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Ohio – Tuscarawas County


Combination Atlas Map of Tuscarawas County, Ohio
Compiled, Drawn and Published From Personal Examinations and Surveys
By L.H. Everts & Co.
Philadelphia, 1875

History of the Villages and Townships of Tuscarawas County.
Auburn Township, pg 1-2
Bucks Township, pg 2
Clay Township, pg 2
Dover Township, pg 2
Dover
Dover Business Men
Fairfield Township, pg 3
Franklin Township, pg 3

Goshen Township, pg 3-4
On the 16th of April, 1808, at the first meeting of the Commissioners of the County, Goshen Township was laid off with such boundaries as took in the present south parts of Goshen, Dover, and Sugar Creek, and the north parts of Auburn and York. Adams, President of the United States in 1800, had appropriated lands within the limits of Tuscarawas, to satisfy military bounty claims. Soon after, Godfrey Haga, a Philadelphia merchant, bought the tract on which New Philadelphia stands. In the year 1802, haga, through his agent, Heckewelder, sold his tract, consisting of three thousand five hundred and fifty-four acres, to John Knisely, for five thousand seven hundred and seventy-six dollars. Knisely found his way to the banks of the river, and proceeded to lay out the town. In the spring of 1803 he moved his family here, being accompanied by John Hull, to whom is ascribed the celebrity of erecting the first house in New Philadelphia. In the year 1804 several families came in, among whom were the Stifflers, George and David, who settled on Beaver Dam Creek, as did also Henry Albright. The township of Goshen contains the sites of two ancient Moravian stations: one on the east bank of the Tuscarawas below New Philadelphia, known as Schoenbrun, made in 1782; another between two and three miles farther down, made in 1798, and known as Goshen. The church of Goshen once numbered seventy-one members. It was founded by David Zeisberger in the seventy-seventh year of his life. This man among men was the founder of thirteen villages, whose dusky citizens tilled the fields, planted orchards, and prepared the way for our forgetful race. Rev. Espich, a pioneer minister and physician, resident of New Philadelphia, was held in high esteem by missionaries and their converted Indians. Rev. Abram Luckenbach, suceeding Zeisberger, taught the Indians till 1823, in the fall of which year the Goshen Indians were removed. Some went to Canada; most found homes upon a Kansas reservation.

To the southeast of the township lies Ontario Mills, laid out by Robert Hanna, and surveyed by Solomon Hoover in 1853. South of the County seat, and in the river bend, lies Blake’s Mills, earlier known as Lockport. The place was platted by Frederick Shull and Gottlieb Fackler, in 1829. Walter M. Blake, prominent as the builder of the present court-house and as Sheriff, erected the mills, which gave the place a name, and laid out additions to the old plot in the years 1845 to 1851.

Espich built the first house in Lockport. Samuel Sedgwick and Beunbaum were early tavern-keepers there. Conrad Kager kept the first store. In 1855, Clark Robinson started a mill to make oil from cannel coal, but the inexhaustible supplies of rock-oil in old Pennsylvania made the venture unprofitable. A.B. Everett & Co. started lime-works there in 1868; their stone is brought by lake and canal from Kelly’s Island, and thirty-five barrels of white lime are manufactured daily.

The first mill in the township was known as Baker’s Mill; later as Byer’s Mills. A powder-mill of rude construction was run about 1818, by John Benninger. It was located near the mouth of Old Town Creek. The powder was pronounced good, and the wooden works did good service. Clapp and Dare, of Zanesville, in 1818, put up the first Goshen Township saw-mill on Beaver Dam Creek. A steam saw-mill was put up at Jacob Knisely’s; it stands idle. Alexander Lambern was a teacher at the pioneer school-house, Beaver Dam, in 1823.

Of early marriages, there were three in Goshen Township in 1809, viz., Jacob Baseber to Elizabeth Knisely, Timothy Lambern to Elizabeth Mosser, and Samuel Herbaugh to Jane Gibbs. The earliest tavern-stand, outside of New Philadelphia, was kept by Adam Best, at Goshen, in 1811. The want of bridges was supplied by licensed ferries. Charles Henry, an Indian, son of Killbuck, started a ferry at Goshen in 1809. The first Justices of the Peace in Goshen Township were Abraham Knisely, sworn in September 16, 1808; Christian Espich, December 18, 1810; Gabriel Crider, 1811; and Abraham Shane, in July of the same year. John Juda assisted in cutting out the first road east of New Philadelphia, and was three days in helping Godfrey Hoff from the town to his entry, ten miles up the river’s bed. David Knisely says that for years the attention of settlers was closely occupied in their clearings and travels to market. There was little time for idling; and clearing roads, making fences, and preparing food and clothing gave ample employment to all. In the “Pan-Handle” of the township, on the lands of William Waitington, are salt-works, which, if existing in the early day, would have been an infinite relief to the settlers. The well was bored for oil, and the brine became the better fluid.

Below the mouth of Old Town Creek are extensive coal-works. O. Young & Co.’s Pike Run Coal Mines take out large quantities daily. The quantity mined is simply measured by the ability to find a market. The County Infirmary is on Beaver Dam Creek, southeast of town. Their charity is heavily exercised in feeding a vagabond class of persons called “tramps,” who ostensibly seek work, but really live by begging and stealing. The township is well watered; the Tuscarawas River forms the northwest boundary. Iron bridges span the river at several points.

New Philadelphia
Obviously the annals of the County seat must find a part relation in the County history. Knisely’s donations for County, school, and religious purposes show liberality and foresight. In 1811 he sold one hundred and eighty-seven acres, lying southwest of the west square, to Jacob Hugus, who laid out an addition to the town. About twenty additions have since been made.

A list of early settlers has preceded. George Leighinger built a cabin, and opened a tavern, June 7, 1808, at the southwest corner of Broad and Front Streets, where the first court proceedings were transacted. Tavern-stands were also opened by Henry Laffer and Abraham Shane in 1809. In 1815, William Albert opened a public house, which the family have kept up for fifty years. Gabriel Crider brought on the first stock of goods; peter Cribbs found store-room, and Peter Williams sold them.

Religious services were conducted at intervals by Rev. John Stauch and Jacob Rhine. In 1808, Coventry and Galbraith started a store. The town grew slowly. In 1811 there were not over a dozen houses, and these of the simplest order. The log structure called court-house, erected on the ground where the present old building stands, was built in 1809. Here services were held, cases argued, and prisoners confined. In 1815, Abraham Snyder came to New Philadelphia, and became the first settled Lutheran pastor, and organized the first Lutheran congregation in the place. His first sermon was preached in the house of Mr. Spangler.

A school-house was put up of light saplings, which filled its destiny. A frame was then erected. Unpainted and forlorn, it stood till after 1831. It was situated a little east of the north end of the public offices. Dr. Stough used to teach Judge Patrick, Peter Williams and others German on Sunday afternoon: the movement resulted in a regular Sabbath-school. The streets of the city were High and Broadway. The settlement on the former and East Avenue consisted of Judge Williams’s dwelling and store, a house on the Doll lot, the Itskin house, and Samuel Knisely’s, out near Beaver Dam. The “Gray House” was a central location, about which several log houses were built. At the “Gray House” was dug the first well in the town.

The only mail between new Philadelphia and Zanesville was carried by james O. Donnell on horseback. He made the trip weekly; and when the river was high, he put the mail-bags around his neck and swam across. Milling was done at Deardorff’s, marketing at Pittsburg. Many came and some remained, so that in 1815 the population was about two hundred.

In 1820 settlement increased rapidly, and the town grew in proportion. The present court-house was erected in 1810, and has been remodeled inside. The city has a fine jail, finished in 1871. The jail portion is of stone, with iron cells. Robert Rue was the contractor. The cost was nineteen thousand dollars.

From time to time improvements have been carried on upon the high-school building, and increase of rooms made. The valuation of school property is $25,000. Fifteen teachers are employed, — all ladies. Primary teachers receive $33 per month; one high-school teacher has $53. Superintendent Joseph Welty has long been in charge. The school is in session thirty-eight weeks in a year. There are 368 boys and 348 girls in the primaries; 21 boys and 34 girls in the high school. Total enrollment is 771. All branches are pursued common to the course. Fifteen are studying trigonometry, 110 in German. The completion of railroads has been a marked means of city growth. The city has six churches, good preachers, and attentive audiences. The population in 1840 was about 1000; in 1870 it was 3143; and is at present about 4000.

Prominent Business Interests
English & Dixon, makers of reapers and mowers, established in 1851. Seventy hands. Eight hundred machines and many thrashers yearly.
Sharp & Fox, Steam-engines and wagons, started 1870.
New Philadelphia Salt-Works, Works opened 1870. Twenty hands. Yearly production fifteen thousand barrels.
Houpt & Clewell, Established 1868. Ten men. One hundred carriages made annually.
Bartles, Harner & Co., Stem planing-mills. Organized 1869. Firm employs fifteen men.
Joseph McElvoy came in 1847, and was the first furniture-maker in town; hauled his material from Wheeling.
The city has over fifty business houses, three grist-mills, two good taverns, three newspapers, and a first-class banking institution. The number of aged men shows the health of the place, and the numerous teams in town daily indicate a large trade.

Jefferson Township, pg 4
Lawrence Township, pgs 4-5
Mill Township, pg 5
Oxford Township, pg 5
Perry Township, pgs 5-6
Rush Township, pg 6
Sandy Township, pg 6

Salem Township, pgs 6-7
Salem was the fourth original township of Tuscarawas County; limits were defined by the Commissioners in 1808, and an election held at the house of John Beamers. It comprised the territory now in Bucks, Jefferson, Warwick, south parts of Auburn and York, west parts of Mill and Rush, and north parts of Salem and Clay.

The first settlers in this section were Isaac and Peter Good, to the northwest, Jesse Hill, to the east, and Charles Hill, the west, of the river, in 1805. Colonel Stark, of Revolutionary fame, received a patent to lands in this section, and Andrew Johnson lived upon this patent. Conrad Bremer, Martin Rebstock, and Aquilla and Joshua Carr, the latter arriving in 1802, were settlers near the river. Their sons, Richard, William, and Thomas, were known as old pioneers. A grandson of Joshua Carr has been a hotel-keeper since 1838 in Port Washington. Justin Clark was an early tavern-keeper and Postmaster. Dr. Price was the first resident physician in this town. When the place was laid out by John Knight on Lot 21 of the Salem tract, in 1827, and changed in name from Salesburg to Port Washington, the site had but one habitation, a log house built by Thomas Carr. Charles Hill was the first to open a store in his dwelling-house. Thomas J. Gibbings was the first blacksmith to move to “Port;” he had previously carried on his trade along the canal.

In church matters, the Methodists were most numerous, and had preaching in the school-house by Rev. Meeks. It is said of this preacher that on the completion of one of the canal-locks, before the water was let in, some one remarked that it was “a good place for a sermon,” and Meeks actually preached in it, and received for his effort three dollars; a notable sum to him, as it was all the money he ever had for his ministerial services. A church was erected by the Methodist society in 1848. Knight ran the saw-mill at which the lumber for the church was sawed. A school-house was built in 1833 by a man named Tuttle. The means were found by subscription. Early teachers came down the canal from the east. Rev. Thompson was a teacher in this house during 1840. Knight donated two lots also to the Lutheran society, and on them was built a church in 1848, in which Rev. Young, of New Comerstown, held forth.

The erection of mills early occupied attention. Milligan & Gaskill put up a saw-mill in 1831 or ’32, on Buckhorn Creek. Lawbaugh built a grist-mill at lock 18, in 1843, at a cost of twenty-two thousand dollars, which had a capacity to grind two hundred barrels daily. Jonathan Wood attempted to dam the Tuscarawas, and made a bankrupt of himself. The ancient village of Salem is occupied at present as the farm of Henry Stucker. Not till 1844 was there a tannery at Port Washington, run by John Miller. Lawrence, Bro. & Co. started a planing-mill in 1874, and do a large amount of business. Miss Everett gives for early settlers of this township the Stockers, Hills, Bremers, Ronks, and Wheelings. About 1836 the Vintons moving to Port Washington, built a store and warehouse, and entered into mercantile and produce business. Isaac Hammersely, of Lockport, built the mill on the canal at the lock north of town. In 1824, Jacob Romig went to Zanesville, fifty miles distant, with a four-horse team which hauled a load of wheat, and exchanged the load, even, for two barrels of salt. About 1838, Thomas Moore came to the place, and was for years an energetic hotel-keeper.

Of justices, Boaz Walton was the first since the County’s organization, appointed August 8, 1808. Hugh Moore was a tavern-keeper in Salem Township in the yar 1809. Aquilla Carr was a Justice of the Peace while this County formed a part of Muskengum, and served in 1804 and later. William Price ran a ferry in 1840. These ferries began with a couple of canoes lashed together, and ended with a scow pulled over and back by the ferryman by means of a rope attached at points on either side of the river and hanging over the stream.

Upon the maps, one sees the locality of the Salem tract, but he needs to be upon the spot to realize the richness of a soil in use well-nigh a century. These lands were leased to settlers too poor to buy. The Moravians leased for thirty-three years, and other land-owners for twenty years. Most of these lands were cleared in this way. The renters planted orchards, sunk wells, and built houses. Some bought their land, some were bought out, and some left all and moved away. To-day the bottoms covered with dry stalks indicate a staple crop, while the hills fringed over with timber show them reserved for woodland. The poor of an early day were assisted by voluntary contributions. Each felt ready to house a traveler, but not to keep a pauper, and every expedient was adopted to avoid these incumbrances or to get rid of them. This township knew no draft during the war, her volunteers being ample to fill all her quotas.

