Along the Highway Through Dunham and Belpre

"Col. Moore was engaged in oil business in West Virginia and afterwards ascertained he had an abundance of oil on his own land,  

'right in his hog pen' as he explained it."

 
The encroachment of the river below Mile Run (the southern limit of Harmar) necessitated moving the county road to the west side of the railroad as far south as a little beyond the Burlingame brick house, now standing. For many years the road ran along the bank to the Athens county line.

At Mile Run was unloaded from a flatboat the locomotive "Vinton," the first engine to arrive at Marietta. It was used in track laying and for years John D[a]kin ran it on passenger trains.

The Rolling Mills buildings were opposite the Burlingame house. Two miles below, grindstones were first made at Finch's quarry. They were cut out with picks and chisels, a slow process when compared with present methods. Adjoining Finch's was R. D. Hollister's farm with its attractive residence.

R. D. Hollister residence. Atlas of Washington County, Ohio, by D. J. Lake, surveyor, 1875.

At Moore's Junction, T. W. Moore owned a farm. Col. Moore was engaged in oil business in West Virginia and afterwards ascertained he had an abundance of oil on his own land, "right in his hog pen" as he explained it.

Mr. Reppert owned the farm where the train crews now announce "Scott's Landing." I do not remember the names of the people between Repperts' and Gravel Bank. At the latter place stood a brick house, the property of Mr. Dickey. On the back road, William Scott owned a tidy place with good farm buildings.

The Demings had a neat cottage not far from the church on the river road. The church has not changed in appearance in seventy years. On the other road was the farm of Bennett Bailey. At the intersection of the Decatur road at Constitution lived William D. Bailey and William P. Cutler, referred to in a previous paper.

I am unable to locate the Calders, McClures, Coles, Briggs and Benjamin E. Tilton places, except that they were between Constitution and the Stone farm just above Belpre.

Richard Henderson, a steamboat man, lived at Belpre at a time when steamboating was a real business. His son, Charles B. Henderson, operates a book store at Athens. There was a Dr. Guthrie and a Mr. Benedict at Belpre or just below. Cyrus Ames was at or near the village. The Stones and Danas had good farms, the residences stood back of, and on higher ground, than the road. On the entrance to the lane of one farm was the legend, "John Stone's Gate."

Among a group of Walnut trees near Cedarville, now Rockland, was the residence of another Mr. Stone. Dr. George N. Gilbert owned the general store at Cedarville. He was postmaster and was an examiner of teachers. Transportation to Marietta being difficult, examiners were located at convenient points in the county. The doctor also extracted teeth, using a "turnkey" for that purpose. This was a more effective instrument of torture than can be found in the best equipped dental office of today. It was a great jawbreaker.

The Universalist church was on the William Pitt Putnam farm. Waldo Putnam succeeded his father as owner of the farm. His sisters, Rowena and Huldah, were students at the Western Liberal Institute.

Cushing Goodno lived near Lewis' store. He was a large man. I remember his queer looking buggy. One of the Chappells owned a small place in the vicinity. Parker Lewis' store was a busy place and supplied a large territory with such goods as a large store sold in early times. Just below the store were the farms of O. R. Loring and Bial Stedman. Bosth were associate judges, as also was Walter Curtis.

Previous to the adoption of the constitution of 1852, there was a common pleas judge, and an associate judge sat with him at sessions of court. This was when "John Doe vs. Richard Roe" appeared in litigation. Mr. F. H. Loring is living at the Loring homestead, his sister Delia, widow of the Rev. Morris, lived many years at Marietta and is now a resident of Parkersburg.

At and near Little Hocking were several families from the New England states. The Blough, Curtis, Dutton, Guthrie, Knowles, Oakes, Dunham, Bierce, Van Gilden families and later C. B. Hitchcock, the musician.  Nearly the entire population from Belpre to Hockingport were Yankees. They were people of unusual intelligence and were prominent in things transpiring at the time of the coming of the early settlers.

On the river hill north of Porterfield stood the town house where Belpre township elections  were held. On the old road at the ford across Little Hocking stood Stedman's flouring mill and the Daniel Goss tannery. The main road now crosses the stream on a steel bridge. Beyond the bridge a short distance is Belpreville cemetery, which is the last resting place of many pioneers.

Half a mile beyond at Belpreville, William Chevalier had a store and Jonathan Blough a wagon shop. H. P. Sage's larding mill operated by the weight of a horse treading a wheel, carded the wool for families for quite a territory.

