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 46

Author: Reighard, Frank H., 1867-
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 546


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 46


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"The first Methodist Episcopal Church in Delta was built by the Rev. Wood in 1856, at a cost to the society of $1,000. Rev. George Wood often preached there, but the first pastor to occupy the pulpit was Rev. Martin Perky. Rev. David Gray was on the circuit at the time of the dedication of the original church in Delta.


"The pastoral succession from 1856 to the present, as nearly as can be ascertained is as follows: W. W. Winters and D. D. S. Reigh; D. D. S. Reigh and G. W. Money; A. B. Poe and P. S. Slevin ; A. M. Carey, G. W. Miller, B. Herbert and C. Hoag, S. B. Maltbie, A. C. Barnes, John R. Colgan, A. Coleman, N. B. C. Love, Wm. Deal, John F. Davies, Nathaniel Barter, G. W. Miller, Rd. Wallace, C. W. Taney-


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hill, J. A. Ferguson, J. H. Fitzwater, P. Biggs, J. M. Mills, Jefferson Williams, Isaac Newton, Daniel Carter, Frederick Miller, W. W. Scoles, Jacob Baumgartner, F. W. Stanton, F. A. Zimmerman, A. S. Watkins, J. W. Donnan, M. D. Scott, C. A. Moore, P. Ross Parrish, and H. W. Hodge (the present pastor).


"Delta was first made a station in September, 1871; N. B. C. Love was the first resident pastor, and L. A. Belt presiding elder. In 1881, the parsonage was sold, and the proceeds, with additional subscriptions, invested in building the present brick parsonage adjacent to the church.


"On September 15, 1889, Dr. Earl Cranston, of Cincinnati, Ohio, dedicated a new church building, erected of brick, at a cost of $10,000.


"The Delta church has a notable record in Sunday School work. It has been stated that the first Sunday school in that section was a Methodist Episcopal Sunday school. It was organized in 1839, by Willard Trowbridge, Joseph Jones, and William Fewless. Mrs. Mary McClure, Mrs. Sylvia Thayer, and Mrs. Hannah Carpenter were promi- nent in the early years of the establishment of the school in Delta proper, and from that organization has grown the present prosperous Sunday school of more than three hundred.


"For Sunday sehool purposes, an addition was made to the church in 1908, at a cost of $2,500."


United Brethren Church (Liberal Branch), was organized in Delta by the Rev. Samuel Klotz, revivalist, who began to preach in the circuit in 1876. At first the meetings were held in the hall above Trowbridge's dry goods store. Later, an arrangement was made whereby the U. B. Society might have the use of the Free Methodist church for their meetings. About thirty-five years ago the members built a frame church building, on the corner of Madison and Palm -. wood streets, and have since worshipped in that building, which has been twice added to. The church building was dedicated by Bishop Weaver, and was erected during the pastorate of the Rev. George Crawford. The present (1920), pastor is the Rev. Lewis Moore, and the church has about one hundred members, also a strong Sunday school.


The United Brethren Church (old order, or as it is some- times termed, radical branch, to distinguish it from the liberal branch) separated from the other part of the U. B. Society of Delta in 1889, not being able to countenace modern interpretations of the original constitution of 1841, to which they desired to adhere strictly and rigidly. The members were of the original Delta U. B. Society, and felt that instead of being the offshoot, they were the original society, and as such were entitled to have the use of the frame church that had been built. They were opposed in such desire by the liberal branch, and the resulting litigation went even to the Supreme Court of the United States. William H. Taft, later president of the United States, was at that time a justice of the Supreme Court, and he decided in favor of the liberal branch of the U. B. society. Consequently, the radicals were compelled to seek another meeting house. They erected a church building of concrete blocks about ten years ago, at a cost of $2,300, and have since been governed by the rigid requirements. as to personal conduct and particularly as to the rule on secrecy, of the original constitution of their church. The Delta (radical) Society now numbers about fifty members.


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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY


The difference of opinion within the church had been of long standing. In 1874, the Rev. J. D. Snyder, cireuit preacher, reported to the quarterly meeting of the Fulton Circuit, United Brethren in Christ, that "the circuit was in good order, though the church is pass- ing through a fiery ordeal in regard to maintaining the rule on seerecy"; and at a meeting held on December 7, 1889, the following resolution was passed: "Whereas a factional element, known as 'Radi- eals', have by secession separated themeselves from the body of the Church of the U. B. in Christ; and whereas they, in every way possible, disturb the peace and hinder the progress of church work, Therefore Resolved : that the General Boards of Trustees of Church houses, on the Delta Circuit, N. O. Conf., be instructed, by the Quarterly Conference of said eircuit, to immediately take absolute control of said chureh houses, and close them against every intrusion upon our rights as the Church of the United Brethren in Christ."