Sugar Creek Township, pg 7
Union Township, pg 7
Warren Township, pg 7
Warwick Township, pg 8
Wayne Township, pg 8
Washington Township, pg 8
York Township, pgs 8=9

Personal Sketches of Prominent Men and Pioneers
pgs 9-24
The Uhrich Family
The Collier Family
The Otis Family
The Blilckensderfer Family
David Knise;u
Charles H. Mitchener
Judge James Patrick
John S. Hull
Major Henry Kaldenbaugh
William A. Pittenger
John Hover, Uhrichsville
Major Thomas Moore
Thomas Edison Moore
Beriah Wilkins
Major John Welch
Colonel Elisha Janes
Major Charles H. Mathews
Captain Thomas H. Mozena
Captain Franklin W. McCauley, M.D.
Hon. Simpson Harmount
Judge William B. Brown
Robert M. Dawson
John Andreas
Albert Bates
John Judy
Hon. J.B. Read
Rev. J.M. Levering
Rev. J.E. McKallip
Prof. Horace G. Welty
C. Ganzman, Esq.
Samuel C. Forsythe
Dr. E.P. Buell
Dr. William B. Loller
William H. Dempster
William B. Thompson
Jesse F. Birney
Alexander Huston
J.L. Morris

Lithographic Views
pgs 25-74

Business Directories of the Cities and Villages of Tuscarawas County.
Giving names, Locations, and Explicit Directions of Business of Our Patrons

pgs 75-79.


The History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio,
Containing
A History of the County; Its Townships, Towns, Churches, Schools, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Military Record; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; Miscellaneous Matters, Etc., Etc.

Illustrated
Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884


Township Histories.
Chapter I.
pgs 467 – 503

New Philadelphia and Goshen Township.
Location of the County Seat – Its Foundation – Early Settlers – The Village in 1820 – Additions – Incorporation – Public Buildings – Schools – Churches – Cemetery – Societies – The Press – Physicians – Medical Society – Banks – Industries – Hotels – Goshen Township – Its Early History – Surface Features – First Settlers – The Goshen Indians – Lockport – Pike Run – Ontario Mills – Mooreville – Churches – Salt Works – Justices.

New Philadelphia, the county seat of Tuscarawas County, is a beautiful, quiet little city of 3,500 people, situated on the spreading plains above the Tuscarawas River, in the western part of Goshen Township. Its streets are broad, level and finely shaded; its lots are large and are generally occupied by spacious residences and cozy cottages, which gives an air of comfort and plenty to the place and bespeak the thrift and prosperity of the inhabitants; its public buildings would be creditable structures to any county of the State. The schoolhouse, located in a retired part of the town, is ample in size and conveniences to accommodate the pupils of the growing population for many years to come.  The city hall, churches are industrial buildings scattered in various portions of the county seat are further indices of wealth and prosperity.

The village was laid out in 1804, and its proprietor, John Knisely, from the systematic structure and size of its plat at that time, evidently expected it to become an important city. Four years later, upon the erection of Tuscarawas County, New Philadelphia was selected as its county seat by a committee appointed for this purpose by the State Legislature. The early records of the county show that Elijah Wadsworth and Eli Baldwin, received $32 from the county for locating the seat of justice. Dover, which was laid out in 1807, contested unavailingly for the prize. The growth of New Philadelphia has been commensurate with the progress of the county. Its population, as given in as many of the census reports as are now accessible, has been as follows: In 1820, 236; in 1840, 531; in 1850, 1,414; in 1860, 2,360; in 1870, 3,143; in 1880, 3,070. The apparent decrease during the last decade is not real, for in 1870 the population of Lockport, amounting to several hundred, was included in the returns of New Philadelphia, while in 1880 it was enumerated separately.

The first settlement in the county seat, occurring nearly eighty years ago, is involved in some obscurity. When laid out, the site of the village was covered with brush and trees, and the lots and streets indicated only by small stakes. Broadway and High streets were first cleared, and for years were the only thoroughfares. One log cabin rose slowly after another as time rolled on, and were gradually displaced by larger and more substantial dwellings. Mr. Knisely, the proprietor, did not build him a cabin within the limits of the town, but dwelt a short distance east of it. John Hull, who accompanied Knisely from Pennsylvania, is said to have built the first house in New Philadelphia; he remained a resident but a short time.

In the spring of 1808, the population of the town consisted of four families. Peter Cribbs had built his cabin and potter-kiln on the east side of Broadway, between Front and High, and conducted the pottery business there for many years. George Leininger had erected a large, rude cabin, which he used as a tavern, on the southwest corner of Broadway and Front streets. Christian Stout lived in a house on Water street, and followed carpentering. He came from Washington County, Penn., and his son Joseph is said to have been the first child born in New Philadelphia. The year of his birth was 1807. Henry Laffer was also here. He was a Pennsylvanian, had assisted in surveying the lands of Ohio, and in 1809 opened a tavern at his dwelling house in New Philadelphia and kept it for several years. He was Sheriff of the county from 1810 to 1813, and soon after founded Sandyville, and removed thither.

In May, 1808, a party of five persons, consisting of David Fiscus, old Mr. Geiger and son, Daniel Williams and Peter Williams started afoot from Greensburg, Westmoreland Co., Penn., with New Philadelphia as their objective point. A few days’ traveling along indistinct trails or paths blazed by the woodman’s ax, brought them to their destination. John Knisely lived on his farm adjoining the town on the east, across Beaver Dam, and his house was the stopping-place of all new-comers. After resting where now the roads to New Cumberland and Cadiz separate, he told them that they were now in town, but only an expanse of bushes and small trees met their vision. At what is now High street, a mere foot-path wound along, and around the bushes and saplings to the next square, where the enthusiastic proprietor informed them the court house was destined to be built. A few trees had been cleared from the square, and Broadway, crossing it, was the only street that was partially cleared.

Several days later, Gabriel Cryder arrived with several teams, on his way to settle in what is now Dover Township. Besides his household effects, he had an assortment of goods which he had received in exchange for a house and lot in Pennsylvania. Having no house or barn yet erected, and finding no room at the village where he could store them, Mr. Cryder was desirous of selling the goods. The settlers in and about New Philadelphia were anxious to have a store started here, Gnadenhutten being then the nearest trading point, but there was no one to buy them. When the Greensburg party were making preparations to return, Mr. Cryder was informed that Peter Williams had clerked for several years in a store. Cryder and several others urged young Williams, who was then but sixteen years of age, to purchase the stock. He possessed no means, but two men agreed to become his security for the amount, and Williams was induced to remain. One of the men afterward declined to assume the responsibility, and the goods were given to the lad for his own notes. Peter Cribbs offered half his little cabin, and in it a store room was rudely fitted up. The goods were rapidly sold, and replenished, and the first mercantile venture thus resulted in the establishment of a store which was carried on successfully for many years.

After the seat of justice was established, a steady stream of emigration commenced. George Leininger, the first tavern keeper, took out a license for that purpose in 1808. He died soon after, and his widow, Margaret Leininger, carried on the business for many years at the old stand, the southwest corner of Broadway and Front. It was here that the first courts were held, and in the year 1808, Leininger’s tavern was, doubtless, the most important and widest known locality in the county. Abraham Shane opened a tavern in 1809. He raised two or three companies and served as an officer in the war of 1812. He was a prominent pioneer, and filled various public positions. He shipped flour and other articles by raft down the Tuscarawas River and thence to New Orleans. He removed from the county seat to Dover, where he died in 1851. William Albert, in 1814, succeeded Henry Laffer at the latter’s tavern stand, which occupied Lot 205, High street, the site of Mathias & McFarland’s store. He was a son of Jacob Albert, an early settler of this township, and continued tavern-keeping about a score of years. He died in 1837. Samuel Shull, in 1812 and 1813, paid license to keep a tavern at New Philadelphia; Daniel Hummel, in 1813, and Christian Stout, in 1814, and subsequent years. Goerge Gray commenced in 1816. Mr. Hummel came from Chambersburg, in 1811, was a wheelwright and chair-maker and followed his trade two years, when he began keeping tavern at Leininger’s place.

John and Alexander McConnell opened a store at New Philadelphia about 1810, and continued it for several years. Alexander worked awhile a tailoring, and during the war of 1812 he raised a squad of cavalry, which, however, did not get into action. He was afterward a popular Justice of Dover, where he died in 1839.

Among other early settlers of the village were Christian Espich, George W. Canfield, Jacob Blickensderfer, Philip Itzkin, the Peppers, Samuel Stough and George Sluthour. Mr. Canfield hailed from New Jersey, and reached New Philadelphia about 1814. He was appointed County Clerk in 1818, and died in office in 1826. Jacob Blickensderfer was among the most prominent pioneers. About 1812, he came from Lancaster County, Penn.; was County Commissioner from 1816 to 1819; Associate Judge from 1829 to 1836, and from 1850 to 1852; County Auditor from 1818 to 1820, and filled various other high and important offices. He labored actively and earnestly to secure the Ohio Canal through the valley, and was always foremost in matters of public improvement. He was highly educated and possessed superior mathematical abilities. He removed to Dover, where for many years he was Toll Collector on the canal. Philip Itzkin came from Philadelphia, and died not many years later. George Sluthour came from Pennsylvania about 1811, and at once engaged in the carpenter trade. He constructed a great many early dwellings at the county seat. Samuel, Albert, Joshua and John Pepper, brothers, and brick-layers, came from Cadiz, and built most of the early brick structures in New Philadelphia.

On the pages of the Tuscarawas Chronicle, for the year 1821, advertisements of the following New Philadelphia merchants and business men are found: Dr. Orange Ranney “acquaints the public that he has removed to the office formerly occupied by Wright Warner, Esq., opposite William Albert’s tavern. He has also just received and now offers for sale a general assortment of drugs and medicines,” many of which he enumerates, and has also “the following highly celebrated patent medicines: Bateman’s Drops, Godfrey’s Cordial, Anderson’s Pills, Itch Ointment (warranted genuine), Golden Tincture, British Oil, Balsam de Malta, Harlem Oil, Lee’s Antibilious Pills.”

J. Johnson advertises a general assortment of merchandise, including dry goods, “Ironmongery,” cutlery, groceries, liquors, drugs, etc. He offers to receive tallow at his store in payment of debts or for goods. John White gives notice that he has commenced the gun-making and repairing business, and hopes to merit encouragement and support. “Coffee mills sharpened and repaired.” H. Williams informs the public that he continues to carry on his business as chair-maker in his new house on High street. He has just “purchased the patent right of a newly invented spinning-wheel, and made a number on the new plan, which has been highly approved of by those who purchased them.” Samuel J. Bowlby states that he has commenced the business of book-binding in New Philadelphia, and that, “having tools for binding in all its various branches, he will bind books either in ornamental or plain form.” He offers for sale a variety of German books, and will take country produce in part payment. Michael Ream commences tailoring in the house opposite Mr. Gray’s tavern, “where all orders in the line of his profession will be thankfully received and punctually attended to. To suit the hardness of the times, he has determined to do work at the following reduced prices: Superfine coats, at $3 to $3.50; superfine vests or pantaloons, 75 cents; coarse coats, $1.50 to $2; coarse vests or pantaloons, 62-1/2 cents.” William Neeriemer tailor, also requests the patronage of the public, and offers to do work at reduced prices. He states that he had removed to the of George Sluthour (formerly occupied as a tavern by D. Hummel). Benjamin and Jacob Ream advertise for a quantity of muskrat skins, for which the highest price will be given in cash. Mathias Springer offers to make “ladies’ and children’s shoes and bootees, of morocco leather, at a reasonable price.” Peter Cribbs “will receive butter in payment of earthenware, at 7 cents per pound, to be delivered at his dwelling in New Philadelphia.” Charles F. Espich desires “dried gensing at 25 cents per pound, and 10 cents for undried, paid in store goods, or part cash if required. It must be well washed, curls taken out and trimmed.” He also advertises tin and stoneware. Samuel Lane notifies the inhabitants of New Philadelphia and vicinity “that he has commenced the tayloring business, in the first house south of Mr. Smiley’s tavern. Persons wishing to have their clothes made according to latest fashions can be suited agreeably to their desires.” Robert Sergeant states that he “will receive butter at 6-1/4 cents per pound in payment of salt, saddlery and earthenware. Those who intent to furnish him with this article at requested not to put it up in kegs.”

In the Advocate for 1820, besides several of the above advertisers, B.H. Warfield offers to the public a general line of merchandise; Wright Warner inserts a law card and Dr. Orange Ranney announces himself as a practicing physician. John Hall advertises the tailoring business, and Joseph Landers and Thomas Sergeant appear as tanners; Charles F. Espich as a merchant.

The following curious but business-like notice, taken from the Tuscarawas Chronicle, Aug. 18, 1821, reveals the lamentable fact that the county seat in its infancy was not, in all respects, a model village. The righteous indignation expressed, and threatened vengeance, it is hoped, crushed the evil against which it was directed. The notice was worded as follows:

Look Out, Slanderers! It has been a practice among some people in this town to slander their neighbors, and create mischief among our citizens by spreading and telling the most notorious falsehoods. This custom has hitherto been confined to a few women, a short time, others have joined their ranks, whose standing in society was more respectable. Men have been guilty of this crime, and have lent their aid in spreading stories about their neighbors, which they knew to be false. Persons who say they heard, that such an one has been guilty of such and such things, or such an one said so and so, are perhaps themselves the forgers of the falsehood. Taking this system of slandering to be a great evil among our citizens, we recommend that all persons, who tell tales about their neighbors, be made to prove their truth, which, if they cannot do, that their names be posted up on the court house and published in the newspapers, as Base Slanderers, unworthy of being taken into decent company. Those women and men, who know from experience, that this hint is directed to them, will do well to bridle their tongues in time, or punishment and shame will most assuredly overtake them.
Many Citizens
New Philadelphia, August 18, 1821.

