Athens County
Page 282
ATHENS COUNTY was formed from Washington March 1,
1805.The surface is broken and hilly,
with intervals of rich bottom lands. The hills have a fertile soil and
a heavy
growth of trees. The Hocking canal commences at Carroll on the Ohio
canal in
Fairfield county, and follows the river
valley to
Athens, a distance of fifty-six miles. In the county are extensive
deposits of
iron ore suitable for smelting; excellent salt to the extent of 50,000
barrels
were annually produced between the years 1848 and 1868. Its greatest
mineral
wealth is in its coal; in 1886 there were in operation forty-one mines,
employing 1,804 miners and producing 899,046 tons of coal, being next
to Perry
the largest coal-producing county in the State. Its area is 430 square
miles.
In 1885 the acres cultivated were 46,685; in pasture, 128,269;
woodland,
57,906; lying waste, 4,256; produced in wheat, 24,695 bushels; corn,
638,984; tobacco,
56,108 pounds; peaches, 2,077 bushels; wool, 580,983 pounds; sheep,
108,454. School census 1886, 10,108; teachers, 215.
It has 102 miles
of railroad.
And Census |
1840 |
1880 |
|
Township And census |
1840 |
1880 |
Alexander, |
1,450 |
1,423 |
|
Lee, |
848 |
1,086 |
Ames, |
1,431 |
1,392 |
|
Lodi, |
754 |
1,550 |
Athens, |
1,593 |
4,517 |
|
Rome, |
866 |
2,207 |
Bern, |
381 |
1,073 |
|
Trimble, |
762 |
1,367 |
Canaan, |
800 |
1,499 |
|
Troy, |
1,056 |
1,858 |
Carthage, |
737 |
1,308 |
|
Waterloo, |
741 |
1,957 |
Dover, |
1,297 |
1,736 |
|
York, |
1,601 |
5,438 |
Population in 1820 was 6,342; in 1840,
19,108;
1860, 21,356; 1880, 28,411, of whom 23,787 were Ohio born.
In Evans' map of the middle British
colonies,
published in 1755, there is placed on the left bank of the Hocking,
somewhere
in this region, a town, station or fort, named “French Margaret.” In the county above
(Hocking) have been found the
remains of an old press, for packing furs and peltries, which attest
that
French cupidity and enterprise had introduced an extensive trade among
the
Indians.
Lord DUNMORE, in his famous expedition
against the
Indian towns upon the Scioto, in the autumn of 1774 just prior to the
commencement of the revolu-
Page 283
tionary war, descended the Ohio, and landed at
the mouth
of the Great Hockhocking, in this county.
He was
there during the bloody battle at Point Pleasant—on an air line
twenty-eight
miles distant—between General LEWIS and the Indians. At this place he
established a depot and erected some defences,
called
Fort Gower, in honor of Earl GOWER. From that point he marched up the
valley of
the river, encamping, tradition says, a night successively at Federal
creel,
Sunday creek, and at the falls of the Hocking. From the last he
proceeded to
the Scioto, where the detachment under General LEWIS joined him, and
the war
was brought to a close by a treaty or truce with the hostile tribes.
DUMORE, on
his return, stopped at Fort Gower, where the officers passed a series
of
resolutions, for which, see Pickaway county,
with
other details of this expedition.
Colonel Robert PATERSON, one of the
original
proprietors of Cincinnati, with a party of Kentuckians, was attacked,
near the
mouth of the Hocking, by the Indians, two years after the erection of
Fort
Gower. The circumstances are given under the head of Montgomery county.
The early settlement of this county
began just
after Wayne's treaty; its inception had its origin in one of the most noble motives that can influence humanity,
viz.: the
desire for the promotion of learning. We extract from” Walker's History
of
Athens County.”
During the year 1796 nearly 1,000 flat
boats or
“broad horns,” as they were then called, passed Marietta laden with
emigrants
on their way to the more attractive regions of Southwestern Ohio. In
the early
part of 1797 a considerable number of newly arrived emigrants were
assembled in
Marietta, eager to obtain lands on the best terms they could and form
settlements. The two townships of land appropriated by the Ohio Company
for the
benefit of a university had been selected in December, 1795. They were
townships Nos. 8 and 9 in the fourteenth range, constituting at present
Athens
and Alexander townships. The township lines were run in 1795, and the
sectional
surveys made in 1796, under the supervision of General PUTNAM, the
company's
surveyor, who from the first took an ardent interest in the selection
of these
lands and the founding of the university. His policy (in which he was
seconded
by the other agents) was to encourage the early settlement of the
college
lauds, make them attractive and productive, and so begin the formation
of a
fund for the institution.
Encouraged by Gen.
PUTNAM, who
wished to introduce permanent settlers as soon as possible, a number of
the
emigrants who had stopped at Marietta decided to locate on the college
lands. Among these
were Alvan
BINGHAM Silas BINGHAM, Isaac BARKER, William HARPER, John WILKINS,
Robert
LINZEE, Edmund, WILLIAM and Barak DORR,
John CHANDLER
and Jonathan WATKINS. They made their way down the Ohio and up the Hockhocking in large canoes early in the year
1797. Having
ascended as far as the attractive bluff where the town of Athens now
stands,
they landed and sought their various locations. A few of them fixed on
the site
of the present town, but most of them scattered up and down the
adjacent
bottoms.
The pioneers soon opened up several
clearings about
Athens, and a little corn for corn-bread was put in the first spring.
