These pages include miscellanea associated with the history of Springboro, Clearcreek Township and Southwestern Ohio and provide context to explain some of the higher aspirations of the pioneers’ longings and searches for freedom, liberty and equality in the new lands - the Ohio frontier and the wilderness of the Northwest Territory.

Downtown Home

We are (still) awaiting information and pictures on the Springboro Cooking Club, c 1915.

By 1750, Quakers (of the Society of Friends) comprised one third of the population of “European” America. Hence, Quaker thought had a profound influence on America’s founding ideals.

By 1800, Southwestern Ohio and Eastern Indiana, uniquely, became a destination for many Quakers seeking personal and religious freedoms, including freedom from the institution of slavery. By 1807, there were two thousand Friends residing in southwestern Ohio.

Links: Nearby Wilmington College is an official repository (archive) of Quaker records. Other notable repositories are Earlham College, Richmond, IN, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore  (Philadelphia), PA and Guilford College, Greensboro, NC.

In 1798, Christian Null and his brother Charles Null came to the Springborough area from near Lancaster County, PA and built “The Null Cabin,” the first permanent structure in the area. It is still in its original location, currently the south end of the Heatherwood Golf Course. For more information on the Null family’s migration see pages on this site for the Null Cabin, the Clear Creek Chapel and the United Brethren in Christ Church. Here’s a link to the Brethren Heritage Center in nearby Brookville, OH. 

In 1815, Springboro was established as a “Quaker town” by Jonathan Wright, a birthright member of the Society of Friends from Menallen Township, Adams Co, in southeastern Pennsylvania, thirty miles southwest of Harrisburg.  Gettysburg is the county seat of Adams County.

The earliest Quaker settlers in this area came up the Little Miami River to nearby Waynesville, which, along with Mt. Pleasant, near Charleston, WV, was one of the earliest locales of Friends immigration into Ohio. In Waynesville the Miami Monthly Meeting was organized in 1801, and formally recognized in 1803. The Ohio Yearly Meeting was established in Mt. Pleasant.

The Miami Monthly Meeting built the White Brick Meeting House in 1811, and it remains the oldest place of worship in continuous use west of the Allegheny Mountains.

Miami Monthly Meeting’s White Brick Meeting House, 1811 - Waynesville, OH

In 1815, the Springborough Monthly Meeting was formally established, subordinate to the Miami Monthly Meeting. The Springborough Monthly Meeting was fully recognized in 1824. The first Meeting House in old Springborough may have been built on the northeast corner of the cemetery on Factory Rd., though the Meeting House on Carr’s Run on the east end of Market Street has the older burying ground.

(The US Postal Service changed the Springborough’s name to Springboro in the 1850’s.)

Find a timeline of Springboro history, here, originally prepared for the Springboro Bicentennial.

First Family Pioneers of Clearcreek Township have been thoroughly researched and documentation provided to the Warren County Genealogical Society, showing the following pioneers were in Clearcreek Township before January 1, 1821:

1792, James Train Newport

1798, James Wills

1798, Bethany Fuller

1798, Jeremiah Gustin, Sr, Jeremiah Gustin, Jr.

1800, Benjamin & Elkanah (sp) (Fuller) Gustin

1800, Della Haines

1800, Hannah Hatcher Stokes

1801, Henry Null, Sr., Margaret Null, 1808, Henry Null, Jr, 1809, Ayer Null, 1809

1801, Mary (Gustin) Stephenson

1802, Griffy Griffis

1804, John Stephenson

1805, Richard Lackey

1806, Daniel Stephenson, John Stephenson

1807, William Hathaway, Benjamin J. Hathaway

1807, Dave Boger

1808, John Kesling & 1813, Teter (Teterick) Kesling

1808, Elizabeth (Link Fudge) Kesling

1808, Elizabeth Thatcher

1808, Catherine Browning

1809, Samuel Cornell

1809, John Eyer

1810, Jesse Wilson & Elizabeth (Mason) Wilson

1811, Adam Blin

1811, Jacob Pence

1812, Joseph & Hannah (Earnhart) Decker

1812, Jacob Earnhart

1813, Powell Crosley & Rachel Crosley

1816, Jacob Pence

1816, Henry Joseph Fry

1816, Nancy Ann Earnhart (m Crosley)

1817, Benjamin A. Stokes, William Stokes

1818, Samuel C. Reed

1819, Mary E. Newland 

1819, John Sheets, Samuel Sheets

1820, Moses Crosley

This list is by no means intended to be a complete list and is based only on documentation provided to the Warren County Genealogical Society primarily by descendants to prove status as First Family Pioneers. Typically, documentation consists of legal records such as birth, death, marriage and tax records. They can be researched at the WCGS library.

Beer’s - Biographical Sketches - Springboro & Clearcreek Township

Beers’ History of Warren County includes (subscribed) biographical sketches of some of the established families of Warren County who provided the information. Below are links to the Springboro and Clearcreek Township families included in Beer’s History.