On Mill Branch, east of Belpreville, Elihu Clarke built the first saw mill in this part of the county. There is nothing left of Belpreville. It has been taken off the map, but close at hand is a store and a cluster of houses, known as Corner. John Potter was the first farmer to the north. In the woods at the top of the hill, Moses Hall had a small house in a clearing. Next came Daniel Drain's farm. This was the southern limit of the Scotch neighborhood. I think John Drain joined Daniel Drain. The McGill house was on a diverging road, but in sight of the main road. The homestead is now owned by one of the McGills whose brother owns the adjoining farm, known as the James Brown place. Duncan Shaw lived up Big Run, a short distance from the public road, as did also John Brown. Across the creek and extending to Veto is the Gorham farm, now owned by Shaw & Goddard. Beyond this has been treated in a former paper.

E. B. C.
Sunday Morning Observer, May 13, 1917

Long Ago in Dunham

 "No furniture factory of today could furnish such seats and desks as were installed in the Veto school house."

On the river bank at Constitution stood a stone house, the home of William P. Cutler, congressman, farmer and prominent in the management of the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, and who rehabilitated the abandoned railroad between Marietta and Big Run and extended the same to Palos. Across the road from the Cutler residence William D. Bailey lived and conducted a general store. Passing over the river hill, the next cleared farm was Isaac Bigford's [Bickford].

The next farm, the ownership of which is remembered, was the Sylvester Ellenwood place. Adjoining the Ellenwood land was Davis Hollister's neat place. Hollister was an excellent teacher and adopted methods far in advance of schools generally in 1850. Mr. Hollister moved to his farm adjoining that of Col. T. W. Moore at Moore's Junction. The Hollisters came from Connecticut with the Chappells, crossing the Allegheny mountains in wagons and on horseback. The Delano, Needham, Tilton, Gorhams, Cole and Curtis families probably came before or soon after.

The Swan saw mill was on the next farm. Next was Thomas Delano's home, occupied many years by his sons, Amos and Lewis. The house appears the same as it did sixty years ago. Near the cemetery lived Albert G. Hollister, his descendants still occupy the home place. Asahel Hollister owned the farm opposite the present school house and was succeeded by his son, Judson. Abisha Cole lived below the school and next above the "Rathbone Place."

Still going west we come to the Needham farms, Jasper and Stephen. Across Hocking stood a log school house where on Sundays congregated the Universalists for church and Sunday school. This was known as "Forks of Hocking," the two branches of that stream uniting there.

 It is probably a mile to the next farm house, John Ellenwood's. It may be that Benjamin Ellenwood lived there at the same time, but he moved to Peoria, Illinois, going by covered wagon the entire distance. This was previous to the building of railroads in Southern Ohio and there were none in Illinois and probably none in Indiana.

Between Ellenwood's and the next cleared farm was quite a distance in woods until Big Run was crossed by a Ford. An iron bridge now spans the stream. Here, to the right and a distance from the road, lived Joline Hopkins, a Connecticut Yankee. Between Hopkins' farm and Veto was but one house, that of John Tilton, also from an Eastern state. Tilton sold his farm to a Mr. Andrews. The Andrews family resides there now.

Veto is at the road crossing. Here stood a log school house, a nice one. The logs were large, well hewn and nicely fitted. The door was supplied with an iron handle and latch, not a wooden one with a latch string. It was an up-to-date building and was standing some twelve years ago, but was soon after taken away. 

No furniture factory of today could furnish such seats and desks as were installed in the Veto school house. The seats were of slabs, flat side up, supported by wooden logs. on three sides of the room were sloping shelves attached to the walls. These were for the "big scholars" who took writing lessons. The pens were of goose quills, made by the "master." On either side of the aisle were slab benches without backs. Our feet could not reach the floor and the little ones were tortured during school hours. We had fine times during the noon intermissions. The larger boys played base ball, two old cats and bull pen. The younger ones had hop, skip and jump, roly ball, den and marbles. The girls had their own amusements, less boisterous than those of the boys. 

The last day of a school term was a red letter day. In the afternoon a spelling school took the place of study and recitations. The teacher would appoint two captains who would "choose up," each alternately calling the name of a speller. The pupils were ranged in two rows and the fun began. There were good spellers in the schools in early times. . .

Returning to Veto and starting North we come to the Daniel Shaw farm. Mr. Shaw, a Scotchman, owned a large tract of land, the farming of which employed many hands. This furnished employment for many upon their arrival in this country. Being industrious and frugal, in a few years the Scotch would buy land and make themselves homes.

Where the road crosses Little Hocking stood Shaw's saw mill. This mill was built by Elihu Clarke previous to 1825. The race has become the channel of the stream and the old channel has become obliterated.

To the right of the road and adjoining the Shaw farm was the Joseph Tilton farm. The original Tilton home is now standing where it was built, probably a hundred years ago and is used for storage. On the west side of the road and beyond the Tilton residence stood a log tenant house where Neil Shaw's house now stands. From the bridge we ascend the hill to the Miller Clarke farm; next comes the John Clarke place upon which stands the original house, built nearly one hundred years since.

This brings us to Barlow Township and the time for adjournment.

