The Old Brown Homestead, south of Winchester, Maryland
What makes history fun is I never actually write about I think I will be writing. This started out to be about the Dawes family in St. Albans. In the meantime, I will tell you about whiskey in St. Albans.
If you want to understand a little history of Alexandria and St. Albans, I need to tell you about Ed Brown. Ed was born on September 16, 1733 or 34, depending on which calendar you use, on the family estate in what is now Carroll County, Maryland. The farm was patented as "Brown's Delight" but was resurveyed and renamed "Brown's Plague." Today, the northern part of his farm is the southern part of Westminster, Maryland. Ed thought the area was becoming too crowded...
Meanwhile, a Frenchman named Pierre-Joseph Céloron led a march along La Belle Rivière - we call it the Ohio River and the Dutch called it de Cubach. This expedition was to mark out France's claim to the Ohio Territory. Next, the French began to build forts along this line leading to George Washington's defeat at Fort Necessity which, in turn, kicked off the French and Indian War. The Iroquois judged the winners as the British and the British made treaties with the Iroquois at Fort Stanwix for land on the other side of the Appalachians. One provision of the treaty was that the land must be inhabited and farmed. As such, The Ohio Company of Virginia actively recruited farmers to move to these new lands. This was an offer Ed Brown and many of his friends could not turn down. Ed bought land south of present Burgettstown in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Back then, this was Virginia territory.
Then, the Revolution came. Ed and his sons went to war. They fought because they were being taxed without representation. When they came home, Ed and his sons went west to southwestern Pennsylvania. Within four years, they were in the middle of the Whiskey Rebellion. Once again, they saw whiskey tax as taxation without representation -- you won't see anything about it in the Broadway play Hamilton. Political correctness matters, they say.
Going back in time, in Maryland, Ed continued running his father's grist mill. Back then, the miller almost always ran a still. It only made sense... it takes milled grain to make whiskey. If you can make a loaf of bread, with those same ingredients, you can make whiskey. It was a fact of life. Whiskey had uses beyond being an intoxicant and this was well before the Temperance Movement. Whiskey was currency. Run out of chickens? A jug of whiskey gets you Sunday dinner and even more chickens for eggs for breakfast. It was medicine. When mixed with honey or cider, it fixed a sore throat. Barn too cold? Whiskey warmed you up.
Ed found himself in the middle of the Whiskey Rebellion. It never was about Whiskey.
Alexander Hamilton recognized that the States incurred massive, unpayable debt to fight the Revolution. Hamilton bought the State's debt and made it Federal debt. To finance this debt, Hamilton was able to persuade Congress to pass a tax on Whiskey. Despite the popularity of Hamilton: An American Musical, in the Whiskey Rebellion, Hamilton was a swear word; his portrait was hung upside-down. There were many issues with this Whiskey Tax,
It was oppresive. Small producers, the local farmers, paid by the gallon. Large producers, such as George Washington, paid a flat rate and could produce as much as they could.
It made for unfair competition. Pennsylvania farmers could produce and sell whiskey at a much lower rate than large-scale, East Coast producers until Hamilton's tax made Pennsylvania whiskey more expensive.
Using whiskey as local currency became an expensive proposition in a place where currency was rare.
Most settlers in southwestern Pennsylvania were veterans of the Revolution. To contest anything, they had to undertake perilous travel over the Appalachians to Philadelphia. To these veterans, it seemed like taxation without representation, the very thing they fought against. Further, these settlers faced constant and deadly harassment from Indians from across the Ohio River. The new Federal government did not respond. These settlers felt they were giving their money to the Feds and receiving nothing in return. The Whiskey Rebellion was so severe that not a single person could be found to enforce the tax in Kentucky.
The Whiskey Rebelliom ended in 1784 when President George Washington sent 12,950 Federalized troops to Southwestern Pennsylvania. This was tantamount to overkill to the few hundred rebels. Ed Brown, his family, and friends found a new home along the Ohio River.
By 1790, Ed Brown had lost his beloved Peggy. Ed took off down the Ohio River with family and friends to Kentucky. There, the family split up. Ed's son Nick took off to Ohio and settled in Licking County at Hollow and Watkins Road. While this may not have been the exact story of any St. Albans and Alexandria family in particular, it sets the stage for the the body politic of the early settlers of St. Albans. These were people looking for freedom, liberty, and sustenance.
Here the Brown family split again and spread out between Hebron, Luray, and Kirkersville in the south and Granville to the north. The Brown family spread out through Union Township. My branch went to Illinois, Iowa, then Terre Haute. Dad moved to Newark, then Aexandria, from Terre Haute and I grew up in Alexandria.
Alexandria was populated by people from Vermont and Conneticut, from New Jersey and Massechusetts. They all have their stories to tell. For now, this is how things looked in 1800.
Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Old Alexandria
Granville and Fickleness
Fradrick Blood was thrilled when the Granville Feeder was completed. The Davisons and Watsons were able to make the trip from Yorkshire, England, to Newark, Ohio, almost entirely on a ship. In their journey, they had a 15-mile overland trip to get around Niagra Falls before boarding another ship. People in Alexandria and Granville knew this.
