WILSON (2)

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STEVE HISLEwith his new loghome. The Cincinnati Enquirer/David Coyle

Harvesting HistoryWaynesville Log Home OwnerBuilds Upon Quaker Traditions

BY M I C H E L E O R Z A N OEnq u i r e r Reporter

WAYNESVILLE, O h l o T h e c ed ar t r eewas Steve Hlsle s first clue. He wondered whyi t stood alone beside th e log home he boughtth i s spring o n Wilson Road.

Months la ter, he f o u n d th e answer Involumes of l i br a ry d o cu m e nt s ; Q u a ke r tradit i on required a groom to p l a n t tw o treeswhen he married. As t h e m a rr ia g e grews t rong , so d id th e t rees . B u t w h e n th e hu sb a n d or w i fe d i ed , on e of th e trees wa s cu t

down to build a cofflri.T h a t spurred hi s curiosity, an d Hisle co n

t i nued to as k quest ions abou t hi s ne w house.He f o u n d t h a t J e h u a n d S a r a h Wilson

b ro ke g ro u nd on th e lo g h o m e In 1803, asOhio wa s en te r ing th e Union. T he Wilsonsh a d co me to O hio fro m N orth Caro l ina aspar t of an exodus by members of th e Societyo f F r ie n ds , commonly c a l le d Q u a k er s . T h e

couple, like others of their faith, were opp o s ed t o s l av e ry in t h e s o ut h .

HISLE, OF Miamisburg, learned t h a t th etwo- s to ry lo g home , on e of th e o ldes t housesin th e Waynesvil le-Caesar Creek area, alsowa s a s t o p o n t h e U n d e rg r o un d Railroad.

Ke l e a rned t h a t th e Wilsons ar e bu r l ed inth e now-abandoned Caesar Creek Cemetery,b u t he h a s b e e n unab le to de te rmine fo rw h o m t h e f ir st t re e w a s c u t .

Hlsie, 32, bought th e Wilsons log homenorth of Corwin several months ago an d ha sspent nearly every weekend renovating th ehouse. To complete th e job, which he sayswill take two years , he must get rid of th es n ak e s i n th e basementand horne t s nes t s int h e a t t i c .

Aside from those unpleasant tasks, th eproperty is providing Hisle with a history less on a nd enormous challenges. N i n e otherbuildings on the 17-acre plot. Including a logb a r n a w a i t hi s a t t e n t i o n .

ATONEtime, Quaker farms spread acrossth e Warren County countryside. Th e issue ofslavery had prompted many to s ee k h om esteads In th e nor th . By 1805, Waynesvilleboasted the largest settlement of the Societyo f Fr i ends in th e U n i t e d S t a t e s.

About this time, th e Wilsons built a brickadd i t ion to their t h r ee - r oo m h o m e to accomm o d a t e t h e i r 10 ch i ld ren .

Bricks fo r th e addition were probablymade at a plant in Jamestown, Ohio, nearXenla. T he ceilings f e a tu r e b e ad e d b e a m s(with a s l ight rolled edge), a rar i ty inQuaker-bu i l t homes , His le sa id .

The bui lder s also Indulged themselves abi t with a sawtooth design of bricks at th etop of the house. That wasa little luxury theQuakers allowed themselves, one of th e fewh e said .

Thick black walnut logs line th e exterioro f th e hous e a n d b a r n .

THE BARNIs th e oldest log barn sti ll Inexistence In Ohio. Th e Quakers were veryparticular builders, he said, explaining thateven th e barn wa s built with dovetailed co rners an d wooden pegs. The 50-60 foot logsspan t h e l e n gt h of t h e b a rn , w h ic h Is bui l t ona h i l l .

T h is u se d to be a 2 ,000-a cre farm. T helogs were c ut o n t he farm to be used In th ebarn an d house, he said.

The log house served as th e early gatherin g place for th e Caesar Creek monthlymeeting of Friends in 1810 H is le s ai d. Th eWilsons apparently were instrumental inorgan iz ing the group.

Hisle learned through friends t h a t th eproperty, which ha d remained In th e Wilsonfamily since i t was built, was for sale. He saidhe ha s always been Interested in antiques,an d already owns a disassembled log cabin.