E. B. C.
Sunday Morning Observer, April 29, 1917

 


 

The Coles and Their Taverns

"Of his table, he presumes, no persons will have reason to complain; his liquors are good, and his provender of the best kind." 

The Cole family's place of origin was Warren, Rhode Island, which had been a part of Massachusetts until 1747. John Cole (1742-1826) married first Mary (or Mercy) Wood about 1764, and the couple had three sons, Asa, Nathan, and Noah. John and his second wife, Susannah Salisbury (1762-1823), were the parents of  Elizabeth, Candace, Philip, Ichabod, and John.

The Coles arrived in the Ohio Country about 1803, settling first in Belpre, Washington County, in a log cabin opposite the mouth of the Little Kanawha River. Young Philip Cole (1779-1831) and Eunice Gates (1779-1857) were married in Wood County, (West) Virginia, in 1802, and within a year or two settled on a farm in what became the community of Constitution, Ohio.

John and Susannah Cole moved to Constitution about 1805, having purchased Lot 269 along the Ohio River, just below Vienna Island. Here they opened the first "house of entertainment" in the area and also operated a ferry. John and Susannah's tavern was known as the "Half Way house," as it was located about halfway between Marietta and Belpre.

About 1805, John and Susannah's son, Nathan Cole (1766-1816), and his wife Mary, purchased land along the river just above Neal's Island in what became Dunham Township. Nathan and Mary became the proprietors of a tavern also, which is described in Williams' History of Washington County:

One large room was suitable for dancing, and parties frequently gathered there to practice the art, which was much cultivated at that time. Willard Green was the usual fiddler. The ideal of grace in dancing was to keep the body erect and steady and move with a noiseless step. Some attained such proficiency that they could perform any of the fashionable dances of the day with a butter bowl on their heads.

Nathan Cole advertised his business in a Marietta newspaper, The Commentator, in 1810:

N. Cole at the sign of the United States' flag, in Belpre, eight miles below Marietta, continues to keep a house of entertainment for the accommodation of travelers and others, who may choose to call upon him. He has made new arrangements in his business, as will enable him to promote the comfort and convenience of his guests, in a much better manner than heretofore. Of his table, he presumes, no persons will have reason to complain; his liquors are good, and his provender of the best kind. He can also supply boatmen and traveling families with all kinds of provisions at very reduced prices.

The two taverns operated by the Cole father and son were, indeed, popular among travelers.  Julia Cutler (1814-1904), whose parents were John and Susanna Cole's nearest neighbors (Lot 271 along the river), described the clientele of the tavern in an unpublished essay about early river travel:

The boatmen were generally a very rough set of men. These boats often stopped so as to allow the boatmen to carouse at a little tavern kept by John Cole, with a sign of the "rising sun," not half a mile below our house. Their drunkenness and profanity, mingled with mirth and jollity, was very corrupting to such of the youth as were brought in contact with it.

On July 23, 1807, Fortescue Cuming observed what was probably Nathan Cole's tavern while passing down the Ohio River and noted it in his journal:

[W]e advanced a little, passing three miles below Marietta, Muskingum island, two miles long, and uncultivated, and a mile beyond that Second island, a fine little uncultivated island, three quarters of a mile long. Two miles from hence, we passed on the left, a small settlement of six or eight cabins, called Vienna, which does not appear to be flourishing; and half a mile lower on the right, Cole's tavern, a very good square roofed house; a little beyond which is Third island, a mile long and the beginning of the fine settlement of Bellepre.

In 1811, another traveler, John Melish, actually stopped at what seems to have been John Cole's tavern and recorded his experience on September 1, which was in accord with Julia Cutler's account:

At night we stopped at a tavern, six miles below Marietta, on the Ohio side. This was a pretty situation, but I did not like the looks of our landlord; and the boats' crews having stopped here, they made a terrible rompus, drinking metheglin, and swearing unmeaning oaths. However, they took to their boats by 11 o'clock, and we slept pretty comfortably till morning, our boatmen having been left in the skiff to take charge of the luggage.

From Travels in the United States of America . . . , by John Melish, 1812, page 109.

Even the Reverend Samuel Robbins (1776-1823) of Marietta's First Congregational Church was a patron of one of the Cole's taverns, probably John's. During the early years of the settlement, Robbins conducted a service of thanksgiving in the first school house, which was located on the land of Seth and Polly Bailey, near the head of Vienna Island. Following the service, the men of the congregation mounted their horses and rode down to Cole's tavern for refreshments. Before their glasses were raised, "Mr. Robbins, while yet remaining on his horse, asked an impressive blessing on the stimulating beverage contained in the glasses."

Whether the result of alcohol or other influences, Nathan Cole appears to have been inclined to violence. Sally Parker Cutler, in a letter to her husband Ephraim Cutler in the summer of 1816, wrote that "Nathan Cole was taken to Marietta to be confined in prison for a second misdemeanor, similar to the first, only worse. He attempted to kill his wife with an axe. She put up her hand to ward off the blow & received a bad wound on her hand & arm. At that moment Willard Greene burst in at the back door, and the wretch ran at him with the axe, and just grazed his head."

