,  the  excess  over  the  original  estimate  of 
$100,000.00  being  furnished  by  Mrs.  St.  Clair.  This  beautiful 
building  is  constructed  of  Bedford  stone  and  a  superior  qual- 
ity of  gray  pressed  brick.  The  vestibule  and  lobby  are  fur- 
nished with  marble  pillars,  wainscoting  and  steps  with  mo- 
saic tile  floor,  and  are  lighted  by  three  large  emblematic 
stained  glass  windows.  On  the  east  side  of  the  basement  is 
located  the  athletic  room ;  on  the  west  side  are  two  rooms 
equipped  for  the  manual  training  department  of  the  schools. 
On  the  rear  beneath  the  stage  are  the  boiler  room  and  one 
dressing  room.  The  main  auditorium,  which  occupies  the 
central  portion  of  the  building,  and  is  equipped  with  a  large 
balcony  and  private  boxes,  seats  some  eight  hundred  persons. 
To  the  left  of  the  auditorium  on  the  first  floor  are  two  rooms 
used  by  the  domestic  science  department  and  so  constructed 
that  they  can  be  thrown  together  and  be  used  for  a  small 
auditorium  with  a  seating  capacity  of  probably  two  hundred 
To  the  west  of  the  auditorium  are  the  kindergarten  and 
board  office  rooms.  On  the  east  side  of  second  floor  are  the  do- 
mestic science  kitchen,  dining  room  and  sewing  room.  On 
the  west  side  of  this  floor  are  the  music  room  and  an  assem- 
bly room  constructed  for  the  use  of  the  ministerial  association 
occupies  the  rear  of  the  building  which  can  be  shut  off  from 
and  the  medical  association.  A  well  equipped  modern  stage 
the  main  auditorium  by  an  expensive  fireproof  curtain.  With 
the  possible  exception  of  the  seating  capacity  of  the  main 


382  DARKE   COUNTY 

auditorium  this  building  carries  out  the  generous  designs  ol 
its  donors  and  is  a  very  useful  and  ornamental  institution. 
Besides  its  utility  as  a  supplementary  institution  of  the 
Greenville  school  system  it  affords  unusual  facilities  for  the 
presentation  of  plays  and  musicals  of  a  higher  order  than  can 
be  staged  in  many  cities  of  the  size  of  Greenville  and  can  be 
used  to  good  advantage  for  chautauquas,  county  institutes, 
political  and  religious  conventions  and  large  public  gather- 
ings generally.  It  also  contributes  much  towards  beautifying 
the  city  and  the  appropriation  of  ground  from  the  school  lot 
for  its  site  could  be  largely  compensated  for  bj^  the  purchase 
and  removal  of  the  Matchett  house,  which  now  obstructs  the 
view  from  the  business  portion  of  the  city,  thus  making  a  fine 
central  park  with  possibilities  of  future  beaut}'  beyond  the 
dreams  of  the  unobservant. 

Howard  &  Merriam  of  Columbus,  Ohio,  were  the  archi- 
tects of  this  magnificent  building  and  E.  E.  Bope  of  the  same 
citv,  the  contractor. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

RAILWAYS. 

From  a  material  standpoint  three  things  have  probably 
contributed  more  toward  the  making  of  Darke  county  than 
all  other  forces  and  institutions  combined,  viz. :  drainage, 
roads  and  railways.  We  have  previously  noted  the  remark- 
able results  accomplished  by  drainage  operations  and  road 
building  and  will  consider  briefly  the  effects  of  railway  build- 
ing. The  first  means  of  transportation  of  supplies  of  food 
from  the  older  settlements  to  Darke  county  was  by  means 
of  pack  horses  over  the  military  trails  cut  by  St.  Clair  and 
Wayne.  The  difficulties  and  dangers  encountered  by  these 
pack  trains  were  typified  in  the  sending  back  of  a  whole  reg- 
iment by  St.  Clair  to  guard  a  train  of  supplies  advancing  from 
Fort  Washington,  October,  1791,  and  in  the  vicious  attack  on 
Lieutenant  Lowery  and  his  men  while  bringing  supplies  to 
Wayne's  new  camp  at  Greenville  in  October,  1793.  It  was  a 
slow,  tedious  and  hazardous  process  in  those  early  days  but 
the  most  efficient  known.  After  the  trails  had  been  widened 
and  improved,  heavy  wagons  were  used.  No  doubt  many  of 
the  early  settlers  came  into  the  county  from  distant  points  in 
large  conestoga  wagons  drawn  by  from  four  to  six  horses 
whose  combined  strength  was  often  necessary  to  pull  the 
cumbersome  vehicles  over  the  rough  corduro}'  stretches  and 
through  the  swampy  places.  As  the  roads  were  improved 
lighter  vehicles  were  employed.  The  National  road  was 
finished  from  Cumberland  Gap  to  the  Ohio  river  in  1825  and 
to  the  Indiana  line  in  1830,  thus  furnishing  a  valuable  out- 
let for  the  produce  raised  within  its  reach.  The  Erie  canal 
was  opened  in  1825  and  as  a  consequence  grain  soon  increased 
fifty  per  cent,  in  price.  The  first  railway  in  Ohio  was  finished 
in  1838  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  first  railway 
reached  Darke  county  thirteen  years  later.  The  significance 
of  this  event,  its  far-reaching  influence  and  the  enthusiasm 
aroused  can  scarcely  be  conceived  in  these  days  of  many  rail- 
ways.    To  give  an  adequate  account  of  the  bnildina:  of  this 


384  DARKE   COUNTY 

road  we  herewith  quote  from  Beer's  History  of  Darke  county 
published  in  1880: 

"The  pioneer  road  of  this  county  was  known  as  the  Dayton 
and  Union  Railroad.  The  company  was  chartered  February 
26,  1846,  as  the  'Greenville  and  Miami  Railroad  Company,'  for 
the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  the  town  of  Greenville  to 
any  point  on  the  Dayton  &  Western  railroad,  or  any  point 
on  the  Miami  or  Miami  Extension  Canal,  which  the  directors 
might  determine.  The  incorporators  were  Daniel  R.  Davis, 
Hiram  Bell,  William  M.  Wilson,  Rufus  Kilpatrick,  John  Col- 
ville,  George  Ward,  John  McClure,  Jr.,  John  C.  Potter,  Eras- 
tus  Putnam,  Alfred  Kitchen,  James  Hanaway,  Henry  Arnold, 
^^^  B.  Beall,  I.  N.  Gard,  Abraham  Scribner,  Russell  Evans, 
John  C.  Shepherd,  Adam  Baker,  Abraham  Studabaker, 
Charles  Hutchins,  Joseph  Ford  and  Solomon  Riffle,  of  Darke 
county ;  General  -H.  Bell  was  the  first  president ;  Henry  Ar- 
nold, Esq.,  first  treasurer,  and  Hon.  William  M.  Wilson,  the 
first  secretary.  The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was 
$200,000.  divided  into  shares  of  $50  each.  At  the  expiration 
of  a  year.  Dr.  T.  X.  Gard  was  elected  president,  succeeded  by 
David  Studabaker.  During  1848,  the  enterprise  was  first 
fully  presented  to  the  people  of  the  county  for  their  sup- 
port. Among  the  most  acti^•e  in  forwarding  the  undertaking 
not  only  to  obtain  a  favoraljle  vote,  but  to  secure  means  to 
do  the  necessary  preliminarv  work,  were  Dr.  Gard,  Judge 
Wilson,  General  Bell,  i\Ir.  Studabaker,  Mr.  Kitchen  and 
Major  Davis.  There  was  then  but  little  money  in  the  county : 
the  largest  subscriptions  that  could  be  obtained  were  $500, 
and  there  were  but  eight  or  ten  of  these. 

On  January  5,  1848,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legislature, 
authorizing  the  commissioners  of  Darke  county  to  purchase 
stock  in  the  G.  &  M.  R.  R.  Co.,  to  any  amount  not  to  exceed 
$50,000,  provided  a  majority  of  the  voters  of  the  county  were 
in  favor  thereof.  On  the  first  Monday  of  April,  the  proposi- 
tion to  aid  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  637  votes,  and  on  the 
13th,  the  commissioners  subscribed  the  maximum  amount  in 
aid  of  the  road.  August  21,  the  auditor  was  authorized  to 
isstie  an  order  on  the  treasurer  for  $110.00,  to  pay  for  the  sur- 
vey of  the  road.  Februarv  2,  1849,  the  town  council  o^ 
Greenville  was  in  like  manner  empowered  to  subscribe  there- 
to any  amount  not  exceeding  $10,000.  Judge  Wilson  contin- 
ued secretary  of  the  company  from  organization  to  about 
1850.  tliat  is,  during  the  preliminary  work  of  the  company.     Tn 


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DARKE   COUNTY 


385 


1850,  a  new  organization  was  effected,  with  E.  B.  Taylor  as 
president,  and  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  county  and 
town  to  sell  any  or  all  stock  to  said  company,  or  any  other 
formed  to  extend  the  railroad  from  Greenville  to  the  State 
line.  Mr.  Taylor  went  to  New  York,  negotiated  a  loan  of 
$150,000,  bought  iron  and  other  necessaries  to  equipment.  In 
July,  1850,  the  first  locomotive  intended  to  be  used  for  laying 
the  track  of  the  road  from  Dayton  to  Greenville,  arrived  at 
Dayton ;  it  was  brought  from  the  establishment  of  Swinburn, 
Smith  &  Co.,  of  Paterinn,  New  Jersey,  and  weighed  fourteen 
tons.  The  first  installment  of  iron  was  shipped  from  New 
York  for  Dayton  on  the  26th  of  June.  The  residue  of  the 
iron  was  then  on  the  way  from  Liverpool  to  New  York.  It 
was  of  the  T  pattern,  and  weighed  about  nineteen  pounds  to 
the  square  foot.  The  bridge  across  the  Miami  river  at  Day- 
ton was  completed  and  intended  for  use  by  three  roads,  the 
others  being  the  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  &  Dayton  and  the  Day- 
ton &  Western.  The  contract  for  laying  the  track  was  let 
to  A.  DeGraff.  The  depot  and  other  buildings  were  placed 
under  contract,  and  all  the*  work  systematically  pushed  for- 
ward. Two  additional  locomotives  weighing  eighteen  tons 
each,  were  contracted  for  delivery,  one  in  August,  the  other 
in  October.  Two  passenger  cars  were  constructed  at  Dayton, 
in  the  establishment  of  Thresher,  Packard  &  Co.,  The 
"burthen'"  cars  were  manufactured  at  the  Greenville  foundry 
and  machine  shops  of  Messrs.  Edmondson  &  Evans,  and  Tay- 
lor Brothers.  The  grain  crop  of  1851  was  unprecedentedly 
large,  and  the  road  was  expected  to  highly  benefit  all  inter- 
ests, whether  farming,  mechanical,  mercantile  or  commercial. 
It  was  stated  at  the  time  that  this  event  "was  an  important 
epoch  in  Darke  couny  history,"  and  such  it  has  since  proved 
to  have  been.  It  enhanced  values  and  facilitated  communica- 
tion. It  was  noted  that  "the  running  time  between  Green- 
ville and  Dayton  will  be  less  than  one  hour  and  a  half,  and 
the  distance  may  be  performed  with  perfect  safety  in  less 
than  one  hour."  On  February  19,  1851,  DeGraff  started  out 
from  Dayton  with  a  train  to  be  used  for  track  laying.  The 
train  was  platform  cars  with  houses  built  on  them — three  for 
sleeping  rooms,  one  for  dining  room  and  one  for  a  kitchen. 
The  job  of  laying  the  iron  was  in  charge  of  John  Horrien.  On 
May  25th,  the  main  track  of  the  road  was  finished  to  the 
depot  buildings,  and  a  meeting  was  called  to  arrange  for  a 
celebration  of  the  event.  The  event  dulv  honored,  was 
(25) 


386  DARKE   COUNTY 

marked  by  a  large  crowd,  and  made  memorable  by  an  emeute 
at  Greenville  on  part  of  the  roughs.  The  board  of  directors, 
at  a  meeting  held  at  Dayton,  August  30,  1853,  declared  a  ten 
per  cent,  dividend  from  the  earnings  of  the  road,  from  Janu- 
ary 1st  to  September  1st.  This  dividend  was  declared  after 
deducting  expense  of  repairs,  running  interest  and  other  ex- 
penses, and  there  remained  a  reserve  fund  of  $5,000.  The  re- 
ceipts for  August  were  for  passengers  $6,261 ;  transportation, 
$4,215  :  mail,  $333  ;  total,  nearly  $11,000.  The  cost  of  the  road 
was  about  $550,000.  Outstanding  bonds,  $341,000,  and  the 
liberal  dividend  to  stockholders  created  an  enthusnasm  which 
greatly  facilitated  the  induction  and  completion  of  the  road  to 
Union,  and  of  other  roads  constructed  through  the  county. 
Mr.  Ta3dor  continued  to  be  president  of  the  road  until  July, 
1855,  when  he  resigned.  Meantime,  tlie  compan}-  had  been 
authorized  b}-  the  legislature  to  extend  the  railroad  to  the 
Indiana  State  line,  by  such  route  as  the  directors  might  select, 
within  the  county  of  Darke,  "and  the  act  had  been  accepted 
by  resolution  of  the  board  o'  director?  as  an  amendment  to 
the  charter  of  the  company.  The  road  was  built  through  to 
Union  City  three  years  after  its  completion  to  Greenville,  that 
is,  in  1853.  When  President  Taylor  resigned,  the  road  went 
into  the  hands  of  the  bondholders,  by  whom  it  was  operated. 
At  length,  suit  was  brought  for  foreclosure  of  mortgage 
August,  1861,  but  a  plan  of  reorganization  and  capitalization 
of  stock,  and  debt  was  agreed  upon,  and  the  road  was  sold 
October  30,  1862,  to  H.  C.  Stimson  and  S.  J.  Tilden  for 
$1,000,  subject  to  the  mortgage  of  $150,000.  In  1855,  Judge 
Wilson,  secretary,  resigned,  and  the  chief  office  was  removed 
to  Dayton.  All  control  of  the  road  passed  from  the  citizens 
of  the  county  that  year." 

The  opening  of  the  G.  &  1\I.  railwav  was  the  occasion  of 
much  rejoicing  in  the  county  seat  which  was  manifested  in 
various  ways.  The  social  leaders  got  up  a  dance  for  which 
the  following  invitation  was  issued : 

"RAILROAD  SOIREE." 

The  compan}-  of  yourself  and  lady  is  solicited  to  attend  a 
cotillion  party  to  be  gi^en  at  Greenville,  on  Fridaj-  evening, 
June  11.  1852,  in  honor  of  the  opening  of  the  Greenville  and 
Miami  Railroad. 

Managers 

Greenville— E.  B.  Tavlor,  \Y.  H.  Dailv,  R.  A.  Knox,   J.  B. 


DARKE   COUNTY  387 

Grover,  J.  D.  Fairer,  O.  A.  Lymaii,  J.  G.  Rees,  T.  K.  Potter, 
J.  R.  Knox,  W.  R.  Weston,  D.  Laurimore,  W.  C.  Porterfield. 

Dayton — D.  Z.  Peirce,  R.  D.  Harshman,  C.  B.  Herrman, 
D.  Beckel,  J.  S.  ^^■esto^,  J.  O.  Conklin,  D.  E.  Mead,  E.  A. 
Parrott. 

Greenville,  June  8,   1852. 

"In  the  summer  of  1854,  the  road  was  completed  from  Dod- 
son  to  Dayton,  and  the  company  continued  to  operate  the 
entire  line  from  Dayton  to  Union  City  until  April,  1853, 
when,  in  accordance  with  an  agreement  on  January  19th,  pre- 
viously, the  joint  use  of  the  track  of  the  Dayton  &  \\'estern 
Railroad  Company,  from  Dayton  to  Dodson  (fifteen  miles), 
was  secured,  between  which  points  each  company  had  a  line 
of  road  running  nearly  parallel.  By  this  agreement,  the  com- 
pany was  enabled  to  take  up  and  dispose  of  the  iron  between 
Dayton  and  Dodson.  January  19,  1863,  the  company  was  re- 
organized, under  the  name  of  the  Dayton  &  Union  Railroad 
Company.  When  the  road  was  opened  for  business,  in  1850, 
land  along  its  line  might  have  been  bought  for  $5.00  per 
acre ;  it  has  since  been  sold  for  $100  per  acre.  The  country 
■was  wet,  and  water  stood  in  the  woods  and  clearings  along 
the  track  for  months  at  a  time.  This  is  now  drained,  arable 
and  valuable.  Then,  abotit  Arcanum,  houses  were  to  be  seen 
at  long  intervals ;  now  fine  farm  houses  dot  the  landscape  in 
all  directions.  Arrangements  are  now  in  progress  to  relav  the 
old  track,  and  annul  the  agreement  for  the  joint  use  of  the 
Dayton  &  Western  rails." 

Since  the  above  was  written,  land  has  been  sold  as  high 
as  $300  per  acre.  At  first  but  a  single  train,  which  carried 
both  passengers  and  freight,  was  run  during  the  day  time ; 
now  four  passenger  trains  and  one  freight  are  run  through 
each  way  daily. 

Mr.  Dwight  Irwin  has  been  the  efficient  and  accommodating 
agent  at  Greenville  since  1898.  The  countv  records  in  1912 
show  a  total  mileage  of  over  twenty-six  miles  of  main  track 
and  over  three  miles  of  siding  in  the  countv,  with  propertv 
listed  for  taxation  at  the  countv  treasurer's  office  in  1912,  at 
$491,830.00. 

The  stations  on  this  line  are  Gordon,  .Arcanum,  Delisle. 
Jays^•ille,    Green\'ille.    Coletown,    Hillgrove    and    ITninn    Citv. 


388  DARKE   COUNTY 

.    The  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.,  or  "Big  Four"  Railway. 

The  beginning  of  the  Green\'ille  and  iNIiami  rail\va_\-  in- 
spired another  enterprise  and  in  1848  the  charter  of  the  Belle- 
fontaine  and  Indianapolis  railway  was  granted  by  the  legis- 
latures of  Ohio  and  Indiana.  Mr.  William  M.  Wilson  then 
represented  Darke  county  in  the  Ohio  senate.  The  charter 
drafted  for  the  proposed  new  road  provided  that  certain 
places,  as  Sidney  and  Greenville,  should  be  on  the  road  "pro- 
vided" the)'-  were  "practicable"  points.  It  seems  that  'Sir. 
Wilson's  vote  was  secured  for  the  charter  with  the  definite 
understanding  that  the  road  would  be  constructed  through 
Piqua  and  Greenville,  his  home  town.  The  words  '"if  practi- 
cable" proved  to  be  a  "sleeper"  and  the  road  was  constructed 
on  a  "bee  line"  through  Sidney  and  Versailles,  leaving  Piqua 
and  Greenville  several  miles  to  tlie  south.  It  is  said  that 
much  laboring  and  lobbying  was  done  on  account  of  this  road 
and  Mr.  George  Ward,  who  represented  both  Darke  and 
Shelby  counties  in  the  legislature,  is  credited  with  being 
largel}'  instrumental  in  causing  the  nmre  northern  route  to  be 
adopted,  ^^^ork  on  this  road  was  soon  commenced  in  Darke 
count)-,  probably  as  early  as  the  fall  of  1848  or  the  spring  of 
1849,  making  it  the  first  line  started  within  this  territory.  The 
road  was  not  completed  until  1852  or  1853,  however. 

This  road  crosses  the  county  line  about  the  center  of  the 
eastern  boundarj-  o-^  W'ayne  township,  runs  directly  to  Ver- 
sailles and  then  continues  in  almost  a  straight  line,  in  a  direc- 
tion slightly  south  of  west,  to  Union  City,  having  as  inter- 
mediate stations  Dawn,  .\nsonia  and  Elroy.  It  was  com- 
pleted in  the  early  fifties  and  has  proven  of  immense  value  in 
developing  Wayne,  northern  Richland.  Brown  and  Jackson 
townships  by  providing  a  ready  market  for  the  large  quanti- 
ties of  grain,  timber  and  manufactured  timber  products.  This 
road  is  also  an  integral  part  of  one  of  the  great  railway  sys- 
tems of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois,  forming  a  remarkable 
chain  of  connection  between  the  commercial  centers  of  these 
states.  It  has  about  twenty  miles  of  finely  graded  main  track 
within  the  county,  listed  for  taxation  in  1912  at  $1,204,770.00. 
It  does  a  large  freight  business  and  is  k-nown  for  the  well 
appointed  and  fast  through  passenger  and  mail  trains  which  it 
runs. 

The  construction  of  thi^  important  trunk  line  to  the  north 
of  the  cnuntv  seat  aroused  the  citizens  of  Greenville  to  extend 


DARKE   COUNTY  389 

the  Greenville  and  Miami  road  to  an  intersecting  point  on  the 
state  line — thus  giving  Greenville  another  outlet  for  travel 
and  traffic  and  laying  the  foundation  for  Union  City,  which 
has  since  developed  into  an  important  manufacturing  and 
railway  center. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railway. 

The  P.  C.  C.  &  St.  Louis  railway  now  operates  two  lines 
which  radiate  from  Bradford,  the  division  point — the  Logans- 
port  division  extending  in  a  straight  line  to  Union  City,  a. dis- 
tance of  about  twenty  and  one-half  miles,  and  the  Indianap- 
olis division,  extending  to  Greenville  and  thence  southwest- 
erly toward  Richmond,  a  distance  of  about  twenty-six  and  one- 
third  miles.  The  Logansport  division  passes  through  Adams, 
northern  Greenville  and  Jackson  townships  in  a  direction 
somewhat  north  of  west,  with  intermediate  stations  at  Hora- 
tio, Stelvideo,  Pikeville  and  Woodington.  A  second  track  has 
recently  been  finished  on  the  right  of  way,  the  grading  im- 
proved, several  overhead  crossings  constructed,  and  vast  irn- 
provements  made  making  this  probably  the  most  improved 
and  valuable  stretch  of  railway  in  the  county.  As  it  con- 
nects New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh  with  Chicago 
an  immense  amount  of  business  is  transacted.  Work  on  this 
division  in  Darke  county  was  begun  in  1852  and  continued 
about  two  years,  when  financial  embarrassment  overtook  the 
enterprise.  Work  was  resumed  in  1858  and  regular  trains 
were  running  from  Columbus  to  Union  City  by  the  last  of 
April,  185Q.  The  road  at  that  time  was  known  as  the  Co- 
lumbus, Piqua  and  Indiana  Railroad  and  was  incorporated  at 
?2,000,000  by  Wm.  Wilson  and  John  C.  Potter  of  Darke 
county,  with  others  from  Miami,  Champaign,  ]\Iadison  and 
Franklin  counties. 

The  Indianapolis  division  of  this  road  was  built  through 
Darke  county  during  the  years  1862  and  1863.  It  was  organ- 
ized in  1861  as  the  Richmond  and  Covington  Railroad  Com- 
pany for  the  purpose  of  connecting  the  first  division  at  Brad- 
ford with  the  Indiana  Central  Railroad  at  Richmond,  Ind. 
Evan  Baker,  of  Greenville,  was  president  of  the  road  at  this 
time,  and  A.  Price  was  the  contractor.  On  account  of  the 
hills  of  gravel  and  excellent  ballasting  material  along  the 
right-of-way  the  cost  of  construction  was  reasonable,  and  the 
estimate  for  completing  the  road  was  seven  thousand  dollars 
per   mile.     Darke   county   was   asked   to   subscribe   $25,000.00 


390  DARKE    COUNTY 

or  about  one-fourth  of  the  amount  needed  to  put  the  road 
through.  E.  Baker,  the  Careys,  P.  Pomeroy  and  Thos.  War- 
ing  were  largely  instrumental  in  pushing  the  work  to  comple- 
tion. Through  lease,  purchase,  manipulation  and  re-organ- 
ization both  of  these  divisions  finally  became  an  integral  part 
of  the  great  Pennsylvania  Railway  Co.,  which  is  one  of  the 
greatest  and  most  efficient  railway  systems  in  the  world,  con- 
necting the  seaboard  at  New  York  with  St.  Louis  and  Chica- 
go, the  gateways  to  the  west  and  northwest.  Tlie  value  of 
this  road  to  Greenville  and  Darke  county  is  almost  ines- 
timable. The  amount  of  business  transacted  by  this  road 
at  Greenville  alone  is  estimated  at  about  $140,000.00  yearly. 
Eighteen  heavy  passenger  and  mail  trains  and  sixteen  sched- 
uled freight  trains  pass  this  point  daily.  This  division 
passes  through  Adams,  southern  Greenville,  Neave,  north- 
western Butler  and  Harrison  townships  and  has  intermediate 
stations  at  Gettysburg,  Greenville,  Weaver's  New  Madison 
and  Wiley's.  The  total  main  trackage  of  these  tTvo  divisions 
in  Darke  countv  is  over  sixty-seven  miles  in  length.  The 
total  value  for  taxation  in  1912,  as  listed  in  the  county  treas- 
urerer's  office  was  $3,873,450.00. 

W.  J-  McCurdy  has  been  the  efificient  agent  of  this  com- 
pany at  Greenville  since  1889. 

The  Cincinnati   Northern  Railway. 

The  main  north  and  south  railway  operating  in  the  county 
is  the  Cincinnati  Northern,  which  crosses  the  northern  boun- 
dary at  Burkettsville,  passes  almost  directly  south  through 
Allen,  Brown  and  northern  Greenville  townships  to  the  coun- 
ty seat,  and  then  continues  down  the  Mud  creek  prairie 
through  Neave  township  and  across  the  Maple  swamp  district 
of  Butler  township,  leaving  the  county  about  one  mile  below 
Castine.  The  intermediate  stations  from  the  north  downward 
are  New  Weston,  Rossburg,  Ansonia,  Meeker.  Greenville, 
Ft.  JeiTerson,  Savona  and  Castine.  This  road  has  about 
thirty-one  and  a  third  miles  of  main  track  and  over  seven 
miles  of  siding  in  the  county,  and  was  valued  for  taxation 
in  1912  at  $751,570.00.  It  has  a  unique  history,  illustrating 
in  a  striking  manner  the  difficulties  encountered  in  early  rail- 
way construction.  The  construction  of  this  line  was  first 
agitated  in  1853,  it  then  being  the  object  to  extend  it  from 
the  straits  of  Mackinac  to  Cincinnati.     Large  and  enthusias- 


DARKE   COUNTY  391 

tic  meetings  were  held  in  Van  Wert,  Greenville  and  other 
l<oints  in  that  year,  and  local  organizations  effected.  Survey 
commenced  in  August  and  Moses  Hart  took  stock  subscrip- 
tions at  his  store  in  Greenville.  By  October  19,  $200,000.00 
had  been  subscribed.  The  estimated  cost  was  less  than  $17,- 
500.00  per  mile  and  the  distance  from  Greenville  to  the 
northern  line  of  the  state  was  one  hundred  and  eleven  miles 
on  the  route  proposed.  From  various  causes  the  construction 
of  the  line  was  delayed,  l)ut  the  directors  did  not  abandon 
hope  of  final  success.  Changes  were  proposed  in  the  route 
between  Celina  and  Green\ille,  a  distance  of  thirty-two  miles, 
and  bids  were  received  on  this  section  at  Greenville  in  1858. 
On  June  2,  1858,  fifteen  miles  of  road  were  placed  under  con- 
tract together  with  the  trestle  and  culvert  work  of  the  entire 
distance  between  Celina  and  Greenville.  The  remaining  sev- 
enteen miles  were  resurveyed  with  a  view  to  alteration.  Af- 
ter a  large  part  of  the  grading  had  been  done  the  enterprise 
was  abandoned  on  account  of  the  failure  to  dispose  of  bonds 
in  the  European  market.  The  Ci^-il  \\^ar  ensued  with  the 
financial  depression  which  followed  reconstruction  and  the 
re\-ival  of  industry  and  the  enterprise  lay  dormant  imtil 
about  1880.  Agitation  was  again  revived  and  the  road  was 
built  through  Greenville  in  1883  after  much  difficulty.  J. 
L.  Winner,  J-  W.  Frizzel  and  Moses  Hart  took  active  part 
in  the  original  enterprise  and  John  Devor  and  L.  L.  Bell  in 
the  last.  The  road  was  finally  completed  from  Jackson, 
Mich.,  to  Germantown,  with  connections  to  Cincinnati,  under 
the  name  of  the  Cincinnati,  Jackson  and  Mackinaw  Railway, 
and  was  popularly  known  as  the  "Mackinaw."  Later  it  be- 
came known  as  the  Cincinnati  Northern  Railway,  and  has 
lately  become  an  important  part  of  the  New  York  Central 
lines. 

Mr.  Joe  Hildebrand  is  the  enterprising  agent  at  Greenville 
and  reports  an  annual  business  of  about  $125,000.00  at  this 
station.  On  account  of  the  road's  direction  and  the  rich  ter- 
ritory which  it  travels  it  is  destined  to  become  an  increasinglv 
important   line. 

The  Peoria  &  Eastern  Railway. 

The  Peoria  &  Eastern  division  of  the  Big  Four,  formerly 
known  as  the  I.  B.  &  W.  Railway,  extends  through  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  county  in  an  east  and  west  direction.  It 
crosses    the    eastern    county    line    in  the    northern    part    of 


392  DARKE   COUNTY 

Monroe  township  and  runs  directly  west  through  Monroe 
and  Twin  to  the  Greenville  and  New  Madison  pike  in  north- 
western Butler  township,  then  zigzags  about  in  a  northwest- 
erly direction  through  northern  Harrison  and  southern  Ger- 
man townships  reaching  the  state  line  near  the  southwest 
corner  of  the  latter  township.  The  stations  along  this  line 
are  Pittsburg,  Arcanum,  Savona,  Clark's  Station  and  Glen- 
karn.  It  was  built  in and  affords  an  outlet  to  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  county  similar  to  that  provided  by  the  other 
division  of  the  "Big  Four"  in  the  northern  part.  It  has  over 
twenty-two  miles  of  main  track  and  about  four  and  a  third 
miles  of  siding  in  the  county,  and  was  listed  for  taxation  in 
1912  at  $655,880.00. 

C.  H.  &  D.  Railway. 

The  railway  having  the  smallest  mileage  in  the  county  is 
a  branch  of  the  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  &  Dayton  system,  for- 
merly known  as  the  "Narrow  Gauge."  It  crosses  the  north- 
ern line  of  the  county  near  the  northwestern  corner  of  Pat- 
terson township,  runs  almost  due  south  through  Patterson 
and  Wayne  townships  to  Versailles,  and  then  curves  in  a 
southeasterly  direction  and  crosses  the  eastern  line  of  the 
county  near  the  southwestern  corner  of  Wayne  township. 
The  stations  along  this  line  are  Osgood,  Yorkshire  and  Ver- 
sailles. It  has  a  main  trackage  of  twelve  and  one-fifth  miles 
and  about  a  mile  and  a  half  of  siding  in  the  county.  It  was 
constructed   about   1881. 

Ohio  Electric  Railwaj'. 

The  practical  application  of  electricity  to  the  purposes  of 
transportation  developed  about  1890.  The  next  ten  years 
witnessed  a  rapid  improvement  in  knowledge,  and  methods 
of  electrical  control.  By  1900  nearh'  every  large  city  in  the 
United  States  had  displaced  the  old  horse  cars  by  electrically 
driven  cars  and  electrical  traction  lines  were  being  projected 
from  these  centers  to  the  surrounding  towns,  especially  in 
the  eastern  section  of  the  country.  Dayton  was  one  of  the 
most  enterprising  of  the  Ohio  cities  in  this  respect  and  soon 
had  about  ten  lines  projected,  with  the  object  of  increasing 
local  business.  Among  these,  was  one  to  Greenville  and 
Union  City.  This  was  fostered  and  vigorously  pushed  to 
completion  by  Dr.  J.  E.  Lowes  of  Dayton.     It  was  completed 


DARKE   COUNTY  393 

to  Greenville  in  1901  and  to  Union  City  in  1904,  and  has 
proven  a  great  boon  to  travelers,  especially  on  account  of 
the  many  rural  stops,  and  hourly  car  service.  It  was  also 
instrumental  in  quickening  the  service  on  the  D.  &  U.  Rail- 
way, which  it  practically  parallels.  It  had  about  thirty-one 
miles  of  main  track  and  about  one  mile  of  siding  in  the  coun- 
ty, when  it  was  listed  for  taxation  in  1912,  at  $639,820.00. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Darke  county  has  seven  railways  and 
one  traction  line  crossing  it  in  various  directions  with  a  total 
mileage  of  about  two  hundred  and  ten  miles,  exclusive  of 
sidings,  and  a  total  valuation  for  taxation  of  about  $8,000,000.- 
00. 

It  will  be  further  noted  that  these  railways  enter  every 
township  of  the  twenty  composing  the  county,  except  Missis- 
sinawa,  Wabash,  York  and  Franklin ;  that  the  county  seat 
is  crossed  by  three  steam  lines  and  one  electric,  and  that  each 
one  of  the  larger  towns  in  the  county  has  at  least  two  lines. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
THE  PRESS. 

It  used  to  be  a  common  saying  that  the  three  greatest  institu- 
tions of  society  were  the  home,  the  church  and  the  school. 
In  recent  years  another  important  institution  has  arisen  which 
exerts  a  formative  influence  on  public  morals  and  public  op- 
inion scarcely  less  potent  than  these.  I  refer  to  the  public 
press.  If  a  man  have  but  the  rudiments  of  an  education  and 
will  thoughtfully  and  habitually  peruse  the  daily  newspaper 
he  may  eventually  attain  a  fair  education  and  a  comprehen- 
sive grasp  of  public  affairs.  The  railway,  telegraph  and  tel- 
ephone have  stimulated  intercourse  and  contributed  immeas- 
urably toward  the  unification  of  society  wherever  they  have 
been  installed.  The  newspaper  has  been  quick  to  utilize 
these  important  factors  in  collecting  and  distributing  the  news 
of  the  world  for  the  benefit  of  the  masses  of  civilized  men. 
The  growth  of  the  newspaper  industry  is  a  fair  gauge  of  the 
development  of  popular  education,  and  the  fact  that  there 
were  but  thirty-seven  newspapers  in  the  United  States  in  1775, 
while  there  are  more  than  a  dozen  in  Darke  county  today  is 
significant  of  the  wonderful  change  that  has  taken  place  in 
the  short  history  of  our  country.  As  before  noted  the  agri- 
cultural and  general  development  of  Darke  county  was  com- 
paratively slow  and  gave  little  encouragement  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  enterprises  having  a  promise  of  profit. 

The  pioneers  represented  the  average  Americans  of  their 
class  in  those  days  when  illiteracy  was  much  more  prevalent 
than  it  is  today.  Many  families  did  not  take  any  paper  and 
the  more  prosperous  ones  subscribed  for  the  papers  published 
at   Dayton.    Piqua,    Eaton    and   the   older   established   towns. 

The  Journal. 

However,  a  printer  by  the  name  of  E.  Donnellan,  had  the 
temerity  to  start  a  weekly  sheet  entitled  the  "Western  States- 
man and  Greenville  Courier"  on  June  25,  1832.  The  sub- 
scription price  was  $2.00  per  year  if  paid  in  advance,  $2.50  if 
paid  within  the  year,  or  $3.00  if  payment  was  deferred.  News 
items  of  general  interest  were  extracted  from  such  publica- 


396  DARKE   COUNTY 

tions  as  the  Detroit  Journal,  New  Hampshire  Gazette,  Na- 
tional Intelligencer  and  the  Boston  Patriot,  while  the  local 
items  and  advertisements,  no  doubt,  figured  inconspicuously. 
This  paper  seems  to  have  been  continued  under  various 
names  and  proprietors  and  survives  toda}-  as  the  Journal. 

About  March  1,  1844,  Edward  B.  Taylor,  whose  biography 
appears  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  took  over  this  paper  with  a 
list  of  150  subscribers.  In  April,  1850,  J.  G.  Reece  was  as- 
sociated with  Taylor.  The  latter  retired  for  a  while  on  June 
1,  1851.  On  April  29,  1852,  M.  B.  Reece  became  a  co-partner 
with  J.  G.  Reece  as  editor  and  proprietor.  Later  the  paper 
again  passed  into  the  hands  of  Taylor,  who  published  it  until 
early  in  1860,  when  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  Messrs.  E.  W. 
Otwell  and  James  Craig.  The  latter  retired  in  1869.  In  1873 
this  paper  was  enlarged  from  a  seven  column  to  a  nine  col- 
umn folio  making  it  the  largest  paper  published  in  the  county 
at  that  time.  In  1879  E.  W.  Otwell  turned  over  the  publica- 
tion to  his  son  Curtis,  who  continues  its  publication  at  this 
time— over  eighty  years  after  its  establishment.  In  1846  the 
paper  appeared  under  the  title  "The  Greenville  Patriot."  was 
published  every  Wednesday  at  original  subscription  prices. 
It  contained  the  announcement  that  countr}-  produce  would 
be  received  on  subscription  at  cash  prices.  In  the  issue  of 
June  10,  1846,  the  advertisements  were  set  in  nonpareil  type 
with  small  headlines  and  were  only  one  column  in  width. 
News  from  Europe  then  came  to  Greenville  in  from  four  to 
eight  weeks  late.  Among  the  names  attached  to  advertise- 
ments, legal  and  otherwise,  were  Wm.  Wilson,  R.  R.  Sher- 
wood, T.  J.  McDowell,  D.  R.  Davis,  Thos.  Vantilburgh.  W. 
J.  Birely,  S.  S.  Arnold.  D.  K.  Swisher,  David  Beers.  Jacob 
Wood,  Chas.  Morris,  Taylor  &  Schlenker.  John  Hufnagle, 
Henry  Drinkwater.  Wm.  Arnold,  Leah  Vananker,  Da\-id 
Stamm,  A.  Scribner,  J.  Vanmater,  H.  Arnold,  Sawyer  & 
Davis,  Aaron  Fleming,  I.  N.  Beedle,  James  Boyd,  W.  B.  Beall. 
F.  Waring,  Elisha  Dawes,  Wm.  C.  Deerii,  R.  Gilpatrick,  C. 
Jaqua,  Sarah  E.  Osborn,  Carey  &  Tomlinson,  Wm.  R.  Crozier, 
L.  R.  Sample,  B.  Powell,  R.  Evans,  J.  B.  Underwood.  Haines 
&  Monfort,  M.  L.  Harter,  M.  Spayd,  A.  C.  Brown,  Wm.  Van- 
tilburgh,  L.  A.   LaMott  &  Co. 

In  politics  the  Patriot  strongly  advocated  the  Whig  poli- 
cies and  struck  a  .strong  patriotic  note.  In  those  days  the 
AA'higs  and  the  Democrats  divided  the  vote  of  some  three 
thousand  nearly  equally  between  them.     ]\Iuch  space  was  de- 


DARKE   COUNTY  397 

voted  to  the  currency  and  slavery  questions  and  a  strong  cur- 
rent of  feeling  was  manifested  in  the  columns.  After  the 
formation  of  the  Republican  party  the  Journal  became  a 
staunch  party  organ  advocating  the  candidacy  of  Lincoln.  It 
continued  steadfast  in  the  advocacy  of  Republican  principles 
throughout  the  trying  times  of  the  Civil  War  and  is  today 
aligned   with  those  principles. 

The  Democrat. 

The  Democrat  is  the  second  oldest  newspaper  in  Darke 
county  with  practically  a  continuous  history.  The  demand 
for  a  local  paper  advocating  Democratic  principles  caused  the 
launching  of  the  '"Democratic  Herald"  in  April,  1847.  This 
paper  was  published  by  Mehaffey  and  Adams,  and  advocated 
popular  sovereignty,  state  rights  and  a  simple  government. 
Mehai¥ey  soon  sold  his  interest  to  Wm.  Allen,  then  county 
prosecuting  attorney,  who  with  Thomas  Adams,  both  well 
known  and  highly  esteemed  Democrats,  continued  the  paper 
under  the  title  of  "The  Greenville  Telegraph."  Dr.  J.  L. 
Sorber  bought  out  Adam's  interest  in  June,  1851,  and  con- 
ducted the  paper  until  the  fall  of  1852.  when  Rufus  Putnam 
became  the  proprietor.  The  name  was  soon  changed  to 
"Mad  Anthony,"  and  it  appeared  as  an  independent  news- 
paper edited  and  published  by  R.  and  J.  H.  Putnam,  with  an 
office  ovev  Beedle  &  Devor's  tin  shop.  In  the  summer  of 
1854,  the  press  was  removed  to  Union  City  to  start  a  paper 
in  the  interest  of  the  '"American  Party."  Nothing  daunted 
a  few  active  Democrats  raised  a  small  fund  in  the  fall  of 
1854,  purchased  a  new  press  and  type,  and  made  Thomas 
Perry  publisher  of  a  new  paper  under  the  title  of  the  "Green- 
ville Eagle."  After  a  few  months  Perry  became  tired  of  the 
unpleasant  treatment  accorded  him  by  the  "Know-Nothings," 
who  were  quite  active  and  persistent  at  that  period,  and  the 
paper  was  again  discontinued  for  a  short  time.  In  the  spring 
of  1855  the  "Darke  County  Democrat"  was  launched  by  A.  G. 
Clark,  of  Hamilton,  Ohio,  who  sold  it  in  July,  1856,  to  Henry 
Muller.  The  office  was  then  located  over  Weston  &  Ullery's 
hardware  store  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and 
Third  streets,  and  Muller  continued  to  edit  and  publish  the 
paper  in  a  very  satisfactory  manner  until  March  20,  1851, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  J.  B.  Price  and  George  D.  Farrar. 

The  political   upheaval  just  prior  to  the  Civil  War  threw 


398  DAKKE   COUNTY 

Darke  county  from  the  Whig  to  the  Democratic  column  and 

in  1857,  the  entire  county  ticket  was  elected,  giving  the  party 
organ  increased  prestige,  in  the  winter  of  1863-64  the  office 
was  sacked  by  a  party  of  soldiers  at  home  on  a  furlough  and 
the  type  was  thrown  into  the  street.  The  proprietorship  of 
the  paper  changed  twice  in  the  next  two  years  until  in  1866, 
j\lr.  Chas.  Roland  removed  from  Lancaster,  Ohio,  and  took 
over  the  property.  From  that  time  until  1910  the  Democrat 
was  retained  by  the  Roland  family,  being  ably  edited  by 
Chas.  Roland,  Jr.,  and  Edward  until  July  11,  1910,  when  the 
property  was  purchased  by  Martin  B.  Trainor,  a  prominent 
attorney  and  real  estate  man  of  Greenville,  who  is  the  able 
and  progressive  editor  and  publisher  today. 

The  Democrat  prospered  and  became  highly  influential 
among  the  members  of  that  party,  being  the  sole  official 
organ  of  said  party,  fearlessly,  ably  and  entirely  advocating 
its  principles  until  the  establishment  of  the  "Advocate"  in 
1883,  since  which  time  the  patronage  has  been  divided.  Air. 
Roland  pro\ed  himself  to  be  a  trenchant  writer  and  a  suc- 
cessful proprietor,  and  the  present  editor  and  proprietor  is 
establishing  for  himself  a  large  reputation  for  virile  editorials, 
broad  news  treatment,  and  aggressive  policies. 

At  first  the  Democrat  appeared  as  a  four  page  publication 
in  blanket  sheet  size,  but  under  the  proprietorship  of  the 
Roland  Bros,  was  changed  to  a  paper  of  twelve  pages  15x22 
inches  in  size.  A  daily  eight  page  morning  paper  known 
as  the  "Morning  News"  was  started  by  the  Roland  Brothers 
in  1908,  and  published  in  a  very  creditable  manner,  but  proved 
unsuccessful  from  a  financial  standpoint  and  was  discon- 
tinued Alay  25.  1910.  The  office  was  located  in  the  Roland 
building-  on  the  west  side  of  Broadway  between  Third  and 
Fourth  streets  from  the  time  of  its  erection  until  March, 
1914,  when  it  was  moved  to  the  new  Trainor  building  on 
South  Broadway,  just  north  of  Fifth  street.  Under  its  pres- 
ent management  it  promises  to  grow  in  power  and  influence 
and  increase  in  prestige  as  the  vears  go  bv. 

The  Courier. 

The  Courier  was  started  May  22,  1875,  by  George  W.  Cal- 
derwood  under  the  title  of  the  "Greenville  Sunday  Courier." 
On  December  10,  1876,  the  ownership  was  transferred  to 
Calderwood  and  .Studabaker  with  A.  R.   Calderwood  as  edi- 


DARKE   COUNTY  399 

tor.  Later  it  passed  to  the  proprietorship  of  his  son,  John 
Calderwood,  who  publishes  it  at  this  time.  Air.  Calderwood, 
besides  continually  giving  much  space  to  the  discussion  of 
party  measures  and  party  principles,  has  published  an  ex- 
ceptionally large  amount  of  local  historical  material,  includ- 
ing probably  two  thousand  columns  of  personal  reminiscences 
and  interesting  letters  from  the  "Darke  County  Boy,"  cop- 
ious extracts  from  which  appear  in  this  volume.  Besides 
this,  Mr.  Calderwood  has  been  a  fearless  and  persistent  ad- 
vocate of  temperance  and  prohibitory  legislation,  following 
the  motto  of  his  paper — "Hew  true  to  the  line,  let  the  chips 
fall  where  they  may."  Regardless  of  patronage  he  has  con- 
tinued this  policy  throughout  many  years  and  has  become 
a  clear,  strong  and  convincing  writer  on  these  topics.  From 
1880  to  1883  the  Courier  was  published  in  the  new  Wilson 
and  Hart  block  on  Broadway  just  south  of  Third  street. 
For  several  j'ears  it  was  located  in  the  Huddle  block  on  \\'est 
Fourth  street,  and  is  now  in  the  \A^esrerfield  building  on 
.South  Broadway. 

The   Daily  Tribune. 

The  first  daily  newspaper  started  in  Darke  county  was 
"The  Greenville  Daily  Graphic,"  published  in  1879  by  Ed- 
ward Hamilton,  now  city  editor  of  the  Daily  Advocate,  and 
William  Collins,  late  dramatic  editor  on  the  Sacramento 
Daily  Bee.  Shortly  after  the  starting  of  this  daily  venture 
Mr.  Collins  moved  with  his  father's  family  to  Chico,  Cal., 
and  after  some  six  months  publication,  the  paper  was  discon- 
tinued. George  W.  Calderwood  published  a  daily  paper 
during  the  exciting  times  of  the  Roberson  trial  and  execu- 
tion in  the  summer  of  1880.  This  was  a  short  lived  venture 
as  was  also  the  "Daih^  Xews"  published  by  \\'ni.  Linn  aljout 
1886,  and  the  "Morning  Sun"  published  by  Dow  Bell  during 
the  exciting  school  board  contest  of  1892. 

The  Daily  Tribune  was  started  by  Samuel  R.  Kemble  in 
1890,  and  is  the  oldest  daily  having  a  continuous  history 
since  its  establishment.  Mr.  Kemble  came  to  Greenville 
from  Arcanum,  where  he  had  published  the  Weekly  Tribune 
since  1880  and  opened  up  an  ol^ce  in  the  Huddle  block  where 
the  Daily  Tribune  made  its  debut  in  1890.  Later  he  pur- 
chased a  room  on  West  Fourth  street  adjoining  the  Huddle 
block  and  established  his  office  there  where  he  issued  the 
paper  until   1913,  when   it  was  removed  to  its  present  loca- 


400  DARKE   COUNTY 

tion  in  the  Thomas  building  on  South  Broadway.  Mr.  Kem- 
ble  had  had  a  varied  experience  in  life  as  a  soldier  and  a  typo, 
having  seen  service  in  the  Civil  war  as  well  as  on  the  plains 
of  the  west,  and  having  set  type  on  some  of  the  leading  city 
papers  of  the  country.  When  he  returned  to  Greenville  he 
was  well  qualified  for  his  task  and  by  industry,  tenacity  and 
shrewd  financial  management  succeeded  in  establishing  the 
first  permanent  daily  paper.  In  1892  he  resumed  the  pub- 
lication of  the  Weekly  Tribune,  which  has  appeared  regular- 
ly ever  since,  increasing  in  pretige  and  circulation.  It  now 
has  eight  pages  18x24  inches  in  size. 

Mr.  Kemble  was  a  clear,  concise,  able  and  forceful  writer, 
and  a  keen  newspaper  man.  He  died  on  January  25,  1913, 
and  the  Tribune  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  George 
Grosshans,  an  experienced  newspaper  man  and  estimable 
citizen.  Mr.  Grosshans  is  stanchly  Republican,  liberal  in 
policy  in  the  publication  of  news  items,  broad  in  sympathy, 
aggressive  in  public  affairs  and  friendly  to  advance  moral 
causes.  The  daily  is  published  with  from  four  to  six  pages, 
size  17x24  inches.  The  office  is  equipped  with  a  linotype 
machine  and  a  good  rotary  press.  In  June,  1914,  as  the  result 
of  foreclosure  proceedings,  the  Tribune  was  restored  to  the 
Kemble  heirs,  who  now  publish  it  at  the  new  office  on  South 
Broadway. 

The  Advocate. 

The  Democratic  Advocate  was  established  by  Wm.  A. 
Browne,  Sr.,  formerly  of  Covington,  Ohio,  and  Wm.  Linn, 
of  Versailles,  as  a  weekly  Democratic  paper  in  1883,  the  first 
issue  appearing  on  May  23,  of  that  year.  The  county  had 
been  strongly  Democratic  since  1857,  with  majorities  mostly 
varying  from  1,200  to  1,500,  but  a  faction  Had  arisen  in 
the  party  on  the  question  of  the  election  of  Chas.  M.  Ander- 
son to  congress.  The  Democrat  refused  to  favor  the  elec- 
tion of  Mr.  Anderson,  and  as  he  represented  a  strong  follow- 
ing it  was  decided  to  establish  a  new  paper  with  the  result 
that  the  Advocate  was  started  as  above  stated.  From  its 
appearance  it  became  a  formidable  rival  of  the  older  paper 
and  continued  so  to  this  day.  Mr.  Linn  retired  from  the 
partnership  in  about  two  years,  since  which  time  the  paper 
has  continued  in  the  Browne  family.  The  Daily  Advocate 
was  started  January  3,  1893.  as  a  four  page  daily  and  soon 
grew  in  favor  and  prestige,  proving  the  advantage  of  pub- 


UARKE   COUNTY  401 

lisliing  a  daily  and  weekly  paper  from  the  same  office.  It 
is  especially  noted  for  the  large  number  of  local  news  items, 
featured  articles  and  aggressive  policy  on  local  questions. 
The  office  is  one  of  the  best  equipped  in  Darke  county,  con- 
taining two  modern  linotype  machines  and  a  large  duplex 
flat  bed  perfecting  press  with  a  capacity  of  6,500  per  hour. 
Each  machine  is  run  by  an  individual  electric  motor.  The 
daily  now  has  eight  pages  18x24  inches  in  size,  and  the  week- 
ly is  of  the  same  size.  The  latter  appears  each  Thurs- 
day. Air.  Browne  has  been  associated  with-  newspapers 
since  he  was  twelve  3'ears  of  age,  and  knows  the 
business  like  a  book.  His  sons,  William  and  Walter 
E.,  have  likewise  had  extended  experience  in  the  busi- 
ness, and  are  able  assistants  in  editing  and  publishing 
both  papers.  The  office  was  first  located  on  the  upper  floor  of 
the  Alatchett  room  on  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Third 
street.  Later  the  paper  was  issued  for  several  years  from 
the  Meeker  building  on  East  Third  street  near  Walnut.  In 
1909  Mr.  Browne  purchased  the  two-story  brick  room  at  307 
Broadway  in  order  to  get  proper  accommodations  for  his 
large  presses  and  increasing  equipment  and  the  papers  are 
now  issued  from  this  excellent  office. 

A  German  newspaper  was  established  in  Greenville  about 
1886,  under  the  title  "The  Deutsche  Umschau,"  and  contin- 
ued to  be  issued  for  some  twenty  years.  It  was  published 
for  some  time  by  a  Mr.  Feichtinger  and  later  by  A.  T.  Knorr 
and  Wm.  Triebold.  The  paper  contained  eight  pages  size 
13x22  inches  and  was  put  forth  in  a  creditable  manner.  On 
account  of  the  rapidly  decreasing  number  of  citizens  who 
read  German  only,  the  paper  was  finally  discontinued  and 
the  office  and  equipment  moved  to  Toledo,  where  there  was 
a   larger  German  constituency. 

Temperance  Papers. 

Papers  advocating  the  cause  of  temperance  and  prohibiti- 
tion  have  been  published  in  the  county  at  different  times. 
Probably  the  first  of  these  was  the  "Crystal  Fountain,"  a 
semi-weekly  publication  of  eight  pages  about  8x12  inches 
in  size,  started  in  JMay,  1857,  by  Joseph  G.  lones,  at  50  cents 
per  year,  with  the  motto  "Moral  suasion  for  the  drunkard — 
legal  suasion  for  the  drunkard  maker."  The  "Sons  of  Tem- 
perance" flourished  and  great  changes  were  effected  in  public 
(261 


402  DARKE   COUNTY 

sentiment  on  the  drink  question.  The  temperance  move- 
ment of  1877,  resulted  in  the  enlistment  of  many  new  advo- 
cates for  the  cause,  probably  the  most  prominent  of  whom 
was  George  Calderwood,  who,  in  the  fall  of  1879,  started  the 
"Daily  Gazette"  in  behalf  of  the  cause  with  beneficial  eiifect 
on  the  following  spring  election. 

"The  American  Prohibitionist"  was  also  issued  for  a  few- 
months  from  Calderwood's  office,  but  was  later  removed  to 
Columbus,  O.  "The  Transcript,"  a  weekly  paper  advocating 
the  principles  of  the  Prohibition  party,  was  established  by 
Frank  H.  Jobes  in  February,  1891.  It  was  published  in  the 
Jobes  room,  South  Broadway.  The  paper  was  ably  edited 
and  neatly  printed,  but  the  limited  field  of  circulation  made 
the  venture  unprofitable  and  it  was  discontinued  after  two 
years. 

"The  Ohio  Populist,"  edited  by  W.  B.  Cline  and  P.  J.  Fish- 
back,  was  issued  from  this  office  for  a  while  beginning  in 
May,  1896.  It  championed  the  free  coinage  of  silver  and  the 
Populistic  propaganda  of  the  Omaha  platform. 

Newspapers  Published  Outside  of  Greenville. 

'"The  Versailles  Policy" — The  oldest  and  largest  weekly 
paper  published  in  Darke  county  outside  of  Greenville  is  the 
Versailles  Policy,  which  was  founded  in  1875  by  Cook  and 
Wade  under  the  name  of  "Versailles  Independent."  Later 
its  proprietors  were  Hathaway,  then  Bidlack  and  Linn,  who 
changed  the  name  to  'The  Versailles  Policy."  About  1883 
Wm.  Linn  came  to  Greenville  and  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  \\'.  A.  Browne,  Sr.,  to  publish  the  new  "Democratic 
Advocate."  and  the  Policy  passed  into  the  hands  of  \\^  J. 
Swisher,  who  published  it  until  August  1,  1889,  when  it  came 
into  the  ownership  of  D.  W.  K.  Martin,  the  present  pub- 
lisher. At  the  time  Mr.  Martin  became  owner  of  the  Policy  it 
was  a  five  column  quarto,  but  under  his  ownership  it  has 
been  enlarged  from  time  to  time  to  meet  the  requirements 
of  a  growing  community  so  that  now  it  is  an  eight  page 
18x24  inch,  seven  column  paper  built  on  modern  lines  and 
having  a  large  subscription  list.  In  almost  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ownership  Mf.  Martin  has  proved  himself  an  excep- 
tionally good  editor  and  proprietor,  and  his  paper  has  proven  a 
valuable  factor  in  promoting  the  business,  social  and  general 


DARKE   COUNTY  403 

interests  of  the  thriving  village  of  Versailles  and  vicinity  as 
well  as  the  interests  of  the  Democratic  party. 

"The  Versailles  Leader"  was  established  in  1903  as  an 
independent  newspaper  by  Nathan  F.  Fahnestock.  It  is  an 
eigth  page  15x22  inch  paper,  and  is  published  on  Tuesday 
and  Friday  of  each  week  at  $1.00  per  year.  Mr.  Fahnestock 
is  a  virile  writer  and  aggressive  publisher  and  his  paper  has 
attracted  considerable  attention  and  won  praise  from  patrons 
who  desire  an  independent  and  public  spirited  advocate.  The 
fact  that  such  a  paper  has  been  published  for  more  than 
ten  years  in  a  strongly  Democratic  community  indicates  that 
the  editor  is  aggressive,  persevering  and  determined  to  serve 
the  public  needs. 

Arcanum  has  had  the  benefit  of  a  local  press  for  over  thir- 
ty years.  The  Arcanum  Visitor,  an  independent  weekly, 
was  printed  about  1876  to  1878  by  a  man  named  Wasson  and 
in  1880  Samuel  R.  Ivemble  founded  the  Tribune  which  he 
published  for  nearly  ten  years.  In  1888,  the  "Arcanum  En- 
terprise" was  launched  and  has  been  issued  for  over  a  quar- 
ter of  a  century.  It  is  a  staunch  Democratic  sheet  and  is 
owned  and  edited  by  C.  R.  Musson,  an  experienced  newspa- 
per man.  It  contains  eight  pages  13x20  inches  in  size  and  is 
issued  every  Thursday  for  $1.00  per  year. 

The  .\rcanum  Times  is  an  independent  eight  page  paper 
of  standard  size,  and  appears  regularly  on  Thursdaj^  It  was 
established  in  1899  and  is  owned  and  edited  by  Smith  and 
Heeter. 

Like  Arcanum,  Ansonia  has  had  a  newspaper  since  1880. 
About  that  time  John  S.  Royer,  a  prominent  educator  and 
writer,  founded  the  Ansonia  Mirror.  The  ownership  of  this 
paper  passed  to  Frank  H.  Jobes,  who  continued  to  publish 
it  from  September  1,  1884  to  the  end  of  1890.  It  was  a  well 
edited  and  newsy  sheet  with  high  ethical  ideals  and  was  very 
acceptable  to  the  people  of  Brown  township  and  vicinity. 
This  paper  was  discontinued,  however,  in  1891,  when  Mr. 
Jobes  moved  the  plant  to  Greenville,  where  he  established 
The  Transcript,  following  which  the  "Ansonia  Herald"  ap- 
peared. This  paper  was  published  for  a  while  by  S.  H.  Light 
and  Son,  who  sold  it  to  Collett  and  Allbaugh.  It  then  ap- 
peared for  two  or  three  years  as  "The  Climax,"  but  was  fin- 
ally discontinued.  In  1899  the  Herald  was  re-established  by 
the  Lights,  who  continued  to  publish  it  for  some  ten  years 
when  it  passed  to  the  ownership  of    the     Herald     Printing 


404  DARKE   COUNTt 

Company,  under  the  editorship  of  Hiltor  R.  Millett,  whose 
biography  appears  in  Vol.  II.  This  sheet  contains  eight 
pages,  size  16x22  and  is  published  every  Thursday  as  an 
independent  newspaper  at  $1.00  per  year,  giving  Ansonia  the 
benefit  of  a  progressive  local  press  at  a  cheap  price. 

The  eastern  section  of  the  county  is  ably  served  with  news 
twice  a  week,  on  Wednesday  and  Saturday,  by  the  Bradford 
Morning  Sentinel,  an  independent  Republican  paper  of  eight 
pages  published  by  A.  F.  Little.  This  sheet  was  also  found- 
ed in  1880  and  has  proved  to  be  a  force  in  Bradford  and  vi- 
cinity. It  contains  a  large  amount  of  local  items  and  adver- 
tisements and  is  well  edited. 

The  New  Madison  Herald  is  an  eight  page  independent 
paper  published  every  Friday  by  O.  G.  Murray.  It  was  es- 
tablished in  1894  by  Smith  and  Davis,  and  was  purchased  in 
July  1895  by  C.  E.  Wenger,  who  published  it  for  some  time. 
An  examination  of  its  columns  reveals  the  fact  that  local 
enterprise  and  public  spirit  are  valuable  assets  in  a  com- 
munity, doing  much  to  build  up  its  best  interests.  Several 
newspaper  men  were  of  prominence,  notably  John  Hatha- 
way, for  many  years  foreman  of  the  composing  room  of  the 

The  Hollandsburg  News  was  established  in  1907.  and  is 
now  entering  on  the  eighth  year  of  its  history.  It  is  a  stand- 
ard size  eight  page  weekly,  and  is  published  every  Thurs- 
day at  $1.00  per  year  by  the  Williams  Company,  under  the 
editorship  of  Dale  C.  Williams.  Harrison  and  Irelan  were 
the  former  proprietors.  This  paper  is  served  by  the  Western 
Newspaper  Union  and  is  a  remarkable  illustration  of  what 
grit  and  enterprise  can  do  in  a  small  town  to  promote  its 
best  interests. 

Besides  these  papers  the  Union  City  Eagle  and  Times,  pub- 
lished just  across  the  state  line,  have  some  circulation  in  the 
county,  and  help  to  foster  that  healthy  local  pride  which 
tends  to  strengthen  and  build  up  a  community.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  any  other  county  in  Ohio  of  similar  population  and  con- 
dition has  as  many  local  papers  as  Darke  county.  This  indi- 
cates an  intelligent  and  progressive  citizenship  and  augurs 
well  for  the  future  of  the  county. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
FINANCIAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

Banks. 

The  history  of  the  development  of  banks  and  financial  in- 
stitutions in  the  Nation,  State  and  County  is  closely  inter- 
woven with  the  history  of  social  progress.  Banks  are  indis- 
pensable to  the  merchant,  manufacturer  and  farmer  for  the 
proper  transaction  of  their  business  aiTairs,  and  building- 
associations  are  a  great  aid  to  the  small  depositor  and  home 
builder.  The  presence  of  well  established  institutions  of  this 
kind  in  a  community  is  an  almost  infallible  indication  of  sta- 
bility and  prosperity.  In  spite  of  the  present  unpopularity 
of  Wall  Street  and  the  excessive  number  of  multi-million- 
aires, people  have  generally  come  to  acknowledge  that  money 
and  monetary  establishments  are  essential  to  advanced  civil- 
ization, and  a  financial  education  is  deemed  desirable  by  those 
who  conduct  even  a  small  business. 

Farmers'  National  Bank. 

The  scarcity  of  money  in  the  early  history  of  the  State 
and  county  has  already  been  noted,  furs  and  farm  produce 
being  the  local  medium  of  exchange.  Along  in  the  "thii:ics 
and  "forties"  loans  were  made  and  notes  discounted  by  pri- 
vate individuals,  among  whom  John  Hufnagle  and  H.  W. 
Emerson  were  well  known.  The  gradual  but  substantial  de- 
velopment of  the  county  and  the  steady  growth  of  the  coun- 
ty seat,  however,  soon  called  for  regular  banking  facilities 
and  in  October,  1853,  the  Farmers'  Bank  was  organized  by  J. 
W.  Frizell  and  J.  L.  Winner,  with  a  capita!  of  $30,000.00. 
This  bank  passed  safely  through  all  the  financial  disturb- 
ances just  prior  to  the  Civil  War  and  was  organized  April 
3,  1863,  into  a  national  bank  under  the  title  of  the  Farmers' 
National  Bank  which  it  bears  today.  The  first  officers  of  this 
bank  were  Washington  A.  Weston,  president,  and  John  L. 
Winner,  cashier.  With  these  gentlemen,  H.  A\'.  Emerson, 
G.  W.  Studabaker  and  J.  W.  Frizell  were  associated  as  direc- 
tors, assuring  from  the  beginning  a  strong  and  reliable  man- 
agement of  the  bank's  affairs.  Previous  to  this  time  Mr. 
Winner  had  been  successivelv  engaged  in  the  hotel,  drug  and 


406  DARKE   COUNTY 

dry  goods  business  and  had  served  in  the  Ohio  legislature ; 
Mr.  Weston  likewise  had  an  extended  business  experience  in 
Piqua,  Covington  and  Dayton,  had  established  the  first  hard- 
ware store  in  Greenville  in  1848,  and  had  served  in  the  state 
legislature ;  Mr.  Emerson  had  been  a  brigadier-general  of 
Ohio  militia,  a  justice  of  the  peace,  and  a  promiennt  broker; 
Mr.  Frizell  had  been  a  school  teacher,  a  lawyer  and  clerk  of 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  while  Mr.  Studabaker  had  been 
a  prosperous  farmer  and  stock  buyer. 

T.  S.  Waring  succeeded  J.  L.  Winner  as  cashier  in  1873, 
when  the  latter  purchased  the  Exchange  Bank,  an  institution 
v/hich  had  been  established  by  Frank  Mc^^'hinney  in  1869, 
and  continued  in  business  until  1880,  when  it  was  closed. 
James  M.  Lansdowne,  who  had  served  as  cashier  of  the  Ex- 
change Bank  throughout  its  history,  became  cashier  of  the 
Farmers'  National  Bank  in  the  fall  of  1889  and  served  until 
his  death  in  1898.  Geo.  \\'.  Sigafoos  who  was  serving  his 
second  term  as  county  auditor,  resigned  that  position  and  be- 
came cashier  January  31,  1901,  and  is  still  serving  in  that 
capacity.  Howard  S.  Kolp  is  assistant  cashier ;  Conrad  Kipp 
is  president,  H.  Ed  Hufnagle,  vice-president,  and  D.  W.  Bow- 
man, S.  Corwin  Riegel  and  Joseph  Menke  members  of  the 
board  of  trustees.  This  bank  is  a  member  of  the  American  and 
state  banking  associations,  and  is  reported  in  the  Bankers' 
Register  in  January,  1913.  with  a  paid-up  capital  of  $84,000.00 
surplus  and  undivided  profits  of  $140,000.00,  deposits  $450,- 
000.00. 

This  bank  is  located  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Broadway 
and  the  public  square  in  a  handsome  stone  faced  building 
erected  in  1882.  and  is  doing  a  substantial  business. 

Greenville   National   Bank. 

The  Greenville  National  Bank  is  the  successor  of  the  Bank 
of  Greenville,  which  was  organized  by  Hufnagle,  Allen  & 
Co.,  February  22,  1876,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $200,000.00, 
the  stockholders  being  held  individually  liable.  The  first 
officers  were  John  Hufnagle,  president;  Judge  \^'m.  Allen, 
vice-president,  and  L.  L.  Bell,  cashier.  The  directors  were 
John  Hufnagle,  Judge  James  M.  Meeker,  John  Devor  and  L. 
L.  Bell.  ]\Iessrs.  Hufnagle.  IMeeker  and  Bell  were  large  own- 
ers of  real  estate  in  the  county.  Judge  Allen  was  a  promin- 
ent attorney  and  had  served  the  Fourth  District  in  Cono-ress 


DARKE   COUNTY 


407 


during  the  thirty-sixth  and  thirty-seventh  terms,  and  John 
Devor  was  prominently  connected  with  the  Greenville  Arti- 
ficial Gas  Company.  In  1885  this  bank  was  re-organized 
under  the  state  law  as  the  Greenville  Bank  Company,  and 
opened  up  for  business  on  August  10th,  with  a  capital  of  $31,- 
500  and  over  $100,000.00  of  deposits.  The  officials  elected  at 
that  time  were  ^^m.  S.  Turpen,  president;  R.  B.  Jamison, 
vice-president :  Geo.  H.  Martz,  cashier  and  F.  T.  Conkling, 
teller.  E.  ^Y.  Otv^'ell  and  John  C.  Clark  served  as  directors 
with  Turpen,  Jamison  and  Martz.  Frank  T.  Conkling  who 
had  been  with  the  bank  since  its  organization  in  1876,  was 
made  cashier  in  1893,  and  served  in  this  capacity  until  his 
death  in  the  summer  of  1913.  In  the  thirty-seven  years  of 
his  connection  with  this  bank  he  made  for  himself  a  fine 
record  as  a  financier  with  a  reputation  extending  throughout 
the  county.  The  Greenville  Bank  Company  was  made  a  Na- 
tional bank  February  10,  1904.  The  Bankers'  Register  in 
January,  1913,  gives  it  a  paid-up  capital  of  $100,000.00,  sur- 
plus and  undivided  profits  $179,000.00,  deposits  $400,000.00, 
loans  and  discounts,  stocks,  bonds  and  securities  $580,000.00. 
Adelbert  Martz,  who  had  been  with  the  bank  for  over  twenty 
years,  was  made  cashier  to  succeed  F.  T.  Conkling.  deceased, 
on  July  4,  1913.  The  other  officers  now  are:  John  H.  Koes- 
ter,  president;  T.  A.  Lecklider.  vice-president:  Thcis.  Leck- 
lider,  Jr..  assistant  cashier  A.  T.  Marker,  teller. 

The  directors  are:  ^Y.  A.  Browne,  Sr.,  J.  H.  Koester,  T.  A. 
Lecklider.  H.  A.  Snorf,  M.  A.  Maher,  J.  C.  Elliott  and  W.  E. 
Nelson.  This  bank  has  been  located  on  the  northwest  corner 
of  Broadway  and  Fourth  street  in  Greenville,  since  its  or- 
ganization. 

The   Second   National   Bank. 

The  Second  National  Bank  of  Greenville,  Ohio,  was  organ- 
ized May  14,  1883,  was  granted  its  charter  July  3,  1883,  and 
opened  for  business  on  July  31,  of  that  year.  The  first  offic- 
ers were  Wm.  K.  Kerlin.  president:  Robert  A.  ShufTIeton, 
cashier;  David  L.  Meeker,  John  Devor,  J.  H.  Martin,  Henry 
St.  Clair  and  Augustus  F.  Koop,  directors.  The  financial 
standing  and  business  qualifications  of  these  men  insured  a 
success  of  the  enterprise  from  the  beginning.  Mr.  Kerlin  had 
been  a  prosperous  farmer  and  had  served  two  terms  as  county 
treasurer;  R.  A.  Shuffleton  had  been  a  successful  hardware 
merchant  and  man  of  business ;  D.  L.  Meeker  had  been  a  sue- 


408  DARKE   COUNTY 

cessful  attorney,  and  had  served  two  terms  as  probate  judge; 
John  H.  Martin  had  served  as  county  clerk  and  had  had  con- 
siderable business  experience;  Henry  St.  Clair  had  established 
the  first  wholesale  grocery  in  Darke  county,  and  was  laying 
the  foundation  of  the  largest  private  fortune  in  the  county ; 
and  A.  T.  Koop  had  been  for  several  years  a  prosperous  hard- 
ware man,  and  was  well  and  favorably  known  in  the  com- 
munit}'.  He  succeeded  R.  A.  Shuffleton  as  cashier  and  served 
about  ten  years. 

This  bank  has  continued  to  do  a  good  business  since  its 
establishment  and  has  a  conservative  reputation.  It  is  a 
member  of  both  the  American  and  State  Bankers"  Associa- 
tions, and  is  rated  in  the  Bankers'  Register  of  January,  1913, 
as  follows :  Paid-up  capital,  $100,000.00,  surplus  and  undi- 
vided profit  $115,000.00;  deposits,  $300,000.00;  loans  and  dis- 
counts, stocks,  bonds  and  securities,  $390,000.00.  The  pres- 
ent officers  are  Jas.  A.  Ries,  president:  D.  W.  Bowman,  vice- 
president  :  S.  A.  Hostetter,  cashier :  Gales  I..  Helm  and  W. 
B.  Marshall,  assistant  cashiers ;  Rolla  ^^^  Culbertson,  clerk. 
The  directors  are  J.  A.  Ries.  D.  W.  Bowman,  S.  A.  Hostetter, 
W.  B.  Pickering,  A.  J.  Landis,  E.  E.  Ortlepp  and  E.  Culbert- 
son. This  bank  is  located  on  the  east  side  of  Broadway,  two 
doors  north  of  Fourth  street. 

The  Citizens'   Bank. 

This  is  a  private  bank  and  was  established  January-  1,  1902, 
by  Westerfield  Bros.,  well  known  and  prosperous  wholesale 
merchants  and  Chas.  Schreel,  a  man  of  considerable  business 
ability,  all  men  of  well  known  integrity  and  financial  respon- 
sibility. In  its  twelve  years  of  business  it  has  transacted 
considerable  business  and  is  rated  by  the  Bankers'  Register 
of  1913  as  having  a  financial  responsibility  of  $150,000.00. 
Its  present  ofiicers  are  Enoch  W.  Westerfield.  president: 
Marion  W.  Westerfield,  vice-president :  S.  O.  \\'esterfield, 
cashier;  Wm.  H.  Tillman,  assistant  cashier.  It  is  located  in 
the  Westerfield  building  on  South  Broadway,  opposite  Mar- 
tin street. 

The  increase  of  the  towns  in  the  county  in  size  and  the 
gradual  expansion  of  business  and  financial  transactions  in 
recent  years  has  called  for  the  establishment  of  more  banks 
at  convenient  points.  In  response  to  this  demand,  banks 
have  been  established  in  recent  vears  at  Versailles,  New  Mad- 


DARKE   COUNTY  409 

ison,  Arcanum,  Ansonia,  Gettysburg,  Rossburg  and  Pitts- 
burg. According  to  the  Bankers'  Register  of  January,  1913. 
tliese  banks  were  rated  as  follows : 

Versailles. 

First  National  Bank.  Established  1891.  President,  R.  W. 
Douglas;  vice-president,  D.  F.  Douglas;  cashier,  C.  B.  Doug- 
las. Paid-up  capital,  $30,000.  Surplus  and  undivided  profits, 
$8,000.  Deposits,  $175,000.  Loans  and  discounts,  stocks, 
bonds  and  securities,  $150,000. 

Peoples'  Bank  Company  (State  Bank).  Established  1897. 
Member  American  and  State  Bankers'  Associations.  Presi- 
dent, L.  C.  Klipstine ;  vice-president,  Joseph  Manier,  Sr. ; 
cashier,  E.  C.  IManier,  and  assistant  cashier,  A.  F.  Prakel. 
Paid-up  capital,  $40,000.  Surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $10,- 
000.  Deposits,  $175,000.  Loans  and  discounts,  stocks,  bonds 
and  securities,  $175,000. 

New  Madison. 

Farmers'  Banking  Company  (private).  Established  1889. 
Member  of  American  and  State  Banking  Associations.  Pres- 
ident,    Richie  ;  vice-president,  W.  R.  Hageman ;  cashier, 

J.  D.  King ;  assistant  cashier,  C.  Hartman.  Paid-up  capital, 
$30,000.     Surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $6,100. 

Ansonia. 

Citizens'  Bank  Company  (state  bank).  Established  1903. 
Member  State  Bankers'  Association.  T.  J.  Hostetter,  vice- 
president  and  assistant  cashier ;  F.  S.  Kiser,  cashier.  Paid- 
up  capital,  $25,000.  Surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $5,000. 
Deposits,  $74,000.  Loans,  discounts,  stocks,  bonds  and  se- 
curities, $66,000. 

First  National  Bank.  Established  1908.  Member  of  State 
Bankers'  Association.  President,  E.  E.  ^^ance ;  vice-presi- 
dent, J.  W.  Hufnagle;  cashier,  A.  J.  Comstock.  Paid-up  cap- 
ital, $25,000.  Surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $1,500.  De- 
posits, $105,000.  Loans  and  discounts,  stocks,  bonds  and  se- 
curities, $101,000. 

Arcanum. 

First  National  Bank.  Established  1893.  ■Member  of  Am- 
erican and  State  Bankers'  Associations.  President,  M.  M. 
Smith;  vice-president,  H.  J.  Niswonger ;  cashier,  C.  C-  Tay- 
lor; assistant  cashier,  G.  F.  Riegle.  Paid-up  capital,  $50,000. 
Surplus   and    undivided   profits,   $30,000.     Deposits,   $213,000. 


410  DARKE   COUNTY 

Cash    and    due    from    banks,   $49,000.     Loans    and    discounts, 
stocks,  bonds  and  securities,  $242,000. 

Farmers'  National  Bank.  Established  1902.  President, 
W.  J.  Dull ;  vice-president,  Ed  Ammon  ;  cashier,  O.  O.  Smith ; 
assistant  cashier,  L.  L.  Muller.  Paid-up  capital,  $50,000. 
Surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $24,000.  Deposits,  $212,000. 
Cash  and  due  from  banks,  $46,000.  Loans  and  discounts, 
stocks,  bonds  and  securities,  $240,000. 

Gettysburg. 

Citizens'  National  Bank.  President,  A.  F.  Myers ;  cashier, 
F.  P.  Lehman ;  assistant  cashier,  A.  W.  Fair.  Paid-up  capi- 
tal. $30,000.  Surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $19,000.  De- 
posits, $119,000.  Cash  and  due  from  banks,  $50,000.  Loans 
and   discounts,  stocks,  bonds,   securities,  $134,000. 

Pitsburcf. 

First  National  Bank.  Established  1909.  Member  of  State 
Bankers'  Association.  President,  G.  Reisley ;  vice-president, 
C.  O.  Niswong-er ;  cashier,  G.  S.  Dennison  ;  assistant  cashier, 
C.  O.  Niswonger.  Paid-up  capital,  $25,000.  Surplus  and  un- 
divided profits,  $4,000.  Deposits.  $60,000.  Cash  and  due 
from  banks,  $12,000.  Loans  and  discounts,  stocks,  bonds  and 
securities.  $75,000. 

Rossburg. 

Farmers"  Bank  (State  bank).  Established  1904.  Member 
of  State  Bankers'  Association.  President.  Geo.  N.  Edger ; 
vice-president,  E.  H.  Black ;  cashier,  H.  H.  Davis.  Paid-up 
capital,  $12,000.  Surplus  and  undivided  profits,  $2,100.  De- 
posits, $60,000.  Loans  and  discounts,  stocks,  bonds  and  se- 
curities,   $45,000. 

BUILDING  AND  LOAN  ASSOCIATIONS. 
The  Greenville  Building   Company. 

Building  and  Loan  Associations  are  corporations  sprung 
up  among  the  people  themselves,  organized  under  state  laws, 
run  by  the  people  and  fur  their  sole  benefit  with  the  chief 
object  of  encouraging  saving  and  homewinning.  The  first 
building  and  loan  association  was  organized  during  the  big 
building  boom  late  in  the  "sixties."  J.  T.  Martz  and  George 
Martz  acted  as  secretary  of  this  compan}'  which  later  dis- 
continued. 


DARKE   COLTNTY  411 

The  history  of  The  Greenville  Building  Company  dates 
back  to  the  year  1883,  when  in  May  Messrs.  William  Schnaus, 
Christian  Knoderer,  C.  M.  Anderson,  Jno.  C.  Turpen,  Wil- 
liam H.  Hart,  William  Thompson,  L.  F.  Limbert,  A.  F.  Koop, 
M.  G.  Wilson,  J.  K.  Riffel  and  B.  F.  Weaver  signed  articles 
of  incorporation,  L.  E.'  Chenoweth  acting  as  notary  public, 
and  Jno.  H.  Martin,  clerk  of  the  Common  Pleas  Court,  cer- 
tifying to  the  latters'  commission  of  authority. 

The  board  of  directors  organized  June  15,  1883,  by  elect- 
ing Geo.  W.  Moore  as  president,  L.  F.  Limbert,  secretary 
and  William  Schnaus,  treasurer.  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Moore,  who 
as  senator  from  this  district,  had  taken  a  particular  interest 
in  legislation  affecting  building  companies,  was  continuously 
elected  president  until  1900,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Geo. 
W.  Sigafoos,  and  he  in  turn  by  William  Thompson,  who 
served  from  1902-03.  In  1903  G.  F.  Schmermund  was  elected 
president  of  the  board  of  directors  and  still  serves  in  that  ca- 
pacity. 

L.  F.  Limbert  was  re-elected  secretary  in  June,  1884,  and 
was  succeeded  in  September  of  that  year  by  P.  H.  Maher.     J. 

B.  Kolp  was  elected  secretary  in  June,  1885,  and  served  four 
years,  being  succeeded  by  Geo.  A.  Jobes,  who  acted  as  sec- 
retary for  eleven  consecutive  years.  The  present  secretary, 
Geo.  A.  Katzenberger,  was  elected  to  that  position  in  June, 
1900. 

The  treasurer,  V\^ilHam  Schnaus,  served  two  years  and  was 
succeeded    by    William    Thompson,    who    served    until    1889. 

C.  C.  Stoltz  was  elected  treasurer  in  June,  1889,  but  resigned 
in  December  of  the  same  year,  James  L.  Lansdowne  being 
chosen  to  fill  the  vacancy  and  serving  until  his  death  in  Xo- 
vember,  1899.  The  present  treasurer.  Dr.  A.  J.  Marling,  was 
elected  November  13,  1899.  and  continuously  re-elected  an- 
nually  since  that  time. 

W.  Y.  Stubbs  has  acted  as  attorney  for  the  association 
continuously  since  1888,  and  John  Rentz  has  served  as  vice- 
president  since  1905. 

During  the  past  fifteen  years  the  companv  has  grown  very 
rapidly,  its  assets  increasing  from  about  sixtv  thousand  dol- 
lars to  $240,000.  The  contingent  or  surplus  fund  for  possi- 
ble losses  was  $1,100  in  1900,  and  is  now  about  $6,000.  The 
company  has  always  paid  6  per  cent,  dividends  or  more,  and 
has  had  no  losses  on  real  estate  for  about  fifteen  vears,  nor 
has  it  in  that  time  been  required  to  take  in  any  real  est?te 


412  DARKE   COUNTY 

under  foreclosure  proceedings.  The  company  has  aljout  nine 
hundred  depositors  who  are  well  pleased  with  the  security 
of  their  savings  and  income  off  of  their  investment,  and  the 
150  people  who  have  secured  loans  from  the  association  find 
the  board  of  directors  fair  and  lenient  in  their  treatment. 

The  association  is  examined  annuqlly  by  three  citizens, 
and  the  state  bureau  sends  official  examiners  to  go  over  the 
books  and  verify  the  annual  statement  made  by  the  secre- 
tary to  the  State  of  Ohio.  Officers  are  under  bond  and  di- 
rectors do  such  service  without  remuneration.  This  asso- 
ciation also  issues  certificates  of  deposit  paying  three  per 
cent,   interest  from  date  of  deposit. 

The  present  board  of  directors  consists  of  G.  F.  Schmer- 
mund,  John  Rentz.  Dr.  A.  J.  Marling.  W.  Y.  Stubbs.  Geo. 
W.  Sigafoos.  Omer  S.  Broderick,  Geo.  G.  J-Iildebrand.  \V\\- 
Ham  E.  Halley  and  Geo.  A.  Katzenberger,  and  ail  have  the 
best  interests  of  the  cimpanv  at  heart. 

Citizens'  Loan  and  Savings  Association. 

The  Citizens'  Loan  and  Savings  Association  of  Greenville 
was  organized  in  1898  by  Frank  Conklin,  J-  P-  DufTey,  P.  H. 
Maher,  J.  C.  Clark,  Conrad  Kipp  and  W.  A.  Browne,  Sr. 
Thos.  Alaher  was  the  first  secretary'.  This  association  is  not 
incorporated,  but  is  managed  by  a  board  of  men  of  large  ex- 
perience in  business,  law  and  finance. 

Its  offices  were  in  the  Roland  building,  corner  Fourth  and 
Broadway,  for  several  years,  but  have  been  located  for  about 
a  year  in  the  new  Krickenberger  building.  No.  112i  \\'est 
Fourth  street.  The  fiscal  year  begins  the  first  Saturday  in 
March  and  ends  the  last  Saturday  in  February,  and  divi- 
dends are  declared  on  stock  of  record  the  first  Tuesday  in 
IVIarch  annually.  Any  amount  is  received  on  deposit  at  any 
time  and  shares  in  the  earnings  from  date  of  deposit. 

This  company  has  always  paid  6  per  cent,  dividends  which 
are  allowed  to  accumulate  and  share  in  the  profits.  The 
following  is  a  statement  of  the  standing  of  the  company  at 
the  close  of  business  January  31,  1914: 


DARKE   COUNTY 


413 


Resources. 
Cash  on  hand  $        145.96 

Pass   book  loans   5,587.54 

Mortgage  loans   (face)   149,703.03 

Insurance,    taxes,    etc.,    paid 270.00 

Accrued    interest    3,000.00 

$158,706.53 
Liabilities. 

Depositors'    shares    $150,668.13 

Contingent    fund    476.98 

Undivided    profits     7.561.42 


$158,706,53 


When  compared  with  the  report  of  March  1,  1913,  this 
statement  shows  a  gain  of  $40,000.00.  At  present  the  affairs 
of  the  association  are  managed  by  the  following  well  known 
citizens:  P.  H.  Maher,  president;  Conrad  Kipp,  vice-presi- 
dent; O.  R.  Krickenberger,  secretary  and  attorney:  Adelbert 
Martz,  treasurer.  Board  of  managers,  W.  A.  Browne,  St., 
Conrad  Kipp,  P.  H.  Maher,  James  Boyer,  O.  R.  Ivrickenber- 
ger,  John  B.  Maher  and  Adelbert  Martz. 

Other  Associations. 

The  Versailles  Building  and  Loan  Company,  of  Versailles, 
Ohio,  was  incorporated  on  the  13th  day  of  December,  A.  D. 
1887,  with  a  capital  stock  of  $300,000.00,  which  was  afterward, 
January  the  2d,  1911,  increased  to  $1,000,000.00. 

The  names  of  the  incorporators  were :  John  W.  Starbuck, 
Thos.  Fahnestock,  Wm.  H.  Rike,  J.  C.  Turpen,  J.  G.  Stierle, 
Felix  Manier,  E.  G.  Frankman.  J.  C.  Williamson  and  I.  M. 
Reed. 

The  names  of  the  officers  at  present  are :  Geo.  H.  Worch, 
president ;  H.  A.  Frankman,  vice-president ;  Emery  Zechar, 
treasurer ;  A.  Calderwood,  secretary  and  attorney ;  board  of 
directors,  Geo.  H.  Worch,  H.  A.  Frankman,  Con.  Cashman, 
A.  J.  Reed,  Nick  Alexander,  Leonard  Marker  and  Joseph 
Manier,  Jr. 

Financial  statement  at  the  close  of  business  December  31, 
1913: 


414  DARKE   COUNTY 

Assets. 

Cash    on    hand    $  11,885.31 

Loans   on    mortgages    216,714.20 

Furniture  and  fixtures   422.11 

Insurance  and  taxes  due 300.35 

Bonds    3,000.00 

Deposits  in  other  B.  &  L.'s 5,000.00 

Total    $237,321.97 

Liabilities. 

Dues    on    running    S $  43,104.74 

Loan   credits   21,295.75 

Paid-up   stock   and   dividends 128,315.41 

Deposits    and    accrued    interest 36,502.99 

Reserve    fund    5,018.54 

Undivided   profit   fund    2.084.54 

Unfinished    loans    1,000.00 

Total   $237,321.97 

The  Arcanum  Building  and  Loan  Association  was  incor- 
porated August  22,  1885,  and  its  authorized  capital  is  $200,- 
000.00. 

