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Copied from Harbaugh's 1909 History

of

Miami County Ohio

Chapter 3

FORMATION OF THE COUNTY; THE HOME IN THE WILDERNESS, ETC

-Pontiac's Consptracy - Boquet's Expedition-
- Block Houses Built at Cincinnati-
- New York and Virginia Relinquish Charter Claims-
- Fort Harmar Erected - The Settlement at Marietta-
- Quick Settlement of the Ohio Valley - Ordinance of 1787-
- Slavery Forbidden - St. Clair made Governor-
- Formation of Hamilton and Montgomery Counties-
- Formation Of Miami County - Abrogastion of the Indian Title - Wayne's Victory of the Fallen Timbers & Treaty of Greenville - Miami Indians - The Symmes Purchase - School Districts Reserved - Sale of Public Lands on Time Payments - The First Court-
- Homes of the Pioneer Settlers - Pioneer Habits and Customs
- Domestic Industries - Early Circulating Medium-
- Militia Musters - County Officials -

The genesis of Miami County begins with the formation of what is known as the Northwest Territory. I have briefly traced the struggle of France and England for the soil embraced within the present limits of our domain. The last engagement of the French and Indian War took place in 1763 at Fort Piqua.

Although the trety of Paris settled the clames of the continental rivales to this particular region, in which England was the gainer, it did not put an end to the Indian troubles. In the year mentioned Pontiac, the great sachem of the Ottawas, formed one the stupendous conspiracies ever known. He drew into it the various tribes scattered throughout Ohio, and the design of this scarlet Napoleon was the destruction of the British posts in the northwest. In this he was secretly and, at times, openly aided by the French, who still chafed under the overthrow which they had experienced at the hands of England. Pontiac and Tecumseh stand forth as the most astute Indians ever connected with the history of Ohio.

The plans of Pontiac came to naught, most notably in his failure to capture Detroit, and after the allied tribes had susttained their final defeat at Fort Pitt (Du Quesue), they-were forced to make peace by Boquet, who led an expedition into their coutry and librated a number of white captives. Not until them did the opposition to British rule end on the part of he Indiana. Royal proclamations had hitherto prevented settlements beyond the Ohio, but grants of land south of that river were obtained by companies formed in Virginia and elsewhere, and hunters and traders, ignoring the boundary lines, pushed into the new territory, taking up lands under the very noses of the French. In 1774 the "Quebec Act" passed the English parliarnent and the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers were made the western and southwestern boundaries of Canada. During the American Revolution a majority of the Indian nations espoused the cause of England, but the Delawares were kept neutral by the Moravians who had established villages of Christian Indians on the Muskingum in 1772.

Two block houses were built at Cincinnati in 1780, the year of Clark's expeditioin, New York relinquished her charter claims to the Northwest Territory and the following year Virginia did the same; but at the same time obtained by way of compromise a tract of land between the Scioto and Little Miami which received the name of the "Virginia Military District." Massachusetts and Connecticut yielded their claims in 1785 and 1786, but gained land like Virginia, which was called the "Western Reserve." Congress, in 1785, caused to be surveyed the public lands west of the Ohio, and Fort Harmar was erected at the mouth of the Muskingum and the Ohio. Under direction of Gen. Rufus Putnam, a brilliant officer of the Revolution, the "Ohio Company of Associates" was formed in Boston and this eventually led to the settlement at Marietta.

The settling of the Ohio Valley quickly followed the expedition led by Putnam. Immigrants poured through the passes of the Alleghanies all headed for that vast and beautiful region which stretched westward. These bands of hardy souls crossed or floated down the Ohio, stopping here and there as the different places pleased them, and the sound of the pioneer's axe awoke the solitudes of the forest. Congress, 13 July 1787 passed the celebrated ordinance for the government of the Northwest Territory. This act provided for the formation of not more than five states out of the immense tract, and slavery and involuntary servitude was forbidden therein, otherwise than in punishment for crimes. On July 17th, the regular government of the Northwest Territory was installed with Gen.Arthur St. Clair as governor. On the 26th Washington County, Ohio, was established and on September 17th the first court was held.

