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RUSH TOWNSHIP
Pg. 6
In 1828 the township of Rush was formed. In 1808 the
southern art of the township formed part of Oxford. In
March, 1809, a present non-existent township named
Nottingham was formed and included within its boundaries in
eastern part of Rush. At John Johnson's house
the first election of Nottingham was held. The
township is traversed by Crooked Creek, whose course
indicates the origin of its name.
Among its early settlers were William
Caples, who came hither in 1806 with his family.
Abijah Robnett moved before 1808 from Dorman to
Rush, and settled near Gnadenhutten. Richard
Fergason settled in the same section in 1820.
Joshua Griffith settled in Dutch Valley, as did also
Connel O. Donnell who died by violence and
Jacob Buffington.
Settlers of 1814, near Gnadenhutten, were Casper
Warner, Joel and Joshua Davis. About 1830, John
Talbott moved from the Quaker settlement near
Steubenville to Rush, and, aided by his two brothers, built
what are now known as the Brainard flouring mills.
At this point John Minnich and Jerry Walton in
1833, started a dry-goods store, and the locality took the
name Lima. There are but two post-offices in the
township, - Milligan, to the northwest, and Rush, to the
southeast.
The population are descendants of Virginia and
Pennsylvania families. About one mile from Talbot's,
or Brainard's mill, Jacob Houk, an early
County Commissioner, lived. A man named Sproles
lived above the mill. The rugged hills delayed
settlement, and emigrants turned aside from the wild scene.
Rumor had it that in these hills the Indians found lead.
Parties were watched, and were said to come light and go
loaded, but no lead was found. Traveling preachers
were piloted along forest paths from settlement to
settlement by shoeless boys, in whose hands a rifle was a
formidable weapon to bird, beast or man.
Several families named Jones settled on the
Laurel Fork of the Big Stillwater; they put out little
patches, and enlarging as years went by, have done well.
Valley lands were taken up by the first arrivals, and it was
thought impossible to till the hills. Fields are
plowed where one horse stands his height above the other in
the furrow.
Benjamin Thornberg was an early blacksmith, and
did his smithing with Robert Caples still living
below Newport. This Caples has half a dozen log
cabins about him, in each of which are the tools of a
different trade; he is an eccentric character, ahs a knack
of many things, and was noted for his singing and whistling
at frolics in early days; he was a great hand at dancing,
and is a relic of early days.
The settlement of Rush owes its real start to the
market brought by the canal, and more recently to the
opening of railroads, those later pioneers along whose
pathway forests fall and towns grow up. As practices
die out the memory of them becomes extinct. Memories
are individual, and each pioneer knows hardly his own
history. In early days meat and bread were prime
requisites. Some loved the chase, as the Huffs
and the Johnsons, and provided venison and turkey,
and won the bounty for wolf-scalps, while others were
content to raise their corn and wheat, and trade the meal
and flour for them Were Turkeys wanted for a raising
dinner, the hunters furnished plenty. William
Caples was, on one occasion, hunting his horses, when he
came suddenly upon a group of four wildcats, which began a
mewling and approach; William quickly leveled his
rifle and shot the nearest, reloaded and shot a second, then
a third, when the fourth made off. He skinned the
three and obtained twenty cents apiece for the skins.
Many otter were shot while swimming in the creek; their furs
were regarded as a prize, since they were good for four
dollars in silver. At intervals fur peddlers came
around to buy up furs, and Caples realized at one
time thirty-six dollars and sixty-two cents in silver for
his furs on hand.
In 1806, it was twenty-four miles south from
Caples's to the next cabin. It was eight miles to
the houses of Gilmore and the Johnsons.
Prettyman Cornwall entered land on Crooked Creek
in 1831, the next year he brought his family into the wild,
and lived for a time by a log fire. He was joined by
Thomas Gibson; Topping, Ripley, Stephen Lacy,
and Michael Brown were old settlers. John De
Long killed a panther on Crooked Creek, west of
Caples's the only one known to have been in the
township. One of the earliest marriages of this
township was that of William Crom to Mary French
in 1826.
Gilbert Crom was the first to die in Rush
Township and was buried in the old pioneers' grave-yard,
located on land owned by John Barger. John
Cromwell was one of the earliest born children.
Doctors were not called. Mother Westhafer was
known as a good nurse, and her services held in repute.
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