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earhaerg eatenewoade Tb : bt @ i eat Te mae Hear where Springfield Meeting House now stands, long before the Month ly meeting was established; but as I am far advanced in years, and all are gone that can remember anything about the first settlement, except two or three older than myself, and I feel incompetent to do the matter justice, but what I am going to write is still fresh in my memory. In the year 1804, Samuel Lee, an orphan boy raised by Samuel Harvey, mov ed with his family and built a cabin on the place where Samuel Cur! lives, the land having been bought previ ous to that time by Isaac Harvey; and in the fall of 1805, Archibald Edwards, his wife, and Peter Dicks, their uncle, moved out and built a small cabin on the spot where Hiram Coate lives. In the fall of 1806, Fii Harvey, Isaac Harvey, Caleb Harvey and Joshua Harvey, brothers, all moved with their families from North Carolina and settled near where Springfield Meeting House now stands. Eli settled where Israel Dennison lives; Isaac settled where Dennis Kimbrough lives; Caleb where his son Isaac now lives, and Joshua settled a little north-east of where William P. Harvey lives; they also brought with them their aged widowed mother, who lived to see her fourth generation, and died in her ninety-sixth year. She was born in Pennsylvania, the 16th of Eighth month, 1736, and died the 16th of Second month, 1832. Also her wid owed sister, Edith Harlan, with her family and two of her sons. Nathan and William Harlan, with their fam ilies, moved the same time from North Carolina, and settled about a mile from Springfield. In those early days, there were some remark able circumstances took place, and I think, Providentially. It was get ting late in the fall when we arrived at our new home; Isaac Harvey had employed Samuel Lee to build him a house, which he did; had it up and covered, and a pretty good hewed log house, and quite a snug punch eon floor, which looked like living in; and, as Eli Harvey’s wife was a very weakly woman, Isaac proposed to them to just come in with his fam ily, and he took in their mother, and a hired hand that came with us, which made just twenty in all, and lived that way for a while. All seemed satisfied except Eli; he was so dissatisfied that he thought he must go back to Carolina in the spring, and he thought he would not build such a cabin as the others had built. I was an extremely cold winter, but whenever the weather was so they could stand it to go out to work, Eli would go down to his place and cut away the underbrush in order to build. By this time he had conclud ed to stay until fall, but thought he could not stay any longer in such wilderness country. He at length cut logs for a house and chew ed them very particularly, and in the time of his cutting and preparing the logo, he being homesick conclud ed he must move his family down to where he was at work so that he need me exeact so much time going to and from. So when the coldest weather had a lie subsided, they moved and so their tent to live in a while. The rest discouraged him, thinking it would be too hard on his weakly wife, but she was wil ling to do what she could to help satisfy him; and now, very strange to say, he set his tent with the mouth to the east, and just behind stood a very large sugar-tree, which forked up several feet from the root, and one day when he was away from home there came up a tremendous hurricane, such a one as I never saw. He started for home greatly alarm ed, and when he got within about a quarter of a mile of home he found the trees all blown up by the roots or broken off at the top, and all the un derbrush was laying flat, and now he had to step along on the logs as best he could, to try to find his dear fam ily. He thought if he ever found them at all they would be sure to be mashed to pieces, but after he toiled some time in the broken timber he came to the tent, which stood ss» erect as ever, and right in the fork of the above named sugar tree blown up by the root, and all of his dear family hovered in there together, not one of them hurt, but awfully fright ened, expecting he was killed.