CEDARVILLE HISTORY

(EARLY SETTLERS CONTINUED)

Athens and Sparta were struggling for supremacy; but the work accomplished by them; as compared with that done by our American mothers, was small indeed. It is a fact, then, worth remembering, that among the American women who did so much toward establishing the foundation of our present greatness, are to be found some who located in Cedarville Township, and whose descendants remain there to this day, the most prosperous and influential citizens in the township.

   Elah Bromigen, a native of Prussia, moved with his large family of sons and daughters into this township about 1805, and located on land about one mile from where Cedarville now stands, and which is at present owned by Jacob Miller. Mr. Bromigen reached this township in the spring of the year, when the ground was beginning to thaw out; and the country round about at that season of the year looked more like a forest in the midst of the sea than a place where man might build a comfortable home. Mr. Bromigen, however, went earnestly to work and in a few weeks the camp in which they had lived while the cabin was being built was vacated, and the family moved into their new home, which seemed almost luxurious after so long a time passed in camping out, and undergoing all the hardships and privations consequent upon such a mode of living. He also succeeded in clearing a small patch of ground which became dry enough to plant in corn about the middle of June, and by a good deal of care was able in the fall to harvest his first crop in the United States, which provided his family with bread till the following year. Farmers in this neighborhood went to mill at Clifton, where a mill had been established a short time before; but for salt they were all obliged to go to Chillicothe from which place they would carry the salt in bags on the backs of pack-horses. No person in the township at that time owned a wagon; neither could this mode of conveyance have been used if they had been numerous, as there were no roads in the township, and all transportation from place to place was done by pack-horses, which winded in single file through the woods along the Indian paths. Mr. Bromigen frequently made these trips for the purpose of purchasing this important condiment. In a few years he had his farm in a good state of cultivation, and continued to improve it till his death, which occurred many years ago.

   James White, from Kentucky, was another pioneer settler in this part of the township. He was the father of two sons and three daughters, and upon arriving here in 1806 purchased one hundred and sixty acres of land adjoining Bromigen's, upon which he built the first house of round logs the same year. He was a man of great industry, and with the assistance of his sons soon caused the aspect of things to change in his immediate neighborhood. His wife was a noted spinner, and her success in coloring was the wonder of the neighborhood. With calico at seventy--five cents per yard, it was among the impossibilities to possess a dress of that material in those days, when real money was almost a curiosity among the settlers. Hence the ladies taxed their ingenuity to discover the most tasty and most effective mode of striping their dress goods; and young ladies would often walk miles to obtain Mrs. White's recipe for coloring, which being willingly given with full instructions, in a few weeks the country belles made their debut in a dress of linsey-woolsey, the brilliancy of which probably far exceeded Joseph's many-colored coat.

   Major James Galloway, jr., an unmarried man, emigrated from Kentucky, and came to this township with his father James Galloway, sr., in 1803. The latter served as treasurer of Greene County from 1803 till 1816; while James, jr., was the first county surveyor, holding the office from 1809 to 1812. In 1805, he married Miss Martha Townsley, a daughter of Thomas Townsley. The ceremony was performed in the log cabin of the Townsley's, by Rev: Robert Armstrong, who was the only minister in the township who had a license empowering him to officiate in this capacity. Quite a number of friends were present to witness the first marriage in the township, and the affair was one calculated to be long remembered. James Townsley, a cousin of Martha Townsley, and son of John Townsley, was the first boy born in the township, in 1802. While Sallie McCoy, afterwards Mrs. Innis Townsley, was the first white girl born in Cedarville Township, in 1803

   Among others who may be mentioned with the earlier settlers, and most prominent men in the township are: James Gowdy, who was county treasurer from 1825 to 1828. Samuel Newcomb, who filled the same office for the twelve years, immediately succeeding Mr. Gowdy's term of office, and George Townsley, who was elected auditor of the county in 1821; and filled the position creditably to himself, and satisfactorily to all concerned, till 1828, when he declined being re-elected. Besides the persons to whom reference has already been made, there might be added many others who interested themselves in the general welfare of the county, and especially of this township, but such an account would contain a majority of all the citizens in the township, as well as those who are dead, and those who now live, and are in the mid-day of their strength and influence.

END

BACK

HOME