The inauguration of Governor St. Clair still further stimulated settlement. Reports sent back by those who had settled in Ohio caused a perfect stream of pioneers to flow in this direction. They were undaunted by reports of restless Indians, for it was believed that the redman was by no means pacified; but this did not impede immigration. The white man considered himself capable of coping with the Indian and the lands of the Ohio were too great a prize to be permitted to slip from his grasp. Year after year the tide of civilization rolled westward, breaking through the mountain barriers in a resistless torrent, and filling the forests with a new race which would not brook threatened dispossession.

In January, 1790, Hamilton County was organized, "beginning on the banks of the Ohio River at the confluence of the Little Miami, thence up the same to the Standing Stone Fork, or branch of the Big Miami, and thence with a line to be drawn due east to the Little Miami and down same to the place of beginning." In March, 1803, part of Hamilton County was laid off and called Montgomery. On 16 January 1807, in an act which took effect March first;

"All that part of Montgomery County be and the same is hereby laid off and created into a separate and distinct county which shall be known by the name of Miami, to-wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of Champaign County and southeast corner of section 1, township 2 and range 9; thence west with the line between ranges 9 and 10 to the Great Miami River, crossing the same in such direction as to take the line on the bank of the said river, between townships 3 and 4 in range 6, west of said river. Thence west with the said line to the state line, thence north with the same to the Indian boundary line; thence east with the same to the Champaign County line; thence south with the said county to the place of beginning.

"From and after the 1st day of April, 1807, said county of Miami shall be vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities of a separate and distinct county. Jan 7th, 1812, all that part of Montgomery County lying north of the county of Miami shall be and the same is hereby attached to the said county of Miami and all that part lying north of the county of Darke shall be and the same is hereby attached to the said county of Darke."

In this manner according to law came into being the county we now inhabit. Prior, however, to the legal establishment of the county the Indian title had been abrogated. The county's name is derived from the Miami Indians whose place of residence, as a tribe, has long been a subject for dispute by local and state historians. I have before me a letter secured especially for this work from Col. Charles C.Royce, for many years a resident of the county and a compiler of Indian data for the General Government. Col.Royce is an authority on Indian affairs and his conclusions which follow settle once and for all the disputes concerning the Indian occupation of this county. He writes as follows:

"At the close of the Revolutionary War and for a number of years thereafter the territory now comprised within the limits of Ohio was occupied and claimed by a number of Indian tribes, the respective boundaries of each tribe being specifically differential. As early as 1749 an English tradeing-post was established called Loramie's Store, or Pickawillany, within the present limits of Shelby County, and one or more villages of the Twightwees, or Miami Indians, existed for a time in the vicinity. When the French, with the assistance of the Ottawas and Chippewas, destroyed the trading-post in 1752 in the face of a vigorous protest from the Miamis, the latter were disturbed in their occupation of this territory and withdrew further to the north and west in the vicinity of Fort Wayne.

"After Wayne's defeat of the allied Indian forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, in 1794, he made a treaty with them at Greenville, in 1795, whereby they ceded all the land south of a line beginning at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River, thence up the same to the portage between that and the Tuscarawas branch of the Muskingum; thence down that branch to the crossing plus above Fort Lawrence; thence to a fork of that branch of the Great Miami running into the Ohio at or near which fork stood Loramie's Store and where commences the portage between the Miami of the Ohio and St.Marys River, which is a branch of the Miami which runs into Lake Erie; thence a westerly course to Fort Recovery, which stands on a branch of the Wabash, thence southwesterly in a direct line to the Ohio so as to intersect that river opposite the mouth of the Kentucky River.

"This treaty was made jointly with a number of tribes, of whom the Miamis were one. The land ceded to the United States included the present boundaries of Miami County, but at the time of the cession there was no Miami County. Indians resided therein and the region including Miami, Clarke, Champaign, Logan and a number of other counties was claimed and occupied by the Shawnees who had a number of villages in this section.

"By the treaty of October 6, 1818 the Miamis ceded the United States a tract of country beginning at the Wabash River, near the mouth of Raccoon Creek; thence up the Wabash to Fort Wayne, thence to the St.Mary's River; thence up the St.Mary's to the Portage; thence with the line of the Wyandot cession of 1817 to the reservation at Loramie's Store; thence with the Indian boundary line to Fort Recovery, and thence with said line to the beginning. This tract at its southwestern extremity included a part of the present Shelby, Augiaize and Mercer Counties and marked the southern and eastern lines of the territory specifically claimed by the Miamis.

