Pioneers of Rome Township

Rome Township History

Pioneers of Rome Township

The Gardners, Morrisons, And Waltons All Contributed Heavily To The Early Development Of This Ohio Community.

The Herald-Advertiser, 17 April 1938

Submitted by Brenda Cook

By R. C. Hall, Ph.D.

SOMETIMES it is a little difficult for us to decide what to write for these columns. Not that there is any dearth of subjects or lack of material, for, as a matter of fact, that is what causes most of our difficulty, the necessity of choosing from such a vast variety of subjects and such a wealth of material.

Move-over, one reader will suggest one subject and another reader another subject. One will say, “When are you going to give us some more of that old-time stuff?” or words to that effect, and meaning usually local pioneer history. And then another will ask for the history of some particular church, or other institution.

And still, another will suggest a review of an unusual or rare book. And so it goes. For while we are very, very grateful for these comments, suggestions, and requests, they complicate the matter of making choice rather than simplifying it. For we naturally wish to please as many readers as possible and grant as many such requests as possible.

And so the best we can do is take up various historical subjects in a sort of “round robin” fashion until we cover the various types and then start over again. Of course, we try to vary this procedure enough to avoid the monotony which would probably follow a stereotyped adherence to a certain order. However, it is probably time that we once again discuss some phase of local pioneer history and we have chosen a few pioneer families of Rome township Lawrence County, Ohio for this discussion.

Three Families

And the idea came to us that it might be more interesting for a change, to choose three pioneer families of that region and discuss their founders and their descendants, touching merely on their more important achievements, than to discuss any one individual’s career in detail. We would be pleased to hear further from readers as to their likings in these matters.

We might explain, perhaps, that the data for this sketch has been secured from old county histories, newspapers, scrapbooks, family records, interviews, etc., and so, while some errors no doubt may occur in it, we believe it is accurate in all important respects, for certainly such data is as accurate as could be secured in such matters.

Settled In Ohio

Thomas Gardner was born in Pittsburgh, Pa., on the 19th day of June in the year 1794. That, it will be recalled was the very year in which General Wayne was leading his army against the Ohio Indians, and all the country west of Marietta, with few exceptions, was an unbroken wilderness.

He was but about 14 years of age when he joined that group of settlers around Marietta and settled in that neighborhood in the year 1808.

Four years after his settlement in Washington county, however, young Mr. Gardner moved on down the Ohio river and settled at a place about five miles above the mouth of the Guyandotte river, but on the Ohio side of the Ohio river. This is about the best we can locate the spot in the language of that day for we must remember that the map of southern Ohio then did not look much like it does today.

Then the Gardner home was located in Gallia county and in the Centre township of that county. Now it is in Rome township of Lawrence county, O. Nevertheless, it is, of course, in exactly the same place as originally located. About two years after Thomas Gardner settled there, Lawrence county was formed,

This made the name of Centre township no longer suitable in any literal sense, for instead of being near the middle of the county townships along the river, it now became the easternmost township in Lawrence county. Accordingly, the name was changed to Rome, as we have stated because of the supposed similarity of the hills back of the village of Rome to the seven hills of ancient Rome.

It is difficult for one familiar with this region today to conceive of it as it was when Thomas Gardner settled on the very farm on which his granddaughter, Mrs. Stacia Eaton, now resides. Then the second British-American war, or the War of 1812, was still in progress.

Indian Marauders

And bands of Indians encouraged by the British in Canada, wandered through the Ohio wilderness committing acts of depredation upon the few settlements scattered throughout the northern ad central part of the state. Some of (unable to read) wandered even as far (unable to read) the Ohio river, and al (unable to read) they seldom endangered the (unable to read) along this stream, the fear (unable to read) they must have been constantly in the minds of the settlers.

The woods, except for a few clearings that came down to the river’s edge, were plentifully supplied with wild animals and while some of these were an advantage since they furnished an abundance of easily secured meat, many were extremely dangerous to anyone wandering about unarmed. Such were some of the conditions met by Thomas Gardner when he became one of the first settlers of Rome township.

On the 5th day of September, in the year 1818, Thomas Gardner was united in marriage with Chloa [sic] Gillett, and this couple settled down to make a home for themselves under the frontier conditions just described. Mrs. Gardner came also from a family of pioneers, she herself having been born in Hartford, Conn., and had accompanied that wave of immigration to the west which brought so many settlers of the early Nineteenth century from the Atlantic coast to the Ohio valley. Mrs. Gardner was born on December 14, 1799.

Organized Church

When Mr. and Mrs. Gardner began their married life in their pioneer home, they had many other privations besides the lack of those material things now commonly called “modern conveniences.” There were no churches, schools, or social organizations for miles around.

