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Early Settlements
The first permanent settlement of which there is authentic history was made in 1791. Settlements were made across the Ohio River at Sistersville, West Virginia, and at this point, a ferry was established in 1804.
Philip Witten, a brother-in-law of the noted scouts and Indian fighters, Kinsey and Vachel Dickenson (having married their sister), settled along the Ohio River in what is now Jackson Township.
The next settlement was on Buckhill Bottom in 1794 and was made by Robert McEldowney, who was soon followed by Jacob Ullom and others. Settlements were made at and near the mouth of Sunfish and Opossum Creeks by the Vandevanters, Henthorns, Atkinsons, and others at about 1798-1799. A settlement was made in 1802 where the Town of Calais now stands.
A settlement was made at about the same time by Michael Crow and others on Clear Fork Creek, Cline's settlement, on the Little Muskingum River, was begun about the year 1805. The settlement where Beallsville now stands and Dye's settlement in Perry Township were made at about the same time,
Few of its present inhabitants can realize the hardships endured by the early settlers of the county. Being without mills, they were compelled to resort to grating corn for bread in the early fall and, when too hard for that, to hominy, pounding it in large wooden mortars called "hominy blocks" with iron wedges on the ends of round sticks of wood for a pestle. "Hog and hominy", "johnny cake", wild game, mush, and milk constituted their chief diet. When hand mills were introduced, they were, indeed, a great acquisition but the horse mills were a still greater acquisition. At that time, every farmer had his own flock of sheep and a patch of flax. The wool was carded with hand-cards, spun and woven at home, and made into garments. Nice suits were made of "fulled cloth" and nice gowns for women were made of "pressed flannel". The flax was pulled, spread out in rows on the ground, "rotted", and then "broken and swingled" -- thus preparing it for combing and the "little wheel" as the machine was called on which the flax was spun to distinguish it from the larger machine for spinning wool. It was woven into cloth for table covers, toweling, sheeting, and shirting.
First Germans And Swiss
In April, 1819, ten German and Swiss families embarked on a flatboat on the Aar River at Berne under the leadership of Jacob Tisher. They descended the Aar River to the Rhine River and continued to the city of Antwerp where they boarded a French ship, Eugenius, for New York. After traveling 48 days, they landed at Amboy, New Jersey, where they purchased teams -- six of the families starting to travel to Wheeling, Virginia, The little colony now consisted of Father Jacob Tisher, Abraham Tisher, Jacob Tschappat, Daniel Fankhauser, Nicholas Fankhauser, Jacob Marti (together with their families), and Jacob Nisperli, single. After a tedious journey , they reached Wheeling and again embarked on a flatboat -- their destination being the Great Kanawa River.
Upon landing at the mouth of Captina, they found two Pennsylvania Germans, George Goetz and Henry Sweppe, who told them that there was plenty of Government land in Monroe County. Part of the colony were induced to stay. Housing room was not available for everyone.
On September 15, Father Tisher and part of his little band continued further down the River to Bare's landing, a distance of sixteen miles. Jacob Bare, an early settler from Maryland, could speak German and received them kindly -- persuading them to settle there. Thus, the two bands, at the same time, began the first German-Swiss settlements in Monroe County -- one party being in Switzerland Township and the other party being in Ohio Township. On the hill in Salem Township (now Switzerland Township), Daniel Mallett built a log cabin. This improvement was purchased by Jacob Tschappat, Sr., who moved the same fall. The other band settled on Congressional land the following spring. At that time, the Township was almost a wilderness -- only a few small improvements had been made. The Blares, Hendershots, Lemleys, and the Smiths had settled on Big Run.
In Ohio Township, settlements were made back from Buckhill Bottom on French Hill by Mozenette Harrison, on Opossum Creek by Jacob Dennis, and on the hill South of Bare's Run by James Ferrell. Shortly thereafter, Christian Regsegger, a native of Switzerland, settled on the hill back of Baresville. The rest of the Township was an unbroken forest. Immigration from Germany and Switzerland had now set in and these fertile hills had become the happy homes of an industrious and a prosperous people. Improvements were mostly confined to the river bottoms prior to these settlements.