When plans for the Ohio Canal were made and the businessmen of Granville heard of them, they wanted direct access to the Canal. In time, a plan was developed to build the Granville Feeder. This feeder canal linked the Raccoon Creek as it runs south of Granville to the main canal south of Heath - then called Lockport - approximately where the feeder from the then new Buckeye Lake feed into the canal. Along the way, a bridge was built to carry the Feeder over Ramp Creek and an arch bridge - the Showman Bridge - was built over Raccoon Creek before the canal crossed Cherry Valley and tied into the Raccoon Creek southeast of Granville. The Showman Arch Bridge still stands, it is the bridge on Cherry Valley Road that crosses the creek. The Raccoon was widened south of Granville and dams built to create a turning basin for canal boats. Granville finally had access to the world.
One of the earlier businesses of Granville was Munson's Furnace. Iron ore had been found in the area and Munson build a furnace to refine the ore and pour castings. Munson's cast iron cookware was especially popular in the area then. With the Granville Feeder, Munson's Cookware could be sold world-wide. Munson had a daughter, named Jerusha, who married Elias Fassett. Fassett became involved with the Central Ohio Railroad as a land purchasing agent. His job was to buy rights-of-way for the new Central Ohio Railroad (CORR) as they made their way across central Ohio.
Started in Zanesville, the CORR was originally intended to link to the Ohio River at Wheeling. Meanwhile, another railroad ran from Pittsburgh to Wheeling. It became apparent that they could do much more than that and soon began laying rail into central Ohio. The railroad went through Black Hand Gorge and followed the approximate route of the canal as it entered Newark. At Newark, the railroad connected with the B&O, which ran north along Mt Vernon Avenue, and continued west out of town. The tracks curved southwest and crossed Lancaster Road a few miles south of Granville at Union before heading to Outville (Kirkersville Station), Pataskala, Summit, and into Columbus Depot. Among railroaders, this is known as the Panhandle Route.
This served as a point of aggravation to Granville businesses. Once again, vital transportation had managed to by-pass them. To make matters worse, the route was developed by a local resident. Fassett even went so far as to make his home on a bluff south of Granville complete with a widow's walk so he could watch his trains pass. In what must have been seen as providence or irony by some, Fassett died on that widow's walk of a sudden heart attack. Following his death, rumors spread about how Fasset had made some under the table transactions to gain what we remember now as Bryn Mawr.
Even a spur into Granville would have been cost-prohibitive. With the canal, you simply had to dig a ditch, widen the Raccoon, build a dam, and make a turning basin. A railroad would require a turntable, engine house, yard, coal dock, and water tank - expensive at the time. The Granville Spur did not happen.
One Granville entrepreneur was able to make a modest income from the railroad. A hack would transport you and your baggage from Granville to Union Station for the modest fee of 50-cents. Fifty cents, in those days, would pay for a generous dinner of the finest food. Since many of the people taking the train were associated with Denison University - student and faculty - thrift was in order and walking the three or four miles to Granville became a necessity. It is said a path was worn across the back of the old County Home property as travelers were able to cut a half-mile off their walk as they left Union.
By the 1880s, Granville got what it wanted. The Toledo & Ohio Central entered Licking County from Centerburg to Croton (Hartford), Johnstown, Alexandria, Clemons, then Granville. From Granville, the railroad made an easy right to cross the Cherry Valley on its way to Central City. Today we know Central City as the area of Cherry Valley Road surrounding the Market Basket. From Central City the railroad ran to Thurston and into southeast Ohio.
At Granville, the T&OC served several facilities. Munson's Furnace and Louis Fassett were long gone. Granville embraced to T&OC and in return, the T&OC had multiple sidings to serve the usual grain elevator, lumber yard, warehouse, and coal yard. Additionally, there was a planing mill, the water department, and a grist mill to be served. At Central City, goods could be transferred to the CORR, usually the Pennsylvania Railroad, and sent east or west. Granville businessmen would certainly have thought themselves to be 'on the map.'
Even Alexandria was nicely accommodated by the T&OC with a siding, a coal yard, lumber yard, grainery, corn bin, and warehouse. Residents of Alexandria had access to passenger and freight service as well as a telegraph office.
In the last years of the 19th Century, a new invention, the first of its kind, connected Granville to Newark with service starting on December 28, 1889. By now, Granville merchants did not want it. It would be a relatively short-lived phenomena we know as the Interurban. Granvile's merchants liked their business. To them, the interurban would whisk people, and with it sales and profits, to Newark. In their opinion, the interurban would cause Newark to grow and Granville to languish.
The interurban was not the railroad. It was a single car powered by electric motors. The Newark & Granville Electric Street Railway, later known as the Columbus, Buckeye Lake & Newark Traction Company, then the Columbus, Newark, & Zanesville Electric Railway, built a modern powerplant in Hebron to serve their needs. These cars were primarily involved in passenger service, although most would carry local freight. most cars tended to be around 50 to 60 feet long and ran on the same type of track the railroad uses - rails at 4 feet 8-1/2 inches apart. Most ran an overhead power line - a catenary - which the car accessed through a pole mounted on the roof. These cars, over good tracks, were capable of rapid acceleration and high speeds. Today, the modern equivalent is called Light Rail.