The  officers  are  as  follows :  President,  W".  J.  Edwards ; 
treasurer,  E.  B.  Hawley ;  secretary,  G.  T.  Reigle  and  attorney, 
Kirk  Hoffman.  Its  assets  are  about  $15,000.00,  and  its  rate 
of  dividend  4  per  cent. 

The  New  Madison  Loan  and  Building  Association  was  in- 
corporated April  5,  1895,  and  has  an  authorized  capital  of 
$200,000.00.  W.  R.  Hagenian  is  president,  J.  D.  King  treas- 
urer, and  Cora  Hartman,  secretary. 

Assets  are  about  $20,000.00,  and  its  rate  of  dividend  5  per 
cent. 


if 

O    o 

^< 


H 


CHAPTER  XX. 
DARKE  COUNTY  AGRICULTURAL  SOCIETY. 

From  what  has  been  said  about  the  depth,  composition  and 
fertihty  of  the  soil  of  Darke  county,  the  abundance  of  small 
streams,  the  gently  rolling  uplands,  the  beautiful  valleys  and 
the  prairies,  and  level  expanses  of  alluvial  formation,  it  might 
readily  be  surmised  that  this  county  was  early  destined  to  be 
in  the  forefront  of  all  the  counties  of  the  state  in  the  pro- 
duction of  agricultural  products.  The  large  area  of  the  coun- 
ty and  the  presence  of  a  goodly  number  of  farmers  of  German 
descent  also  contributed  materially  to  the  same  result. 

Before  the  first  half  century  of  its  history  had  passed  such 
progress  had  been  made  in  agriculture  that  popular  sentiment 
clamored  for  an  annual  exhibition  of  the  products  of  the  farm 
at  a  properly  appointed  time  and  place  for  the  instruction, 
encouragement  and  entertainment  of  the  rural  population. 
Accordingly,  on  November  16,  18.S2,  some  thirty  residents 
of  the  county  met  at  the  court  house  and  organized  the  first 
County  Agricultural  Society.  I.  N.  Card  was  appointed  the 
first  president,  Noah  Arnold  the  secretary,  and  Alfred  Kitchen 
the  treasurer  of  this  society.  Within  a  year  the  society 
numbered  320  members.  It  seems  that  a  few  acres  were 
rented  on  the  southwest  side  of  Greenville  on  the  present  site 
of  Oakview  suburb  where  the  first  fair  was  held  on  the  7th, 
and  8th  of  September,  1853.  Temporary  sheds,  halls,  stables 
and  fences  were  built  of  wide  poplar  boards,  which  were  re- 
moved and  sold  to  the  highest  bidder  after  the  fair  was  over. 
Extensive  and  liberal  premiums  for  that  time  were  oiTered 
and  the  grounds  vere  adequately  appointed  for  the  occasion, 
reflecting  great  credit  upon  the  committee  having  this  work 
in  charge.  The  display  of  stock  was  especially  notable  at 
this  first  fair,  although  the  progressive  farmer  of  today  might 
look  with  amusement  upon  the  live  stock  exhibited  by  his  for- 
bears at  that  time,  and  be  bored  with  the  performance  of  the 
"wonderful"  trotter  with  a  record  of  "two-forty." 

Fairs  were  held  annually  thereafter.  The  board  of  direc- 
tors dected  in  the  fall  of  1857  organized  as  follows :     Moses 


416  DARKE   COUNTY 

Hart,  president;  j.  \\'.  Shively,  vice-president;  AI.  Sap\-d,  sec- 
retary; Joseph  Bryson,  treasurer;  George  Elston,  Isaac  Funk 
and  Reuben  Lowery,  managers. 

A  constitution  and  by-laws  were  framed  and  adopted,  the 
purchase  of  a  substantial  set  of  record  books  authorized,  and 
progressive  measures  taken  by  this  board  preparatory  to  a 
successful  exhibition  in  the  following  fall.  Special  features 
were  introduced,  such  as  a  "boys'  riding  match"  and  a  fine 
display  of  militia  in  full  uniform  under  command  of  Gen. 
Craner. 

The  records  for  this  fair  show  total  receipts  frfim  all  sources 
of  $1,594.99;  premiums  paid,  $384.75;  balance  in  treasury 
January  3,  1859,  $275.19. 

The  annual  election  at  the  above  fair  resulted  as  follows: 
J.  Townsend,  president ;  Dr.  Jas.  Rubey,  vice-president ;  M. 
Spayd,  secretary ;  Geo.  .Studabaker,  treasurer ;  Geo.  Keister, 
John  Plessinger,  John  ^IcClure,  Jas.  Grimes  and  Jas.  Anlett, 
managers.  The  conditions  prevailing  about  this  time  are 
vividly  portrayed  by  the  "Darke  County  Boy"  as  follows : 

"I  do  not  know  anything  about  the  Darke  County  Fair  of 
late  years,  but  in  my  young  days  'Fair  Week'  was  the  big- 
gest event  of  the  season. 

"No  difference  how  hot,  dusty,  muddy,  or  cold,  the  people 
came  from   every  direction. 

"Joe  Hollihan,  Joe  Zimmerman  and  Sam  N^gflf  were  the  gate 
keepers.  I  believe  Warren  RatlifT  was  a  gate  keeper  later 
on.  By  business  was  to  sell  boiled  eggs.  They  generally 
cost  me  8  cents  a  dozen,  and  I  sold  them  two  for  5  cents,  with 
salt,  pepper  and  crackers  'thrown  in.'  I  simply  coined  money 
hand-over-fist.  One  day  I  made  60  cents  clear  of  all  ex- 
pense. Oh,  but  I  was  rich!  I  had  money  to  burn,  but  I 
didn't  burn  it.  One  fair  week  I  cleared  enough  to  buy  a  fur 
cap,  a  pair  of  gloves  and  a  pair  of  store  pants.  I  couldn't 
wait  for  winter  to  wear  my  fur  cap,  but  put  it  on  in  the  fall, 
and  strange  to  say,  wore  it  all  winter,  just  the  same. 

"Sam  Cable  was  there  with  watermelons  fl  mean  at  the 
fair),  Frank  Scribner  had  his  spruce  beer  stand,  Sam  Musser 
had  his  grocery  of  cheese,  dried  beef,  crackers  and  'sich.' 
Andy  McKann  had  a  grocery  and  Bill  Crandall  had  a  eating 
house. 

"There  was  a  'nigger  show'  and  a  sideshow.  Several  bar- 
rels of  cider  were  on  'tap.'  There  was  a  balloon  ascension 
and  Ann  Piatt  went  up  in  it.     She  had  a  stage  name:  T  have 


DARKE  COUNTY 


417 


forgotten  it,  but  it  was  Ann,  just  the  same.    If  she  isn't  dead 
she  must  be  nearly  a  hundred  years  old. 

"Charley  Wakeman  was  in  the  sideshow.  He  was  adver- 
tised as  "Professor  Blake,  of  London.'  His  principal  acts 
were  to  drive  pins  into  his  leg  and  swallow  a  22  inch  sword. 
He  put  beans  into  his  nostrils  and  ears  and  stuck  them  down 
the  back  of  his  neck,  and  drew  them  all  out  of  his  mouth. 
It  was  wonderful !" 

In  1859  the  grounds  were  considerably  enlarged  and  a 
premium  list  was  prepared,  published  in  pamphlet  form  and 
distributed,  contributing  materially  to  the  success  of  the  fair 
which  was  held  on  October  4,  5  and  6  of  that  year.  The  re- 
ceipts for  tickets  at  this  fair  were  $1,332.23  and  the  total  re- 
ceipts, including  the  balance  in  the  treasury  from  the  last 
exhibition,  $2,376.86.  The  balance  on  hand  January  2,  1860, 
was  $869.73.  The  success  of  this  fair  encouraged  the  expen- 
diture of  a  goodly  sum  for  the  improvement  of  the  grounds 
for  the  next  exhibition,  but  the  high  political  excitement  pre- 
vailing in  the  fall  of  1860  interfered  with  the  success  of  the 
fair  and  caused  a  deficit  of  about  $200.  The  officers  elected 
for  the  following  year  were  H.  B.  Vail,  president ;  Levi  Gra- 
ver, vice-president ;  Noah  Arnold,  secretary ;  Robert  Drew, 
Jas.  McCabe.  Nicholas  York,  John  Stoltz  and  George  Shive- 
ly,  managers. 

The  fair  of  1861  was  held  on  October  2,  3,  4,  5,  and  although 
$450  had  been  borrowed  to  finance  it  the  receipts  were  suffi- 
cient to  defray  the  expense  incurred  and  put  the  society  on 
a  good  footing.  The  new  board  chosen  after  this  fair  was 
constituted  as  follows :  Wm.  Turpen,  president :  John  Stoltz, 
vice-president ;  J.  E.  Matchett,  secretary ;  J.  F.  Bertch,  treas- 
urer, and  J.  Townsend,  George  Shively,  A.  R.  Doty,  C.  C. 
Walker  and  David  Thompson,  managers.  On  account  of  the 
excitement  prevailing  during  the  progress  of  the  Civil  War 
and  the  absence  of  so  many  young  men  in  the  army  no  fair 
was  held  in  1862-1863  and  1864,  but  upon  the  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities interest  and  enthusiasm  were  revived  in  the  summer 
of  1865  and  a  successful  fair  was  held  in  the  old  grounds  on 
the  28th,  29th  and  30th  of  September.  This  had  been  made 
possible  by  a  temporary  loan  of  $1,000.00  from  public  spirited 
citizens  and  the  results  justified  the  wisdom  of  this  proce- 
dure, as  there  was  a  large  attendance  at  this  fair  and  there 
was  a  net  balance  of  over  a  hundred  dollars  after  all  expenses 
had  been  defraved. 
(27) 


41-8  DARKE   COUNTY 

The  annual  fair  continued  to  grow  in  popularity  and  in  1861 
the  site  which  had  been  formerly  rented  was  purchased  from 
Dawes  and  Turpen  for  $2,000  and  48,000  feet  of  lumber  or- 
dered bought  for  inclosing  the  grounds,  thus  putting  the  in- 
stitution on  a  more  permanent  and  substantial  footing.  In 
1868  negotiations  were  made  for  the  leasing  of  five  additional 
acres  adjoining  the  south  side  of  the  original  ground  from 
Isaac  Rush.  In  1870  it  was  agreed  to  charge  an  entry  fee 
of  ten  per  cent,  on  all  premiums  of  five  dollars  and  over  to 
be  collected  when  the  entries  were  made,  and  the  price  of 
family  tickets  was  fixed  at  $1.00  each,  single  day  tickets 
25  cents  with  an  additional  daily  charge  of  20  cents 
for  wagons  of  50  cents  for  the  entire  fair.  During  the 
summer  a  substantial  picket  fence  and  several  buildings  were 
erected  and  preparation  made  for  a  big  fair.  These  improve- 
ments with  enlarged  entries  of  fine  stock  and  agricultu -al 
implements  conspired  with  the  unusually  fine  weather  to  at- 
tract a  large  crowd  of  visitors  from  near  and  far — the  number 
of  attendants  on  the  third  day  being  estimated  at  7,500  peo- 
ple. Following  this  fair  Geo.  D.  Miller  was  elected  presi- 
dent ;  Geo.  W.  Brawley,  vice-president,  and  Jas.  Hopper,  John 
M.  Hall,  Amos  Hahn  and  George  Elston,  managers. 

The  fair  held  early  in  October.  1871,  seems  even  to  have 
eclipsed  that  of  the  former  fall  with  an  estimated  attendance 
of  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  people  on  the  second  day.  H. 
Mills  was  chosen  president,  A.  H.  Van  Dyke,  vice-president 
and  J.  D.  Miller.  J.  T.  :\Iartz.  Jas.  McCable  and  X.  Arnold, 
managers,  to  prepare  for  the  next  fair. 

The  steady  development  of  Darke  county,  the  increase  in 
population,  the  growing  popularity  of  the  annual  fair  and  the 
general  substantial  character  of  the  men  chosen  to  manage 
the  business  of  the  fairs  assured  an  increasing  3-earlv  attend- 
ance and  necessitated  the  purchase  of  larger  grounds.  Ac- 
cordingU',  early  in  1873  the  fair  board  was  authorized  by  the 
county  commissioner?  to  sell  the  grounds  and  purchase  a 
larger  tract.  As  a  result  of  this  action  the  original  grounds 
of  some  seventeen  acres  were  soon  sold  to  J.  \V.  Sater  and  on 
June  7,  1873,  a  new  site,  comprising  forty  acres  lying  just 
south  of  "Huntertown,"  and  between  the  old  Eaton  and  Jef- 
ferson pikes,  was  ptirchased  from  Cornelius  O'Brien  and  J. 
T.  Martz  for  five  thousand  dollars.  Considerable  expense 
was  incurred  in  fencing  and  improving  this  newly  ourchasefl 
site,  but  the  enterprise  of  the  board  met  a  hearty  response 


DARKE   COUNTY  419 

from  the  people,  who  turned  out  in  goudly  numbers  during 
the  five  days  of  the  fair. 

In  1874  the  fair  was  held  during  the  first  days  of  Septem- 
ber and  was  characterized  by  an  unusual  number  of  entries, 
a  fine  speed  program  including  several  noted  horses  from 
other  places,  a  ladies'  equestrian  performance  and  an  un- 
successful attempt  to  make  a  balloon  ascension.  The  esti- 
mated attendance  on  the  third  day  was  twelve  thousand. 

In  1875  John  Townsend  was  president ;  Thos.  McCowen 
vice-president;  ]\Iichael  Noggle,  J.  C.  Turpen,  I.  N.  Shively 
and  A.  F.  Koop,  managers.  J.  T.  ]\Iartz  continued  as  secre- 
tary, and  A.  F.  Koop  was  chosen  treasurer.  The  fair  was 
held  somewhat  later  than  in  1874,  the  weather  was  chilly 
on  the  opening  day,  but  became  milder  by  the  third  daj'. 
Two  successful  balloon  ascensions  were  made  during  the 
fair  and  the  public  wagers  of  money  on  the  horse  races  called 
forth  the  disapproval  of  the  masses  in  attendance  as  a  scan- 
dal previously  unknown. 

In  1876,  G.  W.  Studebaker,  Sr.,  J.  N.  Lowery,  E.  Lecklider 
and  N.  M.  Wilson  became  the  new  managers  and  J.  C.  Turpen 
was  chosen  secretary.  Successful  fairs  were  held  in  1876, 
1877  and  1878  under  practically  the  same  management.  In 
1879  S.  Rynearson  was  chosen  a  new  manager  and  Wm.  Sul- 
livan appointed  secretary.  Heretofore,  it  seems,  the  race 
track  had  been  but  a  fourth  of  a  mile  in  length,  but  was  at 
this  time  enlarged  to  one-half  a  mile  and  numerous  other  im- 
provements were  made.  Governor  Bishop  spoke  on  the  third 
day  of  the  fair,  September  18,  and  drew  a  large  crowd.  The 
receipts  of  this  fair  were  nearly  $5,700.00. 

Since  1880  the  following  persons  have  served  as  president 
of  the  board :  Thos.  McCown,  John  Townsend,  H.  C.  Cob- 
lentz,  W.C.  Elston,  J.  P.  Meeker.  J.  M.  Brown,  L.  N.  Reed 
and  M.  L.  Weisenberger,  all  men  of  unusual  abilit}'  and  rep- 
resentative of  the  large  class  of  successful  farmers  who  have 
placed  Darke  county  in  the  front  line  as  an  agricultural  sec- 
tion. 

The  following  well  known,  capable  and  experienced  farm- 
ers, professional  and  business  men  have  acted  in  the  im- 
portant capacity  as  secretary  of  the  board  since  1880:  Wm. 
Sullivan,  Jasper  N.  Lowery,  J.  E.  Matchett,  John  C.  Turpen, 
John  P.  Lucas,  T.  C.  Maher,  F.  M.  Eidson,  O.  E.  Harrison, 
J.  A.  Tillman,  J.  M.  Hal!  and  Frank  Plessinger. 

Among  the  names  of  those  who  have  ser\'ed  on  the  board 


420  DARKE   COUNTY 

during  this  period  we  note  some  of  the  most  progressive  and 
prosperous  farmers  of  the  county. 

Since  the  purchase  of  the  present  grounds  in  1873  vast  im- 
provements have  been  made  from  time  to  time  to  accommo- 
date the  increasing  crowds  and  cater  to  the  convenience  of 
attendants.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the  board  to  make  these 
improvements  as  fast  as  financial  conditions  allowed.  As  a 
result  we  note  today  the  following  substantial  and  commo- 
dious buildings  on  the  ground:  Besides  the  large  string  of 
stables  and  pens,  a  gate  keeper's  residence,  a  Floral  and  Art 
Hall,  a  Fruit  Hall,  a  Dining  Hall,  Officers'  Quarters,  a  Me- 
morial Hall  (erected  in  1902  by  Frank  McWhinney  as  a  place 
of  rest  and  convenience  for  women  and  children),  separate 
buildings  for  poultry,  sheep,  hogs  and  cattle  and  an  immense 
steel  and  concrete  frame  amphitheater,  size  about  240  by  63 
feet  erected  in  1910,  at  a  cost  of  over  $26,000.00,  and  having 
a  seating  capacity  of  some  3,000.  Through  the  co-operation 
of  the  Greenville  Driving  Club,  the  track  has  recently  been 
reconstructed  and  improved,  making  it  one  of  the  fine  courses 
of  the  state. 

Two  tracts  have  recently  been  purchased,  one  in  1908,  the 
other  in  1914,  and  added  to  the  northern  side  of  the  grounds, 
making  the  present  extent  of  the  grounds  53  67-100  acres, 
with  an  estimated  propertv  valuation  of  $62,000.00. 

The  "Premium  List"  of  1913  includes  the  following  com- 
prehensive  divisions : 

Class  A.  Horses.  Comprising  the  following  breeds: 
Standards,  Roadsters,  General  Purpose,  Coach,  Clydesdale, 
Percherons,  Belgians,  Grade  Draft.  Saddle  Horses,  Matched 
Horses,  Farm  Teams,  Ponies.  Mules. 

Class  B.  Cattle.  Including  Shorthorns,  Herefords,  Polled 
Durhams,  Aberdeen  Angus,  Galloway,  Jerseys,  Red  Polled, 
Holsteins.  Guernsey  and  Ayrshires. 

Class  C.  Sheep.  Including  Shropshires,  Southdowns,  Ox- 
forddowns,  Hampshiredowns,  Catswolds,  Lincolns,  Dorset, 
Cheviot,  Delaines,  Rambouillet  and  Merinos. 

Class  D.  Swine.  Including  Poland  Chinas,  Berkshires, 
Chester  Whites,  Duroc  Jerseys,  Hampshires  and  other  breeds. 

Class  E.  Poultry.  Including  20  classes  as  follows:  Amer- 
icans, Asiatics,  English,  Mediterranean,  Polish,  Hamburgs, 
French,  Games,  Oriental  Games,  Game  Bantams,  Oriental 
Bantams,    Miscellaneous,    Turkeys.    Ducks,    Geese,    Pigeons, 


DARKE   COUNTY 


421 


Pet  Stock,  Guineas,  Breeding  Pens  and  Pen  Show  Games  and 
Bantams. 

Class  F.     Farm  Implements. 

Class  G.     Grain  and  Seeds.     Confined  to  Darke  county. 

Class  H.  Farm  and  Garden.  Including  well  known  vege- 
tables and  garden  truck. 

Class  I.  Fruits.  Including  Apples,  Pears,  Peaches,  Plums, 
Grapes  and  Quinces. 

Class  J.  Canned  Goods.  Including  Fruits  and  Vege- 
tables, Preserves,  Jellies,  Jams,  Fruit  Butters,  Pickles,  Dried 
Fruits  and   Vegetables. 

Class    K.     Culinary   and    Dairy. 

Class  L.  Domestic  Manufacture.  Including  Household 
Fabrics,  Knitting.  Crochet,  Needlework,  Embroidery,  Drawn- 
work,  Silk  Embroidery,  Laces,  Decorative  Art  Work,  Py- 
rography,  Basketry,  Wood  Carving,  Arts  and  Crafts,  Jew- 
elry, Tooled  Leather,  Stenciling,  etc. 

Class  M.  Painting  and  Drawing.  Including  Oil  Paint- 
ing, Tapestry,  Water  Colors,  Crayons,  Ink  and  Pencil,  China 
and   Porcelain. 

Class  N.     Cut  Flowers  and  Plants. 

In  recent  years  extensive  educational  exhibits  have  been 
made  for  the  encouragement  of  the  schools  of  the  county, 
which  in  1913  showed  the  following  enumeration:  18  city 
and  village  schools,  49  specials,  and  134  township  and  sub- 
district  schools  with  a  total  enrollment  of  about  10,000  pupils. 
The  exhibits  are  included  in  two  departments,  viz. :  Arts  and 
Agriculture.  The  former  comprises  four  classes  covering  the 
various  high,  grade  and  elementarj'  public  schools  of  the 
county.  Premiums  are  offered  in  these  departments  on  the 
best  papers,  drawings,  displays,  maps,  penmanship,  manual 
arts  work,  etc.,  produced  by  the  pupils.  The  Department  of 
Ajgriculture  was  recently  established  with  an  aim  of  inter- 
esting young  men  and  women  in  the  study  and  improvement 
of  various  breeds  of  domesticated  animals ;  the  culture  of 
grain  and  vegetables  and  the  judging  of  the  same;  also  the 
ability  to  prepare  food  properly  after  judicious  selection;  the 
ability  to  design  different  articles  of  wearing  apparel  and 
sew,  fit  and  embroider  the  same.  Two  htmdred  dollars 
($200.00)  was  set  apart  for  premiums  in  this  department, 
which  marks  a  new,  extremely  practical  and  much  needed 
addition  to  the  work  of  the  board. 

The  year  1913  was  one  of  the  most  prosperous  in  the  his- 


422  DARKE   COUNTY 

tory  of  the  fair,  the  gate  receipts  being  $10,261.00,  the  grand- 
stand admissions  $1,701.10,  booth  rents  and  privilege  per- 
mits $4,074.92,  and  the  total  receipts  from  all  sources  in- 
cluding per  capita  allowance,  tax  levy,  cash  in  treasury  at 
beginning  of  year,  amount  borrowed,  etc.,  $22,783.38.  The 
receipts  indicated  that  the  attendance  on  the  principal  days 
was  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  fair. 

The  Darke  county  fair  has  certainly  been  well  managed  in 
most  respects  for  many  years  and  stands  near  the  top  of  all 
the  county  fairs  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  However,  certain 
forces  are  in  operation  here  as  in  county  fairs  generally  which 
call  for  the  serious  consideration  of  right  minded  people.  Per- 
haps it  would  be  unfair  to  hold  the  board  responsible  for  all 
irregularities  that  are  practiced  about  the  grounds  during 
the  crowded,  busy  days  of  the  fair  week. 

In  the  year  1912,  Paul  L.  Vogt,  Ph.D.,  Pro'essor  of  Sociol- 
ogy of  Miami  University,  Oxford,  Ohio,  made  a  rural  survey 
of  Darke,  Montgomery,  Preble  and  Butler  counties,  which 
brought  out  much  interesting  information.  In  commenting 
upon  the  conditions  prevailing  at  the  county  fairs  he  made 
these  thought  stirring  remarks:  "At  the  last  county  fair  in 
Butler  county  there  were  excellent  exhibits  from  the  experi- 
ment station,  and  from  the  farms  in  the  different  parts  of 
the  county ;  but  in  addition  to  these  were  to  be  found  the 
side  shows  and  amusements  whose  presence  at  a  county  fair 
may  be  seriously  questioned.  Farmers  and  their  wives  see- 
ing the  preliminary  exhibits  of  these  shows  turned  aside  in 
disgust  and  did  not  patronize  them.  They  were  an  insult 
to  their  dignity  and  to  their  ideals  of  morality.  These  relics 
of  a  ruder  age  should  be  omitted  from  the  schedule  of  a  mod- 
ern gathering,  and  the  farmers,  for  whom  the  fair  is  pri- 
marily intended,  should  see  to  it  that  their  desires  in  matters 
of  this  kind  be  respected.  The  cheap,  questionable  show  is  a 
side  issue  and  detracts  from  true  progress  in  fair  exhibits." 

"The  same  thing  may  be  said  of  racing,  as  it  is  conducted 
at  the  fairs  at  the  present  time.  Racing  is  on  a  professional 
basis  and  is  carried  on  among  horsemen  who  transport  their 
horses  from  county  to  county  to  take  part  in  the  races  for  the 
.<;ake  of  winning  the  large  prize  offered.  The  races  have 
little  direct  relation  to  stock  improvement,  and  in  too  many 
cases  must  be  classed  with  the  saloon,  the  gambling  den  and 
the  dive  in  their  moral  influence.""  These  are  strong  words 
but  seem  to  be  justified  as  the  State  Agricultural  Commission 


DARKE   CCUNTY  423 

has  recently  sent  out  a  sweeping  order  to  the  eft'ect  that  any 
county  fair  in  the  state  which  hereafter  tolerates  gambling 
or  the  sale  of  liquor  will  forfeit  the  per  capita  award  of 
$800.00  granted  by  the  state  and  the  right  to  receive  a  maxi- 
mum of  $1,500.00  from  the  county.  In  an  announcement 
the  commission  says:  "This  order  applies  to  intoxicating 
liquor  of  any  kind  and  to  pooling  or  individual  gambling  on 
horse  racing,  to  cane  ring,  throwing  contests  and  all  other 
games  into  which  the  gambling  element  enters. 

"The  principal  object  of  county  fairs — to  encourage  agri- 
culture pursuit  and  to  dissiminate  knowledge  along  that  line 
is  almost  forgotten  today,  and  cheap  amusements  of  a  de- 
nioralizing  character  seem  to  predominate.  We  propose  to 
restore  county  fairs  to  their  original  sphere  as  educational 
institutions." 

To  what  extent  the  conditions  above  set  forth  prevail  at 
the  Darke  county  fair  the  writer  does  not  state.  The  con- 
clusions reached  are  certainly  correct  and  the  purpose  of  the 
commission  is  worthy  of  hearty  approval  and  should  appeal 
forcibly  to  the  fair  boards  throughout  Ohio.  The  fair,  like 
any  other  public  institution,  deserves  the  patronage  of  the 
great  middle  class  only  so  long  as  it  endeavors  to  carry  out 
the  conmiendable  purposes  of  its  organization.  It  should  es- 
tablish high  standards  and  elevate  the  moral  and  intellectual 
tone  of  the  community.  If  it  does  not  continue  to  do  these 
things  it  will  decline  rapidly  in  patronage  and  influence,  and 
its  doom  will  be  sealed.  The  writer  is  inclined  to  think  that 
the  moral  tone  of  the  Darke  county  fair  is  healthier  than  it 
was  a  few  years  since  and  looks  for  a  re-adjustment  to  meet 
the  demands  of  the  more  thoughtful  class  of  patrons  who  de- 
sire to  see  it  conducted  along  progressive  moral  lines. 

On  account  of  the  intense  and  sustained  interest  manifested 
by  the  general  populace  of  the  county  as  well  as  bv  former 
residents,  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  influence  of  the  an- 
nual county  fair.  By  studying  and  judiciously  meeting  the 
wants  of  the  rural  population  the  boards  have  thus  far  been 
able  to  keep  up  the  interest  of  the  people.  Whether  the  an- 
nual fair  has  passed  its  meridian  and  is  now  on  the  wane  or 
is  really  a  permanent  institution,  remains  to  be  seen.  There 
is  probabh^  not  another  county  fair  in  Ohio  equal  to  ours  in 
legitimate  attractions  and  proportionate  attendance.  In  or- 
der to  increase  the  usefulness  of  the  grounds  some  satisfac- 
tory arrangement  mi^ht  be  made  with  the  citizens  of  Green- 


424  DARKE   COUNTY 

ville  whereby  the  grounds  would  be  kept  open  during  the 
entire  summer  season  as  a  park,  thereby  multiplying"  the 
value  of  the  grounds  as  a  place  of  legitimate  recreation  many 
fold.  The  fair  ground  would  also  make  almost  an  idei&l 
Chautauqua  site  for  the  use  of  the  people  of  the  entire  county. 

The  substantial  character  of  the  present  membership  of 
the  board  lends  encouragement  to  the  hope  that  they  will 
respond  to  the  quickened  and  enlightened  public  sentiment 
in  these  matters,  and  thus  insure  a  still  greater  financial  suc- 
cess  and  truer   social   service  than   ever   attained   heretofore. 

The  present  membership  of  the  board  is  as  follows :  M.  L. 
Weisenberger,  president ;  L.  M.  Reed,  vice-president ;  Frank 
Plessinger,  secretary;  Ed  Ammon,  treasurer;  Norman  Tea- 
ford,  George  Worch,  J.  E.  Folkerth.  Albert  Harter,  J.  H. 
Dunham,  T.  C.  Maher. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
PATRIOTIC  TEMPERANCE  AND  OTHER  SOCIETIES. 

Jobes  Post  No.  157  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Jobes  Post  G.  A.  R.  was  formally  organized  November  7, 
1881,  to  succeed  the  Greenville  Memorial  Association,  which, 
it  seems,  had  previously  looked  after  the  marking  of  de- 
ceased soldiers'  graves  and  transacted  business  pertaining  to 
the  welfare  of  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  War.  On  the  even- 
ing above  mentioned  twenty-two  soldiers  who  had  served  in 
the  late  conflict,  assembled  in  the  city  hall,  Greenville,  O., 
and  were  mustered  in  by  Col.  Brown,  of  Toledo,  O.,  as  char- 
ter members:  Frank  Devor,  S.  C.  Wolf,  John  Goloener,  A. 
C.  Harter,  Jeremiah  Jamison,  Harvey  House,  J.  H.  Ries,  J. 
L.  Bascom,  John  O'Conner,  D.  D.  Hunter,  J.  Tip  King, 
George  Gent,  L.  G.  Dills,  J.  C.  Craig,  Daniel  Murphy,  W. 
C.  Weaver,  A.  J.  Arnold,  H.  N.  Arnold,  Jas.  Gerard.  Wm. 
Dean,  I.  G.  Hiller  and  Martin  Rentzler.  At  this  meeting 
John  O'Conner  was  elected  post  commander  and  J.  T.  King, 
adjutant. 

This  post  was  named  for  Allen  T.  Jobes,  a  color-bearer  of 
the  69th  Regiment,  who  was  shot  while  bearing  the  stars 
and  stripes  at  the  battle  of  Jonesboro,  Ga.,  September  1,  1864. 

The  first  post  room  was  fitted  up  in  Arnold's  hall  on 
Broadway,  near  Third  street,  and  meetings  were  held  here 
until  1895  when  Frank  McWhinney,  a  comrade  and  well 
known  citizen,  tendered  the  use  of  the  second  floor  of  his 
brick  business  room  on  West  Fifth  street  for  the  use  of  the 
post  without  charge  as  long  as  enough  members  are  left 
to  form  a  quorum.  This  new  room  was  appropriately  fur- 
nished and  decorated  and  was  formally  dedicated  on  Monda^^ 
April  14,  1894,  the  twenty-ninth  anniversary  of  the  surrender 
of  Lee  at  Appomattox.  The  dedicatory  services  were  held 
in  the  Christian  Tabernacle  just  across  the  street,  at  which 
appropriate  addresses  were  made  by  Hon.  C.  M.  Anderson, 
T.  C.  Miller  and  Rev.  J.  P.  McLean,  of  the  Universalist 
church  in  behalf  of  the  G.  A.  R. ;  by  W.  Y.  Stubbs  and  F.  H. 


426  DARKE   COL'XTY 

Jobes  on  behalf  of  Brandon  Camp,  Sons  of  Veterans,  and  by 
Mollie  V.  Foster  on  behalf  of  the  Womans'  Relief  Corps. 
For  nearly  twenty  years  weekly  camp-fires  have  been  kindled 
in  this  commodious  and  convenient  hall.  Numerous  recruits 
have  been  mustered  in  from  time  to  time,  but  the  ranks  of 
the  veterans  have  been  greatly  decimated  by  the  Grim  Reap- 
er during  this  period.  Notwithstanding  these  losses  the 
Post  has  continued  active  and  still  has  about  one  hundred 
members  enrolled. 

Other  Posts  were  organized  in  the  county,  at  Versailles, 
Arcanum,  Ansonia,  Palestine,  but  most  of  these  have  been 
practically  discontinued   for   some   time. 

The  following  members  have  served  as  commander  of 
Jobes  Post  since  its  organization :  John  O'Conner,  John 
Ries,  A.  C.  Harter,  Thomas  Lines.  A.  H.  Brandon,  S.  M.  Guy, 
Isaac  G.  Hiller,  S.  W.  Bishop,  John  Barnell,  Wm.  Dean,  W. 
J.  Martin.  W.  L.  Reece,  I.  N.  Smith,  Henry  Livingston,  J.  S. 
^^''alker,  C.  W.  Rarrick.  F.  R.  Gaskill,  Adam  Horine,  Jason 
Penny,  B.  F.  Wenger,  J.  C.  Elliott,  W.  A.  Hopkins,  j.  W. 
Larimer  and  Peter  Dickey. 

The  ofRcers  elected  for  1914  are:  Commander.  Peter 
Dickey ;  senior  vice,  Joseph  A^^alker ;  junior  vice.  B.  F.  Wen- 
ger:  Sargeant.  Dr.  Rarick ;  chaplain,  L  N.  Smith:  officer  of 
the  day,  Mr.  Bidwell :  guard,  J.  W.  Larimer;  janitor,  G.  W. 
Halley:  trustee,  Samuel  Harnish. 

Enrollment  of  Members  of  Jobes  Post,  No.   157,  Department 

of  Ohio,  G.  A.  R.,  Since  Organization  November  7, 

1881,  to  December  31,  1913. 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

17  Arnold,  A.  J.,  Co.  D.  152,  O.  V.  L 12-  7-1900 

18  Arnold,  PL  Newton.  Co.  H,  94.  O.  V.  I 

27  Anderson,  Charles  M.,  Co.  B,  71,  O.  V.  I 12-28-1908 

129  Alspaugh,  Henry.  Co.  G.  44,  O.  V.  L 12-26-1896 

248  Allen,  Joseph  F.,  Co.  E,  3,  O.  V.  L 11-24-1898 

265  Adams,  James  B.,  Co.  G.  183,  O.  V.  I * 

346  Albright,  Henderson,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  I 10-27-1908 

347  Albright,  Philip  S.,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I 3-20-1908 

y?S  Albright,  Wm.  K..  Co.  K,  78,  O.  V.  L 

443  Atkinson,  Henry,  Co.  C.  49,  Ky.  V.  I 

479  Allen,  Lawson,  Co.  L  131,  O.  V.  L 

488  Albright,  Johnson,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  L 


DARKE   COUNTY  427 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

498  Ammon,  Edward,  Co.  B,  8,  O.  V.  I. 

8  Bascom,  Linus  J.,  Co.  H,  1,  Mo.  Art 6-26-1914 

23  Brandon,  A.  H.,  Co.  B,  71,  O.  V.  I 10-28-1902 

24  Bennett,  J.  L.,  6,  Wis.  Lt.  Art 

26  Beers,  Theodore,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I. 1-15-1894 

77  Beers,  Joseph,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I. 1-  8-1888 

79  Balser,  Henry,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I 

80  Bowman,  Jonathan,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I. 5-20-1896 

81  Brown,  Jesse  P.,  Co.  H,  48,  O.  V.  I. 

117  Bishop.  Samuel  W.,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  I 4-28-1911 

122  Barnell,  John,  Co.  A,  178,  O.  V.  I. 5-25-1893 

133  Brown,  Ahiijah,  Co.  G,  110.  O.  V.  I. 

142  Bell.  William  H.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

160  Berger,  Charles  W.,  Co.  F,  60,  O.  V.  I 

178  Boomershine,  Eli  H.,  Co.  F,  152,  O.  V.  I. 1-30-1904 

181  Brooks,  John,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I. 12-2-1893 

191  Bell,  John  J.,  Co.  E,  16,  Ind.  V.  I 5-  5-1908 

193  Brown,  Joseph,  Co.  F,  37,  Ky.  M.  I. 

202  Bliss,  Nathaniel,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I. * 

212  Beanblossom,  Enos,  Co.  E,  45,  O.  V.  I. * 

225  Bunger,  Andrew  E.,  Co.  B,  156,  O.  V.  I. 

247  Beck,  Cas.  A.,  Chap.  26,  Pa.  V.  I. 10-26-1895 

287  Baird,  Andrew,  Co.  B.  146,  O.  V.  I. 

294  Butt,  John,  Co.  B,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

295  Brown,  Benjamin,  Co.  G,  40,  O.  V.  I. 8-  9-1892 

299  Burtch,  J.  F..  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I 

300  Bryson,  Joseph,  Co.  D,  152,  O.  V.  I. 2-19-1909 

306  Brown,  Alexander,  Co.  B,  152,  O.  V.  I. 4-  6-1893 

316  Barks,  Samuel,  Co.  H,  1st  Mo.  Cav. * 

333  Boltin,  Morrison,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I. 

348  Earnhardt,  Lorenzo  D.,  Co,  B,  110,  O.  V.  L  -_  3-  3-1913 

352  Boreman,  Henry,  Co.  K,  106,  O.  V.  I. 9-  4-1896 

363  Beers,  Thomas,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  L 1-13-1909 

366  Burns,  John  C,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

370  Bender,  Elias,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I. 7-26-1909 

373  Burkholder,  Hiram,  Co.  F,  100.  Ind.  V.  L 

375  Broderick.  James  W.,  Co.  C,  44,  O.  V.  L 1-31-1900 

416  Biddle,  William,  Co.  L  94,  O.  V.  L * 

424  Beireis,  George,  Co.  E,  5,  O.  V.  I. 

436  Breaden,  Andrew,  Co.  C.  114,  O.  V.  L 10-  1-1908 

456  Brock,  William  P.,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  L 

461  Briney,  Adam,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I. 


428  DARKE   COUNTY 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

466  Baumgartner,  J.  B.,  Co.  C,  44,  O.  V.  I. 12-14-1905 

468  Bidwell,  Abraham,  Co.  M,  8,  O.  V.  Cav. 

483  Bloom,  Thomas  J.,  Co.  E,  87,  O.  V.  I 

486  Beam,  Daniel  C,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  I — _  

496  Brock,  Allen,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

506  Bechtolt,  Joseph,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  I.  and  Co. 

A.  39,  O.  V.  I 

511  Baum,  Christopher,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

14  Craig,  J.  C,  Co.  D,  152,  O.  V.  I 

52  Crawford,  James  M.,  Co.  H,  83,  O.  V.  I. * 

60  Cunningham,  Levi  R.,  Co.  G,  40,  O.  V.  I. 

70  Cochran,  A.  M.,  Co.  G,  48,  O.  V.  I. 4-20-1904 

76  Cole,  Henry  M.,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  I. 2-16-1909 

90  Collett,  Henry,  Co.  I,  40,  O.  V.  I. 

96  Carr,  James  M.,  Co.  E,  69,  O.  V.  I. 11  — 1909 

105  Cain,  Albert,  Co.  B,  38,  O.  V.  I * 

106  Calderwood,  Andrew  R..  Co.  I,  40,  O.  V.  I.  __  6-  7-1891 

132  Cordell,  Edward  M.,  Co.  F,  34,  O.  V.  I 

159  Cromer,  P.  R.,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I 2-13-1913 

175  Chenoweth,  Joel  T.,  Co.  E,  69,  O.  V.  I :— 

176  Coppick,  Henry  H.,  Co.  G,  193,  O.  V.  I 

186  Crick,  Simeon  E.,  Co.  E,  69,  O.  V.  I. * 

199  Chenoweth,  Levi  E.,  Co.  L  69,  O.  V.  L 

238  Caldwell,  James  E.,  Co.  K.  184,  O.  V.  L 

251  Couk,  John,  Co.  B,  152.  O.  V.  L 

263  Clark,  J.  S.,  Co,  C,  187,  O,  V.  I 

307  Cochran,  Samuel  H..  Co.  G,  44.  O,  V,  I * 

309  Cordell.  L  H.,  Co.  A,  1st  O.  H.  Art 9-10-1895 

330  Carter,  William,  Co.  K,  94,  O.  V.  I. 7-  1-1913 

396  Crick,  John  T.,  Co.  C,  33,  O.  V.  I * 

413  Calderwood,  John  R.,  Co,  L  152,  O.  V.  I. 

414  Cavanaugh,  Patrick,  Co.  A,  82,  O.  V.  L * 

449  Coombs,  Wm.  T.,  Co.  E,  44,  O.  V,  I 

458  Condon,  John,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  L 9-27-1911 

472  Corya,  Wm.  T.,  Co.  D,  44,  Ind.  V.  L 

1  Devor,  Frank,  Co.  H,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

13  Dills,  L.  G.,  Co.  B,  32,  O,  V.  L 

20  Dean,  William,  Co,  H,  115,  O.  V.  L 

49  Deardourff,  John  W.,  Co.  C,  50,  O.  V.  I. 9-29-1913 

50  Deardourff,  David,  Co,  C,  50,  O.  V.  T. 4-23-1909 

118  Deerwachter,  John  P.,  Co.  C,  14,  111.  V.  I 

146  Deitz,  John,  Co.  D,  82,  O.  V.  L 6-22-1891 


DAKKE   COUNTY  429 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

151  Dmikle,  Simon  P.,  Co.  H,  131,  O.  V.  I. 

153  Deitz,  Fred,  Co.  D,  82,  O.  V.  I. * 

155  Dill,  John  W.,  Co.  D.,  93,  O.  V.  I * 

165  Deeter,  Daniel  T.,  Co.  A,  8,  O.  V.  Cav. 

167  Dalrymple,  C.  L.,  Co.  G,  121,  O.  V.  I * 

187  Deeter,  Josiah  B.,  Co.  C,  23,  O.  V.  I. 

190  Dunker,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  I,  125,  O.  V.  I 

208  Dowler,  T.  T.,  Co.  B,  156.  O.  V.  I. 3-18-1898 

249  Dye,  Smith,"  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I 9-29-1913 

270  Dean,  James,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I. 5-19-1903 

281  Denise,  Obadiah,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I 10-  2-1911 

284  DuBoise.  Nathan  L.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

290  Denise.  Aaron,  Co.  G,  40,  O.  V.  I. 

317  Dangler,  Leonard.  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  I * 

397  Dickey.  Peter,  Co.  C,  51.  O.  V.  I. 

405  Davis^  A.  J..  Co.  B,  89,  Ind.  V.  I 2-10-1902 

431  Deifenbaugh,  Daniel,  Co.  B,  35.  O.  V.  I. 

488  Deetrick,  Abraham,  Co.  I,  7.  W.  Va.  V.  I.  —    

42  Eidson,  Frank  M.,  Co.  K,  11,  O.  V.  I. 12-  6-1900 

82  Erisman,  Daniel,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  I. 

135  Edsall.  Milton  P.,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  I. 

184  Eubanks,  Aaron,  Co.  D,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

230  Espy.  Wm.  P.,  Co.  B,  152,  O.  V.  I. 4-21-1903 

236  Elliott.  James  C.  Co.  A,  156,  O.  V.  I. 

388  Eicholtz.  Matthais,  Co.  L,  8,  O.  V.  Cav. 4-29-1904 

455  Etter,  Levi,  Co.  E,  48,  O.  V.  L 

464  Edington,  G.  W.,  Co.  L  152,  O.  V.  L 4-13-1912 

493  Eichelberger.  Joseph,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  L 

28  Fryberger,  John.  Co.  C,  187,  O.  V.  I * 

66  Froebe^  Philip.  Co.  D,  58.  O.  V.  I.  — 

87  Fleming,  Henry  D.,  Co.  K,  34.  O.  V.  L 1-23-1900 

161  Ford,  Royston,  Co.  L  152.  O.  V.  L 1-  1-1913 

222  Fox,  Henry,  Co.  E,  24,  O.  V.  L 

257  Foster,  John  S.,  Independent  Co..  4.  O.  V.  Cav.    * 

273  Firestine,  Henry,  8,  O.  Battery. 6-28-1906 

282  Frank,  Daniel.  Co.  F,  69,  O.  v'  L 

292  Fryer,  Clark,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  L * 

301  Fulkerth,  Jacob,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  L * 

329  Farra.  John.  Co.  G,  8th  Ind.  V.  I. 4-19-1893 

364  Fry,  John,  Co.  G,  8th,  O.  V.  Cav. 4-23-1895 

432  Fleming.  A.  B..  Co.  F,  18,  O.  V.  I. 1-23-1900 

3  Goleanor.  Tohn.  Co.  H,  23.  O.  V.  L * 


43U  DARKE   COUNTY 

No.  Name.         Regiment  and  State.                         Deceased. 

12     Gent,  George,  Co.  F,  27,  111.  V.  I. 

19     Girard,  James,  Co.  G,  10,  Ind.  V.  I. 4-25-1910 

32     Gaskill, "Frank  R.,  Co.  B,  7,  O.  V.  I. 4-13-1905 

55     Gruver,  John  A.,  Co.  C,  13,  O.  V.  I. 

101  Guy,  Samuel  M.,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I. 

116     Goetz,  Wm.  W.,  Co.  A,  77.  Pa.  V.  I. 

119     Carver,  L.  C,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. 2-17-1899 

211     Gorsuch,  Wesley.  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I 7-19-1908 

242     Gilert,  Henry,  Co.  C,  152.  O.  V.  I. 7-  6-1909 

275     Goetz,  Joseph,  8th  O.  V.  Cav. 

293     Garbig,"  George,  Co.  A,  8th  O.  V.  Cav. 

308     Gorsuch,  Jonathan,  Co.  H,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

325     Gauvey,  G.  B.,  Co.  I,  63,  O.  V.  I 

425     Greenwalt,  Wesley,  Co.  F.  94,  O.  V.  I. 2-19-1909 

458     Gottschall,  Jacob,  Co.  C.  152,  O.  V.  I. 10-3-1906 

462     Gibson,  J.  M.,  Co.  G,  196.  O.  V.  I. 

494  Graham,  W.  B.,  Co.  A,  100,  O.  V.  I 

495  Gift,  W^  H.,  Co.  E,  187,  O.  V.  I. 9-29-1913 

497     Gower,  T.  B.,  Co.  G.  8,  O.  V.  Cav. 

4     Harter,  A.  C.  Co.  A,  27,  Mo.  V.  I. 

6     House.  Harvey,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I. 1-25-1897 

15     Hunter,  Daniel  D.,  Co.  K,  94,  O.  V.  I. 10-14-1910 

21     Hiller,  Isaac  G.,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I. * 

45     Henkle,  Clark.  Co.  A.  94,  O.  V.  I 4-14-1907 

72     Hartle,  Abram,  Co.  K,  152,  O.  V.  I 4-  1-1885 

85     Hughes,  Chauncey.  Co.  A,  18,  O.  V.  I. * 

97     Harter.  Elam,  Co.H.  110.  O.  V.  I * 

102  Herrell,  George  \N .,  Co.  K,  1,  O.  V.  I. 5-17-1892 

108     Hood.  William,  Co.  A.  44,  O.  V.  I. 

111     Hayes,  John  C,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I. 3-10-1893 

128     Hecker,  Willoughby  J.,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I 1-11-1913 

140     Hickox,  Eli  J.,  Co.  d!  69.  O.  V.  I. 11-21-1889 

149     Hamiton,  Gavin  W.,  Co.  C,  11,  O.  \^.  I. 6-30-1894 

152     Haworth,  Oren,  Co.  D,  94,  O.  V.  I. 

162     Hogston,  John  W^,  Co.  G.  35,  Ind.  Vol.  I. 

164     Hoffman,  William,  Co.  E.  8,  O.  V.  Cav. 11-  9-1899 

171     Henderson.  G.  A.,  Co.  H,  18.  Wis.  V.  I. 

185     Hyde,  Alf.  H.,  musician,  152,  O.  V,  I. 5-  1-1890 

189     Harrison,  Geo,  W„  Co.  C.  44.  O.  V.  I. 

214     Hartzell,  Philip  J.,  Co.  C.  152,  O.  V.  I. 6-16-1904 

218     Harmon,  Hanson,  Co.  I,  10,  U.  S.  Reg. 

227     Hopkins,  Wilson  A..  Co.  A,  154,  O.  V.  I. 4-23-1910 


DARKE   COUNTY  431 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

255  Harris,  Charles  A.,  Co.  C.  120,  O.  V.  I. 

260  Holzapple,  John,  Co.  A.  65.  O.  V.  I. 9-20-1902 

278  Haines,  Wilson,  Co.  B,  32,  O.  V.  I. 

280  Houk,  James  A.,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  I * 

285  Harnish,  Samuel,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

288  Halley,  George  W.,  Co.  A,  11,  O.  V.  I. 

302  Hartz'ell,  Jonas,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I. 9-19-1913 

314  Hardman,  Solomon,  Co.  D,  69.  O.  V.  I. 

322  Hervey,  Jonathan  C,  1st  H.  Art.,  O.  V.  I.  ___    

356  Hall.  Joseph  N.,  Co.  G,  193,  O.  V.  I. 8-27-1902 

365  Harless,  Abe  G.,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

384  Holderman,  Felix,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I. 

385  Holderman,  Joseph,  Co.  H,  55,  O.  V.  I 

395  Harmon,  AVilliam,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I 

404  Horine,  Adam,  Co.  H,  110,  O.  V.  I. 

417  Hartman.  David  M.,  Co.  K,  11,  O.  V.  I. 

452  Hercules.  Philip.  Co.  E,  40,  O.  V.  I. 2-  7-1908 

453  Henneigh,  Martin,  Co.  B.  74.  Pa.  V.  I. 

460  Horner.  Robert  E.,  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

471  Hicks,  Jonathan  A.,  Co.  E,  71,  O.  V.  I. 

480  Herr,  Martin  M..  Co.  D.  3,  O.  V.  I. • 

38  Irwin,  Thomas,  Co.  C,  187,  O.  V.  I. 6-10-1884 

258  Irwin,  Stephen.  Co.  K,  13,  O.  V.  Cav. * 

5  Jemison,  Jerry,  Co.  K,  34.  O.  V.  I. 

33  Johnson,  A.  M.,  Co.  E,  116.  Ind.  V.  I. 8-21-1911 

64  Jobes,  Dr.  John  A.,  surgeon,  152.  O.  V.  I 5-15-1893 

109  jarber,  Charles,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I. 5-23-1902 

156  Jackson,  Henry  A.,  Co.  H,  99,  O.  V.  I. 

204  Jacobs,  Daniel  Co.  H,  84,  Ind.  V.  I 

374  Jones,  Wiley  B.,  Co.  E,  11,  Ind.  V.  I. 

445  Jay,  Isaac  A..  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I. 1-  6-1913 

11  King,  James  Tip.  Co.  C,  11,  O.  V.  I. 

361  Kemble,  Samuel  R..  Co.  G,  193.  O.  V.  I. 1-23-1903 

29  Lines,  Thomas,  Co.  C,  11,  O.  V.  I. 2-  5-1894 

30  Ludy.  Samuel,  Co.  A,  32,  O.  V.  I. 

35  Laurimore,  Add,  Co.  D.  69,  O.  V.  I. 1-17-1885 

51  Lansdowne,  James  M.,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  I.  ..10-30-1899 

53  Long,  John.  Co.  G,  3,  Pa.  V.  I. 

91  Larimer,  John  W.,  Co.  B,  17.  O.  V.  I. 

182  Luker,  Charles,  Co.  T,  152,  O.  V.  I. 1-26-1913 

183  Laurimore.  Mart.  W.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

188  Living,ston,  Henrv,  Co.  B,  6,  Ind.  V.  Cav.  ___ 


432  DARKE   COUNTY 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

200  Lee,  William  R.,  Co.  D,  81,  O.  V.  I 

210  Lamertson,  Nelson,  Co.  I,  69,  O.  V.  I. 

213  Lynch,  Dr.  William,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

217  Lamey,  Joseph,  Co.  A,  18,  O.  V.  I. 

231  Leftwich,  Charles  R.,  Co.  F,  156,  O.  V.  I 

237  Lowery,  Jap  N.,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I 11-  9-1891 

267  Lightheiser,  William,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I 3-10-1907 

371  Langston,  David  Co.  G,  147,  O.  V.  I 6-13-1895 

420  Lannix,  Samuel.  Co.  F,  152.  O.  V.  I. 3-  3-1905 

435  Little,  George  T.,  Co.  D,  5,  N.  Y.  V.  I. 

450  Leven,  John,  Co.  K,  124,  Ind.  V.  I 

469  Leven,  Henry  R.,  Co.  B,  142,  Ind.  V.  I. 

503  Lantz.  Henry  R.,  Co.  F,  16,  O.  V.  I 2-25-1911 

10  Murphy,  Daniel,  Co.  F,  116,  Pa.  V.  I * 

36  Martin',  W.  H.,  8th  O.  V.  Cav 

Z7  Martin,  J.  R.,  Co.  K,  94,  O.  V.  I 

39  McNeal,  James,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  L 2-10-1913 

46  Matchett,  Dr.  Wm.  H.,  surgeon,  40,  O.  V.  I.—  8-28-1898 

58  Marquette,  David,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  L * 

68  Martin,  Jerry  M.,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  L 3-  3-1908 

69  Mackley,  Eli.  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I 11-21-1889 

75  Miller.  William,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I * 

89  Martin,  W.  I.,  Co.  K,  94.  O.  V.  Cav 

9Z  Miller,  Wm.  R.,  Co.  K,  15,  O.  V.  I 

112  Miller.  Allen  T.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  L 

126  Mc'Closky.  Wm..  Co.  K,  139,  N.  Y.  V.  I 

137  Morningstar.  Wm.  H..  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I 12-28-1886 

139  Miller.  Thos.  B..  Co.  C,  184.  O.  V.  I 

157  McCoy,  Thos.  B.,  Co.  B.  82.  O.  V.  L 9-14-1891 

168  McClellan,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  E,  69,  O.  V.  I 

174  Miller.  Thomas  C.  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  L 

195  Morris,  Theodore  H..  Co.  H.  50,  O.  V.  I 

196  Mills.  Harod.  Co.  H.  152.  O.  V.  I. 10-  6-1894 

197  Mote.  Irvin.  Co.  G.  44.  O.  V.  L 2-16-1910 

198  Manor.  Benj.  F.,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I 12-18-1913 

205  Mote.  Joseph.  Co.  E,  48,  O.  V.  I * 

215  McConnell,  Wm.  P.,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  L 5-  2-1895 

226  McWhinney.  Frank,  Co.  B,  156,  O.  V.  I. 6-10-1910 

268  Martin,  John  T.,  Co.  A,  30.  O.  V.  I. 

272  McCabe.  James  F.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  i: 4-17-1892 

274  Meeks.  Jeremiah,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  Y.  I. 8-12-1895 

289  Moore,  Henrv  A.,  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I. 8-18-1896 


DAKKE   COUNTY  433 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

315  .McKee,  James.  Co.  G.  152.  O.  V.  I. 1-  8-1903 

318  McKee,  Thomas,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I. 

341  Muck,  John  J.,  Co.  I,  63,  O.  V.  I. 2-23-1905 

344  McOua,  John,  Co.  B,  150,  O.  V.  I. 

354  Murphy,  Frank,  Co.  G,  27,  Pa.  V.  Militia 

358  :\larshall.  \\'m.  G.,  Co.  K,  94,  O.  V.  I. 

362  I\Iorningstar,  B.  F.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. 10-29-1904 

394  i\Iedlani',  George,  Co.  B,  71,  O.  V.  I. 9-28-1896 

407  INIiley,  Daniel,  Co.  D,  40,  Ind.  V.  I. 

412  Morris,  Theodore  H.,  Co.  H,  50,  O.  V.  I. 

415  Mills,  Franklin,  Co.  F,  131,  O.  V.  I. 3-14-1903 

437  Morrison,  Silas,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I 

444  :Marcum,  Thomas,  Co.  D,  58,  O.  V.  I * 

463  Michael,  L.  J.,  Co.  G,  47,  O.  V.  I. 

482  Marshall,  O.  H.,  Co.  D,  74,  O.  V.  I. 3-30-1912 

492  Mullenix,  Henry,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  I. 

499  Mundhenk,  James  B.,  Co.  K,  131,  O.  V.  I 

512  Miller,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  E,  187,  O.  V.  I. 

513  Miller,  David  H.,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I * 

54  Neff,  Samuel,  Co.  D,  69.  O.  V.  I. 2-28-1912 

63  Neargardner,  Henry,  Co.  G,  1st  O.  V.  Cav.  __    

65  Niles,  Ephraim,  Co.  A,  110,  O.  V.  I. 

120  Nealeigh,  Daniel,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

207  Xorth,  Thomas  J.,  Co.  A,  82,  O.  V.  I. 7-13-1909 

235  Neiswonger,  Daniel,  Co.  C,  187,  O.  V.  I 11-  1-1905 

241  Noller,  Fredrick,  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I 12-  4-1903 

296  Neeley,  John  H.,  Co.  C,  131,  O.  V.  I. 4-19-1896 

409  Nagle,  Charles,  Co.  M,  1st  Pa.  L.  A 12-10-1907 

.508  Nixon,  Robert  H.,  Co.  D,  195,  O.  V.  I 

9  O'Conor,  John.  Co.  G,  110,  O.  V.  I. 3-  3-1910 

48  OT>rien,  Cornelius,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I. 7-26-1907 

59  Oliver,  Frank  M..  Co.  G,  40,  O.  V.  I. * 

88  diver,  J.  S.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I * 

41  Pitzenberger,  Jacob,  Co.  R,  2,  O.  V.  Cav. * 

47  Potter,  Edwin",  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I. * 

83  Perry,  George  Vv.,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I. 10-25-1900 

143  Polley,  James  E.,  Co.  K,  34.  O.  V.  I. 

229  Penny,  jason  H.,  Co.  E,  48,  O.  V.  I 

310  Penny,  Wm.  M.,  Co.  A,  5th  O.  V.  Cav. 9-  8-1903 

312  Price,  Abraham,  Co.  D,  167,  O.  V.  I. 12-22-1913 

393  Patchett,  Abram,  Co.  B,  26,  Mo.  V.  I 

459  Peiffer,  Jacob,  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

(28) 


434  DARKE   COUNTY 

No.  Name.         Regiment  and  State.                         Deceased. 

473  Parson,  X.  S.,  Co.  F,  55,  Pa.  V.  I. 

7     Reis,  John   H.,  8th  O.   Battery 3-22-1905 

22     Rentzier,  Martin,  Co.  G,  44,  6.  V.  I. 6-19-1908 

40     Reinheimer,  Alfred,  Co.  F,  116,  Pa.  V.  I. 11-26-1891 

b7     Rarick,  Dr,  Chas.  W.,  Co.  H,  100,  Ind.  V.  I.  —    

71     Rinhardt,  John  F.,  Co.  D,  69,  O.  V.  I 6-29-1914 

84     Redman,  J.  B.,  Co.  C,  94,  O.  V.  I. 

98  Rynearson,  Sylvester,  Co.  C,  15,  Iowa  \'.  I.  __   1-  3-1912 

99  Rasor,  Nathan.  Co.  F,  74,  O.  V.  I. =^ 

103     Ratliflf,  David,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

123     Russell,  W.  V.,  Co.  C,  89,  Ind.  V.  I * 

134     Ruey,  J.  \V.,  Co.  B,  7th  U.  S.  Cav. 

136     Ray,  Christian,  Co.  C,  50,  O.  V.  I. 5-  1-1903 

138     Reynolds,  W.  C,  Co.  C,  185,  O.  V.  I 

144     Ridenour,  Wm..  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

147     Ryan,  Daniel,  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I. 

157     Reck,  E.  O.,  Co.  G,  8,  O.  V.  I. 

179     Reigle,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I 

192     Reppeto.  Wm.  H.,  Co.  B,  29,  111.  V.  I 

261  Ratliff,  Elijah,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

262  Ratliff,  F.  W.,  8th  O.  Battery 

264     Reece,  W.  L.,  Co.  I,  135,  O.  V.  I. 

286     Reck,  Wm.  L.,  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I. 9-  6-1909 

297     Reck,  F.  W.,  Co.  C,  152,0.  V.  I. 

304  Ryan,  Frank,  Co.  K,  34.  O.  V.  I. 

305  Ruth,  Jesse,  Co.  D.  26,  O.  V.  I. 10-16-1912 

311     Randail,  Charles  T.,  Co.  B,  180,  O.  V.  I. 7-  4-1908 

321     Reeder,  John,  Co.  G,  40,  O.  V.  I. * 

i2i     Rodebaugh,  Simon,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I 

326     Rohr,  William,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I * 

376     Ross,  S.  H.,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  I 

411     Reis,  E.  B.,  Co.  D,  22.  O.  V.  I. 1-27-1901 

427     Rickman,  J.  M..  Co.  K,  54,  Mass.  V.I 

429     Reinochle.  Rev.  H.  H..  Co.  C,  152,  Ind.  Y.  I.  —    * 

447  Rightinger,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  M,  11,  Ind.  V.  C * 

448  Renshaw,  Samuel,  8th  O.  Battery * 

474  Reck,  Wilkins.  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I 

475  Rockey,  Thomas,  Co.  D,  94,  O.  V.  I 3-27-1907 

478     Randall,  Cyrus  D.,  Co.  C,  2,  O.  V.  I * 

509     Reigle,  Emanuel,  Co.  D,  58,  O.  V.  I 3-30-1912 

31     Seibert,  John,  Co.  C,  187,  O.  V.  I. 11-12-1893 

43     Smith,  Tno.  W.,  Co.  1,  40,  O.  V.  I. * 


DARKE   COUNTY  435 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

56  Seitz,  George,  Co.  F.  159,  O.  Mil.  G'd.  Inf 

67  Schuler,  Joseph,  Co.  G,  1,  K.  V.  I. * 

7i  Snyder,  Henry  C,  Co.  G,  8,  O.  V.  Cav. 

86  Snyder,  John,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. * 

92  Sm'ith,  Perry  P.,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I. 3-  6-1900 

94  Slade,  Hamilton,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I. 3-  6-1913 

107  Stocker,  Jacob,  Co.  E,  93,  O.  V.  I. 

113  Steiger,  Jacob,  Co.  C,  94,  O.  V.  I. * 

115  Snyder,  Augustus,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

150  Scherer,  Ludwic,  Co.  A,  78,  O.  V.  I 3-10-1904 

163  Shay,  John,  Co.  A,  69,  O.  V.  I. 

166  Speelman,  Charles  T.,  Co.  E,  40,  O.  V.  I.  ..    * 

169  Stevenson,  Estep.  Co.  F,  94,  O.  V.  I. April,  1913 

173  Snyder,  Daniel,  Co.  C,  187,  O.  V.  I. 

201  Sm'ith,  Isaac  N.,  Co.  B,  149,  O.  V.  I. 

228  Shuffleton,  Robert  S.,  Co.  D,  85,  O.  V.  I 

232  Slonaker,  H.  Jacob,  Co.  F,  165,  O.  V.  I 10-15-1902 

239  Smith,  J.  W..  Co.  C,  44,  O.  V.  I. 9-25-1891 

243  Sullivan,  William,  Co.  C.  44,  O.  V.  I 9-25-1891 

252  Smith,  John  D.,  Co.  A,  35,  O.  V.  I 5-19-1896 

266  Smith,  John,  Co.  A,  42,  O.  V.  I. 4-25-1899 

276  Sawyer,  Henry  A.,  Co.  K,  24,  Wis.  V.  I 6-  5-1914 

277  Stull,  John  Wash.,  Co.  G,  128,  Penn.  V.  Cav.__  7-  8-1909 

283  Sheppard,  AsaB.,  Co.  B,  110,  O.  V.  I * 

298  Sheppard,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. * 

313  Schreel,  John  H.,  Co.  E,  71,0.  V.  I * 

320  Stewart,  David  M.,  Co.  D,  7i,  O.  V.  I. 

334  Snouse,  John,  Co.  G.  44,  O.  V.  I. 

381  Smith,  L.  D.,  Co.  D,  151,  Pa.  V.  I. 

382  Sater,  John  W.,  Co.  C,  20,  O.  V.  I 3-23-1897 

390  Smith,  Peter,  Co.  D,  62,  O.  V.  I. 9-12-1908 

392  Sebring,  McKendre,  Co.  H,  95,  O.  V.  I 

408  Swartzcope,  M.  F.,  Co.  A,  31,  111.  V.  I 3-21-1901 

418  Sater,  Columbus  C,  Co.  B,  19,  Ind.  V.  I. 

454  Shields,  William,  Co.  G,  8.  O.  V.  Cav 

457  Schreel,  Charles,  Co.  E,  71,  O.  V.  I 4-22-1911 

476  Shelley,  Thos.  J.,  Co.  D,  81,  O.  V.  I. 

477  Scott,  A.  A.,  Co.  G,  40,  O.  V.  I 1-28-1914 

501  Snell,  Jacob  H.,  Co.  A,  193,  O.  V.  I 6-12-1909 

505  Shilt,  Perry,  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I. 

510  Shields,  Isaac  N.,  Co.  B,  110.  O.  V.  I 

34  Turner,  Joseph  R.,  Co.  K,  93,  O.  V.  I 


436  DARKE   COUNTY 

No.         Xame.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

110  Todd,  W.  J..  O.  M.  8th  O.  Battery 

131  Traebing,  Philip  M.,  Co.  L,  8th  O.  V.  Cav.._. 12-10-1891 

145  Taylor,  A.  O.,  Co.  F,  24,  Mich.  V.  I 

148  Tucker,  James  Harvey,  Co.  E.  5,  O.  V.  Cav.—  5-  2-1914 

177  Tucker,  F.  C,  Co.  G,'llO,  O.  V.  I. 

233  Tombers,  Albert,  Co.  H,  100,  N.  Y.  V.  I. 

244  Tharp,  James,  Co.  K,  76,  O.  V.  I 

271  Tedford,  Chas.  E.,  Co.  E,  Tenn.  M.  L 

291  Tate,  Rev.  AVm.  H-.  H.,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  I.  ___  1-21-1897 

335  Thorn,  John  H.,  Co.  I.  152,  O.  V.  I 1-21-1897 

343  Thompson,  Samuel  L.,  Co.  F,  1st  O.  V.  I 2-10-1908 

436  Toman,  Philip  S.,  8th  Ind.  Battery 11-27-1898 

490  Thatcher,  Nathaniel,  Co.  E,  87,  O.  V.  I 

499  Title,  David,  Co.  H,  110,  O.  V.  I 

502  Thatcher,  Elijah,  Co.  A,  152,  O.  V.  I 

514  Turrell,  Charles  H.,  Co.  B,  110,  O.V.  I. 

25  Ullery,  Ed.  A.,  Co.  I,  153,  O.  V.  I. 

62  Ungericht,  Conrad.  Co.  C,  187,  O.  V.  I 1883 

125  Ullery,  Samuel  W.,  Co.  G,  110,  O.  V.  I 

406  Ullom,  Marcus,  Co.  B,  156,  O.  V.  I. 1-19-1914 

440  Ullom,  Ellis,  Co.  H,  110,  O.  V.  I. 5-17-1909 

100  Vance,  Thomas  W.,  Co.  C,  110,  O.V.  I * 

127  Veitz,  John  W.,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I 

465  Vance,  J.  Harvey,  Co.  I,  152,  O.  V.  I 

2  Wolf,  Samuel  C,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I 

16  Weaver,  W.  C,  Co.  B,  4,  U.  S.  C 

61  Witters,  Jacob  L..  Co.  E,  17,  O.  V.  I * 

74  Wheeler,  Charles  W.,  Co.  E,  40,  O.  V.  I 

78  Waggoner,  John  P.,  Co.  D,  46,  111.  V.  I. 3-14-1903 

95  Wright,  Edward  H..  Co.  C,  74,  O.  V.  I 

104  Wyley,  Rev.  J.  L.,  Co.  F.,  1st  Iowa  V.  I. 

114  Williams,  Samuel,  8th  O.  Battery * 

124  White,  J.  E.,  8th  O.  Battery 2-  9-1896 

130  Wenger,  A.  J.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I 5-  8-1897 

172  Wilson,  Augustus  N.,  Co.  E,  69,  O.  V.  I 

180  Wenger,  B.  F.,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  I 

194  Warvel,  Nathan  S.,  Co.  G,  152,  O.  V.  I 

216  Welker,  John,  Co.  A,  54,  Ind.  V.  I 2-7-1902 

221  Wissenger,  Geo.  W.,  Co.  I,  94,  O.  V.  I. * 

224  Weaver,  Abraham,  Co.  I,  63,  O.  V.  I 

234  Wright,  Geo.  M..  Co.  H.,  94.  O.  V.  I. 

246  Webber,  William,  Co.  A.  41,  O.  V.  I. 


DARKE   COUNTY  437 

No.         Name.         Regiment  and  State.  Deceased. 

253  Winget,  John  P.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I 

259  Wright,  Alexander,  Co.  G,  110,  O.  V.  I. * 

303  Walker,  Joseph  S.,  Co.  K,  34,  O.  V.  I. 

327  Wise,  Jacob,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I * 

332  Warner,  Jessie,  Co.  C,  187,  O.  V.  I. 1-31-1912 

359  Wiles,  W.  R.,  Co.  C.  104,  O.  V.  I 3-  8-1903 

379  Williams,  Henry,  Co.  K,  53,  O.  V.  I 1-25-1910 

386  W^agner,  Joel,  Co.  I,  69,  O.  V.  I 10-16-1900 

387  Wogerman,  C,  Co.  B,  71,  O.  V.  I 12-14-1912 

410  Wilson,  Civilian  K.,  Co.  D.,  69,  O.  V.  I 

481  Woodbury,  John  S.,  Co.  H,  152,  O.  V.  I 

491  Wertz,  Richard,  Co.  D,  8th  O.  V.  Cav 

504  Wenger,  Isaiah  S.,  Co.  G,  152.  O.  V.  I 

505  Waddell,  James  H.,  Co.  E.,  20.  O.  V.  I. 

209  Yost,  Peter.  Co.  I.  152,  O.  V.  I 

328  Youart,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  C,  152,  O.  V.  I 11-12-1913 

451  Yeo,  Wm.  H.,  Co.  B,  40,  O.  V.  I 

158  Zeller.  Dr.  B.  F.,  Co.  F,  8th  O.  V.  Cav 

170  Zimmerman,  Abraham,  Co.  G,  44,  O.  V.  I. * 

319  Zeigler.  Gen.  Geo.  M.,  Co.  C.  47,  O.  V.  I 

*Deceased,  date  not  on  Post  record. 

Woman's    Relief   Corps. 

A  Woman's  Relief  Corps  was  organized  as  an  auxiliary  to 
Jobes  Post  shortly  after  the  latter  body  was  instituted,  and 
has  continued  in  active  service  to  this  date.  It  has  been  an 
invaluable  aid  and  inspiration  to  the  old  soldiers  and  deserves 
great  praise  for  its  works  of  friendship,  charity  and  love. 
The  officers  of  the  Corps  elected  for  1914  are :  President, 
Alice  Nelson;  senior  vice-president,  Mary  Hartzell ;  junior 
vice-president,  Mary  Cochran;  treasurer,  Anna  Snyder;  chap- 
lain, Uranie  Snyder;  conductor,  Susie  Snouse ;  guard,  Nancy 
Albright ;  assistant  guard,  Nina  Ridenous ;  color  bearers,  Eliza 
Wagner,  Margaret  Katzenberger  and  Delia  Calderwood ;  dele- 
gate, Alice   Nelson. 

The  newly  installed  president  named  the  following  stand- 
ing committees  for  the  year  1914: 

Relief  Committee — Mary  Culbertson,  Nancy  Albright, 
Mary  Hartzell,  Clara  Dickey,  Eliza  Waggoner  and  Mary 
Cochran. 

Executive  Committee — Uranie  Snyder,  Anna  Snyder,  Mar- 


438  DARKE   COUNTY 

garet  Katzenberger,  Dema  \\'oodbury,  Nina  Riednour,  ^lary 
Bidwell,   Katharine   Bieries,   Alary   Knox  and   Eliza  Wagner. 

Conference  Committee — Mary  Cochran,  Clara  Dickey,  Su- 
san Elliott,  ]\Iartha  Schultz  and  Margaret  Ryan. 

Auditing  Committee — Dosia  Wagoner,  Susan  Elliott,  Josie 
Williams  and  Lousetta  Eidson. 

Home  and  Employment — Lousetta  Eidson,  Hettie  Studa- 
baker,  Mollie  Williams,  Mary  Neighley,  Martha  Lewis,  Allie 
Smith  and  Tena  Snyder. 

Flower  Committee — Margaret  Katzenberger,  Usebia  Sei- 
bert,  Nancy  Hahn,  Rhoda  Tucker,  Anna  Ruder  and  Sarah 
Barnhart. 

Sandusky  Soldiers'  Home  Committee — Susie  Snouse,  Ura- 
nie  Snyder  and  Katie  Katzenberger. 

Press    Corresopnednt — Mary    Culbertson. 

Sons  of  Veterans. 

A  lodge  of  Sons  of  Veterans  was  mustered  in  in  the  eighties 
under  the  name  of  Brandon  Camp.  Although  quite  active 
for  several  years  and  a  valuable  assistant  in  conducting  the 
yearly  memorial  services,  it  finally  disposed  of  its  arms  and 
propertv  and  surrendered  its  charter. 

Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  and  Kindred  Organi- 
zations. 

From  the  testimony  of  earlv  settlers  and  numerous  pub- 
lished articles,  it  is  well  known  that  the  drinking  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  especially  whiskey,  was  quite  common  in 
pioneer  days.  The  jug  was  prominently  displayed  in  prac- 
tically everv  cabin,  was  passed  around  freely  at  log-rollings, 
barn-raisings,  husking-bees,  in  the  harvest  field  and  on-nearly 
all  occasions  where  men  came  together  at  social  gatherings 
or  for  hard  labor  with  their  hands.  Even  ministers  of  the 
gospel  kept  liquor  in  their  homes,  and  consumed  it  with 
meals,  while  professional  men  generally  held  to  the  old  Eng- 
lish idea  that  a  man  could  not  be  a  gentleman  unless  he  used 
intoxicating  beverages.  A  strong  endorsement  was  also 
given  to  the  practice  by  the  family  physicians  who  prescribed 
it  for  malaria,  rheumatism,  consumption,  colds  and  nearly  all 
the  prevailing  diseases.  The  mothers  likewise  prescribed  it 
freely  in  all  kinds  of  sickness  and  used  it  in  various  sorts  of 
pies  and  pastries.     We  have  already  noticed  the  prevalence 


DARKE   COLINTY  439 

of  brawls  and  rowdyism  about  the  taverns  and  bars  of  the 
county  seat  and  mentioned  the  unsavory  reputation  of  Green- 
ville for  the  number  of  hard  drinkers  and  gamblers  in  those 
days.  However,  these  conditions  were  not  to  continue  in- 
definitely as  moral  and  discriminating  men  began  to  see  the 
evil  efifects  of  these  pernicious  customs.  Individual  and 
sporadic  attempts  were  made  at  an  early  date  to  stir  up  senti- 
ment against  the  common  practice  but  with  little  effect.  Later 
men  began  to  organize  and  refused  to  furnish  liquor  to  men 
in  the  harvest  field,  at  butcherings  and  in  similar  occasions. 

About  1838,  Samuel  Cole,  Peter  Kimber  and  Father  Mur- 
phy, residing  near  Coleville,  began  a  movement  in  this  direc- 
tion. The  "Washingtonians"  seem  to  have  organized  the  first 
strong  movement  of  protest,  in  1842.  Such  prominent  men  as 
Gen.  Hiram  Bell,  Dr.  Gilpatrick,  and  Judge  Beers  thoroug'hly 
canvassed  the  county  and  held  discussions  on  the  temper- 
ance question.  Dr.  I.  N.  Gard  also  lent  encouragement  to  the 
movement  as  a  result  of  which  every  village  in  the  county 
became  organized  and  Greenville  was  stirred  as  never  before. 

Temperance,  in  the  sense  of  moderation,  had  been  preached 
before,  but  the  idea  of  total  abstinence  was  new  to  the  pio- 
neers and  was  opposed  by  large  numbers  of  well  meaning 
men,  thus  showing  the  strong  effect  of  early  education  and 
custom  on  the  masses.  This  movement  seems  to  have  largely 
spent  its  force  and  was  succeeded  in  1855  by  the  "Sons  of 
Temperance,"  which  organization  gained  a  membership  ex- 
ceeding two  hundred  in  Greenville  alone  and  was  instru- 
mental in  moulding  public  opinion  to  a  large  degree  for  a 
few  years.  From  1868  to  1870  the  Independent  Order  Grand 
Templars  flourished  and  enrolled  nearly  two  hundred  mem- 
bers. It  was  succeeded  by  the  Young  Templars,  who  were 
organized  August  17,  1870,  under  such  leaders  as  Dr.  Sharp, 
E.  :\Iatchett  and  Mrs.  D.  Adams.  On  June  19,  1871,  a  lodge 
of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  was  organized  by  A.  M.  Collins, 
state  deputy  of  Ohio,  at  which  time  the  following  officers 
were  elected  and  installed: 

Rev.  William  McCaughey,  W.  P. 

Lottie  Tomilson.   Assistant  W.   P. 

Mary  Webb,  W.  A. 

Dr.   C.  Otwell.  Deputy. 

J.  H,  :\Iorningstar,  R.  S. 

Dianna  Seitz,  Assistant  R.  S 

John  Frybarger,  F.  S.  ' 


440  DARKE   COUNTY 

William  M.  Harper,  Treasurer. 

Rev.  H.  S.  Bradley,  Captain. 

W.  R.  Reed,  Conductor. 

Sallie  Hamilton,  Assistant  Conductor. 

Clara  Tomilson,  I.  G. 

E.  B.  Seitz,  O.  G. 

One  hundred  and  eight  members  were  enrolled  in  this  or- 
ganization. 

In  February,  1874,  the  '"crusade''  struck  Greenville.  Some 
seventy  ladies,  many  of  them  prominent  workers  in  the 
churches,  banded  together  and  went  from  saloon  to  saloon, 
knelt  in  prayer  and  plead  with  the  proprietors  and  bar- 
tenders to  close  their  places  and  quit  the  liquor  business.  Out- 
door meetings  and  parades  were  held  regardless  of  the 
weather  and  public  opinion  was  influenced  to  such  an  extent 
that  all  the  saloons  were  closed  until  after  the  spring  elections. 
Three  years  later  renewed  interest  was  manifested  and  many 
were  converted  to  the  cause  of  temperance,  including  George 
Calderwood,  who  afterwards  published  a  paper  in  the  interest 
of  the  cause  and  became  a  temperance  lecturer  of  wide  repu- 
tation. Again  in  the  eighties  temperance  sentiment  was 
greatly  stirred  b}'  the  "Murphy  movement."  Great  meetings 
were  held  in  the  Mozart  hall  which  had  recently  been  con- 
structed on  West  Fourth  street,  at  which  large  numbers  of 
old  and  young  pledged  themselves  for  life  to  total  abstinence. 
As  will  be  noted,  all  these  movements  were  of  temporary 
duration.  On  February  19,  1880.  however,  there  was  formed 
in  Greenville,  an  organization  of  a  more  permanent  nature, 
which  still  exists  after  over  thirty-four  years  of  earnest  labor 
in  the  cause  of  temperance.  This  organization  is  known  as 
the  "Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union,"  and  has  prob- 
ably accomplished  more  in  the  field  of  systematic  and  pro- 
gressive temperance  work  than  all  previous  organizations  to- 
gether. The  first  officers  were :  President,  Mrs.  May  Fergu- 
son ;  vice  presidents,  Mesdames  Martin,  Adams,  \\''ebb,  East- 
man, Gross  and  Frances  Clark ;  secretary,  Mrs.  Ella  ^Matchett ; 
corresponding  secretary.  Mrs.  Bowman. 

On  December  6,  1887,  the  women  of  the  county  who  were 
especially  interested  in  temperance  held  -a  convention  at  the 
\L  E.  church  in  Greenville  for  the  purpose  of  efi^ecting  a 
county  organization  of  the  W^  C.  T.  U.  The  convention  was 
called  to  order  by  the  district  president,  Mrs.  M.  C.  Happer- 
sett,   of  Urbana,   Ohio.     After   devotional   exercises   and   ad- 


DARKE   COUNTY  441 

dresses  an  election  was  held  at  which  the  following  officers 
were  chosen :  President,  ^Irs.  O.  A.  Newton ;  county  organ- 
izer, Mrs.  L.  A.  Macklin;  recording  secretary,  Miss  Clarissa 
Sinks ;  corresponding  secretary,  Mrs.  Abbie  D.  Lecklider ; 
treasurer,  Mrs.  John  C.  Turpen. 

The  object  of  the  union  as  set  forth  in  the  constitution  is 
"to  arouse  the  women  of  this  county  to  engage  in  an  effort 
for  the  promotion  of  temperance  in  every  place  and  family, 
and  to  strengthen,  encourage  and  assist  each  other  in  this 
important  work."  Prominent  among  the  workers  in  the  or- 
ganization, besides  those  already  mentioned  have  been  Mes- 
dames  Linda  Mace,  A.  B.  Maurer,  J.  W.  Cassatt,  L.  Clawson, 
Mary  Webb,  M.  E.  Bowman,  Deborah  R.  Adams,  W.  S.  Rich- 
eson,  Enoch  Westerfield,  Alex.  Kerr,  J.  G.  Reid,  J.  C.  Weaver, 
W.  B.  Hough,  Jno.  H.  Martin,  John  Martz,  Aaron  Brandon, 
Xoah  Tillman.  C.  A.  Nelson.  Kitty  Vaughn.  Robert  Jamison, 
John  Klefecker.  Charles  Schreel,  Ella  Matchett.  Hattie  Guy, 
George  W.  Studebaker,  Bert  Martz,  Stella  Tillman,  Will 
Cochran,  George  W.  Hartzell.  Mary  Lockett,  J.  N.  Reigle, 
Lydia  Morrison,  R.  T.  Humphreys.  Mary  T.  Horn,  D.  W. 
Spidel.  Cora  Stokely.  A.  J.  Landis.  H.  F'.  Hartzell,  Charles 
Minnich,  T.  H.  Monger,  Cora  Along.  W.  D.  Brumbaugh.  Delia 
\\  inget,  Mattie  Klinger,  Alice  Kunkel,  Mary  Martin.  Lizzie 
Martin,  Anna  Guthridge,  besides  the  wives  of  several  min- 
isters and  others  who  have  moved  elsewhere. 

The  Greenville  organization  is  strong  and  active  today, 
and  is  administered  by  the  following  officers  and  committees: 

President — Mrs.   Celia   Hershey. 

Secretary — Mrs.  Catherine  Teagarden. 

Treasurer — Mrs.  Mary  Horn. 

Antinarcotics — Mrs.  Linda  Mace. 

Christian   Citizenship — Edith  Overholser. 

Flower  Mission — Laura  Mathews. 

Fair  Literature — Mrs.  Alary  Hartzell. 

Literature — Mrs.  Lola  Aukerman. 

Mother's  Meeting — Mrs.  Daisy  Alartin. 

Mercy — Mrs.  Jennie  Halle}'. 

Prison  Work — Mrs.   Florence  Moore. 

Press  Reporter — Airs.  Alinnie  Colegrove. 

Parliamentarian — Alice  Kunkel. 

Socials  and  Red  Letter  Days — Airs.  Josie  Williams  and 
Airs.   Laura  Westerfield. 

Sabbath  Observance — Airs.  Pearl  Owens. 


442  DARKE   COUNTY 

Sabbath    Work — Mrs.    Emma    Somers. 

Temperance  and  Mission — Mrs.  Cora  Landis 

The  officers  of  the  county  organization  are : 

President — Mrs.  Emma  Mathews. 

Vice  President — Laura  Westerfield. 

Corresponding  Secretary — Mary  Mansfield. 

Recording  Secretary — Ella  Lowry,  New  Madison. 

Treasurer — W.  W.  Fowler,  Union  City. 

Advisory  Committee — Mrs.  Florence  Jobes,  IMrs.  Nellie 
Sellers,  Arcanum,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Rice,  Gordon,  Mrs.  Dessie 
White,  HoUansburg,  Mrs.  Florence  Boyd. 

Besides  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  an  active  Prohibition  Club  was 
recently  organized  in  Greenville.  The  following  are  now  the 
officers : 

President— ^^'.   C.    Mote. 

Vice  President — Mr.  D.  P.  AA'hitesell. 

Secretary — Mrs.  Emma  Mathews. 

Treasurer — Mr.   George  Mace. 

Recorder — Mrs.  I..  C.  Somers. 

The  vote  for  Daniel  Poling,  candidate  for  Governor  of  Ohio 
on  the  Prohibition  ticket  in  the  fall  of  1912  was  nearly  twelve 
hundred. 

Perhaps  the  most  striking  evidence  of  the  growth  of  the 
temperance  sentiment  throughout  the  county  in  recent  years 
was  afforded  by  the  election  held  under  the  Rose  County 
local  option  law  on  Friday,  October  16,  1908.  The  opposing 
forces  were  stronglv  organized,  the  "dry"  forces  being  led  by 
Rev.  L.  E.  Smith  of  the  Baptist  church,  whom  they  had  em- 
ployed to  superintend  the  campaign.  The  county  was  covered 
and  guarded  by  an  army  of  workers,  both  men  and  women, 
who  kept  the  local  ".Anti-Saloon  League"  posted  on  every 
mo\'e  and  canvassed  thoroughly  every  district.  .As  a  result 
the  vote  cast  was  the  largest  in  the  history  of  the  countv  up 
to  that  time,  the  total  being  nearly  eleven  thousand — more 
than  a  thousand  votes  over  that  cast  in  the  Herrick-Patter- 
son  campaign  of  1905  in  which  the  liquor  question  entered 
prominently.  The  result  showed  a  majority  of  two  hundred 
and  eighty-four  in  favor  of  the  temperance  people  who  carried 
eleven  in  the  incorporated  villages  and  were  especially 
strong  in  the  rural  precincts.  Greenville,  Versailles,  L^nion 
City,  New  IMadison,  Yorkshire,  and  Osgood  showed  compara- 
tive small  "wet"  majorities  in  this  election.  At  the  next 
local  option  the  decision  was  reversed  at  the  polls  but  it  is 


DARKE   COUNTY  443 

readily  seen,  and  generally  acknowledged  that  the  temper- 
ance sentiment  has  increased  with  the  years  and  is  probably 
stronger  today  than  ever  before,  largely,  no  doubt,  because 
of  the  persistent  activity  of  the  various  forces  above  men- 
tioned in  conjunction  with  the  work  of  the  state  and  national 
temperance  organizations  and  the  changed  conditions  of  the 
times. 

The  Pioneer  Association. 

On  July  4.  1870,  thirteen  pioneers  met  in  Hart's  Grove  and 
organized  the  first  pioneer  association  of  Darke  county. 
Over  sixty  years  had  passed  since  the  first  settlers  came  to 
Darke  county  and  these  patriotic  survixors  of  early  days 
realized  that  it  was  time  that  reliable  data  relating  to  the  early 
life  of  the  settlers  be  secured  and  preserved  in  order  that 
future  generations  might  in  a  measure  learn  to  appreciate  the 
hardships,  and  sacrifices  incident  to  pioneer  life  and  become 
acquainted  with  the  customs  of  those  early  days. 