The County Seat
The commissioners, appointed by the Legislature in 1814 for the purpose of establishing a seat of justice for the County, decided upon Woodsfield as the place. Prior to the time the County was erected, Archibald Woods of Wheeling, West Virginia; George Paul of St. Clairsville, Ohio; and Levi Barber of Marietta, Ohio, owned land in the territory which is now comprised of the County. They sought to have a new County organized and, accordingly, in 1812, selected the site where Woodsfield now stands. It was in that year that the Town of Woodsfield was surveyed and platted. At that time, Woodsfield was nothing but a wilderness. Woodsfield was properly named -- whether from its location in the woods or from one of the properties is a matter of opinion -- but it was named for a man named Mr. Woods.
In examining a Post Office guide, no other Woodsfield can be found in the United States, while there are twenty-six states having a Springfields; ten states having a Woodstock; eleven states having a Woodlawn; four states having a town by the name of Wood; eight states having a Woodland; and nine states having a Woodford.
Older citizens disagree as to the location of the first house in the village of Woodsfield and as to who built the first house. It is agreed, however, that it was built on the East side of Main Street or on the North side of Main Cross Street. The first building was thought to have been a tavern owned by Spencer Biddle -- being the first tavern in Woodsfield.
The following was read before the Monroe County Historical Society by the Honorable William F. Hunter on January 4, 1860 (being 82 years ago):
"Woodsfield, forty years ago (that's 122 years ago now), consisted of 18 houses -- 6 of which were hewed log houses -- the rest being cabins. The householders of Woodsfield, in the fall of 1818, were Patrick Adams; James Carrothers, whose son, George W., was the first child born in Woodsfield; Joseph Driggs; Ezra Driggs; John Snyder; Anson Brewster; James Phillips; Messrs. Sayes, Michael, and Davis; John Coll; Henry H. Mott; Stephen Lindley; John King; Henry Jackson; Amos B. Jones; David Pierson; and Mrs. A.G. Hunter.
Early in 1819, Nicholas and Daniel Frankhauser and their families left their home near Trub, Switzerland, to begin a long journey. They first went to Bern where they, together with eight other Swiss families, embarked on a flat boat and moved down the Aar River to the Rhine River and continued thence to the City of Antwerp.
After some delay, they set sail from Antwerp during the third week of May, taking passage on a three-masted French vessel, the Eugenius. A few days after their departure, Mrs. Daniel Fankhauser gave birth to a baby boy. Due to the circumstances surrounding his birth, he was named Jacob Ocean Fankhauser. Mrs. Fankhauser received many presents of provisions from the captain and from other members of the crew.
Near the forty-sixth parallel, the ship encountered much rain, snow, and stormy weather. After this experience, Nicholas remarked that he would not be a sailor for all the wealth in the world although he would rather cross the ocean twice than sail down the Rhine River once. After experiencing several days of fog, land was soon located on the morning of July 20.
After landing at New York, the Fankhauser family and five other Swiss families went to Perth Amboy, New Jersey, where they purchased four oxen and two wagons. They loaded baggage on one wagon and they put the women and children on the other wagon. On August 6, they began their 600 mile journey westward -- passing through Bethlehem, Reading, Lebanon, Bedford, Sonerset, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Wheeling, West Virginia.
Upon arriving at Wheeling, West Virginia, they took a boat down the Ohio River and landed approximately twenty miles down stream near what is now known as Powhatan Point, Ohio. It was here that they were informed that there was plenty of government land in Monroe County. The two Fankhauser families and several other members of the party decided to settle in what is known now as Switzerland Township."
The above summary was taken largely from "Lest We Forget", which is a translation of a letter which Nicholas Fankhauser wrote to his relatives in Switzerland a few years after he came to the United States. The translation was published in 1915 by his great-grandson, F.A. Scherzinger, of Nelson, Nebraska.
Nicholas Fankhauser had sixteen children: Nicholas, Warner, Andrew, William, Louis, Susanna, and Marve (all of whom were born in Switzerland and being children of his first wife); and Elizabeth, Louisa, Charlotte, Magdalena, Justina, Margaret, Caroline, Rosina, and Philip (all of whom were children of his second wife, Sophia Splittler).
Daniel and Nicholas Fankhauser also had a brother, John, who may have come to the United States at a later date.
