Ohio History Journal

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EDITORIALANA

EDITORIALANA.

"HISTORY OF JEROME TOWNSHIP, UNION COUNTY, OHIO."

In this interesting addition to the local history of Ohio, the author,

Colonel W. L. Curry, has preserved the facts and traditions in the life

of a typical American community. He has given to the third generation

from the pioneer a thrilling account of Indian warfare and interesting

stories of that period of settlement. The record will be invaluable to

the historian of the future. It presents with vivid detail the life, trials

and hardships of the early settlers, all of which will be of intense in-

terest to this generation. Especially will it be instructive and valuable

to the descendants of those hardy pioneers of Jerome Township.

The first settlers in this locality were Joshua and James Ewing, two

brothers. They settled in this territory in 1798 and erected the first

cabin on the west bank of Darby Creek, about one mile north of Plain

City. This was the first cabin erected in Union County. Lucas Sul-

livant had laid out a town near this spot and called it North Liberty,

about a year before the Ewings emigrated from Kentucky, but no house

had been erected. It appears that the Indians were very numerous along

Darby Creek and were unwilling to leave their favorite "hunting grounds"

for the white man's settlement. James Ewing established the first store

in Union County, at his farm in Jerome Township, and was appointed

the first postmaster.

Soon after the Ewings arrived in Union County, other settlers fol-

lowed, prominent among whom were the Taylors, Robinsons, Mitchells,

Kents, Currys, Cones, McCulloughs, Bucks, Probins, Notemans, Mc-

Cunes, Sagers, Shovers, McClungs, and Connors. The majority of these

came from the colonies of Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with

a sprinkling from the New England States.

The character of this sturdy stock will be appreciated when it is

known that there never has been a saloon within the territory of Jerome

Township, although it has been settled for more than one hundred years.

Another remarkable fact which is recorded in this work is, that no one

of the old settlers or their descendants has ever been convicted of a

felony.

Many of these pioneers came from Revolutionary ancestry, and a

number of old Revolutionary soldiers settled in Union County. Among

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