But being a religious man and a practical one as well, Mr. Gardner set about to remedy these defects in his neighborhood life. Other settlers had come to the vicinity at about the same time as he did, or a little later, he interested some of them in religious works and organized a Sunday school in his own home as there was as yet no building for that purpose in the township.

In fact, it has been claimed, and no doubt accurately, that this was the very first Sunday school organized in what is now Rome township. It continued to meet at Mr. Gardner’s home for some time until he could secure the erection of a church building. The Beulah Baptist church is the result of his efforts in this direction.

Mr. Gardner bore all the expense of building Beulah church except the amount of $100 which was contributed by H. H. Gillett, another pioneer citizen of Rome township. Nor did Mr. Garner’s contribution to religion stop with this gift. He continued to contribute liberally to the cause and a few years before he passed away, he made a will by which he left a substantial sum to the Beulah Baptist church and a similar amount to the Pomaria Baptist church which is situated in Windsor township, Lawrence county.

Thomas Gardner passed away on the 5th day of December, in the year 1879, his wife having preceded him into the Great Beyond by almost a decade, passed away on the 6th day of April, in the year 1870.

Son Inherited Home

The Gardner home near Beulah passed into the hands of Roswell Gardner upon the passing of his father, Thomas, and he continued to reside there for the remainder of his earthly career. He followed in his father’s footsteps as a farmer, fruit grower, and church leader. On April 1st, 1850, he married Nancy O, Delay, who was born in Jackson county on the 3rd day of April 1829.

Mrs. Gardner’s family was also a pioneer. Her father, James Delay, was a native of Kentucky. He migrated to Jackson county, O., where he married Mary Marton. After the Civil war, he and his family were removed to Illinois, but after his death, the family was removed back to Ohio and settled in Lawrence county.

Roswell Gardner and his wife had the following children: Otis W., Thomas Edward, Chloe, Mary A., Maria Eustacia, and Lizzie Gertrude.

Mr. Garner was ordained a deacon in the Baptist church in Illinois, and Mrs. Gardner, who was originally a Methodist, also joined the Baptist church in order to be associated with her husband in church work. Their son, Otis, established his home on a neighboring farm. His daughters, two of whom are now teachers in the Huntington schools, now live there, their beautiful home is widely known throughout the tri-state region. Another son, Edgar, lived for many years in Proctorville and was the father of the late Mayor Halsey B. Gardner and of Mrs. Hattie Jones of that place, a former Huntington teacher. Another of his daughters, Miss Ora Gardner, deceased, was a successful teacher in Proctorville.

Morrison Family

The Morrison family, unlike the Gardners, came to Rome township from the south. They were of old Virginia stock, whereas the Gardners, as we have seen were of northern and New England descent. In fact, these two families make a fine illustration of how southern Ohio is inhabited, so far as people of pioneer ancestry are concerned, by a citizenry of mixed ancestry as to sectional blood.

Richard Morrison was a native of Greenbrier county, Virginia (now just across the boundary line in West Virginia). On May 14, 1814, he married in that county and he and his young wife, Mary, migrated to southern Ohio settling in what is now Union township, Lawrence county, Ohio.

The wife passed away there and Richard Morrison then moved on, up the river, into what is now Rome township. Before leaving Virginia, however, Mr. and Mrs. Morrison had a son whom they name Lorenzo Down after the celebrated pioneer preacher of that name. He was born on the 19th day of January, in the year 1819, and was brought by his parent to Ohio at an early age, residing in Union township and afterward coming to Rome.

Thus, the Morrisons may be considered pioneer settlers of both Union and Rome townships. As a matter of fact, a number of families, who settled near the dividing line between the two townships, were as many citizens of one as of the other. We have classified Lorenzo D. Morrison as a pioneer of Rome township because he spent many years as one of the leading farmers and landowners of that township beginning his association with it at a date well antedating the Civil war which certainly entitles him to be ranked among the pioneers of that section.

Had General Store

However, from 1848 to 1854, Mr. Morrison was a “store keeper’ in the language of the small town, that is, he was engaged in general merchandise business at Bradrick. It may interest present-day readers to know that in the old writings, records, etc., as well as on the maps of that day, this little village on the Ohio shore, opposite Huntington, which we know as well as Bradrick, appears as Bradrickville, or as Bradricksville, Ohio. After his few years in business there, Mr. Morrison decided to become a farmer, but after engaging in that profession for a short while, he moved to Rome township.

The business career of Mr. Morrison in Rome township appears to have been a short one. That is, his mercantile business there was short, according to an old record, extending from 1858 to 1860. Then, just at the outbreak of the Civil war, or thereabouts, he sold his business and resumed farming, an occupation that occupied most of his time during the remainder of his active life.

Mr. Morrison secured ownership of a large farm extending backward from the Ohio river toward the village of Rome and containing about 150 acres of land, about 30 acres of which he devoted to fruit raising. He entered this work at about the time the famous Rome Beauty apple was being developed.