The
clearings, however, were irregular and scattered, and no effort was
made as yet
to lay out a town. Early in 1795 a number of emigrants arrived; among
them were
Solomon TUTTLE, Christopher STEVENS, John and Moses HEWIT, Cornelius
MOORE,
Joseph SNOWDEN, John SIMONTON, Robert ROSS, the BROOKS, and the
HANINGS. Some
of these had families. Some settled in Athens and some in Alexander township. Mrs. Margaret SNOWDEN, wife of Joseph
SNOWDEN, was
honored by having “Margaret's creek” named after her, she being the
first white
woman who reached this central point in the county.
The annexed vivid sketch of the
captivity and
escape of Moses HEWIT (one of the early settlers above named) from the
Indians,
is from the history of the Bellville settlement, written by Dr. S. P.
HILDRETH,
and published in the Hesperian, edited by William D. GALLAGHER.
Page
284
CAPTIVITY AND ESCAPE OF MOSES HEWIT.—Moses HEWIT was born in
Worcester, Mass., in the year 1767 and
came to the Ohio in 1790; at the breaking out of the Indian war he
resided on
the island now known as “Blennerhasset,” in
a
block-house, where he married. After his marriage, as the Indians
became
dangerous, he joined the company of settlers at “Neil's station.” At
this
period, all the settlements on both banks of the Ohio were broken up,
and the
inhabitants retired to their garrisons for mutual defence.
Hewit's
Physical Prowess.—Mr.
HEWIT was, at this time, y m the prime of life and manhood; possessed
of a
vigorous frame, nearly six feet high, with limbs of the finest mould,
not
surpassed by the Belvidere Apollo, for
manly beauty.
The hands and feet were small in proportion to the muscles of the arms
and
legs. Of their strength some estimate may be formed, when it is stated
that he
could, with a single hand, lift with case a large blacksmith's anvil by
grasping the tapering horn which projects from its side. To this great
muscular
strength was added a quickness of motion which gave to the
dash of his
fist the rapidity of thought as it was driven into the face or breast
of his
adversary. The eye was coal black, small and sunken, but when excited
or
enraged, flashed fire like that of the tiger. The face and head were
well
developed, with such powerful masseter and
temporal
muscles that, the fingers of the strongest man, when once confined
between his
teeth, could no more be withdrawn than from the jaws of
a vice.
With such physical powers, united to an unrefined and rather irritable
mind, who shall wonder at his propensity
for, and delight in,
personal combat: especially when placed in the midst of rude and
unlettered
companions, where courage and bodily strength were hold in unlimited
estimation. Accordingly we find him engaged in numberless personal
contests, in
which lie almost universally en came off victorious.
Taken
Captive—Some time in the month of
May, 1792, while living at Neil's
station, on the little Kenawha, Mr. HEWIT
ruse early
in the morning and went out about a mile from the garrison in search of
u stray
horse. He was sauntering along at his ease, in an obscure cattle path,
when all
at once three Indians sprang fruit behind two large trees. So sudden
was the
onset that resistance was vain. He therefore quietly surrendered,
thinking that in a few days be should find some way of escape. For
himself, he felt but little uneasiness; his
great concern was for his wife and child, from whom, with the yearnings
of a
father's heart, he was thus forcibly separated, and whom he might never
see
again.
In their progress to
the towns on
the Sandusky plains, the Indians treated him with as little harshness
as could
be expected. He was always confined at night by fastening his wrists
and ankles
to saplings, as he lay extended upon his back upon the ground, with an
Indian
on each side. By day his limbs were free, but always marching with one
Indian
before, and two behind him. As they approached be prairies frequent
halts were
made to search for honey, the wild bee being found in every hollow
tree, and
often in the ground beneath decayed roots, in astonishing numbers. This
afforded them many luscious repasts, of which the prisoner was allowed
to
partake. The naturalization of the honey bee to the forests of North
America,
since its colonization by the whites, is, in fact, the only real
addition to
its comforts that the red man has ever received from the destroyer of
his race;
and this industrious insect, so fond of the
society of man, seems also destined to destruction by the bee-moth,
and
like the buffalo and the deer, will soon vanish from the woods and
prairies of
the West.
Escape
and Pursuit.—While
the Indians were occupied in these searches, HEWIT closely watched an
opportunity for escape, but his captors were equally vigilant. As they
receded
from the danger of pursuit, they became less hurried in their march,
and often
stopped to hunt and amuse themselves. The level prairie afforded fine
ground
for one of their favorite sports, the foot-race. In this HEWIT was
invited to
join and soon found that he could easily outrun two of them, but the
other was
more than his match, which discouraged him from trying to escape, until
a more
favorable opportunity. They treated him familiarly, and were much
pleased with
his lively, cheerful manners. After they had reached within one or two
days
march of their Village they made a halt to hunt and left their prisoner
at
their camp, although they had usually taken him with them, as he
complained of
being sick. To make all safe, they placed him on his back, confining
his wrists
with stout thongs of raw-hides to confining saplings, and his legs raised at a considerable elevation, to a small
tree. After
they had been gone a short time, he began to put in operation
the plan he had been
meditating for escape, trusting that the thickness of his wrists, in
comparison
with the smallness of his hands, would enable him to withdraw them. from tire ligatures. After long and violent
exertions, he
succeeded in liberating his hands, but not without severely lacerating
the skin
and covering them with blood. His legs were next freed by untying them,
but not
without a great effort, from their elevation.