Besides replacing the wooden porch, Hlsieheeds to replace th e mortar chinking between the logs He hopes to get some helpfrom volunteers a t Caesar Creek Pioneer Village in Caesar Creek State Park near here.

I wouldlike to see this back to Its origina l state as much as possible, Hisle said. Ise e It as a two-year project.

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:v. Th e o a r l y . j unke r Ch\irch i n > ̂ .yn :r>villc rvncl i t s u ro / en l t o r s .

l a s t thi rd o f a r t i c l e ^iven h e r e ; h i g t o r i c a l p a r t oiii i t tod.

by Sfith ?urna3 2-3-19^51.

Th e o l d c hu r c h s t o o d upon th e bro ,7 o f t h e h i l l v/hich o v e r -

the b road v al l e y o f th e Miami Rive r to th e I^-ast, whi l e

n e a r e r on th e South wa s th e s t e e p narrow v a l l e y o f a -snail

f- j t ream, the stee-o h i l l s i d e s o f which v;ere densely wooded with

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f n a t i v e t imber o f ^ i . ?an t i c growth .v-*

Immediately west of th e m ee tin g house was th e graveyard, .

l a which s l e e p so many o f the form er w o r s h i p e r s .

Here I have seen g r e a t Gongregat ions o f men, women and

^ children gathered together to worship G-od in silence or listen, 4 . . 1 ? . .

, to th e outpourings of the sp i r i t by which some f r iend male or

female, might be v i s i t ed . Vividly ca n I r eca l l th e appearance

of those fr iends as I saw and knew them in th e pas t an d now, tha t.. it?;

time ha d whitened my ha i r an d dimmed my s ight ; no w t ha t so many

of those whom I once knew have gone to jo in the innumerable host ,

I love to l e t memory recal l those I knew in ear ly childhood.

I Among them were men who would Irive b ee n p ro mi ne nt In an y• i

s t a t i o n o f l i f e ; many who were o a r t i c u l a r l y f i t t e d f o r u s e f u l n e s s

; in pioneer l i f e ; and others whose exainole, advice an d admonition

••were a c o n t i n u e d beacon l i g h t a long a C i i r i s t i a n s pa thway.

: In th e woraens meet ing on the pre-^chers bench, under t h e i r

: , plain white bonnets and kerchiefs, I recal l th e ful l ro-und faces

and forms of tjie sisters, Charity Cook and Susanna Kolllngswortth.

be first Charity Cook, was Indeed a gifted woman. She traveled

through the states extensively, arid twice visited England and

Ireland, Then her husband drove his stasre v/agon into a stream at

height, drowned two horses, and only escaped himself by r id ing

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10^ to land she swam to the shore nnd th\is saved herself unaiaed.

The sisters Mrs. H. and Mrs. C. were the dau^-hters of Jolm \7rifi:ht.

who lived to a very ripe old age and at the time prior to his

death he gathered around him all his descerid. nts including the

husbands and wives of hi s sons and daughters to the fourth/ w

• generation and when the enumeration was tsken, they numbered ilH.^ e r e could such a family be found now?

To the infant s oc ie ty t he re was no more useful member than

Asher Brown. Industrioixs active energetic he was a worker in

every relation of l ife. There was no duty either in the church

. or out which was left by him undischarged. He aT^uroached his

various tniblic dut ies with great diff idence tut never failed by

persevering industry to make himself fully equal to the duty de

manded of him. His hospitality was unbomided, and his aid and

assistance were always extended to the \7eary imigrant and hi s

home was the objective-point always enquired for by the toil worn..1

li - t r a v e l e r as a haven o f r e s t

I Side by side just below the preacher s br-nch, sat the

I brothers-in-law Abijah 0 Koall and Smnunl Kelly. These t^ro menI •I lovedeachother with a love that wasthat of Johnathanand Davidf; tven the traits of character which were dis-similar served to draw

j ^them closer and tomake the one more necessaryfor the other.^:p^Oneconceivedtheidea theotherplannedtl.eexecution. neover