"It can be affirmatively stated that within the period since the organization of the Federal Government the Miami Indians neither occupied nor claimed any land within the present boundaries of Miami County. On the contrary the United States, by a treaty concluded January 31, 1795, at Greenville, definitely conceded the claims of the Shawnees to the ownership of certain territory which included the present boundaries of Miami County."

It will be seen from Col. Royce's statement that within the period since the organizdtion of the general government, the Miamis claimed no land within the boundaries of this county. That this tribe of the great Algonquin family at one time were in these parts is undisputed. As early 1658 the French found the Miamis in the neighborhood of Green Bay, Wis. In 1683 they carried on a war with the Sioux and Iroquois and in 1705 the French brought about a war between them and the Ottawas. The Miamis, many years later, united with Pontiac in his conspiracy for the destruction of the whites, and during the Revolution they assisted the English. As late as 1790 they were able to put in the field fifteen hundred warriors and were a nation not to be despised. They were war like and energetic, but idle life and intoxicants so led to their downfall as a great savage nation that they were easily overcolue by the whites. They gradually ceded all their lands to the General Government and in 1846 removed to the Fort Leavenworth agency. At the present time this once powerful nation is almost extinct and its members are dissipated and wretched.

I have been thus particular in giving an account of the Miamis from the fact that this county owes its name to them. It is one of the few counties in Ohio that perpetuates the memory of the tribes that once roamed the forests. The Miamis produced no celebrated leaders like Tecumseh and Pontiac, but they had within their ranks warriors whose deeds for many years left their impress on the localities they inhabited.

Prior to the formation of the county one of the hindrances to settlement was the manner in which the land could be obtained. In most of the states and territories lying west of the Alleghanies the United States collectively and as a nation owned or did own the soil of the country after the extinction of the Indian title. This vast domain which comprised millions of acres, was to be sold at moderate prices to the settlers, but even at this many could not comply with the terms, for the average settler was poor in this world's goods and had nothing but his strong arm and his determination. The "Symmes Purchase" included land between the Great and Little Miami Rivers. It was patented by John Cleves Symmes in 1794 for sixty seven cents per acre. Every sixteenth section or square mile in each township was reserved by Congress for the use of schools. This tract is now one of the most valuable in the state. I extract from the valuable work the disposition of the lands which attracted the early settlers of this county:

"Up to 1799 Congress lands could not be sold in quantities less than 4,000 acres; but through the efforts of General Harrison a law was passed authorizing the sale of half of the public lands in sections and the other half in half sections. In 1800 land offices were established by Congress for the sale of these lands in sections and half sections on the following terms: Two dollars per acre, applicant to deposit $6 for surveying a section, or $3 for half section and $5 for a patent for a section, or $4 for a half section; also he was obliged to deposit one-twentieth of the price, all of which was to be forfeited if within forty-nine days one fourth of the purchase was not paid, another fourty within two years, another fourth within three years and the residue within four years with 6 per cent interest on the deferred payments from date of sale. Subsequent acts, however, gave great relief to the purchasers by extendiug the time of payments and in 1804 the fees for surveying were abolished and an act for the sale of lands in quarter seetions was passed. In 1820 lands could be bought in forty acre lots and the price was $125 cash."

The last act was a great blessing to the early settler. He was enabled by it to purchase lands in quantities that suited him, but many purchased sections and half seetious, forming from these tracts some of the best farms that exist in the county at the present time. When it became known that land in any quantity desired could be obtained in this section there was a great influx of immigration. The locality drained by the Miami and its tributaries offered excellent inducements to the pioneer, and he was not long in taking advantage of them. He saw that in the valley of the Miami there was everything needed for a home, and the reports he sent back over the mountains to friends and relatives produced amazing results.