Once fairly at
liberty, the first
object was to secure some food for the long journey which was before
him. But
as the Indians' larder is seldom well stocked, with all
his
search he could only find two small pieces of jerked venison, not more
than
sufficient for a single meal. With this light, stock of provision, his
body
nearly naked, and without even a knife or a tomahawk, to assist in
procuring
more, be started for the settlements on the Muskingum, as the nearest
point
where he could meet with friends. It seems that the Indians returned to
the
camp soon after his escape, for that night while cautiously traversing
a wood
he heard the cracking of a breaking twig not far from him. Dropping
silently on
to the ground where he stood, he beheld his
Page
285
three enemies in pursuit. To say that he was not
agitated
would not be true; his senses were wide awake and his heart beat quick, but it was a heart that never knew fear.
It so
happened that they passed a few yards to one side of him, and he
remained
unseen. As soon as they were at a sufficient distance he altered his
course and
saw no more of them.
Suffering everything but death from the
exhausting
effects of hunger and fatigue, he after nine days struck the waters of
the Big
Muskingum, and came in to the garrison at Wolf creek mills. During this
time he
had no food but roots and the bark of the slippery-elm, after the two
bits of
venison were expended. When he came in sight of the station, he was so
completely exhausted that he could not stand or halloo. His body was
entirely
naked, excepting a small strip of cloth round the loins, and so torn,
bloody
and disfigured by the briers and brush that he thought it imprudent to
show himself; lest he should be taken for
an Indian and shot by
the sentries. It is a curious physiological fact, that famine and
hunger will
actually darken the skin in the manner mentioned by the prophet
Jeremiah, when
foretelling the fate of the Israelites;
and may be accounted for by the absorption of the bile into the blood,
when not
used up in the process of digesting, the food. In this forlorn state
HEWIT
remained until evening, when he crawled silently to the gateway, which
was
open, and crept in before any one was aware of his being near. As they
all had
heard of his capture, and some personally knew him, he was instantly
recognized
by a young man, as the light of the fire fell on his face, who
exclaimed, “Here
is HEWIT.” They soon clothed and fed
him, and his fine constitution directly restored his health
Pioneer Hardships.—After
the war was closed, by the masterly campaign of General
Wayne, the sturdy settlers on the shores of the Ohio sallied out from
their
garrisons, where they had been more or less closely confined for five
years,
and took possession of the various farms, which had fallen to their
lots either
as “donation lands,” or as proprietors in the Ohio Company, some of
which had
been partially cleared and cultivated before the commencement of
hostilities.
During this period they had suffered from famine, sickness and death,
in
addition to the depredations of the Indians. The small-pox and putrid
sore
throat had visited them in their garrisons, destroying, in some
instances,
whole families of children in a few days. The murderous savage without,
with
sickness and famine within, had made their castles wearisome dwelling
places,
although they protected them from the tomahawk, and saved the
settlements from
being entirely broken up.
Becomes a Useful Citizen.—In the
year 1797; Mr. HEWIT cast his lot in the
valley of the Hockhocking river, near the
town of
Athens, and settled quietly down to clearing his farm. He was by nature
endowed
with a clear, discriminating and vigorous mind; and, although his
education was
very limited, extending only to reading and writing, yet his judgment
was
acute, and his reasoning powers highly matured by intercourse with his
fellow-men. For some years before his death he was a member of the
Methodist
church, which has the praise of reclaiming more depraved men than
perhaps any
other sect, and became a valuable citizen and useful man in society. A
short
time previous to his decease, which took place in the year 1814, he was
appointed a trustee of the Ohio University, at Athens. At that early
time the
duties of a trustee mainly consisted in leasing out and managing the
fiscal
affairs of the college domain, embracing two townships of land. For
this
business he was well fitted, and his judgment and good sense were of
real value
to the institution, however little he might be qualified to act in
literary
matters.
A Little Philosophy—The
life of Mr. HEWIT affords an interesting subject of contemplation.
Hundreds of
others, who were among the western borderers in early days, afford
similar
examples of reckless daring and outrageous acts, while surrounded with
war,
tumult and danger, who, when peace was restored and they returned to
the quiet
scenes of domestic and civil life, became some of the most useful,
influential
and distinguished men shows how much man is the creature of habit; and
that he
is often governed more by the character, and the outward example of men
around
him, and the times in which he lives, than by any innate principle of
good or
evil, which may happen to predominate within him.
About
four miles north of Athens, are mounds and ancient fortifications with
gateways. One of the mounds, which was composed of a kind of stone
differing
Page 286
from any in the vicinity, was taken for the
construction of a dam across the Hocking; there were in it over a
thousand
perches, and some of the stones weighed two hundred pounds. In the
mound were
found copper rings and other relics. There are many mounds in some
other parts
of the county.
ATHENS IN
1846.—Athens, the county-seat, is situated on a commanding site on the Hockhocking river, seventy-two miles southeast
of Columbus.
It contains 1 Presbyterian, 1 Cumberland Presbyterian, and a Methodist
church,
a classical academy, eleven mercantile stores, and by the census of
1840 had
710 inhabitants. It was made the county-seat in March, 1805.The Ohio
University, the first established in a11 the territory northwest of the
Ohio,
is situated here, but has temporarily suspended its operations, for the
purpose
of recovering from pecuniary embarrassment. It was first chartered by
the
territorial government, and afterwards, in 1804, by the State
legislature. It
was early endowed by Congress with the two townships of Athens and
Alexander,
containing 46,000 acres of land, which, with the connecting resources,
yield an
annual income of about $5,000. The buildings are substantial and neat,
and
stand in a pleasant green. This institution has exerted a most
beneficial
influence upon the morals and intelligence of this region.
