rangers went out, but returned after a fruitless search. The river at this time was nearly at full bank, and less danger was apprehended on that account; it was also early in the season for Indians to approach the settlements. The uncertainty of his condition left room for the imagination to fancy everything horrible in his fate; more terrible to bear than the actual knowledge of his death. Great was the distress of Mrs. Goodale and the children, overwhelmed with this unexpected calamity. His loss threw a deep gloom over the whole community, as no man was more highly valued; neither was there any one whose councils and influence were equally prized by the settlement. He was in fact the life and soul of this isolated community, and left a vacancy that no other man could fill. At the treaty of 1795, when the captives were given up by the Indians, some intelligence was obtained of nearly all the persons taken prisoners from this part of Ohio, but none of the fate of Major Goodale. About the year 1799, Colonel Forrest Meeker, since a citizen of Delaware County, and well acquainted with the family of Major Goodale, and the circumstances of this event, when at Detroit on business, fell in company with three Indians, who related to him the particulars of their taking a man prisoner, at Belpre, in the spring of 1793. Their description of his personal appearance left no doubt on the mind of Colonel Meeker of its being Major Goodale. They stated that a party of eight Indians were watching the settlement for mischief; and as they lay concealed on the side of the hill back of the plain, they heard a man driving or "talking to his oxen," as they expressed it. After carefully examining his movements, they saw him leave his work and go to the garrison, in the middle of the day. Knowing that he would return soon, they secreted themselves in the edge of the woods, and while he was occupied with his work, sprang out and seized upon him before he was aware of their presence, or could make any defense, threatening him with death if he made a noise or resisted. After securing him with thongs, they commenced a hasty retreat, intending to take him to Detroit, and get a large ransom. Somewhere on the Miami, or at Sandusky, he fell sick and could not travel; and that he finally died of his sickness. A Mrs. Whittaker, the wife of a man who had a store, and traded with the Indians at Sandusky, has since related the same account. That the Indians left him at her house, where he died of a disease like a pleurisy, without having received any very ill usage from his captors, other than the means necessary to prevent his escape. This is probably a correct account of his fate; and although his death was a melancholy one, among strangers, and far away from the sympathy and care of his friends, yet it is a relief to know that he did not perish at the stake, or by the tomahawk of the savages.13 Doctor Goodale remembered 'well being stationed, when a boy on the farm at Belpre, to watch for the approach of Indians while his father and assistants were at work in the fields. When he came to Franklinton, he brought with him his widowed mother, and engaged in the practice of medicine, which profession he bad studied in the office of Doctor Leonard Jewett, at Belpre. But the trade of the frontier was at that time so profitable that he was soon drawn into mercantile business, and opened a store, which he conducted with great success. Part of his stock consisted of drugs and medicines, for which there was great demand. Meanwhile he gave to the poor his services as a physician free of charge. Like the other business men of Franklinton he made large investments in the lands of the vicinity, and reaped therefrom a liberal profit. He enlisted as a volunteer in the War of 1812, became an Assistant Surgeon in Colonel, afterwards Governor, MeArthur's regiment, and was taken captive at Hull's surrender, and sent to Malden. He was afterwards exchanged at Cleveland. Doctor Goodale was a man of extraordinary excellence. Hospitable, rètined, strict in his integrity, and clear and accurate in his judgment, he delighted in assisting others, and did many noble things in an unobtrusive way. His benefactions were numerous, that by which he is now best remembered being his munificent gift to the City of Columbus of the beautiful park which bears his name. NOTES. 