Samuel Urie 1791-1848
&
Rachel Stephenson 1801-1894

Written by Georgia Parker

Samuel Urie was born in Washington County, Pa. In the cabin of his parents on 
August 25, 1791.  He seems to have been the second son (and second child) of 10  
children of Solomon Urie and his wife Elizabeth McConnell.  All of the children 
were born while the family still lived in Washington Co.  One member of the family 
told me Samuel was named after the famous Indian scout Samuel Brady who was 
close family friend.  Samuel Brady may have been a family friend but I do question 
this naming somewhat as Samuel seems to have been a popular name in the family 
and there are several relatives he might have been named Samuel after.  We do not 
know much about the early life of Samuel.  By the time he was born, the 
Revolutionary War was over and the country was becoming established.  George 
Washington had been president now for 2 years.

We know that Samuel continued to live in Washington Co. with the rest of the 
family and that at the age of 21, he served in the War of 1812 as a private in the Pa. 
Militia in Captain D. Buchanan’s company.  His father Solomon served in the same 
company.  Both served for 3 months on the borders of Canada and “rendezvoused 
at Black Rock”.  From reading, I now believe Black Rock is just below Buffalo, New 
York.  After the end of this war, both Samuel and his father returned to Hopewell 
Twp., Washington Co. Pa.

We do not know what prompted the Uries to leave Washington Co.  In about 1814 
but possibly it was the fact that, with each succeeding generation, the land would 
become more divided up on inheritance and with 8 boys in the family the land 
would be pretty chopped up after Solomon died.  But also this was the time of rapid 
westward expansion and many families were doing the same thing.  At any rate, it 
seems Solomon and 2 of his sons, Samuel and Thomas (born 2 years later than 
Samuel) spent winter of 1814 in Orange Township, Richland County, Ohio.  At that 
time there were only 5 white families in the whole township in addition to the 3 Urie 
men.  Samuel’s father had a quarter section of land in Orange Twp. And another 
quarter section of land in Montgomery Twp.   I gather that during the winter of 
1814, the 3 men built a cabin and then went back to Pa. for the rest of the family.  
By this time the oldest son Robert Urie had died (1810) so now Samuel was the 
eldest of the nine remaining children.


In 1814 the Solomon Urie family consisted, in addition to the father and mother, 
sons, Samuel, Thomas, David, John, Solomon jr., George Washington and James.  
There were 2 daughters named Susannah and Elizabeth.  So these were the brothers 
and sisters of Samuel when they came to Ohio.  Samuel the oldest living child at this 
time, was 23 and the youngest child was just 6 years old.  Samuel was to spend the 
rest of his life in Ashland County, Ohio.

At this point, it might be well to give a brief history of the area of Ohio they came to 
settle.  Ohio was the battleground where the Indians tried to stop the tide of 
civilization on its westward movement across the American continent and Ashland 
Co. was the battlefield upon which some of the bloodiest tragedies of that terrible 
conflict were enacted.   America was unique in being settled by pioneers.  Other 
countries were people by men moving in large bodies or whole tribes.  But in 
America, the settlers came singly or in small groups.  As they came, the Indians got 
pushed off their hunting grounds and the conflict between the two groups became 
intense.

Ashland County is in the northern central part of Ohio.  In fact, there is only one 
county (Lorain) to the north of Ashland before you reach Lake Erie.  At the end of 
the 18th century, Ohio was complete wilderness called the Northwest Territory.  
There were numerous Indian tribes living throughout the area with only a few white 
Indian traders among them.  But shortly after 1800, after the lands were becoming 
heavily populated in some of the eastern states, pioneers started to push westward to 
make a new life for their families.

The area that is today Ashland County seems to have had its first white settler about 
the year 1811.  A Daniel Carter from Pa.  Raised the first cabin near where the town 
of Ashland is today.  About the same time a Robert Newell and a Mr. Fry raised 
cabins within 5 miles of this.  At this time this area had just become its own county 
in 1808 but was called Richland County at that time.   Ashland County did not exist 
until it was formed in 1846 out of parts of Richland, Wayne, Huron, and Lorain 
Counties.  The area was first surveyed about 1807 and at that time there were still 
no white settlements only Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas, Mohegans and Mingoes.  
The first land office for purchase of land was established at Canton soon after these 
surveys.

