A helpful friend, Marilyn Schmidt (on this list), provides the following excerpt concerning an early Methodist Church in Ripley that lists several names. I suspect "Mr & Mrs M'Daniel" were Valentine & Sarah McDaniel since they were living only a mile or so north of Ripley in Survey #1033 (in Pleasant, later Union Twp) -- while there were no other McD's in the area to my knowledge. Even by the 1820 census, most other McD's (7 in total) were in Huntington Twp, plus Joseph, s/o Valentine, in Eagle (later Byrd Twp), and another Joseph up north in Clark (later Scott Twp), I believe. This 'new' info possibly 'fits' my earlier posting where Valentine & Sarah donated land to Methodist Episcopal Church Trustees in 1842, after they had moved to Survey #641 of Byrd Twp in 1832-33. So, while I thought Valentine was most likely Scotch-Irish Presbyterian, this 'new' info provides reason to rethink this -- possibly he converted from influence by Sarah or the many Methodist circuit riders and preachers of that time? The names of other church members listed in the excerpt below are unfamiliar to me; do any listees have info for these families, or more info concerning an early Methodist Church in Ripley? (Pages 420-421 of Beers' History of Brown Co. tells much about early churches in the area -- including this Ripley Methodist Church, see my addition after the excerpt of Marilyn's.) BTW, Marilyn Schmidt is researching her HEWITT ancestors: Richard HEWITT who also lived in Survey #1033, and Ephraim HEWITT, who was in Survey #664 (early-mid 1800's.) Please post to the list concerning Hewitt's. Here is the excerpt from Marilyn: >From "Foot-Prints of an Itinerant" by Rev. Maxwell Gaddis, pp. 67-68: "Methodism was planted here at an early period. (Ripley Oh) The first Methodist sermon was preached here by the venerable John Collins, of precious memory, a particular account of which I furnished Judge M'Lean for the biography of father Collins. In 1818 soon after my father settled on Eagle Creek, a small class was organized by Rev. Wm. Dixon in the town of Ripley, of which my brother, Rev. John Gaddis, was appointed leader. The names of the members were: John Ashbaugh, Sophia Ashbaugh, John Walkington, Ann Tupman, Miss Gooty, Mr. Tupman, Mr. & Mrs. M'Daniel, Rachel and Sophia Hardin and Miss Anna Hardin, and a few others whose names I do not now recollect. The first preaching was held in private houses. It was next removed to the new court-house and under the labors of Rev. Andrew M'Clain, a number were added to the church. The next place of preaching was in an old frame house, which had been previously used for an oil-mill. It was in this old, antiquated house that I first heard Rev. Russel Bigelow preach a most powerful sermon".... etc. Beers lists the church members as "John Ashbaugh, Sophia Ashbaugh, Ann and William Tupman, Rachel, Sophia and Anna Hardin, Mr and Mrs McDaniel, William Creekbaum and John Cauffman. The home of John Rhodes was the place of preaching, and afterward alternately the houses of Ashbaugh, Hardin and Jackson." While posting, another topic concerns township modifications through the early years, which I attempted to reveal in my first paragraph above, possibly not altogether accurately. This is probably why Sandra Lewis, prior leader of the Adams Co. list, was recently trying to find a map showing township changes of that county. Many twp names in the area were changed in the 1800's, possibly in years soon following Brown Co.'s formation from Adams and Clermont. A map showing these progressive changes would certainly help. Best wishes to Sandra, with a job-well-done belated thank you. Neil McDonald