With thelegal establishment of the county in 1807 a new era was to begin. The first court was held at Staunton, primitive it is true, but a court nevertheless. The log court-house witnessed the first oeration of law within the limits of the county, and if the old records could be consulted, an interesting and amusing chapter might be included in this work. It is stated that court was first held in the house of one Peter Felix, who was a character of the early day. He was a Frenchman and somewhat of a trader and he dwelt for years at Staunton carrying on his business. Around the first county seat arose the cabins of the settlers. These early homes, which long ago gave way to more pretentious ones, were simple in the extreme. The wants of the settler were also simple in the extreme. He was easily satisfied. The cabins were, for the most part, constructed on a universal plan. They consisted, as a rule, of one large room. Overhead was a garrett, access to which was had by means of a ladder in one corner of the cabin. The young folks used the upper room for a sleeping apartment. There they were lulled to sleep by the pattering rain on the clapbo ard roof which was all that separated them from the outer world. How often in the winter time on arising in the morning - never later than four o'clock did they find their beds covered with snow, driven through the crevices by the piercing winds.

The cracks between the logs were filled with clay in which was mixed the dry grass of the nearby meadows. This held the clay together and kept it from cracking and falling out. The fire-place was broad and deep, constructed of large stolaes obtained from the bed of a creek nearby, and would accommodate a back-log six feet in length which was rolled into position with handspikes and would last for days. The floors were constructed of boards split from long straight logs, generally oak and were smoothed on one side with the axe, laid rough side down and made fast to the joists by wooden pins driven in holes made with an augur. This was called a puncheon floor and an old song recalls it in this manner:

"Oh, Jeianie, my toes are sore,
Dancing over the puncheon floor.

The windows were merely openings made by cutting out a portion of one of the logs, to be closed by a sliding clapboard. Loopholes were sometimes pierced in the sides and ends of the cabins through which to shoot when attacked by Indians. The doors were heavy and strong and were often fitted with stout barricades to resist outside pressure. The beds were made upon boards resting on a frame attached to the side of the cabin. The table from which the meals were partaken was secured in the same manner and three-legged stools took the place of chairs. Now and then in a cabin was seen an old split bottom arm-chair that had been brought across the mountains. It was too dear a bit of furniture to be left behind, for the grandmother in it had sung sweet lullabies to all her children while in her protecting arms she rocked them to sleep. These cabin homes, hunble as they were, afforded the pioneers comfortable and pleasant places of abode.

One of our old settlers has left on record his experiences in a wilderness home which is particularly interesting:

"My father's family was small and he took us all with hin to the Miami wilderness. The Indian meal which he brought was expended six weeks too soon, so for that time we had to live without bread. The lean venison and the breast of the wild turkey we were taught to call bread. I remember how narrowly we children watched the growth of the potato tops, pumpkin and squash vides, hoping from day to day to get something in place of bread. How delicious was the taste of the young potatoes when we got them! What a jubilee when we were permitted to pull the young corn for roasting ears! Still more when it acquired hardness to be made into johnny-cakes by the aid of a tin grater. The furniture of the table consisted of a few pewter dishes, plates and spoons, but mostly of water bowls, trenchers and noggins. If these last were scarce, gourds and hard-shell squashes made up the deficiency.

I well remember the first time I ever saw a tea cup and saucer. After the death of my mother, which sad event took place when I was seven or eight years of age, my father sent me away to school. I stopped at a tavern which was plastered on the inside, both as to the walls and ceiling. I had no idea there was a house in the whole world that was not built of logs - the tavern was a stone affair - but I looked around and could see no joists. Whether such a house had been built by the hands of man or had grown up of itself I could not conjecture. I had not the courage to inquire anything about it. When supper came my confusion was worse confouiaded. A little cup stood in a bigger one with some brownish stuff in it which was neither milk, hominy or broth. What to do with these little cups and the spoons belonging to them I did not know and I was afraid to ask anything concerning them."

In the winter evenings around the fire blazing on the hearth would congregate the family, the mother engaged in making or mending the clothes of the household, while the father was shaping an axe handle, a hickory broom, or perhaps repairing the moccasins for himself and boys. The children cracking nuts or studying their lessons, while at their feet stretched out upon the hearth quietly slept the faithful watch-dog, the guardian of the place, an indispensable acquisition to the pioneer home. A lurid flame from the long-nosed iron lamp, filled with melted bear's grease, mingling with the bright firelight, made cheerful the surroundings of this happy group.

