Rush Creek --Part 3

Sorry that it took me a few days to get back to the conclusion of my history of Rush Creek series.  I just felt like I needed to talk about 9/11 and pay tribute to the ones who died on that fateful day.

So, on to the last history lesson of the Rush Creek Township of Logan County, Ohio.  I thought, since I am school teacher and have a love of history I'd talk about the first schools in Rushsylvania.  As a teacher Rev. W.W. Wright stands almost without a rival. He was a very popular instructor. The school sat atop a hill that looked out over the town and surrounding countryside. The district had about 200 students. These are the statistics as reported by the then Board of Education.  The property was valued at $3, 235.  Male teachers were paid $50 and female teacher $20 a month. (Wait a minute! How is that fair?)

The village was considered to have a "high moral influence". ....though like other places had its vagabonds and idlers.  Saloons were not in the village, though it had been attempted. These efforts always failed.  Public improvement was very high on the list with the residents of Rushsylvania.

I love the names of the surrounding villages. Big Springs (obviously named because of a spring located there) and  Walnut Grove (named for a lovely grove of black walnut trees)  are my favorites.  The names remind me of Little House on the Prarie.  Big Springs had a tavern, grocery and dry goods store, a blacksmith shop, a shoe shop and a large saw and planing mill. There were about 12 dwellings and around 50 people.  Walnut Grove was originally called Slim Town (after the man that laid out the town, J. Slim. ) but gained it's later name from the surrounding walnut trees.  This town is located on Mill Creek and had about 6 dwellings, one store, one blacksmith shop, and one church.

An fact that I found interesting was that the first church in the township was built by the Quakers. It was a log structure.  It was built sometimes before 1820.  In 1827 , the second church was built by the Baptists and called "Rush Creek Baptist Church".  It was also a log structure. Other denominations in the area were Methodists, Presbyterians, The Disciple Church, and a church in Equality that was no particular denomination. Also there were Indian missionaries that preached to to the native americans in their own language.

Watching The Coverage Of The 9/12 Project

Tens of thousands of people are in Washington D.C. today. They came from all over the country to show "the powers that be" enough is enough! Our government is out of control with the spending, the taxing, the taking over of things they have no business being involved in. Will our government even listen to the people? Do THEY reflect US or do WE reflect THEM?
It really isn't about democrats or republicans or independents. It also isn't about whether you love, hate or are ambivalent to Glenn Beck or Fox News.
It is about where are we headed as a country. People have a right to voice their opinion to their representatives. Town Hall meetings, tea parties, marching on Washington D.C. are all because people want to be heard.
Check out: THE9/12Project.com

9/11-Never Forget

Alan Jackson sang so eloquently about what was on our nation's heart on this day 8 years ago. Never let us forget.

Rush Creek History part 2

The first settlers of  Rush Creek township were the Stanfield family.  The family consisted of Thomas, his wife, and ten children. He had nine daughters and one son. They came to this area, from Tennessee, in 1805.  Shortly thereafter came William Hall, hailing from North Carolina. It just so happens that this family also had ten children.  The interesting thing is, they had nine sons and just one daughter. The mirror image of the Stanfield family! As it worked out, Thomas junior, the only son of Mr. Stanfield married Mr. Hall's only daughter in May of 1814.

Now Mr. Stanfield was a Quaker and actually got along well with the native american indians in the area. They visited with his family and actually had friendships with each other. This was the case except for one time during the war of 1812. As the story goes, during this time period the native indians became terribly upset with Mr. Stanfield. The plan was that the indians would massacre the Stanfield family one night as they lay sleeping. On this fateful night, the indians had quietly surrounded the Stanfield cabin, waiting for the darkest part of the night to make their attack.

Now, a Mr. Daniel McCoy who was a settler from a nearby town, heard of the plot that was about to unfold. He decided that he needed to do something and so set about trying to get some men to go with him to help save the family. Evidently, no one else wanted to get involved.  So, Mr. McCoy took some "good old rye" ( I guess to give himself courage) and jumped on his horse heading in the direction of the Stanfield cabin. When he got about a quarter mile from their homestead he had his horse gallop back and forth in the woods around the cabin. The whole time he was making the noisy commotion he was yelling,  "Here they are; come on!" , making it sound as if he had thousands of men with him. He went along with this facade for quite awhile making as much noise as he was able.  Finally, he galloped up to the house and told the Stanfields what was about to take place.  They all fled to a nearby town.  After some time they came back to their house, which had been left undisturbed. After peace came back to the area between the native indians and the settlers,  the Stanfields were told that Mr. McCoy's daring run that night had indeed saved their lives.