The  following  pioneers  were  present  and  signed  the  con- 
stitution :  Henry  Arnold,  Aaron  Hiller,  Israel  Cox,  John  S. 
Hiller,  David  Studabaker,  John  Wharry,  Josiah  D.  Elston, 
James  Cloyd,  John  Martin,  Robert  Martin,  Henry  W.  Emer- 
son, John  Stahl  and  William  F.  Bishop.  James  Cloyd  was 
elected  president,  John  S.  Hiller  and  H.  W.  Emerson  vice  pres- 
idents, John  \\'harry  secretary  and   H.  Arnold,  treasurer. 

The  first  big  annual  basket  meeting  of  the  new  society  was 
held  in  Hart's  Grove  on  July  4,  1871  and  was  a  grand  suc- 
cess. It  was  at  this  meeting  that  the  ceremonies  attending 
the  removal  of  the  remains  of  the  Wilson  children  were  per- 
formed as  described  elsewhere.  Yearlv  meetings  were  held 
for  several  j-ears  thereafter  at  various  places,  including 
]\lorningstar"s  grove,  the  fair  ground,  probate  court  room  and 
city  hall  at  which  interesting  addresses  were  made  by  such 
.speakers  as  Hon.  G.  V.  Dorsey,  of  Piqua,  H.  K.  McConnell, 
H.  A\\  Emerson.  Dr.  I.  N.  Gard,  Abner  Haines  of  Eaton,  G. 
D.  Hendricks,  Hon.  Wm.  Allen,  A.  R.  Calderwood  and  others. 
In  the  intervening  years  many  names  were  added  to  the  roll 
of  the  society,  but  on  account  of  the  advanced  age  of  the 
signers,  the  ranks  rapidly  depleted  and  the  annual  meetings 
seem  to  have  declined  in  attendance  and  interest  until  the 
first  generation  of  the  descendants  of  the  pioneers  took  up 
tlie  work  and  endeavored  to  continue  it. 

In   1907  the  association  reorganized  and  elected  A.  H.  Gil- 


444  DARKE   COUNTY 

bert,  president;  James  W.  Martin,  secretary;  B.  F.  Coppess, 
treasurer.  Since  that  time  the  annual  meetings  have  been 
held  in  the  fair  grounds  in  September  at  which  instructive  and 
inspiring  addresses  have  been  made  by  George  Martz,  Prof. 
J.  T.  Martz,  Hon.  James  I.  Allread,  Allen  Andrews,  D.  L. 
Gaskill,  Oscar  Krickenberger,  Hon.  O.  E.  Harrison,  'George 
W.  Manix,  Jr.,  and  others. 

An  organization  of  the  "Pupils  of  the  Greenville  schools 
during  the  fifties  and  sixties"  has  been  effected  and  these  now 
hold  a  joint  meeting  with  the  pioneer  association.  At  a 
special  meeting  held  Xovemljer  21,  1911,  a  movement  was 
started  having  as  its  aim  the  erection  of  a  log  memorial 
building  in  the  fair  grounds  for  the  purpose  of  housing  pio- 
neer relics  and  holding  the  annual  meetings.  This  building 
is  being  erected  and  will,  no  doubt,  be  completed  before  the 
annual  fair  of  1914.  At  this  time  A.  H.  Gilbert  is  presidnt,  Z. 
T.  Dorman,  vice  president  and  John  C.  Turpen,  treasurer. 

The  names  of  the  pupils  of  the  Greenville  schools  in  the 
"fifties  and  sixties"  as  entered  on  the  roll  of  the  society  is  as 
follows : 

Mary  Clew  Alter,  Greenville,  O. ;  John  Ashley,  Lincoln,  111.; 
Wilson  Arnold,  Greenville,  O. ;  Xewton  Arnold,  Greenville, 
O. ;  W.  W.  Angel,  Bluffton,  Ind. ;  Hon.  Allen  Andrews,  Ham- 
ilton, O. :  Judge  M.  T.  Allen,  Los  Angeles,  Gal. ;  \\'ade  Bier- 
ley,  Harvey-  Bierley,  Wesley  Bierley,  Rachel  Collins  Black, 
Jennie  Hiller  Bell,  Alexander  T.  Bodel,  Clififord  Boyd,  John 
Bell,  H.  L.  Brumbacher,  Chas.  Burdg.  William  Clew,  Adeline 
Craig  Cubertson,  William  Collins,  A.  \\".  Compton,  J.  S. 
Clark,  Chaney  Craig,  Dr.  David  L.  Corbin,  David  Culbertson, 
John  Calderwood,  George  Coover,  Frank  Coover,  Geo.  W. 
Calderwood,  W.  L.  Collins,  Mrs.  W.  J.  Collins,  G.  P.  Calder- 
wood, G.  W.  Calkins,  Z.  T.  Dorman,  Mary  Brown  Duboice, 
Elizabeth  Derush  Dye,  Chester  B.  Fletcher,  L.  T.  Fitz,  Sadie 
Faror  Sater,  Charles  Frizell,  Henry  Fox,  A.  H.  Gilbert,  Ellen 
Greenawalt,  Esty,  James  Gorsuch,  Helen  Peyton  Gilbert. 
Jonathan  Gorsuch,  Horace  Garst,  W.  J.  Gilbert,  Plenny  Gar- 
land, O.  E.  Garland,  Edward  Hufnagle,  Emily  Shepherd 
Hartzell,  B.  F.  Howard,  Celia  Lavendar  Helm,  A.  C.  Helm, 
Samuel  Hamilton,  Helen  Webb,  Jinks,  John  Jinks,  Volney 
Jinks,  Jennie  Krug  Kitzmiller,  Tip  King,  Harry  Knox.  Anna 
Coover  Kenan,  S.  C.  Keltner,  Mrs.  Jacob  Keck,  A.  Kolp,  John 
Keck,  Emma  Dorman  Lewis,  Nancy  Calderwood  Lecklider, 
T.  C.  Lynch,  Isaac  H.  Lynch,  Dr.  William  Lynch,  Hon.  Chas. 


DARKE   COUNTY  445 

Lindermood,  George  Lines,  James  Laurimore,  James  AIcAl- 
pine.  Allen  Miller,  Frank  Martin,  Newton  Martin,  Dr.  Ga- 
briel Aliesse,  Harry  ?ileans,  James  W.  Martin,  Americus 
Miesse,  Percy  Mackley,  Pothena  J.  Shade  Morgan,  Lizzie 
^IcAlpine,  Hirondo  Miesse,  Andrew  McKhann,  George  Os- 
walt, Dr.  ^^'m.  Otwell,  Bart.  Otwell,  John  Porter,  Wm.  Purdy, 
Mary  J.  Hamilton  Rush,  Robert  Roby,  James  Ries,  \A'.  L. 
Ries,  Mar}'  L.  Ridan,  Hall  Robison,  John  Schnaus,  Perry 
Sharp,  J.  A.  Smith,  Alex.  Swisher,  O.  Stines,  Celinda  Martin 
Sebring,  L  W.  Slawter,  Lon  Shade,  J.  Sanford  Shepherd,  Fla- 
vins Shepherd,  John  Sharp,  Sarah  Coovers  Sweet,  Phoebe 
Hamilton  Sparks,  Susan  Mincer  Studabaker,  Mrs.  E.  M.  Stev- 
enson, Odlin  Speece,  Philip  R.  Stover,  Geo.  W.  Seitz,  Jack 
Shade,  Martha  Wharry  Turpen,  John  C.  Turpen,  Elizabeth 
Fletcher  Troy,  Ed  Tomlinson,  Lottie  Tomlinson,  Clara  Tom- 
linson.  Helen  Creager  Tomlinson,  Wm.  Vantilburg,  John  Van- 
tilburg.  ]\Irs.  ■\Iollie  Vandyke.  Capt.  James  ^^'harry,  Robert 
Calvin  ^^'ilson,  Dottie  Webster. 

The   Greenville   Historical   Society. 

This  association  was  organized  January  23,  1903,  for  the 
following  purposes:  To  further  the  study  of  local  history; 
to  secure  a  fitting  memorial  within  the  site  of  Fort  Green- 
ville commemorating  the  signing  of  Wayne's  treaty ;  to  co- 
operate with  the  curators  of  the  public  museum  in  collecting, 
preserving  and  exhibiting  articles  of  historical  interest ;  to 
acquire,  mark,  and  preserve  local  historical   landmarks. 

Frazer  E.  Wilson  was  elected  first  president;  Dr.  George  L 
Gunckel,  vice  president ;  Dr.  John  E.  Monger,  secretary  and 
Prof.  Jas.  J.  Martz,  treasurer.  The  other  charter  members 
were  George  A.  Ivatzenberger,  Osborn  ^^'ilson  and  A.  C. 
Robeson. 

This  small  group  of  active  workers  soon  increased  the 
membership  of  the  society  and  set  about  to  accomplish  its 
objects.  Results  were  soon  apparent.  In  the  summer  of 
1906  the  Greenville  Treaty  Memorial  was  erected  and  dedi- 
cated, and  in  the  fall  of  1907  the  Fort  Jefferson  monument  was 
unveiled  as  described  in  the  chapter  on  "Notable  Events." 
Besides  these  worthy  accomplishments  the  society  removed 
the  remains  of  William  P.  Dugan,  a  soldier  of  the  Revolution, 
from  the  old  Water  street  cemetery  to  the  soldiers'  plot  in 
the  New  cemetery,  secured  oil  portraits  of  St.  Clair,  Wayne 


446  DARKE   COUNTY 

and  Little  Turtle,  and  some  very  valuable  collections  for  the 
museum.  Indirectly  it  has  stimulated  the  study  of  local  his- 
tory in  the  public  schools  and  encouraged  the  growth  and 
proper  use  of  the  public  museum  by  both  the  schools  and  the 
general  public.  It  does  not  consider  its  original  objects  as 
fully  accomplished  but  hopes  to  be  instrumental  in  finally 
securing  the  erection  of  a  large  and  suitable  treaty  memorial 
by  the  United  States  government,  the  marking  of  all  the 
really  historical  sites  in  the  county,  and  the  establishment  oi 
a  course  of  local  history  study  in  the  high  schools  of  the 
county. 

The  present  officers  are:  J.  J.  O'Brien,  president;  G.  A. 
Katzenberger,  vice-president :  F.  E.  Wilson,  secretary ;  Wil- 
liam J.  Swartz,  treasurer.  Meetings  are  held  at  irregular 
intervals  to  hear  specially  prepared  papers  on  local  historical 
subjects  or  to  plan  for  the  accomplishment  of  its  various 
objects. 

The  Darke  County  Medical  Association. 

The  first  medical  society  in  Darke  county  was  organized 
July  15,  1848,  for  the  purpose  of  regulating  fees  for  services, 
raising  the  ethical  standards  of  practicing  physicians,  dis- 
couraging quackery,  promoting  the  interest  of  the  profes- 
sion and  planning  for  better  healtli  conditions  among  the 
people  generall}'. 

I.  \.  Gard  was  chosen  the  first  president  and  R.  Gilpatrick 
vice-president,  A.  Koogler  recording  secretary,  O.  G.  Potts 
corresponding  secretary  and  Alfred  Ayers,  treasurer  for  the 
ensuing  year.  liesides  these  physicians  Doctors  J.  E. 
Matchett.  Otwell,  Baskerville,  Stiles,  Dorwin.  Hostetter, 
Harter,  Larrimore,  Howe  and  Evans  were  members.  Meet- 
ings were  held  at  intervals,  but  finally  discontinued 
until  1855  when  the  society  was  revived.  At  that  time 
the  additional  names  of  W.  H.  Matchett,  E.  Lynch, 
S.  D.  Hager.  Blunt,  McCandless,  Early,  Williamson  and 
Lecklider  are  noticed  on  the  records.  Interest  again 
waned  and  the  society  was  reorganized  April  6,  1863, 
at  which  time  E.  Otwell  was  chosen  president,  J.  C.  William- 
son vice-president,  E.  Lynch  secretary,  J.  A.  Jobes  corre- 
sponding secretary  and  .\.  Koogler  treasurer.  Drs.  John  Ford, 
Francis  Kusnick,  S.  K.  Sour,  J.  P.  Gordon,  C.  T.  Evans,  W.  E. 
Hooven,  James  Ruby  and  H.  W.  Dorwin  were  received  as 
members    during  this  year,    Theo.   LufT    in    1864  and    J.    E. 


DARKE   COUNTY  447 

Fackler  and  O.  E.  Lucas  in  1865.  From  1848  to  1869  fifty- 
four  physicians  were  enrolled  as  members  of  the  association, 
of  whom  seventeen  died  during  that  period. 

The  society  today  is  active  and  well  organized  and  stands 
in  the  front  ranks  of  similar  associations  in  Ohio.  Meetings 
are  held  monthly.  The  present  officers  are:  President,  J.  C. 
Poling;  vice-president,  G.  W.  Burnett;  secretary-treasurer,  J. 
E.  Hunter ;  delegate,  J.  E.  Monger ;  alternate,  M.  M.  Corwin ; 
legislation,  A.  W.  Rush  ;  censors,  H.  A.  Snorf,  J.  S.  Niederkorn 
and  (J.  P.  Wolverton.  Public  health.  W.  T.  Fitzgerald,  J.  E. 
Hunter   and   E.   G.    Husted. 

The  membership  is  forty-six,  viz.:  J.  C.  Poling  and  C.  I. 
Stevens,  Ansonia ;  P.  W.  B3fers,  I.  H.  Hawes  and  W.  A.  Jones, 
.\rcanum ;  A.  M.  Brandon,  Beamsville ;  Louis  Bigler  and  J. 
^^^  Van  Lue,  Gettysburg  ;  L.  R.  Emericlc,  Ithaca  ;  J.  M.  Ander- 
son. G.  \\'.  Burnett,  W.  T.  Fitzgerald,  W.  E.  Guntrum,  J.  K. 
Hunter,  E.  G.  Husted,  S.  A.  Hawes,  Wm.  Lynch,  B.  F.  Met- 
calf,  J.  E.  Monger,  D.  Robeson,  A.  W.  Rush,  H.  A.  Snorf,  C. 
G.  Swan,  R.  H.  Spitler,  A.  F.  Sarver,  O.  P.  Wolverton,  Green- 
ville :  J.  E.  Detamore,  Hill  Grove  ;  G.  W.  Harley,  A.  \V.  Meek, 
W.  D.  Bishop,  Hollansburg;  H.  C.  Reigle,  Lightsville  ;  J.  T. 
Patton,  New  Weston  ;  E.  A.  Hecker,  New  Madison  ;  J.  D. 
Hartzell,  North  Star ;  \Y.  A.  Cromley,  Palestine ;  C.  F.  Puter- 
baugh.  Painter  Creek:  J.  O.  Starr,  Pittsburg;  E.  H.  Black 
and  J.  M.  DeFord,  Rossburg;  ^I.  M.  Corwin,  Savona  ;  J.  B. 
Ballinger,  W.  C.  Gutermuth,  J.  S.  Xiederkorn,  E.  G.  Reprogle, 
C.  F.  Rvan,  Versailles;  E.  A.  Fisher,  Yorkshire. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
BENCH  AND  BAR. 

(By  George  A.  Katzenberger,  Attorney.) 

The  judicial  system  of  this  country,  with  its  vast  com- 
plex, but  harmonious  organization,  may  justly  be  regarded  as 
among  the  most  notable  achievements  of  the  human  intellect. 
Through  its  numerous  tribunals  of  every  grade,  from  that  of 
the  supreme  court  of  the  United  States  to  local  justices  of  the 
peace,  it  takes  cognizance  of  every  question  of  constitutional 
construction,  or  of  personal  and  property  rights,  that  can  arise 
out  of  the  social  conditions  or  commercial  activities  of  an  in- 
definite number  of  separate  communities,  organized  as  states, 
and  forming  a  federal  union — the  foremost  nation  of  all  the 
world.  It  reaches  the  daily  life  of  the  people.  It  protects  the 
weak  against  the  strong,  the  peaceable  against  violence,  the 
innocent  against  wrong,  the  honest  against  fraud,  the  indus- 
trious against  rapacit}-.  By  the  universal  consent  of  enlight- 
ened men,  justice  is  regarded  as  a  divine  attribute,  and  such 
is  its  essential  nature,  therefore,  as  to  impart  dignity  and 
purity  to  all  those  who  are  worthily  engaged  in  its  adminis- 
tration. The  wise  and  just  judge  has,  therefore,  in  all  ages 
and  societies,  been  held  in  universal  esteem. 

The  American  lawyer  can  only  be  admitted  to  the  practice 
of  the  profession  upon  proof  of  good,  moral  character  and 
of  such  proficiency  in  knowledge  of  the  law  as  to  enable  him 
to  render  valuable  service  in  the  administration  of  justice. 
The  special  law  of  each  state  prescribes  the  character  and 
method  of  the  examination  tri  which  each  applicant  for  admis- 
sion must  be  subjected,  the  length  of  time  he  must  have  de- 
voted to  the  study  of  the  elementary  principles  of  the  law  and 
the  .system  of  its  practice. 

As  the  judicial  departments  of  the  government,  federal  and 
state,  can  be  administered  only  b}^  those  learned  in  the  law 
and  trained  in  its  practice,  the  legal  profession  is  the  one  only 
calling,  indispensably  necessary  to  the  continuation  of  our 
constitutional  system.  Those  called  to  the  performance  of 
legislative  or  executive  functions  need  not  necessarilv  be 
(29) 


450  DARKE   COUNTY 

lawyers.  Indeed,  many  of  those  who  have  most  acceptably 
filled  the  various  offices  in  both,  have  been  called  from  other 
pursuits.  It  is  different  with  the  judiciary.  Xo  man  can  at- 
tain the  dignity  of  the  bench  who  has  not  demonstrated  his 
fitness  and  learning  at  the  bar ;  and  who  has  not  displayed  in 
the  course  of  his  legal  practice  those  abilities,  correct  habits, 
and  moral  principles  that  commend  him  to  the  endorsement 
of  his  fellow-members  of  the  profession  for  promotion. 

As  is  generally  known,  the  first  legislature,  which  assem- 
bled under  the  new  state  government  of  Ohio,  passed  an  act 
on  the  15th  of  April,  1803,  organizing  the  judicial  courts  of 
the  state.  A  presiding  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas 
was  required  to  be  appointed  in  each  circuit,  who,  together 
with  three  associate  judges  (not  necessarily  lawyers)  consti 
tuted  the  courts  of  common  pleas  of  the  respective  coun- 
ties. ^Montgomery  county  then  comprised  all  the  territory 
north  of  the  line  of  Butler  and  Warren  counties  as  far  as  the 
state  line,  and  west  to  its  western  boundary,  thus  including 
Darke  county.  The  same  act  provided  that  until  permanent 
seats  of  justice  should  be  fixed  in  the  several  new  counties, 
by  commissioners  appointed  for  that  purpose,  tht  temporary 
seat  of  justice,  and  the  courts,  should  be  held  in  the  county  of 
Montgomery,  at  the  house  of  George  Newcom,  in  the  town 
of  Dayton. 

The  time  fixed  by  the  statutes  for  holding  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas  in  Montgomery  county  was  the  fourth  Tuesdays 
in  March,  July  and  November ;  and  that  fixed  for  holding  the 
supreme  court  was  the  third  Tuesday  of  October,  thus  estab- 
lishing and  pereptuating  among  us  the  custom  of  court  terms, 
which  still  generally  prevails,  and  which  originated  centuries 
before  in  England,  under  widely  different  conditions,  when 
the  sovereign,  with  a  retinue,  passed  frorh  county  to  county 
to  dispense  justice  to  his  subjects.  This  persistent  survival 
of  institutions,  long  after  the  conditions  in  which  they  had 
their  origin  seem  almost  entirely  obliterated,  is  one  of  the 
most  suggestive  phenomena  of  civilization.  The  president 
and  associate  judges  in  their  respective  counties,  anv  three  of 
whom  formed  a  quorum,  had  common  law  and  chancery  juris- 
diction. 

Although  rude  surroundings  characterized  the  inauguration 
of  the  first  tribunals  pro-\'ided  for  the  administration  of  jus- 
tice in  Montgomery  county,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the 
law?  themselves,  and  the  methods  of  procedure,  were  in  like 


DARKE   COUNTY  451 

manner  riidimental.  On  the  contrary,  the  estalilishment  of 
regular  tribunals  to  hear  and  determine  matters  in  dispute, 
had  been  from  time  immemorial  characteristic  of  all  phases  of 
ci\-ilization.  The  first  step,  indeed,  in  the  advance  of  man- 
kind from  a  sa\age  to  a  civilized  state,  is  the  substitution  of 
the  principles  of  justice  for  the  use  of  force,  in  the  adjustment 
of  human  controversies.  Among  the  enumerated  objects  for 
which  the  federal  government  itself  had  been  organized  but  a 
few  years  before,  the  second  in  importance  was  declared  to  be 
"to  establish  justice." 

The  principles  of  the  English  common  law  constituted  a 
well  defined  system  long  before  the  colonization  or  even  the 
discovery  of  the  American  continent,  and  manj'  of  the  pro- 
visions of  the  great  character  of  English  libertv.  forced  from 
King  John  by  the  barons  at  Runnymede  in  1215,  were  trans- 
planted to  American  soil  from  England  and  nurtured  by  our 
forefathers  until  they  bore  fruit  in  the  Declaration  of  Amer- 
ican Independence  and  the  ordainment  of  our  splendid  system 
of  American  written  constitutions. 

But  long  before  Runnymede,  or  even  the  conquest  of  Eng- 
land by  William  of  Normandy,  back  in  the  sixth  century,  a 
celebrated  Roman  emperor,  named  Justinian,  the  son  of  an 
illiterate  savage,  descended  from  one  of  the  conquered  tribes 
that  had  yielded  reluctant  obedience  to  the  yoke  of  imperial 
Rome,  at  the  instance  of  the  David  Dudley  Fields,  Judge  Dil- 
lons and  other  learned  jurists  of  his  day,  had  ordered  a  com- 
mission, composed  of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  of  the  age,  to 
codify  the  existing  common  and  statute  laws  of  the  expiring 
empire. 

The  immense  body  of  jurisprudence,  wiiich  had  resulted 
from  the  varied  conditions  of  that  wonderful  people  through 
the  experiences  of  a  thousand  years,  commencing  with  the 
twelve  tables  of  the  Decemvirs,  and  including  the  successive 
revisions  that  had  been  made  from  time  to  time  embraced  a 
monstrous  and  unwieldy  mass,  corresponding  to  our  elemen- 
tary, statute,  common  law,  and  court  decisions.  This  vast 
aggregate  was  again  revised,  condensed  and  classified  into 
what  are  known  to  the  profession  as  "the  code,  Pandects  and 
Institutes  of  Justinian." 

A  historical  sycophancy  has  thus  ascribed  immortal  honor 
to  a  titled  monarch  of  ordinary  capacity  and  gross  passions 
which  the  world  wiJl  forever  owe  to  a  bod)'  of  illustrious 
lawyers  ("most  of  whose  names  are  long  since  forgotten),  with 


452  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  celebrated  Tribonian  at  their  head,  who,  by  the  diligent 
labor  of  years,  achieved  this  mighty  work,  and  rescued  from 
the  debris  of  a  perishing  empire  what  is  known  as  "the  civil 
law,"  the  priceless  legac}'  of  the  dying  mistress  of  nations 
to  the  modern  world. 

This  "civil  law,"  together  with  what  is  known  as  the  com- 
mon law  of  England,  established  in  the  colonies  by  legisla- 
tive enactment,  or  custom,  being  those  principles,  rules  of 
action,  and  usages  applicable  to  the  government  and  security 
of  person  and  property,  constituted  the  basis  of  American  jur- 
isprudence as  it  existed  when  the  first  courts  were  organized 
and  held  in  ^Montgomery  county  in  the  year  1803,  in  the  upper 
room  of  the  log  tavern  of  George  Newcom,  in  the  infant  town 
of  Dayton,  Ohio. 

The  adjoining  country  was  an  almost  unbroken  wilderness. 
The  clearings  were  few  and  far  between.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  even  tradition  has  not  been  transmitted  to  us  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  occasion  of  the  early  holding  of  court  in  Dayton. 
There  must  have  been  several  chairs  for  the  judges  and  law- 
yers, whose  duty  required  them  to  be  present  and  a  table  of 
some  sort  upon  which  a  record  of  the  proceedings  could  be 
written.  The  clerk  of  court  doubtless  provided  himself  with 
sheets  of  foolscap  paper  purchaseable  at  Cincinnati  to  keep 
minutes  upon.  Seats  for  spectators  were  probably  provided 
on  benches  made  of  huge  slabs  or  puncheons.  There  was 
no  formidable  array  of  statutes  or  books ;  such  as  were  abso- 
lutely necessary  were  brought  in  the  saddle  bag  of  the  pre- 
siding judge. 

The  conditions  of  the  infancy  of  an  American  frontier  com- 
munity in  the  beginning  of  this  century  were'  vastly  different 
from  those  existing  now.  Then  emigrants  came  singly  or  in 
very  small  parties,  by  slow  and  toilsome  journeyings,  either 
in  rude  boats  upon  the  streams,  or  on  foot,  with  animals, 
through  a  tangled  wilderness,  infested  with  wild  beasts  and 
inhabited  by  savage  Indians.  They  came,  bringing  with  them 
but  few  of  the  comforts  or  conveniences  of  the  older  settle- 
ments, prepared  to  encounter  all  sorts  of  dangers  and  priva- 
tions, until  their  own  patient  labor  should  supply  them  in 
their  new  homes.  None  but  the  more  courageous,  frugal  and 
hardy  would  venture  upon  an  enterprise  so  daring.  Few  ex- 
pected that  even  during  their  own  lives  they  would  reap  the 
reward  of  their  toils,  but  were  cheered  by  the  hope  that  to 
their  children  and  their  children's  children  would  come  bless- 


DARKE  COUNTY  453 

ing  and  abundance  out  of  their  labor  and  privations.  The  in- 
stinct of  self-preservation  inspired  a  willingness  to  assist  each 
other,  and  their  simple  acquisitions  were  scarcely  of  sufficient 
value  to  supply  a  temptation  to  transgress  the  tenth  .com- 
mandment. Under  such  circumstances,  there  was  but  little 
of  course  to  submit  to  the-adjudication  of  judicial  tribunals — 
still  the  courts  were  regularly  held,  as  prescribed  by  law,  and 
as  immigration  increased,  subsistence  became  less  precarious, 
property  rights  and  land  boundaries  more  important  and  spe- 
cifically defined,  traffic  grew  more  active,  and  as  a  necessary 
result  of  these  better  conditions,  sources  of  litigation  also  in- 
creased. 

One  of  the  most  ancient  memorials  relating  to  civil  or  crim- 
inal procedure  in  Darke  county  is  the  judgment  of  Enos 
Terry,  rendered  as  a  justice  of  the  peace,  against  a  stray  negro, 
who  was  arrested,  arraigned  and  tried  before  him  for  stealing 
a  brass  watch  from  a  soldier  of  the  Greenville  garrison  in 
1812.  On  the  conviction  of  the  negro,  a  sentence  was  pro- 
nounced by  Terry  unknown  to  the  books,  and  not  set  down 
or  nominated  in  the  statutes.  The  negro  was  required  to  sub- 
mit to  one  of  two  penalties  at  his  own  option.  Either  to  bear 
the  infliction  of  the  Mosaic  lashes,  save  one,  or  be  stripped 
stark  naked  and  climb  a  thorn  honey  locust  before  Terry's 
door.  Abe  Scribner,  who  was  present  when  the  trial  came 
of?  and  sentence  was  pronounced,  made  a  lifelong  enemy  of 
Terry  by  suggesting  to  him  that  his  two  daughters  (one  of 
whom  afterwards  married  John  Mooney,  and  the  other  Bill 
Scott)  in  case  the  negro  chose  to  climb  the  thorn,  should  as- 
sist him  up  the  locust. 

Subsequently,  John  Purviance,  David  Briggs  and  Terry 
were  justices  of  the  peace  of  Greenville  township,  which,  as 
yet,  was  co-extensive  with  the  entire  county,  no  other  di- 
visions being  made  until  after  the  organization  of  the  county, 
pursuant  to  an  act  of  the  general  assembly  of  December  14, 
1816.  .\t  a  later  period,  Samuel  McClure,  who  lived  on 
Whitewater,  and  Jacob  Carlaugh,  who  resided  at  Stillwater, 
were  commissioned  justices. 

To  pursue  the  civil  history  of  the  township  of  Greenville 
whilst  it  embraced  the  entire  county  and  remained  as  a  mere 
appanage  of  Miami  county,  and  to  know  who  were  trustees 
or  constables,  would  but  little  interest  the  reader  of  these 
pages,  and  for  that  reason  the  further  reference  to  that  matter 
is  omitted.     But  it  may  as  well  be  stated  here  as  elsewhere. 


454  DARKE   COUNTY 

that  from  the  first  setting-up  of  a  civil  policy  in  Greenville 
township,  when  it  was  co-exterisive  with  the  county,  until  a 
county  organization  took  place  under  the  act  of  December, 
1816,  no  dismemberment  took  place,  and  until  a  cutting-up 
under  the  authority  created  and  set  in  motion  by  that  act,  it 
remained  entire.  On  perfecting  the  new  county  organization, 
its  dimensions  were  considerably  reduced,  and  subsequent 
changes  in  its  limits  were  made  from  time  to  time  until  1828, 
since  which  time  its  boundaries  have  been  unchanged. 

Between  the  signing  of  the  treaty  of  1814  and  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county  in  the  spring  of  1817,  under  the  law  of  the 
preceding  winter,  the  emigration  to  the  township,  as  well  as 
to  the  residue  of  the  county,  had  increased  the  population 
more  than  three-fold. 

The  lots  in  the  town  of  Greenville  were  yet  the  joint 
property  so  far  as  the  legal  title  was  concerned,  of  John  Devor 
and  the  heirs  of  the  deceased  Mrs.  Armstrong;  prior  to  her 
death,  contracts  for  several  of  them  had  been  made  with  par- 
ties wlio  had  paid  for  and  were  li\-ing  on  them,  but  as  yet  had 
no  paper  title.  Devor,  soon  after  the  treaty,  moved  up  to 
Greenville  from  ^Montgomery  county  ;  he  had  now  purchased 
two  additional  sections,  twelve  hundred  and  eighty  acres  or 
more  of  land,  part  near  to  and  other  portions  more  remote 
from  Greenville,  and  for  the  advancement  of  the  town  it  was 
necessary  not  only  to  perfect  to  the  purchasers  the  title  of  the 
lots  already  bargained,  but  to  dispose  of  the  residue,  as  well 
as  secure  to  the  county  the  title  of  the  one-third  given  as  an 
inducement  to  secure  the  location  of  the  county  seat. 

Legal  proceedings  to  accomplish  the  desired  ends  were  in- 
stituted in  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  ]\Iiami  county,  to 
which  Darke,  not  yet  organized,  was  attached.  Under  these 
proceedings  the  selection  of  the  lots  for'  Darke  county  was 
made,  decrees  for  title  of  those  contracted  away  taken,  and 
the  proper  convej^ances  executed  and  an  appraisal  of  the  resi- 
due of  the  lots :  as  well  as  adjacent  lands  of  the  half  section, 
was  made,  and  a  sale  by  the  sheriff  of  Miami  county  ordered. 
A  public  sale  by  the  sheriiT  was  had  at  Greenville'on  the  11th 
day  of  June,  1816,  when  more  than  fifty  lots  were  sold  to 
purchasers  on  the  usual  terms  of  partition  sales,  part  cash 
and  part  in  deferred  installments.  One  tract  of  the  adjoining 
land  was  sold,  but  the  residue,  some  two  hundred  acres,  was 
bid  in  by  Devor  to  pre\'ent  what  he  considered  a  sacrifice,  anc? 


DARKE   COLTXTY  455 

.some  years  afterwards  became  the  subject  of  another  suit  in 
partition  in  the  cotirt  of  Darke  county. 

The  organization  of  the  county,  under  the  act  of  December 
14,  1816,  may  in  some  particulars  be  said  to  have  a  place  in 
the  annals  of  the  town  and  township  of  Greenville,  and  of 
some  of  those  particulars  only  will  mention  here  be  made. 
The  same  general  assembly  that  passed  that  act,  elected 
Joseph  H.  Crane,  president  judge  of  the  first  judicial  circuit, 
a  position  for  which  he  was  eminently  fitted,  and  worthily 
adorned  until  his  election  to  congress  in  October,  1826 :  and 
also  elected  John  Purviance,  Enos  Terry  and  James  Rush  as- 
sociate judges  of  the  court  of  comm.on  pleas  of  Darke  county. 
The  appointment  of  clerk  of  that  court,  and  of  the  county 
recorder,  devolved  upon  the  court.  It  was  intended  that 
Beers  should  be  chosen  to  the  first  of  these  positions,  but  he 
wanted  a  few  weeks'  residence  of  the  prescribed  time  to  ren- 
der him  eligible,  and  Linus  Rascom  was  chosen  as  clerk  pro 
tem ;  until  a  subsequent  term,  and  before  that  subsequent 
term  intervened  Beers  had  "lost  his  grip"  and  Eastin  [Morris 
was  duly  chosen  to  that  office  for  the  term  of  seven  years.  The 
associate  judges  had  met  in  special  term  to  appoint  a  county 
recorder.  There  were  two  candidates,  James  Montgomery  and 
Abraham  Scribner.  Montgomerj-  was  a  fair  penman  and 
Scribner's  chirography  was,  in  after  years,  apth-  compared,  by 
David  Morris,  to  a  furrow  drawn  bv  a  shovel  plow  through  a 
newly  cleared  field  of  beech  land.  The  judges  were  at  a  stand, 
and  appointed  a  committee  of  two  to  report  to  an  adjourned 
session  on  the  qualifications  of  the  candidates.  Neither  me.n- 
ber  of  the  committee  could  have  claimed  "benefit  of  clergy," 
if  his  neck  had  been  in  jeopardy,  for  neither  could  read  nor 
write  a  word,  Scribner  made  so  much  sport  of  the  appoint- 
ment, that  at  the  adjourned  session,  the  court,  to  stop  his 
mouth,  gave  him  the  appointment,  which  he  held  until  his 
resignation  in  1822,  and  during  his  whole  term,  not  a  single 
word  was  ever  written  by  him  in  the  books  of  his  ofifice,  the 
entire  clerical  labor  being  performed  by  Dr,  Briggs  and  Eastin 
Morris. 

The  board  of  county  commissioners  selected  Beers  as  their 
clerk,  which  position  he  held  until  the  legislature  created  the 
office  of  county  auditor  in  1821  or  1822.  It  may  as  well  be 
stated  here  that  in  1829,  upon  the  death  of  David  Morris, 
Beers  obtained  the  office  of  clerk,  which  he  held  until  1850, 
when  he  was  chosen  president  judge  of  tlie  first  circuit,  which 


456  DARKE   COUNTY 

he  held  until  he  was  superseded  under  the  new  dispensation 
brought  in  by  the  constitution  of  1851.  He  also  held  for  a 
number  of  years  the  position  of  prosecuting  attorney  and  jus- 
tice of  the  peace.  He  was  a  sound  and  an  able  lawyer,  re- 
garded as  an  oracle  in  legal  matters  by  all  his  acquaintances 
yet  he  never  appeared  to  advantage  as  an  advocate  before  a 
jury,  nor  in  an  argument  to  a  court.  His  decease  occurred 
about  1862. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  the  county,  the  commission- 
ers took  measures  for  the  erection  of  a  jail,  and  one  of  very 
humble  character  was  erected  on  the  north  part  of  the  public 
square,  not  more  than  thirty  feet  from  the  north  corner  of 
the  cit\"  hall.  It  was  constructed  with  two  apartments 'each 
about  fifteen  feet  square,  the  outside  walls  made  of  two  thick- 
ness of  sound  timber,  hewed  one  foot  square,  set  on  a  double 
platform  on  the  ground,  of  the  same  material,  and  overlaid  by 
another  of  the  same  character  upon  which  the  roof  was 
raised  ;  the  apartments  were  separated  by  a  partition  similar 
to  the  walls.  To  one  apartment  was  a  door,  andone  window 
about  two  feet  square;  in  the  partition  was  another  door  lead- 
ing to  the  other  apartment,  which  had  no  other  opening, 
either  door  or  window.  A\'hen  it  had  inmates  in  cold  v^'eather, 
the  outer  room  was  warmed  by  a  kettle  of  charcoal,  the 
fumes  of  which  escaped  through  the  window  and  crevices 
between  the  logs  of  walls  and  ceiling. 

One  of  the  timbers  forming  the  floor  was  once  cut  in  two, 
being  severed  by  an  auger  furnished  to  a  prisoner  through  the 
window  by  a  friend  outside ;  the  piece  thus  cut  off  was  pushed 
from  under  the  wall,  and  the  party  confined  escaped.  The 
jiece  of  timber  was  replaced  and  fastened,  but  some  years 
later  was,  by  a  prisoner,  loosened  and  removed,  but  in  en- 
deavoring to  escape  he  got  wedged  fast  in  the  opening,  and 
could  neither  get  out  nor  get  back.  The  sheriff  found  him  in 
the  morning  and  with  some  eftort  released  him  from  what  was 
close  confinement.  This  structure  was  burned  down  by  an 
incendiary  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  Alay  2,  1827.  It 
was  erected  by  Alatthias  Dean  at  a  cost  of  about  $200.00  in 
coimty  orders  that  would  then  bring  them  only  about  sixty 
per  cent,  of  their  face  in  money.  In  1827-28,  a  new  structure 
for  a  jail  and  jailer's  residence  of  brick  was  erected  on  the  lot 
occupied  by  the  new  building  of  Matchett,  AA'^ilson  &  Hart. 
This  was  a  less  secure  building  than  the  old  log  jail.  A'ery 
shortly  after  it  was  completed  a  noted  thief  named  Jonathan 


DARKE   COUNTY  457 

I'.ayles,  who  had  been  committed  for  horse-stealing,  got  out  of 
it  so  rpysteriously  that  the  jailer,  William  Rush,  was  indicted 
and  tried  for  aiding  his  escape;  the  jury  before  whom  he  was 
on  trial,  after  the  case  was  le.'t  to  them,  deliberated  for  sixt)' 
hours  without  meat  or  drink  (it  was  not  then  allowed  to  feed 
a  jury  at  the  expense  of  the  county),  and  being  unable  to 
agree,  were  with  the  assent  of  the  defendant,  discharged,  and 
before  another  term  came  on,  the  statement  of  Bayles,  who 
had  been  arrested  and  committed  at  Fort  Wayne  for  other 
offenses,  explained  the  manner  of  his  escape,  and  so  com- 
pletely satisfied  every  one  that  Rush  had  no  hand  in  it  that 
the  prosecuting  attorney  entered  a  nolle. 

It  may  as  well  be  stated  here  that  this  second  jail  was  de- 
molished about  1840,  on  the  erection  of  another  on  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  same  lot,  that  is  now  superseded  by  the 
fourth  jail  of  Darke  couunt}'.  About  a  year  after  letting  the 
contract  for  the  first  jail,  John  and  James  Craig  erected  the 
first  court  house  of  the  county,  a  frame  structure  of  two  stor- 
ies, about  twenty-two  by  twenty-eight  feet,  the  upper  story 
of  which  was  reached  by  a  stairway  from  the  court  room  which 
occupied  all  the  lower  story  and  was  divided  into  a  clerk's  office 
and  jury  room.  If  two  juries  were  in  deliberation  at  once,  as 
was  sometimes  the  case,  the  second  was  sent  to  some  private 
house.  This  building  was  erected  on  the  south  part  of  the 
public  square,  diagonally  across  Broadway  and  Main  street 
from  the  old  log  jail.  In  it  courts  were  held  until  the  summer 
of  1834,  when  it  was  removed,  and  with  alterations  and  addi- 
tions, was  converted  first  into  a  dwelling  house,  and  lastly  to 
a  whisky  saloon  on  Third  street,  southwest  of  and  next  to 
Odd  Fellows  hall. 

The  second  court  house,  built  by  James  Craig,  who  has 
been  named  as  one  of  the  builders  of  the  first,  was  located  in 
the  center  of  the  public  square.  Craig  took  the  contract  at 
so  low  a  figure  that  he  lost  from  $1,500  to  $2,000  in  his  un- 
dertaking. On  the  erection  of  the  present  court  house,  the 
second  one  was  demolished  to  make  room  for  the  city  hall,  a 
building  that  neither  f^or  convenience  nor  as  an  ornament  is 
any  improvefhent  upon  the  old  structure.  It  mav  also,  in 
this  connection,  be  noted  that  no  place  of  business  was  pro- 
vided for  any  county  officer,  save  the  clerk,  until  the  erection 
of  the  second  court  house,  and  in  that  for  only  part  of  them^ 
The  auditor,  recorder,  treasurer,  tax  collector  and  sheriff  each 
had  to  furnish  his  own  quarters,  at  his  own  expense.     The 


458  DARKE   COUNTY 

commissioners  first  quartered  themselves  on  their  clerk,  after- 
ward, when  the  office  of  auditor  was  provided  for,  on  him. 
It  may  further  be  stated  here,  that  from  1822  to  1826,  the  po- 
sition of  collector  of  the  tax  was  sold  at  public  auction  to  the 
highest  bidder.    This  statement  requires  an  explanation. 

County  orders  were  at  a  discount  in  these  years  of  from 
thirty-seven  and  one-half  to  sixty-two  and  one-half  per  cent., 
the  treasury  generally  being  without  funds,  they  could  alone 
be  passed  at  their  face  to  the  collector  in  payment  of  the 
county  taxes  levied  on  chattel  property ;  ior  the  tax  denomi- 
nated the  state  tax,  cash  or  coined  money,  or  what  was  its 
equivalent,  notes  of  the  bank  of  the  United  States,  was  re- 
quired ;  yet  in  the  annual  settlement,  a  proportion  of  the  land 
tax  was  set  off  to  the  county,  and  this  proportion  the  collector 
could  discharge  by  turning  over  to  the  county  treasurer  the 
orders  at  their  face  \'alue,  which  he  had  bought  at  thirty-five 
to  sixty-five  cents  on  the  dollar.  This  chance  of  making  a 
little  money  enabled  the  collector  to  give  a  bonus  for  the 
office.  For  several  years,  county  orders  were  a  special  cur- 
rency of  inferior  value.  If  you  wanted  to  buy  a  horse  or  a 
cow,  ten  bushels  of  wheat  or  forty  acres  of  land,  the  price  was 
named  as  so  much  in  cash,  or  a  different  value  in  county 
orders. 

In  1823,  this  state  of  things  opened  the  door  for  a  transaction 
that  gave  rise  to  much  excitement,  ill-blood  and  evil  speaking, 
that  for  several  years  laid  on  the  shelf  a  hitherto  popular  man, 
then  in  place  as  public  officer,  although  in  after  years  he  was 
acquitted  b)'  the  people  of  blame  in  the  matter,  save  negli- 
gence of  duty,  the  fraud  mixed  up  with  it  being  laid  to  other 
account. 

On  the  annual  settlement  with  the  countv  treasurer,  the 
county  orders  redeemed  by  him  were  delivered  to  the  com- 
missioners and  auditor,  and  he  was  credited  therefor,  and  the 
law  then  required  that  they  should  be  burned  in  the  presence 
of  those  officials.  No  schedule  of  their  number,  amount  or 
payee  was  made  or  kept,  but  only  the  aggregate  to  be  inserted 
in  the  credit  to  the  treasurer ;  at  the  settlement  of  the  year 
mentioned,  when  the  bundle  of  orders  were  turned  over  there 
was  no  fire  handy  to  carry  out  the  behest  of  the  law,  and  fric- 
tion matches  had  not  yet  been  seen  or  known.  The  bundle 
was  left  in  the  auditor's  care,  who  was  to  fulfill  the  omitted 
duty  when  he  had  a  fire  or  lighted  candle  in  his  office,  and 
nothing  more  was  thought  of  it. 


DARKE   COUNTY  459 

Some  months  afterwards,  several  of  these  orders,  distinctly 
lemembered  by  the  treasurer,  collector  and  commissioners  to 
be  of  those  previously  redeemed,  were  found  in  circulation. 
How  they  again  got  out  was  never  definitely  proved  or 
known,  nor  was  it  ever  ascertained  what  amount  had  been 
fraudulently  reissued.  Xo  accurate  investigation  ever  took 
place,  for  the  system  of  keeping  books  then  in  vogue  in  Darke 
county  afforded  no  means  of  making  an  accurate  investiga- 
tion. Some  of  the  orders  were  tracked  very  near,  but  not 
quite  to  the  auditor.  That  officer  was  many  years  later  placed 
in  a  position  of  trust,  in  which  his  securities  paid  hea\ily  for  . 
his  default.  His  name  is  omitted,  and  the  matter,  only  re- 
membered after  a  lapse  of  nearly  four  score  years  by  less  than 
a  dozen  persons  now  living,  is  only  adverted  to  here,  because 
in  the  ensuing  session  of  the  general  assembly,  it  gave  rise 
to  an  enactment,  ever  since  in  force,  that  on  the  redemption 
of  a  county  order,  the  treasurer  should  either  plainly  write  or 
print  across  the  face  of  it  "redeemed,"  with  the  date  of  its 
redemption  and  subscribe  to  the  statement  his  name  officially. 
It  may  as  well  be  further  stated  here  that  one  of  those  sure- 
ties, by  reason  of  public  sympathy  for  his  loss,  was  some  years 
after  chosen  to  the  same  position  of  trust  to  which  his  busi- 
ness attainments  was  not  equal,  and  he  had  to  entrust  his 
duties  to  subordinates  whose  rascality  in  turn  made  him  a 
public  defaulter,  and  he  was  sued  on  his  bond.  It  is  not  an 
agreeable  duty  to  the  writer  to  narrate  some  of  these  oc- 
curences, but  truth  requires  that  historv  record  facts,  even  if 
they  are  unpleasant. 

It  is  alwaj's  of  interest  to  peruse  the  first  records  of  any 
association  or  corporation,  as  by  them  we  are  enabled  to  learn 
the  ability  and  character  of  the  men  chosen  to  lead  in  civil 
affairs  and  b}'  comparison  with  the  acts  of  later  year,  form 
an  estimate  of  the  growth  of  improvements,  increased  wealth, 
and,  in  some  instances,  disproportionate  cost.  These  retro- 
spective pages  are  generally  favorable  to  the  pioneers  since 
they  seem  to  have  acted  with  decision,  economy  and  prudence. 
To  this  end,  we  copy  verbatim  the  record  of  the  first  session 
of  the  court  of  common  pleas  for  this  county : 

"Darke  county  organized  !March  1,  1817.  Court  of  common 
pleas  of  Darke  county,  aforesaid,  March  15,  1817.  Before  ses- 
sion, to  appoint  a  clerk  pro  tem.  and  recorder,  Enos  Terry, 
John  Purviance  and  James  Rush,  Esquires,  associate  judges, 
as  appears  by  their  commissions.     John  Beers  was  appointed 


460  DARKE   COUNTY 

clerk  pro  tern.,  to  give  bond  7th  of  April  next.  The  appoint- 
ment of  recorder  was  postponed  till  7th  of  April  next.  Court 
adjourned  until  April  7,  to  meet  at  the  home  of  Aloses  Scott, 
at  Greenville.     Signed,  Enos  Terry."' 

These  few  lines,  brief  as  they  are,  present  the  minutes,  in 
full,  of  the  first  special  term,  and  are  a  marked  contrast,  in 
simplicity,  with  the  verbiage  of  later  special  terms. 

The  next  session  was  held,  pursuant  to  adjuurnnieut,  as 
shown  by  the  following  complete  transcript  of  the  proceed- 
ings : 

"Common  pleas  met  agreeable  to  adjournment.  The  same 
judges  as  on  the  15th  of  March  last.  John  Beers  resigned 
his  appointment  of  clerk  pro  tempore  and  Linus  Bascom  was 
appointed  clerk  pro  tempore,  in  his  room.  Abraham  Scribner 
appointed  recorder.  Court  adjourned  without  day.  Signed, 
Enos  Terry." 

The  first  regular  term  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  was  in 
June,  1817.  Joseph  H.  Crane,  of  Dayton,  was  the  first  presid- 
ing judge,  with  the  associates  above  named.  They  all  pro- 
duced commissions,  signed  by  Thomas  \\'orthington.  gover- 
nor of  Ohio,  and  at  once  entered  upon  the  performance  of 
their  duties.  The  records  show  no  grand  jury  in  attendance 
at  this  first  term,  for  the  good  reason,  as  the  minutes  show, 
that  there  was  "no  sherifl",  coroner  or  other  officer  qualified 
to  ser\e  and  return  process,"  and  that  there  had  been  "no 
venire  facias  for  a  grand  jury  served  and  returned."  These 
facts  having  been  officially  made  known  to  the  court,  it  was 
"ordered  that  a  venire  facias  issue,  directed  to  Moses  Scott," 
who  was  especially  authorized  and  empowered  to  serve  and 
return,  commanding  him  to  sunnnon  fifteen  good  and  lawful 
men  o'  the  county,  to  appear  forthwith,  at  our  court  house 
in  Greenville,  to  serve  as  grand  jurors:  upon  which  writ  the 
said  Moses  Scott  returned  that  he  had  summoned  John  \.nr- 
ing,  John  Andrews,  James  Cloyd,  Daniel  Potter.  Robert 
Douglas,  Abraham  Miller,  Filder  G.  Lenham,  Daniel  Holley, 
Joseph  Townsend,  James  Williamson.  John  Rversop,  David 
Rri?gs,  Levi  Elston.  Martin  Ruple  and  Peter  Rush,  who,  be- 
ing chosen  and  sworn  and  charged,  retired  to  their  room. ' 
Few  are  left  who  had  a  personal  acquaintance  with  these  men  : 
and  they,  the  first  Darke  county  grand  jurymen  ever  impan- 
eled, have  long  since  passed  away.  The  latest  survivor  was 
James  Clovd,  who  was  a  resident  of  German  townshin.  and 
died  at  a  ripe  old  age,  a  few  years  before  the  civil  war. 


DARKE   COUNTY  461 

On  June  3,  1817,  the  court  appointed  Henry  Bacon,  of  Day- 
ton, to  act  as  prosecutor,  on  behalf  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  for 
the  county  of  Darke,  until  the  further  order  of  the  court 
thereon.  The  grand  jury  found  several  indictments  at  this 
term.  Among  others,  there  was  one  against  Robert  Hood,  for 
"selling  whisky  to  the  Indians."  Another  indictment  was 
found  against  William  R.  Jones,  for  assault  and  battery,  it 
being  alleged  and  proved  that  he  had  flogged  an  eavesdropper 
for  peeping  through  the  cracks  of  the  log  cabin  at  the  grand 
jury,  while  they  were  holding  their  session.  The  constable 
was  convicted  and  fined  $8  and  costs.  This  may  have  been 
right,  but  the  fellow  deserved  what  he  got,  and  the  constable 
was  not  wanting  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty.  His  ignorance 
of  legal  technicalities  and  his  zeal  outran  his  discretion,  and 
his  punishment  by  fine  and  dismissal  was  severe. 

The  various  defendants  to  several  indictments  found  were 
duly  arraigned,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  entered  a  plea  of 
"not  guilty."  Matters  were  now  brought  to  a  dead  halt,  as  a 
reference  to  the  record  showed  "no  persons  returned  to  serve 
as  petit  jurors."  Acting  Sheriff  Scott  was,  therefore,  at  once 
ordered  to  "summon  twelve  good  and  lawful  men  of  said 
county  to  serve  as  petit  jurors,"  upon  which  writ  the  said 
Moses  Scott  returned  that  he  had  summoned  Charles  Sump- 
tion, John  McFarlin.  James  Williamson,  John  Break,  Charles 
Reed,  Jacob  Aliller,  William  Alontgomery,  Robert  Mclntyre, 
James  Perry,  Aaron  Dean,  Alexander  Smith  and  Zachariah 
Hole."  Of  these,  the  first  petit  jury  ever  impaneled  in  Darke 
county,  none  were  known  to  be  living  in  1880.  The  last  sur- 
vivor, so  far  as  ascertained,  was  John  McFarlin,  of  the  town- 
ship of  Jackson.  At  the  close  of  this  term,  the  following 
entry  was  placed  on  record:  "The  court  allows  Henry  Bacon, 
prosecutor  for  Darke  county,  $10  for  services  at  this  term." 

On  the  second  Monday  of  August,  181,7,  Moses  Scott  pre- 
sented his  commission  from  the  governor,  as  sherifif,  and  gave 
a  bond  of  $4,000.  On  the  same  day,  William  Montgomery 
presented  his  commission  as  coroner,  and  gave  a  bond  for 
$2,000.  There  were  two  courts  a  year.  Each  term  lasted  but 
one  or  two  days.  It  took  a  ride  over  nearly  the  entire  count}' 
to  summons  men  enough  to  make  up  the  two  juries.  The 
grand  jury  rarely  sat  more  than  one  day.  Services  were  paid 
for  in  county  orders,  which  were  current  in  exchanges,  at 
about  fifty  cents  cash  on  the  dollar,  as  there  was  no  money  in 
treasury.    The  allowance  to  each  grand  juror  was  seventv-five 


462  DAKKi;  cuuN  rv 

cents  per  day;  the  petit  juror  was  paid  but  half  a  dollar,  but 
received  this  on  each  trial,  and  this  was  paid  by  the  winning 
party. 

The  first  court  had  been  held  in  the  bar  room  of  Azor  Scrib- 
ner  and  as  was  just  and  fair,  the  second  was  appointed  for  the 
14th  of  November,  1817,  in  the  bar  room  of  Scott's  Tavern. 
The  first  case  called  was  an  action  for  debt,  in  which  Anthony 
Ricard  appeared  as  defendant.  The  clerk's  fees  were  $2.50, 
those  of  the  sheriff  were  ?1.17  and  of  the  attorney  $5,  making 
a  total  of  $8.67.  At  this  time,  William,  son  of  Moses  Scott, 
had  been  elected  sheriff.  The  tavern  in  those  days  was  the 
place  for  assembly  to  exchange  items  of  news,  join  in  a  so- 
ciable glass  and  partake  perhaps  of  the  plain  but  abundant 
fare  offered. 

The  event  of  a  court  was  a  noveltv.  and  a  number  of  the 
settlers  gathered  about  and  curiously  observed  the  proceed- 
ings. A  panel  of  grand  jurors,  among  whom  was  John  S. 
Hiller,  was  sworn  in,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  received  the 
charge  from  Judge  Crane,  then  on  the  circuit.  General  James 
Mills  was  foreman,  and  the  party  was  conducted  to  Azor  Scrib- 
ner's  bar  room,  and  duly  furnished  by  the  hospitable  inn- 
keeper with  a  bottle  of  good  whisky  and  a  pitcher  of  water. 
Soon  a  man  was  admitted  who  testified  that  he  had  been  as- 
saulted, wounded,  beat  and  otherwise  ill-treated.  On  his  re- 
tirement, another  entered,  who  witnessed  that  his  predecessor 
before  the  jury  had  committed  a  like  offense  upon  him.  The 
case  was  by  no  means  a  clear  one.  The  foreman  was  about  to 
take  the  sense  of  the  jury,  when  he  announced  that  "it  had 
been-rulable  in  Butler  county,  where  he  came  from,  to  require 
the  youngest  juryman  to  vote  first."  This  chanced  to  be 
Hiller,  who  naturally  entered  an  objection,  saying  that  as 
this  was  his  first  experience  on  a  jury,  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
forward  in  giving  an  opinion.  The  bottle  was  then  brought 
into  requisition,  and  after  disposing  of  the  liquor  to  general 
satisfaction,  the  case  was  formally  decided.  At  the  close  of 
the  day,  the  jury  was  discharged  and  court  adjourned  sine 
die. 

Seven  years  later  Rush  and  Terrv  were  reappointed  asso- 
ciate justices  and  John  Briggs  added  to  take  the  place  of  John 
Purviance.  Two  years  later  in  1826  David  Purviance  was 
added  to  fill  a  vacancy  and  the  following  year  George  Adams 
was  appointed.  Adams  had  been  a  drummer  boy  in  the  Revo- 
lution and  served  with  Harmar,  being  badlv  wounded  in  the 


DARKE   COUMTV 


463 


latter's  defeat.  His  life  was  despaired  of,  and  on  the  retreat 
of  the  army  to  Fort  Washington,  he  was  carried  on  a  litter 
between  two  horses  to  Cincinnati,  although  on  the  way  a 
grave  was  dug  for  him  three  evenings  in  succession.  Adams 
recovered  sufficiently  to  join  St.  Clair's  army  and  was  one  of 
those  fortunate  enough  ro  escape  massacre  at  Fort  Recovery. 
Adams  was  also  a  spy  under  Wayne  in  1794,  was  a  major  of 
the  Ohio  militia  in  the  war  of  1812  and  commandant  of  Fort 
Greenville.  Later  he  erected  a  mill  in  Adams  township  and 
was  one  of  the  most  prominent  persons  in  the  early  history 
of  Darke  county.  Major  Adams  lies  buried  in  the  Martin 
cemetery  near  Greenville  and  in  his  grave  are  doubtless  a 
number  of  bullets  which  the  surgical  skill  of  those  days  could 
not  remove. 

In  1831  the  legislature  reappointed  James  Rush  an  asso- 
ciate judge,  from  which  it  would  appear  that  he  must  have 
served  in  that  capacity  more  than  fourteen  years.  Xo  further 
record  of  the  early  justices  was  found  until  1840,  when 
George  Adams,  Jr.,  James  Hayes  and  Newberry  Yorke  were 
appointed  by  the  legislature.  In  1847  the  appointees  were 
John  Armstrong,  Josiah  D.  Farrer  and  Thomas  C.  Brawley. 
The  last  appointment  for  this  county  was  Judson  Jacqua  in 
1851. 

We  have  now  given  the  names  of  all  the  associate  judges 
appointed  from  Darke  coimty,  who  served  as  advisors  to  the 
respective  president  judges  from  1817  to  1850.  We  have  no 
means  of  knowing  at  this  date  to  what  extent  these  men  in- 
fluenced the  decisions  of  the  court.  They  were  not  men 
learned  in  the  law  and  we  presume  the  main  burden  rested 
upon  the  president  judge. 

As  stated  on  preceding  pages,  in  the  account  of  the  first 
court  the  first  president  judge  was  Joseph  H.  Crane,  who  was 
elected  January  18,  1813,  and  whose  associates  were  John  Pur- 
viance,  James  Rush  and  Enos  Terry.  Judge  Crane  was  at 
that  time  regarded  as  the  father  of  the  Montgomery  county 
bar,  not  only  for  his  age,  but  for  his  ripe  and  profound  learn- 
ing in  his  profession.  Outside  of  mere  professional  and  tech- 
nical learning,  he  was  a  man  of  wide  and  varied  reading,  and 
prodigious  memory,  especially  familiar  with  English  history 
and  the  English  classics  and  poets.  Judge  Crane  came  from  a 
family  identified  with  the  heroic  struggle  for  American  inde- 
pendence. From  1813  to  1816  Crane  acted  as  prosecuting  at- 
torney for  ^Montgomery  county  and  was  elected  to  the  judge- 


464  DARKE   COUNTY 

ship  in  1817  when  Darke  county  was  organized.  In  this  ca- 
pacity he  rendered  valuable  and  satisfactory  service  until  the 
year  1828,  when  he  was  elected  to  congress,  where  he  served 
eight  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  period  he  withdrew 
from  public  life  and  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession  in 
Dayton.  Judge  Crane  was  regarded  as  the  best  type  of  the 
early  American  lawyer  and  left  an  indelible  impression  upon 
the  tone  of  the  bar,  which  has  been  perpetuated,  it  may  be 
truthfully  said,  to  a  large  extent  through  its  membership  down 
to  the  present  hour. 

The  next  judge  to  hold  court  here  was  George  B.  Holt, 
whose  term  of  office  began  in  1829.  Judge  Holt  was  a  native 
of  Connecticut,  where  he  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  and 
came  to  Dayton  in  1819.  He  served  acceptably  his  first  seven 
years  term  on  the  bench  up  to  1836,  and  afterwards  in  1842 
to  1843,  and  was  again  elected  judge  the  last  term  expiring  in 
1849.  In  1850  Holt  and  C.  L.  \'alandigham  were  rival  candi- 
dates for  the  state  convention,  called  to  adopt  a  new  state 
constitution  for  Ohio.  After  his  election  Judge  Holt  took 
part  in  the  labor  of  the  constitutional  convention,  which  was 
composed  of  many  of  the  ablest  men  of  the  state.  Later  he 
retired  from  active  professional  and  political  life,  was  a  strong 
supporter  of  the  union  during  the  rebellion  and  died  at  Day- 
ton at  the  age  of  eighty-two. 

The  next  president  judge  to  hold  court  with  Darke  county 
associate  judges  was  William  L.  Helfenstein,  who  served  from 
1836  up  to  1842  when  Judge  Holt  again  resumed  the  bench,  as 
heretofore  stated. 

John  Beers  of  Darke  county  was  then  presiding  judge  for  a 
short  time  and  was  succeeded  by  Ralph  S.  Hart. 

The  constitution  of  1851  contained  the  following  provisions 
by  which  the  state  was  permanently  subdivided  into  common 
pleas  districts,  and  these  again  di\ided  into  three  subdistricts 
each,  and  the  election  of  the  judges  of  these  courts  vested  in 
the  people  of  the  subdivision  instead  of  in  the  general  assem- 
bly as  heretofore. 

"Article  4,  Section  3.  The  state  shall  be  divided  into  nine 
common  pleas  districts,  of  which  the  countv  of  Hamilton  shall 
constitute  one.  of  compact  territory,  and  bounded  bv  county 
lines,  and  each  of  said  districts,  consisting  of  three  or  more 
counties,  shall  be  divided  into  three  parts  of  compact  terri- 
tory :  and  bounded  by  county  lines,  and  as  nearlv  equal  in 
population  as  practicable,  in  each  of  which  one  judge  of  the 


DARKE   COUXTY  465 

court  of  ccmmon  pleas  for  said  district,  and  residing  therein, 
shall  be  elected  by  the  electors  of  said  subdivision.  Courts  of 
common  pleas  shall  be  held  by  one  or  more  of  these  judges  in 
every  county  in  the  district,  as  often  as  may  be  provided  by 
law  :  and  more  than  one  court,  or  sitting  thereof,  may  be  held 
at  the  same  time  in  each  district. 

"Article  4,  Section  4.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  of 
common  pleas,  and  of  the  judges  thereof,  shall  be  fixed  by 
law." 

Under  this  new  arrangement  three  judges  of  a  district  to- 
gether constituted  a  district  court,  they  succeeded  to  the  func- 
tions of  the  old  supreme  court  in  their  respective  counties,  and 
the  new  common  pleas  court  succeeded  to  the  old  common 
pleas  court  except  in  probate  jurisdiction,  for  which  probate 
judges  were  provided  to  be  elected,  one  in  each  county. 

In  1852  an  act  of  the  legislature  divided  the  state  into  five 
circuits  for  the  district  court  and  a  judge  of  the  supreme 
court  was  required  to  preside,  and  the  district  court  was  made 
a  court  of  appeals  from  the  common  pleas  court.  This  prac- 
tice continued  until  the  supreme  judges  were  relieved  of  this 
duty  in  1865,  after  which  the  common  pleas  judges  of  the  dis- 
trict court  were  authorized  to  consider  appeals  from  their  own 
judges.  This  undesirable  condition  of  things  was  removed  in 
October,  1883,  by  the  adoption  of  an  amendment  to  the  con- 
stitution, authorizing  the  creation  of  a  circuit  court  and  abol- 
ishing the  district  court  but  leaving  the  common  pleas  judges 
and  courts  undisturbed. 

The  first  election  for  judge  under  the  new  constitution  was 
held  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  October,  1851.  The  term  of 
the  old  judge  having  been  extended  to  the  second  Monday  of 
February,  1852,  the  new  judges  began  their  term  of  office  at 
that  time.  Butler.  Preble  and  Darke  formed  the  first  sub- 
division of  the  second  district.  .Subsequent  judges  other  than 
citizens  of  Darke  county  were  Abner  Haynes,  James  Clark. 
^^'illiam  J.  Gilmore,  Alex.  F.  Hume  and  Ichabod  Corwin. 

^\'illiam  M.  ^^^ilson,  lawyer,  judge  and  legislator,  w^as  born 
near  Mifflin,  Juaniata  count}',  Pennsylvania,  March  11,  1808, 
and  died  in  Greenville,  Ohio.  June  IS,  1864.  His  parents  were 
Thomas  Wilson  and  Jane  Martin  and  in  1811  they  came  to 
Ohio,  passed  about  a  year  in  Fairfield  county  and  in  1812 
settled  in  Butler  county  where  Mr.  Wilson  was  reared.  He 
was  educated  in  IMiami  University,  at  Oxford,  Ohio,  studied 
'aw  with  the  late  Hon.  Jesse  Corwin,  of  Hamilton,  Ohio,  was 
(30) 


466  DARKE   COUNTY 

admitted  to  the  bar  in  1832  and  tiien  began  practice  in  that 
place.  In  the  fall  of  1835  he  located  in  Greenville  and  at  once 
took  a  leading  position  as  lawyer.  For  a  number  of  years 
he  served  as  prosecuting  attorney  of  Darke  county.  On 
September  19,  1837,  he  married  Miss  Louise  Dorsey,  of  Green- 
ville, Ohio.  She  was  born  in  Butler  county,  April  23,  1815, 
and  died  August  2,  1856.  In  December,  1837,  he  started  the 
Darke  County  Advocate,  which,  with  a  change  of  name,  is  now 
the  Greenville  Journal.  In  October,  1840,  he  was  elected 
auditor  of  Darke  county  and  was  twice  re-elected,  thus  serving 
six  years.  In  the  fall  of  1846  he  was  elected  to  the  Ohio  Sen- 
ate from  the  district  composed  of  the  counties  of  Darke, 
Miami,  Mercer  and  Shelby  and  held  the  seat  two  years,  during 
which  time  he  rose  to  very  prominent  position  in  that  body  and 
came  within  one  vote  of  being  elected  state  auditor,  ha-ving 
already  gained  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  effi- 
cient county  auditors  in  the  state.  This  one  lacking  vote  he 
could  have  supplied  by  voting  for  himself,  a  thing  which  his 
manly  modesty  forbade.  In  the  fall  of  1856  he  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Chase  as  common  pleas  judge  of  the  first  sub- 
division of  the  second  judicial  district  of  Ohio  to  fill  a  va- 
caiicy.  His  decisions  were  distinguished  for  great  research  and 
c'lbility.  Reing  too  eld  to  enter  the  service  during  the  war  for 
the  union  he  was,  nevertheless,  as  member  of  the  military  com- 
mittee of  his  district,  an  active  and  earnest  supporter  o'  gov- 
ernment. He  stood  for  many  years  at  the  head  of  the  Green- 
ville bar,  and  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  jurists  in  Ohio, 
and  by  his  moral  worth  gave  a  higher  character  to  the  profes- 
sion. He  was  a  man  of  unusually  quiet  and  retiring:  disposi- 
ticm:  his  wrirds  were  few,  but  well  chosen,  and  his  sarcasm 
and  repartee  were  like  a  flash  of  lightning  on  an  opponent.  At 
the  same  time  he  bore  a  heart  of  the  warmest  and  tenderest 
sympathies.  For  a  number  of  years  he  held  the  office  of 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  Greenville.  He  lived  and 
died  an  honest,  upright  man,  in  whom,  as  friend,  neighbor 
and  citizen,  the  community  had  the  fullest  confidence. 

In  1861  David  L.  Meeker  was  elected  common  pitas  judge 
of  this  district  but  resigned  in  1866.  Upon  the  resignation  of 
Judge  Meeker,  in  January,  1866,  he  was  succeeded  by  \\'m. 
Allen. 

William  Allen  was  born  in  Butler  county,  Ohio,  August 
13,  1827.  His  father,  John  Allen,  was  born  in  Ireland,  and 
emigrated  to  America  in  1812;  after  residing  six  years  in  the 


DARKE   COUNTY  467 

State  of  New  York,  he  moved  to  Butler  county,  Ohio,  in  1818; 
he  moved  his  family  into  the  woods  of  Darke  county,  in  1838, 
his  dwelling  being  a  log  cabin  with  puncheon  floors  and  a 
mud  and  stick  chimney :  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  was 
a  preacher  in  the  United  Brethren  church.  Our  subject  was 
favored  with  no  educational  advantages,  except  those  af- 
forded by  the  common  schools  of  the  day,  yet  by  making 
most  of  these,  he  was  able  to  teach  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and 
for  several  years  followed  that  vocation ;  at  the  age  of  nine- 
teen, he  commenced  the  study  of  law,  under  the  late  Felix 
March,  of  Eaton,  Ohio ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1849,  and  in 
the  same  year  commenced  practice  in  Greenville;  in  1850  he 
was  elected  Prosecuting  Attorney  of  Darke  county,  and  re- 
elected in  1852 ;  in  the  fall  of  1858  he  was  elected  to  congress, 
from  the  Fourth  District,  comprising  the  counties  of  Darke, 
Shelby,  Mercer,  Auglaize  and  Allen,  and  re-elected  in  1860, 
tlius  serving  in  the  Thirty-sixth  and  Thirty-seventh  Congress ; 
in  the  winter  of  1865  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Cox 
as  judge  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  of  the  first  subdivi- 
sion of  the  second  judicial  district  of  Ohio,  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Butler,  Darke  and  Preble,  to  fill  a  vacancy  made  by 
the  resignation  of  Judge  D.  L.  ]\Ieeker ;  in  1878.  Judge  Allen 
was  nominated  for  Congress,  by  the  Republicans  of  the 
fifth  district,  but  he  declined.  In  1851  he  married  Miss 
Priscilla'  Wallace,  whose  father  settled  in  Darke  county  in 
1834;  the  issue  of  this  marriage  was  four  sons  and  four 
daughters,  of  w^hom  only  one  son  survives.  Four  of  his  chil- 
dren died  with  diphtheria  under  the  most  affecting  circum- 
stances, in  the  space  of  as  many  weeks ;  this  was  in  the  winter 
of  1861,  when  he  was  summoned  from  Washington  City  to  a 
despoiled  home.  Mr.  Allen,  although  he  had  risen  from  poverty 
to  affluence  by  his  own  unaided  exertions,  was  one  of  the 
most  charitable  of  our  citizens  and  his  integrity  has  never 
lieen  questioned  ;  his  positive  character  while  he  won  friends 
true  as  steel,  also  made  enemies,  but  even  his  enemies  con- 
ceded to  him  great  ability  and  unflinching  honesty  of  purpose; 
he  was  rice-president  of  the  Greenville  Bank,  and  died  presi- 
dent of  the  Greenville  Gas  Company. 

From  Alay,  1868,  to  October,  1872,  the  common  pleas  judge 
for  this  sub-division  was  John  C.  McKemy.  He  was  a  son 
of  William  and  Elizabeth  fKirkpatrick)  McKemy,  the  Mc- 
Kemys  being  Irish  and  the  Kirkpatricks.  Scotch.  Judge 
McKemv    was    reared    on    his    father's    farm    in    Rockbridge 


468  DARKE   COUNTY 

county,  Virginia,  recei\ing  such  education  as  was  afforded  in 
that  country  at  that  time.  Coming  to  Darke  county,  before 
the  Civil  War,  he  lived  near  Wiley  Station  and  was  a  mer- 
chant before  he  took  up  the  practice  of  law.  He  removed 
to  Greenville,  in  1865,  and  began  practicing  law.  just  prior  to 
being  elected  probate  judge,  in  which  capacity  he  served 
from  February,  1867,  until  he  took  his  seat  on  the  common 
pleas  bench,  in  May,  1868.  Judge  McKemy  was  a  man  of 
bright,  active  mind,  resourceful,  very  ambitious,  of  genial  dis- 
position, and  popular  manners.  Resigning  before  the  end 
of  his  term,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession,  in 
Dayton,  and  later  moved  to  Hamilton,  Ohio,  to  practice  law, 
where  he  continued  until  his  decease  in  1889. 

Upon  the  resignation  of  Judge  McKemy,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  David  L.  Meeker,  who  was  appointed  by  Gover- 
nor Noyes  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Judge  Meeker  was  born  in 
Darke  county,  Ohio,  on  the  18th  day  of  July,  1827,  a  son  of 
David  M.  and  Nancy  Ann  (Miller)  Meeker;  the  former  a 
native  of  Newark,  New  Jersey,  came  to  Ohio  in  1802  when 
about  ten  years  of  age.  Upon  his  father's  farm  Judge  Meeker 
spent  his  boyhood,  becoming  familiar  with  all  of  the 
hard  work  and  discomfort  of  clearing  the  land  and  culticat- 
ing  the  soil  when  the  financial  reward  of  agriculture  was 
scarcely  greater  than  the  advantages  offered  for  education. 
The  privations  of  pioneer  life  were  more  than  offset  by  the 
helpfulness  of  neighbors  and  the  genuine,  unpretentious  hospi- 
tality characteristic  of  the  occupants  of  log  cabins  in  pioneer 
times.  After  teaching  district  school  for  several  winters, 
he  read  law  with  the  late  Judge  Ebenezer  Parsons,  of  Mi- 
ami county,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1851,  opening  an 
office  in  Greenville  in  May  1853.  He  was  elected  prosecu- 
ting attorney  in  1856  and  re-elected  two  years  later,  serving 
four  years.  His  preference  for  the  practice  of  law  rather 
than  the  duties  of  public  ofifice  was  so  pronounced  that  he 
yielded  reluctantly  to  the  solicitation  of  friends  to  accept 
even  the  judgeship.  As  hereinbefore  stated,  he  served  four 
years  as  common  pleas  judge  from   1862  to   1866. 

His  appointement  by  Governor  Noyes,  for  the  unexpired 
portion  of  the  term  to  which  Judge  McKemy  had  been 
elected,  was  on  the  unanimous  recommendation  and  petition 
of  the  bar  in  every  county  of  the  judicial  district.  Judge 
Meeker's  service  on  the  bench  was  so  acceptable  to  all  the 
people  that  he  was  chosen  at  the  next  election  for  the  post- 


DARKE   COUNTV  469 

tioii  without  opposition.  Both  of  the  leading  political  par- 
ties nominated  him,  and  the  members  of  the  bar  without 
dissent  recommended  his  election.  After  this  he  was  re- 
elected for  two  terms  and  declined  a  third  because  of  fail- 
ing health.  Judge  Meeker  filled  a  place  in  the  history  of 
this  judicial  district  that  is  creditable  to  himself  and  honor- 
able to  the  profession.  A  judge  for  a  period  of  almost  twenty- 
one  years,  he  retired  from  the  bench  with  the  highest  re- 
spect of  the  profession  and  admiration  of  the  public.  He  was 
always  a  close  student  and  when  in  practice  was  known  as 
a  hard  working  lawyer,  and  likewise  a  successful  one.  His 
greatest  reputation,  however,  will  rest  on  his  work  as  a 
judge.  In  his  decisions  he  was  almost  unerring.  He  pos- 
sessed what  is  termed  a  legal  mind ;  understood  thoroughly 
the  principles  of  the  law  ;  was  painstaking  in  his  investiga- 
tions and  accurate  in  his  decisions.  One  of  the  sources  of 
his  popularity  was  undoubtedly  his  unassuming  manners, 
unfeigned  cordiality  and  readiness  to  help  his  fellow  men. 

Judge  Meeker  died  suddenly,  September  5,  1896,  at  his 
home  in  Greenville,  and  the  tributes  to  his  character  and 
worthiness,  expressed  in  a  memorial  meeting  of  the  bar,  and 
ill  the  funeral  services,  were  hearty  and  sincere. 

Upon  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  Judge  Meeker  he  was 
succeeded,  in  1883,  by  John  W.  Sater,  who  as  Judge  Clark 
said  was  the  bull  dog  of  the  bar.  He  was  born  on  Juh'  9, 
1839,  in  Maryland.  He  was  large,  well  formed,  weighed 
over  200  pounds,  with  light  complexion  and  dark  hair,  be- 
ing always  a  good  dresser. 

Judge  Sater  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  by  the 
supreme  court  of  Ohio  in  December  1862,  a'ter  having  served 
in  the  Civil  War,  and  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Green- 
ville, in  January,  1863.  He  served  one  term  as  prosecuting 
attorney  of  the  county  and  was  a  good  pleader  and  most 
thorough  in  the  preparation  of  his  causes.  He  was  connect- 
ed with  many  of  the  most  important  cases,  tried  at  the  bar, 
while  he  was  in  practice.  John  W.  Sater  was  judge  of  the 
court  of  common  pleas  of  the  first  sub-division  of  the  second 
judicial  district  of  Ohio,  for  five  years,  ending  May  1888.  In 
those  days  there  were  few  court  stenographers  and  the  only 
way  to  preserve  testimony  was  by  memory  or  for  the 
lawyers  and  the  court  to  take  notice  of  the  testimony  of  the 
witnesses.  Judge  Sater  always  took  full  notes  of  the  testi- 
mony.    J.  W.   Sater,  it  is  written   "while  on  the  bench,  had 


470  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  well  desemed  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  most  able 
judges  who  ever  held  court  in  this  district."  He  died  March 
22,  1897. 

Upon  the  completion  ol"  another  term  of  five  years  of  Judge 
Meeker  in  Jilay  1893,  he  was  succeeded  by  John  C.  Clark, 
whose  term  of  service  was  for  five  years  until  May  1898.  Mr. 
Clark  was  born  in  a  log  cabin  in  Washington  township,  Darke 
county,  on  the  17th  of  January,  1849,  a  son  of  Benjamin  H.  and 
Mary  (Alartin)  Clark.  His  father  was  of  English  and  Ger- 
man e.xtraction  and  his  mother  was  of  German  and  Irish 
lineage.  Upon  the  family  homestead  John  C.  Clark  was  rear- 
ed, working  in  the  fields  through  the  summer  months  while 
in  the  winter,  until  eighteen  years  of  age,  he  pursued  such 
studies  as  formed  the  curriculum  in  the  district  school  o-  the 
neighborhood..  Early  becoming  imbued  with  a  desire  to  make 
the  practice  of  law  his  life  work,  he  began  reading  law  with 
Judge  A.  R.  Calderwood  and  H.  M.  Cole  in  October  1875. 
At  the  time  Mr.  Clark  was  a  student,  Ed.  Breaden  was  also 
reading  law  in  the  same  office,  and  in  1878  these  two  young 
men  commenced  the  practice  of  law  together,  under  the  firm 
name  of  Breaden  &  Clark.  The  partnership  was  dissolved 
three  years  later  and  in  1885  Mr.  Clark  formed  a  law  partner- 
ship with  General  Anderson  and  Mr.  Chenoweth  and  their 
practice  was  very  remunerative.  From  January,  1881,  for  a 
period  of  five  years.  Judge  Clark  served  Darke  county  as 
prosecuting  attorney. 

On  the  bench  Judge  Clark  was  most  fair  and  impartial  in 
his  rulings  and  his  decisions  were  models  of  judicial  sound- 
ness. /\t  a  bar  banquet  held  at  the  Turpen  house  on  January 
9,  1909,  Judge  Clark  delivered  an  interesting  toast  "Reminis- 
censes,''  wherein  he  spoke  O''  the  many  attorneys  with  and 
against  whom  he  had  practiced  law  during  a  period  of  thirty- 
five  years.  Judge  Clark  died  June  23,  1912,  commanding  that 
uniform  regard  which  is  evervwhere  given  to  true  worth  of 
character. 

The  judicial  district  having  been  changed  and  there  now  be- 
ing a  republican  majority,  Henry  M.  Cole  was  elected  in  1897 
for  a  term  of  five  years  and  began  his  service  in  May,  1898. 
Henr}-  M.  Cole  was  born  upon  a  farm  in  this  county  in  March. 
1845,  a  son  of  Samuel  Cole,  who  was  born  in  Washington 
township,  Darke  county  on  the  old  family  homestead,  in  1821. 
Not  content  to  follow  the  plow,  his  preference  being  for  pro- 
fessional life,  he  read  law  under  the  direction  of  the  firm  of 


DARKE   COUNTY  471 

Knox  &  Sater  of  Greenville  and  later  attended  the  law  school 
in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class 
of  1869.  During  the  first  eleven  years  in  the  profession,  he 
practiced  in  partnership  with  Judge  A.  R.  Calderwood. 
During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  had  manifested  his  loyalty 
to  his  country  by  enlisting  in  an  Ohio  regiment,  in  which  he 
served  faithfully  and  well  until  the  close  of  hostilities  when 
he  was  honorably  discharged. 

While  practicing  at  the  bar  Judge  Cole  applied  himself  dil- 
igently to  the  preparation  and  trial  of  cases  and  to  the  hand- 
ling of  the  legal  matters  entrusted  to  his  care.  Judge  Cole 
attended  to  his  judicial  duties  with  careful  attention  to  de- 
tails and  a  disregard  for  self,  seeming  to  be  animated  only  by 
a  desire  to  discharge  his  duty  with  fairness  and  impartiality. 
Judge  Cole  died  February  16.  1909,  universally  esteemed. 

Judge  Cole  was  succeeded  in  1903  by  James  I.  Allread  who 
has  long  figured  prominently  in  connection  with  political  and 
professional  interests  in  Darke  county  and  whose  reputation 
and  acquaintance  are  by  no  means  limited  to  the  confines  of 
the  county.  He  was  born  upon  his  father's  farm  in  Twin 
township  in  September.  18.^8:  his  paternal  great-grandfather 
being  one  ot'  the  heroes  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  who  under 
command  of  General  Wayne  aided  the  colonists  in  their  strug- 
gle for  independence.  James  I.  Allread  spent  his  boyhood 
days  upon  the  home  farm  in  Twin  township  and  continued  his 
education  in  Greenville  under  the  instruction  of  Prof.  J.  T. 
Alartz  and  Professor  Seitz.  At  nineteen  years  of  age  he 
began  reading  law  in  the  ffice  and  under  the  direction  cf  ^^'il- 
liam  Allen  of  Greenville,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  before  the 
supreme  court  in  October,  1880.  He  then  established  an  office 
in  Greenville,  where  he  practiced  for  a  period  of  over  twenty 
consecutive  years  with  the  exception  of  a  short  inter^-al  dur- 
ing which  he  served  as  judge  of  the  circuit  court,  having  Ijeen 
appointed  by  Governor  McKinley  in  1894  to  fill  out  the  unex- 
pired term  of  Judge  Shauck,  who  was  advanced  to  a  seat  on 
the  supreme  bench  of  this  state. 

When  the  term  was  ended  Mr.  Allread  resumed  the  private 
practice  of  the  law  as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Allread,  Tee- 
garden  it  Harrison  and  was  connected  with  important  litiga- 
tion in  all  of  the  courts,  local,  state  and  federal.  In  1898  he 
was  a  member  of  the  republican  state  executive  committee 
and  his  labors  were  effective  in  promoting  the  success  of  his 


472  DARKE   CCU^'TY 

party,  and  in  1901  he  was  chief  clerk  in  the  department  of 
state  of  Columbus. 

Judge  Allread  occupied  the  bench  .'or  five  years  until  1909 
and  was  generally  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  judges  in 
the  second  district  being  elected  in  1908  to  the  circuit  bench 
for  a  period  of  six  years,  and  was  a  republican  nominee  for 
election  to  the  supreme  court  of  Ohio  in  1912. 

The  judge  of  the  common  pleas  court  since  January  1,  1909, 
is  William  W.  Teegarden,  who  was  born  in  July,  1862  and  is 
a  representative  of  one  of  the  oldest  pioneer  families  of  Darke 
county.  The  family  history  in  this  country  antedates  the 
period  of  the  American  Revolution,  the  place  of  original  set- 
tlement being  in  southwestern  Pennsylvania.  Judge  Tee- 
garden  was  born  in  Brown  township,  where  he  remained  un- 
til he  was  eighteen  years  of  age  and  assisted  in  the  work  of 
the  farm.  After  acquiring  sufficient  education  to  obtain  a 
county  teachers"  certificate,  he  gained  his  first  experience  as 
a  teacher  in  his  home  district  at  W'oodington.  \\'orking  his 
way  rapidly  to  the  front  of  the  profession,  he  acquired  suffi- 
cient means  to  enable  him  to  spend  part  of  two  years  as  a  stu- 
dent in  the  Northwestern  Ohio  Normal  University  at  Ada, 
Ohio.  While  teaching  he  began  the  study  of  law  under  the 
direction  of  the  firm  of  Knox,  Martz  &  Rupe,  of  Greenville, 
Ohio,  and  in  June,  1893,  passed  a  successful  examination  be- 
fore the  supreme  court  at  Columbus  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  He  removed  to  Greenville  in  the  autumn  of  that  year 
and  began  to  practice  at  his  chosen  profession  in  partnership 
with  D.  \\'.  Younker.  This  business  connection  continued 
until  Februar}-.  1896,  when  it  was  dissolved  and  Mr.  Teegar- 
den associated  himself  with  Judge  J.  I.  Allread.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  city  board  of  school  examiners  and  as  a  repub- 
lican has  always  been  activel}'  identified  wtih  the  interests  ot 
his  party,  which  he  has  served  in  various  capacities.  Since 
his  elevation  to  the  bench  in  1909,  Judge  Teegarden  has  ably 
upheld  the  dignity  of  the  bench  and  has  been  painstaking  and 
conscientious  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  to  the  state.  He 
has  been  careful  and  accurate  in  his  application  of  law  prin- 
ciples to  the  points  in  litigation  and  his  efforts  have  met  with 
the. approval  of  the  bar  and  the  people. 

Under  the  new  constitution  of  1912  the  judges  of  the  courl 
of  common  pleas  shall,  while  in  office,  reside  in  the  couuntv 
for  which  they  are  elected:  and  their  term  of  office  shall  be 
for  six  vears. 


DARKE   COUNTY  473 

It  is  said  that  popular  electiuns,  short  terms,  and  small  sal- 
aries are  sufficient  to  lower  the  character  of  the  judiciary. 
Popular  elections  throw  the  choice  into  the  hands  of  political 
parties,  that  is  to  say  of  knots  of  wire-pullers  inclined  to  use 
every  office  as  a  means  of  rewarding  political  service,  while 
short  terms  oblige  the  judge  to  remember  in  whose  hands  his 
fortunes  lie,  thus  inducing  timidity  and  discouraging  inde- 
pendence. Small  salaries  prevent  able  men  from  oiteriug 
themselves  for  places,  whose  income  is  less  than  a  leading 
lawyer  can  make  by  private  practice. 

In  fairness  to  the  men  who  have  so  ably  occupied  the  bench 
in  Darke  county,  it  must  be  said  that  none  of  these  causes 
have  operated  to  lower  the  bench  of  this  county  and  that  the 
judiciary  of  Darke  county  compares  favorably  with  any  in  the 
state. 