The Rome Beauty

In fact, the original Rome Beauty tree stood almost in the front yard of his home which was pleasantly located on the bank of the Ohio river, about two miles above Proctorville. It is said that when this celebrated tree finally yielded to the ravages of time and the elements and was blown to the ground, it was cut up by Mr. Morrison. Thus, he became one of the first of that group of pioneer fruit growers who, together with their successors, have made Quaker Bottom widely known as a fruit-growing section of the country.

Meanwhile, Mr. Morrison had married Margaret J. Crawford, their marriage having taken place in Greenup county, Kentucky on March 7, 1860 (please check this date). Mrs. Morrison however, was a native of Lawrence county, Ohio, having been born in Fayette township on March 19, 1832. She was of Irish descent on her father’s side of the family. Her father, John Crawford, was born in Ireland, in the year 1800, but her mother, whose maiden name was Mary Suiter, was born in the country in the year 1812.

Start on page 2 at Lorenzo D. Morrison was not only a successful businessman, fruit grower, and general farmer, but he was also a civic leader and a popular official in his township and county. For several years she was one of the township trustees, while he served for 12 years as clerk of the township. Then, in 1871 he was chosen as one of the county commissioners of Lawrence county, Ohio. He, like most of his family, was also a great church worker, being a long and faithful member of the Rome Methodist Episcopal church, as was also his wife.

Four Children

Mr. and Mrs. Morrison had four children, one of whom, Mary V. Morrison passed away in infancy. Their others were Alexander D. Morrison, Ida May Morrison, and Edgar D. Morrison.

Alexander married Dora Reckard and after her death, Nellie Duzenberry [Dusenberry-mm] bought a large farm on the Ohio river just a short distance above that of his father and lived there during his latter years. Edgar married Miss Hattie Smith and resided some time on his father’s farm and some time in Proctorville. Ida married the later Dr. W. H. Feurt of Proctorville, where they resided for many years.

Two of Edgar Morrison’s daughters became school teachers and one is now a professor at a western college. The third is married and resides in Huntington. They also followed in the footsteps of their forebears as church, civic, and community workers.

This writer can just recall Mr. Morrison slightly but recalls him as one of the highly respected elderly citizens of Quaker Bottom. Mrs. Morrison survived her husband several years and in her latter days was one of the beloved ladies of Proctorville where she lived and cared for the three daughters of her son Edgar whose wife had succumbed to typhoid fever during the fearful epidemic of that disease in southern Ohio, over thirty years ago. Mrs. Morrison herself passed away before her granddaughters had reached womanhood but the pioneer stock from which they came was clearly shown in the heroic way in which these young ladies overcame those sorrows and difficulties to secure education and win success in life.

Not Real West Today

And now we have seen how two of the leading families of Rome township were established in the “back yonder days” and how succeeding generations have gone forth to lives of service. And we have seen how these pioneers came from the north and from the south and from the east to establish this community in what was very much “the west”. And now, only a little over a century after the first settlement of Rome township, the tide of migration has long since swept the frontier clear across the continent so that no longer do we think of any place as “west” unless it is at least beyond the Mississippi river.

For our next family of Rome township pioneers we wish to consider one that will be unknown to most of the citizens of that community and the surrounding region today “the Walton family”. We have chosen this family however because two of its members were once well-known Lawrence county surveyors while one was perhaps the first historian of that county. Thomas Walton, the founder of the family in Rome township and the one about whom we wish to speak most, was a pioneer, an immigrant, a surveyor, a writer, and certainly the first person to put on paper a history of the region in which he settled.

Native of England

Thomas Walton was a native of England and according to his own account, he sailed, on June 6, 1819, for America. He must have been a man of some financial resources, for in telling of that event years later, he says that on the day he sailed, he treated the officers, sailors, and most of the passengers to “all the Holland gin they could drink.” He probably had the experience to indicate that such a procedure was a fine way to secure the favor of those with whom he was destined to be closely associated for several weeks.

The course followed by the Walton ship took him past the island of Madeira and he later recalled seeing a spouting whale, a number of dying fish, schools of porpoises, and other interesting sights. He relates sighting a deserted ship, the “Industry of Hull” on which, he says there was not a single person, yet the ship was moving along directly toward the north coast of Ireland.

When the ship on which he was sailing reached Newfoundland, it stopped for a time to permit fishing and some cod and halibut were caught. The American ship “Hanover” was encountered and from it, Mr. Walton’s vessel secured some potatoes and rum for which he says the Americans would take no pay.

Finally, on August 8, 1819, Thomas Walton landed in Baltimore, Maryland. It is interesting to compare his voyage with those of today. It took him nine weeks to cross the Atlantic Ocean, as a comparison of the above dates will reveal. But the thrilling and interesting experiences of this immigrant, were not over when he landed in Baltimore. There, his party hired a wagoner by the name of Carpenter to hall [sic] its luggage westward. He says, however, that he and his wife preferred walking to riding in the “coop wagon”.