The "First Quarterly Meeting of Fulton Circuit of the Michigan Annual Conference of the United Brethren in Christ, for the year


STREET SCENE, DELTA.


1867-68" was held at Poplar Grove, on November 16, 1867, and from the minute book of that circuit some general information is eulled.


The members of the Quarterly Conference, in 1867 were: J. N. Martin, presiding elder; H. W. Cherry, circuit preacher; O. S. Ward, William Cass, J. H. Fish, G. S.Tuttle, Jackson Jennings, John Miller, Wm. O. Dinius, Wm. Godden, and Geo. Valentine, local preachers. The leaders and stewards of the various classes, or chureli societies within the circuit were: Poplar Grove class, J. W. McQuillen, and D. Zimmerman ; Spring Hill, R. Reynolds and J. Walters; Batsdorf class, George Jennings and Issac Pontious; Blue School, Peter Wise and Benjamin Skeels; Tremain class, A. H. and Elijah Smith.


Poplar Grove was evidently the strongest society at that time, for in the apportionment of salary, it was assessed $95, the next being Spring Hill, $75. In all, the assessment was $345. In 1873, the preaeher-in-charge was W. R. Bundy; in 1874, J. W. Snyder was the


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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY


circuit preacher; in 1875, S. P. Klotz. In 1877, the circuit included Olive Branch, Zion, Pleasant Grove, Spring Hill, Etna, Union. S. P. Klotz was still circuit preacher. In 1878, he reported: "Formed a new class of 45 at Wauseon." In the next year, 1879, Geo. W. Crawford, who had been presiding elder for many years, succeeded J. W. Klotz, as circuit preacher.


One of the most prominent of the early members of the church in that circuit was J. W. McQuillen, who was secretary of the Conference meetings for many years. He was still secretary of the Delta Circuit in 1899. At the time of the secession, in 1899, the Delta Circuit in- cluded Delta, Zion, Union, Grove and Beulah churches.


The Church of Christ, Delta, had its first camp meeting in August, 1888. V. Updike was the evangelist. The society was formed, and for some time thereafter held its meetings in the old town hall. The members however were active and soon found the means with which to build a church. In 1889, the fine brick church building, which is still the house of worship, was built and dedicated. The church stands on the corner of Providence and Madison (formerly John) streets, and its first pastor was J. T. H. Stewart. Among pioneer members were Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Dunbar, Mr. and Mrs. B. F. Miley, Miles Carpenter and wife, Mr. and Mrs. William Norris, Sr., Mr. and Mrs. O. P. Raker, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Grandy. The first elders were: B. F. Miley, Henry Grandy, and Wm. Norris. Deacons: Joseph Dunbar, Joseph Bloom, Lloyd Ransower, Geo. Sheffield. Trustees : Jo- seph Dunbar Wm. Norris, Jacob Huth, B. F. Miley Joseph Bloom. Chas Raker, clerk. The present membership of the church is about one hundred and forty, and the present pastor, C. W. Perry.


SCHOOLS


The school history of York Township probably did not begin until 1837, although a Delta historian referred to the erection of a school- house in the Delta district "nearly a mile west of the present village, soon after that district was settled." Undoubtedly, this was the Trow- bridge settlement, which began in 1834, but it was some years before sufficient families had come to that part to make it necessary to pro- vide school accommodation. Probably the first school taught in the western part of the township was that in the house of the Rev. Uriah Spencer, in 1837. His wife, Emily, was the teacher, and a year later Sophronia Fluhart taught a winter term of six weeks and three days therein, receiving sixty-two and a half cents a week for such service, that figure not even including board as later became customary. Samuel Biddle came into York Township in 1842, and settled upon land he had bought in section 17, from Rev. Uriah .Spencer. The log cabin he occupied was this hut in which the first school was taught. In 1842 there were, according to the testimony of Samuel Biddle, three school- houses in York Township. Verity asserts that the first schoolhouse built in York Township stood upon the Willard Trowbridge farm, one mile west of Delta. One record states that "it was a small cheap frame building", but "it supplied the needs of the times." The prob- ability however is that it was a log house, for the first frame building erected in the township was a dwelling house occupied by Dr. Lathrop in 1840. Catherine Moyer, who came into York Township with her