Eventually, the Interurban fell to the automobile, but not without a struggle. The Interurbans often began as small, privately held companies that quickly became public companies and began a series of buy-outs and mergers that resulted in at least a regional network of fast transportation. On some Interurbans, speeds over 60 MPH were obtained. It was quite possible, in the 1920s to take an interurban from Granville and see relatives who had moved on to Indiana and Illinois.
The interurbans made travel easy. Long time St. Albans resident Dorothea Lynd, who grew up in Kirkersville, had a dilemma when she transferred at Hebron. Her mother would give her the interurban fare and send her Newark to obtain something the family business needed but was always tempted to transfer to the interurban car to Buckeye Lake for recreation.
The popularity of the automobile placed the governments in a position to improve roads from dirt trails suitable for wagons to smooth, often paved, roads suitable for the cars of the day. The Interurban companies saw government investment in highways - without compensitory investment in the Interurban - as unfair competion. By the 1930s, the Interurbans fell.
The railroads saw good and bad in this. The automobile was still not a viable alternative for long-distance travel. While interurbans took much of the financial burden of unprofitable local passenger service away from the railroads, the railroads emphasized new, state-of-the-art long-distance passenger service. Express trains with names like the Spirit of St. Louis - named after Lindbergh's Trans-Atlantic Flight, The Penn-Texas, The Cincinnati Limited, The Indianapolis Limited, and The American, all leaving New York City, passed south of Granville. Many World War II veterans remember these trains as the trains they rode when they came home from war to family and friends waiting for them in Newark.
Life-long resident of St Albans, Ed Hankinson, recalls that in the 1950s, State Route 161 was a seldom traveled gravel road. In the late 1950s, the Ohio Department of Transportaion (ODOT) improved the road and made it a two-lane highway. At the time, ODOT purchased sufficient righ-of way to make it a four-lane highway. I recall seeing giant shovels tearing through the hill at Dugway to build a four-lane highway, the Newark Expressway. The once popular Delaware Road, which passed through downtown Granville, split at White Point to become the Delaware Road and Worthington Road, was now circumvented by the then new '161.' The Delaware Road portion then entered Alexandria as Granville Street before going through downtown Alexandria to Johnstown. My earliest memories of traveling to Newark took us down this old route. Now, Alexandria and Granville are exits from the expressway that connects to the Interstate system in northeast Columbus and leads to Newark and beyond.
The passing of the T&OC through Granville made the Granville Feeder obsolete, and the feeder was filled in at Granville by 1880. Trains stopped running through Alexandria sometime in the early 1970s, probably due to multiple washouts of the track bed into Reese's field near Northridge Road. Passenger service along the Panhandle Route was over about the same time; the airlines were hauling passengers now. To get to Newark from Alexandria, you get on State Route 161, officially State Route 37, and travel at speeds unimaginable to Jerusha Munson while her father poured iron into sand molds to make skillets... but you still have to wait for the light to change in Alex.
A canal boat on the Erie Canal. The Davisons and Watsons would have come to Newark on a boat like this.
T&OC passenger train arrives in Alexandria. The photo would have been taken around 8 AM. The train is heading east. Notice the absence of trees - this location is now canopied with trees.
The Interurban crosses a creek near Kirkersville. US 40, the Old National Road, is on the right. In towns, the interurban tracks would run down the center of US 40 creating what would be considered something quite unsafe today.
Showman Arch Bridge as it crosses Raccoon Creek. The canal is long gone, replaced by Cherry Valley Road. The bridge got the name Showman Arch Bridge because it was next to the Showman Farm, had arches, and was a bridge.
A 50-foot interurban passenger car in Newark. Notice the pole on the top that carries electric power from an overhead wire to the motors. This car is traveling away from us. The interurban also ran 'Combines' that had a baggage compartment at the front and would carry local freight. One popular item of freight was milk. The interurban would stop at farms to pick up milk, eggs, and other farm perishables.
Dining in style on the Pennsylvania Railroad's Spirit of St. Louis. This train stopped in Newark at 5:54 AM, Columbus at 6:38 AM. Traveling light overnight, in Columbus, the train would take on dining and kitchen cars before continuing the journey west to St. Louis. This was an express train and made stops only at major cities along the way.
Friday, January 8, 2021
T E A Y S V A L L E Y
I must have been a junior or senior in at Northridge when I had a chance to flirt with some young ladies from Teays Valley High School. I thought it was cool that they had 'TV' on their uniforms and they were Vikings - Teays Valley Vikings - but Vikings none-the-less! I have long since forgotten the names and faces of these young ladies, but from time to time I wondered why Teays Valley is Teays Valley. I always thought, 'Well, why is anything named what we name it?' English is a quirky language; we park on driveways and drive on parkways. Maybe some guy named Teays owned a valley...
