of Menard and Mason Counties
By T.G. Onstott
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CHAPTER XXVII Page 278 The first settler in Lynchburg township was Nelson Abbey in 1854. He came from Vermont and built the first cabin in Section 4. He sold out and moved to Missouri. The early settlers were mostly from Kentucky. There came also from the same state the Rodgers, the Phelps, Isaac Bright, Jimmie Northen, William P. Finch, Amos West, William Davis and many others. Davis came as early as 1838 and made small improvement. He settled south of Moscow and finally went to California, when the gold fever broke out. Amos S. West came to Illinois, settled first in Morgan county and then came to Mason county in 1844. He located in Mason county, but finally moved to Kansas. The Phelps came to the neighborhood in 1838. George W. first located in Cass county and afterward moved to Bath township, whence he moved to the place mentioned above. He sold out and went back to Kentucky. R.J. Phelps was a son-in-law of John Camp and settled east of Snicarte. His last wife was a sister of Mark A. Smith, an old settler and prominent citizen of the township. After the death of his second wife, he married again and then moved west. Bright moved into the township in 1841 and died in 1844. He was justice of the peace. His widow married one of the Phelps and moved to Texas. Jimmie Northen came in 1839 or '40. He first settled in Cass county, where he remained for a time and then came to Lynchburg. He had a large family and owned a large farm. He finally sold out and moved away. The Rodgers came in 1838. William settled one mile west of Snicarte and John three miles southwest of the same spot. They were brothers. William was a doctor and John was a blacksmith. William was a brother-in-law of Nelson Abbey's. John Rodgers died in 1868. William P. Finch came in 1842 and was one of the early schoolmasters, and also a justice of the peace. A daughter of his married one of the Phelps'. Amos Smith came from Vermont and settled in the township in 1839, about one mile from Snicarte. Amos Smith, Jr., and Benjamin Smith, his sons, came with teams to Whitehall, New York, and by canal and Lake Erie from Buffalo to Cleveland, and by way of the Ohio, Mississippi and Illinois rivers to Beardstown, where they arrived in 1837. Amos Smith, Jr., was justice of the peace, an office he held until his death. Benjamin F. Smith was a carpenter. Mark A. Smith, son of Amos Smith, Sr., came to the township in 1839. He arrived in Moscow, October 15th, with a fortune of 37 cents ready money. When they landed, the family and goods were left on the bank of the river, while he went to explore the town to get a team. He traveled six miles to Nelson Abbey's and returned at 3 o'clock and took his family to Abbey's, where they all lived until a cabin could be built. Simon Ward came from North Carolina in 1838. He followed the occupation of selling wood to steamboats. He moved to Texas, but came back and died. He set out the first orchard in 1855. George W. Carpenter was from Tennessee. He raised a large family and at last moved to Kansas. James D. Reeves came in 1839. He settled one-half mile south of Moscow. Rev. John Camp came from Pennsylvania in 1838, and was the first probate judge of Mason county. He built a horse mill at an early day, where the pioneers used to get their hominy ground. John Stewart was one of the first settlers of Bath township. He settled first at Snicarte Island and then in Lynchburg. Caleb Brown and family came from New York; first settled in Adams county and then in Lynchburg in 1844. He had two sons and several daughters. Jonathan Sackman came in 1841, but remained only a year or so. He was a justice of the peace, but soon moved away. John J. Fletcher, an Englishman, came at an early day, and was a prominent citizen for many years. The Marshalls came from Tennessee about 1840. There were four brothers. Elisha moved to Adams county, and David to Missouri. Thomas Bowls came in 1839 but was not very popular, as he was suppose to be issuing money of his own. Ashley Hicky and Aaron Ray became interested with him. Hicky furnished his means to purchase material and tools for the enterprise, and Bowls went to St. Louis to make an investment, but spent the money in spreeing and told, when he came back, that he had bought the tools and shipped them, but, as they did not arrive, he was accused of lying and swindling and kicked out of the county. James Ingram came from Indiana in 1840. He was drowned two years later in Snicarte Slough. Zeph Keith came from Tennessee in 1843. He was a jolly good fellow, but moved to Kansas. The Lanes came from Pennsylvania. Pleasant May and his son William came from Kentucky in 1837. George May, a brother of Pleasant May, laid out the village of Lynchburg. William Bailey was from Kentucky. Thomas Richard and William Ainsworth were natives of England and came to America in 1842 and located in the township. Thomas had $800.00, the other two $50.00 apiece, and they borrowed money from Thomas to enter some land. The Laymans were from Ohio and moved in 1845. David Layman was a Virginian and William Howarth came with the Ainsworths. The first religious society was organized by the Methodists in 1838. The early preachers were Rev. Robert Anderson and a preacher by the name of Williams (called Daddy Williams). The first members were John Camp and wife, George Marshall and wife and James D. Reeves and wife. A frame church was built in 1850 and dedicated by Peter Cartright. It is known as the Fairview M.E. Church. They have a flourishing Sunday school. Thomas Ainsworth was the first superintendent. William Ainsworth has served in that capacity for more than a score of years. Hopeville Baptist Church was organized in 1840, by the Revs. John Daniels and Thomas Taylor, with eight members. It was organized at the residence of William Davis. Services were held at private houses until a schoolhouse was built in 1852, and then this was used for church purposes until 1865, when a church was built. A Sunday school was organized in 1864. Who taught the first school is hard to find out, but William Finch was an early teacher. There was a school taught by Mrs. Camp, a sister of Mark A. Smith before there were a schoolhouse in the township. H.G. Rice was the first teacher after the schoolhouse was built. The first marriage in Lynchburg was that of William Cole and Nancy May. The first birth was Henry Ward, son of Simon Ward, born in 1834. The first death was Mary Jane Smith. At an early day the people got their mail at Havana, later at Bath. Snicarte is the nearest to a village in Lynchburg township, but has never been laid out or surveyed. A small grocery store was opened in 1858 by Mark A. Smith. This was enlarged the next year and an extensive stock of goods put in. Smith sold his stock of goods to Henry C. Hoesman. A postoffice was established in 1859, with Horace Rice as postmaster. There was a village laid out at an early day by George May, called Lynchburg, but as a town, it never made much progress. May had his town laid out, then bought a barrel of whisky, and had a sale of lots, but it would not go. Fairview consists of a Methodist Church and a schoolhouse, and derives its name from the fact that a fair view of the country is had from the surrounding elevated hill on which the buildings are situated.
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