— When this dear old pioneer found his family all alive he had to bow the knee and return thanks for this Providential deliverance. And af ter that we lost sight of going back to old Carolina, after he, with the help of his neighbors, cleared away the timber, and he went on and soon had up a snug little hewed log house which, I believe, is still standing by the frame he built afterward. Our certificates were directed to Miami Monthly Meeting, and at that time no other Monthly Meeting nearer until the following spring, when Center Monthly Meeting was estab lished in the Second Month, 1807, and our certificates endorsed by Mi ami to Centre Monthly Meeting, and this was the nearest meeting we had for nearly three years; no road for a while except a pathway which we made going and returning through the dense forest. Many indeed were the privations and hardships that first settlers had to undergo, I feel it no more than due the dear honored dead to say, Viat, notwithstanding their many trials and difficulties they had to pass through, yet, that stream of christian love that ever seemed to flow among them, travel ing many hundred miles together and settling in the wilderness far away from their nativity, often thro t them very near and dear to each oth er. Our country at that time was full of wild animals, such as bears, wolves, wildcats, and some pan thers, plenty of deer, and turkeys in abundance, rattlesnakes pleanty; but after awhile they disappeared. Our men-folks had to go to Waynes ville to get, their grinding, and at rat time,it was a very small place. Id now, 28 $60n As practicable af ter helping each other build a cabin a piece, they built a small one for a school-house near the spot where the little of frame now stands that the colored people hold their meet ings in. And in the year 1809 the Friends of Harveys’ Settlement, s it was called, requested the privilege of holding an indulged meeting, which was granted by Center Month ly Meeting, and held in the above named school-house, and common!) silent meetings, except when minis ters would visit us from a distance, which they often e dict. I well re member the first traveling Friend that preached in our little meeting house, whose name was Abel Thom as, from Pennsylvania, and many others whom I well remember visit ed in. I have often thought it we'd look rather a novelty to the young people in this enlightened day to be at a meeting held in such a house. But I can assure you, dear children, it was here in this little humble look ing cabin that I first felt the power of religion poured into my soul, and it was here, too, that I was favored to see the difference between a sleep ing christian and a true devoted worshiper, and that was in a silent meeting; and here we held our meet ing, but still going to Center Pre parative and Monthly meeting, un til in the year 1812 they built a small meeting house on the hill where dear old Springfield Meeting House now stands, and a request had been sent up for our meeting to be estab lished, and also the privilege of hold ing a Preparative Meeting, which was granted in the fall of 1812. The Meeting-House Jot, and also a lot adjoining it for the graveyard, was run off some time previous to that, and donated by Isaac Harvey to Springfield Meeting. Our neighbor hood had now become thickly set tled, and, for all the hardships we had to encounter, with considerable sickness, yet not a single death took place amongst us for over six years after we settled here. The first death was Lydia, the wife of Isaac Harvey (my own dear mother, ) who died the 2d of Third Month, 1813, and was the first that was buried in Spring field grave-yard; and the spring fol lowing, Mary, wife of Joshua Har vey died next, and was buried in the same place, and soon until it became necessary to enlarge the lot. Our Preparative Meeting was kept up and faithfully attended for some time, the neighborhood becoming so thickly settled it became necessary we thought, to have a Monthly Meet ing, so our Preparative sent up a re quest to Center Monthly Meeting, held the 15th of Second Month, 1817. There was a committee appointed at that time who visited our Meeting, but reported they thought the time had not come; so it went on until in the Fifth Month, 1818, we made an other request in conjunction with Lytle’s Creek Preparative, (it now being divided.) for a Monthly Meet ing to be held at each place. A committee was appointed to make us another visit, which they did, and reported they believed it might the request be granted. So it was sent to the Quarterly Meeting, and there united with, and Springfield Month ly Meeting was established, opened and held the 26th of Twelfth Month, ISLS, and at this meeting our friends, Richard Vieree and Mary Fallis, gave in their intentions of marriage with each other. I have been par ticular in tracing old Springfield from the beginning, which may seem rather tedious to some, but for the satisfaction of others who have been desirous to know something of our getting along in those