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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY


husband in 1838, stated that she "taught school and took my pay in produce." The schools were primitive, and money was scarce. There was a log schoolhouse in York Township, just over the line from Clinton, at West Barre, in 1840, but it was only used for one year, and then mostly by Clinton Township children. R. C. Skeels, now of Wauseon, but for the greater part of his life, from 1840, a resident of York, testified, in 1918 that when his parents first located in York Township, in 1840, "there were no schoolhouses, but a little later Mrs. Pray taught school in a log house. In 1843, a school house was erected where the Blue school now stands. Children who lived four or five miles distant attended that school, and conditions were un- doubtedly hard for the children. Mr. Skeels said: "There were plenty of wolves here in those days", adding that "As I think over those pioneer days my mind goes back to the old log schoolhouse, with desks around the sides. The desks were slabs fastened to wooden pins driven into holes in the wall, and the seats were more slabs, with legs fastened to them. Then there was the water birch that the teacher always had handy and used freely." Mikesell, whose sister Emily was the wife of Rev. Uriah Spencer, and thus was probably the pioneer teacher, wrote: "Most of the pupils found their way through the woods to the schoolhouses, roads being comparatively unknown. Along these school trails they went to school, and at night to spelling schools, lighting their way, in the night time, with torches made from the bark of hickory trees."


A Holmes Smith, who still resides in Delta, was one of the pioneer teachers, and one of the first school examiners of Fulton county, after Martin H. Butler and Aldrich. He goes back in his recollection of school history to 1848. Then there was a schoolhouse, he says, in what was known as the Abram Cole District, south-west York. The first teacher was Mrs. Zimmerman, later the wife of Naaman Merrill. In 1848, there was a schoolhouse at Geringer's Corners, for what was termed the Robinson District. The teacher was Ellen Sanger; another school was at York Centre, and in that schoolhouse the elections were held for several years. The north-western section of the township was served by a schoolhouse known as the Berry District. Two years later, a school district was organized in southwest York, near the Bethlehem Church ; Garret Van Fleet was the first teacher in that school. In 1851- 52, A. Holmes Smith taught in the Raker School, situated on the line of York and Swan Creek townships; in 1853, he taught in the little log schoolhouse which was situated on what is now the David Savage farm. The log schoolhouse was built by Garner Tremain, and Mr. Smith remembers that the ceiling was so low that he had to stoop "to dodge the post." Many of the later capable school teachers of the county received their elementary training in that log schoolhouse. Among them were the sisters Dumaresq, Henrietta, Jenette, Mary and Kate. In 1858-59-60, Holmes Smith taught in the Salsbury school.


In 1852, a redistrieting of schools brought about a change in the location of the Delta District school. One record says that the school- house "beyond the creek" (presumably the original schoolhouse in the Willard Trowbridge settlement, or a later frame building in the. same location), was moved to Providence Street, and the first teacher therein, under the new school laws, was Martin H. Butler, who later became one of the pioncer school examiners of Fulton county. Within


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a couple of years, however, it was much too small for the needs of the district, and a new school building was erected on the site where the electric light plant now stands. The new school was a one-story, frame building, of two rooms, and it had cost $500 to erect. For ten years, or so, it was used as a school, and during the greater part of that time the cost of maintaining the school was only barely met. Delta was a large school district and the new board of education, in 1852, considered Delta as two districts, when allotting public funds, the able representative of the Delta district on the board of education at that time, and for many years afterwards, being L. H. Upham. He, however, was unable to combat the opposition by representatives of other school districts, who objected to the double allowance for Delta, so that a few years later the double allowance was reduced. In 1861, or 1862, Delta organized separately, and, to meet the requirements of an ever increasing enrollment, had before 1865 built another larger school-


PUBLIC SCHOOL, DELTA.


house, a substantial building of brick, which was erected south of the Presbyterian church, and beyond the creek, near the railroad, south- west of the village.