Drawn by Henry Howe, 1846
OHIO UNIVERSITY,
AT ATHENS.
Among its graduates are many who do it
honor, and
it will, doubtless, when again in successful operation—as it soon will
be—continue its good work.-Old
Edition.
In 1886 the university had pupils
twenty-six gentlemen and eleven ladies, Chas. W. SUPER, president. Up
to that
date it had 494 graduates and partially educated about 10,000 persons.
The
first degrees were conferred in 1815.Thomas EWING and John HUNTER
received in
that year the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Mr. EWING was probably the
first
collegiate alumnus for the whole of Western America. Wm. Holmes McGUFFEY, D. D., born in Pennsylvania in 1800,
was
president of this institution from 1839 to 1843; from 1845 to 1873, the
date of
his death, was a professor in the University of Virginia. He was the
author of
the widely popular series of McGuffey's
Readers and
Spelling Books.
Athens, the county-seat, is about
twenty-five miles
from the Ohio river on the Hocking river, seventy-six miles southeast
of
Columbus, by the C. H. V. & T. R. R., also on the C. W. & B.
and O.
& C. Railroads; is located amidst beautiful scenery; its citizens
ranking
high in intelligence and the learned professions. County officers in
1888:
Probate Judge, William S. WILSON; Clerk of Court, Silas E. HEDGES;
Sheriff,
Frederick STALDER; Prosecuting Attorney, David L. SLEEPER;
Page 287
Auditor, Augastus
J.
FRAME; Treasurer, Hiram L. BAKER; Recorder, Lafayette HAWK; Surveyor,
Wm. E.
PETERS; Coroner, Waldo BAIRD; Commissioners, Chas. I. HAM, Joseph S.
HIGGINS,
James A. CAMPBELL.
Newspapers: Herald, W. G. JUNOD, editor; Journal, Democrat, C. I. BARKER, editor; Messenger,
Republican, C. E. M.
JENNINGS,
editor. Churches: 1 Methodist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Catholic, 1 Disciple,
1
Colored Baptist and 1 Colored Methodist. Banks: First National, A.
NORTON,
president; D. H. MOORE, cashier; Bank of Athens, J. D. BROWN, cashier.
Population in 1880,
2,457. School census
1886, 725; Lewis D. BONEBRAKE
superintendent.
TRAVELLING
NOTES.
Athens,
May 5.-The
valley of the Hockhocking here is about
half a mile
wide. The town is on the north side of the stream on a somewhat hilly
site and
about sixty feet above it. The college grounds occupy about ten acres.
They are
level in front, slightly sloping in the rear and afford an expansive
view up
the valley, on the opposite side of the slope of which, at a distance
of half a
mile, stands the asylum for the insane, under the charge of A. B.
RICHARDSON,
M. D., and said to be managed with superior skill.
J. C. Brannon, Photo,
Athens,
1886
THE BEAUTIFUL
BEECH.
The
Beautiful Beech.—My astonishment
was great on going to the spot where I made my drawing of the
university
buildings in 1846 to find them to-day still standing as they were then,
but
hidden from view by a dense forest that had grown where not a tree had
stood
before; another building had been added and this was all the structural
change.
What especially gratified me was the discovery of a beautiful beech,
standing
on the green award; some sixty or seventy feet in height, about one
hundred
feet from the front door of the central building; it seemed as the
perfection
of symmetry. I had a fancy that, guided by some good spirit just after
my
original visit, the nut from which that noble beech grew was dropped by
some
friendly gray squirrel, in view of giving me a surprising welcome on my
second
coming; and having done this he gleefully raised his American flag over
his
back and then scampered away. I think ere this that squirrel is
gathered to his
fathers; I wish I could learn his history. The leaves of the beech
could not
even whisper it to me; didn't know.
A
Veteran Law-Giver.—Facing the
College Campus in a mansion that looks like a genuine home, I found a
venerable
old gentleman, now an octogenarian, whose acquaintance I had made when
he was a
member of the State senate, session of 1846-47. At that time the State
legislature had out of 107 members but 23 natives to the soil and he
was one of
the 23.This was John WELCH, one of Ohio's strong men. He was born in
1805 in
Harrison county. Ohio-born men of his
advanced years
are rare; its population in 1805 was small. His history illustrates the
pluck
of that sturdy race which started in life when. Ohio was a wilderness.
Beginning with battling with the trees, and conquering them so as to
give the
ground a fair chance for the sunbeams, they went forth into the battle
of life
among their fellow-men regarding them somewhat as “trees
walking.”
Success was of course assured. When a young man he was at work in a
flour mill
fourteen miles from these Athenians down among the Romans, dwellers in
Rome township ! and
there he studied
law, and once or twice a week brushed the flour from his clothes, came
up to
Athens and recited to Prof. Jos. DANA. Admitted to the bar his course
was
onward; became prosecuting attorney for the county, a member of the
State
legislature, went to Congress, became judge of the common pleas court
and
finally judge of the supreme court of Ohio, which office he held for
many
years. In person the judge is a large and strong man and when young
very agile,
so that when about twenty years of age, while teaching school in
Harrison county, in a single running jump
in a brick yard he managed
to cover twenty feet and four inches.