Quoting  attorney  D.  W.  Bowman  from  a  toast  at  a  bar 
banquet  in  Union  City :  "It  is  possible  to  achieve  the  ideal, 
but  to  do  so,  the  most  commanding  abilities  and  the  most  un- 
sullied private  and  public  character  should  be  demanded  of 
every  man  who  aspires  to  be  a  judge.  Wisdom,  learning,  in- 
tegrity, independence  and  firmness  should  be  the  cardinal  vir- 
tues, and  the  politician,  the  trickster,  the  demagogue,  the  nar- 
row minded  practitioner,  wise  in  his  own  conceit,  should  have 
no  place  on  the  bench.  Men  of  strength,  of  unspotted  lives, 
whom  power  can  not  corrupt,  or  influence  intimate  or  affec- 
tion swerve :  men  of  exalted  ideas  of  duty  and  honor,  and  who 
do  not  run  after  but  whom  the  office  seeks,  are  alone  fit  to  be 
entrusted  with  the  tremendous  power  of  sitting  in  judgment 
upon  the  rights  of  sovereign  states,  and  the  rights  and  liber- 
ties of  the  inhabitants  thereof." 

Probate  Judges. 

Many  people  never  find  it  necessary  to  appear  in  the  com- 
mon pleas  court  either  as  plaintiff  or  defendant  but  there  are 
few  people  who  do  not  at  some  time  in  life  enter  into  close 
relation  with  the  probate  court.  Licenses  to  enter  into  matri- 
mony are  issued  by  this  court,  and  in  the  settlement  of 
estates  this  court  comes  very. near  to  the  people.  Under  the 
constitution  of  the  state  of  Ohio  of  1802,  article  3,  section  5, 
the  court  of  common  pleas,  had  jurisdiction  of  all  probate  and 
testamentary  matters,  granting  administration  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  guardians  but  under  the  constitution  of  1851  the 


474  DARKE   COUNTY 

probate  court  was  created  and  given  jurisdiction  in  probate 
and  testamentary  naatters,  the  appointment  of  administrators 
and  guardians,  the  settlement  of  the  accounts  of  executors  and 
guardians  and  such  jurisdiction  in  habeas  corpus,  the  issuing 
of  marriage  licenses  and  for  the  sale  of  land  by  executors,  ad- 
ministrators and  guardians  as  may  be  provided  by  law. 

The  revised  constitution  of  Ohio  with  amendments  ap- 
proved by  the  people  September  3,  1912,  provides  for  the  con- 
tinuance in  each  county  of  a  probate  court,  which  shall  be  a 
court  of  record,  open  at  all  times,  and  holden  by  one  judge, 
elected  by  the  electors  of  the  county,  who  shall  hold  his  office 
for  the  term  of  four  years. 

The  first  probate  judge  of  Darke  county  was  John  W'harry, 
born  in  Pennsylvania,  1809,  and  coming  to  Greenville  at  the 
age  of  fifteen  years.  After  clerking  for  several  years  in  a  store 
he  assisted  at  the  work  of  surveying  and  by  personal  applica- 
tion, he  obtained  sufficient  knowledge  to  become  a  practical 
surveyor.  He  engaged  in  this  business  from  1831  to  1831 
during  most  of  which  time  he  filled  the  position  of  county 
surveyor.  In  the  fall  of  1851,  he  was  elected  probate  judge  of 
Darke  county  and  served  three  years,  being  subsequently  ad- 
mitted to  the  practice  of  law.  He  was  one  of  the  best  drafts- 
men in  the  county  and  an  excellent  penman,  and  contributed 
about  forty  pages  of  valuable  historical  matter  to  the  first  his- 
tory of  Darke  county  printed  in  1880,  some  of  which  is  being 
used  in  this  article. 

He  was  succeeded  in  1854  bv  Andrew  Robeson  Calderwood, 
born  in  Montgomerv  county,  November  14,  1818.  He  was 
employed  in  early  life  upon  a  farm,  digging  ditches,  mauling 
rails,  etc.  His  early  education  was  meagre,  but  being  called 
upon  to  serve  as  juror,  he  was  so  inspired  by  the  eloquence 
of  some  of  the  attorneys  in  the  case,  that  he  resolved  to  be- 
come a  lawyer,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1851.  .After 
serving  three  years  as  probate  judge,  he  resumed  the  prac- 
tice of  law  and  later  entered  the  union  army  as  second  lieu- 
tenant, being  later  promoted  to  captain  of  Company  I.  For- 
tieth Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he 
resumed  the  practice  of  law  and  December,  1876,  he  assumed 
editorial  control  of  the  Sunday  Courier,  a  leading  organ  of 
the  Republican  party  of  Darke  county.  He  was  three  times 
elected  mayor  of  Greenville,  and  in  1868,  the  republicans  of 
Darke  county  presented  his  name  in  the  fourth  congressional 
district  of  Ohio,  but  his  competitor  was  nominated  for  con- 


DARKE   COUNTY  475 

gress  by  a  small  majorit}-.  He  had  a  liberal  share  of  the  prac- 
tice in  this  county  and  enjoyed  somewhat  more  than  a  local 
reputation  as  a  criminal  lawyer. 

The  third  Probate  Judge  of  Darke  county  was  D.  H.  R. 
Jobes,  born  in  Montgomery  county,  September  14,  1829.  His 
parents  being  poor,  he  was  early  thrown  upon  his  own  re- 
sources, but  by  faithful  improvement  of  limited  privileges 
obtained  a  good  education  and  for  a  number  of  years  followed 
the  occupation  of  a  teacher.  In  October,  1857,  he  was  elected 
probate  judge  of  Darke  county  and  ^served  until  February, 
1867,  during  which  time  he  devoted  his  spare  time  to  reading 
law  under  the  direction  of  D.  L.  Meeker  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  January,  1867.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  his 
preceptor  and  so  continuued  until  1872.  On  January  1,  1875, 
he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  C.  M.  Anderson,  oi  Green- 
ville, which  was  dissolved  by  the  death  of  ]\Ir.  Jobes,  Janu- 
ary 13,  1877.  On  the  occasion  of  his  funeral,  among  other 
remarks  by  members  of  the  bar,  J.  R.  Knox,  Esq.,  said:  "Dur- 
ing the  nine  years  of  service  as  probate  judge,  I  had  frequent 
occasion  to  appear  before  him  and  obser\'e  his  conduct  in  that 
capacity  and  I  take  pleasure  in  this  solemn  hour  as  1  have 
always  done,  to  say,  that  as  by  law  recognized  next  friend  of 
the  widow  and  guardian  of  the  orphan  the  highest  and  most 
sacred  trust,  which  the  law  imposes  upon  that  officer,  and  in 
the  various  duties  of  his  position,  he  was  a  careful,  impartial 
and  vigilant  accountant,  and  deserving  the  honored  name  of 
a  just  and  upright  judge." 

From.  1867  to  1868  John  C.  McKemy  was  probate  judge, 
serving  until  April,  1868  when  he  resigned  to  take  his  seat  on 
the  common  pleas  bencli.  A  fuller  account  of  him  can  be 
found  on  preceding  pages  under  my  account  of  the  common 
pleas  judges. 

A.  T.  Bodle  was  appointed  to  serve  fmrn  April.  1868  to  No- 
vember of  that  3'ear.  Judge  Bodle  came  to  Darke  county  in 
1845  and  taught  school  for  some  years  afterwards.  He  was  a 
man  of  strong  mind,  a  ripe  scholar,  and  a  good  reasoner.  His 
knowledge  of  the  law  was  fair  and  his  pleadings  generally  pre- 
cise.    He  removed  to  Kansas  in  1884  and  died  there  recently. 

The  next  probate  judge  was  James  T.  Meeker,  who  was 
born  in  Darke  county  in  1831  and  was  a  school  teacher  in  his 
younger  days.  He  read  law,  but  made  no  application  for  ad- 
mission to  the  bar  until  1873,  at  which  time  he  held  the  office 
of  probate  judge.     After  filling  a  part  of  the  term  in  1868  he 


476  DARKE   COUNTY 

was  elected  iOr  a  term  of  three  years  and  then  re-elected, 
serving  until  1876  or  about  seven  years  altogether.  At  the 
completion  of  his  term  he  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  K. 
Riffle,  and  engaged  in  the  active  practice  of  law.  He  was  an 
officer  in  the  Greenville  bank,  a  stockholder  in  the  gas  com- 
pany and  was  for  some  years  a  member  of  the  school  board. 
He  died  September  19,  1881. 

In  1875  Dr.  John  A.  Jobes,  a  republican,  a  brother  of  D.  H. 
R.  Jobes  was  elected  probate  judge.  He  was  born  in  Union, 
Montgomery  county,  Ohio,  April  28,  1828.  He  studied  medi- 
cine in  his  youth  under  Dr.  Curtis  Otwell  and  also  taught 
school.  He  was  a  graduate  of  a  Cincinnati  commercial  col- 
lege, and  was  a  graduate  from  the  Cleveland  Medical  College, 
the  Ohio  Medical  College  of  Cincinnati,  and  Bellevue  Hospital 
Medical  College  of  New  York,  completing  his  course  at  the 
later  college  in  1871.  He  was  a  physician  and  a  surgeon  in 
the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry 
and  was  mustered  out  with  the  regiment  in  1864,  whereupon 
he  resumed  the  practice  of  medicine,  which  he  continued  until 
February,  1876,  when  he  was  sworn  in  as  probate  judge.  He 
was  re-elected  in  1878  for  an  additional  term  of  three  years, 
serving  until  1882,  after  which  he  retired  and  later  was  dep- 
uty probate  judge  1900-1903,  under  his  son,  George  A.  Jobes. 
He  died  in  1903,  aged  seventy-five  years. 

Hereupon  a  democrat  was  again  elected.  Judge  Samuel  L. 
Kolp  beginning  his  term  in  February,  1882,  and  serving  for  a 
period  of  six  years.  Judge  Kolp  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in 
1832,  of  German  parentage  and  while  a  young  man  emigrated 
to  Ohio  and  came  to  Yellow  Sprint';s,  Greene  county,  where 
he  followed  his  occupation  of  tailor.  He  removed  later  to 
Miami  county,  thence  to  Darke,  following  the  occupation  of 
farming.  Later  he  removed  to  Greenville  and  resumed  tailor- 
ing until  he  entered  the  office  of  deputy  probate  judge  under 
James  T.  Meeker,  in  which  capacity  he  also  served  until  Dr. 
J.  A.  Jobes  until  he  succeeded  him  in  1882.  During  this  time 
he  was  a  member  of  this  city  school  board  and  later  removed 
to  Union  City,  where  he  died. 

In  1887  Dr.  Lewis  C.  Anderson  was  elected  probate  judge 
and  served  for  a  period  of  six  years.  He  was  born  on  a  farm 
in  Montgomery  county,  moved  to  Ansonia  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-seven, after  having  attended  National  Normal  University 
at  Lebanon,  Ohio.  He  taught  school  several  winters,  then 
took  up  the  study  of  medicine  and  graduated  from  the  Miami 


DARKE   COUNTY  477 

Medical  College  in  the  spring  of  1874  and  pursued  the  prac- 
tice of  medicnie  at  his  home  in  Ansonia  for  fourteen  years. 
Judge  Anderson  served  his  party  as  central  committeeman 
and  on  the  county  executive  committee  during  several  cam- 
paigns. At  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  in  1894  he  took 
up  the  practice  of  medicine  in  the  city  of  Greenville,  enjoying 
a  lucrative  practice  until  his  death  in  July,  1908. 

The  next  incumbent  of  the  office  of  probate  judge  was 
Joseph  AI.  Bickel,  who  was  born  in  Darke  county,  December 
2,  1852.  His  grandfather,  Andrew  Bickel,  was  a  native  of 
Germany,  whence  he  crossed  the  Atlantic  to  the  new  world, 
and  the  father  of  Judge  Bickel,  Tobias  Bickel,  was  born  in 
Pennsylvania  in  1811.  Joseph  M.  Bickel  spent  his  early  days 
on  the  home  farm,  later  attending  the  normal  school  at  Ada, 
where  he  prepared  for  teaching.  From  his  eighteenth  to  his 
thirtieth  year,  he  taught  school  in  Darke  county  and  later 
came  to  Greenville,  reading  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  David  L. 
Meeker,  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1885.  He  entered 
into  partnership  with  Hon.  M.  T.  Allen  and  Judge  James  I. 
Allread,  which  connection  was  continued  until  Mr.  Allen's  re- 
moval to  California,  when  tlie  firm  name  was  changed  to  All- 
read  &  Bickel :  that  partnership  was  continued  until  the  junior 
member  was  elected  probate  judge.  He  proved  a  very  com- 
petent and  reliable  official  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  term  he 
resumed  the  practice  of  law  and  entered  into  a  partnership 
with  Guy  C.  Baker,  under  the  firm  name  of  Bickel  and  Baker. 

The  record  of  Democratic  successes  in  Darke  county  was 
again  broken  in  the  fall  election  of  1899  when  George  A.  Jobes 
was  elected  to  succeed  Judge  Bickel.  George  A.  Jobes  was 
born  at  Palestine,  Darke  county,  Ohio,  and  was  a  son  of  Dr. 
John  A.  Jobes,  who  had  been  probate  judge  from  1876  to  1882. 
He  graduated  from  the  Greenville  high  school  in  June,  1882, 
and  attended  the  Cincinnati  Law  School  graduating  from  that 
institution  in  1887  and  being  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Ohio  in 
the  same  year.  Judge  Jobes  served  only  three  vears,  being 
defeated  in  1902  by  his  former  opponent,  D.  Robeson.  After 
his  retirement.  Judge  Jobes  resumed  the  practice  of  law  for  a 
number  of  years,  but  is  now  traveling  immigration  agent  of 
the  Northern  Pacific  Railway  Co. 

For  a  period  of  six  years  from  February,  1903  to  1909.  Dr. 
Donavan  Robeson  served  as  probate  judge  of  Darke  county  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  people.  His  parents  were  Andrew 
Robeson   and   Elizabeth    (Reed)     Robeson,    who   were    both 


478  DARKE   COUNTY 

reared  in  Darke  county.  Donavan  Robeson's  boyhood  days 
were  occupied  with  limited  schooling  and  unlimited  hard 
work,  but  he  made  the  most  of  the  opportunity  at  hand.  After 
teaching  school  several  years  alternating  as  was  the  custom 
with  farm  work  in  summer,  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine, 
completing  a  course  at  the  Ohio  Medical  College  and  later  a 
year's  study  at  Bellevue  Medical  College,  New  York  City.  In 
May,  1895,  he  removed  his  office  from  Arcanum  to  Green- 
ville and  continued  the  practice  of  medicine  with  Dr.  L.  C. 
Anderson.  Always  an  active  worker  in  the  democratic  party, 
Dr.  Robeson  was  recognized  for  his  party  service  by  election 
to  the  office  of  probate  judge  for  two  full  terms.  His  service 
in  this  office  were  marked  by  firmness  and  courage  to  admin- 
ister the  law  for  the  public  interest  and  welfare. 

The  present  probate  judge  is  James  B.  Kolp,  who  was  born 
in  Greene  county,  Ohio,  September  3,  1857,  removing  a  few 
years  later  with  his  parents  to  Butler  township,  Darke  county. 
At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  was  a  school  teacher,  which  occu- 
pation he  pursued  until  he  entered  the  office  of  his  father,  the 
late  Judge  Samuel  L.  Kolp,  who  had,  as  hereinbe'ore  stated, 
been  elected  probate  judge  in  1881.  He  served  as  a  deputy 
under  his  father  for  six  years  and  later  served  one  year  with 
Judge  Anderson  and  six  years  with  Judge  Robeson,  thus  hav- 
ing thirteen  years'  practical  experience  in  the  office  before  his 
election  as  probate  judge  in  1908.  Judge  Kolp  was  elected  by 
seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-six  majority,  the  largest  ever 
given  a  candidate  for  that  or  any  other  office  in  Darke  county. 
He  was  re-elected  to  succeed  himself  in  1912  and  has  always 
administered  his  office  in  a  fair  and  impartial  manner.  His 
term  will  expire  February  8,  1917. 

In  concluding  this  review  of  the  successive  judges  iif  the 
probate  court  in  Darke  county,  we  have  no  hesitancy  in  say- 
ing that  not  only  has  the  law  governing  decedents  estates  and 
minors  thrown  every  possible  safeguard  about  their  interests, 
but  the  judges  of  Darke  county  have  in  addition  faithfully  and 
impartially  endeavored  to  discharge  their  duties,  "\^'hile  it 
seems  to  be  human  nature  for  heirs  and  distributees  to  believe 
and  sometimes  to  assert  that  someone  else  has  obtained  a 
greater  share  or  been  undulv  favored,  it  is  nevertheless  true 
that  such  charges  are  rarelv.  if  ever,  well  founded. 


DARKE   COUNTY  479 

Federal  Judges. 

One  of  the  most  important  branches  of  our  judiciary  is 
the  bankrupt  court.  Laws  passed  with  a  view  to  distributing 
the  property  of  an  insolvent  equitably  among  his  creditors  and 
free  the  debtor  from  further  obligation  have  been  in  force  in 
England  for  more  than  three  centuries.  They  had  their  origin 
in  the  Roman  law.  In  England  before  1841  only  a  tradesman 
could  be  a  bankrupt.  This  distinction  was  abolished  in  the 
United  States  in  1869.  Bankrupt  laws  were  passed  by  our 
congress  in  1800,  1841  and  in  1867,  but  repealed  after  a  com- 
paratively short  operation. 

The  most  recent  act  to  establish  a  uniform  system  of  bank- 
ruptcy throughout  the  United  States  was  passed  by  Isoth 
houses  of  the  fifty-fifth  congress  and  by  the  approval  of  Pres- 
ident McKinley  became  a  law  in  1898. 

The  oath  of  this  office  is  historic  and  similar  to  that  taken 
by  other  officers  of  the  federal  judiciary  and  is  as  follows: 

"I,  ,  do  solemnly  swear  that  I  will  administer 

justice  without  respect  to  persons,  and  do  equal  justice  to  the 
poor  and  to  the  rich,  and  that  I  will  faithfully  and  impartially 
discharge  and  perform  all  the  duties  incumbent  on  me  as  ref- 
eree in  bankruptcy  according  to  the  best  of  my  abilities  and 
understanding,  agreeably  to  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
United  States.     So  help  me  God." 

Under  an  earlier  law,  John  Devor  was  registrar  in  bank- 
ruptcy from  March,  1867  to  September,  1878  and  Elijah  Devor 
was  his  clerk.  The  incumbent  of  the  position  of  referee  in 
Ijankruptcy  in  this  county  since  1898  is  Elijah  Devor,  who 
was  born  in  Darke  county,  October  16,  1849.  His  father  was 
James  Devor,  one  of  our  early  pioneers  and  his  grandfather 
John  Devor,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  and  came  to  Darke 
county  in  1808.  Elijah  Devor  obtained  a  common  school  edu- 
cation, and  at  nineteen  years  of  age  commenced  the  study  of 
law  with  Allen  and  Devor.  He  attended  the  Cincinnati  law 
school  one  term,  was  graduated  from  the  same  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  April,  1871.  The  next  year  he  was  asso- 
ciated with  M.  T.  Allen  as  a  partner  and  later  practiced  wnth 
.■\.  T.  Bodle.  He  was  treasurer  of  the  Greenville  gas  company, 
1880-1896  and  United  tSates  commissioner,  1880  to  1896. 


480  DARKE   COUNTY 

Prosecuting  Attorneys. 

One  of  the  most  important  officers  under  our  system  of  ad- 
ministering justice  is  the  prosecuting  attorney,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  prosecute  on  behalf  of  the  state  all  complaints,  suits  and 
controversies  in  which  the  state  is  a  party.  There  are  other 
suits,  matters  and  controversies  which  he  is  directed  by  law  to 
prosecute  within  or  without  the  coimty  in  the  probate  court, 
common  pleas  court  and  circuit  court.  Xo  one  is  eligible  as 
,  a  candidate  for  this  office,  who  is  not  an  attorney  and  coun- 
selor at  law,  duty  licensed  to  practice  in  this  state  and  he  shall 
not  be  a  member  of  the  general  assembly  or  mayor  of  any  city 
or  village.  The  chief  interest  of  the  people  in  this  officer  is 
aroused  when  there  is  a  criminal  trial  and  the  matter  of  the 
defendant's  life  and  liberty  is  at  stake. 

Attorne3's  were  appointed  by  the  court  to  prosecute  actions 
in  behalf  of  the  state  in  the  early  days  until  1835 ;  since  then 
they  have  been  elected,  their  term  of  office  being  two  years. 

The  following  list  of  prosecuting  attorneys  for  Darke  county 
is  not  claimed  to  be  complete,  but  it  is  fairly  accurate  so  far 
as  it  goes. 

Mr.  Beers  and  Mr.  Bacon  to  whom  we  have  repeatedly 
referred  were  among  the  prosecutors  prior  to  1830,  also  was 
Henry  Stoddart,  and  as  heretofore  stated  Judge  William  M. 
Wilson  filled  the  same  office  after  starting  in  practice  here  in 

1835  and  until  1830.  John  M.  U.  McXutt  was  the  county 
prosecuting  attorney  for  four  years  until  about  1833,  also 
serving  as   senator  from  this  district    1833-1834.     In   about 

1836  he  was  a  candidate  against  Taylor  Webster  of  Butler 
county  for  Congress,  but  was  defeated.  McNutt  died  when 
quite  a  young  men  about  1840,  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him. 
He  had  white  hair,  was  tall  and  erect,  somewhat  slender,  and 
the  most  perfect  orator  of  the  Eaton  bar  at  that  time. 

The  successful  candidate  in  October,  1840.  was  David  K. 
Swisher,  who  was  born  in  Montgomery  county  in  1818,  and  at 
the  age  of  eleven  years  came  to  Darke  county.  He  received 
part  of  his  education  at  the  old  Studabaker  school,  which  was 
the  nursery  of  some  of  the  most  successful  men  of  later  days. 
After  teaching  school,  he  studied  law  in  the  office  of  Hiram 
Bell  and  was  admitted  to  practice  by  Judges  Wood  and  Hitch- 
cock in  June,  1840.  After  his  election  he  found  that  his  youth, 
inexperience  and  natural  timidity  were  serious  drawbacks, 
but  developed  considerable  zeal  in  seeing  the  laws  carried  out 


DARKE   COUNTY  481 

against  offenders.  He  received  the  nomination  for  second 
term,  but  David  Beers  who  had  just  been  admitted  to  the  bar 
ran  in  the  same  party  as  an  independent  candidate  and  the 
result  was  that  Cyrus  F.  Dempsey  of  the  opposite  party  was 
elected.  Swisher  subsequently  served  for  a  number  of  years 
as  justice  of  the  peace  and  was  also  in  the  mercantile  busi- 
ness. He  wrote  numerous  articles  on  early  history  and  social 
life  among  the  pioneers,  which  were  published  in  the  Green- 
ville Courier,  and  some  of  his  data  is  being  used  in  the  prep- 
aration of  this  article.  His  articles  possessed  considerable 
merit  and  all  should  have  been  preserved  and  published.  Like 
most  men  of  literary  inclinations  he  seems  to  have  been  of  a 
contemplative  rather  than  an  active  disposition. 

Cyrus  F.  Dempsey  was  a  little  red-headed  and  rather  unso- 
cial lawyer  who  settled  here  in  1839  and  as  heretofore  stated, 
defeated  Swisher  and  Beers  in  1842.  He  filled  the  office  of 
prosecuting  attorney  with  fair  ability  and  afterwards  moved 
to  Cincinnati,  where  he  died  about  1856. 

Sometime  in  the  forties  Luther  Mont''ort  came  to  Green- 
ville, after  having  read  law  in  the  office  of  Judge  Haines,  of 
Eaton.  Swisher  writes  of  him  as  follows :  "He  was  a  pretty 
bright  fellow  with  cheek  like  a  brick,  not  very  prepossessing, 
but  full  of  a  rough  kind  o"  eloquence,  a  terror  to  decency,  but 
the  delight  of  the  rabble.  He  got  into  some  practice  and  was 
in  1848  elected  to  the  legislature  and  voted  for  Salmon  P. 
Chase,  later  left  the  country  and  died  in  California. 

The  next  incumbent  was  James  F.  McDowell  and  he  was 
succeeded  by  William  Allen,  who  served  two  terms  from  1850 
to  1854  and  fuller  account  of  whom  appears  under  the  com- 
mon pleas  court. 

Charles  Calkins,  who  was  prosecuting  attcrnev  '"rom  1854  to 
1856,  was  born  in  Pennsylvania  in  1827  and  received  his  early 
education  like  other  bovs  of  the  age  in  an  old  log  school 
house.  At  the  age  of  twenty-one  he  commenced  to  study 
the  law  and  then  proceeded  to  Cuba.  Panama  and  arrived  in 
California  during  the  gold  fever,  ^^'hile  in  California  he  met 
with  success  and  after  eighteen  months  came  east  with  his 
cousin,  A^'ealthy  Jaquay,  with  whom  he  read  law  in  the  offices 
of  A.  R.  Calderwood  and  William  Collins.  Charles  Calkins 
was  reelected  prosecuting  attorney  after  the  Civil  war  and 
served  four  years  until  1870.  While  prosecuting  attorney,  he 
represented  the  state  in  manv  important  criminal  cases  in- 
(31) 


482 


DARKE   COUNTY 


eluding  the  Lecklider  murder  case,  a  case  in  which  a  father 
killed  his  son,  and  the  French  robbery  case. 

Succeeding  Calkins  as  prosecuting  attorney  was  David  L. 
Meeker  who  was  elected  in  1856  and  two  years  later  was  re- 
elected. A  fuller  account  of  Judge  Aleeker  as  well  as  John  ^^'. 
Sater,  who  served  from  1864  to  1866,  can  be  found  under  the 
account  of  the  bench. 

In  the  interim  from  1860  to  1864,  \"al.  E.  ^\'hitmer  was 
prosecuting  attorney. 

As  above  stated  Charles  Calkins  was  prosecuting  attorney 
from  1868  to  1872  and  was  succeeded  by  Charles  Gordon 
Matchett,  who  was  the  son  of  Eric  Matchett  and  Johanna 
Hendrickson,  native  of  New  Jersey,  who  came  to  Butler 
county  in  1820.  Charles  G.  was  born  in  Butler  county  in 
1825  and  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  this  county.  He  entered 
the  service  during  the  Civil  war  as  a  sergeant  and  was  after- 
wards captain  of  Company  G,  Fortieth  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try. He  distinguished  himself  on  the  field  of  battle  and  in 
several  charges  commanded  a  batallion  of  the  regiment.  Be- 
sides being  a  successful  lawyer,  he  was  prosecuting  attorney 
from  1866  to  1868,  and  was  a  Shakespearean  scholar  far  above 
the  average. 

J.  K.  Riffle  was  prosecuting  attorney  from  1872  to  1876, 
and  was  a  son  of  David  Riffle,  one  of  the  early  pioneers.  He 
was  born  in  Darke  county  in  1845,  attended  normal  school  at 
Lebanon,  taught  school,  was  admitted  to  bar  in  1868.  He  re- 
moved to  Kansas  City  and  was  killed  in  a  railroad  wreck  in 
December,  1890. 

Henry  Calkins  was  prosecuting  attorney  two  terms  from 
1877  to  1881.  Like  his  brother  he  was  born  in  Pennsylvania, 
was  a  student  in  Delaware  college  two  years,  afterwards  stud- 
ied medicine  at  Cincinnati.  In  August,  1862,  he  went  out  as 
captain  of  Company  C,  Eighty-seventh  Indiana  Volunteer 
serving  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  He  was  police  judge  of 
Jerseyville,  Illinois,  in  1868  and  came  to  Greenville  in  1874. 
engaging  in  the  law  business  with  his  brother,  Charles.  One 
of  the  most  important  criminal  cases  of  this  county  was  the 
trial  and  conviction  of  Monroe  Roberson  for  the  murder  of 
\\'iley  Coulter.  Crime  has  had  its  votaries  here  as  else- 
where, but  in  no  undue  proportion.  ]\Iurders  have  been  com- 
mitted, and  there  have  been  trials,  convictions  and  escapades, 
but  this  particular  case  becomes  historical  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  the  first  instance  where  the  dread  conclusion  has  been  a 


DARKE   COUNTY  483 

sentence  of  death  on  the  gallows,  which  sentence  was  carried 
out  in  this  county.  The  difficulty  between  the  two  men  that 
led  to  the  murder  occurred  at  Painter  Creek  in  Darke  county, 
a  point  nine  and  one-half  miles  from  Greenville.  Following 
some  hard  language,  Coulter  while  attempting  to  make  his 
escape,  was  pursued  and  fired  upon  by  Roberson.  Three 
several  and  deliberate  shots  were  discharged  and  Coulter  fell 
to  the  ground  mortally  wounded  and  soon  died.  His  allailant 
was  taken  to  Greenville,  tried  at  the  February  term,  1880.  and 
sentenced  to  be  hung  on  July  16  of  the  same  year.  Governor 
Charles  Foster  gave  him  a  respite.  The  doomed  man  was  a 
native  of  Tennessee,  forty-five  years  of  age,  had  served  in  the 
army,  was  a  hard  drinker  and  had  lived  about  twelve  years  in 
the  county.  His  victim  was  his  wife's  brother,  who  lived 
from  childhood  in  the  family,  and  was  at  the  time  of  his  death 
about  twenty-three  years  old.  Prosecuting  Attorney  Henry 
Calkins  was  assisted  by  Messrs.  Anderson,  Allen,  Calderwood 
and  Charles  Calkins.  Roberson  was  hung  on  a  scaffold 
erected  between  the  court  house  and  the  jail  on  Friday, 
August  20,  1880. 

Succeeding  Calkins  as  prosecuting  attornev  in  1880,  came 
John  C.  Clark,  whose  fuller  record  can  be  found  on  preceding 
pages. 

James  Calvin  Elliott  was  next  prosecuting  attornev  for 
Darke  county,  being  elected  in  1885  and  re-elected  for  another 
term  of  the  three  years  in  1888,  thus  serving  until  January  1, 
1892.  Mr.  Elliott  was  born  in  Preble  county,  Ohio,  in  1847, 
of  Scotch-Irish  ancestr^^  He  was  a  student  at  Miami  Univer- 
sity at  Oxford  and  during  the  war  of  rebellion  served  his 
country  in  Company  A,  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-sixth  Ohio 
Volunteer  Infantry.  After  studying  law  and  being  admitted 
to  the  bar  at  Eaton,  in  1870,  he  came  to  Darke  county  four 
years  later,  since  which  time  he  has  been  in  active  practice. 
During  his  term  of  office  he  sent  thirty-five  men  to  the  pen- 
itentiary, including  Chris.  Oelschlaeger,  accused  and  con- 
victed nf  killing  his  mother-in-law,  Charlotte  Leis,  who  re- 
ceived three  fatal  stabs  and  other  wounds.  He  was  assisted 
by  John  W.  Safer,  the  attorneys  for  the  defense  being  An- 
derson &  Bowman. 

The  next  prosecuting  attorney  was  S.  \^al.  Hartman,  son  of 
C.  B.  Hartman,  of  Weaver's  Station.  He  was  born  in  Mont- 
gomery county  in  1864  and  spent  his  youth  in  Neave  town- 
ship and  attended  the  high  school  at  Greenville,  Ohio.     After 


484  DARKE   COUNTY 

teaching  two  years  he  entered  the  National  Xormal  Univer- 
sity at  Lebanon  and  upon  his  return  to  Greenville,  read  law 
with  Judge  J.  M.  Bickel  and  Judge  J.  I.  AUread,  being  ad- 
mitted in  1890.  He  served  for  a  period  of  six  vears  as  prose- 
cuting attorney  until  1898. 

During  part  of  Hartman's  term  he  was  seriously  ill  and 
the  court  appointed  Walter  Scott  Meeker  to  temporarilv  take 
his  place.  ^\^  S.  Meeker,  son  of  Judge  Meeker,  was  born  in 
Greenville,  September  25,  1862,  and  graduated  from  the 
Greenville  high  school  at  the  age  of  twenty ;  studied  law  under 
his  father  and  took  a  full  course  in  the  law  department  of  the 
University  of  Michigan,  graduating  in  1886  with  the  degree  of 
Bachelor  of  Laws.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  the  same  vear 
and  began  practice  in  Greenville.  He  is  now  a  member  of 
the  firm  of  Meeker  &  Gaskill. 

Arthur  L.  Clark  was  the  next  incumbent  of  the  office  under 
consideration  serving  from  1898  to  1904.  He  was  born  near 
Washington,  in  1873  and  attended  the  schools  of  his  native 
city :  being  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1895.  He  was  a  brother  of 
Judge  Clark  with  whom  he  practiced  law  for  a  number  of 
years  until  he  moved  west. 

Clark  was  succeeded  by  Henry  L.  Yount,  who  was  born 
in  Aliami  county  in  April,  1865,  and  has  made  his  way  in  the 
world  since  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  at  which  time  he  was  left 
an  orphan.  He  acquired  a  good  common  school  education 
and  afterwards  worked  as  a  farm  hand  and  attended  district 
school  during  the  winter.  He  prepared  for  teaching  and  at 
the  age  of  twenty  years  entered  upon  that  profession  in  the 
district  school  of  Adams  township,  Darke  county,  Ohio,  where 
he  was  employed  at  intervals  for  seven  years.  He  pursued  a 
special  course  of  study  in  the  Ohio  Normal  L'niversity,  at 
Ada,  Ohio,  received  a  degree  and  during  his  summer  vacations 
conducted  a  teachers'  institute.  He  was  subsequently  presi- 
dent of  the  board  of  teachers'  examiners,  superintendent  of  the 
Bradford  schools,  mayor  of  Bradford  and  deputy  county 
clerk.  Li  the  Ohio  National  Guard  he  rose  from  the  ranks  to 
lieutenant,  later  captain  and  at  the  time  of  his  resignation, 
was  a  major  in  the  Third  Ohio  Infantry.  He  was  prosecut- 
ing attorney  from  1904  to  1909  and  subsequently  served  two 
terms  in  the  Ohio  Senate. 

The  next  prosecuting  attorney  was  John  F.  Maher,  born  in 
Greenville,  June  7,  1876.  His  father,  Patrick  H.  Maher.  was 
born  in  County  Tinnerarv.  Ireland,  and  rame  to  this  county  in 


DARKE   COUNTY  485 

1864.  John  F.  attended  the  public  schools  and  St.  Mary's  In- 
stitute at  Dayton,  graduating  after  taking  a  four-years  course, 
in  June,  1896.  After  returning  to  Greenville  he  secured  a 
position  in  the  old  Greenville  bank  during  which  time  he 
studied  law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  June,  1900.  He 
has  taken  an  active  part  in  politics  and  in  November,  1908,  he 
was  elected  prosecuting  attorney  and  two  }"ears  later  re- 
elected. For  a  period  of  years  county  commissioners  of  this 
county  had  been  suspected  of  irregularities  in  ofifice  and  state 
authorities  in  examining  records  and  vouchers  found  those 
suspicions  well  grounded.  Indictments  were  returned 
against  the  commissioners,  their  clerk,  a  janitor  in  the  court 
house  and  some  contractors,  who  appeared  to  have  been  un- 
duly favored  by  the  commissioners.  One  commissioner  was 
found  guilty  and  was  sentenced  to  the  penitentiary  for  one 
year  and  later  another  was  found  guilty  and  sentenced  for 
three  years.  Others  indicted  were  found  guilty  of  having  is- 
sued false  vouchers  and  of  raising  vouchers,  and  the  case  gave 
Darke  county  an  unenviable  notoriety  over  the  state.  Prose- 
cuting Attorney  Maher  was  assisted  in  the  trial  of  this  case 
by  D.  W.  Bowman,  whose  biography  appears  in  the  other 
volume  of  this  work,  and  by  Adam  H.  Meeker,  oldest  son  of 
James  T.  Meeker,  referred  to  under  the  bench. 

.■\dam  H.  ]\Ieeker  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  Greenville, 
spent  a  year  in  the  literarv  department  of  the  University  of 
^Michigan,  being  admitted  to  the  Greek  letter  fraternity  Delta 
Tau  Delta.  .Subsequently  he  returnd  to  Ann  Arbor  and  grad- 
uated from  the  law  department  in  June,  1885.  He  served  two 
terms  as  mayor  of  the  city  of  Greenville  and  after  the  elec- 
tion of  President  Wilson  was  appointed  postmaster. 

L.  E.  Kerlin  is  the  present  incumbent  of  the  office  of  prose- 
cuting attorney.  He  was  born  in  Greenville,  Ohio,  in  1877, 
and  is  a  son  of  the  late  William  K.  Kerlin.  He  spent  his  boy- 
hood days  in  Greenville,  where  he  attended  the  public  schools 
and  graduated  in  1898,  afterwards  graduating  from  the  Cin- 
cinnati Law  School  in  1902,  whereupon  he  took  up  the  suc- 
cessful practice  of  law  in  Greenville,  also  serving  two  terms 
as  city  solicitor. 

An  important  person  in  the  administration  of  the  afifairs  of 
the  county  is  the  sherifif  and  for  want  of  available  material 
and  data  of  this  chief  ministerial  officer  and  administrator  nf 
afifairs  within  a  county,  we  must  content  ourselves  with 
giving  nnlv  a  list  of  names  as  follov^'s :  Moses  Scott,  1816  to 


486  DARKE   COUNTY 

1820;  William  Scott,  1821  to  1824;  Mark  T.  Mills,  1825  to 
1828;  Joshua  Howell,  1829  to  1830;  John  Howell,  1831  to 
1834;  James  Craig  was  appointed  but  died  and  William 
Vance  served  until  1830.  David  Angel,  1835  to  1839 ;  David 
Stamm,  1839  to  1842;  Thomas  Vantilburg,  1843  to  1847; 
George  \V.  Coover,  1848  to  1850;  Thomas  Vantilburg,  1851  to 
1855;  Joshua  Townsend,  1856  to  1860;  Oliver  H.  Long,  1860 
to  1863;  Gavin  W.  Hamilton,  1864  to  1860;  Chauncey  Riffle, 
1866  to  1867;  A.  X.  Vandyke,  1868  to  1872;  X.  M.  Wilson, 

1872  to  1875;  John  \\'.  Hall,  1876  to  1879;  Jerry  Runkle,  1880 
to  1883;  Thomas  Lecklider,  1884  to  1887;  David  E.  Vantil- 
burg, 1888  to  1889;  John  W^elker,  1890  to  1893;  H.  C.  Jacobi, 
1894  to  1898;  William  Runkle,  1898-1901;  Milo  Smith,  1902- 
1903;  Frank  Smith,  1903  to  1906;  John  F.  Haber,  1906  to 
1910,  and  the  present  incumbent  since  1910  is  John  C.  Burns. 

Another  important  officer  in  the  procedure  of  the  court  is 
the  clerk,  whose  general  duties  are  to  endorse  and  file  all 
papers,  to  enter  all  orders,  decrees  and  judgments.  The  fol- 
lowing list  is  fairly  accurate :  Elinas  Bascom,  appointed  in 
June,  1817,  for  one  year;  Easton  Morris,  appointed  in  June, 
1818,  for  seven  years ;  David  Morris,  appointed  in  1825,  for 
seven  years,  but  died  in  1829,  and  L.  R.  Brownell  served  as 
clerk  pro  tern  from  August  to  Xovember  of  that  year ;  John 
Beers  then  served  from  1829  to  1850;  David  Beers  then  served 
a  few  months,  after  which  Joseph  W.  Frizell  was  appointed 
for  a  term  of  seven  years,  but  the  new  constitution  which  was 
adopted  in  1852,  reduced  the  term  three  years.  Samuel  Robin- 
son, elected  October,  1854;  William  C.  Porterfield,  elected 
October,  1860,  but  died  before  his  term  was  out,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Henry  Miller,  who  served  as  clerk  pro  tem  until 
October,  1862,  when  he  was  elected  and  served  two  terms ; 
Hamilton  Slade,  elected  in  1868 ;  Wesley  Gorsuch  elected  in 

1873  and  John  H.  Martin  filled  three  months  of  the  unexpired 
term  following  Gorsuch's  resignation ;  then  John  H.  Alartin 
was  elected  in  1879,  and  served  until  1886.  Patrick  H.  ^laher, 
1886  to  1892;  Jacob  R.  Stocker,  1892  to  1898;  F.  G.  Wiley, 
1898  to  1904:  George  York,  1904  to  1909;  J.  E.  Williams,  1909 
to  1913  and  the  present  incumbent  is  Ed  Shafer. 

The  Bar. 

X'^ow  will  follow  a  short  sketch  of  the  attorneys  who  prac- 
ticed at  this  bar,  using  such  information  as  I  have  been  able 


DARKE   COUNTY  487 

to  obtain  from  articles  in  newspapers  and  in  conversation 
with  the  present  members  oi  the  bar.  It  can  not  be  claimed 
that  the  list  is  complete  nor  that  what  is  written  will  disclose 
the  relative  merit  of  those  referred  to. 

The  lawyers  who  attended  the  courts  at  Greenville  in  the 
early  days  were  from  Dayton,  Hamilton,  Eaton,  Troy,  Sidney 
and  Lebanon.  The  resident  bar  at  Greenville  for  several  years 
consisted  of  John  Beers  only.  This  able  lawyer  settled  here 
very  early  in  the  history  of  our  county,  perhaps  immediately 
after  its  organization  in  1816.  He  acted  as  prosecutor  of  the 
county  several  years  prior  to  1830.  Prosecutors  were  then  ap- 
pointed by  the  court.  We  have  heretofore  given  a  sketch  of 
his  life  and  services. 

In  the  early  days  among  the  lawyers  from  Dayton  who 
practiced  at  the  bar  in  Darke  county  were  Joseph  H.  Crane 
and  George  B.  Holt,  to  whom  extended  reference  has  been 
made  under  the  bench. 

William  Stoddart,  a  man  of  medium  heighth,  but  heavv  set 
was  also  a  practitioner  from  Dayton.  He  was  not  a  fluent 
speaker  and  his  practice  was  chiefly  confined  to  probate  mat- 
ters. 

In  the  forties  other  lawyers  from  Dayton  were  at  each 
term,  among  them  was  Charles  Anderson-,  a  tall  somewhat 
slender  youth  of  light  hair,  blue  eyes  and  fair  complexion. 
Mr.  Anderson  was  subsequently  elected  lieutenant  gov- 
ernor of  Ohio,  at  the  time  John  Brough,  and  by  the  death  of 
that  functionary,  became  governor  of  Ohio.  He  had  served 
as  prosecuting  attorney  of  Montgomery  county  and  also  in 
the  State  senate  in  1845.  His  brave,  chivalrous  nature  there 
found  expression  in  a  bold  single-handed  assault  upon  what 
were  known  as  the  black  laws  of  Ohio — one  provision  of 
which  prohibited  negroes  from  testifying  in  courts  of  justice. 
Although  a  native  of  Kentucky,  born  and  reared  in  a  slave- 
holding  family,  he  was  the  first  man  in  the  legislature  of 
Ohio  to  raise  a  voice  in  protest  against  these  laws.  It  was 
many  3^ears  before  public  sentiment  advanced  so  far  as  to 
demand  their  repeal. 

At  the  close  of  his  senatorial  term.  Anderson  made  a  visit 
to  Europe,  and  upon  his  return  went  to  Cincinnati,  where  he 
formed  a  law  partnership  with  the  Hon.  Rufus  King.  Cin- 
cinnati supplied  a  most  congenial  place  of  abode  to  Mr.  An- 
derson, being  the  place  of  residence  of  his  brother  Larz.  one 
of  its  most  eminent  and  esteemed  citizens,  and  embracing  a 


488  DARKE   COUNTY 

very  large  society  of  gentlemen  as  well  as  ladies,  of  the  high- 
est culture  and  social  distinction.  Returning  to  Dayton  along 
in  1855,  he  resided  there  until  his  precarious  state  of  health 
induced  him  to  remove  to  Texas,  where  he  remained  until  the 
breaking  out  of  the  rebellion.  Becoming  known  as  a  pro- 
nounced union  man,  he  was  placed  under  arrest  by  the  seces- 
sion authorities  in  Texas,  and  his  property  confiscated.  He 
eflfected  his  escape  and  was  entrusted  by  President  Lincoln 
with  a  special  mission  to  England,  to  attempt  to  stem  the  tide 
of  opposition  to  the  union  cause  in  that  country,  but  found 
the  task  hopeless,  and  returned  to  the  United  States.  He 
went  into  the  field  as  colonel  of  the  Xinety-third  Ohio  Regi- 
ment, raised  in  Montgomery  county  and  was  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Stone  River.  His  wounds  and  exposure  impaired  his 
health  and  after  his  service  as  governor  of  Ohio,  he  settled 
upon  a  tract  of  land  in  southern  Kentucky,  where  he  resided 
for  many  years  widely  known  and  honored  as  a-  hospitable, 
chivalrous  and  accomplished  christian  gentleman. 

Another  Dayton  lawyer,  who  frequently  attended  our  court 
was  Daniel  A.  Haynes,  who  was  a  sprightly  little  fellow  full 
of  zeal,  fun,  a  good  lawyer  and  fluent  speaker.  He  was  elected 
first  judge  of  the  superior  court  in  1856  and  was  continu- 
ously on  the  bench  of  the  superior  court  until  1870.  when  he 
resigned  to  enter  into  a  partnership  with  Hon.  C.  L.  A'allan- 
digham. 

Among  the  early  attendants  at  our  court  of  the  members 
of  Butler  county  were  Jesse  Corwin  (brother  of  Tom  Corwin) 
heavy  set,  tolerably  tall  and  of  dark  complexion.  John  Woods 
was  here  a  few  times.  He  was  o'  medium  size,  well  built,  his 
forehead  receding  sharply  from  the  brow,  a  fluent  speaker,  but 
a  very  squeaking  and  rather  unpleasant  voice.  .  .\bnut  1837 
or  1838.  L.  B.  Campbell  from  that  county,  began  to  attend  our 
court.  He  was  tolerably  good  speaker,  confined  himself  to 
the  facts  in  his  case  and  seldom  attempted  flourish.  Drifting 
into  his  natural  current  of  politics,  he  became  entirely  ab- 
sorbed bv  his  ambition  for  congressional  honors,  which  he 
finally  achieved,  serving  six  terms. 

From  the  bar  of  Preble  countv  our  court  was  attended  trom 
its  organization,  J.  S.  Hawkins  being  always  present.  He 
was  rather  a  small  man,  a  fluent  speaker,  alwaj's  listened  to 
by  court  and  jury,  and  a  delighted  bystander,  of  which  the 
court  house  in  those  days  was  always  full.  About  1834  or 
1835  he  was  engaged  to  defend  Jacob  Hartle,  who  was   ac- 


DAKKE   COUXTY  489 

cused  of  having  forged  a  receipt  for  money  by  one  of  the 
heirs  of  estate  of  which  he  was  administrator.  This  was  the 
hottest  case  that  had  ever  came  before  our  court.  J.  ]\1.  U. 
AIcNutt,  an  exceptionally  bright  young  man,  was  the  State's 
attorney  at  the  time.  He  was  also  of  the  Preble  bar.  As  the 
case  progressed,  the  wrestling  between  the  two  became 
harder.  Now  very  dark  for  the  accused,  then  again  bright 
and  confident  for  the  defense.  The  community  was  about 
equally  divided  when  the  jur}-  went  to  their  room.  Long  and 
anxious  hours  slowl}-  crept  by,  suspense  was  on  tip-toe,  but 
at  last  it  was  announced  that  the  jury  had  agreed.  The  court 
house  was  crowded  to  suffocation.  The  verdict  was  handed 
up  to  the  court,  who  read  it,  then  handed  it  to  the  clerk,  who 
slowly  and  distinctly  read  it:  "^^'e,  the  jury,  find  the  defen- 
dant not  guilty."  The  court  house  was  soon  emptied.  Then 
it  was  that  the  friensds  of  Hartle  rolled  a  barrel  of  wriskey 
into  the  public  square,  knocked  in  the  head  and  everybody 
was  getting  drunk,  when  some  one,  seeing  the  situation, 
threw  into  the  barrel,  a  peck  of  salt,  which  spoiled  the 
whiskey.  Hawkins  died  about  1849,  the  first  victim  of  Asiatic 
cholera  in  Eaton. 

There  was  also  Mr.  Heaton  of  the  Eaton  bar,  that  fre- 
quently attended  our  courts.  He  was  a  tall,  slender  man,  al- 
wa\-s  well  dressed  and  was  eccentric  in  that  he  always  wore 
his  hair,  which  was  coal  black  and  long  as  a  woman's, 
]ilaited  nicely  hanging  down  his  back  over  his  coat. 

I\Ir.  Hawkins  also  had  a  younger  brother  that  often  at- 
tended our  court  with  him ;  also  a  very  respectable  lawyer. 
Like  Joseph  S.,  he  was  small  of  stature  but  lacked  the  vim. 

One  of  the  few  members  of  the  Miami  bar  practising  here 
at  times  was  William  L  Thomas,  a  small,  quiet,  pleasant  man, 
who  represented  Miami  county  in  the  state  senate  six  terms. 

Jacob  Burgess,  a  very  tall,  and  heavy  man  from  Troy,  was 
also  an  occasional  visitor  at  our  bar,  and  was  later  elected 
recorder  of  Aliami  county. 

From  Shelby  county  we  had  onlv  the  occasional  visit  of 
Judge  Metcalfe,  an  excellent  man  and  a  good  lawyer. 

Among  the  early  lawyers  coming  to  Darke  county  to  reside 
was  Hiram  Bell,  who  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Ham- 
ilton, Butler  county.  He  was  thorough  and  industrious  and 
had  a  fair  share  of  the  business  in  the  court.  In  1836  he  was 
elected  auditor  of  the  county  and  was  elected  to  the  state 
legislature  in  1841.     Later  he  was  appointed  an  ofificer  in  the 


490  DARKE   COUNTY 

State  militia  and  was  elected  to  congress,  serving  in  the  thir- 
ty-second session.  General  Hiram  Bell  died  in  1855  in  his 
forty-eighth  year. 

About  1834,  William  Cram,  a  la\v\-er  from  Butler  county, 
came  here,  stayed  several  years,  but  not  meeting  the  desired 
success  in  the  law,  taught  school  a  few  terms  and  then  moved 
away. 

J.  B.  Underwood  settled  here  about  1844  and  was  a  candi- 
date for  prosecuting  attorney  in  1846,  but  did  not  succeed  in 
the  election.  He  afterwards  moved  away  and  has  been  lost 
sight  of. 

David  Beers  read  in  the  office  of  his  father  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  1842.  He  was  a  fair  student,  attaining 
a  very  good  and  correct  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  the 
law,  had  a  tolerable  knowledge  of  surveying  and  civil  engi- 
neering and  much  of  his  time  was  occupied  by  that  business. 
He  practiced  law  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion,  when 
he  quit  his  books  and  volunteered  in  the  service  of  the  union, 
where  he  remained  over  four  years.  During  his  services  in 
the  army  his  ability  as  an  engineer  was  soon  discovered  and 
he  was  deputed  and  assigned  to  that  duty.  After  his  return 
home  from  the  war  he  settled  on  his  farm  a  few  miles  north 
of  Greenville  and  died  in  1889  in  the  seventy-second  year  of 
his  age. 

John  S.  Bascom,  son  of  Linus  Bascom,  read  law  in  the 
office  of  W.  'SI.  Wilson,  but  upon  being  admitted  to  the  bar 
was  appointed  postmaster  at  Greenville,  which  office  he  held 
for  several  years  and  died  of  consumption  in  1843. 

Hiram  Bell  was  an  eastern  man ;  came  to  Darke  county  in 
1837;  represented  with  two  others,  Darke,  Mercer  and  Miami 
counties  in  the  House  in  1840-1,  and  represented  the  third 
district  in  the  thirty-second  congress  in  1853-55,  and  died  in 
December,  1855.  He  was  perhaps  the  ablest  lawyer  in  his 
time  at  this  place. 

Onias  C.  Skinner  read  law  at  the  office  of  Hiram  Bell,  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  1841,  was  partner  with  his  preceptor 
several  years,  married  the  daughter  of  Major  Dorsey  and 
moved  to  Illinois,  where  he  soon  became  one  of  the  judges  in 
that  state,  dying  while  still  a  young  man. 

Charles  Bell  also  read  law  at  the  same  office  at  the  same 
time.  He  was  an  eastern  man  and  when  admitted  to  the 
bar  returned  to  Vermont,  his  native  state. 

O.  A.  Lyman  also  read  law  at  the  same  office,  was  admitted 


DARKE   COUNTY  491 

to  the  bar  in  1843,  practiced  with  his  preceptor  for  several 
years,  then  went  to  Dayton  and  opened  an  office  there  with 
John  Reily  Knox.  Later  he  moved  to  New  York  City  and  be- 
gan the  practice  there,  but  soon  became  religious,  studied 
theology  a  year,  secured  license  to  preach  the  gospel  and  re- 
ceived a  call  from  a  Presbyterian  church  in  Cleveland,  Ohio, 
which  he  accepted,  but  soon  afterwards  died.  He  was  an  ex- 
cellent joifng  man  in  every  particular,  and  was  a  charter 
member  of  the  Greenville  Masonic  lodge,  1847,  and  worship- 
ful master  in  1851  and  later  was  grand  lecturer  of  the  state. 

John  Curtis  was  also  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1848  and  was 
soon  after  appointed  postmaster,  which  office  he  held  several 
years.  Resigning,  he  moved  west  with  a  view  of  practicing 
law,  but  soon  died. 

In  1846  ^^'iIliam  Collins  came  to  town,  after  reading  law 
and  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Eaton.  He,  at  that 
time  was  about  forty-five  years  of  age,  had  been  a  United 
Brethren  preacher,  and  presiding  elder.  He  was  a  very 
pleasant  and  at  times  powerful  speaker  and  was  fast  gaining 
in  practice  when  he  died  of  consumption  in  1855. 

In  1852  Evan  Baker  was  admitted  to  the  bar.  He  was 
born  in  Virginia  in  1808  and  was  a  resident  of  Butler  town- 
ship nearly  all  his  life.  He  was  identified  with  public  im- 
provements of  the  county,  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in 
1854  and  was  the  author  of  the  Ohio  ditch  laws  and  at  the 
time  of  his  death  in  1863  he  had  a  large  law  practice.  He 
was  president  of  the  Richland  &  Covington  railroad,  for  the 
location  of  which  through  Greenville  he  had  labored  long 
and  earnestly. 

John  T.  Lecklider,  born  near  Gettysburg,  practiced  law  in 
Greenville  for  a  while  and  was  also  mayor  of  the  city  of 
Greenville,  in  the  seventies.  In  1874  he  removed  to  Indian- 
apolis successfully  practicing  law  for  a  period  also  travelling 
extensively  abroad.  Possessed  of  an  artistic  and  poetic  tem- 
perment,  he  published  a  volume  of  his  poems  in  1913. 

On  the  17th  day  of  September,  1848,  Mathew  T.  Allen  first 
saw  the  light  of  day  at  his  father's  house  in  Butler  township, 
Darke  county,  Ohio.  "Jim,"  as  he  was  familiarly  called,  was 
six  feet  and  slender  and  of  dark  complexion.  After  a  par- 
tial course  at  Otterbein  University,  Mr.  Allen  began  the 
study  of  law  in  Winchester  at  the  age  of  eighteen  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  immediately  after  he  became  of  age. 
After  serving  as   assistant   prosecuting   attorney   in   Indiana, 


492  DARKE   COUNTY 

Mr.  Allen  removed  to  Greenville  in  July,  1872,  and  continued 
in  active  practice.  He  was  master  of  Greenville  lodge,  F.  & 
A.  M.,  1880,  and  was  one  of  the  prominent  attorneys  here  in 
his  day.  "Jini"  was  clever,  sociable  and  mirthful.  After  suc- 
cessful practice  here  he  removed  about  1885  to  Los  Angeles, 
California,  where  he  was  a  judge  of  the  district  court  of  ap- 
peals, at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1914. 

M.  C.  Benham,  a  native  Buckeye,  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1876,  came  to  Greenville  and  made  commercial  law  a 
specialty. 

Theodore  Beers  was  born  in  Darke  county  in  1826,  com- 
menced the  practice  of  law  in  1832  and  was  well  read  in  the 
law.  His  misfortune  consisted  in  his  inability  to  tell  what 
he  knew  but  what  he  did  say  was  law,  not  gush. 

Louis  B.  Lott  was  born  in  New  Jersey  in  182.S  and  came  to 
Darke  county,  in  1855,  was  minister  of  the  M.  E.  church  in 
New  York.  He  was  more  of  a  politician  than  a  lawyer,  giv- 
ing most  of  his  time  to  political  affairs.  He  represented  this 
county  in  the  legislature  in  1862-65  and  then  went  into  prac- 
tice as  a  partner  of  M.  Spayd,  practicing  later  with  A.  T. 
Bodle.  During  that  partnership  he  displayed  good  legal  abil- 
ity and  proved  to  be  an  earnest  and  effective  speaker.  He 
died  in  March,   1889. 

Although  George  W.  Calderwood  practiced  law  but  a  short 
time  in  the  firm  of  Calderwood,  Collins  and  Calderwood,  he 
as  the  famous  "Darke  County  Boy,"  deserves  a  whole  chap- 
ter of  this  book.     I  can  not  do  him  justice. 

Emlen  ^^^  Otwell  was  born  in  Guilford  county,  North 
Carolina,  in  February,  1831.  and  received  a  common  school 
education  at  Otwell  Seminary,  near  what  is  now  Weavers' 
Station.  His  college  education  was  obtained  at  Wesleyan 
University  at  Delaware.  After  his  graduation  he  read  law  in 
the  office  of  A.  R.  Calderwood.  after  which  he  practiced  law 
for  a  number  of  3'ears.  Later  on  he  gave  less  time  to  pro- 
fession and  purchased  the  Greenville  Journal,  which  he  edited 
with  ability  until  his  death  in  1902.  Among  his  partners  at 
various  times  were  William  .-Xllen,  J.  K.  Riffle.  J.  C.  Clark,  H. 
K.  McConnell  and  T.  C.  Aliller. 

J.  E.  Breaden  was  born  in  this  county  in  July,  1852,  ob- 
tained a  common  school  education  and  finished  educational 
course  at  Chickering  Institute  in  Cincinnati  at  which  insti- 
tution he  graduated  in  1873.  Soon  after  he  entered  the  law 
office  of  Calderwood  &  Cole  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 


DARKE   COUNTY  '  493 

187t).  Alter  a  partnership  with  Judge  Clark  for  three  years, 
he  practiced  law  with  his  former  preceptor,  Judge  Calder- 
wood  until  the  latter's  death  in  1891.  He  continued  in  the 
active  practice  of  his  profession  alone  and  was  respectful, 
kind  and  courteous.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Ohio  state  board  of  pardons,  to  which  position  he 
had  been  appointed  by  Governor  Bushnell,  who  held  him  in 
high  esteem. 

Ira  Lecklider  was  horn  in  Darke  countv  in  1855,  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1878.  He  was  dark  complexioned,  o:  slender 
build,  and  active  and  was  a  partner  of  I.  N.  Ullery. 

Lee  F.  Limbert  was  born  in  Clay  township,  Montgomery 
county  and  after  a  term  in  the  Commercial  College  at  Dayton, 
read  law  and  was  admitted  at  Columbus  in  October,  1877.  He 
was  good  natured,  full  of  life  and  energy  and  was  a  partner  of 
E.  F.  Ratlifif.  Later  he  spent  six  m.onths  in  the  Indian -service 
in  the  west  and  was  city  solicitor  of  Greenville  and  in  1890 
was  a  member  of  the  board  of  managers  of  the  Ohio  reforma- 
tory at  Mansfield.  Subsequently  he  practiced  law  at  Dayton 
as  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Gottschall,  Crawford  and  Limbert. 

David  P.  Bowman  Avas  born  near  Palestine  in  1841  and 
jiassed  his  boyhood  on  a  farm  and  was  inured  to  all  the  toil 
that  fell  to  the  lot  of  farmers'  son  of  that  day.  He  was  four- 
teen years  old  before  he  could  read,  but  with  zeal  took  up 
such  advantages  as  he  could  obtain  and  then  taught  school. 
After  studying  law  for  several  years  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1872  and  began  the  practice  of  law  in  Greenville,  com- 
ing into  the  forum  "Xot  decorated  for  pomp,  but  armed  for 
battle."  At  the  time  of  his  death,  he  was  a  law  partner  of 
General  C.  M.  Anderson.  Of  German  ancestry  he  was  an 
accomplished  German  scholar  and  was  familiar  with  the  lit- 
erature of  the  land.    He  died  in  1878  after  a  short  illness. 

John  Devor  was  born  in  Greenville  in  18,31  and  was  a  graiKi 
son  of  John  Devor,  who  entered  the  first  half  section  of  land 
in  Darke  county  and  laid  out  the  town  of  Greenville  in  1810. 
At  nineteen  years  of  age  the  subject  of  this  sketch  began  the 
study  of  law  with  Hiram  Bell  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1852.  For  thirteen  years  he  was  a  law  partner  of  Michael 
Spayd  and  subsequently  for  eleven  years  a  partner  of  Judge 
'^^'illiam  Allen.  Four  j'ears  he  was  assistant  assessor  of  in- 
ternal revenue  for  the  ^ourth  district  of  Ohio,  and  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  electoral  college  at  the  election  of  Benjamin  Har- 
rison, president,  in  1888. 


494  DARKE   COUNTY 

Swan  Judy  was  born  in  December,  1850,  in  Clark  county, 
Ohio ;  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1875,  after  having  gradu- 
ated from  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michigan 
in  1875.  He  immediately  entered  upon  the  practice  of  law  in 
partnership  with  the  late  Tilichael  Spayd  but  later  opened  an 
office  of  his  own,  forming  a  partnership  with  D.  P.  Irwin  in 
1879,  which  partnership  continued  until  the  fall  of  1887. 
After  serving  as  justice  of  the  peace  he  died  in  1892. 

I.  N.  Ullery  born  in  1853  at  Greenville,  Ohio,  taught  school 
and  attended  the  Normal  School  at  Lebanon,  later  studying 
law  in  the  office  of  Gen.  C.  M.  Anderson,  and  being  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1878.  He  practiced  but  a  few  years,  his  death 
occurring  July  21,  1882. 

\A'illiam  H.  Gilbert  was  born  in  Adams  township  in  1864, 
taught  school  while  a  young  man  and  began  reading  in  the 
office  of  Meekers  &  Bowman  in  March,  1886.  He  was  ap- 
pointed special  court  bailiff  and  law  librarian  and  completed 
the  study  of  law  in  the  law  liberty.  After  his  admission  to 
the  bar  in  October,  1888,  he  formed  a  law  partnership  with 
Walter  S.  IMeeker.  but  removed  a  number  of  years  ago  to 
Troy,  Ohio,  where  he  enjoys  a  lucrative  practice. 

Edward  J.  Tobin  was  born  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  in  1867,  grad- 
uated from  the  common  schools  at  Union  City,  Ohio,  and 
taught  school  for  a  number  of  years.  He  began  the  study  of 
law  with  Anderson  &  Bowman  and  entered  the  Cincinnati 
Law  School  in  1889.  After  his  admission  to  the  bar  and 
practicing  here  a  short  time,  he  moved  to  Chicago,  111. 

David  P.  Irwin  was  born  near  Greenville  in  1849,  taught 
school  eight  years  in  the  county  and  in  the  spring  of  1876  he 
began  reading  law  with  Elijah  Devor  and  A.  T.  Bodle.  In 
1879  he  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in  all  the  courts 
of  Ohio,  was  a  member  of  the  city  council  and  was  a  success- 
ful practitioner  until  his  death  in  1912. 

]\lillard  F.  Myers  was  born  March  17.  1850,  near  Harrisbnrg, 
Pa.,  and  spent  a  good  portion  of  his  boyhood  in  Darke  county. 
He  taught  school  several  years  and  read  law  at  the  same  time 
in  the  office  of  Hon.  David  L.  Meeker.  In  February,  1874  he 
was  duly  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  and  practiced  in 
Greenville  for  a  number  of  years,  was  mayor  one  term  and 
then  moved  to  Fitzgerald,  Ga. 

Volney  Miller  was  born  on  a  farm  near  New  Madison  in 
April,  1860,  attended  the  common  schools  in  his  neighborhood 
and  two  winters  at  the  Greenville  high  school.     During  the 


DARKE   COUNTY 


495 


years  of  1881-4  he  followed  farming,  improving  odd  hours  in 
the  study  of  law  under  Judge  D.  L.  Meeker.  In  October, 
1884,  he  went  to  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  and  in  June,  1886  grad- 
uated from  the  law  department  of  the  University  of  Michi- 
gan. He  was  a  member  for  a  while  of  the  firm  of  Brandon  & 
Miller  and  then  removed  to  Union  City,  Indiana. 

Richard  Dills  was  born  in  1847,  a  native  Buckeye.  His  life 
previous  to  1875  was  given  to  scientific  investigations  and 
traveling.  He  was  quite  a  linguist,  speaking  several  lan- 
guages correctly.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  law  in  1875 
as  a  partner  of  the  late  D.  P.  Bowman. 

Charles  Frizell  was  born  in  Darke  county  and  obtained  his 
education  at  the  naval  academy  at  Annapolis,  and  later  read 
law  with  Calderwood  &  Cole  and  was  admitted  in  1875.  He 
was  a  good  conversationalist  and  a  genial  good  fellow  and 
about  1890  removed  to  Chicago,  111. 

Richard  S.  Frizell  was  born  in  Greenville,  in  1854  and  was 
a  son  of  the  late  General  J.  W.  Frizell.  He  was  a  fine  scholar 
and  developed  into  a  good  lawyer.  He  was  energetic  and 
took  considerable  interest  in  politics  serving  two  terms  as 
mayor  of  the  city.  He  died  while  comparatively  young  in 
1904. 

H.  K.  ;\IcConnell  was  born  in  Miami  county  in  1856  and, 
according  to  the  county  atlas  in  1875,  was  a  practicing  attor- 
ney in  this  city.  He  had  been  at  one  time  a  pastor  of  the 
Christian  church  of  Greenville,  C)hio,  and  for  a  while  a  part- 
ner of  E.  W.  Otwell. 

Barnabas  Collins  was  born  in  Preble  county  in  May.  1836. 
His  father  William  Collins,  was  a  lawyer  and  clergyman  of 
high  standing,  and  has  already  been  referred  to  in  this  chap- 
ter. Barnabas  Collins  became  a  practical  printer  when  a  boy 
and  spent  a  short  time  at  Delaware,  being  interested  chieflv 
in  literature.  He  read  law  under  Calderwood  &  Calkins  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1858,  the  same  year  that  he  mar- 
ried the  daughter  of  Judge  Calderwood.  In  the  spring  of 
1861  he  was  nominated  in  Indiana  on  the  Union  ticket  as  a 
candidate  for  state  senator  but  withdrew  from  the  canvass 
and  entered  the  Eighty-si.xth  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry  as 
first  lieutenant.  After  his  return  from  the  army  he  settled  in 
Greenville,  where  he  occupied  a  respectable  position  as  a 
member  of  the  Darke  county  bar.  In  1876  he  represented  the 
fourth  Congressional  district  in  the  Republican  National  con- 
vention at  Cincinnati  that  nominated  Mr.  Hayes  for  the  pres- 


496  DARKE   COUXTY 

idency.  Air.  Collins  tastes  gravitated  to  fields  of  literature 
and  science  and  he  gratified  them  even  at  the  expense  of  his 
profession.  As  a  local  historian  he  had  few  equals  in  his 
county  and  he  was  also  a  poet  of  local  celebrity.  He  moved 
'to  California,  about  1880,  and  was  a  member  of  the  legisla- 
ture there  before  his  death. 

Jacob  Baker  was  born  in  Butler  township  during  the  "hard 
cider"'  campaign  in  1840.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  18''i4 
and  practiced  continuously  for  many  years  having  been  en- 
gaged in  some  of  the  most  important  civil  and  criminal  cases 
ever  tried  in  the  county.  He  was  elected  to  the  legislature  in 
1868  and  voted  for  Allen  G.  Thurman  for  senator  in  prefer- 
ence to  Mr.  Vallandigham.  Although  one  of  the  youngest 
members  of  the  house,  Mr.  Baker  was  the  author  of  several 
measures,  which  he  successfully  carried  through.  He  was  a 
deelgate  from  the  fourth  district  to  the  St.  Louis  convention, 
which  nominated  Tilden  for  president  in  1876.  He  was  de- 
feated in  the  nomination  for  the  judgeship  several  times  and 
for  nomination  to  Congress.  He  found  time  and  means  to  in- 
dulge his  inventive  tastes,  having  invented  a  steam  canal 
boat,  a  convenient  office  desk  and  a  centrifugal   'orce  puni]). 

J.  C.  Thornton  was  mentioned  by  Judge  Clark  in  his  toast, 
"Reminiscences."  at  a  bar  banquet,  as  being  inpractice  in 
Greenville  in  1875. 

Thomas  A.  Burns  was  born  in  Champaign  county  in  1836 
and  in  his  boyhood  struggled  through  circumstances  that 
were  anything  but  genial  to  his  aspiring  nature.  He  farmed 
and  taught  school  until  the  sound  of  the  war  trumpet  in  1861 
when  he  enlisted  in  Company  A.  Sixty-sixth  Ohio  Volunteer 
Infantry.  After  holding  various  non-commissioned  offices 
he  was  elected  first  lieutenant  and  in  a  short  time  he  was 
commissioned  captain  of  Companv  E,  One  Hundred  and 
Ninety-four  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry  and  was  mustered  out 
with  his  regiment  in  1865,  after  having  served  over  four  and 
one-half  years.  He  studied  law  in  Troy  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1868,  after  which  he  moved  to  Versailles.  Ohio, 
where  he  practiced  law.  He  Avas  state  senator  of  this  district 
from   1892  to  1894. 

G.  W.  Studebaker  was  born  in  Darke  county  in  1840  and 
spent  his  boyhood  days  on  a  farm,  the  plow,  spade  and  ax 
being  implements  to  which  he  was  no  stranger.  In  1865  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law  under  the  instruction  of  A.  R. 
Calderwood  and  in   1871  after  an  examination  before  the  su- 


UARKE   COUNTY  497 

preme  court  was  regularly  admitted  as  an  attcrr.ey  and 
counselor-at-law  and  opened  a  law  office  at  N'ersailles.  In 
May,  1875  he  assisted  Geo.  W.  Calderwood  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Greenville  Sunday  Courier.  He  was  mayor  of 
\'ersailles  .or  si.x  conseciiti\'e  }ears,  was  president  of  the 
school  board  and  m  1875  was  chosen  l)y  the  Republican  part}" 
as  a  candidate  for  state  senator. 

Allen  Andrews  was  born  in  1849,  worked  as  a  farm  lad, 
taught  school  and  read  law  under  Judge  Allen,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1874  and  was  a  partner  of  J.  K.  Riffel  in  1875. 
He  subsequently  moved  to  Butler  county  and  is  now  in  prac- 
tice at  Hamilton  with  his  son.  He  is  an  excellent  orator,  verv 
prominent  in  Masonic  circles  and  was  most  worshipful  grand 
master  of  the  state  of  Ohio  for  one  year. 

Judge  Clark  also  mentions  Messrs.  Ozias  and  Lindamood 
as  students  of  law  here  forty  years  ago. 

Michael  Spayd  was  attorney  here  for  many  years  and  has 
been  mentioned  as  a  partner  of  several  other  attorneys.  I 
have  been  unable  to  secure  much  reliable  information  about 
him. 

Edwin  B.  Putnam  was  the  son  of  the  pastor  of  the  first 
Presbyterian  church  at  Dayton  where  he  was  born  in  1829. 
He  served  in  the  rebellion  for  ninety  days  as  adjutant  of  the 
One  Hundred  and  Fifty-second  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  He 
practiced  law  both  before  and  after  his  service  in  the  army, 
and  died  in  1868. 

David  Putnam  was  l)orn  in  1821  on  the  present  site  of  New 
Madison  within  the  stockade,  which  formerly  constituted  old 
Fort  Black.  He  was  reared  in  New  Madison  and  obtained 
his  school  privileges  in  a  log  building  and  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen went  into  his  father's  mill  where  he  was  employed  for 
two  years.  In  1836  he  started  for  Texas  walking  to  Cincin- 
nati. After  successful  commercial  transactions  in  the  south, 
Mr.  Putnam  was  in  business  successively  at  New  Madison 
and  Palestine,  was  a  farmer,  later  traveling  agent  for  the  New 
York  Mutual  Insurance  Company.  In  1861  Mr.  Putnam  was 
commissioned  second  lieutenant,  subsequently  raised  a  full 
company  and  was  elected  captain.  After  organizing  the 
Twenty-eighth  regiment  of  the  Ohio  National  Guard  he  was 
elected  colonel  and  in  May,  1864.  this  regiment  was  ordered 
out  for  one  hundred  days'  service.  On  his  return  home,  Col- 
onel Putnam  began  the  study  of  law  under  the  direction  of 
Judge  A.  R.  Calderwood  at  Greenville  and  was  admitted  to 
(32) 


498  DARKE   COUNTY 

the  bar  in  1866.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  three  years 
and  a  notary  public  half  a  century.  About  ninety  years  Col- 
onel Putnam  resided  in  Darke  county  and  deserves  mention 
in  this  chapter. 

John  Reily  Knox  was  born  in  Butler  county  in  1820  and 
was  graduated  with  honors  from  Aliami  University  in  the 
class  of  1839.  While  a  student  at  Oxford  he  was  the  founder 
of  the  college  fraternity,  which  he  and  his  associates  named 
Beta  Theta  Pi.  The  fraternity  expanded  rapidly  and  at  pres- 
ent has  seventy-four  active  chapters  with  a  total  membership 
of  about  20,000.  After  leaving  college  Mr.  Knox  studied  law 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1843.  At  the  time  he  had  a 
reputation  as  a  speaker  and  was  in  demand  during  the  excit- 
ing Harrison  campaign  of  1840.  He  was  elected  in  1860,  one 
of  the  presidential  electors  in  Ohio,  and  as  such  cast  his  offi- 
cial ballot  to  make  Abraham  Lincoln  president  of  the  United 
States.  He  was  connected  with  the  management  at  Miami 
University  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  in  1859  and 
for  a  period  of  twenty-nine  years  until  his  death.  For  a  pe- 
riod of  fifty-five  years  he  actively  followed  the  profession  of 
his  choice.  He  labored  arduously  in  the  organization  of  the 
County  Bar  Association,  was  made  its  first  president  and 
continued  in  such  oftice  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  as- 
sisted materially  in  organizing  the  Greenville  law  library.  He 
was,  as  Judge  Clark  remarked  at  a  banquet,  a  scholar  and  the 
most  thorough  and  polite  gentleman,  bv  nature  and  culture, 
of  any  one  who  was  ever  a  member  of  this  bar.  He  dis- 
liked the  scramble  for  office  and  was  but  once  a  candidate 
before  his  partv  for  nomination.  Although  not  aiipreciated 
by  all,  he  was  by  nature  most  kind  and  courteous,  unostenta- 
tious and  unpretentious.  He  had  a  tall,  erect  and  well  pro- 
portioned body  and  the  carriage  of  a  trained  gentleman,  al- 
ways neat  and  tidy.  He  had  a  high  respect  for  the  dignity 
o'  courts  and  the  profession.  He  never  resorted  under  any 
circumstances  to  the  practices  of  the  petifogger.  In  a  rough 
and  tumble  fight  before  a  jury  he  refused  to  engage  in  im- 
proper practices,  always  maintaining  the  dignity  of  a  gen- 
tleman and  relying  upon  the  law  and  the  merits  of  his  case. 
He  died  in  1898  and  his  death  came  as  a  great  blow  to  the 
thousands  of  members  of  his  college  fraternitv  all  over  the 
United  States.  He  seemed  to  have  never  grown  old  in  re- 
spect to  fraternity  matters,  but  was  a  frequent  attendant  at 
the  banquets  and   conventions.     "Pater   Knox''  will  be  long 


DARKE   COUNTY  499 

revered  by  the  members  of  the  fraternity  whose  principles  he 
helped  to  establish.  He  was  a  vestryman  of  the  Episcopal 
church  and  died  after  the  sun  of  life  was  well  set  in  the  west, 
but  like  the  great  law  giver  of  old  "his  eye  was  not  dim 
nor  his  natural  force  abated." 

Jacob  T.  Martz,  lawyer  and  educator,  was  born  in  Darke 
county  in  September,  1833.  He  attended  the  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University  at  Delaware,  at  which  institution  he  graduated  in 
1856.  During  the  nine  succeeding  years  he  engaged  in  teach- 
ing and  also  read  law  under  Judge  D.  L.  Meeker  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  in  June,  1860. 

In  the  spring  of  1862  he  was  elected  superintendent  of  the 
public  schools  and  resigned  in  1865  to  form  a  law  partner- 
ship with  J.  R-  Knox.  In  August  of  that  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed recei\er  of  the  Cincinnati  &  Mackinaw  Railroad, 
which  work  occupied  his  time  for  nearly  five  years.  In  1871 
the  superintendency  of  the  Greenville  schools  was  tendered  to 
him  without  his  solicitation,  and  the  board  prevailed  upon 
liim  to  continue  his  good  work  which  he  did  for  seventeen 
consecutive  years  until  June,  1888.  Under  his  supervision  he 
saw  the  school  grow  from  four  to  twenty-two  teachers.  He 
assisted  in  organization  of  the  Darke  County  Teachers"  As- 
sociation of  which  he  was  president.  He  was  also  a  member 
of  the  board  of  count}'  school  examiners  for  about  twenty-two 
years  and  assisted  greatly  in  advancing  the  qualifications  of 
the  teachers  in  the  county.  He  was  for  six  years  secretary  of 
the  Darke  County  Agricultural  Society.  For  many  years  he 
was  secretary  of  a  building  company.  He  was  superinten- 
dent of  the  Sabbath  school  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church 
and  for  more  than  eight  years  was  recording  steward  of  its 
official  board.  He  was  verj-  much  interested  in  the  history  of 
Darke  county  and  contributed  an  article  of  about  twenty-four 
pages  to  the  county  history  published  in  1900,  entitled  His- 
torical Sketches  of  Deceased  Citizens  of  Darke  County.  He 
had  also  contributed  a  carefully  prepared  article  on  Educa- 
tional History  to  the  Darke  county  history  compiled  by  W. 
H.  ]McIntosh,  in  1880.  After  resigning  as  superintendent  of 
the  city  schools,  he  resumed  the  practice  of  law  in  the  firm  of 
Knox,  ]\Iartz  &  Rupe,  whom  he  outlived  and  then  practiced 
alone  until  his  death  in  1911. 

In  mid  May,  1868.  a  spare  looking  young  man  of  twenty- 
three,  arrived  in  Greenville.  .Sun-tan  gave  a  healthy  color  to 
his  face  and  his  long  curly  hair  gave  him  a  look  of  import- 


500  DARKE   COUNTY 

ance.  The  countenance  of  Charles  Anderson  was  gra\-e  and 
thoughtful.  He  had  a  high,  straight  forehead,  a  nose  less 
aquiline  than  Roman.  His  heavy  eyebrows,  his  high  cheek 
boneSj  his  chin  long,  but  well  formed  denoted  a  man  of  reso- 
lution. Such  was  the  appearance  of  Charles  M.  Anderson,  who 
was  born  in  Juniata  county,  Pennsylvania  in  1845.  He  had 
taught  school,  had  served  in  Ohio  regiment  during  the  war 
as  a  private  soldier  and  was  honorably  discharged  the  day  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old  in  1866.  For  some  months  subse- 
quent to  his  return  from  the  army  he  attended  the  Normal 
school  at  Lebanon  and  also  took  up  the  study  of  law.  After 
his  admission  to  the  bar  he  at  once  engaged  in  practice,  open- 
ing an  ofihce  in  Greenville,  where  he  rapidly  rose  to  a  posi- 
tion as  a  leader  of  the  bar.  He  had  a  fluency  of  language 
almost  startling  in  its  depictures  and  developed  fine  oratorical 
powers. 

Quoting  judge  Clark;  "On  great  occasions,  when  he,  as  if 
by  magic,  had  reached  the  soul  of  his  audience,  and  their 
hearts  and  his  beat  in  unison,  it  seemed  he  heard  the  echo  of 
the  distant  footsteps  of  the  great  old  master,  and  their 
rounded  sentences  perfect  diction,  lofty  and  inspiring  senti- 
ment, and  matchless  eloquence  seemed  to  be  ringing  softly  in 
his  ears,  and  filled  his  soul  with  the  melody  of  sweet  music 
and  at  such  times,  all  the  magnetism  and  energies  of  his  be- 
ing were  put  forth,  and  his  words  flowed  as  smoothly  as  the 
running  brook,  but  with  the  force,  grandeur  and  sublimity  of 
Niagara."  He  was  always  a  close  and  discriminating  student 
of  political  questions  and  in  1878  made  an  effort  to  secure  the 
nomination  for  congress.  The  convention  met  in  Sidney, 
Ohio,  and  continued  in  constant  session  for  three  days  and 
three  nights,  and  Mr.  Anderson  was  defeated  for  the  nomina- 
tion by  one  and  one-quarter  votes.  Again  on  the  7th  of  Au- 
gust, 1884,  he  was  a  candidate  for  nomination  for  congress 
which  resulted  in  his  securing  the  nomination  on  the  first 
ballot.  He  was  elected  the  following  October  and  served  in 
the  forty-ninth  congress  until  1887. 

In  January,  1884,  Mr.  Anderson  was  commissioned  judge 
advocate  general  of  Ohio  by  Governor  Hoadley,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  during  the  term  of  that  chief  executive.  During 
the  time  of  the  riot  in  Cincinnati  by  virtue  of  his  oflRce  Mr. 
Anderson  was  on  duty  most  of  the  time,  being  second  in  com- 
mand. In  1890  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  James  E.  Camp- 
bell, one  of  Ohio's  commissioners  at  the  world's  fair  at  Chi- 


DARKE    COUNTY 


501 


cago.  In  1894  he  was  chosen  by  a  joint  resolution  of  the  two 
branches  of  congress  as  one  of  the  board  of  managers  for  the 
national  home  for  disabled  volunteer  soldiers,  which  office  he 
filled  for  six  years  with  such  credit  as  to  secure  a  reappoint- 
ment. He  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Masonic  and  other 
organizations  in  Greenville  and  was  an  officer  and  the  largest 
stockholder  in  the  Greenville  law  library.  He  traveled  exten- 
sively in  European  countries  and  was  an  authority  not  only 
on  Shakespeare  and  Napoleon,  but  also  on  Egypt.  He  had  a 
very  fine  private  library  with  the  contents  of  which  he  was 
familiar.     In  fine,  he  had  few  peers  in  this  section  of  the  state. 

Orla  E.  Harrison  was  born  near  Hollansburg,  in  1873,  grad- 
uated from  Greenville  high  school  in  1892  and  received  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  Science  from  the  National  Normal  Uni- 
versity at  Lebanon.  After  teaching  for  a  few  years,  he  read 
law  with  Judge  Allread  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1897. 
He  was  secretary  of  the  Darke  County  Agricultural  Society 
and  was  not  only  the  youngest  member  of  the  Ohio  Senate  in 
1901  but  was  the  first  republican  elected  to  that  office  from 
Darke  county.  Subsequently  he  occupied  important  positions 
in  the  office  of  the  attorney  general  of  Ohio,  and  in  the  office 
of  the  attorney  general  of  the  United  States,  and  is  now  prac- 
ticing in  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Robert  T.  Anderson,  Rolin  F.  Crider,  C.  L.  Brumbaugh, 
James  Chenoweth,  Albert  E.  Fonts,  A.  Alvin  North,  Milton 
Lee  Clawson,  Warren  C.  Swisher,  Volney  Williams,  E.  L. 
Bigler,  Alonzo  S.  Thomas,  O.  A.  Baker,  Charles  J.  O'Connor, 
Alfred  C.  Cassatt,  Alonzo  Jones,  S.  R.  Williams,  John  Fox, 
Charles  H.  Miller,  Harry  Simon,  John  W.  Donovan,  A.  V. 
Miller,  Roy  H.  Jamison  and  Thos.  Eubanks,  either  moved 
elsewhere,  or  took  up  more  lucrative  occupations. 

The  foregoing  sketches  of  attorneys  who  practiced  here 
and  either  died  or  moved  away,  are  not  to  be  taken  as  fairly 
setting  forth  the  comparative  ijierits  of  the  persons  under 
consideration.  The  brief  data  of  some  and  extended  notices 
about  others  is  an  indication  onlv  of  the  material  readily 
available  to  the  compiler  at  the  time  of  preparing  this 
chapter. 

The  present  members  of  the  bar  of  Darke  county,  who  have 
not  been  referred  to  under  the  bench  or  prosecuting  attorneys 
on  preceding  pages  are  Guy  C.  Baker,  T.  A.  Billingsly,  D.  W. 
Bowman,  A.  C.  Brandon,  W.  D.  Brumbaugh,  Claude 
Eliker,  A.  Calderwood,  L.  E.  Chenoweth,  George  F.  Crawford, 


502  DARKE    COUNTY 

H.  F.  Dershem,  W.  W.  Fowler,  D.  L.  Gaskill,  J.  ^1.  Hoel,  Kirk 
Hoffman,  Thomas  J.  Hughes,  George  A.  Katzenberger,  O.  R. 
Krickenberger,  George  W.  Mannix,  P.  B.  Miller,  T.  C.  Miller, 
S.  E.  Mote,  Marion  Murphy,  Geo.  W.  Porter,  A.  C.  Robeson, 
\\  .  Y.  Stubbs,  Martin  B.  Trainor,  Morgan  L.  Trainor,  E.  C. 
Wright  and  D.  W.  Younker.  It  would  be  obviously  difficult 
to  sound  their  respective  praises  without  being  liable  to  a 
suspicion  of  partiality,  or  possibly  in  some  instances  of 
prejudice.  Not  only  are  they  all  well  able  to  speak  for  them- 
selves, but  it  is  probable  that  extended  biographies  of  the  ma- 
jority will  be  found  in  Volume  H  of  this  work.  Suffice  it  to 
say  that  perhaps  without  exception  they  endeavor  to  be  true 
to  their  oath  as  officers  of  the  court,  and  that  they  have  quali- 
fications other  than  the  mere  glib  of  their  tongue. 

The  maintenance  of  law  and  order  by  the  state  is  nothing 
but  a  continual  struggle  against  the  lawlessness  which  vio- 
lates them.  As  long  as  human  nature  is  as  it  is,  so  long  as 
human  passions,  greed  and  other  vices  cause  men  to  do  that 
which  is  not  right  or  just,  so  long  as  the  golden  rule  is  not 
universally  applied,  so  long  there  must  be  law  and  lawyers. 
It  has  always  been  custom  to  ridicule  lawyers.  Shakespeare, 
in  Henrv  \"I,  has  one  character  to  say,  "The  first  thing  we 
do,  let's  kill  all  the  lawyers,"  and  Bassanio  in  the  Merchant 
of  \*enice  exclaims: 

"In  law,  what  plea  so  tainted  and  corrupt 
But,  being  season'd  with  a  gracious  voice. 
Obscures  the  show  of  evil?" 