In these pioneer homes there was always a cheerful welcome for the new comer. There was little room for envy, jealousy and hatred, which are the cause for so much human misery in the older communities. As a natural consequence the pioiaeers were, as a rule, true Christians. It was this abiding confidence in an all- wise Providence that enabled them to bear up under the many trials and tribulations through which they were called upon to pass.

The early settlers of Miami County were plain in their attire. Their garments were manufactured at home and from flax and wool, as cotton then was comparatively scarce. The immigrants from the South wore goods of cotton, but those who came from the East could not be so favored. The latter had to depend on wool and flax. A lady's linsey dress would often last through the second summer for then style seldom changed. The pioneers were content with what they had. The making of the family clothing gave employment to the female portion of it and led to habits of economy among them. Men in the winter time wore light Indigo blue linsey, and now and then was seen a hunter in buckskin and moccasins. As has been said, the girls of the pioneer families were industrious. They were early taught industrious and economical habits by careful mothers. In this connection a page from the diary of a pioneer miss is given to show what could be accomplished by the willing hands of the grandmothers of the past:

"Fixed gown for Prude; Mended mother's riding hood; Spun short thread; Fixed two gowns for the Welsh girls; Carded tow; Spun linen; Worked on cheese basket; Hatchel'd flax with Hannah, we did 5 lbs; Pleated and ironed; Read a sermon of Doddridges; Spooled a piece; Spun apiece; Milked the cows; Spun linen, did 50 knots; Made a broom of wheat straw; Spun thread to whiten; Set a red dye; Had two scholars from Mrs.Taylor's; Carded two pounds of whole wool and felt nationally; Spun harness twiue; Scoured the pewter."

Girls of this sort made excellent wives. The young miss also tells of washing, cooking, knitting, weeding the garden, picking geese, etc., and of visits to neighbors. She dipped candles in the spring and made soap in the autumn. This latter was a budensome business, but the soft soap was important for home use. Even before they could spin the pioneer girls of Miami County were taught to knit as soon as their little hands could hold the needles. Sometimes girls of six could knit stockings. Boys often had to knit their own suspenders. All the stockings and mittens for the family were made in large numbers. To knit a pair of mittens was a sharp and long day's Work. A story is told of a pioneer boy in Spring Creek Township who came home one night and said that he had lost his mittens in the woods while chopping wood. His sister ran to a bundle of wool in the garret, carded and spun a big hank that night. It was racked and scoured the next morning and in twenty-four hours from the time the brother announced his loss he had a fine new pair of double mitts.

Another occupation which obtained among the girls of pioneer days was that of quilting. There was not then the variety of colors to be had now and it took no little ingenuity to make the product of the quilting frame a showy one. There was one satisfactory condition in the work and that was the quality of the cottons and linens of which the patchwork was made. They were none of the slimsy composition filled, aniline-dyed calicoes of today. A piece of "chaney," "patch," and "copper plate" a hundred years old will be as fresh today as when woven. A sense of the idealization of quilt piecing is given also by the quaint descriptive names applied to the various patterns. Of these the "Rising Sun," "Log Cabin," and "Job's Trouble" were perhaps the most favored. There were many "quilting bees" during early times and they were great affairs, looked forward to with much interest. More than one resident of the county has heard his grandmother describe them. Not only were the girls taught to quilt, but they were initiated into the mysteries of the spinning wheel. Their deft fingers were ever busy and all became experts at the various occupations that pertained to the comforts of the family.

If such were the useful occupations of the girls, what did the boys do? Like their sisters they were raised to habits of industry, frugality and self-reliance, and were independent and fearless. At an early age they were instructed in the use of the rifle and were taught to imitate the call of bird and beast. Hidden in a thicket or behind a log, they would call like wild turkeys, drawing whole flocks of these gamey birds within reach of their rifles. Bleating like fawns they would lure the timid mothers to their death. Then, barking like squirrels, the treetops would become alive with the little rodents. And packs of wolves far away in the forest or on the prairie would howl in answer to their calls. They also rivaled the Indian in throwing the tomahawk, and in handling the bow and arrow. They assisted their fathers in opening up the farms and in cultivating the soil. At night in the cabins the wonderful jack-knife would be brought forth and all sorts of things, useful as well as ornamental, would be fashioned from the pliant wood. They learned how to repair every sort of farm machinery and became adepts at it. There was no idleness in the boys and girls of pioneer days.

