USA > Ohio > Fulton County > A standard history of Fulton County, Ohio, an authentic narrative of the past, with an extended survey of modern developments in the progress of town and county, Vol. I > Part 24
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
twelve years old. The two elder boys and their sister made the journey on foot driving the cattle and sheep. The obituary of John New- comer continues :
"The day after that on which they landed at the William Bayes homestead, Father Newcomer and his two boys, armed with axes, grubbing hoes, and strong will, blazed a way through the wood .... and in two days a quarter of an aere was cleared off. In less than three weeks a cabin, with 'puncheon floor,' was ready for occupancy."
John Newcomers first log cabin was of round logs, but later he built a large hewn-log house, of two floors. That house was a stopping place for travellers. George D. Newcomer says that when the railroad was being built in 1853-54, they often had forty or fifty boarders, all of whom would sleep in the one large upstairs room, sleeping on the floor, and arranging themselves as well as they could around the room, "feet to the center." The small log house was then used as a
"ALL THE COOKING WAS DONE ON A SPIT."
dining room. The cooking was all done on a spit, before an old- fashioned fireplace.
John Newcomer had good part in the development of Clinton Township and of Wauseon. He held several local offices, and for nine years was a justice of the peace. "He took a leading part in the erection of the church (Methodist Episcopal) at Wauseon" and was "the first Mason made by Wauseon Lodge, on its organization, 1864." The golden anniversary of the wedding of John and Naomi New- comer was held in 1881, and on that day 175 friends, most of whom were prominent residents of Fulton county, called to pay "their respects to Uncle John and his bride of fifty years ago." Mrs. Newcomer died five years later, aged seventy-two years, hav- ing lived long enough to see a remarkable change take place
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
in the locality to which they had come in 1844. Of their children, Solomon went into Nebraska in 1856, and in the next fifty years only visited Wauseon twice, once to attend his parents' golden wedding celebration in 1881, and the last time in 1912. He died in Wauseon on this second visit. His life had been an adventurous one, "gold prospecting, and fighting Indians, carrying United States mails, on snowshoes over mountains and barren wastes." In his last years he lived in Idaho. Anna, or Hester Ann, was born in Clinton Township on February 28, 1846, and was, it seems the first white child born in what now is within the corporate limits of Wauseon. She married Wesley A. Blake, and in the marital state lived almost fifty years, her death occurring in 1913, just three weeks short of what would have been the time of their golden wedding celebration. She was a stanch Methodist, like her mother, and was an ardent church worker. George D., the only surviving child of John and Naomi Newcomer still lives in Wauseon, much respected. His life-record has been good. He enlisted in the spring of 1862, and was discharged at the end of the war, his service including a brief term as a Confederate prisoner. During his life, George D. Newcomer has taken useful part in Wauseon and county affairs; he was trustee of the township for six years, and for three terms was a commissioner of Fulton county.
James Dunbar, born in Connecticut in 1817, came from Erie county, Ohio. where he was married in 1841 to Mary Ann Gleason, and settled in Clinton Township in 1844. He became one of the substantial residents of the township, and lived in it for fifty-six years, death coming in 1900. His wife died in 1892.
David and Nathaniel Gorsuch came in 1848, from Wayne county, Ohio. Nathaniel, probably David also, settled on section 17. Nathan Gorsuch settled on section 15, in 1854, coming with his wife, Elizabeth Ayers, and their children, in that year from Wayne county, Ohio. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, and he died on section 16 of Clinton Township, March 3, 1886. His wife died in 1872. They were the parents of fourteen children. One of their sons, Mordecai, died in a Confederate prison during the Civil War. Another son, Ephraim, developed a fine property near the village of Wauseon. He died in 1918, aged eighty-three years. In the early days of their settlement, they were wont to utilize their team of oxen behind which to drive to church. He and his wife, Maria Cantleberry, were prominent members of the Christian Church.
Eli Pocock and his wife, Catherine Kennestrick came with their children, from Tuscarawas county, Ohio, in 1842, and settled on the northeast quarter of section 26, paying therefor $3.00 an acrc. Mrs. Pocock died in 1849, and Eli in 1865, being then sixty-nine years old. They had twelve children, three of whom served in the Civil War. Jesse, born in 1829, bought eighty acres of forest land in the town- ship in 1850, paying $3.00 an acre. He developed a fine homestead.
