The people of to-day hardly realize or appreciate what they owe to the large-hearted pioneer fathers and mothers, who, with their children, braved the perils of the wilderness; who reared their families in the fear of God, and implanted within them all the virtues necessary to the welfare of humanity, and passed away, leaving to them an inheritance that is invaluable and that should ever be cherished and kept in sacred remembrance. The record of Madison County would be incomplete without some notice of these pioneers, who, by reason of their limited sphere of action, could not become conspicuous in the great drama of pioneer life, but whose busy hands and conscientious regard of duty made them great factors in the establishment of the solid foundation upon which the society of to-day rests. It is a little thing to preserve their names in the pages of history; yet it is about all that is left to do. Their lives were much alike; they met the stern necessities of the hour, and were content in the consciousness of duty nobly done.
In March, 1819, the Commissioners of Madison County prepared a duplicate of all the resident land-owners of said county at that time, and while hunting through the musty pages stored away in the court house vaults, we fortunately discovered this record. It consists of a few sheets of paper sewed together, but without back or cover; yet for more than sixty years it has preserved in its pages the names of those men who settled and built up the rich and prosperous county of Madison. It reads as follows:
"London, Commissioners' Office, March, 1819.—Duplicate of resident land proprietors for the tax of 1819. with all new entries and transfers made in this office. Madison County, Ohio." John Adair, Jr., John Arbuckle, Charles Atchison, Jonathan Alder, Paul Alder, John Adair, William Alkire, Leonard Alkire, Samuel Alkire, Jacob Alkire, Abram Alkire, Robert Alkire, Samuel Adair, Samuel Adams, Charles Andrews, William Akins, Francis Ayres, Annanias Allen, Jacob Blougher, Samuel Baskerville, John Beetley, Hezekiah Bayliss, William Blaine, Norton Bailey, Vestal Blair, Daniel Brown, Jonas Bradley, Jonathan Burgess, Peter Buffenburgh, Francis Brock, John Baird, James Bowls, Peter Baker, Thomas Baldwin, William Buffenburgh, Elisha Bidwell, Isaac Bidwell, Joseph Bidwell, Stephen Buckman, Uri Beach, Ambrose Beach, Thompson Cooper, William Cummings, John Clements, Peter Cutright, Andrew Cypherd, Philip Cryder, Abijah Cary, Luthor Cary, Calvin Cary, William Chard, James Criswell, James Cowen, Elizabeth Cary, James Curry, Samuel Colver, Levi Cantrel, Thomas Clark, Henry Coon, Louis Coon, John Caruthers, James Collins, Jeremiah Converse, Joshua Cope, Abner Chapman, John Carpenter, William Creath, Ashel Cleveland, Samuel Carroll, David Colver, Levi Churchill, Otho W. Delashmutt, Joseph Downing, John Downing, James Dines, James Douglass, E. L. Delashmutt, George Deeds, Francis Downing, Judah Dodge, Thomas Davidson, John Davidson, William Dakin, David Dennison, Walter Dun, Jesse Dungan, James Dungan, John Erwin, Joshua Ewing, James Ewing, Edward Evans, William Erwin, Reason Francis, Daniel Francis, John Fifer, William Frankabarger, Lewis Foster, David Foster, Joshua Foster, William Fleming, Isaac Freeman, Abram Fresher, Jacob Fairfield, Benjamin Garrett, Daniel Gamble, Nehemiah Gates, Thomas Gwynne, D. Gwynne, Fergus Grimes, John Grimes, James Grimes, David Groves, William Rennick, Henry Goodall, George Hoover, David Harris, Michael Harpole, Peter P. Helphenstine, Skinner Hudson, Amos Howard, Moses Huffman, Martin Humble, Levi Humble, Cornelius Humble, Samuel Herrod, Israel Heath, John Heaton, William Howsman, Mary Holbert, Philip Holbaugh, Elisha Hard, John Irwin, Jacob Johnston, Mary Johnston, William Jameson, John Johnston, Andrew Jameson, Stephen Johnston, John Kelso, William Kirkly, Benjamin Kirkpatrick, James Kent, John Kent, Baltzer King, Thomas Kilgore, Nahum King, William King, John Lane, John Littler, William Linton, Dennis Lane, William Lapin, Elias Langham, William Lewis, Joshua Littler. George Linson, Nathan Low, Joseph Melvin, John Marquis, Jonathan Minshall, John Mozer, Hugh Montgomery, John Melvin, James McDonald, William Mann, Samuel Mitchell, David Mitchell, Samuel Mitchell, Jr., Moses Mitchell, David Mitchell. Jr., John McDonald, —— Mathews, William McCoy, James Moore, James Marquis, Gabriel Markle, William Marquis, Roger Moody, John McNeal, Jacob Mozer, Rowan McCaully, Sally Moore, Jesse McKay, John Mills, S. McDonald, Reuben Mann, Samuel Mann, Robert Nelson, Andrew Noteman, Ann Noteman, Robert Nicholson, Usual Osborn, George Prugh, William Patterson, Robert Powers, John Pepper, John Phoebus, Peter Paugh, Thomas Patterson, Samuel Powell, Samuel Pearce, David Park's heirs, James Pringle, George Phifer, Robert F. Pringle, Andrew Rea, Daniel Ross, Henry Roby, Thomas Robinson, James Robinson, Samuel Robinson, John Robinson, Thomas Reed, E. Reynolds, John Rathburn, John Simpkins, William Starnes, John Stroup, John Smith, Tobias Shields, Robert Soward, George Sutherland, John Sutherland, Abram Shepherd, Frederick Sager, Christian Sager, Samuel Sager, Philip Sidener, Jacob Sidener, John Selsor, Henry Smith, William Sharp, Benjamin Springer, Silas Springer, John Scott, Jacob Steele, George Sager, Henry Shover, Charles Sterret, Abram Sager, Henry Sager, Thomas Stoddard, John Stafford, David Sidener, Isaac Smith, Gibson Savage, John Taylor, William Taylor, Daniel Taylor, Richard Taylor, John Troxel, Alexander Thompson, Enoch Thomas, Jacob Trumbo, Isaac Troxel, Joshua Thompson, Jonah Toppin, William Thomas, Robert Thomas, Phineas Trussel, Peter Vandevender, George Vanness, Joseph C. Vance, Jacob Vandevender, John Warner. Walter Watson, David Watson. James Withrow, John Williams, James Whitesides, William Woods, Jane Wingate, Isaac Williams, Delashmutt Walling, Valentine Wilson, James Wright, Daniel Wright, George Weaver, Joseph Wiley, William Wilson, Joseph Ward, Samuel Watson, Joseph Warner, William Warner and David Witter.
In giving this list, we cannot vouch for its accuracy, or that it contains the name of every land-owner residing in Madison County in March, 1819. We have copied the list verbatim, and presume that such a record would be correct. Our only object in printing it is to try and preserve the names of many who have long since been forgotten. If this has been accomplished, our purpose is attained, and we feel that the reader may derive some information from a careful perusal of a list of pioneers who assisted materially in building up the leading stock county in Ohio.