But  after  all,  most  lawyers  are  no  worse  than  the  clients 
who  engage  them.  There  always  will  be  attorneys  who  will 
make  a  living  by  stirring  up  strife  unnecessarrily  and  taking 
cases  that  they  know  to  be  without  merit,  and  against  such 
lawyers  even  an  enlightened  public  opinion  is  powerless. 

We  conclude  from  Hamlet : 

'Tn  the  corrupted  currents  of  this  world 
Oft'ence's  gilded  hand  may  shove  by  justice. 
And  oft  'tis  seen  the  wicked  prize  itself 
Bu3's  out  the  law :  but  'tis  not  so  above ; 
There  is  no  shuffling,  there  the  action  lies 
In  his  true  nature ;  and  we  ourselves  compell'd, 
Even  to  the  teeth  and  forehead  of  our  faults, 
To  sfive  in  evidence." 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

LOCAL   MILITIA   ORGANIZATIONS. 

By   Lieut.   Geo.  A.   Katzenberger,   Company   AI.  Third   Regi- 
ment, O.  N.  G. 

That  a  man  shall  serve  his  country  in  time  of  war.  is  noble, 
brave  and  patriotic ;  but  that  a  man  shall  properly  prepare 
himself  in  time  of  peace  to  serve  in  war  is  all  of  these  things 
and  more.  It  is  noble  with  a  nobility  which  is  real,  not 
ideal.  It  is  brave  with  a  bravery  which  assumes  in  time  o: 
unemotional  peace  many  burdens,  among  them  that  of  bear- 
ing the  lack  of  appreciation  of  those  who  do  not  consider 
military  preparation  or  training  necessary. 

In  time  of  war  reliance  is  first  placed  upon  the  regular  army 
and  in  this  free  republic  there  is  such  a  lack  of  interest  in 
matters  military  and  such  an  apprehension  of  the  large  stand- 
ing armv  that  the  United  States  at  no  time  in  its  history  has 
had  a  large  fighting  force.  It  seems  to  be  felt  that  in  time 
of  trouble  the  masses  would  floc'.c  to  the  front  in  such  num- 
bers and  with  such  enthusiasm  that  a  large  standing  army  is 
unnecessary.  Repeated  wars  since  the  establishment  of  this 
government  have  proven  this  faith  to  be  well  founded.  For- 
tunatelv  the  people  in  the  early  part  of  our  existence  as  a 
nation  adopted  the  second  amendment  to  the  constitution  to 
the  effect  that  "A  well  regulated  militia,  being  necessary  to 
the  security  of  a  free  state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and 
bear  arms,  shall  not  be  infringed." 

The  Ohio  constitution  for  1802  laid  emphasis  upon  the  dan- 
ger of  a  standing  army  hut  nevertheless  provided  for  a  mili- 
tia. The  second  legislature  (December,  1803),  organized  a 
militia  system  dividing  the  state  into  districts,  each  of  which 
should  muster  a  military  division.  In  1811  to  1812  governor 
Return  J-  Meigs,  Jr.,  gave  the  strength  and  equipment  of  the 
militia    as    follows : 

Grand    total    35.349 

Rank  and  file 32,640 

Firearms  of  all  kinds 13,313 

Alen    without    arms    19,327 


504  DARKE    COUNTY 

About  this  time  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain  took 
place  and  ]\Iajor  George  Adams,  of  Dayton,  but  who  now  lies 
buried  in  Martin  cemetery  southeast  of  Greenville,  was  in 
command  of  the  fort  here,  holding  the  rank  of  lieutenant  col- 
onel in  the  militia.  There  were  adjutants  general  under  suc- 
ceeding governors  but  the  state  legislature  rarely  provided 
more  than  from  $1.00  to  $300.00,  compensation  for  them  ?md 
but  little  progress  could  be  made.  It  seems  well  nigh  impos- 
sible to  impress  more  than  a  few  people  with  the  fact  that  a 
nation  which  goes  to  war  unprepared,  educates  its  statesmen 
at  more  expense  than  its  soldiers. 

Notwithstanding  adverse  military  conditions,  in  time  the 
laws  of  the  state  had  so  far  de\eloped  as  to  positively  require 
of  every  able-bodied  man  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and 
forty-five,  to  repair  to  a  certain  place  in  the  county,  to  be 
named  by  the  chief  commanding  officer,  for  the  purpose  of 
drill,  and  such  a  clause  became  part  of  Article  IX  of  the  Ohio 
constitution  in  1851.  and  has  since  been  retained.  The  place 
mostly  selected  for  the  purpose  of  drill  was  the  county  seat 
and  the  time  generally  some  day  in  September  or  October. 

The  first  brigadier  general  appointed  for  the  county,  and 
in  the  coimty  by  the  governor  and  authority  of  the  general 
assembly,  was  William  Emerson,  resident  of  Harrison  town- 
ship. He  was  a  very  good  looking,  large  and  portly  man, 
weighing  220  pounds  and  when  dressed  in  his  uniform  had 
quite  a  military  air.  But  as  times  of  peace  bring  no  laurels 
to  the  soldier,  so  General  Emerson's  term  of  commanding  the 
militia  of  the  county  was  without  particular  glory.  The  gen- 
eral with  his  subordinate  officers  generally  had  a  gala  day  and 
a  good  time  at  muster,  as  whiskey  was  plenty  and  everybody 
approved  its  use.  The  rank  and  file  did  not  enjoy  the  situa- 
tion quite  so  much,  being  under  drill  from  10  a.  m.  until  3 
p.  m.,  carrying  a  gun,  stick  or  corn-stalk  without  much  rest  or 
shade.  The  drill  ground  was  the  low-lands  at  the  south  end 
of  town  where  the  groimd  is  level  and  was  finely  sodded  with 
a  thick,  short  grass,  soft  as  a  carpet.  During  the  interval  be- 
tween general  muster,  the  various  companies  composing  a  reg- 
iment were  required  to  drill  one  day  in  the  year  in  the  town- 
ship of  their  residence.  General  Emerson  continued  to  com- 
mand about  ten  years  and  had  about  that  number  of  general 
musters  at  which  he  commanded.  It  may  be  thought  by  some 
at  the  present,  that  the  old  muster  day  was  of  no  import- 
ance.    On  the  contrary  it  was  a  day  full  of  interest,  felt  by 


DARKE    COUNTY  505 

almost  every  citizen  in  the  cCiUnty.  It  would  luring-  together 
hundreds  of  spectators.  The  manoeuvers  on  the  field  were 
intended  to  be  according  to  Scott's  tactics. 

The  thirty-sixth  legislative  session,  which  met  in  Decem- 
ber, 1837,  and  adjourned  the  following  March,  appointed  as 
major  general  of  the  tenth  division,  Hiram  Bell.  The  patriot- 
ism of  the  masses  in  regard  to  drill  and  mustering  had  greatly 
cooled.  General  Bell  held  two  or  three  annual  reviews  and 
musters,  and  was  succeeded  in  command  by  Gen.  J.'  H.  Hos- 
tettor.  He  also  attempted  to  rally  the  interests  of  the  people 
in  matters  military  but  the  people  were  apathetic.  He  made 
one  or  two  spasmodic  efforts  to  keep  up  the  customs  but  to 
little  avail.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  these  generals  were 
particularly  learned  in  the  military  laws  and  regulations.  It 
may  be  safely  assumed  that  some  of  their  commands  were 
more  amusing  than  instructive  and  that  the  time  lost  in  at- 
tending the  musters  was  worth  as  much  as  the  instructions 
received.  There  are  so  many  people  who  have  conscientious 
scruples  against  military  service,  so  many  who  are  unwilling 
from  other  motives  to  serve,  and  so  many  who  have  faith  in 
an  early  millennium  of  universal  peace,  that  there  is  little 
wonder  that  people  lack  interest. 

In  May,  1846,  President  Polk  called  for  50,000  men  and 
war  was  officially  declared  against  Mexico.  Not  only  among 
the  militia  companies  but  among  the  citizens  generally  there 
were  indications  of  a  desire  to  take  part  in  the  contest.  The 
militia  of  Montgomery  county,  organized  as  the  first  brigade, 
which  was  commanded  by  brigadier  general,  Adam  Speice, 
was  attached  to  the  tenth  division  of  the  Ohio  militia,  all 
under  the  command  of  Major  General  Hiram  Bell,  of  Green- 
ville. A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  city  hall  in  Dayton. 
General  Adam  Speice  as  chairman,  stated  that  the  object  of 
the  meeting  was  to  give  an  expression  of  the  sentiment  of 
the  people  with  reference  to  the  war  and  to  adopt  such  meas- 
ures as  were  calculated  to  encourage  the  enrollment  of  vcil- 
unteers.  At  the  close  of  the  speaking  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  offered  and  adopted  : 

"Resolved,  That  we  view  with  satisfaction  the  promptness 
with  which  our  congress  has  drawn  the  sword  and  appealed 
to  the  God  of  battles  to  establish  what  has  been  as  earnestly 
sought  as  it  has  been  insolently  refused — peace  with  ^Mexico 
and  peace  with  Texas. 

"Resolved.     That  it  becomes  u?  as  American  citizens,  de- 


506  DARKE    COUNTY 

siring  the  success  of  our  arms,  to  cast  off  the  shackles  of 
party  and  unite  in  carrying  our  country  speedily  and  trium- 
phantly through  the  war. 

"Resolved.  That,  as  it  is  our  duty  as  soldiers  to  be  always 
ready,  we  will  exert  ourselves  to  fill  up  the  rank  of  our  com- 
panies, and  whenever  the  requisite  number  of  good  and  true 
men  shall  have  been  obtained,  we  will  march  to  the  seat  of 
war,  rejoicing  in  the  opportunity  afforded  of  defending  our 
country." 

Governor  Hartley  on  May  20th  in  compliance  with  the 
president's  requisition,  issued  general  order  No.  1,  calling 
upon  division  generals  to  muster  their  commands  at  once  and 
thus  ascertain  how  many  men  would  enlist  as  infantry  or 
rifllemen  for  twelve  months'  service,  unless  sooner  dis- 
charged. Major  General  Bell,  at  Greenville,  received  the 
order  on  the  23d  and  immediately  ordered  the  tenth  division 
to  assemble  by  brigades  at  the  following  places : 

The  first  brigade  at  Dayton.  May  26th  ;  the  second,  at  Troy. 
May  27th;  the  third,  at  Sidney.  May  28th;  and  the  fourth,  at 
Greenville,  May  29th. 

On  May  28th,  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  city  hall  at  Dayton 
and  resolutions  were  adopted  to  the  effect  that  whatever  dif- 
ferences of  opinion  may  have  existed  or  might  still  exist  with 
reference  to  the  causes  or  the  necessity  of  war  with  Mexico, 
now  that  it  had  actvially  begun  it  was  the  duty  of  every  citi- 
zen, as  well  as  the  dictate  of  enlightened  patriotism,  to  forego 
those  differences  of  opinion  and  to  forget  all  other  and 
meaner  considerations  for  that  of  the  glory  of  our  cherished 
country,  and  approving  the  call  for  .^0,000  men  to  carry  on  the 
war. 

The  Da3'ton  companies  were  included  in  the  first  regiment, 
and  saw  service  at  the  battle  of  Monterey. 

It  is  difficult  at  this  time  to  secure  authentic  information 
concerning  subsequent  military  organizations  in  this  vicinity. 
The  part  taken  by  the  citizens  of  Darke  county  in  the  great 
civil  conflict  has  been  fulh'  treated  in  this  and  other  volumes, 
and  this  chapter  endeavors  to  relate  chiefly  to  the  militia  as 
such.  In  the  fifties,  Jonathan  Crainor  was  captain  of  a  mili- 
tary company.  Harvey  Mark  was  in  command  of  a  company 
called  the  Greenville  Guards.  There  was  also  a  company  of 
militia  composed  chiefly  of  Germans  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain Billy  Schmidt,  the  leading  druggist.  Among  the  mem- 
bers of  this  latter  organization  were  Nicholas  Kuntz.  Fred  or 


DARKE    COUNTY  507 

Gottfried  Brombacher,  Peter  Ashman,  Nicholas  Ashman, 
Louis  Foutz,  Fred  Koenig  and  his  brother  John  Koenig.  This 
organization  was  known  as  the  Greenville  Jaegers.  There 
was  also  a  company  of  soldier  boys  under  command  of  Davis 
Beers. 

Another  company  of  militia  was  organized  in  April,  1881, 
and  assigned  to  the  Third  Regiment,  O.  X.  G.,  as  "C"  Com- 
pany and  mustered  in  by  Adjt.  General  H.  A.  Axline. 

Edward  Martin,  captain. 

Oscar  Van  Horn,  iirst  lieutenant. 

E.  H.  A^oelkle,  second  lieutenant. 

The  onlv  services  performed  while  Martin  was  in  command 
was  four  davs'  service  in  connection  with  President  Garfield's 
funeral  at  Cleveland.  Ohio.  Martin  resigned  command  in 
September,  1883,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Golenor.  Among 
the  members  of  this  company  were  as  follows : 

Charles  Balser,  Tom  Beanblossom,  Pies  Bell,  Ellison  Cole, 
Ed  Craig,  Horace  Curtis,  Dan  Devilbliss,  James  Dick,  Dixon 
George,  Will  Downey,  William  Dunker,  Reuben  Enoch,  John 
Fight,  Charles  Gerstner,  Tom  Gibblin,  Charles  Gilbert,  John 
Golenor,  Samuel  Hays,  W.  Halsted,  A.  L.  Hays,  Wm.  Hays, 
C.  Hollehan,  Wm.  Hoisted,  Jacobs  Toney,  Jos.  Leckleider, 
Michael  Maher,  Thomas  Maher,  Gyp.  Matchett,  Capt.  Ed. 
IMartin,  Dr.  A.  F.  Markwith,  Wm.  Mercer,  Wm.  R.  :\Iiller, 
Frank  M.  ^lills,  Tom  McCune,  James  Moore,  Dan  JMurphy, 
Jno.  F.  Alurphy,  Samuel  Ray,  David  Ream,  David  Ries,  John 
,Ries,  Pete  Renschler,  Charles  Roland,  Jr.,  Truman  Sothron, 
Ed  Sothron,  J.  X.  Smelker,  X'^ewton  Scribner,  Dan  Schach- 
inger,  James  Smith,  Mark  Smith,  T.  X^ewton  Smith,  John 
Slonaker,  Wm.  Slonaker,  George  Smith,  Charles  Smith,  Jacob 
Stickle,  A\^m.  Stone,  George  Swisher,  John  H.  Swartz,  Carn 
Ullery,  Ed  \^an  Horn,  Oscar  Van  Horn,  Wm.  Webb,  George 
Witters,  George  Wolf  and  Oliver  P.  Wolf. 

Before  this  company  disbanded  it  saw  service  in  Cincin- 
nati in  1884  during  the  riots  at  the  time  the  court  house  was 
destroyed. 

Matters  militarj'  were  dormant  until  after  the  Spanish- 
Am.erican  war. 

Companjr  M,  Third  Regiment  of  Infantry,  O.  X.  G.,  was 
mustered  into  service  February  25,  1901,  by  Major  C.  B. 
Adams  of  adjutant  general  headquarters,  Capt.  Wm.  E. 
Ewing,  assistant  surgeon,  as  medical  examiner.  Muster  oc- 
curred at  the  court  house,   Greenville,  Ohio.     The  company 


508  DARKE    COUNTY 

was  attached  to  the  First  Battahon  under  command  of  Alajcr 
Ray  M.  Gilbert,  with  headquarters  at  Greenville.  It  is 
worthy  of  note  here  that  Major  Gilbert  was  exceedingly  ac- 
tive in  the  organization  of  the  company  and  gave  much  of  his 
time  later  to  the  drilling  and  perfecting  of  the  organization. 
Henry  L.  Yount,  who  had  been  a  private  and  later  second 
lieutenant  in  Company  G,  at  Gettysburg,  was  chosen  cap- 
tain, James  J.  Martz  first  lieutenant,  William  A.  Browne,  Jr.. 
second  lieutenant.  The  first  drills  were  held  in  the  city  hall 
and  in  1901  the  company  headquarters  were  moved  into  the 
armory  built  for  Company  M.  The  armory  is  located  on 
AYalnut  street,  between  Alain  and  Third  streets.  It  is  cen- 
trally located  and  is  ample,  large  and  well  arranged.  A.  A'. 
A\'illiams  was  the  first  sergeant  of  the  company  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Arthur  V.  Miller  on  January  7,  1902.  C.  Fred 
Lockett  was  the  first  quarter  master  sergeant,  but  was  dis- 
charged May  27.  1902  and  promoted  to  adjutant  to  Major 
Ray  M.  Gilbert,  succeeding  Wm.  R.  Pruner,  resigned,  and 
served  until  1908.  The  personnel  of  the  company  at  its  or- 
ganization was  as  follows : 

Orlie  R.  Beanblossom,  Lewis  Black,  Carl  H.  Bowman, 
Lynn  Brown,  Wm.  A.  Browne,  Jr.,  Edgar  A.  Burtch.  Orval 
R.  Brandon,  Omer  Brandon.  Ernest  Aukerman.  \'ernon  K. 
Craig.  David  A.  Dorman,  subsequently  corporal,  sergeant, 
first  sergeant  batallion,  sergeant  major  and  finally  batallion 
quartermaster  and  commissary  with  rank  of  second  lieuten- 
ant, remaining  in  the  service  until  1910.  Robert  Dalrymple. 
Murray  Eidson,  Ora  W.  Evans,  John  T.  Ferron  subsequently 
first  lieutenant.  Joe  C.  Hindsley,  Orval  Horlacher,  Howard 
B.  Hoei  subsequently  second  lieutenant,  Ormel  A.  Kellogg. 
Henry  M.  Kreusch.  C.  Fred  Lockett,  Benj.  F.  Martz.  James 
J.  Martz  subsequently  captain.  Ray  McFarland,  James  L. 
Morningstar.  \\'ilber  R.  Martin.  Dwight  L.  IMatchette  com- 
pany clerk.  Ira  A.  Markwith,  Arthur  V.  Miller  subsequently 
second  lieutenant  and  captain.  Ray  A.  McKeon.  A\^alter  S. 
McKeon.  Samuel  Miller,  Glen  D.  IMartin,  Clayton  E.  Xoggle. 
Walter  W.  Nusbaum,  Fred  W.  Plessinger,  Patrick  H.  Ryan, 
J.  E.  Rooks,  Wm.  S.  Rhotehamel,  Ernest  H.  Reece.  Fred  X. 
Rebka.  Frank  Sloan,  Wm.  C.  Snyder,  .\lvie  D.  Stocker.  Fred 
Smith,  Leslie  Shoup,  Richard  D.  Turpen,  John  P.  Turpen. 
Walter  I.  Vogt.  Robert  D.  Warner  for  many  years  a  very 
efificient  quartermaster  sergeant  in  the  regiment  and  still   in 


D\RKE    COUNTY  509 

tlie  service,  \'olney  \\'illiar,is,  General  J.  Young  and  Henry 
L.  Yount. 

The  first  non-commissioned  officers  were : 

Sergeants:  Volney  Williams,  Ray  AIcKeon,  Arthur  \'. 
Miller,  Ernest  H.  Reece,  C.  Fred  Lockett;  corporals:  Wm.  C. 
Snyder,  General  J.  Young,  Fred  W.  Plessinger,  Fred  LaFever, 
David  A.  Dorman.  Vernon  K.  Craig ;  musicians :  John  P. 
Turpen,  Wm.  W.  Nusbaum.  Miller  succeeded  Williams  as 
first  sergeant  and  Young  succeeded  Lockett  as  quartermaster 
sergeant ;   Lynn   Little  succeeded   Nusbaum  as  musician. 

First  -camp  was  in  July,  1901,  at  Toledo,  Ohio.  Wm. 
Krause,  a  member  of  the  company  was  killed  at  Bufifalo,  N. 
Y.,  and  buried  by  Company  M,  at  Greenville  Sunday,  June 
30th.  Company  M  also  officially  attended  the  funeral  of 
Hugh  Niswonger,  Henry  Ficken,  Edgar  Burtch.  William 
Gaskill  and  Jesse  Lindley,  U.  S.  A.,  who  died  in  the  Philip- 
pines. 

September  19,  1901,  Company  'M.  with  entire  Ohio  Na- 
tional Guard  and  United  States  troops,  attended  the  funeral 
of  President  McKinley  at  Canton,  Ohio. 

Thanksgiving  dance  was  given  Thursday,  November  26, 
1901,  at  which  all  regimental  officers  were  present,  it  being 
a  successful  military  and  social  afifair,  and  succeeded  by  simi- 
lar events  usually  on  Washington's  birthday. 

Regular  encampments  of  State  guard  participated  in  by 
Company  ]\I  in  1902-1903  at  Newark,  Ohio,  which  were  in- 
structive and  pleasing. 

Company  ]\I,  with  other  commands  of  the  Third  Regiment 
was  ordered  to  report  to  Col.  H.  E.  Mead  at  Springfield,  Ohio, 
to  assist  in  maintaining  peace  and  protecting  property  March 
9  to  11,  1904.  Forty-eight  men  assembled  for  action  in  two 
hours'  time,  but  no  trouble  was  experienced  at  the  scene  of 
riot.  June  2,  1904,  Major  Ray  M.  Gilbert  resigned  his  commis- 
sion, and  at  a  nominating  convention  to  fill  the  vacancy  held 
at  Dayton,  June  10,  1904,  Capt.  Henry  L.  Yount,  commanding 
officer  of  Company  M  was  nominated  to  fill  the  vacancy. 
Election  was  held  June  17,  1904,  at  which  time  he  was  elected 
major.  Second  lieutenant  W.  A.  Browne  resigned  the  com- 
mission, same  taking  effect  June  20,  1904.  About  this  time 
the  company  moved  into  the  Irwin  building  on  East  Fifth 
street,  where  it  still  occupies  suitable  quarters. 

The  manoeuvers  in  August,  1904,  were  in  Athens  county, 
and  the  encampment  in  August,  1906,  near  Bolivar,  while  in 


510  DARKE    COUNTY 

1907,  the  Third  Regiment  went  to  Camp  Perry  on  the  shore 
of  Lake  Erie.  In  1908  the  army  manoeuvers  were  held  at 
Fort  Benjamin  Harrison,  near  Indianapolis,  Ind.,  September 
1  to  10,  and  August  8  to  20,  1909,  Captain  Dershem  was  last 
in  command  of  Company  M,  at  Camp  Perry,  Ohio.  The  fol- 
lowing year  the  joint  manoeuvers  with  the  United  States 
army  was  at  Fort  Benjamin  Harrison,  Captain  Katzenberger 
being  in  command  of  the  local  company.  The  subsequent 
encampments  until  1913  and  at  Dayton  were  under  command 
of  Captain  Gilbert. 

The  commanding  ofificers  of  Company  ]\I  were  successively 
Henry  L.  Yount,  from  the  time  of  the  muster  into  service 
February  25.  1901.  until  his  election  as  major  in  June.  1904; 
James  J.  ]\Iartz,  who  had  acted  as  first  lieutenant  since  the 
organization  of  the  company  and  was  elected  captain  on 
August  9.  1904,  he  was  succeeded  by  Captain  Arthur  V. 
]\Iiller,  who  was  elected  October  7,  1904.  The  next  com- 
manding officer  was  Harvey  F.  Dershem,  who  had  had  con- 
siderable experience  during  sixteen  years  as  member  and 
later  officer  of  the  very  efficient  company  at  Gettysburg.  Cap- 
tain Dershem  was  in  command  for  about  three  years  from 
May  27,  1907,  being  succeeded  in  April,  1910,  by  First  Lieu- 
tenant George  A.  Katzenberger,  who  had  served  as  batallion 
quartermaster  and  commissary  in  1908,  and  batallion  adjutant 
for  several  years.  This  officer  had  command  of  the  company 
during  the  Columbus  street  car  riots  from  July  28,  to  August 
9,  1910  and  after  raising  the  company's  strength  from  thirty- 
nine  to  sixty-three,  was  elected  captain  September'  1st  of  that 
year,  and  commissioned  while  on  the  road  to  Fort  Benjamin 
Harrison.  He  was  succeeded  the  following  year  by  Ray 
M.  Gilbert,  who  had  resigned  as  major  and  now  upon  re- 
entering the  service  remained  in  command  until  he  was,  at 
his  own  request,  retired  January  1,  1914.  The  captain-elect  is 
Charles  S.  Slade,  a  man  well  fitted  for  the  position.  The  suc- 
cessive first  lieutenants  were:  James  J.  Martz,  1901-04; 
Arthur  V.  ^Miller,  1904;  Robert  B.  Fissel,  who  had  been  a 
member  of  the  Sixth  L^nited  States  Infantry,  1904;  James  R. 
^Marker,  September,  1905-1906;  George  A.  Katzenberger, 
April  13.  1910  to  September  1,  1910;  John  T.  Ferron.  August 
19.  1912. 

The  successive  second  lieutenants  were:  ^^'illiam  .\. 
Browne,  Jr.,  1901-04;  Robert  E.  Fissel.  who  had  been  a  priv- 
ate in  the  war  with   Spain   and   served   in  the  Sixth  United 


DARKE    COUNTY  511 

States  Infantry  in  the  Philippines.  1902-1904;  Howard  B. 
Hoel,  October,  1904-1906;  Roy  H.  Jamison,  December  5, 
1908 — ;  Joseph  F.  Hascher,  April  5,  1910  to  January,  1914; 
David  A.  Dorman,  present  incumbent. 

Company  AI  has  always  borne  its  part  well  and  reflected 
credit  upon  the  city  and  county.  At  the  annual  tournaments 
at  Camp  Perry  on  Lake  Erie,  the  men  have  held  their  own  as 
marksmen,  and  at  the  manoeuvers  with  officers  and  regulars 
of  the  United  States  army,  our  boys  have  lost  nothing  by 
comparison.  The  company  participated  in  the  centennial 
celebration  at  Eaton  in  1908,  and  at  the  Wright  Brothers 
celebration  in  Dayton,  July  16,  17  and  18,  1909,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  exercises  at  the  unveiling  of  the  monument  to 
Admiral  Stephen  Clegg  Rowan,  at  Pic|ua,  Ohio,  October  13, 
1909.  Reference  has  hereinbefore  been  made  to  the  com- 
pany's exacting  duties  during  the  disorders  at  Columbus  in 
1010.  The  longest  tour  of  dut}'  was  rluriiig  March  and  April, 
1913.  during  the  destructive  floods  in  snuthern  Ohio,  Com- 
pany 'M  being  on  duty  for  a  period  of  thirty  days. 

A  newspaper  clipping  from  a  Dayton  paper  at  this  period 
quoting  Adjutant  General  W^ood,  is  to  the  eft'ect  that  the 
Ohio  National  Guard  is  one  of  the  best  organizations  of  its 
kind.  The  general  states  that  since  the  troops  have  been 
f|uartered  in  the  city  of  Dayton  not  a  single  complaint  has 
l)een  filed  at  headquarters  against  the  conduct  o"  the  soldiers 
by   civilians. 

"This,"  said  the  General,  "applying  to  hundreds  of  raw 
boys,  many  of  whom  have  had  their  first  taste  of  authority 
while  doing  guard  duty  at  this  place,  speaks  well  for  the 
training  they  have  had  at  the  summer  camps." 

When  asked  if  he  considered  military  duty  of  the  kind  the 
troops  are  doing  at  present  as  being  good  from  a  military 
standpoint,  as  the  experience  derived  from  the  summer  mili- 
tary camps.  General  Wood  said :  "The  work  done  at  Camp 
Perry  and  other  places  is  meant  to  fit  the  troops  for  just  such 
work  as  this.  Without  the  practical  training  received  at  these 
places  the  state  could  not  have  a  body  of  men  sufficiently 
trained  in  the  rules  of  military  discipline  to  be  competent  to 
cooe  with  a  situation  like  the  present. 

Proud  of  His  Men. 

"I  am  proud  of  the  Ohio  National  Guard.  To  a  man  its 
members   have    done    their  duty   well   and   faithfully.     They 


J12 


DARKE    COUNTY 


have  been  constantly  on  the  job,  day  and  night,  and  I  am  sure 
that  but  very  few  men  have  passed  through  their  lines  with- 
out the  proper  credentials. 

"I  am  especially  proud  of  the  company  from  Greenville.  I 
am  confident  that  a  black  cat  could  not  have  passed  through 
their  lines  on  a  dark  night  without  losing  at  least  three  of 
its  nine  lives.  The  commanding  officer  had  as  much  trouble 
getting  past  the  Darke  county  lads  as  any  one.  Sometimes  I 
am  inclined  to  think  he  had  more. 

"No  guard  from  Greenville  ever  passed  me  in  my  car  with- 
out first  compelling  one  of  my  aides  to  clamber  out  and  be 
recognized." 


PUBLIC   BUILDINGS.   GREENVILLE,   OHIO 


CHAPTER  XXJ\". 
THE  COUNTY  SEAT. 

The  county  is  the  poHtical  and  social  unit  of  the  state,  and 
around  its  seat  of  government  the  proud  and  patriotic  senti- 
ments of  its  citizens  crystallize.  It  is  well  worth  while  to 
preserve  and  cherish  the  early  traditions  that  cluster  about 
the  capital  city  of  Darke  county  and  to  foster  the  fine  senti- 
ments aroused  by  the  contemplation  of  its  various  religions, 
social,  utilitarian  and  public  institutions.  We  have  noted  the 
selection  of  the  site  of  Greenville  by  the  pioneers  as  a  central 
and  desirable  location  for  the  county  seat — a  beautiful,  ele- 
vated, level  plain  with  almost  perfect  drainage  on  three  sides 
and  such  natural  advantages  as  contribute  to  make  it  the  log- 
ical and  ideal  situation  for  the  capital  of  a  rich  and  thriving 
shire.  The  outstanding  features  of  village  life  here  have  been 
dwelt  upon  at  length  and  we  will  now  notice  how  Greenville 
has  developed  from  a  small  country  town  to  a  respectable  city 
of  the  smaller  class.  A  directory  of  the  town  published  in 
1857  shows  the  following  business  and  professional  firms: 

Merchant  tailors  and  clothing — B.  D.  Dean  &  Co.,  and  J- 
Oppenheimer. 

Hats,  caps  and  furs — W^illiam  Mitchell. 

Saddle  and  harness  shops — J.  Tomilson  &  Son,  Alanson 
Brown  and  W.  Hart. 

Tanneries  and  leather  stores — Dawes  &  Taylor  and  J-  W. 
Porter. 

Banks — Farmers'  Bank,  by  Winner  and  Frizell. 

Furniture  and  ware  rooms — Juddy  &  Miller. 

Provision  and  Grocery  stores — J.  F.  Bertsch,  Charles 
Nurmberger,  G.  A.  Katzenberger,  J.  G.  Fisher. 

Distillers  and  brewers — Turner  and  Brother  Distillerv  and 
Grist  Mill,  Piqua  pike  (now  Martin  street,  just  east  of  Plum), 
T.  C.  Katzenberger,  Water  street  Tat  head  of  Sycamore). 

Liquor  stores — Wm.   Crandall  and   G.  W.   Bloom. 

Saloon — A.  Gutheil. 

Hotels — Broadway  Hotel,  W^m.  C.  Fitts  proprietor   (Farm- 
ers' National  Bank")  :  Cottage  House,  James  Parrish,  proprie- 
tor: Mansion  House,  T.  A.  Corbin,  proprietor. 
(33) 


514  DARKE    COUNTY 

Livery  stable — J.  C.  Arens. 

Attorneys-at-Law — John  Wharry,  E.  B.  Putnam,  W.  Allen, 
D.  L.  Aleeker,  A\'.  'SI.  \\'ilson,  Benjamin  Hubbard,  J.  R.  Knox, 
J.  A.  Corbin,  Charles  G.  Matchett  and  David  Beers. 

Physicians — I.  X.  Gard,  C.  Otwell,  G.  Miesse,  A.  Ayers, 
O.  E.  Lucas,  E.  Lynch,  Z.  M.  Lansdowne,  F.  Loewen. 

Dentist— W.  C.  Porterfield. 

Barber  shops— G.  R.  Bell,  W.  Kipp. 

Gunsmith — John   Sweitzer   (South   Fourth   street). 

Fanning  mill  manufactory — Kerr  &  Hart  (East  Third 
street). 

Carriage  and  wagon  makers — J.  Greenawalt,  E.  Bond,  John 
Cox. 

Blacksmiths — Jeremiah  Reis,  John  Fettery,  Wm.  Oswalt. 

Joiners  and  builders — F.  H.  McCune,  George  Ullery,  J.  M. 
McGinnis,  Thomas  McGinnis. 

Bakeries  and  confectionery  shops — J.  R.  Clark,  D.  E.  Van- 
tilburg. 

Newspapers  and  job  printing — Greenville  Journal,  E.  B. 
Taylor,  editor  and  proprietor ;  Darke  County  Democrat,  H. 
Miller,  editor ;  Crystal  Fountain,  J.  G.  Jones,  editor. 

Books  and  stationery — N.  Webb,  J.  Vanmeter. 

Jewelry  store — N.  Webb. 

Tobacco  manufactory — L  Bornstein. 

Daguerrotype  artist — A.  Yount. 

Drug  stores — Schmidt  &  Schlenker,  Glines  &  Hubbard. 

Dealers  in  general  merchandise — Workman  &  Daily,  Ar- 
nold &  Davis,  F.  and  J.  L.  \'N'^aring,  John  Hufnagle,  F.  Crider. 

Hardware — S.  W.  Ullery. 

Stoves,  copper  and  Tinware — S.  Allen,  L  N.  Beedle. 

Boots  and  Shoes— J.  R.  Challis,  Biltemier  &  Co.,  G.  W. 
Miller. 

Fur  trader — .\.  LaMott. 

Meat  markets — Daniel   Zimmerman,   Eli   Helm. 

Bricklayer  and  plasterer — John  Essick. 

Miscellaneous — H.  Arnold,  S.  Bachman,  C.  Biltemier,  W. 
H.  Daily,  D.  R.  Davis,  E.  Dawes,  David  Erwin,  J.  D.  Farrar, 
J  ^^^  Frizell,  Moses  Hart,  W.  Kerr,  Kuntz  Bros,  saw  mill, 
J.  C.  Lines,  S.  F.  Perrine,  W'm.  Schmidt,  S.  Schlenker,  J.  .\. 
Schmermund,  J.  Tomilson,  J.  Taylor,  Charles  W.  Tait.  J.  L. 
^^'inner,  T.  H.  Workman,  F.  Waring,  J.  L.  Waring. 

Postmaster — C.   H.   Long. 

Justice  and  mayor's  office — J.  W.  O'Brist. 


DARKE    COUNTY  515 

County  officials — Auditor,  J.  C.  Shepherd ;  recorder,  D.  M. 
Stevenson ;  treasurer,  J.  AIcKhann ;  clerk,  S.  H.  Robinson ; 
probate  judge,  A.  R.  Caldervvood ;  prosecutor,  D.  L.  Meeker ; 
sheriff,  Joshua  Townsend ;  surveyor,  John   Devon 

The  map  of  the  town  at  this  time  showed  the  built  up  por- 
tion largely  confined  between  Greenville  creek  on  the  north, 
Fourth  and  ]\Iartin  streets  on  the  south,  Warren  and  Mul- 
berry (Ludlow)  streets  on  the  east,  and  Vine  street  on  the 
west.  There  were  four 'or  five  houses  in  "Mina  Town"  (North 
Greenville)  and  about  twenty  in  "Huntertown."  From  Mar- 
tin street  and  the  West  school  ground  southward  to  Sater 
street  and  from  Central  avenue  to  the  Greenville  and  Miami 
railroad  extended  the  Armstong  land  of  one  hundred  and 
eight  acres.  The  porter  tannery  showed  north  of  the  bridge 
on  the  west  side  of  Broadway ;  Dawes  and  Taylor's  tannery 
on  the  north  side  of  Water  street  between  Sycamore  and  Elm 
streets ;  a  foundr}'  and  machine  shop  on  the  northwest  cor- 
ner of  Main  and  Elm  streets ;  Sweitzer's  gunsmith  shop  on 
the  west  side  of  South  Fourth  (now  Sweitzer  street)  street 
near  present  end  of  Fourth  street ;  a  pottery  just  west  of  the 
present  site  of  the  ^I.  E.  church  ;  a  school  house  just  west 
of  the  pottery  :  the  court  house  in  the  public  square  with  a 
market-house  a  few  rods  to  the  north ;  the  Greenville  and 
Miami  (D.  &  U.)  railway  machine  shops  near  the  present 
site  of  the  East  school  building:  the  Christian  church  on  the 
west  side  of  Walnut  street,  between  Third  and  Fourth  streets, 
and  a  school  house  almost  opposite ;  the  M.  E.  church  on  Syca- 
more, between  Third  and  Fourth  streets ;  the  Baptist  church 
on  the  east  side  of  Elm  street,  between  Third  and  Fourth 
streets ;  the  Episcopal  church  on  the  northeast  corner  of 
Third  and  Walnut  streets;  the  Presbyterian  church,  at  its 
present  location  ;  the  Second  Presbyterian  church,  where  St. 
Paul's  Lutheran  church  now  stands,,  on  East  Fourth  street ; 
the  German  M.  E.  church  on  east  Water  street.  The  jail  ap- 
pears on  the  west  side  of  Broadway  between  Third  street  and 
the  first  alley  south.  The  business  houses  clustered  about  the 
public  square  and  extended  down  Broadway  to  Third  street 
with  a  few  scattered  establishments  as  far  south  as  Fourth 
street. 

The  G.  and  M.  railway  was  the  onh'  one  reaching  the 
county  seat  at  this  date.  By  the  outbreak  of  the  civil  war 
four  turnpikes  had  been  constructed,  connecting  Greenville 
with  outlying  villages,  greatly  increasing  its  trade  facilities 


516  DAKKE    COUNTY 

and  making  it  independent  of  Piqua  and  Dayton  .or  shipping 
advantages.  During  the  Civil  war,  no  doubt,  the  town  made 
little  progress  but  it  was  at  this  time  that  the  Panhandle  rail- 
way was  constructed  and  the  old  Baptist  and  U.  B.  church 
structure  on  Elm  street  was  purchased  and  remodeled  by  the 
Catholics.  A  few  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  the  town 
took  on  new  life,  old  structures  were  remodeled  or  torn  down 
and  replaced  by  new  ones,  a  foundry  and  machine  shop,  and 
a  steam  planing  mill  were  constructed,  a  large  three-story 
brick  school  building  erected,  streets  graded  and  improved, 
and  interest  quickened  in  the  cause  of  education.  The  open- 
ing up  of  large  tracts  of  land  and  the  increased  market  facil- 
ities of  Greenville  greatly  stimulated  trade  and  caused  many 
business  changes. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  activitv  and  progress  of  this  period 
it  is  said  that  in  May,  1869,  there  were  more  than  sixty  build- 
ings being  built  or  remodeled.  In  1870  Greenville  had  2,520 
inhabitants.  The  next  decade  was  to  witness  probably  greater 
improvements,  for  in  1872  the  Reformed  church  was  built,  in 

1873  the    ]McWhinney    (Trainor)    opera   house   was   built,   in 

1874  the  new  court  house  was  dedicated,  having  been  erected 
at  a  cost  of  some  $175,000.00,  in  1875  the  new  city  building 
was  erected  in  the  public  square  on  the  site  of  the  old  court 
house,  besides  the  beautiful  residence  of  Charles  Roland,  Sr., 
E.  C.  Shade  (Daniel  Henne)  and  the  foundation  for  the  then 
palatial  home  of  Judge  D.  L.  Meeker,  recently  torn  down. 

An  important  event  during  this  decade  was  the  selling  of 
sixteen  acres  ofif  the  Armstrong  commons  in  1877,  in  the 
south  central  part  of  town  for  $15,000.00.  This  was  soon 
platted  and  graded  and  within  three  years  was  half  built  upon 
with  good  residences.  Building  operations  continued  during 
the  next  decade  with  unabated  zeal. 

In  1880  Greenville  had  3,535  and  the  county  40,833  inhabi- 
tants. In  that  year  a  substantial  three-stor}'  brick  building 
was  finished  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Broadway  and  Third 
street  by  Dr.  John  Matchett  and  Wilson  and  Hart,  being  by 
far  the  best  business  room  constructed  up  to  that  date. 
Henry  St.  Clair  opened  up  a  wholesale  grocery  about  1880. 
In  1883  the  beautiful  and  commodious  East  school  building 
and  the  three  story,  four  room,  pressed  brick  Ohio  block,  lo- 
cated on  the  east  side  of  Broadway  between  Third  and. Fourth 
streets  were  completed.  The  Winner  block,  a  little  further 
south  on  the  west  side,  the  Anderson  block  corner  Broadway 


DARKE    COLXTY  517 

and  Fourth  street,  soon  followed.  The  Mozart  Theater 
and  skating  rink  on  ^Vest  Fourth  street  was  also 
erected.  The  four-story  Union  block  (now  Westerfield  build- 
ing) on  South  Broadway,  opposite  Martin  street  was  com- 
pleted about  1891.  During  this  same  period  the  Armstrong 
plat  continued  to  be  built  upon,  and  the  new  Christian  Taber- 
nacle (1888)  on  West  Fifth  street.  Besides  the  Mackinaw 
(Cincinnati  Northern)  Railway  reached  Greenville  during 
this  period.  By  1890  the  town  was  fairly  well  built  as  far 
south  as  the  Panhandle  railway  with  a  string  of  houses  con- 
necting the  suburb  of  "Huntertown." 

In  1890  Greenville  had  a  population  of  5473.  During  the 
decade  from  1890  to  1900  the  beautiful  new  Presbyterian, 
Lutheran,  and  ^lethodist  churches  were  built  on  Fourth 
street,  the  Universalist  church  on  Fifth  street,  the  U.  B. 
church  on  \V'ayne  avenue,  the  St.  Clair  and  Bickel  residences. 
It  was  during  this  period  that  the  water  works  and  electric 
light  plants,  and  the  North  school  building  (1899)  were  con- 
structed, the  Mozart  department  store  opened  and  the  Daily 
Tribune  and  Advocate  started. 

In  1900  Greenville  had  a  population  of  6,237.  Between  1900 
and  1910  greater  public  improvements  were  made  than  in  any 
previous  decade — putting  Greenville  out  of  the  class  of  a 
backwoods  town  and  into  that  of  a  modern  city  of  the  smaller 
class.  In  1900  Broadway  was  paved  with  vitrified  brick  from 
the  bridge  to  ^^'ashington  avenue,  and  the  cross  streets — 
AVater,  Main,  Third,  Fourth  and  Fifth — one  square  each  way 
■ — over  a  mile  in  all.  at  a  cost  of  $66,000.00.  Washington 
Avenue  was  pa\ed  with  asphalt  blocks  as  far  as  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railway  in  1901  :  West  Fourth  and  Switzer  streets 
to  the  Pennsylvania  railway :  East  Third  to  Locust  street, 
and  South  Washington  avenue  to  Sater  street,  in  1903:  East 
Fourth  and  East  Fifth  streets  soon  after;  North  Main  and 
North  Broadway  (Minatown),  East  Main.  East  Third  and 
West  Main  about  1907;  Central  avenue  to  Sater  street  and 
Martin  street  to  the  D.  &  U.  railway  in  1910:  and  :\Iartin 
street  from  the  D.  &  L^.  railway  to  the  corporation  line  and 
West  Third  street  to  Chestnut  street  in  1911,  so  that  at  this 
time  (1914)  there  are  nearly  six  miles  of  paved  streets  in  the 
citv.  When  the  first  paving  was  put  down  in  1900.  about 
eighteen  miles  of  sanitary  and  nine  miles  of  storm  sewers 
were  also  put  in  at  a  cost  of  $73,000.00.  The  citv  now  h^s 
.some  thirty-five  miles  of  improved  streets  and  prnbablv  twice 


518  DARKE    COUNTY 

that  in  length  of  cement  sidewalks.  The  Dayton  and  North- 
ern Traction  (Ohio  Electric)  line  was  also  built  at  this  time. 
During  this  decade  the  Carnegie  Library  (1901),  the  govern- 
ment building  (1909),  the  new  Catholic  church  (1902),  the 
new  Episcopal  church  (1906),  the  JNIasonic  Temple  (1908), 
the  new  Armory,  the  Breaden,  \\\  L.  Meeker,  D.  W.  Bow- 
man and  C.  J.  Herr  residences  erected  and  a  large  part  of 
the  Armstrong  addition  lying  between  Central  and  Grey 
avenues,  and  the  Pennsylvania  railway  and  Sater  street  was 
built  up.  Besides  these  the  new  Anderson,  Irwin  and 
Weaver  Blocks,  the  Lohman  Carriage  and  Telescope  Works, 
the  Ross  Supply  Co.,  the  J.  Waller  Cannery  Co.,  the  new 
Hollinger  Fence  building,  the  Western  Ohio  Creamery  Co. 
plant,  the  Gem  Incubator  building(  now  Knitting  Mills)  be- 
sides several  large  tobacco  warehouses  were  built  up  and  the 
Richeson  and  Nelson  tile  plant  greatly  enlarged  and  equipped 
with  new  machinery  and  appliances.  Vast  improvements 
were  also  made  in  grading  and  improving  lawns  and  removing 
unsightly  sheds,  fences  and  obstructions.  The  new  concrete 
Broadway  bridge  was  constructed  in  1908-1909  at  a  cost  of 
some  $40,000.00. 

Since  1910,  the  beautiful  St.  Clair  memorial  building,  the 
Coppock  residence,  the  new  Krickenberger,  Thomas  and 
Trainor  business  rooms,  besides  many  artistic  and  substantial 
residences  have  been  constructed  and  the  city  continues  to 
expand  in  all  directions.  The  population  of  the  city  is  now 
about  seven  thousand,  the  number  of  separate  plats  and  addi- 
tions included  is  about  seventy  and  the  amount  of  territory 
embraced  in  the  corporate  limits,  about  1,035  acres,  or  one 
and  six-tenths  square  miles.  It  is  probably  the  most  solidly 
and  subsequently  built  up  cities  of  its  size  in  the  state  of  Ohio. 
While  reviewing  the  city's  progress  a  brief  sketch  of  the  es- 
tablishment and  growth  of  the  various  public  utilities  and  city 
institutions  is  in  order. 

As  the  county  seat  grew  into  the  proportions  of  a  city  the 
question  of  an  adequate  suppy  of  wholesome  water,  both 
for  domestic  use  and  as  an  additiona  precaution  in  case  of 
fire,  agitated  the  citizens,  and  much  discussion,  pro  and 
con,  was  engaged  in  by  the  press  and  the  people.  As  a 
result  a  board  of  trustees  was  appointed  and  an  election 
called  in  the  summer  of  1892  at  which  the  citizens  voted 
favorably  on  the  proposition  to  issue  $75,000.00  in  Ijonds 
to     construct    and    install    a    proper     water    works     system, 


DARKE    COUNTY  519 

including  wells,  pumping  station,  stand  pipe,  fire  hydrants, 
mains,  etc.  A  bond  issue  of  $5,000.00  passed  the  coun- 
cil November  30,  1892,  and  one  for  $75,000.00  on  De- 
cember 12,  1892.  A  tract  of  7.58  acres,  being  a  part  of 
the  bottom  land  of  the  John  11.  Alartin  farm,  about  one-hal; 
mile  west  of  the  city,  was  purchased  December  12,  1892,  and 
a  tract  of  2.69  acres  afterward  for  the  total  sum  of  $1,145.50. 
It  seems  that  this  place  was  decided  upon  on  account  of  the 
body  of  water  above  the  site  which  could  be  made  available 
in  case  of  fire,  and  the  comparative  proximity  to  the  city. 
Nine  six-inch  wells  were  sunk  at  first.  In  the  summer  oi  1893 
a  neat  and  substantial  brick  pumping  station  was  erected  a 
short  distance  from  the  south  bank  of  the  creek,  two  com- 
pound, duplex,  condensing  pumps  with  a  capacity  of  1,500,000 
gallons  each  were  installed  and  proper  connection  made  with 
the  wells  at  a  total  cost  of  some  twentj^-three  thousand  dol- 
lars. About  eleven  and  a  half  miles  of  pipe  were  laid  at  first, 
which  has  since  been  increased  to  eighteen  miles.  For  emer- 
gency use  a  large  brick  tower  with  superimposed  water  tank 
with  a  total  height  of  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet 
was  constructed  on  a  lot  near  the  northeast  corner  of  Chest- 
nut and  West  Third  streets.  There  are  now  fourteen  wells 
in  service  with  an  estimated  capacity  of  800,000  gallons. 
The  water  was  examined  by  the  state  bacteriologist  in  1905. 
The  analysis  showed  "a  ground  water  of  good  quality  as  re- 
gards its  pollution  from  organic  pollution.  The  number  ot 
bacteria  was  very  low,  intestinal  bacteria  were  absent,  and 
chemically  there  was  no  evidence  of  any  sewage  pollution." 
A  report  from  the  state  board  of  health  issued  about  this 
time,  showed  the  water  safe,  and,  except  for  iron  and  hard- 
ness, satisfactory  for  domestic  and  municipal  use." 

Three  engineers  are  now  employed  at  the  pumping  sta- 
tion, two  at  $65.00  per  month  each,  and  one  at  $66.00  per 
month,  one  superintendent  at  $1,000.00,  one  superintendent's 
helper  at  $720.00  and  one  clerk  at  $480.00  per  year,  to  operate 
and  maintain  the  plant,  and  attend  to  the  collection  of  charges 
from  consumers.  There  are  now  1,703  services,  and  1,500 
consumers  with  an  annual  estimated  consumption  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  million  gallons.  Much  of  this  water  is  used 
to  operate  the  automatic  flush  system  attached  to  the  city 
sewers,  and  to  supply  the  public  drinking  fountains  operated 
in  the  business  section  of  the  city.  On  account  of  the  short- 
age  in   the   supplv   in     exceputionally    dry     summer    seasons 


520  DARKE    COUNTY 

Steps  have  been  taken  by  the  city  to  secure  an  increased 
water  supply,  by  installing  a  filtration  plant,  and  utilizing  the 
water  from  Greenville  creek.  Johnson  and  Fuller  have  drawn 
plans  for  a  settling  and  purifying  plant  with  a  capacity  of 
3,000,000  gallons  daily  and  it  is  the  intention  of  the  depart- 
ment to  have  this  installed  this  season.  The  result  desired  is 
to  secure  a  supply  of  two  thousand  gallons  per  minute,  or 
three  million  gallons  per  day,  which  will  be  ample  for  fires 
or  any  purpose. 

Mr.  John  P.  Lucas  is  the  efficient  superintendent  of  this  ex- 
tremely valuable  public  utility  having  held  this  important 
office  of  public  trust  since  January  1,  1896.  During  this  time 
the  system  has  been  greatly  enlarged  and  extended  and  Air. 
Lucas  has  striven  to  make  the  plan  adequate  to  the  increasing 
public  demands,  and  conduct  it  in  a  thorough  and  business-like 
manner.     Air.  Karl  Schmermund  is  clerk  of  this  department. 

The  Greenville  Electric  Light  &  Power  Co. 

On  the  19th  day  of  January.  1894.  the  Greenville  Electric 
Light  &  Power  Compau}'  was  incorporated.  Its  incorpo- 
rators were  A.  W.  Rush,  A.  J.  Klinger,  A.  E.  Bunger,  Z.  T. 
Dorman  and  Charles  E.  Wright.  The  amount  of  capital  stoc": 
included  in  its  corporation  was  $15,000.00.  On  the  21st  day 
of  Alarch,  1894,  the  organization  was  completed  and  the  fol- 
lowing stockholders  and  citizens  of  Greenville  elected  as  its 
first  board  of  directors:  A.  J.  Klinger.  D.  L.  Gaskill,  A.  C. 
Robeson,  J.  AI.  Bickel.  Charles  J.  Herr,  W.  A.  Hopkins,  L.  C. 
Anderson,  Z.  T.  Dorman  and  A.  F.  Alarkwith.  The  board  or- 
ganized by  electing  D.  L.  Gaskill  as  president,  E.  C.  ^^'right 
as  secretary  and  Charles  E.  \\'right  as  treasurer. 

No  action  was  taken  by  the  company  in  1894  but  in  the 
spring  of  1895.  a  contract  was  made  with  the  city  of  Green- 
ville for  the  lighting  of  the  streets,  in  which  the  city  of  Green- 
ville took  seventy-six  open  arcs  at  a  cost  of  $84.50  each  per 
year,  and  made  a  contract  with  the  companv  for  that  light- 
ing to  run  for  ten  years.  The  stock  of  the  company  was  in- 
creased ao  $30,000.00,  and  the  company  at  once  proceeded  to 
the  erection  of  its  plant  in  the  city  of  Greenville.  Thirty-two 
thousand  dollars  were  spent  in  its  construction  at  that  time 
and  the  plant  began  operation  in  October  of  1895. 

From  time  to  time  the  stock  of  the  company  was  increased 
as  the  growth  of  the  company  required,  until  at  present  it  has 


DARKE    COUNTY  521 

$115,000.00  of  stock  fully  paid  up  and  has  one  of  the  largest 
and  best  generating  statoins  in  western  Ohio.  Its  lines  now 
cover  seventy-five  miles  of  long  distance  transmission  in  addi- 
tion to  the  lines  within  the  city  of  Greenville,  Ohio.  It  has 
one  thousand  kw.  capacity  and  furnishes  current  for  Brad- 
ford, Gettysburg,  Ansonia,  New  Madison,  Eldorado,  West 
]\Ianchester,  Lewisburg,  Brookville  and  Union  City. 

The  company  has  followed  the  plan  of  keeping  its  officers 
so  long  as  they  were  willing  to  serve  and  of  the  original  board 
of  directors,  D.  L.  Gaskill,  J.  M.  Bickel,  Z.  T.  Dorman  and  A. 
C.  Robeson  still  remain  on  the  board.  D.  L.  Gasrkill  has 
served  continuously  as  president  since  its  organization,  and 
in  1896  ^^'.  S.  Meeker  was  elected  secretary  and  has  continued 
in  that  office  since  that  date.  Vacancies  on  the  board  of  direc- 
tors have  only  arisen  by  the  sale  of  their  interest  in  the  com- 
pany or  b}'  death. 

The  company  has  kept  apace  with  the  progress  of  the  elec- 
trical industry  and  its  reputation  is  national  for  good  service 
and  progressive  ideas. 

The  present  executive  officers  are  D.  L.  Gaskill  jiresident. 
A\'.  S.  Meeker  secretary,  \\'.  G.  Bishop  treasurer  and  S.  ^I. 
Rust  superintendent.  Some  of  the  employees  of  the  company 
have  been  with  the  company  since  its  organization. 

.■\s  a  public  utility  it  feels  the  responsibility  that  a  utility 
should  have  in  advancing  the  interests  of  the  city  in  which  it 
is  located  and  stands  readv  with  its  means  and  its  business  to 
assist  the  city  of  Greenville  in  everv  way  possible. 

The  Greenville  Home  Telephone  Company. 

The  telephone  company  was  organized  June,  1900;  capital 
stock  $100,000.00.  During  the  first  year,  240  telephones  were 
installed  with  a  few  miles  of  toll  line.  In  January.  1914,  the 
company  operated  ten  exchanges  with  4,400  subscribers'  sta- 
tions, with  several  miles  of  iron  and  copper  toll  line  circuits 
connecting  with  U.  S.  Telephone  Co.  and  Central  Union  Tele- 
phone Co.,  and  A.  T.  &  T.  for  long  distance  service. 

Number  of  employees  in  office  of  exchange,  75 ;  wire  chief, 
inspector  and  linemen,  15.  Names  of  present  directors:  J.  A. 
Ries,  C.  R.  Leftwich,  W.  D.  Rush,  G.  F.  Schermund,  S.  A. 
Hostetter,  L.  J.  George,  Conrad  Kipp,  S.  C.  Riegel.  and  B.  P. 
Conkling. 

President  of  the  company,  Conrad  Kipp ;  vice-president,  C. 


522  DARKE    COUNTY 

R.    Leftwich,    treasurer:    G.    F.    Schmermund,    secretary    and 
general  manager,  W.  D.  Rush. 

The  old  Bell  telephone  system,  which  had  been  operated  for 
probably  twent}'  years,  was  giving  service  to  about  300  sub- 
scribers in  1900.  In  August,  1911,  they  had  fifty-five  sub- 
scribers in  Greenville  with  twenty-one  toll  stations.  The  toll 
stations  and  subscribers'  stations  at  that  time  were  discon- 
tinued and  all  the  property  was  taken  over  by  the  Greenville 
Home  Telephone  Company.  Telephone  rates  are  $2.00  and 
$1.00;  business  $2.00  and  residence  and  farm  $1.00. 

The  Fire  Department. 

The  fire  department  dates  existence  from  a  destructive  fire 
in  the  early  part  of  1871.  In  the  early  days,  the  business 
rooms  were  mostly  two  stories  in  height  and  were  scattered 
in  location  so  that  fires  were  readily  controlled.  However, 
on  the  night  of  December  13,  1855.  the  Buckeye  House,  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  the  public  square  (]Ma- 
sonic  Temple  site)  took  fire  in  the  third  story  and  burned  to 
the  ground,  causing  a  total  loss  to  the  proprietor,  J.  L.  \\'in- 
ner.  By  a  concurrence  of  favorable  circumstances  the  fire 
was  confined  to  this  one  building,  but  the  public  was  stirred 
and  the  purchase  of  a  hand  fire-engine  and  organization  of  a 
fire  fighters  brigade  was  discussed.  No  action  was  taken  and 
the  matter  was  dropped  until  after  the  big  fire  on  the  night 
of  April  21,  1871,  which  started  in  the  livery  barn  of  George 
Stevens  (known  as  the  "Flying  Dutchman")  just  east  of  the 
present  government  building  and  spread  eastward  to  the 
Blottman  building  and  Tod  and  Snyder's  stable  on  East  Third 
street,  scattering  fire  brands  on  the  Christian  and  Lutheran 
churches,  and  causing  a  loss  estimated  at  from  fifteen  to  fifty 
thousand  dollars. 

The  citizens  now  became  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  pro- 
viding for  adequate  fire  protection  and  appealed  to  the  city 
council  to  organize  a  fire  department,  and  procure  proper 
equipment  for  same.  Accordingly,  the  council  passed  an  ordi- 
nance on  June  1,  1871,  creating  a  fire  department  consisting  of 
a  chief,  first  and  second  assistants,  three  fire  wardens,  and 
such  men  as  might  be  required  from  time  to  time.  At  this 
meeting  bonds  were  issued  for  six  thousand  dollars  to  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  new  department  for  the  years  1872,  1873  and 
1874.     Rev.   D.   K.   McConnell,  of  the  Christian   church,  was 


DARKE    COUNTY  ."iJO 

appointed  as  the  first  chief  with  T.  P.  Turpen  first  assistant, 
and  F.  E.  Moores,  second  assistant,  John  C.  Turpen  secre- 
tary, D.  M.  Stevenson  treasurer,  E.  J.  Hickox  engineer. 

A  Silsby  steam  fire  engine,  two  hose  reels  and  five  hundred 
feet  of  hose  were  purchased  at  once,  at  a  cost  of  $7,250 — the 
engine  being  deli\'ered,  tested  and  accepted  by  council  June 
16? 

This  engine  was  housed  at  first  in  a  frame  building  on  lot 
59,  West  Main  street,  until  the  completion  of  the  new  city 
hall  in  1875,  when  the  outfit  was  transferred  to  a  room  in  the 
north  side  of  that  building  which  had  been  constructed  for 
the  purpose.  In  those  days  the  engine  and  reels  were  run 
out  by  the  minute  men  who  composed  the  volunteer  force  of 
the  department.  The  three  wardens  looked  after  the  hose  and 
equipments  during  fires,  protecting  the  property  from  dam- 
age, one  assistant  chief  looked  after  the  engine  and  the  other 
after  the  hose  reel,  while  the  chief  took  charge  of  all. 

When  the  company  was  organized  John  T.  Lecklider  was 
mayor,  and  George  W.  Moore,  J.  G.  Martini,  F.  M.  Eidson,  J- 
P.  Winget  and  D.  E.  Vantilburg,  councilmen. 

A  second  Silsby  fire  engine  was  purchased  for  $3,450  under 
an  ordinance  passed  by  the  council  May  21,  1881.  With  the 
growth  of  the  department  it  became  imperative  that  more 
adequate  housing  facilities  be  provided.  Accordingly,  on 
February  26,  1883,  the  council  passed  an  ordinance  to  issue 
bonds  not  to  exceed  seven  thousand  dollars  for  the  purchase 
of  real  estate  for  the  fire  department  and  for  equipment,  and 
on  May  28,  1883,  authorized  the  purchase  of  a  lot,  forty  feet 
by  one  hundred  feet  in  size,  off  the  east  side  of  lot  number  73 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  the  public  square 
for  $3,500.  The  old  brick  building  on  this  corner,  the  first 
erected  in  the  county,  was  soon  torn  down  and  a  commodious, 
two  story  modern  fire  department  building  erected  with  two 
large  exits  on  the  square,  stable  accommodations  for  several 
horses  in  the  rear,  and  sleeping  apartments  and  a  council 
chamber  above. 

A  second  team  was  purchased  about  this  time  and  a  Game- 
well  fire  alarm  system  installed. 

A  combination  chemical  engine  and  hose  wagon  was  pur- 
chased in  the  fall  of  1905,  at  a  cost  of  $1,365.  The  last  pur- 
chase was  a  hundred-horse-power  American  LaFrance  triple 
combinatian,  motor  fire  engine,  weighing  about  eleven 
thousand  pounds  with  attached  equipments,  and  having  a  ca- 


524  DARKE    COUNTY 

pacity  of  750  gallons  per  minute.  This  engine  was  delivered 
January  30,  1914,  and  cost  $9,000.00. 

It  has  a  speed  of  sixty  miles  and  has  displaced  one  of  the 
teams  of  horses. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  company  in  1871,  D.  K.  Mc- 
Connell,  John  Winget  John  Ries,  C.  S.  McKeon.  Taylor  Dor- 
man  and  James  Boyer  have  acted  as  chief. 

The  present  firemen  are  George  Hathaway,  Louis  Hatha- 
way, C.  A.  Hufnagle  and  Benjamin  Dunker,  and  the  minute 
men,  George  Murphy,  Ben  Ream,  George  Ream  and  Oscar 
Nelson. 

The  Postofifice. 

The  history  of  the  Greenville  postoffice  would  make  a  fas- 
cinating story  in  which  businesss  and  romance  ahe  strangely 
intermingled.  In  early  days  the  arrival  of  a  letter  from  an- 
other section  of  the  state  or  from  the  older  settlements  of  the 
eastern  states  was  hailed  with  delight  and  counted  an  im- 
portant event  in  the  family.  .Sometimes  the  postage  on  a 
single  letter  was  twenty-five  cents  which  was  paid  by  the  re- 
cipient. The  office  was  usually  in  a  little  store  room  of  some 
local  merchant,  who  took  charge  of  the  mail  along  with  his 
other  afifairs.  and  waited  upon  his  patrons  at  convenience. 

About  1828  and  for  several  years  later,  it  is  said,  the  post- 
office  was  located  in  a  little  frame  building  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  Water  and  Sycamore  streets.  Abraham  Scribner  is 
mentioned  as  one  of  the  early  postmasters.  The  office  was 
later  located  in  a  frame  building  just  east  of  the  present  site 
of  the  new  government  building,  then  later  across  the  street 
Trom  this  point  in  a  small  brick  building  on  the  rear  of  the 
present  traction  office  lot.  For  several  years  prior  to  the 
ci\il  war  it  was  located  in  the  Hufnagle  building  on  the  north- 
west corner  of  the  Broadway  and  the  public  square.  It  is 
said  that  John  Jobes  acted  as  postmaster  here  about  1840, 
and  a  certain  Captain  Smith,  about  1855.  Smith  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  S.  Shepherd,  who  moved  the  office  into  the  H. 
A.  Webb  room,  on  Broadway  near  Third  street.  O.  H.  Long 
succeeded  Shepherd.  In  September,  1861,  E.  W.  Otwell 
became  postmaster,  and  removed  the  office,  it  seems,  into  the 
Harper  building,  one  door  south,  and  later  into  the  old  Peb- 
bledash  home  of  his  father,  Dr.  Curtis  Otwell,  on  the  south- 
west corner  of  Broadway  and  Fourth  street  (court  house  site"). 
He  was  succeeded  in  the  fall  of  1865  bv  T.  W,  McCabe.  who 


PARKE  COUNTY  ^-::' 

moved  the  office  to  a  little  frame  building  on  West  ?vlain 
street  on  the  present  site  of  the  H.  St.  Clair  Co.,  wholesale 
grocery.  Ham  Slade  succeeded  McCabe,  but  was  elected 
count)'  clerk  in  1868,  and  his  unexpired  term  was  filled  out  by 
George  Perry.  In  1871  we  find  the  postoffice  in  the  Waring 
building  on  the  west  side  of  the  public  square  (Craig's  tin 
shop),  and  Henry  Stevenson,  holding  the  office.  Stephenson 
died  during  his  incumbency  and  was  succeeded  by  his  wife, 
during  whose  term  the  office  was  located  in  the  opera  house 
on  Third  street  (about  1874  to  January,  1879),  and  then  in 
the  rear  of  the  Allen  building  on  Fourth  street  opposite  the 
court  house.  Daniel  Heim  succeeded  Mrs.  Stevenson  during 
the  first  Cleveland  administration  when  the  office  was  located 
in  the  Roland  building  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Fourth  and 
Broadway.  Here  the  office  remained  and  here  George  Perry, 
Daniel  Heim,  Isaac  Killer,  Alonzo  Jones  and  William  Halley 
served  successively  in  the  capacity  of  master  of  the  mails, 
until  the  completion  of  the  new  government  building  on  the 
southeast  corner  of  East  Main  street  and  the  public  square, 
January  1,  1910. 

Free  mail  delivery  was  started  in  Greenville  on  Monday, 
May  16,  1898,  with  L.  O.  Lecklider,  W.  R.  Pruner  and  AValter 
Maines  as  carriers,  and  A.  Kellogg  and  Cassius  Stoltz  as  sub- 
stitutes. At  that  time  two  deliveries  were  made  in  the  busi- 
ness section  and  in  the  residence  section  daily.  With  the 
growth  of  the  city  and  the  increase  in  business,  a  demand 
arose  for  a  building  adequate  for  the  needs  of  the  city,  and  a 
committee  of  representative  citizens,  including  A.  N.  Wilson, 
John  C.  Clark,  James  I.  Allread  and  Charles  M.  Anderson 
were  sent  to  Washington,  D.  C,  to  lay  the  city's  claim  before 
the  senate  finance  committee.  Through  the  active  co-opera- 
tion of  Harvey  C.  Garber.  then  the  representative  of  the 
fourth  congressional  district,  their  efforts  eventuated  in  the 
securing  of  an  appropriation  of  some  thirty-five  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  construction  of  a  government  building,  provided 
that  the  citizens  furnish  the  site.  Several  eligible  sites  were 
inspected  by  an  agent  of  the  government  including  the  Kat- 
zenberger  property  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Main  street  and 
the  public  square.  As  usual  in  such  cases  there  was  strong 
competition  between  the  residents  of  the  older  northern  and 
the  rapidlv  developing  southern  section  of  the  city  over  the 
location  of  the  proposed  building.  This  was  soon  stopped, 
however,  by  a  committee  of  business  men  with  interests  cen- 


526  DARKE    COUNTY 

tering  in  the  neighborhood  of  upper  Broadway  and  public 
square,  who  purchased  a  plot  of  ground  practically  101  feet 
by  126  feet  in  size,  on  the  above  mentioned  corner  and  had  it 
transferred  to  the  United  States  of  America,  on  March  5,  1907, 
for  the  consideration  of  one  dollar. 

The  old  brick  building  which  had  been  erected  by  Potter 
in  1832  and  occupied  by  the  Katzenberger  brothers  as  a  gro- 
cery for  many  years  was  soon  torn  down.  The  work  of  exca- 
vation was  soon  commenced,  and  the  building  completed  in 
1909. 

The  new  structure  is  of  the  colonial  style  of  architecture, 
carried  out  in  detail  with  small  window  panes,  pillared  en- 
trances, deep  white  cornices  and  roof  ballustrades  and  dor- 
mers. The  walls  are  built  of  red  pressed  brick  and  the  roof 
is  pitched  low.  There  is  an  entrance  on  Main  street  and  one 
on  the  public  square.  The  building  is  heated  by  low  pressure 
steam,  lighted  by  electricity  and  equipped  with  sanitary 
closets,  shower  baths,  hot  and  cold  water  in  the  basement.  A 
high  marble  wainscot  surrounds  the  vestibule.  There  is  a 
large  lobby  on  the  ]\Iain  street  side  which  also  extends  past 
the  public  square  entrance.  It  has  an  artificial  mozaic  floor 
and  is  faced  with  quarter  sawed,  paneled  oak  wainscoting. 
The  main  work  room  is  on  the  southeastern  side  of  the 
building.  It  is  well  lighted  and  equipped  for  the  numerous 
clerks  and  carriers.  The  money  order  and  register  and  postal 
savings  division  is  on  the  east  side.  The  postmaster  has  a 
separate  room  facing  the  public  square.  The  office  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  new  building  by  Postmaster  \Vm.  E.  Halley, 
January   1,   1910. 

I\Ir.  Halley  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  .\dam  H.  Sleeker,  the 
present  incumbent,  October,  1913. 

The  office  force  now  comprises  the  postmaster,  the  assis- 
tant postmaster,  !Mr.  Joseph  C.  Katzenberger,  five  clerks,  five 
city  carriers,  two  janitors,  cme  messenger  and  eleven  rural 
carriers.  James  Perry  and  Osborn  Wilson  are  the  mailing 
clerks :  Kittv  Spain,  money  order  clerk ;  Ella  Calderwood, 
stamp  clerk :  Tillie  Dunn,  auxiliary.  Walter  ]\Iaines,  J.  J. 
OT>rien,  Ora  Ganger,  Charles  Brumbaugh,  and  Jesse  Bruss 
are  the  city  carriers,  and  Elam  IMiller  the  messenger. 

The  postmaster  now  receives  a  salary  of  $2,700.00  and  his 
assistant  $1,300.00  per  year. 

The  gross  receipts  of  the  office  in  1913  were  about 
$23,000.00. 


DARKE    COUNTY  527 

Greenville  is  one  of  the  few  second-class  offices  in  Ohio  now 
housed  in  a  government  building. 

Greenville  Public  Schools. 

The  social  and  intellectual  progress  of  Greenville  and 
Darke  county  is  well  indicated  by  the  transition  from  the 
little  log  house  to  the  modernly  planned  and  equipped  pressed 
brick  school  building. 

The  development  of  the  Green\-ille  schools  up  to  1880  has 
been  reviewed  in  another  place,  from  the  old  log  school  house 
on  Elm  street,  and  the  first  two  brick  grade  schools,  the 
private  schools,  the  establishment  of  the  high  school  in  1869, 
and  the  first  few  years  of  the  histor}'  of  that  institution.  The 
growth  of  the  city  and  the  advancing  requirements  of  High 
school  work  soon  called  for  the  erection  of  another  school 
building.  In  response  to  this  demand  a  fine  lot  comprising 
some  three  acres  was  purchased  on  East  Fifth  street,  between 
Montgomery  and  Green  streets,  about  1881,  and  a  beautiful 
large  brick  building  with  two  graceful  towers,  two  stories 
high  and  with  mansard  roof  was  constructed  in  1883  at  a  cost 
of  some  $75,000.00.  This  building  was  intended  primarily  for 
a  high  school — an  assembly  room,  a  laboratory,  an  extra  rec- 
itation room  and  a  large  auditorium  on  the  second  floor  being 
set  aside  for  the  use  of  this  department,  while  the  rooms 
down  stairs  and  the  east  room  up  stairs  were  devoted  to  the 
lower  grades  for  the  convenience  of  the  pupils  living  in  the 
eastern  section  of  the  city.  Since  being  remodled  this  build- 
ing has  fourteen  regular  session  rooms  and  one  assembly 
room.  From  1867  to  1888,  Prof.  J.  T.  Martz  continued  at 
the  head  of  the  schools  and  by  his  scholarship,  discipline  and 
tenacity  of  purpose  established  an  enviable  reputation  for 
Greenville  educational  institutions.  In  1888.  Prof.  F.  Gillum 
Cromer,  now  president  of  the  Miami  Valley  Chautauqua, 
became  superintendent,  and  held  this  position  until  1895. 
During  his  incumbency  he  introduced  several  of  the  advanced 
ideas  of  education,  including  the  savings  bank,  the  fire  drill, 
and  a  circulating  library,  and  revised  the  curriculum.  C.  L. 
Brumbaugh  fnow  representing  Franklin  county,  Ohio  in  con- 
gress), became  superintendent  in  1895,  and  held  that  office 
until  1899.  During  this  period  four  good  sized  classes  were 
graduated  and  a  demand  developed  for  a  sectional  grade 
school  to  accommodate  the  pupils  living  in  North  Greenville. 


528  DARKE    COUNTY 

This  demand  was  met  by  the  purchase  of  a  lot  on  North 
Main  street,  between  Wayne  and  Spring  streets  and  the 
erection  of  a  modern  one  story,  four  roomed,  grey  brick 
school,  with  central  dome,  large  corridor,  scientific  lighting 
and  ventilation,  at  a  probable  cost  of  some  twenty-five  thous- 
and dollars.  Prof.  E.  M.  Van  Cleve  (now  superintendent  of 
the  Ohio  Blind  commission),  was  the  able  and  enthusiastic 
superintendent  from  1899  to  1903.  During  his  incumbency 
the  Carnegie  library  and  museum  was  built,  and  became  an 
important  auxiliary  to  the  schools.  Prof.  Van  Cleve  was  a 
good  literary  student  and  did  much  to  build  up  the  library  and 
revise  and  strengthen  the  curriculum.  Prof.  J.  W.  Swartz 
served  from  1903  to  1905.  During  this  period  the  "Depart- 
ment Plan"  was  gradually  introduced,  by  which  all  seventh 
and  eighth  grades,  except  one  room  at  the  North  building 
were  organized  into  a  department  of  four  teachers.  Prof. 
Swartz  also  paid  special  attention  to  the  development  of 
athletics  in  the  high  school.  Prof.  W.  S.  Rowe  served  from 
1905  to  1906.  In  the  fall  of  1905  the  board  introduced  the  de- 
partment of  household  arts,  furnishing  a  very  complete 
equipment  for  domestic  science.  Manual  training  and  the 
kindergarten  were  made  possible  through  the  thoughtful  be- 
quest of  the  late  Mr.  Henry  St.  Clair,  who  purchased  the 
equipments  for  these  departments  and  had  them  installed 
under  the  direction  of  the  board  of  educaion,  in  the  summer 
of  1905.  Prof.  James  J-  Martz  sticceeded  to  the  superin- 
tendency  in  the  fall  of  1908.  and  served  until  his  resignation  in 
the  spring  of  1914.  Prof.  Martz  is  a  son  of  the  late  Jacob  T. 
Martz,  the  first  superintendent,  a  graduate  of  the  Greenville 
high  school  (class  of  1891),  a  graduate  of  Ohio  Weslyan  Uni- 
versity, and  had  several  j'^ears  of  experience  in  high  school 
work  before  assuming  this  responsible  office.  During  his 
term  several  important  changes  and  improvements  have  been 
made  including  the  remodeling  and  moving  of  the  old  West 
school  building,  the  erection  of  the  Henry  St.  Clair  memo- 
rial hall  (which  now  houses  the  department  of  industrial  art, 
household  arts,  manual  training  and  kindergarten),  and  the 
erection  of  the  new  South  school  building.  This  latter  build- 
ing was  erected  in  1911,  at  a  cost  of  some  $25,000,  on  a  fine 
lot  located  south  of  Sater  street  between  Washington  and 
Wayne  avenues,  and  was  built  to  accommodate  the  grade 
pupils  of  the  rapidly  growing  south  side.  On  account  of  its 
late  construction  it   embodies    manv  of  the    latest    ideas  of 


DARKE    COUNTY  529 

school  architecture.  It  was  designed  by  Howard  and  Aler- 
riam,  and  constructed  by  E.  E.  Bope,  following  the  erection 
of  the  memorial  hall  by  those  builders.  It  contains  eight  reg- 
ular grade  rooms,  besides  two  large  play  rooms  and  toilet 
conveniences  in  the  basement. 

Several  factors  have  contributed  to  the  rapid  development 
of  the  public  school  system,  and  the  gradual  increase  in  the 
number  of  graduates,  among  which  might  be  included  the 
following:  the  Boxwell-Patterson  law,  making  it  possible 
for  rural  grade  graduates  to  enter  any  high  school  in  the 
county,  without  conditions ;  the  popular  demand  for  higher 
education ;  the  broadening  and  strengthening  of  the  high 
school  courses ;  the  employment  of  specialists  as  instructors 
in  the  various  branches  of  the  curriculum  ;  the  greatly  im- 
proved equipment  and  conveniences,  and  the  holding  of  an- 
nual institutes.  These'things  have  all  acted  favorably  in  the 
Greenville  schools  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  enrollment 
in  the  high  school  has  increased  from  155  in  1900,  to  303  in 
1914.  While  the  total  enrollment  has  increased  from  1,076  to 
1,352  during  the  same  period.  With  four  modernly  equipped 
brick  buildings,  the  Carnegie  library  and  the  Memorial  build- 
ing, all  located  with  special  reference  to  the  conveni- 
ence of  the  pupils  of  the  various  sections  of  the  city. 
Greenville  has  a  school  system  that  is  probably  not  excelled 
by  that  of  any  city  of  its  size  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  The  high 
school  has  been  certified  by  the  Ohio  School  commissioner  as 
"first  grade"  for  several  years,  permitting  its  graduates  to  en- 
ter the  freshman  year  of  some  of  the  best  colleges  and  uni- 
versities of  the  United  States  without  condition.  Within  re- 
cent years  special  development  has  taken  place  in  the  grades 
in  the  departments  of  music,  drawing,  applied  art,  manual 
training,  and  the  progressive  study  of  English  literature.  In 
the  high  school  great  progress  has  been  made  in  these  same 
departments,  besides  domestic  economy,  modern  and  ancient 
languages,  history,  science,  mathematics,  art,  expression, 
pedagogy,  commercial  training  and  athletics. 

The  total  number  of  graduates  to  date  is  7-14,  of  whom  479 
were  girls  and  265  boys.  150,  or  more  than  one-fifth  of  the 
entire  number,  have  been  graduated  in  the  last  three  classes. 

The  monthly  pay  roll  shows  the  following  items : 
(34) 


530  DARKE    COUNTY 

Superintendent's  saary $    255.55 

High  school  tuition 1,379.16 

Grade    tuition    1,750.00 

Library    employees    135.00 

Janitors    325.00 


,844.71 


The  following  schedule  of  teachers  for  the  school  year  of 
1913-14  shows  one  superintendent,  five  principals,  besides 
twenty-two  grade,  nine  high  school,  two  kindergarten  and 
four  special  teachers,  a  total  force  of  forty-three.  Practically 
all  of  the  high  school  instructors  have  taken  courses  covering 
a  period  of  from  one  to  five  years  in  some  standard  Ameri- 
can college  or  university,  while  nearly  all  of  the  grade  teach- 
ers are  graduates  of  the  high  school,^  and  have  had  special 
normal  or  college  preparation. 

East  Building. 

O.  E.  Bowers,  principal:  Carrie  Rush,  Lillian  Hoel,  Mabel 
Turner,  Alcie  Allen,  Mary  Studebal-:er,  Anna  Stephens,  Esther 
Gaskill,  Isabel  Ketring,  Louise  Hall,  and  Nannie  Eller,  grade 
teachers ;  Onda  Ridenour,  kindergarten. 

West  Building. 

J.  B.  Long,  principal ;  Alargaret  Mannix,  Kitt  Townsend, 
Lucile  Iverlin,  Ivlyde  \\'hiteley,  Elsie  Black. 

North  Building. 

Mary  Stallman,  principal ;  Edith  Dininger,  Lelia  Miller, 
Grace  Reed. 

South  Building. 

Clara  Heckerman,  principal ;  Elizabeth  Lynch,  Estella 
Mong,  Lucile  Fitzgerald,  Cena  Davis. 

High  School. 

Minor  McCool,  principal,  biology ;  Frederick  Roehm,  Ger- 
man;  E.  F.  Babb,  mathmetics;  Ophelia  G.  Byers,  English; 
H.  H.  Howett,  history ;  Harry  Metzger,  science ;  IMyrtle 
Boyer,   phonography   and   typewriting;   Inez   Osborn,    Latin: 


DARKE    COUNTY  531 

Alma   Polk,   English ;  Nelson   E.   Thomas,  algebra  and   com- 
mon  branches. 

Special   Teachers — Memorial   Hall. 

Anna  Bier,  industrial  art ;  Grace  Cowles,  domestic  econ- 
omy; L.  Evelyn  Roberts,  music;  E.  W.  Bowers,  manual  train- 
ing ;  Mary  C.  Ferris,  kindergarten  ;  J.  J.  Martz,  superintend- 
ent. 

Members  of  the  board  of  education — John  Mong,  presi- 
dent; Dr.  W.  T.  Fitzgerald,  J.  E.  Williams,  clerk;  J.  O.  Win- 
ters. 

Prof.  F.  C.  Kirkendall,  formerly  of  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  has 
been  chosen  to  succeed  Prof.  J-  J.  Martz,  resigned,  as  super- 
intendent. 

Lodges. 

The  social  and  fraternal  life  of  the  citizens  of  the  county 
seat  has  found  partial  expression  in  various  lodges,  societies, 
clubs,  etc.,  organized  from  time  to  time  since  the  founding  of 
the  town. 

The  Masonic  order  is  now  represented  by  three  organiza- 
tions, viz.,  Greenville  Lodge  No.  143,  F.  and  A.  M.,  which 
received  its  charter  October  20,  1847 ;  Greenville  Chapter  No. 
77,  R.  A.  :\I.,  chartered  October  17,  1857,  and  Matchett  Coun- 
cil No.  91,  Royal  and  Select  Masters,  chartered  October  4, 
1904. 

The  first  named  has  a  membership  of  about  240;  the  sec- 
ond about  185  and  the  last  about  100  of  Greenville's  represen- 
tative citizens.  For  many  years  the  Masons  met  in  a  hall 
which  they  had  fitted  up  on  the  third  floor  of  the  Koester 
building  on  the  northwest  corner  of  Broadway  and  Third 
streets.  They  recently  removed  to  the  new  rooms  which 
they  had  constructed  and  fitted  out  in  the  building  now  known 
as  the  Masonic  hall  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and 
the  public  square,  at  a  cost  of  some  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 
The  lodges  are  in  a  flourishing  condition.  In  recent  years 
they  have  conducted  the  ceremonies  incident  to  the  placing 
of  the  corner  stones  of  the  Carnegie  library  building,  the 
Episcopal  church  and  St.  Clair  memorial  hall  and  are  quite 
active  in  the  ritualistic  work  of  the  order. 

The  Odd  Fellows  are  now  represented  by  a  strong  subordi- 
nate lodge  of  some  340  members,  besides  an  encampment  and 
Daughters  of  Rebekah  organization.     The  original  organiza- 


532  DARKE    COUNTY 

tion  was  known  as  Greenville  Lodge  \o.  195,  I.  O.  O.  F., 
and  was  instituted  ^larch  15,  1852.  In  1873,  this  lodge  erected 
the  present  Trainor  opera  house,  with  a  fine  hall  on  the  upper 
floor  at  a  cost  of  some  $20,00.00.  This  venture  proved  un- 
profitable and  the  heavy  indebtedness  incurred  finally  led  to 
the  division  of  the  lodge  and  the  establishment  of  another 
known  as  Champion  Lodge  No.  742,  which  was  instituted 
July  22,  1885,  with  thirty-five  charter  members.  These 
lodges  continued  separately  until  January,  1909,  when  they 
were  consolidated  as  Champion  Lodge  No.  742.  This  lodge 
has  met  for  several  years  in  an  upper  room  of  the  Ohio  block, 
but  expects  soon  to  be  housed  in  fine  and  commodious  quar- 
ters in  the  remodeled  Turpen  building,  formerly  known  as 
the  Turpen  House. 

Greenville  Encampment  No.  90,  I.  O.  O.  F.  represents  the 
higher  work  of  Odd  Fellowship  and  now  has  a  membership 
of  about  100  members.  Bee  Hive  Lodge  No.  266.  Daughters 
of  Rebekah  was  organized  as  an  auxiliary  to  Greenville  Lodge 
No.  195  in  1889,  with  about  ten  members.  In  1909  it  was 
merged  with  the  Seven  Star  Lodge,  an  auxiliary  to  Cham- 
pion Lodge,  and  the  consolidated  lodge  retined  the  name  "Bee 
Hive."  This  has  been  one  of  the  most  active  ladies  lodges  in 
the  city. 

Greenville  Lodge  No.  161,  Knights  of  Pythias  was  insti- 
tuted May  16,  1883,  with  33  charter  members  and  now  has 
a  membership  of  about  380,  being  probably  the  strongest 
lodge  numerically  in  the  city.  Besides  the  regular  lodge  there 
is  a  separate  organization  known  as  the  uniform  rank,  which 
places  special  emphasis  on  the  drill  features  of  the  order,  and 
the  Pythian  Sisters,  all  of  whom  meet  in  the  elegantly  fur- 
nished lodge  room  on  the  upper  floor  of  the  Anderson  build- 
ing on  the  southeast  corner  of  Broadway  and  Fourth  streets. 

Little  Turtle  Lodge  No.  119,  Improved  Order  of  Red  Men 
was  chartered  August  14,  1889,  with  ninety-five  charter  mem- 
bers, and  now  has  a  membership  of  about  250.  A  lodge  was 
originally  organized  in  October,  1870,  which  flourished  for  a 
while  but  finally  surrendered  its  charter  in  May,  1875.  The 
present  lodge,  however,  has  continued  its  organization  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Its  meetings  are  held  on  the 
upper  floor  of  the  Union  block  on  South  Broadway  opposite 
Martin  street. 

The  Junior  order  is  represented  in  Greenville  by  Gen.  \Vm. 
H.   Lawton   Council   No.    147.      Junior  O.   U.   A.   M..  which 


DARKE    COUNTY  533 

meets  on  Monday  night  at  331  Broadway.  This  lodge  was 
chartered  October  8,  1901,  with  21  members  and  now  has  a 
membership  of  about  170.  This  order  now  has  ten  lodges  in 
Darke  county. 

Greenville  Council  No.  28,  Daughters  of  America  was 
chartered  January  9,  1904,  with  25  members  and  has  grown  in 
about  ten  years  to  a  membership  of  about   115. 

The  Knights  of  the  Golden  Eagle  have  a  lodge  which  meets 
in  their  rooms  on  Broadway. 

There  are  two  fraternal  insurance  orders  in  the  city :  AVayne 
Camp  No.  4449,  Modern  Woodmen  of  America,  was  organ- 
ized January  7,  1897,  and  now  has  66  members  including  sev- 
eral substantial  citizens. 

The  Knights  of  the  Maccabees  have  recently  organized  a 
lodge  under  the  number  417. 