Anthony B. Robinson did not come into Fulton county until 1862, but he soon became prominent among the early residents. He was born in Wayne county, Ohio, and well educated, for academic, or engineering professions. He taught school for twenty-eight terms. and "took rank with the best teachers in the country." He farmed as well as taught, and after coming to Fulton county seems to have devoted most of his time to farming, and to county affairs. He owned nearly
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
300 aeres of land, and served as county surveyor from 1872 until 1884; and for cighteen years was a justiee of the peaee. He died in 1898, at his residenee, one mile west of Wauseon, aged 73 years.
John Miley with his wife, Elizabeth Peterson, came from Holmes county, in 1847 ; he died in 1892, and his wife in 1903. Others of the Miley family, werc: Rachel, who married James Wells; Jacob; Matthias, who died in 1905; George, of reference in Dover Township chapter: Jesse, who died in Illinois. Of John Miley's children, Henry went into Swan Creck Township; Thomas developed a good farm in Clinton Township, after the Civil War service; William C. had a farm west of Wauseon; Jaeob M. moved into Wauseon. Much will be told elsewhere about the Milcy family, a name mueh eneountered in his- torieal records of Fulton county.
Henry Scott, settled in Clinton Township, in 1847, paying $245 for eighty aeres. He came with his wife, Hannah Graham from Holmes eounty. She died in 1850.
Many of the Clinton Township pioneers will be referred to in the second volume of this work, and this chapter inust now deal more with the general narrative. The first birth in the township was that of a boy to Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Williams, on October 12, 1836. The boy, Charles G., died in 1837, his death being the first that oeeurred in the township. He was buried in York Township. The first burial in Clinton Township was in 1838, when the body of Ebenezer Keiser was interred, "on the south line of seetion 24, on the bank of Turkey Foot Creek, on the Avery Lamb Farm, about a half-mile east of Wauseon." No monument marks the spot.
The first resident physieian was Dr. D. W. Hollister. Rufus Briggs said, regarding Dr. Hollister:
"The early history of the township would be incomplete without naming the first resident physician. In 1851, or about two and one- half years before the first railroad, which is now known as the Lake Shore was built through the township, Dr. D. W. Hollister located in Wauseon. Doctor Hollister was a most welcomed settler, for up to that time we had to diagnose our own disease, and prescribe our own medicine, or be to the great expense of getting a physician who lived miles away. None can appreciate the hardships that Doctor Hollister endured, as he rode, night after night, on horseback, over the cow- paths through the dense forest, to render relief to a settler who was suffering from disease contracted from exposure, or the unhealthiness of the climate. I say none but the early pioneer ean appreciate the hardships that Doetor Hollister endured to relieve the sufferings of his fellow men."
More regarding the labors of Doetor Hollister will be written into the Medieal chapter of this historical work.
The first church built in Clinton Township was erected by the Campbellites, or Diseiples of Christ, on the cast side of the publie highway, in section 17, near the present residence of A. R. Loveland, states Charles W. Cornell. It was of frame construction, and built in, about, 1852. The first frame house erected in the township was, he adds, that built by James Cornell, in 1843. The northern 240 aeres of what eventually beeame the site of Wauseon (the land "lying south of Linfoot Street, and west of Shoop Avenue, to Brunel Street") were purchased by James Cornell and Campbell Bayes, his brother-in-law, they paying the Hickville Land Company $3.50 an acre therefor.
Northeast Part of Clinton Township, Fulton County, Ohio; with adjoining Sections, Showing Pioneer Trails and Roads, Previous to 1850.
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
This narrative is gradually coming to the all-important era which" began with the announcement that the railroad would pass through the county. First, however, let something be recorded regarding the earlier roads. In the words of Charles W. Cornell:
"The roads of the pioneer were blazed trails, angling through the woods, following the high ground. They were compelled to go to the high ground, for their roads, as water covered the low lands a large part of the year, and as most of the land was common, it made very little difference where the road went, or what trees were eut to make the road. When a low piece of ground had to be erossed. and there was likely to be much travel over it, trees were cut, and the logs were hauled in by oxen and placed side by side across it, and then earth was hauled over them, forming a corduroy road. Oft times this made a pretty rough road, but it was better than getting stuek in the mud.
