West Family Tree

From: A History of Jonathan Alder: His Captivity and Life with the Indians

pg 119
Soon, the white people began to move in here. Amongst the very first settlers was Benjamin Springer and his family, and Usual Osborn, his son-in-law (He subsequently removed to the site of PLain City, on the west bank of the stream, and there was found by Bemjamin Springer and Usual Osborn in 1796, who settled on Big Darby on land now owned by John Taylor, near the north line of Canaan Township, Beers). They both soon became warmly attached to me and Osborn took great pains in learning me to speak English, first giving me the names of things, and then a word at a time. After I got a little start, I learned it very fast. After a little while, it seemed to come almost natural.

pg 121
Usual Osborn and Benjamin Springer were among the first white settlers on Big Darby Creek, and Osborn took a great interest in learning me to talk and to farm. Osborn was a very kindhearted man and would discommode himself to accommodate his neighbors. He was a regular old bruiser; if you crossed his path, he was ready for a fight. Fisticuffs amongst one class of the first settlers was a very common thing, especially among the class that used whiskey to excess. Osborn was a stout, muscular man and I never knew him to get whipped.

He was a hardworking man, but rather a poor planner and of all the families, white or Indian, that I knew, I thought that his lived the hardest. The first winter that came on, they hadn't a sign of a bed in the house. He had a large store box that was long enough for him to lie on and wide enough for him and his wife both to lie in. In the fall, they gathered dry leaves and filled the box. They had two blankets and would spread one on top of the leaves for a sheet and cover with the other. The two oldest of the boys would carry in a back-load of prairie hay in the evening and put it in one corner of the house, and the three little fellows would crawl in under the hay and sleep there. The next morning, they would gather it all up clean and give to their milk cows. The next night, the same thing, throughout the whole winter.

Osborn's wife was one of those "do-less" women. She was, for a large portion of her time, without soap to wash with, a thing there was no need of for the material to make soap them days was very plenty. I have frequently known her to take honey to wash her clothes with. Osborn was a great bee hunter and always had plenty of honey. Honey makes a good lather, but not equalt to soap. In right cold weather, I have known that woman to drive her cow into the house to milk. They were always scant of clothes. Osborn himself was one of those hardy pioneer men; he would go all winter with nothing but a pair or two of linen overalls and a linen shirt, a pair of moccasins or shoes, and a wool hat or coonskin cap, and that was his dress for years until sheep got plenty. I never heard him complain of being cold or hungry.

I spoke of him being a hardworking man. I don't mean that he was a sturdy worker, for he was not. He could do as much work in one day as two common men, but instead turned a great deal of his attention to trade and traffic in a small way. He was a stout, hard, robust pioneer, and if anyone was anxious for a fight, or to try his strength in any way, he was always ready, but not quarrelsome. But it was nothing strange to hear of Osborn having a fight.

Once there was a difficulty got up between him and one Chard. Chard came in on him one day in the winter. Osborn had on quite a large fire and had his shirt off mending it. As soon as Chard stepped in, he told Osborn there was a little difficulty betwixt them and he had come to settle it. "Very good," says Osborn. He threw his shirt down and sprang to his feet and they made a few passes at each other. Osborn clinched him and, being a powerful man, threw him onto the fire. There happened to be a neighbor man there and he sprang up and pulled Chard out of the fire before he was much birned. As soon as Chard got off the fire he run, so that ended the fight for that day.

Not many days after, Chard made it in his way to pass Osborn's house and met Osborn out on the road with a yoke of xen going for a load of hay out on the prairie. Chard was on horseback and had a good, stout cudgel in his hand. He spoke to Osborn, but Osborn said, "Damn you, that is what you are." Chard got off his horse and while he was hitching it, Osborn stepped to one side and bent a bush down and drew his butcher knife from its scabbard, cutting off the bush. By this time, Chard had got his horse hitched, but when he turned toward Osborn and saw him trimming his bush for a cudgel, and seeing the butcher knife in his hand, he made for his horse, untied him, and mounted before Osborn got to him, and put spurs to the animal. Chard had to pass Osborn's house and so Osborn took after him as fast as he could run, and when he came to his house, he ran in and got his gun. Chard spurred his horse even more. Osborn followed him some distance and then fired off his gun up in the air; he said he did not want to hurt Chard, but to scare him. (When Chard turned toward Osborn, he saw him trimming the bush with his butcher knife and, conscious of the power of the man, he trembled. The butcher knife and cudgel were, in Chard's eyes, as powerful as the fire, and having no desire, as he afterward expressed it "to be butchered, roasted, and eaten," he sprang to his horse, mounted, and put spurs to him to make his escape before Osborn could catch him. However, Osborn pursued Chard as fast as he could, and as the latter had to pass Osborn's house, Osborn ran in and got his gun, and fired it off in the air. Osborn said he did not want to hurt the "varmint" but only scare him to death. Beers).