Teays Valley Vikings
Northridge Vikings
Then I found out it is called Teays Valley because Teays River used to flow through there. A long, long time ago, the Teays drained the western side of the Alleghanies through Ohio as it flowed to the Mississippi River. For our purposes, the Teays River ran through Chilicothe on its way to London, then west into Indiana. An ancient tributary, the Groveport River, drained Licking County. The Groveport ran south somewhere between here and Newark. Geologists tell us no human ever laid eyes on this ancient river system, but it must have been something to behold. In some parts, it flowed slowly through broad, flat plains. In other places, the Teays cut through huge limestone cliffs. Then the glaciers came.
The glaciers stopped around Alexandria. When they did, they dammed up the Teays causing water to drain southwards to the newly formed Ohio River. Geologists tell us that when the glaciers melted, they deposited thousands of tons of gravel scoured from the north as the weight of the ice cap traveled south. This formed the aquifer on which Alexandria sits. Over time, soil covered this gravel and the Raccoon Creek formed to drain these soils. Other experts say the the aquifer was formed from buried portions of the Teays and the Groveport. Trees grew and covered Ohio in a thick forest. Wildlife inhabited this forest and freely populated it so that game was plentiful. This is the Ohio that the Moundbuiders would know.
The Moundbuilders had a path through here. Today, the Bike Path follows the approximate route the Moundbuilders took on their way to and from the Newark Earthworks and Flint Ridge. St Albans had a few mounds, some of which have been excavated and others plowed down over the years. Indian implements and arrowheads are still found around. On a personal level, some ten years ago, I found a stone hammer left behind by Indians over a thousand years earlier. Some local residents have a fine arrowhead collecion found in the fields and yards of Alexandria and St. Albans.
The Seneca Indians called it Ohiːyo'. Then, French and Dutch explorers found the Ohio River. Dutch fur traders called it 'de Cubach.' In 1669, the French explorer LaSalle took an expedition from Quebec to somewhere above Pittsburgh and followed the Alleghany River as far as the falls (Louisville) before returning to Quebec. LaSalle claimed La Belle Riviere for the French. The British came along, the French and Indian War was fought with the result that the Old Northwest Territory was ceded to the British while the French retreated to Canada. The American Revolution was fought and the British more-or-less expected the United States would stay east of the Alleghanies. That did not happen.
Thanks to ancient rivers and glaciers, there have always been gravel pits around here. In the early 1900s, there was a gravel pit on the west side of Alexandria just south of where Jersey Mill Road branches off State Route 37. This gravel pit supplied Alexandria with gravel for making cement and as material for foundations and sidewalks during the housing boom of the early 1900s. I have also heard that the run-off from this gravel pit produced such fine and perfect mud that area children were able to make thes best mud pies. This gravel pit remained in operation until their tools wore out.
As a child, the gravel pit was located along State Route 37. I recall in the early 1960s when a large shovel was moved through town. The tracked shovel was accompanied by about ten men, four or five on a side, who would lay an old tire in front of the tracks, then hurry back to behind the tracks to pick up a tire the shovel had just passed over and move it to the front. This was done to protect the asphalt from the steel tracks. Traveling at just 2 or 3 MPH, the shovel eventually made its way to the gravel pit west of town.
Why is Teays Valley is called Teays Valley? Now you know. Who were those young ladies? Can't remember... nothing personal. Still, there are times when I would like to time travel and take a scenic cruise down the Teays and see herds of Wooly Mammoths roaming the land.
The S. S. Anderson Hotel & Restaurant
Without Washington Carlock, several Alexandria businesses and families would not be.
"Wash" was born in Bergen, NJ, on May 8, 1808. At some point a generation or two earlier, the family changed their name from Gerlach to Carlock, probably to disguise their Heidelberg heritage. Many German families did this following the American Revolution. The family moved to Alexandria in the Fall, 1850, although family lore says they crossed the Ohio River on Christmas Day, 1850. "Wash" and his wife Lydia Jane Ellyea had several children, one of which was a middle son he named after himself. "Wash" died in Alexandria on April 21, 1875. One of "Wash's" daughters was Temperance, who married into the Thorp family. Another married into the Hammond family. Floyd Carlock was well known along with "Wash's" son Henry Carlock as local millers. Velma Peebles, of recent memory, was also a descendant of this family. Perhaps less well known was Myrtle Carlock, daughter of Washington B. Carlock, Jr., who was born on August 25, 1874, in Alexandria. On December 7, 1892, she married Samuel Scott Anderson, a young entrepeneur who owned a business in town.
Samuel Scott Anderson was born on August 17 or 19, 1872 in Appleton, Ohio, the youngest of the four children of William H. and Mary (Gosnell) Anderson. It is not known exactly when Sam came to Alexandria, but he was certainly in town at least as early as September 1892, probably earlier. It is also certain that he liked to cook.
We must also know another person in Alexandria. On February 17, 1887, Richard Johnson died. Richard was the town barber. The town needed a new barber.