"The first road laid out in Clinton Township began at the Island House corners; or near there, north of the Fulton County Fair Grounds, then angling across the town, striking Leggett Street, east of the Dr. Charles A. Cole residence. This was in 1844. John Schmall was the surveyor and S. E. Young and John Newcomer were the chain carriers."
From 1840 to 1850 the development of Clinton Township flagged somewhat, by comparison with the promise of the first few years of its settlement, but from 1850 it went forward with renewed energy. Undoubtedly, the organization of Fulton as a separate county unit of Ohio, in 1850, gave impetus to the development of the territory, but probably greater impetus was contained in the prospects of the carly linking of the county with one or more railway systems. It was thought that Ottokee would be on the line of the projected Junction railway, and the survey for that purpose caused Ottokee to grow rapidly. But the movement to bond the county for $50,000 having been defeated, the Junetion railway projeet was abandoned, and with its abandonnent passed Ottokee's early opportunity of growth.
The Junetion enterprise is referred to in an earlier chapter, and is touched upon here only because of its indireet bearing on the establish- ment of the village of Wauseon. Regarding Ottokee's prospect of securing railroad connection "Charley" Cornell says :
"It seems to me but yesterday when the announcement was made that Fulton county was to have a railroad. Surveyors had been at work, running lines east and west aeross the county, most of the surveys passing just south of Ottokee. Fulton county was organized in 1850, and Ottokee was made the county seat. With the prospect of securing a railroad Ottokee became a boom town, and there was great activity in real estate along the proposed line. The next year it was announced that the road would be built on the line of the last survey, or about three and one-half miles south of Ottokee."
As a matter of fact, the last survey was made by an opposition company, the Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana Railroad Company (later known as the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern, and now designated the Air Line Division, of the New York Central Railroad), which company feared that the success of the Junction railway projeet would in time eneroach upon what it considered its
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
own sphere, as a public carrier, and therefore decided to hasten the construction of a railway westward from Toledo, to connect with its main-line at Elkhart, Indiana. That was in 1852, and may be con- sidered the sced from which Wauseon, which ultimately became, and is now, the county seat of Fulton county, grew.
WAUSEON, THE COUNTY SEAT
Wauseon, in 1852, was not much more than "a road through the woods." But it had possibilities, seen clearly by one young engineer among those who came into the field, quietly, in 1852 to survey the territory for the Southern Michigan and Northern Indiana Railroad Company. The survey completed, and the construction of the road decided upon, this young engineer, Epaphras Lord Barber, and a fellow-engineer, John H. Sargent, a resident of Cleveland, seem to have arranged with Nathaniel Leggett and William Hall, the former of Swan Creek Township. and at that time county treasurer, and the latter an attorney of Maumee City, to purchase land for them along the line of the railway. The four were to all intents partners in the transaction, but Barber and Sargent were to hold two-thirds, in common, of the land secured, and Nathaniel Leggett and William Hall the other one-third, in common. Eventually, "they bought of Thomas Bayes 160 acres of land, which comprised what is known, in the records of the county, as the original plat of Wauseon." The transaction must have been consummated in 1853, or before, for in that year William Hall, partner of Nathaniel Leggett, died of cholera in Maumee City, Leggett thus becoming equal, in land holdings, with the other two original proprietors of the new town, which at that time however had not been platted; had not even been named. The purchase price was $16 an acre, Thomas Bayes apparently making a satisfactory profit on land for which he had not, probably, paid more than $3.00 an acre, and possibly not more than $1.25, and to which he appears to have done very little development work, for it seems "the entire parcel was in nearly a wild state." As a matter of fact, it then showed no indication of habitation, save in the one log hut erected by Mr. Bayes, probably that at which John Newcomer "landed," in 1844. The Bayes log house stood within a few rods south and west of where eventually the court house was built.
However, the grading of the railway was proceeding rapidly, and either in the fall of 1853, or the early spring of 1854, Mr. Barber "laid out" the town, assisted in that work by Thomas F. Wright, as chain man. The plat was recorded in the Fulton County Recorder's office on April 11, 1854.