the obstacles by force of character - the other removed them

diplomacy. The one was the embodiement of active agjrresslve

the other of firmness tempered by conciliation. The wish of

^ onewasalwayssecondedbytheactionoi theotherAbijah O lleal l was a l i t t l e below the m-dium h e i gh t with

compactwell-knit frame; slightly round shouldered, • ••ith massive

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head, cloae-cliT^ned brovm hair, throurdi wiilch ahown aeveral .v>dte

gleajnin 5 scars, mute testimonials of his natrlotlmu durini the

revolution; a Roman nose, a gray eye, rather long uoper lip and

a strong, square Jaw, a ll marked a man of firiiiness aid strong

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s

Sfuiruel Kelly s hair was l igh t h r o ^ a lmos t auburn ?, orn

rather long and usually throira back over the ears displaying

the temple. In form he was above the inedium height s tanding a

; l i t t le over six feet high broad shouldered and well proportioned,

with a clear I r ish complexion and skin whidh he inherited froms

I his father; a frank blue eye, a long, straiglit nose, a broad

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I foreheadandawellshapedmouthall wenttomakeupadignifiedmanly man, whom one turned to look after a second time*

V Henry Steddom was a man above the medium size of a prepos-y

• sing countenance. Mildness and benevolence were blended together,> •

and those attcact ive quali t ies were lighted pp by a pecularily

^ soft eye. Gentler, and unaffected in his [manners, he was a mosti

i agreeablecommnionEasyofAccessandfnmiliarInhis inter-^ . course, he was always a welcome visitor amongst foinilies of

I - Friends. Unassumingand at the same time dignified in his depert-

I - ment his oresence always commandedresoect. Fe v/as free from

I any thing like austerity on the one hand andlevity on the other.I Hewashonoredandloved alikebymembersof the churchand

^^thosewhowerenot.David Holloway was of medium size, rather disposed to be

|-3êahy; hair dark hi^ forehead sli-htlyinclinedtobaldness;iâce wellformedratherflorid betokeninggoodhealth. Hisi disDosition was cheerful and haopy, as was seen in his pleasant

ÔTintenance. For quite a long time he was in the habi t of keeping

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fewboardersat hla house,andhis invariable chargems $1.'50

weelcfor boarding. At one time there wasa sharpadvancein

price of eggsand the old manwasmuchdisconcerted thereby,f i^Tut.tut.tut.hesaid: Ican'tkeenboardersat 1. 50aweekll^^d priceof eggs gone upthree centsa dozen.|m- SamuelLlntonwasamanwhowouldhavelefthismarkinanyl^tationofsociety.Borninaffluentcircumstances,hereceived| a liberaleducation,whichwassunplementedbya thoroughbusinessI Wning.Hisfamilyhadenjoyedeveryadvantagewhichwealth.| educationandacultivatedsocietycouldgive.I Hewasa manof rare social qualities a fluent talker an

wsyspeaker, ofgraceful deportment,and scrupulouslyneat in hisI personalhabits. It wasnowonderthathishomebecamethesocialI -^centeraroundwhichthe pioneersocietywaswontto concentrate;? andwithhis amiabledaughtersandmanlysons,jt is onlytruthtoI • say thatnoonepossessedmoreattraction for the youngpersonsI thandid thatof SemuelLinton. It wouldbea mistaketosuppose

that rusticity was universal amongthe pioneers or that i t was

{I therule.It would beamistaketothinkthebestgownsofourI grandmothers was linsey. or the breeches of grandfathers were

I madeof buckskin. e raaeed>ertohaveheardonewhowascontem-1 poraneouswith theLintons daughterstell howtheyattended\ cimrchdressediAelegantsilk gowns,andhowtheir progressupg ..theaislewasdescribedbyonemstictheir frocksrattledlike

f o d d e r .

The Furnas brothers Hobert and Johq were men whoseoppor-

l^ities had beeninadvanceoftheirfellows,andwhich gaveJ fthsmprominentplaces inall churchworkandgovernment.