Page 288
A second
Enoch-Arden-like case occurred in the
early history
of this county. One day in 1829 Timothy WILKINS, an
honest,
enterprising man, living opposite the town, came over to Athens,
transacted
some business, and was supposed to have returned home, but did not.
Next
morning the boat in which he usually crossed the river was found
floating down the stream and his hat with
it. The river was dragged
and cannon fired over the water to recover the body, but it was not
found. He
was a very popular man, and his wife and family were in great distress.
Time
passed; Timothy WILKINS went out of people's minds, and Mrs. WILKINS
married a
Mr. Goodrich. In 1834 a vague
rumor came that Mr.
WILKINS was alive, and finally a letter from him to a neighbor
announcing his
approach. Fearing to shock his wife by a sudden appearance, he
had
himself originated the rumors of his safety, and now announced that he
would
soon be in Athens. He knew of his wife's second marriage,
and in friendly spirit proposed to meet her and Mr. GOODRICH. Much
excitement
ensued. The conference was held, and Messrs. WILKINS and GOODRICH left
to the
choice of the wife of their rivalship to
decide
between them. She turned to the husband of her first love. Mr. GOODRICH
acquiesced sadly but kindly, took up his hat and walked.
Mr.
WILKINS' disappearance was a ruse to
escape his creditors. In that day to fail was an awful thing. A man
could be
imprisoned for a debt of ten dollars. WILKINS was honest, but
almost insane
from his misfortunes. he had gone to New Orleans to resuscitate his
broken
fortunes, made money in boating, and now on his return paid his debts,
and then
with his reunited wife left those scenes forever, going South.
A Long Dive.—To
abscond
for fear of creditors was
common in the early part of this century. A gentleman whom I knew in
youth was
about the year 1800 a merchant in Middletown, Conn. His affairs became
desperate,
J.C. Brannon, Photo., Athens, 1886
THE ASYLUM FOR THE INSANE.
and one day he
disappeared. His hat and clothes being found on the banks
of the Connecticut, it was
supposed he had committed suicide. A year or more passed, when some
person who
knew him and had been to the far-away settlement of Marietta, reported
that he
had seen him in that place, whereupon a wag remarked: “Jeremiah, then,
did not
drown himself; he simply took a long dive—went
down in the Connecticut and came up in the Ohio.” This
underground
swimmer eventually returned to the East, and became mayor of my native
city.
THE COON-SKIN LIBRARY.
The settlement of Ames
township was about a year after that of
Athens. The county
was at that time divided into four townships, and it comprised more
than double
its present area, and Ames that of ten townships now in Athens, Morgan,
and
Hocking counties. The settlers were an intellectual body of men.
Entirely
isolated and remote from schools
and libraries, they felt
keenly the
absence of means for mental improvement. At a public meeting in 1803 the
subject of a library was discussed, but the scarcity of
money was a
stumbling-block. There was next to none in the county. The little
transactions
between the settlers were almost wholly by barter. Very little more was
raised
than each family could produce, and there was no market for any surplus.
“So scarce was money,”
said Judge
A. G. BROWN, “that I can hardly remember ever seeing a piece of coin
till I was
a well-grown boy. It was with great difficulty we obtained enough to
pay our
taxes with and buy tea for mother.”
However, by scrimping
and
ingenious devices a little money was saved for this object. As cash
could be
obtained by selling skins and furs at the East, some of the settlers
who were
good hunters made forays upon the wild animals. Esquire Samuel BROWN,
going on
a business trip to Boston, took their skins
Page 289
with him—bears, wolves,
and coons—and
sold them to agents of John Jacob ASTOR. The Rev. Dr. CUTLER, who
accompanied
him, selected from a part of the avails a valuable collection of books.
In the
original record it is called the “Western Library Association,” founded
at
Ames, February 2,
1804. In
common
parlance it went under the name of “Coon-Skin Library.” At a meeting of
the
shareholders, held at the house of Silvanus
AMES,
December 17, 1804, Ephrairn CUTLER was elected
librarian: it
was also voted “to accept fifty-one books. purchased
by Samuel BROWN.” In his autobiography, Thomas EWING makes
acknowledgment of
benefit of the library to him personally. “All his accumulated wealth,”
says
he, “ten coon-skins, went into it.”
“This,” says Walker,
“was the
first public library formed in the Northwestern Territory, though not
the first
incorporated.” This statement is erroneous. On March 6, 1802, a public
library went into operation in Cincinnati, with L. KERR, librarian.
$340 had
been raised by subscription; thirty-four shares, at $10 each. Arthur
St. CLAIR,
Jacob BURNET, Martin BAUM, and Griffin YEATMAN were among the
subscribers. Its
final fate is unknown. Earlier still, “Belpre Farmers' Library” was
established
at Belpre in 1796.
George EWING, commonly called Lieut.
EWING, was the
father of Hon. Thomas EWING. He was, it is claimed, the first settler
in Ames township. He was born in Salem, N.
J., was an officer in the
Jersey line, and after the Revolution lived a few years on the frontier
near
Wheeling, W. Va.; in 1793 moved to the Waterford settlement on the
Muskingum,
and thence in 1798 to Ames township in this
county. In
1802 he was elected township clerk. He was a reading, intellectual man,
noted
for sterling good sense, wit, and humor. His eminent son, Thomas EWING,
contributed to Walker's most excellent “History of Athens County” this
sketch
of his early life and living.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
OF THOMAS EWING.