The Town of Graysville was settled in 1835 by Daniel Gray. In 1880, there was a post office and there was a population of 174. At this time, Graysville was a point of considerable trade having four dry goods and grocery stores, two drug stores, two blacksmith shops, one furniture store, two shoe shops, one saddle and harness shop, two doctors, and two justices of the peace -- being W.J. Crawford and J. Beardmore. There were eleven school houses. The average wages paid to the eleven school teachers were $23.00 to ladies, per month, and $27.00 to the men, per month. There were 482 pupils enrolled, making an average of 44 pupils per teacher. There were two rooms in the school at Graysville with 99 pupils attending. A primary teacher earned the sum of $27.00 per month and the high teacher earned the sum of $35.00 per month.
Abram Mann, a farmer, was born in Malaga Township on June 26, 1817, a son of Peter and Elizabeth Barnhard Mann. It is not known when he moved to Washington Township. He was married to Julia A. Leck on December 30, 1841. She was born in Maryland on August 14, 1823, a daughter of Elisha and Margaret Garwood Leck. Nine children were born to Abram and Julia Mann. They were as follows: Henry, born on March 21, 1844; Clarkson, born on May 8, 1845; Clarissa J., born on October 10, 1847; Thomas Flanders, born on February 21, 1850; Oliver P., born on September 21, 1852 (he died at the age of four years); Harriet E., whose birthdate is unknown (she died on December 2, 1856); Vachael, born on September 9, 1858; Makel M., born on May 4, 1861; and Ross L. born on January 15, 1865. Abram Mann served as Trustee and Treasurer of Washington Township, serving three terms for each position.
This family was interested in race horses and, at one time, they owned, Ida Mae, a sorrel mare of the Old Hillman stock -- being the fastest half-mile horse in this part of the country.
Makel, familiarly known as M.M. Mann, served as Clerk of the Courts of Monroe County, Ohio. Thomas Flanders was a farmer and the father of C.R. Mann, who served two terms as Monroe County Commissioner. Ross was a teacher and a postmaster at Graysville, filling this position for 20 years. Vachael was in business in Graysville for several years. Members of this prominent family are now scattered over many states -- some as far as India.
Floyd Mann, Woodsfield, Ohio, and Denver C. Mann, Graysville, Ohio, are grandsons of Abraham and Julia Mann who, 100 years ago, built a 10-room house with high ceilings. This house, like many others in the county, was a center of community activities.
Monroe County's Patriotic Part In The Civil War
Monroe County was ready with volunteers for the Civil War. When President Lincoln made his first call for 75,000 young men to serve for a period of three months, two companies were formed here. Before they could be mustered in, Ohio's quota was full. These two companies, B and C, were then mustered into the 25th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment for a term of three years per each man.
William P. Richardson was the first major of this regiment. Later he became a brigadier general. Jere Williams became Lieutenant Colonel and Dr. William Walter was surgeon.
Officers of Company B were James Washburn, Captain; Charles B. Jones, First Lieutenant; and John D. Merryman, Second Lieutenant.
Officers of Company C were Jere Williams, Captain; William P. Richner, First Lieutenant; and Frank M. Sinclair, Second Lieutenant.
The regiment was organized at Camp Chase on June 28, 1861. It was mustered out on June 18, 1866, having served five years.
The first officers of Company E of the 27th Ohio Volunteer Infantry from this county were Milton Wells, Captain; J.W.M. Brock, First Lieutenant; and Matthew Brown, Second Lieutenant. This regiment was discharged in July of 1865 after four years of service.
The first officers of Company H of the 62nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment were William Dougherty, Captain; Henry R. West, First Lieutenant; and Samuel D. Hooper, Second Lieutenant. Lieutenant West later became a Colonel and, when the 62nd Regiment and the 67th Regiment consolidated (retaining the name of the 67th Regiment), he became a Brigadier General.
The first officers of Company A of the 77th Ohio Volunteer Infantry were William E. Stevens, Captain; Harvey Anderson, First Lieutenant; and Joseph S. Steenrod, Second Lieutenant.
An attempt was made to organize another company but, at the time the organization procedures were ready to begin, most of the man were assigned to other companies.
Captain Stevens later became a Colonel. Dr. James W. Warfield served as Surgeon and Pardon Cook served as Assistant Surgeon.
