New Columbus Settlement

Working with old newspaper microfilm, you come across the names of long forgotten places, like Risely, Ohio, which was, at one time, due west of the Village of Medina. Or Leroy, now known as Westfield Center.  Or Marysville, which was once part of Liverpool Township.

So I was surprised when I came across the name of an area of Medina County that I didn't recognize: the New Columbus Settlement.

I forget where I first stumbled across it, but I made a note to investigate it "when I have some spare time."

Well, I don't know that I will ever "have the spare time", but I did come across the note, and decided NOW was the time.

This is what is said in The History of Medina County and Ohio that was published in 1881:

Excerpt from the 1881 History of Medina, page 572. The "few years later"
refers to shortly after 1821, a date mentioned in the previous paragraph.

This information was repeated verbatim on pages 2-3 of The History of Chatham Township Medina County, Ohio Chatham Centiseptiquinarian 1818-1993 and Joann King repeats the story on page 51 of her Medina County Coming of Age 1810-1910 (2016), adding their "happy-go-easy style" must have "unnerved their neighbors of solid Massachusetts stock".

But the information was misquoted in the 1968 Chatham Sesquicentennial 1818-1968:

The text  reprinted from the 1881 History of Medina County has some serious typos!
What is "boppy-go-easy" style? Sounds like something a bunny rabbit would do!

So, just who were these people that the history spoke of so disparagingly? The oldest map that the Medina Library owns is dated 1857. There is no trace of "New Columbus" in Chatham Township. As the authors foretold, no other trace of the settlement can be found in other sources.

Excerpt of the northwest corner of Chatham Township from the 1857 Map of Medina County.
The dark border on the left shows the boundary with Spencer Township to the west.

When the place named cannot be traced, then we look at the individuals who are listed:

1. William Foltz 
2. Orrin Parmeter
3. Phineas Davis 
4. Truman Davis 
5. Isaac Vandeventer

1.William Foltz is not listed anywhere else in the 1881 History of Medina County, nor in any of the Chatham Township histories. His name does not show up in the Medina County Land Records of the period, nor in the 1810, 1820 or 1830 census records for either Medina County, Ohio, or the State of Virginia. So he is not easily traced.
Note: the name was searched using Foltz and Fultz.  Also, there is a Wm. FULKS in the 1840 Census for Chatham Township. Same man? Possibly.

2. Orrin Parmeter - all the same sources were searched and and Orrin was not found. A Civil War veteran with the name Orris Parmeter  is listed in the 1890 Census for Portage County, Wisconsin. But a man settling in Medina in the 1820's would be too old to serve in the Civil War. There were other Parmeter's listed in some of the sources.

So, two of the five men listed cannot be traced. Maybe they were "boppy-go-easy".

But that is not the case for the other three men.

3. Phineas Davis is presented in the best light in the sketch from the 1881 History. He "put up a little 'pocket' grist mill, to which he shortly added a distillery." But that is not all the History has to say about Phineas. He is mentioned 6 different times on the section on Spencer, not Chatham, Township:

     a."In the fall of 1823, Phineas Davis and family came and occupied the unused house  of Rising", p. 556.

     b. "Each man had his particular mark*, which was recorded thus: May 4, 1832, Phineas Davis made returns of his ear-mark for cattle, hogs and sheep (viz) 'a crop on the left ear and a slit in the right.'" p.559.

     c. "On another occasion, Phineas Davis and his daughter were coming through the forests... It grew very dark, and they became lost...they listened to the howl of the gathering wolves.", p. 560.

     d. "Phineas Davis kept an accommodation for travelers, not exactly a tavern, at the River Corners, at an early date.

     e. Phineas Davis built the first grist-mill in Spencer in 1825. It was a log mill, run by water-power, and the bolter was run by hand. The mill-stones were made from hard bowlders (sic), the building being logs, and two stories high, and, when grinding, it shook as though it had the palsy. The water power of this mill was destroyed when Spencer built his dam, which was a few hundred rods below.", p 561.

     f. The first literary society was organized at the river mills. They came according to appointment to the schoolhouse, but forgot to bring candles, and adjourned to the house of Phineas Davis...", pp.568-569.

In The History of Spencer Township and Village, Phineas Davis is described as "the township's second settler"  and he "was an active man."

That doesn't sound "happy-go-easy" style to me!? That seems quite industrious. But there's more...

Phineas is found in the 1820 Census in Wayne County, the 1830 Census in Lorain County,  and the 1840 Census in Chatham, Medina County. He disappears after that. It is possible that he died in 1845. There is a Findagrave listing for  Phineas Davis who was born in 1790 and died in 1845 in Champaign County (west of Columbus.) The ages given in the census records would agree with this tombstone.

Tombstone for Phineas Davis in Champaign County, Ohio. The dates, 1794-1845
 make him the right age to be Spencer Township's Phineas Davis.

AND... he is listed among the War of 1812 soldiers on Fold3 as part of the New York Militia! So he is not even from Virginia!

4. Truman Davis might be related to Phineas or he might not. The records are not as plentiful on him. But the Land Records of Medina County do show him buying and selling land in the 1830's.

5. Isaac Vandeventer has even more surprises for us. He is in the 1810 Census in Dansville, New York. But by the 1820 Census he is in Wayne County Ohio, as was Phineas Davis. After that, it becomes difficult to find him because of misspellings of his name. In the 1830 Census he is Lorain County, under Vanderventer and by the 1840 Census, he is under Vardeventer in Medina County. He hasn't been located in the 1850 census. but by the 1860 census he is Chatham, Medina County under "B" Vanderventer. He died in 1860 and is listed in the Mortality Census schedule as "J" Vandervander. He appears in Terry and Marcia Hart's Veterans Buried in Medina County, Ohio. Volume 2, War of 1812 book. He is buried in Chatham Cemetery and served in the New York Militia!

Isaac Vandeventer's tombstone from Findagrave.

And take a closer look at that 1857 Map of Medina County:

J.A. Davis could  be a descendant of either Truman or Phineas Davis. But take a look at the name to the left of the vertical line - I. Vanderventer!

So now we have a hint of where New Columbus might have been. And we can dispel part of the myth:

We now know that at least 3 of the men mentioned were from New York and several of them were quite
hardworking and productive!

Mystery debunked!

* A mark was a way of branding farm animals so that the owners could be identified.