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The Ashland County Pioneer Society held a "special" meeting on the premises of Andrew Mason, Esq., in Montgomery Township, according to previous arrangements, on Saturday the 27th. day of September, 1879.  By 10 o'clock a.m., quite a number of the old pioneers of the township, as well as of Orange, Perry and Mifflin Townships were on the grounds (a beautiful grove), with a fine representation of the younger class of the community, until a fine, intellectual audience had convened.

In the absence of the President, Mr. Josiah Thomas, and the Secretary, Dr. P.H. Clark, Dr. S. Riddle, being one of the Executive Committee, and also Vice-President of Montgomery Township, called the meeting to order, nominating Major G.W. Urie, President (himself acting as Secretary pro tem).

PROGRAMME

First in order was the old-time song, called America, sung by Major Urie, S. Riddle and John Donley.

Second, prayer by the Rev. John Mason (son of Andrew Mason).

Third, short speeches -- first, by Mr. John Donley, of Orange Township.  Mr. Donley said that he had been in this country some 62 years, said the circumstances of his coming here were not so distinctly remembered, but one thing he did know, when he landed, that he was there and his mother was there, but who else were there he did no so readily recollect.  He then went on to speak of his father's family, of their hardships and deprivations -- stating that on one occasion he and his brother were nearly destitute of pants, that his brother had nothing left of his but the waist-band, that his pants were also badly torn, having but one leg and the waist-band left, and while in that condition some friends came on a visit -- they run and hid, so as not to be seen;  said he came back to the house but his brother stayed away all night -- that his mother and friends went to work that night, cut out of the loom cloth enough to make each of them a pair of pants, and made them that night.  He said he remembered seeing the Indian ponies all tied along in a row and the young Indians playing with them, hanging on their necks, and locking their feet around them, etc.  He then presented a tomahawk which had been made by old Johnny McConnell some fifty ago, and found by his son.

Remarks were then made by Mr. Andrew Mason, saying that in the spring of 1814 (65 years ago), his uncle, Jacob Young, and Jacob Crouse, came out and built a shanty on the banks of the Jerome fork of Mohecan, near where Young's bridge now stands, cleared off a few acres of ground, planted it to corn, and then returned to Columbiana County to cut their harvest -- made sale and came back in August with seven men and two boys -- he being one of the boys.  On their return they went to work and built six log cabins, one for Jacob Young, one for Jacob Crouse, one for Jacob Mason, one for Martin Mason, his father, one for Lot Todd, and one for Martin Hester.  His uncle, Jacob Mason, moved out in August, and his aunt, Katy Mason, never saw the face of a white woman for seventeen weeks.  His father moved out the same fall.  The first night after his uncle Jacob Mason landed on the banks of the Mohecan, his mare fell into the creek, and they had to pull her out with ropes.  She afterwards hung herself between two cherry trees (wild ones, of course).  He then referred to the time their horses got away from them. He was sent into the woods in search of them;  after finding them he was returning to camp and got lost, and very badly frightened, and hollowed;  they heard him in the camp, and answered him, so he made his way back, feeling a little mortified over the thing, to think he would get lost so near the camp.  Then he referred to the improvements of the country and of the hardiness and toughness of the old pioneers;  that the pioneer families of this country were a great deal more numerous in their progeny than the families of the present day;  stating that old Jacob Young, his uncle, had twelve children -- ten girls and two boys -- had 117 grandchildren, 176 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great grandchildren -- at the time of his death, being 89 years old (his wife 90) having lived together 68 years.  Then referred to the time that his uncle Jacob Mason went to Mansfield as a juryman, wearing his mockisins and buckskin breeches -- got as far back as Mr. Andrews, on the Blackfork, and stayed all night;  but before going into the house he pulled off his mockisins, leaving them out of doors, and the dogs carried them off and tore them to pieces, and he had to come home through the rain and mud barefoot.  He was the first juryman that went from Orange Township.  Said that his father's family had lived two weeks without bread -- lived on hominy -- they then bought a bear of Jim Jerk and Billy Monteur for eight silver dollars;  told of some one that went a courting, sat down on the dye-pot, and got his coat-tail all dyed blue.  He further said that when he and his wife went to keeping house that they did not put on as much style as people do now;  had no chairs, no table, no bedstead, only as they were made out of rough material.

Major G.W. Urie then referred to the first man that died in Montgomery Township, whose name was Vernon, who died at the residence of Daniel Mickey, who lived on the place now owned by Andrew Mason, and that Mr. Vernon was buried at the corners of four quarter sections of land just a few rods from the place of meeting (quite a number going out to see the place) but the Major said that they had taken up his remains and buried them in the grave yard at Crouse's school house.  He then told a buckskin story of one William Carter, who went a courting to a Mr. Owen's -- had buckskin breeches on, after courting the usual length of time, which in those days was nearly all night, pulled off his breeches, when to bed, and the dogs carried them off and tore them to pieces, so he had to borrow a pair next morning to wear home, and it was at a time when breeches were hard to get too.  He said it was a little different with their family from some of their neighbors, although they frequently run out of bread stuff and had to go back to Stibbs' mill for meal.  But his father was a good hunter and kept the family pretty well supplied with meat, killing forty deer and ten bear the first winter.