The plat of New Philadelphia, as originally laid out in 1804, and enlarged in 1805, was acknowledged by the proprietor, John Knisely, before Christian Deardorff, Associate Judge, May 22, 1813.  It included 558 lots, most of them sixty-six feet in width and 264 feet in depth.  Water, Front, High, Fair and Ray streets extend north 80 degrees west.  They are crossed at right angles by East, Second, Third, Broadway, Fifth, Sixth, West, Walnut, Mulberry and Chestnut streets.  High, Broadway and Front streets are eighty-two and a half feet wide, Water street fifty feet, all others sixty-six feet.  The alleys are each twenty-four feet nine inches in width.  The square at the intersection of Broadway and High, thirteen rods each way, is donated for a court house.  The two squares at the intersections of East and West streets, with High, are called Lower Market and Upper Market respectively.  The following public donations are indicated on the plat:  Four lots, 361-4 inclusive, at the northwest corner of Ray and Second streets, for English religious societies; four lots, 273-6, at the northwest corner of East and Fair streets, now the cemetery lot, for German religious societies; four lots, 397-400, at the northeast corner of West and Ray streets, to the Moravian Society; Lot 253, on Third street, for a German schoolhouse; Lot 244, on Fifth street, for an English schoolhouse; Lot 203, on High street, for the public offices of the county.

The first addition to New Philadelphia was made by Benjamin W. Morris.  It consisted of twelve lots, south of the original plat and west of Plum alley; was surveyed in September, 1844, and recorded in May, 1845.  East Addition, consisting of thirteen in-lots and thirteen out-lots, at the northeast corner of the town, was laid out in 1851 by George W. McIlvaine and Jesse D. Elliott; eleven in-lots fronted on Beaver Dam road and two on Fair street.  In the same year Levi Sargent made an addition of twelve lots and two out-lots, south of Water street and west of Fox alley.  William F. Neely and Joseph Welty, in 1853, made their North Addition, consisting of twenty-two lots, located mostly on North street, between Fifth and Broadway.  E. Janes’ Addition, of three out-lots and sixteen lots, twelve on East Front and four on an extension of High street, now East avenue, was made in 1857.  “West Philadelphia” consisting of fifty-one lots, located west of Chestnut and south of High street, was laid out by C. H. Mitrchener in 1867.  Kate and T. H. Smith, in 1868, laid out three building lots on East avenue.  In 1868, Sargent’s Northern Addition, consisting of thirty-five lots, between Fifth and Sixth streets, was laid out.  A. T. Raiff’s Addition of twelve lots, north of Moravian alley and west of West street, was made in 1869.  In the same year, John Kaserman laid out his addition of twenty-two lots south of East avenue.  The addition of John Arn and Jacob Nickles was made in 1870; it consists of ten lots, located north of Moravian alley and west of Walnut street.  “West avenue,” adjoining New Philadelphia on the southwest, and consisting of sixty-seven blocks, was laid out in 1872.  N. Montag’s Addition of nine lots on North West street was laid out the same year.  William Campbell, in 1882, subdivided Lots 25, 26, 27 and 28.  Eleven building lots were, in 1883, laid out north of West High street by Joseph Welty.  Besides the above, a number of out lots adjacent to New Philadelphia have been platted and recorded.

New Philadelphia was incorporated by act of Legislature passed Feb. 12, 1833.  The first election for officers was held on Monday, May 6, following.  Thirty-seven votes were polled, and the following citizens were elected to office:  B. M. Atherton Mayor, or President, as it was then called; Andrew Seaton, Recorder; John Coventry, Treasurer; Samuel W. Kenrick, Marshal; Francis D. Leonard, John W. Taylor, Peter Cribbs, Sr., Thomas Sargeant and David Baltzly, Town Council.  The election was held in the court house, and the officers conducting it were Joseph Talbot and Henry Stiffler, Judges; George M. McConnell, Clerk.  At the second annual election held May 5, 1834, forty-one votes were cast, and B. M. Atherton was re-elected Mayor.  He continued in this office until 1838, and his successors with the dates of their first election, were the following:  George N. Allen, 1839; Peter Williams, 1840; David English, 1841; Isaac Hartman, 1842; Benjamin W. Morris, 1844; John J. Camp, 1846; Thomas J. Sargent, 1848; John English, 1853; William M. McPherrin, 1854; O. P. Taylor, 1855; W. L. Robb, 1858; Morgan Butler, 1860; J. H. Barnhill, 1861; Asbury Insley 1862; J. H. Collier 1864; John N. Ferrell 1865; D. W. Stambaugh, 1866; Daniel Korns 1868; J. P. Chapin, 1872; Daniel Korns, 1874; T. C. Ferrell, 1876; William Campbell, 1880, present incumbent.

 Eagle Hall is a large brick structure, standing on the southwest corner of High and Third streets, and was built in 1871 by the Council of New Philadelphia at a cost of $22,000.  It contains, on the first floor, the Mayor’s office, the fire department, and cells for the accommodation of offenders against the peace and dignity of the law; on the second floor is a spacious public hall, which is now temporarily used as an office by the County Recorder and Probate Judge.

The fire department first sprang into existence by the organization of a fire company about 1856, of which O. H. Hoover was Secretary, and William Campbell, Treasurer.  Several years later, a hand engine, built at the old foundry of English, Roby & Dixon, was purchased.  It was kept in an old building which stood on the court house lot, and the company held its meetings in the court house until the erection of Eagle Hall.  In 1872, a steam fire engine was purchased from the Silsby Manufacturing Company, Seneca, N. Y., for $5,000, which was used until 1883, when a new engine was purchased from the same company.  John Orr was the first Chief Engineer of the company, succeeded by William Campbell.  Simon Hansel now holds that position.  The department now consists of the hook and ladder company and the engine company, each of which alternately recommends the name of a member for the position of Chief Engineer to the City Council, which then appoints him for a term of two years.

A market house formerly occupied Lot 156, East High street, the site of Well’s drug store.  It was little used for its intended purpose.  The rooms above the market stalls were for many years occupied by the village school.

Schools.
Who taught the first school at New Philadelphia, who attended and where the building stood cannot now be ascertained. The first log jail, built soon after the county was organized, located on the court house lot, was used for purposes of education occasionally, when not needed to subserve the ends of justice. George W. Canfield and others taught here. A few years later, a hewed-log schoolhouse was built on the west end of the Getzman lot, No. 253, which fronts on Third street, and was donated by John Knisely for a German school lot. After this primitive schoolhouse had served its purpose, the schools were conducted generally in the four rooms of the old market house, until the two-story brick was erected on the site of the present school building about 1850. Among the public instructors in the old market house was George W. McIlvaine. The basement of the old Lutheran Church had also been occupied as a school room, and terms of school were taught in various other unoccupied buildings in the village.

At a meeting held March 25, 1850, by the electors of District No. 1, in Goshen Township, it was decided by a unanimous vote to organize a special district for school purposes, under the act of Legislature passed March 21, 1849. The Directors of the district at this time were J.P. Chapin, C.H. Mitchener and John Coventry, and the present site of the school buildings had already been selected and a two-story brick school house, 40×75 feet, partially erected. The first Board of Education was elected April 8, 1850, and consisted of C.H. Mitchener, William Helmick, J. Coventry, J.P. Chapin, J. Demuth and L. Sargent. The building was erected and furnished and the total cost, including the ground, a shown by the record, was $4,035. The first Principal in the new building was A.C. Allen, and the teachers James Heller, J.W. Kitch, Mary A. Russell, Elizabeth Robinson and Mary Seaton. The school was divided into three grades, and the studies authorized in the highest grade were the common English branches, physiology, history, algebra, natural philosophy and rhetoric. The zeal of the Directors at that time is made apparent from the following resolution, passed October 20, 1850: “Resolved, That it be the duty of the Board of Directors and Examiners to visit the school, at least one of them, every day.” The enumeration of the school youth in the district in October, 1850, was 528; of these 377 were enrolled in school, and the average daily attendance for the first school year reached 249.

Mr. Allen continued Principal for two years, and is yet remembered for the thorough discipline he established in the schools. In the fall of 1852, J.W. Keel succeeded Mr. Allen and remained two years. In 1856, Joseph Welty was elected Principal and served two years. He was succeeded by J.L. McIlvaine, who served one year. Joseph Welty was then recalled and has remained in charge ever since.

In the spring of 1858, on account of the crowded state of the school, the voters authorized an enlargement of the school building, and four rooms were added at a cost of about $3,000. Better grading and classification followed, and the schools received a fresh impulse toward improvement; in 1864, J.L. McIlvaine reported to the board a three years’ course of study for the high school, which was adopted, and with slight changes has been followed to the present. This introduction marked a new era in the high school. Mr. McIlvaine reclassified the high school and prepared the first class, consisting of five young ladies, for graduation. In 1866, further enlargement of the school building became necessary, and at an election held February 24 of that year, the board was authorized to negotiate a loan of $7,000 to increase the capacity of the schoolhouse. The building was remodeled and enlarged, and attained a front of 119 feet, a depth of eighty-two feet and had ample space for fourteen rooms. In February, 1877, the entire building was destroyed by fire. The same spring an act of Legislation was passed, authorizing the School Board to levy a tax in the school district and issue bonds to the amount of $35,000 for the erection of a new school building. Work was immediately commenced and the structure was completed the same year. The old building had been insured for about $13,000. The new schoolhouse, including furniture and some repairs, cost $50,000, and in size, appearance and convenient arrangement is unsurpassed in this part of the State. It is heated by steam, has an excellent system of ventilation, and contains eighteen rooms, fifteen of which are sufficient at present to accommodate the various departments. The enrollment for the year 1882-83 exceeded 800, and the average attendance was about 600. At the close of this school year, Prof. Joseph Welty was re-elected to serve his twenty-fifth year as Superintendent of the schools. Eighteen classes have completed the high school course of study and graduated with public exercises.

Churches.
Lutheranism in New Philadelphia dates its origin almost with the foundation of the village. In 1808, just four years after the town was laid out, Rev. Christian Espich arrived with his family and built him a cabin on Lower Broadway, near the river. There were but four families here at that time, and Rev. Espich served the people in the double capacity of preceptor and minister. The services were conducted in the German language, and were held in the rude log cabins of the day. Rev. John Stough followed him, and a little later, between 1810 and 1814, Rev. Jacob Rhineheart. In 1815, Rev. Abraham Snyder came to New Philadelphia from Columbiana County, organized a church and became its first pastor. He remained in charge for a period of eight or nine years. After the first log jail was built on the lot now occupied by the court house, services were held in its second story until some time during Rev. Snyder’s pastorate, when a building was erected on Lot 253, north of the court house, which served both for a church and a school house. After the brick court house was completed, about 1819, services were held in it for about fifteen years — until the erection of the Lutheran Church in 1834, the Lutherans and Presbyterians occupying it each alternate Sunday. Rev. Snyder’s labors ceased in 1823 or 1824, and for several years the people were obliged to depend on traveling missionaries. During this time they were visited by Rev. James Manning, Rev. Rodaker, Rev. Wagenhals, and perhaps one or two others. The society became disorganized and the members discouraged.

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Goshen Township
pgs 494-503.

Goshen Township in its name preserves a link which connects it with the eventful occurrences in the Tuscarawas Valley prior to the formation of the State government.  The beautiful spring, where the patriarch Zeisberger first led his band of peace-loving Indians in 1772, and founded the flourishing mission which he named Schonbrunn, is situated about two miles south of New Philadelphia, on the east side of the river.


 In 1777, after five years of unparalleled prosperity, this village was abandoned through the necessities of war, but two years later, New Schonbrunn was built on the western bank of the Tuscarawas, nearly opposite the beautiful spring and about a quarter of a mile below Lockport.  It was destroyed by Williamson’s party in 1782.  In 1798, Goshen Mission was established by Zeisberger west of the river, about four miles below New Philadelphia, on what is now Lot 39.  As mentioned in the chapter on Moravian Mission, Goshen was occupied by the Indians until their removal from the valley in 1824.


 Schonbrunn Spring was deeded by the owner, John Jacobs, to the Union Bible Society in 1872, and the historic spot has since been inclosed by a fence.  A memorial stone was planted there by C. H. Mitchener, W. C. Williamson, John Judy and others.

Goshen was one of the four original townships into which the County Commissioners divided Tuscarawas County at their first meeting in the spring of 1808.  It was twenty miles in extent, east and west, and seven and one-half north and south, comprising Township 8 in Ranges 1, 2, 3 and 4, and the south half of Township 9 in the same ranges, or all of the present Goshen and Sugar Creek Townships, most of Auburn, York and Dover, half of Fairfield, small fractions of Warren and Union Townships, and of Holmes County.  The erection of Dover Township in 1810 deprived it of most of this territory west of the river.  Fairfield, in 1817, took a considerable corner from it, and lighter losses were sustained in the subsequent formation of York, Warren and Union.  Goshen yet remains one of the largest townships in the county.  It includes the Schonbrunn tract of 4,000 acres entire.  Exclusive of this tract, the southern and eastern portions are composed of 100-acre military lots, except several sections of congressional land in the northeast corner.  In the northwest portion is a quarter of military land and the fractions of two other quarters. The first quarter of Township 8, Range 2, containing 3,554 acres, was located by Godfrey Haga, according to patent dated Mar. 28, 1800, and signed by John Adams, President.  Haga, through his agent, John Heckewelder, sold the entire quarter to John Knisely, Jan. 8, 1808, for $3,776, and upon this tract Knisely laid out the county seat.

Goshen Township contains within its limits all the varied topographical features found in the county.  The Tuscarawas River in the western portion presents a broad and fertile valley.  Beaver Dam Creek, by its tortuous course, and its tributaries pierce the hills in all directions, and help to soften their ruggedness.  The plains, or second bottom lands, extend along both banks of the river, and while the surface of the country generally was covered with a heavy growth of timber, the vesture of the plains was gaunt and sparse.  A scrubby growth of jack oak, in little clumps here and there, comprised almost the entire vegetation.  Owing to this scant forest growth, the early settlers, accustomed to the heavy timbers of Pennsylvania and Maryland, regarded the soil of the plains as poor and thin, and they usually preferred casting their lot among the more densely wooded hills.  The prevailing types of timber were oak, poplar, chestnut, beech, hickory and walnut.  No better soil for general agricultural purposes is found in the county than that of Goshen Township.