Chard made good his way out of sight and halted in the midst of one of the large prairies. He was there, sitting on his horse looking in every direction, when one of the neighbors went out hunting, saw him sitting there on this horse and went to him. Chard inquired of him if he had seen anything of Osborn. the neighbor said that he had not and asked him why. Chard went on to tell what had taken place and requested his neighbor to go with him until he was entirely out of danger, and so ended the fight between Osborn and Chard.

Osborn managed to buy a small farm on the spring fork and farmed and wagoned considerable. He used to supply the neighbors with salt. In the fall, he would take two or three yoke of oxen and would load up with cheese, butter, and honey, and go to Zanesville. There, he would sell his load and carry back salt and glassware. But the country got too thick settled for him and he sold out about the year 1835 and moved west.

(Osborn finally bought a small farm on the east bank of Little Darby, now in Monroe Township and the property of Jonah Wood. AFter his settlement in Monroe Township, his neighbors soon discovered that he was not a man to be trifled with. One winter, hay and feed for stock was very scarce, there having been a short crop the previous summer, and considerable stock was really in a suffering condition. George Fullington had a better supply than most of the neighbors, and sold to them till he could spare no more, when he gave out word throughout the neighborhood that no one could be supplied with hay from his stacsk. Osborn owned a pair of old oxen and a cow at this time, using the former to haul loads and travel around with. His animals becoming very poor and in an almost starving condition, he saw he must have hay or they would die. Mr Fullington would sell no more, so Osborn hitched his oxen to his sled, drove to Fullington's haystack, and with the assistance of his son, loaded on all he thought his animals could haul, and ordered the boy to drive home. He immediately walked to Fullington's house, called him out, and directed his attention toward the stack, whence the owner saw Osborn's son driving with a load of hay. He told Fullington that he could not let his cattle starve while hay could be found. It is said that Osborn was not very particular, when out of meat, whose hog he shot, and was therefore mixed up in a great many lawsuits, out of which he usually came victorious. Beers).

Benjamin Springer, one of the first white settlers of Darby, and Usual Osborn, his son in law, settled on Darby about the year 1798. Springer's family consisted of himself and wife and three children. Osborn's wife and his two sons, Silas and Thomas, and Benjamin Springer built the first mill that was built on Darby Creek, about a mile below Pleasant Valley (now Plain City), but it was poorly constructed and only run abotu six months. The first high water that came swept his dam out and he never rebuilt it. He lived to be eighty-odd years old and died on Darby. The last time I saw him was about 1825. He came to my house and took dinner with me. After dinner, we walked out together and as we were parting, we shook hands. He said to me that this was probably the last time he should ever call and we would not see each other again. I made light of it, but he said he was not going to live but a short itme. This was during warm weather. In the fall and before winter set in, he died. He wanted to convey the idea to me that he had some supernatural knowledge of his death, but I supposed it to be the weakness of his mind.

White people suffered a great many more privations in the first settlement of this country than did the Indians. I have saw them two boys, Silas and Tom Springer, go till December without shoes on their feet.

History of Madison County, Ohio, Chicago,
W.H. Beers & Co., 1883. Page 290. (transcript)
[See the bio. of Benjamin Springer]

