| Notes |
AHIMAAZ JACOBS was born on October 13, 1821, on the farm of his parents, GABRIEL JACOBS and MARGARET JACKSON, on the southeastern slope of Great Savage Mountain, facing George's Creek Valley and Dan's Mountain beyond, in Allegany County in Western Maryland. This was before the discovery of tremendous coal deposits in the area, which subsequently irrevocably altered the peaceful valley. It brought in the coal companies, railroads and led to the founding of the nearby village of Lonaconing, Maryland, a few miles away in 1837. Like other children of the mountaneous area, AHIMAAZ'S formal schooling was very limited. It was obtained in a log schoolhouse into which light was admitted through an open door in warm weather and through greased-paper window panes. It was heated by an open fireplace in the winter, with its chimney on the outside of the building made of earth reinforced with sticks. The students sat on hard wood benches facing the teacher. The smaller children's feet were unable to touch the floor. AHIMAAZ'S teacher, who could read, write and "cipher," was considered competent as an instructor and generally his students were not expected to excel in these subjects beyond his level. As a result, obtaining skills in the three R's was considered an adequate education. Coming from a family of 12 children (six boys and six girls), it required most of AHIMAAZ's time to carry out his farm chores. However, the social gatherings of the area in those days evolved themselves around harvestings, corn husking contests, house and barn raisings, quilting and apple peeling for the ladies, or helping a sick or needy neighbor. Also, there were singing events, ciphering contests, dancing the Virginia Reel, the Schottische, the Waltz or the Hoedown, and fiddling contests. In 1841, at the age of 20, AHIMAAZ was required to accompany his older brother, Samuel, who had been born in 1809, and his wife, Elizabeth Coffman, to the prairies of Ogle County in Northwestern Illinois. There Samuel acquired some good land and during the next few years AHIMAAZ helped him convert it into productive farmland. It is interesting to note that Samuel was not only a farmer but also a doctor and a part-time preacher. With his children gradually leaving the farm to get married and start homes of their own, GABRIEL, then in his middle sixties, called AHIMAAZ back from Illinois in late 1843 to help him run the family farm in George's Creek Valley, Maryland. There as a young man, AHIMAAZ cast his first vote when James K. Polk narrowly defeated Henry Clay for the presidency in 1844. Love came into AHIMAAZ'S life when he began courting his first cousin, EMILY TROLLINGER, the daughter of his Uncle JACOB DROLLINGER (TROLLINGER), JR. and Aunt SARAH (SALLY) JACOBS TROLLINGER, who lived across George's Creek Valley on the slopes of Dan's Mountain. She had been born there on April 4, 1826. While some frowned upon the marriage of first cousins, it was a common occurance in these days. Generally, a man's choice of a bride was limited to one living within five miles of him. That was the distance he could walk or ride to court her after his evening farm chores were done, and then return home later that night so he could rise with the next morning's sun to again take care of more chores. After receiving a license on march 3, 1846, AHIMAAZ and EMILY TROLLINGER were married on March 10, 1846, in the Methodist Church in George's Creek Valley. After their marriage, they continued to live there. But two years later AHIMAAZ's father, GABRIEL, died on October 11, 1848,and he was buried in the Green Cemetery near the new little village of Lonaconing. EMILY stayed on the "Home Place" and some of her sons helped her manage it for about a half dozen more years. Later, AHIMAAZ and EMILY sold their share of the "Home Place" farm to Henry H. Porter on April 20, 1864, for $750. After the other heirs also sold their shares in the farm, it was eventually sold to a John Green. By now, the lure of new fertile lands opening up to the west began taking hold of AHIMAAZ and EMILY. They were especially attracted to those that they heard about in Greene County, Ohio, which had been named after General Nathanial Greene, who had led British General Cornwallis into a trap at Yorktown during the Revolutionary War. A place called Yellow Springs in Miami Township seemed unusually promising. It was named for a mineral spring of great healing power, which had originally attracted the Indians to the site. Later, thousands of white men confirmed the beneficences of the 110 gallons of water that flowed from it per minute. A more important attraction was the newly-established Antioch College (named for the ancient Syrian city of Antioch) which had been founded in Yellow Springs by the Christian Church. The emminent and progressive educator, Horace Mann, was serving as its first president. Surprisingly, prior to 1853, there