Mother Hall then said they had lived one week without bread, lived on hominy and sweetened water, and had to grate their corn to make bread.  Old mother Sheets, of Ashland, bore similar testimony.

Remarks were then made by Dr. S. Riddle, stating that by the 28th. day of November, 1879, it would be 59 years since he first saw the rays of light, being born one mile east of where he then stood, in a little log cabin standing in the midst of a dense forest of tall oak and hickory, that he remembered very well the time (although very young) when his folks were out of bread-stuff, that his father and oldest brother, G.W. Riddle, had gone to Crawford's horse mill, were detained till a late hour, the little ones at home crying for something to eat, that mother took some bran, sifted it, and made mush of it (not knowing then that graham mush would ever be a fashionable dish), sat down and ate it with milk, satisfied our hunger, ceased our cravings, and went to bed contented, that in after years when large enough to ride on horse-back would ride off to mill as far as Cedar Valley, to the old Smith mill, to Mohecanville to the old Bell mill, to the Hearshey mill on the Blackfork, to the Sloan and Goudy mills, near Hayesville, to the Carter, Mason, Clinker and Cline mills, sometimes in connection with his older brothers, but very often alone, and sometimes would not get home till late in the night, and not unfrequently get lost or tangled up in the woods for a while.  He remembers on one occasion when going to Clines' mill, riding a large horse having a sack of three bushels of wheat on, came to a mud hole in the path, near where Wesley Sweeney now lives, the horse shied off, ran against the fence and thew bag, rider and all off, paused for a while to know what to do, succeeded, however, in rolling the bag into the fence corner, hitched his horse and went to old Mr. Sweeney's for help, but there being no man person about the house, Miss Eliza Ann Sweeney volunteered and went with him and after lugging and tugging finally succeeded in replacing the sack on the horse's back, and so went on to mill.  Stating also how he, with his brothers and other young men of the neighborhood, worked in clearing up the forests, grubbing, picking and burning brush by day and by night, also carrying and rolling logs until, not unfrequently, they lifted till they could see the very stars flying at midday, to all of which the young men of to-day fold their arms and pucker their lips and say very composedly, well we don't have to do it;  closing his remarks by saying, in the language of an old pioneer of Richland County, Dr. Wm. Bushnell, that he doubted whether, in the next thousand years to come, this country would produce a generation of men and women with as much nerve and muscle, or physical force, with as much firmness and decision of character as our pioneer fathers and mothers possessed.

The society then adjourned for dinner, and while the ladies were arranging the dinner table several of the older gentlemen amused themselves by pitching quoits, and all at once the cry of "snaik" was heard, which proved to be a huge blacksnake, and quite a number went for him, but he made his escape into a hollow tree;  efforts were made to oust him, while Major Urie stood ready with his double-barreled gun to dispatch his snakeship as soon as he showed his black skin, but he concluded to keep quiet.  About one hundred took dinner, which was a sumptuous one, and as good as the county could afford -- for our pioneer mothers know how to get up a good dinner, know when to stop and not overdo the thing.  Among the chief attractions on the table were two corn pones, prepared by old mother Andrew Mason, which reminded one of the olden times.  Dinner over, Major Urie in the chair, called for an exhibition of relics, to which S. Riddle responded, presenting a knife, found some forty years ago, near a mound near the junction of the three branches of the Stillwater, in Bellmont County, Ohio, a stone from off Flint ridge, Perry County, O., and a specimen of the stone of iron from Camp Zanesville;  a musket ball found by Captain McKee, of Mansfield, on the battle-field of Shiloh;  also a specimen of calico, which sold for one dollar per yard one hundred years ago, and a piece of cotton goods which was carded, spun, wove, and made into a wedding dress, by the hands of Miss Elizabeth Waits (Mason), the grandmother of Andrew Mason, one hundred years ago.

President Thomas arrived just after dinner;  also Dr. Clark and lady arrived just in time for the doctor to get a nibble of some of the relics of the table, among which was a slice of the pone which the doctor pronounced very good.

Dr. P.H. Clark was then called upon t make a speech which he did, referring to his early childhood and school-boy days, then referred to the subject of railroads, then to relics and mound-builders, then spoke of the beautiful valleys that had been formed during the glacial period by the gorges of ice passing from the north to the south.  His speech was full of interest and well delivered.

Rev. Mr. Buxton was then requested to make a few remarks which he did, referring also to his early life, told how he picked and burned brush, and how he rode on horseback to mill -- not however with wheat in one end of the bag and a stone in the other to balance it, and with some other appropriate remarks, sat down.

Motion by S. Riddle to adjourn to have our next special meeting at Petersburg, Mifflin Township, in the early part of next summer.

Taking it all in all the meeting was a grand success.  Sixteen new members were added to the society.  The day was fair, the grove beautiful, and the warm shaking of hands, and the friendly conversation indicated to the lookers-on that there was something more than the mere cold formalities of the gay and proud of the present day. -- Major G.W. Urie, Pres., pro tem. and Dr. S. Riddle, Sec., pro tem.