The Marietta newspaper, American Friend, carried an account of Nathan Cole's abrupt ending in the summer of 1816: 

Suicide. On Saturday last the body of Mr. Nathan Cole, of Warren in this County, was found in a well in this town. After being taken out, a Coroner's inquest was held over the body whose verdict was that "he came to his death by throwing himself into the well, in a state of insanity.

From the American Friend, July 26, 1816, page 2.

Sally Cutler provided further details in a letter of August 8, 1816, saying that "Nathan Cole has put a period to his existence, by throwing himself into the well belonging to the Court House where he was imprisoned for attempting to murder his wife. His remains were taken by here and interred on his own farm."

Nathan Cole's tavern was sold to a Scotsman, James Harvey, and it was in the ballroom of the building that the first Presbyterian Church in the community was organized. Two missionaries named Chamberlyn and West were traveling to the southwest when a river blocked with ice delayed them in the Marietta area. They held religious meetings throughout the area and influenced a Connecticut missionary society to send the Reverend Jacob Little to Ohio. Mr. Little preached primarily in Belpre and Constitution, where services were held in the old tavern that had once belonged to Nathan Cole.

Sources

American Friend, Marietta, Ohio, July 26, 1816.

"Annals of the Homestead," an unpublished work by Julia Cutler, Cutler Family Collection, Marietta College.

The Commentator, Marietta, Ohio, April 3, 1810.

"Cuming's Tour to the Western Country," by Fortescue Cuming, published in Early Western Travels, ed. by Reuben Gold Thwaites, 1904.

History of Washington County, Ohio, published by H. Z. Williams & Bro., 1881.

Travels in the United States of America, by John Melish, 1812. 

Recollections of Frederick J. Cutter

"There was no more intelligent, better educated and more cultured farming community in the State of Ohio than this one in the vicinity of Constitution."

 Frederick J. Cutter was born October 10, 1839, in Watertown Township, Washington County, Ohio, the son of Lewis J. Cutter and Eve Wagner Cutter. His family moved to Union (now Muskingum) Township in 1842, and Fred helped on the family farm until 1854, when he obtained a job driving a team for the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, just below Harmar.

In 1855 William P. Cutler hired Fred to work on his large farm at Constitution, and while there, he was able to attend school during the winter months. In 1859 he went to Cincinnati, where he worked in a variety of positions and attended several schools. He returned to Washington County in 1865, and with the advice and assistance of William P. Cutler, entered Marietta College, graduating in 1868. 

After a few years of teaching and farming, Cutter studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1875. He practiced law in Washington County and served as a probate judge for many years. In 1889 he was elected to the 69th General Assembly of Ohio.

Frederick J. Cutter married Marguerite Henton Carter in New York, March 23, 1887.  The couple had one child, Frederick Carter Cutter, born in Marietta in 1888. Frederick J. Cutter died in Marietta, November 20, 1911.
 

Frederick J. Cutter. Portrait from History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, by M. R. Andrews (1902)

In his later years, Fred Cutter reminisced about the time he lived on the Cutler farm at Constitution in the 1850s. He described the Cutler farm of those days and noted how many changes had occurred in the neighborhood by the earliest years of the twentieth century. His observations were published in a Marietta newspaper in 1905:

"On September 25th, 1855, just fifty years ago yesterday, I engaged with the late Hon. William P. Cutler on his farm at Constitution and continued in his employment until December 1859, when I went to Cincinnati to enter a commercial school. The first winter I was at Cutler's I did not attend school, as I had work enough to keep me busy, but the next three winters I attended school, doing chores morning and evening to pay for my board. The first winter a Mrs. Julia Lyons was the teacher and the next two Miss Susan Daniels taught. Miss Daniels is still engaged in teaching in the West Side schools of this city.

"During these fifty years I have been in that neighborhood every year, either socially or on business, with the exception of one, 1860, my first year at Cincinnati. I have thus been enabled to observe the changes that have taken place in regard to the people of that community during that period.

"At the time I left there I practically knew every family up to Moore's Junction, back to Tunnel, Fleming and on Hocking, and for about three miles below Constitution. I have many pleasant recollections of the people of that community, whom I learned to know so well and favorably during my stay of four years among them. The fifty years that have passed have wrought wonderful changes there. Only one or two of those who were married and lived there fifty years ago are there today, and but few of their descendants remain in that neighborhood.

"When I entered the employment of Mr. Cutler, he lived in the large stone house on the river bank, just down from the station, and which was known as the Cutler homestead. This house was built by Mr. Cutler's father, Judge Ephraim Cuter, in 1808-09. A few years after Mr. Cutler sold the property, the house was taken down, I think by H. Lyman Hart, and there is nothing left to mark the place of this once noted and beautiful home except two lonely cedar trees that stood in the front yard, and I think the old well that was near the kitchen door is still there. 