 Its mineral resources are equally rich and varied.  Nearly every hill in the township is underlaid with valuable veins of bituminous coal.  The mines now chiefly worked are situated in the east and southeast parts of the township, whence hundreds of tons are daily mined and shipped by rail beyond the county.  Fire-clay is an important product.  A bank is extensively worked by Samuel Foltz at the foot of Goshen Hill, several miles southeast of New Philadelphia.  Excellent quarries of lime and sandstone are found and operated, affording a superior material for building purposes.


 John Knisely emigrated from Bedford County, Penn., to the site of New Philadelphia in 1804, and negotiated with John Heckewelder for a quarter of land, the deed for which, however, was not passed until four years later.  Returning to Pennsylvania, Mr. Knisely brought his family to the wild west country the following year and settled on a farm just east of the county seat.  His children were Abraham, John, Samuel, David, Joseph, Sarah (Minnich), Elizabeth (Casebeer), Mary (Williams) and Susan (Stough), all of whom were earnest and prominent pioneers.  John Knisely afterwards resided in the village he had founded, and died in Dover Township in 1835, at the residence of his son, John Knisely, Jr.


 Among the resident land-owners of the present Goshen Township who were here in 1809, besides the Kniselys, were Henry Albright, John Baltzly, Samuel Best, Christian and David Casebeer, John Judy, Felix Landis, Philip Minnich, George and David Stiffler, John Switzer, Samuel Thomas.  Henry Albright, a Pennsylvanian, owned nearly 300 acres near New Philadelphia.  He lived there to an advanced age.  John Baltzly, hailing from Little York, Penn., was the owner of Lots 7 and 9 in the third quarter of Township 8, Range 1.  He was accidentally killed prior to 1820 by a falling tree.  His son Peter owned Lot 8, and died in this township; of his other children, Daniel died in Goshen, John in Sugar Creek Township, Jacob in Holmes County.  Samuel Best was a hatter by trade, and had been a tavern-keeper in Steubenville.  He owned Lot 33, fourth quarter, Township 8, Range 1, in the south east part of the township, but becoming dissatisfied he removed to Kentucky and was never afterward heard from.  The Casebeers were amongst the earliest pioneers.  David and Jacob, who were brothers, emigrated from Pennsylvania probably as early as 1805.  David owned the east half of Lot 32, about one and a half miles east of New Philadelphia; was a shoe-maker, and operated a tannery.  He afterwards removed to the county seat, built a tavern, and died there in 1846.  Jacob was a forger of cow bells.  He owned Lot 11, three miles southeast of New Philadelphia.  He died in 18 65.  Christian Casebeer, from Washington County, Penn., after pursuing a farmer’s vocation for many years in Goshen Township, removed to Indiana.  John Judy came to the county in 1803.  He was a native of Switzerland, and emigrated to America about 1801, remaining in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, until his removal to Tuscarawas County.  He remained one winter at Gnadenhutten.  He purchased from John Knisely 100 acres of land about a mile east of New Philadelphia, where he engaged in farming.  He was a tailor, and fashioned clothes for the Indians.  Mr. Judy was a life-long resident of Goshen Township from the date of his entrance into it.  Felix Landis, a Virginia farmer, owned and occupied Lot 23, several miles southeast of New Philadelphia.  He was an exemplary Dunkard, and passed his old age amidst the near neighbor.  Philip Minnich emigrated from Bedford County, Penn., with his family, and settled near New Philadelphia on a farm of several hundred acres, where he lived till his death in 1824.  The Stifflers came earlier from the same county, probably in 1803 or 1804.  David settled two and a half miles east of New Philadelphia, and died on the place.  George purchased a farm about a mile east of the county seat, and there followed farming and blacksmithing.  Samuel Thomas, a Virginian and a brother-in-law of Felix Landis, lived near New Philadelphia.  John Switzer, an aged Swiss, came to the township about 1808.


 Among other early residents of Goshen who arrived after the county was organized and before 1820, were the following:  Jacob Albert, who was originally form Washington County, Penn., emigrated to Jefferson County, Ohio, and thence to this county, settling in the northeast part of Goshen Township, the southwest quarter of Section 9.  He brought with him a large family, and one son, William Albert, was for many years a tavern keeper at New Philadelphia.  Jacob Albert died prior to 1820.  Michael Smith entered and occupied a neighboring farm, the northeast quarter of Section 12.  Farther to the west, on Beaver Dam, on parts of Lots 34 and 35, was Christian Baughman, who came from Bedford County, Penn., and remained a life-long citizen of Goshen Township.  Jacob Wallick also settled on Beaver Dam, on a fraction of Lot 37.  He afterward removed to Van Wert County.  On Pike Run, in the fourth quarter of Township 8, Range 1, were Valentine Fleck and Jacob and David Foreman.  All were from Pennsylvania, and remained life-long residents of the township.  Fleck owned Lot 36; Jacob Foreman Lot 29, and his brother, David, Lot 26.  Philip Fackler, from Pennsylvania, moved to near Lockport, in 1814.  Gotlieb Fackler was also a pioneer.  Other early settlers were Casper Engler, Moses and Joseph Everett, Jacob and David Fitch, Samuel Wilson, Henry Shatler, Joseph Rhodes and Frederick Maish; the last-named died in 1823; Gabriel Cryder came to the county in 1808, settled in Dover Township, and a few years later removed to Goshen Township, about five miles southeast from New Philadelphia.  He owned Lots 2, 15, 16, and a fraction of 1, in the third quarter of Township 8, Range 1.  In 1823, he removed to New Philadelphia.


 The Indian mission at Goshen was well known to the pioneers, and the association of the whites with the converted red men did not always redound to the spiritual welfare of the latter.  The Indians led an agricultural life to some extent, but retained the hunting proclivities of their former days and ranged the hills and valleys far and near.  They visited the early pioneers in every part of the county and were usually welcomed, for they seldom indulged in unseemly conduct.  Basket-making was the principal occupation of the squaws.  They often camped out along the creeks near by, and while the Indian braves would hunt, the squaws were industriously weaving baskets.  They soaked the trunks of black ash saplings in water till they became thoroughly saturated, then with mallets pounded them till the fibers separated and formed their splints.  With these they fashioned neat and strong baskets, and sold or traded them to the settlers.  At Goshen is one of the oldest burial grounds in the county.  Here the missionary Rev. Edwards was laid to rest in 1801, and the venerable Zeisberger seven years later.  During the war of 1812 the Goshen Indians were prohibited by the whites from going outside the bounds of their village under penalty of being held and treated as an enemy.  An occasional stealthy infraction of this prohibition by a young Indian resulted sometimes in frightening a child or woman who was unfortunate enough to meet him.  Rev. Abraham Luckenbach was the missionary at Goshen in the fall of 1823, when the mission was broken up and the Indians removed to Canada.  They were extremely loath to leave the wildwood haunts of the valley, which had become endeared to them by a long and pleasant residence.  Slowly and sadly they left their homes, and traveled up the west banks of the river, accompanied by their pastor.  At New Philadelphia they crossed the Tuscarawas, and continued the journey by way of Sandyville to Cleveland, where they embarked on a vessel for their new home in Canada.  Tom Lyons is said to have been the only Indian who refused to go.  He lingered about for many years, the terror of children and dread of women, for he boasted of having in his possession the tongues of ninety-nine white women, and wanted another to make an even number.


 Blake’s Mills, usually called Lockport, is a little village of 300 people, located on the south side of the Tuscarawas River, on the Ohio Canal, opposite New Philadelphia.  It was incorporated in the spring of 1883, when the following officers were elected: Simon J. Beck, Mayor; William E. Beck, Clerk; Christian Coppersmith, Michael Siebold, John Cramer, James McKnight and David Niderhiser, Council; Simon Darst, Treasurer; Edward Steinbaugh, Marshal.  The population is largely German.  The village contains one general store, two saloons, two blacksmith shops, a harness shop, a wagon shop, two butcher shops, an extensive lime kiln operated by William McLean, a large grist mill, a brewery, a paper mill, a graded school and a Methodist Church.


 The paper mill was removed from Navarre, and built south of the canal on Broadway in 1868, by the New Philadelphia Paper Manufacturing Company.  Two years later, its location was removed to the river side, where it was rebuilt at a cost of $25,000 by Judy, Knisely & Co., a firm which still owns it, and which consists of David Judy, George W. McIlvaine, Oliver Knisely and George Welty, the last of whom manages the mill. Fifty tons of straw wrapping paper are produced here each month.


 The grist mill was built in 1854 by Walter M. Blake.  He operated it until his death, and his administrators sold the property to Richard Johnson from whom the present owner, J. W. Patterson, obtained it.  The mill originally contained three run of buhrs.  Mr. Patterson added a fourth; but, in the summer of 1883, he adopted the roller process, and refitted the mill with the necessary machinery.  The mill is situated on the canal, and is operated by water power.  Besides transacting a custom business, the proprietor ships considerable flour to the East.


 The brewery was set in operation about twenty-five years ago by Michael Berger, who, after a time, sold it to Rudolph Kapitzky.  From him the present proprietors, Siebold & Hockenbraugh, obtained possession.  They manufacture and keep in stock an immense amount of the German’s national beverage.


 The village possesses an excellent two-story brick schoolhouse, erected many years ago, where in a graded school, composed of three rooms, is kept.  S. J. Beck is Principal, and has occupied that position since the graded system was inaugurated, except two terms, during which Mr. Kinsey and George Welty respectively conducted the schools.


 The Methodist Episcopal Church  is a neat frame structure, which was erected during the summer and autumn of 1870, and dedicated in February, 1871, by Rev. J. F. Kennedy, of Delaware, Ohio. The society was organized shortly before the building of the church.  Its membership is small.


 Lockport was laid out in 1829 by Frederick Shull and Gottlieb Fackler, on the south side of the Ohio Canal, immediately above Lock 13.  The original plat included sixty-nine lots.  In 1830, the proprietors made an addition of forty lots, 70-109, north of the canal.  Its streets were Jackson, North Canal, Adams, Clay and Ferry.  In 1833, the original plat was partially vacated and re-surveyed, and Lots 110-121 were laid out on the south side of the canal.  The streets were First, Second and Third, extending north and south, and Canal street, running east and west.  In 1872, Lots 75-87 inclusive, located on West Adams street, were vacated.  Blakesfield was laid out in 1845 by Walter M. Blake, on land adjoining Lockport on the east.  It comprised forty-two lots, all of which were located between the canal and river.  Broadway was the main street.  Twelve lots of Blakesfield 1-19 were situated west of Broadway, and thirty lots east of it.  South Blakesfield was laid out in 1851, by Mr. Blake south of the canal, and adjoining Lockport.  The lots, eighty-seven in number, were located on both sides of Broadway.  In 1868, Samuel Howe made an addition to Blake’s Mills (Lockport), consisting of thirteen lots on the west side of “Oldtown” street, or Broadway, and south of and adjacent to the canal.  In 1870, Jacob Darst made an addition of twenty-six lots, south of the canal and on the east side of Broadway.


 Mr. Espich built the first house in Lockport.  Samuel Sedgwick was an early tavern keeper.  Conrad Rager owned and conducted the first store.  In 1855, Clark Robinson started a mill to make oil from cannel-coal, but the inexhaustible supplies of rock oil discovered soon after in Pennsylvania made the enterprise a failure.  It was the canal that brought Lockport into existence, and the village still smacks of its origin.  A dozen or more old boatmen reside here, some of whom dwell during the winter in houses, while others take up winter quarters in their boats.


 The most extensive coal mines in the county are located in the southeast part of Goshen Township on Pike Run.  At present two companies are operating mines here.  The Tuscarawas Valley Coal Company was incorporated in 1873, after these mines had been worked about a year, the stockholders being Cleveland men.  Its mines have been operated continuously since.  J. E. Waters, of Bridgeport, is the General Superintendent of the mines.  About 150 miners and employes are engaged, and the daily yield of the mines is about 300 tons.  The Brock Hill Coal Company was incorporated in 1881.  J. M. Shanks, of New Philadelphia, is its General Superintendent.  The capacity of its mines and the number of its employes are equal to that of the Tuscarawas Valley Company.


 The operation of these mines has produced a mining town of consideration size and importance, called Pike Run.  The only recorded lots of the place are Kent’s building lots, surveyed and platted in Ma_, 1881, by Oliver Young.  They are located on Lot 29, of the fourth quarter of Township 8, Range 1, and number thirty-six, ranged in five tiers, which are interested by two streets, Main and Center.  Pike Run has a population of 500 or 600. It contains three stores, a church and as knights of Pythias lodge.  The name of the post office here is Barnhill.


 The Pike Run Brethren Church was organized in the spring of 1882, by Rev. George F. Deal, with a membership of sixty-three.  During the same year a frame house of worship was erected on a lot donated to the church by the coal company.  The building is about 36×48 in size, and cost $2,000.  It was dedicated by Dr. Z. Warner, of Parkersburg.  The membership of the society has increased to 100, and Rev. Deal is still in charge.


 La Belle Lodge, No. 160, I. O. O. F., was instituted at Pike Run May 16, 1883, with thirty-five members.  It was named in honor of Andrew Baggs of Bridgeport, Ohio, one of the proprietors of the La Belle Glass Works of that city, who donated to the lodge two building lots.  The first officers of the lodge now serving, are John A. Kothe, P. C.; C. F. Grinnell, C. C.; John W. Richards, V. C.; John Hawkins, Prelate; W. B. Davy, K. of R. and S.; John Smith, M. of F.; Emanuel Hensel M. of E.; Benjamin Browning M. at A.; John Page, I. G.; George W. McIlvaine Roby, O. G.  The lodge  erected a neat hall in the summer and autumn of 1883.