Mr. Stanfield and his wife, Hannah, went on to live for many more years. He dying in May of 1824 at the age of 76. Hannah passed in 1830 at what people guessed was around 80 years of age.  So, by my calculations the Stanfield's had to be in their mid to late 50's when they traveled and settled in Rush Creek township, Ohio.  I cannot imagine the hard travel and back breaking work it would have been to move and start over at that age. True pioneers, they were!

I hoped you enjoyed these stories that are apart of the Rush Creek history.  (for more information read the HISTORY OF LOGAN COUNTY AND OHIO written by: William Henry Perrin and  J.H. Battle and published by O.L Baskin and Co.  I have so enjoyed reading about the area of which I now live!)  I will be back tomorrow to share another interesting story with you.

Rush Creek Township History

Some of you know, and some may not, that my husband and I and our three children recently moved to Rush Creek Township in Logan County, Ohio.  I have been listening to our new friends talk about the history of the area, read a book, and plan on visiting the local history museum in the near future. I've always found history interesting. I was the type of child that always picked out the biography books from the library. I immersed myself in stories of Annie Sullivan, Clara Barton, and Lottie Moon.  I'm a firm believer in not forgetting our past. Remembering is important.

So, it was not out of character for me to suggest to my husband on our evening stroll that we visit a cemetary. At the end of our road is an old cemetary named "Equality". I don't know the origin of the name (yet!) but, I find it a rather fitting name for a cemetary. It is true that death is the great equalizer, so the name equality speaks volumes.  While we were walking amongst the tombstones we were also reading them. The majority of the residents of this particular resting spot lived and died during the 1800's.  I believe we only saw one stone that showed a man that lived to be 91 yrs. 1 month and a few days.  Most people didn't live very long lives, if one made it to their late 50's they were doing well. Some of the stones were so old that we could barely read the information on them.

As I stood there in the midst of the gravestones, under the shelter of a large tree, I looked out over the fields that surround the area. The land itself   probably hasn't changed all that much in the 160+ years since these people walked it. Still open farm land, woods, and rivers.  I realize that there are many people that are unnerved by cemetaries and would choose not to step foot in one, unless absolutely necessary. To me there is something very calming about being in such a place.  The passage of time echoes down through the years, and for just a split second, as their names are read off and their ages calculated, they are remembered. They are real people, who had real lives. Happiness and heartache...in the very same area that we  now walk. The names have changed over the decades.  We hardly hear the popular women's names of the mid 1800's any longer. Ethel, Agnes, Gertrude, Dalvina and Clara are but a few that called this area home. Life was hard. How heartbreaking it must have been for them to bury their young children, just infants or toddlers, because of illness. The illnesses that took their young lives would in this day and time just require a quick trip for antibiotics from the doctors office.

One young family rode their Conestoga wagon all the way from New Jersey to settle here in Rush Creek Township, Ohio. What a long trip. What a desire to start someplace new. How driven they must have been! To think that I had a difficult time driving from Tennessee to Ohio while we were building our house....but that only took me six hours! (and I certainly wasn't riding in a wagon all that way!)

Last night, my sweet husband found a book on Logan County history in a PDF file online.  What a treasure. I will blog about what we learned tomorrow in Rush Creek Township history part two.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

Warm, cozy quilts and  snuggly old blankets

Soft glowing candles that smell like my spices

Football and Soccer and sports that I cheer

These are a few of the things I hold dear.

Steaming hot cocoa, that warms my insides

Apples, and pumpkins, I'm thinking of pies...

Pull on a sweater, and go for a walk

Call up a friend a have a good talk

These are a few of my favorite things!

When the frost comes

When the moon's full

When the leaves change shades

These are the things that I hold in my heart

and then I don't feel so bad!!!

Are We Looking At The Next Great Depression?

This is a very interesting clip that I think warrants a viewing.

Our government officials tell us that unemployment is at 9.7% right now. That is bad enough, but what about people that lost their jobs (that they had for many years) and are getting severance pay for awhile? They aren't considered unemployed yet because they haven't filed for unemployment.  What about them? What about people who are forced to take minimum wage jobs just to live, but it is not enough to cover their bills?

Scary to think about....but are we headed for the next Great Depression?