"The plot of ground adjoining the house, where was kept a beautiful flower garden, in which the ladies of the house took so much pleasure and pride, is now a part of a cultivated field. Not a tree is left of the large apple orchard that extended back from the garden to nearly the foot of the hill, and from which many bushels of apples were gathered each year. My first day's work was picking apples in this orchard. The trees were quite large and bore large quantities of apples. One year I gathered eleven barrels full from one tree.

"When I went to the Cutler home the family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Cutler, their daughter Annie, aged about two years, his sister Miss Julia P. Cutler, and his niece, Miss Kate L. Dawes, a sister of the late General R. R. Dawes. Of this number, but one remains, Mrs. Cutler, who lives with her daughter, Miss Sarah, on Fifth Street.

"At that time Mr. Cutler's brother-in-law, the Reverend James S. Walton, who was then the pastor of the Warren Presbyterian church, also lived on the Cutler farm in a house which stood near the present house on the knoll, just below the station. About 1857 or 58, Mr. Walton moved to Pana, Illinois, with his family, where he and his wife (nee Cutler) spent the remainder of their years. The only one of this family now living, so far as I know, is a son, James P. Walton, who lives at Lincoln, Nebraska, and who was my room-mate during my three years in college. He was a member of the class of '69, but did not complete his senior year.

"The nearest neighbor to the Cutler home was William D. Bailey.  Of this family, none remain in the neighborhood. His widow lived in this city with her two daughters, Ella F. and Lucy D.  His son, Charles Emerson Bailey lives in Minnesota. Of the George W. Bailey family, his widow and one of his daughters still live on the old homestead near the church.

"Of the Reverend Dyer Burgess family, none remain in the neighborhood. Mrs. Burgess' daughter, Mrs. Maggie Humiston (nee Voris) lives in Chicago, as does also her granddaughter, Mrs. Lizzie Cole (nee Poage).

"Mrs. Lucinda Reed and her two brothers, Wallace and Hiram, are the only ones of the James Harvey Deming family now living in that vicinity. The Joshua Shipman, Augustus S. Bailey and Bennett C. Bailey families moved to Kansas years ago, and none of their number live in the neighborhood. 

"There were three Scott families, William, Josiah, and Moses, but none remain there. Of the William Scott family, one daughter, Mrs. E. R. O'Neal, lives at Belpre, and two, Miss Lucretia and Mrs. Andrew Hazelrigg, and their brother D. W. Scott, all reside in this city.

"None of the Charles Dickey family remain. His widow and one son live in the southern part of the state. None of the Joel Deming, Lewis Reppert, Blackington or Greenwood families remain, and only one or two of the Charles Cone family are in the neighborhood.

"None of the Henry H. Cole and Dean Briggs families, who lived just below Constitution, remain. Of the McClure family, William D. McClure and his sister, Miss Emeline, still reside on the old homestead, and another sister, Mrs. D. B. Calder, I think also lives near there. Of the Malcolm Blue family, Mrs. Blue, two sons, James and Sandy, and one daughter, Mrs. Hiram Deming, are in the neighborhood, and one son, Malcolm D., lives in this city. The Bickford, Hufford and Malcolm Cole families are all gone, and but one or two of the Charles Terrell family remain.

"Of the Joline P. Hopkins family, Leroy lives on the old homestead. Isaac H. at Vincent, and Mrs. Middleswart at Constitution. Farther down the creek were the homes of the Delanos, Ellenwoods, Hollisters and Smiths. In the neighborhood of Fleming were the Flemmings, Roes, Canfields and Christophers. At Tunnel the Fosters, Perdews, Zearings and Skiptons, but in none of these neighborhoods have the changes been as marked as along the river.

"In the spring of1856 my brother William engaged with Dr. Burgess and lived with him until August 1861, when he enlisted in the army under Captain W. B. Mason, in Company B, 77th O.V.I.  In the spring of 1859 my brother George came to work for Mr. Cutler and remained with him until March 1863, when Mr. Cutler secured a position for him on the M. & C.R.R., now the B. & O.S.W., and he is still in the employment of that company, now over 42 years.

"There was no more intelligent, better educated and more cultured farming community in the State of Ohio than this one in the vicinity of Constitution. They were in every respect an up-to-date people. They kept well informed on current events of the day, and on all questions of importance, whether political, religious or otherwise. They were enterprising, energetic business men, and during my stay there, and for years prior thereto, Constitution Landing was one of the most important shipping points, outside the towns and cities, on the Ohio side of the river. Large quantities of farm products, grindstones, lumber and livestock were shipped from here every year until the railroad was built and in a great measure took over the business of transportation."