were only a few residents in the area of Yellow Springs. There were a few small cabins and the Methodist Church. Most of its early settlers are now unknown and unhonored. However, Judge William Mills was among the earliest. But the potential of Yellow Springs as a summer resort began attracting others and it began to grow. The completion of the Little Miami Railroad between Xenia and Springfield in 1846 added to the importance of the village and its general prosperity. More and more houses were built and stores were opened. In fact, in 1846, William Mills and A. C. Johnson erected a building at the railroad's crossing of Dayton Street. It was later known as "Union House" and it served as a grocery and dry goods store. That same year, Thomas Gilmore erected an adjoining frame building that also served as a dry goods store. Both were adjacent the log Methodist church. Mills also erected the first brick residence in the area. Yellow Springs took formal form in 1853 when Judge Mills had a surveyor lay out a tract of 300 acres surrounding his home into lots that were sold for $150 to $500 each. He reserved 20 acres around his home, but donated other land for schools, a college and various church organizations. He envisioned a town that would eventually have a population of 20,000 and he worked diligently to promote its growth. The first post office was originally located in A. C. Johnson's orchard. Later, it was moved into the store of Walking & Mills. Another drawing card to Yellow Springs, and especially to Miami Township, was its very fertile land, which was watered by many small tributaries of the Little Miami River. In addition, the area was said to have some of the finest scenery in Ohio. The famous springs, the cliffs at Clifton and the geological formations along the Little Miami made it a beauty spot. In early 1853, AHIMAAZ and EMILY packed up their two children, JULIUS CICERO and Margaret Levina, and their household and farm belongings and traveled over the mountains and across the Ohio River to Yellow Springs. Some say that they came in a wagon pulled by four horses. Not long after AHIMAAZ and EMILY arrived in Yellow Springs, they purchased an 132 acre tract of land from David Urner in Section 26 of Township 4, Range 8, in Miami Township, about a mile and a half west of town on the Byron- Yellow Springs-Clifton Toll Road that had toll houses at major crossroads (later called the Dayton - Yellow Springs Road). This land proved to be very fertile and productive in producing hay crops, wheat and corn, which yielded them a profitable income. Soon AHIMAAZ had enclosed it with a cross-rail type wooden fence and had it all under cultivation except for a 25 acre woods. For initial shelter, he built a log cabin at the end of a farm lane leading to a dirt cross road that connected to the Byron-Yellow Springs-Clifton toll road. It had a puncheon floor and a clapboard roof. The cabin had one room, which served as a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and parlor. He built a large open fireplace at one end which served to heat the cabin and cook the food. Only one door and a few windows were provided. Ahimaaz's carpentry tools were an ax, a hand saw, and an auger for boring holes. A fine spring-fed stream ran through the farm, which became a tributary of the Little Miami River a dozen miles away. It was called was called "Jacoby Branch" after a H. Jacoby who lived several miles downstream to the south. Ahimaaz built a rail pen to stable his animals and also grubbed out the underbrush, made wood rails to fence his fields and girdled the standing trees. About a year after AHIMAAZ and EMILY came to Yellow Springs, his mother, MARGARET arrived. AHIMAAZ helped her to purchase 23 acres of land in Section 25 of Township 4, Range 8, in Miami Township, very close to his farm. Also, his brother, Jesse, arrived with MARGARET. Of intererst is the fact that other relatives from George's Creek Valley also arrived in the area, including Levi, the son of GABRIEL'S brother Jacob, along with his wife, Grace Trotten Jacobs, and their four cildren, James B., Pauline E., Benjamin F., and Angelina. Another was JACOB TROLLINGER, JR., EMILY'S father, and his son, Nimrod Trollinger, who settle in the hamlet of Byron several miles to the west. However, MARGARET died on October 20, 1855, and was buried in the Glen Forest Cemetery in Yellow Springs. Her husband, GABRIEL, had died on October 11, 1848, and had been buried in the Old Green Cemetery near Lonaconing, Maryland. AHIMAZZ apparently inherited the 23 acres in Section 25 of Township 4, Range 8, in Miami Township from MARGARET, for he sold this land to John Loe in 1864. Soon, two more children were born to AHIMAAZ and EMILY in the log cabin on the farm near Yellow Springs. They were Jacob Thomas, born on July 30 1856, and William Austin born in 1862. This brought to six the number of children born