My father settled in
what is now
Ames township, Athens county early in
April, 1798. He
removed from the mouth of Olive Green creek, on the Muskingum river, and the nearest neighbor with whom he had
association
was in that direction, distant about eighteen miles. There were a few
families
settled about the same time on or near the present site of the town of
Athens,
but no road or even pathway led to them; the distance was about twelve
miles.
There was an old pioneer hunter camped at the mouth of Federal creek,
distant about
ten miles. This, as far as I know, comprised the population statistics
of what
is now Athens county. I do not know the
date of the
settlement in what was called No. 5—Cooley’s settlement—it was early.
Journey
to Ohio.—At the time of my
father's removal I
was with my aunt, Mrs. MORGAN, near West Liberty, Va., going to school.
I was a
few months in my ninth year. Early in the year 1798, I think in May, my
uncle brought
me home. We descended the Ohio river in a
flat-boat to
the mouth of the Little Hocking, and crossed a bottom and a pine hill,
along a
dim footpath, some ten or fifteen miles, and took quarters for the
night at
Daily's camp. I was tired, and slept well on the bear-skin bed which
the rough
old dame spread for me, and in the morning my uncle engaged a son of
our host,
a boy of eighteen, who had seen my father's cabin, to pilot us.
Pioneer
Living—I
was now at
home, and fairly an
inceptive citizen of the future Athens county.
The
young savage, our pilot, was much struck with some of the rude
implements of
civilization which he saw my brother using, especially the auger, and
ex�pressed
the opinion that with an axe and auger a man could make everything My wanted except a gun and bullet-molds. My
brother was
engaged in making some bedsteads. He had finished a table, in the
manufacture
of which he had also used an adze to smooth the plank, which he split
in good
width from straight-grained trees. Transportation was exceedingly difficult,
and
our
furniture of the rudest kind, composed of articles of the first
necessity. Our
kitchen utensils were “the big kettle,” “the little kettle,” the
bake-oven,
frying-pan, and pot; the latter had a small hole in the bottom, which
was
mended with a button, keyed with a nail through the eye on the outside
of the
pot. We had no table furniture that would break—little of any kind. Our
meat—bear meat, or raccoon, with venison or turkey, cooked together and
seasoned to the taste (a most savory dish)--was cut up in morsels and
placed in
the centre of the table, and the younger members of the family, armed
with
sharpened sticks, helped themselves about as well as with four-tined
forks;
great care was taken in selecting wholesome sticks-as sassafras,
spice-bush,
hazel, or hickory. Sometimes the children were allowed by way of picnic
to cut
with the butcher-knife from the fresh bear-meat and venison their
slices, and
stick them, alternately on a sharpened spit, and roast before a fine
hickory
fire. This made a royal dish. Bears, deer, and raccoons remained in
abundance
until replaced by swine. The great West would have settled slowly
without corn
and hogs. A bushel of seed wheat will produce at the end of ten months
fifteen
or twenty bushels; a bushel of corn at the end of five months 400
bushels, and
it is used to
Page 290
much advantage the last
two months.
Our horned cattle do not double in a year; hogs in the same time
increase twenty-fold. it was deemed almost a
sacrilege
to kill a sheep, and I remember well the first beef I tasted. I thought
it
coarse and stringy compared with venison. We had wild fruits of several
varieties, very abundant, and some of them exceedingly fine. There was
a sharp
ridge quite near my father's house on which I had selected four or five
service
or juneberry
bushes that I
could easily climb, and kept an eye on them until they should get fully
ripe.
At the proper time I went with one of my sisters to gather them, but a
bear had
been in advance of me. The limbs of all
of the bushes were brought down to the trunk like a folded umbrella,
and the
berries all gone: there were plenty still in the woods for children and
bears,
but few so choice or easy of access as
these. We had a
great variety of wild plums, some exceedingly fine; better, to my
taste, than
the tame varieties. I have not seen any of the choice varieties within
the last
thirty years.
We, of course, had no
mills. The
nearest was oil Wolf creek, about fourteen miles distant from
this
we brought our first summer's supply of breadstuffs. After we gathered
our
first crop of corn my father instituted a hand mill, which as a kind of
common
property supplied the neighborhood, after we had neighbors, for several
years,
until Christopher HERROLD set up a horse mill on the ridge, and Henry
BARROWS a
water mill near the mouth of Federal creek.
A Lonely Boy.—For
the
first year I was a lonely boy. My brother George, eleven years older
than I,
was too much of a man to be my companion, and my sisters could not be
with me,
generally, in the woods and among the rocks and caves; but a small
spaniel dog;
almost as intelligent as a boy, was always with me.
His First
Books.—I was the reader of the
family, but we had few books!
I remember but one beside “Watts’ Psalms and Hymns” that a child could
read
“The Vicar of Wakefield,” which was almost committed to memory; the
poetry
which it contained entirely. Our first neighbor was Capt. Benj. BROWN,
who had
been an officer in the 'Revolutionary war. He was a man of strong
intellect,
without much culture. He told me many anecdotes of the war which
interested me,
gave me an account of Dr. JENNER'S then recent discovery of the kine pox as a
preventive of the
small pox, better than I have ever yet read in any written treatise,
and I
remember it better than any account I have since read. He lent me a
book—one
number of a periodical called the “Athenian Oracle “—something like our
modern
“Notes and Queries,” from which, however, I learned but little. I
found, too, a
companion in his son John, four years my senior, still enjoying sound
health in
his ripe old age.