ancient citys. At the time of the Harveys settling in their new homes, Wilmington was a very small place, no Court House nor Jail-house, for there seemed to be no need of them at that day and time. As I have mentioned in the above the names of the first settlers, I will annex the names of the second pioneers: John Hadley, Jacob Hale, Wil liam Harvey (brother to the first set tlers,) John Holiday, Nathan Men denhall, John Newlin, Eli Maden, George Maden, Jr., Nathaniel Carter, George Maden, sen., George Carter, Samuel Andrew, David Harlan, Hen ry Andrew, Reuben Green, Nathan Stalker, Jonathan Harlan, Thomas Kersey, John Talbert, John Fallis, Isaiah Fallis, Jesse Hiatt, Joseph Stratton, William Osborn, John Johnson, Jonathan Fallis, Mahlon Stratton, John Sheridan, Adam Rey nard, Samuel Chew, Thomas Rich, Isaac Stout and Samuel Harvey. The following names were among the first settlers: Joshua Nickerson, Preserved Da kin, James Birdsal, Wm. Haines. As I kept account of all the names of the traveling ministers that visit ed our Meeting while I lived at my father’s house from the first indulg ence to the year 1815, thinking it might be a satisfaction to some, which were as follows: Abel Thomas, Mary Witchell, Ruth Hacket, John Simpson, Hannah Yar nel, Elisha Dawson, Christopher An thony, Gideon Maullenix, Horton, Howard, John Hale, William Wil liams, Caleb McComber, Mahlon Hackett, Rowland Green, Elizabeth Patterson, Clayton Brown, Jacob Ong, Daniel Haviland, Daniel Quin by, John Litchworth, Nathan Hunt, Rebecca Hubbs, Aaron Coppick, Huldah Seers, Isaac Hammer, Chari ty Cook, Susannah Hollingsworth. All those worthy servants and hand-ns idens of the Lord are Javed in the silent tomb. ROH. Letter From a Democrat. Will you allow a short space to an old Democrat, who voted for Seymour, to give a few reasons why he intends to vote for Grant? “LT My first and principal reason for voting for Grant, and met Gree ley, is that Grant is the better Dem ocrat of the two. 2. Grant has never need abusive language towards the Democrats, while Greeley has always abused them outrageously. I may remark here that these two reasons of them selves ought to be sufficient to sat isfy any true Democrat, in my opin ion, that he cannot vote for Greeley or a Greeley fan without self stul tification, to say the least. 3. By electing Grant, the chances will be better for obtaining the de s red improvement in our financial system, than by electing Greeley. By electing Grant we will elect Wil son, and that sends Boutwell into the Senate in Wilson's place, and we may then get what we very much need, a good Secretary of the Treas ury. Greeley's financiering, as shown by the Tribune and as indi cated by Fenton's recent speech, would throw everything into the wildest disorder, and in all probabil ity bringing us to general bankrupt cy. The contraction alone, advo cated by Fenton, would of itself cover the land with suffering. Per haps it is none of my business, but I can hardly help saying here that the attempt of the Grant stamp speakers to whitewash Boutwell might as well be omitted, if their object is to secure votes, Boutwell is the heaviest load Grant has to carry. 4. With all Grant's faults, I prefer him to Greeley, for the reason that the ex-rebel and Ku Klux branch of the Democracy are for least him, and I do not think he would, in any event, favor pensioning rebel sol diers or paying the rebel debt. 5. I prefer Grant because I believe he is honest, and I am satisfied that Greeley is not. (. Grant, I am satisfied, is improv ing, while Greeley has been growing worse and worse for the last thirty years. 7. I prefer Grant because his head is not full of crotchets . Grant has good common sense, while his opponent has all kinds of sense but common sense. % I prefer Grant for the reason that he is neither a hoave nor a simpleton, and would not be very likely to be bamboozled by those designing to revive the “ lost cause ” and burst up the Government. I am sick of rebellions. 10. I prefer Grant for the reason that experiment has shown that when he was placed in the Presi dential chair it was not a bit like pulling a ball in a china shab, I might give many other cogent reasons why I, and, if I believe, all consistent Democrats, ought to pre fer Grant to Greeley, but TI believe the ten T have given should be satis factory, SENEX. Termont County, O., August 5. Limes and Chronicle. :
Newspaper Details
Wilmington Clinton Republican
Wilmington, Ohio, US
Thu, Aug 29, 1872
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08 Jul 2026
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