In 1887 there were thirteen school districts in York Township, in addition to the Delta district. In 1889, the present schoolhouse at Delta was built. Site and building cost more than $20,000, and an addition made to it in 1908 entailed another expenditure of $16,000. At the time of the building of the school, in 1889, it was thought that it was unnecessarily large, and some of the rooms were not completed. However, they became necessary before many years had passed, and when the addition was made in 1908, it was then urgently necessary. The Delta school now has eight rooms for elementary grades, and seven for high school grades. In 1919, the enrollment of elementary pupils totaled to 274, and the high school registers show names of 120 students, for the same school year. The present superintendent is C. C. Smith.


Apart from the excellent facilities of the Delta district, the school


.


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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY


facilities of York Township at present include ten one-room school- houses, of the rural class. Only cight are in use, however. The ten houses, with furnishings, and other school property, are valued at $9,580. The enrollment for 1919 totaled to 225 pupils.


The present board of education for Delta village is made up as follows: W. C. Hoch, president; F. W. Cately, clerk; C. P. Geer, Dr. S. P. Bishop, and Mrs. Ida Whitehornc. The board of education of York Township is: Ray Berkebile, president; C. F. Bower, clerk; T. C. Murray, Jr., Ed. Forest, Chas. Shreves and Gale Stickley, directors.


INDUSTRIES


Delta is the center of one of the most important industrial concerns of the country, one which - with a similar plant at Wauseon - has brought about a revolution in farming throughout the county during the last decade, or so, Formerly Fulton county had many large cheese manufacturing plants, but these did not bring the farmers a very certain, or a very high profit, so that farming activities did not run chiefly to dairying. Nowadays however, since the establishment of the Helvetia plant at Delta, and the Van Camp plant at Wauseon, both with large capacity for evaporating milk, a radical change has come in meth- ods of farming throughout the county, and, indeed, in the individual prosperity of the Fulton county agriculturist. The fine farm homes one sees in a trip through the rural districts indicate that the return . from the land must be eminently satisfactory. It has come chiefly by the sure markets at hand for the disposal of all the milk products. The Van Camp plant at Wauseon has the names of more than fourteen hundred dairymen on its ledgers, and the Helvetia plant at Delta is probably quite as large. The Helvetia Milk Condensing Company, like the Van Camp Company, is a nationally known company, and the Wauseon and Delta plants are branches; still, they are adequate to meet the requirements of the district. The Delta plant was built in 1903, and has a frontage of 580 feet and a floor space of 67,000 feet, Its monthly cash payments to milk producers run well into six figures.


PROMINENT EARLY RESIDENTS OF DELTA


Many of the prominent residents of Delta will be referred to else- where in this, or in the second volume, but passing word as to a few may be permissible. Lucius H. Upham was one of the most prominent of the pioneers of Delta. He came to Fulton county immediately after the erection of that county, coming from Wooster. He held the mayoral office in Delta longer than any other chief magistrate, and he was also prominent throughout the county. In 1856, he was elected to the state legislature; and he was probate judge for a brief period. He will be remembered in Delta as probably one of its most capable pioneers. Octavius Waters comes prominently into civic, fraternal, church, and county record. He was of English birth, and rearing; was well-educated; a sailor in early life, but of innate power as a speaker, and devout in religious conviction. He became a most convincing minister of the Methodist church, and eventually entered upon the practice of law. He was prosecuting attorney for Fulton county for two terms, and became state representative. Also he served


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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY


as presidential elector. William H. Gavitt, twice mayor of Delta, was a capable lawyer, and also became prosecuting attorney. W. W. Wil- liams was also a lawyer, and made an able mayor. Alfred B. Gunn was one of the ablest of the active pioneer public workers of York. He was one of its first township officers, and was assessor for many years; and was one of the best commissioners the county ever had. Samuel G. Aumend was prominent for many years in Delta, and to some ex- tent in the county also. He served for several years as infirmary director. Dr. Bishop, J. M. Longnecker, and many other leading citizens will be given extensive review elsewhere in this record, and without tau- tology it is somewhat difficult to single out for mention here more of those who have had useful part in the building of Delta and York Township.


POPULATION


York Township population in the 1840 census was returned as 435; in 1870, 1199; in 1880, 2572; in 1890, 2629; in 1900, 2509; in 1910, 3137; and in 1920, 2835.


The statistics for the village of Delta are: 1870, 753; 1880, 858; 1890, 1132; 1900, 1230; 1910, 1689; 1920, 1543.


The 1920 figures are, in each case, those of the "Preliminary Announcement of Population" and, therefore, are subject to correction.