An 1895 photograph appears on page 240 in the history of Alexandria of Sam Anderson's Barbershop, Laundry, Telephone Exchange, and residence. Across the alley on the same side of the street stood The Old Tavern, which by now was Davison's Wagon Shop. On the downtown side of Sam's Barber Shop was the Town Hall. Across the street - the building still stands with porch and balcony removed - is what I believe is the old S.S. Anderson Hotel. A photograph appears on page 239 of the Alexandria history. It would appear as if Sam was quite an industrious fellow.
What would Sam serve? He would have had a soup, stew, or even a consumme. The entrees could have been roast beef and maybe steak, some sort of roasted, baked, stewed, or fried chicken, a pork dish, lamb, fish and maybe local game. Sides would have been Noodles, Potatoes, and Vegetables. Sam kept some bread around as well. For dessert, Sam would have had pie and perhaps ice cream. With Harry Buxton in mind, Sam would probably serve Oysters and Crackers. In the Lunch Room, Sam probably had a variety of sandwiches featuring local hams and cured meats or some other rapidly prepared dish. Local farmers could easily keep Sam well stocked. Today, were we to see his menu, we would likely make a remark about Comfort Food.
When the Business Block was rebuilt in 1905, Sam moved his hotel downtown, well... one block east and across the street. The Post Office then moved into Sam's Old Hotel. At least now, the new S.S. Anderson Hotel was in a new concrete block building instead of an old, dry wood-frame building. With Alexandria's well-documented fires, this would have been a prudent move. The picture of the hotel shows guest lodging on the upper floor and I estimate Sam had at least 10 rooms. The ground floor appears to be a restaurant. In the basement was a lunch room and billiard hall. Outdoor stairs from the street level down to the Billiard Room have since been filled in. It is not known how long the hotel remained in business. What is known is that by June 1, 1918, Sam moved his family to Mansfield where he opened a cafeteria at the new Westinghouse plant.
In 1918, the fast-growing Westinghouse Company opened a plant in Mansfield that covered 100,000 square feet. By 1943, during the height of World War II, the plant had grown to 42.7 acres and was a vital industry in the war effort. Sam was obviously a busy man with a large number of Westinghouse employees to feed. The plant was eventually closed in 1990 during an in-house financial restructuring, long after Sam and Myrtle had passed away.
Sam and Myrtle continued to live in Mansfield to their deaths. Sam passed away at the age of 80 on November 21, 1952. Myrtle outlived Sam by 12 years before dying on December 27, 1964.
As for the new S.S. Anderson Hotel... in my youth, the building was owned by George Price and was used as apartments. The old S.S. Anderson was owned by Earl Thomas and housed the Bailey family. I cannot tell you what happened between 1918 and 1960 at the new S.S. Anderson. Sadly, George passed away a number of years ago; it is now too late to ask him.
Here is what makes history personal. Most houses in Alexandria had a barn. These residential barns were built for a horse or two and a buggy or wagon. They all had lofts for hay. Once the automobile came along, these barns were used as a garage or for storage - horses were no longer needed. While playing in the neighbor's back yard - Edith Irwin's back yard - something caught my eye in the old, grass covered driveway back to the barn. I dug it out of the grass and dirt with my fingers thinking I had found money. Once I knocked off the dirt, I became confused. It said "FIVE CENTS" on one side. Money? On the other side it said S.S. Anderson Hotel and Restaurant. I had found a token from the S.S. Anderson Hotel and Restaurant that had been lost decades earlier by Lawrence Irwin as he walked to the barn to tend to his horse.
The grave of Samuel Scott Anderson. His wife, Myrtle Carlock Anderson is buried beside him. Their son, Harry died in 1955 in Mansfield and their daughter Enid married Robert Hayes in Mansfield and remained there. — at Mansfield Memorial Park Inc.
H A R D S C R A B B L E
In another article, I talked about S. S. Anderson and his contribution to Alexandria. I also mentioned Myrtle Carlock, his wife, but focused instead on Wash Carlock's heritage. Myrtle's family needs a mention.
Some communities make it, some disappear, and others were very loosely defined. Alexandria and Jersey, at one time, had the necessities of life before becoming a bedroom communities as work was found in larger cities. Ash and Beech disappeared under roadways and corporate development. Scott's Corners and Clemon's Station never really were developed beyond the occassional store, church, school, small factory, or rail stop and telegraph office. One community came and went without much fanfare - Hardscrabble. All that remains is Hardscrabble Road, Township Road 18, which runs from near Clemons in the south to Concord in the north.
Merriam-Webster defines hardscrabble as "being or relating to a place of barren or barely arable soil," hardly a good name for a farming community. Yet, a community grew on Hardscrabble Road and Battee Roads. One of the larger farms - 109 acres - belonged to Elias Funderburg. The Funderburg family tree lists Elizabeth Dupler as Elias' wife. Elizabeth's mother was a Helser. Members of the Helser family owned surrounding farms. Sadly, Elizabeth died in 1865. Elias remarried. The Federal Census of 1870 records: Elias Funderberg, 45; Matilda Funderberg, 41; Mary K Funderberg, 17; Emily (Emma) E Funderberg, 15; Amanda J Funderberg, 12; Martha A Funderberg, 8; John J Funderberg; 5; and farm hands Henry Focht, 15; Wm H Hartsough, 25. Unfortunately, Elias died in 1875. Elias' second daughter, Mary, married Washington Carlock, Jr., and their daughter Myrtle married S. S. Anderson.
