The Rev. James Gilruth died before July 12, 1873, a year after publishing these stories, in Davenport, Iowa. He was an abolitionist and preacher of the Gospel. This article was published in the Ironton Register newspaper on February 8, 1872. It is transcribed below.
We continue this week the letter of Reverend James GILRUTH on the old settlers in the lower part of this country:
In the fall of 1796, Andrew YINGLING, a German, settled in the lower end of the Hanging Rock narrows. His wife’s name was Franz. Their children were Catharine, Christian, Andrew, Polly, Nathaniel, and I think another named John. Catharine married Aaron BROWN; Christian married Reverend J. LEE’S daughter; Andrew died of consumption in early manhood. He was the first to fall victim to this disease in this region. What became of the younger members of the family I never knew. Christian became the homestead owner of considerable land adjoining and lived there until his death.
With A. YINGLING, in his first settling, lived his brother-in-law, Christopher STUMP, also a German. His wife’s name was Catherine. She was the sister of Franz YINGLING. Their children were Peggy, George, and Stupley. C. STUMP was a millwright and built the first water mills in this region of the country. First, a float, or current mill, at a place on the river, now known as Union Landing, opposite the head of Ferguson’s sandbar. This mill was built on an open flat, resembling a common ferryboat and a large canoe.
These were cabled to the shore by a large, long grapevine, and when the mill had work to do, she was shoved out onto the current and held there by a brace; one end set on the ground and the other against the flat: When the work was done, the brace was taken up, and the mill swung back to the shore, out of the current. The difficulty of preserving the mill from being carried off by floating ice when laid up in winter was obviated by STUMP, felling a large tree or two into the edge of the river a little above. But after Luke KELLY came into possession of this property, he built a strong pier of timber and stone, behind which it was secured in time of ice. The customers of this mill came from above Big Sandy, on both sides of the river, to below Little Sandy.
After this, Stump built a small tub mill on Gennett’s Creek, but when the water failed because of the summer drought, he said, “he hates to displace as bad as pisen,” and sold out to Peter BACCUS. This was the first water mill built between the upper end of the Grand and Little Scioto. He then built another current mill similar to the first on the Kentucky side of the river. I think he soon lost this mill by the ice. He then built another little tub mill, on the run, in the bottom, back from, and about opposite the upper end of Ferguson’s sandbar. I have been at all these mills when STUMP owned them. He seldom lived in a place for more than a year or two but was very useful in settling the country by his mills. What became of him or his family, I cannot tell.
Not long after, YINGLING, and a little below, settled a man named POWELL. His given name, that of his wife, I never knew. They had three children whose names were Charles, John, and Polly. Mr. POWELL was a hatter and wrought at this trade. He made the first hats on either side of the river between Big Sandy and Big Scioto. He sold men’s hats of common wool and well made at a dollar each. His wife dying, he put out his children and moved his shop to lot No. 3 in the French Grant, and there wrought at his trade for some time. What became of him after that, I never heard. His children all turned out respectable. Polly married Benjamin BUTTERFIELD and settled near where Haverhill now stands. Who the boys married, I never knew.
Not far from when POWELL left came William DOLLARHIDE and settled on the place of which he afterward became the owner. His wife” name was Mary. Their children’s names were Kitty, Polly, Jesse, Allen, Thomas, and Rebecca. Kitty married Joseph KELLY; Polly married John SHOPE; Jesse married Peninah GILLILLEN; Allen married Polly BOYD; Thomas married Polly KELLEY; Rebecca married Josiah JAYNES. In the British War of 1812, Wm. DOLLERHIDE enlisted and was in Fort Meigs when it was besieged. He was wounded by a cannonball and died of that wound.
About 1802 or 1803, Luke KELLY settled on the lower point of a little run known as Kelly’s Run. His wife’s maiden name was Mary KIZER; (in her day, she was a popular midwife.) Their children’s names were Elizabeth, John, Joseph, Charles, Polly, Joshua, and Rueben. Elizabeth married Nathaniel DAVIDSON; John married Abigail LAMBERT; Joseph married Kitty DOLLERHIDE; Charles married Mary HASHBURGER; Polly married Vincent POWELL; Joshua married Mary LEE; Rueben married Delilah STEWART.
Mr. KELLY, having entered a section of land where he lived, settled all his sons along the river as follows: Reuben, on the homestead, the Joshua, Charles, Joseph, and John, all practical farmers and useful citizens. On the upper point of Kelly’s Run was the first graveyard ever used by white men. Afterward, the first still house built between Big Sandy and Big Scioto was located on the lower point of this run.
Mr. KELLY, having become the owner of the Sumps floating mill, manufactured the proceeds of this mill into whisky for the people and swill for his hogs. Up this run, at the foot of the hill on Kelly’s land, the first meeting house was built in Lawrence County. It was a round log structure, one story high, with a clapboard roof, puncheon floor, split log seats, and about 18 or 20 feet square. It was a rough building, but equal to the necessity of the times.
In giving the children’s names, I commence with the oldest and proceed regularly to the youngest, according to what I understood.
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