CHAPTER XIX HISTORY OF GORHAM TOWNSHIP


Gorham is the extreme northwesterly township of Fulton county, and, like all of its northern townships, was in the area regarding which there was such serious contention between the Territory of Michigan and the State of Ohio, in 1835, and earlier. In 1802, when Ohio was admitted into stateliood, her northern boundary was not clearly de- fined, and Ohio considered that her boundary extended north to what later became known as the Harris Line. Michigan overlapped, deem- ing that its boundary reached southward to what became known as the Fulton Line. The matter however lay dormant for many years, for the simple reason that the land in dispute had no white inhabi- tants during the first two decades of the nineteeth century. But when settlement began, in the 'thirties, it became evident that Michigan was determined to assert what she considered her right. The boundary dispute is dealt with fully in an earlier chapter of this current work, although there is nothing on record to show that the serious friction between the two states seriously concerned the early settlers of Gorham Township. They were more concerned regarding the long journey necessary to cast their vote at York Center, in 1836, when York Town- ship was organized.


Gorham has been under the jurisdiction, or strictly, has been within the bounds, of many counties, including Lenawee and Hillsdale, of the Territory of Michigan, and Williams and Lucas, of the State of Ohio. And consequently, it has been in many townships. Of Lucas county townships, it was at first within the jurisdiction of York, and later of Chesterfield. These are historical details regard- ing which it is unnecessary here to write extensively, as they have been fully recorded in earlier histories of Fulton county. Suffice it to say that Gorham Township was organized on March 6, 1838, taking then from Chesterfield Township all the territory it now has, excepting what it lost in 1841, when Franklin Township was formed, and the strip it gained from Mill Creek Township, Williams county, when Fulton county was erected, in 1850.


PIONEER SETTLERS


Hiram Farwell, who came with his wife and family, in the carly fall of 1834, seems to have been the first settler. He entered and settled upon the east side of section ten, of town nine south, range one east. He was a man of strong character, and a worthy pioneer, in that he brought with him a religious earnestness which manifested itself among the early settlers of the township. He often preached, presumably in log cabins, and in many ways seems to have ordered his life in ac- cordance with the dictates of a high moral and religious code. He "was a man much esteemed by the early settlers."


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HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY


The next family to settle was that of David Severance. They settled on the north side of section 36, town nine south, range one west of the meridian, in Mill Creek Township, Williams county. Their land eventually became part of Fulton county, when the latter county was created in 1850. David Severance was the first settler in Mill Creek Township, and as a matter of fact never became a resident within Fulton county, for he died in 1844. But he died upon that farm, and his wife, Esther Knapp, lived upon it until her death, which did not occur until 1887, so that her home for thirty-seven years was in Fulton county. And their children also lived in the county. When Mrs. Severance died in 1887, her descendants numbered one hundred and forty-one. The Severance family, like that of Hiram Farwell, was orginally from New York State, although David Sever- ance was born in Vermont, and from 1819, when he married, he had been a resident in Ohio. Their sons Waldron and Alfred were both, probably, in their early 'teens when the family settled in Williams county, on December 31, 1834.


It is believed that there was also another settler in what is now Gorham Township in 1834. There is very little on record regarding the coming of Abijah Coleman and his wife and family, to town nine south, range one west, but if he came in 1834, it is possible that he and David Severance came together, and were near neighbors; other- wise Abijah Coleman would be the pioneer settler of Mill Creek Town- ship, seeing that the Severance family settled there on the last day of the year in which both are stated to have come.


Quite a number of families came into the territory in 1835. Wil- liam Lee, and his wife, Sarah Marlatt, came into Gorham from Mich- igan in 1835. They were orginally from New York State, but had lived in Michigan since 1825, having settled in Franklin county, where some of their children were born. They settled upon section 13, of town nine south, range one east, when they came into Ohio and to Gorham, and there they lived until 1845, then removing to Chester- field Township. William Lee was a tanner, and currier, and followed such occupations when opportunity came, while clearing the land he had entered in Gorham Township. He took active interest in town- ship affairs, and after removal to Chesterfield was a justice and, for some time, township clerk. His wife died in 1878. Of their children, Lewis A., who was a building contractor, lived in Chesterfield, and held several offices, trustee, constable, and postmaster (at Oak Shade). Almon M., who died in 1896, was county recorder at that time, and his son, George W. Lee, of Chesterfield, was appointed recorder, in his place.




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