The Bayes family was of course the first to take up residence on the land which ultimately became the original plat of Wauseon, but of outside people, it may be considered that the first merchant to take up actual residence within the bounds of the projected town, and with a genuine intent to remain, was E. L. Hayes, who later gained distinction, and a brevet as brigadier general, by valiant and capable military serv- ice during the war. How he happened to come to Fulton county, and to the town-to-be, is best told in his own words, contained in his letter from Bloomfield, New Jersey, dated July 1, 1908, to the "Pioneer
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
Historical Society of Fulton County, Olio." The communication, in part, reads :
"In October, 1852, I left Litchfield, Ohio, to look for a new town, in which to locate and engage in merchandising. I travelled in my own conveyance over a portion of southeastern Michigan, and northwestern Ohio. While stopping one night at Adrian, Michigan, I heard of a new line of railroad, running west from Toledo, through Fulton and Williams counties, into Indiana, and west to Chicago, and to be called Michigan Southern Air Line.
"I went from Adrian to Delta, and stopped at a tavern kept by Thomas Gleason. During the evening I met Nathaniel Leggett. He called my attention to a new station on the new railroad about six miles west of Delta, which he with others had located. and invited me to go with him the next day to look and see if it would interest me. I spent the day with him in looking round the neighborhood, and feeling pretty well pleased with what I had seen, but still concluded to spend a day or two more. I stopped with Samuel Biddle, when I - finally decided to locate here. The town site had been purchased by Nathaniel Leggett, E. L. Barber and J. H. Sargent, of Thomas Bayes ; the timber on the line of the road was thin, being cut through the tract. The proprietors gave me a lot on what was afterwards known as the corner of Fulton and Beech streets. I removed in November from Litchfield to Fulton county, and occupied a log house owned by Mr. E. Huntington, and I immediately commenced building a two-story house. In April, 1853, my building finished, I opened the store in the lower story, my family occupying the upper story .... In the fall of that year the road was finished to what was called Lamb's Crossing; in the spring of 1854, the road was finished to Wauseon, and through to Stryker and Bryan the same year."
This letter conflicts somewhat with one General Hayes wrote five years carlier to his "Esteemed Friend, Joel Brigham," in which letter he stated that he came to Wauseon in 1853, not 1852, and his other dates are all one year later than those given in the letter above quoted. The letter to Joel Brigham said :
"How well I recall many incidents connected with my first settling in Wauscon, in the fall of 1853. The timber in the line of the rail- road was being cleared off at the time. The station had not been located, but the Lamb's Crossing and Bayes' Crossing were being con- sidered. I met Mr. N. Leggett in Delta early in September, and went with him to visit the two places talked of for the station, etc. The Bayes land was finally selected. I returned to Litchfield, and soon afterwards moved to Fulton county, and rented a house of Mr. E. Huntington, where we lived during the time I was erecting my house and store, in the winter of 1853-54. The lot upon which the building was erected was covered with timber, and a considerable portion of the timber used in building the storehouse was cut from the lot. The building was completed in April, and we moved into it. During the same spring, George Beals built a house further south on the same street. (Fulton). John Williams commenced building the hotel, across the railroad, the same year."
General Hayes was eighty-three years old when he wrote this letter, and another five years may have befogged his memory somewhat. And there is much other evidence to substantiate the figures given in General
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
Hayes' 1903 letter. William Lee, of Oak Shade, who came to Wauseon in 1854, stated in 1917: "John Williams was building a new hotel on the corner now known as Fulton and Beech Streets .... At that time, E. L. Hayes was erecting a store building on the corner south of the hotel property." All authorities agree that the Estelle Hotel was built by John Williams in 1854.
It is generally supposed, and has been accepted by previous com- pilers of Fulton county history that the Air Line Railroad reached Wauseon station in 1854, but there is reason to believe that it did not get nearer to Wauseon than Lamb's Crossing, a mile distant, in that year. It may be taken as certain that trains did not run to Lamb's Crossing "in the fall of 1853," as stated in General Hayes' 1908 letter. The "Delta Independent Press," vol. 1, No. 10, the date of which issue was June 7, 1854, had an editorial, regarding the "new era" that had begun for Delta that week:
"A connection is now formed by railway between this place and Toledo. A daily train leaves Delta at 12 noon, and returns at 7:30
WAUSEON IN 1857.
p. m. It is a new era in our history .... The station buildings are in process of construction, and will be ready for the reception of goods by the 15th inst ..... The rails are being rapidly laid, and soon Wauseon, the next station, will be reached."