The first officers of Company C of the 92nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment were John C. Morris, Captain; and Milton Patton, First Lieutenant.
The first officers of Company K of the 92nd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment were Thomas Wilson, Captain; A.G. Hughes, First Lieutenant; and John D. Smith, Second Lieutenant.
The first officers of Company D of the 2nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment were Warren Hollister, Captain; William R. Ford, First Lieutenant; and Jonathan N. Patton, Second Lieutenant. Other officers of this Regiment were Simpson Hollister and Hamilton B. James.
The first officers of the two companies of the 7th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment were Solomon Spangler, Captain; John A. Fleahman. First Lieutenant; John W. Denny, Second Lieutenant; and Isaac B. Fisher, Captain; James Watson, First Lieutenant; and John W. Eddington, Second Lieutenant.
The first officers of Companies A, C, D, E, and F, of the 116th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment were James Washburn (commissioned Colonel), W.T. Morris (Major), Charles W. Ridgeway, Robert Wilson, William M. Kerr, Frederick H. Arkenee, James P. Mann, David M. Lupton, William Myers, Henry Okey, Richard Chaney, John Varley, Peter Dillon, John C. Henthorn, Matthew Brown, Henry McElfresh, and Wilson F. Martin,
The first officers of the 2nd Virginia Cavalry were Thomas Neal, Captain; Jeremiah Boyd, First Lieutenant; and William Church, Second Lieutenant.
James S. Algeo was an officer of the 4th Virginia Cavalry. The names of other officers of this unit are not known.
Henry H. Lohmire was an officer of the 12th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry.
The 186th Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment was organized in March of 1865, but it was disbanded in September. This unit had volunteers from Graysville and Beallsville.
Monroe County's Patriotic Part In The Revolutionary War
A four-page newspaper, "The Report," is published by the Ohio Genealogical Society in Mansfield. This paper is devoted to Monroe County. Catherine Foreaker Fedorchak, whose ancestors are natives of Monroe County, wrote practically the entire paper, Monroe Countians are grateful to her for spending considerable time collecting this information and for preserving it. Some of the biographies of Revolutionary War pensioners are listed below.
Nathan Hollister was a Revolutionary War pensioner. He is buried in the Woodsfield Pioneer Cemetery. His grave is marked with a rather pretentious monument. His family built a beautiful home, known as "The Parry House", on Eastern Avenue. This home is now occupied by the Saffle family.
Other Revolutionary War soldiers who applied for pensions while being residents of Monroe County were Adam Crum, William McClain, Henry Weaver, Robert Welsh, Benjamin Pearsall, Henry Smith, Anthony Evans, John Hicks, William Smith, Carl Headley, James Ferrell, Lemuel Rucker, John Pratt, John Walters, John Edge, Thomas Jordan, John Carmichael, Robert Wilson, William Gadd, William Eddy, John Hendershot, James Craig, Charles Atkinson, James Atkinson, Richard Talbott, James Henthorne, Ephriam Bates, Joseph Fulkerson, James McVay, Thomas Forshey, Pardon Starkes, Basil Morris, Ebenezer Tingley, Joseph Tomilson, Phillip Wiggins, Thomas Hammond, Enoch Enochs, Zadock Casteel, Arthur Hazzard, Stephen Atkins, Elijah Hixon, John Lisk, Alexander Sands, James Porter, Anthony Smith, Levin Okey, George Miller, James McCalliste, Earl Sproat, John Turner, and Isaan Stackhouse, There are several members of the Rucker family who are members of the DAR.
Nancy Edge, widow of John Edge, died on November 12, 1855. It is believed that she was 105 years old at the time of her decease. Her maiden name was Nancy Cummings. She is buried in the Greenbrier Cemetery near Graysville.
William Atkinson, a brother to Charles and James Atkinson, also served in the War. Their father, Cornelius, is a war veteran, too. Cameron, on Route #78, was at one time named Jamestown after James Atkinson.
John Cummings was with George Washington when Benedict Arnold deserted. He is buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery at Beallsville.
Early History Of Oil
The Monroe County History would not be complete if we neglected to write about the oil boom in Monroe County.
