Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/664

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��HISTOKY OF EICHLAI^D COUNTY.

��nearly four feet high and thirty feet at the base, which stood on the top of this hill at the time Mr. Sprott came. Large trees were growing upon and around the mound, which must have been centuries old. For man\' 3'ears after he came, there was 3'et a small trench around the south of the mound. His curiosity being ex- cited, he at one time dug down about five feet, and came upon a lot of stones curiously piled over a lot of human bones. While removing these, he came upon about a peck of Indian red paint, which he removed and found a large collection of bones in a tolerable state of pres- ervation. He replaced the bones and filled up the grave. This was no doubt an Indian grave, and the paint had been placed there for use in the happy hunting-grounds.

The first permanent settlement in this town- ship occurred in the spring of 1815 ; a year or more previous to this, however, several of those who afterward settled permanently came and entered their lands. The land office was then located at Canton, Ohio. The majority of them were from Western Pennsjdvania, Washington and Westmoreland Counties ; a few were from Virginia and a few from Eastern Ohio.

The names, date and place of settlement so far as ascertained are as follows : Rev. James Handy, 1815 ; entered three quarters of land on Section 11, where the town of Savannah was afterward located ; John and Richard Free- born, 1815, Section 10 ; John Aton, 1821, Sec- tion 26 ; Abel Bailey, 1818, Section 16 ; John Bailey, father of Abel, 1818, Section 14 ; John Bryte, 1819 ; David Burns, 1815, Section 23 ; James Burgan, 1826 ; James Chamberlain, 1823, Section 25 ; John Cook, 1822, Section 24 ; Tliomas Cook, 1822, Section 3 ; John Cuppy, 1819, Section 15 ; Patrick Elliott, 1817, Section 12 ; Elias Ford, 1819, Section 22 ; Isaac Har- rout, 1819, Section 16; Abraham Huffman, 1815, Section 31 ; John McWilliams, 1817, Sec- tion 26 ; Daniel Huffman, 1816 ; Jacob Mc- Lain, 1822, Section 11 ; John McMurray, 1819 ;

��Jared N. Slonacker, 1824, Section 23 ; Thomas Sprott, Sr., 1823, Section 35 ; Peter Vanostrand, Sr., 1816, Section 35 ; Thomas Wright, 1823.

Of these early settlers, John Bryte afterward held several offices of trust in the township ; was its first Clerk, and was twice Director of the Ohio Lunatic Asylum. David Burns served in Capt. Martin's company of militia, on duty at the block-house at Beam's mill. James Haney was Justice of the Peace, and also, probably, the first clergyman in the township. The wife of Patrick Elliott was the first school teacher. It will be observed that the Rev. James Haney, the two Freeborns, John and Richard, David Burns and Abraham Huffman were the very first settlers, arriving in 1815. The first three mentioned and William Shaw built a keel-boat in Washington County, Penn., where they re- sided, and, placing their families and household goods thereon, floated down the Ohio and up the Muskingum and its tributaries as far as thej^ could, landing near the present site of Jeromeville, on Jerome Fork, and transporting their goods and families thence to their future homes in the township, through the woods, on pack animals.

The Messrs. Freeborn named the principal creek in the township " Clear Creek," from the beauty of its waters, and after this creek the township was named. These Freeborns also planted the first apple-seeds, from which sprang some of the oldest orchards.

The nearest mills in those early days were Shrimplin's, on Owl Creek, thirty or forty miles south, and Odell's, in Wayne County, about thirty miles distant. In 1822, Thomas Ford erected a " horse-mill," the first in the town- ship. The first saw-mill was erected by Joseph Davis, on Clear Creek, about one and a half miles west of Savannah. It emplo3'ed one saw, and ran about five months in a year. The first grist-mill run by water-power was erected in 1824, l)y John Hendricks. It was a primitive affair, Init did a large business. It

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