Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/624

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��HISTORY OF RICHLAND COUNTY

��land. He was born in New York, was of En- glish descent, and lived some time in Washing- ton County, Penn. ; moved to the Pan-Handle, Va. thence to -Jefferson County, Ohio, and came to Richland in 1814. He was ninety years old when he died. Religious services were frequently held in his house in early times. His son, Judge Osljun, settled in Mansfield in 1815, was elected Justice of the Peace, and was for several years Associate Judge. He moved to his farm in this township in 1824.

P]lijah Charles came from Beaver County, Penn., to this township, in 1814, and built a saw-mill on the Black Pork, in 1818, which was of great service to the people. He went to Pittsburgh with a wagon, for the irons. He died shortly after the mill was set in operation, leaving a large family, who carried on the mill- ing and farming business with great success, the oldest son, Isaac, adding a valuable gi-ist- mill to the property in 1835. He was soon after elected Justice of the Peace, serving two terms. In 1868. he moved to Bluffton, Allen County, Ohio, where he is supposed to have been murdered by his youngest son, Isaac, who is now in the State prison for life — a truly tragic ending of a useful life. All the male members of the the original family are now dead. Eli- jah, the fourth son of old Elijah Charles, died at the same age, and singularl}" enough, of the same disease, as his father. William Taggart married the third daughter. He was Commis- sioner of the county two terms, and subse- quently made two trips to California, in the gold-digging enterprise.

Indians were lingering around some time after the introduction of the white settlers. Sometimes they were troublesome, even after the close of the war, often intruding themselves into the cabins, with their characteristic " Ugh ! me heap hungry ; Indian want some bread, some homiu}', some powder." The Charles family were annoyed two or three years by them, as they were a great terror to children.

��They seldom, however, did any serious harm, ancl were soon after confined to their reserve, in what is now Wj^andot Count3\

In 1820, the Rev. Mr. Lee came from West- moreland County, Penn., and bought a quarter- section of land east of the Charles mill. He had a large family, of which John A. Lee, late of Mansfield, was the youngest boy. In a short time, the entire family was prostrated with fever and ague, and his oldest daughter, a very amiable young lady of seventeen summers, died of bilious fever. The rest of the family all recovered, only to be stricken down again the next autumn.

Between Mr. Lee's farm and the Charles mill was an extensive marsh, over which the waters of the Black Fork flowed at every succeeding freshet. Of course the miasma arising there- from in autumn was fearful. Mr. Lee attril^uted much of the trouble to the mill-dam obstruct- ing the channel, and thus throwing the water over the banks into the marsh, and proceeded to inaugurate a suit for damages, or effect a removal of the nuisance. A long, bitter and expensive litigation followed, the courts finally deciding against Mr. Lee, but compelling the mill-owners to cut a foot off their dam, which at that time backed the water three miles. Mr. Lee, disheartened and disgusted, sold his farm at a great sacrifice, and moved to Crawford County, Ohio.

In 1821, a local preacher, Joseph Curtis, came from England, and settled on the south side of the Big Hill. He was a good carpenter and farmer, and also filled the place of an un- dertaker, thus making himself doubly useful, for while he attended to the duties of an under- taker, he could, at the same time and place, preach an acceptable funeral sermon.

Mr. Curtis married Mary Woodhouse near Windsor, and raised a large family, one of whom (Beun^O enlisted in the army, and was killed at the battle of Chickamauga. A marble monument at Milton graveyard bears his image,

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