 Ontario Mills was the designation given to sixteen lots laid out by Robert Hanna in 1853 on Lots 26 and 27, about a half mile north of the site of Pike Run.  The village did not prosper, and nothing now remains of it.


 An imposing town plat of 300 lots was surveyed a few years ago, midway between Dover and New Philadelphia.  It was called Mooreville, but the dazzling attempt to rear a rival  City between these two places proved a failure.


 Beaver Dam United Brethren Church has a present membership of fifty-two, and is under the patronage of Rev. George F. Deal, The house of worship in the southern part of Section 9, a half mile from the eastern line of the township, was built about 1878.  A Lutheran congregation formerly flourished in this vicinity, and was supplied by Rev. E. Greenwold.  About 1846, the Lutherans built a church on the site of the present edifice.  James Raridan, Daniel Baltzly and Zachariah Garibrand were then trustees.  Removals and deaths reduced the membership, and services were discontinued.  In 1857, the building was leased for ten years to a United Brethren class, which had just been formed under revival meetings held by Rev. Leander Rinehart.  Among the converted were the Leathermans, wrights, Smiths and Leightles. The church property was again leased by the United Brethren Society, and its members constructed the present building.


 The Bethlehem Methodist Episcopal Church is located in the northeastern part of the township, on the northeast quarter of Section 8.  The lot upon which it stands was donated by Mrs. Elizabeth Smith.  It is a small frame building, and was erected in 1877, at a cost slightly exceeding $1,200.  The present membership is scarcely above twenty.  A Methodist class had been organized in this vicinity many years prior to 1850, and in that year a building known as the Rehobeth Curch, was erected near the north line of Lot 2, about a mile southwest of the present structure,  the land for the church being the donation of Ransom Newton.  Earlier meetings had been held in vacant cabins, and among the early members were Isaac Walters, Jacob Walters, John Everhart, Solomon Minard, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith and Frederick Rummell.  This structure was used until Bethlehem Church was built, under the pastorate of Rev. J. H. Jackson.  Its subsequent pastors have been Revs. Michael Williams, Amos Keeler and William M. Dickerson.


 In the southeast part of the township a Methodist class was organized in 1853, in consequence of a series of revival services conducted by Rev. Alexander Scott.  The following year, during the ministry of Rev. Simon P. Wolf, a frame church, 28×38 feet, was built on Lot 2, near Pike Run, at an expense of $600.  Occasional services had previously been held in a neighboring schoolhouse.  The leading early members were Henry Mosher and wife, John McCleland and wife, Henry Bess and wife, C. C. Carroll and wife, Mrs. Agnes Ellis, Mrs. Sarah Coleman, James Watkins and wife, Samuel Browning and wife, and John Scott and wife.  In 1882, a new church was built on the site of the old, and dedicated in February, 1883, by Rev. W. B. Watkins, of the Pittsburgh Conference.  It is a frame structure, splendidly finished, with arched ceiling and stained window-panes, and surmounted by bell and belfry.  Its cost was $3,500.  The new church is called the Plains Church; the old was known as Sansom’s Chapel.  At present the membership is about eighty.  Plains Church circuit includes, besides this charge, Bethlehem Church in this township, Holmes in Warren, and Rockford & Union.


 In the southern part of the township, west of the river, on Lot 34, stands the Goshen Methodist Church, which was built about 1854, and is still occupied by a small congregation.  Anthony Alderson and John Moore were early members.


 In 1866, when the oil excitement was at fever heat, and fortunes were rapidly made in Pennsylvania, the Goshen Oil & Coal Company was organized and incorporated at New Philadelphia, with a capital stock of $20,000, for the purpose of searching the depths of the Tuscarawas Valley for this illuminator.  Its officers were Jesse D. Elliott, President; James Moffit, Secretary; O. P. Taylor Treasurer; Daniel Korns, W. C. Williamson, S. O’Donnell and C. B. Harvey, Directors.  In Goshen Township, three miles above New Philadelphia, a well was drilled 500 feet without success, and some of the parties interested wished to withdraw.  The well, however, was sunk 400 feet deeper, and a stream gushed forth, which was found on examination to be not oleaginous, but strongly impregnated with salt.  Works were at once erected under the management of Jesse D. Elliott, Judge James Moffit, Daniel Korns, W. C. Williamson and O. P. Taylor, the principal stockholders, and the evaporation of salt commenced.  The name was changed to the Goshen Coal Oil & Salt Company, which, in 1871, disposed of the property to Custer, Scott & Kennedy.  The present owners are John Custer, B. P. Scott & John Scott.  The yield of the works is about seventy barrels of salt per day.  The discovery of salt in this well resulted in the drilling and operation of two other wells in Dover Township a year or two later.  The product of the three wells, outside of the slight local demand, is sold through the Tuscarawas Valley Salt Company, of which J. M. Custer is Agent, and B. P. Scott, Secretary and Treasurer.  The company handles about 60,000 barrels of salt per annum.


 Not far remote from the present River Mills, near New Philadelphia, was in early times the Baker Grist Mill.  It was built about 1820, did custom work only, and survived but a few years.


 The citizens of Goshen Township who have been elected to the office of Justice of the Peace, have the following with a few others:

 Abraham Knisely, 1808; Christian Espich, 1810, resigned 1811; Abraham Shane, 1811; Abraham Knisely, 1811; John Blickensderfer 1818; Samuel Lamberson,  1819; Wright Warner, 1819; J. Blickensderfer,  1821; Alexander McConnell, 1822; Abraham Knisely, 1822; Jacob Blickensderfer, 1824, removed from the township during term; James Stough, 1825; Nathan McGrew, 1825; Andrew Seaton, 1827; Samuel Stough, 1`828; Abraham Knisely, 1828; Andrew Seaton, 1830; John W. Taylor 1831; Abraham Knisely, 1831; Jacob Kitch,  1833; John Butt, 1834; Andrew Seaton, 1834; Samuel Sedgwick, 1835; John Butt, 1837; Andrew Seaton, 1837; John Judy, Jr., 1838; John Butt,  1840; Charles Korns, 1840; John Judy,1841; Robert Copeland, 1843; John Judy, 1844; Samuel Sedgwick, 1846; John B. Reed, 1846, resigned 1849; Samuel Sedgwick, 1q849 George W. McIlvaine, 1849; Joshua Pepper, 1847; John Grimm, 1850, resigned 1852; Joseph Walton, 1852, removed from township during term; Samuel Sedgwick, 1852; George W. McIlvaine, 1852; Jacob C. Helmick, 1853; William McPherrin, 1855, resigned 1855; Joseph Welty, 1855, resigned 1858; Alexander L. Neely, 1855; John Butt, 1856; William L. Robb, 1858; Alexander L. Neely, 1858; John Butt, 1859; John W. Morrow, 1861; John Grimm 1861; John Butt, 1862; Solomon Hoover, 1862; Daniel Christy, 1863; Bowers Seaton, 1864, resigned 1865; William L. Robb, 1865; Solomon Hoover, 1865; Daniel Christy, 1866; William L. Robb, 1868; Solomon Hoover, 1868, died 1870; Daniel Christy, 1869; Asbury Insley, 1870; William L. Robb, 1871; John W. Albaugh, 1872;  Asbury Insley 1873; John S. Graham, 1874; William L. Robb, 1874; Asbury Insley, 1876; John S. Graham, 1877; William L. Robb, 1877; Samuel Moore, 1880; Philip S. Olmstead, 1879; John S. Graham, 1880; Samuel Moore, 1880; Emery G. Dutton, 1881; P. S. Olmstead, 1882; Charles W. Sweeney, 1883.

Chapter II. Auburn Twp pgs 503-508
Chapter III. Bucks Twp pgs 509-515
Chapter IV. Clay Twp pgs 515-526 (includes Gnadenhutten and Moravians)
Chapter V. Dover Twp pgs 527-545 (includes Sugar Creek)
Chapter VI. Fairfield Twp pgs 545-549
Chapter VII. Franklin Twp pgs 550-557
Chapter VIII. Jefferson Twp pgs 557-563

Chapter IX.
Lawrence Township
Historic Grounds — An Original Township — Justices — Topography — First Settlers — First Schools — Lawrenceville — Bolivar — Churches — The Zoar Society
pgs 564-576

The border-land between Tuscarawas and Stark Counties, in and about Lawrence Township, abounds in interesting and noted historic sites. Post’s cabin, built in 1761, and occupied the following year by him and Heckewelder, stood in Bethlehem Township, Stark County, about four rods from the Tuscarawas River, and a few rods east of its southern bend. Calhoon’s trading post was located almost a mile further east, on the opposite side of the river, and on the land annexed to Tuscarawas from Stark in 1847. The ancient capital of the Delawares, Tuscarawas, said also to have been previously inhabited by the Senecas and Wyandots, stood on the plains a few rods from the river, and opposite the mouth of Sandy Creek. Fort Laurens, the scene of savage warfare during the Revolution, was situated a mile and a half farther down the stream, about half a mile below Bolivar. The old settlers can remember when the embankments at the fort were seven feet in height. The Ohio Canal pierced these works and the desecrating plowshare has leveled the most of them to the ground, but small sections may yet be seen. The township was given its name in honor of this fort, but the orthography has been changed.

Lawrence was one of the four original townships established in 1808. It then embraced all the land which now forms Wayne, Franklin, Lawrence (except the small tract since annexed from Stark County) and Sandy Townships, in addition to as much of Dover, Fairfield and Warren as lies in the northern half of Range 9. The first election was held at the cabin of Gideon Jennings, in what is now Fairfield Township. The organization of succeeding townships reduced its territory, and it appears from the records that the balance of the original township of Lawrence, after other townships were organized, was converted into Lawrenceville. The incorporation of Lawrenceville Township was recorded May 13, 1817. As constituted at that date, it consisted of the present Lawrence Township and a tract two and a half miles square, from the northeast corner of Dover. Its bounds were as follows: Beginning at the northeast corner of Township 10, Range 2; thence south to the middle of Township 9, Range 2; thence west, to the center of Range 9; thence north to Township 10; thence west to Range 3; thence north to the northwest corner of Township 10, thence east along the line of Township 10, to the place of beginning. The electors were notified to meet according to law in the town of Lawrenceville and elect the proper township officers. The original name, Lawrence, was restored, and it was reduced in size August 7, 1820, by the attachment of its southeast portion to Dover Township. Small portions were since annexed from Stark County, and from Sandy Township.

The following have been the local magistrates of Lawrence. Many of the earlier ones resided on land which now belongs to other townships, but was then included in Lawrence. [list follows]

The eastern half of the township consists of two 4,000-acre quarters. The first, or northeast, quarter was located by Abraham Mosser, of Washington County, Penn., and Thomas Bonde, of Lancaster, Penn., May 23, 1800. In November, 1805, it was almost equally partitioned between them, Bonde receiving the southwest portion. Abraham Mosser settled on his portion, and gradually disposed of the land to in-coming settlers. Bonde never resided here; he sold the land by parcels, Joseph M. Bimeler receiving the greater portion in trust for the Separaatists, 1,275 acres, June 29, 1832, for $4,000. The fourth, or southwest, quarter was located by Jonathan Dayton, of New Jersey, his patent from President Jefferson bearing date January 25, 1803. He sold it to Godfrey Haga February 5, 1804, and Haga transferred it to Joseph M. Bimeler in the spring of 1818. The northwest, or second, quarter of the township consists of military 100-acre lots; and the southwest, or third, quarter of Congress lands. The roughest land in the township is found here.

The Tuscarawas River enters the township from Stark County, and soon after takes a northern bend of several miles, then returning it pursues a general southeasterly direction till it leaves the township. A southern dip of Sandy Creek brings it for a short distance into the township. Besides these, the streams of Lawrence are small and unimportant tributaries to the river. The Ohio Canal follows the western banks of the river, and the old Sandy & Beaver Canal extends from Bolivar eastward. The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad crosses through the valley of the Tuscarawas. The bottoms, plains and hillsides along the river, says Mr. David Yant, “were covered in early times with weeds, nettles, wild rye and grass as high as a man’s head. This mass of vegetation was set on fire late in the fall by Indians and early hunters, for the purpose of encircling game, enveloping the surface in a sea of flame and effectually killing every twig of timber. No timber was thus permitted to grow upon the plains, until after these annual burnings ceased.” The land away from the valleys is much more rolling than in some portions of the county, and is susceptible of a high cultivation. Farms in the township are valued at from $50 to $150 per acre. Immense quantities of shell ore have been taken from the hillsides in past years. It has been shipped to Granville, Akron, Massillon, Zoar and in small quantities to Dover. Commencing about 1835, the mining of iron ore has been an important business, but the best banks have been exhausted, and little is now produced. Some coal is shipped, but not to any great extent.

The first permanent settler was Samuel Mosser, brother of Abraham Mosser, one of the proprietors of the first quarter of the township. Samuel and Abraham Mosser first came out on horseback, about 1803, to examine the land the latter had entered. The were originally from Maryland, but had settled in Pennsylvania. While inspecting the land, they were met by two Indians, one of whom wished to trade his rusty old fling gun for a new rifle which Samuel carried. The offer was refused, but the savages were treated before they departed, from the flask the proprietors carried. The Indians soon returned, and the one with trading proclivities was more anxious than before to exchange weapons of war. To conciliate them, the whisky flask was again brought forth, but without producing the desired effect of conciliation, and at the request of Abraham, his brother at last surrendered the rifle, to avoid difficulties which might postpone the settlement of this tract of land. Samuel Mosser first settled opposite Bolivara, about eighty rods from the east bank of the river, and near the route of the Sandy & Beaver Canal. His first house was a diminutive hut, which served as a shelter until better accommodations could be provided. About 1809, he purchased Lot 2, and the east half of 14, and died in 1810 or 1812, while constructing a substantial hewed-log cabin. His wife survived him many years. Their children were Elizabeth (Kline), Joseph (still living near Quincy, Ill.,) Jacob, Samuel, Catherine (Himes), John, Michael and Abraham.

