Page:History of Richland County, Ohio.djvu/864

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��ward married. In 1821, he removed to Monroe Town- ship, where he built a cabin ; in 1826, he built a two- story, hewed-log house, that yet stands, the timber of which is in a good condition. The farm is now owned by Mr. Cailor. In 1831, he sold his place, and bought 320 acres south of Lucas, on Switzer's Run, now called Pleasant Valley. AVhile clearing his land, he and his family occupied a schoolhouse as a residence ; he soon after built a house, which then stood where the present residence of George Swigart now is ; in 1885, he built a saw-mill ; in 1860, he moved to Lucas, where he died at the age of 76 years. He was married, in 1810, to Miss Barbara Young, who survives him, and is now a resident of Lucas; she was born in Washington Co., Penn., in 1796, and came with her parents to Ohio in 1804, who first settled on a farm near New Lisbon, Ohio, and, in 1814, removed to Orange Township, Richland Co., now in Ashland Co. Mrs. Swigart remembers meeting Fulton, the inventor, and seeing the first steam- boat on the Ohio River. Mr. L. M. Swigart was born Dec. 31, 1827, in Monroe Township; when of sufficient age, he assisted in clearing land, farming, and hauling lumber to Mansfield, mostly with an ox team ; when 27 years of age, having accumulated $500, he bought a farm one mile north of Lucas, which he soon after, with some assistance, paid for in full. He lived on this farm ten years, when he sold it, and bought the Young farm of 240 acres, five miles east of Mansfield, and afterward bought the Leiter farm ; he erected the beautiful busi- ness house on Main street, Mansfield, known as the L. M. Swigart Block, in 1879. He was married to Miss Jane Balliet Feb. 12, 1854, by whom he has had five children — Martha A., born Jan. 19, 1855; Clora E., Dec. 2, 1856; Sarah J., April 13, 1859; John B., April 7, 1864 ; Mary E., Nov. 21, 1871. Mr. Swigart remem- bers seeing the first train of cars that came into Mans- field, and recalls many of the early incidents in the county's history.

SWIGART, GEORGE W., farmer ; P. 0. Hastings. Was born in Richland Co., A. D 1820; his father, John Swigart, was born in Franklin Co., Penn., A. D. 1793 ; when he arrived at the age of 13 years, his father, John Swigart, Sr., removed to Ohio, and settled two miles north of Canton, in Stark Co.; he remained with his father till the beginning of the war of 1812, when he enlisted in the service of the United States, and served his country faithfully during the war ; after the close of the war, he came to Orange Township, in Richland Co., and taught a three- months' term of school. At the close of his school, he married Miss Barbary Young ; Miss Young was born in Washington Co., Penn., in 1797, and removed with her father, Jacob Young, to Richland Co. in 1814 ; she was a member of a family of twelve children. Mr. Swigart removed to Monroe Township in 1821, and settled on the southwest quarter of Sec. 11; he moved in the morning in the woods, without any shelter but the trees, and in the evening he had a cabin 16x16 feet erected and one-half of the roof on : he moved his family into this cabin the same evening; again, in 1832, he re- moved into the woods, on the farm now owned and oc- cupied by his son, George W., it being a part of Sec. 29 in this township ; he continued to reside on this farm, cultivating and improving it, till within a few

��years of his death, when he removed to Lucas; he was of German and his wife of German and English descent. In his political faith, he was a Democrat of the "Old Hickory" persuasion ; he held some offices of honor and trust in the township ; he raised a large family of sons and daughters, several of whom still reside in the county, and are wealthy and enterprising citizens ; Mr. Swigart died in 1872 ; his wife is yet living. George W. Swigart was reared in the woods, and inured to hardships and toil from his boyhood ; he acquired such education as was to be obtained in the common schools of that day ; he found but little time, however, for lit- erary pursuits, but the time allotted him for that pur- pose was carefully improved, so that he acquired what may be termed a fair common-sciiool education ; being possessed of a well-balanced brain, and very retentive memory, and extremely fond of reading useful books, he has succeeded in storing his mind with a large fund of useful information. Mr. Swigart married Miss INlar- garet Rider, daughter of Henry Rider, an early set- tler of this township ; Miss Rider was born in 1824; they are the parents of three children, one son and two daughters ; Mr. Swigart has worked some at stone masoning and carpentering, but the greater part of his life has been devoted to the peaceful pursuits of the husbandman, in which business he has succeeded ad- mirably well ; of late years he has paid considerable attention to politics ; he, like his father, is a Democrat of the .Jacksonian school, " Retrenchment and Reform " are his favorite themes; he says, "that for thirty years he has advocated measures, that if adopted would greatly decrease the burden of taxation, and atford a much greater protection to society." For the benefit of future generations, he desires that his theory or plan be inserted in his biography. In the first place, he would reduce the number of the members in the Legislature one-half, and the salary of the remaining members one-half. He claims that when this is done, we would have a better class of legislators, as political tricksters could not, under such circumstances, atford to buy an office for which they were in nowise quali- fied. He claims that we now have too much legislation ; and that too much is more injurious to society than not enough. In the second place he would make some im- provement in county affairs. He would dispense with the office of Probate Judge, as also of a grand jury. He would have the Clerk of the Court attend to the civil duties that are now performed by the Probate Judge. He would have Justices of the Peace and Mayors of cities and incorporate villages, to perform the duties now assigned to grand jurors, and would also give them exclusive jurisdiction in minor criminal cases. Lastly, he recommends sure and severe punish- ment to criminals. Mr. Swigart has in his possess;on a cast-iron kettle which holds twenty gallons, that his grandfather bought in Steubenville in 1808, which has remained in the family ever since that period. iNIr. Swigart says in regard to roadmaking in his township, " Our first roads were made by cutting paths through the forest, and piling logs and brush in the muddy places. In the course of time, the plow and scraper began to be used. Now we use in addition to these the cart and wagon to haul gravel." At the instigation and through the influence and assistance of Mr. Swi-

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