Previous to and during the period that witnessed the establishment of the county seat at Troy (an event which will be treated in a future chapter) the currency of the settlers was poor and peculiar. Coonskins and other pelts became a circulating medium and were accepted at the early stores in exchange for the simple necessaries required by the neighborhood. There were no established banks, as the State Bank was not instituted till later. About the only "money" in circulation was a sort of coin known as "sharp-shins." It is said to have come from Kentucky. It was not received in pavment for public lands and had little value in business transactions outside certain localities. The dollars in circulation were the Spanish milled and in order to have change, the pioneers took them to the nearest blacksmith, who proceeded to cut them into two, four and quite often five pieces, on the anvil, with the assistance of a cold chisel. If cut into five pieces the workman kept one for toll, leaving the owner of the original coin four quarters.

These smaller pieces became "bits" and "flips" and the terms "two-penny bit," "five-penny bit," "two-pence, flip and a bit, were in every day use. The cut pieces were called "sharp-shilas" on account of the jagged edges which arose from the cutting, and as they wrought havoc with the pockets of their possessors leather bags were called into use to hold them. With this sort of outlandish currency the early settlers seemed to get along pretty well until better came into use, when the "sharp-shins" were relegated to the rear and eventually disappeared.

One of the most important functions connected with the opening up of the county were the frequent musters. These were great, not to say gorgeous events. The fear of Indian invasion and the protection of the settlements brought the muster into being and it held its place for many years. As early as 1788 a law which was passed for "regulating the Militia" was approved by Goveriaor St. Clair. All male citizens between the ages of sixteen and fifty were required to furnish themselves, a musket, bayonet, cartridge- box, pouch and powder-horn and bullet pouch, with one pound of powder and four pounds of lead, priming wire and six flints.

There were company musters once every two months, except December, January, February and March. The rules of the old militia kept the settlers familiar to a certain extent with miltary discipline and they were ready at all times to respond to any call. As a sample of the orders issued for a general niuster I append the following:

"Regirmntal Orders. The commissioned officers of the 3rd, R, 2d D, 10th D.O.M. are hereby notified to appear armed and equipped according to law at the courthouse in Troy, on the 29th instant at 10 o'clock A.M. of said day and continue under the command of the Brigadier General of said brigade until three o'clock P.M. of the succeeding day, for the purpose of muster, inspection and drill. By order of the Brigadier General.
.......... D.Grosvenor, Col.

The regimental and company musters were important events. The occasion was often made a holiday and the whole neighborhood flocked to witness the affair. The brigadier general decked in "all the pomp and panoply of war" was a sight worth seeing, and Solomon "arrayed in all his glory" would have cut a sorry figure beside him. General John Webb, one of the pioneer settlers of Lost Creek Township, was a noted commander of the old militia. The ranking officers in blue coats, glittering with polished brass buttons, waving plumes and gorgeous epaulets were the observed of all observers and created much suppressed merriment among the poor privates and the concourse of spectators.

Among the old county musters whose glories long ago departed the following major generals were conspicuous: Robert Young, Hiram Bell and J. W. Frizell. Then came such brigadiers as James Fergus, Fielding Loury, John Webb, Dr. Keifer, and S.J.Hensley, while a lot of colonels vied with the generals in their brilliant yet grotesque uniforms and "military discipline." The generals were chosen by a vote of the county and it is natural to suppose that a good deal of "log rolling" was indulged in to secure the coveted places. General John Webb was once elected to this position and afterward, according to his personal narrative, became acting major general of the Tenth Division of Ohio Militia, which division embraced the counties of Montgomery, Darke, Shelby, and Miani and consisted of ten regiments of infantry, riflemen, cavalry and artillery. Nearly all of the participants in the old musters had seen service against the Indians and not a few took part in the War of 1812. When the county became well settled the musters went out of vogue, but their memories remanied for many years. They were excellent things since they taught the manual of arms and prepared the militia for any emergency. Some of the old company rolls are said to be extant today, and upon them are to be found the names of many who in later years became prominent citizens of the county, distinguished in various walks of life.