                                                                              - F. J. Cutter
                                                                               The Marietta Times, September 26, 1905

 Sources

History of Marietta and Washington County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens, by Martin Register Andrews, published by Biographical Publishing Co., Chicago, 1902.

The Marietta Times, September 26, 1905.

Early Settlers: The Bailey Family

Among the earliest of the permanent settlers along the river in Warren Township, Washington County, Ohio, was the family of Seth Bailey and Mary "Polly" James Bailey. The Baileys had a large farm and a large family, and their influence in the community of Constitution was significant. 

Seth Bailey, Jr., was born January 24, 1778, in Easton (or West Bridgewater), Massachusetts, the son of Seth Bailey and Deborah Packard Bailey.  It appears that Seth, Jr., first traveled west in 1798 with the Silvanus Ames family and lived at Parkersburg, Wood County, West Virginia (then Virginia), for two years. The James family was living nearby, and Seth and Mary "Polly" James were married November 15, 1801.

Most James genealogies indicate that Polly James was the daughter of Captain John James, who owned large tracts of land in western Virginia, including what are now Vienna Island and Neal Island. His wife was Esther Denison, and their children were Susanna, Anne, Esther, Hannah, Abigail, Polly, William, John, Thomas, and Simeon. The son William was killed in 1791 during the Big Bottom Massacre at Stockport, Ohio. 

Caleb Bailey, the brother of Seth, Jr., had married Anne, sister of Polly James, July 24, 1791, in Washington County, Ohio (probably Belpre). A family story was told that Caleb made a trip to England, where he purchased three silk dresses. The first, a sky blue brocade, was presented to Anne, a green brocade was given to her sister Hannah, and a black one was for her sister Polly.

Polly James was born July 28, 1779, at Stonington, Connecticut. Her parents brought her to the Northwest Territory in 1790, when she was about 11 years old. The James family lived at Farmers' Castle in Belpre, Ohio, during the Indian Wars of 1791-1795. Polly was described as "bright and active," and she was often a winning participant in the girls' knitting races while confined to the garrison. John and Esther James later built a blockhouse on Backus' Island off the Belpre shore and lived there until the arrival of the Blennerhassetts, about 1798.

For a wedding present, Captain James gave Polly an island in the Ohio River, just below Briscoe's Run on the West Virginia side, and about six miles below Marietta on the Ohio side. Now known as Vienna Island, it was formerly called "James Island." Seth Bailey usually referred to it as "my wife's island," and certain early navigators' maps labeled it so. Seth and his "handsome, blue-eyed, fair-haired" wife moved onto her island in 1802, where they built a cabin, and started a family.

Clearing the island of its dense growth of timber was a labor-intensive chore, and winter set in before shelter could be built for the livestock. Fortunately, a huge sycamore, 17 feet at its greatest diameter, was discovered to be hollow. With a door cut into the side, the giant tree made a convenient stable for a horse, a cow, and a yoke of oxen. This tree later caught fire and burned, but Seth continued to find it useful, planting corn in the remaining snags. 

In 1804, Seth decided to return to Massachusetts and bring his parents back to settle in the west. It is thought that he took Polly and their daughter Maria to stay with the James family, then living at Stillwell Creek, about six miles from Parkersburg, West Virginia. At his return to New England, Seth worked for a season in the harvest field to earn enough money for the Bailey's trip west, which was made with ox teams in the fall of 1804. Seth Bailey, Sr., and Deborah Packard Bailey, along with many of their children, settled in the area of Vienna, West Virginia.

Although the soil on Seth and Polly Bailey's island was unusually fertile and produced an abundance of crops, life on an island had its risks. During one of the many Ohio River floods, Seth was busy taking stock to safety on the mainland while the river was rapidly rising. He went back to the island for Polly and the children and found them sitting on the bed, surrounded by water.  

Land was soon acquired on the Ohio shore, and the Baileys built a house opposite the head of the island, a few miles below the squatter settlement of Nogletown, in 1805. The frame for the house was made at the headwaters of the Ohio and floated downriver on a raft. A row of young cedar trees were planted in front, which eventually formed a beautiful avenue.  It was among the first homes to be constructed in what became Warren Township.

Seth's son, William Dennison Bailey, said that in the early part of the nineteenth century, his father packed salt from the Scioto salt works back to Warren Township. It was a 140-mile round trip, and Seth was usually gone for about a week, traveling on foot both ways. He took a few horses with pack saddles and could load six bushels (300 pounds) of salt on each horse.

There were no roads, simply narrow trails wide enough for the horses to walk single file. He used to follow along the trail behind the horses, carrying an old musket with a flint lock, and a piece of punk to strike fire when he went into camp at night. Sometimes he would travel till after dark in order to reach a good camping place. The wolves were very abundant and would commence howling soon after dark in order to reach a good camping place. The wolves were very abundant and would commence howling soon after dark, first on one side, then on the other, then in front and behind him. The woods were alive with them.