What, then, made Hardscrabble a community? Was it a community of farms run by loosely related families? There was more.
There was Hardscrabble school. In these days, schools were run by subscription. Today, we might call it tuition. At the northwest corner of Elias Funderburg's farm, where the eastern portion of Battee Road intersects Hardscrabble Road, was a log cabin. This cabin was a settler's home and was converted for use as a school... Hardscrabble School, although I have heard it called Battee School and Hammond's School, depending on the time period.
Schools were very local then. Another school was located across Lobdell Creek at the southeast corner of Mounts Road and Lobdell Road. What mattered was walking distance. The school would run two terms - one starting in late summer and the other in winter. The winter term was more attended as older boys had less chores on the farm. This term was also more likely to have discipline problems.
There was a church as well, St. Albans Christian Union Church. This church was located north of the school on Hardscrabble Road where today's Corner Road takes off to the east. Corner Road does not exist on 19th Century maps. It is difficult to determine the denomination of this church. At times, St. Albans Church associated with the Methodist Church in Alexandria while at other times St. Albans Church associated with the Alexandria Congregational Church. There are also connections to Concord and New Way.
The church began their meetings in 1850 and 1851 in the Hardscrabble school house with a revival led by Oscar Baker from the Free Will Baptist Church in Concord. Another record from the Alexandria Methodist Church in 1859 shows Elisha Battee as the officer in charge of Sunday School classes at St. Albans Church. By 1872, a permament structure for the church was built at the Hardscrabble crook. The building was built by Daniel Battee, Joseph Mowry, and John Wainscott and was a Christian Union Church. The Christian Union Churches were organized at the Deshler Hotel in Columbus in 1864 as an attempt to unite various Protestant sects. Many local families were part of this church... the Battees, Brooks, Hammonds, Thorpes, Drakes, and Bishops.
So, once again, what makes a community? All that remains of Hardscrabble are tombstones.
Thursday, September 13, 2018
The Brown Family Homestead in Maryland. (Clapboard siding is a newer recent addition.)
Edward and Peggy Brown
We now turn to Edward Brown, son of George and Mary Brown.
Edward Brown has been confused by genealogists seeking to attach a family to a name.
Roe's genealogy of the Wells, Browns, and Holmes Families tells us that Edward Brown was a sea captain.
Edward Brown was a sea captain in Rhode Island, but not our ancestor.
Edward has a much more interesting story to tell.
Central Maryland and the Pipe Creek Hundred, circa 1728 (left) and 1745 (right) (Credit: Unknown)
Edward was born on September 16, 1733 or 34, depending on which calendar you use,
and he was born on the family estate in what is now Westminster, Maryland.
It is important to note that during and after Edward's time, local government was developing.
Edward's father, George, was counted in the Pipe Creek Hundred.
A 'Hundred' was an old system that was not based on land area, but on an area capable of raising
a militia of 100 able-bodied men.
The Pipe Creek Hundred was not the same land area as the neighboring Monocacy Hundred.
Later, the County System came along, and as counties developed, Brown's Plague was listed
as part of Frederick County or Carroll County, depending on the time period.
It is not that the Brown's were moving, it was a government developing.
Edward married Margaret Durbin. Margaret went by Peggy.
Peggy came from established Baltimore families, the Durbins and the Logsdons.
Edward and Peggy were married in 1753 and started a large family.
This list comes from combination of the will of Edward Brown (the first number)
and the Brown Family Bible (the second number),
The Children of Edward and Peggy Brown
i - i Ruth Brown, b 1753; d May 28, 1827; m James McGuire
ii - v John Brown, b November 8, 1760 (1756?); d February 12, 1802
iii - iii Joshua Brown (GAR), b 1758; d January 5, 1826, Madison County, Kentucky; m Honor Wells
iv - iv Caleb Brown, b March 23, 1759; d August 30, 1837
v - ii Nancy Ann Brown, b 1760; d September 9, 1802; m1 _________ Tesch, m2 William Jessup
vi - vi Jane "Jinney" Brown, b 1762; d October 18, 1822 or 1831; m Richard Wells
vii - vii Sarah Brown, b 1764; d September 11, 1829; m Solomon Porter
viii - viii NICHOLAS BROWN, b October 17, 1765; d June 29, 1858; m SARAH WHITACKER
ix - ix Margaret Brown, b 1768; dsp July 29, 1849; m James Sappington
x - xi Mary Brown, b 1772; d 1849
xi - x Hugh Brown, b June 8, 1770; November 1, 1843; m Keziah Hoy
Edward was a farmer and owned a grist mill and distillery.