of their marriage, Laura and Gabriel having died as infants in George's Creek Valley. As a prosperous young farmer, AHIMAAZ was described as "a man who forms one of the landmarks of Miami Township in Greene County." He was also "a plain, unassuming man, content to live in a modest manner, careful and methodical and pursing the course which gained him the confidence of those around him." A measure of AHIMAAZ's farm management and financial abilities is the fact that in the 1860 Census his farm was valued at $8,000, and by the 1870 Census its value had increased to $13,000. His successes also enabled him to build a fine new home on the farm, this one facing the Dayton-Yellow Springs road. However, he left his original log cabin and barn, in the middle of the farm, stand. Later, in 1876, AHIMAAZ bought 40.62 acres of land, adjoining his farm to the north, from Ernest Herman for $2,000, increasing his farm to 172.62 acres. AHIMAAZ and EMILY became members of the Christian Church in Yellow Springs and he became one of its trustees. For many years, he also served as a member of the Miami Township School Board. Before he settled in Greene County, empty log cabins served as school houses and teachers had no qualifications other than to be able to read, write and cipher. These early schools were supported by subscriptions. A person wishing to teach would circulate a subscription form in the area. If he secured enough students that would earn him $8 to $10 a month, he would set up the school. These schools usually cost $1.50 per student for a 13-week session. No examination of the teacher's qualifications was made, except by the school patrons. Then in 1819 school districts were formed and elected directors secured the subscriptions. By 1830, public funds were added to the subscriptions and school houses were built on a donation plan. The school districts were still independent of each other. Then in 1852, township school districts were established and this enabled the residents to have better schools and teachers. AHIMAAZ believed strongly about the need for better schools and he worked hard for them. But, he carefully refrained from assuming any other responsibilities of political office. In fact, when he was once elected as a Supervisor of Miami Township against his will, he declined to serve. AHIMAAZ was always a political conservative and in the latter years of his life he became interested in the temperance movement. In fact, he cast his vote with the Prohibition Party in the presidential election of 1888, voting for Clinton B. Fisk. Meanwhile, EMILY had preceded AHIMAAZ in death on August 19, 1888 and she was buried in Lot 120 in the Glen Forest Cemetery at Yellow Springs. He followed her in death on January 27, 1905, after spending the last years of his life with his son, Jacob Thomas, and his wife, Mary Francis Berg, who had taken over running part of the family farm. The rest was being farmed by his son, JULIUS CICERO and his wife, HANNAH MIRIAM JOHNSON, who had moved into the original log cabin in the center of the farm. Apparently, prior to his death, AHIMAAZ "sold" half of his farm to his son, Jacob Thomas, and the other 86.61 acres to his son, JULIUS CICERO, his only living heirs as his wife and all of his other chidren were then deceased. However, AHIMAAZ died intestate (leaving no will) and the Probate Court apparently disallowed this verbal transaction as the 172.62 acres were included in his estate. JULIUS CICERO was appointed administrator of AHIMAAZ'S estate and personal effects on February 27, 1905. At that time he had George D. Black, David Hilts and G. H. Fogg appointed as appraisers of AHIMAAZ'S estate. They valued his estate at $11,415.17, including $587.55 in personal goods, $22.23 in money, $415.75 in securites, $389.64 in notes due him from individuals, and $10,000 in real estate. This was later equally divided between Jacob Thomas and JULIUS CICERO. AHIMAAZ was buried beside EMILY in the Glen Forest Cemetery. Their graves are marked by a handsome six-foot tall mounument of dark gray marble. Of interest is the fact that the bell from AHIMAAZ'S farm near Yellow Springs was in the hands of his great-great grandson, James Richard Jacobs, Sr., as of September 1994.
REFERENCES:
1. Marriage License; Ahimaaz Jacobs to Emily Trollinger; Allegany County Maryland Court Records; Maryland State Archives.
2. Deed; Ahimaaz and Emily Jacobs to Henry H. Porter; 20 April 1864; Allegany County Maryland land records; Maryland State Archives.
3. Portrait Biographical Album of Greene and Clark Counties, Ohio; pages 164-165; Chapman Bros; Chicago, Illinois; 1890.
4. Greene County, Ohio, Probate Court records of estate of Ahimaaz Jacobs; Box 268, Roll 154; 1908.
5. 1855 Map of Miami Township of Greene County, Ohio.
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1821 - 1905 (83 years)
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