Abraham Mosser, his son-in-law John Taylor, and Jacob Good next came out, about 1807, from Washington County, Penn., and settled on the Mosser tract. Abraham Mosser built his cabin nearly a mile east of Bolivar and close to the present residence of John Lebold. He died in 1822. Close by lived Jacob Good, who kept the first tavern in the northern part of Tuscarawas County. John Taylor settled on the hill about a half-mile distant.

The next settlers on the Mosser land were Peter Houseman, Peter Hartline, John Keller, John Kline and John Mackin, all of whom were probably here before 1812. Peter Houseman died in Fairfield Township. Peter Hartline was German born and came West a single man. He was one of Hull’s surrendered soldiers, and was married in 1817. John and Christian Keller, brothers, were from Pennsylvania. None of this name now live in Lawrence Township. John Kline, in 1807, came to Sandy Township with his father, married about 1812, settled in Lawrence east of the river, but soon after purchased and removed to Lot 2. John Mackin purchased the Abraham Mosser homestead. He was a Justice of the Peace and a good citizen.

The earliest settlers on the military lots west of the river were John and William Fashbaugh, Jacob Howman, Peter Himes, William Hill, George Robinson and John Streaby. The two Fashbaughs were brothers, of German birth, and emigrated from Pennsylvania about 1810. They owned Lot 1. Both died in Lawrence Township, and their families are scattered. Jacob Howman, who came about the same time, afterward migrated to Kosciusko County, Ind. He settled on the east half of Lot 11. William Hill was a resident of the township before 1809. He owned and occupied the west half of Lot 14. Peter Himes and John Streaby emigrated from Pennsylvania about 1812. The former became the owner of Lot 13, and the west half of 11, while the latter settled on Lot 17. George Robinson came about 1815, settled on Lot 19, and remained in the township till his death. Conrad Zutavern, from Baden, Germany, came in 1819, and purchased Lot 28. He remained in the township until death, and his descendants are still here.

John Mock came from Pennsylvania about 1815, and entered and located upon the southwest quarter of Section 14. In religious belief he was a Dunkard. He removed to Kosciusko County, Ind. George Mock, his brother, was also an early settler in the township, and remained through life. The southwestern part of the township was settled later, mostly by Germans. Quite an emigration from Lawrence Township to Kosciusko County, Ind. commenced about 1830, and has continued to the present time. Most of the township’s surplus population has gone thither. Shortly after hostilities began in 1812, a Mr. Dempster and another settler were encamped on the river in this township on a hunting expedition. Dempster, taking his rifle, went some distance from the camp, and finding no game relieved his rifle of its load by shooting at a mark. The shot was so bad that he hastily reloaded and, taking better aim, discharged the gun a second time. His partner, still in camp, hearing two successive shots, surmised the presence of Indians, and fled toward Canton, with the report that Dempster had been killed. Mr. Dempster, on his return to camp, finding no trace of his companion, also became terror-stricken, and hastened in an opposite direction toward Sugar Creek, spreading the alarm and announcing the death of his partner at the hands of painted savages. So near were the few scattering settlers here to the border, that grave apprehensions of an Indian descent were entertained, and for a time credence was given to every wild rumor of impending danger.

The first school on the west side of the river was kept in a log cabin on Lot 2, then owned by John Kline, now by John Bender. The houses stood near a spring, in the southwest corner of the place. William Knappenberger was the teacher, and his term was taught about 1817. Messrs. Brown, David Kilgore, Robinson, Fashbaugh and Sibert succeeded him. About this time, Mr. Boyer opened a school at his cabin in Lawrenceville, on the east side of the river, and near its bank, about thirty rods above the bridge. The one room in the house served as schoolroom, kitchen and bedroom, and one use was not permitted to interfere with another. Many of the scholars were full-grown men and women. Here the Brantinham children, the Whites, Mackins, Taylors, Kellers, Hartlines, Housemans, Yants, John Pinicks, James Tracy, Peter Swank and others received the rudiments of an education. A few primers, Webster’s Spelling Book, Dilworth’s Reader and the Bible, says David Yant, were the principal text books. Among the sports in which the boys engaged during play-time was the sea fight, the idea of which was obtained from Perry’s victory on Lake Erie. They had two large canoes, which would grapple, and the boys in each try to obtain possession of their opponents and their oars. When one side became too weak to continue the contest, it would capitulate and the captured boat and prisoners be rowed triumphantly to shore.

John Mock built the first saw mill. It was afterward rebuilt by David Kline. John Kline afterward built a second, and the Separatists a third, on the same stream, formerly known as Haystack Run. George Mock is said to have operated the first distillery in the township, about 1820, on Section 20. Conrad Zutavern started one a little later, on Lot 16.

Lawrenceville was the name of one of the earliest backwoods towns. It was laid out on the east side of the Tuscarawas, opposite present Bolivar, by Abraham Mosser in 1805, when the people in the vicinity were obliged to go to Zanesville to pay their taxes. It was not then known how this vast country would be divided into counties, and Lawrenceville indulged in the fond hope of becoming a county seat. The plat was spacious, including 176 lots, from which donations were made for court house and jail, market-houses and English and German Presbyterian, German Lutheran, Protestant Episcopal and Moravian Churches. The location was a beautiful one, and at that time there was a brisk trade on the river in canoes and small boats. The settlers speculated in a small way, by buying town lots, but the village never prospered. it contained at most four or five houses. A grocery was kept just north of the plat, and one of the few residents of the village was a shoe-maker, Mr. Mock. Some of the earliest settlers were buried on Lebold’s Hill in the vicinity, but the site of their graves is now obliterated. The plat of Lawrenceville has been vacated for many years, and the site is now under cultivation.

STOP ON PAGE 568 – Go back later to check for any family names…

Chapter X. Mill Twp pgs 577-606 (includes Uhrichsville)
Chapter XI. Oxford Twp. pgs 607-618
Chapter XII. Perry Twp. pgs 619-626
Chapter XIII. Rush Twp. pgs 627-630

Chapter XIV.
Salem Township
Original Boundaries — Topography — Salem — Mills — Settlement — Magistrates — Wolf’s Station — Churches — The Glasgow Furnaces — Port Washington — Its Growth, Incorporation, Schools, Churches, Societies and Industries.
pgs 633-640

SALEM was the name of a township of Muskingum County, and it included a large portion of the territory which was fashioned into Tuscarawas County in 1808. Immediately following the erection of this latter county, four townships were formed, of which Salem was one. It embraced the north half of Township 6 and Township 7, of Ranges 1, 2, 3 and 4, or all of present Bucks, Jefferson and Warwick, and fractions of Auburn, York, Mill, Rush, Clay and Salem, and of Adams Township, Coshocton County. The southern half of present Salem was then a portion of Oxford. As at present constituted, the township includes all of Township 6, Range 3, besides the Salem Moravian tract and the west side of Township 6, Range 2. The first, second and third, or northeast, northwest and southwest quarters of Township 6, Range 3, are Congress land. The Salem tract occupies most of the territory, which would otherwise have been the fourth quarter of this township; the balance, however, is surveyed into 100-acre military lots. Of the two fractional quarters of Township 6, Range 2, embraced within Salem, the northern is part of a quarter consisting of 3,662 acres, which was entered by Godfrey Haga in 1800, and the southern a part of a quarter divided into 100-acre lots. The Salem tract was occupied by lessees until 1824, when it was surveyed into lots, some of which were sold at public sale by Judge Patrick, and returns of the balance made to the United States land office at Zanesville, where it was entered like Congress land.

The Tuscarawas River crosses the southeast portion of the township and supplies it with a broad, fertile valley. Buckhorn Creek courses through the western part of the township, and with its small tributaries pierce in all directions the ranges of hills, and relieve their continuity of slopes with vales and valleys. The soil of the hill lands is sometimes clay and again of a sandy nature. The valleys are coated with a rich soil of dark loam. The entire surface was heavily wooded when the white race first entered. In the valleys were sugar-maple, oak, hickory, chestnut, beech, sycamore, black and white walnut, spice-wood and sassafras, and all varieties of timber common in these parts, while on the ridges, chestnut, oak and hickory predominated. The Cleveland and Marietta Railroad follows the valley of Buckhorn through the township, while the Pan Handle road and the Ohio Canals cross side by side along the Tuscarawas.

The ancient Moravian village Salem, occupied more than a century ago by Christian Delawares, was located in the Salem tract, Lot 12, about a mile southwest from Port Washington, near the west bank of the canal.

A grist mill stands on the Ohio Canal, about a fourth of a mile northeast from Port Washington. It was built thirty or more years ago by J. and J. Bremer. John Hartley in early times had a small “wet weather” mill in the western part of Salem on Buckhorn, which was quite serviceable to the pioneers of that vicinity. Milligan and Gaskill built a saw-mill on Buckhorn in 1831 or 1832. Jonathan Wood, it is said, attempted to dam the Tuscarawas River, but the enterprise proved a disastrous financial failure.

The earliest settlements in what is now Salem Township was made in the Gnadenhutten tract in Clay Township, was first occupied by a few Moravian emigrants from Pennsylvania, who leased farming lots on the tract usually for a term of thirty-three years. Isaac and Peter Good, two brothers, were here in 1804. They were from Virginia. Isaac, who was a blacksmith, first settled a short distance below Port Washington, and Peter on Buckhorn. David Williams and Aaron Cory were living on the Salem tract as early as 1802, the latter on the south side of the river. In 1804, Horatio Pettycourt arrived from North Carolina. Peter Weiland was a resident in 1804. David Sell was here in 1801, Anthony in 1802, Benjamin and his brother early, and Henry Sell in 1804 and probably earlier.

On the second quarter of Township 6, Range 2, entered by Godfrey Haga, Conrad Bremer had located a early as 1802. He had been a Hessian soldier during the Revolution, but was captured by the Americans, and later in the struggle served under Washington. From Haga he received a title for several hundred acres of land about half a mile north of Port Washington, where he remained an industrious farmer till his death in old age. His descendants are still found in the township.

Godfrey Haga, Jr., was a nephew of the landed proprietor of the same name, who donated him several hundred acres of land in what is now Salem, and made him agent for the remainder. He was born in Virginia in 1783, and came out when quite a young man to attend to his own and his uncle’s property. He possessed great intelligence, and was much given to meditation. One Sabbath he became insane on religion, and was taken to Philadelphia in hopes of a restoration of his mental powers, but this availing nothing he was returned to the Tuscarawas Valley in the hope of improvement amid the quiet of the wilderness, and was cared for by an attendant until his death, which occurred in Clay Township, April 17, 1824. Elizabeth Cherry Holmes and John M. Rebstock, Sr., relatives of Godfrey Haga, owned and occupied farms in the same quarter in Salem Township. The latter was born at Esslingen, Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1767, and died March 21, 1822. He is described as a clever, good-natured, easy-going man, with alcoholic proclivities.

Jesse Hill, a Virginian, emigrated to the Tuscarawas Valley in 1806, and leased land in the southern part of the Salem tract, where he lived till his death in 1844. A son, Isaac, dwells on the home place, and two other sons reside in the township. Charles Hill, brother of Jesse, came about the same time, leased and settled Lot 8 of the Salem tract, and remained a life-long resident of the township.

The Carrs were among the foremost pioneers of the county. The ledger of David Peter of Gnadenhutten indicates that Thomas and John Carr were in the county in 1800. The tax duplicate of 1809 for Salem Township includes the following Carrs: Aquilla Sr., Aquilla Jr., John, William, Joshua, Thomas, James and Benjamin. Aquilla Carr was not only an early, but he was a prominent pioneer, serving as one of the first Associate Judges of the county. He hailed originally from Maryland, lived for a while on the Ohio at Wellsville, then journeyed to the Tuscarawas, and purchased land in the second quarter of Township 6, Range 2, about a half mile north of Port Washington. After a pioneer life of several years, he sold his property and removed to near Wooster, Ohio. Returning to Dover, he bought land on Sugar Creek, which he exchanged with Judge James Clark, and settled, prior to 1820, on Lot 35, adjoining Port Washington on the east. His children were William, a great hunter; Richard and Thomas, both of whom died in Port Washington; Mary, wife of Jacob Good, and Susan, wife of Charles Hill. [Charles Hill III, son of Charles Hill and Charity Vaughn.] Aquilla Carr was a zealous Methodist. He was a farmer, and died in this township. His grandson Aquilla, now one of the oldest settlers of the township, resides opposite Port Washington. James Carr, son of Joshua, who was a brother of Aquilla and lived on Sugar Creek, died at Port Washington, after a long residence in the primitive forest, a short distance northeast of Port Washington.

James Worth, who came from Cadiz, and was only a leaser of land, was here as early as 1804. Richard Worth, his brother, came in 1805, or before, and settled in Buckhorn. He entered and occupied the northeast quarter of Section 24. Joseph Hartley was also one of the earliest settlers on Buckhorn Creek. Joseph and Barbara Walgemuth came in 1805, or sooner, and settled about two miles north of Port Washington. They were Methodists. Benjamin Iler was one of the early settlers in the eastern part of the township south of the river. He died there, and his family is widely scattered. Barney Riley was one of the first in the southern part of the Salem tract. David Johnson, John Pearce and William Henry settled in the river valley. Judge James Clark was here among the earliest, but he soon after removed elsewhere and little is known of his history. He was a zealous Methodist, and the first camp meeting in the county was held on his farm.