1. The counties of contemporary origin were Scioto, Warren, Butler, Montgomery, Columbiana, Gallia and Greene. In his address before the Franklin County Pioneers, June 3, 1871, Mr. Joseph Sullivant said: 'The first county of the Northwest Territory, established within the present limits of the State, was Washington County, which included all of our county east of the Scioto. The second county was Hamilton, lying betwixt the two Miamis, with the Little Miami for its eastern boundary. The third county was Wayne, which included a large part of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, all of Michigan and a part of Minnesota, with its countyseat at Detroit. Now the southern line of Wayne County was a line drawn west from Fort Laurens and continued until it intersected the east line of Hamilton County, which is here declared to be a due north line from the lower Shawnee towns upon the Scioto River.' It is evident, therefore, from this, that betwixt the time of establishing Hamilton County, in 1790, and that of Wayne, in 1796, the eastern boundary of Hamilton had been greatly extended. This is also confirmed, if we refer to the alteration in the western boundary of Adams County in 1798 "Now, whether we assume the lower Shawnee towns on the Scioto at the mouth of the river, to be intended, or those in the vicinity of Westfall, in Pickaway County, the due north line forming the eastern boundary of Hamilton would include the greater part of the present Franklin County, and must have passed just east of the spot where we are now assembled. So that it will be seen that our territory has been attached to seven distinct political divisions in succession, as follows: Bottetourt, Illinois, Washington, Hamilton, Adams, Ross and Franklin-with eight different county seats, [viz.], Fincastle, Virginia; Kaskaskia, Illinois; Marietta, Cincinnati, Manchester, on the Ohio; Chillicothe, Franklinton and Columbus." 4. The Constitution of 1802 contained these requirements: "Each court shall appoint its own clerk for the term of seven years; but no person shall be appointed clerk, except pro tempore, who shall not produce to the court appointing him, a certificate from a majority of the judges of the supreme court, that they judge him to be well qualified to execute the duties of the office of clerk to any court of the same dignity with that for which he offers himself.” -Art. III, Sec. 9. 5. Martin's History contains the following sketch of Franklin Township: "This is the oldest township in the county, and the only one of the four original townships that retains its name. It was laid out and organized when the county was, in 1803. It then contained about twice as much territory as the whole county now does. Its first settlement was the town of Franklinton and vicinity. . . . Then the settlement extended down the river; and amongst the first families to settle there were those of Samuel White, John Huffman, William Harrison, Sr., and a few others. The township was not reduced to its present limits until after the creation of Jackson in 1815 and of Prairie in 1819. The town of Franklinton has not varied much in population and business for the last forty years [1858]. It has always been, to a great extent, a town of farmers and laborers, who lived in the town and worked Mr. Sullivant's extensive prairie fields, or were engaged in stonequarrying, hauling, etc. For the last ten or twelve years there has been an extensive business done in this township in the raising, curing, and shipping of broom corn by Captain P. M. White and C. L. Eaton, Esq. The town and township have been the theatre for sportsmen. The race courses have always been in this township, generally in some of the large prairie fields adjacent to the town, but latterly at the Four-Mile House, so called, but still in the township, where a fine race course was fitted up some eight or ten years since, and still kept for sporting characters to practice their nags upon. "In the vicinity of the town is a large milling establishment, erected by Lucas Sullivant, Esq., in his life time, and now owned and worked by some half dozen men, under the name of the Ohio Manufacturing Company. From one to two miles below Franklinton on the Scioto are Moeller's Mills and carding machine, erected by John Ransburgh, about the years 1813-14, and which were long known as Ransburgh's Mills. "On the bank of the river in the north vicinity of the town is the old Franklinton burying ground. It embraces a beautiful little locust grove, enclosed with a board fence. This, it was supposed, was to be the final resting place of the pioneers who led the way in the settlement of this once wilderness. But of late years a number of removals have been made from thence to Green Lawn, amongst whom were the remains of Lucas Sullivant and wife, Lyne Starling, and General Foos and wife. But still the Franklinton graveyard is rather a neat and handsome village cemetery, and is as well calculated to call up a train of solemn and interesting reflections as any other spot of ground in the county." As to the creation of other townships in the county Martin says: "Previous to our reduction of territory, in 1808, by the creation of Delaware County, the number of townships had increased to nine, but by the organization of Delaware County the number was reduced to the five following, to wit: Franklin, Sharon, Pleasant, Montgomery and Hamilton- which have been divided and subdivided until they now number eighteen, the names and dates of the establishment of which are as follows: Norwich May 10, 1803 Plain March 9, 1807 Pleasant March 6, 1815 Prairie September 6, 1816 Sharon March 