When returning and ready to go into camp he would lay the bags of salt and pack saddles in a pile near the fire and turn the horses loose to graze. Sometimes the wolves would gather around the horses and drive them back until they stood with their heads over the bags of salt close to the fire. When brought to the Ohio River that salt was worth 16 cents a pound or $8.00 a bushel.

Sometimes he paid for it in money, but ordinarily he would exchange a tow linen shirt or pair of tow pantaloons for a bushel of salt. The workmen needed these garments as much as he needed the salt, as there were no stores out there at the time. These garments were made from flax which he had raised, broken and hatcheled, and which my mother had spun and woven and made into garments.

Seth Bailey, "a man of robust physique, tireless energy, sound business habits and wise benevolence," erected a forge on his farm and learned the blacksmithing trade. With his hammer and anvil, he supplied tools and utensils for the community and "occupied rainy days at making nails. His example was followed by many of the young men in the neighborhood, and pounding nails became a common occupation."  According to a granddaughter, Lucy Dennison Bailey, a favorite maxim of Seth's was, "rest is a change of employment," and he often said that he "did not know what it was to be tired."

In 1821, Edward T. Hayward wrote from his brother Rotheus' home in Waterford, Washington County, back home to his parents, Joseph and Lydia Hayward of Easton, Massachusetts, and mentioned a recent visit with their old neighbor, Seth Bailey, Jr.  Edward said that Seth "appeared verry glad to hear from our countrey," and described Seth's farming activities:

I took a walk with him over his farm and on to his island. Tell Elisha Mr. Bailey says he has catched forty gray sqerels in an hour when they were swimming from the island to the shoar. He has an excelant farm and says he thinks he shall have two thousand bushels of corn this year. Also that he raised 90 or 100 bushels on one acre last year. He fatted forty seven hogs and sent them to New Orleans. 

Polly James Bailey and her domain were described by a neighbor, Julia Cutler (1814-1904), in an essay:

Mrs. Bailey was rather a contrast to her strait forward husband. She liked to manage - perhaps to maneuver a little. She had lived in the garrison and was used to a crowd, and did not object to "twenty in family." She gave employment, food and shelter, and something more, to many a destitute person; and half a score of orphans, relatives or otherwise, were well brought up in her house. To accommodate these, and their many visitors, room after room was added to the original house until it became, to the uninitiated, an unthreadable labyrinth, and then as need required, additions were made to the spacious loom house and various outbuildings were erected, which adorned the back door premises until they soon presented the appearance of a small village.

Mrs. Bailey was a diligent and successful ruler of her large house-hold. She always had work ready for idle hands to do, & to this fact, and to her counsels, and a wise use of praise & censure, it is due that no occasion for scandal ever occurred among the young people brought up under her management. She never forgot that she inherited Dennison blood, and was "as good as any body." She had in early days, glimpses of the elegant festivities at the Blennerhassett Mansion, and she liked, for the delectation of the young people, to give an occasional spread herself. 

Although so energetic and capable, Mrs. Bailey was in modern phrase "just a bundle of nerves," requiring very careful handling, which her indulgent husband readily accorded her. She was the first lady in the place to keep her own carriage. True, there were other carriages in the settlement, but they were for the common benefit of the families owning them. Mrs. Bailey's carriage only went and came at her beck, and conveyed those only she saw fit to thus honor.

Seth and Polly's large family consisted of eleven children, all "brought up with good moral principles, and industrious habits, working early and late."  In addition to their own children, Seth and Polly raised many nieces and nephews, as well as an orphan girl. During the sickly seasons of 1822 and 1823, when nearly every family in Washington County experienced death, the Bailey family lost not a member and brought them all through without the aid of a physician.

The Bailey homestead was a center of hospitality and social life in early Constitution. Whenever there was a neighborhood gathering, such as a logging bee, a barn raising, or a corn husking, the Bailey sons, "men of fine physique," were there to help. The Baileys were known as excellent singers, and they participated in the church choir and the local glee clubs. At every merry sleigh ride, they joined in the fun, providing "a splendid and capital driver."  

Map of a section of Warren Township along the Ohio River in 1875, showing Vienna Island and some of the Bailey's property. Atlas of Washington County, Ohio, D. J. Lake, published by Titus, Simmons & Titus, Philadelphia, 1875.

The first school house in Constitution was built on the Bailey farm in 1810. Constructed of logs, it was replaced later by a brick structure. It was in the school building that the neighborhood's Presbyterian Church was formed in 1828. In 1837, when an actual church was built, the Bailey's donated the land and helped build it. It was from their farm that the land for a public cemetery was provided.

Polly Bailey died September 5, 1852, "after a lingering illness, which she endured with exemplary patience and submission." Seth followed her in death on March 7, 1861. "One of the most respected and esteemed of the citizens of this county," Seth was described as "a man of untiring energy and industry . . . just the man to grapple with the difficulties and hardships of pioneer life."  Polly and Seth were buried in the cemetery, now called "Gravel Bank" or "Riverview," that was laid out on the Bailey farm.

