NOBLE COUNTY OHIO - BIO: Ezekiel Dye (1887)

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From the The Ohio Biographies Project
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~usbios/Ohio/mnpg.html
a part of The U.S. Biographies Project
http://members.tripod.com/~debmurray/usbios/usbiog.html

Transcribed by Deb Murray.

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The first permanent settlement in the township was made in 1806, by the
sons of Ezekiel Dye. Dye's Fork, of Meigs Creek, takes its name from this
family, and the "Dye settlement" was well known to the pioneers of the
territory now forming the counties of Guernsey, Muskingum, Morgan and
Noble. Ezekiel Dye, Sr., was a native of New Jersey, and a soldier in the
Revolutionary War. He came to Ohio from Pennsylvania, and in 1804 followed
westward to Chillicothe the path known as the old Federal trail, seeking
lands on which to locate. He was best pleased with the Meigs Creek
location, and entered several hundred acres, situated in the vicinity of
Renrock, upon which he and his sons located and passed their lives. They
were good citizens - honest, industrious and straightforward men;
courageous and hardy, well fitted to endure the hardships of pioneer life.

Ezekiel Dye, Sr., came in 1807 to the lands which he had purchased; but his
sons, Thomas, Ezekiel, Vincent, William, John and Amos, came the year
before and inaugurated the work of improvement. Their nearest neighbors
were on Duck Creek and in the vicinity of Cumberland, and on the Muskingum
River. The Dyes were all young men, and at the time of their coming only
Thomas was married. He and his father located on the farm now owned by John
L. Reed. Thomas' first wife was Nancy Davis. He married again after her
decease, and was the father of a large family. Benjamin Dye, born in 1810,
is stil living. He is the sone of Thomas and Nancy Dye, and is said to have
been the first white child born in Brookfield Township.

Ezekiel Dye, Jr., settled on the east side of the creek on a farm adjoining
his brother Thomas'. He married Nancy Sprague, lived and died here, and
reared a large and respectable family. William, his brother, lived near the
others, in Muskingum County. John, another brother, married Catherine
Sears, and settled on the creek, above the farms of Thomas and Ezekiel.
Amos Dye married Sophia Dye, of Washington County, resided here some
years, then returned to Washington County, where he died. Two daughters of
Ezekiel Dye, Sr., came to this township with the family, but returned to
the East after a few years. The second wife of Ezekiel Dye, Sr., was Sarah
Paul; she bore twelve children, of whom two, Firman and Elizabeth (Maxwell)
of Morgan County, are still living. Joseph, Lewis, James and Firman were
the names of the sons.

Vincent Dye, son of Ezekiel, Sr., was born in Westmoreland County, Pa. He
married Anna Waddle, whose parents came from Pennsylvania and located in
the vicinity of Cumberland early in the present century. To them were born
thirteen children - E.J., Isabella, Elah, James, Elizabeth, Melinda,
Cassie, Miner, Madison, Wesley, Johnson, Robert and Polly. Of these E.J.,
Elah, Miner, Isabella, Elizabeth, Melinda and Cassie are still living, only
E.J. Dye in Noble County at present.

E.J. Dye was born in Brookfield Township November 19, 1812. In 1836 he
married Mahala Smith. Three sons and six daughters were born of this union.
Two of the daughters are dead. Johnson L. Dye, one of the sons, enlisted in
Company B, Sixty-second Ohio Volunteer Infantry, October 22, 1861;
re-enlisted January 1, 1864. He was in the engagements at Winchester, Deep
Bottom, Chapin Farm, Petersburg, Appomattox, etc. After being mustered out
at the close of the war, and remaining at home a year, he went to Kansas
and thence to Fort Saunders, Dak. The family has never heard from him
since, and it is supposed that he was killed by the Indians. E.J. Dye is a
farmer and stock-raiser. He is a member of the Methodist Episcoal church,
and has served eighteen years as justice of the peace. He had all the
experiences incident to life in the backwoods, and remembers when the whole
township was sparsely settled. When he was a boy his father used to send
him into the woods to hunt for cows, tying a bell upon him so that he mig
When the Dyes came to Brookfield they were obliged to go to Waterford, on
the Muskingum, for milling. Salt was very hard to procure, and very high.
Much of it used in the southern Ohio settlements was brought across the
mountains on horseback by means of pack saddles. "Alum salt" was salt mixed
with red pepper, that it might be used more economically. The first mill in
the neighborhood of Renrock was a horse-mill, owned by Thomas Dye. There
were no early water-mills in this part of the township.

Dye's Fork of Meigs Creek was once a favorite hunting ground for the
Indians. When Ezekiel Dye, Sr. began his clearing he was visited by two
Indians. As he saw them approaching, he heard them muttering in their own
language, and from their looks and tones he concluded there were not at all
pleased at his intrusion. He feared they might attach him and kept a firm
hold on the handspike with which he was at work until his visitors had
departed, intending to use it over their heads in case of hostile
demonstrations.

When the Dyes came to the country, they had to go to Duck Creek, Bates Fork
and Waterford to get help to raise their cabin. When the first barn was
raised, settlers were summoned from many miles to assist. They came a day
in advance of the raising, and remained three days before they had finished
their work.

History of Noble County, Ohio Published by 
L.H. Watkins & Co. of Chicago 1887
Brookfield