4, 1810 Truro September 2, 1811 March 9, 1807 Washington December 7, 1813 December 28, 1819 March 4, 1816 March 4, 1810 March 4, 1810 March 3, 1830 6. An act of the General Assembly passed December 4, 1809, provides: "That there shall be erected and established in each county, whenever the commissioners may deem it necessary a good and convenient courthouse, and a strong and sufficient jail or prison, for the reception and confinement of debtors and criminals, well secured by timber, iron gates, bolts and locks, and also a whipping post; and every jail so to be erected shall consist of not less than two apartments, one of which shall be appropriated to the reception of debtors, and the other shall be used for the safe keeping of persons charged with, or convicted of crimes; and the commissioners shall from time to time alter or rebuild any of the aforesaid buildings, which have heretofore, or may hereafter be built, as circumstances may require." 11. Biographical sketch of Lyne Starling, at his death; by Hon. Gustavus Swan. 12. Ibid. Joseph Sullivant, writing in the Sullivant Memorial, narrates this anecdote of Lyne Starling: "I was once in his room when Edmund Starling was visiting him. He was lying on his bed and had just made rather a boasting statement as to his wealth, when, turning to his brother, he said: Edmund, that is pretty well for the fool of the family, is it not?' 'Yes,' said Edmund, 'but I don't understand about the fool.' Lyne continued: 'Do you recollect hearing of old Mrs. Doake in Virginia, who used to do the weaving for our family?' Edmund assented, and Lyne said: When I was a boy I went with my mother to carry some yarn to Mrs. Doake, and, being very bashful, did not enter the house, but stood outside by the door, where I heard distinctly every word that was said. The old woman was very particular in her inquiries about every member of the family, and wound up by saying, and how is that poor simpleton, Lyne?' We all laughed, as he did also, saying: Well, after all, I think the fool of the family has done pretty well; but the fact is, that speech has stuck in my craw for fifty years.' Whether this speech of the old weaver had stimulated him through life or in any way influenced his career cannot be known, but, pecuniarily, he was the most successful of his family." CHAPTER IX. FRANKLINTON. III. As yet, the Franklinton settlement was but an island of civilization in a vast surrounding wilderness. It was at best a raw, ungainly frontier village. The country roundabout was settling up gradually, but many of the squatters had no neighbors nearer than fifteen, or even twenty miles, and everything was yet in the rough. "When I opened my office in Franklinton in 1811," says Judge Gustavus Swan, "there was neither church, nor schoolhouse, nor pleasure carriage in the county, nor was there a bridge over any stream within the compass of an hundred miles. The roads at all seasons of the year were nearly impassable. Goods were imported, principally from Philadelphia, in wagons; and our exports, consisting of horses, cattle and hogs, carried themselves to market. The mails were brought to us once a week on horseback, if not prevented by high water. I feel safe in asserting that there was not in the county a chair for every two persons, nor a knife and fork for every four." "The proportion of rough population," continues Judge Swan's biographer, "was very large. With that class, to say that he would fight,' was to praise a man; and it was against him if he refused to drink. Aged persons and invalids, however, were respected and protected, and could avoid drinking and fighting with impunity; but even they could not safely interfere to interrupt a fight. There was one virtue, that of hospitality, which was not confined to any class."" The hardships endured by the pioneers in the wilderness were many and severe. The journey from the East, usually made in wagons, by a road which was merely a trail through the woods, was tedious and perilous. Including unavoidable interruptions, it sometimes lasted for three months. Mountains and swollen streams had to be crossed, often with great difficulty and danger. Arriving at their destination the emigrants found themselves alone in the wild forest. In not a few instances their stock of provisions gave out, leaving them to such subsistence as they could gain from roots and wild game. Sickness was frequently brought on by the privation and exposure. A spot being chosen for a clearing, the larger trees were girdled, the smaller ones cut down and burned. Corn was then planted by cutting holes in the ground with a hoe, or an axe and dropping a few kernels into each cavity. When buckwheat was sown, it was necessary to watch it, at the ripening season, to keep the wild turkeys from destroying it. A gentleman whose father settled in Blendon Township in 18072 informs the writer that the wild deer were accustomed to come into the clearing around the family cabin to browse on the branches of the fallen |