There were several Indian villages in Ashland at the time of the first settlers.  After 
the Gnadenhutten Moravian Indian Massacre in 1782 (farther east in what was to 
become Ohio), the Delawares refused to live in that area any longer and eventually 
moved to an area called Helltown, an Indian village near where the town of Ashland 
is today.  Helltown was the home of such famous Indians as old Tom Lyons, Thomas 
Armstrong and other chiefs of the Delawares.  Another Indian village in the vicinity 
was called Greentown.

This village was developed there in about 1785 and was burned during the War of 
1812 when the Indians refused to leave and there was fear they would be bribed by 
the British to cause trouble.  This burning of their village may have been the cause 
of the horrible Indian Massacres immediately after this in Ashland.  Three Pioneer 
families were completely “wiped out”.  Other famous Indians of the Ashland area 
were baptized Jerome (actually a French trader who married an Indian squaw and 
became Indian), Captain Pipe, Abram Williams, Jonacake, Killbuck, Crane, 
Jelloway, Montour and Captain Armstrong.  The notorious cruel renegade Simon 
Girty also frequented the area.  He was actually an Irish immigrant who was 
adopted by Indians early in life and he distinguished himself by his barbaric cruelty.  
These Indian villages were quite large and were mostly Delaware and Wyandots.  
This area of Ohio was great hunting ground with heavy forest and many waterways.  
The area had many very old Indian trails and many of the roads there today were 
once Indian paths.  The area still had Indians living in the area as late as the 1820’s 
but eventually they all had to accept the civilization of the white man and they 
finally went to reservations.

Today the city of Ashland, Ohio is the county seat of Ashland County.  It is a pretty 
little, very old town of about 20,000 inhabitants.  Located 50 miles southwest of 
Cleveland and about 85 miles northeast of Columbus.  Agriculture seems to be the 
main industry.  Ashland University is now located in the town.  The county is 
comprised of 15 townships.  My ancestors seemed to settle, for the most part, in only 
4 of these; Clear Creek, Montgomery, Milton and Orange.  The original settlers 
were for the most part, Scots-Irish in descent but there were also German Heritage 
and most came for m the state Pa.

Ashland County did produce some rather famous people; among them was Charles 
F. Kettering, the inventor of the electric self-starter for automobiles.  But the oddest 
character in the whole county was Johnny Appleseed.  Hi is not a myth.  He really 
did exist.  His real name was John Chapman and he was born about 1770.

We know that in Richland County on December 24, 1816, Samuel Urie married 
Rachel Stephenson, the daughter of Andrew and Mary Stephenson who were also 
early settlers in Richland County (later to become Ashland Co.).  Rachel had been 
born on September 26, 1801.  I think she must have been born in Pa.  As I am sure 
the family was not in Ohio yet at that time.  According to all census reports, she was 
born in Pa.  She probably was 15 at the time of the marriage of Samuel and he was 
25.

By the time the Urie family arrived in this part of Ohio in 1814, it was still 
completely wilderness. It was a gently rolling area, heavily forested and many 
streams, both large and small, meandered through the area.  The Uries settled on 
land in Montgomery and Orange Twps.  There were no roads at the time they 
arrived in 1814.  There were only Indian trails and many of these are now today the 
roads of Ashland County.  P.47 of Hill’s HISTORY OF ASHLAND COUNTY, 
OHIO written in 1880 mentions that the “late Samuel Urie, sr. was one of the 
viewers of 1816 when one of the Indian paths was widened” to become the common 
highway to early pioneers of Orange and Clear Creek Twps.

The city of Ashland, Ohio was laid out in 1815 by William Montgomery and was 
called Uniontown until 1822 when the name was changed to Ashland.  Both Samuel 
and father Solomon were owners of some of the original lots in the town of 
“Uniontown”, now Ashland, Ohio.  Samuel is recorded as having purchased Lot #12 
for $35 from William Montgomery on 30 May 1819.  This is recorded in the 
Richland Co. Courthouse in Mansfield, Ohio,(Vol. 2, Page 60).  Samuel Urie was the 
first blacksmith of old Uniontown and he had his blacksmith shop on what is today 
the Main Street of Ashland.  I was told that his shop was in the spot where many, 
many years later stood the Citizens Bank on Main Street.  From much comparing of 
maps of 1819 with those of Ashland of today, I believe his lot is now on Main street, 
back up to what is now Second street and is just to the west of where Center Street 
meets Main Street from the south.  In the plan of the town of 1847m lot #12 is owned 
by a David Robison.  I believe that Samuel also once owned lot #20 as there is a 
record of his selling it Sage (lage?) Kellog in 1824.  I believe that he bought this lot 
from William Montgomery in 1821.  There is also record of purchases of Samuel 
from Montgomery of another 11 acres (NW S18 T22 R16 AND NWS17 T22 R16) in 
1819, 1820, and 1821.  He also bought land from Cornelius Aten in 1840.  Samuel 
must have also owned lot #14 at one time as he sold it to E.B. Bostick & Co. in 1825.  
There is also record of sales of other land to Joel Luther in 1824 and 1825.  He also 
sold land to Brother George and Tomas in 1832.  All descriptions of these lands are 
found in the Deed Books at the courthouse in Mansfield Ohio.