The  United  Commercial  Travelers  have  an  active  organiza- 
tion, made  possible  by  the  large  number  of  traveling  salesmen 
who  have  chosen  Greenville  for  their  home. 

The  Elks  organized  a  lodge  about  1907,  known  as  Tribe 
No.  1139,  B.  P.  O.  E.  Their  wigwam  is  in  the  upper  floors 
of  the  Moore  building  on  the  northeast  corner  of  Broadway 
and  Third  street  where  meetings  are  held  on  Monday  night. 
The  present  membership  is  about  160. 

Besides  these  orders  there  is  a  Grand  Army  Post  and  W. 
R.  C.  mentioned  elsewhere. 

Literary  Societies. 

The  ladies  of  Greenville  have  manifested  their  literary  pro- 
clivities by  the  establishment  of  seven  clubs  as  follows: 

The  Dickens,  organized  in  1891. 

Columbian,  organized  in  1892  and  federated  in  1895.  It 
has  twenty  active  members  and  this  year  they  are  studying 
Austria  and  Hungary  and  meet  Tuesdays.  President,  Mrs.  J. 
J.  Martz ;  secretary,  Mrs.  E.  F.  Babb  ;  treasurer,  Mrs.  Lillian 
Conkling. 

"Sorosis"  was  organized  in  1895,  federated  in  1897,  with  a 
membership  of  twenty-four,  and  the  members  are  studying 
India  the  present  year.  They  meet  Thursdays.  President, 
Mrs.  Martin  Pierson ;  secretary,  Miss  Mary  Waring ;  treas- 
urer, Mrs.  J.  L.  Selby. 

"Altrurian"  was  organized  in  1900,  federated  in  1901,  with 
a  membership  of  twenty,  and   is  now   studying  Ireland  and 


534  DARKE    COUNTY 

\^"ales.  President,  Mrs.  M.  W.  W'esterfield ;  secretary,  ]\Irs. 
Margaret  Patty ;  treasurer,  Airs.  Earl  Martin. 

"Fin  de  Siecle"  was  organized  in  1900  and  has  twelve  mem- 
bers. This  year  they  are  studying  South  America  republics, 
Mexico,  and  are  also  giving  some  time  to  current  topics,  and 
seasonable  social  events.  President,  Miss  Lucille  Matchett ; 
secretary,  Mrs.  Horace  Oglesby;  treasurer,  Aliss  Edith  Din- 
inger.    They  meet  Tuesdays. 

"Emersonian"  was  organized  in  1908.  They  meet  \\'ednes- 
days  and  have  eighteen  members.  This  club  is  studying 
France  the  present  year.  President,  Mrs.  Corwin  Reigle :  sec- 
retary, Mrs.  John  Matthews;  treasurer.  Miss  Emma   Kerlin. 

The  Up-to-Date,  1910. 

These  have  been  instrumental  in  promoting  a  love  for  the 
better  things  in  literature  and  thereby  tending  to  raise  the 
ideals  of  the  community. 

Civic  League. 

As  an  active  force  for  the  betterment  of  the  social,  sani- 
tary, and  general  moral  condition  of  the  community  the 
"Civic  League''  was  organized  by  the  women  of  the  city  on 
March  10,  1914,  and  has  already  grown  to  a  membership  of 
about  eighty.  The  scope  of  its  work  is  indicated  by  the  com- 
mittees appointed  to  carry  on  its  work,  which  are  as  follows: 
Sanitation,  outdoor  art.  children's  auxiliary,  streets  and  alleys, 
industrial  and  rest  room,  charity,  public  buildings  and  recrea- 
tion, membership  and  press.  The  present  officers  are :  Presi- 
dent, Mrs.  J-  L.  Selby;  first  vice  president,  Mrs.  Wm.  Lynch; 
second  vice  president,  Mrs.  F.  H.  Jobes ;  third  vice  president, 
Mrs.  Minor  McCool ;  secretary,  Mrs.  H.  K.  Harvey ;  corres- 
ponding secretary,  Mrs.  Jas.  G.  Reid ;  chairmen  of  committees : 
Mesdames  J.  J.  Martz,  H.  K.  Schopp,  G.  W.  Mace,  E.  F.  Babb, 
W.  S.  Rosser,  Z.  T.  Dorman,  J.  M.  Bickel  and  Miss  A.  M. 
Buchwalter  and  Mrs.  Chas.  Matthews. 

Already  the  force  of  this  organization  is  being  manifested 
in  clearing  up  the  streets  and  alleys  of  the  city  and  striving  to 
improve  social  conditions. 

Commercial  Culb. 

The  Greenville  Commercial  Club  was  organized  by  the 
men  of  the  city  to  promote  the  business  interests  of  the  city, 
especially  by  the    securing  of    ncAV    factories    and  industries 


DARKE    COUNTY 


535 


and  advertising  the  advantages  of  Greenville  as  a  social  and 
industrial  center.  This  organization  succeeded  the  Board  of 
Trade,  which  was  organized  several  years  ago.  A.  L.  Baugh- 
man  (deceased),  Charles  Minnich,  J.  P.  Duffey  have  been  the 
successive  presidents.  This  organization  has  been  largely  in- 
strumental in  securing  the  Gem  Manufacturing  Company  and 
the  Union  Underwear  Mills  and  laying  out  a  new  addition 
on  the  east  side  of  the  city  adjacent  to  the  factory  district, 
thereby  providing  excellent  factory  sites  and  encouraging  the 
building  of  homes  convenient  for  the  employees.  It  has  also 
booked  the  Redpath  Chautauqua  for  the  reason  of  1914  and 
is  endeavoring  to  secure  a  good  park  for  the  city. 

Wm.  E.  Halley  is  now  president;  Ed  Cornell,  vice-presi- 
dent; Guy  C.  Baker,  secretary  and  Adelbert  Martz,  treasurer 
of  this  club.  The  directors  are:  W.  J.  Irwin,  W.  D.  Rush,  G. 
F.  Schmermund,  Burr  Evans,  E.  A.  Grubbs,  J.  O.  Winters,  E. 
C.  Wright,  Robert  Burdge  and  C.  C.  Minnich. 

Executive  committee — W.  J.  Irwin,  W.  D.  Rush,  Charles 
Minnich,  F.  G.  Schmermund  and  E.  C.  Wright. 

New  Industry  Committee — J.  H.  Martz,  D.  E.  Horn  and 
M.  A.  Maher. 

Present  Industry  Committee — Horace  Ogelsby,  D.  L.  Gas- 
kill  and  S.  L.  Brenner. 

Retail  Committee — Harry  \'ance,  Roy  Mong  and  George 
Esplin. 

Public  Improvement  Committee — Dr.  .\.  ^^^  Rush,  M.  \\\ 
Limbert  and  C.  C.  Hall. 

Civic  Committee — Frank  Jobes,  C.  J.  Herr  and  S.  M.  Rust. 

Membership  Committee — Robert  Burdge,  Ed  Cornell  and 
Guv  C.  Baker. 

.Advertising  Committee — R.  R.  Winters,  Stanley  Frizell  and 
John  H.  Mannix. 

Entertainment  Committee — Charles  Biehaut,  A.  Martz,  I.  M. 
Pierson,  James  Martz  and  J.  O.  AVinters. 

Chautauqua  Committee — Charles  Minnich,  C.  C.  McKin- 
ney,  John  ^Martz  and  Guy  C.  Baker. 

Good  Roads  Club. 

The  Good  Roads  Club  was  organized  in  December,  1913, 
for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  condition  of  the  highways  of 
Darke  county.  This  is  one  of  the  most  active  organizations 
in  the  county  and  is  succeeding  through  the  instrumentality 


536  DARKE    COUNTY 

of  press  and  public  meetings  in  educating  a  strong  sentiment 
in  favor  of  better  roads.  James  R.  ^Marker,  the  present  state 
highway  commissioner,  is  a  son  of  Darke  county  and  has  lent 
his  assistance  in  forwarding  the  local  work.  The  present 
ofiQcers  are  E.  R.  Fouts,  president;  Charles  York,  secretary, 
and  James  Knupp,  treasurer. 

There  are  two  important  societies  whose  field  of  activity 
comprehends  the  entire  county,  which  deserve  prominent 
mention. 

The  Darke  County  Horse  Thief  Detective  Association. 

This  society  was  organized  as  early  as  ]\Iarch,  1845.  under 
the  name  of  the  "Darke  County  Self  Protection  Association," 
for  the  purpose  of  securing  the  arrest,  conviction  and  punish- 
ment of  horse  thieves  and  other  depredators.  At  that  time 
property  was  less  secure  in  the  rural  districts  than  it  is  today 
and  the  protective  association  proved  a  valuable  instrument 
for  deterring  and  preventing  lawless  acts.  This  society  or- 
ganized with  about  twenty  members.  James  Devor  was  the 
first  president ;  John  Wharry,  secretary,  and  David  Stamm 
treasurer.  Interest  in  the  work  of  the  society  seems  to  have 
declined  and  early  in  the  "seventies"  a  reorganization  was 
eiTected  with  Thomas  Lecklider  as  president,  and  Arthur 
Baird  secretary.  The  society  now  has  an  active  member- 
ship of  about  280,  and  holds  quarterly  meetings  in  ]\Iarch, 
June,  September  and  December.  The  present  officers  are: 
W.  R.  Stuck,  president ;  J.  C.  White,  secretary ;  D.  L.  Gaskill, 
treasurer. 

The  Patrons  of  Husbandry. 

This  organization  was  effected  at  an  earl}-  date  for  the  pur- 
pose of  promoting  the  social,  financial  and  agricultural  inter- 
ests of  the  farmers  of  the  entire  county.  The  Greenville 
Grange  was  organized  in  April,  1874.  A  Grange  store  was 
soon  started  on  Broadway,  but  closed  after  a  brief  struggle 
for  existence.  The  present  policy  of  the  Grange  is  to  buy  in 
wholesale  lots  and  distribute  direct  such  articles  as  food 
stufifs,  fertilizers,  binder-twine,  paints,  etc.,  and  to  sell  grains 
for  its  members  in  car-load  lots. 

There  are  now  seven  subordinate  granges  in  Darke  county, 
and  two  in  Preble  county  organized  as  "Pomona  Grange," 
which  meets  bi-monthly  for  social  and  business  purposes. 
The  present  officers  are: 


DARKE    COUNTY  537 

Master — E.  T.  Wagner. 

Overseer — Calvin  Marick. 

Lecturer — C.  L.  Jones. 

Chaplain — Mrs.  E.  T.  Wagner. 

Assistant  Steward — W.  C.  Gauby. 

Lady  Assistant  Steward — Mrs.  W.  C.  Gauby. 

Treasurer — W.  E.  Thompson. 

Recording  secretary — Mrs.  B.  M.  Allen. 

Financial  Secretary — Pearl  E.  Trick. 

Pomona — Mrs.  D.  E.  Hoffman. 

Flora — Mrs.  C.  L.  Jones. 

Ceres — Mrs.  Calvin  Marick. 

Gatekeeper — C.  F.  Bliss. 

The  gradual  but  substantial  growth  of  Greenville  is  indi- 
cated by  the  census  statistics  as  follows : 

Year  1860,  population  1,650;  1870,  2,520;  1880,  3,535;  1890, 
5,473 ;  1900.  5,501 ;  1910,  6,237.  The  population  by  wards  in 
1910  was:  First,  1,341;  Second,  1,798;  Third,  1.766;  Fourth, 
1,332.     The  present  population  probably  approximates  7.000. 

The  real  property  of  the  city  was  assessed  in  1913  at 
$5,428,480.00  and  the  personal  property  at  $2,911,744.00.  It  is 
expected  that  the  return  of  chattels  in  1914  will  increase  the 
latter  amount  about  $500,000.00. 

Greenville  is  classified  as  a  city  of  the  second  class  under  the 
laws  of  the  state  and  has  the  following  officials: 

Mayor — Benjamin  F.  Scholl. 

Auditor — C.  R.  Jobes. 

Director  of  Service — D.  "\^^  Shively. 

Director  of  Safety— W.  D.  Rush. 

Superintendent  of  Water  Works — John  P.  Lucas. 

Street  Commissioner — Smith  O'Brien. 

City  Clerk — Karl  Schmermund. 

Treasurer — Frank  Schreel. 

Engineer — Robert  H.  Horn. 

Chief  of  Police— J.  L.  Bascom  (died  June  26,  1914). 

Fire  Chief — James  Boyer. 

The  board  of  control  is  composed  of  the  mayor,  director  of 
service,  director  of  safety  and  clerk. 

The  patrolmen  of  the  police  department  are  John  Lvnch, 
Ernest  Bell  and  Albert  Ibaugh. 

The  members  of  the  board  of  health  are:  J.  E.  Hunter,  M. 
D.,  president;  G.  E.  Morningstar,  D.  D.  S. ;  Frank  Payne;  C.  S. 


538  DARKE    COUNTY 

Elliott,  veterinary  surgeon;  T.  H.  Alonger.  Health  officer — 
S.  A.  Hawes,  M.  D. ;  clerk,  Karl  Schmermund. 

The  members  of  the  city  council  are:  B.  F.  Scholl,  presi- 
dent ;  Wm.  Fouts,  Wm.  Reed  and  D.  E.  Horn,  members  at 
large  ;  Harry  Willson,  first  ward  ;  Jacob  Menke,  second  ward  ; 
Lincoln  Metzcar,  third  ward ;  Wm.  Kurz,  fourth  ward. 

During  recent  years  the  following  persons  have  served  as 
mayor  of  the  city:  A.  H.  Meeker,  R.  S.  Frizell.  Hallec  Rupe. 
J.  L.  Bascom,  M.  F.  Myers,  E.  C.  Wright,  L.  E.  Chenoweth, 
A.  N.  Wilson,  T.  C.  !Maher,  G.  F.  Schmermund  and  E.  E. 
Calderwood.  On  account  of  the  accidental  death  of  Mayor 
Calderwood,  June  24.  1914,  Mr.  B.  F.  Scholl,  the  president  of 
the  council,  became  acting  mayor. 

The  Greenville  Cemetery. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  there  is  a  subtle  relation  between 
the  manner  of  life  of  a  people  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
inter  their  dead.  The  careful  em.balming  practiced  by  the 
ancient  Egyptians,  together  with  the  manner  of  interment 
and  the  artistic  character  of  some  of  their  tombs,  indicate  that 
they  were  a  people  holding  certain  ideas  of  immortality  and 
that  they  had  arrived  at  a  degree  of  civilization  beyond  any 
other  people  of  their  era.  Likewise  the  presence  of  a  care- 
fully platted,  artistically  planted  and  well  kept  cemetery  in  a 
city  or  community  in  these  days  is  taken  to  indicate  a  certain 
degree  of  esthetic  culture  and  local  pride  among  the  people. 
In  the  rough  pioneer  days,  the  remains  of  the  dead  were 
buried  on  the  private  grounds  of  the  family  in  a  little  fenced 
plot,  which  too  often  suffered  neglect,  and  upon  the  transfer 
of  land  was  liable  to  be  plowed  up  by  the  new  owner,  and 
thus  left  to  oblivion.  In  later  years  it  became  customary  in 
the  rural  districts  to  bury  the  bodies  of  the  dead  in  the  little 
burial  ground  surrounding  the  local  church,  with  the  result 
that  these  grounds  were  sometimes  neglected  or  abandoned 
upon  the  discontinuance  of  the  church.  Many  of  the  pioneers 
were  buried  in  such  places  and  their  place  of  interment  is  un- 
known today. 

The  earliest  burial  ground  of  the  pioneers  on  the  site  of 
Greenville  was  probably  on  the  southeast  corner  of  ^^^est 
Third  and  Chestnut  streets,  on  lots  544  and  545,  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  Mr.  Ed  Grubbs.  Mrs.  McKhann,  the  oldest 
daugliter   of  Azor   Scribner,   related   that   she   saw   numerous 


MeWHINNEY    MKMORIAL   GATEWAY,   GREENVILLE    CEMETERY 
(Courtesy    "Advocate") 


DARKE    COUNTY  539 

rough  slate  headstones  here  in  earl\-  days  with  names  reputed 
to  be  those  of  officers  of  Wayne's  army,  scratched  thereon. 
While  grading  West  Third  street  and  the  sidewalk  on  Chest- 
nut street  at  this  point,  and  while  putting  a  sewer  in  the 
alley  in  more  recent  years,  numerous  remains  were  disin- 
terred. This  was  an  elevated  point  overlooking  the  prairie 
and  lay  just  outside  of  the  southwestern  bastion  of  old  Fort 
Greenville.  Remains  were  also  found  on  the  bluff  of  the 
creek  a  few  rods  east  of  the  Broadway  bridge,  near  the  north- 
east bastion,  and  on  the  site  of  the  Ohio  block  on  Broadway, 
on  lot  24,  near  the  southeastern  bastion  of  the  fort  remains 
were  found  with  buttons,  coins  and  articles  v^'hich  seemed  to 
indicate  that  they  belonged  to  soldiers  of  this  period.  It  is 
also  said  that  Wayne  had  a  hospital  near  the  southeast  corner 
of  Wayne  avenue  and  Armstrong  street  on  lot  763,  and  a 
burial  ground  just  to  the  northwest  on  lot  806.  The  butts  of 
pickets  were  removed  when  grading  Wayne  avenue  just  south 
of  Armstrong  street  about  1880,  and  numerous  military 
relics  found  by  the  workmen. 

The  earliest  known  burial  plot  of  the  pioneers  proper  was 
on  the  present  site  of  the  Catholic  church  on  lot  32  of  the  orig- 
inal town  plot,  at  the  southeast  corner  of  West  Third  and  Elm 
streets.  It  seems  that  Mrs.  Armstrong,  "the  Mother  of  Green- 
ville," and  probably  John  Devor,  who  platted  the  town,  and  a 
few  others  were  buried  here.  This  place  seems  to  have  been 
used  until  1816  when  a  burying  ground  was  located  on  the 
bluff  of  Greenville  creek  on  the  north  side  of  East  Water 
street  just  west  of  the  head  of  Ash  street.  Mrs.  Samuel  Boyd, 
the  wife  of  the  earliest  farmer,  was  the  first  person  buried  here 
in  1816.  The  remains  of  Abraham  Scribner,  Linus  Bascom, 
and  many  other  pioneers  of  the  town  were  interred  here,  but 
in  less  than  forty  vears  it  v\'as  seen  that  the  place  was  too 
small  to  meet  the  local  needs.  Accordingly,  in  1853,  a  "Ceme- 
tery Association"  was  organized  under  the  state  law,  and 
William  Collins,  George  W.  Coover  and  John  Tomilsnn  were 
elected  trustees  thereof.  On  November  29,  1853,  Dr.  Gabriel 
Miesse,  Sr.,  deeded  to  these  trustees  for  cemetery  purposes, 
part  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  thirty-four  (34"), 
township  twelve  (12),  range  two  (2)  east,  in  Darke  county, 
Ohio,  containing  eight  acres  of  land,  for  $425.00,  but  reserving 
to  himself  twenty-four  lots  thereof  at  two  dollars  per  lot.  This 
land  was  immediately  laid  out  into  lots  about  twentv  feet 
square,  with  the  necessary  streets  and  alleys,  making  in  all 


540  DARKE    COUNTY 

370  lots.  For  many  years  no  grade  for  these  lots  was  estab- 
lished, and  no  system  laid  down  to  govern  the  selection,  use 
and  occupancy  of  them.  Each  lot  owner  would  fill  and  grade 
his  lot  to  suit  his  fancy,  causing  confusion  and  a  lack  of  uni- 
formity in  the  appearance  of  the  grounds.  jMuch  trouble  and 
confusion  was  occasioned  by  the  failure  to  keep  proper  record 
of  the  sale  of  lots  and  payments  thereon.  Lots  were  pur- 
chased by  persons  living  in  various  parts  of  the  county  at 
prices  ranging  from  ten  to  forty  dollars,  according  to  size  and 
location,  and  the  cemetery  thus  early  became  a  general  bury- 
ing place  for  the  public. 

In  1878,  under  the  revised  state  law,  the  city  and  township 
elected  three  cemetery  trustees,  to  serve  one,  two  and  three 
years  respectively.  The  first  election  was  held  April  1,  1878, 
and  resulted  in  the  choice  of  G.  W.  Moore,  J.  A.  Schmermund 
and  Jahugh  Compton  as  trustees.  The  board  then  elected 
J.  T.  Martz  secretary,  he  having  served  eight  years  previously 
in  that  capacity.  Seven  acres  of  ground  adjoining  the  original 
tract  on  the  north  were  immediately  condemned  for  cemetery 
purposes,  and  purchased  for  $1,050.00.  Besides  this,  the  trus- 
tees purchased  an  adjoining  lot  with  a  commodious  brick 
dwelling  house  thereon  for  $1,900.00.  This  building  was  used 
as  a  home  for  the  superintendent  until  about  1910  when  it 
was  removed  across  the  street.  The  trustees  also  purchased 
2.09  acres  adjoining  these  grounds  for  $1,050.00.  A  strip  of 
five  acres  was  purchased  along  the  northwest  side  in  May, 
1900,  of  John  Somers  for  $500.00.  afTording  a  place  for  a  nice 
driveway  and  adding  materially  to  the  appearance  of  the 
grounds.    A  well-kept  hedge  now  encloses  this  side. 

This  cemetery  filled  rapidly  and  it  became  imperative  to 
employ  a  competent  person  to  take  cave  of  the  grounds.  Ac- 
cordingly I.  X.  Smith,  of  Waynesville,  Ohio,  was  employed 
for  one  year  from  April  1,  1884,  at  fifty  dollars  per  month,  as 
superintendent,  which  position  he  has  filled  most  acceptably 
ever  since — a  period  of  thirty  years.  Under  his  supervision 
the  lots  have  been  properly  graded,  streets  and  drives  im- 
proved, new  additions  platted,  trees  and  shrubbery  planted 
and  trimmed  so  that  now  the  place  has  the  appearance  of  a 
park.  In  recent  years  numerous  beautiful  shafts  and  monu- 
ments have  been  erected  at  considerable  cost,  among  the 
most  notable  of  which  are  those  of  Frank  ]\Tc\\niinne\-.  (''r. 
Pretzinger,  A.  F.  Koop,  Daniel  Henne,  Edward  Breaden.  W'm. 


DARKE    COUNTY  541 

Turpen,  H.  K.  Schopp,  C.  M.  Anderson,  Henry  St.  Clair  and 
others. 

The  trustees  deeded  to  the  county  commissioners  for  the 
use  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  twenty-four  lots, 
which  have  been  largely  occupied  by  this  time.  A  wooden 
monument  was  built  on  the  soldier's  square  which  stood  sev- 
eral years.  Finally  in  1902,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frank  McWhin- 
ney  decided  to  erect  a  beautiful  and  substantial  granite  shait, 
in  memory  of  the  soldiers  of  Darke  coanty,  who  had  served 
in  the  various  wars.  The  material  selected  was  a  dark  Barre 
granite  quarried  in  Vermont.  From  this  a  monument  about 
twenty-seven  feet  in  height  and  weighing  some  sixty  tons 
was  erected,  under  the  supervision  of  ]\Ianor  and  Keck.  The 
base  of  this  memorial  is  ten  feet  square  and  one  piece  weighs 
fifteen  tons.  The  second  base  is  seven  feet,  eight  inches 
square ;  the  third  base  six  feet,  five  inches  square,  surmounted 
by  four  fifteen  inch  columns  with  carved  capitals.  Resting  on 
this  is  a  carved  cap  six  feet  square  surmounted  by  a  die  three 
feet,  nine  inches  square,  and  having  the  four  emblems  of  the 
military  service  carved  thereon,  viz. :  the  coat  of  arms,  the 
capstan,  the  artillery  and  the  wreath  and  swords.  This  is  sur- 
mounted by  a  cap  four  feet,  nine  inches  square  upon  which 
stands  a  seven-foot  effigy  of  a  union  soldier  in  full  service  uni- 
form at  parade  rest.  This  figure  stands  an  immovable  sentry. 
faithfully  guarding  the  graves  of  departed  comrades.  The 
face  and  eyes  of  the  soldier  are  fastened  on  the  gateway,  as  if 
guarding  with  jealous  care  the  coming  and  going  of  all. 

The  total  height  of  the  monument  is  twenty-seven  feet.  In- 
scribed on  the  four  sides  of  the  lower  die  are  the  following: 

Front  side:  "Erected  and  donated  A.  D.  1903,  by  Frank 
McWhinney  and  wife  in  honor  and  memory  of  the  union  sol- 
diers of  Darke  county,  Ohio,  living  or  dead,  who  served  in  the 
war  of  1861-1865.  Also  of  all  soldiers  of  Darke  county.  Ohio, 
who  served  the  United  States  in  any  of  its  wars." 

West  side: 

"The  muffled  drum's  sad  roll  has  beat 

The  soldier's  last  tattoo. 
No  more  on  life's  parade  shall  meet 

The  fallen,  brave  and  true. 
On  fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread. 
And  glory  guards  with  silent  round 

The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 


542  DARKE    COUNTY 

North  side :  "B}'  the  ser\ices  of  the  Union  soldiers,  all  per- 
sons of  the  United  States  were  made  free  and  every  star  re- 
tained on  the  nation's  flag." 

East  side:  "How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest  b}-  all 
their  country's  wishes  blest." 

This  monument  cost  about  seven  thousand  dollars  and  was 
dedicated  on  Memorial  day  (May  30),  1903,  with  appropriate 
ceremonies,  General  G.  Warren  Keifer,  of  Springfield,  Ohio, 
being  the  orator  of  the  day.  As  an  appropriate  companion 
piece,  j\Ir.  McWhinney  had  also  erected  a  beautiful  gateway 
at  the  Main  street  entrance  of  the  cemetery,  under  the  super- 
vision of  Mr.  Dennis  Dwyer  at  a  cost  of  some  three  thousand 
dollars.  This  structure  is  in  the  form  of  a  graceful  Gothic 
arch  surmounted  by  a  cross  and  spanning  the  roadway,  with 
a  smaller  arch  surmounted  by  buttressed  towers  on  either 
side  over  the  sidewalks.  The  main  arch  is  thirty-seven  feet 
high  and  sixteen  feet  wide  and  the  side  arches  twenty-five  feet 
high  and  four  feet  wide  with  a  thickness  of  four  feet.  It  is 
constructed  of  Oolitic  stone  on  a  base  of  blue  limestone  and 
makes  an  impressive  approach  to  the  cemetery,  .\bout  the 
time  of  the  dedication  of  the  soldiers'  monument  a  committee 
of  Jobes  Post,  G.  A.  R.,  waited  upon  Congressman  Harvey  C. 
Garber  with  the  request  that  he  secure  a  light  cannon  to  be 
mounted  on  the  soldiers'  lot.  Mr.  Garber,  after  much  elifort, 
finally  secured  a  list  of  eleven  guns,  in  ]\Iarch.  1904,  from  the 
War  Department  at  Washington  from  which  the  committee 
selected  a  howitzer.  This  gun  was  niade  by  the  government 
foundry  at  South  Boston,  Mass.,  weighs  1,465  pounds  and  is 
designed  to  shoot  a  24-pound  shot.  It  was  mounted  in  the 
foreground  of  the  monument  on  a  neat  cut  stone  pedestal 
with  attached  descriptive  tablet,  and  was  dedicated  with  ap- 
propriate services,  about  June  30,  1904.  adding  another  to  the 
fitting  memorials  of  the  cemetery. 

The  last  and  one  of  the  most  artistic,  substantial  and  im- 
pressive structures  erected  on  the  grounds  was  the  mausoleum 
containing  468  crypts.  This  building  is  built  of  hand  rubbed 
Bedford  stone  on  the  exterior  and  is  64  by  106  feet.  It  has 
four  family  groups  and  four  private  tombs.  The  interior  is 
finished  in  white  Colorado  yule  marble  and  nicely  equipped 
with  electric  lights.  All  the  doorways,  windows  and  gratings 
are  made  of  the  best  quailty  of  bronze.  It  has  five  thousand 
feet  of  sanitary  piping  and  eight  carloads  of  material  were 
used  in  its  construction — it  being  the  third  largest  Protestant 


DARKE    COUNTY  543 

mausoleum  in  the  state  of  Ohio.  It  is  largely  Egyptian  in  de- 
sign with  small  porch  at  the  west  entrance  facing  the  soldiers' 
monument.  It  was  dedicated  with  appropriate  exercises,  Rev. 
Charles  C.  McKinney  of  the  Presbyterian  church  delivering  a 
masterful  dedicatory  address,  on  Sunday,  July  13,  1913.  At  that 
time  Dr.  J.  P.  Collett,  the  promoter  and  builder,  who  was  born 
and  raised  in  Darke  county,  edelivered  to  the  cemetery  board  a 
check  for  $2,340  to  be  invested  and  used  as  a  permanent  en- 
dowment fund.  x^Ir.  Charles  Alinnich  was  chau-man  of  the 
dedicatory  exercises. 

Besides  these  structures  a  receiving  \  ault  aud  shciter  house 
have  been  constructed  on  the  grounds  for  the  convenience  oi 
the  public  and  njany  other  useful  improvements  made.  Within 
recent  years  the  superintendent  has  kept  a  record  of  burials 
and  it  is  estimated  that  some  three  thuusand  bodies  have  been 
interred  to  date. 

It  is  now  realized  that  several  acres  must  be  purchased  ad- 
joining the  grounds  on  the  west  and  abutting  on  the  Union 
City  pike  if  the  cemetery  is  to  continue  to  be  adequate  for  the 
city  and  township  use  for  many  years  to  come.  Since  18:)4 
the  following  persons  have  served  as  trustees :  Wm.  Collins, 
George  W.  Coover,  John  Tomlinson,  D.  R.  Davis,  Moses  Hart, 
Joshua  L.  Winget,  Abram  R.  Doty,  Jahugh  Compton,  J.  A. 
Schmermund,  A.  J.  Arnold,  S.  L.  Kolp,  George  W.  Perry,  Jacob 
Halderman,  Henry  Heverling,  W.  J.  Reece,  Z.  T.  Dorman. 
The  following  persons  have  acted  as  secretary  since  1853 : 
Michael  Spayd,  Wm.  M.  Wilson,  J.  R.  Knox,  George  H. 
Martz,  J.  T.  ^lartz,  W.  J.  Reece.  The  present  board  is  con- 
stituted as  follows  :  Frank  Schreel,  president ;  John  Suter,  vice- 
president;  W.  S.  Meeker,  treasurer;  I.  X.  Smith,  secretary  and 
superintendent.  The  following  article  by  the  superintendent, 
who  completed  thirty  years  of  service  here  on  .\pril  1,  1914, 
is  not  inappropriate  here  : 

"With  Tallyrand  I  can  say,  'Show  me  your  cemetery  and  I 
will  know  of  the  culture  and  refinement  of  your  people.'  Were 
he  permitted  to  inspect  the  beautiful  cemeteries  of  our  land 
today  his  estimate  of  the  refinement  and  intelligence  of  our 
people  would  run  very  high.  The  word  cemetery  signifies  a 
resting  place.  Our  cemetery  is  therefore  but  an  exquisitely 
beautiful  dormitory  where  our  loved  ones  sleep. 

"The  burial  of  the  dead  has  ever  been  one  of  the  acts  most 
touching  to  the  human  heart,  and  the  one  most  tenderly  per- 
formed.   At  death  the  body  is  all  that  is  left  to  us  of  the  loved 


544  DARKE    COUNTY 

and  lost.  The  burial  of  the  mortal  part  has  always  been  ob- 
served with  more  or  less  tenderness  and  regard  as  the  people 
were  more  or  less  educated,  refined  and  enlightened.  From 
the  earliest  history  which  we  possess  we  learn  that  the  dead 
were  tenderly  cared  lor.  In  the  Uible  we  read  ol  the  pur- 
chas  of  the  Cave  of  Machpelah  by  Abraham  from  the  Children 
of  Heth,  for  a  burial  place.  This  cave  became  a  sacred  spot  to 
Abraham  and  to  his  descendants.  In  that  Cave  were  buried 
Sarah,  the  wife  of  Abraham,  Isaac,  Rebekah,  Leah,  Jacob  and 
Abraham  himself. 

"The  duty  of  giving  honorable  burial  tu  the  dead  was  recog- 
nized from  the  earliest  times,  and  we  find  this  illustrated  m 
the  case  of  Jacob,  who  died  in  Egypt.  Yet,  according  to  his 
desire,  his  remains  were  taken  to  the  family  burial  place — the 
cave  of  Machpelah — for  interment.  And  when  Joseph  was 
about  to  die  in  Egypt,  he  exacted  an  oath  from  his  kinsmen 
that  his  bones  should  be  transported,  at  the  Exodus,  to  the 
Promised  Land  for  final  interment  and  it  was  as  he  desired. 

"The  burial  with  friends,  in  their  own  land,  was  esteemed  a 
great  privilege  by  the  patriarch  of  old,  and  the  custom  largely 
prevails  today  of  bringing  our  friends  home  for  burial.  To 
this  respect  for  the  dead,  widespread  as  it  has  ever  been,  the 
world  has  been  indebted  for  some  of  the  grandest  specimens 
of  architecture  ever  erected  by  men.  Among  these  are  the 
Pyramids  of  Egypt,  the  Tomb  of  Mausolous  and  the  Tombs 
of  the  Kings  of  Golconda,  and  in  our  own  cemetery  there  are 
many  beautiful  artistic  structures.  The  St.  Clair-A'an  Dyke 
monument  is  a  magnificent  piece  of  art,  the  W.  S.  Turpen 
monument  a  massive  structure  of  granite  that  will  endure  for 
centuries,  the  soldiers'  monument,  erected  and  donated  by  our 
late  comrade,  Frank  McWhinney  and  wife,  to  the  memory  of 
all  Darke  county  soldiers,  does  credit  to  any  of  its  kind  in 
western  Ohio.  And  the  compartment  mausoleum,  the  finest 
and  best  built  in  the  state.  In  its  crypts  will  be  placed  many 
a  loved  one. 

"It  is  nothing  new,  then,  that  the  living  should  tenderly 
care  for  the  bodies  of  their  dead  friends,  and  should  provide 
pleasant  and  attractive  grounds  in  which  to  'bury  their  bod- 
ies out  of  our  sight.'  Since  the  burial  of  the  dead  in  church 
yards  has  ceased,  large  and  beautiful  cemeteries  have  been 
provided  for  burial  purposes.  Our  own  country  has  taken  the 
lead  in  this  respect,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  Cleveland,  Toledo, 
Dayton,  Cincinnati,  and  other    cities    in  our    land,  the  most 


DARKE    COUNTY  545 

beautiful  cemeteries  in  the  world  may  be  found.  It  is  one  of 
the  best  marks  of  the  intelligence  of  any  community  to  see  the 
cemetery,  belonging  to  such  community,  well  cared  for — a 
place  to  attract  people  by  its  quiet  beauty,  its  neat  and  well 
kept  grounds,  and  why  should  we  not  set  apart  the  most  beau- 
tiful spot  on  earth  for  the  shes  of  our  beloved?  Let  the  hill 
tops  of  the  'Silent  City'  be  kissed  by  the  first  morning  ray  and 
the  last  gleam  of  day;  let  dancing  rivulets  sing  their  glad 
hymns  of  praise ;  let  silver  lakelets  picture  the  glories  of  earth 
and  heaven ;  let  Luna  and  the  starry  hosts  shed  their  hal- 
lowed influence  upon  the  peaceful  scene ;  let  Flora  contribute 
her  choicest  oiTerings ;  in  short,  let  nature  and  art  so  combine 
as  to  express  in  our  cemetery  our  highest  ideals  of  beauty  and 
harmony. 

"As  I  roamed  through  one  of  our  most  beautiful  cemeteries 
this  past  summer,  the  virgin  forests  all  aglow  with  the  pink 
and  scarlet  skies,  the  crimson  woodbine,  the  purple  oak,  the 
golden  chestnut  and  beech,  the  multi-colored  maple,  etc.,  etc., 
as  I  turned  into  the  paths  along  the  calm,  silver  lakelets,  in 
which  the  wonderful  autumn  tints  were  mirrored  and  along 
the  banks  of  which  the  robins  and  hermit  thrushes  were  sing- 
ing their  Te  Deums,  and  then,  as  I  rambled  over  the  emerald 
lawns  spangled  with  beds  of  fragrant  flowers,  I  thought  if  the 
dead  could  speak,  how  heartily  they  would  thank  those  who 
had  prepared  such  an  entrancing  retreat  for  their  long,  long 
sleep  It  is  well  for  the  living  to  pass  often  through  the 
streets  of  the  "City  of  the  Dead." 

"Among  the  varied  anticipated  improvements  of  our  pro- 
gressive city,  let  us  not  forget  our  cemetery.  The  time  will 
soon  be  here,  yea,  it  is  here  now,  when  Greenville  cemetery 
must  be  enlarged.  Let  the  land  lying  adjacent  to,  and  parallel 
with  the  cemetery  be  secured  at  once.  This,  with  proper  grad- 
ing, platting  and  landscape  gardening,  could  be  converted  into 
a  most  beautiful  cemetery,  and  furthermore  this  would  per- 
petuate the  cemetery  we  now  have  and  remove  all  doubt  of 
its  ever  becoming  an  abandoned  cemetery. 

"Peace  to  this  place  of  rest! 
'Tis  common  earth  no  longer  now, 
The  gleaming  sickle,  and  the  laboring  plow 
Here  ceases  their  toil — for  holy  grounds 
Are  gardens  of  the  grave — the  bounds 
'Twixt  life  and  death — the  awful  bourne 
(35) 


546  DARKE    COUNTY 

From  whence  no  traveler  doth  return, 
Is  peopled  with  dim  mysteries — 
The  Spirit  Realm  around  us  lies ; 
■     Peace  to  these  shades,  these  hills  and  dells. 
Where  silence,  like  a  presence,  dwells." 

TOWNSHIP  SKETCHES. 

Darke  county  is  one  of  the  large  political  and  geographical 
units  of  Ohio,  being  approximately  thirty  miles  from  north  to 
south  and  twenty  miles  from  east  to  west  and  comprising 
about  586  square  miles  of  territory.  It  contains  twenty  town- 
ships, which,  if  of  equal  size,  would  each  have  about  thirty- 
square  miles  of  territory.  However,  on  account  of  the  loca- 
tion of  the  county  seat  about  three  miles  south  u-  the  exact 
center  of  the  county  and  the  early  development  of  the  sur- 
rounding territory,  Greenville  township,  which  originally  com- 
prised the  entire  county,  early  assumed  a  commanding  posi- 
tion, enlarging  what  would  have  been  her  just  share  in  an 
equal  division  of  territory  by  the  addition  of  two  tiers  of  sec- 
tions on  the  south  side  and  two  tiers  on  the  southeast,  making 
her  territory  finally  to  comprise  about  sixty  square  miles,  and 
throwing  the  county  seat  nearer  the  center  of  this  large  and 
important  township.  In  order  to  adjust  the  map  to  this 
changed  condition  one  township  was  omitted  immediately  to 
the  east  and  five  townships  made  smaller  than  an  average, 
while  about  eight  square  miles  were  added  to  the  western  side 
of  Adams  township,  making  it  the  second  largest  in  size  in  the 
count}'.  Roughly  speakinfg,  there  are  four  tiers  of  five  town- 
ships in  each  running  north  and  south.  Beginning  at  the 
northwest  corner  and  taking  tier  by  tier  they  are  as  follows : 
First  tier,  Mississinawa,  Jackson,  Washington,  German  and 
Harrison;  second  tier,  Allen,  Brown,  Green\ille,  Xeave  and 
Butler ;  third  tier.  Wabash,  York.  Richland,  Van  Buren  and 
Twin  ;  fourth  tier,  Patterson.  W'ayne.  Adams.  Franklin  and 
Monroe.  Accordingly  we  will  give  a  brief  sketch  of  each  in 
the  order  named  for  convenience  of  reference  and  regularitv  of 
treatment,  regardless- of  size  or  relative  importance. 

Mississinawa  Township. 

As  suggested  by  the  name,  this  township  is  the  starting 
point  of  the  Mississinawa  branch  of  the  \\^abash  river.  This 
stream  rises  in  the  north  central  part  of  the  township,  runs 


MERGE     R 


lU^rirtlXM 


SKETCH  IIAP  OF  DARKE  COUNTY,  OHIO. 


DARKE    COUNTY  547 

southeasterly,  just  crossing  the  eastern  line,  then  turns  south- 
westerly, making  a  bow  across  the  southern  part  and  provid- 
ing a  drainage  basin  for  about  three-fourths  of  the  entire  area 
of  this  division.  Within  a  mile  of  the  head  of  this  stream  the 
eastern  branch  of  the  Wabash  arises  and  flows  northeasterly 
into  Mercer  county.  The  upper  waters  of  the  west  branch  of 
the  Stillwater  drain  a  small  part  of  the  southeastern  section. 
With  the  exception  of  the  northwestern  section,  which  is  in- 
clined to  be  hilly,  the  surface  is  generally  level  and  highly  pro- 
ductive, especially  along  the  creelc  bottoms.  In  early  da\s  it 
was  covered  with  a  fine  growth  of  native  trees,  oak.  ash,  elm, 
hickory,  sugar,  maple  and  beech  being  .ound  in  abundance. 
This  township  is  absolutely  regular  in  outline,  being  five  miles 
east  and  west  and  six  miles  north  and  south  and  is  geograph- 
ically known  as  township  14,  range  1.  Previous  to  March, 
1839,  it  was  a  part  of  Jackson  township.  At  that  time  the 
northern  tier  of  sections  belonged  to  Gibson  township  which 
extended  to  the  Greenville  township  line.  On  April  12,  1848, 
Gibson  township  was  thrown  into  JNIercer  county  and  this  tier 
of  sections  added  to  Mississinawa  giving  it  the  proportions 
which  it  now  possesses. 

Philip  Reprogle  is  said  to  have  been  the  pioneer  settler  in 
this  township,  locating  in  1833  half  a  mile  east  of  the  present 
site  of  Rose  Hill.  Joseph  and  W'illiam  Reprogle  soon  fol- 
lowed, settling  in  this  vicinity  in  1835.  Prominent  among 
the  early  settlers  were:  John  B.  Anderson.  Samuel  C.  Carter, 
David  Brooks,  John  A.  ^IcKibben,  Hugh  McKibben,  Wm. 
Van  Kirk,  Wm.  B.  Light,  Francis  Whitaker,  E.  PI.  Fisher  and 
Mahlon  Peters.  The  Methodists  are  credited  with  Ijuilding 
the  first  church,  in  1851,  near  the  southern  line,  a  mile  and  a 
half  east-of  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  township.  There 
are  now  six  churches  in  this  township  as  follows:  Fir^^t  ]\1.  E. 
church  at  Lightsville :  First  U.  B.  church  at  Rose  Hill :  'Sit. 
Zion  near  Buck's  Corner;  Christian  in  central  part;  two 
Brethren  (Progressive  Dunkard).  The  date  of  the  erection  of 
the  first  school  house  is  probably  unknown.  .\t  the  present 
time  there  are  nine  rural  schools  in  this  township. 

The  only  villages  are  Lightsville  and  Rose  Hill,  both  on  the 
Fort  Recovery  pike  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  township. 
The  former  was  platted  by  Wm.  B.  Light  in  1874,  in  section 
6.  There  is  a  school  employing  two  teachers  in  this  village. 
Rose  Plill  was  laid  out  in  1852  at  the  joining  of  sections  14,  13, 
22  and  23  on  the  high  ridge  of  the  divide. 


548  DARKE    COUNTY 

This  township  has  the  unique  distinction  of  producing  more 
natural  gas  than  any  in  the  county.  In  all  probability  fifty 
wells  have  been  drilled  within  the  last  six  years,  mostly  by 
the  Salem  gas  company,  of  Salem,  Indiana.  These  wells  are 
about  eleven  hundred  feet  deep  and  some  of  them  supply  gas 
to  Fort  Recovery.  Indications  of  the  presence  of  petroleum 
have  been  noticed  in  a  few  of  these  wells,  but  no  permanently 
flowing  well  has  been  drilled. 

Although  there  are  no  railways  or  important  towns  in  this 
township  the  tax  levy  of  1913  shows  a  real  estate  valuation  of 
$1,524,530  and  personal  property  to  the  extent  of  $348,560. 
Population  in  1910,  1.258. 

Jackson  Township. 

This  township  at  the  time  of  its  erection,  1833,  embraced 
what  is  now  known  as  Gibson  township  in  Mercer  county,  and 
Mississinawa  and  Jackson  townships  in  Darke  county,  known 
geographically  as  townships  13,  14  and  15  of  range  1  east, 
then  belonging  to  Washington  township.  Gibson  township 
was  detached  in  1836,  and  Alississinawa  in  1839,  reducing 
Jackson  to  its  present  proportions.  The  northern  part  is  com- 
paratively level  with  a  gentle  slope  toward  the  Mississinawa 
basin,  and  has  a  dark  loamy  soil,  which  is  very  productive.  A 
variety  of  forest  trees  originally  grew  in  this  section,  includ- 
ing oak,  walnut,  ash,  elm  and  hickory.  The  central  part  of 
this  township  is  undulating  and  contains  considerable  clay 
in  its  elevated  portion.  Beech  was  the  predominating  timber 
in  the  primitive  forest  here,  interspersed  with  considerable 
sugar  maple  and  shell  bark  hickory.  The  southern  part  of  the 
township  is  the  most  rolling,  while  the  soil  contains  a  larger 
per  cent,  of  loam  and  loose  fertile  soil,  especially  in  the  val- 
leys and  low  lying  tracts.  The  headwaters  of  the  Stillwater 
drain  the  eastern  half  of  the  township  and  form  what  is  known 
as  the  "flats  or  spreads,"  of  Stillwater,  a  district  known  in 
early  days  for  the  swampy  condition  during  the  spring  fresh- 
ets, but  now  well  drained  and  almost  entirely  reclaimed  by  the 
plow.  Perhaps  because  of  its  dense  woods,  lack  of  roads  and 
comparatively  inaccessible  condition  this  township  was  not 
settled  as  early  as  some  others.  However,  about  1829,  Jacob 
and  Richard  Strait,  Gilbert  Vail,  Tobias  Miller,  Abraham 
Miller,  John  Armstrong.  John  Wright,  William  and  Samuel 
Dennison  and   John  Woods  made  settlements  and  were  soon 


DARKE    COUNTY  549 

followed  by  William  Parent,  John  McFarland,  Isaac  Beal, 
William  Ross,  Frederick  Roe,  William  K.  Marquis,  John 
Crumrine,  Gilbert  Hand  and  Joseph  Hay.  The  first  school 
house  was  built  in  section  35.  The  first  church  was  built  by 
the  J\Iethodists.  With  the  progress  of  road  building,  railway 
construction  and  drainage  this  has  become  one  of  the  best 
townships  in  the  county.  Union  City  (Ohio  side)  is  located  in 
the  southwestern,  Hill  Grove  in  the  southern  and  Elroy  in 
the  eastern  part  of  this  township.  Three  railways  and  a  trac- 
tion line  traverse  the  southern  part  of  the  township  and  con- 
verge at  Union  City.  The  tax  assessment  of  1913  showed 
$1,975,720  in  real  and  $1,086,720  in  personal  property  outside 
of  Union  City.  Adding  the  latter  the  grand  total  assessment 
was  $4,058,880.  indicating  the  substantial  growth  of  this  town- 
ship in  the  brief  history  of  its  existence.  The  population  of 
Jackson  township,  including  Union  City,  Ohio,  in  1910,  was 
2,968. 

Union  City.  Ohio. 

Union  City  was  platted  in  1838,  and  incorporated  December 
6,  1853.  It  is  distinctively  a  railroad  center  and  owes  its  re- 
markable  development   to    that    fact.     The    Greenville    and 

.  Miami  railway  was  completed  to  this  point  from  Greenville 
on  December  25,  1852.  The  Union  and  Logansport  Railroad 
(now  the  Logansport  division  of  the  Pennsylvania  railway) 
was  started  under  the  title  of  the  ^Monroe  and  Mississinawa 
railroad,  in  1854,  but  not  completed  until  1867.  The  "Bee 
Line"  or  Big  Four  reached  Union  City  about  the  same  time 
as  the  G.  and  M.  (now  D.  and  L').  For  many  years  Union 
City  has  been  known  for  its  large  output  of  building  material 
and  vehicles,  its  elevators  and  warehouses.  The  main  busi- 
ness and  public  buildings  and  institutions  are  on  the  Indiana 

-side,  but  there  is  a  large  public  school  house,  a  U.  B.  church,  a 
Free  M.  E.  church  and  an  I.  O.  O.  F.  lodge,  known  as  State 
Line  Lodge  No.  724,  which  was  instituted  in  1883.  The  census 
of  1910  gave  Union  City,  Ohio,  a  population  of  1,595,  and  the 
entire  city  a  population  of  4,804.  The  tax  assessment  of  real 
property  on  the  Ohio  side  in  1913  was  $744,550,  and  of  per- 
sonal property  $251,890. 

Washington  township. 

This  township  originally  comprised  the  territory  now  in- 
cluded in  Washington  township  and  all  of  German  township. 


550  UARKE    COUNTY 

except  the  southern  tier  of  sections.  German  township,  it 
seems,  was  detached  in  1820.  In  1833,  the  north  tier  of  sec- 
tions in  the  latter  was  thrown  into  Washington  township,  but 
returned  in  December,  1834,  since  which  time  Washington 
township  has  remained  as  it  now  is  in  dimensions.  The  upper 
waters  of  Greenville  Creek  drain  the  northern  section  and 
Grout  creek  the  central  and  southern  sections  of  this  town- 
ship. It  contains  nearly  twenty-one  thousand  acres  of  land 
which  was  originally  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  timber 
and  was  noted  for  the  large  number  of  excellent  springs.  As 
previously  noted  Indian  settleriients  were  numerous  along 
the  Grout  creek  prairie  where  they  left  many  marks  of  their 
former  habitation.  The  soil  is  very  productive  and  probably 
produces  as  much  grain  and  produce  as  any  in  the  county.  The 
first  settlers  to  locate  in  this  township  were  Alartin  and  Jacob 
Gox  of  Pennsylvania,  who  settled  on  the  south  side  of  Green- 
ville creek  in  sections  13  and  14  on  October  16,  1816.  They 
were  followed  by  James  Brady  and  Samuel  Gole,  from  Sussex 
county.  New  Jersey,  who  came  in  March,  1817,  and  settled  in 
sections  26  and  27.  Samuel  Gole,  Sr.,  and  Levi  Elston  came 
in  1818  and  were  followed  by  John  Snell  and  Daniel  Shively. 
'The  latter  settled  in  section  27  on  Grout  creek  and  formed  the 
nucleus  of  what  was  later  known  as  the  Dutch  settlement,  to 
which  came  the  Hecks,  Millers,  Raricks  and  Glapps  from 
Pennsylvania  and  Maryland.  Besides  these  several  families 
were  added  to  the  original  settlers  from  New  Jersey  and 
formed  the  Jersey  settlement  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. The  list  of  pioneers  should  include  the  names  of  Joel  Go- 
sad,  Nathanil  Skidmore,  Jeremiah  Rogers,  Samuel  and  Peter 
Kimber,  Henry  Greviston,  Ignatius  Burns,  Philip  Manuel, 
Moses  Grumrine.  Jesse  Gray,  Jacob  Ghenoweth,  Gonrad  Har- 
ter,  Gharles  Sumption,  Solomon  Harter,  Joseph  Dixon,  L.  D. 
Wintermote,  Hezekiah  Fowler,  David  Wasson,  John  S. 
Hiller,  Isaac  Vail,  Thomas  F.  Ghenoweth,  Aaron  Hiller  and 
Johnson  Deniston.  The  first  road  from  Greenville  to  reach 
the  early  settlements  crossed  at  the  old  ford,  ran  along  the 
north  side  of  Greenville  creek  to  beyond  Dean's  (Weimer's") 
mill,  where  it  crossed  just  below  the  old  Murphy  graveyard. 
The  next  road  crossed  Greenville  creek  at  the  same  point, 
recrossed  to  Tecumseh's  Point,  kept  south  of  Greenville 
creek,  crossed  West  Branch  north  of  the  old  George  Fox  mill 
and  continued  on  to  the  Jersey  settlement  and  Grout  creek. 
As  before  noted  these  were  some  of  the  earlv  roads  of  the 


DARKE    COUNTY  551 

county,  and  have  been  replaced  by  portions  of  the  present 
Union  City  and  Winchester  pikes.  John  Llapp  built  the  first 
rude  grist  mill  on  Crout  creek,  largely  with  volunteer  help,  iii 
1823,  and  Jeremiah  Rogers  later  built  a  saw  mill  i^n  Hoovers 
branch  of  that  creek.  David  Clapp  built  a  flour  miU  un  Crout 
creek  in  section  15,  in  1832,  which  later  became  known  as 
McClure's  mill  and  served  the  community  until  recent  years. 
It  is  to  the  credit  of  this  township  that  the  first  church  in  the 
county  was  erected  along  the  township  line  in  section  36  about 
1819,  by  the  jNIethodists  as  before  mentioned.  A  second 
church  was  built  by  this  denomination  in  section  Z2  at  an  early 
date,  and  was  known  as  the  Chenoweth  church,  it  is  sii  1 
that  the  first  big  Alethodist  camp  meeting  in  the  county  was 
held  in  section  Zi  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  Houpt  farm. 
The  third  church  was  built  by  the  Presbyterians  in  section  14 
on  the  farm  of  ^Martin  Cox.  All  of  these  early  churches  have 
been  discontinued  but  others  have  ta!:en  their  place  and  the 
township  has  not  lost  its  early  religious  character.  There  is 
a  German  Baptist  church  in  section  9,  a  Disciple  church  in 
section  29  and  a  Union  church  in  section  18. 

The  only  village  of  consequence  in  the  township  is  HTU 
Grove,  which  is  located  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  4 
and  extends  partly  into  Jackson  township.  Tliis  village  was 
laid  out  in  1848,  by  W.  Nickel,  and  is  situated  on  the  Dayton 
&  Union  and  Ohio  Electric  railways  which  traverse  the  north- 
eastern portion  of  the  township.  It  now  ha-;  a  Rearmed  and 
a  United  Brethren  church,  a  school  house  and  a  few  shops, 
but  on  account  of  its  proximity  to  the  thriving  railway  town 
of  Union  City,  has  been  unable  to  make  much  progress.  Nash- 
ville is  the  only  other  village  in  this  township.  It  is  located 
on  the  township  line  in  section  34,  at  the  intersection  of  the 
old  State  road  and  the  Palestine  pike.  It  contains  one  gen- 
eral store  and  a  U.  B.  church,  the  latter  being  in  German  town- 
ship. The  small  railway  mileage  and  the  ab-ence  of  large 
towns  make  Washington  distinctly  a  rural  township  with 
some  of  the  best  farms  and  farmers  in  the  county.  Like  other 
townships  of  this  class  it  makes  slow  increase  in  population 
as  many  of  its  young  men  are  attracted  to  the  nearby  cities 
and  commercial  centers.  Its  population  in  1890  was  1.485,  and 
in  1910.  1,388.  The  real  estate  assessment  in  1913,  was 
$1,955,233.00  and  the  personal  property  was  listed  at 
$535,520.00. 


552  DARKE    COUNTY 

German  Township. 

This  township  is  known  geographically  as  township  11 
north,  range  1  east,  and  was  formed  in  1820  from  the  southern 
part  of  Washington  township  with  the  addition  of  one  tier  of 
sections  from  the  northern  portion  of  Harrison  township.  It 
comprises  about  thirty-three  square  miles  or  over  twenty-one 
thousand  acres  of  land,  most  of  which  is  exceptionally  fertile. 
The  eastern  part  is  drained  by  the  upper  waters  of  West 
branch,  the  northwestern  section  by  the  head  of  Crout  creek 
and  the  southwestern  portion  by  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Whitewater  river.  The  West  Branch  prairie  is  gently  rolling 
and  although  somewhat  boggy  in  early  days,  it  has  been  re- 
claimed and  is  one  of  the  choicest  farming  and  grazing  sec- 
tions of  the  county.  This  valley,  with  its  numerous  springs, 
its  gentle  slope  and  its  beautiful  groves  of  maple,  beech,  oak, 
etc.,  was  a  favorite  dwelling  place  for  the  Indians  who  built 
several  villages  here  as  well  as  on  the  upper  waters  of  Crout 
creek,  and  left  numerous  distinct  marks  of  their  extended  hab- 
itation. The  western  part  of  this  township  is  fiat,  but  the 
south  central  portion  is  somewhat  broken.  The  pioneer  set- 
tler was  probably  James  Cloyd,  who  settled  land  on  the  prairie 
just  south  of  the  present  site  of  Palestine  in  1814.  Jonathan 
and  Alexander  Pearson  settled  in  this  same  neighborhood 
about  1816.  Samuel  Loring  settled  in  the  southwest  quarter 
of  section  14  about  this  time  and  later  laid  out  the  town  of 
Palestine.  John  Wagner,  who  oriTinallv  came  from  Berks 
county,  Pennsylvania  to  Ohio  in  1806,  and  settled  with  other 
Pennsylvania  Germans  at  an  early  date  in  the  IMiami  valley, 
entered  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  24  en  tlie  edge  of  the 
West  Branch  prairie  about  1816.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  he 
sent  his  sons  Daniel  and  William  with  some  stock  which  they 
were  to  feed  on  the  luxuriant  prairie  hay  that  grew  in  that 
region.  Here  they  erected  a  rude  temporary  hut  and  spent 
the  winter  with  two  or  three  Indian  families  as  near  neigh- 
bors. Several  emigrants  came  in  the  fall  of  1817,  among 
whom  were  Martin  Ketring  and  family,  and  George  Teaford, 
who  settled  in  section  22,  Henry  Ross,  who  settled  in  the 
northwest  part  of  section  24,  and  George  Stingley  and  family, 
who  settled  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  12.  John 
McNeil,  James  ^^'oods  and  Wear  Cassidy  are  also  mentioned 
as  early  settlers.  As  in  the  other  townships  the  most  attrac- 
tive, best  drained   and  easiest  opened   sections  were  entered 


DARKE    COUNTY 


first.  Thus  it  happened  that  the  wet,  level  land  in  the  extreme 
southwestern  part  of  this  township  was  not  entered  until 
1826.  The  first  school  house  was  built  as  early  as  1820,  in 
section  14  near  Palestine,  and  the  second  in  1822  on  the  north- 
west quarter  of  section  13.  William  R.  Jones  was  the  first 
teacher.  The  residents  of  German  township  have  always 
taken  much  interest  in  educational  matters.  Until  recently 
there  were  ten  special  school  districts  in  the  township  besides 
the  Palestine  school.  Two  of  these  have  recently  combined 
with  the  Palestine  district  and  erected  a  commodious,  modern 
brick  school  house  having  six  rooms  at  a  cost  of  about  $15,000. 
Four  teachers  are  employed  in  this  school,  two  of  them  teach- 
ing in  the  high  school,  which  gives  a  three-year  academic 
course.  This  school  is  located  on  the  south  side  of  Cross 
street  near  the  western  limits  of  the  village  of  Palestine.  Prof. 
Harter  ^^"heeler  is  the  efficient  superintendent. 

The  Lutherans  are  credited  with  employing  the  first  min- 
ister, Jacob  Ashley,  who  came  monthly  from  Germantown, 
Ohio,  and  preached  in  the  settlers'  cabins,  receiving  therefor 
a  yearly  compensation  of  twelve  dollars.  This  little  society 
erected  the  first  log  church  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section 
22,  one  mile  south  of  Palestine,  in  1826,  and  continued  to  wor- 
ship here  alone  for  several  years.  Then  a  Reformed  congre- 
gation was  organized  in  the  same  locality  and  in  1866  the 
Lutherans  merged  with  them.  Rev.  John  Stuck  becoming  the 
first  minister  under  the  new  organization.  The  United  organ- 
ization, known  as  St.  John's  Reformed  church,  erected  a  new 
frame  building  in  1868  and  worshipped  here  for  several  years, 
but  finally  disbanded. 

The  German  P)aptists  also  held  services  in  early  days  under 
the  preaching  of  David  Miller,  son  of  Jacob  Miller,  the  first 
elder  of  that  denomination  in  the  Miami  valley,  and  Benjamin 
Bowman,  both  of  whom  came  here  from  Indiana  for  that  pur- 
pose. An  organization  of  a  society  was  effected  early  by  these 
preachers,  but  meetings  were  held  in  barns  and  houses  until 
1868  when  a  commodious  frame  meeting  house  was  erected 
about  half  a  mile  south  of  Palestine.  The  early  preachers 
were  John  Weaver,  John  Crumrine  and  William  Marius. 

The  Methodists  probably  erected  the  second  church  struc- 
ture in  the  township  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  29 
and  the  Lutherans  the  third,  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
northeast  quarter  of  section  24  along  the  east  township  line 
on  the  farm  now  owned  by  E.  T.  Wagner.     Like  St.  John's 


554  DARKE    COUNTY 

church  this  afterwards  passed  to  the  Reformed  society  and  is 
now  known  as  West  Zion. 

The,  Christian  denomination  elYected  an  organization  as 
early  as  1836  under  elder  Elijah  Williamson,  who,  w^ith  Rich- 
ard Brandon,  preached  in  an  old  school  house  in  Palestine 
where  a  church  was  built  in  1859.  The  United  Brethren  so- 
ciety was  organized  in  1857  by  Rev.  Jacob  M.  Alarshall  and 
in  1859  erected  the  Pleasant  Grove  church  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  section  3  along  the  Washington  township  line.  The 
Universalists  organized  in  1868  under  Rev.  Elihu  Jkloore  and 
a  few  years  later  built  a  substantial  frame  church  on  the  north 
edge  of  the  village  of  Palestine  where  they  still  maintain  wor- 
ship. The  Disciples  organized  in  1873  under  John  AI.  Smith 
with  about  twenty  members,  and  in  1877  erected  a  church  in 
Palestine. 

There  is  a  settlement  of  colored  people  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  this  township  which  dates  its  origin  from  1822,  when 
James  Clemens  came  from  Rockingham  county,  Virginia, 
which  county  had  passed  a  law  that  all  free-born  colored 
people  should  leave  the  state.  Clemens  entered  320  acres  of 
land.  He  married  Sophoria  Sellers,  of  his  home  county,  and 
became  the  father  of  ten  children,  five  sons  and  five  daughters. 
Three  of  his  sons,  Charles,  William  and  Perry,  became  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel.  Being  attracted  by  the  location  and  natural 
resources  of  this  part  of  the  country,  other  colored  families 
soon  followed  Clemens,  among  whom  were  Reuben  Bass  and 
wife,  who  came  from  Guilford  county.  North  Carolina  in  1823, 
and  entered  200  acres  of  land.  They  were  the  parents  of  eight 
children.  John  Randies  and  wife  and  Thornton  Alexander  and 
wife  of  Virginia  were  also  among  the  early  settlers,  who  en- 
tered a  considerable  amount  of  government  land.  From  this 
comparatively  small  beginning  the  settlement  has  grown  until 
now  it  contains  about  450  inhabitants,  with  two  churches, 
four  school  houses  and  a  number  of  prosperous  homes.  This 
settlement  extends  into  Indiana  and  formerly  supported  an 
academy  known  as  "The  Union  Literary  Institute,"  which 
about  forty  years  ago  was  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Some 
very  prominent  men  of  both  the  white  and  colored  races  were 
educated  here  and  went  out  into  the  world  to  fill  places  of 
honor  in  nearly  all  the  walks  of  life,  as  judges,  lawyers,  doc- 
tors, bishops,  presidents  of  colleges,  etc.  The  older  people 
of  the  settlement  now  look  back  on  this  institution  with  pride 
and  recognize  that  it  was    one  of  tlie    means  of  holdins;    the 


DAUKE    COUNTY  OO:) 

settlement  together,  providing  several  hundred  acres  of  land 
and  helping  to  establish  a  better  school  system.  Tampico, 
the  principal  village  in  this  settlement,  was  laid  out  in  1850. 
The  people  are  generally  religious,  industrious,  patriotic  and 
temperate  and  have  advanced  moral  ideals,  commanding  the 
respect  of  the  gnral  populace. 

Palestine  is  the  only  village  of  importance  in  German  town- 
ship. It  was  laid  out  in  1833  by  Samuel  Loring.  It  now  has 
two  churches,  a  high  school,  a  town  hall  and  is  known  as  a 
good  trading  center,  but  having  no  railway  or  traction  facili- 
ties has  made  but  slow  growth,  its  population  in  1910  being 
216.  Although  there  are  but  a  few  miles  of  railway  in  the 
southern  part  of  this  township,  the  real  property  was  as- 
sessed in  1913  at  $2,030,750  and  the  personal  property  at 
$513,550,  indicating  that  it  is  one  of  the  best  rural  communi- 
ties in  the  county.  The  entire  population  in  1910  was  1,628, 
an  increase  of  only  42  in  ten  years,  and  a  decrease  of  166  from 
the  census  of  1890,  probably  due  to  the  unusual  drain  caused 
by  the  growth  of  the  cities  during  this  period.  German  town- 
ship has  been  a  good  fruit-growing  section,  and,  like  some  of 
the  other  townships,  contained  some  fine  orchards  previous  to 
the  great  freeze  in  the  late  spring  of  the  early  eighties,  which 
ruined  many  of  the  best  orchards  in  the  county.  One  of  the 
most  successful  orchards  of  recent  planting  is  that  now 
owned  by  the  Shields  brothers  and  located  about  half  a  mile 
west  of  Palestine.  It  was  started  some  fifteen  years  ago  by 
Mr.  Harvey  Hill  and  was  maintained  by  him  until  this  year, 
being  enlarged  from  time  to  time  until  probably  fifteen  acres 
had  been  planted — mostly  in  peaches  of  excellent  variety  and 
marketable  quality. 

We  append  herewith  an  interesting  sketch  relative  to  the 
early  planting  of  fruit  trees  in  this  township,  which  was  pre- 
pared by  E.  M.  Buechly  and  published  by  him  March  23,  1888: 

"The  earliest  attempt  at  raising  fruit  trees  in  this  county — 
of  which  we  can  learn — was  made  by  Henry  Ross,  deceased, 
of  German  township,  in  1817.  He  was  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers, and  brought  with  him  some  apples,  of  which  he  care- 
fully saved  the  seeds,  and  together  with  some  pears  and 
peaches  he  had,  planted  them.  Sometime  after  this  he  top- 
grafted  some  of  the  trees.  Of  these  trees  he  planted  his  own 
orchard  and  sold  some  to  supply  his  neighbors.  Mr.  I.  M. 
Ross,  a  grandson  of  his,  now  living  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
county,  related  the  circumstances  to  us,  and  said  he  recently 


556  DARKE    COUNTY 

cut  one  of  the  old  trees  down  and  found  that  by  counting  the 
rings  of  annual  growth  that  it  corresponded  exactly  with  that 
date.  ]\Iost  of  the  trees  planted  up  to  that  time  and  from  that 
time  until  about  1830  were  either  brought  in  from  other  parts 
of  the  state  or  were  raised  by  the  pioneers  themselves ;  in 
either  case  they  were  nearly  or  quite  all  seedlings,  grafted  fruits 
being  not  yet  disseminated  much  at  that  time.  In  1831  was  the 
earliest  account  of  grafted  orchards  being  set..  They  w-ere  on 
the  farms  of  Zadok  Ragan,  southeast  of  Greenville,  and  Solo- 
mon Whitson.  The  trees  were  brought  from  the  Hicks  nur- 
sery, near  Dayton.  In  1835  there  were  several  orchards  set 
with  grafted  trees  from  the  Richmond,  Ind.,  nurseries.  A  few 
of  these  trees  planted  by  the  early  settlers  are  yet  standing,  as 
it  were,  living  monuments  to  the  memories  of  the  pioneers 
who  planted  them,  but  who  have  long  ago  crossed  the  Dark 
River. 

"There  was  also  a  small  nursery  planted  in  Harrison  town- 
ship by  a  Mr.  Lantry,  who  propagated  some  fine  varieties  of 
apples,  pears,  peaches  and  cherries.  The  writer  is  not  in- 
formed as  to  whether  they  were  root-grafted  and  budded,  or 
top-grafted.  If  the  former,  he  was  the  first  to  practice  that 
method :  if  the  latter,  then  the  credit  of  first  budding  and  root- 
grafting  in  nursery  belongs  to  Aaron  and  Jacob  Crumrine, 
who  had  a  farm  in  German  township,  on  which  they  planted 
a  nursery  of  several  thousand  trees,  about  1840.  ]\Iany  of  the 
varieties  sent  out  by  them  afterwards  proved  to  be  worthless. 
Their  planting  was  also  discontinued." 

Harrison  Township. 

This  township  occupies  the  extreme  southwestern  part  of 
the  county  and  includes  the  territory  known  as  township  10 
north,  range  1  east.  It  was  erected  in.  May,  1818,  from  the 
west  end  of  Twin  township  and  contained  all  of  that  town- 
ship west  of  a  line  running  due  north  from  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  section  31,  township  10  north,  range  2  east.  On  Sep- 
tember 7,  1820,  it  was  reduced  to  its  present  size  by  detaching 
one  tier  of  sections  from  the  east  side. 

Harrison  is  a  township  of  springs,  streams  and  rolling  hills, 
and  contains  some  of  the  highest  elevations  in  the  county. 
The  headwaters  of  Mud  creek  and  the  West  Branch  of  Green- 
ville creek  drain  the  northeastern  part  of  the  township,   the 


DARKE    COUNTY  557 

east  fork  of  the  Whitewater  drains  the  central  and  southeast- 
ern portion,  and  the  Middle  fork  of  the  Whitewater  and  some 
minor  branches  drain  the  western  section.  The  primitive  con- 
dition of  this  township  is  thus  portrayed  by  the  historian : 
"Save  in  the  northwest,  the  valleys  of  these  streams  and  much 
of  their  basins  were  swampy  and  well-nigh  impassable.  In 
some  places  there  were  tall  rank  grasses  and  swampy  weeds ; 
in  others,  timber  and  thickets  of  vinous  brush — briery  and 
woven  as  a  network  of  nature's  weaving,  while  on  higher 
ground  bordering  these  were  walnut,  hackberry,  sugar  maple 
and  oaks;  in  the  southeastern  part,  beech  predominated.  The 
native  scenery  presents  an  appearance  of  a  western  forest  re- 
pelling the  settler  from  interference  with  its  domain.  Such 
were  the  general  features  of  this  region  before  the  pioneer  had 
chosen  his  home,  or  any  surveyor  had  ventured  to  trace  the 
boundaries  of  town  or  range.  All  was  wood  and  swamp.  Na- 
ture reigned  in  unbroken  solitude  save  the  song  of  birds,  the 
graceful  flight  of  deer,  the  nightly  howl  of  wolves  and  the  oc- 
casional unearthly  screech  of  the  American  panther.  Abund- 
ance of  game,  the  rolling  lands,  the  springs  and  streams  were 
marked  by  explorers." 

Probably  the  glowing  reports  of  the  surveyors  and  of  some 
roaming  frontiersmen  and  hunters  earlv  awakened  eager  an- 
ticipations among  the  border  settlers  to  the  south  and  some  of 
these  had  the  temerity  to  make  entries  of  land  in  this  primi- 
tive paradise,  several  years  before  the  remoter  and  less  at- 
tractive sections  were  taken  up. 

As  early  as  1810,  a  few  families,  including  the  Brawleys, 
Purviances  and  AlcClures.  made  entries  in  the  southern  sec- 
tion along  the  valley  of  the  East  fork.  They  were  soon  driven 
away,  however,  by  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians  and  did 
not  return  until  after  the  close  of  the  war  of  1812.  During 
this  conflict,  in  the  fall  of  1813,  a  fort  was  established  by 
Lieutenant  Black  of  a  company  commanded  by  Captain  Nes- 
bitt,  and  named  Fort  Black.  This  post  was  built  in  section  13 
on  the  present  site  of  New  Madison.  Its  exact  location  is  said 
to  have  been  about  twenty  feet  north  of  Main  street  between 
lots  104  and  105  in  that  village.  Another  post  called  Fort 
Nesbitt  was  also  built  in  1813  on  the  northeast  quarter  of  sec- 
tion 32,  just  east  of  the  present  fork  in  the  roads  on  land  now 
belonging  to  William  E  .Roberts.  W^illiam  Boswell,  James 
Shannon  and  others  served  in  this  block  house. 

At  the  close  of  hostilities  the  first   families   returned   and 


558  DARKE    COUNTY 

eagerly  took  up  the  arduous  labor  of  clearing  up  the  lands  for 
prospective  farms.  They  were  soon  followed  by  William  and 
John  Wade,  who  located  near  Fort  Black;  Zudock  and  John 
Smith,  who  included  the  site  of  the  fort  in  their  entry ;  James 
Emerson,  Joseph  Gist,  the  Tillsons  and  Harlands,  who  settled 
along  the  Middle  Branch  of  Whitewater.  From  this  time 
settlement  progressed  rapidly.  Dennis  Hart,  Judson  Jaqua 
and  the  Lawrences  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  Yankee- 
town  ;  Solomon  and  Jonathan  Thomas  southwest  of  New 
Madison;  John  and  Aaron  Rush  further  north;  Thomas 
Micham  in  section  16;  John  Downing  in  section  10;  Frances 
Spencer  in  section  3 ;  Samuel  at  Fort  Nesbitt,  and  his  brother 
in  section  29.  John  and  Jacob  jMiller,  Daniel  Owens,  David, 
James  P.  and  Daniel  Edwards  and  John  Watson  in  the  central 
part  and  north  of  Fort  Nesbitt.  Other  early  settlers  were 
Ernestus  Putnam,  Solomon  Broderick,  James  Wooden,  M. 
Buckingham,  Nazareth  Bunch,  John  Carrier,  William  Jones, 
Daniel  Forkner,  Jonathan  Thomas,  the  Motes  brothers,  John 
Foster,  E.  Lovall  and  Thomas  Gray.  A  large  number  of  these 
were  scions  of  the  old  families  of  Kentucky  and  the  south, 
others  were  from  the  Miami  valley  settlement  and  a  few  from 
the  east.  Some  came  by  way  of  the  W'hitewater  and  still 
others  by  the  new  roads  of  the  older  settlements  to  the  south. 
In  some  cases  two  or  three  families  came  together  with  their 
meager  household  furniture  and  farming  utensils  all  in  one 
wagon.  Some  came  afoot  or  on  horseback,  bringing  possibly  a 
cow,  a  few  swine  and  a  few  tools  and  farming  implements. 
The  newcomers  were  often  sheltered  in  the  cabins  of  the 
earlier  settlers  and  all  were  mutually  dependent,  thus  devel- 
oping that  oi:)en  heartedness  evervwhere  characteristic  of  the 
pioneers.  That  they  were  of  a  substantial  class  is  indicated 
by  the  fact  that  nearly  all  remained  and  improved  the  lands 
which  they  had  entered. 

The  moral  and  religious  tone  of  the  community  were  en- 
hanced by  the  presence  of  such  men  as  John  Purviance,  John 
Forster,  Isaac  Mains  and  William  Polly,  all  of  whom  were 
early  preachers  in  the  Christian  denomination ;  as  well  as  by 
the  Tillsons,  Harlands,  Pollys,  Solomon  Broderick,  Ernestus 
Putnam  and  others.  The  first  church  was  a  log  structure  and 
was  built  on  the  site  later  occupied  by  Friendship  church,  on 
northwest  corner  of  section  28.  Here  John  Purviance  also 
taught  school  until  the  first  regular  school  building  was 
erected  in   1819.     William   Hill   and  Closes  Woods  are  men- 


DARKE    COUNTY  559 

tioned  as  early  teachers.  Educational  matters  have  received 
considerable  attention  in  this  township  since  pioneer  days 
and  its  relative  standing  in  educational  matters  is  high  to- 
day. Besides  the  regular  school  districts  there  are  three  spe- 
cial rural  districts  and  the  New  Madison  and  Hollansburg 
schools. 

The  Pennsylvania  railway  enters  the  township  near  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  13  and  crosses  the  Preble  county 
line  in  section  33  and  the  Peoria  and  Eastern  pursues  a  sinu- 
ous course,  crossing  and  recrossing  the  northern  township 
line,  and  having  probably  three  miles  of  track  within  the 
township.  The  real  estate  of  Harrison  township  was  assessed 
at  $2,130,490,  and  the  personal  property  at  $1,141,700  in  1913. 
The  entire  population  of  the  township  in  1910  was  2,064. 

New  Madison. 

The  rapid  settlement  of  Harrison  township  encouraged 
Zadock  Smith  to  lay  off  a  town  plat  on  the  site  of  Fort  Black 
in  section  13  as  early  as  1817.  This  he  did  partly  as  a  matter 
of  speculation.  On  Christmas,  1817,  Smith  held  a  pioneer 
jollification  and  public  sale  of  lots,  at  which  only  two  lots  were 
sold  upon  which  buildings  were  afterwards  erected.  Becom- 
ing disheartened  at  this  first  attempt.  Smith  sold  his  entire 
claim  to  Ernestus  Putnam  in  1819.  Putnam  then  bought  all 
the  lots  formerly  sold,  vacated  the  original  plat,  and  in  1831, 
made  a  new  plat  comprising  thirty-four  lots  ranged  on  oppo- 
site sides  of  what  is  now  Main  street  for  a  distance  of  three 
blocks.  At  that  time  he  lived  in  Old  Fort  Black,  where  his 
son  David  (later  colonel  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-second 
regiment)  was  born.  In  this  connection  we  append  herewith 
an  interesting  sketch  written  by  Col.  David  Putnam  (de- 
ceased) and  published  in  the  Greenville  Democrat,  May  17, 
1902. 

"Returning  to  Washington  he  closed  up  his  business, 
packed  up  their  valuables  that  made  the  least  bulk,  loaded 
them  with  mother,  Jane  and  John,  who  were  born  there,  in  a 
one-horse  wagon,  and  started  for  Fort  Black,  Darke  county 
(which  had  just  been  organized),  Ohio,  where  he  had  pre- 
viously, through  Uncle  John  Gray,  entered  a  quarter  section 
of  land,  just  west  of  the  quarter  that  the  fort  was  located  on. 

"I  will  digress  a  little  here. 

"Grandfather  Gray,  Uncle  Thomas  Carson  and  Uncle  John 


560  DARKE    COUNTY 

Kinnear  had  preceded  them,  Uncle  Thomas  having  entered 
the  quarter  section  west  of  father  (half  for  grandfather),  and 
Uncle  John  Kinnear  the  quarter  section  next  west.  The  quar- 
ter second  on  which  the  fort  was  located  had  been  entered  by 
Zeddock  Smith,  who  had  made  some  little  improvements  and 
had  laid  out  some  lots  and  named  his  town  Madison.  He  had 
sold  three  or  four  lots  of  which  two  had  small  hewn  log 
houses  on.  At  that  time  land  had  to  be  entered  in  quarter 
sections  at  $2.00  per  acre,  one-half  paid  at  date  of  entry  and 
balance  in  deferred  payments. 

"I  will  resume  my  narration. 

"After  a  long  and  tedious  journey  over  mountains,  rivers, 
plains  and  swamps  they  arrived  at  Fort  Black.  (Grandfather 
with  grandmother  and  Aunt  Mary,  Uncle  Thomas  Carsons 
with  Aunt  Nancy  and  Uncle  John  Kinnear  with  Aunt  Sarah 
and  two  children  had  preceded  them.)  They  procured 
a  guide  who  piloted  them  down  the  south  side  of  the  great 
pigeon  swamp  two  miles  to  the  McClure  cabin,  crossing  the 
head  of  Whitewater,  then  north  passing  the  John  Rush  cabin 
to  grandfather's,  going  nearly  five  m.iles  and  were  less  than 
three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  fort.  After  meeting  and 
talking  things  over,  father  having  saved  some  money  from  the 
financial  wreck,  went  around  to  the  fort  and  found  Smith  un- 
able to  make  his  deferred  payment  on  his  entry ;  purchased  his 
interest  in  the  land  and  purchased  the  lots  that  had  been  sold 
and  some  time  after  vacated  the  town,  got  a  few  things  to- 
gether, went  back  to  the  fort  and  went  to  housekeeping,  using 
the  houses  that  had  been  built.  About  this  time  General  Har- 
rison being  in  congress,  secured  the  enactment  of  a  law  re- 
ducing the  price  of  land  to  $1.25  per  acre  and  authorizing 
those  who  had  made  entries  and  were  unable  to  pay  the  de- 
ferred payment  to  relinquish  one-half  of  the  land  and  take 
title  for  the  other  half.  Father,  having  assumed  the  payment 
of  the  Smith  entry,  relinquished  his  entry,  thereby  getting 
title  in  fee  for  the  town  quarter.  He  again  entered  the  swamp 
quarter.  Upon  getting  his  title  completed  he  built  a  comfort- 
able two-story  log  house  of  three  rooms  below  and  three 
above,  with  an  addition  of  a  kitchen  and  porch ;  in  which 
house  I  was  born,  with  six  younger  children,  and  where  we 
all  spent  our  childhool's  happy  days. 

"In  1831  father  laid  out  and  started  the  town  of  New  Madi- 
son, and  in  1832  built  the  first  merchant  mill  in  Darke  county, 
Ohio.     Soon   after  getting  settled  in  their  new  home  father 


DARKE    COUNTY  561 

opened  quite  an  extensive  shop,  making  and  repairing  guns, 
and  for  considerable  time  employed  Abraham  Hollenshead, 
who  had  worked  for  him  in  Washington  nearly  all  the  time 
they  lived  there.  Soon  after  opening  his  shop  they  opened  a 
small  store,  mother  taking  charge  of  it  while  father  ran  the 
shop.  When  I  was  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  old, 
father  sold  his  fine  set  of  tools  to  Lewis  Ginger,  of  New  Paris, 
quit  the  business  and  gave  his  entire  time  to  the  mercantile 
business,  in  which  he  was  successful.  In  1835  he  built  in  the 
new  town  a  good  store  room  and  moved  his  business  from 
the  Fort  Black  stand  and  in  1837  and  '38  built  the  large  and 
commodious  dwelling,  yet  standing  in  good  condition  and  oc- 
cupied as  the  principal  hotel  in  the  flourishing  town.  Father 
continued  in  the  mercantile  business  until  February  11,  1839, 
when  brother  John  entered  the  store  and  business  was  then 
conducted  under  the  firm  name  of  E.  Putnam  &  Son.  This 
was  continued  until  August  4,  1842,  when  father  retired  en- 
tirely from  business  and  I,  with  John,  continued  the  business 
as  J.  G.  &  D.  Putnam,  which  firm  continued  until  June  4,  1845, 
when  I  sold  my  interest  to  John  and  moved  to  Palestine." 

Putnam  opened  up  the  first  store  in  the  new  town  ;  he  also 
built  a  log  school  house  on  a  triangular  piece  of  ground  at 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  plat,  and  donated  the  same  for 
public  school  purposes.  In  addition  he  gave  ground  for  cem- 
eterv  purposes,  a  military  parade  ground  and  the  site  of  the 
old  brick  Presbyterian  church  on  Washington  street,  which 
building  he  was  largely  instrumental  in  erecting.  In  1857, 
Rev.  Vogt  organized  a  Reformed  society  which  soon  dis- 
placed the  Presbyterian  organization  and  came  into  posses- 
sion of  the  property.  After  forty  years  of  existence  this  so- 
ciety in  turn  merged  with  the  newly  organized  United  Breth- 
ren society  in  1897.  In  1899  the  latter  denomination  built  a 
beautiful  brick  church  on  lot  No.  1  of  the  original  plat  on 
upper  Main  street,  at  a  cost  of  some  $10,000  or  $12,000.  This 
church  has  grown  and  prospered  and  now  has  a  membership 
of  about  two  hundred. 

The  Universalists  organized  in  June,  1859,  with  thirty-one 
members  and  purchased  a  large  lot  near  the  southeastern  cor- 
ner of  the  village  where  they  soon  erected  a  substantial  frame 
building  and  dedicated  it  in  January,  1860.  This  denomina- 
tion has  maintained  an  organization  ever  since,  placing  espe- 
cial emphasis  on  Sunday  school  work.  In  1903,  this  society 
built  a  nicely  appointed,  modern  brick  building  on  the  old 
(36) 


562  DARKE    COUNTY 

site  at  a  cost  of  some  $8,000.  The  present  membership  is  over 
one  hundred. 

The  Methodists  built  a  frame  church  opposite  the  Re- 
formed church  in  1878,  and  maintained  worship  until  recent 
years.    They  are  now  inactive. 

The  educational  enterprise  of  the  citizens  is  shown  by  the 
fact,  that  as  early  as  1870  they  erected  a  two-story,  brick 
school  house,  at  a  cost  of  $6,500,  not  including  equipment. 
This  building  was*  replaced  in  1897  by  a  modern,  six  room, 
brick  structure  costing  about  $7,000.  The  new  building  is 
nicel}'  furnished  throughout,  is  heated  by  steam,  has  a  good 
laboratory,  a  library  and  a  piano.  A  recent  report  shows  six 
teachers  employed,  fifty-six  pupils  in  the  high  school,  ten 
membeis  in  the  last  graduating  class,  and  108  graduates,  in- 
cluding the  class  of  1913.  The  first  class  graduated  in  1895. 
The  high  school  ranks  as  first  grade,  has  two  courses  of  study 
and  offers  advanced  work  for  those  preparing  to  teach.  There 
is  a  good  school  sentiment  in  the  district,  and  the  patrons 
want  the  best  schools  possible.  The  standard  of  the  school 
has  been  raised  from  the  third  grade  to  the  first  grade  and 
each  year  new  equipment  is  added  to  the  laboratory  and  new 
books  to  the  library.  The  following  persons  have  served  as 
superintendent  since  the  organization  of  this  school :  Thomas 
Eubanks.  Edwin  Lockett.  Mr.  Christler,  Mr.  Reed.  :\Ir.  Christ- 
ner.  M.  A.  Brown.  L.  W.  Warson,  F.  J.  Mick,  Floyd  Deacon, 
M.  F.  Smith  and  C.  W.  Williams. 

New  Madison  is  one  of  the  substantial  conservative  towns 
of  the  county,  and  although  it  has  never  experienced  a  boom, 
it  goes  steadily  forward  in  improvements.  Besides  the  church 
and  school  buildings  already  mentioned,  it  has  a  town  hall,  a 
fire  department,  a  bank,  two  hotels,  a  newspaper,  a  K.  of  P. 
hall,  a  Red  Men's  hall,  lumber  yard,  a  grain  elevator,  tobacco 
warehouses  and  factories,  ice  plant  and  garage,  also  several 
fine  residences.  At  present  there  are  Masonic,  K.  of  P.,  Pyth- 
ian Sisters  and  I.  O.  R.  M.  lodges  in  this  village,  and  several 
thriving  business  enterprises.  The  census  of  1910  gave  New 
Madison  a  population  of  628. 

Hollansburg. 