USUAL OSBORN.
As already mentioned, Usual Osborn was a native of Pennsylvania, and
son-in-law of Benjamin Springer, with whom he came from Kentucky to
Madison County in 1796. Alder gives the following sketch of this pioneer,
which we quote verbatim. He says: "Osborn was a kind-hearted man,
although he was what was then called 'a regular old bruiser.' Yet he
would discommode himself to accommodate his neighbors any time. He was
remarkably strong and muscular, but not quarrelsome; yet it was by no means
safe to cross his track. He would fight at the drop of a hat, and I never
knew him to get whipped. Fist-fighting was a very common thing among
the early settlers; especially so was it amongst those who used whisky to
excess. If they had any difficulty, they would fight it out fist and skull,
and then make friends over a cup of whisky. 'Might was right' in those
old-fashioned days. Osborn was a hard-working man, but a poor planning one,
and of all poor families, whites or Indians, I have ever seen, I think his
was the poorest. The first winter they came they had not a sign of a bed
to lie on. He had a large box, sufficiently large for him and his wife to
lie in, and in the fall they gathered leaves and filled the box. They had
two blankets; one of these they spread over the leaves for a sheet, and the
other they used to cover with. This constituted their bed for a year or
two after they came to this country. The children had to shift for
themselves. In the evening, the two oldest boys would gather a large
quantity of prairie hay or grass, take it into the house and pile it in a
corner, and then the three little fellows would crawl under it and sleep
until morning; then gather it all up and take it out and give it to the
cows. This was the only bed the boys had for many, many months. Osborn's
wife was one of those worthless kind of women who never do anything when it
should be done, and consequently was always behind-hand. There was plenty
of everything required to make soap, yet Osborn's wife seldom ever made
any, and consequently was nearly all the time out of soap. I have
frequently known her to take honey to wash her clothes with. Osborn was a
great bee-hunter and always had plenty of that article on hand. Honey
makes a very good lather, but not equal to soap. On very cold days, Mrs.
Osborn was in the habit of driving her cow into the house to milk her. The
whole family was very scant of clothing. Osborn himself was one of those
hearty pioneer men who would go all winter with nothing on his person but a
linen pair of trousers, a linen shirt, a linen hunting shirt, a pair of
moccasins or shoes, and a wool hat or coon-skin cap. In fact, I never knew
him to be any better dressed for years, and not until sheep got plenty did
he wear a woolen garment, and yet I never heard him complain of being cold.
I spoke of his being a hardworking man, but I do not mean that he was a
steady worker, for he was not, but he could do more work in a given time
than any two men I ever knew. He turned most of his attention to trade and
traffic in a small way, and of course not very remunerative. Though not
quarrelsome, no man need spoil for a fight when Osborn was around. There
was a man by the name of Chard who had some grudge at Osborn. One day in
the winter, when Osborn was mending his shirt, Chard came to his house. He
told Osborn that there was a little difficulty between them and that he had
come to settle it. 'Very good,' said Osborn, throwing down his shirt and
springing to his feet. They made a few passes at each other, when Osborn
clinched Chard and threw him on the fire. A neighbor who happened to
be present rescued him from his perilous situation before he was much
burned. No sooner was he out of the fire and on his feet than he took to
his heels and ran off as fast as possible, much to the amusement of Osborn
and his neighbor. That ended the fight for that day. Not many days after,
Chard made it convenient to pass Osborn's house. He met Osborn on the road
with a yoke of oxen going for a load of hay. Chard was on horseback, and
held in his hand a stout cudgel. Said he to Osborn, 'Now, we are by
ourselves; we can settle that little matter of ours.' 'Oh,' said Osborn.
'that is what you are at, are you?' Chard got off his horse, and while he
was hitching him, Osborn stepped to one side and bent down a bush and cut
it off. When Chard turned toward Osborn, he saw him trimming the bush
with his butcher-knife, and, conscious of the power of the man, he trembled.
The butcher-knife and cudgel were in Chard's eyes as powerful as the fire,
and having no desire, as he afterward expressed it, 'to be butchered,
roasted and eaten,' he sprang to his horse, mounted and put spurs to him to
make his escape before Osborn could catch him. However, Osborn pursued
Chard as fast as he could, and as the latter had to pass Osborn's house,
Osborn ran in and got his gun and fired it off in the air. Osborn said he
did not want to hurt the 'varmint' but only to scare him to death."
Osborn finally bought a small farm on the east bank of Little Darby,
now in Monroe Township, and the property of Jonah Wood. He farmed
some and wagoned considerably, supplying the community with salt. He
kept two or three yoke of oxen. In the fall, he would load with cheese,
butter, honey and other commodities, take it to Zanesville, sell his load,
and bring back salt, glass ware and other necessaries. In this way he was
a useful man and a benefit to the community. Prior to the erection of
Madison County, and when its territory formed one township of Franklin
County, we find that Osborn was Collector of Taxes for Darby Township.
At a session of the Associate Judges of Franklin County held January 7,
1804, the following record appears: "Usual Osborn having given bond with
approved security for the collection of the county tax in Darby Township,
it is ordered that he be appointed Collector of the same." After his
settlement in Monroe Township, his neighbors soon discovered that he was
not a man to be trifled with. One winter, hay and feed for stock was
very scarce, there having been a short crop the previous summer, and
considerable stock was really in a suffering condition. George Fullington
had a better supply than most of the neighbors, and sold to them till he
could spare no more, when he gave out word throughout the neighborhood that
no one could be supplied with hay from his stacks. Osborn owned a pair
of old oxen and a cow at this time, using the former to haul loads and
travel around with. His animals becoming very poor and in an almost
starving condition, he saw he must have hay or they would die. Mr.
Fullington would sell no more, so Osborn hitched his oxen to his sled,
drove to Fullington's hay-stack, and, with the assistance of his son,
loaded on all he thought his animals could haul, and ordered the boy to
drive home. He immediately walked to Fullington's house, called him out
and directed his attention toward the stack, whence the owner saw Osborn's
son driving with a load of hay. He told Fullington that he could not let
his cattle starve while hay could be found. It is said that Osborn was not
very particular when out of meat whose hog he shot, and was therefore mixed
up in a great many law-suits, out of which he usually came victorious. He
was known as "Gov. Osborn," on account of his aggressiveness and
determination to always have his own way. If he made a promise, he would
always keep it. He was married twice. His first wife came with him to the
county and here died, leaving the following children: Silas, Daniel,
Thomas, Samuel and David. His second wife was the mother of Isaac,
Charles and Maria. As the country began to get thickly settled and
neighbors in every direction, the progress of civilization was disagreeable
to his frontier education, so he sold out in 1835 and moved West, where
he expected to find things more in harmony with his feelings.

http://home.att.net/~osborne-origins/biograph/bio_tv.htm