In 1801 some one of my
father's
family being ill, Dr. BAKER, who lived at Waterford, some eighteen
miles
distant, was called in. He took notice of me as a reading boy, and told
me he
had a book he would lend me if I would come for it. I got leave of my
father
and went, the little spaniel being my travelling
companion.
The book was a
translation of
Virgil, the Bucolics and Georgics torn
out, but the �neid perfect. I have not
happened to meet with the
translation since, and do not know whose it was. The opening lines, as
I
remember them, were—
“Arms and the man I sing who first from
Troy Came to the Italian and Lavinian
shores, Exiled by fate, much tossed by land and sea, By power divine and cruel Juno's rage; Much, too, in war he suffered, till he reared A city, and to the Latium
brought his gods— Hence sprung his Latin progeny, the kings Of Alba, and the walls of towering Rome. “ |
When I returned home
with my book,
and for some weeks after, my father had hands employed in clearing a
new field.
On Sundays and at leisure hours I read to them, and never had a more
attentive
audience. At that point in the narrative where �neas
discloses to Dido his purpose of leaving her, and tells her of the
vision of
Mercury bearing the mandate of Jove, one of the men sprang to his feet,
declared he did not believe a word of that-he had got tired of her, and
it was
all a made up story as an excuse to be off and it was a - shame after
what she
had done for him. So the reputation of �neas
suffered
by that day's reading.
Our next neighbors
were Ephraim
CULTER, Silvanus AMES, William BROWN, a
married son
of the Captain; and four or five miles distant, Nathan WOODBURY, George
WOLF
and Christopher HERROLD; and about the same time, or a little later,
Silas DEAN
a rich old bachelor Martin BOYLES, and John and Samuel McCUNE.
Mr. CUTLER and my father purchased “Morse's Geography,” the first
edition,
about 1800, for his oldest son Charles and myself; it in effect became
my book,
as Charles never used it and I studied it most intently. By this, with
such
explanations as my father gave me, I acquired quite a come petent
knowledge of geography, and some thing of general history.
The Coon-Skin
Library.—About this time
the neighbors in our and the surrounding settlements met and agreed to
purchase
books and to make a common library. They were all poor and
subscriptions small,
but they raised in all about $100. All my
accumulated
wealth, ten coon-skins, went into the fund, and Squire Sam BROWN, of
Sunday
creek, who was going to Boston, was charged with the purchase. After an
absence
of many weeks he brought the books to Capt. Ben BROWN’S in a sack on a
pack-horse. I was present at the untying sack and pouring out of the
treasure.
There were about sixty volumes, I think, and well selected; the library
of the
Vatican was nothing to it, and there never was a library better
Page 291
read. This with occasional
additions
furnished me with reading while I remained at home.
Early Teachers.—We were quite fortunate in our schools.
Moses EVERITT, a graduate of Yale,
but an intemperate young man, who had been banished by his friends, was
our
first teacher; after him, Charles CUTLER, a brother of Ephraim, and
also a
graduate of Yale. They were learned young men and faithful to their
vocation.
They boarded alternate weeks with their scholars, and made the winter
evenings
pleasant and instructive. After Barrows' mill was built at the mouth of
Federal
creek, I being the mill boy, used to take my two horse loads of grain
in the
evening, have my grist ground, and take it home in the morning. 'There
was an
eccentric person living near the mill whose name was Jones—we called
him
Doctor; he was always dressed in deerskin, his principal vocation being
hunting,
and I always found him in the evening, in cool weather, lying with his
feet to
the fire. He was a scholar, banished no doubt for intemperance; he had
books,
and finding my fancy or them had me read to him while he lay drying his
feet.
He was fond of poetry, and did something to correct my pronunciation
and
prosody. Thus the excessive use of alcohol was the indirect means of
furnishing
me with school-teachers.
Works in the Kanawha Salines.—My father
entertained the impression that I would one day be a scholar, though
quite,
unable to lend me any pecuniary aid. I grew up with the same impression
until,
in my nineteenth year, I almost abandoned hope on reflection, however,
I
determined to make on effort to earn the means to procure an education.
Having
got the summer's work well disposed of, I asked of my father leave to
go for a
few months and try my fortune. He consented and I set out on foot the
next
morning, made my way through the woods to the Ohio, got on a keel boat
as a
hand at small wages, and in about a week landed at Kanawha salines
I engaged and went to work at once and in three months satisfied myself
that I
could earn money slowly but surely, and on my return home in December,
1809; I
went to Athens and spent three months there as a student, by way of
testing my
capacity. I left the academy in the spring with a sufficiently high
opinion of
myself, and returned to Kanawha to earn money to complete my education.
This
year I was successful, paid off some debts which troubled my father,
and
returned home and spent the winter with some new books which had
accumulated in
the library, which, with my father's aid, I read to much advantage.
Enters
College—I went to Kanawha the third year, and
after a severe summer's labor I
returned home with about $600 in money, but sick and exhausted.
Instead,
however, of sending for a physician, I got “Don Quixote “
from the library and laughed myself well in about ten days. I
then went
to Athens, entered as a regular student and continued my studies there
till the
spring of 1815, when I left, a pretty good though irregular scholar.
During my
academic term I went to Gallipolis and taught school a quarter and
studied
French. I found my funds likely to fall short and went a fourth time to
Kanawha
where in six weeks I earned $150, which I thought would suffice, and returned to
my studies; after two years rest
the severe labor in the salines went hard
with me.