On  March  28.  1838,  James  Stewart  laid  out  the  village  of 
Union  in  the  northeastern  quarter  of  section  7,  Harrison  town- 
ship, where  the  residence  of  Elihu  Pollv  now  stands,  and  of- 


DARKE    COUNTY  *  563 

fered  lots  for  sale.  It  is  said  that  William  HoUaman,  who 
was  at  that  time  one  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  county, 
negotiated  for  the  purchase  of  two  or  more  lots,  but  when  he 
came  to  settle  with  the  proprietor,  had  a  wrangle  about  the 
price,  whereupon  said  Hollaman  threatened  to  lay  off  a  com- 
petitive plat  on  his  own  land  in  section  5  about  a  mile  to  the 
northeast  of  Union.  This  he  did  in  October,  1838.  Valentine 
Harland  made  two  additions  to  the  original  plat  and  the  new 
village  was  named  by  combining  the  first  part  of  Hollaman's 
name  with  the  last  part  of  Harland's  and  adding  the  usual 
burgh,  making  the  name  Hollandsburgh,  since  reduced  to  Hol- 
lansburg.  At  first  the  village  was  designated  "Republican 
P.  O."  as  the  postoffice  of  that  name  was  transferred  from 
section  29,  German  township,  to  the  new  village  in  1839,  and 
William  Hollaman  made  postmaster.  In  time  Hollansburg 
outgrew  Union  and  finally  displaced  it.  On  account  of  the 
number  of  adherents  to  the  "New  Lights"  in  this  section  a 
society  of  this  denomination  was  soon  organized,  and,  in  1840, 
built  a  church  on  the  present  site  of  the  cemetery.  This  was 
replaced  by  another  structure  in  18.^2,  and  much  better  one 
in  1896.  The  last  named  building  was  struck  by  lightning  in 
1912  and  burned.  A  modern  brick  structure  costing  about 
S8,000  was  soon  erected  and  was  dedicated  April  26,  1914. 

The  Methodists  built  a  church  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
village  about  1875.  The  first  school  house  was  built  on  the 
present  site  of  the  cemetery  in  1848.  .\s  in  New  Madison  and 
Harrison  township  generally  a  fine  educational  spirit  prevails. 
Resides  the  school  and  church  buildings  there  is  now  a  city 
hall,  bank,  postofifiice,  hotel,  K.  of  P.  building,  newspaper  office, 
saw  mill  and  greenhouse  in  the  village.  Flourishing  K.  of  P., 
Pvthian  Sisters  and  a  Jr.  O.  U.  A.  M.  organization  also  exist 
here.  This  village  supported  a  noted  physician  in  the  person 
of  W.  W.  French,  who  came  in  1842,  and  built  up  an  immense 
practice  extending  into  Indiana.  Hon.  O.  E.  Harrison,  form- 
erly state  senator  and  an  assistant  prosecutor  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Justice,  was  for  some  time  principal  in  the  school  at 
this  place.  H.  W.  Emerson,  who  is  said  to  have  been  the 
shrewdest  financier  ever  living  in  Darke  county,  came  to  Har- 
rison township  about  1816,  and  was  a  banker  in  Hollansburg 
for  several  years.  Later  he  moved  to  Greenville  and  served  as 
president  of  the  Farmers  Bank. 

The  only  other  villages  in  the  township  are  Braffettsville, 
on    the    line    between    sections  33    and    34,  Wilv's  station  on 


564  •  DARKE    COUNTY 

the  Pennsylvania  railway  in  section  28  and  Yankeetown  on 
the  high  ground  at  the  cornering  of  sections  25,  26,  35  and  36. 
The  latter  village  has  a  new  U.  B.  church  erected  in  1912,  and 
is  the  oldest  village  in  the  township. 

Allen  Township. 

This  township  is  one  of  the  northern  tier  and  lies  just  east 
of  Mississinawa.  It  was  taken  from  Brown  township  in 
March,  1839,  and  containd  all  of  townships  14  and  15  north, 
range  2  east,  except  one  tier  of  sections  from  the  eastern  part 
of  each.  It  was  reduced  to  its  present  size  in  1848,  when 
township  15  was  thrown  into  Mercer  county,  and  now  con- 
tains thirty  sections  of  land.  It  is  drained  mainly  by  the  up- 
per Wabash  and  the  head  of  the  north  branch  of  the  Still- 
water. The  former  enters  the  township  near  the  extreme 
northwest  corner  and  runs  southeastward  to  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  15,  thence  northeastward  to  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  11,  where  it  crosses  the  Wabash  township 
line.  The  Stillwater  rises  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section 
17,  near  school  No.  4,  flows  southeastward  to  southeast  quar- 
ter of  section  26,  thence  southward  and  crosses  the  Brown 
township  line  near  the  center  of  the  south  line  of  section  35. 
The  water  shed  between  the  Wabash  and  Miami  basins  trav- 
erses this  township,  and  the  surface  is  generally  rolling  with 
occasional  hills  along  the  streams.  The  uplands  contain  much 
clay,  while  the  bottoms  are  of  a  rich  dark  soil.  There  was 
much  fine  hard  timber  in  this  section  which  was  cut  off  to  a 
large  extent  later  than  that  in  the  sections  further  south. 

Ephriam  and  Aaron  Ireland  were  the  first  settlers  and  lo- 
cated in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  34.  Other  pioneers 
were  George  Reigel  and  sons,  John,  David,  Jacob  and  Jona- 
than;  Samuel  Zerby,  Samuel  Aspaugh.  Landis  Light,  John 
Hagerman,  Matthias  Barnhart,  Francis  Jenkinson,  Henry 
Brown  and  James  Cochran. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in  1840  in  section  30.  There 
are  now  nine  school  districts,  besides  village  schools. 

The  Methodists  erected  the  first  church  in  1854,  two  miles 
west  of  Rossburg  at  the  northeast  corner  of  section  32,  and 
the  Lutherans  erected  the  next  about  half  a  mile  farther  west 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Lightsville  pike  in  1855,  where  the 
Holiness  church  now  stands.  Bishop  John  Seibert  is  credited 
with  being  the  first  preacher  in  the  township,  and  the  Evan- 


DARKE    COUNTY 


565 


gelicals  the  first  to  hold  services  in  private  houses.     Rev.  T. 
Hiestand  was  the  pioneer  Methodist  preacher. 

There  was  no  railroad  in  this  township  until  the  C.  J.  &  M. 
(now  C.  N.)  was  constructed  through  the  second  tier  of  town- 
ships about  1883.  This  road  has  been  largely  instrumental  in 
developing  the  township  and  since  its  construction  three  vil- 
lages have  been  developed,  viz.,  Rossburg,  New  Weston  and 
Burkettsville. 

Rossburg  (formerly  Rossville.) 

This  -^-illage  was  laid  out  by  John  G.  Ross  in  1868,  at  the 
cornering  of  sections  26,  27,  34  and  35.  A  blacksmith  shop,  a 
store  and  a  postofiice  soon  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  new  vil- 
lage and  it  made  but  little  progress  until  the  building  of  the 
"Mackinaw"  railway  about  1883;  since  that  time  it  has  made 
substantial  progress  and  now  contains  a  town  hall,  a  council 
chamber,  a  bank,  a  hotel,  a  postofifice,  a  railway  station  and 
U.  B.  and  M.  E.  churches,  besides  a  lodge,  elevator,  m.ill  and 
several  stores.    The  population  in  1910  was  261. 

New  Weston. 

This  is  one  of  the  new  villages  of  the  county  and  is  located 
four  miles  north  of  Rossburg  on  the  line  between  sections  3 
and  10.  Like  Rossburg,  its  development  was  due  largely  to 
the  construction  of  the  Cincinnati  Northern  railway.  It  now 
contains  a  town  hall,  a  postofifice,  telephone  exchange,  public 
school,  U.  B.  church,  elevator,  depot,  livery,  lodge  and  stores. 
The  population  in  1910  was  258,  just  three  less  than  Rossburg. 

Burkettsville  (Gilbert's  Station.) 

This  village  is  located  one  mile  north  of  New  Weston  at 
the  intersection  of  the  county  line  and  the  C.  &  N.  railway. 
It  has  grown  up  since  the  construction  of  the  railway.  It  is 
built  in  a  community  largely  Catholic,  like  the  southern  part 
of  fiercer  County  generally,  and  contains  a  Catholic  church 
and  school,  a  town  hall,  station,  elevator  and  Church  of 
Christ  on  the  ]\Iercer  county  side,  while  on  the  Darke  county 
side  are  located  the  postoffice,  public  school,  hotel,  elevator, 
stores  and  the  Catholic  cemetery.  The  total  population  in 
1910  was  236. 

Allen  township  has  roads  on  most  of  the  section  lines,  many 
of  which  have  been  graded  and  built  up  in  recent  years  mak- 


566  DARKE    COUNTY 

ing  fine  pikes.  The  real  estate  was  assessed  at  $1,757,390  and 
the  chattels  at  $484,350  in  1913.  The  population  in  1910  was 
1,826. 

Brown  Township. 

This  township  was  organized  in  December,  1833,  when  it 
was  taken  from-  Richland.  As  now  constituted  it  comprises 
all  of  township  13  north,  range  2  east,  except  one  tier  of  sec- 
tions on  the  east,  making  it  six  miles  north  and  south,  and  five 
miles  east  and  west.  It  lies  largely  in  the  plain  between  the 
Alississinawa  and  the  Union  Moraines,  mentioned  in  Chapter 
1,  and  is  one  of  the  most  level  townships  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county. 

Its  territory  is  drained  by  the  upper  Stillwater  and  its 
branches  which  reach  nearly  every  section  of  the  township. 
The  main  stream  enters  the  township  near  the  northwest  cor- 
ner, and  flows  southeastward  to  Ansonia,  at  the  center  of  sec- 
tion 22,  thence  eastward,  crossing  the  east  line  near  the  north- 
east corner  of  section  23.  The  main  southern  tributary  is  the 
Woodington  branch,  which  rises  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
Greenville  township  and  flows  in  a  northeast  direction  past 
^^'oodington  and  joins  the  main  stream  about  a  half  mile 
west  of  Ansonia.  The  North  Branch  rises  in  the  western  cen- 
tral part  of  Allen  township,  flows  in  a  southeast  direction,  and 
joins  the  main  stream  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile  east  of  An- 
sonia. On  account  of  the  level  condition  of  the  land  and  the 
large  number  of  tributaries  the  upper  valley  of  this  stream, 
beginning  a  short  distance  above  Ansonia  and  extending  into 
eastern  Jackson  and  southeastern  jMississinawa  townships,  was 
originally  subject  to  overflow  after  every  freshet,  and  was 
known  as  the  "spreads  of  Stillwater."  On  this  account  the 
land  in  this  section  was  considered  alm^ost  worthless  in  early 
days,  and  for  probably  forty  years  after  the  first  settlement 
remained  a  morass,  the  last  retreat  of  the  wolves  in  the  county. 
By  extensive  and  systematic  ditching,  mostly  in  the  "sixties 
and  seventies,"  it  became  the  most  fertile  and  valuable  tract 
in  the  township.  Lands  in  this  township  sold  in  early  days 
from  $1.00  to  $2.50  per  acre — the  former  price  prevailing  in  the 
vicinity  of  Ansonia.  The  original  forest  showed  a  diversity 
of  fine  hard  timber,  which,  at  first,  was  cut  down  and  de- 
stroyed indiscriminately,  but,  upon  the  building  of  the  rail- 
ways became  a  valuable  asset  to  the  landowners  and  supplied 


DARKE    COUNTY  567 

material  for  an  immense  business  in  the  manufacture  of 
hardwood  hubs,  spokes,  staves,  etc. 

The  trails  of  St.  Clair  and  \\'a3'ne  crossed  the  western  part 
of  this  county,  following  the  general  course  of  the  present 
Fort  Recovery  pike.  St.  Clair's  army  camped  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Woodington  and  made  special  mention  of  the 
heavy  forest  there.  Signs  of  an  extensive  encampment  on  the 
higher  ground  of  the  Tillman  farm  in  the  southern  part  of  sec- 
tion 20,  were  found  in  early  days.  The  outline  of  a  low  em- 
bankment was  distinctly  seen  and  numerous  relics  were  found 
here.  Some  fine  springs  are  located  here  and  today  there  is 
an  artesian  well  of  considerable  strength.  Wayne's  army 
camped  in  the  Stillwater  at  the  crossing  of  the  old  trail,  prob- 
ably near  the  southeast  corner  of  section  6,  on  the  evening  of 
July  28,  1794,  that  being  the  first  day's  march  northward  from 
Greenville. 

John  lA'oodington  was  probabh'  the  first  settler  in  the  town- 
ship. He  located  along  St.  Clair's  trail  in  the  southern  part 
of  section  29.  William  Teegarden  came  in  1817,  and  located 
in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  20.  His  brother  Abraham 
came  in  1820,  and  entered  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  18. 
Daniel  Dewall  settled  in  the  east  half  of  the  northeast  quarter 
of  section  20,  in  the  same  year.  Other  early  settlers  were 
James  Titus,  Smith  Marquis,  James  White,  David  and  Silas 
Riffle  and  Thomas  Marcum. 

The  first  school  house  was  a  pole  cabin  built  about  1827,  in 
section  28.  John  Hofifman  was  the  first  teacher.  There  are 
now  nine  school  houses  in  the  township  besides  the  one  in 
Ansonia. 

The  first  church  was  built  by  Abraham  Teegarden  in  1835, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  present  Ansonia  pike,  a  short  distance 
west  of  the  intersection  of  the  Fort  Recovery  pike  in  section 
18.  It  was  a  "Campbellite"  church  and  has  been  discontinued 
many  years.  The  present  "Teegarden"  Christian  church  is 
located  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile  west  of  this  site  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  road  in  section  19,  and  was  built  about  1881, 
as  the  result  of  the  "splitting"  of  the  original  Teegarden 
church  which  stood  at  the  southwest  corner  of  the  intersection 
of  the  Fort  Recovery  and  Union  City — Ansonia  pike.  The 
original  church  was  built  in  1862,  and  when  the  division  oc- 
curred in  1881,  the  members  living  to  the  south  organized  the 
Christian  church  at  Woodington  and  those  living  to  the  north 
the  one  above  mentioned.  The  Teegarden  church  is  now  the 
only   rural   congregation   in   the    township — a    condition   due 


568  DARKE    COUNTY 

largely  to  the  proximity  of  various  churches  in  surrounding 
townships. 

Brown  township  is  well  supplied  with  railways.  The  C.  C. 
C.  &  St.  L.  R.  R.  crosses  in  a  straight  line  inclining  south  of 
east.  It  enters  near  the  center  of  the  east  line  of  section  2o, 
and  crosses  the  v/est  line  at  the  extreme  northwest  corner  of 
section  30.  The  Logansport  division  of  the  Pennsylvania  rail- 
way cuts  diagonally  across  the  southwestern  corner  of  the 
township.  The  Cincinnati  Northern  R.  R.  was  the  last  con- 
structed through  the  township,  being  in  a  north  and  south  di- 
rection through  the  second  tier  of  sections  from  the  east  line, 
and  has  proven  quite  beneficial  in  afifording  larger  market  fa- 
cilities. 

Ansonia. 

The  principal  village  is  Ansonia  (originally  Dallas),  which 
was  laid  out  in  1845,  near  the  center  of  the  east  line  of  section 
22.  In  early  days  the  location  was  considered  unhealthy,  but 
since  the  drainage  of  this  section  has  changed  materially  in 
this  respect.  It  is  situated  in  the  Stillwater  bottoms  and  is 
about  forty-five  feet  lower  than  the  county  seat.  Being  eight 
miles  from  Greenville,  and  about  ten  miles  from  Versailles, 
and  Union  City  it  makes  a  convenient  trading  point  for  a  large 
section  of  surromiding  territory,  and  has  been  a  good  com- 
mercial center  for  many  years.  The  building  of  the  "Bee 
line"  railway  in  1852  gave  Ansonia  enlarged  commercial  op- 
portunities and  made  it  a  center  for  the  manufacture  of  hubs, 
staves  and  spokes  for  many  years,  until  the  supply  of  hard- 
wood in  the  neighborhood  had  been  greatly  reduced.  The 
construction  of  the  Cincinnati  Northern  railway  some  thirty 
years  later  made  it  a  shipping  point  of  importance  and  guar- 
anteed the  future  stability  of  the  place.  Besides  several  sub- 
stantial mercantile  establishments,  Ansonia  now  has  a  town 
hall,  fire  department,  postoffice,  two  banks,  hotel,  public 
school,  three  churches,  a  newspaper,  Masonic,  T.  O.  O.  F.  and 
K.  of  P.  lodges,  two  elevators,  a  tobacco  warehouse,  and  a 
union  railway  station. 

The  M.  E.  church  in  Ansonia  is  the  outgrowth  of  services 
held  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village  in  early  days — probablv  from 
1845  to  1850.  Later  services  were  held  in  a  school  house  a 
short  distance  north  of  the  village,  and  still  later  in  the  village 
sschool  house.  Regular  services  were  held  after  the  organi- 
zation of  the   Hillgrove   circuit  in   1863.     Amons:   those  who 


DARKE    COUNTY  569 

preached  prior  to  the  organization  of  the  Ansonia  church  were 
H.  O.  Sheldon,  J.  T.  Bower,  H.  Boyers,  M.  Perkey,  A.  Arm- 
strong, H.  Burns.  Some  of  the  early  pastors  were  Benj.  L. 
Rowand,  D.  G.  Strong,  Henrj'  Burns,  Jason  and  William 
Young,  Valentine  Staley,  James  Jackson,  P.  M.  Young,  M.  M. 
Markwith,  R.  D.  Oldfield,  and  E.  D.  Whitlock,  under  whose 
pastorate  a  neat,  brick  church  costing  some  $3,200  was  erected 
on  the  northwest  corner  of  High  and  Cass  streets  and  dedi- 
cated in  1873.  This  structure  served  until  1902,  when  it  was 
remodeled  and  furnished  at  a  cost  of  about  $4,200,  giving  in- 
creased and  modern  facilities  for  the  Sunday  school,  and  a 
better  auditorium.  Great  stress  is  placed  on  the  work  of  the 
Sunday  school  in  which  the  enrollment  is  now  about  100.  The 
enrollment  in  the  church  is  about  136. 

The  Christian  church  was  organized  in  early  days  and  built 
a  place  of  worship  on  West  Cross  street.  This  denomination 
prospered  and  in  1894-95  erected  a  beautiful,  modern,  brick 
church  on  the  southeast  corner  of  Weller  and  Cass  streets  at 
a  cost  of  some  $5,000.  A  good  congregation  and  a  prosper- 
ous Sunday  school  assemble  here  from  Sunday  to  Sunday. 

There  is  also  a  substantial  Lutheran  church  on  South  Main 
street,  which  has  been  supported  by  the  descendants  of  the 
early  German  families  for  several  years.  The  pastor  of  Grace 
church,  in  Greenville  usually  serves  this  charge. 

Ansonia  has  taken  great  pride  in  educational  matters  for 
many  years  as  shown  by  the  fact  that  a  commodious  and 
substantial  three  story  brick  school  house  was  erected  on  a 
two  acre  plat  in  Plulse's  addition  at  a  cost  of  some  $10,000,  as 
early  as  1873.  Competent  instructors  and  a  strong  board  of 
education  have  been  important  factors  in  maintaining  a  high 
standard  of  education  in  the  village,  which  has  been  fortunate 
in  securing  services  of  such  men  as  Professors  J.  H.  Royer, 
P.  C.  Zemer  and  the  present  efficient  incumbent,  G.  H.  Garri- 
son, who  has  served  as  superintendent  since  1904.  The  pres- 
ent school  building  -was  erected  on  the  site  of  the  above  men- 
tioned structure  in  1903  at  a  total  cost  of  some  $23,000,  includ- 
ing the  heating  system.  The  building  is  of  red  pressed  brick, 
two  stories  in  height  and  has  eight  rooms.  The  schools  have 
a  well  equipped  library  and  a  well  furnished  laboratory.  Eight 
teachers  are  employed.  The  high  school  was  organized  in 
1873,  and  the  first  class  was  graduated  in  1877.  It  was 
raised  to  a  first  grade  high  school  in  1907,  at  which  time 
Messrs.  G.  M.  Marshall,  C.  J.  Stephen,  J.  F.  Howard,  E.   E. 


570  DARKE    COUNTY 

Vance  and  James  Fry  were  on  the  Ijoard.  Tlie  enrollment 
for  1912  and  1913  was  135  in  the  grades  and  102  in  the  high 
school..  There  were  sixteen  members  in  the  class  of  1913, 
making  a  total  alumni  of  193  members.  The  superintendent-; 
to  date  have  been  J.  M.  Syckes,  John  H.  Royer,  P.  C.  Zemer, 
William  Beachler,  D.  D.  Bates  and  G.  H.  Garrison. 

Ansonia  has  been  the  home  of  some  of  the  best  !;no\vn 
physicians  in  the  county,  among  whom  were  Drs.  Knouf,  W. 
E.  Hooven,  L.  C.  Anderson  and  H.  A.  Snorf. 

C.  M.  Anderson,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  attorneys  Darke 
county  ever  produced,  was  a  citizen  of  this  place,  and  Dr.  S. 
A.  Hostetter,  the  president  of  the  Second  National  Bank  of 
Greenville  and  a  man  of  unusual  ability,  was  for  years  a 
physician  and  influential  resident  of  this  place. 

This  village  has  been  a  strong  lodge  center  for  years  and 
the  social  life  of  the  surrounding  country  has  been  materially 
influenced  by  the  various  fraternal  and  secret  organizations. 
Ansonia  Lodge  F.  and  A.  M.  was  chartered  on  October  21, 
1874  with  sixteen  members  bv  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Ohio  and 
now  has  about  125  members,  including  many  of  the  most  con- 
servative and  substantial  men  of  the  community.  Ansonia 
Ledge,  I.  O.  O.  F.  No.  605,  was  instituted  cm  June  IS,  1875, 
with  sixteen  charter  members  and  now  has  about  110  mem- 
bers, including  many  representative  citizens.  In  recent  years 
this  lodge  erected  a  neat  and  substantial  three-story  brick 
'  building  on  the  southwest  corner  of  Main  and  Weller  streets. 
The  first  story  is  occupied  bv  a  bank  and  the  third  story  is 
used  as  a  lodge  room,  being  beautifully  furnished  and 
equipped  for  that  purpose.  The  Daughters  of  Rebekah  or- 
ganized on  June  18,  1894,  with  sixteen  charter  members  and 
now  have  about  120  members.  The  K.  of  P."s  also  have  a 
lodge  here. 

The  principal  streets  are  finely  graded,  and  have  curbs  and 
cement  walks,  and  the  streets  are  lighted  by  electricity.  The 
banks  and  newspaper  are  mentioned  elsewhere  in  this  volume. 
The  enterprise  of  the  citizens  was  shown  by  the  erection  of 
the  first  mausoleum  in  Darke  county.  This  modern  burial 
structure  was  built  in  the  cemetery  in  1911,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  J.  P.  Collett,  a  former  resident  of  Brown  township  and 
a  descendant  of  one  of  its  prominent  families.  It  is  built  of 
rock  faced  Bedford  stone,  lined  with  \^ermont  marble  and 
contains  a  public  receiving  vault,  one  private  tomb,  and  four 


DARKE    COUNTY  571 

family  groups,  and  140  cr\pti  in  all.     An  endowment  fund  of 
$240  is  reserved  for  its  support. 

The  population  of  Ansonia  in  1910  was  636,  and  of  the 
Brown  township  entire,  1,944.  Earl  Hostetter  is  mayor,  and 
Hilton  Millett  is  clerk  of  the  ^■illage.  The  real  estate  of  the 
township  was  assessed  in  1913  at  $2,492,830  and  the  chattels 
at  $1,093,000.    Willard.Whitesell  is  the  township  clerk. 

Greenville  Township. 

This  township  is  the  most  central  and  by  far  the  largest  in 
Darke  county,  containing  approxiinatelv  sixtv  square  miles  of 
territory.  At  first  it  included  the  entire  county.  Twin  town- 
ship was  detached  in  July,  1817,  and  included  all  of  the  county 
south  of  a  line  running  due  east  from  the  northwest  corner 
of  section  31,  township  11  north,  range  1  east.  In  the  same 
month  Wayne  township  was  detached  from  the  northern  part 
and  included  all  the  territory  north  of  a  line  running  due  east 
from  the  northwest  corner  of  township  12  north,  range  1  east, 
to  the  northwest  corner  of  township  9  north,  range  4  east, 
thence  south  to  the  middle  of  the  latter  township,  and  thence 
east  to  the  county  line.  In  March,  1819,  all  of  Greenville 
township  that  lay  in  range  1  was  taken  into  a  new  township 
called  ^Vashington,  and  in  the  same  month  Adams  township 
was  formed,  containing  all  the  land  in  the  county  east  of  a 
line  running  south  from  the  northwest  corner  of  section  4, 
township  10.  range  3,  to  the  southwest  corner  of  section  28. 
township  9,  range  3. 

In  September,  1830,  two  tiers  of  sections  across  the  north 
end  of  Greenville  township  were  taken  into  a  new  township 
called  Richland.  In  1821,  Neave  township  was  laid  out.  tak- 
ing four  tiers  of  sections  from  the  south  side  oi  Greenville 
township. 

The  Union  Moraine,  which  extends  through  the  central  part 
of  this  township  in  a  general  direction  somewhat  south  of 
east,  separates  the  drainage  basin  of  the  Stillwater  on  the 
north  from  that  of  Greenville  creek  on  the  south  .  As  before 
mentioned  Greenville  creek  skirts  this  moraine  belt  on  the 
south  and  west  and  with  its  southern  branches,  ^^'est  Branch, 
Mud  creek.  Bridge  creek  and  Dividing  creek  and  minor 
branches  drains  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  while  the 
Boyd's  creek  branch  of  Stillwater  drains  much  of  the  north- 
ern and  northeastern    section,  and    the  upper    waters  of  the 


572  DARKE    COUNTY 

\\'oodington  branch,  the  extreme  northwestern  corner.  The 
surface  is  somewhat  rolling,  especially  along  Greenville  creek, 
and  in  the  southern  portion  where  the  signs  of  glacial  action 
are  quite  plain.  The  valley  of  Mud  creek  is  an  especially  no- 
ticeable feature,  heretofore  mentioned.  There  is  a  diversity 
of  bottom  and  upland  suited  to  all  kinds  of  crops  raised  in  the 
county,  and  the  soil  compares  favorably  in  productiveness 
with  any  section  of  equal  size  in  the  county. 

This  township  is  especially  well  supplied  with  pilces  as  most 
of  the  important  roads  of  the  county  converge  at  Greenville, 
in  the  south  central  part.  The  Logansport  division  of  the 
Pennsylvania  railway  crosses  the  northern  part  in  a  straight 
line  in  a  direction  south  of  east.  The  Indianapolis  division 
crosses  the  east  boundary  on  the  south  line  of  section  32, 
township  10  north,  range  3  east,  runs  almost  due  west  and 
keeps  south  of  Greenville  creek  to  the  county  seat.  It  then 
turns  southwest,  down  the  Mud  Creek  valley  and  crosses  the 
southern  line  in  the  southeast  corner  of  Section  9.  township 
11  north,  range  2  east.  The  Dayton  and  Union  Railway 
crosses  the  southern  line  in  section  12,  township  11  north, 
range  2  east,  runs  west  of  north  to  Greenville,  and  thence 
northwesterly  on  the  north  side  of  Greenville  creek,  crossing 
the  west  line  in  section  18,  township  12  north,  range  2  east. 
The  Cincinnati  Northern  crosses  the  south  line  along  side  of 
the  Pennsylvania,  keeps  parallel  with  the  latter  almost  to 
Greenville,  then  turns  northward  and  traverses  four  and  a 
half  sections  of  the  northern  part  of  the  township  in  practi- 
cally a  due  north  and  south  direction,  crossing  the  northern 
line  midway  in  section  3,  township  12  north,  range  2  east.  The 
Ohio  Electric  railway  comes  in  from  the  south  on  the  Eaton 
pike  which  it  follows  to  Greenville.  From  this  point  it  follows 
the  Union  City  pike  and  crosses  the  west  line  near  the  same 
point  as  the  D.  &  U.  above  mentioned.  On  account  of  the 
diversity  of  surface  and  soil,  Greenville  township  was  orig- 
inally covered  with  a  diversified  growth  of  fine  timber,  includ- 
ing oak,  beech,  hickory  and  sugar  on  the  uplands:  elm,  ash, 
walnut,  sycamore  and  linden  on  the  lowlands,  besides  a  great 
variety  of  less  common  trees  and  bushes.  The  central  loca- 
tion, attractive  and  fertile  uplands  and  comparatively  health- 
ful conditions  led  to  the  early  settlement  of  this  township  as 
extensively  noted  elsewhere.  The  only  villages  in  this  town- 
ship, besides  the  county  seat,  are  Coleville,  Pikeville  and 
Woodington.     The  former  is  situated  in  the  nortliern  part  of 


DARKE    COUNTY  0/0 

section  19,  township  12  north,  range  2  east,  and  was  platted 
In  1848.  It  is  located  on  the -north  bank  of  Greenville  creek 
on  the  Greenville  and  Union  City  pike,  the  D.  &  U.  railway 
and  the  Ohio  Electric  railway.  There  is  a  general  store,  a 
school,  Christian  church  and  a  station  ("Sit.  Heron)  at  this 
place. 

Pikeville  was  platted  in  lSf>f),  at  the  intersection  of  the 
Beamsville  pike  and  the  P.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  railway  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  section  12,  township  12  north,  range  2  east.  It 
now  contains  a  general  store,  a  school,  a  Union  church  build- 
ing, a  station  and  grain  elevator. 

Woodington  is  located  in  the  northeast  corner  of  section  5 
township  12  north,  range  2  east,  at  the  intersection  of  the 
Fort  Recovery  pike  and  the  P.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  railwa}-.  It  was 
platted  in  1871,  and  was  probably  named  for  John  Wooding- 
ton or  one  of  his  descendants,  who  lived  in  this  vicinity.  Gen- 
eral St.  Clair  camped  near  this  place  on  the  evening  of  the 
first  day's  march  from  Greenville  (October  30,  1791).  The 
village  now  contains  a  general  store,  a  school,  a  Christian 
church,  a  station  and  an  elevator.  From  the  writings  of  E.  M. 
Buechly  we  gather  the  following  facts  concerning  fruit  cul- 
ture in  Greenville  township : 

The  first  nursery  in  Darke  county  planted  for  commercial 
purposes  was  set  out  about  1832,  by  David  Craig  on  the  east 
bluflf  of  the  Mud  creek  prairie,  in  the  southern  part  of  section 
10,  Greenville  township,  on  land  recently  owned  by  F.  M. 
Eidson,  and  known  as  "Fruit  Hill"  farm ;  seeds  of  apples, 
pears  and  peaches  were  planted.  The  apples  were  afterwards 
top-grafted  in  the  nursery  rows  with  the  leading  sorts  then  to 
be  had,  but  the  planting  was  discontinued  and  the  nursery 
rapidly  declined. 

"From  what  we  have  been  able  to  learn  from  the  earliest  set- 
tlers now  living,  grapes  were  not  yet  planted  until  about  this 
time,  the  simple  wants  of  the  backwoodsman  being  satisfied 
with  the  wild  ones  with  which  the  woods  abounded.  Mrs. 
Craig,  wife  of  the  aforesaid  David  Craig,  now  living  in  Green- 
ville, told  the  writer  that  she  gathered  wild  grapes  by  bend- 
ing down  the  saplings  on  which  the  vines  clung,  on  the  very 
spot  where  the  court  house  now  stands,  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  city.  The  early  May  cherry  also  dates  not  far  from  this 
time. 

"In  1858  Thomas  H.  McCune  and  D.  R.  Davis,  both  of  Green- 
ville, planted  a  nursery  in  partnership,  north  of  the  city  lim- 


574  DARKE    COUXTY 

its.  They  had  all  grafted  fruits,  and  were  the  first  to  attempt 
to  keep  a  full  line  of  trees,  both  fruit  and  ornamental  grapes 
and  other  nursery  stock.  Planting  was  here  continued  some 
four  years,  when  it  was  left  to  the  fate  of  all  the  previous 
efforts  to  establish  a  permanent  nursery. 

I'rom  the  time  of  the  McCune  and  Davis  nursery,  in  '62  or 
'63,  until  1878  Darke  county  was  again  without  a  nursery.  In 
that  year  E.  M.  Buechley  planted  some  5,000  apple  root- 
grafts  and  other  nursery  stock  on  the  farm  of  his  father, 
Jeremiah  Buechley,  near  Weavers  Station,  Ohin.  at  which 
place  he  continued  in  business  until  1881,  when  he  purchased 
a  farm  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  4,  some  two  miles 
west  of  Greenville,  on  which  he  has  continued  and  increased 
the  planting  of  nursery  stock  and  small  fruit,  occupying  at 
present  some  ten  acres.  About  1887,  Mr.  Beuchley  discov- 
ered a  seedling  strawberry  plant,  which  bore  very  promising 
fruit.  This  proves  to  be  the  original  plant  of  the  variety 
which  he  later  named  "Greenville."  This  berry  was  placed  on 
the  market  and  had  a  good  sale  for  several  years.  It  is  said 
to  be  far  better  than  many  of  the  new  popular  varieties  offered 
today. 

Mr.  Jason  Downing,  a  pioneer  orchardist  of  Darke  county, 
originated  an  excellent  variety  of  the  Fall  ^laiden  Blush, 
which  attained  a  national  reputation,  and  was  known  for  many 
years  as  "Dbwning's  Winter  Maiden  Blush."  Mr.  Beuchley 
was  largely  instrumental  in  introducing  this  apple  and  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  American  Pomological  Society  changed  its 
name  to  the  "Greenville"  apple.  However,  the  most  valu- 
able addition  to  the  list  of  fruits  introduced  by  this  nursery- 
man is  the  "Eldorado"  blackberry.  This  fruit  was  found  as 
an  accidental  seedling  near  Eldorado.  Preble  county,  Ohio. 
It  was  first  tested  at  the  home  of  Albert  Wehrly,  of  whom 
about  1890,  Mr.  Beuchley  bought  the  entire  stock  of  six  hun- 
dred plants,  and  control  the  same,  for  ,$150.  At'ter  o\er  twenty 
years  of  public  favor,  this  berry  continued  to  grow  in  popu- 
larity and  is  said  to  equal  any  in  hardiness  while  it  excels 
most,  if  not  all,  other  varieties  in  high  flavor. 

Other  successful  orchards  have  been  planted  from  time  to 
time,  among  which  might  be  mentioned  the  Fletcher  nursery, 
north  of  Jaysville ;  the  Deeds  nursery  just  north  of  Ansonia ; 
the  Butt's  nursery  west  of  Greenville,  and  the  Martin  nursery 
near  Horatio.  Mr.  W.  K.  Martin,  the  proprietor  of  the  last- 
named  nurserv,  has  taken  a  universitv  course  in  horticulture 


DARKE    COUNTY  575 

and  landscape  gardening,  and  lias  been  successful  in  securing 
some  very  large  orders  for  nursery  stock,  one  of  which  will 
require  him  probably  five  years  to  fill,  requiring  a  large  plant- 
ing in  Missouri  to  hasten  growth  of  the  stock  required.  Air. 
Martin  has  also  grown  some  fine  varieties  of  berries,  which 
he  markets  under  the  "Climax"  brand.  Mr.  Alfred  Kissell 
has  a  strawberry  nursery  north  of  Horatio  where  he  grows 
berries  of  select  flavor  and  excellent  quality. 

Besides  the  staple  grains  and  a  large  amount  of  Dutch, 
Spanish,  and  seed  leaf  tobacco,  the  farmers  of  Greenville  town- 
ship have,  in  recent  years,  planted  a  good  many  acres  of  cab- 
bage, which  is  marketed  at  a  local  kraut  factory.  The  great 
success  of  the  beet  industry  in  Paulding  county  has  suggested 
the  propriety  of  planting  a  large  acreage  here,  especially  in 
the  Mud  creek  prairie,  where  conditions  seem  exceptionably 
favorable.  Alfalfa,  which  has  recently  been  introduced,  is 
also  making  a  good  showing  in  Darke  county.  It  has  been 
said  that  Darke  county  recently  stood  third  in  the  list  of  all 
the  counties  in  the  United  States  in  the  amount  of  agricultural 
products  produced — Lancaster  county.  Pennsylvania,  and  Mc- 
Lean county,  Illinois,  alone  exceeding  Darke  county  in  this 
respect.  Besides  the  products  above  mentioned,  there  has 
been  a  very  remarkable  increase  in  the  amount  of  poultry 
raised,  due  largely  to  the  enterprise  of  such  dealers  as  Harry 
B.  Hole,  John  Mong  and  others  who  have  established  poultry 
houses  and  gained  a  good  reputation  for  the  local  product  in 
the  eastern  market. 

There  are  now  twenty  rural  schools  in  the  township.  The 
only  active  rural  churches  in  Greenville  township  outside  of 
the  county  seat  at  this  time  are  the  Wakefield  and  St.  John's 
Lutheran  churches,  already  mentioned  in  Chapter  X,  and  East 
Zion  Reformed  church.  The  latter  church  was  originally 
established  by  the  Lutheran  denomination,  being  built  by 
Rev.  Alexander  Klefeker  in  1861,  and  called  Zion's  Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran  church.  Rev.  Klefeker  came  from  Pennsylvania 
in  1853,  settled  near  Gettj^sburg,  and  served  as  pastor  of  the 
Lutheran  churches  then  located  at  Ansonia,  Beamsville,  Dawn 
and  "The  Beach."  He  was  later  pastor  of  the  ^^^akefield 
church.  Because  of  the  scattered  location  of  these  churches 
and  the  growing  use  of  the  English  language,  it  seems,  some 
of  the  Lutheran  churches  in  the  county  were  finally  either 
discontinued  or  taken  over  by  the  Reformed  denomination, 
which  became  quite  active  in  the  "fifties"  and  early  "sixties." 


576  DARKE    COUNTY 

Rev.  Klefeker  donated  the  ground  on  which  the  building  and 
cemetery  are  located  and  the  church  was  popularly  called 
"Klefeker  church"  for  many  years.  The  old  Concord  Chris- 
tian church  on  the  Milton  pike  and  the  Oakland  U.  B.  church 
located  northeast  of  East  Zion  have  both  recently  discontin- 
ued as  have  also  the  Dininger  Lutheran  church,  on  the  west- 
ern township  line,  and  the  Grand  View  U.  B.  church,  on  the 
Ansonia  pike  about  four  miles  north  of  Greenville. 

The  supremacy  of  Greenville  township,  due  largely  to  early 
settlement,  exceptional  size,  natural  productiveness  and  the 
location  of  the  county  seat  within  its  precincts,  is  shown  by 
the  tax  duplicate  of  1913,  which  lists  real  estate,  outside  of 
Greenville  at  $4,128,420  and  personal  property  at  $2,008,500. 
When  Greenville  is  included  the  totals  reach  $9,556,480, 
$4,920,244,  respectively.  It  is  expected  that  the  amount  of 
chattels  listed  in  1914.  under  the  new  law,  will  be  increased 
by  about  $500,000. 

The  population  of  Greenville  township,  including  Green- 
ville City,  was  given  in  1910  at  9,263,  showing  an  appreciable 
increase  over  the  1900  census,  while  many  townships  showed 
a  decrease.  This  Avas  due  largely,  but  not  entirely,  to  the 
growth  of  Greenville.    The  population  in  1850  was  2.366. 

For  an  approximate  idea  of  the  development  of  the  live 
stock  industry  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  biographical 
sketches  of  Lewis  Dininger,  Jonas  Dininger  and  A.  J-  ^^'arner. 

Neave  Township. 

This  township  contains  all  of  township  11  north,  range  2 
east,  except  the  two  northern  tiers  of  sections  which  were 
thrown  into  Greenville  township.  It  was  erected  December 
5,  1821,  and,  at  that  time,  contained  eight  sections  of  Van 
Buren  township  which  were  detached  when  Van  Buren  was 
organized  in  June,  1838.  If  this  township  had  been  created  to 
include  all  of  township  11,  north,  range  2  east,  its  northern 
boundary  would  now  run  on  Sater  street,  Greenville,  thus 
throwing  the  county  seat  in  two  townships.  It  was  probably 
to  prevent  this  that  the  northern  tier  was  detached,  while  the 
second  tier  was  included,  it  seems,  on  petition  of  a  number  of 
residents,  who  thought  that  it  would  be  advantageous  to  live 
in  the  township  containing  the  county  seat.  Had  the  second 
tier  been  retained  it  would  have  made  Neave  township  nearer 
the  normal  size  and  would  probably  have  been  better  for  all 
concerned. 


DARKE    COUNTY  .1// 

This  township  is  drained  by  the  upper  waters  of  j\lud, 
Bridge  and  Painter  creeks  and  the  surface,  especially  in  the 
western  portion,  is  somewhat  hilly.  The  Mud  creek  prairie 
was  originally  almost  impassable  and,  with  its  bluffs,  formed 
a  distinct  landmark  for  the  original  inhabitants.  A  distinct 
glacial  moraine  passes  through  this  township,  leaving  unmis- 
takable traces  of  its  origin  in  the  glacial  gravel  cairns  hereto- 
fore mentioned  at  length  in  Chapter  I,  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred  for  a  proper  conception  of  this  remarkable  feature. 
Although  one  of  the  smallest  townships  in  the  count)',  it  is 
one  of  the  most  intensely  interesting  from  an  archeological 
and  historical  standpoint. 

From  the  meager  scraps  of  information  that  can  now  be 
secured  it  would  seem  that  an  ancient  and  well  marked  Indian 
trail  entered  the  southern  part  of  the  township,  practically  fol- 
lowing the  present  Ithaca  pike,  which  is  built  on  the  ]\Ioraine 
belt,  extending  along  the  Twin  creek  valley  into  Preble 
county.  This  trail,  it  seems,  was  joined  by  the  old  White- 
water trail,  leading  from  I\Iiami  county,  along  Greenville 
creek  to  Greenville,  then  south  along  the  east  bluff  of  Mud 
creek,  to  below  Fort  Jefferson,  where  it  joined  the  above  men- 
tioned trail  and  then  probably  turned  southwest  approximately 
running  in  direction  of  the  present  New  Madison  Pike.  During 
the  war  of  1812,  this  was  known  as  Fort  Black  trail.  The  meet- 
ing point  of  the  two  trails  was  a  few  rods  north  of  the  present 
junction  of  the  Ithaca  and  New  Madison  pikes,  near  the  point 
where  the  latter  road  is  crossed  by  the  line  separating  sections 
17  and  34,  Neave  township.  St.  Clair  probably  came  into  this 
trail  between  Beech  Grove  and  Matchetts  Corner  following  it 
some  three  or  four  miles  to  Fort  Jefferson.  It  is  generally 
conceded  that  ^^'a^•ne  cut  a  trail  from  Eaton  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  West  Manchester,  and  thence  in  a  direction  west  of 
north,  keeping  on  the  west  side  of  Twin  creek,  and  the  pres- 
ent right  of  way  of  the  C.  N.  railway,  passing  just  west  of  the 
Butler  township  house,  crossing  to  the  east  side  of  the  railway 
in  the  southern  part  of  section  9,  about  a  mile  below  Tecum- 
seh  ( Savona)  and  then  striking  directly  toward  Fort  Jefferson. 
Tradition  says  that  his  army  camped  on  the  present  site  of 
the  Schlecty  farm  in  the  northeastern  part  of  section  33,  where 
there  is  a  fine  spring  of  water  and  a  good,  level,  elevated  site 
suitable  for  that  purpose.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  Wayne 
also  used  the  trail  running  through  Lewisburg,  Ithaca  and 
Matchett's  Corner  for  transporting  some  of  his  supplies,  and 
(i7^ 


57S  DARKE    COUXTY 

the  bringing  up  of  some  of  his  troops.  An  old  resident  of 
Xeave  township  said,  "The  old  corduroy  road  built  by  General 
Wayne  ran  inside  the  fence  to  the  right  of  the  road  leading 
towafd  Matchett's  Corners.  I  have  many  times  traversed  it 
as  far  as  I  could,  at  time  losing  all  trace  of  it." 

As  before  noted,  St.  Clair  built  the  most  advanced  post 
established  on  his  campaign  in  October,  1791,  on  the  present 
site  of  the  village  of  Fort  Jefferson.  Here  three  soldiers  were 
hanged,  being  the  first  execution  of  white  men  in  the  county. 
To  this  post  the  defeated  army  of  St.  Clair  retreated  on  the 
evening  of  November  4,  1791,  but  found  it  too  small  to  con- 
tain any  but  the  most  severely  wounded,  and  were  compelled 
to  continue  on  toward  Fort  Washington. 

The  wounded  were  left  in  this  little  post  with  a  small  de- 
tachment of  soldiers,  and  lived  in  horror  of  a  prospective  at- 
tack in  this  exposed  position.  It  is  supposed  that  Captain 
Shaylor  was  left  in  charge  of  this  fort  as  his  name  appears  in 
that  capacity  on  January  30,  1792. 

An  outpost,  so  far  advanced  in  the  enemy's  country  could 
only  serve  as  a  menace,  and  of  necessity  must  irritate  the  In- 
dians. As  the  Indians  were  bent  on  having  the  Ohio  river  for 
the  boundary  line,  they  determined  to  take  the  fort.  On-  June 
25,  1792,  a  band  of  Indians  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  made 
an  attack  on  a  party  of  soldiers,  who  were  cutting  hay  near  the 
fort.     Sixteen  of  the  soldiers  were  killed  and  missing. 

The  Indians  were  dressed  in  white  shirts,  and  one  of  them 
had  a  scarlet  coat  on.  They  also  had  along  with  them  three 
horses.  Thev  came  from  and  retreated  towards  the  Tawa 
river.  Who  commanded  the  Indians  is  unknown,  but  it  is 
positively  asserted  that  the  notorious  Simon  Girty  was 
present. 

As  General  Wilkinson  brought  the  news  of  the  battle  from 
Fort  Jefferson,  it  is  probable  that  he  assumed  command  dur- 
ing the  engagement.  In  his  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
dated  July  5,  1792,  Rufus  Putnam,  one  of  the  commissioners 
to  the  Indians,  thinks  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  Indian  raid  to 
take  him  prisoner,  for  he  was  to  have  been  at  Fort  Jefferson 
at  the  time  of  the  attack,  and  the  Indians  had  been  so  notified. 

I  have  been  informed,  with  how  much  truth  I  am  unable 
to  say.  that  the  engagement  took  place  between  the  fort  and 
the  site  of  the  school  house. 

Another  story  is  to  the  effect  that  some  Indians  knowing 
Alajor  .Shaylor  to  be  quite  fond  of  hunting,  concealed  them- 


DARKE    COUNTY  579 

selves  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  fort  and  imitated  the  call 
of  the  wild  turkey.  This  enticed  the  major  and  his  son  away 
from  the  fort  to  pursue  the  game,  whereupon  they  were  as- 
sailed by  the  Indians,  and  attempted  to  return  to  the  fort.  The 
son  was  killed  but  the  major  got  into  the  fort  after  a  hot  pur- 
suit. 

As  Wayne  built  Fort  Greenville  some  five  miles  in  advance 
of  this  post  in  the  fall  of  1793,  it  is  supposed  that  he  had  no  use 
for  the  little  fort,  reg'arding  it  as  badly  located  for  his 
purpose.  In  commemoration  of  the  building  of  this  post  the 
Greenville  Historical  .Society  caused  a  memorial  to  be  erected 
on  its  site,  which  was  unveiled  with  appropriate  ceremonies  in 
October,  1907,  as  noted  in  the  chapter  on  "Notable  Events." 

Andrew  Noftsinger  is  credited  with  settling  in  this  town- 
ship as  early  as  1810.  It  seems  that  he  built  a  block  house  on 
the  high  ground  on  the  western  side  of  Mud  creek  prairie  in 
the  northern  part  of  section  20.  In  1817  he  built  a  grist  mill  on 
Mud  creek,  which  was  said  to  be  the  third  erected  in  the 
county.  James  Hayes  was  probably  the  earliest  settler  on  the 
site  of  Fort  Jefferson.  During  the  years  1816,  1817  nd  1818, 
John  Ryerson,  Moses  Arnold,  George  W.  Hight,  William 
Townsend,  Hezekiah  Vietz.  John  Puterbaugh  and  Christian 
Schlecty  came.  Dennis  Hart  settled  on  Bridge  creek  in  1819. 
In  1820  the  settlers  in  this  section  erected  a  log  school  house 
on  the  Eaton  pike  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile  south  of  the 
present  site  of  the  county  infirmary.  Here  Mr.  Hart  taught  in 
the  winter  of  1820-21. 

Peter  Weaver  came  in  1819  and  located  in  the  northeast 
quarter  of  section  29.  He  built  the  first  house  in  what  is  now 
known  as  Weaver's  Station.  John  Puterbaugh  erected  a  mill 
on  upper  Mud  creek,  near  the  southern  line  of  the  township, 
in  1819,  which  was  run  by  oxen. 

Later  settlers  were  George  Noggle,  T.  C.  Neave,  William 
and  Simeon  Chapman  and  Adam  Beeles. 

A  singular  story  is  told  about  the  naming  of  the  township 
as  follows : 

"When  the  township  was  formed,  H.  D.  Williams  and  John 
Douglass  played  a  game  of  cards  against  Eaton  Morris  and 
T.  C.  Neave,  to  decide  who  should  name  it.  Williams  and 
Douglass  won,  and  on  playing  again  between  themselves,  Wil- 
liams won,  but  Neave  was  so  anxious  to  name  the  township 
that  he  paid  Williams  $10  for  the  privilege,  and  named  it  after 
himself." 


580  DARKE    COUNTY 

One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  this  township  are  the 
gravel  knolls,  located  just  west  of  Fort  Jefferson  and  formerly 
known  as  the  "Hills  of  Judea."  For  an  extended  notice  of 
these,  the  reader  is  referred  to  Chapter  I. 

The  Pennsylvania  and  C.  X.  railways  cross  the  western  part 
of  this  township  in  a  north  and  south  direction,  following  the 
Mud  creek  valley.  The  D.  &  U.  railway  cuts  diagonally 
across  the  northeast  corner  while  the  Ohio  Electric  railway 
runs  due  west  from  Jaysville  to  the  Eaton  pike,  and  then 
north  on  that  road  towards  Greenville.  The  township  has 
several  excellent  pikes,  but  on  account  of  their  early  construc- 
tion and  the  location  of  the  creek  valleys  they  are  built  largely 
on  the  high  ground  regardless  of  section  lines. 

The  principal  villages  are  Fort  Jefferson  and  Weaver's  Sta- 
tion. The  former  is  located  on  the  line  between  sections  27 
and  28  and  now  contains  an  excellent  brick  M.  E.  church  built 
in  recent  years,  the  township  hall,  and  a  memorial  monument 
elsewhere  described,  besides  a  store  and  several  residences. 
The  railway  station  of  this  name  is  about  half  a  mile  west  on 
the  C.  N.  railway. 

The  remains  of  Gosbarv  Elliot,  who  was  killed  by  the  In- 
dians near  Beech  Grove,  in  1813.  are  buried  in  the  old  ceme- 
tery just  north  of  the  M.  E.  church  as  are  also  the  remains  of 
the  following  six  soldiers  who  served  in  the  war  of  1812: 
George  Calderwood,  William  DeCamp,  Peter  Fleck,  Richard 
Matchette,  Jonathan  Nyswonger  and  Peter  Robinson. 

Weaver's  Station  is  on  the  P.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  railway,  about 
a  mile  and  a  fourth  west  of  Fort  Jefferson  in  section  29.  It 
contains  a  store,  station  and  elevator.  Special  school  district 
No.  1  is  located  a  short  distance  southwest  of  this  village  and 
Mt.  Zion  U.  B.  church  a  short  distance  west  in  the  center  of 
section  29.  The  only  other  church  now  in  the  township  is  the 
German  Baptist  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  18  along 
the  western  line. 

There  are  six  school  districts  in  this  township,  all  of  which 
are  special. 

The  real  estate  was  listed  for  taxation  in  1913  at  $1,325,680 
and  the  chattels  at  $799,030. 

The  population  in  1910  was  given  at  1,091. 

The  village  of  Sampson  was  laid  out  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  this  township  in  1846,  and  within  a  few  years  contained 
several  buildings  and  business  enterprises.  The  building  of 
the  D.  &  U.  railwav  and  the  location  of  the  town  of  Delisle  on 


DARKE    COUNTY  581 

that  road  about  two  miles  to  the  northeast  caused  the  decline 
and  final  absorption  of  this  village,  which  is  no  longer  on  the 
map. 

Butler  Township. 

This  geographical  unit  is  identical  with  township  10  north, 
range  2  east,  and  is  six  miles  square,  containing  36  sections. 
It  is  one  of  the  southern  tier  of  townships  and  lies  between 
Harrison  and  Monroe  townships. 

There  seems  to  be  some  confusion  concerning  the  date  of 
its  organization,  which  was  probably  effected  in  1819  or  1820. 

Many  of  the  early  settlers  were  from  Butler  county,  Ohio 
(which  took  its  name  from  General  Richard  Butler)  and  it 
probably  owes  its  name  to  this  fact. 

Twin  creek  rises  near  the  northern  boundary  of  this  town- 
ship, flows  southward  and  eastward,  and,  with  the  numerous 
small  rivulets  forming  its  head,  drains  the  central  and  south- 
ern part  of  the  township,  except  a  small  district  in  the  extreme 
southwestern  corner,  in  all  about  two-thirds  of  the  entire  area. 
In  early  days  an  extensive  swamp  covered  the  central  part  and 
caused  General  St.  Clair  to  turn  his  army  eastward  from  the 
neighborhood  of  Castine  towards  Beech  Grove.  As  before 
noted,  this  morass  was  long  known  as  "Maple  Swamp"  on  ac- 
count of  the  large  number  of  soft  maple  trees  growing  in  it 
and  was  unfit  for  cultivation  until  a  large  ditch  was  run 
through  it  by  the  county  commissioners.  This  district  is  now 
one  of  the  fertile  spots  of  the  county.  The  upper  waters  of 
Mud  creek  drains  the  northwestern  section,  and  the  east  fork 
of  Whitewater  formerly  extended  into  the  western  part. 

The  land  is  generally  level,  except  in  the  northwestern  and 
western  central  portion,  and  was  originally  covered  with  a 
heavy  growth  of  fine  timber.  There  is  practically  no  waste 
land  in  the  township  and  the  average  fertility  is  probably 
equal  to  that  of  any  other  township  in  the  county.  It  is  gen- 
erally supposed  that  Wayne's  trail  crossed  the  south  line  near 
the  intersection  of  the  Eaton  pike  and  kept  about  half  a  mile 
west  of  the  main  north  and  south  stream  of  Twin  creek,  pass- 
ing a  few  rods  west  of  the  present  township  house  in  the  cen- 
ter of  the  township,  and  continuing  on  toward  Fort  Jefferson. 
During-  the  war  of  1812  the  more  western  and  "round  about" 
but  hieher  trail  through  Fort  Black  TNew  Madison)  was 
probablv  used. 

John  DeCamp  came  in  1814  and  was  probably  the  first  per- 


582  DARKIC    COUNTY 

nianent  settler.  James  Mills  and  Francis  Harter  and  sons 
came  in  1817  or  1818.  The  early  years  witnessed  the  coming 
of  Jacob  \^'eingardner,  Abram  P.  Freeman,  Charles  Harriman, 
Jonathan  Pitman,  Joseph  Banner,  John  Ellis,  Jacob  F.  Miller 
and  Peter  Fleck. 

This  township  has  been  one  of  the  strongholds  of  Democ- 
racy for  many  years,  which  condition  is  said  to  be  due  largely 
to  the  fact  that  cjuite  a  number  of  families  moved  in  from  Ken- 
tucky and  the  south  just  prior  to  the  Civil  war. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  near  the  present  site  of 
New  Castine,  in  the  year  1824.  Samuel  Saterley  is  credited 
with  having  been  the  first  teacher.  James  L.  Hunt  and  P.  V. 
Banta  were  also  early  teachers. 

Probably  the  first  church  building  erected  in  the  township 
was  Otterbein  Chapel,  built  in  1840,  or  land  donated  by 
George  Coblentz  in  the  northwest  corner  of  section  28.  This 
was  a  log  structure  but  was  replaced  in  later  years  by  a  more 
substantial  building.  A  quarterly  conference  was  held  here  in 
18-14.  This  congregation  has  maintained  an  active  organiza- 
tion throughout  the  succeeding  years  and  has  probably  done 
more  toward  building  up  the  interests  of  the  United  Brethren 
denomination  than  any  other  single  rural  church  in  Darke 
county.  Before  the  erection  of  this  church  religious  services 
were  held  in  houses,  barns  and  school  houses.  The  United 
Brethren  also  built  a  church  at  Castine  in  1849,  and  Iiave  an 
active  society  today. 

The  Reformed  Society  built  a  church  in  the  southeast  cor- 
ner of  section  2,  along  the  Greenville  and  Ithaca  pike,  about 
1859.  Rev.  John  Vogt  was  largely  instrumental  in  erecting 
this  church  and  was  its  first  pastor.  This  congregation  has 
continued  its  organization  and  is  one  of  the  prosperous  rural 
churches  of  the  county.  It  is  known  as  "Beech  Grove" 
church,  from  the  fact  that  a  fine  growth  of  beech  trees  orig- 
inally covered  that  section  of  the  township. 

Butler  township  is  well  supplied  with  pikes,  there  being 
roads  on  all  of  the  east  and  west  section  lines,  and  part  of  the 
north  and  south  lines,  besides  the  pikes  leading  to  New  Madi- 
son, Ithaca  and  Eaton.  The  Eaton  road  was  piked  in  1869, 
being  the  first  in  the  township  to  be  permanently  improved. 

Three  railways  pass  through  the  township.  The  P.  C.  C.  & 
St.  L.  railway  cuts  across  the  northwest  corner ;  the  Peoria 
and  Eastern  crosses  the  east  line  near  the  northeast  corner  of 
section  12,  runs  due  west  to  the  New  Madison  pike  in  north- 


DARKE    COUN'TY  583 

erii  part  of  section  8,  then  turns  northwester!)-  and  crusses  the 
western  Inie  near  the  nortliwest  corner  of  section  0;  the  C.  X. 
crosses  the  south  Hue  of  section  35,  runs  north  to  Castine, 
thence  west  of  north  to  the  center  of  section  9,  thence  north- 
erl}",  crossing  the  northern  line  near  the  intersection  of  the 
Xew  Madison  pike. 

In  earlv  days  this  community  was  comparatively  isolated 
with  respect  to  the  county  seat  and  seems  to  have  been  in 
closer  touch  with  the  older  settlements  to  the  south  in  Preble 
county.  Produce  was  carried  to  Dayton  and  Cincinnati  by  the 
hucksters,  and  much  of  the  milling  was  done  at  the  stone  mill 
of  James  A.  B.  Frazer,  on  Twin  creek,  a  short  distance  above 
Lewisburg.  This  mill  was  built  in  1838,  and  was  regarded  as 
a  remarkable  structure  in  those  days.  Coopering,  blacksmith- 
ing,  shoemaking  were  prosperous  occupations  carried  on  out- 
side the  homes,  in  the  days  when  splint-bottom  chairs,  spin- 
ning wheels,  candle  molds  and  fireplaces  were  in  vogue.  In 
spite  of  comparative  isolation  the  pioneer  families  lived  well 
on  game,  fish  and  fruits  from  the  forest  which  stretched  its 
dark  mantle  on  all  sides,  and  laid  an  enduring  foundation  for 
future  generations. 

There  are  now  two  villages  in   Butler  township. 

New  Castine. 

Is  located  on  Twin  creek  at  the  center  of  the  line  between 
sections  6  and  35,  one  mile  north  of  Preble  county.  Its  loca- 
tion was  probably  determined  largely  by  the  fact  that  it  lies 
at  the  intersection  of  the  Greenville  and  Eaton  pike  with  the 
old  New  Garden  road.  In  early  days  the  latter  road  was  trav- 
eled extensively  by  the  Quakers  from  Miami  count)'  when 
attending  their  semi-annual  meetings  at  New  Garden,  Indiana. 

New  Castine  was  first  platted  in  1832,  on  land  belonging  to 
John  Ellis,  Joseph  Banner  and  Frederick  Smith.  About  a 
year  later  Dr.  J.  P.  Love  and  Samuel  Brosserman  bought  out 
Banner  and  Smith's  interests  and  replatted  the  town,  claiming 
that  the  original  proprietors  had  not  conformed  to  the  law, 
requiring  legal  notice  of  the  act. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  history  of  this  village  there  was  a 
blacksmith's  shop,  a  pottery,  a  hatter's  establishment,  a  hotel, 
etc.  A  directory  published  in  1857  shows  the  following  en- 
terprises: 

John  E.  IMatchett,  physician  and  surgeon. 


584  DARKE    COUNTY 

Dr.  J.  p.  Love,  dry  goods,  groceries  and  medicines. 

F.  Michael,  dry  goods,  groceries,  boots  and  shoes. 

P.  V.  Banta,  dry  goods  and  groceries. 

Frank  Ford,  Castine  house. 

P.  Stephenson,  boot  and  shoe  maker. 

J.  Longanbaker,  blacksmith. 

A.  Henderson,  cooper. 

Jacob  Roller,  harness  maker. 

S.   B.  Minnick,  sawyer. 

J.  W.  Hamiel,  sawyer. 

P.  C.  Hetzler,  minister  U.  B.  church. 

The  village  grew  and  prospered  but  the  building  of  the 
Little  Miami  railway  through  West  Manchester  some  two 
miles  to  the  south,  and  the  growth  of  the  latter  village  seemed 
to  retard  its  progress.  The  building  of  the  Cincinnati  North- 
ern railway  through  here  about  1894  was  a  "red  letter"  event 
for  the  village.  The  village  now  has  a  U.  B.  church,  a  German 
Baptist  church  (built  bout  1871),  an  L  O.  O.  F.  hall,  an  ele- 
vator, stock  3^ards  and  station.  The  population  in  1910  was 
given  at  142. 

Tecumseh  (Savona  P.  O.) 

This  village  was  laid  off  in  the  north  central  part  of  section 
9,  and  given  the  name  of  the  distinguished  Indian  chief,  who 
lived  for  a  short  time  in  Darke  county.  In  recent  years  the 
post  office  and  station  have  been  called  "Savona,"  probably  to 
avoid  confusion,  as  there  is  now  a  town  by  the  name  of 
Tecumseh  in  Michigan.  The  Peoria  and  Eastern  and  the  C. 
N.  railway  cross  at  this  place,  making  it  a  good  shipping  point, 
and  giving  it  some  prospect  of  future  development. 

The  village  now  has  a  U.  B.  church,  a  store,  a  station,  an 
elevator  and  about  thirty  buildings  in  all. 

The  census  of  1910  gave  Butler  township  a  population  of 
1,592.  The  tax  duplicate  of  1913  showed  real  estate  listed  at 
$2,425,100,  and  chattels  to  the  extent  of  $1,114,660. 

Wabash  Township. 

This  township  was  erected  in  1841,  and  contains  all  that  part 
of  townships  14  and  15  North,  of  range  2  east,  and  12  and  13 
north  of  range  3  east,  that  lay  in  York  township,  except  two 
tiers  of  sections  on  the  south.  In  1848  township  15  north, 
range  2  east,  and  township  13,  range  3  east,  were  taken  into 
Mercer  county,  and  in  June,  1848.  sections  2,  11,   14  and  23 


DARKE    COUXTY  585 

were  taken  from  Patterson  township  and  added  to  the  east 
side  of  Wabash,  making  it  four  sections  north  and  south  and 
about  five  and  one-half  sections  east  and  west.  It  probably 
derived  its  name  from  the  \\^abash  river  which  drains  its  up- 
per portion. 

Some  of  the  early  settlers  in  this  township  were  William  A. 
Davison  and  Nimrod  Ross,  who  came  in  1838.  They  were 
followed  by  Isaac  Finkbone,  Elijah  Shook,  Justin  Skinner, 
Samuel  Hayes.  John  M.  Houston  and  A.  D.  Birt. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in  1840  in  section  13  and 
the  first  M.  E.  church  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  the  same 
section  in  1844,  where  a  church  still  exists.  The  first  teacher 
in  the  above  school  was  Elijah  Raines,  from  Greene  county. 
The  elevated  plateau  between  the  Wabash  and  Stillwater 
creeks  runs  through  the  southern  part  of  the  township  and  is 
covered  with  a  light  soil,  underlaid  with  a  stiff  clay,  subsoil 
capable  of  producing  good  crops  of  grain.  The  northern  part 
of  the  township  is  drained  by  branches  of  the  Wabash  and 
contains  much  good  fertile  bottom  land.  Besides  the  M.  E. 
church  mentioned  there  is  a  Christian  church  in  the  northwest 
quarter  of  section  12,  a  church  in  the  southeast  corner  of  sec- 
tion 3,  a  Lutheran  church  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section 
15,  and  a  Catholic  church  at  Delvin,  in  the  northeast  corner  of 
section  15.  The  latter  is  called  St.  John's  church  and  was 
organized  in  1892  with  thirty  families  under  the  Rev.  Leo 
Boehmer.  The  first  church  building  was  completed  in  1893, 
under  Rev.  Louis  Hefele.  Rev.  Charles  Votheis  succeeded 
Hefele.  Later  it  was  attended  from  Versailles,  Ohio.  In 
1906,  it  was  attached  as  a  mission  to  St.  Nicholas  church,  Os- 
good, Ohio.  Rev.  J.  Rahrle  looked  after  the  interest  of  the 
parish  from  1906  until  1912,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  B.  H. 
Franzer.  This  mission  will  soon  be  consolidated  with  the 
church  now  building  in  North  Star. 

There  is  no  railway  in  this  township.  The  entire  popula- 
tion in  1910  was  1,225.  The  real  estate  was  listed  for  taxation 
in  1913  at  $1,331,470,  and  the  chattels  at  $229,390. 

North  Star. 

This  is  the  principal  village  in  the  township,  and  is  situated 
at  the  quartering  of  sections  8,  9,  16  and  17  near  the  center  of 
the  township.  It  was  laid  out  in  1852.  It  is  seventeen  miles 
from  Greenville  and  eighteen  miles  from  Celina  on  the  pike 


586  DARKE    COUNTY 

surveyed  by  John  Devor  in  1841.  It  now  contains  a  town 
hall,  postoffice,  public  school,  store.  Christian  church  and  a 
Catholic  church. 

York  Township. 

This  township  was  organized  in  June,  1837,  being  detached 
by  the  commissioners  from  Richland  township.  At  first  it 
comprised  all  that  part  of  the  county  lying  north  of  a  line 
commencing  at  the  southeast  corner  of  section  15,  township 
11  north,  range  3  east,  and  running  west  to  the  southwest  cor- 
ner of  section  13,  township  13,  range  2.  In  June,  1841,  Wa- 
bash township  was  detached  from  the  northern  part  of  this 
territorj'  as  elsewhere  mentioned  leaving  York  practically  five 
miles  long,  north  and  south,  and  four  and  a  half  miles  wide, 
east  and  west.  The  northern  part  of  this  township  is  drained 
by  Swamp  creek,  which  runs  in  a  direction  generally  east  and 
west  through  nearly  all  of  the  northern  sections.  Indian 
creek  drains  the  southern  part  of  the  township.  It  enters  near 
the  southwest  corner  of  section  1,  flows  in  a  southeasterly  di- 
rection and  crosses  the  eastern  boundary  near  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  township.  The  soil  in  the  southern  portion  is  of 
a  clayey  nature  and  the  land  is  level.  Along  Indian  creek  the 
soil  is  a  warm  sandy  loam  which  is  very  fertile.  In  the  east- 
ern central  section  the  soil  is  a  light  clay  and  the  surface  is 
rolling.  The  original  forest  comprised  much  excellent  hard- 
wood including  beech,  maple,  oak,  hickory  and  some  walnut. 

The  first  settlements  were  made  in  the  southern  part, 
mostly  along  Indian  creek.  Among  the  pioneers  were  New- 
berry York,  who  settled  in  section  15  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  township  in  1834;  William  A.  Sonday,  Samuel  Reigle, 
who  came  about  1838;  Da^■^d  Lyons,  in  1838;  James  Winget, 
David  Williams,  in  1840;  Samuel  Sherry,  Samuel  Lanick,  Wil- 
liam Aliller,  Mahlon  Martin,  Samuel  Winbigler  and  Samuel 
Hughes.  The  township  was  probably  named  for  Newberry 
York,  above  mentioned,  who  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  in 
early  days  and  later  became  an  associate  judge  and  an  influen- 
tial man  in  the  county.  He  had  seven  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters, and  his  descendants  include  several  of  the  prominent 
families  of  the  county  today. 

Early  conditions  were  much  the  same  as  in  other  townships 
and  it  is  difficult  today  when  riding  over  the  many  miles  of 
improved  pikes  to  realize  that  they  are  the  result  of  many 
experiments   in   road   building — starting  first  with  the  bridle 


DARKE    COUNTY  587 

path,  and  progressing  through  the  blazed  trail,  the  rambling 
house  to  house  road,  the  cut  out  road,  the  surveyed  mud  road 
and  finally  the  graded  pike. 

Among  the  early  families  were  quite  a  number  of  Pennsyl- 
vania Germans  and  it  is  said  that  the  first  preaching  in  this 
township  was  by  German  Lutheran  ministers,  who  conducted 
services  at  private  houses.  The  first  church  was  a  log  struc- 
ture, capable  of  seating  about  one  hundred  people.  It  was 
built  in  1848,  near  the  center  of  section  4  along  the  main  road 
on  an  acre  plot  deeded  by  Ezra  Marker  for  a  church  and  cem- 
etery. It  was  distinctly  a  neighborhood  institution  and  was 
erected  by  the  co-operation  of  the  settlement.  A  new  frame 
church  was  completed  on  this  site  in  1856,  in  which  services 
were  held  until  1878.  With  the  passing  away  of  the  first  gen- 
eration and  the  scattering  of  their  descendants  the  church  de- 
clined and  only  the  old  cemetery  now  appears  on  the  map. 

The  Methodists  held  services  as  soon  as  sufficient  settlers 
could  be  interested.  Local  preachers  and  exhorters  were 
among  the  first  representatives  of  this  denomination.  Services 
were  held  in  a  log  school  house  located  about  three-fourths 
of  a  mile  west  of  the  present  site  of  Brock.  It  is  said  that  the 
Methodists  built  a  church  on  the  northeast  corner  of  section 
18  as  early  as  1838,  or  1839.  In  1857  they  built  a  frame 
church  in  Brock,  and  held  services  there  for  probably  forty 
years.  In  recent  years,  however,  they  were  succeeded  by  the 
Christian  denomination. 

J.  P.  Hafer  is  credited  with  being  the  first  school  teacher  in 
the  township.  He  taught  in  an  old  cabin  before  the  erection 
of  a  regular  school  building.  Probabh^  the  first  school  house 
was  built  in  1830.  Another  was  erected  in  1837,  on  land  be- 
longing to  Judge  York.  There  are  now  six  school  districts  in 
the  township. 

There  are  no  railways  in  the  township  and  the  only  village 
is  Brock,  located  on  the  Greenville  and  St.  Mary's  pike  on  the 
line  between  sections  4  and  33.  Ezra  Marker,  George  Bert- 
ram, Jacob  Winbigler  and  Egbert  Winterworth  were  instru- 
mental in  laying  off  and  developing  this  place.  It  now  has  a 
town  hall,  public  school  and  a  Christian  church.  There  is 
also  a  christian  church  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  30. 
The  population  of  the  entire  township  in  1910  was  902.  The 
assessment  of  real  estate  in  1913  was  $1,306,860,  and  the  chat- 
tels were  entered  at  $184,970. 


588  DARKE    COUXTY 

Richland  Township. 

This  township  as  now  constituted  is  less  regular  in  shape 
than  most  of  the  others  in  the  county  and  comprises  territory 
taken  from  townships  10-3;  11-3,  and  13-2.  It  was  taken 
from  Wayne  township  with  sixteen  sections  from  Greenville 
and  four  from  Adams,  and  was  erected  September  8,  1820.  As 
originally  constituted  it  comprised  practically  all  the  land  now 
included  in  Allen,  Wabash,  Brown,  York,  Richland  and  two 
tiers  of  sections  now  forming  the  northern  part  of  Greenville 
township.  In  March,  1829,  all  of  township  12,  range  2,  then 
belonging  to  Richland,  was  put  into  Greenville  township.  In 
December,  1833,  Brown  township  was  detached  and  in  June, 
1837,  York  township  in  its  original  form  was  detached,  re- 
ducing Richland  to  its  present  proportions.  The  entire  town- 
ship is  drained  by  the  Stillwater  which  enters  near  the  north- 
west corner,  runs  southeasterly  to  the  center  of  section  3,  then 
takes  a  circuitous  eastern  course  through  the  central  part  of 
the  county,  turns  northward  in  the  northern  part  of  section  4, 
then  eastward  in  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  27,  and 
leaves  the  township  near  the  line  between  sections  27  and  34. 
The  surface  is  broken  along  its  course,  comprising  fertile 
stretches  of  bottom  land  interspersed  with  hills.  There  is  a 
diversity  of  black  loam  and  mixed  clay  lands  which  are  quite 
productive  under  scientific  cultivation. 

Fort  Briar  located  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  southwest 
quarter  of  section  27,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Stillwater  just 
beyond  the  bend,  was  erected  during  the  war  of  1812,  and 
was  used  as  a  place  of  refuge  by  the  earliest  pioneers.  Among 
these  were  Jacob  Hartle,  who  came  in  the  summer  of  1817. 
David  RifHe  and  sons,  Jacob  and  Solomon,  and  George  Ward 
came  in  the  spring  of  1818,  James  Stephenson  and  George 
Coppess  in  1819.  These  were  soon  followed  by  George  Beam, 
Adam  Coppess,  Henry  Stahl,  Philip  Plessinger.  Peter  Brewer 
and  John  Horney,  John  Miller  and  John  Coppess,  Sr.  For 
some  ten  years  there  was  no  further  emigration  on  account  of 
the  ague  and  milk  sickness,  which  prevailed.  From  1834  to 
about  1850.  the  following  prominent  names  were  added : 
Daniel  Warvel,  E.  Deming,  D.  L.  Miller,  W.  J.  Warvel.  D. 
Hartzell.  Philip  Hartzell.  George  H.  Winbigler,  Alfred  Cop- 
pess, H.  Kent,  John  E.  Breaden  and  S.  D.  Rush.  In  more  re- 
cent years  quite  a  number  of  German  immigrants  settled  in 
various  parts  of  the  township,  so  that  the  population  today  is 


DARKE    COUNTY  589 

largely  of  German  descent.  This  fact  accounts  for  the  fine 
condition  of  many  of  the  farms  and  the  relative  high  standing 
of  this  comparatively  small  township  in  agricultural  matters. 

The  first  school  house  was  erected  about  1824  on  the  farm 
of  John  Coppess  in  section  24,  across  the  creek  from  the  Cop- 
pess  cemetery.  It  was  built  of  logs  and  had  a  capacious  fire- 
place. John  AVilkins  and  Thomas  Crawson  taught  here. 
There  are  now  seven  school  districts  in  the  township. 

John  Childers,  the  Baptist  minister,  mentioned  in  chapter 
ten,  is  credited  with  delivering  the  first  sermon  in  the  house  of 
James  Stephenson.  The  Methodists  purcahsed  a  building  in 
the  Coppess  neighborhood  which  had  been  erected  as  a  school 
house  and  converted  it  into  the  first  church  of  the  township. 
The  United  Brethren  built  the  next  church,  a  log  structure,  in 
Beamsville,  in  1842,  on  a  site  donated  by  Fred  Beam.  There 
is  now  a  church  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  24,  and  a 
Christian  church  in  the  center  of  section  9,  besides  the 
churches  in  Dawn  and  Beamsville. 

The  "Big  Four"  railway  crosses  the  north  end  of  the  town- 
ship, and  the  Pennsylvania,  the  southern.  There  are  three 
villages  in  Richland  township,  viz.,  Beamsville,  Nevada 
(Dawn  P.  O.)  and  Stelvideo. 

Beamsville. 

This  village  is  located  on  the  Stillwater  at  the  intersection 
of  the  Greenville  and  Ansonia  pikes  near  the  center  of  the 
west  line  of  section  32,  range  3.  It  was  platted  in  1837,  by 
John  Beam,  who  also  erected  the  first  house.  Rev.  M.  Win- 
termuth.  Baptist,  was  the  first  preacher  in  Beamsville,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Seymour  Craig.  The  Reformed  and 
United  Brethren  Societies  built  a  union  church  on  the  north 
bank  of  Stillwater  west  of  Main  street  about  1842.  In  later 
years  the  Reformed  denomination  took  over  the  property  and 
held  services  for  several  years  but  finally  disbanded.  Rev. 
George  Adams  represented  the  Christian  church  as  early  as 
1848-49.  All  these  denominations  have  disbanded  except  the 
Christian  which  still  has  a  flourishing  church  and  Sunday 
sschool  in  the  \-ilIage.  The  township  house  is  located  here, 
also  school  Xo.  5,  which  built  a  new  two-room  modern  brick 
school  house  a  few  years  since.  A  good  general  mercantile 
business  is  carried  on  in  this  place.  Among  the  prominent 
physicians  who  lived  here  were  Ford.  Smith,  Hooven,  Hos- 
tetter.  Peck,  Tillman,  Zellers,  Husted  and  Brandon. 


590  DARKE    COUXTY 

Nevada  (Dawn  Postoffice.) 

This  village  was  laid  out  in  1854  by  L.  W.  Johnson  at  the 
center  of  section  20,  when  he  erected  a  saw  mill.  Additions 
were  later  made  by  Shelley,  Birch,  Uriah  Winbigler,  O.  F. 
Davidson  and  James  McFarland.  The  "Big  Four"  railway 
has  a  station  here  and  considerable  mercantile  business  is 
transacted.  The  Methodists  built  a  church  on  the  north  side 
of  the  village  in  1872,  and  the  Christians  on  the  south  side 
in  1907.  School  No.  4  is  located  opposite  the  last  named  struc- 
ture on  south  Main  street. 

Stelvideo. 

This  village  was  laid  out  by  Solomon  Farmer  in  1851,  near 
the  center  of  the  south  line  of  section  9,  range  3,  township  11. 
It  is  located  on  the  Logansport  division  of  the  Pennsylvania 
railway  and  lies  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  country.  The  story 
of  its  establishment  is  thus  related  by  an  early  writer :  "About 
the  time  when  the  'forty  miners'  were  en  route  overland  to  the 
gold  fields  of  the  far  Pacific,  John  Patterson  determined  to 
realize  his  expectations  nearer  home.  He  had  inherited  a 
large  farm,  located  east  of  Stelvideo.  There  being  promise 
of  quite  a  village  here,  Mr.  Patterson  brought  a  number  of 
lots,  erected  a  steam  saw  mill,  a  two-story  tavern  and  induced 
the  erection  of  several  other  buildings.  These  improvements 
were  made  in  1852  and  1853.  Through  correspondence  with 
Alfred  Brisbane,  S.  Andrews,  Dr.  Nichols  and  other  noted  So- 
cialists, Stelvideo  soon  became  a  center  for  modern  radicalism 
of  all  kinds,  save  and  except  'free  love.'  Meantime,  the  dress 
reform  movement  was  being  agitated  by  Amelia  Bloomer  and 
other  ladies.  The  costume  was  generally  adopted  by  the  fem- 
inine population  of  this  village.  So  many  'isms'  and  'ologies,' 
so  much  amplitude  in  freedom  and  brevity  in  costume  was 
obnoxious  to  the  people  residents  in  the  neighborhood,  who 
proceeded  to  make  Paterson  and  his  'confreres'  desirous  of 
going  elsewhere.  The  Pluribus  Unum  hotel  was  vacated,  sev- 
eral houses  partially  completed  were  left  unfinished,  the  saw 
mill  and  other  property  was  disposed  of  at  a  sacrifice,  and  Mr. 
Patterson  and  his  followers  moved  to  Berlin  Heights,  in 
Huron  county,  where  quite  a  colony  of  Modern  Liberalists  of 
various  phases  assembled.  They  published  a  weekly  news- 
paper, and,  for  a  time,  attracted  popular  attention." 

The  wearing  of  "bloomers"  bv  the  women  of  this  villatre, 


DARKE    COUNTY  5'Jl 

who  followed  the  liberal  ideas  of  those  days  caused  the  village 
to  be  dubbed  "Bloomertown"  for  many  years. 

There  is  a  railway  station  and  a  grain  elevator  in  this  vil- 
large  and  a  Christian  church  a  short  distance  north. 

The  tax  assessment  of  Richland  township  in  1913,  showed 
real  estate  to  the  value  of  $1,391,130  and  chattels  amounting 
to  $863,330.    The  population  in  1910  was  given  at  1,070. 

Van  Buren  Township. 

This  township  as  now  constituted  lies  immediately  north 
of  Twin  and  between  Neave  and  Franklin  townships.  It  was 
erected  in  June,  1838,  and  named  for  President  Van  Buren, 
who  was  then  in  office.  At  that  time  it  contained  all  of  town- 
ship 8  north,  range  4  east,  that  is  in  Darke  county,  and  all  of 
township  9,  north,  range  3  east,  except  sections  5,  6,  7  and  8, 
which  were  included  in  Greenville  township.  Franklin  town- 
ship was  detached  in  June,  1839,  being  formed  of  four  tiers  of 
sections  ofif  the  east  side. 

The  northern  and  extreme  western  part  are  drained  by  some 
minor  branches  of  Greenville  creek,  and  the  southern  part  by 
upper  branches  of  Painter  creek. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  level  townships  in  the  count}',  and  the 
soil,  being  largely  of  an  alluvial  nature,  is  very  fertile,  pro- 
ducing good  crops.  As  noted  in  Chapter  I,  a  distinct  moranic 
belt  passes  through  it  in  a  north  and  south  direction  which 
was  formerly  traced  by  the  large  number  of  boulders  strewn 
along  its  track,  and  the  presence  of  gravel  cairns  along  its 
course.  Some  of  the  boulders  along  this  moraine  were  of  im- 
mense size,  but  most  of  these  have  been  blasted,  buried  or 
removed,  leaving  the  surface  free  for  cultivation.  Before  the 
forests  were  cut  off  and  the  land  drained,  it  is  said  that  from 
one  to  five  feet  of  water  covered  most  of  the  surface  of  this 
township  during  half  of  the  year.  On  this  account  settlement 
was  delayed  and  it  is  probable  that  no  settlers  came  before 
1818.  Between  this  time  and  1826,  the  following  pioneers 
established  homes  in  the  wilderness: 

Samuel  Pearce.  Samuel  ]\Iartin,  Elias  Burt,  Eli  Townsend, 
Jacob  Sebring,  John  Charkwith,  Isaac  Byers,  James  Gregory, 
David  and  William  Byers,  Richard  and  James  Gower.  John 
Fourman,  Mordecai  Ford  and  Jacob  PotofF  were  also  early 
settlers. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 


592  DARKE    COUNTY 

section  20,  and  was  taught  by  Mordecai  Ford.  There  are 
nine  school  districts  in  this  township. 

The  Christians  are  credited  with  building  the  first  church 
in  the  township,  which  was  erected  at  Delisle,  in  1851,  over 
thirty  years  after  the  first  settlement.  Among  the  pioneer 
preachers  in  this  denomination  were  Revs.  Sneithen.  Ashley. 
W^illiams  and  Mordecai  Ford. 

The  United  Brethren  established  a  church  at  Abbotsville, 
about  1850,  and  the  Methodists  one  just  east  of  Jaysville  about 
the  same  time.  Rev.  Edward  Caylor  caused  the  erection  of  a 
church  at  Ninevah,  near  the  center  of  the  township,  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  2,  about  1869.  It  is  now  known 
as  Caylor's  Chapel.  There  is  also  a  Dunkard  church  across 
the  road  from  school  Xo.  6.  near  the  center  of  the  north  line 
of  section  35. 

This  township  is  strictly  rural,  the  only  villages  being  De- 
lisle  and  Jaysville,  both  of  which  are  stations  on  the  D.  &  U. 
railway,  w-hich  crosses  diagonally  through  the  southwest  part 
of  the  township.  Jaysville  is  located  on  the  west  line  between 
sections  18  and  19,  and  contains  an  elevator,  a  store  and  a 
blacksmith  shop,  with  a  M.  E.  church  a  short  distance  east. 
It  was  named  after  some  member  of  the  Jay  family,  who  were 
early  settlers.  The  Ohio  Electric  railwav  passes  through  this 
hamlet. 

Delisle.- 

Delisle  was  laid  out  about  1850,  by  a  Mrs.  Fairchild,  prob- 
ably in  anticipation  of  the  building  of  the  Greenville  and 
Miami  railroad.  It  early  gave  some  promise  of  developing 
into  a  good  trading  center,  but  like  Jaysville,  was  too  near 
Greenville  and  Arcanum  to  make  much  of  a  town. 

The  Abbottsville  cemetery,  located  on  the  Arcanum  pike 
and  the  Ohio  Electric  railway  in  section  20,  is  one  of  the  pret- 
tiest and  best  kept  cemeteries  in  Darke  county,  and  is  the 
burial  place  for  many  families  in  Arcanum,  and  the  western 
part  of  the  township.  It  seems  that  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Abbott  laid  off  a  town  in  this  neighborhood  in  early  days,  and 
that  a  store  and  wagon  shop  w«re  at  one  time  in  operation 
here.     Both  of  these  have  disappeared. 

Poplar  Ridge  is  the  name  of  a  small  settlement  on  the 
Greenville  and  West  Milton  pike,  which  crosses  the  northern 
part  of  the  township  in  a  direction  north  of  east.  This  is  one 
of  the  oldest  pikes  in  the  county  and  is  known  to  have  existed 


IJAKKK    CdUNIV  593 

as  early  as  1815.  It  was  prubably  cut  through  the  forest 
during  or  before  the  war  of  1812,  to  connect  Greenville  with 
Dayton. 

The  township  has  been  well  drained  and  piked  and  one 
traveling  through  it  now  would  scarcely  suspect  that  it  was 
once  practically  covered  with  swamps. 

The  population  in  1910  was  1,360. 

The  real  estate  assessment  in  1913  was  $1,717,590,  and  the 
chattels  were  entered  at  $603,730. 

Twin  Township. 

This  township  was  erected  in  July,  1817,  and  contained  all 
of  the  county  south  of  a  line  running  due  east  from  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  31,  township  11  north,  range  2 
east.  A  tier  of  sections  was  taken  from  the  northern  part  upon 
the  creation  of  the  townships  of  German,  Neave  and  Van 
Buren.  Harrison,  Butler  and  Monroe  vvere  successively  de- 
tached as  elsewhere  mentioned,  leaving  Butler  as  now  con- 
stituted, it  being  identical  with  the  civil  division  known  as 
township  8  north,  range  3  east,  containing  thirty  sections. 