A poem was published in The Marietta Intelligencer in memory of Seth Bailey, possibly composed by his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Emerson Bailey, who was ready with a verse for every occasion:

     To the fully ripened shock of corn,
     As the reapers come in the harvest morn;
     Thus to our sire have the angels come
     To gather his sheaves and to bear him home.

     Sons who are fathers, bend o'er his bier;
     Grandchildren moisten his hair with a tear.
     Grandchildren's children have slept on his breast.
     Peace to his ashes - calm be his rest.

     O'er the old hearth-stone so dear to us all,
     Cometh a shade of the funeral pall.
     Grant, Gracious Father, we never may trace
     Discord or strife round that old trysting place.

     Mourn we the patriarch passing away,
     Who wisely and well hath accomplished his day.
     And who weary and worn at its lengthening close,
     Is glad to lie down to his quiet repose.

     Yea, let us weep, for the tribute is due.
     To the lov'd and the cherished, the good and the true;
     While his freed spirit passing the boundary of time,
     Shall mount on glad wings to a region sublime.

Children of Seth Bailey and Mary "Polly" James Bailey:

1. Maria Bailey - b. 6 April 1803, Vienna Island, Wood County, West Virginia; m. 18 March 1830, Marietta, Washington County, Ohio, to Frederic Shipman; d. 16 September 1889, Elmdale, Chase County, Kansas.

2. Elizabeth Bailey - b. 30 September 1804, Vienna Island; d. 10 January 1872, Constitution, Warren Township, Washington County, Ohio.

3. Seth Bailey - b. 9 September 1806, Constitution; m. 31 December 1833, Washington County, to Sarah McClure; m. 17 September 1839, Marshall County, West Virginia, to Mary Ann Scott; d. 27 May 1884, Coolville, Athens County, Ohio.

4. Charles Pease Bailey - b. 1808, Constitution; m. 28 September 1837, Washington County, to Harriet Chapman; d. 1 December 1879, Hampden, Prince Edward County, Virginia.

5. John James Bailey - b. 15 April 1810, Constitution; m. 7 January 1836, Washington County, to Mary Chapman; d. 9 May 1849, Washington County.

6. Susan Uhl Bailey - b. 20 December 1811, Constitution; m. 14 July 1841, Washington County, to George A. Ward; d. 2 March 1853, Constitution.

7. Bennett Cook Bailey - b. 28 November 1813, Constitution; m. 22 February 1844, Washington County, to Fannie Dickey; d. 21 September 1890, Newton, Harvey County, Kansas.

8. William Dennison Bailey - b. 24 May 1816, Constitution; m. 10 May 1848, Washington County, to Mary Annette Ward; m. 1 October 1850, Washington County, to Elizabeth Emerson; d. 10 April 1894, Marietta.

9. George Washington Bailey - b. 12 December 1817, Constitution; m. 13 November 1855, Vienna, Wood County, West Virginia, to Sarah Jane Stapleton; d. 26 December 1903, Marietta.

10. Augustus Stone Bailey - b. 19 November 1819, Constitution; m. 13 April 1852, Athens County, Ohio, to Julia Ann Johnson; d. 27 January 1899, Elmdale, Kansas.

11. Thomas James Bailey - b. 22 April 1822; d. 13 October 1882, Constitution.

 Sources:

Account of the Fifth Annual Gathering of the Bailey/Bayley Family Association, Held at North Scituate, Mass, September 6th, 1897. Somerville Citizen Press, 1898. Article, "The Bailey Pioneers of the Northwest Territory, " by Lucy Dennison Bailey.

Ancestors and Descendants of Captain John James and Esther Denison of Preston, Connecticut, compiled by Clara Paine Ohler, Lima, Ohio, 1912.

Cutler Family Collection, Special Collections, Marietta College Library. Unpublished essay about early Warren Township settlers by Julia Perkins Cutler.

FamilySearch, familysearch.org, Washington County, Ohio, Probate Court records, including marriage and death.

History of Washington County, Ohio, published by H. Z. Williams & Bro., 1881.

The Marietta Intelligencer, September 15, 1852, p. 3, c. 3. Obituary of Polly Bailey.

The Marietta Intelligencer, March 13, 1861, p. 3, c. 2. Obituary of Seth Bailey.

Pioneers in Wood County, W.Va., Volume II, by John A. House, published by Wood County Historic Landmarks Commission, 1984. 

Rotheus Hayward Collection, Special Collections, Marietta College Library. Box 1, Folder 7, Edward T. Hayward, Waterford, letter to Joseph and Lydia Hayward, Easton, Massachusetts, November 10, 1821.

West Virginia Division of Culture and History, wvculture.org, Marriage Records.