Population Explosion Missed Aid Township
Ironton Tribune, September 17, 1967 Submitted by Lorna Marks

While the greater part of the world is panicked by the population excess problem, Aid Township in Lawrence County is enjoying the wide open spaces and clean fresh air.

The census of Aid Township in the year 1850, when the western move toward the new frontier was heightening, revealed that there were 884 persons living in 135 dwellings in Aid Township.

Yet 110 years later, when the population of the world has increased by many millions, Aid Township census takers in 1960 tabulated 707 residents.

Many of the early settlers of the township, located in the center of the county, were from other parts of Ohio, probably attracted to the area because of the growing success of industry, especially the iron industry.

In 1850, Ironton and Lawrence County were starting to feel the growth of new industries. A dry apple house where in the fall of the year apples were cured was located at the corner of Seventh and Lawrence Streets. And the Ironton Foundry, known as Campbell, Ellison & Co., was located near the mouth of Storm's Creek. These were the first known industries in the Ironton area.

Vesuvius Furnace, one of Lawrence County's first blast iron furnaces, and many other furnaces were booming.

The first settlement in Aid Township was made at Marion in 1815, but the actual town of Marion was not laid out until 1840.

The first cabin in the township was built in 1800 by "Captain John", a red man, and Andy FRIEND, a white man. They were both squatters and made their living hunting and trapping along John's Creek," according to Hardesty's Hand Atlas of Ohio.

In 1837 the first saw-mill was built by Simlow SHUTOC, and in 1820 the first school was taught by William GILLEN in a log cabin, with neither floors nor windows, on the right fork of Storm's Creek.

The 1850 census, the first in which the names of each person in every household were enumerated, included columns for sex, color, school attendance, property value, origin, occupation and literacy.

The breakdown included 144 families, 40 white males, 413 white females, and one colored male.

One hundred and thirteen persons had attended school within the year, and 80 could not read or write.

The origins of the settlers were recorded, with 697 of the total population migrating from other parts of Ohio, Virginia brought 187 persons, Pennsylvania, 19, and several each came from the state of Vermont, Kentucky, North Carolina, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Connecticut and the countries of Germany, Ireland, England, and Canada.

Many of the settlers were "laborers" and farmers, with occasional "wagon-makers," blacksmiths, clerks, merchants, and physicians cropping up in the columns. One physician, in comparison with today's wealth, had a total property evaluation of $250.

Very few of the residents had property evaluations listed, but most of the ones who did own property were in the $250-500 bracket. The lowest property value listed was $100 for a farmer, and the most was $8,000, also for a farmer.

Some of the early settlers of the township were Isaac PAYTON, Nathan PAYTON, John CANNON, William NELSON, Lawrence DELAWTER, Joshua WILLIS, William PENTZ, Cornelius CLARK, John RUSSELL and Richard SHARP.

The early records, many of which are available for public use at Briggs-Lawrence County Public Library, show many name differences. For example, the residents of the area today with the name of 'DELAWDER" use a "wd" instead of a "ut" as in the earlier "Delauter" settlers. Other name differences were noted in the names COLYER (Colier, Collier), BARNET, RUSSEL, VAN METRE, HANNDLEY, AULDRIGE, NOULAN, and BARTLY. Elias NIGH, soldier and town and county official, was the executor of the 1850 census of the county. Another census also available in microfilm at the library is the 1870 census.