This  township  was  named  from  Twin  creek  which  drains 
much  of  the  southern  portion  of  the  township  as  originally 
constituted.  The  northern  part  is  drained  by  the  upper  waters 
of  Painter  creek  and  the  eastern  section  by  the  head  waters  of 
Ludlow  creek.  The  eastern  part  is  quite  level,  and,  in  early 
days  was  covered  with  water  for  considerable  periods  each 
year.  This  condition  was  quite  discouraging  to  early  settlers 
but  after  extensive  and  successful  drainage,  the  land  became 
\ery  productive,  the  soil  being  rich,  deep  vegetable  loam,  en- 
riched by  ages  of  rank  vegetable  growths  which  had  been  sus- 
tained in  the  vast  mora'sses  of  by-gone  ages.  Along  ]\Iiller's 
fork  the  land  is  more  rolling  and  elevated,  yet  very  produc- 
tive. As  formerly  stated  a  distinct  glacial  moraine,  or  mo- 
raine belt,  is  traceable  through  the  southwestern  part  of  this 
township,  skirting  the  valley  of  Miller's  fork  and  following 
that  stream  into  Preble  county  below  Ithaca.  An  old  Indian 
trail,  apparently  followed  this  elevated  belt  and  it  is  said  by 
some  authority  that  Wayne's  army  took  this  elevated  route 
in  preference  to  that  of  St.  Clair.  The  road  from  Ithaca  to 
Fort  Jefterson  and  Greenville  follows  this  old  trail  and  is  one 
of  the  early  highways  of  the  county.  As  before  mentioned, 
Elliott  and  Stoner  were  both  slain  along  this  trail,  during  the 
(38) 


594  DARKE    COUNTY 

war  of  1812.  The  body  of  Stoner  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  at 
Ithaca. 

Jacob  North  is  said  to  have  been  the  pioneer  o.  Twin  town- 
ship. He  came  from  Lewisburg  and  settled  on  ^Miller's  fork, 
probably  about  1812,  but  was  alarmed  at  the  killing  of  Elliott 
and  Stoner  and  the  warning  of  a  half-breed  friend  and  re- 
turned to  his  old  home. 

William  Robbins  was  probably  the  first  permanent  settler. 
He  came  in  1815  and  settled  just  west  of  Ithaca.  He  was 
followed  in  1816  by  David  Lucas,  William  and  Eli  Curtner, 
Frederick  Shank  and  son  Philip,  David  Shearer,  James  Mc- 
Dole,  Philip  Rutter,  David  Baumgardner,  Isaac,  Thomas  and 
George  Walker.  Several  of  these  were  from  the  Stillwater 
settlement,  which  had  been  formed  largely  of  people  from 
North  Carolina  about  1800.  In  the  spring  of  1817,  Frazee 
Doty,  a  local  minister  and  prominent  citizen  settled  just  west 
of  Ithaca,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  Andrew  Burkett  came. 
Among  other  earl}'  -settlers  were  Michael  Bickett,  Emery 
Rogers,  William  Lemon,  Adam  Briney  and  Philip  Rader. 

The  first  school  house  was  built  in  1822  or  1823  in  the 
northeast  corner  of  section  19.  There  are  now  nine  schools  in 
this  township,  besides  that  at  Arcanum. 

Tlie  first  church,  which  was  of  the  Christian  denomination 
was  erected  in  the  northwest  quarter  of  section  6,  near  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  township.  This  denomination  also 
erected  another  church  one  mile  south  of  Arcanum.  Both  of 
these  disbanded  at  an  early  date.  Abraham  Sneethen  and 
Levi  Purviance  were  the  early  representatives  of  this  sect,  and 
the  pioneer  preachers  in  the  township.  John  Williams  was 
also  an  early  preacher.  The  L^nited  Brethren  built  a  church  in 
Ithaca  about  1830,  which  was  the  second  erected  in  the 
township.  All  the  churches  of  this  township  are  now  located 
in  the  villages  as  elsewhere  mentioned. 

On  account  of  the  fertility  and  value  of  the  land  the  farms 
of  this  township  have  been  divided  into  comparatively  small 
tracts.  Much  tobacco  is  raised  in  the  eastern  portion  and 
small  tracts  of  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Arcanum  have 
sold  as  high  as  $300  per  acre. 

There  are  three  villages  in  this  township:  Ithaca,  Arcanum 
and  Gordon. 


DARKE    COUNTY  595 

Ithaca. 

This  village  was  platted  by  John  Colville  in  1832,  and  given 
the  name  of  Twinsborough.  Being  in  the  center  of  the  early 
settled  district  and  on  an  old  highway,  it  early  became  an  im- 
portant trading  center.  It  now  has  United  Brethren,  Baptist 
and  Lutheran  churches,  a  school,  town  hall  and  hotel,  besides 
Odd  Fellows,  Junior  Order  and  Red  Men  lodges,  and  is  lo- 
cated on  the  Ohio  Electric  railway.  The  1910  census  showed 
a  population  of  100.  Its  growth  has  been  retarded  in  recent 
years  by  the  building  of  the  D.  and  U.  railway  to  the  east  and 
the  location  of  Gordon  and  Arcanum  on  that  line. 

Gordon. 

This  place  was  platted  in  1849,  and  named  for  one  of  the 
pioneers.  It  is  located  upon  the  D.  &  U.  and  Ohio  Electric 
railways  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  farming  country  and  has  been 
especially  known  for  its  large  lumber  businees  conducted  suc- 
cessfully for  years  by  Ezra  Post  and  its  elevator  and  tobacco 
warehouses  owned  and  operated  by  Edward  Ammon.  Besides 
its  stores  and  the  above  mentioned  enterprises  this  village  has 
a  Baptist  and  an  M.  E.  church.  The  population  in  1910  was 
given  at  181. 

Arcanum. 

The  largest  and  most  important  village  in  Twin  township 
and  the  entire  southern  part  of  Darke  county  is  Arcanum. 
It  is  situated  on  the  western  border  of  a  level  plain,  and,  at  the 
time  of  settlement,  was  surrounded  by  an  almost  impenetrable 
swamp.  This  plain  extends  from  Ithaca  to  Gettysburg-  and  from 
Arcanum  to  Laura  and  is  now  a  veritable  garden  spot,  about 
twelve  by  eighteen  miles  in  extent.  The  only  break  in  this 
exceedingly  fertile  plain  is  a  slight  ridge — probably  a  minor 
moraine — extending  from  Arcanum  to  Pittsburg,  and  even 
this  has  been  redeemed  by  cultivation.  This  village,  it  seems, 
owes  its  existence  to  the  building  of  the  Greenville  and  Miami 
(now  D.  &  U.)  railroad.  We  quote  herewith  an  interesting 
article  concerning  the  platting  and  naming  of  this  village, 
from  the  pen  of  C.  C.  Pomeroy,  the  civil  engineer,  who  laid  it 
out.  It  was  written  at  the  request  of  Mrs.  Jennie  Lee  (nee 
Francis)  and  published  in  the  Arcanum  Enterprise: 

"At  the  suggestion  of  my  esteemed  friend.  Col.  A^^illiam 
Armstrong,  or  rather  his  order;  either  form  giving  me  pleas- 


596  DANKI-:    COL'NTY 

ure  to  respond,  1  pull  from  memories  budget  a  few  straws  re- 
lating to  Arcanum,  Darke  county,  one  of  Ohio's  most  thrifty 
inland  towns.  In  the  fall  of  1846,  a  line  of  railroad  was  lo- 
cated from  Dayton  to  Richmond.  Fourteen  miles  west  from 
Dayton,  an  angle  was  made  to  Greenville,  twenty-two  miles. 
The  road  was  then  known  as  the  Greenville  and  Miami  rail- 
road. Hiram  Bell  was  president,  afterwards  a  member  of 
congress.  When  the  line  was  located,  it  was  all  woods  where 
the  town  of  Dodson  now  is,  and  there  were  no  towns  from 
Dodson  to  Greenville.  The  railway  line  to  Greenville  was 
chiefly  in  the  woods,  excepting  now  and  then  small  clearings. 
In  the  fall  of  1848,  the  writer  and  David  Comly,  son  of  Rich- 
ard Comly,  one  of  the  owners  of  the  Dayton  Journal,  were 
students  of  practical  civil  engineering  under  the  tutorship  of 
Phineas  Pomeroy,  then  chief  engineer  of  the  road.  We  were 
assigned  to  take  test  levels  and  cross  sections  from  Dodson 
to  Greenville ;  in  the  discharge  of  this  order  we  reached  a 
tasty,  comfortable  log  house  with  three  rooms  and  an  'up- 
stairs' reached  by  a  ladder;  it  was  the  home  of  Mr.  John 
Gunder,  carved  out  of  the  wilderness,  embracing  forty  acres 
of  cleared  land  on  which  the  house  stood.  The  day  was  one 
of  'chill  November  blasts'  of  which  the  poet  sings;  it  rained 
and  froze  just  enough  to  provoke  saints,  and  more  especially 
searchers  after  the  science  of  engineering.  It  was  four  o'clock 
that  day  and  we  were  just  beyond  Mr.  Gunder's  home  in  the 
woods,  it  was  so  foggy  we  could  not  take  accurate  observa- 
tions with  the  level,  so  Dave  said,  'Charley,  let  us  quit,  I  am 
cold  and  hungry,  let  us  go  to  Mr.  Gunder's  and  stay  all  night.' 
Two  hungry  engineers  met  a  hearty  welcome  there  and  were 
royally  treated  by  Mrs.  Gunder  and  her  two  daughters,  and 
the  sumptuous  meal  was  done  ample  justice.  At  nightfall, 
Mr.  Gunder  came  in  from  the  woods,  and  during  the  evening 
chat  said,  'Boys,  tomorrow  will  be  drizzling,  and  frozen  and 
sloppy  all  the  way  to  Greenville,  and  you  might  as  well  stay 
here  and  lay  oflf  a  town  plat  for  me.'  Morning  came  and  being 
unpropitious.  so  we  remained  and  surveyed  and  mapped  his 
town  plat,  and  made  a  neat  and  pretty  map  and  pinned  it  up 
on  the  log.  When  Mr.  Gunder  came  he  looked  at  it  closely 
and  was  well  pleased.  The  following  colloquy  then  occurred : 
'Now  Gunder  what  name  will  you  have  for  your  town,  Gun- 
derville?'  'No,  No!  Ohio  has  too  many  "villes"  now;  you  boys 
select  a  name  and  have  one  that  is  not  on  the  map  of  the 
globe ;  have  it  ready  for  me  when  I  come  from  work,  as  I  am 


DARKE    COUNTY  597 

going  to  Greenville  tomorrow  and  will  have  it  recorded.'  We 
worried  and  stewed  and  fretted  to  get  a  name  we  thought 
would  please  him.  At  last,  in  view  of  the  murky,  damp,  sullen, 
hazy  afternoon,  that  hung  in  clouds  of  chunky  darkness,  a 
remark  was  made  that  there  must  be  a  word  somewhere  that 
fits  the  place  and  its  surroundings  to  a  'gnat's  heel ;'  it  is  dark, 
it  is  dismal,  it  is  gloomy,  how  would  'Arcanum'  do?  It  was 
printed  in  India  ink  on  the  map.  Mr.  Gunder  came  in  just  as 
we  were  about  to  eat  supper,  he  observed  the  name  and  ex- 
pressed great  satisfaction  with  the  selection.  Sure  enough, 
next  day  he  went  to  Greenville  and  had  his  map  recorded. 
The  clerk  in  the  recorder's  office  told  him  the  engineers  were 
making  fun  of  him  in  naming  the  town.  'How?'  'Why  do  you 
know  the  name  means  "secret,  hidden?"  '  'I  don't  care  what  it 
means:  is  there  a  town  in  the  world  of  that  name?'  'No,'  says 
the  recorder.  'Then  the  people  who  live  there  will  have  no 
trouble  in  getting  their  mail,'  said  Gunder,  'and  it  is  in  har- 
mony with  surrounding  conditions." 

"And  this  is  the  way  Arcanum,  now  one  of  the  prettiest, 
busy  towns  in  Ohio,  got  its  name,  and  no  town  in  the  state  is  in 
advance  of  it  in  enterprise,  intelligence,  energy  and  prosperity. 
"C.  C.  POMEROY,  Civil  Engineer." 

Another  version  of  the  story  about  the  naming  of  the  town 
is  to  the  effect  that  Gunder  had  a  bull  which,  for  some  un- 
known reason,  he  called  "Arcanum."  This  animal,  it  seems, 
had  strayed  away  and  while  looking  for  it  he  came  upon  a 
group  of  men  working  long  the  right-of-way  of  the  new  rail- 
way. Suddenly  catching  sight  of  the  bull  he  exclaimed, 
"There's  Arcanum,"  whereupon  the  name  was  seized  upon 
and  applied  to  the  neighborhood  railway  station. 

Like  many  other  traditions  this  is  probably  a  corruption  of 
the  true  story  and  we  can  do  no  better  than  accept  the  plaus- 
ible statement  made  and  signed  by  the  engineer  who  laid  out 
the  town  as  above  noted. 

The  Greenville  and  Miami  railway  was  not  completed  to 
Arcanum,  however,  until  1852,  but  its  coming  was  the  great 
"red  letter"  day  in  the  history  of  the  village  and  township. 
From  henceforth  Arcanum  was  put  in  close  touch  with  Day- 
ton and  the  outside  world,  and  the  long,  tedious  journeys  to 
this  market  through  the  slashes  of  Painter  and  Ludlow  creeks 
and  over  the  corduroy  roads  became  a  thing  of  the  past. 
Messrs.  Samuel  and  John  Smith  were  the  pioneer  merchants. 


598  DARKE    COUNTY 

nrhey  opened  the  first  store  here  June  20,  1851,  and  through 
their  energy,  industry  and  business  quahfications  helped  to 
make  the  place  develop  rapidly. 

The  rapid  growth  of  the  new  village  is  forcibly  indicated 
by  the  following  business  directory,  published  in  1857 : 

Dry  goods  stores,  grocers  and  grain  dealers — S.  D.  Smith, 
J.  Thomas  &  Son.  Albright  &  Oliver,  John  Smith,  J.  F.  Roser, 
and  Sprecher  &  Bro. 

American  Hotel — John  A.  Raylor. 

Steam  grist  mill  and  distillery — Voorhes,  Shepherd  &  Bro. 

Physician  and  surgeon — Jesse  J.  Paramore. 

Cabinet  warerooms  and  undertaker — C.  Bartling. 

Tailor — Israel  Steinmetz. 

Coopers — Henry  Kester,  Henry  Glasmeir. 

Carpenter  and  joiner — George  Lowe. 

Boot  and  shoe  maker — Samuel  Garrett. 

Wagon  and  carriage  maker — D.  B.  Baker. 

Blacksmith — A.  Deweese. 

Carpenter  and  joiner — John  Fleck. 

Brick  and  stone  mason — P.  Snodderly. 

Carpenter  and  joiner — S.  B.  Thomas. 

Station  man  (G.  &  M.  R.  R.) — James  Battern. 

Tailor — A.  B.  Steinmetz. 

Mason  and  bricklayer — John  C.  Bocanon. 

Arcanum  has  long  been  known  for  its  business  enterprise 
and  its  large  mercantile  establishments  are  the  wonder  of  the 
stranger  accustomed  to  tlie  trading  facilities  of  the  ordinary 
village. 

This  village  has  likewise  shown  much  enterprise  in  relig- 
ious, social  and  educational  enterprises. 

The  Methodists  built  a  church  here  as  early  as  1856.  and 
now  have  a  strong  congregation. 

The  United  Brethren  built  a  brick  church  in  1860,  on  the 
corner  of  East  and  South  streets,  where  the  present  church 
now  stands.  Previously  they  had  worshipped  in  a  little  log 
church  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Andrew  Clark,  one-fourth 
of  a  mile  east  of  Arcanum,  where  they  had  organized  a  society 
in  1853.  The  present  church  was  erected  in  1896,  at  an  ap- 
proximate cost  of  $10,000.  This  is  one  of  the  strong  denom- 
inations of  the  county  and  has  now  an  enrollment  of  about  400 
in  the  church,  and  500  in  the  Sundav  school. 


DARKE    COUNTY  599 

The  present  church  officers  are : 

P.  W.  Byers,  Jacob  Miller.  Jr.,  G.  T.  Riegle,  William  Clark 
and  E.  B.  Hawley. 

Trustees  of  the  church — Sunday  school  superintendent,  G. 
T.  Riegle;  class  leader,  H.  O.  Hoffman;  president  of  W.  'SI. 
A.,  ]\Irs.  E.  B.  Hawley ;  president  of  Golden  Link  Society,  Mr*. 
Myrtle  Shumaker ;  president  of  C.  E.,  Miss  Nettie  Robbins ; 
president  of  Junior  C.  E.,  Mrs.  Nana  Cartmell ;  general  stew- 
ard, C.  A.  Smith ;  class  stewards,  Marion  Trump,  J.  H.  Potts, 
H.  O.  Hoffman,  Abraham  Nyswonger. 

The  Reformed  denomination  built  a  church  in  1879,  but  the 
society  at  the  present  time  is  practicallj^  dormant  with  a  mem- 
bership of  about  thirty-five. 

Arcanum  has  produced  some  men  of  exceptional  talent  in 
the  past  and  now  takes  great  pride  in  referring  to  the  Sigafoos 
brothers — Charles  P.  and  Edward — who  are  sons  of  George 
W.  Sigafoos,  deceased,  at  one  time  a  prominent  dry  goods 
m.erchant  in  the  village.  Charles  P.  Sigafoos  was  born  May 
4,  1865  and  received  his  elementary  education  in  the  public 
schools.  He  was  graduated  from  the  Ohio  State  University 
in  1889,  spent  one  _year  at  the  University  of  Virginia  and  four 
years  at  Johns  Hopkins'  University.  He  soon  became  a  pro- 
fessor of  biology  in  the  University  of  Wisconsin  and  during 
some  twenty  years  in  this  chair  has  probably  tutored  more  stu- 
dents in  this  science  than  any  other  professor  in  the  United 
States. 

Edward  Sigafoos  was  born  December  14,  1868.  After  a 
course  in  the  common  schools  he  entered  Ohio  State  Univer- 
sity and  was  graduated  from  that  institution  in  1891.  While 
in  the  latter  school  he  manifested  a  taste  and  talent  for  mili- 
tary science  and  was  persuaded  by  some  prominent  citizens 
of  the  state  to  apply  for  entrance  in  the  regular  army  of  the 
United  States.  After  passing  the  required  examination  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  he  was  appointed  a  second  lieutenant  and 
spent  tAvo  years  in  the  excellent  advanced  military  school  at 
Leavenworth,  Kansas.  In  1898  he  was  commissioned  first  lieu- 
tenant and  served  one  j'ear  under  General  Wood  at  Santiago, 
Cuba.  He  has  recently  attained  the  rank  of  major  and  is  ser^-- 
ing  with  the  army  in  Vera  Cruz,  Mexico.  In  December,  1895. 
he  married  Opal,  the  daughter  of  Dr.  Donovan  Robeson,  of 
Greenville,  Ohio.  The  progressive  spirit  of  Arcanum  is  re- 
flected in  the  schools  which  maintain  a  high  standard.  The 
high  school  course  comprises  four  years  and  leads  up  to  col- 


600  DARKE    COUNTY 

lege  admission.  The  school  library  contains  1,000  volumes. 
Prof.  O.  G.  Hershey  has  been  the  enterprising  and  enthusi- 
astic superintendent  for  several  years. 

Arcanum  is  well  provided  with  fraternal  and  secret  organi- 
zations, having  Masonic,  Odd  Fellows,  K.  of  P.,  and  Junior 
order  lodges. 

Arcanum  Lodge  No.  341,  I.  O.  O.  F.  was  instituted  August 
9,  1858,  with  the  following  charter  members:  Adam  Bartoch, 
Jacob  Thomas,  Joseph  Gootlieb,  Adam  B.  Steinmetz,  Samuel 
Garsett,  Samuel  D.  Ross,  Evan  Henninger,  Thomas  Morton 
and  Philip  Sprecher.  It  now  owns  property  valued  at  $7,500 
and  has  a  membership  of  about  200. 

Jewel  Rebekah  Lodge  No.  255  was  given  charter  May  18, 
1888,  with  twenty-three  members.  It  now  has  about  forty 
members. 

The  Masonic  lodge  is  known  as  Ithaca  Lodge  No.  295,  F. 
&  A.  M.  and  was  organized  at  Ithaca,  October  21,  1857,  with 
ten  members,  \\z. :  ^^'illiam  A.  Alatchett,  Daniel  Ridenour, 
William  Colville.  S.  C.  Engle.  Martin  J.  Colville,  Milton  Mc- 
Neal,  J.  H.  Engle,  Caswell  Sharp,  Clark  Baker  and  Elijah 
Heath. 

This  lodge  now  owns  its  own  property  and  has  a  member- 
ship of  about  one  hundred. 

There  is  also  an  Eastern  Star  lodge  here. 

Arcanum  now  has  a  fine,  large  brick  city  building,  erected 
about  1890,  at  a  cost  of  some  $12,000.  It  contains  the  offices  of 
the  various  city  ofificials,  the  fire  department  and  an  excellent 
auditorium  with  a  seating  capacity  of  several  hundred.  The  city 
also  owns  its  own  water  works  and  electric  light  plant.  There 
are  two  hotels,  two  banks,  two  newspapers,  a  building  asso- 
ciation, a  postoffice,  elevator,  tile  yard,  saw  and  planing  mill, 
lumber  yard,  two  flour  mills,  a  creamery,  monumental  works 
and  other  enterprises.  A  large  proportion  of  the  tobacco  pro- 
duced in  the  county  is  raised  in  the  level  black  land  of  Frank- 
lin, Monroe  and  Twin  townships,  and  much  of  this  is  mar- 
keted in  Arcanum  where  several  large  warehouses  are  located. 
The  Peoria  division  of  the  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  railway  gives  a 
good  east  and  west  outlet  to  the  village  and  the  Ohio  Electric 
railway  makes  connection  with  Daj'ton  and  Greenville  quite 
convenient. 

Several  blocks  of  the  main  streets  have  recently  been  paved 
with  brick  and  other  public  improvements  made. 


DARKE    COUNTY  601 

The  census  of  1910  showed  a  population  of  1,361,  in  the 
town  and  a  total  of  2,925  in  the  entire  township. 

The  tax  duplicate  for  1913  showed  real  property  to  the  ex- 
tent of  $904,560,  and  chattels  to  the  extent  of  $548,560  in  Ar- 
canum and  $2,094,570  in  real  estate  and  $882,290  in  chattels  in 
Twin  township  outside  of  Arcanum. 

Patterson  Township. 

This  township  occupies  the  northeastern  corner  of  the 
county,  was  erected  in  March,  1841,  and  was  taken  from  the 
north  end  of  Wayne  township  which  then  extended  to  the  old 
Greenville  treaty  line.  In  1848,  the  northern  part  was  cut 
off,  when  Darke  county  was  reduced  to  its  present  size,  and 
in  the  same  year  sections  2,  11,  14  and  23  of  township  12  north, 
range  3  east  were  detached  and  added  to  Wabash  township. 
The  watershed  passes  through  the  central  part  of  this  town- 
ship in  an  east  and  west  direction  separating  the  upper  basin 
of  the  Wabash  from  the  head  waters  of  Swamp  Creek  branch 
of  the  Stillwater.  The  southern  section  of  the  township  is 
rolling  and  the  soil  is  largely  of  a  light  clay  formation.  In 
early  days  it  supported  a  fine  forest  of  beech,  sugar,  maple  and 
oak.  Like  Wabash  township,  the  northern  portion  contains  a 
larger  proportion  of  dark  alluvial  soil  and  formerly  supported 
a  heavy  growth  of  timber  in  which  Linden,  Sycamore,  and 
^^'alnut  were  especially  noticeable.  Isaac  Finkbone,  who 
seems  to  have  been  identified  with  the  early  settlement  of 
\\'ayne  and  Wabash  townships,  is  also  mentioned  as  the  pio- 
neer settler  here,  coming  in  1827  or  1828,  to  the  southeast 
quarter  of  section  32.  He  was  soon  followed  by  Philip  Pitzen- 
berger.  who  squatted  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  33. 
James  Patterson,  Sr.,  was  the  second  landowner  who  settled 
in  the  township,  and  his  son  gave  the  township  its  name.  Rich- 
ard and  Thomas  Mendenhall,  John  Day,  Samuel  Day,  Dr. 
Greer,  John  Puterbaugh,  James  Davidson,  Anthony  Cable, 
John  De'Weese,  \\'illiam  Russell  and  Arphaxed  Julian  are 
also  mentioned  as  prominent  early  settlers.  Although  this 
township  was  late  in  settlement  and  backward  in  develop- 
ment it  has  made  commendable  progress,  as  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  census  of  1910  gave  it  a  population  of  1,632,  as 
against  319  in  1850.  while  the  tax  assessment  of  real  estate  in 
1913  was  $1,739,680  and  for  chattels  $387,430. 


602  DARKE    COUNTY 

Woodland  (now  Willowdell.) 

The  first  village  in  the  township  was  Woodland,  which  was 
laid  out  in  1859  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  northeast  quar- 
ter of  section  20,  on  the  south  slope  of  the  watershed.  A 
Lutheran  church  was  erected  here  in  1865.  This  neighbor- 
hood has  become  famous  as  the  birthplace  of  "Annie  Oakley" 
Rlozee,  whose  biography  appears  in  another  chapter. 

The  Christians  erected  a  church  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Berlin  pike  near  the  east  line  of  section  8  in  1863,  and  another 
in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section  25,  range  3,  about  1880. 
There  is  still  a  Lutheran  church  in  Willowdell ;  another  in 
the  northwest  corner  of  southeast  quarter  of  section  30;  the 
\\'alnut  Grove  Christian  church  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
southwest  quarter  of  section  24,  besides  the  churches  in  York- 
shire and  Osgood  villages. 

The  first  school  house  was  put  up  in  the  southeastern  quar- 
ter of  section  32,  in  1842,  and  was  erected  by  subscription.  A. 
L.  W^ilson  was  the  first  teacher.  There  are  now  seven  special 
school  districts  in  this  township  not  including  those  in  York- 
shire and  Osgood. 

The  Cincinnati,  Hamiltcm  and  Dayton  railway  (formerly 
Narrowgauge)  was  built  through  this  township  about  1881. 
It  follows  the  section  line  between  township  12,  range  3  and 
township  11,  range  4  from  the  IMercer  county  line  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  section  30,  and  then  turn  southeastward, 
crossing  into  Wayne  township  in  the  southwest  corner  of  sec- 
tion 32.  Since  its  construction  two  thriving  villages  have  de- 
veloped. 

Osgood. 

This  village  was  laid  out  at  the  quartering  of  sections  1,  6, 
12  and  7  in  the  "eighties"  and  now  contains  a  town  hall, 
hotel,  station,  public  school.  Catholic  and  Christian  churches, 
lodge,  elevators  and  stores. 

The  St.  Nicholas  Catholic  church  was  organized  in  1906, 
by  Rev.  Bernard  Becknieyer.  Services  were  held  at  first  in 
the  village  school  house.  Rev.  John  Rahrle  soon  took  charge 
of  the  new  parish  which  then  numbered  probably  thirty-five 
families.  A  temporary  church  structure  was  completed  in 
September,  1906,  and  services  held  therein.  In  this  year  a 
tract  of  land  was  purchased  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  vil- 
lage and  the  erection  of  a  new  and  suitable  church  building 
was  soon  entered  into  with  zeal  and  devotion.     A  beautiful 


DARKE    COUNTY  603 

Structure  costing  about  $22,000  was  dedicated  September  6, 
1908,  and  given  the  name  St.  \icholas.  It  is  a  fitting  memo- 
rial to  the  zeal  and  devotion  of  Rev.  Rahrle  and  his  small  but 
zealous  and  devoted  flock.  In  its  brief  existence  this  parish 
has  thrived  wonderfully  and  now  includes  about  eighty-five 
families.  Rev.  Rahrle  resigned  in  1912  and  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Bernard  H.  Franzee.  This  congregation  serves  a  large 
constituency  of  settlers  of  French  and  German  descent  who 
now  comprise  a  large  per  cent,  of  the  citizens  of  this  town- 
ship and  those  adjoining.  There  are  several  fountain  wells 
in  this  village  as  well  as  in  the  region  to  the  north  and  east, 
near  the  headwaters  of  the  small  streams  flowing  northward 
from  the  w-atershed.    The  population  in  1910  was  214. 

Yorkshire. 

This  village,  is  located  one  mile  south  of  Osgood  and  was 
incorporated  in  1901.  Its  rapid  growth  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  the  population  in  1910  was  182.  This  village  contains  a 
postofiice,  bank,  station,  public  school,  Disciple  and  U.  B. 
churches,  brick  and  tile  yard,  elevator  and  warehouse.  The 
Berlin  and  North  Star  pike  forms  the  main  east  and  west 
street  of  this  village. 

Wayne  Township. 

As  in  Greenville  and  other  townships  the  actual  first  set- 
tlers of  Wayne  township  were  preceded  by  the  surveyors  and 
the  "old  squatters."  Among  the  latter  might  be  mentioned 
"Kill  Buck,"  a  half  breed,  or  chief  who  built  a  cabin  near 
"Bald  Hill"  in  the  northern  border  of  the  Stillwater  settle- 
ment (Webster)  in  the  early  years  of  the  century  and  re- 
mained until  the  arrival  of  the  first  settlers.  Associated  with 
his  name  is  that  of  Connor,  the  old  trapper  and  copper  dis- 
tiller who  lived  to  the  north  of  Killbuck  on  a  knoll  skirting 
the  western  side  of  Swampy  creek,  near  the  present  site  of 
\^ersailles.  '\^'hile  Connor  hunted,  trapped  aad  carried  on  his 
varied  activities,  his  son  cultivated  a  small  patch  of  corn 
with  an  old  ox,  which  he  also  used  to  go  to  mill  at  Greenville 
Falls  or  Fort  Rowdy  (Covington,  Ohio).  With  the  advent  of 
the  settlers  these  eccentric  characters  moved  further  west. 
Isaac  Finkbone.  a  stalwart  frontiersman,  succeeded  Connor 
and  distilled  "firewater"  for  the  use  of  the  first  settlers,  who 


604  DARKE    COUNTY 

consumed  large  quantities  of  "bitters"  at  log  rollings,  cabin- 
raisings,  sheep-washings  and  "huskin-bees." 

The  first  notable  settlement  in  the  township  was  made  by 
a  party  from  the  Stillwater  settlement  in  Miami  county,  near 
Pleasant  Hill.  It  is  said  that  this  party  canoed  up  the  Still- 
water keeping  up  the  east  branch,  until  they  encountered  a 
district  of  murky  swamps  and  ponds  to  which  they  gave  the 
name  of  "Black  Swamps,"  while  the  lazy  stream  was  called 
"Swamp  creek."  Here  a  small  settlement  was  made  which 
became  known  as  the  "Swamp  creek  settlement."  David 
Ward,  who  settled  in  section  18,  in  1815,  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  actual  settler. 

One  of  the  moving  spirits  in  this  settlement  was  Thomas 
Childers,  the  old  order  or  "Hardshell"  Baptist  preacher 
previously  mentioned,  who  settled  about  one  mile  southwest 
of  Versailles.  Here  a  church  was  erected  about  1819  or  1820, 
being  probably  the  second  church  erected  in  the  county. 
Among  the  families  connected  with  this  congregation  were 
the  Childers,  Carlocks  and  McDonalds  of  the  border  Stillwater 
settlement  and  the  Wards,  Bakers,  Yorks  and  Holes  of  the 
Swamp  creek  settlement.  The  early  Baptist  burial  ground 
adjoined  this  church.  This  building  was  afterwards  moved  to 
north  Versailles  and  later  to  the  Wood  addition  where  the 
congregation  worshipped  for  several  years,  but  finally  dis- 
banded, leaving  no  successor  in  this  vicinity. 

Among  the  early  settlers  on  Indian  creek  and  Swamp  creek 
at  and  near  the  present  site  of  Versailles  were  the  Atchisons, 
Lewis  Baker,  Richard  Brandon,  David  Ward,  and  William 
Hoel.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  families  comprising 
this  settlement  were  largely  of  the  "New  Light"  denomina- 
tion, and  that  William  Hoel  deeded  three  or  four  acres  to  the 
Christian  church  as  a  site  for  a  church  building  and  burial 
ground  about  1821.  A  society  was  organized  in  1822  or  1823, 
by  Rev.  Samuel  Kyle,  of  Piqua,  with  William  Hoel,  Aaron 
Carson  and  James  Whitman  as  trustees,  and  a  building  was 
erected  about  1826.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian church  of  Versailles,  making  it  the  oldest  denomination 
with  a  continuous  history  in  that  village.  Among  the  pioneer 
settlers  might  also  be  mentioned  Aaron  Grier,  Henry  Swisher, 
Peter  Radabaugh,  William  McGrifif,  John  Wyland,  Thomas 
Bayman  and  N.  York. 

Wayne  township  was  named  after  Cen.  Anthonv  ^^^avne 
and  when  first  laid  off  hv  the  countv  commissioners  in   1817. 


DARKE    COUNTY  605 

comprised  all  of  the  county  nortJi  of  a  line  commencing  at  the 
northwest  corner  of  township  12  north,  range  1  east,  and  run- 
ning thence  east  to  the  northwest  corner  of  township  9  north, 
range  4  east,  thence  south  to  the  middle  of  said  township,  and 
east  to  the  county  line,  thus  including  the  territory  now  in- 
cluded in  the  township  of  Mississinawa,  Allen,  Wabash,  Pat- 
terson, Jackson,  Brown,  York,  Wayne,  over  half  of  Richland 
and  part  of  Adams.  In  1819  that  part  of  Wayne  township 
lying  in  township  9  north,  range  4  east,  was  taken  into  Adams 
township.  In  1820  all  of  Wayne  township  that  lay  in  range 
1  was  attached  to  Washington  township  as  then  constituted. 
In  the  same  year  Richland  township  was  formed,  the  north- 
ern part  being  taken  from  Wayne  and  the  southern  from 
Greenville  and  Patterson.  In  1841  Patterson  township  was 
taken  from  the  north  end  of  Wayne  and  contained  all  of  that 
township  that  lay  in  townships  12  and  13,  range  3,  and  town- 
ships 11  and  12  in  range  4. 

The  southern  part  of  this  township  is  drained  by  the  main 
stream  of  the  Stillwater,  the  central  and  northern  part  by  the 
Swamp  creek  branch  with  its  tributaries.  As  before  noted 
the  central  part  was  originally  very  swampy.  It  has  been  re- 
claimed by  extensive  drainage  and  is  now  quite  productive. 

The  C.  C.  C.  &  St.  L.  railway  runs  through  the  central  part 
of  the  township  in  a  direction  generally  south  of  west.  The 
C.  H.  &  D.  traverses  the  northeastern  section.  Versailles  in 
the  central  part  and  Webster  in  the  south  central  part  are  the 
principal  villages.  The  entire  population  of  the  township,  in- 
cluding these  villages,  in  1910  was  2,954. 

As  a  French  colony  became  established  here  in  the  "thir- 
ties" we  herewith  incorporate  a  sketch  of  the  "Holy  Family 
Parish  of  Frenchtown,"  which  throws  considerable  light  on 
the  history  of  this  settlement: 

Holy   Family   Parish,   Frenchtown. 

We  have  noted  in  a  previous  chapter  that  the  first  French 
settler  arrived  on  the  site  of  Frenchtown  in  1836,  and  was 
soon  followed  by  other  families  of  the  Catholic  faith  who 
banded  themselves  together  in  a  small  community,  observed 
public  worship  according  to  the  customs  of  their  faith  under 
the  zealous  and  saintly  Navarron,  and,  in  1838,  erected  a  hewed 
log  church  at  St.  Valbert's  in  conjunction  with  the  little  com- 
munities at  Russia  and  Versailles. 


606  DARKE    COUNTY 

The  years  immediate!}-  following  were  times  of  trial,  hard- 
ships and  privation  but  the  active  French  peaeants  by  indus- 
try and  frugality  soon  made  large  openings  in  the  dense  prim- 
e\al  forest,  cleared  and  cultivated  their  fields,  erected  substan- 
tial habitations  and  made  the  wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose. 
For  many  years  oxen  were  used  to  help  turn  the  soil,  to  haul 
the  heavy  timbers,  or  to  follow  the  rude  trails.  We  have  a 
beautiful  and  touching  word  picture  of  the  trials  encountered 
by  the  faithful  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  stated  worship 
in  those  days  written  by  a  pastor  of  the  flock. 

"At  the  appointed  hour  on  Saturday  afternoon  the  march 
began  for  St.  Valbert's.  With  a  compass  for  a  guide,  headed 
by  Father  Navarron,  the  little  band  entered  the  woods  and 
with  a  hatchet,  blazed  the  trees  as  they  walked  along  to  aid 
them  in  their  journey  until  they  reached  St.  Valbert's.  The 
trees  once  being  blazed,  the  future  they  considered  a  real 
pleasure  when  the  weather  was  favorable,  but  not  so  during 
the  heavy  snows  of  winter  and  the  rainy  seasons  of  spring  and 
fall — for  then,  walking  became  rather  difficult — with  the  snow 
one  and  two  feet  deep  clinging  to  their  wooden  shoes  in  their 
attempt  to  pick  their  way.  Swamp  creek,  which  still  bears 
the  same  name  and  pursues  the  same  course,  though  not  so 
violent  as  in  the  early  days,  had  to  be  crossed  on  the  way, 
and  after  a  heavy  rain  would  overflow,  together  with  its  many 
branches,  making  it  almost  impossible  to  cross.  Nothing 
daunted,  the  low  places  were  sought  for  and  then,  with  shoes 
and  stockings  in  hand,  the  creek  and  streams  were  forded  and 
the  journey  continued.         *         *         *         * 

"For  nine  long  years  these  hardships,  these  trying  times  of 
faith  were  endured  and  the  spring  of  1848  found  the  Holy- 
Family  parish,  Frenchtown,  worshipping  for  the  first  time  in 
their  own  temple,  rude  and  rough  in  its  construction  of  large 
logs,  but  neat  in  appearance,  while  its  modest  interior  spoke 
of  the  pride  of  its  worshipers  to  beautify  and  adorn  the  house 
of  God.         *         *         *         * 

"These  three  parishes  remained  united  until  1849,  when  the 
alloted  time  of  good  Father  Navarron  with  his  kind  and  faith- 
ful people  being  spent,  he  was  transferred  to  other  fields  and 
Father  Loui,  his  successor,  became  pastor  of  the  self-sustain- 
ing parish,  which,  in  the  meantime  had  increased  to  forty 
some  families. 

"The  parish  continued  to  grow  in  numbers  and  under  the 
direction  of  Father  Loui,  an  addition  was  built  to  the  old  log 


DARKE    COUNTY  607 

cliuich,  which  became  too  small  to  conveniently  accomodate  its 
members.  With  the  passing  years  prosperity  smiled  upon  his 
happy  band,  the  many  trials  and  hardships  known  to  the  early 
settlers  gradually  disappeared  and  the  worship  of  religion  wa^ 
elevated  to  a  high  standard. 

"Each  year  saw  its  newcomers  and  raised  the  membership 
of  the  parish.  Filled  with  an  earnest  desire  to  serve  God  in 
the  best  manner  possible  and  actuated  by  the  lofty  ambition 
to  make  him  better  known  and  loved,  they  appealed  to  their 
beloved  pastor  for  a  larger  church,  a  more  suitable  and  up-to- 
date  building.  Father  Brisard  heard  their  plea  and  relying  on 
the  earnest  co-operation  of  his  faithful  flock,  he  at  once  set  to 
work  to  satisfy  their  wish.  Plans  were  prepared  and  no  time 
was  lost  in  putting  them  into  execution.  With  all  their  will- 
ingness and  ready  help  it  was  a  very  difficult  task. 

"Brick  masons  were  scarce,  as  also  were  skilled  carpenters. 
The  bricks  were  burned  on  the  ground  near  the  cemetery, 
while  the  stone  was  hauled  over  fifteen  miles  of  heavy,  rough 
roads.  A  few  weeks  saw  the  old  log  structure  razed  to  the 
ground,  but  it  required  the  labor  of  many  long  months  to  re- 
place it  with  the  present  brick  edifice.  Gumption  and  work, 
and  still  more  work,  backed  by  a  firm  and  fixed  will  to  suc- 
ceed, kept  them  steadily  employed. 

"The  corner-stone  was  set  in  place  in  the  year  1866  and  a 
few  weeks  later  services  were  held  within  the  sacred  walls. 
They  had  given  their  best  efforts  to  its  completion,  and  were 
now   reaping  the  reward  of  their   many  sacrifices."     *     *     * 

"In  Jime,  1899,  to  meet  the  crying  needs  of  his  good  people, 
Father  Denning  superintended  the  building  of  an  addition  to 
the  rear  of  the  church  which  included  a  large  sanctuary  and 
two  sacristies  which  not  only  increased  its  capacity,  but  also 
enhanced  its  beauty." 

"The  Rev.  James  Kelly  succeeded  Rev.  Denning  as  resident 
pastor  and  during  his  short  term,  the  commodious  nine-room 
pastoral  residence  was  planned  and  completed. 

In  March,  1905,  Rev.  Kelly  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Fred- 
erick Veil,  who  after  a  three-year  pastorate  was  followed  by 
the  present  pastor.  Rev.  John  Gnau. 

The  line  of  pastors  since  the  founding  of  the  church  has  in- 
cluded the  following  names:  Navarron,  Loui,  Rollinet,  Hob- 
ryam.  Converse,  Henneberg,  Langlois,  Brisard,  Kreusch,  Kay- 
ser,  Richert,  Heurer,  Roth,  Bourian,  Boehiner,  Jaknb,  Missler, 
Denning,  Kelly,  Veil  and  Gnau. 


608  DARKE    COUXTY 

"The  first  road  which  was  cut  through  the  northeastern 
section  of  the  county  was  that  done  by  the  government  in 
1847,  and  called  the  Fort  Recovery  road,  connecting  French- 
town  and  Versailles.  The  state  road  through  the  southern 
part  of  the  county  was  also  cut  through  at  this  time." 

Versailles. 

Versailles,  the  largest  village  and  most  important  trading 
center  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  was  laid  out  in  1819 
by  Silas  Atchinson  under  the  name  of  Jacksonville.  It's  lo- 
cation, no  doubt,  was  determined  by  the  intersection  of  four 
important  highways,  viz. :  the  state  road,  running  from  Belle- 
fontaine,  through  Sidney  to  Jacksonville  and  thence  to  Green- 
vile;  the  Piqua,  Fort  Rowdy  (Covington)  and  Fort  Recovery 
road ;  the  St.  Mary's  and  Greenville  road,  and  the  Sidney  Cyn- 
tha  Ann  and  Jacksonville  road.  These  roads  in  early  days 
were  distinctly  mud  roads,  ungraded,  corduroyed  through  the 
swamps  and  bridged  after  the  "hogback"  style  over  the  small 
streams.  However,  they  were  relatively  important  and  were 
a  determining  factor  in  Jacksonville's  growth  and  prosperity. 
The  erection  of  the  "Bee  Line"  railway  through  here  in  1853 
instead  of  through  the  county  seat  was  another  factor  of  great 
importance  in  determining  the  future  of  the  village.  Its  inter- 
mediate location  with  reference  to  Greenville,  Sidney  and 
Celina  also  contributed  materially  toward  making  it  the  com- 
mercial center  of  the  northeastern  part  of  the  county.  That 
part  of  the  town  lying  north  of  the  creek  was  known  as 
Georgetown  in  early  days  and  later  as  North  Jacksonville. 
The  coming  of  large  numbers  of  French  settlers  about  1833 
caused  the  two  towns  to  be  incorporated  under  the  name  of 
Versailles,  in  honor  of  the  old  French  capital.  Although  lying 
in  the  Swamp  creek  valley,  one  of  the  most  fertile  sections  of 
the  county,  Versailles  is  built  on  a  glacial  knoll,  slightly  ele- 
vated above  Indian  creek,  has  a  sanitary  location  with  plenty 
of  good  water  and  good  drainage  facilities.  Being  eighteen 
miles  from  Sidney  and  some  thirteen  from  Greenville,  it  has 
a  large  territory  from  which  to  draw  trade  and  has  prospered 
in  a  commercial  way.  A  disastrous  fire  razed  the  central  and 
business  section  of  the  village  on  July  6,  1901,  causing  a  loss 
estimated  at  some  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
with  insurance  approximating  two  hundred  and  twenty  thous- 
and  dollars.     The   fire    started   mvsteriouslv   in    Sheffel's   old 


DARKE    COUNTY  609 

idle  mill  on  the  west  end  of  Main  street  and  spread  eastward 
consuming  all  but  two  business  rooms  on  the  six  blocks  to  the 
east,  besides  two  blocks  of  buildings  on  the  south  side  of  ]\Iain 
street.  Fifty-one  business  houses  and  twenty-nine  dwellings — 
the  best  of  the  town — were  consumed.  The  enterprise  and  re- 
source of  its  citizens  was  soon  shown  in  rebuilding  in  a  much 
more  substantial  way  than  before,  making  it  one  of  the  best 
built  towns  in  the  county.  Today  it  has  two  large  overall 
factories  employing  about  forty  operatives  each ;  an  immense 
poultry  and  produce  establishment  operated  by  H.  B.  Hole, 
with  branch  establishments  at  Dayton,  Arcanum,  Greenville, 
Sidney,  Covington  and  St.  Paris ;  the  Charles  Masoner  tobacco 
warehouse  employing  about  forty  people ;  the  Geo.  H.  Worch 
lumber  plant  with  branch  establishments  at  Sidney,  Osborn, 
Springfield,  and  New  Carlisle;  the  J.  M.  Blue  Co.,  dealing  ex- 
tensively in  Canadian  lumber  and  shipping  ship  lumber  to 
Europe ;  besides  grain  elevators,  mills,  monumental  works, 
brick  and  tile  factories  and  extensive  mercantile  establish- 
ments. 

The  Christian  church  is  the  oldest  existing  in  the  village 
and  is  said  by  some  to  have  been  organized  as  early  as  1818. 
Among  the  charter  members  were  the  Whitmans,  Brandons, 
Hoels,  Baymans  and  Carsons.  The  present  church  building 
was  erected  in  1883,  at  a  cost  of  about  $6,000.  Recent  offi- 
cials in  this  church  were  :  Superintendent  of  Sunday  school, 
Ralph  Stamm  ;  president  Missionary  society,  Mrs.  Stella  ■Mar- 
tin;  deacons,  M.  A.  Finfrock,  W.  C.  Hile  and  James  Young; 
trustees,  H.  A.  Gilbert,  Ed  Reed,  E.  T.  Swineheart,  Charles 
Shade;  financial  secretary,  B.  B.  Campbell;  treasurer,  Marion 
Martin  ;  pastor.  Rev.  H.  F.  Smith.  The  present  enrollment  is 
about  380.  This  congregation  is  now  planning  to  erect  a  new 
church  structure  in  the  near  future. 

On  account  of  the  large  number  of  French  citizens  who  be- 
long to  the  Catholic  church,  a  brief  sketch  of  that  organization 
rightly  belongs  in  a  history  of  the  village.  As  before  noted  in 
the  sketch  of  the  Frenchtown  church,  the  first  place  of  Cath- 
olic worship  was  at  St.  Valbert's,  two  miles  north  of  Ver- 
sailles. To  this  church  came  the  French  pioneers  of  the  Rus- 
sia and  Frenchtown  settlements.  The  services  were  then  held 
in  the  French  language.  On  Easter  Sunday,  1849,  the  great 
Archbishop  Purcell  preached  in  the  English  tongue,  using  the 
stump  of  a  great  oak  for  a  pulpit.  When,  in  1846,  churches 
were  built  at  Frenchtown  and  Russia,  St.  Valbert's,  the  cradle 
(39) 


610  DARKE    COUNTY 

of  Catholicity  in  Darke  county,  lost  some  of  its  early  popu- 
larity, became  the  resting  place  of  the  earliest  settlers  of  the 
place.  Desirous  of  having  their  church  closer  to  their  homes, 
the  Catholic  families  of  Versailles,  in  1864,  bought  the  prop- 
erty of  the  old  Baptist  church  heretofore  mentioned,  standing 
at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Second  streets,  for  $350.  This  struc- 
ture was  refitted  and  enlarged  and  became  the  first  Catholic 
church  in  the  village  under  the  rectorship  of  Rev.  Brissard. 
Here  Rev.  Kreish  served  from  1864  to  1873 ;  Rev.  J.  B.  Kay- 
ser,  1873-1876 ;  T.  Richard  and  F.  J.  Roth,  1876-1878,  and  A. 
N.  Bourion  from  1878-1886.  Rev.  Leo  Boehmer  succeeded 
Rev.  Bourion  and  gave  a  new  impetus  to  religious  matters. 
Under  his  pastorate  the  present  beautiful  and  commodious 
church  building  was  dedicated  in  1888.  The  St.  Denis  Cath- 
olic school  was  also  erected  about  the  same  time  and  is  now 
conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  the  Precious  Blood.  The  follow- 
ing pastors  have  officiated  since  Rev.  Boehmer :  Revs.  Louis 
Hefele,  Jacobs,  Otto  Missler,  Joseph  Denning,  John  Cattes, 
James  Fogarty,  B.  Bechmeyer  and  the  present  pastor.  Rev. 
Henry  J.  Schuer,  who  has  successfully  guided  and  guarded  the 
destinies  of  St.  Denis  since  1906.  Although  organized  at  a 
later  date  than  the  Christians,  the  Methodists  now  have  a 
thriving  congregation  with  a  neat  and  substantial  brick  church 
building  on  the  corner  of  Wood  and  West  streets,  of  which 
Rev.  J.  O.  Moffit  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  Lutherans  have  two  churches  here :  Trinity  Evangeli- 
cal Lutheran  on  East  Wood  street  of  which  Rev.  Isaiah 
Whitman  is  the  present  pastor;  and  Emmanuel's  Evangelical 
Lutheran  church  on  East  Ward  street. 

Versailles  has  taken  an  active  part  in  political  matters  for 
several  years  and  has  furnished  several  county  officials  includ- 
ing Treasurer  John  Simons  and  Auditors  J.  C.  Klipstine  and 
Frank  Snyder.  James  R.  Marker,  the  present  state  highway 
commissioner,  and  formerly  county  engineer,  is  a  son  of 
Leonard  Marker  and  was  raised  in  this  village.  Several  ex- 
cellent family  physicians  have  practiced  here  and  the  town 
is  proud  of  the  name  and  fame  of  Dr.  John  E.  Fackler,  M.  D., 
who  practiced  in  Versailles  from  1870  imtil  prevented  by  the 
sickness  which  resulted  in  his  death,  January  7,  1898.  He  was 
at  one  time  a  member  of  the  Darke  County  Medical  Associa- 
tion, and  for  about  twenty  years,  of  the  Ohio  Medical  Society. 
He  was  a  painstaking  student,  a  clear  and  forceful  writer  on 
medical  topics,  and  a  progressive  but  careful  experimenter. 


DARKE    COUXTY  611 

At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  president  of  the  \'ersailles 
^Medical  Association.  Dr.  J.  S.  Neiderkorn,  Dr.  W.  C.  Guter- 
muth  and  Dr.  C.  F.  Ryan  have  practiced  several  years  in  this 
village  and  vicinity  and  are  well  and  favorably  known. 

An  idea  of  the  development  of  Wayne  township  may  be 
formed  from  the  tax  duplicate  of  1913  which  shows  over 
$2,000,000  of  real  estate  and  nearly  $700,000  of  chattels  in  the 
township  exclusive  of  Versailles,  while  this  village  is  listed 
with  $1,120,080  in  real  property  and  $533,870  in  personal  prop- 
erty. Versailles  has  a  water  works  and  electric  light  plant 
built  by  the  city  in  the  years  1900-1901,  at  an  original  cost  of 
$25,000,  and  is  planning  to  pave  j\Iain  street  and  portions  of 
intersecting  streets  this  year.  It  has  two  papers,  the  Policy 
and  the  Leader,  before  noted.  The  first  school  in  the  village 
was  built  in  1821.  The  present  school  house  is  a  substan- 
tial brick  structure  in  which  are  housed  eight  grades  and  a 
high  school.  It  was  built  in  1876  at  a  cost  of  some  $25,000.00. 
The  enrollment  in  the  spring  of  1914  was  321.  The  high 
school  was  established  in  1881  and  has  graduated  227  pupils 
to  date,  17  of  whom  were  in  the  class  of  1914.  Its  graduates 
are  admitted  to  standard  colleges  without  conditions  and  its 
teachers  are  all  college  graduates.  A  library  of  2,200  volumes 
is  maintained  by  the  school  and  the  laboratory  apparatus  is 
excellent.  T.  F.  Jolinson,  J.  E.  Yarnell,  T.  E.  Hook  and  Chas. 
E.  Doust  have  served  as  superintendent  in  recent  years. 

The  Masons,  K.  of  P.,  I.  O.  O.  F.  and  Woodmen,  each  have 
a  flourishing  lodge  in  the  village. 

The  following  are  the  present  city  officials:  IVIayor,  H.  B. 
Hole ;  clerk,  John  Meyers ;  treasurer,  Alfred  Simon ;  marshal, 
Oliver  Aliller ;  fire  chief,  Charles  Begin  ;  members  of  council : 
H.  A.  Frankman,  J.  F.  Gephart,  John  Voisard,  A.  J.  Reed,  Carl 
Earhart,  Caradon  Hole ;  Board  of  Education :  Dr.  John  Bal- 
linger,  C.  F.  Whitney,  L.  L.  Lehman,  Ed  Wood,  A.  F.  Prakel ; 
Board  of  Public  Affairs:  Nick  Alexanders,  Frank  Ash,  P.  J. 
Grilliot ;  superintendent  of  the  water  works,  Wm.  Marl.  Wes- 
ley Ault,  county  sealer  of  weights  and  measures,  is  also  a  resi- 
dent of  Versailles. 

In  Greenlawn  Cemetery  a  mausoleum  was  promoted  and 
built  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Collett  in  1913  and  dedicated  Sunday,  May 
24,  1914.  It  is  constructed  in  pure  Egyptian  design,  single 
corridor  plan  of  the  same  material  as  the  Greenville  mauso- 
leum. It  contains  120  cr3'pts,  and  is  said  to  be  the  finest  small 
mausoleum  in  the  central  states. 


612  DARKE    COUNTY 

The  population  of  ^'ersailles  in  1910  was  1,580,  and  is  now 
estimated  at  about  1,800. 

Adams  Township. 

This  township  was  organized  in  March,  1819.  It  originally 
contained  all  the  land  east  of  a  line  running  from  the  north- 
west corner  of  section  4,  township  10  north,  of  range  3  east, 
to  the  southwest  corner  of  section  28,  township  9,  of  range  3, 
and  was  taken  from  the  east  end  of  Greenville  township  and 
the  south  end  of  Wayne.  In  1820,  sections  3,  4,  9  and  10  of 
township  10,  range  3,  were  taken  into  Richland  township.  In 
June,  1838,  all  of  township  8,"  range  4,  and  township  9,  range 
3,  that  were  in  Adams,  was  taken  into  a  new  township  named 
Van  Buren,  leaving  it  with  about  thirty-five  square  miles  of 
territory.  Greenville  creek,  with  some  minor  branches,  drains 
almost  the  entire  southern  part  of  the  township.  The  main 
stream  runs  in  a  general  east  and  west  direction,  meandering 
through  the  two  tiers  of  sections.  The  Stillwater  drains  about 
four  sections  in  the  northeast  corner  and  Harris  creek  the  bal- 
ance of  the  northern  portion  of  the  township.  The  surface  is 
rolling,  especially  along  Greenville  creek  in  the  southwest 
portion.  Lime  rock  is  exposed  along  this  stream  near 
Cromer's  mill  and  Gettysburg  and  signs  of  considerable  gla- 
cial action  are  seen  in  the  knolls  and  boulders  which  abound 
in  this  region.  The  Pennsylvania  railway,  which  divides  into 
two  divisions  at  Bradford,  near  the  center  of  the  east  line, 
has  two  lines  across  this  township.  The  Logansport  division 
runs  north  of  west  in  a  straight  line  from  Bradford,  and  leaves 
the  township  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  15.  town- 
ship 10  north,  range  3  east.  The  Indianapolis  division  runs  in 
a  straight  line  from  Bradford  to  Gettysburg  and  then  turns 
almost  southwest  and  leaves  the  township  near  the  southwest 
corner. 

The  original  forest  contained  much  beech,  together  with 
ash,  maple  and  hickory. 

This  township  is  the  second  largest  in  the  county  and  was 
the  second  in  order  of  settlement.  It  is  in  the  center  of  the 
first  tier  of  townships  along  the  eastern  line  of  the  county. 
Abraham  Studabaker,  the  second  permanent  rural  settler  in 
Darke  county,  located  on  the  south  bank  of  Greenville  creek, 
opposite  Gettysburg,  in  section  25,  in  1808.  Here  he  erected  a 
block  house  and  remained  during  the  perilous  times  of  the  war 


DARKE    COUNTY  613 

of  1812,  as  elsewhere  related.  A  few  families  settled  about 
Greenville  and  the  nearest  of  these  was  six  miles  from  this 
lonely  settler.  David  Studabaker  was  born  here  in  1814,  being 
the  first  white  child  born  in  the  township.  In  1816,  the  family 
moved  about  two  miles  south  of  Greenville,  in  what  was  after- 
wards known  as  the  Studabaker  settlement.  A  directory  pub- 
lished in  1819  mentions  "Studabaker's  block  house,"  as  a 
promnent  point  on  the  Dayton  and  Greenville  pike,  nine  miles 
from  the  latter  village.  Major  George  Adams  settled  in  the 
neighborhood  of  the  present  site  of  Cromer's  (Baer's)  mill  just 
after  the  war  of  1812.  Here  he  erected  a  little  corn  cracker  of 
a  mill,  which  turned  out  a  small  amount  of  coarse  meal  under 
favorable  conditions.  A  little  grocery  and  whisky  store  was 
soon  established  and  "Adam's  Mill"  became  a  popular  resort. 
\\'hen  the  township  was  organized  in  1819,  it  took  the  name 
of  the  doughty  major.  As  the  population  increased,  the  set- 
tlers here,  and  in  the  neighboring  townships  took  their  grain 
to  the  mills  at  Greenville  Falls  and  Covington  to  be  ground. 

In  1816  Armstrong  Cairipbell  and  Mr.  Stewart  settled  in  the 
Studabaker  opening ;  the  former  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  30,  and  the  latter  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  section 
36.  A  settlement  was  made  at  and  near  the  present  site  of 
Xew  Harrison,  in  1816  and  1817,  by  William  Cunningham, 
Samuel  Robinson.  Barton  Fairchild,  Thomas  McCune,  Josiah 
Carr,  John  Myers,  Zadoc  Reagan,  Zachariah  March  and  Eben- 
ezer  Byram.  Isaac  Hollingsworth  and  Thomas  ^^'arren  were 
also  early  settlers.  In  1830,  John  Reck,  William  Reck,  Henry 
Weaver  and  Armstrong  Campbell  erected  the  first  school 
house  in  the  township  on  section  30,  on  the  present  site  of  the 
cemetery  near  Gettysburg.  Samuel  Horner  was  the  first 
teacher.  Previous  to  this  time  Jacob  Herscher  taught  a  sub 
scription  school.  There  are  now  twelve  school  houses  in  tht 
township,  besides  those  in  Gettysburg  and  Bradford. 

The  Lutherans  erected  the  first  church  about  1834,  on  the 
pike  south  of  Greenville  creek  in  section  36.  a  short  distance 
east  of  the  present  site  of  school  No.  8.  This  building  was 
afterwards  moved  to  Gettysburg  and  used  until  the  congrega- 
tion disbanded.  There  is  now  a  strong  German  Baptist 
church  in  the  southwest  corner  of  section  12,  known  as  Oak- 
land church  :  a  Dunkard  church  about  half  a  mile  north  of 
this  in  section  14:  besides  a  Methodist  church  at  Horatio,  a 
Presbyterian  and  M.  E.  church  at  Gettysburg  and  a  Presby- 
terian   church    at    Bradford.      Several    "amilies  nf  Yorkers  or 


614  DARKE    COUNTY 

Old  Order  Ri\er  Brethren  li\e  in  the  township,  between  Ho- 
ratio and  Bradford,  who  hold  religious  services  in  their  homes. 
We  have  referred  to  the  early  settlement  about  New  Har- 
rison. A  village  was  platted  here  in  1837,  by  Samuel  Robin- 
son. By  1845,  there  were  a  dozen  families  in  the  place,  a 
M.  E.  church,  two  taverns,  a  physician,  and  probably  a  store 
and  a  smithy.  At  that  time  the  forest  approached  on  all  sides 
and  to  the  northwest  there  was  an  unbroken  stretch  of  sev^en 
miles  in  which  there  was  not  a  single  house.  Deer  and  wild 
turkeys  were  often  seen  in  the  village.  This  place  of 
promise  was  soon  eclipsed  by  the  growth  of 

Gettysburg 

A  village,  which  was  established  about  a  mile  and  a  half  east- 
ward by  a  colony  of  emigrants  from  Adams  county,  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  came  mostly  between  the  years  1827  and  1831. 
The  new  town  was  not  platted,  however,  until  1842,  when  it 
was  named  for  Gettysburg,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  above  named 
county.  John  Hershey  was  the  proprietor  and  built  the  first 
structure  in  the  new  village,  which  was  used  for  a  tavern. 
James  Auld  was  the  first  store  keeper,  postmaster  and  justice 
of  the  peace.  A  blacksmith  shop,  a  saddler  shop  and  a  cabinet 
shop  were  established  at  an  early  date.  The  Presbyterians 
built  a  church  at  tlie  west  end  of  Corwin  street  as  early  as 
1847  or  1848  on  land  donated  by  Alexander  Horner,  who,  with 
William  Carr,  John  Meyer  and  Dr.  Darwin  were  active  factors 
in  its  erection.  The  organization  has  continued  to  this  day 
and  the  congregation  now  numbers  about  150  members,  in- 
cluding many  of  the  oldest  families  in  the  community.  Rev. 
Thomas  Elcock  was  the  first  pastor. 

The  Methodists  have  a  church  on  the  southeast  corner  of 
Corwin  and  Cla)^  streets  w^hich  was  moved  to  its  present  lo- 
cation from  the  east  line  of  section  31,  on  the  Troy  pike  in  the 
spring  of  1875.  It  has  been  remodeled  and  improved  and  still 
serves  this  prosperous  congregation.  Rev.  J.  O.  Moffitt  of 
Versailles  is  the  present  pastor. 

The  citizens  of  Gett3'-sburg  have  been  noted  for  a  zeal  for 
education.  The  first  school  house  was  a  brick  structure,  and 
was  erected  on  Corwin  street  about  1850.  A  second  brick 
school  house  was  erected  in  1866  at  a  cost  of  .some  $5,000. 
This  structure  served  until  about  1893,  when  it  was  replaced 
by  a  modern  three  roomed  brick  building  at  a  cost  of  some 


DARKE    COUNIA'  615 

$10,000.  A  fourth  room  and  an  auditorium  with  a  seating- 
capacity  of  some  five  hundred  was  added  later  at  a  probable 
cost  of  some  $5,000.  This  building  is  located  on  a  fine  lot  on 
the  north  side  of  East  Main  street.  A  high  school  was  estab- 
lished here  by  Prof.  B.  O.  Martin,  in  1896,  which  has  gradu- 
ated many  pupils  to  date.  Prof.  Keith  Cannon  is  the  principal 
of  the  school.  Pro;'.  J.  H.  Royer.  one  of  Darke  county's  best 
educators,  was  at  one  time  superintendent  of  this  school, 
which  has  included  among  its  students  men  now  prominent 
in  various  callings,  including  Prof.  Edward  Rynearson,  dis- 
trict superintendent,  Pittsburg,  Pa. ;  Aaron  AIoul,  expert  ac- 
countant ;  Harvey  Kendall,  Glen  Stoltz,  Prof.  Minor  McCool, 
principal  of  Greenville  high  school ;  Prof.  J.  L.  Selby,  former 
principal  of  Greenville  high  school.  Besides  these  important 
public  institutions,  Gett3"sburg  now  contains  a  bank,  hotel, 
postoffice,  grain  elevator,  lumber  yard,  station,  two  tobacco 
warehouses,  three  good  general  stores,  a  furniture  store,  a 
grocery,  a  drug  store,  etc.  The  main  streets  have  recently 
been  greatly  improved  by  grading,  curbing  and  laying  ce- 
ment walks  and  the  village  is  lighted  by  electricity.  As  in 
most  towns  of  this  size,  the  fraternal  spirit  is  strong  as  shown 
by  the  number  of  lodges.  F.  and  A.  M.  Lodge  No.  477  was 
chartered  October  21,  1874,  with  ten  members.  It  now  has 
about  sixt3'-five  members.  There  is  also  an  I.  O.  O.  F.,  a  K. 
of  P.  and  a  Jr.  O.  W.  A.  M.,  the  latter  of  which  was  chartered 
March  4,  1903,  with  eleven  members. 

Wayne  Fair  is  the  mayor  and  John  Kneisley,  village  clerk. 
Samuel  Hershey  is  township  clerk.  The  real  estate  in  Gettys- 
burg was  appraised  in  1913  at  $260,730.  The  population  in 
1910  was  320. 

Bradford. 

This  flourishing  village  was  platted  in  1865,  along  the  east 
line  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  21,  township  9  north, 
range  4  east.  The  original  plat  was  along  the  east  line,  but 
entirely  within  Darke  county.  Being  at  the  meeting  point  of 
two  recently  established  railways,  it  grew  from  the  beginning 
and  in  1870,  had  243  inhabitants.  Additions  were  soon  made 
on  both  sides  of  the  line  and  in  1890,  it  had  a  total  population 
o:  1,338,  of  whom  477  were  in  Darke  county.  This  growth 
was  largely  due  to  the  development  of  the  Pennsylvania  rail- 
way system,  and  the  fact  that  this  was  an  important  division 
point.     Many  railway  employees  and  mail  clerks  made  their 


616  DARKE    COUNTY 

home  here  for  convenience  and  the  railway  company  estab- 
lished a  large  round  house  and  switch  yard  on  the  Miami 
county  side.    The  village  was  incorporated  August  24,  1871. 

A  large,  three  story,  brick  school  house  was  erected  on  the 
west  side  as  early  as  1876,  at  a  cost  of  some  $28,000.  This 
building  had  two  towers  and  an  auditorium  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  about  600,  showing  the  growth  and  enterprise  of 
the  village  at  that  time.  This  building  was  torn  down  and 
replaced  in  1908  by  a  modern  eight-room  brick  structure  with 
an  auditorium  at  a  total  cost  with  furnishings  of  probably 
S30,000.  The  town  has  continued  to  grow,  and  on  account  of 
its  strategic  location  has  a  promising  future.  It  now  has  a 
city  hall,  school,  hotel,  two  banks,  and  a  Presbyterian  church 
on  the  Darke  county  side ;  a  fine  large  Railway  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  building,  an  M.  E.  church,  a  Brethren 
mission,  a  hotel,  station,  elevator,  lumber  yard,  stock3-ard  and 
round  house  on  the  Miami  coimty  side.  It  has  the  follow^ing 
lodges:  Bradford  Lodge  No.  560,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  instituted  in 
1872 ;  Bradford  Lodge  No.  593,  F.  and  A.  M.,  chartered  Octo- 
l)er  19,  1905.  with  26  members — present  membership  about 
80;  Christian  Chapter  No.  241,  Eastern  Stars,  instituted  July 
14,  1905;  Brotherhood  of  Railway  Trainmen,  No.  826.  The 
population  in  1910  was  1,844,  of  whom  669  were  in  Darke 
county. 

Horatio. 

Horatio  is  a  small  village  in  the  northeastern  quarter  of 
section  15,  township  10,  range  3  east,  on  the  northern  division 
of  the  Pennsylvania  railway.  It  has  not  made  much  growth 
since  its  establishment — probably  on  account  of  its  proximity 
to  Stelvideo.  It  now  has  a  ppstoffice,  store  and  an  M.  E. 
church. 

The  propert)'  and  improvements  in  Adams  township  are 
indicated  by  the  tax  assesment  in  1913,  which  was  $3,146,550 
on  real  estate,  and  $2,032,420  on  personal  property.  The  total 
population  of  the  township  was  placed  in  1910  at  2,835. 

Franklin  Township. 

This  township  was  formed  in  June,  1839,  by  taking  all  of 
township  8  north,  range  4  east,  that  is,  within  the  limits  of 
Darke  county,  and  adding  one  tier  of  sections  from  the  eastern 
side  of  township  9  north,  range  3  east,  from  Van  Buren  town- 
ship, giving  the  new  t(  wnship  24  sections  in  all. 


DARKE    COUNTY  617 

The  surface  is  a  level  plain  broken  here  and  there  by  gravel 
cairns,  and  the  soil  is  deep  and  rich,  having  been  formed 
largely  from  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the  immense  swamps  that 
originally  covered  large  portions  of  the  land.  Painter  (or 
Panther)  Creek  enters  the  southwestern  corner  of  the  town- 
ship, trends  northeastward  and  crosses  the  eastern  county  line 
in  the  southeastern  corner  of  section  9,  draining  probably 
over  half  of  the  entire  area.  The  northern  part  is  drained  by 
a  branch  of  Greenville  creek,  and  the  southeastern  portions 
by  minor  tributaries  of  the  Stillwater. 

Irwin  C.  Mote,  esquire,  deceased,  wrote  thus  of  pioneer 
days  in  this  township :  "In  the  early  forties  we  lived  on  the 
highway  between  Franklin  township,  and  the  Stillwater  mills. 
\\'e  lived  there  where  Laura  is  now,  and  all  the  travel  between 
that  township  and  the  Stillwater  mills  had  to  go  by  our  place 
of  residence.  Many  times  there  would  pass  our  house  a  team 
of  one  horse  and  a  cow  hitched  up  to  the  fore  part  of  a  wagon. 
Some  times  there  would  pass  two  or  three  on  horseback  or 
cowback,  going  to  the  mill,  and  at  other  times  a  lone  man  or 
boy  would  pass  riding  a  cow  with  a  sack  of  corn  thrown 
across  its  back,  destined   for  the   Stillwater  mills."     *     *     * 

"At  the  time  that  I  write  about,  Franklin  township  was  a 
wilderness,  and  it  was  nearly  one-half  covered  with  water  the 
year  round,  and  was  full  of  nearly  all  kinds  of  game,  such  as 
squirrels,  turkeys  and  deer.  There  were  also  different  kinds 
of  vicious  animals  in  the  wilds  of  that  township,  namely 
wolves,  bear,  catamounts,  etc.  *  *  *  That  part  of  Darke 
county  is  the  garden  spot  of  the  world,  but  it  took  work  and 
labor  to  make  it." 

Among  the  earlv  settlers  were  Samuel  Hall,  who  located 
in  section  18,  and  John  Haworth,  who  located  in  section  33 
about  1824  or  1825.  Eli  Inman  settled  in  section  8  in  1826, 
and  Daniel  Oakes  settled  in  section  19  about  1828.  Later 
settlers  were  Martin  Brandt,  Henry  Finfrock,  Theophilus  T. 
Penn)',  Wlliam  Hess  and  Christian  Newcomer. 

The  following  excerpt  from  the  writings  of  Mr.  Henry 
Layer,  whose  biography  appears  in  Volume  II  of  this  work, 
contains  many  interesting  items  of  early  history  and  throws 
some  strong  side  lights  on  early  social  life.  This  article  was 
written  about  1908: 

"John  Hess,  who  formerly  lived  near  the  village  of  Painter 
Creek,  but  who  is  now  deceased  and  buried  in  the  Newcomer 
cemetery,  helped  to  build  the  first  school  house  in  this  town- 


618  DARKE    COUNTY 

ship.  It  was  a  log  structure  put  up  near  the  west  bank  of 
the  stream  of  Painter  Creek  on  land  at  present  owned  by 
Jonas  Rhoades  and  in  process  of  time  this  was  lathed  and 
plastered  and  was  made  a  comfortable  house  for  those  times 
and  it  was  in  this  log  structure  that  the  writer  of  this  sketch 
received  his  first  instructions  in  the  rudiments  of  education. 
To  the  best  of  my  recollection,  David  Olwine  was  the  first 
teacher  who  taught  in  this  building,  and  I  think  he  taught 
about  three  winters  in  the  same  place,  the  schools  at  that 
time  being  supported  mainly  by  subscription,  that  is  money 
donated  by  the  patrons  of  the  school  district.  Those  teachers 
wlio  succeeded  David  Ohvine  in  this  newly  organized  dis- 
trict were  George  H.  Alartz,  Benjamin  Hathaway,  B.  JM. 
Richardson,  Joseph  -\Iote,  Moses  Bonebrake,  Joseph  Drew, 
Amos  North  and  R.  T.  Hale,  who  came  from  Indiana  and 
was  a  very  efficient  teacher.  In  due  time  there  was  another 
log  school  house  built  on  land  now  owned  by  Edward  Eck  in 
section  32,  and  also  another  on  land  now  owned  by  Van 
Rench  in  section  20,  and  in  process  of  time  there  was  another 
log  structure  erected  as  a  school  house  in  what  is  now  Red 
River.  The  first  house  built  in  this  township  for  religious 
meetings  was  erected  on  land  now  owned  by  Samuel  Beane  in 
section  30.  This  was  used  for  religious  meetings  as  well  as 
for  singing  schools.  John  Hess,  deceased,  and  Lewis  Hess, 
who  now  lives  in  Yorkshire,  Patterson  township,  being  the 
teachers  who  taught  the  rudiments  of  music  in  the  book 
known  as  the  Missouri  Harmony,  and  a  great  many  of  the 
musical  pieces  used  in  the  book  then  in  use  are  still  set  forth 
in  our  present  system  of  song  books.  The  second  house  built 
in  this  township  to  be  used  for  a  meeting  house  was  built  by 
the  Newlights  or  Christian  church  on  land  now  owned  by 
the  John  Spidel  heirs  in  section  29.  This  house  later  on  was 
known  by  the  name  of  "Buckneck,"  from  an  incident  which 
occurred  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  house,  wherein  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Ogan  killed  a  male  deer  and  gave  the 
neck  of  it  to  his  near  neighbor  out  of  generosity.  However, 
these  log  structures  for  schools  as  well  as  ^eligious  uses  have 
all  been  superseded  by  twelve  good  and  substantial  buildings 
for  school  purposes  and  four  large  frame  structures  for  devo- 
tional services  as  well  as  for  Sunday  school. 

"The  first  justice  of  the  peace  in  this  township  of  whom  I 
have  any  recollection  was  John  Haworth  and  I  think  he  was 
succeeded  by  Daniel  Young,  who  was  succeeded  b}-  Ezekiel 


DARKE    COUXTY  619 

Mote  and  then  William  Hess  was  elected,  who  held  the  office 
to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1868,  others  who  held  the  office  at 
different  intervals  whom  we  might  name,  but  time  and  space 
will  not  allow  it. 

"The  first  Sunday  school  organized  in  this  township  was 
in  the  log  meeting  house  built  In-  the  Newlights,  of  which  I 
have  made  mention.  When  1  was  about  twelve  years  old  1 
attended  Sunday  school  for  the  first  time  at  that  place,  it  be- 
ing about  two  miles  from  where  my  parents  lived,  and  I  went 
by  myself.  The  superintendent  being  John  W^ilson,  who 
knew  me,  gave  me  a  book  the  title  of  which  was  "The  Story 
of  Jane  C.  Judson,"  and  he  told  me  to  take  it  along  home 
with  me  and  read  it  through  carefully  and  bring  it  back  the 
next  Sunday  then  he  would  give  me  another,  which  I  did, 
and  in  this  way  I  continued  on  and  in  process  of  time  the 
superintendent  w^ould  occasionally  give  me  one  of  the  prim- 
ary classes  to  teach,  w^hich  greatly  encouraged  me  in  the 
work.  At  present  there  are  duly  organized  Sunday  schools 
in  each  of  the  four  meeting  houses  in  this  township. 

"My  parents  settled  in  this  township  when  I  was  about 
three  years  old,  having  moved  from  Schuylkill  county,  Penn- 
sylvania, with  another  family,  an  uncle  of  mine,  who  located 
in  Clay  county,  Indiana.  Both  families  moved  in  wagons  a 
distance  of  about  six  hundred  miles,  coming  through  Harris- 
burg  and  crossing  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Allegheny  mountains, 
passing  through  Columbus,  which  at  that  time  was  a  small 
place  comparatively  speaking. 

"The  population  of  Franklin  township  in  1840,  was  291, 
and  in  1880  it  was  1,871.  Thus  we  see  that  the  township  was 
verv  sparsely  populated  and  people  neighbored  with  each 
other  who  lived  from  two  to  three  miles  apart,  it  being  no 
uncommon  thing  for  people  to  go  three  miles  to  a  log  rolling 
or  house  raising,  or  barn  raising  and  even  not  excepting  corn 
huskings,  those  gatherings  being  common  in  the  early  set- 
tlements of  this  township  as  well  as  others. 

"The  first  settlers  in  this  township  in  selecting  a  site  for 
their  buildings  always  chose  the  highest  place  on  their  land 
without  taking  into  consideration  their  outlet  to  any  public 
road,  of  which  there  were  very  few.  The  first  public  road  of 
which  I  have  any  recc^Iection  was  what  is  now  known  as 
the  Milton  pike.  People  who  first  settled  here  made  their 
own  outlets,  cutting  roads  diagonally  through  the  woods  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  best  meet  their  own  conveniences  with- 


620  DARKE    COUNTY 

out  paj-ing  any  particular  attention  to  section  or  half  section 
or  quarter  section  lines." 

The  sketch  of  the  "Church  of  the  Brethren"  in  chapter  ten 
contains  some  interesting  history  of  that  church  in  this  town- 
ship. Besides  these  churches  there  is  a  Union  Christian  and 
Mennonite  church  at  "The  Beech,"  in  the  northwest  corner 
of  section  7,  and  a  Christian  church  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Milton  pike  in  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  29. 

The  educational  spirit  of  the  citizens  of  Franklin  township 
is  shown  by  the  impressive  fact  that  it  contains  the  only 
township  high  school  thus  far  established  in  Darke  county. 
This  high  school  was  organized  in  1905,  and  the  first  class, 
containing  twelve  members,  was  graduated  in  1908.  Minor 
IMcCool,  now  principal  of  the  Greenville  High  school,  was  the 
superintendent,  and  J-  D.  Crowell  the  principal  of  the  school 
at  that  time.  A  substantial  modern  school  building  contain- 
ing five  rooms  and  a  basement,  44  by  60  feet  in  size,  was 
erected  n  1907  at  a  cost  of  $7,500.  This  building  is  heated 
by  steam  and  lighted  by  a  gasoline  light  plant.  A  stable  and 
shed  capable  of  sheltering  twenty  horses  and  twenty-two 
buggies  was  erected  in  1913.  A  report  issued  in  the  fall  of 
1913,  shows  49  graduates,  30  teachers  instructed,  42  pupils  in 
the  high  school,  14  pupils  from  other  townships  attending  the 
school.  A  splendid  physical  laboratory  and  a  library  of  some 
300  volumes  are  notable  features  of  this  school.  The  school 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition  and  has  a  splendid  outlook.  The 
following  persons  have  served  as  teachers  since  the  establish- 
ment of  the  school :  Supt.  Minor  McCool,  B.  S. :  Prin.  J.  D. 
Crowell.  B.  S. ;  Margaret  Bridge,  A.  B. ;  Supt.  Chas.  A.  AVilt, 
B.  S. :  Prin.  Mabel  McCurdy.  A.  B. :  Prin.  Alice  Flory.  A.  B. : 
Prin.  Ruth  Dull,  A.  B.  The  members  of  the  board  in  1913 
were:  H.  H.  Bireley,  J-  L.  Swinger,  David  I.andis,  Benj. 
Landis,  David  Fourman  and  Josiah  Eikenberr}'. 

The  only  village  in  Franklin  township  is  Painter  Creek  lo- 
cated on  the  Milton  pike  in  sections  19  and  30.  It  was 
platted  in  1870,  and  now  contains  a  town  hall,  public  school 
and  tile  factor^^  There  are  good  roads  on  nearly  every  sec- 
tion line,  besides  the  Greenville  and  We.st  Milton  pike,  which 
crosses  the  western  line  near  the  center  of  section  13,  and 
leaves  the  county  near  the  southeastern  corner  of  the  town- 
ship. Besides  the  staple  grains  of  this  region,  a  large  amount 
of  tobacco  is  raised  and  the  land  is  accounted  among  the  best 
in  the  cnuntv. 


DARKE    COUNTY  621 

The  population  in  1910  was  1,469,  while  in  1890  it  was  1,731 
indicating  that  this  township,  like  most  purely  rural  sections 
of  our  countr}-,  suffered  a  decrease  during  this  period  on  ac- 
count of  the  rush  for  the  towns  and  cities.  This  condition, 
no  doubt,  is  temporary  as  the  fertility  of  the  land  and  vast 
improvements  will  eventually  attract  a  dense  population. 
The  tax  duplicate  for  1913  showed  real  estate  to  the  value  of 
$1,798,730,  and  chattels  amounting  to  $467,520. 

Monroe  Township. 

This  township  occupies  the  southeast  corner  of  the  county, 
and  was  erected  in  June,  1836,  by  detaching  from  the  east  side 
of  Twin  township  all  of  township  7  north,  range  4  east,  that 
is  in  Darke  county,  together  with  the  eastern  tier  of  sections 
of  township  8  north,  range  3  east,  making  it  six  miles  north 
and  south  and  four  miles  east  and  west. 

Ludlow  creek,  which  rises  in  the  northwestern  portion  and 
trends  southeastward,  drains  about  three-fourths  of  its  area. 
The  surface  is  quite  level,  and  in  early  days  the  network  of 
small  branches  forming  the  headwaters  of  Ludlow  creek 
spread  out  into  swamps  and  quagmires,  covering  a  large  part 
of  the  township.  The  drainage  of  these  low  wet  areas  re- 
vealed a  rich,  deep  vegetable  loam,  which  has  made  Monroe 
one  of  the  most  fertile  tracts  in  tlie  entire  county. 

Asa  Jones  and  Henry  Addington  settled  in  the  northern 
part  in  section  8,  about  1819,  being  the  first  to  penetrate  and 
open  up  this  howling  swamp  ash  wilderness.  John  Mote  and 
family  followed  in  about  a  year.  Thomas  Jones  settled  in  the 
northern  part  and  George  Gable  in  the  southern  part  in  1823. 
On  account  of  the  gloomy  and  forbidding  condition  of  the 
country,  however,  settlement  was  retarded,  but  others  soon 
cast  their  lot  with  the  pioneers,  .\mong  these  were  William 
and  John  Richardson,  in  the  northern  part,  Samuel  Cams  and 
Peter  Shank  in  the  southern  part,  and  Joseph  Brown.  Peter, 
Abraham  and  John  Snorph  in  the  southwestern  part. 

The  first  school  district  was  laid  out  in  1836.  It  was  three 
miles  long,  east  and  west,  and  one  mile  wide.  A  school  house 
was  started  in  this  district,  but  much  dissatisfaction  arose  on 
account  of  the  shape  and  size  of  the  district  which  resulted  in 
the  forming  of  new  districts  two  miles  square.  The  partly 
finished  school  building  was  transferred  to  section  28,  and 
completed  in  1837. 


622  DARKE    COUNTY 

Asa  Jones,  the  first  settler,  also  became  the  first  teacher. 
On  account  of  the  sparse  settlements  and  the  swampy  condi- 
tion much  difficulty  and  danger  was  encountered  by  the  chil- 
dren, who  followed  the  long  blazed  paths  to  school.  Difficul- 
ties encountered,  however,  developed  strong  and  stalwart 
characters,  and  the  little  log  school  with  its  puncheon  floor 
and  seats,  its  big  fire  place,  rude  furnishings  and  primitive  text 
books,  sent  out  many,  many  a  citizen  of  ability  and  integrity. 

The  first  election  in  the  township  is  said  to  have  been  held 
in  the  fall  of  1836,  at  which  time  John  Oakes  cast  the  first 
ballot  and  Ezekiel  Mote  the  second. 

Several  families  of  German  Baptists  settled  in  the  town- 
ship at  an  early  day,  and  Philip  Younce  was  one  of  their  early 
preachers.  For  a  fuller  account  of  the  establishment  and 
growth  of  this  denomination  in  the  township  and  county  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  article  on  this  church  in  chapter  ten. 
Today  the  members  of  this  church  own  much  of  the  land  in 
the  township  and  have  made  of  it  a  thrifty  and  substantial 
community.  There  is  a  German  Baptist  church  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  section  6  and  one  in  the  southwest  quarter  of 
section  1,  besides  a  Lutheran  church  in  section  19  and  a  M.  E. 
church  in  Pitsburg. 

The  township  is  well  drained,  and  has  pikes  on  most  of  the 
section  lines,  besides  the  old  state  road  which  crosses  the 
western  line  near  the  northwest  corner  of  section  12,  and 
runs  in  a  straight  line  southeasterly  crossing  the  east  line 
near  the  center  of  the  eastern  boundary  of  section  33.  and 
continuing  on  through  Salem  and  Phillipsburg  to  Dayton. 

Pitsburg. 

The  only  village  in  the  township  is  Pitsburg,  which  is 
built  on  both  sides  of  the  line  dividing  sections  7  and  12.  Its 
early  history,  prior  to  the  building  of  the  Peoria  and  Eastern 
(formerly  I.  B.  &  W.)  railway,  was  one  of  struggle  against 
adverse  conditions,  and  as  late  as  1880,  the  historian  wrote  of 
it:  "There  is  no  village  or  city  within  the  boundaries  of  this 
township,  but  a  place  that  bears  the  name  of  Pittsburg,  of 
which  perhaps  in  a  day  away  back  in  the  past,  some  had  an 
idle  dream  of  future  greatness.  But,  alas,  the  ravages  of 
time,  the  destroyer  of  all  things,  have  lain  in  the  dust  the 
ambitions  of  its  founders,  and  Pittsburg  lives  only  in  name  in 
story." 


DARKE    COUNTY  623 

Could  the  writer  of  these  lines  have  postponed  his  verdict 
until  today  he  would  have  had  quite  a  different  tale  to  tell 
for  the  Pitsburg  of  today  is  probably  the  best  built  and  most 
prosperous  village  of  its  size  in  Darke  county.  The  last  few 
years  have  wrought  a  great  transformation  in  its  appearance 
for  it  now  contains  a  public  school,  an  M.  E.  church,  a  bank, 
hotel,  fire  department,  elevators,  lumber  yards,  besides  ware- 
houses, good  stores  and  public  conveniences  and  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  a  hundred  buildings  in  all.  It  is  an  especially  good 
shipping  point  for  the  grain  and  immense  crops  of  tobacco 
raised  in  the  surrounding  country,  and  does  a  large  mercan- 
tile business  with  the  prosperous  farmers  of  this  section. 

For  several  years  this  village  was  known  as  Arnettsville 
but  the  name  was  changed  in  1909. 

The  census  of  1910  gave  the  village  a  population  of  240,  and 
the  township  1,539,  it  being  one  of  the  few  townships  which 
showed  an  actual  increase  over  the  census  of  1900. 

The  real  property  of  Pittsburg  was  assessed  at  $167,090 
and  the  chattels  at  $166,020,  while  the  entire  township  showed 
valuations  of  $1,880,700,  and  $746,290,  respectively  in  1913. 


S930