Phillip Alexander, W. Wallace Baird, William H. Ballard, Jonathan J. Baner,

John M. Blackford, Christopher Blin,  George E. Bunnell, Stephen Clevenger,

Samuel R. Crane,  Caleb M. Crane,  Amos Crane,  Marmaduke Crockett (dec),

William L. Dearth, Isaac N. Dearth,  Joseph Decker, Arthur D. Easton,

Charles H. Eulass,  Christopher Fry,  Evan E. Githens, David Graham,

Jonah R. and James A. Gregg,  William Harrison Gregg,  Benajah Gustin,

John Gustin,  Mahlon T. Janney,  Napoleon Johnson,  Samuel Kirby,

Harrison Kirby,  Nathan E. Lupton,  Caleb Merritt (dec),  James C. Merritt,

Henry H. Merritt,  Thomas Miller, Lewis N. Miller,  John C. Miltenberger,

Peter Monfort,  George Monger,  Job Mullin,  Clayton W. Mullin,

Jonathan Munger, Joseph Nedry,  Jonathan J. Null,  George W. Null,

Edward A. Null,  Henry Elijah Null,  John Plunkett,  George W. Read (dec),

George E. Riley,  Lindley M. Rogers,  Frederick Rosnagle,  Solomon Rosnagle,

Joseph Stanton,  Benjamin A. Stokes,  John Stroop,  Monroe Sweny,

W. B. Thacker, Edmond Throckmorton,  Thomas Tibbals,  Robert H. Todd,

Wilson Unglesbe,  Aaron Wilson,  David Witterman,  Jonathan M. Wright, M.D.

The Underground Railroad in Springboro & Clearcreek Township

In the antebellum era, many Springboro area residents either supported or took an active role in the Underground Railroad. In 1898, Professor Wilbur H. Siebert of the Ohio State University published, The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom.

We were able to retrieve some of Professor Siebert’s original research from the Ohio Historical Society in the form of letters from Springboro area residents written in response to Professor Siebert’s queries. Many of these people had first hand knowledge of the facts. These scanned pages are unedited copies of replies to Siebert, though it is unknown if they are original or typewritten transcriptions.

It is easy to see that some of the stories are more credible than others and some seem to be repetitions of widely told and retold lore, not firsthand accounts. (Source: Ohio Historical Center, Archives Library, MIC 192, Box 110-111, Shelf 153-154, Columbus, Ohio.)

Find the letters here.

QUAKERS & SLAVERY

Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College

“The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) was the first corporate body in Britain and North America to fully condemn slavery as both ethically and religiously wrong in all circumstances. It is in Quaker records that we have some of the earliest manifestations of anti-slavery sentiment, dating from the 1600s. After the 1750s, Quakers actively engaged in attempting to sway public opinion in Britain and America against the slave trade and slavery in general. At the same time, Quakers became actively involved in the economic, educational and political well being of the formerly enslaved.

“The earliest anti-slavery organizations in America and Britain consisted primarily of members of the Society of Friends. Thus much of the record of the development of anti-slavery thought and actions is embedded in Quaker-produced records and documents. Friends Historical Library at Swarthmore College and the Quaker Collection at Haverford College are jointly the custodians of Quaker meeting records of the Mid-Atlantic region, including Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, New York and Vermont and these records illuminate the origins of the anti-slavery movement as well as the continued Quaker involvement, often behind the scenes, in the leadership and direction of the abolitionist movement from the 1770s to the abolition of slavery in the United States in 1865, and beyond.”

Other churches were active in the abolition movement, but each as a body to a lesser extent. According to Randall & Donald’s The Civil War and Reconstruction, the strongest leadership came from the Quakers, Congregationalists and Presbyterians, though there were many Methodist and Baptist leaders. The Presbyterian Church split over abolition in 1838. The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church split into the Northern and Southern Conferences in 1844. The Baptists officially split over abolition in 1845.

Southwest Ohio Genealogical & Historical Research, by Karen Campbell

Karen’s extensive site is a valuable resource of local history. Karen was the local history librarian at The Mary L. Cook Public Library in Waynesville, where she developed an excellent local history collection and reference library. Also, see Karen’s Quaker Genealogy in Southwestern Ohio, and her information-packed Facebook page on her Quaker History and Genealogy Conferences. Alas, Karen’s online presence has some missing links. We hope to re-organize, preserve and make available her excellent research.

The Warren County Historical Society

The Local History and Genealogy Library is an extensive and wonderful source for researching Warren County history. The Society conducts many regular events, activities and exhibits.

The Silver family were very early settlers in the Springboro area, arriving by 1798, and acquiring and improving over two hundred acres about two miles north of town. Much of this was probably in Montgomery County, but some is believed to be south of Austin Rd. By 1850, most of the family moved west, into Indiana and Illinois, but retained roots and friends in the Springboro area. The family history is being actively researched. Here are some pictures of some of the Silvers who remained in this area.

OHGenWeb is a volunteer-supported website with a plethora of local history.

In the late 19th century, enterprising publishers collected area history and published volumes on a county-by-county basis. (There was a corresponding appearance of genealogical histories.)

One such is Beers’ History of Warren County (pub. 1882) - OHGenWeb (Note local historians have found more than a few errors in Beers’ History.)

Springboro’s Friends Meeting House - probably the one still extant on East Market St.