Reports of the oil boom in Monroe County were written by an Ohio State University professor as early as 1903.
At the turn of the century, the principal pools in Monroe County were Sistersville (on both sides of the Ohio River), Jackson Ridge (Griffith Post Office), Graysville, and Moose Ridge.
The minor pools in Monroe County at that time were Clear Fork, Clift, Whitacre, Rinard Mills, Benwood, New Castle, Lewisville, Sycamore, and Jerusalem. Other areas in the county were developed after 1903.
A well was begun in April, 1891, on the Ohio side of the Ohio River, opposite Sistersville. This marked the opening of one of the largest pools discovered in this country.
Salt brine was a big headache in the early fields along the Ohio River. It was hoped that some day big chemical companies would develop the extensive salt beds. The quantity of salt brine from one well, at that time, was 3,500 barrels per day for a period of weeks. Upon solving the salt brine problem in one well, the production increased a total of 500 to 600 barrels per day.
Salt was less of a problem around the Trail Run farms. On one farm containing 125 acres, five or six strings of tools were working at one time. One of the wells which was drilled produced 2,400 barrels over a period of 24 hours -- making an average of 700 to 800 barrels per day for a month.
There was oil well activity in Perry Township, in Benton Township, and in the Jackson Ridge area near Woodsfield. According to the Buckeye Pipe Line Company, there were 300 producing wells here which produced 55,000 barrels of oil per month during the summer of 1901. The wells produced an excellent quantity of oil but the price per barrel, at that time, is not known. It is believed that the price of oil, in the boom of 1907, was $3.97. During the war years, as much as $6.10 was paid per barrel.
The first well was drilled very near the village of Graysville in the winter of 1895-1896. There was a showing of oil but there was not a sufficient quantity to shoot. Two more wells were drilled with the same results.
Another well was drilled in 1900. This well was shot with nitroglycerin. Oil began to flow with a production at first of 100 barrels per day.
Oil was discovered in Green Township in 1890 but the amount was small. Another try was made in 1894 when the largest well produced 1,400 barrels.
Another well was produced in the Lewisville area which was said to have been a "remarkable producer". On July 3, 1901, a well was completed. This well started producing 300 barrels per day, producing 900 barrels the first month, and producing 60,000 barrels the first year.
Transportation On The Ohio River
Transportation was much different one hundred years ago when the main traffic artery for Monroe County was the Ohio River and its packet boats carried freight, passengers, and everything else that was to be transported -- although there were special rules for storing gunpowder. Believe it or not, Woodsfield merchants of the day received their goods at Clarington where there was a wharfboat to store the merchandise from the time it was unloaded from the boats until wagons appeared to carry it to Woodsfield, Round Bottom, Oak and the various other general stores in the eastern half of the Country.
Henry Howe, the famous Ohio historian, arrived in Clarington by steamboat and walked out over the hills to take a look at Woodsfield. Some people say the United States Mail service was as good by boat prior to 1884 when the Ohio River Railroad was completed as it is today. Anyway, there were two fine side-wheel boats, the "Courier" and the "Express", which carried the mail between Wheeling and Parkersburg. One boat left each terminal daily.
Monroe County goods went to market by boat, too. Livestock, dried apples, eggs, fruit, hay, grain, and almost everything the county produced went to market. Later, the creameries sent out an unbelievable amount of butter.
Clarington was also a boat building center. The Mozena Brothers Boatyards built all sorts of famous steamboats. The "Avalon" owned by the Cramer family, later appeared on the Tennessee River and was a great success there. The "Ruth No. 2" fared far afield and later ran on the Chattohoochee River in Georgia. Its most famous trip was around Florida on the open sea and up to South Carolina where it ran on the Congaree River. The crew reported their only difficulty out on the ocean waves with this fragile river boat was that the boilers foamed when they pumped salt water into them. The "Ruth No. 2" was in existence until 1918 and its whistle still blows today on a Columbia, South Carolina brickyard.
The "City of Wheeling" was a notable boat built in Clarington and it once ran between Cincinnati and Louisville where it was not afraid to try its speed along with the fast side-wheel packets that ran there. Probably the most famous boat ever built at Clarington was the "Liberty" being the last in the line of packets of that name. This boat was built in 1 |