John Orwig, from Pennsylvania, bought and dwelt on the farm of James Carr, northeast of Port Washington, prior to 1820, and afterward moved West. Jacob Romig, also from Pennsylvania, lived on his farm in the same locality, and he, too, came before 1820. Andrew, Christian and Adam Stocker, brothers, from Northampton County, Penn., emigrated in 1816 to the fine farming lands in the valley northeast of Port Washington, and there passed the remainder of their lives. Daniel, a brother to them, settled about a mile south-west of the village, but later in life, migrated with his family to Iowa, where he soon after died.

The western part of the township was sparsely settled until after the canal was built. Among the early comers were a few Germans, and that nationality is now strongly represented in the township.

The following list of Township Justices is not complete for the first few years. Names of officers are also included who resided in territory which at the time of their service belonged to Salem, but is now a part of some adjoining township; [list follows].

Wolf’s Station, on the Cleveland & Marietta Railroad, as laid out by Enoch G. Wolf in 1874, consisted of twenty building lots on Buckhorn street and twenty-one small business lots on Center street, with a square in the center, an addition of twenty-two lots, located on the north and south extensions of Buckhorn street, was made by the proprietor in 1875. As yet the village consists of but half a dozen dwellings. Dr. Enoch G. Wolf is the store-keeper and station agent. Two churches are situated here — the Salem Methodist Episcopal and the Methodist Protestant.

The Salem Methodist Episcopal society has a membership of about seventy-five, in charge of Rev. W.C. Endly, of Newcomerstown. The present church building was erected about 1869, and has recently been repaired. The society is an old one, Peter Gaskil being an early member. The old meeting-house stood a short distance south of Wolf’s Station.

Wolf’s Methodist Protestant Church is a new frame bulding, 32×46 feet, erected in the summer of 1883. The society was organized with about thirty members soon after the village was laid out, and meetings were held in a large building in the village, used as a hall, until the completion of the church. Enoch G. Wolf, Thomas Porter, Casper Hosfelt, Leonard Hart and Jacob Baringer were early members. The membership is at present about fifty. Rev. L. Boman is pastor.

Several Methodist Episcopal societies flourished in a former day in the northwestern part of the township, but all are now defunct. Among them were Bethel Church and Hopewell. The latter had a large membership, including, among its earliest, John and Samuel Miller, Thomas Nelson, Mr. Daugherty, John Early and Mr. Lukens.

In the southeast part of the township, in the extreme southwestern corner of Military Lot 31, is the Centenary Methodist Episcopal Church, a frame structure, erected in 1868, at a cost of about $4,200. The society of this edifice is a very old one, and for many years met at the houses of Isaac Hill and others. A log sanctuary was then constructed, preceding the present edifice. Hubbard and Isaac Hill and Mr. Norris were early members. Revs. Parker Williams, John W. Minor and Mills were among its pioneer preachers. The society is a member of Liberty Circuit, which includes besides, this Liberty appointment in Guernsey County, People’s Church in Oxford Township and Wesley Chapel in Washington Township. Rev. W.L. Timberlake is the present pastor. About seventy names are enrolled on the membership of Centenary.

An unsuccessful attempt at village making was made in 1836 by Peter Everhart. In that year he laid out the plat of Rockingham in the northwest quarter of 6, Township 6, Range 3. It included twenty lots, four streets and numerous alleys.

Perhaps the most costly enterprise that has ever been undertaken in Tuscarawas County was the erection of the Glasgow blast furnaces twelve years ago. The failure of the works resulted in an enormous pecuniary loss, which was borne, however, not by citizens of Tuscarawas County, but by Scotch capitalists. Fifteen or more years ago, about eight residents of Mansfield, Ohio, organized the Port Washington Coal Company, and purchased from Dr. Hugh Nelson, of Port Washington, 550 acres of coal lands, situated in the southern part of Salem Township. They commenced mining coal on an extensive scale, but the coal proved to be of an inferior quality, and in consequence the mines could be operated only at a loss. A Mr. Cherry was sent to Scotland to sell the lands. Taking with him samples of iron ore, he interested a number of Glasgow gentlemen, and sold to them the tract of 550 acres for £22,000. These gentlemen, in the winter of 1871-72, organized the Glasgow & Port Washington Iron & Coal Company, with a capital stock of $25,000, £10 shares, for the purpose of erecting and operating iron furnaces. An additional tract of 315 acres was purchased from Dr. Nelson for $50,000. In the winter of 1871, three men were sent from Scotland to the field to prepare the works — Andrew Croxton as draughtsman, Archibald Baird as furnace manager, and William B. Rennie, now a resident of New Philadelphia, as mineral manager. Mr. Rennie spent ten months in drilling for ore, and in the fall of 1872 the work of cutting stone for the foundation of the furnaces was commenced. Two years were required for their completion. The works were formally opened August 14, 1874, with great eclat, and the furnaces commenced blowing September 2 following. Mr. Coxton returned home on the completion of his labors. Baird was recalled, and William B. Rennie placed in charge of the works. The total cost of the two furnaces, including the canal bridge and about one and one-fourth miles of standard railroad track, was $750,000. Over 2,000,000 bricks were laid in the walls; the bosh breadth was 17-1/2 feet, the height of the stack was 70 feet, and the flue 125 feet. There were two steam engines of 84-inch cylinder, put in motion by two batteries of four boilers each. The water was conveyed through pipes from the canal, three-fourths of a mile distant, and a reservoir of 125,000 gallons of water was constructed.

Under the management of William B. Rennie, the works were operated about two years, only one of the two furnaces being used, and during that time 25,000 tons of iron were produced. The principal ore used was the black-band mined by the company. Some Lake Superior and some mountain ore, the latter obtained chiefly from Buckhorn Creek, were also utilized. No coal was used, and the coke was brought from Connellsville, Penn. The quality of the iron may be surmised from the fact that at the Centennial Exposition it was awarded the premium over many competitors as the best iron made in Ohio. Owing to the general depression in the iron market, all the products of the furnace were not sold, and in consequence of the failure of the works to yield sufficient dividends on the large capital invested, they were suspended in the autumn of 1876. Twice afterward, the furnaces were again placed in operation, but each time under a different management, and each time for a few months only. In the winter of 1880, they closed permanently, and the works were sold to Pittsburgh iron men for $67,000, and removed from the county. The company owned in all about 1,200 acres of land, having made several small purchases after organization. It also had leased at one time about 1,000 acres of land in addition. The land was sold in small tracts and at various times at an immense sacrifice, usually at from about $25 to $30 per acre.

The furnaces were situated in the eastern part of Lot 26, of the Salem tract. Adjoining them, on Lost 7 and 8, Robert Hill, in 1873, laid out the village of Glasgow. It consisted of forty lots, ranged in two tiers, on the north side of Main street. In 1874, the proprietor made an addition of thirty-none lots, and the year following one of twenty-two lots. In 1875, Hill & Porter also laid out Lots 101 to 120 inclusive. The village prospered as long as the works were carried on, and at one time contained two stores and a population of probably 450. It has since dwindled into complete insignificance.

The ill success of the furnaces may be attributed, at least in part, to the enormous price paid for the land, the unfavorable location of the works, and mismanagement in Scotland. At one time about 350 men were employed, most of them being miners and laborers. Some ore is now mined on the land formerly owned by this company, and is shipped to furnaces at Youngstown, Ohio.

Port Washington is situated in the eastern part of the township and in the northeastern corner of the Salem tract. It is a very pleasantly located village, and in 1880 contained a population of 634. In 1840, it had but 116 inhabitants; in 1850, 200; and in 1870, 425. Like a number of other villages, its origin was due to the construction of the Ohio Canal. John Knight, its proprietor, came to the township from Antrim, Harrison County, for the purpose of constructing a mill, it is said, across the river, just above the bridge, near Port Washington. He was stricken with fever and gave up the project. Soon after, he laid out the town, calling it Salisbury. He opened a store and built a warehouse, purchased and finished a tavern that had been commenced by Thomas Moore, was inn-keeper for many years, and then removed to the “Stark patent,” Oxford Township, where he engaged in farming. Charles Hill and Richard Carr built the first houses in the newly-started village. The former had been a farmer, but moved to the village site and opened in his dwelling house the first store in the place. He engaged in the grain and produce trade until he failed in business. He built a canal boat on the street, was afterward a canal contractor, removed to Cincinnati and died in Tennessee. His family now reside at Terre Haute, Ind. Richard Carr, son of Aquilla Carr, first started a store at the lock, about a half mile above the village, and afterward kept a station for the canal men at Port Washington, where he died of cholera. Benjamin Carr, son of James Carr, kept the first tavern. It stood near the tow-path of the canal on the corner, west of Main street. Thomas J. Gibbings was the first blacksmith. John Allen taught one of the earliest schools.

Port Washington, or Salisbury, as it was originally called, was laid out in 1827 on Lot 21 of the Salem tract. The plat covered land on both sides of the canal and included fifty-two lots. Two years later, the plat of Salisbury was materially altered, and after revision contained sixty-five lots. In 1832, the plat was again remodeled, and the number of lots became seventy-three. In 1838, Mr. Knight made an extensive addition. Lots 74 to 124, fifty-one in number, were laid out to the northwest, and eleven lots, 125 to 135, to the southeast of the village. Lewis H. Fromm’s Addition was surveyed in 1867. It comprised nineteen lots, situated on High and St. Clairsville streets. Charles Boss, in 1868, made an addition of twenty-seven lots north of St. Clairsville street and partly without the Salem tract. Adam Stocker made an addition of forty-four lots in 1878, on Furnace, Canby and Arch streets. William Armstrong added thirty-seven lots in the same year on St. Clairsville, Reno, High and Railroad streets. Samuel Slade and Benedict Gross, in 1874, laid out an addition of thirty-six lots on Main and Arch streets.

Port Washington became an incorporated village in 1868. Dr. David Nelson was elected the first Mayor, but he resigned at once, and L.A. Cornet was elected to the vacancy. Those who have since filled this official position are W.J. Haskinson, H.H. Porter, Rev. Edward Bache, A.H. Price (resigned) Benjamin Ross, Thomas H. Moore and H.W. Davis. A town hall was erected by the village in 1878-79, at a cost of about $3,500. It is a substantial brick structure, 32×60 feet in size and three stories in height, the upper of which is owned by the Masonic order. The second contains a large audience hall and the first floor is divided into Mayor’s office, prison, also hall for fire department, which consists of hook and ladder, engine and hose companies. The fire engine was purchased in 1877. The hook and ladder company has existed for many years.

The public union school system was adopted by popular vote at Port Washington about 1857, and two years later the frame two-story building, 42×44 feet, still in use, was erected. It contained three apartments. In 1882, an addition, 32×42 feet and two stories in height, was made. The building now contains five rooms, four of which are occupied. The first term in the present building began in September, 1860. Samuel Miller was the first Principal, serving one year. His successors have been H.H. Porter,, 1861 to 1864; Frederick Link, 1864 to 1866; Mr. Wettock, 1866-67; Sylvester Henderson, 1867 and 1868; George D. Hill, 1868 to 1870; William Hill, 1870 to 1873; Robert W. Lyons, 1873-74; John Figert, 1874 to 1876; J.H. Dodd, 1876 to 1880; Charles Haupert, 1880 to 1882; George E. Campbell, 1882-83. The present School Board is composed of Richard Burrell, President; H.H. Porter, Secretary; Thomas J. Stucker, Treasurer; Frederick Ludwig, Dr. D.M. Kinsey and George Fidler. Before the present building was erected, a one-story frame schoolhouse was used, which stood on the lot now occupied by the German Church.

In 1837, there were at Port Washington flourishing societies of both the Methodist Protestant and the Methodist Episcopal denominations. Services were held in the schoolhouse until about 1840, when a frame meeting house was erected and occupied by the two congregations. Of the former, Medad Vinton and Thomas Taylor were leading members; of the latter, John Newton and Mr. Lukens. Both societies declined from 1845 to 1850, and the Methodist Episcopal first became extinct. The surviving organization then held sole possession of the property till it, too, passed out of existence, when the church was sold. The Evangelical English Lutheran Church has had a congregation of more than a score of members here, but it is now defunct. At present the only two religious societies now active in the village are the German Lutheran and the Moravian congregations.

The German Evangelical or Lutheran Church, at Port Washington, was organized in 1851. Rev. Carl S. Doeppenschmidt was the first minister. Rev. Carl Aulenbach succeeded, serving from 1852 to 1860. Rev. John Zwolenck was here in 1861, and Rev. Englebach, who closed his pastoratae in 1867. F.W.A. Reidel was in charge in 1867 and 1868, and Rev. Neuschmidt followed. Frederick Nestman terminated his labors in 1875. Then came Rev. G. Kottler, from 1875 to 1878; Rev. A. Merkle, from 1878 to 1882; and Rev. J. Lindenmeyer, the present pastor, in 1882. The church edifice, an old frame building, was erected by the English and the German Lutherans conjointly, but the latter became, by purchase, sole owners. The present membership is ninety families, composing about two hundred individual members.

The Port Washington Moravian Church is a recent organization. Rev. J.H. Clewell began preaching there in November, 1881, and March 5, 1882, organized a congregation of twenty-eight members, composed as follows: D.M. Kinsey, A. Demuth, John Roenbaugh, Charles Haupert, Aquilla Carr, George Ross, Peter Uhrich, Thomas Huff, and their wives; Peter Petry, Welsch Sperling, Mrs. Mary Ludwig, Mrs. Sarah E. Hill, Miss Mary Lanzer, Mrs. Paulina Mowl, Mrs. Anna Reed, Mrs. Caroline Hawthorn, Mrs. Clarissa Ross, and Mrs. Margaret Wemgart and two daughters. Rev. Clewell is still pastor, and the membership has increased to about eighty-one, thirty-six of whom are communicant members. Meetings have been held in Union Hall, but a handsome, frame church building is now being erected on Lots 1 and 4 of Slade’s Addition, Main street. The corner-stone was laid October 18, 1882, and when completed the building will be one of the prettiest in the county. Its cost will be about $5,000. Its erection is due to the exertions of some of the leading men of Port Washington, who realize the need of an English church edifice in the village.