Robertwas the elder and longest connected with this church

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I He possessed plain, unpretending good sense, and a great deal of

» prac t i ca l , usefu l knowledge. He was an h on est, p ure , goo d man,e

I full of mercy and good work. Blessed with an even temper, and aiJ

J cheerful , soc ia l and happy dispos i t ion , when these came also to it

^ be purified by religion, he became worthy of the great love and

r e s p e c t r ece ived from a l l who knew him. He was p u n c t i l i o u s i n

th e d i scha rge o f a l l d u t i e s to h i s c h u r c h , a t t e n d i n g a l l m e e t i n g s ,

and a t h i s d e a t h i t wa s s a i d t h a t i n g o i n g to a n d f rom h i s p l a c e

• tV o f worship he h ad t r a v e l e d f a r t h e r than would have p u t a g i r t l e^ *

e o o u n d t h e e a r t h .

J e h u Wilson wa s a t y p i c a l Q u a k e r, i n m a n n e r s s i m p l e a n d

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ff. - -runpretending as a c h i l d . Thoroughly hones t and s t r a i g h f o r w a r d. I

V h imse l f , he vaa unsusp ic ious o f o th ors ; conscious of h i s o^ m

i n t e g r i t y , he was unwi l l ing to R e l i e v e e v i l o f h i s ne ighbors .

•It: I l l u s t r a t i v e o f t h i s c h a r a c t e r we h a v e h e a r d t h i s a n e c d o t e :

^ On going to h is corn cr ib one morning he surpr i sed a t h i e fi *

• s t e a l i n g c o r n . The ma n h a d c r e p t i n s i d e an d wa s h o l d i n g h i s

; s ack o n t h e o u t s i d e w i t h o n e h a n d , w hile he f i l l e d i t w ith th e

.. o t h e r from w i t h i n . Fr iend VTilson q u i e t l y took the sack from th e: J

i man^e hand with th e remark: F r i e n d , I l l ho ld thy sack , and t e l l

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^ thee when I t i s f u ll ; then thee can come o ut an d go i n peace . I

d o n t want to know who thee i s .

Amonff th e e a r l y F r i e n d s were some c h a r a c t e r s . T h e r e wa s

g e n t l e m a n , w e l l remembereds t i l l

by some o f o u r o l d

, o ne whose c h a r a c t e r i s t i c v;aR g r e a t d e li be ra t i on o f

- weifdiing eve ry word w e l l and t hi nk in g b e fo re he sooke .

po upona time he had a larae lot of corn on hand and a trader

• ®^t to t ry and bu y i t He found th e o ld gentleman a t home,

• asked I f he wished to se l l his corn, and received an aI•flrmatl^e

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*hat do you ask? was the question. A q-u-a-r- t -e-r

d-o-l-l-a-r— I Will take i t . And a fi-p-p-e-n-n-y b-i-t,

oontinued our friend. Aether the trade was consurnated or not,

th e o ld e s t i n h a b i t an t d o e s n t s a y.

or him there i s s t i l l Mother anecdote told: In those days,

f , when the country was covered with decaying vegetation and stagnant

pools were nimerous, nalar ia was very orevalent , and every house

hold kept i t s private dispensary a preparation generally consisting

of s p i r i t s of some kind with dogwood, wild cherry, or the berr ies

o f the f e v e r bush . When our f r i en d was ahked what kind o f b i t t e r s

he p r e f e r r e d th e r e p l y was,

©111 X believe I l ike Jolin Steddon s bi t t e r s about as well

; as any I ever used. And w nat are they made of? Well, he has

A g re at j ug , I reckon i t wil l hold near ly three ga l lons ; an d he

i fix whiskey, and then puts into i t a piece of snakeroot

f t^ut that long, (marking on his finger about an*inch and half

In l e n g i h . )

I I now matters l i t t l e whether our old Friend prefers hiss tr ai gh t o r not— his sons and grand sons are* now among our very

i temperaihoe citizens.

Such were the men who composed the ^^oaker Church of Waynes-

eighty f ive years ago.

Of a l l Whose names were e n r o l l e d on th e church r e c o r d i n

t thereis w

utonesolit ry

individu ll t-hevener1 Kelly, who occupies a seat on this stand.

This i s a part of a paper written and read by GpOrge T.

Xl a t the Miami Valley Pioneers meeting IS90.

Copied from a newspaper clipping preserved in the scraptook

of the late Mrs. Allen. Esquire Edwards Grove was the

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WILSON (2)

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