Samuel and his wife Rachel were charter members of Hopewell Presbyterian 
Church, which was about 1 ˝ miles west of Ashland.  This congregation was 
organized in 1816, the first church of Ashland, County.  Samuel and Rachel had 
their first child in 1817.  His name was Thomas.  The county history list their other 
children Samuel, Andrew, John, George, Elizabeth, Mary Ann, Rachel and Nancy.  
There seem to be gaps in between years when they had no children.  If I am correct 
in all these dates, this may mean there were children born who did not live.  I do not 
know.  Some of these children I know little of.

I do know that at the death of Rachel’s father, Andrew Stephenson, in 1826, Rachel 
and Samuel inherited some land.  This is the same land listed in the will of Samuel 
as the NE corner of Section 1, Township 24, Range 17.  I think this puts this land in 
Milton Township and right at the border of Montgomery Twp.

I have never found any pictures of either Samuel or Rachel.  In fact the Urie picture 
I have ever found is that of Samuel’s younger brother, George Washington Urie, 
who was quite prominent in Ashland County.  He held offices like that of County 
Treasurer so maybe this entitled him to a picture in the history books of Ashland 
County.  Also by the time the history books of the counties were written, most of the 
older Uries had been dead many years and in the early years, only the very wealthy 
or famous could afford to have their portrait painted.  There were no cameras until 
about the 1850’s and then only photographers had them.  Therefore I seriously 
doubt that I will ever come across a picture of any of the other Urie’s to let me know 
what they look like.  However, on page 199 of one of the local histories, it states that 
Samuel, like his father and brother Thomas, was a tall man at least 6 feet or more 
and quite heavy.

I do not know what caused the death of Samuel.  I do have a copy of the will he 
wrote on November 12, 1848.  In it he mentioned that his son Thomas was to pay his 
physician’s bill yet unpaid.  So it is obvious that he was sick and expected the worst 
so wrote his will at that time.  He died on November 28, 1848, in Ashland County, an 
his will was probate don October 11, 1849, with his younger brother George W. Urie 
as administrator of his estate.  I also have the whole court record of the sale of all 
the property after his death and it is interesting to see the items and their values in 
1849.  Samuel was 57 when he died.  In the court term of December 1848, Rachel 
was appointed guardian to their three minor heirs; John (11 years old) Nancy (8 
years old) and George (18 months old).  Daughter Rachel was 14 but not given a 
guardian at this time.  Samuel is buried in the old Orange Cemetery (Nankin) just a 
short distance north of the Ashland’s city limits.  In this same cemetery, just a few 
feet from his grave, is that of his mother Elizabeth McConnell (wife of Solomon 
Urie).  I have pictures of these graves.

Rachel Stephenson Urie survived her husband by 46 years.  She seems to have lived 
with various children after the death of Samuel.  In the 1850 census she and the 
minor children (plus and older unmarried daughter) were living in Milton Twp.  
Probably on the land she had inherited from her father in 1826.  Also living there 
with her was her son Samuel Jr. and his new wife.  The daughter Rachel (my great 
grandmother) was 16 now and still living with her widowed mother also.  In 1870, I 
found Rachel listed in Milton Twp., living with her single daughter Mary A. and 
youngest son George.  On the 1880 census Rachel is living with James Sloan, a 
widower and his son and daughter.  Rachel is listed as his housekeeper.  Next door 
to this residence seems to be that of Rachel’s son George Urie (age 30) with his wife 
Sarah and 1 year old baby Huldah.  I found Rachel was receiving by 1880, a small 
pension as the widow of veteran of the War of 1812.  She was getting $8 per month.  
Rachel died on February 8, 1894, at the age of 92 ˝ of old age according to the 
record.  She is also buried with her husband Samuel in the Nankin Cemetery.