In those days, excess grain was often turned into whiskey.
This fact has led genealogist to speculate that his father's origins lie in Scotland.
Edward served in the Militia during the Revolution; he was in his forties.
At the time, the general rule for service in the militia was
'any able-bodied man, fifteen to fifty.'
His sons served as well - which could have been Edward's contribution in and of itself
- even down to 12-year-old Nicholas.
Also of note is Daniel Murphey, who was close to the family.
Family lore states that Edward was present at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis.
Following the Revolution, Edward and Peggy decided that the area was becoming too crowded to live in.
The Western Frontier was opening up and Edward moved his family to near Burgettstown, Pennsylvania,
southwest of Pittsburgh near the Ohio River.
This was not new territory to Edward.
His Land Warrant shows that by 1773, Edward had built a cabin near Cross Creek
along with several members of the Wells family.
We the Commissioners for adjusting the claims to unapportioned lands
in the Counties of Monongalia and Yohogania & Ohio do hereby certify that
Edward Brown is entitled to four hundred acres of land in right of pre-emption
in Yohogania County situate on the waters of Cross creek to include his cabin
& other Improvements made in the Year of our Lord Seventeen hundred & seventy three.
Given under our hand [...] the third day
of February 1780 [...] of the Commissioners [...]
Edward appears on the Tax Roll for Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 1780.
Members of the Wells family appear in Washington County, Pennsylvania, as well.
On March 23, 1780, Edward Brown took up 276 acres on a Virginia treasury warrant
and Joshua Brown, Edward's brother took 396 acres known as "Brownfields" in 1788.
It might seem odd that Virginia was giving land to people in Pennsylvania, but it was not.
At that time, nobody really knew where Pennsylvania and Virginia was out here.
Pennsylvania's charter gave a north and south boundary, but no one said how far west Pennsylvania could be.
Virginia's Ohio Company was busy sending people west to occupy as much land as possible,
but Virginia and the Ohio Company were pre-occupied with Kentucky.
Soon, a committee was formed and Pennsylvania took responsibility within the present day borders of the state.
Edward named his tract "Fair Hill."
A present day map of the area shows a combination of well-cleared farm land and thick woods.
We often think of a farm as clear and flat, but in this part of the country, there is little flat land.
Fields are good to plant crops and pasture livestock, but wood was an important commodity too.
Logs are useful for building houses, barns, and other buildings, and the branches provide heat as firewood.
Edward was not far from Cross Creek.
Fair Hill was due east of Eldersville on the Jefferson Township line with Cross Creek Township
on what is now Walker Road.
Edward was just a few miles from the village of Cross Creek.
At the time, Cross Creek was an important, vital, and prosperous village for trade
and as an a stop for people travelling west.
Fair Hill seemed like a good place to live.
Edward and Peggy arrived in time for two important events.
On April 1, 1796, Edward sold fair Hill to Daniel Henderson.
Two years later, Henderson sold it to David Walker.
The farm remained in the Walker family for at least a century.
The Browns then moved further west to Holliday's Cove, West Virginia,
on the Ohio River.
The Ohio River was the practical western boundry of United States at the time.
The Ohio Territory was just opening up
thanks to the Coxes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and the Van Cleaves in Kentucky.
Peggy died at Holliday's Cove on March 20, 1795, and is buried there.
At some point around the time of Peggy's death, Edward purchased land on Tate's Creek in Madison County, Kentucky.
At about the same time, the Logsdon family was moving into Madison County.
Logsdon family historians indicate the Browns and Logsdons tended to move together.
These Logsdons are relatives of Peggy through her mother.
The land was located south of Lexington and the Kentucky River somewhere near Old Boonesborough Road
and Lexington Road.
Hoy's Station and Tate's Creek Baptist Church are located here.
It should be said that the Browns were Episcopalians.
Edward moved his family down the Ohio River to Kentucky after Peggy's death
and remarried on November 29, 1797, in Madison County, Kentucky.
His new wife was Sarah Calloway, the widow of Major William Hoy.
These are people that had been through the Indian Raids with the Van Cleaves.
Sarah had a large number of children.
One of Sarah's children, Keziah, married into the Brown family, namely Edward's youngest son Hugh.
Edward Brown passed away on August 14, 1823.
Most genealogist place his death in Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky,
while others place his death in Estill County, Kentucky, next to Sarah.
Most of Edward's estate goes to those closest to him.
In his will, he leaves One Dollar to his son Nicholas.
Nicholas has his eyes on Ohio.
The origins of the Brown Family in England are uncertain.
For some time it was thought that the Browns originated in the Colony of Saint Mary's in Maryland.
This has been disproven.
Likewise, some place the origin of the Browns in America on the Mayflower.
This has also been disproven.
Still others claim the Browns were Germans who settled in Pennsylvania.
They were not, they were English who lived in Pennsylvania amongst Germans.
Research is being conducted for that one piece of evidence that will link our Brown ancestor
to a family of Browns in England.
Several researchers now think there might have been a minister seeking religious freedom might be involved.