ROSTER OF COUNTY OFFICERS, 18O7-1908

After the formation of the county in 1807 its official life began. Officers were chosen, some by appointment, others by election. After a few years they were chosen at regular elections, a system which has extended to the present day. Following is a complete list of the officials of Miami County from 1807 to 1908:

Treasurers

Andrew Wallace, William Brown, John G.Telford, Jacob Knoop, William C.Knight, Andrew Patterson, George S.Murray, George C.Clyde, M.D.Mitchell, A.L.McKinney, S.D.Frank, Theodore Sullivan, John A.McCurdy, D.W.Sinks, S.N.Todd, George H. Rundle, J.C.Ullery, John Prugh, E.J.Eby, Jesse Burkett, C.W.Kiser, R.N.Burwell. Of the above Wallace and Brown were appointed, the latter serving thirty- eight years.

Auditors

H.W.Culbertson, David Grosvenor, Thomas S.Barrett, Jacob Knoop, B.F.Powers, Thomas B.Kyle, James Nesbitt, C.N.Hoagland, J.W.Defrees, R.J.Douglass, George C.Clyde, N.C.Clyde (filled a vacancy), Eli Tenney, W.I.Tenney, C.C.Barnett, Horatio Pearson, Boyd E.Furnas, Elmer E.Pearson, Albert E.Sinks.

Sheriffs

Stephen Dye, T.W.Furnas, Levi Hart, Leander Munsell, Robert Culbertson, John Shidler, Joseph Defrees, Stephen Johnston, Thomas Jay, Joseph Pearson, James M. Roe, Daniel Ellis, John Hart, C.T.Bear, S.D.Frank, William Evans, David L.Lee, D.C.Miller, John M.Campbell, Alexander M.Heywood, T.M.Ashworth, E.M. Wilbee, F.E.Scobey, W.E.Rogers, Ralph H.Gibson.

Clerks of the Court

Cornelius Westfall, John G.Telford, Thomas J.S.Smith, Benjamin W. Leavell, Barton S.Kyle, Charles V.Royce, Smith Talbott, J.W.Cruikshanks, John B.Latchford, J.B.Fouts, Abbott E.Childs, E.A.Jackson, J.H.Landis, Cloyd Smith.

Prosecuting Attorneys

E.Adams, William I. Thomas, Thomas S. Barrett, R. S. Hart, Ebenezer Parsons, H. G. Sellers, M. H. Jones, James T. Janvier, Walter S. Thomas, W.F. Ross, H.H. Williams, C.D. Wright, Aloses B. Earnhart, Samuel Jones, Thomas B. Kyle, J. Harrison Smith, Alva B. Campbell, William E. Lytle.

Surveyors

Armstrong Brandon, Fielding Loury, Jacob Knoop, William Giffin, John B. Fish, J.E.Alexander, John N.Rouzer, A.C.Buchanan, E.P.Kellogg, H.O.Evans, R.F.Walker, John W.Dowler, Harry J.Walker, H.E.Whitlock. At the beginning surveyors were appointed, but not until a number of years after the formation of the county were they chosen at the regular elections.

Commissioners

Joseph McCorkle, Henry Gerard, James Naylor, William Barbee, Alexander Ewing, Thomas Coppock, Alexander McNutt, James Fergus, John Wilson, William Mendenhall, James Orr, James Johnston, William Barbee, Oliver Benton, Hugh Scott, William Wiley, Robert Morrison, Michael Williams, James Brown, E.P.Davis, Samuel Pierce, Richard Morrow, Jacob Knoop, Sr., Samuel Kelley, W.C.Knight William Elliott, D.H. Morris, Isaac Sheets, William Scott, J.N. Wolcot, Jacob Knoop, Thomas B.Rose, Abner Jones, Ralph Peterson, B.F.Brown, Howard Mitchell, Jeremiah Fenner, Jacob Rohrer, J.C.Coate, James Sims Jr., D.M.Rouzer, Nathan Jackson, James Saylor, D.M.Coate, Isaac Clyne, W.H.Northcutt, D.C.Branson, William Johnston, Edmund Lewis, John W. Widney, John C.Henderson, John T.Knoop, David C.Statler, B.B.Scarff, S.D.Frank, W.H.Alexander, Robert Martindale, Havilah Coppock, Ira T.Jackson, B.F.Smith, J.B.Studebaker, W.G.Wilson, W.B.Segner, J.E.Anderson, Thomas C.Brown, Joe M.Fink.