Port Washington Lodge, F. & A.M., No. 202, was instituted August 14, 1851. Its chapter dayes October 28, 1851, with the following membership: Dorsey Wilson, Joseph S. Burr, John Knight, George P. Campbell, William Simeral, William Russell, B. Hare and Charles Wilgus. The first officers installed were Dorsey Wilson, W.M.; Joseph S. Burr, S.W.; John Knight, J.W.; William Simeral, Treas.; William Russell, Sec.; James S. Early, S.D.; Thomas J. Gibbons, J.D.; John Hare, Tileer. Of these Dr. Burr is the only survivor. Meetings were held in a hall over Thomas J. Gibbons’ blacksmith shop until 1862. In March, 1863, the lodge took possession of a room on the third floor of John Knight’s warehouse. In 1879 and 1880, the lodge built at a cost of about $1,600 a new hall, which was dedicated July 20, 1880. The present officers are W.J. Haskinson, W.M.; S. Slade, S.W. ; J.A. Hawthorne, J.W.; William Anderson, Treas.; A.G. Nelson, Sec.; E.H. Burrell, S.D.; James Leach, J.D.; H. Chapman, Tiler. During its life of thirty-two years, the lodge has had 177 members, 14 of whom have died. The present membership is 54. The lodge meets Friday, on or before the full moon, and two weeks thereafter.

Port Washington Lodge, No. 694, I.O.O.F., was instituted July 3, 1880, with the following charter members: Philip Barth, Robert Nelson, Theodore Lanning, Peter Ulrich, John Price, Jacob Kinsey, J.A. Hawthorne, Peter Lamberty, Frederick Ludwig and Abraham Salchli. The present membership is about thirty-five. The officers are John Price, N.G.; Darius Hefling, V.G.; Philip Barth, Rec. Sec.; Andrew Gray, Perm. Sec.; Peter Ulrich, Treas. Meetings are held every Wednesday evening.

Dr. David Nelson came to the village in 1842, and commenced a practice of medicine which he continued until 1868, when he retired. When he came, Joseph Burr and Richard Hewitt were engaged in the practice. Drs. Simon B. Emerson, Knight, McCall, Wallace, McKinsey and others have since engaged in the profession here. At present there are medical practitioners in the village: J.A. Hawthorne, Daniel M. Kinsey and F.G. Helms. H.H. Porter is the only attorney.

The village contains two flouring mills; one owned now by Barney, Demoss & Co., of Coshocton, is located on the canal, does an extensive merchant business, and was erected many years ago by J. & J. Bremer. M.J. Wheeland, in 1882, built a steam flour mill which has a good custom trade. A planing mill is owned and operated by Frank Gross, who built it in 1879. The steam saw mill just northeast of the village was erected by Edward Stucker, and is now owned by Amon Huff. John Kilgore operates a tannery built by John Miller about thirty years ago, and Adam Cappel owns another which he himself erected. A. Schneider & Sons are the proprietors of large carriage works which they built in 1882. Slade & Co., in the summer of 1882, started a creamery, which averages about 250 pounds of butter a day. A distillery is owned by J.R. Lingan. Lesser industrial shops include two blacksmith shops, one cooper shop, three shoe shops, and two harness shops.

The mercantile business is represented by four dry goods stores, two hardware stores, one drug store, one furniture store, three groceries, a jewelry store, two millinery stores, two meat markets and one tailoring establishment. The village also contains one hotel, two saloons, three restaurants, two barber shops and a livery stable.

Chapter XV. Sandy Twp. pgs 643-653
Chapter XVI. Sugar Creek Twp. pgs 654-661
Chapter XVII. Union Twp. pgs 661-665
Chapter XVIII. Warren Twp. pgs 666-671
Chapter XIX. Warwick Twp. pgs 672-677
Chapter XX. Washington Twp. pgs 678-681
Chapter XXI. Wayne Twp. pgs 682-685
Chapter XXII. York Twp. pgs 685-690


Part V.
Biographical Sketches.

Dover Township –
JOHN LEWIS, farmer and dairyman, P.O. New Philadelphia, was born in Lancaster County, Penn., in 1834, and is a son of Samuel and Sarah (Weidner) Lewis, both natives of the same county. Samuel Lewis died there when our subject was a child, and the widow, with four children, came to the West in 1836 with her grandfather, Peter Weidner. The family settled in Trenton, Tuscarawas Co., Ohio, where the widow and mother was married to Levi Evick; the latter is a blacksmith of Blicktown, near New Philadelphia, of whom our subject learned his trade at Trenton, Ohio. The subject of this sketch followed his trade for seven years, and in 1857 purchased and settled on his present farm, consisting of 150 acres, where he has since remained. His mother has three children by her first marriage, viz., Edward, Mary A. and John; and one child surviving by her second union, Henry. Our subject was married near New Philadelphia in 1855, to Catherine, daughter of Andrew Swihart, and a native of this county. To this marriage sixteen children have been born, of whom eleven have survived, viz., Albert, John W., Ida M., Amanda, Carrie, Eva, George, Charles, Franklin, Margaret I. and Flossie. Mr. Lewis carries on an extensive dairy in connection with his farm, and numbers among the well established farmers of Tuscarawas County.
Source: History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio – Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 – Page 752

Oxford Township –
JESSE HILL, farmer, P.O. Newcomerstown, was born in this county in April, 1813, and is a son of Jesse and Mary Hill, natives of Virginia, of English descent. The former, who was a son of Charles Hill, died Mar. 28, 1844, the latter died Mar. 28, 1834. They had a family of nine children, five boys and four girls, five living. Our subject is a twin brother of Isaac Hill, of Salem Township. He was married, April. 14, 1839, to Rebecca Hagans, a native of Guernsey County, Ohio. She was born near Winchester, in March, 1822, and is a daughter of Charles and Margaret (Bailes) Hagans, the former from Pennsylvania, died in 1857, aged sixty years; the latter died in the West, in about the year 1876, aged seventy-six. Mrs. Jesse Hill is a twin sister of Susan, who died at the age of twenty-four years and they were members of a family of thirteen children, six boys and seven girls, five deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Hill are the parents of six children, three boys and three girls, two of each deceased. The survivors are Isaac, and Floe, wife of William Harvey, who has one child – Blanche. Mr. Hill owns 214 acres of land in this township. Our subject’s daughter, Susan, was married to Jesse Osler, of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. They were killed with their two children, Rolly W., aged seven years, and Neva May, aged five years, by a cyclone which swept away the house. This occurred June 1879.
Source: History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio – Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 – Page 870

Oxford Township –
G.W. HOGUE and his son, Evans M. Hogue, P.O. Newcomerstown, are farmers and stock-raisers in that township. Mr. Hogue, Sr. was born near St. Clairsville, Belmont Co., Ohio, Mar 28, 1820, and is a son of Solomon and Sarah (Seaman) Hogue. The former born in Loudoun County, Va., in 1789, came to Ohio with his parents in the year 1801 and in 1813 married Sarah Seaman, who was born in Ohio County, Va., near West Liberty. G.W. Hogue was married, Sept. 7, 1843, in Guernsey County, Ohio, to Martha Harris, born in Tuscarawas County, Oxford Township, near Newcomerstown, Oct. 17, 1822. She is a daughter of George and Mary (Evans) Harris; the former, who came to Ohio in 1807, was born in Ohio County, Va., July 1, 1788, died July 23, 1854. The latter was born in July, 1797, died April 9, 1839. They were married Oct. 10, 1815. Mr. Harris was a farmer and stock-raiser and land speculator. Mr. and Mrs. Hogue had a family of two children – Martha R., born Jan. 8, 1845, died June 19, 1849, and Evans M., born May 9, 1850, in Linn County, Iowa. Evans M. Hogue was twice married. On the first occasion, Aug. 23, 1874, to Mary E. Hill, born in Salem Township, this county, January 21, 1848, died Sept. 3, 1875, and a daughter of Isaac, Sr., and Eliza (Booth) Hill. One child was born to this union, May 23, 1875, and died June 20, of the same year. For his second wife he chose, in 1876, Florence A. Harris, born in the neighborhood of Port Washington, Salem Township, this county, Aug. 6, 1856, and a daughter of Isaac E. and Sarah A. (Price) Harris. The former, who was a farmer near Newcomerstown, was born August. 21, 1825, died Mar. 17, 1857. The latter was born Dec. 18, 1827. They were married July 11, 1844, and were both natives of Ohio. Evans M. Hogue and wife have a family of two children – Estella May, born May 13, 1877, and Claude Harris, born Jan. 14, 1880. Mr. and Mrs. G.W. Hogue have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1853, and their son and his wife are also members.
Source: History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio – Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 – Page 870

Salem Township –

HEBBORD HILL (deceased, was born in Culpepper County, Va., March 16, 1806, son of Jesse and Mary Hill, natives of Virginia, and who came to Ohio, where they remained through life.  Hebbord was married, Oct. 8, 1832, to Eleanor Booth, born in England June 5, 1811, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Booth, who crossed the ocean and settled in Oxford Township, this county, when Eleanor was a child.  To Mr. and Mrs. Hill were born nine children – William Sarah, Eliza J., Martha, George, James, Nancy, Catherine and Jesse.  Mr. Hill was engaged in farming during the greater part of his life, and at his death, which occurred March 27, 1859, owned 600 acres of land, where his widow and family still reside.  Mr. Hill was a successful farmer, an esteemed citizen, and for over twenty-six years a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was also class leader for ten years.

Source: History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio – Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 – Page 904

Salem Township –
ISAAC HILL, farmer, P.O. Port Washington, one of the oldest pioneers of the county, was born on the farm he now occupies April 5, 1813, son of Jesse and Mary Hill, who emigrated to Ohio from Virginia soon after 1800, and settled on the farm where they remained till death. Jesse Hill died about 1846; his wife preceded him to the grave twelve years. Isaac was reared on the farm; acquired the best common school education that could be obtained in that early day. He has always followed farming, and owns 200 acres of excellent land, located here near the Tuscarawas River. He was married, October 16, 1835, to Eliza Booth, who was born in Oxford Township, January 17, 1820, daughter of Daniel and Sarah Booth, both deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Hill are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have been blessed with six children, but two of whom, John W. and Ellen A., survives. The deceased are Joseph B. and Mary E., twins, Sarah J. and George W.
Source: History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio – Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 – Page 905

Salem Township –
JOHN W. HILL, farmer, P.O. Port Washington, was born in this county, March 5, 1837, son of Isaac and Eliza Hill, both natives and residents in this county. John W. has been a lifelong and a successful farmer. He owns 173 acres of land, well improved. He was married, September 26, 1862, to Sarah H. Tidrick, born in this county July 16, 1840, daughter of John and Joanna Tidrick, both of whom yet survive. Of the eight children born unto them, seven are living, viz: Elmer E., Eliza E., Anna B., Ada M., Lula M., Albert B. and John W. Mary E. was born January 4, 1863, and died the same year.
Source: History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio – Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 – Page 905

Salem Township –
ROBERT HILL, retired farmer, P.O. Port Washington, was born in Salem Township, May 3, 1817. He is a son of Jesse and Mary Hill, natives of Virginia, who emigrated to this township and county in 1806, and were thus among the earliest pioneers. Robert was the youngest of nine children, five of whom survive, and while yet a boy his parents died and he was thrown upon his own resources to struggle with the world. After completing his education, he began clerking in a dry goods store, continuing for twenty years. At first he received but $50 a year, but the salary was advanced until it reached $300. Mr. Hill then turned his attention to farming. He purchased a farm of 195 acres and added to it until his possessions reached 620 acres. He still retains 550 acres of well improved land. He was married, October 12, 1844, to Catherine, daughter of Christian and Sarah Wise, of Coshocton County. She was born in that county April 5, 1820. To them have been born six children, of whom only two Milton B. and William M., survive.
Source: History of Tuscarawas County, Ohio – Chicago: Warner, Beers & Co., 1884 – Page 905


NOTE: Jessie Hill (about 1760-3/28/1844) born in Culpeper Co, Virginia and died Tuscarawas Co, OH.
Married in 1805, probably Hampshire Co, Virginia, to
Mary Ann Warner (about 1779-3/1834) born in Virginia and died Tuscarawas Co, OH. Place of burial not yet found.

Four children:
Hubbord (Hebbord) (3/16/1806-3/7/1869) born in Culpeper Co, VA. and married to Eleanor Booth (6/5/1811-5/14/1900) born England. Both died Salem Twp, Tuscarawas Co, OH. Both are buried in Centenary Cemetery.

Jesse (4/5/1813-7/24/1890) born Tuscarawas Co, OH and married Sarah Rebecca Hagan (3/28/1822-12/6/1902). Both are buried in Centenary Cemetery.

Isaac (4/5/1813-9/11/1885) born in Port Washington, Tuscarawas Co, Married on 10/16/1835 to Eliza Jane Booth (1/17/1830-4/18/1899) born in Oxford Twp. Both are buried in Centenary Cemetery.

Robert (5/3/1817-12/13/1893) born in Salem Twp. Married on 10/12/1844 to Catherine Wise (4/5/1820-2/14/1903) born in Coshocton Co. Both are buried in Union Cemetery, Port Washington, OH.

John Wesley Hill (3/5/1837-4/11/1921) to Isaac Hill and Eliza Jane Booth. Married 9/26/1862 to Sarah Elizabeth Tidrick (7/16/1840-1/20/1910). Both are buried in Centenary Cemetery.


The First Centennial Atlas of Tuscarawaas County, Ohio
Including A Map Of The State Of Ohio
1908

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