For now, the origins of the Browns in England remain undiscovered.
We begin with George Brown. Here is what we used to think —
George is the first Brown of our family born in the New World.
George was born in Baltimore, Maryland somewhere around 1714.
Sometime around 1730, George married Miss Nancy Stevenson, who was apparently 16 at the time,
the daughter of Colonel Stevenson.
The couple had a large family and there are conflicting lists of their children.
George died in 1770.
No date of Nancy's death was recorded.
Recent research offers a more complete picture —
George Brown was a gentleman of wealth who was born in Nottinghamshire, England, in 1690.
In 1712, in Baltimore, Maryland, George married a native of Baltimore, Mary Stevenson,
daughter of Edward and Mary King Stevenson.
Col Edward Stevenson was George's brother-in-law.
George's first child, Mary, was born about 1715.
George was a landowner, which speaks to his wealth.
George's marriage into the Stevenson family speaks to his social status.
There is another section devoted to the Stevenson Family.
Mary's brother was a Colonel in the King's Army, which is fairly high in the aristocracy of the colony.
Further, George's grandson, George Brown, DD, states his grandfather was known as George Brown, Esquire,
which denotes a degree of landed gentry.
George Brown goes on to say,
"My Grand Father was from England. He was about five feet one inch in height, strongly built,
and of great strength."
The following lists the Land Patents of George Brown with the year, name of patent, and size,
1734 — Brown's Chance, 150 acres, near Baltimore, Maryland.
1743 — Brown's Delight, 350 acres, near Westminster, Maryland.
1743 — Pleasant Grove, 50 acres.
1761 — Brown's Plague, 565 acres, includes a resurvey of Brown's Delight.
George died on February 24, 1770, and Nancy passed sometime between 1771 and 1776.
It is a long-held belief that George and Mary were laid to rest near Westminster, Maryland,
on land originally patented as Brown's Delight.
George's will is instrumental in establishing the family.
Will of George Brown, Esquire
In the name of God, Amen I, George Brown of Frederick County in the province of Maryland
being sick in health but of sound mind and memory Thanks be to god for it [illegible]
to the c[illegible] of nature my departure draweth near,
so this nineteenth day of February in the year of our Lord seventeen hundred and sixty seven
make and publish this my last will and testament in the manner and form following.
That is to say, Item: I will and bequeath unto my son John Brown, all that [illegible] tract of land
called Pleasant Grove containing fifty acres lying in Baltimore County to him and his heirs forever
and nor more of my estate real or personal.
Item: I also give and bequeath to my sons, George, Edward, and Richard,
each of them the sum of one shilling sterling money to be paid unto each of them on demand
at the end of one whole year after my decease and no more of my estate real or personal.
Item: I give and bequeath unto my daughters, Mary and Elizabeth each of them
the sum of one shilling sterling money to be paid unto them on demand at the the end of one year
after my decease and no more of my estate real or personal.
Item: also I give and bequeath unto my daughter Rachel, one feather bed and furniture
and no more of my estate real or personal.
Item: also I give and bequeath unto my four sons William, Henry, Hugh and Joshua
after the payment of my just debts all that part of the tract of land called Brown's Plague
which I shall [illegible] of being by estimation near three hundred acres
to be equally divided among them after the decease of my well-beloved wife Mary Brown,
to them and their heirs forever.
Item: also, I order and desire that sale be made of such goods and chattels as is not above disposed of
with all convenient speed in order to pay my debts. Otherwise, some part of my land called Brown's Plague as to my [illegible] hereafter mentioned shall sum
and convenient and I also make and ordain my well-beloved wife,
Mary Brown and my son, Henry, executrix and executors of this my last will in trust for the [illegible]
in this my last will contained.
In witness whereof I the said George Brown have to this my last will and testament set my hand and seal
this day and year first written above.
George Brown - Signed, sealed and delivered by the said George Brown as and for his last will and testament
presence of us Jost Runkly, John Logsdon, William Logsdon
Children of George and Mary Brown (as listed in the Will of George Brown)
i Mary Brown, b. 1717; d. 1757; m John Baxter
ii [Nancy Anne Brown, b 1723; d 1765; m Richard Tidley Wells - assigned by tradition]
iii John Brown, b 1725; d 1810; m Elizabeth McQueen
iv [Sarah Brown - assigned by tradition]
v George Brown, Junior, "George the Patriot", b 1730, d 1812, m Mary Hall
vi EDWARD BROWN, b September 16, 1734, d August 14, 1823;
m MARGARET DURBIN
vii Richard Brown b 1739; d February 8, 1811; m Honor Wells
viii Elizabeth Brown, m Jacob Sappington
ix Henry Brown, b 1741; d 1827; m Regina ________
x William Brown, b 1742; d 1771 (age 29); bur Suffolk, England October 26, 1771
xi Rachel Brown, b 1743; d 1818; m Michael McQuire
xii Hugh Brown, b 1745; d July 11, 1811; m Ruth Barney
xiii Joshua Brown, b 1748; d September 17, 1832; m Susanne ________