Infirmary Directors

There seems to be no official roster of this office prior to 1853, but the following is the roster of the Infirmary Board since that time: James C.McKaig, Jacob Counts, Asa Coleman, George Throgmorton, David Huston, S.M.Dickson, William H. Gahagan, James H. Pea, John D. DeWeese, George B.Frye, Jacob Knoop, William Hamilton, S.A. Cairns, Stephen Genslinger, Joseph Bains, B.N.Langston, Samuel Bowerman, John E. Anderson, Harrison Gear, T.M.Aspinall, E.E.Thompson, E.F.Sayers, L.L.Speagh, William E. Foster, Frank Beek, Havilah Coppock, J.W.Underwood.

Infirmary Superintendents

Since 1853 the following citizens of the county have been superintendent of the Infirmary: George A.Murray, Jonathan Batson, Samuel Robinson, James Foster, Price Duncan, Cornelius N. Bowne.

Probate Judges

Joseph Pearson, Samuel Davis, W.N.Foster, A.L.McKinney, William C. Johnston, William J.Clyde, John C.Geyer, William B.Freshour, J.Harrison Smith, Eberhart W.Maier.

Representatives

Arthur Stewart, the county's first representative in the Ohio Legislature, took his seat at the session commencing 8 Dec 1808. In the years following, his successors have been: Fielding Loury, Joseph Evans, James Blue, T.W.Furnas, Samuel Kyle, Robert Montgomery, Asa Coleman, James Fergus, John P.Finley, William Mendenhall, Leander Munsell, William Fielding, John McCorkle, William Barbee, Amos Perry, John Wilson, Thomas J. Smith, Stacey Taylor, Hiram Bell, John Briggs, Justin Hamilton, Thomas Shidler, John McClure, David Alexander, James Bryson, J.W.Riley, David H. Morris, Stephen Johnston, Joseph Potter, W.A. Weston, Tanzy Julian, Joseph Worley, Henry S. Mayo, Augustus Fenner, Levi N. Booher, Eli Tenney, M.H.Jones, W.B.McClung, S.E.Brown, J.H. Randall, David Alexander, J.C.Ullery, J.P.Williamson, George C.Clyde, Joseph E.Pearson, Samuel Sullivan, M.W.Hays, D.M.Murry, Noah H. Albaugh, James A. Sterrett, Van S. Deaton, John A. McCurdy, W.I.Tenney, H.J.Ritter.

State Senators

Prominent among the senators elected from the counties comprising the senatorial district of which Miami has been a part were William I. Thomas, John W. Morris, A.Curtis Cable and George S. Long, all citizens of the county.

Common Pleas Judges

The Court of Common Pleas was not instituted till many years after the birth of the county. The following is the roster of the Common Pleas Court to date: R.S.Hart, Ebenezer Pearson, Ichabod Corwin, Robert C. Fulton, George D.Burgess, H.H.Williams, Calvin D. Wright, Theodore Sullivan, Walter D. Jones.

Congressional

Below are found the distinguished men by whom the county has been represented in the National Congress to date: William McLean, Joseph H. Crane, Patrick G. Goode, Robert C. Schenk, M.B.Corwin, B. Stanton, M.H.Nichols, William Allen, J.F.McKinney, William Lawrence, J.Warren Keifer, Benjamin LeFevre, Robert M. Murray, Charles M. Anderson, Elihu S. Williams, Martin K. Gantz, George W. Wilson, Walter L. Weaver, Thomas B. Kyle.

Coroners

Dr.J W. Means, Dr.J.W. Calvin, Dr.J.Funderburg, Dr.Charles Gaines, Dr.John Beamer, Dr.Van S.Deaton.

Recorders

Cornelius Westfall, William Barbee, Z. Riley, George D. Burgess, J. Widener, J.P.Williamson, Hiram M. Lukens, George Green, Isaac A. Landis, E.J. Eby, J.O. Davis, J.C. Moore, Clarkson Coate, Perry Moyer.

End chapter 5
Harbaugh's 1909 History of Miami County Ohio


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