"Charley" Cornell, who had part in the construction of the railroad stated :
"In 1853 they commenced grading for the railroad, and in 1854 passenger cars were run to Lamb's Crossing, a mile east of Wauseon. You could not say a passenger train, for about all there was to the train was a wood-burning engine, a car for hauling the wood and water, and one passenger coach. This constituted the first passenger train to run in Fulton county. The next year the road was built on west of Wauseon, and the first passenger train coming into Wauseon was in the early spring of 1855. As these trains came into the county excitement ran high. The speed they made, about fifteen miles an hour, was wonderful.
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Many pioneers declared it was impossible to travel that fast. With the coming of the railroad settlers eame rapidly."
Which was so. General Hayes stated that, by the time the railroad had reached Bryan, Wauseon had thirty-six dwellings, a school-house, a hotel, three stores, a drug store, a saw mill, and, he thought, a Methodist church. As a matter of faet, it was not until 1856 that James Hogeboom built the "Little White Schoolhouse," and it seems that it was not until 1857 that through trains were run from Toledo to Elkhart. "Time Table No. 1" took effect "on Monday, June 8, 1857." There was one train daily, each way, and to cover the about 133 miles between the terminal points meant a journey of about nine hours. The first eonduetor on the road, after passenger trains eom- meneed running was James Moore. James Hogeboom, in reminiseences published about twelve years ago, stated :
THE FIRST PASSENGER TRAIN TO ENTER WAUSEON.
"It was in the spring of 1855 when father moved his family to Wauseon, and what a wilderness it was then-earth, aeres of water, forests and blue sky was about all there was to be seen here then. The Lake Shore Railroad was extended to Bryan that year, and in the fall one train a day was run between here and that plaee. It was a work train, but it carried passengers, and well do I remember its conductor, James Moore."
A copy of the Wauseon newspaper, the "Sentinel," of September 18, 1857, carried some interesting advertisements; which at least illumine the business seetion of General Hayes' above-referred to tabu- lation. One advertisement read: "A. T. Shanks. Fashionable barber and hairdresser. Shop opposite the Estelle House." Among the busi- ness advertisements were :
"HI. Stern, dealer in dry goods, groceries, ready-made elothing,
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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY
jewelry and fancy goods;" "J. Antibus, saddle and harness maker; shop on the corner of Fulton and Chestnut Streets;" "D. W. Hollister, dealer in drugs, paints, oils and groceries;" "E. L. Hayes, dealer in staple and fancy dry goods, boots and shoes, hardware, etc. Pioneer Block, No. 1, Fulton Street, Wauseon."
WAUSEON'S FIRST HOTEL
The "Sentinel" also carried a descriptive advertisement regarding the Estelle, built in 1854. The notice read :
"This house has lately been refitted and furnished in the most fashionable and improved style. The proprietors will leave nothing: undone to make their guests happy and comfortable. This house is pleasantly situated on Fulton Street, near the railroad depot. Stages between this place and Adrian stop at this house."
The Estelle stood where now is the First National Bank building. Its first landlords were W. E., D. O., and A. Livermore, who came
0
0
WHERE THE ESTELLE HOTEL ONCE STOOD.
from Utica, New York. The opposite corner lot which intersecting street properly might have been called Beech Street, but which, because it led to the railway station, was named Depot Street, was offered to Charles W. Cornell, by Samuel Biddle, in 1857, for $650, at which price the small frame building then on the lot would be "thrown in." And the owner was so anxious to sell that he offered to allow the prin- cipal to remain unpaid indefinitely, Cornell merely being required to pay the interest year by year. Had Cornell bought, he would have made a profit of several thousand dollars on the real estate in a decade, or so. Today the corner is probably worth $25,000. The old frame building built by Biddle in 1854, was used for business purposes. Biddle occupied one-half as a drug store; the other half was used by Hunt and Company. In the fall of 1857, M. H. Dudley occupied the building with dry goods and a light line of groceries. In 1860 A. J. Knapp nut in a stock of drugs, which he finally sold, in about 1867, to Masters and Company, who in turn sold to F. L. S. Darby. The next
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