Eight Cents Per Pound

However, the wagoner charged a straight fare, by weight, for all the passengers and freight. That is, all passengers and freight were weighed, and eight centers per pound were changed for conveying the whole to Wheeling, Virginia.

The Walton’s certainly did not have much luggage, however, for, upon reaching Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) they bought a skiff to convey themselves and probably most of their worldly possessions down the Ohio river. It had been their intention to float down to Shawneetown, Illinois, which was then merely a frontier settlement, and to settle in that neighborhood where, of course, the land was plentiful and cheap. They probably never dreamed that they would find land in such abundance and at so reasonable a price as far east as southern Ohio.

But, on September sixth, having reached the vicinity of the present village of Athalia, the Walton’s landed to get some milk and were so impressed with the appearance of the surrounding country. Moreover, they were tired of traveling, and no wonder! Mr. Walton decided to try and purchase a farm in that vicinity and soon found a man with some one hundred acres willing to sell.

The man was Solomon Churchill, a bargain was soon made between him and Mr. Walton by which the latter purchased the one hundred (100) acre tract for six hundred dollars ($600.00). Thus we see how chance played a large part in the settlement of our country. Had Thomas Walton not stopped to get some milk for his family of immigrants, had they not been tired of traveling, and they not stopped at that particular spot where the land appeared valuable and the scenery beautiful, the Walton family would probably have journeyed on to Shawneetown.

Lucky for Rome

Then Rome township would have lost the services of one of her ablest surveyors and much of the history of those early days, which Mr. Walton preserved, would, in all probability have been lost.

After residing for a while near the present site of Athalia, Mr. Walton moved to a new location near the Rome campground. The exact site of his home was the site of the present home of Edward R. Miller about a quarter of a mile south of Rome chapel. The house in which Mr. Walton disappeared years ago, in fact, many years before the present Miller dwelling was built, although some of the elder citizens of the vicinity may remember it.

In his later years, Mr. Walton wrote a series of articles entitled “Tales of a Great Grandfather” which were published in the Ironton Register and contain much valuable information regarding the history of Rome township over a century ago. Mr. Walton described his own immigration to that vicinity and then gave the names of the other citizens living there at that time and told many interesting things about them.

Thus, he became one of the first actual historians of Lawrence county, so far as recording its history is concerned. While his narrative is confined to a brief period and to a comparatively small section, it is very interesting and valuable for the time and place in which it treats. Mr. Walton passed away over half a century ago and soon after his passing, his sons, T. A. Walton with his wife and children – all the Waltons of the vicinity – migrated to Kansas, so that the name has been unassociated with Rome township history for years although, once as we have seen, it was one of the leading families that section of southern Ohio.

Was Postmaster

We might add too, the fact that T. A. Walton, in addition to following in his father’s footsteps as a fine surveyor, or civil engineer, served for a time as postmaster at LaBelle, the name of the school and post office at the village of Rome. He lived in a house on the site of the house now occupied by Guy Miller and family and adjoining on the south, the La Belle school ground, and kept the post office in his dwelling. Mr. Walton was crippled for many years as a result of an illness the disease known as white swelling, which left him with one leg shorter than the other. One of his sons, Leonidas, married a Miss Farson of Ashland, Kentucky.

And so we have considered briefly three outstanding pioneer families of Rome township. There were, of course, others of equal prominence, some of whom, by reason of special or unusual activities are perhaps deserving of more detailed treatment. Some of these others, we have already considered in these columns and hope to discuss still others at some other date.

We trust that we have shown how the three pioneers we have discussed today, each contributed something important to the life f the community and generation in which he lived. The Beulah Baptist church remains as a monument to Mr. Gardner, while the fruit industry of Quaker Bottom owes much to Mr. Morrison, and all succeeding generations are indebted to Mr. Walton for his splendid stories of his pioneer neighbors of Rome township of the early Nineteenth century.

An Old Landmark

A few words of explanation about the map of Rome township may also be in order. It will be noted that several of the sections bear duplicate numbers. This is because Rome township is composed of two fractional townships as originally surveyed. It is the southernmost township of the celebrated Ohio company purchase and according to the system of a land survey of the company, its tract was surveyed into townships, each six miles square and containing 36 sections each one-mile square. But since the Ohio river gave the southeastern boundary of the

Purchasing a very irregular line, resulted in leaving a number of fractional townships and fractional sections along its course. And so when Rome township was organized in Lawrence county, the southernmost fractional township and the next one north of it were united to form the one township unit of government. The land survey however remained and so Rome township has a number of duplicate sections so far as number is concerned. They may be distinguished from each other by the original number of the old land survey township., the southernmost one being township Number One and the northern one being township Number Two.