Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/132

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��HISTORY OF OHIO.

��November 7, the first wedding took place. John Campbell and Sarah Ely were joined in wedlock by Calvin Austin, Es(j[., of Warren. He was accompanied from Warren, a distance of twenty- seven miles, by Mr. Pease, then a lawyer, after- ward a well-known Judge. They came on foot, there being no road; and, as they threaded their way through the woods, young Pease taught the Justice the marriage ceremony by oft repetition.

" In 1802, Franklin Township was organized, em- bracing all of Portage and parts of Trumbull and Summit Counties. About this time the settlement received accessions from all parts of the East. In February, 1801, Rev. Badger came and began his labors, and two years later Dr. Shadrac Bostwick organized a Methodist Episcopal church.* The remaining settlement in this county. Palmyra, was begun about the same time as the others, by David Daniels, from Salisbury, Conn. The next year he brought out his family. Soon after he was joined by E. N. and W. Bacon, E. Cutler, A. Thurber, A. Preston, N. Bois, J. T. Baldwin, T. and C. Gilbert, D. A. and S. Waller, N. Smith, Joseph Fisher, J. Tuttle and others.

" When this rogion was first settled, there was an Indian trail commencing at Fort Mcintosh (Beaver, Penn. ), and extending westward to San- dusky and Detroit. The trail followed the highest ground. Along the trail, parties of Indians were frequently seen passing, for several years after the whites came. It seemed to be th 3 groat aboriginal thoroughfare from Sandusky to the Ohio River. There were several large piles of stones on the trail in this locality, under which human skeletons have been discovered. These are supposed to be the remains of Indians slain in war, or murdered by their enemies, as tradition says it is an Indian custom for each one to cast a stone on the grave of an enemy, whenever he passjs by. These stones appear to have been picked up_ along the trail, and cast upon the heaps at different times.

"At the point where this trail crosses Silver Creek, Fredrick Daniels and others, in 1814, dis- covered, painted on several trees, various devices, evidently the work of Indians. The bark was carefully shaved off" two-thirds of the way around, and figures cut upon the wood. On one of these was delineated seven Indians, equipped in a par- ticular manner, one of whom was without a head. This was supposed to have been made by a party on their return westward, to jiive intelligence to

��■ Uowe'B Collections.

��their friends behind, of the loss of one of their party at this plac'e; and, on making "search, a hu- man skeleton was discovered near by." *

The celebrated Indian hunter, Brady, made his remarkable leap across the Cuyahoga, in this county. The county also contains Brady's Pond, a large sheet of water, in which he once made his escape from the Indians, from which circumstance it received its name.

The locality comprised in Clark County was settled the same summer as those in Summit County. John Humphries came to this part of the State with Gen. Simon Kenton, in 1799. With them came six families from Kentucky, who settled north of the site of Springfield. A fort was erected on Mad River, for security against the In- dians. Fourteen cabins were soon built near it, all being surrounded by a strong picket fence. David Lowery, one of the pioneers here, built the first flat-boat, to operate on the Great Miami, and, in 1800, made the first trip on that river, coming down from Dayton. He took his boat and cargo on down to New Orleans, where he disposed of his load of " five hundred venison hams and bacon."

Springfield was laid out in March, ISOl. Griffith Foos, who came that spring, built a tavern, which he completed and opened .in June, remaining in this place till 181-4. He often stated that when emigrating West, his party were four days and a half getting from Franklinton, on the Scioto, to Springfield, a distance of forty -two miles. When crossing the Big Darby, they were obliged to caiTy all their goods over on horseback, and then drag their wagons across with ropes, while some of the ])arty swam by the side of the wagon, to prevent its upsetting. The site of the town was of such practical beauty and utility, that it soon attracted a large number of settlers, and, in a few years, Springfield was incorporated. In 1811, a church was built by the residents for the use of all denom- inations.

Clark County is made famous in aboriginal history, as the birthplace and childhood home of the noted Indian, Tecumseh.f He was born in

��* Howe's Collections.

f Tecumseli, or Tecurashe, was a son of Puckeshinwa, a member of the Kiscopoke tribe, and Methoataske, of the Turtle tribe of the Shawaiiee nation. They removed from Floricia to Ohio soon after their ni;irriage. The father, Puckesliinwa, rose to the rank of a thief, and fell at tt'e battle of Point Pleasant, in 1774. After his deatli, the mother, Methdata ke, returned to the south, where she died at an advanced age. Tecum eh was born about the year 1768. He early showed a passion for war, and, when only 27 years of age, was made a chief. The next year he removed to Deer f'reck, in the vicinity of Urbana, and from there to the site of Piqua, on the Great Miami. In 17il8 h'l accepte<l the invitation of the Delawares in the vicinity of White River, Indiana, and from that time made

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