Studies Law.—After
finishing my studies at Athens I read “Blackstone's Commentaries” at
home, and
in July, 1815, went to Lancaster to study law. A. B. WALKER, then a boy
of
about fifteen years, accompanied me to Lancaster to bring,
back my
horse, and I remained, and studied law with Gen. BEECHER. I was
admitted to the
bar in August, 1816, after fourteen months very diligent study—the
first six
months about sixteen hours a day.
Law
Experiences—I made my first speech at Circleville the
November following. Gen. BEECHER
first gave me a slander case to prepare and study; I spent much time
with it
but time wasted, as the cause was continued the first day of court. He
then
gave me a case of contract, chiefly in depositions, which I studied
diligently,
but that was also continued; a few minutes afterward a case was called,
and
Gen. BEECHER told me that was ready—the jury was sworn, witnesses
called, and
the cause went on. In the examination of one of the witnesses I thought
I
discovered an important fact not noticed by either counsel and I asked
leave to
cross-examine further elicited the fact which was decisive of the case.
This gave
me confidence. I argued the cause closely and well, and was abundantly
congratulated by the members of the bar present.
My next attempt was in
Lancaster.
Mr. SHERMAN, father of the General, asked me to argue a cause of his
which gave
room for some discussion. I had short notice,
but was quite successful, and the
cause being appealed Mr. SHERMAN sent his client to employ me with him.
I had
as yet got no fees, and my funds were very low. This November I at
tended the
Athens court. I had nothing to do there, but met an old neighbor, Ehsha ALDERMAN, who wanted me to go to Marietta
to defend
his brother a boy, who was to be tried for larceny. It was out of my
intended
beat, but I wanted business and fees and agreed to go for $25, of which
I
received $10 in hand. I have had several fees since of $10,000 and
upwards, but
never one of which I felt the value, or in truth as valuable to me, as
this. I
went, tried my boy, and he was convicted, but the court granted me a
new trial.
On my way to Marietta at the next term I thought of a ground of
excluding the
evidence, which had escaped me on the first trial. It was not obvious,
but
sound. I took it, excluded the evidence and acquitted my client. This
caused a
sensation. I was employed at once in twelve penitentiary cases, under
indictment at that term, for making and passing counterfeit money,
horse-stealing and perjury. As a professional man, my fortune was thus
briefly
made.
Page 297
EDWARD R. AMES, the
distinguished Methodist
Bishop, was born in Ames, in 1806. In youth he had access to the Coon
Skin
library, studied two or three years at the University at Athens,
supporting
himself in the meanwhile by teaching: He joined the Methodists, went to
Lebanon, Ill., where he opened a high school which eventually grew into
McKendree College. In 1830 he was licensed
to preach. In
1840 he was elected corresponding secretary of the Missionary Society
for the
South and West. This was before the days of railroads and travelling
slow and difficult; during the four years that he filled it he travelled some 25,000 miles; on one tour he
passed over the
entire frontier line from Lake Superior to Texas, camping out almost
the whole
route and part of the time almost destitute of provisions.
During
the greater part of his adult life Bishop AMES resided in Indiana. He
died in
Baltimore in 1879. He was the first Methodist Bishop to visit the
Pacific
coast. During the civil war he rendered important service too as a
member of
several commissions.
He
possessed extraordinary capacity for business, was of great physical
endurance
and one of the most eloquent preachers in the Methodist Church.
NELSONVILLE,
sixty-two miles southeast of Columbus, on the Hocking Valley
Canal, on
the C. H. V. & T. R. R. Newspapers: Valley
Register, Independent, J. A. TULLIS, editor and publisher; News, Independent, T. E. WELLS, editor
and publisher. Churches: 1 Methodist, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Christian, 1
Colored
Baptist and 1 Colored Methodist. Banks: Merchants' & Miners', Chas.
ROBBINS,
president, Chas. A. Cable, cashier.
Manufactures
and Employees.—Nelsonville Planing
Mill
Co., building material, 10 hands; Nelsonville Machine Co., steam
engines,
machinery, etc., 24; Kreig & Son,
doors, sash,
etc.; Steenrod & Poston, flour and
feed; Fremmel & Barrman,
leather.
Nelsonville
is one of the largest and most important coal-mining centres
in the State. The Nelsonville bed is one of the most valuable in Ohio,
from its
superior quality and its proximity to canal and railroad facilities.
The
thickness of the vein averages about six feet. Population
in
1880, 3,095. School census in 1886, 1,555;
F. S.
COULTRAP superintendent. Nelsonville was laid out in 1818 and
named
after Mr. Daniel NELSON who owned the land on which the town is
situated.
ALBANY,
nine miles south of Athens, on the T. & O. R. R., is a notable
temperance
town in the centre of a fine grazing and wool-producing region. The
Atwood
Institute is located here, also the Enterprise Academy for colored
students.
Newspapers: Echo, Independent,
D. A. R. McKINSTRY,
editor. Churches: 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 Free Will Baptist, 1
Cumberland
Presbyterian, 1 African Methodist Episcopal. Population
in
1880, 469.School census in 1886, 142; Lester C. COTTRILL,
superintendent.
An important feature is Wells Library, containing 2,000 volumes,
endowed by the
late Henry Wells. Coolville had, IN 1880, 323 inhabitants.
BUCHTEL is on the C. & H. V. R. R., in the northwest part of the county. Population in 1880, 417.
Additional Reading